College Football Quiz: The other day I noted that Sporting News, as part of its 125th anniversary, came up with the Ten Greatest College Football Teams. For the first three, 1971 Nebraska, 1972 USC, and 1974 Oklahoma, name the starting quarterback on each. [Hint: Pat Haden quarterbacked some for the ’72 Trojans, but was not the primary signal-caller I’m looking for.] Answer below.
*Note: I’m kind of frustrated. As I go to post, around 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, so much is taking place Wed. evening but for various reasons I can’t cover it all for this space, plus, little may actually be resolved anyway when looking at Braves-Cards and Red Sox-Rays, and we have some individual issues, including the N.L. batting title race, to resolve.
So next time I’ll get into all the minutiae of baseball’s regular season, including Adam Dunn, Jayson Werth, Carl Crawford, and a few good stories as well. And us Mets fans had a little issue involving Jose Reyes in Wednesday’s final game but I want to see how the New York press handles it in Thursday’s papers before saying anything.
Ball Bits
—Matt Kemp fell short of the Triple Crown, but teammate Clayton Kershaw won pitching’s version (wins, ERA, strikeouts), so the Los Angeles Times asked Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully for his thoughts, Scully having witnessed Sandy Koufax’s remarkable streak when he won triple crowns in 1963, 1965 and 1966.
“What’s so impressive is that (Kemp and Kershaw) are so young. It shows you that, even to be considered to win, how special both of them are.”
Kemp is just 27, Kershaw only 23, and in a year that was an abysmal failure on so many fronts for Dodgers fans, as they dealt with ownership’s bankruptcy and a team falling short of expectations, at least you had these two superstars to follow.
By the way, should Kemp and Kershaw win the MVP and Cy Young awards, which seems like more than a good chance, teammates have won the awards 18 times, and 17 times they played for league or division champions. MVP Maury Wills and Cy Young winner Don Drysdale were the exception, their 1962 Dodgers finishing in a first-place tie, then losing to the San Francisco Giants in a three-game playoff.
Here are two other oddities from the Dodgers’ season…Eugenio Velez is 0 for 36 for the season, which establishes a major league record for most at-bats in a hitless season for a non-pitcher. Velez, through Tuesday, and I assume he will be held out of the last game, is 0 for his last 45, dating to last season, which ties the longest hitless streak of all time for a non-pitcher; thus sharing the mark, as we learned earlier in the year, with Bill Bergen (1909, Brooklyn Superbas), Dave Campbell (1973, three teams) and Craig Counsell (this season, Milwaukee Brewers).
And relief pitcher Kenley Jansen has fanned 96 in just 53 innings! That’s 16.30 per nine innings! No one in baseball history has had that high a percentage.
–You know who received “an extraordinary ovation from fans and teammates in Chicago’s 2-1 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays” on Tuesday night? Pitcher Mark Buehrle.
In what was expected to be his final appearance in a White Sox uniform, Buehrle pitched seven shutout innings in going to 13-9 on the year. It was an emotional evening because, like the Mets’ Jose Reyes, he’s now a free agent and is not expected to return to Chicago.
But here’s why I’m bringing this up. I totally forgot how consistent the still just 32 lefty Buehrle has been. Like try 11 consecutive seasons of double-digit wins, 30 starts and 200 innings; the longest such active streak in the majors. In his 12 years in Chicago, he is 160-119 with a 3.83 ERA, much of this during the steroid era.
–Meanwhile, volatile and voluble ChiSox manager Ozzie Guillen asked for a new contract on Monday, his request was denied, so he asked to be released from the existing contract (which runs through 2012), permission was granted, and thus he walked out with two games to go, managing his last contest Monday night.
Guillen managed Chicago for eight seasons (five of them winning ones) , including the 2005 World Series title run, which was the team’s first after 88 years.
But now Guillen is expected to take over the helm of the Florida, soon to be Miami, Marlins.
–Back to Jose Reyes and the Mets, a federal judge awarded both sides victories in the $1 billion lawsuit brought against the owners of the team by Bernie Madoff’s victims’ trustee Irving Picard.
