[Posted Sunday PM prior to Blue Jays-Rangers and Giants-49ers.]
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New York Jets QB Quiz: Name the only six Jets QBs to throw for 10,000 yards in their New York career. Answer below.
MLB Playoffs
Mets 1 Dodgers 1
Mets fans are heavily sleep-deprived, with Friday’s game ending at 1:00 AM ET, and Saturday’s 12:30 AM. I actually fell asleep in the ninth on Friday, but was up to the bitter end on Saturday and, like all Mets fans, absolutely furious, and a bit depressed, over the dirty slide leveled on our shortstop.
Tim Rohan / New York Times
“Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada lay face down in the dirt near second base, motionless, as the Dodger Stadium crowd erupted. The Dodgers’ Chase Utley had just slid hard into him, breaking up what might have been a potential inning-ending double play by submarining Tejada and sending him flying into the air and to the ground hard on his back.
“As Tejada lay there, still motionless, the Mets surrounded him as the umpires reviewed the play. The slide had been violent, with the Dodgers trailing by a run in the seventh inning. As Tejada was carted off the field with a broken leg, the umpires determined he had not touched the base. Utley, who had initially been called out, was now safe. Instead of getting two outs, or even one, the Mets had recorded zero outs on the play. Manager Terry Collins quizzed the umpires, but the reversal stood.
“The Dodgers took advantage of the opportunity by scoring three more runs en route to a 5-2 victory, beating the Mets in demoralizing fashion and tying the National League division series at one game apiece as it heads back to New York for Game 3 on Monday. That slide cost the Mets not only their starting shortstop but valuable momentum in a best-of-five-game series.”
Mets third baseman David Wright said after, “Only Chase knows what the intent was. I have a problem with the play on a number of different levels – one being the slide itself. In my opinion, he wasn’t anywhere near the bag. With that being said, he didn’t even touch the bag.”
Joe Torre, the league’s chief baseball officer, said later that he was trying to determine whether the slide had been excessive and whether Utley deserved punishment.
Utley didn’t return to the clubhouse after the game for a long while, then denied any wrongdoing.
“I feel terrible he was injured,” he said of Tejada. “I did not intend to hurt him whatsoever. I was just trying to break up the double play.”
David Wright said, “You can’t forget about it. One of your teammates has a broken leg. I think that you try to rally around that. You try to go out there and try to get a win or two for Ruben, a guy that sticks his neck out there trying to turn a big double play, knowing he’s going to get hit.”
Hall of Famer and MLB Network analyst Pedro Martinez slammed Utley in the postgame show on TBS:
“A lot of people are fuming in New York. I have a hard time watching this play, not because of what happened to Tejada. But just watching Utley up close, it seemed to me like he never had the intention of sliding and breaking up the double play. He went straight after Tejada. And that is something that is mind-boggling coming from a second baseman. It kind of bothers me to see that.
“He went to break up the double play, and I understand that. You have to play baseball the hard way and you want to break up the double play. But you also have to protect the players out there. They get really mad at us, the pitchers, when you get a ball close to the head, and that’s because you may cause an injury….
“This kid has a family. This kid has a job. You might jeopardize his career. Who knows?”
Fellow analyst and former manager Dusty Baker said he could see both sides: The Dodgers wanted Utley to slide hard and prevent a double play, but the Mets should be angry because the slide was dirty.
Mike Vaccaro / New York Post
“Chase Utley has fine lifetime numbers against Matt Harvey, so there is an awfully good chance he will start Game 3 of this National League Division Series when it resumes Monday at Citi Field. And even if he doesn’t, and merely trots to third base as part of the pregame introductions…
“If Utley thought he was detested, despised and reviled in New York already, he has no idea what he’s in for. You thought it was ugly when John Rocker returned to the scene of his verbal hate crimes? Maybe you remember Pete Rose leveling Buddy Harrelson back in the ’73 playoffs, and the way he was treated the rest of his career at Shea Stadium?
“Those were Hallmark cards compared to what’s coming.
“Even if you choose to give Utley, the umpires, and the major league front office every benefit of the doubt for the play that turned Game 2 of this series (and, quite possibly, the series itself) upside down – and there’s no requirement you do that, because every bit of it was built upon a sandy foundation – there is one thing that is crystal clear about what happened when Utley clobbered Ruben Tejada at second base.
“Maybe – maybe – it was a legal play.
“But it was absolutely – 100 percent – a dirty play….
