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08/20/2018

Golf Makes Its Cut

[Posted prior to Mets-Phillies]

Baseball Quiz: They celebrated the 1998 Yankees on Saturday, the winningest team in baseball history with 125 wins (including the playoffs).  Name the starting lineup and the five main starting pitchers. Answer below.

MLB

--Because I need to post, some of the following is awaiting results around baseball, but ahead of Mets-Phils, we have this....

NL East

Atlanta 68-55
Philadelphia 68-55

NL West

Arizona 69-56
Colorado 68-56... 0.5
Los Angeles 67-58... 2

NL Wild Card

Atlanta 68-55... +0.5
Philadelphia 68-55... +0.5
Colorado 68-56... --
Milwaukee 69-57... --
St. Louis 68-57... 0.5
Los Angeles... 67-58... 1.5

AL West

Houston 75-49
Oakland 74-50... 1

AL Wild Card

Yanks 78-46... +4
Oakland 74-50... --
Seattle 71-54... 3.5

--The Yankees are lucky Giancarlo Stanton and rookie Miguel Andujar have stepped up in August, because otherwise, the Yanks wouldn’t be looking as good as they still are in the wild-card chase.

After Sunday’s 10-2 win over Toronto at the Stadium, the Yanks were just 10-9 this month, but Stanton had 8 home runs, 16 RBIs, while Andujar was 7 and 19.

Overall, Stanton, while streaky like every other slugger in the history of the game, has done all that the Yankees could have hoped for...32 home runs, 80 ribbies, .896 OPS, just a little below his career average.

Andujar, who is now the top candidate for AL Rookie of the Year, has 20 homers, 65 RBIs and a .299 batting average, 36 doubles, and an .860 OPS.

The other guy who was supposed to be in the ROY conversation, Gleyber Torres, has been slumping mightily.  Since his return from the disabled list on July 25, he’s just 16 of 84, .190.

Also Sunday, starter J.A. Happ (14-6, 3.84) improved to 4-0 in four starts as a Yank.  As Ronald Reagan would have said, ‘Not bad, not bad at all.’

--The Red Sox, who just keep winning (save for today), placed Chris Sale (12-4, 1.97) back on the disabled list after just one healthy start.  Another case of mild shoulder inflammation.

This doesn’t seem like that much of an issue, the team saying the inflammation is less than last time, and with the BoSox having such a huge lead, why not keep him rested and just make sure he’s right for the playoffs.

--The Mets had an interesting stretch since last chat.  Wednesday night they beat the Orioles in Baltimore, 16-5, and then in the first game of a doubleheader in Philadelphia on Thursday, the Mets scored a franchise high 24 runs in a 24-4 beatdown.  [They lost the nightcap 9-6.]

The double offensive explosion represented the first time the Mets scored at least 16 runs in consecutive games and they became the first NL team to score at least 15 in back-to-back contests since the NY Giants in 1933, per Elias Sports Bureau.

But in a lost season, Thursday’s 24 runs and 25 hits are the record books.  Ironically, two weeks earlier the Mets suffered a franchise-worst loss: 25-4 at Washington.

I probably should add for the record the Mets scored nine of their 24 on Thursday against position players, but it all looks the same in the box score, sports fans.

Friday night the Mets lost to the Phillies 4-2, as Noah Syndergaard (8-3, 3.40) gave up 4 earned in 5 2/3. Since coming off the DL from hand, foot and mouth disease, he’s posted a 4.85 ERA in four starts.  Despite the solid won-loss mark, it’s really the second straight ‘lost’ season for the guy.  He needs a huge bounceback campaign in 2019.

Last night (4:05 pm starting time), Jacob deGrom took the mound and in the middle of the fourth, Mets up 1-0, the rains came.  Mets fans were panicking.  DeGrom  of course would have to come out if the delay was lengthy.

But the delay proved to be just 41 minutes, deGrom and Phillies starter Jake Arrieta resumed their pitchers’ duel, and deGrom went all the way for his first complete game of the season, Mets winning 3-1, Jake improving to 8-7, 1.71 ERA, the lone run unearned.

Yes, with a sudden three-game winning streak, after pitching in historically bad luck all season, deGrom is legitimately in the Cy Young conversation.

Friday, another pitcher in the mix, the Phillies’ Aaron Nola, was the winner over Syndergaard, throwing seven innings of one-run ball, fanning 11, improving to 14-3, 2.24.

--Also Friday, my favorite non-Met, Max Scherzer (I love Mike Trout, but here on the East Coast we never see the guy), was brilliant again as the Nats beat the Marlins 8-2; Scherzer throwing six scoreless in improving to 16-5, 2.11. He also had a hit and is batting .296.  The best competitor in the game today. 

The Nationals are 18-8 when Scherzer is on the mound and 44-55 when he isn’t.

So we have this:

Scherzer 16-5, 2.11
Nola 14-3, 2.24
DeGrom 8-7, 1.71

I still say Scherzer wins it, and rather handily.  But if you tell me deGrom finishes 13-8, 1.75, and Scherzer doesn’t win 20, it’s certainly a much closer vote.  [Nola gets hurt because in the national conversation, he’s under the radar.]

--The struggling Dodgers suffered a humiliating loss Saturday night, as reliever Dylan Floro stepped off the mound with the bases loaded, which was ruled a balk...a walk-off balk in a 5-4 loss to the Mariners.

Third baseman Justin Turner epitomized the reaction of a furious Dodgers club after: “That’s the worst part about tonight, that it was decided by an umpire. There was nothing egregious about that. We watched [the replay].  There was nothing egregious.”

The ruling from first-base umpire Andy Fletcher was that Floro moved his hands after entering the set position.  Manager Dave Roberts indicated that the replay showed Floro’s knees buckled before stepping off.

“That’s the way Andy saw it,” Roberts said.  “As the rule states, he got it right.”

But the Dodgers were upset the call came from the first-base umpire, who was looking at Floro’s back, rather than his hands.

L.A. is 7-12 in its last 19, as the bullpen struggles mightily in the absence of closer Kenley Jansen.

--Friday night the Cubs shutout the Pirates 1-0 behind Cole Hamels. What a great move the Cubbies made in picking Hamels up from Texas.  The guy has gone 3-0, 0.72, in his four starts in Chicago.

--With the Orioles 2-1 loss to the Indians on Friday, Baltimore (then 36-86...now 37-87 after today) fell to 50 games below .500 – with 40 (38) to play.

Since division play began in 1969, only three teams have ever finished 50-plus games behind a first place team – the 1979 Toronto Blue Jays (50 1/2 behind the Orioles in the AL East), the 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays (51 games behind the Yankees in the AL East) and the 1998 Florida Marlins (52 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East), according to Stats Centre.

