NFL Draft Quiz: 1) The Jets selected quarterback Mark Sanchez in the first round in 2009. Name the prior two QBs to be selected in the first round by the Jets. 2) The Giants selected Philip Rivers in the first round in 2004 and then traded him to San Diego for Eli Manning, who had been tabbed first overall in that draft. Prior to this, who was the last Giant QB selected in the first? 3) The Packers selected Aaron Rodgers in the first round in 2005. Prior to this, who was the last Packer QB to be selected in the first? Answers below.
I ended up following the fight on a CNN blog, having watched Spurs-Clippers right before, which was the true title fight. Needless to say, the nation of the Philippines is in a state of mourning.
“For nearly 20 years, boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. has frustrated opponents in the ring with his cool calculation. He has been criticized out of the ring for his lavish lifestyle and outbursts of domestic violence. And he has navigated it all by winning habitually and becoming unapologetically rich.
“Manny Pacquiao, the mop-haired scrapper from the Philippines, presented a peculiar test. Pacquiao is a left-hander with fearless guile, the next-best fighter of the generation. He was an opponent who had waited years for a match. And he was so widely popular that Mayweather, a former Olympic medalist fighting in his longtime hometown against a foreigner, was widely booed upon arrival in the ring on Saturday night and again upon departure.
“In what was considered the highest-grossing bout in boxing history, Mayweather, the 38-year-old with the baby face and the unblemished professional boxing record, beat Pacquiao for the welterweight world championship with a unanimous decision.
“Both men were runaway winners financially. The purse, the majority of it from pay-per-view revenue from several million American households paying about $90 each to watch, was estimated at roughly $300 million. The contract called for Mayweather to receive 60 percent, win or lose.
“Mayweather was asked to confirm that he received a $100 million check after the fight, and soon pulled it from a pocket.
“ ‘The check got 9 figures on it, baby,’ said Mayweather, whose payday could double as the revenues get tallied….
“The bulk of the 16,507 fans at the MGM Grand Garden booed the decision by the three judges, who gave Mayweather a wide margin in the 12-round fight – 116-112 on two cards, 118-110 on the other. The judges agreed on 10 of the 12 rounds….
“While Pacquiao carried momentum through the early rounds with his robust, forward-moving attack, sometimes smiling at Mayweather as the bell sounded, judges ruled that Mayweather actually had led handily throughout….
“Mayweather is under contract with Showtime to fight once more, in September, against an opponent to be determined. He sounded like a man ready to step away.
“A victory would push his record to 49-0, the same as Rocky Marciano’s. Whether that record-tying fight would come in a rematch with the 36-year-old Pacquiao (57-6-2) was the one question left lingering in the desert air.”
“Floyd Mayweather stands alone.
“The pound-for-pound best.
“Mayweather turned in a vintage performance as he outboxed Manny Pacquiao in a brilliant display to win a unanimous decision in one of the biggest fights in boxing history…
“The massively hyped fight, more than five years in the making, became a global event. While it was not the drama-filled battle many had hoped for, it was an impressive performance from Mayweather, the master boxer, who never allowed the more powerful Pacquiao to deliver any truly big punches as he pulled away in the second half of the fight….
“For the fight, Mayweather landed 148 of 435 punches (34 percent) while Pacquiao suffered through one of his worst offensive performances, connecting on just 81 of 429 blows for a paltry 19 percent against one of boxing’s all-time great defensive fighters.”
It seems highly doubtful these two will share the ring again.
Afterwards, Pacquiao revealed he fought with an injured right shoulder, which he hurt during training camp about 2 ½ weeks before the fight. His camp thought about asking for a postponement, but Pacquiao felt better as Saturday approached.
“It’s part of the game,” Pacquiao said. “I don’t want to make alibis or complaints or anything.”
His camp requested a shot for the pain prior to the fight, but the Nevada Athletic Commission rejected it because Pacquiao had not said on a pre-fight form that he was injured.
Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, said the commission was well aware of the injury.
—Two reporters, Rachel Nichols of CNN and Michelle Beadle of ESPN/HBO, said they had been blocked from the fight by the Mayweather Camp The two, along with USA TODAY reporter Martin Rogers, also denied a credential, have been at the forefront of reporting on Mayweather’s history of domestic violence. Approval of credentials by the Mayweather camp was a stipulation included in the fight contract, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap.
A media relations spokeswoman for Mayweather, Kelly Swanson, denied that Nichols and Beadle were refused credentials.
