BALLADEER’S BLOG’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES AND MORE: MARCH 19th

college of idaho coyotesNAIA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – Fighting it out for the National Championship in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) were the COLLEGE OF IDAHO COYOTES and the INDIANA TECH WARRIORS (should be Hoplites).

The Coyotes fell into their usual pattern this season – they saw a comfortable Halftime lead of 45-26 get whittled down by an opponent’s rally. In the end, Indiana Tech fell just short against the College of Idaho, who held on for a 73-71 win. Jake O’Neil led the victors with a Double Double of 15 points and 12 rebounds. * THE COYOTES ARE NAIA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS *

bethel in pilotsNCCAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The BETHEL (IN) PILOTS (riverboat pilots) faced the CLINTON COLLEGE GOLDEN BEARS for the National Championship of the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) Division One. Continue reading

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SKULL THE SLAYER: HIS 1970s STORIES

This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero item from Balladeer’s Blog will look at Marvel’s unusual character Skull the Slayer.

skull 1SKULL THE SLAYER Vol 1 #1 (August 1975)

Title: The Coming of Skull the Slayer

Villain: A Tyrannosaurus Rex

Synopsis: Jim Scully, Army nickname “Skull”, is a Vietnam Vet and former POW trying to adjust to life back in the United States. Unfortunately, while he was MIA his wife divorced him and has found a new man. His parents passed away before even finding out that Jim was still alive.

Worst of all, when Scully is reunited with his younger brother, it turns out he is a junkie who tries to kill him. Jim kills his brother in self-defense, and then, overwhelmed by all the horrors of his homecoming after years in a POW camp, he goes on the run, fearful that he’ll be sent to prison for his brother’s death.

Scully is at last tracked down in Bermuda and is being extradited on a flight back to the United States when that aircraft disappears in the Bermuda Triangle. It crash-lands in a primitive rainforest that is apparently where all those who disappear into the Bermuda Triangle end up.

skull and t rexIt is not truly the Earth of millions of years ago, because it is anachronistically populated by dinosaurs and primates that were never alive during the same time periods. The only survivors of the plane crash are Scully, a young Native American man named Jeff Turner, an African American physician named Raymond Corey, and Corey’s young research assistant Ann Reynolds. Continue reading

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GRACE O’MALLEY: THE PIRATE QUEEN OF IRELAND

graniaGRACE O’MALLEY (1530-1603) – Balladeer’s Blog takes a Saint Patrick’s Day look at Ireland’s notorious Grace O’Malley aka Grainne O’Malley aka Grania or Granuaile O’Malley. This woman was the head of the O’Malley faction in West Ireland and became legendary through her real and embellished career leading pirate crews against her enemies.

Grace became the O’Malley leader after the death of her father, despite this being unprecedented for a woman under the customs of the time. As Chief of the Name, Grace was the acknowledged power when it came to the O’Malley lands and seafaring ventures.

In 1565, during Clan warfare in Ireland, Grace’s husband Donal was killed in an ambush and his slayers in the Joyce Clan moved against the O’Malleys. The Joyces tried to take the island stronghold that later became called Hen’s Castle in honor of Grace O’Malley.

Though they had not expected any real resistance from a family led by a woman, Grace stunned the Joyces by out-generalling them and forcing them to retreat. Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL TOURNAMENT RESULTS: MARCH 16th

NAIA

college of idaho coyotesFINAL FOUR: FIRST BERTH – The COLLEGE OF IDAHO COYOTES clashed with the TOUGALOO COLLEGE BULLDOGS in this game.

By Halftime the Coyotes were comfortably on top by a score of 43-23, then coasted to an 83-66 triumph over the Bulldogs. The College of Idaho’s Jake O’Neil led his team with 20 points.

indiana tech warriorsFINAL FOUR: SECOND BERTH – Up next the INDIANA TECH WARRIORS (should be the Hoplites) played the ARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY FIRESTORM.

