NFL Quiz: 1) Who is Denver’s career leader in interceptions?
2) Who is their career leader in TDs? 3) Who holds Denver’s
single game rushing record with 251 yards? 4) Who was the first
to kick five field goals in a game for Denver, initials G.M.? 5)
Indianapolis: Who is Hal Hunter? 6) Who is Indy/Baltimore’s
career leader in interceptions? Answers below.
Johnny Mac:
“Is it me, or is it getting harder every day to be a legitimate, adult
sports fan?
“The best football team of the generation? Cheaters
The best baseball player of the generation? Cheater
The All-American boy QB of said football team? Pops an
illegitimate kid
The once proud Knicks? A “Page Six” laughingstock
The most physically gifted athlete ever to play QB? A dog
killer”
Throw in gambling scandals in basketball and tennis, if you care
to.
In line with the above, we now have a huge scandal in the sport
of Formula One racing, with two-time champion Fernando
Alonso directly implicated in a mess that led to the World Motor
Sports Council fining McLaren a record $100 million…$100
million!…as well as expulsion from this year’s constructors’
championship.
The F1 case broke last July when a 780-page technical dossier on
Ferrari cars was found at the home of McLaren’s chief designer,
who was later suspended. A Ferrari mechanic supplied it.
But e-mails show that Alonso and a test driver received the
confidential information and knew it should have been turned
over but didn’t. Alonso is second in the current drivers’
standings behind Lewis Hamilton. Just as in the case of Bill
Belichick, this is about gaining a competitive advantage, such as
in the car’s “set-up.” McLaren said it gained nothing.
So compare the above penalty to the measly $500,000 fine levied
against New England’s Belichick (as well as some draft picks and
a smaller fine for the team itself).
Judy Battista / New York Times
“With a string of harsh sanctions that has included a season-long
suspension of Pacman Jones and the likely forfeiture of a first-
round draft pick for the Patriots, (NFL Commissioner Roger)
Goodell has lowered the boom on NFL rules-breakers. He has set
a law-and-order tone that has seized the attention of fans and
players as he tries to navigate the NFL through what seem to be
particularly choppy waters….
“The comparison is stark. Only seven years ago, Baltimore
Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis was fined $250,000 – but not
suspended – by the former commissioner Paul Tagliabue for
lying to the police about his involvement in an incident that
resulted in the stabbing deaths of two men outside an Atlanta
nightclub after the Super Bowl.
“Last April, Goodell suspended Jones for the entire season
because he had been arrested five times since he entered the
league in 2005. And two weeks ago, Goodell suspended the
Dallas Cowboys’ quarterbacks coach, Wade Wilson, for five
games for using human growth hormone….
“ ‘He’s done a great job of setting everyone straight and setting
the line that he is not tolerating nonsense acts,’ Jets defensive
end Shaun Ellis said the day after Belichick was fined.”
Of course some say Goodell did not go far enough in this latest
case. As Gary Myers of the New York Daily News wrote, the
fines and sanctions have “absolutely no impact on this season,
which makes this a penalty without much bite.”
On the issue of Belichick’s legacy, William C. Rhoden of the
Times writes:
“In the wake of the commissioner’s stiff penalty against the
Patriots…claims that the Patriots’ successes were counterfeit,
sadly, have to be considered….
“What New England did cuts to the integrity of the game; what
those players did makes the game look seamy.”
The second-guessing has begun. As Rhoden, who thought
Belichick should have been suspended, notes, Pittsburgh’s Hines
Ward is now suspicious of the Pats and their actions in the AFC
championship game in 2001. “Oh, they knew,” Ward Said.
“They were calling our stuff out….They knew a lot of our calls.”
Some of the Philadelphia Eagles are questioning the 2005 Super
Bowl. And as USA Today’s Jon Saraceno noted:
“What about Tom Brady? Don’t you think the signal-caller
benefited handsomely from the signal-stealing? Hall of Famer
Dan Marino told Bob Costas of HBO’s ‘Inside the NFL’ that it’s
‘a huge advantage’ to be tipped about the defense.”
Rhoden:
“At one level, I’m tempted to pass this off as the pros just trying
to get an edge. Hey, everybody tries to get an edge: Players
continue to use HGH and some still use steroids….
