Anquan…Benjamin Drummond

Super Bowl Quiz: 1) Who was Green Bay’s kicker in SB I and II? 2) Who was Joe Namath’s backup in SB III? 3) Name the following running backs for Kansas City in SB IV…all carried at least five times. M.G., W.H., W.M., R.H. 4) Who was Dallas’ QB in SB V? [Baltimore 16 Dallas 13] Answers below. 

**Update, Wed. p.m., …NJIT breaks 51-game losing streak, defeating Bryant, 61-51.

I was looking through the Defense Department web site for a foreign policy topic when I saw the following that makes for a good celebration of both Barack Obama’s inauguration [the full address is on my “Hot Spots” link] and what would have been Martin Luther King Jr.’s 80th birthday. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Pentagon employees this tale recently. 

Benjamin Drummond was born a free man in New York in 1843, and at the age of 18 he enlisted in the Navy. While serving aboard the USS Morning Light in the Gulf of Mexico, he was shot three times and was taken prisoner. After a miraculous escape and return to Union lines, he re-enlisted in 1864. 

“When his war wounds failed to heal properly, he became the first patient of any color at the Old Naval Hospital on Capitol Hill,” said Gates. “Drummond was discharged in 1868, and years later received a disability pension of $4 a month, just over a dollar per gunshot wound.” 

It also was less than half the amount normally allotted for whites, Gates said. Drummond fought for an increase, and he eventually received a lump-sum payment of $210 just before his death. His wife then began her fight for what was then called a widow’s pension. 

“The Drummonds’ struggle for what they were due presaged, both literally and figuratively, the promissory note to which Dr. King referred to from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial nearly a century later,” Gates said. “There, in his words, he came to cash the check of freedom and equality that for too long had been returned marked ‘insufficient funds.’ 

“In five days, [Barack Obama] will place his hand on the same Bible that President Lincoln used in his inauguration in March 1861,” Gates noted. “As all of our citizens watch the historic events of the next week, we should remember Benjamin Drummond and countless others…who faithfully defended this nation long before their duty and devotion had been earned or acknowledged.” 

The inauguration will be affirming for those who never had the chance, or even imagined it possible, to carry out the orders of a commander in chief of African descent, Gates said. 

“I believe [they] will be looking down on the front steps of the Capitol with a measure of pride and satisfaction for themselves and for our country.” 

I don’t listen to sports talk radio, unless there is a breaking item, except for my drive home each night, all of ten minutes, and Monday mornings. 

Mondays I go visit the Web site tech guys at a place about 40 minutes away, a pleasant drive that takes me past the Jets’ new training facility, and along the way I listen to Boomer Esiason (and partner Craig Carton) on their morning show for WFAN in New York. Boomer, by the way, for you folks outside the area who only see him on Sundays during the NFL season, is as well-liked as any sports figure in New York.  

So on Monday, Boomer and Carton were talking about the antics of Arizona wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who pulled the ultimate primadonna move in Sunday’s NFC title game by showing up his offensive coordinator, which Boomer said was typical of the modern NFL player these days; a comment that can be made of other sports as well. It all started, he said, with Keyshawn Johnson, and then Terrell Owens, and Chad Johnson, and now someone like Anquan. Boomer also noted that Anquan is clearly jealous of all the press, and money, teammate Larry Fitzgerald is receiving. 

Paola Boivin / Arizona Republic: 

“Super Bowl frenzy has arrived, which means the Cardinals season is officially available in high definition and double-digit megapixels. The smallest blemishes are magnified, a reality Anquan Boldin needs to take to heart. 

“ ‘Baby of the Day’ (St. Petersburg Times) 

“Former NFL safety Matt Bowen blogged on NationalFootballPost.com that ‘I’ve seen my 5-year-old nephew act better in times of adversity.’…. 

“The worst part? Many are slapping ‘diva’ before Boldin’s name, lumping him with the NFL’s wide receiving Brat Pack. Terrell Owens, Plaxico Burress, Randy Moss. [Ed. These days substitute Chad “Ocho-Cinco” Johnson for Moss.] Really? Then show me the police files suggesting criminal behavior. Show me the teammates calling him a locker-room cancer. 

“You can’t, because Boldin is none of those things. His teammates love him, which tends to be the case when a guy works hard and plays without fear. 

“He’s never embarrassed this organization off the field. His foundation has helped countless underprivileged children, and let’s not forget he helped convince Edgerrin James to play here…. 

“His shouting match with (offensive coordinator Todd) Haley over his exclusion in a personnel grouping was ill-advised but not uncommon. That God-fearing quarterback himself, Kurt Warner, is often bickering with Haley – so frequently that Warner’s wife, Brenda, regularly asks, ‘So what were you and Todd fighting about this week?’…. 

“Haley is the first to call this a non-story and had numerous heat-of-the-moment battles with Owens when Haley was the Cowboys’ wide-receivers coach. 

“Even Boldin’s decision to not stay on the field and celebrate with his teammates after beating Philadelphia was dumb, but nothing bigger…. 

“Boldin owes this organization only two things: to work hard and to allow it to bask in this one rare ray of sunshine.” 

Kent Somers / Arizona Republic 

“Wide receiver Anquan Boldin spent six years in the NFL building a reputation as a tough, team-oriented football player, not a diva. 

“But that image might have suffered some damage Sunday when television cameras caught Boldin in a heated argument with offensive coordinator Todd Haley during the team’s winning touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. 

“Boldin didn’t stick around to celebrate the NFL Championship Game victory with his teammates. 

“Boldin didn’t make himself available to reporters during media availability on Monday but he did talk to ESPN’s NFL Live. Cardinals’ officials had no prior knowledge of that interview. 

“ ‘I was not given any explanation why I was taken out,’ Boldin said in the interview. ‘Like any competitor I wanted to know why.’” 

Well now some in New York want to lure Boldin to the Giants to replace Plaxico. Good grief. 

As for Larry Fitzgerald, the man I anointed the second-greatest receiver of all time next to Jerry Rice, he has a record 419 receiving yards this postseason, besting Rice’s record 409, and Fitzgerald became the first in NFL history to have three consecutive 100-yard games in postseason. [Just fourth overall to have three consecutive, period.] 

By the way, the longest droughts in winning a championship are: 

1. Wake Forest…only undefeated team left…but then we just went down to Virginia Tech!!!  Drat!!!!
2. Duke…plays at Wake Jan. 28
3. UConn
4. Pittsburgh
5. North Carolina
6. Oklahoma
7. Michigan St….lost to Northwestern
8. Syracuse
9. Louisville
10. Clemson 

–As expected the New York Jets hired Baltimore defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, and many of us are hoping Ryan doesn’t want Brett Favre back. As Steve Serby of the New York Post wrote: 

“Ryan has made his living sacking the quarterback. His first order of business must be sacking Favre.” 

Meanwhile, the Jets players, ex- a disinterested Favre, it is assumed, seem fired up that Ryan was tabbed. For starters, Ryan is a take charge guy and not afraid to get in players’ faces. 

I also thought the New York Daily News’ Gary Meyers best summed up my thinking, and I imagine the thinking of the majority of Jets fans these days. 

“Ryan was on the 2000 Ravens staff that won the Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer and just went to the AFC title game with rookie Joe Flacco. He needs the Jets to run the ball, play defense and for the QB not to give it to the other team.” Jets fans would embrace that kind of club. I’m also satisfied with Kellen Clemens, or whoever emerges in training camp, assuming the ‘D’ and running game are there. 

–Michael Schmidt of the New York Times, who has covered the steroids in baseball issue extensively, reports that confessed dealer Kirk Radomski, who testified the other day before the federal grand jury investigating whether Roger Clemens committed perjury, has written a book due out in a week. Schmidt obtained a copy of “Bases Loaded.” 

