**Next BC…by Wed. a.m.**
LPGA Quiz: How many of the top ten on the all time list in
LPGA victories can you name? Hint: #1 has 88, #10 has 41.
Answer below.
SHARKS!!!!
Paul Raffaele in the June 2008 issue of Smithsonian has a terrific
piece. “Great white sharks are typecast, say experts. The
creatures are socially sophisticated and, yes, smart.”
Near Cape Town, South Africa.
“We approach a flat, rocky island a quarter-mile long and
crowded with about 60,000 Cape fur seals. ‘They want to go to
sea to feed, but they’re afraid of the white sharks,’ says marine
biologist Alison Kock. The hungry seals dive into the water in a
desperate swim for their feeding grounds 40 miles out in the bay.
They must run a gauntlet of great whites waiting for them just off
Seal Island.
“The attacks begin a few minutes later. A 3,000-pound great
white explodes out of the water. In midair the shark lunges at a
seal and flips back into the water with a mighty splash. Moments
later another shark breaches and bites a seal. We speed to the
spot, in time to see a pool of blood. Scores of gulls hover above,
screeching in excitement, then swoop down to gobble up any
leftovers.
“During an hour and a half, we witness ten great white sharks
hurtling out of the water to grab seals. As the rising sun
brightens the sky, the attacks stop.
“ ‘That’s it for today,’ Kock says. ‘The great whites only attack
in the hour after dawn. We think it’s because once there’s
enough sunlight, the seal can see the shark coming at it from
below and escape.’
“Despite this awesome display of predator power, Kock and
other researchers claim that the shark has been defamed: its
reputation as a ruthless, mindless man-eater is undeserved. In
the past decade, Kock and other shark experts have come to
realize that sharks rarely hunt humans – and that the beasts are
sociable and curious. Unlike most fish,’ Kock says, ‘white
sharks are intelligent, highly inquisitive creatures.’”
So what was the biggest great white ever caught? Supposedly
off Malta, 1987. It was reported to be 23 feet long and weigh
5,000 pounds. [Some are skeptical and put it at 21 feet. Big
freakin’ deal, eh?] What was inside? “A sea turtle, a blue shark
and a dolphin, and a bag full of garbage were found in the giant’s
innards.” Yikes.
The great white is found most commonly off South Africa, New
Zealand, Australia and the United States. It can swim 15 miles
per hour or faster when attacking and has about 240 serrated
teeth in up to five rows. No one has ever seen great white sharks
mate, not that I’m real curious myself, but afterwards, gestation
takes at least a year, then 2 to 12 babies are born. “In some shark
species, the strongest fetuses eat their weaker brothers and sisters
in the womb; no one knows whether great whites do so.”
“Sailors have feared great white sharks for centuries. In 1862,
Jonathan Couch wrote in his ‘History of the Fishes of the British
Isles’ that in the West Indies, the great white ‘is the dread of
sailors who are in constant fear of becoming its prey when they
bathe or fall into the sea.’ In 1812 the British zoologist Thomas
Pennant wrote that ‘in the belly of one was found a human
corpse entire, which is far from incredible considering their vast
greediness after human flesh.’”
As for more modern times, it was the 1971 documentary “Blue
Water, White Death” that really got the juices flowing. The film
inspired novelist Peter Benchley to write the book “Jaws” and
the rest is history. [“Jaws” was the first film to gross $100
million, by the way.]
There is still much to learn about great whites’ migratory
patterns. “In 2003, Wildlife Conservation Society researchers
attached an electronic tag to a shark named Nicole off the coast
of South Africa. The tag was programmed to record the shark’s
position for 99 days before detaching. When the tag surfaced off
the coast of Western Australia – roughly 6,800 miles away – it
was the first record of a great white shark migrating between
oceans. Nicole was apparently on a round-trip journey, because
in August 2004, researchers spotted her distinctive dorsal fin
back in South African waters.”
