NCAA Men’s Basketball Quiz: 1) Name the two Univ. of Houston stars that are in the top 15 on the all-time NCAA scoring list. [Includes tournament games. For ex: Pete Maravich is No. 1 with 3667 points.] 2) Who was the last Div. I player to finish his career averaging over 30 ppg? [Hint: Pre-1985…and he played in the NBA] 3) Who is the only player from an ACC school to be in the top 20 all time for scoring average with a 29.8 mark? [Hint: This is kind of a trick question; he went to a school currently in the ACC, and therein lies a clue because of the way I phrased it.] 4) Who am I? I led the NCAA in rebounding with a 21.5 average in 1969, initials S.H [Hint: played in the NBA.] Answers below.
You talk about a great American, few were better than him. I’ll have some thoughts on his life in that other column I do next Saturday, but for now I note he was married to his late-wife Lynne for 68 years and if you are of a certain age he has always been a part of your life, whether you really thought about it or not, since you first discovered the power of radio. God bless him.
–The Barry Bonds trial is on indefinite hold as the government appeals Judge Susan Illston’s ruling that much of the evidence is inadmissible, including the three positive steroid tests from 2000 and 2001. It all boils down to Bonds’ trainer Greg Anderson and his refusal to testify. On Friday, Illston had Anderson in court to ask directly what his intentions were, warning Anderson she could send him back to jail, where he has already spent 13 months, if he doesn’t cooperate. What the hell is it with this guy? Prosecutors are threatening to go after him for criminal contempt. Just do it. If Anderson loves prison so much, send him back and promote him to Chief Toilet Scrubber. Maybe there is a Bubba who is a lifer that Anderson is secretly in love with. Well?
I imagine most fans are thinking enough already…let’s move on. But the rest of us require closure on this topic.
At the same time, we all can agree we want the season to begin so our minds can be taken off this freakin’ economy that threatens to turn us all into hobos, and, as romantic as it sounds, I really don’t want to have to ride the rails, know what I’m sayin’?
But then you have A-Rod, who met with baseball officials on Sunday to discuss his steroids disclosures. Baseball can not suspend him for past actions that weren’t illegal under the sport’s guidelines back then, but if he fails to tell the truth on his various relationships, baseball will throw the book at him and suspend his ass. The commissioner’s office will be interviewing A-Rod’s cousin, Yuri, and the trainer, Presinal, and anyone else they can find tangentially involved. As Mike Lupica of the Daily News points out, if the cousin and trainer don’t talk, a la Greg Anderson, A-Rod is screwed.
–While we’re on the steroids topic (see, we can’t get away from it), the New York Post’s Joel Sherman writes of the dirty secret one player’s fans, and the man himself, have had to live with. The player is Mike Piazza. The secret…well, let’s assume it eventually comes out.
“I can pretend that while he was (hitting 427 homers as a 62nd round draft pick) people were not talking about certain physical quirks that raised suspicion, notably a back full of acne. But that, too, would be dishonest.
“So Piazza is either creation or casualty of this age. Even still in retirement. Because, again, I can pretend that veteran writers don’t talk about his approaching Hall of Fame candidacy [2013] with uncertainty. That would be dishonest, as well. Many of us find ourselves thinking: A penalty is being levied in Hall voting on guys who have been outed such as Mark McGwire, and probably, eventually, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and – a long time from now – Alex Rodriguez.
“But what do we do about guys who we suspect, guys the establishment of the game so strongly suspected?….There are plenty of guys who are coming up on ballots now who have not been ensnared by BALCO or Mitchell or Canseco, who nevertheless cast the strong feeling of artificial success throughout the game. What do we do about them?”
So Sherman asked Piazza the other day whether he was clean and, no surprise, Piazza said he was. “Absolutely.” As for the list of 104, Piazza said he wasn’t on it. “No, not that I know….You can’t control what people think,” he added.
Sherman likes Piazza. Who doesn’t? For starters, he was one of the more intelligent people in the game, conversant on far more topics than just the sport, a la Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling, which is why us Mets fans are spoiled with the color commentators we have in the broadcast booth…but I digress.
As Sherman writes, “Clemens, Jason Giambi, Andy Pettitte and A-Rod have lied to my face on this subject. So forgive me if I do not exactly bet the house on this one."
“I hope he is telling the truth. I hope, at some point, we have a full grasp of the era, know exactly what the landscape was. Until then the broad brush paints…”
—Shark! It happened again…a third time in Sydney waters in less than three weeks.
“15-year-old Andrew Lindop was surfing with his father when he was attacked by a shark about 6:45 a.m. (Saturday).
“His leg was bitten down to the bone, but police said an examination by ambulance staff indicated he had not suffered any breaks or fractures.
“Police said the boy’s father heard a scream and turned to see his son thrashing about in the water.” [Sydney Morning Herald]
The kid is doing OK and preliminary reports say it could have been a great white.
So take that, Mr. Burgess, he of the International Shark Attack File, who just last week claimed the global economic crisis was limiting the number of attacks, while yours truly said there will be more in Australia. And speaking of Mr. Shark Attack File, who makes A-Fraud look like Mother Teresa by comparison, let me remind you, boys and girls, of the toll taken each year in the Vanuatu Island chain.
From June 2005, when, as I reported then 7-year-old Alysha Webster was killed by a shark, the New Zealand Herald had some of the following quotes from locals and the newspaper Port Vila Presse.
“I believe that in the past 12 months there have been two deaths in Vanuatu, including this one.”
“Malekula [where the girl was killed] is well known for shark attacks and a number [Ed. ergo, more than one] of Vanuatu children have been taken over the years in similar circumstances.”
“There are areas where locals know sharks congregate. [Ed. they like black sand apparently.] It’s Malekula where most people are taken by sharks. More people are attacked and killed there than anywhere else.”
More people?! [Plural?!]
So I just looked up the latest shark attack file figures and Burgess has just two deaths, ever, for Vanuatu. My own powers of scientific deduction say it’s closer to 1,300.
—College Basketball Review
Sporting News took a look at the NBA prospects of North Carolina’s big four; Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Danny Green, and Wayne Ellington, all of whom opted to return this year when the four would have been drafted in ’08. Now, a year later, according to the scouts SN interviewed, none of the four project as a star, and maybe not even a starter, though personally I’d be surprised if by year two neither Hansbrough or Lawson was a major contributor. They say the real star is 6-10 freshman Ed Davis, who doesn’t receive a lot of playing time yet.
Which leads me to a discussion of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. I’m panicking, big time. Since fall 2007, yours truly has been projecting ahead to spring 2010 for the Deacs to finally get back to the Final Four, and with a current starting lineup of two juniors, two sophomores and a freshman, plus some solid bench players returning, I half expect the Deacs to be on Sports Illustrated’s cover as pre-season No. 1 pick come next November.
So why the panic? Because now I’m thinking sophomores Jeff Teague and James Johnson bolt for the NBA. There is no way Teague is ready, but Johnson is a sure-fire first-rounder if he opts to go. And then Phil W. shows me an ESPN list that has Teague as the 7th best prospect today, but, what’s this? 8th is freshman Al-Farouq Aminu. Drat!!!
Well, Saturday, I was listening to the Wake-Virginia game on XM and the Virginia announcers couldn’t stop talking about all three Wake players going out early! Oh noooo!
C’mon guys. Don’t pull a Chris Paul and leave now! Give us alum the year we’ve long deserved. All three of you can still go out before your senior year, OK? Please? I mean look at what Wake football star Aaron Curry told the Sporting News when asked how coming back for his senior year helped him.
“Staying in school was the best decision I have ever made. I was able to get my degree in sociology and prove that I was the best player in the nation. I learned so much more from (defensive coordinator Brad) Lambert, and all that he taught me helped elevate my game. I took the attitude that I had to play like a pro if I wanted to prove that I could be a pro.”
See guys? With the exception of about five individual performances all year, none of you have actually played like a pro this season. Oh, never mind. I feel like I’m talking to a brick wall….meanwhile, Mr. Curry’s draft status keeps improving. By September, you will be sick of this guy’s story because he will be on everyone’s cover, including Sports Illustrated, I guarantee, by mid-August (a training camp issue).
But back to the Wake b-ball team and the potential for a mass exodus, Phil W. passed along a John Feinstein piece from a week ago that addresses the problem.
“Dean Smith was still as good a coach as anyone alive when he walked away at the age of 66 because the players he needed to win national championships were not the people he wanted to coach at that stage of his life. When Luol Deng left Duke after his freshman season in 2004 and Shaun Livingston never even arrived for his freshman season, Mike Krzyzewski threw up his hands and said, ‘four-year guys only.’ It’s a lovely principle. How many times has Duke been to the Final Four since then?
“It’s all extremely complicated, even for the Hall of Famers and those (like Gary Williams) who should be in the Hall of Fame. Ask Jim Calhoun, whose team didn’t even make the NIT a couple of years back. Ask Roy Williams, who has enough talent this year to stock a couple of teams but can’t seem to convince his future NBA stars that there are two ends of the basketball court.”
Speaking of UConn coach Jim Calhoun, as noted last Bar Chat he told a freelance reporter who was questioning his compensation at an otherwise normal post-game press conference to “Shut up.”
Calhoun got in all kinds of hot water over this, including from Connecticut Gov. Jodie Rell, who offered, “I think if Coach Calhoun had the opportunity right now, he would welcome a do-over and not have that embarrassing display from last week.”
Then a bunch of typical a-hole lawmakers weighed in, writing a letter to the university’s president that read in part:
“(Calhoun’s) recent behavior was unacceptable and we request that the university take appropriate disciplinary action to reinforce the high ethical standards we have come to expect from our flagship institution.”
Two female legislators said Calhoun should be reminded he is a role model for many athletes and students. Oh give me a freakin’ break.
The Daily News’ Mike Lupica summed up my own feelings perfectly.
“I don’t know about you, but Jim Calhoun pretty much had me with ‘Shut up.’
“And seriously? Calhoun didn’t need to make himself into a YouTube clip forever, but he was right about how much money his basketball program generates for his school.
“He shouldn’t have to apologize for the money he makes because of that. Certainly not to the media.
“And certainly not to the front-running politicians in his state, starting with the governor.”
I had a blast at the Davidson /UNCG game on Wednesday down in Davidson. My old friend from Wake, Phil W., and I didn’t exactly think UNCG was that good, and clearly Stephen Curry was a little shaky after his ankle injury, but the kid is so graceful and he managed to put on a move or two that rocked the house. No doubt he’ll be a star at the next level.
The AP ran a story after I returned that Curry has been quite a blessing for the school, as you can imagine. It has sold out every game of its 5,223-seat arena this year after having only one last year…before Curry’s heroics in the NCAA tournament guided the Wildcats to the Elite Eight. He’s also been a godsend to the Southern Conference, and as league commissioner John Iamarino said, “I think our athletic directors are going to take up a petition to send to Steph to convince him to stay another year.” Curry is a junior. No word yet on his thinking, but I’m assuming he goes.
And I can’t say enough about Davidson, the kids and the campus. There was a time, long, long ago, when I thought of this place for college before Wake Forest popped onto my radar screen.
DP: Could I hire you to do play-by-play at a pickup game, or for a bar mitzvah?
–Former Princeton coaching legend Pete Carril, on the school placing his name on its court and raising a likeness of him to the rafters last week.
I had the pleasure of meeting Carril as a youth. What a classic. And not for nothing but save for a year or two, Princeton has sucked since he left.
–SportsBusiness Journal reports the NBA plans to borrow $175 million to distribute to teams in need of additional cash. Well that’s not a good sign, I think you’d agree.
–The Devils\’ Martin Brodeur became only the second goalie in NHL history to hit the 100 shutout mark, just three behind leader Terry Sawchuk.
–This is unbelievable…or maybe it isn’t. Rihanna is back with Chris Brown, as spotted by People magazine. An unidentified source gushed, “They’re together again. They care for each other.” Boy, if that isn’t a sign of the apocalypse, I don’t know what is.
Brown apparently called her last week on her 21st birthday, and then she reached out to him. The Daily News reports Brown has been lavishing Rihanna “with jewels, designer shoes, a handbag and the video game ‘Guitar Hero’ in an effort to make up.”
I have to admit. The best I could offer Rihanna is my Lew Alcindor rookie card. Or I could give her the home version of “Bar Chat: The Game,” except I still haven’t gotten around to making it.
[It will be very simple, guys. Whatever square you land on, you’ll have to make a choice between domestic or premium, and if that’s too hard, you can select from a pile of cards and have the choice made for you, which is probably what I’d opt for.]
–On Friday night, Shaquille O’Neal scored 45 points as Phoenix defeated Toronto, the 49th 40-point game of his career and his highest-scoring effort since March 2003. But Toronto’s Chris Bosh said, “He was just camping down in the lane. I mean, if they’re not calling three seconds – I thought it was a rule, but I guess not.” You tell ‘em, Chris.
PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem was paid total compensation of $4,757,000 in 2007 (the latest available), compared to Bud Selig’s $18 million, Roger Goodell’s $11.2 million and the NBA’s David Stern, $10 million. The NHL’s Gary Bettman took down $5.6 million. David Fay, USGA executive director, made $746,000 for ’07, by the way.
Disgraced Stanford Financial is the sponsor for the Memphis tour stop June 11-14. As of this writing, I haven’t seen what the PGA is going to do. Supposedly the Tour has $200 million in reserves so it could underwrite it itself. No word on what Stanford had ponied up thus far. It seems most pay 50 percent up front, and the balance the week of the event. Stanford also endorses Vijay Singh, Camilo Villegas and LPGA player Morgan Pressel, and is the sponsor of the LPGA’s season finale, the Stanford Financial Tour Championship, Nov. 19-22. And if that’s not enough of a nightmare, PGA Tour player Trevor Immelman told GolfWeek: “I’ve heard some interesting stories, especially in the last few days with Stanford. A lot of guys had money with them, so hopefully they can recoup it.” No kidding.
Meanwhile, Aussie Geoff Ogilvy won the Accenture Match Play Championship, defeating Paul Casey for his 6th PGA Tour title and second of 2009.
–It appears Tom Brady is going to be just fine after all, or else the Patriots wouldn’t have traded away quarterback Matt Cassell (along with linebacker Mike Vrabel) to Kansas City for a 2nd-round draft pick.
“Minnesota’s Buck Hill is an unlikely home mountain for a world-champion skier. Bolstered with extra dirt, the ski area 30 minutes from downtown Minneapolis looms over a suburban housing development and boasts a vertical drop of a mere 300 feet. But that’s where Lindsey Vonn, who could win her fourth World Cup title (Sat.), grew up skiing.
“Ms. Vonn, the daughter of a ski racer, was flying down Buck Hill by the time she was 2. At 7, she was skiing through 400 slalom gates a night under floodlights, with the help of a primitive rope tow. ‘She would be there every day, every night, every weekend,’ says Erich Sailer, the longtime coach at Buck Hill. By the time she was 9, Ms. Vonn’s family moved to Vail, Colo., to help further her career.”
Minnesota has a hill?
On Saturday, Vonn won her second World Cup downhill championship, matching the American feat of Picabo Street, even with her injured thumb. You might recall she cut it severely opening a champagne bottle.
–What’s this? The Americans won the four-man bobsled world championship for the first time in 50 years? It’s true…it’s really true! Steven Holcomb piloted USA-1 to victory in Lake Placid.
–We note the passing of former Chicago Bulls great Norm Van Lier, who was found dead in his home at the age of 61. He had been doing pre- and post-game analysis for the Bulls. Van Lier was one of the great defensive guards and playmakers of the 1970s and a three-time All-Star. He and Jerry Sloan formed one of the better backcourts of that era.
–And another Bulls broadcaster, and former coach, Johnny “Red” Kerr died at the age of 76. Both Kerr and Van Lier died the same day, Thursday. As the Bulls’ spokesman said, “We’re deeply saddened by the whole course of events today.” Earlier in the month the Bulls unveiled a statue of Kerr at the United Center during a ceremony that included taped messages from President Obama, Commissioner David Stern, and speeches from Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan. Kerr played in the NBA 12 seasons and, like Van Lier, was a three-time All-Star, as well as appearing in a then record 844 consecutive games.
–I wish the Mets had signed 6’6” 275-lb. slugger Adam Dunn this offseason and instead he ended up in Washington. No one wanted him, despite a career that is headed towards 600 home runs. Baseball has tagged him with a poor attitude, but I liked what the Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell wrote.
