Men’s World Cup Skiing: This weekend the overall men’s WC
champ will be decided. The first two overall titles, 1967-68,
were won by Jean-Claude Killy and the next two by Karl
Schranz. But name the six (different from these two) who have
won at least three titles. Answer below.
[You”ll have to give me a break with this Bar Chat. I”m down
in rainy Florida, visiting my folks on Marco Island, and the Net
connection hasn”t been the best.]
Shark / Croc Alert!
Dan L. passed along the tale of the 12-foot mako shark terrorizing
the seal and porpoise population in the North Sea. Not that any
of you are about to go swimming there this time of year, but first
off, sharks in these parts are very rare, another sign the
animal kingdom is gathering for some kind of offensive…at least
that”s my take and I”m sticking to it.
And then you have the deal with the 16-foot croc found alive in
Uganda that villagers say has eaten 83…count ”em…83 of their
fellow citizens. The croc, believed to be 60 years of age, was
taken to an animal sanctuary where I imagine it will now spend
the last of its days digesting its kill.
Finally, check out Dr. Bortrum”s harrowing Florida wildlife tale.
#4…4…4…
If you are new to this site you may not have quite figured out that
the editor, moi, is a huge 60s music fan. Actually, true 60s music
is probably defined by the era 1963-74. In keeping with this,
each edition of Bar Chat I list the Top 3 songs for a given week
just to give you a sense of what was hot that year.
So I got to thinking, what are some of the songs that peaked at #4
and thus would never be seen by this audience? Herewith is a list
which I haven’t run in five years. [As always, I am using the
official Billboard Pop Charts. The date listed is roughly when
the song first came out.]
America “Tin Man” (9/74)
Badfinger “Day After Day” (12/71)
Fontella Bass “Rescue Me” (10/65)
Beatles “Lady Madonna” (3/68)
Beatles “She”s A Woman” (12/64)
Brook Benton “Rainy Night In Georgia” (1/70)…awesome
Blues Image “Ride Captain Ride” (5/70)
Jerry Butler “Only The Strong Survive” (3/69)
Glen Campbell “Galveston” (3/69)
Captain & Tennille “The Way I Want To Touch You” (10/75)
Chicago “25 OR 6 To 4” (8/70)
Chicago “Just You ”N Me” (10/73)
Dave Clark Five “Bits And Pieces” (4/64)
Dave Clark Five “Can”t You See That She”s Mine” (6/64)
Dave Clark Five “Catch Us If You Can” (6/64)
CCR “Up Around The Bend” (5/70)
Deep Purple “Hush” (8/68)
Deep Purple “Smoke On The Water” (6/73)
The Delfonics “La-La-Means I Love You” (2/68)
Dion “Abraham, Martin And John” (11/68)
Drifters “Under The Boardwalk” (7/64)
First Class “Beach Baby” (8/74)…Tony Burrows was the
vocalist on not just this hit but also hits for Brotherhood of
Man, Edison Lighthouse and White Plains.
Four Tops “Bernadette” (3/67)
Four Tops “Ain”t No Woman (Like The One I”ve Got)” (2/73)
Samantha Fox “Touch Me (I Want Your Body)” (12/86)
…..Hey, how did this get in here?
Connie Francis “Where The Boys Are?” (1/61)
Marvin Gaye “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby” (5/69)
Marvin Gaye ” Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)” (7/71)
Gerry and the Pacemakers “Don”t Let The Sun Catch You
Crying” (6/64)
Grand Funk “Bad Time” (4/75)
Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds “Don”t Pull Your Love”
(6/71)…another personal favorite
Herman”s Hermits “There”s A Kind Of Hush” (3/67)
The Isley Brothers “Fight The Power” (7/75)
Michael Jackson “Got To Be There” (11/71)
Tommy James and The Shondells “I Think We”re Alone
Now” (3/67)
Tommy James (solo) “Draggin” The Line” (6/71)
Elton John “The Bitch Is Back” (9/74)
Elton John “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” (7/75)
Ben E. King “Stand By Me” (5/61)
The Kingsmen “The Jolly Green Giant” (1/65)
Kool & The Gang “Jungle Boogie” (1/74)…a boogie…
Led Zeppelin “Whole Lotta Love” (12/69)
Gary Lewis & The Playboys “Everybody Loves A Clown”
(10/65)
Los Bravos “Black Is Black” (9/66)
Mamas & The Papas “California Dreamin”” (2/66)
Martha Reeves & The Vandells “Heat Wave” (8/67)
Curtis Mayfield “Freddy”s Dead” (Theme from ‘Superfly’)
(9/72)
Scott McKenzie “San Francisco” (6/67)
Sergio Mendes & Brasil ”66 “The Look Of Love” (From the
Movie ‘Casino Royale’…my favorite scene, the baccarat table…
“Carte?” “No carte.”) (6/68)
Roger Miller “King Of The Road” (2/65…one of the most
underrated songwriters of any era.)