Great whites found off California have been known to migrate to
the Hawaiian Islands and back. “Oddly, though, even more of
them swim to a spot about halfway to Hawaii, a shark hot spot
previously unknown to researchers. Stanford marine biologist
Salvador Jorgensen calls it ‘the white shark café.’ He isn’t sure
whether sharks gather there to eat, to mate or for some other
reason entirely.”
But back to the gory stuff, some of which I’ve written of before
when these attacks first occurred.
“Three years ago, about 20 yards from the Cape Town shoreline,
Tyna Webb, 77, was taking her morning swim, as she had done
for 17 years. ‘From the beach I saw the fin, then the whole shark
coming out of the water,’ a witness to the attack later reported.
All that was found was Webb’s red bathing cap. A few years
earlier, only three of four South African spear-fishermen who
went underwater together resurfaced. (Leonard) Compagno (one
of the foremost experts on sharks) examined the missing diver’s
wet suit when it was recovered. ‘The tear marks indicated it was
a great white shark that had somehow cut him out of the suit and
devoured him,’ Compagno says.
“There have been 236 great white shark attacks on humans
recorded since 1876. About one-third have taken place in
California waters. This past April, triathlete David Martin was
killed by a great white north of San Diego. One attack that
particularly haunts me happened in Australia in 1993.
Newlyweds John and Deborah Ford were scuba diving at a seal
rock 400 miles north of Sydney. They were decompressing a
few yards below the surface when John saw a 16-foot great white
heading toward his wife. He pushed her out of the way, and the
shark swallowed him.”
Wonder if she remarried? Anyway, Mr. Compagno says great
whites intentionally attack humans even less frequently than the
statistics suggest. “Compagno says many ‘incidents’ (a term he
prefers to ‘attacks’) are ‘bite and release.’ He thinks the shark is
trying to get a better look at the strange creature in the water.”
One attack Compagno refers to as a bite and not an attack was
this past October in Australia. “A tourist on a kayak claimed
she’d beaten an attacking great white shark off with a paddle.
She required four stitches. ‘If the great white attacked her, she’d
be mincemeat,’ says Compagno. The wound was probably
caused by the sharp scales on the shark’s skin brushing against
the woman’s arm.”
Stuff
–Not only are the New York Mets four games under .500 (thru
Tuesday) since last May 31, 78-82, and not only is there major
dissension in the clubhouse, Latino vs. white, as one of the Mets
broadcasters spoke of the other day (you didn’t need to read
between the lines …everyone knows what the deal is), but now
the Mets have carelessly fooled with the health of one of their
few productive players this year, off-season acquisition Ryan
Church.
Church suffered a serious concussion in spring training,
recovered, got off to a great start, and then on May 20, suffered a
second concussion, though this was said to be mild compared to
the first. Church, though, hasn’t felt up to playing in the field
since then, but the Mets nonetheless used him four times as a
pinch-hitter.
Because of the awful experiences of the New York Jets with
concussions the past decade, with receivers Al Toon and Wayne
Chrebet sadly becoming poster boys for the inherent dangers,
I’ve written quite a bit on the topic and when Church suffered his
second, Johnny Mac and I were exchanging notes, hoping the
Mets knew what they were doing.
It turns out they weren’t. In Wednesday’s New York Times,
Alan Schwarz writes that “Experts in the field of concussion
management strongly criticized the Mets for their handling of
Ryan Church, saying that he has been put at significant medical
risk by continuing to play through dizziness, lethargy and
headaches.”
On Tuesday, Church saw a neurologist after complaining of
ongoing dizziness and the doctor sent him home, telling him to
avoid light and stay away from Shea Stadium.
Dr. Mickey Collins of the Univ. of Pittsburgh Center for Sports
Medicine’s concussion program said “That’s a situation that
could be very dangerous. I haven’t examined this player
personally, but if there were a second trauma to a person still
experiencing symptoms, the risk could be much higher to a
player’s health because he hasn’t healed from the first
concussion.”