The Warriors were clinging to a slender 35-34 edge at the Half, following which they managed to squeeze out a little bit more separation from the Firestorm to win the game 67-64. Twenty points from Blake Davison led Indiana Tech to victory. Continue reading

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NEWS, POLITICAL CARTOON AND MEME ROUNDUP: MARCH 15th

biden and democrat bailoutAnother roundup from Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog.

biden bailout to democratsBARACK OBAMA AND HILLARY CLINTON DONORS WERE ON THE BOARD OF THE FAILED SILICON VALLEY BANK. Biden and the Democrats are just protecting their own by going above the protections that typical bank customers would get. It’s life in Joe Biden’s corporate fascist kleptocracy. 

EVEN DEMOCRAT BARNEY FRANK PROVES THAT TRUMP DID NOT CAUSE THE SILICON VALLEY BANK FAILURE. Is there ANYTHING that anti-Trump psychopaths won’t try to blame on him? Such people need professional help.

biden natalieBIDEN P.R. FLACK ADMITS SHE DOES NOT KNOW IF TAXPAYERS ARE PAYING FOR NATALIE BIDEN’S LUXURY TRIP ON SPRING BREAK.

EVEN MORE EVIDENCE THAT THE BIDEN FAMILY RECEIVED LARGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY FROM CHINA. More HERE. There’s a reason they’re called the Biden Crime Family.

TOP DEMOCRAT ON JANUARY SIXTH COMMITTEE ADMITS TO NOT WATCHING ANY OF THE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE. It was all a kangaroo court based on lies the entire time. Continue reading

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DARK AGNES: ROBERT E. HOWARD’S “OTHER” RED-HAIRED FEMALE WARRIOR

dark agnesSWORD WOMAN – This was the first story about Robert E. Howard’s fiery woman warrior Agnes the Dark aka Agnes de Chastillon, a sword fighting, butt kicking woman in 1500s France. Previously, Balladeer’s Blog reviewed the one and only story that R.E. Howard wrote about Red Sonya (NOT Sonja) Shadow of the Vulture, set in the late 1520s, not in Howard’s fictional Hyborian Age.

Unlike Shadow of the Vulture, none of the Dark Agnes tales were published during Robert E. Howard’s lifetime. Sword Woman, the character’s origin story, saw print posthumously in 1975, 39 years after Howard’s suicide. The author dedicated the short story “To Mary Read, Graine O’Malley, Jeanne Laisne, Liliard of Ancrum, Anne Bonney, and all other sword women, good or bad, bold or gay, who have swaggered down the centuries, this chronicle is respectfully dedicated.” Continue reading

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JUST A DAMNED SOLDIER (1988) AND AFGHANISTAN – THE LAST WAR BUS (1989)

just a damned soldierJUST A DAMNED SOLDIER aka One Damned Soldier (1988) – Balladeer’s Blog concludes its look at all ten films of Italian cult action icon Mark Gregory, real name Marco De Gregorio. I know IMDb states that he also appeared in the made for tv movie Rainbow, but I watched that film and he’s not in it. The error seems to have been made by someone who saw the name MARY Gregory in the closing credits and, because the font for the credits is a bit stylish, mistook the y in Mary for a k.

Previously, I reviewed Mr. Gregory’s post-apocalypse movies 1990: The Bronx Warriors and Escape from the Bronx, plus his Thunder Warrior trilogy of Rambo imitations, his quasi-peplum Adam and Eve vs the Cannibals, and his pair of outings as an action villain in Delta Force Commando and Ten Zan: The Ultimate Mission.

mark in his j hatI’ll wrap up everything by examining Mark’s final two films before he walked away from the business at age 25 in 1989, with no explanation and after having just made his highest amount of money from a movie role.

The public fascination with Mark Gregory continues due to the mystery of his following years and the sometimes contradictory information about his life. Supposedly he raised horses for a time, then became a street artist in Rome, possibly spent all his film earnings or was conned out of them, and died in 2013 from an overdose. Some sources say it was a suicide, others an accidental overdose.

mark with dead meatJust a Damned Soldier features Mark in an ensemble cast as one member of a trio of badass international mercenaries who take on any dangerous, high-paying job that comes along. Our hero, whose character is also named Mark, serves alongside Cisco (Romano Kristoff) and their boss Bert Ernst (Peter Hooten).

