College Football Quiz: 1) Archie Griffin is the number one rusher in Ohio State history. Who is number two? [well-known] 2) Who is Ohio State’s all-time passing leader, yards? 3) Who are the four Oklahoma running backs to rush for 4,000 yards? [all post-1960…all big names] Answers below.
The Hypocrisy of the BCS, part cinq
When I was flying out to Spokane last Thursday, I read a terrific, though infuriating piece on the BCS in Sports Illustrated written by Austin Murphy and Dan Wetzel titled “Does It Matter?” [Nov. 15, 2010] It makes your blood boil, and I have been one who was largely ambivalent about the BCS, until this year, that is, when it’s hit everyone like a ton of bricks because of the ongoing super play of TCU and Boise State.
Forget that “The NCAA crowns 88 champions in 23 sports. The only champion it does not crown is in Division I-A football.” What’s so sickening is the money angle, or as Murphy and Wetzel write, “there is a group of people who have a vested interest in keeping things the way they are because they are profiting from the problem.”
Take Gary Cavalli, executive director of the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, who made $377,475 in 2009. “Cavalli, of course, is a bargain compared with Sugar Bowl CEO Paul Hoolahan, who made $607,500 in fiscal 2007. Coming in just behind Hoolahan is John Junker, who is president and CEO of the Fiesta and Insight.com bowls. Junker’s salary is nearly $600,000; in addition, three times he’s taken out zero-interest loans from the Fiesta Bowl, which he has since repaid.”
The bowls? “(They) can afford to pay those salaries and perks. The Sugar Bowl finished 2007 with $37 million in assets and turned an $11.6 million profit. What’s more, the Sugar Bowl accepted $3 million from the Louisiana state government – this a year before it was announced that the state was running a $341 million shortfall in its budget.”
SI points out that most of the bowls “enjoy tax-free, not-for-profit status with the IRS,” but there is plenty of profit involved. And it turns out that some of the bowl directors, such as John Junker, are under investigation for instructing employees to make certain political contributions, “to be reimbursed in the form of merit pay, which would be a violation of state and federal laws.”
Yet of the 120 athletic departments that play I-A football, 106 lost money in 2009. “Cincinnati reached two consecutive BCS bowls and still found itself $24 million in debt.” But many believe a true football playoff would generate gobs of money for all the schools.
“Think about it: The NFL and its teams collect every penny of revenue, from television to tickets to parking to popcorn. In college football the bowl games grab the biggest pork chop – and then help themselves to a few more, often more than 50% of a game’s revenues. (The 2007 Chick-fil-A Bowl generated $12.3 million in revenue but paid out just $5.9 million total to the participating schools, Auburn and Clemson.)”
Or take the Jan. 1, 2009, Outback Bowl where Iowa was charged $65 a head for each of its 346 band members because they were the halftime entertainment. So $22,490 for face-value tickets even though the game wasn’t sold out. Talk about a bunch of a-holes.
At the 2009 Orange Bowl, Virginia Tech lost $1.77 million because they couldn’t come up with about 14,000 tickets they had to guarantee at $125 a head. [17,500 tickets was the guarantee and VT sold 3,342.]
And then there are the bonuses that athletic directors get if the football team goes to a bowl game, in case you were wondering why the schools put up with this B.S. Generally $30,000 to $50,000, even for the lowliest bowl.
“A few years ago our ADs came to me and said, ‘You’ve got to start some bowls,’” Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson says. “I said, ‘You’ll lose money.’ They [each] said, ‘I don’t care.’”
And because the conferences pool all their bowl money, “the sad sack programs that fail to qualify for a bowl often end up in the best financial position. As former Michigan AD Bill Martin said after the 2009 season, ‘The fact we didn’t go to a bowl game the last two years means we actually made money.’”
“The Bowl Championship Series must be destroyed down to the ground, and the people behind it made to answer for their money-grasping arrogance. With every passing year, it’s more obvious how incurably corrupt the BCS is, and how above the law its perpetrators consider themselves. It’s time for Congress to quit hawing in committees and act.
“Will the people up on that hill please get together and pass a bill killing the BCS? Your approval ratings will soar, I promise. The nation will thank you for removing its stench from our public universities, and our personal nostrils.
“It’s going to take a law – a tough one – to stamp the BCS out of existence. The BCS officials who represent the six member conferences won’t listen to reason, don’t respond to legal threats, and couldn’t care less about education.
“Their counterfeit national championship kicks back too much real money.”
