Saturday, January 28, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
RIP to Bam Bam Bigelow
Scott Charles Bigelow (September 1, 1961 – January 19, 2007) was an American professional wrestler, best known by the ring name Bam Bam Bigelow. His professional wrestling career spanned twenty-one years. Bigelow had a distinctive flame tattoo that spanned most of his bald head and was known for being agile despite his size of nearly 400 pounds (180 kg).
Bigelow worked in major wrestling promotions, including the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), the original Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion, and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He held multiple championships in both ECW and WCW, and thirteen throughout his career. Among other accolades, he was a former world champion, having held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship once, and a two-time WCW World Tag Team Champion. Although he never held any titles in the WWF, he main-evented multiple pay-per-views for the promotion, including WrestleMania XI.
Happy Birthday to Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War.
The son of Revolutionary War officer Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee III and a top graduate of the United States Military Academy, Robert E. Lee distinguished himself as an exceptional officer and combat engineer in the United States Army for 32 years. During this time, he served throughout the United States, distinguished himself during the Mexican-American War, served as Superintendent of the United States Military Academy, and married Mary Custis.
When Virginia declared its secession from the Union in April 1861, Lee chose to follow his home state, despite his personal desire for the Union to stay intact and despite the fact that President Abraham Lincoln had offered Lee command of the Union Army.[1] During the Civil War, Lee originally served as a senior military adviser to President Jefferson Davis. He soon emerged as a shrewd tactician and battlefield commander, winning numerous battles against larger Union armies. His abilities as a tactician have been praised by many military historians.[2][3] His strategic vision was more doubtful, and both of his invasions of the North ended in defeat.[4][5][6] Union General Ulysses S. Grant's campaigns bore down on Lee in 1864 and 1865, and despite inflicting heavy casualties, Lee was unable to force back Grant. Lee would ultimately surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. By this time, Lee had been promoted to the commanding officer of all Confederate forces; the remaining armies soon capitulated after Lee's surrender. Lee rejected the starting of a guerrilla campaign against the North and called for reconciliation between the North and South.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
RIP, Jerome Horwitz aka Curly Howard
Jerome Lester "Jerry" Horwitz (October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an Americancomedian and vaudevillian. He is best known as a member of the American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges, along with his older brothers Moe Howard and Shemp Howard, and actor Larry Fine. Curly is generally considered the most popular and recognizable of the Stooges.[1] He is well known for his high-pitched voice, vocal expressions ("nyuk-nyuk-nyuk!","woo-woo-woo!", "soitenly!" and barking like a dog), as well as his inventive physical comedy, improvisations, and athleticism.
An untrained actor and natural comedian, Curly borrowed (and significantly exaggerated) the "woo woo" from "nervous" and soft-spoken comedian Hugh Herbert, but was otherwise an original and inspired performer. Curly's unique version of "woo-woo-woo" was firmly established by the time of the Stooges' second film Punch Drunks in 1934.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Happy 42nd Birthday to Jeremy Roenick
Jeremy Shaffer "J.R." Roenick (pronounced /ˈroʊnɨk/; born January 17, 1970) is a former American professional ice hockey player who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes,Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks over the course of his 18 NHL season career and represented Team USA in numerous international tournaments. On November 10, 2007, he became the third American-born player (Joe Mullen and Mike Modanowere the first two) to score 500 goals.
Happy 70th Birthday to Cassius Clay aka Muhammad Ali
February 14, Elvis presents Muhammad Ali, training for his February 14 title defence against Joe Bugner, with a robe emblazoned 'The People's Choice'. Ali thanked Elvis for the robe and went directly to the Las Vegas Convention Center to beat Joe Bugner. Ali did not wear the new robe for the fight, but on March 31, 1974, Ali entered the ring at the Sports Arena in San Diego California, proudly wearing the new robe before fighting Ken Norton. The television commentator for the fight said 'That robe was given by Elvis Presley at his last fight in Las Vegas. It cost around $3000.00 and it's Ali's pride and joy.
On the back it says 'The People's Choice' in rhinestones and jewels and he loves it'.
Ali lost the fight and never again wore the robe considering it bad luck.
Happy 90th Birthday to Betty White.
Betty Marion White Ludden (born January 17, 1922) is an American actress, comedienne, author, and television personality. With a career spanning over seven decades, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls. She currently stars as Elka Ostrovsky in the TV Land sitcom Hot in Cleveland.
White has won seven Emmy Awards (six for acting) and has received 20 Emmy nominations[2] over the course of her career, including being the first woman ever to receive an Emmy for game show hosting (for the short-lived Just Men!) and is the only person to have an Emmy in all female performing comedic categories. In May 2010, White became the oldest person to guest-host Saturday Night Live, for which she also received a Primetime Emmy Award. White also holds the record for longest span between Emmy nominations for performances – her first was in 1951 and her most recent was in 2011, a span of 60 years – and has become the oldest nominee as of 2012, aged 90. She has made regular appearances on the game shows Password and Match Game and played recurring roles on Mama's Family, Boston Legal, The Bold and the Beautiful, and Community.
Happy Birthday to Alphonse "Al" Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone (January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947) was an Italian-American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early 1920s to 1931.
Born in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City to Italian immigrants, Capone became involved with gang activity at a young age after being expelled from school at age 14. In his early twenties, he moved to Chicago to take advantage of a new opportunity to make money smuggling illegal alcoholic beverages into the city during Prohibition. He also engaged in various other criminal activities, including bribery of government figures and prostitution. Despite his illegitimate occupation, Capone became a highly visible public figure. He made donations to various charitable endeavors using the money he made from his activities, and was viewed by many to be a "modern-day Robin Hood".
Capone was publicly criticized for his supposed involvement in the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, when seven rival gang members were executed.[3] Capone was convicted on federal charges of tax evasion, and sentenced to federal prison. His incarceration included a term at the then-new Alcatraz federal prison. In the final years of Capone's life, he suffered mental and physical deterioration due to late-stageneurosyphilis, which he had contracted in his youth. On January 25, 1947, he died from cardiac arrest after suffering a stroke.
Capone had his Cadillac fitted with bullet-proof glass, run-flat tires and a police siren. In 1932, Treasury agents working on prohibition issues seized the car; it was later used as PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt's limousine.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Happy Birthday to Frank Zamboni
Frank Joseph Zamboni, Jr. (January 16, 1901 – July 27, 1988) was a U.S. inventor whose most famous invention is the modern ice resurfacer, with his surname becoming a generic colloquialism and trademark for these resurfacers.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
1967 – The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles, California. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10
1967 – The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles, California. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10
Saturday, January 14, 2012
To Jake.....Happy 58th Birthday to Hacksaw Jim Duggan
James Edward Duggan (born January 14, 1954), better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment in the 1980s, when it was known as World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). His best known character is that of an American patriot, which sees him use a 2x4length of wood as a weapon, the battle cry "Hooo!" and the U-S-A! cheer. During his time in WWE he was the oldest active wrestler after Ric Flair retired in 2008."Hacksaw" Jim Duggan is also the second inductee in the WWE Hall Of Fame Class of 2011.
Duggan is a survivor of kidney cancer, an illness he was diagnosed with during his time with WCW. Duggan has claimed to have wrestled in all 50 States in America as well as in the countries/territories of Australia, Austria, The Bahamas, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, theDominican Republic, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guam, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Scotland,England and Wales (In The United Kingdom.)
In the WWF, Duggan was the winner of the first-ever Royal Rumble match in 1988 and in WCW, he was a one time United States Heavyweight Champion and a one time (and the final) World Television Champion.
Happy 64th Birthday to Apollo Creed aka Dillon aka Chubbs Peterson aka Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers (born January 14, 1948) is an American actor, as well as former professional football player in the United States and Canada. He is best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky series of films. He also played Dillon in Predator, Chubbs Peterson in Happy Gilmoreand Little Nicky, and played a very frugal fictionalized version of himself in the television series Arrested Development. Weathers played football both collegiately and professionally as a linebacker. He started his college career in 1966 at Long Beach City College, where he did not play in 1966 due to an ankle injury suffered when he tripped over a curb surrounding the running track while warming up for practice with another linebacker, Paul Snow. He then transferred and played for San Diego State University, becoming a letterman in 1968 and 1969. This led to a brief professional career with the Oakland Raiders, where he played 7 games in 1970 and one game in 1971. He joined the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League in 1971 and played until 1973, 18 games in total. He retired in 1974 and became an actor.
In his football career, he played for hall-of-fame coaches Don Coryell (at San Diego State) and John Madden with the Oakland Raiders.