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Bar Chat

10/16/2023

College Football Review

Add-on posted early Tuesday p.m.

*Just wanted to clear the table of a few items before heading into another busy sports weekend.

MLB Playoffs

--The amazing Texas Rangers are now 7-0 in the postseason, after taking the first two of the ALCS against the Astros in Houston, 2-0 and 5-4.

Jordan Montgomery outdueled Justin Verlander in Game 1, 6 1/3 of shutout ball, Verlander giving up the two runs in 6 2/3.

In Game 2, Nate Eovaldi moved to 3-0, 2.29 in the playoffs going 6 innings, 3 runs, while the Rangers teed off on Astros starter Framber Valdez with four in the first inning and held on from there.

The series moves to Arlington for Game 3, Wednesday, and Max Scherzer is making his return from his latest injury for Texas.

--In the NLCS, Philadelphia is 6-1 in the postseason after a Game 1 5-3 triumph over the Diamondbacks, Monday, the Phillies hitting three home runs off Arizona’s Zac Gallen (Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos).  For Harper, who turned 31 the same day, he just continued to be clutch, as he is wont to do, homer No. 4 in the playoffs, while Castellanos hit his fifth, five in the last three games.

Meanwhile, Zack Wheeler did what Zack Wheeler does, give the Phillies a quality start, 6 innings, 2 earned, 8 strikeouts, no walks.

Wheeler is 43-25, 3.06, in the regular season for Philadelphia since his free agent signing, and 3-3, 2.63 in the postseason.

Boy, Mets fans wish we still had the guy.

Game 2 tonight.

--Marlins GM Kim Ng turned down the mutual option on the last year of her contract.  Owner Bruce Sherman was looking to hire a president of baseball operations over her, and Ng felt like he was constantly trying to undercut her authority.

Ng also knows Sherman is frugal, with the Marlins ranking 26th, 28th and 23rd in payroll during her three seasons with the club.

NFL

--The Chargers suffered another tough loss to the Cowboys Monday night, 20-17, falling to 2-3, all three of the losses coming by three or fewer points, including one in overtime.

More pain.  In 2021, the Chargers started 4-1 but missed the playoffs.  Last year, they blew a 27-0 lead in the wildcard playoff against Jacksonville and lost.  Coach Brandon Staley, despite all the talent, including star quarterback Justin Herbert, is 21-18.

As for the Cowboys (4-2), they bounced back from the 42-10 drubbing of the week before to the 49ers, Dak Prescott a solid 21/30, 272, 1-0, 109.3, after one of the worst performances of his career.

Dallas’ Brandon Aubrey booted a 39-yarder for the 20-17 lead with 2:19 to play, and then Herbert threw an interception…game over.

--So back to Sunday and a near-miraculous double win for the New York faithful.

The Jets (3-3) shocked the Eagles 20-14, handing Philadelphia its first loss, as the defense, with three starters in the secondary out of action, picked off Jalen Hurts three times and holding D’Andre Swift to 18 yards on 10 carries.

The Jets only had 244 yards of offense, but Greg Zuerlein booted four field goals and Zach Wilson didn’t turn the ball over.

Hurts has seven interceptions already this season, after six all of last year.

--As for the Giants (1-5), they fell one yard short, losing to the Bills in Orchard Park Sunday night in an exciting game, but a very painful ending for the Giants and their fans, a 14-9 loss.

With Daniel Jones out with a neck injury, veteran Tyrod Taylor did enough to get a ‘W,’ 24/36, 200, 80.8, and Saquon Barkley, in his return from his high-ankle sprain injury, looked good, 24 carries for 93 yards.

But the Giants were held to just three field goals, badly muffing what should have been a chippie at the end of the first half that proved fatal, as they let the clock expire.

As for the ending, Giants at the Bills 1-yard line, with one untimed play, time expiring after as the Bills were called for pass interference in the end zone, Tyrod Taylor faked a handoff to Barkley and threw a jump ball to 6-foot-6 tight end Darren Waller in the end zone.

Waller could not disengage from 5-foot-11 Taron Johnson, the ball glanced off his hand and that was it.

There was enough contact for a penalty flag but none was thrown.

It looked like interference, just as on the prior play.  NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth and rules analyst Terry McAulay both said the refs missed an obvious penalty.  The Giants should have been awarded yet another snap.  But, instead, it was game over.  A crushing loss.

--Cleveland is yielding just 200.4 yards per game, which is on pace to be the fewest since the 1970 Vikings – the Purple People Eaters.  The 3.8 yards per play allowed is on pace to be the fewest since 1977.

--Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson is likely to miss the rest of the regular season with a right shoulder injury.  Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s draft, hasn’t played since injuring the shoulder in Week 5.

--Jimmy Garoppolo (back) and Justin Fields (right thumb) are likely out for Week 7, ironically what was to be their matchup…Las Vegas in Chicago.

