NBA Quiz / Scoring Champions: 1) How many times did
George Gervin lead the league in scoring? 2) Bob McAdoo? 3)
Michael Jordan? 4) Allen Iverson? Answers below.
Debacle at the Garden
The other day I wrote of Phil W.’s observations following his
attendance at a Charlotte Bobcats basketball game. Phil said
then that now he knew why he hadn’t been to an NBA game in
about 20 years.
So on Saturday night I was catching snippets of the Knicks /
Denver contest at Madison Square Garden, but missed the
fireworks at the end of a blowout. The NBA will pay a steep
price for this one.
It all started when with 1:15 left in the game, Knicks rookie
Mardy Collins leveled a flagrant foul against Denver’s J.R.
Smith as he was driving on a breakaway. The Knicks were angry
Denver still had their starters in with a 19-point lead. Smith then
jumped up, challenged Collins, and a fight ensued, with the
Knicks’ Nate Robinson wrestling Smith into the Garden crowd
under the basket. Then, as players from both teams were
huddling around, taunting each other, the league’s leading scorer,
Carmelo Anthony, landed a sucker punch that staggered Collins.
All 10 players on the court at the time were ejected.
Lisa Olson of the New York Daily News:
“It was offensive enough when they were falling into the Garden
crowd, risking injury not just to themselves, but to innocent
bystanders. This was criminal behavior perpetuated by both the
Nuggets and the Knicks, and if David Stern had the cojones, he
would expel their precious bodies into the next season.
“As it was last night, 10 players were ejected, the NBA once
again gave the impression it was a league perpetuated by thugs,
and yet, the madness did not end there. It shouldn’t be that
difficult to separate bravado from responsibility, machismo from
reality, but there stood Nate Robinson nearly an hour after the
blood had barely dried on one of the game’s worst brawls ever,
talking about how it was all about ‘trying to protect family.’
“Good Lord, what a way to pile shame on top of the disgrace.
Had some masked man just broken through the window and
stolen Robinson’s bling? Had his fancy ride been carjacked? At
least the culprits involved in the Pistons fight against the Pacers
two seasons ago in Detroit had the good sense to shut up….
“There will be mammoth fines, lengthy suspensions.
Psychologists will moan about the decline of sportsmanship, and
they’ll all be right. Robinson’s postgame justifications might
even get lost in the roar, but they shouldn’t. Because the attitude
precedes the actions, always.
“Robinson and some of the other Knicks, including and most
importantly their coach, actually had the audacity to suggest the
Nuggets were at fault because their starters were still in the game
late in the fourth quarter, when the Knicks trailed by 19. As if
Thomas never had the killer instinct. As if that was reason
enough to start chest-bumping and fighting.
“ ‘It was a like a slap in the face to us,’ Robinson said of the
Nuggets’ strategy. He went on to add that never in his life, not in
high school or in college, had any opponent done something so
disgraceful, so dishonorable. ‘We just tried to come back from a
deficit and they still had their starters in the game. It was a slap
in the face to us, to the franchise.’
“This from a guy who not so long ago tried to style a sure dunk,
missing the basket and costing his team two points it badly
needed.”
Meanwhile, Carmelo Anthony refused to comment after the
game, but on Sunday issued an apology to all involved.
However, what television film of the game shows is that about
twenty seconds before the hard foul on J.R. Smith, Knicks coach
Isiah Thomas was talking to Anthony, telling him he better “stay
out of the paint.”
As I go to post, penalties haven’t been handed down, but
Commissioner David Stern has to come down hard on Carmelo
and, in what would be a rarity, Isiah. Then “pinhead” Knicks
owner Jim Dolan has to fire Thomas; not just because of this
incident, but because the team is 9-17 with the highest payroll in
the game.
**Update: Anthony received a 15 game suspension; J.R. Smith
and Nate Robinson, 10 games each. But Isiah Thomas was not
suspended.
Stuff
–Well, so much for Miss USA Tara Conner, who was booted out
of her plush Trump Place apartment in New York for partying
too hard and besmirching the image of the pageant. Jana Winter
and Lukas Alpert of the New York Post had the gory details.
“Conner returned to her hometown of Russell Springs, Ky.
(population 2,399)…The phones rang unanswered at both her
mother and father’s homes…
“As word spread of Conner’s presumed fall from grace, tales of
her being blinded by the bright lights of the Big Apple and
succumbing to wild escapades of clubbing, sex and drug abuse
emerged.
“ ‘She has a really bad drug problem. Everyone at Miss USA
hated her. She slept with (Blink 182’s) Travis Barker and she
sleeps with all the club promoters,’ said one source.