“The BCS apologists dodged a major bullet Saturday, when California kicker Giorgio Tavecchio missed a 29-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter (after being called for a false start when he stutter-stepped while making a 24-yarder) that might have given the Golden Bears a win over Oregon. Instead, the Ducks hung on for a 15-13 win over a team playing a second-string quarterback that was hammered, 52-31, earlier in the season by Nevada.
“Of course, on the TV network that owns the BCS, there was virtually no talk about Oregon barely escaping from a 5-5 Cal team. Instead, the pundits kept harping on what a bad week it had been for TCU: The Horned Frogs fell behind San Diego State 14-0 (gasp!). They then led 34-14 (that didn’t really get mentioned much) before getting careless down the stretch to win ‘only’ 40-35. Honestly, if you were watching, you would have thought TCU had lost the game. What’s more, TCU’s 47-7 win over Utah, a team that had won 21 straight home games, is now apparently meaningless because the Utes forgot to show up at Notre Dame.
“Forget the fact that San Diego State was 7-2 entering Saturday’s game with losses at Missouri and at Brigham Young. One would have thought San Diego State was, say, Division I-AA Chattanooga – the team Auburn beat a week ago.
“But that, as we all know, is the way of the BCS. The constant knocking of TCU and Boise State by those connected to the BCS has become as much a part of college football as fight songs. On Saturday, one ESPN radio host wondered on-air if the fact that Idaho had a second-rate stadium might hurt Boise with the voters. Seriously.”
Meanwhile, it’s a weak schedule coming up this weekend. The only game I’m anxious to catch is Army-Notre Dame (7:00 PM ET) as I’ll be praying Army kicks the Fighting Irish’s butts.
And one other item on college football this year. As noted by the Wall Street Journal’s Darren Everson, there have been 98 games in which a team scored at least 50 points. In 2006, there were 58 – for the entire season. Last year, 95. 59 of the 120 teams playing Div. I-A have scored 50. Oregon has done it six times, and as Everson adds, even 2-8 Vanderbilt, 2-8 Wake Forest and 2-8 Western Kentucky have all posted 50, and against I-A (you know I hate the proper “Football Bowl Subdivision”) to boot.
Of course often it’s about intent, as was clearly the case in Wisconsin’s 83-20 beating of Indiana last weekend. The BCS ranking may yet decide who the Big Ten champ is. And Everson notes this one:
“History offers a warning. In 1994, a lackluster final score against an overmatched Indiana team had devastating consequences for Penn State. The Nittany Lions lost their No. 1 ranking in the coaches’ poll because of their 35-29 victory over the Hoosiers – even though the game wasn’t as close as the score – and ended up losing out on the national title to Nebraska despite going 12-0. Margin of victory is no longer supposed to be an issue in college football – it’s not part of the BCS formula. But while the computers can ignore an 11-touchdown day, it’s naïve to believe that poll voters won’t view 35-29 differently than 83-20.”
–I’ve covered the story of Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta previously, Giunta having received the Medal of Honor on Tuesday, the first living service member to do so for action during any war since Vietnam, but following are the words of President Obama, in describing Giunta as “a soldier as humble as he is heroic,” a fact which shined through if you saw Giunta’s piece on “60 Minutes” last Sunday. [It’s worth looking up.]
“He’ll tell you that he didn’t do anything special, that he was just doing his job, that any of his brothers in the unit would do the same thing. In fact, he just lived up to what his team leader instructed him to do years before: ‘You do everything you can.’”
Afterwards, Giunta said, “I would give this back in a second to have my friends with me right now.”
–Your editor’s Pick to Click in College Basketball this year, San Diego State, upset Gonzaga on Tuesday, 79-76. The Aztecs will now officially be on everyone’s radar for the rest of the season and I was smart to get my reserved seat on the train up front. Two or three left. That’s it. And my Aztecwear is winging its way to New Jersey via UPS.
But then there is my alma mater, Wake Forest. After struggling to beat freakin’ Hampton on Monday, we lost to VCU, 90-69, on Tuesday in the pre-season NIT tipoff. Our freshman point guard broke his foot in the opener (the loss to Stetson), we have a walk-on getting minutes at the point now, and the lone starter from last year, C.J. Harris, pressed to play the point, had 10 turnovers on Tuesday. I can’t imagine what Duke will do to us…actually, I can. Try 104-58.
But maybe we’ll beat Georgia Tech. They lost to Kennesaw State 80-63 on Monday. I am not going to get Kennesaw State Owlwear, in case you were wondering. Wouldn’t be prudent.
1. Duke
2. Michigan State
3. Kansas State
4. Villanova
5. Pitt
6. Ohio State
7. Kansas
8. Baylor
9. Florida
10. North Carolina
12. Butler…butt kicked by Louisville on Tues. Talk about overrated this year.
14. Gonzaga…ha!
17. BYU…big games vs. San Diego State down the road…with the Aztecs not in SI’s Top 20, which will look very, very stupid come March.
One other note on the college basketball front, the UConn women won their 80th in a row, 65-64, over No. 2 Baylor. [Sports Illustrated has Baylor winning it all this year, with UConn No. 3 after No. 2 Stanford.]
–It was rather amusing that the Washington Redskins awarded quarterback Donovan McNabb with a five-year, $78 million extension, $40 million of which is guaranteed (assuming the ‘Skins don’t cut him end of the season)…and then later that day, his successor in Philadelphia, Michael Vick, had one of the great games in NFL history as the Eagles destroyed the Redskins, 59-28. At one point early in the second quarter, the score was 35-0 and McNabb had a quarterback rating of 2.8 (still far higher than my grade average at Wake), vs. Vick’s 158.3.
For the game the Eagles rolled up 592 yards of total offense with Vick accounting for 413, including 80 rushing. In fact, Vick became the first player in NFL history with at least 300 yards passing, 50 yards rushing, four passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in a game. “I’ve had some great games in my day,” Vick said. “But I don’t think I’ve had one quite like this one.”
Vick is the highest rated QB in football this year…11 TD passes, zero interceptions.
–The 2-7 Lions have outscored their opponents 215 to 202, which is really remarkable. As Michael David Smith of the Journal points out, the last two losing teams with a positive point differential of 13 or more were the 1971 Bengals, 4-10 (284-265) and the 1977 Eagles, 5-9 (220-207). And because oddsmakers haven’t caught up to the fact the Lions are greatly improved they are 7-2 against the spread, tied for the best in the NFL.
–Entering Sunday’s season finale NASCAR race at Miami’s Homestead Speedway, Denny Hamlin has just a 15-point lead on Jimmie Johnson, with Kevin Harvick, 46 points behind, still in the mix. The 15 points is the closest heading into the last race in the seven-season history of the Chase. The only way Hamlin can guarantee clinching is by finishing second (or first) and leading the most laps. I’ll have to remember to catch the last 50 or so.
[Forgot to note last time that Sebastian Vettel of Germany became the youngest to win the Formula One championship at age 23.]
–Over the years I’ve done some work on the differences between the PGA and LPGA Tours in terms of the money being made…or not made. Now that the season is over for both, take a look at the comparisons for 2010. Once again they’re stark. Also, when you look at the first few on the LPGA money list, is it any wonder that tour is in deep trouble? Who are these women?
PGA Tour
1. Matt Kuchar $4,910,477
2. Jim Furyk 4,809,622
3. Ernie Els 4,558,861
1. Na Yeon Choi $1,814,558
2. Jiyai Shin 1,779,768
3. Yani Tseng 1,556,772
5. Cristie Kerr 1,512,866
9. Michelle Wie 888,016
OK, but let’s look at the disparity at other levels of the money list.
I mean look at these numbers. Troy Merritt isn’t a big name by any stretch but he’s making a living, though remember that $786,000 is before all kinds of expenses, including for travel and the caddie, let alone taxes.
But his counterpart on the LPGA Tour, Beth Bader, took home $22,558! Utter poverty. No. 70 on the LPGA, Maria Hernandez, is hardly doing any better. I mean you have to be in the top 30 on the women’s tour to take home six figures after meeting your obligations, again, including taxes, while No. 125 on the PGA Tour is doing fine.
I really don’t know why a girl would want to be a professional golfer. Great way to get a college scholarship, though, and then make some business contacts on the course. And it’s not as if the LPGA is on the upswing. To the contrary it continues to struggle to find new sponsors.
One other note on the just completed PGA Tour season. On Sunday, Robert Garrigus won the last event, his first tour title, this after one of the worst collapses in memory earlier in the year with many wondering if the guy would ever contend again.
But finishing second, after leading by four heading into the final round, enabled Roland Thatcher to zoom from 179 to 122 on the money list and in doing so earn his card for 2011. Having met both Roland and his father at Q-School years ago, I know how psyched the guy is. Imagine, had he dropped into the logjam at third, he doesn’t finish in the top 125.
