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Showing results for tags 'Indiana'.
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People don't remember how great Don Mattingly was for awhile - I was actually going to make an investment, and buy about 50 of his rookie cards (I am glad I didn't make that mistake, since the baseball card market completely collapsed). Without looking at any statistics, I have a vague recollection of him having a ton of RBIs, and I remember a good friend of mine commenting on how he always led the league in doubles, too. What happened to him? I guess I could read his Wikipedia entry, but he seemed like a sure-fire Hall of Fame player, and then ... fizzle. I did see that he had *six* Grand Slams in one season (1987), and took note that Willie Randolph was on first base every single time. --- ETA - I couldn't help but see some statistics as I was tagging this post, and he has a .307 career batting average - why isn't he in the Hall? I see that the Yankees won the World Series the year before his rookie season, and the year after he retired, but never during his career - is this why? -
I swore for a moment I was looking at something from "The Onion," but I wasn't: "Couple One Visit Away from Visiting Every Cracker Barrel in America" by Katie Kindelan on abcnews.go.com Some peoples' impression may be to laugh and dismiss, but I've done similar "themed" vacations where the theme itself is a MacGuffin, just to enjoy the travel itself. This couple looks like they're truly happy and in love, and as for Cracker Barrel not being healthy or good food, well, look at their age. Of course, the Yoders are only in their early 40s.
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Last month I took a flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and the plane wasn't full, but when I walked towards the back, I found there was only one row left with a single person in it, so I nabbed the aisle seat while another gentleman sat by the window (the middle seat being vacant). As soon as I sat down, I glanced over and said to myself, "This guy is an athlete." He was big, and fully dressed in NBA gear - not in a showy way, but in a "this is how I normally dress" way. I told him that all the other rows had two people in it, and that I'd give him plenty of room in the center - he was appreciative, and actually fell asleep for the entire flight - I asked no questions so he could have his privacy. But leaving the plane, I noticed he was sporting a well-worn "Reno Bighorns" backpack - the Bighorns are the NBA G-League team for the Sacramento Kings. Five minutes of research told me I'd been sitting next to Reggie Hearn. I wrote him a brief note on Facebook, wishing him luck, as he's steadily improving each year - he wrote back, and we exchanged a couple cordial notes - it turns out he's a super-nice guy, family oriented, and a starting 6'5" guard for the Bighorns. He asked why I didn't strike up a conversation, and I told him this little anecdote about one time I was in Dulles Airport: "Reggie, I thought you'd enjoy this story: I make a habit of giving celebrities (yes, you're a celebrity) their privacy. One day, I was walking up the ramp at Dulles Airport near Washington, DC, and in the distance, walking towards me, I saw a VERY tall man coming. I said to myself, "This is one of the tallest people I've ever seen," even though he was still about 50 feet away. I purposely didn't stare at him, but when we came to within about 20 feet of each other, an airport porter up above started shouting, "My hero! My hero!" I looked up, and it was KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR! He looked kind of annoyed, like he just wanted to get the heck out of there - I let him have his privacy and didn't even acknowledge him, figuring that's the best gift I could have given him after a long flight. Best regards, Don Rockwell" So, from this point forward, your moderator is an accidental Reggie Hearn fan, and I look forward to following his career going forward - it's kind of scary that someone this good hasn't quite made the leap to the NBA. Reggie Hearn Northwestern Stats on espn.com Reggie Hearn Reno Bighorns highlights on gleague.nba.com
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There are a couple things I didn't know about Indiana State's Men's basketball program: * They've played in the NCAA since 1896, making them the oldest program in the nation along with Bucknell, Minnesota, and Washington (who knew?!) * The legendary 1978-1979 team almost wasn't quite so legendary: Against New Mexico State (and remember, there was no 3-point shot then), they were behind 83-81 with 3 seconds remaining, and New Mexico State was at the free-throw line! The shooter missed, Brad Miley got the rebound, and passed to Bob Heaton, who heaved a desperation, 50-foot bank-shot in at the buzzer. Indiana State won the game in overtime.
