My kid’s 9

By Joe McAdory

I can’t believe Joseph is actually 9 years old. It’s official ... his birth certificate says so. Born on Halloween’s gotta be a trip, though. He’s getting bigger, but I can still whip his tail in golf. That’s right ... who’s your daddy?!

Soft touchdowns preferred

By Joe McAdory

Not sure what life has in store for me this weekend, but I’m going to bet against another flood in the house. Joe’s magical mystery tour takes him to stops in Beauregard to cover the high school game with Booker T. Washington, Columbus, Ga., where I will ascend into the heavens and may never return, and after that ... well ... I have no idea. Hopefully this weekend will involve nothing else. I do get the sneaking suspicion I will spend a portion of my weekend right here staring out the window from the Opelika-Auburn News office.

Haven’t covered a game at Beauregard in a while. If the Hornets win, they may be playoff bound.

Saturday morning I’ve got to take a little airplane ride with my son at Columbus Regional Airport. He signed up for some flying program, so I’ll be the good dad and do my dad thing. I hope the plane doesn’t crash or anything because I’d like to watch college football later that day. I haven’t flown in a small airplane since I was a kid. Can’t say I’m looking forward to the experience. I hope Joseph doesn’t touch any of the controls. Let’s just say I’ll be happy when I’m back on the ground ... consciously walking is preferred. If those crazy Wright Brothers weren’t so smart, I wouldn’t have to be doing this.

Today’s mood music: Leavin on a Jet Plane

10 years ago today ...

By Joe McAdory

Coach Terry Bowden and Auburn officially parted ways 10 years ago today. The circumstances of his midseason departure were bizarre and are different depending on who you ask. From what we gather, the dude was told he would not be coaching the next season and pretty much quit right there on the spot. Didn’t his brother, Tommy, have a very similar situation at Clemson just last week?

Bowden’s record at Auburn remains amazing—47-16-1. That’s better than Pat Dye, Shug Jordan and Tommy Tuberville percentage-wise. But under Bowden, it was obvious the program was slipping. Behind-the-scenes friction between Bowden and some in power, or claimed to have power, regarding the way Auburn’s football program should be run and other differences ultimately led to the break up.

These days, Bowden works as a motivational speaker and writes a column for Yahoo! Sports. Here’s his Web site: http://www.terrybowden.com/Home.html

My attempt to interview Bowden last week for a story today was denied by his publicist. That’s their call.

The day Oct. 23, 1998, was a bizarre one indeed. One day before a football game with Louisiana Tech, Auburn didn’t have a head coach. Under defensive coordinator Bill Oliver, Auburn won the next day, 38-23, and finished the season a miserable 3-8. The day after Thanksgiving, Tuberville was named head coach.

It’s kind of ironic ... 10 years after Bowden and Auburn split on less than kind terms, Auburn faces Bowden’s alma mater, West Virginia. You know who he’ll be for.

Today’s mood music: Crazy Train by Ozzy Osborne

31 years ago today ...

By Joe McAdory

Several members of the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, including lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, were killed in a plane crash Oct. 20, 1977, in Mississippi.

Mood song for the day: That Smell

Waters receding

By Joe McAdory

Yep. That’s the living room. In the immortal words of Napolean Dynamite, “Yesssssssssss!“

Time for Bob the Builder. Cue the jingle:
Time to get busy
Such a lot to do
Building and fixing
‘Til it’s good as new
Bob and the gang
They can really be found
Working all day
‘Til the sun goes down

Bob the Builder
(Can we fix it?)
Bob the Builder
(Yes we can)
Bob the Builder
(Can we fix it?)
Bob the Builder
(Yes we can)

Sorry. I have completely lost it.

Today’s mood music: Theme from Sesame Street