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Bar Chat

02/22/2021

Mattress Mack...American Hero, Stud

***Just saw the news on Tiger Woods...praying for him...***

Update Tues.

***New All-Species List has been posted.***

[Posted Sunday p.m.]

***No midweek Bar Chat…but I will have a surprise….see below. And I will add in the AP College Basketball Top 25 poll released tomorrow right below.

ACC Hoops Scoring List Quiz: Name the top five on the ACC all-time points list.  To me, this is exceedingly difficult.  I have used two sources, and understand that all five played four seasons.  For point of reference, the first person who played just three seasons (because of freshmen not being eligible or leaving early), David Thompson, is No. 10 at 2,309.  Answer below.

Monday p.m.

New AP Top 25

1. Gonzaga 22-0
2. Baylor 17-0
3. Michigan 16-1
4. Ohio State 18-5
5. Illinois 16-5
6. Alabama 18-5
7. Oklahoma 14-5
8. Villanova 14-3
9. Iowa 17-6
10. West Virginia 15-6
11. Florida State 13-3
15. Virginia 15-5
16. Virginia Tech 14-4
17. Kansas 17-7
19. USC 18-4
21. Loyola of Chicago 19-4
22. San Diego State 17-4

-------

Sun. p.m.

College Basketball Review

We continue to stumble to a finish, scores more games canceled due to Covid, including a few more involving No. 2 Baylor, like Saturday’s contest against Oklahoma State.

No. 1 Gonzaga is still undefeated at 22-0, 13-0, after blasting San Diego (3-8, 2-5) 106-69.

5 Illinois is gunning for a 1-seed after beating Minnesota (13-10, 6-10) 94-63, the Illini 16-5, 12-3.

It was a bad week for 7 Virginia.  First, it lost to 16 Florida State on Monday, 81-60, and then yesterday, Duke kept its tournament hopes alive in beating UVA 66-65; the Cavaliers falling to 15-5, 11-3, while the Blue Devils are now 10-8, 8-6.

Florida State, at 9-2 in the ACC, is now ahead of Virginia.

23 Kansas will be moving up 5 or 6 spots as it’s back on the beam, winning its fifth straight yesterday, 67-61 over 15 Texas Tech (14-7, 6-6).  The Jayhawks are back to 17-7, 11-5.

The significance here is that Kansas has made the NCAA tournament a record 30 straight seasons, while Duke’s streak is 24.

Surprising 8 Alabama is firmly in control in the SEC, now 18-5, 13-1 after holding off Vanderbilt (6-12, 2-10) Saturday, 82-78.

But two local bubble teams, Seton Hall and St. John’s, suffered devastating losses that could easily keep them out of the Big Dance.

The Hall fell to 13-9, 10-6 in the Big East after falling to Georgetown (7-10, 5-7) 81-75.

St. Johns is now 14-9, 8-8 in the conference after a poor 88-83 loss to lowly DePaul (4-10, 2-10) at home.

Today, we had a biggie in the Big Ten…3 Michigan at 4 Ohio State, and the Wolverines and coach Juwan Howard are writing quite a story, beating the Buckeyes 92-87 to move to 16-1, 11-1, OSU falling to 18-5, 12-5.

Both teams shot the hell out of the ball, the Wolverines 31 of 58 from the floor for the game (including 10 of 13 from three in the first half, before cooling off), while the Buckeyes were 11 of 22 from downtown.

Lastly, a shoutout to Pete M.’s Colgate Red Raiders…oops, sorry.  Just “Raiders.”  Colgate is now 11-1, all games in the Patriot League, as like some of the other conferences they play the same opponent back-to-back for Covid reasons and yesterday and today, the Raiders defeated Boston University by scores of 82-72 and 78-63, respectively, dreams of Indianapolis dancing in their heads.

NBA

--Quite a Friday night in the league as Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid had his first 50-point game, along with 17 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks in 35 minutes, the 76ers holding off visiting Chicago 112-105.

It turns out the last Philadelphia player to record 50 points and 15 rebounds in a game was Moses Malone in 1984, and before that Wilt Chamberlain in 1968 (53 and 32 rebounds!).

But also Friday, Denver’s Jamal Murray scored a regular-season career-high 50 and in the process became the first player in NBA history to get that many without attempting a free throw as the Nuggets defeated the Cavaliers 120-103.

Murray made 21 of 25 shots, including 8 of 10 from three and scored 30 in the second half.

