[Posted Wed. AM]
New York Jets Quiz: 1) Name the five to rush for 4,000 yards in a Jets uniform. 2) Name the five to have 5,000 or more yards receiving. Answers below.
College Football…CFP Rankings
1. Clemson 12-0
2. Alabama 11-1
3. Oklahoma 11-1
4. Iowa 12-0
5. Michigan State 11-1
6. Ohio State 11-1
7. Stanford 10-2
8. Notre Dame 10-2
9. Florida State 10-2
10. North Carolina 11-1
11. TCU 10-2
12. Baylor 9-2
16. Oregon 9-3
18. Florida 10-2
19. Houston 11-1
20. USC 8-4
22. Temple 10-2
–Everyone is in agreement; it’s Oklahoma, the winner of Iowa-Michigan State, and Alabama in the Final Four (if Alabama were to lose, I’m committing hari-kari just out of principle because the end of the world would truly be following anyway), but Clemson-North Carolina is one helluva game and no one following the sport this fall would call this a real upset if Clemson goes down.
Forget North Carolina being No. 10. They got screwed and should probably be 8 (their AP ranking), but it’s going to be more about what kind of margin it wins by should it defeat the Tigers.
Let’s say UNC wins 21-17, 27-20, something like that. Do you really vault them over Ohio State? I don’t see how you can, even if it is the most impressive win in beating a No. 1-ranked team.
Now if Carolina wins 40-10, then I don’t think there is any debate whatsoever. Alabama vs. North Carolina, Oklahoma vs. Iowa-Mich. State.
Stanford? Sorry. They aren’t in the conversation at all in my book. [Unless UNC wins and Alabama’s entire team comes down with E. coli hours before the contest, which is why their pre-game meal won’t include Chipotle, nor will it be catered using Costco chicken salad. Just sayin’.]
And that’s a memo. On to Saturday and the decision by the CFP Selection Committee Sunday night.
–USC acted quickly in naming interim coach Clay Helton as the permanent head coach on Monday. Athletic Director Pat Haden said:
“Choosing a coach is an inexact science. In Clay’s case, there is exactness. We have a man with unquestioned integrity. He is a fantastic person and he is real. Clay is a leader of young men. He is a terrific communicator.” Blah, blah, blah.
Those of us who don’t really care what USC does with the football program just want to make sure there is consistency and stability with the Trojans cheerleading squad; year in and year out in the top three in the country.
I guess I should for the record, though, note that Helton was 5-2 after taking over for Steve “Cutty Sark” Sarkisian, including a win over UCLA, 40-21, which is always rather important, and they are in the Pac-12 title game against Stanford this Saturday.
The decision to give Helton the job was popular among his players.
–I thought I did a pretty good job keeping up with Sunday afternoon/evening’s late-breaking developments, including Kobe’s retirement and coaching firings, but I missed that Justin Fuente is leaving his job as the head football coach at Memphis for Virginia Tech to replace Frank Beamer. In a nice move, Bud Foster is being retained as defensive coordinator. Foster, who was the top internal candidate, has been a member of Beamer’s staff for 29 seasons and defensive coordinator since 1995.
Fuente is just 39 and did a great job at Memphis, reaching No. 13 in the AP poll this season when they were 8-0 before skidding late (to finish the regular season 9-3). Fuente is also known for having an exciting offense. Before Memphis he was an assistant under Gary Patterson at TCU. He played his college ball at Murray State, where he set a number of passing records.
Good choice, Va Tech.
–Where will former Georgia coach Mark Richt end up? Maryland is among the schools expressing interest, but Miami, Missouri, South Carolina and Virginia would also appear to be in the mix. Miami is also looking at Greg Schiano (see below) among others.
–More on the dismissal of Rutgers football coach Kyle Flood after four years and a 27-24 record, though a dismal 4-8 this season, for a myriad of reasons.
Patrick Hobbs, who on Sunday was named interim athletic director after Julie Hermann was canned along with Flood, was given a five-year contract on Monday, worth $560,000 per year, $110,000 more than his predecessor’s base salary. Hobbs will be eligible for performance-based bonuses.
But this compares with other salaries at Rutgers, which become public quickly because it is a state institution.
As reported by Jeff Goldman of NJ.com, women’s basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer was paid $1,631,485 in 2014, the third most among all Rutgers employees. I’ve written in the past of Ms. Stringer and the outrageous deal she worked out for herself. Rutgers’ women’s hoops program sucks, and has sucked for years, let alone it loses gobs of money, especially when you factor in Stringer’s deal.
