NCAA Quiz: Name the last three schools to appear in a BCS bowl game (not necessarily for the title) and basketball Final Four in the same academic year. For example, Maryland in 2001-02. Answer below.
NFL Playoffs
Next weekend…weather…
Sat.
4:35 PM ET…New Orleans at Seattle…46, rain….good
8:15 PM ET…Indianapolis at New England…42, spotty showers…sucks
1:05 PM ET…San Francisco at Carolina…58, rain…hopefully sloppy
4:40 PM ET…San Diego at Denver…49, sunny…totally blows….
So the other day I cited some statistics that showed how wild-card playoff games are far less competitive than your average regular season game. In Game One, with the Colts trailing 38-10, that certainly appeared to be the case once again. And then things changed.
Kansas City had suffered some devastating injuries during the course of the contest, including early on to all-world running back Jamaal Charles (concussion), but then they steamed ahead to take the insurmountable lead…only to have it surmounted by Andrew Luck and company, even as Luck inexplicably threw three interceptions. But, overall, Luck went 29 of 45 for 443 yards, second-highest total in franchise history for a playoff game, with four TDs and the three picks. He also made a spectacular play in picking up a fumble near the goal line and running it in for a score. Luck said after, “We never panicked. We took it one play at a time.” Final score: Indy 45, K.C. 44, the second-biggest playoff comeback in history. [Buffalo-Houston, 1993; Bills down 35-3 win it 41-38 in overtime. Why did CBS keep showing it as 31?!]
Meanwhile, the Chiefs have zero excuses for allowing a wide-open T.Y. Hilton to coast in for a 64-yard score that cemented the comeback with 4:22 left in the contest.
In the second game Saturday night, the Saints finally got the monkey off their back and won the first road playoff game in franchise history (after being 0-5) on a last second Shayne Graham field goal, 26-24 over Philadelphia. Saints coach Sean Payton masterfully ran out the clock so that Eagles quarterback Nick Foles didn’t have a chance of his own to win it.
Incredibly, Graham is with his 10th team after being signed just two weeks ago to replace Garrett Hartley.
And let’s face it, the Riley Cooper drop in the third quarter was huge for the Eagles. New Orleans immediately scored after to take a 20-7 lead.
Plus great job by the Saints in bottling up the NFL’s top rushing offense as the Eagles gained only 80 yards (77 by the league’s leader, LeSean McCoy). For New Orleans, Mark Ingram, subbing for the injured Pierre Thomas, had 97 on 18 carries. Your real star of the game.
The Saints also caught a big break in the weather. Had the game been played 24 hours earlier, you have a huge difference in conditions.
So New Orleans plays at Seattle next Saturday, where they lost 34-7 in the regular season.
[For the record, Drew Brees had a passer rating of only 75.7 on Saturday. His rating at home this year is 126.3, but entering the Eagles game, only 84.8 on the road (almost identical to the league average rating this season of 84.1). This split (-41.5) between home and away, was the biggest among the 12 starting QBs for the playoffs.]
[Peyton Manning is 114.9 at home, 115.3 on the road.]
–As for the Sunday contests….excuse me for being brief….a lot going on but watched them in their entirety, of course.
San Diego prevailed at Cincinnati 27-10, as Philip Rivers went 12/16, 128, 1-0, 118.8 at QB, while the Bengals’ Andy Dalton was 29/51, 334, 1-2, 67.0. Focus on the last figures for both. Rivers was far more efficient, and the Bengals ended up with four turnovers to the Chargers’ zero.
–In Green Bay, it was cold (generally 4F, -12 wind chill), but the big chill didn’t come until about three hours after the contest. San Francisco ended up winning (thus giving the road team 3 of 4 this weekend) 23-20. Colin Kaepernick was only 16/30, 227, 1-1, 75.3 passer rating, while Aaron Rodgers was a very pedestrian, for him, 17/26, 177, 1-0, 97.8.