So the Orioles are set to shatter the record and finish with one of the worst records in baseball history.

The record for most losses remains the 1962 Mets, 40-120, but of more recent vintage the Detroit Tigers went 43-119, and at one point were 31-91.  Long-time readers will recall I went to two Tigers games late that season to see if I could be part of history.  Alas, it wasn’t to be.

It’s a little surprising that since the Orioles moved to Baltimore from St. Louis in 1954, only two Birds teams have lost 100.  In 1954 they were 54-100, and in 1988 they finished 54-107. That ’88 squad started the season 0-21.

--After I posted last time, the Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. led off the game Wednesday night against the Marlins’ Jose Urena. Acuna had opened up the previous three games with home runs, and had homered in five consecutive games, when Urena hit him with his first pitch, triggering a melee that led to benches and bullpens for the two teams emptying twice.

Urena and Braves manager Brian Snitker were ejected.

Urena’s fastball hit Acuna’s left elbow, leaving Acuna in pain, though he stayed in to run the bases, leaving in the top of the second. X-rays were negative and a CT scan showed the next day he was fine, and Acuna was back in the lineup on Thursday.  He hasn’t homered though in three games against the Rockies.

And that’s where I’m leaving the story.  Except Mets broadcaster Keith Hernandez caught major heat on Twitter for saying Urena did the right thing.

“They’re killing you.  You lost three games, he’s hit three home runs.  You got to hit him,” Hernandez said during the Mets’ broadcast of their game at Baltimore.  “I’m sorry, people aren’t going to like that.  You know, you got to hit him, knock him down. I mean, seriously knock him down if you don’t hit him.  You never throw at anybody’s head or neck.  You hit him in the back.  You hit him in the fanny.”

Keith is old school, and I love the guy.  But he probably should have left it at “knock him down.”

Since Acuna returned the next day to the lineup, though, Keith avoided further abuse.

[For his part, Urena then pitched a complete game, 2-hitter, against the Nationals today, Marlins winning 12-1.]

NFL

--Jets rookie Sam Darnold may not have done as well in the second exhibition game last Thursday as he did in his first, but he was still solid, 8/11, 62, 0-1, the interception a deflection, in a 15-13 loss to the Redskins. But Darnold still showed a lot in making certain individual plays.

At the same time, Teddy Bridgewater played well again, 10/15, 127, 1-1, and there’s a real debate whether Bridgewater should start the opener. 

This coming Friday night, the Jets square off against the Giants.  Whichever one performs better here probably will be the opening QB.

And for the Giants, they get to see if Davis Webb can improve on his solid effort last Friday, 14/20, 140, 1-0, against Detroit.  The Giants need to determine soon whether Webb is an authentic heir apparent to Eli Manning.  I think he is.

--First-round pick Josh Allen has a chance to win the starting job at Buffalo after presumed starter A.J. McCarron suffered a  broken collarbone in the Bills’ 19-17 exhibition win Friday night against the Browns. Allen has to beat out Nathan Peterman.

--The collusion case against the NFL brought by Colin Kaepernick has been shrouded in mystery.  Dozens of league executives and owners have been questioned, but their depositions remain confidential.

But this week John Elway, the general manager of the Broncos, told a reporter from NFL Network that he did not sign Kaepernick because the Broncos had offered the quarterback a contract once and he turned the team down.

“Colin had his chance here,” Elway said.  “We offered him a contract.  He didn’t take it. So, as I said in my deposition, I don’t know if I’ll be legally able to say this, but he’s had his chance to be here.  He passed it.”

Elway’s comments come sa an NFL-appointed arbitrator weighs a motion by the league to throw out the grievance brought by Kaepernick, who accused the NFL of shunning him because he protested during the national anthem, sparking protests.

As reported by the New York Times’ Ken Belson:

“The NFL asked the arbitrator, Stephen B. Burbank, to determine whether the evidence unearthed by Kaepernick’s lawyers was sufficient for the case to go forward.

“The NFL is betting that Burbank will say no, and dismiss the case.  But if Burbank ruled that Kaepernick’s lawyers had indeed gathered sufficient evidence for the case to proceed, then a full hearing, in a trial-like setting, would follow.

“Elway’s comments could affect that ruling.  Burbank may look askance at Elway’s comments because the executive was prohibited from speaking publicly about them while the case is going on.”

--ESPN will not broadcast the national anthem before “Monday Night Football” games this season, the network announced Friday.

Good.  For decades, the anthem was never broadcast for NFL games...the networks were simply in commercial.  The anthem is for those in attendance...or for big playoff games, maybe, but obviously for the Super Bowl because it becomes a big entertainment event and an honor to be tabbed to sing it.

Baseball never shows the national anthem except for the playoffs, or All-Star Game.

College Football

--Ohio State’s investigation into head coach Urban Meyer is supposed to wrap up in the coming days and it can’t help that new reports emerged on recently dismissed assistant Buckeyes football coach Zach Smith, including a story that he sent a picture of his penis from a White House bathroom (among other locales) when the team was at the White House after winning the 2014 national title.  Smith also had more than $2,000 worth of erotic toys and other stuff sent to his office at the school in 2015, according to a published report Friday night.

Smith’s ex-wife, Courtney, said Zach “photographed himself in the coaches’ offices receiving oral sex and having sex with an OSU staffer.”

Golf Balls

Brandt Snedeker has been battling injuries the past few years and has hardly been playing at an elite level, yet he fired an 11-under 59 in the first round of the Wyndham Championship, the last event to secure a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs and earn PGA Tour cards for next season.

Snedeker became the 10th golfer in PGA Tour history to break the magic number of 60.  He was the ninth different player to shoot 59 or better – Jim Furyk doing it twice, including his record 58 in 2016 – but the first to do it after starting his round with a bogey.

But entering the final round, Snedeker, at -16, had just a one-shot lead over Brian Gay and David Hearn.

Well, Snedeker closed the deal, a 3-shot winner over Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan.  It is Snedeker’s 9th career title, first in two years.  And oh how appropriate that this major face of Wyndham and their ad campaigns wins again here, repeating his triumph in 2007, his first win.

--Aside from being the last event to secure a spot in the playoffs, the top 125 also earn full playing status for next season.  Players finishing from 126-200 could go to the Web.com Finals to try to secure a PGA Tour card that route. If one doesn’t earn a card that way, or chooses not to go to the finals, those who rank 126-150 have conditional status for next season, which limits opportunities to play.

This week, of the players ranked 100-180, 75 were in the field, including every player from 122-132.

On the outs, potentially, were Master champion Sergio Garcia and 2011 FedExCup champion Bill Haas; among a group of 13 players that have qualified for the Playoffs in each season since its debut in 2007.

Sergio, entering at 131, only picked up three to 128 and is not qualified, which also means, Euro Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn should ignore him when it comes to his captain’s picks, Cup history be damned.