Kentucky Derby
On a gorgeous afternoon in Louisville, Ky., with a record crowd of 170,513 in attendance, American Pharaoh, the 5-2 favorite (and the Bar Chat “Pick to Click”), beat Firing Line down the stretch to deliver trainer Bob Baffert his fourth Derby win, but first since 2002.
“It’s a fantasy moment for us,” said Baffert, surround by his four sons.
Baffert also had third-place Dortmund; the trio making it a three-horse race down the backstretch.
Jockey Victor Espinosa won his second consecutive Derby and third overall; winning last year aboard California Chrome. [He is just the sixth jockey to win the Derby in back-to-back years.]
All three of Baffert’s prior Derby champions went on to win the Preakness, though all three – War Emblem (2002), Real Quiet (1998) and Silver Charm (1997) – then came up short in the Belmont.
Pharaoh had been dominate in his prior four races, winning them all by a combined 22 ¼ lengths.
“It was no secret that Bob Baffert had brought a couple of big horses to America’s biggest race, the Kentucky Derby: Dortmund had never been beaten, and his stablemate, American Pharaoh, was being compared to the great Seattle Slew. In fact, some closed their eyes and transported themselves back to 1948, when the legendary trainer Ben Jones brought a couple of iconic colts named Citation and Coaltown to Churchill Downs.
“Finally, with a sixteenth of a mile to the wire, Firing Line buckled. American Pharaoh hit the line a length ahead of Firing Line, and Dortmund was two behind in third. Baffert did not match Jones’ 1-2 finish with Citation and Coaltown, but he came close.”
NFL Draft
What a sweet draft if you’re a Jets fan.
1. Tampa Bay selects Jameis Winston
2. Tennessee selects Marcus Mariota…or as Roger Goodell called him, “Marioto.”
3. Jacksonville selects Dante Fowler Jr., DE
4. Oakland selects Amari Cooper, WR
5. Washington selects Brandon Scherff, OT
6. Jets select Leonard Williams, DE, USC
Yes, Leonard Williams, rated on a majority of draft boards as the number one player overall, fell into the Jets’ lap at 6.
True, the Jets already have Mo Wilkerson*, Sheldon Richardson and Damon Harrison on the D-Line, but as one reporter put it, too much of a good thing ain’t bad. It’s like you can’t have too much pitching. The Jets now have an incredible amount of talent up front, with a top secondary behind them. Opposing quarterbacks on the 2015 schedule are already having nightmares.
And then in the second round the Jets picked up Ohio State receiver, Devin Smith, a true speed merchant; in the third, Lorenzo Mauldin, a linebacker out of Louisville that is one of the real feel-good stories in all of sports; and with their fourth round pick, they selected quarterback Bryce Petty out of Baylor, who is more than capable of supplying competition for Geno Smith.
All in all, no, the Jets didn’t really address their quarterback situation, yet, but they now have the best defense in the NFL, on paper, and they added the speed at wideout they desperately needed.
Oh, and then in a trade, the Jets acquired Rams running back Zac Stacy, who just two seasons ago almost rushed for 1,000 yards.
*Wilkerson will be expendable after this season. He wants big money but now the Jets don’t have to give it to him.
New GM Mike Maccagnan’s honeymoon has just been extended. None of us can recall a guy coming in like this and pulling all the right strings…though to be fair, the fact the Jets had a ton of cap space allowed them to sign the likes of Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie.
Meanwhile, the Giants picked up a needed lineman with their ninth pick in the first round, Ereck Flowers out of Miami, while trading up to get a desperately needed safety with the first pick in the second round, Landon Collins of Alabama.
–What do you think is going through Tennessee QB Zach Mettenberger’s head. Here he thought he was the quarterback of the future, now it’s Marioto, err, Mariota.
–And speaking of Mariota, Philadelphia’s Chip Kelly obviously couldn’t pull anything off to get his former Oregon QB.
But according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, it wasn’t for lack of trying. He said the Eagles offered two first-round picks, one third-round pick, Fletcher Cox (the team’s best defensive player), quarterback Sam Bradford, and some other pieces. Chip Kelly denied he offered any players for the No. 2 pick.
–Yes, Washington, it’s time to put to bed the statement, “There’s a new Scherff in town.”
—Amari Cooper was the right choice for the Raiders. They had to give franchise QB Derek Carr some weapons, even as many thought Oakland would select Leonard Williams.
