[Posted Sunday]
Baseball Quiz: Have to get through the basics during spring
training. Name the 20 in the 500 home run club. Answer below.
***News Flash***
Barry Bonds told USA Today this season will be his last!!!
“I’m not playing baseball anymore after this. The game isn’t fun
(and) I’m tired of all of the crap going on. I want to play this
year out, hopefully win, and once the season is over, go home
and be with my family. Maybe then everybody can just forget
about me.”
Here’s the deal, Barry. If you stop at home run #713, we’ll
gladly forget about you. Deal?
The Olympics – Torino…Turin…whatever…
As Johnny Mac told me before the rest of the media caught on,
“Why the (heck) should any of us give a (damn) about athletes
who don’t give a (damn) about us?” He’s referring, of course, to
this largely worthless team of Americans the various U.S.
Olympic governing bodies have put together.
At least that’s not the case with speedskater Shani Davis, who
became the first black person to ever capture a gold medal in the
Winter Games. But then I saw his interview with NBC in the
immediate aftermath of his triumph and was appalled by his
behavior. I’ll have more on him in a bit. But with so much to
cover after the events of the past few days, let’s start with Bode
Miller.
Bill Pennington / New York Times:
“Bode Miller released an autobiography last year, ‘Bode: Go
Fast, Be Good, Have Fun.’
“It is catchier than ‘Fifth Place, Disqualified, Did Not Finish.’”
And with the exception of Ted Ligety, who captured gold in the
combined, the rest of the U.S. ski team has been a disaster after a
strong World Cup performance the past few years.
Pennington:
“Miller’s failures have been amplified by his apathetic, almost
bored, post-race reactions and numerous sightings of him at the
few nightclubs of this small village in the western Italian Alps….
“In Miller, the United States ski team finds itself hitched to a
mercurial contrarian who has always said he does not value
medals or victories, but the team did not know that Miller would
pick this fortnight to prove that he meant what he said.
“ ‘I look for objective results by my own standards,’ Miller said
after the downhill. ‘And with that perspective, I skied the way I
wanted to today. It was a good run.”
After Saturday’s disaster in the super-G, where he went off the
course, Miller didn’t even return to the finish area to talk to
teammates or U.S. officials, let alone reporters.
[From the Chicago Tribune: “Hours after he wasted a chance at a
gold medal by straddling a slalom gate in Tuesday’s combined,
Bode Miller was photographed kissing a buxom Playboy
playmate at a party.” I’m assuming Bode sought her out again
after the super-G.]
Miller told an audience in Manhattan recently:
“Everyone wants to be rich and famous, but most don’t like it
when they get it. And I’m one of those people. The rich part is
OK, but the famous I can do without.”
Unless he turns it around the last two events, Bode Miller just
used all of us.
I will say, though, that Saturday’s super-G did provide perhaps
the best moments of the Olympics thus far. Norway’s brilliant
Kjetil Andre Aamodt took gold and the equally brilliant
Hermann Maier of Austria the silver. One is 34, the other 33.
One is the consummate professional, the other, Maier, put a final
stamp on his unbelievable comeback from a near fatal
motorcycle accident. Both spent about an hour inspecting the
course before the race, while commentators said Miller took 20
minutes, at best.
Then there’s snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis, the poster child for
idiots around the world…and a most disingenuous one at that.
There she was, way ahead of the snowboardcross event, when on
her next-to-last jump she opted to hotdog it, fell, and took silver
instead of gold.
Wayne Coffey / New York Daily News:
“Faster than you can say Leon Lett, Lindsey Jacobellis was no
longer a pig-tailed poster girl for perhaps the biggest buzz sport
at the XX Winter Games.
“She was a jockey with a six-length lead near the wire of the
Kentucky Derby, standing up in the saddle. She was a driver
with a half-lap lead on the 500th mile at Daytona, doing S-turns
on the final backstretch and getting passed….
“In that moment, Jacobellis was just a 20-year-old kid whose
overexuberance brought her the most painful lesson of her
competitive life – and maybe the most crushing silver medal in
Olympic annals.”
But what compounded matters were her comments afterwards.
