[Posted from Honolulu]
*This just in…a hiker was gored to death by a mountain goat in Washington’s Olympic National Park. The goat was killed. Coupled with the below story on the vicious sea lion, Man remains on a heightened state of alert…the Bar Chat Level 7 out of 9.
College Football Quiz: Name the following winners of the Outland Trophy for top interior lineman, all of whom had Pro-Bowl careers in the NFL. 1) 1957…initials A.K. 2) 1961…initials M.O. 3) 1965…initials T.N. (hint: changed positions in NFL). Answers below.
It’s been a hectic little stretch. I spent all day Saturday flying here, 10+ hours, and arrived around 7:00 PM local, which was midnight back home, and so I missed just about every big sports event, except I did catch the end of Oregon State-Washington in the hotel bar. I don’t want to give the name of where I’m staying, but it’s not the classiest joint I’ve ever been in and when I first walked in the bar, I thought, ‘What a dump.’
So today, Sunday, some friends of my parents who all went to Pitt together took me around Punahuo, the exclusive private school that Barack Obama went to (and Michelle Wie), plus I got to meet the school president (who happens to be Dan and Jeanne’s son-in-law and a good friend of Obama’s). Anyway, it was kind of special to tour the school prez’s house, which is gorgeous and on the top of a hill overlooking Honolulu. So thank you, Dan and Jeanne.
But just to let you know how this trip is going to proceed, tomorrow, Monday, I fly to Guam, 8 hours, (cross the dateline), arrive in the evening, and a few hours later fly to Yap, arriving on Yap, if all goes well, around 1:30 AM, Wednesday. So this isn’t exactly a relaxing start to my journey. I’ve also now been in Honolulu about 24 hours and haven’t hit the beach scene yet…but first…
College Football Review
As soon as I arrived yesterday, while waiting for the bags I was scanning the scores and like everyone else couldn’t believe a No. 1 had gone down a second week in a row as No. 18 Wisconsin knocked off No. 1 Ohio State, 31-18.
And poor South Carolina. They knock off then No. 1 Alabama, rise to No. 10, and proceed to lose at Kentucky, 31-28.
Then you have what I labeled the real sleeper team, No. 7 Auburn, which blasted No. 12 Arkansas, 65-43, while No. 5 Nebraska lost to Texas.
And one I really loved…Mississippi State knocking off No. 22 Florida, 10-7, dropping the Gators to 4-3.
Boise State, TCU, and Michigan State kept winning , but then you had some big games that could impact the BCS status of the first two.
Hawaii knocked off No. 19 Nevada, which was to be Boise State’s big remaining opponent, which obviously hurts the Broncos, though Hawaii, 5-2, faces Boise on Nov. 6.
And the aforementioned Oregon State game is important as the Beavers fell to the Huskies, 35-34, in a second overtime as OSU’s Mike Riley opted to go for 2 points and the win…and lost. All were in agreement, though, that on the road it was the right call. But the loss hurts Boise State and TCU in terms of strength of schedule as they both had beaten the Beavers.
Speaking of strength of schedule, we’ve been talking about how Virginia Tech needed to get their act together after their awful loss to James Madison, Va Tech having lost the opener to Boise, and the Hokies have indeed been on a roll since, winning five.
Like on Saturday, VT had a 49-14 halftime…halftime…lead over Wake Forest en route to a 52-21 victory. Virginia Tech had 35 first downs to Wake’s 9. Goodness gracious.
[Somehow, though, the Deacs scored on plays of 33, 78, and 87 yards as running back Josh Harris had 241 yards on 20 carries. Our starting quarterback was just 3 of 16 passing.]
Anyway, Virginia Tech is looking better which helps Boise.
So…
The new AP Poll
1. Oregon*
2. Boise State*
3. Oklahoma*…plays Missouri next week
4. TCU*
5. Auburn*
6. LSU*
7. Alabama
8. Michigan State*
9. Utah*
10. Wisconsin
17. Oklahoma State*
18. Missouri*
*remaining undefeateds
But this week marks the unveiling of the first BCS Poll.
1. Oklahoma .9215
2. Oregon .8921
3. Boise State .8898
4. Auburn .8641
5. TCU .8573
I’m not going to make too much of this yet, except to say that Boise State is going to need some major help because their strength of schedule factor the rest of the way is not good. Auburn is the one that could easily slide into the top two by season’s end. [Watching highlights of the Arkansas game last night, I didn’t realize how many super athletes/playmakers Auburn has on both sides of the ball.]
*I also just saw the very sad story from the Rutgers-Army game, with Rutgers winning 23-20. The Scarlet Knights’ Eric LeGrand is paralyzed from the neck down after a violent hit on a kick return. So say a prayer for Eric and his family.
NFL
Boy, I’m a morning person but I couldn’t live in Hawaii and have to start watching 1:00 football games at 7:00 AM like they do here. The only game I really got to watch today was Eagles-Falcons (nice game for Kevin Kolb), so just a few observations.
Can’t believe the Packers are just 3-3 following their loss to the Dolphins.
Can’t believe the Cowboys are 1-4 after losing to 2-3 Minnesota.
Can’t believe San Diego is just 2-4 after losing to St. Louis. [Can’t believe the Rams are 3-3.]
Ben Roethlisberger played well in his first game back for the Steelers, now 4-1.
I did catch the Pats’ overtime triumph over the Ravens, as my once favorite Jet, Danny Woodhead, continues to make a mark in New England; the Division II product rushing for 63 yards and catching five passes for another 52. This guy could be a fixture there for years. New England fans? I hope you appreciate Danny. Some of us miss the hell out of him.
Speaking of the Jets, though, they are now 5-1 after defeating Denver. From the box score it doesn’t look like it was pretty, but as in the case of the Giants, now 4-2 after three straight triumphs of their own, a win is a win in the NFL.
Baseball
Yes, missed Saturday’s games, and was heartbroken Friday night to see Texas blow the 5-0 lead against the Yankees, but Texas stormed back in Game Two, showing us everything. And I just saw Cody Ross hit his third homer of the Phillies-Giants series. Now that’s a GM…the Giants’ guy who picked up Ross from the Marlins. [I did end up watching the entire Phils contest as they bounced back to tie up the series.]
And tonight I mourn the passing of…
Barbara Billingsley, the greatest TV mom of all time. June Cleaver was 94. I loved how in her obituary, there’s a quote from her where she said in seven years of “Leave It to Beaver,” they never had a fight on the set. Heck, I still miss Hugh Beaumont.
Well gosh darnit…when I get back from this trip I’m going to start playing my “Leave It to Beaver” DVDs again.
Stuff
–Great win for 47-year-old Rocco Mediate this week on the PGA Tour, his sixth career title at the Frys.com Open. Rocco started the week 182nd on the money list and was in obvious danger of not making the top 125 to qualify for his card next year, again, but moves to No. 72 with the victory.
–David Pearson headed the second five-member class for NASCAR’s Hall of Fame. The other four were Bobby Allison, Lee Petty, Ned Jarrett, and pioneer Bud Moore, who fielded cars for the likes of Pearson, Allison and Dale Earnhardt.
But some are wondering how Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough were excluded. Waltrip, though, ticked off a lot of folks, first as a driver and today as a broadcaster, while Yarborough has had little to do with the sport since his retirement.
–Larry Siegfried died. The former guard on those great Celtic teams of the 1960s was just 71. Siegfried played on five championship squads in his seven seasons with the Celts, 1963-70. The Ohio State product twice led the NBA in free-throw percentage.
–Great news…Peter Jackson is all set to direct “The Hobbit,” “The Lord of the Rings” prequel. The sets have long been built and now production will begin in February. The first of two parts is slated for Dec. 2012.
–And here’s more great news…Jason Giambi may testify at Barry Bonds’ March perjury trial! As reported by Joel Rosenblatt and Karen Gullo of Bloomberg:
“A witness list filed today in federal court in San Francisco said the government may call former San Francisco Giant Bobby Estalella, who will testify that Bonds admitted using the substances. Kimberly Bell, Bonds’ ex-girlfriend, will testify that Bonds told her he was taking steroids prior to the 2000 Major League Baseball season and that she observed physical changes in him after 2000, including testicle shrinkage, according to the filing.
