NBA Hall of Fame Quiz: A few easy ones, a few not so easy.
What college did the following Hall of Famers attend? Nate
‘Tiny’ Archibald, Rick Barry, Dave Bing, Dave Cowens, Alex
English, Gail Goodrich, Hal Greer, Bailey Howell, Sam Jones,
Bob Lanier, Earl Monroe, Nate Thurmond. Answer below.
Before I get to the Christmas fare, we have to take care of
some…………………
STUFF
–Wow, what an incredible win by my Wake Forest Demon
Deacons, a 119-114, 3 overtime thriller against #4 North
Carolina in Chapel Hill. I told you we were good! But, heck,
none of us realistically knew just how good, this early, we would
be. One problem, though. The ACC is going to be unreal this
season. A 9-7 conference mark will be darn good. I’d be OK
with it. We’d still get a #4 or #5 seed in the NCAAs.
But check out the New York Times headline for the game on
Sunday.
“Wake Forest Outshoots Tenacious North Carolina”
Who the heck was ranked #4?
–You know, it really just doesn’t get any better than this. I know
it’s Christmas and all, but to see Albert A. Gore III arrested for
pot possession warms the cockles. I mean this isn’t the first time
little Albert, 21, has screwed up, having been caught doing 97
mph in a 55 zone back in 2000, right around Convention time,
you remember. And then in September of ’02 he had a DUI.
Heck, he was caught smoking dope at a school dance when he
was 13! So we say to his father, “Good job!” [You’ll also recall
how the former Veep used his son’s accident from age 6 to tug
on the heartstrings back in 1992.]
–“Phoniest Family of the Year”………..the Gores!
–Congratulations to St. John’s of Minnesota for its convincing
win over Division III legend Mt. Union in the NCAA title game,
the latter’s 2nd loss in 111 games! 77-year-old coach John
Galiardi’s own legend at St. John’s is forever cemented with this
victory.
–And congratulations to Delaware for capturing the Division
I-AA football title by virtue of its 40-0 shellacking of Colgate.
My uncle once taught at Delaware, but I can’t reveal anymore as
that would speak to my own identity. By the way, I saw where
the average SAT for Colgate’s incoming class was 1378 this
year. Hope the rejects had backups.
–It’s really pitiful, though not unexpected, how the coaching
fraternity is rallying around deposed St. John’s basketball coach
Mike Jarvis, who just became the first coach in the 25-year
history of the Big East to get canned in mid-season. Not that I
really care that much but I’d like to see the Red Men, oops, Red
Storm, hire Mark Jackson. [Manhattan’s Bobby Gonzalez would
also be a great pick.]
–The New York Mets re-signed Timo Perez to a one-year
contract wherein he can make an additional $150,000 in
incentives based on plate appearances. What cracks me up is
that according to the report I read, “He gets the whole package if
he makes 650 of them.” Folks, let me tell ya. If Timo Perez gets
to the plate 650 times next season, the Mets will go 58-104. You
can book it.
–Holy cow…did you see this? A Latvian man was found
unconscious, but stable, after a drinking binge. This was no
normal binge, though, sports fans. The man blew a .72. You’re
reading that right. At .30 you normally lose consciousness and at
.40 you’re dead. This is one all-time mark (as far as medical
authorities can ascertain) that I wouldn’t be too proud of.
–The New York Post’s Page Six reports that Paris Hilton didn’t
know who Al Sharpton was when she appeared on “Saturday
Night Live” the other week, Sharpton being guest host. There is
nothing more to add.
–ESPN had a list of great sports trades in anticipation of an
A-Rod / Manny Ramirez / Nomar deal(s) going through. But of
the 19 listed, such as Wayne Gretzky going from Edmonton to
Los Angeles and Herschel Walker to the Cowboys from
Minnesota, none of them mentioned what my good buddy Phil
W. correctly says is one of the all-time blockbusters, Nov. 1975.
The New York Rangers sent future Hall of Famers Brad Park and
Jean Ratelle (along with Joe Zanussi) to the Boston Bruins for
all-time great Phil Esposito and a very solid defenseman, Carol
Vadnais. Park had many good seasons with Boston, Ratelle,
while 35 when the trade went through, had 4 productive ones,
and Espo, 32 at trade date, had 5 good years with New York.
Good call, Phil, and for this you receive the 5th Anniversary Bar
Chat Game, Tavern Edition.
[Pssst…don’t tell Phil, but this is still in the development stage,
as the editor tries to figure out how to get around the patent held
by the owners of Trivial Pursuit.]
–I’ve railed on our rap culture but I do have to hand it to those
who dreamed up the idea of marketing throwback jerseys. Sports
Illustrated has a good story this week on the topic and the
pioneers behind the fad. One said, “These uniforms are the
history of sports. Styles come and go, but you can’t change the
’79 Magic Johnson jersey.”
He’s got a good point. Heck, when I was up in Cooperstown a
few months ago with Johnny Mac I bought myself a Juan
Marichal uniform. Why? It’s way cool and I expect the chicks
to go wild……………………………mused the editor, before
reality slapped him in the face.
–Hey, did you see what HBO is coming out with soon? A new
series titled “Deadwood.” This is good and bad, folks. Here I’ve
been telling you how great Deadwood, South Dakota was, having
spent time there in 2001 and 2002, but I wanted to keep it our
little secret, know what I’m sayin’? “Deadwood” will be set here
(not sure where the actual filming is) and now America is going
to be flocking to this cool little casino town with that Old West,
Wild Bill Hickok flavor. Crap. Good for the locals, though, and
they deserve it. Great people.
–So I see where NBC signed a television extension with Notre
Dame for $9 million a year through 2010, thus ensuring the
Mediocre Irish stay independent, at least it looks that way.
–The New York Knicks’ Kurt Thomas is one supreme jerk.
–According to the Daily News’ Mike Lupica, Scott Boras, Alex
Rodriguez’s agent, and Major League Baseball Players
Association #2 Gene Orza, “have been double-teaming (A-Rod),
telling them that if he takes money off his contract in front of the
world, he will be turning his back on a union that helped make
guys like him rich.”
“It is not just a laughable notion, it is total fiction…
“Maybe he has figured out already that the agent who brokered
his insane deal with the Rangers and the union who thought that
deal was going to pull up the salary of every free agent to follow
him are really only worried about their own interests here….
“The union expects Rodriguez and the rest of us to believe that
this is some kind of terrifying Pandora’s box being opened, that
if Rodriguez devalues his $252 million contract – with
bookkeeping that won’t affect a single day of the rest of his life –
that somehow owners everywhere will be preying on star players
and forcing them to do the same.
“Except they can’t force anybody with a contract to do anything
the minute the player involved says, ‘No.’
“Nobody is forcing Rodriguez to do anything here. On the
contrary, he is saying, ‘Yes.’ Yes, I’ll take a contract hit to go to
Boston. Yes, I’ll do anything to get myself out of Texas and out
of last place….
“Boras can’t live with the notion that he signed his player to a
contract that absolutely buried him, one that now looks like it
might need an Act of Congress to move it from The Ballpark in
Arlington to Fenway Park.”
–Otto Graham, the legendary quarterback who died the other
day, fashioned a 105-17-4 record as a starter in his 10 years with
the Cleveland Browns. The great Paul Brown once said Graham
was “the best of all time” and it’s hard to argue with this. After
all, as Brown adds, “The test of a quarterback is where his team
finishes.” Period. Look at Bart Starr, for example. No flashy
stats, he just won.
When the NFL picked its 75th anniversary squad, Graham was
one of four QBs chosen, along with Sammy Baugh, Joe Montana
and Johnny Unitas.
–So I’m looking up Otto Graham in the football encyclopedia
and glance across the page. Remember running back Hoyle
Granger? Man, I forgot how he burst on the scene in 1966 out of
Mississippi State. Granger rushed for 388 yards in his rookie
year, but he averaged 6.9 a carry. Then in 1967 he ran for 1,194
yards and a 5.1 average. Years of 848 and 740 yards followed
but that was about it. Poof!
–Let’s turn the page and see where we go………Mel Gray, the
St. Louis Cardinals receiver of 1971-82 vintage, not Mel Gray
the kick returner who plied his trade from 1986-97. Cardinal
Gray averaged 18.9 yards a reception for his career with 45 TDs.
Man, he could fly. Bar Chat con-tin-uessss…………..
–Boy, the New England Patriots look unstoppable. And this is
one Jets fan who would like to revise and extend his remark that
the Jets would win the Super Bowl next year. Can I say 2005?
Please?
–More importantly, the Pats won home-field advantage for the
playoffs, so we get two potential snowstorms as part of the
package. Nothing could be better. C’mon winter!
–Yikes…did you see Joe Namath on Saturday during the Jets-
Pats game? Namath was clearly drunk as he kept telling ESPN
sideline reporter Suzy Kolber “I want to kiss you.” Perhaps one
of the more uncomfortable moments in television history.
–Was that Saints ending Sunday something or what? But no
way that second lateral was legal.
–While any Mets fan isn’t a great supporter of Armando Benitez,
I have to tell those of you who are Florida Marlins fans that you
just got an incredible steal in signing him for $3.5 million. My
guess is Benitez saves 40 next year.
