[Posted Wednesday a.m.]
Super Bowl Quiz: [I apologize…short on time today.] In SB XLI, Feb. 4, 2007, Peyton Manning and Indianapolis defeated the Chicago Bears 29-17. Who were the two Indy running backs who rushed for at least 75 yards? 2) Who rushed for over 100 yards in defeat for the Bears? Answers below.
NFL Playoffs
New England at Denver 3:05 p.m. ET…45 degrees and partly cloudy…DRAT!
Arizona at Carolina 6:40 p.m. …51 and sunny…as Tony Soprano would say, “Whaddya gonna do?”
These playoffs have been bereft of the kind of weather us armchair watchers want to see. [Muses the editor, whose state is in the bullseye for a predicted monster storm on Saturday, which is your strong hint that if you don’t see another Bar Chat posted by Monday morning, I’m without power.]
As for Brady vs. Manning, Brady holds an 11-5 lead over Peyton, but in the playoffs its 2-2 (2-1 Peyton in championship games), and at Mile High, Brady is just 2-6 (against all Denver QBs he faced), including 0-2 in the playoffs.
Anyway, just play the games at this point.
That said…Jason Gay / Wall Street Journal:
“I don’t know about you, but I watched a lot of substandard NFL football this season. With a handful of exceptions, the quarterback play was generally wretched. The coaching was vague and peculiar. The average regular-season game felt like watching a small dog try to drag a bag of laundry up the stairs. Nothing about it was graceful. Still, I watched.”
Sound familiar? That’s been my point all year, only Mr. Gay, as usual, said it better.
As for this Sunday, Mr. Gay sums it up.
“Our four final teams are the best four: Carolina and Arizona, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds of the NFC, and Denver and New England, the No. 1 and No. 2 of the AFC. It is everything we supposedly want: four high quality teams, brand name quarterbacks (presumed MVP Cam Newton, probable MVP runner-up Carson Palmer, and geezer icons Tom Brady and Peyton Manning). It’s the kind of Sunday that makes league executives slap high-fives and network executives write foolish checks. The TV ratings will be comically high [Ed. especially since a very large segment of the population on the east coast will be snowed in], and I expect both games to be more graceful than a small dog carrying a bag of laundry up the stairs.”
–The Washington Post’s Norman Chad…in a rather serious piece, given his normal tenor.
“Should we still be playing football?
“Should we still be watching football?
“I grew up with the game and have devoted autumn and winter Sundays to it for half a century.
“As Albert Brooks says in ‘Concussion,’ ‘The NFL owns a day of the week.’
“Without question, I have derived more enjoyment and entertainment from viewing the NFL – by the way, thank you, Aaron Rodgers – than any other activity in my adult life….
“But as we find out about the neurological damage many of the players incur and about the onslaught of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease, increasingly the ‘fan experience’ feels like the viewing version of blood money.
“How can one not feel guilty sitting there, taking pleasure in a game that destroys its competitors’ brains?….
“ESPN never felt guilty with its unfortunate, unfathomable, unforgivable ‘Jacked Up’ segment, which for years celebrated kill-shot hits. As each jarring blow was shown, ESPN’s NFL studio crew would shout in unison, ‘You just got…JACKED UP!!!’ Of course, this was in the Dark Ages of NFL concussion awareness, back in the early days of the 21st century….
“A generation ago, I loved the big boxing showdowns – Ali-Frazier, Leonard-Duran, Hagler-Hearns. Then one day I woke up and a long-overdue notion popped into my head:
“The object of the sport is to knock the other person unconscious.
“Why was I watching this? So I stepped away….
“The thing is, I don’t want to stop people from boxing, I don’t want to stop them from playing football, I don’t even want to stop them if they’re defending unscrupulous health insurers against the aggrieved insured.
“Whatever works for folks work-wise is fine by me….
“Still, it feels wrong to just sit back and cheer, knowing how mutilating the games are and how mightily the NFL acted as if CTE were a myth.”
Chad posted his piece Sunday evening. Ironically, former NFLer Antwaan Randle El was in a story on ESPN.com on Tuesday bemoaning he ever played football.
“If I could go back, I wouldn’t (have chosen the sport),” he said in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story. “I would play baseball. I got drafted by the Cubs in the 14th round, but I didn’t play baseball because of my parents. They made me go to school. Don’t get me wrong, I love the game of football. But right now, I could still be playing baseball.”
Randle El, 36, has all kinds of physical issues, and now he has mental limitations.