“On the other hand, an edge in the hands of a coach like
Belichick is more than an edge. It’s an ax. My mother used to
famously say, ‘Cheaters never prosper.’
“Now, we’re left to wonder.”
But of all the ones commenting, among writers, players, and
coaches, probably no one has more creditability than the Colts’
Tony Dungy, who said:
“This is really a sad day for the NFL….I feel bad for young
coaches. I hope they don’t feel like this is what you have to do
to win, because you don’t have to do that to win.”
How did the Pats respond Sunday night against San Diego?
They kicked the Chargers’ butts, 38-14.
Stuff
College Football Tidbits [Far more interesting than the NFL at
this stage in the season.]
Mark R., Notre Dame alum, called me during the summer and
said, “You watch, Editor. They will go 2-10!”
Well Mark, that’s looking mighty prescient, I must say. The
“Fighting Irish”….cough cough….have been outscored 102-13
in their first three games, including Saturday’s 38-0 loss to lowly
Michigan. ND’s Charlie Weis, the self-proclaimed greatest
coach who ever donned stretch pants, is an embarrassment, and
as every analyst has been noting, Notre Dame just doesn’t have
the athletes.
Utah (1-2) 44…#11 UCLA 6!!!!….talk about embarrassing!
Florida Atlantic 42…Minnesota 39……..another embarrassment
#21 Boston College 24…#15 Georgia Tech 10…Matt Ryan
throws for 435 yards……I’m telling you, BC is running the table
in the ACC and is BCS bound.
Wake Forest 21…Army 10….boy, not our finest effort.
Miami 23…Florida International 9….the ACC truly sucks, which
is yet another reason why BC will roll. By the way, Miami was
playing the gate agents at Florida International, in case you
didn’t know anything about the opponent.
Duke 20…Northwestern 14…snapping Duke’s 22-game losing
streak. Northwestern students burned their campus down and
demanded the right to transfer.
#1 USC 49…#14 Nebraska 31….not even that close.
Kentucky (3-0) 40…#9 Louisville 34…great for the game to
have a competitive Kentucky.
Troy 41…Oklahoma State 23………Go Troy!!!!!
New AP Top Ten
1. USC
2. LSU
3. Florida
4. Oklahoma
5. West Virginia
6. California
7. Texas
8. Ohio State
9. Wisconsin
10. Penn State
14. Boston College
19. Hawaii
23. South Florida!!!
This is going to be the most exciting college football season ever.
For starters, I’ll predict we end the season with five major
undefeateds….USC or California; LSU or Florida; Oklahoma;
Boston College or Clemson; and Ohio State, Penn State or
Wisconsin.
–Ever since the Cardinals’ Rick Ankiel was fingered in a steroid
probe as having ordered a 12-month supply of HGH, “The
UnNatural” has gone into a horrific slump. The allegations hit
the day after he had his 2-homer, 7 RBI effort and since then he
is 4 for 33 as the Cards have dropped 10 of 11.
–Toronto’s Troy Glaus and Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons face
possible 50-game suspensions when they meet with Major
League Baseball officials to discuss reports they received
steroids. Ankiel, though, can’t be punished since HGH wasn’t
banned until 2005…assuming he stopped using before then. The
Angels’ Gary Matthews Jr. is another target yet to be heard from.
–The Phils’ Jimmy Rollins, my vote for NL MVP if the Phillies
make the playoffs, was given a gift triple on Saturday as the
Mets’ Carlos Beltran misplayed a basic fly ball. What’s
significant is it was Rollins’ 18th, so he is two shy of joining
Curtis Granderson in the exclusive 20-20-20-20 club (doubles,
triples, home runs, stolen bases). Granderson was only the third
in history to achieve the feat the other week.
–I really couldn’t care less about O.J.
–Quick…who won the WNBA title?
–Not for nothing, but I really nailed the whole Greg Oden
situation last time in musing whether he was becoming the next
Bill Walton. 24 hours later we learned he had season-ending
surgery.
–The Phoenix Mercury won the WNBA title, defeating the
Detroit Shock and Awesters.
–Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett may have been saved by
the use of a cold saline solution administered to him on his way
to the hospital after he suffered his hit last Sunday. The quick
infusion, an experimental procedure, helped stabilize the spinal-
cord injury. As I saw described on NBC News, the saline freezes
the area to prevent further damage by cooling the body parts 3 to
5 degrees Fahrenheit. But it needs to be applied quickly.
