Baseball Quiz: Yankees pitching… 1) Name the three to win 200 games in a Yankees uniform. 2) Who is the team leader in shutouts? 3) In 1978, Ron Guidry (not part of the answer to No. 1) went 25-3 in winning the Cy Young. What was his exact ERA? Answers below.
Manchester City Breaks the Drought!!!
Folks, in all honesty I witnessed Sunday morning what I believe is one of the great sports stories of the last 20 years as Manchester City captured its first Premier League title since 1968.
Here’s the thing. Needing a win (assuming Manchester United would win their last game of the season), City was facing Queens Park Rangers, a decided underdog trying to stave off ‘relegation’ (finishing among the last three in the 20-team Premier League which would have meant being dropped down to the next rung), and yet QPR was tied at 1-1 when their captain, Joey Barton, was sent off in the 55th minute after committing a number of dirty fouls. Like we’re talking egregious stuff. Barton’s legacy is toast…forever.
But there is QPR, playing 10-on-11 for the balance of the match, taking a 2-1 lead! And the lead stuck…and stuck…as the home City crowd cried in anguish. It was a foregone conclusion they’d win and wrap up the title no matter what Manchester United was doing; ManU, it turning out, was going on to defeat Sunderland 1-0 in its finale taking place at the same time.
“The result was what everyone expected, but the way in which Manchester City won the Premier League title…could never have been scripted. Well, it could have, but the script would have been thrown out of any Hollywood studio for being unbelievable, ridiculous even. You’re having a laugh? Win the Premier League title in the fourth minute of stoppage time after throwing away a 1-0 lead in what was shaping up to be a monumental choke job? Get out of here. But that’s exactly what Roberto Mancini’s side did in beating a 10-man QPR team 3-2 in what was the most exciting finish to the league title race perhaps ever, and certainly since Liverpool versus Arsenal in 1989.”
Yes, Man City pulled it off…scoring two in the final minutes. I had called my brother with 30 minutes left when it was 1-1, explaining what the situation was. He’s glad I did, suffice it to say. As good as it gets in the sport.
So, try and find it on YouTube. I’m sure there is a clip of the last 30 minutes. [You need to see more than the scoring action…it’s about the development of the story.] If you’re a fan of football you’ll thank me for it.
As the announcer on ESPN put it, in his terrific English accent, Manchester City had “flubbed their lines in the final act of the drama,” only then they didn’t. Later, he said, “One day there will be a Hollywood movie about this!” And this time one studio will accept it.
[QPR did still avoid relegation. Instead, Bolton, Blackburn and Wolverhampton go down; Bolton having been in the Premier League 11 seasons.]
I picked a good year to get back into hockey and have missed little of the New York Rangers’ 14 playoff games thus far, the Rangers winning another Game 7, 2-1 over Washington on Saturday in yet another titanic thriller. I mean, what a series.
Game 1: Rangers 3, Capitals 1
Game 2: Capitals 3, Rangers 2
Game 3: Rangers 2, Capitals 1 (3 OT)
Game 4: Capitals 3, Rangers 2
Game 5: Rangers 3, Capitals 2 (OT)
Game 6: Capitals 2, Rangers 1
Game 7: Rangers 2, Capitals 1
I’ve also never been close to being a fan of the Devils, despite living in the state they call home. But the two now play each other Monday to begin another series that promises to be memorable (though for the life of me I don’t see how the Rangers can win Game 1…they’re beat).
The two have played five times before in the playoffs.
1992…Rangers, 4-3
1994…Rangers, 4-3
1997…Rangers, 4-1
2006…Devils, 4-0
2008…Rangers, 4-1
Alas, for Rangers fans, as I noted last time, no NHL team has won the Cup after playing 14 games in the first two rounds as the Rangers now have.
Matt Kuchar bagged the Tournament Players Championship, the “fifth major” and his fourth tour title overall. I have to admit, I watched it all Saturday and Sunday but it didn’t grab me like it often does. The course is perfect for such an event. The drama was just lacking this time.
Now if Rickie Fowler had won, backing up his triumph last week in Charlotte, I would have been pumped. No doubt Fowler, who finished in a four-way tie for second, is taking dramatic strides in capturing the masses’ affection, a la Bubba Watson.
As for Kuchar, he’s a super guy and also great for golf as well. Hopefully he, too, continues to excel.
By the way, Rory McIlroy is now 0-for-3 in making the cut at the TPC.
