Golf Quiz: The World Golf Ranking began in 1986 and is based
on finishes over two years and strength of field. Vijay Singh
recently became the 12th to reach #1. Name the other 11. [Hint:
7 foreign, 4 U.S.] Answer below.
Diva
It’s been a bit hectic around here, with the election and all, and
the following isn’t doing the subject justice, no doubt, but I
promised reader Linda D. that I would put something together.
“Hey, editor,” she wrote. “Why haven’t you done anything on
Diana Ross?” Ah, I don’t know.
She was born Diane Ernestine Ross, 1944, and grew up in the
Brewster housing project in Detroit, MI. A fellow by the name
of Milton Jenkins was managing a male vocal group called the
Primes and Jenkins wanted a female trio to accompany them on
tours and such. So Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard and Betty
Travis were put together to be the Primettes, a ghastly name I
think you’d agree, and the threesome was soon joined by Diana
Ross. The Primettes then basically opened for the Primes on the
Detroit club circuit.
Travis (no relation to Col. Travis of Alamo fame) left and was
replaced by Barbara Martin. But then Martin and Ballard’s
parents said the kids should focus on their grades so the group
disbanded.
But then they re-formed! At this point they basically did some
studio work for Marvin Gaye while Barbara Martin (no relation to
former Yankees’ manager Billy) left for good.
December 1960, Berry Gordy Jr. of Motown signed what had
become a trio and told the girls, “Come up with a name, ya’ll.”
Ballard chose the Supremes, which Wilson and Ross hated. But
Gordy thought it was cool and that’s all that really mattered in
those days.
By October 1962 the Supremes were part of a Motown package
tour consisting of Gaye, the Miracles, Mary Wells and Little
Stevie Wonder (he’s blind, you know) and in Dec. 1963 the girls
had their first hit, “When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through
His Eyes,” peaking at #23 on the Billboard charts. It may have
done better had the title been shorter.
Then by the summer of ’64, despite the British Invasion, the
Supremes took off. The next five songs that charted in the top 40
all went to #1.
“Where Did Our Love Go”
“Baby Love”
“Come See About Me”
“Stop! In The Name Of Love”
“Back In My Arms Again”
Amidst this run I can’t help but note a concert line-up Murray the
K put together at the Fox Theater in Brooklyn (Sept. ’64).
The Supremes, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, the Miracles and
Martha & The Vandellas.
What a pisser that would have been. And for the girls the hits
just kept on coming.
#11 “Nothing But Heartaches
#1 “I Hear A Symphony”
#5 “My World Is Empty Without You”
#9 “Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart”
#1 “You Can’t Hurry Love”
#1 “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”
#1 “Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone”
#1 “The Happening” [perhaps my personal fave.]
#2 “Reflections”
#9 “In And Out Of Love”
All of the above were basically from July 1964 through
December 1967. [They debuted on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in
December ’64, by the way.]
But it was during 1967 that the girls were having serious
problems, particularly with Florence Ballard. Ballard was
unhappy with her role, the other two were tired of her, Gordy
was looking to elevate Diana, and Florence was basically booted
out of the group. Replacing her was Cindy Birdsong (no relation
to former NBA great Otis Birdsong). With this move Gordy
officially renamed the group ‘Diana Ross and the Supremes.’
Gordy was preparing for the day when Diana would go it alone.
He was also sleeping with her.
Anyway, by 1968 the hits weren’t coming as fast and furious,
though they did have the #1 “Love Child” and the #2 “I’m
Gonna Make You Love Me” that year, the latter with the
Temptations.
Then in late 1969, as New Yorkers were still recovering from the
shock of the New York Mets winning the World Series, Diana
Ross and the Supremes had the #1 “Someday We’ll be
Together.” A few weeks later, January 14, 1970, Las Vegas’
Frontier Hotel was the scene of their last appearance. Diana
introduced her new replacement, Jean Terrell who, yes, really
was the sister of boxer Ernie Terrell.
The new Supremes, sans Diana, were only so-so, though they did
have the #7 “Stoned Love.” For her part, Jean Terrell was later
replaced by Scherrie Payne, sister of Freda Payne. And just to
finish up on the supporting cast, on February 21, 1976, Florence
Ballard overdosed on pills and alcohol.
