NCAA Basketball Quiz: Name five players on UNLV’s 1989-90 title squad, the one that blitzed Duke (with the likes of Phil Henderson, Christian Laettner, and Alaa Abdelnaby) 103-73 in the final (and the same year Georgia Tech was in the Final Four with Dennis Scott and Kenny Anderson…to jog your memory on the era). Answer below.
He’s Baaaaack!!!
Tiger Woods, that is…Tiger winning Arnie’s Bay Hill PGA Tour event for a 7th time, but most importantly, it was Tiger’s first tour win in 924 days, since the Sept. 2009 BMW Championship.
It was also his 72nd career triumph. NBC commentator Johnny Miller said, who knows, at age 36 with his swing now obviously back, Tiger could win “35-40 more times.”
Woods, in a methodical 5-shot victory over Graeme McDowell, also moved his record to 49-4 when leading after 54 holes.
As a follower of golf, I just look at one shot of Tiger’s…the Stinger…and saw his success with it this week and think he will indeed win a bunch the next 6-7 years.
You don’t have to like the guy, and few these days do, but it’s great for the sport and ratings; especially when it comes to the Majors.
Final Four
The cream did indeed rise to the top as we have quite an elite Final Four next weekend. Four powerhouse programs.
2 Kansas vs. 2 Ohio State
4 Louisville vs. 1 Kentucky
Just imagine the state of Kentucky this week and the excitement there. Man, that’s fun. One thing I saw when I was at Murray State last month was just how many Kentucky fans there are…as in all the bars in Murray were half Murray, half Kentucky. [Not as much Louisville, but then I was in a different part of the state.]
We all saw the same games this weekend….so just a few thoughts.
I have to admit I watched a lot of the golf from Bay Hill, but I was on top of the NCAA action, too. In Baylor vs. Kentucky, which the Wildcats won 82-70, it struck me how much woofing Baylor was doing when they took a 10-5 lead after being down 5-2. Boy, that’s freakin’ stupid, I mused, as I switched to Bay Hill and followed the game on the computer. Sure enough, 42-22, Kentucky, at half. Game over. Baylor blows.
As for Carolina, yeah, yeah, Kendall Marshall’s injury was huge. We all know that. Marshall is going to be a super NBA ballplayer some day.
But the Tar Heels have three first-round picks this coming draft; Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Tyler Zeller, and Barnes in particular played small all year. All three could have gone out last spring but stayed to win a championship and when it came to crunch time on Sunday, Carolina was right there but Barnes choked, including a crucial missed free throw with 4:00 minutes to go. Barnes made the second but that made it 68-67 Kansas. The Jayhawks then went on a 12-0 run to close out the game. Barnes, a probable NBA superstar, finished his two-year college career shooting 5 for 14 from the field. Whoopty-damn-do. Reminds me of Chris Paul at Wake Forest. Lots of press, nothing to show for it.
One other note…that being on the Louisville-Florida game on Saturday…the Gators were 8 of 11 from downtown in the first half and 0-9 in the second as the Cardinals prevailed, 72-68.
I don’t know why…but this year, despite all his off-court issues, I’ve kind of come to like Rick Pitino.
Oh, and Ohio State defeated Syracuse, 77-70, Saturday, but I’m still troubled that Jim Boeheim, who has more than a few skeletons in his closet at this point, ended up with beautiful Juli.
–Gotta love VCU coach Shaka Smart for once again spurning the big time to remain at the helm of the Rams. In turning down Illinois, Smart said, “There are great things to accomplish at VCU and I’m looking forward to building on the successes of our program and university.”
Heck, he’s still just 34. After his next run at a Final Four, he’ll eventually bolt, but there won’t be a fan of the sport out there that won’t have the ultimate respect for the guy when that day comes.