“She has also been linked romantically to two of the owners of
the club Stereo, MTV veejay Damien Fahey, American Idol host
Ryan Seacrest, and DJ AM’s assistant.
“ ‘She was latching onto a crew of promoters because she had no
other friends and she was using them for drugs,’ a friend said.
‘She started utilizing hip New York City people in the night-life
scene to feed her addictions.’”
Other sources said “Conner had a reputation for lewd behavior in
club bathrooms.”
“ ‘She always went the extra mile,’ said one pal.
–Geezuz, the NFL, like the NBA, is a mess and league officials
are worried. Take the high-profile case of Chicago Bears starting
defensive tackle Tank Johnson. On Thursday he was charged
with having a gun without proper identification after Gurnee, Ill.,
police searched his home. A male occupant of his place was led
away in handcuffs after police executed a warrant, whereupon
they found two assault-style rifles and three powerful handguns.
It was Johnson’s third legal issue in 18 months.
That was Thursday. Then early Saturday morning, Johnson’s
bodyguard was shot to death outside a Chicago nightclub. Tank
Johnson was there at the time.
Meanwhile, 8 Cincinnati Bengals have been arrested this year
and then there is the bizarre case involving the San Diego
Chargers.
Safety Terrence Kiel was arrested by Drug Enforcement
Administration agents back in September on charges of
transporting and possessing a controlled substance. According to
Mark Maske and Les Carpenter of the Washington Post:
“DEA officials learned that Chargers players were sending large
sums of money to China and believed they had a steroid-
smuggling case on their hands, according to sources who
requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak
publicly on the matter. Instead, they came to believe the money
was for knockoff athletic shoes that could be passed off and sold
as name-brand merchandise in this country, the sources said.
The case has been turned over to the Immigration and Customs
Enforcement agency, which has jurisdiction over such
investigations.”
[As for Sunday’s action on the field, San Diego’s LaDainian
Tomlinson upped his NFL single-season TD mark to 31 and set a
new NFL single-season point record with 186, breaking Paul
Hornung’s 46-year-old standard of 176.]
–Daisuke Matsuzaka, hereafter “Dice-K,” wrapped up his
contract negotiations with the Boston Red Sox, signing a six-
year, $52 million deal after Boston had paid his Japanese club,
the Seibu Lions, $51 million just to be able to negotiate with the
guy. So the total cost was $103 million.
What’s interesting is that Dice-K will actually be making less, at
$8.5 million a year, vs. the likes of Gil Meche ($55 million for
five years) and Ted Lilly ($40 million, four years). And Dice-K
is supposed to be one of the top pitchers in the world.
But as the Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell writes, the Seibu
Lions get a $51 million windfall when their current payroll is just
$17 million; all for doing nothing. Or you could say Dice-K is
getting ripped off.
One fellow who should be happy these days is Toronto’s Vernon
Wells, who re-upped with the Blue Jays for 7-years and $126
million, a contract which trails only Alex Rodriguez ($252
million), Derek Jeter ($189 million), Manny Ramirez ($160
million), Todd Helton ($141.5 million) and Alfonso Soriano
($136 million). Part of Wells’s deal is a $25.5 million signing
bonus, payable in three $8.5 million installments
This off-season has been totally absurd. But then whether it’s
baseball or Wall Street, the money being thrown around is of
once unfathomable proportions. Where does it all stop?
–I was glad to see Jeff Bagwell retire and thus fall short of 500
home runs. Undoubtedly, six years from now we’ll be debating
his Hall of Fame credentials, which are substantial…449 HR,
1529 RBI, .297 BA. But I just have to believe Bagwell was, you
know, using the stuff that makes you extra big and over the next
six years we’re likely to hear far more stories about the steroid
era than we have thus far.
–Speaking of steroids, former cyclist Tammy Thomas became
the first athlete indicted in the BALCO scandal with Thomas
facing three counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of
justice for allegedly lying to the grand jury. Previously, the only
other indicted thus far is coach Trevor Graham.
So suddenly there is renewed cause for optimism that Barry
Bonds may yet be indicted himself. Said an attorney
representing Bonds’s former business manager, “It sure sounds
like they’re going to go after (Bonds).”
But a key remains trainer Greg Anderson, once again in prison
for refusing to testify.
–This was Atlanta Falcons coach Jim Mora, on a sports-talk
radio station in Seattle the other day. Co-host Dave Mahler, a
college roommate of Mora’s at the University of Washington
said to Jim, “I want you to do us a favor and make us a promise.
