Today in 1974 - Key To the Sea Championship

August 3, 1974 - On this day, ten corps competed for the Key To the Sea Championship in Toledo, Ohio. Each link is either to the corps' website or their DCX page.

Here are the results:

1. Anaheim Kingsmen - 85.55
2. Madison Scouts - 84.70
3. Blue Devils - 81.05
4. De La Salle Oaklands - 79.55
5. Phantom Regiment - 76.50
6. The Cavaliers - 75.35
7. Black Knights - 74.35
8. Royal Crusaders - 72.50
9. Beverly Cardinals - 69.80
10. Regiment Militaire - 68.30

Notables

• Of the ten corps competing, only four are still in existence: Madison Scouts, Blue Devils, Phantom Regiment, and The Cavaliers.
• Of the four remaining corps, they are all still Drum Corps International (DCI) World Championship Finalists. The Cavaliers last missed making Finals in 1978. The Madison Scouts missed Finals several times, including 2007, 2009, and 2016.
• Every corps competing in this contest made the DCI Top 25 that season.
• The top six competitors made DCI Finals that year.
• The Madison Scouts went on to win DCI Prelims, but finished 2nd in Finals.
• This year would mark the Blue Devils' and Phantom Regiment's first appearance at DCI Finals.
• The Anaheim Kingsmen placed 2nd in Prelims and 3rd in Finals that year. They last competed in 1986.
• This De La Salle Oaklands placed 6th in Prelims and 7th in Finals. They were the first Canadian corps to make DCI Finals. 
• After the 1974 season, they merged with the Etobicoke Crusaders to become the Oakland Crusaders. The Oakland Crusaders made DCI Finals in 1975 (6th) and 1976 (8th). They missed making Finals in 1977 (15th) but had the top percussion score at DCI Prelims.
• The De La Salle Oaklands were the oldest corps there, forming in 1910. They (Oakland Crusaders) last competed in 1995.
• The Black Knights last competed in 1989. Their only DCI Finals appearance was in 1973 (10th).
• The Royal Crusaders last competed in 1980. They're listed in 1998, but there are no scores. Their only DCI Finals appearance was in 1975 (9th).
• The Beverly Cardinals competed for only two season in the DCI era, 1974 and 1975. They placed 23 and 29th respectively at the DCI World Championships.
• Regiment Militaire was the first merger of the Bleu Raeders and Stardusters. They went on to tie the Royal Crusaders for 17th place at DCI Prelims. After the season, the merger failed and the Bleu Raeders and Stardusters went on to compete as individual corps until 1981, when they merged for the second and last time, to form the Louisiana Southernaires. The Louisiana Southernaires went on to win the 1981 DCI Class A Championship, but would be inactive by 1983.

To see the results of this and more about each corps from the 1974 season, go to the Drum Corps Xperience website. To learn more about the drum and bugle corps activity, go to Drum Corps International for junior corps and Drum Corps Associates for all-age corps.

Brain Freeze

When I began the first draft of The Curse in May 2010, I had done only a little research on the craft of writing. All I wanted to do was to get the story out of my head. When I finished, the feeling was indescribable. When I came down from that high, reality kicked in. That first draft went from an awesome book ready to publish to leaving a lot to be desired. Well, it proved the axiom that all first drafts suck. Thankfully, I chose to work on the second draft and wait until the final product was ready.

Since then, I've done a ton of research as well as learn from other writers and editors. I used that information to edit the hell out of my backlist, including the last re-edit I finished this year. In fact, I spent so much time trying to learn all aspects of the writing and self-publishing process, along with re-editing my published and unpublished books that I realized it's been almost four years since I wrote a story from beginning to end. On a positive note, thanks to those efforts, I'm finally happy with my backlist. No more re-editing. It's time to get the three books on the Upcoming Books page published. On a side note, I'm halfway finished with the blurb to Justice.

Over the past couple of months, I've re-edited Justice and Second Chance, and my ideal reader has them now. While she beta reads them, for once, I have the time to write new stories. There are two I want to write, but there's a problem.

I have brain freeze.

