Sports Quiz: I got the data from a recent ESPN The Magazine. Name the six active venues (all sports) that have hosted at least 3,500 regular- and postseason pro games. [Hint: Four opened in the 1960s] Answer below.
Stuff…and then more stuff
–ESPN sportscaster Erin Andrews was secretly videotaped through the keyhole of her hotel room, naked, and all heck broke loose. Understand, Ms. Andrews is indeed very sexy, and that on so many different levels this is both incredibly despicable and criminal. It is suspected the taping may have occurred while she was covering the College World Series, though there is another report that clips have been found that may be from two different hotels. The only good thing out of this is that anyone trying to catch the video online was directed to sites through which hackers had immediately inserted a virus, as is their wont.
Maggie Hendricks / Yahoo Sports…the sort of attention Andrews is now getting could keep most women from working in the field.
“Sexual assault – and, make no mistake, Andrews was assaulted – will. Voyeurism isn’t ‘boys will be boys,’ or realizing that men are ogling your (clothed) picture. Voyeurism is about taking safety and security from a victim in a place they should feel comfortable.
“Now that Andrews is a victim of this crime, why would a woman want to follow her on camera? That’s not the sort of thing that ESPN co-workers Chris Berman or Stuart Scott have to worry about.
“It’s crazy how much Andrews, and all female sports journo-types, get judged for what they look like, what they wear, even the food they eat, rather than simply the work they do. While that sort of scrutiny is unfair, it can be tolerated to a point. But for a woman to have her security and her dignity robbed from her because she is famous? That’s unbearable, and might be too much for a young woman who dreams of working the sidelines to handle.”
–And now, Girls Behaving Badly! [Sorry, no way to segue from Erin to this previously planned segment gracefully….]
The New York Post’s Page Six reports that Jenna and Barbara Bush were wild and crazy girls and were constantly trying to escape the Secret Service, according to a new book by Ronald Kessler on the Secret Service itself.
“The author claims that at a 2005 Halloween party, Henry Hager, Jenna’s boyfriend and soon-to-be-hubby, got so drunk the Secret Service took him to Georgetown University Hospital. He also got boozed up with Jenna in a Georgetown bar and picked a fight with several other patrons, with agents having to intervene to avoid a brawl, writes Kessler, an ex-Washington Post and Wall Street Journal reporter.”
Separately, Kessler claims President Obama is continuing to “puff away regularly” despite claims to the contrary.
Wait…I should have titled this segment, “Girls Behaving Badly… drunken guys…and tokers.”
Meanwhile, “Cannes bans nude bathers after exclusive club complains.”
“Authorities in Cannes have banned naturists from a public beach after the southern French town’s yacht club complained the naked bathers had begun to get out of hand.
“Naturists have been tolerated for years on Palm Beach, which lies directly in front of the exclusive club.
“But the yacht club said they had recently begun exposing themselves more visibly to club members, particularly in front of the restaurant’s windows.”
Ohhh grosssss. Personally, that’s the last thing I want to see when I’m eating a delicious veal cutlet with spaetzle, washed down with a Pilsner Urquell.
“ ‘We organize sailing for children, we have a restaurant, but when the naturists get up from bathing they walk around naked,’ a spokeswoman for the club said.”
Miriam Elder / Moscow Times
“Britney Spears’ visit to Russia is turning into a soap opera as the fallen pop idol has faced death threats and a run-in with the country’s infamous traffic police.
“The singer, on her ‘Circus’ tour, played her first Russian gig in St. Petersburg on Sunday.”
“Death threats in Russia? You’d think there were contract killings, or a failure by authorities to take threats seriously and investigate them. Oh wait….
“After the St. Petersburg gig, where she played to 15,000 fans, Spears immediately left the country, deciding to spend the two nights before her Moscow show in Stockholm instead. However, the departure wasn’t quite immediate.
“On the way to Pulkovo Airport, eager to get to her private jet after spending just seven hours in St. Petersburg, Spears’ cortege endured that most pleasant of Russian experiences: an encounter with the traffic police.”
