From Des Moines, Iowa
Golf Quiz: How many in the latest World Golf rankings’ Top Ten can you name? Answer below.
The State Fair…and other Stuff
This is already a very frustrating column. I have a highly temperamental laptop that likes to erase everything I’ve written and if it happens one more time, no column.
First off, I’m still surprised I made it here on Sunday night after Newark Airport had six inches of rain. So I thank Continental Airlines, though in doing so I probably just jinxed my return flight. Should the worst happen, Johnny Mac gets my Ed Kranepool tumbler and Brad K., you’ll have to check the wreckage for something cool I got you at the Bob Feller Museum. Just look for a charred hockey puck, not a baseball.
Thursday I head to Clear Lake, which is where Buddy Holly held his last concert at the Surf Ballroom in 1959, and I’m going to try and find the crash site where he, the Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens and Co. met their demise. But that’s for next time.
Regarding the Iowa State Fair, I went on Monday morning and got as far as one of the first bars, whereupon I sat myself down, began to talk to some locals and next thing you know, it’s gettin’ kind of late. But I had a great time and no one got hurt. The people here are incredibly friendly. I did at least have a pork chop on a stick, which was mouth-watering good; Iowa being the #1 producer of hogs in our blessed country, as well as corn.
On Tuesday, I hopped in the car and drove 50 miles west on I-235, then I-80, to the town of Adair. First off, I wanted a trip to a part of the state I hadn’t been to before, and, second, I was curious to see the corn crop out that way, having been told at the bar at the fair by some folks from the southeast part of Iowa that it was very dry for them. [Turns out on Tuesday, while Des Moines had some thunder showers early in the morning, the southeast of Iowa had five inches of rain! So long, drought!] Anyway, the corn out west of Des Moines looked pretty good, by my amateur eye.
The real reason to go to Adair, though, was to see the site of the nation’s first train robbery.
Yup, it was July 21, 1873, when Jesse James and his gang (James-Younger Gang, to be accurate), a group of five to seven men, had learned a train was carrying a bunch of gold and money and they pulled out of line an already loosened rail, so when the engine arrived at that mark, it overturned, killing the engineer, John Rafferty. The passengers and other crew members were injured, but supposedly none seriously. It’s said Jesse James was shaken up by the death and vowed never to derail a train like that again. Estimates on the take from the robbery range from $2,000 to $6,000, including the personal belongings of the passengers.
Now you can see the very site, off rural route 30, near Adair, and it’s not easy to find so I was kind of proud of myself. But what I didn’t know until I got back to my hotel was that the actual train was buried near Adair and it blends into the local landscape, but I didn’t know to look for it. Nor did I realize there was a Jesse James Museum in Adair itself! [Drat!]
Well, as I headed back to Des Moines, I stopped in Van Meter to visit the Bob Feller Museum for a second time, having been here four years ago. It’s a small place and as much a gift shop as anything else, but while I have written much on Feller, who died last December at the age of 92, and I collected a lot more on him this trip, I’m kind of short on time, knowing what else I have to do today, so I just want to note a bit from 2006, and an interview Alan Schwarz did with Feller for a chapter in his book “Once Upon a Game: Baseball’s Greatest Memories.” Schwarz, of the New York Times, collaborated on this essay with Feller, as “Rapid Robert” reflected on his decision to enlist in the Navy during World War II and miss almost four seasons of major league baseball.
“I was driving my new Buick Century across the Mississippi River, across the Iowa-Illinois state line, when my world – everyone’s world – changed forever.
“It was Dec. 7, 1941. I was driving to my meeting with my Cleveland Indians bosses to hash out my 1942 contract, and out it came on the radio: the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor.
“The last thing on my mind right then was playing baseball. I immediately decided to enlist in the United States Navy. I didn’t have to – I was 23 and strong bodied, you bet, but with my father terminally ill back in Van Meter, Iowa, I was exempt from military service.
“It didn’t matter to me – I wanted to join the fight against Hitler and the Japanese. We were losing that war and most young men of my generation wanted to help push them back. People today don’t understand, but that’s the way we felt in those days. We wanted to join the fighting. So on Dec. 9, I gave up the chance to earn $100,000 with the Indians and became the first professional athlete to join the Navy after Pearl Harbor.
