'Mondo Softball' (1990)

  

Note: The video above is a 30-second promo for a weekly local cable television program I produced and hosted in 1990. Using highlights from the show, I edited the footage and wrote the copy. Hank Brown created the music, which served as the show's opening and closing theme. The narrator voice is that of my girlfriend at the time, Gayle Carden (now Hudert).

 

Below you can see Virginia Sports Hall of Fame (class of 2024) sportswriter Paul Woody's 1990 column about Mondo Softball. I suppose you could call the piece a review, of a sort.

REA GIVES BIZARRE EDGE TO BLAB'S 'MONDO SOFTBALL'

Richmond News Leader Date: July 5, 1990

Byline: Paul Woody

Years ago, when Terry Rea was manager of the now defunct Biograph Theatre, he organized a softball team for the Fan League. But this wasn't just any team. This team had two illegal French aliens.

"One spoke no English at all," Rea said. "Neither had ever seen a baseball game. But they went out to a yard sale, found some funky `50s uniforms and they were a laugh riot."

The Biograph team also had a life-size, cardboard figure of Mr. Natural, a comic-book character created by R. Crumb of Zap Comics. Rea and his teammates took Mr. Natural to every game. They would carry him onto the field and chant to him.

"Some thought it was funny," Rea said. "Some thought we were mocking them. Some thought we were mocking the game."

All Rea was trying to do was enjoy a little softball and make the team and the league, "a rolling comedy show," he said. "I'm not sure everybody on the team was 100 percent behind me on that."

Rea began playing softball in 1976, but now, at the age of 42, he's in semi-retirement. "I try in the offseason to lower my expectations, but I'm losing my game faster than I can lower my expectations," Rea said. "That drives everyone out of the game except the most fanatic."

Rea, however, is hardly done with softball. In fact, he may be contributing more to the game than he ever did as a player. Rea, a freelance graphic artist by trade, is the originator, host and creative force behind "Mondo Softball," a weekly, one-hour talk and call-in show seen Tuesday nights at 9 o'clock on BLAB-TV (Continental Ch. 7, Storer Ch. 8).

Mondo is Italian for "world." Rea took it from the drive-in movies of his youth that were all the rage. "There were a bunch of `Mondo' films," Rea said. "Then, you started to see it thrown in front of almost anything to give it a bizarre connotation. People just know it has some sort of bizarre edge to it. "And, of course, I'm using that."

Rea isn't the host of "Mondo Softball." The host is Mutt deVille, a man of mysterious origin who always wears a baseball cap, sunglasses and softball jersey. Mutt deVille is Rea's alter ego.

Mutt deVille was created by Rea as a pen name for the sports writer in Slant, the twice-monthly newsletter of commentary that Rea publishes, writes and edits. DeVille initially existed to give some diversity to the pages of Slant, "and to create the illusion there was a staff of writers," Rea said. But the more Rea wrote as deVille, the more he liked it.

"My name, and my approach to things, like anyone who stays in his hometown long enough, carries a certain amount of baggage with it," Rea said, "I could move more freely as Mutt deVille.

"When I decided to do a show and it was a sports show, it seemed like a good idea to use Mutt. That led to the idea that Mutt should become a character and the time I was on camera should be a performance. Mutt is a device to make me feel at ease on stage."

"Mondo Softball" is not like any other show you'll see on BLAB. It's a one-hour play, softball as kitsch. It's part news -- standings, results and tournament highlights provided by Paul Joyce, the `field' reporter and a veteran local player -- part conversation with a guest, questions from callers and wisecracks, subtle humor and outright gags whenever possible. It's clever, and it's as entertaining as a show on recreational softball can be.

Rea said he has borrowed from shows he's seen. From the "Tonight Show," Rea took the idea that Johnny Carson is at his best and funniest when things go wrong.

"Part of live TV is that there are a lot of glitches," Rea said. "I've tried to incorporate the production values of an old `50s sci-fi movie and try to go with whatever goes wrong." Each week, there is a great uproar over the magic word.

If a caller says the word, he or she receives a $20 gift certificate from a local restaurant. The magic word is straight out of "You Bet Your Life" with the late Groucho Marx. In that show, it was called the secret word.

"If you're going to steal, steal from the best," Rea said.

