It was difficult to narrow everything down to a top five list of stories that define the year we’re about to wrap up. So here goes.

5. Start of Paul McCartney’s third marriage

By now, you’re well aware his first marriage ended in the passing of his then wife, Linda. His second marriage ended in a bitter divorce (perhaps less said the better). After that, the former Nancy Shevell entered his world. They tied the knot this past October. Ringo Starr, the only other living former Beatle, was in attendance.

Since then, word came Sir Paul is working on a new album – mostly of standards. It’s been a project 20 years in the making.

4. Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed say “I do” (finally!)

This past summer, during an appearance on the CBS daytime show The Talk, Gene Simmons admitted it was time to “grow up” and avoid the temptations the typical rock and roll lifestyle bring.

After that admission, Gene and long-time lover Shannon Tweed vacationed in Belize, he got down on bended knee and proposed, she said yes — and they also tied the knot this past October.

A quick sidebar: New radio co-worker Michael Mergens got to meet Gene Gene the metal machine. Merg and his wife Teresa, a.k.a. “Mrs. Merg”, saw KISS in concert in 2009. Nice to see we finally have a “Gene is to Shannon as Michael is to Teresa” analogy.

3. Cheap Trick avoiding disaster in Canada

The band was performing at the Ottawa Bluesfest in Canada. Just after they finished performing one of their best known hits, “I Want You To Want Me”, the stage they performed on collapsed in the midst of severe weather. No one was seriously hurt in the incident. But panic and hysteria followed soon thereafter.

2. It’s the end of R.E.M. as we know it

After years of carving a niche in the world of college radio, the band finally hit it big in 1987 with the hit song “The One I Love”. R.E.M.– which formed in Athens, Georgia — went on to taste success for much of the next two decades. This past September, R.E.M’s members posted a message online noting they decided “to call it a day as a band”.

1. Clarence Anicholas Clemons, Jr. (1942-2011)

Having worked with the classic rock format for nearly my entire radio career, it’s not often I tune in to music of other formats. However, I must confess, “The Edge of Glory” by Lady Gaga has grown on me for two reasons.

First, the basis of the song. She recalled as her grandfather was dying, his wife of six decades stood over him. The singer recalled he looked like a champion — sending a message of “we won” to his widow-to-be.

The other reason — the unmistakable sax solo of “the big man”. What’s also included in what proved to be Clarence Clemons’ last professional work is a concert performance with Furthur, which includes former members of The Grateful Dead.

Clarence, of course, will forever be known with his work with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, all of whom will be going forward with a tour next year. Needless to say, this is a story my Rock 104 co-workers and I will be following.

The world of rock will miss him dearly.

The proposed plans include a change in title of the program as well as the addition of anchors Charlie Rose and Gayle King. One you probably know from a long running PBS program; the other you probably know as Oprah’s best friend.

To borrow a line from the game show host character in the video arcade game Smash TV, “Good luck. You’ll need it.”

Now’s a good time to revisit the take of a TV critic in Florida. Tom Jicha opined CBS had much better luck with Captain Kangaroo in the morning.

The captain’s track record of success lasted more than a quarter of a century – until the news division meddled with his time slot. Later, the kiddie show was relegated to weekends only.

Ever since CBS News took over for the captain, there have been numerous changes in anchors, styles in presentation and titles of the program.

I stand behind my previous take. A network that has a reimagined Hawaii Five-0 and a revived Let’s Make A Deal on its air schedule should give up the ghost on morning news and replaced it with a revived/reimagined Captain Kangaroo.

Pat Summitt has disclosed a diagnosis of early onset dementia.

Doug’s Place Flashback: As noted earlier, my father taught Air Force ROTC at the University of Tennessee. His office was at the Stokely Athletic Center — one floor above the basketball court and the offices of the coaches. (Read: This was well before the days of Thompson–Boling Arena.)

Thanks in part to that relatively close proximity from office to office, the Morris family got to know a then very young Pat Head. How young, you ask? In her first few seasons, the age difference between the head coach (unintended pun, I promise) and any of her players was minimal at best.

Her turnaround from humble beginnings to legendary status is truly a remarkable story. The record from there speaks for itself: More than 1000 victories at UT, eight NCAA titles, an Olympic Gold medal in 1984 as coach and Silver in 1976 as a player (yes, while still Lady Vols coach).

All the while, none of us had any reason to bet against Coach Summitt. Even with this stunning news, we’re not betting against her now.

Coach, keep the faith. We’re thinking of and praying for you.

I’m speaking of Mitchell Williams – who is leaving my TV family at WDAM to become area director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

If you know Mitch or have watched him these many years, you knew all along he’s a Christian. He’s spoken to many a Christian group throughout his time at WDAM (full disclosure: I was in the audience of one of those groups before becoming a colleague).

When this door with the FCA opened, it was certainly a logical step for him to take. While we’re losing one of the longest serving employees of WDAM, we know we still have a friend in Mitch.

Thankfully, he’s staying in our neighborhoods. Whenever he’s putting together a major FCA event, he knows who to call when it comes time to seek publicity.

Mitch, thanks for everything. Sports Journal will not be the same without you. Thanks for giving us the chance to smile at least once during the news.

But seriously, while we have every reason to celebrate, recite the Pledge of Allegiance, sing our national anthem and other patriotic songs, may we be reminded the mission is far from over. The war against terror is still going on. As a friend on Facebook posted, “(Bin Laden) may now be dead. But all I will say is brace yourself.”

