[Posted Sunday p.m., Mets up 2-1, as we head to the top of the second, A-Rod having hit No. 659…just need to put this column to bed.]
NFL Draft Quiz: In 2014, three quarterbacks were selected in the first round…Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater. 1) Who was the only QB selected in the first in 2013? 2) In 2012, Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Ryan Tannehill were selected in the first round, along with a fourth QB. Name him. 3) In 2011, Cam Newton was the number one pick overall, followed in the first round by Jake Locker, among QBs, at No. 8. Who were the 10th and 12th selections, quarterbacks, first names beginning with B. and C.? Answers below.
–To set the stage for the Subway Series, the Mets took an 11-game winning streak into Friday night’s contest at Yankee Stadium, the fifth time in franchise history they’ve won that many in a row, the last time being in 1990. [The other 11-game streaks were in 1969, 1972 and 1986.]
The Mets became the 27th team since 2000 to win at least this many and the prior 26 averaged over 92 wins per season, easily enough to make the postseason.
But they’ve never won 12 in a row and they didn’t on Friday as starter Jacob deGrom was rocked by the Yankees’ Mark Teixeira for two, 2-run homers, deGrom giving up all six runs in a 6-1 loss as Michael Pineda dominated the Metropolitans.
So the Mets fell to 13-4 and the Yankees moved to 10-7 after a 3-6 start.
That left it up to Matt Harvey to get the Metsies back on the right track Saturday and all he did was come within an out of getting a complete game as his teammates backed him with three home runs in an 8-2 beatdown. Harvey moved to 4-0. But Harvey should have been replaced after seven innings and the Mets comfortably in front. Very dumb. Later in the year he can go for complete games…not now, especially coming off of TJ surgery.
[I just have to add for the archives that on Thursday, as the Mets won their 11th straight, 41-year-old Bartolo Colon moved to 4-0, only the fourth pitcher 40 or older to start a season 4-0 in the last 80 years. Roger Clemens was the last to do so in 2004, the others being Phil Niekro and Nolan Ryan. Pretty good company for Colon. In this game, the Mets also became the first team since the 1991 Minnesota Twins to sweep a homestand of 10 or more, going 10-0.]
Meanwhile, in the battle for the hearts and minds of New Yorkers, as the New York Times’ Richard Sandomir pointed out, in 2013, Yankees viewership on television was double that of the Mets. Last year, it was nearly double. But through last Tuesday, Mets games on SNY were drawing an average of 253,000 viewers for each game, up 47% from the same time last season, while Yankees viewership on YES had tumbled 21% to 267,000.
Yankees viewership has regularly exceeded an average of 400,000 since the advent of YES in 2002, while the Mets peaked at 314,000 in 2007.
–The latest on Josh Hamilton is that he will go to the Texas Rangers for $7 million of the remaining $83 million left on his contract with no other players involved. So Hamilton will return to the team he helped lead to the World Series in 2010 and 2011, and for which he was A.L. MVP in 2010.
–Huge blow for the Cardinals as they lose ace Adam Wainwright for the rest of the season due to an Achilles injury, suffered stumbling out of the batter’s box. Wainwright missed 2011 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Cuban infielder Guerrero is hitting .500, 11 of 22, with five home runs and 13 RBI through Sunday. Incredible.
So why doesn’t he play more? Well, the Dodgers have Adrian Gonzalez at first, Howie Kendrick at second, Juan Uribe at third, and Jimmy Rollins at short. Plus you have utility infielder Justin Turner, who hit .340 last season.
Guerrero was signed last year after an eight-year career in Cuba’s top league, where he played shortstop. The Dodgers converted him to second but last season he was beaten out by Dee Gordon and sent to AAA Albuquerque. He was tearing it up there and was about to earn a promotion in mid-May when in a bizarre dugout fight, teammate Miguel Olivo bit off part of his left ear, costing Guerrero much of the season, while he recovered from two operations to repair the damage.