“I was ahead of the pack and definitely got caught up in the
moment…I was having so much fun and was so excited I didn’t
even think twice that I shouldn’t do that. I wanted to share my
enthusiasm with the crowd.”
Steve Politi / Star-Ledger:
“She had a chance to step on top of the medal stand, wrap herself
in an American flag and hear The Star-Spangled Banner….
“The real sad part? She doesn’t get it. Even hours after her race,
as she faced an uncomfortable grilling on a teleconference about
her ill-timed showboating, she didn’t see a problem with what
she had done.
“ ‘I messed up, and, oh well, it happens.’
“Oh well?
“It happens?
“This is what happened: Jacobellis embarrassed herself on the
biggest stage in sports, and in doing so, confirmed for many the
perception that American teenagers who belong to our X Games
culture care more about highlight DVDs and videogames than
winning and losing.”
Jacobellis also said, “It’s just a race.”
Politi:
“If this is just a race, it shouldn’t be in the Games. If Jacobellis
feels that way, neither should she….
“The X Games culture is only going to become a bigger part of
future Olympics – and that’s a good thing, especially for an
American team that only seems to win snowboarding medals
these days. It’s also good for the Games themselves, injecting a
little youth and liveliness.
“But this new breed of athletes has to understand there is a time
and a place for showing off. What might be good for most
snowboarding events is not good when wearing a Team USA
uniform, with a gold medal at stake and a life-changing moment
at the bottom of a hill….
“She went for style. She ended up with silver.”
[And again, we all should be asking, “Why should we care about
those who clearly don’t themselves?”]
But wait…how about Johnny Weir?
Precious Johnny, America’s hope for a medal in men’s figure
skating and second after the short program, missed his bus from
the Olympic Village to the arena and became very agitated.
“Weir swore and yelled in English, which he soon realized was
silly in a place where the people who could help him spoke
mainly Italian.” [Philip Hersh / Chicago Tribune]
Weir went on to skate miserably and finish fifth. Afterwards he
said:
“I didn’t feel my inner peace. I didn’t feel my aura was right. I
felt black inside…I’m bummed. My biorhythms were off.”
Oh shut up.
But as you all know by now, the whole Weir debacle exploded
into a different realm as HIV-positive, former U.S. men’s figure
skater, Rudy Galindo called on the media to out Weir. Galindo
is also unhappy that Weir is copying him. “We’ve built up this
animosity,” he told the Tribune.
This was unfortunate and you don’t need me to spell it all out for
you if you’ve caught even two minutes of figure skating over the
years. And as J.A. Adande of the Los Angeles Times put it:
“Another challenge to figure skating’s acceptance in the
predominantly male sports world is the costume situation.
“One guy Thursday night wore what appeared to be a purple
version of the ‘Shazam’ costume. Frederic Dambier of France
skated to ‘Romeo and Juliet’ while wearing a black-and-lavender
outfit that physically and metaphorically split the large pink heart
sewn on the middle of the chest, a representation of the outside
forces that tore apart the two star-crossed lovers.
“Sometimes I think figure skating should do red-carpet arrivals,
have Joan Rivers ask the skaters who they’re wearing tonight.”
Jim Caple / USA Today:
“Yes, Johnny’s a real beauty. He makes Dick Button seem like
Tony Soprano.
“His favorite male singer is Justin Timberlake and his Web site
also lists his favorite fashion designers, boutiques, models and
teams (Gordeeva and Grinkov…and, surprisingly, the Boston
Red Sox). He wears costumes that Elton John might wear for
Mardi Gras, including a red glove in Tuesday’s short program
that he named Camille. He used the phrase ‘I did a little hoppy-
hop like a bunny’ while describing Thursday’s performance,
which is something you rarely hear from, say, Brett Favre.”
But the bottom line was not that Weir missed his bus, upsetting
his biorhythms, but rather that his performance sucked.
Caple:
“Curt Schilling would have shaken off the bus problem and
skated out there with bloody sequins.”
“I was terrified today,” said Johnny afterwards.
But Adande defends Weir and we’ll let this be the last word for
today on this topic.
“Figure skating would be the natural place for a gay male athlete
to come out. There’s a built-in assumption anyway, and there
aren’t any ignorant teammates’ reactions to worry about. That
doesn’t mean anyone should have to sign up for it.
“Weir was classy and honest throughout his trip through the
mixed zone Thursday.
“None of the questions were easy. But one wasn’t necessary.”
Finally, we come to Shani Davis. Yes, in the end he was one of
the few who truly cared and you and I can’t begin to understand
the politics of these stupid skating federations. Davis chose to go
his own way, helped by his mother, and he blew off the team
pursuit competition which in turn cost Chad Hedrick a chance at
another gold. Hedrick was pissed. Davis didn’t care.
But teammate Casey FitzRandolph said, “It’s hard to argue with
his decision not to do it. For the most part, this is an individual
sport.”
Davis was asked if his victory was some kind of watermark for
black youth in America.
“I would say it would be if it was a bigger sport. But if some
kids in Chicago see this and start skating, then I’ll be happy it
happened.” [Flip Bondy / New York Daily News]
But this story will go on, at least for the rest of the week until the
Games are over. Personally, I’m ready for baseball and a little
golf. I imagine many of you feel the same way.
Daytona
Congratulations to the winner of the 500, Jimmie Johnson, but
the Wall Street Journal had an interesting table the other day.
Winning this one is hardly a guarantee of success in the long run.
To wit:
1996…Dale Jarrett won…finished 3rd in final point standings
1997…Jeff Gordon…1
1998…Dale Earnhardt…8
1999…Jeff Gordon…6
2000…Dale Jarrett…4
2001…Michael Waltrip…24
2002…Ward Burton…25
2003…Michael Waltrip…15
2004…Dale Earnhardt Jr. …5
2005…Jeff Gordon…11
Stuff
–Mr. Chairman, I would like to revise and extend my remarks of
the other day that the Big East would ‘only’ get six bids in the
upcoming NCAA tournament. That was before Marquette beat
Georgetown…and then Pitt on Saturday. Plus Seton Hall lost to
Notre Dame. According to the Sagarin power ratings of 2/15,
nine Big East teams were in the top 46. [10 of 51.] Of course
that doesn’t mean all nine fill out the 65-team field, due to
automatic qualifiers and other considerations, but I’ll be damned
if I now know who gets in and who doesn’t. I just find it hard to
believe that with all the other teams just as worthy as, say, Seton
Hall, that the Big East will get eight slots. [The ACC is getting a
minimum of four, for example, and it’s an off year for this
conference.]
–Indiana basketball coach Mike Davis resigned under fire. As
he put it just two months after taking over for Bob Knight in
2000, “I’m not the right man for the job.” But he did take the
Hoosiers to the NCAA Finals in 2002, only to lose to Maryland.
–Boy, did you catch the end of the Bucknell / Northern Iowa
contest? After 110 years, Bucknell gets into the AP Top 25, has
the ball and the lead with 2.8 seconds to go in regulation, and
throws away the inbounds play…from under its own basket to
boot, thus giving Northern Iowa a good chance to tie the score.
NIU does and they eventually won in double overtime. Allen H.,
I hope you were throwing things at your television.
But as Johnny Mac and I were watching, from two separate
locations, he offered some musings on the college game in
general, as in some needed rules changes.
“Northern Iowa was way under the foul limit, so they couldn’t
put Bucknell on the line. The team fouling should have the
option of either putting the other guys on the line for a one-and-
one or having them inbound. Seems nuts to be penalized for not
committing enough fouls.
“Also, you should have to get the ball over the ten second line
before you can call a time out. Too many times I’ve seen a team
stuck in the backcourt call a t.o. and inbound from half court.
Let it play out, and reward the team for playing good defense.
“As for that calling time out when you’re falling out of bounds…
no good.”
The NCAA will be on the horn with Johnny shortly.
–Last weekend, as the New York area was preparing for the
blizzard, Rutgers basketball coach Gary Waters was at Kent
State to attend a dinner where he was being inducted into the
school’s hall of fame; Waters having coached there before
coming to Rutgers. Because of the storm, though, Waters didn’t
make it back in time for the Scarlet Knights’ game that Sunday.
Now, it would appear, Waters could lose his job because he not
only didn’t get permission (he says he did), but it’s a breach of
his contract. Everyone in the area knew the weather forecast
days ahead of time and he had to know there was a chance he
might not be able to get a flight back. Rutgers could save
$millions on a contract that has another four years to run because
it could argue it isn’t responsible for the bonus portion.
–Big game last week for Johnny Mac’s alma mater, St. Francis
of New York as it beat the Assisi out of St. Francis of
Pennsylvania, 69-46.
–“It’s just so sad. We wouldn’t have paid that much if we knew
this was going to happen.”
Terri Weber, who purchased a home for more than $250,000 at
Wake Forest (N.C.) Golf Club one year ago, on learning the
course is closing.
Anything associated with the name Wake Forest these days,
Terri, represents a tragic tale.
[For those of you not familiar with the university’s connection to
the town of Wake Forest, the school was founded there and then
in the 1950s, thanks to the largesse of R.J. Reynolds, the campus
was moved to Winston-Salem.]
–Trader George, seeing my note that Wake Forest should be
playing a Division III basketball schedule next year, offered up
his old opponents when he was at St. Lawrence in upstate New
York. Schools such as Potsdam State, North Country
Community College, and Paul Smiths. Thanks, Trader George,
for this splendid idea. I’ll pass this on to the athletic department.
–We note the passing of NFL Hall of Famer Ernie Stautner, the
only player to have his uniform number retired by the Pittsburgh
Steelers. Stautner was a sterling defensive tackle, though only
6’1” and 235 pounds. Despite numerous injuries, he missed just
six games in 14 seasons, 1950-63. To younger fans of the sport,
Stautner is best remembered for his 22 years as a top assistant to
Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry.
–Goodness gracious. I’ve written of this before but Chicago
does have one helluva problem with coyotes. As Bloomberg
News reported the other day, there are an estimated 2,000 of
them in the nation’s 3rd-largest city. And “Chicago’s coyotes
have a 60 percent chance of surviving their first year, double the
30 percent survival rate in the wild, because of more abundant
food sources and fewer highways with cars traveling more than
50 mph.”
But here’s a key often overlooked when disparaging the mangy
creatures.
“They can prevent overpopulation of deer, Canada geese, rats
and squirrels. In Chicago, coyotes have reduced damage to golf
courses from grazing deer [ed. coyotes are known to have a good
short game], burrowing rodents and defecating geese.”
Ah yes, those freakin’ geese. I say we organize a massive coyote
sweep, maybe on Earth Day, with the goal of permanently
eradicating Canada’s leading export.
–Ugly story from Australia. The toxic cane toad is not only
proliferating at an alarming rate, it’s now also traveling at the
rate of 55km a year, according to wildlife experts.
The cane toad was introduced 70 years ago to control pests like
the cane beetle, which was destroying crops. But now these
same toads have evolved to kill snakes, lizards, even crocodiles
because of the poison contained in two sacs behind their head.
I wonder if the IOC has given the toads a drug test. Might be
useful.
[Come to think of it, Barry Bonds probably has two poisonous
sacks behind his humongous head.]
–I first saw a story about elephants and post-traumatic stress
disorder in the London Times and then J. Mac passed along
another. Here’s the bottom line.
Elephants seek to destroy us because of experiences they had
themselves during childhood.
“In parts of Uganda they have raided villages, demolished huts
and destroyed plots, not in an effort to get at food but to scare
the people living there.
“Such attacks have become more frequent in Bunyarunguru,
western Uganda, where only two years ago villagers would think
nothing of cycling to the nearby township of Katwe to meet
friends and do business.
“But they have to be more careful now because elephants
regularly block the road, and villagers are too afraid to cycle
past.”
As the Daily Telegraph puts it:
“Scientists suspect that poaching during the 1970s and 1980s
marked many of the animals with the effects of stress, perhaps
caused by being orphaned or witnessing the death of family
members – and producing the equivalent of post-traumatic stress
disorder.
“Many herds lost their matriarch and had to make do with
inexperienced ‘teenage mothers.’ Combined with a lack of older
bulls, this appears to have created a generation of ‘teenage
delinquent’ elephants.”
But as one wildlife expert says, to just shoot the elephants may
create its own cycle of violence. And as Johnny noted, “All
that’s left for them to do is to get some gang colors and tattoos.”