College Football

Saturday, it’s all about 7 Penn State at 3 Ohio State, Noon ET, FOX; and 16 Duke at 4 Florida State, 7:30, ABC.

And to a lesser extent, 11 Alabama at 17 Tennessee, to see if Bama can stay relevant.

Golf Balls

--After I posted Sunday, Tom Kim won the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas, defending his title from last year, and becoming the second-youngest to successfully defend since 1900. Kim beat Adam Hadwin by a shot.

For the 21-year-old, it was also his third PGA Tour title.  Only Gene Sarazen, Horton Smith and Tiger Woods have captured three at a younger age.  Kim is highly likable, humorous guy who is a breath of fresh air and can really take the golf world by storm and become a big crowd favorite.

College Basketball

The AP preseason men’s Top 25 was released Monday.

1. Kansas (46)
2. Duke (11)
3. Purdue (3)
4. Michigan State (1)
5. Marquette
6. UConn (2)
7. Houston
8. Creighton
9. Tennessee
10. FAU…huh
11. Gonzaga
12. Arizona
19. North Carolina
22. Villanova

St. John’s is 28, if you carry out the votes.  This is a big story in these parts, with Rick Pitino now at the helm.  I hope the Johnnies do well.

Stuff

--The Iowa women’s basketball team, led by Caitlin Clark, played an exhibition game on Sunday that drew 55,646 fans, easily surpassing the previous record of 29,619 set by Connecticut and Oklahoma in the 2002 NCAA championship game at San Antonio’s Alamodome. 

Iowa coach Lisa Bluder came up with the idea to have an outdoor game at Kinnick Stadium, yes, outdoors, temps in the 50s, but better no rain.

--We note the passing of Suzanne Somers, 76, one day shy of her 77th birthday.  Somers gained fame initially by playing a ditsy blonde on the sitcom “Three’s Company” and then by getting fired when she demanded equal pay with the series’ male star – and who later built a health and diet business empire, most notably from the ThighMaster, a workout device.

“Three’s Company” starred Somers, Joyce DeWitt and John Ritter.  By the show’s fifth season, it was one of the nation’s most popular sitcoms.  During her contract negotiations with ABC in 1980, Somers asked for a raise from $30,000 to $150,000 per episode – equal pay with Ritter, and instead of getting the raise, she was fired.

She and her husband, Alan Hamel, then made the ThighMaster one of the most recognizable products in infomercial history.

Next Bar Chat, Sun. p.m.

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[Posted early Sun. p.m. before late football action.]

Add-on up top by Tues. p.m.

NFL Quiz: Miami’s Tyreek Hill already has 651 yards receiving in five games.  It’s early, but he’s on a pace to obliterate the NFL single-season yardage record.  Name the six to have 1,800 receiving yards in a season, six different players.  Answer below.

MLB Playoffs

--Say this about the Phillies, in a year of high payrolls missing the postseason (see Mets, Yankees and Padres, for example), and 100-win teams flaming out early, the Phillies proved free agency still works…Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos.

Castellanos, who signed a five-year, $100 million contract before the 2022 season, hit two home runs in Thursday’s clinching Game 4 win, one day after doing the same in Game 3, thus becoming the first player in postseason history with back-to-back multihomer games.

Turner went 4-for-4 in Game 4, and is 12-for-24 in the playoffs.

Bryce Harper’s 10 career NLDS home runs are the most ever. Overall, Harper has a 1.017 OPS in 42 postseason games.

Philadelphia opens the NLCS at home against Arizona on Monday. 

Arizona swept the Dodgers, winning Game 3 4-2, as the D’Backs hit four home runs in the third inning against Dodgers starter Lance Lynn, who led MLB with 44 home runs allowed this year.

Lynn was only starting due to injuries and suspensions to the likes of Walker Buehler, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Julio Urias (placed on administrative leave following his domestic violence arrest).

And Clayton Kershaw and Bobby Miller were shelled in Games 1 and 2.

Mookie Betts, who will finish 1 or 2 in the NL MVP vote, went 0 for 11, and Freddie Freeman, who will finish third in the voting, went 1 for 10.  [Ronald Acuna Jr. of Atlanta, who is fighting with Betts for the award, was 2 for 14.  Matt Olson, who will finish fourth in the vote, was 4 for 16, all singles.]

For a second straight season, the Dodgers won 100 games and then flamed out in the first round of the playoffs.

Bill Plaschke / Los Angeles Times

“Sweep. Weep. Wow.

“The rich and talented and tormenting Dodgers have done it again, taking barely a step into the postseason before falling flat on their faces, shaking the foundations of franchise history with the resulting splat.

“Last October, it was a first-round humiliation by the San Diego Padres.

“This October, it is even worse.

“The Arizona Diamondbacks.  The Arizona Diamondbacks?  The Arizona Diamondbacks!

