MLB Quiz: Each year at this time, USA TODAY Sports produces the leaders in baseball for the past year, in this instance July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015. So during this time, 1) Who is the leading home run hitter among all MLB catchers? 2) Who is the leading home run hitter at third base? 3) Who is the only outfielder to hit 40 HR? 4) Who is the leading hurler with 18 wins? 5) Who has the lowest ERA among all starters in baseball over this period? Answers below.
Ball Bits
–On Thursday, the Dodgers’ Zack Greinke threw another eight scoreless in a 6-0 win over the Phillies, extending his scoreless innings streak to 35 2/3, while lowering his ERA to a stupendous 1.39.
“Greinke became the first pitcher since 1968 to have an ERA under 1.40 in 100-plus innings at this stage of the season.
“Three pitchers did it that year: Bob Gibson (1.06), Luis Tiant (1.24) and Don Drysdale (1.37).” [Dylan Hernandez / Los Angeles Times]
Yup, with the Dodgers’ playoff bound, how great is it to have a top-two like this in a five- or seven-game series?
I’ve only said this like ten times before but it bears repeating. I love how Greinke has earned his massive contract….$147m over six years. All he’s done is go 40-14, 2.36 the first 2 ½ seasons. As Ronald Reagan would have said, ‘Not bad, not bad at all.’
–Another Mets injury, this time phenom Steven Matz, who had so impressed in his first two big league starts, both victories, while he drove in five runs at the plate. Matz was placed on the disabled list with a partial tear of the lat muscle on his left side, and many are guessing he’s out until September. Mets manager Terry Collins muttered, “I’m tired of getting phone calls with bad news. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
General Manager Sandy Alderson had to admit blame, at least partially, for the situation with Matz because it was he who decided not to have an MRI done on the kid when he complained of discomfort in his side prior to throwing six shutout innings against the Dodgers last Sunday.
But the Matz-less Mets came through on Friday night behind another rookie hurler, Noah Syndergaard, who was lights out for a third straight start, 13 strikeouts in eight innings of one-run ball in a 4-2 victory over the Diamondbacks. Syndergaard has now allowed a single run in each of those 3 starts in moving to 4-4, 3.11 (72 strikeouts and just 14 walks in his first 66 innings overall).
And on Saturday, Matt Harvey served notice that he wasn’t to be forgotten, hitting the first home run of his career* and allowing just two first-inning runs in seven innings while striking out nine as he improved to 8-6, 3.07, in a second straight 4-2 win over Arizona.
The Mets improved to 33-5 when they score 4 runs or more.
*Phil W. said his nephew was at the game and his friend caught the Harvey HR ball. Very cool. The kid got a Matt Harvey bat, four tix for a future game, and on the field access for batting practice, where it’s assumed he’ll meet the Dark Knight himself.
How good have the Mets starters been? Coming into Sunday, in their prior 15 games the starters had an ERA of 1.40, a streak that includes Wednesday’s 8-inning, 2 hits, 10 strikeouts masterpiece by Jacob deGrom (9-6, 2.14) in a 4-1 win over the Giants in San Francisco.
And then on Sunday, the Metropolitans moved to 34-5 when they score 4 runs or more as they completed the sweep against the Diamondbacks, 5-3, Jon Niese with another quality start.
But the story here was Mets reserve outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis. The lad hit three home runs, the first Met to hit three in a home game in franchise history. 54 years, by god!
I mean this is a guy who the Mets dumped after a dreadful start to the season, they traded him to the Angels for literally four baseballs and a box of Titleist Pro-V1s, he was 3-22 for the Angels, they released him, the Mets re-claimed him on waivers and sent him to Triple-A. Then they called him back up and the bottom line was he was 7-66 overall this season in the big leagues, with no homers and 3 RBIs.
Until Sunday…when he homered his first three at bats.
–On Friday night, Pittsburgh’s Gerrit Cole moved to 13-3, 2.30, in a 5-2 win for the surging Pirates over the Cardinals, who then beat the Cards on Saturday, 6-5 in 14 innings on an Andrew McCutchen two-run walk-off homer.
Heading into Sunday night’s game, the Pirates, who started the season 18-22, have gone 34-13 since…52-35 overall. They can start printing playoff tickets now. A wildcard is certainly in the bag.
