The Daily Dose/March 2, 2021
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

OH, JESUS H: In today’s On This Date segment, we note the 59th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game, still the most points ever scored in an NBA game. There are some – generally people who have no lives – who like to posit this is a record that will never be broken. 

Thanks For Clarifying That: We disagree. Not only do we think someone will eventually score 100 points in an NBA game, but we’re moderately surprised Wilt’s mark still stands because there have been an awful lot of scorers in the NBA over the years and an awful lot of no defense played. 

Dry, Technical Matter: In fact, except for records set back when a sport was played differently – like someone pitching 680 innings in a season – we feel there are a lot of records that can be broken. This doesn’t mean they will be, but it means they could be, on the theory that if someone did something once, it can be done again. 

More Dry, Technical Matter: For our money, there are only three records that will stand forever and ever: Chamberlain’s 55 rebounds in a game, Johnny Vander Meer’s two consecutive no-hitters and the Isner/Mahut 70-68 fifth set at Wimbledon. Every other record is in play.  

Broad, Historical Context: Chamberlain’s 100-point game was played in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Playing games in small, non-NBA towns was a common NBA ploy of the era, and it was the Warriors third game in Hershey and their 14th and final neutral site game of the season. Reports tend to indicate Chamberlain had spent the previous night getting laid in New York and at 6 am took a train to Philadelphia and almost missed the team bus to Hershey. 

The Bottom Line: It will take a unique set of circumstances for someone nowadays to score 101 points in a game, but it can be done. Someone gets hot against a team playing out the string, perhaps, or perhaps a player on a rested team against a team that is ending a long road trip, but with the way teams are heaving 3-point shots nowadays, don’t bet against it. We’re sorry, but Wilt’s 100-point effort does not belong on the unbreakable record list. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow washes his hotel uniform. Today’s Diary. 

For the first time in a while, ol’ Sparrow had a fresh-from-the-washer uniform…I took the shirt I’d been wearing for a bit longer than good hygeine might have dictated, and the uniform vest, home to be washed, where a clean uniform shirt had been sitting, along with some other things, on a kitchen chair, for a couple of months now.

Now, the uniform shirt is worn over a clean t-shirt every night, and I’m certainly not breaking a sweat at the hotel, but the collar was pretty gross – even by my (low) standards, and it certainly earned its cleaning.

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On This Date
The long march to today. 

In 1877 – A commission appointed for the purpose declares Republican Rutherford B Hayes the winner of the 1876 presidential election over Democrat Samuel J Tilden. Tilden had won the popular vote by one percentage point but bickering in Congress had prevented either candidate from winning the Electoral College. Congress set up the commission of 15 men, with Democrats ultimately agreeing to Hayes’ election if Reconstruction was abandoned and federal troops withdrawn from the South. 

In 1962 – Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors establishes a new NBA record for most points in a game in a 169-147 win over the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Chamberlain had 72 points from the field and 28 from the free-throw line to finish with 100 points to break the record of 78 points he had established the previous December 8. Chamberlain became the second player to hold the NBA single-game scoring record twice, joining Elgin Baylor. 

In 1967 – The Monkees are at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart for the fourth of 18 consecutive weeks with More of the Monkees. The album went to #1 in several other countries, including Norway and Great Britain and was Billboard’s biggest album of the year. More of the Monkees had replaced The Monkees at #1, giving the group 31 consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 200. The album produced two chart singles, including the #1 hit I’m a Believer.

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever. 

Personally, I do not think the human mind has any limits but those we impose ourselves. Louis L’Amour
The Education of a Wandering Man

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The NBA record for most 3-point shots attempted with none made is 22, by the Denver Nuggets on December 21, 2012.   

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard. 

How many players not named Wilt Chamberlain have scored at least 70 points in an NBA game? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/March 1, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

Leading Off will return.

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow drops a Mr French reference in today’s entry. Today’s Diary. 

I made contact and I do have a bearing and some size and if someone like me is standing in your doorway, as likely as not he’s part of your welcoming committee, so it is not the Upset of the Year ol’ Sparrow got immediate compliance…Plus, I didn’t ask them to keep it down, I told them they would be keeping it down – with typical Sparrow grace that would have had Mr French sporting wood from here to Reno…

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Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

Columns, books, shopping lists, click here to get in on the laughs.
4Ever & Ever ($8.99) and monthly ($2.99) plans available. 