–Lakers coach Phil Jackson on Rasheed Wallace and others of
his ilk.
“These people feel impervious to criticism. A lot of these
ballplayers are narcissistic personalities in the first place. They
see the world revolve around them and anything that’s curtailing
their activity is a plot against their livelihood or their own
personality.” [Star-Ledger]
–The New York Post’s Mike Vaccaro on the Nets’ Jason Kidd.
“What’s become increasingly clear, during this autumn of the
Nets’ discontent, is that Kidd was on his very best behavior
during every second of his two-year apprenticeship in New
Jersey, determined to squeeze every nickel out of one last
contract negotiation.
“Slowly, all the personality quirks that pock-marked his first
seven years as a pro have reappeared. Suddenly, it’s not so
impossible to understand how he could have worn out so many
welcomes.
“Kidd is now a part-time point guard, a part-time Svengali, and a
full-time dictator. Credit Kidd for the $23 million double-down
bet the Nets took on Alonzo Mourning. And credit him for
(coach Byron) Scott’s neck being fixed for a guillotine now.”
–Harold von Braunhut died! Who is Harold von Braunhut? Let
me have the New York Times’ Douglas Martin tell you.
“Harold von Braunhut…used comic book advertisements to sell
whimsical mail-order inventions like Amazing Sea Monkeys,
tiny shrimp that pop to life when water is added…
“Mr. von Braunhut was to quirky inventions what Barnum was to
circuses. His X-Ray Specs, which advertisements said allowed
wearers to see through flesh and clothing, are still selling after 50
years of guffaws.”
Sea Monkeys are actually brine shrimp, found on the lake
bottom. Billions have been sold.
But there was a dark side to Harold von Braunhut. According to
a 1996 Anti-Defamation League report, he was a member of the
Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Nations, both groups also being
major buyers of Sea Monkeys, I imagine.
–And on Sunday I learned that Henry Saglio passed away at age
92. According to Frank Perdue, Chicken Man, “(Saglio) is the
father of the poultry industry.”
Saglio began raising chickens while growing up on a farm in
rural Connecticut. Somehow he became an expert on breeding
meatier birds, especially White Rocks, and before you know it he
had operations in 21 countries.
And here’s something I didn’t know, being around 45 myself
(though I still defy you to connect me to that funny-looking guy
who writes “Week in Review” and also happens to be about the
same age). Chicken was the most expensive meat you could buy
back in the 1940s.
According to one expert, “The industry needed a bird that could
produce a lot of meat and grow to market size quickly. By
cutting down production costs, Mr. Saglio came up with a more
desirable product.”
Today, Americans eat 82 pounds of chicken per person each
year, compared to 28 pounds in the early 1960s.
[Anahad O’Connor / New York Times.]
–Charles Barkley, on the Portland Trailblazers.
“One thing I know, they can be good or they can be bad…or they
can be high.”
Top 3 songs for the week of 12/20/69: #1 “Leaving On A Jet
Plane” (Peter, Paul & Mary…communists) #2 “Someday We’ll
Be Together” (Diana Ross & The Supremes) #3 “Down On The
Corner” (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
NBA Hall of Fame Quiz Answers: Nate Archibald (Texas-El
Paso), Rick Barry (Miami), Dave Bing (Syracuse), Dave Cowens
(Florida State), Alex English (South Carolina), Gail Goodrich
(UCLA), Hal Greer (Marshall), Bailey Howell (Mississippi
State), Sam Jones (N.C. Central), Bob Lanier (St. Bonaventure),
Earl Monroe (Winston-Salem State), Nate Thurmond (Bowling
Green State…official name then).
*HOF Tidbit – In the 1967-68 season, Nate Thurmond averaged
20 points and 22 rebounds a game. [Wilt averaged 23.8 rebounds
that season]
*Remember those great match-ups between Lanier and Niagara’s
Calvin Murphy? Here in the New York area we had a local
station that broadcast them. What a treat, from back in the late
60s.
**For those of you with young kids I saw the following in
Parade Magazine. You can check on Santa’s progress at
NORAD’s tracking site, www.noradsanta.org. And there is a
toll-free number as well, 1-877-446-6723, 12/24-25.
Christmas
World War I – Christmas Truce
By December 1914, the war had been picking up in intensity for
five months. Ironically, the feeling during the initial phases
was that everyone would be home by Christmas, though little
did they know it would be Christmas 1918.
On Christmas Eve 1914, along the British and German lines,
particularly in the Flanders area, the soldiers got into
conversation with each other and it was clear to the British that
the Germans wanted some sort of Christmas Armistice. Sir
Edward Hulse wrote in his diary, “A scout named F. Murker
went out and met a German Patrol and was given a glass of
whisky and some cigars, and a message was sent back saying
that if we didn’t fire at them they would not fire at us.” That
night, where five days earlier there had been savage fighting, the
guns fell silent.
The following morning German soldiers walked towards the
British wire and the Brits went out to meet them. They
exchanged caps and souvenirs and food. Then arrangements
were made for the British to pick up bodies left on the German
side during a recent failed raid.
Christmas Day, fraternization took place along many of the lines,
including a few of the French and Belgian ones. Some joined in
chasing hares, others, most famously, kicked around a soccer
ball. British soldier Bruce Bairnsfather would write, “It all felt
most curious: here were these sausage-eating wretches, who had
elected to start this infernal European fracas, and in so doing had
brought us all into the same muddy pickle as themselves…(But)
there was not an atom of hate on either side that day; and yet, on
our side, not for a moment was the will to war and the will to
beat them relaxed.”
In the air the war continued and the French Foreign Legionnaires
in Alsace were ordered to fight Christmas Day as well. Plus,
most of the commanders on both sides were none too pleased.
Nothing like the Christmas truce of 1914 would occur in
succeeding years (outside of a pocket or two) and by December
26, 1914, the guns were blazing anew.
[Source: “The First World War,” Martin Gilbert]
“May You Always”
From 1959-2002, Harry Harrison was a fixture on New York
radio, the last 20+ years at the great oldies station WCBS-FM.
Unfortunately, he was forced to retire last year, which ticked off
many of us to no end, but he will forever be remembered for a
brilliant greeting titled “May You Always.” Enjoy.
As the holiday bells ring out the old year, and sweethearts kiss,
And cold hands touch and warm each other against the year
ahead,
May I wish you not the biggest and best of life,
But the small pleasures that make living worthwhile.
Sometime during the new year, to keep your heart in practice,
May you do someone a secret good deed and not get caught at it.
May you find a little island of time to read that book and write
that letter
And to visit that lonely friend on the other side of town.
May your next do-it-yourself project not look like you did it
yourself.
May the poor relatives you helped support remember you when
they win the lottery.
May your best card tricks win admiring gasps and your worst
puns, admiring groans.
May all those who told you so, refrain from saying “I told you
so.”
May all the predictions you’ve made for your first born’s future
come true.
May just half of those optimistic predictions that your high
school annual made for you come true.
In a time of sink or swim, may you find you can walk to shore
before you call the lifeguard.
May you keep at least one ideal you can pass along to your kids.
For a change, some rainy day, when you’re a few minutes late,
May your train or bus be waiting for you.
May you accidentally overhear someone saying something nice
about you.
If you run into an old school chum,
May you both remember each other’s names for introductions.
If you order your steak medium rare, may it be so.
And, if you’re on a diet,
May someone tell you, “You’ve lost a little weight,” without
knowing you’re on a diet.
May that long and lonely night be brightened by the telephone
call that you’ve been waiting for.
When you reach into the coin slot, may you find the coin that
you lost on your last wrong number.
When you trip and fall, may there be no one watching to laugh at
you or feel sorry for you.
And sometime soon, may you be waved to by a celebrity,
Wagged at by a puppy,
Run to by a happy child,
And counted on by someone you love.
More than this, no one can wish you.
—
[The following is from a Times of London editorial, 12/24/02]
“The knowledge that it is through love for others that one lives
most fully is at the heart of the Christian message, the reason for
its initial appeal and the explanation for its endurance through
persecution, schism and indifference. In this age of scientific
skepticism the miracle of Christmas, God becoming Man, the
Word becoming Flesh, is considered a fanciful conceit. But the
essence of the Christian message, the Word at the heart of the
faith, is the transformative power of unconditional love, the real
freedom we achieve when we live for others. When families
gather tomorrow to celebrate Christmas Day they will be re-
enacting a scene of affection and adoration that is a moment of
human and spiritual renewal. And the religious services which
many will attend are a celebration of faith and of the most
profound love.”
Linus [From “A Charlie Brown Christmas”]
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the
field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel
of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shown
round about them. And they were so afraid. And the angel said
unto them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy
which will be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the
city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall
be a sign unto you. Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling
clothes lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the
angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, goodwill
toward men.”
That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
—
Merry Christmas from all of us at Bar Chat. Treat yourself to a
premium lager. Because you deserve it!
[Due to the holiday schedule, we’ll return on December 30 with
our Bar Chat “Man of the Year”…and of course our ever popular
“Dirtball of the Year” awards, one of whom has already been
announced, Joe Horn.]
