Wilson Post Blogs

By JOHN L. SLOAN
Guy called me and tipped me off to this. I thought I would share it with you. See, to me it seems like it happens just about every year. Some legislator with an axe to grind sponsors a bill or four that are just plain stupid and are for the soul purpose of self-something. By that, I mean they only serve his sense of self.

Here, let me give you an example. How about a bill that would make it possible for my neighbor or me to pull out of our driveway and hit a deer or an opossum on Palmer Road or Highway 70 and TWRA gets a bill for having it removed? Said deer lays there a day and the city comes and picks up the carcass. The city could then bill TWRA for that service as if it was TWRA’s fault or TWRA owned the animal.

Dear Ken: What can you tell us about Nolan Gould, who plays Luke on “Modern Family”?

Gould, 13, turned pro at the ripe old age of 3 making TV commercials. His film credits include “Montana,” “Space Buddies,” “Monster Heroes” and “Friends With Benefits.” He also co-starred in the Hallmark TV movie “Sweet Nothings in My Ear” and will star in the upcoming TV movie “Ghoul.” The native of Columbus, Ga., also co-stars in the 2013 flick “The To Do List.”

By KAREN FRANKLIN

I have no doubt that Mother Nature is not only wreaking havoc on us but also on our feathered friends who are wondering if it is winter or spring. We have several days of mild weather only to be reminded that it is officially still winter by a few really cold, yucky days. Then we go back to rather mild days and so the cycle continues. I’m personally ready for spring to kick in full-time!  I’m also hoping to get some birding in with Ray when the weather warms up.

Spring is a great time to catch migrating birds who are heading back to the breeding grounds for the summer months. Of course this will also mean the loss of our winter birds like Juncos, White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow and more as they too start to migrate back to their summer territories.

By PATRICK HALL
The Wilson Post

Sunday marks the 84^th annual Academy Awards and while I already tabbed ‘War Horse’ to win Best Picture, I expect ‘Midnight in Paris’ to win two Oscars for the legendary Woody Allen and surprise contender ‘Moneyball’ to grab an Oscar for young actor Jonah Hill as well as Best Adapted Screenplay.

‘Midnight in Paris’ is a film written and directed by Allen, about struggling writer Gil Pender, played by Owen Wilson, who while on a trip to Paris, falls in love with the city, and takes an unorthodox journey every midnight. Pender meets all of his favorite artists, writers and longs for the “Golden Age” of the 1920s.

The film delivers many of Allen’s famous humor side-by-side with a strong look into the notion that the past always seems more romantic than the present. For Gil, 1920s Paris was the only time worth living in, and while he finds inspiration and joy in his time-traveling midnight strolls, he also discovers important truths about himself and the life he’s living in the present.

By PATRICK HALL
The Wilson Post

Since the 84^th Annual Academy Awards are coming up on Sunday, Feb. 26, I’m looking at a few contenders for Best Picture, starting with “War Horse,” a film directed by Steven Spielberg and distributed by Touchstone Pictures.

I always make picks on who will win each category, and some years I do great, like in 2009 when I got behind “The Hurt Locker,” which won six Oscars. I also do poorly sometimes, such as 2008 when I was predicting “There Will Be Blood” would clean house, but only won two of its six nominations.

This year my favorite and who I’m hitching my wagon to is “War Horse,” a story of young Albert Narracott, played by Jeremy Irvine, and the thoroughbred horse he names Joey. The two forge a remarkable bond through Albert’s training of Joey and their determination to prove that Joey can carry his weight on the family farm despite not being a plough horse.

Joey is then “drafted” into the British Cavalry on the eve of World War I and later Albert also enlists. Although the war and many miles separate the two, the film depicts a friendship and determination in both Albert and Joey that was absolutely stunning.

After watching top-ranked Kentucky take Vanderbilt to school at Memorial Gym Saturday night, I came away overwhelmed by Kentucky and underwhelmed by Vanderbilt.

After all, the Commodores were ranked No. 7 in the country in at least one preseason poll. Some thought they would be a Final Four team, based on a senior dominated roster that had depth and players with SEC experience.

By JOHN L. SLOAN
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Why must such a great tasting fish insist on biting best when it is cold enough to freeze the balls stacked around the canon at the Civil War museum? (Forgive the long sentence). Why must the wind always be blowing strong enough to jerk the words out of your mouth? Why must you stand there shaking like Wobble Gear Delong in an earthquake? Why is February such a good month for marble eyes?

I have no answer to the above questions but I wrote them just to set the tenor of this article. You may have guessed it is about walleye (sauger, saugeye) fishing. That of course is something about which I know pitifully little. In fact, I know less about it that Larry Woody. That is just about nothing. One thing I do know. I aint jigging no minner on a heavy jig up and down in 20-degree weather till my arm falls off. However, I tend to catch my share and then some, most of them weighing four pounds. I have no explanation for it just as I cannot explain how the Reflector keeps from sun burning his head. Here is an example.