—Wake Forest’s Kevin Johnson was selected with the 16th pick of the first round by the Texans. Boy, did he move up the board the past two months.
–Nebraska defensive end Randy Gregory was once a consensus top-10 pick, but a failed drug test at the NFL scouting combine and other character issues sent him hurtling backwards and Dallas took him in the second round with the 60th overall pick.
For the Cowboys, the Gregory selection is yet another instance where Jerry Jones is willing to take on risk, see the signing of lineman Greg Hardy, who has been suspended the first 10 games of the season as a result of domestic abuse charges.
–One NFL GM told Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman: “My estimate is 30 to 40 percent of players in this draft class use marijuana regularly.” But that’s in keeping with percentages in the league itself. One former defensive lineman, Marcellus Wiley, whose 10-year career ended in 2006, told the AP last year that half the players in the NFL use marijuana, at least occasionally; mainly to help cope with the game’s physical and mental toll.
Spurs-Clippers…Game 7
What a game. I caught every minute of it and fans doing so were rewarded. The Clippers pulled it out thanks to a heroic effort by Chris Paul, 27 points (including 5 of 6 from three), with six assists, all while playing on one leg, while teammate Blake Griffin chipped in with another triple-double – 24 pts., 13 reb., 10 asst.
But now the only team left I care about are the Hawks because of former Demon Deacon Jeff Teague.
As for Chris Paul, longtime readers know what I think of him. I won’t get into it again today, but I will later for those wondering why I wouldn’t support a Wake Forest lad.
“Tim Duncan wandered the court after it was over, patting Blake Griffin on the chest and cradling Chris Paul’s head tenderly with one of his massive hands.
“It was a show of respect from one superstar on his way to the Hall of Fame to two others who had just taken a significant initial step toward their first NBA title. Paul lingered for a few more moments, engaging in a group hug with teammates before stopping along the baseline to wrap his brother, C.J., in a long embrace.
“The Clippers finally got their happy ending on their home court Saturday night at Staples Center.
“It came after they gutted out a 111-109 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 of an epic first-round playoff series thanks to a performance for the ages by a hobbled Paul and an infusion of energy from the long-maligned Matt Barnes.
“Paul, who missed nearly half of the second quarter after straining his left hamstring and limped the rest of the game, drove on the Spurs’ Danny Green and got just enough separation to bank in a nine-foot running jumper over the outstretched arm of Duncan to give the Clippers a two-point lead with one second left….
“After a timeout and a prematurely sounding horn that irritated San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich, the Spurs’ Boris Diaw threw an inbounds lob intended for Kawhi Leonard. But Barnes leaped and knocked the ball away, ending the repeat bid of the defending NBA champions and propelling his team to the conference semifinals against the Houston Rockets.”
As for the status of that great, ancient trio…Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, after the game Popovich said they’ll all be back. “The paycheck’s pretty good.’
Certainly with the season Duncan had and the terrific shape he’s in, there’s no reason for him not to come back. Parker is under contract, but I’m not sure Ginobili returns.
–The Brooklyn Nets had evened their series with the Hawks at 2-2 with some inspired play, but then Atlanta defeated Brooklyn 107-97 in Game 5 in Atlanta, and embarrassed the Nets back in Brooklyn on Friday, 111-87, to take the series 4-2. [Jeff Teague had an interesting game. 0 points, but 13 assists in just 24 minutes.]
The Nets have a lot of questions to answer, but with Deron Williams’ contract, they are stuck with him and his many issues, while center Brook Lopez can opt out of his contract and no doubt will, and no one wants Joe Johnson and his huge deal.
Ergo, the Nets could really, really suck next season.
Back to the Hawks, on Sunday they opened up at home against the Wizards and after taking a 63-53 halftime lead, Atlanta crumbled in the second, being outscored 51-35, with the Hawks shooting just 5 of 28 from the field in the fourth quarter as the Wizards won Game 1 104-98.
I caught this action. Atlanta was trying and the effort was there, they just missed one chippie after another.
–Cleveland forward Kevin Love had surgery on his dislocated left shoulder and his projected recovery time is four to six months.
—Billy Donovan is the new coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, after taking Florida to two national titles.
