NHL Quiz: 1) Name the top 5 all-time in points scored. 2) Who
are the top 3 in assists per game? Answers below.
Lewis and Vanover
And now for your StocksandNews crime update. Baltimore
Ravens All-Pro Ray Lewis is due to be released on $1MM bail
any minute now. Hide your cutlery. Now to be fair, Lewis is
innocent until proven guilty. But much is being made of the fact
that he has no prior felony convictions. Of course, the fact that he
has been implicated in all sorts of assaults on women (though,
again, never charged) isn”t important, I guess. Evidently, Ravens
coach Brian Billick was warned late last season about the
company that Lewis was keeping.
In the now well known post Super Bowl episode, Lewis is
charged along with two companions in the deaths of two Atlanta
area residents. The Fulton County District Attorney said Lewis
“participated by punching, encouraging and assisting in the
commission of this crime.” Defense lawyer Richard Garland is
comparing his client”s case to that of Richard Jewell, falsely
accused of the 1996 Olympic bombing. [Where did that Rudolph
guy go, anyway?] Garland said, “You can almost hear the
railroad whistle blowing as it goes down the track. The first
passenger was Richard Jewell – this time it”s Ray Lewis.”
As a condition of his being released on bail, the judge in the case
has allowed Lewis to return home to Maryland while he awaits
trial but he must be home every night by 9 p.m. But, your honor,
Lewis is a man of the night! How can you be so cruel! No
justice, no peace!
And then there is Tamarick Vanover of the Kansas City Chiefs.
If ever a guy was guilty of something before he even goes to
trial, it”s Tamarick. As a follow-up to my Bar Chat of 2/4, it is
now clear that Vanover was named 13 times in an affidavit
released by the FBI concerning the main target of a major drug
investigation, Vanover associate, Greg Burns. Now, again, no
charges have been filed as yet against Vanover, or his running
around mate, the recently retired Chiefs degenerate, Bam Morris.
But it would seem the FBI has the goods (particularly against
Vanover…Morris was supposedly only named twice in the
affidavit).
According to the report, in September, Tallahassee police
recovered a Ford Expedition from a man named Donnell Benson
that had been reported stolen from a K.C. dealership. Benson
said he had bought the vehicle from Vanover for $10,000. In
March, 1998, Vanover was with Burns when Burns sold a stolen
Lexus to one of Burns”s cocaine customers. A friend of Burns”s
has also evidently provided the FBI with the alleged drug
distribution activities of Vanover and Burns, as well as 2 others.
On the evening of April 23, 1999, police staked out Vanover”s
house and saw an Expedition in the driveway that had been
stolen in Dallas two months earlier. When the car left the
driveway, police stopped it and marijuana was found. Bam
Morris was in the passenger”s seat. Vanover has yet to talk to
police. [As for Morris, he had previously served 90 days in the
slammer for violating parole in a 1996 drug case. A judge could
really stick it to him now. In the words of Emeril…BAMM!]
Last week, a long time NFL head coach (who requested
anonymity) told Sports Illustrated that the league is likely to see
an even greater number of players in trouble with the law in the
years ahead. “If you think this generation is bad, wait until the
next one. It used to be we knocked out two or three players in a
draft for bad character. Now it”s 25 or 30. So many of these
guys aren”t ready, with their backgrounds, to handle money and
fame.” Beautiful. Oh, and did you hear that Carolina Panthers
running back Fred Lane was arrested last week on drug and
weapons charges?
Tulsa Race Riot
In an ongoing effort to cover black history this month, a story
came up two weeks ago that, while maybe uncomfortable for
some of you to read, is history and it”s news.
Back in 1921 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a riot occurred which killed at
least 40, documented, and possibly as many as 300. Currently,
the Tulsa Race Riot Commission, created by the Oklahoma
legislature, is deciding on the issue of reparations, one that is
creating quite a stir. The issue of reparations is not a new one.
In 1923, the small Florida town of Rosewood was destroyed and
6 people were killed. The Florida legislature provided up to $2
million to compensate survivors. In the Tulsa case, Governor
Frank Keating has endorsed direct reparations to survivors (of
which there are about 80), but expressed skepticism about broader
payments.
Much of what follows comes from an article written by Jim
Yardley of the New York Times.
In the segregated Tulsa of 1921, there was a community called
Greenwood which was nicknamed the “Negro Wall Street.”
Greenwood had been a thriving black business and residential
district, home to about 15,000 people and 191 businesses.
On the morning of May 30, 1921, the paths of a black shoe-
shiner, Dick Rowland, and a white elevator operator, Sarah Page,
crossed. Rowland, 19, was taking a break to use the restroom at
the top of the Drexel office building. As the elevator was rising,
a scream was heard and Rowland was arrested on a rape charge.
Sarah Page, just 17, refused to press charges and Rowland was to
be released. The fuse was lit, however.
A white newspaper, The Tulsa Tribune, published an article with
the headline, “To Lynch Negro Tonight.” The article went on to
say that “(Rowland) attacked Page, scratching her hands and
face, and tearing her clothes off.”
On May 31, an armed white mob of about 2,000 arrived at the
courthouse to carry out the lynching. They were met by 50-75
blacks who showed up to protect Rowland. The Sheriff tried to
disperse the crowd. Shots were suddenly fired and a few blacks
fell dead.
The blacks then fled to their neighborhood of Greenwood. At
this point, Tulsa police deputized some whites, most of whom
were reportedly Ku Klux Klan members. The mob set fire to
about 1,200 structures in Greenwood. Scores were killed
(including some whites). A few hours after it started the riot was
over.
No white Tulsans were ever arrested or jailed and in the years
that followed, the promised rebuilding of Greenwood never
happened. The insurance companies refused to pay fire policies,
citing special riot exemptions. Today, Greenwood is the site of
the Oklahoma State University – Tulsa campus.
Elsewhere, the state of Arkansas has begun wrestling with their
own incident, an attack that took place back in 1919 which may
have killed up to 200 blacks and 5 whites. The episode occurred
over the shooting of a white deputy sheriff, supposedly at the
hands of a black man. The records are sketchy but it is known
that 12 blacks were sentenced to death after the unrest, however,
the sentences were appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and the
men were spared.
On a lighter note.
The debate over whether Ken Griffey Jr. is a good guy or not is
heating up. I have received notes from both sides after my Week
in Review comment of last week. Hey, Junior is clearly an okay
person, I just think the way he handled things with Seattle was
wrong. So since I have a good friend who thinks that Griffey
will have a tough time adjusting to National League pitching this
year, and couple that with the fact that this friend also is a
fanatical Barry Bonds fan, we will institute a Griffey / Bonds
watch when the season starts. The national media will focus on
the home run race in the N.L. Central. We will focus elsewhere.
[Actually, even at age 35, Bonds still has something left. Despite
sitting on the disabled list for a long while last year, he still
clouted 34 homers in just 355 at bats, a better ratio than Griffey”s
48 in 606.]
Finally, with the death of Tom Landry, my buddy Johnny Mac
reminded me that his father went to Fordham with Vince
Lombardi and New York Giants longtime owner Wellington
Mara. [Landry and Lombardi were assistant coaches together
with the Giants before seeking fame in Dallas and Green Bay,
respectively.] According to the elder Mac, the $2,500 that Mara
paid to acquire the Giants was money won in a craps game with
Mac Sr. As Johnny added, however, “At least that”s what he
would have had you believe, after 3 martinis.”
Top 3 songs for the week of 2/17/62: #1 “Duke Of Earl” (Gene
Chandler) #2 “Peppermint Twist” (Joey Dee & The Starliters)
#3 “The Twist” (Chubby Checker…OK, we got the picture!)
Quiz Answers: Top 5 all-time entering the ”99-”00 campaign
(and, up to date, there are no changes in the order). Wayne
Gretzky 2,857 Gordie Howe 1,850 Marcel Dionne 1,771
Mark Messier 1,660 Phil Esposito 1,590. Bet most of you had
Mario Lemieux in the mix. He was 6th entering this season with
1,494. However, his points per game of 2.005 is greater than
Gretzky”s of 1.921. Top 3 assists per game: Wayne Gretzky
1.32, Mario Lemieux 1.18 Bobby Orr 0.98.
Next Bar Chat, Friday…We”ll honor Alfred Rascon.
