[Posted Sunday PM…immediately after Eagles-Cowboys…no time for commentary on this one…]
NHL Quiz: Name the six to score 700 goals in their career. Answer below.
NFL Playoffs
5 San Francisco at 4 Green Bay, Sun., 18 degrees and snow! [early forecast]
6 New Orleans at 3 Philly, Sat., 29 and sunny [drat!]
5 Kansas City at 4 Indianapolis, Sat., indoors [sucks]
6 San Diego at 3 Cincinnati, Sun., 46 and rain [I sense this is changing for the worse]
Here’s what’s great, aside from a potential classic Green Bay weather day. Obviously, the following week we have the potential for ugly weather in Denver, New England and Seattle. An ice storm in Seattle would be perfect. Or, you never know, an ice storm in Charlotte!
Meanwhile, as for Sunday’s game action….
“One last plea: Spare him. Stay of Rexecution.
“On one side of the line of scrimmage inside Sun Life Stadium, you will see a team fighting for a wild-card playoff berth.
“On the other side of the line of scrimmage you will see a team fighting one last time for its coach, to keep its coach if there is even the faintest hope that 8-8 will matter, to back its coach’s pronouncement for general manager John Idzik and owner Woody Johnson to hear loud and clear this is a team on the climb in case they believe otherwise, or have decided it is time for a new pilot and a new direction….
“No one is saying Ryan is the perfect coach. Far from it. But he is the perfect coach for this team at this crossroads time.
“The wait to learn his fate on Monday must seem like an eternity for him. Yet the flight back home with his players and coaches probably will go too quickly for him. So have the five years. No more guarantees from Rex Ryan. Or for him.”
“Here is the unique thing about the passion play that surrounds the Jets Sunday afternoon in Miami: usually, when it’s time for a coach to go – especially around here – the actual firing is the easy part. Or at least the humane part; by the time a coach or a manager is called into the owner’s office and asked to bring his playbook, he already has been whacked in the court of public opinion….
“A year ago at this time, if the ax had fallen, Ryan would have fallen under the swollen category of a New York coach who had his time, had his moments, taken a few mighty swings, and simply faded away – and with the full support of the angry fans. That’s a crowded list. Davey Johnson’s on there, and Jim Fassel. You want to go back a bit there’s Joe McCarthy and Casey Stengel. There’s Allie Sherman.
“Ryan had descended into that most frustrating coaching place: a losing situation that used to be a winning situation but had begun to spiral helplessly, hopelessly out of control. Jets fans were simply tired of the Jets at this time last year, tired of the players, of the general manager, of the owner. And the coach…..
“And then a funny thing happened….
“Ryan seemed to grow into the job more this year than he had in any of his prior four, even the two that ended in the AFC title game. It helped him that nobody saw the Jets winning more than four or five games. But somehow, in the course of winning seven and losing eight, there has grown around the Jets – and Ryan – a sense that he has done one of the better jobs in the NFL this year, that his team overachieved, that his players still play for him.
“There wasn’t one ‘Fire Ryan’ chant at MetLife this year.
“Maybe it is time for a new voice, a new outlook, a new strategy. Maybe that’s the right call, but it just doesn’t sound like a revolution is brewing if Woody Johnson should decide to stay the course.”
My take has been consistent. Rex deserves to stay. I wrote the Jets would finish 2-14, and quite a few folks had them at 3-13 at best. Rex did a good job with what he has, which is virtually nothing, though there is some young talent, particularly on the D-line, that is the foundation for a solid future, one would hope. Rex is the guy to develop that talent and the players love playing for him.
I compare the situation he’s in to that of Mets manager Terry Collins, who has presided over three straight losing seasons. But like Rex, Collins has had little to work with and now that the roster is finally getting a little bit better, there isn’t anyone better to handle the team than Collins so he was granted a two-year extension.
Rex has one year on his contract. I agree with those who say he should agree to head into next year without an extension. If the team gets off to a good start, you can be sure he’ll get one immediately.
After the game…
So, the Jets ended up beating the Dolphins 20-7 in impressive fashion, thus knocking Miami out of the playoffs. And afterwards, owner Woody Johnson said Rex would be back for next season and acted as if there was never any doubt about the decision. No word on an extension as yet.
[The Jets also set an NFL record for being outscored by the most points, 97, in a non-losing season.]
–Cincinnati eliminated the Ravens, who could have been in the playoffs with a win following Miami’s loss. Nope. …Bengals 34 Ravens 17.
–So then that meant with the Miami and Baltimore losses, San Diego was in the driver’s seat as they faced Kansas City. The Chiefs, having locked up their playoff slot, sat the likes of Alex Smith and Jamaal Charles yet still should have defeated the Chargers, but kicker Ryan Succop missed a 41-yarder with four seconds to go in regulation and then San Diego prevailed in OT.
