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ADRIAN, Mich. - Jewel Threet is a father who wants to know how any set of parents could dream this.
Dream that their youngest son, who watched Michigan beat Southern California in the Rose Bowl with his mother on Jan. 2, 1989 - the day he was born - might actually quarterback the Wolverines.
Imagine that their boy would call the signals for the team they had season tickets to watch play eight years before he was born.
Think they could raise him in their house on Lake Adrian in Michigan and have him grow up to be THE MAN for the tradition-rich football factory 35 miles away in Ann Arbor.
This is about to be reality for Threet and his wife, Pam. Their son, Steven, is the odds-on favorite to debut at quarterback as a freshman for the Wolverines in their 2008 season opener against Utah on Aug. 30.
"How do you dream that?
Seriously, you don't," Jewel said. "Never even dreamed it," added Pam, UM class of 1975.
New coach Rich Rodriguez has yet to name Threet as his starting quarterback - challenges from sophomore Nick Sheridan and true freshman Justin Feagin still abound - but most signs point to the Threets' son being under center against Utah.
If indeed it is Threet who's making throws and otherwise directing Rodriguez's spread-option offense, the town of Adrian, all Michiganders loyal to the Wolverines, and the program's national following will be counting on him.
Threet, of course, wants nothing more than to be in that spot. But did he ever think he'd be here, at least up until the point when he transferred from Georgia Tech to UM before last season?
"No. Not really. I mean, football wasn't even in the picture for me," Threet said. "I liked watching, but my brother never played, my dad never played, so I never envisioned this when I was younger."
Picking a sport Steven Threet is the son of a baseball player.
Jewel, pitched, played third base, shortstop and the outfield for Adrian College, graduating in 1975.
The Threets' first son, Jay, played baseball at Purdue and then Bowling Green. Their second child, Kristin, was a softball player at Eastern Michigan.
Steven, the baby of the family, never laced up football spikes until the eighth grade. Before then, it was mostly baseball and basketball for him.
"I made a deal with one of my friends, where if he agreed to play basketball I would come out and play football," Threet said.
So Threet became the quarterback at then-Springbrook Middle School, where he remembers throwing lots of passes for coach Roy Gonzalez. He liked football so much that he stuck with it in the ninth grade, and he lettered in three sports his sophomore year at Adrian High School - earning all-conference selections in football and baseball.
"By the end of my sophomore year, I liked football better than the other two," he recalled.
Threet dropped baseball as a junior. The springs and summers were to be spent traveling to football camps at places like Toledo, Michigan, Notre Dame - places he could polish his skills and showcase them to college coaches.
He went on to throw for 4,824 yards and 49 touchdowns in three years for Adrian coach Phil Jacobs' program. And at 6-foot-5, those college coaches he visited in the summers were interested.
"He had a big frame and a very strong arm. It was inevitable that colleges would find him," Jacobs said.
As for his friend who first turned him on to playing football, Threet can't remember his name.
"I just remember he ended up not coming out for basketball," Threet said with a laugh. "The deal worked out for me in the end."
Cheering for blue Threet's parents began using their friend's UM season tickets in 1981. In 1983, the Threets purchased their own set and joined the Victors Club.
"They were on the 42-yard line, section 26," Pam recalled.
Steven's earliest, fondest memory of going to UM games is of something that didn't even happen at the Big House. He remembers being 8-years-old and watching Charles Woodson make a one-handed interception in a 1997 game at Michigan State.
Jewel took Steven to several Wolverines games a year, which sometimes included bowl games. They were at the Rose Bowl in 2005 and attended the coaches' luncheon, and Steven was picked from the crowd to represent UM in sort of a cheer-off, if you will.
"Stevie was on stage and later talked with [former UM coach] Lloyd [Carr] about it, that was pretty cool," Jewel remembered.
Some Rodriguez detractors say the new coach isn't a "Michigan Man." No one could've said that about Threet - until it came time to pick a college.
While there was some mutual interest between Threet and UM, the Wolverines already had a commitment from Ryan Mallett, and were recruiting others at the position.