“Utley may not have wanted to break Tejada’s leg. But this went well beyond the boundary of breaking up the double play. He slid late. He slid with intent to agitate, at the very least. It was not a baseball play. It was barely a legal WWF maneuver….
“Utley’s about to find out something about New York, which knows what hard-nosed looks like.
“And knows what dirty looks like.
“And knows the difference between the two.”
Coming into the series, the Dodgers were hitting .167 in 114 at-bats against the Mets scheduled starters – Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey and Steven Matz. But the Mets had scored only three runs in 30 innings against Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke.
So on Friday in Game 1, deGrom outdueled Kershaw in a stirring performance, 3-1.
Joel Sherman / New York Post
(DeGrom) was great, on a night when good was not going to be enough….a match of overpowering stuff and climbing strikeout totals that made this NLDS Game 1 feel like sudden death – first starter to blink would lose.
“That was Kershaw once again in October. On another postseason night, Kershaw was not Kershaw. Which was horrible for the Dodgers because deGrom was Tom Seaver.
“The Mets won 3-1becaue deGrom pitched longer (seven innings to 6 2/3), allowed fewer runs (zero to three), walked fewer (one walk – intentional – to four) and struck out more (13-11).”
Steve Dilbeck / Los Angeles Times
“(It) remained a 1-0 Mets lead until the seventh, Kershaw’s personal postseason inning of horror. Already at 88 pitches when he took the mound, he walked the bases loaded with two outs. He was still throwing hard but had lost his sharpness.
“This time Manager Don Mattingly took him out in a difficult postseason seventh inning and brought in Pedro Baez. It was probably the right move, but with Mattingly in the postseason, almost any decision he makes seems to backfire.
“Veteran David Wright, who had struck out twice against Kershaw, worked the count full and then lined a two-run single up the middle, just beyond diving second baseman Howie Kendrick.”
Kershaw fell to 1-6, 4.99 ERA, in the postseason, having lost his last five, this after a 17-start streak to finish off the regular season where he was 11-1 with a 1.22 ERA.
[Greinke won Saturday’s contest on the heels of the Dodgers’ comeback, going 7 innings and allowing just solo homers to Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Conforto. He is now 3-2 lifetime in the postseason with a 3.48 ERA.]
Cubs 1 Cardinals 1
Two rather nondescript games in St. Louis, John Lackey throwing 7 1/3 of two-hit ball in a 4-0 win in Game 1, while the Cubs took Game 2, 6-3.
On to Chicago, Monday. Jake Arrieta vs. Michael Wacha.
Since I posted Wednesday morning, I have to note for the record Arrieta’s 4-0 complete game shutout of the Pirates in the wild-card game Wednesday night. Arrieta had 11 strikeouts and yielded zero walks. His ERA since the start of August is 0.37. Unfreakin’believable.
IF…the Chicago Cubs were to play a World Series game at Wrigley Field, Bloomberg estimates the cost of a “cheap seat” could be $3,000! Actually, right now, aggregator SeatGeek has tickets for Chicago’s three potential World Series dates at Wrigley for an average of between $6,750 and $8,400, but once the public sale is conducted the price would come down.
Astros 2 Royals 1
The Astros won Game 1 in Kansas City, 5-2, behind a solid effort by Colin McHugh, who very quietly was 19-7 this year.
But the Royals then tied it up by taking Game 2, 5-4, after trailing 4-1 early.
Sunday, in Game 3 in Houston, the Astros won 4-2 as Dallas Keuchel threw seven innings of one run ball. Keuchel was 15-0 at home during the regular season, the best in baseball history.
Rangers 2 Blue Jays 0
I feel bad for Toronto fans. They are as rabid a group as any in North America…total support…but in the last few years when it looked like the Toronto Raptors, for example, may break through, they disappointed in the playoffs despite huge crowds watching ‘outside’ the arena.
And then here the Blue Jays finally make the baseball playoffs for the first time since 1993, they have home-field advantage against the Rangers, and they proceed to drop the first two, 5-3 and 6-4, the latter in 14 innings.
In Game 1, David Price continued his Clayton Kershaw postseason impersonation as he gave up 5 earned in seven for the loss, thus dropping him to 1-6 for his postseason career, 4.79 ERA.
Toronto shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who really did nothing since his much-ballyhooed acquisition from Colorado at the trade deadline, was 0 for 10 in the first two contests.