Maybe Bob Barker is wrong after all. Maybe we shouldn’t be
shutting down the pachyderm exhibits at our nation’s zoos and
shipping them off to sanctuaries. There, we can’t control them.
At least in a small zoo enclosure, we can monitor their activities
and be assured they aren’t out gun running or aiding the flow of
drugs across our borders. At least that’s my take on things.
–Former slugger Albert Belle was arrested for stalking his ex-
girlfriend. And you don’t want to be stalked by Albert, one of
the meanest men in the history of the planet.
–So here’s the deal with the gambling case involving Wayne
Gretzky’s wife Janet Jones and Gretzky’s assistant coach Rick
Tocchet. Gretzky evidently won’t be charged as it doesn’t
appear he is involved, but wife Janet will be called as a witness.
So many are saying, see, we told you so. The Great One is clean.
99% of Canada believes this to be true and no doubt Gretzky has
a well-deserved reputation as a good man and solid citizen.
But it was kind of sickening with all the fawning over Gretzky
taking place at the Olympics as I watched one of the U.S. hockey
games over the weekend. [Oh yeah…another great effort by the
USA…NOT!] There was John Davidson, playing the role of
Dick Vitale; the latter never knowing a dirty coach in the sport of
college basketball, even though half of them are. Davidson and
his buddies were going on and on about how Gretzky did nothing
wrong, blah blah blah… without knowing the facts of this case.
Of course I don’t know all of them myself, but since the story
broke in New Jersey and my paper is the one that did it, the Star-
Ledger, what we do know is that the state police, through totally
inappropriate leaks, jeopardized their case big time.
I’ve said all along there were three main issues; Tocchet, Jones
and Tocchet’s relationship to the mob. Gretzky came in because,
as Mike Lupica first wrote, it is beyond belief that Wayne didn’t
know what his best buddy and traveling companion, Tocchet,
was doing…especially when Janet was placing bets through him.
That doesn’t mean Gretzky, himself, did anything wrong and the
NHL rules on gambling outside the sport are vague. So we’ll
leave it at that for now. New Jersey authorities blew this one
before it even gets to trial. My guess is Tocchet and Co. will
either get off or plea bargain to minimal fines and a slap on the
wrist.
–The Big O, Oscar Robertson, had an op-ed piece in the New
York Times on Saturday wherein he weighed in on the NBA
season and Kobe Bryant’s 81.
“Could he someday break 100, and eclipse Wilt Chamberlain’s
record from 1962? Possibly. But what’s the point? However
much he scores, he plays on a team that will have difficulty
staying above .500, let alone make the playoffs.
“All the attention given to Kobe’s feat exemplifies the focus of
the NBA today – from the news media, the fans and the players –
on individual statistics instead of team success. And there are
so many more stats than ever before. Not just scoring, but
turnovers-to-assists ratio. Steals and blocked shots. Most
technical fouls. And the most important statistic of all: who sells
the most jerseys.
“As far as I’m concerned, the only stat that counts is the win
column. To be on top in that category, you have to play team
basketball….
“I have to laugh when I read that the defenses are so much
tougher today, with so many different sets, including the zone…
and that’s why Kobe’s achievement is even greater than Wilt’s.
Scoring is down because most offenses today make it easy on the
defense. There’s very little ball movement, or moving without
the ball. The mid-range game has all but disappeared….
“So here’s what today’s game looks like: The ball goes inbounds,
whoever gets it tries to make something happen on his own, and
everybody else stands and watches. More often than not, the
player with the ball looks for the three-point shot. And nobody
guards him!”
Oscar be a bitter, bitter old man…but he’s dead on.
[I didn’t turn on the NBA All-Star game for a second.]
–Can it be? Could my beloved and dreadful New York Jets
actually be close to cutting quarterback Chad Pennington? The
team would have to eat a lot of money but owner Woody
Johnson reportedly is leaving it up to the kiddie corps new
management team he’s assembled and the Jets have their eye on
Vanderbilt’s Jay Cutler (Bar Chat, 9/20/05). Boy, I’d be fired up
if they could get this guy with the 4th pick. Time to light a
candle.
