[From Spearfish, South Dakota]
AFC Receiving Quiz: 1) Who am I? I led the league in
receptions in 1970 and my initials are M.B. 2) Who was the only
three-time leader in receptions in the 1970s? [Hint: Be careful.
Offenses were changing then. Think short.] 3) Who was the
only three-time leader in receptions in the 1990s? 4) Who are
the only two Jets to lead the league in receptions? Answers
below.
Colorado Springs to Scottsbluff to Spearfish
So where were we? I posted the last chat before I drove from
Santa Fe to Colorado Springs and as some of you may have
heard, my timing was impeccable. Wednesday afternoon I
arrived to 63 degree weather, but there was a blizzard warning
for early the next morning. So I booked my room for an extra
day, in case the forecast was right, and alas it was. I was staying
a little north of town, near the Air Force Academy if you’re
familiar with the area, and we had 18 inches of the white stuff;
another 10 miles north they had 26.
It wasn’t bad for me, though. Steve G., he of the sweet jump
shot from my youth, showed me around Wednesday night and
we had a good feed at one of Ted Turner’s restaurants. [Steve,
make sure they have Shiner Bock next time.] And my room had
a fridge and microwave so, having done some grocery shopping
just in case, I was set.
But it threw the “Week in Review” schedule off so I worked on
that Thursday knowing I had a five-hour drive Friday up and
over to Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Funny thing about the weather in
these parts. 10 miles north of Denver (which is 70 north of
Colorado Springs), there wasn’t a speck of snow.
So after arriving in Scottsbluff around 3:00 pm, I hit up a
Mexican joint for some refreshment and had my first Pacifico
Beer. Very tasty and I heartily recommend it. [I’m assuming
exporters will be able to successfully toss it over the new fence
that we’ll be building.]
Saturday, after wrapping up that other thing I do for this site, I
finally got to Scotts Bluff National Monument. [The town and
monument are spelled differently, as I had to keep checking
myself.] In all sincerity, friends, this is one of the most
spectacular places I’ve been to, anywhere.
For those not familiar, beginning around 1841 the great
migration west began and from 1841 to 1869, it’s estimated some
350,000 headed across the Great Plains in search of Oregon via
what became known as The Oregon Trail. While it wasn’t that
clearly defined, generally lines of wagon trains traversed the
same path and by the time they got to western Nebraska, they
had crossed hundreds of miles of vast, forbidding prairie land,
from Missouri through Kansas and on into Nebraska.
But as they neared the border of Wyoming, out of nowhere
they’d see these bluffs arise out of the sand and dust, as it were,
first, Chimney Rocks, and then Scotts Bluff. I didn’t make it to
the former but at Scotts Bluff you can climb a trail to the top of
the main bluff (I hiked halfway up to get some exercise), or drive
all the way to the top, where there are more hiking trails with
drop-dead gorgeous views. I can’t begin to do it justice, you
never can in these instances, but on a clear day (which I had) you
can see for 90 miles. And knowing that the wagon trains with
those first intrepid settlers rolled straight through, along the
Platte River, you really got a sense of the hardships these folks
faced.
As word passed back to those looking to set off on their own, the
story of the bluffs was told and so everyone hoped to see them in
the horizon because it represented the one-third mark for the
entire journey and the beauty broke up the monotony of the
Plains. But also picture that it would take at least two days to
reach the area after first spying it.
[Visibility is up to 90 miles on top, but more like 40-50 on the
ground and most of the wagon trains went about 17 miles a day.
And I should also note that Scotts Bluff was a landmark for the
Mormon Trail, only they went on the other side of the Platte
River from the other settlers.]
It wasn’t easy for these first pioneers. For starters, the beginners
overloaded their wagons and the burden was far too great for the
oxen. Here’s a journal entry from one Charles G. Hinman, 1849:
“Have turned our wagon over once and broke three bows, 2
stakes and my rifle. It was close by an Indian trader and Black
smith shop, and it happened one of our company was taken with
the cholera…which caused us to camp, and during the afternoon
we had everything in repair. The man died about 10 o’clock the
same night. We buried him at 8 o’clock the next morning with
as much decency as if he had been in the States, put a sand stone
up with his name, age etc. cut on it, and left him. He was a
young man and left a wife and one child in Indiantown, Illinois.