–Had Succwad made the kick, Pittsburgh, improbably, would have been the second wild-card entry in the AFC, the Steelers finishing the season at 8-8 after defeating the Brownies 20-7. Pittsburgh at least salvaged their dignity after starting the season 2-6.
—New England picked up the 2-slot in the AFC and a bye with a 34-20 win over the Bills as LeGarrette Blount, an Oregon Duck alum (loosely defined), ran for 189 yards and with another 145 on two kick returns set a club-record with 334 all-purpose yards.
“I also agree with NESN’s take on Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount, he of the checkered past. I love C.J. Spiller for his versatility, but as a pure rusher, Blount is as good as any in the draft but he could go as low as the fifth round, some are saying. Talk about a steal if this proves to be the case.”
[He wasn’t even drafted, but had 1,000 yards for Tampa Bay his first season.]
–In a thriller in Chicago, Aaron Rodgers came back for Green Bay and, while rusty, came through in the clutch at the end with a super fourth down conversion for a touchdown to receiver Randall Cobb with just 0:38 to play. Packers win 33-28 and now host a first-round game while the Bears watch from home.
—Carolina wrapped up the No. 2 slot and a bye in the NFC with a 21-20 win over Atlanta, which ended a disastrous season at 4-12.
–But Seattle is No. 1 with the all-important home field advantage throughout the playoffs in finishing 13-3 with a 27-9 win over the Rams.
The Rams, your editor’s….cough cough….[phlegm attack]… “Pick to Click” in the NFL, ended the year at 7-9. But Robert Quinn had 19 sacks!
–The Giants finished 7-9 with a ‘who gives a s—‘ win in the rain over the 3-13 Redskins, who can’t wait to fire Mike Shanahan, while Shanahan can’t wait to count the $7 million he’ll collect for puttering around the yard next season. Eli Manning, by the way, finished with 18 TD passes and 27 interceptions. He’s fine. He’ll bounce back. Justin Tuck, with two sacks, ended the year with 11 and probably earned a new contract…at least that’s the thinking here in the world headquarters of Bar Chat.
[Meanwhile, in the three games he started in place of RG3, Washington’s Kirk Cousins really didn’t do himself any favors and sucked on Sunday.]
–Is Penn State’s Bill O’Brien the next head coach for the Houston Texans? Sure seems that way from the talk. O’Brien is 8-4 and 7-5 in his two seasons at Unhappy Valley since taking over the shattered program. Texans wrapped up No. 1 pick in the draft.
–Both the Jets and Dolphins entered Sunday’s game both averaging an NFL worst 2.9 points per game in the first quarter. [It was then 0-0 after one.]
–I was shocked Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson didn’t make the Pro Bowl roster (he’s an alternate). He’s the only Jet who deserved the honor.
–Speaking of the Pro Bowl, the 49ers and Chiefs each had eight players named. Green Bay, like the Jets and Giants, and two others, had none.
For the first time players were selected not by conference but by position. A draft will be held next month, with Deion Sanders and Jerry Rice selecting each team play-ground style. [Not that I give a damn.]
Peyton Manning was selected for the 13th time, Tom Brady for his ninth.
QB: Manning, Brady, Brees, Cam Newton, Philip Rivers, Russell Wilson (his second in two years)
RB: Jamaal Charles, Matt Forte, Frank Gore, Marshawn Lynch, LeSean McCoy, Adrian Peterson
WR: Antonio Brown, Dez Bryant, Josh Gordon, A.J. Green, Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson, Brandon Marshall, Demaryius Thomas
Peterson sat out the last game of the season with injuries and finished the year with 1,266 yards and a 4.5 average. Not bad, but not the back-to-back 2,000 yards he promised at the beginning of the season.
–Patriots coach Bill Belichick blamed recently instituted NFL rules shortening offseason practice time for an increasing number of player injuries.
Belichick said players aren’t as prepared before they get to the competition level. “And I think that’s where you see a lot of injuries occurring. We get a lot of breakdowns.”
Belichick blames some of the new rules negotiated as part of the NFL labor deal that ended an offseason-long lockout in 2011; such as teams being prevented from holding two-a-day practices during training camp, and offseason team activity being reduced from 14 to nine weeks (10 if the team changed head coaches).
While he didn’t cite specific numbers, as noted in an AP story, “according to STATS, the number of NFL players finishing a season on injured reserve has risen significantly over the past 14 seasons.
“From 2000-06, there was an average of 239 players on IR. That average has jumped to about 314 over the past seven years….
“As of Monday, there were 288 players on IR, the lowest total since 287 in 2008.”
College Football
–At the beginning of the season I picked Oregon over Louisville in the BCS title game and Louisville got off to a 6-0 start, though I was writing as they were mired at No. 8 in the polls that they wouldn’t move up any unless they started demolishing their opponents.