“In one of the more interesting passages, Radomski described how he first encountered the federal agent Jeff Novitzky. On an early morning in December 2005, Radomski opened the front door of his Long Island home while in his underwear and found Novitzky standing there, holding a search warrant. 

“That fateful meeting led to Radomski’s cooperation with (George) Mitchell and, ultimately, to a guilty plea that resulted in probation but no jail time. Radomski appears to harbor no bitterness over this chain of events, and at one point in the book says how fairly he believes Novitzky treated him.” 

It seems Radomski mentions a name or two not previously named in the Mitchell report and reopens a wound with former star David Justice. Radomski also says he believes trainer Brian McNamee is telling the truth about Clemens’ links to drug use. 

[Radomski talks of his days as a Mets bat boy in the 80s, as well, and how one player used a corked bat. Who is your guess? Dykstra? We’ll learn shortly, I assume.] 

–As Michael O’Keefe of the Daily News points out, “There was no last-minute pardon for Roger Clemens before President Bush left the White House Tuesday, and the federal grand jury that has been examining evidence that the former Yankee star committed perjury will continue its work. [Marion Jones was also seeking a pardon and didn’t get one. As O’Keefe points out, if Bush had pardoned Clemens and not Jones, or Barry Bonds, the race issue would have been front and center.] 

–St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa agrees with most of us that if Mark McGwire would just talk, he could change opinions. 

“(With) McGwire, the home run total is not the prevailing issue. How they were produced is. Dozens of veteran baseball writers who vote for which players will be inducted into the Hall have said that McGwire’s failure to answer questions forced them to assume that he had used steroids. They are, therefore, skeptical about McGwire’s career and have decided they will not vote for him. Not now, and maybe never. 

“When voters receive their ballot, they are instructed to consider six elements of a player’s career, including character and integrity. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports echoed numerous writers by citing character and integrity in explaining why he was ‘just not comfortable’ voting for McGwire now. Rosenthal said he was hopeful that more concrete information about what McGwire did or did not do would become available in the 12 years he might have left on the ballot.” 

La Russa, who managed McGwire in St. Louis and Oakland, points to his integrity in retiring with $30 million and two years left on his contract. 

“There was no negotiation,” LaRussa said. “No, ‘Buy me out, I’ve got you for $30 million.’ Nothing. He said: ‘I don’t want to sign anything, I’m done.’ To me, that speaks about his character and his integrity.’” 

But as Jack Curry writes, “As admirable as La Russa felt McGwire’s actions were, does that really have anything to do with the possibility that he used steroids? Still, La Russa insisted that McGwire’s behavior regarding the contract was meaningful in evaluating him.” Curry adds that La Russa is speaking out because his own legacy is tied to McGwire’s. 

“If McGwire is not elected to the Hall, La Russa said, ‘there would be a gap there that shouldn’t be.’ 

“McGwire may be the only one who can do or say anything to fill that gap. And, at this point, even that may not be enough to change voters’ opinions about him.” 

–Robert W. wrote to disagree on the selection of Jim Rice for the Hall of Fame, submitting Harold Baines as a substitute. I totally understand those who say Rice is borderline and, granted, the Hall is riddled with plaques of those not truly deserving. 

But when you think of the Hall’s members, you would hope each has been dominant in their era, which is why I like to look at things like the MVP or Cy Young award category. Rice was top five in the voting for MVP six times (and winner once). That’s a dominant player. But a Hall of Famer with ‘just’ 382 home runs and 2452 hits? Maybe not. Yet he was dominant by the best measure you can come up with, I believe. 

By comparison, Harold Baines, who had a terrific career, had 384 homers and 1628 RBI to Rice’s 1451, but the best Baines ever did in the MVP category was a 9th. He also had only three 100 RBI seasons, to Rice’s 8, while Rice was an All-Star 8 times to Baines’ 6. 

