NFL Quiz: Before Dan Marino smashed the single-season touchdown pass mark with his 48 in 1984, the record was 36, held by two Hall of Famers, one in the NFL, the other in the AFL (ergo, both pre-merger). Name them. Answer below.
NFL Playoffs…can you say Super Bowl?!!!
Seattle vs. Denver
Super matchup, not that any combination of this weekend’s four wouldn’t have been.
Seattle held on to defeat San Francisco, 23-17, as the two teams had only 308 yards total offense.
But Russell Wilson (16/25, 215, 1-0, 104.6) outplayed Colin Kaepernick (14/24, 153, 1-2, 56.4), even though Kaepernick had 130 yards rushing on just 11 carries.
Bottom line, it’s Seattle. Marshawn Lynch rushed for 109 and the 49ers’ Frank Gore had but 14 yards on 11 carries.
The Broncos and Peyton Manning were the first to advance on Sunday, 26-16 over New England and Tom Brady.
Manning was a cool 32/43, 400, 2-0, 118.4, while Brady struggled, for him, in going 24/38, 277, 1-0, 93.9.
Neither side had a turnover, but the Pats’ LeGarrette Blount, who had 189 and 166 yards on the ground in his prior two games, rushed for all of six yards on five carries Sunday.
Time of possession for the contest was 36-24, Denver.
–With the stage set the conversation has started concerning the weather forecast for Super Sunday. While anything over a week is highly dubious in terms of precipitation, temperature ranges can be predicted fairly accurately, even two weeks out and on Thursday, various forecasters began to take a shot, including the National Weather Service, and the cold air that is descending on the New York / New Jersey area this Tuesday looks to stick around a while, with the NWS saying at least 10-14 days.
So the educated guess is it’s going to at least be cold at game time, 6:30 PM ET, Feb. 2…35 degrees or lower.
But it was May 27, 2010, in this very space, that I told you exactly how the day would play out using my proprietary Commodore computer model. “Increasing clouds in the morning with snow developing around mid-day and picking up in intensity by game time, 6:30 p.m. Accumulations of 4-6 inches by halftime, with an additional 3-5 inches in the second half. As warmer air filters in, however, the snow will mix with sleet around 11:00 p.m., leaving the roads impassable following the game…that is if you can shovel your car out of the lot to begin with.
“As the storm then moves up the coast late Sunday night, colder air will wrap back around the system and by Monday morning we could see a further 6-10 inches. The airports will be closed, and for the 35,000 who never made it out of the Meadowlands parking lot, the National Guard will be called in to evacuate the casualties. An estimated 546 will freeze to death.”
I was going to refine this as the years went by, but, no…I’m sticking with it, only it would seem that with parking being more limited than I expected back in May 2010, this could result in fewer deaths, perhaps just 502.
So we’ll see how I do. Remember, I was years ahead of the Farmer’s Almanac forecast that gained so much publicity last fall.
–Former NFL star defensive back Darren Sharper is in a heap of trouble, in multiple states, as he was picked up in Los Angeles on Friday on suspicion of rape and is being investigated by the New Orleans Police Department as well in connection with three separate sexual assaults.
Sharper, a five-time Pro Bowler who had 63 career interceptions while playing with the Packers, Vikings and Saints, has been working with the NFL Network, which immediately suspended him without pay. He was part of the NFL 2000’s All-Decade Team.
–The Jets had a bad week off the field. Quarterback Geno Smith was tossed off a flight in Los Angeles after refusing the flight crew’s orders to stop talking on his cellphone, however I’ve seen conflicting reports and I’m going to stick up for Smith on this one…that it was an overzealous flight attendant (a male) who initiated the action. Smith, though, reportedly told authorities he got the hook because he was black and I would have advised him not to go there from a P.R. standpoint.
And the Jets had another incident as tight end Kellen Winslow was caught in an alleged lewd act in a New Jersey shopping mall parking lot. Don’t waste your time looking it up.