But Kaepernick had 98 yards rushing on just 7 carries. There’s your difference.
–For the archives, though by now every single sports fan in America knows this info by heart, for the Ice Bowl, Dallas-Green Bay, Dec. 31, 1967, the air temp was minus 13 with a wind chill of minus 48, while for the AFC Championship game in 1982, San Diego at Cincinnati, the thermometer fell to minus 9, but the wind chill was minus 59!
–So the Jets made some statements this week that convince you they are far from committed to Geno Smith at quarterback, which warms the cockles of some of us fans, knowing the coming draft is loaded with QBs (and spring-loaded at wide receiver, another huge Jet concern).
Yes, us fans know you need a top-flight QB to win a Super Bowl. Jury is big-time out on Geno.
[Personally, I’d take a QB in the first round, if I were the Jets, and a receiver in the second, and fill in missing O-line and defensive holes in free agency. Jets have lots of cap room after they let the likes of Mark Sanchez and Santonio Holmes go.]
–I see in a Wall Street Journal article that the Jets’ Antonio Cromartie was ranked 103rd out of 110 NFL cornerbacks this season by ProFootballFocus.
–The Bears did the right thing and signed Jay Cutler to a seven-year contract that pays him an average $17.6 million with $50 million guaranteed. Some recent new deals:
Joe Flacco…6 yrs., $120.6M…$51M guaranteed
Aaron Rodgers…5 yrs., $110M…$54M
Matt Ryan…5 yrs., $103.75M…$59M
Tony Romo…6 yrs., $108M…$55M
Tom Brady…3 yrs., $57M…All
Peyton Manning…5 yrs., $96M…$18M [‘cuz of neck issue]
Matthew Stafford…3 yrs., $53M…$41.5M
Drew Brees…5 yrs., $100M…$55M
Cutler is far from the best in the NFL, but he’s better than most and these days that’s good enough to build around. Plus it’s not my money.
–The Tennessee Titans fired coach Mike Munchak after three seasons and a 22-26 record. He had a season left on his contract. Munchak is coach No. 7 to bite the dust this season.
–The Giants caught a break when offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride decided to retire. Gilbride was going to be canned, which would have set up an internal battle with coach Tom Coughlin, who reportedly was going to the mat to make sure Gilbride stayed.
–Way too much was written about the early failure of Green Bay, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati to sell-out their playoff games, which they eventually did.
Let’s wait to see what happens next season. I mean there were some internal dynamics, such as in how Green Bay requests money early on for next year from its current season-ticket holders that definitely played into the slow sell-out, let alone all the alternatives for viewing a game we’re all too familiar with.
Of course football has a problem. But let 2014 tell the true story. [I’ll say come August, teams will be scrambling to lower ticket prices.]
–According to a Public Policy Polling survey of 741 registered voters, 23% of respondents said the Cowboys were their least favorite team in the NFL, more than any other. [Chicago was next at 13%, some say owing to a dislike of Jay Cutler.]
Conversely, Denver is the most popular at 14%, with Dallas second at 12% and Green Bay third at 11%. [Chicago 10%.]
By the way, 71% believe the Redskins should not change their name. I’m on record as saying a change to the “Red Clouds” is a no-brainer.
—AP All-Pro Team…the only one that matters.
QB: Peyton Manning
RB: LeSean McCoy, Jamaal Charles
FB: Mike Tolbert (Carolina)
TE: Jimmy Graham (New Orleans)
WR: Calvin Johnson, Josh Gordon (Cleveland…huge honor for him)
Tackles: Joe Thomas (Cleveland), Jason Peters (Philadelphia)
Guards: Louis Vasquez (Denver), Evan Mathis (Philadelphia)
C: Ryan Kalil (Carolina)
PK: Justin Tucker (Baltimore)
KR: Cordarrelle Patterson (Minnesota)
Ends: J.J. Watt (Houston), Robert Quinn (St. Louis)
Tackles: Gerald McCoy (Tampa Bay), Ndamukong Suh (Detroit)
Outside Linebackers: Robert Mathis (Indianapolis), Lavonte David (Tampa Bay)
Inside Linebackers: Luke Kuechly (Carolina), NaVorro Bowman (San Francisco)
Cornerbacks: Richard Sherman (Seattle), Patrick Peterson (Arizona)
Safeties: Earl Thomas (Seattle), Eric Berry (K.C.)
