Baseball Quiz: Since 1930, name the only five pitchers in the
majors to have won 25 games in a season three times. Answer
below.
Skip, RIP
All of us sports fans live and die with our teams, and the coach or
manager is always at the forefront of conversation when we get
together with our buddies to watch a contest and share some
opinion. Wake Forest basketball coach Skip Prosser, like so many
others in his profession, got to experience the highs and lows and
the fans of his teams were there with him in good times and bad.
I’ve been no different than anyone else in both praising and
criticizing Skip, and all of us who call ourselves Demon Deacons
were shocked by Prosser’s death at the age of 56.
At the same time, I can’t say I’m totally surprised by his apparent
massive heart attack following a jog on campus last Thursday.
All you had to do was watch him on court and see his face turn
beet red with the first call of a game that went against him. On
more than one occasion we’d say, “Geez, Skip. Take it easy.”
Off the court, Prosser had a sterling reputation as just a genuinely
nice guy and a real mentor. Former guard Justin Gray said “He
told me we never blame teammates and he never blamed me. He
taught me never to point a finger at anyone else and that as you
go along you fix things the best you can.”
In just six seasons, Prosser led the Deacs to an ACC regular
season crown in 2003 and Wake reached the NCAAs in his first
four years. For the first time in school history we were also
ranked No. 1 during the 2004-05 season.
But the past two seasons were tough, as Wake went just 3-13 and
5-11 in conference play. I know I was critical on more than one
occasion, especially two years ago when we vastly
underachieved.
And I know it’s not appropriate during a time like this, but I also
can’t help but think back to both the ‘04-‘05 season and what
should have happened the following one….if only point guard
Chris Paul had acted like the leader he purported to be.
Paul would end up screwing both Wake and Coach Prosser by
announcing, late, that he was leaving school before his junior
season. The hometown boy kept saying how he wanted to lead
the school to the promised land; an NCAA championship. Then
he left when we were on the verge of doing so.
Skip Prosser, let down by Paul and unable to recruit effectively
for that following year, had only one more season to turn things
around at Wake, many believe. But then, out of nowhere,
Prosser recruited a terrific front line for the 2008-09 season, as I
spelled out just one week ago. Us fans were like, holy cow…we
could be back. Sports Illustrated deemed it No. 2 in the nation.
Things were looking up. Maybe we were about to rewrite a
chapter as spectacular as last year’s football team.
Alas, after this period of mourning the sports fan goes back to
wondering whether these soon to be high school seniors will
keep their commitments…and if they don’t, we’ll certainly
understand.
Finally, for all the ranting and raving as a typical fan that just so
happens to have a bigger forum than most others do, I’ll tell you
what makes me most proud to be a Wake Forest alum. The vast
majority of our athletes, focusing on the football and basketball
teams, are good people. Prosser recruited that way, as does
Coach Jim Grobe today. I love getting my end of school year
Wake magazine to see the pictures of those athletes who
graduated, and in four years. I love that the NBA’s best, Tim
Duncan, stayed all four years at Wake Forest.
In the end, that’s what it’s all about. Skip Prosser was a good
man who made everyone around him better. He was what you
hope big-time college athletics is all about, but often isn’t. Skip
Prosser was proud to be a Deac, and Skip, you made us proud in
return. Our sympathies to the entire Prosser family and his
players at Wake.
—
Iraq 1…Saudi Arabia 0
No doubt, there are countless Hollywood types searching for the
screenplay to what is one of the better sports stories of the
decade, that being Iraq’s triumph in the finals of the Asian Cup
soccer tournament. This is a team that can’t even practice in its
own country, has no money, and is in serious jeopardy if and
when it returns to its homeland. Just an awesome display of
courage and teamwork.
For its part, Saudi Arabia has undoubtedly sent another 80
suicide bombers across the border, because that is what they do
best.
The LPGA Tour
So the other day a bunch of us are talking about the Korean
influence on the LPGA…no, really, we were…and there is no
doubt it’s an issue. It’s not being racist…the LPGA itself is the
first to recognize the problem when you have 45 Koreans
(Sweden is next at 15) and all of them seem to have the last name
‘Kim.’ Golf Week had a story by Beth Ann Baldry that delved
into the topic.