“It was one of the greatest experiences in my life. You can talk about teamwork on a baseball team, but I’ll tell you, it takes teamwork when you have 2,900 men stationed on the U.S.S. Alabama in the South Pacific. I was a chief petty officer. I helped give exercises and ran the baseball team and recreation when we were in port. But I was also a gun captain – I was firing a 40-millimeter quad at eight rounds per second.
“The Alabama was involved in one of the most important battles of the Pacific. In June 1944, we were supposed to shell the beaches of Saipan for two hours so that our Marines could land safely. The Japanese tried a surprise attack – but we were ready. The American Navy and Air Force, we had all the big carriers and battleships like the Iowa, the Wisconsin, the New Jersey, the Alabama, you name it, we had them all. Our pilots and gunners shot down 474 Japanese aircraft, sunk three of their carriers and got several of their escort ships. And when the sun went down that night, it was the end of the Japanese naval air force. We made it look so easy, ever since they’ve called it the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.
“We were involved in so many other important engagements, including some in the north Atlantic over in Europe. Our ship won nine battle stars, eight of them while I was on it. It was an incredible time for all of us.
“I went on inactive duty in August 1945, and since I had stayed in such good shape, and had played ball on military teams, I was ready to start for the Indians just two days later, against the Tigers. [Ed. None of this rehab B.S. today’s players go through, eh?] More than 47,000 people came to see me return – there was such a patriotic feeling, with V-J day so fresh in everyone’s minds. Even though I hadn’t pitched in the major leagues in almost four years, I struck out the first batter. I wound up throwing a four-hitter and winning, 4-2.
“What a great night…I kept it up the rest of the season, too, and then had what many people call my best season in 1946, when I won 26 games with 348 strikeouts.
“A lot of folks say that had I not missed those almost four seasons to World War II – during what was probably my physical prime – I might have had 370 or even 400 wins. But I have no regrets. None at all. I did what any American could and should do: serve his country in its time of need. The world’s time of need.
“I knew then, and I know today, that winning World War II was the most important thing to happen to this country in the last 100 years. I’m just glad I was a part of it. I was only a gun captain on the battleship Alabama for 34 months. People have called me a hero for that, but I’ll tell you this – heroes don’t come home. Survivors come home.”
Bob Feller…next to the Babe, perhaps the most interesting performer in the history of the game, and in his case, to add he was a Great American is not just a throwaway line (ditto Ted Williams). Feller was the real deal. He didn’t want to be called a hero, but in every sense he was.
One last note on my trip thus far, Wednesday I went back to the fair, toured the cattle barn (you have to when you’re here…the sub-culture is fascinating), saw the butter cows, listened to some good live music while quaffing some beers and chatting up the bartenders, and had another pork chop on a stick, plus the most delicious bacon I’ve ever had…also on a stick (Eden Farms, I think it was).
–So Sunday, I caught some of the PGA in the airport before flying out here, but only saw through the 15th hole so missed the dramatic ending and playoff. Nice choke job by Jason Duffner!
But some stats on the gutty winner, Keegan Bradley, for the archives. He became the 7th first-time winner in a row of a major. It was Bradley’s first start in a major, period, and he is the first to win a major employing the belly-putter.
Golf, though, needs more than a bunch of exciting performances by some young golfers, or grizzled veterans like Darren Clarke. It needs someone to grab the sport by the balls and win not just a second, but a third major, in 18-24 months. Golf more than any other sport needs superstars.
Back to Duffner, though, he is an Auburn boy and has remained close with some coaches, who called him Monday and asked him to come by the football complex. The Tigers had an off day from practice but gave Duffner quite a surprise, as noted on the wire.
“The whole team was in there, and they gave me a standing ovation,” Duffner said Tuesday. “So that’s pretty cool. I don’t know a lot of those guys personally as far as the players go…You wouldn’t be expecting a 320-pound defensive lineman to be watching golf on Sunday, but they were. And for the coaches to take time out of their meetings and practice on Sunday saying, ‘We were checking text messages, watching when we could,’ that was a pretty neat experience for me.”
More golf notes. While Rory McIlroy looks to be gearing up for a full schedule on the PGA Tour next year, Dustin Johnson, on the other hand, said he is looking to play more European PGA Tour events.
