Los Angeles Dodgers Quiz (1958-present…no Brooklyn stats):
1) Career, hits? 2) Hits, season? [230] 3) Home runs, season?
4) Complete games, season? [27] 5) Wins, career? 6) Batting
average, season? 7) Most seasons, non-pitcher? Answers below.
TIGER Wins 50th!
50 PGA Tour titles in ten years and at age 30. My word.
Of all the stats, such as him winning 36 of 39 with the 54-hole
lead, I like the one where he’s now 21-0 with a two-shot lead
heading into Sunday.
Burger Mania
Phil Mickelson is surely in mourning. Esther Snyder, co-founder
of his favorite In-N-Out burger chain, has passed away.
Interestingly, Esther was heading up the family business when
she died at the age of 86 and her granddaughter is sole heir,
though the vice president of operations, Mark Taylor, will
succeed Snyder as president.
From Myrna Oliver of the Los Angeles Times, “In-N-Out Burger
opened in the same era as McDonald’s, Carl’s Jr. and Jack in the
Box – all Southern California burger stands that grew into
regional or national chains. But unlike their competitors, the
Snyders favored a slow-growth approach and loyalty to and from
employees, and they were sticklers for customer satisfaction and
personal control over their closely held family business.”
In-N-Out stayed small, unlike McDonald’s and the other chains,
and currently has just 202 franchises in three states: California,
Nevada and Arizona.
Born Esther Lavelle Johnson, Snyder was one of seven girls (one
brother) and a native of Sorrento, Ill. After World War II she
attended Seattle Pacific University, graduating with a degree in
zoology, which probably came in handy in learning what part of
a cow was best for hamburger meat.
While working as a day manager at a restaurant in the area, she
met Harry Snyder, a caterer and World War II vet who sold
baked goods to her establishment.
So they got married, Esther liking Harry’s pastries, Harry liking
the fact Esther….actually, I’m not really sure….bottom line, they
seemed happy and ended up in Southern California, where they
opened their first In-N-Out stand in Baldwin Park. “Their sales
and food service experience was minimal, but on their first night
of business they sold 47 burgers.”
But while McDonald’s and Carl’s had carhops and walk-up
windows, the Snyders are credited with introducing California’s
first drive-through restaurant which proved to be a huge hit.
“For more than half a century, the chain has stuck to its basic
menu of cooked-to-order hamburgers made with 100% beef,
hand-torn lettuce and slow-rising, freshly baked buns; French
fries made from California-grown Kennebec potatoes, hand-cut
and fried in cholesterol-free vegetable oil; and milkshakes made
with real ice cream. There are no kids’ meals, no breakfast
items, no chicken strips or nuggets, no salad bars and no
franchises – the restaurants are all owned by the company. And
the stores are still open until 1 a.m. or later.” [Myrna Oliver]
“ ‘Everything was going to be fresh,’ Esther Snyder said in an
interview in 2000. ‘Harry would go to where he bought the
meat, and he’d watch them cut it up and be sure he got what he
ordered. He would go around at night and check on stores.’”
Goodness gracious. I’M STARVING!!!!!
Harry Snyder died of cancer in 1976 and the chain had only 18
outlets at the time. Esther turned over operations to son Rich,
then just 24, and he expanded the company to 93 stores.
But in 1993, Rich and four others died in the crash of a company
plane. Esther was devastated and the company was turned over
to older brother Guy, but he died in 1999 at the age of 48 from an
accidental overdose of the painkiller Vicodin. Yikes.
It was then Esther assumed real control, even at her advanced
age and after breaking her hip.
I remember going to an In-N-Out a long time ago right after
visiting the Richard Nixon Library. It obviously made an
impression on me. And no wonder Mickelson is a big fan.
Next time I’m out that way, I’m ordering the “four-by-four,”
with four patties and four slices of cheese. Then again, if I’m not
that hungry, it could be the “Flying Dutchman,” two meat patties
and cheese with no bun.
Stuff
–Note to Floyd Landis….give up, you dirtball. If you caught his
act Monday morning on “Today,” you couldn’t possibly believe
the guy.
Mike Lupica / New York Daily News:
“The most predictable part of this came right at the end for Floyd
Landis. That is when his fancy new lawyer, Howard Jacobs,
decided to put the leaks about his client on trial. Considering it
was dirty urine samples Jacobs was talking about, it was even
more than predictable.
“There was something almost poetic in talking about leaks.”
Jacobs blamed the International Cycling Union.
