Ryder Cup Quiz: Well, this was supposed to be the week for the
Ryder Cup, so darnit, we”re going to have a quiz anyway.
Who won the Cup in.1985 (The Belfry), 1987 (Muirfield
Village), 1989 (The Belfry), 1991 (Kiawah Island), 1993 (The
Belfry), 1995 (Oak Hill), 1997 (Valderrama), 1999 (The Country
Club)? Answer below.
It”s All About the Beer
It appears that Belgium”s Interbrew SA (Stelle Artois, Labatt”s
and Rolling Rock) is finally being granted approval from British
authorities to acquire Bass Brewers, after announcing the bid
way back in June 2000. But to gain acceptance, Interbrew has to
sell Bass”s Carling brand and Carling is, after all, Britain”s
leading lager. [Eh, it”s alright.I guess.] The “Competition
Commission” decided that since Bass already had a 25% market
share, the divestiture of Carling was necessary. As for what took
them so long to reach a decision that should have taken a week,
I”m assuming the commission was sitting around getting
hammered all this time.
And Pabst Brewing Co. officially produced its final vat of beer
last week in Fogelsville, PA, as it closed its last brewery.
Pabst is now focusing on a greatly reduced marketing company,
with just 200 employees, which will sell beer brands produced
entirely by other brewers. [Miller was already producing 80% of
Pabst”s brands, including Old Milwaukee, Schlitz, and Stroh”s.]
Pabst, of course, has always been the “working man”s beer.”
But the real reason for boring you with the above two, totally
insignificant developments, is that it gives me an excuse to
discuss the origin of the beer can.
When Prohibition was formally repealed in 1933 (Utah was the
state whose ratification put the Amendment over the top by the
way), America”s can manufacturers were looking for a way to
break into the glass-dominated beer market. They had one
problem, however, and that was the tinny taste that resulted from
putting beer in such a drinking instrument. But an outfit called
CanCo developed a can with an internal lining (to not only
alleviate the tinny taste, but also to resist the high pressure from
within) and persuaded Kreuger of New Jersey to test it out.
Unfortunately, I wasn”t around back then to participate in the
trial, but it was successful and in January ”35, Kreuger launched
two canned beer brands – Kreuger”s Finest Beer and Cream Ale.
By the end of the year, beer giants Pabst and Schlitz were also
coming out with their first 6-packs.
As for Europe, the first to go with cans was Felinfoel Brewery of
Llanelli (sic), Wales.
And what is the purpose of a widget in a can of Guinness? Now
I know many of you already know this, but in case you didn”t,
when the tab is removed the release of pressure triggers an
injection of nitrogen into the beer, which provides it with a
creamier head. Just another reason why we say around here,
“It”s all about the beer.”
[Source: Brian Glover”s “The Complete Guide to Beer”]
Snakebit
One of the little stories you may have missed the past few weeks
was the tragic death of Joseph Slowinski. Slowinski, a San
Francisco biologist, was one of the world”s leading experts on
venomous snakes when he had a little problem while traipsing
about the jungles of Burma. A member of his team brought him
a sack with a single snake in it. Slowinski reached in, initially
thinking it was a familiar, harmless reptile. The snake bit
him.and it was then he realized it was a “krait,” a member of
the same cobra family he was supposed to be the world”s
foremost authority on. StocksandNews had its microphone on
the scene and captured Joe”s reaction. “Uh oh.”
The expedition, unfortunately, was mired in the muck of the
jungle (and monsoon rains), about 8 miles on foot from the
nearest rescue facility. Within hours Slowinski was paralyzed
and then his heart stopped. The world is now without a cobra
expert. One can only wonder if this will impact our ”war on
terrorism” efforts, because I”d like to think we are dropping
cobras, and kraits, on the dirtballs in the middle of the night.
[Source: San Francisco Chronicle]
Knott”s Berry Farm.a dangerous place
Now when I went to Knott”s Berry Farm as a kid, oh, about 33
years ago, I actually liked it more than Disneyland. But, geezuz,
two people have died on rides here this year, the latest being a
40-year-old woman who was on a combination roller coaster /
water slide. The exact cause wasn”t released, but it was probably
a brain aneurysm, the same as for the first victim.
Samuel Z. Arkoff
Arkoff, who passed away last week, was the founder of
American International Pictures (AIP) and the king of low-
budget movies. Most of his early flicks were designed
specifically for the drive-in crowd, as he realized that if you were
sitting in a car and trying to make time with your date, you really
weren”t that interested in a serious flick, ya know, like an Ingmar
Bergman jobbie. No, instead you occasionally came up for air to
catch part of a film like.
“I Was a Teenage Werewolf” (Starring Michael Landon)
“I Was a Teenage Frankenstein”
“Hot Rod Girl”
“Dragstrip Girl”
“Bar Chat Girl” (How did that get in there?)
“Beach Party”
“Muscle Beach Party”
“Pajama Party”
“Beach Blanket Bingo”
“Wild in the Streets”
“The Wild Angels” (Starring Peter Fonda).
Arkoff produced some 463 movies and he made them cheap.
One of his bigger successes was “The Wild Angels,” which took
just 15 days to shoot, cost $360,000, and grossed $10 million.
For this one, Arkoff paid a bunch of real Hell”s Angels some $35
a day to have a good time, and a good time they had (actually,
they had way too much of a good time). Fonda was paid
$10,000.
B-movie king Roger Corman got his start with AIP, one of
Arkoff”s many good moves, but Samuel would tell you his
biggest mistake was when he shied away from giving a young
Dennis Hopper directorial control on a picture that Hopper and
Peter Fonda approached him on, so he turned it down. Hopper
then directed and starred in (with Fonda) “Easy Rider,” and now
you know.the rest of the story.
Tank Younger
One of the greatest running backs in the history of college
football, as well as a pioneer in the NFL, Tank Younger died last
week at age 73. He was the first real star that the legendary
Eddie Robinson turned out down at Grambling, setting the stage
for the likes of Walter Payton and all the other players from the
black colleges who would go on to stardom in the NFL.
Younger went on to become a 5-time Pro Bowl player for the
Los Angeles Rams, gaining 3640 yards rushing (4.7 average) as
well as playing linebacker. He was a crucial member of the
Rams ”51 championship team. At 6”3″ and 225 lbs., he was also
a ”modern day” ballplayer in many ways.
Imagine the pressure on Younger when he went to the Rams
training camp in 1949. Coach Robinson had told him, “You
have to remember, if you fail there”s no telling when another
black athlete from a black college will get a chance to play pro
football.” He didn”t fail.
A few years ago, the black colleges selected their 100th-year all-
star team and Tank Younger and Walter Payton (Jackson State)
were the two running backs. [Source: Richard Goldstein / New
York Times]
George Ireland
Ireland passed away the other day at age 88. His claim to fame is
that he was the coach of the 1963 NCAA champion Loyola of
Chicago basketball team, which defeated two-time defending
champ, Cincinnati, in a thrilling OT game, one in which Loyola
was down by 15 midway through the second half.
But the real significance is the fact that Ireland started 4 blacks,
at a time when schools were hesitant to have more than one or
two on the squad.
Tuf-fy.Tuf-fy
That great major league player of days gone by, Karl “Tuffy”
Rhodes, has just become the all-time single-season home run
champ in Japanese baseball, as a few days ago he slammed #55,
breaking the legendary Sadaharu Oh”s 54 mark set back in 1964.
Now you”ll recall (actually, most of you won”t), that Tuffy had a
whopping 13 home runs in 590 major league at bats with
Houston, the Cubs and Boston in the early-mid 90s. But he did
have one single, super game, Opening Day in 1994 when he hit 3
out of the park.yet he ended up that whole season with just 8 in
269 at bats.
Athens, 2004
Boy, no one is talking these past few weeks about the security
problem presented by holding the 2004 Olympics in Athens,
Greece, but consider this.
On Saturday fans of a Greek soccer club tried to burn an
American flag before a match against a Scottish team and booed
during the moment of silence for the victims of Sept. 11.
European soccer (football) officials had called for the tribute for
all 77 league contests last weekend, but only in Greece did they
have this response. Greece is swarming with terrorists, and it”s a
well-known fact that Athens Airport is the worst for security. I”d
cancel the Games today. Move the location to Greenland.
It”s Pat!
Both Jimbo and Harry K. passed on the story of the Canadian
hunter from the wilds of Canada who shot a bull moose.or so
he thought.
“The hunter shot it, thinking it was a bull, (but) when he got
closer, he saw that things weren”t as they should have been,”
explained Rick Ward, a moose biologist for the Yukon
government. “It was a hermaphroditic moose.a female with
antlers.”
You”re reading Bar Chat.
Top 3 songs for the week of 9/16/67: #1 “Ode To Billie Joe”
(Bobbie Gentry) #2 “Reflections” (Diana Ross & The
Supremes) #3 “Come Back When You Grow Up” (Bobby Vee)
Ryder Cup Quiz Answer:
1985 – Europe 16.5 USA 11.5
1987 – Europe 15 USA 13
1989 – Europe 14 USA 14
1991 – USA 14.5 Europe 13.5
1993 – USA 15 Europe 13
1995 – Europe 14.5 USA 13.5
1997 – Europe 14.5 USA 13.5
1999 – USA 14.5 Europe 13.5
Next Bar Chat, Friday.
