[Posted early Wed. pm, before the conclusion of Andy Roddick’s rain-delayed match vs. del Potro, let alone Giants-Cowboys.]
NFL Quiz: Name the top five rushers all-time, yards. Answer below. [Hint: Don’t waste your time thinking of active players.]
College Football
AP Top Ten after week one…
1. Alabama
2. USC
3. LSU
4. Oregon
5. Oklahoma
6. Florida State
7. Georgia
8. Arkansas
T-9. South Carolina
T-9. West Virginia
–Very few games of interest this coming weekend. Actually, it’s a good Saturday to go to a high school game, as your editor will be doing (my alma mater’s field is all of a five-minute walk for me).
No. 13 Wisconsin at Oregon State has some potential, though I plead to knowing nothing about the 2012 edition of the Beavers. However, being an Oregon Duck fan, and owning a ton of Duckwear, it is always smart in these situations to hedge your bet…own some Beaverwear as well, and so I have quite a collection of Beaverwear in the drawer containing sportswear from the Western U.S.
Miami at No. 21 Kansas State is critically important for the ACC’s rep, not that it wasn’t already long shattered.
And Purdue at No. 22 Notre Dame will be interesting, maybe.
But North Carolina at Wake Forest for us Deacon alum could really suck.
I also learned from Dick Weiss of the New York Daily News that Savannah State received $385,000 for the privilege of losing to Oklahoma State 84-0, with Florida State next up (FSU is paying Savannah $475,000).
“(If) Savannah State administrators had any concern for the safety, welfare and psyche of their overmatched players, they should have taken a pass. We understand smaller schools that support football have bills to pay, but the idea of using players to balance an athletic budget is sad.”
Lastly, the other day on ESPN they had a high school football game featuring two teams from the Mobile, Alabama area. High school…in September…on ESPN So there were a few minutes left in the game when I stumbled on it and the losers’ receivers dropped two easy passes in the final drive and I thought, what an awful product to be showing on the network to a national audience. Like who would possibly want to watch this?
Then again, the Jets’ receivers will be dropping easy passes this season too.
Ball Bits
On July 18, the New York Yankees were 57-34 and had a 10-game lead in the A.L. East. Since then, after losing on Tuesday to Tampa Bay, they have gone 19-25 and are now tied with the Baltimore Orioles, with the Rays just 1 ½ back.
It’s easy to forget that while everyone talks of the Pittsburgh Pirates not finishing over .500 for 19 consecutive seasons, the Orioles have their own 14-season losing streak going.
As for the Yankees, “Since the divisional format was introduced in 1969, the Yankees have made the playoffs all 15 times they entered September with a division lead.” [David Waldstein / New York Times]
The Yankees do, however, have a super easy last ten games of the season, all played against the Twins, Blue Jays and Red Sox. But can they regain some mojo before then?
–What if the Yankees, Orioles and Rays all tied for the A.L. East title? Suffice it to say it would be a nightmare from a scheduling standpoint, let alone if another team had the exact same wildcard record. I’ve seen the scenarios and they are ridiculously complicated, so…not going to get into them now. Wouldn’t be prudent. Just understand you have to decide the division winner before you can move on to the wildcard playoff.
–Atlanta benched second baseman Dan Uggla, the only second baseman in major league history with five 30-homer seasons. He hit .160 in June, .115 in July and .207 in August. He signed a five-year, $62 million contract in 2011 that continues through 2015.
–Back in 2007, the American Mustache Institute voted Mets broadcaster Keith Hernandez’ mustache the top of all time. But now the New York Times’ Richard Sandomir reports that for the final game of the season, Oct. 3, Keith’s stache could be coming off.
Hernandez is giving in, letting it turn gray this season because he no longer is a paid spokesman for Just for Men, where he had starred for years with former Knick Walt “Clyde” Frazier.
Keith has had the mustache since at least 1979, except in 1987, he shaved it and later hit two home runs against the Cubs after going through a 10-game batting slump. He’s kept it ever since.
Ryder Cup
U.S. captain Davis Love III filled out his squad for Medinah (Sept. 28-30) in selecting Jim Furyk, Steve Sticker, Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker. I don’t see how anyone can quibble too much though the two players probably most upset at being excluded are Nick Watney and Hunter Mahan, Mahan having two wins this year, including the Match Play Championship when he whipped Rory McIlroy in the final. But Mahan has just one top 10 in about the last five months. Rickie Fowler was also in the mix but he hasn’t played well at all recently and simply didn’t deserve a place on the squad.
The only question I have would be Furyk, who is 20-10-3 in Presidents Cup play but only 8-15-4 in the Ryder Cup, plus he has those major choke jobs in the final round this year. But Furyk is 9-4-1 combined in singles play.
