Heard around the hallways of Good Shepherd: "You stink.'

And that's a good thing.

This Sunday, we're taking our scent to John 12 with a message called "Aromatherapy."

Sunday.

8:30. 10. 11:30

Every year at this time, the eyes of the tennis world turn down under as the Australian Open kicks off the season in what they're calling "The Grand Slam Of Asia and The Pacific."

And my mind turns to that time in 1976 when my parents, older brother and I spent five months in Sydney.

My father was on a sabbatical from his faculty position at the SMU Law School. So he arranged a project at a university in Sydney, and took my mother, brother, and me along between January and May of 1976.

We stayed in a 12th floor apartment that had a spectacular view of the Sydney Harbor. To work on my fitness, I used to run up those 12 flights of stairs to the apartment. And I wonder why I developed some back problems?

Here are my top five memories of what it was like to live temporarily in Australia:

1) I played tennis on grass courts for the first time. As good as promised.
2) Instead of hamburgers, Australians liked meat pies. Almost like a single serving chicken pot pie except stuffed with beef and then drenched in ketchup. It grows on you.
3) In rural Australia, we really did have kangaroos jump across the road in broad daylight, much like deer do here at night. Except for the road kill part.
4) Australian colloquialisms. "Fair dinkum" was a catch-all phrase sort of like "OK" or "well done." "Bloody" is to add emphasis -- just short of profanity -- to whatever it is you are saying. "Sheila" is a catch all for "women" -- there was a time in Australia when so many baby girls were named Sheila they started calling women in general "Sheila." Then there were Australian renditions of those words only an eighth grade boy could love.
5) Left side driving. Even as a passenger, I never could get used to it. Not to mention remembering to look the correct way when crossing a street.

In honor of last night's BCS Title Game between Auburn and Oregon, and with a shout out to my previous post on favorite NFL helmets, here's a list of my Top Five College Football helmet designs.

The list is completely subjective. And, as you'll see, thoroughly dominated by nostalgia.

5. New Mexico Lobos. OK, New Mexico has never been and probably will never be any good at football. But I love the name "lobos." And I also love the snarling replica on the helmets they wear. Perhaps one day the agression will transfer from headgear to playing field.



4. USC Trojans. This is actually an overall UNIFORM award. The cardinal and gold have always been among the coolest combinations in college football. Plus, in the early days -- think Mike Garrett and O.J. Simpson (when he was known for football) in the 1960s -- the helmet was plain. No little Trojan on the side. I think that helmet was actually better. But in any event, given the way the colors work together and as a salute to all those Heismans and National Championships, USC comes in at #4.



3. The Air Force Falcons. Great design. Conveys shock and awe. It's so good, in fact, that I believe the San Diego Chargers copied it.



2. Texas Tech Red Raiders. Cut me some slack here. What letter does "Talbot" begin with? "T", of course. So when I first saw this design as a little boy and realized how the two "Ts" intersected and interlocked, I was hooked. The black and red isn't half bad, either. In fact, I was so enamored as a 6 year old that Texas Tech ALMOST became my favorite team . . .



1. SMU Mustangs. Almost for Texas Tech because no one could ever top my beloved SMU team or its dynamic design. I'm not sure which came first -- SMU or Ford -- put I can't think of a logo that has more horsepower than this one. Here's the current helmet:




Back in 2007, they had a different color scheme that I think worked even better . . . but the team went 0-12 that year and that was that.



And the one closest to my heart was the red helmet with the running white mustang that the team wore in the early 1970s . . . when I was at the age that all my heroes and helmets were larger than life.