The Daily Dose/June 17, 2019
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Leading off will return.

Today At The Site
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow has the latest on the scratch paper front at the hotel. Today’s Diary.

Now, I’m on record as not really favoring stapling scratch paper together, but you gotta admire Brandon’s commitment to scratch paper and not slumming for the Post-It note…He also noted he scolded himself for tossing a scratch sheet after only one note when, with a mere cross-out the sheet could be used for two and maybe even three more notes, depending on length.

It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life.

The drivel simply does not stop: please click on the button to read The Diary of a Nobody. $5.99 includes all entries, past, present, and future.

On This Date
In 1994 – Following a low-speed, televised police chase, OJ Simpson is arrested for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman at his Los Angeles home. Simpson would be tried and acquitted of the murders, though he was later found civilly liable and ordered to pay $33 million in damages. The case officially remains unsolved and Simpson now lives in Las Vegas.

In 1915 – George Zabel of the Chicago Cubs sets a new major league record for longest relief pitching appearance, throwing the final 18 1/3 innings of a 4-3, 19-inning victory over the Brooklyn Robins, later known as the Dodgers. The game was tied 3-3 after nine innings, and each team got a run in the 15th. Zabel gave up two runs and twelve hits and faced 78 batters after starting pitcher Bert Humphries was injured after a line drive hit his pitching hand. Zabel began experiencing a sore arm after this game and 1915 was his last season in the big leagues. His record still stands.

In 2018 – Despacito by Luis Fonzi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Beiber is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the fourth of a record-tying 16 consecutive weeks. The song also spent six weeks at #1 in Great Britain and went to #1 in 48 other countries, including Israel and Ecuador and was Billboard’s second biggest song of the year. It tied the Hot 100 record for most weeks at #1 that had been established in 1995-96 by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men with One Sweet Day. 

Quotebook
Older voters who had lived through the Depression and two world wars fretted that America had somehow lost its grit and will to sacrifice.
Evan Thomas
Ike’s Bluff

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
The first pope, St Peter, who was not elected, is the longest-serving pope, at either 34 or 37 years. History is not entirely clear on the year of his birth.

Today’s Stumper
What was Billboard’s biggest song on the Hot 100 in 2017? – Answer next time!

The Daily Dose/June 16, 2019
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

The Sunday Bottom Five
Celebrating the worst of the week that was.

1. Toronto – 72 years after hosting first-ever NBA game, city wins first NBA title as Raptors defeat Warriors in six games…Title immediately becomes city’s third-biggest sports story, behind Maple Leafs new season ticket mini-plan, new nets for goals.
2. MLB Attendance – Highlights and newspaper pics continue to feature so many empty seats baseball games are now reminiscent of old Christmas Day Aloha Bowl games played in front of five (5) people….2019 attendance already down 565,000 from 2018, with 19 teams showing decreases from 3,000 to 218,00 fans…Miami Marlins almost averaging as many fans per game as Triple-A Las Vegas team.  
3. Los Angeles Lakers – Hardly for the first time in their history, Lakers trade for one of best players in game…Usually, this results in an NBA title or two, but now one only wonders how the team – in disarray since Jerry Buss died – will screw this up.
4. Santa Anita – Iconic LA-area track bravely continuing with racing cards despite more horses dying after running on their track…November Breeder’s Cup still on, though Sunday Bottom Five pollsters “pretty sure” Cup organizers have back-up plan on agenda for next meeting.  
5. Canada – While noted country usually good for winning Olympics, Junior Worlds fairly regularly, Great White North hasn’t produced team that has played for Cup since 2011 or a team that’s won it since 1993…26-year drought longest since Montreal Canadiens went hour-and-a-half without winning Cup in 1960’s.

Today At The Site
The Diary of a Nobody: It’s the latest from the hotel, and the Sparrow’s have their anniversary BBQ. Today’s Diary.

For the first time in months, I did the wake-up call announcement…The pecking order is usually Brandon and then Quentin and over the winter even Mark got in on the thrills on their days off, so Pipes Sparrow has been relegated to bullpen duty…I came back strong tho, with a friendly greeting, a concise, accurate weather forecast (chance of afternoon showers, highs in the low 70s)  and closed graciously with thanks for staying with us…A quick check of the phone log showed there were no shortage of wake-up calls, either, tho nobody came to the front desk to comment on my greeting.