–I did not see the Pacquiao-Margarito fight on Saturday as Pacquiao won a record eighth weigh class, but as the Wall Street Journal notes:
“More than anything, Tito Talao of the Manila Bulletin wants a fight that finally pairs Pacquiao with Mayweather. He also picks up on another aspect of the champ that has gone relatively underreported. Talao noticed that Pacquiao let up on Margarito towards the end of the fight, and picked out three instances in the 11th round where Pacquiao tried to indirectly suggest to referee Laurence Cole that maybe he should stop the fight. Cole let Margarito fight on, so Pacquiao took matters into his own hands, literally, by easing up on the hammering. Pacquiao confirmed after the fight that he did this on purpose: ‘I did not want to damage him permanently,’ Pacquiao told the Associated Press. ‘That’s not what boxing is about.’
“ ‘By sparing a man condemned to a brutal end, allowing him to step off the ring and back to his family, friends and countrymen with his dignity intact, his heart still in place, and his vision, hopefully, not irreparably damaged,’ Talao writes, ‘Pacquiao became immeasurably bigger than he already was.’”
–San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey and Texas Rangers relief pitcher Neftali Feliz were named rookies of the year. Posey got 20 of 32 first-place votes with Atlanta’s Jason Heyward getting nine. Feliz outpolled Detroit’s Austin Jackson.
–Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay unanimously won the NL Cy Young Award, making him the fifth pitcher to earn the honor in both leagues. [Gaylord Perry, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez being the others.]
–I meant to include the opinion of the New York Times’ George Vecsey on George Steinbrenner being on a new list for the Baseball Hall of Fame since I said last week that I thought Steinbrenner would get in (not that I thought he necessarily deserved it).
“We were just getting used to the gross plaque honoring the Sun King of the Bronx. In the heady rush of deserved respect and understandable nostalgia, we need to slow down and evaluate the Boss.
“First we need to remember that Steinbrenner narrowly escaped going to prison after pleading guilty to illegal campaign contributions and that he could have been barred from baseball forever after consorting with a lowlife gambler to discredit Dave Winfield, one of his own players.
“Steinbrenner has been named to the eligible list of distinguished baseball people from the expansion era, 1973 on. He will be judged by a solid group of 16 executives, writers and former players.
“Yes, character is one criterion for the Hall, particularly for people in uniform. Joe Jackson is barred for being involved in the 1919 Black Sox scandal, and it is too late for him. Pete Rose is barred for gambling and then lying about it while he was managing. I personally think Rose the player belongs in the Hall, but I totally understand why he is barred. He made it hard on himself, the knucklehead, and may never get into the Hall in his lifetime. Then again, the Boss made it hard on himself, too….
“While Steinbrenner was verifiably out of power, his front office, most notably General Manager Gene Michael, protected the best young players in the farm system. You might have heard of them; Jeter, Posada, Williams, Rivera, Pettitte. For once, the Yankees did not trade away their future for expensive old stars. George came back and presided over one of the great eras of Yankees baseball.
“So, maybe the voters should instead pick Joe Torre and Michael and even poor, addled Billy Martin, who is actually on this makeup ballot.
“But Steinbrenner got most of the credit and most of the profit from the golden era that began during his absence. What a guy. He bent the rules and used his money to get his way, but there are already a few owners like that in the Hall. Besides, if high character were to become a standard, who would run the banks and the stock market and the corporations?”
Also on the ballot is Marvin Miller. Vecsey writes:
“Everybody makes more money because of Marvin Miller. But voters have tended to ignore Miller because baseball people have a bad case of Stockholm syndrome. That is, they identify with their captors and become fearful of truly smart people with vision, like Marvin Miller. In recent years, even some baseball people seem to have come to understand that a truly great innovator and leader has been shortchanged.
“At least one member of the panel feels that way. Jim Palmer, the Hall of Fame pitcher, said in an e-mail: ‘My vote has been and will always be for Marvin. He gave the modern day player a voice, completely changed the landscape.’ He spoke positively about Steinbrenner, but added, ‘There are enough marks against him to warrant a later entrance.’
“Marvin Miller is 93. He deserves to be present at his induction into the Hall of Fame. Then, when the first wave of emotion has passed and we are all thinking a bit more clearly, let’s get back to the discussion about George Steinbrenner.”
–As part of a recent piece the New York Times’ Harvey Araton did on Derek Jeter and players recognizing when the end of the road is (not that Araton is saying Jeter is finished today, but rather the Yankees have “every right to be wary of overdoing their commitment to a player who they fear is in decline and who is facing his 37th birthday in June”), he had this great anecdote from White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf concerning Tom Seaver.