His 84% mark from the field is second only to Wilt for the highest percentage in a 50-point game in the shot-clock era.

--Thursday, Brooklyn had an important statement win, 109-98 over LeBron and the Lakers in Los Angeles.  The Nets were playing without Kevin Durant, while L.A. didn’t have Anthony Davis.

In winning their fifth straight, the Nets (19-12) improved to 8-1 against teams in the top five in each conference.

LeBron passed 35,000 career points (trailing only Kareem and Karl Malone) with a game-high 32, but the Nets held the Lakers to just 8 of 30 from three.

--The NBA announced the starters for the All-Star Game (March 7, Atlanta).

Eastern Conference

Bradley Beal, WAS
Joel Embiid, PHI
Kevin Durant, BRK
Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL
Kyrie Irving, BRK

Western Conference

Stephen Curry, GSW
Luka Doncic, DAL
Nikola Jokic, DEN
Kawhi Leonard, LAC
LeBron James, LAL

All ten are averaging 25.9 points per game or better.

Doncic edged out Portland’s Damian Lillard, the fans voting Doncic ahead of Lillard, which pushed him into the starting lineup, even though the media and players voted Lillard No. 2 in the backcourt; the weighted score being 50% fan vote, 25% player vote and 25% media vote.

MLB

--The Dodgers have oddsmakers posting numbers that the betting market hasn’t seen since the Yankees’ dynasty of the late 1990s.

Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill on Thursday opened the Dodgers 2021 season-win total at 104.5. That’s tied with the 1999 Yankees for the highest win total at sportsbooks in the past 32 seasons.

The Yankees are at 97, with the Braves and Padres at 92.

The Mets are intriguing at 89, but the issue there is the NL East is going to be a bitch. [Nice move signing No. 4 or 5 starter Taijuan Walker for two years this week, however.]

Pittsburgh brings up the rear at 58 and that seems high.

--The Padres reached an agreement with Fernando Tatis Jr. on a 14-year, $340 million contract extension, Tatis securing one of the largest guarantees in American sports history and wedding himself to the team with which he quickly established himself as one of the big stars in the game.

Tatis, 22, receives the third-biggest deal in baseball history – and at a far younger age than Mike Trout and Mookie Betts, both of whom signed their megadeals at 27.

In his first two seasons, which comprises 143 games total, 558 at-bats, Tatis had 39 home runs, drove in 98, stole 27 bases, scored 111 runs, batted .301 and had an OPS of .956.

As Larry David would say, ‘Pretty, pretty good.’

Teammate Manny Machado is on a $300 million deal that he signed in 2019.

--The Yankees re-signed outfielder Brett Gardner to a one-year, $4 million contract with a team option for a second year.

Previously, the Yankees declined Gardner’s $10 million, which was bought out for $2.5 million, but the 37-year-old was unable to land a deal this offseason elsewhere.

It’s actually pretty amazing the guy is back for his 14th season in pinstripes.  The highly-serviceable clutch player has been in 140+ games in nine of his first 13.

--The Phillies signed J.T. Realmuto to a five-year, $115.5 million contract and J.T. promptly fractured a small bone at the bottom of his right thumb, discovered six days after the fact, that will keep him out of action beyond Opening Day it seems, though Realmuto insists otherwise.

--Tim Tebow announced he was retiring from baseball. 

“I loved every minute of the journey, but at this time I feel called in other directions,” said the 33-year-old.

“I never want to be partially in on anything.  I always want to be 100% in on whatever I choose. Thank you again for everyone’s support of this awesome journey in baseball, I’ll always cherish my time.”

Mets president Sandy Alderson, who was responsible for bringing Tebow into the organization, said:

“It has been a pleasure to have Tim in our organization, as he’s been a consummate professional during his four years with the Mets.”

You know how I feel.  I don’t understand how anyone can not like the guy.  He does more for humanity in a month than the vast majority of people will do in a lifetime.  The journey for Mr. Tebow is just beginning.

NFL

--The quarterback carousel is on, with the Eagles trading Carson Wentz to the Colts in a deal that had been anticipated since the retirement of Indy’s Philip Rivers.  The move cost the Colts a 2021 third-round pick and a conditional 2022 second-rounder that could escalate to Round 1 based on how much Wentz plays in 2021.

The Eagles will take on a $33.8 million dead-cap hit, the largest in NFL history.  An estimated 19% of the Eagles’ cap will thus be taken up by someone who’s not even on the team.

