[Due to scheduling issues…posted Sunday PM]
U.S. Open Golf Quiz: 1) Name the five to win 3 or more Opens.
2) Who am I? I finished second in 1986 and 1989. 3) Who
finished 2nd to Jim Furyk in 2003? 4) Who is the last European
to win? Answers below.
Bear Attack
It was bound to happen, after all I’ve written. No, yours truly
wasn’t mauled by a bear over the weekend, but I did learn the
other day that a bear had entered our complex. Even the police
chief confirmed the sighting. So you can imagine what I’m
dreaming of these days. [Actually, in one the other night a tiger
was the issue. Damn feline wouldn’t leave my stoop until I woke
up.]
But since I mentioned last chat I would regale you with the true
story of Terry Everard, here we go.
It was September 1992 and Terry, from Laramie, Wyoming, was
hiking in the Sunlight Basin area in western Wyoming, near
Yellowstone National Park where some grizzlies had recently
been displaced for causing too much trouble. Terry was
concerned these bruins had found their way to Sunlight. [Or
would it be “running for daylight”?] Two years earlier Terry had
watched a documentary on bear attacks. The knowledge gained
would come in handy.
And so as Terry and companion Lonnie were on their way to a
hunting camp, Terry’s life in particular was about to change. As
Terry himself described it in Brad Garfield’s book “Bear vs.
Man”:
“The grizzly mirrored our direction, 75 yards away, moving
through the trees as we hiked down the mountain trail. It was a
mother with two cubs, curiously watching us as we walked and
contemplated her next move.
“She let out a loud woof and her cubs started to run. She
followed them and then stopped about 60 yards away from us,
stood up on her hind legs, sniffed in the air and stared at us with
beady little eyes. The cubs were still running away. We
stopped, loaded our guns, and stood side by side in case she
charged. The sow dropped to her feet and disappeared.”
Turns out the bear headed in the opposite direction. But…..four
days later, Terry, now alone, encountered another grizzly, or
possibly the same one, and it got ugly.
“I was walking downhill quietly, like a bow hunter, in a zig zag
motion, when I caught a slight movement out of the corner of my
left eye. I turned and there she was….
“As soon as she saw me, I saw her black eyes glare at me and
then, without warning, she dropped and became a blurred brown
object barreling at me. I instinctively went into a defensive
mode. I immediately dropped, face down, and placed my rifle
underneath my right elbow so I could get to it later if I needed it.
As soon as I hit the ground, she was on me.”
The grizzly went straight for Terry’s head, “biting and scraping
its teeth across his skull. Luckily, when he hunched up his
shoulders, the internal frame of his pack came up above his neck,
protecting it from being bitten. A bear bite to the neck usually
quickly kills any animal. The only things exposed were his arms
from the shoulders down, and his butt and legs, but the bear
ignored all of them, preferring to attack his head. Most
aggressive bears deliberately attack the head and neck area, and
inflict the most damage to the facial areas.” [Brad Garfield]
Terry Everard:
“She went for my head and started chewing. She wasn’t able to
get my whole head in her mouth, so when she bit down, her teeth
would grade and slide off the skull and basically lacerate my
scalp into shreds. [Ed. Oops, sorry….forgot to warn you that this
is kind of gross….we continue…] I tried to protect my head with
my hand and she reacted by sending a tooth through it. Then she
grabbed a hold of my shoulders and punctured the upper muscle
in my arm.”
[Actually, this sounds like Hillary during the White House
years.]
Well, the claws ripped into Terry’s down coat, sending feathers
flying. Terry was a goner. Blood was pouring out of his head.
Everard:
“The thing I remember most is the amount of force she used to
throw me to the ground, and her weight. She was just so strong.
I’m sure if she had wanted to, she could have grabbed me by the
shoulder and shaken me like a rag doll or ripped my arm off. I
was just so helpless. There was such a state of shock when it
happened. I just wanted the bear to leave me alone…leave me
alone and I’d get out of there.”
