Wilt's Foul Shooting

For several years early in his NBA career, Wilt Chamberlain shot foul shots underhanded, with modest success. Though he was a worse shooter over-handed, he eventually ditched the granny style because it made him look like a sissy. Based on my calculations, Wily could have finished his career with almost 800 more points had he not made the switch.

 

YR	2PT	FF	FFA	FF%	TOTPT
60	1065	577	991	58.2%	2707
61	1251	531	1054	50.4%	3033
62	1597	835	1363	61.3%	4029
63	1463	660	1113	59.3%	3586
64	1204	540	1016	53.1%	2948
		2035	3492	58.3%
65	1063	513	880	58.3%	2639
66	1074	569	976	58.3%	2717
67	785	510	875	58.3%	2080
68	819	543	932	58.3%	2181
69	641	500	857	58.3%	1782
70	129	91	157	58.3%	349
71	668	390	669	58.3%	1726
72	496	305	524	58.3%	1297
73	426	265	455	58.3%	1117
PROJECTED POINTS					32191
ACTUAL POINTS					31419
MORE PTS UNDERHANDED					772

 

Wilt finished his career as the all-time leading scorer in NBA history. Since then he was been passed by four players. The extra points would not have kept him in a higher position on the career list. The top 15 scorers in NBA history:

 

38387 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

36928 Karl Malone

33643 Kobe Bryant

32292 Michael Jordan

31419 Wilt Chamberlain

 

29491 Dirk Nowitzki

28596 Shaquille O’Neal

27409 Moses Malone

27313 Elvin Hayes

26946 Hakeem Olajuwon

 

26833 LeBron James (active)

26710 Oscar Robertson

26668 Dominique Wilkins

26496 Tim Duncan (active)

26395 John Havlicek

 

I looked at the top 50 but Maravich wasn’t in there. Neither was Price that I remember. Maybe I will do a study of the three point shot while I am at the beach. Doesn’t affect Kareem and Wilt that much, but it will lower the totals of MJ and Kobe.

 

JUNE 30: Worked past 6:30 last night. Grilled chicken and salad. Wasn’t too hungry after lunch at work: Mellow Mushroom pizza. Watched “The Age of Adaline” with Ceil. Slept 30 minutes late Friday morning.

Recent Leno Jokes

Jokes from Jay Leno's recent appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon:

The economy is so bad that…

…in Utah a polygamist only had one wife.

…in Los Angeles, porn stars are taking jobs as actual pizza delivery men.

…Mexicans are patching the holes in the border fence.

…in England the queen was wearing one of those paper crowns from Burger King.

…I turned on The Biggest Loser and they were showing my 401K.

…rappers can only afford to get their teeth bronzed.

…next to the MENU button on my remote there’s a Dollar Menu button.

…when the Uber driver showed up, he said “hop on my back.”

…the only emails Hillary did not delete were the ones from Groupon.

Bernie Sanders is called the anti-fossil fuels candidate – because he IS a fossil.

Sanders’ fund-raising dinners aren’t raising as much as Hillary’s – because no one wants to eat at four o’clock.

Obama has a 51% approval rating. The other 49% are the taxpayers.

Bill Clinton got in trouble at a campaign stop when he leaned over and kissed a baby. Normally that’s ok, but the baby was breast-feeding at the time.

Hillary calls herself the most transparent candidate. It’s because everyone can see right through her.

Trump was accused of giving speeches that were at a 5th grade level. In response Donald called the accuser a doodyhead.

This year’s most popular baby names are Noah and Emma. The least popular baby names are Hillary and Donald.

God Bless the USA

I wanted to compile a list of the FBI's report, just to have it in one place for my own reference:

FBI Director James Corney said:
1. Hillary endangered American lives by her "extremely careless" handling of sensitive information.
2. No reasonable person could have believed putting these emails on a private server was appropriate or acceptable.
3. 110 emails of the emails were classified, proving that as Secretary of State, Hillary had lied and endangered national security.
4. Hillary had deleted work-related emails before turning them over to the State Department – despite her claims to the contrary.
5. It was likely that foreign governments hacked into her emails, and that our enemies could know critical secrets because of her actions.
6. Mr. Corney admitted someone caught in similar situation would "often" be punished.
7. The FBI would not recommend Hillary be charged with criminal offenses.

Should a candidate running for the President of the United States be held to a higher standard? The US as a country has certainly changed. While there was always behind the scenes stuff going on, like in the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations, the federal government certainly has a life of its own.

JUNE 30: Worked past 6:30. Grilled chicken and salad. Wasn't too hungry after lunch at work: Mellow Mushroom pizza. Watched "The Age of Adaline" with Ceil. Slept 30 minutes late Friday morning.

