St. Louis Cardinals Quiz: 1) Name the six with 200 home runs in a Cardinals uniform. 2) Bob Gibson won 251 games for the Cards. Name the only other hurler to win 200 for St. Louis. [Think 1920s and 30s…not Dizzy Dean.] Answers below.
NFL Draft
–After Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III were taken as expected by Indianapolis and Washington, the Cleveland Browns traded up to ensure they’d get Alabama running back Trent Richardson with the third selection. Many say why? Browns Hall of Famer Jim Brown said Richardson was just “ordinary.” Richardson said he’d use that as motivation.
–So after the Redskins took RG3 with the second overall pick, they selected Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins in the fourth round. Why? Many fans panned the selection, saying it undermined Griffin and that the ‘Skins weren’t filling a more pressing need.
Cousins is a decent prospect in his own right, though, and just like in baseball where you can never have too much pitching, why not have solid insurance in case Griffin goes down? It’s your most important position, after all. Plus RG3 likes to run and that means lots of extra hits.
As for Griffin’s reaction to Cousins becoming a sudden teammate as he was introduced to the Washington media on Saturday, Coach Mike Shanahan said “He understands.”
“Robert Griffin is our future,” Shanahan said. “He’s got everything that you need to be a success. That’s my guy. In the back of my mind, I know that if things happen, I’ve got to be prepared as possible and build the best team that I can.” It’s insurance.
–As for my Jets, we took North Carolina pass-rushing defensive end Quinton Coples, who had a great junior year but struggled last season when he moved from tackle to end. What I didn’t know is that coach Rex Ryan personally worked out Coples in North Carolina, acting as a blocker during drills. The Wall Street Journal’s Chris Herring writes, “(Ryan) went out of his way last week to promise Coples that the team would take him if he was available when the Jets’ pick came up. ‘I’m happy he was a man of his word,’ Coples told reporters.”
I’m starting to feel better about this one, though after all the immediate talk that Coples was lacking in desire I had flashbacks to 2008 first-round selection Vernon Gholston, one of the big draft busts of all time.
I love the Jets’ second selection, receiver Stephen Hill out of Georgia Tech, and, hey, we took Josh Bush, safety, out of Wake Forest, in the sixth round. I’m tellin’ ya, Bush is a sleeper. He’ll make the team.
–Appalachian State’s Brian Quick was the fifth receiver taken, No. 1 in the second round by the Rams. Saw him two years ago with Phil W. at a game in Boone and was totally unimpressed, except with his size.
–Wake Forest receiver Chris Givens was taken with the first pick in the fourth round, also by the Rams, having slid to 14 among receivers after being rated No. 7 by USA TODAY. Something about his work ethic (and small hands).
–No problem on the effort front with Wake linebacker Kyle Wilber, however, as he went in the fourth round to Dallas. They’ll be happy.
–As for the Super Bowl champion Giants, great move in selecting Virginia Tech running back David Wilson, one of just three RBs to go in the first round, along with Richardson and Boise State’s Doug Martin.
–As for my man Russell Wilson, he moved up to number six among quarterbacks, being selected in the third round by Seattle. Not too long ago he was languishing in the 10-12 slot.
–How psyched is Andrew Luck to have his Stanford tight-end passing mate, Coby Fleener, back alongside after Fleener lasted into the second round and Indy snapped him up. Great (and lucky) move.
–Lastly, on the topic of Ryan Tannehill, the third QB selected in the first round by Miami, the real story concerns Mrs. Tannehill. Go ahead, guys. If you don’t know, search for yourself.
NBA Playoffs…and other stuff
All the talk the first weekend was about Chicago Bulls superstar Derrick Rose suffering a torn ACL with a little over a minute left in the game and the Bulls leading the 76ers by 12, 99-87. As in, what was Rose still doing in the contest?
“Could there have been a worse nightmare scenario for the Chicago Bulls? More sickening words, when there were such legitimate hopes of adding to Michael Jordan’s NBA title banners?
“No. This is the lowest of low blows. A dream killer. Also ultra-ripe for second-guessing, as Rose was on the court in a game the Bulls led by 20 points with four minutes left.
“But before Tom Thibodeau is declared to have committed the most serious felonious boner in Chicago since Steve Bartman reached for a foul ball, he deserves a fair trial.”
As in Philadelphia had cut a 20-point lead to 12 with 70 seconds left and it’s not impossible to come back from that. It’s also the playoffs. Why take a chance? Thibodeau declared after:
As for my Knicks, who suffered a humiliating 100-67 loss to Miami as Carmelo Anthony shot 3-for-15 from the field while LeBron torched New York, the biggest blow in this one was losing super rookie Imam Shumpert to a torn ACL and meniscus, which will likely sideline him until next January. The kid has played great, especially on defense, and you just hope if you’re a Knicks fan that he can come back with the same explosiveness. It was a crushing blow for the team’s chances of taking at least one game from the Heat.
In the meantime, yours truly, not expecting anything going forward for the Knicks, has but one thing in mind when following the NBA playoffs. Stop LeBron from winning a title. I’d love to see the Spurs do it. No doubt, LeBron has had a spectacular MVP season, but we want him going titleless his entire career.
And the Spurs looked just fine in defeating Utah in Game One of their series, 106-91, as Tim Duncan had 17 points and 11 rebounds (plus five assists) in 31 minutes. Go Deacs!
–Knicks guard Mike Bibby shot .282 from the field this season, 35-124. You can’t make this up.
—Metta World Peace commented on his seven-game suspension.
“It seemed like anger but it was a lot of passion involved. It was erratic fire. Erratic passion. It was way too much, way too much. Definitely didn’t mean to hit him how it hit him.”
–The Minnesota Timberwolves finished the season 26-40…5-20 without Ricky Rubio.
–And, the Charlotte Bobcats, in losing their final 23 games of the season, finished an NBA record-worst 7-59, a .106 winning percentage, besting the Philadelphia 76ers’ 9-73 season (1972-73), .110. Michael Jordan’s team was last in scoring and shooting percentage and lost 22 games by 20 points or more. Jordan said:
“Ever since I’ve owned the team I think we’ve made some very positive moves on the business side. We had to make a difficult decision to turn over the talent. This year the talent we had didn’t respond, but that doesn’t cause me to turn my back on the plan.”
Typical of the Bobcats’ “plan” is Tyrus Thomas, who sucks and is still owed $26 million over the next three seasons.
In six seasons with Jordan as owner, Charlotte is 185-290 and has been in the postseason once. They’ve yet to win a playoff game.
–On a different topic, the “one-and-done” rule, Commissioner David Stern prefers it be two-and-done for college players but recognizes this isn’t likely to occur, blaming the NBA Players Association.
“Everyone I hear from – NBA players, actually college coaches, NBA teams – everyone says it’s a pretty good idea, except the (NBPA), whose consent is necessary to change it.”
I’d love two-and-done, too, but not holding my breath.
And of course Kentucky coach John Calipari thinks one-and-done is just fine. He told a recent audience that maybe 30 eligible players each year should have their injury insurance paid for, or the NBA could pay more to rookies who graduate from college; something to encourage more players to stick around.
“How about we encourage them to stay longer because it’s the right thing and it’s the smart thing? There’s things we have to do to make it better for those young people.”
Ball Bits
–Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper made his major league debut on Saturday night in Los Angeles and didn’t disappoint, as the 19-year-old hit a laser for a double in his third at bat and threw a beebie from left field that should have nailed a runner out at the plate but the catcher dropped it. Harper also hit a sacrifice fly. But the Dodgers’ Matt Kemp won it in the bottom of the 10th with a walkoff bomb, his 11th home run of the season. Earlier, Stephen Strasburg and Chad Billingsley twirled seven-inning gems, each allowing one run while Strasburg fanned 9 without walking a batter.
So Strasburg finished up April with a 2-0 record in five starts, striking out 34 in 32 innings, with just six walks, and a 1.13 ERA.
But back to Bryce Harper, the Nationals’ showed some guts in calling him up so early from AAA Syracuse where he was hitting .250, though playing better after a very slow start. The Nats were forced to make the move with injuries to Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse. The plan seems to be that once Zimmerman returns (in two weeks), Harper goes back to the minors. We’ll see. Manager Davey Johnson wanted Harper on the big club out of spring training and was overruled.
I also see the Nationals did wait long enough before promoting Harper to ensure they will maintain his rights for six full seasons beginning in 2013 before he becomes eligible for free agency. I thought they had to wait until June or July.