Ball Bits
—Stephen Strasburg is probably baseball’s best pitcher, already. Consider that despite his injuries, he has now started 24 games and over the 136 innings, spanning 2010-2012, he has walked just 29 while striking out 167, with a 2.25 ERA and 9-4 record.
But already, with the Nationals’ fine play and definite post-season prospects, you have the growing debate about the organization’s belief Strasburg should not throw more than 160 innings this season, a total he is bound to surpass unless they shut him down in September, which seems nonsensical.
Strasburg himself has not commented, except to say, “We’re all in this together. If it does come to that, it would be tough.”
Scott Boras, Strasburg’s agent, said the issue is simple: “You’re following medical advice. Everyone would have great regret if the career of a player would be harmed for not following medical advice.”
Separately, Strasburg revealed his take on his injury in 2010, the torn ulnar collateral ligament.
“I think what led me to get hurt was not being in as good a shape. When you’re only throwing five innings in the minors and then you come up here and throw 90-something pitches your first game, and then expect to do that every five days, it’s a big adjustment. You look at what I was used to in college, we were done at the end of May.”
But the Nationals have major injury problems. Not only is Michael Morse still out, but Jayson Werth is officially out for three months and on Saturday, catcher Wilson Ramos (think kidnapping in his native Venezuela) was lost for the year with a torn ACL. Manager Davey Johnson truly has his work cut out for him. If the pitching stays healthy, though, they’ll be there in September.
—Johnny Damon, now of the Indians, his seventh team, believes he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame someday. As the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner writes, “At age 38, he had 2,730 career hits entering Saturday and said he already deserved a spot in the Hall. No sense being demure about it.
“ ‘Yeah,’ said Damon on Friday. ‘I think even if you look at my numbers now, how high I am on the runs list, how high I am on the doubles list, and you also have to take into account the ballparks that I’ve played in. I’ve played in some pretty tough ones for left-handers. If I played in Yankee Stadium my whole career, my 230 home runs turn into 300, easy.’
“Damon went on to mention the elite company he keeps on various career lists. For example, only four players in baseball history exceed Damon’s career totals for hits, runs, home runs and stolen bases: Barry Bonds, Rickey Henderson, Paul Molitor and Craig Biggio.
“ ‘You can also make a case for being a clean player in our generation – and I’ll take that running, hands-down,’ said Damon, who was then asked if players linked to steroids should ever be enshrined.
“ ‘It’s a tough question,’ he said. ‘But I would say not ahead of a guy like me. Or, their numbers have to be far above.’”
But Damon is only a two-time All-Star, his highest MVP finish is 13th, and he has no Gold Gloves.
Then again, he did lead the Red Sox and Yankees to World Series titles. And he does have ten seasons with 100 runs, plus 517 doubles and 404 stolen bases.
Damon ends up being the perfect candidate for sneaking in his last one or two years on the ballot, a la Bert Blyleven.
–I have to make note of Thursday’s contest between Texas and Baltimore, with the Orioles coming out on top, 6-5, in Baltimore. Texas starting pitcher Colby Lewis gave up five hits – all home runs – yet he also had a career-high 12 strikeouts; making him the first pitcher since 1918 to give up five homers and have at least 10 strikeouts in the same game. The contest was also historic in that the first three batters Lewis faced – Ryan Flaherty, J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis – all hit home runs. It was the first time in A.L. history that a team started out in such a fashion. Lewis then retired the next 18, striking out 11.
–Friday’s Mets-Marlins contest was the 8,000th game in Mets history…8,000 without a Met throwing a no-hitter. The all-time record for consecutive games without a no-hitter is 8,945…the Phillies going without from 1906 to 1964…Jim Bunning’s perfect game against the Mets on Father’s Day, 6/21/64, breaking that streak.
“Miami Marlins catcher Brett Hayes has a frightening tale to tell. But this is no ghost story.
“ ‘Sitting in traffic on the turnpike and a man with a gun just walked by our car…Not good,’ Hayes tweeted according to the Miami New Times.
“The backup catcher found himself stuck on a Florida highway after a gunman shot and wounded two South Florida law enforcement officers. The shooter walked right past Hayes’ car….
“Hayes said he and his wife were en route to a birthday party during the Marlins’ off day Thursday when a traffic jam on the Florida Turnpike in Hollywood left them at a standstill. Hayes then spotted a man with a handgun in the median walking toward them.
“ ‘The guy was walking by our car, and I made eye contact with him,’ Hayes said Friday. ‘I looked away nonchalantly and told my wife, ‘Don’t look at him,’ because it looked like he was obviously up to no good. Later I found out he had already shot two police officers.’”
A short time later an officer carrying a handgun and wearing a bulletproof vest passed Hayes’ car in pursuit. A short time later, the gunman killed himself.
–Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper was experiencing his worst day in his short major league career on Friday, going 0 for 5 with three strikeouts. In his fourth at-bat, in the seventh inning, he grounded out to second base, after which he took his bat down the tunnel that leads to the clubhouse, banged it against the wall and the bat bounded off the wall and drilled Harper above his left eye, immediately draw lots of blood.
He shook it off, returned to the field, but blood was still streaking down his face. It required ten stitches. Lesson learned.
–The Mets’ David Wright is hitting .400 thru Sunday’s play. No Met has been above that magical mark this late into the season since Cleon Jones was at .411 on this date in 1969. I remember that well.
But the Metsies should have left Miami with a 21-13 record and instead flew home 19-15 after freakin’ Frank Francisco blew saves Friday and Sunday. This is the one guy the Madoff-infected Mets decided to spend some money on in the offseason, giving him a two-year, $12 million deal. $6 million a year to f’ up. Thank you, Frank Francisco.
–Meanwhile, pitcher Chris Capuano, who was 11-12 for the Mets last year and pitched effectively, signed with the Dodgers when the Mets wouldn’t give him a second year on a new contract. I don’t blame Mets management on this one, owing to Capuano’s extensive history of injuries. But this year the guy is 5-0, 2.06. I called Charlie Brown and asked him for a reaction. “Good grief,” replied the Blockhead.
—Andy Pettitte made his first start for the Yankees since 2010 and lost on Sunday, going 6 1/3 and giving up four runs in a 6-2 defeat at the hands of the Mariners.
–Entering Sunday night’s Angels-Rangers contest…Albert Pujols was hitting .195 with 1 home run and 11 RBI. The Rangers’ Josh Hamilton had 18 HR 41 RBI and was batting .402.
–When Pujols left his old team, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cards knew they needed to replace some punch in the lineup so they signed Carlos Beltran. All Beltran has done is hit 13 homers and drive in 32. As Ronald Reagan would have said…not bad, not bad at all.
Carroll Shelby, RIP
The great race-car driver, turned designer, passed away at the age of 89.
Carroll Shelby did it all. He set land-speed records, won at the 24 hours of Le Mans, becoming just the second American-born driver to win the race in 1959, and produced the world’s greatest sports car, the original Cobra.
In World War II, he was a flight instructor, and after the war he raised chickens in Texas and was part-owner of a sports-car dealership. He took up racing part-time.
But then after his chickens died in an epidemic, he turned to racing full-time and won three sports car championships.
After heart trouble forced him to quit the sport, he moved to Venice, Calif., and turned his energies to turning out his first Cobras, simply the coolest car ever built. In fact in 2007, a 1966 model sold at auction for $5.5 million.
Now I ask you, guys. What would you rather have? A 1966 Cobra or a freakin’ Mark Rothko painting that recently sold for $89 million?
It was in 1964 that the Rip Chords had a top 5 hit with “Hey, Little Cobra.”
And of course Carroll Shelby designed the Mustang Shelby GT500, another of the great muscle cars.
Among the many other facets of Carroll Shelby is this fact. He was one of the nation’s longest-living heart transplant recipients, having received a heart on June 7, 1990.
Jay Leno, noted car enthusiast who owned three Shelby models, told the New York Times in 2003, “Carroll is sort of like the car world’s Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays. Unlike so many racers, he didn’t come from a rich family, so he signifies that Everyman, common-sense ideal. When I was a kid, American cars were big, clunky things, until Carroll used his ingenuity to make them compete with European cars.”
Say the name Carroll Shelby and all you’ll get are smiles. Now that’s a life well-lived.
The NFL’s Big Issue…continued…
“With each bone-breaking, head-injuring hit, NFL players are killing themselves slowly. It’s not a possibility. It’s a fact, no less certain than the league’s immense profitability.
“Football injuries can kill in a variety of ways. One particularly tragic way might be by making life unbearable for the afflicted. And autopsies have revealed that several former players who committed suicide suffered from brain trauma caused by repeated blows to the head.
