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Bar Chat

05/20/2019

Koepka struggles...then seals the deal....

[Posted Sunday p.m. ...prior to Toronto-Milwaukee...err, Raptors up 48-43 in the second...GoT finale, you understand....]

NCAA Men’s Division I Golf Quiz:  1) With the championship this coming week, name the only three schools to win multiple titles in the 2000s.  2) Name the top three schools for most overall titles (modern era, 1939-2018).  Answers below.

PGA Championship

After Round One....

Brooks Koepka -7...course record 63
Danny Lee -6
Tommy Fleetwood -3
5 tied at -2

Koepka, playing with Tiger Woods (+2), said, ‘It was great that Tiger won Augusta, but, I mean, we’re at a new week now.”  Koepka has won three of the last seven majors he’s played.  Could he make it four of eight?

After Round Two....

Koepka -12...63-65
Jordan Spieth -5
Adam Scott -5

With the 36-hole score of 128, Koepka had a PGA Championship record seven-shot lead, as well as the 36-hole scoring record for a major championship.  But there was no celebration with friends and family.

“I’m not hitting it well, we’re going straight to the range,” Koepka said to swing coach Claude Harmon III.

Koepka added: “This probably sounds bad, but today was a battle,” after shooting a 65.  “I didn’t strike it that good.  I was leaking a few to the right.”

Well in the third round, even laymen like me knew that it was a battle, if you put yourself in Koepka’s shoes.  He continued to leak a few to the right but still managed to shoot an even-par 70.

So after Round Three....he was still up by seven.

Koepka -12
Harold Varner III -5
Jazz Janewattananond -5
Luke List -5
Dustin Johnson -5

And then in Round Four...we suddenly had some back nine excitement....

Koepka -9 thru 14
Dustin Johnson -8 thru 15

But DJ bogeyed 16 and 17, Koepka righted the ship...and we had....

Koepka -9 thru 15
DJ -6 thru 17

Koepka then closed the deal...his fourth major in just 23 months.  [Sixth PGA Tour title overall.]

Koepka -8 F
DJ -6 F
3 tied at -2

Who doesn’t love Bethpage Black after this one?  I sure do.  When I get the time I’ll have to go back and look at my past comments on the place, but I don’t remember liking it this much before.  Just a very hard, traditional golf course...not tricked up in the least...especially with the greens and lack of multiple false fronts.  Good shots rewarded.  Bad shots penalized.  And great driving given the import it deserves.

Can’t wait to 2024 and the Ryder Cup at the venue, with Phil Mickelson a virtual lock to be the captain for it.

--So much for Tiger Woods and winning his 15th major at Augusta.  The assault on Jack Nicklaus’ 18 would have to wait until Pebble next month, Woods finishing 17 shots behind Koepka, missing the cut by one with his 3-over 73 leaving him 5-over Friday afternoon.

Woods said after: “I just wasn’t moving the way I needed to.  There’s going to be days and weeks where it’s not going to work and today was one of those days.”

But there was a lot of talk that while Woods took a month off after Augusta, it wasn’t like he was preparing extensively at Bethpage.  Tiger said of his absence on Wednesday that he didn’t feel well and “thought resting would be better so I would have energy to play.”  It turns out he hasn’t been feeling well since the Masters.

No one said anything about the lawsuit I brought up last time, but I’m wondering if that had anything to do with his lack of preparation....if he was involved in something rather important to his brand.  [I noted that the lawyers representing the family of the employee from Tiger’s restaurant, who was killed in a single-car crash after being overserved, said video evidence of the kid’s drinking at the bar at The Woods had been erased and, if true, that is extremely serious.]

Or it’s just that Tiger’s back is acting up, which could have been why he skipped Quail Hollow, a favored venue.  Only time will tell.  He has to play before the U.S. Open at Pebble, and it’s expected he will compete at Jack’s Memorial tournament beginning May 30.  If he isn’t there, or plays poorly again, then we have a real story.