–Seattle fired manager Lloyd McClendon after two seasons and a 163-161 record. Angels special assistant Tim Bogar is said to be the favorite to take over, as Jerry Dipoto, former Angels GM, was brought in to run the baseball operation.
College Football Review…comments written prior to release of latest AP poll…
No. 1 Ohio State (6-0) defeated Maryland (2-4) 49-28, as quarterback Cardale Jones had his best game of the season, 21/28, 291, 2-0. For Maryland, QB Perry Hills was just 10/27 with two interceptions, but he picked up 170 yards on the ground in 25 carries with two scores.
[Maryland then fired coach Randy Edsall, Sunday, after he had compiled a lousy 22-34 record in College Park. Mike Locksley was named interim coach. Edsall was just an awful hire in the first place, there having been nothing wrong with the man he replaced, Ralph Friedgen.]
No. 2 TCU had a stirring come from behind 52-45 win over Kansas State (3-2). The Horned Frogs (6-0) trailed Bill Snyder’s Wildcats 35-17 at half but TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin led the comeback, going 20/30, 301, 2-2, through the air, while rushing for 124 yards and another two TDs. Aaron Green also had 121 yards rushing for TCU, while receiver Josh Doctson had 8 catches for 155 yards and two scores. It was K-State’s second straight tough loss to a ranked opponent, having fallen to Oklahoma State 36-34 the prior week.
No. 3 Baylor (5-0) annihilated Kanas (0-5) 66-7, outgaining the Jayhawks 644-227.
No. 4 Michigan State (5-0) gave another lackluster performance at Rutgers (2-3), 31-24. For the Scarlet Knights, Leonte Carroo returned from his suspension to catch three touchdown passes. Next up for the Spartans, suddenly mighty Michigan.
No. 5 Utah (5-0) held on to hand No. 23 California (5-1) their first defeat, 30-24. For the Utes, Devonte Booker had 222 yards on 34 carries with two touchdowns.
No. 6 Clemson (5-0) remains in the national title conversation with a 43-24 win over disappointing Georgia Tech (2-4). Coach Dabo Swinney said he was tired of ‘Clemsoning’ jabs, Clemson’s reputation for letdowns, like after the prior week’s 24-22 win over Notre Dame. This is the third year in five that the Tigers started 5-0, but the other two teams, 2011 and 2013, finished 10-4 and 11-2, respectively.
No. 7 LSU (5-0) defeated South Carolina (2-4) in Baton Rouge, 45-24, in a game that was moved from Columbia due to the catastrophic flooding in the area. Leonard Fournette had 158 yards on 20 carries, but he was outdone by teammate Derrius Guice, who racked up 164 yards on 17 carries, the Tigers rushing for 396 overall.
No. 8 Alabama (5-1) defeated Arkansas (2-4) 27-14.
In the big upset of the day, Texas (2-4) pulled it out against No. 10 Oklahoma (4-1), 24-17, the Red River Showdown, as embattled Longhorns coach Charlie Strong gained his first win over an AP top ten team since taking over the program. Texas rushed for 313 yards. Since 1989, the Longhorns are 6-2 when coming into this game unranked and the Sooners are ranked.
No. 11 Florida (6-0) remained unbeaten in defeating Missouri (4-2) 21-3.
No. 12 Florida State (5-0) held on against Miami (3-2), 29-24, as Al Golden’s Hurricanes just can’t get over the hump and win a big one. For Miami, Brad Kaaya passed for 405 yards and three scores, while FSU’s Everett Golson (formerly of Notre Dame), was 25/33, 291, 1-0 through the air, with running back Dalvin Cook picking up 222 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns. Summit High School’s Michael Badgley made his only field goal attempt for Miami and is now 13 of 16 on the season.
As alluded to above, No. 18 Michigan (5-1) exposed No. 13 Northwestern (5-1) as pretenders in whipping the Wildcats 38-0. It was 28-0 at the half as the Wolverines scored on a kickoff return and an interception returned for six. Overall, Michigan outgained Northwestern 380-168. So now Michigan hosts Michigan State next week.
No. 15 Notre Dame (5-1) stayed relevant in beating Navy (4-1) 41-24. For a second straight game, Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds was kept out of the end zone, quite an accomplishment, while the Fighting Irish have been relying on the running of C.J. Prosise (21-129-3).