–In his second start back from Tommy John surgery, Miami’s Jose Fernandez pitched seven innings of scoreless ball in helping Miami beat Cincinnati 2-0, tying the modern record for most consecutive home victories by a starter to begin a career.
The only pitcher since 1914 to win his first 14 home decisions as a starter was Johnny Allen of the Yankees in 1932-33, according to STATS. Fernandez lowered his home ERA to 1.17.
[Overall, though, 18-8, 2.24, in this budding superstar’s career…especially now that he’s got the TJ thing out of the way. And isn’t it amazing how us fans just wait for it now? I know Mr. Syndergaard doesn’t want to think about it, but Mets fans are…Harvey? Check. deGrom? Check. Matz? Check. Wheeler? Check. (Zack had it this spring.) Noah? Uh oh.]
Back to Fernandez, I want the Marlins to do well. Not better than the Mets, mind you, but you can’t help but root for them after what they committed to Giancarlo…and then he gets another unfortunate injury.
–The Yankees go to the break a surprising 48-40, 3 ½ ahead of the second-place Rays. After winning on Sunday, 8-6, over the Red Sox in Boston, the Yanks moved to 40-23 when they hit a home run, as they did on Sunday, and 8-17 when they don’t.
Nate Eovaldi went to 9-2 for the Yanks, while going only five innings. His ERA is 4.50, but what the heck…I said the Yankees made a good move in acquiring him and he’s panning out.
–Oakland’s Sonny Gray threw a 2-hit complete game shutout against the Indians on Sunday, the A’s winning 2-0, to move to 10-3, 2.04 ERA, even as Oakland is 41-50 overall.
You do the math, or give it to your kids to keep their minds fresh over the summer. Imagine the A’s without Mr. Gray.
–Shu passed on a story from Mike Grimala (RunRebs.com) on Rangers rookie Joey Gallo (21), Bryce Harper (22) and Cubs rookie Kris Bryant (23). You can look it up…it’s long…but it is kind of amazing to think these three “All grew up and played youth baseball together and against one another” not too long ago.
NBA Bits
–Well, that was one crazy free agent dance DeAndre Jordan performed. First the center verbally agreed to a four-year max deal with the Mavericks, but then he did an about-face, re-signing with the Clippers early Thursday morning.
Jordan issued an apology to Mavs owner Mark Cuban.
“I want to publicly apologize to one of the best owners in the world @MCuban, the @Dallasmavs and their fans.
“I am humbled by (the Mavs’ and Cuban’s) kindness and understanding. I am sorry to have a change of heart.”
After the tweets went out, Cuban said he still has not had any communication with Jordan since Tuesday night. And Saturday Cuban wrote on his messaging app Cyber Dust, “When is an apology not an apology? When you didn’t write it yourself. Next.”
[Jordan was vacationing in the Caribbean at the time his two tweets appeared Friday.]
Jordan began having second thoughts about his commitment to the Mavericks by Monday. He decided to stay in L.A. after coach Doc Rivers, owner Steve Ballmer, and teammates Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and Paul Pierce arrived at Jordan’s house in Houston on Wednesday afternoon and didn’t leave until he officially re-signed with the Clippers.
Cuban said Jordan didn’t respond to any attempts of his to contact him Wednesday.
For his part, Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons, who was instrumental in recruiting Jordan, said he was “shocked, very disappointed, frustrated, disrespected” by DeAndre’s decision.
Then, in an interview with ESPN’s Tim McMahon, he added: “He wasn’t ready for being a franchise player. He was scared. He was scared to take the next step in his career. There was no other reason other than that he was comfortable and he has friendships there. How you ignore an owner like Mark who is in your hometown just waiting for a chance to talk to you is beyond me.”
Needless to say, the games next season between the Clippers and Mavs should be must see TV. Mavs fans will be ruthless…and for years to come. I’m right there with them.
–For the archives, LeBron signed a two-year, $47 million deal with a player option for 2016-17, so he’ll just keep playing this game to ensure he gets max deals with the expanding salary cap that is coming into play, while keeping the pressure on Cavs management to add to and/or retain the best possible supporting cast.
