NFL Quarterback Quiz: 1) Name the three who completed at
least 400 passes in a single season. [Hint: All post-1990] 2) Who
are the four with at least 9 seasons of 3,000 or more yards
passing? 3) What three threw for over 520 yards in a game?
[One old, the other two more recent but retired.] Answers below.
Stuff
–College Football Review
AP Poll
1. USC
2. Oklahoma
3. Auburn
4. California
5. Utah
6. Texas
7. Louisville
8. Georgia
9. Miami
10. Virginia Tech
ESPN / USA Today has Texas and Utah reversed, Georgia
ahead of Louisville and Boise State #10.
The BCS picture cleared up just a little this past weekend, though
it still comes down to some key match-ups next Saturday;
Auburn vs. Tennessee for the SEC crown, Oklahoma vs.
Colorado in the Big 12 championship and a regular season
contest between Virginia Tech and Miami to see which one
represents the ACC. And as for the Big East, thanks to Boston
College’s choke job (OK, their starting quarterback was hurt),
43-17 losers to Syracuse, now it’s either Pitt or the Orangemen
as this conference’s representative.
Meanwhile, Texas did its part to stay alive, barely, in the BCS
hunt by defeating Texas A&M; USC beat up on Notre Dame, 41-
10; and Boise State stayed in the hunt with its 22nd straight win,
58-21 over Nevada in that awful weather that hit the Reno area
over the weekend, stranding thousands of travelers. [I’m
auditioning for a job with the Weather Channel.]
One team that is intriguing is Louisville, whose only loss was a
squeaker to Miami. The Cardinals blasted a decent Cincinnati
squad (6-5) 70-7!
Other tidbits:
In losing to Colorado 26-20, Nebraska finished the season 5-6,
its first losing record since 1961 as well as marking the first time
since ‘68 the Cornhuskers won’t be in a bowl game. The 35
straight appearances is a NCAA record.
Wake Forest, in finishing up 4-7, lost six of its games by 7 points
or less. Those of us who witnessed the dreadful 13-7 loss to
Maryland on Saturday saw a microcosm of the season as the
Deacs dropped one critical pass after another, and when a
receiver did grab one particularly important toss, he coughed up
the football on the 1-yard line.
The absolute worst feeling, however, has to belong to Iowa State
kicker Bret Culbertson. With the Cyclones tied with Missouri at
14-14 and the team needing a win to advance to the Big 12 title
game against Oklahoma, Culbertson totally muffed a 24-yard
field goal near the end of regulation. Folks, it had to be the worst
kick I’ve ever seen in my life. Poor fellow. He’s going to have a
miserable holiday season. Added Iowa State linebacker Erik
Anderson after the team went on to lose in overtime, “It makes
you want to throw up. It’s a sick feeling. We fought all day.
There wasn’t any lack of effort or lack of intensity or passion.
Everyone came to play, everyone came to win. There’s a lot of
sick guys in the locker room right now.” Yeah, and the kicker is
the one who blew it. Iowa State’s last football championship
came in 1912…1912…when it was in the Missouri Valley
Conference.
Tulsa’s Ashlan Davis returned a kickoff for a NCAA record 5th
time this season against UTEP.
Johnny Mac’s East Stroudsburg University (Johnny being a
resident of the town) lost its Division II playoff game to West
Chester, 48-38.
–50 years ago, C.A. Swanson & Sons introduced the first TV
dinner. According to a story in Smithsonian magazine, it all
began in 1953 when a miscalculation at Thanksgiving had the
company over ordering some 260 tons of frozen turkeys that then
sat in refrigerated rail cars.
Swanson salesman Gerry Thomas came to the rescue. Inspired
by trays of pre-prepared food for airlines, Thomas ordered 5,000
aluminum trays and concocted a combo of turkey, cornbread
dressing, gravy and peas.
Launched at 98 cents, in Swanson’s first full year the company
sold 10 million turkey dinners. Today, the frozen dinner market
is $1.2 billion but Swanson has only 10% of it.
–So I’m reading the Star-Ledger here in New Jersey and notice
an obituary for Erwin Raabe who died at age 83. Guess what
Raabe invented? The plastic bucket. According to the Ledger’s
George Berkin:
“The plastic pail, which Raabe developed as a Rheem
(Manufacturing Co.) employee and patented in 1968, was a
wonder of plastics technology, then still in its infancy…
“The bucket needed to be the right thickness, light yet stiff
enough to keep from collapsing.”