Evidently, the application in Everett’s case was the earliest
recorded treatment. If you’re looking for good news these days,
look no further than here.
–Because then you have Madison Square Garden, the very
mention of which used to be magical, as in “The Garden.” Now,
as everyone is writing in the local sports pages, The Garden
stands for nothing more than a strip club after all the revelations
in the sexual harassment case winding its way through the courts.
And to follow-up on our “Dirtball of the Week” candidate
Stephon Marbury, one of the dumbest humans on the planet, the
little man said of former Knick employee Anucha Brown
Sanders:
“Yes, I called her a bitch. I said a lot of different things…I said
she doesn’t run s—…I may have said f— her. I didn’t call her a
black bitch. I called her a bitch.”
Marbury also described how he lured an intern into his van for an
alleged sexual encounter. As Johnny Mac says, “someone needs
to remind him that he has the right to remain silent.”
Meanwhile, Ms. Sanders knows of a little black book involving
New York Rangers’ executives wherein they “were keeping a
Kama Sutra wish list they would like to try out on members of
the team’s on-ice cheerleading troupe.” Oh brother.
–In winning the FedEx Cup and the $10 million annuity, Tiger
Woods also garnered his 61st PGA Tour title in yet another
amazing performance. He is now 41 of 44 in PGA Tour events
when holding a lead into the final round. That $10 million, by
the way, at an 8% annual return, would grow to $30 million by
age 45, which is when he can take it out.
But Tiger could not have been more classless at the trophy
ceremony. The Tour’s motto all year about the Cup was that it
“had never been kissed.” Commissioner Tim Finchem, in
handing it to Tiger, said this and you’d think Tiger would have
complied. No. He icily took it and held it up like it was just
another piece of hardware. And when asked “where this win
stands,” Tiger didn’t even answer the question. Heck, after Tiger
holed out on 18, he didn’t even give a fist pump.
Johnny Mac and I agree the FedEx Cup was a bust, even though
some of the individual action was good. As Johnny said, “I love
golf and math, but I couldn’t get my head around this idiot point
system and if they can’t get me, they basically can’t get
anybody.” I say it can be tweaked successfully. J. Mac says just
shelve it. Alas, thanks to the long-term agreement that was
signed with the sponsor, we’re stuck with the thing.
Tiger, though, did the Tour no favors and I’m sure there will be
more on this when my golf magazines role in later this week.
— An assistant pro at a club in Alamosa, Colo., shot a 15-under-
par 56. He was playing from the blue tees, which measure about
6,000 yards at Cattails GC. Incidentally, the record is 55 for an
accredited round of golf, set by former PGA Tour member
Homero Blancas. This was not in a competitive tour event,
however. That record remains at 59, held by Al Geiberger, Chip
Beck, and David Duval. This weekend, Zach Johnson had a 60.
–Chicago is a frontrunner for the 2016 Summer Olympics after
the IOC issued a shortlist of seven cities. Madrid and Tokyo are
among those left, but with London hosting the 2012 Games that
knocks Madrid (and Prague) out, while with Beijing doing the
2008 Games, so much for Tokyo. Ergo, Chicago.
You don’t want the Olympics, Chicago! It’s not too late to pull
out! [Can you imagine what a disaster O’Hare would be?]
–Tim L. reminded me of the tale of the Texas Longhorns fan
who walked into a bar in Oklahoma City wearing a Texas t-shirt.
53-year-old Oklahoma fan Allen Michael Beckett took umbrage
at this, started trash-talking with Brian Christopher Thomas, but
as Thomas was paying his tab before leaving, “Beckett grabbed
him in the crotch, pulled him to the ground and wouldn’t let go,
even as bar patrons tried to break it up.”
This is disgusting, but Mr. Thomas was almost castrated. It took
more than 60 stitches to close the wound. Beckett pleaded not
guilty. Anyway, Tim L. said he will never wear his own
Longhorns sweatshirt out of state again.
–Ted Stepien, the once-hapless owner of the Cleveland
Cavaliers, died the other day. In reading an obituary by Stephen
Miller in the Wall Street Journal, I had to pass on this story of a
time when Stepien was promoting a softball team he also owned.
