NFL Quiz: Name the Top Ten all time in receptions. [Hints: One
is a running back, #10 has 825 receptions, and Steve Largent
(819), Shannon Sharpe (815), Henry Ellard (814) and Isaac
Bruce (813), are #s 11-14. Answer below.
Major Golf Titles
18…Jack Nicklaus
11…Walter Hagen
9…..Ben Hogan, Gary Player
8…..Tom Watson
7…..Harry Vardon, Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead,
Arnold Palmer
6…..Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo
5…..Seve Ballesteros, James Braid, Byron Nelson, J.H. Taylor,
Peter Thomson
4…..Willie Anderson Jr., Jim Barnes, Raymond Floyd, Bobby
Locke, Tom Morris Jr., Tom Morris St., Willie Park Sr.
3……Jamie Anderson, Tommy Armour, Julius Boros, Billy
Casper, Henry Cotton, Jimmy Demaret, Ernie Els, Bob Ferguson,
Ralph Guldahl, Hale Irwin, Phil Mickelson, Cary Middlecoff,
Larry Nelson, Nick Price, Denny Shute, Vijay Singh, Payne
Stewart
Only Els, Mickelson, Price and Singh are still active and all are
stuck on three; plus Price has zero chance of winning another as
he’s about to turn 50.
……………………..just wanted to give you a sense of a golf
world without Tiger. Nicklaus’s 18 majors would still look quite
formidable.
But now Tiger has 12; 12 of 12 when he leads or is tied for the
lead going into the final round of a major. [37 of 40 in all PGA
Tour events.]
As for the Ryder Cup, how pitiful a state is U.S. golf in these
days when no one, like Davis Love III, could step up and take
away a slot on the team from Vaughn Taylor, J.J. Henry, Zach
Johnson, or Brett Wetterich…#s 7-10 on the list who all now
head to Ireland. Love, in particular, blew it over the weekend.
But I’m posting this column just an hour or so before Captain
Tom Lehman makes his two captain’s picks and at the risk of
looking incredibly stupid I say he’ll go with Stewart Cink and
Jerry Kelly, though I’d like to see Tim Herron on the squad.
Then again, Lehman could still pick Love because of his
extensive Cup experience, especially considering you have all
these rookies on the squad.
Stuff
–More pre-season college football polls.
Sports Illustrated
1. Ohio State
2. Notre Dame
3. Texas [defending champ]
4. LSU
5. USC
6. West Virginia
7. Auburn
8. Cal
9. Florida
10. Michigan
AP
1. Ohio State
2. Notre Dame
3. Texas
4. Auburn
5. West Virginia
6. USC
7. Florida
8. LSU
9. Cal
10. Oklahoma
[#11 Florida State and #12 Miami play Labor Day night.]
Ohio State is loaded offensively with quarterback Troy Smith,
receiver / returner Ted Ginn Jr. and running back Antonio
Portman.
But now for your official Bar Chat Pick to Click….
The national champion, in a huge upset, will be NEBRASKA!!!
As for game-day bets, I always wait for everyone to play at least
three games, college football being what it is….but kids, it’s time
to start saving your lunch money because I promise to make you
more greenbacks than in your wildest dreams!
–Sports Illustrated listed its Heisman Trophy candidates.
Brady Quinn, Sr., QB, Notre Dame
Adrian Peterson, Jr., RB, Oklahoma
Ted Ginn Jr., Jr., WR/KR, Ohio State
Michael Bush, Sr., RB, Louisville
Kenny Irons, Sr., RB, Auburn
Chris Leak, Sr., QB, Florida
Steve Slaton, Soph., RB, West Virginia
Troy Smith, Sr., QB, Ohio State
–The Wall Street Journal came up with a ranking of college
football programs in terms of the number of alumni who not only
made it to the NFL but also their effectiveness.
1. Florida State
2. Florida
3. Georgia
4. Tennessee
5. Ohio State
6. Michigan
7. Miami
8. Auburn
9. LSU
10. North Carolina….yes, as the Journal opines, this last one is
surprising.
So you high-schoolers doing steroids and with posters of Ray
Lewis or Peyton Manning on your wall take note. [Not that
Peyton is a user.]