And I can’t help but throw Donald Trump into this conversation. After Trump hosted the Red Sox the other day at the White House, he tweeted that they had then won their first three games after the visit...and how the president was the reverse of the Sports Illustrated curse.

Well, the Red Sox then lost 3 of 4, while as for Tiger, it seems to me he had a certain visit at the White House to accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and then he goes out and can’t make the cut at the PGA.

No tweet from the president as yet.

--Huge tournament for Jordan Spieth with his T-3...his first top 20 of the season.  Good for the sport.

--Have to hand it to 48-year-old Rich Beem, whose playing days on the PGA Tour are long over, yet because he won the championship in 2002, he is entitled to compete in the PGA Championship if he so desires until he’s 65.

Beem has been criticized in some circles for taking away a spot from a more ‘deserving’ or young, struggling tour pro, with his continuing to play the event once a year, but, hell, he made the cut this week, 75-69, and Tiger didn’t...along with Jon Rahm, Jim Furyk, Keith Mitchell, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson, and Kevin Kisner.

Granted, Beem then shot 82 on Saturday, but he rebounded today with another 69!  The rules say he can play, and he’s just honoring them.  Good for him.

Of course Beem’s exemption is the reason past-winner John Daly is still performing, though this week, playing with the aid of a cart, he missed the cut by seven, shooting 75-76.

NBA Playoffs

--Going back to Thursday, in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals, a strip by Andre Iguodala on Damian Lillard’s potential game-tying three-point attempt with 4.1 seconds left secured the Warriors’ 114-111 thrilling victory over the Trail Blazers.

“We stole that game,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.  “I thought they outplayed us for much of the night, the majority of the night.  But we brought enough competitive fire in the second half to overcome their great play.”

Steph Curry (37 points) and Klay Thompson (24) once again led the way for the Durant-less Warriors, but it was the all-around brilliance of Draymond Green that was the real key, Green with 16 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks.

Golden State trailed 67-50 early in the third, but outscored Portland 39-24 in the quarter.

They were then down eight with 4 minutes, 28 seconds remaining, but showed their championship mettle, outscoring the Trail Blazers 14-3 the rest of the way.

So Saturday night in Portland, the Trail Blazers, in a must-win situation in Game 3, again led at the half, 66-53, only to be outscored 29-13 in the third, the Warriors pulling away to win 110-99.

Curry had 36, but again it was the stellar play of Draymond Green that was the key...Green with 20 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists and 4 steals.  There’s your MVP thus far.

And, again, this is without Durant.

--In the Eastern Conference finals, it’s been all Milwaukee thus far, the Bucks winning two at home, as they face Toronto in Game 3 tonight.

In Game 1 on Wednesday, the Bucks prevailed 108-100, as it was Brook Lopez who was the surprise star, a playoff career-high 29 points and 11 rebounds, including some key buckets late, while Giannis chipped in with 24 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists.

For Toronto, while Kawhi Leonard had 31, guard Kyle Lowry had a heroic effort in defeat with 30 points, including 7 of 9 from three.  This was a terrific contest.  Very entertaining.

In Game 2 Friday, Milwaukee cruised, 125-103, after being up 64-39 at the half.  Giannis had a monster game, 30 points, 17 rebounds, but the Bucks received huge contributions off the bench from Ersan Ilyasova (17 points), George Hill (13) and Malcolm Brogdon (14).

Bucks-Warriors is not a bad NBA finals matchup. 

--Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the NBA Draft lottery and New Orleans getting the No. 1 pick, meaning Zion Williamson, talk is heating up as to what the Pelicans can or will do to placate Anthony Davis, with some such as coach Alvin Gentry strongly hinting they’d all be better off with Davis exiting N’Orlins.

Which leaves two real choices if they opt to trade him, Davis with one more year on his current contract...the Knicks or Lakers.

New York is prepared to trade its No. 3 pick, assumed to be RJ Barrett, with a package that would include center Mitchell Robinson.  That to me is a viable deal...just those two pieces, Robinson having shown great potential in limited playing time this past season for the Knicks.