Garfield:
“The sow finally stopped. Terry reached with both hands to load
the rifle that was tucked beneath him. This was his only chance!
He had to get a bullet into the chamber and try to stop the bear.
Blood was literally dripping from his head, coloring the dirt in
front of him. He knew the attack had to stop; he was losing too
much blood. The instant Terry moved, the grizzly immediately
ripped into his shoulder again, growling and biting. Somehow
Terry was still able to make the action and he spun around, lifted
the barrel, and fired. Boom! At the sound of the shot the bear
jumped, ran around in a half circle and disappeared for a
moment. Terry rolled over, sat up, and chambered another
round, expecting another attack. He looked out of the corner of
his eye and could see the bear standing fifteen feet away, covered
with blood that was dripping down its brownish coat, turning it
red on one side.”
But the grizzly looked at Terry for a moment and then turned and
ran away. For his part, Terry dropped his pack and took off for
camp. Everard:
“The will to live is strong. It’s amazing what happens to your
body when adrenaline takes over. When the survival mode kicks
in, you just want to go, go, go and not stop….
“I didn’t know how much blood I had lost or the shape my head
was in, so I reached up and touched the back of my head. That’s
when I felt chunks of skin missing and could feel my skull in
different places. My shoulders were really sore.”
Well, to bring this tale to a conclusion, Terry amazingly made it
back to camp where a buddy put him on a horse and the two rode
out until they found a road where the friend could call a doctor.
Terry was operated on for 3 ½ hours and required over 250
stitches and staples “to repair nearly three feet of lacerations and
puncture wounds, most of them to Terry’s head.”
Garfield’s book has all kinds of gory pictures. I’m assuming
Terry still has nightmares.
OK, that’s enough on the bears for a while….unless someone
else gets mauled.
Oscar Robertson
Yes, there weren’t too many better than the Big O, Oscar
Robertson. In his 14 seasons in the NBA, 1960-74, Oscar
averaged 25.7 points per game, 9.5 assists, and 7.5 rebounds;
capped off by his ’61-’62 campaign when he averaged a triple
double…30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists. [It does
need to be noted scoring was up in those years…not that I’m
taking anything away from the Big O’s incredible
accomplishment.]
But I was reading a recent piece by Kenneth Shouler in Cigar
Aficionado and I thought I’d just pass along a few tidbits.
Robertson was born in 1938 in the town of Charlotte, Tennessee,
though the family soon moved to Naptown, Indiana. Oscar
began playing basketball when he was 11 and learned the game
on a court playing with adults and high schoolers from as far
away as Chicago and Detroit.
Then between his freshman and sophomore years at Crispus
Attucks High School in Indianapolis, Oscar shot up from 5’ 8” to
6’ 3”. In 1955, Attucks became the first all-black team in the
city to play for the state championship. The opponent was Gary
Roosevelt, another all-black squad featuring future NBAer Dick
Barnett. Oscar scored 30 in leading Attucks to the crown. A
year later Oscar led Attucks to a 44-game winning streak and
another title as this time Robertson torched Lafayette Jefferson
for 39 in the championship game. Recruiting for UCLA, coach
John Wooden said of Oscar, “Of all the high school players I’ve
seen, Oscar is the one that can move right into the pro ranks.”
After receiving about 75 offers, Robertson ended up at the
University of Cincinnati, where he led the country in scoring
each of his three seasons; 35.1, 32.6 and 33.7. [Remember,
freshmen weren’t eligible in those days.]
The NBA had a regional draft back then, intended to drum up
interest by keeping local college talent close to fan bases that
were most familiar with them, and Oscar, now formally “The Big
O,” ended up with the Cincinnati Royals. Unfortunately, every
time they made the playoffs they’d eventually bump up against
Red Auerbach’s Boston Celtics. [Robertson did win a title later
on with Milwaukee.]
Oscar started off making $30,000 a year, not bad as he himself
said for those times, but because he didn’t win a championship in
Cincy he didn’t always get the respect he deserved. Oscar
blamed this aspect on Cincinnati itself.
