Note: If you haven’t already done so, please click on the gofundme link above or send a check to PO Box 990, New Providence, NJ 07974. It’s appreciated.
NHL quiz: Washington’s Alex Ovechkin recently became the 43rd player to reach the 500-goal mark for his career and at 501, as I post, is No. 42. So time for my annual quiz on career goal scorers. Name the seven to score 700. Answer below.
College Football Wrap-Up
Driving around on Tuesday I heard the local sports radio maven, Mike Francesa (aka “the Pope”), tell us Monday night’s Clemson-Alabama national title game was a “good” but not “great” game, with his definition of great clearly being anything that goes down to the final play and this one didn’t.
That’s such garbage. This, friends, was a great football game, and after some of the recent debacles in the NFL, and all the blowouts in the bowl games, including the national semifinals, Clemson-Alabama was a needed shot in the arm for the sport.
It is with good reason I slammed the NFL and the generally crappy product on the field this season, culminating in that disastrous Steelers-Bengals game, saved only by Big Ben’s heroics, upon further reflection.
But what we had with Clemson-‘Bama was just tremendous football, both sides of the line, both teams. For a 45-40 final, there was a ton of great defense, as well as terrific offense, by each. Plus two great coaches, one who can now claim the title of ‘best ever’ in his sport.
You had clutch performances galore, including by the Tide’s kicker, and great stories like Clemson walk-on receiver Hunter Renfrow and the emergence, finally, of ‘Bama tight end O.J. Howard, who now has NFL scouts salivating.
And for the last two weeks, I have seen some of the sweetest passes of the year, both NFL and college, from the Tide’s Jake Coker. Yes, he was befuddled in the first half, but give offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin major kudos for settling Coker down and you look at the guy and here’s another who should be playing Sundays, somewhere, in the future.
The following opinions cover the other basics of the contest, but, again, what an enjoyable game, two class programs, not one instance of chippy play, while both sides were playing their hearts out.
Good for Alabama. Good for Clemson. Both schools and programs can be very proud.
For the record, it is Alabama’s 10th AP national championship, fourth in just seven years under Nick Saban. [Five times ‘Bama has finished No. 1 without being ranked No. 1 during the regular season.]
—
To set up the following, the score was 24-21 Clemson entering the fourth quarter, before a frantic final 15 minutes where ‘Bama outscored Clemson 24-16
Nicole Auerbach / USA TODAY Sports…five takeaways:
“1. Nick Saban knew just what to do with a national title at stake. (That’s probably why he has so many.)
“He called for an onside kick with just over 10 minutes to play after Adam Griffith kicked a game-tying field goal. Griffith’s onside kick could not have gone any more perfectly, and two plays later, Alabama quarterback Jake Coker hit receiver O.J. Howard for a 51-yard touchdown pass to put the Crimson Tide up for good.
“2. Clemson had way, way too many coverage busts to win a championship.
“And the Tigers also seemed to forget to cover Howard, who caught five passes for 208 yards and scored two touchdowns after finding the end zone for a grand total of zero times during the season. The Tigers’ defense has been incredible all season long, and Clemson’s defensive line bullied Alabama’s offensive line for much of the day (while tallying five sacks)…but the secondary didn’t come through for Clemson when it needed it most. Good gains turned into monster plays. The Crimson Tide scored 28 points off plays of 50+ yardage, including Kenyan Drake’s 95-yard kickoff return.
“3. Deshaun Watson just put on the greatest individual performance in a title game since Vince Young a decade ago.
“It did lose some of its luster because it came in a loss. But quarterbacks don’t just do to Saban-coached teams what Watson did. He torched the Alabama defense both on the ground (73 rushing yards) and in the air (405 passing yards and four touchdowns), and accounted for 478 total yards, surpassing the gold standard of 467 Young set against USC 10 years ago.
“4. The BCS couldn’t have given us a better national championship….
“(The) fact that both of these teams dispatched their semifinal opponents (Michigan State and Oklahoma) so convincingly, we knew we were getting a heavyweight battle in the championship…. And this thriller of a final helped make up for an otherwise blowout-filled and boring bowl season to boot.
“5. Saban is now in a league of his own, a winner of five national championships over the course of his storied career.
“He’s not just arguably the best current college football coach – he’s arguably the best to ever coach college football. He’s also now 5-0 in national championship games.”