Yes, way back in 2007-08, Rutgers made it to the Women’s Finals and lost to Tennessee.
But the last six seasons, the Lady Scarlet Knights haven’t gotten past the second round of the NCAAs.
But don’t try criticizing her lack of success and her gigantic pay package. She’ll cuss you out.
Meanwhile, men’s hoops coach Eddie Jordan made $1,111,119 last year, while fired football coach Flood earned $1,043,992.
Two doctors, employees of the university and both neurosurgeons, earned $3.1M and $1.64M, respectively.
Back to new AD Hobbs, the median salary among Big Ten ADs was $741,000 for 2013-14.
As for the Rutgers head football coaching job, fans and alumni want Greg Schiano back, but Schiano might prefer the Miami position if it was offered him.
–So after Wake Forest’s back-to-back 3-9 seasons under new coach Dave Clawson, I couldn’t help but go back and look at David Cutcliffe and the start he had at Duke.
First off, I forgot just how dreadful Duke football was. Oh, I knew the Blue Devils sucked, but between 1995-2007, Duke had just two, 4-win seasons. Cutcliffe then took the helm in 2008.
2008: 4-8
2009: 5-7
2010: 3-9
2011: 3-9
2012: 6-7
2013: 10-4
2014: 9-4
2015: 7-5…of course it’s 8-4 because of the Miami officiating debacle, which sent Duke into a tailspin when they legitimately should have been 9-4 again.
But you see the point. Duke gave Cutcliffe lots of rope and I hope Wake will do the same with Clawson.
NFL
–The Playoffs…as of this week:
AFC….
In: New England (10-0), Cincinnati (9-2), Denver (9-2)
To be determined:
AFC South
Indianapolis 6-5
Houston 6-5
Wild-card hopefuls (including loser of the above): Kansas City (6-5), Pittsburgh (6-5), Jets (6-5), Buffalo (5-6), Oakland (5-6). Yup, it’s a mess.
NFC….
In: Carolina (11-0), Arizona (9-2)
To be determined:
NFC East
Washington 5-6
Giants 5-6
Philadelphia 4-7
NFC North
Minnesota 8-3
Green Bay 7-4
Wild-card hopefuls (including loser of the above two divisions): Seattle (6-5), Atlanta (6-5) Tampa Bay (5-6), Chicago (5-6).
–The Jets and Giants are meeting Sunday for just the 11th time (in the regular season) since 1980.
But last week they waged a battle of a different kind. Both of our games were on at 1:00 PM, not good, and as the Wall Street Journal’s Michael Salfino noted, this was just the 10th time in 35 years this had happened.
But it provided a spotlight into just how popular the teams are, a la Mets-Yankees. According to Nielsen Company, the Giants received 60% of the audience, to 40% for the Jets, and seeing as how both were 5-5 going into their equally critical contests, it was certainly a fair test.
Sunday is a home game for the Giants.
–I went to post before the conclusion of Sunday night’s Denver-New England game at snowy Mile High so for the archives, the Broncos (9-2) handed the Pats (10-1) their first loss on a C.J. Anderson 48-yard run in overtime, 30-24; thus leaving Carolina as the only remaining unbeaten team.
Brock Osweiler was once again in control for Peyton Manning, completing 23-of-42 for 270 yards, a touchdown and an interception, which was just fine given the messy conditions. Tom Brady was also 23/42, for 280, 3-0.
Rob Gronkowski injured his knee in the second half but it doesn’t appear to be as serious as first feared, though he may be held out this week against the Eagles.
–Big blow for Seattle as they lose tight end Jimmy Graham for the season with a torn patellar tendon suffered in the Steelers game.
It’s an injury where there is also no guarantee Graham can come back. Case in point, the Giants’ Victor Cruz (though he has also had calf issues).
Graham has been a stud throughout his career, but was underutilized thus far in Seattle after being acquired from New Orleans.
–In Monday night’s game, the Ravens (4-7) beat the Browns (2-10) on a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown as time expired. That’s really all anyone needs to know about this dreadful affair.
–But Cleveland quarterback Josh McCown is out for the season after fracturing his collarbone, though coach Mike Pettine is mum as I go to post on whether Johnny Manziel or Austin Davis will start Sunday against Cincinnati.
