NBA Quiz: The other day I saw a note in the New York Times
on years in which players averaged 30 points a game, and then
subsequent to this Kobe went off for 81, so….1) Currently, Kobe
(35.9 ppg thru Tuesday), Allen Iverson (33.5) and LeBron James
(30.8) could become the first trio to average more than 30 since
1981-82. What three scored 30 that season? 2) The last time
there were more than three who averaged 30 was 1961-62, when
there were actually six. Name them. Answers below.
Heroes…Ronald Reagan”s Speech
[I know I’ve used this before, but it bears repeating at the 20th
anniversary of the Challenger Disaster.]
Ladies and Gentlemen, I’d planned to speak to you tonight to report
on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led
me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and
remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy
of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of
the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.
Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in
a terrible accident on the ground. But, we’ve never lost an
astronaut in flight; we’ve never had a tragedy like this. And
perhaps we’ve forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the
shuttle; but they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the
dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We
mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik,
Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa
McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together.
For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full
impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we’re thinking
about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave,
and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, ‘Give
me a challenge and I’ll meet it with joy.’ They had a hunger to
explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to
serve, and they did. They served all of us.
We’ve grown used to wonder in this century. It’s hard to dazzle
us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has
been doing just that. We’ve grown used to the idea of space, and
perhaps we forget that we’ve only just begun. We’re still
pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were
pioneers.
And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America
who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle’s takeoff. I
know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like
this happen. It’s all part of the process of exploration and
discovery. It’s all part of taking a chance and expanding man’s
horizons. The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it
belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into
the future, and we’ll continue to follow them.
I’ve always had great faith in and respect for our space program,
and what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don’t
hide our space program. We don’t keep secrets and cover things
up. We do it all up front and in public. That’s the way freedom
is, and we wouldn’t change it for a minute. We’ll continue our
quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more
shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more
teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys
continue. I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and
woman who works for NASA or who worked on this mission
and tell them: “Your dedication and professionalism have moved
and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We
share it.”
There’s a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago, the great
explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of
Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and a
historian later said, ‘He lived by the sea, died on it, and was
buried in it.’ Well, today we can say of the Challenger crew:
Their dedication was, like Drake’s, complete.
The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the
manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget
them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they
prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and ‘slipped the
surly bonds of earth’ to ‘touch the face of God.’
Stuff
–AP Men’s College Basketball Top Ten
1. UConn
2. Duke
3. Memphis
4. Texas
5. Florida
6. Villanova
7. Gonzaga
8. Illinois
9. West Virginia…on fire
10. Washington
So I said I wouldn’t mention that alma mater of mine, the school
out of Winston-Salem, NC, that isn’t Winston-Salem State
(home of Earl “the Pearl” Monroe). No, there’s no reason to
mention my school…now 1-5 in ACC play and, as I described
last time, a team in freefall. It wouldn’t be prudent. Rather, let’s
just say that Coach Skip Prosser has to go. And now word has it
his wife has been putting pressure on him to find a new team to
coach anyway.
–Men’s College Hockey Top Ten
[Every now and then one needs to acknowledge these hard-
drinking folks….not that we condone this sort of behavior.]
1. Boston College
2. Wisconsin
3. Miami…of Ohio.
4. Minnesota
5. Cornell
6. Michigan
7. North Dakota
8. Vermont
9. Colorado College
10. New Hampshire
And for Trader George, St. Lawrence, #14…and for Pete,
Colgate, #18.
Actually, I see Lake Superior is #19. Bet that’s a cool t-shirt.
The best one I’ve ever picked up, incidentally, is for Black
Hills State out of Spearfish, South Dakota. I need to get back
there to do my Christmas shopping. [It’s never too soon.]
–Texas is pre-season #1 for college baseball this year. Not one
vote in the top 25 poll for my alma mater, while even Charleston,
Winthrop, Lamar and Coastal Carolina picked up some support.
–I’m very down on my school…………..very down………..
–From the February issue of the Smithsonian comes this tidbit:
“Legend has it African elephants become inebriated eating
fermented fruit from the marula tree. But University of Bristol
scientists say that the three-ton beasts can’t possibly eat enough
of the fruit to get tipsy. Instead, they may run amok after
ingesting toxic beetle pupae found in the tree’s bark.”
