Baseball Quiz: 1) Who am I? I hold the major league record for leading the league in grounded into double plays, I’m still active, a former MVP, 300 career home runs. 2) Who is the only player to ground into four double plays in a game? [Hint: Well-known name, modern era, not active, former batting champion, but not in Hall of Fame.] 3) Who holds the record for most consecutive stolen bases with 50, over two seasons? [Hint: Not Rickey Henderson, modern era.] 4) Who holds the all-time record for steals of home with 54? Answers below.
D-Day…June 6, 1944
General Dwight David Eisenhower
Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!
You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.
Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.
But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!
I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!
Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.
[On June 6, Ike issued this statement that was broadcast by Allied radios in London]
People of western Europe: A landing was made this morning on the coast of France by troops of the Allied Expeditionary Force. This landing is part of the concerted United Nations plan for the liberation of Europe, made in conjunction with your great Russian allies.
Although the initial assault may not be made in your own country, the hour of your liberation is approaching….
This past March, Leonard G. “Bud” Lomell, a hero of D-Day, died at the age of 91. It was on the morning of June 6, 1944, that Lomell and fellow members of the Army’s 2nd Ranger Battalion landed on the beaches of Normandy below Pointe du Hoc, the high promontory from which German artillery could fire on American landing zones.
As reported by Chelsea Michels of USA TODAY and APP.com:
“The Rangers used grappling hooks and rope to scale the 100-foot cliff as German troops fired down on them. Sgts. Lomell and Jack Kuhn found the German’s artillery and destroyed the guns with grenades and by smashing their sites, before enemy soldiers could use them. They destroyed the guns just minutes before the Allied landings were set to begin.”
Historian Stephen Ambrose once noted that had the guns not been knocked out, “they could have lobbed their huge shells onto the 5,000 ships in the English Channel and the thousands of troops and equipment on Utah and Omaha Beaches.
“Ambrose called Lomell the one individual other than Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who made D-Day a success for the Allies.”
In Tom Brokaw’s “The Greatest Generation,” he includes Lomell’s recounting of his landing:
“As they were landing, Lomell felt a sharp pain in his lower back. He was sure another Ranger with whom he had been arguing the day before had hit him. He turned and gave the guy a whack. Lomell still laughs when he recalls how the other Ranger was stunned, saying ‘What’s that all about? I did nothing to you.’
“Lomell didn’t realize until later that, in fact, he’d been shot through the right side. He kept going despite the wound.”
Lomell earned the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second-highest military honor, for his actions on D-Day. He also received a Silver Star for his heroism days before the Battle of the Bulge.
French Open
Having stopped Novak Djokovic’s 41-straight match victory streak to start the 2011 season (43 going back to last year) in the semifinals of the French Open, Roger Federer faced off against rival Rafael Nadal for the title, Nadal having dispatched Andy Murray of Britain in his semi match.
And once again, Nadal prevailed for his sixth French Open title, four against Federer, winning 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-1. Nadal is 45-1 at Roland Garros, and 17-8 against Federer. In Grand Slam finals, Nadal is 6-2 against him.
Nadal now has 10 Grand Slam titles and reached the figure six months before Federer did when he won his 10th of 16.
Federer is 14-1 in Grand Slam finals against opponents other than Nadal. Federer lost to Nadal once at Wimbledon and once at the Australian Open. He defeated Nadal twice at Wimbledon for his two wins.
And congratulations to China’s Li Na, who became the first Chinese player, man or woman, to win a Grand Slam singles title when she defeated defending French Open champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy. With the win, Li moves up to No. 4 in the world rankings. Needless to say, she is an instant national hero.
But I didn’t realize Li had broken away from the Chinese government’s sports system in late 2008 under an experimental reform policy for tennis players. As reported by the AP’s Howard Fendrich:
“Li was given the freedom to choose her own coach and schedule and to keep much more of her earnings: Previously, she turned over 65% to the authorities; now it’s 12%.”
Li is 29 and Schiavone turns 31 later this month, which made for the oldest combined ages of French Open women’s finalists since 1986.
