College Football Quiz: From 1972-79, running backs won every
Heisman Trophy. Name them. [Hint: 7 different schools are
represented for the 8 years. Also, one of the recipients wasn”t
solely a running back.] Answer below.
Victor Borge
I always liked this incredibly talented entertainer so I have to pay
tribute to him, Borge having died last Saturday at the age of 91.
Born Borge Rosenbaum in Copenhagen, Borge was a legitimate
child prodigy who was initially groomed to be a top concert
pianist. But his interests were more broad-based than that so he
developed into a parlor comedian with a musical twist. By the
1930s, he had also appeared in and directed a number of films
throughout Scandanavia.
Of course, the 30s were a horrible time to be Jewish in Europe.
But Borge was determined to plow ahead with his burgeoning
career and he worked up a series of anti-Nazi sketches. When
Germany and Denmark signed a non-aggression pact, Borge
joked, “How nice. Now the Germans can sleep in peace,
knowing that they will not be invaded by us.”
But in 1940, Germany invaded Denmark and Borge escaped to
the U.S. through Finland. He changed his name but, not
knowing any English, he spent hundreds of hours in movie
houses. Soon he was opening for some of the leading
entertainers of the day, including Bing Crosby, and by 1945 his
own career was soaring as he honed his unique act, combining
classical music with humor and slapstick comedy. Borge
became a regular on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and had his own
radio program.
He truly was an amazing entertainer, playing 150 shows a year
when he was well into his 70s and, just last year, he was still
doing 60 shows at age 90 with plans for a similar schedule in
2001. So here”s to you, Victor. You put a lot of smiles on a lot
of faces over the years. That”s a pretty good life in my book.
[Source: Stephen Holden / New York Times]
Donny Hathaway
Since my new favorite Christmas song has become Donny
Hathaway”s “This Christmas,” I thought I”d just write a brief bit
on his all-too-short career.
Hathaway was born in Chicago in 1945 but was raised by his
grandmother, a terrific gospel singer by the name of Martha Pitts,
in the slums of St. Louis. At an early age, Donny began
performing as “Donny Pitts, the Nation”s Youngest Gospel
Singer.”
He attended Howard University on a fine-arts scholarship and it
was here that he met classmate Roberta Flack. It was 1964 and
both were looking to careers in the music business, with
Hathaway becoming a leading producer by the end of the 1960s,
working with Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions, Flack, Aretha
Franklin, and Jerry Butler. [If you don”t own Jerry Butler”s
“Greatest Hits,” get it.]
In 1970, Hathaway recorded his first solo album, eventually
winning a gold-record with his 3rd effort, “Live.” By ”72 he was
a headliner and that same year he and Flack recorded “Where Is
The Love,” (#1 R&B, #5 Billboard). The duo won a Grammy
for their efforts.
But over the next few years, Hathaway drifted between recording
and producing and it wasn”t until 1978 that he teamed up with
Flack again for the #2 Billboard single, “The Closer I Get To
You,” (part of Flack”s masterful album, “Blue Lights In The
Basement”).
Shortly thereafter, Hathaway and Flack were due to complete a
joint album. On the evening of January 13, 1979, Hathaway”s
manager, Flack and Donny went out to dinner. Nothing seemed
to be amiss and Hathaway was in good spirits. Later that
evening, friends learned that Donny had died from either
jumping or falling from the 15th floor of the Essex House Hotel
in New York City.
Police ruled it a suicide, pointing to the fact that his room was
bolted from the inside. Others say no way. That”s where it
stands to this day. And I never did find out when he recorded
“This Christmas.” [Sources: “The Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock,
and Soul,” Irwin Stambler; “VH-1: Rock Stars Encyclopedia.”]
Medical Mistake
Last weekend, a 7-year-old girl scheduled for eye surgery
mistakenly had her tonsils and adenoids removed while at a
hospital in Providence, R.I. The girl had been confused with
another child of about the same age, had a similar name and was
also scheduled for surgery.
The girl was released without the eye surgery having been
performed. Said the president of the hospital, “Words can never
really express how devastated we all are. It is our worst
nightmare.” [Source: AP]
Hunter Tale
I was reading the hunting column from the Star-Ledger here in
New Jersey and reporter Howard Brant had a rather humorous
story, particularly if you”re not from the area and don”t realize
we have all kinds of characters in this interesting state.
It seems that a hunter brought in a deer to a county check station
that was shot in an earn-a-buck zone where the first deer taken
must be antlerless. The very large deer was in the back of this
chap”s truck, with the front of it hidden by the truck”s seat.
The operator of the station told the hunter that he needed to put a
tag on the ear. The hunter reluctantly opened the door.
Well, the tarp was removed and the deer was headless. “Ah, I
already removed the head and it was antlerless,” our junior Curt
Gowdy must have mused as he high-tailed it out of there.
But the check station operator got the individual”s hunting
license number and reported it to law enforcement. A
conservation officer then went to our hunter”s home, but
Curt wouldn”t let the officer on his property.
When the officer asked him what happened to the head in
question, Curt said he gave it to a neighbor, but couldn”t
remember the guy”s name! The appropriate summonses were
issued.
Valet Mayhem
Well, the following received a lot of play but I figure that with
the holiday rush some of you missed it.
A valet parked a $140,000 Ferrari 355 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel
in Dana Point, CA on Friday as the owners of the vehicle were
checking into the $600 a night hotel. The valet must have
thought he was filming a car commercial because at 1:00 a.m. he
decided to show the car to his buddy. So he drove it to the front
of the hotel and then the other valet hopped in for a spin.
Unfortunately, a few feet away, a palm tree got in the way. And
no one was hurt! But the car was totaled.
47 with 42
Lebanese farmer Ghassan Abdel-Al, age 47, was just granted
permission by wives #1-3 to take a 4th, permissible under
Islamic law. Ghassan has sired 42 children to date. The other
three wives needed a break.
Sports Bits
–Joe Gilliam, RIP. “Jefferson Street Joe,” one of the first black
quarterbacks to start an NFL game (Denver”s Marlin Briscoe was
the first in 1968), died on Christmas Day at the age of 49. His
was one of the tragic sports stories of the past 25 years.
Gilliam was an incredibly talented signal caller for the Pittsburgh
Steelers, playing sporadically for them from 1972-75. This guy
had a cannon for an arm with a release that rivaled Joe Namath”s
or Dan Marino”s. But he was wild on the field when he received
his few chances, his biggest being 1974 when he had a shot to be
the full-time starter over Terry Bradshaw, and off the field he
was simply a mess. Heroin and cocaine did him in and he was
out of football at age 26.
For his career, Gilliam was only 147 of 331 (44.4%) with just 9
TDs and 17 INTs. Unfortunately, the stats don”t begin to tell the
full story.
After his career was over, Gilliam had to pawn off his two Super
Bowl rings to pay for his habit and for years he wandered the
streets of Nashville homeless.
Equally sad was the fact that Gilliam appeared to be making
some progress in getting his life together and earlier this year he
opened up a youth football camp at his alma mater of Tennessee
State. He spoke openly of his problems with drugs and said he
had been clean for the past three years.
[In looking up Gilliam”s stats, I came across those of Terry
Hanratty, the #3 QB for that first Steeler Super Bowl team of
1974. Hanratty went 3 of 26 in his backup role, with 5 INTs.
Now those have to rank as the worst QB stats of all time. Even
worse than Testaverde, mused the editor who is still fuming over
the latter”s performance on Sunday.]
–More wisdom from our man Shaq: Commenting on the
ongoing inability of Kobe Bryant to recognize that he has the
best offensive force in the game on his team, Shaq said, “One
thing I know: If you want the big dog to guard the big yard,
you”ve got to give the big dog something to do. You”ve got to
give him toys. You”ve got to feed him. You can”t have him sit
and do nothing.”
–Sports Illustrated is reporting that Mike Piazza has broken up
with Playboy model Darlene Bernaola!! Michael, Michael,
Michael.
–No. 20 Auburn will be shorthanded when it faces No. 17
Michigan in the Citrus Bowl next Monday. Defensive regulars
Alton Moore and Roshard Gilyard will miss the game because
they failed to pass six credit hours – barely the equivalent of two
freakin” classes.
Sweet Tooth
So I”m reading my latest copy of High Plains Journal the other
day and I just have to share this recipe which is from Ms.
Beverly Barbour. If you have kids at home this week, send them
out in the snow and ice to get the ingredients. Otherwise, I have
no idea what this is, but it looks sinful.
“Caramel Silk In A Jar”
One and a half cups firmly packed brown sugar
One and a half cups sugar
One cup light corn syrup
Two-thirds cup butter
One and a third cups heavy whipping cream
Combine all ingredients except whipping cream in a 3-quart
heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally,
until mixture comes to a full boil (15 to 20 minutes). Stir in
whipping cream; continue cooking 1 minute. Cool 5 minutes.
Pour mixture into 5 (8 ounce) jars. Cool 15 minutes; cover.
Store refrigerated.
To serve, remove cover. Microwave on HIGH, stirring every 30
seconds, until hot (30 to 60 seconds). [Don”t forget to bring the
kids in from outside.]
Top 3 songs for the week of 12/24/66: #1 “Winchester
Cathedral” (The New Vaudeville Band) #2 “Mellow Yellow”
(Donovan) #3 “I”m A Believer” (The Monkees)
Heisman Trophy Quiz Answer: Johnny Rodgers (Neb. ”72), John
Cappelletti (Penn St. ”73), Archie Griffin (Ohio St. ”74 and ”75),
Tony Dorsett (Pitt ”76), Earl Campbell (Texas ”77), Billy Sims
(Okla. ”78), Charles White (USC ”79).
Next Bar Chat, Friday…just how does Al Sharpton pay for those
suits?
