Time Out with TANY • Daylight Savings November Dispatch

QUICK QUIZ

 Who was the first American Football League player enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

A. Lance Alworth

B. Len Dawson

C. Elvin Bethea

D. George Blanda

E. Tony DePelsMaeker 

QUOTABLE QUOTES

 “We had that many people selling hot dogs in the stands at Nebraska.”  – Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers, commenting on the 13,000 fans watching him in a Canadian Football League game.

“I can airmail the golf ball. But sometimes I don’t put the right address on it.” – Jim Dent, former longest driver on the PGA Tour, on his erratic, long shots.

“Brooks is not a fast man, but his arms and legs move very quickly.” – Curt Gowdy, sportscaster, on Baltimore Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson.

 IDLE THOUGHTS

The Las Vegas Raiders are now paying Jon Gruden and Josh McDaniels $80 million dollars to NOT coach their football team.

The 17th Labatt Blue U.P. Adult Pond Hockey Tournament is set to take place on a frozen Lake Huron in St. Ignace, Feb. 15-18. The event routinely attracts about 200 teams featuring players from across the Midwest and Canada. The weekend kicks off with a meet and greet on Feb. 15 with a commemorative Labatt Blue gift for all players in attendance. Regularly scheduled games commence Friday and Saturday with championships held Sunday morning.

Winners in each division get a prize provided by Labatt. Spectators are welcome all weekend long with free shuttles around town and other games on the ice like giant Jenga, corn hole, and more. Drinks and refreshments provided by the St. Ignace Hockey Association are available in the concession tents with live music Friday and Saturday.

The New York Mets have retired the following uniform numbers:

14. Gil Hodges

17. Keith Hernández

24. Willie Mays

31. Mike Piazza

36. Jerry Koosman

37. Casey Stengel

41. Tom Seaver

42. Jackie Robinson

In 2024, the organization will retire numbers16 and 18 for Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, respectively.

Saginaw Valley State University sophomore linebacker Micah Cretsinger broke a 17-year-old school record with four interceptions in the Cardinals’ 62-17 win over Northern Michigan University on Saturday. Cretsinger, a 6-2, 225-pound linebacker from Jackson High School, led the SVSU defense with eight tackles and a forced fumble along with his record-breaking thefts. The Cardinals will finish the 2023 regular season on the road against Michigan Tech next Saturday, November 11. Kickoff in Houghton is set for 1:00 p.m.

Arguably the most recognizable, possibly the most iconic, entrance to a ballpark in Major League Baseball history is Wrigley Field’s marquee. Currently 89-years-old, it was first green in 1934 and painted blue a few years later. It was given its well-known and historically-protected bright red coat of paint in the mid-60’s. It has seen a few other changes until remaining largely untouched. It originally read “Wrigley Field Home of The Cubs” until changed to its current “Wrigley Field Home of Chicago Cubs.” Another slight change was made each fall as it was altered to read “Wrigley Field Home of Chicago Bears” until Soldier Field opened in 1971.

A random fact is that it was painted purple in the fall of 2010 when Wrigley played host to a Northwestern Wildcats college football game.

Look for the NCAA to hand University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh a simple one-game suspension for Spygate II. And, the suspension will be served during the 2024 regular season.

During a recent Colorado State home game against No. 19 Air Force, the Rams were handed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty due to fans throwing snowballs at the Air Force bench. Colorado State had received a warning from officials at the end of the first half after fans were caught throwing snowballs at the Falcons bench. While the initial warning didn't lead to any penalty against the Rams, the second offense did as fans continued their antics into the second half.

Nelson Cruz has announced his retirement from Major League baseball. He finished with 2,053 hits, 463 home runs, 1,325 RBI, four Silver Slugger awards, and seven All-Star games. His .274 career average may keep him out of the Hall of Fame.

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce submitted five new trade requests to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, looking to lock down some of his most recognizable sayings and phrases. Requests went in for Travis Kelce, Killatrav, Alright Nah, Flight 87 and Kelce’s Krunch. The first four trademark requests are all filed for basic merchandise to include everything from lapel pins to posters to apparel. Killatrav is a reference to his Instagram handle (@killatrav), while “alright nah” has become his personal catchphrase New Heights, the popular podcast he co-hosts with older brother Jason.

The dress code of the PGA Tour dictates that players wear long pants. In 1992 Mark Wiebe showed up at the Anheuser-Busch Classic wearing shorts to deal with the 102-degree temperature. He was fined $500.

Ricky Williams returned to Austin on Saturday for Texas football’s home game against Kansas State. The Longhorn Network had jokes and, of course, they were about marijuana. Although Williams won a Heisman Trophy, was drafted No. 5 overall, and played 11 years in the NFL, he may best be known for his cannabis usage. He loves weed. So much so that Williams was suspended five different times for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. In total, the former Saints, Dolphins and Ravens running back missed two full seasons due to his repeated suspensions. Now 46, Williams has turned his passion for marijuana into a career. He owns a cannabis lifestyle brand called ‘Highsman’ - a witty play on Heisman - and is a very vocal advocate for legalization. Needless to say, Williams and weed go hand-in-hand. This is where the Longhorn Network, owned in part by the university and ESPN, saw its opportunity. Williams was in attendance at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium to be honored on the 25th anniversary of his Heisman. Fireworks went off as Texas ran out of the tunnel onto the field. The pyrotechnics created smoke, but the Longhorn Network joked that the smoke was actually Williams’ fault because he was burning it down on the sideline. Even if it might have been low-hanging fruit, the post on X was pretty hilarious.

