Alpine Skiing Quiz: [Equal time for the ski bums.] 1) Who was
the women’s overall World Cup champion last year? 2) The
men’s? 3) Kitzbuhel (sic) in Austria was one of the men’s six
downhill courses last year. Name one of the other five. 4) What
Italian male was 3-time overall World Cup titleholder from
1971-73? 5) What Swedish male was 3-time World Cup champ
from 1976-78? 6) Who is the only American woman to win the
overall World Cup title? 7) What Austrian woman won 5
straight overall titles? Answers below.
New York Weather Quiz: I just found this data interesting, so I
expect big office wagers with those of you in the New York area.
But remember to bet with your head, not over it. 1) What are the
two wettest months of the year in New York City? 2) What
month is the driest? Answers below.
It’s All About the Drink
As I write this Wednesday AM, I see that NBC is having a
segment on the national news this evening concerning the weight
of the evidence on the health benefits of drinking alcohol in
moderation. After decades of innumerable studies, it’s a finding
that can’t be disputed.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s beer, wine or liquor, researchers
now know that a drink or two…on a regular basis…is the best
nonprescription way to prevent heart attacks; better than diets,
weight loss and even exercise.
“The science supporting the protective role of alcohol is
indisputable; no one questions it any more,” said Dr. Curtis
Ellison, a professor of medicine at Boston University School of
Medicine. “There have been hundreds of studies, all consistent.”
Now before you go crazy, again, we’re talking one or two, not
four or five. For women there is a slightly increased risk of
breast cancer, for example, even at low levels, while after last
weekend there is major risk of dementia for New York Giants
fans, like with my good friend Phil W.
Small quantities, people, “(just) like any drug,” said Dr. Eric
Rimm, an associate professor at the Harvard School of Public
Health.
[Source: Abigail Zuger / New York Times]
Well now, at Bar Chat this gives us another opportunity to crack
open a bottle of cold, fresh brew. And thanks to my friend Rod, I
have been sampling one or two beers from around the world each
day lately, as I made my way through his gift pack. I
reacquainted myself with Zywiec of Poland, for instance, having
quaffed more than a few pints of it in Warsaw back in 1999….
mmmm, Zywiec.
Zywiec was founded in 1856 by Archduke Charles Olbracht
Hapsburg and was owned by the Hapsburg family until World
War II. [It was privatized in 1991.] And then there was a bottle
of Lion Stout from Sri Lanka (Ceylon). As beer maven Michael
Jackson notes, it has a big, pruny, mocha aroma and flavor;
developing an intense bitter-chocolate finish. Yup, that was it!
But my favorite was ‘3 Horses,’ from the Netherlands, though I
can’t find a write-up from any of my beer books.
There now…tell your boss you need a “health break” and head to
the nearest tavern. But you can only drink two, my friends. As
for yours truly, time to plunge into the gift pack my brother gave
me. Everything I know about the subject I learned from him.
Ahem.
Baseball Hall of Fame
I thought we might have a controversy or two here, but the
selections of Eddie Murray and Gary Carter were solid ones.
Murray didn’t wrack up great, single-season marks, but there is
no way you can keep out a 500-homer, 3,000-hit man. Carter
was simply the best all-around catcher of his era, even if he was
a bit of a jerk at times. Around these parts, though, there is the
issue of whether Carter should wear a Mets or Expos cap at his
induction. Lawrence Rocca of the Star-Ledger wrote that a good
reason for siding with the Mets would be that with the jump in
value for Carter memorabilia, “Darryl Strawberry could get more
cigarettes.” As for the Expos case, Rocca points out that Carter
hit 107 Canadian home runs, or about 68 “American.” [Actually,
Rocca said 64, but I double-checked the exchange rate.]
Poor Murray. He was burying his younger sister when he
learned of the vote. Only Mickey Mantle has more homers as a
switch-hitter.
As for those players who fell short of the 75% needed to get into
the Hall, only three received at least 50%, Bruce Sutter (53.6%),
Jim Rice (52.2%), and Andre Dawson (50.0%). It’s looking
increasingly tough for these players, with the likes of Paul
Molitor, Dennis Eckersley and Wade Boggs coming up the next
two years, though there is a hole in 2006 with no one of
consequence eligible for the first time then. One other note
in this regard, Ryne Sandberg captured a solid 49% in his first
year of eligibility. His total should rise the next few seasons, but
75% is not a certainty.
I was also a little surprised that Keith Hernandez only drew 6%.
