**Bobby Hatfield, RIP**
NBA Quiz: Name the top ten all time in total points scored.
Answer below.
PGA Tour
With this weekend’s season-ending Tour Championship limited
to the top 30 on the money list, we can now close the books on
the rest.
First off, for those of you not too familiar with the machinations
of the PGA, the top 125 on the money list qualify for their card
in 2004. Those who are #126 or lower are in purgatory; either
they play on the AAA tour, Nationwide, and try and earn their
card that way for 2005, or they go to the grueling Q school, 6
rounds in the first week in December. [Or they rely on weekly
sponsors’ exemptions, but for a no-name player these are very
hard to come by.]
So, #125 for 2003 was Esteban Toledo at $487,495.
Imagine, #126 was Per-Ulrik Johansson, just $3,000 behind; or,
in essence, he missed by one or two positions in a single
tournament, i.e., one or two putts…for the full year. Frenchman
Thomas Levet was another sad case. He ended up #133 at
$470,021, but in the final tournament last weekend, if he had
made just one more putt he would have earned enough to sneak
into the top 125.
Many folks who casually follow golf must think it’s easy to
make a good buck. Rest assured, #125 in any of the major team
sports is making far more than $487,000 (try $millions), and they
don’t have all the expenses a tour player has, such as for the
caddy (5-15% of each purse) and travel.
Last December, 38 earned their playing cards at Q School. Here
is how they finished up on the 2003 money list…none of them
making the top 30 and a right to play in the Tour Championship.
Woody Austin…44th on the money list
Ben Curtis…46th
Brenden Pappas…51st
Alex Cejka…60th
Carl Pettersson…74th
Brett Quigley…82nd
Paul Goydos…87th
Dean Wilson…97th (one of those playing with Annika at Colonial)
Jeff Brehaut…98th
Richard S. Johnson…120th
Mark Wilson…128th
David Sutherland…136th
Mike Heinen…138th
Tom Gillis…139th
Aaron Barber…140th
John E. Morgan…141st
Mike Grob…150th
Chris Anderson…152nd
John Maginnes…155th
Scott Laycock…156th
Mathew Goggin…157th
Kenichi Kuboya…164th
Donnie Hammond…166th
Anthony Painter…170th
Brian Bateman…173rd
Dave Stockton, Jr. …175th
Jason Caron…183rd
Andy Miller…191st (Johnny’s son)
Brian Watts…192nd
James McLean…201st
Vance Veazey…203rd
Akio Sadakata…206th
Ken Green…220th
Cameron Yancey…230th (won $43,800 in 23 starts)
Jeff Klein…231st
Joel Kribel…232nd
Bart Bryant…234th
Brad Lardon…244th
Thus, 28 of the 38 have to start all over again next month.
Hopefully, I gave you a better sense of how hard it is to be truly
successful, and to think that each year is different, no guaranteed
contracts. It’s why I’m such a fan of the sport and why I’ll
eagerly follow the next Q School.
Other notes on the 2003 season.
49-year-old Jay Haas finished 13th on the list ($2,471,000).
Fred Couples, 34th, had a nice comeback year.
Phil Mickelson, 38th …ughh. He’s finished….only half-kidding.
Chad Campbell, 9th, is the least recognized top ten money winner
in recent memory.
And David Duval finished 211th!!! $84,708 in 20 tournaments.
But to show you how far the earnings have come since 1980,
here are a few facts concerning that year.
Tom Watson was 1st at $530,808.
Lee Trevino, 2nd …$385,814.
#10 in ‘80 was Ray Floyd with $192,993.
#10 in 2004 was Retief Goosen at $2,752,000…plus whatever he
earns this weekend.
So, using your ‘Rule of 72’, and roughly calculating that
inflation has been around 3% since 1980 (especially after ’80 and
’81), earnings should have doubled over the last 24 years. Ergo,
thanks largely to Tiger Woods, it’s a helluva lot better for those
at the top.
[In 1980, Dennis Sullivan entered 17 events and won a total of
$138….yes, $138. Something tells me he had trouble meeting
expenses. I just hope he’s alright today. By comparison, I
received my first job out of college that summer and earned $175 a
week as a clerk/typist for an insurance broker. Most of my
contemporaries were at about the $300 level.]
The Giant Beaver
Hot off the presses, “The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea
Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep,” written by
Loren Coleman and Patrick Huyghe…and illustrated by our own
Harry Trumbore (and Mark Lee Rollins).
Well, since we have such a great connection here, I have been
granted permission to liberally quote from this vital addition to
man’s understanding of the animal kingdom.
The authors say in their introduction:
“At least half of the world’s species remain unknown to science.
Estimates of the total number of species on Earth range from a
conservative three million to as many as ten million. But only
about 1.5 million have been discovered since Swedish biologist
Carolus Linnaeus (Carl von Linne) first established his
classification system for living things some 250 years ago.”
And so among the mysteries Coleman and Huyghe explore is the
giant beaver.
“Witnesses say that this Lake Monster resembles a giant beaver
the size of a bear swimming in a lake. This supersized, beaver-
like rodent is much larger than the North American beaver
(Castor Canadensis), which measures less than three feet tall.
The Giant Beaver of British Columbia is described as 14 feet
long, with a head and neck that is 4 feet, a long tail, and beaver-
like legs.”
“According to Native folklore, this large beaver-like animal once
ranged from Labrador, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia in
Eastern Canada, to parts of the West, including British
Columbia…
“(But) the first fossil giant beaver remains were found in a peat
swamp near Nashport, Ohio, and were described, but not named,
by S.R. Hildreth in 1837.” Utah also has a history with the beast.
“Tribal tradition says that the Lake Monster would capture and
carry away swimmers.”
The authors quote a 2002 piece in The Deseret (sic) News,
mentioning the “impeccable credentials of those who have seen
the beast. The reputation of revered pioneers who had intimate
encounters with The Monster should silence all doubters.”
“The story begins in The Deseret News of July 27, 1860. Three
weeks earlier, S.M. Johnson, while on the road to Round Valley,
saw what he thought was a drowned body in Bear Lake. As he
waited for the body to drift ashore, he saw a head about two or
three feet high sticking out of the water. It looked like an animal
head, but it was like none he had ever seen before. It seemed to
have ‘bunches,’ or ears, on its head. The creature turned its head
back and forth, and threw water from its mouth or nose when a
wave overtook it.
“Two weeks later, according to the paper, N.C. Davis, Allen
Davis, Thomas Slight, J. Collins, and six unnamed women were
traveling from Fish Haven to St. Charles when they saw the Bear
Lake creature – or, more properly, creatures. Swimming rapidly,
the lead animal, which was brown and about 40 feet long, was
followed by up to six small ones. The witnesses watched this
display from a distance of three miles, so size estimates like ‘the
size of a house’ must not be taken uncritically.” Ahem….
Well, these accounts continued throughout 1860 and in
succeeding years others described it as more reptilian. Then…
“In 1870, fishermen from Springville discovered the skull of a
large creature with a five-inch tusk protruding from its jaw. Here
at last was physical evidence. Was this the skull of a Giant
Beaver?”
Mysteriously, no one can find the skull today.
But wait, there’s more……………
In 1874, “William Budge, a famous Mormon pioneer and wagon-
train captain, and at least two other respected Rich County
citizens, were traveling home when suddenly an object about 20
yards from the shore of Bear Lake…caught the men’s attention.”
Three days later, Brigham Young himself was apprised of the
discovery.
“LDS Apostle Wilford Woodruff noted in his journal that Budge,
Milando Pratt, and Brother Bankenhead saw what they called the
‘Bear Lake Monster.’ Woodruff thought that they had actually
seen a large otter, but other LDS Church authorities were not so
skeptical. Around the same time, at Bear Lake…farmer Aquila
Nebeker related how the monster crawled ashore and ate 20 of
his sheep.”
And as late as 1946 we have written reports of the Bear Lake
creature, but no photographs…thus the need for my brother to
come up with his best estimation for this book.
But I have my own theory. There seems little doubt that the
Giant Beaver had the same building skills as his smaller North
American cousin. Ergo, working under the disguise of giant
Mormons, the beavers helped complete the famous Tabernacle in
1892, after which they moved down to Machu Picchu for some
repair work before this ancient town was discovered in 1911
by the American explorer Hiram Bingham, who then dubbed it
the “lost city of the Incas.”
And we owe it all to the Giant Beaver. Who knows what it will
now build up in British Columbia?
Stuff
–Bowl Championship Series Poll
[Top 2 play for national championship]
1. Oklahoma
2. USC
3. Florida State
4. Miami
5. Ohio State
6. Virginia Tech
7. LSU
8. Michigan
9. TCU…only other undefeated aside from Oklahoma
Any good football fan would love an OU-USC final.
–Assorted college football records:
Even at the Division I-A level, some of the bigger record holders
are rather obscure, but you all should know these answers!
[That’s how you get rich in the bars, after all.]
Passing, season – Ty Detmer (BYU)…5,188 yards (12 games)
[This year, Texas Tech’s B.J. Symons already has 4,313 after 9
games with 3 to go.]
Completions in a game – Drew Brees (Purdue) and Rusty LaRue
(Wake Forest)…55. LaRue also holds the mark with 41
completions in a half, as well as 56 attempts, while Brees had a
record 83 attempts in the game where he completed 55. [Yeah,
this was a self-serving, Wake alum, tidbit…but I own this site!]
Passing, game – David Klingler (Houston)…716 yards (41 of
70). That season, 1990, Klingler also threw for a record 11 TD
passes in a game against E. Washington, and 54 for the season.
[Symons has 37 TD passes thus far, incidentally.]
Rushing, season – Barry Sanders (Oklahoma State)…2,628 yards
(11 games…7.63 avg.)
–Dave Anderson of the New York Times had a piece on the
whole overtime procedure for the NFL, the issue being the
freakin’ coin toss and the travesty that whoever wins it too often
then wins the game without the other team getting a crack at the
ball.
Since the league instituted the overtime process in 1974, 355 OT
games have been played. 100 of the 355 teams that won did so
on their first drive after winning the coin toss. [Only 16 games
ended up in ties, by the way.]
–Big East Realignment
With the addition of Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette,
and South Florida to the Big East Conference, here is how it will
all shakeout once the schools are settled in.
2005-06 Basketball
Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville,
Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rutgers, St.
John’s, Seton Hall, South Florida, Syracuse, Villanova, West
Virginia
2005 Football
Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South
Florida, Syracuse, West Virginia
Basketball will be awesome…football blows.
–Bill Finley had a good piece in the New York Times on Joe
Paterno’s struggles at Penn State. It’s amazing how some simply
don’t know when to hang it up. What’s sad is that his image is
being severely damaged…sad because aside from all his success
on the gridiron, Paterno has run a sterling, CLEAN program.
But I’ve now come to the conclusion that he should complete his
contract in 2004, at which point he’ll be 78-years-old, and all of
us should pull for a super ending.
–Admit it, the Mid-American Conference has seen the best
football this season. Tuesday night, Miami (Ohio) defeated #15
Bowling Green, 33-10, 10 days after BG had defeated then #12
Northern Illinois. Now it’s Miami’s turn to be ranked as they’re
8-1.
[Just checked out Miami’s logo…the Red Hawks. Perhaps the
best in all of football.]
–Maine said ‘no’ to the Indians on Tuesday in the vote for a
casino. But every other state appeared to approve of more…
casinos, that is. [Gambling being part of your basic ‘bar chat.’]
–Congratulations to the New York Rangers’ Mark Messier for
becoming the NHL’s #2 all-time scorer.
–Holy cow! I was just reading about the Giant Octopus, which
has been sighted in Bermuda and the West Indies. Up to 30 feet
long, with tentacles ranging from 30 to 75 feet! Stay out of the
water!!!!!!
–Boy, Manchester United gave the Glasgow Rangers a real ass-
whupping, 3-0, on Tuesday. I hope you followed through with
your assignment from the editor and blew off work for two
hours, even though it was rather dull. After all, nothing like
bonding with your co-workers, right?
Top 3 songs for the week of 11/5/66: #1 “Last Train To
Clarksville” (The Monkees) #2 “96 Tears” (?(Question Mark) &
The Mysterians) #3 “Poor Side Of Town” (Johnny Rivers…
underrated)
*And who was the lead singer for ?(Question Mark)? Rudy
Martinez, who was born in Mexico and raised in Saginaw,
Michigan.
**Awright! Al Green is coming back to his roots with a new
album, “I Can’t Stop.” I read a review and it’s supposed to be
great. Available Nov. 18.
NBA Quiz Answer: Top Ten scoring –
Kareem Abdul Jabbar…38,387 (24.6 ppg)
Karl Malone…36,374 (25.4) *entering this season
Michael Jordan…32,292 (30.1)
Wilt Chamberlain…31,419 (30.1)
Moses Malone…27,409 (20.6)
Elvin Hayes…27,313 (21.0)
Hakeem Olajuwon…26,946 (21.8)
Oscar Robertson…26,710 (25.7)
Dominique Wilkins…26,668 (24.8)
John Havlicek…26,395 (20.8)
*among actives, Reggie Miller is at 23,757 (22.1).
**If you combine NBA and ABA stats, then Dr. J. would hit the
list at 30,026 points; Moses Malone would rise to 29,580; and
Dan Issel would enter the top ten with 27,482. Personally,
however, I don’t think that’s legit. [For example, the ABA had
the 3-point shot when the NBA didn’t adopt it until the ’79-’80
season. Actually, knowing this the whole list is bogus, even if
Wilt wasn’t a threat to go from downtown, for example.]
Next Bar Chat, Tuesday.
