Notes from the Hall Closet

Well, the Hall Closet has been closed for quite some time, buit we're opening it up again today. I've been so busy since I got back from my vacation to North Carolina, I've had no time to update my blog. But I have finally gotten everything caught up.

It was a great weekend. The weather was nealyt perfect after some early morning storms on Saturday. The heat wave finally broke and temperatures were much more tolerable. I was able to get out and do some yard work....mowing the lawn, trimming the hedge, trimming some trees and even doing some weed eradication. I spent several hours working outside and ended up with my first sunburn of the year!

I really enjoyed Sunday where Jeff Gordon won the Nascar race in Pococno. It was Gordon's 84th victory tieing him with Darryl Waltrip and Bobby Allison for 3rd all time. That is pretty incredible when you stop to think about it. I fGordon decides to stick around a few more years, he could approach the 100 win mark....a feat accomplished only by legends Rchard Petty and David Pearson. The win pretty much wrapped up Gordon's spot in the Chase to the Championship, Nascar's playoffs later this year.

The highlight of the weekend was the Dallas Mavericks taking their first NBA title last night. By defeating the Miami Heat 105-95 and winning the series 4 games to 2. After all the hype about the Heat all year, I would have rooted for anyone else they played but it was particularly nice to see Dirk Nowitski and Jason Kidd get their first titles after their stellar play for years with no championships. I relish the fact that LeBron James fell short after abdoning Cleveland and "taking his talents to Miami" in search of help to get his first title. Here';s hoping his search continues for years to come.

Our next Crosley Radio Players show is this Thursday at the Tuscany Restaurant at Fruitride and Wabash. the show starts about 6:45pm. Well be doing an episode of The Green Hornet, a Fibber McGee and Molly, plus the Chesterfield Supper Club where we will do several songs from the 40's and 50's with me playing Perry Como. It should be a lot of fun. You get the show and a great dinner beforehand for just $15. They are taking reservations now at Tuscany. Hope to see you there.

Wellk have you done your income taxes yet? Today is the day you need to either send in your tax return or file for an extension. You got until midnight tonight. We did geta bit of a reprieve this year. Normally taxes are due April 15th but this year Emancipation Day fell on the 15th, so the tax deadline was pushed back to today. No pressure for me. I had my taxes filed inj late January and my refund has been collecting interest since mid-February.

You can tell it's spring as severe weather has reared it's ugly head. Six southern states were hit by tornadoes yesterday with half a dozen people killed in North Carolina. I read that a Lowe's Home Improvement Store in North Carolina had the roof peeled off from it in the midst of a busy shopping day. My oldest son lives in North Carolina and had a tornado touch do just about three miles from his house. It's a scary situation, one of which we may experience here later this week. We have showers and thunderstorms in the forecast for the next few days with strong storms at times. Keep an ear to your radio and your eyes to the sky.

The weather was beautiful yesterday and I took advantage of it to do some yard work. For the first time this year, I trimmed the hedges and mowed the lawn. The grass is coming up in clumps right now but is growing rapdly. With the rains we expect this week and temperatures in the 70's the full lawn will be blossoming in no time. It won't be long before I'll have to mow twice a week. I can hardly wait!

The Indiana Pacers are back inn action in the NBA playoffs tonight. It's game #2 of their series with the Chicago Bulls. The Pacers had a great chance to beat the top-seeded Bulls in game #1 of the series but choked down the stretch. Indiana had a 10 point lead with less than 4 minutes to go but couldn't hold on. Let's hope they have better luck tonight.

I spent a good portion of the day yesterday watching the Nascar race in Talladega. It wasa pretty good race and certainly competitive. There were 88 lead changes with nearly everyone leading at one time or another. It seemed that any of the two-car packs could win the race. It came to to one of the closest finishes in Nascar history withn Jimmy Johnson edging Clint Bowyer at the checkered flag by just .002 of a  second. I was on the edge of my seat, then standing and yelling at the end of the race trying to root on Jeff Gordon who finished third only an eyelash behind. It's been a while since I got that worked up over a Nascar race.

