NAIA
FIRST SEMIFINAL – The GRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY VIKINGS were on the road against the defending National Champions of NAIA football – the LINDSEY WILSON COLLEGE BLUE RAIDERS. A 14-7 Vikings lead in the 1st Quarter became a 21-20 Blue Raiders edge by Halftime. The 3rd Quarter ended with Lindsey Wilson College on top 28-26 but the 4th saw Grand View U win the game 34-28.
SECOND SEMIFINAL – In this game the MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE MUSTANGS welcomed the NORTHWESTERN (IA) COLLEGE RED RAIDERS. The Mustangs were chasing the Red Raiders 13-7 in the opening Quarter and 16-14 at the Half. Morningside College moved out in front 21-19 in the 3rd Quarter, then won out 28-19.
NCAA DIVISION TWO
FIRST QUARTERFINAL – The COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES OREDIGGERS took on the visiting ANGELO STATE RAMS. This was a tale of two Halves, with the Orediggers holding a comfortable 20-3 advantage at the midpoint only to have to hold on tight in the 2nd Half against a Rams rally. Colorado School of Mines won a 34-28 thriller. Continue reading
SPIDER-MAN Vol 1 #145 (June 1975) 
Peter himself is in a state of shock, while the “new” Gwen, whose memories are months out of date, cries and pleads with him to help her understand what is going on. When Gwen tries to embrace him, Peter loses it, recoiling from her and screaming at her that she must be an impersonater. 
A CAROL CHRISTMAS (2003) – Here’s another entry in Balladeer’s Blog’s Twelfth Annual Christmas Carol-A-Thon. This version is one of the many that tries mining laughs out of setting the Dickens classic in the modern age. These adaptations have varying degrees of success and on a scale of 1 to 10 I would give this effort a 6.5. 
As regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog know, December is not just the month in which I cover umpteen versions of A Christmas Carol but also the month in which I look at versions of the tales of Charlemagne and his Paladins. These are the legends about Charlemagne, not the actual history, so there will be dragons, monsters and magic. Roland shows up in this story. 
THE SIEGE OF ALBRACCA – Princess Angelica of Cathay, in our previous tale, had failed to win the heart of the Paladin Reinold despite holding him at her enchanted isle for a time. Just as the escaped Reinold was even now trying to make his way back to the court of Charlemagne, Angelica returned to her father’s court in Cathay. 
THE SHERIFF & THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL KID (1979) – I’m often asked about movies that are safe to watch with children around at Christmas time. Here are TWO such films, both starring gruff but likable Spaghetti Western icon Bud Spencer (Carlo Pedersoli) and, of all people, Cary Guffey – the little kid from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. 
Cary Guffey’s character is named H7-25 and possesses an alien device similar to a television remote control device. That device lets H7-25 rewind time and other miraculous acts to help Sheriff Hall against their pursuers. The kid often uses it to rewind unpleasant events for the bad guys during the many, many chase and fight scenes.
MYSTERIOUS PLANET (1982) – My review of this forgotten science fiction bomb which vaguely parallels the Jules Verne novel Mysterious Island. This unintentionally hilarious flick is one of the worst movies ever made. Click 
THE GODFATHER CODA (2020 Edit) – My review of Francis Ford Coppola’s December 2020 re-edit of Godfather III. I look at the reshuffling of scenes, the omission of some and different takes for others. Click 
RIVALS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES – Episodes of the 1970s series. Duckworth Drew 
If you are heavily into films and hearing from directors and actors offering comments on their work long ago when those movie projects first came out you may enjoy the old Matt and Greg Podcasts. The pair listen to and comment on 1990s to early 2000s radio junket interviews. 
GIANT-SIZE SPIDER-MAN Vol 1 #4 (April 1975) 
Our hero defeats three of the four and a bullet fired from a rooftop by the Punisher kills the fourth. The Punisher flees the scene while Spider-Man takes care of the still-frightened woman. An ambulance and some cop cars show up on the scene. The police insist Spider-Man must come in to answer questions regarding the deaths of Captain John Stacy and Norman Osborn, both of whom he is mistakenly suspected of killing.
JAMES BATMAN (1966) – HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Balladeer’s Blog takes a Turkey Day look at a film from the Philippines. This movie teams up Batman, Robin and James Bond as they battle an evil organization called C.L.A.W. It’s another of the many unauthorized Batman movies from around the world. 
Dolpho is in love with Shirley (Shirley Moreno), but she considers Dolpho boring and has the hots for Batman. Just as Shirley is oblivious to the fact that Dolpho really IS Batman, she has no idea that her sister (Bella Flores) is secretly the sultry costumed villainess called Black Rose. 
The COLLEGE OF DUPAGE CHAPARRALS and the NASSAU COLLEGE LIONS are the two teams competing in the 2021 National Championship Game in NJCAA Division Three football. This is the first year that NJCAA football has been separated into different divisions. 
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