–For the second straight year, Duke is losing a freshman point guard to the NBA, this time, unsurprisingly, it’s Austin Rivers after Kyrie Irving did the same last spring. Two others have been one-and-done during the Krzyzewski regime; Luol Deng and Corey Maggette. Rivers will be a first-round pick, though some NBA scouts don’t like his attitude. Duke also may lose junior forward Mason Plumlee, if it appears he’s a likely first-rounder.
–And then there is Wake Forest. What a week. Phil W. greeted me as I opened up my e-mail Saturday morning at 4:30 a.m. (getting ready to post that other column I do) with word that not only is sophomore starting point guard Tony Chennault leaving, but also freshman guard Anthony Fields and sophomore starting center Carson Desrosiers, thus leaving the Deacs with four…count ‘em…four scholarship players for next year, though a large class, six, is coming in, assuming coach Jeff Bzdelik can hold onto them.
Now Chennault just wasn’t very good, nor did it seem Fields had much potential, but the loss of Desrosiers was a shocker to some of us. The kid was OK, and was only going to get better.
So we return scholarship players Travis McKie, C.J. Harris, Chase Fischer and Daniel Green; the first two being very solid. Coach Bzdelik, who has gone 1-15 and 4-12 in ACC play his two seasons at the helm, said “we’re still recruiting for this year.” I say, this is just another reason to be very depressed about not just Wake basketball, but the state of Wake athletics in general.
However, it’s yet another reason why your editor is going back to San Diego State next season!!! Gonna order me some new Aztecwear this week.
Tim Tebow is formally introduced to the New York media on Monday, at which point the circus officially begins, though it is amazing (or not really) how the story has already taken on a life of its own. The Jets will try to convince everyone that the other pretty boy in town, Mark Sanchez, remains the No. 1 quarterback, but the more I think about it the more I’m not so sure Sanchez has a much shorter leash than I first thought. One thing is for certain…there is going to be a lot to talk about in these parts the rest of 2012. As a Jets source told the Daily News, “I would never bet against Tebow. He is a winner no matter how you slice it.”
For the record, recall I posted my last chat Wednesday afternoon when word first hit of the trade to New York from Denver, but then an hour later came word of a snag in the deal, which was rectified shortly after. It seems the brilliant Jets hadn’t read the fine print in Tebow’s contract and actually owed the Broncos $5 million; so they ended up splitting the difference and got a 7th-rounder from Denver in exchange for the Jets sending the Broncs a 4 and a 6.
For his part, Tebow said he called Sanchez right after the trade was announced and they “had a great conversation. We’ll be able to push each other to get better.”
Needless to say, there is no shortage of opinions on the topic.
“This is like the old line about how I can’t hear a word you’re saying because your actions are screaming way too loudly. The Jets can say anything they want about how much they love Mark Sanchez, but you know they don’t work this hard and risk looking this bad for a backup quarterback, to bring in a rock star such as Tim Tebow and tell him to go wait in the wings. To sing backup or be one.
“ ‘Mark Sanchez is, has been, and will be our starting quarterback,’ Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum is saying on a conference call at about 10:40 Wednesday night and then he is talking about what Tebow will do for the Jets besides be a backup to Sanchez, ‘other roles and packages.’
“Then he said, ‘(Tebow, Sanchez are) both very clear on what their roles will be.’
“It s Jets fans who are going to be a little confused about those roles the first time Sanchez doesn’t do the job next season. This isn’t about the extra money the Broncos wanted, part of the back end of their deal with Tebow, the money going on top of the two draft choices the Jets were offering. This is about the whole idea of bringing Tebow to Jersey, and treating him like the most desirable backup quarterback to ever play pro football….
“(Whatever) the Jets say they are doing, or think they are doing, they have created their very own quarterback controversy. That’s unless they think that their fans won’t be chanting Tebow’s name the first time Sanchez throws a couple to the wrong team….
“The fans who see the Giants keep winning unforgettable Super Bowls will be calling for a quarterback who sometimes seems more likely to get hit by lighting than throw a spiral, asking him to come off the bench and win them a game the way he won those fourth-quarter games for the Broncos….
