By JIMMY D / Rest in peace (and pieces), Evel Knievel | Jimmy's archive

He was Captain Marvel meets Elvis Presley with a bit of Muhammad Ali thrown in for flavour.

Human superhero, daredevil, Vegas hang-around, self-promoter, a fighter to the finish.

He was Evel Knievel and he might not have made the Jimmy D column this week had Jimmy not been at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas (the scene of one of his most spectacular and painful crashes) when he heard the news of his death.
Or had Jimmy not just hours before flown over the Grand Canyon (the spot where Evel wanted to pull off his most outrageous stunt).

The Montana-born Knievel dodged death for three years after being diagnosed with a terminal lung disease, but it finally got the great American daredevil last week at the age of 69.

For those too young to remember the Wide World of Sports telecasts that invariably covered one of his many high-drama motorcycle, he was little more than a 70s has-been, and a corny one at that, wearing Elvis sideburns and stars-and-stripes emblazoned uniform (sometimes with a Superman-style cape trailing behind him).

For those who remember the anticipation of watching this crazy dude soar over 14 Greyhound buses or fly 50 metres over the fountains at Caesar’s palace on his Harley Davidson, he was a daring breath of fresh air.

A stuntman trying crazy stuff that nobody else would dare just because he could. Trying to rocket over the Snake River portion (officials wouldn't let him attempt the Grand Canyon) just because it was the biggest and baddest stunt he could imagine.

And always making good on his pledge to try it, even when he figured it might be a death wish to go through with it. When he drank too much, he preached to kids about the dangers of drinking.

When he beat with a baseball bat the author of a scathing book about him, he refused to apologize and did his time in jail for it.

He was a terrific athlete, starring in track and field and ski jumping as a student and playing minor pro hockey with the Charlotte Checkers of the old East Coast Hockey League. And he’s in Guinness Book for most broken bones.

Rest in peace, or pieces, Evel Knievel.

McCowns not clowns

For those NFL poolies who have been burned by quarterbacks named McCown so often that you don’t put your fingers back to the fire even when you know they will start, Sunday was a bad day.

Luke McCown moved from third-stringer to starter in Tampa Bay and went 29 for 37 with two TD passes - including winner with 14 seconds left – as the Bucs won at New Orleans.

Further west in Oakland, brother Josh – renowned for spectacularly choking away starting QB gigs – was putting the finishing touches on an upset of Denver. Josh was 14 for 21 with three TDs and, even more out of character, no picks.

But this game, moreso than the McCown performance, will be remembered as the first game action for JaMarcus Russell, the top pick in the 2007 entry draft. On the day his former LSU teammates were awarded a spot in the BCS Championship Game against Ohio State, Russell was effective and gave glimpses of his mammoth potential in leading the Raider offense.

Should Sunday send you back to the waiver wire in search of McCowns? Depends on how lucky you feel and if your football roster can afford to be burned.

Jimmy NHL Jackal Update

After another weekly loss in his HL head-to-head league, Jimmy rebounded with a 9-1 win last week and faces the last-place Stonemen this week. He finally got a bit of production from Joe Thornton and toyed with the idea of plucking Shark teammate Patrick Marleau off waivers (where the San Jose captain inexplicably resides after his awful start).

Instead, we take a flier on Wild winger Aaron Voros, who has four goals and 31 penalty minutes in his last eight games and played Sunday with Marian Gaborik. Since pims are a positive category, a rookie with some offensive flair and willingness to fling the knuckles is a very good thing.

Check him out as he may be available on the waiver wire in your league.
Stay busy, stay lucky.

Jimmy D