We can handle the truth if we hear it

The Toronto Blue Jays named Tim Johnson as their manager for the 1998 season following the firing of Cito Gaston and the interim management of pitching coach Mel Queen. Queen remained on as pitching coach under Johnson and the two reportedly feuded extensively, despite Johnson's reputation as a good communicator. Johnson also had rumored differences with several of his players, including Pat Hentgen, Ed Sprague, and Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens.

It was revealed that Johnson lied about horrific experiences in Vietnam, when in fact there was no truth to them at all. And not only did Tim Johnson fabricate lies about his experiences in Vietnam, but he also lied about being an All-American basketball player who turned down a chance to play for UCLA.

One of the incidents in question was when Tim Johnson opted to use Rogers Clemens instead of Pat Hentgen to pitch a series finale in Boston. After Hentgen responded unfavorably, Johnson quipped back saying something to the effect of “you don’t know anything about tough spots … pressure is in Vietnam.”

Of all people, it was actually Roger Clemens who discovered Tim Johnson’s secret. At the time, Clemens was a good friend of Johnson; and knowing of his wartime stories and that he was a big motorcycle fan, wanted to get him a present any veteran would be honored to receive – a motorcycle helmet featuring the logo of his combat unit.

Roger Clemens asked around trying to gather some background info on Tim Johnson, to no avail. Clemens even went as far as to ask Johnson’s wife, but she apparently knew nothing about it. And that was the beginning of the end of Tim Johnson’s time with the Blue Jays

Ryan Lochte admitted in an embarrassing interview with NBC's Matt Lauer that he fabricated parts of his story that he was robbed at gunpoint while in Rio de Janeiro. "I over-exaggerated that story and if I had never done that, we wouldn't be in this mess. " The claim created a minor international incident and caused Lochte to lose a number of sponsorships.

"None of this would have happened," Lochte added about the aftermath in which three of his fellow swimmers were questioned by Brazilian police and one was ordered to donate nearly $11,000 to a Brazilian charity.

New England Patriots QB Tom Brady returned to practice after sitting out three days due to a clubhouse mishap. Brady cut his right thumb with a pair of scissors while cleaning his spikes. The accident occurred one hour prior to the exhibition game at Gillette Stadium against the Chicago Bears

The NFC Title game between the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco was played on January 10, 1982. The game featured "The Catch" by wide receiver Dwight Clark at the back of the endzone on the pass thrown by QB Joe Montana. The touchdown reception gave the 49ers the lead with 58 seconds to play. San Francisco held on for an exciting 28-27 victory, and a trip to the Super Bowl.

Four year old Tom Brady claimed he was at the 1982 NFC Title game, and he was in the stands in the endzone where Clark made the miraculous catch.

I guess Roger Clemens isn't the only one who "misremembers" important moments in history.


Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

It Ain't Over Til The Fat Lady Sings

LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking service. Founded on December 14, 2002, and launched on May 5, 2003 it is mainly used for professional networking. As of 2015, most of the site's revenue came from selling access to information about its users to recruiters and sales professionals. As of March 2016, LinkedIn has more than 433 million accounts, out of which more than 106 million are active.

One can meet all kinds of interesting people while networking through LinkedIn. I have become friendly with Jack Welch, the former chairman and CEO of General Electric. He is one of the few big shots who will actually send a reply if somebody sends him a response.

My friend, Richard Grande called me in early March of 1982. Richard was aware that I was part of a group of four who had season tickets to the Boston Celtics. He had two tickets in his possession, but was hoping to purchase an additional pair to reach his allotment of four. He had a client who was flying in from France who had never attended a professional game. At the time, the Boston Celtics were reigning NBA Champions, having defeated the Houston Rockets in six games the prior June.

I went to work on this matter for Richard right away. I struck out with two of the ticket holders who told me they would be attending the Sunday matinee at the Boston Garden between the Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics. With my ticket and the one from Greg Liddell, I could get what Richard coveted.

Greg had recently moved to South Carolina, but kept his apartment in Waltham just in case the new job didn’t work out. I left a message on his answering machine, and his roommate called me back. He gave me the phone number of the hotel where Greg was staying. I called the front desk and left a message.

It was Thursday night when Greg returned my call. He said I could have his ticket in exchange for a future game. The only problem was that the ticket was in his locked apartment and his roommate was skiing in Vermont. Greg gave me his landlord’s phone number. The message went to voicemail.

The landlord returned my call on Friday morning. He said that he could meet me by 4PM. After that, he was gone for the weekend. I told him I would call back. I called the Waltham District Court where my friend Tom Boardman was a court officer. Luckily, he answered. I gave him the landlord’s phone number and he called and setup a time for them to meet.

A few hours went by, and I called the Court, again. Tom had done his part. He would drop the ticket off for me, and I would owe him a case of beer.

I was delivering for Federal Express in Portsmouth, NH. I had a package for a job site that was getting ready to blast rock so that a new bridge could be built. I was 50 feet above the railroad tracks when I handed the package with the large drill bit to the foreman. I asked him if I could use the bag phone. I called Kidder Peabody in Boston and left a message for Richard to inform him that I would drop off the two tickets at his home on Peter Bulkeley Rd. in Concord.

I asked Jack Welch when he was going to close out the final transaction on my $32.00 worth of tickets. Kidder Peabody was purchased by General Electric in 1986, and sold to PaineWebber in 1994. I informed Jack that no money ever changed hands for that March, 14, 1982 sporting event.

I paid for all the phone calls, the case of beer and that future game payment turned out to be Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals with the hated Philadelphia 76ers. The Celtics slaughtered the Sixers, 121-81 on Mother’s Day, May 9th.

The tickets went unused when the Frenchman couldn’t make connections on his flight to America. It’s too bad because he missed a 105-92 Celtics victory.

The late, great Howard Cosell carried an uncashed $1.50 check in his wallet. He won the money in a card game from billionaire Lamar Hunt, the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs and founder of the American Football League. Howard said that “Lamar can never balance his books if I don’t cash it.”

Inflation has driven the 1982 $32.00 to today’s value of $80.52. Simple interest is money you can earn by initially investing some money (the principal). A percentage (the interest) of the principal is added to the principal, making your initial investment grow!

Good things come to those who wait.

Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy