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Bar Chat

02/17/2025

College Hoops, Track and Field Records

Add-on posted Monday p.m.

College Basketball

New AP Poll, records through Sunday....

1. Auburn 23-2 (59)
2. Florida 22-3 (1)
3. Duke 22-3
4. Alabama 21-4
5. Houston 21-4
6. Tennessee 21-5
7. Texas A&M 20-5
8. Iowa State 20-5
9. Texas Tech 20-5
10. St. John’s 22-4
11. Wisconsin 20-5
12. Michigan 20-5
13. Purdue 19-7
14. Michigan State 20-5
15. Missouri 19-6
16. Marquette 19-6
17. Kentucky 17-8
18. Clemson 21-5
19. Arizona 17-8
20. Maryland 20-6
21. Mississippi State 18-7
22. Memphis 21-5
23. Kansas 17-8
24. Ole Miss 19-7
25. Louisville 20-6

Duke defeated Virginia Monday in Charlottesville, 80-62.

Daytona

I posted hours before the Daytona 500 ended Sunday night, but I was keeping tabs while watching “SNL 50,” which I thought was terrific.

So I knew to flip to the race for the final lap, which was in overtime, and it was quite a finish, another last lap big crash that allowed last year’s winner, William Byron, to vault from ninth place to the front as chaos ensued all around him. 

Byron, 27, thus became the youngest driver to win multiple 500s, 14th Cup Series win overall.

Tyler Reddick was second and two-time Daytona 500 champion Jimmie Johnson was third, which was rather shocking, and cool for the sport.

Johnson and fifth-place finisher John Hunter Nemechek (Chase Briscoe being fourth) gave Legacy Motor Club two top-five finishes.

Johnson, a seven-time NASCAR champion, is now the majority owner under an offseason restructuring.  It was his highest finish in the race since he won it in 2013.

“I have emotions that I didn’t expect to have.  I’ve never been in this position as an owner, and it’s really opened up a different set of emotions,” Johnson said after. 

I mean the guy is 49, and his last full-time season was 2020.  His last win was back in 2017 at Dover.

MLB

--I was thinking while writing Sunday how there hadn’t been any injury issues in Mets training camp with the pitching staff.  As in you always expect to hear someone came to camp with a sore arm, elbow.

But I was musing too soon because the Mets’ Frankie Montas, who they signed to a 2-year, $34 million contract, hoping to replicate their success with Sean Manaea and Luis Severino last season.

Montas, though, we learned Monday has a strained lat muscle and is being shut down for 6-8 weeks, which means once he rehabbed, maybe the Mets would see him on the mound in June.

Ironically, there was a story that Tylor Megill, who has been with the team for four years, a spot starter, bouncing back and forth from the big club to AAA, was commenting how much it sucked to have to pitch in the minors...as in he hoped he got a fair shot to break into the rotation.   Well, he’s got it now.

--Mike Trout is being moved to right field in an attempt to keep him healthier.  He has played only 111 games the past two seasons for the Angels and hasn’t played more than 140 games since 2016.

But the guy is still just 33 and clearly has a productive bat when he can get on the field.  He also still has six years and $212 million left on his contract.

Golf Balls

--Eamon Lynch / Golfweek

“LIV’s season opened last week in Riyadh, which was also its broadcast debut on Fox Sports in the U.S.  The first round – played under floodlights at night, perhaps to hide the absence of a gallery in the shadows – drew an average viewership of just 12,000.  The last time Rupert Murdoch saw numbers that sobering he was writing a $787 million check for defaming Dominion Voting systems. The closing stretch of the final round attracted 31,000 viewers.  LIV’s defenders pointed out that the time difference didn’t help and that figures will improve at this week’s stop in Adelaide. [Ed. this past weekend.]  Which is true.  Australia will deliver more viewers and crowds but remains the exception that proves the rule.

“Four years into this folly, LIV Golf is going nowhere and the excuses for a lack of audience traction have become as worn out as a Greg Norman runner-up speech.”