Georgia Tech and Wisconsin recruited Threet hard, while Indiana, Illinois, Michigan State, North Carolina State and Mid-American Conference schools also showed interest.
In the end, Threet, who was rated the ninth-best quarterback recruit in the country by Rivals.com, said UM wanted him to wait a little longer before he made his choice. He chose Georgia Tech.
"I know the Threets were always Michigan fans. Stevie was always a Michigan fan," Jacobs said. "But they were looking for the best fit, first and foremost. They gave Georgia Tech a try."
Returning home Of course, Threet's tenure with the Yellow Jackets was over almost before it began.
He enrolled at Georgia Tech in January, 2007, and announced his transfer to UM in July.
"The coaches who recruited me were gone," Threet said of former Yellow Jackets offensive coordinator Patrick Nix. "They had brought in new coaches and it just didn't feel like the place for me."
Jacobs called himself "the communicator" between the Threets and UM, working to bring them together.
Per NCAA rules, Threet had to sit out the 2007 season because he transferred. He took in the games on the sidelines, watching as Chad Henne played his final season and Mallett filled in as his backup.
We all know what happened from there. Carr retired, UM replaced him with Rodriguez (and with Rodriguez came a totally new style of offense), and Mallett transferred to Arkansas.
Unless there's an upset or an injury in the coming weeks, it appears the prestige and pressure of being UM's starting quarterback will fall on Threet's shoulders.
"I was here last year and was able to talk to Chad quite a bit," Threet said. "I was able to be on the field and see what it's like. It was different because I was in street clothes, but it won't be completely new, either."
The competition Here's what we know about UM's quarterbacking scenario as fall camp approaches Aug. 4.
Threet is 6-5 and 230 pounds with a strong right throwing arm, and was hotly sought after as a prep quarterback. Sheridan is 6-1 and about 200 pounds, is the son of a former UM assistant who now coaches with the New York Giants, and as of spring practice was not on scholarship.
In the Wolverines' spring scrimmage, which was open to the media, Threet took every single snap with what is widely regarded as the first team. Rodriguez said afterwards that Threet and Sheridan were still competing for the job, but it's hard to get around what was on display in the scrimmage.
There's also Feagin, a true dual threat from Florida who may be more suited to run Rodriguez's spread-option scheme, but the Wolverines' first practice in August will be Feagin's first as a college athlete. For him to start against Utah would be a remarkably quick transition, but it's not out of the question that Feagin could see some playing time early.
So with all of these variables, perhaps this is why Threet, who considers questions from reporters before giving answers, said the pressure of playing at the Big House hasn't hit him yet.
"There's more pressure on 'if' I'll be the quarterback," Threet said.
While some pundits anointed Feagin as the answer at quarterback by midseason, others point to 2009, when Rodriguez recruits like Kevin Newsome (Chesapeake, Va.) or Shavodrick Beaver (Wichita Falls, Texas) should be on campus.
Threet said he welcomes the immediate and future competition.
"If anything it helps just to make sure you know you've got to keep working," he said. "The last thing you want is to go into your freshman season complacent."
Around Adrian At the local chiropractor's office and pizza shop in and around Adrian, people are talking about Steven Threet.
They go up to Threet's parents and ask about their son, wondering how he's doing and if he's up to the challenge.
"My sister told me I need to get thicker skin," Pam said. "I'm proud of him no matter what he does."
Those who approach the Threets and inquire about their son are kind, but some bloggers, talk show hosts and magazine scribes haven't been as nice. They raise questions about Threet's lack of experience and ability to run Rodriguez's offense, and look forward to the days when Rodriguez's recruits take over.
But in Lenawee County, the talk is much more positive.
"This is a big deal," said Brian Phillips, 43, of Sand Creek, Mich., at the Fricker's in Adrian. "I work over at Merrilat Industries, and there are a lot of parents of kids who went to Adrian. This is all we've been talking about. Wait until August."
Another Adrian grad, Kellen Davis, starred as a tight end at Michigan State and was drafted in the fifth round by the Chicago Bears in April.
But this is different. This is a quarterback. This is Michigan.
"This is a big, big job he's hooked onto," said Denny Schar-
er, 53, of Sand Creek. "I hope he can fulfill everybody's expectations." Contact Joe Vardon at:
jvardon@theblade.com or 419-410-5055.

BALTIMORE - Two improbable comebacks produced one extremely uplifting victory for the Baltimore Orioles.
After Ramon Hernandez tied it with a homer in the bottom of the ninth inning, Luke Scott homered in the 10th to carry the Orioles past the Detroit Tigers 11-10 Saturday. The Orioles trailed by six runs in the first inning and entered the ninth down by one. And somehow, Baltimore snapped a stretch of nine straight losses in one-run games. "People who have been watching the club all year have seen similar type events like this," manager Dave Trembley said. "I tell you, every time it happens it just makes you a little more proud to be around these guys because they will not quit. They will not quit at all." Baltimore has come from behind in 29 of its 47 wins this season, but not like this. Not after trailing 6-0 in the first inning, or 10-9 in the ninth against a Detroit team that was 41-1 when leading after eight innings. "It feels great," Scott said. "We were fortunate to come out on top."
Scott's shot off Freddy Dolsi (1-4) cleared the 25-foot scoreboard in right field and landed on Eutaw Street, an estimated 420 feet from the plate. It was Scott's third homer in two games, and he marked the occasion by sliding into home before his teammates mobbed him. Scott got the chance to be a hero because Hernandez homered on the first pitch in the ninth from Joel Zumaya. "It was a great game. You get emotional after you're losing, come back, they get ahead, you come back and then you win," Hernandez said. George Sherrill (3-4) worked the top of the 10th, which ended with Placido Polanco being called out trying to score on a two-out single by Gary Sheffield. The replay indicated Polanco beat the tag by Hernandez, who took the throw from center fielder Adam Jones. "We get the benefit of looking at replay and he was clearly safe. That's the breaks," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. "The umpire was right on top of the play and he just missed. But that doesn't excuse blowing the lead like we did." Miguel Cabrera homered and had four RBIs, Jeff Larish also homered and Polanco had four hits. But it wasn't enough. "I don't think it's any more disappointing than any of the other ones over the course of a season," outfielder Curtis Granderson said. "You also have to give them credit. They definitely didn't quit after the start we got." Melvin Mora homered in a third consecutive game for the Orioles, and Kevin Millar went 3-for-6 with two doubles. After letting a 6-0 lead become a 9-7 deficit, Detroit moved back in front with a three-run sixth against Dennis Sarfate. Polanco hit an RBI single and took third on a double by Sheffield before Magglio Ordonez greeted Fernando Cabrera with a sacrifice fly. Matt Joyce then hit an RBI double. In the bottom half, Fernando Rodney struck out pinch-hitter Jay Payton with the bases loaded and two outs. Orioles starter Daniel Cabrera gave up six first-inning runs, then allowed one unearned run and one hit over the next four innings before being lifted. Cabrera supplemented the Tigers' four first-inning hits by issuing two walks and hitting a batter. Ordonez opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly, and Miguel Cabrera followed with his 17th homer to make it 4-0. Joyce then drew a walk, and Larish hit the next pitch into the right-field seats. In the bottom half, Nick Markakis singled ahead of Mora's 14th home run. An error by Daniel Cabrera preceded a run-scoring grounder in the second inning by Miguel Cabrera, making it 7-2. But Baltimore scored six runs on eight hits in the third to take an 8-7 lead. Brian Roberts doubled and Markakis singled before Mora, Millar and Scott hit RBI singles to chase Nate Robertson. Aquilino Lopez then yielded run-scoring singles to Hernandez and Brandon Fahey, and Roberts capped the uprising with an RBI double. Robertson gave up seven runs in 2 1-3 innings. In his previous six starts against Baltimore, the left-hander was 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA. The Orioles loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth but got only one run, on a sacrifice fly by Hernandez. Notes:@ Robertson is winless in five starts since June 21. ... Markakis and Mora both went 2-for-2 against Robertson after coming in 1-for-11 and 1-for-16 respectively against the left-hander. ... Roberts became the first Oriole to get two doubles in one inning since B.J. Surhoff in 1999.