Thursday No. 17 USC (3-2) lost to Washington (3-2) 17-12. Sunday, coach Steve Sarkisian was granted an indefinite leave of absence, as announced by Athletic Director Pat Haden. Sarkisian did not show up for the Trojans practice around midday today. Offensive coordinator Clay Helton was named interim coach.
Cutty Sark has major issues.
No. 22 Iowa stayed undefeated at 6-0 with a 29-20 home win over Illinois (4-2). For the Hawkeyes, senior running back Jordan Canzeri had a career day…43 carries for 256 yards and a score.
No. 24 Toledo remained undefeated at 5-0 with a 38-7 win over Kent State (2-4).
Duke improved to 5-1 with a 44-3 drubbing of pathetic Army (1-5), outgaining the Black Knights 458-168.
Temple is still undefeated (5-0) after a 49-10 win over Tulane (2-3).
Houston is 5-0 following its 49-28 pasting of SMU (1-5).
And Jerry Rice’s Mississippi Valley State fell to 0-6 with a 45-6 loss at the hands of Prairie View A&M (3-2).
Finally, you had Wake Forest-Boston College up in Chestnut Hill, aka the Ferraro’s Lunch Bowl. The Deacs pulled it out 3-0, both teams evening their records at 3-3. Wake had forced zero turnovers in its first five games, but the Eagles coughed it up four times on Saturday, while Wake committed two TOs itself. B.C. outgained the Deacs 270-142, as Wake had just five first downs for the game. But it was the last few minutes that cemented this contest as one of the worst games in college football history.
Des Bieler / Washington Post
“Boston College and Wake Forest had already played one of the ugliest football games in recent memory even before the Eagles got to the Demon Deacons’ 1-yard line with seconds left. What happened at that point was simply cringe-inducing.
“BC had very little business even being in that position. The Eagles had mustered almost nothing on offense – their first 13 drives ended in eight punts, two missed field goals, two fumbles and an interception – before they coughed the football up one more time deep in Wake Forest territory with just over a minute remaining.
“That should have ended things, but with his team up 3-0, Deacons running back Matt Colburn gave the ball right back with his own fumble. Thus BC unexpectedly found itself with possession at the 11-yard line with 56 seconds left and in position to win the game or at least send it to overtime.
“But the Eagles didn’t just look a gift horse in the mouth, they vomited in that mouth. (Gross, I know. Hey, it was that kind of game.)
“With 19 seconds left, BC tried to run the ball in from the 1. That would have made more sense if the team had a timeout left, but even without that luxury, it obviously expected to be able to spike the ball and stop the clock if the play failed.
“The play did fail – and so did the Eagles’ strategy. After making a gang tackle, Wake Forest defenders took their sweet time getting back up off the pile, and just before quarterback Jeff Smith finally had a chance to spike the ball, the clock hit :00, leaving BC Coach Steve Addazio to toss his headset in frustration.
“No game-winning touchdown, no game-tying field goal, just a brutal loss.”
So I’m watching this all unfold, incredulous. Steve D. was at the game and left early in disgust. In a few weeks I’ll receive my free lunch at Ferraro’s. The world rolls on.
[Jim D., your son must have been going nuts; Jim’s son being a BC student. Steve D.’s son, also an Eagle, was not a happy camper either.]
–And now…your new AP poll!
1. Ohio State 6-0 (27 first-place votes)
2. Baylor 5-0 (13)
3. TCU 6-0 (3)
4. Utah 5-0 (16)
5. Clemson 5-0 (1)
6. LSU 5-0
7. Michigan State 6-0*
8. Florida 6-0…up from 25 in just two weeks
9. Texas A&M 5-0 (1)
10. Alabama 5-1
11. Florida State 5-0
12. Michigan 5-1…Jim Harbaugh way ahead of schedule
17. Iowa 6-0…love those farm girls…wait, how did this get in here? Who’s editing this?
22. Toledo 5-0
24. Houston 5-0
25. Duke 5-1…Wake fans dream of having a program like this…no reason why we can’t…did it before for a stretch under Jim Grobe.
*Have you ever seen a team like the Spartans fall from 2 to 7 while winning both games? I don’t remember one.
NFL
Chicago (2-3) beat the Chiefs (1-4) 18-17 in K.C. after trailing 17-3 at the half.
Cincinnati moved to 5-0 with a 27-24 overtime win over Seattle (2-3). “Good Andy” Dalton continues to show up for the most part, 30/44, 331, 2-1. But I can’t help but mention Seattle running back Thomas Rawls, a rookie out of Central Michigan subbing for Marshawn Lynch, who rushed for 169 yards on 23 carries and a score. But ‘sup with the Seahawks?!
