Note: I was down at the Jersey shore all weekend (still a ton of post-Sandy work to do there for the residents….let alone last week’s boardwalk fire disaster) and thus didn’t have time to do a lot of site stuff. [My friends and I are also still trying to figure out who won the Saturday night poker game.]
NFL Quiz: Name the three Philadelphia Eagles running backs to rush for 5,000 yards in their career. Answer below.
College Football
–According to Forbes, tickets for the Alabama-Texas A&M game on Saturday were going for $763 on average, the highest ever for a college regular-season game. So if you were one who then plopped down that kind of coin, were you pleased after? No. 1 ‘Bama held on to defeat the No. 6 Aggies in College Station, 49-42, and no doubt it was entertaining.
Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel was 28/39, 464 yards and five touchdowns through the air, plus he rushed for 98 more. Receiver Mike Evans caught 7 of Johnny Football’s passes for 279. But Manziel also had two crucial interceptions. For Alabama, quarterback A.J. McCarron was his usual efficient self, 20/29, 334, 4 TDs, no interceptions, as he moved his record as a starter to 27-2.
Texas A&M took a quick 14-0 lead before Alabama roared back with 35 unanswered points. Overall, A&M outgained ‘Bama by 628-568, the most yards ever given up by the Crimson Tide. The 42 points were the most ever yielded in an Alabama win as well.
—No. 2 Oregon demolished visiting Tennessee 59-14 as Ducks quarterback (and major Heisman candidate) Marcus Mariota threw for 456 yards, tied for third-most in school history. The Ducks (quack quack) outgained the Vols 687-316.
—No. 7 Louisville only defeated Kentucky 27-13. Not good.
—No. 11 Michigan avoided what some would have described as the worst loss in program history in eking out a 28-24 win over lowly Akron. The Wolverines have been upset in Ann Arbor over the years by the likes of Appalachian State and Toledo, and Akron has had three straight one-win seasons, hasn’t won on the road in nearly five years (28 games) and was expected to lose Saturday by five touchdowns.
Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner, who looked so good against Notre Dame, had three interceptions and fumbled.
Akron had a chance to win in the final minute but a pass into the end zone was too high for the receiver.
—No. 16 UCLA, down 21-3 to No. 23 Nebraska in Lincoln, ended up thrashing the Cornhuskers 41-21.
—Arizona State upset No. 20 Wisconsin on a bizarre last play. Wisconsin, down 32-30, took over at its 17-yard line with 1:36 left. But the Badgers quickly drove down the field to the Arizona State 13 with 18 seconds left.
“With the ball on the right hash mark, (quarterback Joel) Stave took a snap and ran left toward the center of the field to set up the potential game-winning field goal. Stave started to kneel, but ran into one of his offensive linemen and awkwardly placed the ball on the ground before quickly bouncing back up.
“Players from both teams stood around for a few seconds in confusion and Arizona State’s players tried to dive on the ball, but the officials pointed to the ground, appearing to say it was a dead ball.
“Realizing the clock was still running, Wisconsin’s players scrambled back to the line of scrimmage with about 2 seconds left. They weren’t able to get a last snap off before the clock went off, sending Arizona State’s players streaming off the field in joy.
“Stave and the rest of Wisconsin’s players and coaches tried to argue the call, but the officials trotted off the field, leaving the Badgers stunned.” [AP]
—No. 21 Notre Dame defeated Purdue 31-24.
—No. 5 Stanford was favored by 30 over Army, at West Point, but Army handily beat the spread, going down only 34-20. Congratulations, Black Knights!
—USC defeated Boston College 35-7. Sorry, Steve D. But the Eagles picked up some frequent flyer miles in traveling to Los Angeles.
–The University of Central Florida stunned Penn State in Happy Valley, 34-31.
—Rutgers paid Eastern Michigan $850,000 to show up in Piscataway as the Scarlet Knights picked up a 28-10 victory. At halftime, Rutgers honored paralyzed former player Eric LeGrand, as he became the first to have his uniform number (52) retired. Super gesture.
–Congratulations to Fordham, which in stunning Temple 30-29 in Philadelphia, picked up its first win over an FBS (D-I) opponent since reinstating football in 1970.
–Lastly, about my alma mater, Wake Forest. I outlined last week just how far the athletic program has fallen. And then we hosted Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday and hit yet another low. From the notes I received after, it’s getting ugly.
Wake lost 21-19, despite driving 97 yards in the final two minutes to put the Deacs in position to send the game into overtime, only our best player, flanker Michael Campanaro, dropped the two-point conversion; this after he tied his own ACC record with 16 receptions in the game.
The Deacs had 15 yards rushing in 15 attempts. The past two weeks we have rushed the ball 54 times for a combined 70 yards.
But as Phil W. said, “Why does Wake bother scheduling someone like this? You have nothing to gain, and a ton to lose. We should be scheduling Indiana, Kansas, schools of that ilk when out of conference.”
This is coach Jim Grobe’s 13th season at the helm, 74-76 now at Wake. He’s done some very good things at the school. If nothing else, the first eight seasons we always competed and had a great three-year run, 2006-08. But since then the program has been sliding backward with each season. We have Army next week. If we don’t win that one, we’re staring at 1-11. Good grief.
1. Alabama (59 first-place votes)
2. Oregon (1)
3. Clemson
4. Ohio State
5. Stanford
6. LSU
7. Louisville
8. Florida State
9. Georgia
10. Texas A&M
13. UCLA
23. Arizona State*
*Steve G. observes that the ASU cheerleaders could give Oregon’s a run for their money in 2013. Steve also notes that the USC girls are slipping in this category.
–In the early games I only saw the first half of Green Bay-Washington and then the rapid fire endings between 4:00 and 4:25 ET. For a second straight week, Robert Griffin III only came alive in the second half and it was too late, again, as the Redskins fell to the Packers 38-20 to go to 0-2, while Green Bay rebounded from its opening week loss to San Francisco. Aaron Rodgers had a career-high 480 yards and 4 touchdowns. RG III threw for 320 and 3 second-half TDs.
But then you had a slew of last-second finishes. Buffalo rookie quarterback EJ Manuel led the Bills on a dramatic final drive to pick up their first win, 24-23 over the Panthers. Chicago (2-0) defeated Minnesota (0-2) 31-30. Andy Reid went to 2-0 in Kansas City as the Chiefs defeated the Cowboys (1-1) 17-16. The Dolphins and Ryan Tannehill went to 2-0 as they defeated Indianapolis (1-1) and Andrew Luck, in Indy, 24-20. Houston (2-0) defeated Tennessee (1-1) in overtime, 30-24. And the Chargers went to 1-1 in traveling to Philadelphia and pulling off an upset against the Eagles, 33-30, on a last second field goal by Nick Novak. Much-maligned Chargers QB Philip Rivers threw for 419 yards, while the Eagles’ Michael Vick had a career-best 428 through the air.
So then I did watch the entire Broncos-Giants contest, Manning Bowl III, and in losing to Denver (2-0) 41-23 to go 0-2, the Giants committed four more turnovers, four Eli Manning interceptions. That’s 10 TOs in two games. Eli was 28/49, 362, 1-4. Brother Peyton, on the other hand, was very efficient…30/43, 307, 2-0.
In a scintillating affair, Baltimore (1-1) defeated Cleveland (0-2) 14-6. And if you went to see Oakland (1-1) defeat Jacksonville (0-2) 19-9, you have my deepest sympathy.
–Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez was placed on the short-term injured reserve list as he opted out of surgery on his shoulder and will attempt to rehab it so that he can still play some in the final six games or so of the season. Earlier in the week, the Jets of course lost one of the worst NFL contests in recent memory, 13-10 to the Patriots in Foxborough. Rookie quarterback Geno Smith threw three interceptions in the fourth quarter and the Jets missed one opportunity after another with the receivers playing dropsies. In fact the Jets had four drives in the fourth; three ended in interceptions and the fourth went three plays and out, netting zero yards.
The Jets defense, meanwhile, held New England to just 232 yards as an immensely frustrated Tom Brady fumed the entire contest over the Pats’ lack of execution, as in 4-of-18 on third down, for starters.
–We note the passing of Frank Tripucka, 85, who quarterbacked the Denver Broncos in their inaugural AFL season. A former standout at Notre Dame, Tripucka played for the Detroit Lions, Chicago Cardinals and Dallas Texans in the NFL. He was actually brought in to Denver as a member of its coaching staff, but it became clear he was the best option at quarterback. He threw for a league-leading 3,038 yards and 24 touchdowns that season, 1960, including the first touchdown pass in AFL history. [He also threw 34 interceptions.]
But Frank Tripucka was also the patriarch of one of the great sports families in New Jersey history. Kelly Tripucka, the next-to-youngest of Frank and Randy’s seven children, was an All-American basketball forward at Notre Dame who went on to play 10 seasons in the NBA. The other six children were all solid athletes in their own right in high school or college.
Interestingly, the Tripuckas, who lived in Bloomfield, were friends – and practically neighbors – of another big Jersey sports family, the Berras. Larry, Tim and Dale, the sons of Yogi and Carmen, played their sports in Montclair. [Richard Goldstein / New York Times]
The Broncos, incidentally, retired Frank Tripucka’s No. 18, but he gave Peyton Manning permission to wear it when he joined Denver in 2012.