Part of the attraction of "Mondo Softball" is that you can never be sure what will happen next. "I think some people watch shows on BLAB just to see if the set will fall over," Rea said. Rea brings a unique element of surprise to the screen. He isn't afraid to take a chance or play a little joke.

When he was manager of the Biograph, a repertory theatre located near Virginia Commonwealth University, Rea once offered free admission to "The Devil and Miss Jones." The line for the show, which most believed to be a well-known X-rated movie, stretched around the 800 block of West Grace Street. But the X-rated movie was "The Devil in Miss Jones." "The Devil and Miss Jones" was a 1941 comedy.

"Most people thought it was funny," Rea said. "But you always have some who get mad about something like that." "Mondo Softball" has something of the same problem.

Hard-core softball players don't always appreciate Rea's attempts at humor. "I've heard some don't like Mutt's approach," Rea said. "But that's the reason Paul is there. Overall, though, the reaction I get is that they (the hardcore players) like Mutt."

BLAB-TV likes Mutt so much that another show already is in the works. "Mondo Pops," [which actually became Mondo City] covering everything from sports to who knows what will premier this fall. It should be an interesting experience. Who knows, maybe even Mr. Natural will make an appearance.

-- 30 --

BILLUPS, JACKSON FUEL VCU AS RAMS RACE PAST PENN STATE 86-74

From Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.: 

ESPN Events Invitational

Score: VCU 86, Penn State 74

Location: Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (State Farm Fieldhouse)

Records: VCU 4-3, Penn State 4-3

 

The short story: Redshirt freshman Fats Billups III exploded for 14 of his career-high 23 points in the second half to spark VCU’s victory over Penn State in the final day of the ESPN Events Invitational.

 

OPENING TIP

·      Billups buried 8-of-9 attempts from the floor, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range in 27 minutes of action. He also blocked a pair of shots

·      Senior guard Zeb Jackson also scored a career-high with 22 points Sunday for the Black and Gold on 8-of-18 shooting. He added seven rebounds, six assists and a steal

·      Senior guard Max Shulga supplied 19 points and six rebounds for VCU. Shulga converted all 10 of his free throw attempts

·      Former Ram Ace Baldwin Jr. led Penn State with 27 points

 

THE DIFFERENCE

·      Billups nailed all four of his 3-point attempts in the second half, including triples on back-to-back possessions to give VCU a 72-64 lead with 5:49 remaining. He scored on a layup a short time later, and by the time he connected on his fourth trey of the period at the 3:53 mark, the Rams had pushed their lead to 80-66

·      VCU shot .538 (28-of-52) from the field in the game, including 8-of-15 from 3-point range. The Rams also connected on 22-of-28 free throw attempts

·      The Rams shot .620 (16-of-26) in the first half on the way to a 46-40 lead

·      The Black and Gold limited Penn State to 5-of-17 shooting from 3-point range

·      VCU owned a 36-29 rebounding advantage

 

NOTABLE

·      VCU was facing its former head coach in Penn State’s Mike Rhoades. The Rams are 17-10 when facing former head coaches since 2008

·      The Rams led for 34:06 of Sunday’s contest

·      The game featured 10 ties and eight lead changes

·      The Rams played Sunday’s game without redshirt sophomore Jason Nelson (PPG: 8.5), who sustained a wrist sprain in VCU’s game with Boise State on Friday. 

 

NEXT UP

VCU will return home to face Norfolk State on Friday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. 

LAWAL’S CAREER HIGH NOT ENOUGH TO LIFT VCU

From Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.:

ESPN Events Invitational
Score: Boise State 65, VCU 61
Location: Lake Buena Visa, Fla. (State Farm Field House)
Records: VCU 3-3, Boise State 3-2

 

The short story: Senior guard Max Shulga and sophomore forward Tobi Lawal combined for 38 points and 17 rebounds for VCU, but the Rams dropped a back-and-forth affair to Boise State Friday night.

