SI Sportswoman of the Year Quiz: Name the first three women to win the award. I think No. 3 is very hard. Answer below.
Nothing but Stuff…as I recover from a darned good Christmas
—J-E-T-S…Jets Jets Jets!!!
Hey, so we backed into the playoffs…is your team in? Well? I’d like to thank the Washington Redskins for making life easier for us in beating Jacksonville because I didn’t want the Jets to have to win next week…even if it is Buffalo.
Then you have the Giants. It was just a few weeks ago that folks in the New York area were talking about a Giants-Jets Super Bowl. Now, with the Giants’ historic collapse against the Eagles last week, and a 45-17 loss at Green Bay on Sunday, their playoff hopes are slim. Eli Manning threw four interceptions (the Giants had six total turnovers) and Eli now has 24 on the season, easily most in the NFL. I picked Green Bay to go all the way this year, but now they still have to beat Chicago next week to slide into the playoffs. As long as Aaron Rodgers is healthy, though, the Pack can beat anyone.
So who is the best these days? There is no way after the Jets beat New England in Week Two that I would have figured the Pats for 13-2 at this point. Nor would I have believed Tom Brady would have 34 TD passes and just four interceptions, including a now record 319 passes without a pick. 319!
I noted last week that I couldn’t believe how the experts were paying the Kansas City Chiefs such short shrift but now they are the division champs as running back Jamaal Charles is averaging a staggering 6.4 yards per carry. Coupled with Thomas Jones, the Chiefs have the kind of running back tandem that spells trouble come playoff time.
But can you believe San Diego was eliminated from playoff contention this week by Cincinnati, with the Chargers now just 8-7?! A shocker in my book.
Lastly, big game next Sunday. 6-9 Seattle hosting 7-8 St. Louis for all the marbles in the NFC West. Yes, if Seattle wins they go into the playoffs with a 7-9 record and host a first-round contest to boot.
–The Weekly Standard’s ‘Scrapbook’ column had the following thoughts on the death of Bob Feller and other ballplayers who served in WWII.
“As David G. Dalin wrote in our November 1 issue, Hank Greenberg enlisted (in WWII) at the age of 30, when he was officially exempt from military duty, to fight the Nazis. ‘My country comes first,’ said Greenberg. Feller, who joined the Navy just after Pearl Harbor, felt the same. ‘I’ve never once thought about all the prime years that I missed,’ Feller said later. ‘I’m as proud of serving as anything I’ve ever done in my life.’
“We admire as much as anyone today’s professional athletes, young men whose athletic skill and daring cannot but entertain and amaze us, but in the end their image is not well served by the rhetorical excess, often their own, of referring to their place of well-paid work – the gridiron, diamond, court, or rink – as the ‘trenches.’ Greenberg and Feller knew the difference. So did Ted Williams, who flew combat missions as a Marine pilot; same with Braves lefthander Warren Spahn, who saw action at the Battle of the Bulge.
“In all, there were some 500 major league ballplayers who served in World War II, and all but two returned. One was Harry O’Neill of the Philadelphia A’s, who was killed at Iwo Jima; the other was Elmer Gedeon, an outfielder with the Washington Senators. A three-sport star at the University of Michigan, Gedeon once apparently slid across an ice-covered pond to save his cousin’s life when the youngster fell through a hole – an event that on reflection could have inspired a plot point in one of our favorite holiday classics.
“In It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey rescues from the icy depths his brother Harry, who later becomes the pilot who saves a troop transport ship, and – who knows? – maybe wins a war in the bargain. In real life, it’s Captain Gedeon who became the pilot, one who died flying a B-26 over France in 1944, and whose efforts, along with those of the rest of the 500, and hundreds of thousands of other American servicemen and women, really did help win a war.
“This week, America lost one of the last of those 500, a right-handed pitcher, Chief Petty Officer Bob Feller, U.S. Navy (ret.).”
It seems that Vince Lombardi couldn’t stand the term “frozen tundra” in describing Lambeau Field, the term having been coined by NFL Films’ Steve Sabol, who used it in his script for the 1967 “Ice Bowl” NFL championship game between the Packers and Cowboys.
“As the story goes, Lombardi, a teacher first and foremost, didn’t like the phrase because it was redundant – tundra, by definition, is frozen.
“But Sabol says there’s more to it than that. He said Lombardi was embarrassed that the $200,000 field-heating system he had pushed for didn’t work. The field was supposed to be thawed, regardless of the weather.”
Lombardi didn’t want the stockholders seeing Sabol’s highlight film, which was a big deal in those days, because he didn’t want them asking about the heating system. Turns out Lombardi routinely edited Sabol’s scripts for films involving the Packers. Stuff like, ‘This guy doesn’t deserve this much credit.’
