Monthly Archives: August 2012

Day of Yore

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Happy Ingrid Bergman day. The fourth greatest actress of the last century came into this world on this day in 1915 and passed away from breast cancer on her 67th birthday. The Swedish actress skyrocketed to fame in the states in 1942, co-starring with Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca.

Bergman went on to win three Academy Awards (although not for Casablanca).

The Beatles performed live for the last time for a paying audience on August 29, 1966 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. More music was to come, but the live shows were over. George Harrison was heard to mumble, “well, I guess that’s it, I’m not a Beatle anymore” after walking off the stage. Might we hear the same type of sentiment later this week if the 49’ers say goodbye to Randy Moss?

The Kinks released “Lola” in 1970, but it only gets first runner up for tunes released on August 29. Prince released “Let’s Go Crazy” backed by a b-side of “Erotic City” in 1984. That’s how good Prince was on his prime– Erotic City was a b-side.

To those of you wondering what the hell a b-side is, some guy named Michael Jackson was born today in 1958. Michael turned 26 the day “Let’s Go Crazy” came out. He might have taken that song to heart.

19-year old Moses Malone became the first high-shooler to jump straight to the pros when he signed with the ABA’s Utah Stars in 1974.

It was eight years ago that Brazilian marathoner Vanderlei de Lima was shoved off the road by a fame seeking Irish nut job while leading the Olympic race by 30 seconds with just four miles to go. de Lima got back into the race, but was soon passed and ended up coming in third place. de Lima has pretty much as good an argument as anyone ever about getting screwed in sports. The 1972 U.S. basketball team thinks they got shafted? (They did, but still.)

de Lima was hosed, but at least he wasn’t gored to death like Manolete. Thought of as the greatest bullfighter in history, Manolete was gored in his upper thigh and bled to death at the age of 30.

Finally, it was August 29, 2005 when Hurricane Katrina decimated the gulf coast, killing nearly 2,000 people and causing over $80 billion in damages. We wish everyone down there a safe couple of days ahead and we mourn for those lost.

– Bill Hubbell

“IT’S ALL HAPPENING!” WEDNESDAY, 8/29

by John Walters | 1 Comment

Starting Five


1. Kris Medlen of the Atlanta Braves, who was moved to the starting rotation on July 31, extends his scoreless innings streak to 28 1/3 innings in 2-0 win at San Diego.

2. The Redskins release tight end and loveable lug Chris Cooley, and LaVar Arrington appears on TV in fuschia shorts? (See video at bottom of post)

3. Best wishes for a full recovery to GMA’s Robin Roberts, who will miss six months or so while being treated for MDS.

4. Red states, red dress (Ann Romney) and red meat (Chris Christie): the GOP convention is off and running.

5. Hurricane Isaac hits Gulf coast; Hurricanes, Miami, travel up East coast with an expected landfall in Chestnut Hill.

The Bench

Our only question is, Is Florcnce Detlor’s status “Single” or “In a relationship?”

Aces were riled in the MLB last night: The Marlins shut down Stephen Strasburg after five innings, nine hits and seven runs. Chris Sale of the White Sox only lasted four innings in a 6-0 White Sox defeat.  Justin Verlander of Detroit allowed 8 earned runs in 5 1/3 and got no decision, while Jeff Weaver of the Angels also left with his side trailing — but was bailed out in the bottom of the 9th by Mike Trout.

Anndemonium in Tampa

 

Twelve days after her husband, Cactus Moser,  is involved in a gruesome motorcycle accident that results in the amputation of his left leg, Wynonna Judd announces her tour will resume tomorrow. Moser is also the drummer in her band.

What’s the deal with six-foot-eight, 340-pound University of Miami offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson? Three years ago he was arguably the most coveted prep player in the nation. This week he will not accompany the Hurricanes to their opener at Boston College. “Seantrel, right now, has to get his house in order before he can help us,” said Miami coach Al Golden. “He’s got a lot of things going on.”

Australian women’s hoopster Liz Cambage, who had a dunk in the Olympic Games, surprises confounds shocks Tulsa, her WNBA franchise, by informing them that she has decided to remain Down Under for the remainder of the season. Of course, the joke’s on the rest of the league since it behooves (yes, it is in their “hooves”) Tulsa, who were tied with Phoenix for the league’s worst record (4-19), to finish in last place. So what do the Shock do last night? Win their first road game of the season — after 10 losses — to move to 5-19. Nothing’s Shock-ing.