Atlanta remained undefeated, 5-0, with a 25-19 win over Washington (2-3), which is an improved team, though quarterback Kirk Cousins had two INTs. For the Falcons, Matt Ryan had an off day, 24/42, 254, 0-2, 55.1 rating, but running back Devonta Freeman had 197 yards of total offense, 153 rushing.
Philadelphia is 2-3 after a 39-17 win at home over New Orleans (1-4). The Eagles took advantage of four Saints turnovers, including three lost fumbles.
In a game for the ages…cough cough…lot of truly crappy matchups this week…Tampa Bay (2-3) defeated Jacksonville (1-4) as running back Doug Martin had 123 yards rushing with two touchdowns, as well as a TD receiving. Bucs QB Jameis Winston had his best game as a pro, 13/19, 209, 1-0, 122.5. He’s going to be just fine.
In yet another lousy game, Cleveland (2-3) upset the Ravens (1-4), 33-30, as Browns quarterback Josh McCown set a team record for yardage, 36/51, 457, 2-0, 111.3.
The Packers stayed undefeated (5-0) in beating the Rams (2-3) 24-10, overcoming a poor effort by Aaron Rodgers, 19/30, 241, 2-2, 82.8. For St. Louis, QB Nick Foles was a miserable 11/30, 141, 1-4! [4 interceptions] and a putrid 23.8 rating. But Todd Gurley, the rookie out of Georgia who was a No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft despite a torn ACL last November, had 159 yards on 30 carries and has 305 yards his last two games.
Arizona is 4-1 after a 42-17 win against hapless Detroit (0-5). Lions QB Matthew Stafford, who has sucked for some time now, threw 3 interceptions and was replaced by Dan Orlovsky. On the other side of the line, Arizona’s Carson Palmer was perfect…11/14, 161, 3-0, 154.2. Shu, I’m on your side with the Cardinals. Hope they are playing the Jets in the Super Bowl.
New England is 4-0 after defeating the Tony Romo-less Cowboys (2-3) 30-6 at Jerry’s Place.
And Denver is 5-0 after beating the Raiders (2-3) in Oakland, 16-10.
Indianapolis (3-2) had a big win on Thursday, sans Andrew Luck, defeating the Texans (1-4) 27-20.
–This is scary. As of Friday, Giants tight end Daniel Fells was still in a hospital, battling a MRSA infection in his ankle. Last weekend, Fells first felt ill, was diagnosed, and he was scheduled to undergo a fifth medical procedure already this weekend. Fells was placed on season-ending injured reserve on Wednesday, but now the concern is over his long-term health.
MRSA infections are difficult to treat because they resist the effects of many common antibiotics. It’s potentially life-threatening.
–We note the passing of Lindy Infante, former coach of the Packers and Colts, who died at the age of 75. As Richard Goldstein of the New York Times points out, while Infante’s 36-60 coaching mark is rather underwhelming, he was the victim of bad timing, “losing both his head-coaching jobs in the seasons before his teams obtained two of pro football’s greatest quarterbacks.
“Infante was fired by the Packers after they went 4-12 in 1991. The next season, they obtained Brett Favre in a deal with the Atlanta Falcons. Infante was fired by the Colts after they went 3-13 in 1997, although they had achieved a major upset with a 41-38 victory over the Packers, the defending Super Bowl champions and eventual National Football Conference champions. The Colts drafted Peyton Manning in 1998.”
Golf Balls
After taking a commanding 4-1 lead on the first day of the Presidents Cup in Incheon, South Korea, the United States held on for dear life to win a thriller 15 ½-14 ½, with Bill Haas making his father proud in taking the last and deciding match on Sunday against South Korea’s Sang Moon-Bae. Father, and captain, Jay Haas sent his son off last.
“We put him out 12th and had no idea this was going to happen. Couldn’t even have dreamt this.”
Jay said he told Bill: “Come on, win one for your mom, your mom deserves this.”
Haas was one of five Americans to win their singles match, with Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Chris Kirk and Zach Johnson being the others.
But on day two there was a rules controversy involving Mickelson that cost him and partner Zach Johnson two holes on the seventh.
It all started when Mickelson teed up with a ball that was different than the one with which he had played the first six holes.