The forecast is for a high for of 29. Twenty-nine, to me, is not high. Winds predicted to be from the north at 10, gusting to 20. Central Hill will be white capping like a wave on a milk bucket. Of course, we went Nashville’s Bob Julian and me. According to him, it would be perfect for walleye fishing.

Dear Ken: Please share some information on Melissa McCarthy, the star of “Mike & Molly.”

McCarthy, 41, was born in Plainfield, Ill., and grew up on a farm in a large, Irish-Catholic family. Before her current role, which won her an Emmy Award last year, she played Sookie St. James on “Gilmore Girls” and was in the movies “Bridesmaids,” “Life as We Know It,” “The Nines” and “The Back-up Plan.” She and her husband, actor Ben Falcone, have two daughters, ages 4 and 1. She will star later this year in the film “This Is Forty” and is slated to make two more movies, “ID Theft” and “Tammy.” The actress, who plays a schoolteacher on the show, says she often hears from fans about how the show seems to be about real people: “I get a lot of comments that they love, that, you know, that ‘I’m a teacher’ or ‘I have a sister that is a teacher. You look like a teacher. You dress like a teacher.’ I’ve always had a thing where I hate where somebody is talking about, ‘I can’t pay the rent.‘ I’m like, ‘You have a $3,000 handbag.’ We try to just stay real to the characters. They do such a great job . . . writing this kind of great little story and luckily we get to stay true to it.”

By  RAY POPE

I heard from one of my good birding friends, Tammye Whitaker, this past weekend with news that her Great-Horned Owls have returned with mama sitting on eggs. She said that two Red-tailed Hawks also came and rebuilt the nest. They probably were the ones that built it in the first place. Great-Horned Owls will take a crow or hawk nest to use as a nursery.

That will come in handy as crows and hawks build the nest in the spring, and the G.H. Owl do their brooding and chick rearing during the winter months when the lack of leaves on the trees permits the silent hunter to be able to catch plenty of food for their family. The poor fowl-smelling skunk can be a special target for the Owl as the smell doesn't bother him and can be a delicacy. Yuck!

It was Eli Manning’s coming out party.

No better place to have it than in the House that Peyton Built.

Little Brother took the spotlight away from Big Brother.

And, for the record, Eli is an elite NFL quarterback.

It was played out before a packed Lucas Oil Stadium, whose fans were treated to one of the most competitive, exciting Super Bowl games since the idea was hatched 46 years ago.

During Super Bowl week, it was Peyton Manning who commanded much of the attention and press coverage generated prior to Super Bowl Sunday.

Eli grew up in Peyton’s shadow. Peyton was five years older, getting a five-year start in athletics. Five years is a distinct advantage when one boy is 12 and the other boy is seven. They used to compete in basketball where Peyton would beat Eli up.

The first time Eli won was a day when the game was tied and it was next bucket wins. Eli drove around Peyton and dunked on him.

That’s the day Eli knew he gained Peyton’s respect.

Eli grew into a hotshot high school quarterback at Newman High School in New Orleans, where Peyton set records but never won the big one.

Eli chose Ole Miss, where father Archie had been a folk hero. Eli beat Florida as a senior, a feat Peyton never accomplished at Tennessee.

While Peyton is at a crossroads in his decorated NFL career, Eli has risen to the elite class of NFL quarterbacks with two Super Bowl rings, one more than Peyton.

Peyton deserves some credit for Eli’s success. Most little brothers hate being picked on by big brothers. It does one thing, however, makes the little brother fight back, toughens him in the long run.

We see that toughness in Eli. We saw it in a playoff game when he got hammered. When he picked himself off the ground, he had grass and mud wedged in his facemask. His helmet was twisted half-way around his head.

While Peyton specializes in getting rid of the football before the posse arrives, Eli hangs in there until the last second, taking a smack-down in order to give his receivers a chance to get open.

Peyton often walked away from a game with his uniform clean as the Board of Health. The Giants equipment staff doesn’t have enough stain remover to get rid of all the blood, grass and mud from Eli’s uniform.

With yet another come-from behind 21-17 victory Sunday, Eli has built a legend as the Comeback Kid. Games are never over until Eli says they are.

Will history reflect that Eli is the most productive quarterback in the Manning family? After all, he could have an extra five years to catch and pass Peyton.

I don’t think Eli will have all the glitzy numbers that Peyton accrued as an Indianapolis Colt. Remember the Colts offense was built specifically for Peyton from the first day he stepped on the field. Peyton played home games indoors on artificial turf while Eli has to battle the elements of New York’s raw winters. Swirling winds and icy blasts are tougher on a quarterback.