(We apologize for spending four lines on the WNBA to those of our readers who are still with us. To show our contrition, here’s a shamelessly unrelated photo of Candice Swanepoel)

This is not Liz Cambage

 

On his television show earlier this morning, “Jimmy Kimmel Live”, the host had friend and comedian Jeffery Ross stage an outdoor comedy roast of the sun because, “it’s been roasting us.” Ross had the single funniest line in Comedy Central Roast history once, an allusion to Bea Arthur, that we’ll just ask you to discover on your own (this is not a family site, per se, but our mom occasionally reads it).

You know, it wouldn’t be particularly sensitive, but it might be funny if someone obtained a Loch Ness Monster suit and stood on a road side in Montana today. You see, because Nessie is a water-bound creature and…

Speaking of Montana (Hey, nice Segway, kid… no, I mean, segue), former Irish quarterback Joe Montana was asked about starter Everett Golson and replied, “He’s probably the least talented thrower they have. (thanks to Ken Fowler for the heads up).

More on Atlanta Brave pitcher Kris Medlen, who was promoted to the starting rotation on July 31: the 26 year-old Artesia, Calif., native, who missed all of last season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, is 5-0 with two shutouts since then. More incredible, the Braves have now won Medlen’s last 17 starts dating back to 2010.

Kris Medlen is baseball’s King of the Hill in August

CNN (and they’re not alone) is once again doing the “Reporter standing in the midst of a hurricane” remotes. In fact, CNN.com even has a story with the headline “Isaac rain drenches CNN reporters.” As long as we’re going to grandstand this way (and if I were a reporter, I would do this), why not stand out there clad in a tuxedo?

Why do we get the feeling that Darren Heitner, age 27, had a lot to do with the composition of this Wikipedia page? Heitner is rumored to be a replacement for Darren Rovell at CNBC. Why do we get the feeling that Heitner started this rumor?

OMG! California approves a bill that would increase fines for texting while driving. The fines and hikes are less severe than you might think: from $20 to $30 for a first-time offense and from $50 to $60 for a second offense. Assemblyman Tim Donnelly (R-San Bernadino) dissented, asking if the state would next set fines for driving while holding a cheeseburger. Clearly, this is a pol who has the In-N-Out Burger lobby in his corner.

This is probably as close to Erin Andrews (stickiness hits!) as I’ll ever get. Or should get. Thanks to Kyle Porter. We will add that I am probably the only person on that list who received a $33 tip on a $71 check last night. So I have that going for me, which is nice…

 

 

 

 

Day of Yore

by bhubbell | Leave a comment

On this day in 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his, “I Have a Dream” speech. The 17-minute speech was given on the front steps of the Lincoln Memorial as part of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and was the defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement. A 1999 group of scholars of public address called it the greatest American speech of the 20th century. (Coach Taylor‘s speech before the state championship had to be in the top five, right?)

The distant runner up for political oratory for August 28th happened in 1957, when Senator Strom Thurmond took to the Senate floor to filibuster to keep the group from voting on the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Thurmond babbled on and on for 24 hours and 18 minutes straight, the longest filibuster ever given by a single senator. There were probably several dreams had in that time.

MLK

It was on this day in 1898 when Caleb Bradham made what we’d have to say was a smart business decision in changing the name of his invented beverage from, “Brad’s Drink” to Pepsi-Cola. Well, it was certainly smarter than “New Coke”. Bradham had invented the beverage earlier in the decade at his drug store in New Bern, North Carolina. He wanted a fountain drink that not only tasted delicious, but would help with digestion and boost energy. Pepsi-Cola was shortened to Pepsi in 1961 and it’s been giving people an energy boost for going on 120 years. Be a smart ass and order a “Brad’s Drink” the next time you’re out.

Things have tended to fall apart on August 28– the Chicago Riots broke out at the Democratic Convention in 1968, the collapse of the old Soviet Union became official in 1991 when Mikhail Gorbachev resigned his position as General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, and five years after that the divorce of Prince Charles and Princess Diana became official.

Arnold Palmer was 24 years old when he won the U.S. Amateur in 1954, and 40 years later to the day, Tiger Woods won the Amateur for the first of three consecutive years at age 18. In 1972 Mark Spitz won his first two of seven gold medals at the Munich Olympics. This day in 1977 was the last official game played by Pele, who helped lead the New York Cosmos to the NASL Championship in a thrilling 2-1 win over the Seattle Sounders. It could be argued that this game was the peak of soccer in the United States as the NASL took more of a hold on the U.S. sporting public than it ever had before or sense. The Cosmos were a loaded team of European All-Stars, but Seattle was lead by the sterling play of goal keeper Tony Chumsky, who stopped both Pele and Franz Beckenbauer on free kicks. Giorgio Chinaglia’s header goal with 13 minutes remaining was the difference for the Cosmos.

