NBA Quiz: Wrapping up our week of forgotten championship
teams, name 5 of the 6 who scored in double figures for the 1978-
79 World Champion Seattle Supersonics who beat Washington in
a grudge match, 4-1. Answer below.
Almanac Stuff
Top 5 Countries in Internet Usage (per capita)
1. Iceland
2. Finland
3. Norway
4. Sweden…wait, I see a pattern here.
5. U.S…pheww
6. Chechnya…though no one recognizes their independence
7. North Korea
8. Mongolia
9. Yemen
Greatest Snowfalls (North America)
1 month – Tamarack, CA, 1911.390 inches
24 hours – Silver Lake, CO, April 14-15, 1921.76 inches
1 storm – Mt. Shasta Ski Bowl, CA, Feb. 13-19, 1959.189 in.
1 season – Mt. Baker, WA, 1998-99, 1,140 inches
Outstanding Temperature Falls (Continental U.S.)
In 24 hours: 100 degrees F, Browing, MT, Jan. 23-24, 1916,
from 44 to -56.
In 12 hours: 84 degrees F, Fairfield, MT, Dec. 24, 1924,
from 63 at noon to -21 at midnight. Now you just know that
the good folks of Fairfield were thinking around noon, “Gee,
we can wear short sleeve shirts to Midnight Mass!” 45 froze
to death that night.
In 2 hours: 62 degrees, Rapid City, SD, Jan. 12, 1911, from
49 at 6:00 a.m. to -13 at 8:00 a.m.
In 27 minutes: 58 degrees, Spearfish, SD, Jan. 22, 1943, from
54 at 9:00 a.m. to -4 at 9:27 a.m.
In 15 minutes: 47 degrees, Rapid City, SD, Jan. 10, 1911, from
55 at 7:00 a.m. to 8 at 7:15 a.m. “Jimmie, wear your hat!”
“Oh, Mom. Geezuz, it”s 55 degrees!” Fifteen minutes later,
Jimmie froze to death. [And hey, wicked weather in Rapid City
back in Jan. of 1911, eh?]
East German Women Swimmers.Update
Last Jan. 17, I wrote in Bar Chat of the trial of Lothar Kipke, the
former chief doctor for the East German women”s swim team.
There has been a rush to bring other officials to justice before the
statute of limitations expires this coming October.
Remember that the E. German team did not win a single gold
medal at the ”72 Munich Olympics, yet four years later they
captured 11 in Montreal, thanks to the magic of steroids.
New stories are emerging about the birth defects affecting many
of these swimmers children. According to just released secret
files, some women were ordered to abort fetuses that may have
been deformed by drugs. And think of the psychological
implications. Said one sports psychologist, “These women live
with the fact that their successes were a result of having cheated.
Added to that is the fact that these drugs were administered along
with birth control pills. That can have unbelievable psychological
consequences.”
In the case of Martina Gottschalt, she was 10 when first invited to
attend a boarding school for promising young swimmers. She
trained 9 hours a day. By evening she was exhausted and in tears,
she said, because of constant verbal abuse by coaches. She
excelled but soon was taking 40 pills a day, under strict
supervision. Doctors told the girls they were vitamins but they
weren”t to tell their parents. Of course, they were anabolic
steroids.
A group of former swimmers recently attended the trial of Kipke.
Kipke was the 26th E. German sports official to be convicted on
charges of doping. Said their lawyer, “Dr. Kipke was a monster.
What gives a doctor the right to treat young girls like guinea
pigs.”
A girl in my high school class, Kathy Heddy, was on the U.S.
team in 1976. By 1974, she had been a shoo-in to bring back
some gold. I think she came back with only a relay medal. If the
E. Germans hadn”t cheated, things would have been different for
her and all the others.
The New York Mets Rickey Henderson…on fans
“Do you think I care about, really, what the fans feel?
To tell you the truth, a fan, a person or anybody else wouldn”t
even bring it up (the card playing during Game 6 of the NLCS)
if it wasn”t for you needing to bring up something that nobody
knows anything. So be with it, I love you.” [The preceding is an
exact transcript. New York Mets fans can only hope he pulls a
hammy. Get out of town, Rickey!]
Darryl Strawberry…I have zero sympathy for him. And people
can”t forget that he has assaulted more than one woman,
including his wife.
And to Marty McSorley of the Boston Bruins, you should be
thrown in jail.
Tamarick Vanover Update
A few weeks I ago I said of Tamarick, he of the Kansas City
Chiefs, “If anyone was ever guilty.” Well, that was a little risky
to put in print, but guess what? He pled guilty this week to aiding
and abetting the sale of a stolen vehicle across state lines. That
was just a plea bargain. He easily could have received worse, but
as it is, he should still get jail time. Seven men have now been
convicted in the large scale cocaine distribution ring that
Tamarick was involved in.
Grammy Memories
In my ongoing effort to stay hip (since I gave up my subscription
to Rolling Stone), I force myself to watch the Grammys and the
Oscars. As for Wednesday”s Grammys, all I can say is, wow,
the music sucks these days. How could Whitney Houston win for
that piece of crap? And wasn”t it appropriate to have an anti-
marijuana commercial right after her award presentation?
Other thoughts…Gloria Estefan looked awful…Rosie O”Donnell
is a total pig (for her comments)…Neil Diamond looked pretty
good, for his age…Faith Hill looked awesome…Jennifer Lopez
(oh, I”ll be good, but what”s the deal putting her on when all the
little kids would be watching?)…Hey, Mitch Miller got a lifetime
achievement award! That was my highlight…And what”s up with
Macy Gray? What is IT? Is that a girl? A guy? Someone, help
me with this. Know what I”m sayin”?
Top 3 songs for the week of 2/24/73: #1 “Killing Me Softly With
His Song” (Roberta Flack) #2 “Dueling Banjos” (Eric Weissberg
& Steve Mandell) #3 “Crocodile Rock” (Elton John…another
legitimate highlight of the Grammys).
Quiz answer: ”78-”79 Supersonics – Gus Williams (19.2 ppg),
Dennis Johnson (15.9), Jack Sikma (15.6), “Downtown” Freddie
Brown (14.0), Lonnie Shelton (13.5), John Johnson (11.0).
Next Bar Chat, Monday…the Port Chicago Mutiny.
