I have extremely sad news to pass along. Rob Schiller, the captain of the renowned Champs team (on the right, holding the money), passed away yesterday. He was best known in the quizzo community for hosting quizzo at Rembrandt’s, and for being one of the biggest (and funniest) smack talkers on the local quizzo circuit. He was a consumate jokester, a man of my own heart, always trying to bring the spirit of the wrestling world into quizzo. (He also had the smarts to back it up, as his team is well known for being one of the best in the city.) He demanded that his team enter to theme music before the past two Quizzo Bowls, and revelled in the cacophony of boos that rained down upon he and the rest of his teammates as he held his hands to the sky and then snagged french fries off unsuspecting people’s plates. About the stolen food, he explained to the City Paper in a write up about the team last year, “We were just trying to save some money.” As heartbroken as I am to hear of his passing, I take a small amount of solace in the fact that every memory I have of Rob brings a smile to my face. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and his many friends.
This team won the Constitution Center Quizzo
Yeah, I’m kind of a numbskull, so I threw their paper away before I did my write up on the Constitution Center quizzo from last friday and forgot their team name. I do remember that they kicked some A, finishing with an impressive 110. Anyways, there is one more Constition Center quizzo, coming next Friday night. Hope to see you there!
Around the Horn, Brought to you by Lucia and my Mom
-Looks like my niece is already working on her Elvis snear.
-City Paper says that the Locust Rendezvous has the best fries in the city.
–What song should Brett Myers enter his games to? I think “Muskrat Love” by Captain and Tennille would be epic. Or “Sailing” by Christopher Cross.
–Excuse me, sir, do you know that there is a monkey on your head?
-Happy Birthday Kurtis Blow! The video to the song Basketball is the Citizen Kane of music videos. Or at least the Ishtar of music videos. The dunk by the white guy with the moustache and mullet is nothing short of remarkable.
The Metro Column
Here’s the latest. I think it’s kinda funny.
P.S. It reads a little choppy on the Metro site, so I am also posting it below.
The New Home Run King
It was, all in all, a fairly majestic moment, regardless of how you feel about Barry Bonds. He got The Natural treatment, fireworks exploding as he circled the bases. But for most baseball fans outside of San Francisco, it was a bittersweet moment at best, a sad recognition that a classy warrior like Hank Aaron was being passed by an arrogant ass who had used steroids to improve his power.
But baseball has always been a game filled with cheaters. In fact, it is part of what we celebrate about the game. Pitchers have used Vaseline on the tips of their caps since they invented Vaseline, and used a nail files for reasons that had nothing to do with manicuring. Phillies pitcher Kevin Gross was suspended for 10 games in 1987 for having sandpaper in his glove. In 1961, Norm Cash won the AL batting championship with a .361 batting average, way above his career average. After he retired, he admitted that he had corked his bat that year. In the late 1960s, the Chicago White Sox kept their baseballs in a humidor for weeks, so that they would be heavy and help their pitchers. If a grounds crews doesn’t soak the area around first base when a renowned base stealer has come to town, it’s not doing it’s job, and in the 1950s the Phillies grounds crew added a little incline to the third base line, so Rickie Ashburn’s numerous bunts would all stay fair. Hell, last year, Kenny Rogers was shown to have stick ’em on his pitching hand when he shut down the Yankees in the ALDS.
Quick notes
Be back with some thoughts on Bonds this afternoon, but in the meantime, I’m still working on my Metro piece (thanks for you help last night). Here’s a couple of quick things worth checking out;
-The Democrats prove that they’re spineless when dealing with Alberto.
-Faith on Tap, a group that meets regularly to discuss religion, has their weekly happy hour every Thursday…at the Devil’s Alley. Brilliant.
–Newsweek challenges the Darth Erns of the world on global warming
-Happy birthday JC Chasez! Don’t listen to the haters, JC, just keep doing how you do.
Fight the Power
Remember when hip hop didn’t suck? That was kool. Oh, and peep Chuck’s hat.
Bush Continues Assault on Constitution
Has George Bush revoked the 5th Amendment?
“On its face, this is the greatest encroachment on civil liberties since the internment of Japanese Americans in World War II,” said Bruce Fein, a constitutional lawyer who was a deputy attorney general in the Reagan administration and author of an article of impeachment against President Bill Clinton…”King George III,” observed Fein, “really would have been jealous of this power.”
Question of the week
What pitcher did Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run off of?
Around the Horn, brought to you by Charlize Theron
-Time Magazine recently did a photo shoot of the murals of Philadelphia. Worth checking out.
-A couple of hours away, a family is raising a pet bear. Pet bears are kool. I wish Celine Dion would get a pet bear and then cover her face in honey.
-Have you ever thought to yourself, “Yeah, I’d love to have a block party, but not unless I could get Foghat to play. But what are the odds of…wait, what did you say? I can get Foghat to play my block party? Awesome! Pick me! Pick me! I know all the words to Slow Ride!
-Happy 32nd Birthday Charlize Theron. Rumors that we here at JGT HQ have a mad crush on Theron are patently false. I mean, once you get past the stunning beauty, rare talent, devilish charm, and remarkable success, what have you got left? Very little.