–For the third time in about a year, vandals have struck
Gettysburg National Military Park, dragging two sculptures from
their places and stealing another sword. This is what the death
penalty is for.
–In one of the many studies on global warming that has been
released recently, a team at Britain’s Tyndall Center for Climate
Change Research has concluded that by the year 3000, sea levels
will have risen 36 feet. I’m guessing that by 4000, we’ll then all
be chum for the sharks; which is why I plan on checking out long
before then. I would suggest you do the same.
–By the way, what sports team will not have won a
championship by 3000? I’m thinking the Atlanta Hawks. But on
a different topic, I’m betting Tony Bennett is still cranking out
the standards then.
–Just got my 2006 OFFICIAL Wake Forest Football Schedule.
We play Syracuse and UConn in the first three weeks. Plus a trip
to Ole Miss…hmmmmmmmmmmmm…road trip!
–So Sammy Sosa may have come to the end of the line, as he
turned down the Washington Nationals’ contract offer. Yes,
Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. This dirtball disgraced the sport
and our cherished record book, though for a couple of years there
most of us fell for his schtick. The Star-Ledger’s Dan Graziano
weighed in.
“Seriously, haven’t we had enough of Sammy Sosa by now?
The guy pouted his way out of the toddlin’ town that made him
famous, asked Congress to believe he didn’t speak English when
they asked him about steroids, and then basically stole about $9
million from the Baltimore Orioles (who should have known
better but never seem to).
“Anybody who saw Sosa play in 2005 had to wonder how the
ghost of Cesar Geronimo managed to come to life and swipe the
uniform of a man who’d once hit 292 home runs over a five-year
stretch.
“Then again, nobody was really wondering, were they?
“Ah, people can crow all they want about how there’s no hard
evidence against Smilin’ Sammy, but by this point we’re all free
to suspect anything about these guys. And remember – always
remember – that among all of the suspected steroid cheats, Sosa
is the one who was once caught red-handed cheating at baseball
in a different way. That’s right. Sosa corked his bat.
“So go on, Sammy, go. You don’t want to play for peanuts?
Fine.
“Quit whining and go home.”
Next year we learn how those who vote on Baseball’s Hall of
Fame feel about Mark McGwire as he turns up on the ballot for
the first time. Sosa, should 2005 have been his last season, will
have his shot in 2010. It’s safe to say it will take a few years for
him to get enshrined, if ever.
–Time to give Tiger Woods some credit with the dedication of
his $25 million learning center in Anaheim. [Tiger reportedly
contributed $5 million of his own money.] Up to 5,000 area kids
from grades 4 thru 12 will eventually pass through here each
year. The center has seven classrooms featuring everything from
creative writing, to robotics and engineering.
“When 9/11 occurred, I was in St. Louis,” Woods said. “All the
planes were grounded. I decided on the 13th to steal the Buick
(his courtesy car at that week’s WGC American Express
Championship), and I drove home to Florida. I did a lot of
reflecting on my life. I concluded we weren’t doing enough.”
[GolfWeek]
Credit really goes to Tiger’s father, Earl. But you know, as I’ve
discussed so many times in the past, Tiger is so frustrating. He
really can change the world, as Earl predicted years ago, but then
there’s this other side of him. But I guess there’s always hope.
And speaking of a man from Hope, GolfWorld had this great
story concerning Tiger and Bill Clinton, as reported by John
Strege.
“(Clinton) has been trying to get a golf game with Tiger Woods
since April 1997, when Woods declined his offer to play a round
of golf and participate in a Jackie Robinson celebration at Shea
Stadium in New York. Sources close to Tiger said he had been
approached by Clinton on several other occasions but politely
refused for undisclosed reasons. Last week, Clinton offered to
speak (at the launch of Tiger’s center), provided the two could
play a round of golf. Woods agreed, and the two teed it up…
Woods apparently made Clinton play the back tees. ‘I’m twice
his age and don’t play that much,’ Clinton told reporters
afterward. ‘He said, “You can play the wuss tees if you want.
Otherwise you can stand back here like a man and weep.” So I
sucked it up. One hole I made birdie on and he didn’t. And he
beat me by 25 strokes.’”
OK, guys. How many of you are buying this story, especially the
part about the birdie? But you know what? My impression of
Tiger just went up three-fold.