Ball Bits
—Alex Rodriguez is really a fascinating guy, which is why we have so much fun with him. I mean sometimes he’s a total idiot. Such is the case with his cousin, Yuri Sucart. You remember Yuri…the guy who was banned by Major League Baseball in 2009 from the Yankees clubhouse, charter flights, bus and other team-related activities after A-Rod admitted he used steroids while with Texas from 2000-03, saying Sucart obtained and injected the drugs for him.
So last week, Sucart was seen in San Francisco after the Yankees’ game with Oakland, at the team hotel, and reports indicated he has been on other trips with Rodriguez.
Well, the commissioner’s office let A-Rod off the hook, saying Sucart didn’t violate any ban, and A-Rod said, “There’s no rules that have been broken. He stays at his own place, and the team is fully aware (of where he is). He’s not on the team bus, he’s not on the team plane, he’s not in the clubhouse and he’s not at the stadiums. So we’re complying with all the rules. Everyone’s kosher with it. I’m just excited that this is behind us now and everyone checked it off their list.”
So A-Rod then said how much he loved his family, and Yuri is part of it, blah blah blah. See the guy in the offseason, A-Rod, if you love him that much. Can you really be that stupid?
Now read between the lines of what manager Joe Girardi said.
“I know there’s history there. [Yeah, real, real bad history, Joe.] But I think it’s important, as people, that we don’t turn our back on family. I mean, we’ve all had family members – or it could have even been us – that have done things that haven’t necessarily been the right thing to do. But I didn’t really think much of it.”
“When Alex Rodriguez was doing his mea culpa about steroids in Tampa a few spring trainings ago, I must have missed the part about what a deep bond he had with Cousin Yuri, the guy he says was helping him get the juice and use it.
“But now we discover that the two of them are closer than Prince Will and Prince Harry.
“Family ties are a beautiful thing, but the more A-Rod hangs around with his cousin, the more he returns the subject to performance-enhancing drugs.
“If he’s comfortable with that, good for him, maybe he can get Yuri into the line for Old-Timers’ Day.”
–But what’s this? A-Rod and Cameron Diaz have split? The two had been an item since Feb. 2010. A source told Perez Hilton, “[Cameron is] hurt and betrayed, because she tried so hard to please him…She went overboard.”
–If you aren’t from the New York area, you probably aren’t aware of the Mets recent history with injuries; as in the team’s medical staff is often so poor in its diagnoses, you sometimes wonder if they got their training during the time when using leeches was a cure-all for everything that ailed you. And it’s all compounded by the fact that there is an amazing lack of communication between team officials and the docs.
The latest case in point, third baseman David Wright, who has been out about three weeks with a stress fracture in his back. The Mets thought he could return this coming week, after a little rehab, the team believing that when the doctor said it would take six weeks for the stress fracture to heal, that meant six weeks from the time of the injury, which is believed to be three weeks before he was diagnosed. But the doctor meant six weeks from the time of the diagnosis.
I mean this is comical. No one in the organization bothered to ask a pretty simple question.
“Do you mean six weeks from your diagnosis or six weeks from the time of the injury?”
And earlier you had the case of first baseman Ike Davis who suffered what seemed to be a pretty simple ankle sprain on May 10 and was placed on the 15-day disabled list. Now he’s walking around in a boot, the ankle isn’t getting better, and he’ll be back no earlier than July it would seem.
Trust me, this only happens with the Mets. So if you are looking for a new physician, and you see on the office wall that they’ve worked with the team, tear out of the place as quick as you can. Treat yourself online.
“This is the anti-Lourdes. At this point, you can imagine every paper cut around the Mets eventually leading to infection, gangrene and amputation.”
–Through Sunday’s performance, Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay has now gone 98 starts (including three in the postseason) without walking more than three batters in a game.
–The New York Post’s Joel Sherman said it’s not just stricter testing for performance-enhancing drugs that is the reason for scoring in major league baseball being down a fifth straight year, though Sherman found advocates for that stance. One veteran A.L. scout told him, “Lack of juice in the veins” was the cause, while another added in an email, “PEDs. Period.”
