THIS COLUMN WAS WRITTEN IN FRONT OF A LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE
QUICK QUIZ
Who was the first halfback from the SEC to win the Heisman Trophy?
QUOTABLE QUOTES
“In high school I took a little English, some science, some hubcaps and some wheel covers.” – Former Detroit Tiger Gates Brown.
“I'm just glad it wasn't Machete Night." - Former New York Rangers goalie Bob Froese after fans at Madison Square Garden threw mugs on the ice on 'Mug Night.'
“I retired for health reasons. The alumni got sick of me.” – Former Clemon football coach Frank Howard.
IDLE THOUGHTS
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” is a proverbial phrase used to encourage optimism and a positive can-do attitude in the face of adversity or misfortune. Hence, Savanna Sisson from Midland’s Northeast Middle School. Sisson is a member of school’s track and field team. At a recent meet she realized there was a hole in her track shorts. Sisson opted to run wearing her jeans and still won the 100-meters.
Eric Lindros was the No. 1 pick in the 1991 National Hockey League Entry Draft. But it didn’t go as the Quebec Nordiques had planned. Lindros told the organization before the draft that he didn’t want to be picked by them, but they didn’t listen, and Lindros wasn’t up for a compromise. For years, he was the most hyped-up teenager in hockey, and the Quebec fans didn’t exactly enjoy it when Lindros chose to sit out his first season. Then, after what should’ve been his debut season, he got traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. Fast forward to October 13, and everybody was watching as Lindros made his first appearance for the Flyers in the city he earlier stood up. And the fans were ready for it. Lindros was called a baby, and the fans went to the game with diapers over their pants. Some even wore bonnets and waved with rattles. And everybody had pacifiers with them. The pacifiers were thrown on the ice so often that the game had to be stopped several times. Lindros, however, took the pacifier rain with ease and instead delivered one of the coldest responses in NHL history. “If I ever have kids, they’ll have pacifiers to suck on for life,” Lindros said.
Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves went from first to third on a walk. It's amazes me how many people are unaware of the fact that the play is still live after a batter is walked. In Little League players are coached to hustle down to first if they are walked just in case the infield was napping and then try for two. And as a runner advancing on a walk, take a look around and see about stealing a base also. Until the ump calls time, the play is live.
The 2023 U.S. Women’s Open will mark a special tournament for LPGA pro Amy Olson as she will compete in the major while seven months pregnant. Olson earned her bid to the major tournament after shooting 6-under during the USGA’s qualifier at Somerset Country Club in Minnesota. She became just one of two golfers to earn their spot at the U.S. Open from this qualifier and did so while six months pregnant. “I’m going to be seven months pregnant at [Pebble Beach],” Olson said. “I wanted a shot at it because it’s Pebble. That was the big motivation and it’ll be my last tournament before the baby comes, so it’s a good way to go out.”
Congratulations to Aaron Boone of the New York Yankees on having the earliest ejection in Major League Baseball history (11:52 AM EST).
University of Oregon golfer Greg Solhaug was forced to withdraw from the NCAA Division I national championship after a freak accident sent him to the hospital and left him unable to compete in the tournament. Solhaug, a junior, stepped on a tee on the 11th hole at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale. The tee subsequently went through the sole of his shoe and impaled his foot, according to Golfweek. Medical attendants gave Solhaug assistance on the golf course, but he subsequently was forced to withdraw from the competition. He was 2 over through 10 holes during the third round of the stroke play portion of the tournament when the injury occurred.
Former Nouvel Catholic Central baseball standout Ryan Luebkert recently passed away after a valiant battle with cancer. He was 46. Luebkert played baseball at Albion College and later competed in many triathlons, including a half Iron Man. I’d like to offer my sincere condolences to the Luebkert family.
Brody Brecht was a dual-sport athlete at the University of Iowa, playing both football and baseball for the Hawkeyes. He recently made the decision to focus on baseball for the rest of his college career. He recently sent an incredible tweet to the Hawkeye faithful: “I want to say Thank You. Thank you to the great Hawkeye fans for your unwavering support. Thank you to the coached and staff of the Hawkeye football program for giving me a chance to fulfill my childhood dream as part of this incredible program. Thank you to my football teammates for a lifetime’s worth of great memories. Thank you to my friends and family for their unwavering support and love. Thank you to God – for the blessings of my life, and for the clarity to make the choice I’ve made. Football is my first love. But in the past few years, baseball has become my true passion. With that said, I have decided to step away from football to focus full-time on my college baseball career. I want to be great at baseball and hope to play Major League Baseball in the future. I believe putting my focus fully on baseball is the best way for me to achieve that goal. Go Hawkeyes.”