But the Dodgers didn’t seem to have Guerrero in their plans for this season, though he has a clause in his contract that he couldn’t be sent down to the minors this year. So they had to keep him, trade him or release him and pay him off. Instead, he made the team with a terrific spring and improved glove. Certainly he’s a figure to watch the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, with the Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal dead, the estimated 70% of Los Angeles-area household that don’t get the SportsNet LA channel that carries Dodgers game will continue to be shut out. Had Comcast acquired TWC, that situation was expected to be corrected.
With few exceptions, televised Dodgers games can be seen only by customers of Time Warner Cable, which agreed to pay $8.35 billion over 25 years for the rights to distribute the Dodgers-owned SportsNet LA.
TWC’s rivals, including DirecTV and Charter Communications, have refused to pay what they say are excessive fees to carry the games. [Meg James and Ryan Faughnder / Los Angeles Times]
But now Charter could be taking a run at TWC, which could change things again.
—Six players were suspended and a seventh fined for their roles in Thursday’s big brawl between the Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox.
For the Royals, pitcher Yordano Ventura received a seven-game suspension; pitcher Edinson Volquez a five-game suspension; outfielder Lorenzo Cain a two-game suspension; and pitcher Kelvin Herrera a two-game suspension.
All six said they would appeal and will play in the meantime.
Sale approached the Royals clubhouse after the fight, banging on the visitors’ door in the eighth. Thankfully, he didn’t get in.
–I was reading a piece by the Los Angeles Times’ Zach Helfand on how the Angels defeated Oakland, 2-0, on Thursday, despite getting only one hit, a Kole Calhoun two-run homer, but it was the following on starting pitchers that caught my eye.
“Last year, major league teams on average used 9.6 starters throughout the season. The Angels used eight, in part because they didn’t have many options. The pitching depth just wasn’t there.”
Eight just seemed low so I looked it up and it’s true. You see, according to FanGraphs.com, “In a typical year, two of every five starting pitchers make at least one trip to the disabled list.” [Zach Helfand]
The Angels are trying to address their lack of depth in the pitching department by using 10 of their first 11 draft picks in 2013 on pitchers, with another nine of the first 15 last year. And before last season, they traded Mark Trumbo for pitchers Tyler Skaggs and Hector Santiago.
—Max Scherzer, the $210 million man, has allowed 0, 1, 1, and 2 earned runs in his first four starts for the Nationals, but is 1-2, 1.26 ERA.
But Scherzer suffered a thumb injury on Thursday, hitting, and could miss his next start. So he told CBS Sports that it’s time for the designated hitter to be used in both leagues.
“If you look at it from the macro side, who’d people rather see hit: Big Papi or me?…Both leagues need to be on the same set of rules.”
–Last Wednesday, Clayton Kershaw faced Madison Bumgarner, the first time a reigning most valuable player pitched against a reigning World Series MVP.
The Giants won 3-2, with Kershaw allowing two runs over six innings, and Bumgarner giving up two runs over 6 1/3. Neither got a decision.
And neither is off to a good start in 2015. Through four starts, Kershaw is 1-1, 4.07; Bumgarner is 1-1, 4.63.
Meanwhile, the Giants really do have a bizarre recent history.
2010…win World Series
2011…86-76…no postseason
2012…win World Series
2013…76-86
2014…win World Series
2015…8-11
As my friend and Giants fan, “California Bob,” says, it’s an odd-numbered year, no reason to get too upset about it.
—Marlins manager Mike Redmond was in serious danger of getting fired as Miami got off to a 3-11 start, but after sweeping the Nationals (7-12), Redmond’s team is 8-11.
And while Giancarlo Stanton has 17 RBIs, what’s with shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria? He’s never had more than 42 RBI in a season and has 16 already!
–Speaking of the Giants, a federal appeals court Wednesday overturned Barry Bonds’ felony conviction for obstructing justice, a development some say could help him eventually get into the Hall of Fame.
The court said there was insufficient evidence that Bonds’ rambling reply to the grand jury was material and that he may not be retried.