Ballard’s life had been a mess following her split from the group
in ’67. She lost an $8.7 million lawsuit against Motown,
separated from her husband and was on welfare when she died.
Ross appeared at the funeral, surrounded by bodyguards.
Meanwhile, after leaving the Supremes in January 1970, Diana
initially turned to Ashford & Simpson for production help.
Together they had the #20 “Reach Out And Touch (Somebody’s
Hand)” and the #1 “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” a total
rearrangement of a 1967 Marvin Gaye / Tammi Terrell hit.
[Tammi, by the way, was briefly married to Ernie Terrell and of
course she met a tragic end, dying of a brain hemorrhage at the
age of 24 in 1970.]
Next it was on to Hollywood for Diana Ross and she played
Billie Holiday in the commercially successful “Lady Sings the
Blues,” for which Ross was nominated for Best Actress. But that
was followed by the dismal “Mahogany” (Billy Dee Williams
co-starred) and after that Diana opted for “The Whiz.” Talk
about dreadful, Ross, now 33, decided to play Dorothy when a
more appropriate role would have been as the Wicked Witch. I
mean for crying out loud, she was too old! Why the heck did she
think she could pull it off?! C’mon……….sorry, I’m just very
upset……and we’re talking Nipsey Russell was in the flick.
Nipsey Russell! [Also Michael Jackson and Richard Pryor.]
Anyway, it bombed.
Diana was developing quite a reputation as an uncontrollable
diva at this point but she did manage a few hits, including the #1
tunes “Upside Down” and “Endless Love” (both truly dreadful).
She also remained a big concert draw. In 1983 Ross earned $2.5
million for a 6-week Vegas run and her world tour in 1990 set
some revenue marks, including $711,000 gross for 3 dates in
Detroit.
As for her love life, Ross had three children with Robert
Silberstein (Gordy claimed one was his luvvv child) and in 1986
she married Norwegian shipping magnate Arne Naess
(Silberstein was dumped in ’76) and they had two kids. Ross
was also linked over the years with Kiss’ Gene Simmons, if you
can believe that, as well as David Geffen.
In 1988, the Supremes were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall
of Fame. Little Richard was the presenter, saying “I love them
so much because they remind me of myself – they dress like
me.”
Then in 1989, with Ross’s reputation as a high-handed diva
firmly in place, she had two incidents that helped enhance it.
The first was an onstage display of temper against ex-Supreme
Mary Wilson during the taping of the Motown 25 special;
coming on the heels of speculation about how much the hit play
“Dreamgirls” was based on the Supremes’ story solidified this
image. The second incident is best described in “The Rolling
Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll.”
“(Ross) argued, unconvincingly, that two concerts she gave in
Central Park didn’t generate sufficient profits to provide her
promised $250,000 donation toward a new playground….After
the first night’s show was rained out, the park was heavily
damaged as the crowd of 350,000 retreated from the storm. By
the evening’s end, 84 had been arrested after a wild rampage in
which a large number of concertgoers and others in the area
surrounding the park were attacked and / or robbed. The entire
incident left a bitter taste, and although Ross returned a second
night to perform, she didn’t deliver the funds until after Mayor
Ed Koch criticized her publicly over the next five months.
Unfortunately, the groundbreaking for the park coincided with
the publication of Mary Wilson’s ‘Dreamgirl: My Life as a
Supreme,’ which some regarded as highly critical of Ross.”
And so with that we finish the Diana Ross story. Great music;
not a great lady.
–Bowl Championship Series
I suspect I’m not alone in sometimes being confused about just
who the heck is eligible for the BCS? I mean try going on the
official BCS web site. You can’t get an answer. But the Big
East Conference site explains it.
You all know you have four big games at year end with the title
game this time being the Orange Bowl. The other three are the
Fiesta, Rose and Sugar Bowls.
Each of the following conferences gets its champion into the four
games…Big East, ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and Pac-10…
plus Notre Dame if they are worthy.