–The Albert Pujols saga continues…22 games, 0 homers, 4 RBI, .216…10 years, $240 million. He hasn’t driven in a run in 13 games. The vaunted Angels are 7-15.
–The Yankees suffered a big blow with the announcement offseason acquisition Michael Pineda, a budding star righthander, would be lost for the season with shoulder surgery. Immediately, some questioned GM Brian Cashman for a trade that cost the Yanks potential star catcher Jesus Montero, who all believe will hit at a high level for many years to come. Cashman himself took it hard. “I’m devastated,” he said. “There’s obviously always risk involving pitchers. You always know, you go in with eyes wide open, if you pursue this with pitching. But to experience this on the front end – it’s extremely difficult.”
Well, Pineda is still just 23 and look how Stephen Strasburg has come roaring back from surgery.
But like I said you can never have too much pitching. Just think back not too many weeks ago when many questioned why the heck Andy Pettitte wanted to make a comeback after having retired and sitting out last season? The Yankees, after all, already had CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes, Freddy Garcia and Michael Pineda; six battling for five spots. Who needs Pettitte?
Well now it appears the Yankees really need Pettitte. Check out these ERAs…
Sabathia, 4.58; Nova, 5.18; Kuroda, 4.38; Hughes, 7.88; Garcia, 12.51.
–Doh! In his first start following his perfect game, the White Sox’ Philip Humber gave up nine runs on nine hits in five innings.
–The Mets lost a game on Friday to the Colorado Rockies, 18-9, where they had a 6-2 lead going to the bottom of the fifth and the Rockies scored 11 as the Mets committed 4 errors in a stanza that took 37 minutes. For the game the Mets had 6 errors, one shy of the team record.
Meanwhile, New York’s Scott Hairston hit for the cycle. The nine run loss was thus the largest margin of defeat by a team with a player doing so since 1900, according to Elias.
But the Metsies bounced back to win the next two and are 13-9. Who wudda thunk it?
–Detroit Tigers outfielder Delmon Young better get his act together soon or he could be jeopardizing his career following a self-inflicted wound. After Friday night’s game against the Yankees in New York, Young went partying in midtown and became embroiled in a hate-filled brawl, with a heavily intoxicated Young screaming anti-Semitic remarks after he was approached by a panhandler wearing a Star of David and a yarmulke. Jason Shank, 32, and three friends from Chicago in town for a bachelor party, gave the man $20 and that ignited Young’s racist rant, which doesn’t need to be repeated here, but Young then scuffled with Shank.
So Young was placed on major league baseball’s restricted list and told to undergo anger management treatment, but he will continue to collect his $6.75 million salary while inactive. The guy could be back as early as this week, but he’ll be on a very short leash, you can be sure.
–I forgot to note the retirement of catcher Ivan Rodriguez after 21 seasons of what is certain to be a first ballot Hall of Fame career. He’s the career leader in games played at his position (2,427), had 2,844 hits, 311 home runs, batted .296, won an MVP, was named to 14 All-Star teams, and took 13 Gold Gloves, a record for catchers. I’d mention how some of his numbers were seemingly artificially inflated, but I’ll hold off.
–The family of Ted Williams has placed a ton of his memorabilia on auction with proceeds benefiting his beloved Jimmy Fund, a charity affiliated with Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. So on Saturday, Williams’ 1949 MVP plaque sold for nearly $300,000 and my own favorite, a baseball in pristine condition that Babe Ruth autographed for Ted went for $195,000. The ball has the inscription: “To my pal Ted Williams, From Babe Ruth” and was a record for a baseball autographed by The Babe. Among the other items in the auction, a Red Sox road jersey went for $126,500.
–And we note the passing of five-time World Series champion Moose Skowron, 81, who won four rings with the Yankees (1956, 58, 61 and 62) and one with the Dodgers (63). Skowron hit .282 in 14 big league seasons with 211 home runs and 888 RBI. Four times he hit 20 homers and he was a six-time All-Star. In 39 World Series games, he had 8 home runs and drove in 29.
Moose Skowron’s was one of the first baseball cards I vividly remember, 1967, as he was winding down his career with the White Sox. He just looked so different. More like a football player (which he was at Purdue).
As to the name, he was born William Joseph Skowron on Chicago’s North Side and received the nickname Moose when he was 7 after his grandfather gave him a haircut that friends said made the boy look like Mussolini, with the nickname shortened to Moose.
–Finally, especially for you New York area fans, Mickey Mantle’s restaurant is in serious danger of going out of business as the current owner is about to be evicted for failure to pay the rent. I haven’t been to Mantle’s in years (it’s on Central Park South), but used to go frequently. Good country fried steak, I remember, and great pictures, as you can imagine. It seems it will close by end of May, unless the owners find $1 million quickly.
The restaurant opened in 1987 and at the time, Mantle owned only 7 percent of it, but he had such a good time he was a regular. Unfortunately, I never saw The Mick myself. But I did see him hit his 500th home run in person!
The rent, by the way, was $250,000 when it opened and, according to the New York Post’s Steve Cuozzo, is $850,000 today.
It’s nice to be watching hockey again. I said I’d get back into the Rangers this year and I caught six of the seven playoff contests against the Ottawa Senators and, of course, Game One vs. Washington on Saturday. The action has been superb, but then the Stanley Cup Playoffs seldom disappoint.
And how about Boston College’s Chris Kreider? The kid leads the Eagles to the NCAA title earlier this month and then makes his debut about a week ago with the Rangers. All the 20-year-old has done is instantly become one of the top 3 or 4 on the team, and he scored the tie-breaking goal in Saturday’s 3-1 win, while also setting up the clincher for Brad Richards.
–The Bowl Championship Series is finally changing after the January 2014 bowl games’ contract with the networks expires. As the commissioners of 11 major conferences, plus Notre Dame, got together last week, they considered an 8-team and 16-team playoff to determine a national champion, but decided it would undermine the importance of the regular season and postseason bowl games, so instead they are headed towards a four-team option, where it needs to be decided if the current bowl system will be folded into it or they create new bowls. Plus they have to determine whether the games should be held at campus sites or neutral ones. But I won’t belabor the topic because a final decision isn’t due until end of June at the earliest. [The Rose Bowl’s exclusive contract with the Pac-12 and Big Ten complicates matters some.] I just hope the college season is over before Jan. 10.
–The NFL has “suspended” the Pro Bowl, with the 2013 game, scheduled for Jan. 27, up in the air. The league is negotiating with the players association regarding the future of a contest I swear I have not watched a single minute of since I was a kid.
My suggestion is they play an electric football game with the players selected getting their own plastic figurines, and then have a contest on NFL.com to see who the two operators would be.
–In winning the Zurich Open down in New Orleans, Jason Dufner finally won his first PGA Tour title at age 35, defeating Ernie Els in a playoff, after Ernie blew an easy putt on the first hole of sudden death that would have given him the win.
—Kyle Busch won his fourth straight spring race at Richmond on Saturday night, besting Richard Petty’s three straight (1971-73). But as usual there was all kinds of controversy which I won’t get into, though NASCAR fans will know what I’m talking about, re Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart.
–When I’m in Eugene, Oregon for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, I’ll bore you to tears with the subject of financing for the athletes, as I’ve been collecting material on the topic, but for now picture being an athlete on the Greek Track and Field squad. As Anthee Carassava wrote the other day in the Los Angeles Times, the federation has seen cutbacks “totaling about a third of its $10 million annual budget.” Scores of coaches and support staff members haven’t been paid in 10 months.
“Promises of stipends and civil-service jobs to star athletes, in exchange for a commitment to training, have been canceled.”
Just as bad, those gleaming facilities built for the 2004 Olympics “are deteriorating, the result of severe cost-cutting. Basic repairs, such as the leaky roof at the cavernous Olympic Stadium, have been put off.”
You wouldn’t believe how many American athletes live on virtually nothing.
–Updated Division I Men’s Golf Coaches’ Poll
1. Texas
2. Auburn
3. Alabama
4. UCLA
5. California
6. Arkansas
7. USC
8. UNLV
9. Stanford
10. Georgia Tech
11. North Florida…since I noted them last time, wanted them to get credit for rapidly moving up
–USA TODAY/ESPN College Baseball Poll
1. Florida State
2. Florida
3. Kentucky
4. Baylor
5. South Carolina
6. LSU
7. Central Florida
8. Rice
9. Stanford
10. North Carolina
—ALERT: What is being described by many as the most consequential game in Premier League soccer in 20 years is Monday, at 2:30 pm, ET, on ESPN2…Manchester United vs. Manchester City…the “Manchester Derby.” These two are not only first and second with three matches to go in the season, but they truly hate each other.