It isn't an official writing condition. It's a term I came up with to describe what I've been going through lately. Now brain freeze isn't writer's block. I know the stories I want to write and have plenty to say with them. But the routines and disciplines I developed in the editing process are now interfering with the creative process. Instead of letting the story flow, I'm committing the indie author bad habit of editing while writing, among other things, such as word counts for each chapter. None of that should matter when writing a first draft. If I had a deadline, I'd be in real trouble.

But how do you overcome brain freeze?

This took some time, but I figured it out. For all you going through it, too, the way to beat brain freeze comes from within. As Yoda once said, "Unlearn what you have learned." For me, it means go back to the basics. In other words, turn off your inner editor and let your story flow no matter what. That's what later drafts are for. It doesn't mean you shouldn't use what you've learned. Save it for later. Your first draft is going to suck anyway. It's vital that you finish your story. Then you can edit.

For example, a few days ago, I started the first draft of a continuation of a story I thought had ended, the sequel to Second Chance. I went through brain freeze while writing the first chapter. It got to the point where I was ready to give up on the project. If I can't even finish Chapter 1, what good would the book be? Last night, I found my answer: To hell with Chapter 1. Move on to Chapter 2.

And the story flowed. Chapter 2 took over three hours to write, but it helped beat my brain freeze. My inner editor now says to juxtapose Chapters 1 and 2, and it's right. I can do that before moving on to Chapter 3. I'm only doing this bit of editing, because it gives me more to work with in order to finish the original Chapter 1. More story can now come out.

Are the two chapters high quality work? My inner editor is screaming, "No!" More description of the people and area are needed, and that's fine. They can go in the second or later drafts.

As with writer's block, brain freeze is a temporary condition. For those of you who are suffering from brain freeze, the solutions are similar. Just write. Write the first draft and don't worry about it being good. Don't worry about editing, word counts per chapter, proper grammar, or whatever else.

It's time to start writing and get that story out. 

You can find this and other writing blog entries here.

Some 2018 NFL Draft Trivia

It's been too long since my last sports post. There is a ton of stuff out there about the players and what kind of future they have, as well as a plethora of stats.

This post is a bit different. The trivia here involves the teams at their pick location as well as the university where the player selected came from. In Cleveland's case, they had the first pick in the draft before and other Oklahoma Sooners have been picked with the first selection. The players previously chosen will only have listed the year they were drafted. When featuring the university players chosen with a pick, the year and team who drafted them will be listed. Also, if a team trades a pick away, then it will be treated as if that team never had that pick. Hence, the team having the pick is the team who made the pick

This post will only cover the first round. Now let's have some fun.