Punter: Johnny Hekker (St. Louis)
*There was no QB on the second team AP, because Peyton Manning’s selection was unanimous.
The Jets’ Muhammad Wilkerson was second-team DT, while the Giants’ Antrel Rolle was second-team safety; both very deserving.
Most Famous Polar Vortex in American History
I scoured the weather archives for you, dear readers, and came up with the famous cold front of November 11, 1911, “The Great Blue Norther,” the most extreme cold front in U.S. meteorological history as it swept quickly across the Great Plains and Midwest. Kansas City, Missouri fell from 76F to 11F in 12 hours. Oklahoma City fell from 83 to 17 and Springfield, Missouri from 80 to 13 officially. In all three cases the cities recorded both their record high and record low temp on November 11th.
In Springfield, a drop of 40F occurred in 15 minutes between 3:45 pm and 4:00 pm!
Another story I read noted that on 11/11/11, it was 4F at North Platte, Nebraska, while less than 400 miles away it was 68F at Kansas City. [Kind of like it being 68 in Richmond, VA, while it’s 4 in New York City.]
“As the cold front passed, temperatures plummeted. In Kansas City, Missouri, the balmy (76F) Saturday morning turned inky black on the northwestern horizon, and shortly after the noon hour, snow began to fall. The temperature went into free fall and 11F by midnight and 6F by the following morning.” [Weather Almanac]
In St. Louis the temp went from 79F at 1pm to 22F at midnight. “At one point, the local Post-Dispatch newspaper reported, the mercury fell 26F in 10 minutes. The following day, a blizzard swept the city according to news reports as the temperature bottomed out at 12F.” [Weather Almanac]
Through the day of 11/11/11, tornadoes ripped through Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana Nine were killed in Jamesville, Wisconsin’s twister. “First responders on the scene of the devastation that evening found themselves in a blinding snowstorm with frigid temperatures.”
Keith C. Heidorn, PhD, writes in “The Weather Doctor’s Weather Almanac,” that “The largest temperature plunge ever recorded in the United States happened at Browning, Montana: In a 24-hour period over 23 to 24 January 1916, the temperature dropped 100 Fahrenheit degrees from 44F to minus 56F.”
Separately, on Aug. 16-17, 2002, the temp swung from 101F in Rapid City, South Dakota to 39F by the next morning.
*January 10, 1911, the temperature fell 47F in less than an hour at Rapid City.
Wikipedia, which otherwise was not the source for any of the above, does say “The largest recorded temperature change in one place over a 24-hour period occurred on January 15, 1972 in Loma, Montana, when the temperature rose from -54 to 49F.”
“If Auburn wins the national title Monday night, I swear I’m going to eat my fist. I’m going to weep softly. I’m going to go to Columbus, Ohio, and termite-tent Urban Meyer’s house with him zipped inside. After all, he and his Ohio State team let Auburn into this game in the first place.”
Most of us desperately want FSU to win. Not just ACC fans. We can’t have the SEC winning eight straight national championships. It just isn’t good for our democracy, let alone Western Civilization. You know Pope Francis wouldn’t approve. Talk about inequality.
But let’s face it…the game is going to be fascinating early on. The Seminoles have just been so dominant all season, though, yes, the schedule has been lacking.
And you never know how these kids will respond after being ‘off’ for weeks. Meanwhile, the betting line I see has FSU favored by 8 ½, over/under 67 ½. I’d take FSU and the ‘over.’ [Kids, ask your parents’ permission before following my advice and betting your trust fund on it.]
