NFL Quiz: 1) Who are the only two kickers to boot 40 field goals in a season? 2) Who are the only two with 500 field goals for their career? [Different from No. 1] Answers below.
NFL Bits
Driving around on Monday I heard one of the local sports talk radio guys bring up a good point. The play in the first week or two is always so poor, how can people talk about cutting back the exhibition season from four to two games? As it is, regulars are playing no more than a full game, total, in the exhibition season these days. Very few stars play even a down in the final exhibition contest, for starters.
Well it shows. I think we’d all agree much of what we were witnessing on Sunday, extending into Monday night, was just bad football, and I’m really not even talking about the Giants and their six turnovers on Sunday against the Cowboys.
Actually, all you have to know is there were four safeties in Week One vs. 13 all of last year! If I remember right, none of the four was a strategic one.
It’s obvious the NFL is rightfully scared to death of the concussion issue, knowing if a player ever suffered a fatal injury on the field the sport is over…finis. So they’ve perhaps in some respects overreacted in severely limiting what you can and cannot do in training camps, let alone the rule changes to protect the players as much as possible, plus the players don’t want to get hit either in the preseason to protect their income, and so you can’t help but recognize you aren’t watching as good a product as you were, say, 15 years ago.
It’s a gross generalization, and player safety is a good thing, but there’s also a fine line.
Anyway, everyone from Commissioner Roger Goodell, to the owners, to the players, to the fans, is wrestling with a lot of stuff these days. This is going to be an interesting, and controversial, season, sports fans.
—If I’m an Eagles fan I’m certainly excited by what I saw Monday night in Philadelphia’s 33-27 victory over the Redskins. Coach Chip Kelly’s up-tempo offense had the Washington ‘D’ on its heels, leading 33-7 in the third. Washington had no answers for Kelly.
As for Robert Griffin III, it was absurd how some ‘Skins fans thought he would just come back from his serious knee injury and be the same superstar quarterback in his first contest with a knee brace. He threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns, but it was a deceiving effort if you only read the stats. Especially in the first half he was mediocre at best. And when Griffin had to run it was obvious he wasn’t the same. Will he ever be so? Will he get the chance to show us before he’s hurt again, something that will be in the back of every fan’s mind for quite a while to come?
We also have to remember that, alluding to my opening comments, he didn’t play a single down in preseason.
“He wasn’t ready. Visibly, Robert Griffin III wasn’t ready for NFL live action. Oh, he was ready for a star turn, grabbing the Redskins flag and dashing across the field with it. But as soon as we dispensed with the college-boy amateur theatricals and got down to business, it became obvious he has a ways to go before we can call him fully recovered from knee surgery and that there has been a good deal of overhype, spin, locker room politics and wallpaper paste covering up the dysfunctional drama in his record-time return.
“You could almost feel the cringing by Redskins management every time he took a hit. There was that camera shot of surgeon James Andrews in his team cap, staring at Griffin watchfully, grimly ready to crook his finger at any moment. Andrews deserved to be tense: He was as responsible as anyone for the ridiculously high expectations attached to Griffin’s comeback from two ligament reconstructions in just eight months, prattling about the ‘unbelievable’ superhero pace of his rehabilitation on ESPN…..
“The Redskins held Griffin out of the entire preseason explicitly so they could go slowly. But in retrospect, there has been a hurry-up quality to the whole thing. The only way to get Griffin game-ready is to play him. But why does Griffin have to prove he can set an all-time speed record at regaining his form? Would it hurt anything if Griffin took nine months to fully heal instead of eight? Or if he started in Week 4 instead of Week 1? Or if he took a few series in the season opener while letting the apt Kirk Cousins handle much of the load? The answer is, Griffin simply wouldn’t have it. He did everything in his power to pressure the Redskins with his public ‘all-in’ campaign and his bravado-filled remarks….
