Sports ‘n Stuff 12/17/21

Five random holiday facts for you . . .

1.  It is a tradition in Japan to eat KFC for Christmas.  Orders must be placed two months in advance.

2.  The first Salvation Army collection kettle appeared in San Francisco.  It was a large crab pot with a sign that said, “Keep the Pot Boiling.”

3.  In Asia, White Elephants were considered holy, but pricey to keep.  That idea was adapted for “White Elephant” Christmas exchanges:  No value to the owner, but may have value to others.

4.  In 1980, the hottest toy of the Christmas season was the Rubik’s cube, which cost $1.99.  Now it retails for $10, and it’s a decent gift for a nephew.

5.  The “X” in X-Mas is not a modern “abbreviation.”  It dates back to the 16th century, and is based on the Greek letter Chi, which looks like “X”.  It’s the first letter in the word that translates to “Christ” in English.

Speaking of Greece, the Ancient Greeks considered the mistletoe an aphrodisiac, hence kissing under a mistletoe.

I guess that’s 6 random facts.

Isaiah Thomas has signed a 10 day contract with the Lakers. It will be interesting to see how many times LeBron keeps him hanging on high fives.

With 40 players in NBA health and safety protocols right now — including star players such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Russell Westbrook who potentially will miss the Christmas Day showcase —  the NBA turned back the clock.

NBA is going back to some of its 2020 coronavirus protocols. The league and (the players’ union) agreed to the changes and teams were told in a memo sent out Thursday (both the Associated Press and ESPN confirmed the memo).

Testing will be increased — for vaccinated and unvaccinated players — and basically be daily from Dec. 26 to Jan. 8. 

Usain Bolt says playing video games helped feed his “competitive hunger,” help drive him to “always want to win.” 

So there’s the key to being the “World’s fastest man.” Play more video games!

Here we go again…With the Jacksonville Jaguars looking for a new head coach in 2022, and others such as the Chicago Bears, Las Vegas Raiders and Houston Texans possibly joining them, Josh McDaniels’ name will again come up as one of the league’s top options to fill a head coach vacancy. However, with Bill Belichick approaching 70 years old, there is no timetable on how long he is going to continue coaching. He is certainly on the back nine of his career, though. Given McDaniels’ history in New England and his relationship with Mac Jones only growing stronger day by day, his best option might just be to stay put and wait for his chance in New England.

There is a new official music video for George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord.”

The video, which comes 51 years after the song’s release, stars former Beatle Ringo Starr, along with a slew of musicians, actors and comedians who make cameos.

Check out the new video @TheJTurk

With an apparent Cheese Cream shortage, the folks behind Philadelphia Cream Cheese have a deal for you…Kraft Heinz say they’ll pay 18-thousand customers $20 for a holiday dessert…that isn’t made with cream cheese. 

Register through Christmas Eve at spreadthelove.com

Today is Friday, December 17, 2021

Today in Sports History

1933 – The Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants in the first National Football League interdivisional championship game. The Bears won 23-21. 

1991 – The NBA’s most one-sided game took place when the Cleveland beat Miami by 68 points 148-80. That record stood until last week when The Memphis Grizzlies clobbered the Oklahoma City Thunder by 83 points 152-79 on Thursday.

1994 – George Foreman was a guest on “Saturday Night Live.” 

32 years ago – In 1989, “The Simpsons” debuted on Fox.

52 years ago – In 1969, Johnny Carson allowed Tiny Tim to marry his first wife, 17-year-old Miss Vicki, on “The Tonight Show”.

66 years ago – In 1955, Carl Perkins was having trouble sleeping so he got up and wrote some lyrics on a brown paper bag.  That song, “Blue Suede Shoes“, hit #2 on the pop and country charts, and became a huge hit for Elvis.

Celebrity Birthdays today

Ernie Hudson is 76 (“Oz,” “The Crow,” “Ghostbusters”)

Eugene Levy is 75 (“SCTV,” “Best in Show,” “A Mighty Wind,” “Schitt’s Creek”)

Paul Rodgers is 72 Bad Company