The Colts are essentially getting Wentz on a four-year contract that will pay out $98 million over the course of the deal, which if he can turn things around is a bargain for a high-performance starting QB these days.  If Wentz struggles, the Colts can get out of the deal after just two seasons with almost zero cap repercussions.

This is a good move for Indy, and Wentz, who was coming off the worst season of his five-year career.   A classic ‘restart.’  He’s also reunited with Colts coach Frank Reich, who was Wentz’s offensive coordinator during his first two years in Philly, including the 2017 season when he seemed on track to win league MVP honors until a torn ACL in Week 14 prematurely ended his ability to contribute for the eventual Super Bowl champions.  The two are bonded by their Christian faith as well, we’re told.

The trade is also great for the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, who presumably enters the 2021 as the new starter after being elevated the final four games of 2020.  He was inconsistent, but did make some terrific throws and averaged nearly 70 yards a game on the ground.

But we’ll see what new Philly head coach Nick Sirianni thinks, Sirianni coming from Indianapolis, where he utilized pocket passers like Rivers and Andrew Luck.

--The NFL has some key dates coming up.

Feb. 23 – First day to apply franchise or transition tag.

March 9 – Last day to apply franchise or transition tag.

March 15-17 – Free agency negotiating window.  Before March 15, pending free agents can negotiate only with their current team.

March 17 – Free agency begins at 4 p.m.

April 29 to May 1 – 2021 NFL Draft.

And this is how the NFL keeps us interested year ‘round, Charlie Brown.

--Leonard Fournette talked about the impact of Tom Brady on the Buccaneers Super Bowl week, including a pregame speech prior to Tampa Bay’s 31-9 pasting of Kansas City.

“It was about honor,” Fournette told the Pardon My Take podcast.  “I got to keep it between the team, but it was a powerful-ass message that we all needed to hear. I think it’s how he delivered it. …It just woke us up, it gave us the spark we needed.

“A lot of guys have motivation that they might be playing for the money or their family or just because they love it.  But when Tom said ‘We’re playing for honor’ and for the last names on our back, I think that kind of hit different for us.”

Fournette also recounted how Brady texted the entire team positive reinforcement every day during the week leading up to the game.

“It’s be 5:30 in the morning because he’s the first person up, that’s just who he is,” Fournette said.

He added his admiration for Brady didn’t stop there. Throughout the year, the running back would take a moment to realize who he was playing alongside.

“You don’t get that too much, to witness greatness up close like that,” he told the podcast.  “It was crazy moments like, sometimes in the backfield – this probably during a play – I’ll be like, ‘Damn, I’m really playing with (expletive) Tom Brady, this is crazy.’”

Fournette, who had signed with the Bucs prior to Week 1 but didn’t start until the last three games of the regular season, was terrific in the playoffs, rushing for 300 yards in the four games, scoring touchdowns in three of the four, including a 27-yard TD scamper in the Super Bowl.  He’s a free agent but obviously wants to stay with Brady coming back.

--The family of Vincent Jackson, the retired three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver who was found dead in a Florida hotel room on Monday, donated his brain to researchers at Boston University to determine if he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma.

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in an interview on Wednesday it could take weeks to finish an autopsy.  Jackson, 38, had health issues associated with alcoholism, but the family told Chronister that they believed concussions may have been a factor in his behavior.  There are stories Jackson also may have been dead for days when his body was discovered.

C.T.E. can only be diagnosed posthumously and researchers at B.U., which houses the world’s largest brain bank devoted to cases involving the disease, said that determination can take months.  The severity of a player’s C.T.E. is related to the number of years that he played football and the number of hits he endured, researchers have found.

Jackson in his 12-year career with the Chargers and Buccaneers had 540 receptions for 9,080 yards (16.8) and 57 touchdowns.  He also had six 1,000-yard seasons.

Australian Open

Another big sporting event is in the books amidst a pandemic.  Officials in Melbourne pulled it off despite strict measures and in the end Japan’s Naomi Osaka cemented her place as the star of women’s tennis (and one of the 3 or 4 global superstars, period) by beating American Jennifer Brady, 6-4, 6-3.

It was Osaka’s fourth Grand Slam title, 4-0 in major finals, and she now has not suffered a defeat since Feb. 2020, winning the 2020 U.S. Open in the process.  So she has two U.S. Open titles (the other 2018), plus two Aussie Open titles (2019).

