The Canadian Doc and Tiger

The Canadian Doc and Tiger




NFL Quiz: 1) New England’s Wes Welker leads the NFL with 105 receptions and three games to go. Name the four who had 122 or more pass receptions for a season, including one guy who did it twice. 2) Where did Welker go to college? Answers below. 

Go ahead…be a Tiger, Part XIX 

As of Wednesday morning, Tiger Woods had been on the cover of the New York Post 18 straight times, if I have my facts right. Tiger has yet to be seen, though a moving van pulled up at the home once shared by Woods and Elin. “Carefully-wrapped art from the house” was seen being removed. For her part, Elin is said to be heading back to Sweden for the holidays, with the kids, while Tiger hangs with “the boys.” A longtime friend of the golfer’s told the Daily News, “He is very contrite, but he’s also disoriented. He still can’t believe this is happening.” The source added, though, that Woods is “not on sedatives.” Perhaps he’s drinking lots of domestic instead. The posse includes Byron Bell, who just got married last weekend, and “college pals from Stanford” of which Jerry Chang is undoubtedly one. The boys’ wives, as you can imagine, “aren’t happy.” Maybe they all can get a group divorce rate, at least in terms of the paperwork. 

MSNBC.com reported that Woods had been wiring $5,000 to $10,000 a month to several of his Tigresses, including $20,000 a month for one. The total number of women suspected of being with Woods is between 14 and 16 now, including the latest, Theresa Rogers of Wellington, Fla., a 40-something (one source says 49) “bombshell.” Ms. Rogers, as reported on RadarOnline.com, evidently told friends “She just wanted to be the woman who schooled Tiger in the bedroom.” [Or as they’d say on “The Newlywed Game,” Making Whoopie 101.] 

Separately, in the latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, Tiger’s “favorable” rating dropped to 33% this week vs. a high of 88% when his popularity was first measured in 2000. It was also 85% in Gallup’s last survey, June 2005. His unfavorable rating is 61% among women, 53% among men. 

Nike’s Phil Knight, however, is continuing to stand behind Tiger, calling his multiple infidelities a “minor blip,” though he acknowledged the company’s checks on Woods’ suitability had failed to uncover evidence of serial philandering. 

But now you have this link between Woods and a Canadian, Dr. Anthony Galea, who is being investigated by the FBI for possibly using, selling and/or importing Actovegin in the United States, which would be illegal. 

Actovegin is a drug extracted from calf’s blood that was found in his medical bag (carried by his assistant) at the United States-Canada border in late September, after which he was arrested on Oct. 15 in Toronto by Canadian police. They are investigating him as part of a broader criminal conspiracy and he is tentatively slated to appear in a Canadian courtroom on Friday. 

As reported by the New York Times’ Don Van Natta Jr., Michael S. Schmidt and Ian Austen: 

“Dr. Galea has developed a reputation among elite athletes for accelerating recovery after surgery or for helping them avoid surgery altogether by using a blood-spinning technique known as platelet-rich plasma therapy, as well as other pioneering procedures, on knees, elbows and Achilles’ tendons…. 

“Dr. Galea said Mr. Woods was referred to him by the golfer’s agents at Cleveland-based International Management Group, who were alarmed at the slow pace of Mr. Woods’ rehabilitation after knee surgery in June 2008. The doctor said he flew to Orlando, Fla., at least four times to give Mr. Woods the platelet therapy at his home in Windermere, Fla., in February and March of this year. When asked for comment about Mr. Woods’ involvement with Dr. Galea, Mark Steinberg, of IMG, responded in an e-mail message: 

“ ‘I would really ask that you guys don’t write this. If Tiger is NOT implicated, and won’t be, let’s please give the kid a break.’…. 

“As part of his practice, Dr. Galea said he prescribed human growth hormone to patients 40 and over to improve their stamina when working out and to combat fatigue, among other health benefits…. 