Sergio, however, on virtue of his Masters win, is exempt on Tour for the 2018-19 wraparound season.

Bill Haas didn’t get it done...ending up 152, but as a past PGA Tour multiple winner shouldn’t have too many problems getting into events, ex-the majors.

The big loser was Martin Piller, who entered 124 and finished 126, having missed the cut by one.

Ditto Tyrone Van Aswegen, who entered on the cut line, 125, and finished 127, also missing the cut by one.

Tour veteran Chad Campbell entered 126 and missed the cut.

But Harris English entered 132, playing like total garbage, and finished T-11 to move him to 124...card secured.

Lastly, everyone’s favorite, Sam Saunders, made it into the FedExCup playoffs, and secured his card, with a T-45 that kept him at 120.

--We got a story this week from Tiger Woods’ caddie, Joe LaCava, who related that two weeks ago at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio, a heckler got his attention.

Attempting to defuse the situation politely did not work.  So LaCava, who told the story as a guest on ESPN Radio’s “Golic and Wingo” show on Wednesday, tried a different method.

“He goes, ‘Well, if you give me the $25 I paid for a ticket today, I’ll leave.’  So I go, here’s $25,” LaCava said.

After peeling the bils out of his wallet and paying, LaCava said the spectator still carried on and did not leave. Eventually LaCava approached security and had him ejected.

“He didn’t have a problem,” LaCava said.  “And actually, I got a standing ovation for kicking the guy out of there.”

--John Feinstein had a piece in Golfworld on Charles Howell III and his consistency, this year making the cut in 22 of 25 tournaments he’s entered (he wasn’t at the Wyndham, resting up for the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs).

But as I noted in my own piece from July 5, 2017, Howell, 39, has been knocked for not winning enough, just twice, and the second one was way back in 2007.  He’s finished second 16 times on tour – 1-4 in playoffs – and third another nine times.

But of 88 top 10 finishes, only one is in a major, out of 45 attempts.

Yet Howell has earned at least $1.25 million since 2001.

Premier League

Just a few notes on Week Two.  My Tottenham Spurs were tied with newbie Fulham 1-1 late, I was in panic mode, this being at home (Wembley, until the new stadium is finished), and a potential critical early-season draw.

But then Trippier scored on a stunning free kick, shades of his effort for England against Croatia, and Harry Kane scored his first August goal in Premier League play, as the Spurs prevailed 3-1, making it six points in two games.  All good.  Manchester United up next.

Chelsea beat Arsenal 3-2 at home on a late goal by Alonso, Chelsea also now with an opening six points; Arsenal winless in two, though Chelsea and Manchester City represent a rather tough opening to a season.

As I write every year, these games between the Big Six are huge.  If you want to finish in the top four, and a Champions League berth, you better do no worse than .500 in your ten games.  Then beat up on the second division teams.

Elsewhere in the Big Six, Manchester City demolished Huddersfield 6-1 behind Sergio Aguero’s hat trick, while Manchester United was shocked by Brighton & Hove Albion 3-2, the Seagulls predicted to finish near the bottom and 2-0 losers to Watford Week One.

Boy, the heat is on Man U manager Jose Mourinho, bigly.  As the excellent commentators for NBCSN pointed out, Mourinho is getting zero out of his players.

Lastly, I do have to note a game I caught Saturday morning, newbie Cardiff vs. Newcastle. Most experts are targeting both for relegation, and in extra time, Newcastle got a penalty kick on a careless Cardiff hand ball in the box.  But the Cardiff goalie stopped a poor effort and it ended in a 0-0 draw.

Just as the Big Six needs to  perform against its fellow competitors when they go head-to-head, when the lowly play each other, you better freakin’ win.  It will be interesting to see how close it is for Newcastle by the end of the season and if this single contest was the difference between being in or out.

NASCAR

Super exciting race Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, with Kurt Busch pulling it out to snap a 58-race winless streak and grab his sixth victory on the 0.533-mile bullring, though first since 2006.

Younger brother Kyle Busch has seven Cup wins at Bristol, but Kyle, the villain in NASCAR these days (“he moves the needle,” as they say), triggered a 15-car accident just two laps into the face, fell two laps off the pace, came back to race Martin Truex Jr. for second, and then moved Truex out of the way late in the race.  [Which screwed up what was a winning lineup for moi on DraftKings.]

Truex was furious after the incident, Truex never having won a short-track race and in great position to finally do so. 

But Kyle was then out of the race, to the cheers of the crowd, and older brother Kurt battled Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Clint Bowyer for the lead, before pulling away in a late restart.

It was Kurt Busch’s 30th career win and he and Kyle became the only brothers in Cup history with 30 wins each.

All the drivers love Bristol...stock car racing like it used to be, endless excitement...and heartache.

Chase Elliott, who finished third, said after: “Doesn’t get any cooler than short-track racing at Bristol...wish we had more of it.”

Bring back North Wilkesboro, I say.

By the way, Kurt Busch’s car is sponsored by Monster Energy, overall sponsors of the Cup Series, so we had lots of post-race shots of my favorite troupe...cough cough....cough.

Aretha Franklin

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, died Thursday at the age of 76. As Marc Myers of the Wall Street Journal wrote:

“A church-trained pianist and organist who often accompanied herself on recordings and in concert, Ms. Franklin – thanks to her powerful, flexible voice and fierce delivery – was the most commanding and influential vocalist of her generation.  When Ms. Franklin let out a gospel wail or added an ‘Oh, yes I am’ as a spiritual fill, her songs became urgent messages and awakened the emotions of anyone with a heart....

“Painfully insecure, fearful of flying and perennially distrustful of those surrounding her, Ms. Franklin never let her psychological challenges overtake her performances. With her head reared back, slightly, her mouth open in a smile and her voice effortlessly rising to sing in any octave, she became transformed in front of a microphone....

“Whatever Ms. Franklin lost by lingering too long on singles instead of albums she more than made up for with female fans.  Her conviction and hair-raising delivery became something of a battle cry for a generation of young women seeking equal rights.  For many, her voice represented power, dignity and determination.”

Wesley Morris / New York Times

“Officially, ‘Respect’ is a relationship song. That’s how Otis Redding wrote it. But love wasn’t what Aretha Franklin was interested in. The opening line is ‘What you want, baby, I got it.’ But her ‘what’ is a punch in the face. So Ms. Franklin’s rearrangement was about power. She had the right to be respected – by some dude, perhaps by her country.  Just a little bit.  What did love have to do with that?

“Depending on the house you grew up in and how old you are, ‘Respect’ is probably a song you learned early.  The spelling lesson toward the end helps. So do the turret blasts of ‘sock it to me’ that show up here and there. But, really, the reason you love ‘Respect’ is the way ‘Respect’ is sung. Redding made it a burning plea.  Ms. Franklin turned the plea into the most empowering popular recording ever made.

“Ms. Franklin died on Thursday, at 76, which means ‘Respect’ is going to be an even more prominent part of your life than usual.  The next time you hear it, notice what you do with your hands. They’re going to point – at a person, a car or a carrot. They’ll rest on your hips.  Your neck might roll.  Your waist will do a thing.  You’ll snarl.  Odds are high that you’ll feel better than great.  You’re guaranteed to feel indestructible.

“Ms. Franklin’s respect lasts for two minutes and 28 seconds.  That’s all – basically a round of boxing.  Nothing that’s over so soon should give you that much strength. But that was Aretha Franklin: a quick trip to the emotional gym.  Obviously, she was far more than that.  We’re never going to have an artist with a career as long, absurdly bountiful, nourishing and constantly surprising as hers.  We’re unlikely to see another superstar as abundantly steeped in real self-confidence – at so many different stages of life, in as many musical genres.

“That self-confidence wasn’t evident only in the purses and perms and headdresses and floor-length furs; the buckets and buckets of great recordings; the famous demand that she always be paid before a show, in cash; or the Queen of Soul business – the stuff that keeps her monotonously synonymous with ‘diva.’  It was there in whatever kept her from stopping and continuing to knock us dead.  To paraphrase one of Ms. Franklin’s many (many) musical progeny: She slayed.  ‘Respect’ became an anthem for us, because it seemed like an anthem for her.

“The song owned the summer of 1967. It arrived amid what must have seemed like never-ending turmoil – race riots, political assassinations, the Vietnam draft.  Muhammad Ali had been stripped of his championship title for refusing to serve in the war.  So amid all this upheaval comes a singer from Detroit who’d been around most of the decade doing solid gospel R&B work. But there was something about this black woman’s asserting herself that seemed like a call to national arms.”

Billboard Pop Top Tens

1967 - #9...I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love you)
1967 - #1...Respect
1967 - #4...Baby I Love You
1967 - #8...A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like)
1967 - #2...Chain Of Fools
1968 - #5...(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone
1968 - #7...Think
1968 - #6...The House That Jack Built
1968 - #10...I Say A Little Prayer
1971 - #6...Bridge Over Troubled Water
1971 - #2...Spanish Harlem
1971 - #9...Rock Steady
1972 - #5...Day Dreaming *
1973 - #3...Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do) *
1985 - #3...Freeway Of Love
1985 - #7...Who’s Zoomin’ Who
1987 - #1...I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me), with George Michael

*My two personal faves

Stuff

--The U.S. Open starts in one week out in Flushing Meadows, Queens, and this year marks the 50th anniversary of Arthur Ashe’s win in the men’s singles.  It was the first time that players who had turned professional were allowed to compete with amateurs like Ashe for the U.S. national title – thus the new “Open” era.  And it was the first time an African-American man won one of tennis’s Grand Slam events.

I have to admit I forgot that Ashe was on leave from his post at West Point, a 25-year-old Army lieutenant.  He had captured several national amateur singles titles.

Ashe, the only African-American among the 128 players in the men’s draw, was barred from playing against whites in his hometown of Richmond, Va., until 1966.

He became a leader of the civil rights movement, though in his own even-tempered way.  He used to note how often he was mistaken for a tennis stadium custodian, but would add, “I don’t want to spend my life fuming.”

Ashe beat Clark Graebner in the semis, and then the Netherlands’ Tom Okker in the championship. But as an amateur, he could not claim the $14,000 winner’s prize, though the win elevated his earnings potential and he picked up a range of product endorsements, proving African-American athletes had market appeal.

Ashe died way too young in 1993 at the age of 49. He had had major heart issues, and it is believed he picked up HIV through a blood transfusion during his second heart surgery. He would die of HIV-related pneumonia.    [Raymond Arsenault / Wall Street Journal]

--A good field is lining up for the Travers Stakes at Saratoga next Saturday.  As of today, the probables include Bravazo, Good Magic, Gronkowski, Hofburg, Mendelssohn, Tenfold and Vino Rosso.

--A man swimming off Cape Cod was attacked by a shark on Wednesday and was airlifted to a hospital in stable condition. It was the first shark attack at the popular summer tourist destination since 2012.

The victim, 61, suffered puncture wounds to his torso and legs, as the man was swimming in shallow water at Long Nook Beach in Truro, on the Atlantic Ocean side of the peninsula. 

It was reported later that the shark was probably a great white, one being spotted after in the area.  Numerous great whites have been seen off the Cape this summer, along with their favorite diet, seals, and where the man was attacked, there were seals there as well.

Truro was also the site of the 2012 attack.  That time the victim suffered a bite requiring 47 stitches.  Massachusetts’ last shark attack fatality was in 1936.  [But I maintain over 42,000 have been killed...the International Tourism Cartel, ITC, hiding such figures.]

Top 3 songs for the week 8/17/63:  #1 “Fingertips – Pt 2” (Little Stevie Wonder)  #2 “Blowin’ In The Wind” (Peter, Paul & Mary)  #3 “(You’re The) Devil In Disguise” (Elvis Presley)...and...#4 “Wipe Out” (The Surfaris) #5 “Judy’s Turn To Cry” (Lesley Gore)  #6 “Candy Girl” (Four Seasons)  #7 “Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter From Camp)” (Allan Sherman...this was a popular tune every summer for years...very original...solid comedian...)  #8 “So Much In Love” (The Tymes)  #9 “More” (Kai Winding)  #10 “My Boyfriend’s Back” (The Angels)

Baseball Quiz Answer: The 1998 Yankees went 114-48, and then won 11 in the playoffs, capped off by a 4-game sweep of the Padres in the World Series.

C – Jorge Posada 17 HR – 63 RBI, .268 BA
1B – Tino Martinez 28-123, .281
2B – Chuck Knoblauch 17-64. .265
SS – Derek Jeter 19-84, .324
3B – Scott Brosius 19-98. .300
LF – Chad Curtis 10-56, .243
CF – Bernie Williams 26-97, .339
RF – Paul O’Neill 24-116, .317

DH – Darryl Strawberry 24-57 in just 295 ABs
Tim Raines
Joe Girardi

Starting Rotation

Andy Pettitte 16-11
David Wells 18-4
David Cone 20-7
Hideki Irabu 13-9
Orlando Hernandez 12-4

Mariano Rivera 3-0, 36 saves
Mike Stanton, Jeff Nelson, Ramiro Mendoza

Joe Torre, manager

The Yankees actually lost their first three games of the season, and were 1-4.  But then they held a team meeting and in the blink of an eye they were 26-7 and off to the races.

Next Bar Chat, Thursday.