–Here’s a shocker for you golf fans. According to the Los
Angeles Times’ Thomas Bonk (sic), there are only six players in
their 20s with multiple wins on the PGA Tour; Rory Sabbatini,
Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, Ben Crane, Vaughn Taylor and
Jonathan Byrd. Sabbatini, Crane and Taylor all turn 30 before
the Masters in April. Bet you could win some major coin at your
favorite watering hole with this one.
[And Sabbatini won his 3rd event this week at Riviera.]
–Brad K. was watching a show on former boxer Jake LaMotta,
the character behind the film “Raging Bull.”
Born in 1921 in the Bronx, LaMotta said “We were so poor that
my old man would go outside every Christmas and shoot his gun,
then come back and tell us that Santa Claus had committed
suicide.”
LaMotta fought Sugar Ray Robinson a number of times,
becoming the first man to defeat Sugar Ray in 1943. But in 1947
he took a dive in a fight and LaMotta was summoned to testify
before Congress at an Anti-Trust and Monopoly Subcommittee
investigating corruption in boxing. As Jake told the senators,
“You win some, you throw some.”
Lack of time precludes me from doing a more formal story on
Jake at this moment, but I promise to later on.
–I saw this article in the Star-Ledger concerning a couple from
the town next to where I live.
“Last month, the Maple Avenue couple bought a microwave
from Sears and paid to have it installed…Sears then contracted
with a West Orange company to do the work…
“After the two installers finished putting in the microwave and
left, the homeowners noticed their four tickets to ‘The Odd
Couple,’ worth $1,100 and held in place by a magnet on the
refrigerator door, were missing.”
The couple called Sears and the store said they weren’t
responsible. Then they called the theater and were told to come
to the show and present ID.
So they go to the show and sit down, when one of the installers
shows up with his date.
The house manager, who knew about the ticket theft, grabbed the
tickets from the man and then went outside hoping to find a
police officer nearby. But in the commotion, the guy and girl
took off. Officers don’t know which one showed up, but both
installers were charged with theft.
–Meanwhile, regarding the murder of Busta Rhymes’
bodyguard, New York City Police Commissioner Raymond
Kelly said, “We believer there were between 30 and 50 people
on the sidewalk at the scene of a homicide, and no one has come
forward to volunteer information. It’s challenging for
investigators, and I find it disturbing.” [New York Times]
Top 3 songs for the week of 2/22/69: #1 “Everyday People” (Sly
& The Family Stone) #2 “Crimson And Clover” (Tommy James
& The Shondells) #3 “Build Me Up Buttercup” (The
Foundations)…and…#4 “Touch Me” (The Doors) #6 “Worst
That Could Happen” (Brooklyn Bridge) #8 “This Magic
Moment” (Jay & The Americans)
Baseball Quiz Answer: 500 Home Run Club –
Hank Aaron…755
Babe Ruth…714
Barry Bonds…708….Booooo….you stink, Barry….Boooooo
Willie Mays…660
Sammy Sosa…588…..Boooo Booooo
Frank Robinson…586…should be #4
Mark McGwire…583……Booooo Boooooooooooo
Harmon Killebrew…573…should be #5
Rafael Palmeiro…569…Boooooooo Boooooooooooo
Reggie Jackson…563…collects classic cars
Mike Schmidt…548
Mickey Mantle…536
Ken Griffey Jr. …536
Jimmie Foxx…534
Ted Williams…521
Willie McCovey…521
Eddie Mathews…512…most kids today say “Eddie who?”
Ernie Banks…512…no relation to Tyra
Mel Ott…511…no relation to Ed
Eddie Murray…504…no relation to dance impresario Arthur
Active
Jeff Bagwell…449…may have to retire
Gary Sheffield…449…Booooooooo Boooooooooooooooo
Frank Thomas…448…will never make it
Many Ramirez…435…lock in July 2007
Juan Gonzalez…434…won’t make it
Jim Thome…430…once a lock…no more
Alex Rodriguez…429…likes to gamble…big time jerk
Next Bar Chat, Thursday. Due to the length of our program, Abe
Lincoln, regularly scheduled for today, will be seen in his
entirety next chat.