Saturday morning I went to the World Congress Center to pick up my Peachtree number. Got inside about 9:15 am. They had a Hawks tent so I went up and talked to the guy. Kyle Koerver was supposed to be there but he was running late. Got a pair of red Hawks shoestrings. Not sure what I'll be with them.

Tuesday: C and M went to the mall to get M a new pair of Vans shoes. He got an all-black low cut pair. He wore his old pair until they were falling apart, and on Monday had played in the river in them. He also has a pair of all-black high top Chuck Taylors, a white pair of high top Chucks, a pair of blue adidas Gazelles with yellow stripes (think UCLA), a pair of vintage skate Vans he rarely wears, and a pair of high top Vans he never wears. The last three pair were bought at thrift stores, and I might sell the last two pair.

M had tried to cook macaroons. I worked til 6:45 and snacked on pretzels before leaving, so I wasn't too hungry. Ate a slice of Will's birthday cheesecake and that was it. Worked on the computer and watched Jimmy Fallon. C and M got home after 9. They had picked up a free small cheese pizza from Mellow Mushroom.

Lunch was leftover chicken breasts. Today's was a grilled chicken salad at Medlock's Tavern. Tomorrow's lunch is the Ruby Tuesday salad bar. That leaves the leftover kabobs for Friday lunch. Also half that delicious cheesecake needs to be eaten, one piece a day. W couldn't take it home because he left straight after the Peachtree Road Race. Saw where Craig MacKenzie, Grover Swilley, Scott Morris, Bob Lamb, Danny Downing, Chad Eaton, and Jimmy Light ran, but not Bill Dukes.

Even with my customer closed this week, there is plenty of work to get done before vacation.

#PTRR Times

38.24 Jake Morgan, Ryerson 219th overall

41.07 Matthew Arrowood, Ryerson

47.23 Brad Morgan, Ryerson

47.33 Randy Travis, media winner

49.09 Jason Kembrey, Ryerson

49.26 Danny Downing, SPdL

51.09 Chad Eaton, SPdL

52.37 Isaac Scheidt, LS

56.54 Will Murphy, LS 13th PRR

58.36 Bradly Morgan, Ryerson

59.32 Ben Ingram, Braves announcer

 

1.00.10 Scott Morris, SPdL

1.00.22 Melissa Kembrey, Ryerson

1.04.09 Todd Hall, LS

1.09.46 Steve Edwards, SPdL

1.10.21 Ginger Light, SPdL

1.12.17 Lydia Nickell, SPdL

1.12.19 Steve Garrett, Ryerson

1.12.24 Andrea Irwin Nickell, SPdL

1.15.54 Ryan Arrowood, Ryerson

1.17.55 Matthew Armstrong, Ryerson

 

1.18.52 Kirk Luna, Ryerson

1.18.59 Jimmy Light, SPdL

1.19.11 Deborah Light Painter, SPdL

1.19.29 Mia Nickell, SPdL

1.19.30 Wesley Nickell, SPdL

1.19.31 Scott Nickell, SPdL

1.25.21 Mark Meagher, Albany

1.25.32 David Murphy, 29th PRR

1.27.47 Laura Briscoe Carey, SPdL

1.28.30 Bob Lamb, SPdL

 

1.28.41 Bill Thorn, has run every PRR

1.29.22 Glenn Armstrong, Ryerson

1.29.23 Mallory Armstrong, Ryerson

1.29.51 Phil Duffy, Ryerson

1.33.12 Lila Armstrong, Ryerson

1.39.32 Stuart Murphy

1.39.35 Lori Murphy

1.47.54 Dennis Arrowood, Ryerson

1.47.55 Angie Arrowood, Ryerson

1.59.20 Angela Head, SPdL

 

2.11.05 Bette Swilley, SPdL

2.35.16 Grover Swilley, SPdL

 

Others with numbers: Lee Bates, Ginger Hales, Annie Hall, Craig MacKenzie, Preston Smith

2016 Peachtree Recap

Every Peachtree Road Race is different. Here is the 2016 version:

 

After a late dinner Sunday night, I had a hard time getting to sleep. Woke up at 4:45 and showered. Pinned on Will’s number and gathered my things.  

 

After a few years of barely making it to the start line in time, I was careful to be early this year. We timed it about right. Left home around 5:45 and drove down to our usual parking spot at 5th and Myrtle. Breakfasted on one energy bar and drank a PowerAde and a bottle of Protein Water. Found a long spot for both my CRV and Will’s Toyota. Walked up to MARTA. Skipped the first packed Doraville train as well as a North Springs train with plenty of seats, then squeezed into the next Doraville train. Even though it’s only four stops, this is the slowest MARTA ride you’ll ever take. People were squeezing in at every stop. Then at Lenox only the south exit was open, causing even more congestion.

 

After we escaped the MARTA station, the shady walk up the hill to Phipps Plaza wasn’t too bad. We arrived at the intersection and stood there for a while at the back of the E group. Saw Jason Kembry from work. As we talked a Peachtree volunteer came up, looked closely at Will’s and my number, and pestered us to return to our groups. As we did the groups moved forward, so I was able to get in the middle of Group F. Knowing I would be walking, I tried to make it over to the right side of the road, as we slowly progressed toward the start line.

 

As we waited I toyed with my Fitbit. I had charged my first Fitbit for the race, the one with the broken band. I had already walked 1.78 miles by the time I made it to the start line, well over 2200 steps. I wanted to tweet that the 1-1/2 hour journey to the start line is longer than most of my training runs for the Peachtree. I played with the stopwatch function and thought I had erased my day’s work, but eventually I recovered it.

 

At the start line lots of people turned around to take selfies with the huge American flag behind them. A lot of people, judging not only from what I saw in person, but also on social media as well. Hope their phones didn’t get wet. The Peachtree is such an event, much more than a just world class athletic contest (several of the elite runners will be competing in the Olympics).

Will actually filmed his race start, breaking out in a sprint of the start of Group G. I had considering bringing an old cell phone to take pictures. This would’ve been problematic without my glasses, and with all the water. Question: if I didn’t take a selfie running the Peachtree and post it on social media, did I actually do it?  

 

The security presence was considerably greater than any previous year. Police and soldiers outfitted in riot gear in MARTA stations and along the walkways to the staging areas, along the race route, and at Piedmont Park. During the race a police officer on a bicycle rode past. There were even bomb-sniffing dogs and heavily-armed Polaris ATVs.   

 

Even though the national anthem was long and drawn out, the massive C130 flyover arrived just as the last note was sung. My group went off right at 8:00. I stuck to the right, ran the first quarter mile, then fell into my planned pattern of walking 30 seconds, then running 30 seconds. Almost right off the bat I noticed an old greybeard near. Me. Another fellow carried a sack full of soccer balls, handing them out to kids along the way. I knew this was a recipe for disaster. One kid didn’t want the ball, and threw it to a young runner wearing a soccer jersey. The runner bounced the ball, and it got away from him. A little girl loved her ball, but her big brother grabbed it away from her – and the ball bounced into the street right in front of me.

 

The first mile was pretty uneventful. At the first water station I was sure to pour water on my head, and I realized how hot I was. Every time I’d run, I would pass a young dad wearing a large backpack who was running with his daughter. Grabbed a rubber bracelet from the 104.7 people. No Moe’s swag this year. Saw the priest at St. Phillip’s tossing out “holy water” as he blessed the runners. Moved across to the left side of the road to see the folks at Second-Ponce de Leon – perhaps too late to see Angela Head (and maybe Don?). I did see Charles Quarles and Dock Hollingsworth, but that was about it. Nancy Kelly and Kelly Vonfeldt were there, but I missed them.

 

I enjoyed the shade running down the hill toward Peachtree Battle. Saw former congressman Max Cleland in his usual spot. And an unfortunate Peachtree first: an ambulance drove south on Peachtree, passing runners, presumably on its way to deliver an overheated runner to Piedmont Hospital. During the race I noticed a sign saying the race threat level was orange (due to the heat) – slightly higher than the yellow alert level I’d seen at the start. Later the treat level was raised to red – one step below the highest “race cancellation” level black.

I kept seeing the greybeard in my area and finally figured out he was walking and running at about the same pace as me. As we both slowed to a walk near the three mile marker to begin the long “Cardiac Hill,” I started talking to him. Over the next 3.2 miles we alternated running and walking and shared our Peachtree stories. Mark is 61, a Henderson High grad who grew up where Spaghetti Junction was built. A high school runner who in one early Peachtree finished in the top 40. Heart bypass surgery at 46 took his wind. Now he coaches cross country at a small private school in Albany. Mark noted that we had traversed the first three miles in 36 minutes, a pretty good pace for both of us. We both knew the rest of the race would take longer, with most of it uphill.

 

As we reached the top of cardiac hill my fitbit vibrated, signaling I had reached the 10000 step mark. I stopped to re-tie my shoe on the sidewalk. At the four mile mark I made a point of grabbing two free pizza wristbands from Mellow Mushroom. I saw one lady with about five of the prize bands. Will got one band. That makes back about half of our entry fee right there.