–The Brooklyn Nets gladly agreed to Deron Williams request that he be released from his contract, within reason, so he could sign with the Mavericks. Williams had two years and $43 million remaining on the disastrous five-year, $98 million contract he signed in 2012, but now the Nets will pay him a buyout of $27.5 million, spread out over five years, while he makes back $10 million of the difference in a two-year deal with Dallas.
So with this, the Nets solve what would have been a major luxury tax issue, which means it behooves Brooklyn to keep Joe Johnson around. [It was rumored the Cavs would get Johnson, which I thought was a great move for Cleveland but it would have killed them in their luxury tax situation.]
Dallas needed a point guard after Rajon Rondo split, by mutual agreement, and it’s possible that with a fresh start, Williams could regain some of his lost luster.
–I like the Heat signing Amare Stoudemire for a year, just $1.4 million. If healthy, he’s still effective in spurts and with a home in Miami, Amare will be happy. Heck, he made clear he wasn’t out for the money.
–The Philadelphia 76ers conceded that center Joel Embiid will need a second surgery on his right foot, this time a bone graft procedure. Embiid was the third overall pick in the 2014 draft and missed his entire rookie season after having surgery to repair a stress fracture in his foot last June.
The 76ers said they met with doctors around the globe after the realization Embiid had suffered a setback in his recovery.
–In a rematch of last year’s final, Roger Federer faced off against Novak Djokovic as Federer, 33, once again sought his 18th Grand Slam singles title and a record eighth Wimbledon singles crowns.
But Djokovic pulled away after a titanic second set and a brief rain delay to take his third Wimbledon title (the other two being 2011 and 2014), 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3.
Djokovic now has nine grand slam titles, including five Aussie Opens and one U.S. Open.
He is still just 28, having turned that age in May, so there should be at least four more GS titles in his future (maybe far more), especially as Nadal (14 titles) and Federer (17) fade away.
Entering Sunday’s finale, Federer led his chief rival 20-19 in head-to-head matches. Now they’re 20-20.
Earlier, Federer had taken out Andy Murray in the semis.
–On the women’s side, the amazing Serena Williams captured her 21st Grand Slam singles title, one shy of the modern record of 22 by Steffi Graf, as Williams improved her singles finals record to 21-4 with a 6-4, 6-4 win over up-and-coming 21-year-old Spaniard, Garbine Muguruza. For Serena it was her sixth Wimbledon singles crown.
Williams thus heads to New York with a chance to become the first female to complete the calendar Grand Slam since Graff in 1988. Serena already has the Serena Slam, four majors in a row going back to last year’s U.S. Open, a feat she also accomplished 12 years ago! Just an incredible career and here she is, at 33, still at her peak.
[For the record, Williams defeated Maria Sharapova in the semis (6-2, 6-4), her 17th straight win over her fake rival.]
–Kind of cool that Martina Hingis, 34, won her first title in a Grand Slam since 2002, as she teamed up with Sania Mirza to win the doubles title this weekend. She won the women’s doubles at the Australian Open in ’02 with Anna Kournikova. It was Hingis’ 10th career Grand Slam women’s doubles title, the first having come at Wimbledon when she was 15.
–Here’s what we do know about Jason Pierre-Paul’s situation. It was outrageous his medical records were made public by ESPN’s Adam Shefter, Shefter releasing a picture of them.
ESPN should suspend Shefter to send a message to all media you can’t pull this crap.
The CEO of Jackson Health System, said: “Late Wednesday, media reports surfaced purportedly showing a Jackson Memorial Hospital patient’s protected health information, suggesting it was leaked by an employee. An aggressive internal investigation looking into these allegations is under way.
“If these allegations prove to be true, I know the entire Jackson family will share my anguish. Our nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals are passionate about our patients’ health and well-being, and that includes the right to privacy.”
Understand, JPP was still in surgery at the time the picture was published!
As for Pierre-Paul’s actual condition, he not only lost his right index finger, but he is reportedly dealing with a right fractured thumb, and may have other fractures in his fingers and hand. He’s had skin grafts on his right hand and forearm.