Finally, the Crosley Radio Players are preparing for another show at Tuscany. It will be Thursday May 12. We will do an episode of "Dragnet" a "Duffy's Tavern" and a "Command Performance" where we will do several songs. At our last show, Tescany had 250 reservations called in, so you may want ot get yours early for the best seats. We would love to see you there!

Well, can the Butler Bulldogs do it? The survived another tight contest with VCU Saturday night and now will play for the NCAA men's basketball championship for the second straight year tonight in Houston. The Bulldogs will face the Connecticut Huskies for the title. UConn looked to be dead in the water about mid-season, just like Butler, but turned it on during the Big East tournament and have been red hot ever since. If Butler can shut down UConn guard Kemba Walker they will have a good shot at winning. They will have their hands full though. Walker has probably been the best player in this year's tournament. It promises to be a great game which will leave us sitting on the edge of our seats. Or since the game doesn't start until almost 9:30 tonight leaving my lying on the edge of the couch!

On the women's side another team from the Hoosier state will be playing for an NCAA title. The Notre Dame women's basketball team beat the mighty UConn ladies last night for a spot in the championship game. It'll be Notre Dame aginst Texas A & M tomorrow night in Indianapolis. Good luck to the Fighting Irish.

I think I am ready for the spring growing season...at least the mowing season. I took advantage of the great weather this weekend to pull the lawn mower out of the shed and get it ready for spring. I changed the oil and got ready to fire it up, when I noticed I didn't have any gas in the gas can. Just what I needed, another reason to have to buy gas. So, I spent another $35 to fill up the car and the mower's gas can. After filling up the mower, just one pull and the motor fired up. That was a pleasant surprise! I ran it for a couple of minutes but since nothing has grown enough to need mowing, I put it back into the shed for now. With all the rain and warmer weather we expect this week, it won't be long before that machine will be working overtime.

I noticed that the blossoms on the plum tree in my back yard have bloomed. They are a beautiful lilac color right now. I'm afraid that the heavy rains we are supposed to get will knock those blooms to the ground. Every spring, that tree looks great...for about a week!

This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. The NCAA men's and women's basketball championships are decided, major league baseball kicks into high gear and the Master's gold tourney take place in Augusta, Georgia. I have been a huge golf fan since the 60's. Jack Nicklaus was always my favorite and the Master's was always his best tournament. These days, I prefer Phil Mickelson over Tiger Woods....asa matter of fact I prefer almost anyone over Tiger Woods. I have never been a Tiger fan. Maybe he got too much hype to early. There's no denying his talent but something about him has always turned me off. I would like nothing more than to see him fall short of eclipsing Nicklaus' record of 18 major championships. 

There's a series on Reelz that I am looking for to seeing. It the series about the Kennedy's. The series was originally going to air on the History Channel, but due to some controversy it was dropped there and picked up by Reelz. America is still fascinated by the Kennedy family and I am no different. In case you might be interested, Reelz in on channel 194 on Time Warner Cable.

Well, we have officially made it through the winter season! It seemed to take forever. I think winter set in back in October. All in all though, I made it through pretty well. My heating bill was actually less than the year before, no gas bill higher than about $100. Of course, I live alone and keep it pretty chilly in the house. My thermostat stayed at 63 degrees most of the winter. I anybody visited, I may have turned it up to 68, but that rarely happened. Nobody ever stops by. I feel like a hermit! But it's great to have warmer weather moving in. I can see the grass greening up, plants starting to blossom, leaves beginning to sprout. You know what that means...yard work! Now why was I looking forward to spring?

The start of April also marks the beginning of the Major League Baseball season. My Detroit Tigers got off to a bad start yesterday losing the opener in New York to the Yankees. Well, there's always next year... Cubs fans know that well. The Cubbies start their season today while the Reds and Cardinals started yesterday. Cincinnati got an exciting come from behind win while the Cardinals lost their home opener. Baseball was my first love, sportswise. I don't follow it as closely as I used to, but still look forward to the start of the season and the World Series.

This weekend brings the conclusion of the college basketabll season as well. Can the Butler Bulldogs pull out two mosre wins and bring the national championship back to the Hoosier state? The tournament has been lots of fun to follow this year with all the upsets and surprise teams, especially the boys from Butler. They were one shot from the title last year, maybe this is the year they take it all. As long as neither UCon or Kentucky are crowned the champs, I'll be thrilled!