Bottom line in a very complicated ruling, Picard at most can force owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz to fork over $300-$400 million. The judge said that if the case went forward, without a settlement, it would go to trial in March. Wilpon and Katz were hoping the judge, Jed Rakoff, would dismiss the case outright. But it appears, according to one reading of the decision, that while $300-$400 million is still on the table, the owners might be able to settle for less than $100 million given various restrictions in the decision by Rakoff.
But how this all impacts the Mets ownership structure and their ability to re-sign Jose Reyes remains to be seen. I wouldn’t pay up for the guy. He proved once again that his legs can be extremely fragile and without his speed, he’s just an above-average ballplayer at best. The guy who had 15 triples through June has had just one since, and none since July (167 at-bats since his last one) after going on the DL twice for hamstring issues.
–Last time I commented on Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey’s 8-13 record, despite a 3.28 ERA, highlighted by a major league best season-ending run of 12 consecutive quality starts. Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal added to the weight of the evidence that Dickey had one of the stranger seasons in recent memory.
“It has been 17 years since a pitcher finished a season with an ERA below 3.50 and a winning percentage lower than Dickey’s mark of .381. In 1994, Andy Ashby went 6-11 (.353) with a 3.40 ERA for the Padres.”
Diamond reminded us of the season that the Cardinals’ Joe Magrane had in 1988. Magrane led the league with a 2.18 ERA, but only went 5-9 (165 innings in 24 starts). I see this and it reminds me of the Mets’ Craig Swan, who in 1978 led the N.L. with a 2.43 ERA but was only 9-6 in 207 innings (28 starts). One no-decision after another for both of these hurlers.
The Mets’ decline…
2006…97-65…lose Game Seven of NLCS
2007…88-74…2nd…historic late-season collapse
2008…89-73…2nd…another late collapse
2009…70-92
2010…79-83
2011…77-85
NFL Notes
–For you Lions and Bills fans, another reason to be very hopeful. As pointed out by the Wall Street Journal’s Michael Salfino:
“Since 1978 – the year the NFL went to a 16-game season – 76% of the teams that started 3-0 ended up making the playoffs (excluding shortened seasons).
“Granted, there are the occasional flukes. The 2009 Denver Broncos won their first six games under wunderkind rookie coach Josh McDaniels, yet wound up 8-8. (McDaniels started the next season 3-9 and was replaced.) The 2001 San Diego Chargers hold the distinction of being the worst 3-0 team in the 16-game era, miraculously turning their hot start into a 5-11 final record.
“And then there are the 2008 Bills. Three years ago, Buffalo won its opening four games before tumbling to 7-9.
“But a 3-0 start is usually indicative of a pretty good team. Eight times out of 10 – 84% of the time, to be precise – a 3-0 team goes on to post no worse than a 9-7 record. About half of all 3-0 teams (56%) win 11 games or more.
“Neither the Bills nor the Lions have been to the playoffs since 1999, but the odds at this point are with them.”
–It wasn’t a pretty win but credit Dallas QB Tony Romo for sticking it out and helping lead the Cowboys to an 18-16 win over Washington, Monday night, as undrafted rookie Dan Bailey kicked six field goals. Romo played with a broken rib that put him in so much pain, he required two injections during the contest. So Dallas is 2-1 after last year’s 1-7 start.
–It really is remarkable when you look at Minnesota’s first three games, all losses. They have been outscored after halftime 67-6 after building a cumulative 54-7 first half lead.
The Vikings’ play is perhaps best exemplified by star running back Adrian Peterson, who in the first half has 36 carries for 230 yards, 6.4 per carry, but in the second half is 22 for 66, or 3.0 per carry.
–The injuries continue to pile up, seemingly more than ever due to the lockout and lack of proper training camps…at least this seems to be a pretty obvious conclusion. The latest big loss was Tennessee Titans receiver Kenny Britt, who suffered a torn ACL and MCL that takes him out for the season after he had gotten off to such a super start.
–Recently, when New England’s Tom Brady threw for 517 yards against Miami, it of course called to mind that the single-game record for passing is Norm Van Brocklin’s 554 for the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 28, 1951, against what were then known as the New York Yanks. So the New York Times’ Judy Battista took a look back.