“We know Rex (Ryan) thinks that he can coach anybody, except usually we’re talking about Rex’s home for wayward football players. Now let’s see what he does with one of the nicest kids to ever come into the league and a starting quarterback who’s never had a real backup looking over his shoulder in the pros.”
Joe Namath:
“I’m just sorry that I can’t agree with this situation. I think it’s just a publicity stunt. I can’t go with it. I think it’s wrong. I don’t think they know what they’re doing over there.”
“3. Team chaplain: Tebow’s role as the Jets’ unofficial team chaplain would blend nicely with his duties as custodian of the locker-room Swear Jar. All proceeds would go to a year-end pizza party.
“4. Team chaperone: Based on our casual perusal of the sports pages, football players are no strangers to the social scene. And they do occasionally crash their Lamborghinis into things. So why not assign the Jets an official chaperone? We can see it now: Tebow springs for burgers at Johnny Rockets, followed by a few frames at the local Bowl-o-Matic.
“5. Make him the designated two-point conversion guy. Here’s an idea: Give the kicker a break and go for two with Tebow all the time….In Tebow’s starts, Denver was No. 4 in the NFL in scoring touchdowns inside the 6-yard line. The other 94 yards, however, were a problem.
“8. Make him a strong safety…If Tebow the quarterback didn’t scare Peyton Manning, Tebow the strong safety would. [Ed. love this idea, which many others have. He could still be two-point conversion guy, too!]
“The Jets have yet to learn what the Giants already know: championship teams are built, not bought, not bartered. The Jets lacked two important elements last season: roster depth and locker room cohesion. They built their roster as if playing fantasy football, certain Coach Rex Ryan could glean character from a locker room full of characters. But when this grand chemistry experiment blew up the Jets’ laboratory, with players arguing in the huddle and on the field, Ryan acted shocked. He should not have been. A painfully thin two-deep roster only compounded the chemistry problems. The depth issues stemmed, in part, from their lack of draft picks in recent years, selections they traded away like baseball cards, for that splash signing or that one….
“Perhaps no athlete in recent memory has engendered a following like Teblow, whose faith and success have elicited intense feelings from both supporters and detractors. That would be amplified in New York, on the most headline-hungry team in the NFL. It is almost as if the Jets figured they could fix their circus by adding another polarizing performer, by not just doubling the hype that surrounds the franchise but by also growing it exponentially….
“Should Sanchez regress the way he did last season, Tebowmania will mushroom into an entirely new dimension. It could break Twitter and the Jets’ Web site simultaneously.”
“The funny part is this: From the moment the word started circulating, around social media and around the world, that the Jets had actually dealt for Tim Tebow, this was the reaction of both sides of the great divide, those who endorsed the deal and those who thought it more absurd than ‘John Carter.’
“This had better work out well.
“That someone, of course, was Mike Tannenbaum, the Jets’ Teflon-coated general manager, who somehow was allowed to both hire and fire Eric Mangini and never once have his own job status questioned, who somehow survived last year’s calamitous 8-8 mess with only a minimum of blood spatter since Rex Ryan and Santonio Holmes and Mark Sanchez were the ones who spent the most time walking the gangplank.
“Yes, irony. Because now it really doesn’t matter that the Tebow trade went through after hours of hand-wringing yesterday, and it doesn’t really matter if it’s a big success or an epic failure. Because you could argue, and with cause, that his amateurish handling of this whole transaction nudges open a window into the way Tannenbaum – and thereby the Jets – does business, paints a portrait that’s a lot more about the money: Woody Johnson could use 5 million dollar bills as kindling to light his fireplace if he wanted to.
“It’s about a franchise whose image was already battered and bleeding, exposed as bullies without foundation during the season and now further exposed as overmatched buffoons in the offseason. And seeing how this whole thing went down – the Jets congratulating themselves and breaking their own news early, then scrambling to try to prove they aren’t a complete fiasco late – was like watching clowns trying to avoid banana peels.