Stanley Cup Playoffs
After a crushing 2-1 loss in Game 1 of their quarterfinal matchup with the Washington Capitals, the winning goal scoring with 1.3 seconds to play, the Rangers bounced back with a stirring 3-2 win on Saturday at the Garden. Washington’s Alex Ovechkin scored a spectacular goal to cut it to 3-2 with about 9:30 left in the third (like as good a goal as you’ll ever see in the NHL), but New York and King Henrik Lundqvist held on.
The other quarterfinals are all Sunday night…Lightning-Canadiens; Wild-Blackhawks; Flames-Ducks.
—All-Time Home Run Leaders
1. Barry Bonds 762
2. Hank Aaron 755
3. Babe Ruth 714
4. Alex Rodriguez 660…ughh
4. Willie Mays 660
But gotta hand it to A-Rod, No. 660 being a clutch pinch-hit*, eighth-inning homer at Fenway on Friday night that proved to be the game-winner for the Yankees, 3-2. He walked to the plate, batting for Garrett Jones, to deafening boos and then crushed a 3-0 pitch from reliever Junichi Tazawa.
Prior to Friday’s game, A-Rod had said, “There’s absolutely no comparisons to me or anyone else to Willie Mays. Willie Mays, he’s the greatest baseball player of all time.”
Following the game, Rodriguez admitted he wondered if this day would ever come.
“I was in a cave in Miami serving my time. To be here today with you guys, with the fans, my teammates, I am very thankful to the Yankees and Major League Baseball for allowing me to play this game.”
Mays congratulated A-Rod, saying in a statement: “Milestones are meant to be broken. I wish him continued success throughout his career.”
So now it’s about the $6 million bonus A-Rod was to receive for tying Mays, but 12 hours after his homer Friday night, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman made it clear the team wasn’t paying it.
“We have the right but not the obligation to do something,” Cashman told reporters Saturday. “And that’s it. It’s not ‘you do this, you get that.’”
Rodriguez avoided reporters after Saturday’s 4-2 win over the Red Sox, but following Friday’s game, Rodriguez had said: “I’ve learned my lesson. I’m doing things a different way now. I know those things will work themselves out.”
By the way, A-Rod is closing in on 3,000 hits with 2,957 entering Sunday night’s game. Only four others have 500 home runs and 3,000 hits…Aaron, Mays, Eddie Murray and Rafael Palmeiro.
“Alex Rodriguez has done it – done what nobody, even himself, thought he could do, and that is to rise like Lazarus from the steroids dungeon of baseball and perform like this was 10 years ago…
“A-Rod, who turns 40 on July 27; A-Rod, who has had two major hip surgeries; A-Rod, who went nearly 19 months without swinging a bat against major league pitching; A-Rod, who, when last seen in 2013 before being suspended for the entire 2014 season, looked about as done as a player can be; A-Rod, who told his own lawyers he couldn’t play without steroids, once again fooled us all.
“He may really be clean now, hitting these prodigious homers, leading the Yankees in hitting for much of April, because nine months away from the game actually was therapeutic for his mind and his hips.
“After all, isn’t that what he told us in one of his parting shots in that scorched-earth summer of his in 2013? Maybe a year off might be the best thing for him, to give his body a rest?
“Nevertheless, he can do us all a favor now by sparing us the vow that this is all being done on the clean. Not after demonstrating for – who knows how long? – his ability to beat the system in baseball; to pass drug test after drug test, all while he was filling up his body with Anthony Bosch’s concoctions of undetectable designer performance-enhancers. (Only the most cynical A-Rod watchers would suggest, after his horrendous previous game Wednesday in the Bronx, that he needed an extra day to start his new cycle.)
“For if there was one thing we all learned in the aftermath of the Biogenesis scandal – in which most of the 13 suspended players, including A-Rod, never actually failed a drug test, except when he tested positive during that ‘survey year’ in 2003 when it didn’t count, it was that comprehensive PED program or not, baseball players were still doing drugs, and who knows how many are also still getting away with it?”
–As for that other New York team, the Mets have been slumping after their 13-3 start, which included an 11-game winning streak. In fact on Saturday and Sunday, they lost back-to-back 1-0 games (to the Nationals) for the first time since 1973 to fall to 16-10.
But Friday, Matt Harvey moved to 5-0, 2.41 ERA, in throwing seven shutout innings against the Nats and their ace, Max Scherzer, with the Mets winning 4-0. It was the third time Harvey has stopped losing streaks.
As for Scherzer, he is 1-3 with a 1.26 ERA! Talk about pitching in bad luck.