His name was Dunn.”
The trail ended up being pretty disgusting. Since everyone was
taking the same route, with the rotting animals and picked apart
shallow graves of humans (wolves and vultures would find them
and scatter body parts all about), it’s said you could follow the
trail by the smell.
I’ll tell another story or two in the next week or so.
But now it’s time to move on to one of the more fascinating
places I’ve ever been to, the WyoBraska Wildlife Museum in
downtown Gering, Nebraska, right next to the town of
Scottsbluff. [You look down on both from the top of the bluffs.
I picked out my dream home, on the Gering golf course.]
Now to be honest I probably wouldn’t have gone to WyoBraska
had I not seen an April 2005 article by Marc Kaufman in the
Washington Post, but I save anything that has to do with a place I
might visit at some point.
WyoBraska just so happens to be the best natural history
museum I’ve been to in the world, but as the manager told me,
they don’t have any money for advertising so no one knows
about the place.
Ah, but why would the Post do a story on it? Pull up a chair.
The article was titled “Big-Game Hunting Brings Big Tax
Breaks.”
You see, boys and girls, this building is loaded with more stuffed
bears of all kinds, hundreds of elk and antelope from all corners
of the globe, rhinos, a giraffe, Barbary lions (from northern
Africa and Egypt and extinct since 1922), as well as a unique
feature; an authentic replica of the largest mammal to ever walk
the earth, the Baluchithere. 20-30 million years ago in these
parts walked a 19-foot tall, 30-foot long creature (the bones were
dug up in Nebraska) that was a plant-eater, and the manager of
WyoBraska, the man I met (he shall remain anonymous), built
the Baluchithere (it’s lifelike) under the guidance of researchers
at the Univ. of Nebraska. It’s the only place in the world you can
see it, and with an elephant in the same room you really get a
sense of what a monstrosity this thing was. Yes, the ground
shook big time with each step this beast took.
What else does this place have, as I scan my notes? Needless to
say, some animal lovers wouldn’t like WyoBraska because there
were stuffed orangutans and gorillas, for example, let alone tons
of lions. Again, many of the animals on display are now extinct.
But I looked at it as an incredible educational tool, especially
for kids growing up in the Plains, and with each generation the
lesson gets more and more valuable. At least that’s my opinion.
So, you’re still wondering, what’s the tax angle and why does
this place in remote western Nebraska have all these animals?
WyoBraska was founded by Bill & Don Steen, a father/son team
from Scottsbluff, who traveled the world big-game hunting and
wound up donating their collection to get the museum started.
But hunters from all over now send their animals to WyoBraska,
and a few other facilities around the country that I never knew
existed, for the tax writeoffs.
Most of the animals are destined for auction, often at bargain-
basement prices, but if the animals are appraised for many times
their market value, the trophies yield sizable tax deductions if
nonprofit organizations agree to accept them as charitable gifts.
And so that’s where WyoBraska and others come in.
As Marc Kaufman writes, “According to critics in Congress, top
officials at natural history museums and animal rights advocates,
this form of charitable giving allows wealthy hunters to go on
big-game expeditions essentially at taxpayers’ expense – an
arrangement so blatant that one animal trophy appraiser
advertises his services under the headline: ‘Hunt for Free.’ The
taxpayer subsidies also encourage hunters to track down and
shoot the largest, fittest and rarest of the world’s animals, the
critics say…
“Records show that in 2000, WyoBraska took in mounts worth
$1.4 million. In 2004, the museum’s curator said, the value of
donations grew to more than $5 million, even though display
rooms and storage containers were already overflowing.”
Lobbying efforts by the likes of Safari Club International have
been key, and I imagine most of you had no idea big-game
hunters were donating their mounts to nonprofit groups for years.
But, again, the public benefits because they get to see animals
they would otherwise never encounter.
Iowa Senator Charles Grassley was looking into the matter when
Kaufman wrote his article but I have no idea where the efforts
stand today. I also didn’t discuss this issue with the gentleman I
was talking to, a great guy, because I felt bad about something I
saw there.
You see, as I walked through this vast place (a father/son being
the only other folks there when I was), I stumbled on a bunch of
crates and a ton of animals that were tagged with their owners’
names on them. Talk about feeling like a real-life reporter! I bet
Marc Kaufman would like the names.
Let’s just say that one guy is well known in the California wine
industry and his name was on everything from a grizzly bear to a
Himalayan Tahr and Pyrenean Chamois (mini-antelope), as well
as a wild boar. Another fellow’s name was also on a ton of
animals, a guy from Santa Fe Springs, California, and he had
bagged a really cool wolverine, among countless other species.
[I jotted down names and addresses….in case this story ever
breaks wide open.]
Let me emphasize, the folks at WyoBraska aren’t doing anything
wrong. The game is with the tax code and, chiefly, appraisers.
Marc Kaufman mentions a Robert Bruce Duncan out of Chicago
who is notorious in this business. Duncan once served ten
months in prison in 1991 and was fined $47,000 for helping to
place mounts of illegally hunted endangered animals in the North
Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences – “a facility that, like
WyoBraska, took in hundreds of Duncan-appraised trophies in
the mid-1980s before federal agents stepped in.”
These days, Duncan is back in the game and his Chicago
Appraisers brochure says “If you write and tell us where you are
going, we’ll suggest what extra animals to take and donate for
tax savings. We’ll then send you a written guarantee we have a
museum to accept them upon your return.”
Finally, Marc Kaufman quotes a member of the WyoBraska
board:
“The system has to be reviewed…We can’t abuse it because that
will turn the public off to charitable giving.”
And so that’s an investigative report from yours truly. My friend
there will be reading this and probably cringing. I was truly
fascinated by the place and hope many of you get a chance to see
the collection. It’s mind-boggling. As for the rest of the story,
unless I see something further that’s the last I’ll write of it.
WyoBraska doesn’t need any more animals. Now it needs
visitors.
[I’ll just add that I’m assuming most of the game killed by these
big names, let’s say over the last 15 years, at least, has been on
the up and up. If they were involved in poaching, such as in all
the tales I’ve written of over the years, then they should be
prosecuted.]
Anyway, moving along, after Scotts Bluff and WyoBraska, I
drove all the way to Spearfish, South Dakota; over 325 miles and
almost all of it on beautiful, empty road; a major reason why I
like visiting the area in the offseason.
However, as I entered South Dakota I had to go through Pine
Ridge Indian Reservation. Five years ago I visited this lovely
place…cough cough…and as I told Dr. Bortrum, some people do
roller coasters, I do Pine Ridge.
But this time I was approaching from the south, as opposed to the
last time when I came down from the north, stopping at the
border. So five years ago I hadn’t gone through the town of
Whiteclay.
I will never, ever forget the two blocks I cruised through. It was
2:00 pm and my goal had been to get through all of Pine Ridge
by then because, well….here’s the story.
You see, sports fans, those tales you hear about Indians and
drinking on the reservation are quite true; and Pine Ridge has
been noted as the worst in the country in this regard. But I figure
they sleep ‘til noon and then start imbibing again so if you don’t
want to be harassed, it’s best to go either very early in the
morning or certainly before 3:00 pm.
In Whiteclay, though, maybe everyone was on crystal meth (an
unfunny problem in all of rural America) because in just two
blocks I had four people walk right in front of my car, without
looking up at me, as if it was a scene out of ‘Night of the Living
Dead’; only this was a sunny afternoon.
The whole experience was all of two minutes but thank god the
traffic light was green. I would have run it had it been otherwise.
The rest of Pine Ridge was the usual; lots and lots of poverty,
though the only other time I felt uneasy was when a car seemed
to be following me for five miles, two guys in it, but eventually
they passed me and I exhaled.
And, no, to long-time readers out there, I didn’t see my old
buddy Larry from the billboard at Wounded Knee. He must have
caught word I had my Swiss Army knife with me this time.
Finally, on Sunday, another gorgeous day, temps near 70, I drove
out to Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming, about 65
miles from Spearfish and a scenic drive. If you’re not familiar
with this place, think “Close Encounters…” and a famous car
commercial from about 30 years ago.
