Ohio State 30 Michigan 27 – Stocks and News

[Posted Sunday PM…before end of Chiefs-Broncos]

NFL Quiz: What two players hold the record for yards per carry for a season at 8.4? Both rushed for over 1,000 yards that year, so from this standpoint it is not a trick question, but, frankly, this is hard. One played in the 1930s, the other did it post-1990. Answer below.

College Football Review

The holiday weekend’s action played out to form and so now it’s about whether the winner of Penn State-Wisconsin, particularly Penn State, can build a case for being in the final four over Washington, assuming both win their respective conference championship games next Saturday. Michigan is no longer in the conversation…sorry, Wolverines fans.

But to quickly summarize the action for the record (CFP rankings)….

No. 1 Alabama took care of business, as they have all season, and is now 12-0 after a workmanlike 30-12 win over 13 Auburn (8-4), outgaining the Tigers 501-182.

No. 2 Ohio State (11-1), in an instant classic, beat 3 Michigan (10-2) 30-27 in double overtime in Columbus as all anyone will be talking about was Urban Meyer’s decision to go for it on fourth-and-one at the 16, needing a field goal to prolong the game but not having confidence in his kicker to tie it, and then proceeding to have quarterback J.T. Barrett get stuffed at the line, only to eke out the first, according to the officials and replay. The very next play Curtis Samuel went 15 yards for the winning score.

Afterwards, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was fuming. “That was not a first down. I was bitterly disappointed with the officiating today.”

Barrett accounted for 249 of Ohio State’s 330 yards, while Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight was 23/36, 219, 2-2. Ohio State’s Malik Hooker returned one of Speight’s interceptions for his third INT for a score this season, the 7th Ohio State interception return of the year. The Wolverines turned it over three times in all to Ohio State’s 1 TO.

More on the coaching situation later.

No. 25 Navy (9-2) blasted SMU (5-7) 75-31, thanks to a running game that racked up 496 yards, 10.3 per carry. Navy is now facing Temple in the American Athletic Conference championship game, before they go up against Army on Dec. 10.

Rutgers closed out its embarrassing season 2-10 with a 31-13 loss to Maryland (6-6).

Oregon State’s Beavers had their way with the Oregon Ducks, 34-24, in that state’s Civil War on Friday, both teams finishing 4-8 and Oregon coach Mark Helfrich’s job very much in jeopardy despite an eight-figure buyout. The Beavers had been ravaged the prior eight years by OU.

Pitt is now 8-4 and should have the lesser bowl sponsors salivating with a 76-61 win over Syracuse (4-8). Yes, you are reading that right. The highest-scoring game in FBS history. Nathan Peterman had four TD passes (on nine completions) for the Panthers, with James Conner running for 115 and a score, though Syracuse outgained Pitt 668-644, with Orange QB Zack Mahoney throwing for 440 yards and five touchdowns. It’s been an understatement to say Pitt could have had an even better season if they had only just a modicum of defense. In all four of their losses, all to quality opponents (Oklahoma State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Miami), they gave up at least 37 points.

[FYI…the previous record for points in a FBS game was set in 2007 when Navy outlasted North Texas 74-62.]

Speaking of Miami (8-4) they handily beat Duke (4-8), 40-21, behind Brad Kaaya’s 396 yards and four touchdowns through the air, while Summit High School’s Michael Badgley was 4-4 on field goals (20 of 25 on the season, perfect on all nine attempts between 40-49).

As for UNC, they suffered a highly-disappointing 28-21 loss to North Carolina State (6-6) on Friday, as the Tar Heels dropped to 8-4. They should have finished 10-2. North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky wasn’t the problem, 23/38, 280, 3-0.

Finally, in the Ferraro’s Lunch Bowl (Ferraro’s ristorante being in Westfield, NJ), Wake Forest ended its regular season a disappointing 6-6, when the Deacs should have gone 8-4, in losing to the punchless Eagles of Boston College, who became bowl eligible at 6-6 themselves. Wake, playing at home before what seemed to be 83 fans, outgained B.C. 287-167, but the Deacs had three turnovers and normally reliable placekicker Mike Weaver missed a 40-yarder with 1:22 to tie it.

So did the win ensure B.C. coach Steve Addazio will be back for 2017? He was quick to tell the sideline reporter afterwards that the Eagles have now been bowl eligible three of four seasons. It’s been rumored all year he’s out…and possibly Brian Kelly in.

On a personal note, I now owe B.C. alum Steve D. another lunch and it’s pissing me off, because we didn’t bet on soccer. That said, I’m still ordering salmon; not a hot dog off the kids’ menu.