“Reinsdorf recalled a negotiating gesture made by Seaver after the 1984 season, when he won 15 games at age 39. ‘He wanted a three-year contract, and I was concerned that he was too old,’ Reinsdorf said. ‘He said, ‘Jerry, I’m not going to take your money if I can’t pitch. I guarantee you that I’ll retire before I do that and embarrass myself.’’
“(Through the Mets spokesman…Seaver confirmed that the conversation occurred as Reinsdorf remembered it.)
“Seaver won 16 games for the White Sox in 1985, including his 300th victory, but was traded to Boston the next season. Reinsdorf never had to hold him to their agreement, but it represented from an owner’s perspective, a triumph for mutual respect and common sense.”
By the way, every now and then you go back to baseball-reference.com and look at a profile, like Seaver’s in particular, and forget just how good the guy was.
**And for you Seaver fans, I just saw that baseball-reference added some terrific videos, like Mike Douglas interviews. Great stuff.
–From USA TODAY: “Chad and Doug Dreier bought at auction Sunday the bat Kirk Gibson used for his 1988 World Series home run for $575,912. They also bought his jersey ($303,277), helmet ($153,388), National League MVP Award ($110,293) and World Series trophy ($45,578). The amount for Gibson’s bat is the second most for a game-used bat. The one Babe Ruth hit the first homer at Yankee Stadium with sold for $1.265 million in 2004. C’mon, we’re talking Kirk Gibson! Like reality check time, guys. If you’re looking for an appreciating asset, it won’t be this stuff.
–We note the passing of 16-year major league veteran Ed Kirkpatrick at the age of 66. Kirkpatrick played with five teams from 1962 to 1977, appearing as a 17-year-old for the Angels (0-for-6). For his career, he batted .238 with 85 home runs and 424 RBI. Kirkpatrick was born in Spokane, Wash.
–The New York Times reports that the investigation of Lance Armstrong is intensifying, with federal agent Jeff Novitzky and other investigators in France to meet with antidoping officials and members of Interpol.
–Julie Cart of the Los Angeles Times had a piece on the plight of Yellowstone’s grizzly bears, who’ve had a rough stretch.
“The tally of grizzly deaths in the states bordering the greater Yellowstone region is fast approaching the worst on record. And that’s before the numbers come in from the current hunting season, a time when accidental grizzly shootings are traditionally high.”
Grizzlies were placed on the endangered species list in 1975.
Two years ago, 52 grizzlies died from human causes in the Yellowstone area.
As of Oct. 31, 48 grizzlies have been killed this year.
Due to factors such as the prevalence of bark beetles that are decimating a source of the bears’ favored nuts, grizzlies are forced to seek a more meat-dependent diet “that puts them on a collision course with the other dominant regional omnivore: humans.”
“There is another chilling footnote to 2010,” writes Ms. Cart. “For the first time anyone can remember, grizzlies attacked and killed two people. In June, (a botanist) was alone when he stumbled upon a ‘nuisance’ bear west of Cody, Wyo., just as it was coming out of anesthesia after being relocated by wildlife officials. In July, ear Cooke City, Mont., an undernourished sow with three cubs stalked a group of sleeping campers over several hours, attacking two people before killing one man. Parts of the victim were found in the sow’s stomach.
“Mauling of humans is up around the Rockies – occurring at twice the yearly average in Wyoming – and grizzlies in record numbers are being euthanized by wildlife managers because of persistent run-ins with people, including hunting livestock.”
What’s most worrisome is that bears could receive the kind of scorn once heaped on wolves, “which are viewed less as an emblematic creature of the West and more as varmints that plague the landscape.”
–The New York Post had a story on dogs the other day. Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, who wrote “The Dog Who Couldn’t Stop Loving,” says dogs are superior species because of how they love.
“We humans leave other people,” he says. “But that would never go through a dog’s mind. They don’t know the concept of divorce. Have you ever noticed that dogs hate to see a couple fight? They start to shake or they go under a table. They can’t bear it. People have always assumed it’s because they think you’re going to turn on them. I don’t think that’s what it is. I think it’s that they recognize that the love is leaking out – and that goes against their nature. They smell love gone sour, and they don’t like it.”
The flip side of that coin is that dogs enjoy watching love flow around them. “Whenever I kiss my wife, Benjy’s tail starts thumping on the floor,” says Masson. “He just loves it. It’s like he’s saying, ‘That’s the way! You got it! More of that!’”
