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College Basketball Quiz: So I’m watching a particular game on Saturday and saw the following: Name the only five schools to average 23 wins and make the last six NCAA tournaments. Answer below. [Be careful….oh, I’ll give you a big hint. Kentucky is not one of them.]
NFL Playoffs
From the day the rule was put in place to move the extra point back I said it was an incredibly stupid idea, and I said so all season as some excitedly talked of the misses. My point was you didn’t want a playoff game decided by a missed extra point and, sure enough, this is what we had today as Peyton Manning gets another crack at a Super Bowl and a chance to ride into the sunset as a winner.
New England’s Stephen Gostkowski missed his first extra point after 523 straight makes in the first quarter, forcing the Patriots to go for a 2-point try with 12 seconds left in an attempt to tie up the game and send it into overtime. Tom Brady’s pass was picked off and the Broncos won 20-18. End of story.
This game was only good the last two minutes as both defenses dominated, or rather both offensive lines sucked, and it was hardly the duel between Brady and Manning that it was cranked up to be.
Peyton was 17 of 32 for 176 yards, with two touchdown passes to tight end Owen Daniels and no interceptions, but 90% of his throws were dying quails.
For the Pats, Tom Brady was harassed and hurried the entire contest, going to the ground 20 times and finishing 27/56, 310, 1-2, 56.4 passer rating. The guy was flat out mauled.
But it was 20-12, with under 2:00 to play, when Brady drove the Pats 50 yards for the potential tying score, a 4-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski, and then New England had to go for two because of Gostkowski’s miss and Denver cornerback Bradly Roby got the pick.
So I hope the a-holes who run the NFL, including the owners, like their rule change for extra points. I would have liked to see this one end in overtime as it should have.
But I told you this would happen.
As for Peyton Manning vs. the Carolina Panthers, let’s just say we’ll be turning our television sets off after the halftime show. I know Denver has a great defense, as they displayed today, but Carolina will win it 33-10 and it won’t even be that close.
Speaking of the Panthers, they forced the Arizona Cardinals into seven turnovers, four picks and two fumbles by quarterback Carson Palmer, as Cam Newton and Crew rolled 49-15. This one truly sucked, though I have to note Newton accounted for four touchdowns; two passing, two on the ground.
Maybe Beyonce will have a wardrobe malfunction during the halftime show in two weeks.
As for Peyton Manning, he will not have a storybook finish. Hopefully he doesn’t go off on a stretcher.
–We note the passing of Lou Michaels, a former all-purpose player for the Baltimore Colts and other NFL teams, who missed two field goals in the New York Jets’ 16-7 win in Super Bowl III.
Michaels was an all-American at Kentucky in 1956 and ’57, seldom leaving the field as he played tackle on offense, various positions on ‘D’ and did the kicking and punting.
Michaels was picked in the first round of the 1958 NFL draft, mainly to play defensive end. In 1961 he moved to the Steelers, where he added the place-kicking duties.
In his 13-year career he kicked 187 field goals, with a success rate of 54.8%.
As for the Super Bowl, Michaels’ brother Walt was the Jets’ defensive coordinator. So down in Miami, in those days leading up to the game, Lou Michaels bumped into Joe Namath at a restaurant, with Namath drinking Scotch at the bar, when Michaels introduced himself. Namath replied the Jets would kick the Colts’ butt.
Michaels told the New York Times in 1983, “If you’re looking for a fight, that’s going to do it.”
But there was no fight and Namath picked up the tab for Michaels and a teammate and then gave them a ride back to their hotel.
In the game, Michaels missed field goals from 27 and 46. It bothered him the rest of his life. He told the Baltimore Sun in 2010:
“People say, ‘Forget about it.’ How do you do that when your brother has your Super Bowl ring?”
–The Buffalo Bills hired Kathryn Smith to be the team’s special teams quality control coach, whatever that is. She becomes the first woman to become a full-time coach in the NFL.
