The Daily Dose/December 20, 2020
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
The Sunday Bottom 5
A countdown of something.
Editor’s Note: this past Thursday our Trivia feature noted Wilt Chamberlain had 45 50-point games in the 1961-62 NBA season, which is still a record. In the mood for some end-of-the-year frivolity, Sunday Bottom 5 pollsters are “pretty sure” they are more or less pleased to present a listing of five records that are unlikely to ever be broken. They are listed in no particular order.
1. Wilt Chamberlain, Most 50-point Games, Season: 45 – 45 games is 55% of an NBA season and the record is so untouchable the next highest total by a player not named Wilt (he had 30 in 1962-63) is ten (10), by Kobe Bryant in 2006-07.
2. John Isner/Nicholas Mahut, 70-68 final set, Wimbledon, 1st Round, 2010 – This one is almost beyond comprehension, one of those times the Sports Gods looked down and said “Let’s have some fun” and the fifth set alone would qualify as the longest match in tennis history…Record can only be broken at French Open, as other majors have instituted tiebreakers in all matches.
3. Wilt Chamberlain II, Most Rebounds, NBA Game, 55 – Record so unapproachable the highest total by someone not named Chamberlain or Bill Russell is 40 (Jerry Lucas, Cincinnati, 2/29/64) and the highest total this century is 31 (Kevin Love, Minnesota, 11/12/10).
4. Johnny VanderMeer, Most Consecutive No-hitters, 2 – We are not completely ruling out someone matching this feat, but even if pitchers routinely pitched complete games nowadays – which they don’t- no one will ever pitch three consecutive no-hitters.
5. Wayne Gretzky, Most Career Assists, 1,963 – Of The Great One’s many records unlikely to be topped, this is our favorite because it’s more assists than any other player has had points…Gretzky held 40 NHL regular-season records when he retired, itself a mark that is likely never to be broken.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – The bloody coppers visit Sparrow at the hotel.
About midnight I hear some scurrying in the lobby and I head out and see two of our fine local constables wandering around, plainly looking for something…I ask what they need and they say they’re looking for room 202…I tell them to go thru both doors and make a left and take the stairs up and as they are heading there I ask if I may be of service, which is a polite way of asking what in the fuck is going on because while it is possible – hell, likely – that yours truly will be some zero value on this call, it would be nice to know what the deal is…They declined to tell me, tho that didn’t really matter because right then an ambulance and fire trucks started pulling into the driveway and you don’t have to be Joe Friday to deduce they were called by someone in 202.
The Regular Guys/Chapter 22 – Lenny and Ann get married, and The Regular Guys embark on a national tour.
About a third of the way through the hype surrounding the release of The Comedy Delivery System Lenny found himself sitting at the head table of a party at Picasso, one of the very best restaurants in town.
The party was to celebrate his wedding to his long-time girlfriend, Ann Shelton. The wedding had been a small, tasteful affair at the Big Elvis Wedding Chapel officiated by an Elvis impersonator the size of a small frigate. His best man Larry and another Elvis impersonator attended Lenny; two Caesars Palace showgirls attended the bride.
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On This Date
The long march to today.
In 2019 – The United States Space Force is formed, the first new branch of the US armed forces since the founding of the Air Force in 1947. The purpose of the Space Force is to provide operational freedom in space for the US as well as providing assorted space operations. It is part of the Department of the Air Force and its personnel are known as guardians, much like naval personnel are known as sailors.
In 1946 – Sugar Ray Robinson wins the vacant world welterweight boxing title, defeating Tommy Bell in a 15-round unanimous decision in Cleveland. It was the first world title for Robinson, who would later win the world middleweight title five times. It was the 16th and final fight of 1946 for Robinson, a very high total by today’s standards. Robinson had a 25-year professional career and retired in 1965 with a career mark of 173-19-6.
Today – Mariah Carey is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the first week with All I Want For Christmas Is You. It’s the second time the song has gone to #1, having spent four weeks at the top last year and early this year, making Carey the second act in Hot 100 history to have the same song go to #1 in separate chart runs. (Chubby Checker, The Twist, 1960, 1962, is the other). First released in 1995, the song has also gone to #1 in 25 other countries over the years, including Great Britain, Slovakia and Norway, and is Billboard’s 67th biggest song of 2020, a period which due to how Billboard reckons its chart year, includes its December 2019 chart run.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
Death is unavoidable, but let it not be from loss of will but because your time is over.
Deng Ming-Dao
365 Tao
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Cheaper than Trivia Night at the bar.
Baby Love, You Keep Me Hanging On and Someday We’ll Be Together are the songs by the Supremes that spent the most weeks at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart: four weeks.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
Who was the first person to defeat Sugar Ray Robinson in a professional bout? – Answer next time!
