In Memoriam: Merlin Olsen

Merlin Olsen - Fearsome Foursome
Originally uploaded by channel1suite

Woke up this morning and got word that Merlin Olsen, one of the members of the "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line for the Las Angeles Rams, passed away this morning after a battle with mesothelioma at his home in San Marino.

I was still a little kid when Olsen ended his career with the Rams in 1976 and a majority of my generation knew him best as either the FTD Florists spokesman or "Father Murphy," his character from the "Little House on The Prairie" spin-off. However, I did have the honor of meeting him once before the Rams were stolen away and dumped in St. Louis.

Olsen, Deacon Jones(Whose Starting Line-up figure sits on my bookcase), Rosie Grier and Lamar Lundy made up one of the most potent defensive lines in NFL History from 1963 to 1968. The only drawback to their fame was that defensive stats that are commonplace now weren't kept when they played, otherwise their play on the field would still be the standard for all defensive linemen.

When Olsen's career ended in 1976, the last of the Foursome to retire, he moved on to a career in acting where he became part of the cast of Little House on the Prairie and eventually got his own series, Father Murphy, where he played a Frontiersman posing as a priest to care for a group of orphans. At the same time, he handled color commentary on NBC's coverage of the AFC along side broadcast legend Dick Enberg.

In recent years, Olsen spent time doing charity work, hosting the annual Children's Miracle Network telethon and also helping to raise money to aid his former teammate Lundy during his battle with diabetes and Grave's disease, a fight that ended with his passing in 2007. But his impact on football was widespread and his fame lives on at his alma mater, Utah State, where the football field at Romney Stadium was named in his honor, along with a Bronze statue that will stand at the stadium entrance. His legacy also endures in the rivalry between two high schools in Las Vegas, Chaparral High and Eldorado High, whose perpetual Trophy for their annual rivalry game feature a bronzed cleat of Olsen's.

He was an icon for defensive linemen, and his legacy will endure in the Peristyle of the Los Angeles Coliseum where the Foursome are immortalized in bronze as part of the venue's Court of Honor, which paid honor to the 70th Anniversary of the Rams' first game in Los Angeles.

Photo of the Plaque that honors the Rams' 70th Anniversary that hangs in the Peristyle of the Los Angeles Coliseum. Photo Courtesy LA Coliseum Commission

VIDEO: Mountain View Soccer Championship Recap

Okay, today I went out to Warren High School over in Downey and caught the CIF Southern Section Division 6 Boys' Soccer Championship between the Mid-Valley's Mountain View Vikings and the First-Year school out of the High Desert, Oak Hills. My colleague, Juan Carlos Salas, was with me and we both took in an emotionally charged CIF Soccer final.

It was so not because of who was playing, a first-year school against the defending champion, but for who wasn't there. As everyone is familiar by now, back in December just before the New Year hit, former Mountain View Administrator, Bobby Salcedo, a very well-loved assistant coach on the football team and a big booster of the soccer team, was murdered along with five other men in the Mexican town of Gomez Palacios. It was another in a long line of horrific murders that have become synonymous with the Mexican drug wars. Salcedo's death was especially hard on the school and community, as he had been elected to the El Monte School Board just a few weeks before his tragic murder.

As has been the case, the Vikings wore black armbands in his memory and dedicated the game to his memory, going so far as to say a prayer for him before the match began and then shouting his name towards the sky as they broke their huddle. While the rains had come earlier in the day, delaying the start of the Notre Dame-South Torrance Girls' Soccer Final (Forgive me for not knowing what Division it was), but by the time the game kicked off a half-hour behind schedule the rain had moved on.

It went scoreless for the first half, although not for a lack of trying. Six times the Vikings took shots at the net, but Bulldogs goalkeeper Broderic Capps managed to stave off the scoring until seven minutes into the second half when he watched a ball hit by Jesus Mariscal riccocheted off of one of the Bullodgs trying to defend the goal. So with a 1-0 lead, the Vikings opened the flood gates and 10 minutes later, Pablo Tellez took a corner kick and re-directed it into the net.

But Oak Hills was not going to go down easily as Miguel Rivera cut the lead in half with a goal in the 69th minute, but it was all the Bulldogs would get as the Viking defense stiffened up, as the seconds counted down, the stands erupted in cheers at the Vikings ran the clock out.

So congratulations to the Vikings on a great season and for getting their second straight title, but I know this one was for "Coach Bobby," as the kids put it.

NCAA fines Renardo Sidney, rules him ineligible - latimes.com

Oh I love it when a cheater gets caught. I don't usually have a lot of props for u$c but in this case, I gotta give them some thumb's up. They smelled a rat and did the right thing, too bad they were about a year behind, otherwise their basketball team might be gearing up for the PAC-10 Tournament instead of ending their season today.

If you're not familiar with the story, about a year ago or so, Renardo Sidney, a transfer student who played basketball for two years at Fairfax High, originally was going to sign at USC. He threw this big press conference to announce his signing, but then all of a sudden, his Letter of Intent was withdrawn and he was off to Mississippi State.

Before long there were murmurs about how his family could afford to live in Fairfax's enrollment area, not to mention where the family's income was coming from. He had originally expressed interest in playing at UCLA, but the Bruins were already wary of the kid and Coach Ben Howland's recruiting staff steered clear of him as soon as they got wind of the questions about the family income.

Eventually he landed at Mississippi State, where he grew up, but even then, the family played fast and loose with the investigation. And now, they're on the hook for almost $12,000 for all of the benefits this kid got.

Dad has been railing against what he calls, "carpet bagger athletes," the ones who go from school to school to showcase their skills rather than get an education. He especially likes to refer to those private schools like Oaks Christian and Mater Dei as "factory schools," where they churn out students who showcase their athletic skills rather than prepare them for life after those careers are over.

It's nice to see one of these phonies finally go down for a change. And props to the reporter of the series, Lance Pugmire, a former colleague of mine, who's been on the case since the start.


NCAA fines Renardo Sidney, rules him ineligible - latimes.com