[I had a discussion with an old high school baseball coach the
other day and we were talking about kids and steroids today. It’s
simply rampant.]
–Speaking of which, sprinter Marion Jones was finally nailed
after testing for performance-enhancing drugs (EPO) at the US
track and field championship in June, a meet where Jones won
the 100-meters in her comeback effort. She faces a two-year
suspension.
Of course no one is in the least bit surprised. After all, is there
anyone clean in this friggin’ sport? World record-holder Justin
Gatlin was just nailed.
Jones has been long implicated in the BALCO scandal, which
claimed her former husband C.J. Hunter and sprinter Tim
Montgomery, the latter being the father of Jones’s son. [Test that
kid for steroids!]
Separately, sprinter Asafa Powell of Jamaica equaled the 100-
meter world record he shares with Gatlin, 9.77. What’s kind of
funny is Powell has now run a 9.77 three separate times. 1/100th
of a second! Goodness gracious. But does any of it really
matter?
–I’ve never been a fan of golfer Billy Mayfair (for no particular
reason except I can’t like ‘em all, you understand), but you have
to admire the hell out of him for playing as well as he did at
the PGA, not only just two weeks after testicular cancer surgery,
but also in having to deal with his mother’s illness. She suffered
a stroke and heart attack right before the start of the event.
–Interesting article in GolfWorld on the success, or lack thereof,
of U.S. Amateur winners once they turned pro.
1997…Matt Kuchar…one win on the PGA Tour
1998…Hank Kuehne…zero wins
1999…David Gossett…one win
2000…Jeff Quinney…zero
2001…Bubba Dickerson…zero
2002…Ricky Barnes…zero
2003…Nick Flanagan…zero
2004…Ryan Moore…zero
2005…Edoardo Molinari just turned pro.
Only Kuehne, Dickerson and Moore are regularly playing the
PGA Tour…the others are mostly on Nationwide.
–Uh oh. Headline on BBC News.
“ ‘Cannibals’ confess in Mozambique”
“A husband and wife in Mozambique face multiple charges after
confessing to exhuming corpses to eat the flesh and powdered
bones, say police….
“Gorongosa district police say they are still investigating the case
in an area where belief in witchcraft is strong….
“The husband, 50-year-old Neva Mafunga said he had been
eating human flesh for more than 20 years…
“His 34-year-old wife, Nhanvura Faera, said she began eating
human flesh on the orders of her husband.”
Remind me not to go here. Also, as a side tip from your editor, if
you answer the doorbell and see a witch doctor standing on your
stoop, it would probably be best to contact local authorities.
–Boy, it’s going to be a long, long season for us Jets fans. The
fact is they are lacking in talent and have an incredibly fragile
quarterback, Chad Pennington, to boot, but also check out the
lack of class in the organization. To wit.
In attempting to fill the gap created by the absence of running
back Curtis Martin, who simply isn’t recovering from knee
surgery, they traded for Cleveland Browns back Lee Suggs, who
himself has a history of injuries.
Suggs failed his Jets physical and was sent back to Cleveland,
after which Suggs replied:
“I was shocked. I practiced throughout training camp and all of
the spring. I did all the workouts, passed the physicals here and
everything was fine. Then I went up to New York, and I failed.
So, yes I was shocked.”
According to the Associated Press:
“The Jets never gave Suggs a reason why he flunked their
medical evaluation. Adding insult to injury, the team had one of
its interns tell Suggs he failed as he was being driven back to his
dormitory room.
“ ‘No coach told me, no GM told me,’ Suggs said.”
If I’m a free agent next off-season, why the hell would I sign
with a bunch of jerks like the Jets?!
Final record this year….1-15, maybe.
[This weekend the Jets traded for running back Kevan (sic)
Barlow in a second attempt to fill the breach.]
–Another year without a Triple Crown winner in baseball, it
would appear. Amazingly, Joe Medwick is the last to do it in the
N.L., 1937, while Carl Yastrzemski (1967) and Frank Robinson
(1966) were the last in the A.L.
–It was kind of funny on Saturday following the Yankees’ two
wins over Boston on Friday, including a record four hour, 45
minute, nine-inning contest. “What Boston is missing is Johnny
Damon” said all the sportswriters in unison. Gotta hand it to the
guy….he’s a winner.