Now I just looked up Hall of Famer Billy Williams. Williams had 426 homers, 1475 RBI, and a .290 average to Rice’s .298. Williams was only top five in the MVP vote twice, and he too had just three 100 RBI campaigns. Interesting, isn’t it? You could say Baines deserves it as much as Williams. 

How about Dave Parker? He isn’t going to make it into the Hall, at least the normal way, as he garnered just 15% of the last vote and only has a few more chances. But check this out. 

Incredible, isn’t it? Same hits, RBI and average, but Parker was a top five in the MVP category five times (plus a winner) to Williams’ two top fives, and Parker won two batting titles to Williams’ one. Plus Parker played on two World Series winners, Williams zero. [Williams did have a superior on-base percentage, .361 to Parker’s .339, but when Williams was elected, 1987, that wasn’t a focus of voters like it is today.] 

So there you go. As I told Robert, it’s why we debate this topic so much, and also why some of us love baseball like we do. Harold Baines and Dave Parker will be fighting the rest of their lives for enshrinement, deserved or not, but in the future through the Veterans Committee. 

–I’ve written of the signed albums and posters I have of Rock and Roll figures, such as The Beach Boys and Rascals, and how I really don’t have full confidence that they are indeed real. All of my pieces have been acquired through the largest company of its kind, and I have all the appropriate certificates, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re authentic. At a certain level, you just have to believe. At least I don’t feel as if I paid totally outrageous sums for them (nor did I underpay). 

So I read a piece by Paul Tharp in the New York Post titled “Fabulous Forgeries”. 

“Baby Boomers are getting hit with a new cruel blow – most of their era’s treasured keepsakes they’ve hoarded for a rainy day could be worthless fakes.

“Thousands of pieces of rock memorabilia – ranging from 1960s albums signed by the Beatles to Jimi Hendrix’s personal guitars – are showing up en masse in auction markets in hopes owners can gain windfalls in the deepening recession.” 

Christie’s recently sold a legit Beatles item for $1.1 million – a drumhead featured on the album cover of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” But Christie’s consultant on Beatles memorabilia, Frank Caiazzo, said the market in fakes “is a growing heartbreak that’s turning up more every day.” 

Personally, I don’t have any Beatles stuff, and Caiazzo said much of it wasn’t signed by them because the group was largely inaccessible to autograph hunters after they arrived in the U.S. “Ninety percent of the Beatles material out there is fake.” 

Now I have documented histories on my pieces, and that’s another factor critical in determining the authenticity, and it sure would help to know something about the artist you’re after. As in Paul Tharp points out “Some fakes being peddled for as much as $28,000 apiece are obvious, such as Jimi Hendrix’s signature on albums released in 1974 – although he died four years earlier in 1970.” Can you imagine someone being that much of an idiot?! Sure, we all can. 

Be wary of any company that has a frequent supply of rare signed items.

Beware of sellers that cannot provide you with a verifiable origin for the product.

Be wary of places that sell items far below true market value. 

—Warning: The following is for Mature Audiences Only. 

Charles Bremner / New York Post 

“French President Nicolas Sarkozy has enlisted a personal trainer to help get him back in shape – and make him better in the sack. 

“Julie Imperiali, 26, visits Elysee Palace several times a week to give Sarkozy his workout, applying her patented method to make him stretch, sweat and run. 

“Imperiali said that in 10 months she has helped Sarkozy, a teetotaling chocolate addict married to former model Carla Bruni, to drop nearly 9 pounds and two pants sizes.

“ ‘His body has radically changed,’ the raven-haired beauty said. ‘He is a dream pupil. He is always ready and motivated.’ 

“Her method – focusing on the perinea muscles at the bottom of the pelvis – not only improves posture and delivers a healthier body and mind, but it also improves the sex lives of all her clients, Imperiali claims. 

“ ‘Sexual relations are better if the male perineum is in good shape. The problems of premature ejaculation are often due to the perineum,’ she said.” 

