Los Angeles / St. Louis Rams Quiz: 1) Passing yards, career? 2)
Receptions, career? 3) Rushing yards, season? 4) Interceptions,
season? [Hint: NFL record] 5) Rushing yards, game? [Hint:
247.] 6) Passing yards, game? [Hint: Over 500…not recent.]
Answers below.
Oklahoma City
I made a pilgrimage two years ago to see the memorial for the
bombing, but the attached museum hadn’t opened yet. Earlier
this year I went to the Holocaust Museum in Washington and
thought that was the most powerful one of its kind I had been to.
I can now add Oklahoma City. The people did a phenomenal job
and it’s as moving and powerful an exhibit as you’ll ever see.
In the words of one on the scene back on April 19, 1995, “It was
just a gorgeous day. Everything looked like it was going to be a
great day.” Ironically, that morning the Daily Oklahoman had on
its front page a picture of the soon to be dedicated Korean War
Veterans Memorial in Washington.
The museum has an actual audio from a city water department
meeting that was taking place at 9:00 AM, when two minutes
later you can hear the bomb go off. Then the doors to the room
you are sitting in open up and you’re faced with the first
helicopter footage of the devastation. If you don’t tear up when
presented with this, you’re not human.
A survivor commented, “Suddenly, someone took my hand.
Words cannot begin to express the comfort and peace I felt with
this human touch.”
In fact, when you view all of the exhibits and watch interviews
with the survivors, it’s little wonder that so many are severely
affected after all these years.
On the evening of April 19, you may recall how some awful
weather rolled in and there was a fear that the Muraugh building
would totally collapse. A local television meteorologist,
“teary-eyed, apologized as he issued a severe thunderstorm
warning at 8:30 PM.”
One of the lasting impressions of the museum is the terrific job
that Governor Frank Keating did that day and in the days that
followed, similar to Rudy Giuliani’s heroic efforts.
Lastly, I’ll leave with you some words from NBC’s Tom
Brokaw.
“Oklahoma has earned its place in American folklore as cowboy-
tough and proudly self-reliant. Oklahomans may feel more
vulnerable now, a little disoriented by what’s happened to them,
but in their response to this madness, they have elevated us all
with their essential sense of goodness, community and
compassion.”
—
If you are a fan of cowboys, certainly visit the Cowboy Hall of
Fame in Oklahoma City, which I did last trip. I’d also add that
another must stop is the Charcoal Oven. A few years ago I read
an article on the 3 best burger joints in America and this was one
of them (I’m forgetting the other two). Charcoal Oven, on
Northwest Expressway, is a drive-in where you can eat under a
carport after picking up your meal. I mean to tell you, it was the
best burger I’ve had in my life. [I’ve also noticed in all the
towns I’ve been through on my trip thus far that Sonic Drive-ins
are doing a booming business, too.]
And now…just a lot of…
Stuff
–Those of us who live in the New York / New Jersey area
certainly have our share of professional sports teams to follow,
but when it comes to college football, we are missing out on
something special. Saturday I was walking around a mall in
Oklahoma City and it really was cool the way everyone was
decked out…for both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. But in my
state we have Rutgers!!! You know what? I have never, ever,
seen anyone wear a Rutgers t-shirt or sweatshirt. Seriously.
College football is great fun (except if you’re a Nebraska fan this
year …but you’ve had your share of good times) and I wish we
could boot Rutgers and get another school. Maybe Alabama will
let Auburn move up to New Jersey.
–Speaking of Oklahoma football, what a weekend for the fans.
First, OU blasted #13 Iowa State, holding ISU to 60 yards total
offense in defeating them 49-3. But talk about embarrassing,
Iowa State’s QB Seneca Wallace had elevated himself to
Heisman Trophy candidate with his play this year, until
Saturday, that is. Wallace was 4 of 22, with 3 interceptions.
[The only reason why I’m detailing this for you is because I was
watching the game in the hotel bar, quaffing Shiner Bock’s with
the locals who were thoroughly enjoying themselves, as you can
imagine. Shiner Bock is also, without a doubt, the best beer in
America…brewed in Shiner, TX.]
As for Oklahoma State, they beat Nebraska for the first time in
41 years…24-21 (0-35-1 over that period).
–As I was checking into my hotel in OKC, who should be there
but the Lady Longhorns soccer team, in town for games against
OU and OSU. Can I make a sexist comment here? Geezuz,
these girls were knockouts! And I didn’t realize until later they
are #4 in the country. Hook ‘em horns! [They won their games
3-0 and 2-0.]
–It’s fun reading full high school football box scores, instead of
just the line score we get in New Jersey. So I learned last
weekend that in Oklahoma, Deer Creek beat Anadarko 72-12.
Deer Creek had 403 yards rushing on just 34 carries. I would’ve
loved announcing that one.