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Bar Chat

08/20/2018

Golf Makes Its Cut

[Posted prior to Mets-Phillies]

Baseball Quiz: They celebrated the 1998 Yankees on Saturday, the winningest team in baseball history with 125 wins (including the playoffs).  Name the starting lineup and the five main starting pitchers. Answer below.

MLB

--Because I need to post, some of the following is awaiting results around baseball, but ahead of Mets-Phils, we have this....

NL East

Atlanta 68-55
Philadelphia 68-55

NL West

Arizona 69-56
Colorado 68-56... 0.5
Los Angeles 67-58... 2

NL Wild Card

Atlanta 68-55... +0.5
Philadelphia 68-55... +0.5
Colorado 68-56... --
Milwaukee 69-57... --
St. Louis 68-57... 0.5
Los Angeles... 67-58... 1.5

AL West

Houston 75-49
Oakland 74-50... 1

AL Wild Card

Yanks 78-46... +4
Oakland 74-50... --
Seattle 71-54... 3.5

--The Yankees are lucky Giancarlo Stanton and rookie Miguel Andujar have stepped up in August, because otherwise, the Yanks wouldn’t be looking as good as they still are in the wild-card chase.

After Sunday’s 10-2 win over Toronto at the Stadium, the Yanks were just 10-9 this month, but Stanton had 8 home runs, 16 RBIs, while Andujar was 7 and 19.

Overall, Stanton, while streaky like every other slugger in the history of the game, has done all that the Yankees could have hoped for...32 home runs, 80 ribbies, .896 OPS, just a little below his career average.

Andujar, who is now the top candidate for AL Rookie of the Year, has 20 homers, 65 RBIs and a .299 batting average, 36 doubles, and an .860 OPS.

The other guy who was supposed to be in the ROY conversation, Gleyber Torres, has been slumping mightily.  Since his return from the disabled list on July 25, he’s just 16 of 84, .190.

Also Sunday, starter J.A. Happ (14-6, 3.84) improved to 4-0 in four starts as a Yank.  As Ronald Reagan would have said, ‘Not bad, not bad at all.’

--The Red Sox, who just keep winning (save for today), placed Chris Sale (12-4, 1.97) back on the disabled list after just one healthy start.  Another case of mild shoulder inflammation.

This doesn’t seem like that much of an issue, the team saying the inflammation is less than last time, and with the BoSox having such a huge lead, why not keep him rested and just make sure he’s right for the playoffs.

--The Mets had an interesting stretch since last chat.  Wednesday night they beat the Orioles in Baltimore, 16-5, and then in the first game of a doubleheader in Philadelphia on Thursday, the Mets scored a franchise high 24 runs in a 24-4 beatdown.  [They lost the nightcap 9-6.]

The double offensive explosion represented the first time the Mets scored at least 16 runs in consecutive games and they became the first NL team to score at least 15 in back-to-back contests since the NY Giants in 1933, per Elias Sports Bureau.

But in a lost season, Thursday’s 24 runs and 25 hits are the record books.  Ironically, two weeks earlier the Mets suffered a franchise-worst loss: 25-4 at Washington.

I probably should add for the record the Mets scored nine of their 24 on Thursday against position players, but it all looks the same in the box score, sports fans.

Friday night the Mets lost to the Phillies 4-2, as Noah Syndergaard (8-3, 3.40) gave up 4 earned in 5 2/3. Since coming off the DL from hand, foot and mouth disease, he’s posted a 4.85 ERA in four starts.  Despite the solid won-loss mark, it’s really the second straight ‘lost’ season for the guy.  He needs a huge bounceback campaign in 2019.

Last night (4:05 pm starting time), Jacob deGrom took the mound and in the middle of the fourth, Mets up 1-0, the rains came.  Mets fans were panicking.  DeGrom  of course would have to come out if the delay was lengthy.

But the delay proved to be just 41 minutes, deGrom and Phillies starter Jake Arrieta resumed their pitchers’ duel, and deGrom went all the way for his first complete game of the season, Mets winning 3-1, Jake improving to 8-7, 1.71 ERA, the lone run unearned.

Yes, with a sudden three-game winning streak, after pitching in historically bad luck all season, deGrom is legitimately in the Cy Young conversation.

Friday, another pitcher in the mix, the Phillies’ Aaron Nola, was the winner over Syndergaard, throwing seven innings of one-run ball, fanning 11, improving to 14-3, 2.24.

--Also Friday, my favorite non-Met, Max Scherzer (I love Mike Trout, but here on the East Coast we never see the guy), was brilliant again as the Nats beat the Marlins 8-2; Scherzer throwing six scoreless in improving to 16-5, 2.11. He also had a hit and is batting .296.  The best competitor in the game today. 

The Nationals are 18-8 when Scherzer is on the mound and 44-55 when he isn’t.

So we have this:

Scherzer 16-5, 2.11
Nola 14-3, 2.24
DeGrom 8-7, 1.71

I still say Scherzer wins it, and rather handily.  But if you tell me deGrom finishes 13-8, 1.75, and Scherzer doesn’t win 20, it’s certainly a much closer vote.  [Nola gets hurt because in the national conversation, he’s under the radar.]

--The struggling Dodgers suffered a humiliating loss Saturday night, as reliever Dylan Floro stepped off the mound with the bases loaded, which was ruled a balk...a walk-off balk in a 5-4 loss to the Mariners.

Third baseman Justin Turner epitomized the reaction of a furious Dodgers club after: “That’s the worst part about tonight, that it was decided by an umpire. There was nothing egregious about that. We watched [the replay].  There was nothing egregious.”

The ruling from first-base umpire Andy Fletcher was that Floro moved his hands after entering the set position.  Manager Dave Roberts indicated that the replay showed Floro’s knees buckled before stepping off.

“That’s the way Andy saw it,” Roberts said.  “As the rule states, he got it right.”

But the Dodgers were upset the call came from the first-base umpire, who was looking at Floro’s back, rather than his hands.

L.A. is 7-12 in its last 19, as the bullpen struggles mightily in the absence of closer Kenley Jansen.

--Friday night the Cubs shutout the Pirates 1-0 behind Cole Hamels. What a great move the Cubbies made in picking Hamels up from Texas.  The guy has gone 3-0, 0.72, in his four starts in Chicago.

--With the Orioles 2-1 loss to the Indians on Friday, Baltimore (then 36-86...now 37-87 after today) fell to 50 games below .500 – with 40 (38) to play.

Since division play began in 1969, only three teams have ever finished 50-plus games behind a first place team – the 1979 Toronto Blue Jays (50 1/2 behind the Orioles in the AL East), the 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays (51 games behind the Yankees in the AL East) and the 1998 Florida Marlins (52 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East), according to Stats Centre.