The conviction stemmed from the following exchange before the grand jury in 2003, Bonds’ reply to a federal prosecutor about whether his former trainer, Greg Anderson, had ever given him an injectable substance.
Prosecutor: Did Greg ever give you anything that required a syringe to inject yourself with?
Bonds: I’ve only had one doctor touch me. And that’s my only personal doctor. Greg, like I said, we don’t get into each other’s personal lives. We’re friends, but…we don’t sit around and talk baseball, because he knows I don’t want – don’t come to my house talking baseball. If you want to come to my house and talk about fishing, some other stuff, we’ll be good friends. You come around talking about baseball, you go on. I don’t talk about his business. You know what I mean?
Bonds: That’s what keeps our friendship. You know, I am sorry, but that – you know, that – I was a celebrity child, not just in baseball by my own instincts. I became a celebrity child with a famous father. I just don’t get into other people’s business because of my father’s situation, you see….
Prosecutor: And, again, I guess we’ve covered this, but – did [Anderson] ever give you anything that he told you had to be taken with a needle or syringe?
Bonds; Greg wouldn’t do that. He knows I’m against that stuff. So, he would never come up to me – he would never jeopardize our friendship like that.
Prosecutor: OK. So, just so I’m clear, the answer is no to that, he never gave you anything like that?
“We watched Barry Bonds celebrate again Wednesday, listened to his legal team boast, with the San Francisco Giants reveling over their beloved hero’s good fortune.
“Finally, after 12 years of legal wrangling, and eight years after becoming baseball’s home-run king, Bonds was declared a clean man….
“ ‘Today’s news is something that I have long hoped for,’ Bonds said in a statement. ‘I am humbled and truly thankful for the outcome as well as the opportunity our judicial system affords to all individuals to seek justice.’….
“Maybe now, the Giants will even accelerate their plans to hire him as a full-time employee, making him a special assistant and appointing him as an official ambassador.
“Oh, and that other privilege you were wondering about?
“Bonds’ obstruction conviction, you see, has never kept him out of the Hall of Fame.
“And this court’s decision won’t put him in the Hall of Fame.
“If that were the case, Roger Clemens would have been in the Hall two years ago after going to court and being found not guilty on six perjury and obstruction charges.
“Yet Clemens has never received more than 37.5% of the vote in his three years on the ballot.
“Bonds has never gotten more than 36.8%, far shy of the 75% needed to walk through baseball’s golden door.
“As cruel as it might sound, this changes absolutely nothing.”
[For the record, Nightengale votes for Bonds each year.]
“Congratulations, Barry Bonds. You’re no longer a felon. We all owe you an apology.
“So we’re sorry, Barry, that the government dragged you into courtrooms for more than a decade and forced you to spend some of the $200 million or so you made in baseball not on vacations and fast cars and gigantic ball caps, but on defense lawyers.
“And we’re sorry, Barry, that federal prosecutors wasted your time trying to prove that you obstructed justice in your testimony to a grand jury in 2003, and that you were sentenced to what must have been 30 agonizing days of house arrest inside your 15,000-square-foot mansion, rambling around its six bedrooms, its 10 bathrooms, its gym and its pool.
“A federal court’s ruling on Wednesday overturned your conviction, and that changes everything. It’s clear now that we should be ashamed that we ever thought you were using steroids.
“So what if your body changed into something like the Michelin Man’s before our very eyes – torso as thick as a quarter horse, and bulging biceps that seemed to grow bigger by the second, as if attached to an invisible bicycle pump. Big deal that you started swatting home runs almost as fast as we could count them.
“Everything gets easier with age, right? Especially with a wholesome regimen of flaxseed oil and arthritis cream. (And certainly not a designer steroid, which came in the form of a clear liquid, or testosterone, which was a cream.) Your oil and your cream were just pretty darn strong.
“I see now that we should have taken you at your word all along.”
–Commissioner Rob Manfred said Pete Rose will be allowed to participate in activities surrounding the All-Star Game this July in Cincinnati.