–On a more positive note, the Jets formalized their contract extension for coach Rex Ryan, essentially guaranteeing him through 2015, but not necessarily a third season, though the contract is for three years. Totally fair. He won’t be a lame duck next season and he knows he needs to take the team to the playoffs by 2015 at the latest. [He also better finish over .500 in 2014.]
But I saw where before it was announced defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman, who has been with Ryan all five seasons, would be coming back, there were reports the Jets were interested in Washington defensive coordinator Jim Haslett but were rebuffed when they asked for permission to talk to him.
Unbelievable. The guy sucks! I chronicled in this space a few months ago just how much so. What were the Jets thinking?! Thankfully the point is mute.
College Football Draft
We’ll have lots of these lists of course as the NFL draft approaches. Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com has the following ranking:
1. Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina
2. Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M
3. Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn
4. Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville
5. Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson…wow
6. Anthony Barr, OLB, UCLA
7. Khalil Mack, OLB, Buffalo…holds FBS record with 16 career forced fumbles and record-tying 75 career tackles for loss.
8. Blake Bortles, QB, Central Florida…where have I been on this guy? Just didn’t see much of him at all…
9. C.J. Mosley, OLB, Alabama
10. Marqise Lee, WR, USC
Other QB / WR picks in first round [no running backs]
13. Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M
14. Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M
16. Derek Carr, QB, Fresno State…though he has flamed out in his two bowl games
22. Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon State
–Wow…James Franklin really is an a-hole. Not only did he leave Vanderbilt for Penn State, taking some of his coaching staff with him, but Thursday’s Tennessean reports that of 20 commitments Vandy had for 2014, the Commodores now have just three; Franklin taking the other 17 to State College. [Not sure what this would do to any incomers recruited by Bill O’Brien before he left who want to still attend the school.]
Yes, this is common, but not three weeks before signing day. Imagine how torqued off the Vanderbilt community is.
I agreed with those questioning whether Franklin was the right choice for Penn State given its obvious issues, including the sexual assault scandal of his own Franklin is fleeing back in Nashville. Nothing that has transpired since the announcement he was heading to Happy Valley makes me think otherwise.
College Basketball
–A few Top Ten upsets this weekend…
No. 2 Syracuse (18-0, 5-0) held off No. 22 Pitt (16-2, 4-1) 59-54 in the Carrier Dome. These two will meet in the ACC championship…you can book it.
No. 3 Wisconsin (16-1, 3-1) lost to Michigan (12-4, 4-0) 77-70.
No. 5 Wichita State (19-0, 6-0) manhandled Indiana State (14-4, 5-1) 68-48 in a game that was supposed to be much closer. The Shockers deserve their lofty ranking.
No. 8 Iowa State (14-3, 2-3) lost again, this time to Texas (14-4, 3-2) 86-76, so the Cyclones will plummet big time.
No. 15 Kansas (13-4, 4-0) beat No. 9 Oklahoma State (15-3, 3-2) 80-78.
No. 10 San Diego State (16-1, 5-0) beat UNLV (11-7, 2-3) 63-52 as Josh Davis had 14 points, 14 rebounds; his 11th straight game with double figures in the latter category. SDSU will move up to No. 8 at least.
–I watched Providence (13-5, 3-2) beat No. 20 Creighton (15-3, 5-1) in Providence and was totally unimpressed by Doug McDermott, again, and the Bluejays.
–And Wake Forest (12-6, 2-3) lost at Clemson (13-4, 4-1) 61-53 to move to 1-27 in ACC road games under coach Jeff Bzdelik. That’s just terrific, guys. Meanwhile, with senior Travis McKie perfecting his disappearing act, leading scorer Codi Miller-McIntyre is 8 of 34 from the field in the three ACC road losses this season, 0-8 from downtown.
–Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com had some interesting stats on the dominance of Big Ten basketball, especially compared to its dreadful performance in football the past few seasons. To wit:
“The Big Ten is often mocked because it prides itself on being a top-notch ‘football’ conference even though it hasn’t been a top-notch ‘football’ conference in a while. The league went 2-5 in bowl games this season, 2-5 last year and 4-6 the year before that. And to those yelling that bowl records aren’t the best way to gauge the strength of any particular league, let me remind you that the Big Ten hasn’t had more than two football teams finish in the top 15 of the Sagarin ratings in any of the past four seasons.