So the Orioles are set to shatter the record and finish with one of the worst records in baseball history.

The record for most losses remains the 1962 Mets, 40-120, but of more recent vintage the Detroit Tigers went 43-119, and at one point were 31-91.  Long-time readers will recall I went to two Tigers games late that season to see if I could be part of history.  Alas, it wasn’t to be.

It’s a little surprising that since the Orioles moved to Baltimore from St. Louis in 1954, only two Birds teams have lost 100.  In 1954 they were 54-100, and in 1988 they finished 54-107. That ’88 squad started the season 0-21.

--After I posted last time, the Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. led off the game Wednesday night against the Marlins’ Jose Urena. Acuna had opened up the previous three games with home runs, and had homered in five consecutive games, when Urena hit him with his first pitch, triggering a melee that led to benches and bullpens for the two teams emptying twice.

Urena and Braves manager Brian Snitker were ejected.

Urena’s fastball hit Acuna’s left elbow, leaving Acuna in pain, though he stayed in to run the bases, leaving in the top of the second. X-rays were negative and a CT scan showed the next day he was fine, and Acuna was back in the lineup on Thursday.  He hasn’t homered though in three games against the Rockies.

And that’s where I’m leaving the story.  Except Mets broadcaster Keith Hernandez caught major heat on Twitter for saying Urena did the right thing.

“They’re killing you.  You lost three games, he’s hit three home runs.  You got to hit him,” Hernandez said during the Mets’ broadcast of their game at Baltimore.  “I’m sorry, people aren’t going to like that.  You know, you got to hit him, knock him down. I mean, seriously knock him down if you don’t hit him.  You never throw at anybody’s head or neck.  You hit him in the back.  You hit him in the fanny.”

Keith is old school, and I love the guy.  But he probably should have left it at “knock him down.”

Since Acuna returned the next day to the lineup, though, Keith avoided further abuse.

[For his part, Urena then pitched a complete game, 2-hitter, against the Nationals today, Marlins winning 12-1.]

NFL

--Jets rookie Sam Darnold may not have done as well in the second exhibition game last Thursday as he did in his first, but he was still solid, 8/11, 62, 0-1, the interception a deflection, in a 15-13 loss to the Redskins. But Darnold still showed a lot in making certain individual plays.

At the same time, Teddy Bridgewater played well again, 10/15, 127, 1-1, and there’s a real debate whether Bridgewater should start the opener. 

This coming Friday night, the Jets square off against the Giants.  Whichever one performs better here probably will be the opening QB.

And for the Giants, they get to see if Davis Webb can improve on his solid effort last Friday, 14/20, 140, 1-0, against Detroit.  The Giants need to determine soon whether Webb is an authentic heir apparent to Eli Manning.  I think he is.

--First-round pick Josh Allen has a chance to win the starting job at Buffalo after presumed starter A.J. McCarron suffered a  broken collarbone in the Bills’ 19-17 exhibition win Friday night against the Browns. Allen has to beat out Nathan Peterman.

--The collusion case against the NFL brought by Colin Kaepernick has been shrouded in mystery.  Dozens of league executives and owners have been questioned, but their depositions remain confidential.

But this week John Elway, the general manager of the Broncos, told a reporter from NFL Network that he did not sign Kaepernick because the Broncos had offered the quarterback a contract once and he turned the team down.

“Colin had his chance here,” Elway said.  “We offered him a contract.  He didn’t take it. So, as I said in my deposition, I don’t know if I’ll be legally able to say this, but he’s had his chance to be here.  He passed it.”

Elway’s comments come sa an NFL-appointed arbitrator weighs a motion by the league to throw out the grievance brought by Kaepernick, who accused the NFL of shunning him because he protested during the national anthem, sparking protests.

As reported by the New York Times’ Ken Belson:

“The NFL asked the arbitrator, Stephen B. Burbank, to determine whether the evidence unearthed by Kaepernick’s lawyers was sufficient for the case to go forward.

“The NFL is betting that Burbank will say no, and dismiss the case.  But if Burbank ruled that Kaepernick’s lawyers had indeed gathered sufficient evidence for the case to proceed, then a full hearing, in a trial-like setting, would follow.

“Elway’s comments could affect that ruling.  Burbank may look askance at Elway’s comments because the executive was prohibited from speaking publicly about them while the case is going on.”

--ESPN will not broadcast the national anthem before “Monday Night Football” games this season, the network announced Friday.

Good.  For decades, the anthem was never broadcast for NFL games...the networks were simply in commercial.  The anthem is for those in attendance...or for big playoff games, maybe, but obviously for the Super Bowl because it becomes a big entertainment event and an honor to be tabbed to sing it.

Baseball never shows the national anthem except for the playoffs, or All-Star Game.

College Football

--Ohio State’s investigation into head coach Urban Meyer is supposed to wrap up in the coming days and it can’t help that new reports emerged on recently dismissed assistant Buckeyes football coach Zach Smith, including a story that he sent a picture of his penis from a White House bathroom (among other locales) when the team was at the White House after winning the 2014 national title.  Smith also had more than $2,000 worth of erotic toys and other stuff sent to his office at the school in 2015, according to a published report Friday night.

Smith’s ex-wife, Courtney, said Zach “photographed himself in the coaches’ offices receiving oral sex and having sex with an OSU staffer.”

Golf Balls

Brandt Snedeker has been battling injuries the past few years and has hardly been playing at an elite level, yet he fired an 11-under 59 in the first round of the Wyndham Championship, the last event to secure a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs and earn PGA Tour cards for next season.

Snedeker became the 10th golfer in PGA Tour history to break the magic number of 60.  He was the ninth different player to shoot 59 or better – Jim Furyk doing it twice, including his record 58 in 2016 – but the first to do it after starting his round with a bogey.

But entering the final round, Snedeker, at -16, had just a one-shot lead over Brian Gay and David Hearn.

Well, Snedeker closed the deal, a 3-shot winner over Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan.  It is Snedeker’s 9th career title, first in two years.  And oh how appropriate that this major face of Wyndham and their ad campaigns wins again here, repeating his triumph in 2007, his first win.

--Aside from being the last event to secure a spot in the playoffs, the top 125 also earn full playing status for next season.  Players finishing from 126-200 could go to the Web.com Finals to try to secure a PGA Tour card that route. If one doesn’t earn a card that way, or chooses not to go to the finals, those who rank 126-150 have conditional status for next season, which limits opportunities to play.

This week, of the players ranked 100-180, 75 were in the field, including every player from 122-132.

On the outs, potentially, were Master champion Sergio Garcia and 2011 FedExCup champion Bill Haas; among a group of 13 players that have qualified for the Playoffs in each season since its debut in 2007.

Sergio, entering at 131, only picked up three to 128 and is not qualified, which also means, Euro Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn should ignore him when it comes to his captain’s picks, Cup history be damned.