So Sabol “complied with the frozen tundra request, changing it to ‘the ice-bucket chill of a Wisconsin winter.’” But the Cowboys insisted on frozen tundra for their version.
“Although people often associate ‘frozen tundra’ with the resonant tones of legendary NFL Films narrator John Facenda, it was five years before he ever uttered it on film.”
–So I caught two bowl games I said I would…Boise State’s dominating win over Utah and San Diego State’s dismantling of Navy. The Boise game was awful…7 turnovers…but the Broncos outgained Utah 543-200. At least they’ll finish in the top ten in the final poll. SDSU looked exciting in racking up 555 yards. With QB Ryan Lindley and running back Ronnie Hillman returning, the Aztecs could make more noise next season.
–The NCAA suspended five Ohio State players, including quarterback Terrelle Pryor, for five games next season for accepting improper benefits, but they’re eligible to play in the Sugar Bowl. The violations included selling memorabilia and accepting discounted prices from the owner of a tattoo parlor.
Pryor would have been a favorite to win the Heisman next year and unless the suspension is reduced, you wonder if he’ll just turn pro. He sold his 2008 Big Ten championship ring among other things. One former NFL scout told the New York Times, “He needs to grow up, work on his consistency and grow into the leader that I think he can be. I wouldn’t touch him with a 10-foot pole.”
–I didn’t watch a single minute of the five NBA games on Christmas Day. But in reading of the Heat’s 96-80 thrashing of the Lakers, Kobe Bryant, held to 17 points while LeBron had a triple-double, said of the second consecutive Christmas Day no-show, “We always suck on Christmas. They should just take us off this day.” Coach Phil Jackson accused Pau Gasol of “lollygagging.”
Of course it was Jackson who complained about playing on Christmas, as did a number of others this year. Remember way back when the only sporting event on Christmas (unless it was an NFL Sunday) was the Blue-Gray College All-Star Game?
–Speaking of LeBron, he said the league was better when there were numerous teams with multiple stars.
“Hopefully the league can figure out one way where it can go back to the ‘80s where you had three or four All-Stars, three or four superstars, three or four Hall of Famers on the same team. The league was great. It wasn’t as watered down as it is [now].”
“Imagine if you could take Kevin Love off Minnesota and add him to another team and you shrink the [league]. Looking at some of the teams that aren’t that great, you take Brook Lopez or you take Devin Harris off these teams that aren’t that good right now and you add him to a team that could be really good. Not saying let’s take New Jersey and let’s take Minnesota out of the league. But hey, you guys are not stupid, I’m not stupid, it would be great for the league.”
James is another that doesn’t like playing Christmas Day as well.
—Larry Brown resigned (fired, forced out) from the Charlotte Bobcats after a 9-19 start. But whereas most of Brown’s other gigs ended in acrimony and name-calling, this time there was merely a news release.
So the New York Times’ Howard Beck harkened back to the 2005-06 season when Brown coached the Knicks to a spectacularly awful 23-59 mark.
“The trouble should have been evident in training camp, when Brown said the Knicks were ‘like a college team’ – callow and uneducated in the ways of the world. Soon, he began coaching them like one.
“In a trip to Sacramento, Brown started Matt Barnes because Barnes grew up there. Three days later, Barnes was benched so that Trevor Ariza – a Los Angeles native – could start against the Lakers. It was curious, whimsical and thoroughly self-defeating.
“At Detroit, Brown started Maurice Taylor, who was born there. In Seattle, Brown gave the honor to Nate Robinson (a Seattle native) and Jerome James (a former Sonic). In Phoenix, it was Channing Frye’s turn.
“The trend reached its comic peak in Orlando, Fla., where Brown started David Lee, who was from St. Louis but played at the University of Florida – in Gainesville, 112 miles away.
“By the end of the season, Brown had used 42 starting lineups, an NBA record, and 19 players. He had insulted most of them.
“After a loss to Milwaukee, Brown declared, ‘We don’t have anybody with a head’ – a veiled shot at Stephon Marbury, the team’s presumed leader. When Ariza complained about being benched, Brown called him ‘delusional.’ Of Robinson, Brown said dismissively, ‘He’s not a point guard’ but ‘a highlight film.’”
Anyway, after the season everyone knew Brown would be fired but the Knicks left him dangling for weeks and weeks.
Brown, 70, is most likely done but he does finish his coaching career with a 1327-1011 mark.
–Former California Highway Patrol officer Ernie Tripke died. He was 88. It was on Sept. 30, 1955, that Tripke responded to a two-car crash that took the life of young Hollywood star James Dean at the rural junction of Highways 41 and 466 (now Highway 46) near Cholame, Calif. (San Luis Obispo County).
The 24-year-old Dean and his 28-year-old German mechanic, Rolf Wuetherich, were on their way to a car race in Salinas. As noted by Dennis McLellan of the Los Angeles Times:
“They were driving west toward Paso Robles on Highway 466 shortly before 6 p.m. when an eastbound Ford driven by Donald G. Turnupseed, a 23-year-old student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, turned left onto Highway 41, and the cars collided.
“Wuetherich was ejected from Dean’s mangled Porsche but survived the collision with a broken leg and jaw.
“After Tripke and fellow CHP Officer Ron Nelson arrived at 6:20 p.m., Tripke walked over to Dean.
“ ‘I figured he had a broken neck,’ Tripke recalled in a 2005 interview with the San Luis Obispo Tribune. ‘We weren’t qualified to say that he was deceased, but I think he was darn close to it.’
“As Nelson directed traffic, photographed the two cars and paced off measurements for their report, Tripke interviewed Turnupseed and other witnesses.
“Turnupseed, whom Tripke said had suffered ‘very minor injuries,’ was not detained.
“ ‘He said he was making his turn,’ Tripke recalled in the 2005 interview. ‘He just didn’t see Dean coming until the last, split second, and it was too late.’”
At the time, Dean had starred in only one film: “East of Eden.” “Rebel Without a Cause” and “Giant” hit the theaters afterwards.
Also, understand that Tripke didn’t know anything about the victim, but suddenly as he was trying to write up his report, calls “were coming in from all over the country” he’d later relate.
It is pretty remarkable that for the rest of his life, Ernie Tripke was asked about James Dean.
–Literally hours after I posted the last column, Maryland’s governor approved a deal that keeps alive the Preaknes. Thanks, Chris K., for apprising me of this. I mean it was close.
“With the Maryland thoroughbred industry as close as ever to demise, Gov. Martin O’Malley on Wednesday brokered a last-minute deal that guarantees live racing next year at Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course and ensures the storied Preakness Stakes will continue here.”
–Everyone has a hangover remedy (except me…I just try to remember to take aspirin before going to bed), but according to a story in the Irish Independent, stock up on bread and honey.
“Scientists claim that the natural sweetener is a great way to help the body deal with the toxic effects of a hangover.
“The Royal Society of Chemistry claims that the fructose in the honey – which is also found in golden syrup – is essential to help the body break down alcohol into harmless by-products.
“The reason why hangovers are so painful is that alcohol is first broken down into acetaldehyde, a substance which is toxic to the body, claimed Dr. John Emsley of the Royal Society….
“Serving the honey on toast adds potassium and sodium to the meal which also helps the body cope with the alcohol.”
–Just a horrible story out of Wyoming and the Hogadon Ski Area where a 22-year-old man was snowboarding down a black diamond trail and plowed into a mother and her 5-year-old daughter who had been skiing and were stopped. The man and girl died. The mother suffered serious injuries. None of them were wearing helmets. I also saw where a 63-year-old British man died at a Grenoble, France ski area on Friday when he inexplicably ran off the trail he was on onto a less traveled one and plowed into a rock hidden by the snow. He too was not wearing a helmet.
“I get that the Mets are being deliberate, and they apparently have more fiscal issues than Greece, and they are going to apparently turn their bullpen into a reality-show contest, but would it kill them to sign somebody of interest before St. Patrick’s Day?”
“Has anyone pointed out to (UConn women’s coach) Geno Auriemma, noted feminist, that nobody – and I mean nobody – had hinted that his basketball players or any other women athletes deserve to head back to the kitchen until he brought it up.”
–Paul Farhi / Washington Post…on the UConn women’s basketball team and the fact that not only did the media yawn, but you also have the fans.
“Fans are a different story. One reason is that men – generally the most passionate and loyal sports fans – aren’t keen on watching women’s sports. But if anything, women show even less interest in the games women play. Women haven’t grown into the sports fans that can sustain professional leagues or boost a women’s game into the national spotlight.
“Women’s games don’t draw the crowds, the money or the media attention that even ‘minor’ sports played by men attract. Only a few women’s sports – golf and tennis, primarily – have strong enough followings for lengthy regular seasons. Others, such as gymnastics and figure skating, surge in popularity in Olympic years largely on the strength of female viewers but slide back into relative obscurity in off years.
“As a result, attempts to market women’s sports have floundered. A women’s pro softball league lasted four years before folding in 2001, and a women’s pro soccer league made it three years before collapsing in 2003 (both have since been revived, though greatly scaled back). Several women’s professional volleyball leagues have failed, with another planned.