“It’s unclear why former San Diego Chargers linebacker Junior Seau shot himself in the chest last week. There’s no proof, yet, that Seau even suffered from trauma-induced brain damage, much less killed himself because of it. But it’s a good bet it was on his mind.
“Why does a man choose to shoot himself in the chest instead of the head? Possibly to preserve evidence of the toll an NFL career takes on the brain. I believe Seau, who was just 43, wanted to deliver a final message, one that would force us to ask uncomfortable questions. And if that was his goal, he clearly succeeded….
“I want to pose (an) even more uncomfortable question that has escaped much contemplation: How much responsibility does the football-loving public share in the physical devastation endured by players? We revel in highlight-tape hits, yet we know the object of our delight leads to life-destroying pain. Each time we applaud young men for knocking heads with reckless abandon, we’re possibly dooming them to early death, or a life so miserable they will be driven to end it by their own hand.
“With everything we now know about how the body responds to the NFL workplace, continuing to support the league has become a question of morals. Ticket-buying, television-watching fans provide the fuel for the professional sports’ second-to-none money-making machine (the league generates about $9 billion annually in revenue)….
“In a sense, we’re like the ancient Romans. Essentially, NFL players are modern gladiators. In front of huge crowds, they fight each other for the public’s entertainment, at great peril to their health….
“I’ll continue to watch…But that doesn’t mean I’ll feel good about it. Or that I should.”
“I know it has been a rough week, so I wanted to reach out. Players dying, players suing and on top of that my peers are just going off on you in the media. It does not help that ESPN has all of a sudden become Medical TV with damn near every brain expert on the planet. This has got to be the worst week ever. Since no one is showing any support, I figured I would be the first….
“Y’all do a darn near perfect job at portraying this game as one played by heroes,” Ochocinco continued. “But let’s be real dad. This is a nasty, dirty and violent game with consequences. Sign up or go get a regular job. Watch it or turn off the TV and go fishing with your kids. It is really that simple.
“I know there are probably legal and financial implications that prevent this blunt depiction, but (I) am not sure if you have a choice. If you don’t say it now, the mounting evidence being revealed publicly will say it for you very soon.”
—LeBron James won his third MVP award in four years. Kevin Durant was second in the voting. Chris Paul a distant third.
–It seems that Denver Nugget’s forward Chris “Birdman” Andersen is the victim of extortion. Back in 2010, a female fan from California who represented herself as 21 years of age, sent Andersen several photos where she was scantily clad, and then in 2011, flew to Colorado, showing her required identification. After leaving Colorado, she became upset at his lack of interest. In 2012, she threatened to retaliate if he did not provide financial remuneration, according to a statement from Andersen’s attorney. The girl then seems to have told California police that Andersen had child porn and Colorado investigators seized it the other day. But Andersen’s attorney says the case is so bad, the woman’s mother wrote in an email that she wanted him “to pay for everything on her Amazon wish list, 5K for her bedding stuff and her Victoria Secret wish list.”
–The Knicks could easily lose Jeremy Lin. While they have the right to match any offer for the restricted free agent, with the way the salary cap works, they have limited resources to do so. They’ve gotta bring him back.
–The Knicks also want to retain J.R. Smith, though he’s expected to opt out of a $2.5 million player option because he could get more elsewhere. All J.R. did the last two games against Miami in the playoffs is shoot 6-for-30 from the field, including 1-17 from downtown. Niiice.
—Jimmie Johnson won the Sprint Cup race at Darlington on Saturday night, his first win of the year and the 200th Sprint Cup victory for team owner Rick Hendrick.
–I feel like I’ve been consistent over the years when it comes to the Bowl Championship Series and a Division I college football playoff. I like the BCS…controversy is good. Or rather, I just don’t see a playoff like they have at the other levels of the sport working because of the existing bowl system.
So I’m reading this piece by Rachel Bachman in the Journal and I like her idea.
“(When) it comes time for the BCS’ committee of university presidents to render a decision on (the new) playoff proposal, the two oldest and most intertwined major conferences of all, the Big Ten and the Pac-12, ought to do something unexpected. They should do the only thing that makes sense for them in this mixed up, money-soaked, logic-challenged situation.