Well, it seems Pilates and yoga stress these muscles and seeing as I’m into neither, I wasn’t aware of the perineum. I am, however, an expert on the CoorsLighteum…but I digress. Anyway, it seems the key to Imperiali’s program is running. I only run March through October, so before long I will be working on my own perineum. Beyond that, I refuse to discuss the topic. 

–Have you seen the eHarmony.com ad where Josh says of his new wife, met through the site, I can’t do anything about the past, “but she’s here now so we’re gonna hit it full force”? Geezuz. I didn’t need to know that. 

–Jack Nicklaus turned 69 on Wednesday. Wow. Growing up, golf fans always knew that Arnold Palmer was 10 years older than Jack, who was 10 years older than Tom Watson. Arnie and Tom turn 80 and 60, respectively, in September. Well, you can be sure we’ll do something for Arnie here at Bar Chat. I just can’t believe it.  It also makes you marvel at Arnie playing as competitively as he did in some of his rounds well into his 70s before he hung it up for good. 

But in looking at Arnie’s record, golf junkies are well aware he won his last PGA Tour event at the Bob Hope in 1973, when he was just 43, but I had to be reminded he won almost half of his 62 PGA Tour victories in just four years, 1960-63, when his win totals were 8, 6, 8, and 7. He also won five of his seven majors over that time period; actually three years, 1960-62. But as we all know by now, those years were most critical as they were the advent of live television coverage for the sport. Anyway, just musing…. 

–Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard asked for $18 million in salary arbitration, as the club offered him $14 million, a raise of $4 million. Howard said if he won, half, or $9 million, would go towards funding 180 jobs at $50,000 per.  

Well, actually, Howard didn’t offer up half his salary, but during these tough times it would have been a heckuva touch. 

–Yikes. A fellow in Hungary had a “kidney stone 17 centimeters in diameter – roughly the size of a coconut” removed by surgery. I saw the X-ray and it’s quite gross. 

–Corky Siemaszko / New York Daily News 

“A Kentucky-version of Cruella DeVille is suspected of swiping a litter of puppies and their mom – only this time they’re 10 Yellow Labs instead of 101 Dalmatians. 

“And instead of turning them into coats, as the dastardly Disney character wanted to do, the owner of the purloined pooches suspects the thief plans to mate the pups with poodles to create Labradoodles.” 

1. Beavers…avoided subprime disaster while maintaining quality of craftsmanship
2. Gibbons…understood before others that Roger Clemens was spinning us
3. Dogs
21. Humans 