It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life.

The drivel simply does not stop: please click on the button to read The Diary of a Nobody. $5.99 includes all entries, past, present, and future.

On This Date

In 1846 – Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti of Italy is elected pope, and takes the regnal name Pius IX. He was elected on the fourth ballot, on the second evening of the conclave and would reign for 31 years, still the longest reign by an elected pope in church history. The conclave was held at the Quirinal Palace – a bit east of the Vatican in Rome – and remains the last conclave held outside the Vatican.

In 1938 – Jimmie Foxx of the Boston Red Sox establishes a new American League record with six walks as the Red Sox defeated the St Louis Browns 12-9. Foxx scored two runs and did not have an official at-bat in the game, and tied the major league record established in 1891 by Walt Wilmot of the Chicago Cubs, then known as the Colts. The record still stands and was last accomplished by Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals in 2016.

In 1962 – George Jones is at #1 on Billboard’s country chart – then known as the Hot Country Singles chart – for the fifth of six consecutive weeks with She Thinks I Still Care. It was Jones’ 18th of a country-chart record 168 hit singles and his third of 13 #1 songs. History remains unclear if Jones actually liked the song or not. Some say he did not, while Jones insists he was. The song would return to #1 in 1974 when Anne Murray changed the ‘She’ to ‘He’.

Quotebook
…he who has nothing to lose can afford all risks.
Harriet Beacher Stow
Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Willie Anderson of Scotland took the fewest years to win four US Open golf championships, four years. He won in 1901 and then from 1903-05.

Today’s Stumper
Which unelected pope served longer than Pius IX? – Answer next time!

The Daily Dose/June 15, 2019
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Leading Off will return.

Today At The Site
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow and The Wife buy a boat and take it to a lake. Today’s Diary.

This actually started Wednesday when The Wife texted me a pic of a price tag from the retailer: $49.99, tho what was $49.99 for wasn’t immediately clear because the pic was only of the price tag so it was tuff to tell if it was a good buy or not…I mean, $49.99 for, say, a quality lawn mower is a really good deal…On the other hand, if it was a price tag for a package of bratwurst, it was a lousy deal…Turned out it was for an inflatable boat, so I texted her back what the hell, why not???

It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life.

The drivel simply does not stop: please click on the button to read The Diary of a Nobody. $5.99 includes all entries, past, present, and future.

On This Date
In 1215 – King John of England affixed his seal to the Magna Carta. Essentially a peace treaty between the crown and assorted, peeved, English barons, the treaty guaranteed the barons various rights, including church rights, protection for illegal imprisonment, speedy trials, and limits on payments for the crown. While the Magna Carta would lose some of its practical significance over the years – only three of the original 63 provisions are still in force – it did have a profound effect on the United States Constitution.

In 1980 – Jack Nicklaus wins the US Open, shooting a final round 68 to finish at eight under par and defeat Japan’s Isao Aoiki by two strokes. With the win, Nicklaus became the fourth golfer to win a record four US Opens, joining Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones and Ben Hogan and Nicklaus’ 18-years between first and fourth US Open wins is the most amongst those who have won four US Opens. The record still stands.

In 1974 – Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods are #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the first of two consecutive weeks Billy Don’t Be a Hero. It was the first chart single for the group, which was formed in Cincinnati in the 1960s and who got their break opening for the Osmonds in the early 1970s. While their four follow-up singles all hit the Hot 100, none got higher than #15. Earlier in 1974, Paper Lace had spent three weeks at #1 in Great Britain with the song.

Quotebook
…his life seemed to prove that the valorous were the favorites of fortune. He was simply inviting the Convention to do what he had done repeatedly – to aim as high as possible and to strain every nerve to attain the goal.
John C Miller
Alexander Hamilton: Portrait in Paradox

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
George Strait has had 44 #1 songs on Billboard’s country chart, the most of any artist on either the country, pop, or soul charts.

Today’s Stumper
What golfer took the fewest years to win four US Open golf titles? – Answer next time!

The Daily Dose/June 13, 2019
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Last week we talked about impeaching the president of the United States both in general (the House impeaches, the Senate tries, with a two-thirds majority required for conviction) and specifically about President Trump (the House should probably look into it). Today we continue this thrilling series with a look at the 1868 impeachment and trial of President Andrew Johnson.

