**Takeru Kobayashi wins 5th straight Nathan”s Famous Contest!**
[More next chat]
Baseball Quiz: Who are the only players on the 3,000 hit list to
have spent their entire career with one team? Answer below.
Stuff
–Luther Vandross, RIP. Sadly, the great R&B singer never
recovered from a stroke he suffered two years ago and he leaves
us all too early at the age of 54.
Vandross’s mother remarked that before he had the stroke, “I
asked him… ‘What are you trying to do? Why are you working
so hard?’ I warned him, ‘You’re going to kill yourself.’ He said,
‘I want to give them the best that’s in me. I want them to hear it
and see it.’”
The Reverend Jesse Jackson, a friend of Vandross, described him
as “a boy so mellow, so powerful; a boy of rare, rare vintage.”
Luther Ronzoni Vandross was born in New York in 1951. His
mother was a nurse and his father an upholsterer who died when
Luther was 8. Luther’s sister was a member of the doo-wop
group the Crests, who had the 1958 #2 hit “16 Candles,” and
Luther couldn’t help but be swept up in music, something his
mother helped cultivate.
In high school, Vandross followed the female singers such as
Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, the Shirelles and the
Supremes. In a 1990 interview he said “It was the women who
drew me to the stereo. Men feel they have something to prove.
They don’t trust their automatic-pilot chops. Females do. They
go on deeper dramatic trips, take more chances. Put it out there
with greater flair.”
His first big break came when his composition “Everybody
Rejoice (A Brand New Day)” was used for the theater and film
production of “The Wiz.”
In 1974 Vandross served as a backup singer for David Bowie and
Bowie, recognizing his talent, allowed Vandross to do much of
the vocal arranging on the album “Young Americans.”
Vandross then worked with Bette Midler and his reputation
grew. Session credits include Chaka Khan, Ringo Starr, Barbra
Streisand, Carly Simon, Average White Band and Donna
Summer.
But while Vandross went on to record a number of albums of his
work in the 1980s, it wasn’t until 1989 that he had a top ten,
“Here And Now.” Other hits followed such as “Never Too
Much,” “A House Is Not a Home,” and “Power Of Love / Love
Power.” His last studio album, “Dance With My Father,” won
four Grammy Awards in 2004.
Vandross was also known for his wild weight swings as he
fluctuated between 190 and 340 pounds, which he himself
attributed to a “rocky love life and his ‘overmedicating’ with
food.” [Lynell George, L.A. Times] He remained single.
–Renaldo “Obie” Benson, the bass for the Four Tops, died at the
age of 69. Two originals remain; Abdul “Duke” Fakir and Levi
Stubbs. The Four Tops were founded way back in 1954 on
Detroit’s northeast side. The fourth member, Lawrence Payton,
died in 1997. Benson made his last appearance with the group
just last April on the “Late Show with David Letterman.”
Back when the group lost Payton, Benson said “it was like losing
part of your body.” On continuing with the act at the time, he
explained “This is what keeps us alive. The music, to me, is like
vitamins and stuff.”
The Four Tops’ first top forty Billboard tune was “Baby I Need
Your Loving,” which you may be startled to learn only climbed
to #11 the summer of ’64. The group’s top tens were….
#1 “I Can’t Help Myself”
#5 “It’s The Same Old Song”
#1 “Reach Out I’ll Be There”
#6 “Standing In The Shadows Of Love”
#4 “Bernadette”
#4 “Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got)
#10 “Keeper Of The Castle”
Back to “Baby I Need Your Loving,” while released in the
summer of ’64, it peaked the week of October 3, 1964. So what
kept it out of the top ten? [You know I live for this stuff.]