There were zero Koreans on tour just a decade ago before Se Ri
Pak became the first in 1998. Since then, Koreans have won 60
titles. But ask any follower of the sport and they’ll tell you it’s
almost impossible to tell them apart.
For starters, there are indeed 11 Kims. LPGA Commissioner
Carolyn Bivens gets ticked off when anyone brings this up, but if
there were 11 Smiths or Jones’, you’d have a similar issue.
[Incidentally, 21% of the Korean population has the last name
Kim.]
Carolyn Bivens:
“One of the reasons very avid sports fans or very avid golf fans
don’t make the transition to the LPGA is when they watch the
television coverage they don’t know enough about the women
they’re watching. It’s especially true for the Asian players. The
media tends to talk about them monolithically. Paula (Creamer)
is as different from Natalie (Gulbis) as any other player. It’s
building those personalities and letting people know.”
Eh, that still doesn’t address the Kim problem.
Beth Ann Baldry:
“There is no junior factory in Korea that’s churning out talented
players by the truckload. A David Leadbetter Academy outside
of Seoul works with several promising young stars, but even the
teaching professionals there say their greatest competition isn’t
another academy, but parents.
“Parents are always on hand at lessons taking copious notes.
Many give up playing any golf of their own. All money and time
is funneled toward their child’s development. Some even quit
their jobs.
“Ha-Na Jang, a bubbly teen from Seoul with a big swing, is one
of Korea’s up-and-coming stars. Her father gave up his
restaurant and dedicated himself full time to Ha-Na’s career. He
claims to read five golf instruction books per month.”
Oh brother.
And therein lies a big issue. Korean parents…or rather, Korean
family culture.
Beth Ann Baldry:
“To Western observers, it’s often a case of extremes. No one can
deny that Korean methods breed success. Generations learn the
virtues of hard work, respect, commitment and discipline. And,
perhaps most notably, Koreans learn how to win.
“But is it really necessary to forgo a high school education to
pursue a sport where there are no guarantees? While it’s
encouraging to see women find lucrative careers in a historically
patriarchal Korean society, it’s sad to see success come at such a
high price.
“Professional athletes sacrifice a tremendous amount of
normalcy. But a single-minded approach to life inevitably takes
a toll. Grace Park became burned out last year and put her clubs
away for three months. For Se Ri Pak, it took a forced leave
caused by an injury for her to find a sense of balance in her life.
“Birdie Kim is trying hard not to hang her self-worth on how
well she plays. Like Pak, she sees the benefit of finding
happiness outside the ropes but is discovering that old habits die
hard.
“ ‘The Americans, I can see they are happy in their life without
golf,’ Kim said. ‘All the Koreans, they are serious. Sometimes I
try to change my mind but all the older Koreans are doing well…
no reason to change.’”
Another issue that is troubling….
“Korean training tactics alone could be seen as a form of abuse
in the eyes of Westerners,” writes Baldry.
“Pak’s father made her run up and down the stairs of their
apartment building, 15 floors, four or five times per day as a
teenager. Sometimes backward.”
But get this. Her father took Se Ri to dog fights “to teach her
that in order to win in golf, she first has to win the battle within
herself. The dog that wins the fight never cries,” Mr. Pak told a
South Korean newspaper in 1998.
Well, some things might be about to change, at least in terms of
the LPGA. The Korean tour has increased its number of events
from 16 to 24, hiking the purses as well, while the Japanese
LPGA is becoming more lucrative. Some of the star Koreans are
thinking of staying closer to home.
Stuff
–The New York Times’ Selena Roberts on NBA Commissioner
David Stern and the Tim Donaghy scandal.
“Dongahy isn’t known to be among the nearly 20 NBA referees
in the late ‘90s who caught the attention of IRS investigators by
exchanging first-class tickets for coach and pocketing a tax-free
difference.
“He was a witness to Stern’s response, though. In a sign of how
deficient the NBA officiating pool is, the league reinstated about
a half-dozen of the tax cheats. Why wouldn’t referees feel above
the law if the league offered them loopholes in integrity?
“The NBA would go on to be hoodwinked by its blind faith in a
flawed ref. In January 2005, Donaghy was questioned by the
league for his part in a legal dispute with a neighbor near his
home outside Philadelphia. A private eye from the league’s
security department was directed to nose around Donaghy, to
check out rumors of gambling and poke into the anger problems
at issue.
