Now usurped by CNN!

1. Canada Dry? Not exactly.

Since celebrating its national independence day on July 1st, Canada has been a lot like James Taylor:  They’ve seen fire and they’ve seen rain.

Last Saturday’s train derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, which is situated about 150 miles due east of Montreal (and not so far north of the border of Maine), ignited a massive inferno that may have killed dozens. Why is the exact number of fatalities unknown? Because it is quite possible that the fire was so intense that a good number of people were literally vaporized.

 

When you read the details of the train derailment, it sounds like a combo of criminal stupidity and a Jerry Bruckheimer film (granted, I may have just been redundant). An unmanned train of 73 cars, all but one of which is carrying oil, was parked for the night in the town of Nantes, about four miles away–and tragically, uphill– from Lac-Megantic. The train somehow broke loose and began rolling downhill, and accelerating, until it jumped the tracks at a speed of approximately 63 miles per hour. All of this happens at night, so almost everyone killed –or vaporized –was sleeping when they instantly ceased to exist. How’s that for sudden?

 

Two days later the largest city in Canada, Toronto, was pelted by 3.9 inches of rain in one 24-hour span. That’s the largest deluge to blast the capital of Ontario in at least seven decades.

2. Rios? Bravo!

Most Major League hitters will never come to bat six times in one game. That would mean a minimum of 45 at-bats for your team which, when you subtract the 27 outs, translates to a sum of –again, minimum–  18 hits, walks, errors and HBPs. So what Alex Rios of the Chicago White Sox did last night against Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers was truly astounding: a 6 for 6 evening in the Sox’ 11-4 win.

Six hits, five singles and one triple, in six at-bats. A few notes, courtesy of Yahoo! Sports:

1. Players have hit for the cycle 302 times in MLB history, but only 97 batters have collected six hits in a nine-inning contest.

2. No player had ever gotten four hits off (former) Tiger ace Verlander, as Rios did, before last night.

3. The last player to collect six hits in a nine-inning game was Adrian Gonzalez, two teams ago, in 2009.

4. Other members of the six-hit club include Duff Cooley (who I believe also was a member of Guns ‘n Roses), Jason Glasscock (hello!), Kirby Puckett and Cal Ripken, Jr.

5. (Courtesy of me): Only one player since 1900 has had a seven-for-seven game. On September 16, 1975, Rennie Stennett of the Pittsburgh Pirates had seven hits as the Pirates routed the Chicago Cubs (shocker!), 22-0. Stennett had a hit versus both Cubs starter Rick Reuschel and later against his brother, Paul Reuschel. The score is tied for the largest margin of victory in a shutout in the modern era.

3. Hawaii 5-0 in Business Rankings

You know those lists and rankings that frequently come out and incite mass opining on Twitter (e.g., lumberjack is a better job than newspaper reporter, but both are worse than being a restaurant dishwasher)? Well, the latest is CNBC’s “Top 50 States for Business 2013.”

And guess what? The Aloha State, the 50th state to join the Union, finished 50th in the rankings (South Dakota finished first, so if you are thinking of opening up a Hitler Fried Chicken franchise, proceed directly to Spearfish, SD). Hawaii is also last in terms of Cost of Living, according to CNBC, making it more expensive than even New York or Alaska (49th).

On the other hand, Hawaii did rank No. 1 overall in…..Quality of Life. (Louisiana was last…apparently CNBC has never attended a night game in Death Valley). And isn’t that kind of what it’s all about?

Besides, devotees of Magnum, P.I. would argue that Hawaii has a great job market. You can own a restaurant, give chopper tours, or be a caretaker of Robin Masters’ estate while occasionally hiring yourself out to do investigative work for clients who, as often as not, are wealthy and beautiful widows or divorcees. That’s a sweet gig.

4. How Many ABs to be an A-S?

In a column this morning on SI.com, Cliff Corcoran argues that he’d start Jose Reyes of the Toronto Blue Jays at shortstop in next week’s All-Star Game from Citi Field. That’s fine. Just a reminder that Reyes, who missed the first two months of the season with injury, has 93 at-bats in 2013. Yasiel Puig, whose potential inclusion on the National League All-Star roster would be a “complete joke” according to Philadelphia Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon, has 135 ABs.

A comparative look:

Reyes:  .323 BA, .366 OBP, 4 HR, 12 RBI, .484 SLG.

 

Puig: .407 BA, .441 OBP, 8 HR, 19 RBI, .659 SLG.

 

Important to note that Corcoran has never Papelbon’ed about Puig’s possible inclusion. So it’s not as if he is being hypocritical. It’s just strange that he never mentions the Puig scenario when stumping for Reyes. Granted, one is a veteran and one is a rookie, but why should that matter?

5. Worst Films of 2013

 

Over at Rolling Stone, film critic Peter Travers ranks “The Worst Movies of 2013” thus far. Your gut reaction, like mine, was probably, “All of ’em.”
Okay, we hear that Mud, Spring Breakers and Fruitvale Station are pretty good.

 

Reserves

A few nights ago @StudleyLee tweeted  that he was watching “Coming To America” and called it “The most quotable movie of the Eighties.”

Which got me to thinking: Is it? Well, no. Not by a long shot. But it is interesting to note that most of the films people my age quote that were NOT written by Aaron Sorkin, who was not invented until the 1990s, are from that decade. Here is one man’s list of The Most Quotable Movies of the Eighties. I welcome your suggestions and corrections:

1. Caddyshack (1980)

–“You’ll get nothing and like it.”

2. Airplane (1980)

— “I am serious…and don’t call me Shirley.”

3. When Harry Met Sally (1989)

–“I’ll have what she’s having.”

4. Fletch (1985)

–“I’ll have a Bloody Mary and a steak sandwich and… a steak sandwich, please.

5. The Princess Bride

–My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

6. The Breakfast Club (1985)

-“It’s sorta social. Demented and sad, but social.”

7. Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)

–“All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I’m fine.”

8. Say Anything (1989)

–“Nobody thinks this will work, do they?” “You just described every great success story.”

9. A Christmas Story (1983)

–“You’ll shoot yer eye out!”

10. Raising Arizona (1987)

–“Do they come in funny shapes?” “No. Unless round is funny.”

Just missed the cut: Broadcast News, Do The Right Thing, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Back To The Future, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. Films with one signature line (i.e., “Hasta la vista…”) are not what we were looking for here.