Sergio, however, on virtue of his Masters win, is exempt on Tour for the 2018-19 wraparound season.

Bill Haas didn’t get it done...ending up 152, but as a past PGA Tour multiple winner shouldn’t have too many problems getting into events, ex-the majors.

The big loser was Martin Piller, who entered 124 and finished 126, having missed the cut by one.

Ditto Tyrone Van Aswegen, who entered on the cut line, 125, and finished 127, also missing the cut by one.

Tour veteran Chad Campbell entered 126 and missed the cut.

But Harris English entered 132, playing like total garbage, and finished T-11 to move him to 124...card secured.

Lastly, everyone’s favorite, Sam Saunders, made it into the FedExCup playoffs, and secured his card, with a T-45 that kept him at 120.

--We got a story this week from Tiger Woods’ caddie, Joe LaCava, who related that two weeks ago at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio, a heckler got his attention.

Attempting to defuse the situation politely did not work.  So LaCava, who told the story as a guest on ESPN Radio’s “Golic and Wingo” show on Wednesday, tried a different method.

“He goes, ‘Well, if you give me the $25 I paid for a ticket today, I’ll leave.’  So I go, here’s $25,” LaCava said.

After peeling the bils out of his wallet and paying, LaCava said the spectator still carried on and did not leave. Eventually LaCava approached security and had him ejected.

“He didn’t have a problem,” LaCava said.  “And actually, I got a standing ovation for kicking the guy out of there.”

--John Feinstein had a piece in Golfworld on Charles Howell III and his consistency, this year making the cut in 22 of 25 tournaments he’s entered (he wasn’t at the Wyndham, resting up for the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs).

But as I noted in my own piece from July 5, 2017, Howell, 39, has been knocked for not winning enough, just twice, and the second one was way back in 2007.  He’s finished second 16 times on tour – 1-4 in playoffs – and third another nine times.

But of 88 top 10 finishes, only one is in a major, out of 45 attempts.

Yet Howell has earned at least $1.25 million since 2001.

Premier League

Just a few notes on Week Two.  My Tottenham Spurs were tied with newbie Fulham 1-1 late, I was in panic mode, this being at home (Wembley, until the new stadium is finished), and a potential critical early-season draw.

But then Trippier scored on a stunning free kick, shades of his effort for England against Croatia, and Harry Kane scored his first August goal in Premier League play, as the Spurs prevailed 3-1, making it six points in two games.  All good.  Manchester United up next.

Chelsea beat Arsenal 3-2 at home on a late goal by Alonso, Chelsea also now with an opening six points; Arsenal winless in two, though Chelsea and Manchester City represent a rather tough opening to a season.

As I write every year, these games between the Big Six are huge.  If you want to finish in the top four, and a Champions League berth, you better do no worse than .500 in your ten games.  Then beat up on the second division teams.

Elsewhere in the Big Six, Manchester City demolished Huddersfield 6-1 behind Sergio Aguero’s hat trick, while Manchester United was shocked by Brighton & Hove Albion 3-2, the Seagulls predicted to finish near the bottom and 2-0 losers to Watford Week One.

Boy, the heat is on Man U manager Jose Mourinho, bigly.  As the excellent commentators for NBCSN pointed out, Mourinho is getting zero out of his players.

Lastly, I do have to note a game I caught Saturday morning, newbie Cardiff vs. Newcastle. Most experts are targeting both for relegation, and in extra time, Newcastle got a penalty kick on a careless Cardiff hand ball in the box.  But the Cardiff goalie stopped a poor effort and it ended in a 0-0 draw.

Just as the Big Six needs to  perform against its fellow competitors when they go head-to-head, when the lowly play each other, you better freakin’ win.  It will be interesting to see how close it is for Newcastle by the end of the season and if this single contest was the difference between being in or out.

NASCAR

Super exciting race Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, with Kurt Busch pulling it out to snap a 58-race winless streak and grab his sixth victory on the 0.533-mile bullring, though first since 2006.

Younger brother Kyle Busch has seven Cup wins at Bristol, but Kyle, the villain in NASCAR these days (“he moves the needle,” as they say), triggered a 15-car accident just two laps into the face, fell two laps off the pace, came back to race Martin Truex Jr. for second, and then moved Truex out of the way late in the race.  [Which screwed up what was a winning lineup for moi on DraftKings.]

Truex was furious after the incident, Truex never having won a short-track race and in great position to finally do so. 

But Kyle was then out of the race, to the cheers of the crowd, and older brother Kurt battled Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Clint Bowyer for the lead, before pulling away in a late restart.

It was Kurt Busch’s 30th career win and he and Kyle became the only brothers in Cup history with 30 wins each.

All the drivers love Bristol...stock car racing like it used to be, endless excitement...and heartache.

Chase Elliott, who finished third, said after: “Doesn’t get any cooler than short-track racing at Bristol...wish we had more of it.”

Bring back North Wilkesboro, I say.

By the way, Kurt Busch’s car is sponsored by Monster Energy, overall sponsors of the Cup Series, so we had lots of post-race shots of my favorite troupe...cough cough....cough.

Aretha Franklin

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, died Thursday at the age of 76. As Marc Myers of the Wall Street Journal wrote:

“A church-trained pianist and organist who often accompanied herself on recordings and in concert, Ms. Franklin – thanks to her powerful, flexible voice and fierce delivery – was the most commanding and influential vocalist of her generation.  When Ms. Franklin let out a gospel wail or added an ‘Oh, yes I am’ as a spiritual fill, her songs became urgent messages and awakened the emotions of anyone with a heart....

“Painfully insecure, fearful of flying and perennially distrustful of those surrounding her, Ms. Franklin never let her psychological challenges overtake her performances. With her head reared back, slightly, her mouth open in a smile and her voice effortlessly rising to sing in any octave, she became transformed in front of a microphone....

“Whatever Ms. Franklin lost by lingering too long on singles instead of albums she more than made up for with female fans.  Her conviction and hair-raising delivery became something of a battle cry for a generation of young women seeking equal rights.  For many, her voice represented power, dignity and determination.”

Wesley Morris / New York Times

“Officially, ‘Respect’ is a relationship song. That’s how Otis Redding wrote it. But love wasn’t what Aretha Franklin was interested in. The opening line is ‘What you want, baby, I got it.’ But her ‘what’ is a punch in the face. So Ms. Franklin’s rearrangement was about power. She had the right to be respected – by some dude, perhaps by her country.  Just a little bit.  What did love have to do with that?

“Depending on the house you grew up in and how old you are, ‘Respect’ is probably a song you learned early.  The spelling lesson toward the end helps. So do the turret blasts of ‘sock it to me’ that show up here and there. But, really, the reason you love ‘Respect’ is the way ‘Respect’ is sung. Redding made it a burning plea.  Ms. Franklin turned the plea into the most empowering popular recording ever made.