The steroid era is generally thought to be 1994-2006. In 2006, the runs per game average was 9.72. It has dropped annually since then to 8.45 entering this weekend.
“If the .252 major-league-wide batting average holds, it will be the lowest since the pre-DH 1972 season. We are looking at the first sub-.400 (.390) slugging percentage in the sport since 1992. You would have to go back to 1988 to find an on-base percentage lower than the current .320.”
But aside from the PEDs issue, what else is contributing? Better pitching. The MLB ERA of 3.86 would be the first time under 4.00 if it holds since 1992, though as one scout told Sherman, “Guys don’t mishit balls out of stadiums anymore like the muscle freaks did, so now pitchers are more willing to work over the plate rather than nibble and either walk guys or work in bad counts and pitch count themselves out of games.”
Teams are valuing pitching more, too, in terms of developing prospects.
Back to hitting, the MLB batting average of .252 has plummeted each year since 2006 from .269, a rather significant difference.
Lastly, you cannot discount the impact three new stadiums have had – Nationals Park, Citi Field and Target Field – graveyards for hitters, compared to all the hitter-friendly parks that opened from 1992-2004, such as Camden Yards, Coors Field, The Ballpark in Arlington, Chase Field, Miller Park, Minute Maid Park, Great American Ballpark and Citizens Bank Park.
Then again, you have the New Yankee Stadium…a bandbox.
—San Francisco Giants GM Brian Sabean initially didn’t fault the Marlins’ Scott Cousins for his collision at home plate on May 25 that resulted in a season-ending injury to Giants catcher Buster Posey.
Now Sabean has changed his tune and is showing an incredible lack of class, saying on a San Francisco radio show that the contact was “malicious.” Sabean also said he didn’t blame Posey for refusing to return an apologetic phone call.
“If I never hear from Cousins again or he never plays another game in the big leagues, I think we’ll all be happy.”
Sabean left little doubt his team was planning on exacting on-field revenge against Cousins.
–Monday is baseball’s amateur draft. USA TODAY Sports Weekly listed the prospective top picks, including:
1. Pittsburgh…Danny Hultzen, LHP, Virginia
2. Seattle…Gerrit Cole, RHP, UCLA
3. Arizona…Anthony Rendon, 3B, Rice
4. Baltimore…Dylan Bundy, RHP, Owasso (Okla.) H.S.
5. Kansas City…Bubba Starling, OF, Gardner-Edgerton (Kan.) H.S.
Meanwhile, Jeff B., UConn players George Springer, OF, and Matt Barnes, RHP, are projected to go Nos. 10 and 12 in the first round, though Barnes got shelled by Coastal Carolina in the first round of College World Series play.
And as the Wall Street Journal’s Jeff Pearlman reported:
“Interestingly…of the nine players drafted third overall between 1999 and 2007, only one – Evan Longoria, the All-Star third baseman picked third by Tampa Bay in 2006 – has panned out. The others form a baffling conga line of busts: Luis Montanez, Dewon Braelton, Chris Gruler, Kyle Sleeth [Ed. former Wake Forest hurler], Phil Humber, Jeff Clement and Josh Vitters.”
–From the AP: “A 13-year-old Arizona boy died after a baseball hit him over the heart as he tried to bunt in a Little League game, officials said.
“Hayden Walton went for the bunt during a game Tuesday night in the close-knit northern Arizona city of Winslow, said Jamey Jones, a Winslow Little League official.
“ ‘He took an inside pitch right in the chest,’ Jones said Friday. ‘After that he took two steps to first base and collapsed.’
“The boy’s parents, who were at the game, were shocked and unable to speak to members of the media.”
—Best home team in baseball this year? Milwaukee… 21-7…plus you got the sausage thing goin’ there.
–Minnesota’s Joe Mauer, he of the gazillion dollar contract, has played all of nine games for the Twins this year due to injury. His primary replacement at catcher, Drew Butera, is hitting .144. That’s good, Drew. But did you know the point is to hit the baseball?
–My two favorite players, Adam Dunn and Ichiro, couldn’t be doing worse. Ichiro is in the worst slump of his career and hitting .260, while Dunn, signed by the White Sox in the offseason, is hitting .178, and just .116 at home! Aside from the fact he has fanned 75 times in 180 ABs, he is 1 for 42 against lefthanders. Eegads.
—Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, 1941, continued…
Game 21…June 5…Detroit…1 for 5…1 RBI
Game 22…June 7…St. Louis…3 for 5…1 RBI
Game 23…June 8 (1)…St. Louis…2 for 4…2 HR 4 RBI
Game 24…June 8 (2)…St. Louis…2 for 4…1 HR 3 RBI
–I’m posting this before the conclusion of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, and I really hope Miami loses, just as they did in Game 2…up 88-73 with seven minutes to go before the Mavs and Dirk Nowitzki closed it out with a 22-5 run.
—Shaquille O’Neal announced his retirement right after I posted my last column but in looking at his career, two things stand out aside from the fact he was a lousy free-throw shooter (.527 for his career). The guy was certainly dominant in his prime, averaging at least 26 points per game in seasons 2 thru 11, but he was hurt even more than I would have thought. In only 7 of his 19 seasons did he play at least 70 games. That’s pathetic.
But no doubt when he first burst on the scene it was a happening anytime Shaq was in town. He was so big that I dragged my father to a Nets game once to see Shaq when he was with the Magic and my dad hadn’t been to an NBA game since the 1960s. If I remember Shaq wasn’t that impressive that night and what my father remembers most was how loud it was in the arena, not because the crowd was going nuts but because the freakin’ sound system had to be blasting at full volume!!! What a damn nightmare. This was when the NBA was at its very worst. The attitude was, the product totally blows so let’s just crank up the music, which was hideous stuff to begin with.
One thing is for sure about Shaq, though, he’s a good guy and was great for the sport. In fact a few weeks ago I was with my Newark buddies and one of them who knows Shaq well, Shaq being a Newark native, told me how he got Shaq to give his mother a big hug, thus fulfilling one of Mary’s dreams. This was in the last two years and after a Nets game, Mub (my friend) got Shaq to come over to their seats and he hugged Mary and I swear, she’s still on cloud nine.
Mike Wise / Washington Post…who covered Shaq for years and coauthored his autobiography:
“The comedy during the season will be missed. That indomitable force inside will be missed. Mostly, though, the decent, authentic person Shaq was as a superstar is gone forever.
“O’Neal is the most famous athlete I have ever covered who never lost his common touch, his ability to connect with anyone, irrespective of whether he owned his own company or needed a meal and a place to sleep.
“When LeBron, Carmelo and the next generation learn that, they, too, will learn what it is to be an ambassador for something larger than their own brands.
“Here’s wishing the Big Humanity a peaceful, happy retirement.”
–The Knicks let go of president (general manager) Donnie Walsh, a classy guy, though Madison Square Garden and Walsh acted like he resigned due to health reasons. All fans are in agreement, Walsh should have stayed, but he will quietly fade into the sunset, Walsh not wanting to create a stir. Owner James Dolan is one of the true jerks in all of sports and now Knicks fans are having nightmares, Isiah Thomas flashbacks. Headline in the Daily News on Saturday:
“Nightmare on 33rd Street! Knicks fans trembling in fear over possible return of hated Isiah Thomas”
Thomas, when questioned about his potential return by ESPN on Friday said, “Never say never about anything.”
“Thomas, like some rogue spirit lurking in the Garden rafters, haunts the championship dreams of Knicks fans. He was fired in 2008 after turning the team into a league-wide laughingstock.
“The Knicks failed to win a single playoff game during the Thomas era, and he was named in a sexual harassment suit that ended with an $11.6 million payment to ex-Knicks executive Anucha Browne Sanders.”
But Isiah’s still in the conversation thanks to his buddy, James Dolan.
—Charles Barkley’s top five all-time NBA players, as told to the New York Post’s Steve Serby.
“Because he loves his players and his players love him. And as a player, I just want my coach to have my back. If I can count on my coach and he’s never going to lie to me, that’s all I can ask for as a player.”
–I caught the last two periods and that rather short overtime of Saturday’s Canucks-Bruins Stanley Cup Final, Game 2. That’s hockey at its best.