“Griffin wasn’t ready. He still has plenty of time to get ready – he showed enormous progress just in one half. But it’s pretty clear that during Operation Patience, Griffin didn’t acquire any of that quality. What Griffin needs most is not a bunch of flamboyant goals or urgent deadlines but slow, steady, ordinary progress. As Shanahan said, ‘This is the first round of a 16-round fight.’”
–I still think New York Giants running back David Wilson could be something special but if the guy doesn’t stop putting the ball on the ground, his career could be a short one. I mean no one will have any confidence to even use him as a kick returner.
Poor Eli Manning. Two of his three interceptions weren’t his fault, he still threw for 450 yards and four scores, and he had three receivers with 100 yards in the 36-31 loss to Dallas.
Victor Cruz…5-118
Hakeem Nicks…5-114
Rueben Randle…5-101
[The Giants signed running back Brandon Jacobs, the franchise leader in rushing touchdowns, who has had only five carries since 2011, having spent last season wasting away in San Francisco. A good move.]
—Reggie Bush has clearly had a disappointing NFL career but what a start for his new team, Detroit. 21 carries for 90 yards. 4 receptions for 101, including a 77-yard TD catch, as the Lions defeated the Vikings 34-24. I did need to get down that Adrian Peterson had all of 15 yards on 17 carries finally his opening carry of 78 yards.
[Detroit defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was fined $100,000 by the NFL for his illegal low block on Minnesota center John Sullivan on Sunday. It’s believed to be the largest fine for an NFL player for an on-field violation.]
–Oakland QB Terrelle Pryor had an exciting opening week in the Raiders 21-17 loss at Indianapolis…passing for 217 and rushing for 112. He at least gives Raider Nation hope.
—Pryor was one of just three in Week One to rush for 100 yards, vs. 19 players who had at least 100 yards receiving. According to Stats LLC, the differential of 16 is the second-most in any NFL week of action since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. [Michael Salfino / Wall Street Journal]
“The Texans have a bunch of players who know how to win. Bless their heart, the Chargers have a bunch of players who know how to lose. Even as I write that, it sounds like psychological gobbledygook.
“But I was in Qualcomm Stadium for this game. If you were watching here in person or there on television, you saw the same thing I saw. You saw the Houston Texans fall way behind and just keep going, trying, driving, believing. And you saw the San Diego Chargers get way ahead and let up, ease up, screw up, give up.
“By the end of Monday night, what we had seen was a last-second 31-28 victory on the road that could propel the Texans to great things this season – and a loss at home that will be awfully hard for the Chargers to overcome….
“The Chargers led 28-7 with five minutes remaining in the third quarter when the Texans remembered who they were. And the Chargers, bless their hearts, remembered they’re the Chargers.
“Who are the Chargers? Quite possibly the most underachieving franchise in recent NFL history, then a mediocrity, then a 7-9 loser last season – all of which caused the dismissal of general manager A.J. Smith and coach Norv Turner.”
So they have a new GM and a new coach (Mike McCoy from the Broncos), but the players are the same, including the quarterback, Philip Rivers. The guy puts up numbers but otherwise has nothing to show for it.
–Jets-Pats on Thursday. Hey, upon further review, rookie Geno Smith was better than any of us fans expected him to be on Sunday. A few nice throws. Elusive. Bye-bye Mark Sanchez. And it was funny watching Sanchez on the sidelines. He’s not a bad guy. That’s never been the issue. He was clearly being as supportive as possible to Smith. But Sanchise is awfully concerned about his hair these days and looking just right. A few million of us in these parts are wondering why he insists on the hairband.
But will the Jets still finish my predicted 2-14? Yup.
College Football
–Sports Illustrated launched its series into the Oklahoma State football program after interviewing more than 60 players who played for the Cowboys between 2001 and 2010, as well as current and former OSU staffers.
The Cowboys have had a winning season 10 in the last 11. It was the focus on winning that led to the allegations in the SI series, which especially look at the years Les Miles, now the head coach at LSU, was in control in Stillwater, 2001-2004.
Some players claim they collected more than $10,000 annually in under-the-table payouts.