“This is a team that won 16 fewer games than the Dodgers. This is a team that scored 160 fewer runs than the Dodgers. This is a team that just swept the pants off the Dodgers….

“For the second consecutive year, and third time in five years, the Dodgers lost in their first playoff round despite winning 100 games in the regular season.

“For the first time in 17 years, they exited the postseason without winning a game.

“This is historic.  This is hellacious.  From first to worst, from 100 to zero, from great to godawful, again and again and again….

“In all, it ended as too many Octobers have ended during this annual tarnishing of what some have called the Golden Age of Dodgers baseball.

“In the last 11 years the Dodgers have captured 10 West Division titles while winning more than 100 games five times and appearing in three World Series with one Covid-19-abbreviated championship.

“Yet during five of those seasons they haven’t even been able to advance past the first round of the playoffs, a 45% failure rate with memories that will forever burn.”

--The Rangers are at Texas tonight to begin their ALCS series.  Why do playoff games at this stage still have to start at 8:15 p.m. ET!  Despite all the new rules to shorten the game, these will still go close to three hours, or more.  I’m old!  I want to go to bed!

Anyway, the Astros are in a staggering seventh straight ALCS, one short of the 1990s Braves.

Tonight, it’s Justin Verlander vs. Jordan Montgomery.

Houston eliminated Minnesota in Game 4, 3-2, Jose Abreu homering for a third time in two games, a two-run rocket in the fourth inning.  Abreu had eight RBIs in the series.

Abreu, now 36, had just a .680 OPS this season, by far the lowest of his career, but the guy did drive in 90 runs, not exactly chump change.

--As a Mets fan, I’ve told you of how we have come to admire Francisco Lindor after his rocky start in New York in 2021.

We learned this week that he had surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow, and is expected to be ready for spring training.  

The thing is, Lindor, according to league sources who told the Athletic, had the issue pop up last spring training and played the entire season with the injury!

He played in 160 games, missing only two because of side tightness in August that was expected to keep him out like ten games, at least.

Lindor played 161 games in 2022.

College Football Review…comments written prior to release of new AP Poll…

5 Oklahoma and 9 Texas were idle this week.

But looking at the rest of the Top Ten and more….

No. 1 Georgia (7-0) beat Vanderbilt (2-6) 37-20, the Commodores handily beating the spread of 32.5 points, so Vandy students partied allll night.

But for Georgia, aside from the fact quarterback Carson Beck had two turnovers, the Bulldogs lost superstar tight end Brock Bowers to what was described as a “low ankle” sprain by coach Kirby Smart, X-rays negative.

Georgia has an off week before playing rival Florida in Jacksonville at the world’s largest cocktail party.

No. 2 Michigan (your Bar Chat “Pick to Click”) is 7-0 after whipping Indiana (2-4) 52-7, the Hoosiers with four turnovers.

3 Ohio State (6-0) beat Purdue (2-5) 41-7.

4 Florida State (6-0) beat Syracuse (4-3) 41-3, outgaining the Cuse 535-261.

6 Penn State (6-0) was a 42.5-point favorite over lowly UMass (1-7), and they covered, 63-0, outgaining the Minutemen 408-109.

In the ‘Game of the Week’ with all kinds of implications, 7 Washington (6-0) stayed in the CFP hunt with a huge 36-33 win over 8 Oregon, handing the Ducks their first loss, now 5-1.

This was a thriller, Washington up 29-18 with 10:31 to go in the third, Oregon scored twice to take a 33-29 lead, but with over 12 minutes left in the game.  And then it was one key stop on both sides after another before the Huskies pulled it out on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Michael Penix Jr. to Rome Odunze (8-128-2 for the game).

But Oregon missed three times on fourth down during the game, twice inside the 10-yard line (though no one can really question the calls to give up easy field goals in the grand scheme of things…at least I can’t), and then Camden Lewis missed a 43-yard field goal, wide right, on the final play of the game to tie it for OU.

Which brings us to the big side story, the battle for the Heisman Trophy.

Before this game, forget the talk it was between Penix and Oregon’s Bo Nix halfway through the season.  USC’s Caleb Williams was on his way to repeating, assuming the Trojans could stay undefeated.

Well, I’ll get into Williams’ crash and burn in a bit, but now it is indeed between Nix and Penix.

Nix was 33/44, 337, 2-0; Penix was 22/37, 302, 4-1, but with the deciding TD pass.

I do have to mention that Oregon’s Bucky Irving had 22 carries for 127 yards, and six catches for another 34.  And receiver Troy Franklin caught eight for 154 yards.

For the Huskies, Dillon Johnson rushed 20 times for 100 yards, and aside from Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk (great name) caught six for 118 and a score.

