More Baseball: Name the 4 active players with career batting
averages of .320 or better? [minimum 2000 at bats]
Answer below.
Chechnya…the rebel retreat
Last month the Chechen rebels attempted to break out of their
positions in Grozny as the Russian forces encircled the city.
The following description of the retreat, as reported by the
Washington Post”s Daniel Williams, is a reminder of just how
brutal war can be.
“The order to withdraw from Grozny came from Isa Munayev,
the top rebel commander in the city. Two Mondays ago, in the
middle of the night, thousands of fighters began to head west and
south.”
Heda Yusopova, a mother of two and a cook for a group of
Chechen rebels, was part of a group which went toward Alkhan-
Kala, three miles from the city. The column included units under
the command of Shamil Basayev, a notorious rebel commander
whom Russia considers a deadly terrorist.
“Yusopova”s group of 150 shuffled warily in the middle of the
column of several hundred guerrillas.” They were about to walk
into a mine field. “She heard artillery shells blasting the fields
that lay between the city and Alkhan-Kala. Then they came
upon the mines. ”It was scary,” she said. ”The first thing I did
was to try to calm the children.””
Her children, ages 9 and 10, screamed. There was panic.
Volunteers were needed to move to the front of the column,
replacing those who had stepped directly into the killing field.
“A figure came out of the darkness. ”See you in paradise,” the
volunteer said. ”God is great.””
“Yusopova wove her way among dead and wounded rebels
sprawled on the snowy plain. ”I had to bandage fighters as we
went. We couldn”t wait for a safe place,” she said.”
“With explosions lighting up the snow all around, commanders
urged everyone forward. Some commanders took the lead.
Basayev lost a foot to a mine. Lecha Dudayev, another
commander, was killed scouting for mines.” The rebels insisted,
however, that most of the guerrilla columns escaped Grozny
without incident. And later counterattacks would seem to
confirm that.
When Yusopova”s group reached Alkhan-Kala, they sought
refuge in basements and rested.
The Letter
“There are alumni reports that our name presents an obstacle
when seeking employment and that some have chosen not to
display their diplomas to avoid unkind remarks from colleagues.”
–Beaver College president Bette E. Landman, in a February
letter to alumni, parents, staff and students inquiring whether
they thought the school”s name should be changed. [Source:
Newsweek].
Well, folks, whaddya think? As I wrote in the 1/12 edition of
Bar Chat, “No animal has more influenced the development of
North America than the beaver.” I don”t see what the problem is.
NCAA Tidbit
Six days after signing a two-year contract extension worth
$300,000 on July 7, 1990, Cleveland State coach Kevin Mackey
decided to celebrate. He picked out a crack house in a horrible
part of Cleveland where he partied for 9 hours. Later, police
pulled him over and he was charged with driving under the
influence. Oh…and one other thing. There was a hooker riding
shotgun. [Source: Sports Illustrated.]
Jacquerie
So I was perusing my Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages when I
came across this term. Since I”m sure you get questions on this
particular period of history every day, I thought I”d refresh your
memory, just as I did mine.
The “Jacquerie” was the French uprising of 1358, one of the
most violent peasant revolts of the Middle Ages. While it lasted
less than a month, the rebellion embroiled a large area outside
Paris and terrorized hundreds of noble families before it was put
down with equal violence. The name “Jacquerie” comes from
the common practice of referring to all peasants as “Jacques.”
[Ergo, Jacques Cousteau was a peasant undersea explorer.]
The revolt came about due to the rising costs incurred by the
French in their military actions against other countries,
particularly England. The French nobles kept raising taxes on
the peasantry to finance their battles. Tensions boiled over in
May, 1358.
A peasant group was organized by Guillaume Cole. The mob
quickly spread, brutally killing nobles, including women and
children. In June, the nobles (ironically aided by the English)
fought back and viciously crushed the Jacquerie.
All of this reminds me. In 1986, following evidence of Libyan
support of international terrorism, the U.S. bombed Tripoli. U.S.
jets were not allowed to fly over France.
*This day in 1906, an explosion in a coal mine in Courrieres,
France, killed 1,060. This is…Bar Chat.
Top 3 songs for the week of 3/8/69: #1 “Everyday People” (Sly
& the Family Stone) #2 “Proud Mary” (Creedence Clearwater
Revival) #3 “Build Me Up Buttercup” (The Foundations).
Quiz Answer: Tony Gwynn (.339), Mike Piazza (.328), Frank
Thomas (.320), Edgar Martinez (.320).
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
