Sports

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Numbering the good old days
​and the good new days

It’s difficult to not live in the past.

When it still seems as if this is 2018.

There is no doubt, 2019 is going to be a big year.

My wife and I received a number of lovely wall calendars. We had to decide which calendars to hang. We passed the surplus on to people less fortunate in the calendar arena.

The Gregorian calendar is the most widely used civil calendar in the world. It’s named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in October 1582. How did that not become a holiday on the calendar? When Pope Gregory XIII introduced his calendar, Europe used the Julian calendar, first implemented by Julius Caesar. The Roman emperor’s system miscalculated the length of the solar year by 11 minutes and fell out of sync with the seasons. This ticked off his buddy Brutus and the rest, including Julius Caesar, is history. Gregory became concerned because it meant Easter fell further away from the spring equinox each year.

There are other calendars: Persian, Mayan, Jewish, Coptic, Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, seasonal, busy and the calendar your unemployed nephew must be using since his unfortunate yo-yo accident.

I found a stack of my old calendars and day planners. Each was filled with scribbled notes and appointments. Most were written in pencil to allow erasing. Things changed. They were the Rubik’s Cubes of calendars. It took many twists and turns to make them work. 

Incredibly, not a single one of the calendars in our home marks January 15 as the date of the Great Molasses Flood of 1919. The molasses turned deadly when a holding tank burst and 2.3 million gallons of the sticky stuff poured through the streets of Boston. And nary a calendar has Eeyore’s birthday indicated on May 9. Gloomy Eeyore isn’t a fan of much, other than eating thistles in “Winnie the Pooh,” but I’m a fan of his and need to know his natal day. 

Don’t look for a January thaw to be indicated on a calendar. It’s not a regular thing. It’s a gift.

Our 2019 calendars offered a pleasing mix of lovely images and thought-provoking information.

I put up a couple of the calendars. It wasn’t a tough task. I placed each calendar where its predecessor had been. There was a handy nail already there. 

I’m careful where I put things. I was educated on that subject early in my married life. Whenever any of my stuff strayed from its proper place, my wife asked, “Does this belong here?”

“How can I stand here with my head between my ears and not realize my grave error?” I asked just once.

“What makes you so stubborn?” she responded. At least I think that’s what she meant to say, but “stubborn” came out sounding a lot like “stupid.”

I answered, “Sheer determination.”

My wife had to ask me that rhetorical question, “Does this belong here?” only 12,876 times before I became learned.

Attaching dates to a wall was a welcome endeavor, as it took my mind off trying to think up new passwords. It caused me to think of the people producing the calendars. If one of those poor souls took just one day off, he could lose his job at the calendar factory.

As I took a step back to look at the new calendar gracing the wall of my office, I found myself grateful for 2018 and that a calendar doesn’t need a protective case, battery or recharging. Some folks believe the Earth is flat. I believe a wall calendar is flat and I don’t believe it’s a fabrication by some government agency.

In my youthful days, many young men became interested in automobiles because garages had calendars featuring scantily clad women. I knew a fellow who kept his calendar set to the past month. He did that because his creditors told him he was always a month behind.

People say that people say that paper calendars are going the way of buggy whips. I use digital calendars, too. Why? It’s because they are easy, mobile and as reliable as the input. The days go equally fast no matter how I keep score.

I’m not proud of it, but there have been occasions when I’ve wished time would go faster. I don’t do that any longer. I used to say, “Are we there yet?” I never ask that question anymore.

As I stared at the 2019 calendar on the wall, I had
an epiphany. 

It’s never too late to take a nap. 

​© Al Batt 2019

“Father, Do You Have the Keys
​to the Desoto?!”

Maury, I know you’ll recall Memory #24 when Grandpa related (then Fr. Friedl in 1942) asking me to coach the Nativity grade school football team in my freshman year at Loras College and we won the parochial league championship. Just recently Msgr. Friedl was honored as the recipient of the Telegraph Herald’s “Dubuque Citizen of the Year” award for 2009. This caused Grandpa to recall a very humorous incident when I was the Nativity coach. Fr. Friedl, at different times, would graciously allow me the use of his 1939 Desoto, when available. Maury, this is what happened on one of those occasions:

One day about the middle of the week Father stopped by during football practice and I asked him if I could borrow his car that coming Saturday afternoon. He replied it would be o.k. and he’d alert the housekeeper at the rectory I’d be coming for the keys to the Desoto. That Saturday afternoon when I stopped at the rectory, the housekeeper went to the place where Father always left his keys but they were not there. She said he must have forgotten and was hearing confessions at the time. I, immediately, went to Nativity church and seeing two lines of people at Father’s confessional, went to the head of one line, whispering to the lady there “This is an emergency!”

