Good morning UJD, 911, and all you truly good yet deplorable Dawgs (you know who you are and who you ain’t)………Hump Day……Halfway forward is a weekend…..halfway back is a weekend…….Always move forward…..Get your gardens planted…..I’m hungry for some of that good old recruiting talk…..you know, the talk that we’ve gonna get this one and that one and so and so…….I love that recruiting talk…..I’ll admit I’m sick in the head too……Take care folks……..
UGA SPORTS:
I’m gonna mention a Dawg great in the UGA football spotlight section this morning, just to make sure at least something Dawg is mentioned today in this “DAWGChat” forum………Today’s DGD in the spotlight is former Dawg Wide Receiver Jimmy Orr, one of UGA’s great walk-ons…..
Jimmy Orr was the son of a doctor in South Carolina…….He was a standout baseball and basketball player………He didn’t even go out for football until his junior season in high school, where he immediately became the starting quarterback……….The two high school seasons that he led his team were average at best, and they didn’t pass the football……..Still, this young kid played well enough to cause a few colleges to show interest………..At his dad’s prompting (where his dad could watch him play on Saturdays), he ended up signing a football scholarship with nearby Clemson……….He wanted to also play college basketball, but that was against the coaches’ wishes…………….Thus he transferred to Wake Forest, a school that placed a higher emphasis on basketball……….However, he soon discovered the Wake Forest basketball coaches would advise him that football was his sport…………
Feeling somewhat depressed, he lent his ear to a then Bulldog trainer, who convinced him he could play football at UGA………..He accepted the challenge, transferred to Georgia (his third major college admission), walked on to the Dawg football team, but only on the promise that he be given a shot at quarterback…………
Coach Sterling Dupree soon convinced him to play halfback, because Dupree was impressed with his glue like hands catching the ball…………He started the season as a fifth string walk-on halfback at Georgia, but after his play in just two games, Head Coach Wally Butts awarded him a scholarship and moved him to a starter, a spot he would never relinquish………He led the SEC in pass receiving in both 1955 and again in 1957………He was named to the All-SEC Academic Team, and was chosen to play in the once prestigious Blue-Gray All-Star game………
His less than average (at best) speed and his small size portrayed him as a gamble in the NFL Draft……..The LA Rams finally gambled on him, selecting him in the 25th Round with the 291st pick in the draft……….However, the Rams gambled and selected him to play defensive back, not wide receiver, because they didn’t think his small frame could take the NFL punishment……..He talked the Rams into giving him a shot at receiver in a meaningless preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers………He responded by catching a 75 yard touchdown………The Steeler coaching staff was impressed by his play that day, but the Rams remained convinced he couldn’t play receiver………Thus, a trade was made for him from the Rams to the Steelers before the NFL season began (a trade that ranks among the biggest blunders of all-time in NFL history)………He responded to the trade and as a receiver was named the NFL’s Rookie of the Year in 1958, the first ever NFL Rookie of the Year player for the Steelers (he led the NFL in receiving yards per reception in his rookie year)…….He played 3 years for the Steelers, and then was involved in a colossal trade between the Steelers and the Baltimore Colts, which sent Orr to the Colts and Big Daddy Lipscomb to the Steelers (a trade of one of the smallest players in the league for one of the biggest players in the league)…….Orr played 10 more NFL seasons for the Colts………
During his NFL career, Orr:
(1) earned both first and/or second team All-Pro Honors for 3 years,
(2) earned All-Pro Bowl team twice,
3) caught at least one TD pass in the NFL for 13 consecutive years,
(4) played in two Super Bowls including one NFL Champion team,
(5) ended his NFL career with 400 receptions for 7,914 yards and 66 TDs,
(6) was called by one successful NFL General Manager as having the greatest hands he had ever seen (an opinion strongly supported by his career 19.8 yards per reception average compared to his amazing 19.4 yards per career touch average—a mark that ranked 4th all-time best in NFL history upon his retirement—simply said, he caught everything thrown his way and just did not drop the ball), (6) was among the NFL’s Top 10 punters during his rookie season,
(7) was a fan favorite, as the Colt fans named the right hand corner of Baltimore Stadium for his productive play (“Orrsville”),
(8) was a favorite target for two of the NFL’s greatest QBs (Johnny Unitas and Bobby Layne),
(9) in his NFL career, he finished in the Top 10: 5 times in yards gained per reception in a season, 3 times in longest TD reception of the year in a season, 5 times in most yards receiving in a season, 4 times in most TD passes caught in a season, 2 times in most TD’s scored in a season, and 4 times in most yards receiving in a game in a season.