 

OPENING TIP

·      Shulga finished with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-19 shooting. He added eight rebounds and handed out three assists

·      Lawal recorded a career-high 14 points, connecting on 6-of-7 shots from the field. He also corralled nine rebounds and blocked a shot

·      Senior guard Zeb Jackson chipped in with eight points, six rebounds and three assists for VCU

·      Andrew Meadow led a balanced Boise State attack with 10 points, while Tyson Degenhard added 10

 

THE DIFFERENCE

·      Boise State led by as many as seven points in the second half on three occasions, the last following a three-point play by O’Mar Stanley with 5:21 remaining. The Rams got a driving layup by Shulga and a pair of free throws by Jackson on its next two possessions to close within 60-57 with 4:07 left, but could get no closer. Lawal pulled VCU within 64-61 on a dunk from Shulga with 49 seconds on the clock, but the Rams came up empty on their final two possessions as the Broncos hung on

·      Boise State connected on 17-of-21 free throws and turned 14 VCU turnovers into 15 points

·      VCU sprinted out to a 14-4 run in the opening minutes on the back of a 9-0 run, punctuated by a drive and two-handed slam by Jackson. But BSU battled back and took a 28-27 lead on a driving layup by Chibuzo Agbo at the 1:04 mark. VCU took a 29-28 lead into the locker room following a pair of free throws by redshirt freshman wing Fats Billups III

 

NOTABLE

·      This was the second all-time meeting between these two programs

·      VCU outscored the Broncos 30-28 in the paint

·      The Rams knocked down 13-of-15 free throws

 

NOTABLE

VCU will face Penn State and former Head Coach Mike Rhoades on Sunday, Nov. 26 at 10:30 a.m in the final day of the ESPN Events Invitational. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU. 

IOWA STATE RALLIES PAST VCU 68-64

Information supplied by VCU's Chris Kowalczyk

ESPN Events Invitational

Score: Iowa State 68, VCU 64

Location: Make Buena Vista, Fla. (State Farm Field House)

Records: Iowa State 5-0, VCU 3-2

 

The short story: Senior guard Max Shulga led four Rams in double figures with 17 points, but it wasn’t enough to hold off a furious Iowa State comeback down the stretch, as the Rams fell in their opener of the ESPN Events Invitational Thursday.

 

OPENING TIP

·      Shulga buried 4-of-7 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc and connected on 5-of-6 free throws. He also dished out a game-high eight assists for VCU

·      Freshman forward Michael Belle turned in the most productive performance of his collegiate career with a season-high 14 points. He converted 4-of-6 attempts from the floor, including the first two 3-pointers of his career

·      Sophomore forward Christian Fermin added 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting, while senior guard Zeb Jackson added 10 points and five rebounds for the Black and Gold

·      Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert led Iowa State with 22 points apiece

 

THE DIFFERENCE

·      The Cyclones closed the game on a 19-5 run the final 5:44. VCU did not make a field goal the final 4:43. Lipsey scored back-to-back buckets, including a floater right of the lane to give ISU a 65-64 lead with 1:35 remaining. VCU turned the ball over via an offensive foul on its next possession, and Shulga couldn’t get a driving layup to go in traffic a short time later as Iowa State held on. The Cyclones hit 3-of-4 free throws in the waning moments to lock up the victory

·      Iowa State shot .607 (17-of-28) in the second period as it erased a 33-24 VCU halftime lead

·      The Cyclones outscored the Rams 42-18 in the paint and owned a 38-29 rebounding advantage

·      VCU led by as many as 15 points in the first half. VCU used a 17-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer from redshirt sophomore guard Jason Nelson, to grab a 31-16 lead with 2:53 left in the period. Iowa State was able to trim the margin to nine in the final moments of the half on consecutive 3-pointers by Lipsey

 

NOTABLE

·      VCU shot .455 (20-of-44) in the game, including a season-best .435 (10-of-23) from the 3-point line

·      The Rams led for 35:08 of the contest

 

NEXT UP

VCU will face Boise State (2-2) on Friday, Nov. 24 at 8 p.m. in second-round play at the ESPN Events Invitational on ESPNU. 

Daniel Patrick Moynihan: "...We’ll never be young again.”

Camelot at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave lasted 1,036 days. In particular, for the children in school 60 years ago --on Nov. 22, 1963 -- the murder of President John F. Kennedy was stunning in a way nothing has been since.

Two days later, on Nov. 24, 1963, a live national television audience witnessed the murder of the assassination’s prime suspect, Lee Harvey Oswald. Consequently, there was no doubt that Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub operator, was the trigger-man. What made him do it is still being questioned.

Shortly after JFK’s death, columnist Mary McGrory expressed her dark feelings to Daniel Patrick Moynihan: “We’ll never laugh again.”

Moynihan, who was an Assistant Secretary of Labor then, replied, “Heavens, Mary, we’ll laugh again. It’s just that we’ll never be young again.”