Then they lost to UCF 38-35 and the season was over. No BCS bowl game, let alone no title match-up.
But it was equally pathetic how as Louisville proceeded to run the table after the big stumble, they kept sliding in the polls and despite being 11-1, were No. 18 entering their Citrus Bowl contest against Miami.
Granted, Miami (9-4) isn’t a great team by any stretch, but Louisville’s 36-9 thumping of the Hurricanes at least was a terrific way for the Cardinals and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to end the season, playing their best overall game by far. They performed like a team that could compete with just about anyone else in the BCS bowl games, and beat more than a few of them.
As for Bridgewater, he was brilliant. 35 of 45 for 447 yards and three touchdowns. I’m sure we’ll learn in a few days what his plans are. I’m guessing he goes out for the draft. He may not be a No. 1 overall if he stays for his senior season as he’s hinted he may do. He is today.
–In the Belk Bowl, North Carolina crushed Cincinnati (9-4) 39-17 as freshman Ryan Switzer returned a punt 86 yards for a touchdown, his fifth of the season, tying an NCAA record.
Nice turnaround for the Tar Heels, who started out 1-5 and finished 7-6.
—Rutgers has been to five bowl games in its last six seasons but it just can’t seem to crack through to the big time, a top 25 program, even though they clearly have a lot of talent on the roster each season.
In fact Rutgers currently has 22 alum playing in the NFL and, by comparison, I just picked some random programs (big ones, but not today’s elite) and you have Michigan with 25 in the NFL, North Carolina with 20, and Nebraska with 24. Just sayin’.
–The best bowl game thus far, and one I watched in its entirety, was Pitt vs. Bowling Green, the Panthers a 30-27 winner as freshman running back James Conner not only rumbled for 229 yards, he appeared late in the game on defense as a pass rusher and looked damn good. I imagine that got some NFL scouts’ hearts racing.
I’m tellin’ ya. If Pitt can come up with a quarterback for next year, they can surprise because they will have the best sophomore tandem at RB and wide receiver in the nation, the latter being current freshman Tyler Boyd, who had a punt return for a TD, as well as catching 8 balls for 173 yards.
–Huge loss for Michigan State heading into the Rose Bowl with suspension of star linebacker Mark Bullough for violating unspecified team rules.
College Basketball
–After initially blitzing No. 2 Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, No. 8 Villanova blew a 25-7 lead as by the half Syracuse led 38-34 and ‘Nova went on to lose 78-62.
—No. 6 Louisville lost at No. 18 Kentucky 73-66 as the Harrison twins put on a show for the Wildcats.
–In a critical game for Wake Forest (now 10-3) in terms of its confidence heading into the ACC conference schedule, the Deacs traveled to Cincinnati to face Xavier (also 10-3) and proceeded to lay an egg of epic proportions.
Ahead 24-22, the Deacs lost 68-53, shooting 19 of 53 from the field (36%), 10 of 21 from the foul line, and were outrebounded 50-33. They flat-out sucked. Next up North Carolina, Jan. 5. I still think 8-10 in conference play is possible. But now my dreams of anything much better appear to be a lost cause.
—Scary incident in Seton Hall’s 90-58 win over Lafayette on Friday as center Gene Teague was undercut inadvertently while in the air, crashed to the floor “with a sickening thud,” and was wheeled off on a stretcher after 15 minutes. He was initially unconscious and in convulsions for a spell but the diagnosis is “a really bad concussion,” according to coach Kevin Willard. He will stay in the hospital a few days for observation but tests revealed no neck injury. We wish Teague well.
—Notre Dame’s leading scorer and captain Jerian Grant is no longer enrolled at the school because of an academic violation.
–Phil W. passed along this piece by Keith Jarrett of the Asheville Citizen-Times re Carolina basketball.
“A former player employed by the basketball program – a guy twice suspended when he was a member of the team, allegedly for getting high – is found smoking pot in a $600,000 home he is renting from the famous coach.
“A current player on suspension admits to breaking several NCAA rules violations that the school decides to not even ask for reinstatement, leaving open possibilities that include rule breaking so major that the request would be denied or the school fears the player hasn’t been completely honest about his transgressions, which could lead to the forfeiture of games if the player was allowed to compete.
“After the player is told he will no longer be allowed to play in games, he continues to practice with the squad and sits on the bench in his finest suit, much like the one he would wear to court to impress a judge.
“Nope, it’s coach Roy Williams and North Carolina, the tarnished Tar Heels that bear little resemblance to the revered program built by Dean Smith.
“All of the above has occurred within the past couple of weeks….
“Not too many years ago, UNC was an institution to be proud of, where the desire for excellence in academics and athletics didn’t seem to be competing interests.
