PGA Tour Quiz: Name the seven golfers who won 2 or more events this year. [One won 3] Answer below.
Zenyatta’s Quest
What a sad ending on Saturday at the Breeders’ Cup Classic as Zenyatta went for an all-time 20 for 20. She almost pulled it off. Jockey Mike Smith was “devastated,” but while every horse fan had the same reaction, why didn’t he start the big push a little earlier, I can’t still really blame him.
“Jockey Mike Smith, sobbing in frustration and disappointment, blamed himself for the defeat of the mighty mare Zenyatta in yesterday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, after she ran the greatest race of her life – only to fail by a head in a race that will never be forgotten for its drama, excitement and historic importance.
“The fairy tale is over. The dream is dead, all in a matter of inches. In losing, Zenyatta may now lose the trophy she surely merits, namely Horse of the Year. The horse who beat her, Blame, will be crowned. He probably should be. But the heart screams out, no, no a thousand times no.
“It’s unfair. In defeat, Zenyatta surpassed everything she has ever done on the racetrack. Look at the race film a hundred times and see Zenyatta half a furlong behind the field. How, in the name of racing, can even the greatest filly alive, give the best male horses in America a start so long she’s not even in the picture?
“We know it is her style to drop out and make a heart-stopping late surge, but what happened at Churchill Downs yesterday was ridiculous. When they went around the clubhouse turn, she was so far astern she figured to have no chance. Smith moved her a little closer in the run down the backstretch, but entering the final turn, she still was 11th in a 12-horse field. She was, even then, giving the leaders so much start she would have needed wings to reel them in.
“Then Smith set her down, moved her off the inside, split horses, and here she came. The crowd at the Downs was hysterical. The noise deafening. The spectacle unimaginable. Inch by inch, she drove past some terrific horses – Lookin At Lucky, Quality Road, Haynesfield, Musket Man – in a sight that sent the heart soaring, the emotions pounding.
“Then, in a miracle, for a split-second, it seemed she was going to get there. Unbelievable.
“But in the last dying yards of the punishing mile-and-a-quarter, Zenyatta could not quite make it. Not since Seattle Slew ran the greatest race of his life, only to lose the Jockey Club Gold Cup to Exceller, have we seen such gallantry under fire as Zenyatta’s desperate closing lunge at Blame.
“Smith can second guess himself, but after the race, he was inconsolable, disbelieving.
“ ‘I just wish I could have got into the race earlier because I think the outcome would have been different,’ he said. ‘She wasn’t good in the beginning. She got squeezed and she wasn’t leveling out. She was given too much to do.
“ ‘Down the backside, she picked it up, but we were behind a wall of horses. After the sluggish start, I truly felt I needed to cut some corners somewhere.
“ ‘The dirt was hitting her in the face. She wasn’t used to that. I went through all the six goggles I was wearing.’….
“ ‘I should have done a few things differently,’ he said. ‘I wish I…if I had to do it all over again, I would have. It hurts more than you can explain because it was my fault.’”
“Blame won. Zenyatta finished second. There is no glory, no history, no pedestal for finishing second. As racetrackers like to say, ‘Nobody ever remembers who finishes second or third.’
“Perfection escaped her, which as a famous railbird once said, ‘It just goes to show that she is human after all.’”
[In other Breeders’ Cup races, Uncle Mo emerged as the Kentucky Derby favorite (Bar Chat, which picked Lookin At Lucky this year, only to have the jock totally screw it up, will release its favorite later after intensive study of YouTube clips), and 5-year-old Irish-born mare Goldikova won the Breeders’ Cup Turf Mile, the first horse to win any Cup race three consecutive times, and thus staking her claim to be the best filly in the world, not Zenyatta.]
New York City Marathon
I’ll always catch the TV coverage of this one if I’m in town, and in between Sunday news programs. But while an Ethiopian won the men’s race, and a Kenyan the women’s (or was it a Kenyan the men’s and an Ethiopian the women’s), a special shout out to Shalane Flanagan, out of UNC, for her phenomenal second on the women’s side in this her very first marathon of any kind! I loved her in Eugene at the 2008 Olympic Trials and it was great to see her come through as she did.
And as for Edison Pena, the Chilean miner, congrats to him for finishing. I won’t mention his time, which wasn’t good, but anyone who runs knows this guy didn’t come close to being in shape for the race. I mean he just got out about four weeks ago and all he was doing down below was 3-6 miles a day! The fact he was able to run the entire first half before he had some knee issues and had to walk a long stretch is remarkable in its own right. You rock, Edison!