It also has been reported the entire index finger needed to be removed, so as one league source told the New York Post, “What are the chance it did only minimal damage to the thumb or middle finger? Doctors would tell you it’s more likely he lost his thumb from this than didn’t have any damage or even minimal damage. If he lost his thumb or did significant damage to it, his football career is over.”
A hand specialist in Florida said the broken thumb could easily take six- to eight-weeks to heal.
Former Jets lineman Joe Klecko, one of the all-time greats, said: “It’ll take him a long time to get strength back and be able to grab things….The loss of a finger is a big deal. The index finger is one of the biggest fingers on your hands for grabbing, you know what I mean?
“Listen, all good defensive linemen – Ndamukong Suh, J.J. Watt – their hands are everything. And if you watched anybody that’s worth a damn, their hands are everything, and I think it’ll be a big deal.
“I really believe that he’ll take a long time for his healing, and learning how to use that hand without a finger. I think it’s gonna be a very hard thing.”
Meanwhile, the $14.8 million tender offer sits on the table, with Pierre-Paul’s people telling him to keep distant from the Giants, even though the Giants just want to help the guy.
Should the Giants rescind the tender, JPP becomes an unrestricted free agent.
–Dallas defensive end Greg Hardy had his 10-game suspension reduced to four games, the NFL announced Friday. A neutral arbitrator upheld Hardy’s suspension for his role in a domestic violence case.
Hardy was convicted of the charges in a North Carolina bench trial but used his right in the state’s legislature to have the case heard before a jury. The charges were later dropped when the victim in the case, Hardy’s ex-girlfriend, failed to appear.
Hardy, who signed an incentive-laden deal in the offseason that pays him on a per-game basis, now has to decide whether to accept the four-game suspension or fight the decision in court. If he’s smart, he’ll accept the penalty.
For the Cowboys, this was just what they wanted when they took a flyer on Hardy in the first place.
—Joe Theismann, commenting on a Fox News show about a federal judge’s decision Wednesday (after I posted) to order the cancellation of the Redskins’ federal trademark registrations, reiterated what he has said before, that he’s “very proud to have represented the Native-American nations of this country, the Washington Redskin fans, [and] the team itself.”
Theismann said the name “has always represented something special and something sacred and something honorable” to him.
I still say the perfect compromise is to change the name to “Red Clouds.”
–Yet another player was tossed off the Florida State football team for assaulting a woman. After quarterback De’Andre Johnson was booted when a video showed him hitting a woman in a Tallahassee bar, the Seminoles’ leading rusher, Dalvin Cook, was suspended indefinitely for allegedly punching another woman in the face repeatedly, according to reports.
At last word, Cook was issued an arrest warrant and was to be charged with misdemeanor battery. He’s had trouble before at FSU. Last June he and two other players were questioned over a BB-gun battle that damaged cars and apartments in Tallahassee. He was charged with criminal mischief.
FSU coach Jim Fisher released a lengthy statement Friday addressing the recent events. Fisher wrote in part, “It is important to me that our fans and the public be aware that I do not tolerate the type of behavior that was captured on video and that was most recently alleged.
“We spend a good deal of time educating our student-athletes about appropriate behavior and their responsibilities as representatives of Florida State….
“We will do better. I will not tolerate anything less.”
Now let’s all give the tomahawk chop….Aaaaaa aaa aaa aaa aaa aaaaaaa….
–Sometimes it isn’t hard to see the Seattle Seahawks and Russell Wilson parting ways after this coming season. Wilson can be kind of strange. As Sean Wagner-McGough of CBSSports.com wrote the other day:
“Almost immediately after the Seahawks miraculously came back against the Packers in the NFC Championship Game to advance to this past season’s Super Bowl, Russell Wilson credited God for ‘setting it up’ and for making the moment ‘so rewarding, so special.’
“Now, Wilson is also crediting God for his heartbreaking interception on the 1-yard line that sealed the Super Bowl win for the Patriots and ended the Seahawks’ bid for back-to-back championships. While speaking at The Rock Church in San Diego, Wilson claimed that God spoke to him just moments after he tossed the interception and explained why the interception took place.
“ ‘The play happens, and they pick the ball off. And I take three steps,’ Wilson said. ‘And on the third step God says to me, ‘I’m using you…I want to see how you respond. But most importantly, I want them to see how you respond.’’