On a separate matter, the Mets’ finances, an annual report just released shows revenue at Citi Field fell to $117 million last season, down from $180.4 million in 2009, Citi’s opening season.
–Budding Dodgers superstar Joc Pederson homered in his fourth straight game, Saturday night, in L.A.’s 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks. Friday night Pederson hit a grand slam and is now hitting .292 with 6 homers and 15 RBI out of the leadoff spot. In homering in four consecutive games, he became the first Dodgers rookie to do so since Bill Sudakis in 1969.
–Shu, you have a right to be concerned over your Pirates. Andrew McCutchen is hitting .193 with two home runs and 13 RBI in the first 25 games for the 12-13 Buccos.
St. Louis is 18-6.
The Minnesota Twins, after starting off 1-5, are 13-12.
And then you have the Houston Astros. After I mentioned them last time, they proceeded to win another five in a row for a 10-game winning streak. The Astros started the season 4-6 and are now 18-7!
–Baseball Prospectus tracks a wide array of ballpark factors, including for home runs (“Home run factor”). So in looking at 2014 stats…
Best Hitters’ Parks for Lefties:
Yankees…Yankee Stadium*
Reds…Great American Ball Park
Brewers…Miller Park
Dodgers…Dodger Stadium
Diamondbacks…Chase Field
*Good example…Brian McCann hit 19 of his 23 homers last season at Yankee Stadium.
Best Hitters’ Parks for Righties:
Phillies…Citizens Bank Park
Rockies…Coors Field
Blue Jays…Rogers Centre
Yankees…Yankee Stadium
Braves…Turner Field
But with the Mets having moved the fences in, again, at Citi Field, we’ll see how things end up there this season. Last year Citi was 19th of 30 in home run factor for lefties; 15th of 30 for righties.
–Sportswriter Bill Pennington has written a book, “Billy Martin: Baseball’s Flawed Genius,” and he was interviewed for USA TODAY Sports.
A: That is what makes him so intriguing. He is so many different things to different people. He really is like a character out of a Shakespearean play. He is a tragic hero. What made him great – the determination, the fire, the zeal to succeed – is what ultimately brought him down. It is what drove him to success, and that drove him to get fired over and over. He’s both. People can’t figure him out completely. That includes the people who were married to him, were related to him, who played for him.
A: I learned a lot that I didn’t know. I knew Billy went to church; I didn’t know he went so fervently. I didn’t know how hardscrabble his upbringing was. To see him hanging around with Lucille Ball and Jackie Gleason was eye-opening. What a big star he was as a player. In the present time people talk about the Yankees, they talk about DiMaggio and Mantle and Whitey Ford and Rizzuto. But they talked about Martin, too. He was the spark plug. He was the one on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and not just Mantle in 1956.
Pennington adds, “The most stunning relationship was him and Joe DiMaggio. DiMaggio didn’t have a relationship with anyone on that team (in the early 1950s), and here comes this punk from West Berkeley (Calif.), and they are best pals.”
As much as he fired Martin, George Steinbrenner of course desperately needed Martin, too. But the only one Pennington says didn’t need Billy was Reggie Jackson. It’s true, they really couldn’t stand each other.
Golf Balls
—Rory McIlroy turns 26 on Monday, but Sunday, he became just the third golfer since World War II to win 10 PGA Tour events by age 26, the others being Tiger and Jack Nicklaus. McIlroy defeated Gary Woodland in the WGC-Cadillac Match Play event.
–In a meaningless match on Friday, Keegan Bradley got into it on the 18th hole with Miguel Angel Jimenez, nose-to-nose, after Jimenez questioned a drop Bradley received. Bradley’s caddie, Steve “Pepsi” Hale, got involved and Jimenez told him to shut up.
Bradley took exception, got in the face of Jimenez and told him, “You don’t tell my caddie to shut up.”
Bradley later said in the parking lot, “I felt like he was being very disrespectful to me – not only me, but my caddie. I felt like I had to stand up for my boy here. Me and Pepsi have been through a lot.”
Jimenez met with reporters later and said, “Whatever he say, now is finished. The round is finished and everything is done. We had a little discussion, but it is done.”
–The trashing of the U.S. Open site continues. Ryan Palmer, who played Chambers Bay on Monday, said, “As far as the greens are concerned, it’s not a championship golf course.” Ian Poulter said he had talked to some players who had been to the course and they told him it was a “farce.” USGA executive director Mike Davis said in a news conference Monday that some of the tee boxes could be set up on uphill, downhill or side hill slopes, which would be a first in a major championship, let alone on any professional tournament.