[The traffic police are indeed notorious for pulling over random cars, asking for bribes to avoid being issued summonses.]
So the traffic police, once they realized who was in the caravan of three black Mercedes, let Spears slide, but then she landed in a massive traffic jam “caused by a car accident that had killed the driver, backing up the roads for miles and miles.”
“Welcome to Russia, Britney! Let the Circus begin.”
Having been to Moscow twice in the past five years, I can relate to much of this, particularly the traffic, which from the airport into the center of town, like around Red Square, is the absolute worst I have ever seen in the world. Last time I had my car leave at 3:00 a.m. to avoid the crush to the airport. But no wonder Britney didn’t want to stay in Moscow. She would have been only the 2,584th best-looking woman in the city.
“It’s never been easier to get a call girl in Ireland, you even have online ratings and reviews to help you choose one.”
Actually, this is an awful tale, particularly the idea of having ratings posted. And now I realize this entire segment should have been titled, “Guys Behaving Badly…and acting like jerks….as is often our wont.”
–OK, back to normal fare. Like Neil Armstrong. The guy has basically been a recluse the past 40 years (as compared to Buzz Aldrin), and as a story in the Washington Post noted, Armstrong’s attitude, as he himself has said, is, “We’d all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks, but for the ledger of our daily work.”
The Washington Post:
“This seems understandable as a personal matter, but odd – and impossible – as a matter of history. The first man on the moon doesn’t feel his life is defined by being the first man on the moon? As if the world would remember much more than Armstrong’s ‘one piece of fireworks’? Would his name belong beside Magellan’s or Marco Polo’s if not for Armstrong’s singular achievement?”
Armstrong has been duly criticized for not being a more forceful advocate for space exploration, again, as compared to Buzz Aldrin.
On the other hand, the Post offers, “The other view is that Armstrong was as heroic after his return to Earth as he was on his journey beyond it. In a culture that crushes and disfigures the famous, Armstrong was Olympian in his discipline and humility, never tarnishing the grand moment that fate handed him. The ultimate professional, he did what was asked of him, and then went home, spurning the fame. And who needs it – especially if, like Neil Armstrong, your legacy will never be challenged and your name will live on long after you have departed this planet?”
–There were a number of articles last weekend on former minor league sensation Steve Dalkowski because he was being inducted into the Shrine of the Eternals, “part of the Baseball Reliquary, an alternate hall of fame based in Pasadena, Calif.” [I had to remind myself exactly what ‘reliquary’ was…. “a container for religious relics.”] But as the New York Times’ George Vecsey wrote, “Dalkowski was a legend, for his fastball as well as his tumblers of vodka for breakfast.” He’s now living in New Britain, Conn., and the alcohol aspect is not a good one.
But it was about five years ago, when I was at the Baseball Hall of Fame, that I filed the following after perusing the Hall’s library.
“The Sporting News had super coverage of the minor leagues back then and I came across a piece on the infamous fireballer Steve Dalkowski. Dalkowski pitched in the 50s and 60s, but never made it to the major leagues. In his 1st 537 innings in the minors he struck out 907, and walked 1,022! In ‘The Biographical Encyclopedia of Baseball,’ one player, Dalton Jones, marveled, ‘Hearing him warm up on the sideline was like hearing a gun go off. I kept thinking, if this guy ever hits me, he’ll kill me.’ One manager estimated he could bring it 120 mph.
“When Dalkowski was 18, he struck out 129 batters in 62 innings in the Appalachian League. According to the above referenced book, ‘One fastball actually ripped an earlobe off a batter (and) another shattered umpire Doug Harvey’s mask in three places and propelled him back 18 feet.’ In another game in 1957, Dalkowski whiffed 24 and walked 18. He once even hit a batter kneeling in the on-deck circle. Another time he threw six consecutive wild pitches. Unfortunately, he was out of organized baseball at the age of 26 (1965) due to arm and drinking problems.”