Earlier, Osaka took out Serena Williams in the semis, 6-3, 6-4.

For Williams, 39, it was her 40th Grand Slam semifinal (33-7 record) and she remains in pursuit of her 24th Grand Slam single title, which would tie Margaret Court’s all-time record, though there isn’t a soul alive who doesn’t understand Serena is the best all time.

Nonetheless, she was emotional after the loss in talking about her future, walking out of the press conference in tears.

It’s totally understandable.  She hasn’t won a Grand Slam event since the 2017 Aussie Open.

I’ll take a stab at it. Serena will announce this is her final year and will take a last bow at the remaining three majors, the last being appropriately at the U.S. Open in New York…the big stage.  Crowds should be back in decent numbers…fingers crossed…and it would be a fitting ending for a champion.  And, hell, she could still win one more.

On the men’s side, we had an attractive finale, 17-time major champion Novak Djokovic, he of the major anger issues, and budding Russian star Daniil Medvedev, seeking his first Grand Slam title.  Medvedev was a solid 3-4 against Novak coming in.

Well, make that 18 Grand Slams for Djokovic, 33, as he whipped Medvedev in three sets, and in under two hours, 7-6, 6-2, 6-2 for his ninth Australian Open title.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are now just two ahead of him, overall, both with a record 20 majors.

7,000 fans, 50% of capacity, were allowed to watch the men’s and women’s finals, and befitting how much fans around the world want to be able to attend live sports, it was a raucous crowd for each.

Golf Balls

--As I’ve said, oh, only about 20 times over the years, Riviera is my sixth favorite event of the season, the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club.  It’s just a very cool course and it’s the right time of year, football over, golf getting more of the sporting publics’ eyeballs.

And we had a loaded field this week, which marked the beginning of a seven-week stretch that runs from California, through Florida, and finally to Augusta.  And five of the seven events feature an event with “elevated” status, which offer bigger purses, more FedEx Cup points and hyper-elite fields.

Next week we have the WGC-Workday Championship, which was moved from Mexico City to the Concession Club in Bradenton, Fla., for one-year only due to the pandemic.  It’s going to be cool to see this exclusive course.

Then you have Arnie’s event at Bay Hill, and after that it’s the Players Championship.  And before you know it, The Masters…a tradition unlike any other…on CBS.

Well Sam Burns was the story this week, opening with a 64-66, good for a 5-shot lead, but then play was stopped in the third round due to excessive wind…the course was unplayable for hours.  At first, this was bad for CBS, but then when they restarted play late in the day, it gave the Golf Channel a few hours of prime-time viewership (which is what many of us look forward to with the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines later in the year).

Anyway, Burns got thru 13 in his third before darkness set in, and then after finishing the round Sunday morning, he was suddenly only 2 shots in the lead after a 3-over 74.

Entering the fourth….

Burns -9
Matthew Fitzpatrick -7
Dustin Johnson -7
Max Homa -7
Patrick Cantlay among those at -5
Jordan Spieth in a group at -4

And then as we hit the final holes….

Burns -12 thru 12
Tony Finau -11 thru 13
Homa -11 thru 13
Cam Smith -10 thru 13

But then we had….

Burns -11 thru 14
Homa -11 thru 14
Finau -11 thru 16…bogeyed 15, birdied 16

Burns hit a crappy drive on 15, ended up with bogey.

And Finau birdied 17!  Could he finally…finally…win his second PGA Tour title?

No!

Homa then missed a makeable putt on 18 to win it outright…the two going to a playoff and on the first hole, a short 315-yard par-4, Homa’s tee shot went up against a tree and he proceeded to hit an unreal chip shot to salvage par, then birdied the par-3 14th, Finau with some poor putts when he could have closed it.

So Homa wins his second…Finau is shockingly stuck on one.

Finau now has eight second-place finishes since his lone win; 29 top ten finishes in his last 82 events since that tournament.  Think about that.

--As for the loaded field, Bison DeChambeau, Justin Thomas and Rory were among those missing the cut.

--The Genesis is Tiger Woods’ tournament…for his foundation…and he was on the scene to deliver the trophy, but when he popped up today with Jim Nantz for some distanced comments, he did not look good. And he was not in a good mood, and while the conversation, as play was continuing, was insightful re those in action, Tiger, when questioned appropriately by Nantz as to whether he could recover from his latest back surgery in time for The Masters, certainly didn’t sound optimistic…and that would be a shame.

