Briefly.
It’s madness I tell you!
Speaking of the madness:
I admittedly haven’t been paying enough attention to college hoops. Hey, I’m busy! BUT, this frosh from Kansas, Josh Jackson??? He’s the best player on the team and his teammate could be named college player of the year! And De’aaron Fox from Kentucky? Unfreakinbelieveable talent!
You know where we are, right? The greatest time of the year for sports fans! The NCAA basketball tournament, NBA/NHL playoffs shaping up, Opening Day right around the corner, the Masters in two weeks. It’s madness I tell you!!!
Trivia: Who is the leading scorer in men’s NCAA Division 1 basketball history (total points)?
Listed as the 5th leading scorer in D-1 postseason for this season is Haverhill’s Tyler Nelson, a Stag from Fairfield U.
I heard a good one the other night – January, February, Izzo, April
Did you catch the John 3:16 sign at last weekend’s Kansas/Mich St. game? Maybe I haven’t been paying attention but I haven’t seen that in a while, at any venue.
Hey, you don’t like it? Go to Norway! Supposedly you’ll be happier there.
Marcus Stroman pitched 6 no-hit innings as team USA defeated Puerto Rico for the World Baseball Classic gold medal. Stroman, who hails from Puerto Rico, stated in 2013 that he would play for Puerto Rico and represent his mother. I work with a guy from Puerto Rico who travels there frequently and he told me how ticked off he/they are with Stroman. I’m sure we would be hearing more about had it been the other way around.
Johnny… be good!
The battle is over. New York-based development company Related Beal and Boston University have reached an agreement and the CITGO sign is staying where it is!
Monday, March 20 was one thing and that is not the first day of spring. It was Bobby Orr’s birthday. Period.
Headline of the week: “Scientists Unravel Secrets of How Sperm Swim” – wow, that must have been quite a study.
This week’s sign of the apocalypse – Physicians have noted an uptick in appointments for vasectomies from men seeking the procedure around the start of the NCAA tournament, with some going as far as to promote the procedure as a way to catch the games on the couch without interruptions.
I’m not sure what to make of the whole NBA-Sitting-Their-Stars thing. The NFL doesn’t do it (except for maybe the last game before the playoffs), Barry Melrose claims the NHL doesn’t sit players, MLB does several times in a season. What if an MLB team pushes a pitcher’s start out a game? Same thing. There is no obligation to the fans. Get over it. Oh, I guess I am sure what to make of it…
Want to be humbled? It’s a little late this year, closing ceremonies are today, but watch the Special Olympics sometime. I caught a little of the World Games which just took place in Austria. Bear with me here while I explain something that bothers me. There was a piece on ESPN about a kid from Lansing, MI who competes in the snowshoe sprints. He qualified and went to Austria. Segway to the finals where he and 2 other Americans finished 1,2,3 and were all disqualified. Why? Their time in the final was 15% or more faster than their qualifying time. There is a rule in place for the prevention of sandbagging. I don’t know what pisses me off more. The fact that the rule is apparently needed or that the kid I was watching, and the other two, got disqualified. What a kick in the balls.
Do you know someone who’s been to Iceland? Ya, I do too. Iceland now wants to limit how many people visit their country, which has seen a huge influx of tourism because of its beautiful natural heritage. The numbers of visitors to the country has grown from 490,000 in 2010 to an estimated 2.3 million this year. American tourists alone outnumbered Iceland’s local population of just over 300,000 people.
Out of Old Orchard Beach – Maine’s state fire marshal says a man burned down his parents’ house and killed three pets (two cats and one dog) while trying to exterminate ants in his basement with matches. Investigators say 21-year-old Devon Doucette was trying to incinerate the ants with wooden matches when one of them ignited combustible materials. Doucette was treated for smoke inhalation and burns after he carried some burning items out of the house. His parents were not home at the time. Now I could see myself doing that, but maybe when I was 8, not 21.
Chris Sale struck out 10 in 6 innings as the Red Sox beat the yankees. Just Sayin’.
This year New England’s classic marshmallow cream, known as Fluff, turns 100 years old. It’s still made in the area, in Lynn, MA. Mimi Graney, one of the founders of a festival focused on Fluff, will have her new book – Fluff: The Sticky, Sweet Story of an American Icon – published later this month. DTK, Archibald Query invented Fluff in 1917 and the same recipe is used by Durkee-Mower today. Archibald had a home-based kitchen and sold the product door-to-door. He had to shelve it during World War I because of sugar shortages. While working for a large candy company, he met Fred Mower who bought the recipe and Durkee-Mower started making Fluff again. For me?, only in hot chocolate.
“It’s not how fast you mow, it’s how you mow fast”
R.I.P. Chuck Berry
R.I.P. Dallas Green, manager of the 1980 World Series Champion Phillies. That team will always hold a special place in my heart – Steve Carlton, Mike Schmidt, Greg Luzinski, Tug McGraw, etc.
For my NAZCAR fans, R.I.P. Pete Hamilton. Pete was the only winner of the Daytona 527 who hailed from MA (Dedham)
And finally, R.I.P. Chuck Barris. Last weekend over a beer, Chuck Barris, the Gong Show and Gene Gene the Dancing Machine came up in conversation. I’m serious. If you were a fan of the ‘Gong Show’ at the time, you will appreciate this classic clip. Gene Gene the Dancing Machine, though not on every show, was a regular guest. Note how many people are on their feet early in this clip as compared to the end. Chuck was just a guy having the time of his life!
DYK – If you do a ‘spellcheck’ on Luzinski it comes up with Lewinski? That’s just not right.
Trivia answer: “Pistol” Pete Maravich (3,667 points) – DYK, Maravich played back in the day when freshmen were not allowed to play at the varsity level. What? Yes, he set the scoring record in 3 seasons averaging 44.2 per season. Trust me. With today’s one-and-dones, this record is as safe as any in sports.
“Deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans,
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood,
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode
Who never ever learned to read or write so well,
But he could play a guitar just like a ringing a bell.”
Ed's Head On Friday 