The Race

NFL Quiz: Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb have been together 11 seasons? What three pairs of coach and QB have been together 13 or more season? Answer below. 

“A 37-year-old man who collapsed near the end of the Kiawah Island Half-Marathon died Saturday at a local hospital, officials said. 

“Jonathan McEvoy of Waxhaw, N.C., died at 11:15 a.m. in the emergency room…said Charleston County Deputy Coroner Bobbi Jo O’Neal. 

“ ‘The cause of death is pending an autopsy in the morning,’ O’Neal said. 

“An unidentified trauma doctor at the Medical University of South Carolina who was participating in the race treated McEvoy at the scene and during the ambulance ride to the hospital. 

“McEvoy was competing along with his wife, race officials said…. 

“Race Co-Director Liz King declined to provide more information about McEvoy. ‘When something like this hits, it hits us all so deeply,’ King said. ‘So much of our year is committed to making this a wonderful event. It’s just so sad when something like this happens.\’"

So the day started cloudy, dreary and cold, temp 39 degrees at race time, 8:00 a.m., and I immediately did something very stupid. With a huge group of runners, 3600+ as it turned out, both marathoners (1,000) and half-marathoners (2,600+) starting together, I put myself way in the back because I didn’t want to push myself at the beginning. 

Well, it took forever to get to the start line (as New York City marathoners can appreciate, for example) but I just wasn’t thinking…that is until I hit the first mile in 14:20! Drat, I thought. What an idiot. I figured it took me 3 minutes to hit the starting line and it was very crowded the first mile. 14:20?! No way I was doing 2:05, let alone 2:00, and I was immediately deflated. I also really didn’t know how poorly I was running until the next clock at 3 miles which read 36:00, so I did miles 2 and 3 in a little under 11 minutes each. Mile 5 I was at 57:00, Mile 7, 1:17:00, Mile 10, 1:47, and I finished the 13.1 in 2:17:37. In other words, the last 8 miles I ran at a 10:00 minute pace, which isn’t awful, but my start cost me 3 minutes. 

But here’s what happened right near the end. The course was all roadway until Mile 11 when we hit a narrow path for the final 2+ (the marathoners then looped around for their second 13, a double loop). As I hit the final mile I was planning to try and go as hard as I possibly could the last half to shave at least 20 seconds. I knew at this point I’d be under 2:20, but I was also focused on passing as many people as possible because you all would be looking at my final placement! 

Then, with about a half-mile left I saw a little crowd up ahead on my right and as I approached there was a seemingly young man, flat on his back, electrodes for a defibrillator attached, and a man in a calm voice saying, “OK, get ready…clear.” I heard “clear” as I passed. The guy was clearly not breathing…I figured it was over. I was two feet away from him. 

At that point all thought of sprinting in to the finish vanished. I’m 51, I hadn’t trained anywhere near as much as I should have, and I just thought ‘Don’t be a jerk about it.’ As I met my friend at the finish line, I told him about the guy in cardiac arrest and we could hear the ambulance in the background. 

I do just have to add the following about my own effort. I told you exactly what my training had been and I did run the whole way, only the entire time I was thinking, gee, I don’t really feel awful, I’m just not in shape. Four years earlier, hung over and with zero sleep, I did 2:05. Ten years ago, I did 1:51. At least in the official results it has my chip time of 2:14:38, taking into account the 3 minutes it took me to hit the starting line, so I’m saying I did 2:14. The other half-marathons I’ve run had much smaller crowds and there was no issue at the start. 

So now more than ever I’m determined to set back the clock just one more time. Next fall I’ll give it another go, somewhere in the country, and be better prepared. I’m not going into retirement with this lousy effort! And, what the heck….I did pass over 1,000 runners in finishing 1,479. That’s not too bad for an old guy who didn’t run more than 7 miles in any single training run, and no more than twice a week the last two months. 

Lastly, I’ll obviously never forget what I saw near the end. My thoughts and prayers are with the wife and family of Jonathan McEvoy. I also have to acknowledge the anonymous physician who performed heroically. God be with him, too. 

Be A Tiger…the saga continues 

“Tiger will do more than any other man in history to change the course of humanity…. He is the Chosen One. He’ll have the power to impact nations. Not people. Nations.”
— Earl Woods in Sports Illustrated, 1996. 

“He was an amazing dad, coach, mentor, soldier, husband and friend. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him, and I’m honored to continue his legacy of sharing and caring.”
–Tiger Woods, May 25, 2006, the day his father died. 