I’m not saying I want the Knicks to do this, as I’d prefer they keep Robinson, but I can see it happening.

HOWEVER, then I see stories that have the Knicks also including Dallas’ two first-rounders in 2021 and 2023 that the Knicks obtained from the Mavericks.

This would be nuts.  No way I’d go for that.

As for the Lakers, they can offer a boatload of young talent, as they tried to do this winter, but why would Davis want to hitch his wagon to an aging LeBron?

Or can New Orleans convince Davis to stay?  After all, a Big 3 of Davis, Zion and point guard Jrue Holiday ain’t all bad.  But do they want A.D. at all?

Stanley Cup Playoffs

--It didn’t take long for the Bruins to gain their third Stanley Cup final in nine years, sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes, Tuuka Rask making 24 saves for his seventh career playoff shutout in Game 4 (4-0).

The Bruins outscored the Hurricanes 17-5 in the four games as they return to the finals after winning them in 2011 and losing to Chicago two years later.

--So Boston awaited the conclusion of the San Jose-St. Louis Western Conference final.  San Jose had won a beyond controversial Game 3, 5-4 in OT, when a hand pass wasn’t called, an ensuing goal allowed for the win, but it turns out the call is non-reviewable.

St. Louis then won Friday’s Game 4, 2-1, the series even at 2-2.

But today, the Blues blew out the Sharks, in San Jose, 5-0, Jaden Schwartz with his second hat trick of the playoffs.

Regardless of who they face in the Finals, the Bruins continue to wait, until next Monday, May 27.

MLB

--I have to go back to Wednesday, after I last posted, and the Yankees sweeping the Orioles in a doubleheader, 5-3 and 3-1, Domingo German winning his eighth for the Yanks in the nightcap.  I mean this is a guy who was 2-6, 5.57 ERA, in 14 starts last season for New York, and now he’s on track to win 20 and a potential Cy Young Award.  Go figure.

But the Yankees announced they have lost third baseman Miguel Andujar for the season, as he has decided to have surgery for his torn right shoulder labrum.

So on Friday, the Yanks opened a key three-game set at the Stadium against Tampa Bay in what has become a growing rivalry...this time being a battle for first in the East.

And in the first game, the Yankees had a dramatic 3-run rally in the bottom of the ninth, Miguel Andujar’s replacement at third, Gio Urshela, with the game-winning hit...Gio going 3-for-4 to improve to .347.  [He had two more hits on Saturday to move to .353 in 102 at-bats, a pretty good sample size.]

But the Yanks lost the second game yesterday, 2-1 in 11, as New York got a real scare when the Rays’ Yandy Diaz smashed a liner off the leg of Masahiro Tanaka, Tanaka having outdueled Blake Snell to that point with six scoreless.  X-rays were negative, but we’ll learn next week just how serious it is.  New York can ill afford to lose him.

Today, the Yankees regained first place with a 13-5 win over the Rays.

New York 28-17
Tampa Bay 27-17...0.5
Boston 24-22...4.5

--My Mets entered the weekend in Miami on Mickey Callaway Death Watch.  The team entered a 13-game stretch against the worst team in baseball Marlins and the pathetic Washington Nationals last week at Citi Field, winning two against Miami, the third game rained out, before heading to Washington, where they won the opener to get to 20-20.  All seemed right with the world.

But after Saturday’s pitiful effort against the Marlins, where they were one-hit by Pablo Lopez and the Marlins’ pen, this after they scored 10 earned runs against Lopez the week before, the Mets had lost four-in-a-row to fall to 20-24, Miami blasting Jacob deGrom Friday night, 8-6, deGrom yielding six earned in five innings to fall to 3-5, 3.98.  Not exactly what the team, and Mets fans, signed on for with his massive contract extension following his super-human Cy Young 2018.

I truly thought Callaway would be fired after Saturday night’s game.

I’ll be even more shocked if he isn’t fired after today’s 3-0 loss...just two hits.

Swept by the f’n Marlins!!!!.....!!!!!  @#$%!!!!

How can I go to school tomorrow?!!!!

--Watching the Red Sox-Astros game Saturday night, won by Houston 7-3, I was surprised to learn Astros reliever Ryan Pressly had broken the major league record for consecutive appearances without giving up a run on Friday night in a 3-1 victory, tallying his 39th straight scoreless outing, breaking the previous mark set in 2011 by Craig Kimbrel; Kimbrel’s Rookie of the Year season.

Pressly was acquired midseason last year by the Astros from Minnesota, and over what is now about a full season, 44 appearances for Houston thru Saturday, he has a 0.42 ERA, yielding two earned runs in 43 1/3.  Good lord.  He hasn’t allowed a run to score since Aug. 10, 2018.  38 scoreless innings, just 17 hits, three walks, and 47 strikeouts.

Meanwhile, as Joe Buck, and every other baseball fan can’t help but muse these days, it is truly startling both Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel remain unsigned.  A boatload of teams could use either, but especially in the case of Keuchel, if you signed him today, we’re talking he wouldn’t be available until essentially July.

Boston won today, 4-3, with Chris Sale getting a no-decision, after 5 1/3, 3 earned, 5 walks and 10 strikeouts.

--I have to note the Cubs’ Kris Bryant for his three home runs Friday in a 14-6 win over the Nationals.  Max Scherzer fell to 2-5, 3.72, though he yielded just three runs in six innings, while Cole Hamels improved to 4-0, 3.13, for the Cubbies.

--And how about Pittsburgh’s Josh Bell?  14 home runs, 43 RBIs, .333 BA as I go to post...a true breakout season for the 26-year-old.

The Dysfunctional Jets

It sucks being a Mets and Jets fan (and Knicks and Rangers, for that matter...though the Rangers have at least given us a few moments over the years). 

But the Jets seemed to be on the verge of a breakthrough, if not this coming season, the one after, with a coaching change, the signing of some solid folks on defense, and of Le’Veon Bell.

But then the Jets, out of nowhere, fired GM Mike Maccagnan on Wednesday morning and announced first-year coach Adam Gase would serve as interim general manager, per CEO Christopher Johnson.

The issue isn’t whether Maccagnan was a good GM or not...the facts are the Jets have gone from 10-6 in his first season (though missed the playoffs) to 5-11, 5-11, and 4-12.  Todd Bowles was fired as coach after the end of the season, and Maccagnan should have been as well, perhaps, but then the Jets kept him to run their draft, and get through free agency, after the new coach was hired, Adam Gase.

So then you fire the guy?

Gase clearly stabbed Maccagnan in the back, and then we heard stories how Gase was not in favor of paying Le’Veon Bell as much as the Jets did (four years, $52.5 million), feeling they could get him cheaper.  And there were others Gase wanted the Jets to sign, but Maccagnan did not.

Surprisingly, Bell thus far has taken the high road, tweeting:

“There’s been a BUNCH of false reports and speculation about me in the past about things I’ve said and done, so I’m used to this.  I don’t jump to conclusions when I hear or see a story that may affect me.

“Even if reports are true, that won’t stop me from doing what I came here to do...everyone has a job to do, and I’m gonna do mine whether people ‘like’ me or not.  I’m here to win football games.”

Brian Costello / New York Post

“Just when it appeared the Jets were the stable franchise in town, they reminded everyone no one quite does dysfunction like they do.

“Jets CEO Christopher Johnson fired general manager Mike Maccagnan in a stunning move Wednesday, removing a GM the franchise let hire a head coach, spend $120 million in free agency and oversee its draft.

“ ‘The more I looked, the more I realized that I wanted to move on,’ Johnson said in a conference call with reporters.

“It is a staggering move that dents what felt like a good offseason for the Jets and pushes them, along with the Giants, Knicks and Mets, back into the race for the city’s worst-run franchise.

“Now, the question about the same old Jets appear again. 