–Want to know the definition of a “jerk,” in Bar Chat terms at
least? Junior Seau.
He retires after 16 years in San Diego in a lavish ceremony and
then four days later signs with New England because he wants an
opportunity to get a Super Bowl ring.
So Junior Seau, you are hereby placed in the December file for
consideration as a Bar Chat “Jerk of the Year” candidate.
–The New York Mets honored their great 1986 World
Championship team this weekend (more on them in October) and
among the attendees was Darryl Strawberry, the biggest
underachiever in the history of civilization. Go ahead, come up
with someone worse? [OK…maybe Saruman.]
Straw also didn’t show until he was promised more money, then
in typical Strawberry fashion he tried to convince us all he was
doing lots of missionary work these days.
[In the Animal Kingdom, now that we know hippos are scared of
hyenas, I’d say hippos are the biggest underachievers.
Correspondingly, we’ve learned in this space over the past few
weeks that lions, after decades of being eclipsed by tigers, are
probably killing far more humans than their rival big cats. In
fact, I just may have to put the Kruger National Park lions in the
“Bar Chat Hall of Fame.” Apologies to the families of the
deceased, of course.]
–Sports Illustrated’s “Sign of the Apocalypse”
“Approximately 40,000 people participate in fantasy fishing
leagues.”
–Goodness gracious, the winner in the Valley City Frog Jump
Festival, “Bubblegum,” leaped 15’ 8 ½”.
–Wilt Chamberlain would have been 70 on Monday. Hard to
believe it’s been almost seven years since he died (10/12/99).
How great was Wilt? Sure, he scored a lot of points, including
that stupendous 1961-62 season when he averaged 50 a game.
But consider this; in his 14-year career he never averaged less
than 18.2 rebounds per game. His first three years he averaged at
least 25.7! These days if you get 12 or 14 in a game that’s
considered to be outstanding.
And on the female front, it’s said Wilt never averaged fewer than
……………oops, better not go there.
–Justin Timberlake probably deserves consideration for the
“Idiot of the Year” category for his comments about “American
Idol” winner Taylor Hicks.
In an interview with Fashion Rocks magazine (a one-time
publication), Timberlake said Hicks “can’t carry a tune in a
bucket.”
Then he added, “If (Hicks) has any skeletons whatsoever; if, God
forbid, he’s gay, and all these people in Mississippi who voted
for him are like, ‘Oh, my God, I voted for a queer!’ It’s just too
much pressure.”
Timberlake’s representative said his comments “were taken
completely out of context….He has tremendous affection for
Taylor Hicks’ success.” Ha! [Star-Ledger]
–Hollywood is in a tizzy over a new IRS effort to tax “swag” or
those gift baskets handed out at awards shows; the first target
being the upcoming Emmy Awards. Inside each goodie bag will
be an IRS tax form.
By some estimates actors receive as much as $100,000 in gifts,
including jewelry, plasma TVs, Celine Dion backstage passes,
and gold-plated cellphones. But now that haul could cost about
$40,000 in taxes.
Of course the purpose of the swag is to create buzz and pictures
in publications such as Us Weekly or People.
Personally, I’d be happy to take some swag….I have a loss carry-
forward I could use.
–The New York Post’s Steve Serby asked former Mets’ great
Keith Hernandez what three dinner guests he’d most like to have
in that age-old question. Keith responded “Jesus, Harry Truman
and Lou Gehrig.” Very interesting grouping. I think I’ve
consistently said in this space that for me it would be
“Muhammad Ali, Arnold Palmer, and Richard Nixon.”
–Alfonso Soriano now has four 30-30 seasons (30 home runs, 30
stolen bases). Only Barry and Bobby Bonds have more with
five.
–Just got the Wake Forest basketball schedule for 2006-07 and it
looks like we’ll win two games….Gardner-Webb and perhaps
Air Force. I see us losing every other contest, including to Elon
and Winston-Salem State.
Huge early season match-up, by the way, at Bucknell, Allen H.!
I’ll expect 14 points on that one.
–Food for thought…from Craig Medred of the Anchorage Daily
News, as he muses about road kill.