–As for the earlier BCS games. I loved the Rose Bowl and did not watch a lick of No. 15 Central Florida’s upset of No. 6 Baylor 52-42 in the Fiesta Bowl, though I did see the highlights and obviously UCF quarterback Blake Bortles helped himself when he announces for the NFL draft with his three TD passes and 93 yards rushing (with another score).
Give Knights coach George O’Leary a tremendous amount of credit for their 12-1 season.
–I also didn’t watch Alabama-Oklahoma because I was swept up in the Knicks game and went to bed afterwards. But for the record, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops is now 4-5 in BCS bowls as freshman quarterback Trevor Knight lit up the Crimson Tide defense for 348 yards and four touchdowns.
So Sooners fans are suddenly thinking national championship next season. But will Stoops still be in Norman? Some see him going to the NFL.
As for Alabama QB AJ McCarron, who wrapped up a spectacular career, winning 36 of his first 38 starts before his last two, he threw for 387 yards and two TDs, but had two ugly INTs that set up Oklahoma scores. It had to have a slightly negative impact on his draft position. [I’d be fine with him, personally.]
–But I sure as heck watched No. 12 Clemson’s thrilling 40-35 victory over No. 7 Ohio State in the Orange Bowl as Tigers’ quarterback Tajh Boyd helped his draft standing immensely with 505 yards of total offense (31/40, 378, 5-2 through the air, 127 rushing), while receiver Sammy Watkins also rocketed farther up the draft board with a school-record 16 receptions and 227 yards.
Because it was on at the same time, I never caught any of the Cotton Bowl, as No. 8 Missouri defeated No. 13 Oklahoma State 41-31. Sorry, folks. Can’t do everything.
So in the end, how great was it to see both Nick Saban and the Buckeyes’ Urban Meyer, the two least likeable coaches in their profession, go down in flames, losing their last four combined.
–As for the Rose Bowl, it almost never disappoints and that certainly was the case with No. 4 Michigan State’s 24-20 win over No. 5 Stanford. Just great football.
And wasn’t it cool how former walk-on linebacker, Kyler Ellsworth, subbing for the suspended Max Bullough, stuffed Stanford’s last-ditch 4th-and-one effort with 1:46 to go?
The Spartans held the Cardinal to just 159 yards of offense the last three quarters (305 for the game).
–And I have to note another game I watched all of on New Year’s Day…No. 19 Wisconsin vs. No. 9 South Carolina in the Capitol One Bowl.
The Gamecocks won it 34-24 as quarterback Connor Shaw, one of the more intriguing college performers the past four seasons, was a stupendous 22/25, 312, 3-0, plus one TD reception and one TD rushing. What a great career he had.
But what about coach Steve Spurrier? 77-39 at S.C.
3 straight 11-2 seasons.
3 straight bowl wins.
3 straight top tens.
As Ronald Reagan would have said, not bad…not bad at all.
—North Dakota State routed Towson for the FCS, Division I-AA title on Saturday, the Bisons’ third straight crown, joining Appalachian State (2005-07) as the only FCS teams to win three consecutive titles.
–Louisville’s Charlie Strong was named the new coach at Texas, replacing Mack Brown. Strong went 37-15 in four seasons after the program had three straight non-winning campaigns. Prior to the Louisville stint, Strong was also an assistant at Florida, two different times, so he has a great handle on that recruiting haven. He will also be Texas’ first black head football coach.
–Vanderbilt’s James Franklin is a hot coaching commodity after guiding the Commodores to three straight bowl appearances, the latest a 41-24 win over Houston on Saturday in the Let Them Eat Cake Bowl in Birmingham. Bizarre game. I caught a little of it. Vandy up 24-0 at half. Houston then scores all 24 of its points in the third to tie it up, then the Commodores pulled away.
Anyway, Franklin could be a candidate for the Redskins job, among other openings.
–Finally, I’m kind of surprised UCLA’s Brett Hundley has decided to remain in school for his junior year. Coach Jim Mora must be super-pumped…super super pumped.