We’ll give first runner up for athletic achievement on this day to Sebastian Coe, who set the world record for the mile in 1981 with a time of 3:47:33. What’s remarkable about that is that Coe’s mark was the third time the record in the mile had been broken in 10 days. Coe had set a new mark 10 days previous, but his time had been bested by countryman Steve Ovett just days later. That must not have sit well with Coe, who went back out and got his record back.

Sebastian Coe

All those feats pale in comparison to what 12 year-old Lloyd McClendon did in 1971. Yes, this is the McClendon who went on to a big league career and later managed the Pittsburgh Pirates. McClendon hit a 3-run HR in his first at bat in the Little League World Series championship game against Chinese Taipei, prompting the Chinese manager to order McClendon walked for the rest of the game. Now get this: for the three games McClendon played at the Little League World Series, he was walked five times and pitched to five times. When he was pitched to, he was five for five with five home runs, all on the first pitch.

He must have been drinking a lot of Pepsi-Cola.

Birthday wishes to Lou Piniella and David Soul who were both born this day in 1943. I think Piniella would hang out with Hutch, but not the guy who sang, “Don’t Give Up On Us”. Having said that, Soul did turn down a professional baseball contract when he was 19. Also, Shania Twain turns 47 today. Which is as good a reason as any for a picture of Shania Twain.

– Bill Hubbell

Posted in: 365 |

“IT’S ALL HAPPENING!” TUESDAY, 8/28

by John Walters | Leave a comment

STARTING FIVE


1. Advocates of heavy-handedness praise Penn State’s latest gesture as, “So good (SO GOOD!)”

2. ESPN believes that if they don’t show you what other networks are airing this weekend’s Notre Dame and USC games, then maybe you will never find them (find 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday), simply capitulate and watch, say, North Texas at LSU on ESPNU.

3. Break up the Padres! San Diego (60-70) has won eight straight, all against clubs who had winning records at the time. The Friars have yielded two or fewer runs in five of those contests.

4. Taylor Swift may soon be consulting her rhyming dictionary to see what rhymes with Kennedy. (Amenity?)

5. Donations to Lance Armstrong’s “LIVESTRONG” cancer fund increased 25-fold in one day after the cyclist was sanctioned by the USADA. You’re thinking what we’re thinking, right? Neil Diamond needs a charity foundation.

 

Reserves

When it began…

Joey Chestnut is quite the wing man…

I cant’ begin to knowing…

Michigan tailback Fitzgerald Toussaint, who was suspended indefinitely after a DUI on July 21st, is listed No. 1 on the Wolverine depth chart for Saturday’s game versus defending national champion Alabama. “What I meant by suspension was, in mid-air, by a giant weight-bearing hoist. It can be highly uncomfortable. You ever been paragliding? Then you know what I’m talking about.”

***We interrupt this post to note that “I can’t begin to knowing” is one helluva stretch in terms of poetic license, but Neil Diamond also wrote, ” ‘I am,’ I said/To no one there/And no one heard at all/Not even the chair”, so who are we to judge?***

But then I know it’s growing strong…

You mean Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did not already have a statue outside Staples Center??? Do you know some other dude who is the NBA’s all-time scoring leader? Kareem mastered the sky hook and is the reason college basketball outlawed the dunk (yes it did once upon a time).

Back when we knew him simply as “Lew”

Was in the spring…

By the way, five of the NBA’s top six scorers of all-time have played for the Los Angeles Lakers. One more reason to worship Michael Jordan.

And spring became a summer…

Four of Felix Hernandez’s 13 wins have come in 1-0 victories, including last night in Minnesota. The Seattle Mariner ace has five shutouts this season, including a perfect game, and leads all of baseball in ERA with a 2.43. Is King Felix headed for his second Cy Young Award in the past three seasons?

Who’d believe you’d come along…

Diamond to Penn State: “Play it now! Play it now! Play it now, my baby!”

Hands…

Courtesy of The Big Lead, a man in Montana dressed as Bigfoot was struck by two separate motorists, both of them teenage females, and killed. Randy Lee Tenley, 44, of Kalispell, gave his life for a prank (and for that we salute you, Randy). The first vehicle struck Tenley, and the second one ran over his prone figure, so it may be safe to say that he was “sas-quashed.”

One need not be a beef jerky fan to mess with Sasquatch

Touching hands…

So the final episode of Season 1 of The Newsroom, which includes an anti-Tea Party rhetorical blast, airs one day before the GOP Convention was slated to begin in Tampa. Coincidence?

Reaching out….