MLB permitted Rose to take part in the All-Century team announcement at Atlanta’s Turner Field during the 1999 World Series and a Reds ceremony in 2013 honoring their 1975 and ’76 championship teams.
As for Rose’s application for reinstatement after Manfred succeeded Selig in January, the commissioner said:
“We have gathered volumes, I mean literally volumes of documents, related to the original investigation. They’re in the process of organizing those, preparing summaries so that I can review those documents.”
Meanwhile, on Thursday, in an interview with Michael Kay on ESPN NY, Rose reiterated that he did not bet on baseball when he was a player.
But John Dowd, who headed up the original investigation, responded to Rose’s Thursday claims by saying Rose is lying.
“He bet when he was a player-manager in ’85-’86 and the proof is from Ron Peters in the report,” Dowd told Outside the Lines’ William Weinbaum, “and there is more evidence from others and from gambling records. It’s all right there that he bet as a player-manager.”
“That’s the way Pete is. He knows the truth and he lied about it in his book,” Dowd added. [ESPN.com]
NBA Playoffs
–The top-seed Golden State Warriors swept the New Orleans Pelicans, 4-0, but everyone was buzzing about Game 3 on Thursday. Playing in New Orleans, the Warriors were down 20 entering the fourth quarter, and were still down 17 with six minutes to play, when they stormed back to tie it on Stephen Curry’s 3-pointer from the corner, with two players draped all over him, and then the Warriors prevailed in overtime, 123-119.
Curry had 40, but was only 10 of 29 from the field. The key was his five misses down the stretch, four of which resulted in put backs on the offensive boards by the Warriors.
In fact, Golden State had seven offensive rebounds in the final six minutes of regulation – two more than the Pelicans had total rebounds in that segment.
But for New Orleans, even in getting swept, the series marked the true emergence of center Anthony Davis, who posted the following (points and rebounds). 35-7, 26-11, 29-15, 36-11.
–In the Spurs-Clippers series, I just need to set the stage. San Antonio had won 21 of 25 down the stretch in the regular season, but was only 22-19 on the road so it was no surprise they lost Game 1 in Los Angeles, 107-92, behind Blake Griffin and Chris Paul.
But then the Spurs bounced back to capture Game 2, 111-107, as Tim Duncan had 28 points and 11 rebounds, while Blake Griffin had a triple-double in defeat, 29-12-11 (asst.). What killed L.A. was DeAndre Jordan going just 6 of 17 from the free throw line.
In Game 3, the Spurs annihilated the Clippers back in San Antonio, 100-73, as newly minted NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Kawhi Leonard, had a postseason career-high 32 points on 13 of 18 shooting from the field. [San Diego State’s Steve Fisher should be one proud coach, having played a major role in Leonard’s development as a player and a man.]
In Game 4, the Clippers showed their mettle in tying the series at 2-2, 114-105, as the Spurs hit just 6 of 25 from downtown. Duncan had 22 and 14, while Leonhard had 26 points, but Danny Green was 0 for 6 from three. Blake Griffin had 20 points and 19 rebounds, Chris Paul 34 and 7 assists.
–The Brooklyn Nets lost to the 1-seed Atlanta Hawks in Games 1 and 2 of their series in Atlanta, 99-92 and 96-91. The Nets acquitted themselves well so they went home to Brooklyn with some confidence that they could at least hang with the Hawks and sure enough, on Saturday the Nets won Game 3, 91-83, as Atlanta went 6 for 30 from 3-point land. Game 4 is Monday.
—Cleveland swept the Celtics, 4-0, with a 101-93 win on Sunday and I wouldn’t have commented on this except Cavs forward Kevin Love dislocated his shoulder and his status is unknown the rest of the way. Additionally, Cleveland’s J.R. Smith, one of the truly bad people on the planet, was called for a flagrant-2 foul for striking the Celtics’ Jae Crowder (who’s also a jerk) in the face.
Earlier, the Cavs’ Kendrick Perkins pushed Crowder to the floor and appeared to jab him in the face. Not a good day for the NBA’s image…kind of ABA-like, frankly.