Devils Tower is actually celebrating its 100th anniversary and it
was Teddy Roosevelt who designated it our nation’s first
national monument. [Yellowstone was the first national park.]
There is a super hiking trail all around it (1.3 miles) and here I
don’t worry about mountain lions. Rattlesnakes are a bigger
issue when it’s warm out.
There is also a large prairie dog community in the valley below
which is worth a picture or two. But I saw this stupid woman
walking all over the place. For starters, she could break her
ankle in one of the holes, but more importantly, prairie dogs are
vicious little critters and as I’ve told you on many an occasion,
their bites can contain disease, “some of which are fatal to
humans” as all the warning signs say. I didn’t stick around to see
if the lady became a victim; figuring I’d read about it in the paper
later.
Now, as I write this, it’s Sunday evening and the weather is once
again changing in a big way. They just issued wind warnings for
60 mph gusts and it may snow a bit on Monday. [Update…it is!]
Next time I’ll be doing a few stories on Deadwood and the
surrounding area.
Stuff
–Red Auerbach, RIP. Let’s face it; if you weren’t from Boston
you hated this guy. I sure was no fan of this arrogant wizard.
Yes, I agree with Mike Lupica’s assessment, and that of many
others, that Auerbach is the greatest figure in the history of
sports. After all, he coached nine champions and helped shape
eight others in the front office. No one else comes close to that.
But this man, while beloved by Bostonians and his players,
showed zero class when it came to his opponents and being a
Knicks fan, I couldn’t stand him.
–Joe Niekro passed away at the far too young age of 61, the
victim of a brain aneurysm. Brother Phil is in the Hall of Fame,
but Joe was no slouch, winning 221 games himself.
–College Football Review
Now any college football fan knows USC was overrated this
year, but at the same time you had to respect their recent run,
including 27 straight conference wins, so since they hadn’t lost
this season they entered play this weekend at #3 behind Ohio
State and Michigan. Personally, I thought they’d lose their first
to California…but Oregon State?!
Well, we now have a real horse race to see who gets the Ohio
State-Michigan winner for the title game in January.
The latest AP poll has…
1. Ohio State…undefeated
2. Michigan…undefeated
3. West Virginia…undefeated
4. Texas…one loss
5. Louisville…undefeated
6. Auburn…one loss
7. Florida…one loss
8. Tennessee…one loss
9. USC…one loss…cheerleaders failed to step up
10. California…one loss
14. Boise State…undefeated
15. Rutgers…undefeated
22. Wake Forest…one loss
Others with just one loss include Notre Dame, Arkansas, Texas
A&M, Wisconsin and Boston College.
Ergo, before the Michigan-Ohio State contest on Nov. 18, you
have West Virginia playing Louisville this Thursday, and the
following Thursday, Rutgers playing Louisville. So Louisville
could beat West Virginia but lose to Rutgers. That would really
screw things up.
But if West Virginia runs the table they have to be the Ohio
State-Michigan winner’s opponent. Ditto, Louisville.
And the latest BCS poll has it:
1. Ohio State… .9864
2. Michigan… .9697
3. West Virginia… .7862
4. Florida… .7791
5. Louisville… .7621
11. Tennessee… .7000
Then a big drop-off to Rutgers.
12. Rutgers… .5153
But Rutgers obviously can soar with wins over West Virginia
and Louisville.
Anyway, one team that seems destined to get screwed is Boise
State. I thought it was a lock they’d get one of the ten BCS slots
but that’s not guaranteed (they are 14th in the BCS, too), even
though some of the schools currently ahead of them will go down
once or twice.
As for my Wake Forest Demon Deacons…can you say 7-1?!
Check ‘em out next Saturday night in a huge, nationally televised
contest against #16 Boston College.
And your editor is back…after a 2-1 weekend the record is now 9-9.
Yes, those of you who stuck with me are back to breakeven.
Nebraska, giving 5 ½ to Oklahoma State…the Cornhuskers lost
41-29. Ken S., you should be ashamed of your team. That was a
huge step backwards.
But…
Ohio State, giving 27 to Minnesota…The Buckeyes, behind Jack
Nicklaus, won 44-0
And…
Tulane, giving 5 to Army…Tulane wins 42-28.