Former Buena Vista and Notre Dame basketball standout Tory Jackson has accepted a position as the boys’ varsity basketball coach at Detroit Catholic Central High School. The school is the largest all-boys private high school in Michigan, enrolling more than 930 students from 58 cities throughout southeast Michigan. Catholic Central provides a holistic learning experience to help students achieve success both in and out of the classroom. Today, 99% of Catholic Central graduates go on to pursue a college degree. The school celebrated six National Merit Semifinalists and ten National Merit Commended Students in the 2022-2023 school year, with the student body's average SAT and ACT scores approximately 20% higher than the national average. Located on 116 acres in Novi, Catholic Central recently announced a campus expansion initiative, including the George and Mary Turek Hall of Science, focusing on a cutting-edge STEM curriculum and scheduled to open in 2024.
Speaking of Detroit Catholic Central, keep your eye on Chas Lewless, the Shamrocks’ 6-foot-3 point guard. My prediction is that he’ll be a future Mr. Basketball award winner. He is the son of former Saginawian Chris Lewless.
Former Saginaw High and University of Miami (Ohio) basketball standout Eugene “Fookie” Seals coaches a number of youth basketball teams – both boys and girls. He found a unique way of rewarding the player with the top GPA on the team. At the end of the season the top scholar gets to keep their gear, while everyone else has to turn them in.
My Top 10 favorite rivalries of all time, in no particular order: Michigan vs. Ohio State • USC vs. UCLA • CMU vs. WMU • Coke vs. Pepsi • David Letterman vs. Jay Leno • Alabama vs. Auburn • Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees • Paul McCartney vs. Yoko Ono • Michigan vs. Michigan State • Texas vs. Oklahoma
Currently in the works is a movie about Michigan State University’s 1966 national championship football team that integrated college football. “Insecure’s” Ben Cory Jones is the director and Yellowstone’s Neal McDonough stars as head coach Duffy Daugherty. Black Spartans tells the story of coach Duffy Daugherty recruiting black players from the segregated South in a pioneering move that helped Michigan State go 9-0-1 and tie Notre Dame in the “Game of the Century.” But, according to former players, historians, court filings and lawyers involved in the ongoing legal battles surrounding the production, what went into the film is a lot of fabrication. The film wrapped up shooting in Georgia last fall, putting it in a temporary standstill as it seeks a distributor to get it in front of viewers with a theatrical release or sale to a streaming service. A total of 38 players, including Gene Washington, Steve Juday, Jimmy Raye, and Clinton Jones, are publicly opposed to the film. The film purports to be based on the book “Duffy Daugherty: A Man Ahead of His Time,” which was published by MSU’s University Press in 2018.
Terry McDermott passed away last week at the age of 82. Dubbed “The Essexville Rocket,” McDermott won gold and silver medals for USA as an Olympic speed skater. McDermott, who worked as a barber in Essexville from 1963-67, was inducted to the National Speedskating Hall of Fame on June 4, 1977. On February 9, 1964, he was a guest on The Ed Sullivan Show, an appearance that was overshadowed by the first U.S. performance of The Beatles. I met McDermott when his friend and fellow speed skater Joe McDonald was inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame. I will remember him as a gracious person who didn’t let fame affect his personality.
Whatever happened to Jonas Jerebko?
QUICK QUIZ ANSWER
Answer: B. Frank Sinkwich, who was as gifted a passer as a runner, so his coaches at Georgia insisted he play halfback instead of fullback. In that era, the halfback was sort of a hybrid mix between the quarterback and the running back, and he would handle both duties. During his 1942 campaign, his on-field play was so dominant that he won the Heisman Trophy with 99.69% of the total vote. His best college game may have been the last one he played. His Georgia team beat Texas Christian University 40-26. In that game, Sinkwich rushed for 139 yards, passed for 243 yards, and scored three touchdowns. After graduating from UGA, Sinkwich went on to the Marine Corps, but was medically discharged. That opened the door for him to be drafted by the Detroit Lions and then go on to win the National Football League MVP award in 1944.
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May 30, 2023
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