“I ask my wife things over and over again, and she’s like, ‘I just told you that,’” Randle El said to the newspaper….
“The kids are getting bigger and faster, so the concussions, the severe spinal cord injuries, are only going to get worse….It’s a tough pill to swallow because I love the game of football. But I tell parents, you can have the right helmet, the perfect pads on, and still end up with a paraplegic kid.”
College Basketball
—New AP Poll (Jan. 18…records thru Sunday)
1. Oklahoma 15-1 (all 65 first-place votes)
2. North Carolina 16-2
3. Kansas 15-2
4. Villanova 16-2
5. Xavier 16-1
6. West Virginia 15-2
7. Maryland 16-2
8. SMU 17-0
9. Iowa 14-3
10. Texas A&M 15-2
11. Michigan State 16-3
19. Iowa State 13-4
20 Duke 14-4
21. USC 15-3
23. Kentucky 13-4
24. South Carolina 16-1
25. Indiana 15-3
26. Pitt 27. Clemson 28. Wichita State…if you carry out the votes. The Shockers, 12-5, 6-0, have gotten their act back together.
–So, about ten hours after the release of the above rankings, Oklahoma fell to Iowa State 82-77, the Cyclones’ first win over a No. 1 team since 1957 against Wilt Chamberlain’s Kansas Jayhawks.
For ISU, Georges Niang had 22, while the Sooners got 53 of their 77 from Buddy Hield (27) and Isaiah Cousins (26). Good for Cyclones coach Steve Prohm, a guy I’m most familiar with, having followed Murray State closely for a number of years.
Also on Monday, Duke lost its third straight to Syracuse (13-7, 3-4) as the Cuse’ Tyler Roberson had 14 points and 20 rebounds, the latter a record for a visiting player at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
–It’s tough being a Wake Forest fan these days (these years), but it’s just as bad at Rutgers. Monday, the hoops team suffered its worst home loss in history, 107-57, at the hands of No. 22 Purdue (16-3, 4-2). This was two weeks after they lost at home by 34 to Nebraska, which had been the most lopsided home defeat since 1961.
The Scarlet Knights (6-13, 0-6) have now lost 21 straight Big Ten games. Yikes. [Dan Duggan / NJ.com]
Steve Politi / NJ.com [Star-Ledger]
“I have covered sports in this state for 17 years now, and I honestly can’t remember a more hopeless situation than the current state of this Rutgers basketball program.
“This team has two more months of nights like this, of Iowa and Michigan State and Michigan and the rest taking their shots, with no reinforcements on the way. Coach Eddie Jordan announced that three top frontcourt players – Deshawn Freeman, Shaq Doorson and Ibrahim Dialio – will not return this season….
“But forget the gloomy present, because losing seasons are nothing new here. Where is the future?
“Where is the hope?
“You know it’s grim when Dick Vitale, the positive former Rutgers assistant, is expressing his disgust on Twitter. Purdue would have won this game if it did not score a point after halftime, and when it was over in barely an hour and 45 minutes, this was an actual exchange at the postgame press conference:
“Reporter: Were you disappointed with your defensive effort?
“Jordan: No. What was disappointing about the defensive effort?
“Oh, I don’t know, the whole 107 points thing?”
Rutgers hasn’t gone to the Big Dance in 25 years.
–Tuesday, we had another huge Big 12 upset. Oklahoma State (10-8, 2-4) beat Kansas (15-3, 4-2) in Stillwater, 86-67.
But most of the other Top 25 held serve…SMU rallied to defeat Houston (13-5, 3-3) 77-73 as the Mustangs are now 18-0.
Maryland (17-2, 6-1) held on to beat Northwestern (15-5, 3-4) 62-56 in overtime.
13 Virginia (14-4, 3-3) got its act together with a 69-62 home win over Clemson (12-7, 5-2), breaking the Tigers’ streak of wins over Top 25 teams at three.
16 Providence (16-3, 4-2) beat 18 Butler (13-5, 2-4) 71-68.
And South Carolina (17-1, 4-1) picked up a road win at Ole Miss (12-6, 2-4) 77-74.
—Oregon State’s Jarmal Reid is officially in the December file for “Dirtball of the Year” consideration after he tripped a referee in his team’s loss to Utah on Sunday.
With 2:56 to play, Utes center Jakob Poeltl bumped Reid, who then fell to the ground. As many of you have seen since, when no foul was called, Reid then stuck his leg out and tripped referee Tommy Nunez, who fell to the court. Nunez then ejected Reid, who received a flagrant 2 foul for his actions.