In Their Words is a weekly feature appearing Sundays in The Blade's sports section. Blade sports writer Zach Silka talked with Tom Duncan, a Bowsher graduate who was a defensive back for University of Toledo, including the first two seasons of the Rockets' 35-0 run.
Tom Duncan has been gone from the University of Toledo football program for some time now, but two of his impressive records still stand nearly 40 years after they were set.
Duncan holds the record for the longest interception returned for a touchdown (93 yards) and the most career interception return yards (217).
He started every game in his college career after being the only sophomore starter on the defense in 1968.
After finishing with a 5-4-1 record in Duncan's sophomore season, Toledo went undefeated in during his junior (11-0) and senior (12-0) seasons, the latter of which he was a captain.
Duncan was named to the All-MAC first team in his final year and was invited to play in the Senior Bowl.
After college, Duncan signed as a free agent with the New England Patriots but was cut in training camp. He then played two seasons with the Columbus Bucks, a minor-league affiliate of the Chicago Bears, before trying out with the New York Jets and then spending one season with their minor league affiliate, the Bridgeport Jets in Connecticut.
A native of Toledo, Duncan was an All-City League performer in football and track at Bowsher. He has been inducted into the Rebels and Rockets halls of fame.
Duncan works as a color analyst for football, basketball, baseball, and softball games on the local BuckeyeCable Sports Network.
"I GUESS I was a little
nave. I was recruited by most of the MAC schools and maybe a couple Big Ten schools. [Toledo defensive coordinator] Jack Murphy started recruiting me when I was a junior. He showed me a lot of attention. He showed that they were interested, which I was always impressed with, and anybody else that recruited me, I always seemed to be secondary. I was recruited as a quarterback. They told me if I didn't play quarterback, there's a possibility I could play running back, wide receiver or defensive back. I ended playing as a freshman as a quarterback [on the scout team] before freshmen were eligible. Then in spring ball, they switched me from quarterback to running back and then they decided on defensive back. "THE CHAMPIONSHIP seasons we had, I played with a lot of great guys. And not only guys that were good but also a lot of guys that were from the city of Toledo so that made it even more special. I played in 23 of the 35 games of the undefeated streak."
"When you think of being undefeated now, you think of all the guys you shared that with and you played with and how special they were. It's just a great moment that you'll always have because you're always going to be undefeated. You're always going to have that record so that's a great feeling. The experience going into that was incredible because we knew we had a good team, and every week we seemed to get better and better. We were never overconfident, but we had a confidence about us.
"We just had all the right players like the Chuck Ealeys, and the Mel Longs, and the John Niezgodas, guys like that. Everybody was kind of a leader. I was a captain my senior year, but we could have had 40 captains for that matter. We had a lot of really good leaders, and the challenge never got overwhelming to anybody. We just said we're going to get better next week. We'll improve every week. It was kind of an interesting situation because we never let it get to our heads as we continued to win. We just got the point that we had no choice but to win now. We just have to win every game. It was just a great experience. It was a great attitude experience with the guys because everybody was on the same page as far as their approach to the game. We had a lot of different personalities on that team, but we all came together when it was time to play.
"[TOLEDO] HAD a good defense for a number of years. When I was a freshman, I had to play against the first-team defense on the scout team. They were great defenders. My sophomore year we ended up 5-4-1 but we still had a great defense. We lost four games by a total of 17 points. Just that experience, it built momentum. My junior year we had Curtis Johnson, who won Super Bowls with the Miami Dolphins, and it just kind of snowballed. There was a sense of pride. We just weren't going to let anybody score on us.
"We had goals set by our defensive coordinator Jack Murphy basically to play a perfect game. Anything less than that, we weren't satisfied with and we bought into the program. Of course Frank Lauterbur was there, and he was a very demanding coach. Defensively, we just kind of built an attitude that we didn't want to give anybody first downs. We didn't want them to score. My senior year, in 11 games we gave up 69 points, so that was less than a touchdown a game. We just had a pride about us. We just had the right personalities and great athletes. We had an attitude that nobody could mess with. We didn't want to let each other down.
"We had good ball players [with the Bucks and B-Jets]. That was before the arena leagues or anything like that. They had a smaller roster in the NFL, so there were a lot of good football players that had nowhere to go. Minor league football was big. We got paid a couple hundred bucks a game. It was a really competitive situation. It was a good fit for me.
"AFTER MY TRYOUT with the Jets, they told me they couldn't keep me on their roster but they didn't want me to go away so they asked me to play for the Bridgeport Jets. I played with a lot of guys that moved on and played in the NFL or some guys had played in the NFL previous to that. It wasn't a situation where you had a bunch of guys with beer bellies out there running around. These were very skilled athletes. There just wasn't enough room on the NFL rosters for them. They had to do something. It was for the love of the game and you did it because you really enjoyed doing it.
"Three [UT] teammates of mine, I got those guys all together, and we rented a beach house for the summer in Fairfield, Conn. We were right on Long Island Sound, and we just had a blast. It was a lot of fun, and the guys from Ohio were a big hit out there. We had guys from all over the country [on the team]. It was a lot of fun, and we had a lot of fun along the way."