Moving along…we come to No. 10 USC suffering its first loss, 6-1, at 21 Notre Dame (6-2), 48-20, as the aforementioned Caleb Williams had his worst game in a USC uniform, throwing three interceptions, USC with five turnovers overall, the Fighting Irish zero.

It was a huge win for Mark R.’s ND team, much needed, and for the first time, I felt happy for Sam Hartman, who didn’t need to do much, 13/20, 126, 2-0, just a flawless effort.  Audric Estime chipped in with 95 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, they had a 99-yard kickoff return, and the Notre Dame defense did the rest.

Williams had just 199 yards through the air, hopes of a repeat Heisman Trophy out the window.

11 Alabama (6-1) had to hold on to beat Arkansas (2-5), 24-21 after being up 24-6.  Jalen Milroe was only 10 for 21 at QB for Bama, but those ten completions went for 238 yards and two touchdowns.

12 North Carolina will move up some, 41-31 winners over 25 Miami (4-2) in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels now 6-0.

In a shocker, Pitt (2-4), which has been playing like crap, upset 14 Louisville (6-1) 38-21 in Pittsburgh.  Cardinals quarterback Jack Plummer had two interceptions and lost a fumble, and those turnovers proved critical as Pitt only had 288 yards of offense.  M.J. Devonshire had an 86-yard interception return for the Panthers.  Awful loss for Louisville.

15 Oregon State is 6-1 and very CFP relevant, finishing the season with Washington and Oregon, after a 36-24 win over 18 UCLA (4-2).  The Beaver faithful are pumped.

16 Utah (5-1) beat California (3-4) 34-14, the Utes still without quarterback Cam Rising.

17 Duke (5-1), finally back in action after its crushing loss to Notre Dame that seems like a month ago, beat North Carolina State (4-3) 24-3, as Jordan Walters rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown on just 13 carries.

Riley Leonard was still out with his high-ankle sprain for the Blue Devils, so Duke went with Henry Belin IV, who was only four of 12 through the air, but for 107 yards and two touchdowns.

19 Washington State (4-2) will be jettisoned from the Top 25 after a 44-6 loss at home to Arizona (4-3).

For the Wildcats, freshman quarterback Noah Fifita was a cool 34/43 for 342 yards and no turnovers.

The other No. 19, Tennessee (tied in the AP poll with Washington State), beat Texas A&M (4-3) 20-13.

The Aggies’ Jimbo Fisher is in his sixth season, with a guaranteed contract paying him $9.45 million a year through 2031, and he has zero to show for it outside of a Covid season final AP No. 5

22 LSU (5-2) beat Auburn (3-3) 48-18.  I know Tigers fans are disappointed after losses to Florida State and Ole Miss, but they have as exciting a team in the nation as any with the play of quarterback Jayden Daniels (20/27, 325, 3-1, plus 93 yards on the ground in 11 carries).  As I said before, bowl game sponsors are salivating, and with Alabama looming Nov. 4, LSU can still get into the SEC championship game.

The games that were in the Noon ET timeslot on Saturday were rather dreadful affairs, so after watching the first half of the Florida State-Syracuse game, I put on Rutgers-Michigan State, played in awful weather in Piscataway (we’ve had rain six straight weekends around these parts, and Saturday was a deluge), and was treated to a phenomenal comeback, a massive win for the Scarlet Knights (5-2).

MSU (2-4) was up 24-6 heading to the fourth quarter, the RU crowd, having had enough of their team, and the weather, leaving in droves, but they missed a 21-0 Rutgers fourth quarter as they pulled it out 27-24.  There were three turnovers on each side in the slop.

Rutgers coach Greg Schiano was highly emotional after, and for good reason.  He’s had so many games go the other way in his second go around with the school, and both Schiano, and the RU student body and alumni, desperately needed a shot in the arm like this one.

Don’t look now, but Air Force is 6-0, 11 straight over the past two seasons, after a 34-27 win over a good Wyoming team, 5-2.

In an awful loss, Friday night, Colorado (4-3) blew a 29-point halftime lead, 29-0, and ended up losing to lowly Stanford (2-4), 46-43 in double overtime.  For the Cardinal, Elic Ayomanor had a school-record 294 yards on 13 receptions, with three touchdowns.

Stanford had eight straight scoring drives, with 408 of their 523 yards in the second half and OT.

It was the largest blown lead in Colorado history and the biggest comeback for Stanford.

For Coach Prime’s crew, whose effort he questioned after they ran out to the lead, this was a massive defeat in their quest for at least six wins and a bowl game.  With their schedule the rest of the way, 6-6 is looking unlikely.

--What an ending in Houston, as the Cougars took on West Virginia (4-2) Thursday night.  WVU was down 35-24 with 7:30 to play in the fourth quarter and scored two touchdowns to take a 39-35 lead, leaving Houston with just 12 seconds left. Game over.

Until it wasn’t.  Donovan Smith threw a 49-yard Hail Mary to Stephon Johnson Jr. as time expired.