Stay tuned Thursday for more….PICKS TO CLICK!!!!
–Buffalo have really poor eyesight so the hunter would just
make sure he was concealed and stay downwind. If he shot a
buffalo dead with one shot, that was good. The others in the herd
wouldn’t notice that Barney was history. They’d think he was
just taking a nap.
But if the hunter only wounded the buffalo and the buffalo
started flailing away, the others would recognize this wasn’t a
good thing and stampede.
At Scotts Bluff, there was the story of a buffalo hunter who once
killed 107 in an hour. [Buffalo are obviously some of the
dumbest animals in the history of the world.] Sadly, between
1860 and 1880, it’s estimated 30 million were massacred, leaving
only a few hundred left. There was a big market in Europe for
the product, not just back East.
–I picked a good time to get to South Dakota. Front page of
Sunday’s Rapid City Journal…
“Hunting season to open on big cats”
Oh baby. The mountain lions. I’ve told you before in my trips
to the Black Hills that as beautiful as the place is, I’m scared to
venture too far on my own on some of the hiking trails because I
heard years ago the mountain lion had made a big comeback in
the area.
Well, check out the numbers. The Black Hills isn’t that big but a
maximum of 25 can be killed in the hunt that is slated to begin
Nov. 1st. So if they are allowing you to kill 25, that gives you an
idea of just how many are out there on the trails.
Now the limit is actually state wide, but the vast majority of
mountain lions are sitting out in the parking lot, by my car. Also,
of the 25, only 8 can be females, plus, you cannot shoot a
mountain lion traveling with another. [So I guess you can shoot
one traveling with a grizzly, though you can imagine how
animals would talk were that to be the case.]
By the way, according to this article, “One of the most effective
techniques hunters discovered was the use of deer and elk calls in
attracting the big cats. They were so effective, stores sold out of
them.”
I do a really good Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire. I
wonder if that would work.
“You want my love and you can’t deny………pssst…look…here
comes a cougar…”
Actually, I see they have sold 2,634 licenses for lions
specifically. They are also holding the cougar hunt during deer
and elk season, so you are going to have thousands and
thousands of hunters out there. So I’m thinking the final tally is
3,000 deer and elk, 25 cougars (each kill has to be reported
within 24 hours, that’s how they limit it) and 435 humans.
–Almost forgot…I said I’d write about the prostitutes of
Tombstone last time.
From The Tombstone Epitaph:
“By the time Wyatt Earp and his brothers arrived in December
1879, Tombstone’s rich silver boom had attracted thousands of
young single men seeking their fortune….Because these men
greatly outnumbered women in the booming camp, any female
who had a smile and pleasant personality, and showed a spirit of
cooperation in bestowing her sexual favors, could name her own
price for those favors….
“Usually there were two types of dwellings that served as
‘houses of ill repute’ – the crib and the fancy parlor house.”
[Alex, I’ll take fancy parlor house for $20, please….]
“The cribs were simply tiny buildings, usually ten feet by eight
feet in size and constructed of rough lumber. The prostitute paid
about $3 a day to rent her crib, paid in advance. In this small
area she both lived and conducted her business….
“An oil cloth was spread over the bottom of the bed to protect the
bedclothes from dirty boots or shoes. Customers who sought the
low prices of the cribs always removed their hats when entering;
they seldom had enough time to remove their boots.”
As for prices in the cribs, “Mexican – 25 cents; Chinese,
Japanese, Negro and Indian – 50 cents; French – 75 cents [oui
oui!]; and American – $1….On a mine payday night, a girl might
entertain 80 men.”
Parlor girls, on the other hand, had a standard fee of $10. An
ambitious prostitute in a parlor house (which had as many as 30
girls…think HBO’s “Deadwood”) earned $150 a week, which
was rather sizable compared to miners who earned $3 for a 12-
hour shift.
Lastly, “Big Nose Kate,” Doc Holliday’s girlfriend, opened
Tombstone’s first bordello. She was also quite a gambler, or so
the story goes.
–You know who’s rather unlikable? New York Giants running
back Tiki Barber. I have the Giants going all the way, and no
doubt Tiki has been awesome the last few years, but in
announcing his retirement early and then giving writers crap for
questioning the timing and all, Barber offered further evidence
that he is a two-faced, disingenuous jerk.