“Judging from the carnage, it is…hard to avoid the conclusion
that road kill is probably the chief cause of mortality for a bunch
of these species.
[Ed., such as raccoons, possums, squirrels, skunks and
birds….Medred not having seen any deer on a recent drive on
Alaska’s highways probably because folks immediately pick
them up for delicious venison sandwiches.]
“So why don’t the animal rights activists get upset about this?
“When animals die for food or clothing or, God forbid, cultural
enrichment (what has come to be mislabeled as ‘sport’), they are
outraged. But all of those animal deaths, whether you agree or
disagree with them, are at least purposeful.
“These are accidental, wasteful, the collateral damage of the way
we live today, because when it comes to the damage motor
vehicles do to wildlife, nobody worries about building smart
bombs, smart cars or smart anything.
“American highways kill wildlife by design.”
Wohh, this is getting heavy.
“It is easy to run over a squirrel, a skunk, a possum or even a
raccoon. The inconvenience? Little more than a thump-thump.
“Hit a moose or a bear, though, and it’s a different story. You
would think this might make people better drivers, more alert
drivers, sometimes more cautious drivers. The amazing thing is
that it doesn’t. Some of them still drive around putting on their
makeup and talking on the cellphone.
“Why not? The odds of hitting another vehicle on the road are
really quite small, no matter how inattentive one might be, and if
you run over animals, pedestrians or cyclists, well, that’s just
collateral damage.
“They just shouldn’t be getting in the way of the automobile.”
Now Mr. Medred does have a point, and I’d love to kill some
drivers I’ve seen, quite frankly, but I’m beginning to wonder if I
really want to share a beer with the guy, know what I’m sayin’?
–This just in… “Wild elephants ran amok and trampled to death
four farmers on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.” [The Times
(of London)] According to a local conservationist, the cause was
more human encroachment into wilderness set aside for the
animals. You’ve gotta respect this. Lions and elephants, taking
charge in 2006. Sadly, though, some of the elephants are also
starving so I’d be careful going to a Wal-Mart Super Store, know
what I’m sayin’?
–Clarence Williams III turned 67 on Monday. One of the great
‘fros in television history. But Heshimu’s (“Room 222”) was
better.
–Yet another music station has been screwed. Last year the
great oldies station, WCBS-FM, was forced off the air in favor of
a new format focusing on 1980s and 90s fare and the ratings for
the new venture have been horrible.
Now we have a situation where Los Angeles’ KZLA-FM, the
city’s only country music station, was taken off abruptly on
Thursday in favor of “Movin’ 93.9,” which will now play artists
such as Beyonce, Janet Jackson and Jennifer Lopez.
Both L.A. and New York are without country music stations.
And it’s not like KZLA was tanking; it was 20th out of 80 in the
L.A. market, while Los Angeles ranks in the top two for country
album sales. As an example of the audience here, KZLA’s
demise occurred the same day that Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
were opening their tour in L.A., one in which all three nights
were sold out. [Gillian Flaccus / AP]
This year I purchased XM Satellite Radio, thinking I’d use it for
the baseball coverage. But I’ve ended up using it for the music
as some of the channels are outstanding. Now country fans in
L.A. have another reason to buy XM or competitor Sirius.
Top 3 songs for the week of 8/22/70: #1 “Make It With You”
(Bread) #2 “(They Long To Be) Close To You” (Carpenters) #3
“Spill The Wine” (Eric Burdon and War)…and…#4 “War”
(Edwin Starr…good god, y’all) #5 “In The Summertime”
(Mungo Jerry) #8 “Band Of Gold” (Freda Payne) #9 “I Just
Can’t Help Believing” (B.J. Thomas…he was underrated)
NFL Quiz Answer: Top Ten in receptions.
1. Jerry Rice…1,549
2. Cris Carter…1,101
3. Tim Brown…1,094
4. Andre Reed…951
5. Art Monk…940
6. Marvin Harrison…927
7. Jimmy Smith…862
8. Irving Fryar…851
9. Larry Centers…827
10. Keenan McCardell…825
Centers is the running back. Harrison, 34 (on Fri.), and
McCardell, 36, are still active.
Rice leads with 197 TD receptions; Carter had 130; Harrison has
110; and Tim Brown and Steve Largent each had 100.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