We all should want Tiger to win just one more…to get win No. 83 and pass Sam Snead for the all-time lead (many of Snead’s wins questionable vs. today’s standards).  I don’t care if it’s a little fall event, we need it.  The sport needs it.

--Next week Phil Mickelson has a chance to do something no player on a PGA Tour-sanctioned tour has ever done…win his first three career starts when he tees it up in the Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Ariz., on the Champions Tour.  No one has done that…PGA Tour, Champions Tour or Korn Ferry Tour.

Separately, there are reports Mickelson is in exploratory talks with networks regarding a broadcasting position.

Steve Loy, Lefty’s agent and business partner, told FrontOfficeSports.com, “Absolutely, we’re always in discussions about Phil’s future.  It wouldn’t surprise me if in the next 12 to 24 months you might see more of Phil on the air.”

So you look at CBS and NBC, as well as ESPN as it has been adding to its golf portfolio, but Mickelson will have a hefty asking price.

--What an awful story involving Rudy Giuliani and Michelle Wie West, as the golfer took to Twitter on Friday night to express outrage over a story the former mayor and Trump attorney told on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast Thursday.

“Do you have time for a funny story?” Giuliani began.

Giuliani then proceeded to recount a round with the late Rush Limbaugh at a charity fundraiser seven years ago in which the paparazzi was “driving us crazy.”

“On the green is Michele Wie, and she is getting ready to putt,” Giuliani said, in part.  “Now Michelle Wie is gorgeous. She’s 6 feet. And she has a strange putting stance. She bends all the way over. And her panties show. And the press was going crazy. …I said ‘[Rush]’, it’s not me, it’s not you.’”

Giuliani concluded his story by asking, “Is it OK to tell that joke?”

“What this person should have remembered from that day,” Wie wrote, “was the fact that I shot 64 and beat every male golfer in the field leading our team to victory. I shudder thinking that he was smiling to my face and complimenting me on my game while objectifying me and referencing my ‘panties’ behind my back all day.”

A frustrated Wie went on to say that what should be discussed is the elite skill level of female professionals rather than what they wear or their appearance.

“My putting stance six years ago was designed to improve my putting stats,” Wie wrote, noting that she won the U.S. Women’s Open that year.  “NOT as an invitation to look up my skirt!”

NHL

--With just a 56-game schedule and lots of Covid issues, it gets late early this season, as Yogi would have said.  My Rangers are just 6-7-3, with a pathetic offense and an overall first pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Alexis Lafreniere, struggling mightily, though he did get his second goal yesterday in an important 4-1 win over the Capitals.  There’s just no margin for error this year.

Fans of Toronto have to be psyched, 14-3-2, superstar Auston Matthews with 18 goals.

--But yesterday was not a great one for the NHL. They had the great idea of holding games Saturday and Sunday at an outdoor rink at Lake Tahoe, clearly the most beautiful setting for a professional hockey game ever.

Only one problem. It was too sunny for the noon, local, start.  Yes, it was 27 degrees, but the sun did a number on the ice (think very slushy) and the game was halted after the first period….and then they waited more than eight hours to restart it at midnight, Eastern time, and it ended 10 hours, 37 minutes later.  Colorado defeated Vegas 3-2.

At least the players said the ice was perfect upon the restart.

FIS World Championships

They completed the season’s big annual event in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, and Mikaela Shiffrin, after bronze in the Super-G, won the alpine combined, setting an American record with the sixth world title of her career, passing Ted Ligety’s five golds, and nine medals of any color that pushed her past Lindsey Vonn.

And then she finished up the week with bronze in the slalom, and silver in the giant slalom.

Austria’s Katharina Liensberger won the slalom, while Lara Gut won the GS.

While on the surface Shiffrin’s performance may seem slightly disappointing, seeing as she had won the slalom at a record four straight worlds, she became just the fifth female skier to win four medals in one worlds, and first to do so in 14 years (Sweden’s Anja Parson).

So congrats, Mikaela!  After all, she took a 10-month break from racing last year after the death of her father, which was followed by the pandemic and then a back injury.

“If this was last year, I would be maybe disappointed but not as grateful for the good moments in the day,” Shiffrin said.  “Maybe ‘normal’ is just going to be changing all the time.  I have a different opinion of what normal means now. Here, in these last two weeks, every day had something really special, and it’s something to smile about.”