I’m not buying this. In fact, I just looked through my beer books
and yes, there is a brand called “Elephant Beer” brewed by
Carlsberg. It’s a German bock effort and you know what they
say about pachyderms…they’re crazy for bock.
[I also see in Denmark they brew a beer “Red Erik,” a lager
named in honor of the founder of Greenland. It’s not known if
this is popular amongst the Brokeback Mountain cowboys, but
I’m guessing it could be….not that there’s anything with that.]
–In the same Smithsonian I also see that if you’re a baby squid,
far better to have as your mother a Gonatus onyx. It seems that
most mother squids lay their eggs on the seafloor and swim
away. [“Where’d Mom go?” “I dunno.”] But the Gonatus onyx
“hugs her mass of 2,000 to 3,000 eggs until they hatch.” So you
could say Gabriel Gonatus is a candidate for “Mother of the
Year.”
–Lastly, involving the Feb. issue of Smithsonian which I just
received on Tuesday, ironically it has a story on Mozart. No, not
that this is that strange, given his birthday and all, but you know
the gravesite I noted last time? There’s a picture of it in the
article, in case you want to check up on me. I wish I could post
it for all of you since you’d appreciate my story a little more if
you saw this pitiful memorial.
–The more I think about Peyton Manning, the more it’s sinking
in what a loser he is.
–HBO’s “Real Sports” had a story on staph infections and the St.
Louis Rams…a la my story following Jack Snow’s death. It’s
even scarier than I thought. Staph is out of control in the
National Football League and something innocuous like not
taking a shower before getting into the whirlpool could prove
costly. So when I made the comment that if I was a free agent
and had a choice between St. Louis and a team that played on
turf, for example, I wasn’t wrong to say I’d steer clear of the
place.
–Barry Bonds pulled out of the World Baseball Classic because
he feared he’d get hurt. But after reading the preceding story,
perhaps Barry could get a staph infection, eh?
–By the way, the same “Real Sports” noted above also had a
good story on the baseball memorabilia game…as in why anyone
would buy something online, especially from eBay, is beyond
me. They showed a bunch of the crooks in this field, both the
forgers and those issuing ‘certificates of authenticity.’ A vast
majority of the stuff is fake.
But I have to come clean on something. I’m in the process of
purchasing some 60s Rock items (not online but through a
supposedly reputable dealer) and I’m fretting. The pieces
haven’t arrived yet and I have a decent window in which to
return the stuff if I’m not satisfied. I’ll be forthcoming and let
you know what I find if I’m able to get it to an independent
appraiser.
Anyway, I see where Joe DiMaggio’s estate is unloading a
number of items through Hunt Auctions, including a 1938
contract for a $25,000 salary, his 1947 MVP plaque and a 1951
road jersey. Believe it or not, the plaque is being valued at
$150,000 and the jersey for $100,000 or more.
–Well, after all I wrote last time on the Knicks’ Antonio Davis
and that incident in Chicago involving his wife and a fan, all
parties agreed to issue a joint statement:
“It’s clear that the episode at the United Center last week, and its
aftermath, evolved from some misunderstandings….Common
sense strongly suggests that we collectively put this episode
behind us and move on. That’s what the Davises and Michael
Axelrod plan to do, and we hope everyone else will, as well.”
Ha! Fat chance of that happening…at least in these pages.
–But what’s this? Knicks president Isiah Thomas accused of
sexual harassment?
According to a new lawsuit, then-Vice President of marketing,
the “statuesque” Anucha Browne Sanders, says Thomas
immediately started hitting on her after he took over as president
of the Knicks at the end of 2003.
“Contrary to Thomas’ carefully cultivated public persona, he is
capable of abhorrent behavior in private,” alleges the lawsuit,
which formally charges sex discrimination and then retaliation
after Sanders complained and was fired. [Kate Sheehy / New
York Post]
“Soon after his hire, he began to sexually harass Sanders,
including calling her ‘bitch’ and ‘ho’ to her face,” the suit says.
Thomas is the married father of two and Sanders (no relation to
Larry Sanders that I’m aware of…or Satch Sanders…but
possibly golfer Doug Sanders) is married with three children.
But you never know what the truth really is in these deals.