—Former Raiders defensive end Anthony Wayne Smith was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole for the 1999 torture killings of two brothers and the 2001 slaying of another man. Jurors were unable to reach a verdict on a fourth murder charge.
But he had 57 ½ sacks for the Raiders from 1991 to 1997!
–I haven’t commented on the Lawrence Phillips death (suicide) because the whole situation is messed up, and now we have this issue of a note found in his sock that couldn’t have been in his handwriting, and I really don’t care.
College Basketball
The blizzard did a number on the college hoops schedule (ditto the NBA).
–In games since the last chat…
Wednesday, 2 North Carolina whipped Wake Forest 83-68 as the Deacs shot 2 of 18 from three-point land, making it 4 of 38 over the past two games from downtown. I thankfully only saw the last ten minutes as Wake’s dreadful slide to oblivion continues.
Nebraska upset 11 Michigan State in East Lansing, 72-71.
Texas upset 6 West Virginia in Morgantown 56-49 as the Mountaineers were 19 of 61 from the field and only 8 of 23 from the foul line. Yikes.
Saturday….
1 Oklahoma defeated 13 Baylor in Waco 82-72 as Player of the Year candidate Buddy Hield had 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. For Baylor, power forward Rico Gathers, who is trying to prove to NBA scouts he is more than a rebounding machine, had 11 boards but was 0 for 2 from the field.
Wake (10-9, 1-6) traveled to 15 Miami and lost another, 77-63, as our supposed senior leader, point guard Codi Miller-McIntyre, had 0 points in 23 minutes. I turned this one on at 48-48, so I take responsibility for jinxing the Deacs. [I’m also holding off on Danny Manning for now…but it’s coming.]
24 South Carolina (17-2, 4-2) lost to Tennessee (10-9, 3-4) 78-69. A bad one for the Gamecocks.
I watched a lot of San Diego State (14-6, 7-0) against Utah State (11-8, 3-5) on Saturday as the Aztecs continue their comeback from their putrid start, winning 70-55. But as I’ve been saying, I agree with the likes of Seth Davis, who said afterwards that SDSU has to win the conference tournament to be assured of a bid. Winning the regular season title will not be enough (unless they ran the table, I have to believe).
Sunday….
Poor SMU. Their bubble was burst in Philadelphia as the Mustangs (18-1, 7-1) fell to Temple (11-7, 5-2) 89-80 in a snow-delayed game. I caught a little of this. Just wasn’t to be for SMU this year, I guess.
Big win for 16 Providence at 4 Villanova in another snow-delayed game, 82-76 in overtime. The Friars (17-3, 5-2) were led by their terrific inside-out duo, with Ben Bentil scoring 31 and hauling down 12 rebounds, while All-American point guard Kris Dunn had 13 points, 14 assists and 4 steals. The Wildcats drop to 17-3, 7-1. There’s something about ‘Nova…I just never see them as an Elite. Think of them as a perennial Sweet Sixteen, max.
9 Iowa (16-3, 7-0) bested 22 Purdue (17-4, 5-3) 83-71. Shockingly, Iowa and Indiana at 7-0 are atop the Big Ten, with Maryland (6-2) and Michigan (5-2) trailing, while Michigan State is at just 4-4.
–Thursday, Manhattan (8-10, 5-4 MAAC) handed Monmouth (14-5, 6-2) a brutal loss, 78-71, that I believe cooks Monmouth’s chances of an NCAA tournament at-large bid for good. They now must win the conference tourney to get in. Only two MAAC teams have ever earned at-large bids. [Sunday, Monmouth defeated Marist 83-72.]
NBA
Golden State 40-4 (20-0 at home)
San Antonio 38-6 (24-0 at home)
These two get together on Monday in Oakland, though it’s at 10:30 ET. Ah, I don’t think so. Tim Duncan won’t be playing due to soreness in his right knee, though this is also part of Gregg Popovich’s master plan…managing his older players’ minutes.
–Halfway through a championship-or-bust season, the Cleveland Cavaliers shockingly fired Coach David Blatt on Friday, though he had taken the team to the NBA Finals last season and had them first in the Eastern Conference this year at 30-11.
LeBron James said afterwards, “I was just as surprised and caught off guard like everybody. It’s unfortunate what happened yesterday, and as a team we just have to focus on what’s now in front of us with the coach that we have now, and we’ve got to continue to get better.”
It does not appear James was consulted on the move beforehand, but he certainly approved.
Tyronn Lue, with zero head coaching experience, became the full-time coach and was given a contract through 2018. GM David Griffin said on making the change: “What I see is that we need to build a collective spirit, a strength of spirit, a collective will. Elite teams always have that, and you see it everywhere. To be truly elite, we have to buy into a set of values and principles that we believe in. That becomes our identity.”
The Cavs then lost their first game under Lue on Saturday night to the Chicago Bulls, 96-83, as the hometown Cleveland crowd booed the Cavs’ effort. Lue said the team wasn’t in good enough shape to play up-tempo basketball.
The Mavericks’ Rick Carlisle, president of the NBA Coaches Association, said Blatt’s firing made him “embarrassed for our league.”
“It’s just bizarre. …It just leaves you with a bit of an empty feeling, because Blatt’s a great guy, and he did a great job there.”
The final straw for Cleveland management was clearly the Cavs’ 34-point loss at home to the Warriors last Monday.
So Blatt leaves Cleveland with an 83-40 record, a .675 winning percentage (53-29 last season plus the Finals).
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the first head coach since conferences began in 1970-71 to be fired when his team has the best record in its conference.
Marc Berman / New York Post
“ ‘Ty wanted the job from the beginning, and LeBron wanted him to have it,’ an industry source told The Post. ‘There was a division within the players, but J.R. [Smith], [Iman] Shumpert, even [Kevin] Love sided with LeBron. Kyrie [Irving] was supportive of Dave, but there were a group the last two weeks trying to get him fired.’
“Multiple reports have stated James wasn’t officially consulted right before the ax fell, but last season, sources said, James displayed distaste for Blatt’s overly aggressive personality. James took a leave of absence from the team, ostensibly to rest soreness in his back and knees, but more accurately to get away from Blatt.”
One more…Dave Blatt has lived in Israel for over 30 years and is a legend there for leading Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Euroleague title in 2013/14. He is married to an Israeli woman and raised his four children in the country, with the oldest two having completed their military service.
So…I saw in the Jerusalem Post that Israelis have a new public enemy number one. LeBron!
“News of the firing topped all Israeli newscasts on Saturday, with Middle East violence” taking a back seat to the fate of Israel’s first NBA coach, a JP story had it.
LeBron’s Instagram page “was filled with countless crude comments in Hebrew and English since the news was made official.” [Allon Sinai / Jerusalem Post]
I don’t condone hate on social media, unless warranted (I called Ashley Wagner’s coach an “a-hole” Saturday night and will not take it back), but I do find this ‘hate’ of LeBron kind of humorous…as long as there are no threats to both him and his family.
–In a game on Wednesday, the Houston Rockets played “Hack-a-Shaq” with Pistons center Andre Drummond, sending him to the line 36 times, with Drummond making only 13. The 23 misses set an NBA record, breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 22.
But the strategy failed for Houston as they still lost to Detroit, 123-114.
Drummond is having a fine season, averaging 17.3 ppg and a league-leading 15.4 rebounds, but he’s hitting just .354 percent from the free-throw line and is a .385 shooter from the charity stripe for his career.
–According to Forbes, the Knicks are the most valuable franchise in the NBA, $3 billion, despite not having won a title since 1973! The Lakers are next at $2.7bn, followed by the Bulls at $2.3bn and the Celtics $2.1bn.