Barkley also said that once good friend Tiger Woods has not talked to Charles or their other good buddy, Michael Jordan, since Tiger’s accident. Serby asked of Charles, “Have you tried?”
“He changed his number. We haven’t changed our numbers….I wonder who his friends are. We’re only concerned about him and you don’t want him to think he’s alone or everybody’s against him. We want him to know we’re going to be his friend no matter what. We don’t judge each other.”
—Steve Stricker, one of the truly good guys in all of sports, won his 10th career PGA Tour title in taking the Memorial this weekend. 7 of his wins have been while in his 40s.
—Augusta State won its second straight NCAA Division I Men’s golf championship, this time over Georgia.
“Here is a man who made a multimillion-dollar living off what once was a sterling reputation, speaking and coaching and writing about the importance of integrity and honesty and doing the right thing. (And winning a few football games, too.) At the same time, as we now know, he was lying and cheating and deceiving his bosses as well as an entire state of loyal college football fans – possibly for years, if published reports are accurate.
“Where I come from, which happens to be Ohio, there’s a term for someone like that:
“A fraud. Or, if you prefer, a phony.
“It’s the person who says one thing and does another, who tells others how to live their lives, in this case through his religious books and speeches, while cutting corners and gaming the system when no one is looking.
“So the anger must be palpable in the heartland, one of the last places in the nation where honest, hardworking people truly know right from wrong, right?
“Listen to Ohio Gov. John Kasich, an Ohio State alumnus. On Tuesday, the day after Tressel was forced to resign, he told reporters he was ‘saddened’ and ‘upset’ that the Buckeyes head coach was gone, calling him a ‘terrific person.’
“Then there was Jack Nicklaus, another OSU alum, who offered up quite the spirited defense of Tressel in a news conference at his Memorial golf tournament Tuesday.
“ ‘My take on it is that it was no different than a father trying to protect his son,’ Nicklaus told reporters. ‘And if I had one of my kids that did what I thought was a fairly insignificant thing, I’d probably say, you know, ‘Hey, we’re not going to worry too much about that. We’re going to try to just forget that.’’….
“Are you beginning to wonder who exactly was answering these questions? Could it really be a man who is the paragon of virtue in a sport in which the athletes call penalties on themselves? We know Nicklaus liked Tressel. Who didn’t? I knew him and liked him, too. He was an extremely likable guy.
“But why should that matter anymore? Isn’t the magnitude of the Tressel deception, so well-chronicled throughout the sports media, including the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, worthy of at least a whiff of exasperation from an OSU alum? Either a rule is a rule, or it’s not. What’s with all the praise and excuses? Whatever happened to something like this: ‘I respected Jim Tressel, I feel terrible for him, but I know nothing about this, so I can’t say another word?’”
Meanwhile, OSU quarterback Terrelle Pryor was seen driving a sports car to a team meeting on Monday after Coach Tressel’s resignation. Only one problem. Pryor’s driving privileges in Ohio have been suspended for 90 days because he failed to produce proof of insurance when pulled over for a stop-sign violation in Columbus. As ESPN.com reported:
“Pryor received repeated requests to appear in traffic court to show that he had valid insurance before he eventually paid a $141 fine and court costs on April 2. But Ohio authorities say he has never produced proof of insurance.”
Pryor’s driving privileges are to be suspended through Aug. 18.
–Incredibly, Fifa, soccer’s governing board, re-elected Sepp Blatter as president, meaning the 75-year-old serves another four years until 2015. England’s Football Association, which tried to take down Blatter amidst all the corruption allegations flying around, is now isolated as the vote was 172 to 17 with 17 abstentions. Amazing. Ireland, Wales and Northern Ireland voted against England.
–I watched some of the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday, including the women’s 800 and the American debut of Caster Semenya, the woman who had to sit out nearly a year while she awaited results of gender testing following her win in the 800 at the 2009 world championships. The IAAF – the sport’s international governing body – citing privacy issues, never did release the results of the testing. Semenya finished second in the Pre.