The school then announced Monday that Reid had been suspended for a minimum of four games.
Beavers coach Wayne Tinkle said, “Our university and our program do not condone this type of conduct on or off the court.”
Reid apologized for his actions.
“First and foremost, I would like to apologize to Oregon State University, Beaver Nation, the Pac-12 Conference, my family, my coaching staff and teammates, and the game officials.”
My Beaverwear, firmly ensconced in the losers’ sports drawer these days, was restless over Reid’s behavior.
–The McDonald’s All-American game is being held on March 30 at the United Center in Chicago but the lineups were announced the other day and Kentucky has four of the 24 selected. [Some players who are either injured or fifth-year players weren’t included, and of those who have committed, they are going to Duke, Florida State, Villanova and Kentucky…so the Wildcats have at least five top recruits heading to the Blue Grass State.]
–USA TODAY obtained a tax return for the SEC and in his final full calendar year as commissioner, Mike Slive made $3.655 million.
But for the year ending Aug. 31, 2015, the SEC had $527.4 million in total revenue, the first fiscal year in which the conference began receiving money from the formation of the SEC Network and from the new College Football Playoff.
The total revenue figure is 60% greater than that reported for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 2014.
Goodness gracious! Last spring the conference announced it would distribute $31.2 million per school. [Steve Berkowitz / USA TODAY Sports]
NBA
Golden State 38-4, 19-0 at home
San Antonio 36-6, 24-0 at home
Philadelphia 5-38
Golden State and San Antonio finally hook up for the first time next Monday, but it’s at 10:30 p.m. on NBA TV. The two then meet March 19, April 7 and April 10.
–The Warriors, losers of 2 of 3, traveled to Cleveland for a big game Monday night against LeBron and the boys. The Warriors then blitzed the Cavs, 132-98, as Steph Curry had 35, including 7 of 12 from three. LeBron was held to 16 points and was a career worst -34! Eegads, that blows!
–Also on Monday, the Knicks have a long tradition of playing an afternoon game for MLK Day and it’s one that’s always easy for me to have on while getting other stuff done. So the 76ers were in town and what an entertaining game it was, with the Knicks pulling it out 119-113 in double overtime.
Philly fans, you can take heart. There is a future for your boys, finally. Newly acquired point guard Ish Smith was electric. Never was there a guy who shot a dreadful 8 of 28 from the field, yet still dominated the game as he did, driving down the lane one time after another, dishing out 16 assists. New York desperately needs a point guard like Smith, but Philly seems committed to the guy now and he’s been the difference maker in suddenly turning the Sixers into a competitive team.
MLB
—Justin Upton, one of the big remaining free agents on the market, reached an agreement on a six-year, $132.75 million deal with Detroit, with an ever-popular opt-out clause after the second year. The Tigers were said to have been engaged in talks with slugger Yoenis Cespedes when they sprung this one.
–So with Upton signing with the Tigers, Mets fans are even more hopeful our team will sign Cespedes, but I want it to be for only a year or two. [You’re playing with fire giving this guy more than that.]
As Brendan Kuty of NJ.com reported: “The Angels could use a power outfield bat but they’re pushing the $189-milion luxury tax threshold. The Cardinals could also benefit from a run-producer such as Cespedes, considering their offensive struggles last year, but they don’t appear in the spend-big market anymore. And the White Sox have made several moves that prove they’re looking to be contenders in 2016 – notably adding third baseman Todd Frazier – but will they meet Cespedes’ sky-high asking price?”
As for the Mets’ rumored willingness to sign Cespedes for up to three years, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman said there’s no reason to believe he will be forced to take something that short.
The New York Daily News’ John Harper and Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal report the Mets are concerned with Cespedes’ chain-smoking habit. I have to admit, I didn’t realize he smoked a cigarette, or two, between each inning.
Harper wrote: “Not that Cespedes is a bad guy, according to sources, so much as someone ‘who marches to his own drumbeat’ and apparently irritated the Mets at times by not taking batting practice, not hustling during games at times and constantly smoking cigarettes between innings.”
On second thought, I don’t want him even for just a year.
–Back to the Tigers, Barry Svrluga / Washington Post:
“What you need to know is this: Michael Ilitch Sr. owns the team. Full stop.