–One of my friends was at the Wake-Rutgers basketball game I describe further below and he sat with a former New York Giants star lineman whose name I’ll protect. But over the course of conversation, this particular player said he had had “29 surgeries.” Many were minor, but just an example of what these guys go through, both during their career and after. [It was not Bill Ard. Don’t want my friends misinterpreting this item.]
College Basketball…AP Poll (Nov. 30)
1. Kentucky 6-0 (59 first-place votes)
2. Maryland 6-0 (4)
3. Michigan State 7-0 (2)
4. Kansas 4-1
5. Iowa State 5-0…as advertised since end of last season
6. Oklahoma 4-0
7. Duke
8. Villanova 6-0
9. North Carolina 5-1
10. Virginia 5-1
12, Xavier 7-0
13. Gonzaga 4-1
14. Syracuse 6-0
15. Oregon 5-0
16. Vanderbilt 5-1
22. SMU 4-0
23. Providence 6-1
–Catching up on some action….
Sunday night after posting, No. 3 Michigan State beat Providence 77-64, while Alabama beat then-No. 17 Notre Dame 74-73.
Monmouth pulled off its third upset of the season, defeating USC 83-73, making it UCLA, USC and Notre Dame thus far. Monmouth plays Georgetown 12/15 and Rutgers 12/20 before launching its MAAC campaign. The hard truth is, though, Monmouth will have to win the MAAC tournament to get into the NCAAs.
–Monday, I went to the Wake Forest-Rutgers game in Piscataway. Unbelievably, it was my game of any kind at Rutgers, but there has been zero reason for me to go before.
Boy, the teams played a dreadful first half, but then the action picked up in the second as Wake had a nice come from behind win. The Deacs led 29-24 at half, then Rutgers built a 58-46 lead with 9 minutes to go. My buddy Paul J., fellow Wake alum, and I thought, ‘game over.’ ‘They’re tired from the long trip to Hawaii, etc.’
Then Wake sprang to life, went on a 16-2 run, and it was back and forth from there.
Great win for us, even if it was Rutgers, which, by the way, hasn’t had a winning season since 2005-06, and hasn’t been to the NCAAs since 1990.
–Tuesday, in a biggie, North Carolina beat Maryland 89-81 in Chapel Hill as preseason All-American point guard Marcus Paige returned from his hand injury to score 20 points. Melo Trimble had 23 points and 12 assists for the Terps.
This could have an impact down the road in terms of tournament seedings, but I’m guessing both end up being No. 1 seeds.
In other Big Ten/ACC Challenge games, Virginia beat Ohio State 64-58, No. 11 Purdue beat Pitt 72-59, and No. 21 Miami defeated Nebraska 77-72.
NBA
—Golden State extended its incredible NBA-record, season-opening streak to 19-0 on Monday with a 106-103 win at Utah, the first of a seven-game road trip. Steph Curry scored 10 of his 26 in the final 6:20 to secure the win.
–Meanwhile, you have the Philadelphia 76ers.
2013-14: 19-63
2014-15: 18-64
2015-16: 1-18…28 consecutive losses, an Americas’ professional league worst losing streak going back to last season.
That is until Tuesday. The Sixers beat the equally pathetic Lakers (2-15) 103-91 in Kobe’s farewell to his native Philadelphia.
And Kobe put on a show, 7 of 26 from the field, including 4 of 17 from three-point land, yet another brick fest.
–So speaking of Kobe and his announcement Sunday that he was retiring end of the season, Oklahoma City All-Star Kevin Durant said he “idolized” Bryant as a player growing up, but Durant blasted the media for its treatment of Kobe.
“I’ve been disappointed this year because you guys [the media] treated him like s—. He’s a legend, and all I hear is about how bad he’s playing, how bad he’s shooting and it’s time for him to hang it up. You guys treated one of our legends like s—, and I didn’t really like it. So hopefully now you can start being nice to him now that he decided to retire after this year.”
Oh, c’mon, Kevin. This is exactly why so many of us can’t stand most professional athletes.
No doubt, Kobe had a brilliant career, but as I pointed out a week or two before his retirement, the bottom line is he cost the Lakers franchise deeply the past three seasons. Just to remind Mr. Durant.
2012-13…Lakers go 45-37, Kobe plays 78 games and averages 27.3 ppg, 5.6 reb., 6 assists, while earning $27.84 million. Lakers get bounced in the first round.
2013-14…Kobe plays six games…picks up $30.45 million and the team goes 27-55.