Davis also said two holes – the first and 18th – could switch pars during the tournament, with each playing as a par-4 one day and as a par-5 the next.
Palmer did add what the rest of us observed when we learned of Chambers Bay, even before it was selected to host the Open. “It’s a great piece of land, great scenery.”
—Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn broke up, issuing separate releases on Sunday. The statements were first class. As Lindsey put it, “Unfortunately, we both lead incredibly hectic lives that force us to spend a majority of our time apart.”
Vonn added, “I will always admire and respect Tiger. He and his beautiful family hold a special place in my heart.”
For his part, Tiger said: “I have great admiration, respect and love for Lindsey and I’ll always cherish our time together.” Tiger cited how “amazing” Vonn was with his children.
It was just at Augusta we saw the four, including Sam and Charlie, together.
Both were great for each other, I firmly believe that. Tiger was there for Lindsey, she was there for him. Best of luck to both of them.
–We note the passing of Calvin Peete, 71. Before there was Tiger Woods, Peete was the most successful black professional golfer with 12 PGA Tour titles, including 11 between 1982 and 1986 (4 in ’82).
In 1984, he won the Vardon Trophy, given annually to the professional golfer with the lowest per-round score. In 1985, he won the Tournament Players Championship (now the Players Championship).
All of this despite having a crooked left arm and not picking up a club until he was in his 20s.
His upbringing was Dickensian, with Calvin living with his father, a vegetable picker in Pahokee, Fla., and after dropping out of school in the eighth grade to help feed the family, Calvin also worked in the fields. But he couldn’t do heavy work because at age 12, a tree branch broke his left elbow, leaving him unable to straighten it.
But the left arm remains straight during a golf swing, so Peete compensated and ended up becoming the most accurate driver of the ball on Tour, each year from 1981-90.
Peete was selling clothes and jewelry out of the back of his station wagon to migrant workers when friends, under the guise of taking him to a fish fry, took him to a golf course instead. He was quickly bitten by the bug.
Calvin taught himself the game by reading books. It took him nine years and three trips to the PGA’s Q-School before he got his card, at 32, in 1975.
I was a huge Peete fan and will always remember 1980, when I was a toy cop at the U.S. Open at Baltusrol and was in charge of access to the players’ parking lot. Each morning the golfers had to stop at my post, but I remember how you could hear the music blasting from Calvin’s van, driven by his caddie, Bubba, from all the way at the top of the hill as it approached.
Premier League Standings (33/35 of 38 played)
1. Chelsea 35 – 83 pts
2. Man City 35 – 70
3. Arsenal 33 – 67
4. Man U 35 – 65
5. Lilverpool 35 – 61
6. Tottenham 35 – 58
7. Southampton 35 – 57
14. Aston Villa 35 – 35
15. Newcastle United 35 – 35
16. Hull City 34 – 34
17. Leicester City 35 – 34
18. Sunderland 34 – 33
19. QPR 35 – 27
20. Burnley 35 – 26
—Chelsea clinched its first Premier League title in five years on Sunday with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace; Chelsea’s fourth in 11 seasons.
—Man City defeated my Tottenham Spurs 1-0 on Sunday.
–In the battle not to be relegated (bottom three each year are booted out for the following season), John Carver, the Newcastle manager, accused his player, Mike Williamson, of getting himself sent off on purpose as an “easy way out” of his side’s 3-0 defeat away to Leicester City, their eighth loss in a row; a rather extraordinary accusation.
Meanwhile, Queens Park Rangers lost to Liverpool, 2-1, while Sunderland picked up a 2-1 win against Southampton, which was huge.
But you can see, QPR and Burnley are locks for relegation. It should come down to the final weekend for that 18 spot.
—Bayern Munich’s hopes of reaching the Champions League finals suffered a huge blow last Wednesday with winger Arjen Robben being ruled out for the rest of the season and striker Robert Lewandowski also hurt in a German Cup defeat by Borussia Dortmund.
Robben tore a calf muscle after a five-week injury absence and Lewandowski broke his jaw and nose and suffered a concussion after a clash with the Dortmund ‘keeper.
Robben and Lewandowski were involved in 45 percent of Bayern’s 117 goals this season. But now Bayern faces Barcelona on Wednesday in the Champions League semis without either.
—Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his 24th career Sprint Cup race at Talladega, his first win there in 10 years, as he beat teammate Jimmie Johnson, who has four straight top 3s.
Ben E. King
The revered R&B singer best known for the 1961 hit “Stand By Me,” died at the age of 76.
King was a resident of Teaneck, N.J. since the late 1960s and reportedly died of natural causes at his Bergen County home.
Born Benjamin Earl Nelson, King got his start as a member of the doo-wop group The Five Crowns, and then The Drifters in 1958, before his solo Billboard Top 5 hit, “Stand By Me” in 1961. The tune was covered by the likes of John Lennon and Marvin Gaye, as well as being featured in the 1986 popular teen film of the same name.
In 1999, BMI declared “Stand By Me” the fourth-most performed song of the 20th Century.
Rolling Stone ranked it 122nd on its list of the 500 greatest songs.
In March, “Stand By Me” was named as one of 25 songs to be preserved in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry, for its cultural significance.
King spoke of the song’s legacy and called it “a love song” and “a friendship song.” He also once told the BBC how the Drifters originally turned down the opportunity to record “Stand By Me,” after their manager proclaimed it “not a bad song, but we don’t need it.”
King was born in North Carolina but grew up in Harlem.
“Mr. King was working in his father’s Harlem luncheonette in 1956 when a local impresario, Lover Patterson, overheard him singing to himself and persuaded him to join a group he managed, the Five Crowns.
“Lightning struck when the group, then known as the Crowns, performed at the Apollo Theater on a bill with the original Drifters in 1958 and attracted the attention of George Treadwell, who managed the Drifters and owned the name.
“Mr. Treadwell had been feuding with his group, which had entered a lean period after Clyde McPhatter, its lead singer, was drafted into the Army in late 1954. He fired the Drifters en masse and replaced them with Mr. King and three of his fellow singers.
“Atlantic Records assigned the songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller to produce the group’s recordings. The match turned out to be inspired, yielding a streak of hit records that helped the Drifters achieve crossover success. Mr. King’s suave but impassioned vocals had a lot to do with it.”
When I think of Ben E. King, I think of his terrific work as lead singer with The Drifters, 1959-60.
1959: #2 – There Goes My Baby (King wrote the lyrics)
1959: #15 – Dance With Me
1960: #16 – This Magic Moment
1960: #1 – Save The Last Dance For Me
1961: #10 – Spanish Harlem
1961: #4 – Stand By Me
1961: #18 – Amor
1962: #11 – Don’t Play That Song
1975: #5 – Supernatural Thing – Part I
If the sky, that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
And the mountain, should crumble, to the sea
I won’t cry, I won’t cry
No, I won’t shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me.
–From the AP: “Three men have been accused of stabbing a young moose to death at a park in Alaska’s largest city, and police said witnesses reported seeing the men punching the animal and running away.
“The men were arraigned Wednesday in the death of the yearling moose Tuesday night near a bike trail in Anchorage’s Russian Jack Springs Park. All three were arrested on charges of animal cruelty, wanton waste of big game and tampering with evidence.”
The report contains some gruesome details. A police dog helped track the men down, as well as alerting police to the weapons that were used.
–Brad K. passed along this tale, courtesy of the Daily Mail.
“A wild turkey broke into a woman’s bathroom, turned on her faucet, and severely flooded her home.
“A little over a week ago, Nancy Page of Rhode Island thought a pipe burst when she returned home to find water pouring from her garage ceiling.
“But the culprit turned out to be an unusual house guest that dropped in.
“WLNE-TV reports Nancy Page went upstairs to find the source of the running water and discovered a wild turkey had crashed through a bathroom window and somehow turned on the sink.”
The turkey was caught by police and released. Brad K. notes “they are adapting, and finding improved ways to get us.”
–12 search and rescue dogs from Los Angeles and Fairfax, Virginia, aided in recovery efforts in Katmandu last week. A boy rescued from the wreckage of a nine-story hotel that collapsed around him five days earlier was discovered with the help of Los Angeles firefighters.
“When Carl Moore faced off against a 300-pound beast aiming to eat his beloved Chihuahua, he did what any former bouncer would do.
“Carl Moore knew his Chihuahua was in trouble when he spotted a black bear. The 300-pound beast was trying to climb the deck to Moore’s California home in a bid to eat the little dog for breakfast.
“There was no time to waste….So Moore did what any 73-year-old with fists of steel would do: He punched the bear in the face.
“ ‘I’m not going to let anybody hurt my puppies – man or beast,’ Moore told The Daily Beast. ‘They’re my family. They’re my babies.’
Two of Moore’s employees witnessed the feat and a local CBS affiliate interviewed Moore after. When he slugged the bear, “He grunted, stumbled a bit, got down on all fours and started getting out of Dodge,” Moore said.
Moore used to be a bouncer at country-western nightclubs
–From the New York Daily News: “Dan Carlin’s wife told him to smile for a picture on their 29-foot boat as he held up one of the yellowtail fish they had caught that day. Then a sea lion leaped 7 feet out of the water, bit into his hand and yanked him overboard.
“The animal, weighing hundreds of pounds, smashed the 62-year-old San Diego accountant against the boat’s side and sent his legs flying into the air like a rag doll’s before it dragged him some 20 feet underwater, Carlin said Wednesday, more than three weeks into his recovery after the April 5 incident.
“ ‘After 15 seconds, I thought I was going to die,’ Carlin said in an interview with the Associated Press. ‘I continued to struggle, but thought this is the way I was going to die. It was unbelievable to me.’
“Then, as quickly as the attack happened, Carlin was released. He swam toward the surface as the sea lion bit his foot, puncturing a bone.
“He managed to make his way back to his boat that was in a bay off San Diego. He and his wife moved it closer to land while his hand gushed blood and he struggled to breathe because of his battered chest….
While he vows to resume fishing soon, his experience shows how dangerous sea lions can be.
–Yet another coyote tale here in New Jersey.
From NJ.com: “Police say a coyote attacked a (Randolph) township Yorkshire terrier, then ran off into the woods with the dog in its mouth – and so far, neither has been found.
“Police responded to a residence on Doby Road late Tuesday and were told by the homeowner that at about 10 p.m., the Yorkie, which had just been let outside into the backyard, was attacked, police said….
“Another resident living nearby told police the coyote has approached his dogs several times.”
Coyote remains on suspension with regards to the All-Species List.
‘Man’ looked good in beating the bear, but obviously didn’t in the Moose episode. He remains at No. 298.
The Wild Turkey is not exactly what you want to serve these days while watching the Lions game on Thanksgiving, ergo, its No. 197.
But the Sea Lion is worthy of respect, seeing as it’s a cousin of No. 12 Leopard Seal. Sea Lion is No. 62.
However, remember, boys and girls; the Sea Lion is not to be confused with the highly overrated Harbor Seal, which smells and has a foul disposition. It’s No. 123.
Lastly, ‘Dog’ remains No. 1, while ‘Elephant’ is right behind. Great selfie today with Sec. of State John Kerry and an elephant in Kenya; though Kerry’s efforts, let alone the administration’s in general, don’t help ‘Man.’
–Shu alerted me to Shelby Lynne’s new album due out May 5, “I Can’t Imagine,” and after listening to snippets of all the tracks, it sounds terrific and the Wall Street Journal gave it a great review.
Amazing that it was 2001 when Lynne scored a Grammy for best new artist (though she really wasn’t that new) with her breakthrough album, “I Am Shelby Lynne.” She seems to have returned to her badass roots.
Top 3 songs for the week 5/6/67: #1 “Somethin’ Stupid” (Nancy Sinatra & Frank Sinatra…this is what I loved about the 60s, that a tune like this could compete with what follows…) #2 “The Happening” (The Supremes…might be my favorite of theirs…) #3 “Sweet Soul Music” (Arthur Conley)…and…#4 “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You” (The Monkees) #5 “Happy Together” (The Turtles…had been #1 before “Somethin’ Stupid” surpassed it…) #6 “I Think We’re Alone Now” (Tommy James & The Shondells… remains a crime they aren’t in the HOF…) #7 “Don’t You Care” (The Buckinghams…loved this one…but never forgot how Dave Barry trashed it…) #8 “Close Your Eyes” (Peaches and Herb) #9 “You Got What It Takes” (The Dave Clark Five) #10 “I’m A Man” (The Spencer Davis Group… like I said last time…can’t beat ‘66/’67…)
NFL Draft Quiz Answers: 1) For the Jets: Chad Pennington 1-18, 2000 (Marshall); Ken O’Brien 1-24, 1983 (Cal-Davis). 2) For the Giants: Phil Simms 1-7, 1979 (Morehead State). 3) For the Packers: Rich Campbell 1-6, 1981 (California).
