NOTE: I returned from South Carolina, Sunday afternoon, and don’t have the time to do a normal Bar Chat.
But I do have to note I ran a 2:09 (chip time) in my half-marathon on Saturday on Kiawah, which you can see on rmssports.com/results/12kiawah.txt, where you can also find last year’s results (substitute 12 with 11) and you’ll see I finished two minutes better! [And five better than 2009.] So this old man still has a little left…but not much. Because, boys and girls, I hit the wall big time at the 10-mile mark…as you can also see from a comparison at that stage between 2011 and 2012. Like I ran the last 3.1 miles in ’11 in 28 minutes and this year in 32. That’s a huge difference. I was dead.
But I didn’t walk any of it, though I kind of wish I had.
So I vow to do it one more time and see if, somehow, I can get down to 2:05.
Meanwhile, my friend and frat bro from Wake Forest, Doctor W., and I played the Ocean Course on Friday and while I sucked, I still had a great par on No. 14 (very tough par-3) and a bunch of good bogeys, while the good doctor shot in the low 80s. This is a guy who before his three or four knee surgeries, spinal fusion and other major ailments ran a 1:08 half-marathon (which was also the winning time in Kiawah) and a 2:32 marathon.
*One side note of my weekend. I didn’t realize what a Premier League fanatic Dr. W. was, me being a junior fan who wishes he knew more than he does. So we’re also talking how great Barcelona (not Premier League) is, which I knew enough about, and then on Sunday, Lionel Messi of same set the record for most goals in a calendar year by scoring his 86th. I mean this is a big deal. In 1972, Germany’s Gerd Mueller tallied 85 to set the benchmark for goals scored for club and country. Messi has 74 goals for Barcelona and 12 for Argentina in 66 games.
And as Dr. W. also concurs, Barcelona is probably the greatest team of all time the way they are playing this year.
Bizarre game in the Meadowlands as the Giants (8-5) defeated the Saints (5-8) 52-27 with rookie running back David Wilson having his breakthrough game. Wilson, who your editor said was a great pick (BC 4/30) by the Giants when they made it last spring, had a team-record 327 all-purpose yards, including a 97-yard kickoff return and 100 yards rushing. New Orleans’ Drew Brees had two more interceptions, giving him nine in three games.
Dallas moved to 7-6 in defeating the Bengals (7-6) 20-19.
And Washington also ran its record to 7-6 with a stirring win at home against the 9-4 Ravens, 31-28 in overtime, as backup QB Kirk Cousins, in for the injured Robert Griffin III, rallied the Skins late to send it into OT. Griffin suffered a knee injury though it was later found to be a sprain, not torn ACL as feared. He’ll miss a week, most likely, but probably nothing more as the Giants, Skins and Cowboys battle it out for the NFC East title.
–The Arizona Cardinals started the season 4-0. They have now lost nine straight and none remotely worse than the 58-0 demolition at the hands of the host Seahawks as Arizona committed eight turnovers! Yes, I’d say coach Ken Whisenhunt’s job status is rather iffy.
Meanwhile, Seattle moved to 8-5, clearly one of the better stories in the NFL this year.
The Jets are now 6-7 with a 17-10 win down in Jacksonville (2-10). Mark Sanchez was given the nod at QB and sucked, but the ground game, and defense, prevailed.
So the Jets somehow remain in the wildcard chase after the Chargers (5-8) upset the Steelers (7-6) in Pittsburgh, 34-24, while the Bengals, as noted, are at 7-6 too.
Carolina (4-9) beat Atlanta, handing the Falcons just their second loss of the season, now 11-2.
The Vikings’ Adrian Peterson has 1,600 yards rushing with three games to go, including seven straight with 100 yards, the latest being his 31-154, 2 TD effort in leading Minnesota (7-6) to a 21-14 win over Chicago (8-5), thus keeping the Vikings’ playoff hopes alive.
And the Indianapolis Colts, with the underrated cheerleaders, moved to 9-4…startling…in besting the Tennessee Titans (4-9), 27-23.
–Dallas nose tackle Josh Brent was charged with intoxicated manslaughter in the death of teammate Jerry Brown, a practice squad member, who was killed in an auto accident with Brent at the wheel.
College Football
—Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy as the quarterback also known as “Johnny Football” garnered 2,029 votes to Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o’s 1,706. Kansas State’s Collin Klein was a distant third with 894.
–So I’m sitting in the bar at The Sanctuary in Kiawah on Saturday night, watching the second half of Army-Navy, and once again Army came up short, losing for an 11th straight time to the Midshipmen, 17-13. Army drove to the 14 in the final minute but then the fullback fumbled. (Congrats, Bobby C….a crafty lefty on the mound for Summit High who then went on to the Naval Academy).
—Tommy Tuberville went from Texas Tech to Cincinnati, an interesting career move, after Cincy’s Butch Jones left to become Tennessee’s next coach.
–The Division I-AA (FCS) semifinalists are…
Eastern Washington, Georgia Southern, North Dakota State and Sam Houston State.
College Basketball
St. Francis (N.Y.) just barely came up empty to Boston College, 72-64. Almost, J. Mac (famous alum).
