U.S. Open Quiz: 1) How many Open titles did John McEnroe
win? 2) How many did Jimmy Connors win? 3) Ivan Lendl? 4)
What male won in 1975, initials M.O.? 5) How many did Steffi
Graf win? 6) Martina Navratilova? 7) Chrissie Evert? 8) What
female won in 1985, initials H.M.? 9) What woman has the most
grand slam singles titles with 24? Answers below.
Stuff
As the editor struggles with jet and pub lag after a trip to Ireland,
I bring you a mishmash of material.
–Welcome Republican delegates to New York City! The other
day I wrote about Flashdancers. Today, here’s the Zagat’s write-
up for Scores (333 E. 60th St., bet. 1st & 2nd Aves.)
“Yup, that’s the smell of ‘burning money’ in the air at this
‘exorbitant’, ‘high-class’ East Side stripteaser, a ‘bachelor party
haven’ where the ‘finest looking ladies to ever put on a G-string’
fulfill ‘every guy’s dream’ – for a price (‘someone has to pay for
those implants’); though there’s ‘no chance’ of getting lucky
here, it scores big when it comes to ogling some ‘amazing bods’
or ‘Howard Stern’.”
Hey, let’s look up another…Ten’s (35 E. 21st St., bet. B’way &
Park Ave. S.)
“Strip-club buffs rank this Flatiron entry among the ‘best and
costliest’ in town as they peel off a $30 weekend cover to see
‘friendly’ femmes (with ‘genetically impossible’ figures)
uncover onstage or tableside; if ‘exorbitant’ prices have
skinflints opting for ‘Pay-Per-View’, for most ‘they could serve
water and charge $10.’”
But wait, there’s more! You can check out VIP Club (20 W. 20th
St., bet. 5th & 6th Aves.)
“The Flatiron’s own strip of ‘silicone valley’, this top-tier topless
club may deplete ‘your next paycheck’, yet there’s plenty of ‘va-
va-voom’ in the room when the ‘beauties’ hit the stage and strut
their stuff; but despite the ‘stunning’ sights, even a big shot can
‘walk out feeling like a sucker.’”
So there you go, conventioneers. Don’t ever say I never did
anything for you, guys. And go early. You already know what
the president and the other speakers are going to say anyway.
–Republican delegates, part II. The New York Times listed
some famous addresses.
“I Love Lucy” – The Ricardos lived at 623 East 68th Street. It’s
a mythical address.
“All In The Family” – The opening montage shows the Bunker
household in Corona, Queens. The exterior on Cooper Avenue
in Glendale, Queens, still stands.
“The Cosby Show” – Supposed to be set in a brownstone in
Brooklyn, the exterior is at 10 St. Luke’s Place in Greenwich
Village.
“Seinfeld” – The show’s Monk’s Restaurant is actually Tom’s
Restaurant, 2880 Broadway, at West 112th Street. Jerry’s
apartment building is at 129 West 81st Street.
“Friends” – The establishing shot for Monica’s apartment is a
real building: 90 Bedford Street in Greenwich Village.
“Sex And The City” – The Magnolia Bakery is at 401 Bleecker
Street in the Village. The Supper Club is at 240 West 47th Street.
Writer Gay Talese was asked to provide his thoughts on what
delegates should see.
“I think they should go to any of the roughly 18,000 restaurants
in the city and go into the kitchens to see the new Ellis Island for
the work force in the city of New York…Your great unwashed
really start out washing dishes and doing the menial tasks that
traditionally newcomers must do when they first arrive here.
Many of the famous chefs arrived as teens and started out
washing dishes.”
–Final Olympic medal count.
United States…35-39-29…103
Russia…27-27-38…92
China…32-17-14…63
Australia…17-16-16…49
Germany…14-16-18…48
Azerbaijan…1-0-4…5
Bahamas…1-0-1…2
Nigeria…0-0-2…2
Ireland…1-0-0…1
Eritrea…0-0-1…1
Mongolia…0-0-1…1 [Bronze in Yak herding]
–The London Times had a piece on 1968, the Mexico Olympics
and Kip Keino.
“In sporting terms, the Kenyan distance runner’s story is one of
the Games’ great yarns but he has a larger claim to respect.
After 8,900 metres of the 10,000 he was forced to pull out with
severe stomach pain. Keino’s doctor told him that his gall-
bladder infection was so bad he risked dying if he raced in the
5,000m. He ignored the advice and won silver. [The Times
piece incorrectly said he won gold in the 5,000. Bad miss, guys,
very bad.] On the day of the 1,500m, still in pain, his bus got
stuck in traffic on the way to the race. Keino jogged the last two
miles to the stadium, arriving moments before the start, and won
by seven seconds.