Nancy Armour / USA TODAY Sports
“You want guts? Nick Saban will show you guts.
“Show you his latest national championship ring while he’s at it, too. His fifth, in case you hadn’t heard, and fourth in seven years, a stretch of dominance that no one – not Bear Bryant, not Frank Leahy, not anybody – can match.
“ ‘I don’t know how you do what he’s doing,’ said Lane Kiffin, who is better equipped than most to judge given that he was a head coach himself and is now Saban’s offensive coordinator.
“ ‘I know people did similar stuff years ago,’ Kiffin continued. ‘But your scholarship numbers are lower now and all your good players leave early for the draft and there’s so many good coaches and tempo stuff on offense, defense, everything.
“ ‘It’s so hard to stay at the top.’….
“So long as Saban is on Alabama’s sideline, college football will be their kingdom.”
Karen Crouse / New York Times
“Nick Saban won his fourth national title in seven seasons on Monday night, and his fifth overall, with an Alabama team headlined by Derrick Henry, the second Tide player, after Mark Ingram Jr., to win the Heisman Trophy. The Heismans bookending Saban’s first and fourth titles since 2009 buttress the belief outside Tuscaloosa, Ala., that Saban is the beneficiary of bountiful talent.
“Who couldn’t coach an Ingram or a Henry, right? Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney took a scythe to that sentiment. ‘Not everybody can coach a great team,’ he said on the eve of Monday’s championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium. ‘Not everybody can coach a great player, and I think that he has a gift to be able to do that.’
“Swinney had a point. Del Harris and Kurt Rambis coached a Los Angeles Lakers team with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. That duo did not win an NBA title until after Phil Jackson was hired to lead the team. And the Seattle Mariners had Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez for two seasons in the 1990s and did not win a World Series….
“From Saban to his doppelganger, Bear Bryant, one truth has remained incontrovertible in college football throughout the decades. To win the national championship battle, one first has to prevail in the recruiting wars, which requires attracting talented reserves that could be starting at other schools.
“ ‘I think that’s critical,’ Swinney said, ‘and I think Coach Saban obviously does a phenomenal job of that.’….
“(Saban) recalled his first game as the head coach at Michigan State, a 50-10 loss in 1995 to Nebraska, then ranked No. 2. The Cornhuskers were coached by Tom Osborne, who guided four teams to unbeaten regular seasons in the 1990s.
“After that game, Saban said, Osborne told him, ‘You’re not as bad as you think.’ Two decades later, Saban is driven by the belief that he is not as good as everybody thinks.
“ ‘As long as you do this it’s always about the next play, the next game,’ Saban said.”
–As for next season, Clemson is returning Deshaun Watson, who will be entering his junior season as the top player in college football, while overall on offense, Clemson could be returning nine starters, including rising junior Wayne Gallman, who ran for more than 1,500 yards this season.
Clemson’s problem will be on defense, where defensive end Shaq Lawson has already declared for the NFL draft and the likes of cornerback Mackensie Alexander and defensive end Kevin Dodd are expected to do the same.
Final AP Poll
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Stanford
4. Ohio State
5. Oklahoma
6. Michigan State
7. TCU
8. Houston
9. Iowa
10. Ole Miss
18. Navy*
24. Western Kentucky*
For some schools, like Navy and W. Kentucky, the final AP poll is incredibly important. This is Navy’s highest final polling since 1963 when they finished No. 2. Since ’63, the only other final Top 25 for the Midshipmen was a No. 24 in 2004.
For Western Kentucky, they entered the Division I-A ranks in 2007 and it’s their first final Top 25 finish. Congratulations to the Hilltoppers!
The Big Ten had six teams in the final top 25, the SEC had five.
Stanford’s No.3 was its best since being No. 2 in 1940.
Houston’s No. 8 is its highest since being No. 10 in 1990.
No. 10 Mississippi had its best final poll finish since No. 8 in 1969.
–In other news, Notre Dame’s consensus All-American linebacker Jaylen Smith has declared for the NFL draft, despite the ACL and LCL injuries suffered in the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State. He has undergone surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.
Smith had been projected as a top five pick before the injury, and apparently there was no nerve damage. But no doubt he will fall.
ESPN’s Darren Rovell reported that Smith has a $5 million loss-of-value policy he would begin to collect on should he drop out of the first round.
Four other Notre Dame underclassmen have already declared for the draft, including running back C.J. Prosise, receiver Will Fuller and cornerback KeiVarae Russell.
NFL Playoffs
Saturday
Kansas City at New England 4:35 p.m. ET…rain and 40….OK, I’ll accept this, seeing as I’ll be home and toasty. We could still use some sleet at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
Green Bay at Arizona 8:15 p.m…. sunny and 60s…this sucks! Sand storm would make things interesting.
Sunday
Seattle at Carolina 1:05 p.m. …light rain and 40s…better than sunny and 60s at least.
Pittsburgh at Denver 4:40 p.m. …partly cloudy and 40…Booo! Booo! We deserve a 12-18 inch snowstorm with all lifts open to the top of the stands.
As for the key injuries, Ben Roethlisberger admitted he sprained his AC joint and has torn ligaments in his throwing shoulder…status unknown as of Wednesday morning, while Antonio Brown is still going through the concussion protocol, though he said he feels fine.
For New England, Julian Edelman is back from his broken foot, while Kansas City’s Jeremy Maclin is questionable with his high-ankle sprain.
–Cincinnati linebacker Vontaze Burfict was suspended for the first three games of next season, this as the NFL continues to review the conduct of other players and coaches during Pittsburgh’s 18-16 win at Paul Brown Stadium on Saturday night.
Burfict had already been fined $50,000 for an illegal hit on a Ravens player a week earlier, and he was fined almost $70,000 for three penalties against the Steelers when they met back on Dec. 13.
Merton Hanks, the league’s vice president of football operations, said the hit on receiver Antonio Brown during the wildcard contest “placed his opponent at unnecessary risk of injury and should have been avoided.”
I think the penalty is appropriate.
–NFL owners voted 30-2 Tuesday night to approve the relocation of the St. Louis Rams to Los Angeles, with the Chargers being granted a one-year option to join them if they reach an agreement with Rams owner Stan Kroenke to share his proposed stadium in Inglewood, near LAX.
If the Chargers don’t exercise that option, the Oakland Raiders would then be given the opportunity, but you have to believe the Chargers will team with the Rams.
The Chargers had partnered with the Raiders in a proposed stadium in another L.A. suburb, Carson. But owners favored the Inglewood site, which is the old Hollywood Park property.
What seems likely is that the Chargers and Rams will share the L.A. Coliseum for three years while the Inglewood site is under construction. The Raiders, for the time being, would remain in Oakland. San Diego and St. Louis now become prospective suitors for them.
Benjamin Hochman / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
“You’ll forever remember that body-freezing feeling of bliss when St. Louis won the Super Bowl, when Rams linebacker Mike Jones corralled the player on the one-yard line, and it hit you, all at once: it’s over, time has run out, it’s irreversible.
“That feeling again paralyzed St. Louis on Tuesday night, but this time in a warped, evil, diabolical way, this time from the losing side: it’s over, time has run out, it’s irreversible.
“They took St. Louis’ Rams. They’re gone. The feckless thugs in business suits decided St. Louis isn’t suited for the NFL, and just like that, they’re in Los Angeles, as if St. Louis was an annoying, yipping dog they shooed away.
“Roger Goodell, whose heart is as black as a hockey puck, saw the St. Louisans trying to save the Rams and essentially laughed….
“Stan Kroenke will forever be remembered for what was worst: moving the team so the billionaire could make more billions.”
College Basketball
AP Poll (Jan. 11…records thru Sunday)
1. Kansas 14-1 (63 first-place votes)
2. Oklahoma 13-1 (1)
3. Maryland 15-1
4. Michigan State 16-1
5. North Carolina 15-2
6. Villanova 14-2
7. Xavier 14-1
8. Miami (FL) 13-1
9. Duke 14-2
10. SMU 15-0…go Paul P.!
11. West Virginia 14-1…Huggins movin’ up quickly
12. Providence 14-2
13. Virginia 12-3
19. South Carolina 15-0
20. Pitt 14-1
26. USC 14-3..well, I said they’d easily make Top 25…not quite, but 26 if you carry out the votes.
–And then we had a slew of upsets Tuesday, first and foremost being West Virginia’s 74-63 take down of No. 1 Kansas in Morgantown, 74-63. Jaysean Paige scored 26 points, while Devin Williams added 17 points and 12 rebounds. West Virginia is off to its best start since 1981-82, when it started 24-1.