The other eight for the Americans are Tiger, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar.
For the Europeans it is Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Graeme McDowell, Paul Lawrie, Francesco Molinari, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Peter Hanson, Martin Kaymer, Ian Poulter and Nicolas Colsaerts; the latter two captain Jose Maria Olazabal’s wildcard picks.
Last five Ryder Cups:
2004, Oakland Hills, Michigan: Europe wins 18 ½ – 9 ½
2012? Europe 16-12 as we miss one short putt after another in singles play. Very worried about Phil, Furyk and Simpson in this regard; not that Tiger has been consistent himself on the greens.
Meanwhile, at the Deutsche Bank Championship, round two of the FedEx Cup playoffs, Rory McIlroy won his fifth PGA Tour event, third this year, tying Tiger in that category.
On the College Golf front, Golf World has their preseason picks for the 2012-2013 season and they’ve ranked the following.
1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. California
4. UCLA
5. Washington
If you went all the way out to those schools receiving votes, Wake Forest’s once-proud program would be No. 37. Pathetic. We don’t have one player in Golf World’s “Top 50 Male Players to Watch.”
1. Alabama
2. UCLA
3. USC
4. Arizona State
5. Duke
Again, if I went out to votes received, in this case the Lady Deacs would be No. 36, also with zero among the “Top 5 Female Players to Watch.”
And on a different golf-related bit, Director of Tennis for Bar Chat, Jeff B., arrived in Kiawah the other day and the Charleston airport was a ghost town (Sunday). Jeff asked a woman at the baggage claim what it was like during the PGA and she replied, “Horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible.” [Direct quote] Jeff said, “She then shared a few stories about the crowds of unhappy visitors (especially when leaving to go home), the hours and hours they spent waiting for buses in the heat and on and on.” Jeff heard similar stories in Charleston later, while at the Ocean Course, where he and the missus were having lunch, the staff “was in full damage control” when the topic of the PGA came up.
Jeff also noted how empty the main resort there (The Sanctuary) was. Granted, it’s the week after Labor Day but still. Jeff is still seeking out the truth on the alligator front and the death toll that the International Tourism Cartel is trying to hide.
–Norman Chad of the Washington Post had a terrific observation about Peyton and Eli Manning.
“I have nothing against Eli Manning – he’s crafted a really nice career and grown into a clutch performer under the bright lights amidst the swampy marshes of New Jersey – but I am tired of hearing this notion that he’s a superior signal-caller to his big brother.
“If Super Bowl rings are our only measuring stick, then Trent Dilfer was a better quarterback than Dan Fouts.
“Has Peyton been mediocre in the postseason? Absolutely. But Eli’s Giants also have had greater defenses than Peyton’s Colts, and Peyton’s never had a run-of-a-mill receiver make a once-in-a-lifetime catch off the top of his helmet while falling to the turf.
‘Plus watch all the games, people: Peyton operates with the precision of a heart surgeon; Eli is more of a traffic op wandering around looking for expire meters.”
Separately, Norman Chad had his $1.25 “Ask the Slouch” bit. I loved this one…for those with a sense of humor.
Q: Are the Washington Nationals’ Zimmerman boys – Ryan and Jordan – the first successful brother teammates since Frank and Brooks Robinson? (Mitchell Shapiro; Rockville)
A. Neither Ryan Zimmerman and Jordan Zimmermann nor Frank and Brooks Robinson are brothers. But your errant inquiry reminded me of baseball’s foremost sibling teammates, the Alou boys – Felipe, Matty, Jesus and Boog.
—NASCAR’s regular season ends Saturday night in Richmond, race No. 26 and the last in which drivers can qualify for the season-ending 10-race Chase for the Cup that decides the Sprint Cup Series champion.
The top 10 drivers in season points qualify plus two wild-card drivers with the most wins among those 11th to 20th in points. If more than one driver in that group has the same number of wins, the tiebreaker goes to the one highest in points.
Nine have already clinched a spot in the Chase.
Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick.
Reigning champion Tony Stewart is 10th but could easily lose his automatic slot with Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch in striking distance. However, Stewart would then get one of the wild-card spots because he has three wins this season. Kahne, with two wins, would appear fairly secure for the other wild-card.
NASCAR at least has to be pleased Earnhardt is in the picture.
–So you know how I’ve made the comments about South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius, aka Blade Runner, and his artificial legs? In the Paralympics, Pistorius was upset in the 200 by Alan Fonteles Oliveira and immediately after complained about the size of Oliveira’s blades when Oliveira was able to run down Pistoria in the stretch.
