NCAA Football Quiz: 1) Entering this season, and not including
Mike Hart, name the three Michigan rushers to have gained
4,000 yards in their career. [They played 1997-2000, 1984-87,
and 1991-94] 2) Who holds the Michigan single game rushing
mark of 347 yards, 1968, initials R.J.? 3) Who is Michigan
State’s career leader in receiving? [1985-88…and went on to
have a stellar NFL career.] 4) Who had 350 yards rushing for
Michigan State in 1971, initials E.A.? Answers below.
Man…it’s cold!!!!
Luckily I wrote up a few items for today before I arrived in
Moscow. It was a long trip…leaving Newark at 6:30 Sat.
evening. That is we were supposed to leave at 6:30. Instead we
left at 8:30, literally because our pilot couldn’t find anyone to
sign off on a repair. The guy kept coming on every ten minutes,
“Obviously, folks, what I thought would take a few minutes is
taking a little longer…we’ll be leaving shortly.” Right.
Thankfully, I had a long layover in Paris so I had no problem
making my connection. And let that be a lesson to you, boys and
girls. Always leave lots of time between flights. It probably
saves you five or six years on your life.
Anyway, I thought my connecting flight was on Air France. At
least I checked in with them, but I boarded an Aeroflot plane.
Now I haven’t flown Aeroflot since 1973 when I was here with
my family, and as you know they don’t have a real good safety
record. In fact safety is such a big issue with them that in the
front of the airline magazine, where you have that little message
from the chairman, the guy is bragging that they passed their last
safety inspection. Yippee!
But guess what? I had one of my more enjoyable 3 hours and 30
minute rides as the service was great. No more jellied lunchmeat
on Aeroflot; it was a delicious meal of chicken Kiev with fancy
potatoes. Then there was the beer.
Grolsch for two euros!!! Why a can of beer on a flight for $3 is a
huge bargain these days, as you’re all well aware. Knowing
what I would be paying when I got to Moscow, I almost wanted
to tell the pilot, “Take all the time you need. In fact take us to
Kamchatka, if you feel like it, I’ll just drink up your Grolsch.”
Upon arrival in Moscow, knowing that my bag had to change
planes and all, I wasn’t too optimistic…but there it was. And
nothing was stolen. Is Russia a great country or what?! [Of
course I’ve had minor items stolen by U.S. baggage handlers in
the past…they’re all bad, let’s face it.]
So I’m at the Metropol Hotel, a two-minute walk from the
Kremlin and the same place I stayed exactly five years ago when
I was last here.
Mid-November is a good time to come, if you’re into a touch of
Russian winter without the sub-zero cold. It’s winter already and
today, Monday, when I walked to Red Square it was snowing,
windy, temps in the upper 20s…just awful. Actually, as I glance
out the hotel room window, the snow is coming down hard. The
worst problem about this is the cobblestones on Red Square
develop a sheen of ice and you end up breaking your arms and
fracturing your hip. It’s a real combat zone, in other words,
though I love watching the Russian lovelies navigate the danger
in their high heels. [And, boy, there are some lovelies, as in
millions of them.]
But geezuz, it’s expensive. My beer at the hotel is $12 ($8.50 in
the mini-bar), and when I venture forth later in the week to one
of the hot establishments I’m sure it will be even more. I’m
hoping to have happy hour each day, though, at the GUM Mall,
on Red Square, which has a few cafes in it that I’m assuming
might have $8 brewskies.
[I also just forked over $125 to see a piano recital later in the
week. Yes, that’s nuts. But I really wanted to see Swan Lake at
the Bolshoi on Saturday and it’s $225! And that’s nowhere the
best seat. So I said ‘nyet’ to that one.]
That’s all for now. I went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
on the off chance President Putin was there with Indian Prime
Minister Singh, who is supposed to be in town, but no one would
tell me the time they might be laying the wreath…obligatory as
you know for statesmen.
Back to the States and the weekend’s sports action, I caught the
first three quarters of the Ohio State-Illinois game in a Newark
Airport bar, but we all know the result (Illinois 28, #1 OSU 21)
wasn’t a true shocker. I actually love the way the BCS is setting
up. LSU-Oregon would be a terrific match-up, but obviously
Kansas and Oklahoma can crash that party and LSU in particular
could yet stumble. Too bad Hawaii doesn’t stand a chance of a
major bowl game.
And look at your editor…4-2 on his picks this week to up his
record to a stupendous 19-10 (one push) and 11-2 the past three
weeks.
I had Cincy, giving 6 to UConn…win, 27-3
I had Boise State, giving 24 to Utah State…win, 52-0
I had Georgia, giving 1 ½ to Auburn…win, 45-20
I had Florida, giving 6 ½ to South Carolina…win, 51-31
I had Navy, giving 15 to North Texas…loss, 74-62
I had Hawaii, giving 17 ½ to Fresno State…loss, 37-30
Those last two meaning losses against the spread, that is. And
what of that Navy game? Holy Toledo, the most combined
points in the history of a regulation big time college football
game. It was 49-45 North Texas at the half! Another record.
The North Texas QB had 8 TD passes and Navy rushed the ball
for a school record 572 yards. Both teams combined for 1,315
yards.
Two other games of note. Maryland defeated Boston College.
So much for that Cinderella story as the Eagles flame out the past
two weekends.
But go Air Force! Air Force 41…Notre Dame 24. Hey Charlie
Weis (now 1-9), how them slacks feeling these days?
AP Top Ten
1. LSU 9-1
2. Oregon 8-1
3. Oklahoma 9-1
4. Kansas 10-0…plays Mizzou 11/24
5. West Virginia 8-1
6. Missouri 9-1
7. Ohio State 10-1
8. Georgia 8-2
9. Arizona State 9-1
10. Virginia Tech 8-2
13. Hawaii 9-0
BCS
1. LSU, .9802
2. Oregon, .9383
3. Kansas, .9094
4. Oklahoma, .8540
5. Missouri, .8096
16. Hawaii, .3858
And a few last NFL tidbits. I see Peyton Manning had a rather
lousy night with six interceptions! But wassup with Adam
Vinatieri? He missed a 29-yarder that still would have given the
Colts a win over San Diego and missed it; the second straight
week he’s misfired in a key situation.
As for the now 8-1 Packers, this is a super story. Every sports
fan in America loves Brett Favre, at least the way he plays the
game. [Though I have to admit I was one of those who said he
should retire last year because it looked like he was jerking the
Packers around.]
Remember, we want playoff games in Green Bay in January.
Snowing, wind chill about 20 below. You eating Chex Mix,
drinking beer in the comfort of your home. That’s what it’s all
about.
Much more on Moscow on Thursday.
Stuff
–Remember the other day the story of the Smith Center football
team of Smith Center, Kansas? Joe Drape of the New York
Times ran a piece on Thursday on the squad that has now won 51
games in a row (entering this weekend’s play) and three
consecutive state championships, outscoring its opponents this
season alone, 704-0.
Enrollment at Smith Center high school is 154, evenly divided
between boys and girls. More than 60 percent of the boys play
football, which means two things: there aren’t a lot left over for
the soccer team, and/or the band is pretty small.
Coach Roger Barta has been at the helm for 30 years and has a
273-58 record. Many of his players go on to play college ball
and one, Mark Simoneau, is a linebacker for the New Orleans
Saints.
Smith Center is a town of 1,931, with two major employers;
Peterson Industries and the school district itself. The nearest
McDonald’s is 90 minutes away.
But I just looked on a map, to make sure I hadn’t passed through
here before (I hadn’t) and I see something Drape doesn’t
mention. Smith Center’s real claim to fame, aside from the
football team, is that it is mere miles from the Geographic Center
of the 48 contiguous states. And, boy, there really isn’t anything
around this place.
[I also just checked to see how the team did Friday night in its
playoff game vs. Oakley. Try 56-0. So make it 760-0 on the
season. But they punted for the first time all year in the Oakley
game. I also saw in the Kansas City Star that the town is all fired
up it made the NY Times. You can joke all you want that it is
the Times, you conservatives out there (of which I’m one), but
this is very cool for Smith Center, after all.]
–Aussie scientists have begun to decode the humpback whale’s
sounds and they have identified 34 vocal functions, including
male pickup lines, according to a Reuters story. “A purr by
males appeared to signify the male was trying his luck to mate a
desirable female.”
I once tried this and was slapped in the face.
–…………………………..OK, I better come clean before you
all get the wrong impression. Don’t worry, there has never been
any violence around your editor and his pickup efforts. [Stop
laughing, Phil W.]
–Bar Chat sharkhunter Bob S. passed along the story of the
dolphins who rescued a surfer from a shark, as reported by Mike
Celizic of MSNBC and “Today.”
“Surfer Todd Endris needed a miracle. The shark – a monster
great white that came out of nowhere – had hit him three times,
peeling the skin off his back and mauling his right leg to the
bone.