Meanwhile, Michigan defeated No. 3 Maryland, 70-67, while Virginia bounced back from two ACC defeats to beat No. 8 Miami. So we already know next week’s AP poll will look quite different, and there’s no doubt more upsets to come this weekend.
—Wichita State has been bouncing back, winning its last five to get to 10-5, 4-0 MVC. They’ll be there in March.
—UNLV fired coach Dave Rice after a 9-7, 0-3 Mountain West Conference start. Kind of surprised by this one…but maybe I shouldn’t have been. I see a lot of MW play because of my affinity for San Diego State and thought Rice was an up-and-comer.
But while he was 51-19 in his first two seasons, with two NCAA appearances, the last two he was 38-28 and 18-18 in league play. Then this year’s start.
This guy is far from finished in the sport. He’d be a good hire for a Midwest mid-major. High-character guy, from what I know.
–Finally, sad news…former Butler center Andrew Smith died at the age of 25 from cancer. Smith played on Brad Stevens’ two teams that went to the national title game in 2010 and 2011. Stevens did not coach the Celtics in Chicago last Thursday, instead visiting Smith in the hospital in Indianapolis.
Stevens is a class act. Smith was a great kid and an academic All-American aside from being a solid basketball player.
NBA
—Nice win for the Knicks on Tuesday, 120-114 over the Celtics (19-19) as the Knicks, who won all of 17 last season, evened their record at 20-20, despite not playing with Carmelo Anthony in the second half due to an ankle sprain, and without Kristaps Porzingis down the stretch after he fouled out. Rookie point guard Jerian Grant scored 16 off the bench, a career-high, and added eight assists. If he could develop, and there’s no reason why he can’t, this would be a playoff team for sure, and this season.
–We note the passing of a solid NBA player, John Johnson, a two-time All-Star forward with the Cleveland Cavaliers, 1971 and 1972, who averaged 12.9 points per game for a career spanning 1970-82. For his first five seasons, 1970-75, he averaged between 14.4 and 17.0 ppg for Cleveland and Portland, and then was a key cog on Seattle’s 1978-79 championship team.
Johnson was a 6-foot-7 smooth-shooting (for his era) forward out of the University of Iowa. As a senior there he averaged a program-record 27.9 points and was drafted seventh overall by Cleveland in 1970.
Future Seattle teammate Fred Brown was on that 1969-70 Iowa team, coached by Ralph Miller, that went 14-0 in the Big Ten.
Men’s Division I Hockey Poll (Jan. 11)
1. North Dakota
2. Quinnipiac
3. Providence
4. Boston College
5. St. Cloud State
6. Michigan
7. Harvard
8. Cornell
9. Nebraska-Omaha
10. Boston University
18. St. Lawrence!
Monte Irvin, RIP
I wrote the following last 2/27/14. Irvin died yesterday, Tuesday, age 96.
“Tuesday was Hall of Famer Monte Irvin’s 95th birthday. Irvin played high school ball about 15 minutes from here in East Orange and broke the color barrier with the New York Giants in 1949, playing in two World Series for them. His first full season wasn’t really until 1951, when he was 32, and he finished third in the MVP vote that season, hitting 24 home runs, leading the league with 121 RBI and batting .312. His other big season was ’53, 21-97, .329. He also hit .394 in his two World Series appearances.
“The Star-Ledger’s Jerry Izenberg, who has seen it all, will always remember Irvin as a Newark Eagle.
“ ‘Once, when I asked (Irvin) about his nomad days with the Newark Eagles, the bus trips, the ridiculously low salary of $125 a month and later $150, the greatness of teammates like (Larry) Doby and Ray Dandridge and Willie Wells and Leon Day that surrounded him, and the icons like (Josh) Gibson and Satchel Paige and Buck Leonard who played against him, he smiled and then said:
“ ‘ ‘I played in three countries. I played in two World Series. But I never found anything to match the joy and the laughter those years with the Eagles brought me. The city (Newark) and county (Essex) loved us. We’d go out to hear jazz or to dinner and our fans were always grabbing the check. We were young and the world was new to us. We had never traveled. [Ed. after the all-black league seasons ended, they barnstormed in Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Cuba.]