The cynicism spawned by the cloaked-in-secrecy aftermath of the JFK assassination has tinted everything the aforementioned children have seen since those dark days of 1963. Especially, everything to do with political investigations.

However, today, I’m not at all convinced there must have been a far-flung and complicated conspiracy to kill the president and to then cover up the tracks. Furthermore, after he was dead, just because some people deliberately obscured related information, we don't necessarily know why they did it. In some cases it was probably people trying to cover asses for a myriad of reasons. 

 

So, for now, let's skip past the argument over whether, or not, Oswald acted alone. For the moment, let's not speculate about whether Oswald was a dupe, or one of the greatest marksmen who ever lived. The point of this piece is to recognize that the secrecy that rushed in obscured the truth about what happened in November of 1963 and poisoned the American culture in a way that is still being felt. 

The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known as the Warren Commission, published its report on Sept. 24, 1964: Essentially, Oswald was found to have been a lone wolf assassin. Which immediately unleashed the questioning of the Commission’s findings.

Perhaps its famous “single bullet theory,” which had one projectile traveling circuitously through two victims, was great sleuthing. Or maybe it was just an unbelievable reach.

*

In 1965 unknown gunmen murdered Malcolm X in an auditorium in Manhattan. I say "unknown" because the two men convicted of that assassination were exonerated in 2021. So Muhammad A. Aziz, 85, and the late Khalil Islam have had their names cleared. Too bad about all the time they served in prison.

 

Three years after the murder of Malcolm X, Rev. Martin Luther King was killed on a motel balcony in Memphis by a sniper. Only two months later, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's presidential run ended when he was shot to death in a Los Angeles hotel. It was a shock, but in the crazy year of violence that 1968 truly was, it was not such a surprise. 

Unfortunately, at the time the official stories on those three shootings were widely doubted, even disbelieved. In the ‘60s more public scrutiny of how those assassination probes were conducted might have led to different conclusions. More importantly, even if more sunlight into those investigations failed to produce different outcomes, at least Americans might have felt better about the good faith of the processes.

Instead, it seemed then the authorities generally believed the American people didn't really have a right to see the whole truth and nothing-but. Too often it seems to have been decided on high that the public was better off not knowing some things. Shielding the citizenry from such information is the sort of thinking that went during world wars, with spies lucking about. In the 1960s, perhaps as part of the Cold War, the public more or less expected its government to routinely withhold all sorts of secrets.

That, whether the public likes it, or not. Eventually, it took a series of brutal revelations to snap many Americans out of blithely accepting an over-abundance of secrecy:

• The My Lai Massacre horrors.

• The publishing of the Pentagon Papers.

• The Watergate Scandal hearings.

• The Iran-Contra Scandal hearings.

• The bogus justification for invading Iraq. 

As those events paraded by, the USA steadily morphed into a nation of cynics. Now, those of us who recognize the damage that's been done by official lies know better. We were wrong to ever have tolerated such skullduggery in the name of keeping America safe.

*

In 1997 Sen. Moynihan’s book, “Secrecy: The American Experience,” was published. In the opening chapter he wrote:

In the United States, secrecy is an institution of the administrative state that developed during the great conflicts of the twentieth century. It is distinctive primarily in that it is all but unexamined. There is a formidable literature on regulation of the public mode, virtually none on secrecy. Rather, there is a considerable literature, but it is mostly secret. Indeed, the modes of secrecy remain for the most part -- well, secret.

On inquiry there are regularities: patterns that fit well enough with what we have learned about other forms of regulation. But there has been so little inquiry that the actors involved seem hardly to know the set roles they play. Most important, they seem never to know the damage they can do. This is something more than inconveniencing to the citizen. At times, in the name of national security, secrecy has put that very security in harm's way.

Sixty years after the murder of JFK, it’s high time to stop putting up with unnecessary secrecy in government at all levels. After all, as we have learned, secrets that invite speculation and provoke conspiracy theories serve a nefarious agenda just as well as a lie. 

Justice Louis D. Brandeis famously wrote: 

Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.

Today, to trust official conclusions, we need plenty of Brandeis' sunlight. We not only need investigations, we need to be able to see into the investigations. So, as we saw in 2022's January 6th Committee hearings in the House of Representatives, televised testimony at Congressional hearings is a good thing.