“Ms. Franklin died on Thursday, at 76, which means ‘Respect’ is going to be an even more prominent part of your life than usual.  The next time you hear it, notice what you do with your hands. They’re going to point – at a person, a car or a carrot. They’ll rest on your hips.  Your neck might roll.  Your waist will do a thing.  You’ll snarl.  Odds are high that you’ll feel better than great.  You’re guaranteed to feel indestructible.

“Ms. Franklin’s respect lasts for two minutes and 28 seconds.  That’s all – basically a round of boxing.  Nothing that’s over so soon should give you that much strength. But that was Aretha Franklin: a quick trip to the emotional gym.  Obviously, she was far more than that.  We’re never going to have an artist with a career as long, absurdly bountiful, nourishing and constantly surprising as hers.  We’re unlikely to see another superstar as abundantly steeped in real self-confidence – at so many different stages of life, in as many musical genres.

“That self-confidence wasn’t evident only in the purses and perms and headdresses and floor-length furs; the buckets and buckets of great recordings; the famous demand that she always be paid before a show, in cash; or the Queen of Soul business – the stuff that keeps her monotonously synonymous with ‘diva.’  It was there in whatever kept her from stopping and continuing to knock us dead.  To paraphrase one of Ms. Franklin’s many (many) musical progeny: She slayed.  ‘Respect’ became an anthem for us, because it seemed like an anthem for her.

“The song owned the summer of 1967. It arrived amid what must have seemed like never-ending turmoil – race riots, political assassinations, the Vietnam draft.  Muhammad Ali had been stripped of his championship title for refusing to serve in the war.  So amid all this upheaval comes a singer from Detroit who’d been around most of the decade doing solid gospel R&B work. But there was something about this black woman’s asserting herself that seemed like a call to national arms.”

Billboard Pop Top Tens

1967 - #9...I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love you)
1967 - #1...Respect
1967 - #4...Baby I Love You
1967 - #8...A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like)
1967 - #2...Chain Of Fools
1968 - #5...(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone
1968 - #7...Think
1968 - #6...The House That Jack Built
1968 - #10...I Say A Little Prayer
1971 - #6...Bridge Over Troubled Water
1971 - #2...Spanish Harlem
1971 - #9...Rock Steady
1972 - #5...Day Dreaming *
1973 - #3...Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do) *
1985 - #3...Freeway Of Love
1985 - #7...Who’s Zoomin’ Who
1987 - #1...I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me), with George Michael

*My two personal faves

Stuff

--The U.S. Open starts in one week out in Flushing Meadows, Queens, and this year marks the 50th anniversary of Arthur Ashe’s win in the men’s singles.  It was the first time that players who had turned professional were allowed to compete with amateurs like Ashe for the U.S. national title – thus the new “Open” era.  And it was the first time an African-American man won one of tennis’s Grand Slam events.

I have to admit I forgot that Ashe was on leave from his post at West Point, a 25-year-old Army lieutenant.  He had captured several national amateur singles titles.

Ashe, the only African-American among the 128 players in the men’s draw, was barred from playing against whites in his hometown of Richmond, Va., until 1966.

He became a leader of the civil rights movement, though in his own even-tempered way.  He used to note how often he was mistaken for a tennis stadium custodian, but would add, “I don’t want to spend my life fuming.”

Ashe beat Clark Graebner in the semis, and then the Netherlands’ Tom Okker in the championship. But as an amateur, he could not claim the $14,000 winner’s prize, though the win elevated his earnings potential and he picked up a range of product endorsements, proving African-American athletes had market appeal.

Ashe died way too young in 1993 at the age of 49. He had had major heart issues, and it is believed he picked up HIV through a blood transfusion during his second heart surgery. He would die of HIV-related pneumonia.    [Raymond Arsenault / Wall Street Journal]

--A good field is lining up for the Travers Stakes at Saratoga next Saturday.  As of today, the probables include Bravazo, Good Magic, Gronkowski, Hofburg, Mendelssohn, Tenfold and Vino Rosso.

--A man swimming off Cape Cod was attacked by a shark on Wednesday and was airlifted to a hospital in stable condition. It was the first shark attack at the popular summer tourist destination since 2012.

The victim, 61, suffered puncture wounds to his torso and legs, as the man was swimming in shallow water at Long Nook Beach in Truro, on the Atlantic Ocean side of the peninsula. 

It was reported later that the shark was probably a great white, one being spotted after in the area.  Numerous great whites have been seen off the Cape this summer, along with their favorite diet, seals, and where the man was attacked, there were seals there as well.

Truro was also the site of the 2012 attack.  That time the victim suffered a bite requiring 47 stitches.  Massachusetts’ last shark attack fatality was in 1936.  [But I maintain over 42,000 have been killed...the International Tourism Cartel, ITC, hiding such figures.]

Top 3 songs for the week 8/17/63:  #1 “Fingertips – Pt 2” (Little Stevie Wonder)  #2 “Blowin’ In The Wind” (Peter, Paul & Mary)  #3 “(You’re The) Devil In Disguise” (Elvis Presley)...and...#4 “Wipe Out” (The Surfaris) #5 “Judy’s Turn To Cry” (Lesley Gore)  #6 “Candy Girl” (Four Seasons)  #7 “Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter From Camp)” (Allan Sherman...this was a popular tune every summer for years...very original...solid comedian...)  #8 “So Much In Love” (The Tymes)  #9 “More” (Kai Winding)  #10 “My Boyfriend’s Back” (The Angels)

Baseball Quiz Answer: The 1998 Yankees went 114-48, and then won 11 in the playoffs, capped off by a 4-game sweep of the Padres in the World Series.

C – Jorge Posada 17 HR – 63 RBI, .268 BA
1B – Tino Martinez 28-123, .281
2B – Chuck Knoblauch 17-64. .265
SS – Derek Jeter 19-84, .324
3B – Scott Brosius 19-98. .300
LF – Chad Curtis 10-56, .243
CF – Bernie Williams 26-97, .339
RF – Paul O’Neill 24-116, .317

DH – Darryl Strawberry 24-57 in just 295 ABs
Tim Raines
Joe Girardi

Starting Rotation

Andy Pettitte 16-11
David Wells 18-4
David Cone 20-7
Hideki Irabu 13-9
Orlando Hernandez 12-4

Mariano Rivera 3-0, 36 saves
Mike Stanton, Jeff Nelson, Ramiro Mendoza

Joe Torre, manager

The Yankees actually lost their first three games of the season, and were 1-4.  But then they held a team meeting and in the blink of an eye they were 26-7 and off to the races.

Next Bar Chat, Thursday.