“The schools of the Big Ten and Pac-12, whose shared history dates to the early 20th century, need to push away from this diabolical poker table, hail a pedicab for two, make their way to the airport and book a flight to Pasadena, Calif. They need to renew their vows and pledge themselves to serve the greater glory of the best thing about college football: the Rose Bowl.”
The rest of college football could have their own playoff, which would then force the networks to decide what is more valuable…a playoff or tradition?
Proponents of a playoff say the talked about four-team format is perfect, but it would diminish the Rose Bowl, and I agree with Bachman and others who say a growing playoff detracts from college football’s regular season. “The more playoff games there are, the less the season matters.”
Hell, by end of December, what game are you normally looking forward to watching New Year’s Day and after…the Rose Bowl or the BCS title game? I know I’ve never missed the Rose Bowl…while I’ve blown off the second-half of many a BCS championship game because it’s late in the evening and I’ve lost interest.
–The New York Jets’ Darrelle Revis called Patriots coach Bill Belichick a “jerk” last March in an ESPN interview. So on Thursday, Revis said he respects Belichick because “winning is winning.” But then he said, “When you say certain comments about the Jets, some things are disrespectful. It’s OK to have a rivalry, it’s OK to compete. But when it gets personal, then it gets disrespectful. I didn’t start this battle. It’s just the smart comments he says. It’s ignorant.”
More fireworks, guaranteed, for this year’s Jets-Pats matchups.
–Former Kentucky Wildcats star Rex Chapman told SI’s Dan Patrick that he was upset the Indiana-Kentucky rivalry appears to be ending. “He remembered a phone call with Bob Knight in which he planned to tell the Hoosiers coach he wasn’t going to Bloomington: ‘Before I got [it] out of my mouth, he could tell by [my] tone and hung up. It scared the crap out of me.’”
No. 1? Kiawah Island, S.C., one of the great spots in the country, period. Right, Jeff B.? Just watch out for the alligators; as spectators at this summer’s PGA Golf Championship on Kiawah’s Ocean Course are about to find out. I’m estimating the death toll at 567, though I may revise this upward as we get closer to the event. [42 will be killed by snake bites, including six caddies.]
Rounding the top five…2. Naples, Fla. 3. Sausalito, Calif. 4. Lake Bluff, Ill. 5. Tiburon, Calif.
The ranking, by Coastal Living Magazine, uses a formula including sunny days, beach quality, low crime, education of residents and other factors.
“Six leaders of South Korea’s biggest Buddhist order have quit after a video filmed secretly showed some monks playing high-stakes poker, drinking and smoking. The scandal erupted just days before Koreans observe a national holiday to celebrate the birth of Buddha. The head of the Jogye order, which has about 10 million followers, made a public apology on Friday. Seongho, a senior monk, said the stakes for the gambling were about $875,300.”
–“Crocodile eats man in rescue bid”
“An elderly man has been killed while trying to rescue his friend from crocodiles in northwest Zimbabwe.
“The National Anglers’ Union [Ed. not a member] said Frank Trott died after trying to rescue a friend paddling along the shoreline at Charara fishing camp. His friend survived but received wounds to his mid-section and buttocks.
“Two crocodiles were shot dead by wildlife rangers after last week’s attack. Remains of the victim – intestines and clothing – were found along the remote shores of Lake Kariba….
“The survivor’s wounds suggested he had been wading waist-deep in the lake when the crocodile attacked late in the evening. [Ed. the two friends had been drinking, you see.] Mr. Trott was seized by a second large crocodile resting in long grass when he raced into the water to answer his friend’s cries for help.” [Irish Independent]
–We note the passing of Mort Lindsey, 89. Anyone who used to watch Merv Griffin’s talk show will remember Lindsey, the leader of Griffin’s orchestra. But Lindsey also accompanied Barbra Streisand on the piano in Central Park and played with Judy Garland during her comeback concert at Carnegie Hall.
Lindsey was musical director for “The Merv Griffin Show” from 1962 to 1986. But it was on April 23, 1961, that he performed with Garland, who was then 38 and trying to resuscitate a career after her drug and alcohol abuse issues. Garland packed Carnegie Hall and the double album from that performance, “Judy at Carnegie Hall,” with Lindsey leading the orchestra, was No. 1 on the Billboard chart for 13 weeks and won four Grammy Awards.
You know who was pretty cool? Merv Griffin. I watched his weeknight show a lot, 8:30-10:00 p.m., when a Mets, Knicks or Rangers game wasn’t on. Looking back on his format, I still think it would work today, in that time slot. But you need a Merv Griffin to make it work.
Back to Lindsey, from Dennis Hevesi’s obit in the New York Times:
“Mr. Lindsey remained captivated by Garland’s Carnegie Hall performance. ‘Judy knew how to milk an audience,’ he told Vanity Fair magazine last year.
“ ‘I see her standing in the wings,’ he continued. ‘She’s not doing anything, just looking across the stage. She’s looking at me and I’m looking at her. I look in the audience, and there’s Ethel Merman and Rock Hudson and Benny Goodman, all these big shots sitting down in the first row, waiting and waiting. Is she going to come out? Is she going to do it? But she knows what she’s doing. Finally she gives me a nod, and I start the overture.’”
–Local hero and former New York Knick Walt “Clyde” Frazier has opened up Clyde Frazier’s Wine and Dine at 485 10th Ave. in Manhattan and with the place getting a lot of publicity through his appearances as a Knicks color commentator, I felt like I’ll have to check it out.
And then I read a review in Crain’s New York Business by Gael Greene and Clyde’s gets two hats out of three, or “I will definitely go back.” Seeing as it had been open only ten days when Greene went in, it almost wasn’t fair, I’m thinking, but Greene writes things such as “Curried onion fritters are delicious and addictive.” Gingered seafood dumpling….Mmmmm. “A 10-ounce burger with cheddar and bacon is the winner tonight. This Disneyland for hoops fans is not just sexy and fun. You can also eat well. Most of what I tasted in two visits was good or very good.”
And there are 56 flat-screens all over the place. Plus anytime Clyde is in town, he’s there.
–The Wall Street Journal’s Don Steinberg had a piece on comedian Marty Allen. Yes, he’s still alive…age 90! He is booked through 2012, too, touring with his musician/wife Karon Kate Blackwell.
Back in 1964, when Allen was in his 40s, he and his original straight man, Steve Rossi, appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” the second time the Beatles were on.
“There were thousands of kids hollering,” Mr. Allen recalls. “I kept thinking: What can I possibly say to get these kids crazy? I said, ‘Hello dere, I’m Ringo’s mother.’”
One thing I didn’t know about Allen’s career is it was Nat King Cole, who Allen toured with for years, who matched him up with Rossi, in a Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis-style pairing.
–I won’t be going to see “The Avengers,” just because. I mean I haven’t been to a theater since the last “Lord of the Rings” movie and my next one will be “The Hobbit.”
But I do have to note that for those still contemplating seeing “The Avengers,” Army Times gives it a sterling 4-star rating… “The wait has been worth every second. With rip-roaring action, mind-bending effects, laugh-out-loud humor and an abundance of style and heart, it’s arguably the best superhero flick in, oh…forever.”
Understand the reviewer for Army Times, Chuck Vinch, is normally very tough on his movies.
–Reminder…PBS’ “Johnny Carson: King of Late Night,” is tonight, Monday. 9:00 p.m. ET. Oops, Rangers-Devils on, too. DVR time.
Top 3 songs for the week 5/10/75: #1 “He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You)” (Tony Orlando & Dawn…lyrics OK, musically totally blows) #2 “Before The Next Teardrop Falls” (Freddy Fender) #3 “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song” (B.J. Thomas…like I always say, incredibly underrated artist)…and…#4 “Jackie Blue” (Ozark Mountain Daredevils…one of my favorite groups all time) #5 “Shining Star” (Earth, Wind & Fire…and put these guys in my favorite all-time acts…this being their first monster hit) #6 “Walking In Rhythm” (The Blackbyrds…super tune…Philadelphia sound) #7 “Philadelphia Freedom” (The Elton John Band…eh) #8 “Only Yesterday” (Carpenters…please eat something, Karen) #9 “Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance)” (Leo Sayer…he did worse) #10 “I Don’t Like To Sleep Alone” (Paul Anka with Odia Coates…interminable)
Baseball Quiz Answers: Yankees pitching… 1) Whitey Ford won 236, Red Ruffing 231, Andy Pettitte 203. 2) Whitey Ford leads with 45 shutouts. 3) Ron Guidry’s ERA was 1.74 in 1978. You know what’s shocking? Guidry finished 170-91 for his superb career, 3.29 ERA, yet the best he did in the Hall of Fame balloting was 8.8%. I mean c’mon, guys. He was also 5-2 in postseason play.