“Executives and agents across the league were laughing at the Jets yesterday for the way they handled all of this, even if, as the Jets insist, this was just a misunderstanding and not malpractice.”
“So at the end of a long day’s journey into night, the Jets had to have God’s Quarterback.
“Most ominously, at the potential ruination of Mark Sanchez….
“The Jets lusting after Tebow the way they did, all but tripping over themselves to announce at 1:03 p.m. that they had ‘agreed in principle’ to bring Tebow-mania to New York, only means that Sanchez better be the one praying.
“It means the only commandment in the Sanchise’s football Bible now is Thou Shalt Not Stink. Or else.
“It is further evidence the Jets don’t believe they have their Sanchise quarterback….
“Tebow’s inspirational gifts, his charisma and his infectious competitive drive will endear him to the Sanchez detractors….
“Tebow will impact Sanchez this way: He will be looking over his shoulder every time Tebow so much as sneezes. Yes, he needs mental toughness to play here. He also needs to know he has the support of his team….
“The Jets aren’t coddling Sanchez anymore, and they made a move that could cut him off at the knees. He now walks through the valley of the shadow of calamity and controversy.”
“If Sanchez and Tebow play like they did last year, the Jets could have a new starting quarterback by Halloween. This is a crucial year for Rex Ryan. If Sanchez doesn’t respond to the pressure Tebow puts on him, Ryan will go into self-preservation mode and could demote Sanchez to save himself.
“Tebow is too competitive to settle for serving as Sanchez’s caddie. He led the Broncos to the playoffs last season and won a playoff game while Sanchez regressed. No matter how the Jets spin it, this is a vote of no confidence in Sanchez, who many now believe is vulnerable to losing the starting job.
“If the conventional offense with Sanchez running it is ineffective and Tebow is moving the ball in the outdated Wildcat, he will get increased snaps. That puts Sanchez on the bench. He will pout. More plays for Tebow could lead to an eventful flip-flop on the depth chart. The Jets must be creative in giving Tebow a diverse package, otherwise defenses will zero in on him the way the Patriots did in their 45-10 playoff victory over the Broncos.
“There is a feeling around the league that the Jets believe Sanchez played his best in the pressure of the playoffs his first two seasons and they feel they need to put the pressure on him in the regular season to get him to raise his game….
“Tebow is a polarizing figure, and Sanchez has become a lightning rod himself in New York. The fans will take sides. The players will take sides. The coaches will take sides. Tebow says he’s been friends with Sanchez for several years, but a quarterback controversy could end that.”
As for Madison Ave., Tebow will be king. That will irk Sanchez as much as anything else; Tebow taking endorsement dollars away from him.
Lastly, there’s quarterback Drew Stanton. Imagine what he was thinking. You sign a one-year deal to be Sanchez’s backup and a few days later, the same team trades for Tebow. At least the Jets did the right thing and sent Stanton on to the Colts, this after paying the QB a $500,000 signing bonus. Now Stanton is likely to be the backup to Andrew Luck.
The Saints’ Fiasco
Last Bar Chat I was also posting when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell came down exceedingly hard on the New Orleans Saints for the bounty-program. I’ve already spelled out the penalties and with head coach Sean Payton suspended one season, the team has yet to name an interim coach.
“We are all accountable and responsible for player health and safety and the integrity of the game. We will not tolerate conduct or a culture that undermines those priorities. No one is above the game or the rules that govern it. Respect for the game and the people who participate in it will not be compromised.
“A combination of elements made this matter particularly unusual and egregious. When there is targeting of players for injury and cash rewards over a three-year period, the involvement of the coaching staff, and three years of denials and willful disrespect of the rules, a strong and lasting message must be sent that such conduct is totally unacceptable and has no place in the game.”
