NASCAR Quiz: How many of the 11 drivers who have won 50
or more races in the history of the sport can you name? Answer
below.
So I’m down in Florida, currently in St. Augustine before I make
my way to Daytona Beach for this weekend’s NASCAR
festivities. I have to admit, though, I’m more than a little
bummed out by the awful weather forecast.
Today I went to the World Golf Hall of Fame here in town and it
was slightly disappointing. Not enough film clips, for one, plus
as I’ve noted in the past golf is the one sport that does a
miserable job when it comes to its statistical history.
Cooperstown, for example, has all-time record boards as you
walk in, to help the casual fan gain some context when
comparing today’s greats to the past. Golf, outside of the majors
and a few other stats, has little of that. Try finding a list of all
those who won at least 10 PGA events (an excellent career) for
example. I had a long chat with one of the directors here about
this and frankly he was a bit embarrassed by the time I got
through with him (in a friendly manner).
What is good about this museum, as well as the USGA one in
Far Hills, NJ, is it does give you a great appreciation for just how
awesome some of yesteryear’s players were. Just look at the
equipment, the clubs and balls, and then factor in the crummy
condition of the fairways and greens back then compared to what
we are used to playing on these days, let alone what the
pampered pros get. It’s this last point that really stands out when
you watch some of the action from the 20s and 30s. How these
guys ever one-putted I’ll never know.
The museum also has an excellent exhibit of golf’s roots and it’s
easy to forget that St. Andrews can document its past back to
1550, for starters, when the town’s well-established playing field
was decreed by the bishops to be for “golff (sic), futball” and
other sporting events.
So here are just a few other tidbits.
–By 1914 there were 2,800 golf clubs in Great Britain.
–For those of you who are Irish golf devotees, a holiday map in
Golf Illustrated from back in 1905 showed only four courses;
Portrush, Portmarnock, New Castle (County Down) and Lahinch.
[I belong to Lahinch…just had to take a dig at Ballybunion, a
rival.]
–I love the clips of Ben Hogan, swinging away with a cigarette
dangling from his lips.
–John Shippen was the 1st African-American to participate in the
U.S. Open, 1896.
–The PGA of America didn’t remove its “Caucasian only”
clause until 1961. Charlie Sifford was the 1st black member,
winning twice in ’67 at the age of 44.
–The 1st minority to win a major championship was Lee Trevino,
1968 U.S. Open.
–“Life is full of minor annoyances and few matters of great
consequence.” –Harvey Penick
–President Eisenhower is estimated to have played 800 rounds of
golf during his 8 years in the White House. Good for him.
Didn’t hurt us much.
After going through the museum (you really only need about two
hours) I retired to a local watering hole for a Foster’s and a
burger. Why Foster’s? Well, mates, that’s a story for “Week in
Review,” and a serious one. For now, let’s just say I’m on a new
crusade, pissed off at our president who in agreeing to a free-
trade deal with Australia last Sunday, insisted the freakin’ sugar
lobby in America maintain its exemption. An incredibly stupid
move that I’ll have more on this weekend. In the meantime, I’m
going to support my Aussie friends in the only way I know how.
Stuff
–For you folks in New Jersey, did you know that NASCAR has
held official events in the following locales in the Garden State?
Linden Airport…site of the first NASCAR / Grand National road
race back on 6/13/54. Foreign cars were also allowed to
compete. Al Keller won it.
Morristown…1/2-mile dirt track. Grand National races from
1951-55. Lee Petty, Tim Flock and Buck Baker were some of
the winners here.
Belmar / Wall Stadium…one race in 1958.
Trenton…8 races between 1958-72, won by the likes of Fireball
Roberts, Richard Petty, David Pearson, Bobby Allison, and
LeeRoy Yarbrough. [Growing up, I always got Yarborough and
Yarbrough mixed up.]
Old Bridge…6 races between 1956-65, won by Fireball and
Junior Johnson, among others.