“ ‘They were the happiest times of my life.’
“Monte Irvin, not Jackie Robinson, was slated to break the Major League Baseball color barrier. Branch Rickey had signed him for an all-black team, which didn’t exist but was part of Rickey’s preparations.
“ ‘Monte had called Rickey and candidly told him an inner ear infection would prevent him from playing in that mythical league. Rickey decided he could not wait. He picked Robinson to carry out his secret plan to integrate the Dodgers.’ [Izenberg]
“Finally, Irvin was picked up from the Eagles by the Giants.
“At 95, Monte Irvin is the oldest living former major-leaguer and the oldest to have been on a winning World Series team (1954).”
–The Miami Marlins signed left-hander Wei-Yin Chen to a five-year, $80 million contract. Chen, 30, was 11-8 with a 3.34 ERA for Baltimore last season
–The Colorado Rockies signed two-time Gold Glove outfielder Gerardo Parra to a three-year, $27.6 million contract. This is the guy the Mets should have signed, especially at that price. Parra, just 28, is a quality ballplayer with speed and pop.
But now the rumor is the Rockies are looking to trade outfielder Carlos Gonzalez to the Orioles. CarGo has two years and $37 million remaining on his existing seven-year deal. If the O’s complete a trade, that would likely end their attempt to re-sign slugger Chris Davis.
Stuff
–Following Jordan Spieth’s rather impressive 8-shot opening win of 2016, the 22-year-old’s seventh PGA Tour title, making him the third to achieve that feat (along with Horton Smith and Tiger Woods) of seven before turning 23, Butch Harmon said:
“It’s not unfair to compare Jordan with Tiger because Jordan is doing exactly what Tiger did at the same age,” he told GolfChannel.com.
Spieth, with two majors, actually surpasses Tiger, who had 1 at this stage.
But Tiger produced eight wins in his age-23 seasons and another nine titles as a 24-year-old, which is staggering. He won four majors in that two-year stretch as well, and then three more in the following two.
–Two weeks into the New Year and we have a hero dog.
From USA TODAY and WKYC-TV, Cleveland:
“A police dog shot three times during a grocery store robbery died of his injuries a day later, Canton (Ohio) police said.
“Jethro, a 3-year-old German shepherd, and his partner, Officer Ryan Davis, responded to a burglar alarm a little after 1 a.m. ET Saturday and discovered that someone had entered the closed store through the roof, according to The Canton Repository. The dog found the suspect, later identified as Kelontre D. Barefield, who is accused of shooting at Jethro several times.
“ ‘There’s not a doubt in my mind that dog saved officers’ lives today,’ Police Chief Bruce Lawver told the newspaper Saturday.
“On Monday…a judge set a $5 million bond for Barefield.” He has a prior record and had been released from prison in February.
Barefield was wounded in the ankle as officers returned fire. Jethro died of his injuries a day later. None of his vital organs were hit, but a bullet grazed his nose, causing brain trauma.
“A line of Canton officers saluted the fallen K-9 officer, wrapped in an American flag, as his body was carried out of the veterinary clinic.”
Very touching.
—FanDuel and DraftKings were granted a stay on Monday by a New York State Appellate Court and can continue to operate in the state while they appeal the attempt of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to shut them down.
–Finally, we note the passing of a music legend…David Bowie, who died of cancer at the age of 69.
Editorial / Financial Times
“Only David Bowie would release a song called ‘Lazarus’ days before his death, with a video of him lying in a bed with bandaged eyes. ‘I’ve got drama can’t be stolen / Everybody knows me now,’ Bowie sang. Even dying, he was one step ahead.
“The shock that the death from cancer of the 69-year-old singer and artist provoked on Monday – around the world and across generations – showed how deeply his work embedded itself in lives. His restless, ambiguous, constantly changing persona emerged in 1968 with ‘Space Oddity,’ and he kept surprising and engaging millions for several decades.
“Popular music can be ephemeral and only a few artists manage to transcend their moment and last. Elvis Presley, whom Bowie mischievously named in 2009 as the living person he most admired, and John Lennon, shot in 1980 at the age of 40, were two others who achieved it. Bowie did so by combining musicianship and lyrical brilliance with visual artistry.