“Only Michigan State finished in the top 15 this season.
In the Sagarin ratings updated after Wednesday’s games, the top 15 had:
2. Michigan State
3. Wisconsin
4. Iowa
7. Ohio State
15. Michigan
Last season, five Big Ten schools finished in the top 15 of the same rankings. Season before that, the big Ten had four of the top nine.
–The other day when SDSU was playing Air Force I looked at the Air Force lineup and saw a 6’11” player and a couple of 6’8” guys and had forgotten if there was a height restriction for the service academies (as I had remembered there being at some point). So I asked an old friend, Bob C., Naval Academy grad, and he noted there are height restrictions for certain Military Occupational Specialties that can impact you as you prepare to make your commitment (starting your third year).
So, specifically you had the case of David Robinson, who was under the height restriction when he entered the Naval Academy and then kept growing. Which means you have to deal with MOS restrictions in your third year.
But in Robinson’s case, he was taller than any allowed height restriction by the start of his third year but the secretary of the Navy, the academy and Robinson eventually worked it out. As Bob C. put it, “It took several congressmen to get involved to allow him to stay and become the greatest minority recruiting tool in the history of USNA and the Navy! I mean are you kidding?! ‘The Admiral’?! 15-year All-Star, Hall of Famer.”
“There will be a moment when the season begins without him, when the calculations of denial and litigation add up to zero, when his only route toward the public is through a confessional. Enter Oprah Winfrey. Like Rodriguez, Armstrong didn’t get caught on a positive drug test, either. And, like Rodriguez, Armstrong professed his innocence, damned his accusers and took everyone to court when evidence surfaced.
“After nothing worked to pry away the image of himself as a cheat, Armstrong had a bake-off to see which TV icon he would turn to for his catharsis. He chose Oprah over Barbara Walters. He chose the self-help guru over the interviewer who makes celebrities cry. Maybe he picked the wrong diva. In front of Oprah, who was armed with an opening string of blunt questions, Armstrong came off as a cold and ruthless winner who cheated at all costs. Tip for Rodriguez: Whether you go with Oprah, Barbara or your old friend Katie Couric, sob frequently, act remorsefully.
“A confession would mean that Rodriguez knows he’ll never play again. And he probably won’t. He has old-man hips and is decaying from years of PED use. And at age 39 in July, when hitters turn into pumpkins anyway, he won’t resemble the A-Rod of his All-Star years. Just look at the bat speed Manny Ramirez lost when he tried to make a comeback with the Texas Rangers last year at age 41 after serving his second drug suspension in 2012.
“The playing days end for everyone, but Rodriguez was counting on the glory lasting a lifetime. Instead, (arbitrator) Horowitz assured that he would be deprived of that narrative by dictating the terms of his departure. Soon, after all the kicking and screaming, Rodriguez will find himself in the same category as Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa: superstars disgraced and discarded. Left in the dust.”
Jack Dickey wrote an opinion piece in the Jan. 27 issue of TIME that contains the following:
“Things turned even more sour for Rodriguez when the league’s star witness, Anthony Bosch, the phony doctor who claims he supplied Rodriguez with drugs, took a victory lap on 60 Minutes along with various league executives. They were gloating, understandably, after having pulled off one of the greatest hoodwinkings in modern pro sports. In the process, MLB turned Rodriguez, the preening multimillionaire jock, into an underdog worth rooting for.”
“Baseball’s pursuit of Rodriguez was aimed as much at exploiting a vacuum of leadership in the union as at targeting a cheat. The most rabid fan and the most casual observer should be troubled by how baseball’s emboldened investigative unit snared its man, employing unsavory tactics to establish Rodriguez’ guilt.
“ –Baseball paid for stolen documents that it used against Rodriguez.