“Baseball has Dunn backward. On the outside, he may have no image. ‘I wish I had one,’ he said. He’s just jeans and semi-combed hair, a guy lying on the clubhouse floor because the stools are too small, joking with new teammates, looking like a beached sea mammal.
“On the inside, he’s a student of hitting, a man who plays hurt, averaging 158 games the last five years, and a Texan who’s too proud to show he’s hurt. His hitting statistics at age 29 resemble Reggie Jackson and Harmon Killebrew, surpass Mike Schmidt. But his words show how much the last few weeks have lit his fire.
“ ‘So far in my career, I have not even come remotely close to what I can do. I know I’m so much better than what I’ve done,’ Dunn said. ‘Between now and the end of my career, I have a lot of work to do.’”
Go to baseballreference.com if you are not familiar with Dunn’s career. Talk about consistency, five straight 40-homer seasons, averaging exactly 100 RBI, about 100 runs scored, and 100+ walks. His career on-base percentage is .381. And he doesn’t turn 30 until November.
[Update on the Washington Nationals scouting scandal…general manager Jim Bowden was forced to resign. Bowden blamed the press for his having to step down because he had become a “distraction.”]
–Wow, the feud over Manny Ramirez is heating up, as Dodgers owner Frank McCourt “exploded in anger late Thursday night at Scott Boras, the agent for Ramirez,” according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Boras shot back, both in different forums.
“(Between) sunset Thursday and sunrise Friday, McCourt called out Boras for his tactics, with Boras retaliating by raising anew the lingering suspicion that McCourt might be short on cash.”
Others, such as Dodgers GM Ned Colletti and Manager Joe Torre then blew their fuses. On Wednesday, the Dodgers announced they had offered Manny $45 million for two years – $25 million this year and $20 million next – and had given him the option to walk away from the second year of the deal.
“At 8:30 Thursday night, the Dodgers e-mailed a statement, saying Boras had rejected the offer. In the statement, McCourt mocked Boras’ November remark that he’d solicit ‘serious offers’ for his star client. ‘When his agent finds those ‘serious offers’ from other clubs, we’ll be happy to restart the negotiations,’ McCourt said….
“The Times learned that McCourt had asked to defer all but $10 million this year and $10 million next year, all without interest, which would make the actual value of the deal less than $45 million. McCourt then let it be known that Boras had asked for $55 million in his first counter-offer.”
–Oh, to be Derek Jeter…right guys? With Tom Brady tying the knot, and Michael Phelps having gone a bit too far in the fun department, every now and then you need to be reminded that it would be great to be in Jeter’s orbit for 24 hours. The New York Daily News reports that Jeter, 34, is dating a 22-year-old college girl, a senior at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. The paper is letting her remain nameless but she may have blown it because in the story, she’s been telling friends she’s been dating Derek for a while and plays his voicemails for them. “They all think it’s adorable that Derek calls himself ‘DJ’ on the messages,” said the News’ snitch.
Something tells me DJ may lay down the law. ‘Help me keep the low-profile that has worked so well for me’ or, you know, I’ll go back to “Friday Night Lights” vixen Minka Kelly, who Jeter had been dating earlier.
But wait…there’s more! “In addition, (the 22-year-old told the snitch) ‘she wanted a tighter butt, so he got her a friends-and-family discount to a gym he goes to and offered to help her work on it. The next day, she was telling everyone how sore she was from their workout.’”
Now the F.I.T. girl, undoubtedly mortified, tells the News none of the above is true.
–Richard Adams Jr. of Fairfax County, Va., purchased a rare 1776 copy of the Declaration of Independence from a London book dealer in 2001 for $475,000. But the state of Maine claimed it belonged to the town of Wiscasset, where it was kept by the town clerk in 1776.
Virginia’s Supreme Court just ruled that Adams gets to keep it because Maine didn’t prove the document was ever an official town record and that Adams had superior title to the print.
It seems in 1776, 250 copies were printed and distributed to towns in Massachusetts, with Maine being part of it at the time. Maine claims the document should have never been sold because of a state law, which presumes that public documents remain public property. Too bad.