1. Cleveland Browns - QB Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma  - This is the fourth time the Browns have had the first overall pick and the third where they picked a quarterback. Their previous three first overall picks were busts, QB Bobby Garrett (1954), QB Tim Couch (1999), and DE Courtney Brown (2000). Mayfield is the fourth Oklahoma Sooner to be picked first overall. The other three are Hall of Famer DE Lee Roy Selmon (1976 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers), RB Billy Sims (1980 - Detroit Lions), and QB Sam Bradford (2010 - St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams).
2. New York Giants - RB Saquon Barkley, Penn State  - This is the third time the Giants have had this pick, The first, HB Skippy Minisi (1948) played for only one season. They fared better with the second one, Hall of Famer LB Lawrence Taylor (1981). Barkley is the third Nittany Lion selected second overall. The other two were first round bust RB Blair Thomas (1990 - New York Jets) and LB LaVar Arrington (2000 - Washington Redskins).
3. New York Jets - QB Sam Darnold, USC - This is the fourth time the Jets had this pick. The first is DB and future LSU head coach Jerry Stovall (1963), but he chose the NFL and played nine season for the St. Louis Cardinals. The next two fared better, RB Matt Snell (1964), and RB Freeman McNeil (1981). Both were solid performers for the team. Darnold is the third Trojan picked third overall. The other two were AFC Central foes fared well in their careers, Hall of Famer T Anthony Munoz (1980 - Cincinnati Bengals) and LB Chip Banks (1982 - Cleveland Browns).
4. Cleveland Browns - RB Denzel Ward, Ohio State - This is only the second time they had this pick. The first is WR/P Gary Collins (1962), who played ten seasons with the team. Ward is the fourth Buckeye to be selected with this pick. The others are T Chris Ward (1978 - New York Jets), QB Art Schlichter (1982 - Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts), and current Dallas Cowboy RB Ezekiel Elliott (2016).
5. Denver Broncos - DE Bradley Chubb, North Carolina State - This the third time the Broncos have had this pick. They drafted DB Kermit Alexander (1963), but he chose the NFL to play for the San Francisco 49ers. However, they fared better the second time, drafting TE Riley Odoms in 1972. He played 11 seasons with the team. Chubb is the first Wolfpack alum to be picked with this selection.
6. Indianapolis Colts - G Quenton Nelson, Notre Dame - This is the second time the Colts have had this pick. The first time was from they were still in Baltimore, selecting LB Barry Krauss in 1979. He played ten seasons for the Colts and a season for the Miami Dolphins. Nelson is the seventh Golden Domer to be selected with this pick. The others were C Frank  Szymanski (1945 - Detroit Lions), G Jerry Groom (1951 - Chicago Cardinals), T Frank Varrichione (1955 - Pittsburgh Steelers), FB Nick Pietrosante (1959 - Detroit Lions), Hall of Fame WR Tim Brown (1988 - Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders), and current Baltimore Raven T Ronnie Stanley (2016).
7. Buffalo Bills - QB Josh Allen, Wyoming - This is the second time Buffalo had this pick. They selected TE Paul Seymour (1973), who played five seasons with the team. Allen is the first Wyoming alum to be selected with this pick.
8. Chicago Bears - LB Roquan Smith, Georgia - This is the sixth time the Bears have had this pick. Their other selections had average careers. They are E Les McDonald (1937), WR/TE Jim Dooley (1952), DT Wally Chambers (1973) T Dennis Lick (1976), and WR David Terrell (2001). Smith is the second Bulldog selected with this pick. The first was draft bust G Royce Smith (1972 - New Orleans Saints).
9. San Francisco 49ers - T Mike McGlinchey, Notre Dame - This is the sixth time the Niners have had this pick. The others had respectable or better NFL careers. They were Hall of Fame RB Hugh McIlhenny (1952), DT Charlie Krueger (1959), RB Bernie Casey (1961), DE Cedric Hardman (1970), and RB Wilbur Jackson (1974). McGlinchey is the fifth Notre Dame alum who was selected with this pick. Three of them were drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles: E John Yonakor (1946), QB Frank Tripucka (1949), and draft bust FB Neil Worden. The fourth was DT Mike Fanning (1975 - Los Angeles Rams).
10. Arizona Cardinals - QB Josh Rosen, UCLA - This is the sixth time the Cards have had this pick. They are T Bill Fischer (1949), LB Jerry Tubbs (1957), LB Eric Hill (1989), LB Jamir Miller (1994), and QB Matt Leinart (2006). Rosen is the fourth Bruin selected with this pick. The others, including the aforementioned Jamir Miller, are 49ers: DT Bill Sandifer (1974) and J.J. Stokes (1995).
11. Miami Dolphins - S Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alabama - This is the second time they had this pick. The other played defense as well, DE Bill Stanfill (1969). Fitzpatrick is the second Bama alum selected with this pick. The other is current Los Angeles Charger T D.J. Fluker (2013).
12. Tampa Bay - DT Vita Vea, Washington - This is the fourth time the Bucs have had this pick. The other three were selected in consecutive years. They are Hall of Fame DT Warren Sapp (1995), DE Regan Upshaw (1996), and RB Warrick Dunn (1997). Vea is second Huskie to be selected with this pick. The first is current Cleveland DT Danny Shelton (2015).
13. Washington Redskins - DT Da'Ron Payne, Alabama - This is the third time the Skins have had this pick. The others selected here were draft bust RB Ray McDonald and current Tennessee Titan LB Brian Orakpo. Payne is the first Bama alum to be selected with this pick.