NASCAR

I posted last Sunday as the Daytona 500, after a lengthy weather delay, which followed a big early crash that impacted 16 cars in the field, was restarting.  When I went to bed around 11:00 p.m., we were only on about lap 110 of 200.

Anyway, in a spectacular finish, Michael McDowell not only picked up his first Daytona 500 victory, but it was also his first win on NASCAR’s top circuit in his 358th start, McDowell squeaking through a final-lap godawful looking multiple car pileup.  The race didn’t end until around 1:00 a.m. ET.

Chase Elliott finished second.

Denny Hamlin, gunning for an unprecedented third straight 500 victory, led 98 of the 200 laps but ended up fifth.

So today, we were back at Daytona for the road course, and Christopher Bell won his first, selected on just 7.7% of DraftKings lineups.  [I won last week, lost today.  I had a horrendous pick I need to learn from…an obvious bad pick, and I’m beating myself up over it.  Johnny Mac, send the sword.]

A big win for Joe Gibbs Racing!  We love Coach.

Premier League

If it wasn’t over last week, it’s certainly over now….just hand the title to Manchester City.

Going back to Monday, in the battle for the remaining Champions League slots, Nos. 2-4, Chelsea beat Newcastle 2-0, while West Ham had a 3-0 win over Sheffield.

Wednesday, Man City then beat Everton 3-1.

Saturday, Chelsea managed only a 1-1 draw vs. Southampton, while Liverpool, which had defeated RB Leipzig Tuesday in Champions League play, 2-0, lost by the same score to Everton.

So today, West Ham had an important tilt against struggling Tottenham and emerged victorious, 2-1.  Reminder, West Ham was 16th last season.  You just don’t get jumps like this in the PL.

Also today, Man City’s Raheem Sterling scored in the second minute and that was it…City defeating Arsenal 1-0.  Manchester United whipped Newcastle 3-1.

And at the end of Sunday’s play…Standings…Played / Points

1. Man City…25 – 59
2. Man U…25 – 49
3. Leicester…25 – 49
4. West Ham…25 – 45 …Champions League line
5. Chelsea…25 – 43 …draw with Southampton potentially deadly
6. Liverpool…25 – 40
7. Everton…24 – 40
8. Aston Villa…23 – 36 …had missed some games due to Covid

Stuff

--The Ivy League Council of Presidents announced Thursday that it would not attempt to stage spring sports in 2021 due to the pandemic, making it the only conference in the NCAA’s Division I that remains completely on the sidelines for the fourth consecutive season [spring, fall, winter, spring].

Throughout the health crisis, the Ivy League has been quick to act and slow to change its stance on athletics.

Being that it is the Ivy League, there are a ton of alumni, many former athletes themselves, who are not happy with the decision. Billionaire and former Yale lacrosse alumnus Joe Tsai had offered to fund a “bubble” environment for the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams to hold their season.

--With the power and water crisis in Texas, you’ve no doubt seen the story of generosity by James McIngvale, a Houston furniture store owner known as “Mattress Mack.”  He opened up his big store, just as he did during Hurricane Harvey and other storms, to offer shelter, allowing people to spend a few hours relaxing in his armchairs and couches, or sleeping on a choice of beds.  Meals and food were paid for by McIngvale.

So the first-time I saw the story on a news channel, I knew right away who the guy was, but I’ve been shocked how many reporters, both on television and print, are failing to bring up the fact this is the “Mattress Mack” who just won $3.46 million on the Super Bowl, as I related in these pages, when he took the Bucs +3.5.  Very cool dude.

He said he has always been inspired to do the right thing by his Catholic faith. 

“When my people are dying and freezing, I am going to take care of them,” he said in an interview with the New York Times.  “That comes before profit every time.”

Needless to say, McIngvale’s name has been placed in the December file for yearend award consideration…as in it’s a lock he takes home some hardware.

--A woman using an outhouse in southeast Alaska was surprised – and possibly bitten – by a bear who already occupied the commode, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

“I just sat down and the thing bit me right away,” Shannon Stevens told the news outlet.  “I jumped up, screamed, screamed for my brother.”

Her brother Erik grabbed a lamp and ran to Shannon’s aid, expecting to find something small, like a mink, in the hole below the toilet seat. Shannon screamed she was “bleeding” from the bite.

“She was still standing there with her pants down,” Erik said. “I said, ‘What bit you?  Where is it?’”

Shannon told him the culprit was “in the hold” which is where he shined his light and found himself staring into the face of a cinnamon bear filling the hole.