“Norm Van Brocklin was not even the Rams’ first-string quarterback then; he started that day, one of two he made that season, because the incumbent was hurt…He threw for 554 yards, a sum so outsized, so far from the norm, that even the turbocharged offenses of today’s game, with their spread formations and no-huddle packages, have been unable to match it.
“It shattered the existing record by 86 yards, and though no film or photographs from that game seem to have survived, the mark Van Brockln set has remained so out of reach that even the greatest passers in the game’s history have fallen short.”
What has long made Van Brockln’s record so remarkable is how different football was then. The Rams, for example, who went on to win the NFL championship that season, ranked first in passing yardage, with 266 yards per game, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com. Bob Waterfield, the other quarterback, threw for 315 yards in another game that year, the second-highest total to Van Brocklin’s 554.
Gil Brandt, a former Dallas Cowboys executive, said the New York Yanks, who were a pathetic 1-9-2 in ‘51, probably were confused by the Rams’ use of three wide receivers, which Brandt said may have been the first time an NFL team had employed the formation. Van Brocklin’s longest completion was 67 yards that day as he went 27 of 41. The final score was 54-14.
–This week, planning for the 2014 Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey’s Meadowlands formally got underway with representatives of the host Jets and Giants at a press conference with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. One thing is for sure, the face value of the tickets will be the highest ever. Last February’s Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium saw tickets ranging from $600 to $1,200, which has been the order of the day for years now.
22 sponsors have already pledged $1 million each to promote the event. The Super Bowl XLVIII logo was unveiled, featuring the George Washington Bridge, symbolically linking New York and New Jersey. A snowflake sits at the logo’s center.
“Whatever comes our way, we are going to be prepared for it,” said Commissioner Goodell.
Not the forecast I’ve already foretold…a major icestorm that morning, followed by three inches of snow, followed by more ice, making it totally impossible to drive and knocking down the lines that feed the train systems’ power. Estimated crowd at game time…875. 89 of them will then suffer fractured skulls walking in the parking lot after the game as they attempt to maneuver on six inches of ice.
But as we get closer to 2014, I’ll begin to refine my forecast further and should have it wrapped up by two months prior to the contest. Mark R. will be helping me with sunspot readings beginning end of 2012 that will be part of our exclusive model.
Stuff
—Texas A&M has now been formally accepted into the SEC, joining next July and competing in all sports for the 2012-13 academic year. The league said they will stay at 13 teams for now.
NCAA President Mark Emmert, in a speech to over 100 athletic directors at an annual meeting, spoke of the realignment that has left the distinct impression that an enterprise ostensibly tied to higher education is being driven solely by money:
“We are in many respects our own worst enemy…
“The world is convinced that’s all we do, that’s all the NCAA cares about, that’s all presidents care about, that’s all you care about. How many times have you read that in the past 10 days alone: That’s all this is about; this is about money. I didn’t read about many of us stepping up and saying, ‘Well, you know, this will actually work really well for student-athletes because…it’ll help us stabilize our programs because we’ll then be able to do this and that.” [USA TODAY]
–Meanwhile, on the field this Saturday…
3 Alabama at 12 Florida…8:00 pm ET
8 Nebraska at 7 Wisconsin…8:00 pm
13 Clemson at 11 Virginia Tech…6:00 pm
And Wake Forest at Boston College in a huge one.
–As expected, U.S. Captain Fred Couples selected Bill Haas (Go Deacs!) as his other captain’s pick to go along with Tiger Woods for the President’s Cup, to be held in Melbourne, Australia in mid-November. International Captain Greg Norman selected Aussies Robert Allenby and Aaron Baddeley with his two final picks.
Haas wasn’t even in the conversation before the Tour Championship, but pretty tough to leave him off after what he did, let alone the fact father Jay is Freddie’s assistant. Bill is one of six American rookies on the team, along with Matt Kuchar, Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson (Go Deacs!), Nick Watney and Bubba Watson (don’t like him any more…kind of a jerk).
–But here’s something you won’t find anywhere else. I noted last time how Phil Mickelson really didn’t have a great year, and he’ll finish up No. 12, at best, on the money list*.