A snippet from the first segment, by George Dohrmann and Thayer Evans:
“Calvin Mickens was elated. The freshman cornerback from Beaumont, Texas, had just appeared in his first college game, Oklahoma State’s 2005 season-opening 15-10 home victory over Montana State, and he had performed well, forcing a fumble, breaking up a pass and making two tackles. In the locker room, as Mickens and his teammates shed their gear, a man he had never seen before approached and handed him cash. ‘I was like, Wow, this is the life!’ Mickens says. ‘I’m 18, playing football, and I just got $200.’
“Mickens says he received several similar postgame handoffs from other boosters during his first season in Stillwater. After a 62-23 loss at Texas A&M in which he had an interception, Mickens recalls getting $800 in the locker room from a different man. At the time he didn’t consider that he was violating NCAA rules. He saw other teammates receiving similar gratuities and assumed they were the perks of playing for a big-time program.
“In separate interviews seven other former Cowboys told SI they received cash payments; 29 other OSU players were named by teammates as having also taken money.”
“It’s going to be interesting to see if T. Boone Pickens, the oil billionaire who has given $100s of millions to his alma mater, in any way knew of the improprieties. I’m assuming he didn’t. Should that be the case, he’d be absolutely crushed.”
So I was pleased to see the following in the initial SI report released Tuesday morning:
“T. Boone Pickens, the school’s most prominent booster, was not implicated in any improprieties by SI’s sources.”
Pickens did issue a statement on Tuesday following release of the first part of the SI report, saying he was “disappointed” and that “there have been wholesale changes at the school in recent years in leadership and facilities. During that time, I have given more than $500 million to OSU, for athletics and academics. Have I gotten my money’s worth? You bet….
“But I do welcome this scrutiny. If people take the time, it’s an opportunity to better understand where Oklahoma State is today, not a decade ago.”
–Interesting stat, courtesy of ESPN and CBSSports.com’s Bruce Feldman. Georgia averaged 8.3 yards per play with Jadeveon Clowney on the field, yet only 2.8 when the All-American was on the sideline.
—Texas Coach Mack Brown fired defensive coordinator Manny Diaz following the Longhorns’ 40-21 loss at Brigham Young, with the Texas defense having given up a school-record 550 yards rushing.
–I forget what game I was watching and who the broadcaster that said it was, but the fact is the success rate in going for fourth down at the Division I level is something like 50%. So from Bruce Feldman’s column I see that an innovative coach at Division II Colorado School of Mines, Bob Stitt, was five-for-five on fourth downs in his team’s 72-6 win over South Dakota Mines.
Now I remember. It was the guys doing the Virginia-Oregon game in discussing how you’re just as well off going for it on fourth down against Oregon as giving them a longer field with a punt because of their spectacular offense.
Ball Bits
–Congratulations to the 2013 version of America’s Team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, for winning Game No. 82 on Monday, 1-0 over Texas, thus giving the Bucs their first winning season since 1992.
Pittsburgh followed up with another win over Texas on Tuesday, 5-4. So the standings thru Tuesday’s play….
N.L. Central
St. Louis 84-60
Pittsburgh 83-61…1 GB
Cincinnati 82-64…3
N.L. Wild Card
–The Yankees squared off against the Orioles, Monday, in a big series with playoff implications and managers Joe Girardi and Buck Showalter got into a serious shouting match between the first and second innings. As reported by Anthony McCarron of the Daily News:
“Showalter was irate after Girardi yelled at his third-base coach, Bobby Dickerson, during the inning, saying he was giving Orioles hitters the location that CC Sabathia intended to throw his next pitch. Showalter charged out of the O’s dugout, yelling at Girardi and umpires got in between the angry skippers as players from both teams came out of the dugouts.
“ ‘He was yelling at the third base coach,’ Showalter said. ‘Somebody’s wearing black and orange, I’m not going to let that happen.’