“The snooping came up dry. And Donaghy delivered a denial.
“ ‘He informed us that the allegations against him were untrue,’
Stern said. ‘And that he was the person that was being harassed
by his neighbor, not that he was harassing the neighbor.’
“The league believed Donaghy, its unimpeachable ref….
“For years, coaches have complained about referees who ask
players for autographed shoes or request a star’s attendance at a
charity golf event or pal around with a team after hours. In 2002,
through court documents filed by Karla Knafel, a former mistress
of Michael Jordan’s, the referee Eddie F. Rush was portrayed as
the cupid for the secret lovers.
“ ‘I feel comfortable with his explanation,’ Stu Jackson, the
NBA’s vice president, said at the time. ‘Do I feel there is a
problem? Absolutely not.’….
“This ref-player relationship may seem too cozy to be cool, but
the league always offers its refs the benefit of the doubt. Many
of them are good citizens and good people.
“But here, in his worst hour as commissioner, with his face pale
from stress, Stern was still extolling the virtues of his officials
with few qualifiers….
“Protectionism isn’t what referees need. Protectionism is how
the league got into this fix.”
–The Star-Ledger’s Paul Mulshine doesn’t normally comment
on the professional sports scene, but I liked his take on the NBA
ref scandal.
“Stern claims to have plans for reviving the game. I don’t think
it can be done, thanks to another American character flaw, the
‘libido for the ugly’ that the writer H.L. Mencken first identified
and named, ‘the love of ugliness for its own sake.’
“It seems like only yesterday that the top basketball stars were
guys like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the graceful jazz aficionado
who lofted skyhooks over the mere mortals below. In today’s
game, Abdul-Jabbar would be pushed out of the paint by some
gangster wannabe covered in scar tissue. It’s been estimated that
70 percent of NBA players have tattoos. Marketing the NBA to
middle-class families is pretty tough when the players look like
every parent’s nightmare of what their kid could grow up to
become.”
–Congratulations to Tom Watson for winning his third Senior
British Open, this after his collapse at the U.S. Senior Open just a
few weeks ago. But am I the only one who watches this
particular tournament each year and develops a certain sense of
melancholy? I don’t know what it is. The British Open is full of
excitement, huge throngs, and then the next week you have the
seniors and it just feels like a real downer; unlike any other event
on either tour all season. It’s as if you’re watching them for the
last time.
“And now…..the end is near……”
It must be the site and the weather.
–Jim Furyk won his 13th PGA Tour title at the Canadian Open.
You younger folks can’t remember a time when this was the 5th
biggest event of the year, or equal to the Western Open, if you
can believe it. This was before the TPC really took hold and the
Canadian became a victim of irregular scheduling; like just after
the British Open which obviously drastically reduces the quality
of the field. It’s just another event these days and that’s a shame.
–Speaking of national opens, Natalie Gulbis captured her first
LPGA title in winning the Evian Masters in France, which is like
the French Open by my way of thinking. Michelle Wie actually
made a cut, but finished tied for 69th…73-71-84-76. Nice finish,
kid.
–Ichiro became the third fastest to reach 1,500 hits for his career,
achieving the milestone in his 1,060th major league game. Al
Simmons (1,040) and George Sisler (1,048) were faster.
–Mets outfielder Shawn Green is a good guy. But Shawn Green
is 23 for 90 in July, .256, with zero homers and 2, count ‘em, 2,
RBI. For this production, Mr. Green makes $11,800,000. 50%
of you guys reading this column between the ages of 20 and 40, I
imagine, could have fared better by just sticking the bat out.
–The Mets’ Tom Glavine goes for his 300th win on Tuesday and
is open about the fact he is proud he got this far the clean way.
“It’s hard enough to be a good player or a great player in this
game if you’re playing on a level playing field. To throw on top
of that there are some guys – or have been some guys – during
this time who have been cheating or doing things to give
themselves an advantage and you’ve had to rise above that as
well, I think that adds to the satisfaction.”
–Speaking of steroids, the names that former pitcher Jason
Grimsley allegedly listed as steroid and HGH users will remain
secret…at least for now. The “Grimsley Affidavit,” first
revealed after his arrest in June 2006, has multiple names but
they are blacked out. The AP recently filed a motion to have
them released, but a federal judge ruled Friday that the
government’s need to keep them secret outweighed the public’s
right to know them. I’ve held it up to a light and I swear one
name that’s blacked out is ‘c-l-e-m-e-…..’ I just can’t make out
the rest.
–But thank god for Jose Canseco. I said it way back, that he
may be a dirtball but on the issue of steroids he is to be believed
as much of what he has said on this front has proved to be true,
witness Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro, to name just two.
So the other day, Canseco said he has the goods on Alex
Rodriguez and will reveal it as part of another book this fall.
Remember, Canseco has talked to former Sen. George Mitchell’s
official investigation and Canseco named names. Jose’s attorney
is urging that his client be made an investigator because Jose can
talk to the players “comfortably. If Jose sits down face-to-face
with you and reminds you of all the good times, then he says,
‘It’s time for us to come clean with these things.’”
The Yankees deny Jose’s inference.
–From Sports Illustrated: “Last week President Bush gave ESPN
his World Series pick: the Tigers. Bush said he liked Detroit’s
chances now that ‘they’ve got the flamethrower Zumala back.’
Two problems: It’s Joel Zumaya, and he’s still on the DL.”
–Former major leaguer Bill Robinson died suddenly at the age of
64 on Sunday. Robinson blossomed late in his career to have
some good seasons and then was the Mets hitting coach from
1984-89, including their ’86 World Series champion team.
–There is only one saving grace in this whole Michael Vick
case, and that is watching his “friends” from the ‘hood begin to
turn on him. The NFL, incidentally, has pulled all of Vick’s
jerseys and memorabilia off its on-line shopping site. Reebok
also stopped selling his jersey, Nike suspended its shoe contract,
and at least two card companies have pulled Vick’s entry from
any future 2007 releases.
–Have you seen the pictures of the giant squids that have
invaded California’s coast? Goodness gracious. Why would you
ever go into the water there? If the Great White doesn’t get you,
these 7-foot calamari would surely sucker you to death. Of
course, just like in your typical straight-to-video Sci-Fi Channel
movie, you have the naïve scientist; in this case Stanford
University researcher Louis Zeidberg, who said “If a squid saw a
human, they would jet the other way.”
What an idiot. In my movie, Zeidberg would be the first victim,
as he puts his arm into the water to wash off some wine that has
been spilled, only to have a squid wrap one of its tentacles
around Zeidberg’s wrist, pulling the cocky researcher into the sea
with one last anguished cry of “D’oh!” Then, I’d send in the Air
Force for a few obligatory bombing runs as the hot babe and the
guy who chartered the boat…………………………
–Zut alors! “A French government plan to reintroduce bears to
the wild appeared to have backfired spectacularly last week after
one of the creatures was accused of being ‘psychotic.’”
As reported by Matthew Campbell of the London Times, “The
ecology minister was forced to admit France had been misled
about Franska, a Slovenian brown bear set loose in the Pyrenees
last summer. Instead of being a youngster of six, she was, in
fact, a grouchy 17-year-old.” Sounds like Gary Coleman.
Franska is now being accused of serial slaughter of sheep for fun
rather than food: “Sheep carcasses have been dumped in public
squares by incensed farmers and pro and antibear graffiti have
been sprayed on town walls.”
Animal rights activists correctly note that more sheep are lost to
bad weather and diseases than to bears. However, Franska
appears to be different.
“Of the 95 attacks on sheep last year, 58 were carried out by this
bear,” said Georges Azavant, president of the Pyrenees national
park. “Mistakes were made in reintroducing Franska in the
wild.”
Of course Franska is protected, but there are fears she is going to
start attacking villagers and the farmers are up in arms. This
could get good. One problem. This isn’t Web Sweeps Month.
–Here’s a sad one. Half of the 700 mountain gorillas remaining
in the world are in Virunga National Park in the Congo and as
I’ve noted before they’ve been in the crosshairs of the ongoing
civil war there. The Washington Post recently reported that the
hippo population in the same park has “declined from 28,000 to
fewer than 350” due to poaching.
But just the other day, eight mountain gorillas were found shot to
death. Jonathan Clayton of the London Times reported:
“Experts said the slaughter was not the work of poachers because
they would have taken the bodies and sold them as food or
trophies…(Instead it) may have been intended as a warning to
local conservationists who seek to prevent the commercial
destruction of the region’s rainforests, the natural habitat of
gorillas….