Alex Miceli of Golfweek picks up the story:
“Mickelson discovered the mistake when he arrived at his ball in the fairway and conferred with match referee Gary Young to discuss the result of the violation of the ‘One Ball Condition.’ Young contacted the Match Committee to determine the penalty.
“Under the Rules of Golf, the penalty is an adjustment of one hole at the conclusion of the seventh hole, allowing Mickelson to play the incorrect ball on the seventh hole and his score to count for scoring purposes. But once the hole was concluded, an adjustment of one hole would be applied, no matter the outcome of play.
“It would have ended there, the violation would not have been much of a controversy. But the response to Young’s request on Mickelson’ violation by the committee was that Mickelson was disqualified from the hole, which in fact was incorrect….
“According to the Rules of Golf, Mickelson should have been allowed to play on with the incorrect ball, but when he picked up, he left Johnson on his own. When Jason Day birdied the par 5, the USA lost the hole and then the adjustment was applied, costing the duo two holes.”
Well, it gets more complicated but the bottom line is the Ryder Cups in the U.S. don’t have the one-ball condition, but Ryder Cups in Europe have the same rule as at the Presidents Cup.
Ultimately the match ended all square, but if Mickelson wouldn’t have played the wrong ball, the USA would have won, 1 up.
Apparently this all goes back to the Ryder Cup at Kiawah in 1991. In a foursomes match between Americans Paul Azinger and Chip Beck against Europeans Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal, at least three times during the match, Azinger changed to different-compression balls. By the time Ballesteros called the Americans on it, it was too late.
Meanwhile, at Incheon, the International team had come back from the 4-1 deficit after day one to cut the lead to 9 ½ to 8 ½ heading into the singles. With the time difference, and other sporting events on, particularly the Mets, I literally saw zero of this event.
The U.S. is now 9-1-1 in Presidents Cup competition, but at least International captain Nick Price got what he wanted…a fair fight.
Stuff
—Mexico defeated the United States in the 118th minute of the CONCACAF Cup before 93,723 fans at the Rose Bowl Saturday night. It was 1-1 when Mexico went ahead in the sixth of 30 extra minutes, but substitute Bobby Wood, a 22-year-old Hawaiian who was added to the roster a day earlier because of an illness, equalized in the 108th.
But with a penalty kick tiebreaker looming, the U.S. failed to clear the ball from danger and Paul Aguilar scored the game-winner past goalkeeper Brad Guzan.
Mexico thus claimed a berth in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia, a leading test one year ahead of the World Cup.
–I was catching up on Wake Forest sports the other day and just realized the men’s soccer team is way up there in the last rankings (Oct. 6)…coaches poll.
1. Creighton 10-0-0
2. North Carolina 8-0-1
3. Stanford 8-1-0
4. Coastal Carolina 6-0-1
5. Clemson 8-1-2
6. Wake Forest 8-1-1
7. Notre Dame 7-2-2
8. Akron 7-2-1
9. Denver 8-0-2
10. Virginia 6-1-2
13. Elon 8-2-0
Wake’s only loss is to Elon, while the Deacs play North Carolina on Oct. 17. Earlier Wake beat Akron, in Akron, and tied Clemson.
–What an ugly deal between Memphis Grizzlies forward Matt Barnes and New York Knicks coach Derek Fisher. The two played together with the Lakers from 2010 to 2012, but the other night Barnes attacked Fisher at the former’s estranged wife’s L.A. home. Fisher was forced to miss a practice “due to personal reasons,” which is not supposed to happen to a head coach.
Fisher filed for divorce from his wife last March, but has been dating Barnes’ ex-, Gloria Govan, who made a name for herself on the reality TV show “Basketball Wives.”
Barnes reportedly drove to Gloria’s place to confront Fisher when one of his sons told him the coach was there, as part of a larger group.
But as a team official told the New York Daily News’ Frank Isola, “It’s a no-no. You don’t date wives of players. A coach can’t do that.”
Fisher coached the Knicks to all of 17 wins in his first year at the helm.
Isola: “This latest incident, one week into Fisher’s second year on the bench, doesn’t help matters. And if you know anything about an NBA locker room you know the players are having a good laugh at Fisher’s expense. Fisher-Barnes-Gloria is not the triangle the Knicks should be focused on….
“Fisher’s job performance was mostly ignored last season once the Knicks became irrelevant in January. For a guy that lost more games in one season than any Knicks coach in history, Fisher got a free pass. Those days are over now.”