“Girardi was less forthcoming. The most he allowed was, ‘It was something that I saw. I’m going to leave it at that.’ He would not elaborate, not even to say if whatever he saw had stopped after the fracas….
“At one point, Showalter was wagging his finger at Girardi as he yelled at the Yankee manager. On television replays, Showalter could be seen making a throat-slash gesture and saying, ‘That’s not right’ and ‘Talk to me, Joe, not him’ and some other stuff not appropriate for a family web site or newspaper.”
The Yankees lost the game 4-2, despite Alex Rodriguez’ 652nd career home run, fifth since his return. Of course it’s Showalter who was most vocal that A-Rod should not have been allowed to play after Commissioner Bud Selig suspended him over 200 games, but the appeal process is part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. It is what it is.
On Tuesday, the Yankees rebounded, 7-5, so the standings, again, thru Tuesday, are as follows.
A.L. West
Oakland 83-61
Texas 81-63…2 GB
A.L. Wild Card
Texas 81-63
Tampa Bay 78-65…has lost 8 of 11
Cleveland 77-67…1.5 GB
Baltimore 77-67…1.5
New York 77-68…2
Kansas City 76-69…3
–The Yankees’ Alfonso Soriano is hitting only .253 since being acquired from the Cubs, but more importantly he has 15 home runs and 47 RBI in just 43 games. Yes, the Yanks are out of it without Soriano’s booming bat.
–Joel Sherman of the New York Post had a story on Derek Jeter and the signs he may not attempt to come back next year, comparing the situation to that of Joe DiMaggio, who retired when his production and body betrayed him, “because if he couldn’t be Joe DiMaggio, he didn’t want to play. His dignity and legacy meant too much to him.
Plus with one of his friends, Jorge Posada, having retired, and with Mariano Rivera going, and Andy Pettitte possibly doing the same, Jeter may just decide to join them rather than be part of what is going to be a very complicated rebuilding effort. [Plus who knows what the deal with A-Rod is going to be.]
–Bummer…Mets closer Bobby Parnell, who was having a fine season before being shelved in early August with a neck issue (22 saves, 2.16 ERA), had surgery to repair a herniated disk and who knows with these things. Parnell expects he’ll be back for spring training.
Mets pitcher Matt Harvey still has not decided on Tommy John surgery and is awaiting an opinion from Dr. James Andrews when he sees him on Monday. Harvey has been listening to the Phillies’ Roy Halladay, who decided against surgery for an elbow tear in 2006 and did alright after.
The danger is that if Harvey rehabs, goes to spring training thinking all is fine, and then in April or May the issue crops up again, he’d lose 1 ½-2 seasons following surgery instead of just one.
–Drat! The Yankees are taking over the Mets’ radio home of WFAN next season after signing a deal that puts them on the strongest AM station in North America for the next ten years. This sucks. You used to be able to travel hundreds of miles away and still catch the Mets on the car radio. No word on where the Mets will now end up.
The Yankees have been on all-news WCBS-AM and the Mets are not likely to end up there. WFAN will be paying the Yankees $15 million a year, or double what the FAN is reportedly paying the Mets.
U.S. Open
I have to admit I watched little of the U.S. Open Men’s final between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, Nadal emerging victorious by defeating world No. 1 Djokovic 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. It was the second-ranked in the world Nadal’s second grand slam crown this season to go along with his French Open title.
Nadal now has 13 grand slam wins (8 of ‘em Frenchies), third on the all-time list behind Roger Federer (17) and Pete Sampras (14).
Nadal defeated Djokovic in the 2010 Open final and then lost their finals rematch in 2011. Djokovic has six grand slam titles, including three in his spectacular 2011. Nadal leads the series between the two 22-15.
Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) had the hammer dropped on it by NASCAR officials, wiping out the team’s results from the race Saturday night in Richmond, which was the last to decide the final 12 for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. NASCAR docked Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers 50 points apiece for Saturday’s incident where MWR made Bowyer and Vickers take steps to put Truex in the final wild-card spot.