“ ‘People can talk about what the Tigers need or what they should do or what they might do,’ said one baseball official with knowledge of Detroit’s inner workings. ‘What matters is what Mr. Ilitch thinks. If he decides he wants it, then that’s it. That’s what will happen….
“(The Upton deal) likely closes an offseason which (the Tigers) opened by signing former Washington Nationals right-hander Jordan Zimmermann to a five-year, $110 million deal. Those two nine-figure players join Miguel Cabrera (whose eight-year, $248 million contract kicks in this season) and Justin Verlander (seven years, $180 million) as nine-figure players on the 2016 Tigers, who now project to have payroll that exceeds $200 million….
“So whether it’s Upton or Zimmermann or even Victor Martinez and his $68 million over four years, (the 86-year-old) Ilitch is trying, trying as hard as anyone. In the history of baseball, dating back to Kevin Brown and the Dodgers in 1999, there have been 65 contracts worth at least $100 million. (There may be one more in coming days, as outfielder Yoenis Cespedes remains on the market and has designs on such a deal.) Upton’s deal means six of those have been issued by the Tigers – joining Zimmermann, Verlander, Cabrera (twice) and Prince Fielder’s nine-year $214 million pact (that has since been shipped to Texas).
“Some perspective: Only one team has issued more such contracts. (Yes, you guessed right. The Yankees have doled out eight, including two to CC Sabathia.) Boston? Five. The Cubs? Three. St. Louis? Two….
“ ‘Say whatever you want about Detroit,’ the baseball official said. ‘You will always have a chance to win there for one reason: The owner.’
“And Justin Upton became a Tiger this week for that reason more than any other.”
Stuff
–In the Australian Open, 5-seed Rafael Nadal was upset by countryman and fellow lefty Fernando Verdasco in the first round, Verdasco ranked No. 45 in the world. It was a five-setter (four hours, 41 minutes). This is big for No. 4 seed Stan Wawrinka, who was due to meet Nadal in the quarterfinals, and No. 2 Andy Murray.
Venus Williams was upset earlier, but Serena was lookin’ mighty fine in her first-round match when there had been questions about her physical condition, and then she won her second-round match.
–Meanwhile, a report from the BBC and BuzzFeed News says that secret files have been uncovered that show evidence of widespread suspected match-fixing at the top level of world tennis, including at Wimbledon. But before I continue, I discussed this topic years ago. It’s always been suspected (think Russians).
Anyway, as the BBC reported: “Over the last decade, 16 players who have ranked in the top 50 have been repeatedly flagged to the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) over suspicions they have thrown matches.
“All of the players, including winners of Grand Slam titles, were allowed to continue competing….
“Chris Kermode, who heads the Association of Tennis Professionals, rejected claims evidence of match-fixing had ‘been suppressed for any reason or isn’t being thoroughly investigated.’
“But he added: ‘While the BBC and BuzzFeed reports mainly refer to events from about 10 years ago, we will investigate any new information.’”
So the report includes findings from an investigation in 2007, and another in 2008, which is when I was writing about this but it seems players who were then supposed to be investigated back then never really were so some whistleblowers passed some apparently unreleased files along to the BBC and BuzzFeed.
There are supposedly 10 players who were “common perpetrators” and the root of the problem, but the BBC and BuzzFeed didn’t release their names because they didn’t have “access to their phone, bank and computer records” for their verification.
The report did note: “The European Sports Security Association, which monitors betting for leading bookmakers, flagged more than 50 suspicious matches to the TIU in 2015.
“The organization declared that tennis attracts more suspicious gambling activity than other sports.”
Eight of the players reportedly flagged over the past decade were due to play in this year’s Australian Open.
Apparently seven players and one official have been banned in recent years for between six months and a lifetime.
“(But) only one of those players has ever reached the top 200 and there are clearly temptations for lower-ranked professionals.”
These are the players who may make $60,000 a year, but have huge expenses, including for travel.
As for Grand Slam winners reportedly being involved, name ‘em. I’m just guessing they are all one-timers who did their bad deeds when they were way, way down in the rankings.
–I gotta say I was surprised to see Fox Sports fire Greg Norman after just one year as Joe Buck’s sidekick. Paul Azinger is the target to replace Norman, everyone loving “Zinger’s” expertise, and biting sarcasm, but these days he’s only on ESPN’s coverage of the Masters (a tradition unlike any other…otherwise on CBS…).
While everyone pilloried Norman at last year’s U.S. Open, I tried to give him a pass, but apparently he was not good….not good at all…in the later Fox’ telecasts that I missed.