–Congratulations to my Jets for picking up free agent linebacker Bart Scott from the Ravens and cornerback Lito Sheppard from the Eagles. Plus they have their entire solid offensive line coming back. True, just who emerges as the quarterback is up in the air, but otherwise as Ronald Reagan would say, not bad, not bad at all.
–S.L. Price has a rare story on former Bruins great Bobby Orr in the current issue of Sports Illustrated. The thought just hit me that Orr, in his spectacular play, was kind of like Gale Sayers. Both had their careers cut short by injuries that, these days, would have been treated far better and who knows what kinds of stats they would have ended up with. I’m just glad I got to see Orr in his prime as a kid.
“During one penalty kill against the old Seals in Oakland, Orr swooped behind goal in possession, tussled with an opponent and lost a glove. ‘He went around by the blue line, came back, picked up his glove – still had the puck,’ Esposito says. ‘[Goalie] Gerry Cheevers was on the bench, and I’m standing there and I hear Cheesy say to me, ‘Espo, you want The Racing Form?’ I said, ‘Might as well; I’m not touching the puck!’ Bobby killed about a minute and 10, 20 seconds of that penalty – and then…,’ with even the Oakland players cheering now, ‘…he scored. Greatest thing I ever saw.’”
–David Scott of the Charlotte Observer wrote a story this week on the great Lou Hudson, “Sweet Lou,” of NBA fame. Hudson grew up in Greensboro, at the time of the civil rights movement, and while he was an ACC fan, by the time Hudson graduated from high school in 1962, there was no place for an African American in that league. It wasn’t until 1966 that an ACC southern school accepted the first black player, Charlie Scott of UNC.
So Hudson had a choice. Go to one of the predominantly black schools in a conference known as the CIAA, or seek the big time. The coach at North Carolina A&T told him he was too good for the CIAA, that he should play on a bigger stage, so Hudson headed for Minnesota, where he would average 20 points a game in three seasons (freshmen weren’t eligible in those days) and then in 1966 he was the fourth player picked in the NBA draft, where he went on to a sterling career, averaging 20.2 points and being named to six All-Star teams with the St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks and the Lakers.
But I thought it was interesting that the year Hudson headed north, another hoopster from North Carolina also matriculated at Minnesota, Bobby Bell, from Shelby. Yup, the same Bobby Bell who went on to have a Hall of Fame career in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs. Bell played freshman basketball with Hudson.
From 1969-74, Hudson had the following scoring averages…25.4, 26.8, 24.7, 27.1 and 25.4, while shooting about .500 from the field, which was super for that time (or any era). And this was before the 3-point shot, where Hudson would have excelled. So tack on another 2-3 points per game to the averages. In fact, in all seriousness, when I think back to the purest shooters of that period, which is also when my interest in the sport was at its peak, Hudson was the best. [Better than Jerry West, Havlicek, Greer, you name ‘em…and you can look it up.]
–As I go to post, Detroit Lions defensive end Corey Smith and Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper are among four boaters missing off Florida’s Gulf Coast. They left Saturday morning for a fishing trip and never returned. Waters were said to be very choppy during the day.
–So you might be wondering about now, what’s up with those personal seat licenses the Jets and Giants are hawking for their new stadium, opening in 2010? Richard Wilner of the New York Post reports:
“The New York Giants, which started selling $1,000 to $20,000 per seat personal seat licenses for their new stadium last July – when the Dow Jones Industrial Average was over 11000 – are working with a few fans who have run into financial trouble and are looking to modify their payment schedule.”
As Wilner also points out, suddenly, fans that, in the case of the Giants, have been hopelessly on the waiting list for 20+ years are now being approached to see if they are interested. To say the least, this is quite telling.
–Get this…the Yankees are lowering the price of about 600 obstructed-view bleacher seats at the new Yankee Stadium from $12 to $5. They are alongside a restaurant and bar in center field. How can you build a new stadium and have obstructed-view seats? Even freakin’ Shea Stadium, built in 1964, didn’t have them.
–A friend of mine is the coach at Division III William Paterson University here in New Jersey, Jose Rebimbas, and while it appears his squad won’t make the D-III playoffs, after a 20-7 campaign his career mark is 261-123. He should be coaching at the D-I level (as a high assistant, minimum), but it’s not easy getting the opportunity. Jose’s a good man, and a helluva coach.
“Maybe it was the snail porridge. Nearly 40 diners became sick after eating at famed chef Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck restaurant outside London – ranked by the Michelin guides as the world’s No. 2 eatery.
“The hot spot, where tempting dishes such as the porridge, mustard ice cream and moss toast cost nearly $200, closed its doors last week as hygiene experts scoured its kitchens.”
–No wonder humans can’t crack the top 20 of the All-Species List. To wit.
“More than two dozen people die on snowmobiles each year in Wisconsin, but the talk of this season isn’t the damage riders do to themselves – it’s the havoc they wreak on wildlife.
“Three men were arrested a few hours north of here in Waupaca County last month for allegedly using their snowmobiles to terrorize and kill five deer. Another man in Fond du Lac turned himself in after killing more than 50 ducks as he zoomed over open water in a maneuver called ‘water skipping.’ And authorities near Holmen in the western part of the state are trying to decide whether a man who ran over a deer with his snowmobile on Jan. 31 violated any wildlife regulations.”
In a separate incident, another rider or riders killed 62 ducks over two nights. “There were duck heads laying around, blood spots all over the place,” said David Walz, the natural-resources warden investigating the slaughter.
— “Armed for boar, hunters decimate the ranks of state’s porky pests”
“They are cunning and ferocious, but the mysterious feral pigs of New Jersey were no match for the state’s top predators: hunters.
“State wildlife officials report that 56 of the bristly-coated swine – more than half the estimated population – were killed in December and January in the first New Jersey feral pig hunt, in the wilds of Gloucester County.”
The hunting and trapping is going to continue, with the biggest going down thus far being a 308-pounder. But remember, many of the victims are another pig’s mother. It’s all very disturbing.
—Bono, on U2’s coming tour, said the group would have some cheap tickets given the economy, but would still be happy to charge higher amounts for those well-heeled fans who like to flash their cash.
“We’re also going to have some very expensive ticket prices because rich people have feelings too.”
–Congratulations to the Wheel of Fortune on its 5,000th episode. It’s incredible Pat Sajak and Vanna White have been together all that time.
Top 3 songs for the week 3/7/64: #1 “I Want To Hold Your Hand” (The Beatles) #2 “She Loves You” (The Beatles) #3 “Dawn (Go Away)” (The Four Seasons)…and…#4 “Please Please Me” (The Beatles) #5 “Java” (Al Hirt) #6 “California Sun” (The Rivieras) #7 “Navy Blue” (Diane Renay…boy, I can never remember her name) #8 “Stop And Think It Over” (Dale & Grace) #9 “Fun, Fun, Fun” (The Beach Boys) #10 “See The Funny Little Clown” (Bobby Goldsboro…there is absolutely nothing funny about a clown)
*The Fray is No. 1 on the current Billboard Pop Charts with…“The Fray”! Huh, I know nothing about the boys. Bruce Springsteen’s “Working on a Dream” is No. 2. He sold 326,186 copies in the first two weeks, thanks in no small part to the Super Bowl, but this was still 144,000 short of the two-week take for 2007’s “Magic.”
**And from the vaults of Rolling Stone, 20 years ago Paul Abdul had a No. 1 with “Straight Up”. The same week, 2/23/89, one of my all-time favorite tunes, Mike and the Mechanics’ “The Living Years” was No. 9.
***Rolling Stone’s David Fricke writes U2’s new album, “No Line on the Horizon,” is its best since 1991’s “Achtung Baby.”
NCAA Men’s Basketball Quiz: 1) Elvin Hayes, No. 10 entering 2008-09 with 2884 points in just three seasons, and Otis Birdsong, No. 12 with 2832 points in four seasons, are the Univ. of Houston players in the all-time top 15 in scoring. 2) The last to average over 30 points per game was Larry Bird, Indiana State, who ended his career in 1979 and averaged 30.3. 3) Rick Barry is the only player to attend an ACC school, Miami, that is in the top 20 all time for scoring average. Barry’s last season was 1965. 4) Spencer Haywood, Univ. of Detroit, led the nation in rebounding in 1969 with a 21.5 average. Of course Knicks fans affectionately now Mr. Haywood as Spencer Driftwood.
