The Wearing of the Green...
St. Patrick's Day which is tomorrow, started as a day of honoring St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland who died on March 17th in the year 461. But few if any, know or care how this day started. It's a day for parades, a Black 47 concert at B.B. King's club in Times Square, Irish and Gaelic-inspired music and stories on radio, the Chieftains, toasting a few at the pubs, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, the Celtics and Kermit the Frog. Jim Kerr will be doing his Q-104.3 show from Connolly's on 47th Street and Imus invades Boston for his annual visit, this time with an interview of presidential candidate and former Governor Mitt Romney but with plenty of time to trash people as only the I-Man can do. It's also a day for Howard (no 'K') Stern who loves the color green and will be counting his favorite color...
With the NCAA playoffs in full swing now, the color green might come into play with 3 teams wearing the lucky color today and tomorrow. Could this be an omen? Those that dream in brackets at this time of year would believe anything is possible and might back the wearing of the green on the backs of the basketball players who shed their sweat today and on Saturday for Notre Dame, Oregon and Michigan State...
There are 33.7 million residents of the U.S. of Irish ancestry but everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day. Go ahead, wear a 'Kiss Me I'm Irish' button. I dare you...
To get you in a St. Patrick's Day mood is a video clip of The Corrs and Chieftains: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vtp4adNTP0Y ...
Timeline Memories...
"Happy Trails": 1970] Tammi Terrell dies from a malignant brain tumor just a month and a half away from her 25th birthday. She had collapsed on stage in October of 1967 while singing with Marvin Gaye...
"The long gray line": 1802] Congress authorizes the establishment of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (NY)...
Hello Bello: 1881] The Barnum and Bailey Circus debuts (who is Bello and why does he have 7" orange hair?)...
Cherry Pie: 1912] Mrs. William Howard Taft plants the 1st cherry tree in Washington (DC). The National Anthem is performed by Skip and Flip...
A.K.A. The Loser Bowl: 1938] Promoter Ned Irish of Madison Square Garden organizes the 1st N.I.T. tournament with Temple beating Colorado in the championship game. The NCAA tournament was organized in 1939 and has been recognized as the best college tournament for what seems like forever. Teams not picked for that tournament end up in the NIT...
The NBA expands: 1970] The NBA adds teams in Cleveland (Cavaliers), Buffalo (Braves, who move to San Diego and then to LA as the Clippers) and Portland (Trail Blazers). The league also realigns into the Atlantic, Central, South and Pacific divisions...
Rink Tragedy: 2002] 13-year old hockey fan Brittanie Cecil is hit by a puck during an NHL game between her hometown Columbus Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames. She dies 2 days later from her injuries...
Released on this date: 1963] "Puff, the Magic Dragon" - Peter, Paul & Mary (this 1962 album cut is released as a single surrounded by controversy that the song is about drugs. It's not)...1964] "Can't Buy Me Love" - Beatles...
Grammy Gold: 1971] Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" LP and single wins 6 Grammy's...
Grand Ole Suburbia: 1974] The new Opryland auditorium is dedicated and The Grand Ole Opry moves there from the Ryman auditorium...
Showbiz Tragedy: 1991] 7 members of Reba McEntire's band and her road manager are killed when their private plane goes down near the California border with Mexico. Luckily Reba was on another plane...
Wedding Bells: 2002] Liza Minnelli makes her 4th trip down the aisle when she marries her producer and boyfriend David Gest. They're still working on that mess of a divorce...
My-Lai, My-God: 1968] U.S. troops under the direction of Lt. William L. Calley Jr. destroy a Vietnam village consisting mostly of women and children, killing hundreds. The event is known as the 'My-Lai Massacre"...
Kidnapped: 1978] Italian politician Aldo Moro is kidnapped by left-wing guerrillas. Moro is later found murdered by the group...1984] CIA station chief in Beirut, William Buckley is kidnapped by gunmen and will die in captivity...1985] AP newsman Terry Anderson is taken hostage in Beirut but is finally released in December of 1991...
"Guilty as Charged": 1988] Former National Security Adviser John M. Poindexter, former White House aide Oliver L. North and 2 others are indicted on charges relating to the Iran-Contra affair. The convictions of Poindexter and North are thrown out...1994] Tonya Harding pleads guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution for covering up the attack on rival skater Nancy Kerrigan and is fined $100,000...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in each timeline]...
Commentary...
"Happy Trails" to former baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn who passed away at 80 from respiratory failure yesterday. Kuhn was the commish for 15 years and here's a sad update on Boston lead singer Brad Delp. Delp left a suicide note saying "he was a lonely soul". Toxicology tests showed he had committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning...
"Happy Birthday...happy Birthday":
Lauren ("Gilmore Girls") Graham (40), Nancy Wilson of Heart (53), Kate Nelligan (56), Erik Estrada (58), Chuck Woolery (66) and Jerry Lewis (81)...
Timeline Countdown: 5 days until spring and 16 days until Opening Day...