#1 “Oh, Pretty Woman” (Roy Orbison)
#2 “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” (Manfred Mann)
#3 “Bread And Butter” (Newbeats)
#4 “Dancing In The Street” (Martha & The Vandellas)
#5 “Remember (Walkin’ in the Sand)” (Shangri-Las)
#6 “G.T.O.” (Ronny & the Daytonas)
#7 “It Hurts To Be In Love” (Gene Pitney)
#8 “The House Of The Rising Sun” (Animals)
#9 “We’ll Sing In The Sunshine” (Gale Garnett)
#10 “Save It For Me” (4 Seasons)
Gale Garnett’s tune was a little schmaltzy, to say the least, but
solid nonetheless. I just have a real problem with the Newbeats
being up there….and not the Four Tops!!!!
And while I’ve told this story before, I think, I have a special
memory of the Four Tops. Back in my days in the mutual fund
business, I attended a sales conference sponsored by a leading
financial planner outfit and they had the group as their closing
night entertainment, around 1995 if I recall. Well, I was scolded
by none other than Levi Stubbs himself for dancing too close to
the stage…but I still got an autographed photo of the four that is
displayed prominently to this day in my pool room.
–Oh yeah, we have us another candidate for “Dirtball of the
Year,” Texas Rangers pitcher Kenny Rogers. Incidentally,
generally a ‘dirtball’ hurts someone, physically, as opposed to a
‘jerk’ (and the “Jerk of the Year” honor) who is, err, a jerk.
Rogers was just suspended for 20 games for assaulting two
cameramen last week before a game. One was sent to the
hospital and it is the hope here criminal charges are filed.
A few days earlier, Rogers had broken his pinky after he
punched a water cooler following a poor start (this would
normally qualify one for “Idiot of the Year”). But when a Fox
Sports Net photographer was filming him on the field
Wednesday night, Rogers said to the guy, “I told you to get those
cameras out of my face.” He then approached a second
cameraman, wrestled the camera away from Larry Rodriguez,
threw it to the ground and kicked it. I saw a video and clearly
Rodriguez suffered an injury of some kind as his shoulder was
wrenched around when the big, heavy camera was ripped away
from him.
In conjunction with his suspension, Baseball Commissioner Bud
Selig stepped up big time with the following statement.
“Mr. Rogers’ behavior was unprofessional, unwarranted and
completely unacceptable. Major League Baseball is a social
institution and all of us in the game have an important
responsibility to act with reason and good judgment.
“While I recognize that the relationship between players and
members of the media may sometimes be difficult, there is no
circumstance in which a player may settle a difference of opinion
or a dispute through physical means. Media coverage is
important to the game and we in baseball are obligated to treat
members of the media with respect and civility.”
–And then there is the case of Yankee outfielder Gary Sheffield,
who was suspended for two games following an altercation with
umpire C.B. Bucknor last Sunday in a game against the Mets. I
have to tell you, watching that incident live I really feared that
Sheffield was going to smash Bucknor’s face in after the umpire
had called him out on a close play at first. There are some who
argue and you know it’s basically harmless. Sheffield, though,
looked like he was ready to kill and being an admitted steroid
user, well, you know what that can do to your mental faculties
….they don’t call it “ ‘roid rage” for nothing.
But Sheffield has another problem with Major League Baseball.
He’s been the focus of some recent trade rumors, one of which
involved the Mets, and MLB is concerned he tried to create a no-
trade clause by saying any team trading for him would have to
rework his contract. So Johnny Mac weighed in on this volatile,
ticking time bomb.
“Gary ‘in the tank’ Sheffield…there are sins in competitive
athletics, some mortal, some venial. Number one on the mortal
sin list is gambling on the sport. Number two is going in the
tank. Our Mr. Sheffield has some personal experience with the
latter (see Brewers, Milwaukee, circa 1991). I just love it when
these guys play the financial martyr card as he just did.
“ ‘You don’t know what concessions I made to come here, blah
blah, weep weep.” Let’s not forget this is the same a-hole who
forced the Dodgers to pay his state tax bill because he was traded
from Florida (no state tax). According to the best of my
research, poor Gary had made just 106 million dollars in salary
prior to this season from the six, yes six, teams he has played for.