“Former New York Yankee Jason Giambi will testify that he received performance-enhancing drugs from Bonds’ trainer, Greg Anderson, prosecutors said.”
Oh baby…this could be better than I thought it would be!
–Wake Forest formally parted ways with center Tony Woods after he pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend, who is also the mother of his child. So among the schools Woods is interested in is Louisville, which says something about that program.
–Have you seen those ads for Emirates Airlines and their new suites where you can take a shower? Oh yeah, that’s a brilliant idea. Hit some turbulence, go flying through the glass door, bleed to death, captain has to turn around because of your demise, passengers riot….
–We note the passing of the gardener at a zoo in Shenzhen (near Hong Kong) who was mauled to death by five tigers after falling into their pen. It seems he scaled a fence and the tigers said to each other, “Look, a gardener!” [That’s how these things go down.]
— “Sea lion attacks New Zealand rowing boat”…From AFP:
“An angry sea lion attacked a rowing boat in New Zealand’s Otago Harbor, cracking the $30,000 vessel’s hull, it was reported Thursday.”
Seems said monster smashed into it from beneath the surface, scaring the crap out of the eight-man crew.
“ ‘I saw this dark figure looming under the boat. I felt it hit and, seconds after, water came gushing up…it was panic stations,’ rower Matt Smail told the Otago Daily Times.
“The boat started taking on water and the crew headed to the nearest boat ramp, with the irate mammal following them.
“ ‘It walked up the ramp and gave us a bit of a snarl,’ another rower, Adam Garden said.”
No one was injured, but understand this wasn’t a seal…sea ‘lions’ can grow to 12 feet in length. It’s a killer…and not to be invited into your home should you find one barking outside your door.
–Ines Sainz of TV Azteca is back on the sidelines but said she will do her interviews out of the locker room from here on. The hottie said she needed to take some time off after all the publicity because “I don’t want to be the focus. I’m not looking for that kind of publicity. It affects my career and development in the States.”
And as reported by the AP, on her first day back on the sidelines, “she wore a black-white-and-lime green sequined mini skirt and white blouse.” To which she offered, “I’m proud of being a woman and I’m not shy about hiding it. However, this in no way makes me any less of a professional.”
I never said it did, Ms. Sainz. I can’t believe some actually say those things.
And that’s your Ines Sainz update from Honolulu. I’m guessing she’s not a hot topic on Yap.
–General Normal Johnson, lead singer of the group the Chairmen of the Board, died. He was 67. “Give Me Just A Little More Time” was the group’s first single, charting in the top ten and a huge favorite at Wake Forest. ‘General’ was named after his father and the group was known for playing beach music.
Top 3 songs for the week 10/15/66: #1 “Reach Out I’ll Be There” (Four Tops) #2 “Cherish” (The Association) #3 “96 Tears” (? (Questions Mark) & The Mysterians)…and…#4 “Last Train To Clarksville” (The Monkees) #5 “Psychotic Reaction” (Count Five…great tune) #6 “Cherry, Cherry” (Neil Diamond) #7 “Walk Away Renee” (The Left Banke) #8 “What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted” (Jimmy Ruffin…another great one) #9 “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” (The 4 Seasons…one of their top 3) #10 “You Can’t Hurry Love” (The Supremes…what a week, eh?!)
College Football Quiz Answers: 1) Alex Karras, Iowa…4-time Pro Bowler. 2) Merlin Olsen, Utah State…14-time Pro Bowler, Hall of Fame. 3) Tommy Nobis, Texas…5-time Pro Bowler at linebacker.
And so I just received a note from Sister Joanne on Yap, and she tells me the reason the hotel I’m staying at there hasn’t responded to my recent email that my plans had changed (after Continental screwed with my flight) is because they’re having trouble with their Internet service. Nooooooooo!
So don’t look for anything on Thursday. Looks like Monday, when I’ll hopefully be somewhere I can get some work done.