–We note the passing of Hall of Fame running back John Henry Johnson, a member of the San Francisco 49ers’ “Million Dollar Backfield” of the 1950s and 1960s. Johnson played with the 49ers from 1954 to ’56 and teamed with fellow Hall of Fame members fullback Joe Perry, halfback Hugh McElhenny and quarterback Y.A. Tittle. Perry just died in April.
Johnson was drafted by Pittsburgh in 1953 but opted to play one season in the Canadian Football League before joining San Francisco. He also played with Detroit, 1957-59, and then the Steelers, 1960-65. It was with Pittsburgh that he had his two, 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
For his career, Johnson averaged 4.3 per carry in rushing for 6,803 yards. He was selected to the Pro Bowl four times and inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987.
–And we note the passing of James Arness, aka Marshall Matt Dillon in “Gunsmoke,” at the age of 88.
“Gunsmoke” debuted Sept. 10, 1955, on CBS and would run until 1975, thus becoming one of the longest-running prime-time series in network TV history. As reported by the Los Angeles Times’ Dennis McLellan:
“At 6 feet 7, Arness was a bigger-than-life actor who amply filled the boots of the mythic Dodge City lawman in the series, which earned praise for breaking TV western-genre conventions with its strong dramatic stories and psychologically complex characters.”
“Gunsmoke” was a popular hit radio show for three years when CBS began looking for an actor to star in the television version.
“At the time, Arness, a Minnesota native and World War II Army combat veteran, had amassed a string of film credits….
“Fearful that starring in a television series would damage his fledgling movie career, Arness agreed only reluctantly to test for the part of Dillon; he was the last of a sizable number of actors who were auditioning for the role.
“When CBS offered him the part, Arness hesitated in signing the contract. But (John) Wayne urged him to take the role, saying it was a tremendous break.” [McLellan]
Wayne gave the show a big boost when it debuted, providing an on-air introduction in which he praised the new TV western series for its honesty and realism. And then he said:
“I knew there was only one man to play in it, James Arness,” Wayne told viewers. “He’s a young fella and may be new to some of you. But I’ve worked with him, and I predict he’ll be a big star. So you might as well get used to him, like you’ve had to get used to me.”
Arness, of Norwegian descent, was born in Minneapolis. His brother, future actor Peter Graves, was born three years later. In World War II, Arness took part in the landing at Anzio, Italy, in 1944. Because of his height, he was chosen first off the landing craft to test the depth of the water.
“Later, while walking point on a night patrol through a vineyard, Arness walked into a German machine-gun nest, and rounds severely splintered the bones in his lower right leg. The wound resulted in his leg being shortened by about 5/8 of an inch, and he thereafter wore a lift in his shoe.” [McLellan]
After rehab in a stateside hospital, Arness got work at a radio station in Minneapolis but after several months quit to go to Los Angeles.
By the way, “The Simpsons” broke Gunsmoke’s record for longevity in 2009. “Law & Order” reached the 20-year mark in 2010, but was canceled before it could overtake “Gunsmoke.” No other show currently on the air comes close.
“Three Russian tourists have died and 17 others have been sickened by suspected alcohol poisoning during a yacht party in Turkey….
“Of the 70 participants on the yacht trip…20 Russians applied for medical aid over the weekend, complaining of nausea, vomiting and loss of consciousness….
“The cause of the poisoning is believed to be whiskey mixed with methanol, an undrinkable type of alcohol used to produce gas, diesel fuel, perfumes and varnish….
“Whiskey was not on the menu because local regulations ban spirits aboard tourist yachts, which means that the Russians might have brought it with them, Interfax said.”
Yet another reason to stick with the good taste of beer.
–And now, Animal Bits…
The great three-year-old, Uncle Mo, has a rare liver disease and is being treated at WinStar Farm in Lexington, Ky. According to a statement by his internists, “Since Uncle Mo has been at WinStar he has gained 67 lbs., his blood work is going in the right direction, his energy level is up and his attitude has improved. We are optimistic about his prognosis and getting back to the track and continuing his racing career.”
So there really was something seriously wrong with Mo when he was scratched from the Derby.