Yup, someone has to be first in everything. God bless him.
–Here’s a potential gift idea. I’ve heard this story before but
didn’t know a new book on the topic has just been released titled
“The Children’s Blizzard,” by David Laskin. As commentator
George Will wrote in a recent column, it’s the tale of a great
blizzard in the prairies, January 12, 1888. It had been a balmy
day and kids went off to school dressed lightly, even though the
temperature was still in the 20s. Then a blizzard hit, with the
temperature dropping 18 degrees in a matter of three minutes.
The next day, 100s were dead, including more than 100 children.
–While I couldn’t give a damn about the NBA, though, yes, I
look at the box scores everyday, you have to feel good for Grant
Hill and his latest comeback for Orlando. So far, so good, as Hill
is averaging 20 a game and beginning to pile up the numbers like
days of old. Let’s hope he stays healthy.
–Well, my Wake Forest Demon Deacons didn’t embarrass
themselves as the #1 college basketball team in the country this
past week, even if their victory in the preseason NIT wasn’t an
artistic masterpiece. We’ve never been in this position before
and what’s tough for us fans is recognizing that if we go 11-5 in
conference play, we’ve had a great year. Plus we have a bitch of
a game on Wednesday against Illinois at Champagne. It’s a long
season, no doubt, and in the case of the better teams like Wake,
it’s all about positioning for the NCAA tournament and getting a
good seed. At least that’s how I look at it.
By the way, 3 ACC schools have more current students than
Wake has living alumni.
–Ah, but then there is Wake Forest men’s soccer. Geezuz, we’re
highly-rated every year and then we blow it in the NCAA
tourney; the latest crusher being a sudden death defeat at the
hands of VCU, 7-6 in penalty shots. Crap.
–Back to college basketball and the disgrace that passes for the
St. John’s program. The school, in working with the NCAA, has
come up with some self-imposed penalties following an
investigation into a former player’s allegation he was receiving
cash from a member of the athletic department. So the Redmen,
err, Red Storm (I hate this politically correct garbage) are banned
from postseason play and the school is taking away one
scholarship each of the next few years. Poor Norm Roberts just
took over the coaching reins and he’s the one paying the price.
Not…….
Mike Jarvis, one of the true dirtballs in the sport. Jarvis, you’ll
recall, was fired six games into last season amidst all manner of
allegations and inquiries. [Later, six Johnnies players were
disciplined for going to a strip club in Pittsburgh and taking a
woman back to the hotel to watch “Saturday Night Live,” or
something like that.]
But here’s what drives some of us crazy. I’m watching the first
ESPN basketball game this year, the Wake-George Washington
preseason NIT contest, and there is Jarvis, a new member of the
ESPN broadcasting team. Why? Why reward his like?
Well, the New York Daily News’ Mike Lupica put it best in his
Sunday column. ESPN’s lineup resembles the “Federal Coaches
Protection Program.”
By the way, not only did Johnny Mac’s alma mater, St. Francis
of Brooklyn, beat St. John’s already this year, but Niagara just
whipped them 102-81. Good for them. The only problem with
all this, however, is the fact Coach Roberts is a good guy.
–Who is Harry Statham and why he is making Bar Chat? Can’t
say I ever heard of this man until this weekend but Statham,
coach of McKendree College of Lebanon, Illinois, has now won
879 basketball games, tying Dean Smith. McKendree is a NAIA
school.
–Phil Mickelson shot a 59 in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, a
two-day event for the year’s four major winners. But the score
won’t count in the record books because the tournament is not
an official event. Thus, despite the effort, Al Geiberger, Chip
Beck and David Duval remain the only three to shoot 59 on the
PGA Tour. [Geiberger was first in 1977.]
–From the New York Post and the AP:
“A man was charged with stabbing two relatives after they
criticized his table manners during Thanksgiving dinner, officials
said…
“Police said the fight broke out Thursday when Gonzalo Ocasio,
49, and his 18-year-old son, Gonzalo Jr., reprimanded Frank
Palacious for picking at the turkey with his fingers.”
Palacious, 24, then allegedly responded by stabbing them with a
carving knife. Both victims survived.
–Here’s a bizarre tragedy I in no way intend to make fun of. It
just falls in the “You never know” category, I guess.
Dr. Anthony Moretti, 44, a respected physician on Staten Island,
flew down to Paradise Island on Tuesday with his wife and their
three children. Upon arriving, the family didn’t even unpack
before putting on their swimwear and heading to the beach.
“When they got there, a family member had a half-hour left on a
rented Jet Ski…and offered the craft to Moretti. Moments later,
he was dead.” [Helen Peterson and Monique El-Faizy / New
York Daily News]
Moretti’s watercraft immediately collided with one ridden by his
13-year-old niece and Moretti suffered a fatal head wound. The
teen escaped with minor injuries.
–Boy, this would suck. Glenn Sheridan of Williamsburg, VA,
was reported missing from his Carnival Cruise Line ship
Celebration after it docked in Jacksonville. His wife believes
that he may have fallen overboard, as early as 4:00 AM (and
when the ship was still out at sea), following his routine of
getting up at that hour for a stroll. But I’m thinking he didn’t just
slip on deck, he was pulled over by a giant squid or octopus.
–Switching gears, there is a new service for men who are shy
about meeting women in a bar. Called Wingwomen.com, guys
can hire a girl out for $50 an hour to act as a ‘wing woman.’ The
gal will accompany you and attempt to introduce you to women
she comes across. Here’s how it works.
“At a recent after-work cocktail party at Bogart’s, a bar in
midtown Manhattan, Meredith was hard at work helping a client
find that special someone. The client spotted a group of good-
looking prospects and Meredith worked her magic.
“ ‘Hey, do you guys know if there’s a private party in the back?’
she said nonchalantly to the women. ‘Are you part of that
group?’
“With the conversation under way, Meredith went in for the kill.
‘I’m sorry, this is my friend…,’ she said, introducing her client.
In an instant, the ice was broken.” [Reuters]
Huh.
–Norm, named for the “Cheers” TV show character, just may be
the world’s biggest pig; a Yorkshire hog mix, specifically, that is
pigging out on a farm near Syracuse, NY. Norm currently
weighs an estimated 1,600 pounds and measures 7 feet from
snout to tail. [AP / Star-Ledger]
–From my High Plains Journal comes the continuing saga of
rancher Kit Laney who has been fighting with the government
over grazing rights. Laney was arrested March 14 during a
roundup of cattle belonging to him and his ex-wife on the Gila
National Forest in New Mexico. “Authorities said Laney
threatened to trample federal officers with his horse and tried to
release impounded livestock.” Laney will be serving a minimum
of five months. The couple didn’t have a permit to graze on
federal land….or rather their livestock didn’t have a permit…oh,
forget it.
–And now a follow-up to last week’s story on the dolphins in
New Zealand who saved a group of swimmers. From the AP
comes a distressing footnote.
“New Zealand fishermen may have killed two of the dolphins
that recently helped protect swimmers from a great white shark
attack, lifeguards said on Friday.
“Two dead dolphins were found on Wednesday…
“Their tales had been hacked off, and officials believe they may
have been mutilated by criminals poaching fish.
“Three weeks ago, a pod of seven dolphins saved a group of
swimmers from a predatory three-metre great white shark at a
beach near Whangarei city…
“Lifeguard Rob Howes and trainee Helen Slade said Friday they
feared the two mammals may have been part of the pod that
ganged up to protect them and other swimmers from the circling
great white.
“An angry Mr. Howes called the netting and mutilation of the
dolphins ‘indiscriminate murder.’
“ ‘This is how we repay them for their help,’ he said.”
But I thought Johnny Mac put it best when he commented:
“This is bad, very bad…we are an ungrateful species, that’s for
sure. If the dolphins turn on us, it’s over. They will provide the
brains and leadership so far lacking in the animal insurgency.”
And I can’t help but think back to the above story on the fellow
mysteriously disappearing from the Carnival cruise ship. The
more you analyze it, that was no accident.
–Finally, on the animal front, we have the case of the snake
charmers in India who are about to lose their jobs in the Indian
state of Orissa as animal rights groups say the practice is cruel to
the serpents. [Oh, brother.]
