So not only does he not, as he once claimd, know more about ISIS than the Army Generals, but he didn't know more about football than the New Jersey Generals.
Hillary Clinton? She probably doesn't know a whole lot more about sports. Then again, she's never claimed to, and knows that it doesn't really help as President. After all, George W. Bush owned the Texas Rangers, and he stunk as both a baseball team owner and as the President.
America is already great. Make it greater. Don't let the man who killed the USFL kill America. Clinton-Kaine: Keep America Sane.
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November 7, 1728: James Cook is born in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, England. The Royal Navy Captain Cook made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.
In 3 voyages, Cook sailed thousands of miles across largely uncharted areas of the globe. He mapped lands from New Zealand to Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean in greater detail and on a scale not previously achieved. As he progressed on his voyages of discovery he surveyed and named features, and recorded islands and coastlines on European maps for the first time. He displayed a combination of seamanship, superior surveying and cartographic skills, physical courage and an ability to lead men in adverse conditions.
Cook was attacked and killed in a confrontation with Hawaiians during his 3rd exploratory voyage in the Pacific on February 14, 1779. He left a legacy of scientific and geographical knowledge which was to influence his successors well into the 20th century, and numerous memorials worldwide have been dedicated to him. NASA named a space shuttle after his flagship, Endeavour, even keeping the chiefly British spelling. Also, his name has been parodied: The villain of Peter Pan was named Captain Hook, and the pirate character in the McDonald's commercials was Captain Crook.
What does he have to do with sports? Well, if he hadn't been the 1st European to discover Hawaii, the NFL's Pro Bowl wouldn't be played there. And his visits to Australia and New Zealand made those countries possible, as well as their traditions of cricket and rugby. And they've also taken to baseball in the last 25 years.
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November 7, 1916, 100 years ago: America elects a President. The Democratic nominee is the incumbent, President Woodrow Wilson, campaigning against American entry into World War I. His slogan was, "He kept us out of war." The Republican nominee is Charles Evans Hughes, who had been Governor of New York and a Justice of the Supreme Court, who believes America should enter the war.
When the night is over, Hughes appears to be the winner. The problem turns out to be the communication systems of the time, with the results in rural areas not getting to the State capitals quickly. For example, New Hampshire: Wilson ended up winning it by 56 votes. Not 56,000, not 5,600, but fifty-six. That's the smallest margin ever recorded in a State in a Presidential vote.
The key State is California, then having 13 Electoral Votes (about 1/4 of what it has now). At first, Hughes is winning it, and he goes to bed. The story, perhaps apocryphal, tells of a reporter learning that Wilson has taken the lead in California, and thus won the election, and calling Hughes' home. His son, or his butler, or someone else (depending on who's telling the story), tells the reporter, "The President-elect is asleep." The reporter says, "When he wakes up, tell him he's not the President-elect anymore."
With 266 Electoral Votes then needed for victory, Wilson wins 277-254. If Hughes had won California, he would have won 267-264. Wilson won 49.2 percent of the popular vote, Hughes 46.1 percent. For both of his terms, Wilson would be a plurality President -- which had already happened to Grover Cleveland, and would happen to Bill Clinton.
By the time he is Inaugurated again on March 5, 1917, it is clear that Wilson will have to take America into the war. The war will make him beloved around the world. The peace process will make him despised at home. A stroke in October 1919 paralyzed him, and when he leaves office in March 1921, he is, physically and emotionally, a broken man. He dies in 1924. Hughes is appointed Secretary of State by Wilson's successor, Warren Harding, in 1921, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by Herbert Hoover in 1930. He lives until 1948.
In the same election, Jeannette Rankin becomes the 1st woman elected to Congress. At the time, her home State of Montana was 1 of 10 States which then had full voting rights for women – all of them West of the Missouri River.
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November 7, 1938: Jerry Dean Gibbs is born in Grenada, Mississippi. Jake Gibbs was the 1st great quarterback at the University of Mississippi, before either Archie Manning or his son Eli. He led them to a 10-0-1 record in 1960, with only a tie against Louisiana State spoiling their record. They won the 1961 Sugar Bowl. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
But he never played a down in the NFL, probably because he thought he could make more money playing baseball. He was a Yankee from 1962 to 1971, a backup catcher to Yogi Berra and Elston Howard on the 1962 World Champions, of which he is 1 of 10 surviving players. He was the starter in the 1967, '68 and '69 seasons, but lost his job to Thurman Munson.