–When I’ve been away it takes me a while to catch up with my reading (I really do subscribe to about 30 weeklies and monthlies) and if you missed it, catch Frank Deford’s piece in Sports Illustrated from two weeks ago titled “When the NBA Was Young,” an extensive excerpt from his new book, “OVER TIME: MY LIFE AS A SPORTSWRITER.” Just outstanding.
I didn’t become really aware of the NBA until 1967, when I came of age as a fan of all the big sports (it was dribbling out in ’66, when I was eight and went to my first Mets game).
Deford reminds those of a certain age when the NBA was really bush league. Like do you remember how many doubleheaders there used to be? I remember my father taking me to one in the old Garden, thick with cigarette and cigar smoke that rose and then by game’s end wafted back down. We saw a doubleheader…I can’t begin to remember who was in the first contest…but the Knicks played the Royals, with Connie Dierking (that was my big memory).
–Bob Smith, the inventor of the fog-resistant ski goggle, passed away at the age of 78.
“Dr. Smith’s innovation, in the mid-1960s, was a double-lens goggle with breathable foam to provide better ventilation. The new goggles significantly reduced fogging, and the design has become the industry standard.
“Using dental tools, foam and glue, Dr. Smith began building his first prototypes on his kitchen table. He traded his new goggles for lift tickets to ski mountains in Idaho or sold them to ski patrollers, who provided him with feedback to tweak his designs.” [T.A. Shapiro / Washington Post]
–Hey, Rich L. I forgot to mention that when I was in Lexington, Virginia, the beer of choice was Stella. [The Southern Inn and Red Hen were two outstanding restaurants, for those heading to the area.]
–We note the passing of legendary New York DJ, Pete Fornatale, 66, of complications from a stroke.
It was in 1969 that WNEW-FM allowed Fornatale to establish a free-form program and he developed a cult following by spinning records of lesser-known artists and album cuts beyond the hit singles. Among those he helped launch was Poco, the country-rock band. What made Fornatale different was that he really became close friends with many of his favorites, such as Simon & Garfunkel, about whom he wrote a well-received book.
I have to admit I was a WCBS-FM guy, and before that a very loyal WABC-AM listener, so didn’t catch Fornatale’s act.
Top 3 songs for the week of 4/24/71: #1 “Joy To The World” (Three Dog Night…not my favorite of theirs) #2 “What’s Going On” (Marvin Gaye…in my top three of his) #3 “Put Your Hand In The Hand” (Ocean…sucks)… and…#4 “Never Can Say Goodbye” (The Jackson 5… easily my favorite of theirs) #5 “Another Day” (Paul McCartney…not bad, as Macca goes solo) #6 “I Am…I Said” (Neil Diamond…blows) #7 “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” (The Temptations…saw them at Radio City with the Four Tops in around 1982…as Ronald Reagan said, not bad…not bad at all) #8 “If” (Bread…was finally tiring of white bread about this time…learning to enjoy the goodness of whole wheat) #9 “She’s A Lady” (Tom Jones…have a signed photo of the lad over my bed to encourage the ladies to throw their underwear at me) #10 ”Stay Awhile” (The Bells…man, don’t remember this one…just listened to it…sucks)
St. Louis Cardinals Quiz Answers: 1) Six with 200 homers: Stan Musial, 475; Albert Pujols, 445; Ken Boyer, 255; Jim Edmonds, 241; Ray Lankford, 228; Mark McGwire, 220. [Didn’t think you’d get Lankford] 2) Jesse Haines is the only other Cardinal to win 200 games, going 210-158 in a career spanning 1920-37. He was a 3-time, 20-game winner. But he’s also in the Hall of Fame, a total joke…selected by the Veterans Committee in 1970 after never getting more than 8% from the writers. No offense to the Haines family. Jesse is buried in Phillipsburg, Ohio, by the way; in case you want to pay your respects. [Dizzy Dean was 134-75 for the Cards from 1930-37]