2014-15…Kobe plays in just 35 games…picks up another $23.5 million after negotiating a two-year extension….team goes 21-61…Kobe’s shooting percentage is a historically awful .373 in the 35 contests in which he suited up.
2015-16…Kobe will play in who knows how many, Lakers are off to a 2-15 start after Tuesday’s game….Kobe hauls down a final $25 million, highest paid player in the league, while shooting .305 from the field.
Kobe, ever the ‘me first’ guy, cost the franchise when he refused to renegotiate his final contracts to help the team with the salary cap, so it could bring in better players. Tim Duncan, by contrast, has done this more than once and this year is making a mere pittance compared to what he could receive if he had acted selfishly or signed with another team.
Kobe has always been a jerk and we don’t even need to get into the more famous, or infamous moments.
Great player? Sure. The Lakers won five titles while he was on the team, but Shaq was the key figure for the first three, 1999-2002, and it wasn’t necessarily all about Kobe in the other two, 2008-10.
What Bryant is being remembered for these days is how his selfishness led to a crushing downfall for the franchise, which now, however, is quietly celebrating their good fortune. Kobe and his money will finally be gone. Kobe and his hideous play of the last three seasons are history.
And back to Durant, who I know heretofore has a great reputation as a human being (whatever), he added this when discussing his idol.
“I never hear about the Finals MVPs, the accolades. They did it for Derek Jeter, they will do it for Tim Duncan when he leaves even if he’s playing bad. I know you gotta report the games, but you’re going too in-depth about how bad (Kobe) is. You’re almost kicking him out of the league.”
I just looked it up. Duncan has made $9.6M, $10.3M and $10.0M his last three seasons. Contrast that with Kobe. You also know what the Spurs have done as a team in this stretch, and what Kobe’s Lakers have done.
Duncan will know enough to leave when he’s “playing bad.” For now, as Kobe tosses one brick after another, Duncan is still capable of 18 rebounds in 28 minutes, as he had the other night.
[Pssst…Timmy D. went to Wake Forest and stayed all four years…but then you already knew that.]
—I do give Kobe credit for saying he was tired of the game in his first press conference after his Players Tribune statement where he said “my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.”
But not before he gets every last penny of that $25 million.
For another opinion…Bill Plaschke / Los Angeles Times
“(Kobe said) he is leaving the game he loves. The reality is that he is also leaving a game that no longer loves him. Though the 37-year-old Bryant has hinted since summer that he would choose to make this his final season, it recently became obvious that he had no choice.
“The third-leading scorer in NBA history had become the worst shooter in the league. The five-time NBA champion had become a struggling fixture on one of the worst teams in the league. A former MVP and future Hall of Famer had become the object of sympathy everywhere around the league, with former players and executives openly hoping that he would retire while the memories of his greatness were still fresh.
“The final wound may have occurred last week in the Lakers’ blowout defeat to the Golden State Warriors, a game in which the Warriors set an NBA record with their 16th consecutive victory to open a season. With the sports world watching, Bryant made one of 14 shots and scored four points in a 111-77 embarrassment….
“Bryant’s jersey will be going from his back into the Staples Center rafters, and his body will leave the court and be immediately bronzed for a Staples Center statue.
“ ‘I was shocked,’ (said Coach Byron) Scott upon hearing the news. ‘And then after I had a chance to kind of think about it, I was sad.’
“There would have been more sadness in watching Bryant, whose $25-million-a-year deal expires after this season, attempt to earn another contract. Now, perhaps for the first time in the career of one of the greatest competitors in any sport, he can relax and enjoy the ride….
“ ‘What we want from Kobe is basically his last game to be able to walk off the court, wave to all the fans, and be able to go into the locker room standing up,’ Scott said.
“That long walk has now begun.”
–The other day I mentioned James Harden’s lack of defense and Tuesday, the Washington Post’s Des Bieler had this:
“Remember when James Harden had supposedly vastly improved his defense last season? Which is to say, the Houston Rockets guard went from terrible to not-quite-as-terrible?
“Yeah, those days appear to be over. Except that now, Harden seems to have gone from ‘terrible’ to ‘thoroughly apathetic.’
“The latest example arrived on Monday, in a game against the Pistons. In a sequence memorable for all the wrong reasons, Harden committed a turnover, did nothing to slow the ball in transition, and then did even less to prevent an easy offensive rebound and put-back for Detroit’s Aron Baynes.”