Now while this still looks good, understand a few things. This was Lefty’s worst year since 2003, when he was No. 38. Since then…
2004…No. 3
2005…No. 3
2006…No. 6
2007…No. 2
2008…No. 3
2009…No. 3
2010…No. 6
Pretty consistent, eh, in the Era of Tiger?
*Doubtful any of the top twelve will play in one of the remaining “Fall Tour” events that still qualify for the overall money list.
That’s the problem. Phil is aging quickly, it would seem, and unless Tiger comes back to be competitive week in and week out, until a Webb Simpson (Go Deacs!), Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy or Jason Day grabs the sport by the balls, the casual fan simply won’t watch. But they’ll tune in on a Sunday if they hear Mickelson is in the hunt.
–One other bit in perusing the PGA Tour money list with just a few events left, Mike Weir, former Masters Champ, appeared in 15 tournaments and earned $23,312.
Top seven on the Money List thru Sunday’s play.
1. Luke Donald…$5,837,000
2. Webb Simpson…$5,368,000 [Go Deacs!]
3. Nick Watney…$4,815,000
4. K.J. Choi…$4,434,000
5. Dustin Johnson…$4,309,000
6. Matt Kuchar…$4,190,000
7. Bill Haas…$4,088,000 [Go Deacs!] Mrs. Haas has the $10 million FedEx Cup bonus.
–So the other day the Brooklyn NBA team that will commence operations in 2012 called a press conference and team stakeholder Jay-Z announced that the current New Jersey Nets would be named…drum roll, please…the Brooklyn “Nets”!!! Wow! Exciting!
I fall in the camp that believes they should have changed the name. People are talking about maintaining the “brand,” but even when the Nets were successful, there was no brand. I’ve been in New Jersey all this time and I bet I’ve seen about 3 kids wearing Nets shirts vs. 55,000 wearing Knicks jerseys or caps.
Jason Gay / Wall Street Journal
“They could have had a little more fun with it, don’t you think?
“The Brooklyn Brunches. The Baby Bugaboos. The Open Houses. The Wood-Fired Pizzas. The Bike Lane Hearings. The Bespectacled Couples. The Paul Auster Comparisons. The Food Trucks. The Hippie Shrinks. The Reusable Bags. The Vintage Saabs.
“The Worn-Out Cliches.
“What about the Brooklyn Pre-Kindergartens? That may have been a little hard to jam into the front of a shirt, but still…it’s better….
“Jim Behrle at TheAwl.com suggested a bunch of great ones a while ago, including the Brooklyn Irony, the Trend Pieces, the Fighting Knishes and, of course, the Bed Bugs….
“Instead, New Jersey’s migratory basketball franchise is sticking with Nets. As in, the Brooklyn Nets….
“Everything in Brooklyn was something else before. Tweaking a name wouldn’t scare anyone off. On Monday, Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz needled the across-the-bridge rival as the ‘Manhattan Knicks.’ That was pretty good.
“But the Manhattan Knicks are not going to play basketball against the Brooklyn PTA Meetings. Or the Sous Chefs. Or the Potluck Dinner Parties. Or the Williamsburg Roof Decks. Or the Zach Galifianakis Sightings.
“You’re not going to be cheering for The Brownstone Fixer-Uppers.
“And yet, the most important part of the name is always going to be Brooklyn. You can’t beat that.”
[My personal fave out of all the above is “Reusable Bags.”]
–Forgot to note that Tony Stewart has won the first two of the final ten races in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. As Ronald Reagan would have said, “Not bad…not bad at all.”
–So LeBron James and a few friends were hanging out Sunday evening / Monday morning at Juliet Supperclub on West 21st Street in Manhattan, the same night a fellow by the name of Christopher Adames, 23, was found stabbed to death outside around 5:00 a.m.
DJ Whoo Kid tweeted at 6:00 a.m., “Partied with a King last night LOL,” along with a photo of the two inside Juliet.
And that’s your update on lifestyles of the rich and famous. No word on whether James knew someone was killed outside the club, or whether he was still there at the time.