–Thursday was really a pretty extraordinary night for New York area basketball fans. Brooklyn was at Oklahoma City, the Knicks at San Antonio.
I had zero interest in Oklahoma-Alabama, for various reasons (including I’m just tired of Alabama and I thought this was an inferior OU team…so yeah, I was very wrong on this second front, as it turned out).
But I’m a Tim Duncan, as well as Knicks, fan, and I just stayed with what turned out to be a highly entertaining game from start to finish.
Bottom line, with Iman Shumpert finally getting on-track and having a career-high 27, 10 of 13 from the field including a spectacular tip-in for the game winner, the Knicks prevailed 105-101 to go to 10-21 while the Spurs dropped to 25-8. Yes, it was a mismatch and thus a shock the Knicks won it.
At the same time I was following the Nets on the Net and they are notorious for strong starts and then godawful third quarters. Only this time they were down 59-44 at the half, I figured game over, but looked up to see they outscored the Thunder 22-18 in the third and then 29-16 in the fourth to win 95-93 on a terrific Joe Johnson 19-footer at the buzzer.
Yes, once again, Joe Johnson. The most overpaid player in the sport given his limitations, but give him this. He is the best clutch shooter in the game, period.
It’s why as I mentioned a few weeks ago when Carmelo Anthony choked yet again in the final 30 seconds, coach Mike Woodson started waxing nostalgic about the days when he was coaching Atlanta and he could count on Joe Johnson to more often than not hit the critical bucket. Woodson, deservedly so, took a lot of heat for this and needless to say, Melo wasn’t pleased.
But as the New York Post’s Tim Bontemps points out in a terrific chart (courtesy of NBA.com), Johnson, since arriving in Brooklyn via a trade July 2012, has been the NBA’s most clutch player. Plus he now has “six buzzer-beaters – twice as many as any other player, with LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant leading a list of players who are tied for second with three – since the start of the 2007-08 season.”
“But his numbers at the end of regulation and overtime since joining the Nets are truly staggering. In the final 30 seconds of regulation and overtime when the Nets are tied or trailing by three points or less, Johnson is an incredible 12-for-14 (85.7 percent) since the start of the 2012-13 season.
“If you cut that down to the Nets being tied or trailing by three points or less in the final 10 seconds of regulation and overtime, Johnson is a perfect 6-for-6 since joining the Nets.”
So check it out…30 seconds, 10 seconds (2012-13 and this season)
Joe Johnson, 12-for-14, 6-for-6
Dirk Nowitzki, 5-for-8, 2-for-4
LeBron James, 8-for-17, 4-for-11
Damian Lillard, 7-for-17, 6-for-15
Kobe Bryant, 4-for-11, 3-for-9
Kevin Durant, 4-for-12, 0-for-6
Chris Paul, 2-for-8, 1-for-6
James Harden, 3-for-13, 2-for-7
Stephen Curry, 2-for-10, 1-for-7
Paul George, 1-for-11, 0-for-8
Carmelo Anthony, 1-for-16, 0-for-10
Melo has been much better for his career, overall, but you can see why Woodson said what he did, even if he should have muzzled himself.
Anyway, to end this admittedly too long discussion about one night in the NBA season, let alone I’m talking about two teams that advanced to 10-21 and 11-21, these were two huge upsets.
The Knicks on Friday continued their road trip down in Houston against the 21-13 Rockets; Dwight Howard, James Harden et al (including my favorite player in the NBA these days, aside from Timmy D., Chandler Parsons…just love this kid’s game).
Well, the Knicks played another tremendous game, with Shumpert going off for 26 (trade value soaring, suddenly…though now, why would they?), 6-for-6 from downtown, 12-of-14 last two games.
It’s 100-100, Knicks with the ball and about 40 seconds left, they worked it around, missed a shot but Chandler got the rebound with :23.6 to go, and a new shot clock, so he fed Smith at the top of the key when suddenly, J.R. hoists a 3 and misses (he ended up 1-for-8 from downtown) instead of working it around and holding for the final shot. Knicks end up losing 102-100. [Houston made two FTs and Knicks missed at the buzzer.]
“Honestly, I thought we were down 2 when I shot the ball,” Smith said after. “I started hearing Tyson say, ‘Noooo, don’t take the shot.’ Just a good shot, bad timing. I realized right after. Bad basketball IQ by me.”
This play was virtually the same as Andrea Bargnani’s bonehead shot against the Bucks a few weeks ago. As Melo said, “Kind of like déjà vu.”
But wait…on Sunday, the Knicks defeated the Mavs (now 19-15) 92-80 so New York took 2 of 3 on this very tough Texas swing. They are 11-22! Do you believe in Miracles?! Don’t get carried away. I’m talking do you believe in 38-44?
–Good point by Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News: “If Iman Shumpert had given the Knicks anything close in November and December to what he gave them Thursday night in San Antonio, how different might the team’s record look?”
–The Knicks said talk of a potential deal with the Clippers involving Blake Griffin and Carmelo Anthony is absurd. And it is. Not realistic in the least. Yes, Chris Paul has long said he wants to play with Anthony, but Griffin is a building block, not trade material.
[For his part, Paul is out 3-5 weeks with a separated right shoulder.]
College Basketball
–Only top ten upset of the past few days was Notre Dame’s 79-77 win over No. 7 Duke in South Bend, despite ND losing leading scorer Jerian Grant to an academic violation. In other words, a really lousy loss for Duke…inexcusable.
–OK, that was written early Sunday before No. 20 Colorado handed No. 10 Oregon its first loss, 100-91. That’s a good loss, though, for the Ducks, having just had a tough road win against Utah.
–And my old flame, the San Diego State Aztecs, No. 21, had a tremendous road victory on Sunday at No. 16 Kansas. SDSU’s only loss this year is to No. 1 Arizona. Every year we say the same thing…Steve Fisher can flat out coach. And I would add Xavier Thames is one of the more underrated guards in the country.
–Lastly, later on Sunday, how ‘bout them Deacs?! Wake Forest defeated No. 19 North Carolina at home, 73-67, despite playing dreadful basketball, for those who really follow the game….which doesn’t say much about how Carolina did. Wake was an outstanding 19-of-33 from the foul line! Like grade school good.
That said, huge win, potentially, for the program. I’m tired of beating up on Coach Jeff Bzdelik. I only want the Deacs to do well. I hope he does great. [But, yikes, he doesn’t sound too good in a post-game interview.]
Ball Bits
“The Baseball Hall of Fame is a mess. Worse, it’s not a mess that can be fixed, at least not now and maybe not ever. Sometimes you’re careless with a family heirloom. It’s cracked so badly that no matter how you patch and glue, the thing just never looks the same. You don’t dumpster it. But you think, ‘Man, we sure busted grandpa’s spittoon.’
“This year it’s a double shame because Greg Maddux (355 wins), Tom Glavine (305 wins) and Frank Thomas (521 homers, the same as Ted Williams) are eligible for the first time and presumably will be voted in next Wednesday amid, I fear, a worldwide wail. Mad Dog, just plain Tom and the Big Hurt are what the Hall once was. Not anymore.
“Cooperstown is well and truly busted for a variety of reasons not limited to jerks such as Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, who cheated when they were already rich and famous but wanted to be remembered as The Best of the Best, whether they were or not.
“The Hall also has gotten kicked in the ruckus for innocent accidental reasons, such as the too-much-information age’s passion for arguing about trifles and the rise of Sabermetrics, my favorite art-pseudo-science that, if presented with a cup of morning coffee, would add two tablespoons of decimal points. Many writers now say: Here’s my ballot. It stinks….