But, the reason why we talk about Utah this year is because
under the recently revised rules, if an independent team or team
from a conference without an automatic selection is ranked in the
“top six” in the BCS standings, it qualifies for a slot in the BCS
series.
The remaining at-large position may be filled by any Division
I-A team that has won at least nine games during the regular
season and the team is ranked among the top 12 bowl eligible
squads in the BCS standings.
So here are the latest rankings.
1. USC
2. Oklahoma
3. Auburn
4. California
5. Wisconsin
6. Utah
7. Texas
8. Tennessee
9. Georgia
10. Miami
11. Michigan
12. Boise State….kind of a surprise
Should Oklahoma and Auburn stumble in their conference
championship games, California could move up for a rematch
with USC. But it would certainly seem that if Utah wins its
remaining games, it should maintain the 6th slot regardless of
what happens to the teams ahead of it. At least that’s my
opinion. What will be interesting is if Wisconsin stays
undefeated and the others ahead of it win out. Then you’d have
undefeated Wisconsin probably out of the hunt for the national
title, not even a share of it.
Remember, one of the things mucking this all up is the fact the
Big East champion, Pitt or West Virginia at this point, is
guaranteed a slot even though neither is worthy.
There now…hopefully that cleared things up a bit.
–The great sportswriter Ross Newhan of the Los Angeles Times
wrote his last regular column on November 1. Newhan, whose
son David had a surprisingly strong debut with the Baltimore
Orioles this year (as chronicled in this space), wrote of his
coverage of baseball the past 44 years. Following are a few of
his final thoughts.
“I don’t mind lobbing questions at Milton Bradley while
preparing to duck. I could tolerate the angry phone rants by Tom
Lasorda and the libel threats from Kevin Malone. I thought it
amusing while spending a couple of seasons covering the
tormented Alex Johnson of the Angels that he kept insisting my
first name was ‘Four Eyed’ and my last name was a hyphenated
obscenity. I never thought Gene Mauch was really serious when
he often accused me of ‘fomenting’ trouble, and I was only
slightly nervous on that Sunday afternoon in Anaheim when
Brian Downing stuck a bat within an inch of my nose and
threatened to deviate my septum merely because I had written
that all of his weightlifting had left him muscle-bound between
the ears.
“All of that is part of the job, the fallout of doing it right. But
writing those often dull and deflating labor stories while wanting
to write only about the wonders of the game and the men who
play it has been a mind-numbing challenge….
“If Koufax was the best pitcher I ever saw, dominant and
majestic during that five-year span in the 60s, I was no less
impressed again by the tenacity of Curt Schilling and artistry of
Pedro Martinez just last week, and I am mindful that Randy
Johnson and Roger Clemens, among others, have established
their own span of dominance while operating with a livelier
baseball and tighter strike zone and on a lower mound than
Koufax.
“If I saw enough of Mickey Mantle to think that, given sobriety
of mind and stability of knees, he would have lifted his Hall of
Fame credentials to an unparalleled height as the best ever, I still
view Bonds as the most remarkable hitter I’ve ever seen.
“The game that has been my life has now returned to an
unprecedented level of popularity, but allow me this:
“The dark cloud of steroid abuse may remain more pervasive
than yet revealed and must be dealt with – sooner, not later – by
an obstinate union that has continued to oppose tougher testing.”
–Murray Chass of the New York Times had a piece on Boston’s
Manny Ramirez, who hasn’t given a cent to his old high school,
George Washington, in the Washington Heights section of
Manhattan where he is revered as a god.
Including bonuses, Ramirez earned about $21 million this past
season. “For less than one-tenth of one percent of his income,
between $10,000 and $20,000, Ramirez could enable his former
team to have new uniforms, new baseballs, new bats. But the
George Washington players should not sit around waiting for the
contribution,” writes Chass.
While Ramirez is evidently sick of being asked for money when
he visits his old neighborhood, the baseball coach at GW says
“The kids are of Dominican descent, same as he is. Their needs
are the same as his were.”
