You listen to Power 96, 95.9FM, regularly. And because you listen, you know that we pick rockin' songs for our Hit of the Day at 8:05AM. Tune in today and we'll crank up the legendary Beastie Boys to rock your morning.

Speaking of legends, did you know that in one of their songs, the Beastie Boys pay homage to a legendary Minnesota Twins player? I heard it recently and was caught off guard when I heard the name. The song is "Sure Shot," and in one line of the song there’s a reference to having “mad hits like Rod Carew.”

It got me wondering what that was all about. Why would this New York-raised hardcore hip-hop group choose to mention a Twins outfielder who ruled ballparks across the country from the 1960s into the 1980s? It turns out that Carew was a New York transplant. Having been born in Panama, his family came to the U.S. when Carew was a teenager.

Of course, maybe that’s stretching for some deeper meaning than is really there. Maybe they chose to mention Rod Carew simply because the line right before the one Carew is mentioned in says, “I’ve got more action than my man John Woo…” Perhaps they just needed a name to rhyme with John Woo and Rod Carew fit.

Maybe the real question here is, who’s John Woo? Well, he’s an action filmmaker. And, evidently, a pretty legendary one.

In the end, perhaps the Beastie Boys were simply trying to make a case for their own legendary status, using legends from other areas of life. They certainly reached that status themselves! Take a listen to this great Beastie Boys tune. Carew is mentioned about 50 seconds in...

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