MLB
–Wow, Mets fans didn’t see this coming…at least in the form it took. Out of nowhere, Yoenis Cespedes remains a Metropolitan and it’s the kind of contract all of us wanted.
I have been consistent…no way should we sign the guy to a long-term, five- or six-year deal like he wanted and like the Nationals offered in the past week (five years, $100 million).
But the Mets are signing him to a three-year, $75 million contract, and here’s the key. Cespedes can opt out after one year (and receive an extra $2.5 million in the process, thus $27.5m for one year).
Good! You know you’ll get a solid effort from the guy, hopefully all season, and if he has a good one, say 30 HR, 90 RBI, .275 BA, it would be almost a lock that the Mets made the playoffs. If he then opted out, there shouldn’t be any hard feelings, especially if the Mets made the World Series again, and both sides move on.
Why would Cespedes contemplate walking after a good season? Because the next free agent class is a weak one and he would definitely be in line for a biggie…bigger than the Nats’ offer as he’d still just be 31 at that point.
As for his attitude, we know he loves playing in New York and with the Mets. Now if he’d just stop his chain-smoking.
One other…no way did we want the guy joining Daniel Murphy in Washington. That would be a nightmare.
Mike Vaccaro / New York Post
“The first indication of the culture change infiltrating Citi Field were the tears in Wilmer Flores’ eyes. Yes, when it seemed Flores was minutes away from being shipped to Milwaukee last July, there were dozens of emotions jumbling his heart, but this was the one that stayed with him most deeply:
“He wanted to be here.
“He wanted to be a Met.
“Not long after that, Zack Wheeler reached out to Sandy Alderson, wanting the Mets general manager to know how badly he wanted to stick around, too. Now, look: Flores is a young player, and the Mets were all he knew. Wheeler was a wounded pitcher, on the mend from Tommy John surgery, watching what his rotation brethren were doing day after day.
“Still, after so many years when it seemed players either viewed a season with the Mets as an endless march through purgatory or came here because they were out of options (or bribed with ridiculous offers) there was a pattern born:
“Guys wanted to be here.
“They wanted to be Mets.
“And now comes the most stunning example of all. Look, Yoenis Cespedes did not exactly accept pauper’s wages in deciding to remain a Met for at least the next 10 months. He is set to earn a minimum of $75 million the next three years, and could well make this a one-year, $27.5 million pit stop on the way to an even more spectacular deal next year. He took no vow of poverty to retain his orange and blue vestments.
“But make no mistake: Cespedes is here because he wanted to be here, because he liked what he saw during his electric three months in Flushing. If his market didn’t quite explode as he had wanted, he still had a guaranteed nine-figure deal awaiting him in Washington. There was still time to shake down the White Sox or the Angels.
“Instead, he stays a Met and there is little doubt that is what he wanted the immediate end-game of this pursuit to yield. And that may be the most stunning thing of all.”
Ken Davidoff / New York Post
“Holy moly. The Mets are bringing back trade-deadline hero Yoenis Cespedes, and on their own terms, to boot: Three years at $75 million, pending a physical examination, with an opt-out after the first year.
“It’s nothing short of mind-blowing, and for the Mets, it constitutes an epic triumph of patience and goodwill….
“The owners hired general manager Sandy Alderson, who in turn hired manager Terry Collins, and they all get to celebrate this one. The Mets established the clubhouse culture that Cespedes enjoyed and stuck to their guns on the years in the deal.
“You can dig deep into the 39 years of free agency, and you won’t find anyone who made precisely the sort of decision Cespedes just did. Cliff Lee turned down seven years and about $150 million from the Yankees to take five years and $120 million from the Phillies. However, Lee still landed the desired nine figures.
“Cespedes dazzled us on the field with his talent. He has blown us away far more, and changed the image of his employers, by signing up for more adventures in Flushing.”