“The one who went against the World Anti-Doping Code is a
dope named Floyd Landis, who was desperate to win the Tour de
France with his great friend and former teammate Lance
Armstrong out of the way, and obviously willing to do whatever
it took as he saw the race slipping away.
“Now Landis is equally desperate to clear his name. It is clear –
though probably not the steroid ‘clear’ – he will say anything and
his lawyer will say anything. It will be interesting to see how
many positive things Lance Armstrong has to say now that the
‘B’ test came back positive.
“ ‘I know what it’s like to be accused of things,’ Armstrong said
last week.
“ ‘You gotta fight back,’ Armstrong said….
“Maybe before it is over we will hear he thought he was using
the same flaxseed oil that Barry Bonds was using…
“The guy who won the Tour de France cheated. Landis will put
the testers on trial and he will probably sue the Tour before this
is over. There will be stages to this whole shabby process that
will make the Tour de France seem as if it is faster than the 100-
yard dash. He should get no sympathy anywhere. He is another
punk of sports, and at least he got caught.
“All those who say none of this really matters, that it is only
cycling, or that the athletes are just doing what everybody else is
doing in a Viagra world, say sports don’t matter. They are
saying it doesn’t matter whether what we are watching is real or
not. And sound about as good as Landis’ Hollywood lawyer
when they do.”
–From T.J. Quinn and Michael O’Keefe of the New York Daily
News, who have done some of the best reporting on the steroid
issue:
“After telling Congress last year that he wanted to help rid the
world of steroids, Mark McGwire is refusing to cooperate with
baseball’s Mitchell investigation.
“According to a source familiar with the investigation into
baseball’s steroid past, McGwire has refused to meet with former
Sen. George Mitchell and his team of investigators.
“ ‘They’re getting no cooperation from McGwire,’ the source
told the Daily News. ‘He wants nothing to do with this. He
doesn’t want to talk to them. He doesn’t want his people to talk
to them.’”
Recall that Mitchell and his investigators have no subpoena
power.
“At the now infamous March 17, 2005 hearing, McGwire told a
congressional panel that he would not identify players who used
steroids and refused to say if he had ever used performance-
enhancing drugs.
“ ‘I’m not here to talk about the past,’ McGwire said repeatedly.
“But he was eager to talk about the future: ‘I will use whatever
influence and popularity that I have to discourage young athletes
from taking any drug that is not recommended by a doctor,’ said
McGwire….
“One reason for McGwire’s reluctance may be that he fears
criminal prosecution for his role in baseball’s steroid scandal. A
Daily News investigation published last year found that
McGwire had used steroids and that his name had popped up
during an FBI investigation into steroid dealers. Former
teammate Jose Canseco, in his tell-all book ‘Juiced,’ also said
McGwire was a regular steroid user.
“Rep. Tom Davis, the Virginia Republican who chaired last
year’s hearing, told The News in the spring that McGwire may
be keeping a low profile until the statute of limitations passes.”
That would be five years and McGwire’s last day in baseball was
Oct. 7, 2001. Congress was unable to work out an immunity
deal.
By the way, as reported by Brian Costello of the New York Post,
Jose Canseco said he’s surprised no major leaguers have tested
positive this season, though he imagines they’re using Human
Growth Hormone which is not tested for. Canseco is working on
a movie version of “Juiced.”
–Folks, once again the world’s greatest athlete, Takeru
Kobayashi, has raised the bar to new heights. In Sheboygan,
Wis., at the World Bratwurst Eating Championship, Kobayashi
destroyed Sonya Thomas’ mark of 34 ½ brats in putting down
58! Think about it. Kobayashi beat Thomas’ mark by 68%!
Why that’s like surpassing Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting
streak with a 94-game one of your own!
Or besting Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points in a single game in
going off for 168!
2nd place, incidentally, went to Joey Chestnut with 45. Chestnut,
you’ll recall, finished second to Takeru in the Nathan’s Famous
Hot Dog contest on the Fourth of July.
The difference here is that you eat the brats without the bun,
unlike Nathan’s.
For his efforts Kobayashi earned $8,000 in consuming 16,820
calories and 1,450 grams of fat.
In honor of my hero, I ate three hot dogs myself, cooked up on
my George Foreman grill. Mmmmmmm….it doesn’t get any
better than that……………cough cough…ack ack…………
–Boy, this is an awful story. China has had a rabies outbreak
that has killed 16 people after they were bit by rabid dogs. So
authorities in the city of Jining are in the process of taking out up
to 500,000 canines.
Needless to say this has triggered quite a debate in town.
“To hunt dogs being protected by their owners, the culling
squads would go out into the streets after darkness banging pots
and pans and letting off fireworks to frighten the animals into
barking. The men would then kill their quarry.”