College Football Review
It was an interesting week, but not for obvious reasons. No. 1 Oregon won handily, 53-16 over Washington, and No. 2 Auburn had a 62-24 break from the regular grind against Chattanooga.
But then you had No. 3 TCU at No. 5 Utah and the Horned Frogs destroyed the Utes, 47-7, so bye-bye Utah and its state attorney general complaining about the BCS process.
No. 4 Boise State defeated a solid Hawaii team, 42-7. But BCS threat, No. 6 Alabama, lost to No. 10 LSU, 24-21, while another one-loss threat, No. 8 Oklahoma, was upset by Texas A&M, 33-19.
There were second-tier upsets, like Texas Tech defeating No. 12 Missouri, but here’s what I found fascinating. The offense. As in I cannot a recall a college football weekend with the explosions we saw.
I mean forget the Michigan-Illinois, 67-65, 3-overtime thriller. I hate college football overtime in terms of how the stats can add up but nonetheless it does go down as the highest-scoring game of the year and in the history of the Big Ten as the two combined for 1,237 yards of offense.
In the Boise State game, the Broncos’ Heisman candidate, Kellen Moore, was 30-37 passing for 507 yards! And he even threw two interceptions, as Boise racked up a school record 737 yards of offense. 737! That’s obscene. In fact, Boise outgained, again, a supposedly solid Hawaii Warriors’ team, 737-196.
But in the same conference, you had No. 23 Nevada outscore Idaho, 63-17, as Nevada rang up a school record 844 yards! 38 first downs!
But wait…there’s more. Navy beat East Carolina, 76-35! 76 points! But here’s what I find fascinating about this one. Navy only outgained ECU by 596-567. And Navy didn’t have any touchdowns by way of turnovers or special teams. The Pirates did turn it over four times, but it’s not like the Midshipmen were scoring on interception or fumble returns. They just ground out 521 yards rushing.
Back to Boise State, and TCU, there was a big game that hurts both in terms of the computer rankings, that being Oregon State’s loss to UCLA, 17-14, thus dropping the Beavers to 4-4. I won’t go over why this one is important again, as I have every week, but it is. At least in terms of Boise, Virginia Tech eked out a 28-21 win over Georgia Tech so the Hokies will keep inching up in the polls and making the Broncos’ season-opening win over them look a little better.
Meanwhile, in terms of the BCS potential lineup, you still have the embarrassment of a Big East entry, most likely Pitt at this point, getting in with at least three losses.
Elsewhere, in a stirring contest, Boston College defeated my now 2-7 Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 23-13. Thank god I didn’t care about this one, though I do owe BC alum Steve D. lunch. Week after next, Steve.
And Joe Paterno became the first Division I-A coach to win 400 games, a record that will last forever, as Penn State came back from 21 down to defeat Northwestern, 35-21. Bobby Bowden, 389, Bear Bryant, 323, Pop Warner, 319, and Amos Alonzo Stagg, 314, are the only others with 300 wins, though, stupidly, because of sanctions imposed on Florida State, Bowden is recognized by the NCAA as now having only 377.
[And to be anal about it, Eddie Robinson had 408 with I-AA Grambling, while Div. III’s John Galiardi is still going strong with 476 at St. John’s, Minn.]
In the case of the Notre Dame student who died while filming football practice when he was blown off a platform amid 50-mph winds, university president Rev. John Jenkins issued a statement:
“Declan Sullivan was entrusted to our care, and we failed to keep him safe. We at Notre Dame and ultimately I, as President, are responsible. Words cannot express our sorrow to the Sullivan family and to all involved.”
Then Jenkins appeared to absolve 4-5 coach Brian Kelly, but as Mike Lupica pointed out, if Kelly isn’t responsible, who the heck is? Who was looking out for Sullivan’s welfare? The kid is high up in the air, a windstorm that I knew of while in the South Pacific, for crying out loud, is cancelling hundreds of flights in the area, and…oh, never mind. Like I said before, I hope the family has received their first $5 million with far more to come. It’s the clearest case in the history of mankind of blatant negligence and here’s hoping the Notre Dame program sucks for a long time to come.
And a word on Hawaii…I spent four days in Honolulu between each end of my trip and it was nice to see the enthusiasm for the Univ. of Hawaii football team, so it’s too bad they didn’t do better against Boise. Yes, I bought some Warriorswear as a hedge.