Meanwhile, the Washington perspective…Barry Svrluga / Washington Post:
“As the blizzard blew in Friday night, the Washington Nationals hunkered down. They had gone after Ben Zobrist and lost him to the Chicago Cubs. They had pursued Jason Heyward and lost him to that same team, perhaps now the best in the National League. They checked in on Justin Upton and thought about some starting pitchers. And here they were, with the city frozen, snow falling and Yoenis Cespedes deciding between them and none other than the New York Mets.
“More than any other figure, Cespedes put the Nationals in their current predicament. His arrival in Queens at the trade deadline last summer completely altered the National League East race. Here, then, in January, he altered it again, taking less money over fewer years to remain with the Mets – securing the reigning National League champions’ position as the divisional favorite again, at the expense of their chief rivals….
“(The) Nationals will tell you it doesn’t matter, that they have a team they like and a team that could contend. And that may well be true. But a team that is completely comfortable with its makeup and its reputation does not pursue the majority of the marquee free agents on the market for the fun of it. It does so because it feels it has needs to address, needs that need tending to in order to beat the Mets and win back the division.
“The snow was still falling late Friday night. By spring, the Nationals will have dug themselves out, almost certainly declaring themselves happy with their team. But fans should remember the winter and all they went after, and perhaps wonder why the big splash never came.”
–Also last week, the Mets signed a solid reliever, Antonio Bastardo, 30, to a two-year, $12 million deal. Bastardo will probably be the eighth-inning man ahead of closer Jeurys Famlia.
—Prosecutors in Broward County, Florida, have declined to press charges against Yankee reliever Aroldis Chapman over an October domestic dispute between Chapman and his girlfriend, during which Chapman allegedly fired shots in the garage of his home.
The Yankees took a big gamble in acquiring Chapman last month from Cincinnati after a proposed trade between the Reds and Dodgers fell apart when L.A. learned of the Florida probe.
MLB could still discipline Chapman under its new domestic violence policy and Thursday, commissioner Rob Manfred said he would resolve it before the season begins.
But now you wonder if baseball will do anything.
–Earlier in the week, Rob Manfred revealed that the National League could adopt the designated hitter as soon as 2017. Ughh.
Speaking at the quarterly owners meetings, Manfred told reporters that the sport’s newer owners “have demonstrated a willingness” to consider such a change, with St. Louis Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak indicating there was “more momentum” among NL teams about the idea.
Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of this season and the universal DH will be a key in the negotiations.
The AL adopted the DH in 1973 and it’s pretty amazing how quickly these 43 years have gone by. I know it is inevitable, but I’ll miss the NL style of play.
As Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal notes, it hasn’t helped that pitchers are worse than ever at the plate. Pitchers put up a collective on-base-plus-slugging percentage of .329 last season, the third-lowest mark since 1974; the others being 2012 (.327) and 2014 (.306). And if you just look at batting average, four of the worst five years for pitchers in that category since 1973 have been the last four seasons.
MLB pitchers’ batting average
1975 .150
1980 .156
1995 .148
2005 .148
2015 .132
Golf
–Congratulations to Jason Dufner, who picked up his fourth PGA Tour victory, first since winning the 2013 PGA Championship, in taking this week’s tour event at La Quinta. Dufner defeated David Lingmerth in a playoff.
—Huge win for Rickie Fowler at the Abu Dhabi Championship, beating Belgian Thomas Pieters.
The thing is Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson tied for third, and with No. 1 in the world Jordan Spieth (T-5…five shots behind Fowler) also in the tournament, Fowler moved to No. 4 in the world rankings with the victory.
And what does that mean boys and girls? Fowler, with his fourth win worldwide in nine months, including The Players Championship and the Deutsche Bank Championship, has served notice he wants it to be a Big Four, with Spieth, Jason Day and Rory.
None of us fans should have a problem with that.
—Not a lot of top golfers are fired up about the Olympics, as I’ve noted before. Rory McIlroy added his voice the other day, saying he’s more concerned with the majors and Ryder Cup and that it’s “just another week.” I told you before Adam Scott isn’t interested in playing.