Congratulations to Freeland High School’s T.J. Hansen who captured the state Division 2 cross country championship Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. Hansen, a Falcon junior, finished in a time of 14:52.8 to shatter the previous record of 15:02.5 set Richland Gull Lake’s Kurtis Marlowe in 2000. Hansen’s time was not only a Division 2 state record but also is tired for the seventh-fasted time in state history across all divisions. 

Yoshinobu Yamamoto just pitched a complete game on 138 pitches in his last start before becoming an MLB free agent. He had 14 strikeouts, breaking Yu Darvish’s Japan Series record. Coming to a Major League Baseball franchise near you . . . probably the Los Angeles Dodgers or the New York Yankees.

When Michigan State University quarterback Sam Leavitt threw what would become the game-sealing touchdown pass, when he threaded the ball between defenders to hit a diving Montorie Foster Jr. in the end zone with 12:13 left in the Spartans’ 20-17 victory over Nebraska. The play may be his last of the season. Leavitt said after Saturday’s game that he’s undecided on whether he will continue playing this season and burn a year of eligibility or shut down his season and take a redshirt year. By NCAA rules, players can play in up to four games in a season and still declare a redshirt. Saturday marked Leavitt’s fourth game of the season: he also appeared in games against Maryland, Michigan and Minnesota. If Leavitt doesn’t appear in any more games, he would still have four years of eligibility left after this year. Should he appear in any more Spartans games this season he would have three years of eligibility remaining starting in 2024.

After losing the World Series championship to the Texas Rangers, Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, a baseball lifer, made the following quote: “I just want to run away and hide for few days. I want to go camping and just sit in the tent and suck my thumb and eat ice cream. I want to hurt because I want to remember what this feels like because I never want to feel this again."

At a recent Grand Rapids Griffins hockey game at Van Andel Arena, the Griffins staged a memorable comeback against Cleveland as they scored twice in the final 3:04 to force overtime. However, fans who had purchased foam pucks as part of its long-running “Throw for Dough” charitable fundraiser chose to throw them onto the ice after the game-tying goal. It resulted in a delay-of-game penalty to Grand Rapids. Cleveland scored on the ensuing powerplay in overtime, costing the Griffins a second point in the standings. Several of the fan who tossed the pucks were immediately ejected from the arena and the “owner” of every puck thrown has been identified and will be addressed.

In the fall of 1935, Saginaw basketball officials organized the Saginaw Officials Association. Howard Beatty was president and Charles Coulter was secretary. Other charter members were Don Andrews, Jim Loveless, Floyd Byron, Jack Bauer, Chester Johnson, Bill Vondette and George Windegarden. All are registered with the Michigan State High School Athletic Association. The association planned to meet once a week during the season to study and discuss the rules. The association also expected to furnish officials for high school games in this section of the state. While all officials have secured their own contracts in the past and will continue to make their own bookings in the future, the association will stand ready to furnish officials to any school when desired.

In Major League Baseball, playing just one day qualified the players for lifetime healthcare. Being on the active roster for 43 days qualifies them for a minimum $34,000 annual pension.

Kansas City Blues third baseman Howard Freigau made four errors on one play on July 4, 1927. He bobbled a ground ball for the first error and made a wide throw to first base for the second error. The right fielder picked up the ball and threw it to third base where Freigau missed the ball for his third error. With the runner trying to score, Freigau picked up the ball and – of course - threw it past the catcher for his fourth error.

During his weekly “Tiger Calls” radio show, Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney responded to an angry fan after a person identified as "Tyler from Spartanburg" asked why Swinney was paid more than $10 million per year "to go 4-4." The caller spent 2½ minutes expressing his displeasure with Clemson's record, Swinney's coaching hires and more. Swinney's response lasted five minutes, and he railed against Clemson fans lacking "appreciation" for winning two national titles and having 12 seasons with at least 10 wins during his tenure. He said he had "never failed at anything in his life" and added, "I am where I am because I've worked my ass off every single day." During his news conference Tuesday, Swinney reiterated the key points of his rant. "I had some idiot go Old Testament on me," he said, "And he got an Old Testament response."

Whatever happened to George Trapp?

QUICK QUIZ ANSWER

A. Lance Alworth. Alworth was born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Hog Chain, Mississippi. He attended Brookhaven High School where he earned 15 varsity letters. After high school he was offered baseball contracts by the New York Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He opted to play football at the University of Arkansas.

Nicknamed “Bambi” because he had a baby face and could run like a deer, Alworth played 11 seasons in the National Football League and is considered one of the greatest wide receivers of all time. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, College Football Hall of Fame, San Diego Hall of Champions, and the Chargers Hall of Fame.

Alworth, whose No. 19 was retired by the San Diego Chargers in 2005, was selected as a member of the AFL All-Time Team and was also named to the NFL 75^th Anniversary All-Time Team. Additionally, he was also inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, and the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame.