NBA Quiz: 1) What player led the NBA in scoring each of
1977-78, 78-79, and 79-80? 2) Wilt Chamberlain made 28 free
throws (out of 32 attempts) in the game in which he scored 100
points on 3/2/62. Who is the only other player in history to make
28? [Hint: 1/4/84] 3) Who am I? I scored 56 points in a game
on 2/6/72 and my initials are C.W. I scored 60 in a game on
3/24/90 and my initials are T.C. I scored 57 on 11/10/69 and my
initials are L.H. I scored 59 on 1/15/60 and my initials are J.T.
Answers below.
*Of course you\’\’ll recall that I picked the Carolina Panthers to
make the Super Bowl……………………..ahem……………
But now, your exclusive prediction. New England 20 Carolina 10.
Clive Rush, Part II
Last time we got into the crazy era of Boston Patriots Head
Coach Clive Rush. [If you didn’t read part I, the Pats became
‘New England’ in 1971.] It’s now his second season, 1970, and
as the final cut approached, Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was on pins
and needles, not knowing if he would make the team. The year
before he was the last cut and this time no one said a word to
him. So Gladieux picked up the evening newspaper and there it was
– Bob Gladieux, last cut.
Gladieux was rather pissed off. Two years in a row they did that
to him. But the rest of the story is so funny I have to let him tell
it, as told to Jeff Miller in his book “Going Long,” a history of
the American Football League.
“I went downtown to rock and roll and hoot it up. I was
downtown ‘til Sunday morning. I never made it home. I met
some friends, my girlfriend. We just partied – Thursday night,
Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday. I woke up and said, ‘Ah,
heck. I’m going to the game.’ I had a buddy, Jack, who was
going. He picked me up. I had a tall pack of Schlitz. I got to the
stadium and bought a program and (b.s.) my way in and we sat
down. While Jack was getting me a hot dog, they said on the PA
system: ‘Bob Gladieux, please report to the Patriots’ dressing
room.’ I said, ‘God, I don’t believe what I’m hearing.’ Just
then, they said it again. I turned and looked around. I saw Jerry
Richardson, one of the assistant coaches, coming down the steps.
I ducked. I was down on all fours on the concrete. ‘What the
hell am I doing? Christ, I’m snockered!’ The ol’ G.E. lightbulb
went off with a dollar sign in it. I thought, ‘Get down there for
the money! They’ve been taking it from you for two years!’
“What happened was, John Charles from Purdue went out and
warmed up. When he came back in, they tried to force him into
signing a contract. They said, ‘You’re going to sign this or we’re
going to cut you.’ He said, ‘Cut my ass!’ They cut him, and
then they had my uniform. That’s the way they operated. They
said, ‘Get dressed. You’re activated.’ I thought, ‘Don’t light any
matches.’ I had about eight minutes to get dressed.”
Gladieux was assigned to the kicking team and on the opening
kickoff found himself hurtling towards the wedge. Meanwhile,
his buddy came back to their seats with Gladieux’s beer and hot
dog and said, “Hey, did anybody see the guy that was here?”
Gladieux describes what happens next.
“The wedge was coming at me, and I said, ‘I don’t want any part
of this.’ I went around the left side of the wedge and the darn
ballplayer from Miami came around the right side. I met him
head on. Smashed him. Made the tackle. Then, on the PA, they
said, ‘Tackle made by number 24, Bob Gladieux.’ My buddy,
there with a beer and a hot dog, said, ‘No way!’ I played the
whole game on special teams.”
The Pats actually won that day, Don Shula’s debut as Dolphins
coach, but after Boston dropped the next six, ownership canned
Clive Rush.
Stuff
–Hank Aaron commented in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the
other day on the subject of Pete Rose. Aaron believes Rose not
only shouldn’t be reinstated to the game, but that he should not be
enshrined in Cooperstown. As Hank said, Rose “hasn’t given
any signs of an honest confession Plus, I’ve seen absolutely no
truth whatsoever in what he’s saying.”
–Someone check the schedule because the next time the
Tennessee Volunteers football team heads down to Alabama to
play the Crimson Tide there is going to be a heap of trouble. It
seems that Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer has been
secretly providing damaging information about the Alabama
program to the NCAA, according to the Associated Press, and a
lawyer representing two ‘Bama assistants who are suing the
NCAA has the backup to prove it. Fulmer, who just signed a
huge contract extension and then went out and lost to Clemson
in the Whattheheckwasthenameofthatone? Bowl, better watch his
back.
–Sepp Blatter is the president of football’s (soccer) world
governing body, FIFA, and the Seppster has decreed that women
players need to start showing more skin, such as in wearing
skimpy shorts, the better to display those great legs. Blatter feels
this would not only bring more attention to the game, but it would
also attract big advertisers in the fields of fashion and cosmetics.
Well, you can imagine how some of the ladies feel, and one
Norwegian player, Lise Klaveness, said “If the crowd only wants
to come and watch models then they should go and buy a copy of
Playboy.”
Huh.
–Speaking of female athletes, for the record, 14-year-old
Michelle Wie, in missing the cut by just one shot at the PGA
Tour’s Hawaiian Open, beat veterans Scott Hoch, John Cook,
and Jeff Sluman, as well as rising stars Matt Kuchar and Adam
Scott. Wie had 7 birdies in her two rounds. You’ll recall that
Annika Sorenstam missed the cut at Colonial last year by 4 strokes,
so the feeling at StocksandNews is that Wie is clearly better
.just trying to start a fight between the two, you
understand. It would be good for ratings.