“Sixty players will qualify for the men’s and women’s tournaments based on the Official World Golf Ranking and Rolex Rankings, respectively. The world top 15 will be eligible for the competition, with a limit of four from any country. After the top 15, a maximum of two players are allowed from countries that don’t already have two or more players in the top 15. As host country, Brazil is allowed an exemption for one male and one female competitor.” [Golfweek]
Qualification ends July 11, so you’ll find out in June who really gives a damn.
—Golfweek/Sagarin Men’s College Rankings:
1. Auburn
2. Illinois
3. Wake Forest
4. Florida State
5. Stanford
Premier League
Among the big games this weekend….
Surprising Leicester stays on top with a 3-0 win over Stoke.
My Tottenham Spurs, after trailing 1-0 at the half, turned it on the second for a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace. If you love the sport, YouTube Dele Alli’s goal. The 19-year-old Spur scored a goal they will be talking about for a long time. Alli has an incredible future but I’m not sure how long Tottenham will be able to hold onto him.
Manchester United laid another egg, losing 1-0 to Southampton.
In a terrific contest, West Ham drew with Manchester City 2-2.
Liverpool bested Norwich 5-4.
And Sunday, Chelsea surprised Arsenal 1-0, as the Gunners played all but 18 minutes with ten men following a red card. The home fans actually gave Arsenal a standing ovation in the end for playing so well down a man all that time.
So after 23 of 38 games….ties broken by goal differential
1. Leicester 47 points
2. Man City 44
3. Arsenal 44
4. Tottenham 42…they have never finished in the top three
5. Man U 37
6. West Ham 36
7. Liverpool 34
8. Southampton 33
9. Stoke 33
13. Chelsea 28
Skiing
—Lindsey Vonn broke Annemarie Moser-Proell’s record for most World Cup downhill victories with her 37th on Saturday at Cortina, Italy, beating Larisa Yurkiw of Canada. Vonn won her first downhill in 2004, and first podium finish, at Cortina as well. It was her 74th World Cup win across all disciplines, also a women’s record.
And then on Sunday, she won the super-G, so make that 75. Ingemar Stenmark holds the men’s record at 86.
Vonn now has the overall WC lead this season over Lara Gut. Just remarkable.
—Aksel Lund Svindal won the super-G in Kitzbuhel, Austria, beating American Andrew Weibrecht. Peter Fill of Italy won the downhill at Kitzbuhel.
Svindal retains the overall men’s World Cup lead, though Austria’s Marcel Hirscher has narrowed the gap, 916-889.
–We note the passing of Bill Johnson, the first American man to win an Olympic gold medal in the downhill. He was just 55 and had been in an assisted-living facility in Gresham, Oregon.
Johnson had been in declining health after suffering a series of strokes following a skiing accident in 2001 in which he sustained brain damage.
“Wild Bill” Johnson was brash, promising gold in 1984 at Sarajevo. Everybody else, he said, “could fight for second.”
After winning the downhill, at 23, he was asked what it meant.
“Millions,” he said. “We’re talking millions.”
President Ronald Reagan honored Johnson at a White House reception, telling him, “You gave your country thrills beyond description.”
Johnson won two World Cup events the month after the Olympics but then it was a long slide, owing to injuries, a poor attitude towards training and fights with his coaches. He competed until 1989, but there were no more wins of any kind and his personal life was a mess.
He did attempt a comeback at age 40 and was competing to make the 2002 Olympic team, when he crashed on March 22, 2001, in the national championship, headfirst at more than 50 mph. With massive head injuries, he was in a coma for three weeks, the brain permanently damaged.
Only one other American man – Tommy Moe at the 1994 Lillehammer Games – has repeated Johnson’s feat of gold in the downhill.