“After years of civil war the eastern region of the Congo is the
domain of former rebel leaders, corrupt local officials and militia
groups. The Congolese Government has taken few measures to
curb poachers and protect its rare wildlife, particularly the great
apes.”
There are real heroes in this story, though; the park rangers who
honestly care for the animals but are both outgunned and
outmanned. Additionally, they often go months without being
paid.
For the life of me, and in all seriousness, I don’t understand why
the UN can’t put together a mercenary force to protect the
gorillas. You just know there are retired soldiers all over the
world who would jump at the chance to play army once more,
and for a noble cause. Then again, they’d become embroiled in
the civil war….which is yet another reason why I haven’t been
made UN Secretary General all these years. That and the fact I
can’t stand about 140 of the 180 countries in the membership.
–Here’s a far more heartwarming animal tale. Two
domesticated elephants went on a rampage in India, killing 8
before being shot by police. Actually, on a number of fronts this
isn’t necessarily heartwarming, I’ll admit, but we do like it at Bar
Chat when the animals get their revenge, as long as it’s not
against your editor.
The BBC reported, though, that in this instance officials were
trying to figure out why the elephants, who were used in logging
operations, became so violent.
I’ll tell you why. You see how long you’d put up with hauling
logs with your trunk, let alone with little chance of advancement.
–In Alaska, David Ristig caught a 356-pound halibut on July 16,
which would have been enough to win the $5,000 first prize in
the Seward Jackpot Halibut Derby, by 100 pounds, but that
tourney ended June 30. Ristig did take home 178 pounds of
meat, which the Anchorage Daily News estimates would have
cost Ristig $2,312 ($12.99 per pound) at Costco.
Now you may be wondering how they got this monster onto the
boat. Turns out the captain would normally shoot it, since trying
to haul a fish that size as it’s thrashing about would be quite
dangerous. But the captain of this particular vessel only carries a
Louisville slugger.
“After putting two gaffs into the halibut, it took three men to lift
the 356-pound fish. (The captain) then gave it a few Barry
Bonds-like whacks with a baseball bat, knocking it dead.”
So…looks like the Alaska boat captains are on steroids, too. We
already knew the halibut were.
[I just looked it up….the record for a Pacific Halibut is 459
pounds, also caught in Alaskan waters.]
–Back to animals and their intelligence, this weekend’s Parade
magazine had a story titled “How Much Do Animals Really
Know?”
“Empathy relies on self-awareness. Only an animal that
recognizes itself can understand another’s plight. So there’s the
gauntlet: If you can prove that an animal knows it is a separate
creature from others, the case for animal empathy becomes
stronger.”
This is the biggest crock of borscht. I’m almost run over about
five times a day in Summit, NJ, by idiots who are clearly text-
messaging while driving. You can’t tell me they recognize
themselves.
On the other hand, “dolphins and great apes realize that they are
looking at themselves” in a mirror. Researchers have yet to tell
us what Barry Bonds sees.
Lastly, scientists say “The IQ of dogs has been raised over the
millennia by contact with humans, says anthropologist Brian
Hare of Harvard University, and they’re more skilled at reading
human signals than their close relatives – the wolves – or even
chimpanzees.”
I’ve always said chimps are overrated. And with regards to dogs,
what does my friend Johnny Mac say? You don’t see any rescue
cats! Further proof of the difference between these two is
offered by that cat in Massachusetts, if I remember correctly,
who can identify nursing home patients about to die. That’s just
great. Dogs save people while cats look to pick up some of the
inheritance.
–Another reason to loathe Barry Bonds. His take on Bob
Costas:
“You mean that little midget who absolutely knows jack” about
baseball; “who never played the game before?”
That, my friends, is a total a-hole. You’re right, Barry. Every
single kid in America played baseball at one point in their lives,
but we don’t know anything about the sport because we didn’t
get to your level.
With all the memorials in Washington, I’m beginning to think we
need a National Dirtball Monument in Bonds’ likeness, just to
remind all the school kids who visit our nation’s capital that this
is what you can become unless you wise up.
–Oh brother…Barry just informed us this isn’t his last season.
–What a treat. I go to Milwaukee and at the art museum there
they had a Pissarro exhibit; he being one of my favorites.