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The Dantley-led Fighting Irish ended the Walton-led Bruins' 88-game winning streak. In the last 35 years, only Adrian Dantley and Michael Jordan have averaged over 30 points-per-game in 4 consecutive seasons in the NBA. Jan 8, 2015 - "Why Is One of the NBA's All-Time Great Scorers Refereeing JV Games?" by Dave McKenna on deadspin.com "From NBA to MoCo Rec League, Hall of Famer Adrian Dantley Won't Change His Stripes" by Dan Steinberg on washingtonpost.com When I was growing up, there was Adrian Dantley, and everybody else. I suspect that, other than players like Elgin Baylor, maybe Dave Bing, he's the most legendary DC-area high-school player in history - there were articles about him in the Washington Post seemingly once a week. I was in awe of him at age 12, and I distinctly remember Tracy Jackson (whose brother is a pretty good friend of mine (*)) saying in an interview that his role model was Adrian Dantley. (*) I will never forget the day Paint Branch played Springbrook, and Jackson windmill dunked it - he was about the only player on either team that could dunk in those days. He was joking after the game, and I remember him saying, "When we play Springbrook, we be playin' poker in the locker room and shit." And this guy didn't even curse (he also didn't talk like that; he was trying to be funny). This article does not surprise me *at all* - such was the mentality of Montgomery County (including DeMatha) basketball in the 1970s - they were a tight group. I'm thinking also about DaveO saying Dantley was a ball-hog, and I think the reason might be because he's viewing him as an NBA player; I'm viewing him as "hometown boy makes good." I also don't think he was any more of a ball-hog than Elvin Hayes, who averaged 1.8 assists-per-game over the course of his career (Dantley averaged 3.0). Hayes would get the ball, turn his back to the basket, start dribbling backwards, and then shoot his unstoppable left-handed, fade-away bank shot - he wouldn't even be looking at his teammates - as soon as he got the ball, you *knew* he was going to do this, and he did it quite effectively. All this said, I can see a statistical case made for either player being thought of as such - when you average over 20 points-per-game, and less than 3 assists-per-game, that's getting a little suspect; I wish I remembered Dantley's NBA game better than I do. I had absolutely *no* idea that the Notre Dame - UCLA game had this type of finish: This is one of the most exciting endings I have ever seen in a basketball game (I was also incorrect up top when I said "Dantley-led Notre Dame" - John Shumate led them that season; it was the following two seasons when you could legitimately call Dantley the "leader." For the very first time, I now understand why Walton apologized to people for "letting them down" - even though he did absolutely nothing wrong, this is the type of game that will eat at an athlete's core for the rest of their life.):
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Well, now we do. (How is Larry Bird only four years younger than Bill Walton?!) I don't have much to say right now, but I will include this video which is extraordinary:
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I don't recall seeing McGinnis in the ABA. Clearly he was a superstar. And he was a physical stud. Very well built, sort of a Lebron or a Karl Malone type--much thicker and stronger than other players on the court. But when he got to Philadelphia and later teamed with Dr J, something was off. They didn't mesh well and Dr J was better. In fact they had a lot of similar basketball attributes, even as they were so physically different. They didn't team well and they didn't complement one another. Overall in that '77 NBA championship he was outplayed by Maurice Lucas who covered McGinnis. Philly traded him and he simply wasn't dominating as he did in the ABA, and I recall him sort of like a ball hog... His skills and achievements diminished in the NBA. I suspect it was age. McGinnis would clearly have great highlights as he was a physical stud...and it wasn't that the NBA was that much (or even marginally better) but his skills diminished and/or he simply team well. OTOH I bet he is a big basketball hero in Indianapolis. Its where his earlier career flourished. -
Indeed. I hope this doesn't leave anyone Monon, but: TO REMOVE THAT MUSIC FROM YOUR WEBSITE! (Doesn't anyone see how cool this website is going to be? Help me get it started, by posting as much as you can, about as many different topics as you can, while I'm still around to point everything in a general direction. I already know it's going to be big (so if I get hit by a train, you don't need to say, "I wish he could have been around to see it"), but it *would* be nice to see things start growing during my lifetime.) Cheers, The Atomizer
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You often hear - generally derisively - when someone scores a "triple-double" (10+ points, rebounds, and assists) in the NBA these days, an old-timer (like me!) say, "Big deal. Oscar Robertson averaged a triple-double for an *entire season*!" Well, that's true, he did, in the 1961-1962 season, but while looking at his statistics, I noticed something else: he averaged a triple-double for his first FIVE seasons. All it took was a little simple arithmetic - click here and you can see for yourself. And, he came a gnat's eyelash away from averaging a triple-double for his first SIX seasons (after his sixth season, his rebounds per game average went down to 9.95+ ... if he had gotten just 4 more rebounds per season, he would have done it for six years). All this, *and* he averaged over 30 points per game during those seasons - his first six in the NBA! That's unbelievable. "The Big O" has got to be on the short list of greatest basketball players ever, with serious consideration as *the best* guard in history. People talk about how tall Magic was, but Robertson was 6'5" fully fifty-five years ago and playing point guard! "Kareem Says Oscar Robertson Better Than Jordan Or LeBron" by Kurt Helin on nba.nbcsports.com Google "How good was Oscar Robertson?" There's a lot of interesting reading. You know, even I've gotten sucked into thinking "Jordan's the greatest ever," but you can't say that if you didn't see Robertson, Chamberlain, Russell, Baylor, and Abdul-Jabbar in their primes. You just can't!
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Just got an email from Bluegrass Tavern in Baltimore- they are planning a release of Templeton Rye next Tuesday night. It's a great small batch rye whiskey from Templeton, Iowa. It was Al Capone's favorite whiskey during prohibition, and was only previously available in Iowa, Illinois, and most recently NYC and SF. Had some a year or so ago- great stuff. Glad to see it more available. Any word on a release in the DC area? -
Alas, they bring us little box lunches at the Speedway. Still, I managed to enjoy one good evening of dining, thanks to a 6-month-old Korean restaurant in the suburb of Fishers, called DaMi (10989 Allisonville Rd). Starting off with a dozen or so assorted tiny plates of pickled vegetables, preserved fish and condiments, two of our party went for a variation on bibimbab, while I dived into a plate of spicy squid with vegetables. Our server felt the need to warn me twice that it was "very spicy", but I think they still toned it down a bit as I found it to be only barely "very" hot. My Korean-American host did the ordering honors so unfortunately I can't pass on the dish names, but everything had that...well, authentic Asian taste. Apparently his fresh-off-the-boat cousin agrees, and has been hitting DaMi with alarming frequency when he needs a taste of home. We skipped dessert in order to hit the local branch of Handel's ice cream. The flavors are very midwestern...by which I mean that the chocolate almond (which was delicious) is more Hershey's than Valrhona. I might have preferred if it were frozen harder and a bit grainier, but it was a very tasty treat.