“Keino only ever made around $20,000 from athletics. What he
did earn, however, he ploughed back into his community. After
he stopped racing he began to adopt abandoned and orphaned
children. It is estimated that Keino – now aged 64 – has raised
more than 250 such kids.”
–Sunday’s New York Times had a good piece on some world
track and field records and the 2004 Olympic winning times.
Men:
200m…WR…19.32 (1996)…Olympic winner…19.79
800m…WR…1:41.11 (1997)…Olympic winner…1:44.45
1,500m…WR…3:26.00 (1998)…Olympic winner…3:34.20
Women:
200m…WR…21.34 (1988)…Olympic winner…22.05
800m…WR…1:53.28 (1983)…Olympic winner…1:56.38
Conclusion? With the increased focus on weeding out those
using performance-enhancing drugs, it’s possible some of these
marks will be around a bit longer. The difference is even more
severe in the strength events. [I’m not saying the world record
holders were using steroids, especially in the case of my main
man Michael Johnson and his 200m performance in Atlanta.]
–All the talk in Ireland, aside from the Olympics, was of the
European tour event (the BMW) that was the last before the final
selection for their Ryder Cup squad. As expected, Colin
Montgomerie received one of the two captain’s picks from
Bernhard Langer, while England’s Luke Donald picked up the
other. Completing the 12-member squad:
Paul McGinley, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, David Howell, Thomas
Levet, Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Darren Clarke, Miguel
Angel Jimenez and Lee Westwood.
Monty, by the way, has a 16-7-5 record in 6 Cups and has never
lost in singles. I still say the Europeans roll in a few weeks.
But remember how anti-John Daly I was as far as him receiving
a U.S. captain’s selection, which then went to Jay Haas and
Stewart Cink instead? I wrote that Daly could be a real problem
if his head wasn’t on straight and the Ryder Cup is one event
where one guy’s attitude can bring down others on the team.
So what did Daly say while playing in this week’s BMW
International Open in Munich? From the London Times:
“Asked to consider Hal Sutton’s choice of Haas and Cink for the
Americans, (Daly) said he felt that Haas’s record was not really
up to scratch and that Sutton was ‘pissed off’ that the fans and
media had been pushing for his own inclusion.
“There had been suggestions that Daly would not be a good team
player, but he dismissed that out of hand. ‘I think I would be a
great team player,’ he said.”
No you wouldn’t, big guy. Next time, earn your way on. As for
dissing Haas, Mr. Daly is now a candidate for StocksandNews
“Jerk of the Year.”
–NASCAR has just two races to go before its 10-race playoff.
You need to be in the top ten in points at that time to qualify
for the final title chase. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won this weekend
in Bristol, one of the spots I have to get to sometime in my life.
Points standings:
1. Jeff Gordon…3,380
2. Jimmie Johnson…3,356
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. …3,305
4. Tony Stewart…3,195
5. Matt Kenseth…3,156
6. Kurt Busch…3,051
7. Elliott Sadler…3,019
8. Kevin Harvick…2,923
9. Bobby Labonte…2,919
10. Ryan Newman…2,918
11. Kasey Kahne…2,892
12. Mark Martin…2,883
–Get ready, east coast. British researchers at the Royal
Institution say it’s just a matter of time before a 12-mile chunk of
the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Canary Islands breaks loose.
When this occurs, it could trigger a tidal wave of massive
proportions, up to 75 feet high, that would travel across the
Atlantic at up to 600 mph, giving U.S. coastal cities just 8 to 10
hours of warning before the mountainous wall of water strikes
our shores.
As reported in Sunday’s New York Daily News, “The Cumbre
Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma has been the most active
volcano on the Canary Islands. A 1949 eruption shook loose the
western flank of the 6,300-foot volcano that is now at risk of
tumbling into the sea. The last eruption happened in 1971 on the
southern tip of the island.”
On July 17, 1998, an earthquake triggered a landslide, touching
off a 50-foot-tall tsunami that devastated Papua New Guinea and
killed 2,000. I’ll never forget this one because it was the Jesuit
priests on the island that rallied the people on the beach
afterwards, while the tribal leaders fled.
–So I came back home to some truly horrific news. A flathead
catfish was caught in the Delaware River near Lambertville, N.J.,
a few weeks ago. The fish was just 18 months old and a little
over 9 inches, though the species has been known to reach 5 feet.