“Of course, Malcolm Butler – the interceptor – would probably have a different explanation for the interception. While Wilson credited God for ‘using’ him, Butler credited film study and practice, saying that he knew the play was coming before the ball was even snapped.
“Wilson’s interview at The Rock Church was the same interview in which he claimed that God spoke to him about his relationship with Ciara, which led to the couple’s practice of abstinence.”
–Finally, we note the passing of the great quarterback, Kenny “The Snake” Stabler, 69, who died of colon cancer.
Raiders owner Mark Davis said in a statement: “He was a cherished member of the Raider family and personified what it means to be a Raider. He wore the silver and black with pride and poise and will continue to live in the hearts of Raider fans everywhere.”
Snake played for the Raiders from 1970-79, winning the NFL MVP award in 1974 and earning Pro Bowl honors four times.
Former coach John Madden said: “I was head coach of the Raiders the entire time Kenny was there, and he led us to a whole bunch of victories, including one in Super Bowl XI. I’ve often said if I had one drive to win a game to this day, and I had a quarterback to pick I would pick Kenny. Snake was a lot cooler than I was. He was a perfect quarterback and a perfect Raider. When you think about the Raiders you think about Kenny Stabler. Kenny loved life. It is a sad day for all Raiders.”
I have to admit, I was shocked when I looked up his stats…194 TDs 222 INTs*…Would any of you have said that? I doubt it. He had a 59.8% completion percentage, after all, but on the other hand, all those INTs hurt his passer rating…just 75.3.
*The Snake was hurt by two years in particular with regards to the spread…1978: 16-30. 1980: 13-28 with Houston. Take those two out and it’s a normal split for that era.
Stabler was also 7-5 in the playoffs, 7-4 as a Raider, including winning that Super Bowl in ’76, which is darn good.
As Johnny Mac noted, yeah, Stabler’s not in the Hall of Fame (which is remarkable and I’m sure one day will be rectified), but including those who are…like Bob Griese, Dan Fouts, Sonny Jurgensen, Warren Moon and Fran Tarkenton, as Madden also intimated, among this group, “which of them would you take above The Snake?”
From ESPN.com: “Stabler first showed his professional chops in a 1972 playoff game best known for the Immaculate Reception. Mostly forgotten was that Stabler replaced Daryle Lamonica and led the Raiders to what seemed to be the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter – until Franco Harris’ spectacular catch and run won the game for Pittsburgh.
“Oakland lost two of its first three games in the next season, scoring no touchdowns with Lamonica behind center. After a loss to archrival Kansas City, Madden gave Stabler a chance to show what he could do in practice. Stabler did enough for Madden to start him, and the Raiders beat the Cardinals – and then won four straight games after that.
“Stabler remained the starter for more than seven seasons, studying the game plan by the light of a jukebox – if he studied at all. He prided himself on being able to wing it, and few quarterbacks did it better in the clutch.”
Stabler’s family released a statement saying, “He passed peacefully surrounded by the people he loved most….as some of his favorite songs played in the background, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and Van Morrison’s ‘Leaves Falling Down.’”
The Snake grew up in Foley, Alabama and played his college ball for the Crimson Tide, leading them to an undefeated season in 1966.
Stabler’s brain and spinal cord were donated to Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center to support research into degenerative brain disease among athletes, according to the family.
Golf Balls
–As if we needed another example of just how good Jordan Spieth is we had one this weekend at the John Deere Classic.
Spieth opened on Thursday with an even par 71, 8 off the lead, and I’m thinking, good, miss the cut and get over to St. Andrews two days earlier than you otherwise would have so you’ll get some rest.
But Spieth is such an amazing competitor, he went out and shot 64 on Friday to get back in the hunt, and then fired a career-best 61 on Saturday, including some truly spectacular shots, to take a two-stroke lead.
And on Sunday, Spieth won again, but it wasn’t easy. He got off to a rough start, fell five strokes behind 46-year-old journeyman Tom Gillis (soon to be 47), but Jordan rallied back, forcing a playoff, which he won….his fifth PGA Tour triumph, fourth of the year.
I do have to also note that Zach Johnson finished tied for third, the fifth year in a row he has a top three finish in this event. That’s unbelievable.