“(As) bad as recent sordid scoops have been for Tiger and the sport he plays so incredibly well, they deliver a good reminder that dads and moms should be wary about trying to mold their offspring into the perfect golfer, swimmer, violin player, rassler, etc. 

“And Tiger should be wary about how much longer he delays showing his face – literally and figuratively.” 

“Faced with an avalanche of women who had come forth with stories of extramarital relations with Woods, the world’s best golfer, he used his Web site…for the third time to address the world’s hottest celebrity story. 

“ ‘I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children,’ his statement said. ‘I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness.’ 

“Then Woods announced that he was stepping away from the game to mend fences with his family. 

“ ‘After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf,’ the statement continued. ‘I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person.’…. 

“If his representatives think this statement will put out the fire, they are wrong. 

“They have been wrong for 17 days. Anyone with compassion feels for the Woods family. But this was simply another carefully manicured statement shaped by high-priced image consultants and high-powered lawyers. 

“Image is everything, and the Woods camp is still trying to control a story that has raged like wildfire since Nov. 27, when Woods crashed his S.U.V. into a fire hydrant and a tree near his Florida home in a gated community. Woods, once so regal in his silence, has become the butt of jokes, the No. 1 topic of gossip. He has remained out of sight. 

“The great heavyweight champion Joe Louis said you can run, but you can’t hide, and that is true. Woods cannot hide, not on his yacht, not inside his mansions. There comes a point when a celebrity athlete whose career has been built on global allure must return to center stage and face the music…. 

“He should say: ‘I apologize – to my wife, to my children, to my parents, to the PGA Tour, to sponsors, to the legion of Tiger Woods fans, who I know are stunned and disappointed. In the process of cheating on you, I have cheated on myself.’…. 

“He doesn’t have to do anything, of course. Woods can continue to have his team deliver statements. He can finally show up for a tournament, stonewall the news media, insist on taking golf-only questions. This is a novel approach to strong-arming a scandal – and it may work. If Woods wins. Before Nov. 27, Woods had ascended to a point where his global allure was not dependent on winning but on a pristine image as a winner. 

“That has changed. A husband who cheats on his family, openly and with such disrespect, is not generally regarded as a winner…. 

“Those who are sick of this story cannot wait for the journey back to begin. 

Meanwhile, Jack Nicklaus gave his first thoughts on Tiger the other day.  

Most of the time, I guess. Some sponsors of Tiger’s aren’t that forgiving as on Sunday, Accenture said it was ending its lucrative ties to Woods, saying the golfer is “no longer the right representative” after the “circumstances of the last two weeks.” Ah yes, the old “Go on, be a Tiger” spots. No more. 

Saturday, Gillette said it was phasing Tiger out and wouldn’t air any advertisements featuring Woods for an unspecified amount of time, but didn’t terminate him totally. AT&T is also rethinking its relationship. 

But Nike and EA Sports are standing behind the creep, the two having different kinds of relationships anyway. 

“Tiger Woods is the first person in history to run his car into a hydrant and set himself on fire. 

“His reputation is shredded. His once-perfect name has been dragged through more mud than a Nantucket clam digger’s boots. A once-spotless life is now an episode of ‘Cops.’” 

Reilly suggests Tiger go on Oprah, issue an apology, a la William Rhoden’s above, and “Then he has to go full Tebow: ‘From this day forward, you will never see somebody work harder, 24 hours a day, to win back your trust.’ 

“It has to be next week and no later, because every day the British tabloids have him sleeping with everybody but the Page 3 girl. ‘The sooner he makes his public act of contrition, the sooner he takes the oxygen out of the story,’ says the king of Las Vegas publicity men, Dave Kirvin. 

“He needs to skip San Diego, skip the Masters, maybe even skip the U.S. Open. When your house is rubble, you don’t go play the Buick Open. Tiger needs to prove to his wife, Elin, sponsors and fans that morality is more important than majors. 

“Third, he needs to clean house. If he wants to keep his wife, he has to get a new agent, a new caddie and some new friends. It’s hard to believe all this went on without their help or knowledge. How can she see them as anything but enablers? 

“Fourth, he needs to freeze his corporate sponsors before they freeze him.” 