Hey, if you're looking for some fun this Thurday April 7th, join our group the Crosley Radio players at Tuscany. We bring old radio plays to life. This Thursday we'll be doing a comedy, "Fibber McGee & Molly", a suspense drama "Inner Sanctum" and also "Your Hit Parade" where we will perform three songs from the period. For $15 you get dinner and the show. I hear that many reservations have already been made, so you may want to reserve a place for yourself by calling Tuscany located at Fruitridge and Wabash. Dinner at 6, the show at 7pm. We hope to see you there......... 

How about those Butler Bulldogs! They continue to amaze. Butler pulled out two more tight games over the weekend to advance to the Final Four for the second straight year. There was a time this year when it looked like they might not even make the tourney but now they have won 1e in a row and are probably favored to make the championship game. Butler plays the other Cinderella in this year's NCAA, VCU Saturday. The other half of the bracket has Kentucky playing Connecticut. I have never been a fan of either of those teams so I definitely will be rooting for the underdog. Las Vegas odds makers have Kentucky 8-5, Uconn 11-5, Butler 4-1 and VCU 7-1.

As expected gas prices took a drastic climb just before my trip north over the weekend. Friday morning I saw prices at $3.46/gallon but by the time I filled up after work,  prices had climbed to $3.69! My timing has always been perfect! I didn't see much change in price as I headed north. I did see $3.49/gallon in Indy but everywhere else the prices was about $3.69. The price fell a little by Sunday for the trip back, down to $3.52 in one spot. Just as I guessed I spent about $75 on gas over the weekend. My weekend trips will become fewer and fewer if the prices continues to rise. I have to drive to my mother's home and then on to North Carolina in May for a family wedding. I can hardly wait to doll out more hard earned money for that journey!

We are just a couple of days away from the start of the major league baseball season. My Detroit Tigers open the season Thursday against the New York Yankees. The Tigers have been decent the last few years but not a contender. Just like you Cubs fans, I'm hoping this is the year they finally get over the hump. Pitching will be their question mark...and if they can keep Miquel Cabrera sober......

Speaking of just a couple of days away, we are into the last few days of March. Friday is the first day of April. We'll have to endure a few chilly day this week but when April arrives you know the warner weather can't be far away. I'll have to get the lawn mower out this weekend and get it ready for the mowing season. I can't wait to hear the roar of the engine........

I really enjoyed the spring like weather that had graced the area over the past several days. I got back into the habit of taking a nice energizing walk at lunch time. For the longest time, I walked everywhere...to and from work....during my lunch hour...pretty much anytime I had the opportunity. Due to a combination of circumstances I had gotten out of the habit. Work was further away, I was working a lot more hours and I hurt my knee pretty badly. But I made a decision to force myslef to do it on a more regular basis and this week was the perfect time to start it again. Now with the colder weather moving it, I hope I have the mental fortitude to keep it up. Wish me luck!

The NCAA basketball tournament continues tonight with 4 games. San Diego Sate plays Connecticut, Duke takes on Arizona, it's Florida versus BYU and the Butler Bulldogs go head to head with the Wisconsin Badgers. Sounds like quite a battle doesn't it? Bulldogs against Badgers???? I'll take the squad from Butler. Let's see if they can make it back to the championship game.

Speaking of Butler, their head coach, Brad Stevens is coming to Terre Haute to speak at a findraiser for Wabash Valley Youth for Christ. The event is May 3rd at the Ohio Building. Tickets are $25 and you can get them by calling 812/232-3781. Stevens is one of the most highly regarded young coaches in the country and I'm guessing he'll be offered many positions at high visibility school in the near future. Let's hope he stays at the Bulldog's helm for a long time to come,

Can you belive spring football is here? ISU head coach Trent Miles and his staff are working out the Sycamore football team at Memorial Stadium in preparation for the 2011 seaon. Coach Miles deserves high praise for the job he has done in turning the Indiana State football program around. I was beginning to think ISU football should be discontinued. It was a disgrace for along time. But those years are a thing of the past and the future is now looking bright thanks to the effort of the coach his staff and the players. I look forward to another stellar year.

I am getting ready to head north for the weekend and that means a big chunk of change from my wallet. My mother lives in Northern Indiana about 40 miles north of Fort Wayne. It takes a little more than half a tank of gas to get there and another half tank to get back. That mean I'll burn about $50 worth of petrol in two days. That's more than I use in two weeks normally. And that's if gas prices don't go up in the nexxt couple of days. Prices have actually fallen a bit since the last time I filled up, but crude oil prices are starting to creep up again and you know that prices generally go up when we get close to the weekend, so I am expecting the worst. It should be interesting to compare gas prices up north to what they are here. I'll let you know what I discover next week......

Well it was nice while it lasted. Sadly the basketball season came to a premature halt for the ISU Sycamores Friday night. Indiana State put up a pretty good fight and stayed close until early in the second half, getting within four points before Syracuse starting pulling away. The Orange just had to much size for the Sycamore. Still the Trees and Coach Greg Lansing should be congratualted for a great season, reviving the basketball program. Things are promosing for the future with most of the team expected to return next year including guard Jake Odum.

Along with the Sycamore, Purdue and Notre Dame also exited the NCAA tourney this weekend, both teams being blown out. The only remaining Indiana team is Butler, who survived two buzzer beaters to advance to the Sweet 16 again. The Bulldogs are looking to recapture the magic they found last year in making to the championship game. The tournament has been filled with surprises with Richmond, VCU, Florida State and Marquette all still alive. The tourney continues with games Thursday and Friday.

I had a big shock to my wallet this weekend as I filled the gas tank. I put it off as long as possible, but Saturday I bit the bullet and gasses up. It took $47 to to the deed. True to form the next day, I saw gas prices about 7 cent cheaper. It never fails. For the first time in a good while I noticed a discrepancy in gas price around town. On the east end of town prices were abot $3.64/gal and a few blocks south and west the were at $3.43/gal. Guess which one I chose!

Welcome to spring. The official arrival was yesterday with today being the first full day of spring. We will be treated to unseasonally warm weather for the next few days with temperatures in the 70's witha chances of showers and storms through Wednesday. Well get a shot of reality Thursday with highs only in the mid 40's. We've only got about 10 days left in the month, so expect some harsh weather before April gets here. As I recall March started off pretty nice and you remember the old saying...March...in like a lmab, out like a lion...be prepared.

Finally, congratulations to the Rockville Rox boys basketball team. They came so close to winning the semi-state this weekend in Lafayette, losing to Triton in overtime. The boys from Parke County did themselves proud and by anyone's standards are winners. Great job to all!  

A couple of long overlooked artists were finally added to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame earlier this week. Alice Cooper has long been the master of the stage show and pretty much introduced showmanship into Rock & Roll singlehandedly. I hadn't even realized that he hadn't been inducted previously. It's an honor he thoroughly deserves. Another inductee that I had assumed that was already in, Neil Diamond was added as well. Talk about a great showman. Diamond's concert have been sell-out's for years and continue to be. I have loved Neil Diamond's music since the 60's and I still do a lot of his songs when I karaoke.....

If you go to the Indianapolis Star website you'll notice they have a countdown clock counting down to the date of the Super Bowl in Indianapolis next February. The question is ...Will there be a Super Bowl in 2012? The current labor dispute certainly puts it in question. There has been little progress in talks and now the players union has decertified, a step in the wrong direction. Everybody involved is making money hand over foot, so you would think they would not allow the season to go down the drain. It's happened in most of the other sports....let's hope the football powers are smart enough to avoid that situation.

In reading the paper this morning, I ran across an article discussing upsets in the NCAA basketball tournament. There have been several times when the #14 seed has knocked off the #3 seed. Let's hope the next time it happens is Friday night when the ISU Sycamores take on the Orange of Syracuse. It going to take a major effort from ISU but I think it might happen. In case you're wondering, you can find the game on TRU-TV... that's channel 47 if you subscribe to Time Warner Cable....Go Sycamores!

Anybody headed to the golf course yet? The weather today and tomorrow should be ideal for a round or two. Plenty of sunshine with temperatures in the 60's today and close to 70 tomorrow. I feel spring fever creeping in....Maybe I'll have to stay home and recover tomorrow....maybe take in the first day of the basketball tournament...sounds like a plan to me........ 

What a great weekend weatherwise! I got to spend quite a bit of time outside working on cleaning up the yard from the stormy winter weather. I had already picked up the larger limbs that had fallen during the big ice storm, but this weekend I got the rake out and started on the smaller stuff. I realized how much I hate raking. There were so many tiny bits of limbs and bark and leaves and trash that I didn't think I would ever get it done. And actually I didn't. I finished the worst part but this will be an ongoing project for weeks to come. It sure lloks better than it did. Later this week would be a good time to continue the work as we're expecting sunshine and much warmer temperatures. We could nudge 70 by Thursday. Boy, that sounds good!

Did you get all the clocks changes yesterday? Of course yesterday we went through the semi-yearly time change. I changed both tv's, the alarm clock, two vcr's, the dvd player, the microwave, oven, wall clock, wristwatches and the car radio. Whew! I am still running into thimgs here at the station that still need to be adjusted. Then we have to undo it all again in November! I liked it better when Indiana stayed on the same time all year. I wonder if there's any chance to revert to the old system? Probably not...it would be all too convenient for everyone!

The ISU Sycamores now now who, where and when they will play in the NCAA tournament. The Sycamores will take on Syracuse in Cleveland Friday night in the second round of the Big Dance. The game should start around 10pm on TruTV. Indiana State is the 14 seed in the East Regional. The Missouri Valley Conference was show no respect by the NCAA selection committe. ISU was the only MoVal team chosen. Missouri State and Wichita State were both snubbed. Perhaps an Indiana State upset of the Orange in the game Friday will open a few eyes. It's a longshot but possible. The Sycamores area gritty bunch, play tough defense and can hit the three point basket. I think they will give Syracuse a run for their money. I sa ay least one analyst pick the upset. I'll be rootingcloudly for the Trees!

Congratualtions to thr Rockville Rox, champions of the 1A Frankfort regional over the weekend. Terre Haute North and Sullivan came up just short in their contests. Rockville moves on to this weekend's Semi-State at Triton. Good luck to Rockville.

Are you tired of all the Charlie Sheen drama yet? I have had my fill. The guy has been fired, the show will continue on, so let it end. I wish! Charlie Sheen continues to rant on, oblivious that he is making a total fool of himself. He caused all the problems and is now putting the blame on everyone else! Man up, Charlie! Clean up and get back to the business of entertaining us with something other than the trainwreck that your life has become.

I am trying to decide whether to buy gas today or wait it out. I'm at half a tank right now and prices don't show any indication they are going to get any lower. But crude oil prices have evened out and even fallen a bit. Which way will it go? I will depend on if I decide to purchase a tank full. If I buy today, tomorrow the price will fall. If i wait, it will shoot up again. I feel like Charlie Brown about to kick the football!

Can you believe it's time to spring forward again? This Sunday marks the annual ritual of setting the clock ahead by one hour to prepare for springand summer. Remember sspring forward, fall back. It seems I just get used to the change and it's time to change again. I liked it better when we Hoosiers just left our clocks the same all year long. Ah, the good old days!

I have a new pet peeve. Why do people feel compelled to walk in the middle of the road when a perfectly fine sidewalk is available? I was driving home the otherv day. just after sunset so it was getting dark. I came over a hill just past the raliroads tracks on College Street and there was someone walking in the middle of the road dressed in dark clothing. I could barely see them and had to swerve quickly to avoid running over them. Fortunately, for them, I was only going about 15mph. It seems I see it more and more. People walking two are three abreast in the street and they act like you are intruding if they have to move. I have done more than my fair share of walking and I know there are times when you have to use the street. But if you do, try walking facing the traffic and get back to the sidewalk as soon as possible. It's safer for all concerned.

One more IU game and I can put this awful season behind me. The Hoosiers play Penn State tomorrow in the Big Ten Tournament. Indiana has played well at times this year but there have been segments of nearly every game when they forget how to play. Those short segments have been killers. IU has lost eight straight and I expect the ninth tomorrow. They may surprise me and pull off the upset, they are capable....but I am prepared to turn my attention to th ISU Sycamores in the NCAA tournament.

There are a couple of great show coming to the area. Bob Seger brings the Silver Bullet Band to Conseco Field House May 7th. Tickets go on sale Saturday March 19. Jimmy Buufet is coming back to the Verizon Wireless Music Center August 25. Tickets for that show go on sale this Saturday at 10am. And one I would really like to see is The Monkees at the Murat Theater at Old National Center in Indianapolis Sunday June 28th. Mike Nesmith will not be a part of the show but it would be great to see the other three. I was a huge Monkees fan as a youngster and still am.......

How about those ISU Sycamores! The ISU men captured the Missouri Valley Conference Basketball tournament bid yesterday by topping Missouri State in the championship game 60-56. It was a tremendous performance during the three day run in St. Louis for the Sycamores. They barely escaped Friday night against Evansville, topped Wichita State in a hard fought game Saturday and I'm still trying to fugure out just how they pulled off yesyerday's win. Tough defense and sharp shooting helped ISU overcome a huge rebounding disadvantage. It will be interesting to see how high ISU is seeded and just who, when and where they play in the big dance. We'll find out all that Sunday. Way to go Big Blue....back in the NCAA tourney for the first time since 2001.....

On the other end of the spectrum is Indiana University. The IU squad displayed little talent, ability or heart in a one sided affair Saturday against Illinos. Indiana suffered it's worst loss of the season in extending it's losing streak to 8 straight. The season will most likely come to a merciful end Thursday when Indiana plays Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten post season tournament. It has been a long, tough, disappointing season for IU fans. The fans deserve kudos for continuing to strongly support the team in spite of a lack of success. I was expecting about a .500 season this year but that apparently was an unreasonably high expectation. Next year should be better with the recruits that are waiting in the wings. It had better be...I can't take another year like this one!

I received a bit of news over the weekend. My youngest son is going to be a father,,,,and by association, me a grnadfather. It's a bit unexpected but certainly good news. It looks like the new arrival will be here just in time for Christmas.....

What a great weekend for the ISU basketball teams! The Lady Sycamores won two games...versus Southern Illinois and Evansville while the ISU topped Soiuthern Illinois Saturday afternoon. I got to attend the ISU men's game in person, my first of the year and I was very impressed. The Sycamores locked up a third place conference finish with the victory and are now looking ahead to the Mo-Val tournament where they have a first round bye. Indiana State should be a tough out and probably have as good a chance to win the tourney as anyone. It would be great to have ISU back in the big dance! The Lady Sycamores wrap up their season with two games on the road this week. A pair of victories would set them up for a good place for the post season tourney and give them a nice shot of momentum. Good luck to both teams and thansk for a great regular season.

Things were not so great this weekend for my Indiana Hoosiers, There were man-handled by Ohio State Sunday. It was men versus boys...no contest. The Hoosiers are yet to win a road game this season and have dropped 6 straight. It doesn't look like they have much of a shot to win again this season. Three more games and the season should come to a merciful end. As they say, there's always next year!

I was happy to see Jeff Gordon win this weekend's NASCAR race in Phoenix. Gordon had not won in the past 66 races. As A fan, I was beginning to wonder if he was ever going to take the checkered flag again. But he was dominant on Sunday and was pulling away at the finish line. I was just waiting for something to go wrong as it has so many time before. But this was Gordon's day and maybe this will set a string of victories. I'll be watching!

Were you able to sleep last night? The storms kept me up most of the night. Boy there were some real thunder boomers! Thunderstorms in February...must be Indiana! Well it's the last day of February...spring is less than three weeks away and if it means warmer weather, I'll take a storm of two.....

My wallet is smarting today. I had to break down fill the tank with gas yesterday. I found a price of $3.19 at Kroger plus I had a 10 cent a gallon discount, but still it took over $36 to do the job. You may want to check today because anytime I fill up, the price inevitably goes down the next day. I hope you can benefit from my suffering! Good Luck!