[So find some of these places and ride your dirt bike around ‘em;
then you can say you trod the ground of the greats. Of course if
there is an apartment complex on the exact location, ask for
permission before racing through the hallways.]
And for my North Carolina racing fans, don’t let your kids grow
up without knowing that NASCAR held up to 3 events a year at
Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC.
–Germans drank less beer for a 4th straight year in 2003, partially
due to an aging population. But, they still drink enough to fill
10,560 Olympic-sized swimming pools. [AP] Let’s see, I’m 45,
have been drinking beer since age 18…I wonder if I’ve had a
poolfull in my career?
[Reminder, kids. Your editor is a professional. Don’t try this at
home.]
–Wow…not a good time to be Colorado coach Gary Barnett,
amidst all the allegations of strippers being used to help recruit
football players. But like I always say, whatever it takes to win.
………………………………….uh oh, I was just flagged by the
International Web Site Association’s Vice Squad Division. I’m
in a bit of trouble for that last remark.
–The NHL is facing a lengthy lockout next fall. The current
collective bargaining agreement expires on September 15 and the
league and players are at a stalemate. The league claims to have
lost $300 million last season as it shells out 76% of revenues for
player salaries (according to its propaganda), while the union
says it will help cut costs by reducing salaries 5%. However, the
union also says a salary cap (like that employed in the NFL and
NBA) is a “nonstarter.”
Under the current 10-year deal, the NHL claims revenues are up
163% while player costs have soared 253%. Yet with an average
salary of $1.79 million these days, some say the players have
saved up enough money that a lengthy strike really isn’t an issue.
Plus many are making plans to play in Europe next year. So
enjoy this spring’s Stanley Cup action. It could be your last.
–Greg Biffle, a 2nd-year driver, has the pole for Sunday’s
Daytona 500. He’s driving the Havoline Goody’s Pepsi Chex
Mix Mets Bar Chat Ford. But did you catch his girlfriend,
Nicole Lunders? Ahem.
–Hey, sports fans, I thought Pepsi was supposed to air the
“Gladiator” commercial featuring Britney, Beyonce and Pink at
the Super Bowl? It’s running in Europe but for some reason
Pepsi decided not to air this 3-minute extravaganza that would
have cost the company around $14 million. So as reported in the
current issue of Advertising Age, here’s what happens.
The three babes, “fetching gladiator strippers in their iron bikinis
and weaponry,” are at the Coliseum. “Instead of battling to the
death, as the evil emperor anticipates as he watches from the VIP
box, the three warrior divas throw down their trident and swords
and instead start to gyrate and sing ‘We will rock you.’
“The bloodthirsty populace packed in the stands stops shouting
menacingly and merrily sings along. The music’s beat literally
rocks the Coliseum so much that the emperor’s private stash…”
You get the picture. This would have been far better than Justin
and Janet, I think 51% of you would agree.
–Golfer Darren Clarke in an interview with Golf Digest.
Q: How have your relationships been with your Ryder Cup
captains?
Clarke: Well, I didn’t ‘have’ a relationship with my first captain
(Seve Ballesteros in 1997 at Valderrama). At all. He spoke about
five words to me all week. But we won.
[I just had to include this for you golf freaks out there. Yes, Seve
truly is the a-hole many say he is.]
Q: [On a different matter] Why didn’t America understand Colin
Montgomerie?
Clarke: He just took a dislike to America and was never as
focused over here as he was in Europe. He doesn’t like noises!
[Look for Colin to catch even more than an earful in the States
this year after this comment.]
–Geezuz, here’s something awful. Joe Kay, a Tucson High
School basketball player, made an exclamation dunk shot at the
end of a win against a rival on Friday and a group of fans tackled
him in the post-game excitement. According to USA Today,
“He suffered a broken jaw and a torn carotid artery, which
supplies blood to the brain, and suffered a stroke.” He faces a
long recovery. Plus he had received a full volleyball scholarship
to attend Stanford next fall.
