NFL Quiz: 1) What two players, taken in the first 4 picks of the
1969 NFL draft, ended up in the Hall of Fame? 2) Who is the
only rusher to gain 200 yards, 4 times in a single season? 3)
Most receptions, season? Answers below.
First Top Twenty Song Quiz: We”re getting through this
whether you like it or not. Name the first Billboard Top Twenty
tune for the following. Answers below.
Sonny & Cher, Spanky & Our Gang, Spinners, Dusty
Springfield, Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr, Steely Dan,
Steppenwolf, Ray Stevens, Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, The
Stylistics, Styx, Donna Summer, The Supremes.
More Sea Stuff
–Maelstrom: Ten points, and a lifetime subscription to Bar Chat,
if you already knew how this term was derived. Maelstrom
refers to a 5-mile wide channel in the Lofoten Islands of Norway.
It has the strongest tidal current in the world. However, the
power has been somewhat exaggerated in tomes such as Jules
Verne”s “Twenty Thousands Leagues Under the Sea,” which had
it as a “deadly vortex that swallowed up ships.” [Richard Ellis]
–Mako shark: The great white”s cousin, it is one of the fastest
fish in the ocean and is capable of great leaps out of the water (as
Discovery Channel aficionados already know).
–Manta ray: They are totally harmless, despite the wingspan that
can exceed 20 feet. The manta can also approach 3,000 pounds.
–Nicolas-Thomas Marion-Dufresne: French naval officer who
discovered the Prince Edward Islands in the Southern Indian
Ocean. Back in 1772, though, he was refitting some ships in
New Zealand when he and several of his shipmates were killed
and eaten by Maoris, prompting the Maoris to utter the now
famous phrase, “Tastes like chicken.”
–Mary Celeste: Back on November 5, 1872, the cargo ship
Mary Celeste sailed from New York, with its cargo of 1700
barrels of alcohol, bound for Genoa. [Early positioning for the
2001 G-8 summit.] But on December 4, the ship was sighted
halfway between the Azores and Portugal by Captain David
Morehouse of the New York brig, Dei Gratia. No one on the
Mary Celeste responded to the captain”s calls so he boarded to
investigate, whereupon Morehouse found that the ship”s sextant,
chronometer, and register were missing, but the logbook
remained, with a last entry from November 25. There was food
on board for 6 months. Morehouse then had a crew sail the Mary
Celeste to Gibraltar, where he eventually received a salvage fee.
So what happened? Theories range from a mutiny, to the crew
having to abandon ship due to alcohol fumes which they may
have been afraid was a harbinger of explosion, or they had a
collision with a giant squid or whale…d”oh! The captain of the
Mary Celeste had his wife and child on board with him. No one
was ever found.
–Donald McKay: I do this for my Canadian friends. Born in
1810 in Nova Scotia, McKay is generally acknowledged to be
the greatest builder of sailing ships in history. [Though they
were mostly constructed in Boston.] In 1851, the Flying Cloud
set a record of 89 days, 21 hours for a ”round-the-Horn” voyage
from New York to San Francisco. Prior to this, 200 days was
deemed a respectable time for the 15,000-mile trek.
–Megaladon: Unfortunately, this ancestor of the great white
shark died off several hundred thousand years ago. Oh, but what
a fish it was. 50-feet long with 6-inch teeth (go ahead, measure it
out), about 2.5 times that of the great white, by comparison. The
megaladon was capable of swallowing a horse. But scientists
don”t know why it died off. And is it possible that somewhere in
the world, a megaladon exists today? We can only hope this is
the case. It may be time for the first StocksandNews ”megaladon
search cruise.” Everyone is responsible for bringing their own
local beer. I”ll supply the chips.
–Mimic octopus: Recently I discussed that there has never been
a confirmed octopus attack on a human, which means that
octopuses have received a bad rap. But then there is the mimic
octopus, which can be found in Indonesian and Philippine
waters. This creature can assume the shape and coloration of
almost any animal it sees. There are photos of it in the shape of a
jellyfish, a seasnake, even a flounder. The reason for this
behavior has never been scientifically proven, but one can easily
surmise that these folks simply have a very vivid imagination.
The species hasn”t been formally named, so if you can come up
with an explanation you may be rewarded. By the way, the
mimic octopus was the first to do a routine imitating Jimmy
Stewart and Kirk Douglas.
–Mocha Dick: Believed to be the real-life inspiration for
Melville”s “Moby Dick,” Mocha Dick (named after a Chilean
island) was a white sperm whale that around 1810 began a
rampage, sinking everything from lumber to whaling ships.
According to an 1839 magazine article, Mocha was killed in
1820, but other reports say it lived until 1842. “Thar she blows!
.holy @#$%, it”s heading this way!”
[Source: Richard Ellis, “Encyclopedia of the Sea”]
Sharks!
Well, the national media had a field day this week with the
discovery of a reported, first, 500 sharks, then later, 200
gathering off the gulf coast of Florida. There were bulls,
hammerheads and nurse sharks. Of course you readers shouldn”t
be surprised, since we”ve been calling for this kind of gathering
for years. And as Johnny Mac told me, “They even sent along
the nurses in case of injury. Random? I think not.” There is far
more to this story, which I will reveal in “Week in Review.”
Cougar
There are now way too many reports of cougars in Eastern
Ontario to be simply dismissed. The last official sighting in this
region was in 1938, cougars having been deemed extinct. But
the other day a teenager was bitten on the arm when he
confronted an animal in his backyard and the bite marks are
certainly that of a large cat. This means that they should be
crossing over into New York State, where they would hitch rides
down the Thruway and on into the Big Apple. They could be
there in, oh, about 8-10 hours.
Earl Anthony
What a sad time it is for bowling fans as we learned this week
that the great Earl Anthony died, the apparent victim of a fall
down a flight of stairs at a friend”s house (he may have had a
heart attack). Anthony was the first pro bowler to reach
$100,000 in earnings for a single year and then $1 million for his
career. He is a record six-time PBA Bowler of the Year and his
41 titles are still a record as well. “Square Earl” was known for
his crewcut and glasses and, growing up, the editor was a fan of
his. He was also a pretty good athlete, having had a tryout with
the Baltimore Orioles as a pitcher.
The pro bowler tour had its heyday in the 1970s, as Chris
Schenkel and Billy Welu brought us all the action during those
90-minute, action-packed telecasts. Yes, it brings back fond
memories of Dick Weber, Dave Davis, Nelson Burton Jr. (not to
be confused with Nelson Briles Jr.), Johnny Petraglia, and my
all-time favorite, Ray Bluth. RIP, Earl. They say that up in
heaven, every 7-10 split is converted.
Top 3 songs for the week of 8/15/64: #1 “Everybody Loves
Somebody” (Dean Martin) #2 “Where Did Our Love Go” (The
Supremes) #3 “A Hard Day”s Night” (The Beatles.just great to
see Dino sneak in there)
Top Twenty Quiz Answers (with peak chart position):
Sonny & Cher – I Got You Babe 7/65 #1
Spanky & Our Gang – Sunday Will Never Be The Same 6/67 #9
Spinners – It”s A Shame 8/70 #14…underrated tune
Dusty Springfield – Wishin” And Hopin” 7/64 #6
Bruce Springsteen – Hungry Heart 11/80 #5 (“Born To Run”
was only a Billboard #23 song back in 10/75)
Ringo Starr – It Don”t Come Easy 5/71 #4
Steely Dan – Do It Again 12/72 #6
Steppenwolf – Born To Be Wild 7/68 #2
Ray Stevens – Ahab, The Arab 7/62 #5…not exactly PC these
days.
Rod Stewart – Maggie May 8/71 #1
Barbra Streisand – People 5/64 #5
The Stylistics – You Are Everything 11/71 #9
Styx – Lady 1/75 #6
Donna Summer – Love To Love You Baby 12/75 #2
The Supremes – Where Did Our Love Go 7/64 #1
NFL Quiz Answers: 1) 1969 draft: O.J. Simpson (#1 pick
overall) and Joe Greene (#4 out of North Texas State) became
Hall of Famers. 2) Earl Campbell had 4, 200-yard games in
1980, a season in which he rushed for a total 1,934. 3)
Receptions, season: Herman Moore, 123 in 1995. Both Jerry
Rice and Cris Carter had 122 that year (and Carter had 122 in ”94
as well).
NFL Tidbits:
–Jim Hardy, quarterbacking the Chicago Cardinals, threw a
record 8 interceptions in one game back in 1950. Actually, for
the year he had 17 TD passes with 24 INTs. So he had an off
day, big deal.
–George Blanda holds the record for most INTs in a season, 42,
back in 1962 while with Houston. [That was in 14 games.he
also had 27 TD passes.]
Next Bar Chat, Monday.Baseball tidbits and some, err, unique
Canadian delicacies.