So far, the flathead isn’t talking and refuses to divulge where its
mother is, the little bastard. Of course flatheads eat every other
specie of fish so officials are duly concerned. And since it’s
normally found west of the Appalachians, clearly the flathead
hitched a ride with a trucker and was possibly dropped off at the
Pennsylvania / New Jersey crossing of the Delaware on Route
80. At least that would be my guess.
–Boy, I see my Mets suck worse than ever as they commence
their now annual late summer swoon. On Sunday they lost to the
Dodgers, 10-2, on Jewish Heritage Day. Michael Morrissey of
the New York Post had the following comment.
“(On this day), there was ample time to debate whether the Mets
are schlemiels or schlimazels with the home team down 8-1 after
five. Fans were given shirts that read ‘Let’s Go Mets’ in
Hebrew, but ‘Oy vey!’ was more appropriate.”
In the contest, L.A.’s Robin Ventura crashed the 17th grand slam
of his career, tying him for 4th on the all-time list behind Lou
Gehrig’s 23.
–Barry Bonds crushed two dingers on Sunday night, giving him
696 for his career. This is now beyond depressing.
–Ichiro is up to 209 hits in his quest to break George Sisler’s all-
time single season mark of 257. Ichiro also became the first
player in major league history to reach 200 hits in each of his
first four seasons.
–Reminder, sports fans. I said the Houston Astros would win
the World Series and suddenly they’re back in the wild-card race.
[My A.L. pick, the Kansas City Royals, are 84-45….uh, wait a
second…that’s 45-84. Never mind.]
–Curacao defeated Thousand Oaks, CA for the Little League
World Series title. Didn’t see it, but you have to be psyched for
this place.
–My good friend Jeff B. won a pro-am tennis title this weekend
in Connecticut, thus earning his second clock in three weeks.
He’s going for a third one because then his desk would rival
Judge Ito’s.
–The college football season is underway as USC defeated
Virginia Tech in Landover, MD by a 24-13 score. Didn’t see
this one either, so I’m not sure what girls were on the traveling
cheerleading squad.
But a few days ago, USC’s superstar receiver Mike Williams lost
his NCAA appeal to play this year after dropping out of last
spring’s NFL draft due to a court ruling. Kevin Lennon of the
NCAA office explained:
“At the end of the day, when we stepped back and looked, there
was no question he violated the amateurism rule. He said, ‘I
want to be a professional (by hiring an agent and dropping out of
spring classes), I no longer want to be a college student-athlete.”
Good decision, but the NCAA didn’t need to string the ruling out
this far. If Williams hadn’t hired the agent, he would have been
OK. [AP]
–It’s estimated that if you were watching the Olympics on the
NBC network of stations you had to deal with 13-14,000
commercials. Over in Ireland, we saw a fair amount of the last
few days action and caught the BBC, commercial free. What a
difference. Plus Michael Johnson was their commentator on
track and field.
–Laura Branigan died at age 47 due to a brain aneurysm. Her #2
hit, “Gloria,” has to be just about the worst song of all time.
–Commenting on my Thin Lizzy piece last time, Harry K.
observed that the guitar solo on “Cowboy Song” is one of the all-
time best ever recorded. Agreed. I didn’t intend to cover all
Irish rock acts last chat – didn’t have the time to – but some day
I’ll get around to Van Morrison, H.K.
Top 3 songs for the week of 8/31/74: #1 “(You’re) Having My
Baby” (Paul Anka…ughh) #2 “I Shot The Sheriff” (Eric
Clapton) #3 “Tell Me Something Good” (Rufus…Chaka Khan’s
early years were damn good… “Sweet Thing” my personal fave,
#5, 2/76)
U.S. Open Quiz Answers: 1) John McEnroe won 4…1979-81,
84. 2) Jimmy Connors, 5…74, 76, 78, 82-83. 3) Ivan Lendl, 3
…1985-87. 4) Manuel Orantes beat Connors in 1975. 5) Steffi
Graf won 5…88-89, 93, 95-96. 6) Martina won 4…83-84, 86-
87. 7) Chrissie won 6…75-78, 80, 82. 8) Hana Mandlikova beat
Martina in 1985. 9) Margaret Smith Court has the most grand
slam singles titles with 24; 11 Australian Opens, 5 French, 3
Wimbledon and 5 U.S. Steffi is next with 22, while Chrissie and
Martina had 18.
**By the way, thanks to the lousy dollar it’s not cheap drinking
in Ireland, with a pint of Smithwick’s (my choice this trip)
costing $4.50 or thereabouts. So multiply that by ten a night
………………..sorry, just kidding……….or was he?………..
………………………………What goes on in Ireland stays there.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