PAWTUCKET, R.I. - For the third consecutive night, Pawtucket Red Sox faithful squeezed into McCoy Stadium eager to catch a glimpse of rehabbing slugger David Ortiz.
And while the personable designated hitter didn't disappoint by hitting a towering solo homer in his second at-bat, his third of the series, it was the Mud Hens who flaunted their offensive prowess in a 13-5, 16-hit win over the Eastern Division leaders.
Held to a pair of hits the previous night, the Mud Hens, bolstered by homers from Erik Almonte and Clete Thomas, exploded for nine runs through the first two innings, paving the way for their first win of the four-game set. Toledo improved to 1-4 against the Paw Sox on the season.
The Mud Hens struck early against knuckleballer Charlie Zink, getting a one-out, RBI single from Brent Clevlen in the top half of the first to take a 1-0 edge. Later in the inning, Almonte took Zink deep to left center with two on base. Zink, who began the day as the International League's ERA leader with a 2.22 mark, ran into trouble again in the following inning, giving up an RBI single to Derek Wathan before Thomas unloaded a grand slam to right center for a 9-0 advantage. Zink worked 12/3 innings before being pulled in favor of righty Jose Vaquedano.
"We got out quickly against him," Parrish said. "Obviously he's been pitching much better than that, but tonight we came out and hit him. We hit a lot of knuckleballs during BP, but I don't know if that had anything to do with it."
Thomas finished with three hits and five RBIs to lead the Mud Hens.
"He's the key for us right now," said Parrish of Thomas. "We're short a few players now and we need him to step up, and he did that tonight."
Toledo was again without Mike Hessman, who didn't make the trip because of the death of his grandmother.
Toledo starter Chris Lambert entered the game with a streak of 14 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. The righty worked six innings, allowing nine hits while striking out eight in earning the win. "They swing the bats, they have good stats, and I think a couple of our [pitchers] were being awful careful," said Parrish. "This is a good hitters ballpark, and when you put that together with a team swinging the bats, you better be more aggressive." Toledo pushed two runs across in the top half of the seventh, receiving and RBI base hit from catcher Dane Sardinha and a sacrifice fly from Kody Kirkland. Toledo added to the rout with a pair of runs in the seventh and tacked on solo runs in the following two innings.
With the score 9-2 in the last half of the third, Ortiz touched up Lambert for his third home run of the series, lifting a 3-1 offering to right center field and narrowing the Hens lead to six.
Lambert fanned Ortiz (1 for 4, with two strikeouts) with one on and one away in the last of the fifth before George Kottaras laced an RBI single in the fifth, closing the gap to 9-4.