In Sunday’s Chat, I noted the financial difficulties facing LIV and the Saudi Public Investment Fund and Eamon Lynch mentions the same stats in his column.

Lynch:

“Only the pride of PIF chief Yasir Al-Rumayyan is keeping LIV afloat, and no amount of bootlicking blather can obscure that reality.

“If the Tour wished to avoid having golf be stained by the sportswashing of authoritarian governments, now would be the time to wait out LIV.  But this is commerce and not conscience. The Tour’s executives, some of its players and all of its investors want that Saudi infusion. No one is interested in or incentivized to play hardball, especially over moral quibbles.  Al-Rumayyan needs a face-saving off-ramp. The Tour wants reunification for a stronger product.  Strategic Sports Group investors want partners with deep pockets.  None seem overly concerned right now with what fans might want.

“Whatever the particulars of the deal nearing consummation, it will represent humiliation for the Saudis, though their new partners will be too polite to point that out, and their apologists too thick to grasp it anyway. They might buy a seat at the table, but it’s far short of the head of the table they set out to occupy when they attempted to purchase the elite level of the game.  If they obtain terms similar to that of the private equity investors in PGA Tour Enterprises, then the Saudi spend in golf will total somewhere close to $7 billion.

“Seven billion.  To end up with about six percent of a company valued at $12 billion.  Al-Rumayyan had better hope that his boss doesn’t devote much time to poring over the household expenditures.  But perhaps $7 billion is a fair price for proximity to major U.S. sports leagues and their owners in hopes that rules are loosened around sovereign wealth funds having ownership stakes in those teams (and really, what rules aren’t being loosened to suit Donald Trump’s benefactors these days?).

“The coming weeks and months will see the Saudis settle for much less than the ownership of men’s professional golf that they aspired to.  The Tour will settle for embracing sportswashers thanks to the disloyalty and greed of its own members, who the organization still can’t or won’t force into becoming contracted talent.  Fans will settle for...well, who knows?

“ ‘Ninety-nine percent of the world’s lovers are not with their first choice,’ Willie Nelson once quipped in another pearl.  ‘That’s what makes the jukebox play.’”

4 Nations

--The United States-Canada 4 Nations game Saturday night averaged 4.4 million viewers on ESPN, with viewership peaking at 5.2 million in the 10:45 ET quarter hour.  That’s the most-watched non-Stanley Cup Final hockey telecast since a Blue Jackets-Bruins playoff game on NBC in 2019 that averaged 4.5 million.

To put Saturday in perspective, NHL postseason games last year across ABC, ESPN, TNT and others averaged 1.54 million viewers, per Sports Business Journal.

And now it’s Canada against the U.S. on Thursday in Boston.  That should be intense and get good ratings.

Next Bar Chat, Sunday p.m.

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[Posted Sunday p.m., prior to finish of Daytona.]

NASCAR Quiz: With the Daytona 500 today, good day for a quiz, as in, name the famous singer who also raced in 35 career NASCAR Cup Series races from 1966-82 (when it was the Grand National and Winston Cup Series), 1982 the same year he died.  Answer below.

Daytona 500

--In the two preliminary races Thursday night, two 60-lap, 150-mile events that determined the full starting lineup for the 500, Bubba Wallace won Duel No. 1, topping defending Daytona 500 winner William Byron on the final lap.

And Austin Cindric won Duel No. 2.

But today, we had a big rain delay, and they are nowhere near close to finishing, so I have to move on.

College Basketball

Before we get to Saturday’s big matchup, No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 2 Alabama, the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in the history of the SEC, in games earlier in the week....

Tuesday, 1 Auburn defeated Vanderbilt 80-68, while 2 Alabama beat Texas 103-80.

3 Florida beat 22 Mississippi State 81-68.

But 15 Kentucky defeated 5 Tennessee 75-64. 

7 Purdue fell to 20 Michigan 75-73.

In unranked UConn’s 70-66 victory over 24 Creighton, freshman Liam McNeeley, who has been hampered by injuries, poured in 38 of the Huskies’ 70, along with grabbing 10 rebounds.

The 38 marked the most points for a UConn freshman in its Big East history.

The most points by a freshman this season is Cooper Flagg’s 42 against Pitt last month.  McNeeley and Flagg were teammates last season at Montverde (FL) Academy under Kevin Boyle, a legendary New Jersey high school coach who is working his magic down south these days.

Wednesday, 9 St. John’s suffered a tough road loss at Villanova, 73-71, the Johnnies done in by another poor shooting night, 11 of 37 from three.

Also Wednesday, Wake Forest, on the bubble, had 16-point lead at home, 57-41 with 10:10 to play against Florida State, and the Deacs suffered an absolutely devastating loss, 72-70, as we totally lost our composure at the end, point guard Ty-Laur Johnson taking an out of control 3-point shot with 7.6 seconds left on the clock, down 70-69.

FSU then went down the court quickly and got a dunk on an offensive rebound, 72-69, but with 0:01 on the clock the Seminoles fouled Cameron Hildreth, who out of nowhere had the opportunity to send the game into overtime with three foul shots, but he missed the first attempt.

Having gotten back on the bubble with a sweep on the road in California, to lose to Florida State (15-9, 6-7) at home was beyond pathetic...Wake falling to 18-7, 10-4, with only one quality win on the season, Michigan, at a neutral site early in the season.

So on to Saturday....

1 Auburn (23-2, 11-1) defeated 2 Alabama (21-4, 10-2) before a raucous crowd in Tuscaloosa.  Johni Broome led the way for the Tigers, 19 points, 14 rebounds, six assists.

For Bama, All-American point guard Mark Sears laid an egg, 4 of 17 from the field, 2 of 11 from three.

3 Duke (22-3, 14-1) whipped Stanford (16-10, 8-7), 106-70, behind Tyrese Proctor’s 23, 5 of 8 from beyond the arc.

5 Tennessee (21-5, 8-5) defeated Vanderbilt (17-8, 5-7) 81-76, overcoming a 16-point Vandy lead.

6 Houston (21-4, 13-1) had a good road win at 13 Arizona (17-8, 11-3), 62-58.

7 Purdue (19-7, 11-4) lost again, this time at home to 16 Wisconsin (20-5, 10-4), 94-84.

8 Texas A&M (20-5, 8-3) beat Arkansas (15-10, 4-8) 69-61.

UConn (17-8, 9-5) suffered one of the worst defeats ever for a defending champion (2-time at that), falling 69-68 in overtime to pathetic Seton Hall (7-18, 2-12).

The Huskies had 16 turnovers to the Pirates’ 9.

23 Clemson (21-5, 13-2) walloped Florida State (15-10, 6-8) on the road, 72-46, Ian Schieffelin with another double-double, 14-12, for the Tigers.

And lastly, Wake Forest (19-7, 11-4) is, get this, back on the bubble! The Deacs, after their pitiful loss to Florida State at home, traveled to Dallas for a toughie against SMU (19-6, 10-4), and with former President George W. Bush and Laura sitting in the front row (love to see this), Wake prevailed 77-66.

The Deacs were without star Cameron Hildreth and the Mustangs were missing former Deac and starting point guard Boopie Miller to injuries, so call that a wash, but out of nowhere, Parker Friedrichsen, freakin’ Parker Friedrichsen, who was shooting 20% from three, supposedly his specialty, all this season, suddenly hit 5 of 7 from beyond the arc when Wake needed it most, 18 points in all off the bench.  Stunning.  Go Deacs!

Sunday, we had a biggie at Madison Square Garden, 9 St. John’s hosting 24 Creighton, and the Johnnies are now 22-4, 13-2, best start since 1985-86 thru 26 games, defeating the Bluejays (18-8, 11-4) 79-73, and probably securing the Big East regular-season title.  St. John’s had just five turnovers, Creighton 15, which was critical since the Red Storm was only 17 of 29 from the foul line.

I’d say Rick Pitino can coach.  Some say the greatest pure coach in college basketball ever.

--In Women’s College Basketball, last Thursday, USC’s JuJu Watkins had a performance for the ages against No. 1 UCLA, 6 USC winning 71-60, handing the Lady Bruins their first loss.

All JuJu did was have 38 points, 11 rebounds, eight blocks, five assists, and hit six 3-pointers.

Watkins is the only Division I player – men’s or women’s – in at least the past 20 seasons with 35 points, 10 rebounds, eight blocks and five 3-pointers in a game.

No one in the NBA has ever posted such a stat line.

NBA

--At the All-Star break....

East

Cleveland 44-10
Boston 39-16
New York 36-18
Indiana 30-23
Milwaukee 29-26
Detroit 29-26

West

Oklahoma City 44-10
Memphis 36-18
Denver 36-19
Houston 34-21
LA Lakers 32-20
LA Clippers 31-23

For an NBA starved for ratings, there could be no greater nightmare for league officials than a Cleveland-OKC final...but you’d think it would be entertaining.

What the league would want is New York or Boston vs. the Lakers.

--The Knicks finished out their stretch prior to the break with a nice road win Tuesday at Indiana, 128-115, despite Jalen Brunson being limited to 19 minutes with foul trouble.  Karl-Anthony Towns, 40 points and 12 rebounds, and Josh Hart, 30 points and 10 rebounds, 12 of 16 from the field, picked up the slack, ditto Miles McBride off the bench, 15 points, 4 of 4 from downtown.

And then the next night at the Garden, New York, in a wild one that wasn’t exactly the kind of game fans really want to see, beat Atlanta, the Knicks winning it 149-148 in overtime.  New York was up six with 10 seconds in regulation and almost coughed it up, Brunson rebounding with 36 points, and Towns with another monster effort, 44 and 10, becoming just the second Knick to have a 40-10 double-double back-to-back, the other being Patrick Ewing.

--Last Tuesday night, Kevin Durant hit the 30,000-point level, just the eighth in NBA history to do so.  Had Durant not missed the 2019-20 season recovering from an Achilles rupture and not been limited to 35 games in 2020-21 and 47 games in 2022-23, he’d probably be top three behind LeBron James and Kareem.

1. LeBron: 41,641
2. Kareem: 38,387
3. Karl Malone: 36,928
4. Kobe: 33,643
5. Michael Jordan: 32,292
6. Dirk Nowitzki: 31,560
7. Wilt Chamberlain: 31,419
8. Durant: 30,045

NFL

--The Jets officially moved on from Aaron Rodgers.  The options are current backup Tyrod Taylor (who last time I wrote of him I forgot he was under contract for a second season), someone like Justin Fields, if he doesn’t re-sign with Pittsburgh, Sam Darnold if he doesn’t sign with Minnesota, and, because of the influx of former Lions coaches now on Aaron Glenn’s staff, perhaps Jared Goff’s backup, Hendon Hooker, who I liked when he was with the Tennessee Vols.

And they should definitely take a quarterback in the draft.  They have the No. 7 overall pick.

The Jets now have to make a ‘cap’ decision on Rodgers. Take the full $49 million dead money hit on their salary cap in 2025 or designate him as a post-June 1 release, which would allow them to split the cap hit over two years - $14 million in 2025 and $35 million in 2026.

If the Jets decide to make him a post-June 1 release, they have to wait until the new league year on March 12 to actually release him.  Rodgers would be free to sign with any team after that.

Should Aaron want to keep playing, there will be some teams interested.

--New Orleans officially announced it hired Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore as head coach, ending weeks of speculation as Philadelphia played its way to a title.

Moore, 36, gets his first head-coaching job and it won’t be easy...an old, expensive roster and salary cap nightmare that went 5-12 last year.  But he should provide a jolt to the franchise.

MLB

--Clayton Kershaw is at training camp for the Dodgers, so he’ll be back for an 18th season, assuming he passes a physical.

In 2024, Kershaw made just seven starts in his comeback from left shoulder surgery, and in the offseason, he address a ruptured plantar plate in his left foot and repaired a torn meniscus in his left knee, so no telling when he’d actually pitch, but it’s good insurance for the second half of the season, and he’s a great presence to have around...not that stacked L.A. needs any help in this regard....with ‘leaders’ galore.

--Anthony Rendon has played in 257 of a potential 708 games since signing a seven-year, $245 million contract with the Angels ahead of the 2020 season and has been on the IL 12 teams.  He’s yet to play in more than 58 games in a season with the Halos.  And he has sucked when he has been in the lineup.

Well, this week we learned that he’ll miss all of 2025 due to hip surgery.  He has two years and $70 million left on the contract.  Poor Angels fans.

Golf Balls

--Heading into the final round of The Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines....

Patrick Rodgers -8
Denny McCarthy -7
Ludvig Aberg -6
Tony Finau -4
Patrick Cantlay -4
Tommy Fleetwood -4
Davis Thompson -4

Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas were among those at -3, McIlroy and Scheffler with highly disappointing third rounds.

And Aberg wins it with a terrific birdie on No. 18, win No. 2 on the tour for the 25-year-old potential superstar Swede, defeating Maverick McNealy by one...McNealy with a super final-round 64.

--According to financial reports by LIV Golf’s UK arm (and excluding its U.S. business), LIV’s operating losses are “piling up at a staggering rate, necessitating regular injections of new capital by the Saudi PIF [Public Investment Fund],” as reported by Money in Sport, a newsletter following the money.

The Saudis’ investment in LIV Golf could approach $5 billion by the end of this year.

But they are growing the game!...typed the editor, with dripping sarcasm.  Alas, LIV shows no signs of dissolving, having secured a new television deal and new leadership.

Meanwhile, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan believes a reunion of the PGA and LIV Golf tours would involve a single, unified tour.

As noted in Golfweek, low television ratings plague both tours, making the reunification of top players a potential solution, but a merger wouldn’t happen before 2026.

There are whispers that the top stars in LIV are dissatisfied with the state of things, with Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau tired of getting little attention for their tour or their play.  The television numbers for the LIV Tour’s debut on Fox last week were beyond awful.

But the top LIV players are getting new exemptions into the majors.

In terms of President Donald Trump and his involvement in negotiations, he could push for a single tour and you know all he’d ask in return is for his club at Doral to receive a signature event.  Perhaps a DP World Tour event such as the Scottish Open as well.

Rory McIlroy said this week that Trump is “on the PGA Tour’s side,” while Monahan said he and Trump share a vision of where golf needs to go in terms of unifying the PGA Tour with LIV.

McIlroy said Trump told him he’s not a fan of LIV golf’s 54-hole team stroke play format despite the fact LIV Golf has or will host seven events in its four-year history at Trump’s courses in New Jersey, Virginia and Miami.

As I’ve noted in the past, Trump’s involvement is largely about the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust concerns about warring golf organizations potentially being in business together. 

Tiger, today at Torrey Pines, said a deal will get done.

--Joaquin Niemann won the LIV Golf event in Adelaide, Australia, which is the most popular stop on the LIV tour in terms of galleries, courtesy of the golf-starved fans from the land Down Under.

Premier League

Saturday...Arsenal defeated Leicester 2-0, Fulham beat Nottingham Forest 2-1, and Manchester City whipped Newcastle 4-0.

Sunday...Liverpool edged Wolverhampton 2-1, and Tottenham beat Manchester United 1-0; just an awful season for both.

The Table (all have played 25 of 38)...points

1. Liverpool 60
2. Arsenal 53
3. Nottingham 47
4. Man City 44
5. Bournemouth 43
6. Chelsea 43

12. Tottenham 30
15. Man U 29...not in danger of being relegated

4 Nations

The NHL is on break for the 4 Nations Face-Off...a round-robin between the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland, and in their first game, the U.S. beating Finland 6-1 in Montreal, fans there were booing the U.S. national anthem.

“I didn’t like it, and that’s all I got,” Matthew Tkachuk said, who was clearly upset at the fan reaction, which came after the public address announcer at Bell Centre made an announcement asking the crowd to show respect for the anthems and the players from either country.

And the boos continued when the U.S. faced off against Canada Saturday night, but the U.S. prevailed 3-1 to gain a spot in next Thursday’s title game, which will be in Boston.

Monday, the U.S. faces Sweden, also in Beantown, which now is more of a tune-up for Thursday.

Stuff

--World number one Janik Sinner has accepted an immediate three-month ban from tennis after reaching a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) over his two positive drug tests last year.

The 23-year-old Italian, winner of last month’s Australian Open, is suspended from February9 until May 4.  He will be eligible to play in the next Grand Slam event, the French Open, which begins May 19.

In a statement, WADA, which had appealed against the decision to clear Sinner to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), says it accepts his explanation that he was inadvertently contaminated with the banned substance clostebol by his physiotherapist.

The body accepts the three-time Grand Slam champion “did not intend to cheat,” that the drug “did not provide any performance-enhancing benefit” and this happened “without his knowledge as the result of negligence of members of his entourage.”

It added: “However, under the code and by virtue of the CAS precedent, an athlete bears responsibility for the entourage’s negligence.  Based on the unique set of facts of this case, a three-month suspension is deemed to be an appropriate outcome.”

In a statement, Sinner said: “I have always accepted that I am responsible for my team and realize WADA’s strict rules are an important protection for the sport I love.  On that basis I have accepted WADA’s offer to resolve these proceedings on the basis of a three-month sanction.”

--Paula Moltzan kept the U.S. women’s hot streak going at the skiing world championships.

Moltzan won bronze in the giant slalom on Thursday.

It’s the fourth medal won for the U.S. women, matching their best showing ever at a world championships.  Tuesday, Mikaela Shiffrin and downhill champion Breezy Johnson paired to win the team combined.  Lauren Macuga earlier won bronze in the super-G.

Saturday, they had the women’s slalom and Shiffrin entered and finished a solid fifth, with Moltzan fourth.

Shiffrin has to be pleased overall, as she battles back from injury and PTSD-type issues in terms of speed events, which is why she didn’t race in the giant slalom. [She did the slalom in the combined event.]

--We had a rather stunning development in track and field this week, as my former high school track coach, Coach T., reminded me of.

First off, going back to last Saturday, America’s Yared Nuguse set the world record in the indoor mile at the Millrose Games in New York, 3:46.63, to break Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha’s 3:47.01 from Boston in 2019.

But then on Thursday, Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen bested Nuguse’s mark, speeding to a 3:45.14 at a meet in Lievin, northern France.

Back to the Millrose Games, American Grant Fisher set his own world record in the 3000m, outsprinting Olympic 1500m champion Cole Hocker over the final 600 meters to cross the line in 7:22.91.  That would have been a pisser to watch in the stands, as a big fan of the sport.

But wait...there’s more!

Today, Coach T., Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda took a whopping 48 seconds off the previous record at the 2025 Barcelona Half Marathon, clocking 56:42 to become the first man to ever break 57 minutes.

As the New York Times reported afterward, Kiplimo said he never imagined the race he did.  “That’s astonishing.”

Kiplimo’s overall pace came out to 4 minutes 19.5 seconds per mile!  Goodness gracious.

Now I’ve run at least 12 half-marathons and two marathons, and when it comes to the former, my best was I think 1:53 in the Rockland County, NY, half marathon with former PIMCO employee Phil N.  Don’t ask for my two marathon times at Kiawah, S.C., and Dublin, Ireland.

But I thought 1:53 was not awful for a then-40-year-old.  [Phil kicked my butt and went on to half/full marathon greatness.  One of my great hires, as they say in the ’burbs.]

--Last Tuesday night, Monty, a giant schnauzer, became the first of his breed to win top prize at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show at Madison Square Garden.

Monty also won the American Kennel Club championship in December.

So the dude won two titles in three months, while my Jets haven’t won one since 1969, my Knicks since 1973, and my Mets, 1986.   This blows.

--A local New Jersey man who said he saw his wife being attacked and killed by a hippopotamus while on a safari trip has sued the company that organized the tour.

The 70-year-old’s “catastrophic” injuries happened while the couple was in Zambia late last spring as part of a 10-day safari offered by Connecticut-based African Portfolio, according to court documents.

The husband and wife (I’m leaving out their names) went on a bush walk with several tour guides on June 5, when they came across a hippo partially-submerged in a river, the lawsuit states.

Well, readers of Bar Chat know how dangerous hippos can be, but did you know they are responsible for killing around 500 people a year?!  Good Lord.  I also forgot they run as fast as a human.

The lawsuit asserts that the tour guides didn’t warn the couple of the danger, and that they encouraged safari participants to approach the water and then observe, photograph and record the hippo.

While at least one guide had a firearm, the lawsuit alleges the guides left the area, leaving the couple with no protection.

According to the suit, the wife was standing on the riverbank when the hippo suddenly charged her, and she wasn’t able to get away.

“The hippopotamus violently attacked her, grabbing her by its mouth, lifting her off the ground, shaking her entire body, and crushing her head and body with its bite,” the lawsuit states.

I guess I should have warned you ahead of time, this was a rather gory tale.

The suit alleges the company failed to adequately train its staff or have adequate safety procedures.

The victim worked for Merrill Lynch for more than two decades.

Just another reason to stay home, drink beer, and watch college basketball until baseball season, mused the editor.

Top 3 songs for the week 2/16/74: #1 “The Way We Were” (Barbra Streisand)  #2 “Love’s Theme” (Love Unlimited Orchestra)  #3 “You’re Sixteen” (Ringo Starr)...and...#4 “Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)” (Aretha Franklin...one of her 3 or 4 best...)  #5 “Spiders & Snakes” (Jim Stafford)  #6 “Americans” (Byron MacGregor)  #7 “Let Me Be There” (Olivia Newton-John)  #8 “Jungle Boogie” (Kool & The Gang...gonna get down...)  #9 “Boogie Down” (Eddie Kendricks)  #10 “Rock On” (David Essex...B week...)

NASCAR Quiz Answer: The great country western singer Marty Robbins raced in NASCAR’s top series 35 times, including 10 times at Talladega, six times in Charlotte and twice in the Daytona 500.

He had six top 10s, including a 5th at Michigan.  But he may best be known as a driver for purposely crashing into a wall at Charlotte instead of hitting Richard Childress’ car, which had stalled lying across the track, as in Robbins was close to T-boning Childress, which back in those days would have killed Childress and maybe Robbins as well.

I know good friend Dr. W. would have seen Robbins at Talladega more than once, the good doctor attending the race as a child with his father numerous times.

Robbins had the No. 1 Billboard Pop Chart single “El Paso,” which frankly could be one of the top ten songs all time, period, from 1961.  It holds up terrifically.  I’ve been whistling it all week.  Robbins also had a 1959 Pop Chart No. 2 single I love, “A White Sport Coat.”

On the country charts, he had 17 No. 1 hits, including 1956’s “Singing The Blues,” yet another classic.

I just have to thank the great SiriusXM 60s DJ Dave Hoepfel for reminding me of Robbins’ NASCAR story.  Hoepfel has the best ‘look backs’ at particular weeks, with terrific nuggets that even I hadn’t heard before, or reminders of things I had long forgotten, like Marty Robbins.

Sadly, Robbins died of heart disease in 1982 at the young age of 57.

Brief Add-on up top late Monday evening.

 

 

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