“Every vote will be wrong, or far from right. Arguments are now about messy morals and analytical metrics, as much as celebrations of performances and people. Clemens, Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro will get smacked around again and again. And so will baseball. Someday Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez get to join the No Admittance line that will then include six of the top 14 home run hitters in history.
“That’s what the game gets – and probably deserves – for neglecting the integrity of its product for 20 years. Players didn’t care enough to speak up about PED use among teammates. The union lacked courage. Commissioner Bud Selig and the baseball writers who vote on the Hall (including me back in those days) were oblivious to the problem or ignored it or took a whack at it but didn’t step up to be the one to tackle it as a mission.
“We’ll see the absolute ugliest side of the Hall vote this week, when Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio and/or Jeff Bagwell may again miss the 75-percent threshold for induction because some suspect them of having taken PEDs even though the actual case against them would be as subjective as saying, ‘That guy Boswell sure looks like my idea of an axe murderer.’
“What’s the difference between this trio and the Shameful Seven listed above? Well, decency and presumption of innocence. Those seven confessed, got caught or were fingered in the Mitchell Report (the sport’s own final PED exam), which is more than enough to keep them out of a Hall that’s an honor not a right.
“Every new obsessive-compulsive nitpicking-nerd fuss-budget Debate Point adds to the sense of mischief and increasing Hall irrelevance. How much do you penalize Larry Walker for playing in a mile-high home park or Edgar Martinez for being a designated hitter? Jack Morris’ wins and clutch postseason games mattered a lot to his teams, as did Lee Smith’s 478 saves. Now, wins, saves and even the word ‘clutch’ have been trashed….
“What we’re left with is an incredible jumble. For a zillion fans (and me) who are not tasked to make a decision, it’s getting far too easy – for baseball’s health – to say, ‘Do I still care? Maybe Cooperstown was a nice 20th-century artifact.’
I don’t necessarily agree with all the above, but Boswell is as good as any in his profession so had to note it.
Here’s what I think will happen on Wednesday. Last year Barry Bonds received 36.2% of the vote, Roger Clemens 37.6% in their first year on the ballot. I suspect they both surpass 40%.
Attitudes are slowing changing. Without droning on and on, mine are changing as well. I used to have a firm opinion on Pete Rose, for example. Tell him he gets into the Hall, but only when he’s dead.
But now I won’t be howling and crying if the next commissioner who replaces Bud Selig changes baseball’s stance on him.
–Here’s another example of why “Mamas should let their babies grow up to be lefty relievers.”
The White Sox signed 37-year-old veteran southpaw Scott Downs to a one-year, $4 million contract. He was 4-4 with a 2.49 ERA last season, splitting his time between the Angles and Braves. [38-36, 3.48 lifetime.] The guy’s solid, but $4 million is still $4 million, especially when you’re 37.
—Premier League…after 20 of 38 matches
1. Arsenal 45 points
2. Man City 44
3. Chelsea 43
–The PGA Tour opened the 2014 portion of its extended 2013-14 season with the Tournament of Champions, an elite field of 30, at Kapalua. The tour decided to opt for a Monday finish, with the next tournament also being in Hawaii (so convenient for those wanting to play both), and thus I can’t talk about a winner….
Webb Simpson, Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth are tied for the lead. Super potential finish with three of the young guns of the Tour.
But as those watching the tourney some this weekend understand, it is perhaps the toughest course on tour for a caddie to lug a bag on and I loved this story from the New York Times.
It seems Kip Henley, caddying for Brian Gay, thought the bag seemed even heavier than usual when the two got to the fourth tee. Well, you know, these guys have bags you and I don’t come close to, and so Henley searched into the umbrella pocket and found a bottle of red wine “that had been in the bag since the OHL Classic in Mexico last November. Gay gave it to his wife, who was in the gallery.”
—FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he has finally lost his patience with ‘diving’ in his sport. Blatter said in his column for the latest edition of FIFA Weekly, he found it “deeply irritating” when “the half-dead player comes back to life as soon as they have left the pitch,” according to the AP.