14. New Orleans Saints - DE Marcus Davenport, Texas - San Antonio - This is the third time the Saints have had this pick. The previous two picks have had productive careers. They selected DE Renaldo Turnbull (1990) and current Saint and last year's Super Bowl Champion with the Eagles, DB Malcolm Jenkins (2009). Davenport is the first Roadrunner selected with this pick.
15. Oakland Raiders - T Kolton Miller, UCLA - This is the third time the Raiders have had this pick. They did okay with the first one, Marc Wilson (1980) but the second was a bust, T John Clay (1987). Miller is the first Bruin to be selected with this pick.
16. Buffalo Bills - LB Tremaine Edmunds, Virginia Tech - This is the fifth time the Bills have had this pick. Two of them played on the Super Bowl teams and one is a current player. The Super Bowl players are G Jim Ritcher (1980) and DB James Williams (1990). RB Ronnie Harmon played in a Super Bowl, but it was for the San Diego Chargers. The current player selected with this pick is now Oakland Raiders QB E.J. Manuel. Edmunds is the first Hokie selected with this pick.
17. Los Angeles Chargers - S Derwin James, Florida State - This is the first time the Chargers have had this pick. James is the second Seminole select the other is longtime Oakland Raider and now current Seattle Seahawk player K Sebastian Janikowski (2000).
18. Green Bay Packers - CB Jaire Alexander, Louisville - As long as the Packers have been around, this is only the second time they had this pick. The first was DE/LB Tony Bennett (1990). Alexander is the second Cardinal selected with this pick. The first is current Jacksonville Jaguar player S Calvin Pryor (2014 - New York Jets).
19. Dallas Cowboys - LB Leighton Vander Esch, Boise State - This is the first time the Cowboys have had this pick. However, this is the second time a Boise State alum has been selected with this pick. The first is current free agent DE Shea McClellan (2012 - Chicago Bears).
20. Detroit Lions - C Frank Ragnow, Arkansas - This is the sixth time the Lions have had this pick. The previous ones are draft bust TE David Lewis (1984), DT Luther Ellis (1995), DB Terry Fair (1998), draft bust T Stockar McDougle (2000), and TE Brandon Pettigrew (2009). Ragnow is the third Razorback to be selected with this pick. The other two are RB Gary Anderson (1983 - San Diego Chargers) and Denver Bronco great S Steve Atwater (1989).
21. Cincinnati Bengals - C Billy Price, Ohio State - This is the fifth time the Bengals have had this pick. Three of those picks are current NFL players and two are still on the roster. The first was WR Tim McGee (1986). TE Jermaine Gresham (2010) just finished his third season with the Arizona Cardinals. The current players are TE Tyler Eifert (2013) and T Cedric Ogbuehi (2015). Price is the third Buckeye selected with this pick. The other two, who had respectable careers, are RB Robert Smith (1993 - Minnesota Vikings) and DB Nate Clements (2001 - Buffalo Bills).
22. Tennessee Titans - LB Rashaan Evans, Alabama - This is the second time the Titans have had this pick. The first was when they were the Houston Oilers, picking RB Lorenzo White (1988), a good selection. Evans is the first Crimson Tide alum selected with this pick.
23. New England Patriots - T Isaiah Wynn, Georgia - This is the third time the Patriots have had this pick and they chose well. The first two are T Bruce Armstrong (1987) and DB Ty Law (1995). Wynn is the first Bulldog alum selected with this pick.
24. Carolina Panthers - WR D.J. Moore, Maryland - This is the first time Carolina has had this pick. Moore is the second Terrapin selected with this pick. The first was DB Chad Scott (1997 - Pittsburgh Steelers).
25.  Baltimore Ravens - TE Hayden Hurst, South Carolina - This is the first time the Ravens have had this pick. Hurst is the second Gamecock to be selected with this pick. The first was DB Rick Sanford (1979 - New England Patriots).
26. Atlanta Falcons - WR Calvin Ridley, Alabama - This is the second time the Falcons have had this pick. The first time, they selected DB Devin Bush (1995). Ridley is the first Bama alum selected with this pick.
27. Seattle Seahawks - RB Rashaad Penny, San Diego State - This is the first time the Seahawks have had this pick. Penny is also the first San Diego State alum to selected with this pick.
28. Pittsburgh Steelers - S Terrell Edmunds, Virginia Tech - This is the fourth time the Steelers have had this pick. Each previous pick was an offensive player and each was the pick of the Super Bowl Champion. They are the late TE Bennie Cunningham (1976), RB Greg Hawthorne (1979) and QB Mark Malone (1980). Like his brother twelve picks ago, Edmunds is the first Hokie to be selected with this pick.
29. Jacksonville Jaguars - DT Taven Bryan, Florida - This is the second time the Jags have had this pick. They swung and missed with draft bust WR R. Jay Soward (2000). Bryan is the second Gator to be selected with this pick. This first is current Los Angeles Ram DT Dominique Easley (2014 - New England).
30. Minnesota Vikings - CB Mike Hughes, Central Florida - This is the third time the Vikings have had this pick, but the first time with it being in the first round. The first two players were second round picks and both were cornerbacks. They are CB Willie Teal (1980) and Isaac Holt (1985). Hughes is the first Central Florida alum selected with this pick.
31. New England Patriots - RB Sony Michel, Georgia - This is the second time the Pats have had this pick. The first time, they drafted LB Chris Slade (1993). Michel is the first Bulldog to be selected with this pick.
32. Baltimore Ravens - QB Lamar Jackson, Louisville - This is the second time the Ravens have had this pick. They first selected current Raven S Matt Elam 2013). Jackson is the second Louisville alum and second Cardinal QB selected with this pick. The first is current Minnesota Viking QB Teddy Bridgewater (2014).

