Sports and Classic TV

College Football

The Tennessee Volunteers will face Mississippi State in Knoxville,Tenn., on Saturday. OK,Vols,now it's time to kick some tail and start winning. After losing at Georgia last week,the Vols could do with some home cooking and defeating Mississippi State at home would help in a big way. Go Vols!!!!

Meanwhile,the North Carolina Tarheels go into Saturday with a 5-1 record this season. On Saturday,the Tarheels will face Virginia in Charlottesville,Va. Let's make it 6-1. Go Heels!!!!

NFL

The Carolina Panthers play the New Orleans Saints on Sunday,while the Tennessee Titans play the Kansas City Chiefs. Go Panthers and Titans!!!!

NASCAR

This week,the Chase for the Sprint Cup visits Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. Virginia native Denny Hamlin won here in the spring and hopes for a repeat. One of my other favorite drivers,Matt Kenseth,admits that Martinsville is his least favorite track but that notwithstanding,I hope he wins or at least has an excellent finish. I know this was where Kenseth was confronted by teammate Carl Edwards after last year's fall race at this track. Hopefully,there will not be a repeat of that incident. Perhaps Kevin Harvick put Carl Edwards in his place. Good luck to all the drivers this weekend!!!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY,I LOVE LUCY!!!!

On October 15,1951,television's best-remembered and most-loved sitcom and one of its most-loved shows,debuted on CBS. "I Love Lucy" was about Ricky Ricardo,a Latin American entertainer,played by Desi Arnaz,and his wife,Lucy,a showbiz wannabe, played by Lucille Ball. Their neighbors,landlords,and close friends were ex-Vaudevillians Fred and Ethel Mertz,played respectively by William Frawley and Vivian Vance. Everybody seems to have a favorite "Lucy" episode. Mine probably is when the Ricardos and Mertzes arrived in Hollywood for Ricky's movie debut. Ricky had to go to the studio while Lucy and the Mertzes dined at the Brown Derby Restaurant,then a well-known Hollywood landmark. There,they encountered actor William Holden,who found privacy hard to come by while a star-struck Lucy stared at him. Holden decided to turn the tables and give Lucy a taste of her own medicine. An embarrassed Lucy and the Mertzes left. As they were leaving,a waiter carrying a pie accidentally tripped over Lucy and hit Mr.Holden in the face with the pie. Later,at the studio,Ricky ran into William Holden. Ricky needed a lift to the hotel and Holden offered Ricky a ride. After returning to the hotel,Ricky informed Lucy that William Holden was sitting in their living room,much to Lucy's horror. After disguising herself so Holden would not recognize her from the Brown Derby, Lucy entered the room wearing glasses,her hair in curlers, and plaster on her nose. When accepting Holden's offer to light her cigarette, he accidentally caught Lucy's nose on fire. I never knew until recently that this was not in the script and that it happened purely by accident but Lucille Ball handled it like a pro and knew how to improvise by putting her nose out in a cup of coffee. Because the scene got so many laughs,it was left in the episode,which was a smart choice. The episode when Lucy and Ethel tried stealing John Wayne's footprints from Grauman's (now Mann's) Chinese Theatre was hilarious as well. Another favorite episode of mine,also from the Hollywood trip, is when Lucy gave the Mertzes the Ricardos' train tickets. When Lucy tries secretly recovering the train tickets from Fred's wallet while Fred is sleeping, Ethel walks in and suspects something between Fred and Lucy,until the Mertzes learn the truth. Though the overwhelming fan favorite seems to be when Lucy got drunk while sampling medicine (Vitavetavegamin). Another classic episode is the birth of son Ricky Ricardo Jr,which coinicided with the birth of Lucy and Desi's second child,Desi Arnaz Jr. This episode drew as much,if not more attention than the inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower the next day.

Lucy and Desi decided to end weekly production of "I Love Lucy" in 1957,despite the fact that the show never fell below second place in the ratings. In the fall of 1957,Lucy and Desi,along with co-stars William Frawley and Vivian Vance,decided to return in a series of occasional hour-long shows,titled "The Lucy/Desi Comedy Hour". These continued until 1960,when Lucy and Desi divorced after nearly 20 years of marriage. After their divorce,Lucy bought Desi's share of Desilu Studios,founded by the couple when they began production on "I Love Lucy". This made Lucille Ball the first woman to own a major Hollywood studio. Desilu went on to produce other TV classics such as "The Untouchables", "The Andy Griffith Show","The Dick Van Dyke Show","Mission: Impossible",and "Star Trek". Ms. Ball sold Desilu to Paramount in 1967. By that time,she had married comedian Gary Morton,while Mr.Arnaz had married Edie Hirsch. Lucy herself had more long-running hits with "The Lucy Show" from 1962 to 1968,in which Ms.Ball co-starred with Vivian Vance,until Ms.Vance left in 1965, and "Here's Lucy", with Ms.Ball's real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr,from 1968 to 1974. She made a short-lived comeback in 1986 in "Life With Lucy". Desi Arnaz Sr died in 1986 at age 69. Lucille Ball passed away in 1989. She was 77. They are gone,but their wonderful shows live on and keep delighting us every day. No doubt,their shows will entertain future generations. Thanks for the laughs and a lot of wonderful memories,Lucy,Desi,Bill,Vivian,and the rest.