Ark Valley News - Out of the office

Out of the office
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: August 23, 2013

Football picks starting soon

I need a favor from you, our faithful readers.

Please tell your family and friends that The Ark Valley News will start its annual football picks contest on Sept. 5.

Some of even our most-veteran pickers forget that the contest starts the week before the first full Sunday of pro games. And missing the first week could hurt their chances of winning the grand prize.

We want as many pickers as we can get.

Speaking of grand prize, the winner of the 10-week contest will receive four tickets to the Dec. 22 Kansas City Chiefs game against the Indianapolis Colts. That should be a great one to see. Hopefully, the Chiefs will still be in the AFC West hunt in late December, and the Colts are poised to have a great run.

Along with the game tickets, the winner will receive some spending cash and a night's stay at a Kansas City hotel. A weekend in Kansas City just before Christmas? Not bad. I've heard — from previous winners — that going to the KC game before Christmas is a lot of fun. There's so much to do in Kansas City around the holidays.

So, the moral of this story is to be aware of when our 10-week picks contest starts — Sept. 5 — and tell your friends. Who knows? If one of them wins, you could be invited to the game.

Don't forget, there are weekly prizes to play for as well.

Good luck. (We'll keep reminding you.)

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I've got another date circled on my calendar. On Aug. 24, my wife and I are going to the Journey and Night Ranger concert at the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane.

Did I just see your eyes roll?

Anyway, we bought tickets in early July and have been looking forward to the show ever since. We are children of the 1980s, so these two bands are like taking a 30-year trip into the past.

I like Journey's music, but I've been a fan of Night Ranger since one of my older brothers introduced me to the album "Midnight Madness" in 1983. I know what you're thinking. Bad influence, right?

So, Night Ranger's songs just kind of stuck with me. It was the album I played on the cassette player I hid under my pillow when I was supposed to be sleeping. My brother played it loudly on the stereo in his 1972 Impala when he drove us to school.

Oh, the memories.

Despite a list of hit songs, Night Ranger never really made it that big, not like Journey. You may remember a few of Night Ranger's songs, but you can't always remember to whom they belonged.

After Night Ranger's "7 Wishes" album in 1985, I lost a bit of interest, but always turned up the volume when one of the band's songs came on the radio.

These days, the two bands are usually playing state fairs and 5,000-seat arenas. I think the Mulvane show is sold out. Imagine that.

Chris Strunk is publisher of The Ark Valley News. Reach him at 755-0821 or news@arkvalleynews.com or on Facebook.