“Not many Jets fans will complain about Maccagnan getting fired.  He had three losing seasons in four on the job and whiffed in the draft and with free-agent contracts enough that they would have been content with him getting fired along with coach Todd Bowles at the end of last season.

“Instead, it is the timing that is puzzling.  Why wait until mid-May to make a move some thought was obvious in December....

“Sources said the decision had more to do with Maccagnan’s indecisiveness.  There was a feeling inside the organization that Maccagnan took too long to make personnel decisions and was too wishy-washy at times.

“That may have been accentuated by the presence of Gase, an alpha male who makes his opinions known.”

CEO Johnson spent more time around the team this offseason to get a closer look at the operation and did not like what he saw.

“This isn’t a decision I could have made at the end of the season,” Johnson said.  “I could with Todd.  I could not with Mike.

“I think that by diving deep into the organization that I had a better idea of what was wrong and where I wanted to head with this....

“I want to find somebody that just looking forward, not talking about Mike here, I want a great strategic thinker.  It’s more than a talent-evaluation guy. I want a great manager, communicator, who can collaborate well with the building.  I’m convinced we’re going to find that person.”

Steve Politi / Star-Ledger

“Think about it: If you had to pick which of New Jersey’s two pro football teams had their navigation systems set for the right direction, until about 11 a.m. on Wednesday, you would have picked the one trying to make its first Super Bowl trip in a half century.

“And then, on a quiet day in the middle of a quiet month, the Jets did the NFL equivalent of putting a lampshade on their heads and running across a busy highway. They delivered a stunning reminder that they are, in fact, still the Jets.

“They decided to fire general manager Mike Maccagnan, and for plenty of fans, that leadership change was long overdue.  Maccagnan had a mediocre resume, to put it mildly, over his four seasons making the team’s personnel decisions.

“No, it isn’t the firing that’s the problem, but the timing of it.  What kind of team allows a GM to make a franchise-shaping decision with the No. 3 overall pick in the NFL Draft and then fires him three weeks later? What kind of business allows an employee to hand out $125 million in contracts and then hands him a pink slip before any of them actually show up for a meaningful day of work?

“Only this team.

“Only the Jets.”

Manish Mehta / New York Daily News

“He had spent months grumbling about decision, non-decisions and just about everything else on One Jets Drive.  People around him brushed it off as ‘Adam being Adam,’ but there was an underlying uneasiness that wasn’t going to disappear until one massive change was made.

“The draft was the final straw for CEO Christopher Johnson, who had reservations about retaining Mike Maccagnan after the season before he finally fired the general manager and lieutenant Brian Heimerdinger this week....

“Johnson took the heat in the wake of the firings, looking like a lost, indecisive soul.  ‘He sees the good in everybody,’ a current Jets employee said of Johnson in the wake of the acting owner’s* unorthodox moves.  ‘He just doesn’t know what he’s doing.’....

“Gase wanted to wash his hands of the draft before it even began, according to sources.  Eyewitnesses told the Daily News that he was oddly detached for all three days. This was a Maccagnan Production through and through.  Gase stayed out of the way, rarely giving input on trade possibilities or prospects when the Jets were on the clock.  There was no point that Gase ever fought for or objected to any of Maccagnan’s picks.

“The sentiment among people in the room: This was awkward....

“People in the organization truly believe that Johnson wants the Jets to succeed, but there’s a strong sentiment among those that I’ve spoken to in the past 48 hours that he simply doesn’t have the experience, football savvy and support structure right now to make sound choices....

“Seventy-two percent of the more than 10,000 people who participated in an online Daily News Poll this week do not trust that Johnson knows what he’s doing.”

*For those of you not familiar with the Jets’ ownership situation, Christopher Johnson is the brother of Woody, who is the principal owner, but he’s off in Britain, serving as President Trump’s ambassador to the UK, thus he had to turn over control to his brother.  Woody was no great shakes when he was running things either.

Manish Mehta:

“The bottom-line reality: Gase won the offseason.