All those out there who would like to make concessions like this,
the line forms behind me.
“He does not have a no-trade clause, therefore, he is eligible to
be dealt under the collective bargaining agreement he (and his
union) signed. But because that doesn’t satisfy him at the
moment he has threatened to tank it at his next stop.”
Gary Sheffield is one of the great clutch hitters in the history of
the game, but he is also a bad person and his role in the steroids
scandal is now well known; his legacy forever tarnished. It will
be interesting to see what happens down the road in relation to
the Hall of Fame and I imagine we’ll be writing quite a bit more
about him in the coming years. I’m just afraid I’m going to wake
up one morning and see the headline “Sheffield Assaults Umpire
With Bat.”
–Johnny Mac also makes note of the consistency of Albert
Pujols. For his career, his batting average is .335, home; .333
away. Against righties, .334; against lefties, .334. Amazing. Or
as Johnny puts it, Pujols is the “Tim Duncan of baseball.”
–Former major league catcher Dick Dietz died of a heart attack
at the age of 63. Playing from 1966 to 1973, mostly with the
Giants, he hit 66 home runs and drove in 301 while hitting .261.
Not bad in those days for a catcher. It was also in 1970 that out
of nowhere he hit .300 with 22 HR and 107 RBI.
However, back on May 31, 1968 Dietz came to bat against the
Dodgers’ Don Drysdale who at the time was working on what
would eventually be a major league record 58 2/3 scoreless
innings streak. The bases were loaded with no outs and Drysdale
hit Dietz, forcing in a run, or so the Giants thought. But the
home plate umpire, Harry Wendelstadt, ruled Dietz hadn’t tried
to get out of the way of the pitch so he ordered him to step back
into the box, Dietz popped out, Drysdale got the next two batters
and the streak was in tact at 45 innings.
–And speaking of being plucked by a pitch, Houston’s Craig
Biggio just set a new major league record in being hit for the
268th time in his career, breaking Don Baylor’s mark.
–I’m too old to really care about who gets selected to the All-
Star game by the fans, but one can’t help but note what a joke it
is that Carlos Beltran and Scott Rolen got voted in. However, I
give A.L. fans credit for being enlightened enough at the last
minute to keep Ichiro from the starting lineup, replacing him
with a more deserving Johnny Damon. [Ichiro is nonetheless a
sub, as it should be.] But how about the players selecting Kenny
Rogers? As of this writing, Rogers may not go to Detroit for the
contest.
–New York Knicks team president Isiah Thomas inserted foot in
mouth the other day, as he is prone to do. It’s been no secret he
is looking for someone to replace coach Herb Williams but after
the Knicks drafted Channing Frye with their first pick last week,
Thomas said of Williams, “I think Herb has been extremely
professional. He’s given us an opportunity to go out and talk to
and interview some of the brightest minds. As I’ve said…all
along, we like Herb Williams as a coach (and) he did a fine job
when he was here.”
As reporter Colin Stephenson of the Star-Ledger wrote, “The
words were out of his mouth before Thomas caught himself, a
split-second too late. Realizing what he’d just said, he tried,
weakly, to backtrack.
“ ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘(Williams) did a fine job coaching the
team.’”
Well, that second statement only compounded the problem.
–NASCAR driver Carl Edwards is dating swimmer Amanda
Beard. Congratulations to Mr. Edwards.
–A Manhattan jury awarded the family of the late sports
journalist Dick Schaap $1.95 million after finding that he died as
a result of medical negligence following hip replacement surgery
at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. Schaap was 67 when he
died in December 2001. One doctor was singled out, Neil L.
Coplan. Remind me to stay away from him.
–Washington Nationals pitcher Livan Hernandez is a throwback
to the old days, a real workhouse who wracks up the innings in
an era where a starter throwing 200 in a season is pretty much the
max. Hernandez has led the N.L. in innings pitched the last two
seasons and is on track to throw 250 this year. But more
importantly, he is having a career year at 12-2 and is a huge
reason why the Nationals are the surprise of baseball thus far.
