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Bar Chat

12/22/2014

The NFL Playoff Picture

[Posted 9:00 PM, Sunday...prior to Seahawks-Cardinals]

Alabama Quiz: This is hard, I’ll grant you, especially if you’re younger. But you can wow your friends at those New Year’s parties. For the following years in which Alabama finished #1 in the AP Poll, give me the quarterback. 1964, 1965, 1978, 1979, 1992 (five different ones). Answer below.

NFL...the Stretch Drive

--Next Sunday all eyes will be on Carolina at Atlanta for the NFC South crown, with the winner making the playoffs with a losing record (pathetic), while Detroit at Green Bay is for the NFC North title and a critical bye.

Sunday, the Falcons moved to 6-9 with a 30-14 win at New Orleans over the Saints (also 6-9, but now eliminated), as Matt Ryan, 30/40, 322, 1-0, 106.5, outplayed Drew Brees handily, Brees throwing two picks. New Orleans had four turnovers overall, Atlanta zero. Startlingly, the Saints finished 3-5 at home.

Meanwhile, Carolina (6-8-1) forced the decider in Atlanta with a 17-13 win over the Browns (7-8). Johnny Manziel was knocked out in the first half with an injury, while Cam Newton, back for the first time after his car accident, was good enough.

In NFC North action, the Packers (11-4) beat the Bucs (2-13), 20-3, as Tampa Bay surges towards the #1 draft pick, while the Lions (11-4) beat the Bears (5-10)* in Chicago, 20-14.

*Jay Cutler was benched for Jimmy Clausen, Cutler leading the league with 18 interceptions and 24 turnovers.

--Pittsburgh (10-5) wrapped up a playoff berth, though we won’t know until next week if it’s a wildcard or the AFC North title*, with a 20-12 win over the Chiefs (8-7).

*Critical Monday night game...11-3 Denver vs. 9-4-1 Cincinnati. 

--Good for Dallas coach Jason Garrett as the Cowboys (11-4) clinched the NFC East title with an impressive 42-7 win over the Colts (10-5) who had already wrapped up the AFC South crown. Tony Romo was 18/20, 218, 4-0, 151.7. Hey, is that good? Dallas scored on their first four possessions. 

--Buffalo (8-7) was eliminated when it lost to the Raiders (3-12) 26-24, a rather shocking ending to their otherwise hopeful season. For Oakland it takes them out of the #1 draft pick race (I think), but they have their quarterback, Derek Carr, and don’t need Mariota.

--Rex Ryan coached his last home game at MetLife Stadium on Sunday against the hated Patriots. And once again my Jets played well enough to win, but didn’t, falling to 3-12, as New England (12-3) clinched a bye in the playoffs with the 17-16 victory. 

New York held New England to just 231 yards total offense, but Geno Smith threw a critical late interception, he was sacked on crucial third down plays that cost the Jets scoring opportunities, and there was a weird 4th down call late that hurt New York. Add it all up and many of us are praying that owner Woody Johnson fires GM John Idzik when he lets Rex go a week from Monday. What a disastrous season. 

--New York’s (New Jersey’s) other team, the Giants, won their third straight to get to 6-9 with a nice 37-27 win over the Rams (6-9), as Eli Manning was rather efficient, 25/32, 391, 4-0, 148.8, and Odell Beckham Jr. had another 8 catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns. Kerry Wynn added an interception, fumble recovery and sack on ‘D’. Tom Coughlin, while obviously not happy with the season, must be proud his guys played for him these last few weeks, and thus he’ll keep his job.

--There were two big games on Saturday. Amazingly, the once 9-3 and NFC title game bound Eagles lost their third straight, 27-24, to the lowly Redskins (4-11) in Washington, as RG3 played well enough, 16/23, 220, 0-1, 81.8, while Mark Sanchez was solid, 37/50, 374, 2-1, 99.9, except he had another two turnovers, including a fumble. Plus Philadelphia missed two field goals.

So Philly went from Super Bowl contender to not even making the playoffs. Coach Chip Kelly must be stunned, as are Eagles fans.

And in San Francisco, San Diego (9-6) more than kept their playoff hopes alive with a stirring 38-35 win over San Francisco (7-8), as quarterback Philip Rivers led the Chargers back from a 21-point halftime deficit. Rivers had three interceptions but also four touchdown passes. For San Francisco, QB Colin Kaepernick had a 90-yard touchdown run, while Frank Gore rushed for 158.

But with the Baltimore Ravens' (9-6) loss to Houston (8-7) on Sunday, 25-13, San Diego took over the sixth and final playoff spot heading into the final weekend.

As for San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh, your guess is as good as mine as to what he will do.   Clearly, despite taking the 49ers to the NFC title game in each of his first three seasons, he is history.

But does he stay in the NFL, like take over the soon-to-be open Jets position, or does he go for the rumored six years, $48-49 million from his alma mater, Michigan, where he is a legend?

--Thursday night, the 2-12 Titans faced the 2-12 Jaguars in what many called the worst matchup in the history of sports, including Thrace vs. Cerces back in 54 B.C.

Like in the case of Tampa Bay above, it’s about the #1 draft pick and Marcus Mariota, but the Jags already have their quarterback of the future, Blake Bortles, and they won 21-13. Tennessee, though, should they get the top pick, could go for the Heisman Trophy winner or trade it.

--The San Diego Chargers announced they will be staying at least through 2015, thus not moving to Los Angeles. It’s not clear what the St. Louis Rams and Oakland Raiders will do, but most seem to think they too will stay in their existing locales for another year. All three teams are on year-to-year leases.

But as Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times writes, just “what will the NFL do about its longest-running soap opera, with the league entering its 20th season without a franchise in the nation’s second-largest market?

“Here’s what you can expect: At some point soon, perhaps in the next 30 to 60 days, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will announce that the league is going to focus in 2015 on identifying a stadium site in the Los Angeles area and moving forward without a specific team in mind.”

There are all kinds of potential sites, including the Farmers Field project downtown, but the league’s best bet is to pick one.

“The league consistently has said that L.A. is a two-team market, and there are currently three teams in this game of musical chairs. That might be good for creating the best deal, but it’s ultimately bad for the NFL, which doesn’t want a ‘loser’ in this process – a team that has to skulk back to its market, tail between its legs, after announcing it was leaving. So you can bet the league is going to increase the pressure on the Rams, Raiders and Chargers to turn over every stone for a stadium solution in their current cities.”

College Football

--So I noted the other day that Bo Pelini was named the new coach at Youngstown State after being fired by Nebraska, but after I posted, he was introduced to the press and fans and confronted with a story in the Omaha World-Herald that during a meeting with Huskers players on Dec. 2, two days after he was fired as coach, an audio recording of Pelini’s address to them was none too complimentary of Nebraska Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst.

“A guy like him, who has no integrity, he doesn’t even understand what a core value is,” Pelini said.   “He hasn’t understood it from the day he got here....He’s a f------ lawyer who makes policies. That’s all he’s done since he’s been here: hire people and make policies to cover his own ass.”

Players had lashed out at Eichorst on social media after Pelini’s firing, he having gone 67-27 in seven seasons, winning 9 or more in each one.

Pelini then said, according to the audio tape, that he’d “rather f------ work at McDonald’s than work with some of” the people Eichorst surrounds himself with, adding, “Not that there’s anything bad about working at McDonald’s.”

Then Nebraska responded, saying the comments proved Pelini “should no longer be a leader of young men at Nebraska. His habitual use of inappropriate language, and his personal and professional attacks on administrators, are antithetical to the values of our university.”

Note to Nebraska. As Bluto would tell you, Bluto Blutarsky being my personal role model, administrators blow. [“Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?!”]

One other...I forgot former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel is the president of Youngstown State!

“If there is any genuine outrage it should be directed at Pelini’s current employer. Youngstown State’s president is Jim Tressel. The same Jim Tressel who covered up NCAA violations at Ohio State. The same Jim Tressel who obfuscated during the investigation.

“The same Jim Tressel who – despite all that – was hired as a university president. At the same time he is the CEO of Youngstown, Tressel is three years through a five-year show cause order.

“In enforcement circles, this is like work release with robes and mortar board.

“The show-cause is a scarlet letter for coaches. It effectively renders them unemployable because of major NCAA violations. Often, it is punishment for lying to NCAA investigators.

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t affect employment as a university administrator. That really wasn’t an issue until Youngstown did the unthinkable. An institution of higher learning decided to employ Tressel, a convicted NCAA scofflaw, last July as its president....

“Bo’s sideline demeanor is in question. Tressel almost burned a major football program to the ground.

--Pittsburgh Panthers coach Paul Chryst left for Wisconsin, leaving Pitt reeling; it’s fourth coaching search in four years. AD Steve Pederson was relieved of his duties with nearly four years remaining on his contract.

Chryst was a logical choice to replace Gary Andersen, who left for Oregon State, Chryst having been on the Badgers staff twice before, including as offensive coordinator when Russell Wilson and Montee Ball were there.

Meanwhile the Pitt job should be a juicy one. They had 80 freshmen and sophomores, including my main man, running back James Conner.

--When the season is over, you have this lull before the bowl games get going and in many cases we’re talking four full weeks. A lot can happen, especially in practice.

And so we learned Oregon’s consensus All-American cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu suffered a severe knee injury in practice on Tuesday (a possible ACL tear) and the team confirmed he won’t be available for the playoffs, a huge blow. He would have been assigned to Florida State’s star receiver Rashad Greene.

--Sports Illustrated’s “Sign of the Apocalypse”: “There were 10 Heisman voters who did not have winner Marcus Mariota in their top three.”

--Southern California baseball fans have a lot to talk about these days as both the Dodgers and Padres have been extremely aggressive in the offseason.

“Without changing anything, the San Diego Padres were likely to improve next season. The entire lineup underperformed in 2014, and the team’s poor season totals masked some improvement in the final few months.

“Rather than waiting to see how much better the team would be if some of his players had more typical seasons, however, A.J. Preller, San Diego’s general manager, reshaped the roster, trading a huge chunk of the farm system for Justin Upton, Matt Kemp, Wil Myers and Derek Norris.

“Suddenly, a team of little-known underperformers had a group of household names with excellent credentials: five All-Star appearances, two Gold Gloves, four Silver sluggers, a rookie of the year award and two top-10 finishes in Most Valuable Player award voting.”

But the Padres gave away a ton of prospective talent and as Hoffman notes, there’s a reason why all the above were available in trades.

“For Kemp, health is a concern. During the completion of the trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, in which the Padres received $32 million to offset the $107 million remaining on his contract, he was found to have arthritis in his hips. A host of other injuries caused Kemp to miss 56 games in 2012 and 89 games in 2013.”

Some believe Upton, just 27, peaked in 2011, though he’s healthy and no reason why he can’t give the Padres 25 HR 90 RBI at a minimum.

But Myers, rookie of the year with Tampa Bay in 2013, slumped big time in his sophomore season.

Norris, a catcher who can play first, hit .270 with 55 RBI for Oakland, making the All-Star team,  but he had a poor second half (like seemingly everyone else on that team).

By the way, of Oakland’s seven All-Stars last season, only two remain – reliever Sean Doolittle and starter Scott Kazmir.

Back to Matt Kemp, the trade for him almost didn’t come off because the Padres weren’t sure about his hips, which could lead to hip replacement surgery, but that might not come for a while...like when he’s 50.

And one more move for the Padres. They acquired third baseman Will Middlebrooks from Boston for catcher Ryan Hanigan, who was acquired by San Diego from Tampa Bay as part of the Wil Myers deal. Middlebrooks sucks.

--Meanwhile, Dodgers fans are wondering just what new president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, has done in trading the popular Kemp, while picking up Jimmy Rollins and Howie Kendrick. Kendrick could easily walk after next season, for example.

--Then there are the White Sox. Tyler Kepner / New York Times:

“The White Sox believe they can hoist (the next American League championship flag), and they seem better poised than the Cubs to bring a World Series to Chicago, at least in 2015. Both teams start from the same point: a 73-89 record in 2014, after at least 96 losses in 2013. But only the White Sox have made themselves significantly better.

“For all the hype about the Cubs – including a close-up of their new $155 million starter, Jon Lester, on the cover of the latest Sports Illustrated – they are not much different than they were in the first half of last season. The Cubs’ rotation began then with an All-Star starter (Jeff Samardzija) and Jason Hammel. They traded those pitchers to Oakland in July, and last week re-signed Hammel and a different All-Star (Lester).

“Of course, the Cubs have a better manager now, Joe Maddon, and traded for a dependable catcher in Miguel Montero. Their dynamic young players are closer to breaking through. And there was symbolism Tuesday in their signing of Jason Motte, who closed out the last World Series title for the rival St. Louis Cardinals.

“But consider how Rick Hahn, the White Sox’ general manager, has remade his team. He fortified a weak bullpen by signing a top left-hander, Zach Duke, and (closer David) Robertson, who seamlessly replaced Mariano Rivera as the Yankees’ closer last season. Hahn signed Adam LaRoche, the former Washington slugger, to share first base and designated hitter with Jose Abreu.

“He acquired Samardzija, who faces free agency next winter, in a trade with the A’s. Late Saturday night, he signed outfielder Melky Cabrera to a three-year, $42 million contract....

“ ‘I don’t see any reason why we can’t be in the playoffs and make it to the World Series,’ Robertson said. ‘Somebody’s got to win. Why can’t it be us? The Royals got hot at the right time and battled their tails off till the end. There’s no reason why any other team can’t do that.’”

--The Giants did a good job filling the hole left by the departed Pablo Sandoval in acquiring third baseman Casey McGehee from the Marlins for a pair of minor league hurlers. McGehee was NL Comeback Player of the Year after hitting .287 with 76 RBIs.

The Giants also signed pitcher Jake Peavy to a two-year, $24 million contract, as well as reliever Sergio Romo, two years, $15 million.

--The Yankees shocked their fans, and casual observers such as myself, when they traded Martin Prado to the Marlins for Nate Eovaldi, a fireballing righty who also yielded the most hits in the league. But I like the move. The Yankees needed another starter. And a sleeper in the deal for New York is lefty-swinging first baseman/outfielder Garrett Jones, who could hit quite a few home runs at the Little Bandbox formerly known as Yankee Stadium.

The Marlins also picked up spot-starter/reliever David Phelps in the deal.

--The Mets and Yankees are identical 25-1 shots to win the World Series. It’s been awhile since the two were seen as equals.

According to the Bovada online sports book, the Dodgers are 13-2, the Angels 8-1, the Nationals 9-1, and the Red Sox and Tigers are both 12-1.

--According to ESPN’s buster Olney, in retirement Commissioner Bud Selig, who is exiting Jan. 25th, will receive a salary of about $6 million annually. An MLB spokesman said the figure isn’t accurate.

College Basketball Review

--One game of note on Sunday...No. 6 Virginia totally emasculated Harvard 76-27! It was 39-8 at half as Hahvad hit 1 of 20 from the field, tying an NCAA record for futility! They finished 8 of 50 for the game! They had one...ONE...assist! The starting five was 1 of 32 from the field! I’m running out of exclamation points!

--In Saturday’s action, No. 1 Kentucky got off to a 24-0 lead (8 short of the record between two Division I teams, UConn vs. New Hampshire in 1990), it was 41-7 at the half, and they cruised 83-42 as the Wildcats held the Bruins to 19 of 71 from the field, 26.8%. As Ronald Reagan would have said of John Calipari’s boys, ‘Not bad, not bad at all.’

Big win for No. 7 Villanova (11-0) over Syracuse (6-4) as the Wildcats scored five points in the final 10.8 seconds of regulation to send it into overtime, where they prevailed 82-77.

No. 24 North Carolina had a nice 82-74 win over No. 12 Ohio State in Chapel Hill.

No. 16 Washington improved to 10-0 with a 69-67 win over No. 15 Oklahoma.

Texas Southern (2-8) stunned No. 25 Michigan State (8-4) in East Lansing, 71-64, the first win over a top 25 team for the Tigers since 1994. Great stretch for the state of Michigan, the Wolverines having earlier lost to NJIT. [Michigan then lost its fifth of the season on Saturday to SMU.]

I wouldn’t bring up Wake Forest’s 63-50 loss to Florida except for the fact three of our freshmen, including two starters, were suspended; one is facing six games due to an unspecified NCAA infraction the school said it is working on, the other two for conduct detrimental to the team. Just great, Deacs. Just great.

--Friday night, Eastern Kentucky (6-4) mauled No. 18 Miami, down there, 72-44, as the Hurricanes shot 12 of 41 from the field (29.3%). Eastern Kentucky was 14 of 26 from three.

--Wednesday, my San Diego State Aztecs suffered their third loss to Cincinnati in overtime, 71-62, and they should drop out of the top 25. SDSU had won 18 of their prior 19 overtime games, but for a second straight game had 18 turnovers. They really miss Xavier Thames, that’s for sure.

--The story of the week, aside from the Rondo trade, had to be the Spurs’ back-to-back triple overtime* losses to Memphis, 117-116, and then Portland, 129-119. San Antonio then lost on Saturday to Dallas to fall to 17-11, having dropped six of eight.

*This was the first time a team had played consecutive 3OTs since 1951.

In the overtime defeats, Tim Duncan had 23 points and 16 rebounds against Memphis and 32-10 in the Portland loss, though he was also just 5 of 15 from the foul line against the Grizzlies.

--So the Celtics traded point guard Rajon Rondo to Dallas in a brilliant move by the Mavs. Dallas sent Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder, Jameer Nelson and draft picks...a conditional first-round pick in 2015 and a second-rounder in 2016, as well as a $12.9 million trade exception (have to admit, not an expert on this aspect).

Rondo then had six points and nine assists in the Mavs’ win over the Spurs Saturday night.

So with Dirk Nowitzki, Monta Ellis, Tyson Chandler, Chandler Parsons and, now, Rondo, that’s a helluva starting five.

Rondo is a free agent after this season, but he’s owner Mark Cuban’s type of player and everyone believes the two will get along swimmingly, including the inking of a big new deal.

--I actually watched some of the Knicks action the past few days, including Saturday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns at the Garden to fall to 5-24.   It was typical. They were up 66-61, playing with some energy, and then they fall apart down the stretch. [They are 3-16 in games in which they were within five points in the last five minutes.]

As the New York Daily News’ Mike Lupica pointed out, it’s time for team president Phil Jackson to take some heat, rather than acting like it is someone else’s roster. Jackson, after all, is responsible for nine of the 15.

“Enough of these players we’re told are losers who can’t grasp the intricacies and genius of the triangle, they’re his. Unless we’re supposed to believe that only the holdovers are the bums here.

“The other day I told Charles Barkley, at whom Jackson directed a Twitter shot the other night, that clearly he hasn’t grasped those seven principles of the triangle that Phil likes to talk about. Barkley laughed. ‘I know four principles of the triangle,’ Barkley said. ‘Michael, Scottie, Kobe, Shaq.’”

“You look at what the Knicks have become since Patrick Ewing stopped playing basketball for them, and you look back on the 1990s – a different kind of glory years for Knicks fans than the ones in the early ‘70s – and you appreciate the talent and the heart and toughness of Patrick even more.

“Now they’re built around Carmelo.”

Yes, just months after signing a five-year, $124 million contract, Knicks fans are ready to run Carmelo Anthony out of town.

This franchise has zero...ZERO...future. I’m astounded that anyone shows for to the games. I’ve told you before how the television ratings are plummeting, too.

“So much is wrong with this team. Let’s start by taking match and kerosene to straw men. Zen Phil and his triangle offense have nothing to do with this. You could try an isosceles, scalene or equilateral triangle offense. You could toss in a rectangle, a trapezoid and the underappreciated rhombus. You could make the Knicks run the break by skipping down the court single file.

“None of it would make a difference. I’m sure he’s kind to little dogs and babies, but if Quincy Acy starts at power forward for your team, it needs to be in the NBA Development League. Tim Hardaway Jr. as a starting guard offers a study in cluelessness: Why is he wandering left if the man he is guarding is cutting right?

“Is that Andrea Bargnani, hampered by the longest-standing hamstring strain in league history, sitting at the end of the bench? Have the Knicks started charging him for a courtside seat?”

[Knicks fell to 5-25 on Sunday, losing to the 22-6 Raptors, 118-108.]

--The Philadelphia 76ers are 3-23 after a win Sunday in Orlando. But that means they are still on track for a 12-70 season or so.

“Short on talent and long on cap space (no NBA team’s payroll is so far below the league’s payroll max), Philly dropped its first 17 games. The 76ers are doing this to stockpile young talent. This is a smart move in a vacuum, but the team doesn’t live in a vacuum, even if it sucks like one. The players know the organization does not really want to win right now: Good luck getting them to play defense in the fourth quarter of a blowout or to pass up a good shot for a better one. How can the coaching staff persuade them to shed their bad habits when the organization is built around the worst habit of all?

“The Sixers are not alone, though I suspect if they were, they would still find a way to lose.... (Most) NFL fans have experienced the odd sensation that if their team is bad, it might as well be goddawful enough to get the No. 1 draft pick. This was the genesis of the Suck for Luck campaign in 2011, when teams knew that if they stank the most, they would land Stanford star QB Andrew Luck. The Colts’ skill at being unskilled that year turned around the franchise.

--Lindsey Vonn won her second straight race, a downhill at Val d’Isere, moving her within one of Austrian great Annemarie Moser-Proll’s record 62 World Cup wins.

Sunday, though, Vonn crashed in the Super G race but was unhurt. The crowd gasped, but she said her knees were fine. Phew. 

For the U.S. men, this is rather remarkable. Steven Nyman won the third World Cup race of his career, the downhill at Val Gardena, Italy, with all three of the wins being downhills at...Val Gardena! He hasn’t won anywhere else.

The 32-year-old failed to finish higher than 19th in any race last season and had slipped to the U.S. “B” team for this season, which meant he had to pay $20,000 out of his own pocket to race the World Cup. I had no idea how this worked.

--It’s official. Kenyan marathon champion Rita Jeptoo tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug, a second biological sample confirming the original test result.

Jeptoo was set to pocket a $500,000 prize for winning the 2013-14 World Marathon Majors Series, with wins in Boston in April and Chicago in October.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal’s Matthew Futterman:

“The victory in Boston was especially striking. Jeptoo ran a 2:18:57, shattering the course record by nearly two minutes on a warm day, and nearly eight minutes faster than her winning time in the 2013 race. The 2014 run included a 4:48 mile in the late stages of the race when Jeptoo bolted from the competition.”

4:48?! Good lord!

Jeptoo can keep her Boston prize money because the victory came before the test, but she had not received her Chicago winnings because the test that turned out to be positive was administered weeks before that race.

Fellow Kenyan Edna Kiplagat now stands to win the $500,000 prize.

You know...for next year’s Kiawah half-marathon, I think I’m going to dope up for it. See if I can go from a 2:12 to a 1:35. I mean they won’t be testing me ahead of time, right?

--Has Michael Phelps gotten the message? He was placed on probation after pleading guilty to a drunk driving charge for the second time in 10 years. The judge told Phelps that if he forgets the message, “the only option is jail.”

--With Muhammad Ali currently in the hospital with a mild case of pneumonia, we note the passing of one of his opponents from way back, Ernie Terrell. He was 75.

Big Ernie stood 6 feet 6 inches, with a huge 82-inch reach, compared to Ali’s 78-inch one. [Mike Tyson’s was 71.]

Terrell fought 55 times and had a professional record of 46-9, including victories over heavyweight contenders George Chuvalo, Cleveland Williams and Zora Folley, as well as Bob Foster, later the light-heavyweight champion.

But as the New York Times’ Bruce Weber writes, it was his bout with Ali on Feb. 6, 1967, that was most memorable.

“Ali, then known as Clay, had taken the heavyweight crown from Sonny Liston in February 1964. But later that year, the World Boxing Association, one of many sanctioning agencies within the sport, stripped him of the crown, saying Clay had violated association rules in scheduling the bout. (Many W.B.A. officials were also offended by Clay’s self-promoting antics before the fight.)

“To fill the vacant top spot, the association set up a bout between two contenders, Terrell and Eddie Machen. Terrell won a unanimous 15-round decision on March 5, 1965, to claim the title. He successfully defended it twice, against Chuvalo and Doug Jones.”

Well, Clay was now Muhammad Ali and insisted his opponents call him by that name, but Terrell refused. So during a contentious news conference weeks before the bout, Ali called Terrell an Uncle Tom.

As Weber notes, the newspapers themselves back then didn’t know what to call Ali. The first sentence of a New York Times article began: “In a tense and ugly moment overlooking Eighth Avenue yesterday, Cassius Clay called Ernie Terrell an ‘Uncle Tom.’”

Ali was relentless leading up to the fight at the Astrodome, coming up with a poem he recited for reporters:

Terrell who caught hell at the opening bell
Tried to retreat so he wouldn’t be beat
But Ali scuffled and shuffled and fired the punch home
And Ernie shot up through the roof of the Dome
The news quickly flashed all around town
The referee can’t count 10 till Ernie comes down
The referee is frantic
Terrell’s over the Atlantic
Who would’ve thought when they came to the fight
They’d see the launching of a colored satellite?

Terrell lasted all 15 rounds but was a bloody mess by the end. [Ernie contends Ali at one point thumbed him in the eye.] 

“What’s my name?” Ali would shout, throwing a punch. “What’s my name?”

The two actually became friends after, and Terrell admitted in a 2009 interview with USA TODAY that he expressed some regret over his decision to refer to Ali as Clay.

Some of us remember Ernie Terrell for a different reason. The guy could sing and he formed a group, Ernie Terrell and His Heavyweights, that appeared on “The Tonight Show” and headlined Vegas lounge shows. One of his sisters was Jean Terrell, who in 1970 replaced Diana Ross when she left the Supremes.

Ernie Terrell was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004.

--The PGA of America announced on its website that Gus Andreone of Sarasota may have made history as the oldest person to record a hole-in-one. He’s 103! He thus beats the previous record of a 102-year-old woman in 2007.

Andreone told Tampa Bay television station Fox 13 News that the ace marks his eighth since 1939. He said he used a driver on the 113-yard 14th hole of the Lakes Course, with the ball hitting the ground about 30 yards from the green and then rolling into the hole.

Andreone plays three times a week. “As long as I can swing a club, even if I have to play three or four holes, I’m going to play golf.”

“U.S. scientists say tracking data showing five golden-winged warblers left their nesting site a day before a tornado outbreak suggests they ‘heard it coming.’

“Geolocators showed the birds left the Appalachians and flew 400 miles south to the Gulf of Mexico.

“The next day the deadly April 2014 tornadoes swept across the central U.S. ....

“The birds had just completed a 5,000km migration, when they made this extra trip.”

The warblers were among 20 tagged as part of a May 2013 project by the Universities of Tennessee and Minnesota.

“After disappearing to Colombia for the winter, 10 of the tagged warblers returned in April 2014. The team was in the field observing them when they received advance warning of the tornadoes.”

The warblers escaped just south of the tornadoes’ path – “and then went straight home again. By May 2, all five were back in their nesting area....

“The most likely tip-off was the deep rumble that tornadoes produce, well below what humans can hear.

“Noise in this ‘infrasound’ range travels thousands of kilometers, and may serve as something of an early warning system for animals that can pick it up.”

Absolutely amazing. I’m moving golden-winged warblers up to No. 31 on the “All-Species List.” “Man” remains mired in the No. 398 slot, just ahead of the clam.

--Nancy DeWolf Smith of the Wall Street Journal reviewed an EPIX premium channel showing of “Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007” that is airing Christmas Eve.

It covers the franchise, from Ian Fleming’s struggles to get a studio to look at his books (Columbia, incredibly, passed and United Artists scooped it up), to the issues with the various Bond figures, including the selection of the unknown Scottish actor Sean Connery. UA balked and pressed for an American with star power.

“Yet as we’re told (in the program), once women were shown Mr. Connery’s screen test, his prospects brightened considerably. ‘Is he sexy?’ a doubtful (Harry) Saltzman asked his wife, who just looked at him: ‘Are you kidding?’”

Then there’s the story of the second Bond, George Lazenby, who “was propelled by an overwhelming urge to sleep with as many women as humanly possible – although Mr. Lazenby describes it much more colorfully. A model who had never acted, he cooked up a plan to audition that included Mr. Connery’s barber and tailor, and then barging into the Eon production offices, leaning against a door and languidly saying to Saltzman: ‘I heard you’re looking for James Bond?’

“Since Mr. Lazenby was a top male model when he was cast in 1968, the producers feared he was gay, he says, and sent a woman up to his apartment as a test, which he passed. They also wanted to know if he could fight. Oh yes, replied the man who was raised in the Australian bush, where, he says, ‘Every Friday night you’d be punching somebody, just for fun.’ (How and why Mr. Lazenby quickly tanked his 007 career is another lively tale, but you will have to watch to find out.)”

--Always been a fan of comedian Chris Rock, who the other day said he was terrified over the Sony hacking scandal, especially since his job is to “say offensive things.” Referring to former Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s NBA ouster for leaked racist remarks, Rock said:

“You say the wrong thing – you see what happened to [Sterling]. I’m not defending what Sterling said at all, but if that’s not the First Amendment then what the [bleep] is? And what did he say, ‘I don’t want my girlfriend hanging out with black basketball players?’ Me neither!”

--We note the passing of bombshell Italian movie star Virna Lisi, 78. She is perhaps best known for her role in the flick “How to Murder Your Wife,” opposite Jack Lemmon. Oh yeah, as a kid I had a crush on her.

--Rock Scully, the Grateful Dead’s long-time manager, died at the age of 73. Actually, according to the New York Times’ Douglas Martin, he was one of about five at the group’s peak. But Rock was the first.

Top 3 songs for the week 12/24/77: #1 “How Deep Is Your Love” (Bee Gees...eh, not that deep, but thanks for asking...) #2 “You Light Up My Life” (Debby Boone...Geno Smith...not!) #3 “Blue Bayou” (Linda Ronstadt)...and...#4 “(Every Time I Turn Around) Back In Love Again” (L.T.D.) #5 “It’s So Easy” (Linda Ronstadt...yeah, she was pretty big back then...but this tune was hideous....) #6 “Baby Come Back” (Player...has nothing to do with golfer Gary Player...just need to point that out...) #7 “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” (Crystal Gayle) #8 “Here You Come Again” (Dolly Parton...kind of liked this one, especially given this year produced mega crapola...) #9 “Sentimental Lady” (Bob Welch) #10 “Slip Slidin’ Away” (Paul Simon...this was not a good week in the life of your editor, by the way...home on break from school after an all-time record low GPA...and other stuff...#beer....)

Alabama Quiz Answer: ‘Bama QBs in these years they finished #1.

1964 – Joe Namath (though Steve Sloan played a fair amount)
1965 – Steve Sloan
1978 – Jeff Rutledge
1979 – Steadman Shealy (he hardly passed)
1992 – Jay Barker

Next Bar Chat, sometime Wednesday....my annual Christmas special.

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