“ –Baseball threatened to sue an uncooperative witness, Tony Bosch, to persuade him to cooperate with its investigation.
“ –Baseball bullied other players to accept their punishment or risk retaliation.
“Rodriguez had the audacity to fight back – though at times his side used similar hardball tactics – and he should not stop resisting now. As polarizing as Rodriguez is, he may find a surprisingly sympathetic public.
“Rodriguez is disliked, even by fans of his own team, but the public is discerning enough to know that baseball alternately encouraged, turned a blind eye to, and profited from the scourge of performance-enhancing drugs. Now baseball seeks to punish and banish the players who are the symptoms of the malady baseball once fostered.”
Oh cut the crap, Rhoden. All of you defenders of A-Rod. He is indefensible!
“There may be a handful of people out there still willing to argue that Rodriguez didn’t test positive and that Bosch, the key witness against him, is a self-confessed liar and a criminal. It doesn’t matter: The documentation that Bosch produced of hundreds of text messages between him and Rodriguez isn’t a smoking gun; it’s hundreds of smoking guns.
“A-Rod can flail all he wants – blame everyone from Abner Doubleday to Bud Selig and swear on the ghost of Babe Ruth that he didn’t do it – and almost no one is going to buy his story. Although he may play baseball again (almost certainly not in New York) with an attendance-starved team like his hometown Miami Marlins, any cheers he might hear as he tries to build on his now-empty numbers, will be hollow.
“He’s done. Instead of departing baseball as a legendary, lock Hall of Fame superstar, he will leave as a punch line. And that won’t change for the rest of his life.
“A-Rod may not understand that now. He’s too immersed in his delusional world where he’s surrounded by sycophants and overpaid lawyers telling him he’s the victim in all this. But someday he will understand and the sadness of it all will undoubtedly hit him hard.
“And the worst part will be knowing and finally understanding that the only person responsible for his downfall was Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez.”
Finally, speaking to reporters in Mexico City this week at the opening of a gym he is an investor in, A-Rod said the full-season suspension may turn out to be a “big favor” for him as he has been playing “20 years without a timeout.”
“I believe 2014 will be a good year to rest physically, mentally and to prepare for the future and to start a new chapter of my life….
“There are three years left in my contract starting in 2015, and I expect to play very well and finish my career in New York.”
He also, incredibly, said he had received the support of his teammates and, get this, some members of the Hall of Fame! The lying never stops.
But is he resigned to his fate? A spokesman said A-Rod is nonetheless moving forward with his suit against M.L.B. and the Major League Baseball Players Association.
Ball Bits
–In contract news, all you can do is gawk and guffaw. Some of the bigger ones….
Detroit gave A.L. Cy Young winner Max Scherzer $15.525 million for one year, avoiding arbitration in the process.
Tampa Bay agreed to a one-year, $14 million deal with 2012 Cy Young winner David Price.
Major league home run champ Chris Davis reached a one-year deal with Baltimore for $10.35 million.
Washington righty Jordan Zimmerman will be signing a two-year, $24 million contract and shortstop Ian Desmond gets $17.5 million over two years.
Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner is getting a one-year, $5.6 million deal. Mariano Rivera’s successor, David Robertson, one year, $5.125 million.
The Mets avoided arbitration with Daniel Murphy as he gets a raise from $2.925 million to $5.7 mil. Geezuz.
–And then there is Clayton Kershaw, who signed a seven-year, $215 million deal for L.A, the superstar lefty becoming the highest-paid pitcher in the history of the game.
Dodgers President Stan Kasten, recognizing the risks, said: “He checks all the boxes – on the field, off the field, in the community, age-wise. There’s been a lot of attention to this being the biggest contract for a pitcher in baseball. That is the case, and if someone should have that contract it should be the best pitcher in baseball and that is what we regard Clayton as.”
The Dodgers reportedly have an insurance policy on Kershaw, similar to one they have on Zack Greinke and the six-year, $147 million deal they gave him last year. [Which Greinke lived up to.]
