“No soup for you!”

No, we’re not quoting the NYC Marathon, but “The Soup Nazi” episode of Seinfeld, that ran today in 1995. No jokes, we just hope everyone affected by Sandy is safe, warm, fed and comfortable as soon as possible.

Speaking of the marathon, today in 1986 Grete Waitz won her 5th straight and 8th overall in a time of 2:28:6, winning by over a mile. Waitz would win the race one more time in her too good to believe career.

Waitz winning was certainly no upset, but Harry S. Truman defeating Thomas E. Dewey in the Presidential election today in 1948 obviously was.

It was today in 1959 that Charles Van Doren admitted to a congressional committee that the quiz show, Twenty One, was fixed, as Van Doren was supplied both the questions and answers before the show.

Steve Carlton won the NL Cy Young award today in 1972. Carlton, pitching for the Phillies, who finished 59-97 on the year, finished 27-10, with a 1.97 ERA, with 30 complete games and 320 strikeouts.

All the pieces seemed to be in place for a classic, but “American Gangster,” left most people a little flat when it came out today in 2007. Denzel didn’t even get nominated for best actor, unlike his movie that opens today, “Flight,” which it sounds like he most certainly will.

It may not be in his top two albums, but “Long After Dark,” which hit shelves today in 1982 is still a classic album for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. “You Got Lucky,” “Deliver Me,” “Straight Into Darkness,” and “Change of Heart” are all Heartbreakers classics.

— Bill Hubbell

“Yeah, well…. Sometimes nothin’ can be a real cool hand.”– Lucas Jackson

“Cool Hand Luke” hit theatres today in 1967. Paul Newman received his fourth Academy Award nomination for playing Luke, the rebel and prisoner who just wouldn’t stay down. All you need to know about Newman as in actor you can find in the opening minute and a half. Newman plays the “who cares if I’m drunk, I’m cool” as well as it can be played. His grin at the end of the scene sums up why Paul Newman is one of the biggest movie stars of all time.

“Nirvana: MTV Unplugged in New York” was released today in 1994, seven months after Cobain killed himself. It debuted at #1 on Billboard and won a Grammy for Best Alternative Album. Nirvana performed mostly covers and lesser known songs for a gig that became known as the best ever done for MTV Unplugged.

In other art forms, today in 1512 Michelangelo’s paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel were shown to the public for the first time. The public was impressed.

William Shakespeare had two of his plays performed for the first time today; “Othello” in 1604 and “The Tempest” in 1611, both at London’s Whitehall Palace. “The Tempest” is thought to be the last play Shakespeare ever wrote on his own.

Today in 1800, John Adams became the first President to take residence in the White House.

Naked breasts were shown in National Geographic for the first time today in 1896. It’s been 116 years and still nobody has been turned on by naked breasts in National Geographic.

Today in 1938 saw the, “Match of the Century,” a horse race that matched the five-year old Seabiscuit against the 1937 Triple Crown winner, the seemingly invincible War Admiral. War Admiral was a 1-4 favorite and predicted winner by all the experts. With 40 million people listening on the radio, Seabiscuit defeated War Admiral by 4 lengths, even though War Admiral ran his best time over that distance.

From the “really not dumb” category, today in 1959 Jacques Plante, after getting hit in the face earlier in the game, became the first goalie to ever wear a mask in an NHL game.

In an NFL game for the ages, and one that would have had fantasy football players in a tizzy, the Cleveland Browns defeated the defending champion Baltimore Colts 38-31 today in 1959. Before the  much-hyped ballgame featuring Johnny Unitas and Jim Brown, the Colts menacing defender, 6’6″, 285 pound “Big Daddy” Lipscomb said of Brown, “been waiting a long time to get my hands on that Cleveland cat.” Although Unitas threw for 397 yards and 4 touchdowns, it was Brown who stole the show, rushing for 178 yards and 5 touchdowns. A disappointed Lipscomb said after the game, “I’m still waiting to get my hands on that cat.” For you fantasy historians, the Colts Ray Berry had 11 catches for 156 yards and a touchdown.

Believe it or not, Anthony Kiedes turns 50 today. Believably, Lyle Lovett turns 55. Top five for each:

Kiedes: (I love the old school, I don’t mean to piss anyone off, but….)

