I have to admit, friends, it”s tough getting back into a normal
routine here at StocksandNews. For starters, I”m reading even
more than I did before and time doesn”t allow, yet, for things like
in depth stories on 60s music stars. We”ll get there, gradually. I
can already tell you that on Monday I will reprint President
Bush”s speech to Congress, not just because it is important, but
also for the purpose of having it in my archives for future
reference. And that”s the way I”m going to operate going
forward, taking each week as it comes.
Brian Trumbore
—
NFL Quiz / Rushing: 1) Who are the top 3, all-time, for most
games with 100 yards rushing? 2) Most yards gained, season?
3) Most yards gained, rookie? Answers below.
Catching Up
Before the events of 9/11, I was preparing a Bar Chat for
Wednesday, 9/12. A few of the items I wanted to cover then are
as follows:
–Many of us complain, including yours truly, how American
schoolchildren, as well as adults, often have zero sense of our
nation”s history. Ah, but we”re not alone. Julie Smyth had an
article in the National Post of Canada that 76% of those polled in
the country were ashamed of the ignorance about Canada”s past.
84% believe high school students should take at least two
Canadian history courses. Currently only 4 provinces require
students to take even one. Today, only 50% of Canadians can
name the first prime minister, Sir John MacDonald. But what
really got me was the fact that only one-third know that the
Hudson Bay Company controlled the fur trade. Zut Alors!
–Update: Just a few weeks ago I was praising the pilots of the
Canadian Air Transat flight which lost power in both engines and
then had to glide 18 minutes to a hard landing in the Azores. It
was truly a heroic effort. But are the pilots worthy of my early
designation of “StockandNews Person(s) of the Year”?
[Obviously, the award now goes to New York and Washington”s
rescue workers.]
After all, it is now felt that when the first engine failed, Pilot
Robert Piche compounded the problem by transferring fuel from
the working engine to the failing one, not realizing there was a
leak, so that the remaining fuel needed to keep the second engine
running probably followed the same leak into the sea. The plane
was perfectly capable of flying on one engine to begin with.
Yes, another example of rushing to conclusions, which I”m as
guilty of as the next guy.
In addition the Canadian government had recently fined Air
Transat some $160,000 for maintenance violations, prior to this
episode. But what the pilots did accomplish is called a “dead-
stick” landing and there was another famous incident where a
1983 Air Canada flight ran out of fuel when refuelers confused
the metric and imperial measures, but the pilots of this craft
successfully landed it on a disused airfield that was being used
for auto racing.
–In Search of Bobby Fischer: In another National Post story,
this one by Mary Vallis, it has come to light that recluse chess
champion Bobby Fischer has been playing matches against
Grand Masters over the Internet, without revealing his location
or identity. [A British champion has irrefutable evidence from
his personal experiences that it is Fischer he is playing, i.e., his
bold moves and the Brit”s anonymous opponent”s knowledge of
obscure matches involving Bobby Fischer give it away.]
Since he won the World Chess Championship in 1972, defeating
Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, Fischer has been a hermit. Known
to be a big time weirdo, as well, Bobby forfeited his title in 1975
because he hadn”t played a single match since the ”72 event.
And in 1992, he disobeyed U.S. government sanctions by
playing Spassky in Yugoslavia during the height of the Balkans
War.
–David Waldstein of the Star-Ledger had a piece the other day
on baseball”s Ralph Branca and the experience of playing
baseball during World War II. With rosters decimated, Branca
recalled that as a 19-year-old pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers in
1945, Babe Herman came out of retirement and won a game for
Branca with a big hit. What makes it a story is that Herman, an
excellent ballplayer who hit .324 over his major league career
with over 1800 hits (including a mammoth season in 1930.241
hits and a .393 average), hadn”t played a game since 1937, yet in
”45, at age 42, he volunteered to fill the Dodgers” squad.
Herman went 9 for 34, with 9 ribbies during this stint. [It”s kind
of funny, though, that Branca, in this particular article, pegged
Herman”s age at the time at 45. My records show he had to be
42. Yup, as you get older the truth gets stretched a bit.]
–Shortly after The Attack, Ken Daley of the Dallas Morning
News wrote that Alex Rodriguez, in one season, earns roughly
the same amount as 735 of New York City”s firefighters.
–The New York Jets, and its fans, were ecstatic to see Al Groh
leave as coach after the disastrous ending to the 2000 season
(they started 6-1 and finished 9-7). So Groh moved on to
Virginia and this week talked about team travel in this New
World.
“I”m not saying this to make light of it by any means, but I”m not
planning on having Arabs in the traveling party. So therefore I
think probably that the threat of our being hijacked is remote.”
D”oh! Groh appropriately apologized, but I think it is fair to say
that his job is already in jeopardy, certainly in terms of fulfilling
the length of his contract.
–Crash Davis: I forgot a few weeks ago to note the passing of
Crash Davis, the role model for the movie “Bull Durham.” The
real Crash was age 82.
The Crash Davis of “Bull Durham” was a washed up catcher
brought back to the minors to help out a young pitching staff
(and make time with Susan Sarandon). But the real Davis,
Lawrence, was an infielder who did play in the major leagues
beyond just a simple cup-of-coffee, as the movie had portrayed
it.
Davis played second base at Duke University, and joined the
Philadelphia Athletics in 1940, where he was a reserve from ”40-
”42, batting .230 in 444 at bats with 2 home runs and 43 RBI.
In 1943, Davis went into the Navy and served out the war there.
He tried to get back into the majors but never made it, playing
some with Durham in the Carolina League before retiring in
1952.
Meanwhile, the writer and director of the movie, Ron Shelton,
didn”t even realize Crash Davis was alive when he made the
film. He found a listing for Davis when going through a
Carolina League record book and simply liked the name.
–Gila Spit: Well, I guess someone had to do it. A neuroscientist
has discovered that the saliva of the Gila Monster dramatically
improves the memories of rats. Now my first thought upon
reading this in Business Week was, how many beers did this guy
have before he told his buddies, sitting around O”Looney”s one
night, “Hey, why don”t we look at Gila spit?”
Actually, the whole experiment came about because of studies
being conducted on peptides in the gut, which are said to interact
with brain functions.
Now the synthetic version of Gila spit, dubbed Gilatide, does
have the potential for fighting memory loss in the elderly. Right
now, it helps rats remember how to run a maze. Personally, I
don”t think anything will ever help me, and thus I recommend
that you don”t stick your face in front of a Gila Monster until
there has been further study.
–NFL Referees: As you saw, the real officials will be back on
the field this weekend, as the refs reached agreement with the
league on a new contract. The deal is essentially the same one
that was on the table before, meaning a 5th-year official who was
making $42,395, will receive a 50% raise in the first year and
100% by the 4th year of the six-year deal. For a 10th-year ref, the
baseline is currently $64,200. Heck, a $128,000 salary for about
20 weekends” worth of work (including exhibition games) isn”t
all bad. It”s time to practice my “Personal foul on #62.”
–Roger Clemens: Damn, I hate to continually mention him, as I
loathe the man, but it”s incredible that he is now the first pitcher
in baseball history to go 20-1..and at age 39. He also became the
oldest 20-game winner in the AL since Early Wynn (1959).
Were Clemens to finish with this mark, it would be the all-time
best winning percentage for a 20-game winner, as well, besting
the .893 (25-3) mark set by another Yankee, Ron Guidry, back in
1978. In fact, among the Top Ten on this list (which
encompasses 11 pitchers / seasons, if you include Fred
Goldsmith and his 1880, 21-3 record) there are five Mets or
Yankees.
Clemens, Guidry, David Cone (1988: 20-3), Whitey Ford (1961:
25-4), and Dwight Gooden (1985: 24-4). Clemens also makes
the list as a Red Sox hurler (1986: 24-4).
Top 3 songs for the week of 9/10/66: #1 “You Can”t Hurry
Love” (The Supremes) #2 “Sunshine Superman” (Donovan) #3
“Yellow Submarine” (The Beatles)
NFL Quiz Answers: 1) Top 3 in games with 100 yards rushing:
Walter Payton, 77; Barry Sanders, 76; Emmitt Smith, 70. 2)
Yards gained, season: Eric Dickerson – 2,105 (1984 – LA Rams)
3) Yards gained, rookie: Eric Dickerson – 1,808 (1983 –
LA Rams). Dickerson also fumbled once a game.
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
**To the parents out there, it might be nice to have your child
send a letter to the New York City Firemen. Actually, I”m going
to write a letter myself. Let”s all do it. I”ll probably cry writing
mine.
The New York Fire Department
9 Metro Tech Center
Brooklyn, NY 11201