“(To promote it), he tossed softballs from the roof of Cleveland’s
tallest building, Terminal Tower, to be caught by a pro player.
An errant ball smashed into the hood of a car and another broke
the wrist of a passerby. ‘We should have practiced on a Sunday
with no one around,’ Mr. Stepien told the Journal later.”
I just think this is one of the funnier stories I’ve ever seen.
–I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the New York Post’s Phil
Mushnick, but he does have a good point in discussing
quarterback ratings. As in it’s about the stupidest stat around.
Consider that Marc Bulger is currently rated No. 5 all time;
placing him ahead of Dan Marino (12th), Bart Starr (37th), Johnny
Unitas (52nd) and Joe Namath (131st).
–Nice defense by the New York Giants…80 points in two
games.
–Speaking of defense, Cleveland 51…Cincinnati 45…1,085
yards of offense.
–I thought Reggie Bush would surely have a breakout season,
but in two games he has only 65 yards rushing on 22 carries, a
2.9 average…or Eddie George numbers!
–Jim Thome hit his 500th homer, the 23rd to do so. I don’t think
of him as a Hall of Famer, even though most say he’s “clean.”
But nowadays, who the hell knows?
–Goodness gracious… “A Hong Kong woman kicked and
punched a 15-foot Burmese python to wrest free her pet dog after
the snake wrapped itself around it.” She was walking her dog in
a park when she heard “a yelping that was like a scream.” Last
year, a husky dog was crushed by a python in the same area.
Well, Catherine Leonard managed to free Poppy in about a
minute. A snake expert told the AFP news agency that Poppy
would have been “unconscious within two minutes and dead
within five.” As for the python, it slithered away….perhaps to
coil itself around the wheel barrel of a Continental Airlines plane
heading to Newark!!!!!
–Uh oh…thanks to drought in the western United States, black
bears are on the move. In Colorado, 404 bears have been killed
or euthanized because of close encounters with residents as the
bruins seek food. Colorado has a bear population of 8,000 to
12,000. And in the Lake Tahoe area of California, authorities
say they are having at least three break-ins a night! California
has an estimated 30,000 bears, up from 12,500 just twelve years
ago. No doubt, bears across the West are preparing their final
assault for mid-October…before hibernating in November.
–Did you know that one little brown bat can eat 600 mosquitoes
in an hour? So as Amy Sacks writes in the New York Daily
News, bats are man’s best friend against the West Nile virus.
Next time you see one perched on your shoulder, don’t fret.
Offer it some cake or candy and be thankful it is helping fight
disease.
Then again, the reason why Ms. Sacks was writing about bats is
because this is the time of year when they seek new quarters and
a few New York City homeowners have had some problems with
them. It’s about rabies, sports fans!
–The BBC reported that a hedgehog in West Sussex, England,
found its way into a private home “and burrowed into a pile of
laundry that was then put into the washing machine.” A woman
came into a hospital saying “I’ve got a hedgehog that’s just been
through an eco cycle.”
The hedgehog is recovering reasonably well and is near to being
released back into the wild.
–Brad K. passed along the story of a llama gone crazy.
“A behaviorally-troubled llama that recently escaped from its
owner attacked a woman in Terrebonne, Oregon…
“Nancy Campbell had been walking with her 8-year-old daughter
…when the llama suddenly knocked her down, and bit her.”
The woman couldn’t get away from the llama, which kept
charging her, until neighbors restrained it. [UPI]
Brad and I are having trouble agreeing on just what this all
means. I always thought llamas could be trusted. Brad, though,
says he’s seen such behavior all too often.
–Here’s another BBC tale. “The Indian government has
withdrawn a controversial report submitted in court earlier this
week which questioned the existence of the Hindu god Ram.”
It seems there was a court case against a proposed shipping canal
project between India and Sri Lanka, with Hindu hardliners
saying the project would destroy what they say “is a bridge built
by Ram and his army of monkeys.”
I told you. All over the Animal Kingdom, militias are being
formed. Charlton Heston saw this coming long ago.
–Remember my hurricane forecast? [BC 5/10/07] I said
Humberto would be “a CAT 1 dud.” Well, if you were in its
path you didn’t consider it a dud, but it was a CAT 1. I also
promise to never forecast hurricanes again. Totally
inappropriate. I had Erin being a CAT 3, for example, that
would cause “quite a stink,” as I put it. Alas, it never achieved
CAT 3 status, but it did cause extensive damage in Texas and the
Midwest, as well as a number of fatalities. I’m retiring, despite
this clearly being my calling.