Too late, Mr. Reilly. Actually, Tiger not playing for a long spell is an incredibly stupid idea. As is the thought he could possibly patch things up with Elin, which is saying that she is just as much an idiot as he is. Why in god’s name would she ever want to be his wife again? Pay Elin off, Elin can go back to Sweden with $55M to $80M, and Tiger can get back on the golf course…after he has a long, hard chat with both Jack and Arnie. 

I do agree with Rick Reilly when he says, “Fifth, he needs to write his Tiger Woods Learning Center a check for $5 million with a note that says, ‘Keep studying hard. I’ll be back to help you fundraise in 2011.’"

“Sixth, a few manners wouldn’t kill him. No more terrible-twos temper. No more swearing. No more throwing clubs. And instead of pulling his signature blow-by move on the hundreds of autograph seekers waiting for him after every round, stop and sign for 15 minutes. Hasn’t hurt Phil Mickelson any.” 

Stevie Williams finally broke his silence. Talking to the New Zealand Sunday News, Williams, the ever loyal caddie who is also one big a-hole, said: 

“My head is in a spin right now. The media has made it very difficult for my family. There is no question about it. Obviously, I understand Tiger has got a problem.” And, he said, he and Woods “discussed that.” 

Williams said he had no knowledge of Woods’ infidelity and that anyone who doubted his sincerity didn’t understand Woods’ “indiscretions” happened while Williams was back with family in New Zealand. 

“What people fail to realize is I [just] work for Tiger Woods,” he said. “I live in New Zealand, I travel to and from New Zealand to caddie for Tiger Woods. I am not with him 24/7. Whilst I am a very good friend of his…I don’t know what he does off the course. Some nights we go to dinner.” Incidents of infidelity probably didn’t occur while Woods was competing, Williams said. ‘When he is not competing, I am back in New Zealand. I have no knowledge of what he is doing.” [Houston Mitchell / L.A. Times] 

Meanwhile, Jamie Jungers said Tiger didn’t try to keep their affair private. 

“We went places together; people were taking our photographs in the nightclubs. When I went to see him at the MGM, I would have to check in under my name and say that I was there to see him, and Tiger would come down and get me.” 

Woods never shied away from appearing in public with his new arm candy, Jungers said. 

But… “I didn’t even get a birthday card. I got nothing out of this relationship but a broken heart.” 

And then there’s Hollywood madam Michelle Braun (who’s got a rather interesting figure, if you’ve seen pictures of her). According to her, she set Woods up with four escorts (including Jungers), six times, for which Woods paid $60,000. Tiger liked to watch girl on girl and then, err, you know, make it a threesome…because, I’m guessing, the fourth had to cancel out because of a bad shoulder. 

Woods, says Braun, really liked Playboy model Loredana Jolie. “She took part in group sex.” Good for Loredana. She was also a former Hawaiian Tropics model. Why I have a dear friend from grade school, Jeff W., who once dated a rather attractive Hawaiian Tropics model, but I digress. 

And then there’s Cori Rist. According to the Daily News, “King of All Pimps” Jason Itzler claims that Rist worked for him as a call girl. 

Mike Lupica / New York Daily News 

“For a week you wondered how he was going to stop the bleeding. Now he chooses the exit line from an old saloon song, ‘Angel Eyes,’ one Frank Sinatra used before he was retiring in 1971: 

Text messages between Jaimee Grubbs and Tiger…for the record, you understand. 

Jaimee: I don’t even have someone I am dating…no…u can be my boyfriend 😉 

[oops…forgot to tell you all to keep the kids from reading this….kids, find another site.] 

Jaimee: how soon? I got a new piercing 

Jaimee: I just sent u a pic of it…is on my cheek below my eye…implanted a little diamond 

[Source: New York Post]

Good lord! Can’t say I ever had a conversation like this. Of course I’m afraid of losing my International Web Site Association license. 

–Congrats to Virginia for winning its sixth NCAA men’s soccer championship, defeating No. 1 Akron in a 3-2 penalty kick shootout after a 0-0 draw. 

–And congrats to Mark Ingram for becoming the first Alabama football player to win the Heisman Trophy in the closest vote ever. 

—Brian Kelly is heading to Notre Dame, but I loved what Cincinnati receiver, and future NFL great, Mardy Gilyard said, after walking out angrily upon learning the news coach was leaving. 

“He went for the money. I’m fairly disgusted with the situation, that they let it last this long.” 

Players had assumed from Kelly’s earlier statements that he was staying in Cincinnati. 