As for next Friday’s Boise-Idaho game that I’m attending in Moscow, Idaho, alas, it’s looking like a huge blowout. Idaho was showing enough offensive firepower to make it interesting for maybe a half…that is until the last two weeks when they lost to quality opponents Hawaii and Nevada, 45-10 and 63-17. So…I could be leaving at halftime if the score is 35-0. But at least I’ll be sure to get me some Vandalwear, and I know the atmosphere should be electric at least at the start for reasons I’ll explain later. [It’s on ESPN2 at 9:00 ET. Look for a guy with gray hair.]
Lastly, ESPN’s Pat Forde reported that “During the height of star quarterback Cam Newton’s recruitment out of junior college last year, a man who said he represented Newton allegedly was soliciting a six-figure payment to secure his signature on a national letter of intent.”
ESPN learned of the story from former Mississippi State quarterback John Bond, who said a teammate of his from the early 1980s “contacted (Bond) soon after Newton’s official visit to Mississippi State during the Ole Miss game in December, and said he was representing Newton.”
Well, Cam Newton ended up at Auburn and is now the Heisman Trophy frontrunner for the title-contending Tigers.
Bond’s teammate/representative in question is Kenny Rogers, who operates an outfit called Elite Football Preparation, which holds camps in various states. Rogers allegedly told Bond that other schools had offered $200,000 for Newton’s services. Bond said he came forward to protect his alma mater.
Cecil Newton, Cam’s father, denied any wrongdoing. Auburn coach Gene Chizik said this week, “Unfortunately, I can’t comment on it. But here’s what I can and I will say this very loud and very clear: Cameron Newton is eligible at Auburn University, period. End of story.”
What’s intriguing is that Newton’s father, the aforementioned Cecil, is an Atlanta-area pastor with money problems. This story’s not going away as the NFL is now in the act concerning Rogers and his associates.
New AP Poll
1. Oregon 9-0…1484 points
2. Auburn 10-0…1396
3. TCU 10-0…1391
4. Boise State 8-0…1366
5. LSU 8-1
6. Wisconsin 8-1
7. Stanford 8-1…big win over listless Arizona
8. Ohio State 8-1
9. Nebraska 8-1
10. Michigan State 9-1
16. Virginia Tech
21. Nevada
25. UCF…nice story…ranked first time in school history
438. Wake Forest…behind Juniata, Lycoming and Ursinus
And the New BCS
1. Oregon .9638
2. Auburn .9611
3. TCU .9259
4. Boise State .8662
5. LSU .8170
6. Stanford .7454
Not a lot of discussion needed. If the first two keep winning, that’s your title game. If one were to stumble, TCU gets in. Boise has no chance. In fact Boise is going to get totally screwed and not even get a BCS game, period. That’s where crap like the Big East automatic qualifier really, really sucks. And LSU doesn’t stand a chance because they won’t even get to the SEC title contest.
Sparky Anderson, RIP
Anderson was the first manager in Major League Baseball history to win World Series titles in both leagues, Cincinnati, 1975-76, and Detroit in 1984. Anderson had a career mark of 2,194-1,834 with both teams from 1970 to 1995 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
Sparky was born in Bridgewater, South Dakota, and his family moved to Los Angeles before he was 10. He was a standout at Dorsey High School before beginning his professional career at 19, signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers’ organization. But he turned into a classic good-field, no-hit middle infielder for ten minor league seasons before playing one season as the Philadelphia Phillies’ starting second baseman in 1959, when he hit .218 in 152 games. It’s strange looking back that this was Sparky’s only major-league experience. A full season as a starter. You won’t come up with too many stories like that one.
But then Anderson was unique. He returned to the minors for four seasons, playing for the AAA Toronto Maple Leafs in the International League, where owner Jack Kent Cooke, yes, that Jack Kent Cooke, told him to try managing, so Sparky took over the Maple Leafs in 1964 at the age of 30 and spent five seasons in the minors before joining the San Diego Padres’ coaching staff in 1969. One year later, the Reds’ General Manager Bob Howsam hired the unknown (Howsam knew Anderson from when the two were in the Cardinals’ organization) and in his first season he led Cincy to 102 wins and a National League pennant, this after his hire was met by the local headline, “Sparky Who?” Cincinnati lost to Baltimore in five that season and two years later lost in seven to the Oakland A’s.
But then in 1975 and ’76, the Reds, aka The Big Red Machine, were world champs, winning 108 and 102 games, and defeating the Red Sox and Yankees, respectively. After two second-place finishes, though, the Reds fired Anderson when he refused to can his coaches, whereupon he immediately went to Detroit, and in 1984, after a major-league record 35-5 start, the Tigers beat the Padres in the Series. Sparky went into the Hall, though, in a Reds uniform.
Johnny Bench once said of his field general, “There’s a difference between a good manager and a great one. The good one will tell you there’s more than one way to skin a cat. The great manager will convince the cat it’s necessary. Sparky had the cats carrying the knives to him.”
Pete Rose said, “I’d walk through hell in a gasoline suit for Sparky.”
Yes, the players loved Sparky because he not only loved them, he always made them the focal point and promoted them any way he could. As the New York Times’ Dave Anderson noted:
“During his news conference after the Series finale in 1976, Anderson was asked to compare Yankee catcher Thurman Munson, who was voted the American League’s most valuable player that season, with Bench, the Reds catcher and eventual Hall of Famer who had been the National League’s MVP in 1970 and 1972. The question lighted the bonfire of Anderson’s loyalty to his players.
“ ‘Munson is an outstanding ballplayer and he would hit .300 in the National League,’ he replied sharply, ‘but don’t ever compare nobody to Johnny Bench; don’t never embarrass nobody by comparing them to Johnny Bench.’
“Standing nearby, Munson heard Anderson’s words, and when he followed Anderson to the microphone, he said he felt ‘belittled.’ Three weeks later, Anderson wrote Munson a letter of apology, released by the Reds, that he had ‘no intention of trying to belittle you or any other catcher.’”
“The nicest man I ever met in Major League Baseball just went into hospice care. Time passes, and sometimes that stinks.
“The news came Wednesday about Sparky Anderson, who once pushed the buttons on the Big Red Machine. Something about complications from dementia. His family put out a statement expressing ‘appreciation to all friends and fans for the support and kindness they have shown throughout Sparky’s career and retirement.’
“Kindness? If all the sports world was as kind as Sparky Anderson, there would be no ugly headlines. There would never be unsightly behavior or embarrassment to the game. Know what there would be a lot of?
“But here’s the thing. Sparky Anderson talked to everybody, not just the rich and powerful. He was not phony nice when the network cameras were on, then an aloof jerk when they went away. Lots of those folks out there across your cable system.
“You could be nobody from nowhere, and you walked into Anderson’s office with the Cincinnati Reds or Detroit Tigers, and 30 minutes later, you would still be there, wondering if anyone could bring in lunch.”
Go Away, Little Man!
Incredibly (or maybe not so), Isiah Thomas is at it again. In a series of radio interviews this week, Thomas said he thinks “every single day of the week” about taking over for Donnie Walsh as president/general manager of the Knicks. And this was one day after Thomas, coach at Florida International, held its media day. Thomas told one interviewer, “I want to be on the float and I want to get my ring.” And then Thomas compared himself to former, successful, Knicks coach Pat Riley, and how if the Anucha Browne Sanders sexual harassment trial hadn’t taken place (one in which Madison Square Garden was forced to fork over $11 million), Thomas would have been successful in recruiting LeBron James and Dwayne Wade!
“At least the Garden’s famous ceiling did not fall on the Knicks last night in their impressive 112-91 victory over the Wizards.
“But in some ways, the sky is falling on this club again.
“These Knicks will never get out from under former team president and coach Isiah Thomas and his crazy comments until James Dolan cuts the cord – something the team’s owner seems incapable of doing….
“The latest ramblings from Thomas have exasperated Knicks leadership. As one high-ranking club official said: ‘This is the last thing we need around here. He needs to just go away.’”
“The truly amazing thing, after all this time, is that anyone would consider Thomas credible, except in a culture where the object of the game is to draw attention to yourself, and make yourself a news cycle by saying anything. The more ridiculous the better.
“Dolan will always be drawn to Thomas, period. Dolan still looks at Thomas and sees a combination of Red Auerbach and Jerry West, and clearly buys into Thomas’ greatest lie, the one that always makes you laugh out loud, one repeated to Mike Kay on the radio on Friday afternoon:
“Finally, after Thomas’ Knicks were averaging 28 wins a year, even Dolan realized he had to take the team away from him, had to hire someone like Walsh to come in and clean up a mess at the Garden so poisonous and profound it was like a BP rig blowing off the coast of Louisiana….
“Walsh was once a patron of Thomas’ in basketball. Now he gets it in the back the way other people who thought they were friends of Isiah Thomas have, either when he needed to advance his own interests or rehabilitate himself.”
And Thomas announced on the radio that he has “forgiven” Anucha Browne Sanders. As Lupica observes:
“Thomas is essentially calling her a liar, but says he has compassion for her. And forgives her. What a guy. ‘If people did this to her…’ he tells Kay. And sounds like he hit his head in the fall from grace he has taken.
“No, Isiah, she didn’t say ‘people’ created that hostile work environment. She said you did. And the jury agreed with her.”
Isiah Thomas…what a remarkable, incredibly screwed up dirtball.
Charlie Samuels…not much better than Thomas
I suspect 95% of you are thinking, Charlie Who? Charlie Samuels, the New York Mets longtime clubhouse manager, “is under investigation by the NYPD and the Queens District Attorney’s office for allegedly betting on baseball and other sports as part of an organized gambling ring, providing inside information and tips for friends who also placed bets on games and for using his Mets accounts to cover gambling debts, according to law-enforcement sources close to the probe.” [New York Daily News]
The team suspended Samuels last week without pay after an internal probe revealed “that he may have written checks on Mets accounts and cashed them out to cover his own bills and later repaid the ‘loans’ in two to three weeks, the sources said.” Samuels may have also skimmed money on the hotel rooms he ordered for players as the team’s traveling secretary. And…this POS probably stole hundreds of bats, balls and jerseys, which the Mets are also looking into.
Samuels has yet to be arrested, but he supposedly told Major League Baseball that he bet on baseball games, a rather serious offense…see Pete Rose. As the Daily News described it, Samuels was a “spider who sat in the middle of a money web.” He earned about $80,000 as a Mets employee, but his tax returns showed $600,000 to $700,000 in income. This also isn’t the first time the Mets have been involved in a gambling investigation, and/or over organized crime connections, some involving former players Paul Lo Duca and John Franco. In Franco’s case, an investigation where his name popped up later resulted in 36 members of the Bonanno crime family being charged as part of a $360 million operation. That’s when Samuels name also first came to light and led to the ongoing investigation that just broke wide open. In Samuels’ case, he is allegedly on wiretaps with mobsters (members of the Colombo family), placing bets, while organized crime figures are caught on tape bragging about the inside info that Samuels was providing them on baseball games.
Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz declined comment. I only bring this up because I can’t stand Jay Horwitz. [Yes, this is a very inside comment, but he just seems like a little worm who has been part of the losing atmosphere at Shea and now Citi for way too long. He’s covered up for a lot of losers and it’s time to jettison the guy. Yes, Mets fans, don’t believe these stories about ‘lovable Jay’ we’ve been fed over the years.]
But wait…there’s more. Now I knew that clubhouse managers/traveling secretaries often got their income supplemented by tips from the players, who use these guys as personal valets. One former player told the New York Times “that players with large contracts would give Samuels anywhere from $8,000 to $10,000 at the end of the season; players with lower salaries would give $4,000 to $6,000.”
The Times also noted, “The Yankees fired their traveling secretary in 2007 after he pleaded guilty to federal charges that he failed to disclose $53,350 in tips from players and coaches over a five-year period.”
Heck, the Daily News revealed that before outfielder Jeff Francoeur was dealt by the Mets to the Rangers, he gave Samuels a $50,000 tip.
What worries some of us, though, is that Samuels’ relationship with the likes of Johan Santana, Frankie Rodriguez and David Wright is deep so we all wonder just how far the investigation will go.
Well, CBS sure lucked out in their 4:00 games as both the Eagles-Colts and Raiders-Chiefs were as good as it gets for the regular season. The Raiders, now 5-4 after their 23-20 overtime triumph over the 5-3 Chiefs would appear to be back. At least they’re a club with a shot at 9-7. It’s good for the NFL to have the Raiders in the mix. Great atmosphere there when the fans turn out.
And let’s face it, Mike Vick is back and better than ever, while Peyton Manning has nothing to play with.
San Diego is on the comeback trail at 4-5 after a win over the Texans as Philip Rivers now has 2,944 yards passing in 9 games, a pace that would surpass Dan Marino’s record of 5,084 yards in a single season.
My Jets stole one in Detroit, 23-20 in OT. Without getting into a lot of details, Detroit just blew it (as well as an extra point attempt by their rookie defensive tackle…you’re reading that right), but what I do like is the Lions are more than competitive this season and are playing with a lot of passion. Seeing as they host New England on Turkey Day, this is good. And, Wake alum Alphonso Smith had his fifth interception in six games. As Ronald Reagan would have said, not bad, not bad at all.
Who wudda thunk the Giants, after falling to 1-2 and with signs of dissension in the locker room, would suddenly reel off five straight and appear to be the class of the NFC? New York destroyed Seattle 41-7.
Brett Favre won’t go away as he threw for a career high 446 yards in Minnesota’s OT win over the Cardinals.
And as I go to post Sunday evening, it seems a cinch the Cowboys are going to fall to 1-7! How ‘bout them Cowboys?!
–Would someone please explain to me how a freshman college basketball player can be named to the AP first-team preseason All-American squad as North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes has? He is the first such frosh to make the list since voting began before the 1986-87 season. Gee, I hope the kid at least starts. [Duke’s Kyle Singler…just give him the Player of the Year Award now…Kansas State’s Jacob Pullen, BYU’s Jimmer Fredette and Purdue’s JaJuan Johnson round out the first team.]
CBSSports.com had their ACC preview and out of 12 teams, Wake Forest is predicted to finish last. Oh joy.
–Just a note for the archives on the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants (I did see Game 5 in Honolulu and at the finish there was lots of shouting outside…as in lots of Giants fans in Hawaii), from the beginning of September through the Series – a span of 44 games – the Giants allowed just 2.3 runs a game, the fewest of any team over their last 44 contests since the 1908 Chicago Cubs, and the Giants in theory obviously faced far better competition in playing three playoff series in that stretch while the ’08 Cubs had one.
—Francisco Molinari won the HSBC World Golf Championship event in Shanghai by one shot over new No. 1 in the world Lee Westwood. Tiger finished tied for sixth, and as this tourney counts as a PGA Tour event, it thus officially ends his streak with at least one win at 14 years. Next week’s tourney in Florida (that Woods isn’t playing in) is the last one for golfers to qualify for the top 125 on the money list and gain a 2011 Tour card, so it’s always interesting.
—Ilya Kovalchuk of the New Jersey Devils signed a $100 million contract with the team in the offseason but through Friday’s play, the Devils were off to a horrible start, 4-10-1 and 0-5-1 at home, scoring just 25 goals in those 15 games. And Kovalchuk, expected to score about 50 goals, has just three. I haven’t followed hockey much at all the past decade or so but seeing as its New Jersey, this could be an interesting story. The Devils have made the playoffs 13 straight seasons and if they don’t do it this time, after their boldest free-agent acquisition, Kovalchuk’s name will be dirt. And dirt is always good for ratings.
–Since I haven’t done a BC in awhile, I do have to note the passing of NBA great Maurice Lucas at 58. Lucas was the epitome of a power forward and averaged 14.6 points and 9 rebounds a game in his NBA career, which included the only title for the Portland Trailblazers in the 1976-77 campaign. He was a good man.
–Yikes…so who wants to go the Rio Olympics in Brazil in 2016? I sure as hell don’t. And this weekend in Sao Paulo, where the Brazilian Grand Prix was held, Formula 1 champion Jenson Button, his manager and trainer all escaped unharmed after six men brandishing machine guns approached. It was after practice for the race when Button’s police driver saw the assailants approach the car carrying the entourage and the armed policeman sped wildly away in the armoured vehicle provided to the drivers by McLaren.
A McLaren spokesperson said: “The police driver of Jenson’s vehicle reacted swiftly and, using avoidance techniques, rapidly forced his way through the traffic, taking Jenson and the other occupants of the car immediately away from any danger and back to their hotel.” Button called his drive an “absolute legend.”
I forgot that three years ago, members of Toyota’s F1 team escaped a similar situation.
–So you know how last time I said I was back in Honolulu and having just wrapped up my column, was heading out to check on the Halloween action? Oh baby…what a party! And the women’s outfits…wish I could tell you more but I don’t want to lose my International Website Association License.
–I was at Pearl Harbor on Tuesday and asked a fellow to take my picture. He had a San Diego State shirt on so I told him I picked the Aztecs to go all the way and he and his wife had a good laugh over it. The Aztec Express is in the station. There are a few seats still available.
–We note the passing of actress Jill Clayburgh, just 66, after a long battle with lymphocytic leukemia. Clayburgh had Oscar-nominated roles in the 1970s films “An Unmarried Woman” and “Starting Over.” I actually most remember her for her role in “Semi-Tough.”
–When I was in Honolulu, the story broke about the death of 32-year-old, 3-time world surfing champion Andy Irons, from Hawaii. What a tragic deal. He was at an event in Puerto Rico, caught dengue fever, went to Miami, then Dallas, where he was undergoing treatment but he wanted to get home (as you can imagine) and then died in his hotel room in Dallas. His wife is pregnant. It doesn’t get any worse than that.
[I know I shouldn’t have been, but I was still surprised how many surfers there were in Waikiki.]
–Follow-up to my story of the nuns in Baltimore who put the Honus Wagner T-206 card on the market after it had been donated to them. The card, not in the greatest condition, was expected to fetch about $150,000 but instead brought in $262,900. A card shop owner from Knoxville, Tenn., purchased it. In 2007, a T-206 (of which only 50 are believed to still exist) sold for $2.8 million. Brad K., I was disappointed you lost out on the card.
–How did I miss this while I was away? A-Rod broke up with Cameron? You would have thought that would have been the conversation at the Guam beach bar I was at. So Alex was at a hotel opening in Miami the other day and the spy for the New York Post’s Page Six said, “several women were just walking up and giving him their phone number.” And that’s your official A-Rod update. Now that I’m back, I’ll be focused again.
—Martha Stewart redecorated Radio City Music Hall for the Christmas show and in an interview with the Wall Street Journal she noted how she grew up in New York and Radio City was always a part of her life. But there was one bad memory.
“I remember a horrible date I had there when I was at Barnard College. We went to an Ingmar Bergman movie and I fell asleep. When I woke up, the theater was almost empty. My date had left me. I had no money, nothing. I had to walk back to campus by myself. It was so horrible.”
LT just told me that thank god she doesn’t have to take her kids to the Christmas show again. I can’t say I was a biggie on this deal, either. I also have bad memories of being dragged to the Ice Follies at the old Madison Square Garden. If I remember, I also had to wear a little coat and bow tie to the freakin’ thing because it was the “Mad Men” era.
–A Zimbabwean man was devoured by a pride of lions while taking a shower in a fishing camp in the north of the country. 8 villagers were killed by lions in the same area over a period of two months earlier in the year. Poaching, it seems, is making the animals more aggressive toward humans. In the lions’ case, the poaching of antelope for bushmeat (only Homer Simpson would eat bushmeat among people, or cartoon figures, I know) is taking away a primary food source, ergo, man looks mighty tasty.
–And while this story occurred about ten days ago, I forgot to pass along the tale from Brad K. and the AP out of Belize that when Hurricane Richard hit, “A jaguar that escaped from its cage at a Belize animal rescue center…(was) blamed in the mauling death of a U.S. citizen…
“The 4-year-old male jaguar named Max [Here Max….heeerrrrrrrrrrre Maxie….] escaped when a tree fell on his cage on Sunday, the same day the Category 1 hurricane hit the country’s Caribbean coast….
“Authorities found the victim’s body near the animal center on Tuesday. It had bite marks on the forearm and neck, and the man had apparently been attacked the day before and dragged for some distance into the bushes.”
–So I watched Nat Geo’s show “Great Migrations,” while also catching Obama’s interview on “60 Minutes” (thank you, NFL, for running your games so late!), and I’ve gotta tell ya, I’m not a big fan of crazy ants after episode one. Nope, you don’t have to worry about crazy ants cracking the top 100 in January’s installment of the All-Species List. Wildebeest, on the other hand, continue to impress. Cheetah cubs, it should also be added, are idiots, but then I wasn’t much of a factor at age one or two myself so I probably shouldn’t be gettin’ on them.
–In catching up with all my magazines when I got home from my trip, I see that in its annual survey of best sports cities, the Sporting News selected Chicago, followed by Boston and Los Angeles.
–And now…our irregular feature, Sex Chat! [Courtesy of Men’s Health and other such mags your editor subscribes to for filler…and for needed education.]
In a survey of 700 Women’s Health readers, they discuss “The Slow Reveal.”
“When you start dating a woman, don’t spill everything immediately.”
Me: “I was born in Plainfield, N.J., grew up in Summit, went to Wake Forest, pretty much partied and did zero work, took four months to get a job as a clerk/typist, then worked on Wall Street a long time, then up and left a great job about 12 years ago….[ten minutes later]…and I love the Mets, Jets, anything Wake Forest, except they suck these days….[ten minutes later]…and do you like the 60s? No? My favorite groups are the Beatles, Beach Boys, Dave Clark Five, The Rascals, Four Seasons, Four Tops, and I love Petula Clark, and Leslie Gore, and…[ten minutes later]….are you OK? You look ill? Did I tell you how much I love Arnold Palmer? And how my perfect dinner threesome is Palmer, Ali and Richard Nixon? What kind of car do you have? I didn’t see you come in. I have an Accord…it’s like my sixth one in a row….[ten minutes later]…Why are the paramedics here? Oh, gee, sorry…no, guys, I didn’t notice her pass out….”