Those three, plus their fourth, soon-to-die comrade that I’ll call Dead Meat for a Hot Shots joke, kick off the movie in style with a guns-blazing raid on an industrial compound in Cambodia. The quartet shoots and explodes their way to victory, overcoming dozens of armed soldiers in scenes that live up to the standard joke about 1980s action flicks – “Page One of the script says ‘The good guys open fire’ and Page Two says ‘The End.'”

Mark and his colleagues look typically badass while killing bad guys, stealing tons of gold from the facility, then escaping to a nearby hideout to have the booty flown out of the country. After high fives and similar gestures all around, our main characters escape in a ground vehicle. Continue reading

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NEWS ROUNDUP: MARCH 13th

Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog presents another look at what’s in the news besides the Biden Regime allowing the biggest bank failures since 2008 to play out under their noses.

biden crime family picBANK RECORDS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS SHOW MONEY FROM CHINA’S GOVERNMENT FLOWING TO THE BIDEN FAMILY. The Biden Crime Family saga continues.

TIKTOK HIRES BIDEN-CONNECTED FIRM. It’s life here in Joe Biden’s corporate fascist kleptocracy.

LATEST VIRAL VIDEO ABOUT THE LIES REGARDING JANUARY SIXTH. More HERE. Plus a common sense appeal for journalists from the real world since most “reporters” at corporate media outlets make high six figures and more, therefore having more in common with the “ruling class” than with the people.

RUSSIAN OLIGARCH TIED TO HUNTER BIDEN EVADES SANCTIONS AGAINST THE COUNTRY. Unreal.

TWITTER CALLED OUT AS “AN FBI SUBSIDIARY” BEFORE ELON MUSK BOUGHT IT.

COURAGEOUS DEMOCRAT OFFERS HER APOLOGY TO TRUMP SUPPORTERS FOR BELIEVING THE DEMOCRAT MEDIA OUTLETS’ LIES ABOUT JANUARY SIXTH.

CHAOS AT THE BORDER CONTINUES. The Biden Regime exacerbates the problems at every opportunity. Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL POSTSEASON RESULTS: MARCH 12th

NCCAA DIVISION TWO

Kansas Christian College FalconsCHAMPIONSHIP GAME – Fighting it out for the D2 crown in the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) were the KANSAS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE FALCONS and the MANHATTAN CHRISTIAN COLLEGE THUNDER.

The Falcons took control early and led the Thunder 45-24 by Halftime, following which they maintained their pressure all the way to a 98-73 triumph. Boog Lewis led KCC with 28 points, while teammate Jamal Clark notched a Double Double of 22 points and 10 rebounds. * THE FALCONS ARE NCCAA DIVISION TWO CHAMPIONS * Continue reading

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BLONDE PHANTOM: HER 1940s STORIES

For this weekend, Balladeer’s Blog’s light-hearted, escapist superhero blog post will look at the Golden Age superheroine the Blonde Phantom from Marvel Comics, back then called Timely Comics. 

blonde phantom picBLONDE PHANTOM

Created By: Stan Lee (yes, he was that old), Charles Nicholas and Syd Shores

Secret Identity: Louise Grant

First Appearance: All-Select Comics #11 (September 1946) Her final Golden Age appearance came in 1949. 

Origin: Wanting to fight crime and foreign spies without endangering the lives of people close to her, Louise Grant, secretary for private investigator and former OSS man Mark Mason, donned a costume and fought the forces of evil as the Blonde Phantom.

Powers: The Blonde Phantom was in peak human condition and was more agile than an Olympic gymnast. She was a master of unarmed combat and was also incredibly proficient with her .45 handgun. In addition, this heroine was an expert investigator.

Comment: Louise Grant’s boss Mark Mason had the hots for the Blonde Phantom but overlooked his secretary Louise, who downplayed her beauty in her secret identity.

all select 11ALL SELECT COMICS Vol 1 #11 (September 1946)

Title: The Atom Spells Doom

Villains: Signor Korte and Senator Mushbell 

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom is referred to as having been active for a while even though this is her first appearance. She thwarts the theft of atomic secrets by a spy ring that includes a South American diplomat and a traitorous American Senator.

Title: The Scarlet Scorpion Continue reading

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