1. Gibbons…not only figured out Clemens, but also when Willie Randolph would be fired
2. Dogs
3. Grizzlies
22. Humans

And now…January 2009 

1. Dogs…Yes, I agree, it’s about time. They go in to save man after earthquakes or an avalanche, help the blind, comfort the sick and elderly, and never ask for any TARP funds. Just in the last six months, they have also been involved in a number of child rescues. In return, all they ask is that we play with them for two minutes a day and pat them on the head from time to time. Heck, they would do all the above even if we didn’t pat them.
2. Gibbons…the smartest of apes, not only understood Roger Clemens was using, but are now working on tweaking the BCS.
3. Yaks…rocketing up the list to its deserved place. Capable of being good pack animals and withstanding severe cold, while also accepting the fact some will be called on to pay the ultimate sacrifice in providing a nutritious meal.
4. Cape Water Buffalo…admittedly, not the smartest mammal on the planet, but still earning royalties from the Battle at Kruger video that proves its amazing bravery.
5. New Caledonian Crows…an old favorite here at StocksandNews and with our own Dr. Bortrum, these incredibly smart birds are the tool-makers that will be front and center in any stimulus program.
6. Orangutans…slipped three notches due to selfish behavior in a recent scientific study where we learned they will help each other get food, but the male is sometimes less supportive than the female. This bears watching.
7. Elephants…back into top ten off evidence it is kind to dogs, while still clearing brush where needed.
8. Grizzlies…drop a bit because of little recent activity.
9. Kamchatka bears…ditto. No real follow through after assault on Russian mining camp.
10. Tigers…all in all, still the toughest, and best-looking, cat around.
11. Badgers and their cousin the wolverine…ferocious anti-terror agents.
12. Pointer sharks…out of nowhere, wreaking havoc in Australian waters, which they are claiming are more theirs than swimmers’. ‘We don’t go into your neighborhoods, don’t come into ours.’ Can’t argue with that logic.
13. Dolphins…down five, thanks in no small part to the recent shark attack where “six or seven dolphins” were milling around in the moments before but did nothing to warn the diver.
14. Giraffes…first to look over the heads of the doubting punditocracy and foresee the Obama victory. But now that the political season is over, need a follow-up act to maintain high ranking. 
15. Killer whales…slipping a la Grizzlies and Kamchatka bears. Need to get active to stay in top twenty.
16. Ferrets…leap all the way from No. 98 on heels of story one of their own is laying electrical wire through pipes in New Zealand, yet asks for little compensation in return. The unions there, however, are up in arms because it makes them look bad.
17. Groupers…not only taste delicious, but it’s been proved they protect divers.
18. Chimps…continue to slip. In all honesty, probably shouldn’t be on list at all owing to their poor attitude. 
19. Lions…not higher because they tried to take out Cape Water Buffalo at Kruger. Not a bright move.
20. Eagles…the national bird, would be higher if it didn’t dive into trash as much as it’s been shown to do.
21. Wildebeest…good neighbors and perfect for watching your house while you’re on vacation, at least for short periods until they are scared away.
22. Tufted titmouse…cool little winter bird makes its first appearance on list, though it won’t be easy to maintain such a relatively lofty perch.
23. Crocodiles…keep warning Aussie campers to stay out, but humans never learn.
24. Polar bears…will be interesting to see how they fare in Obama administration and talk of combating global warming.
25. Wolves…as cool as they get. 

“He was my hardest-working employee. He was there every day, never late and ready to go.”
–Joel Erickson, superintendent at Turlock G&CC in Merced County, Calif., on Quinn, the course’s unofficial mascot, a black-and-white border collie who chased geese from the grounds, after the dog was killed by a disgruntled former worker. 

Yup, humans aren’t deserving of being ranked any higher, but my internal survey was taken before Chesley Sullenberger, let alone the presidential inauguration, where not one of the 1.5 to 2 million people in the area of the White House were arrested for illegal activity, according to D.C. police. So we’ll see if the human race moves up when we do our next survey in July. 

–We note the passing of actor Bob May, 69, who wore the Robot’s suit on the television series “Lost in Space.” I have to admit that as a kid I never got into this one, which debuted in 1965 when I was seven. I was more of an “I Dream of Jeannie,” “Bewitched” and “Leave It to Beaver” type of guy. But of course Bob May’s robot will forever be known for the line, “Danger, Will Robinson” as he warned the family of impending disaster. 

–What does a top nanny make in New York? $650 to $1,500 a week, according to Andrea Peyser in the New York Post. Some women are leaving the financial services sector (before they are laid off) for this track. 

–You know those commercials for the Bose radio sound system? Isn’t it pitiful how that older woman wistfully says “I’ll never forget the sound,” as if that’s the greatest thing that ever happened in her life? 

–Olga Boyko of the New York Daily News reported that Miss USA 1991 Kelli McCarty, who tried acting and took a role on the soap opera ‘Passions’ in ’96, is now involved in the porn industry. Her reason? 

“I enjoy acting, and I really like sex…so this was the perfect opportunity to combine two of my passions,” she explained. 

–I got a kick out of this one. In the time of Hans Brinker, the 19th century figure in a novel, the canals in the Netherlands always froze over and folks went skating. But in the last week, the canals froze for the first time in 12 years and the nation laced ‘em up. 