Actually, up to 20,000 in this one state alone could lose their jobs
if the practice is banned. One snake charmer, Sanatan Behera,
said “If earning money out of snakes is a crime, are the zoo
authorities not doing the same by exhibiting them to the public?”
[BBC News]
Hey, good point. Signed copy of “The O’Reilly Factor for Kids”
on the way.
–NFL review
For the record, and in case you were traveling over the river
and through the woods to grandmother’s house and didn’t have
access to television or any other media, Indy’s Peyton Manning
continued his stupendous play in passing for 6 TDs against
Detroit. This marked the 5th straight game Manning has thrown
at least 4 TD passes, a new NFL record, and he now has 41 for
the season with 5 games to go. In other words, he’s going to
obliterate Dan Marino’s mark of 48 set in 1984.
Us Jets fans continue to rejoice in our unbelievably easy
schedule thus far. But the last four weeks include games at
Pittsburgh and St. Louis, as well as home against New England.
There’s a long ways to go.
Eddie George watch…128 carries, 424 yards, 3.3 avg.
–I mentioned in the “Week in Review” column (not that I have
anything to do with that) that I went to the Metropolitan Art
Museum in New York last week to catch the Gilbert Stuart
exhibit. Stuart (1755-1828) is best known for his works of
George Washington who sat through three different sittings for
him. But it’s easy to forget that Stuart also painted what most
would consider the definitive portraits of Thomas Jefferson, John
Adams, James Madison and James Monroe. So like, you know,
Stuart is pretty important in the grand scheme of things. But it
was said of him that while “extremely prolific, (he) quite often
failed to finish works, especially if the sitters annoyed or bored
him.”
Well, while at the Met I had to grade some of the other artists on
display, as I do every time I venture into an art museum, and my
attitudes haven’t changed.
Now I’m a fan of Impressionism but I still haven’t figured out if
I like Van Gogh that much. What I do know is Cezanne and
Gauguin are terribly overrated, as are Edgar Degas and Edouardo
Manet. Just don’t know what people see in these guys, know
what I’m sayin’?
But I remain a huge fan of Monet, Renoir (only his landscapes)
and one of the most underrated artists in the history of finger
painting, Camille Pissarro (not to be confused with pitcher
Camilo Pascual who was 174-170 in his lengthy major league
career). And another underrated artist is my new personal
favorite, Britain’s Al Sisley (or Alfred, for those of you who are
more formal).
Quick quiz: Who is the father of the Hudson River School of
painting, going back to the 1820s? It’s not Frederic Church or
Albert Bierstadt…………………………………no, it’s Thomas
Cole. [Church was a pupil of his.]
So there you have it. You can apply for special art history credit
through the International Web Site Association. Remember,
always look for the IWSA label……your assurance of quality on
the Net.
–Here’s some trivia for you, courtesy of a piece by Gina Kolata
in the Sunday New York Times. Heights and weights of some of
our American presidents.
George Washington…6’2” 199 lbs.
James Madison…5’4” 99. Yes, 99. Goodness gracious.
Andrew Jackson…6’1” 144
Abe Lincoln…6’4” 178
William Howard Taft…6’ 312
Top 3 songs for the week of 11/28/70: #1 “I Think I Love You”
(The Partridge Family) #2 “The Tears Of A Clown” (Smokey
Robinson & The Miracles) #3 “I’ll Be There” (The Jackson 5)
NFL Quiz Answers: 1) Most passes completed, season: Rich
Gannon, 418 (2002 / Oakland); Warren Moon, 404 (1991 /
Houston); Drew Bledsoe, 400 (1994 / New England). 2) Most
seasons 3,000 yards passing: Dan Marino, 13; John Elway and
Brett Favre, 12; Warren Mooon, 9. 3) Most yards, game: Norm
Van Brocklin, 554 (1951 / Los Angeles); Warren Moon, 527
(1990 / Houston); Boomer Esiason, 522 (1996 / Arizona).
Next Bar Chat, Thursday….LIVE from the PGA’s Q-School.
*For those of you who know I normally post a little early, this
won’t be the case next time. Those on the East Coast probably
won’t see it until Thursday.
IWSA, 2004.