One day – if it ever works out where there is an opening and
you’re available – we want you to come to the Huskies.”
As William C. Rhoden of the New York Times wrote, Mora then
took the bait.
“He talked about how much respect he had for Ty Willingham,
the Washington coach. Then he was off to the races.
“ ‘If he ever decided to move on and get in the NFL or go back
to Notre Dame, if that job opens, you’ll find me at the freaking
head of the line with my resume in my hand ready to take that
job….
“ ‘Doesn’t even matter if I’m available…but if (Willingham)
decides he’s ready to move on and they want me, I will be there.
I don’t care if we’re in the middle of a playoff run. I’m packing
my stuff and going back to Seattle.’”
Needless to say this was big news back in Atlanta which faced
the Dallas Cowboys Saturday night in a critical game for
Atlanta’s playoff chances. Atlanta lost and dropped to 7-7.
Before the game Mora apologized to his team for his remarks
and said he was kidding.
[In the game, Falcons quarterback Michael Vick set the record
for rushing yards in a season by a quarterback. He now has 990,
breaking Bobby Douglass’ 1972 mark of 968. And Falcons
kicker Morten Andersen became the leading scorer in NFL
history with 2,437, thus breaking Gary Anderson’s mark of
2,434. But when you’re talking Dallas Cowboys, you can’t help
but mention Terrell Owens. T.O. scored twice, but also spit in
Atlanta cornerback DeAngelo Hall’s face.]
–The Wall Street Journal’s Allen St. John had an interesting
column on Friday concerning the NFL’s most effective
“protections rackets,” or the ability to protect the quarterback.
For example, consider the “sack factor,” the fewest sack yards
per attempt. New Orleans has allowed Drew Brees to be sacked
only 88 yards worth all season (going into Sunday’s action);
remarkable when you consider the Saints have thrown 481 times.
Peyton Manning and Indianapolis are number two, 89 yards
given up to sacks vs. 457 attempts. Of course it’s not just the
line play but the experience to understand the situation as well as
mobility in the pocket.
The worst in this category, percentage-wise, is Kansas City with
193 sack yards in just 360 attempts. Next to last shouldn’t be a
surprise… Pittsburgh, with 249 sack yards in 433 attempts. Ben
Roethlisberger has been pummeled all year and his brain has to
be mush, as Mark R. and I discuss every week. What the
Steelers are doing to Roethlisberger, and he to himself, is verging
on criminal.
–Congratulations to college football’s championship winners.
Appalachian State won its second consecutive Div. I-AA crown
in beating Massachusetts. UMass fans then rioted afterwards.
Jerks.
Grand Valley State defeated Northwest Missouri State for the
Div. II title.
And Mount Union won its ninth Div. III championship in 14
years in whipping Wisconsin-Whitewater.
–Just a few notes on actor Peter Boyle, who passed away after
the last Bar Chat. I had no idea John Lennon was best man at
Boyle’s wedding, Peter’s wife Loraine Alterman having
introduced Boyle to Lennon, whereupon the two became great
friends.
And I didn’t know Boyle had been a member of the Christian
Brothers religious order for three years, an experience he later
described as “living in the Middle Ages.”
But I had also forgotten about Boyle’s health issues, including a
stroke in 1990 that left him speechless for six months, and a 1999
heart attack on the set of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” though
he made a speedy recovery and returned to the series with little
interruption.
–A 13-foot boa constrictor killed its owner this weekend by
wrapping itself around the fellow’s neck. Cincinnati police said
the snake was still strangling Ted Dres when they arrived.
–City officials across the U.S. are having increasing problems
with crow invasions. For example, in Riverton, Wyo., USA
Today reports police shot 5,000 last year alone and the town has
hired a falconer to try and scare the crows out of downtown.
Terre Haute, Ind., doesn’t know what to do with its flock of
60,000.
But did you know that crows can live for 17-21 years? Goodness
gracious. And crow offspring often stay with their parents for
several years.
–John S. reminded me of the good old days in the NBA when it
was entertaining, specifically the likes of Stormin’ Norman Van
Lier, the pride of St. Francis College of Pennsylvania. Van Lier
averaged 11.8 ppg and 7.0 assists in 10 seasons for Cincinnati,
Chicago and Milwaukee. But what John told me was Van Lier
was the #2 schoolboy QB in Pennsylvania, behind one Terry
Hanratty their senior year. Interesting stuff. I imagine Hanratty
himself was a pretty fair hoops player….I don’t know this for a
fact and am just guessing, but of course this was back in a time
when the best athletes played three sports. Contrast that with
today, where high school athletes are increasingly choosing to
focus on just one sport; as another article on the topic in
Sunday’s New York Times points out. I just don’t understand
this, and it’s another reason why our society is rapidly going
down the tubes, in my humble opinion.