Ball Bits
–The next few weeks it’s all about Masahiro Tanaka, the Japanese pitcher out of the Nippon Professional Baseball league whose club, the Rakuten Golden Eagles, allowed to leave to seek fame and fortune in the major leagues.
But right off the bat, Major League Baseball is concerned that Rakuten not receive more than the $20 million promised under a new agreement between MLB and NPB.
Rakuten’s president said this week that Tanaka wants to make donations to the team to improve its stadium and facilities, but the agreement between the two leagues expressly prohibits a Japanese club from getting any money other than the ‘posting fee,’ directly or indirectly.
This is a big deal. Clearly, Rakuten is acting like it will receive more than the $20 million.
Remember, this is a new agreement between MLB and NPB. In the past, there was no maximum posting fee, so as I’ve written recently, you had the Rangers paying $51.7 million to Yu Darvish’s Japanese club.
Rakuten’s president has already spoken of adding a dome to their stadium. I hope MLB plays hardball in this case. We (baseball) don’t need Tanaka (but the Yankees do).
“Hideo Nomo was included on the 2014 Hall of Fame ballot earlier this month. Hideki Matsui was the MVP of the 2009 World Series. Takashi Saito came to America at 36 and was one of the best relievers in history through age 41. Ichiro Suzuki, a lock for Cooperstown, has 2,742 hits (and counting) after 1,278 in Japan, for a total of 4,020.
“Last season, Koji Uehara, at 38, closed out the World Series after one of the best relief seasons ever. Yu Darvish led the American League in strikeouts with 277. Hiroki Kuroda, at 38, was the Yankees best pitcher. Hisashi Iwakuma, little known outside Seattle, finished third in the A.L. Cy Young voting.
“Perhaps that gives some flavor of why Masahiro Tanaka, who played in the same Japanese major league as all of them and just had a year like no pitcher in Japanese or American history has ever seen – 24-0, 1.27 ERA – is causing a bit of excitement….
“(Despite a few contracts that didn’t work…Daisuke Matsuzaka and Kei Igawa come to mind), the evidence in favor of the quality of the Japanese game, especially its pitchers who must cope with smaller ballparks, keeps growing.
“Here’s what you should expect when a 25-year-old with poise, command, speed, a mind-bending splitter and a seven-year 2.30 ERA in Japan comes to America:
[But only if the Japanese aren’t breaking the rules.]
–We note the passing of sterling centerfielder Paul Blair, 69. Blair hit only .250 in a 17-year career, with 134 home runs and 620 RBI, but he was an 8-time Gold Glover with Baltimore before finishing off his career with the Yankees and Cincinnati. He appeared in six World Series, four as champion (two with the Orioles and two with the Yanks).
Blair was the finest outfielder of his era, wining his Gold Gloves during the period 1967-75.
“Brilliant at tracking balls hit over his head, he routinely positioned himself in shallow center to be able to snag line drives over the infield and to keep runners from taking an extra base on singles up the middle. Yet it was a rare fly ball that landed between Blair and the fence.
“His range was extraordinary – he twice led the American League in putouts – and his arm was strong and accurate; over 17 seasons, he threw out 104 runners from center field.”
His manager in Baltimore, Earl Weaver, “once said admiringly that Blair never made a great catch because he never had to; he was always standing under the ball when it came down.”
Blair was signed in 1961 by the Mets – as a shortstop. In a 1997 interview with USA TODAY, he said:
“The first day the coach told us to run out to our positions. Well, seven players went to shortstop and six went to second but only one went to right. And I knew I could throw better than him and run better than him. So I ran out to right and played there. Then the centerfielder got hurt and I moved to center.”
“In a blunder, the Mets, after his first year in their system, left him eligible to be selected by another club in a player draft. At the Mets’ behest, he feigned an injury to discourage interest in him during postseason instructional league play, but the Orioles took him anyway. He spent 1963 and 1964 climbing up the Orioles’ minor league ladder, made his major league debut in September 1964, and started in center field for the Orioles on opening day in 1965.”
Blair had his share of injuries in the majors and in May 1970, he was hit in the face by a pitch from California’s Ken Tatum. He wasn’t quite the same hitter ever after.
–The Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig pulled his best Jadeveon Clowney impersonation, getting arrested doing 110 mph in a 70 mph zone on a Florida highway.
–Just as in the case of Chicago’s Derrick Rose, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook reinjured his knee, requiring arthroscopic surgery on the same knee he had two previous procedures on since hurting it in last spring’s playoffs. Westbrook is said to be out until at least mid-February. He had just been rounding back into All-Star form.
–Sometimes you see a box score that pops out at you. Such was the case with Golden State’s Steph Curry on Friday. In a 115-86 win over Phoenix, Curry only shot 5 of 17 from the field and had 14 points. But he had career highs in both assists, 16, and rebounds, 13. I’m astounded by the rebounds.