 A celebration penalty after WVU’s last touchdown helped give Houston the field position to move 57 yards in two plays.

Which leaves me with Wake Forest. I said the next two games against Virginia Tech and Pitt were critical, not just for the season, but for the direction of the program.  We’re at a crossroads.

And so we laid an egg in Blacksburg, 30-13, falling to 3-3, three straight losses and, disturbingly, three straight games with zero offense, our only touchdown coming as the result of a 96-yard kickoff return.

Coach Dave Clawson is at a loss to explain how suddenly, what was once one of the better big-play offenses in college football, for years, has gone brutally cold.  Clawson benched quarterback Mitch Griffis (I was very happy to see this), subbing longtime backup Michael Kern, and while Kern lost two fumbles, he at least threw the ball downfield and looked OK, 14/22, 166 yards.

I’m guessing Kern gets the first half against Pitt next Saturday back in Winston-Salem.  It’s more than gut-check time.  If we don’t turn around the offense, I foresee a mass exodus through the transfer portal in the offseason, and that could be deadly for Wake Football.

I never expected a great season, but 7-5, certainly 6-6, was possible and an eighth straight bowl appearance.  Today?  No way.

And now…your new AP Top 25 Poll!!!

1. Georgia (43) 7-0
2. Michigan (16) 7-0
3. Ohio State (1) 6-0
4. Florida State (1) 6-0
5. Washington (2) 6-0
6. Oklahoma 6-0
7. Penn State 6-0
8. Texas 5-1
9. Oregon 5-1…just down 1
10. North Carolina 6-0…wow
11. Alabama 6-1
12. Oregon State 6-1…Beavs!
13. Ole Miss 5-1
14. Utah 5-1
15. Notre Dame 6-2…up 6
16. Duke 5-1
17. Tennessee 5-1
18. USC 6-1…down 8
19. LSU 5-2
20. Missouri 6-1
21. Louisville 6-1…down 7
22. Air Force 6-0…Zooooommmm
23. Tulane 5-1
24. Iowa 6-1
25. UCLA 4-2

James Madison next, if you carry out the votes.  Dolly is calling all her friends.

Among next week’s highlight games…a titanic one in terms of the CFP, 7 Penn State at 3 Ohio State.  Also 16 Duke at 4 Florida State.

NFL

--Daniel Jones was ruled out for the Giants against the Bills in Buffalo Sunday night, one week after suffering a neck injury in the team’s loss to Miami last weekend.  So former Bill Tyrod Taylor gets the call.

--As I go to post, the Jets are hosting the Eagles without three starters from their secondary, including Sauce Gardner.  Could be ugly. [But Aaron Rodgers was miraculously on the field pregame throwing the football, one month after tearing his Achilles.  He has vowed to return by season’s end.]

--In early games, the game I watched half of, Seattle at Cincinnati, the Bengals evened their record at 3-3 with a 17-13 win over the Seahawks (3-2), despite the Cincy offense only generating 214 yards!  For Seattle, Geno Smith threw for 323 yards but was picked off twice and the Cincy defense stopped Seattle inside the 10-yard-line on four downs late in the game to clinch it.

Baltimore (4-2) beat Tennessee (2-4) in London, 24-16 this morning.

Washington (3-3) beat Atlanta (3-3) on the road by the same 24-16.

Steve G.’s Jaguars are 4-2 after a 37-20 win over the Colts (3-3), despite just 233 yards of offense.  The Jacksonville ‘D’ picked off Gardner Minshew 3 times and he lost a fumble.

The Dolphins improved to 5-1, 42-21 victors over the winless Panthers (0-6), as Tua threw three touchdown passes, Tyreek Hill adding to his above-noted monster start, six receptions, 163 yards and a score, while Raheem Mostert rumbled for 115 yards and two TDs on just 17 carries.

And in the just-completed 49ers at Browns contest, San Francisco a 9.5-point favorite going in, Cleveland had the ball, down 17-16, shockingly, down to the San Fran 14, 2:00 left, Cleveland only getting this far because of two huge 49ers penalties.

Hopkins ends up kicking a field goal, 19-17 Cleveland, but there is still 1:40 left for San Fran and Brock Purdy, who has had a miserable afternoon, just 9/20 for 83 yards and an interception.

To paraphrase the great Karl Malden “What will he do?”

And then FOX switched over to the Jets?!  [DRAT!]  NFL f’n rules!

But then FOX wised up and went split-screen, so we saw the ending.

Purdy drove San Fran down quickly for a 41-yard field goal attempt to win, and rookie Jake Moody missed it!

Trader George’s Browns pulling off the upset.  Who wudda thunk it!

--Thursday, Kansas City moved to 5-1 with an immensely boring 19-8 win over the pathetic Broncos (1-5).  Travis Kelce had nine receptions for 124 yards, thus pleasing Taylor Swift, sitting in a luxury box with her friends, including new BFF Brittany Mahomes.