Punishment for the Saints players involved, like Jonathan Vilma, has yet to be determined as the league confers with the Players Association.
“The New Orleans fans deserve better. Not from Goodell, from their team, for whom they spent their hard-earned money in an area still reeling from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and for whom their worship found new heights only possible in a crippled city craving distraction and heroes.
“Shame on all you mindless, shallow jocks – and all you mindless, shallow coaches – who have now turned that 2010 Super Bowl into a sham and a bunch of question marks for your fans. What was the size of the bounty pot that day? Who got the biggest payoff? Was there a special pot donor, or co-mingled funds? And how many of the New Orleans Cheating Saints did interviews the next few weeks about their foundations and good work?
“And more: How many players participated in this? Why, with one of the best quarterbacks in league history in Drew Brees, would you even need to bother? Brees will win many of the games on his own.
What will Saints owner Tom Benson do with Brees? As Jim Corbett of USA TODAY observes:
“No quicker way for Benson to mitigate the bounty hangover than by rewarding Brees with a long-term deal commensurate with Peyton Manning’s five-year, $96 million Denver Broncos contract.
“Unhappy with his $14.4 million franchise tag, Brees finds himself again trying to help the Saints rebuild, only this time it’s their tainted credibility.”
“At the end of the 1992 Western ‘Unforgiven,’ a young gunslinger reflects about shooting another outlaw dead. ‘Yeah, well, I guess he had it comin’,’ he finally rationalizes. Clint Eastwood stares back coldly and replies, ‘We all got it comin’, kid.’
“Bountygate has about as many redeeming characters today. Roughly none. After Roger Goodell handed down staggering penalties to coaches and officials involved in the New Orleans Saints’ three-year program that paid players for essentially taking out their peers, the difference between a film about the lawless West and the NFL’s lawless secret society is that Goodell and the owners have yet to get theirs….
“Gregg Williams, Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis and the Saints got what they deserved Wednesday. In a league that already sanctions violence, they needlessly upped the ante.
“But that’s where the punitive measures stop and the spin begins. You want us to believe Williams was the only culprit, league-wide? The only coach to offer money to his players to hurt their peers? And that he only did it when he coached in New Orleans ?
“And if the NFL is so worried about paying millions to at least a dozen former players suing the league over its failure to protect them, where was the outrage two years ago when all the NFL did was warn the Saints about their bounty practices during the investigation? That it took the cover-up to enrage Goodell and make him slam his gavel down – not the actual discovery of a pay-for-pain program – says everything about a league that wants it both ways.”
For his part, Sean Payton apologized in a statement:
“I share and fully support the league’s concerns and goals on player safety. It is, and should be paramount.
“Respecting our great game and the NFL shield is extremely important to me….I am sorry for what has happened and as head coach take full responsibility.”
Separately, two players who have been given second (or third) chances signed contracts last week. Adam “Pacman” Jones re-upped with Cincinnati, and the Patriots signed wide receiver Donte Stallworth. Jones’ issues are too numerous to list here, while Stallworth is the fellow involved in a 2009 DUI vehicular manslaughter incident.
I believe in second chances, too. I just find the above also kind of amusing in light of some of the comments made about integrity of the game these days.
And one note on the Chicago Bears. They signed former Oakland running back Michael Bush, while already having Matt Forte, who they gave the franchise tag to, meaning Forte must play under it, which would come with a salary of $7.74 million, unless the team and Forte reach an agreement on a multi-year extension by July 16.
So Forte is bitching up a storm that the Bears went out and signed Bush to a four-year, $14 million deal, $7 million of which is guaranteed. Forte tweeted:
“There’s only so many times a man that has done everything he’s been asked to do can be disrespected! Guess the GOOD GUYS do finish last…”
Oh, brother. That was a terrific signing by the Bears, who now have the best two-headed monster at running back in football. Good for them, especially as another of their backs, Marion Barber, announced his retirement over the weekend. The Bears will give Forte a deal he’s happy with. Hmmm…maybe Chicago is my pick next year, even if the NFL is a passing league.
