Kansas and Other Dramatic Finishes

Well, as everyone probably knows by now, the Kansas Jayhawks won the NCAA men's basketball championship last night in dramatic fashion. Mario Chalmers hit a game tying 3-pointer with 2 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime, where Kansas proceeded to dominate Memphis and win by seven. But that was not the only drama last night. I'm not sure if this was a normal night for baseball, but in addition to the Kansas last second shot, there were several late inning heroics in MLB last night too:

1. The Angels beat the Indians with a walkoff grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning by Torii Hunter.
2. The Astros beat the Cardinals with a walkoff two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning by Miguel Tejada.
3. The Rockies beat the Braves with a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning by Matt Holliday.
4. The Orioles beat the Mariners with a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth inning by Aubrey Huff.

That seems pretty unusual to me - four games that were won with home runs in the home team's last at bat. I'm too lazy to do the research. Can anyone tell me if this is something that happens frequently? Anyone?

Adrian Dantley - Last of a Breed

The basketball hall of fame inductees were announced yesterday. Joining legendary big men Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing, who were both elected in their first eligible year, was former Piston, Brave, Pacer, Laker, Jazz, Maverick, Buck forward Adrian Dantley, who was elected in his sixth try. His most prolific scoring years were with the Jazz (1979-1986) when he appeared in 6 all-star games, but I am most familiar with his years with the Pistons. He was acquired for fellow Domer Kelly Tripucka in 1986, and then was traded for Mark Aguirre right before the Pistons won their two championships.

AD was a unique player. He was a low post player, but he was only 6'-5" tall. I can't think of a player currently in the league who is a that size and specializes in playing on the low post. The last one was Charles Barkley, but he was a power forward and a rebounding machine. Dantley was a low-post scorer, but was never much of a rebounder, especially in his years as a Piston. In the Piston years, he was important for their offense as a low-post scorer because their center, another fellow Domer Bill Laimbeer, was usually stationed out near the 3-point arc, so someone had to do the dirty work in the post. Because of his physical style of play, he got to the free throw line a lot. In fact, he still shares the record for most free throws made in a single game - 28.

Will there ever be another 6'-5" low post player like Dantley? I doubt it. First of all, there are hardly any more 6'-5" small forwards. Anyone who comes into the league at that size is now a guard. To be a small forward now, you have to be at least a couple inches taller than that. Dantley and Bernard King were the last of the truly "small" forwards who played much down in the low post. He will probably be the last 6'-5" forward to be inducted into the hall of fame (other than Barkley - is he in the hall yet?).

The enduring memory I have of AD, in addition to his knee high socks, was of him and Vinnie Johnson clunking heads diving for a loose ball in game 7 of their Eastern conference finals against the Celtics in 1987. Dantley was knocked unconscious and was unable to reenter the game, and they proceeded to lose the series. Ouch.

His Piston career ended somewhat acrimoniously, and Dantley blamed Isiah Thomas for running him out of town so that he could get his good buddy Aguirre on the team. Anyway, it's good to have another former Piston in the hall, even though Dantley probably does not look back fondly on his Piston years. I think Piston fans, for the most part, liked him and appreciated his contributions on the court. Since Isiah has turned out to be kind of a douchebag, perhaps the fact that he and Zeke did not get along will be looked at as a positive.

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are, to put it mildly, off to a bit of a rocky start this season. After every publication and blog on the planet picked the Tigers to make the playoffs, they have proceeded to start the year by throwing up all over their shiny new baseball cleats with six consecutive losses. Sure, it sucks, but is it a big deal? Last year, the World Champion Red Sox had a stretch where the lost 6 of 7, and another where they lost 5 of 6. The point is, teams have bad stretches. The Tigers' bad stretch just happens to be at the start of the season. The most notable things about their horrendous start so far:

• Other than Clete Thomas (who?), Carlos Guillen, and Brandon Inge, no one is hitting the ball. Through six games, the Tigers have scored 15 runs. I'm no math whiz, but I think that works out to 2.5 runs per game. That's Twins-level of hitting suckitude. People were talking about the Tigers being a lock to score a thousand runs this year. It wouldn't be so bad, but...


