Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Cleaning out the inbox

The cleaning of the inbox continues with a few notes from the sports world and outside of it as well.

Voyager 2 has sent its first interstellar space message to Earth after crossing the heliosphere as the second man-made object to do after its twin craft Voyager 1 did so in 2013.
Voyager 2 is sending far more detailed reports than Voyager 1 since some of the instruments used to measure particle charges on Voyager 1 had broken way back in 1980.
The Voyagers are expected to operate until the mid-2020s when they run out of power and will thereafter float through space.

WUSA sends word of the departure of "Bei Bei", a four-year-old panda from the National Zoo and will be returning to China.
Part of the National Zoo's agreement with the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Agency that allows panda bears to stay at the zoo stipulates that any baby pandas born at the zoo (in captivity) will be returned to China at the age of four, which "Bei Bei" has now reached.

The Athletic takes a trip to a small town in Nebraska to check out a college football prospect that is waiting for a potential offer from the Cornhuskers.
Ty Hahn hails from the small town of Johnson with a population of 300 and with a high school so small, Johnson plays eight-man football rather than the conventional eleven.
Hahn currently holds a scholarship offer from neighboring Wyoming but has not been offered by the home state Huskers, although Nebraska has not ruled out offering Hahn before the signing deadline.
The article is just as much about small-town Nebraska life than it is about Hahn, so it's not just a football story.

And from Golf Channel, here is one story that has to make you feel good.
Brandon Matthews is playing in the third hole of extra play for the Argentina Open championship.
Now, that's fine, but the real prize is an automatic entry for the champion into next year's British Open.
Matthews' opponent in the playoff has just drilled a thirty-foot putt for a birdie which forced Matthews to make an eight-footer for a birdie and continue to a fourth playoff hole.
Matthews draws his putter back and as he does, someone screamed in the background, which caused Matthews to clutch a bit and miss the putt.
Matthews loses the tournament and automatic trip to the British Open, but the story doesn't end there as Matthews hits the locker room and is told what happens.
I won't spoil it for you, but if Brandon Matthews ever makes the major tours, he'll be an easy player to root for...

Wrapping up with a passing that is the only thing remaining for now in the inbox, as Bernard Slade passed away at the age of 89.
Slade was a screenwriter and playwright that created television shows The Flying Nun, The Partridge Family, and Bridget Loves Bernie, which to this day is the only program to be rated in the top five in the Nielsen ratings and not be renewed for the following season.
Slade also wrote Same Time Next Year, which won both Tony Awards (for Broadway) and Academy Award (for the film adaptation) for Slade's writing.
The film, which starred Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn (who also starred on the Broadway version) is still occasionally shown on television.






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