Kershaw has also been given the opportunity to opt out after five years and seek free agency when he would still just be 30.
For the good of the game, I hope he wins a bunch of Cy Youngs. Baseball has some great arms these days and that makes the sport all the better.
By the way, how great has Kershaw been? His career ERA of 2.60 is exceeded among starters who have pitched 1,000 or more innings since 1901 only by Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson, as per my perusal of baseballreference.com. [A Los Angeles Times piece said Kershaw’s ERA “is the lowest among starters since 1901.” I had to check and, frankly, I don’t know what the writer was thinking.]
Adam Wainwright is next among active pitchers at 3.11. Just further proof of Kershaw’s excellence.
So now the question is, can the Dodgers land Masahiro Tanaka? General Manager Ned Colletti is reportedly speaking with Tanaka’s agent virtually every day. The agent, Casey Close, also represents Kershaw and Greinke. Hmmm.
But on this front, Nikkan Sports is reporting the Yankees, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, White Sox and Cubs made offers for Tanaka, most for more than $100 million over six years, with the Diamondbacks reportedly at $120 million.
–I’m surprised Mark Reynolds signed a minor league deal with Milwaukee that pays him at least $2 million if he makes the major league roster. I thought the Yanks would re-sign him.
–And the Mets, unable to trade Ike Davis, signed him to a one-year deal worth $3.5 million. $3.5 million for a guy who hit .205. As my late Uncle Bill would have said of Ike, “He’s a bum!”
–Here’s an explanation of the new replay rules in baseball, courtesy of the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner and the musings of Tony La Russa, who as a special assistant to the commissioner was tasked with watching a ton of games last season to identify what kinds of calls should be reviewed by video.
“Managers will be allowed to ask for one replay review per game on calls that are eligible to be overturned. This includes hit by pitch, traps on fly balls, timing plays, tag plays, force plays – except the so-called neighborhood play at second base on a double play – and more. If any portion of the call is overturned, the manager retains the right to challenge one more play. But no manager can challenge more than two per game….
“In an adjustment from the August announcement, umpires will have the discretion to initiate reviews from the seventh inning on – even if a manager has no more challenges remaining. The manager cannot force such a late-game replay if he has used up all his challenges, but he can argue for the umpires to initiate one.
“Classic manager/umpire confrontations, feared to have been legislated out of the game in the August announcement, will remain. But with the ability to use technology, La Russa said, they should be more civilized.
“ ‘If the manager comes out to argue and he has a challenge left, the umpire could say, ‘O.K., I’m listening to you and I’m not going to change my call – are you going to challenge?’’ La Russa said. ‘That’s how the process would start.’
“Thursday’s agreement clarified that process and the manager’s use of video before making a challenge. There will be no monitors in the dugouts, but each team will have a video specialist in the clubhouse with access to the same replays available to the umpires at the M.L.B. Advanced Media headquarters in New York. The video specialist can call the dugout and tell the manager if a call is likely to be reversed….
“In a nod to transparency, the new rules also state that teams are now allowed to show scoreboard replays of all close plays, even those that are not officially reviewed.”
I think this will work out just fine after some initial rough spots. This isn’t the ObamaCare launch, after all.
NBA Fever…cough cough…
–I’d say Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant is on kind of a roll. After a career-high 54 on Friday in a 127-121 win over Golden State, he had three straight of 36+ and six in a row of 30+. [Then 30 on Sunday to make it seven.]
But I have to mention the Thunder’s 104-92 win on Thursday night over the Houston Rockets. Talk about an historic performance. The Rockets had 73 first-half points…and just 19 in the second half. The 54-point disparity was the largest in NBA history. Houston’s 19-point second half is tied for the second-fewest points in a second half in NBA history as well.
Houston, after making 12 of 20 three-point attempts in the first half, was 0 for 14 in the second and 19% overall from the field after the intermission.
–I like mavericks and I’ve always liked Mark Cuban, but no longer. Good for NBA Commissioner David Stern, in his swan song, for fining the Dallas owner $100,000 for confronting game officials the other night with “inappropriate language” following his team’s loss to the Clippers 129-127.