1. Can’t Stop

2. Scar Tissue

3. Otherside

4. Californication

5. By the Way

Lovett:

1. Private Conversation

2. If I Had A Boat

3. Nobody Knows Me

4. In My Own Mind

5. L.A. County

— Bill Hubbell

At 3 pm. local time today in 1881, nine men starting shooting guns at each other from a distance of about six feet in Tombstone, Arizona. History knows it as the “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.” The shootout has become legend through book and film and made iconic figures of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. In the end, three bad guys were killed and Earp was the only one who escaped injury free. Earp’s team went on to win the Gold Medal in hockey at the 1980 Olympics.

Well, he said he’d be back. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who just announced he’d star in a re-boot of the Conan the Barbarian franchise, hit the big screen today in 1984 in “The Terminator.” The box office smash helped launch the career of director James Cameron, who also wrote the movie. Arnold, of course, went on to star in a sit-com where he was the Governor of California who was constantly flirting with his wacky maid.

Oscar nominations went to both the actors playing father and son in, “The Great Santini,” which opened today in 1979. Robert Duvall starred as the title character, the alpha male who’s a frustrated marine who takes it out at home on his teenage son, played by Danny Noonan, who’s trying to win a caddie scholarship from the local country club. Bob Knight sees absolutely nothing wrong with that scene. (By the way, Michael O’Keefe, who has an even better basketball scene than this in, “The Hot Chick,” had a good swing in “Caddyshack,” and a decent handle here, kudos to him.)

The movie was based on the book of the same name, written by Pat Conroy, who turns 66 today. It was Conroy’s third book and was published when he was 31 years old.

The Pony Express ceased operations today in 1861, two days after the transcontinental telegraph reached Salt Lake City. The trail ran for 1,900 miles and worked about as fast as dial-up internet. It returned briefly in Dallas in the early 1980’s.

“Eric, do you really think I look like Stefen Djordjevic?”

The sometimes controversial, sometimes funny, always popular comic strip, “Doonesbury,” made its debut today in 1970.

Today in 1978, Nick Gilder’s, “Hot Child in the City,” made history by finally hitting #1 after hitting the charts 20 weeks earlier. The very same night in Boston, an English trio made their first ever appearance in the States at a bar called the Rat Club.

Today in 1980 Alberto Salazar won his first of three straight New York City Marathons. It was Salazar’s debut in the marathon and his 2:09:41 was the second fastest time ever by an American. Apparently Tom Selleck finished second.

NBC rolled out its newest drama today in 1982. “St. Elsewhere” starred a bevy of fine actors including Mark Harmon, William Daniels, Ed Begley Jr., David Morse, Howie Mandel and this guy:

In World Series history, today in 1985 Don Denkinger blew it, today in 1991, Kirby Puckett did not.

Happy birthday to the elegant angel, Jaclyn Smith, who turns 67 and to Natalie Merchant, who’s 49.

Top Five Songs involving Natalie Merchant:

1. These Are Days

2. Gun Shy

3. Noah’s Dove

4. Like the Weather

5. Because the Night

Ok, I included a cover there (5), I just had to, it was one of the best songs ever done on MTV Unplugged. She’s done a ton of great covers and this one knocks it out of the park.

— Bill Hubbell

You don’t know who Robert LeRoy Parker and Harry Longabaugh are because history remember them as, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” which hit theaters today in 1969. The movie won four Oscars and was nominated for Best Picture. Starring legends Paul Newman and Robert Redford, the tale of two outlaws on the run was the blueprint for action/comedies for years to come.

Card Player: “I didn’t know you were the Sundance Kid when I said you were cheating. If I draw on you, you’ll kill me.”

Sundance Kid: “There’s that possibility.”

“The Manchurian Candidate” came out today in 1962. Widely regarded as one of Frank Sinatra’s best performances, the political thriller came out during the Cuban Missile Crisis and was deemed a classic by critics.

“Kojak” began its five-year run on CBS today in 1973. Telly Savalas starred as the title character, a streetwise NYC police detective. A 1999 TV Guide ranking had Kojak as the 19th best television character of all time.