———

On This Date
The long march to today. 

In 1954 – The US tests a hydrogen bomb known as Castle Bravo at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The explosion measured 15 megatons, about three times the amount predicted and produced a fireball that was 4 miles across, a mushroom cloud that was 47,000 feet high and seven miles wide and left a crater 6,500 feet in diameter and 250 feet deep. It remains the 5th-largest nuclear detonation in history, exceeded only by four tests by the Soviet Union. 

In 1996 – The Dallas Mavericks establish a new NBA record for most 3-point field goal attempts in a game in a 119-111 win over the Vancouver Grizzlies. The Mavericks attempted 44 3-point field goals, making 16 of them, and research into whose record they broke was inconclusive. The mark stood for four days when the Mavericks attempted 49 against New Jersey and the record is now 70, by the Houston Rockets in January 2019. 

In 1975 – Shame, Shame, Shame by Shirley (Goodman) & Company is at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart – then known as the Hot Soul Singles Chart – for the only week. The song also went to #1 on pop charts in Belgium, Austria, Germany and The Netherlands and peaked at #12 on the Hot 100. It was the third Top 10 hit on a Billboard soul chart for Goodman since 1953 and remains her only appearance at #1 on a Billboard chart. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever. 

I simply want to observe the world’s grandest zoo.
Gore Vidal
Lincoln

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The era circa 1415 where there were multiple claimants to the papacy of the Catholic Church is known as the Western Schism.  

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard. 

What team holds the NBA record for most 3-point shots attempted with none made in a game? – Answer next time!

Go Gaylon! Visit Gaylon on Facebook here. 

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The Daily Dose/February 28, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

The Sunday Bottom 5
A ranking of some things. 

1. Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) – US publicly acknowledges MBS authorized murder of Jamal Khashoggi, something smart 5th-graders have known since October 2018, but otherwise Saudi crown prince getting off scott-free for authorizing murder of journalist and American resident…Sunday Bottom 5 pollsters “pretty sure” this sends wrong message to future journalist murderers. 

2. Syria – US bombs noted sovereign nation despite fact US forces were not under imminent threat and pesky detail US had not declared war against them…Sunday Bottom 5 pollsters still “pretty sure” pointing out US Congress has not declared war against Syria still “you-know-whatting in the wind”

3. Lauren Daigle – 118 non-consecutive weeks at #1 on Hot Christian Singles chart for singer as single You Say extends all-time mark for weeks at #1 on any Billboard chart…Envious Morman Tabernacle Choir’s plan for hip-hop version of Te Deum Laudamus stalled when arrangers reworking lyrics can’t translate ‘bust a move to Jesus’ into Latin. 

4. US Congress – Has not actually declared war – their responsibility under the Constitution – since June 5, 1942, when they decided to smack around evil Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania in War II…Every other war America has fought since has been a violation of the Constitution. 

5. Fake News Roundup – With President Biden stubbornly more or less getting his facts straight, Presidential Fact Check – a 24/7 operation during Trump Administration – given week off…Click here for roundup of things some of us actually believed this week…From the AP. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

Of course it’s Read Free Sunday. Enjoy today’s Diary entry with Sparrow’s compliments. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow certainly got his rest this month. Today’s Diary.

…48.0 hours for the week and a whopping 49.0-hour per-week average for the month.  

Whopping, but not a record and only the longest-tenured regular readers of this crap may – or they may not – recall the historic 51.5-hour weekly average of January 2019…Still tho, a heck of a month in the sack.  

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Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

Columns, books, shopping lists, click here to get in on the laughs.
4Ever & Ever ($8.99) and monthly ($2.99) plans available. 

———

On This Date
The long march to today. 

In 2013 – Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation as head of the Catholic Church takes effect. Benedict had announced his retirement earlier in the month, citing “ a lack of strength of mind and body”.  He had been elected pope in 2005, replacing John Paul II and was the first pope to resign since 1415. Benedict, now pope emeritus, still resides in the Vatican and his successor, Pope Francis, would be elected on March 13. 