—Tiger Woods arrived at St. Andrews to begin preparations for The Open Championship and he said he was shocked by how green the course was.
“I had seen photos of it a month ago. It was bone dry. It looked like it was going to be one of those dust bowls again; hard, fast, like the years I’ve played St. Andrews. It’s changed. They got big rain and a lot of sun.”
More rain is forecast this week so it looks like a ‘soft’ Open.
—Phil Mickelson gave a bizarre answer to a question prior to the Scottish Open on Wednesday on the ESPN investigation that said he was the source of $2.75 million that was apparently laundered as part of “an illegal gambling operation which accepted and placed bets on sporting events.”
Mickelson said: “People are going to say things good; they are going to say things bad; they are going to say things true; they are going to say things not true. The fact is, I’m comfortable enough with who I am as a person that I don’t feel like I need to comment on every little report that comes out.”
“ – The first part should be taught in Non-denial Denial 101 courses at the nation’s finest PR universities.
“ – It takes a bold man to admit he’s comfortable enough not to answer a question in any meaningful way.
“ – The OTL story was not a ‘little report.’ It alleges that Mickelson was the source of a huge sum of money that was then laundered by a convicted gambler.
“Of course, Mickelson is free to no-comment this thing to death unless authorities ever decide to charge him with something. But answers like that won’t make this go away anytime soon.”
—Rory McIlroy officially pulled out of The Open after I posted last time, so for the archives, Rory said, “I’m taking a long term view of this injury and, although rehab is progressing well, I want to come back to tournament play when I feel 100% healthy and 100% competitive.”
I caught almost all of Saturday night’s Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, won by Kyle Busch, his second of the season and 31st of his career, and it was entertaining, plus I love that track.
But with about 60 laps to go, Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran into the back of Danica Patrick, and despite the fact Patrick knew Earnhardt had had major brake issues all night and in this instance couldn’t slow down, she cursed at him on the team radio and ran into the back of him as both cars came to pit road. After the race “she scowled and walked away without comment.”
Earnhardt said, “I mean, what am I supposed to say other than the truth? We didn’t have any brakes going into the corner. I know better than to run into her because it gets so much attention….
“I mean, as hard as I hit her, what the hell did she think I was doing? Trying to wreck her?”
Patrick’s own team told her twice after the incident about Earnhardt’s brake problems but she still acted like a, you know….
So I bring this up because I didn’t know all the details during the race (I did know about Earnhardt’s brake issues), but I was thinking of Patrick. Talk about being at a crossroads, her NASCAR career has been a total bust and she loses her sponsorship next year. Will she stay in the sport or go back to Indy car racing. She should probably choose the latter.
[Patrick is 18th in points this year with just two top tens in 18 starts.]
–How cool was Omar Sharif? You’d hear his name and you’d have to smile. Sharif died of a heart attack the other day at 83 in Cairo, Egypt, where he had been suffering from Alzheimer’s.
How many actors can say they had better roles than Sharif had in “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Doctor Zhivago,” two of the ten best pictures of all time? No one, that’s who.
Robert Kerkvist / New York Times…on how most of us first saw him in “Lawrence….”
“Mr. Sharif played the Arab warrior Sherif Ali, who joins forces with Lawrence, and the scene depicting his arrival is widely regarded as a classic piece of cinematic art. He appears as a tiny speck slowly approaching across the sunbaked desert and gradually materializes into a figure riding a camel.” [Yes, it truly is one of the greatest screen moments of all time.]
Sharif was Egypt’s biggest box-office star when director David Lean cast him in 1962’s “Lawrence of Arabia,” though as an obit in the Associated Press points out, Sharif was not Lean’s first choice. He got the role though because the first pick didn’t have the right eye color. Luckily for Sharif, he was fluent in English. He picked up a supporting-actor Oscar nomination for the film and international stardom.
And then just three years later he got the leading role in “Dr. Zhivago.”
True, he never came close to matching the stardom attained from these two pictures, but who cares? By his own admission he appeared in a lot of films he later described as “rubbish” merely to pay the bills, including a rather serious gambling habit.