“Prescribing human growth hormone is legal in Canada but approved in the United States only for a few specific uses that do not include hastening recovery from surgery or injury. In the world of sports, under World Anti-Doping Association guidelines, HGH is banned though not widely tested for because it requires a blood test. The NFL, NHL, the NBA and Major League Baseball do not test for HGH.” 

Dr. Galea said he did not use Actovegin to treat Woods or other U.S. athletes. It is not banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Some athletes say it heals tendon and muscle tears more quickly. Others believe there is no benefit, that all the athletes received is a placebo effect. 

Olympic swimmer Dara Torres said she sought out Dr. Galea for a muscle tear, but outside of draining her knee, that was the extent of his involvement. 

Supposedly, Woods texted Dr. Galea two days after the first treatment and Galea noted: “He said he couldn’t believe how good he feels.” 

[To compound matters, Galea isn’t licensed to practice medicine in the U.S.] 

Bill Plaschke / L.A. Times 

“Two years ago, after following Tiger Woods down the fairway for a couple of days at the U.S. Open at Oakmont, I confided to friends an observation that seemed too absurd for public consumption. 

“From the back, the dude looked like Barry Bonds.
 
“His neck was oddly wide. His shoulders were absurdly broad. His biceps were busting out of a tight shirt. 

“For the first time, he wasn’t just better than everyone else, he was also bigger. He looked not like a technician lining up a tee shot, but a slugger getting loose for batting practice. 

“He looked weird. He looked stuffed. He looked dirty. 

“I confided it, but never wrote it, because who would believe it?

“Tiger Woods in the same sentence as the most infamous (alleged) steroid user? He was too smart, too scripted, too careful. Thought so, anyway. Now I wonder. 

“The New York Times report this week that links Woods with a doctor who promotes human growth hormone would have been silly two months ago but makes scary sense today. If a guy is a chronic cheater off the course, what kind of leap is required to believe he could be the same sort of cheater on the course? 

“That distance is now a mere hop and skip after the newspaper reported that Dr. Anthony Galea is under a joint U.S.-Canadian investigation for providing athletes with performance-enhancing drugs…. 

“In past cases, from Olympians to major leaguers, nearly anyone involved with a steroid salesman is eventually found to have been using steroids. Yet while the PGA Tour tests for performance-enhancing drugs, no sporting organization has found an acceptable noninvasive test for HGH. 

“So this story might go nowhere. But its legs have already taken it miles farther than anyone imagined, which marks the true and lasting danger of Woods’ dalliances. 

“The public thinks, if there’s even a chance he’s guilty of running a harem while married with two young children, there’s a chance he could be guilty of anything. 

“Once we realize we don’t know him, then we stop trusting him. And once we stop trusting him, then he becomes vulnerable to people ignoring the amazing flight of his ball and concentrating on the unsettling size of his neck.” 

Meanwhile, the last interview with Woods emerged, Tiger having sat down with New Zealand’s Sky TV during the recent Australian Open. As the Daily News described it, the session was “cringe-worthy.” 

Woods discussed his family. “It’s been great, actually, it’s been the best thing that ever happened,” when speaking of his two kids. 

“Family first, then golf second – always been like that?” interviewer Deaker asked. 

“Always,” Woods responded with a straight face. 

Finally, Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg had a piece Wednesday on Doug and Jackie Christie, Doug being the former NBA player who used to acknowledge his wife, including at the foul line, by raising his left fist, and then extending his index finger and pinkie. 

Soshnick: 

“They poked fun at Doug Christie. Oh, how they laughed. They whispered and snickered in the locker room, even his own, which is supposed to be a safe haven. They mocked. They mimicked. 

“They called him names. Heck, Bryant Gumbel once labeled the former NBA player ‘whipped’ on national television. 

“Ignorant and mean. Much of the venom was directed at Christie’s wife, Jackie, who was deemed controlling. And that was the nice stuff. There were threats made by telephone and e-mail.” 

Soshnick caught up with the couple, now in Bellevue, Washington. Jackie wishes Tiger had called her, as many athletes have over the years, seeking advice. Jackie says, “I think we’ve stopped a lot of affairs.” 

The Christies have been happily married 15 years. They share a nightly glass of wine. They love to watch movies together. They’re both writers. They constantly buy small presents for each other. 

“Little steps,” Doug says. “You get busy, life happens, you just have to remember to make that time for each other.” 

And so, as Leno and Letterman lampoon Tiger, the new national punch line, Soshnick can’t help but conclude, “And to think they all laughed at the Christies.” 

Stuff 

J-E-T-S…Jets Jets Jets!!! 

Yes, your next Super Bowl champion has the No. 1 overall defense in the entire NFL, giving up just 264.7 yards per game, while it has also given up the fewest points, 211 [Indy and Cincy have given up 217; Baltimore 218]. 

And the Jets have the NFL’s No. 1 rushing offense…169.1 yards per game. 

Those are the two areas of the game most football fan focus on in gauging their team’s championship prospects, so the Jets should be 11-2, or 10-3 at worst.  

Alas, they are just 7-6, owing in large part to a rookie QB’s growing pains. But there is still hope, Jets Nation! 

[Note: Jets Nation extends only about 25 miles from Manhattan…or about the same amount of space occupied by the first settlers before they plunged into the new frontier, only to be devoured by bears and cougars.] 

–Matt Taibbi has been making quite a name for himself writing on the financial crisis and the bankers for Rolling Stone, but lately they’ve let him expound on the NFL and his thoughts in this arena are hilarious. WARNING: Some of the language isn’t suitable for 8-year-olds. 

“The surprising train-wreck season of sniveling NFL superdouche Jay Cutler proves it beyond any doubt: The Chicago Bears quarterbacking job is the most cursed position in sports, the Bermuda Triangle of lineup slots. The ignominy of the Bears quarterback legacy stretches to the horizon, across multiple stadiums, managerial regimes, offensive lines and receiver corps, in good times and bad. They’ve had guys suck after being good somewhere else (Jim Harbaugh, Doug Flutie), had guys suck at the beginning of their careers (Rex Grossman), the middle (Erik Kramer) and the end (Chris Chandler). It’s an extraordinary streak: In fact, depending on how you feel about Jim McMahon, the last great quarterback to play for the Bears was Sid Luckman, a leather-helmet-era Hall of Famer whose rookie year coincided with Hitler’s annexation of Czechoslovakia. 

“Since Luckman, the roster of Bears quarterback names reads like a support group for impotent, argyle-sweater-wearing substitute teachers: Steve Fuller, Peter Tom Willis, Will Furrer, Steve Walsh, Steve Stenstrom, Henry Burris. And the Bears paid full retail prices for failure, giving up the 11th pick overall for the corpse of Rick Mirer and doling out $20 million for much-hyped UCLA brat Cade McNown, whose crowning achievement as a Bear was getting indicted for misusing handicapped-parking placards…. 

“And Cutler, the greatest prospect of the lot, a young star with maybe the best arm since Elway, turned out to be the most spooked of all of them. Coming off a Pro Bowl season in which he’d thrown for 25 touchdowns and 4,500 yards for the Broncos, Cutler, through 11 weeks with the Bears, has already thrown 20 picks [ed. now 22] and has a passer rating of 74.4 [75.2 thru 13], placing him below even megabusts Jason Campbell and Alex Smith…. 

“As NFL black holes go, the Bears QB job doesn’t have much competition. Cardinals running back? Yeah, OK, but who cares? The Bears are a national institution, which makes this run of sucky quarterbacks horribly conspicuous, a huge wart on the face of sports that just keeps getting bigger with every crushing Cutler pick. Which is awful – but damn hard not to stare at.” 