For Denver, Russell Wilson needed 22 pass attempts, 13 completions, to get all of 95 yards and he threw two interceptions.

The less said about this game the better.

--The great Dallas Cowboy Walt Garrison died.  He was 79.  This guy epitomized the Tom Landry era teams. 

Garrison led the Big 8 in rushing as an Oklahoma State Cowboy, then became a Dallas Cowboy, winning a Super Bowl, and in the NFL offseason competed as a rodeo cowboy.

As in, he was a Cowboy!

A fifth-round pick out of OSU, Garrison played nine years in Dallas, 1966-74, rushing for 3,886 yards, a 4.3 average, 30 touchdowns, and he became an effective receiver as the screen pass was popularized, 182 receptions for 1,794 yards and another nine scores.

Garrison had 74 yards rushing in the 1971 Super Bowl, Roger Staubach leading Dallas to a 24-3 victory over Miami.

He would parlay his rodeo career, and NFL status, into a long-running commercial for Skoal Smokeless Tobacco.

--The New York Post had an extensive piece on Pat McAfee, of “The Pat McAfee Show.”

McAfee, a former All-Pro punter with the Colts, is able to attract big celebs, and “Aaron Rodgers Tuesdays” and “Nick Saban Thursdays” have become staples of his program.

But the Post learned McAfee “spends millions to procure these interviews.”

Rodgers is receiving more than seven figures per year to come on the show each week, according to sources, while Saban is in that neighborhood.

McAfee has his five-year deal for around $85 million from ESPN to pay people that help the business.

“Aaron has made over $1,000,000 with us, for sure,” McAfee told The Post.

The figures may be eye-popping but aren’t unusual.  Baseball managers from Joe Torre to Joe Girardi and Aaron Boone, have routinely done “exclusive” audio spots in the $250,000 neighborhood – deals with radio stations or, in Boone’s case this year, with Jomboy’s Yankee podcast.

Eli Manning used to make around $125,000 to appear for 15-to-20 minutes on WFAN.

McAfee said his company’s valuation has gone from $2 to $5 million, to $500 million in just a few years, thanks to the deals he’s cut.

Golf Balls

--There was a lot of grumbling among PGA Tour players when Lexi Thompson was granted a sponsor’s exemption for the Shriners Children’s Open, thus becoming only the seventh woman golfer to tee it up in a PGA Tour event.  Thompson, after all, was taking away a valuable spot for an existing Tour player, those not in the top 125 on the points list desperately needing late-season opportunities to break through.

But Thompson held her own, shooting a 73-69, even-par, and missing the cut by three.  Her playing partners were duly impressed.  No woman has made the cut since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945.

Thompson pounded 300-yard drives.  Her driving average ranked 116th for the week.  And she hit 20 of 28 fairways.

Thompson said from the beginning playing this week was about more than golf.  It was about inspiring the next generation – especially Shriners kids – to pursue their dreams.

And the galleries were huge…much bigger than normal because of her presence.

So therein lies a potential opening for the PGA Tour.  Each fall season, say in five or six events, allow one or two LPGA Tour players who meet certain criteria the opportunity to play.

Meanwhile, over the weekend…as we entered play today for the final round, we had a three-way tie at the top…

Tom Kim -15
Adam Hadwin -15
Lanto Griffin -15

This one won’t finish until about 8:00 PM ET tonight and I will have long posted, but Ryder Cupper Ludvig Aberg shot a 62 to find himself tied for the lead at -16, again, however, very early in the round for the leaders.  But good for Aberg.

--LIV Golf’s application to receive Official World Golf Ranking points has been denied. The OWGR board sent LIV Golf officials, including LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, the notice Tuesday morning. Sources had originally told Golf Digest that the Saudi-backed league had faced questions over its “competitive integrity,” and it appears questions remain.  According to Global Golf Post, the OWGR cited two broad areas for its decision: The 54-hole, no-cut format of 48-player fields, and both the limited access for players to join LIV and limited relegation for players who underperform.

“The important point is, this is not about the players, LIV players are self-evidently good enough to be ranked; there is no doubt about that,” Peter Dawson, chairman of the OWGR board, told GGP.  “This is about, should a tour whose formats are so different and whose qualification criteria are so different, can they be ranked equitably with other tours who conform to the OWGR norm and have more competition to them than perhaps the closed shop that is LIV?”

I totally agree.

With the decision, LIV Golf members will have to resort to local and sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open and Open championship, with their avenues to the Masters and PGA Championship fields likely restricted.

In a statement, LIV Golf said the decision shows the OWGR “can no longer deliver” on the objective of ranking the best players in the world.

