Garo Yepremian

Everywhere I’ve been the last two days they’re playing B.B. King’s music. I’m mourning his death too, but there’s another great American I’m mourning right now: one of the NFL’s greatest kickers and my personal childhood hero, Garo Yepremian.

Growing up in the 70’s I idolized the one and only Armenian sports star in America. I spent hours after school kicking a football off a tee in the street in front of our house, trying to clear the phone lines. While most of you wanted to be like Mike, I wanted to be like Garo.miami-dolphins-garo-yepremian-465-topps-1973-nfl-american-football-trading-card-32566-p

A 2-time Pro Bowler and a Pro Bowl MVP, Garo led the 1972 Miami Dolphins in scoring during their perfect 17-0 season. He played in three Super Bowls and was nominated to the Hall of Fame after a 15-year career in the NFL. With all this success, though, he is still remembered most for the great sports blooper he committed in the ’73 Super Bowl. Continue reading Garo Yepremian

Resist the Unremarkables

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You ever watch the show Community? My guilty pleasure because of the brilliant writing and the fact that I dropped out of more community colleges than anyone you know. The show’s off the right air now but it’s coming back in two weeks as a Yahoo online production.

In the episode “Digital Exploration of Interior Design” (Season 3 Episode 13), John Goodman plays Vice Dean Robert Laybourne, the head of Greendale College’s air conditioning repair school. In a pivotal scene, he drives a wedge between friends Abed and Troy (Dani Pudi and Donald Glover), in his never-ending quest to get Troy, an HVAC savant, to enroll in the air conditioning school.

Using a comparison to Troy and Abed’s favorite show, “Inspector Spacetime”, Vice Dean Laybourne fuels their argument over the building of their pillow fort. He suggests that Troy cannot appreciate Abed’s vision, because he is like Inspector Spacetime’s loyal but unremarkable sidekick Reggie. This dialogue caused me to sit bolt upright on the couch, as if the frigid overflow of a leaky air conditioner had dripped down my neck… Continue reading Resist the Unremarkables