–The Miami Heat went to lowly Sacramento on Friday, having won 19 straight vs. Western Conference opponents, one shy of the interconference record win streak held by the Celtics and the Lakers, only to lose to the Kings (9-19) in overtime.
–The Cleveland Cavaliers suspended center Andrew Bynum indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team. Cleveland, which had signed the talented, but oft-injured Bynum to a two-year, $24 million contract last summer, had a team-friendly deal that included only $6 million in guaranteed money (if he’s released by Jan. 7). All-Star guard Kyrie Irving said, “It’s a terrible situation internally with our team. It’s something we have to get over.”
So what did Bynum do to deserve the suspension? It seems he was just totally disinterested while on the court. It was in early November that he said he had lost his joy for basketball. It seems recently he just did what he felt like, in total disregard of his teammates and coaches.
After missing all of last season with knee injuries, Bynum was averaging 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting just 42% from the field. But he’s still just 26 and a former All-Star. He’s worth a shot for someone you’d think. A team with a good shrink on staff.
Premier League
1. Arsenal 42 points
2. Man City 41
3. Chelsea 40
4. Everton 37
5. Liverpool 36
6. Man U 34
I watched Chelsea defeat Liverpool 2-1 on Sunday. Nice match.
2013 Moments
The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay had a “Top 10 Sports List for 2013” and as he put it, “Some of the selections were breezy-easy and you’ll agree immediately. (Alabama-Auburn finish? I mean, come on.)”
But right off the bat, I totally agree with his first pick (aside from the obvious one).
Spurs-Heat Game 6: “Everybody around us bailed. That was the best part.
“Picked up their smartphones, stuck them in their fancy white jeans and headed for the door. I was at Game 6 in Miami with my friends Dominic and Jamie, season-ticket holders, and the Heat were losing by five, with under 30 seconds left, and though a comeback was possible, the crowd had seen enough, and began streaming for the exits. The section around us vanished. And then the Heat came back. Ray Allen, a three from the corner. Overtime. Heat win. Then win in 7 games, and the whole NBA narrative gets rewritten once more. Think of the summer we would have had if the Heat had lost – another dreary media slog about LeBron James and his failure to deliver, questions about the Heat, blah, blah, blah. I enjoy the San Antonio Spurs very much, but it might have been a merciful thing that Ray hit that shot.”
Because of my admiration for Tim Duncan, I was never more depressed than after this game (except for some Mets failures in the playoffs). It was right there! Champagne was on ice. DRAT!!!
As for Alabama-Auburn, I bet some of you can relate to Jason Gay’s comments:
“You will never forget where you were when No. 1 Alabama attempted a 57-yard field goal with time expiring, only to have it fall short and into the arms of Auburn’s Chris Davis, who ran it back 109 yards for a winning touchdown. Here’s where I was: stuck on an Amtrak train from Baltimore with a grouchy 8-month-old. And then my phone blew up with dumbstruck Iron Bowl witnesses. Dominic from Miami: ‘Best college game I’ve seen in a long time. Maybe ever.’
“Sigh. The lesson of the story is: Know what you’re doing on field-goal coverage. Also: Stay off Amtrak during the Iron Bowl.”
You also had the Boston Red Sox, Lance on Oprah, the America’s Cup comeback (down 8-1), the Super Bowl blackout….
But also the 2013 Boston Marathon. Jason Gay:
“What happened on April 15 was a tragedy, impacting many lives. And yet in the minutes and months afterward, the heroism, resilience and generosity showed by Boston and beyond was representative of the very best of what sports is about. A race is about finishing, and in elite cases finishing first, but the best athletic events reveal the heart of a community. Next year there’s a Winter Olympics and a World Cup, but the next Boston Marathon will be among the biggest sports moments of 2014. Count on it.”
Notable deaths….
Paul McIlhenny, 68, chief executive and chairman of the board of the McIlhenny Company. My dream job…Tabasco sauce. Ed Koch, he done good. Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher, Roger Ebert, James Gandolfini, Ray Harryhausen (think special effects behind Jason and the Argonauts), Peter O’Toole, Jean Stapleton, Jonathan Winters, Alan Abelson (for us Barron’s readers), David Frost, Allen Neuharth (founded USA TODAY), Sid Bernstein (U.S. promoter for Beatles), Paul Walker, Van Cliburn, Richie Havens, George Jones, Patti Page, Ray Price, Phil Ramone, Lou Reed.
Sports….Walt Bellamy, Sergei Belov (Soviet basketball great), Jerry Buss, L.C. Greenwood, Emile Griffith, Art Donovan, Stan Musial, Ken Norton, George Scott (old-time baseball fans loved this guy), Pat Summerall, Ken Venturi, Earl Weaver, George Sauer, Deacon Jones and Ray Williams (for Knicks and Nets fans).