I waited my turn, entered the confessional and as Father slid the partition to hear my confession said: “Father this is Abie do you have the keys to the Desoto”? He replied: “Oh, I forgot yes!” and immediately came out of the confessional with me doing the same. After Father handed me the keys I gave him a whispered thank you and all that was missing was someone with a camera to record the most bewildered and puzzled looks on people in line to go to confession I ever saw!

Maury, hope you enjoyed this.

Much love, Grandpa

1. Which teams hold the major-league record for most hits in a nine-inning game?

2. When was the last time before 2017 that the Houston Astros won a division championship?

3. Dallas’ Dak Prescott set a rookie NFL record in 2016 for highest completion rate (67.8 percent). Who had held the rookie mark?

4. Which original member of the ACC has never won the conference’s men’s basketball tournament?

5. John Bucyk (545 goals) and Phil Esposito are the top career goal scorers in Boston Bruins history. Who is No. 3?

6. Which is the only host country to be eliminated from the Group Stage in men’s World Cup soccer history? 

7. When was the last time before 2017 that Maryland won the NCAA men’s lacrosse championship?

1. The 1901 New York Giants and the 1992 Milwaukee Brewers, with 31 hits each.

2. The Astros won the N.L. Central in 2001.

3. Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, who had a 66.4 percent completion rate in 2004.

4. Clemson.

5. Rick Middleton, with 402 goals.

6. South Africa, in 2010.

7. It was 1975.

© 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.

Iowa basketball’s offense is very good. It’s been very good for a long time under coach Fran McCaffery. The Hawks love to get up and down the floor in fast forward scoring in transition before the defense has a chance to react or set itself. Averaging over 80 points and mauling Illinois Sunday for 95, the Hawkeyes have won five straight Big Ten games and ten of its last eleven overall. In that streak it’s been the Iowa defense that has been a difference maker. Trying to out score opponents in this league is not a healthy way to make a living. Not with Michigan State, Michigan, Purdue, Indiana, Ohio State and others running four and five star recruits to the floor every game night.

The Iowa staff has put together a mixture of zone and man-to-man defense that slows the opponent down. It first has to recognize what the Hawks are in, making sure everyone’s on the same page in figuring out how to attack it. At this point the shot clock has 10-12 seconds remaining, often times resulting in a quick shot or turnover. That’s been the biggest improvement in a 16-3 record to date. 

With the always talented Michigan State Spartans coming to Carver Hawkeye Arena Thursday evening, in what should be a packed house, Iowa will need to be near perfect both offensively and defensively.

The Spartans received first place votes this week for the Associated Press poll. They stormed past the Hawkeyes in East Lansing December 3rd 90-68. That night, gifted freshman Joe Wieskamp sprained an ankle, playing sparingly. Sunday against the Illini, Weiskamp drained all eight of his shots including six three point goals and made both free throws. That perfection earned Wesikamp league Freshman of the Week honors. At 6’6”, 205 pounds, and mature beyond his years, Weiskamp gives Iowa a special weapon. He can play three positions and is a big asset and compliment to Tyler Cook and Luka Garza inside and Jordan Bohannon and Isiah Moss on the perimeter. Weiskamp is equally impressive with his defense and rebounding, understanding there’s room for improvement.

Fellow freshman Connor McCaffery has been a welcome addition. There’s very little drop off when McCaffery subs in for Bohannon or Moss, showing a high level of toughness, ball handling and passing the basketball. McCaffery dished out eight assists against Illinois.

​Even with three red shirt players, the Hawkeyes employ nine players who log heavy minutes. With the Big Ten schedule now boasting twenty conference games, the Iowa roster is poised to do some very special things the final third of the year, providing it avoids key injuries.

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