“I like traveling and seeing the world,” said Johnson. Good for him.
“Tiger has played eight times on the PGA Tour this year and earned $629,863 from a combined purse of $62.8 million. As a 20-year-old rookie in 1996, he played eight times and earned $790,594 from a combined purse of $11.95 million.”
Meanwhile, Hannah Karp had a piece in the Wall Street Journal on all the fun golfers have had this year compared to the past; as she titled it, “Golf’s Yearlong Happy Hour.”
“After a grueling, early-to-bed, doughnut-deprived decade on the straight and narrow, trying to keep up with the chiseled and seemingly infallible Tiger Woods, many of the world’s top golfers reached back this season to revive one of the sport’s oldest techniques for stress management: party time.
“American journeyman Robert Garrigus kicked things off in June when he confessed to Golf Magazine that he and several other golfers used to smoke pot during events on the Nationwide Tour. Then Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland admitted to reporters the day after his British Open victory that he hadn’t been to bed yet and, in fact, had been drinking until 30 minutes before the press conference.
“Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, sauntering around the driving range in Akron, Ohio, at a recent tournament under a cloud of cigar smoke, has waxed poetic to reporters this summer about his favorite Riojas. And after winning the Irish Open last month, England’s Simon Dyson wholeheartedly rejected a reporter’s suggestion that he might postpone his celebration until after the Bridgestone Invitational the following week.
“ ‘I’ll have a couple tonight. Got to celebrate it the proper Irish way, haven’t you?’ Dyson said. ‘My caddie is getting me a Guinness as we speak, and I’m looking forward to it because I haven’t had a drink for about 10 days now.’
“As Woods and other image-conscious corporate pinups fade from the leaderboards, a more varied and relaxed cast of characters has been winning tournaments. Some are just young and carefree, some are practiced bon vivants (with the lovehandles to show for it) and a few are just, well…Irish.”
Keegan Bradley, by the way, not a big partyer, you’d think, did want his Twitter followers to know it wasn’t a dry night following his PGA triumph. He had three Bud Lights.
And how awesome is it that Bradley comes from that golf powerhouse, St. John’s University of New York, a school without a home course?!
–Last time I posted my column after Atlanta’s Dan Uggla had gone his first at-bat without a hit in his attempt to stretch his hitting streak to 34. I pleaded for someone to stop him. So we acknowledge the incredible effort of Chicago Cubs second-baseman Darwin Barney for making a spectacular catch on Uggla’s bloop, thus shutting Uggla down on Sunday at 33.
–One of the neighbors back home from the condo building I live in divides his time between Florida, where the rest of his family is, and up in New Jersey, so consequently I seldom see him. But the other day there he is with his son, who I’d never met. After introducing myself to the boy, I asked him if he was a Gator or Seminole fan, and the kid, in high school, proceeded to say that he was actually a USF fan (Univ. of South Florida).
“Hey, they have the best-looking cheerleaders in the country!” I replied.
The boy smiled. Dad was not real pleased and probably will never talk to me again. [USF is now ahead of USC in my book. Sorry, Steve G. Steve G. and I still remember Edy Williams and a famous ABC Saturday night telecast from way back, circa 1970s.]
Now where was I…or as Admiral James Stockdale said during a vice presidential debate, “Who am I and what am I doing here?” Or something like that.
Oh yeah. University of Miami football…a program once again headed down the dumper. This time convicted Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro has prompted a major investigation because Yahoo Sports unveiled a stunning article following an 11-month look into Shapiro’s activities with the Miami football program. Yahoo said its story is based on 15 prison interviews conducted with Shapiro, as well as a look into thousands of pages of financial dealings that detail illegal benefits he handed out to as many as 72 current or former Hurricane athletes from 2002 to 2010.
While most of the supposed improprieties involve the football team, allegedly seven former coaches knew of or witnessed the NCAA rules violations, including former basketball coach Frank Haith (I’m shocked! mused the editor, mischievously, when it comes to Haith).
I feel for new football coach Al Golden, who had nothing to do with the crap that seems to be fact, but Shapiro gave money to the school for years, including $50,000 he is seen in a photo giving President Donna Shalala in 2008! The money came from funds Shapiro received as part of his Ponzi scheme.
