Do you remember the television commercials where iron-eyes Cody, the Indian chief, would appear dressed in buckskin clothing and full feathered head dress? He would observe litter. Remember the tears that appeared in his eyes? Those commercials appeared many years ago, but they are fresh in my mind today.

That’s so 2009. That would be the first thing that comes to mind when I think about something that happened last year in sports. It’s only 20 days into January and already last year seems like a distant memory. Funny how it works that way. Given the nature of my job, I tend to link most things to sports.

There used to be an old saying that went like this: "A man needs just three things in life. A good woman, a good gun, and a good dog." It goes without saying that a good woman is a necessity as a mate; a good gun is a necessity to help him keep his freezer filled, and a good dog as a hunting companion and as a friend.

Well, here we are right smack dab in the middle of Indiana's deer hunting season. It seems like it takes forever for it to get here and then – wham! We are almost at the end already. The early archery season was certainly adventurous. I managed to place my Indiana one buck tag on a respectable 9-pointer that field-dressed 180 lbs. I also tagged a couple of fat does field, dressing 110 lbs. and 130 lbs.

One of the most common situations occurring during the deer bowhunting season is something many bow hunters cannot comprehend: a deer jumping the bowstring. What happens? And how can a deer react quickly enough to do that?

Folks, if you have been reading my hunting articles for very long, you are aware of the fact that I encourage all deer hunters to utilize a fall-restraint device when hunting from a tree stand or any elevated platform. I even mentioned an incident that happened to me in 1976 when I had a portable tree stand come unattached from a tree. If I had not been using a safety belt, I would have fallen more than 20 feet to the ground. Hunting accidents can happen to anyone at any time.