The Good...The Bad...The Ugly...of 2006
The Good
This story didn't surface until December. That was when we found out that former NFL All-Pro corner back Everson Walls will become a live kidney donor. The recipient of the kidney is former Dallas teammate Ron Springs, a diabetic who had his right foot amputated 2 years ago. When Walls found out that relatives of Springs were turned down for a possible transplant, he volunteered one of his own. The entire process was supposed to be kept private but Spring's son, a member of the Washington Redskins leaked the story to the Washington Post. "Shawn threw a little wrench into this". Walls went on: "We just want everyone to realize that it was never our intention to bring this out in the open. I had to do it anyway. I couldn't sit here and do nothing". Runner up: Tiger Woods who had another good year of golf despite losing his father and having his wife exposed on the Internet...
| The Bad It's T.O. by a K.O. Terrell Owens wins this one easily. As soon as training camp opened for the Dallas Cowboys, Owens was not practicing enough, falling asleep or missing meetings entirely. In September he denied trying to kill himself despite taking an overdose of pain medication. In December he spit in the face of Atlanta corner back DeAngelo Hall. Then there were the flamboyant end zone celebrations. Runner Up: Zinedine Zidane who ended a brilliant soccer career by head butting Italy's Marco Meterazzi and losing the World Cup for France... The Ugly This was the toughest of the 3 categories to choose an award winner or loser in, a statement about the state of the world of sports. There was Trevor Berbick who was killed by one of his nephews, Albert Haynesworth who stomped on the head of Andre Gurode, Tank Johnson for gun and marijuana possession charges, resisting arrest and being present in an after-hours club when a homicide occurred but The Ugly award of the year goes to: Nicholas Crowdis the killer of former 22-year old Vermont hockey star, Michael Serba. Serbawas viciously attacked by Crowdis outside a Canadian bar on November 25th and died on the 28th. Crowdis is charged with second-degree murder. Runner Up: Former sports agent David Frost who was a target of a murder-for-hire plot by his client, St. Louis Blues forward Mike Danton. In August, Frost was arrested on 12 counts of sexual exploitation and one count of assault. The charges related to crimes committed to his time as coach of a junior hockey team and involve acts of minors of both sexes between the ages of 14 and 16... Today's video link is a Four Seasons single that was released on this date in 1975 although the title of the song contains a different date: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3ju2kx2eoE |
Timeline Memories...
- [1831] Charles Darwin sets sail for the Pacific aboard the HMS Beagle. Darwin's discoveries during the voyage help him form the basis of his theories on evolution...
- [1932] Radio City Music Hall opens to the public...
- [1967] Red Holzman is named head coach of the New York Knicks, replacing Dick McGuire (Holzman turns the Knicks around and will win 2 NBA titles before retiring in 1982)...
"Happy Trails": 1985] Dian Fossey, 53, American naturalist who studied gorillas in the wild, is found murdered at a research station in Rwanda...
"How dry I Am": 1900] Carrie Nation stages her 1st raid on a saloon in Kansas, breaking every liquor bottle she can find...
"But oh how they could harmonize": 1903] "Sweet Adeline" is sung for the 1st time by a barbershop quartet in New York City...
Premiered on this date: 1904] "Peter Pan" premieres in London...
Debuted on this date: 1947] "Howdy Doody" debuts on NBC-TV hosted by Buffalo Bob Smith...1964] The Supremes make their 1st appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on CBS-TV...
The Final Curtain: 1968] "The Breakfast Club" with Don McNeill signs off for the last time on ABC radio after 35 years on the air...1970] "Hello Dolly!" closes on Broadway after an initial run of 4 1/2 years (not to worry, this musical will always pop up at any time)...
Prime Time: 1971] "The Sonny & Cher Show" begins airing as a regular series on CBS-TV (after starting as a summer replacement on August 1st)...
On the cover of Newsweek: 1971] Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy and Woodstock of Charles Schulz' "Peanuts" graces the cover...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in each timeline]...
Commentary...
We lost a trio of giants over the Christmas weekend: A former president, a godfather and a doctor. Gerald R. Ford, our 38th president died yesterday (12/26). Ford had battled pneumonia in January and underwent 2 heart treatments in August. No cause of death was issued but the former president was 93, the same age Ronald Reagan died..
James Brown, the Godfather of Soul passed away on Sunday (12/24) of heart failure. His age was reported as 73 but he was probably older. The marquee at B.B. King's in Times Square, where J.B. was scheduled to perform on New Year's eve says "In memory of James Brown. R.I.P." The Godfather will lay in state at the Apollo Theater in Harlem after a private ceremony in Brown's hometown, Augusta (GA)...
The doctor was the legendary Bill Paley sidekick, Dr. Frank Stanton, who along with Paley was responsible for the development of TV broadcasting in the U.S. Stanton was 98 and had been in declining health...
On the lighter side: Gordon Brown submits the name of the first record he played in radio. It was "(Give Me A) Pinto Pal" by Elton Britt, a Country tune, circa 1954. It would become the theme song of "Hillbilly Guest House" hosted by Norm Rapoza on WNBH am/fm in New Bedford (MA)...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Arthur ("Scud Stud") Kent (53), Tovah Feldshuh (54), Mick (Foreigner) Jones (62), Cokie Roberts (63), John Amos (67) and Sun Records musician Scotty Moore (75)...
Timeline Countdown: 4 days until 2007, 10 days until the NFL playoffs, 12 days until the BCS championship game, 39 days until Super Bowl XLI and 50 days until pitchers & catchers...
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