Unfortunately, earlier efforts to vaccinate the canines couldn’t
keep up with more than 360 cases where an animal bit a human.
But as if this isn’t already bad enough, consider this. Many of
the dogs have been hanged! Remember this when someone tells
you China isn’t a threat to the U.S. [Jane MaCartney / The
Times (of London)]
–On a lighter note, I’m reading my High Plains Journal
(Oklahoma/Texas/New Mexico edition) and I see this headline:
“Angora Goat Performance Test Field Day and Sale set July 27”
“The day’s activities open at 10 a.m. with an informal viewing of
the test animals and their records.”
So I’m thinking, are these goats put through the paces, like the
shot put or the 4X100 relay? I mean what kind of performance
testing? Maybe the triathlon, for all I know.
I see on the program, however, that there was a lecture titled
“Mohair Market Update and Outlook,” by Zane Willard, Mohair
Council of America.
These are the bastards who get all those crazy government
subsidies; classic pork-barrel spending.
–Joann S. Lublin had a funny story on “Interview Etiquette” in
The Wall Street Journal.
I can’t imagine this, but there are real-life stories these days of
candidates “repeatedly peeking at (their) BlackBerry” in the
middle of an interview.
What’s also amazing is the sense of self-importance and
entitlement so many exhibit these days; every one of ‘em a “Bar
Chat Jerk of the Year” candidate.
–And here’s another jerk, Darryl Strawberry. This is the 20th
anniversary of the New York Mets great 1986 world
championship team and a reunion is slated for Aug. 19, but
Darryl is going to be a no-show. Others won’t be on hand
because of prior commitments (Dwight Gooden is in jail, for
instance), but at least they have notified the club why.
Strawberry has said nothing. What an unbelievable waste of
talent and humanity he turned out to be.
–Oklahoma football Coach Bob Stoops is being praised by the
NCAA, of all people, after Stoops dismissed starting quarterback
Rhett Bomar and starting offensive lineman J.D. Quinn for
receiving payment for no-show jobs at a car dealership.
“When you knowingly and intentionally and premeditatedly
break NCAA rules, you cannot be a member of this football
team,” said Stoops upon learning of the infractions.
Both players are looking into transferring into other Division I-A
programs but the NCAA could then suspend them.
–USA Today pre-season top ten college football
1. Ohio State
2. Texas
T-3. USC, Notre Dame
5. Oklahoma
6. Auburn
7. West Virginia
8. Florida
9. LSU
10. Florida State
And as fellow Wake Forest alum Phil W. pointed out to me,
Duke received a single vote, we didn’t. It’s going to be a long,
long year.
–Here’s something stupid, but since it comes from the NCAA
you shouldn’t be surprised. They’re eliminating the Division I-A
and I-AA tags that separate the major and more modest football
programs. From Steve Wieberg of USA Today:
“Acknowledging frustration that the classification can brand a
school as big time or non-big-time, the association’s Division I
board of directors moved Thursday to rename the subdivisions.
Beginning in December, they’ll be known by their respective
postseason formats. What now are I-A programs – the Texases,
Notre Dames and others vying for bowls – will play in the
Football Bowl Subdivision. The Georgia Southerns, Montanas
(Colgates, I might add) and others known as I-AA will play in
the Football Championship Subdivision, alluding to the 16-team
playoff that settles its national title.”
What a bunch of idiots. I’m moving to Iceland.
–And if that doesn’t work, I’m moving to Greenland, where
Charles K. tells me there’s a great microbrewery that uses only
the finest ice cap water. Now that sounds absolutely
splendiferous. Of course when the ice cap melts, so much for the
business.
–Elden Auker, one of the more interesting pitchers of his era,
died at the age of 95. Auker was a submarine hurler, grazing his
knuckles on the mound as he delivered the ball, with his best
years coming for the Detroit Tigers in the 1930s, including
Detroit’s pennant-winning seasons of 1934 and 35, when Auker
went a combined 33-14. Overall he was 130-101 in his career.
But imagine where he came from. Born in Norcatur, Kan., a
town of about 300, in 1910, Auker was the son of a mailman that
went on to become a three-sport star at Kansas State. Oh, to be
having a catch with him in those days, small-town boy and his
dreams…and he fulfilled them.
–So I’m perusing baseball-reference.com (see link above) and
for no particular reason stumble on Carl Willey, who pitched for
the 51-111 Mets in 1963. Willey went 9-14, but he threw four of
the team’s five shutouts. That Mets team had a batting average
of .219. Geezuz, that sucks.