Stuff
–A few notes from the Australian Open, which admittedly with the time difference I don’t follow that closely.
Serena Williams will face off against Maria Sharapova in one of the quarterfinals, the shrieking Russian not only being impossible to listen to but also just 2-18 career against Williams.
Roger Federer qualified for his 47th final eight in a Grand Slam, extending his modern-era record over Jimmy Connors (41).
Novak Djokovic needed five sets to get to the quarters in barely outlasting Gilles Simon.
And I forgot to mention last time that former Wake Forest player Noah Rubin had his first big win as a professional, an upset of 17-seed Benoit Pare, but then he lost in straight sets to Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the second round. Nonetheless, the 19-year-old Rubin, out of Long Island, is now off and running….Go Deacs!
–But wait, there’s more! Sunday evening the New York Times broke the story that a major sports gambling website suspended betting on Sunday for a mixed doubles match at the Australian Open. Yes, suspected match fixing. On a freakin’ mixed doubles match! I had no idea there was even an market for this unwatchable merde. Is there anyone in the world who gives a flying [blank] about who won a mixed doubles in any major in the history of the sport?! Frankly, I don’t know a single person who cares about straight doubles.
I’m not wasting my time or yours on the specifics….just ban betting in tennis on anything but singles, and maybe another before the round of 32 in a major. That would take care of the issues…and if someone was then caught, well, just behead them.
–I watched the U.S. Women’s Figure Skating Championships on Saturday night and it was great entertainment as Gracie Gold had a flawless free skate to win her second U.S. title, besting Polina Edmunds and three-time U.S. champion Ashley Wagner; all three performing superbly under the immense pressure (Wagner’s only flaw being a missed rotation on her last jump, though it didn’t affect the outcome).
I also get a kick out of Johnny and Tara.
–South Africa reported that the number of rhinos poached last year had fallen some, from 1,215 in 2014 to 1,175 last year. South Africa is home to 80% of the world’s population of rhinos.
–Sports Illustrated’s “Sign of the Apocalypse”: “Trinidad and Tobago gymnast Marisa Dick invented a new move, which has been named after her.”
—Adele’s “Hello” had its 1 billionth view on YouTube in 87 days, breaking the 158-day record held by Psy’s “Gangnam Style.”
–Finally, an early “Good Guy of the Year” award to Bono. I was reading a piece in Rolling Stone on the Eagles of Death Metal and frontman Jesse Hughes as the group struggles to find the strength to tour again following the Paris attacks. As you know, U2 invited the Eagles to play with them when U2 returned to Paris a month after a concert originally scheduled for the same weekend the attacks took place was postponed.
“Before U2 and the Eagles played together, Bono called Hughes and prayed with him on the phone. ‘He knows that I’m a Christian, and he also knows I’m a mama’s boy,’ Hughes says, sounding close to tears. ‘The very next day a courier came with a phone that had a note that said, ‘this is from Bono. Make sure you call your mom.’ I thought that was awesome. It was the first time I really got to talk to my mom without being in a police station, and that meant the whole world to me.’ ”
Top 3 songs for the week 1/22/72: #1 “American Pie” (Don McLean…they love this one in the pubs of Ireland…) #2 “Brand New Key” (Melanie) #3 “Let’s Stay Together” (Al Green)…and …#4 “Sunshine” (Jonathan Edwards) #5 “Day After Day” (Badfinger…not bad…) #6 “Scorpio” (Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band) #7 “I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing” (The New Seekers…see Don Draper…) #8 “Clean Up Woman” (Betty Wright) #9 “You Are Everything” (The Stylistics…these guys were great…) #10 “Sugar Daddy” (The Jackson 5)
College Basketball Quiz Answer: Five teams with an avg. of 23 wins and six straight NCAA tournament appearances….
San Diego State, Duke, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Gonzaga.
In defeating Utah State on Saturday, SDSU extended its stupendous streak of winning 158 straight when leading with 5:00 to play.