According to Sheehy’s story:
“A well-placed source said that earlier this month, ‘[Sanders’]
lawyer came to the Garden and said, ‘I know how this problem
can go away.’ Six million dollars – that’s what they wanted.”
The Garden said no and fired her.
Sanders, 43, has an impressive resume and was once an
executive at IBM where she oversaw its Olympics sponsorships.
And evidently it wasn’t just Isiah who treated her poorly. She
also claims star guard Stephon Marbury “would routinely blast
her as ‘that black b—-.’”
What Marbury allegedly went on to say after this is so bad I
refuse to print it here, but the Post and New York Daily News
had no problem in doing so.
And in another explosive charge, Ms. Sanders claims “Thomas
worked with concierges at hotels frequented by visiting teams to
encourage out-of-town players to go to certain bars and strip
clubs and get drunk the night before a day game.” [Adam
Nichols / New York Daily News]
Actually, what’s wrong with that?! Sound strategy to me.
Anyway, in cases like this we will wait to see what happens over
the coming days before officially tabbing Isiah for “Jerk” or
“Dirtball of the Year.” Regardless, his name is now in our
December file, to be pulled out at year end.
–Speaking of sexual harassment (and boy am I glad I don’t have
to deal with this topic anymore in the corporate world), on Jan.
10 in this space I wrote that I suspected Tim Nardiello, the U.S.
skeleton team coach, was “innocent” of charges in this regard.
But after a four-week investigation into accusations by female
athletes, the United States Olympic Committee refused to allow
him to return to coach the team for the Games in Turin; this
after an arbitrator found that “Nardiello had not violated the
United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation’s sexual
harassment policy. That night, the federation reinstated
Nardiello to his job.” [Lynn Zinser / New York Times]
But the U.S.O.C. had other plans. And to be fair about it, it
would appear the organization conducted a thorough
investigation. It also needs to be noted Nardiello continues to
have his defenders. Me? I’m dropping this one.
–A lot of you in the New York area are upset that Anna Benson
will no longer be playing the role of Santa’s helper at the Mets’
annual Christmas party, now that husband Kris has been traded
to Baltimore. I, too, will miss that rather revealing elf outfit of
hers.
Meanwhile, others have criticized the fact the Mets picked up
some questionable relievers for Kris, a decent starter. The New
York Times’ Murray Chass weighed in:
“Trading starters for relievers isn’t necessarily the best approach,
but when a team can use a strength to shore up a weakness, it
makes more sense to make those moves than to maintain the
strength and the weakness.
“And by trading Anna Benson, the Mets may have achieved what
Casey Stengel called addition by subtraction.”
–Phil W. just wrote in to comment on Kobe’s 81 points.
“Yeah, Kobe is great and all, but here’s your Emory and Henry
update.” [Recall this is the Division III school that shoots a ton
of threes.]
So thru 16 games, check this out.
Emory and Henry has taken 1,023 shots from 3-point range,
making 278…or 27.2%. By contrast, their opponents have
attempted only 88 from downtown, canning 28.
So E&H takes an incredible 64 shots from three each game.
What I love is the leading shooter, percentage wise, is at just
30.1%.
Shoot the ball! Clunk….Shoot the ball!!! Clunk….
E&H is 7-9 on the season. [They played Wednesday, after the
posting of this column.] The average score has been 112-109.
Phil, we need a season-ending recap. An autographed picture of
Anna, in a Moe Drabowsky jersey, is on the line.
–How did I miss this one? Back on Dec. 18, Russia’s Nikolai
Valuyev defeated John Ruiz for the World Boxing Association
heavyweight crown. Not that I would have cared….I haven’t
given a damn about boxing since the days of Oscar Bonavena
and Earnie Shavers…but I saw where Valuyev is under
investigation in St. Petersburg, Russia, for beating up a 61-year-
old parking attendant who claims Valuyev struck him over the
head repeatedly after the victim told Valuyev’s wife to move her
car.
So if you don’t know anything about Valuyev, you’re probably
thinking about now, yeah, so what’s the point?
Well I’ll tell you why I suddenly care; Nikolai Valuyev is 324
pounds and, get this, 7-feet tall!!! You should see the picture of
him fighting Ruiz. Valuyev is supposedly just 32 years of age
but he looks 50. Anyway, he could be entertaining to watch
down the road.