–The above begs the obvious question…is there really anyone out there, outside of a few vendors whose livelihood is on the line, that really give a damn about the NBA lockout? I didn’t think so.
–The NHL’s outdoor Winter Classic V will be held on Jan. 2 in Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Rangers vs. Flyers. Very cool. Last year’s Pittsburgh-Washington contest had the highest regular-season television ratings for an NHL game since 1975.
–Chris K. first alerted me to the almost tragic tale in the waters off England’s Devon coast.
British daredevil Rupert Kirkwood, 51, was fishing in his kayak off north Devon for about four hours when a six-foot shark took his bait and Kirkwood said it was like a scene from Jaws when the line flew off the reel and the shark started pulling him along in his kayak, according to various reports.
“It was wet and miserable and my fingers had gone numb when there were a couple of mighty tugs on the line,” Kirkwood said.
“It screamed away with the line. I was worried it might break the line so I put the rod over the front of the kayak to cushion it.”
Kirkwood was towed about a kilometer out to sea before he was able to wrestle the shark into the boat. He then snapped a few photos, unhooked it and released it unharmed into the water.
“Its nose came to within inches of my sensitive parts, but it didn’t lunge at me,” he said.
–But Chris K., who is a telecom research director but whose firm, in a cost-cutting move, fired the director of shark attacks and then told Chris he has to pick up those responsibilities as well, just sent this still breaking development out of South Africa:
“Shark attack ‘Brit’ fights for life”
From The Sun:
“A swimmer was fighting for his life today after being mauled by a Great White shark.
“Michael Cohen – aged 42 and believed to be British – lost most of his right leg and part of his left foot after being attacked as he swam off the coast of South Africa.
“And incredibly, the shadowy figure of a lone shark patrolling the bay was captured on film just minutes after the horror attack.
“Mr. Cohen, who lived nearby and regularly swam at the spot, had entered the water despite flags warning that a shark was in the area.” [Ed. So we potentially have an “Idiot of the Year” candidate to boot.]
“A Cape Town official said: ‘The shark spotter stationed on the beach was warned by a spotter on the mountain that someone had entered the water.
“ ‘The shark spotter then ran to Clovelly Corner to try and get the swimmer out of the water, but the attack took place before he could reach him.’”
The National Sea Rescue Institute was not happy Cohen ignored their “explicit orders” not to enter the water in the first place.
So the heck with him. More importantly, between the sudden pickup in shark attacks, worldwide, let alone all the grizzly bear maulings I’ve been documenting in this space, it’s yet another reason not only to avoid the water, but also sleep with one eye open at all times, just as we do here at Bar Chat.
–One more…from Yahoo News.
“Monster blue marlin caught after 28-hour battle off Cabo San Lucas”
As Pete Thomas reported, the marlin was listed at 1,213 pounds, a record for the area.
Richard Biehl of Traverse City, Michigan, is credited with catching it but he had help from the crew aboard a 31-foot yacht.
The marathon battle began at 8:20 Saturday morning and ended close to noon on Sunday.
“A long night was fitful because to keep the line from breaking the captain and crew had to keep just enough pressure on the marlin, and constant maneuvering of the boat was necessary.
“At sunrise a rejuvenated Biehl reclaimed the rod and resumed the fight. With the line and leader weakening, the crew aboard (another) boat was brought alongside and Biehl chose to have it gaffed and brought to port.”
–I’ve been meaning to relay this recent cool story, from the New York Post.
HONOLULU – A Super Bowl ring lost four decades ago off Waikiki will soon be returned to former Jets center John Schmitt.
KGMB-TV in Honolulu reports that a Honolulu family wants to return the ring to Schmitt, who earned it when the Jets upset the Baltimore Colts in the 1969 Super Bowl.
“That that ring was found is a bloody miracle. It really is a miracle, you know,” Schmitt, who lives on Long Island, told the TV station.
The ring slipped off Schmitt’s finger in 1971 while he was taking surf lessons about a quarter mile off Waikiki near the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. He didn’t notice the ring was missing until he got back to shore.
