Vince's Journey

Most of you know, I'm a huge Ohio State Buckeye football fan; I have been since January 1, 1969 and will be till the day I take my last breath on this beautiful planet. I'm very proud of our current head coach, Jim Tressel; I love that he is honest, doesn't tell kids what they want to hear and I truly believe he is where he wants to be. Every year when top college coaching jobs open up I never worry about coach Tressel leaving because I know there is no place he'd rather be. No one epitomizes the phrase, "He's a class act" better than Coach Tressel.

Unfortunately you can't say this about many of the other big time coaches in college football. Pete Carroll, realizing that his team is about to go on probation, hit the road for the NFL. He did this after recruiting some of the top high school talent to USC while telling them he was going to be there for them. Carrolls' departure opened the door for Lane Kiffin who spent 14 months telling recruits that Tennessee was the school they should attend; that is of course, as long as Lane is residing in Knoxville, which won't be too much longer. Despite a record of 12-21 as a head coach, the powers that be at USC just handed Lane the reigns to one of the top football programs in all of college sports. Brian Kelly coached the UC Bearcats to a 12-0 record and they were a missed 45 yard field goal away from playing for the national championship but that didn't keep him from hitting the road for Notre Dame the first chance he got - never mind that he looked one of his star players in the eye and told him he's not going anywhere.

This is a shame. Some of these coaches are nothing more than used car salesmen - they'll tell anyone what they want to hear to get what's best for them. Pete Carroll stormed out of the press conference when Mark Sanchez said he was going pro - Pete said he was making a big mistake. In whose eyes? Sanchez was a top 5 pick, started from day one and has the Jets in the second round of the NFL playoffs while making millions of dollars. Everyone should make such lousy mistakes. Meanwhile, Pete had to start a true freshman at QB and the Trojans lost 4 games in the process. Looks like Pete needed Sanchez far more than Sanchez needed him.

I wish there was a way that these young, impressionable kids could see through the lies and misguidings of these coaches. Unfortunately, these kids want to hear how great they are and grown men who will go to any extreme to get there way are more than happy to tell these 17 year olds just that.

On to my top 100 countdown, here are #80 through #71....

#80. What'd I Say Parts I & II - Ray Charles. Ray was as influential as any artist in the rock era and What'd I Say was his groundbreaking performance - almost as if he was a minister and his back up singers were affirming his every line.

#79. All You Need Is Love - The Beatles. A simple song, a simple message. Why can't it be that simple?

#78. Love Train - The O'Jays. This song regained popularity over the past couple years hawking Coors Light Beer. I choose to remember it as a catchy tune from the 70's that invited people of all races and religion to join in and love, as opposed to hate, each other.

#77. Tiny Dancer - Elton John. One of Elton's early classics. Still remember one of my floor mates from college singing, "Hold me closer, I'm tired of dancing...." Beautiful song.

#76. Get Back - The Beatles. Great jam and there are several versions of this song out there. Recently it was brilliantly rearranged for the Las Vegas show, Love. A must listen for any Beatles fan.

#75. Walk this Way - Run-DMC and Aerosmith. I love both versions but recognizing this version allows me t orecognize both artists. This version also helped to make rap a main stream genre.

#74. Seven Nation Army - White Stripes. Nothing quite like 105,000+ Buckeye lunatics singing this song at the top of their collective lungs during a time out of an Ohio State football game. It sends chills down your spine - absolutely awesome.

#73. Papa Was A Rolling Stone - The Temptations. Simply put, a Motown anthem; as perfect a rythym and blues song as was ever recorded.

#72. Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard - Paul Simon. Helped launch Simon's solo career - catchy tune that coaxing you to sing along every time you hear it.

#71. All My Loving - The Beatles. When I was a kid, I used to sing, "Close your eyes and I'll kick you, tomorrow I'll hit you...". One of my earliest, favorite songs despite my butchering of the lyrics.

Enough for tonight - it's pretty late. I got a late start due to Xavier's basketball game which they won by 12 over Charlotte. Be sure to check in tomorrow for top songs #70 through #61 - there are a few big surprises in the next ten songs!