19 March 26

Today marks the first round in this year's "March Madness" NCAA basketball tournaments. The men's and women's teams from the University of Kentucky are dancing again! My brackets culminate in championships for other teams, but we will be watching UK and hoping for major successes. You can expect us to be cheering for whoever is playing against Duke or Tennessee or Louisville. On my tie, Bugs and Daffy and Taz are just having fun.

27 July 22

 On this date in 1940, the world was introduced to Bugs Bunny! On my tie he's playing basketball with Taz and Daffy Duck.

27 July 21

 On this date in 1940, Bugs Bunny was introduced to the world! My tie shows him playing basketball with Daffy Duck and Taz.

30 May 19

I'm wearing my Bugs-Bunny-and-Daffy-Duck-and-Taz-Devil-basketball tie to honor the memory of Mel Blanc, the voice for thousands of characters in movies and cartoons. He was born on this date in 1908 and died in 1989. His gravestone is famous for the epitaph "That's All, Folks!" which was the closing line (from Porky Pig) for many cartoons. This tie is also appropriate for the beginning of the finals for the NBA Championship, this year between the Toronto Raptors (the first time a Canadian team has made it to the finals) and the Golden State Warriors (who have won the championship the last two years).

21 November 17

Today I'll show off the "tail" from my Looney Tunes tie that features Tweety Bird! The speech-challenged animated yellow canary made his debut on this date in 1942. (Yes, Tweety Bird is male.) Also born on this date: Marlo Thomas, daughter of Danny Thomas, who became famous as TV's "That Girl," born in 1937; and Goldie Hawn, famous from "Laugh-In" and "Private Benjamin," born in 1945.

6 November 16

James Naismith, inventor of basketball, was born on this date in 1861, in Almonte, Ontario, Canada. He created the game of basketball in late 1891 while teaching physical education at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts.

29 May 16

Tomorrow marks the 108th birthday of Mel Blanc, who voiced scores of characters for Looney Tunes® and Hanna-Barbera® cartoons, notably Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety Bird and Barney Rubble. My tie celebrates Bugs and Daffy and Taz, with Tweety Bird on the tail. The basketballs are also very appropriate for these days in the NBA playoffs where the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder are tied 3-3 for the Western Conference, preparing for the championship finals against the Eastern Conference-winning Cleveland Cavaliers.

27 May 15

Today's tie celebrates both basketball (for the NBA playoffs currently underway) and Mel Blanc's voices for Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and other Looney Tunes® characters (for his birthday on Saturday).

24 March 14

It's non-stop college basketball time again. In the NCAA men's basketball tournament, Eastern Kentucky University played very well last Thursday against Kansas, leading or staying close until the last two minutes of their early-round game. The University of Kentucky team has won two games so far, with another game coming up against Louisville this Friday. On the women's side, UK's team plays its second game tonight!

13 May 13

This is National Nursing Home Week, and last year I received this Bugs Bunny-Daffy-Duck-Taz-Devil tie from a resident of Telford Terrace where I visit every Sunday. The basketball theme is good right now because the NBA playoffs are in progress. Today I discovered that the tail (usually hidden behind the main panel) has a distinctive picture of Tweety Bird and a basketball!

22 January 12

It's the middle of college basketball season, and the University of Kentucky Wildcats are playing very well--ranked number one in the nation! This tie was a gift to me from Jane Brown, whose husband Bill is a resident at Telford Terrace, the personal care manor where I visit every Sunday evening.