Here’s Some Vintage Talk About Radio

Alan Richman in GQ magazine made the argument that wine talk has turned into something very familiar, becoming the new sports-talk radio. He also offered advice on navigating the murky waters of vino.

” ... Bully. Batter. Intimidate,” he wrote.

“Be the man, or, better yet, be the Mad Dog. Victory goes to he who can most obnoxiously trumpet his personal wine triumphs -- bottles owned, vineyards seen, growers met, wines identified blind.

“In particular, remember this: A wine expert never admits he is wrong.”

Enough said. How often have you heard someone on sports radio admit they are wrong?

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Add Richman: The former sportswriter suggested that 1961 was a “seminal” year for two pastimes:

“Roger Maris hit 61 homers in 1961, and the Bordeaux from that vintage are frequently called the best of the 20th century.”

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Trivia time: What university once used the nickname “Normalities”?

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Answer Man: Columnist Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, former Blues hockey beat writer, deemed the recently retired Brett Hull the “best talker to play professional sports in St. Louis.”

And he offered plenty of evidence.

One of Hull’s favorite targets was his former coach in St. Louis, Mike Keenan. (Hull finished his career playing in Phoenix for Wayne Gretzky.)

“I’ve only told Wayne Gretzky not to do one thing, and he didn’t listen to me, so I would never tell him not to do anything again,” Hull said.

“I told him not to come to St. Louis from Los Angeles and that Keenan was an idiot. He said [Keenan] wouldn’t be an idiot once he got there.

“I said, ‘He’ll never change.’

“I was right.”

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Sacked: This is the last day to win Super Bowl tickets in the Illinois Lottery’s Little Lotto Fantasy Football promotion, which is being shut down after the NFL complained it had not given permission for the giveaway.

There were also concerns about trademark infringement, although lottery officials -- aware that “Super Bowl” and “NFL” were trademarks licensed by the league -- used the words “Super Game XL” instead.

Still an XL mistake.

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Mr. Mom: Pat LaFontaine’s No. 16 will be retired in Buffalo on March 3 when the NHL’s Sabres play Toronto.

There is an extra benefit to the honor, LaFontaine joked, because his kids will be on hand for the special moment.

“Now they’ll know Dad doesn’t just drive them to school every day,” he told the Buffalo News.

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Trivia answer: the University of Southern Mississippi. Early teams were also called Tigers, and various nicknames have been used through the years. They are currently the Golden Eagles.

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And finally: Fiction writer Haruki Murakami in Runner’s World, on making the mistake of listening to “The Magic Flute” during an ultra-marathon:

” ... I gave up on it in the middle of the course -- it was exhausting. Opera’s not a good fit for running.”