The sibling slammed the lid shut and ran.  Shannon reportedly told KTOO news radio in Alaska that the wound wasn’t serious.  It may have been a claw swipe, rather than a bite.

The bear was gone the next day.  Cinnamon bears can weigh between 200 and 600 pounds. They are a subspecies of American black bears.

This tale helps answer the age-old question, “Does a w-….”  Oh, never mind.

--Finally, I went to church Ash Wednesday for the first time in over a year (a restricted number allowed) and as I walked in, there was a basket with little black books and the woman taking my temperature said ‘take one.’

It’s literally called “The Little Black Book: Six-minute meditations….” and it’s put out by the Little Books of the Diocese of Saginaw, Inc. [littlebooks.org]

I bring it up because I started reading it before Mass commenced and it’s cool. [$4, I can’t help but add as well.]

To wit:

February 23

On this day in 1945, United States soldiers raised an American flag on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima during World War II.

Assigned to the 5th Marine Division, Fr. Charles Suver was one of 19 priests at the invasion.  At dinner the night before the battle, the 39-year-old Jesuit chaplain from Seattle, Washington, had heard soldiers discussing plans to plant a flag on top of the mountain once they successfully claimed it from the Japanese.  “You get it up there and I’ll say Mass under it,” the priest promised them.

After five days of fighting, the Marines reached the base of Mount Surabachi.  Prior to the raising of the United States flag at the top of the mountain, Fr. Suver celebrated Mass for nearly two dozen Marines.

After the war, Fr. Suver returned to Washington state, where he gave spiritual retreats throughout the Northwest.  He also served as chaplain at Gonzaga University in Spokane, and later at Park Rose Care Center in Tacoma.

Fr. Suver died on Easter Sunday, April 11, 1993, at the age of 86.

More than 26,000 Marines were killed or injured during the Battle of Iwo Jima, which lasted from February 19 to March 26, 1945.

Top 3 songs for the week 2/19/77: #1 “Blinded By The Light” (Manfred Mann’s Earth Band)  #2 “New Kid In Town” (Eagles)  #3 “Torn Between Two Lovers” (Mary MacGregor…tune not aging well…)…and…#4 “Love Theme From ‘A Star Is Born’ (Evergreen)” (Barbra Streisand…not a fan of this one either…)  #5 “I Like Dreamin’” (Kenny Nolan…this week is not going well…)  #6 “Enjoy Yourself” (The Jacksons…awful…)  #7 “Car Wash” (Rose Royce…one of the worst tunes of all time…) #8 “Fly Like An Eagle” (Steve Miller…phew, an OK one…)  #9 “Lost Without Your Love” (Bread…whatever…)  #10 “Night Moves” (Bob Seger…what a godawful week…was a freshman at Wake, a middling performance in class, but loving ACC hoops…nonetheless, ‘D’…)

ACC Hoops Scoring List Quiz Answer: Top five in points….

1. Tyler Hansbrough (UNC) 2,872
2. J.J. Redick (Duke) 2,769
3. Johnny Dawkins (Duke) 2,556
4. Rodney Monroe (N.C. State) 2,551
5. Bryant Stith (Virginia) 2,516

6. Christian Laettner (Duke) 2,460
7. Kyle Singler (Duke) 2,392
8. Mike Gminski (Duke) 2,320
9. Jeff Lamp (Virginia) 2,317
10. David Thompson (N.C. State, 3 years) 2,309

The points listed are all from SportReference.com, but their official list for the ACC is only as of 1985-86.  However, they have individual tallies on those who played before, like Dawkins (1982-86).  The other source I used, scacchoops.com, has stats going back to 1954, which is what led me to Dawkins.  There are very slight differences between the two, but you have to combine them to get a firm list.

As an ACC fan, I have to admit I never would have thought of Stith.  My apologies to the Stith family.  [And never would have thought of Singler in the top ten.]

Thompson averaged 24.7, 26.0, and 29.9 over his three seasons, 86 games.

Wake fans, Randolph Childress is No. 16, Tim Duncan 25. [Len Chappell 19.]

You know who I found shocking?  Ralph Sampson (Virginia, 1979-83).  He never averaged 20 points a game for a season, but all four years, his rebound average was between 11.2 and 11.7!

As an old reality show would have put it, “That’s Incredible!”

***No mid-week Bar Chat…but it’s because I’ll be working on a new All-Species List.  Long overdue.  ‘Man’ will once again not fare well.

 

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