Trainer Stanley Coren is the author of “The Intelligence of Dogs” and he’s come up with this.
1. Border collies…most studies show it’s not even close
2. Poodle…can’t stand ‘em
3. German shepherd
4. Golden retriever
5. Doberman pincher
5 dumbest breeds
1. Afghan hound…insists on living in Afghanistan, need I say more?
2. Basenji
3. Bulldog…huh
4. Chow Chow
5. Borzoi
“Chugging two or more sodas a week could raise your risk of pancreatic cancer by 87 percent over that of people who don’t drink soda, a study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention reveals. The sugar in soda spikes insulin levels, and repeated insulin spikes may promote cancer in pancreatic cells, the study authors speculate.”
“Don’t neglect nuts. Eating a daily handful – whether they’re almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, peanuts, pistachios, or walnuts – may help lower your risk of heart disease, according to a study review in the Archives of Internal Medicine. After analyzing results from 25 different studies, researchers found that nuts may reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol by 10 points and improve LDL-to-HDL ratios by 8 percent. You can thank a payload of healthy monounsaturated fats, protein, and fiber for these blood-clearing benefits.”
Which is why we recommend nuts and beer here at Bar Chat as well.
–But then there is the dark side of alcohol…especially if you’re on an Indian reservation. From the Spokane paper:
“WORLEY, Idaho – The state of Idaho is looking for somebody to run a liquor store on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation.
“Worley has had a contract liquor store since 2001, but those who ran it are resigning. The Idaho State Liquor Division is looking for a replacement.
“If nobody steps forward, Worley could go without, making the nearest state store roughly 30 miles away in Coeur d’Alene.”
Pssst…guys, don’t go for it. There’s a reason why the previous folks are leaving. I’ve had experience with Indian reservations and liquor. Think White Clay (Pine Ridge Reservation), on the Nebraska/South Dakota border.
–I saw “Lombardi” on Broadway Tuesday night and it was good, but not great. Dan Lauria, the dad from “Wonder Years,” plays Lombardi and does a great job, it’s just the script leaves something to be desired. It’s also difficult translating football to the stage.
—Taylor Swift sold over 1 million copies of her third album Speak Now in its initial week, the biggest debut for anyone since 2005.
–Finally, a Christmas gift idea. On my recent trips, I read all the book excerpts from Keith Richards’ memoir, Life, (co-written with James Fox) that I had saved for such an occasion and the book looks terrific. The London Times had some extensive excerpts, and Rolling Stone a great interview with Keith, if you just want a flavor. And this past Sunday, the New York Times gave it a glowing review. The book is both funny and shocking. Any 60s music fan should get it. So…I just told my brother, ‘Hey, Bro. Get me Keith Richards’ book for Christmas!’ ‘I just may do that,’ he replied. So tell your brother, father, wife, mistress, boyfriend, son, daughter, grandchild, next door neighbor, mailman, milkman, heroin supplier or beer man to get it for you. Let’s all make this A Keith Richards Christmas!
Top 3 songs for the week 11/16/74: #1 “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night” (John Lennon with The Plastic Ono Nuclear Band) #2 “Do It (‘Til You’re Satisfied)” (B.T. Express…do what? Oh, I get it…) #3 “My Melody Of Love” (Bobby Vinton…forgot he had a hit this late in his career)…and…#4 “Tin Man” (America) #5 “Back Home Again” (John Denver) #6 “I Can Help” (Billy Swan) #7 “Longfellow Serenade” (Neil Diamond…ughh) #8 “Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me)” (Reunion) #9 “Everlasting Love” (Carl Carlton) #10 “Carefree Highway” (Gordon Lightfoot…with all the talk of the anniversary of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald recently, couldn’t get that song out of my mind…so now I’m trying to transfer it to you. Don’t worry, just make up lyrics as I do whenever the song pops into the brain… “The Mets really su-ucked, the pitching was poor, and the bench strength was non-existent….”)
College Football Quiz Answers: 1) Eddie George is the number two rusher at Ohio State with 3,768 (1992-95). 2) Art Schlichter is Ohio State’s career passing leader with 7,547 yards (1978-81). 3) Four to rush for 4,000 yards at Oklahoma: Billy Sims (1975-79) 4,118; Joe Washington (1972-75) 4,071; Adrian Peterson (2004-06) 4,045; Steve Owens (1967-69) 4,041.