“Historically, black athletes don’t do well in this town,” he said,
citing the example of Frank Robinson who was traded from
Cincy to Baltimore while in his prime.
Robertson was also a major factor in labor negotiations with the
league, serving as president of the Players Association from 1965
to 1974, a period when conditions improved immeasurably for
everyone associated with the sport.
Lastly, The Big O, who often comes off as being bitter, certainly
has a point when talking about today’s selfish players (including
most all professional athletes in general).
“If you go to a company to work, I’m sure they will give you a
history of that company. I think that any player that plays a sport
in this country should understand the history. They should have
to read the history of the sport to find out what really went on.”
No argument here.
Stuff
–Once again Afleet Alex was phenomenal, this time in the
Belmont. That’s the most exciting horse I’ve seen in years.
–In California, a sea lion bit a surfer after the man got too close
to the animal. Witnesses said the sea lion looked sick and
scientists in the region say many are dying of a rare form of
poisoning related to algae.
But our Bar Chat camera was there and what has not come out
until now is that the victim, John Duncan, was making fun of the
sea lion, going “Arf arf arf,” just as all of us have done at one
time or another. Well, sea lions are getting tired of this, frankly,
and this particular one decided to do something about it. Can’t
say I blame it.
–Congratulations to LT who put me in my place when she said
radio legend Cousin Brucie would reemerge on Sirius Satellite
Radio following Brucie’s dismissal, along with the rest, from
WCBS-FM ten days ago. The Cuz will have three weekly shows
on Sirius.
[As for my lament that I can’t get my oldies anymore, at least on
a decent station in New York, Dan D., a good friend of the
family out in Honolulu, says he hasn’t been able to get his oldies
for over 29 years; Dan being from the Big Band and Swing eras.
Alas, he’s satiated with his Music Choice on Direct TV. In fact,
Dan says most of his television “viewing” these days is listening
to the music.]
–Now that Mike Tyson is finally hanging it up for good, do you
still think he’s happy he had that awful tattoo put on his face?
–Johnny Mac and I love listening to Mets broadcaster Ralph
Kiner, who has been with the team from the start (1962), because
he never fails to throw in a great little tidbit on the history of the
game. J. Mac related how the other night his fellow broadcasters
were talking about endorsement deals and Ralph, a tremendous
slugger in his playing days, said Wheaties had paid him $500 a
year and a case of cereal for every homer; which meant that the
year he hit 54 he had 54 cases in his garage. But then Ralph said
Wheaties got a boost when Frank Sinatra claimed it helped his
sex life. At this his partners in the booth went silent.
–Former White Sox slugger Ron Kittle has written an
autobiography, “Tales from the White Sox Dugout,” and in it he
has a story about Barry Bonds. About 12 years ago, Kittle
approached Bonds before a game about autographing jerseys for
a cancer charity. Kittle, who was retired at the time, claims
Bonds told him “I don’t sign for white people.” Barry responded
the other day.
“Who is Kittle? How long did he play? Ha! Do you guys
believe that?….Do you guys know my life history a little bit?
…One, you insult my children, who are half-white.
“I was married to a woman who was white, so let’s get real. I
don’t even know the guy. Tell him he’s an…idiot. Somebody
said he wanted a piece of me. Tell him I’m at 24 Willie Mays
Plaza and he can come get me anytime he wants to – with
pleasure. Don’t insult my family.” [USA Today]
Oh shut up, Barry.
–The other day Alex Rodriguez hit his 400th career home run,
reaching the level at a younger age than anyone in history. So
through Friday, here is the list of active players with 400 or
more.
A-Rod, 400…..crap. If Bonds doesn’t break Aaron’s mark, A-
Rod will. The guy’s a jerk.
Manny Ramirez, 401…He’ll end up around 600. No real
complaints here.
Gary Sheffield, 425….He will not reach 500. You heard it here
first. And now that we know he’s been juiced, that should keep
him out of the Hall of Fame.