Blah blah blah. “LIV will continue to strive to level set the market so fans, broadcasters, and sponsors have the assurance of an independent and objective ranking system and the pure enjoyment of watching the best golf in the world.”

Best golf in the world?!  They all took the money for a different deal.  They made their bed.

Michael Rosenberg / SI.com

“If this surprises anybody on the LIV Tour, it is their own fault.

“LIV is an enterprise built on naked self-interest that only the participants refuse to acknowledge.  Players went purely for the money, but Greg Norman convinced himself they share his vision for a world tour. PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan primarily wants to be a big shot in golf and to spread his country’s money around in very public ways, but Norman and some of his players seem convinced Al-Rumayyan cares more about saving LIV.

“Many LIV players were convinced that OWGR would have to give LIV points, because their tour has a few top players who clearly deserve them.  This was delusional.  Pretty much nobody in golf’s establishment wanted LIV around.  OWGR leaders are not just making up the rules as it goes along in an attempt to punish LIV Golf.  It isn’t necessary. The rules as written make it very easy to punish LIV Golf.

“Exceptions can be granted under certain conditions – Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge has one – but there was never a real chance LIV would get one.

“If the Tour deal falls apart, LIV will still ultimately prevail in the rankings fight.  It will find some way for players who do not have guaranteed deals to qualify for LIV events.  It can add cuts if need be.  It can tweak or even eliminate the team format.  LIV can eliminate every reason to prevent LIV from getting pints – but even then, the OWGR board will take its sweet time granting approval….

“Fair or not, this was the life they chose….

“LIV players lost again Tuesday.  Now all they can do is complain about being denied fair access to competition – and hope nobody sees the irony.”

Eamon Lynch / Golfweek

“After the OWGR announcement, Phredo Mickelson swung by social media to peddle conspiracy theories so specious that one loses IQ points just by reading them, all while conveniently ignoring the problematic structure of LIV….

“Leaving aside the smug gibberish you’d expect from the smartest guy ever to be bailed out by butchers, it’s unsurprising that he clings to some mysterious master plan that we’re all too dumb to grasp.  The bill of goods that Norman sold in public, Mickelson pitched to players in private: LIV guys could cherry-pick events from other tours; they would be eligible for majors; they would be hailed as innovators.  Instead, the courts said no, the majors said ‘earn it’ and public opinion said they are pawns for sportswashing.  The only legitimacy LIV can boast was conferred upon it via the Framework Agreement by the very tours it sought to topple.

“The position argued by LIV and a few of its players on ranking points is grounded in the same trait that drew many to its ranks: entitlement.  They’re entitled to enormous compensation that the open market has never considered feasible. They’re entitled to job security, regardless of performance. They’re entitled to entry into the most meaningful events on name recognition alone.  They’re entitled to be ranked among the world’s best golfers despite almost never measuring themselves against the best. They’re entitled to be accommodated by a system they simultaneously deride as obsolete.”

Meanwhile, Brooks Koepka won the last regular LIV event in Jeddah today with a playoff victory over Talor Gooch, who claimed the lucrative season-long individual title.

--Byeong Hun An has been suspended from the PGA Tour for three months due to an anti-doping policy violation, according to a statement released Wednesday.

According to the Tour, An tested positive for a banned substance that was “contained in a cough medicine available over the counter in his native Korea.”  The Tour also stated that An has “cooperated fully” and will be eligible to return to play on Dec. 1.

An wrote that he used the over-the-counter medication once and never intended to “gain a competitive advantage.”  He said he didn’t check the contents.  An added: “I regret not being more thorough in my decision-making and take full responsibility for my actions.”

I’ve always thought he seemed like a good guy (of course what do we really know about any of them), and he’s handled this well.

Stuff

--No Premier League play this weekend as we have European Championship qualifying action instead.

In Men’s College Soccer, kind of out of nowhere, because this was supposed to be a ‘down’ season for Wake Forest, we are No. 4 in the latest Coaches Poll, and after this was released we beat No. 14 North Carolina, 1-0, so we’ll remain at least No. 4 in the next poll released late Tuesday.

1. Marshall
2. UCF
3. Akron
4. WFU
5. Georgetown
6. SMU
7. West Virginia
8. Notre Dame
9. Stanford
10. Syracuse…defending champs
11. Pitt
14. North Carolina
15. Duke
21. Clemson

ACC!  ACC! ACC!

--The Kansas Jayhawks’ men’s basketball program and coach Bill Self won’t face any additional serious punishment stemming from the FBI’s 2017 investigation into college basketball, the Independent Resolution Panel ruled Wednesday.

As part of Wednesday’s ruling, the Jayhawks were placed on a three-year probation and will have to vacate its 2018 Final Four appearance and wins from that season due to Silvio de Sousa’s participation. The program, however, was not given a postseason ban and Self and assistant coach Kurtis Townsend will face no further suspension.