“He will effectively hand pick the next general manager (with Johnson’s approval).  How will this impact the rest of the football operations on One Jets Drive?  Will there be much more upheaval?

“ ‘I don’t think he wants to screw a lot of people over,’ one Jets employee said of Gase.  ‘Because he feels like he already kind of did that.’”

As of this writing, it appears the search to replace Maccagnan may not be as quick as first thought, with many initially believing the Jets would hire Eagles vice president of player personnel Joe Douglas, who worked with Gase in Chicago in 2015.

Preakness

To say interest was minimal without Maximum Security and Country House would be an understatement, as War of Will, who went off at 6-1, won the 144th Preakness Stakes at rickety Pimlico.  The horse that was part of the controversy in the Derby, fouled by Maximum Security, had a near unimpeded trip on the rail to emerge victorious in the 13-entrant field.  Everfast finished second and Owendale third.  Ask me if I had heard of these last two.

But no horses broke down and that was a win for the sport.  Friday at Pimlico, a 3-year-old filly Congrats Gal collapsed after crossing the finish line and died of an apparent heart attack.  The same day, Santa Anita saw its 24th horse die in the last five months (since Dec. 26), but the first there in six weeks.  Commander Coil broke down during light training with a shoulder injury and was subsequently euthanized.

As John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times noted, it is estimated “that there have been well in excess of 50,000 gallops since the last fatality (at Santa Anita).  Because of the nature of the injury, this fatality likely will fall under the category of catastrophic death.”

But as I’ve been writing, the Santa Anita issue isn’t going away and could still spell the death knell for the sport.  Cherwa notes the California Horse Racing Board has four full-time investigators on the case and has issued more than 70 subpoenas for documents.  Plus, as I noted before, Sen. Dianne Feinstein has called for the CHRB to suspend racing until an investigation of the deaths is conducted, and Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) has called for a congressional hearing and investigation.  This would be a disaster.

As for the upcoming Belmont Stakes in three weeks, my hopes of a matchup between Maximum Security and Country House, and now War of Will, seems highly unlikely.

Maximum Security is actually being stabled in Oceanport, N.J., next to Monmouth Park, and it seems a certainty the colt will run in July’s Haskell, at Monmouth, where it is hoped either War of Will or Country House will take up the challenge.

But War of Will is headed to the Belmont, and the Haskell is just six weeks later, so after running all three legs of the Triple Crown, it seems doubtful War of Will would be run at Monmouth Park.

Stuff

--Deontay Wilder defended his WBC heavyweight title for a ninth time as he destroyed challenger Dominic Breazeale (20-2, 18 KOs) with a massive right hand for a violent first-round knockout before a crowd of 13,000 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn last night.

So Wilder, out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, acknowledged as one of the great punchers of all time, moved to 41-0-1, 40 KOs, the only blemish a draw against Tyson Fury (27-0-1, 19 KOs) back in December when the two fought to a draw in a classic bout.

Everyone wants to now see a Wilder-Anthony Joshua unifier title fight, Joshua (22-0, 21 KOs), the IBF, WBA, WBO titleholder.  But this doesn’t seem to be in the cards, at least anytime soon, because the two fighters are currently on different television platforms.

As for a Wilder-Fury rematch, one had been agreed to but then Fury took a new co-promotional deal with Top Rank to move to ESPN, Wilder on Showtime.

--NASCAR is 12 races into its 36-race schedule, with this weekend being All-Star Race weekend in Charlotte, unofficial, as the sport gears up for next weekend’s Charlotte 600, which I always enjoy catching some of, the evening after the Indy 500.

But Ed Hardin of the Greensboro News & Record had a piece on the struggles of Jimmie Johnson, “7 Time,” as in 7-time Cup champion.

Johnson has a single top-five this year after only two last season, and hasn’t won since 2017 at Dover.  He won his seventh title in 2016.

So at 43, Johnson is thinking the end is near.  He’s under contract through next year with Hendrick Motorsports, but there’s no guarantee he’ll be able to re-up with them.