Well, the above got me looking back through my own baseball library and the following is from “Baseball Anecdotes” by Daniel Okrent and Steve Wulf.
“No pitcher – not McDowell, not Koufax, not Bob Feller – ever threw harder than a career minor leaguer named Steve Dalkowski. In 1956 Dalkowski was pitching batting practice for the Orioles before a game with the Red Sox when Ted Williams decided to get a first-hand look. Williams stepped into the cage and motioned for Dalkowski to throw the ball. Williams did not swing. He said he didn’t even see the pitch. He also said that it was the fastest pitch he had ever encountered and that he would be damned if he’d ever face Dalkowski again.
“But Dalkowski was as wild as he was fast. In 995 minor league innings, he struck out 1,396 batters and walked 1,354. The Orioles tried everything. Thinking he was just too strong, they made him throw on the side before a game until he was exhausted. They bought him thick glasses. They made him pitch batting practice daily for two weeks to get him used to a live batter. They had him throw standing only 15 feet from the catcher, gradually moving him back to the standard 60 feet, 6 inches.
“Finally, Earl Weaver, in Elmira, decided simply to leave him alone. The year was 1962, and Dalkowski responded with six shutouts and a 3.04 ERA. The Orioles were actually counting on him as a reliever in 1963, but in spring training he hurt his elbow making an off-balance throw to first and he was never the same.”
–The Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell on Tom Watson’s failing to close the deal at the British Open.
“We live in a time, like all others, that adores conventional outcomes, familiar emotions and compositions of feeling that do not surprise us but confirm our bearings. That, perhaps, is why Watson’s ‘loss’ is hard to digest, to measure, even to accept. If he were 39 or even 49, like Kenny Perry who bogeyed the 72nd hole of this year’s Masters, then lost in an playoff, we could still use words like ‘squandered’ to apply to Watson.
“But we don’t have the proper vocabulary to describe a 59-year-old who almost wins an event in which Tiger Woods can’t make the cut. But Yeats did: ‘Bred to a harder thing than triumph, turn away and, like a laughing string whereon mad fingers play, amid a place of stone, be secret and exult.’
“Now, those of us who prefer to cherish Watson’s attempt, not diminish it, can have the whole thing to ourselves. The mob will move on, disoriented, dissatisfied at being denied something simple to hail. Instead, we have harder things on which to chew.
“Age wins again; it just refuses to go away. After his bogey at the 72nd, Watson’s game fell apart in toto – 4 over par in the playoff. The moral is merely to stand against it, ignore it and play above it as long as you can….
“At the very least, it was the spirit of millions of people, not just in Scotland, who shared a rare moment when one man stood for us and pushed against the boundaries of age that we all share. Can you really change life’s timeline by 11 years? Do we, each faced with our own challenges, have the capacity to expand our expectations that much?
“Before this round, (Jack) Nicklaus sent the first text message of his life, assisted by his always more-savvy wife: ‘Win one for the old folks. Make us proud. Make us cry again.’
Then there’s the winner. Mark Cannizzaro / New York Post:
“Unfortunately for Stewart Cink, Sunday’s British Open winner, the crowning achievement of his career will forever be overshadowed in golf history by Watson’s flirtation with immortality.
“Cink, though, is a smart, introspective guy who happens to be a big sports fan and he understands his role in Sunday’s show. And he’s OK with that, which is pretty cool.
“ ‘It’s not the first time I’ve been in that situation,’ Cink said. ‘I’ve played plenty of times with Tiger (Woods) and hearing the Tiger roars and (for) Mickelson. I’m usually the guy that the crowd…they appreciate but they’re not behind me 100 percent of the way.
“ ‘That’s the sort of role I’ve been cast into for my whole career. And hey, that’s not the worst. It’s OK.’
“As Cink joked after his win when a British journalist asked him how he felt about ‘drawing a red line through’ one of the greatest sports stories ever: ‘As long as I get the girl.’