Oh, it’s bad…very bad. Shapiro even put out bounties on opposing players.
“Hell yeah, I recruited a lot of kids for Miami,” Shapiro told Yahoo Sports. “With access to the clubs, access to the strip joints. My house. My boat. We’re talking about high school football players. Not anybody can just get into the clubs or strip joints. Who is going to pay for it and make it happen? That was me.”
Shapiro said he believes Miami will get the NCAA’s “death penalty.” Think SMU, from way back.
By the way, Miami is picked third by Bodog.com to win the ACC, behind Florida State and Virginia Tech. Wake is 11 out of 12 at 125:1. Go Deacs! Duke is 150-1. [West Virginia is preseason No. 1 in the Big East, with South Florida and its cheerleaders No. 2, also according to Bodog’s odds.]
–College sports just really smells in so many ways these days. Like the whole issue of Texas A&M bolting to the SEC. For now, like for a few days at least, A&M is staying in the Big 12 as the SEC voted to retain a 12-team league, though leaving the door open to expansion, while the A&M board of regents gave the university president full authority on alignment issues. Regardless, I can imagine the reception the Aggie football team will receive while on the road against their Big 12 opponents this fall.
Now the Big East is in talks with the ACC and Big 12 about potential realignment to stave off further raiding of the three.
Nothing bores me more than this kind of story, but I have to cover it.
–Perhaps the best high school athlete to ever come out of the state of Kansas, three-sport star Bubba Starling, decided to forego the quarterback position at Nebraska and opted to play baseball for the Kansas City Royals. He will reportedly receive a team-record rookie signing bonus of $7.5 million spread over three years.
Hmmm. College football, or $2.5 million a year for three years. Time’s up! Show me the money!!!
Starling hit tape measure home runs in high school, had 200-yard games rushing, and even drew major college looks for basketball. Sounds a lot like a guy I knew in high school, Willie Wilson. [Yeah, Wilson was a power-hitting catcher in high school, before the Royals turned him into a slap hitter to utilize his speed.]
–After a long battle, the University of North Dakota is being forced to retire its longstanding Fighting Sioux nickname as the NCAA maintained in a five-year court struggle it was offensive to Native Americans. Oh, how I want to comment, like how all Native Americans do these days is build casinos, many through fake tribes. But I won’t go there. Nope, wouldn’t be prudent.
[While at Bob Feller’s museum, I was sure to get a good photo of Chief Wahoo, which I’ll post somewhere at the appropriate time.]
–Congratulations to Minnesota’s Jim Thome on becoming the 8th player in baseball history to hit 600 homers as he went yard twice on Monday. The Des Moines Register had an online poll, “What should Jim Thome’s Hall of Fame status be?”
87% said he should be voted in on his first year of eligibility. I need to think about him. I’m kind of glad we have five years to wait.
Only Babe Ruth needed fewer at-bats to reach 600 (6,921). Thome needed 8,167. [He also hit No. 601 on Wednesday.]
–The Yankees’ A.J. Burnett finally won a game in August for the team. He had been 0-8 in 13 starts with a 7.18 August ERA until he finally got a win against the Royals the other night. But once again he failed to gain a quality start, as he went 5 2/3, allowing 3 runs on 10 hits.
–A man by the name of Albert Brown died the other day at the age of 105. Capt. Albert Brown, that is, the oldest survivor of the 1942 Bataan Death March, where the Japanese forced 76,000 Americans and Filipinos to march 66 miles on the Bataan peninsula, starting April 10, 1942. The Japanese fractured skulls with their rifle butts and cut off heads. An estimated 11,000 died.
Brown himself once said, “One 18-year-old I knew, he fell down. A guard came along and put a gun to his head, pulled the trigger and walked away.”
–The sport of horse racing is in deep, deep trouble. It’s why some of us keep screaming each spring for a triple crown winner. It’s the only thing that will save the sport these days. The Jockey Club commissioned an interesting report by McKinsey & Company. As reported by the great horse racing reporter Joe Drape of the New York Times:
“The findings were withering: over the past decade, betting is down 37%, attendance is down 30%, and starts per horse and race days are each down 14%…There are 43 hours of horse racing on national TV, compared with 175 in 2003.”