NBC will air “America’s Got Talent” for two hours tonight and the GOP Convention for one. CBS will air two hours of NCIS and one hour of the convention. Fox will air one hour of MasterChef and its local affiliates may devote an hour to the convention at 10 p.m. ABC will air “The Middle” (not a Jon Huntsman feature) and “Last Man Standing” (not a Romney biopic) and one hour of the convention. Mike Judge, your Idiocracy has already arrived.

Touching You…

Florida coach Will Muschamp announces sophomore quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel will each play one quarter of the first half in Saturday’s opener versus Bowling Green, inadvertently reminding all why he was once one of the top defensive coordinators in college football.

San-Dus-Kee…

 (Sing it with us, people!)

Sweet Caroline! (Ba-Ba-Ba!)

Good times never felt so good (So good. So good! SO GOOD!)

I’ve been inclined

To believe they never would

But now I….

 

 

Day of Yore

by bhubbell | Leave a comment

When recalling August 27ths gone by, it would be silly to start anywhere but 1883, when the volcanic islands of Krakotoa exploded. The eruption is considered to be the loudest sound in modern history, with reports of it being heard as many as 3,000 miles away. (I’m calling BS, but I heard once you can’t argue with history.)  The explosion of the island killed over 36,000 people and was the equivalent of 200 megatons of TNT, or 13,000 times the nuclear yield put off by the bombing of Hiroshima. The eruption sent debris 50 miles into the air.

Thought to be not quite as seminal as Krakotoa, and of course not nearly as important because nobody died and Krakotoa’s lead singer was a heroin addict, Pearl Jam released their debut album “10” on this day in 1991. The name of the album was taken from the number worn by former NBAer Mookie Blaylock, which was the name of the band when they started to record the album. After taking nearly a year to sell any copies at all, “10” has now sold over 13 million and led Pearl Jam to being the most popular U.S. band of the 1990s. Once, Even Flow, Alive, Why Go, Black and Jeremy…. there’s not a lot of debut albums that had a first half hour any better than that.

On this day in 1953, the world was introduced to a young actress by the name of Audrey Hepburn, with the release of “Roman Holiday”. The role of the royal princess who sets out to see Rome on her own was originally written for Elizabeth Taylor, but given to the unknown Hepburn after she screen tested out of the park. Hepburn was to receive lower billing than co-star Gregory Peck, but Peck demanded she be given equal billing after working with her. Hepburn won the Academy Award for best actress.

What was to be an event on the scale of Krakotoa took place in Beverly Hills on this day in 1965. The Beatles met Elvis Presley for the first time at his mansion. The meeting was less than cataclysmic as the boys were stoned and Elvis was strumming a bass guitar in the dark. Both sides seemed to be a bit intimidated by the other and nothing much happened. Elvis intimidated? John Lennon intimidated?

Part of the charm and poetry of baseball lies in its numbers and statistical anomalies. You can go huge, like Rickey Henderson did on this day in 1982, stealing his 119th base of the season, breaking Lou Brock’s record, or you can go weird. 35 years ago today, Bump Wills and Toby Harrah hit inside the park home runs for the Texas Rangers on back to back pitches, the only time that’s happened in MLB’s 143 years.

A Vice Presidential day it is, as birthday’s are celebrated by three US Veeps, Hannibal Hamlin, Charles G. Dawes and Lyndon Johnson. They served under Abraham Lincoln, Calvin Coolidge and John F. Kennedy. You think Sarah Palin wasn’t vetted properly? Lincoln never met his running mate Hamlin until after the election. Hamlin comes in as runner up for coolest name for August 27th birthdays, losing out to Daryl Dragon, who turns 70 today. No, he wasn’t the star of a precursor to Magic Mike, he just goes by another moniker. He’s the one wearing the hat, not the mom jeans.

And, YO, we’d be remiss if we didn’t throw a shout out to Aaron Paul, who turns 33 today.

33 is the same age we lost two geniuses in 1980 and then 1981. Douglas Kenney created the National Lampoon just after graduating from Harvard and co-wrote both Animal House and Caddyshack. That was it for his movie career, I’d call that batting a thousand. Kenney fell off a cliff in Hawaii, while trying to get his mind straight after Caddyshack was killed by critics. The Lampoon paid tribute with a cartoon of the edge of a cliff and the inscription, “Doug Kenney Slipped Here.” A car crash took Soviet hockey star Valeri Kharlamov in 1981. Kharlamov was one of the fastest skaters ever and the best player on the ice when Russia took on Canada in the famed 1972 Summit Series. Canada was stunned by the Soviets at the start of the series, which changed when Broad Street Bully Bobby Clarke took things into his own hands, breaking Kharlamov’s ankle.

And lastly, speaking of genius, Stevie Ray Vaughn died at just 35 years old, in a helicopter crash in 1990.

– Bill Hubbell

 

Posted in: 365 |