The Writer's Life 7/10 - Pro & Prose

RIP Kenny “The Snake” Stabler, 69, who succumbed to colon cancer. As QB of the Oakland Raiders he was the NFL MVP in 1974. He led the black and silver to a Super Bowl victory in 1977. He was named All-Pro four times. None of today’s obits mentioned his alleged ties to gamblers. I had to dig deep to find a page on Google from a book by Stanley H. Teitelbaum, Sports Heroes, Fallen Idols, that offered details. Stabler was investigated by the league, which found no conclusive evidence that he had engaged in any hanky-panky. Still, commissioner Pete Rozelle issued a stern, general warning to players that was believed to be aimed chiefly at Stabler. I remember a pass against the NY Jets in 1981, when he led Houston, that he seemed to throw right at DB Ken Schroy, who returned it for a touchdown that tied the game, which the Jets won on a FG in OT. Schroy insists he'd merely anticipated a tendency he'd seen in films. The next day accusations flew. Rumor had it a friend would have been killed had the Oilers not covered the spread. In Stabler’s defense, he did, like fellow Alabama legend Joe Willie Namath, have a propensity for interceptions, throwing many more than TDs in his career. In 15 seasons he had 194 TD passes and 222 ints. He filed defamation lawsuits vs. NBC and the NY Times. The former settled, the latter was exonerated, the case thrown out of court. It is not surprising that Stabler isn’t in the Hall of Fame. Still, he was a colorful figure loved by Raiders’ fans.

The weather was as good as it gets today, but business at the floating book shop was almost as bad as it gets. My thanks to Alan, who bought the Jonathan Kellerman thriller The Web, to the elderly woman who gave me a flower, and to Madeline, who donated a couple of books. Ira stopped by and laid a couple of his corny jokes on me. For some reason, the following made me laugh: "Why'd the guy stuff dollar bills in his ear? Cash-ear." The jovial Russian retiree who spends most summer days at the beach gave me the mamasita report: "They make you crazy," he said. A crew put in a new telephone pole at the corner. To my surprise, they refilled the hole with dirt, not concrete, then put a couple of bags of that black pebbly stuff at the surface. Since they do this every day, I guess its sturdy enough to hold the pole upright.
Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5

Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/