The Mavs blew a 17-point lead with 4 ½ minutes remaining, after which Cuban exploded. He has become most tiresome.
–Yes, the Australian Open was absolutely absurd, those four days beginning Tuesday where the temps were over 100 each day, the worst heat wave in the Melbourne area in at least a 100 years.
“The tournament chose the nothing-to-see-here approach, and the longer that went on, the more absurd it seemed, amid the sea of red faces and collapsed bodies and heads balancing ice packs the way a model would a book.
“This was an actual quotation from Dr. Tim Wood, the tournament’s chief medical officer, to the BBC: ‘We’ve evolved on the high plains of Africa chasing antelope for eight hours under these conditions.’
“And this was an actual quotation from the Canadian player Frank Dancevic: ‘I was dizzy from the middle of the first set, and then I saw Snoopy and I thought, ‘Wow, Snoopy, that’s weird.’’
“Wood, in the BBC interview, said that from what he termed a medical perspective, humans had long adapted to exercise in extreme heat. He finished that thought with, ‘Whether it is humane or not is a whole other issue.’
“That showed the disconnect between the players and the tournament…
“”Whether anything is humane or not should be the whole issue. This is professional tennis, not modern warfare or indentured servitude. Humanity should be a baseline consideration….
“While Andy Murray called the conditions ‘inhumane’ and other players complained of a lack of information or a confusing extreme-heat policy, the Open continued to issue news releases citing the lack of players who had called for medical attention.
But what’s this? Serena Williams lost in the round of 16 to No. 14-seeded Ana Ivanovic?! And your editor actually watched it late Saturday night (Sunday in Melbourne)?! Heck, there was nothing else on so I watched the last two sets as Williams’ bid for a sixth Australian and 18th Grand Slam title went up in flames, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Serena hadn’t lost a match since August and had a spectacular 78-4 record in 2013.
It turns out, though, that she had a back injury (which showed), though to her credit she didn’t use that as an excuse, instead her coach leaked the story.
Five of Serena’s 17 Grand Slam singles titles have been at the Australian Open, but none since 2010, even as she has picked up five other majors since (2 Wimbledon titles, 2 U.S. Opens and a Frenchie).
–It seems we have our Olympic darling in women’s figure skating…Russian 15-year-old Julia Lipnitskaia, who won the women’s title at the European championships in Budapest on Friday, besting compatriot Adelina Sotnikova.
—Patrick Reed won his second PGA Tour event at the Humana Challenge. No, didn’t follow this one at all on Sunday.
Among the players on the PGA Tour with 11 or more stroke-play wins, Zach Johnson has the highest percentage for shooting 66 or better in the final round, 54.5%…or 6 of his 11 wins. Davis Love III is second at 50.0%, 9 of 18.
By contrast, Tiger Woods is at 23.7%, 18 of 76 (again, stroke-play).
—Let’s Go Ran-gers! At one point 16-18-2 in the NHL season, the Rangers have improved to 27-21-3. After the Olympics it will be a fun push for the playoffs for casual fans such as yours truly.
–For the first time, Michael Schumacher’s manager described his condition as “stable” rather than “critical.” Doctors treating the legendary Formula One driver have not commented on his status since Jan. 6. But the manager, Sabine Kehm, said on Friday, “Michael’s family is very happy and confident with the work of the team of doctors…and they trust them completely.”
–This is sickening. The South African Department of Environmental Affairs reported on Friday that more than 1,000 white rhinos were killed in the country last year, the vast majority in Kruger National Park, the most on record. South Africa is home to 20,000 white rhinos, 80% of the world’s population. They numbered 500,000 a century ago.
Unfortunately, Kruger borders Mozambique, a POS nation where the illegal poaching networks set up.
343 poachers and traffickers were arrested in 2013, but now you have a situation where the numbers killed will overtake births within the next two to three years, according to Save the Rhino.
As Carol J. Williams reported in the Los Angeles Times, Popular Science magazine calculated that at the current rate of poaching, white rhinos would be extinct in about 20 years.
At least there is a meeting next month, the London Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade, which will bring senior officials from 50 countries together in an effort to strengthen commitments to fight trade in endangered species. It is to be chaired by Prince Charles and British Prime Minister David Cameron. Good for them.
–We note the passing of Dave Madden, 82, best known for playing manager Reuben Kincaid on “The Partridge Family. The show ran for three seasons beginning in 1970. Your editor was a big fan solely because of Susan Dey; me and 43 million other young teens (and older teens, and college males, and dads who would sneak it in when mom was doing the laundry or dishes).
Madden was born in Ontario, Canada, grew up in Terre Haute, Ind., graduated from the University of Miami, where he majored in radio, TV and film, and served in the U.S. Army Special Forces.
–And Russell Johnson, the “Professor” on “Gilligan’s Island,” died at the age of 89. The show was seen on CBS from 1964 to 1967 and can’t say I was a fanatic of this one, though I participated in the debate as to whom I would prefer, Ginger or Mary Ann. It was Mary Ann, until I saw Ginger in Playboy.
Until reading an obit in the New York Times by Bruce Weber, I didn’t realize the Professor (aka Dr. Roy Hinkley), was left off the first season’s opening credits along with Mary Ann; the snub being rectified in season two.
“The Professor was a good-looking but nerdy academic, an exaggerated stereotype of the man of capacious intelligence with little or no social awareness. Occasionally approached romantically by Ginger (and guest stars, including Zsa Zsa Gabor), he remained chaste and unaffected.
“But he was pretty much the only character on the show who possessed anything resembling actual knowledge, and he was forever inventing methods to increase the castaways’ chance of rescue. Still, among the show’s many lapses of logic was the fact – often noted by Mr. Johnson in interviews – that although the Professor could build a shortwave radio out of a coconut shell, he couldn’t figure out how to patch a hole in a boat hull.”
[We also never received an explanation for why they packed so many clothes for a 3-hour tour.]
As for his academic resume, it was explicitly spelled out once.
“Professor, what exactly are your degrees?” Mr. Howell asked once.
“Well,” the Professor replied, “I have a B.A. from U.S.C., a B.S. from U.C.L.A., an M.A. from S.M.U. and a Ph.D. from T.C.U.”
“Mr. Howell clucked in return: ‘Well, I don’t know much about your education, but it sounds like a marvelous recipe for alphabet soup.’”
Russell David Johnson was born near Wilkes-Barre, Pa. He served in World War II, winning a Purple Heart, and then studied on the G.I. Bill at the Actors’ Laboratory in Hollywood.
Mostly he played the bad guy on television and the big screen before landing the “Gilligan’s Island” gig.
Top 3 songs for the week 1/16/65: #1 “Come See About Me” (The Supremes) #2 “I Feel Fine” (The Beatles) #3 “Love Potion Number Nine” (The Searchers)…and…#4 “Downtown” (Petula Clark…we love you, Pet!) #5 “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” (The Righteous Brothers…I can do a good job on this one, properly lubed…) #6 “Mr. Lonely” (Bobby Vinton… underrated career…) #7 “The Jerk” (The Larks…song about A-Rod…) #8 “Goin’ Out Of My Head” (Little Anthony and The Imperials…another incredibly underrated artist…) #9 “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You” (Marvin Gaye) #10 “Keep Searchin’ (We’ll Follow The Sun)” (Del Shannon)…what a week! #s 4, 5 and 8 easily in my Top 100.
NFL Quiz Answer: Two with 36 TD passes, the record until Dan Marino beat it.
Y.A. Tittle, 1963, Giants…nice season, 60.2%, 3,145 yards, 36-14, 104.8 passer rating; huge for those days.
Next Bar Chat…I don’t know. Nothing before Thursday, if at all next week. Heading to Hong Kong and mainland China. For about 48 hours I’ll be totally out of touch. So see you next whenever…