–Oh, but when it comes to jerks, none beats the Yankees’ Gary
Sheffield. The Yanks look like they are picking up Sheffield’s
option for $13 million for 2007. $13 million. But Gary is
unhappy because the team may want him to play first base.
“This will not work, this will not work at all. I don’t want to
play first base for them. I will not do that.”
Send him to Anbar province in Iraq.
–Did I say I was suddenly excited about the Jets’ prospects?
Never mind.
–Driving up to Colorado, I came within a few miles of Don
Imus’ ranch in Ribera, New Mexico; for those who listen to the
I-Man. Much lusher terrain than I anticipated. Actually,
northern New Mexico, near the Colorado border, is spectacular,
as is the Raton Pass, the top of which you cross into Colorado
(elevation 6379’). Didn’t know it existed…and wouldn’t have
wanted to be there, driving in my Ford Taurus, during last
week’s blizzard.
–I picked up the paper in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, on Saturday
morning and there was a big story on how one of the schools in
the area won a key 6-man football playoff. Driving around
barren Nebraska, Wyoming and other places like New Mexico,
one of the thoughts you have is how do the kids get to school…
and where are the schools? Well, one way to compensate for the
small population and school enrollment is 6-man football. I’m
trying to remember the All-American who played the 6-man
game. Any thoughts, let me know.
–On my drive from Scottsbluff to Spearfish, I drove through the
town of Chadron, NE, near the border. Back on 9/14 in this
space, I was commenting how Div. I-AA Montana State had
defeated Colorado in a huge upset, but then the next week
Montana State lost to Div. II Chadron State. So there I was, in
their house, so to speak. No, I didn’t stop to find the school,
though it wouldn’t have been too hard to locate it. I did get a Big
Mac there and a milkshake but otherwise I was in a hurry to get
through Indian territory, as noted above.
Chadron, it turns out, is now 9-0 and ranked #9 in Div. II as of
the last poll. They played a game last Saturday in Grand
Junction, CO; not an easy trip from Chadron. These little
schools out this way have some incredibly long bus rides.
–Speaking of Division II, Johnny Mac told me that East
Stroudsburg University’s Jimmy Terwilliger just became the first
D-II player to gain over 15,000 yards in total offense. Only
Timmy Chang (Hawaii) and Steve McNair (Alcorn State)
accomplished this feat.
–Anyone signing Barry Bonds is nuts.
Top 3 songs for the week of 10/31/64: #1 “Baby Love” (The
Supremes) #2 “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” (Manfred Mann) #3
“Last Kiss” (J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers…teen-age angst
tune)…and…#5 “Dancing In The Street” (Martha & The
Vandellas) #6 “Let It Be Me” (Betty Everett & Jerry Butler…
all-time great tune) #7 “Have I The Right?” (The Honeycombs)
#8 “Oh, Pretty Woman” (Roy Orbison)
AFC Receiving Quiz Answers: 1) Marlin Briscoe (Buffalo) led
the AFC with 57 receptions in 1970. 2) Running back Lydell
Mitchell (Baltimore) led the AFC in 1974, 75 and 77. QBs went
to the dump-off (screen pass) with a vengeance in the 70s. Other
running backs to lead the league included Fred Willis, 1973;
MacArthur Lane, 1976; and Joe Washington, 1979. 3) Haywood
Jeffires (Houston) led the league 1990-92. 4) Only two Jets to
lead the league were George Sauer, 1967, and Al Toon (1987-
88).
**Trader George pointed out to me that in the previous two Bar
Chats I mentioned the last two whites to lead the league in
rushing…Jim Otis, 1975, and Mark Van Eeghan, 1977. I hadn’t
thought of that until he brought it up. Home version of “Bar
Chat: The Game” on the way to you, Trader George; whenever
we get around to creating it. [This thing called Trivial Pursuit
keeps standing in the way.]
Next Bar Chat, Thursday….Deadwood…including your editor’s
efforts at blackjack….and this just in, as I begin to pack up in
Spearfish, the friggin’ snow is accumulating. They said flurries!