NASCAR’s statement read: “Based upon our review…it is our determination that the MWR organization attempted to manipulate the outcome of the race. As the sport’s sanctioning body, it is our responsibility to ensure there is a fair and level playing field for all of our competitors and this action today reflects our commitment to that.”
MWR was also fined $300,000 and general manager Ty Norris suspended indefinitely.
“It was a sinister plan superbly executed under major duress with the cunning of criminal masterminds. But the team co-owned by a man who revels in his court jester persona fumbled the post-race cover-up with a vaudeville act worthy of the Three Stooges.”
So Truex was bumped from the final spot in the Chase, replaced by Ryan Newman, though Bowyer remains in the Chase without penalty. Newman was leading the race Saturday night with seven laps to go when Bowyer spun out and out came a caution, setting in motion a chain of events that ultimately led to Bowyer teammate Truex earning the final Chase berth, for less than 48 hours.
Another big loser is Jeff Gordon, who was probably going to qualify for the Chase before the shenanigans of MWR, including Bowyer’s intentional spin.
Mayweather / Alvarez
Floyd Mayweather, 44-0, is fighting 22-year-old Mexican Canelo Alvarez, 42-0-1, on Saturday in Vegas (Showtime). I don’t follow boxing anymore (I would if the heavyweight division ever got its act together), but I do have to note that Mayweather is one bout into his six-fight, 30-month, potentially $300 million deal with the network. So if he wins them all, he reaches the 49-0 of Rocky Marciano, “the mythical champion of champions,” as ESPN The Magazine put it.
So then Mayweather would be a free agent to negotiate the bout for number 50.
But I was kind of fascinated with the weight for the fight, 152 pounds. Alvarez will weigh in near 152 on Friday, “then rehydrate to at least 170 when the bell rings the next night.”
“With Alvarez and Mayweather fighting at 152 pounds, the challenger must get lighter than he’s been in his past six fights. Here’s the skinny on making weight.
“Purge, Binge…The weighing of boxers at least a day before the fight, instead of on fight day, is a relatively recent change, made in the late 1980s to help the combatants avoid fight-day dehydration. Prior to that, cautionary tales were legion.
“Sluggish Slugger…Consider Muhammad Ali, who before a bout with Larry Holmes in 1980 upped the dosage of his thyroid meds to speed his weight loss from 253 to 217 pounds. Ali was pummeled and later said lethargy from the drug affected him.
“No Mas Food…That same year, Roberto Duran famously quit in the eighth round of his ‘No Mas’ bout with Sugar Ray Leonard. Duran, less famously, after fighting hard to make weight, consumed the following post-weigh-in: a thermos of consommé, half a thermos of hot tea, an orange as big as a grapefruit, two T-bone steaks, French fries, four glasses of orange juice, two glasses of water, another cup of tea, another half a steak and, finally, more tea. Duran complained of stomach cramps from Round 5 on. Go figure.
“Waterworks…Most fighters make weight through laxatives, exercise, saunas and starvation. In July 2012, NMAer Chael Sonnen, prior to fighting Anderson Silva, employed more cunning means. Sonnen, who weighed 201 Thursday, tipped the scales at 185 Friday, a day before his middleweight bout – a feat he and others have achieved by tricking their bodies. How? Many fighters drink a flood of water about five days before the weigh-in, putting kidneys into hyperdrive and their bodies into ‘flushing mode.’ If a fighter then gradually reduces his water intake, his kidneys will continue to flush at hyderdrive level, wringing his body dry. Voila! Desiccated fighter!”
–The United States clinched its seventh straight World Cup appearance on Tuesday with a 2-0 win in Columbus, Ohio, over Mexico (after also getting a tie in the Honduras-Panama contest being held at the same time). So the U.S. can relax with two games to spare. U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said of the Columbus crowd of 24,500 that it was “amazing.”
–Skeptics of Diana Nyad’s 110-mile swim from Cuba to Florida have emerged. As reported by Jennifer Kay of the AP:
“(Long distance) swimmers have been debating whether Nyad got a boost from the boat that was accompanying her – either by getting in it or holding onto it – during a particularly speedy stretch of her swim. They also question whether she violated the traditions of her sport – many follow strict guidelines known as the English Channel rules – by using a specialized mask and body suit to protect herself from jellyfish.
“ ‘When you know how hard it is, you kind of want those details,’ said Andrew Malinak, a Seattle long-distance swimmer who crunched the data available from the GPS positions tracked on Nyad’s website and concluded that he didn’t trust what he saw.”
Nyad’s navigator and one of the swim’s official observers told the AP that Nyad was aided by a swift current. “And neither Nyad nor her team ever said she would follow English Channel rules, developed for swimming the waters between England and France.”
“Many wonder about a roughly seven-hour stretch when Nyad apparently didn’t stop to eat or drink, recalling her 2012 attempt when she got onto the boat for hours during rough weather. Nyad eventually got back into the water to try finishing, but her team was criticized for delaying the release of that information to the public.
“Malinak said the hours-long spike in Nyad’s speed after 27 hours of swimming is particularly questionable – she went from her normal pace of roughly 1.5 mph to more than 3 mph, then slowed down again as she approached Key West.”
Actually, from what you read, Nyad is kind of a jerk, but I’m assuming this swim is on the up-and-up. She defended herself extensively in a conference call on Tuesday night.
Norman Chad, a k a Couch Slouch, from his perch at the Washington Post….
Q: Where do you rank Diana Nyad’s 110-mile Cuba-to-Florida swim in terms of athletic accomplishments? (Don C., Aurora, Ill.)
Chad: I’m very impressed, but I believe Southwest has a Cuba-to-Florida route now. She’d save a lot of time, and bags swim free.
–We note the passing of former NBA/ABA star center Zelmo Beaty who died of cancer at age 73. Beaty was a time-two NBA All-Star with the St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks, before moving to the ABA’s Utah Stars. He averaged over 20 points per game in three seasons in the NBA and two in the ABA, finishing his career with averages of 17 points and almost 11 rebounds a game. An exciting player, for a center, at a time when this was the main position on the court. He starred at Prairie View A&M in college.
—Edmund B. Fitzgerald died. He was 87. Fitzgerald was born in Milwaukee and eventually was one of four men who led a long fight to bring major league baseball back to Milwaukee after the Braves left for Atlanta following the 1965 season. The Brewers started playing in Milwaukee in 1970, with one of the four partners, Bud Selig, a Milwaukee car salesman, becoming president of the franchise.
But of course the name Edmund Fitzgerald is a rather familiar one for a different reason. Back in 1958, his mother, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, christened the massive iron ore freighter, “The Edmund Fitzgerald,” named for “young Ed’s” father, an insurance magnate, whose board of directors, much to his dismay, honored him by putting his name on one of the largest ships ever to ply the Great Lakes.
Edmund Fitzgerald, the father, was chairman of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. The ship went down with its crew of 29 on Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975. Gordon Lightfoot then memorialized the accident in his ballad, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” the following year. The elder “Ed” died in 1986.
And now you know…the rest of the story. [McClatchy Newspapers / Los Angeles Times]
“A horrific zoo attack saw a monkey rip off a small boy’s testicle, run off and eat it. The eight-month-old was reportedly having his dirty diaper changed by his mom at Giuyang Qinling Wildlife Park, in southwest China, when the animal attacked.
“State media reports that the monkey pounced on the youngster and hacked off a chunk of his genitals….”
The boy was rushed to the hospital and his condition has been described as “not life-threatening,” though obviously life-altering.
After this incident, however, we are placing all monkeys, except gorillas and the docile gibbon, on the All-Species Suspended List pending a full investigation. But I’ll be watching my back, to say the least.
–And there is this one…an 84-year-old pensioner playing boules (like bocce), was enjoying his Sunday afternoon with friends in a quiet Paris suburb when an elephant, that had broken out of a nearby circus, charged the crowd and killed the man with its trunk. An animal rights group said the female elephant had been mistreated by the Cirque d’Europe.