–So remember the 43-year-old bitten the other day by a great
white off the California coast while he was paddling on his surf
board? Sharkhunter Bob S. relayed some more info on the case
of a man now identified as Royce Fraley of Guerneville. It was
the guy’s fourth brush with a shark! Fraley’s mother told the San
Francisco Chronicle:
“He said that because he has witnessed and been involved in
other attacks, he is going to hang it up. It was just by the grace
of God that this shark didn’t bit down that hard. It got part of his
hip and upper torso, but they were all superficial wounds. How
lucky is that?”
Two months ago, Fraley recalled, a shark dented his board near
Bodega Bay after it bumped him from underneath. “The shark
then followed him to shore.”
And back in 2002, he told The Chronicle that another shark
bumped his board in 1998 when he was surfing near the mouth
of the Russian River, knocking him 3 feet in the air.
“It hit the board dead center, and as I came down, whitewater
was splashing all over. Then there was the fricking shark out of
the water, a little more than an arm’s length away. It just comes
up with the stereotypical thing out of the movies, eyes rolled
back, straight up and down, its jaws open once, closes, and goes
back down. I just turned the board toward the beach and was in
full flight mode.”
Why the hell didn’t he quit then? Personally, I would have
headed to the nearest bar and never seen the light of day again.
Back in November 2002, Fraley, who had trained as a lifeguard
in college, assisted bodyboarder Mike Casey, who had been
bitten down to the bone in four places near Bodega Bay. Fraley
helped apply pressure on Casey’s femoral artery to stop him
from bleeding to death.
Fraley is so shaken by last week’s incident he has refused to talk
about it.
Since 1966, there have been a total of 90 shark attacks in
California and Oregon.
–Steve Nyman of the United States won his first World Cup
skiing victory, a downhill win in Val Gardena, Italy. Where did
they get the snow? Europe has been under a record heat wave
this month.
–The founder of the “Girls Gone Wild” video empire, Joe
Francis, was sentenced to community service for his company’s
guilty plea to federal charges of failing to monitor the ages of the
girls in its videos. Frankly everyone involved in this endeavor is
either a dirtball (the guys) or an idiot (the gals).
–As I write this, there are only about six strips left in “For Better
or For Worse” before Christmas. Jeff B. and I eagerly await a
real holiday disaster, what with the arrival of Cop Paul and now
druggie Grandpa Jim’s release from the hospital following his
stroke. But my brother, who agrees Jim is basically a crack
addict, continues to focus his attention on the recently absent
Anthony.
What Harry foresees is the molester receiving his conviction, but
then it’s appealed to a higher court, which overturns the verdict.
The molester then comes after Liz, who is home smooching with
Paul, but as the molester guy tries to climb in the window, he’s
attacked by a distraught Anthony who has been hiding in the
bushes all along, watching Liz and Paul.
“Anthony: heroic but still pitiful.”
Granted, this is a lot of action in just about 24-30 panels and
clearly Lynn Johnston has her work cut out for her. But, frankly,
it’s time for Ms. Johnston to step up and save her strip, once and
for all, or end it by New Year’s. It’s the least she can do for
those of us who for years have been starting the day with an
increasingly painful experience.
–Fred Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers passed away at the
age of 66. His brother Gerry fronted the band and Fred was the
drummer. The Pacemakers were the first band from Liverpool to
have a #1 single in the UK with “How Do You Do It?” in 1963
(which peaked at #9 in the U.S., summer of ’64). Of course the
group is best known for “Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying”
(#4 U.S.) and “Ferry Cross The Mersey” (#6 U.S.). By 1967,
though, like so many of these bands, the Pacemakers flamed out.
–Phil W. wrote in to say that “Merry Christmas from the
Family” was originally performed by Robert Earl Keen,
robertearlkeen.com. Phil swears it’s a better rendition than
Montgomery Gentry’s…and seeing as I not only haven’t heard
Mr. Keen’s but I also want Phil to buy me the first round when I
visit him in North Carolina next year, I’m not about to argue.
Never look a gift beer in the mouth………or so they say.
–And we note the passing of Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet
Ertegun. Ertegun was born in Istanbul, 1923, and his father was
legal counselor to Kemal Attaturk, the founder of modern
Turkey.