Actually, I learned his name is pronounced Peez-ar-ro and he
was born in St. Thomas in 1830 before his parents shipped him
off to boarding school in Paris, 1842-47.
Then in 1860, he began a “liaison with maid Julie Vellay.”
Hmmmm………bet his folks weren’t happy with that one.
Anyway, Pissarro hooked up with fellow Impressionists Monet,
Renoir and one of my other main artists, Al Sisley, and along
with Degas and Cezanne, they put on the first exhibition of
Impressionism in Paris on April 15, 1874.
However, with the latest research, now we learn some of the
guys had cataracts and perhaps that’s why they painted the way
they did.
The Milwaukee Art Museum also has the largest permanent
exhibit of German art in the U.S., as you’d expect; it being
Milwaukee, home of brats, beer and wiener schnitzel. There was
a great display of beer steins as well, but what I didn’t know is
they really didn’t come into being in a big way until after 1870,
when under Bismarck the beer stein was seen as a potent symbol
of German character and life. And you can look it up.
Actually, staring at some of these steins, I felt like Homer
Simpson….drooling over the thought of holding 84 ounces of my
favorite cold beverage, while eating some grilled Usinger’s
Famous Sausage.
–Some Spaniard won the Tour de ‘Roids.
–Lastly, a few comments on “For Worse” as the strip winds
down to its merciful conclusion. The other day, at this stupid
telethon for, err, stupid people, the insufferable April said,
“Everybody is different…but deep inside we’re really all
the same.”
No we aren’t, you spoiled brat. You think Michael Vick and
Barry Bonds are the same as the rest of us inside?
But wait…there’s more. April also sings:
“If we’re the highest on the food chain, the ones with the
brains…why do we act so INSANE?!”
For starters, nitwit, if you’d do a little reading you’d understand
humans are far from the highest on the food chain. In my most
recent survey, I have otters ahead of us.
Now Jeff B., one of the few who knows what’s going on off-
panel, says Rebecca, Gerald, and Dr. P. have been doing lines of
cocaine on April’s guitar case while she’s on stage. Very
perceptive.
Plus J.B. observed that Shannon, the reason for the Jerry Lewis
rip-off (don’t you know he’s the kind to sue), shrunk about four
feet in two panels. I hate to say it, but Shannon now looks like a
troll. Meanwhile, Rebecca is dressed like one of the hookers
plying their trade near the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel.
Top 3 songs for the week 7/26/69: #1 “In The Year 2525”
(Zager & Evans) #2 “Crystal Blue Persuasion” (Tommy James
& The Shondells…in your editor’s top three all time) #3
“Spinning Wheel” (Blood, Sweat & Tears)…and…#4 “My
Cherie Amour” (Stevie Wonder) #5 “What Does It Take (To
Win Your Love)” (Jr. Walker & The All Stars…simply the best
start to any song in music history…including Rachmaninoff’s
Piano Concerto No. 2…or is it No. 3?….. ‘Crystal Blue
Persuasion’ is actually a close second) #6 “Good Morning
Starshine” (Oliver) #7 “One” (Three Dog Night) #8 “The
Ballad of John and Yoko” (The Beatles) #9 “Baby, I Love You”
(Andy Kim) #10 “Love Theme From Romeo & Juliet” (Henry
Mancini)
*Keith Urban was awesome in Milwaukee. I’ve never been a big
concertgoer, but in the last few years I’ve managed to see
Springsteen, U2 and now Keith among the bigger named stars
and all three put on spectacular shows. [I also saw Tom Jones,
who was equally good, but he’s in a different category these
days.] I owe Don Imus, because were it not for his playing
Urban consistently, I never would have been turned on to the
guy.
Baseball Quiz Answer: Five to win 25 games or more three
different seasons since 1930. Lefty Grove, 1930-32; Hal
Newhouser, 1944-46; Bob Feller (40, 41, 46); Sandy Koufax (63,
65, 66) and Juan Marichal (63, 66, 68). Let’s face it…if you got
Hal Newhouser, pour yourself a premium Pilsner Urquell.
I’ve written previously about Hal, but this is a guy who during
the above mentioned stretch went 80-27…29-9, 25-9, 26-9.
Without a doubt one of the truly underrated stars in the history of
the game, due in no small part to the fact his career was largely
over at age 29.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