Johnson, Democrat. was the 17th President of the United States, taking office in April 1865 after Abraham Lincoln was liquidated by John Wilkes Booth. Johnson was a United States Senator from Tennessee when the Civil War broke out and was the only senator from a Confederate state to maintain his seat in the United States Senate. He was nominated as Lincoln’s vice president in 1864 on the National Union ticket.

Johnson was a self-educated, decent man, a hardheaded sort who probably could have used some more people skills, whose persistence saw him rise from a tailor’s apprentice to the White House. Like Gerald Ford a century later, Johnson assumed the presidency under circumstances the Son of Man, and maybe even Lincoln himself, would have found challenging. Johnson and Congress had differing ideas about how to reconstruct the Union after the Civil War, with the House controlled by what was then known as the Radical Republicans, ultimately impeaching Johnson in February 1868 for violating the Tenure of Office Act, which limited the president’s ability to fire cabinet officials, an act Congress repealed in 1869. There were a total of eleven articles of impeachment and interest in the Senate trial was so great the Senate was obliged to issue admission passes for the first time in its history. The trial was presided over by Chief Justice Salmon P Chase.

As we’ve pointed out, as both the Johnson and Clinton impeachment showed, impeachment is a political and not a criminal process. In Johnson’s case, a GOP-controlled House acted solely because Johnson had annoyed them. We are moderately well read on Johnson, whom we’ve always admired for his tenacity and courage, and we don’t think he deserved impeachment because the Tenure of Office Act he violated was itself unconstitutional.

Johnson was acquitted in his Senate trial by one vote when a handful of Republican Senators thought both Johnson was getting railroaded and that the presidency deserved better and voted for acquittal. Johnson would finish out his term and sought, but did not earn, the Democrat’s presidential nomination in 1868. He declined to attend the inauguration of his successor, Ulysses S. Grant and after finishing up some routine business on his final day in office, Johnson left the White House a little after 12 noon.

Today At The Site
The Diary of a Nobody: Friends, today’s Diary of a Nobody is pretty funny and, in a shameless attempt to get you to read every day, is offered without charge.

I’m at the Human Services front desk farting around with Denise and this kid walks up and announces he’s in receipt of a letter announcing his EBT benefits (the 21st century version of food stamps, they come on a debit card) are going to end June 21…I’d seen him drive up and park and walk up and I thought to myself, well, maybe that Jaguar you drove up in had something to do with it…I kept my mouth shut, tho, having learned at the retailer you never know who qualifies for help putting food on the table…

It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life.

The drivel simply does not stop: please click on the button to read The Diary of a Nobody. $5.99 includes all entries, past, present, and future.

On This Date
In 1966 – The US Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, rules in Miranda v. Arizona that police must advise suspects of their right to remain silent and to counsel while in custody. The case began in 1963 when Ernesto Miranda was arrested on suspicion of raping an 18-year-old girl and confessed without being advised of his right to an attorney. Miranda was later convicted of the same crime without his confession, was sentenced to 20-30 years, paroled in 1972 and murdered in a bar fight in 1976.

In 1940 – The Boston Red Sox defeat the Chicago Cubs 10-9 at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York in the first Hall of Fame Game. Ted Williams had two home runs in a game that was shortened to seven innings because of rain. In a scheduling note, both teams were starting road trips, with the Cubs heading to Boston and the Red Sox heading to Chicago. The Hall of Fame Game was canceled after the 2008 season due to scheduling problems caused by Cooperstown’s remote location.

In 1970 – The Beatles are at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the 20th and final time with The Long and Winding Road. The song spent two consecutive weeks at the top and also went to #1 in Canada, though it was not released as a single in Great Britain. The song was originally offered to Tom Jones, who had to decline it because he was contractually obligated to release another song first. The Beatles’ 20 #1 songs remain a Billboard Hot 100 record.

Quotebook
…the spirit of inquiry was alive here, and where it has free existence, ignorance cannot last.
Louis L’Amour
The Walking Drum

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Gallant Fox, ridden by Earl Sande, was the second winner of the Triple Crown, in 1931.

Today’s Stumper
What act has the most #1 songs on either Billboard’s pop, soul or country chart?? – Answer next time!