• The pitching has been horrible. The team ERA is 5.30. They've gotten one quality start. The pitchers have walked 27 batters and struck out 35. Not a good ratio. The only mitigating factor in all this is...


• Injuries. Curtis Granderson has yet to suit up, and CF has been manned by Thomas and Inge. They've both played well, but Granderson is an all-star caliber player, and he is undoubtedly missed. Sheffield's osteoporosis already forced him to miss a couple games. Cabrera has missed two starts. They were already missing Zumaya and Rodney from the pitching staff.


• Tigers were swept twice at home. Now they have to go to Boston to play at Fenway, in their home opener after what will probably be an inspiring tribute to last year's World Series championship team.

Now, the good news:

• The x-ray of Granderson's broken hand on Sunday was positive, and he was cleared to resume baseball activities. There is no timetable for his return, but he'll start throwing and hitting as soon as he can make throws and grip the bat without discomfort.


• The aforementioned game with the Red Sox will be started by Kenny Rogers, who might be perfect for this game, because the Sox hitters might be so jacked up after their pre-game festivities that they forget that The Gambler throws 55 mph curveballs. Their excess adrenaline might not serve them well here. Of course, I'm just grasping at straws here in trying to find a positive spin for their trip to Boston, so forgive my blind optimism for tomorrow night's game.

The way I see it, as long as their major players stay healthy most of the year, they'll break out of this funk: i.e., Polanco won't be hitting .087 for long (his career average is .304); Cabrera won't be stuck with 1 RBI for much longer. And it will probably happen sooner than later. You really need about a quarter of the season to have a good idea what kind of team you're going to be (remember 35-5 in 1984?). After 40 games, the Tigers should have at least 21 or 22 wins, and be within a game or two of first place. If not, it will most likely be because of lack of pitching, not lack of hitting. Leyland is not afraid to change things up if they're not working. If Inge keeps hitting, Leyland won't hesitate to use him at just about any position on the field. I think the Kitties are probably glad they decided not to trade him this offseason. If not for Inge's extreme manliness, they'd be even more winless than they are now.

Bless You Boys...

More on the Tigers (and horrible columnist Lynn Henning), from firejoemorgan.com.

Celebrity Endorsements

With the tight democratic race leaving the nomination up for grabs even at this late date, celebrity/athlete endorsements could make the difference between winning and losing - despite the fact that anyone who looks to celebrities or athletes for guidance on anything, much less electing the leader of the free world, is like asking Elton John for tips on how to meet women. Anyway, here are some of the more notable (but not necessarily significant) celebrity/athlete endorsements for each remaining candidate:

Barack Obama
50 Cent
Originally endorsed Hillary, but has since switched to Obama. I'm sure Obama is pleased to have a former crack dealer on his side.

Leonard Nimoy
Spock says that Obama is the only logical choice.

Samuel L. Jackson
"You better vote for motherfuckin' Obama! He's one bad muthafucka!"

Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh, & Bob Weir
The boys actually held a "Deadheads for Obama" concert in San Francisco back in February. The tricky part will be getting stoners to remember to vote.

Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Roger Murdock also heartily endorses Obama.

Tons of Kennedys
The Kennedy's are hacked off about some comments Hillary made about the 1964 Civil Rights Act. She praised LBJ, and did not mention JFK. Most of the Kennedys are endorsing Obama. Sounds kinda junior high-ish to me.

Jay Paterno
"Oh yeah, dad, well I'll show you! I'm supporting Obama! Oh, and can I borrow the car tonight? I promise I'll be back by midnight. Daaaad, I KNOW we have practice tomorrow."

Jeff Tweedy
He participated in a "Barack Obama - Change Rocks" event in Chicago in December.

Gross generalization: From the looks of this list, I'd say the typical Obama endorser is a current or former drug user, drug dealer, or alcoholic.

Hillary Clinton
Chevy Chase
Once attended a "key party" in the 70s with the Clintons. He got Hillary. Bill got Charo. The rest is history.

Bob Vila
He thinks that Hillary is more masculine than the other candidates.

Ann Coulter
Coulter considers Hillary more conservative than McCain. Interesting.

Martha Stewart
Unfortunately for Hillary, she may not be able to vote due to her felony conviction.

Magic Johnson
Hillary's tallest celebrity endorser. Also, his talk show lasted a full two months while Chevy Chase's talk show lasted only six weeks. Advantage - Magic.

Billie Jean King
It's quite a surprise that a significant lesbian has endorsed her.

Gross Generalization: From the looks of this list, I would say that the typical Clinton endorser is a current or former lesbian, or has had a canceled TV show.

John McCain
Sylvester Stallone
Like McCain, John Rambo was a POW. Also like McCain, Stallone is short (both are about 5'-7").

Wilford Brimley
He and McCain served together in WWI, and is actively opposed to banning cockfighting. Brimley's mustache has not yet decided on whom to endorse.

Curt Schilling
Schilling is a born again christian. He's also a WWII history buff, and collects knives and helmets from the war. Adds blood to his sock before every start. Fancies himself a soldier.

Tom Selleck
Along with Brimley, Selleck gives McCain two actors with awesome mustaches on his side. Also, he is the heir apparent to Chuck Heston for the presidency of the NRA. More trivia: with all the hoopla over Billy Crystal taking an at-bat for the Yankees in a spring training game this spring, many people forget that Selleck had an at-bat for the Tigers in spring training in 1992.

Gross Generalization: From the looks of this list, I'd say the typical McCain endorser is fond of weapons and/or warfare.

Sadly, Kwame Kilpatrick has not weighed in yet on whom he is supporting. Reportedly, each of the candidates has been in touch with Kwame's people to ensure that he does not even mention their names.

Athletes as Actors, part 4: Other Sports

Athletes as Actors, part 4: Other Sports

Click here for part 1
Click here for part 2
Click here for part 3

These are some of the athletes from the more obscure sports who tried their hand at acting. Again, most parlayed their expertise in their chosen sport into their acting gigs:

Tommy Morrison
Played Tommy Gunn in Rocky V, the worst of the Rocky movies. A boxer playing a boxer. Sounds like a familiar tune. No, I did not see this movie, but I am aware of it's existence. I do know that Stallone himself gave it a "zero" on a scale of 1 to 10. Anyway, Morrison never acted again, tested positive for HIV, and has recently returned to boxing with good results against tomato cans. He has claimed on several occasions, probably in order to be allowed to earn money boxing again, that his HIV diagnosis was false and he has never been HIV positive.

Jeff Carlson, Steve Carlson, Dave Hanson
Okay, I'm taking some liberties, because only one of these guys played in the NHL (Dave Hanson played in 33 NHL games). They all played professional hockey (WHL, IHC, CHL, etc). But these three guys played the Hanson brothers in "Slap Shot." I just had to include them on this list. It could be argued that they were the "stars" of the movie. Not great award winning acting, but some memorable quotes: "I'm listening to the fucking song!" According to Wiki, Jeff Carlson is an electrician in Muskegon, MI, Steve Carlson runs a power skating school in Kenosha, WI, and Dave Hanson runs a sports center at Robert Morris University near Pittsburgh. They reprised their roles as the Hanson brothers in the 2002 direct to video release "Slapshot 2: Breaking The Ice."

Andre The Giant
Andre appeared in lots of 70s TV shows (Six Million Dollar Man, BJ and The Bear, The Fall Guy) playing, for the most part, giants and monsters (in the $6M Man, he played Bigfoot). After all, he couldn't really play anything else. He is most well known as an actor for playing Fezzik, the Giant in "The Princess Bride." Grouping wrestlers in with athletes is a bit of a stretch, but most wrestlers are probably more athletic than golfers or bowlers.