“Witnesses said the escape came after the elephant had finished its performance, which involves lying on the ground under the big top, and had returned to the open-air electrified cage that had been put up outside the tent during the circus’ stay in Lizy-sur-Ourcq.
“Almost instantly, it flicked a tarpaulin over the electric mesh fence, clambered out of the cage and then got over a second set of barriers.”
An animal rights campaigner said her group had been following “Samba” since 2003 when circus-goers who had seen the elephant’s performance claimed it had been mistreated.
“We were told that when Samba refused to perform one day, she was hit repeatedly by her trainer who only stopped because the children were in tears.”
Animal groups hope Samba will not be put down and rather placed in a sanctuary.
–Brad K. passed along this tale from Canada’s Globe and Mail by Helen Collis:
“A husband who saved his 60-year-old wife from the jaws of a cougar by spearing it to death has been praised by others who believe the same animal tried to attack them.
“Reacting swiftly to his wife’s screams, the unidentified man grabbed a boar spear and stabbed the animal several times until it fled. It was later found dead nearby.
“The woman’s skull was reportedly crushed by the animal and part of her scalp was missing, according to one of the rescue team.”
The wife is said to be in stable condition. I know I would be “unstable” forever if I had been attacked by a cougar.
“The attack happened late Sunday afternoon when the couple were in the back yard of their home on Flores Island in Clayoquot Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
“The 60-year-old was gardening when the big cat launched at her, mauling her.
“Her husband immediately grabbed the spear and repeatedly hurled it into the animal until it ran away.
“Conservation officers later found the cougar, dead, about 20 meters from the attack.”
Of course Brad and I are curious about the spear. Brings to mind the movie “Zulu,” frankly, one of the great guy flicks of all time.
Others came forward to say the same cougar tried to attack them. I’m staying inside for a while until there is full confirmation this is the same animal.
–Very cool story about the Beatles’ long-time secretary, Freda Kelly, who is the subject of a new documentary, “Good Ol’ Freda,” which is apparently available on demand. I saw a CBS “Sunday Morning” segment on her the other day. She has been very private over the years and many of her family and friends didn’t know that she was the Fab Four’s only secretary throughout the 1960s and early 70s, handpicked by Brian Epstein.
For the documentary, she decided to talk, but under the condition she wasn’t about to say “anything scandalous or gossipy,” according to the movie’s director, Ryan White, a family friend.
She was 17 when Epstein offered her the job running the fan club. She answered the flood of letters and stayed with them to the end, penning the letter announcing the band’s breakup that was mailed to fan-club members.
As for the memorabilia, she never sought to cash in, giving away much of it to distraught fans in the 1970s, though she still has boxes stashed in her attic.
One thing she does have is an autograph book signed by all four, which is rare. One memorabilia dealer said its worth $8,500 to $12,500. I would have thought much more, given the provenance.
Top 3 songs for the week 9/9/78: #1 “Boogie Oogie Oogie” (A Taste Of Honey) #2 “Three Times A Lady” (Commodores) #3 “Hot Blooded” (Foreigner)…and…#4 “Hopelessly Devoted To You” (Olivia Newton-John) #5 “Kiss You All Over” (Exile) #6 “Grease” (Frankie Valli) #7 “An Everlasting Love” (Andy Gibb) #8 “Summer Nights” (John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John) #9 “Shame” (Evelyn “Champagne” King) #10 “Got To Get You Into My Life” (Earth, Wind & Fire)
NFL Quiz Answers: 1) 40 FGs in a season: David Akers, 44, 2011 (San Fran); Neil Rackers, 40, 2005 (Ariz). 2) 500 FGs in a career: Morten Andersen, 565, 1982-2007; Gary Anderson, 538, 1982-2004.
Next Bar Chat, Monday…a highly abbreviated one as I’m out of pocket all Friday and Saturday. [But will catch the A&M/Alabama game.]