By the way, initially Watson went off at 1,000-1 at Ladbrokes. Imagine. One bettor, according to Bloomberg, put 40 pounds on Tom and would have won 40,000 had Watson made the putt. Talk about having a pit in one’s stomach. Heck, Cink was 150-1 at the start.
Finally, I mentioned last time that I enjoyed Rick Reilly’s essay at the end of the British Open, wherein he discussed Tom Watson’s sportsmanship, while showing a clip of Tiger Woods slamming his driver after a poor tee shot. John Feinstein of the Washington Post had a similar observation on both.
“Most athletes are very good at winning. Being good at winning is easy. The real test comes when you lose, especially when you lose in a truly heartbreaking way. Tiger Woods has never lost a true heartbreaker. Oh sure, he’s finished second, but usually it’s been because he didn’t putt that well or got too far behind and couldn’t quite catch up. You can bet in almost every one of those losses – and we saw it again while he was missing the cut last weekend – there have been tossed clubs, plenty of profanities and clubs pounded into the ground in disgust. In fact, you often see a lot of that when he’s winning.
“You think you’ll ever see Tom Watson throw a club or scream a profanity as a wayward shot sails into the water? No. Not now, not 30 years ago, not ever.
“Watson learned from Jack Nicklaus that real winners know how to lose. When Watson beat Nicklaus in 1977 at Turnberry in their famous ‘Duel in the Sun,’ the two men walked off the 18th green with their arms around each other after Nicklaus had whispered to Watson: ‘I gave you my best shot. You were just better today.’
“Thirty-two years later, Watson was just as classy with Cink – which was exactly what you would expect. He kept his sense of humor, he even offered help with a headline: ‘The Old Fogy Almost did It,’ he said, forcing a laugh.
“In 1994 at Pebble Beach, I happened to be walking with Watson on one of the most disappointing days of his career. He had a two-shot lead with five holes to play when the putting yips, which had kept him from winning for seven years, got to him again and he ended up losing to 46-year-old Johnny Miller – who by then was semi-retired, spending most of his time in the broadcast booth – by one shot.
“After Watson finished, he signed his scorecard and then waited behind the green for Miller to finish. As Miller walked off the green, Watson, standing off to the side, called his name. Miller kept walking. Watson tried again. This time, recognizing the voice, Miller stopped.
“Miller said later the reason he didn’t respond when Watson first called his name was because he was stunned Watson had waited for him. ‘Very few guys would have that kind of class in that kind of situation,’ he said.
–I’ve been asking some friends about what they’d do with Michael Vick and the consensus is to let him come back, though with some heavy stipulations, such as extensive community service, formal apology, etc. Regardless, the protests would be a significant hurdle for any franchise to endure. But, as Ken P. pointed out, aside from the fact that if you’re an owner, “I wouldn’t even consider it, the biggest issue is I doubt he can contribute to winning football games anymore.” I forget whose analysis it was that I came across, but this writer said they could only envision Vick in some kind of wildcat offense, which makes perfect sense. Otherwise, the guy’s throwing (accuracy) was going way downhill before he got into the mess to begin with.
“(NFL Commissioner Roger) Goodell, who has established a reputation for cracking down on lawbreaking players, has said he wants to see remorse from Vick. In recent months, Goodell and Arthur Blank, the Atlanta Falcons’ owner and Vick’s former boss, have made it clear that they hope Vick has broken ties with associates who they think were bad influences on him. Tony Dungy, a former coach of the Indianapolis Colts, visited Vick in prison and said he was convinced that Vick had changed. If Goodell is not satisfied when he meets Vick, he can continue his suspension.”
[Oops…just saw it was Battista whose comments I had seen re: Vick’s fit in a wildcat offense. Gotta give the credit where it’s due, is the guiding motto around here.]
“Vick drew people to Bad Newz Kennels on his property in rural Virginia. It was not a case of Vick’s wandering onto the edge of a mob that was cheering for Fluffy to rip Rover’s throat. The way it worked, people said, Hey, Michael is into dogs killing dogs. Quarterbacks are leaders, after all.