–Kliff Kingsbury deserves mention for his effort at QB, leading
Texas Tech to victory over Missouri. Kingsbury set a Big 12
record with 510 yards passing (49 of 70). Penn State’s Larry
Johnson also should be noted for setting a school rushing record,
257 yards. Of course Penn State has had a long line of great
backs, including Lenny Moore, Lydell Mitchell and Franco
Harris. And after my blurb on Jim Brown last time, Cousin Bob
wrote to tell me that as a freshman at Penn State in the 1954-55
year, he saw his first and only lacrosse game, specifically to
watch Jim Brown. Brown’s Syracuse football squad had earlier
defeated Penn State in the fall, a Nittany Lion team that had Milt
Plum at QB, Lenny Moore and Rosey Grier.
–Wake Forest outgained Clemson 522-280, and still lost 31-23.
Drat! But did you catch what happened in the state of Ohio this
weekend. High schooler Ben Mauk set a national high school
career passing record, throwing for 469 yards to up his total to
14,712. This even made the Daily Oklahoman. Mauk, you see,
is coming to Wake Forest! Yessssssss!
–We note the passing of former Cleveland Indians great, Mel
Harder, who died at age 93. Harder, one of the dwindling few
who once pitched to Babe Ruth, won 223 games in his career,
including 8 seasons with 15 or more victories. He’s also known
for holding Joe DiMaggio hitless, before Joe went on his 56-
game hitting streak.
–USA Today had a piece last week on graduation rates among
the bigger football and basketball schools. Going back to the
mid-80s, and allowing 6 years for an athlete to complete his
degree, Syracuse did a great job, graduating 79% of its football
players…a full 8% over the male student body average. On the
other end was Auburn at 25% (that’s why we want them in New
Jersey; they’ll be serious about playing ball and not caring about
the books) and Oklahoma, which graduated just 26%.
As for basketball, USA Today looked at the top 16 programs,
measured by Sweet 16 appearances, and Oklahoma only
graduated 15% of its players. [Again, as a fan you simply don’t
care.] Duke was at 79% and North Carolina 75%. UNLV was at
30%, but what’s interesting here is that the male student body
average is only 32%. What the hell are you folks doing? You’re
not only getting killed at the gaming tables, you don’t even get a
freakin’ sheapskin!
Lastly, Louisville only graduated 6% of its black players. Only
14% of all black males get degrees there. But they’re having a
good time, know what I’m sayin’?! UNC, on the other hand,
graduated 66% of its black basketball players, including J.R.
Reid, Jerry Stackhouse, Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter, who
all left early during the survey period, but came back. Role
models, at least in this respect.
Oops, a few more. Gary Williams’s first Sweet 16 squad at
Maryland in 1994 had an average SAT score of 838, while
Cincinnati has graduated just 12% of its hoops players the last 12
years.
–Back to college football…both polls have the following top six.
1. Miami
2. Oklahoma [#1 in 1st B.C.S. poll]
3. Virginia Tech
4. Ohio State
5. Georgia
6. Notre Dame
All are undefeated, as is North Carolina State, but they haven’t
been too impressive and have played a very weak schedule, thus
State is only #9 and #12.
–Catherine Connelly, the oldest survivor of the fire on the
General Slocum, died at age 109. The General Slocum was an
excursion boat that on June 15, 1904 caught fire in New York’s
East River. 1,021 of 1,331 passengers perished.
–Bill Clinton was elected to Arkansas’s Black Hall of Fame as
an honorary member. He’s also the first non-black. The
selection committee said, “The honor is in recognition of
Clinton’s appointment of blacks to high levels in both state and
federal government…and his post-White House efforts to fight
AIDS in Africa.” This is so ridiculous it’s beyond belief, though
I imagine Harry Belafonte is pleased.
–So I was driving up from Woodward, Oklahoma to Dodge City,
Kansas today (Monday) and when I gassed up, I asked why I
wasn’t being charged for my coffee. “It’s free with the gas!”
Gosh, I love this part of the country.
–I finally figured out what I’m going to do with the rest of my
life. I normally don’t watch the credits at the end of “The
Sopranos,” but I wanted to see what the last song was on
Sunday’s episode and suddenly, there it was, my ultimate career
objective… “Location scout.” I can handle that.
Top 3 songs for the week of 10/23/71: #1 “Maggie May” (Rod
Stewart) #2 “Superstar” (Carpenters) #3 “Yo-Yo” (The
Osmonds)
*I’ve been listening to mostly country music the last four days
and I still can’t tell the difference between the artists just by their
voice, all except for Garth Brooks and Vince Gill, which may
partially help explain their success, in my amateur opinion.
Rams Quiz Answers: 1) Passing yards, career: Jim Everett…
23,758 (1986-93) 2) Receptions, career: Henry Ellard…593
(1983-93) 3) Rushing yards, season: Eric Dickerson…2,105
(1984…NFL record) 4) Interceptions, season: Dick
“Night Train” Lane…14 (1952…NFL record…and it was
achieved in just 12 games) 5) Rushing yards, game: Willie
Ellison…247 (12/5/71…Ellison had 1,000 that season) 6)
Passing yards, game: Norm Van Brocklin…554 (9/28/51…NFL
record… for the season Van Brocklin only threw for 1,725 in 12
games).
Next Bar Chat, Thursday…Dodge City, and other stuff.
