Weather…and Sammy the Bull

Weather…and Sammy the Bull

NBA Quiz: Who holds the record for most blocked shots in a

game? Yes, this is tough but b-ball junkies will recognize the

name. [Which in and of itself is your clue]. Answer below.

Winter Weather

Those of us in the Northeast haven”t seen much of it the last few

years but I realize in the Upper Midwest you have had some

recently. Yes, I was watching exciting Weather Channel video

late Monday night from Madison, WI. Anyway, here are some

cold weather records.and other odds and ends.

–The record low temperature in the U.S. was -80 degrees (F),

Prospect Creek, AK, 1/23/71.

–The record low in the continental U.S. is -70 degrees, Rogers

Pass, MT, 1/20/54.

–The record low in the world is -129 degrees, at the Soviet

Antarctic station of Vostok, 7/21/83. *That”s just air temp, folks.

–You”re sitting in a bar and a guy goes, “Yoh, has it ever been

below zero in Florida?” To which you shout from the other side

“Yeah, on Feb. 13, 1899, it was -2 in Tallahassee.”

Blizzard: The National Weather Service defines it as a severe

condition characterized by strong winds bearing a great amount

of snow, specifically, winds in excess of 35 mph or higher,

reducing visibility to less than + mile for at least 3 hours.

So, I”m scanning some news and I check out the weather

conditions in Irkutsk, Siberia…ahem. This is a typical weather

day there this time of year. “Generally overcast and dull.”

Temps ranging from a high of -18 F to a low of -25. Wear

plenty of layers.

“Sammy the Bull” Gravano on Mario Puzo

The Sunday Times had a piece written by Jeffrey Goldberg

profiling Gravano and the impact Puzo”s “Godfather” still has on

today”s mob.

Goldberg: I told Gravano that Puzo had told me he wrote the

book and collaborated on the screenplays, without the expert

advice of the mob. I had no reason to doubt him.

Gravano: “No way, somebody had to be helping him.” [Why?]

“Because he knew our life cold. He had the whole atmosphere,

the way we talked. That wedding scene – I mean, that was so

real.”

[Why do so many mobsters continue to believe that the

obviously mythical “Godfather” is an on-target depiction of the

gangster life?]

Gravano: “I”ll give you a for-instance. Remember that scene

when Michael goes to whack that drug dealer and the police

captain? Remember how Michael couldn”t hear anything as he”s

walking up on them? Remember how his eyes went glassy, and

there was just the noise of the train in the background, and how

he couldn”t hear them talk? That”s just like I felt when I killed

Joe Colucci.” [Colucci was the first man Gravano killed].

“Somebody who wrote that scene had to have a feeling for that.

I mean, I felt like I was pulling the trigger myself.”

[Did “The Godfather” influence the way he behaved?]

Gravano: “Well, I killed 19 people. (And) I only did, like, one

murder before I saw the movie.”

*I”m just getting fired up for “The Sopranos.”

Bob Baun

Sports Illustrated chose this man”s feat as one of the century”s 20

Greatest. The Toronto defenseman came off the ice late in Game

6 of the Stanley Cup Finals against Detroit after having had a

Gordie Howe slap shot fracture his right ankle. He told the

trainer to tape him up, then Baun scored in overtime. The next

48 hours he avoided the trainer and then played half of Game 7

in Toronto”s 4-0 victory.

John E. Berry Jr.

Johnny Mac passed this along to me. Berry was a star football

player at Williams College (a D-III power) but he forfeited his

senior year to donate a kidney to his 26-year old brother, a father

of 3. The NCAA bestowed the Award of Valor on John, only the

7th time it has done so. So, yes, there are some good folks out

there. The Rae Carruth”s of the world will be defeated!!

Bill Belichick.what the —-!

You know what? As a New York Jets season ticket holder I was

thinking on Monday, after Parcells quit, that 1) I was

contemplating dropping the tickets and 2) No way would

Belichick survive. But this is so bizarre. More comments later.

Top 3 songs for the week of 1/1/66: #1 “The Sounds Of Silence”

(Simon & Garfunkel) #2 “We Can Work It Out” (The Beatles)

#3 “I Got You (I Feel Good)” (James Brown).

Quiz Answer: Elmore Smith, 17, L.A. Lakers, 10/28/73. *Most

blocks in a quarter is 8, having been done twice by Manute Bol.