“I don’t like it,” Gilyard said. “I feel there was a little lying in the thing. I feel like he’d known this the whole time. Everybody knows Notre Dame’s got the money….At the end of the day, NCAA football is a business. People have got to make business decisions.” 

I’m not a Cincinnati fan in the least, but as of today I hope they have a super season next year and that Notre Dame once again goes up in flames. I also hope Gilyard kicks ass in the NFL. Any team that has a chance to draft him would be foolish not to. This, my friends, is a winner. 

–Then there is Kansas, which hired Buffalo coach Turner Gill to replace Mark Mangino, Gill going just 20-30 the past four years, though last season he did guide the Bulls to their first bowl game in half a century. Gill is the first African-American coach Kansas has had in a revenue-producing sport and will be the only black head football coach in the Big 12. 

–As part of my relaxation following the half-marathon, I watched the Appalachian State-Montana Div. I-AA semi-final in Missoula. What a super contest, but the Apps came up short, 24-17, on a failed last second attempt to tie it. The App receivers dropped about 10 passes, including the last one, the crusher, as Brian Quick, “Mr. Drops,” did just that. Armanti Edwards career is over. College career, that is. 14-0 Montana meets Villanova for the championship. 

–So Pete M. and I were supposed to run the half-marathon together but he informed me three days before we went down to Kiawah that he had torn his meniscus. Well that kind of sucked, not that I would have done any better teaming up with the lad. But Pete also missed out playing the Ocean Course at Kiawah, which I did with an old friend from Wake Forest, Dr. Whit. It was real cold on Friday, temps in the 40s with wind, but the two of us walked the course in 3 hours! [Thanks to caddy Matt…and us not spraying it too much.] This is going to be a spectacular site for the 2012 PGA. The greens are unbelievable. Similar to Pinehurst No. 2 in that many are crowned. And you have the fickle winds. Plus, with the PGA in August, extreme heat. 

And…as Matt said, the alligators, of which there are many in Kiawah, actually won’t be out as much because they don’t like the heat either, but the big problem will be snakes! And naïve spectators, walking in the rough and tall grass who don’t know the dangers. Ya gotta love it! Talk about Bar Chat. 

[By the way, I had a great birdie, No. 15, but also put two balls in the water at the famous No. 17 par-3 where back at the 1991 Ryder Cup, Mark Calcavecchia suffered his breakdown, literally.] 

–I do have to note that Dr. Whit’s wife, Connie, kicked my butt in the race, finishing 150 spots ahead of me. 

–The New Jersey Nets are now 2-22. The Minnesota T’Wolves are 3-21. But the New York Knicks have won four in a row! They’re up to 8-15. 

New Orleans and Indianapolis remain undefeated at 13-0 as CBS, and sports fans everywhere, begin to dream in earnest of a match-up of these two in the Super Bowl. 

–Geezuz, the Giants’ defense sucks. Five times it’s given up 30 or more points. No wonder they are 7-6 following the 45-38 loss to the Eagles. 

—Alejandro R. Ruiz Sr. died at 85. He received the Medal of Honor for single-handedly storming a Japanese machine gun bunker – twice – during the Battle of Okinawa. 

T. Rees Shapiro / Los Angeles Times 

“On April 28, 1945, in the last months of the war, the private first class deployed to Okinawa on a mission with his platoon, seeking remnants of a Japanese battalion hiding in fortified emplacements on steep ridges near the village of Gasukuma. 

“The soldiers were patrolling in a ravine when they were ambushed from a network of concealed pillboxes. Coming under heavy fire, every soldier except Ruiz and his squad leader was killed or injured. 

“Realizing that his standard-issue M1 Garand – with an eight-round clip – would be insufficient against the more powerful Japanese machine guns, Ruiz picked up a Browning automatic rifle and began his solo assault. 

“He calmly walked 35 yards to the bunker. He climbed on top and was prepared to fire into it, but a ruptured cartridge jammed the Browning, according to the Medal of Honor citation. 

“A Japanese soldier charged him, and Ruiz beat him down with the broken gun. Ruiz tossed the rifle aside and ran back through the grenade explosions and gunfire to where his platoon was pinned down. He retrieved a second weapon, tested it and grabbed some extra cans of ammo before he dashed back. 

“All of the Japanese guns were trained on Ruiz as he raced back through a hail of gunfire. He was hit in the leg but managed to climb back on top of the pillboxes. He jumped from one bunker to the other, spraying bursts of gunfire into the apertures. 