“That’s when a pod of bottlenose dolphins intervened, forming a
protective ring around Endris, allowing him to get to shore,
where quick first aid provided by a friend saved his life.
“ ‘Truly a miracle,’ Endris told Today’s Natalie Morales on
Thursday.”
But this attack occurred Aug. 28. Why I had to have covered it
before, I thought. Sure enough, from Bar Chat, 8/30/07:
This just in…our West Coast shark reporter Bob S. (who’s
really on the East Coast but has been given responsibility for the
prime Great White waters off California…which chews up our
travel budget here at Bar Chat, quite frankly) filed the following,
via Fox and the AP.
“A Marina man surfing in the waters off Marina State Beach
Tuesday was attacked by a 12-foot white shark and airlifted to
the hospital with torso and thigh injuries.
“Witnesses said Todd Endris, 24, of Marina, was surfing with a
half dozen other people when the shark attacked him from
behind around 11 a.m.
“Loren Rex, a California State Parks spokesman, said the victim
screamed and started punching the shark while trying to flee.
“ ‘Then the shark took him down under the water,’ he said.
‘Witnesses saw a lot of thrashing and some blood coming up.
Other witnesses saw the shark let him up before biting him one
more time.’”
Goodness gracious! One witness claimed it was a great white
shark of 20 feet in length! And it’s still out there!
[Mr. Endris’ vital signs are stable following surgery. If the shark
heads through the Panama Canal and then up the East Coast, we
will of course issue a special warning at that time for local
bathers and surfers.]
Now back to today, you see there initially was no mention of the
dolphins! Wassup with dat?!
Well, I guess because Endris has been recovering all this time, he
finally felt up to relating the chilling tale.
“The third time, the shark tried to swallow Endris’ right leg, and
he said that was actually a good thing, because the shark’s grip
anchored him while he kicked the beast in the head and snout
with his left leg until it let go.
“The dolphins, which had been cavorting in the surf all along,
showed up then. They circled him, keeping the shark at bay, and
enabled Endris to get back on his board and catch a wave to the
shore.”
Remember, it was a year ago that four lifeguards were saved
from sharks in waters off New Zealand by dolphins forming a
protective ring. That’s also in Bar Chat somewhere.
So you know what this means, don’t you? Dolphins have a fin
up on our annual “Animal of the Year” award celebration to be
held at a Long John Silver’s or Red Lobster, with the actual
location to be determined.
Lastly, as Bob S. notes, this also means dolphins are moving up
the all-species list, alongside dogs and yaks.
–Big story…huge…out of New Jersey this week. From Jim
Lockwood of the Star-Ledger:
“He was smarter than the average bear.
“The bruin, obviously with a serious sweet tooth, smashed its
way into a minivan in Vernon early yesterday to gobble up a bag
of Halloween candy inside, and then took the vehicle for a
‘joyride,’ police said.
“Like typical bear burglaries in Highland Lakes – the center of
Bear Country – this one had all the telltale signs: a smashed
window, paw prints, smudge marks on the windshield, gobs of
drool all over the cloth seats, interior door panels torn off, claw
marks and lots of animal hair.
“But what wasn’t so typical is what happened inside the 2004
Mazda minivan during the bear’s late-night snack. The van was
a stick shift, and the bruin apparently dislodged the parking brake
while noshing on leftover Kit-Kats and M&Ms.
“The vehicle rolled out of a driveway and about 40 feet down
Coon Den Road before stopping, police said. Aside from drool
and hair, all that was left were a bunch of empty candy wrappers
inside and outside the minivan.”
The suspect is still at large and should be considered armed and
dangerous. But as Brad K. said, this is yet another test run for
the all-out animal assault next spring. I would also advise
authorities at the Holland Tunnel that if they see a van driven by
a bear, don’t let it enter the tunnel…repeat…don’t let the bear
drive into the tunnel.
–That was really quite a win by Gardner-Webb the other night
against #20 Kentucky in college basketball. After all, G-W was
just 9-21 last season. And then on Friday, UNC-Greensboro
defeated Georgia Tech, 83-74. Back in the day when I was at
Wake Forest, UNCG was an all-girls school, so every now and
then we’d pile into whoever’s car we could find and….‘road
trip!’
–I’ll report from Moscow whether or not the allegations that
Tommy Haas was poisoned before Germany’s Davis Cup match
against Russia has any validity. German authorities have said
there is no truth to the claims, but then they don’t want to fight in
another Russian winter, if you catch my drift.
