Triple Crown Quiz: Toronto”s Carlos Delgado is threatening to
become the first player since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 to win
baseball”s triple crown; leading the league in HR, RBI, and BA.
Yaz posted totals of 44-121- .326. And the season before there
was Frank Robinson with 49-122- .316. Who was the last to
accomplish the feat before these two? Answer below.
Elephants and Bears Attack!!
Yes, here at Bar Chat we love discussing all manner of wildlife.
Unfortunately, from time to time that requires talking about a
tragedy or two.
The Associated Press reports that this past Monday, an American
tourist was killed and another injured in remote northwestern
Namibia. Now here is what these two idiots did.
So picture, you”re on safari, travelling along in your jeep, and
you see a herd of elephants. Unfortunately, Jim Fowler or
Marlin Perkins weren”t overseeing things this day. The tourists
left the vehicle and walked between two groups of pachyderms
from the same herd.
Now everyone knows…don”t they teach this in first grade these
days?…never, ever, do this. Experts say that moving between
the two groups can appear threatening. And this was no ordinary
herd of dumbos…the elephants, that is…no, it was a herd of a
rare subspecies known as desert elephants (so called because
they have learned to adapt to the Namibian desert).
Well, you can figure out the rest. One of the elephants charged
Dean Hall and, boom! Hall is lying in the U.S. embassy,
awaiting a flight home for burial. The other tourist survived.
Then we have the case of the grizzlies in Kananaskis Country,
the beautiful Canadian parkland near Calgary. This has a little
better ending.
You”ll recall that in a previous column, my Canadian expert of
all things wild, Harry K, warned his fellow hikers that there was
a record crop of berries this spring, and bears just love berries.
Kananaskis, or K-Country, had not had a bear attack in its first
22 years as a formal park. This summer there have been three,
two of which occurred within 12 hours last week.
These two chaps from Calgary are strolling in Skogan Pass when
they turn a corner and spy two grizzlies feeding on buffalo
berries. As a conservation officer reported to The Calgary Sun,
“That”s when one put the charge on him.”
The Sun comments, “The bear grabbed one”s backpack and
ripped the straps but was distracted by it when the man threw it
off. But as his fellow hiker tried to flee, he tripped on a rock and
the movement attracted the bear.”
The conservation officer said, “The bear was on him for about 20
seconds and clawed at the gentleman.” It was only after the
victim stopped yelling and screaming that the bear broke off the
attack. Herein lies your lesson for today. When a grizzly is
mauling you, don”t scream or whine. Bears hate that.
The man survived. Earlier in the day, a woman had survived a
less serious incident.
But Will Olympians in Sydney Be As Fortunate?
Awhile back I wrote of the threat that the triathletes face when
they have the swimming leg of the competition in Sydney
Harbor. There have been numerous shark sightings there this
year.
The triathletes, resembling seals in their wetsuits, will have scuba
divers with shark repellent accompany them. [Which really
means that it”s not the time for one of the triathletes to don a fake
fin.]
But it”s the yachting crowd that may face the real danger. And
the prospects of an incident have television producers salivating.
Most of the time, the Olympic sailing events are held far from
media attention, but this year the events will be held in Sydney
Harbor, which presents a natural amphitheatre. And, as the
Financial Times” Keith Wheatley describes:
“…television, in particular, will not be able to ignore the picture
opportunities offered by having some of the world”s greatest
sailors competing within easy range of the cameras on the roof of
Sydney”s Olympic stadium.
“Ghoulish TV producers have already been asking Glenn
Bourke.Olympic competition manager for sailing, if there is a
risk of shark attacks on capsized dinghy sailors.”
Bourke says that the sailors bright-colored outfits and life jackets
should keep the sharks away. He also reports that there has
never been an attack in the harbor. But ya just never know, do
ya?
Britney Spears…in depth
The Boston Globe”s Joan Alderman reported on a telephone
press conference that Ms. Spears recently had in conjunction
with her current tour. Following are some excerpts. [These are
literally her exact words.]
Q: What are your biggest pressures, your biggest day-to-day
headaches, and how do you deal with them?
A: Well, really, I mean, every day is different for me. Like
today, I”m focusing on trying to sing and dance at the same time.
And yes, I mean, it”s really – I mean, it varies for me. You
know, and I mean, one week I”ll be worried about an award show
coming up. And the next week, and now, you know, right now
I”m really – it”s really hectic and crazy because I have a video
coming up in between tour rehearsals. But the ways I relax is
just, you know, finding time for yourself and, you know, getting
massages, spending time with my mom, you know, stuff like
that.
Q: What did it feel like the first time a fan recognized you on the
street?
A: The first time somebody recognized me on the street was
probably when me and my friend Felicia, we were walking in
New York. And we were by Times Square. And you know how
there”s, like, a lot of fans by there because of ”TRL” (MTV”s
”Total Request Live”)? And a girl noticed me. And I was like,
”Oh, goodness. Someone noticed me.” I felt so cool. You know,
it”s like, ”Oh my god, they recognized me.” And now I”m just
like, ”Oh, I”m over it.”
Maybe I can get Britney to write my “Hott Spotts” column?
Beetle Bailey
Monday officially marked the cartoon strips 50th anniversary.
Creator Mort Walkers says Beetle”s lack of ambition is part of
the enduring charm of the comic.
“People think he”s lazy and stupid, but he”s the smartest guy in
the Army. He”s smart enough to know how to beat the system.”
When “Beetle Bailey” made its debut, Beetle was a college
student. But the strip wasn”t popular so Walker decided to have
him join the Army. It was now 1951, during the Korean War,
and circulation skyrocketed.
Syndicator King Features reports that the cartoon now appears in
1,800 newspapers in 50 countries.
Top 3 songs for the week of 9/7/68: #1 “People Got To Be Free”
(The Rascals) #2 “Born To Be Wild” (Steppenwolf) #3 “Light
My Fire” (Jose Feliciano…someone else had to, seeing he”s
blind)
Home Run Binge Update
The pace of dingers is declining, slightly, from 2.56 per-game at
the end of April to 2.40 at the end of August, according to
Murray Chass of the New York Times. But at this rate, over the
full season we would still see around 5,830.up from last year”s
record 5,528. The NL per-game average is 2.35; AL 2.46.
Last season 44 players hit 30 or more. This year, 33 have
already reached that level (a/o 9/4) with another 15 projected to
do so. Gotta love them steroids!
Triple Crown Quiz: Mickey Mantle, 1956, 52-130- .353. Only
13 players accomplished it in the 1900s.
Next Bar Chat, Friday…an in depth look at The Beach Boys
classic, “Pet Sounds.”