“Getting caught doing something this vicious was not even his big mistake, although enabling dogfighting is surely beyond the normal drugs and drinking and messing around and packing a gun and committing violence to other adults that athletes sometimes commit. This was against animals. As somebody said, animals and children are different.
“Still, Michael Vick’s big mistake may turn out to be mediocrity. He ventured way outside the pocket of social respectability at a time when his quarterback rating was plummeting. He had not turned the Atlanta Falcons into a Super Bowl contender. In a time of other large and mobile quarterbacks, he was yesterday’s phenomenon….
“Character is usually overlooked in the double standards of sports. Even little kids knew Mickey Mantle was the epitome of drinking and philandering, but the Mick could hit the ball off the façade, and that was quite enough.
“Some standards are inviolate. Shoeless Joe Jackson will probably never get into the National Baseball Hall of Fame….No less a figure than Ted Williams lobbied for Jackson’s inclusion on the grounds of mercy and admiration for his skills, but Williams might have been Jackson’s last best chance.
“Pete Rose is going to have a tough time getting into the Hall – or earning a living in organized baseball – for three reasons: he gambled while managing the Reds; he lied when confronted; and he is forever linked with Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti, who died days after barring Rose….
“The double standard has kicked in with drugs. NBA Commissioner David Stern sighed and said, ‘This is sadness,’ when, by league law, he had to banish Michael Ray Richardson for life after a positive test. But baseball was slow to face reality, which meant Steve Howe received nearly double-digit reprieves for so-called recreational drugs because some club always needed a live left-handed arm….
“Meantime, Michael Vick is legally entitled to earn a living. I cannot find it in myself to say he should never have another chance in the NFL, given some of the characters who have run afoul of the law without being suspended. Whenever Goodell gets around to clearing him – and what’s wrong with making him sweat a few more weeks? – club owners are going to be wary of the reaction from animal lovers, and the owners will remember what happened at the Bad Newz Kennels. Vick has put himself in Coventry. At least until a few quarterbacks go down.”
–Speaking of dogs…saw this blurb in the Wall Street Journal.
Did you know that it takes an elite greyhound 3…3!…steps to reach its top speed of 45mph?!
“You may not understand what your dog is trying to tell you, but your baby might.
“Infants as young as six months old can tell what kind of mood a pooch is in by its bark, according to a new study.
“Brigham Young University researchers showed babies two different pictures of the same dog, looking aggressive and then friendly. They then played sound recordings of a happy and an angry bark in a random order.
“Amazingly, the babies spent most of the time staring at the matching picture after hearing the sound.
“ ‘Emotion is one of the first things babies pick up on in their social world,’ said Ross Flom, a professor at the university and lead author of the study. ‘We chose dogs because they are highly communicative creatures both in their posture and the nature of their bark.’
“The experiment backs up the idea that even before they can speak, babies can understand and respond to the tone of human and animal voices.”
–“Hi, Billy Mays back again with the awesome augur….” I’m glad I’m not a parent. This is too difficult to have to explain.
“He is, Bobby. But you see, it really is an awesome augur and he’s fulfilling his contract with the company to do a few more commercials.”
“Go to your room…your father will explain when he gets home.”
—1969 Mets, continued…we pick up our story with the Mets 51-37 and 4 games back of the Cubbies.
July 18…at Montreal and Parc Jarry for four. Mets win first, 5-2, on a complete game, 7 strikeout effort by Jerry Koosman (8-5) as he bested Jerry Robertson (2-8). Art Shamsky (No. 8) and Jerry Grote (No. 2) clubbed homers and drove in two apiece. Shamsky’s average is up to .348.
July 19…Tom Seaver (14-5) is shelled early as Mets lose 5-4. Seaver gave up 4 runs on 7 hits in just 2 innings. For Les Expos, Bill Stoneman (6-12) went all the way, allowing zero earned runs and fanning 10. Cocoa Laboy hit his 12th homer.
