by TAKEO "BABE" UTSUMI

The stock market is still on uncertain grounds, to put it mildly. Last Monday, the Dow Jones index was referred to by one market broadcaster as a bungee jump.

The index at one time went down over 800 points, and finally “recovered” in the upper 300s.
It must be a wild time for the buyers and sellers on the floor of the Stock Exchange. Indigestion and headache pills are probably taken at a fast pace.

The so-called bail-out was to calm the market, but so far it hasn’t reacted the way it was hoped.

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Finally, the O.J. Simpson trial in Las Vegas had ended. He has been proven guilty of robbery and kidnapping. The latter indictment carries a heavy sentence.

Some, especially the black population, feel that Simpson was found guilty because of racial prejudice since there were no African Americans on the jury. On the other hand, most feel that O.J. got his comeuppance for the murder of his wife, Nicole, and her friend, Ron Goldman, 14 years ago.

The sentencing will be later on this year, and it will be interesting to see how severe the punishment will be.

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The beaver controversy is still going on in the city of Martinez. The animals have, more or less, created a home in the creek adjacent to the business area in that town. They seem to dig into the bank that was created to protect the downtown area, thus creating a flood situation.

Some outraged businessmen have even suggested wiping out the beaver family to forcibly end this situation. On the other hand, animal lovers are just as adamant in protecting these creatures. One project suggested was to put a steel wire fence along the bank so that the animals cannot burrow into the embankment.

You can be sure that TV reruns of the old “Leave It to Beaver” series are not too popular in Martinez.

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Much has been made about dangerous toys, food products and even medications coming from China. In fact, many of these have been prevented from entering this country. Now we are retaliating by establishing cholesterol-filled McDonald’s burger franchises there, and recently the fatty Krispy Kreme Donuts, of which 35 franchises will be opening there soon.

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With the economic situation on the downturn, the report is that even in Las Vegas business has slowed down. So you can figure that Reno has also been affected.

The snow season makes it just a little more difficult to reach there. Actually, the Tahoe region with its many ski resorts attracts more visitors.

I heard that the Circus Circus in Reno is laying off 100 people from its staff, and the Fitzgerald will lay off 400, close down temporarily for remodeling into a boutique hotel, and eliminate its gambling facilities.

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The Major League baseball playoffs are in full swing right now. It’s interesting to note that so many Japanese-named players are on most of the teams. It’s too bad that the best import of them all from Japan, Ichiro Suzuki, has not participated in the World Series yet. At least he has been chosen to start for eight straight years in the All-Star Game since he has been here, and that’s quite an accomplishment.

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I was truly disappointed with the past weekend’s loss of the San Francisco 49ers to the New England Patriots. J.T. Sullivan threw three touchdown passes, but was intercepted twice.

The key defense was the failure of the third-down play. Many times the Niners would hold the Patriots fairly well for two downs, and then allow New England to bang out a first down.

The only guy who kept the Niners in the game was the punter, Andy Lee, who kicked beautifully to keep San Francisco out of the hole.

Another reason that I thought San Francisco would have a chance against New England was that their star all-pro quarterback, Tom Brady, was injured and unable to play, but the back-up quarterback, Matt Cassel, was sensational.

It turns out he used to be a Little League pitcher in Southern California, and even participated in the Little League World Series in his youth. Then he went to USC and was a third-string quarterback there.

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Back in the ’30s and ’40s, the key guys on a football team were the running backs. I am talking about the days when it was either the single-wing or the double-wing formations in the back field, and many times the quarterback called the signals and was a blocker.

So here are some of the names that I can recall as great runners. These are the guys who played while in college and university. Most of them eventually made out well in the pro ranks. They are: Red Grange, Hopalong Cassidy, Bruce Smith, Tommy Harmon, Whizzer White, Choo-choo Justice, Elroy Hirsch, Glen Davis, Doc Blanchard, Jim Brown and Johnny Mack Brown.

Of course, the Pacific Coast Conference had some great running backs also: Hugh McElhenny of Washington; Don Durdan of Oregon State; Ernie Hevers, Bobby Grayson and Pete Kmetovic of Stanford; Cotton Warburton, Irv Mohler, Frank Gifford, O.J. Simpson, Clarence Davis and Reggie Smith of USC; Kenny Washington and Jackie Robinson of UCLA; Benny Lom, Vic Bottari, Jackie Jensen and Sam Chapman of UC Berkeley.

There are many stand-out runners in small colleges, also in California: Eddie Macon and Dick Bass of UOP; Herman Wedemeyer of St. Mary’s; Ollie Matson of USF.
I am sure there are many more, but these guys come to my mind for their brilliant performances on the gridiron.

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There is a new type of business or industry lately in this world of foreclosures of homes. Seems like the real estate people don’t want to see vacant homes with brown lawns in front. So Stockton, which leads the state in foreclosures, has hired guys to spray green paint in front to make the houses attractive.

I guess you can say, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”