Lastly, for democracy to have a chance of working properly and delivering good government, we the voters need to know whose money is behind every politician's ploy. Knowing who paid for what always helps. Always. 

Taking it home: Single bullet theory, you say?

In Richmond, that was a great name for a punk era band. 

-- 30 --

Rams' late rally saves the day

 

Final score: VCU 60, Seattle 56.
Location: Siegel Center.
Current records: VCU 3-1. Seattle 2-2. 

IN A NUTSHELL: 

VCU was fortunate to escape with a win this afternoon. The Rams won't beat many good teams with the sort of lackluster effort they turned in against Seattle for a good part of the game. There was plenty of standing around an watching at both ends of the floor. 

Then pow! VCU rallied in the last few minutes and looked like a completely different outfit. A team that could beat a lot of pretty good teams. This time they got away with playing hard for about half of the game.   

Stats: Jackson's 20 points established a new career-high for him. He also grabbed six rebounds. Lawal added 10 points, four boards and two blocked shots. Fermin provided eight points and he got nine rebounds. Shulga scored seven points, dished for seven assists and he got seven rebounds.

In addition, VCU's bench outscored Seattle’s bench by a 19-to-3 margin. 

NOTES (Information provided by Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.)

• The Rams got off to a fast start, grabbing three offensive rebounds early in the game to garner a 10-point lead by the midway point of the first half. VCU eventually stretched its advantage to 21-8. Seattle would tie the game with an 11-0 run at the 2:56 mark of the first and took a 28-27 lead into the break.

• Seattle led 49-41 – it’s largest cushion of the day -- with 6:32 left following a 3-pointer by Schumacher. 

• Lawal answered with a 3-pointer from the right wing on the next possession – the first trey of his career – to kick off a 17-4 VCU run over the next five minutes. Lawal also buried a triple from the left corner to pull the Rams within 51-49 with 3:53 remaining. 

• VCU closed the game on a 16-5 run to rally to victory. Lawal came up with an offensive rebound and found Nelson on the left wing for a go-ahead 3-pointer that gave the Rams a 54-53 lead with 1:58 remaining. The Rams would not trail again.

BOX SCORE

NEXT UP: 

• VCU will travel to Orlando, Fla. during the Thanksgiving holiday for the ESPN Events Invitational at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Nov. 23, 24 and 26. The Rams will open with Iowa State on Thanksgiving at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

Rams defense crushes Highlanders

Final score: VCU 73, Radford 50.
Location: Siegel Center.
Current records: VCU 2-1. Radford 2-2. 

IN A NUTSHELL: 

With this game's performance the VCU Rams restored hope that they could be a good enough team by January to contend again for the Atlantic 10 regular season title. After playing to a 33-to-33 tie in the first 20 minutes, in the second half VCU's hustling defense shredded Radford's ability to sink baskets. 

At the same time VCU's offense clicked into gear and outscored Radford by 23 points. By the middle of the second 20-minute period the Highlanders' confidence was kaput and the Rams ruled. 

Nelson's 12 points in the first half kept the Rams in the game; coming off the bench he finished with 19 pts. Jackson scored 17 pts., grabbed four rebounds and dished for five assists. Lawal was good for his first career double-double, with 12 pts. and 10 rebounds. 

Coach Odom's bench scored 36 pts. Radford got only four pts. from its bench.

The Rams committed just 10 turnovers, while forcing the Highlanders into 17 TOs. In short, VCU's smothering second half defense was the best we've seen this season ... so far.

NOTES (Information provided by Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.)

• Nelson knocked down 7-of-10 attempts from the field in the game, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
• Sophomore forward Tobi Lawal recorded his first career double-double  and threw down a pair of thunderous alley-oop dunks.
• Kenyon Giles led Radford with 19 points.
• VCU held Radford to 18 percent (4-of-22) shooting in the second half. The Highlanders misfired on seven of nine 3-point attempts in the half.
• The Rams embarked on a game-changing 15-0 run early in the second half behind its defense. VCU held the Highlanders without a field goal for nearly nine minutes during that stretch. 
• VCU also shot 58 percent (14-of-24) from the field in the second half. 
• VCU knocked down 19-of-26 free throw attempts.
• VCU improved to 8-3 all-time against Radford. 

BOX SCORE

NEXT UP: On Saturday, Nov. 18, VCU will host Seattle at the Siegel Center. Tipoff at 2 p.m. TV on MASN and ESPN+.