July 20…Mets lose the first game of a doubleheader, 3-2, as Gary Waslewski (2-3) goes all the way for Montreal, a 5-hitter, while Gary Gentry (3-2) also goes the distance (8 innings). Tommie Agee drove in the two Mets runs and now has 46 RBI on the season.
July 20…Mets win the nightcap, 4-3, in 10 innings. New York is held to just 6 hits, 3 by Ron Swoboda, while Jack DiLauro (1-3) picked up the win with a scoreless 10th; this after starter Don Cardwell went 7 1/3, allowing only one earned on 6 hits.
The Mets are now 53-39, 5 games back of Chicago, heading into the All-Star break. We’ll resume the story next Monday.
–Bart Hubbuch / New York Post…regarding the 2009 version of the Metsies.
“Say this for the Mets: They’re losing, but at least they’re quick about it.
“Jerry Manuel’s putrid, Triple-A level lineup needed just 2 hours, 9 minutes to work its way through a 4-0 embarrassment at the hands of the worst teams in baseball (Washington) last night.”
As of Tuesday, the Mets have been shutout in five of their last 13 games, which for this day and age is astounding.
Then there is one of the true dirtballs on the planet, the Mets VP for player development, Tony Bernazard.
“The Binghamton Mets clubhouse nearly turned into a scene out of WWE Raw recently, when (Bernazard) removed his shirt and challenged the Double-A players to a fight during a postgame tirade, multiple sources told the Daily News.
“Bernazard particularly went after middle infield prospect Jose Coronado, using a slang term associated with a woman’s anatomy, a source indicated….
“ ‘That’s an all-timer if true,’ an AL official said upon hearing the account, which was corroborated by multiple people with ties to the Mets.”
“The News reported Tuesday that Bernazard, one of GM Omar Minaya’s top lieutenants, recently erupted at the organization’s manager of baseball operations. During a game at Citi Field, scouts took their customary seats in a row behind home plate. Bernazard showed up during play and wanted a seat occupied by a D-Backs scout. Bernazard’s deputy, already seated in the row, suggested to the Mets VP that he wait until the half-inning ended, to minimize disruption. Bernazard ripped into his deputy with a profanity-laced tirade as scouts and patrons watched in disbelief.”
Unbelievable. What free agent in their right mind wants to be with an organization that has jerks like this?
Tuesday night, Johnny Mac and I were observing the Mets’ broadcasting team interview Omar Minaya during the team’s loss to the Nats, with one of our conclusions being that Omar had a final tally of 108 “you knows,” thus crushing Caroline Kennedy’s combined record of “you knows” and “umms” of 68. Some of us just don’t get management’s fascination with Omar. He seems like a good guy, but I can name a lot of good guys. I can also name a lot of good guys who appear to be illiterate, too, and don’t attempt to masquerade as a major league general manager.
So in watching the Mets freefall, Johnny Mac was reminded of the above-mentioned Michael Ray Richardson, who was famously asked when he was with the Knicks:
Richardson: Sky’s the limit.
–Ripped from the pages of Men’s Health (via frat bro Ken S., who’s very healthy at last word), our alma mater, Wake Forest, conducted a study that found “imbibing every night is good for your brain.”
“The study of more than 3,000 people found those who had one or two alcoholic drinks daily had a 37 percent lower risk of developing dementia as they got older.” Phewww!
“That’s not an excuse to overindulge, of course. And turns out, drink more than one or two glasses, and your odds of developing the disease actually double.” Doh!
–I pulled out my copy of Walter Cronkite’s “A Reporter’s Life” the other day and pass along the following observation on Frank Sinatra (part of which was in the CBS tribute to Cronkite this past Sunday…which was excellent).
“Frank Sinatra became a friend over the years, and I was delighted when Don Hewitt, our producer, arranged a long interview with him that would be the centerpiece of a special on his life. The interview was at his home in Palm Springs, and we were getting along famously when Don leaned over and whispered to me not to forget to ask him about the Mafia. My question was simply how he responded to charges that he had Mafia connections.