Blatter is urging referees to make those players wait for an extended period of time along the baseline, forcing their team to play shorthanded.
“Cutting out this kind of cheating is a matter of respect towards opponents and fans and ultimately one of self-respect as a professional and role model,” he wrote.
–What the heck is it with everyone wanting to go 100 mph these days? Jadeveon Clowney, Yasiel Puig, and, we’ve just learned, Paul Walker and his friend Roger Rodas; the two incinerated when Rodas lost control of the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT last Nov. 30, the coroner’s report just stated.
“Rodas suffered multiple injuries to his head. His skull was fractured and his brain was exposed,” the autopsy report said. Walker was burned beyond recognition.
—Awful accident at Belmont Park on Saturday. A popular local favorite, four-time graded stakes winner Caixa Eletronica (sic), and another horse died after Eletronica was galloping on the training track when he collided with Six Drivers who was running loose after dumping his rider behind the starting gate. Caixa Eletronica sustained a skull fracture and Six Drivers broke its neck. Both horses died immediately.
–Yet another story on President Obama’s golf game. I’ve been one who doesn’t care that he golfs as much as he does, and, while in Hawaii he played nine rounds, which I thought was what vacations were for.
But what irks the hell out of me are the stories that it takes him freakin’ six hours to play! Hell, I’m on record as playing at my old club in 2 ½ hours, walking with a caddie and a partner. I’d have to kill the guy. [Don’t mean this literally, Secret Service!!! Lighten up….what’s that knock at my door…..]
I mean, seriously, what kind of jerk takes six hours….and he has no one in front of him to slow him up. Even at the worst county courses in America on a crowded Saturday it wouldn’t take more than 5:15 or so. [For you none golfers, much over 4 ½ hours is deadly, especially for moi.]
–We note the passing of Phil Everly, the younger of the pioneering rock duo the Everly Brothers. He was 74 and died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, i.e., he smoked way too much his entire life as family members have said.
When you go back, though, you can see how the Everly Brothers, through their harmonies, really did influence the likes of the Beatles and Beach Boys.
Don Everly was born in 1937, Phil in 1939. By 1945 they were singing country music on their family’s radio show in Shenandoah, Iowa; the parents being folk and country music singers themselves.
The brothers’ career breakthrough came when they moved to Nashville in the mid-1950s and signed a recording contract with New York-based Cadence Records. They would go on to have a slew of top hits in the late 50s and early 60s.
Some of their Top 20 tunes…in lieu of my usual Top Ten.
1957…#2 Bye Bye Love
1957…#1 Wake Up Little Susie
1958…#1 All I Have To Do Is Dream
1958…#1 Bird Dog
1958…#10 Devoted To You
1958…#2 Problems
1959…#16 Take A Message To Mary
1959…#4 (‘Til) I Kissed You
1960…#7 Let It Be Me…my personal favorite
1960…#1 Cathy’s Clown
1960…#8 When Will I Be Loved…which Linda Ronstadt later had a monster hit with
1960…#7 So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)
1961…#7 Walk Right Back
1961…#8 Ebony Eyes
1962…#6 Crying In The Rain
1962…#9 That’s Old Fashioned (That’s The Way Love Should Be)
Of course like others in this era, they then were left by the wayside with the British Invasion and what followed and they famously broke up in 1973 when during a concert at Knott’s Berry Farm in California, Phil threw his guitar down and walked off, prompting Don Everly to tell the crowd, “the Everly Brothers died 10 years ago.” [AP]
The duo reunited in 1983, “sealing it with a hug,” Phil Everly said.
NCAA Quiz Answer: Last three to appear in both a BCS bowl game and basketball Final Four:
Louisville 2012-13
Connecticut 2010-11
Kansas 2007-08
Both Ohio State and Florida achieved this feat in 2006-07.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday….enjoy the BCS title game. Yes, I will stay up for the whole thing unless it’s a 30-pt. game in the fourth.