LEXINGTON, Ohio - The best way to describe yesterday's qualifying format for the Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course might be musical chairs at 120 mph, in 100 degree heat.
It was a grueling test of speed, endurance and survival - just to set the field for today's IndyCar Series race.
"This is for sure the most challenging qualifying format I ever experienced," a spent Ryan Briscoe said after he qualified second, joining Team Penske teammate and pole-winner Helio Castroneves on the front row.
The qualifying on the 13-turn, 2.258-mile road course consisted of three competitive sessions run in quick order. First the 26 cars were divided randomly into two groups and each group spent 20 minutes on the track. The top six from each group then moved into a second round of runs over the rolling course, with this lasting 15 minutes.
The top six from that elimination round moved into a final, 10-minute session that determined the front three rows of today's starting grid. The IndyCar Series likes to refer to the format as "fast and furious" - and former series champion Tony Kanaan admits it is a crowd pleaser, albeit a very draining one.
"If the fans are happy, we'll go out there and we'll kill ourselves with qualifying attempts," Kanaan said after qualifying in the fifth position. "We ended up qualifying without a breath, not even time to debrief with my engineers. So give me five minutes. Myself, I like the old format. I like the single-lap qualifying a lot because either you're in or you're out. If you make a mistake, you're out. That makes it more exciting for us."
Castroneves, who won the pole here for last year's inaugural IndyCar Series race on the track that sits in a distinctly rural setting just down the road from the tiny village of Steam Corners, said any one of the top six could have emerged as the polesitter.
"It was extremely close. I wasn't checking the time because I didn't want to check. I just wanted to keep driving, but everybody was really, really close," Castroneves said. "When you're talking about thousandths of seconds, it's very difficult to describe out there speed-wise. It was a tough run."
Castroneves, who won here twice in the now defunct CART Series, said having the two Penske cars up front today will be an initial advantage, but a lot of other factors will quickly come into play.
"It's so difficult to pass because the air and turbulence here affects the car in preparation for you to overtake someone," said Castroneves, who finished third here a year ago.
"The key is going to be finding the right time to pit, saving of fuel, but not being overtaken. That's why I'm saying, sometimes starting on the front, it might risk the win. But hey, we're going to take a chance tomorrow and hopefully we can make that happen."
Marco Andretti and Justin Wilson sit on row 2, while Kanaan is joined in the third row by IndyCar Series points leader Scott Dixon, the winner of last year's event here.
Andretti said the strategy for today's race will differ a lot from the ultra-aggressive mood of the qualifying runs.
"The difference from the race is that the biggest thing in the race is if you can't overtake somebody - you might be faster - but if you can't overtake, you just kind of save fuel, so you're not charging half as much as we are in qualifying," he said.
Former Indy 500 champion Buddy Rice starts seventh, Ohio native Graham Rahal 14th and Danica Patrick 20th.
Contact Matt Markey at:
mmarkey@theblade.com or 419-724-6510.