“Sinatra’s lips tightened to a tiny line. He gave me a piercing look through narrowing eyes.
“ ‘That’s it,’ he said, practically leaping up from his chair and waving his sidekick, Jilly Rizzo, and Hewitt back to his bedroom. I wasn’t invited to the private conference, which featured the great voice raised to a level seldom used in the concert hall. The only coherent phrase I picked up was a charge that Hewitt had promised him that the Mafia question would not be raised.
“They worked out a compromise that I never would have thought possible, and Sinatra came back to answer the question. It was not illogical, he said, that he crossed paths and posed for pictures with the many characters who ran the nightclubs and other joints in which he sang. Their affiliations with the mob, if any, he said he had no way of knowing, and he didn’t care whether anyone believed that or not.
“Sinatra was an interesting man. His public persona, offstage, could be nasty and brutal. His treatment of reporters and photographers was occasionally beyond the pale. But in person he could be as docile and, yes, sweet as a man could be. And it is legend that ‘if you really want to know what a great friend Frank can be, break your leg.’ He anonymously cared for untold numbers of show business people and others who were down on their luck. And the slightest special occasion among his friends brought forth a bounty of usually expensive gifts.”
–We note the passing of Gordon Waller, half of Peter and Gordon, at the way too young age of 64. It was back in 1964 that the duo had the #1 hit, “A World Without Love.”
Please lock me away / And don’t allow the day / Here inside, where I hide, with my loneliness / I don’t care what they say, I won’t stay / In a world without love
#14 – True Love Ways
Peter and Gordon were part of the initial wave that, aside from the Beatles, included the Dave Clark Five and Herman’s Hermits; Peter and Gordon themselves having bad teeth, but I digress. The two split in 1968, with Asher managing the career of James Taylor among others.
–Jeff B. caught Paul McCartney’s super show at Citi Field the other night and like everyone else who has seen it, marveled at Macca’s stamina. Jeff also got to see him up close and personal afterwards as McCartney boarded his tour bus, waving to everyone. [On Friday, Jeff and his daughter are catching Green Day. Life is good.]
Top 3 songs for the week 7/21/79: #1 “Bad Girls” (Donna Summer…beep beep…bang bang) #2 “Ring My Bell” (Anita Ward) #3 “Hot Stuff” (Donna Summer…the summer of Summer)…and…#4 “Good Times” (Chic) #5 “Makin’ It” (David Naughton) #6 “Boogie Wonderland” (Earth, Wind & Fire with The Emotions) #7 “I Want You To Want Me” (Cheap Trick) #8 “Shine A Little Love” (Electric Light Orchestra) #9 “Gold” (John Stewart) #10 “She Believes In Me” (Kenny Rogers…not the greatest week, I think you’d agree)
Sports Quiz Answer: Six active venues that have hosted at least 3,500 regular- and postseason pro games. [Not stated exactly as of when, but since at least the beginning of the current baseball season.]
Wrigley Field, opened 1914…7,958 [Bears played a few games there]
Fenway Park, opened 1912…7,848
Dodger Stadium, opened 1962…4,195
Angel Stadium of Anaheim, opened 1966…3,650
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, opened 1966…3,628
Madison Square Garden, opened 1968…3,586
A few shout outs…Happy Birthday, Johnny Mac [he’s four shy of Tom Watson, at least for another two months, after which he’ll be five back], Brad K. for his surgery [be brave…drink premium], and to the beautiful women of Sigma Kappa down at North Carolina State. Thanks for tuning in, girls. [Uh oh…Oct. 3, the Deacs vs. the Wolfpack. More on this later. Speaking of college football, Sept. 12….your editor catches an Appalachian State game with the inestimable Phil W.]
And one other note, for New Jerseyans in particular. My new best friend, Sophia at Monmouth Park, just informed me that if you want to catch Rachel Alexandra at The Haskell on Aug. 2, you really should get advanced tickets through ticketmaster.com or by calling 732-571-5563.