After his retirement from the NFL, he was a radio analyst for the Atlanta Falcons for 3 years, an Atlanta Falcon wide receiver coach for 3 years, and even made a hole in one at the famous #12 at Augusta National during a guest round of golf……..Hines Ward, former All-Star player for the Steelers and former Dawg great, was one of his favorite NFL players, a fact helped in part because Hines wore the same Steeler uniform number that he once did……..The most often told story on Orr is during Super Bowl III when quarterback Earl Morrell failed to spot him 40 yards wide open on the final play of the first half. …….But the most realistic story of this former Dawg’s heart among the many bumps in the road in his sporting career occurred when the Colts were playing the Philadelphia Eagles and a 300+ pound defensive tackle fell on top of Jimmy, separating his shoulder and severely bruising his hip……..He had to be helped from the field, and rushed to a nearby hospital for X-rays…….He demanded that he return to the game, and had to be helped getting his uniform back on………He then ran 5 blocks from the Hospital back to the Stadium, insisted on immediately going back into the game (which the Colt coaches somehow allowed), entered the first huddle upon his return, and caught a 22 yard TD pass on his first play back into the game……..He was a very determined gutsy player, and he delivered!!
Jimmy Orr was deemed too small, he was not fast, but his hands were legendary, his routes were precision, and his moves were unmatched……Most of all he was determined, he had that desire and heart to play the game…….In a similar way, UGA had their Fred Belitnikoff (FSU WR All-Star) a full decade before Belitnikoff played Seminole football……FSU honors Belitnikoff (rightfully so) by a retired jersey and proper remembrance, but it’s truly sad that UGA and Dawg fans everywhere rarely even mention Jimmy Orr or Lamar “Racehorse” Davis, or Johnny Carson, Harry Babcock, or Bobby Walston in their conversations of UGA greatest wide receivers ever………
Well, I’ll simply conclude by saying Jimmy Orr will make my All-Time UGA team as a wide receiver anytime, anyday………Jimmy Orr is a DGD in my book!!
And, he definitely is one of UGA’s greatest walk-ons of all-time………….
SOME “DID YOU KNOW STUFF?” ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY:
591 years ago today, Joan of Arc arrives at the siege of Orleans
497 years ago today, a Dutch-Belgium woman introduces the practice of starching linen into England
251 years ago today, Scottish engineer James Watt's patent for a steam engine with a separate condenser enrolled (Patent 913)
207 years ago today, Ist US Rubber patent granted to Jacob F Humme
175 years ago today, Macon B Allen & Robert Morris Jr are 1st African Americans to open a law practice in the US
168 years ago today, 1st edition of Peter Roget's Thesaurus published
166 years ago today, First African American college chartered
163 years ago today, US Army, Pacific Division Headquarters permanently forms at Presidio (San Francisco)
159 years ago today, New Orleans fell to Union forces during the Civil War
138 years ago today, the "Elektromote" - forerunner of the trolleybus - is tested by Werner von Siemens in Berlin
98 years ago today, 1st official International Weightlifting Federation Championship
93 years ago today, construction of Spirit of St Louis (the monoplane which Charles Lindburgh would fly across the Atlantic) was completed
90 years ago today, telephone connection Great Britain-Australia goes into service
81 years ago today, Whitestone Bridge connecting the New York boroughs of Bronx and Queens opens
75 years ago today, US Army liberates 31,601 people from the Dachau Nazi concentration camp in Germany……..Meantime, on the eve of committing suicide, Adolf Hitler marries his longtime mistress, Eva Braun
74 years ago today, 28 former Japanese leaders indicted in Tokyo as war criminals
69 years ago today, China seizes the assets of the Asiatic Petroleum Company, a joint venture between the Shell and Royal Dutch oil companies in retaliation for the Hong Kong Government's requisitioning of the tanker Yung Hao
67 years ago today, Joe Adcock is 1st to homer into Polo Grounds' center field bleachers
Also 67 years ago today, the first U.S. experimental 3D-TV broadcast showed an episode of Space Patrol on Los Angeles ABC affiliate KECA-TV
63 years ago today, 1st military nuclear power plant dedicated at Fort Belvoir, Virginia
59 years ago today, ABC's "Wide World of Sports" debuts
55 years ago today, Australian government announces it would send troops to Vietnam
53 years ago today, "Respect" single released by Aretha Franklin (Billboard Song of the Year 1967)
50 years ago today, US and South Vietnamese forces launch an incursion into Cambodia, expanding the Vietnam War
46 years ago today, US President Richard Nixon said he will release edited tapes made in the White House
45 years ago today, Vietnam War: US begins to evacuate its citizens from Saigon in Operation Frequent Wind in response to advancing North Vietnamese forces, bringing an end to US involvement in the war
Also 45 years ago today, Charles McMahon and Darwin Judge are the last two United States servicemen killed in Vietnam during the Vietnam War
44 years ago today, Bruce Springsteen, fresh from playing a Memphis concert on his Born To Run tour, tries to climb over the fence at Elvis Presley's Graceland estate in an attempt to see Presley……….He is escorted off the premises by guards who inform him the King is not at home
40 years ago today, NFL Draft: Oklahoma running back Billy Sims first pick by Detroit Lions
39 years ago today, Phillie Steve Carlton is 1st lefty in MLB to strike out 3,000 batters
Also 39 years ago today, NFL Draft: South Carolina running back George Rogers first pick by New Orleans Saints
38 years ago today, the 17th Academy of Country Music Awards were held: Alabama, Merle Haggard, and Barbara Mandrell were the big winners
35 years ago today, Texas Ranger Larry Parrish is 5th MLB player to hit 3 HRs in a game in both leagues
34 years ago today, Boston Red Sox Roger Clemens strikes out 20 Seattle Mariners
Also 34 years ago today, NFL Draft: Auburn running back Bo Jackson first pick by Tampa Bay Buccaneers
32 years ago today, the Baltimore Orioles set a new major league baseball record by losing their first 21 games of the season.
30 years ago today, wrecking cranes began tearing down the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate
Also 30 years ago today, Dan Quisenberry (all-time AL save king--238 saves) announces his retirement
29 years ago today, tropical cyclone struck Bangladesh, killing an estimated 140,000 people and causing 10 million to lose their homes
Also 29 years ago today, "Don't Rock the Jukebox" single released by Alan Jackson (ASCAP Award Country Song of the Year 1992, Billboard Song of the Year 1991)
28 years ago today, a jury acquits LA police officers of beating Rodney King, riots begin…….54 people would be killed over the next 3 days
Also 28 years ago today, 27th Academy of Country Music Awards: Garth Brooks and Reba McEntire were the big winners
25 years ago today, Kansas City Royal John Nonely becomes the 70th MLBer to HR on his 1st at bat
Also 25 years ago today, the longest sausage ever, at 28.77 miles, was made in Kitchener, Ontario
23 years ago today, Kansas City Royal Chili Davis becomes the 75th MLBer to hit 300 HRs
16 years ago today, Oldsmobile builds its final car ending 107 years of production
Also 16 years ago today, the World War II Memorial opened in Washington, D.C., to thousands of visitors, providing overdue recognition for the 16 million U.S. men and women who served in the war
14 years ago today, NFL Draft: North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams first pick from Houston Texans
13 years ago today, Astronaut Jerry Linenger and cosmonaut Vasily Tsibliyev went on the first U.S.-Russian space walk
10 years ago today, U.S. Navy Lifts Ban on Female Submarine Crew
9 years ago today, British Royal Wedding: Prince William of Wales, second in line to the British throne, married his longtime girlfriend, Kate Middleton, in a lavish ceremony broadcast to millions of television viewers
8 years ago today, the International Chemical Weapons Convention deadline for chemical weapon stockpiles comes into effect
5 years ago today, German Measles is declared eradicated from North and South America - 1st world region to do so
Also 5 years ago today, the Chicago White Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-2 at Camden Yards………..The game was played without a crowd present due to the ongoing riots and protests in Baltimore……….This was the first time a Major League Baseball game was played in front of an empty house
2 years ago today, the animated series "The Simpsons" surpasses "Gunsmoke"'s 635-episode count to have highest episode count of any series on TV
Also 2 years ago today, Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal equals his Open-era record for most wins at the same event (11 Monte Carlo) with his 11th Barcelona ATP title
One year ago today, over 300 people declared to have died through overwork in Indonesia's one-day election on April 17th, with over 2,000 fallen sick
Also one year ago today, over 700 people infected with measles in the US, highest number for 25 years
And also one year ago today, Sports Illustrated features a muslim model (Halima Aden) in a Burkini for the first time in their swimsuit edition
SOME FOLKS WHO DIED ON THIS DATE:
Abraham Gesner, Canadian geologist (inventor of kerosene)
Alfred Hitchcock, English director (Psycho, Birds, Rear Window)
Calvin Peete, American golfer (12 PGA Tour titles)
Jean Nidetch, founder of Weight Watchers
Gino Marchetti, Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end (Pro Bowl x 11)
SOME FOLKS BORN ON THIS DATE:
Duke Ellington, American bandleader, composer and pianist (Take the A Train)
Hirohito, 124th Japanese emperor, emperor from 1926 to 1989
George Allen, football coach (LA Rams, Washington Redskins)
Danny Davis, country musician (Nashville Brass)
Carl Gardner, founder and lead singer for the Coasters (Yakety Yak, Searchin)
Rodney "Rod" McKuen, American poet, singer-songwriter and actor (Jean, Alone, Beatsville)
Willie Nelson, American country singer (On the Road Again)
Luis Aparicio, Venezuelan baseball player (All-Star Shortstop for Chicago White Sox)
Otis Rush, American blues musician (Right Place, Wrong Time)
April Stevens, rock vocalist (Deep Purple)
Bernard "Bernie" Madoff, American fraudster and financier who committed the largest fraud in US history
Duane Allen, Taylortown Texas, country singer (Oak Ridge Boys-Elvira)
Tammi Terrell, singer (Ain't No Mountain High Enough)
Jim Ryan, American runner—first to run sub 4 minute mile
Johnny Miller, American golfer (US Open 1973, British Open 1976)
Tommy James, singer (cri-im-son & clo-o-ver o-o-ver & o-o-ver)
Dale Earnhardt, American auto racer (7 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championships)
Jerome "Jerry" Seinfeld, American comedian and actor (Seinfeld, Bee Movie)
Eve Plumb, actress (Jan-Brady Bunch)
Michelle Pfeiffer, American actress (Scarface, Batman Returns, Hairspray)
Marc Randolph. American entrepreneur and co-founder and ex-CEO of Netflix
Carnie Wilson, American rock vocalist (Wilson Phillips-Hold On) Carnie is Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson’s daughter
Arthur Marshall, UGA & NFL wide receiver (NY Giants)
Andre Agassi, American tennis player (Olympic gold 1996, 8 Grand Slam titles)
Uma Thurman, American actress (Baron Munchausen, Pulp Fiction)
Jay Cutler, American football player
Justin Thomas, American golfer (PGA Championship 2017)
TODAY’S @$$HOLE OF THE DAY:
Fairly easy choice today, although there’s always a few to choose from any and every day……But old Bernie (Madoff that is) takes the cake, took the money, and today takes the AOTD crown…….
I’ll not get into the technical guts of this rip-off of the century, because I honestly ain’t smart enough to decipher it without screwing my explanation up……. Thus you get the Cliff Notes version today from a good source on the internet, which is less boring than me anyway………
Bernie Madoff is an American former market maker, investment advisor and financier who is currently serving a federal prison sentence for offenses related to a massive Ponzi scheme……..He is the former non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock market, the confessed operator of the largest Ponzi scheme in world history, and the largest financial fraud in U.S. history……..Prosecutors estimated the fraud to be worth $65 billion as of 2008 accounts…….
Here's how Madoff conned his investors out of $65 billion and went undetected for decades:
Madoff used a so-called Ponzi scheme, which lures investors in by guaranteeing unusually high returns……..Ponzi schemes are run by a central operator, who uses the money from new, incoming investors to pay off the promised returns to older ones………This makes the operation seem profitable and legitimate, even though no actual profit is being made………Meanwhile, the person behind the scheme pockets the extra money or uses it to expand the operation……..
To avoid having too many investors reclaim their "profits," Ponzi schemes encourage them to stay in the game and earn even more money…….The "investing strategies" used are vague and/or secretive, which schemers claim is to protect their business……..Then all they need to do is tell investors how much they are making periodically, without actually providing any real returns……
Ponzi schemes aren't usually very sustainable…….The setup eventually falls apart after: (1) The operator takes the remaining investment money and runs. (2) New investors become harder to find, meaning the flow of cash dies out. (3) Too many current investors begin to pull out and request their returns. ………
In Madoff's case, things began to deteriorate after clients requested a total of $7 billion back in returns……Unfortunately for Madoff, he only had $200 million to $300 million left to give……….
Another reason Madoff managed to fly under the radar for so long (despite multiple reports to the SEC about suspicions of a Ponzi scheme), is because Madoff was a well-versed and active member of the financial industry……..He started his own market maker firm in 1960 and helped launch the Nasdaq stock market…….He sat on the board of National Association of Securities Dealers and advised the Securities and Exchange Commission on trading securities……..It was easy to believe this 70-year-old industry veteran knew exactly what he was doing……
Madoff really only made off with $20 billion, even though on paper he cheated clients out of $65 billion, according to multiple sources…….That's hardly any consolation for his thousands of investors…….
Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies, including securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, making false statements, perjury, theft from an employee benefit plan, and making false filings with the SEC. …….The Judge sentenced Madoff to the maximum sentence of 150 years in federal prison…….If my arithmetic is correct, the $20 billion he made and the 150 year sentence for those crimes, figures about $6.7 million a year………Was it worth it Bernie?…….One more thing………Put on that crown and sit on that throne, because it’s your 82nd Birthday today, and my gift to you is the @$$Hole of the Day Award……..And Mr Madoff, you can KMA too, you thieving $#%&@……….
As always my good Dawg friends, I hope y’all have a Great Bulldawg Day…..Stay Safe…..help MAGA…….and God Bless…….