Ball Bits
–Boy, this sucks if you’re a Reds fan…or Reds management. You signed Ryan Madson to be your closer, guaranteeing him $8.5 million for the season after a $44 million, four-year contract offer with Philadelphia collapsed last November, and now Madson will miss the entire year due to Tommy John surgery. But at least Madson can now play with his kids…
…as opposed to Yankees hurler Joba Chamberlain, who really needs to stay away from his five-year-old. You see, Joba suffered a season-ending “open dislocation” of his right ankle while playing on a trampoline with his boy. ‘Open’ meaning the bone broke through the skin. In fact, Joba almost died. He lost a ton of blood.
Now Joba insists he’ll be back this year, even though the official prognosis says otherwise, but here you have a guy who was already recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Of course Chamberlain is being severely criticized in the press for being so stupid, but as Yankees GM Brian Cashman said:
“How do you tell a group of people not to be a father? How do you tell a guy, don’t take your kid fishing because you’re a pitcher and you might take a hook and you can hook your finger by accident? Don’t go out in the backyard and play with your dog and a Jack Russell terrier bites you in the finger like it did David Cone? Life can throw you some unexpected twists….
“I do know what (Joba) was doing was in the capacity of a father spending real quality time with his son. I’m just sorry that obviously something tragic came from that right now. But hopefully the best-case scenario will play itself out.”
I could pile on with those criticizing Joba’s action, but Cashman has it about right. It’s just that there is a difference between horsing around and getting on a trampoline, which frankly is the stupidest contraption ever created. I look down (I’m on the third floor) on a house across the way where the family got a big trampoline for their kids and I’m just waiting for the day there is a horrific scream of pain.
—Chipper Jones announced this year will be his last, so he gets to receive parting gifts from around the league in a farewell tour, one that will start with him on the disabled list following arthroscopic knee surgery. “Larry” is destined for the Hall of Fame, and if we’re to believe him, he has played “clean.” I respect the hell out of the guy, while also hating him because he has single-handedly destroyed my Mets!
Former Mets GM Jim Duquette, who is doing some radio work for the team this year, said, “I can’t tell you how many times we added an expletive between Chipper and Jones.”
Jones is tied for third among all-time opposing hitters with 48 home runs against the Mets, and he’s also third with 148 RBI and fourth in hits with 258. The real killer, though, is that 47 of his hits have either tied the game or given the Braves the lead, more than any other opposing player since 1974, according to Stats LLC and the Wall Street Journal. Stats doesn’t have data before 1974.
I’m guessing Mets fans will taunt him unmercifully all year, but give him a roaring standing ovation, out of respect, his last time up in September…at least I hope they do.
–Back to closers, Kansas City star closer Joakim Soria will miss the season with reconstructive elbow surgery. He had Tommy John surgery in 2003. Forgot about that. Didn’t know you could have another, actually.
–This is encouraging. The Twins’ Justin Morneau, beset by concussion issues, hit two homers on Saturday in an exhibition game against Tampa Bay.
–Tyler Kepner of the New York Times notes that Drew Stubbs of the Reds and Detroit’s Austin Jackson are the only batters in major league history with seasons of at least 180 strikeouts yet fewer than 20 home runs, both last year. Stubbs struck out 205 times with 15 homers, while Jackson fanned 181 times with just 10 round-trippers.
–If you are/were a baseball card collector, on CBS’ “Sunday Morning” program, Armen Keteyian had a depressing story on the demise of the hobby that is nonetheless worth looking up. It was a bubble just like any other bubble in American history and now it’s long popped, only this time for good. The only ones left are a bunch of rapidly aging white guys, like moi!
–And we note the passing of Mel Parnell, 89, who had a career mark of 123-75 hurling for the Boston Red Sox from 1947-56, including a sterling 25-7, 2.77 ERA, season in 1949.