Kansas self-imposed sanctions last November, suspending Self and Townsend for the first four games of the 2022-23 season.  Self and Townsend were also barred from off-campus recruiting for four months from April through July 2022.

This all goes back to the Adidas scandal of 2019, where Kansas was accused by the NCAA of using Adidas to gain an illegal advantage in recruiting, which they did!  This was how de Sousa was involved, $20,000 going to his guardian.

But you know how I feel about expunging records.  It blows!  The games were already played.  Give Reggie Bush his Heisman back, too, while I’m at it.

--John Anderson’s review in the Wall Street Journal of Ken Burns’ two-night, four-hour “The American Buffalo” documentary on PBS this week.

“As recounted…an Irish peer named Sir St. George Gore embarked on a hunting trip to the American West in the mid-1850s, bringing along 50 people, six wagons, 21 carts, 112 horses and 50 dogs.  He spent about a quarter of a million dollars enroute to killing 1,500 elk, 2,000 deer, more than 1,000 antelope, 500 bear and 4,000 bison.  He was so ‘wanton,’ we are told, he even offended the frontiersmen who spent their days butchering wildlife.  When he attempted to breach the Black Hills of South Dakota, the tribes there told him to go, or fight.”

And so for good reason ‘Man’ has never sniffed the Top Ten of the All-Species List, now No. 486 and dropping like a rock after this week’s barbarism.

The noble, albeit stupid, ‘Buffalo’ is No. 84 on the ASL, ‘Dog’ still No. 1, of course.

--We note the passing of Rudolph Isley of the Isley Brothers, singer and co-writer of many of their greatest hits.  He was 84, dying in his sleep, his brother Ernie said, adding that he was unaware of any health issues his brother might have had.

Isley spent much of his three decades with the Isley Brothers harmonizing with his brother O’Kelly in support of Ronald Isley’s lead vocals.  But he also sang lead on some notable tracks, such as “I’ve Got to Get Myself Together” recorded in 1969.

For the Isleys, it all started back in 1959 with “Shout,” and among their other hits were the enduring political anthem “Fight the Power,” as well as Top 10 hits “It’s Your Thing” and “That Lady.”

Sixteen of the Isley Brothers’ albums cracked the Billboard Top 40, 13 were certified gold and nine went platinum or multiplatinum.

In 1989, Rudolph Isley retired from the mainstream music industry to pursue his long-deferred dream of a career in the ministry, although he continued to sing in church.  He and his brothers were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

Rudolph Isley was born on April 1, 1939, in Cincinnati, the second of six sons of Sallye (Bell) and O’Kelly Isley.  He began singing in church as a child, and during his teen years he and three of the other older Isleys performed together and toured locally.

The eldest brother, Vernon, was the lead, but he was killed at age 13 when the bicycle he was riding was struck by a car, and Ronald became the lead singer.

They were very young when they moved to New York to pursue a record deal. Soon they came out with “Shout,” acknowledged as a rock ‘n’ roll classic, immortalized in “Animal House” and other movies.

For a brief time in 1964, the Isley Brothers’ band included a young guitarist named Jimmy James, who would later be known as Jimi Hendrix.

Personally, I loved their ballads from the 1970s, such as “For the Love of You.”  And their 1966 hit “This Old Heart of Mine,” #12 Billboard, was a big dance tune for us at Wake Forest.

Top 3 songs for the week 10/13/73:  #1 “Half-Breed” (Cher) #2 “Ramblin Man” (The Allman Brothers Band…great tune…)  #3 “Let’s Get It On” (Marvin Gaye)…and…#4 “Higher Ground” (Stevie Wonder)  #5 “Angie” (The Rolling Stones)  #6 “That Lady” (Isley Brothers…rather ironic…)  #7 “Loves Me Like  A Rock” (Paul Simon)  #8 “Midnight Train To Georgia” (Gladys Knight & The Pips)  #9 “Keep On Truckin’” (Eddie Kendricks) #10 “We’re An American Band” (Grand Funk…B+ week…)

NFL Quiz Answer: Six with 1,800 receiving yards in a season….

Calvin Johnson, 2012, DET, 1,964
Cooper Kupp, 2021, LAR, 1,947
Julio Jones, 2015, ATL, 1,871
Jerry Rice, 1995, SFO, 1,848
Antonio Brown, 2015, PIT, 1,834
Justin Jefferson, 2022, MIN, 1,809

7. Isaac Bruce, 1995, STL, 1,781
8. Charley Hennigan, 1961, HOU, 1,746

Ah yes, just another excuse to get Hennigan into the conversation.  George Blanda was his quarterback that season, Blanda starting 11 of the 14 games, 36 touchdown passes; Jacky Lee the other three, as the Oilers beat San Diego for the AFL Championship.

Hennigan had 82 receptions, 21.3 avg., 12 touchdowns.

Brief Add-on up top by Tuesday evening.

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