June 4, 1974
SEATTLE GRANTED NFL FRANCHISE
Commissioner Pete Rozelle announces that the city of #Seattle would join the NFL in 1976 (along with a Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida franchise) and would play in a King County-owned domed stadium being built on the south edge of Pioneer Square (the Kingdome).
On June 17, 1975, the name "#Seahawks" was selected for the Seattle NFL franchise — the result of a fan vote with over 20,000 submissions.
The other four finalists under consideration for the team's name?
Mariners, Evergreens, Olympics, and Sockeyes
Stanford Stadium (1921-2005) was a weird ballpark
Stanford emulated the Yale Bowl, as did its rival California, but left a corner open to accommodate the running track
The ballpark's high-water mark was Super Bowl XIX in 1985 when the hometown 49ers smoked the Dolphins, 38-16
NBA Jam had hidden code that made the Chicago Bulls miss last-second shots against the Detroit Pistons.
The creator was a Pistons fan.
So if the Bulls tried to win at the buzzer against Detroit, the game quietly sabotaged them.
Petty coding at an elite level.
This deleted Rocky IV (1985) funeral scene for Apollo Creed is considered by many fans to be far more emotional than the theatrical version. Sylvester Stallone cut it from the final film because he wanted a faster, more high energy pace instead of slower character moments.
Mike Tirico told me his secret.
It wasn't talent.
It wasn't luck.
It was what he does on every flight home.
A few years ago, I met him at a restaurant bar in Indianapolis during the Big Ten tournament. One of the biggest voices in sports.
He didn't lead with his résumé. He introduced himself. He asked questions. He cared about every person in the room before anyone cared about him.
Eventually, I asked him what made him great.
He said after every game he calls, on the flight home, he pulls up the broadcast and watches it back.
Listens to his own voice. Hunts for the misses. The dead air. The calls he wishes he could have over.
Every game. Twenty-plus years in.
He wasn't born world-class. He worked his way there one flight at a time.
The best in any room are usually the ones still grading themselves the hardest.
World-class isn't a personality.
It's a habit.
#Mariners Ken Griffey Jr. robbed Albert Belle of this home run 30 years ago today, on May 5, 1996.
Junior finished that season with 49 home runs, Belle with 48.
Negotiated with an undrafted FA one year, no agent.
I said: "Ok, we'll do minimum contract, $1,000 signing bonus."
Long pause.
Then he said: "Mr. Brandt, I only have $200, but I promise I'll get you the other $800 next week."
"No, no" I said. "We pay you!"
Bless his heart.
Luke Falk shared a Mike Leach story that stopped me cold:
Two kids. One rich. One poor.
Every training camp, Coach Leach told his team about these 2 kids.
The rich kid has two choices.
Get soft. Get entitled. Expect everything handed to him because he was handed more.
Or take the resources, the coaching, the opportunities, and compound them into something greater.
The poor kid has two choices too.
Say nobody gave him anything. Blame the world. Make his circumstances the reason he never became what he could have been.
Or outwork everyone in the room.
Luke said the locker room had both. Kids from wealth. Kids from nothing. Kids with every advantage. Kids who scraped for every inch.
Same choice for all of them.
Ownership or victimhood.
Fuel or excuse.
The rich kid can waste the head start or build on it.
The poor kid can drown in the deficit or weaponize it.
Greatness doesn't come from where you start.
It comes from which kid you choose to feed.
Credit to @coachlukefalk for continuing to share golden nuggets about Coach’s legacy
Billy Bob Thornton didn’t hold back on Joe Rogan:
“Who the hell wants to listen to an actor or musician talk about politics?
Just accept your little award and f... off.”
He quietly donates to children’s charities but refuses to virtue-signal on stage. He calls himself a “radical moderate” — strong opinions, no tribe.
Joe agreed: we need a common-sense party that focuses on “what actually works” instead of “us versus them” tribal warfare.
After elections, stop screaming “we’re winning!” or trashing the other side. Hope the winner does a good job for everyone.
It’s rare, refreshing honesty in a world drowning in performative politics.
When was the last time a celebrity (or anyone) talked politics and you actually thought “yeah, that makes sense”?
It took me 3 years to realize that the only cure to depression is just leaving the house at every single possible opportunity no matter how badly you don’t want to.