The biggest purchase you're likely to make is a home. And while a complicated project such as building or adding on to a home rarely goes smoothly, there are plenty of precautions you can take to make sure your good faith, investment, hopes and dreams are not crushed.

Your letters count

Starting last week 1,477 rural readers began receiving letters notifying them that their home deliv ery of the Star will be discontinued because of rising distribution costs, particularly fuel costs.

We are in a deadly fight to save the Sonoran Desert as we Tucsonans know it — and we are losing.

WASHINGTON — Here's how area members of Congress voted on major roll calls last week.

WASHINGTON — Faced with a spending cap for his fall campaign, Republican presidential candidate John McCain is aggressively spending more money than he is raising during summer months and methodically reducing his cash reserves.

DENVER — John McCain was in his favorite campaign setting, a town hall meeting, when he spotted a promising target. "I'd love to recognize you first, sir," the Republican presidential candidate said to a man in a Vietnam War veteran's hat.

KABUL, Afghanistan — Barack Obama visited Saturday with U.S. troops and Afghan officials in this war-weary nation, which is the focal point of his proposed strategy for dealing with threats to the United States if elected president.

Pima County still needs 400 poll workers to help run the Sept. 2 primary election and the Nov. 4 general election.

Forecasters predicted tropical storm could dump several inches in some areas of drought-stricken North Carolina.

If you’re a senior and looking for something fun to do with your grandkids that you’ll love too, re-live one of your childhood memories and take them to a 3-D movie.
They will thank you for the treat, and you’ll enjoy the time bonding with the kids as you share an experience they genuinely enjoy. Most retirees can remember the heyday of 3-D movies in the early and mid-1950s. That’s when audiences wrapped cardboard 3-D glasses around their heads and first felt the thrill of objects on the screen “jumping” out at them. The realism of the 3-D phenomenon has come a long, long way as seen in the current theatrical release, ”Journey to the Center of the Earth.” If you recall, the movie that started the initial 3-D craze was ”Bwana Devil” in 1952, starring Robert Stack, Barbara Britton and Nigel Bruce. It was mostly forgettable other than the new gimmick, but spawned more flicks that tried to cash in on the 3-D idea. The first 3-D movies were available as far back as 1922, but never caught on with movie patrons. Projection difficulties, something involving alignment and synchronization, caused considerable audience discomfort. I’m not going to get into any further technical explanation, mainly because I don’t have a clue how and why the process works, but in 2008 it has become an extremely realistic and exciting departure from the normal movie experience. In its infancy, 3-D films featured lions leaping from the screen or cowboy and Indian fights with flaming arrows and spears parting your hair as you munched your popcorn or gobbled Jujubes. You might be surprised to learn that some film hits were shot in 3-D, but were rarely seen in that format and enjoyed wider success in 2-D, such as “Hondo,” “Kiss Me Kate” and “Dial M for Murder.” The cheap-looking “Creature from the Black Lagoon” was originally released in 3-D, but projection problems shelved those versions, and the 2-D reels were what most movie-goers saw. The 3-D gimmick was soon relegated entirely to low-budget flicks, and it didn’t take long for studios to forget the whole experiment. Now, the remake of “Journey To The Center Of The Earth” with Brendan Fraser, Anita Briem and Josh Hutchison lifts the 3-D technique to a whole, new level of audience hook. The 1959 version with Pat, Boone, James Mason and Arlene Dahl was as cheesy, but not nearly as thrilling. The 2008 choice of 3-D movie is a good one, too, because it offers more than leaping lions with gnashing teeth. It gives you leaping fish with gnashing teeth. Instead of the viewers dodging arrows, they get to dodge fluorescent birds. The whole effect is actually quite dazzling. It’s so realistic at times that you feel you can reach into the screen and grab hold of something. At one point, it looked like a lantern was floating right in front of the guy sitting next to me. But as good as the 3-D effect is, and as exciting as it makes the movie experience, it can’t rescue what is otherwise a very ordinary film, albeit one with extraordinary, exciting scenes and action. It’s not just the fast-paced action where the 3-D is felt so keenly, as was the case when it was introduced some 55 years ago. Now; its depth is felt in every single scene where the viewer seems physically drawn into what’s going on in front. As another example of how far 3-D has come, those cardboard glasses have been replaced by genuine plastic. Just like in the 1950s, there are recycle bins at the exits to dispose of them so they can be re-used. They’re of no practical use for anything else. The riveting, fantasy adventure will likely be enjoyed by all who see it, young or old. But do the young-‘uns another favor and share one more thing with them. It might even be a good gift idea. Tell them the experience can be as exciting or even more so, lasting longer than two hours, if they’d pick up the Jules Verne book and actually read the story. They might find that hard to believe. And if they say they avoid books and only read a computer screen, point them to an edited version of Verne’s original text online. Michael at Chik-fil-A commented on Drama in the mall food court
Good commentary on what goes on not only in the mall but every day in America. I can fully relate as this same situation happened to my wife and her mother. It's a tough thing to do. My heart goes out to those. Larry E. commented on A wave of activity in a flooded basement I'm sorry to hear about your water episode, I know that can be a real mess. Hopefully you are well on the way to recovery from that and check your sump pump frequently! I check my sump all the time. I even recently purchased a water-driven pump that works if electricity fails. Have not installed it yet but I will. If you’re not at home and the sump fails, this will eliminate that potential problem.