Wayne Newton “Daddy Don”t You Walk So Fast” (6/72)
1910 Fruitgum Co. “Simon Says” (2/68)
Ohio Express “Yummy Yummy Yummy” (5/68…same
producer as “Simon Says.” Should have been thrown in jail)
The Osmonds “Down By The Lazy River” (1/72)
Gene Pitney “Liberty Valance” (5/62)
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap “Woman, Woman” (12/67)
Rare Earth “Get Ready” (4/70)
The Rascals “How Can I Be Sure” (9/67)
Paul Revere & The Raiders “Kicks” (3/66)
Paul Revere & The Raiders “Good Thing” (12/66)
Righteous Brothers “Unchained Melody” (7/65)
The Rip Chords “Hey Little Cobra” (1/64)
Ronny & The Daytonas “G.T.O.” (8/64)
Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels “Devil With A Blue Dress
On” (10/66)
Santana “Black Magic Woman” (11/70)
The Seekers “I”ll Never Find Another You” (4/65)
Shirelles “Mama Said” (5/61)
Shirelles “Foolish Little Girl” (4/63…awesome tune)
Paul Simon “Mother And Child Reunion” (2/72)
Simon & Garfunkel “Cecelia” (4/70)
Frank Sinatra “That”s Life” (12/66)
Spinners “Could It Be I”m Falling In Love” (1/73)
Dusty Springfield “You Don”t Have To Say You Loved Me”
(6/66)
Ringo Starr “It Don”t Come Easy” (5/71)
Steely Dan “Rikki Don”t Lose That Number” (6/74)
The Temptations “I Wish It Would Rain” (1/68)
Three Dog Night “Easy To Be Hard” (8/69)
Three Dog Night “The Show Must Go On” (4/74)
The Ventures “Hawaii Five-O” (4/69)
The Vogues “You”re The One” (10/65)
The Vogues “Five O”Clock World” (12/65…not in today”s
world!)
Jr. Walker & The All Stars “Shotgun” (3/65)
Jr. Walker & The All Stars “What Does It Take (To Win Your
Love)” (6/69…all time best beginning for a pop song)
Dionne Warwick “I Say A Little Prayer” (11/67)
Lenny Welch “Since I Fell For You” (11/63…When you just
give love…but never get love…you”d better let love, dee-parrrt)
Stuff
–College Basketball
Yes, I was super ticked at Wake Forest’s Chris Paul for his
disgusting behavior in Sunday’s North Carolina State game.
Some of the Wake players have been chippy all year, but this
crossed the line. [If you didn’t hear what happened, Paul hit an
opponent in the groin.] As an alum, though, I’m proud my alma
mater quickly took action and suspended Paul for the first game
of the ACC Tournament. [In the interests of full disclosure, I
advertise in the athletic publication here.]
USA Today had the following projected breakdown of seeding
for the Men’s NCAA Championship.
Syracuse (East)
1. North Carolina
2. Boston College
3. Washington
4. Alabama
Chicago (Midwest)
1. Illinois
2. Duke
3. Oklahoma
4. Syracuse
Austin (South)
1. Kentucky
2. UConn
3. Louisville
4. Oklahoma State
Albuquerque (West)
1. Wake Forest
2. Kansas
3. Arizona
4. Villanova
For the record, the final AP poll before Selection Sunday
1. Illinois
2. UNC
3. Wake Forest
4. Kentucky
5. Duke
6. Louisville
7. Boston College
8. Arizona
9. Kansas
10. Oklahoma State
11. Gonzaga
12. UConn
13. Michigan State
14. Washington
15. Utah
16. Syracuse
17. Oklahoma
18. Pacific
19. Villanova
20. Alabama
–Johnny Mac on Tony Oliva’s bitching that he wasn’t voted into
Baseball’s Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee because he
played in Minnesota and not New York.
“If there is such a prevailing prejudice in favor of New York,
then please explain Thurman Munson, Don Mattingly and even
Keith Hernandez…three extremely popular and accomplished
New Yorkers who haven’t found any support in Hall voting.”
–GolfWeek listed its top 200 courses in America, breaking it
down into Classic (pre-1960) and Modern (1960-present).