There are actually countless examples online…you can easily find them. Yet another professional athlete who is also a jerk. Kevin McHale is saying to himself, thank god they fired me. I need to find a nice little college job.
Heck, McHale’s got more than enough money. He’d have fun coaching high school ball.
–Tuesday, the Washington Wizards, off to a disappointing start, defeated LeBron and the Cavs, 97-85, behind John Wall’s 35 points and 10 assists. The Wizards are now 7-8, Cleveland 13-5.
MLB
–I forgot former Washington hurler Jordan Zimmermann turned down a five-year, $105 million contract last winter, so his new five-year, $110 million deal with the Tigers is a whopping $5 million more, $1 million per. As the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner also notes, Zimmermann’s $105 million offer from the Nats wouldn’t have begun until after the 2015 season, when he earned $16.5 million.
But some wonder if the righty could have received more from someone else. He’s only going to be 34 by the end of the contract.
I feel like, though, Zimmermann isn’t that great…that his best years are already behind him.
But, all together now…that’s why they play the game!
–So, with the above having perhaps ‘set’ some kind of market, the Boston Red Sox went out and signed the big prize, pitcher David Price, to a reported seven-year, $217 million contract, besting Max Scherzer’s seven-year, $210 deal from last offseason.
Price is 30 years old and has been a heckuva pitcher, 104-56, 3.09 ERA, but as a starter he is 0-7 in the postseason with a 5.27 ERA.
The lefty’s contract is also greater than the seven-year, $215 million extension Clayton Kershaw signed before the 2014 season.
Well, Boston got their ace, and now the ball is in the Yankees’ court to answer in some fashion.
–Seattle agreed to trade slugger Mark Trumbo to Baltimore for catcher Steve Clevenger, according to ESPN.
Trumbo averaged 34 home runs and 94 RBIs for the Angels from 2011 to 2013, but averaged just 18 homers and 64 RBIs the past two seasons, with a miserable .303 OBP.
Baltimore is assuming free agent first baseman Chris Davis goes elsewhere.
–Johnny Mac and I were musing about why some Mets players are playing winter ball. Like Juan Lagares, who has a bad elbow, probably needs Tommy John surgery, and we just assumed he would rehab and rest and see what the situation is in the spring.
But nooo…he’s playing winter ball, whereupon Johnny had a good point. Maybe the wife (just wants him out of the house)…your editor needing to keep this PG during “Web Sweeps Week”.
NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship
[Didn’t say anything Sunday because play hadn’t been completed, but Go Deacs!]
Final Eight
1 Wake Forest vs. 8 Stanford
Boston College vs. 6 Syracuse
12 Creighton vs. 4 Akron
10 Maryland vs. 2 Clemson
Wake, after a bye, has 1-0 wins over Charlotte and Indiana.
Stanford has two 3-1 wins over Santa Clara and 9 Ohio State.
Unseeded B.C. beat Vermont 1-0, 14 South Florida 2-1, and 3 Georgetown 1-1 in a shootout.
Clemson has eight goals in its two games.
Quarterfinals are Dec. 4/5.
Golf Balls
Have to admit I’ll enjoy the next few weeks, not caring about the game. Some of us need a break, but I’ll be pumped for January, especially once we hit the West Coast tour, though El Nino is bound to do a number on it.
Jaime Diaz of Gold World, however, summed up this year succinctly.
“Historically, 2015 in golf will go down as a momentous year. Why?
“Mostly because the era of the greatest player of the last 30 years – Tiger Woods – who was tracking to be the greatest player in history, ended.
“Those are not easy words for me to write, although many have written the same before.
“I haven’t minded being late to the funeral. Giving up on any professional golfer is tricky. Too many have come back from the supposed dead. It’s especially fraught given the greater the player being buried, because the same will and skill that made them special can propel amazing comebacks. That’s why I’ve always given Tiger a super-sized benefit of the doubt….
“Now my thinking has changed. The momentum Woods presumably would carry from an impressive 2013 – when he won five times and infamously saw his ball hit the flagstick and bounce into the water on the 15th at Augusta National – was quickly thwarted by a microdiscectomy in March 2014. When he came back, his play was bad. It got worse in 2015, which started with chip yips, descended into a spate of career-high scores and ended with two more back procedures in the fall….
“More than athletes in team sports, golfers can play around injuries and maintain long and lucrative careers. But if the goal is to win major championships and be, if not the best player in the game, among the group at the top, injuries are deal breakers.