–The Dallas Mavericks and point guard Rajon Rondo are splitting up. After acquiring him in December, Rondo and Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle constantly clashed and now Rondo, who becomes a free agent this summer, is probably headed to the Lakers, assuming Carlisle stays. After a listless effort in Game 2, Carlisle said Rondo had played his last with the team.
[The Mavs are down 3-0 to the Rockets heading into Sunday night’s play.]
NBA Draft
Sunday was the deadline for declaring early entry so here’s another mock draft, courtesy of USA TODAY Sports’ Derek Bodner…I’ll leave out the teams that he guesstimated on.
1. Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky
2. Jahlil Okafor, Duke
3. D’Angelo Russell, Ohio State
4. Emmanuel Mudiay, China
5. Justise Winslow, Duke…amazing climb since, say, January
6. Mario Hezonja, Croatia
7. Stanley Johnson, Arizona
8. Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky
9. Kristaps Porzingis, Latvia
10. Kelly Oubre, Kansas
13. Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin
15. Devin Booker, Kentucky
16. Trey Lyles, Kentucky
18. Jerian Grant, Notre Dame
20. Tyus Jones, Duke…huh…bad move going out early?
21. Sam Dekker, Wisconsin
23. Cameron Payne, Murray State
NFL Draft
Thursday is the big day. The Los Angeles Times’ Sam Farmer contacted NFL beat writers – the ones who know their respective teams best, and he came up with this consensus first seven.
1. Tampa Bay selects Jameis Winston
2. Tennessee selects DE Leonard Williams
3. Jacksonville selects LB Dante Fowler Jr.
4. Oakland selects WR Kevin White
5. Washington selects DE Shane Ray
6. Jets select Marcus Mariota
7. Chicago selects WR Amari Cooper
Jets GM Mike Maccagnan made it pretty clear the other day that if Mariota slipped to No. 6, they would take him. But there was also talk he might trade up to get him.
As some have pointed out, however, there is a big difference in trading up to get the No. 2 pick and trading up to get the No. 5.
But both ESPN’s Adam Schefter and CBS Sports’ Jason LaCanfora believe the Eagles, currently with the 20th pick, will trade up to get Mariota. It’s going to be fun.
As for Jameis Winston, it was revealed the other day that he now says he didn’t steal the crab legs after all, he just got them for free from an unidentified grocery store employee and that’s why he walked out, before being confronted by store security he hadn’t paid for them.
But when the story first came out in April 2014, Winston said he simply forgot to pay, and Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher backed him up, saying that Winston “was used to going to Winn Dixie (a different supermarket)…but it wasn’t like he was trying to steal something.”
Florida State could now be in trouble with the NCAA because if Publix employees were giving free food to Seminoles players for years, as some local reporters have suggested, then it’s a violation of NCAA rules, albeit a minor one, as the Washington Post’s Will Hobson points out.
–Dallas lineman Greg Hardy was suspended the first 10 games of the upcoming season for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy for a domestic abuse incident.
Hardy signed a one-year deal with Dallas in the offseason worth up to $13 million, but he earns most of his money through per-game roster bonuses, Dallas knowing he could miss games once the NFL made a ruling.
–A federal judge granted final approval Wednesday to the settlement of long-running concussion litigation between the NFL and retired players. The agreement compensates retired players who suffer from a variety of problems, including Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
The maximum payout for a player with Alzheimer’s will be $3.5 million. But the average award is expected to be $190,000, when age and experience are factored in.
—Tim Tebow’s Eagles contract has no signing bonus or other guaranteed money. The $660,000 base salary – due in weekly installments of $38,824 during the regular season as long as Tebow’s on the team – is the minimum for a three-year veteran, which he is. [Tom Pelissero / USA TODAY Sports]
Stanley Cup Playoffs
–Around here it’s all about the New York Rangers, and to a lesser extent the New York Islanders.
The Rangers wrapped up their series with the Pittsburgh Penguins with twin 2-1 overtime victories (winning goals by Kevin Hayes and Carl Hagelin) to take the series 4-1.