–Barry Bonds’ record-breaking 756th home run ball was
auctioned off for $752,000. No. 755 had gone for just $186,000.
Recall, a 21-year-old New Yorker came up with the 756 ball and
experts believed he wouldn’t get more than $500,000.
[Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball from 1998 went for a
stupendous $3 million.]
–So it turns out that Lynn Johnston, creator of “For Better of For
Worse,” isn’t sick. The reason why she was due to curtail her
schedule is because her husband left her last spring, as has now
been revealed in a recent interview. Rod Johnston and Lynn are
the inspiration behind Elly and John Patterson.
So here Jeff B. and I were hoping the damn strip was winding
down and now Ms. Johnston says she’s essentially re-energized
and may continue her new “hybrid” format until the end of time.
Drat! Or as my brother mused, “Oh dear…it’s time to bring in
the killer Eskimo.”
–I only watched bits and pieces of the Emmy awards. Had to
see “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” after all. But I was glad to see
Jeremy Piven win, and “The Sopranos,” of course. But is
Katherine Heigl a real, you know, err…jerk?!
–Anyone watching “Kid Nation” will not only be fined
$500,000, but your family will be fined $250,000 and you’ll lose
your pension.
–The newly revamped Plaza Hotel in New York, which is now
part hotel, part condo, signed a deal for a lobby store selling silky
lingerie and sex toys. Yet another sign of The Apocalypse.
–Shakira is taking a Western history class at UCLA this fall, this
after concluding her “Oral Fixation” tour. I’m on the phone with
the registrar as I write…a little multi-tasking.
Top 3 songs for the week of 9/17/66: #1 “Cherish” (The
Association) #2 “You Can’t Hurry Love” (The Supremes) #3
“Sunshine Superman” (Donovan)…and…#4 “Yellow
Submarine” (The Beatles) #5 “Bus Stop” (The Hollies) #6
“Beauty Is Only Skin Deep” (The Temptations) #7 “Black Is
Black” (Los Bravos) #8 “96 Tears” (? [Question Mark] & The
Mysterians) #9 “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” (The Beach Boys) #10
“Reach Out I’ll Be There” (Four Tops)
NFL Quiz Answers: 1) Steve Foley is Denver’s career leader in
interceptions with 44 (1976-86). 2) Rod Smith is Denver’s
career leader in TDs with 69. 3) Mike Anderson rushed for 251
yards in a game back in 2000. 4) Gene Mingo* was the first
Bronco to kick five field goals in a game. 5) Hal Hunter coached
one game for the Colts in 1984 after Frank Kush was fired.
Hunter lost. 6) Bob Boyd is the Colt’s all-time leader in
interceptions with 57 (1960-68).
*Gene Mingo (1960-70) not only has one of the great names of
all time, but he was an interesting story. Mingo never went to
college, as far as I can see, and started off as a halfback, gaining
over 700 yards on a 4.2 per carry average for his career. Mingo
also had 52 career receptions.
As a kicker, though, he was 112-219 on field goal attempts,
51.1%, which was about par for the course in those days. In
1962, however, “The Golden Toe” was an impressive 27 for 39
and led the league in scoring both that year and 1960.
But in 1969-70, he was kicking for Pittsburgh and was just 17 of
43. Not good. So who replaced him in 1971? Roy Gerela, of
Gerela’s Gorillas fame.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday….I need to readdress the Rutgers/Navy
incident. A ton was written in the papers over the weekend and I
have to sift through it in the proper manner. I’m amazed at some
of what I’ve seen and heard…and it pisses me off.
Also, I’ll get back to the story of the Lions of Tsavo. Not
enough time today.
**There is a super photo of Penn State’s Beaver Stadium in the
Sept. 17 issue of Sports Illustrated. [“The Week in Sports”
section.] I just wanted to alert those who may be interested that
normally you can buy any of the photos you see in SI. I did this
once. You may want to try 1-800-528-5000, customer service, as
a first step. Ask for a contact at Time Life for further info. I’m
just thinking that if the picture is available, it’s a great gift for a
Penn State fan.