Boy, I am embarrassed. I didn’t realize he remains the all-time lefty in wins for Boston, a guy who had remarkable success at home, 71-30, even though he had to deal with the Green Monster, as he had a hard-breaking slider that bore in on right-handed batters. In fact, only Cy Young (192), Roger Clemens (192) and Tim Wakefield (186), all right-handers, won more games in a Red Sox uniform.
Parnell had great success against the Yankees, including 5-0 with four shutouts in 1953, even though Boston finished fourth, 84-69, to the Yanks league-leading 99-52.
–Lastly, I wasn’t going to mention the passing of pitcher Dennis Bennett, 72, until I looked at his record more fully. You see, Bennett, who pitched for four teams in a 7-year career, 1962-68, was only 43-47 and frankly I didn’t remember the guy.
Except I should have, being a minor historian in the sport. You see, Dennis Bennett’s only big season, if you can call a 12-14 record ‘big’, was in 1964 with the Philadelphia Phillies. I forgot Bennett was the No. 3 starter on that team…the one that blew a 6 ½ game lead with just 12 to play. Jim Bunning and Chris Short were the first two starters and recall, it was manager Gene Mauch who panicked in the final week, running out Bunning and Short on two instead of their customary three days’ rest (4-man rotations in those days), twice apiece, with disastrous results.
The Star-Ledger had a story over the weekend on a 28-year-old woman who lives near me, Jessi Kennedy, who runs ultra-marathons, defined as anything over 26 miles. I mean to tell you, she didn’t start running until college, got to doing three miles a day, and then it took hold. She had the bug. Last year she ran a 100-mile race.
“She bakes and searches out the tastiest IPA beers in her spare time – your average neighbor and friend, but one who’s always combing the calendar for the next big race, the next chance to try to break herself.”
[Oops, update: On Saturday, Kennedy was able to only go 65 miles in a 100-mile race in New Jersey due to a calf cramping. Get this, “she tried to run through the cramp for 20 miles before being forced to pull out.” You and I would have run about 200 yards before saying, “OK, that’s it. Where’s the beer.”]
Top 3 songs for the week 3/23/85: #1 “Can’t Fight This Feeling” (REO Speedwagon…I remember going to some Connecticut club with a few high school classmates around this time, guys and girls, where none of us was dating each other, nor were any of us hooking up, and it was kind of a stupid idea and a couple hours drive home and I was like, what did I just do this for? Note to Brad and Leah K., this wasn’t Stroganoff Night…now that was fun!) #2 “Material Girl” (Madonna…her heyday) #3 “One More Night” (Phil Collins…supposedly a real jerk)… and…#4 “The Heat Is On” (Glenn Frey…tune sucks… hasn’t aged well) #5 “Too Late For Goodbyes” (Julian Lennon…you know, not bad…not bad at all) #6 “Lovergirl” (Teena Marie…recently deceased…was a pretty good act, all things considered) #7 “Private Dancer” (Tina Turner…just wasn’t a big fan of hers…big fan of those legs, though) #8 “High On You” (Survivor…all the songs in this era sounded the same) #9 “Only The Young” (Journey …eh) #10 “Relax” (Frankie Goes To Hollywood …love the beat, but, boy, this was a different era and try not to pay attention to what the song is really about…just sayin’)
NCAA Basketball Quiz Answer: Significant members of the 1989-90 UNLV title team.
Anderson Hunt, Larry Johnson, Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon, Moses Scurry, David Butler, Barry Young, Stacey Cvijanovich, James Jones, Travis Bice.
[I’m just guessing a lot of you got the first four fairly easily; then blanked out on Scurry and Butler.]
This was also the year that Bo Kimble led Loyola Marymount to the Elite Eight, where they lost to UNLV, following the death of Hank Gathers. Kimble and Co. defeated defending champ Michigan in the second round, 149-115!…the highest scoring game in tournament history, to say the least.