[By the way, I’ve begun sponsoring quite a few pages on
baseball-reference, including Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb and Nolan
Ryan. I don’t ask for anything for StocksandNews, but if you’re
a baseball fan, please tell your friends about baseball-reference.]
–I saw a bit on Story Book Forest in the travel section of the
Star-Ledger on Sunday. Boy, this brings back pleasant memories
of my childhood. This place is located in Ligonier, Pa., and each
summer growing up I would go “home” to the western part of the
state where my relatives were (mostly around Greensburg and
Latrobe). I had no idea Story Book Forest was still around and is
now celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer.
[It’s simply one of those neat, typically American places where
the attractions are centered around nursery rhymes like Mother
Goose, Goldilocks, and Little Red Riding Hood. Actors dress up
in character, though Mother Goose was kind of creepy, if you
know what I’m sayin’.]
–Here’s an idiot. Danny Mendez, a herpetologist in charge of
the Liberty Science Center’s (Jersey City, N.J.) reptile and
amphibian collection, sold a yellow Amazon tree boa to an
undercover conservation officer for $250. Mendez was
marketing the science center’s animals on a web site. Evidently,
Mr. Mendez is prominent in his field.
You’ve got to feel sorry for the boa, who really must have felt
like he was being jerked around. Too bad he didn’t swallow
Mendez whole.
–Johnny Mac passed along the tale of yet another NBA dirtball,
this one Kenny Anderson. According to Janon Fisher of the New
York Post, Anderson “is a deadbeat dad – stiffing at least five of
his seven children….three women with whom he has kids
confirm.”
Anderson, who left the NBA last year after accumulating $60
million in his career, is currently playing for a Lithuanian team
and making somewhere between $750,000 and $1 million.
Kenny’s first wife and mother of four of his kids says he owes
the children about $100,000.
There are truly only about four or five likable figures in the
NBA, max.
Separately, about 100 of the NBA’s 450 players will be from
outside the U.S. this season.
–Jimmie Johnson won the Brickyard 400 at Indy, thus becoming
only the second driver to win both Daytona and the Brickyard in
the same year; Dale Jarrett being the other, 1996.
–Here’s a golf tidbit for you. In 2002 Craig Perks won the
Tournament Players Championship in spectacular fashion and
picked up a 10-year exemption on the PGA Tour for his efforts.
That not only remains his only win, this year he has made one
cut in 14 events in pocketing a whopping $11,880. Boy, I’m
glad I’m not on his bag. It would be Kibbles and Bits.
–Scholarship limits for NCAA Division I golf teams:
Men…4.5
Women…6.0
–We note the passing of 4-time Iditarod champion Susan
Butcher of leukemia. She was just 51.
–Rocker Arthur Lee died at the age of 61. Lee was the first
black rock star of the post-Beatles era, fronting the group Love
and influencing the likes of Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant. One of
Love’s albums, “Forever Changes,” ranked #40 on Rolling Stone
magazine’s top 500 albums of all time, even though it was never
higher than no. 154 on the Billboard album chart after its release.
I need to pick this up.
Top 3 songs for the week of 8/7/65: #1 “I’m Henry VIII, I Am”
(Herman’s Hermits) #2 “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (The
Rolling Stones) #3 “What’s New Pussycat?” (Tom Jones)…and
…#4 “Save Your Heart For Me” (Gary Lewis and the Playboys)
#5 “I Got You Babe” (Sonny & Cher) #6 “Yes, I’m Ready”
(Barbara Mason) #7 “I Like It That” (The Dave Clark Five) #8
“Cara Mia” (Jay & The Americans) #9 “I Can’t Help Myself”
(Four Tops) #10 “Don’t Just Stand There” (Patty Duke)
*My XM Satellite Radio 60s channel is playing the Beach Boys’
“Girls On The Beach” as I write. Have to admit, this tune is
underrated. But note to XM: Fix your reception issues! Or at
least tell me when I need to whip out the aluminum foil.
Los Angeles Dodgers Quiz Answers: 1) Career, hits: Willie
Davis, 2,091. 2) Hits, season: Tommy Davis, 230, 1966. 3) HR,
season: Shawn Green, 49, 2001. 4) Complete games, season:
Sandy Koufax, 27 in both 1965, 1966….and then he retired. 5)
Wins, career: Don Sutton, 233. 6) Batting average, season: Mike
Piazza, .362, 1997. 7) Most seasons, non-pitcher: Bill Russell,
18, 1969-1986.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday….Tony C. and Don Wilson.