“Woods was the best because he combined power and touch better than anyone in history. To be the best again, he will still need both. But hard swings with a back that has had three surgical procedures in 18 months will not be sustainable. He’s a race car whose horsepower has been reduced….
“(Meanwhile) Jordan Spieth’s feats and style have made turning the page amazingly easy. He, along with the other members of today’s true Big Three (Jason Day and Rory McIlroy) could very well be writing a new chapter.
“For those and some sad reasons, it has been a very good year.”
But on Tuesday, in a press conference ahead of his annual Hero World Challenge, it was a very somber Tiger Woods who said he had no idea when he would return after three back surgeries.
Mark Cannizzaro / New York Post
“Woods, whose career has been tabled indefinitely by yet another back surgery, sounded more pessimistic than he’s ever been while addressing the litany of physical ailments that have interrupted his career throughout the last seven years.
“He sounded almost resigned to his fate, that this might be it for him, that he not only will never catch Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championships, but might never have a chance to win anything again – other than a medalist member-member somewhere down the line.
“Woods’ words left you with a sobering, if depressed, feeling about what is left of his brilliant career, one that – just eight years ago – seemed like it was a runaway freight train careening toward shattering Nicklaus’ record.
“Remember the numbers 79 and 14, because those might end up being the final statistics of his career that matter – 79 career wins and 14 majors.
“Woods (said Tuesday) he has not been cleared to begin rehab yet and he does not know when that time will come.
“ ‘I have no answer for that and neither does my surgeon,’ Woods said. ‘There is no timetable, so that’s the hardest part for me. There’s really nothing I can look forward to, nothing I can build towards. Where is the light at the end of the tunnel?’
“Woods said if he ever can get healthy enough to compete at the game’s highest level again, ‘I think everything beyond this will be gravy.’
“Then this when asked about the prospect of not making it back: ‘If that’s all it entails, then I’ve had a pretty good run.’”
That sure sounds like resignation and a retirement announcement down the road if his initial rehab efforts don’t go well. He should be able to tell pretty quickly.
Woods turns 40 on Dec. 30.
Stuff
—Chinese investors have agreed to buy 13 percent of Premier League team Manchester City for $400 million – the first major move by mainland firms into the league, as first reported by the South China Morning Post. China Media Capital and CITIC Capital are the investors.
City Football Group (CFG), owns New York City FC, Melbourne City, and other football-related businesses.
This makes sense. Football (soccer) should be a huge sport in China, despite its national team’s stumble against Hong Kong (heh heh), and building interest in the Premier League will only help the sport in China.
President Xi Jinping toured Man City’s facilities on his recent state visit to the U.K.
Xi has said he has three goals in making football development a priority in China: to qualify for the World Cup (not likely this time, heh heh), to host it, and to win it.
–Here’s a harrowing story. From Hamza Jabir / Press Association Scotland:
“A Scottish climber has been seriously injured in a ‘terrifying’ attack by a grizzly bear in Canada.
“Greg Boswell, from Cupar in Fife, and friend Nick Bullock were scaling an ascent called Dirty Love on the 3,261-foot Mount Wilson in the Canadian Rockies over the weekend when the bear attacked.
“Writing on his blog, Mr. Bullock, described how Mr. Boswell had to ‘prize apart’ the ‘monster’ bear’s jaw to free himself from its grip.
“He said: ‘Greg ran out of sight and the carnivorous freight train passed me, snorting and growling and bounding, dusting me with spindrift – it looked at me for a second, and for a second I thought this is it, but in that second the bear had spotted Greg had fallen.
“ ‘It bit straight through his brand new boot as if it were a carpet slipper. It lunged once more and crunched into his shin, placing a paw on his other leg before lifting him off the ground.
“ ‘He grabbed the bear’s mouth and prized apart the jaws, pushing, and screaming… Nick, Nick, help, it’s got me.’
“Mr. Bullock said he ran to help his friend, who then escaped and fled ‘screaming and shouting’ from the animal. They both managed to hide in the surrounding forest, where they waited to ‘ambush’ the bear if it returned.
“After spending a number of hours in freezing temperatures, the pair found the route down the mountain and made it to the town of Banff, Alberta, where they were treated at a local hospital.”
Boswell is recovering from surgery on his bite injuries, thanking his friend Nick for saving his life.
No word from the grizzly, No. 6 on the All-Species List.