Strong finish delivers Odom's first VCU win

Final score: VCU 75, Samford 65.
Location: Siegel Center.
Current records: VCU 1-1. Samford 0-2. 

IN A NUTSHELL: Once again, the home team started out cold. The Bulldogs enjoyed a 13-point lead midway through the first half. But the Rams woke up and closed the margin to 3 points by the end of the first stanza.

At the 7:02 mark of the second half VCU got its first lead: 56-to-54. After that the Rams never trailed. At the final buzzer, to the delight of a packed Siegel Center crowd, VCU's new head coach, Ryan Odom, had picked up his first victory. 

For most of the game's 40 minutes the Rams hustled but struggled. They committed 21 turnovers! However, Odom's team -- very much a work-in-progress -- gathered itself in the last few minutes of the contest and a strong finish at both ends of the floor did the trick. 

Shulga's 17 points set the scoring pace for the Rams. Three of his teammates scored in double figures. Jackson scored 13; Nelson poured in 11 and made 6 steals; Fermin notched his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 boards. He also made 5 blocks. 

NOTES (Information provided by Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.)

●      The Rams fell behind by eight early in the second period, but whittled the deficit down to a one-possession game before finally taking the lead on a Fermin and-one at the seven-minute mark of the second half

●      Samford would tie the game shortly following, but the Rams pushed their lead to as many as eighth before Samford began fouling down the stretch to save time as VCU closed it out by ten

●      VCU shot 42 percent (11-of-26) from the field in the first half and 56 percent (14-of-25) in the second, as they chipped away at the Bulldog lead

●      VCU got off to a slow start, turning the ball over nine times in the first half on the way to a 13-points deficit at the 7:09 mark

●      In the last five minutes of the first half, the Rams used a 17-4 run to trim the deficit to three. During that stretch the Rams forced three Samford turnovers

●      The Rams outscored the Bulldogs 40-30 in the paint and they owned a 26-16 advantage in bench points

BOX SCORE:

NEXT UP: 

On Wednesday, Nov. 15 the Rams will host Radford. Tipoff at the Siegel Center is at 7 p.m.

-- 30 --

Defenseless VCU drops season opener

Final score: McNeese St. 76, VCU 65
Location: Siegel Center in Richmond.
Current records: McNeese St. 1-0. VCU 0-1. 

IN A NUTSHELL: The refurbished VCU Rams opened their 2023-24 season with a loss to the visiting McNeese St. Cowboys. No doubt, VCU's new head coach, Ryan Odom, would like to think that with some seasoning his work-in-progress team could beat the Cowboys in January. Hopefully that will be true.

However, with the uninspired way the Rams played defense tonight, truth be told, they probably wouldn't have beaten any decent team. Now I expect the new coach will take the blame and assure Rams fans it will get better. 

On offense, two of VCU's starting guards led the way. Max Shulga scored 22 points (6-for-10 on treys) and dished for four assists. Zeb Jackson scored 14 points, grabbed seven boards got eight assists. Problem was, they didn't get a lot of help. Much of the game VCU's ballhandling inside was sloppy.

Collectively, the Rams reacted slowly on defense and on offense they didn't show much confidence. It will Odom's job to fix all that.

NOTES (Information provided by Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.).

• Redshirt freshman guard Fats Billups III buried 3-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc and finished with nine points for the Rams, while freshman forward Michael Belle contributed seven points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocks in his collegiate debut. 
• McNeese State shot .458 (27-of-59) from the field, including .471 (8-of-17) from 3-point range.
• The Cowboys turned the ball over just five times in the game. 
• VCU shot .306 (11-of-36) from beyond the arc. 
• MSU outscored VCU 36-22 in the paint and 13-6 off turnovers.

BOX SCORE

NEXT UP

On Friday, Nov. 10 the Rams will host Samford. Tipoff at the Siegel Center is at 7 p.m.

-- 30 --

She Had a Great Walk

She Had a Great Walk by F.T. Rea

She never looked better than she did that day,
When she told me, she was made to walk away.
No doubt, she had a great walk. 

Was it a smooth glide?

She had a natural sway.

An eye-catchin' stride?

Can't even look away.

Was it bona fide?
It was a loose-walkin' way.

She never looked better than she did that day. 

When she showed me, she was made to walk away.
Hey now, she had a great walk.