I’m not saying he deserves to be in, but he was certainly a
helluva lot better than some others who have plaques.
More important, though, is the upcoming vote by the revamped
Veterans Committee, which will announce its pick(s) on
February 26. There is a groundswell of support for Gil Hodges
this time and we’ll comment further next month, but for now,
here are the 26 players who are on the Veterans Committee
ballot.
Dick Allen, Bobby Bonds, Ken Boyer, Rocky Colavito, Wes
Ferrell, Curt Flood, Joe Gordon, Gil Hodges, Elston Howard,
Ted Kluszewski, Mickey Lolich, Marty Marion, Roger Maris,
Mike Marshall, Carl Mays, Bob Meusel, Minnie Minoso,
Thurman Munson, Don Newcombe, Tony Oliva, Vada Pinson,
Allie Reynolds, Ron Santo, Joe Torre, Ken R. Williams, Maury
Wills.
As you know, I’ve always been partial to Santo.
Finally, Johnny Mac has a great idea. Each year the voters for
the Hall should be allowed to pick someone currently in and boot
them out if that player receives 75%. Yeah, that’s kind of
cruel…but no one said life is fair, did they?
But wait, there’s more…proving that J. Mac seems to have a 27-
hour day while the rest of us have just 24, he just submitted a list
of players the Baltimore Orioles produced from their farm
system, in the days before Peter Angelos totally ruined the club.
Brooks Robinson, Boog Powell, Milt Pappas (who they turned
into F. Robby), Steve Barber, Dave McNally, Wally Bunker,
Paul Blair, Curt Blefary, Mark Belanger, Andy Etchebarren, Jim
Palmer, Dave May, Darold Knowles, Doug DeCinces, Wayne
Garland, Mike Flanagan, Davey Johnson, Ellie Hendricks,
Bobby Grich, Don Baylor, Al Bumbry, Enos Cabell, Doyle
Alexander, Eddie Murray, Rich Dauer, Mike Boddicker, Cal
Ripken, Scotty McGregor, Dennis Martinez, Gary Roenicke,
Steve Finley, Storm Davis, Curt Schilling, Pete Harnish and
Brady Anderson.
And as Johnny points out, most of these guys were real good
citizens.
Stuff
–The Giants and the officials: So as you all know the NFL
admitted it screwed up the game-ending call in the Giants-49ers
game Sunday. According to the league, a penalty should have
been called on San Francisco for pass interference, offsetting the
infraction against the Giants for an ineligible man downfield,
thus allowing New York one more play. According to the NFL’s
director of officiating, Mike Pereira:
“If the defensive pass interference had been called, there would
have been offsetting penalties with the down replayed at the
original line of scrimmage. Although time had expired, a game
cannot end with offsetting penalties. Thus, the game would have
been extended by one untimed play.”
Of course the Giants didn’t deserve to win the game, after
blowing the 24-point lead, but what gets a lot of us is the fact that
not one of the announcers, either in the booth or the network
studio knew what they were talking about. Analyst Cris (sic)
Collinsworth was railing that holder Matt Allen should have
spiked the ball to stop the clock, while former coach Jimmy
Johnson was going on and on about the “fire drill” that special
teams practice and they both blew the call. Idiots. Hell, I didn’t
know what the rule was so I trusted these a-holes to set me
straight.
Actually, you know what? I hereby hand them all a special
“Dirtball of the Year” award. [10 days into 2003 and I’m already
running out of trophies.]
Last note on the Giants comes from Harry K., my friend up in the
Great White North and a Giants fan going way back. He tells me
the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts are just as bad when it comes to
snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
–I was pleased to see that Miami running back Willis McGahee
had taken out a $2.5 million insurance policy just weeks before
he tore up his knee at the Fiesta Bowl. McGahee is entitled to
collect after one year if he is unable to return to football, though
as of today he is expected to eventually make a complete
recovery.
–Weather: The lowest air temperature ever recorded was in
Vostok, Antarctica, 1983…-129 F. Twice in Siberia it has gotten
down to –90 F. The highest temperature ever in Europe was set
back in 1881, Seville, Spain…122. The record in the U.S. is
134, Death Valley, CA, 1913.
–The Atlanta Hawks drew 6,547 fans for a recent game with the
New Jersey Nets and superstar Jason Kidd. They love their
sports in Atlanta!
–Duke’s men’s basketball team is ranked #1 this week, making it
the first school since the UCLA dynasty of the 60s and 70s to
make at least one appearance at the top of the rankings six
consecutive seasons.