Attaturk then sent the father to serve as Turkey’s ambassador to
the League of Nations and later he was ambassador to the U.S.
So Ahmet grew up in rarified air you might say and in 1947 he
and partner Herb Abramson founded Atlantic Records, where
Ertegun remained as chairman until his death.
Over the years Atlantic brought us Ray Charles; the Drifters; the
Coasters; Aretha Franklin; the Rolling Stones; Led Zeppelin;
Cream; the Allman Brothers; Yes; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young;
and Sonny & Cher.
But his end came tragically. He suffered a head injury in
October, falling backstage at a Rolling Stones show celebrating
Bill Clinton’s 60th birthday, lapsed into a coma and never
recovered.
Top 3 songs for the week of 12/18/82: #1 “Maneater” (Daryl
Hall & John Oates) #2 “Mickey” (Toni Basil) #3 “Gloria”
(Laura Branigan…absolutely one of the worst tunes of all time)
…and…#5 “Truly” (Lionel Richie) #6 “Steppin’ Out” (Joe
Jackson) #8 “Sexual Healing” (Marvin Gaye…not a week goes
by where I don’t muse, “Damn, if only he were still around.”)
NBA Quiz Answers: 1) George Gervin led the league in scoring
four times (1977-78, 78-79, 79-80, 81-82…all with San
Antonio). 2) Bob McAdoo led the league three straight seasons
while with Buffalo (1973-76). 3) Michael Jordan led the league
10 times (1986-93, 1995-98). 4) Allen Iverson has done it four
times (1998-99, 2000-02, 2004-05).
[I first ran the following two years ago.]
Christmas Tunes
[First year it ‘charted,’ including the Billboard “Christmas”
chart.]
1934 – Winter Wonderland…Guy Lombardo
1934 – Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town…George Hall
1935 – Silent Night…Bing Crosby
1938 – The Man With The Whiskers…Hoosier Hot Shots
1939 – Hello Mr. Kringle…Kay Kyser
1941 – Jingle Bells…Glenn Miller
1942 – White Christmas…Bing Crosby
1943 – I’ll Be Home For Christmas…Bing Crosby
1944 – White Christmas…Frank Sinatra
1944 – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas…Judy Garland
1945 – Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!…Vaughn Monroe
1946 – The Christmas Song…Nat “King” Cole
1947 – Merry Christmas, Baby…Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers
/ Charles Brown
1947 – Here Comes Santa Claus…Gene Autry
1948 – All I Want For Christmas…Spike Jones
1948 – You’re All I Want For Christmas…Frankie Laine
1949 – Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer…Gene Autry
1949 – Blue Christmas…Ernest Tubb
1950 – Frosty The Snow Man…Gene Autry
1950 – Lonesome Christmas…Lowell Fulson
1951 – It’s Beginning To Look Like Christmas – Perry Como &
The Fontaine Sisters
1952 – I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus…Jimmy Boyd
1954 – White Christmas…The Drifters
1954 – There’s No Place Like Home For The Holidays…Perry
Como
1957 – Jingle Bell Rock…Bobby Helms
1958 – The Chipmunk Song…The Chipmunks
1958 – The Little Drummer Boy…The Harry Simeone Chorale
1960 – Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree…Brenda Lee
1960 – Please Come Home For Christmas…Charles Brown
1960 – Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer…The Chipmunks
1961 – Baby’s First Christmas…Connie Francis
1962 – Santa Claus Is Coming To Town…The 4 Seasons
1963 – White Christmas…Andy Williams
1963 – Do You Hear What I Hear?…Bing Crosby
1963 – Little Saint Nick…The Beach Boys
1963 – Pretty Paper…Roy Orbison
1964 – Blue Christmas…Elvis Presley
1964 – The Man With All The Toys…The Beach Boys
1964 – A Holly Jolly Christmas…Burl Ives
1966 – Silent Night…Barbra Streisand
1967 – Snoopy’s Christmas…The Royal Guardsmen
1968 – The Christmas Song…Herb Alpert
1970 – Merry Christmas Darling…Carpenters
1971 – Happy Xmas (War is Over)…John Lennon & Yoko Ono
1973 – Step Into Christmas…Elton John
1973 – If We Make It Through December…Merle Haggard
1977 – It’s Just Another New Hear’s Eve…Barry Manilow
1982 – Christmas In Dixie…Alabama
1983 – Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer…Elmo ‘N Patsy
1985 – Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town…Bruce Springsteen
Next Bar Chat, Thursday….ye olde Christmas special, suitable
for the kiddies.
