The Good
You have to be good to be honored with a statue and this guy is as good as they come. Known as "Mr. Cub", Hall of Famer Ernie Banks had this to say about this special honor: "This is a truly tremendous honor. I would like to thank John McDonough (Cubs president), the entire Cubs organization and its fans, as well as all the people who helped me throughout my playing career. The Cubs mean everything to me". The likeness of Banks who played his entire career in Chicago will be erected at Wrigley Field by Opening Day 2008. No other 'good' candidate comes close to winning our 'Good" Award of The Week. Congratulations Ernie...
The Bad
First bad boy golfer John Daly made news during the week claiming that his wife cut him with a knife. Then Mrs. Daly, Sherrie by name, accused her husband of scratching himself in an attempt to cover up his "sexual assault" of her. Yesterday the pugnacious pair (pair of what?) refused to press criminal charges against the other. The sad part is that they have a 3-year son. Other 'Bad' candidates include: Hector "Macho" Camacho, sentenced to the maximum seven years in prison in Biloxi (MS) for burglary, a Detroit stripper claims she was inappropriately touched by Lions defensive tackle Shaun Rogers. Police are reviewing the claims. Nuggets reserve forward DerMarr Johnson was charged with resisting arrest and interfering with police during a disturbance outside a Colorado nightclub. Johnson was tasered by police to calm him down, White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski was suspended for his conduct in a game, something that's become a pattern for the player with 9 different letters of the alphabet in one name and Houston's Lance Berkman was suspended for 2 games and fined for going berserk in a game. The winner(s) of the 'Bad' Award of the Week' have to be: John and Sherrie Daly for their story alone...
The Ugly
The death of a passenger in the SUV of Denver guard J.R. Smith is a tragic story. Andre Bell, 21, a friend of Smith's was killed when the SUV overturned in New Jersey after going through a stop sign and colliding with another car. Smith remains hospitalized but so far, no charges have been filed against him. I'll keep an open mind about this case pending further developments. But here's a story truly worthy of an 'Ugly' award: Former NFL lineman Bob Buczkowski, who played for 4 teams before retiring in 1991, pleaded guilty to helping run a million-dollar prostitution ring with his girlfriend out of his parents' suburban Pittsburgh home. Case closed. Bob Buczkowski is the 'Ugly' Award Winner of the Week'...
TGTBTU Update
Ruben Patterson, Milwaukee Bucks forward who failed to register as a convicted sex offender after moving to a new neighborhood in Cincinnati, pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge...Adam "Pacman" Jones, Titans cornerback withdrew his appeal of a year-long NFL suspension. What took him so long to come to that decision??? The feds continue to investigate the dog fighting business and any possible Michael Vick involvement. Still no charges have been filed against Vick...Jason Giambi continues to twist in the wind without making a decision yet on whether to testify at the behest of MLB commissioner Bud Selig in the steroid mess and the nearly five-year probe of alleged performance-enhancing drug use by Barry Bonds and others (there are others?) is about to wrap up. Don't expect any bombshells dropped as a result of the investigation...
10 Timeline Memories:
- 1912] Diamond Dust: Christy Mathewson pitches a no-hitter and wins his 300th game. What did he do for an encore??? 1921] Babe Ruth pitches 5 innings in a Yankee victory over Detroit and hits 2 home runs to boot...1948] The Red Sox play their 1st night game at Fenway before 34,510 happy fans as Boston beats Chicago 5-3...1949] Babe Ruth bows out at Yankee Stadium as his #3 is retired...2003] Roger Clemens wins his 300th game and becomes the 3rd pitcher to reach 4,000 strikeouts. June 12th continues to be a good day for pitchers...Last night, the Tigers' Justin Verlander pitched a no-hitter against Milwaukee...
- 1922] Hic...hic...hic: Charlie Osborne (not the newscaster) of Anthon (IA) starts the longest attack of hiccups, hiccupping for over 68 years (approximately 435 million times) before stopping. Despite the hiccupping, Charlie lived a normal life with a wife and 2 children (twins?). He got the malady while slaughtering a hog in 1922 (revenge of the hog?) and didn't stop until 1991. Charlie died 11 months after he stopped hiccupping at the ripe old age of 97...