Jim Thome, 426…He claims he’s been a choirboy. I’m
beginning to have my doubts. He’ll end up with 530.
Juan Gonzalez, 434…won’t reach 500.
Frank Thomas, 438…won’t reach 500. Amazing that both
Thomas and Gonzalez should fall short after the starts to their
careers.
Jeff Bagwell, 449…big time juiced. Falling apart rapidly.
Hopefully falls short of 500.
Ken Griffey Jr., 510…he’ll end up around 570, max. Another
you’d have thought would challenge Aaron years ago.
Rafael Palmeiro, 559….I’m really getting ticked he’s this high.
Never a superstar. This blows.
Sammy Sosa, 580….total freakin’ fraud.
Barry Bonds, 703….flesh-eating disease taking its time on his
knee. But I expect the leg to fall off during his next press
conference.
–The Washington Nationals have won 10 straight. You know
who I’m happy for? Manager Frank Robinson. He’s an old
school guy, proving it can still be done.
–So did you hear about that sports auction? The contract that
sent Babe Ruth from Boston to the Yankees in 1919 went for an
astounding $996,000 (including Sotheby’s commission). I did
like to see that the contract’s previous owner was donating the
proceeds to a hunger relief organization. But I had forgotten that
a 46-ounce bat used by Babe to hit the first home run in Yankee
Stadium history sold last December for $1.26 million.
Barry Bonds’ 700th home run ball went for $102,000, though
Sportsbook.com, the acquirer, said it would hand it over to the
Hall of Fame. [I’d first check it for traces of ‘juice,’ know what
I’m sayin’?]
And finally, another one of those 1911 Honus Wagner cards, of
which there are about 50 in existence, went for $132,000. I
offered my Vic Roznovsky and Chico Ruiz to Sotheby’s but they
passed.
–Annika Sorenstam won her second grand slam event of the
year, the LPGA Championship, and has now won 19 of the last
38 events she’s entered. 15-year-old Michelle Wie finished
second but I’m irritated with her. Also can’t stand her father.
–Not for nothing, but with his win this week at Congressional,
Sergio Garcia now has six titles on the PGA Tour and he’s just
25. We keep looking for the next great player and he’s been
staring us in the face for it seems like ten years now. Plus his
television commercials are the best running. Right guys?
–I can’t say I’ve seen the Paris Hilton commercial for Carl’s Jr.,
but Dog Davis writes in the Los Angeles Times, “I’ve watched it
over and over, and I think to myself, wow, that is one good-
looking burger!”
It’s a half-pound Angus beef patty, two slices of cheese, lettuce,
tomato and a spicy barbecue sauce on a sesame seed bun. “The
twist is that they’ve topped it with a handful of peppery battered
onion and jalapeno strips that are so tasty on their own that
Carl’s offers them as a side dish under the name Texas
Toothpicks.”
One burger has 1,030 calories, 61 grams of fat, 77 grams of carbs
and 42 grams of protein. Goodness gracious, I’m hungry now.
–According to my beer calendar, given to me by Lady Jean, the
typical supermarket beer customer spends 1.14 minutes at the
beer shelf while making a selection. C’mon…it should take you
no more than 10 seconds.
Top 3 songs for the week of 6/12/65: #1 “Back In My Arms
Again” (The Supremes) #2 “Wooly Bully” (Sam The Sham &
The Pharaohs…underrated tune) #3 “Crying In The Chapel”
(Elvis Presley…ditto)
U.S. Open Golf Quiz Answers: 1) The five to win 3 or more:
Willie Anderson – 1901, 03, 04, 05; Ben Hogan – 1948, 50, 51,
53; Bobby Jones – 1923, 26, 29, 30; Jack Nicklaus – 1962, 67,
72, 80; Hale Irwin – 1974, 79, 90. 2) Chip Beck finished second
in both 1986 and 89. 3) Stephen Leaney finished second to Jim
Furyk in 2003. 4) Tony Jacklin is the last European to win, all
the way back in 1970.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