–The great Mario Lemieux has finally retired. As noted in the
last Bar Chat, Super Mario finishes up 7th on the all-time scoring
list with 1,723 points in just 915 games. But think about all the
time he lost to injury and serious health issues.
Oct. 11, 1984…Lemieux made his debut with the Pittsburgh
Penguins and scored on his first shot on his first NHL shift on a
breakaway after stealing the puck from Boston Bruins star Ray
Bourque. [USA Today]
In 1990-91, he played only 26 games after missing the first 50
games for a rare bone disease.
1993-94, played just 22 games after surgery. The previous year,
he had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, underwent
radiation treatment for a month in the middle of the season, yet
still won the scoring title with 160 points.
1994-95, missed entire season for medical leave of absence.
Retired following 1996-97 season.
Comes back, Dec. 2000. Scores 76 points in 43 games. [After
almost three years off, had an assist 33 seconds into his first
game back.]
2001-2002, appeared in just 24 games due to hip injury.
2003-04, missed final 72 games after hip surgery.
Had Mario stayed healthy, he would have been right up there
with Gretzky in career points. But as he put it in his retirement
speech, he’s had the ride of his life. Mario Lemieux is also a
man of terrific dignity and goes down as one of the greatest
athletes (and sportsmen) in history.
–Val Makin, a 78-year-old grandmother in Melbourne,
Australia, was sitting at home, knitting, while watching the
Australian Open. Suddenly…Val was surprised by a 3-foot
brown snake.
“I got such a fright,” she said, before adding that she hadn’t
dropped a stitch. “It just grabbed me on the arm and I threw it on
the ground.” [Reuters]
Brown snakes are nothing to mess with, friends, witness the
problem with the beasts on the island of Guam. But Ms. Makin
was treated at the hospital and released. Officials at the Aussie
Open [held in Melbourne] offered her free tickets when they
heard of the story, but Val said she’ll watch from home.
–From Jeff B. (and CNN) comes word that Joey and Mary Jo
Buttafuoco, along with Amy Fisher, are in negotiations to appear
together in a televised reunion. [You’ll recall then 16-year-old
Ms. Fisher had an affair with Joey and shot Mary Jo in the face.]
Said Amy, now 31, “It’s time to put it behind us. We played this
all out in a public eye. [I would have said ‘the’ public eye,
personally.] It’d be interesting to let the public see the healing
process at the end.”
No it wouldn’t. As Jeff concluded, it’s just another sign of the
coming apocalypse. Are you ready?
–Billy Joel has sold out a record 11 consecutive concert dates at
Madison Square Garden (performances started the other night),
thus besting Springsteen’s record of 10 in a row.
–Janette Carter, the last surviving child of country music’s
Carter family, died at the age of 82. Janette’s sister-in-law (I
think I have this right) was June Carter Cash, Johnny’s wife.
Top 3 songs for the week of 1/25/64: #1 “There! I’ve Said It
Again” (Bobby Vinton…this was the last #1 before the Beatles
topped the charts for the first of 14 straight weeks) #2 “Louie
Louie” (The Kingsmen) #3 “I Want To Hold Your Hand” (The
Beatles)…and…#4 “Surfin’ Bird” (The Trashmen) #5
“Popsicles And Icicles” (The Mermaids…oh, music was about to
change in a big way, that’s for sure) #7 “Hey Little Cobra” (The
Rip Chords) #10 “Drag City” (Jan & Dean)
NBA Quiz Answers: 1) 1981-82: George Gervin (32.3), Moses
Malone (31.1) and Adrian Dantley (30.3) were the last trio to
average 30. 2) 1961-62: Six who averaged 30 – Wilt
Chamberlain (50.4), Elgin Baylor (38.3), Walt Bellamy (31.6),
Bob Pettit (31.1), Jerry West (30.8), Oscar Robertson (30.8).
*Thru Tuesday, Gilbert Arenas was averaging 28.4, Tracy
McGrady (26.9) and Dwayne Wade (26.7)…so there is an
outside chance Kobe, Iverson and James could be joined by one
of these players in this season’s 30 club.
Next Bar Chat, Tuesday. The Rooneys and…..the Fifth
Dimension!!!!!