Back to the survey…48% of women fake their orgasms. And, guys, 65% of women say they are only thinking about you when having sex. Depending on the age of the person you’re with, the other 35% are thinking of anyone from Burt Lancaster to Mario Lopez.
Uh oh… “A scary 42% of women said their men are sometimes unappealing.”
“Date nights can feel scheduled and predictable. ‘The best dates are when you just say, ‘Let’s take it as it comes…Try all-day affairs guided by whims.’”
Me: “Sorry…gotta work.”
“My wife tells me I make an insectlike whine while I’m sleeping. What does this mean, and how can I stop doing it?”
Geezuz…forget the explanation…if I ever sound like this, I hope my partner just shoots or squashes me.
—Charlie O’Donnell died. He was 78. O’Donnell was the longtime announcer for “Wheeeeel of Fortune” for 28 years. And he was Dick Clark’s early sidekick on “American Bandstand.” Back in the 60s, he was also a rock DJ for KRLA-AM (1110) and helped introduce the Beatles when they played the Hollywood Bowl in a show produced by Bob Eubanks. [I never knew that aspect of Mr. Eubanks’ career…very cool.]
–So here I was on Yap and I told you about the Stone Money Brewing Co., the microbrewery at my hotel, and how I bought this super heavy mug that I then carted around the rest of the trip. But as much beer as I had in it, I never really read the whole label on the thing. It has the slogan:
–Good gawd…I just ate a whole box of Triscuit Thin Crisps while doing this column. But the box says I may reduce the risk of heart disease! And I just had 21 grams of fiber!!!
–Finally Rolling Stone gives the new album collaboration between Elton John and Leon Russell, The Union, five stars!
“The Union is a rare gesture in a dying business: an act of gratitude. Elton John repays a long-standing debt of inspiration to Leon Russell – particularly the rowdy merger of soul, country and gospel rapture Russell perfected as a writer, pianist and arranger on 1969 and ’70 albums by Joe Cocker and Delaney and Bonnie – by putting Russell in front of a classy big band, on his first major-label album in a decade.”
So Shu and his wife, Karen, went to see the duo over the weekend and as Shu commented to me, the show started exactly at 7:59 and ended at 11:01 and Elton played non-stop, mostly his earlier work, which is what Shu and I like. His encore was “Your Song,” which, incidentally, was Elton’s first top 40 way back in 1970 and is now solidly in my all-time top ten…because I’m getting old and becoming a real sap.
Shu was also very pleased his tickets were comped because otherwise he would have been shelling out $500, all in. Yikes. I’m paying $115 per ticket for the “Lombardi” show on Broadway I’m seeing in a few weeks. Then again, you don’t want to know what I paid for this coming weekend’s Boise-Idaho seat. Let’s just keep that between me and my checkbook, OK?
Anyway, back to Shu, he was very pleased his seat was on the aisle because as he was drinking beer, he could, err, well, see the above on Stone Money Brewing Co. Elton played like a “chubster Energizer Bunny.” Leon sounded good as well. Glad you enjoyed it, Shu, knowing what a huge Leon fan you are.
Top 3 songs for the week 11/6/71: #1 “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves” (Cher) #2 “Theme From Shaft” (Isaac Hayes…he’s a baaad…) #3 “Maggie May” (Rod Stewart)…and..#4 “Imagine” (John Lennon Plastic Ono Band) #5 “Yo-Yo” (The Osmonds) #6 “Superstar” (Carpenters…Karen hasn’t eaten since last mention) #7 “Peace Train” (Cat Stevens…performed this at Jon Stewart’s deal…still sucks) #8 “I’ve Found Someone Of My Own” (The Free Movement) #9 “Inner City Blues” (Marvin Gaye) #10 “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” (Joan Baez…commie)
PGA Tour Quiz Answer: 2 or more wins in 2010…Jim Furyk, 3; Ernie Els, Dustin Johnson, Steve Stricker, Justin Rose, Hunter Mahan and Bill Haas, 2 each.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday. A special Veteran’s Day edition as I’ll go into my trip to Pearl Harbor and the story of the submariners of World War II.
