Detroit Lions Quiz (1930 – ): 1) Most passing yards, career?
2) What two QBs did the Lions select with their 1st-round picks
in 1986 and 1990? 3) Most passing yards, season? [Hint: #1 and
#3 don”t have the same answer.] 4) Most interceptions, career?
Answers below.
The Daniel J. Morrell
A few weeks ago I wrote about the wreck of the Edmund
Fitzgerald. There is a similar story that needs to be told, that of
the Fitzgerald”s sister ship, the Daniel J. Morrell, another iron-ore
boat that plied the Great Lakes.
On November 29, 1966, Dennis Hale, one of the Morrell”s crew
of 29, awoke at 2:00 a.m. to hear the boat splitting in two as it
motored on Lake Huron. Hale would be the only survivor.
As Hale scrambled on board, he saw that the ship was “hog-
backed,” meaning, both ends were out of the water and the hull
was splitting at the center.
As the crew gathered on deck, the waves were breaking over the
ship so hard that they couldn”t lower the life rafts. And then a
giant wave washed Hale and his group overboard.
Hale and 3 others were able to climb onto one of the rafts. In an
interview with Michael Sangiacomo of the Plain Dealer, Hale
described then seeing the Morrell tear in half “like a piece of
paper.” The four huddled in the raft…it was bitter cold with rain
and snow.
“The water was 44 degrees,” said Hale. “And the air was much
colder. We would be swamped by a wave, hold our breath while
we went through it, and then get hit with another one. I gave up
and tried to inhale the water and die, but I lived.”
One by one, the other three froze to death, leaving Hale alone for
24 hours. Then a man appeared.
“He was an old man with white hair and white skin. He told me,
without speaking, that the ice would lower my body temperature
and that I would die. He disappeared.”
Later the man reappeared and yelled at Hale to stop eating the
ice. Hale then remembered passing out and feeling his spirit leave
his body.
“I remember floating above the raft and looking down at the
bodies of my friends and myself. I thought about warm soup and
orange juice, for some reason, then I was back on the boat. I
think I died in that moment but returned.”
A few hours later, a Coast Guard helicopter plucked him out of
the raft. Hale”s body temperature had dropped to 94 degrees.
But while his left foot required 10 operations (and he lost one toe
to amputation), he amazingly had little frostbite.
Hale was unable to speak of this episode for 20 years. He
wouldn”t go near a lake and he cowered at the sound of thunder.
Today, he has finally been able to confront one of the great
survival stories of all time.
EBay
The FBI recently completed a 3-year investigation into counterfeit
sports and celebrity memorabilia. 25 individuals have been
flooding eBay with phony merchandise. The main issue is
whether or not eBay is an auctioneer? Under California law, if it
is, then it has to stand behind their merchandise and provide a
certificate of authenticity. EBay describes itself as nothing more
than a venue. But they notify buyers when they have won an
auction and get a percentage of the take. Ergo, they”re an
auctioneer. [Source: U.S. News]
Sports Bits
–There is more and more talk of Major League Baseball
contracting, eliminating as many as six teams in an effort to bring
down salaries, as well as improve the quality of the game.
Candidates would include Montreal, Minnesota, Oakland and the
two Florida teams. [Regarding the latter two, after this election
debacle, that should be the first of the state”s many penalties.]
The owners of the Rockies, Padres and Orioles are leading the
charge. Times sportswriter Murray Chass explains.
“The owners see (baseball”s) problems as being created by player
salaries, which continue to soar and leave low-revenue clubs
lagging further behind the high-revenue teams.”
The Rockies, for example, just forked over $175 million for two
pitchers! The Expos, on the other hand, can”t get more than
$800,000 for a local television package.
There are some that see the contraction issue as simply being a
negotiating ploy before baseball has to deal with a new labor
agreement at season”s end. The union doesn”t seem to know if
the owners have the right to act unilaterally. More from Chass.
“The owners who favor contraction believe management could
gain control of player salaries because jobs would be in greater
demand and players would sign for less money than they make
now. They feel the present system creates salary inflation by
having too much money chasing too few players.”
–New York Mets fans, like yours truly, may be bemoaning the
loss of starter Mike Hampton, but it does need to be said that he
was an a–. Hampton just signed the largest contract in baseball
history (until A-Rod and Ramirez get theirs), 8-years and $121
million, for the privilege to be pounded into submission at Coors
Field. [But his own hitting stats will prosper.]
Anyway, Mike Piazza and Al Leiter were trying to reach him the
last few weeks to convince him to stay in New York and
Hampton didn”t return their calls. We don”t condone such rude
behavior here at Bar Chat.
–No wonder the Oklahoma Sooners will be battling for the
national championship. Not one starter has missed a game
because of injury this season…amazing.
–Shaquille O”Neal went 0 for 11 from the foul line on Friday
night.
–The Golden State Warriors” Antawn Jamison became the first
NBA player to score 51 points or more in two consecutive games
since Wilt Chamberlain accomplished the feat in 1963-64. Yeah,
this was a few days ago but I missed it until now and I thought
you may have as well. [In case you”re questioning this, Jordan,
Bernard King and Rick Barry had games of exactly 50 when they
had their similar consecutive outputs.]
Top 3 songs for the week of 12/13/75: #1 “Fly, Robin, Fly”
(Silver Convention) #2 “Let”s Do It Again” (The Staples
Singers.do what? Oh that…never mind.) #3 “Sky High”
(Jigsaw)
Lions Quiz answers: 1) Passing yards, career: Bobby Layne,
15,710. 2) 1st-round picks: Chuck Long (Iowa) 1986; Andre
Ware (Houston), 1990. 3) Passing yards, season: Scott Mitchell,
4,338. 4) Interceptions, career: Dick LeBeau, 62.
Lions Tidbits: They haven”t won an NFL Championship since
1957. They hold a 4-24 record against Washington. And, in
keeping with their “mediocre” history, for the period 1971-78,
they finished within one game of .500 in 7 of the 8 seasons.
*12/12/25: The world”s first motel, appropriately named the
Motel Inn, opened its doors in San Luis Obispo, CA.
Next Bar Chat, Wednesday…Neil Armstrong…weather
permitting. [Copyright. Cryptic Inc.]