“The Women’s National Basketball Association, meanwhile, has grasped for survival. In 14 seasons, only one franchise, the Connecticut Sun, has ever reported an annual profit, despite the WNBA’s limited summer schedule, strict pay cap (maximum player salary this year: $101,500) and early support from the NBA. Washington’s team, the Mystics, recently dismissed its coach and general manager in an effort to save money.”
Some say the disinterest is because of lack of media attention, but as Paul Farhi says, “the scanty coverage raises the classic which-came-first question: Does a lack of media attention cause lack of interest or simply reflect it?”
—David Fay is retiring as executive director of the USGA after 21 years. Among his accomplishments is bringing a U.S. Open to Bethpage Black in 2002, thus the championship was held at a public, daily-fee course for the first time. As he’d be the first to acknowledge, this is one of the great jobs in the world…traveling around to, and playing, the best courses.
“We are grateful for your continued support and contributions to Wake Forest Athletics. The Demon Deacons enjoyed a successful 2010 campaign, producing NCAA postseason appearances for Men’s and Women’s Golf, Men’s Tennis, Field Hockey, and Women’s Soccer. The future is extremely bright for the Wake Forest athletics program.”
The letter then highlights women’s soccer, women’s golf, field hockey and the fact “Football concluded their season with a 34-13 victory at Vanderbilt. The Deacs have won their final regular season game of the year for a fifth consecutive season.”
I kid you not. This letter was actually sent out. I mean start with the fact that the Vanderbilt victory gave us a 3-9 record! With all due respect, Mr. Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing/Special Projects…my small contributions are for baseball, football and men’s basketball, plus it would be nice to have more golfers like Bill Haas playing on the PGA Tour. Instead, us alum are treated like morons.
–The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Morgenstern on the movie “Gulliver’s Travels.”
“In my travels I’ve seen Roman ruins, Greek ruins and Byzantine ruins, but I’ve never seen a ruin like this live-action version of ‘Gulliver’s Travels.’ Jack Black, as a wannabe travel writer named Lemuel Gulliver, hustles himself a boat trip to the Bermuda Triangle and finds himself in Lilliput. The 3-D is cheesy (2.2-D at best), the gags are gross (Gulliver urinates on an 18th-century palace to extinguish a fire) and the production abandons all hope of coherence when the hero fights a climactic battle with a giant robot out of ‘Transformers.’ What were they thinking? What were they smoking? What were they singing on the way to the bank?”
—Hugh Hefner, 84, is marrying for a third time as he announced his engagement to Crystal Harris, 24. Harris was the Playmate of the Month for December 2009. What’s remarkable to me is that Playboy first hit the stands in Dec. 1953.
–So after all my promotion of Keith Richards’ memoirs, “Life,” among five (extended) family members this Christmas, we received six copies. [Eric got two.] And from the emails I received from some of you, we weren’t alone. I’d be shocked if the book isn’t No. 1 on the bestseller list in another two weeks. I mean, people, you have a choice between this great tome and George W. Bush’s book. C’mon.
Top 3 songs for the week 12/28/63: [Five weeks before the British Invasion got started.] #1 “Dominique” (The Singing Nun…incredibly #1 for four weeks) #2 “There! I’ve Said It Again” (Bobby Vinton…here’s some good trivia…this tune hit #1 the following week, 1/4/64, and stayed there for four weeks before The Beatles’ “I Want To Hold Your Hand” took over for the next seven weeks as the Invasion was underway…and not for nothing, but Bobby Vinton is incredibly underrated) #3 “Louie Louie” (The Kingsmen…can’t help but think of John Belushi every time this one is on)…and…#4 “”Since I Fell For You” (Lenny Welch…simply one of the best songs of all time and in my personal top ten) #5 “You Don’t Have To Be A Baby To Cry” (The Caravelles) #6 “Drip Drop” (Dion Di Muci…that’s what “Dion” went by in ’63…talk about another amazing artist) #7 “Forget Him” (Bobby Rydell…his last hit…this was a classic example of a guy getting blown out of the water by the British Invasion) #8 “Popsicles And Icicles” (The Murmaids) #9 “Talk Back Trembling Lips” (Johnny Tillotson) #10 “Be True To Your School” (The Beach Boys…like this one more as I rapidly age…searching for my youth)
SI Sportswoman of the Year Quiz Answer: First three women…1972, Billie Jean King (co-winner with John Wooden); 1976, Chris Evert (famous cover pic); 1983, Mary Decker. Mary Lou Retton won in 1984 with Edwin Moses.