So, just how do we brace ourselves? For some answers, let’s turn the clock back to 2001 — when it all began.

Days after 9/11/01, Charles Jaco posted a commentary on his website — nearly all of which can apply to the present day. If his name rings a bell, you’ll recall he was a correspondent with CNN. (In case the name doesn’t ring a bell, his last name is pronounced as if you were saying the letter “J” and syllable “co” with a hard “C”.)

Perhaps his most notable assignment for the network came during the 1991 Gulf War. A few years after the war, Jaco left CNN and returned to his native Missouri. He has since worked in local radio and TV in St. Louis — and his reporting can currently be seen on KTVI television.

But back to Jaco’s commentary. It began with an obituary to “the old America” — and how a new one began less than a minute later. It continues with a few helpful tips worth revisiting.

Jaco opined a nationwide “neighborhood watch” began on 9/11/01. He also recommended we should “stop being afraid”, to “get over” ourselves and “know the enemy”.

The link to that commentary is here — and is worth the look. May God continue to bless America, land that we love, and keep it safe from harm. Along the way, may we do our part to keep this great land of ours free of terror.

Don’t know the name? Google her name, skim over images –- and then come back to this.

OK, let’s get the obvious out of the way. At 42, she’s the oldest cheerleader on the squad, the oldest cheerleader in the league and the cougar in a sea of kittens.

Legend has it her husband left her for a younger woman -– leaving Laura to reinvent herself. She tried out for the Ben-Gals when she turned 39, was rejected, tried again and made the cut.

Now, reportedly, motherhood and other matters took a toll on her weight during her marriage. Still, that’s not an excuse for the now ex-husband to just leave spousal responsibility behind.

On the one hand, I love her comeback story -– and plans call for that story to be made into a movie. On the other hand, it just makes me ask –- what part of “in sickness and in health” did this dingbat not understand?

For example, *the* moment in mid-March of 1996 — when Larry Blakeney called and asked, “Ready to work for us?” He offered a chance for me to sleep on it — but I didn’t hesitate in saying “Yes.” A call to Stephen St. James during his shift was in order soon thereafter. He got the news he and I would be professionally reunited. Much of the first week of April of ’96 was spent crafting RockTrax, taking care of paperwork, etc. Oh, and catching up with Stephen. As noted earlier, Stephen’s no longer with us. But, I know he’d want to remember happier moments.

Prior to my hiring at Rock 104, one of those moments happened, as I recall, in mid-February of 1996. I was still on “the old show” at SL and a lady named Deborah Hamlin called. The following conversation didn’t end up on air -– but I remembered she called to tell me she enjoyed my program. Deborah added “the old show” was really one of few reasons she tuned in to SL. (Knowing how You-Know-Who’s morning show was going nowhere fast after his suspension, who was I to argue with a new found fan?)

Deborah would call back in the weeks that followed to requests songs. In mid-March of ’96, I privately told her I was resigning from SL –- to front a similar show on Rock 104. She was thrilled for me and wished me lots of luck.

I lost touch with Deborah about a year or so into RockTrax. She and her then-husband welcomed three kids into their marriage. In reconnecting with Deborah recently, I’ve learned she is since divorced; she and the kids have relocated to Kansas. I’m pleased to tell you she found love again since the relocation.

I’m further pleased to tell you Deborah has become an author. Her latest book — My Optimism is Killing Me! — is now available at your nearest bookstore and the usual online outlets. The excerpts at www.deborah-hamlin.com as well as her columns on www.moonbaby.biz had me, as the cool kids say, ROTFLMAO.

Deborah’s coming back to these neighborhoods for book signings on March 12 at Say It With Flowers in Columbia and March 15 at Main Street Books in Hattiesburg. Her personal appearances will then take her to New Orleans on St. Patrick’s Day at Maple Street Book Shop.

If you’re in need of a laugh, take a look at Deborah’s work. You’ll be glad you did.

(Cross-posted from DougMorris.net.)

When my wife died four years ago, a relative told me that God must have needed Cindy for a reason.

Today, I tell you God must have needed Stephen St. James for a reason. Stephen has died after a battle with brain cancer.

For a vast majority of Rock 104′s existence, Stephen worked in afternoon drive. He also served as the operations manager for our parent company, Blakeney Communications. Stephen previously worked at other radio stations in the Pine Belt and Meridian.

When Stephen and I worked at one of those other stations, he taught me the nuts and bolts of the business – when to introduce songs, when to air the weather forecast, when to play contests and so forth. When severe weather hit our neighborhoods in November of 1992, Stephen talked me through how we should cover the storm.

Stephen would want us to continue to rock the Pine Belt and serve the public trust. While we mourn, we will also continue to move forward without him.

In moving forward, we will miss Stephen’s sharp sense of humor and insight in the business.

Our condolences to his wife, Marilyn, and his family.

Godspeed, Stephen. We’ll miss you dearly.

Ever since this video went viral, Ted Williams, the homeless man seen in the above clip, has been offered several jobs. Reportedly, offers include P.A. announcer for the Cleveland Cavaliers (and even they could use some good news post-LeBron) and commercial voice work for an Ohio credit union. And that’s just the beginning.

Looks like it’s already a Happy New Year for Williams. May this be the start of brighter days ahead.