–So the Arizona Diamondbacks selected Wally Backman to be
their new manager but had no clue he had filed for Chapter 7
bankruptcy last year. Wally has had other problems, including
brushes with the law (two arrests), that were known to those of
us in New York, but even in these cases (DUI and an assault
charge), the Arizona owners act like they had no knowledge of
any of it. What idiots. For his part Backman says none of it
ever came up in his interview so he didn’t tell them. Alas, as of
today he will still be manager come next spring.
–Hard to believe the NBA’s Grant Hill has played in only 47
games since 2000. It’s also hard to believe he’s still just 32 and
his latest comeback from his ankle problems is going pretty well.
–Last Bar Chat I wrote of the New Jersey Nets’ Alonzo
Mourning and his bid to return to play following his kidney
transplant last December. But like teammate Jason Kidd, this is
one selfish dude.
“You’ve got an upset captain who probably wants to be moved…
I don’t think it’s a good situation,” said Mourning. “One of my
main reasons for playing here was to play with Jason Kidd. Now
you’ve got a guy that’s upset….Would I have made the decision
to come here if they would have gotten rid of K-Mart and Kerry?
[Kenyon Martin and Kerry Kittles] No, because I had a couple
other options.”
Oh, shut up you spoiled jerk. In case you all forgot, the Nets
signed Mourning to a 4-year, $22.6 million deal two summers
ago despite knowing he had serious kidney problems. No one
else would have given him that kind of money. Geezuz, you just
get sick of all these guys…like the following example…
–One of the true idiots on the planet is Dallas Cowboys receiver
Keyshawn Johnson. The other day, in disagreeing with a story
by Fox reporter Pam Oliver wherein she said Keyshawn had
been seen yelling at a Cowboys assistant, the a-hole said:
“I almost wanted to get on a plane, find where she is at, and sit
her down and spank her with a ruler really, really hard, because it
makes no sense.”
And for this comment, Keyshawn Johnson thus becomes a late-
season candidate for Bar Chat’s “Dirtball of the Year.”
–Phil W. passed along a piece by Glenn Sheeley of the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution concerning perks on the PGA Tour. I’ve
touched on this before, particularly in regards to the 84 Lumber
Classic that I attended back in September, but it is funny how
times have changed. Regarding courtesy cars, for example, tour
golfer John Cook said “you’re all upset if you don’t the
(Mercedes) S500 instead of the C320.”
Currently, the top 30 on the money list are in Atlanta for the
Tour Championship, with the golfers getting put up at the Ritz-
Carlton, gratis. And among the extras they’ll receive are:
“Free day care; complimentary breakfasts and lavish clubhouse
lunch buffets; seats at the commissioner’s dinner; a gift basket
for wives; free tickets to local attractions; and, of course, range
balls from all the major equipment companies….In addition,
equipment companies routinely stock their players’ lockers with
several dozen balls, gloves and caps.”
It’s at the Wachovia Championship in Charlotte that the bar has
really been raised.
“Each entrant receives a Mercedes for the week; a barber in the
locker room; free dry cleaning; RV parking; shopping trips for
wives or girlfriends; a mother’s day gift; free day care and a
special phone number to call for a police escort if stuck in traffic.
Catering to wives, two planes are organized for a side trip to the
Biltmore Hotel in Asheville. Even the caddies get valet
parking.”
The tournaments have to do this in order to attract the one or two
golfers that could make all the difference in the world at the gate.
Veteran tour member Billy Andrade, though, remembers a
simpler time when “getting free long-distance calls from MCI in
the locker room was a big deal.” Heck, they used to have to pay
for their range balls, if you can imagine that. Let alone the food.
As Andrade added:
“It drove me nuts when I first came on tour. (Guys) were
complaining that there were only cold cuts and why can’t we
have hot food? And these were guys who had never been on
tour before.”
–Tom Lehman has been selected to be the captain of the 2006
U.S. Ryder Cup team. Nothing against Lehman, but Larry
Nelson should have received the nod.
–NASCAR…3 races to go
1. Kurt Busch
2. Jimmie Johnson…-59 points
3. Jeff Gordon……..-72
–I noted the other day that Peyton Manning already has 22 TD
passes in just his first 7 games. His best total for a season is 33
in 2000. And how ‘bout those Houston Texans, 4-3?!