Ball Bits
A.L. Wild Card [prior to Yankees-Red Sox Sunday night]
Texas 81-67 – [have lost 6 straight]
Tampa Bay 81-67 –
Cleveland 80-68…1 GB
New York 79-70…2.5
Baltimore 79-70…2.5
Kansas City 78-71…3.5
N.L. Central
Pittsburgh 87-62
St. Louis 87-62
Cincinnati 84-66…3.5
N.L. Wild Card
Pittsburgh / St. Louis –
Cincinnati 84-66 –
Washington 79-70…4.5
–With the Yankees announcing that shortstop Derek Jeter wouldn’t play the remainder of the year, speculation is only increasing that his career could be over. While Jeter, and the team, insist he will return as the everyday shortstop, the fact is Jeter will turn 40 next June and only three shortstop in baseball history have played at least 100 games during their age-40 season; Honus Wagner, Luke Appling, and Omar Vizquel.
Jeter played a meager 17 games this year and hit .190. He had four separate stints on the disabled list. He also has an $8 million player option for 2014.
Bottom line, before spring training starts, the Yankees have to pick up an everyday shortstop and Jeter isn’t going to like this.
–The Yankees have used 55 players this season. If they can somehow make the playoffs, they would be the first team to do so employing at least that many.
–Baltimore’s Chris Davis became just the third player in major league history with 50 homers and 40 doubles in the same season. He’s at 50/41 through Sunday. Teammate Manny Machado finally got his 50th double on Saturday.
–Pittsburgh’s Marlon Byrd is hitting .333 since being acquired from the Mets (22-for-66).
–The Mets clinched their fifth straight losing season the other day….five years of total drudgery. On Thursday, the club announced they sold 20,400 tickets for an afternoon game against the Nationals and it is estimated maybe 4,000 were used. As Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal observed:
“There apparently aren’t too many people out there who A) have nothing else to do on a Thursday afternoon in September and B) are willing to subject themselves to the torture that is watching the Mets these days.”
—Barry Bonds’ conviction on obstruction of justice was upheld by a federal appeals court in San Francisco. He still has other appeal avenues, but if the conviction stands, he will have to serve the 30 days of house arrest and two years of probation he was sentenced to after his 2011 trial.
–Finally, former major leaguer Wladimir Balentien hit home runs No. 56 and 57 on Sunday, breaking the Japanese single-season record held by the legendary Sadaharu Oh way back in 1964. [Tuffy Rhodes and Alex Cabrera equaled the mark, but as an opposing manager, Oh made sure they didn’t break his record.] Balentien has 17 games to go.
—Jim Furyk became just the sixth golfer in PGA Tour history to shoot a 59 in the second round of the BMW Championship in Lake Forest, Il. 31-28.
Stuart Appleby, 2010 Greenbrier Classic
Paul Goydos, 2010 John Deere Classic
David Duval, 1999 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic
Chip Beck, 1991 Las Vegas Invitational
Al Geiberger, 1977 Memphis Classic
But the final round of the BMW was washed out Sunday and they’ll give it a go on Monday.
In yet another bizarre development following the cheating scandal at Richmond International Raceway on Sept. 7 that involved Michael Waltrip Racing and the final lineup for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, Jeff Gordon was suddenly added as a 13th qualifier. NASCAR chairman Brian France said, “There were too many things that altered the event and gave an unfair disadvantage to Jeff. We believe this was the right outcome to protect the integrity, which is our No. 1 goal, of NASCAR.”
—Floyd Mayweather Jr. dominated his fight with Canelo Alvarez, winning a majority decision “in a masterful performance that left no doubt who the best fighter of his era is,” as reported by Tim Dahlberg of the AP. Mayweather was favored 117-111 and 116-112 on two ringside scorecards while a third inexplicably had the fight 114-114. The AP scored it 119-109 for Mayweather.
So Mayweather is now 45-0 with four more bouts remaining on his huge Showtime contract.
–The United States men’s soccer team has moved up to No. 13 in the world in the latest FIFA rankings. The American team had fallen to as low as No. 36 in the summer of 2012. Having just qualified for the 2014 World Cup, the draw for this is held on Dec. 6. As things stand today, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Italy, Spain and Uruguay would be the seeded teams, but not all of these have qualified yet.
Spain is No. 1 in the world for a 25th consecutive month, with Argentina No. 2.
–The Los Angeles Times’ Chris Erskine interviewed broadcasting legend Keith Jackson, now 84. Jackson talked of the time Howard Cosell, “smelling like a Russian distillery, set Jackson’s pants on fire during a telecast of ‘Monday Night Football.”
Jackson said of a different incident: “Howard did throw up all over (Dandy Don) Meredith’s cowboy boots” one tumultuous night in the “MNF” booth.
“It was 28 degrees in Philly and Cosell had been drinking for three hours,” he said.