Classic
1. Pine Valley (Pine Valley, NJ)
2. Cypress Point (Pebble Beach, CA)
3. Shinnecock Hills (Southampton, NY)
4. Augusta National (Augusta, GA)
5. Pebble Beach
6. Oakmont (Oakmont, PA)
7. Merion (Ardmore, PA)
8. National Golf Links (Southampton, NY
9. Crystal Downs (Frankfort, MI)
10. Pinehurst No. 2 (Pinehurst, NC…US Open being played here
in June)
Modern
1. Sand Hills (Mullen, NE)
2. Pacific Dunes (Bandon, OR)
3. Friar’s Head (Baiting Hollow, NY)
4. Whistling Straits (Mosel, WI)
5. Bandon Dunes (Bandon, OR)
6. Pete Dye GC (Bridgeport, WV)
7. The Golf Club (New Albany, OH)
8. Muirfield Village (Dublin, OH)
9. Shadow Creek (North Las Vegas, NV)
10. Honors Course (Ooltewah, TN)
–The Tiger – Mickelson duel at Doral drew the highest television
rating for a non-major in two years.
–On March 7, the world’s most expensive hotel was to have its
grand opening…The Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. I was
reading a piece in the Sunday Times of London the other day and
author Susan d’Arcy had the following observations after her
visit about a week before the opening.
The Emirates Palace cost an estimated $4 billion.
Upon arriving at the entrance, “a guard of honour of 25 white-
shirted bellboys flashed Colgate smiles right on cue…
“Inside, an entourage of ‘international ambassadors’ pounced,
offering a choice of Arabic kahwa (coffee), German hot
chocolate or Moroccan or Asian tea.” [Ed. I’d probably go
Moroccan, personally.]
The atrium is 60 metres high, 42 metres wide and topped with
the largest dome in the world. There are 16 Palace Suites,
among the most expensive in the world at $15,000 a night.
These rooms are accessed by individual private lifts. The
standard room, however, is available for around $1,700 per
person, per week, seemingly reasonable.
Catch the maintenance costs. “The annual flower bill is
calculated at $2 million, and a 10-strong team is employed solely
to clean the 1,002 custom-made Swarovski-crystal chandeliers.
There’s an army of 2,600 employees in total: that’s four for
every guest. Even the cheapest rooms have plasma televisions,
butler service and a bath concierge to prepare a flower-strewn,
oil-scented bath for you on arrival.”
But what if I want a shower?!
“Every evening, a maid will place a ‘bouquet’ of chocolates on
your bedside table and tuck your choice of a lavender- or rose-
scented liner inside your Italian-linen pillow case to ensure a
restful night’s sleep. What a shame they didn’t think to
soundproof the place as well. On my first night, the adjoining
room was occupied by a couple whom I’ll describe as
honeymooners – you get the idea. On the second, they were
replaced by an American who really, really enjoyed the sound of
his own voice. I almost pined for the honeymooners.”
[Ed. re the honeymooners; sounds like the sheriff and Mrs.
Garrett on “Deadwood” the other night.]
“How on earth can the Abu Dhabi government have spent
billions on a hotel and overlooked something as fundamental as
canceling out the next-door bedroom’s noise?”
Frankly, as Susan d’Arcy writes, the place is also just too big.
“The public lounge is 175 metres long. That’s almost two
football pitches – totally impersonal and terribly imposing.”
And here’s some conspicuous consumption for you. “Each year,
only about 6kg of albino caviar is harvested, but the palace has
snapped up two of them for (over $100,000).”
I think I’ll pass on this one.
–Page Six…which one of my friends has a major crush on
Michelle Phillips of Mamas and the Papas fame?
–There are lots of old peoples” radio stations down here and
I”m listening to one driving from the airport to Marco and I hear
The Lettermen”s version of “Going Out Of My Head.” You”ve all
heard this one. So I”m thinking, why the heck is the audience
interrupting the song 3 or 4 times with applause on this live
recording? It”s the freakin” Lettermen, folks.
Top 3 songs for the week of 3/11/78: #1 “(Love Is) Thicker
Than Water” (Andy Gibb) #2 “Night Fever” (Bee Gees) #3
“Sometimes When We Touch” (Dan Hill)…and… #8 “I Go
Crazy” (Paul Davis) #9 “Just The Way You Are” (Billy Joel)
#10 “Can’t Smile Without You” (Barry Manilow…LT’s
favorite)
Men’s Overall World Cup Ski Champion Quiz Answer: 3-time
winners…
Gustavo Thoeni, Italy, (4)…1971-73, 75
Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden, (3)…1976-78
Phil Mahre, U.S., (3)…1981-83
Marc Girardelli, Luxembourg, (5)…1985-86, 89, 91, 93
Pirmin Zurbriggen, Switzerland, (3)…1987-88, 90
Hermann Maier, Austria (4)…1998, 2000-01, 04
[Alberto Tomba won only one overall title, 1995]
Next Bar Chat, Tuesday.