–Michael Vick rushed for 100-yards last week for the 4th time in
his career. Already, that ties him with Billy Kilmer for the most
by a quarterback, lifetime.
Now I couldn’t have been the only one thinking “Billy Kilmer?!”
After all, I only remember the older Kilmer, the 1970s version,
hobbling around in the pocket. But it turns out back in 1961 and
1962 he was quite a scrambler.
’61: 96 carries for 509 yards, 5.3 avg.
’62: 93 for 478, 5.1
From 1968-78, however, he didn’t have 100-yards rushing, total,
in any single season.
There are four QBs with 3 games of 100-yards.
Donovan McNabb, Tobin Rote, Bobby Douglass, and Randall
Cunningham. As for the latter three….
Tobin Rote had a great season rushing with Green Bay in 1951,
76 carries for 523 yards, 6.9 avg. And I forgot he was a pretty
fair passer, leading the NFL in TD passes in both 1955 and 56;
17 and 18, respectively, and in a 12-game schedule back then.
Randall Cunningham’s best season rushing was 1990; 118-942,
8.0 avg.
But my favorite was Douglass. He couldn’t throw worth a lick
but in 1972 with the Bears he ran 141 times for 968 yards and a
6.9 avg. Over his career he averaged 6.5 yards per carry and
rushed for 2,654.
–Regarding that story of the man who leaped into the lion’s den
at the Taipei Zoo in an attempt to convert them to Christianity,
shouting “Jesus will save you!”, everyone knows that lions are
agnostic.
–So I’m reading this piece by Deborah Baer in the New York
Daily News on this book “He’s Just Not That Into You,” co-
authored by “Sex and the City” writers Greg Behrendt and Liz
Tuccillo, and I just have to note this particular passage from
Baer’s report.
“The basic premise of the book is that men are not – repeat not –
complex creatures. If they like you, they want to call you. They
want to hang out with you often, and they want to hang out with
you sober. They also want to have sex with you – all the time.
So if he’s not doing those things, ‘he’s just not that into you,’ and
it’s time to cut your losses.”
Goodness gracious. This really gives us beer drinkers a bad
name. You’re reading Bar Chat…….
–You know that woman Cristy Lane who does those awful
infomercials? “Cristy Lane is the world’s most popular singer…”
I just saw her first commercial for this Christmas season and I’m
thinkin’, just who is this woman?
Well, Cristy Lane has built whatever career she has these days
through television marketing. But to give her her due, she was
the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Female Vocalist
back in 1979 and in 1980, through tireless self-promotion on the
airwaves, she had a #1 country hit with “One Day at a Time.”
According to my copy of “Billboard Top Country Singles
1944-97”, Cristy never did have a top 20 after 1980. Around
then, though, she settled in Branson, Missouri and was a regular
there but when I was in Branson in 2003 (a pisser of a place, by
the way), I didn’t see her.
Anyway, as you get bombarded with her spots these next few
weeks, I thought you should have some background info to tell
your kids when they question you.
9-year-old Chad: “Mommy, Daddy, who the hell is Cristy
Lane?”
Mom: “Well, Chad, she hasn’t had a hit since 1980 but she’s
trying to make you believe she’s a huge star these days.”
Dad: “Did you just say hell?!”
Top 3 songs for the week of 11/1/69: #1 “Suspicious Minds”
(Elvis Presley) #2 “Wedding Bell Blues” (The 5th Dimension)
#3 “Sugar, Sugar” (The Archies…………ughh)
Golf Quiz Answer: #1 in World Ranking
Bernhard Langer…3 weeks
Seve Ballesteros….60
Greg Norman…331
Nick Faldo…97
Ian Woosnam…50
Fred Couples…16
Nick Price…43
Tom Lehman…1
Tiger Woods…334
Ernie Els…9
David Duval…15
Vijay Singh….a bunch before it’s over.
Current World Golf Rankings
1. Vijah Singh……14.14
2. Ernie Els………12.21
3. Tiger Woods……11.31
4. Phil Mickelson….7.65
5. Retief Goosen…..6.97
Next Bar Chat, Tuesday. NBA Fever………………………….
……………………………………………JUST KIDDING!