And that's it. As the cliche` goes, the draft is one big crapshoot. These teams may have selected great franchise players, solid players, or awful draft busts. The NFL Draft is a time of hope and let's hope this draft produces a group great players.

Have a great day!!!

What Genre Do You Write

I originally posted this entry on my website blog. Since it doesn't have an RSS feed and I want the post to show up on my Amazon blog feed, I'm posting it here. in fact, until Wix decides to let its blog pages have RSS feeds, most of the posts will show up here. I am working on an NFL Draft entry as well as another NFL entry. They should be posted come draft time. 

Here is one of the entries from my website blog: 

When talking to people and other authors, this is probably the most common question I've been asked. My most common answer is, I write whatever comes to mind.

And this is how this conversation goes...at least in my mind.

Really? Come on, dude. Every author has a genre.

True. As I write and publish, the genre I'm most comfortable will become more apparent.

Wait. You're a pantser, aren't you?

Yup. For those of you who don't know, a pantser is one who writes stories as fast as the ideas come. The term is taken from the phrase, flying by the seat of your pants. There is little to no planning when writing a story.

That also means you have to edit more than an author who is an planner. For those of you who don't know, a planner organizes his or her story out using outlines and notes before writing the first word. Most writers fall inside these two extremes.

It's true that I have to edit more and that part of the process is a pain at times, but the benefits outweigh the costs.

How?

When writing stories, I have a good idea how they will turn out. But the fun part is when things go sideways. It happened in Second Chance. I had the story ending a certain way, but things went sideways early in the process and continued to go sideways. The result was a story that turned out different and much better than what I planned.

So what genre is that story? After all, that's the subject of this post.

See? Things went sideways. The genre of Second Chance is paranormal time travel or some form of it. It's related to The Curse, or as my resident grammar police said, it's prequel-ish. Here's a scene teaser. The scene at the end of Chapter 6 of The Curse is the epilogue of Second Chance, but from different points of view. Once Second Chance is published, I would recommend reading The Curse first. Also, Popeye is a main character in both stories, but his story is explained only in The Curse.

So your other books are paranormal time travel, too, huh?

Uh, no. Some of the short stories in The Acts of 1 fit the bill, but not all. A Flash In Time is pure time travel and, believe it or not, it's the prequel to Rickshaw, New Mexico. I wrote The Hunted while angry, but there's a paranormal element. Rickshaw, New Mexico is time travel, but not paranormal, as is its sequel, Timewatch. Justice has ghosts or as some people think, figments of the main character's imagination. That story could be classified as a paranormal detective story or paranormal mystery. I wish Amazon, et al, had a better selection of categories and don't get me started on keywords.

Fess up, dude. Your genre is paranormal time travel and its variations.

Okay. I'll agree with the variations, so there you go. Therefore, until I publish more books, my genre is a variation and combination of paranormal and time travel.

You know, you could have said that the moment I asked the question.

Yeah, but remember. I'm a pantser and things had to go sideways.