Happy Wednesday everyone, here's my Top 5 for March 6, 2013 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
- The Chicago Black Hawks win again, so they've now got the second longest points streak in NHL history, 29 games.* (See #3 below.)
- When Oklahoma City beat the Lakers last night 122-105, the Thunder committed only two turnovers tying an NBA record.
- Real Madrid knocked off Manchester United to reach the Champions League quarterfinals. This is apparently a big deal.
- Now you know. Denver linebacker Von Miller guaranteed that the Broncos will win Super Bowl 48.
2. Jumbo Sized
Are you a really big soccer fan? Wait before answering. When Brazil hosts the 2014 World Cup there will be special seats to accommodate obese fans. They even get their own color. That's the good news for hefty fans. The bad is that the seats cost double. Well, that's fair. Here's the bad news. There are only 120 of the seats, and the seat is built to hold only 560 pounds. So if you are a really really big soccer fan, buy your special seat early, or start cutting down on those jumbo soft drinks.
3. The Blackhawks*
Yes, everything in sports comes with an asterisk. The Chicago Blackhawks are closing in on the NHL record for getting at least a point in consecutive games. The record is 35 held by the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers. There's the rub. The Flyers didn't lose a game in that streak, the Blackhawks have lost three shootouts in their 29 games. The overtime and shootout rules didn't exist back in 79-80, so the Flyers either won or tied all their games. It's like comparing post-season home run records to World Series home run records. Apples and oranges. But enjoy the streak Blackhawks fans. The * doesn't taste all that bad.
4. Stand-Up Comic
You don't think of Giants football Coach Tom Coughlin as being a funny guy. He's out with a new book, "Earn the Right to Win," and last night on CNN he told Piers Morgan that when he coached at Jacksonville, he had all his players on the same page. They were all united in one goal, "hating me." Winning a couple of Super Bowls has a way of softening one's demeanor.
5. In Any Language
Last week when I mentioned that Manny Ramirez will play baseball in Taiwan, I wrote that T-shirts over there would read " 曼尼是曼尼 ." (That's Manny being Manny). My Top 5 subscribers are experts in everything. P.R.(a Chinese teacher) wrote "It's probably more grammatically correct if you said "曼尼就是曼尼". (Duh, of course. What a stupid I am.) She went on to say, "There's a great saying in Chinese that reflects the essence of 'Manny being Manny': 江山易改，本性難移. It literally means 'It's easier to move/change mountains and rivers than to change someone's personality." I put that Chinese phrase into Google Translator and it came up "Leopard cannot change his spots." In other words, Manny being Manny.
Happy Birthday: Shaquille O'Neal. 41.
Bonus Birthday: Meathead! Actor/director Rob Reiner. 66.
Today in Sports: (The day Shaq was born) Jack Nicklaus surpassed Arnold Palmer as golf's all-time money winner. (Approximately $1.5-million or what you get for winning the Masters this year.) 1972.
Bonus Event: Remember the Alamo! It fell to Mexican forces. 1836.
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