He was born Michael Shalhoub in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, the son of Christian Syrian-Lebanese parents (thus the good looks…frankly, Lebanese women are as beautiful as any in the world, but I digress…).
As a budding film star in Egypt, Sharif (he had adopted the stage name Omar el Sharif) married Egypt’s then-reigning movie queen, Faten Hamana, in 1955. The marriage lasted until 1974, after which they divorced and he never remarried.
–Over the years, many have tried to introduce Homer Simpsons’ favorite brew, Duff Beer, only to be shut down after hearing from lawyers at Fox.
But now Fox itself is entering the Duff Beer business – in Chile, with plans to roll out to more of South America and Europe by early next year.
If you travel overseas, it’s always amazing to see how popular the Simpsons are and Fox executives have said an episode is airing somewhere in the world, at all times, day or night, 365 days a year.
Actually, Fox said that it was time to stop fighting the rogue versions of Duff, especially in Latin America, so the company decided to jump into the market with the real deal.
A British brewmaster, Paul Farnsworth, is responsible for the taste of the legitimate Duff. It’s supposed to taste like a premium lager.
But remember, while Duff is famous, it’s not famous for being good. [Keach Hagey / Wall Street Journal]
–Brad K. and I were swapping comments after the discovery of an alligator in the Passaic River, which flows by down the street from me. It was 4-to-5 feet in length and will be relocated at a zoo or educational facility.
Of course it was a released animal, but authorities tried to reassure the public that by October or November, it would have died anyway, not being able to survive the cold.
Yeah, but it could have taken out 32 day campers in the interim!
–NBC News had a story on Saturday about coyotes gone wild in Irvine, California. Like try four coyote attacks since May. No one has died yet…but it’s just a matter of time.
–This was kind of a surprise to me. The North American concert industry sold a record 18.8 million tickets in the first half of 2015, up nearly 23% from the same period last year and breaking the previous record set in 2013, according to trade publication Pollstar.
The Top 100 concert tours in North America have raked in a gross of $1.4 billion in ticket sales this year, with the cost of tickets averaging $76.20, a jump of more than $8 from last year.
Garth Brooks only charged $66 per ticket, but still managed to score the second-most lucrative North American tour, with a gross of $79.9 million in ticket sales. Seats at Rolling Stones concerts, by contrast, averaged $178 a pop. The Stones raked in $80.7 million on their Zip Code tour, earning them the No. 1 spot thus far.
Rounding out the top five were Fleetwood Mac ($65.9 million), Kenny Chesney ($55.8 million) and U2 ($40.3 million).
But this ranking doesn’t include the fact U2 and Taylor Swift are really just getting started with their North American tours that will continue most of the rest of the year.
One Direction is also starting a run of North American stadiums next week, having already grossed $107.7 million worldwide.
—Ariana Grande gets thrown in the December file for being both a jerk and dirtball as she licked a donut at a shop and then blasted America. She really is a totally unlikable human being.
Top 3 songs for the week 7/13/63: #1 “Easier Said Than Done” (The Essex) #2 “Surf City” (Jan & Dean) #3 “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport” (Rolf Harris)…and…#4 “So Much In Love” (The Tymes) #5 “One Fine Day” (The Chiffons) #6 “Sukiyaki” (Kyu Sakamoto…the Japanese were also giving us godawful Godzilla flicks, filmed in bath tubs…) #7 “Memphis” (Lonnie Mack) #8 “Blue On Blue” (Bobby Vinton…good one…) #9 “Hello Stranger” (Barbara Lewis…tune has aged pretty well…) #10 “Wipe Out” (The Surfaris…this one not so much so….)
MLB Quiz Answers: For the period July 1, 2014 thru June 30, 2015…1) Brian McCann leads catchers with 26 home runs. Buster Posey had 25. 2) Todd Frazier leads among third basemen with 37 homers. Nolan Arenado had 36. 3) Giancarlo Stanton was the only outfielder to hit 40 home runs…43 to be exact. Mike Trout had 38, Bryce Harper 36. 4) Max Scherzer was the only hurler to win 18 over the 12 months. Bumgarner and Kershaw had 17. 5) Zack Greinke had the best ERA in baseball at 2.09. No. 2? Jacob deGrom! 2.13.