“Hundreds of thousands of skaters, their cheeks as red as apples in the freezing temperatures, took to the ice, and hospital wards were filled with dozens of people with fractured arms, sprained ankles and broken legs. 

“Train engineers were ordered to go slowly to avoid hitting skaters who clambered across railway tracks to get from one frozen canal to another.” 

So get this. “Even the minister of defense, an avid skater, fell and broke his wrist. His ministry announced that the national defense remained in safe hands.” [John Tagliabue / IHT] 

–BOULDER, Colo. – “A woman escaped serious injury and refused medical treatment after a cow knocked her down and walked on her legs. Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks ranger Pete Taylor said the woman was riding her bicycle along the South Boulder Creek Trail on Monday when she encountered the cow and stopped to let the animal cross. 

“Instead, the cow knocked the woman over and stepped on her legs.” 

The woman wasn’t seriously hurt. Notice how cows didn’t make the All-Species list. 

— “Jaguar attack at Md. Zoo investigated” 

“A private zoo in Maryland that encourages up-close encounters with its animals never had any safety issues before a woman was mauled there by a 180-pound jaguar, according to an official investigating the attack…. 

“The attack happened Sunday morning at the family-owned preserve, where the 32-year-old employee was performing maintenance work in an indoor area of the jaguar enclosure…Another worker heard her cry for help and arrived to find the male jaguar biting the woman in the enclosure.” 

The site for the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo shows zoo visitors reaching from an open safari truck, touching and feeding large herbivores. The site urges visitors to “get stalked by a tiger, jaguar or lion and live to tell the tale. Feel the breath of a bear, follow a fallow deer, or tickle a tortoise.” 

Good gawd. Said an official, “The bottom line is that somehow the jaguar opened the door and entered upon where she was in the enclosure." Didn’t realize they were good with their paws… something more to consider on future All-Species selection shows. 

–This is sad. A 65-foot fin whale beached itself in Co. Cork, Ireland. 65 feet! An expert was flown in from New York to perform an autopsy, before they dig a massive hole and bury it at the beach. So you may want to avoid this particular spot in Courtmacsherry for, oh, the next century. I can’t imagine the smell will be pleasant. 

–If you want to catch a snippet from U2’s new album, go to http://goyb.u2.com. I thought it was cool that Bono chose an old friend, Irish broadcaster Dave Fanning in Dublin, to get first dibs on playing the single “Get On Your Boots” on his morning show there. Forget his politics, if you want, but Bono is just a cool guy. [And so is Bruce, Springsteen fans!] 

Top 3 songs for the week 1/24/76: #1 “Theme From Mahogany” (Diana Ross) #2 “I Write The Songs” (Barry Manilow) #3 “Love Rollercoaster” (Ohio Players…say what)…and…#4 “Love To Love You Baby” (Donna Summer) #5 “I Love Music” (O’Jays) #6 “You Sexy Thing” (Hot Chocolate) #7 “Convoy” (C.W. McCall) #8 “Times Of Your Life” (Paul Anka…I like this song, which doesn’t make me a bad person) #9 “Walk Away From Love” (David Ruffin…awesome tune, personal top 20) #10 “Sing A Song” (Earth, Wind & Fire) 

Super Bowl Quiz Answers: 1) Don Chandler was Green Bay’s kicker in SB I and II. 2) Babe Parilli was Joe Namath’s backup. 3) K.C. running backs in SB IV: Mike Garrett (11 for 39 yards), Wendell Hayes (8-31), Warren McVea (12-26), Robert Holmes (5-7). I thought it was interesting that the Chiefs ran three reverses with Frank Pitts (3-37) as the Chiefs defeated Minnesota, 23-7. 4) Craig Morton QB’ed Dallas in SB V and was 12 of 26, 127 yards and 3 interceptions. Morton would later QB Denver in SB XII and throw 4 interceptions in 15 attempts in that one. In the two games, he was thus 16-41, 7 INTs! Good lord, that’s dreadful.