You’ve got to have television coverage to draw new fans, but you need compelling stories to get the coverage! Today, the sport cries for more Zenyattas and Rachel Alexandras.
“Thailand’s ‘9 Inch’ Root Holds Secret to Extended Male Performance!”
Whaddya know? Seems some Oregon guy, Rod Tallman, “was searching for his own ‘sexual fountain of youth’ when he literally stumbled over a 5,000 year old Asian root that is proving to be the solution to male performance issues.”
Sounds like Mr. Tallman had a Charlie Brown moment. Upon getting up off the ground after stumbling, Tallman was heard to exclaim, “That’s it!”
–A woman was swept to death over Niagara Falls when she fell from a railing. The idiot was with a friend when she stood on the railing and accidentally fell in, whereupon she was whisked 80 feet downstream and deposited over the falls. [Kerplunk]
–And Director of Shark Attacks, Bob S., alerted me to a still developing story from the Seychelles. As reported by BBC News:
“The wife of a man who was killed in a shark attack during their honeymoon in the Seychelles has paid tribute to her ‘handsome and caring’ husband.
“Ian Redmond, 30, of Nelson, Lancashire, was attacked off Anse Lazio beach on Praslin and died later in hospital….
“Authorities have banned diving in the area as they try to snare the shark.”
This is why the story is still developing. The shark could be anywhere from the Seychelles to Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Take appropriate precautions.
“It was the second fatal shark attack in the same part of the island off the coast of east Africa this month”!!!
The Seychelles should have been off limits to all travelers a month ago then!
It also seems the couple were in their second week of honeymoon. Who gets two weeks these days?! C’mon!… said the editor, he never having been on a honeymoon.
Anyway, Mr. Redmond had an arm ripped off and his hip was in shreds. But as the BBC reported:
“The Seychelles Tourism Board’s director Alain St. Ange told the BBC the latest attack was caused by a ‘foreign shark’ and was a ‘freak accident.’”
Foreign shark?! I think not. This was an inside job, though Whitey had help in his getaway.
–You know what’s cool? Country superstar Kenny Chesney packed the New Meadowlands Stadium for a concert the other night, something a country artist hasn’t done in the New York area in ages. And the New York Times gave him a very solid review. I saw the guy two summers ago in Calgary at The Calgary Stampede… great time. Except if I recall the beer lines were too long.
Top 3 songs for the week 8/18/79: #1 “Good Times” (Chic) #2 “My Sharona” (The Knack…sucked) #3 “The Main Event” (Barbra Streisand…simply dreadful)… and…#4 “Bad Girls” (Donna Summer…beep beep… bang bang…whatever…) #5 “After The Love Has Gone” (Earth, Wind & Fire…my boys scored on this one…one of their best) #6 “When You’re In Love With A Beautiful Woman” (Dr. Hook…eh…don’t tell anyone, but I’m in love with the Iowa State Fair Queen…actually, I’m in love with the girl who was driving the queen around in the golf cart) #7 “Ring My Bell” (Anita Ward…blows) #8 “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” (The Charlie Daniels Band…you know, these guys did so many superior songs to this one, which hasn’t aged well at all…my favorite CDB tune is “Carolina.”) #9 “You Can’t Change That” (Raydio… ughhh…give me the 60s!) #10 “Mama Can’t Buy You Love” (Elton John…it’s like he did this one for the old folks at The Villages…by the way, I’m sitting at the bar at the fair on Monday, I’m talking to a very nice woman, and she was up from her home at The Villages! Oh no…I gave her my business card!)
Golf Quiz Answer: World Rankings
1. Luke Donald..Eng…10.28
2. Lee Westwood…Eng…8.44
3. Steve Stricker…USA…7.03
4. Martin Kaymer…Ger….6.98
5. Rory McIlroy…NIr…6.91
6. Phil Mickelson…USA…5.97
7. Adam Scott…Aus…5.80
8. Jason Day…Aus…5.62
9. Dustin Johnson…USA…5.54
10. Nick Watney…USA…5.40
11. Charl Schwartzel
12. Matt Kuchar
13. Graeme McDowell
14. K.J. Choi
15. Bubba Watson