Where Eli can pass Peyton is on the NFL’s biggest stage. Fairly or not, quarterbacks are often judged by how many Super Bowl rings they have. The game-winning 88-yard touchdown drive took nine plays. Five of them were passes completed by Eli Manning.

New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees gave Eli his props before the game.

“I absolutely do think (Eli’s) elite. I have a lot of respect for Eli,’’ Brees said. “He plays in a tough market and handles himself with a lot of class.’’

It takes an elite quarterback to know one.

Contact Sports Columnist Joe Biddle at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

By PATRICK HALL
The Wilson Post

Andrew Detmer’s drunken father attacks him in the basement, hovering over the teen, assailing his son with physical and verbal abuse. Suddenly, the father is thrown against the wall, Andrew pins him there by the throat as the teen’s new telekinetic powers turn the tables on his abusive father.

“Chronicle” is a film following Andrew, played by Dane DeHaan, his cousin Matt Garrety, played by Alex Russell, and Steve Montgomery, played by Michael B. Jordan, as they develop the power to move objects with their minds and levitate their bodies to the point of actually flying.

By JOHN L. SLOAN
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Sometimes on blustery winter days, I tend to think of warm days and pleasant associations with persons of wit and interest. Mr.Halliburton was just such a person.

He sat back in the bent and twisted Adirondack chair, made from some kind of thick vines. I figured he made it himself. I didn’t ask, it just looked like something he would make.

“As a journal rule we like to start them young, bout the time they is good weaned.” He leaned forward and spit well past the porch rail. I’ve always admired a man that could do that. I’ve been chewing and dipping for 50-plus years (nasty habit don’t take it up) and can’t spit past my feet. As a journal rule.

We were talking about women fishing and started with what in the hillbilly hell you call a woman angler. I just always called them fishermen but you can easily see how that might arouse ire in some of them. I don’t like the term angler, sounds too high falootin. We never did settle it but it doesn’t really matter.

There were six or eight female-lady-women types scattered around the pond and if you wanted, you could call it a lake. Anything you can put a boat on, to me is a lake. Some fished for bream, some fished for bass and some just fished to get away from their husbands. Having met a couple of the husbands, I could fully understand.I was sitting with Mr. Halliburton, a gentleman of several years and that is just an estimate. He was sipping some Jack along with his baccer and I was sipping an Alabama martini. That is vodka over ice. Obviously this was back when I was still drinking. Later I discovered that a hangover is the wrath of grapes and quit. The shadows were lengthening but most of the pond was still in full sunlight, a great spring afternoon. You can call it afternoon or early evening, whatever suits you tickles me plumb to death. The long porch afforded us a view of the entire lake…pond.

“See, thing is, most of these womens are journally farm raised and haven’t been brought up on video games, latt-ays and malls,” said Mr. H. “Never could see it myself. Allus seemed to me that once you’ve seen one shopping center, you seen a mall,” he said and spit well past the rail.

Well, I’m sure all of you enjoyed last week’s article from Ray as much as I did.  He always weaves colorful stories and memories into his writing. I guess I just don’t have as much to pull from, seeing as I am a “few years” younger than Ray! (Don’t worry, Ray, I won’t give away your age!)

I mentioned in my last article about my birding trip with Ray and how we saw a beautiful flock of Cedar Waxwings. I’ve decided to mention a little more about them because they are truly unique and lovely birds. They have a cinnamon colored body with a small crest on their heads (like the cardinal). They also have what I like to refer to as a raccoon mask. The outer wing feathers and tail feathers have a more prominent black tent to them and it looks as though the tips of their tails have been dipped in yellow paint.

Dear Ken: What’s the latest on pop-country star Glen Campbell?

You probably know that last June he announced that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Campbell, 75, whose career began more than 60 years ago as a 15-year-old guitar picker, has sold millions of records including such songs as “Gentle on My Mind,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman,” “Galveston” and “Rhinestone Cowboy.” He is currently on his farewell tour which will go at least through the end of June. The Delight, Ark., native will receive a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award on this year’s show on Feb. 12. He says, “I have been blessed, I really have. I really have, I figured it out that I’m not that bright, but God gave me a break.” Last fall he released his final studio album, “Ghost on the Canvas,” which is loosely based on his life. On the video of the album’s title track, Campbell can be seen performing with three of his children: Ashley, Shannon and Cal. To watch, go to www.glencampbellmusic.com.

By JOHN L. SLOAN, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
I am continually amazed at how few deer hunters do any post-season scouting. I do not know of a single successful hunter who keys on mature bucks or has to struggle to find deer who does not count post-season scouting among his most valuable tools.

Back in the days when I was serious about deer hunting and hunted for bucks that would make record books, I started my post season scouting a week after the season ended. Some years I would be on the road, scouting in other states for two to three weeks. It is the number one time to find stand sites on new ground.