“Disruptive innovation is the mantra of technology companies, and entrepreneurs seek ways to transform industries. Bowie was a constant, almost routine, innovator who barely let the public become used to one act and style of music before he moved on to another. From Ziggy Stardust to the Thin White Duke, he kept on discarding his latest invention.
“He even brought his flair for innovation to finance, adroitly foreseeing the impact of online piracy on revenues from recorded music by securitizing royalties from his back catalogue of albums and issuing $55m of ‘Bowie bonds’ in 1997. The bonds, liquidated a decade later, were imitated in music and other industries.
“Some other artists – notably the Beatles – were highly inventive and changed their musical style between albums. But Bowie was unique in recasting not only his music but his character and his identity. He flirted with androgyny, wearing flamboyant and make-up and pushing traditional social and cultural boundaries.
“Bowie’s deep influence on UK, European and U.S. singers and bands, from Talking Heads to the Sex Pistols and The Smiths, was inescapable. He kept floating beside the rest of the industry, drawing influences from soul to jazz, while his period of intense creativity in the 1970s and 1980s attracted new generations of fans for whom his significance was evident….
“The generation that grew up with him now runs governments and businesses, and sees the scale of his achievement. It was one reason, although only one of them, for the outpouring of regret at news of his death. ‘Time may change me, but I can’t trace time,’ Bowie once sang. In his lifetime, he changed many things.”
Among Bowie’s big hits were:
2/73…#15 (Billboard) Space Oddity
4/75…#28 Young Americans
8/75…#1 Fame
1/76…#10 Golden Years
12/81…#29 Under Pressure (with Queen)
4/83…#1 Let’s Dance
7/83…#10 China Girl
10/83…#14 Modern Love
9/84…#8 Blue Jean
9/85…#7 Dancing In The Street
4/87…#21 Day-In Day-Out
9/87…#27 Never Let Me Down
My favorite, though, was “Changes,” which peaked at #41 in 1975.
Kanye West said: “David Bowie was one of my most important inspirations, so fearless, so creative, he gave us magic for a lifetime.”
Will Gompertz, BBC Arts Editor:
“David Bowie was the Picasso of pop. He was an innovative, visionary, restless artist: the ultimate ever-changing postmodernist.
“Along with the Beatles, Stones and Elvis Presley, Bowie defined what pop music could and should be. He brought art to the pop party, infusing his music and performances with the avant-garde ideas of Merce Cunningham, John Cage and Andy Warhol.
“He turned pop in a new direction in 1972 with the introduction of his alter ego Ziggy Stardust. Glam rock was the starting point, but Ziggy was much more than an eyeliner-wearing maverick: he was a truly theatrical character that at once harked backed to pre-War European theatre while anticipating 1980s androgyny and today’s discussions around a transgender spectrum.
“He was a great singer, songwriter, performer, actor, producer and collaborator. But beyond all that, at the very heart of the matter, David Bowie was quite simply – quite extraordinarily – cool.”
British Prime Minister David Cameron: “He was a master of reinvention, who kept getting it right. A huge loss.”
Top 3 songs for the week 1/11/69: #1 “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” (Marvin Gaye) #2 “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” (Diana Ross and the Supremes & the Temptations) #3 “Wichita Lineman” (Glen Campbell…in my all-time top ten…)…and…#4 “Soulful Strut” (Young-Holt Unlimited…a good one…) #5 “Hooked On A Feeling” (B.J. Thomas) #6 “Cloud Nine” (The Temptations) #7 “For Once In My Life” (Stevie Wonder) #8 “Crimson And Clover” (Tommy James and the Shondells) #9 “Love Child” (Diana Ross and the Supremes) #10 “I Love How You Love Me” (Bobby Vinton)
NHL Quiz: 700 career goals:
1. Wayne Gretzky 894
2. Gordie Howe 801
3. Brett Hull 741 (I always forget just how great he was)
4. Jaromir Jagr 737…and still playing
5. Marcel Dionne 731
6. Phil Esposito 717
7. Mike Gartner 708 (underrated)
8. Mark Messier 694
As for Ovechkin, he reached 500 goals in the fifth-fewest games (801). Only Gretzky (575…now that’s incredible), Mario Lemieux (605), Mike Bossy (647) and Brett Hull (693) reached the mark faster.
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
