San Francisco 49ers Quiz (1950-2003): 1) Who was the coach
from 1968-75? 2) Who holds the record for most rushing yards,
season, with 1,570? 3) Who holds the record for most passing
yards, season, at 4,278. 4) Who was the last to have 10
interceptions in a season? [1986] 5) Who holds the record for
most TDs, season, at 23? 6) Who kicked six field goals in a
game back in 1983? [Hint: R.W.] Answers below.
STOP THE PRESSES!
Last July 27 in this space I said Lance Armstrong had locked up
Sports Illustrated’s “Sportsman of the Year” award. But not so
fast I mused Sunday afternoon. For Vijay Singh won his 8th
PGA event of the year. 8! No one else has won more than 2, for
crying out loud. And it was just August 24 that I wrote that
Vijay is the Barry Bonds of his sport, with all the success he
has had after turning 40. All he’s done since that comment is
win his last three tournaments.
Vijay has 11 wins in the last two years after turning 40 and 23
overall now, tying him for second with Phil Mickelson among
active golfers behind Tiger’s 40 triumphs. And to top it all off,
Vijay Singh just broke Tiger’s record for earnings in a season,
almost $9.5 million. All from a man known universally as the
hardest worker in the sport. It’s an awesome story and finally
golf fans are beginning to recognize him for what he is, one of
the all-time greats. Here’s a toast to you, Vijay. And a place in
the Bar Chat Hall of Fame whenever we get around to building
it.
Stuff
–College Football Review
Geezuz, no big upsets and just a handful thus far this year.
Actually, if you take away Troy beating Missouri, which looking
back wasn’t that big a deal, no single game stands out.
Wake Forest, by some accounts, pulled off a minor upset in
beating Boston College, but we did it last year as well.
I guess we have to congratulate Notre Dame on advancing to 3-1.
And thankfully, my USC cheerleaders came back to defeat upset-
minded Stanford.
Navy is 4-0! One seat left on the bandwagon.
Game of the year…Oct. 9…Cal vs. USC.
Finally, Boise State ran its leading winning streak to 15 with a
Friday night victory over BYU, 28-27.
–Last week’s Miss America pageant drew the lowest ratings in
the history of the telecast, 50 years, just 9.8 million vs. over 25
million as recently as 1995. Skimpier bathing suits didn’t help,
which means there’s only one thing to do go to cable and go
topless well, what would you do?!
–So at the 84 Lumber Classic on Thursday I walked with the
threesome of Tommy Armour III, Wake alum Len Mattiace and
my new favorite, Carlos Franco. Folks, what you see on
television with Franco is the real deal, straight down to his un-
ironed slacks. He just seems like a genuine, down to earth guy.
Tommy Armour, on the other hand, is one cocky SOB and I saw
something you just don’t see on weekend telecasts. Armour hit a
tee shot on a par 4 that went all of 120 yards. It barely left the
ground and slammed into the ladies tee. Since it was early in the
morning and these guys were teeing off #10 to start (which was
at the far end of the course), the only spectator aside from me to
witness this was one of Franco’s friends. We were startled.
Armour ended up with a bogey…and then birdied the
next, which is why these guys are pros and I can’t break 90.
I mentioned awhile back that K.J. Choi has a nasty reputation for
being ‘never wrong’ and firing caddies at will. So as I’m waiting
for Franco’s group to tee off, Choi is in the group in front of
them and his caddy was on the tee box, forgetting his coverall
with his golfer’s name on it. Uh oh, I thought. Sure enough,
Choi noticed and this older guy goes sprinting back to the hut to
get his uniform. I thought K.J. was going to explode. Not sure if
the caddy survived the tournament, though K.J. ended up with a
top ten.
–I mentioned this elsewhere on this site, but it bears repeating
that Tiger Woods’s dropping out of this week’s event, giving the
sponsors all of two days notice, was a move worthy of being
awarded “Dirtball of the Week.” The folks promoting the
tournament were screwed big time, as were the thousands who
purchased tickets beforehand solely to see Tiger. Under PGA
rules, you are supposed to be fined or penalized for not giving at
least a week’s notice though I don’t know how often this is
levied, the Tour being very secretive about its policies.
–I saw that Maya Angelou was on the “Today Show” Thursday,
though thankfully I missed her appearance. But if she was doing
a poem on golf, I imagine it would go something like this.
The putter the ball the hole
Bermuda grass a squirrel the hunter
Leaves roots shiny dew
All quiet awaiting autumn.
Aarghhhhh!
–History tidbit. Next to my parking spot for the golf tournament
was the grave of British Maj. Gen. Edward Braddock. It was in
the summer of 1755 that Braddock assembled what was then the
largest military force on North American soil up to that point,
some 2,400 troops, as he prepared for an assault on the French at
Fort Duquesne, near present-day Pittsburgh. Braddock was with
1,400 of them (the other 1,000 were not far away) when a few
miles from Fort Duquesne he confronted 200 French and 600
Indians. Unbelievably, the British suffered 900 casualties out of
the 1,400, most killed and Braddock himself was mortally
wounded.
But before he died, his soldiers were taking him back towards
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort well, Nemacolin wasn’t built
until a few years ago, actually when Braddock breathed his
last, so they buried him right there, along route 40 well, route
40 hadn’t been built yet, to be honest.
Anyway, in about 1804 folks were digging up the area for a more
formal road and discovered his body, and then in the early 1900s
the good folks of the area gave him a more formal burial with an
historic marker and all. A good money-maker would be to set up
a little concession stand, offering some hearty stout from a fellow
dressed in period garb. At least that’s my opinion.
–Billy Reay died the other day. For us lovers of the National
Hockey League, circa 1960s and 70s (the sport’s best era by far),
Reay was the coach of the Blackhawks for 14 seasons, 1963-77,
compiling a 516-335-161 record.
–Sports Illustrated is celebrating its 50th anniversary and took a
poll of 1,000 of its readers. The most popular athlete over this
period was deemed to be Michael Jordan, selected by 56%, with
Muhammad Ali second at 16% and Dale Earnhardt third with
11%. Of course this is skewed by the relative youth of those
participating in the survey, otherwise Arnold Palmer wouldn’t
have garnered just 5% and Mickey Mantle only 4%.
I did find the six listed selections for “Most underappreciated” an
interesting lot.
Emmitt Smith (18%), Roberto Clemente (18%), Hank Aaron
(16%), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15%), Pete Sampras (14%), Oscar
Robertson (9%). Good picks.
And SI picked its 10 “Dumbest Sports Moments,” including the
Minnesota Vikings’ trade for Herschel Walker and Mike Tyson
biting a piece off of Evander Holyfield’s ear. Here are two
others I particularly liked.
Jan. 30, 1999
“The night before Super Bowl XXXIII, Atlanta Falcons free
safety Eugene Robinson leaves his wife and two children in a
Miami hotel and propositions an undercover cop posing as a
prostitute. He does so 100 yards from a police sub-station. With
5,000 sportswriters in town. Hours after accepting the Bart Starr
Award from Athletes in Action for exhibiting ‘high moral
character.’ The next day he gets torched on an 80-yard John
Elway-to-Rod Smith touchdown pass in Atlanta’s 34-19 loss to
the Broncos. Coo-coo-ca-choo, Mr. Robinson.”
April 14, 1968
“Roberto de Vicenzo shoots a final-round 65 at the Masters, but
his playing partner accidentally puts him down for a par 4 on
number 17, instead of the birdie 3 de Vicenzo actually made.
When de Vicenzo signs this incorrect card, 66 becomes his
official posting, and he misses the green jacket by one phantom
stroke. Afterward de Vicenzo’s spirit and English are both
broken. ‘I lose my brain,’ he says of his gaffe, then he utters the
most famous line of self-flagellation in all of sport. Speaking for
so many others, he says, ‘What a stupid I am.’”
–Am I the only one who finds the Olsen twins hard to look at?
Are they supposed to be cute?
–“Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon, fresh off her Emmy
award, announced to the world she has abandoned her husband
and two kids to become a lesbian. Huh.
–When I was in Shanghai this past spring I told you how I
almost got killed crossing my first street there because I didn’t
realize that when pedestrians have the green light, cars still make
a right turn on red without stopping. That’s when I went the
human shield route.
So I got a kick out of an item over the weekend concerning
Shanghai’s Formula One race, the first ever in China. A few
days before the event, Rubens Barrichello, who ended up
winning it, said it was “more dangerous to cross the street” in
Shanghai then to race. So if you head over there, you’ve had
more than ample warning. Another example of what we like to
call the “Bar Chat Advantage.”
–Harold Zinkin died. He was “Mr. California” in 1941 and a
regular at Santa Monica’s Muscle Beach at a time when others
such as Jack LaLanne, Joe Gold (Gold’s Gym) and Vic Tanny
were working out and formulating business ideas. It was Zinkin,
though, who over a period of time in the 1950s created the
Universal Gym Machine.
–Did you see that former running back Ricky Williams is
fighting the Miami Dolphins on the issue of an $8.6 million
bonus he received from the team? An arbitrator just ruled that
Ricky of course had to pay it back since he breached his contract
that was to run through 2007 when he suddenly announced he
was retiring last spring. Why is this even a question? Should
Ricky decide to return in order to attempt to keep the money,
he’d still face suspension from the NFL for violating the league’s
drug rules. Throw Ricky’s name into the hopper for Bar Chat
“Dirtball of the Year.”
–A.L. West through Sunday
Oakland…88-67
Anaheim…87-68…1 GB
Texas……86-69…2
–N.L. Wild-Card
Chicago…87-68
San Fran..87-69…1/2
Houston…86-70…1 1/2
–Seattle’s Ichiro looks to be set to break the all-time single
season hit record this week. But he’s been getting some grief,
unjustified in my book, for his lack of power. For example, here
is a list of the others who had 250 hits and their number of extra-
base hits compared to Ichiro.
George Sisler 1922 257 hits 86 extra-base hits
Lefty O’Doul 1929 254 ..73
Bill Terry ..1930 254 ..77
Al Simmons ..1925 253 ..79
Rogers Hornsby 1922 250 ….102
Chuck Klein ..1930 250 ….107
Ichiro 2004…251 .36* [7 games to play]
*Through Sunday. Since May 1, Ichiro is hitting about .395.
–Cubs pitcher Greg Maddux set another record in reaching 15
victories for a record 17 consecutive seasons. Pretty amazing
stuff in this day and age.
–Who leads the National League in RBI? How many of you
knew it was Vinny Castilla? Of course he plays in Colorado so
take 30 away from his 128.
–The Orioles went after Miguel Tejada hard last off-season and
it’s paid off. 142 runs batted in and a .314 average.
–On Saturday, Barry Bonds had the following line in his game
against the Dodgers.
0..0..0..0..5..0 .five walks, 3 intentional.
–The Mets played the Expos in Montreal last week and in two of
the contests the paid crowd was under 4,000.
But the Metsies just took 2 of 3 from the Cubs who are
struggling for the wild-card. Sammy Sosa, wearing down after
all the steroids he’s taken, was 0 for 12 in the series and is now
mired in a 5 for 41 slump at the worst possible time.
–Not for nothing, but Roger Clemens will win the N.L. Cy
Young Award pretty incredible for a guy who had retired.
–Driving back from the Pittsburgh area on Saturday I saw a sign
for Taxidermy school. I wonder how my parents would have
handled that? “Mom, Dad, I’m going to be a taxidermist.” Then
again, with all the deer hunters in Pennsylvania, it’s probably not
a bad career if you’re into that kind of thing.
–Pittsburgh is mourning the imminent closing of an institution,
legendary watering hole Chiodo’s Tavern in Homestead. 86-
year-old Joe Chiodo intended to open a shoe store following
World War II, but the only property for sale was the old Hotel
Trautman so he went into the tavern business.
Chiodo’s became a huge favorite for those working the U.S.
Steel Homestead Works a few blocks away. Now Joe is looking
to retire, to do some fishing, as he says. “I’d like to get a fishing
rod and get away from my wife.” I’m sure Mrs. Chiodo loved
seeing that in Uniontown’s Herald-Standard.
What impressed me from an AP piece on the man was the fact
Chiodo’s was the first bar in the area to offer imports! Joe was
clearly an enlightened sort.
Walgreen’s is now going to demolish the place and put up a
drugstore.
–The following is for Wake alum I was reading a local paper
in the Pittsburgh area and they had a big story on former
basketball player / turned Hollywood actor Marc Blucas, a
former Demon Deacon. He’s an Erie County product, thus the
interest in his career up that way, and he’s had major roles in
“Buffy” and is now in the current film “First Daughter.”
–I haven’t had a chance to note the passing of filmmaker Russ
Meyer, responsible for such classics as “The Immoral Mr. Teas,”
“Erotica,” “Wild Gals of the Naked West,” “Heavenly Bodies,”
and “Common Law Cabin.”
And who can forget “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” As Meyer
told the Los Angeles Times in 1999, “I love big-breasted women
with wasp waists.” Don’t we all. [Oops, sorry girls. I’ll make
sure that last comment is deleted from the home version of \’\’Bar
Chat: The Game.\’\’]
Meyer made a fortune on his low-budget flicks. 1969’s “Vixen”
earned $6 million on a $76,000 investment. And no one should
forget that the screenwriter for 1970’s “Beyond the Valley of the
Dolls” was none other than Roger Ebert. [Los Angeles Times]
–Sports Illustrated’s “This week’s sign of the apocalypse.”
Reebok has developed a $65,000 Allen Iverson shoe that has 246
diamonds.
Top 3 songs for the week of 9/24/66: #1 “Cherish” (The
Association) #2 “You Can’t Hurry Love” (The Supremes) #3
“Sunshine Superman” (Donovan)
San Francisco 49ers Quiz Answers: 1) Dick Nolan coached from
1968-75; 56-56-5. 2) Garrison Hearst is the single season
rushing leader with 1,570 yards in 1998. 3) Jeff Garcia is the
single season passing leader with 4,278 in 2000. [You could win
some coin on that one.] 4) Ronnie Lott was the last 49er to have
10 interceptions in a season, 1986. 5) Jerry Rice holds the single
season TD mark with 23 in 1987. 6) Ray Wersching kicked 6
FGs in a game back in 1983. The other 49er to do this was Jeff
Wilkins in 1996.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday. Time for some presidential election
material.