[While I’m not going to make a special point to catch the Belmont Stakes this coming Saturday, if I’m around a TV at the time of the race I’ll watch it. Derby winner Animal Kingdom goes up against Preakness winner Shackleford, which could be entertaining. It would be too much to ask for them to finish 1-2 and then set up a Breeders’ Cup race in the fall, but (cliché alert!) ya never know.]
Here’s a cool one. Three peregrine falcon moms have given birth to nine seemingly healthy chicks on three New York City bridges…the Verrazano, Marine Parkway, and Throgs Neck. Maintenance workers take extra care not to disturb the endangered birds that were nearly wiped out by pesticides in the 1960s. There are supposedly 16 pairs of falcons in New York City now. There certainly are enough rodents for them to go after.
Too bad the falcons weren’t in Sydney, Australia the other day. Qantas was forced to ground one of its passenger jets after rats were found on board. Five of them, discovered by flight attendants on a routine safety and security inspection before a Boeing 767 was due to leave Sydney for Brisbane.
“The rodents were discovered in emergency medical equipment carried on the aircraft, 10 minutes before passengers were due to board….
“The airline grounded the plane at Sydney Airport while staff killed the rats and searched the cabin to ensure no more were on board.”
And here’s a bad one, courtesy of Trader George and his friend Fred C., down in Florida.
“For all you guys who noticed some of our local gator friends when you were here, we just had a little incident down the street from me yesterday and on the course where I live.
“This lady is out with her dog around 6:30 am (some kind of retriever approx. 60 lbs.) when the dog jumps in the water after a bird. An alligator about 7-8 feet long grabs the dog and pulls it under for a nice breakfast: mind you, all in front of the dog’s owner.”
The state gator trappers came immediately and caught and euthanized the killer, but amidst a drought, the gators are traveling through everyone’s yards in search of new bodies of water. “Same thing applies on the python front,” noted Fred.
Fred said Florida had 18,000 gator attacks such as the above last year. Next was South Carolina with 2,000.
In other words, don’t look too closely for lost balls on the golf course, and I wouldn’t go sunning on my back lawn.
Here’s something that is truly depressing. As reported in the current issue of TIME, “From 2000 to 2007, only about a dozen rhinos were poached each year in South Africa, where nearly 90% of all rhinos live, according to the WWF. But last year, 333 were illegally slaughtered there, nearly all found with their horns chopped off.”
This truly sucks. The poachers have to themselves be destroyed and I can think of no one better to do it than, say, Afghan war vets, who having served out their tours, still want to use their skills but for the betterment of the Animal Kingdom.
[There are only an estimated 21,000 rhinos left in South Africa; 1,800 in Namibia, 2,300 in India.]
Finally, Global Director of Shark Attacks for Bar Chat, Bob S., relayed a distressing tale out of Philadelphia from the local NBC News affiliate.
“Wildlife officials are warning Northeast Philadelphia park visitors about possibly rabid beavers after three people were bitten near a city creek in the past two days.”
One beaver was captured and killed, after biting a child. Another beaver bit a husband and wife that were fishing.
Reminder…beavers are smart. They avoided the subprime housing crisis, after all. So whatever you do, if you see one at your front door, wanting to come inside to discuss Amway products, for instance, don’t let them in. Just call your local authorities.
–Here’s a great story. Edmonton Oilers center Gilbert Brule and his girlfriend were driving to a park in West Vancouver to take their dog for a walk when Brule thought he saw someone familiar along the road, hitchhiking. ‘That’s Bono!” Brule yelled as the girlfriend drove by Bono and his assistant. Turns out they had gone for a walk but it had started to rain.
“We go to walk our dog and Bono ends up in our car,” Brule said of the bizarre episode.
“As a gesture of appreciation, the Irishman offered tickets and backstage passes to U2’s Wednesday night show in Edmonton. The couple happily accepted.
“Bono reportedly shared his gratitude with the Edmonton crowd at Commonwealth Stadium, saying, ‘I like ice hockey because people who play ice hockey are the kind of people who pick up hitchhikers. I’m ever so grateful. I’ve decided that I want to be Gilbert Brule.’”
Top 3 songs for the week of 6/4/83: #1 “Flashdance…What A Feeling” (Irene Cara) #2 “Let’s Dance” (David Bowie…I haven’t gone dancing in years, maybe decades) #3 “Overkill” (Men at Work…never really thought they put in a full day…I mean you ever really listen to their music? It’s just not that good…)…and…#4 “Time (Clock Of The Heart)” (Culture Club…just get incredibly depressed any time I hear one of theirs…so I reach for the good taste of Molson Golden…from Canada…) #5 “She Blinded Me With Science” (Thomas Dolby…never dated a girl who had Einsteinian qualities…just sayin’) #6 “Beat It” (Michael Jackson…you know, 18 years later and upon further review…this song really sucked…) #7 “My Love” (Lionel Richie) #8 “Little Red Corvette” (Prince…wouldn’t mind seeing him in concert some day, but he has a bad habit of canceling at the last minute, which would be a bummer if, like, you got tickets to see him in Cairo, you get there, and he cancels…and then you’re left in Cairo, with no police around to provide basic security, and you suddenly find yourself caught in the crossfire between battling Salafists and Copts, the ultimate nightmare…) #9 “Solitaire” (Laura Branigan….AGHHH! I can’t stand her!!!) #10 “Straight From The Heart” (Bryan Adams)
Baseball Quiz Answers: 1) Miguel Tejada holds the record for leading the league in grounded into double plays with five (Balt. 2004-06, Hou. 08-09). 2) Of course every Mets fan knows who holds the record for most grounded into double plays in a game with four…Joe Torre. Some of us vividly remember this one because we were watching on television; July 21, 1975. In a 6-2 loss to the Astros, a game in which Dave Kingman (see David Einhorn) hit homer No. 19 for the Metropolitans, Felix Millan, batting second, singled all four times he was up. But Torre, batting third, promptly grounded into a double play immediately after. Never done before…never done since. Actually, earlier in his fine career, Torre led the league in GIDP three times. You know, go onto baseballreference.com and his playing career was certainly better than he’s often given credit for. What surprises me is he never received more than 22% of the vote in the Hall of Fame balloting. He deserved better, I tell ya. 3) Vince Coleman stole 50 consecutive bases between Sept. 18, 1988 and July 26, 1989. Ichiro holds the A.L. mark with 45 between 2006-07. Both also hold their respective league marks for a season…Coleman with 44 in ’89 and Ichiro with 39 in ’06. 4) Ty Cobb holds the all-time mark with 54 steals of home. No telling how many catchers’ careers he ruined in the process, Mr. Cobb known for going in with spikes aimed at the throat. [Cobb also holds the mark for most steals of home in a season with 8. Pete Reiser holds the N.L. mark with 7 when he was with Brooklyn in 1946.]
Two other baseball tidbits related to the above questions. Augie Galan of the 1935 Chicago Cubs holds the record for most at-bats without grounding into a double play, 646. He had a solid career. .287 lifetime batting average, 1700 hits, .390 OBP. The A.L. mark is 570 at-bats without a GIDP held by Dick McAuliffe of the 1968 Tigers. Every kid of a certain age loved imitating his open batting stance. McAuliffe was a rarity in those days, a middle infielder with pop as he hit 197 home runs in his solid career, 1960-75, almost solely with Detroit.
Lastly, your homework assignment is to look up the career of Ernie Lombardi on baseballreference. Fascinating career for the Hall of Famer. I needed to be reminded just how great a hitter he was, Lombardi also known for perhaps being the slowest player in the history of the game, which is why he holds the N.L. record for most seasons grounding into a double play with four. Among the other things that stand out in his career is the fact he wasn’t exactly an iron horse behind the plate, but he also was one of those who never struck out. And look how few runs he scored.
And two other items regarding Lombardi from “Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia.” Because he was so slow, infielders could play well into the outfield knowing they could throw him out on any ground ball. So Lombardi once confessed, “Pee Wee Reese was in the league three years before I realized he wasn’t an outfielder.” [Reese was a shortstop.]
But he was such a fearsome hitter, he once lined a ball back at the Cubs’ Larry French that broke three of the pitcher’s fingers.