Pistorius can’t alter the length of his blades if he wants to continue to compete in the able-bodied competitions because they have to conform to IAAF regulations, whereas Oliveira is allowed to use his blades, four inches longer, because they are within the Paralympics rules.
Regardless, you can see with just this one example the slippery slope the sport is gradually finding itself on in terms of able-bodied competitions and the likes of future performers like Pistorius.
–There is yet another burgeoning recruiting scandal in Los Angeles, this one involving the UCLA Bruins’ basketball program, with the eligibility of Shabazz Muhammad, Kyle Anderson, Tony Parker and Jordan Adams being questioned and Muhammad and Anderson still awaiting official clearance. As the Los Angeles Times notes, you can’t help but speculate that UCLA cheated to attract such a talented class.
For its part, UCLA said it was working “closely with the [NCAA] to establish the facts and circumstances for a fair and thorough review.”
CBSSports.com recently polled nearly 100 college coaches nationwide and among the questions asked about the state of the sport was one where UCLA coach Ben Howland was rated number three on the list of “perceived” cheaters. Muhammad and Anderson were included among the most suspicious recruitments in recent years. [David Wharton and Chris Foster / Los Angeles Times]
–Jeffrey Gettleman of the New York Times had an extensive and highly depressing story on the plight of the African elephant who continues to be slaughtered at an outrageous pace. Congolese authorities, for example, believe the Ugandan military recently killed 22 from a helicopter “and spirited away more than a million dollars’ worth of ivory.”
“They were good shots, very good shots,” said (Paul) Onyango, (Garamba/Congo National Park’s) chief ranger. “They even shot the babies. Why? It was like they came here to destroy everything.”
“Conservation groups say poachers are wiping out tens of thousands of elephants a year, more than at any time in the previous two decades, with the underground ivory trade becoming increasingly militarized.”
As Gettleman notes, the situation is no different from that of blood diamonds. Many armed groups use the tusks to buy more weapons.
70 percent of the illegal ivory is flowing to China, with China’s growing middle class fostering further demand. Ivory commands $1,000 per pound on the streets of Beijing.
“High-ranking officers in the People’s Liberation Army” have a fondness for ivory trinkets as gifts.
–One of the world’s great athletes, Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, devoured 191 chicken wings in 12 minutes to set a new record at the National Buffalo Wing Festival Sunday. Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas was second with 170 wings.
–We note the passing of actor Michael Clarke Duncan, 54, who never recovered from a heart attack suffered in July. He was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his supporting role in “The Green Mile.”
Top 3 songs for the week 9/10/77: #1 “Best Of My Love” (Emotions…music was beginning to roll downhill…some say it would never recover….) #2 “(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher And Higher” (Rita Coolidge …musically just the pits) #3 “I Just Want To Be Your Everything” (Andy Gibb…whatever…we’ll cut him some slack…Andy having died at an all too early age)…and …#4 “Handy Man” (James Taylor…blows) #5 “Float On” (The Floaters… YESSSS!!! I love this one… Cancer… and my name is Larry…and I like a woman that likes everything and everybody…peaked at #2…Detroit one-hit wonders…Charles Clarke (lead), Larry Cunningham and brothers Paul & Ralph Mitchell …) #6 “Don’t Stop” (Fleetwood Mac…brings back some very, very, very bad political campaign memories, if you know what I’m sayin’) #7 “Easy” (Commodores…big slow dance tune at Wake Forest…ahem ahem…cough cough …that is if I could get a date…) #8 “Strawberry Letter 23” (The Brothers Johnson…you know, out of nowhere this was not a terrible week after all…this being an OK tune) #9 “Telephone Line” (Electric Light Orchestra…OK, back to reality…at Wake we had a suite of 8…four doubles…and while I was blaring Earth, Wind & Fire and Ronnie Laws (his “Pressure Sensitive” album, if I remember the title right), suitemate Bob B. was blasting ELO and Jeff M. was doing the same with Steve Miller’s “Book of Dreams”…and it was just a real mess when all three were being played at the same time) #10 “Smoke From A Distant Fire” (The Sanford/Townsend Band…one of the better beginnings for a tune of this decade …but then like Gerry Rafferty’s ‘Baker Street’ totally falls flat after…)
NFL Quiz Answer: Top five rushers all time.
1. Emmitt Smith…18,355
2. Walter Payton…16,726
3. Barry Sanders…15,269
4. Curtis Martin…14,101
5. LaDainian Tomlinson…13,684
6. Jerome Bettis…13,662
7. Eric Dickerson…13,259
Next Bar Chat, Monday…No. 1,500…the first 100 or so weren’t archived, but I have a copy of every single one and have been listing them all in my little blue book.
