Tom Landry: From B-17 Pilot to NFL Hall of Fame

The serious visage of famed Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry is one of the most familiar in American sports, but few know that Coach Landry, who passed away in 2000, was also a World War Two B-17 bomber pilot in World War Two.
Born in Mission, Texas, deep in the Rio Grande Valley, Landry joined the Air Corps after a semester of college, and flew 30 combat missions over Europe in World War Two, including one where he had to crash-land his Fort in Belgium after it ran out of fuel.
Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant at Lubbock Army Air Field, Landry was assigned to the 493rd Bomb Group at RAF Debach, England. Flying as a co-pilot in the 493rd's 860th Bomb Squadron, Landry flew his missions between November 1944 and April 1945.

A Superb Super Bowl Game

Stephen Tyree makes an impossible catch in the fourth quarter to keep the trailing Giants' drive alive. It was made possible by incredible scrambling by Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

Not expecting much of a game for the Super Bowl this year, I made plans to attend Sunday evening Mass as always. I figured the 17-0 New England Patriots would run away with the game early. At Mass, there were about fifty people there--that's what happens on Super Bowl Sunday. Even our American priest, Father Joe McDonald, was most likely watching and our priest was a Columbian-born father who probably didn't care who won.

On the way home, I stopped by my daughter and son-in-law's house to watch the end.

Was I ever wrong.

This was a super Super Bowl, and though I only caught the last quarter, that's when a lot of the action took place.

The Giants, a blue-collar team from Jersey, upended the white-bread Patriots. It was a memorable performance by this team. My favorite play was receiver Stephen Tyree going up for a desperation catch and managing to catch it against his helmet with a defender hanging all over him. How he caught it I'll never know.

Okay, maybe next year my Redskins will go farther...after all, they're set to interview the mastermind assistant coach behind the success of...the New York Giants.

Idaho State University Football

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

Today my son Matt and I went to the home opener for Idaho State University's football team. Idaho State has about 12,000 students, including Matt, who is a sophomore this year. Idaho State is located in Pocatello, Idaho, about 50 miles from Ammon, just the other side of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation.

Idaho State played a smaller school from Oregon and won easily. The school, Southern Oregon, is in the town where my parents live, Ashland, Oregon. Small world.

Idaho State is one of the few college football teams to have an indoor stadium. It's called Holt Arena.

I forgot my camera, but here are some shots from a game last year.

I am more of a baseball and soccer fan, but enjoy the occasional football game.

Below, the exterior of the Holt Arena. Pictured are Matt Morris and his buddy Pedro 'Pepo' Mena. Both are currently sophomores at Idaho State.