No. 13 Illinois (10-0) had a nice win at No. 10 Gonzaga (9-1), 85-74…so the Illini will crack the top ten.
Eastern Michigan upset Purdue 47-44.
And Seton Hall defeated the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 71-67 as the now 4-5 Deacs were outrebounded, at home, 40-23! Goodness gracious, we suck.
Ball Bits
–Amazing…the Dodgers signed Zack Greinke to a six-year, $147 million contract, the highest ever handed out to a righty pitcher. Greinke also become the fourth Dodger to average $20 million or more a season on his contract (joining Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Kemp and Carl Crawford). Only Philadelphia has a similar situation with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Ryan Howard.
—Michael Young, a seven-time All-Star infielder with the Texas Rangers, was traded to the Phillies for two relief pitchers. The Rangers will pay a reported $10 million of Young’s $16 million contract for 2013. He has 2,230 career hits and a .301 average.
–Drat…the Mets won’t get outfielder Ryan Ludwick, it seems, as he is supposedly re-signing with Cincinnati for two years, $15 million. Ludwick had 26 home runs and 80 ribbies this past season.
—Seattle has signed Jason Bay for one year and $1,250….or I imagine something like that, seeing as the Mets owe the guy $16 million or so.
–Sounds like an incredibly vicious fight Saturday night between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez as in their fourth match, Marquez knocked Pacquiao out with a thunderous right hand in the sixth round. Pacquiao was knocked flat on his face and didn’t get up for two minutes. He was sent to the hospital but a CT scan revealed no damage.
Pacquiao entered the bout with a 2-0-1 lead in this highly lucrative series for both. Pacquiao made $20 million to get his face smashed in, though, it needs to be noted he led all three cards after five rounds.
The sad part is Pacquiao, a folk hero in his native Philippines, wasn’t able to provide some relief for a nation reeling over the devastation wrought by a typhoon that has killed over 600.
–No. 16-seed Indiana won its eighth NCAA Division I men’s soccer championship with a 1-0 victory over Georgetown.
—Lindsey Vonn did it again…winning a World Cup super-G on Saturday in St. Mortiz (her 57th career win). But overall World Cup leader (it’s early…and remember Lindsey missed a few races at the start due to her hospitalization for a stomach ailment) Slovenian Tina Maze, Vonn’s chief rival, took exception to something Vonn uttered upon crossing the finish line.
Vonn acknowledged cursing, and Maze’s team said it was directed at her which caused a stink.
“They think I said something very bad about her when I came to the finish, and that is absolutely not true,” Vonn said. “I swore, and I shouldn’t have done that.”
Vonn said she told Maze, “I hope you trust me enough to believe me. Apparently they don’t. It definitely hurts. I would never say anything bad about another athlete at the finish.”
Maze’s team wanted the result nullified for misconduct, the freakin’ a-holes. The International Ski Federation, however, examined the post-race footage and found nothing wrong.
[The next day, Maze won the giant slalom and leads Vonn (who is 3rd) in the overall standings by 263 points. You get 100 for a race win. It’s a long season.]
—Men’s Division I Ice Hockey Poll
1. New Hampshire
2. Boston College…Steve D. wishing Wake Forest had ice hockey so he could win a lunch
3. Miami (Ohio)
4. Notre Dame
5. Minnesota
6. Denver
7. Boston Univ.
8. Western Michigan
9. North Dakota
10. Dartmouth
11. Quinnipiac
12. Union
No Colgate or St. Lawrence.
–Congratulations to my high school alma mater, Summit, which won its seventh state title on Saturday in the Meadowlands, thus completing the eighth undefeated season in our history, 12-0. It was our second state title in four years. As Ronald Reagan would have said…not bad, not bad at all.
It’s also kind of cool that the architect of our 30-0 final win, defensive coordinator Jim Dietz, was my math teacher about 38 years ago. [Dietz, a great guy, played two years of minor league ball as a catcher in the Phillies organization.]
“Passengers on an Egypt Air flight to Kuwait became the unwilling participants in an all-too-real version of the action thriller ‘Snakes on a Plane’ this week, after a cobra escaped from one man’s hand luggage.
“The plane that had taken off from Cairo was forced to make an emergency landing in the Egyptian resort town of Al Ghardaqa on the Red Sea after the serpent bit the 48-year-old Jordanian that had smuggled it on board, the Jordan Times reported.
“The passenger, who owns a reptile shop in Kuwait, hid the Egyptian cobra in a carry-on bag but it managed to escape down the passenger aisle…
“The Egyptian daily al-Masry-al-Youm reported that the man refused medical treatment, claiming his wound was only superficial. The plane resumed its flight to Kuwait after local authorities confiscated the snake.”
—Six are dead in the Balkans after 50 cm of snow fell in just a few hours, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. That’s 19 inches in a few hours!
–I had no idea Mexican-American pop singer Jenni Rivera had sold 20 million records. Rivera died in a plane crash on Sunday.
–The Rolling Stones played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday night and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen universally better reviews than they received…which is very cool. [OK, Bruuuuce has received the same favorable coverage.]
Next Bar Chat, Thursday. An important update on the All-Species List, plus I’m going to bore the heck out of you with more details on aging and running, if you keep it where it is.
