Seattle Mariners (1977-2003) Quiz: 1) Name the only two
Mariners to win the MVP award. 2) Name the 1984 rookie of
the year. 3) Who was the first manager (1977-80)? 4) Name the
three that drove in 140 in a single season. 5) What pitcher led
the league in strikeouts three times? 6) Who is #2 in home runs
behind Griffey? 7) Name the Opening Day starter on 4/6/77.
Answers below.
Lance Armstrong…2004 SI Sportsman of the Year
Just book it…Sports Illustrated will be selecting the now six-time
winner of the Tour de France. Personally, I have to admit I
haven’t been on a bicycle since high school, but what can you
say except that what Armstrong has done is one of the greatest
achievements in the history of sport, going all the way back to
Russell Crowe’s awesome stint as a gladiator. [No, seriously,
that was big time.]
But let me repeat something I said a few weeks ago concerning
the Tour de France fans. These are the biggest bunch of
degenerates in the world. Maybe Sunday’s crowd was a bit more
civilized, but for the most part it appeared to this observer that
50% of these folks were primo a-holes. Oh yeah, I want to go to
France to be among these jerks.
Back to Sportsman of the Year, there are few other possibilities.
Football – nope
Hockey – nope
Basketball – are you kiddin’ me?
OK…then you have the following with a slight chance if
everything goes perfectly.
Baseball – Barry Bonds, only if he leads the Giants to the World
Series title and nothing more comes up in the BALCO
investigation.
Tennis – Maria Sharapova, if she wins the U.S. Open…this
certainly would be a popular pick at the headquarters of
StocksandNews.
Olympics – Michael Phelps, if he wins 7 Golds.
Golf – Phil Mickelson, if he wins the PGA.
There you have it. Just trying to beat the headlines.
—
**It’s Convention time…and time for a little history**
1968: Prelude to the Democratic National Convention
What a horrible year. Vietnam was raging and then in
succession, LBJ stunned the nation by announcing he would not
seek another term (3/31), Martin Luther King, Jr. was
assassinated (4/4), Robert Kennedy, killed (6/5), the Soviets
invade Czechoslovakia (8/20). And throw into the mix the
massive student protests around the globe, the most serious of
which were probably in Paris (May).
Oh, there were some lighter moments, like the debut of Rowan &
Martin”s “Laugh-In,” an irreverent show featuring Tiny Tim and
a sexy Goldie Hawn strutting about in body paint.
But perhaps the wildest event of this momentous year was the
Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the most violent
one in our nation’s history. Following are some highlights …or
more aptly lowlights.
The Democrats were targeted as the party in power overseeing an
unpopular war and it gave all manner of lowlifes an opportunity
to create chaos.
Activists like Tom Hayden and SDS veteran Rennie Davis
commenced planning for Chicago way back in January of ‘68.
By March, hundreds of young protesters gathered at a YMCA
camp outside Chicago to coordinate how they were going to
make things miserable for LBJ, since it was assumed that he
would be crowned at the convention.
The antiwar strategy was actually split among various factions.
One concentrated on electing either Eugene McCarthy or Bobby
Kennedy as the best means of ending the war in Vietnam.
Another wanted to attack the Democratic liberals on the grounds
that they were supporting the political system that sustained our
involvement in the war. And a third, led by David Dellinger,
sought “to respect the right of individuals and groups within the
antiwar movement to hold opposing views about the candidates
and the electoral process, but not to let those differences stop the
antiwar coalition from carrying out street demonstrations and the
new forms of militant resistance.” [Jules Witcover] Dellinger,
Hayden and Davis proceeded to plan for the convention on this
last track.
Davis proclaimed, “The delegates should be allowed to come to
Chicago so long as they give their support to a policy of ending
racism and the war.” Dellinger said, “We are going to storm the
hearts and minds of the American people.”
At the same time in March, Abbie Hoffman and his Yippie
(Youth International Party) crew gathered in New York for their
first “Yip-in” at Grand Central Station. Over 3,000 dirtballs
packed the terminal while a local radical D.J., H. Rap Brown,
observed over the air “Violence is as American as apple
pie and cherry bombs.” Police broke the demonstration up
without major incident. They wouldn”t be so lucky later in
Chicago.
Also around this time, a group of black separatists met in Detroit
to set up an independent government with a “black declaration of
independence.” Attendees voted to establish a Republic of New
Africa in five southern states. A black militant living in Beijing
by the name of Robert F. Williams was chosen as president.
Bet you don’t remember this (I didn’t)…….we’re just getting
started.
The Convention
As the opening date of August 26 approached, tension in
Chicago mounted. Some 23,000 police, guardsmen and Army
troops were assembled to deal with the estimated 100,000
protesters that were due to descend on the city.
On the night of August 22, a 17-year-old Native American in
hippie garb was shot and killed near Lincoln Park by police who
said he had fired on them. The demonstrators were to be allowed
to rally at the park each day but would have to clear out by an
11:00 p.m., city-imposed curfew.
Yippie leaders Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin had compiled a
preposterous mock agenda and they got down to it on the 23rd
when the two held a rally outside the Chicago Civic Center and
nominated their own presidential candidate – an actual porker
dubbed “Pigasus.” As described by author Jules Witcover:
“Rubin walked him over to the huge Picasso sculpture known to
locals as ‘the gooney bird,’ where a local reporter asked him,
‘Why are you here?’ Rubin replied: ‘We want to give you a
chance to talk to our candidate, and to restate our demand that
Pigasus be given Secret Service protection and be brought to the
White House for his foreign-policy briefing.’ In a minor scuffle,
seven of the Yippies were arrested, charged with disorderly
conduct, and the pig was taken to a humane shelter. Undaunted,
the Yippies found another pig.”
Rubin and Hoffman also floated rumors that they were going to
inject LSD into Chicago’s water supply and that they would
seduce the delegates’ wives by sending out “stud” teams. This
kind of talk helped to keep many of the security forces occupied.
On Saturday the 24th and Sunday the 25th, the crowds in Lincoln
Park grew but the demonstrations were largely peaceful. Most of
the time they just shouted “Hey, hey, LBJ! How many kids have
you killed today?” But as the curfew was being enforced Sunday
evening, 1,000 demonstrators decided to confront the 500 or so
police on hand. The night sticks were flying. It was but a taste of
things to come.
To digress a second, remember that on August 20, the Soviet
Union and its Warsaw Pact allies had invaded Czechoslovakia to
put down the “Prague Spring.” It was a chaotic time. But since
we were already involved in Vietnam, and had no real obligation
to come to the Czechs’ aid, all the U.S. did was to call on the
Soviets “not to engage in punitive measures” against the Czech
people. For its part, the UN Security Council passed a resolution
condemning the invasion, but it was vetoed by the Soviets. Case
closed.
And so on Monday night, August 26, Mayor Daley opened the
convention. Daley saw the gathering as “an important sign of
faith to the American people for this national political convention
to be held here – not in some resort center, but in the very heart
of a great city where people live and work and raise their
families.”
But he set the tone when he said of the “extremists, (they) seek
to destroy instead of to build, (and) make a mockery of our
institutions and values.”
Convention delegates, themselves, were not necessarily behind
the mayor. They were deeply divided on the issues. Daley’s
firebrand rhetoric would not be well received. “As long as I am
mayor of this city, there”s going to be law and order in Chicago.”
As Witcover writes, “In the temper of the times, the use of those
words that Democrats regularly charged were Republican code
for racism was particularly jolting.”
Giving the keynote speech, Senator Daniel K. Inouye noted:
“Why, when we have at least had the courage to open an attack
on the age-old curses of ignorance and disease and poverty and
prejudice, why are the flags of anarchism being hoisted by
leaders of our next generation? Why, when our maturing society
welcomes and appreciates art as never before, are poets and
painters so preponderantly hostile?”
As to Vietnam, Inouye, a war hero from World War II, opined,
“Just as we shun irresponsible calls for total and devastating
military victory, so must we guard against the illusion of an
instant peace that has no chance of permanence.”
There was still tremendous uncertainty at this time as to whether
the Democrats would be able to rally around President Johnson’s
handpicked selection of Vice President Hubert Humphrey to be
the party’s presidential nominee (LBJ having dropped out on
March 31).
And out on the streets of Chicago, the demonstrators were more
determined than ever to wreak havoc. Sunday night had
witnessed the first confrontations between the police and the
dirtballs (sorry if you were one of them…I”m sure you are now
an upstanding American citizen). The Yippies were preparing
their “Festival of Life” which, as planned, would include a nude
grope-in for peace and prosperity (geez, Bill Clinton would have
liked that kind of thing), a joint-rolling contest, and the election
of Miss Yippie.
In reality, the Yippies were “dope-smoking misfits” who had no
political organization to speak of. But the media was at their
beck and call. Hype would thus make up for what they lacked on
a grassroots level. “They tantalized reporters with visions of a
Chicago inundated by a million stoned freaks who would force
the Democrats to conduct their business under armed guard
…exaggeration was the crux of their organizing strategy.”
[Source: “Acid Dreams,” Martin A. Lee and Bruce Shlain]
The placid scene in Boston this week (I’m assuming) contrasts
sharply with Chicago. There were all kinds of “credentials”
fights on the floor of the convention, for starters, including one
designed to split the Georgia delegation between followers of
Governor Lester Maddox and those of civil rights activist Julian
Bond.
[I was 10-years-old in ‘68, already turning into a political junkie
and transfixed by what I was seeing on television. I also thought,
like many Americans, that the then 28-year-old Bond was going
to be a superstar in American politics for decades to come. While
he has had a distinguished career (depending on your viewpoint
…and I’m being kind), he never became a truly national figure.]
Governor Maddox initially won his fight but by Tuesday, the
Georgia delegation was split between the two.
Meanwhile, President Johnson was observing the whole scene
from his home in Texas while Hubert Humphrey was at his hotel.
And Eugene McCarthy (with the death of Bobby Kennedy, the
peaceniks’ last hope) was working the press and the state
delegations, reluctantly. McCarthy turned out to be a total bore
after the excitement of the previous winter. Actually, he was an
ass.
Back to our demonstrators, on Tuesday night, August 27, in
Lincoln Park 3,000 youths ignored the 11:00 p.m. curfew.
Young girls put flowers in the barrels of the Guardsmen’s guns,
but when the crowd wouldn’t disperse, the Guard used tear gas
to drive them out. 60 were hurt, with the reporters covering the
scene bearing the brunt of the police action. The Washington
Post’s Nicholas von Hoffman wrote: “They”d take off their
badges, their name plates, even the unit patches on their
shoulders,” before attacking.
At Humphrey’s hotel (the Conrad Hilton), protestors gathered to
sing “Dump the Hump!” More scuffles ensued.
The climatic day, however, was Wednesday the 28th. In the
afternoon the delegates fought over the issue of the Vietnam
War. After vicious debate, they approved the administration’s
“war plank” by a 1527-1041 vote. It was around 5:00 p.m. and
word of its passage quickly spread among the protestors outside.
“We Shall Overcome” was heard throughout the convention area
and at the Hilton, McCarthy’s headquarters as well as
Humphrey’s.
Across from the Hilton, 15,000 gathered in Grant Park. The
police were actually cooperating, telling the dirty crowd that they
could protest peacefully “in the interests of free speech” but that
any violence would be put down hard.
Suddenly, a shirtless, long-haired kid began to lower an
American flag. The police snapped and they charged the crowd,
swinging their clubs with abandon. But just as quickly the action
subsided and the rally resumed.
Comedian Dick Gregory spoke as did David Dellinger. Jerry
Rubin had his pig “candidate” in tow. Then Tom Hayden (a
primo dirtball) reported to the crowd that Rennie Davis had been
clubbed and was hospitalized. Hayden called on the crowd to
“avenge” him. “Let us make sure that if our blood flows, it flows
all over the city, and if we are gassed that they gas themselves.”
The crowd then dispersed into different groups and
demonstrations throughout the area. Suddenly, there was a total
breakdown of law and order along Michigan Avenue and from
8:00-8:30 p.m., the scene was carried into the living rooms of
America. It looked like the entire nation was collapsing into a
state of anarchy.
Some of the fiercest action (it was pretty one-sided, really; the
police had the clubs after all) was in front of the Conrad Hilton.
McCarthy was observing from his 21st-floor suite. Down below,
Hayden got knocked through the picture window of the
Haymarket Lounge. The police went through the window after
him; tear gas wafted through the lobby and up the floors, even
all the way to McCarthy’s suite. [Humphrey was on 23 and later
said he was so busy he didn”t know what was happening.]
The Hilton lobby was a bloody mess. Pat Buchanan, sent by
Richard Nixon to report on the Democrats, later told Nixon that
while the police had been provoked, “There was no doubt they
had enough, and deliberately went down the street to deliver
some justice.”
Late on Wednesday, Aug. 28, after all of the chaotic action
earlier in the evening, Hubert Humphrey formally received the
nomination with 1761 votes to 601 for Eugene McCarthy.
[George McGovern tallied 146 and 67 went to Reverend
Channing Phillips of the District of Columbia, the first black ever
placed in presidential nomination by a major party.]
Edmund Muskie was then nominated to be vice president.
Humphrey himself didn”t select Muskie until Thursday morning.
LBJ had wanted Hubert to pick former North Carolina governor
Terry Sanford. But HHH chose Muskie over Oklahoma Senator
Fred Harris.
[In the nominating procedure, Julian Bond was the only other
candidate put forward, a symbolic choice as he wasn”t even old
enough to qualify.]
Meanwhile, Eugene McCarthy was running around saying he
might support a 4th party. [George Wallace was the 3rd party
candidate in ‘68.] The next day, 500 dissidents formed the New
Party, which ended up obtaining ballot positions in 29 states.
Comedian Dick Gregory became their presidential nominee.
Yes, McCarthy was no John McCain. He told his supporters he
would endorse neither Humphrey nor Richard Nixon.
For his part, Tom Hayden continued to whip his fellow
scuzzballs into a frenzy. 2,000 assembled in Grant Park as
Hayden spoke of a new time, “(The) era of peaceful and orderly
demonstrations is coming to an end, other methods will be
needed.”
On the final night of the convention, Thursday, Teddy Kennedy
introduced another film of a fallen brother (in ‘64 Bobby had
introduced one of JFK). Teddy said:
”If my brother’s life, and death, had one meaning above all
others, it was this: that we should not hate but love one another,
that our strength should not be used to create the conditions of
oppression that lead to violence, but the conditions of justice that
lead to peace.”
LBJ had insisted the memorial film be shown after Humphrey
had clinched the nomination. Smart move, because otherwise the
convention could have moved to Teddy for president. The film,
and the memories, riled them up.
In his acceptance speech, Hubert Humphrey, ever gracious,
honored Democratic nominees from the past, including, at the
end, LBJ, which led to a chorus of boos. Humphrey had refused
to distance himself from an unpopular president out of a sense of
loyalty. [I always liked HHH. A good person, if a little
misguided.]
But there was one final tragedy of the convention. Some of
McCarthy’s campaign workers were drowning their sorrows
back at the Hilton. After 5:00 in the morning, police raided the
room where they were partying and began pounding on the kids.
The police said they were being pelted from the 15th floor suite.
This was highly debatable. Some of the workers were severely
beaten.
As the conventioneers finally made their way from Chicago,
Mayor Daley held a news conference, denouncing the
demonstrators as “terrorists.” Later, when told that 650 had been
arrested during the week, Daley added, “I think you newsmen
missed the point. No one was killed.” Daley had conveniently
forgotten the 17-year-old, Jerome Johnson, who had been shot
four days before the convention began. A report on the whole
convention, commissioned by LBJ, later labeled the entire week
a “police riot.”
By the time Hubert Humphrey received the nomination, the
Democratic Party was in a shambles. The election was
essentially over.
In their book “The Century,” authors Peter Jennings and Todd
Brewster comment.
“Played out on a national scale, Chicago was the moment of
confrontation every dysfunctional family dreads, the ritual dinner
when son finally challenges father and the long-suppressed
oedipal rage breaks free across the table, sending the potatoes
flying and the rest of the family running for cover. Only the ritual
here was a national ritual, a political convention, as old a national
ritual as the nation itself, and the family watching the blood
flowing was the family of America, at home in front of its
television set.”
Regardless of which side you supported, the whole bloody scene
was shameful.
[Primary sources: “1968: The Year the Dream Died,” Jules
Witcover; “The Century,” Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster]
Stuff
–Carnival Cruise Line chefs have come up with a popular
gourmet meal item, rabbit, which means one thing…they need
lots of them! Enter rabbit farming. You know, I hadn’t thought
of this until I was reading my High Plains Journal the other day
(Oklahoma / Texas / New Mexico edition) and this has suddenly
become a viable occupation. An Alabama grower recently
received a contract for 4,000 rabbits a month from Carnival.
And think about these economics. One doe rabbit can make
more profit in a year than a cow. It takes 3 acres for a cow and 2
square feet for a rabbit. A rabbit gestates for 31 days, the
average litter is 7 and it takes only 8-10 weeks for rabbits to get
up to 5 pounds; at which point they’re ready for dinner.
[Unfortunately, the article didn’t spell out the exact $ profit.]
Anyway, the reporter warns that rabbit farming isn’t for
everyone but there are schools and courses you can take. I have
quite a few rabbits around my condo complex here in New
Jersey, and about 100 square feet of grass out back. I wonder if
my neighbors would mind? Possible names would be Bar Chat
Ranch, Editor’s Rabbits, Beer Rabbit, or simply Rabbitville.
–Oh, the saga of Marion Jones continues. Former hubby C.J.
Hunter alleges that Marion shot up with steroids during the
Sydney Games, with Hunter saying she used 3 different drugs.
Of course Jones won 5 medals in Sydney. Remember, it was
Jones who dropped Hunter so this is one example of the adage
“Hell hath no fury like a hubby scorned.”
–Senior women golfers are upset with the USGA that they don’t
have their own Senior Open. Now I have to admit, I never
thought of this one before. But seriously, it’s tough enough
maintaining interest week to week in the men’s Senior Tour, do
you really think there would be enough fans and sponsors to put
together, say, 10 events a year for the ladies? Not likely.
But…Nancy Lopez turns 50 in 2007 so maybe the USGA could
give it a try then.
–If you didn’t catch the British Senior Open on Saturday you
missed a funny bit with Peter Jacobson, recovering from hip
surgery and unable to play in the Open after attempting to earlier
in the week. He was in the booth and sounded just awful. Then
he admitted he had been pubbing (the event was at Royal
Portrush in Northern Ireland) until 4:00 a.m. Been there, done
that many a time in Eire.
–Mr. Jeopardy, Ken Jennings, takes his 38-show winning streak
into the new season in September, having won $1,321,660
already. I’m embarrassed I haven’t seen him yet, but I can
appreciate how Alex Trebek is having a tough time coming up
with original questions to ask. According to the Washington
Post, by the 7th show Trebek asked Jennings, in desperation,
“Tell us some deep, dark secrets about yourself.” Jennings
deadpanned, “You know, I killed a man down South once.”
Brilliant. The Jennings audience was up to 12.3 million viewers
last week, or about 100 times the average audience for CNBC.
–OK, let’s see how your editor is doing with his World Series
picks, shall we? I had a Houston – Kansas City match-up before
the season started and at the All-Star break Houston was 44-44
and K.C. 31-54. I then had Houston winning 70 of its remaining
74 and the Royals taking 71 of 77.
Through Sunday, Houston was 49-49, meaning the best they can
do is win their next 64 and at least go 69-5 since the break.
Kansas City, however, is 35-62, 4-8 since the All-Star game. I
have to be honest on this one; it is unlikely K.C. is going to do
much better than 58-7 the remainder of the season. I do take
heart from the fact the Royals are only 18 ½ games back.
–The other day I’m looking through the box scores, which I
don’t do anywhere near as carefully as say 30 years ago, and I
couldn’t help but notice this guy David Newhan had gone 4 for 5
against Pedro Martinez. Then I saw he was hitting .430! And
then I glanced down at the RBI total and saw he had driven in his
23rd of the season. Well, I thought, this guy hasn’t been up just
10 or 15 times, that’s for sure, so why hadn’t I heard of him? I
e-mailed my baseball guru Johnny Mac and this part is scary. At
that very moment he was looking up David Newhan, too, having
noticed the same thing I did.
So who is he? He’s a 30-year-old second baseman for the
Orioles who until this season had just 86 major league at bats and
none since 2001.
But it turns out he is the son of Hall of Fame sportswriter Ross
Newhan of the Los Angeles Times. And talk about
perseverance, David Newhan has overcome two shoulder
operations and constant therapy to make his spectacular return to
baseball. A great story, and obviously one proud papa in Mr.
Newhan.
[Through Sunday, Newhan had dropped to .391 in 133 at bats.]
–The other day I noted that racing legend Jackie Stewart had
named Dan Gurney as the greatest American driver of all time,
beating out the likes of Mario Andretti and Phil Hill.
Well, I don’t usually read the letters to the editor in Sports
Illustrated, except around swimsuit issue time, but I couldn’t help
but notice this one by John Hopkins of Toronto who had an
excellent point I didn’t pick up on; that being that any story on
great American auto racers has to include Peter Revson, who
won two Formula One races in 1973 before he was killed in a
practice session in South Africa. Revson was an heir to the
Revlon fortune.
–The Miami Dolphins Ricky Williams announced his retirement.
Outside of Miami, no one really cares. I”ve got more important
things to think about, know what I”m sayin”?
–An 11-year-old boy in Texas was seriously injured in a shark
attack off Bryan Beach. Due to the age of the victim, no jokes.
–According to the London Times, scientists are working on a
solution to the problem Venice has with flooding. The city has
sunk by 9 inches over the past 100 years and everyone has been
worried that the pace is picking up. St. Mark’s Square, for
example, is now flooded 60 times each winter vs. 10 on average
a century ago.
So the solution that may be tried is to inject “sea water deep into
the rock on which the city stands, which (scientists) say would
push the ground upwards by as much as one foot.”
I don’t have anything particularly witty to add here, just thought
it was interesting. If you have something witty, though, drop us
a line and the Bar Chat staff will mull it over before publishing it
in the next edition.
–The New York Daily News reports the bat that Babe Ruth used
to hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium, April 18, 1923, is
going to be sold at auction for at least $1 million.
The 45-ounce piece of lumber was signed by Babe and will rival
the prices paid for Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball ($3
million) and the 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card ($1.26
million), according to Sotheby’s. The highest price ever paid for
a bat was $600,000 for Shoeless Joe Jackson’s Black Betsy.
But when you look back at the old-timers and how nonchalantly
they treated what we view today as such historic items it is pretty
funny. Ruth donated that Opening Day bat to a Los Angeles
newspaper as the prize for a high school home run hitting
contest. It ended up in the hands of Victor Orsatti on June 7,
1923. He died in 1984 and the bat was then willed to his
caretaker, who kept it under her bed, until today.
[By the way, a Joe DiMaggio bat used in his 56-game hitting
streak sold earlier this year for $350,000. Separately, USA
Today reports that Eli Manning could be a particularly hot
football card this year. Anyone want my Lew Alcindor rookie
card, in mint condition?]
–Speaking of auctions, this is a funny tale from Jonathan Lemire
of the Daily News. Alejandro Freites, Venezuela’s top art dealer,
was flipping through a catalogue the other day when he noticed
some familiar sculptures for sale. Hey, they’re his, he thought.
And sure enough they were.
Freites kept the 7 sculptures by a man known simply as Lobo –
Could it be? Sheriff Lobo?! – in his two Manhattan homes but
when he was undergoing extensive renovations in his Park Ave.
apartment, he turned the sculptures over to John Rett, a caretaker
at an exclusive art warehouse on the upper East Side…for
safekeeping, you understand. Well, Rett sold three to a private
collector in the U.K. and four were sold to a dealer in New York.
Rett was busted on Long Island.
–Looks like a real depressing book on Joe Namath is coming
out, according to Eric Compton of the New York Post. Reporter
Mark Kriegel wrote “Namath,” soon to be released and a tale
concerning Namath’s heavy drinking. We like to have fun with
this topic in this space, but Namath clearly crossed the line,
particularly following his divorce to wife Deborah (she ran out
on him). It all culminated in his pitiful display at Giants Stadium
last December when he said to ESPN reporter Suzy Kolber “I
want to kiss you” as the nation saw how inebriated Joe Willie
was.
But in reading Compton’s piece I learned of an episode I didn’t
know about. Back in August 1969, with the Jets in St. Louis for
an exhibition game, two drunk fans pounded on Namath’s hotel
room where Joe was rooming with safety Jim Hudson. Hudson
answered and one of the “lunatics” shouted he wanted to kill
Namath. Hudson smacked the first guy but the second slashed
him in the neck with a knife. Hudson almost bled to death, with
Namath able to stop the bleeding with a towel while getting him
to the hospital. After this scary incident, the Jets always had a
guard to Namath’s room.
–Composer Jerry Goldsmith died the other day. He wrote the
score for “Patton” and won an Oscar for “The Omen.” He also
picked up five Emmys for his work in television, including the
theme for “The Waltons.” [I have to admit I’ve had a tough time
getting this last one out of my head the past few days once I read
this.]
–I have a new line for the Peter Graves character in the movie
“Airplane,” Graves being the captain. “Ever been to a World
Team Tennis match, Bobby?” [I mean, seriously, do you know
anyone who has ever attended one of these?]
–Saturday, July 31, 8:00 PM, TNT…Robbie Knievel jumps the
USS Intrepid!
–Little Steven (of Springsteen and Sopranos fame) noted the
other day in an article that his favorite garage band group of the
60s was The Pretty Things of Britain. Now I like to think I know
a decent amount about the 60s rock scene and the British
Invasion but I had to go to the real expert, Harry K., who told me
he has all the Pretties’ albums on vinyl. It turns out this band,
headed by Dick Taylor – who was a member of Little Boy Blue
& The Blue Boys with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in 1961
– and Phil May were quite the rage in the U.K. but never played
in the States because they had a riotous act, literally. Supposedly
they are still banned in New Zealand for a particularly rough tour
there in 1965. As Alec Palao wrote in some liner notes I was
perusing, in the 60s “You might not let your daughter go with a
Stone, but you wouldn’t let a Pretty Thing get within a hundred
yards of her.”
I bring this up because after reading Little Steven’s comment, I
picked up “Come See Me: The Very Best of The Pretty Things,”
a new 2004 collection put out by Shout!, a Division of
Retropolis. [I bought mine through CD Universe.]
I have to tell you, it’s alright, particularly the latter stuff from
1967-70. [At least that’s my opinion, Harry.] As Harry K. told
me the Pretties were really ahead of their time and put out a rock
opera before the Who did.
So if you like the 60s sound, give this a try. It’s now a
permanent fixture in my car, with Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It
On,” “Pet Sounds” and the Greatest Hits of the Four Seasons.
Top 3 songs for the week of 7/29/72: “Alone Again (Naturally)
(Gilbert O’Sullivan…one of the most depressing tunes of all
time) #2 “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl) (Looking Glass) #3
“Too Late To Turn Back Now” (Cornelius Brothers & Sister
Rose…these folks were underrated)
Seattle Mariners Quiz Answers: 1) Ken Griffey Jr. (1997) and
Ichiro Suzuki (2001) won A.L. MVPs. 2) Alvin Davis was
rookie of the year in 1984. 3) Darrell Johnson was the Mariners
first manager, 1977-80. [226-362] 4) Griffey drove in 140 runs 3
times, topped by his 147 in ’97. Edgar Martinez knocked in 145
in 2000 and Bret Boone had 141 in ’01. 5) Mark Langston led
the A.L. in strikeouts 3 times in the 80s; ’84 (204), ’86 (245), ’87
(262). 6) Jay Buhner is #2 in home runs with 307 behind
Griffey’s 398. 7) Diego Segui was the team’s Opening Day
starter on 4/6/77, a 7-0 loss to the California Angels.
*Reminder, Mets fans…if they hit 5 games below .500, you must
end any correspondence with a fellow fan with the tag “Mets
Blow, or Mets Suck.” Anything above that is “Let’s Go Mets.”
Unfortunately, blowdom beckons.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday………………..Jersey tale: it’s gory,
it’s bloody…it’s Bar Chat.