Hulk Hogan
The Hulkster starred as Randolph Spencer in his own TV series, "Thunder In Paradise," in 1994. It lasted one season on some minor cable channel (USA? WB?). The plot description sounds like it was a low-rent "A-Team": Randolph Spencer and Martin Brubaker were ex-Navy SEALS-turned-mercenaries who hired themselves out as soldiers of fortune for a very high fee. Other than that, his acting gigs have included lots of appearances in other similarly crappy cable series. His most memorable role was that of "Thunderlips" in Rocky III. But he was essentially playing himself.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
The former Miami Hurricane defensive tackle and professional wrestler has been a huge success in Hollywood. He has appeared in action films (The Mummy Returns, The Scorpion King, Walking Tall), and recently in some comedic roles (Be Cool, The Game Plan). His IMDB page also lists some upcoming flicks, including Get Smart. He is the only "athlete" to have hosted SNL twice. Get used to him - he's gonna be around for a while. He a decent enough actor, and appears to be a pretty good guy.

Johnny Weissmuller
Weissmuller was an Olympic swimmer in the 1920s - he won five gold medals and one bronze in the '24 and '28 Olympics. After his Olympic career was over, he signed a seven year contract with MGM, and played Tarzan for MGM in six different films. After his contract expired, he signed as a free agent with RKO and starred in six more Tarzan movies. When he hit middle age (44), he traded in his loincloth and played "Jungle Jim" in a series of 13 movies between 1948 and 1954. That's quite a career. Another bit of trivia - he appears on the cover of the Beatles' Sgt. Peppers album.

Kurt Thomas
The former Olympic gymnast starred in "Gymkata" which was perhaps the most unintentionally hilarious movies of all-time. I don't even know how they managed to shoehorn a plot into this one, but according to IMDB: "Johnathan Cabot is a champion gymnast. In the tiny, yet savage, country of Parmistan, there is a perfect spot for a 'star wars' site. For the US to get this site, they must compete in the brutal 'Game.' The government calls on Cabot (played Thomas), the son of a former operative, to win the game. Cabot must combine his gymnastics skills of the west with fighting secrets of the east and form GYMKATA!" I can't even remember if Thomas has any lines in the movie, but the whole film consists of him being chased and randomly finding various gymnastic apparatuses with which to fight the bad guys. Being chased through an alley by ruthless ninjas? Look, there's a pommel horse! Surrounded by marauders? Hop on those handy parallel bars! No escape? Grab those rings! I can't say that I have sat through this film in its entirety, but I was shocked into hysterical laughter at the parts I did manage to see.

And so ends the four part series (see links to parts 1-3 above). I know I must have missed some - "other sports" covers so much ground. If you think of any others, note them in the comments.

Really Tall Buildings

On this day in 1975, construction of the CN Tower in Toronto was completed. At the time, it was the tallest free-standing structure in the world, at 553.3 meters (1815 feet) tall. Since that time, a new standard has been established, and the Middle Eastern countries are acting like drunk Texans in trying to have the "biggest and best" buildings. The Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower), shown at right in a photo from about a year ago, is scheduled to be completed in 2009, is going to be well over 2000 feet tall, and have about 162 usable floors. It's already taller than the CN, but it's not officially "taller" until construction is completed. It's going to cost about $4 billion by the time it's done. In Kuwait, a 1001 meter building is in the works. The height is a reference to the classic work of Arabic literature, "One Thousand and One Nights." Three blades that will be built near the top of the tower will carry a mosque, a church and a synagogue to signify the unity of the three monotheistic religions. In Bahrain, there are plans in process for a building that is 1002 meters (3353 feet) tall with about 200 usable floors. This makes Bahrain the "Spinal Tap" of the middle east - making theirs "one louder."

But the Saudis are on their way to try to build the "Mile High Tower" in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (a conceptual sketch is shown here). It will literally be a mile high - 5260 feet - with an estimated 375 floors and electromagnetic elevators. I've seen estimated budgets for this gigantic structure ranging from $10 billion to $45 billion. If they can pull this off, I'll be amazed. What is the limiting factor in tall buildings? Weight? Resistance to wind loads? Material capabilities? Crane/lifting capacity? Is there a limit? As an engineer, and this is fascinating to me. This is totally awesome, and I look forward to seeing this thing built. Why? To see if it can be done. Do you think the price of oil has anything to do with this building boom?

If the Mile High Tower is built, perhaps they can have a suite on the top floor where customers can join the "Mile High Club" without getting on a plane. "Mile High Suites" could be made available for hourly rental.