–Sid Dorfman / Star-Ledger 

“Arizona’s Kurt Warner jokes he has suffered five concussions, three of them in the NFL, and that tests have cleared him of any neurological problems. 

“Harry Carson, the Hall of Fame linebacker for the Giants, estimates he suffered between 15 and 18 concussions in 21 years, from high school through 13 years with the Giants, and was perfectly lucid the last time I spoke with him. 

“Couldn’t be happier for them. But that’s not to suggest a general problem doesn’t exist when athletes get hit in the head. 

“When Ann McKee, researcher at Boston University, tested 16 athletes, she found brain damage in all of them.” 

–College Basketball Bits
 
AP Men’s Top Ten
 
1. Kansas
2. Texas
3. Kentucky
4. Purdue
5. Syracuse
6. West Virginia…Bar Chat Pick to Click
7. Duke
8. Villanova
9. Tennessee
10. North Carolina
 
Women’s AP Top Ten
 
1. UConn
2. Stanford
3. Tennessee
4. Notre Dame
5. LSU
6. Baylor
7. Duke
8. Ohio State
9. North Carolina
10. Florida State
23. Wisconsin-Green Bay
24. James Madison 

–The NCAA basketball tournament has been 64 (then 65) teams since 1985, but now there is talk of expanding the field to 96. Actually, there are 334 Division I teams these days (name ‘em all and you get a six-pack of premium….the economy still sucks, I can’t afford anymore than this). 

–The New York Times’ George Vecsey, on the hostess recruiting scandal at the Univ. of Tennessee; Vecsey adding he’s no Tennessee-basher. 

“According to one dictionary, a hostess is: ‘a woman who receives or entertains guests in a social or official capacity.’ Like the traditionally dressed women who smile and bow when you enter a department store in Seoul or Tokyo. Very formal. Very dignified. But sending out ‘hostesses’ as college football recruiters? Tacky. 

“I’m not suggesting anything untoward happened on the little (recruiting) trip from Knoxville, Tenn., to Duncan, S.C. I’m sure the two young women were there just to wish the lads well and say, ‘If you’re ever in the neighborhood, y’all come see us, y’heah?’ 

“According to eyewitnesses, the hostesses were members of Orange Pride, a club identified with the football machine at U.T. They were holding a sign that said, ‘Miller and Willis Have Our Hearts.’ 

“Somehow this does not seem like a field trip for Sociology 121 or Archaeology 23. It sounds like a major state university encouraging two undergraduates to send an unmistakable message: ‘These are the kind of honeys we have in Knoxville.’ Athletes want to know this before they matriculate. (What, you thought Tiger Woods was the only athlete who likes variety?) 

“The NCAA seems to find this a trifle irregular. Whether Coach Lane Kiffin actually handed the hostesses a road map and chits for gasoline fill-ups is not the point. It happened on his watch, the way Watergate happened on the watch of Richard M. Nixon…. 

“Could the NCAA mandate an autumn without the sound of ‘Rocky Top’ echoing off the hills? Could happen. Maybe should happen. And if it does, I recommend a hike in the Smokies on Saturday afternoon. No hostesses up there, however.” 

Alabama vs. Texas 

I’m gonna root for ‘Bama, not that I really care who wins. When looking at the AP All-American team, though, it’s Alabama….26-10…the official Bar Chat prediction. 

First Team Offense
 
QB – Colt McCoy, Texas
RB – Mark Ingram, Alabama
G – Michael Johnson, Alabama
WR – Jordan Shipley, Texas
K – Leigh Tiffin, Alabama
 
First Team Defense 

T – Terrence Cody, Alabama
LB – Rolando McClain, Alabama
CB – Javier Arenas, Alabama
S – Earl Thomas, Texas 

Leigh Tiffin will boot four field goals. 