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St. Patrick's Day, Saturday, March 17, 2007...
Timeline Memories...
"Happy Trails": 461] St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland dies from unknown causes...1993] Legendary actress Helen Hayes dies of congestive heart failure at 92...
"Happy Times": 1756] New York City's 1st St. Patrick's Day celebration is held at the Crown and Thistle Tavern...
The Redcoats are here: 1776] British forces evacuate the city of Boston during the Revolutionary War (On St. Patrick's Day? Now they're really asking for it!)...
Putting Wellesley on the map: 1870] Wellesley College is incorporated by the Massachusetts legislature under its 1st name, Wellesley Female Seminary...
Falling like an oak: 1897] Bob Fitzsimmons, a 167-pound middleweight KOs Gentleman Jim Corbett in the 14th round to claim the world title. After the fight, Fitzsimmons says of the 183-pound Corbett: "The bigger they are, the harder they fall."...
Wedding Bells: 1905] Franklin D. Roosevelt marries his distant cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt in New York City. President Theodore Roosevelt, FDR's 5th cousin, gives his niece away. How nice that Eleanor didn't have to change her last name but how distant a cousin was she???
Recorded on this date: 1958] "Yakety Yak" - Coasters...1967] "Come Back When You Grow Up" - Bobby Vee...
Debuted on this date: 1962] Ray Charles starts his own (Tangerine) label...1968] The Bee Gees make their U.S. television debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show" singing "To Love Somebody" and "Words"...
Deadly Family Feud: 1982] Samuel George Jr. of the Capitols ("Cool Jerk") is stabbed to death in a family argument. George was 39...
Gold Standard: 1997] The RIAA announces that the Eagles' "Greatest Hits" LP has tied Michael Jackson's "Thriller" as the all-time best-selling album in the U.S...
Got a match?: 1910] The Camp Fire Girls Organization is founded by Luther and Charlotte Gulick. Two years later they begin operation...
Get out of town: 1959] The Dalai Lama a.k.a. Lhama Dhondrub Tenzin Gyatso (I wonder what it was before he changed it?) flees Tibet for India...2003] President George W. Bush gives Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave Iraq. He rejects the ultimatum. Tick...tick...tick...
"This I Swear": 1969] Golda Meir is sworn in as the 4th premier of Israel...
"L" is for losers: 1973] The Philadelphia 76ers set an NBA record for futility, losing their 68th game of the season. They finish the season 9-73 and remain the only NBA team in history not to reach double figures in wins...
Sniff...sniff: 1999] Medical experts conclude that marijuana has medical benefits for cancer and AIDS patients...
Steroid segue: 2005] Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa (who just made the Texas Rangers roster) testify before Congress that they hadn't used steroids while Mark McGwire refuses to say whether he had...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Caroline Corr (The Corrs) (34), Mia (Mrs. Nomah) Hamm (35), Rob Lowe (43), Gary Sinise (52), Kurt Russell (56), John Sebastian (63), Paul Kantner (66)...
Timeline Countdown: 4 days until spring and 15 days until Opening Day...
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Sunday, March 18, 2007...
Timeline Memories...
Henry-William?: 1850] Henry Wells and William Fargo found Wells-Fargo (good thing that didn't call it Henry-William)...
"Can you hear me now?": 1909] Einar Dessau of Denmark uses a shortwave transmitter to talk to a government radio post about 6 miles away. It is believed to be the 1st broadcast by a 'ham' operator...
In the slammer: 1922] Mohandas K. Gandhi is sentenced to prison in India for civil disobedience. Gandhi will serve 2 years of a 6-year sentence...2005] Former Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland is sentenced to a year in prison and 4 months under house arrest for corruption...
Premiered on this date: 1931] Schick Inc. markets the 1st electric razor...1961] The Poppin' Fresh "Pillsbury Dough Boy" is introduced...1968] Mel Brooks' film "The Producers" premieres starring Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel. The movie wins an Oscar for 'Best Screenplay"...
The Braves take a powder: 1953] Boston loses the Braves as NL President Warren Giles and all the NL team owners approve the Braves decision to move to Milwaukee. They will eventually wind up in Atlanta where they are now...
"Reunited and it feels so good": 1990] Baseball owners and players agree to a new labor agreement, ending a 32-day pre-season strike...1997] Joni Mitchell reunites with the daughter she gave up for adoption many years earlier...
"Happy Together": 1986] Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of Prince Andrew to Sarah Ferguson...
Pulling the plug: 2005] Doctors in Florida, acting on orders of a state judge, remove Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. The brain-damaged Schiavo will die 13 days later...
"Guilty as Charged": 1992] Leona ("Queen of Mean") Helmsley is sentenced to 4 years in prison for tax evasion...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Queen Latifah (37), Olympic speed skater Bonnie Blair (43), Vanessa Williams (44), Charlie Pride (69), John Updike (75) and Peter Graves (81)...
Timeline Countdown: 3 days until spring and 13 days until Opening Day...
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