Get Away From It All Just An Hour From Toledo You don’t have to drive or fly thousands of miles to find a relaxing resort-type lifestyle. Just a one-hour drive from Toledo, you will find the jewel of the Great Lakes – Catawba Island. When you arrive on this peninsula, the sunglasses go on, your blood pressure goes down and all of your troubles float away. This is island living at its best, but on the mainland.
This week’s featured home, The Canterbury, is located in Fairway Villas at Catawba Island Club. Just an hour from Toledo, it is the perfect place to get away for a weekend or for life. Fairway Villas is an Epcon Community, similar to Stone Gate Villas in Perrysburg. Like these, they are single-story ranch style condominiums, with little or no maintenance and unique architectural features. A big difference here is the resort-style living. Catawba Island Club offers fine dining, casual dining, swimming, tennis, large marina, great sunsets, and now, an 18-hole Arthur Hills Golf Course. Fairway Villas is located across the street from the Catawba Island Club, and is surrounded by nine holes of the club’s golf course. The original nine holes and Lake Erie are easily accessed by a tunnel under the road to the club – driving a golf cart on a busy road isn’t necessary. The development is surrounded by eight acres of ponds. Of the 160 homes planned, more than 125 have been sold. An award-winning community center onsite is home to a large gathering room for community or private parties. There are also a heated swimming pool, a fully-equipped exercise room, and a putting green. Each villa is a part of an award-winning pinwheel design. You share only one common wall and are totally private – you’ll never hear your neighbors. And each villa can be completely customized to your taste: your choice of custom cabinetry, granite or Corian countertops, stainless appliances, multiple flooring choices – ceramic, porcelain, wood, or carpet – and even a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace! Inside, a graceful floor plan welcomes visitors. The tiled entry leads into the vaulted great room, where a gas fireplace with tile surround and hearth sits next to a large palladium window. To the left is an all-season veranda, where large windows let in abundant sunlight. Put in the screens in the spring and summer and enjoy the breezes. Despite its name, this is a year-round room, heated and air conditioned for your comfort. To the right of the front door is a sitting room or den whose focal point is another large palladium window. This room may also be used as a bedroom. Beyond this is the guest suite, which has access to a shared bath. The guest room has a large closet and – you guessed it – another vaulted ceiling. A word about these ceilings: they are an architectural element that adds not only height to the room, but visual interest and value to the property. And while the model home in this community contains many upgrades, it must be noted that the vaulted ceilings are standard, as are the palladium windows. Other standard features include raised bathroom vanities, a two-car garage with opener and space for a golf cart, an air infiltration insulation package, composite siding, a 90%+ high efficiency furnace, architectural shingles, and the great room’s lovely fireplace. At the far end of the great room is the kitchen. It’s a convenient workspace, with long counters, a breakfast bar, lots of cabinets and a large pantry. A door at the back of the kitchen leads to a utility room with laundry hookups, and beyond that, to the two-car garage. The garage has pull-down stairs to an attic, which is decked to provide plenty of storage. Opposite the veranda is the master suite, another large, airy space. The bedroom is large, with a palladium window and vaulted ceiling. The master bath includes a long double vanity – there’s plenty of storage space here. The shower – a tiled walk-in with seat -- and water closet are separate. At the end of the bathroom is a very generous walk-in closet, with lots of shelf and hanging space. Features 2 or 3 Bedrooms 2 Baths 2 Car Garage With Golf Cart Storage