She had a loose-walkin' way.

-- 30 --

Death Calls for Piggy

 

Note: Carl W. Hutchins (1924-2006) was a professional boxer in his youth. He claimed to have been a contender in his day. Most people called him “Piggy.” The piece that follows was written shortly after his 2006 death (references to dates have been updated).

*

Piggy Hutchins was known by three generations of Richmonders. They were mostly locals of a certain stride -- folks who ate, drank and shared their lives in his restaurants. Piggy’s most loyal patrons tended to use his dives/eateries as a clubhouse … except when a feud kept one of them away for a while.

A corner restaurant called “Piggy’s,” located at Mulberry and Cary (where the Cary St. Cafe is now), began the series of places he would own. The Attaché, at 5816 W. Broad St., was the last of them; it closed down in 2002.

Twenty-eight years ago for a short stint I was associated with the legendary Attaché (although for some reason Piggy was calling it William Henry’s that year). For my part, needing money pushed me across the Henrico County line, inquiring after a bartender position listed in the daily newspaper's want ads. That afternoon I met the one and only Piggy Hutchins. Prior to that I had known him only by reputation.

After a pleasant chat with Piggy, Pete (Piggy's older brother) gave me a tour of the decidedly suburban split-level facility. That entailed the restaurant itself, the after-hours club on the upper story and the basement tavern. Along the way Pete explained that Piggy was really looking for a fresh idea more than someone else to put on the payroll. He had advertised the job to attract someone who'd give him a new scheme.

Well, I needed money enough to jump-start my creative juices, which soon spawned a concept of how to use the basement space -- live music and comedy! So Pete, Bill (a nephew who had joined us) and I we went back upstairs. Like characters in a Damon Runyon story, we all sat at a round table to cut a deal over draft beer and coffee. 

Right away, Piggy liked it that I volunteered to take on the promotional costs and booking duties. He liked it even better that I wanted only a cut -- 20 percent -- of the bar receipts. No guarantees. Plus, of course, I would get tips as the bartender on duty.

Meanwhile, as I went on with my plan I could tell Piggy liked telling his colorful old stories to a writer. Piggy's other brother, Sonny -- a former stock car racer -- stopped by and joined us. As it happened, I left the place that afternoon nurturing an absurd notion that became the Underdog Room. For three nights a week, I presented stand-up comics and live music in the basement, which had a boxer's heavy bag hanging in it, leftover from the days when Piggy worked out and trained young boxers in that space.

To kick off the Underdog Room era, I booked the Vibra-Turks. Some of them were usually known as the Bop Cats. Others had been in Li'l Ronnie and the Bluebeats. Anyway, the Vibra-Turks were: Mike Moore (bass); Gary Fralin (keyboard); Lindy Fralin (guitar); Stuart Grimes (drums); Jim Wark (guitar). In one way of looking at it, we had a band with a fake name playing in a room with a fake name.

Nonetheless, a bunch of handbills on poles and good break, publicity-wise -- the RT-D featured a story about it -- helped to flush out enough barflies and aging scenesters to make for a good-sized opening weekend audience. When Piggy came downstairs to take check it out he liked the look of the room. He even seemed pleased with the Vibra-turks. However, some members of his staff remained skeptical about the direction of things.

On Thursdays it was comedy night. Usually seven or eight comics would show up. My old friend, John Porter, served as the emcee/recruiter. The performers split the cash from a cheap cover charge and drank beer for free. Hoping to establish to new venue for live comedy, several of the the area's comedians stopped by to do a few minutes on most Thursdays.

On Friday and Saturday nights a band played, usually the same band on both nights. The bands would take what came in at the door, but as the weeks wore on, getting my Fan District nightlife friends to venture into Henrico County grew more difficult. As the take at the door shriveled, from one week to the next, I gradually ran through the established acts I could easily persuade to give the Underdog Room a try.     

The Scariens, a local performance-art/rock 'n' roll act, stretched the culture clash aspect of my shaky gig to pieces. Piggy and his Attaché crowd of regulars were utterly baffled by the Scariens, who sometimes seemed to baffle themselves, too. They were led by another old friend, Ronnie Soffee.

To make matters more fractious, some of the comedians seemed to rub Piggy's confidants who ventured downstairs the wrong way; to say they didn't get the jokes is an understatement. After almost four months of it, I came to my senses and bailed out.