 

My new friend Mark would run for one to one and a half minutes at a time, then walk for about a minute. We passed a big black lady walking proudly along, wearing a group S number. She had obviously jumped in somewhere along the route. The trombone player who sits on the Pershing Point bridge had moved south a hundred yards, joining up with a couple of other musicians.   

 

Said hello to my former co-worker Ellsworth, who mans the water station at the corner of Spring and Peachtree. Thought of Harriet Clardy, who used to stand across from Rhodes Hall. At the top of the hill at Colony Square we made a point of running. Unfortunately that’s where several parents had their pre-teen children join them for the last mile of the race. As I neared the photo bridge after the turn onto 10th Street I was hot on their heels, and I had to slow down to not run over them. I’m sure this made for a lousy picture (or no picture, as it turned out). Note on the photo of Mark and I: a new photo bridge was added on Peachtree before the 10th Street turn. I obviously didn't see it until it was too late.  

At the six mile mark my shoe came untied. We were running in the rest of the way, so I knew I couldn’t stop to tie my shoe until after the finish. Thanks to Mark, my final mile was the fastest in several years. We walked through the T-shirt chutes and bade each other farewell. The journey with Mark made for a different, but fun and interesting Peachtree. I beat my 2015 time by 15 minutes.

 

Will was at our usual meeting spot near the stage. He had run a 56 minute race, admitting that he had to stop to walk a time or two. No shame in that. Later Chad Eaton and Danny Downing both mentioned they “didn’t set a personal record.” Guess I need to start saying that as well.

 

I’m not one for photos, especially looking all hot, wet, and sweaty. My shirt, shorts, socks, and shoes were soaked from pouring cups of water over my head at every water stop. We loaded up on PowerAde, but this year there were no tents handing out energy bars or popsicles. We made the long walk back to our cars. My Fitbit had bitten the dust, a victim of all the water. Good thing I left my newer Fitbit at home.

 

My T-shirt review: I give it a C. From a distance all you can see are the words ROAD RACE. The color is nice, as is the lightweight fabric. Not a fan of wearing a shoe tread on my chest. But the word PEACHTREE does not stand out, nor does the year. You’d think more thought would go into the color of the lettering against the background color.

 

In the aftermath I let it slip that I had sold my previous 28 Peachtree T-shirts. Some thought I was lying. For tens of thousands the T-shirt IS the Peachtree. Not me. Spending all that money and undergoing all the hassle to pick up the number, waking up early and fighting the crowds for over three hours isn’t worth it just for a T-shirt. The Peachtree Road Race is the experience.

Highland Fourth

The staff at Camp Highland celebrate the Fourth of July.

Anna at Camp

Anna demonstrating the always cool two-strap look, as I did in my photo in front of the countdown number.

Star Wars Night

Star Wars Night at Turner Field July 1st. Details to follow, but here are the photos. Long lines to take some pictures with Star Wars characters, but not Chewie.

Or this guy...

Or this guy...

Or even this guy, believe it or not. After the Geiko's handler took my picture, he reached in his bag and handed my a T-shirt. Nice.

Next instead of our normal batting practice spot in the crowded left-field bleachers, I headed over to right field where I knew my new friend Norman would be. He knows that baseball hit king Ichiro Suzuki likes to launch long home runs during batting practice. We each came close, but it was no cigar. As we left he called "See you later, David." Good guy.

During BP pitching coach Roger McDowell had already resumed his favorite position: talking to fans down the left field line.

I wanted to get in line early for the Star Wars parade,

on the ramp overlooking the player parking lot.

Later I was joined by Rob and Charlotte.

Walking out on to the field.

Last year the parade stretched all the way around the field.

This year it was only half that long.

As we nears the outfield I had an idea: have Rob take my picture in front of the games remaining number, as if I was the guy taking down the number. As I approached the Braves employee I told him what I was doing, and he started to back away. The pic was popular on Facebook.

Discovered an interesting store on the concourse.

I dared not go inside.

Walked around the stadium.

Found a spot in the shade down the left field line.

The Marlins bullpen was to my immediate left.

Thought I forgot, didn't you?

Had a nice view of the actual guy who tore off the number,

a season ticker holder from Dunwoody.

Cute baby in front of me.

I tried to get a photo of his dad (in red) taking a photo of the baby.

My own youtube video of the Home Depot Tool Race,

with a special guest participant.

After rookie Chase d-Arnaud's first major league home run, his teammates gave him the silent treatment.