And here’s one I didn’t remember until I saw a blurb in USA TODAY. Roy Brown Jr., 96. “Defiantly proud designer of the Ford Edsel…one of the worst flops in automotive history. More than five decades after Brown’s creation debuted then disappeared, the term ‘Edsel’ remains practically synonymous with failure.”
–Scary story…on Sunday, seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher sustained a head injury, deemed “relatively serious,” at first report, in a skiing accident in the French Alps. He was wearing a helmet when he had a hard fall. Schumacher was initially taken to a local hospital and later transferred to one in Grenoble. His life is not in danger, according to a local official.
*But then I just saw a late report he is in critical condition and was in a coma when he reached Grenoble. Not good.
–Forty years ago Saturday, President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act, which is credited with saving hundreds of U.S. species such as the bald eagle, Florida panther and manatee from extinction.
But today, wildlife officials in the Rockies are considering lifting protections for hundreds of grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park. The grizzlies were first granted protection in 1975 after they had been virtually wiped out in that area.
But they are back to 700 or so across the Yellowstone region of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, thus the reason for contemplating removing them from the list, which would open the door for limited sport hunting.
One of the species pronounced fully recovered and delisted was the brown pelican.
Another, the black-footed ferret, was originally thought to be extinct. Then in 1981, a small population was discovered in Wyoming. With just 18 of ‘em, they were the rarest mammal on Earth. Today, while still endangered, there are 1,000 and they’ve been reintroduced in eight states. [Elizabeth Weise / USA TODAY]
Back to the grizzlies, you all know the story. Ranchers are pissed off they kill their stock. Of course here at Bar Chat we enjoy the occasional conflict, especially during “Web Sweeps Week.”
“A New Zealand woman set a world record for the longest run without sleep… Kim Allan ran 86 hours, 11 minutes and 9 seconds, covering 310 miles to break the previous record of 301 miles.
“Allan cut off the top of her shoes to deal with terrible blisters, and was plagued by the heat – and you know, not sleeping.
“Mark Gray, Allan’s coach, explained to The New Zealand Herald.
“ ‘The heat is a problem and she’s had a few stomach problems.’
“The hardest running time was between 3am and 5am, ‘when the body clock wants to sleep.’”
“A security guard has been killed by a python near a luxury hotel on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali.
“Agung Bawa, assistant security manager at the Bali Hyatt hotel in Bali’s Sanur area, says the incident happened at about 3am today as the 15-foot python was crossing a road near the hotel, which is closed for renovations until 2015.
“People watching were unable to help and called the police, who came but failed to save the man. The python escaped into nearby bushes.
“Bawa says the victim, Ambar Arianto Mulyo, a 59-year-old security guard at a nearby restaurant, had managed to secure the snake’s head and tail, but the python then wrapped itself around Mulyo’s body and strangled him to death.” [Irish Independent]
In all seriousness, I can’t believe the python got away so quickly.
I’ve never known where to slot the monster on the All-Species List. I’m thinking No. 19 is appropriate.
“An attack by a school of carnivorous fish has injured 70 people bathing in an Argentine river, including seven children who lost parts of their fingers or toes.”
I saw a television news report on this and it showed the vast river and how even after the attack, many were swimming in it to escape 100-degree temps, and it noted the bite of a piranha, which was the offender in this instance, is more powerful than that of a great white!
“Director of lifeguards Federico Cornier said Thursday that thousands of bathers were cooling off in the Parana River in Rosario on Wednesday when bathers suddenly began complaining of bite marks on their hands and feet. He blamed the attack on palometas, ‘a type of piranha, big, voracious and with sharp teeth that can really bite.’”
The fish “literally had torn bits of flesh off,” said a paramedic. Eegads!
“The NYPD is going to the dogs.
“The department has slashed the number of officers by 17% over the past 12 years, but its force of crimefighting canines has nearly doubled over that same period.
“ ‘The K-9 units have expanded, especially over the last five years or so, and there are no plans to stop that,’ said police spokesman Detective Martin Speechley.”
The NYPD refuses to give the exact number of dogs on the force, citing security concerns.
But more than 100 dogs now work in the Transit Bureau, narcotics, bomb squad and Emergency Service Unit, up from 60 a decade ago.
By the way, the dogs, German shepherds, all come from Eastern Europe when they are between 18 months and 2 years old.
The starting pay for police officers is $41,975, which rises to $76,488 after 5 ½ years.
“But it only costs about $1,000 to feed each dog annually….
“The dog’s handlers bring them home at the end of each shift. And adopt them upon retirement when they get too old to patrol.”
–I’ve been to Iceland twice in my life, most recently 4 ½ years ago, and you can’t escape the ‘magical’ nature of the place. As in the stories of elves and trolls. In fact, a study conducted by the University of Iceland in 2007 found that 62% thought it was at least possible that elves exist.
So there’s a story today that another road project in Iceland is being blocked by Friends of Lava, a group that claims a road has both an environmental and cultural impact – including the impact on elves.
So I like what a well-known environmentalist in the country, Andri Snaer Magnason, told the Sydney Morning Herald when it came to his concerns about the road.
“Some feel that the elf thing is a bit annoying,” adding that personally he was not sure they existed. However, “I got married in a church with a god just as invisible as the elves, so what might seem irrational is actually quite common” among Icelanders.
–A&E lifted the suspension of “Duck Dynasty” patriarch Phil Robertson and will resume production of the series in the spring. “Duck Dynasty” produced almost $80 million of ad revenue for A&E this year, according to Kantar Media, and about $400 million in merchandise sales, Forbes said. [Bloomberg] I read the GQ magazine interview and it was indeed pretty bad in the language he used. But I’ve never seen the show, which doesn’t make me a bad person.
A&E has enough material already in the can for the season that is scheduled to begin next month, thus the reason no shooting for new episodes until the spring.
—Avalanches killed 24 in the U.S. last year.
–With the closing of Candlestick Park in San Francisco, Whit W. reminded me through a Peter King column in Sports Illustrated of the details behind the Beatles’ last concert of all time, Aug. 29, 1966, right at that very place. “Tickets were $4.50 and $6.50, and only 25,000 of 43,000 tickets to the show were sold. The Beatles told no one this was the last show ever, but they knew it. They played 11 songs, including, ‘I Feel Fine,’ ‘Nowhere Man,’ ‘Yesterday,’ and ‘Paperback Writer.’ They finished, nondescriptly enough, with ‘Long Tall Sally.’ ‘Long Tall Sally.’ Last song ever played by John, Paul, George and Ringo in concert. Now that’s…a letdown. After the concert, the Beatles were driven to San Francisco International Airport and flew to London. The end.”
That final North American tour, the Beatles performed 14 shows in 18 days.
There is a special Beatles anniversary coming up Feb. 9, which I’ll be covering in full. Some of us of a certain age vividly remember that night, as we did JFK’s assassination just months earlier.
–Reader Jeff B., star of Connecticut’s “Old Man Tennis League,” is recovering from knee surgery. But after just 24 hours he’s off crutches and it’s expected he’ll be blitzing his opponents again come April.
–Perennial dirtball Kanye West told an audience in Toronto that he was muzzling himself for “six months at least.” Thank god. But imagine being at the concert where he made this proclamation as part of a 27-minute-long speech! I would have been screaming, “Make him stop!!!”
In his Toronto diatribe, Kanye took off after Jimmy Kimmel, Zappos, Nike and the Grammys; saying he did not regret stealing the show from Taylor Swift during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, while comparing himself to Steve Jobs and Michelangelo. [Vicki Hyman / Star-Ledger]
–And now your 2013 “Bar Chat Awards,” with your host Britney Spears! Good to have you here, Britney. Your Vegas gig is getting solid early reviews. “Thanks, Editor. And thank you for including me in what most of my friends in the industry call the best awards show around!”
[The preceding may, or may not, be accurate…in any fashion.]
Jerk – Rutgers women’s basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer, who as she approached her 900th career victory, blasted her critics as the Scarlet Knights struggled in Big East play last season.
“I could (not) care less about any of those people,” Stringer said, sprinkling in lots of expletives.
Jerk – Mike Piazza for claiming in his book that Vin Scully turned Dodgers fans against him. [I like Piazza, but this was uncalled for.]
Dirtball – Oscar Pistorius. Kind of obvious.
Jerk / Dirtball / Scumbag – Harvey Updyke, the Alabama fan accused of poisoning Auburn University’s landmark oak trees. He was then sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty.
Dirtball – Former University of San Diego basketball star Brandon Johnson, sentenced to six months in prison for his role in a game-fixing scheme. [Not to be confused with San Diego State.]
Jerk – Lauren Silberman, for showing up at an NFL Regional Combine as a kicker, only to have her first kickoff attempt dribble roughly 16 yards in front of her. The second attempt went 14 yards. She then walked off, day over because of ‘injury’.
Jerk – Shabazz Muhammad, who while at UCLA refused to give his real age, 20, allowing story to proliferate he was 19.
Bad Animal – The Beaver, who was involved in countless attacks on humans around the world and suspended through Dec. 31 for such behavior. The suspension does indeed come off on New Year’s Eve, officially with the ball drop in Times Square. I would expect Ryan Seacrest to make note of this during his coverage Tuesday night.
Idiots – The San Francisco television anchor and producers who after the Asiana Airlines flight 214 crash were duped into reporting the pilots’ names as “Captain Sum Ting Wong,” “Wi Tu Lo,” “Ho Lee Fuk,” “Bang Ding Ow.”
[Britney, stop laughing…I’m paying you to be a professional…]
A-hole – David Ortiz, for almost taking teammate Dustin Pedroia’s head off when he took a vicious swing in the dugout that missed Pedroia by an inch, as I was watching ‘live,’ incredulously.
Idiot – Jets running back Mike Goodson, who signed a lucrative off-season contract and then proceeded to get caught on a New Jersey highway prior to training camp with a loaded gun and in possession of drugs.
Good Guy – Brian Banks, the 28-year-old who spent five years in prison and five years on probation following his conviction on rape and kidnapping charges, only to have the woman who made the charge recant 12 years later. Banks, who was recruited by then USC football coach Pete Carroll as one of the better high school players in the state of California, was given an opportunity to attend training camp this summer with the Atlanta Falcons, but too much time had elapsed and he was cut.
Banks handled himself beautifully and I just wish him the best for many years to come.
Jerk / Idiot – Enrique Iglesias, who broke off his romance of 12 years with Anna Kournikova. Anna got tired of waiting for him to decide if he wanted to marry her. Enrique was nuts. [They reportedly were cheating on each other in the end, but I will forever take Anna’s position. Right, Britney? “Love the attitude, Editor!”]
Jerks – Football players Johnny Manziel and Riley Cooper, though both emerged from their bouts of jerkdom to have stellar seasons for Texas A&M and the Philadelphia Eagles, respectively.
Jerk / Scumbag / Lying Weasel – Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.
Scumbag / Dirtball – Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun for throwing his teammates, and others, under the bus. He has since offered voluminous apologies, but the hardware is nonetheless being shipped by UPS. Not sure when he’ll receive it.
Jerk – Golfer Michelle Wie, for a career of poor decisions, capped off by blowing off the final hole of her U.S. Women’s Open second round; failing to show up for a restart after play had been suspended the day before due to dense fog.
Jerk – Former Ohio State University President Gordon Gee, who was forced into retirement after his latest remarks aimed at Roman Catholics and Notre Dame, along with poking fun at the academic quality of other schools, specifically the SEC and the Univ. of Louisville.
Jerk – Sergio Garcia, for his racially insensitive remarks towards Tiger Woods, and other wordplay.
Athlete of the Year – Missy Franklin, for following up her superb performance at the London Olympics, where she won four golds and a bronze medal, by winning a record six gold medals at the world championships.
And now the “Man of the Year Award”…it goes to all those brave park rangers in Africa, protecting Earth’s precious creatures, including those members of the Congolese Wildlife Authority, where, as TIME magazine observed a few months ago, “rangers care for the (mountain gorillas), many of which have lost their mothers to poachers or rebel fighters. The center offers a refuge for young gorillas that have been traumatized by the ongoing violence. The gorillas attach themselves to the wardens, who treat the juveniles like their children. This is not a zoo or a research center. It is a refugee camp for primate victims of war.”
And on this same topic, we remember the five South African soldiers who died in a helicopter crash last spring while on patrol for rhino poachers in the Kruger National Park.
As for the “Animal of the Year”…once again it goes to Dog, who as noted above is helping fight crime, as well as working on counterrorism teams here at home, while in Afghanistan, dogs perform heroically alongside our warrior heroes.
“Dirtball of the Year”? A certain nation you all know that is the final destination for ivory and other animal parts. If a certain President Xi Jinping would just make a few public pronouncements against the practice, it would go a long way towards shutting down the global poaching network.
Top 3 songs for the week 12/24/83: #1 “Say Say Say” (Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson…just another total piece of crapola from these two) #2 “Say It Isn’t So” (Daryl Hall – John Oates…solid effort) #3 “Union Of The Snake” (Duran Duran…sorry, was never a fan of the boys)…and …#4 “Owner Of A Lonely Heart” (Yes) #5 “All Night Long (All Night)” (Lionel Richie…tune isn’t aging well…) #6 “Uptown Girl” (Billy Joel…eh…) #7 “Love Is A Battlefield” (Pat Benatar) #8 “Twist Of Fate” (Olivia Newton-John) #9 “Undercover Of The Night” (Rolling Stones) #10 “Break My Stride” (Matthew Wilder…he’s a little too happy, know what I’m sayin’?)
NHL Quiz Answer: 700 goals…
1. Wayne Gretzky 894
2. Gordie Howe 801
3. Brett Hull 741
4. Marcel Dionne 731
5. Phil Esposito 717
6. Mike Gartner 708
Currently, Mark Messier and Jaromir Jagr are tied at No. 7 with 694, but Jagr is still playing, and surprisingly well, for the Devils so we should be marking his 700th fairly soon.
*I will have a very brief Bar Chat at some point on Wed. Emphasis on brief.
Happy New Year!!!
Catch me on Twitter @stocksandnews