–You know, there are some stories that are so awful, yet bizarre,
that they merit space in this column. For example, I’m not about
to write about a horrible auto accident unless it involves a
celebrity of some kind, but I couldn’t help but notice a story by
David Haldane of the Los Angeles Times concerning a man who
met his end in a wood-chipper.
“The tree service worker ‘was standing at the back end of the
chipper, throwing branches into it with his co-workers nearby,’
said Sgt. Pat Welch of the Tustin Police Department. ‘One of
them looked over, and he was gone.’
“Authorities took the wood chipper and the truck to which it was
attached to a parking structure at the Orange County coroner’s
office, where it was dismantled and (victim) Gonzales-Ferrer’s
remains removed.”
There was no evidence of a crime or that alcohol or drugs were
involved.
According to a 2005 report by the Journal of the American
Medical Assn., 31 people were killed in wood-chipper accidents
between 1992 and 2002.
–For the first time in NASCAR history, three former Indy 500
winners earned a spot in the Nextel Cup race at Phoenix; Sam
Hornish Jr., Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Pablo Montoya.
Hornish, a three-time IndyCar Series champ, said he is switching
full-time to NASCAR next season.
–The other day, Jeff B. was at dinner with his mom when he
realized she was a “For Better or For Worse” reader. So Mrs. B.
asked Jeff what was up with the dumb story line and the constant
change between yesterday and today? It’s then Jeff and I, after
he told me, realized something critical. If you didn’t read the
one or two stories that ran concerning creator Lynn Johnston’s
new format following her personal crisis, you’d have no idea
what is going on! It’s not like she ever told her readers, after all,
in the strip itself. [Say, a la ‘Funky Winkerbean.’]
So in other words, Ms. Johnston’s audience must be abandoning
her in droves, as Jeff and I have unless we see new material.
–I was glancing through Baseball America and noticed the
passing of Don Nottebart, who had a major league career
spanning 1960-69 with a 36-51 record for primarily Milwaukee,
Houston and Cincinnati. Had to bring this up since I remember
his baseball card.
–An auction at Sotheby’s the other day was a total flop, but a
Gauguin did still sell for $39.2 million; yet nonetheless below the
$60 million high estimate. People are finally realizing Gauguin
blows, especially his crap from the Tahitian era. Give me Monet,
Pissarro, or Al Sisley any time over this garbage, by god!
Top 3 songs for the week 11/13/65: #1 “Get Off Of My Cloud”
(The Rolling Stones…my second ’45 as a youth…first was
“Dominique” by The Singing Nun…I never recovered from this)
#2 “A Lover’s Concerto” (The Toys) #3 “1-2-3” (Len Barry…I
still say that as the years go by, this tune ages better and better)
…and…#4 “You’re The One” (The Vogues) #5 “I Hear A
Symphony” (The Supremes) #6 “Rescue Me” (Fontella Bass)
#7 “Everybody Loves A Clown” (Gary Lewis and The Playboys)
#8 “Let’s Hang On!” (The 4 Seasons) #9 “A Taste Of Honey”
(Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass) #10 “Ain’t That Peculiar”
(Marvin Gaye……wow….now that is a top ten, sports fans.
Each one has held up well)
NCAA Football Quiz Answers: 1) Michigan’s three 4,000-yard
rushers prior to Mike Hart entering the club this season are:
Anthony Thomas (1997-2000) 4,472; Jamie Morris (1984-87)
4,393; and Tyrone Wheatley (1991-94). [Butch Woolfolk (1978-
81) had 3861.*] 2) Ron Johnson gained 347 yards, 1968, in a
contest against Wisconsin. Just checked the score and
Wolverines won 39-0. 3) Andre Rison was MSU’s star receiver,
1985-88; 146 catches for 2,992 yards.] 4) MSU running back
Eric Allen once rushed for 350 yards in a game against Purdue in
1971 (a 43-10 win). For his career (1969-71) Allen had 2,654
yards on 521 carries, but while drafted in the 4th round, as best as
I can tell, he didn’t play in the NFL.
*I know I’ve told this story before, but for new readers I have a
personal Woolfolk story. Running track for Summit High
School, one year we had a meet vs. Woolfolk’s Westfield team
and my coach wasn’t happy with me, being the big
underachiever I was in those days. So after running both the
one-mile and two-mile, which were my normal races, he threw
me in a heat for the 100 against one Butch Woolfolk, who was
already a legend at this point, following on the heels of another
area star, Willie Wilson. Anyway, Woolfolk lapped me in the
100………….at least it felt that way.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday…does the editor fracture both arms on
the ice?