As one columnist put it, Norman also was a bit tyrannical, trying to have his way over those producing the telecasts. That part doesn’t surprise me.
I love ‘Zinger. Hope he can agree on a contract that still allows him to do The Masters…a tradition….(sorry).
—Mike Francesa, aka “The Pope,” the king of sports talk radio in New York, announced he would leave WFAN at the end of 2017. He’s been at the station since 1987 and was paired with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo for 19 years, with the two splitting in 2008 when Russo moved over to SiriusXM radio.
So the long goodbye begins.
–Yet another icon of the music industry passed away, Glenn Frey, 67.
Randy Lewis / Los Angeles Times
“Glenn Frey grew up in Detroit, the town best known musically for the catchy R&B music that came out of Motown Records, and the home of hard-charging rock acts such as Bob Seger, Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels and the MC5.
“So when Frey turned up at the celebrated Troubadour nightclub in West Hollywood in the late 1960s to audition as a singer and guitarist for rising country-rock singer Linda Ronstadt, her manager wasn’t sure he’d be a good fit.
“ ‘I had pigeonholed him as this punky kid from Detroit who wanted to be a rocker,’ John Boylan said Monday. ‘But he surprised me with the scope of his musical knowledge. The very first rehearsal we had with Linda, we were doing a [Hank Williams] song, ‘Lovesick Blues.’ He knew the country sixth chords that Hank would use – he knew the whole genre already. I figured I would have to teach this guy about ancient country music, but he could have taught me.’
“Frey went on to become a founding member of the Eagles, one of the most successful of all time – a group that will be forever associated with the Southern California country rock sound….
“ ‘When they went on tour with me, it was the first time Glenn had ever gone on the road,’ Ronstadt recalled Monday. ‘We didn’t have enough money for everyone to have their own rooms, so the guys had to double up. That’s when Glenn and Don [Henley] started working together. When they said they wanted to form a band of their own, I thought, ‘Hot dog! Yes, you should put a band together.’ The first time I heard them sing ‘Witchy Woman,’ I knew they were going to have hits.’”
The Eagles first big hit was the #12 “Take It Easy,” followed by #9 “Witchy Woman” in 1972 and then two years later they had their first two #1s, “Best Of My Love” and “One Of These Nights” (my personal fave), followed by the #2 “Lyin’ Eyes” #4 “Take It To The Limit” and #1s “New Kid In Town” and “Hotel California.” It was 1977 and the Eagles were superstars.
But as happens all the time with such groups, there was internal dysfunction, particularly between Henley and Frey, and the group disbanded in the late ‘70s, only to reemerge in 1992 for a new round of recordings and regular tours that continued into 2015.
Don Henley wrote: “The bond we forged 45 years ago was never broken, even during the 14 years that the Eagles were dissolved. We were two young men who made the pilgrimage to Los Angeles with the same dream: to make our mark in the music industry – and with perseverance, a deep love of music, and our alliance with other great musicians and our manager, Irving Azoff, we built something that has lasted longer than anyone could have dreamed. But, Glenn was the one who started it all.”
The group’s 1976 compilation album, “Eagles/Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975,” is the second-biggest-selling album of all time, according to the Recording Industry Assn. of America. It has alternated over the years with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” which is at 30 million copies, to 29 million for the Eagles’ album. [Randy Lewis / L.A. Times]
Top 3 songs for the week 1/16/71: #1 “My Sweet Lord” (George Harrison) #2 “Knock Three Times” (Dawn) #3 “One Less Bell To Answer” (The 5th Dimension…haunting tune, to say the least…)…and…#4 “Black Magic Woman” (Santana) #5 “I Think I Love You” (The Partridge Family…oh baby, Susan Dey…) #6 “Lonely Days” (Bee Gees) #7 “Groove Me” (King Floyd) #8 “Stoned Love” (The Supremes) #9 “Stoney End” (Barbra Streisand) #10 “The Tears Of A Clown” (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles)
Super Bowl Quiz Answers: SB XLI: 1) Joseph Addai carried the ball 19 times for 77 yards, and Dominic Rhodes had 21 carries for 113 and a score for Indy. Addai also had 10 receptions for 66 yards. Peyton was 25/38, 247, 1-1. 2) Thomas Jones had 112 yards on just 15 carries in defeat for the Bears. Bears QB Rex Grossman was 20/28, but he threw two interceptions and fumbled twice.
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