Dr. Robert Cantu of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston
said: “You’re playing roulette with your patient.”
Mets management emphasized that a CT scan of Church the
night of his injury showed no damage and that an MRI was also
negative. Manager Willie Randolph said it was Church’s call as
to whether he kept playing, though Church was telling reporters
“I’m just sick of feeling like this.”
Schwarz notes the case of Corey Koskie. “After sustaining a
concussion in July 2006 while playing for the Brewers, Koskie
attempted to come back despite symptoms including headaches,
dizziness and nausea. He experienced far more severe symptoms
for six months, and eventually had to retire.”
“That’s pretty much the reason I’m here today – thinking I could
play through it,” Koskie told Schwarz the other day in a phone
interview. Regarding Church, he added: “I think he’s nuts. He
doesn’t want to get to the point where he’s not going to get
better. Tell him to call me. It’s not worth it.”
–Highly touted Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jay Bruce made his
major league debut on Tuesday and promptly went 3-for-3 with
two RBI, getting a standing ovation every time he came to the
plate in front of the home fans. Bruce also walked twice. The
only other players to have three hits, two RBIs and a stolen base
in their MLB debut in the last 70 years were Daryl Boston (1984)
and Bert Campaneris (1964). Bruce, 21, was hitting .364 in
Triple-A.
–George Clooney said upon the death of friend Sydney Pollack,
“Sydney made the world a little better, movies a little better and
even dinner a little better. A tip of the hat to a class act. He’ll be
missed terribly.” But while most of the obituaries have focused
on “Out of Africa,” “Tootsie,” and “The Way We Were” when
noting films that Pollack directed, I forgot he was responsible for
two of my own top ten favorites, “Jeremiah Johnson” and “Three
Days of the Condor.”
–And Earle H. Hagen died. He was 88. Hagen was the Emmy
Award-winning television composer who came up with the
theme music for “The Andy Griffith Show,” “The Dick Van
Dyke Show,” “I Spy,” “That Girl,” “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.,”
“The Mod Squad” and about 3,000 TV series episodes, pilots and
TV movies.
Hagen wrote in his autobiography, “Memoirs of a Famous
Composer – Nobody Ever Heard Of,” that he was at home
“wracking my brain for an idea for a theme for the Griffith show,
when it finally occurred to me that it should be something
simple, something you could whistle. With that in mind, it took
me about an hour to write the Andy Griffith theme.”
Hagen does the actual whistling and his 11-year-old son did the
finger-snapping. Director-producer Sheldon Leonard, upon
hearing it, said “Great! I’ll do [the show’s opening] at Franklin
Canyon Lake with Andy and Ronny [Howard] walking along the
bank with a couple of fishing poles over their shoulders.”
–Good god…a 3-foot alligator has been spotted in a lake in
North Carolina. Now some would say this is impossible,
because there is no way it would survive the winters, but then no
one has seen the gator’s den.
Along these lines, from the book “The Worst-Case Scenario
Book of Survival Questions” by Joshua Piven and David
Borgenicht, here’s the situation.
“You and a friend are enjoying a picnic on the banks of a large
pond. The pond is full of wildlife – as you eat your meal, you
see frogs, turtles, and large fish moving in the water. Just as you
are about to have dessert, you are startled to discover that what
you thought was a large turtle sitting in the shallow water 50 feet
away is actually an alligator. It climbs out of the pond and up the
bank directly toward you. Do you:
(a) Flap your arms and yell to scare it away
(b) Punch the alligator under its bottom jaw
(c) Get on the alligator’s back and force its head down
(d) Back away slowly……………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………..
…………………(c) Get on the alligator’s back and force its head
down. “If the alligator continues to attack, jab it in the eyes with
your fingers.”
