"Tom Snyder and Bill Walsh"

Tom Snyder and Bill Walsh died today. These two were influential in the lives of most Americans. I say most because my friend, Hoots, has probably never heard of Bill Walsh. And my friend, Marty, as well. Now, Slippery, he knows Bill Walsh.

Bill was the architect of the West Coast offense, and this ain't got nothing to do with gang members, aka gangstas. It's football at its finest. It's where the quarterback says in the huddle: "all you receivers and backs sprint like hell, cos I'm a'gonna throw this here pigskin. You catch it, and we're a'gonna score a lot of points."

And score a lot of points they did. First with Joe Montana, who had to be one of the finest q.b.'s ever. "Clutch" was his middle name.

He possessed an almost mystical calmness in the midst of chaos, especially with the game on the line in the fourth quarter. While others saw turmoil and danger after the snap, Montana saw order and opportunity. He was Joe Cool, the unflappable king of the comeback.

Take the 1989 Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals. The San Francisco 49ers were down by three points with 3:20 left when Montana spotted -- no, not an open receiver -- but a personality. "There, in the stands, standing near the exit ramp," Montana said to tackle Harris Barton. "Isn't that John Candy?" And then he led the 49ers 92 yards, throwing for the winning touchdown with 34 seconds left.

After Joe came Steve Young and Jerry Rice. I never liked San Francisco, because they always put a whomping on the Falcons, and because I liked the Cowboys, America's Team. [ pre-Jerry Jones and the guy with the unflappable hairdo ]

Bill Walsh? He was considered a genius on the gridiron.

Then there's Tom Snyder, who kinda went underground the last 25 years. But he was the first late night talk show host. People made fun of his hair; his wide colorful ties; his laugh; and the ubiquitous smoke from his cigarettes.

Dan Akyroyd of SNL did a great impersonation of Tom. And I recall staying up many a night to see old Tom do his thing.

So two influential guys died today. It's a sad day on the Pond, where "time flies when yer havin' fun." the ubiquitous v.c.

P.S. Dedicated to the aforementioned: