NBA Quiz: 1) Name the last 4 regular season MVPs? 2) Who
were the last 4 Rookies of the Year? Answers below.
Jerry Seinfeld, circa 1989
“You know, I tell you, I gotta say that I”m enjoying adulthood.
For a lot of reasons. And I”ll tell you reason number one: as an
adult, if I want a cookie, I have a cookie, okay? I have three
cookies or four cookies or eleven cookies if I want. Many times I
will intentionally ruin my entire appetite. Just ruin it. And then I
call my mother up right after to tell her that I did it. ”Hello,
Mom, yeah, I just ruined my entire appetite…cookies.” So what
if you ruin…See because as an adult we understand even if you
ruin an appetite, there”s another appetite coming right behind it.
There”s no danger in running out of appetites. I”ve got millions
of them, I”ll ruin them whenever I want!” [The preceding was
brought on by your editor baking half a batch of Pillsbury sugar
cookies, for himself…]
The “Port Chicago Mutiny”
On July 17, 1944, explosions rocked Port Chicago on the
Sacramento River near San Francisco, killing 320, 200 of which
were African-American sailors serving in a segregated Navy. It
was the worst home-front accident of World War II. At Port
Chicago, blacks had been given menial jobs, loading munitions
from freight cars onto ships bound for battle in the Pacific. They
were largely untrained for the hazardous work.
On the evening of the explosion, two ships were in port, one with
4,600 tons of munition and another being in preparation for
loading. Ordinance being handled by the black sailors included
1,000 pound bombs, depth charges, and fully-fused 650-pound
incendiary bombs. All of it, along with freight cars packed with
high explosives blew up shortly after 10:15 p.m.
An Air Force plane, cruising at 9,000 feet overhead described a
huge plume of fire rising from the center carrying debris as big as
car garages high above their altitude. The boat loaded with
munitions was blown to the point where no recognizable piece
was ever found. The other ship was lifted out of the water,
turned around and dropped back in the water, totally wrecked.
Of the 320 killed, only 51 were identifiable. Sailors over a mile
away died.
While white sailors were given recuperative leave, 3 weeks later
black sailors were asked to return to work and were told to load a
ship down river. 200 were marching down to the site when all
but 70 decided not to continue. It was considered mutinous
conduct and 50 were selected to be court-martialed.
The largest trial of its kind in U.S. Naval history spanned six
weeks. The prosecution argued that fear was no excuse in time
of war.
The defense said there was no mutinous behavior and that the
men were reacting to the “terror and shock (that) were new
experiences to these men and one they could not know was
coming.” After less than eight hours deliberation, the verdict was
guilty.
Many of the soldiers spent about 16 months in prison and, after
serving on military ships sailing the Pacific (depending on their
remaining service requirements), they were discharged “under
honorable conditions.” But the court-martials remained on their
records.
Last Christmas, President Clinton pardoned one of the two
remaining survivors, an ailing 81-year-old Freddie Meeks. The
other known survivor, Jules Crittenden, did not seek a pardon.
The records of the others were not effected.
[Source: William Gordon, Star-Ledger]
Anthony Mason…Dirtball
So, I went to the New Jersey Nets / Charlotte Hornets game last
Saturday night. But what”s this? Charlotte Hornets starter
Anthony Mason is nowhere to be seen. But wait…here he comes
in the second quarter.
You see, it seems that Mason was hanging out in a bar in Harlem
at about 5:00 a.m. Saturday morning. He and four friends were
arrested for assault and other charges. The whole arraignment
delayed him a bit. Said Anthony after the game, “I didn”t do
anything wrong but be there.” And he apologized to his team and
family (he”s married with kids).
It seems the fight broke out around 4:20 a.m. when Mason and
his friends began arguing with three other patrons at Perks, an
upscale bar. Three people were hurt, none too seriously. But
one of the victims accused Mason of punching him. Of course,
Mason”s attorney said his client was innocent. Maybe he was.
But Anthony has a bit of a rap sheet.
About two years ago, Mason and a friend (who was also involved
last Saturday) were charged with the third-degree rape of 14- and
15-year-old girls at a party in Queens. Mason admitted to
consensual sex with the girls and called the rape charges silly. He
pled guilty to two misdemeanor counts of endangering the
welfare of a child. He ended up doing some community service.
In 1989, the New York police charged Mason with gun possession
and he was sentenced to probation.and community service.
In April 1996, Mason was charged with attacking three people at
the popular China Club in Manhattan. Two weeks earlier, the
police had been called to the club after a New Jersey woman
contended that Mason hit her. Charges were not filed in the latter
case.
In July 1996, Mr. Thug was charged with assault, menacing and
resisting arrest after a fight with two New York police officers
over a summons. The police said it took 10 officers to subdue
him. He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was sentenced
to…hey, more community service! Why Mr. Mason is really
serving his…err, community! And he can play a mean game of
ball, too.
Dennis Wilson / Charles Manson
During the April 1968 recording of “Friends,” Dennis Wilson was
introduced by a Patricia Krenwinkle to a grifter from Ohio named
Charles Miller Manson. Manson tried to glom onto Dennis and
Terry Melcher, a producer and Doris Day”s son, “in much the
same fashion that he skimmed whatever he could from every
other Hollywood notable with whom he arranged an
introduction.”
On August 9, 1969, Manson and his “family” murdered the
pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others. The killings
continued the following night with attacks in Los Feliz on Leno
and Rosemary La Bianca. Dennis denied that the song “Never
Learn Not to Love,” was actually derived from a song written by
Manson, “Cease to Exist.”
[Source: “The Nearest Faraway Place,” Timothy White]
Top 3 songs for the week of 3/2/74: #1 “Seasons In The Sun”
(Terry Jacks) #2 “The Way We Were” (Barbra Streisand)
#3 “Spiders & Snakes” (Jim Stafford…underrated, the artist,
that is).
Quiz Answers: 1) Karl Malone, ”98-”99, Michael Jordan, ”97-”98,
Karl Malone, ”96-”97, Michael Jordan, ”95-”96. 2) Vince Carter,
”98-”99, Tim Duncan, ”97-”98, Allen Iverson, ”96-”97.
Next Bar Chat, Wednesday…Sergeant Joe Cullen.