Incidentally, Wie averaged 271.0 yards with her drives. The rest
of the field was at 279.7. She also hit 68% of the fairways, the
field – 54%. And Wie took 27 putts per round, the field – 29.8.
[Ernie Els won the tournament, his 13th PGA Tour victory.]
–Ron O’Neal died at age 66. O’Neal played Youngblood Priest
in the blaxploitation epic “Superfly.” Unfortunately for O’Neal,
he did little afterwards .but for that one moment on film he was
a badass sonuvagun.
–Last year about 200 people were ripped off when they bought
fake Super Bowl tickets. This year one of the preventive
measures being taken is that authentic tickets will be printed on
glow-in-the-dark paper. You’ve now been warned. [Business
Week]
–Not to knock my friends in North Dakota, but geezuz, the
pickings are kind of slim when you ask who the greatest athlete
that ever lived or played for a team in the state was. Now I love
Roger Maris, but he’s first in a poll for Sports Illustrated. Coach
Phil Jackson is second and outfielder Darin Erstad, third.
–SI had some fun and decided to pick the winners of golf’s four
majors this year. Ernie Els (Masters), Tiger (U.S. Open), Fredrik
Jacobson (PGA), and Darren Clarke (British Open). So I’ll go
on record and say: David Toms (Masters), Tiger (U.S. Open),
Fred Couples (PGA in the most popular and dramatic major
victory in the modern television era) and Justin Leonard (British
Open).
Phil Mickelson, by the way, will not win a tournament this year
and will last be seen climbing the Golden Gate Bridge .
..before he is talked down. This
will be another super dramatic television moment. 50 helicopters
in the air at once, filming the excitement as Lefty flails at them
with his driver, King Kong style.
–Well, now you know why I wasn’t overly excited to have Wake
Forest ranked #3 in one of the polls. Following poor
performances against Texas and Duke, I’m slinking away into
the sunset ..gearing up for an authentic title run next year!
–According to Advertising Age, the Campbell Soup ads with
Gordon Elliott have the highest recall count. And for those of
you looking to shell out some bucks on the Super Bowl, a 30-
second spot this year is going for a record $2.25 million. A few
4th quarter slots may still be open at about $1.8 million.
–You know who is a classy guy? Colts coach Tony Dungy.
–According to a Gallup survey of 65,000 people in 60 countries,
Greece is the second most pessimistic nation in the world, pretty
bad considering they are hosting the Olympics this August. #1 is
Slovakia. Hey, I\’\’m part Slovak! No wonder I am the way I am.
–Upon the hiring of 66-year-old Lenny Wilkens to coach the
New York Knicks, Johnny Mac remarked, “I guess Joe Lapchick
and Claire Bee turned it down.”
–We truly can be a nation of idiots, and there are no dumber
people on the planet than local news anchors. I\’\’m in New Hampshire,
watching a Boston station Sunday evening, and the anchor is
discussing a Delta flight that was forced to land in Ireland due
to a terrorism scare. He said it was "diverted to Shannon Airport
in Dublin, Ireland." Now maybe you have to have been to Ireland to
appreciate this amazing gaff, but we\’\’re only talking the Irish
capital of the world…Boston! [Shannon is in the west of the
country, and not exactly related to Dublin, which is in the east.]
Top 3 songs for the week of 1/16/71: #1 “My Sweet Lord”
(George Harrison) #2 “Knock Three Times” (Dawn) #3 “One
Less Bell To Answer” (The 5th Dimension)
NBA Quiz Answers: 1) George Gervin led the league in scoring
each of 1977-78, 78-79, and 79-80 with averages of 27.2, 29.6,
and 33.1 for San Antonio. Gervin also led the NBA in scoring in
1981-82 with a 32.3 average. 2) Adrian Dantley is the only other
player to sink 28 free throws in a game. He was 28 of 29 back in
’84. Dantley is also the only to make 27 in a game. 3) Big
games: Chet Walker scored 56 for Chicago in ’72, Tom
Chambers had 60 for Phoenix in ’90, Lou Hudson had 57 for
Atlanta back in ’69, and Jack Twyman had 59 in 1960 for
Cincinnati.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
**Saturday was a sad day for the country as we lost the 500th
American in Iraq. I know I have some soldiers among the
readers here, so to honor you and your fallen comrades, I
respectfully post “The Ballad of the Green Berets” as
representative of the heroism displayed by the brave men and
women serving not just in the special forces, but in all branches.
Fighting soldiers from the sky
Fearless men who jump and die
Men who mean just what they say
The brave men of the Green Beret
Chorus:
Silver wings upon their chest
These are men, America’s best
One hundred men will test today
But only three win the Green Beret
Trained to live off nature’s land
Trained in combat, hand-to-hand
Men who fight by night and day
Courage peak from the Green Berets
Chorus:
Silver wings upon their chest
These are men, America’s best
One hundred men will test today
But only three win the Green Beret
Back at home a young wife waits
Her Green Beret has met his fate
He has died for those oppressed
Leaving her his last request
“Put silver wings on my son’s chest
Make him one of America’s best
He’ll be a man they’ll test one day
Have him win the Green Beret.”
—
A proud nation salutes all of you.