Why is this period so important? Well to start with, you are able find deer travel patterns that are in use when the deer are being hunted. They are not just leisurely meandering about. They are doing what they do during the time you hunt them. That is critical because that is what they are going to do next year unless one of four factors change.

I’m a movie guy, thanks to my father, who sat me down and got me to watch all these black-and-white classics and some color ones too. At a young age I was in love with films such as “Witness for the Prosecution,” “Mutiny on the Bounty,” “Casablanca,” “Ben-Hur,” and I still am.

While I grumbled at first having to watch a movie without color or a movie made so long ago, I dispensed with the misconception that old movies just weren’t cool and enjoyed every minute of them.

I loved when my dad would ask, “want to watch this movie?” Of course I took the opportunity to spend quality time with him, even if he fell asleep halfway through whatever we were watching. He could never sit through a whole movie, even if he loved it!

By  RAY POPE

Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to be able to fly like a bird. There was one time that found me on the roof of our house with an umbrella in one hand and my mother’s prayers in the other. Another time I built a set of wings on my old bicycle, without the knowledge of weight-to-lift ratio.

My uncle, Chuck, joined the U.S. Army and was a member of the 101st Airborne Division stationed at Fort Campbell Kentucky. I admired him for this and was more impressed when I found out that he was a paratrooper. Long after his service was over, he still had the love of jumping, so my uncle, Charles Wayne Gann,decided to take up skydiving. Back when I was in the hospital, Uncle Charles came by to see how his nephew was doing. We talked for a couple of hours when I made up my mind to try skydiving. Barring any unforeseen problems, we will make the trip to Tullahoma this spring and undertake another piece of my “bucket list.” I will desire your prayers on this undertaking.

Nashville’s Brandt Snedeker has become the PGA Tour’s Comeback Kid.

Earlier in his career the former Montgomery Bell Academy and Vanderbilt golfer would find ways to lose tournaments on Sunday.

Snedeker has managed to come roaring out of the pack on the final round to win three tournaments.

None will go down in history as more improbable than what Snedeker pulled off Sunday in the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in sunny Southern California.

It wasn’t so much what Snedeker did, as it was what 24-year-old former Clemson golfer Kyle Stanley didn’t do.

I have watched and covered a lot of golf tournaments through the years. None had a more bizarre finish than the chapter Stanley wrote.

Stanley came to the final hole with a three-stroke lead over Snedeker, whose birdie on the final hole left him alone in second place and in the media tent going over his tournament with Stanley still on the course.

You know what happened. Stanley shot a snowman, an 8 in golf parlance. Eight strokes on the par-five. In the water on his third shot. Back of the green on his fifth shot. Two putts to get his ball in the cup and claim his first PGA Tour win.

Stanley 3-jacked the green and Snedeker shockingly found himself paired against Stanley in a sudden death playoff.

Snedeker has a knack of pulling these Sunday stunners. He came from five shots back to win his first Tour event in 2007 with a 63 at the Wyndham.

Last year, he fired a final round 64 to make up six shots, knocking off the No. 1 golfer in the world, Luke Donald, at the Heritage.

Sunday he pushed the envelope to a 7-shot deficit, only to get unexpected help from Stanley and make Snedeker’s 67 put him in the playoff.

Snedeker has had his share of Sunday heartbreaks during his career. No one can forget the 2008 Masters. After an eagle on the second hole, Snedeker grabbed a share of the lead. Could this be a signature win, his first major? Eight bogeys later, we had the answer.

Snedeker’s emotions got away from him that day in the interview room afterwards. He choked back tears, could not get his words out. He covered his face with a towel, sobbing. It was heart-wrenching to see the pain in his face.

But even Snedeker had never lost a tournament the way Stanley did, triple-bogeying the final hole when he had led the tournament from the first day until the final hole.

“I haven’t quite done one like that yet,’’ Snedeker admitted, “but I’ve had a couple where I really had some devastating finishes. You never want to see anybody go through that. … not even your worst enemy on the planet.’’

It was only Snedeker’s second start of the season, having left the Tour last fall to have a second hip operation Nov. 1. He was born with a congenital condition that would eventually require surgery on both hips. Two months ago, Snedeker was still relying on crutches to navigate around Nashville.

Media looked at the finish and made the story Stanley’s collapse, which it was. But it was also about a 31-year-old Brandt Snedeker who found a way to win what would be a two-hole playoff.

I’m not sure there has ever been an ending where the champion conducted a media interview about his runner-up finish, then an hour later re-appeared in the media tent with a trophy.

“Round two,’’ Snedeker informed the media.

Someone in the media called his victory “tainted.’’

Snedeker bristled.

“If anybody wants to see the trophy, it will be at my house the rest of my life,’’ Snedeker smiled. “It’s not tainted at all. Winning out here is hard to do.’’

Kyle Stanley found that out the hard way.

Contact Sports Columnist Joe Biddle at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .