NBA / College Basketball Quiz: How many of the 14 schools
with at least 7 players on current NBA rosters can you name?
Answer below.
**Ron Artest suspended for the rest of the season. Stephon
Jackson, 30 games. Jermaine O’Neal for 25 games. Ben
Wallace, 6. David Stern was a “great commissioner when he had
to be.” [Mike Lupica / New York Daily News]
**Congratulations to 26-year-old Kurt Busch for winning the
NASCAR / Nextel championship. Of course no one likes the
guy, but what the heck.
**Wake Forest women win 3rd straight NCAA Field Hockey
Crown! Go Deacs!
—
NBA Action…….it’s Fannnnntastic!
I have to give Johnny Mac credit for being the first to say “Hey, I
went to a basketball game and the Vibe awards broke out.”
[Peter Vecsey used it a day later.]
We’re already reaching the oversaturation stage concerning
Friday’s debacle, but it wouldn’t be Bar Chat without comment
… including that of others.
The riot mirrored “the tone of incivility in our whole culture.”
[Bob Costas]
“The lowest point for me in 30 years in the NBA,” said Bill
Walton.
The Palace of Auburn Hills… “Punkville, USA.” [Mike Lupica]
“Just the worst example we have had lately in professional sports
of people in the stands not understanding or not caring that the
ticket in their pockets does not allow them to go after Artest the
way Wallace did.” [Lupica]
“This is a real disaster for sports, not some stupid skit before
‘Monday Night Football.’” [Lupica]
“If you don’t know anything about the Palace, understand this:
Its fans are the most knowledgeable around, along with being the
most foul-mouthed and confrontational. If you don’t know
anything about Ron Artest, understand this: He’s nuts, and
should be watched every minute he’s allowed to mingle in polite
society.” [Dave D’Alessandro / Star-Ledger]
Personally, it was sickening watching the video of it all and I’m
glad I didn’t see it live. As others have described the brawl, it
was truly “revolting.” You feel for the kids in the stands and I
don’t buy the jive that because children are more sophisticated
these days about the ways of the world that this doesn’t have
much of an impact. If that were the case, then the whole rap
music industry wouldn’t have had such a negative effect on
society in general, particularly among African-Americans.
But then you have this ridiculous piece by Mark Stein on
ESPN.com titled “This isn’t doomsday for the NBA.”
“The reality that no one wants to hear is that interest in the
Detroit-Indiana rivalry, and this entire season by association, will
inevitably skyrocket in the wake of Friday night’s fights. Sorry
again, but that’s what happens in the entertainment business.
Movies and records made by actors and musicians embroiled in
controversy always get more pub and profit. That’s how it will
happen in the hoops world, no matter how unsavory or unsightly
the driving force was….
“I have no doubt the league will emerge stronger from all this,
after the waves of shock and anger.”
Hey, I don’t believe the whole incident spells doomsday for the
NBA, but Mr. Stein is employing a trick all too common in
journalism these days in creating a story angle where there isn’t
one. I just defy anyone to give me one convincing reason why
the fight was a positive. Better fan and player behavior
afterwards? I sure hope so. Better attendance and television
ratings (beyond a spike on Christmas Day when these two match
up again), I think not. If I’m wrong I’ll admit it. Seeing how
Indiana fares after the suspensions is mildly intriguing, I grant
you.
Stuff
–Happy 200th Birthday, Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the
United States (1853-57).
Pierce was born on November 23, 1804 in Hillsboro, New
Hampshire. As historian Martin Luray wrote, “History is never
kind to losers. Victors not only divide the spoils, they grow in
stature over time. Henry Clay might have said that he would
‘rather be right than be President,’ but he did not mean it. Clay
and William Jennings Bryan, both perennial losers in presidential
races, wanted the presidency and thought they deserved it – but
the voters disagreed. And sometimes winners ultimately fail, and
they, too, become part of the dustheap of history.”
“Franklin Pierce was such a president.”
Pierce, a Democrat, was a hero of the Mexican War who
handily defeated his old commander, Winfield Scott, in the
election. But in January 1853, the Pierces were on a train from
Boston to Concord when their railroad car derailed. Franklin’s
son, Bennie, just 11, was killed, while Franklin and his wife were
hardly scratched. This was the third child they had lost, none
remained, and Mrs. Pierce “was a melancholy martyr residing in
a place she detested.” Since Pierce was still in mourning, no
inaugural ball was held.
In 1854 President Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act which
proved to be critical in the run up to the Civil War as it worsened
sectional tensions on the issue of slavery. The North aided the
abolitionists in Kansas and the South sent proslavery settlers into
the disputed territory. It turned bloody and Pierce lost the party
nomination for a second term to James Buchanan.
One little side note. Historian Luray writes Pierce’s post-
president reputation suffered a crushing blow on July 4, 1863,
“when, speaking at a Democratic rally in Concord, he
condemned the ‘fearful, fruitless, [and] fatal Civil War.’ As the
meeting ended, news came of the great Northern victory at
Gettysburg.” Pierce’s wife died later that year and the former
president lived out his remaining years in Concord, snubbed by
his native New England until his death on October 8, 1869.
[Source: “American Heritage: The Presidents,” edited by
Michael Beschloss]
–College Football Review
We’ll go through the BCS next time, but for now suffice it to say
Utah is in, either the Fiesta or Sugar Bowl. But the big
controversy will be over Auburn, assuming it wins the SEC
championship game December 4. Auburn will probably remain
3rd in the next BCS poll, meaning the national title game would
be USC vs. Oklahoma, the Orange Bowl, as it stands today.
California would also appear to be in the BCS.
ESPN / USA Today poll
1. USC…11-0
2. Oklahoma…11-0
3. Auburn…11-0
4. California…9-1
5. Texas…9-1…won’t make BCS
6. Utah…11-0
7. Georgia…8-2
8. Louisville…8-1
9. Miami…8-2…kicked Wake’s butt, 52-7…ughh
10. Boise State…still undefeated but no cigar re: BCS
The biggest choke job of the weekend was Michigan’s 37-21 loss
to Ohio State. Disgraceful. But Michigan still goes to the Rose
Bowl by virtue of its win over Big Ten co-champ Iowa.
Meanwhile, Joe Paterno finished the season on a high note,
defeating the greatest 5-5 team in the history of college football,
Michigan State. Penn State’s 4-7 mark nonetheless represents its
fourth losing season in five.
And then there was Rutgers. Manny R.’s missive was
representative of the notes I received from Rutgers fans last week
following my pronouncement on Michigan State, the Scarlet
Knights having defeated them in the first game of the year.
Ignoring 4-5 Rutgers was a travesty, he said, though Manny
added, “I still thought it was better back in my day when they
were regularly beaten by Columbia, Bucknell, Lafayette and
Brown. There is a certain dignity in being beaten by top
academic institutions. Anyone can lose to ‘student athletes’ at
Oklahoma or Florida State. It takes a rare talent to lose to
Brown.”
Well Manny, and the rest of you Rutgers fans, this weekend
you lost to Navy, another top academic institution. In fact you
gave up 476 yards rushing in getting waxed 54-21. My 8-2
Midshipmen are going bowling. It was worth staying on the
bandwagon. Rutgers, on the other hand, clinched another losing
season, its 12th in a row.
But here’s a special report on the Division II playoffs from
Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania’s Johnny Mac, who was in attendance
at the East Stroudsburg – Edinboro game, Johnny being a huge
ESU fan.
“One of the best games ever…sloppy field, too many turnovers,
and alousy kicking game had ESU down 3 with three to play
despite a big advantage in total yards. ESU drove to the
Edinboro 32 and had fourth and ten. The star QB was flushed
out of the pocket, grabbed, and looked to be going down but he
heaved the ball, just trying to avoid the sack. The cornerback
attempted to pick it off, it slipped right through his hands and an
ESU receiver, on his back, reached out and grabbed it with one
hand. First down!
Three incompletions followed so it was 4th and 10 yet again from
the 19. Our kicker had a lousy day so they elected to go for it.
QB flushed out, running to his left, spots a guy in the left corner
of the end zone and hits him for the winning touchdown.
ESU 36 Edinboro 32. And since #1 seed Shippensburg was
upset by West Chester, ESU hosts the regional finals next
Saturday. Now doesn’t this beat the NBA hands down?!
–NFL
Just check out the race in the AFC for playoff slots.
New England…8-1 [play Monday night]
Jets…7-3
Indianapolis…7-3
Jacksonville…6-4
Pittsburgh…9-1
Baltimore…7-3
Denver…7-3
San Diego…7-3
By contrast, here’s the NFC
Philadelphia…9-1
Giants…5-5
Atlanta…8-2
Minnesota…6-4
Green Bay…6-4
Seattle…6-4
St. Louis…5-5
Eddie George watch…125 carries, 416 yards, 3.3 avg.
Peyton Manning is up to 35 TD passes in just 10 games; already
a franchise record. Marino’s 48 is a lock to go down.
–Fred Hale Sr., one of the world’s oldest men, died at age 113
on Friday, just 12 days shy of his 114th birthday. Picture this.
Hale was born on December 1, 1890 (the same year as the Battle
of Wounded Knee) and had a lifelong passion for the Red Sox.
He was thus 27 when Boston won in 1918. 86 years later he got
to see another World Series title.
–Sunday marked the 40th birthday for the Verrazano-Narrows
Bridge, still the longest suspension bridge in the U.S. But did
you know that each of the four cables, which measure 7,205 feet
long and 36 inches in diameter, was made from 143,000 miles of
pencil-thin wire – more than half the distance to the moon if laid
end to end?
–Qualifying for the 2006 World Cup has been going on the past
few months and for you soccer fanatics there was an interesting
situation involving China and its bid to get past the preliminary
round.
China needed to end up with two more goals than Kuwait
between the respective teams’ matches to move on and China
defeated Hong Kong 7-0. At one point when China was up 5-0,
the team and spectators knew that Kuwait was tied 1-1 at the half
of its match with Malaysia.
But Kuwait came back to win 6-1 so China fell one goal short.
Thankfully the spectators in Guangzhou handled it well, even as
the Asian Football Confederation is uneasy about possible
“funny business,” seeing how high the goal totals were for the
victors.
–25 Athens-based lawyers are suing Warner Brothers for the
depiction of Alexander the Great as swinging from both sides in
the upcoming epic “Alexander.” Said one of the attorneys, “We
cannot come out and say that President John F. Kennedy was a
shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers and so Warner cannot
come out and say Alexander was gay.” [I thought Jerry West
was the shooting guard back then?]
–A serious item. In this age of terror it’s easy to forget just how
awful it was in Northern Ireland and Britain during the height of
the “Troubles.” In 1974, for example, 304 were killed in
shootings and bombings. The ringleader one particularly ugly
day in ’74 was Mick Murray. Murray, an IRA bombmaker and
strategist, helped plant two devices at the Mulberry Bush and
Tavern in the Town pubs in Birmingham. But he was supposed
to call in a telephone warning, using the accepted code that
would have allowed about 30 minutes for patrons to clear the
pubs. He botched it because he had trouble finding the right
phone number and by the time he called in there were just six
minutes left and he didn’t name either pub. 21 were killed in the
two almost simultaneous explosions. Murray died in 1999.
[Times of London]
–Jeff B. passed along this note. Evidently, the Amazing Kreskin
“has offered his services to New Jersey, claiming he can use his
powers as ‘the world’s foremost mentalist’ to ferret out
corruption in state government by monitoring government
meetings. ‘If a person is coming in with a strong hidden agenda,
they’re thinking about it. They’re focusing on it,’ he told the AP
last week. ‘I could get a…strong sense [of that.]’”
As much as I’d like to see my state cleaned up, I’d rather Kreskin
were on the sidelines of the New York Jets, helping Herm
Edwards figure out what his opponent is throwing at him. What
an ugly win over Cleveland, Sunday.
–College Basketball
Sports Illustrated’s Top Ten
1. North Carolina
2. Oklahoma State
3. Wake Forest
4. Kansas
5. Georgia Tech
6. Syracuse
7. UConn
8. Kentucky
9. Illinois
10. Maryland
So what happens? North Carolina lost to Santa Clara, 77-66!
And this is a Santa Clara squad that earlier in the week lost to
New Mexico by 34. Actually, I’m now scared to death of a
December game Wake Forest has down in Albuquerque.
[This just in from Phil W. The Tar Heels also lost to Santa Clara
in the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament, shut out 1-0. Their
last loss had been about two years ago, again to Santa Clara in the
NCAA semis two years ago. Since then the Lady Heels had a
record of 47-0-2. Thanks, Phil.]
Back to college b-ball, kudos to Vermont for giving #1 Kansas
(in most other polls) a super battle before succumbing 68-61.
Vermont is a legitimate top 30 or so team and could get as high
as a #9 seed come next spring. [Just threw that in for the
archives.]
And a further sign of strength in the ACC this season. [UNC will
be back.] Virginia, picked to finish 8th in the conference,
whipped #10 Arizona 78-60.
–Norman Rose, the voice of Juan Valdez, died. Yes, he was the
man behind the commercials for Colombian coffee. “We pick
only the ripest coca plants, err, beans.”
–Manny R. was impressed I received my letter to be in
“Strathmore’s Who’s Who.” Yes, it was quite an honor. But it
turns out Manny, who hails from Long Island, also got a letter
and he’s asking Strathmore to include the time he slept 47
consecutive hours after……well, I probably shouldn’t go there.
–Wow, big bear story in New Jersey. The other day there was a
blurb that two Boy Scouts had had a minor encounter with a bear
on a campout in the western part of the state. Nothing serious.
But now the true story has been released. This was almost a
disaster.
According to Brian T. Murray of the Star-Ledger, it turns out that
the boys, age 13 and 14, were assaulted by two bear cubs and
their mother for about an hour as they climbed up on a rock to
escape. The bears pawed at them, biting one and scratching
another, before help finally arrived.
“One of the boys was bitten twice by a cub. The animal first bit
down on the boy’s left arm…and then bit the boy’s right hand,
leaving three puncture wounds….The second boy escaped injury
when the second cub bit his coat sleeve – but missed his arm –
and tried to pull him off the rock.”
The state wasn’t going to release the report until pressured by the
Ledger. So here’s the full account.
“Saturday’s incident (a week ago) occurred after three Scouts
began a compass exercise. The third boy went ahead to plot the
course, but left behind a backpack that included a Pop-Tart.
“Within minutes, the three bears approached and immediately
began ripping through the bag, sending the two Scouts running
for cover, according to the report. The cubs spotted the cowering
Scouts, approached them and began pawing at the boys, the
report said.
“ ‘As this was occurring, the third Scout returned to find his
fellow companions surrounded by bears. He cautiously retreated
from the area and ran to the main part of the camp to get
assistance from the troop leaders,’ the report said. ‘People
arrived with pots and pans and managed to chase the bears from
the area.’”
No one has ever been killed by a black bear in New Jersey, even
going back to colonial times…or so the story goes in these parts.
But a side controversy to this tale is the fact that New Jersey is
still trying to decide whether or not to hold its second bear hunt.
The Federation of New Jersey Sportsmen’s Clubs claims the
state DEP commissioner withheld the information because he
doesn’t want to see a hunt and obviously this episode plays into
the hands of those saying it’s necessary.
–Art Moreno, owner of the Anaheim Angels, is still trying to
change his club’s name to the Los Angeles Angels. Moreno
claims it will help marketing and branding, while the city of
Anaheim is now super ticked off because it sees Moreno’s move
as an act of betrayal.
Anaheim is in Orange County and a vast majority of the residents
want nothing to do with Los Angeles. Years ago, the Angels’
original owner, Gene Autry, didn’t like the Anaheim name either
but when he moved the team from Los Angeles to Anaheim in
the 60s he renamed them the California Angels. In 1997,
Anaheim got its name as part of a deal with Disney and the new
park.
–Boy there was a lot going on in “Desperate Housewives” this
week. It’s as if the producers didn’t think the show would be
renewed. Geezuz, slow down a little. I can’t keep up. [Is Terri
Hatcher’s daughter the greatest kid or what?]
–Songwriter Terry Melcher passed away at age 62. The son of
actress Doris Day, Melcher had one interesting life. In the early
60s he paired with Bruce Johnston (later of the Beach Boys) to
form the Rip Chords, which recorded the 1964 hit “Hey, Little
Cobra.” A few years later he was a producer at Columbia
Records and produced the Byrds “Mr. Tambourine Man” and
“Turn, Turn, Turn.” Then he did work for Paul Revere and the
Raiders, as well as the Mamas and the Papas and Gram Parsons.
But in 1969 Melcher’s name was linked to Charles Manson.
Melcher had once rented the home where actress Sharon Tate
and some of her friends were murdered by Manson and his
followers. Melcher was initially thought to be the target because
he had once turned down Manson for a record contract. But
police later dismissed this idea. [AP]
Top 3 songs for the week of 11/25/78: #1 “MacArthur Park”
(Donna Summer…only slightly better than the Richard Harris
version) #2 “Double Vision” (Foreigner) #3 “How Much I
Feel” (Ambrosia)
NBA / College Quiz Answer: Colleges with the most players on
NBA rosters –
Kentucky…13
Duke…10
UConn…9
Arizona, North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA…8
California, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Michigan,
Michigan State, Stanford…7
[Xavier is the lone school with 6]
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