Leaving Palookaville on good terms, I limped back to the Fan. It had been fun working with the comedians and musicians. And, getting to know Piggy, to the extent that I did, was like living in a low-budget film noir picture from the late-1940s. 

-- Words and art by F.T. Rea.

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High on the Hog: The Gold Standard

Photo from the stage by Chuck Wrenn (2001).

Note: This piece, penned by yours truly, was first published in Style Weekly on Feb. 25, 2014.

*

The stage was a flatbed trailer parked in a cobblestone alley in Church Hill. It faced the back of Chuck Wrenn's house. The audience spilled into adjacent backyards and wherever else it could. With no licenses to legitimize it, the fourth annual High on the Hog had the edgy cachet of Richmond's freewheeling warehouse parties of the '70s.

On Oct. 11, 1980, Richmond didn't allow large outdoor events combining properly amplified rock 'n' roll music and alcohol consumption, especially on public property. When the Megatonz (Wrenn's band) opened the show, to think the cops would come eventually, made sense — which probably encouraged the crowd's collective desire to live in the moment.

Instead, a chilly rain came while the second band, Don' Ax Me ... Bitch, was performing. Rather than wait out the downpour, Wrenn, the irrepressible impresario, broke out large rolls of heavy-gauge transparent plastic. Armed with staple guns, he and volunteer assistants assembled an awning to keep the rain off the equipment and musicians. 

The audience followed suit by unrolling more plastic, to stand underneath while it was held overhead. Those dancing in the mud surely felt the power of rock 'n' roll to simultaneously express lamentation and celebration. With electric guitars wailing in defiance of the rainstorm, the sense of solidarity felt by those baby boomers was the stuff of legends.

The rain subsided. The Memphis Rockabilly Band finished the show. No real trouble from the cops appeared. It was a charmed afternoon.

*

The series of High on the Hog parties began in 1977 as a small, pork-themed gathering of neighborhood friends. No electric guitars. 

In the years that followed the event took on a life of its own. Along with Wrenn, those on the team organizing three decades of parties were Larry Ham, Bobby Long, Steve McKay, Dave O'Kelly, John Cochran and Randy Smith. In 1983 that group struck a deal with city authorities and went legit.

The transformation allowed the stage and festivities for High on the Hog 7 to move across the street into Libby Hill Park. On the bill were the Bop Cats, New Victims of Love, Evan Johns and the H-Bombs and Billy Price and the Keystone Rhythm Band. The turnout was huge, and the untainted success of the event paved the way for a new era in Richmond. It allowed for Jumpin' in July, Friday Cheers and the countless beer-truck-in-the-street and music festivals that followed.

In High on the Hog's peak years, it took some 350 volunteers to chop the pork, serve the beer, tend the stage. The Silver Stars, a beloved gospel group, set the record for most appearances with 10. While space doesn't allow for the complete list, here are some of the other acts that graced the stage in the park:

Barrence Whitfield and the Savages, Big City, Big Posse, Bill Blue and the Nervous Guys, Billy Hancock, Billy Ray Hatley and the Showdogs, Bio Ritmo, Car Bomb, Deanna Bogart, Dirtball, the Diversions, Evan Johns and the H-Bombs, Faded Rose Band, Glenn Pavone and the Cyclones, the Good Guys, Good Humor Band, Janet Martin Band, Marcia Ball, NRBQ, Page Wilson with Reckless Abandon, the Radiators, Steve Bassett, Suzy Saxon and the Anglos, Terry Garland, and the Wall-O-Matics. 

A Nor'easter drenched Richmond on Oct. 7, 2006. In the torrent the massive sound system couldn't be erected. Two of the scheduled acts couldn't perform in such conditions. Nonetheless, Lindy Fralin volunteered a scaled-down sound system. 

Tarps were lashed to the stage to block the wind-driven rain. Lindy's band, The Bop Cats, went on for a handful of dauntless regulars in front of the stage. 

Unfortunately, without the expected income from food and beer sales, the backers' rainy day fund was sopped up. Thus, High on the Hog 30 closed the book on a generation's gold standard for Woodstock-inspired parties. 

The Memphis Rockabilly Band, fronted by the late Jeff Spencer, finished the show. Its encore was Link Wray's "Run Chicken Run," with Bill Coover playing lead guitar for one last dance, with umbrellas, in the mud.

-- 30 --