–Speaking of throwing a ton of innings, on July 4, 1905 the
Philadelphia Athletics scored two runs in the 20th inning, giving
Rube Waddell a 4-2 victory over Cy Young of the Boston Red
Sox. Both pitchers went the distance. Young did not walk
anyone. Young was only 18-19 that season, but walked just 30
in 321 innings. Actually, talk about lack of run support, he had a
1.82 ERA.
–Skipping back to the current season, Roger Clemens lowered
his ERA to 1.41 on Sunday. And Florida’s Dontrelle Willis
threw his 4th shutout of the season against the Mets and moved
his record to 13-3 with a 1.89 ERA. What a great story he is.
–Nice season for Kansas City Royals hurler Zack Greinke. Try
1-10 with a 6.09 ERA. The poor kid is just 21 and you have to
wonder whether the organization is doing him a favor. Send him
back down and save his career, for crying out loud.
–Congratulations to Venus Williams on winning her 3rd
Wimbledon, and first grand slam since 2001, as she defeated
Lindsay Davenport in a dramatic finals match. I say dramatic
because that’s what I read. I forgot it was on! Instead, I was
catching a little Live 8. Boy, did MTV and VH-1 have a racket
going or what? I only saw about two hours of this but it was no
more than four or five songs an hour, the rest commercials.
Here’s how the Los Angeles Times’ Robert Hilburn put it:
“Everyone knows MTV has long lost interest in pop music, so
why doesn’t the cable channel just admit it and leave the
coverage of historic events, such as…Live 8, to someone with
respect for the music and the audience?
“MTV’s coverage of Saturday’s event, designed to combat
poverty in Africa, was beyond embarrassing. It was pitiful.
“I was warned long ago to avoid overkill as a critic, but bear with
me this time. Add ‘pathetic’ to the list.”
–Back to Wimbledon, I did catch a little of the men’s final. No
doubt Roger Federer is the best ever, but will he stick around
long enough to hold all the records? In winning his third straight
Wimbledon crown, he became just the third since 1936 to
accomplish this feat, the others being Pete Sampras and Bjorn
Borg. Federer is also now 5-0 in Grand Slam finals.
–According to Sports Illustrated, the top ten sports figures in
America (U.S. citizens) in terms of total earnings for 2005,
including endorsements, are:
1. Tiger Woods…$86.3 million
2. Andre Agassi…$44.5
3. Shaquille O’Neal…$41.7
4. Oscar De La Hoya…$40.0
5. Michael Vick…$37.1
6. Kevin Garnett…$30.0
7. Peyton Manning…$29.7
8. Lebron James…$28.3
9. Phil Mickelson…$27.4
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. …$27.2
Internationally, Formula One’s Michael Schumacher leads the
way at $81 million while David Beckham is second at $30
million.
Top 3 songs for the week of 7/7/73: #1 “Will It Go Round In
Circles” (Billy Preston) #2 “Kodachrome” (Paul Simon) #3
“My Love” (Paul McCartney & Wings)
Baseball Quiz Answer: 3,000 hits / one team –
Stan Musial / St. Louis…3,630
Carl Yastrzemski / Boston…3,419
Cal Ripken, Jr. / Baltimore…3,184
George Brett / Kansas City…3,154
Robin Yount / Milwaukee…3,142
Tony Gwynn / San Diego…3,141
Al Kaline / Detroit…3,007
Roberto Clemente / Pittsburgh…3,000
In case you wondered about Ty Cobb, I forgot myself that he
finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics…and he hit
.357 for them at age 40 (1927) and then .323 the next year in his
final season. Nice way to go out, I think you’d agree.
Speaking of the 3,000 hit club, Rafael Palmeiro is about to
become the fourth to have 500 home runs and 3,000 hits, joining
Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