Barnes, by the way, is just an awful person who has had past troubles with the law, including an arrest in 2010 on suspicion of felony domestic violence against Govan
–Hall of Famer Harry Gallatin died. He was 88. Gallatin was a fierce rebounder who played nine seasons for the Knicks and 746 consecutive games in the 1950s, averaging double-figures in rebounds from 1950-58.
His 33 rebounds in a game against the Fort Wayne Pistons on March 15, 1953, remains a Knicks record, matched only by Willis Reed. His rebounding prowess was achieved despite the fact he was only 6’6”, 210 pounds.
–Congratulations to Vladimir Putin for scoring seven goals on his 63rd birthday the other day. The NHL record is six, held by Red Berenson (1968, St. Louis) and Darryl Sittler (1976, Toronto).
–Hugo Martin / Los Angeles Times
“The spectacular killer whale shows that have captivated audiences for decades at SeaWorld San Diego but infuriated animal rights activists could be coming to an end.
“After an all-day meeting that drew hundreds of supporters and critics of the park, the California Coastal Commission moved to ban captive whale breeding and drastically restrict the movement of whales in and out of the park. Those were the conditions set as part of its approval of a plan to build an expanded holding facility for the existing orcas.
“The state panel, which has authority over construction projects along the state’s coast, voted unanimously to approve the $100-million project that SeaWorld says will enhance the habitat of the whales and improve research opportunities.
“But SeaWorld officials opposed the condition barring breeding, saying it would mean that the park’s population of 11 whales would be the last orcas held in the park.
“ ‘A ban on breeding would sentence these animals to a slow extinction in our care,’ said John Reilly, president of SeaWorld San Diego….
“Loss of the killer whale shows would be a huge blow to SeaWorld, since it is the top attraction at the park.”
This is a totally nonsensical ruling. Eight of the 11 orcas at SeaWorld were born in captivity, and the other three have spent many years in the park. SeaWorld says they wouldn’t be able to thrive in the wild.
–Among the nominees for the 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are Nine Inch Nails and Deep Purple, along with the Cars, Cheap Trick, Yes, the Smiths and Steve Miller, plus N.W.A., Janet Jackson, Chicago, Chaka Khan, Chic, Los Lobos, the J.B.’s an the Spinners.
Personally, I’m for Deep Purple, Steve Miller, Chicago, Chaka Khan and the Spinners.
But where the heck is Tommy James & the Shondells?!
–We note the passing of Billy Joe Royal, a pop and country singer best known for the 1965 hit “Down in the Boondocks,” which peaked at #9 on the Billboard Pop chart, as well as the #14 “I Knew You When” and #15 “Cherry Hill Park” from 1969. He went on to have some success as a country artist in the 1980s. Royal was 73.
Top 3 songs for the week 10/16/65: #1 “Yesterday” (The Beatles…had been most played song of all time, until “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” passed it a number of years ago….) #2 “Treat Her Right” (Roy Head) #3 “Hang On Sloopy” (The McCoys…classic garage band group…)…and…#4 “A Lover’s Concerto” (The Toys) #5 “Keep On Dancing” (The Gentrys… speaking of garage bands…) #6 “The ‘In’ Crowd” (Ramsey Lewis Trio…love Dobie Gray’s version, too…) #7 “Just A Little Bit Better” (Herman’s Hermits) #8 “Baby Don’t Go” (Sonny and Cher…easily my favorite of theirs…in my top 100 all time…) #9 “Do You Believe In Magic” (The Lovin’ Spoonful….another great one…) #10 “Eve Of Destruction” (Barry McGuire…helluva week…don’t you think?)
New York Jets Quiz Answer: Six QBs with 10,000 yards in their Jets’ careers.
Joe Namath 27,057
Ken O’Brien 24,386
Richard Todd 18,241
Chad Pennington 13,738
Vinny Testaverde 12,497
Mark Sanchez 12,092
Younger fans looking at Namath’s splits, 170 TDs / 215 INTs, as a Jet may not understand his greatness. This was no ‘dinker.’ Everything was downfield…often way downfield. I remember being frustrated as a fan sometimes, as he could get a little reckless, but he was always exciting and I couldn’t agree more with Boomer Esiason (No. 7 on the above list, by the way, with 8,478) who said the three best throwers of the ball he ever saw were Namath, Dan Marino and Aaron Rodgers.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