–Bet you didn’t know this…from High Plains Journal: Reindeer
herders have the most dangerous line of work in Sweden
according to a new study there. Among the herders, who are
mostly indigenous “Sami” (no one told me they changed their
name from “Lapps”!), there were 150 deaths on the job between
1961 and 2000, twice the rate of farmers and more than three
times the rate for construction workers. I guess the problem is
they ride around on rough terrain and they’re alone, so when an
accident occurs there is no one to help them (like when they fall
through some ice), plus, you know what they say about
reindeer…they are extremely selfish, witness the jerks Rudolph
had to deal with.
–Back to hockey (sorry, Yanks, but I have quite a few Canadian
readers), Allen St. John of the Wall Street Journal (2/6) tried to
come up with the second best player in NHL history to Wayne
Gretzky. #6 is Mark Messier, #5 Maurice Richard, #4 Bobby
Hull, #3 Bobby Orr, #2 Gordie Howe and #1…Mario Lemieux.
But since I highlighted Orr’s career just a few days before St.
John’s article, I take issue with part of his summary.
“The Sandy Koufax of hockey. (Orr) didn’t play long enough to
compile impressive career totals, but when he did play he was
revolutionary. He racked up a 1.30-points-a-game average, is the
only defenseman to have won a scoring title and won two
Stanley Cups. If knee injuries hadn’t forced him to retire at
31…”
Hey, hold it right there, St. John. He was basically finished at
27, not 31. As for Richard, and I know he has a ton of supporters
in the Great White North, he never won a scoring title and
received only one MVP award, so it’s difficult to rank him
higher.
–Johnny Mac relayed a story from ESPN concerning football
great John Mackey, the Hall of Fame tight end who
revolutionized his sport.
Mackey is suffering from dementia and at age 62 he simply can’t
remember events from an hour earlier, even though he appears to
be physically fit. This was a guy who was past president of the
players association and a leading motivational speaker.
But as Johnny points out, “Even though the millionaires of today
owe much to Mackey, he is forced to eke out an existence on his
NFL pension of slightly under $2,000 a month. That’s a freakin’
travesty. Most current players spend that each month having
their jewelry cleaned. At least some former players, notably Jack
Kemp, are doing their best to get him some assistance.”
“As is the case with baseball’s Curt Flood,” J. Mac adds,
“Mackey led the way in establishing the union, at great personal
risk. He took the NFL to court, challenging the ‘Rozelle Rule’ of
equal compensation for free agents, which essentially rendered
free agency moot, and it cost him many friends in the
establishment, as his 15-year wait for induction into the Hall of
Fame will attest.”
Top 3 songs for the week of 2/14/76: #1 “50 Ways to Leave
Your Lover” (Paul Simon) #2 “Love To Love You Baby”
(Donna Summer….uhhh) #3 “You Sexy Thing” (Hot Chocolate)
NASCAR Quiz Answer: 50 or more career victories – Richard
Petty, 200; David Pearson, 105; Bobby Allison, 85; Darrell
Waltrip, 84; Cale Yarborough, 83; Dale Earnhardt, 76; Jeff
Gordon, 64; Lee Petty, 54; Rusty Wallace, 54; Ned Jarrett, 50;
Junior Johnson, 50.
[Admittedly, the above is more than a bit controversial because
in the old days, pre-1972, far more races were held, often 45-60 a
year, than in the post-’72 era, when there were generally 28-31
races before moving to today’s standard of 36. So without a
doubt, Richard Petty’s tally is inflated and no one else will ever
attain that level. If you look at post-1972, then, Darrell Waltrip’s
84 is the standard and Jeff Gordon’s 64 is quite an impressive figure
when you consider how many years he probably has before he’s
finished.]
Next Bar Chat, Tuesday. Folks, I gotta tell you, this could be
dangerous…you know, after a weekend of partying and all.
Look for me in the Tiny Lund grandstand. I’ll be drinking
Foster’s while injesting a bunch of barbecue sandwiches.