–Andrew Luster…just another dirtball. Luster has made the
news in the past few days due to the fact that he is an heir to the
Max Factor cosmetics fortune and has just been declared a
fugitive for jumping bail.
Luster, who has the pretty boy “Joe Millionaire” look, faces
multiple rape charges and stands accused of drugging his victims
and then videotaping his assaults. What wasn’t in a “Today
Show” piece Wednesday, however, is the fact that Luster is part
of an international ring of “playboy millionaires said to be
known as the Bachelors, who trade film of their date rape attacks
over the Internet.” [Source: BBC]
You know, folks, this is what the death penalty should be for.
–Geezuz…in a similar vein…word has come in that Gary
Glitter, the artist who recorded the sports anthem “Rock and Roll
Part II” (the song where the crowd shouts the chorus, “Hey
Hey!” or “Aargh aargh,” depending on how much alcohol is
consumed), has been deported from Cambodia after his latest
arrest on child abuse. This is about his seventh such alleged
offense. Sicko.
–Tiger Woods may be having a little tougher time recovering
from his recent knee surgery. He hopes to be back for the Buick
on February 13, but it’s not a certainty. As I noted a while back,
it’s easy to say “no big deal,” especially given modern sports
medicine, but his condition bears watching this year. Just
another reason why athletes grab all the money they can when
the going is good.
–Follow-up to last chat’s story on college basketball standout
Bevo Francis, Bevo still holds the top 3 Division II single game
scoring records of 113, 84 and 82. His 46.5 scoring average for
1954 is tops in D-II as well. #3, by the way, is Earl Monroe’s
41.5, back when he played at Winston-Salem State.
–Bowling: In 1970 there were 400 million league-level,
nonprofessional games. Only 854 of these were perfect ones,
300. By 2002, the number of games in this league category had
dropped to 170 million, but 42,000 were perfect. The reason?
The lanes are being doctored by operators to help nudge balls to
the center. Our instant gratification society, just like moving in
the fences for baseball, or all the high tech golf equipment.
[Source: Tom Zeller / New York Times]
–Grammy Nominations
Album of the Year
“Home,” Dixie Chicks
“The Eminem Show,” Eminem
“Come Away With Me,” Norah Jones
“Nellyville,” Nelly
“The Rising,” Bruce Springsteen
Rock Album
“When I Was Cruel,” Elvis Costello
“C’Mon, C’Mon,” Sheryl Crow
“Dreamland,” Robert Plant
“The Rising,” Bruce Springsteen
“Head On Straight,” Tonic
Country Album
“Home,” Dixie Chicks
“Drive,” Alan Jackson
“The Great Divide,” Willie Nelson
“Man With A Memory,” Joe Nichols
“Halos & Horns,” Dolly Parton…you go, girl!
And our personal pick for “Polka Album” of the year is Jimmy
Sturr’s “Top of the World.”
Newcomer Avril Lavigne captured five nominations, including
for ‘Best New Artist’ and ‘Song of the Year,’ but she
mispronounced David Bowie’s name; kind of like today’s
modern baseball players not knowing who Curt Flood was.
Top 3 songs for the week of 1/7/67: “I’m A Believer” (The
Monkees) #2 “Snoopy vs. The Red Baron” (The Royal
Guardsmen) #3 “Tell It Like It Is” (Aaron Neville)
*Want to feel old? Paul Revere, the drummer for the group Paul
Revere and the Raiders, just turned 65.
Alpine Ski Quiz Answers: 1) 2002 World Cup champ – female:
Michaela Dorfmeister, Austria. 2) 2002 World Cup champ –
male: Stephan Eberharter, Austria. 3) Men’s downhill courses
for 2001-2002: Kitzbuhel (Austria), Val D’Isere (France), Val
Gardena (Italy), Bormio (Italy), St. Mortiz (Switzerland),
Kvitfjell (Norway). 4) Italian overall WC champ, 1971-73:
Gustavo Thoeni. 5) Swedish WC champ, 1976-78: Ingemar
Stenmark. 6) Tamara McKinney is the only American woman to
win the overall WC title, 1983. 7) AnneMarie Proll (later,
Moser-Proll) won 5 straight overall World Cup titles from 1971-
75.
New York Weather Quiz: 1) Two wettest months: July, 4.62
inches on average; May, 4.69. 2) Driest month is February, 3.15
inches of precip…and it’s not even close.
Next Bar Chat, Tuesday. Perhaps a cold weather theme, if I
make it out to a certain national park this coming weekend.