[Advice on dealing with the fact you can’t tell the difference
between a turtle and an alligator until it’s too late…another free
feature of “Bar Chat.”]
–The beavers are coming! The beavers are coming! After being
hunted to extinction in Scotland in the 16th century, the
government is reintroducing them to the highlands. The beavers
will be captured in Norway and then four families will be
released in spring 2009 into various lochs, whereupon they will
have to seek approval from local councils for their housing
projects. The beavers will not get any special breaks.
–We finally have a development in “For Better or For Worse.”
It seems that Dr. Patterson is sleeping around at his dental
conventions; at least that’s the opinion of Jeff B. and I, while
Mrs. P. is home, totally clueless. Her friend Connie said, “He’s
still going to dental conventions? I thought he was semi-
retired!” “He is,” replied Mrs. P. “But he likes to keep up.”
Idiot. Maybe Mrs. P. came back too soon from a concussion.
–Speaking of the comics, we note the passing of Thelma Keane,
wife of Bill Keane and the inspiration for the Mommy character
in “Family Circus,” the uninspiring strip with the four bratty kids
who if they were sitting next to me on a plane would be thrown
out the exit door. Bill Keane, 85, has been doing “Family
Circus” since 1960 and now collaborates with his son, Jeff,
which means that by the time I die, this insipid piece of tripe
could still be going strong. Aaghh!
–An old friend of the family and next door neighbor, Steve G.,
and I were sharing some childhood memories and he mentioned
that he saw the Bruce Brown film, “Endless Summer,” with my
family growing up in Summit, N.J. If you can, find this movie. I
watched it again years ago and it’s hilarious…as in it’s not
exactly politically correct. So grab a case of Red Stripe and
watch it this summer. [Red Stripe and Harp were the beers of
choice this Memorial Day at your editor’s family cookout.]
–Speaking of childhood, growing up as a racing fan I’ve noted in
the past some of my favorites were Bruce McLaren and Denny
Hulme. But in reading about Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon, who
hails from New Zealand, I forgot that he is now the most famous
racer from there since the days of the other two. In a piece by
Chris Rattue of the New Zealand Herald, he notes:
“In the most bizarre of ceremonies, Hulme [a former F1
champion] was given the stage to induct members into this
country’s sports hall of fame in 1990, but was overlooked
himself until three years later.”
–Lastly, Hollywood hairdresser Giuseppe Franco on hair product
Procede.
“I don’t own the company. I don’t know anything about it. I just
know it works.
“Hey, I’m Giuseppe Franco. I’m not putting my name on the
line for something that doesn’t work.”
[This commercial receives heavy airplay in New York and has
become a laugh riot in these parts.]
Top 3 songs for the week 5/31/69: #1 “Get Back” (The Beatles
with Billy Preston) #2 “Love (Can Make You Happy)” (Mercy)
#3 “Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In” (The 5th Dimension)…and…
#4 “Oh Happy Day” (The Edwin Hawkins’ Singers) #5 “Hair”
(The Cowsills…best opening drum riff of all time) #6 “These
Eyes” (The Guess Who) #7 “Atlantis” (Donovan) #8 “Gitarzan”
(Ray Stevens) #9 “In The Ghetto” (Elvis Presley) #10 “Grazing
In The Grass” (The Friends of Distinction)
LPGA Quiz Answers: Victories –
1. Kathy Whitworth…88
2. Mickey Wright…82
3. Annika Sorenstam…72
4. Patty Berg…60
5. Louise Suggs…58
6. Betsy Rawls…55
7. Nancy Lopez…48
8. JoAnne Carner…43
9. Sandra Haynie…42
10. Babe Zaharias…41
Next Bar Chat, Wed. June 4. I’m in Kansas City this weekend
for a Willie Wilson deal and then have an all-day affair back in
New Jersey on Monday, so……I need a little more time to put
something together. I should have a story or two for you,
though, because yours truly might play in a celebrity baseball
game on Saturday night.