–Sports Illustrated’s Phil Taylor wonders why no NBA team has signed center Jason Collins, after Collins announced publicly he is gay; Taylor saying “it would be an embarrassment for the league if no team proves willing to step forward” to give him a chance after his pronouncement.
But as I said long before he came out of the closet, Jason Collins just isn’t that good.
–Brad K. passed along this incredible tale from the Daily Mail.
“The son of a former congressional candidate has miraculously survived after a grizzly bear he shot during a hunt in Alaska hid in bushes for 90 minutes before seeking revenge and attacking him.
“John O. Matson Jr., from Charlestown, Rhode Island, was listed in fair condition at an Anchorage hospital on Wednesday after suffering head and leg injuries and undergoing head surgery.
“The 46-year-old hunter was attacked by the bear on Monday during a guided hunt near Beaver Mountain, about 40 miles southwest of the interior town of McGrath.
“He is the son of John ‘The Carpenter’ Matson, Sr., who ran in the 2nd congressional district of Rhode Island for the House of Representatives last year – but missed out to incumbent Jim Langevin….
“Matson Jr. was with another hunter and an assistant guide when they saw the bear feeding on berries about a mile away and moved toward it.
“Matson fired and hit the bear, which then rolled into bushes. It thrashed around for about a minute before it bolted out and ran into heavier brush, state troopers told the Anchorage Daily News.
“The men waited for around 90 minutes before approaching the bush but Matson was attacked.
“The assistant guide was around 30 feet away when he heard Matson scream and fire his gun. He and the other hunter fired shots to distract the bear and it ran off and has not been found since.
“Matson was bleeding profusely from his head, but the assistant guide wrapped clothing around the wounds and called for help.”
Brad points out the bears continue to learn, and we are on their list of edibles.
–Trader George passed along a piece from The Advocate of Baton Rouge, La.
“A gambler who has tried to cheat casinos in Las Vegas and beyond is accused of using invisible ink and infrared contact lenses in a sophisticated card-marking scheme during a poker game at L’Auberge Casino in Baton Rouge.”
Turns out the guy is from my home town of Summit! State police in La., and I’m assuming here, are trying to locate the man and a felony warrant has been issued on counts of cheating and swindling and simple criminal damage to property.
“The alleged scheme was detected the afternoon of Aug. 26 when ‘Mr. X’ was flagged for suspicious behavior while playing Mississippi Stud poker. Surveillance footage showed him reaching his right hand under the table before he was dealt his cards, according to court filings.
“ ‘Once (the man) was dealt the cards, he could clearly be seen using his right index and middle finger to push down on the card,’ Senior Trooper Jason Evans, of the State Police Gaming Enforcement Division, wrote in an affidavit. ‘The actions were consistent with those used by most card markers who are attempting to ‘dent’ the card.’”
Security confronted Mr. X. as he left, he was interviewed, and then allowed to leave due to a lack of evidence initially.
He had been asked to empty his pockets, which aside from lots of cash and $3,200 in casino chips, contained a contact lens container. Investigators saved the cards and found the markings while reviewing them under an infrared lens.
Then they found a number of luminous ink and infrared contact lens kits for sale online.
The same man (whose name I am not revealing for obvious reasons) has convictions for cheating in Las Vegas, Reno, Nev., and Black Hawk County, Iowa.
—Ray Dolby, audio pioneer, died at the age of 80. So many of his technologies for noise reduction and surround sound are still used in music, movies and entertainment today. It’s estimated he had a net worth of $2.3 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
–The return of the “Entourage” crew to the big screen has been delayed by cast members Adrian Grenier and Jeremy Piven, who are both demanding more money for the movie version. Piven supposedly did recently sign but sources told the Daily News that now it’s Grenier and Jerry Ferrara who are holding out. The film was supposed to have gone into production last spring. The script is completed.
Top 3 songs for the week 9/15/79: #1 “My Sharona” (The Knack…ughh) #2 “After The Love Has Gone” (Earth, Wind & Fire…one of their better ones…) #3 “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” (The Charlie Daniels Band… “Carolina” my favorite of theirs…)…and…#4 “Don’t Bring Me Down” (Electric Light Orchestra) #5 “Lead Me On” (Maxine Nightingale) #6 “Sad Eyes” (Robert John…Elton wannabe…) #7 “Lonesome Loser” (Little River Band) #8 “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” (Dionne Warwick) #9 “Good Times” (Chic) #10 “Sail On” (Commodores)
NFL Quiz Answer: Three Eagles to rush for 5,000 yards – Wilbert Montgomery, 6538 (1977-84); Brian Westbrook, 5995 (2002-09); Steve Van Buren, 5860 (1944-51). Duce Staley is next with 4807 (1997-2003).
