NBA Quiz: 1) What two players hold the record for 11 steals in
a single game? [Hint: Initials… L.K., K.G.] 2) Who holds the
record with 30 assists in a game? [Hint: 1990…not your first
thought, I can virtually guarantee it.] 3) Who holds the record
with 17 blocked shots in a game? [Hint: Initials, E.S., between
1960 and 1980] Answers below.
Nothing but Stuff
Folks, I’m in Manchester, New Hampshire, having just returned
from Senator John Kerry’s presentation before a packed house at
Daniel Webster College in Nashua. But I’ll save the politics for
“Week in Review” (not that the editor of that column and yours
truly are one and the same).
In the meantime, excuse this helter-skelter, Howard Deanish
column, but here are a few random musings on my days here.
First off…Dean’s web site sucks. This is the techno-savvy
campaign? On Wednesday, as of 10:00 AM they still hadn’t
posted where the heck the candidate was going to be that day. I
really wanted to check him out this week but didn’t.
On Monday afternoon, I went to catch Senator Joe Lieberman at
the Black Brimmer in Manchester. So it’s scheduled for 5:30
and I show up at 4:45, expecting to be able to pound a few pints
before the show gets started. But nooooooo….I had to come
back at 5:15. No problemo, as I went down the block to a
Mexican joint and had a few Coronas. I also watched a rather
large man drink a huge margarita in about 2 minutes and opted
not to ask him his opinion of the primary. If you had seen him,
you probably would have done the same.
So it’s back to the Black Brimmer, where I met a delightful
gentleman, Richard L. [Richard, if you’re reading this, now you
know why I didn’t take you up on your offer of a second pint.
That wasn’t the only beer I had that afternoon.] Lieberman was
OK, Senator Dodd was with him, but, again, I’ll have more on
the topic in WIR.
On Tuesday I caught John Edwards at the Manchester Library.
No beer served there. And then that afternoon I headed up to
Concord to hear Dennis Kucinich. I thought it would be kind of
a goof, and instead I was entirely bored to tears. You know the
crazy guy you see in the debates? He freakin’ read his speech,
line by line, standing there in front of 100 rather interesting
looking folks. And here I thought he’d be semi-humorous, since
he looks like he’d enjoy a good time. Nope. He didn’t crack one
smile! Anyway, a half hour into it I awoke with a start, afraid I
had been drooling on myself.
Oh, back to Edwards. Most of you know I’m a registered
Republican, but I was up here just to catch the atmosphere and I
totally respect ‘almost’ all the candidates for what they’re doing,
as well as their volunteers. For starters, it’s pretty chilly up in
these parts and I can’t imagine going door to door like the kids
do.
So I’m at the library and an Edwards volunteer asked me to put a
sticker on my coat. Sure, we don’t know each other, no big deal.
Then after the speech, I’m walking to the car, reach to rip it off
and it practically ruined my jacket! It didn’t come off cleanly
…in other words never put a sticker on suede. Now ask me if
Edwards would ever get my vote.
Back to the Dean web site (deanforamerica.com), they have this
stupid calendar that says “Powered by Laszlo.” Then you have
to wait for it to load. Who gives a damn that it is powered by
Laszlo?! Just give me a freakin’ schedule.
Back again to the Edwards rally, where I spotted columnist Al
Hunt of the Wall Street Journal. Years ago we exchanged letters
(in the days before e-mail) because he’s a Wake Forest alum, like
myself, plus I enjoy him on CNN’s “Capitol Gang” and he’s just
a first-class guy. So Tuesday we talked about Wake Forest’s
basketball prospects and I said I’d be happy with a 10-6
conference record. “Oh no, they’ll do much better,” said Al.
Doh! Wake lost that night in a truly pitiful performance and has
now dropped 3 in a row. I swear, sports fans, I woke up at 1:00
AM following the game and couldn’t go back to sleep for an
hour, that’s how upset I was. Then I read the next morning that
the players are holding a meeting to discuss their lack of effort.
Oh, brother.
Well, I do have some more organized bits and pieces for you.
–I see that Harry Brecheen died at age 89. Since I’m up in New
England, it’s only appropriate to mention this because it was
Brecheen who won 3 games in the 1946 World Series as St.
Louis defeated the Red Sox. He pitched complete games in
Game 2 and Game 6, then he came back to relieve in Game 7,
picking up the win when Enos Slaughter had his famous “mad
dash,” scoring from first on a hit to short left-center field.
–Did you see where Kazuhito Sasaki, the Seattle Mariners’ one
time closer, is foregoing $9.5 million in salary this coming
season to go home to Japan to be with his family? No wonder
the Japanese economy has been in a funk for so long.
–ESPN has been listing its Silver Anniversary Teams for various
conferences and I just had to make note of the Big East
basketball selection.
Chris Mullin (St. John’s), Derrick Coleman (Syracuse), Patrick
Ewing(Georgetown), Dwayne “Pearl” Washington (Syracuse)
and Ray Allen (Connecticut).
Can’t argue with any of these. But the fans calling in or going
online are truly idiots, selecting Carmelo Anthony, even though
he was at Syracuse just one freakin’ season.
–Hey, the mountain gorillas of Uganda / Rwanda / Congo are
making a comeback! The population has risen from 324 to 380.
That means a true ‘gorilla’ force of about 50 could fly over to
Borneo and save their cousin Orangutans. There’s also a good
movie here.
–The Smithsonian’s director, Lawrence M. Small, has been
under fire over the years for his plans for the museum, but now
he faces charges for knowingly transporting feathers from
endangered species. Small, you see, likes Brazilian Indian
headdresses. Jerk. We just may have another “Bar Chat Dirtball
of the Year” candidate.
–McDonald’s failed to renew Kobe Bryant’s 3-year contract, as
expected. Probably wouldn’t be a good idea to have him in a
spot with a beautiful babe, cooing, “I’m lovin’ it.”
–St. Joseph’s is now ranked #3 in men’s basketball. Just a super
story. Can they run the table?
–According to a piece in New York magazine, if you want to
work out at some of the City’s leading gyms, it will set you back
just a tad. At Casa, it’s $6,350 a year and another $99 for each
workout. At ‘E at Equinox’ the initiation fee is $5,000 plus the
annual cost is $23,500…but free training is included! This is
why yours truly prefers the local high school track, assuming it’s
at least 40 degrees.
–In all seriousness, I was very pleased that President Bush
emphasized the proliferation of steroid use in professional sports
in his State of the Union Address. Just this past Sunday in the
Times Magazine, Michael Sokolove had an extensive piece on
the topic. Here are just a few of his thoughts.
“On the most basic level, what are we watching, and why? If we
equate achievement with determination and character, and that,
after all, has always been part of our attachment to sport – to
celebrate the physical expression of the human spirit – how do
we recalibrate our thinking about sport when laboratories are
partners in athletic success?”
All-Star pitcher Curt Schilling famously noted in a 2002 piece
for Sports Illustrated, “Guys out there look like Mr. Potato Head,
with a head and arms and six or seven body parts that just don’t
look right.” Sokolove recalled a photograph from the same
season, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa, sitting together, “both of
them with thick necks and bloated-looking faces. They look,
well, freakish – as well as starkly different from their appearance
as young players. Bonds entered baseball lean and wiry strong…
Sosa, early in his career, was not particularly big and showed
little power at the plate.”
I’ve been warning since the Series that this story is just heating
up.
–In a study cited by the Los Angeles Times, the most dangerous
time to pick up the newspaper from the driveway is between
dusk and early dawn, that is if you’re concerned about being
attacked by a mountain lion. And I was at this nature
conservancy on Tuesday, the spot where Kucinich gave his
speech, and to kill time I’m looking through some books there.
Did you know that a mountain lion can hold its position for up to
30 minutes? In other words, they already know when you
regularly get the paper, and they could just be sitting there, lying
in wait, salivating……..
–So I’m reading The Union Leader here in Manchester (actually,
I’m also running some rather impressive ads for the site in it, if I
may say so myself) and I came across a bit by John Clayton. It
seems that the reigning Miss New Hampshire is Candace
Glickman, the great-granddaughter of the legendary Marty
Glickman. I know I’ve written of Marty before in conjunction
with the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, but it’s worth repeating,
as told by Clayton.
“(These) were meant to be Adolf Hitler’s games, which meant –
with help from the heavy-handed international Olympic Committee
chairman (and Hitler sympathizer) Avery Brundage – there was to
be little room for Jews on America’s 400-yard relay team. The
day before the race, Marty and a Jewish teammate, Sam Stoller,
were dropped. Jesse Owens ran in Marty’s place (and they became
lifelong friends).”
Glickman went back to Syracuse University and became a
football All-American, but when the New York Knickerbockers
“took the court for the first time in 1946, Marty was the man
behind the microphone. He stayed there 21 years. In the
meantime, he spent 23 years as the radio voice of the New York
Football Giants. Then he did 11 years with the Jets.”
Glickman was so good NBC hired him to train every ex-jock
who went into broadcasting. But Clayton also related something
I had forgotten. In Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road,” written in
1957, there is the following passage:
“Man, have you dug that mad Marty Glickman announcing
basketball games – up-to-mid-court-bounce-fake-set-shot, swish,
two-points. Absolutely the greatest announcer I ever heard.”
–I saw in USA Today that Jack Whitaker, the $315 million
Powerball jackpot winner from West Virginia, had his SUV
broken into…and the thief ran off with $100,000 in a bank bag.
It was in August that Whitaker was drugged by a strip club
owner and his girlfriend, with the two then running off with a
briefcase filled with $500,000, though the money was recovered.
–And from Jeff B., an oldie but goodie, “The Buffalo Theory.”
In an episode of “Cheers,” Cliff is seated at the bar describing the
theory to his buddy, Norm.
“Well you see, Norm, it’s like this…A herd of buffalo can only
move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is
hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are
killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as whole,
because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps
improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In
much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as
the slowest brain cells. Now, as we know, excessive intake of
alcohol kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and
weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of
beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster
and more efficient machine. And that, Norm, is why you always
feel smarter after a few beers.”
Actually, I’m heading out myself now to get some Mexican,
washed down with liquid libations. I wasn’t so sure how smart
I’d be when I returned so I thought I better post this beforehand.
Top 3 songs for the week of 1/24/70: #1 “Raindrops Keep
Fallin’ On My Head” (B.J. Thomas) #2 “Venus” (The Shocking
Blue) #3 “I Want You Back” (The Jackson 5)
NBA Quiz Answers: 1) Larry Kenon (12/26/76…San Antonio)
and Kendall Gill (4/3/99…New Jersey) hold the record for 11
steals in a game. 2) Scott Skiles had 30 assists while with
Orlando, 12/30/90. 3) Elmore Smith had 17 blocks on 10/28/73
while with the Los Angeles. No one has 16.
Next Bar Chat, Tuesday. More normal fare…or maybe not.
