Pittsburgh Steelers Quiz: 1) Receptions, career? 2) Interceptions,
career? 3) TDs, career? 4) Rushing, season? 5) Who was the
last to score 4 TDs in a single game? [Hint: This is surprising,
1968.] 6) What years did Chuck Noll coach? 7) Who did he
replace? Answers below.
Accidents Happen
The Sunday Times Magazine has a cover story titled
“Inspiration: Where does it come from?” It’s their annual design
issue and an article inside speaks of necessity being the mother
of invention. Perhaps, but it reminded me of a recent piece in
Smithsonian by Ken Chowder on how accidents are the true key
to invention. Here are three brief examples.
Alexander Fleming: “One day in 1928 some mold drifted
through an open window in a London hospital and landed in
Fleming’s Petri dish, where he’d placed a culture of
staphylococcus bacteria. What Fleming did next got him and
two colleagues a Nobel Prize in 1945: he looked through the
microscope. What he saw was the mold efficiently destroying
the germs. Presto! The creation of penicillin began with that
unlikely turn of events.”
Percy Lebaron Spencer: This World War II hero, who helped
develop the concept of radar, obtained 120 patents in his lifetime.
“One day shortly after the war, he was walking through his lab at
the Raytheon Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when he
stopped briefly by a magnetron – the tube that produces the high-
frequency microwaves that power radar. (According to Rini
Paiva of the National Inventors Hall of Fame) ‘He was working
on things like missile-defense systems, but just that second he
got a strange feeling. He realized that a candy bar in his jacket
pocket had melted.’ Odd, Spencer thought. Immediately, he
performed a makeshift experiment: he put some popcorn kernels
in front of the magnetron. Soon, popcorn was popping all over
the place. ‘There’s actually a drawing of a bag of popcorn in one
of Spencer’s patents,’ Paiva says. ‘Other people might just make
a note or two in a lab notebook and let it go. But right away
Percy Spencer was thinking about what this could be used for – a
microwave oven.’”
And then there was Frank Epperson: At the beginning of the 20th
century, Frank was just 11-years-old when “he accidentally left a
mixture of soda powder and water out on the back porch one
cold night. In it was the stick he’d used as a mixer. Next
morning, Epperson found the soda water frozen around the stick.
Nearly 20 years passed before he realized that by adding some
flavoring, he could concoct a frosty treat, and with that he began
to manufacture what he called ‘Eppsicles.’ Eventually the name
changed, and he earned royalties on more than 60 million
Popsicles.”
Winston Churchill
The old boy turned 129 on Sunday. Well, actually he died in
1965, but he would have been celebrating with a cigar if he had
been able to. So in honor of this giant figure, I just thought I’d
list his daily routine during World War II, as detailed at the War
Cabinet Rooms in London, a place I visited in 1999.
Churchill would regularly awake at about 8:30 a.m., have a cigar
in bed, the first of about a dozen that day – lit from a candle
which was always kept nearby and extinguished for him by his
secretary – and would then hold court, sitting propped up in bed,
wearing his green and gold dressing gown with its dragon motif
decoration. He would read all the major daily newspapers, study
the thick pile of papers in his Prime Ministerial box, give
dictation to his secretaries, send his Private Secretaries running
to deliver various documents, and hold discussions with senior
military advisers, who would regularly include Alanbrooke and
Ismay. A soak in his tub would take place mid-way through the
morning, but would in no way interrupt proceedings.
Meal times were seldom changed and both lunch and dinner
would be accompanied by champagne. A mid-afternoon nap,
followed by a bath were habits adhered to in even the most
unlikely circumstances, but probably gave Churchill his
legendary ability to work until 3:00 or 4:00 a.m., totally
oblivious to the fatigue or hunger of those around him. Much to
the chagrin of his hard-worked chiefs of Staff, who might have
subsequent meetings on matters arising, he would sometimes call
a Cabinet meeting at 11:00 or 12:00 at night.
Stuff
–College Football Review:
Damn, LSU is sneaking up on the #2 slot in the BCS poll. It’s
going to be close, sports fans. USC, after all, suffered its only
loss at the hands of a mediocre Cal squad, while LSU’s lone
defeat was to a solid Florida team.
You want to see a good game? This Thursday night, Bowling
Green vs. Miami of Ohio for the MAC title.
As for the college game ball, since the weekend was light on
action and big contests (save FSU-Florida), we hereby award it
to Rutgers for beating Syracuse. I never thought I’d say this, but
the state school of New Jersey may finally be building a
competitive program, having wrapped up the year a respectable
5-7.
Frosties, 16 ounces of the recipient’s favorite adult beverage, go
to Texas running back Cedric Benson for his school record 283
yards against Texas A&M, and Colgate, for extending its
winning streak to 19 in a first round I-AA playoff game against
Massachusetts.
And what the hell, let’s give one to the Cornhuskers, for possibly
saving coach Frank Solich’s jo…..oops, Mr. Solich was fired
despite amassing a 58-19 career mark at the school. Going 9-3,
as he did this season, just doesn’t cut it in these parts.
But then there is the Wake Forest – Maryland game, one in
which for the first time in ACC history two opposing running
backs each had 200 yards (only the 5th time ever in the NCAA).
Wake’s Chris Barclay had 243 and Maryland’s Bruce Perry ran
for 237 as the Terrapins whipped my Deacs 41-28, thus ending
Wake’s season at a disappointing 5-7. Now if you asked me at
the start of the year if I would have been happy with this, I’d
have probably said ‘yes,’ but when you start out 3-1 and find
yourself in every possible publication, a 5-7 ending is a downer.
–The following is from a wire service (DTN) report I found in
the High Plains Journal:
“After poison didn’t work, officials on Indonesia’s Java Island
have released dozens of snakes to fight a plague of rats eating
into the rice crop…
“Authorities near to the tourist town of Yogyakarta have let loose
the snakes, mostly pythons, because rat poison didn’t stop the
large depletion of the crop in recent years, The Jakarta Post
reported.
“ ‘We hope that the release of the snakes can provide a
breakthrough with the rat problem,’ farmer Suryadi, who goes by
a single name, was quoted as saying.
“The snakes include the reticulated python, which feeds on small
mammals and can grow up to 25 feet in length.”
Aaagggghhhhhh!…..remind me not to go to Yogyakarta.
–Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have had any interest whatsoever in the
Giants football game Sunday, but I was curious to see the
reaction of the crowd, particularly after a bunch of players once
again mouthed off about what they perceive as poor fan support,
even though after the latest debacle they are now 4-8.
Wide receiver Amani Toomer, who has really sucked this year,
said on a call-in program that fans should “stop criticizing and
try to come up with some constructive comments instead of
tearing us down.”
Cornerback Will Allen added, “I play for this team no matter
what, whether we’re 0-20 or 16-0. And that’s the way our fans
should be, knowing that there are going to be hard times. Every
time can’t be a great time.”
Man, they just don’t get it. And if you ever wanted to see a team
mail in its final few games, catch this act. Then again, read a
good book instead.
–Speaking of the pitiful New York sports scene, there’s the case
of the St. John’s basketball program. This week senior guard
Willie Shaw was not just caught smoking pot, he also had a bag
of the stuff in the car. And who was driving? Why it was none
other than last year’s star, Marcus Hatten…in case you wondered
where this thug with the sweet jumper was hanging out following
his career at the school. So much for Hatten’s pro prospects.
–The New Jersey Devils” Scott Stevens has now appeared in
more games as a defenseman than anyone in NHL history after
playing in game #1,616 the other day, thus eclipsing Larry
Murphy’s mark. Only Gordie Howe, Mark Messier and Ron
Francis are ahead of Stevens.
–Congratulations to Tiger Woods for snaring former nanny,
bikini model, and all around bodacious babe, Elin Nordegren. Or
is it the other way around? Don’t expect them to actually get
married, though, until he wins two more majors…that’s the
prediction here.
–Back to Wake Forest sports, you know what’s disappointing for
us fans? The play of the men’s soccer and baseball teams. No
matter how good we appear to be in these sports, we can’t get out
of the first round of the NCAAs. This year, Wake soccer entered
the tournament #3 in the nation and lost its first game to Virginia,
the 3rd freakin’ loss to the Cavaliers this season, for cryin’ out
loud. We were 15-2 in every other contest.
[Sorry…just had to get that out of my system. It’s all about
hoops anyway, these days.]
–Here’s a typical crime story in urban New Jersey the past 20
years.
“A speeding, stolen Subaru slammed into another car in
Irvington yesterday afternoon, killing a 60-year-old man, police
said.
“The driver of the stolen car was immediately picked up by a
third vehicle, which sped away…” [Star-Ledger]
I defy anyone to tell me why at least one person shouldn’t be put
to death in this case.
Speaking of the death penalty, funny how many Washington area
pundits and residents are suddenly for capital punishment
following the first D.C. sniper trial.
–Then there’s the plight of the great apes of Africa and Asia. As
a UN Environment Program report said, the next 10-15 years are
absolutely critical in the survival of species such as the
chimpanzee and gorilla. Fewer than 400,000 are believed to be
in existence, worldwide, a pitifully low number thanks to
poachers and, increasingly, the Ebola virus. The lowland gorilla
population, for example, is down 50-90%, while the Orangutans
of Southeast Asia could be extinct in just 10 years. Depressing.
–On a lighter note, how good a coach is Jerry Sloan? His Utah
Jazz are 9-6. I thought they’d win 15 all year.
–How bad a prognosticator am I? And I picked the freakin’
Giants to win the Super Bowl! I’m suspending myself for 8
weeks without pay.
–So I noted in my “Week in Review” column that ESPN Classic
aired for the first time the tape of the historic college football
game between Notre Dame and Michigan State from November
1966. For those of you who caught this (and it’s worth watching
if for no other reason than to see how the game used to be
played, without showboating of any kind), how bad was the
commentary of Chris Schenkel and Bud Wilkinson?!
I was only 8 years old back then but it is my first college football
memory. An incredible 33 million watched it, a 22.5 rating.
–Am I the only one who saw this FedEx ad?
“To the Delgado Group, every package is a promise. It takes
more than foam peanuts to keep them from being broken. That’s
why they rely on FedEx International Services to get their global
shipments delivered on time, with a money-back guarantee.
With a little help from FedEx, the Delgado Group has received
letters of praise from over 213 countries. Now all they need is a
little help translating them.”
What’s wrong? Well, I’ve never heard of the Delgado Group so
I googled it and came up with nothing. I also had to question the
claim of 213 countries, since there are only 191 in the UN,
including Cape Verde, Djibouti, Guinea-Bissau, Kiribati,
Malawi, Nauru, San Marino and Tonga.
But if this ad is just a goof there is no way to tell, and how many
would fall for it? Or am I making more of this than I should
because I’m trying to fill space? You be the judge, I just don’t
think FedEx should be able to get away with it.
–As a follow-up to my recent remarks concerning Alonzo
Mourning, here are New York Daily News columnist Mike
Lupica’s thoughts.
“Alonzo Mourning, out of Georgetown, will make nearly $23
million for playing 15 games for the Nets.
“You know the Nets are on the books for more than $25 million
on Mutombo, also out of Georgetown, who didn’t play much
more than that for the Nets last season.
“What is amazing about all this is that the Nets didn’t attempt to
sign Patrick Ewing, too.
“No wonder they have a hard time making their payroll over
there.
“These are the smartest decisions to go on the books in Jersey
since they paid more than $80 million for Jayson Williams.”
–Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel,
died at age 98. It was back on Aug. 6, 1926 that she made
history. Swimming in treacherous seas, her legs cramped up, at
which point her coach called for her to “Come out!” “What
for?” she famously replied.
[I covered her feat in this space extensively back on 3/9/01.
Check the archives below.]
–I’ve often said that there is no better cause in America than the
Civil War Preservation Trust, which preserves our nation’s
battlefields. So when I got my magazine the other day they
asked that the members thank the congressmen instrumental in
fighting for more funding. So indulge me while I thank the
senators involved in this worthy effort.
Jeff Sessions (AL), Paul Sarbanes (MD), James Jeffords (VT),
Lamar Alexander (TN), George Allen (VA), Sam Brownback
(KS), Jim Bunning(KY), Saxby Chambliss (GA), Norm Coleman
(MN), John Cornyn (TX), Lindsey Graham (SC), Chuck Hagel
(NE), Trent Lott (MS), Mark Pryor (AR), Richard Shelby (AL).
I was also pleasantly surprised that among the House supporters
was Mary Bono (CA). You rock, babe!
Top 3 songs for the week of 12/1/73: #1 “Top Of The World”
(Carpenters) #2 “Photograph” (Ringo Starr) #3 “Goodbye
Yellow Brick Road” (Elton John)
Pittsburgh Steelers Quiz Answers: 1) Receptions, career: John
Stallworth, 537 (1974-87). 2) Interceptions, career: Mel Blount,
57 (1970-83). 3) TDs, career: Franco Harris, 100 (1972-83). 4)
Rushing, season: Barry Foster…1,690 (1992). 5) Receiver Roy
Jefferson was the last to score 4 TDs in a game, 1968. 6) Chuck
Noll coached from 1969-1991…209-156-1. 7) Bill Austin
preceded Noll…11-28-3.
*It’s always important to remember Noll’s first 3 seasons with
Pittsburgh.
1969…1-13
1970…5-9
1971…6-8
Then the Steelers made the playoffs 8 straight years, winning 4
Super Bowls. The organization’s patience was rewarded.
**Golf’s Q School is this week. Good luck to all.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday. I’ll come up with a music story or
two.