July Bobbleheads

July will be another busy month in my little bobblehead world. Schuerholz. Zombie AJ. Gwinnett Aaron. Uecker alarm clock. The Albies mini. By the end of the month I'm not sure I'll be up for a July 30 game, but there are three to chose from: Augusta, Chattanooga, and a ring from Turner Field. Quite the month!

 

7.01 FRI Braves Star Wars Jedi Master John Schuerholz

7.01 FRI Lexington Legends Anderson Miller BH 1000

7.02 SAT Brooklyn Cyclones Roger McDowell Seinfeld BH

7.02 SAT MIN Ervin Santana BH

7.02 SAT LAD Cey/Yeager/Guerrero ’81 Tri-MVP BH

7.02 SAT HOU Carlos Correa ROY BH

7.02 SAT Biloxi Shuckers Garrett Richards 1500

7.03 SUN WAS racing president mascot BH

7.03 SUN TOR Troy Tulowitzki BH

7.04 MON MIA Edgar Renteria 98 ASG BH

7.05 TUE STL Tony LaRussa 2006 mini BH

7.06 TUE STL John Goodman BH

7.08 THU Western Michigan Whitecaps Joel Zumaya BH

7.09 FRI MIL Ghostbusters quad BH

7.09 FRI WAS Dusty Baker BH

7.09 FRI Harrisburg Senators Cliff Floyd 1500

7.09 FRI CLE Yan Gomes BH

7.09 FRI STL Brad Thompson 2006 WS mini BH

7.09 FRI Brooklyn John Stamos Full House BH 2500

7.09 FRI Potomac Nationals Danny Espinosa BH  

7.10 SAT MIL Bob Uecker talking alarm clock

7.10 SAT Lakeshore Chinooks Ryan Krill

7.10 SAT BOS kids Wally & Tessie double BH

7.10 SAT TEX Cole Hamels BH

7.14 THU Round Rock Express George Strait BH

7.14 THU Madison Mallards Pizza Bus Maynard

7.15 FRI SD Star Wars BH

7.15 FRI York Revolution Loretta Claiborne 1500

7.15 FRI ATL Zombie AJ Pierzynski

7.16 SAT Gwinnett Hank Aaron BH

7.16 SAT Chattanooga Lookouts Miguel Sano 1000

7.16 SAT SEA Robinson Cano BH

7.16 SAT MIN Torii Hunter HOF BH

7.16 SAT CIN Zach Cozart BH

7.16 SAT OAK Hello Kitty BH

7.16 SAT DET Jose Iglesias BH

7.17 SUN TB Kiermaier Claus Christmas BH

7.17 SUN Lake County Captains James Garfield BH

7.18 MON PHIL Malkel Franco BH

7.18 MON Asheville Tourists Nolan Arenado BH 1000

7.20 WED STL Star Wars T-shirt

7.20 WED CHI Jake Arrieta Cy Young BH

7.21 WED Myrtle Beach Pelicans replica jersey 500

7.21 THU PHI Star Wars night

7.22 FRI Rome Braves Ozzie Albies mini BH

7.22 FRI STL Matt Holiday BH

7.23 SAT Potomac Nationals Frank Constanza Seinfeld BH

7.23 SAT HOU Evan Gattis Gnome

7.23 SAT COL Star Wars BH

7.23 SAT MIA Dontrelle Willis 2005 ASG BH

7.24 SUN TOR Kevin Pillar BH

7.24 SUN Reading JP Crawford 2000

7.24 SUN KC Wade Davis postseason BH

7.24 SUN Beloit Snappers Greg Vaughn BH

7.25 MON Lakewood BlueClaws Fried Egg BH

7.26 TUE LAD Kenta Maeda BH

7.26 TUE Nashville Sounds faith night BH? 2000

7.27 WED Reading Pat Burrell 3000

7.30 SAT Braves 1991 worst to first rings

7.30 SAT Chattanooga Lookouts Bryon Buxton 1000

7.30 SAT MIA Alex Gonzalez 99 ASG BH

7.30 SAT CLE Jim Thome HOF Inductee BH

7.30 SAT TEX Franchise Four quad BH

7.30 SAT Augusta Greenjackets Roberto Kelly 1000

7.30 SAT Carolina Muddy the Mudcat mascot BH

7.30 SAT Madison Mallards Republican or Democratic Maynard BH

7.30 SAT Inland Empire 66ers Ken Griffey Jr BH

7.31 SUN Lakeshore Chinooks Robin Yount fishing

7.31 SUN TEX Nitto Tire Blue Dot BH 2 of 3

7.31 SUN NYM Mike Piazza HOF BH

7.31 SUN MIN Twins vintage BH

7.31 SUN MIL Jimmy Nelson BH