- 1935] The Cinderella Man: James J. Braddock, a 29-year old New Jersey longshoreman wins the world heavyweight championship in a 15-round decision over Max Baer. Braddock will wear the crown for 2 years before losing it to Joe Lewis...
- 1943] You have rellll-a-tiffs on Long Island?: German spies land near Amagansett (LI) in the Hamptons. Apparently they weren't looking for a summer place. They arrived by submarine with cash, dynamite, fuses, wires, timers and bombs. They were arrested...
- 1966] They didn't have Carmen in mind: The Supreme Court issues its landmark 'Miranda vs. Arizona' decision, ruling that criminal suspects must be informed of their constitutional rights prior to questioning. These would become known as 'Miranda Rights'...
- 1972] "Happy Trails": The Drifters original lead singer, 39-year old Clyde McPhatter, who had several solo hits, dies of a heart attack. Clyde is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Elvis Presley once said he wished his voice were the equal of McPhatter's...1986] Benny Goodman, the 'King of Swing' dies of an apparent heart attack in Manhattan at 77...
- 1994] Guilty as charged: A jury in Anchorage blames recklessness by Exxon and Capt. Joseph Hazelwood for the Exxon Valdez disaster, allowing victims of the nation's worst oil spill to seek $15 billion in damages...1997] A jury votes to give Timothy McVeigh the death penalty for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing...Not guilty as charged: 2005] Michael Jackson is found not guilty on all counts in his child molestation trial in Santa Maria (CA)...
- 2000] An urgent appeal: Julius "Dr. J" Erving issues a public appeal for help in finding his 19-year old son Cory, missing since May 28th. Cory's body will be found July 6th...
- 2000] "I beg your pardon": Italy pardons Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish gunman who tried to kill Pope John II in 1981...
- 2004] "Geronimoooooooo": Former President George H.W. Bush parachute jumps from 13,000 feet to celebrate his 80th birthday the day before...
Music Memories:
- 1967] The Beatles dominate the charts with the #1 single ("Long and Winding Road") and LP ("Let It Be"): Here's the studio video of Paul singing "Let It Be": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67J_66hdN-I ...
- There's a boxed set of Sun Records product now available on 7" vinyl. "Get Rhythm" offers 6-highly collectible singles from the legendary label including: "I Walk The Line" and "Get Rhythm" - Johnny Cash, "Matchbox" and "Your True Love" - Carl Perkins and "Great Balls of Fire" and "You Win Again" - Jerry Lee Lewis. There are also 3 discs by Jack Earls, Billy Riley and Tommy Blake. You may e-mail bob@bimbamrec.freeserve.co.uk for information on buying the box set. Thanks to Gordon Brown for passing this along to me...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in each timeline]...
"Commentary"...
"Happy Trails" to the TV celebrity known as "Mr. Wizard" a.k.a. Don Herbert who passed away from bone cancer at 89. Herbert made his mark in the 50's as the guy we most wanted as our science teacher. "Watch Mr. Wizard" was on from 1951 to 1964, receiving a Peabody Award in 1954. Herbert was seen frequently as a guest on TV and was one of the first guests on the debut of "Late Night with David Letterman" in 1982...On a more pleasant note, J.J. Jordan, who never met a party he didn't throw, has put one together for past and present employees of Satellite Music Network. Please contact Jay @ jjjordan75218@yahoo.com no later than July 27th if you're interested in attending the event on Saturday, August 4 for lunch at 1 p.m. with John Tyler, J.J. and many of your old friends at the Texas Land & Cattle Steakhouse, 3130 Lemmon Avenue, Dallas, 75204...note to Jay a.k.a. Jay Durkin: They're not 'old' friends, they're 'experienced' and valued friends...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (21), Hannah Storm (45), Tim Allen (54), Richard (John-Boy) Thomas (56), Dennis Locorriere a.k.a. Dr. Hook (58) and here's Dennis with the song that put he and his Medicine Show and Junk Band "On the cover of Rolling Stone": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGsl0IXPZGI , Siegfried (who will no doubt celebrate with Roy) (68) and Christo (72) who will be wrapping Paris Hilton in bubblewrap and hanging her upside down in her cell while birds pop the bubblewrap...
Timeline Countdown: 4 days until Father's Day, 8 days until Summer and 21 days until July 4th...
...