He returned to Ole Miss, coached their baseball team to the 1972 Southeastern Conference Championship and into the College World Series, and was named Coach of the Year, winning that award again in 1977. He later coached in the Yankees' system.
Also on this day, James Lee Kaat is born in Zeeland, Michigan. Jim Kaat debuted for the Washington Senators in 1959, and was the last active player who had played for the original version of that franchise. The lefthanded pitcher moved with them, and as the Minnesota Twins he helped them win the 1965 American League Pennant and the 1969 and '70 AL Western Division titles. He won 25 games in 1966, and probably would have been named the AL's Cy Young Award winner, except that this was the last season in which it was given only to the most valuable pitcher in both Leagues.
He won National League Eastern Division titles with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1976, '77 and '78, and the AL East with the Yankees in 1980. Finally, in 1982, his 24th season in the majors, a record wait, he won the World Series, with the 1982 St. Louis Cardinals.
He close his career with the Cards in 1983, with a record of 283-237, 3 All-Star berths, and 16 Gold Gloves. (Admittedly, the Gold Glove is not a big deal for a pitcher, but 16!) And yet, he is not in the Hall of Fame. The only eligible-but-not-in pitcher in the post-1920 Lively Ball Era with more wins is his 1979-80 Yankee teammate, Tommy John.
Like TJ, "Kitty" became a broadcaster, for the Yankees, the Twins and CBS, and was one of the most astute in the business, winning 7 Emmy Awards. Maybe he can get into the Hall of Fame that way.
November 7, 1944: President Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected to an unprecedented 4th term, defeating Thomas E. Dewey, who held FDR's former post of Governor of New York. FDR won 432 Electoral Votes to Dewey's 99, and 53 percent of the popular vote to Dewey's 46.
FDR was not well, and the Republicans began a whispering campaign, saying that the Democratic titan was too old and tired to handle the Presidency, and possibly dying. To counter this, he held a parade up Broadway in Lower Manhattan. In the rain. Not good for his health.
The parade went over the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn, and he held a rally at Ebbets Field. "I've got a confession to make," he said. "I come from the State of New York, and I've practiced law in New York City. But I have never been in Ebbets Field before." It was one of the few times in his career that FDR got booed. He brought the crowd back by saying, "I've rooted for the Dodgers" -- even though he had, on numerous occasions, been to Yankee Stadium to cheer on the Yankees and the Polo Grounds to cheer on the Giants, and saw them both at the Polo Grounds in Game 2 of the 1936 World Series. "And I hope to come back someday and watch 'em play." Huge roar.
FDR would be unable to keep that promise. He had not been to a major league game since before Pearl Harbor, and died at the dawn of the next season, of a stroke brought on by heart disease and terribly high blood pressure. He had worked himself to death to save civilization from fascism.
On a related subject, in 2016, there was no "whispering campaign": The Republicans have said this year's Democratic nominee from the State of New York, Hillary Clinton, is "dying" and "doesn't have the stamina to be President." She did 3 90-minute debates where she kicked Donald Trump's ass, so you tell me!
Also on this day, Luigi Riva is born in Leggiuno, in Lombardy in the Italian Alps. "Gigi" Riva was a forward for his hometown soccer team Legnano when, in 1963, he was sold to Cagliari, on the island of Sardinia. Based on what he had heard of this island backwater, he thought he was going to Africa. (Sicily is closer to the African continent.)
He became the greatest player Cagliari have ever had, nicknamed Rombo di Tuono (Roar of Thunder). Three times, he was the leading scorer in Serie A (Italy's national league). In 1969, he was voted 2nd in the Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball) for World Player of the Year, behind fellow Italian Gianni Rivera of AC Milan. In 1970, he led them to their one and only Serie A title, bringing them enough revenue that they could build a new stadium, and finishing 3rd in the Ballon d'Or voting behind Gerd Muller of Germany and Bobby Moore of England. He also helped Italy win Euro 1968 and reach the Final of the 1970 World Cup.
He later became an executive with Cagliari, which has retired his Number 11, and is now a consultant to the Italian national team.
November 7, 1963: John Charles Bryan Barnes is born in Kingston, Jamaica. His father was an officer in the newly-formed Jamaican Army (independence had been gained the year before John was born), and in 1976, the British Commonwealth called Colonel Ken Barnes to London, where John finished his education and turned professional in soccer, which his father had played at the semi-pro level.
He helped Hertfordshire club Watford rise to 2nd place in the Football League in 1983, and to the FA Cup Final in 1984, where they lost to Merseyside club Everton. He was soon snatched up by the bigger Merseyside club, Liverpool FC. The forward helped them win the League in 1988 and 1990, the FA Cup in 1989 and 1992, and the League Cup in 1995. He also played for England in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups, and later managed the Jamaica national team to the 2008 Caribbean Cup.
He is famous for 2 things. In 1987, at a point when Liverpool were embracing the rise of black players in the British Isles, Everton were not, and their fans were proud of the club's all-white status. (That is no longer the case: Everton would have been relegated long ago if not for many fine black players, including New Jersey native goalkeeper Tim Howard.) One Everton fan threw a banana onto the field, an overt suggestion that black people are apes. Noble in the face of darkness, Barnes backheeled it off the pitch, and a picture of it became one of the iconic photos of English football.
That's the sublime. The ridiculous is his music career, including the songs that Liverpool recorded as the FA Cup Final songs for 1988, "Anfield Rap (Red Machine In Full Effect)"; and 1996, "Pass & Move (It's the Liverpool Groove)." To be fair, he was hardly the only offender, and the other players in the videos, all white, looked even more ridiculous.
November 7, 1972: President Richard Nixon is re-elected in one of the biggest landslides ever. He wins 60.7 percent of the vote to the 37.5, a record low for Democratic nominees in 2-horse races, of Senator George McGovern of South Dakota. Nixon wins 49 States for 520 Electoral Votes, McGovern just 17, winning only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.
If McGovern had taken every State in which he had at least 47 percent, he still would have lost 520-17. Counting every State where he won at least 45 percent would add only Rhode Island, Minnesota and South Dakota, making it 502-35.
McGovern ran a great campaign in the primaries, but was a disaster in the general election, making all kinds of mistakes. When Nixon's campaign announced a peace deal in Vietnam 3 weeks before the election, it removed the biggest argument in McGovern's favor. Watergate? The Washington Post was investigating it, but most people didn't yet realize how big that would become.
On August 9, 1974, just 21 months later, Nixon resigned due to his role in Watergate. Someone took a poll, asking how people would have voted in 1972, had they known then what they know now. McGovern got 56 percent in that poll. Begging the question, What were the other 44 percent waiting for?
Also on this day, Hasim Sharif Rahman is born in Baltimore. He was recognized by the WBC and the IBF as the Heavyweight Champion of the World from April 22, 2001, when he knocked Lennox Lewis out in South Africa, until November 17 of that year (meaning through 9/11), when Lewis avenged that defeat in Las Vegas.
He was recognized by the WBC again from August 13, 2005, when Vitali Klitschko retired and he defeated Monte Barrett at the United Center in Chicago in the last elimination bout, until August 12, 2006, when Oleg Maskaev beat him in Las Vegas. His career record is 50-9-2, but he hasn't fought in 2 1/2 years.
November 7, 2000: Vice President Al Gore wins the Presidential election, defeating Governor George W. Bush of Texas. Bush's brother, Governor John E. "Jeb" Bush of Florida, sees how close the vote is in his State, and tampers with the voting process, and that one State holds everything up for 5 weeks. When the U.S. Supreme Court finally rules on December 12 that the recounts must stop, and Bush be accepted as the winner, it is the ghastliest decision in the Court's history, aside from the Dred Scott decision that said black people weren't citizens (a decision remedied by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution).
Independent candidate Ralph Nader, the legendary consumer advocate who was appealing to leftists who felt betrayed by Bill and Hillary Clinton and Gore over the last 8 years, won 97,488 votes in Florida. Bush's final lead in Florida was 537 votes. Nader won 22,198 votes in New Hampshire, which Bush won (as far as we know, without cheating) by 7,211 votes. If Gore had won either State, he would have won, and it couldn't have been stolen. But Nader's voters wanted their "pure" candidate, and the result was the most under-Nader-like Administration ever.
So if you don't like Hillary Clinton, and you think she's too moderate, or a "neocon," and you're thinking of Jill Stein, consider what would happen if Stein costs Hillary even one State, and that makes Trump the winner. Do you really think Trump will be better on your issues than Hillary? Do you think it will have taught the Democrats a lesson for the next election? If Trump "wins" this time, what makes you think there will even be a next election? A vote for Jill Stein, or a vote for Gary Johnson, or a vote for anybody but Hillary Clinton is a vote for Donald Trump, and everything he represents -- which you, if you are a liberal, leftist or Progressive voter, should oppose.
Since the Democratic Convention, Hillary has been good enough for Bernie Sanders. If that's not good enough for you, then your support for Bernie was never about Bernie, and you deserve whichever candidate wins tomorrow night.