More tidbits….

—Charlie Strong was relieved of his coaching duties at Texas, following a last loss to TCU (6-5) on Friday, 31-9, dropping the Longhorns to 5-7 and 16-21 in Strong’s three turbulent seasons. They say the Texas players loved their coach. Well they sure didn’t play worth a damn for him.

So, Houston’s Tom Herman is getting the nod and this is where he belongs, not at LSU, as first thought. But it does need to be pointed out that the Herman hype following the opening win over Oklahoma somehow propelled him forward the rest of the year, even as his overrated Cougars suffered three conference losses.

One thing we do know, Herman was right in staying in Texas because this has been his base and he’s proven he can recruit with the best of them.

Herman reportedly will receive $5 million a year for five seasons, with escalators, while Texas’ still owes Strong $10.7 million on his original five-year guaranteed contract. Ah yes, the power of boosters.

What put the move to Texas for Herman in motion was LSU’s decision not to go outside for a new coach, but rather promote interim coach Ed Orgeron to a full-time role after he went 5-2 as longtime coach Les Miles’ replacement. Orgeron, 55, is a Louisiana native.

—Michigan has now lost 12 of 13 to Ohio State, but obviously, the Wolverines under Jim Harbaugh are fully back.

—Of the past 25 Heisman winners, 21 came from teams ranked in the top five of the final Associated Press poll. Only two (Texas’ Ricky Williams in 1997 and Baylor’s Robert Griffin III in 2011) came from teams outside the top 10. Ergo, Lamar Jackson would be an outlier. [Patrick Stevens / Washington Post]

–Yes, Penn State’s James Franklin deserves a lot of credit for getting his team to where they are in just his third season. My problems aren’t with Penn State, I just have issues with him.

–First-year coach Justin Fuente did a pretty darn good job with Virginia Tech. Clemson needs to be careful.

–Where will Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck end up? Talk about engineering a turnaround. WMU was 1-11 in Fleck’s first season, 2013.

–Once again we are going to have some 5-7 teams in the bowl games. We just don’t need 40 of these largely worthless affairs. Instead, the networks should air Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra concerts from the ‘60s. Guessin’ this wouldn’t work with ESPN in Bristol, though.

Turning to Division I-AA / FCS playoff action….

New Hampshire defeated Lehigh 64-21; Chattanooga whipped Weber State 45-14; Richmond beat North Carolina A&T 39-10; and Villanova defeated St. Francis (Pa) 31-21.

I’ll have more on this next chat.

–All the above was written before release of the latest AP Poll, Sunday PM….

1. Alabama 12-0 (61)
2. Ohio State 11-1
3. Clemson 11-1
4. Washington 11-1
5. Michigan 10-2
6. Wisconsin 10-2
7. Oklahoma 9-2*
8. Penn State 10-2
9. Colorado 10-2
10. USC 9-3**
12. Florida State 9-3
13. Western Michigan 12-0
16. Louisville 9-3
20. Navy 9-2…not ranked last time
24. Pitt 8-4!

*The last CFP had Penn State 7, Oklahoma 8. [Next CFP is Tuesday.]

**With Oregon’s demise, Trojan cheerleaders back on top…and at the end of the day….

NFL

–In games Sunday, only those that were at least mildly relevant….

The Giants have now won six in a row to get to 8-3, 27-13 over the 0-12 Brownies at Cleveland, reality sinking in that the LeBron magic can only transmit so far. Eli Manning was 15/27, 194, but with three touchdown passes, two to Odell Beckham Jr. (6-96-2).

Baltimore is 6-5 after a 19-14 win over the Bengals (3-7-1).

Atlanta (7-4) beat the highly disappointing Cardinals (4-6-1) 38-19, as Matt Ryan threw for 269 yards and two scores. But for Arizona, David Johnson picked up 33.1 fantasy points.

Buffalo (6-5) stayed relevant with a 28-21 home win against Steve G.’s Jaguars (2-9). Steve, like moi, is more focused on the USC cheerleaders these days; like what bowl game will they be in. Or as Karl Malden might have said, “Where will they go? Where…will…they…go?”

Miami (7-4) continues to do what it takes, this time a 31-24 win over the lowly 49ers (1-10…I forgot just how awful Chip Kelly’s bunch was…) in Miami, which is more focused on celebrating Fidel Castro’s death…as they should be. Ryan Tannehill was a cool 20/30, 285, 3-0, while dirtball Colin Kaepernick had a pretty good day stat-wise; 29/46, 296, 3-1, 94.1, and 113 yards rushing on just 10 carries. Otherwise, I wish this dude the very worst in the future. [If you need reminding, forget his protest, which I’ll live with…it’s the fact he then didn’t vote. I’ll lay off his Castro comments for now.]

San Diego (5-6) put a dent in Houston’s (6-5) playoff hopes with a 21-13 win in Houston. $72 million quarterback Brock Osweiler was horrid for the Texans, 22/36, 244, 0-3, 45.6. For the Chargers, after his disastrous last game, Philip Rivers threw three touchdown passes and had a 116.3 rating.

Oakland (9-2) is in the driver’s seat in the AFC West after a 35-32 win over Carolina (4-7), but it wasn’t easy, to say the least. The Raiders were up 24-7 when the Panthers reeled off 25 unanswered for a 32-24 lead with 13:30 to play. Oakland and Derek Carr then scored the last 11; Carr throwing for 315 yards and two touchdowns for the game despite what we were told was a dislocated finger on this throwing hand.

Seattle is still very much in charge of the NFC West, though they are now 7-3-1 after a 14-5 loss to Tampa Bay (6-5), which is surprisingly relevant, Bucs QB Jameis Winston with two touchdown passes to Mike Evans. Russell Wilson was, out of nowhere given his recent play, awful…17/33, 151, 0-2, 38.8.

And then you had my Jets, now 3-8, after a 22-17 loss at MetLife Stadium to the Patriots (9-2). Tom Brady threw for 286 yards and two touchdowns, while Ryan Fitzpatrick was a solid 22/32, 269, 2-0, 115.2.

But here’s the thing. Jets fans should all be asking themselves, “What was that all about?” So we were competitive the entire game. We aren’t going anywhere and we could have lost, or maybe won, with Bryce Petty! We learned absolutely nothing today, but we may have learned something in playing Petty and when you’re out of the goddamn playoffs, why the [heck] would you play Fitzpatrick?! What a freakin’ idiotic franchise.

Meanwhile, going back a few days….

Rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott again led the Cowboys to victory on Thanksgiving, as Dallas (10-1) extended its franchise regular-season record with a 10th straight victory, beating the Redskins (6-4-1), 31-26. Prescott was 17/24, 195, 1-0, 108.9, with another touchdown rushing, his fifth of the season, while Elliott rushed for 97 yards on 20 carries and two TDs.

But Prescott shined in the fourth quarter, which is becoming quite a habit. He has now completed 25 of 28 passes in the fourth quarter over the past four games.

Washington got a huge performance from quarterback Kirk Cousins, who was 41/53, 449, 3-0, 120.7, as the Redskins remain very much in the playoff picture. Tight end Jordan Reed was heroic in coming back from a serious shoulder injury early in the game to come back and catch 10 passes for 95 yards and two TDs.

Just a terrific game.

Earlier, surprising Detroit moved to 7-4 with a 16-13 win over Minnesota (6-5), as Matthew Stafford threw for 232 yards and a score, while Matt Prater had field goals of 40 and 48 in the fourth quarter. Sam Bradford was 31 of 37 for the Vikes but for only 224 yards and no touchdowns, plus an INT.

And then in the final Turkey Day game of the three, everyone and their mother at the dinner table knew Indianapolis didn’t have a chance without quarterback Andrew Luck, out with a concussion, and so at least on this topic there was no argument, the Steelers (6-5) whipping the Colts (5-6) in Indy, 28-7, as Ben Roethlisberger played well on the road (not always the case), going 14/20, 221, 3-0, 146.0. Antonio Brown had five receptions for 91 yards and three touchdowns. Le’Veon Bell rushed for 120 yards and a score.

Luck’s fill-in, Scott Tolzien, was kind of overwhelmed…22/36, 205, 1-2, 62.8.

Yes, the Steelers are right back in the playoff conversation.

–After Dallas’ 31-26 win over the Redskins on Thanksgiving, Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant erupted against Washington cornerback Josh Norman after Norman appeared to claim Bryant threatened to shoot him during an on-field confrontation moments after the game.

Norman claims that Bryant told him, “Where I’m from, we unload the [ammunition] clip.”

Later Bryant Tweeted: “Don’t lie on me…but I will whoop yo ass boy straight up.”

Bryant then adamantly denied ever threatening Norman.

–So how did the three NFL games on Thanksgiving do from a ratings standpoint?

Redskins-Cowboys drew a 15.6 overnight rating, up slightly over last year’s Cowboys-Panthers game, which drew a 15.3 for CBS.

Lions-Vikings garnered a 14.4 rating, up from 13.7 for Lions-Eagles in 2015.

But Steelers-Colts only drew a 10.8, down 26 percent from last year’s Bears-Packers game on Thanksgiving night.

The NFL’s Sunday prime-time games continue to be a major bust, down 19 percent from last year, while “Monday Night Football” ratings on ESPN are down 24 percent.

–I agree with John Madden who thought it was totally unfair that the Washington Redskins had to play a Sunday night game and then travel to play on Thanksgiving Day in Dallas.

–I’m sorry but while I didn’t Tweet about it, I saw Aretha Franklin performing “The National Anthem” before the Lions-Vikings game and I’m sick of all those television anchors afterwards who were afraid to criticize what was a horrendous mess. Forget that it was double the length it should be; it was simply the worst performance of the song, by a professional, in ages.

MLB

So I was as shocked as anyone to hear that MLB and the Players Association may not reach a new collective bargaining agreement by the Dec. 1 deadline after all. The word “lockout” is a nightmare for baseball fans, especially after such a glorious World Series, plus it’s not as if the sport isn’t doing well financially. Things have never been better.

A lockout would put free-agent signings on hold, for one.

But there is still, at last word, a chance the current agreement could be extended until the owners and players get together on sticking points involving an international draft and the competitive balance tax issue.

I’m just not concerned this will last more than two weeks and that spring training won’t be impacted in any way.

–Earlier this week, the Mariners and Diamondbacks pulled off a five-player trade, with infielder Jean Segura going from Arizona to Seattle and Arizona acquiring right-hander Taijuan Walker as the centerpiece of the deal.

Segura had an outstanding season for the Diamondbacks, hitting .319 with 20 home runs and 63 RBIs, while leading the N.L. with 203 hits.

Walker went 8-11 with a 4.22 ERA in 25 starts for Seattle, though at 24, he is still seen as a big prospect.

Boy, I don’t know about this one. I think Seattle got a steal. Segura’s going to be just 27 this spring and let’s assume this past year wasn’t a fluke. For the Mariners he’ll play shortstop.

–We note the passing of David “Boo” Ferriss, a Boston Red Sox pitcher from 1945 to 1950, whose best season was 1946, when he finished with a 25-6 record, 3.25 ERA, and was named an All-Star. He was also 21-10 in 1945 and 65-30 for his brief career, which was shortened by a shoulder injury in 1947.

Ferriss was then the longtime coach at Delta State, where he won 639 games over 26 seasons. He was 94.

–And pitcher Ralph Branca died. He was 90. Over a 12-year major league career, mostly with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he was 88-68 and a three-time All-Star, though he largely would have been forgotten were it not for one pitch. Oct. 3, 1951.

Facing the New York Giants with a 4-2 lead and the National League championship at stake, Branca threw a high fastball in the ninth inning to the Giants’ Bobby Thomson who ended the game and soared into history with a “game-ending, pennant-clinching, bedlam-inducing (and since controversial) rocket into the left-field stands at New York’s old Polo Grounds, a three-run blast that lives in lore as ‘the shot heard round the world.’” [Paul Duggan / AP]

After the game, as grief consumed Dodgers fans, Branca endured catcalls and death threats. He was constantly pestered by writers and photographers.

But Branca seldom griped about his fate, despite knowing that the Giants were guilty of stealing signs, using a system of electrical buzzers and cryptic gestures, plus a powerful telescope mounted high in the stadium. Giants hitters were often tipped seconds in advance about whether a fastball or changeup was coming.

Branca would later say in his 2011 autobiography: “I was advised to capitalize on and expose the scheme. Go to the press…Do something. But I refused. I didn’t want to be seen as a whiner, a sore loser, or a baby crying over spilt milk.

“Take it on the chin. Accept the blow. Move on with your life. Or, best of all, forget about it, which proved impossible.”

It wasn’t until 2001 that journalist Joshua Prager documented the long-rumored pitch-tipping in an article for the Wall Street Journal and in his 2006 book, “The Echoing Green: The Untold Story of Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca and the Shot Heard Round the World.”

Joshua Prager / New York Times (this week)

“Branca would be O.K. He had God and baseball and, 17 days after the home run, a wife, a green-eyed beauty in white satin named Ann Mulvey, who had already taken him for better and for worse. Yes, he had failed afield. But he was at peace.

“But then, three years later, in 1954, he wasn’t. For a pitcher named Ted Gray told Branca that the Giants had cheated, had bested him not only with a bat of ash but also with a telescope and buzzer. They had, Gray said, spied on the catcher’s signals and relayed them to the Giants batters – including Thomson. (Whether Thomson availed himself of that stolen sign on that famous pitch from Branca, only he knew.)”

Branca grew bitter and then he tried to exonerate himself.

Prager:

“In 1962, for example, when a reporter asked him to pose with Thomson at an old timers’ day event, he refused. ‘It’s taken years to live down that hurt,’ Branca told Sports Illustrated. ‘If you want a picture, take one of the guys with the binoculars who was stealing our signs that day.’ He added, ‘I’m human.’”

In later years, as all baseball fans know, Thomson and Branca made their peace, and a fair amount of coin, appearing together at card shows and the like. Thomson, though, never told Branca if he used a stolen sign.

College Basketball

–Michigan State coach Tom Izzo apologized to his team for putting together a brutal early schedule that left his boys little time to practice and develop, following its 73-58 loss to the No. 20 Baylor Bears in the Battle 4 Atlantic on Thursday. They did beat Wichita State on Friday in the tourney.

The Spartans, now 4-3, had already lost to Arizona in Hawaii and Kentucky in New York before Thursday’s loss, and they travel to Duke, Tuesday, for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

–Just a few games of note the last few days….

21 Iowa State (5-1) lost to 11 Gonzaga (6-0) 73-71. [This is important for San Diego State’s future and Selection Sunday.]

18 Syracuse (4-1) lost to South Carolina (6-0) 64-50.

NBA

–Wednesday, in Cleveland’s 137-125 win over the Trail Blazers, the Cavs’ Kevin Love had 34 points in the first quarter on 8 of 10 shooting from three-point range (11 of 14 field goals overall), which was an NBA-record for a first quarter and the second most ever for any quarter, 37, by Klay Thompson (1/23/15). Love, though, only finished with 40 (8 of12, 12 of 20).

But then on Friday, the Cavaliers set an NBA record by becoming the first team to have back-to-back regular-season games with 20 3-pointers, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. [21 on Wednesday, 20 Friday in a 128-90 rout of the 2-13 Dallas Mavericks.] Kind of surprising that with all their success from behind the arc, Golden State hasn’t accomplished the feat.

Dallas owner Mark Cuban is absolutely going nuts over his team’s performance. No wonder he was seen with Steve Bannon the other day at a bar in New York. “What the [heck] do I do with these guys, Steve?” [Our microphone didn’t pick up the other side of the conversation.]

–Have to admit I’ve watched a little Knicks action recently. Friday’s game was downright exciting, a 113-11 overtime win over Charlotte as New York advanced to 8-7 behind Carmelo Anthony’s season-high 35 points and 14 rebounds.

But then in the second half of the home-and-home, on Saturday, Charlotte rebounded with a 107-102 win as Anthony was 7 of 25 from the field.

And this is probably the last I write of the Knicks for a few weeks.

NCAA Soccer

–The women’s final four is set. Dec. 2. West Virginia, the No. 1 seed, takes on North Carolina, while in the other semi it is USC against Georgetown.

–As for the men….Go Deacs! Wake defeated SIUE 2-1 in Winston-Salem today and now faces Virginia Tech, 2-1 winners over Indiana, in the Elite Eight. Others moving on were North Carolina, 1-0 over Syracuse; Providence over Creighton, 2-1; Denver over Washington, 2-1; Louisville over Notre Dame, 3-1; and Clemson over Albany, 3-1. Stanford and Virginia are playing as I post.

Premier League

In Saturday’s action, the big game was at Chelsea and my Tottenham Spurs once again proved they aren’t truly elite with a 2-1 loss, making it 30 games in a row without a win at Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool defeated Sunderland, while Manchester City beat Burnley 2-1 on Sergio Aguero’s two scores.

Struggling Leicester City mustered only a draw with Middlesbrough, 2-2.

And in an incredible game, Swansea defeated Crystal Palace 5-4, with seven goals after intermission. Man, wish I was there at that one. This represented American Bob Bradley’s first win at Swansea.

Sunday, Manchester United drew with lowly West Ham, 1-1, the fourth straight draw at Old Trafford in Premier League play for Man U, which is rather pathetic. I caught the end of this one, and the home fans are a most surly bunch these days. You wouldn’t want to venture into a pub there afterwards and shout, “Man U sucks!” Nope, wouldn’t be prudent.

Arsenal beat Bournemouth 3-1.

As for the Champions League, as my friend Dr. W. warned me, don’t get too excited about Tottenham’s prospects, or rather, don’t ignore the impact of the extra games on the Spurs’ Premier League play. Last Tuesday, Tottenham lost to Monaco 2-1, which eliminates them from the last 16, knockout stage, while Leicester City’s 2-1 win over Club Brugge moved it into the next phase; a super achievement for their first time at this level. But then they are falling apart when they get to the PL, while Tottenham clearly can’t do both at a high level either.

PL standings after 13 of 38….

1. Chelsea 31 points
2. Liverpool 30
3. Manchester City 30
4. Arsenal 28
5. Tottenham 24
6. Manchester United 20

Yup, the Power Four is very quickly separating itself from the rest of the pack.

Stuff

–While I will excoriate Fidel Castro in that other column I do, Cuba had won no gold medals at any Olympic Games from 1906 to 1968, but finally, with an increased emphasis on sport, Cuba broke through in 1972 at the Munich Games, as heavyweight boxer Teofilo Stevenson won the first of his three consecutive gold medals, while Alberto Juantorena became the first man to win both the 400- and 800-meter races.

Cuba also won the first-ever Olympic baseball championship, over the United States, in 1992, much to Castro’s delight.

And of course these days, Cuba is known for the many ballplayers that have made it to the U.S.

I will always remember, though, how Teofilo Stevenson, a truly tremendous athlete, was held down by the regime. He should have been a true global star.

–Following up on my recent report on steroids in the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee announced that three Olympic gold medals and one silver medal were stripped on Friday from athletes caught in the latest round of positive doping retests from the 2008 and 2012 Summer Games.

Seven athletes from Belarus, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan were retroactively disqualified after testing positive for steroids in a reanalysis of their stored doping samples.

Weightlifter Ilya Ilyin of Kazakhstan was formally stripped of two golds – one each from the Beijing and London Games.

Oksana Menkova of Belarus was stripped of the Beijing gold medal in the women’s hammer throw.

—Jimmie Johnson gave Tony Stewart his helmet from winning his seventh Sprint Cup Series Championship last weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The retiring Stewart said, “This is probably the biggest honor you can have as a driver to get a guy who just won his seventh championship to give you his helmet like that so it shows how good of a friend he really is,” stammered Stewart, who had joined Johnson in Victory Lane to congratulate him.

Stewart has an amazing collection of helmets, hundreds, mostly from his fellow drivers, but also one from Paul Newman (one he wore in ’76), plus two Dale Earnhardt Sr. helmets, and two from Richard Petty. Stewart often trades his own for others.

—Nico Rosberg clinched the Formula One driving championship today in Abu Dhabi, but I don’t have time to give this story the proper treatment…so more next chat. It’s worthy.

–Golfer Peggy Kirk Bell, a top amateur in the 1940s and ‘50s, who went on to become a big instructor, died at the age of 95. I can’t help but mention this name because I remember my mother’s golf clubs were Peggy Kirk Bell models.

Bell was the first woman inducted into the PGA Golf Instructors Hall of Fame.

–We note the passing of character actor Ron Glass, 71, best known for his role in the sitcom “Barney Miller.” He also appeared in the sitcoms “Sanford and Son,” “All in the Family,” and “Good Times.”

But it was as Det. Ron Harris in “Barney Miller,” which aired for eight seasons on ABC, that he’ll be remembered.

—Alex Stewart died. He was 52.

Stewart was a heavyweight contender who fought Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and nearly beat George Foreman, retiring in 1999 with a 43-10 record, including 40 knockouts.

He was born in London and raised in Jamaica, losing twice to Holyfield and knocked out in the first round of his fight with Tyson in December 1990.

But it was his April 1992 fight with Foreman in Vegas that was the highlight of Stewart’s career.

Foreman was in the middle of his comeback, which he would cap two years later with the title in a win over Michael Moorer, and after knocking Stewart down twice in the second round of a scheduled 10-round bout, Foreman called over the referee Richard Steele to stop the fight. Steele let it continue and Stewart suddenly started pummeling Foreman.

“I didn’t want to hurt the kid,” Foreman said, “and now the kid hurt me.”

Stewart lost a majority decision, but Foreman looked like the loser afterwards, his face hidden behind dark glasses.

Stewart asked reporters after, “Was that a fight or was that a fight?”

Alex Stewart apparently died from a blood clot in his lung.

–Britt Peterson/ The Atlantic…on “The Case Against Cats”….

“Even the discoveries, in the past several decades, that cats carry a parasite that could contribute to schizophrenia, and that outdoor cats wreak ecological disaster, haven’t budged a curiously imbalanced relationship with this furry companion – or maybe cohabitant is more accurate. More than a third of all households in the United States now have a pet cat (the total count is estimated to be close to 100 million animals), which marks a 50 percent rise since the 1980s. Their owners feed them, stroke them, shovel their litter, spend ages trying to photograph their yawns from the cutest angle for Instagram. They ignore their owners, mostly sleep, intermittently deign to serve as purring lap warmers, and occasionally drop a half-dead mouse on the rug. Mysterious as cats are, however, the greatest mystery about cats centers on humans. Why do so many of us love them so much when they are so bad for us, and for our planet? And if we could resolve this first mystery, would we be any closer to solving the world’s’ cat problem?”

Abigail Tucker writes in The Lion in the Living Room: How House Cats Tamed Us and Took Over the World that history reveals felines as the ultimate opportunists, biologically primed to exploit their human enablers – among many other creatures. As the book reveals, cats travel well, reproduce quickly, and are savage and omnivorous predators. When Mark Twain arrived in Hawaii in 1866, some 90 years after cats had strolled down the gangplanks of Captain Cook’s fleet and conquered the hearts of the natives, he observed “platoons of cats, companies of cats, regiments of cats, armies of cats, multitudes of cats.”

Britt Peterson:

“The bloody takeover was well under way, and has continued. Those felines, who have since multiplied in feral-cat colonies throughout the archipelago, prey on endangered birds such as the petrel, the nene, and the Laysan albatross, and have helped decimate the Hawaiian crow. In Australia, with its 3 million pet cats and 20 million feral cats (and about 23 million people), cats have contributed to wiping out several mouse, rat, and bandicoot species….Cats are implicated, according to one study, in 14 percent of all reptile, mammal, and bird extinction on islands – 33 animal species in all.

“And the feline menace isn’t limited to islands. Cats imperil species around the world, including our own, with which their relations have become – at least on the surface – more symbiotic….

“Toxoplasma gondii, mostly found in outdoor cats, is one of the most common parasites in humans. It is present in nearly half of the world’s population, according to estimates. Often acquired by eating undercooked meat from animals who ingested tainted cat poop, it can cause a disease called toxoplasmosis, which is especially dangerous for infants and the immunosuppressed, but may pose risks for others as well. Carriers of the parasite seem to suffer at higher rates from Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety, migraines, bipolar disorder, suicidal tendencies, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. There’s evidence for a schizophrenia link, too….

“A 2013 study…estimated that outdoor cats in the U.S. kill – not by disease – somewhere between 1.3 billion and 4 billion birds and between 6.3 billion and 22.3 billion mammals each year. It’s fair to say, as Tucker does, that cats may be considered ‘nightmarish invaders, capable of ransacking whole ecosystems and annihilating feebler life-forms in their path.’”

So, do you still like cats? Ever wonder why ‘Cat’ will never crack the Top 50 on the All-Species List? I’ll probably have more news on this front in the coming weeks.

For now, the new ASL, out Monday, will feature a major move for ‘Squirrel.’ Squirrel Nation won’t be happy…just sayin’.

–From Scott Christian / Wall Street Journal

“Cashmere, Alpaca and merino wool. Come winter, these are the fibers that blend practicality with prestige. This season, however, a more exotic, high-status newcomer is turning the heads of adventurous sweater-wearers: Himalayan yak.

“Similar in many ways to cashmere, yak is warm and light, prized both for its softness and its durability. ‘Yak is really interesting,’ said Luca Berga, merchandizing director for Italian company Slowear, whose brand Incotex has been using yak for several years now. ‘It has the same performance as cashmere but a completely different story.’”

Yes, that’s our Yak, boys and girls. Always knocking on the door of the All-Species List Top Ten. It’s long been noted in these pages that the yak is a noble animal, albeit a bit mangy, as well as being quite nutritious. Now it’s developing a reputation in the fashion world. As opposed to nasty ‘Cat.’

–Finally, we note the passing of actress Florence Henderson, aka Carol Brady, 82.

For an entire generation, Carol Brady was the idealized mother figure for an entire generation. “The Brady Bunch” ran from 1969 to 1974, with the sitcom blending a family of three girls and three boys growing up under one roof in Los Angeles, becoming a cultural icon, the subject of countless sequels, movies, plays, books and satires.

As reported by Anh Do of the Los Angeles Times:

“(To) many, Henderson’s perennially upbeat, smiling Carol Brady was the center of the show, cheerfully mothering her brood in an era when divorce was becoming more common.

“Henderson later marveled at the influence of the show and how it changed the lives of the cast. ‘We had to have security guards with us. Fans were hanging on our doors. We couldn’t go out by ourselves. We were like the Beatles,’ she told the Associated Press. [Ed. for you younger folk, this is true.]

“While Henderson continued to act regularly after the series ended, she said to much of the world, she always was going to be Carol Brady. In a 2010 interview with The Times, Henderson said she was overwhelmed by the interest in the show….

“Henderson was a well-known nightclub entertainer performing in Texas when she was asked to audition for the role that would change her life.

“Hoping to jet into Los Angeles, have a screen test for ‘Brady Bunch’ creator Sherwood Schwartz and then get back in time for the evening’s shows in Texas, Henderson was delayed by L.A. traffic and rushed onto the Paramount lot two hours late, frantically looking for a makeup artist to get her ready for the test. Finally, she found someone with a few spare minutes – on the set of ‘Star Trek.’

“ ‘I was sitting in a makeup chair between William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and like six or eight space monsters. None of them had any idea who I was or made any attempt to be friendly, which really bugged me,’ she recalled in TV son Barry Williams’ 1992 memoir, ‘Growing Up Brady.’

“Bothered by what she believed to be a shoddy makeup job, Henderson joked through the screen test about how bad she looked, and Schwartz, impressed with her comic timing, gave her the role.”

Henderson began her show biz career at 17, attending New York’s American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She left the school after her first year because she got a job in the chorus of the Broadway musical “Wish You Were Here.” She then got the lead role in the final national touring company of “Oklahoma!”

She appeared in other Broadway musicals, and later was the first female guest host of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”

Top 3 songs for the week 11/29/80: #1 “Lady” (Kenny Rogers…needlessly sappy…) #2 “Woman In Love” (Barbra Streisand…probably still has a thing for Bill Clinton…) #3 “The Wanderer” (Donna Summer)…and…#4 “Another One Bites The Dust” (Queen) #5 “I’m Coming Out” (Diana Ross…amazing Diva…) #6 “More Than I Can Say” (Leo Sayer…you’ve said enough…) #7 “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” (Stevie Wonder…truly dreadful…) #8 “(Just Like) Starting Over” (John Lennon…gets a pass on this one…) #9 “Love On The Rocks” (Neil Diamond…we were really into crappola back then..) #10 “Dreamin’” (Cliff Richard…and this guy did some good stuff, but this isn’t one of them…sounds like it should be on one of those cereal boxes in the ‘60s, which for you younger folk, they used to put ‘45s literally on the box…)

NFL Quiz Answer: Michael Vick averaged 8.4 yards per carry in 2006 while with Atlanta. [123-1,039] The other was Beattie Feathers of the 1934 13-0-0 Chicago Bears under George Halas, who then lost the NFL title to the Giants. This was a team that had Bronko Nagurski, yet it was Feathers, who carried it 119 times for 1,004 yards, who not only set a yards per carry average that still exists, but he was the first in the NFL to hit the 1,000-yard rushing mark. [He also averaged 29.0 on six receptions that season.]

And why do some of us of a certain age who went to Wake Forest know about Beattie Feathers? Well, I’ve written about him once or twice over the years, but when I arrived at Wake in 1976, 67-year-old Beattie Feathers worked with the football team, as kind of an honorary assistant coach (and gopher) who I mostly saw working in the players’ cafeteria, which in those days was next to the one the rest of us students used and we had to walk through theirs to get out of the building. It was actually a great way to mingle a little with the players, some of whom were friends.

Anyway, as I’ve also noted, I knew who Feathers was, but really didn’t. Like I don’t recall knowing he was the NFL’s first 1,000-yard rusher. [He played his college ball at Tennessee, by the way.] Beattie then died spring of my junior year, 1979.

So it was a brush with fame, only it bothers me to this day I didn’t appreciate it as I should have. I obviously would have talked to him, at least.

As for George Halas, he coached a famous Wake player, Brian Piccolo, in Halas’ last season, 1967. [I need to re-watch the original “Brian’s Song,” in all seriousness one of the best-made TV movies of all time, even if a few facts were slightly off…O.K., one major one. Halas was not Piccolo’s coach when Brian was diagnosed with cancer…it was Jim Dooley.]

Meanwhile, the Piccolo legacy continues at Wake Forest. The fraternities and sororities raise money for a charity in his honor every year to this day.

Next Bar Chat, Thursday.