In 1960 – The United States wins its first Olympic ice hockey gold medal, defeating Czechoslovakia 9-4 in the final game of the medal round at the Squaw Valley Winter Games. The US finished the tournament 7-0, besting their previous best Olympic finishes of five silver medals. Canada took the silver medal and the Soviet Union earned the bronze medal and the tournament remains the only participation of Australia in Olympic ice hockey. They finished 0-6, getting outscored 87-10.

In 1976 – Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, billed as Waylon & Willie, are at #1 on Billboard’s country chart – then known as the Hot Country Singles chart – for the second of two consecutive weeks with Good Hearted Woman. Jennings and Nelson had written the song over a poker game in 1969 and Jennings – as a solo act – had first charted with the song in 1972, reaching #3 on the country chart. The song also peaked at #16 on Billboard’s Hot 100.  

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever. 

Mackenzie was a good guy, but he was a guy after all, not an image on a stained glass window.
William Irish
After-Dinner Story

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

Stephen Douglas defeated Abraham Lincoln in the 1858 Illinois US Senate election. 

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard. 

Before Benedict XVI, Pope Gregory XII was the pope to resign, a time when there were other claimants to the papacy. By what name does History refer to this period? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/February 26, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

INCOMING!: Yesterday in this item – which concerned America’s Perseverance rover landing on Mars – we did some modest whining about how us humans still have not set foot there. We’re going to do more whining about that today. 

Stop Us If You’ve Heard This Before: We should have had humans on Mars in the Reagan Administration and all of us should be ashamed we didn’t. Since time immemorial it’s been human nature to explore. First, we wondered what was on the other side of that hill, then what was across the river and soon enough we were sailing the seas. The next thing we knew we were discovering what was beyond the clouds and once we found that out, we should have kept going. 

Dry, Technical Matter: Now, the prospect that Apollo was ahead of its time cannot be entirely dismissed, but a full half-century ahead of its time? No, that is not reasonable. America has gotten lazy, failing to retain hold of the moment JFK commanded us to seize in 1961 and now America cannot even send men into space for any length of time now.  

The Bottom Line: There are those who say unmanned rovers can do everything on Mars a human would do. True enough, except for one thing: they cannot tell us what it’s like to be there! That alone is reason enough to go. The general spirit of daring and accomplishment fostered would have yielded advances in many other pursuits and we dare say America – encouraged by these successes – would not be the fractured, partisan and bickering mess it is now. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow enjoys a leisurely day off. 

In due course, listening proved to be more work than I was willing to put it into my day off because yours truly couldn’t be bothered to find something new to listen to after it ended and the only reason I didn’t go to bed was the cat had set up a command post on my chest.  

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Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

Columns, books, shopping lists, click here to get in on the laughs.
4Ever & Ever ($8.99) and monthly ($2.99) plans available. 

———

On This Date
The long march to today. 

In 1616 – Italian scientist Galileo Galilei is banned by the Catholic Church from teaching heliocentrism, the nonsense that the earth revolves around the sun. Faced with either accepting the judgement or accepting the judgement, Galileo accepted the judgement, though he remained a rascal and would stand trial again in 1633 and would remain under house arrest for the remaining nine years of his life. 

In 2006 – Sweden wins the Olympic ice hockey gold medal at the Turin Winter Games with a 3-2 win over Finland in the championship game. The Czech Republic earned the bronze medal, marking the first time either Canada or the Soviet Union/Russia had not won a medal in men’s Olympic ice hockey. Earlier in the tournament, Canada had won the women’s gold medal with a 4-1 win over Sweden. 

In 1966 – Slim Harpo is at #1 on the Billboard soul chart – then known as the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart – for the first of two consecutive weeks with Baby Scratch My Back. The song also peaked at #16 on the Hot 100, was Harpo’s second of four soul chart singles and remains Harpo’s only appearance at #1 on a Billboard chart. Harpo wrote the song, though it was credited under his given name of James Moore. Though noted for clean living, Harpo died of a heart attack in 1970 at age 46. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever. 

…very often it is not possible to see what is right in front of you because you happen to be looking in the wrong direction.
Gore Vidal
Creation

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

Mexico (2011, 1975, 1955) and Canada (2015, 199, 1967) have both hosted the Pan American Games the most times. 

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard. 

How many Olympic men’s ice hockey gold medals has Sweden won? – Answer next time!

Go Gaylon! Visit Gaylon on Facebook here. 

Share Gaylon! Go!