Time is running out for Johnson to break the tie he has for most titles with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.

--At least 53 dead or dying gray whales have washed up on West Coast beaches this spring, as reported by USA TODAY, a death rate that’s only been seen once before.  The whales are starving to death, but while scientists have theories as to why, they have no full explanation.

The number of deaths is likely much higher because it’s estimated that only 10% of dead whales actually end up on shore, said a research biologist, John Calambokidis, who studies whale populations on the West Coast.

The could mean as many as 530 whales have died, a large number for a population that is estimated to be just over 20,000 and that only began to rebound in recent decades after being hunted almost to extinction in the late 1800s.

Whales that wash ashore offer a window into the health of marine ecosystems, said Kyle Van Houtan, chief scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California. [Awesome place, by the way...wish I could get back there.]

What the whales are saying is something is wrong.

Gray whales make an epic migration each year, spending late spring through fall off the Alaska coast, eating and building up a thick layer of blubber. They forage for their food of choice, small sea animals called amphipods, scooping up sediment from the sea floor and filtering out the tiny shrimp-like creatures.

Then, in October, they begin their 6,000-mile annual journey south toward sheltered warm water lagoons in Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula and the Gulf of California, where the females give birth.  John Calambokidis says during the three to four months they are traveling or in the waters off Mexico, they eat almost nothing, living off the fat they’ve stored up.

But it seems the whales didn’t find enough food last year to make it through their fasting months.

Younger whales seem to be especially at risk, with dead juvenile whales turning up on beaches emaciated.

Gray whales can live to be 70 years old and can grow to 50 feet long and 40 tons.  Whalers called them “devil fish” because of their aggressive behavior when it comes to protecting themselves and their calves when attacked.  [Killer whales are known to be a threat.]

--Mick Jagger is recovering well from his heart valve surgery, so well that the Stones have already locked in new concert dates to replace the shows that had to be cancelled.  The band is replacing shows originally scheduled for June 13 and 17 at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, with shows Aug. 1 and Aug. 5, for example.

Top 3 songs for the week 5/24/69:  #1 “Get Back” (The Beatles with Billy Preston)  #2 “Aquarius / Let The Sunshine In” (The 5th Dimension)  #3 “Love (Can Make You Happy)” (Mercy)...and...#4 “Hair” (The Cowsills)  #5 “Oh Happy Day” (The Edwin Hawkins’ Singers)  #6 “It’s Your Thing” (The Isley Brothers)  #7 “Atlantis” (Donovan)  #8 “The Boxer” (Simon and Garfunkel)  #9 “Gitarzan” (Ray Stevens)  #10 “These Eyes” (The Guess Who)

NCAA Men’s Division I Golf Quiz Answers: 1) Only multiple winners in the 2000s: Oklahoma State, 3; Augusta State, 2; Alabama, 2.  2) Most wins in modern era: Houston, 16 (all from 1956-1985); Oklahoma State, 11; Stanford, 7.

1969 Mets, cont’d....

The 15-18 Mets traveled to Cincinnati for a weekend series against the Reds.

May 16: Mets win 10-9, as Wayne Garrett, Ed Kranepool, and Bud Harrelson had three hits apiece.  New York hit Jack Fisher hard, the former Met yielding six hits in 1 1/3.
May 17: Mets won again at Crosley Field, 11-3, Gary Gentry (3-3, 3.17) throwing a complete game despite allowing 12 hits.  Reds starter Jim Maloney would exit after facing just two hitters with an arm issue, and in keeping with old-time baseball, the previous day’s starter, Jack Fisher, came in and hurled three innings, giving up 4 runs.

1969 would be Maloney’s last full season in the majors, age 29, and he would retire with a sterling 134-84 mark.  One of those “If they only had modern sports medicine back then, he could have been a Hall of Famer” examples.

Well, the Mets-Reds contest May 18, a Sunday, was rained out, and on Monday they had an exhibition game in Memphis. 

Next Bar Chat, Thursday.

 

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