San Francisco Giants Quiz (1901-2003): 1) Name three Giants
to win at least two N.L. MVP awards. 2) When was the Giants
last World Series title? 3) Who is the only Cy Young winner?
4) Who was the last to win 24 games? 5) What three hit 50 home
runs in a single season? 6) Who holds the single season RBI
record at 151? Answers below.
PGA / Ryder Cup
Boy, if you don’t already know it, Vijay Singh is one of the all-
time greats having just captured his 3rd major, 5th title of the year
and 20th of his PGA career with Sunday’s playoff win at
Whistling Straits. For starters, consider that he is playing in
perhaps the best era ever, what with Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson
and, yes, Tiger.
But then there is the Ryder Cup. The final top ten in points are:
1. Woods
2. Mickelson
3. Davis Love III
4. Jim Furyk
5. Chris DiMarco
6. Kenny Perry
7. David Toms
8. Chad Campbell
9. Fred Funk
10. Chris Riley
And by the time most of you read this, captain Hal Sutton will
have rounded out the squad with his own two selections, with the
next few in the standings being…
11. Steve Flesch
12. Jay Haas
13. Jerry Kelly
14. Stewart Cink
15. Jeff Maggert
Plus, the likes of John Daly and Todd Hamilton. [Justin Leonard
blew it in more ways than one on Sunday. Had he won he would
have qualified on points for the Ryder Cup, but his play
otherwise this year has been so lousy there’s no way he is
deserving of a captain’s pick.]
Johnny Mac and I are going with Haas and Hamilton. I’ll update
this spot when the real picks come in.
***And it”s……………. Haas and Stewart Cink. As J. Mac
said, we spend way too much time on this stuff, but what else
would us golf nerds talk about?
–As for your editor, I had my final match for the crappy golfer
championship at my club on Sunday morning. I was all square
after 15 holes against “the Viper.” [Boy, he hates this name.]
Then, like an idiot, I decided to fiddle with my grip the next two
drives, couldn’t have hit them worse if I placed the freakin’ balls,
and just like that I was conceding on 17. As the group said
afterwards over a cold frosty, “You were bit by the Viper.”
Actually, I was humiliated and I won’t be able to sleep for the
next year, meaning this column will be written by an increasingly
cranky lad.
Abebe Bikila
The amazing Ethiopian won the Olympic marathon in both 1960
and 1964. The first effort in Rome is one of the Games’ great
moments, but for starters it’s interesting to note that Bikila’s
victory in ’60 marked the first time an African had medaled in a
distance event.
Bikila used to train both with and without shoes and Track &
Field News commented in 1960, “Bikila’s main attribute, outside
of his natural talent, was a complete innocence as to what was
too fast and what was too slow.”
While Bikila wore shoes in ’64 in Tokyo, he didn’t in Rome.
One eyewitness had the following report on the 1960 race.
“Because of the heat, the marathon was scheduled for late
afternoon. As we milled around Piazza de Camplidoglio for the
start, I saw Bikila but did not notice that he was barefoot. But I
did know the last 10-K along the Appian Way was mostly
cobblestones, so it was unimaginable to me that someone would
dare compete barefoot. After the race, the buzz went around that
Bikla had indeed (done so) and won in world-record time.”
[2:15:16] [Marc Bloom / Runner’s World]
Embarrassing Moments
The other day Sports Illustrated came up with the ten most
embarrassing TV / Radio interviews. Joe Namath’s episode last
December with ESPN’s Suzy Kolber was selected #1, as Joe kept
imploring “I wanna kiss you” after an all-day boozefest. But I
liked this other classic moment.
Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda was asked his opinion of
slugger Dave Kingman’s performance after “Kong” had smashed
3 homers in a rout of L.A.
Lasorda: What’s my opinion of Kingman’s performance!? What
the BLEEP do you think is my opinion of it? I think it was
BLEEPING BLEEP. Put that in, I don’t give a BLEEP. Opinion
of his performance!!? BLEEP, he beat us with three BLEEPING
home runs! What the BLEEP do you mean, ‘What is my opinion
of his performance?’ How could you ask me a question like that,
‘What is my opinion of his performance?’ BLEEP, he hit three
home runs! BLEEP. I’m BLEEPING pissed off to lose that
BLEEPING game. And you ask me my opinion of his
performance! BLEEP. That’s a tough question to ask em, isn’t
it? ‘What is my opinion of his performance?’
Reporter: Yes, it is. I asked it, and you gave me an answer.
Lasorda: Well, I didn’t give you a good answer because I’m mad,
but I mean…
Reporter: Well, it wasn’t a good question…
Lasorda: That’s a tough question to ask me right now, ‘What is
my opinion of his performance?’ I mean, you want me to tell
you what my opinion of his performance is…
Reporter: You just did…
Lasorda: That’s right. BLEEP. Guy hits three home runs
against us. BLEEP.
College Football
Being a Mets fan, one’s thoughts almost always turn to college
and pro football at this time of year.
Preseason top five…Sports Illustrated
1. USC
2. Oklahoma
3. LSU
4. Georgia
5. Miami
AP
1. USC
2. Oklahoma
3. Georgia
4. LSU
5. Florida State
Out of 117 Division I-A football teams, Nebraska was #21 in the
SI poll, Notre Dame #41 and Penn State #50. Joe Paterno is not
going to enjoy his year, nor are the fans. And by the way, I was
surprised to see UConn at just #65 after they went 9-3 in 2003
while returning one of the more exciting quarterbacks in Dan
Orlovsky. As for my Demon Deacons of Wake Forest, well, you
already know we’re waiting for basketball. After all, we just
added football powers Miami and Virginia Tech to the conference.
A little school like us is toast. Sports Illustrated has Wake #71.
And SI’s early picks for the Heisman Trophy are:
Matt Leinart, QB, USC
Darren Sproles, RB, Kansas State…I’ll go with him.
Jason White, QB, Oklahoma…attempting to become the first
two-time winner since Archie Griffin. But seriously, how many
of you remembered White won last year? I forgot. The guy
flamed out big time when it counted.
Chris Leak, QB, Florida…and just a soph
David Greene, QB, Georgia
USC’s female cheerleaders should be thrown into the mix, just
because.
And the bottom three teams in the nation, according to Sports
Illustrated, are……
115. Army
116. Idaho
117. Buffalo
**Win free beer! Wait until your partner at the bar has had a few
too many and ask him or her to identify the 9 states without a
Division I-A football program. It’s not that hard, which is why
you need to wait until later in the evening. [Alaska, Delaware,
Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North / South Dakota, Rhode
Island, Vermont]
Stuff
–The other day I commented on Carl Eller’s speech at his
induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, one in which he
pleaded with black youth to get their act together. Anyway, on
Friday the Wall Street Journal had an editorial praising Eller and
Bill Cosby for their recent statements on the plight of African-
American males.
“Notwithstanding some of the flak that the two men have taken,
we suspect that public comments such as Mr. Eller’s and Mr.
Cosby’s mark the beginning rather than the end of a badly
needed debate about changing the place of young black men in
American society, a place that all too often ends up being a
prison cell. As Mr. Eller put it on Sunday: ‘This is not the future
we fought for in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s.’ Who could disagree?”
–Former Mets broadcaster Gary Thorne at the memorial service
last week for Hall of Famer Bob Murphy.
“The best place to be after a game was on a bar stool, sitting in
the middle, with Bob on one side and Ralph (Kiner) on the other.
Ralph would start telling a story about a game in 1964 against
the Cardinals and he would say the score was 4-3, and Murph
would say, ‘Ralph, it was 3-2, get it right.’”
And for you old-timers out there, any mention of Kiner and the
60s brings back memories of the Rheingold Chug-a-Mug.
–Oh, it’s going to be interesting to see how receiver Terrell
Owens handles being in Philadelphia. He’s already in hot water
for his statement in a Playboy interview that former teammate
Jeff Garcia is gay. Garcia said “It is really a waste of my time to
sit here and to have to answer to such ridiculous, untrue
comments.” Owens backed off later.
–Dan D., out in Honolulu land, just can’t understand why golf
coverage can’t include a pointer on the screen to show where the
ball is on some shots. I agree with him. [Dan and I had a mean
putting contest in Hawaii 1 ½ years ago, and he’s itching for a
rematch, but I’m running low on frequent flyer miles.]
–Uh oh…here’s an ugly one. A Houston dentist became the 7th
victim in Texas this year to die from vibrio vulnificus; flesh-
eating disease. On July 15, Kenneth Creamer “slipped on a dock
during a fishing trip. Within days, both of Creamer’s legs had to
be amputated and he went into a coma.” [AP / Houston Chronicle]
Experts say the bacteria is common in the Gulf and can be
ingested in contaminated seafood or absorbed through skin
wounds. That’s rather scary, to say the least.
–Be honest…how many of you are really watching the
Olympics? I caught a little of the disastrous U.S. / Puerto Rico
basketball game. Geezuz, we sucked. Otherwise, wake me up
when track and field starts.
But it’s time for another Olympic tidbit, going back to about
300-500 B.C., when the most popular sport was the pankration;
“a vicious mix of wrestling, boxing, and street fighting in which
punches, kicks to the groin, shoulder and ankle dislocations, and
chokeholds all were allowed. Only biting and eye gouging were
forbidden.” [U.S. News & World Report] Sounds just like the
kind of action you see when Hillary Duff and Lindsey Lohan
hook up these days.
And when it came to chariot races, sometimes as many as 40,
four-horse teams raced at once; 12 laps around the hippodrome.
Sophocles himself once wrote of the crashes that were a common
occurrence in these wild events.
“As the crowd saw the driver somersault, there rose a wail of pity
for the youth, as he was bounced onto the ground, then flung
head over heels into the sky. When his companions caught the
runaway team and freed the blood-stained corpse from his rig, he
was disfigured and marred past the recognition of his best
friend.” Bummer….. [U.S. News]
Lastly, there was Milo of Kroton, the only wrestler to show up
for the 520 B.C. games. No one wanted to compete against this
famous strongman, Kroton having previously kicked butt in at
least six Olympiads. Howard Cosell would have turned this guy
into a mega-media star.
–Bangladesh is all pissed off at India because India isn’t
controlling about 200 stray elephants that make their way across
the border and crush the villagers. Some 40 Bangladeshis are
killed by elephants each year. You should know by now whose
side I’m on.
–And here’s another horrific story. Last Thursday the New York
area had some wicked storms and these two young people in
Queens were caught in their car on a flooded street. So they got
out…………zzzap! Both were fried beyond recognition, though
later identified. Seriously, never get out of the car like this.
They didn’t know a live wire had come down in the water.
–Back to the Olympics, with the U.S. Open in just about a week,
why would you watch the tennis in Athens?
–Sorry to be so apathetic about the Games. I am happy, though,
for the likes of Puerto Rico and South Africa, the latter with
a big win in the pool against the Americans. These triumphs
are far more meaningful to these folks and we salute them.
–So I’m looking through the Sunday New York Times, Metro
section, and there is this picture of Mariah Carey with some
Fresh Air Fund campers. Sorry, I realize 99% of you don’t have
access to the New York edition, but trust me, guys. You’d be
trying to figure out how you too can qualify to be a camper.
Personally, I guess I’m too old.
–Despite all of Tiger Woods’s problems this year on the golf
course (any guy with $100s of millions and a fiancé like Elin
Nordegren only has problems on the course, not off it); this is
one guy with a lot of pride. It really was great how he dug in to
make the cut this week, extending his record consecutive cuts
streak to 129. Almost as impressive is the fact Woods has made
all 32 cuts in majors he has played as a pro.
–Julia Child was a cool babe. Wouldn’t she have been a great
neighbor? Imagine her calling to you from the other side of the
fence, “Editor, I just whipped up some Coquille St. Jacques
…care for a bite?” “Coming right over, Ms. Child. Can I bring
the wine?” She always had that great sense of humor and you
have to admire how loyal she was to public television in never
selling out. Her story is also another example of how the
publishing business can be so hit and miss. Child’s classic “The
Art of French Cooking” was rejected by Houghton Mifflin before
Alfred A. Knopf picked it up. Doh!
And remember, when browning meat, it’s all about “hot oil, dry
meat and don’t crowd the pan.”
–Yikes! Did you see the story about the ant colony in
Melbourne, Australia? They say it stretches some 62 miles!
Turns out they’re from Argentina, imported years ago, and
they’re spreading all over the country. Picture seeing one in your
kitchen, and knowing the line stretches that far. You’d have to
start packing immediately…at least I would.
–Arizona’s Randy Johnson is 12-10 on a team that is 36-83.
Ergo, take him away and the Diamondbacks would be gunning
for one of the two or three worst seasons in the history of the
game.
–The other day Barry Bonds broke the record for consecutive
seasons with 30 home runs, 13. Jimmie Foxx had 12. Jim
Thome, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Mike Schmidt, Eddie
Mathews, and Lou Gehrig had 9. [Thome’s 9th is this season.
Sosa has a shot at 10 this year. Not likely with Palmeiro.]
–How cool are the Cleveland Indians? Right there in the wild
card chase with the league’s most exciting everyday lineup.
–Ken Griffey Jr. is out for the season with another hamstring
injury, the kind we wanted Bonds to get the last few years. In
fact, this time Griffey tore the hamstring right “off the bone,” a
complete rupture. Ouch!
–The New York Mets’ Jose Reyes had another leg injury, his 7th,
and he’s just 21. This time it’s a stress fracture so they had to
shoot him.
–Jason Giambi still hasn’t revealed where his benign tumor was,
though of course he’s claiming it has nothing to do with his
juicing up the past few years. This is one weird dude. New
York fans are going to be eating and spitting him out the rest of
the way. He’ll be crying for his mother.
Top 3 songs for the week of 8/15/70: #1 “(They Long To Be)
Close To You” (Carpenters) #2 “Make It With You” (Bread) #3
“Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” (Stevie Wonder…
schmaltz week….but at least #4 was “Spill The Wine” (Eric
Burdon & War)
San Francisco Giants Quiz Answers: 1) At least two MVPs:
Carl Hubbell…1933, 36; Willie Mays…1954, 65; Barry Bonds
…1993, 2001, 02, 03. 2) The Giants last won the Series in 1954.
3) Mike McCormick, 1967, is the only Cy Young winner. [You
could win some coin on this one.] 4) Ron Bryant was the last
Giant hurler to win 24 games in a season, 1973 (24-12). 5) Only
three to hit 50 HR: Barry Bonds…73; Willie Mays…52, 51;
Johnny Mize…51. 6) Mel Ott holds the single season RBI mark
with 151 in 1929.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday. 1894. Why? Because.