–So I was reading a review by Randall Fuller of a new book on Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, “Custer’s Trials” by T.J. Stiles, and this passage caught my eye.
“Nearly half of Mr. Stiles’ book is devoted to Custer’s career in the Civil War, which was clearly the high-water mark of his life. Custer possessed a talent for self-promotion, but he was a genius at fighting. Time and again he led his cavalry into some of the fiercest battles of the war; invariably he emerged unscathed. (Twice he was shot, but both times the bullets were spent by the time they reached him, leaving only bruises. On the other hand, his horses were not so fortunate; one seems to be shot from beneath him approximately every 20 pages of Mr. Stiles’ book.) Leading a charge at Gettysburg, Custer helped alter the course of this most crucial battle and bolstered his reputation as a Union hero. The ‘Boy General of the Golden Locks,’ as he was often called in the press, wore a black velvet jacket, a blue shirt, a brilliant red tie and an enormous hat with a star emblazoned on it throughout the conflict. That he was not immediately killed by sniper fire was the result less of military prowess than of what he preferred to call ‘Custer Luck.’”
Well, it all changed after Appomattox, but Stiles relegates Little Bighorn to the epilogue.
“Mr. Stiles doesn’t view the military debacle as the result of Custer’s poor decision-making. He was, after all, a superb military strategist, a ruthless fighter who survived against heavy odds, an expert killer. Like nearly everyone in the nation at the time – including the military hierarchy that provided Custer’s orders – he simply underestimated the will and numbers of Native Americans who had been systematically killed and displaced by decades of U.S. policy.”
–The movie “Creed” did terrific at the box office its first weekend, doing $42.6 million when the film’s budget is $35 million. I love that Sylvester Stallone is receiving some awards buzz. That would be way cool if he won best-supporting actor. Talk about a great American success story and a self-made man, that’s Sly. Forget the stupid stereotypes, he’s the best of America. [Audiences gave the film an “A”.]
The flick “Victor Frankenstein” with Daniel Radcliffe could not have done worse and received a “C” ranking.
“The Hunger Games: Hormel’s Spam – Part 2” brought in $75.8 million over the five-day holiday weekend, bringing its two-week total to $198.3M. [Wall Street Journal]
–The figures for Adele’s ‘25’ continue to soar ever higher. Now the figure for her first week is up to a record-shattering 3.38 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music, more than a million more than the previous record for first-week sales – ‘N Sync sold 2.4 million copies of ‘No Strings Attached’ in 2000 – so ‘25’ is the first to tally three million since Nielsen (and previously SoundScan) began tallying the numbers in 1991. [Joe Coscarelli / New York Times]
Both Adele and Taylor Swift with her ‘1989’ opted not to stream their albums on Spotify.
Adele’s previous ‘21’ has sold 11.2 million in the U.S., 30 million worldwide.
Top 3 songs for the week 12/6/80: #1 “Lady” (Kenny Rogers…#1 for six weeks! That pretty much sums up this era of crapola…) #2 “More Than I Can Say” (Leo Sayer…more than I could stomach…) #3 “Another One Bites The Dust” (Queen…these guys helped save the week…) #4 “Woman In Love” (Barbra Streisand…instrumentation behind this one is dreadful…) #5 “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” (Stevie Wonder…among his worst…) #6 “(Just Like) Starting Over” (John Lennon…would replace ‘Lady’ at #1, thankfully…) #7 “Love On The Rocks” (Neil Diamond) #8 “Hungry Heart” (Bruce Springsteen…What’s this? Real music? Bruuuuce!…) #9 “I’m Coming Out” (Diana Ross…little different meaning, today…) #10 “Dreamin’” (Cliff Richard…he did better, for sure…)
New York Jets Quiz Answers: 1) 4,000 yards rushing: Curtis Martin 10,302 (1998-2005); Freeman McNeil 8,074 (1981-92); Emerson Boozer 5,135 (1966-75); Matt Snell 4,285 (1964-70); Johnny Hector 4,280 (1983-92). 2) 5,000 yards receiving: Don Maynard 11,732 (1960-72); Wesley Walker 8,306 (1977-89); Wayne Chrebet 7,365 (1995-2005); Al Toon 6,605 (1985-92); Laveranues Coles 5,941 (2000-08). [George Sauer had 4,965 (1965-70). One of the original rebels.]
You know who was underappreciated in his time here? Freeman McNeil.
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
