So, Do You Like ... Stuff?

This is the first line of Peter King's Friday column : Brett Favre's pretty much gone underground this week, except for his regular Wednesday press conference, Thursday's NFL Network interview with Steve Mariucci and a one-on-one with Terry Bradshaw, which will air on the Fox NFL Sunday pregame show. That guy is like a hermit!

Oliver Miller, 1992-93 Topps Here is a “Time-Life Magazine”- worthy floor shot of Oliver Miller throwing it down with lukewarm authority. How he got down the floor before everybody else on this play is anyone’s guess. Though my hypothesis would be that he was not an active participant in the previous defensive series. But let’s see how long it takes the back of the card to mention Oliver Miller’s weight: They called Oscar Robertson “The Big O,” but the massive Oliver Miller gives new “dimension” to that nickname. That dimension is fatness. I also appreciate how “dimension” is in quotes, as to imply that Oliver Miller is so fat -– How fat is he? -– that he can only fit in an alternate dimension. That is not nice. But what else? On offense, Miller was nearly “automatic” –- the Razorbacks’ most accurate shooter ever. I am at a loss as to why “automatic” is in quotes. As far as being Arkansas’ most accurate shooter -– that is what happens when you do not/cannot move from the five-square-f...

Today we continue our randomly strung-together series breaking down "classic" songs that I am reminded of when I hear them somewhere and suddenly come to the realization that, "Wow, that song is stupid." Featured here is Smashmouth's "All Star," which you may have heard during every movie you've ever seen within the past decade. Please enjoy. ---------------------------------------- Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me Allow me to begin my endeavor by acknowledging the popular adage: The world is gonna roll you. This is a clever way of saying that the world –- which is like a ball -– will eventually roll you over. With hardships. As far as the “somebody” who told me? None other than William Franklin Shakespeare. Yeah. I drew the line from the wonderful yet largely ignored Shakespearean play entitled “All-Star,” in which the antagonist, “Smashmouthikus,” utters the dramatic line, “Thy world shall roll thee.” I ain’t the sharpest tool in ...

Jeff Hostetler, 1992 Collector’s Edge If I’m Jeff Hostetler, I am pissed. In fact, let’s for a second just pretend that I’m Jeff Hostetler, okay? Okay. Hi. I’m Jeff Hostetler. And I am pissed. Seriously. I mean, I am the starting quarterback of the New York Football Giants. I led my team to a freakin’ Super Bowl title like, a few months ago. I have a ‘stache to die for. Don’t believe me? So yeah, I’m pretty awesome. As a result, I think that my own football card should reflect at least a modicum of my awesomeness. So how does the Collector’s Edge brand of football cards honor my Super Bowl-winning awesomeness? By showing a picture of me with my eyes closed, getting sacked by some dude on the Rams , and almost certainly about to turn the ball over. I mean really. You could have snapped a picture of me with my jersey on taking a dump in the locker room stall and it would have been more flattering than this. Oh hey, one other thing. I’d like to take this opportunity to publicly thank O.J....

Note: This column appears in the 10/22 issue of The Glendale Star and the 10/23 issue of the Peoria Times I was in seventh grade the last year I went trick-or-treating for Halloween. It was that awkward time where I was too cool and definitely too old to go trick-or-treating, but I still liked candy. So I went after school and told various homeowners I was dressed as a “Catholic school kid.” After several dirty looks and fewer Reese’s than I expected, I decided to retire. Since then, Halloween has just been ehhh . There was brief resurgence in college, when I got to dress inappropriately and act like an idiot for a day, which made the holiday really no different than any other day, I suppose. But Halloween hasn’t been something I’ve really looked forward to in quite some time. Until this year, that is. The main reason being we actually have kids to celebrate it with. The joy and anticipation of Halloween gets renewed when kids are involved, as you get to live vicariously through them. ...

Ray Durham, 1996 Topps Laser series This card is part of the Topps’ “Laser series,” in which Topps printed a set of baseball cards and then had a laser come through and destroy about 35% of each card. Pretty cool, huh? Said Topps executive Bart Swingleman in 1995: “We wanted to draw attention away from the player featured on the card, so that kids could focus on the awesomeness of our lasers. And I think we accomplished that.” Indeed they did. I am having trouble focusing on Ray Durham boringly crossing home plate, as I am distracted by the nondescript, yet very red and very lasery ballplayer to the right, who is jogging out of the card ! Amazing. But I need to refocus here. What about Ray Durham? Let’s check some “spotlight stats” on the back: .640: Winning pct. by 1995 White Sox when Durham scored Now, the naysayer might say: “Nay. I am unimpressed by the fact that the White Sox won 64% of the time when Ray Durham scored, as runs scored invariably increases a teams’ chances of winnin...

Note: This column appears in the 10/15 issue of The Glendale Star and the 10/16 issue of the Peoria Times I have always been interested in recycling. Not interested in the sense that I’d like to make a career out of it, but interested in the sense that when I throw something in the recycling bin, I wonder for a split second what will happen to it. That is the extent of my interest. As a result, I have written a column. My family has always recycled, for as long as I can remember. I recall my dad tying up old newspapers and leaving them on the curb to be picked up, at which point it would rain, rendering everything non-recyclable. Those were great times. I also recall being appalled when we first moved here upon discovering that Peoria did not recycle. I knew things were slower out west, but it nevertheless surprised me that the simple concept of using stuff over again as a means to save money and the environment had yet to “catch on,” as if it were some kind of fad, like the Internet. ...

Danny Heep, 1991 Score This is Danny Heep. Let us begin: Danny’s 1990 season was not a heap of fun for him I thought maybe they were going to wait for it; wait to cash in on the gold mine of comedy and literary device that is Danny Heep’s surname. But they did not wait. If I may, in my own feeble attempt to combine baseball terminology and Danny Heep wordplay, I would say that they hit us off with a heap of it, right off the bat. for he missed a large portion of it because of a herniated disc suffered in late June. That is a heap of herniation right there. When Danny Heep felt the disc in his hernia area burst, he knew immediately that he was in a heap of trouble. Shall I continue? I am going to continue. But he did cause a few laughs A heap of laughs? No? Just a few? Okay. When he became the first Red Sox position player in 38 years to pitch in a game. The Sox were losing 15-0 That is a heap of runs. to the Twins and Danny finished the game by giving up four hits and one more run. His...

Eddie Murray, 1987 Ralston Purina Company Collectors’ Edition Does your dog like to eat? Well then there is a strong possibility that your dog will also enjoy baseball cards. If by some strange chance your dog does not enjoy baseball cards –- or, more specifically, Eddie Murray -- and the acquired discipline of keeping them in mint condition rather than eating them or burying them in the backyard, then possibly you, as a dog owner, will take pleasure in our line of baseball card products. This was the rationale of the Ralston Purina Company circa 1987. I have gone through the trouble of doing some research on this upstanding company and have, luckily for all involved, uncovered their principle activities: The principle activities of the Group are the production of dry dog food and soft-moist cat foods and other pet products . Also, baseball cards. Take me, for example. I’m the type of guy that, when I have a cat -– which I don’t, because I don’t really like cats that much -– I like my ...