“I got a snorkel and some flippers and I went out and I dove until I was blue,” Schmitt said. “I’m not kidding you. It must have been three hours I was out there looking. I couldn’t find it anywhere. I was just exhausted. I virtually could not swim or flip my legs anymore. And I just went in broken hearted.”
Waikiki lifeguard John Emstberg found the ring and gave it to his wife, Mary, who put it in a box, said Cindy Saffery, the couple’s great niece. The Emstbergs died in the 1990s and their estate went to Saffery and her husband, Samuel.
The Saffertys then recently took it to jeweler Brenda Reichel to see if it was real.
Reichel told the AP on Friday that she was able to verify it was authentic. The 14-karat gold ring had diamonds, the trademark of the ringmaker, Schmitt’s No. 52 and his last name and the score of the Super Bowl as well as the AFL championship.
Reichel and the Safferys contacted the Jets and were forwarded to Schmitt….
The Safferys say they are not interested in money. They just want to get it back on Schmitt’s finger. Schmitt is offering to fly the Safferys to New York so he can thank them in person when his ring is returned. A date has not been set.
–The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame released its nominees for 2012:
Beastie Boys, The Cure, Donovan, Eric B. & Rakim, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Heart, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, Freddie King, Laura Nyro, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rufus with Chaka Khan, The Small Faces/The Faces, The Spinners, Donna Summer, War
A few things on this. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland is one of the best of any kind in the world. I can’t wait to get back. But the Hall itself has gone way off the reservation when it comes to who gets in, including the totally idiotic idea of including rap acts.
Personally, looking at the above, I’d go with Laura Nyro, the Spinners and War, but I suspect only Laura Nyro gets in this time among these three. I loved Rufus with Chaka Khan but no way do they have enough memorable material. Guns ‘N’ Roses will get in, probably this time.
But I go back to things like how long it took the Dave Clark Five to get in, after Hall creator Jann Wenner rigged the vote one year. Or the fact some huge acts like Tommy James and the Shondels aren’t in.
But as Tris McCall of the Star-Ledger points out, ‘sup with Bon Jovi not getting nominated? McCall writes:
“When Bon Jovi received a nomination last year, detractors argued that the popular Jersey group lacked the artistic merit required for enshrinement. Supporters reminded us how few groups were still capable of filling stadiums – something Bon Jovi does with ease. Ultimately, the Hall snubbed the band, instead selecting (among others) critical favorite Tom Waits, who has sold a small fraction of the records that Bon Jovi has. It may not have been a deliberate rebuke, but to Jon Bon Jovi and his bandmates, it must have felt like one.”
And as McCall adds:
“Still on the outside looking in are the titans of progressive rock, metal and post-punk who the Hall has always snubbed. Rush, Yes and Kiss are perennially overlooked; with each year, the exclusion of these iconic groups looks increasingly silly. Black Sabbath was finally included in the Hall after a long and tortuous road to induction, but the Hall has no time for Judas Priest or Iron Maiden.”
Top 3 songs for the week of 9/25/65: #1 “Eve Of Destruction” (Barry McGuire) #2 “Hang On Sloopy” (The McCoys) #3 “You Were On My Mind” (We Five)…and…#4 “Catch Us If You Can” (The Dave Clark Five) #5 “Help!” (The Beatles) #6 “The ‘In’ Crowd” (Ramsey Lewis Trio) #7 “Like A Rolling Stone” (Bob Dylan) #8 “It Ain’t Me Babe” (The Turtles) #9 “Heart Full Of Soul” (The Yardbirds) #10 “Laugh At Me” (Sonny…yes, Sonny, without Cher…not a great effort…but the following week, one of your editor’s all-time Top 20 tunes, “Baby Don’t Go,” hit the top ten. Otherwise, just look at this week in total…as good a top ten as you’ll ever find…eight of which are still Oldies Radio staples)
College Football Quiz Answer: 1) 1971 – Nebraska…Jerry Tagge was the QB. 2) 1972 – USC…Mike Rae. 3) 1974 – Oklahoma…Steve Davis.
Next Bar Chat, Monday…a very brief one from Ireland… assuming I get a connection from my hotel room; not a certainty in the west of the country where I’ll be.