“Ruiz’s Medal of Honor citation says that ‘in the face of overwhelming odds,’ he single-handedly killed 12 Japanese soldiers and silenced the machine gun nest, saving his fellow soldiers.” 

Alejandro Ruiz was born on April 26, 1924, in Loving, New Mexico, to Mexican immigrants. He retired in Visalia, California. 

–Denver receiver Brandon Marshall broke Terrell Owens’ NFL record for receptions in a game with 21, the last coming on the final play of the game, a 28-16 loss to Indianapolis.  Marshall finished with 21 catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns.  

–Yes, Kentucky basketball freshman phenom John Wall is the real deal. His 25 points at Madison Square Garden the other night in leading the Wildcats to a 64-61 victory over UConn certainly did his image no harm…starring in the media capital of the world. 

–Wohhh…Temple beat No. 3 Villanova 75-65 on Sunday. That’s big. 

–Jeremy Page / London Times 

“Wildlife officials in southern Nepal are hunting an elephant that has reportedly killed eleven people in the past two weeks – including one who was trying to worship it as an incarnation of Ganesh, the Hindu elephant god. 

“The adult male bull is thought to have crossed the border into Nepal from the tea-growing northeastern Indian state of Assam, and started its killing spree after being attacked and wounded by villagers trying to chase it away.” 

But get this, one woman fainted at the sight of the beast, “which then picked up Devika with its trunk, sniffed her and carefully put her down again unharmed.” 

At last word the elephant has not been found, plus elephants are protected in Nepal. 

My suggestion if you see it is to say something like, “You must be a Yankees fan. I’m a Mets fan. Take pity on me.” 

–Anne Barrowclough / London Times 

“When Moko the dolphin showed up in the harbor of a small town in New Zealand a couple of years ago, the locals were enchanted. 

“They swam out to play with him, they taught him how to play tag with their boogie boards, the bravest of them even grabbed his fin for a quick ride around the bay…. 

“But then the young dolphin became an adolescent. And like adolescent boys everywhere, he became bad Moko. 

“Instead of playing nicely, he started knocking surfers into the water so he could steal their boards, he overturned kayaks, and he even tripped up water skiers.” 

What a jerk. This could impact dolphins’ standing in the next top ten species list, whenever I get around to ranking ‘em all again. 

“A circus trainer was fighting for his life on Wednesday after being mauled by a trio of tigers during a performance in front of 170 horrified spectators…. 

“Christian Walliser, 28, stumbled in the enclosure containing the big cats on Tuesday evening and ‘as a spontaneous reaction’ three of the five Bengali tigers took this as a signal to ‘play,’ the Hamburg venue said in a statement. 

“In the 30 seconds that it took circus employees to beat the animals back with fire extinguishers and hoses, the tigers ripped off Walliser’s left hand and inflicted serious head and upper body injuries…. 

“Circus chief Stefan Pagels said that the tigers would not be put down and expressed hope that Walliser would soon be back at work.” 

What, is this guy nuts? Oh yeah, Christian will be just thrilled to get back in the ring.  

–Congratulations to Miss Gibraltar, Kaiane Aldorino, for wining the Miss World pageant. I’m ticked off I forgot this was on. Miss Mexico was first runner-up, important these days because if Miss Gibraltar proves to be one of Tiger’s babes, Miss Mexico would then assume the crown. 

Top 3 songs for the week 12/10/66: #1 “Good Vibrations” (The Beach Boys) #2 “Mellow Yellow” (Donovan) #3 “Winchester Cathedral” (The New Vaudeville Band) …and…#4 “Devil With A Blue Dress On & Good Golly Miss Molly” (Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels) #5 “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” (The Supremes)   #6 “Lady Godiva” (Peter and Gordon) #7 “Stop Stop Stop” (The Hollies) #8 “Born Free” (Roger Williams) #9 “I’m Ready For Love” (Martha & The Vandellas) #10 “That’s Life” (Frank Sinatra) 

NFL Quiz Answer: Three coach-QB combinations of 13 seasons or more: 

Chuck Noll-Terry Bradshaw, Steelers…14…1970-83, .677 winning percentage, four titles
Hank Stram-Len Dawson, Texans-Chiefs…13…1962-74, .632, one title (plus two AFL titles)
Don Shula-Dan Marino, Dolphins…13…1983-95, .630, no titles