In other bald people news, “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” hit record store shelves today in 1995. The Smashing Pumpkins third effort debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts and received seven Grammy nominations. The double disc had five great songs: “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” “1979,” “Tonight, Tonight,” “Zero,” and “Thirty Three.” It was weird, dumb, magical, silly and fantastic, like having a fever dream or being on acid without, you know, actually having to drop acid.

While maybe not quite as out there as Billy Corgan, Pink has carried the Rock ‘n Roll torch beyond the 90’s. She released her fifth album, “Funhouse” today in 2008. In the midst of a divorce that didn’t take, Pink delivered the hits again: “So What,” “Sober,” “Please, Don’t Leave Me,” “Funhouse,” and “I Don’t Believe You.” 

Wilt Chamberlain made his NBA debut tonight in 1959. The Big Dipper had 43 points and 28 rebounds, leading the Philadelphia Warriors over the New York Knicks 118-109 at Madison Square Garden. I wonder what happened at the hotel after the game? Before the game? Halftime?

— Bill Hubbell

“Look, if you had one shot, one opportunity 
To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?
Yo”

There’s crossing over and then there’s whatever Eminem did on this day ten years ago when “Lose Yourself” dropped on the world. He’d already grabbed an audience that went far beyond rap and hip-hop fans and when “Lose Yourself” hit the radio and television commercials for “8Mile,” he grabbed everybody else. I’d link to it, but it’s already on your I-pod. It’s hard to argue with anyone who says it’s a top 10 song of the ’00’s.

There’s college kids doing dumb things and then there’s McGill University student J. Gordon Whitehead, who sucker punched Harry Houdini several times in the stomach on this day in 1926. Whitehead had gone backstage at a theatre in Montreal after a show and asked if it was true that Houdini could stand any punch to the stomach. Houdini said yes and before he could ready himself Whitehead began pummeling away at Houdini’s stomach as Houdini was laying on a couch. Floyd Mayweather Jr. might think there’s nothing wrong with that, but everybody else does. Houdini would die nine days later of a ruptured appendix at just 52 years old.

Speaking of “pretty boy,” the original, Charles Arthur, “Pretty Boy” Floyd, was shot and killed by the FBI today in 1934. Floyd was 30.

While on the subject of punching and shooting and whatnot, it’s worth mentioning that today in 2000, Roger Clemens had one of the more famous public displays of ‘roid rage ever. In the Subway World Series, Clemens fielded a part of Mike Piazza’s broken bat and threw it at Piazza who was four or five steps on his way to first base. Clemens had hit Piazza in the head with a pitch when the teams played in July.

If you’re ever in an argument where you’re forced to compare and contrast the differences between Kanye West and Jean-Paul Sarte, you can note that today in 1964, Sarte was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature and turned it down. Sarte didn’t believe in awards and said,  “a writer should not allow himself to be turned into an institution.” I’m going to side with Kanye here.

“We weren’t in love oh no far from it 
We weren’t searching for some pie in the sky summit 
We were just young and restless and bored 
Living by the sword 
And we’d steal away every chance we could 
To the backroom, the alley, the trusty woods 
I used her she used me 
But neither one cared 
We were getting our share”

Your write a song like that and you’re bound for the big time. “Night Moves“ was Bob Seger’s ninth album, but his first with the Silver Bullet Band and it launched him to superstardom. The song went to #4 on the charts and the album climbed to #8. “Mainstreet” and “Rock and Roll Never Forgets” also charted as singles.

Bob Seger is good music to drink to and a good movie to drink to is “Sideways,” which came out today in 2004. It was nominated for five Oscars, won for best adapted screenplay and made visiting the wine country a lot more fun than anybody thought.

It was today in 1974 that the “next Willie Mays” was traded for “the next Mickey Mantle”. Both were great players, neither one of them came close to the comparison. You just don’t see trades like that anymore.

Today in 1975 the Cincinnati Reds finished off the Boston Red Sox in game seven of the World Series. The Red Sox rode the momentum of Carlton Fisk’s game winning homer in game six to jump to a 3-0, but couldn’t hold on. Tony Perez pounded a “Spaceball” (an Eephus pich) from Bill Lee over the Green Monster for a 2-run homer in the 6th and the Reds would add runs in the 7th and 9th innings to win one of the best World Series’ ever played.

Happy birthdays to both Ichiro and Robbie Cano, I wonder what they’ll wish for?

— Bill Hubbell