King Henrik, goalie Henrik Lundqvist, was once again superb…all four Ranger wins being by the same 2-1 score.
So now they await the winner of Islanders-Capitals, who play a Game 7 in Washington on Monday after the Islanders squeaked by in Game 6, 3-1 (closer than the final score indicates).
What this means for the Rangers is whoever they face will be one tired team. Heh heh.
–Sad tale by Seth Berkman in the New York Times the other day about some American Hockey League franchises being moved to accommodate a new Pacific Division.
Three are from the Northeast…Worcester, Mass., Glens Falls, N.Y., and Manchester, New Hampshire. Additionally, the Oklahoma City and Norfolk, Va., are moving out west.
It makes total logistical sense, as the parent NHL franchises are all in that league’s Western Conference, so its easier travel for promoted players and enables better scouting of their farm clubs.
But it sucks for some of these Northeastern cities, though Manchester and Glens Falls found replacements from the ECHL, though this is generally perceived as a lower quality of minor league hockey and it’s hardly a certainty local fans will support it.
Golf Balls
—Justin Rose won the Zurich event in New Orleans, his 7th PGA Tour title. First off, it was amazing the Tour staff got this tournament in on time, what with the horrible storms that swept through the area, suspending play for hours on end.
Secondly, I’ve decided Rose is my favorite international player. The guy is cool. James Bond cool. And he’s got some game.
—Tiger Woods will play in The Players Championship, May 7-10, and appears committed to play the Memorial, Jack’s tournament, which he has won five times.
–Alan Shipnuck of Sports Illustrated taped a podcast with Phil Mickelson’s caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay and among the topics was this.
“I was with a player in the recent past who said something along the lines about not being so sure how much caddies can help,” said Mackay.
“My response to him was we played the first two rounds with Tiger at the ’08 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines which he famously went on to win. I told him ‘I know for a fact just watching he and Steve Williams work together that day that Steve Williams saved him 2-4 shots just in the two rounds we played with him.’” [Kyle Porter / CBSSports.com]
“Let’s hope Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao wage an epic battle May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Otherwise, the Fight of the Century could be remembered as the Fiasco of the Century.
“Right now, it’s headed for the latter, leaving boxing fans feeling gouged, and excluded.
“ ‘If it turns out to be a great fight, then nobody will remember how screwed up everything has been,’ one boxing insider said. ‘If it’s a bad fight, it could do more harm than good for boxing.’
“Mayweather-Pacquiao is destined to be the highest grossing fight ever, potentially generating between $300 million and $400 million. It wasn’t expected to be the greediest and most unorganized. As fight week arrives on Monday, a sport that was carried in recent years by hardcore fans and Internet bloggers has turned its back on those very supporters in the chase for every dollar.
“If waiting until the week before the fight to put 500 tickets for sale to the general public wasn’t insulting enough, hotel prices in Las Vegas are going for $400 to $900 a night and upward. Closed-circuit tickets, unless well connected through a hotel host, can cost $300 to $400. Try getting a last-minute flight, if you were lucky enough to get a fight ticket, and the cost from Newark is more than $900.
“Confirmation of media credentials weren’t issued until late this week and offered no promise the holder would be seated in the arena for the fight….
“If Mayweather and Pacquiao deliver an entertaining, competitive and memorable bout, that will encompass the post-fight chatter along with discussion of a rematch. But if one boxer dominates the other, or it’s a boring exhibition of shadow boxing, or the judging appears biased, it could leave fans angry, unfulfilled and feeling cheated.”
Kentucky Derby
Next Saturday…The (Louisville) Courier-Journal’s coast-to-coast panel of racing media experts ranks their top contenders.
1. Dortmund
2. American Pharaoh
3. Carpe Diem
4. Frosted
5. International Star
Our Pick to Click next chat.
At least 1,000 climbers, including 400 foreigners, were at base camp on Mount Everest when this weekend’s catastrophic earthquake hit. The death toll is at least 17 among these as I write. The local economy is so dependent on tourism and trekking that it’s a double tragedy. An avalanche on Everest in April 2014 killed 16 Sherpa guides and forced the cancellation of the year’s climbs. Now there is no telling when climbing on Everest and other peaks in the area will resume.
Premier League Standings (33/34 of 38 complete)
1. Chelsea…33 games 77 points
2. Man City…34 – 67
3. Arsenal…33 – 67
4. Man U…34 – 65
5. Liverpool…33 – 58
6. Tottenham…34 – 58
7. Southampton…34 – 57
Tottenham picked up a point in drawing at Southampton 2-2.
Chelsea has six players on the Premier League Team of the Year, as just announced, while Tottenham’s Harry Kane made it.
–In the Champions League, it’s Barcelona against Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid, the defending champion, against Juventus in the semifinals. The first legs are May 5/6, with the return matches May 12/13.
The four clubs have combined for 21 Champions League trophies, including a record 10 by Real Madrid. Three of the past four trophies have gone to Real Madrid (2014), Bayern (2013) and Barcelona (2011). Juventus has two titles, but the last was in 1996.
I just saw Bayern clinched its 25th Bundesliga title on Sunday, 3rd in a row.
–Rather dramatic story at the rain-delayed Sprint Cup race at Richmond International as Kurt Busch picked up his 26th victory, leading 291 of 400 laps, besting Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson.
Yes, that Kurt Busch…suspended by NASCAR the first three races of the year for a domestic violence incident that a judge then threw out, allowing NASCAR to reinstate him. As one of the guys on Fox said at the end, “from suspension to redemption.”
–Despite the fact Harvick’s streak of eight top-two finishes ended a few races ago, he has led an incredible 35.7 percent of all laps this season going into this week’s race, an astounding achievement when you consider there are 43 cars in each race, half of them threats to win, and the next best percentage belongs to Joey Logano, at 12.2 percent. [Dave Sheinin / Washington Post]
*Harvick led only 2 of 400 on Sunday so that percentage goes down but still considerable.
—Wladimir Klitschko retained his heavyweight boxing crown against Bryant Jennings at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night with a unanimous decision; Klitschko’s 18th consecutive heavyweight championship defense, the third highest career total. The scoring was 116-111 on two scorecards and 118-109 on a third.
—Coyotes have been in the news in a big way here in the New York metro area. Saturday, cops collared one in lower Manhattan, chasing it down after being first spotted in Battery Park City. It was finally cornered, shot with a tranquilizer dart, and carted off to the precinct house. It’s unknown if it’s the same coyote that was spotted numerous times uptown the previous few days.
Detective Andy Sipowicz was brought out of retirement to interrogate the coyote.
As you know, ‘Coyote’ had been recently suspended for bad behavior in terms of the All-Species List. These latest actions in Gotham won’t help the cause.
–Johnny Mac reminded me I forgot to note the retirement of Miss Babe Ruth, the beloved Labrador Retriever bat and ball dog for the Greensboro Grasshoppers (Class A Sally League).
Actually, the dog isn’t retiring until the end of the current season, but this will mark ten years of service, 580 consecutive games and counting.
Babe has her own statue in front of the ballpark and she greets fans after every Friday and Saturday ‘Hoppers game along with her brother, Master Yogi Berra, and her niece, Miss Lou Lou Gehrig.
–Speaking of dogs, a number of you wrote of the story of Scotland’s ‘Don the Dog.’
“Delays were caused on a busy stretch of the M74 motorway after reports of a dog ‘taking control of a tractor.’…
“It later emerged that a sheepdog called Don, owned by farmer Tom Hamilton, had leaned on the controls of his utility vehicle, taking it on to the road.
“Police and Mr. Hamilton later recovered Don, who was unhurt, and the vehicle.”
Mr. Hamilton told the BBC “that he was out on his off-road pickup checking lambs in a field above the M74 near Abington.
“As always he was accompanied by Don, who was sitting beside him in the passenger seat.
“While Mr. Hamilton was examining a lamb he turned round to see the Gator utility vehicle crashing through the fence and heading down an embankment on to the northbound lane of the M74 with Don still sitting in it.
“The vehicle stopped after hitting the central barrier, smashing the windscreen.”
The transport body tweeted: “M74 J13-RTC due to dog taking control of tractor…nope, not joking.”
Had Don been given points on his license, that would not have impacted ‘Dog’s’ No. 1 standing on the All-Species List.
–From the New York Daily News: “For the second time, a Washington man has been mauled by a bear after his dog spooked one of the massive mammals in the woods of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in western Washington state.
“The man, who asked to be identified only as Bob, told KOMO-TV that he was on the receiving end of more than 40 bites, severe claw marks and extensive bruising thanks to a marauding black bear.
“ ‘It was just running straight for me,’ he said. He tried to fight off the animal with a tree branch.”
It turns out that both times he was attacked (the first being in 2011), in the same area, he was jogging with his dog.
But get this. Washington Department of Fish and Game trackers “went looking for the perpetrator of Bob’s most recent bear attack, with the intention of taking it down with a tranquilizer gun and running DNA tests to confirm it was the right bear.
“But after hunting dogs picked up the animal’s scent, it charged the search party and officers shot and killed the behemoth bear.”
Our sympathies to the bear’s family. ‘Black Bear’ is No. 19 on the ASL. [‘Grizzly’ is No. 7.]
–As reported in the High Plains Journal, Arkansas now has feral hogs in every county of the state. A professor at the university of Arkansas, Becky McPeake, said a pregnant feral sow can produce an average litter of six, and thanks to rapid maturity rates, within a year, “you could potentially have 31 pigs on your property from just one sow.”
A 2013 study done by Texas A&M estimated the cost of feral-hog damage to Texas farmlands to be $52 million plus another $7 million for repairs and control methods.
‘Pig,’ by the way, is No. 11 on the ASL because of the bacon angle. ‘Feral Hog,’ on the other hand, is No. 245.
–Some have said, ‘Hey, Editor…why is ‘Man’ ranked at No. 298 on the ASL, on average? Well here’s one reason.
From WIMAUMA, Fla. – “A Hillsborough County man is recovering after being bitten in the face by a water moccasin.
“Investigator say 18-year-old Austin H. (I’m omitting his last name) captured the 4-foot-long cottonmouth while swimming last week
“(The idiot) was taken to the hospital in critical condition but is expected to make a full recovery….
“The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating.” [Florida Today]
–Finally, did you see the 26-foot manta ray accidentally caught off Peru when it was snagged in the fishermen’s net? It was on NBC Nightly News, Sunday, and would appear to be real. The manta was injured, the story goes. The record is 30 feet, caught in the Atlantic.
Top 3 songs for the week of 4/24/65: #1 “Game Of Love” (Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders….this is one of my best songs to sing, properly lubed….) #2 “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” (Herman’s Hermits) #3 “I’m Telling You Know” (Freddie And The Dreamers)…and…#4 “I Know A Place” (Petula Clark…her best….the way it builds up….I love Pet!!!) #5 “Stop! In The Name Of Love” (The Supremes) #6 “Tired Of Waiting For You” (The Kinks) #7 “I’ll Never Find Another You” (The Seekers… great tune…) #8 “The Clapping Song” (Shirley Ellis….eh….) #9 “Shotgun” (Jr. Walker & The All Stars) #10 “Silhouettes” (Herman’s Hermits…yup, they were hot…three weeks later, “Mrs. Brown…” was #1 and “Silhouettes” #5…)
NFL Draft Quiz Answers: 1) Only QB selected in first round of 2013 draft was EJ Manuel, Buffalo, out of Florida State. 2) The fourth QB selected in the first round in 2013 was Brandon Weeden, Cleveland, out of Oklahoma State. 3) The 10th and 12th selections in the first round of the 2011 draft were quarterbacks Blaine Gabbert, JAX, out of Missouri, and Christian Ponder, MIN, out of FSU.