–George Will / Washington Post…on the BCS 

“Rep. Joe Barton, who considers the BCS part of the axis of evil, is incandescent and prepared. In January, this 13-term Republican, whose district includes Cowboys Stadium and nearly nuzzles TCU in Fort Worth, introduced the College Football Playoff Act of 2009, which says: It shall be unlawful to ‘promote, market, or advertise’ a postseason Division I football game as a national championship game unless it is ‘the final game of a single elimination post-season playoff system’ for which all Division I teams are, at the beginning of the season, equally eligible. 

“Barton believes in limited government, but not so limited that it cannot right outrageous wrongs, such as the absence of a playoff.  Bipartisanship lives: Barack Obama, who wants to fix everything – health care, the climate, the pothole on your street, college football – also wants a playoff. 

“ ‘They keep trying to tinker with the current system,’ Barton says, ‘and to me it’s like – and I don’t mean this directly – it’s like communism. You can’t fix it.’ He would toss the BCS into the ashcan of history where, arguably, it belongs. ‘It is,’ he says, ‘simply a cartel, much like OPEC.’ It uses an ‘arbitrary computer system’ and ‘complicated algorithms’ to determine who gets to play in the ‘mythical championship game.’ He has a point."

[Though Will adds “Barton’s bill, which should draw a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness to the idea of limited government, demonstrates how Congress’ power to regulate interstate commerce has become an end run around that idea.”] 

–Can’t say I blame some University of Texas faculty for being a little miffed that football coach Mack Brown’s salary has been raised from $3 million to $5 million. Texas president William Powers Jr. said the program, under Brown, has had no deficits and has channeled $6.6 million into academic programs in recent years. 

[But as Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post observed, what would have happened to Brown’s salary if the clock had run out on the Longhorns against Nebraska?] 

–ESPN reported that an investigation was launched into University of South Florida football coach Jim Leavitt amid allegations he “grabbed Joel Miller by the throat and hit him in the face twice because he was upset about a mistake the sophomore walk-on made on special teams.” The incident occurred at halftime of the Bulls’ game against Louisville on Nov. 21. 

Leavitt told ESPN the accusations are “absolutely not true.” Five USF players have come forward anonymously to finger Leavitt, the only coach the school has ever had. 

–Kind of funny that Cincinnati is tapping Central Michigan again for its next football coach, Butch Jones, who replaces former CM/Cincy coach Brian Kelly. Jones was 26-13 in three seasons, including 11-2 this year. It does make sense in that Jones kept Kelly’s spread offense that the latter had installed at Central Michigan, 2004-06. 

The Big Ten (really eleven) announced it is again exploring the addition of a 12th school, but it won’t be Notre Dame, as athletic director Jack Swarbrick said, “Maintaining our independence is a real priority for us.” Yeah, Bricker, but you’re in the Big East for basketball.  

Other possibilities are Pitt or Rutgers. [Others say Missouri, which is interesting, but Ken P. pointed out to me that there is no way you’d break up the Kansas-Mizzou civil war.] 

–The Yankees will miss Hideki Matsui, the World Series hero who just signed a one-year deal with the Angels. After all, this is a guy who in seven seasons (two of which were injury-plagued) drove in 597 runs, with four 100-RBI years for the Yanks, while hitting .292. Hideki was clutch. You can’t always replace that, no matter what ‘numbers’ you end up plugging the hole with. 

–In light of the Tiger scandal, one golfer to root for this coming year is J.P. Hayes, who just got his PGA Tour card through Q School. If you forgot who he is, Hayes is the fellow who last year, in the second stage of Q School, called a penalty on himself, leading to disqualification, for mistakenly using a nonconforming, prototype ball for one hole. No one else would have known. That’s the side of golf that most of us admire more than any other sport. 

–The Champions Tour only has two tourneys in each of Jan., Feb., Mar., June, and July, in case you were wondering about the economy’s impact here. 

–Awful deal involving a member of the U.S. Olympic bobsled team, pilot Todd Hays. Last Wednesday, on a track in Winterberg, Germany, Hays was in his four-man sled when he lost control. None of the three pushers were injured, and it was thought at the time that Hays sustained just a concussion. 

But after an overnight in a German hospital, U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation officials decided to bring Hays back to Lake Placid, N.Y., for further evaluation, with hopes he could compete in the States this weekend and stay on track for the Vancouver Olympics. It was here doctors discovered a serious condition called intraparenchymal hematoma – bleeding of the brain tissue. Needless to say, Hays has retired. Any further trauma to the head and he could easily suffer irreparable damage. 

Todd Hays leaves the sport he loved with two world championships, plus silver at Salt Lake City in 2002, the first Olympic medal for American men’s bobsledding in 46 years at the time. 

–The number of wolves in Yellowstone National Park is in decline. As reported by Janice Lloyd of USA TODAY, “Wolves are killing each other at a higher frequency to compete for elk…which is less abundant now.” The population of gray wolves is now just 116, down from 174 at its peak. Something to consider when I do the next All-Species List. I mean if they can’t respect themselves, why should I give them consideration for, say, the top 20? 

–Say it ain’t so, A-Rod! From the New York Post’s Page Six: 

“Alex Rodriguez spent the weekend flirting with a string of beautiful girls in Miami – telling one, ‘I’m definitely single’…. 

“The Yankee slugger was ‘acting like a single man,’ partying with two pretty girls at the W Hotel Friday before zeroing in on a blonde at the Armani Exchange Sunglass dinner at The Delano on Saturday.” 

Ah, but the Daily News reports that later, A-Rod and the blond were spotted at Miami hot spot LIV, where A-Rod was also with Ingrid Casares, Madonna’s good friend, who appeared to be friend’s of the blond. This is all so confusing! 

Meanwhile, Kate Hudson has thus far refused to discuss whether she has officially split with the disingenuous one. As the Daily News’ “snitch” observed, no one is surprised by the news. 

“Alex has a wandering eye, and Kate is a hopeless romantic. It’s not exactly the perfect match.” 

But wait…there’s more! According to Us Magazine and the Daily News: 

“[Hudson] wanted more camera time each and every game…She would always want to be styled before games and she’d insist on front-row seats.” 

A-Rod tied of her mugging for the cameras. A friend of his said: 

“It was a turnoff to have a girlfriend who always wanted to be on camera. Alex wanted someone who was more interested in building a long-term relationship than just building their profile.” 

–Out of nowhere, we suddenly have a new candidate for top ten on the All-Species List, the octopus in Indonesia “that collects coconut shells for shelter – unusually sophisticated behavior that researchers believe is the first evidence of tool use in an invertebrate animal.” [Kristen Gelineau / AP] 

“The scientists filmed the veined octopus selecting halved coconut shells from the sea floor, emptying them out, carrying them under their bodies up to 65 feet (20 meters), and assembling the two shells together to make a spherical hiding spot.” 

The video is pretty incredible. “I was gobsmacked,” said Julian Finn of Museum Victoria in Melbourne. 

Some might even go so far as to say that this supreme example of tool use is of a form that is far more intelligent than Tiger Woods’ own use of same. 

–Attention, girls. Singer John Mayer, one of the true jerks on the planet, is taking a break from dating as it has left him “a little freaked out,” according to the Irish Independent. Don’t believe this. If you see him at the mall, go the other way, and, as always, lock your screen door and windows. 

–Major kudos to Erin Andrews for confronting her stalker in court. She could have hidden from it all but chose instead to speak out and protest that perv Michael Barrett deserved far more than the five years he’s going to receive in a plea agreement. 

“I am a victim of this sexual predator. I would like to see him immediately put in prison for as long as possible….I have nightmares. I walk in crowds and I see him in my peripheral vision. When I’m alone in my house, I have fears that he’s going to walk inside and hurt me….I hope he never sees the light of day again.” 

Andrews adds, “I walk into stadiums, and fans say obscene things to me,” as if she was a partner to Barrett’s crime. That sucks. But then the world is replete with total dirtballs. 

–I have a confession to make. Last Thursday night, down in Kiawah, after a few beers, I turned on MTV’s “Jersey Shore” for the first time. I realize I’ll have to account for this slip when I meet St. Peter. “What the heck were you thinking?” he’ll ask me. “Sorry, Boss. At least I didn’t pull a Tiger.” “Good point. But you’re getting one of our Section 8 homes over there. We have our standards, and you violated them.” 

Anyway, I’ll deal with the housing situation at a later time, but for now let’s just say I won’t be watching J-WOWW or Mike “The Situation” anymore. What an embarrassing moment for our civilization to have this white trash being celebrated. 

–Ripped from the pages of the Daily News, as reported by David Boroff. 

“A British woman is in trouble for enjoying sex a little too much. Caroline Cartwright [no relation to former Knick Bill Cartwright, or Bonanza’s Hoss Cartwright], 48, has pleaded guilty to anti-social behavior for ignoring a noise abatement notice from the courts. In fact, she admits to violating a civil order three different times. 

“The order had banned Caroline and husband Steve from ‘shouting, screaming or vocalization at such a level as to be a statutory nuisance,’ according to the BBC. 

“The Cartwrights live in (northeast England). Neighbors – and even the postman – have complained about the noise, according to the BBC. 

“ ‘The noise sounds like they are both in considerable pain,’ neighbor Rachel O’Connor testified. ‘I cannot describe the noise. I have never ever heard anything like it.’ 

“Cartwright argued that she was unable to control the noise but had tried to ‘minimize the situation’ by having sex in the morning.” 

Huh. The World Health Organization “guidelines say 30 decibels is enough to cause sleep disturbance. The BBC reports that the Sunderland City Council told the court they had recorded noise levels of 47 decibels at the Cartwrights – using equipment installed in a neighbor’s house.” 

Geezuz…if I lived there I’d be afraid the air raid siren was going off and quickly repair to my bunker. 

–The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has come up with five new inductees – ABBA, Genesis, Jimmy Cliff, the Hollies and the Stooges. I don’t have a problem with these, but talk about dullsville for the ceremonies in March at the Waldorf-Astoria. But among those not selected were Darlene Love (a travesty), Kiss (Dan L. extremely pissed off), and Donna Summer (they’ve already stretched the definition of rock…what the hell, stick her in some day). 

But then you have those that weren’t even nominated…like Chicago, the Moody Blues and Neil Diamond. C’mon, all three should already be in. 

I also thought Dan had a brilliant point. If the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s purpose is to celebrate art forms, why not Milli Vanilli? They pioneered the art of lip syncing and made it commercially acceptable. Dan, home version of “Bar Chat: The Game” coming to you by parcel post…once we get around to making it. 

Top 3 songs for the week 12/16/67: #1 “Daydream Believer” (The Monkees) #2 “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” (Gladys Knight & The Pips) #3 “Hello Goodbye” (The Beatles)…and…#4 “I Second That Emotion” (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles) #5 “The Rain, The Park & Other Things” (The Cowsills) #6 “Incense And Peppermints” (Strawberry Alarm Clock) #7 “I Say A Little Prayer” (Dionne Warwick) #8 “Boogaloo Down Broadway” (The Fantastic Johnny C) #9 “In And Out Of Love” (Diana Ross And The Supremes) #10 “You Better Sit Down Kids” (Cher…not a bad tune, come to think of it) 

NFL Quiz Answer: 1) The four with 122 or more pass receptions in a season: 

Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis, 143, 2002
Herman Moore, Detroit, 123, 1995
Cris Carter, Minnesota, 122, 1994 and 95
Jerry Rice, San Francisco, 122, 1995 

2) Welker went to Texas Tech
 
Next Bar Chat, Monday.