[Posted early Wednesday a.m.]
Note: StocksandNews has substantial costs. If you haven’t already done so, please click on the gofundme link or send a check to PO Box 90, New Providence, NJ 97974. Special thanks to Mark R. this week.
Baseball Quiz: Name the five active pitchers with a career ERA under 3.20 (minimum 1,000 innings). Answer below.
College Basketball
New AP Poll (Feb. 22…records a/o Sunday)
1. Villanova 24-3 (45)
2. Kansas 23-4 (20)
T-3. Virginia 21-5
T-3. Oklahoma 21-5
5. Xavier 24-3
6. Michigan State 22-5
7. North Carolina 22-5
8. Iowa 20-6
9. Arizona 22-5
10. Maryland 23-5
11. Louisville 21-6
12. Miami 21-5
13. Oregon 21-6
15. Duke 20-7
23. Notre Dame 18-8
24. SMU 22-4
25. Texas 17-10…absurd
*If you carried out the votes, San Diego State is 40! Yes, not a great year for the Mountain West, but, still…the Aztecs are 13-1 in conference play, with the lone loss being at second place Fresno State. [Tuesday’s USA TODAY says SDSU doesn’t make the Big Dance unless it wins the MW tournament.]
–So on Monday…Miami beat Virginia 64-61; 14 West Virginia defeated 17 Iowa State 97-87; Texas defeated Kansas State 71-70.
–Tuesday…Kansas rallied to beat 19 Baylor 66-60.
And then you have Boston College. Alum Steve D. passed on a clip from College GameDay that I had missed. As far as any of the experts can determine, no major conference school has gone winless in both football and basketball in conference play in the same year, but now we have the Eagles.
B.C. was 0-8 in football in the ACC last fall and, after Tuesday night, is now 0-15 in hoops following a 71-56 loss at home to Virginia Tech.
The Eagles have Georgia Tech, North Carolina State and Clemson remaining on their schedule.
–Huge game tonight, Wednesday. 1Villanova at 5 Xavier (FS1).
And Mark R. and I have a six-pack of premium on the Wake-Notre Dame game in Winston-Salem, with your editor getting seven points.
–No doubt this has been a super season in college basketball. As Nancy Armour notes in USA TODAY, the six different No. 1s in the AP Top 25 is one shy of the poll’s record, set in 1982-83. In January, there were three No. 1s in as many weeks.
Duke is probably most representative of the chaos, climbing to No. 3 at one point, then out of the rankings, only to climb back to 15 AP this week.
42 teams have spent time in the Top 25. March Madness will no doubt be nuts.
–Phil W. passed along a story from the Charlotte Observer on North Carolina coach Roy Williams, who was livid at CBS analyst Doug Gottlieb. Gottlieb said before UNC’s game against Miami last Saturday that Williams might be considering retiring and that Hubert Davis would be the prime candidate to replace him.
Williams responded to Gottlieb: “You have no freakin’ idea what you’re talking about.”
–John Feinstein of the Washington Post reminds us that of 351 schools playing Division I basketball, 160 have been in the top tier since it was formed before the 1948-49 season. Of those original members, five – Army, The Citadel, Northwestern, St. Francis of Brooklyn and William and Mary – have never played in the NCAA tournament.
NBA
–The Stories….
Golden State 50-5…24-0 at home
San Antonio 47-9…28-0 at home…don’t play each other again until 3/19 at San Antonio
Phoenix 14-43…have lost 12 in a row, easily worst team these days
Lakers 11-47
Sixers 8-48
–I didn’t have a chance to note Anthony Davis’ performance on Sunday night in the Pelicans’ 111-106 victory over Detroit in Auburn Hills.
Davis scored a franchise-record 59 points and pulled down 20 rebounds, breaking the club record of 50 points by Jamal Mashburn 13 years earlier against the Grizzlies. Davis made 24 of 34 shots from the field, including his two three-point attempts, plus he was 9 of 10 from the line.
Only Shaquille O’Neal and Chris Webber have had 50 points and 20 rebounds in a game since 1983.
For the season, Davis is averaging 24.3 PPG, along with 10.1 rebounds and 2.2 blocks.
But his play has gone for naught as New Orleans is just 22-33.
Make that 22-34, as the Wizards beat the Pelicans on Tuesday, 109-89, with Davis being held to just 9 points on 3 of 9 shooting from the field, though he did haul down another 20 rebounds.
–Also on Tuesday, Portland beat the Nets 112-104. Just a little while ago the Trail Blazers were 19-26, but they’ve now gone 11-1 since to get to 30-27.
And not for nothing, but as we saw on Tuesday, Portland’s backcourt of C.J. McCollum (Lehigh) and Damian Lillard have been spectacular this season, averaging 21.1 and 25.1 ppg, respectively. Tuesday they each went off for 34 and were a combined 17 of 17 from the free throw line.
You always hear, for good reason, of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, and Toronto’s Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, but McCollum and Lillard are right there in terms of the best backcourt duos in the game.
[One sidebar…all six guards named above are averaging 80%+ from the foul line. That’s critical in late-game situations.]
–Last Friday night the Spurs defeated the Lakers 119-113 in Los Angeles, which happened to be the last regular season game for Kobe against San Antonio. Tim Duncan was underwhelmed by it all, as the Washington Post’s Matt Bonesteel wrote on Monday.
“I’m here to play a game and win a game. I’m not worried about that stuff,” Duncan told the Los Angeles Times after the game. “He’s a great competitor over the years, but this wasn’t about him. It was about us trying to get back on track,” referring to the Spurs loss to the Clippers the previous night.
But when asked once again whether he felt sad that he would never again share the court with Bryant, Duncan responded, “No,” and raised an eyebrow when reporters still appeared befuddled.
“Why is that a surprise?” Duncan continued. “No. We played for many years. It’s been great. We’re moving on.”
Bonesteel: “Duncan is in his 19th NBA season. His own retirement is probably not far off. Like Bryant, he’s headed to the Hall of Fame. But you can probably just cancel those plans for a retirement tour, because Duncan doesn’t seem like one who cares about such things.”
Of course I can’t help but add that it’s Duncan who has sacrificed for the betterment of the team in taking less pay so the Spurs could sign others, like LaMarcus Aldridge, while selfish Kobe fleeced the Lakers and the franchise took a header.
Yes, I’ve written this before and you’ll see it at least one more time.
2013-14…Lakers 27-55…Kobe makes $30.4 million
2014-15…21-61…$23.5m
2015-16…11-47…$25.0m
The Lakers have had zero flexibility to make moves given Kobe’s albatross of a contract.
By comparison, Duncan has earned between $9.6m and $10.3m each of the last three years. He obviously could have held the team up for far more.
–Des Bieler / Washington Post
“After Kyrie Irving left Sunday’s Cavaliers-Thunder game in the third quarter, the Cleveland guard was described as having suffered from flu-like symptoms. However, we learned Monday that the Cleveland guard had been plagued by something much worse: bedbugs.
“Irving shed light on his uncomfortable night in Oklahoma City, one that resulted in more itching than sleeping, after he scored 30 points in the Cavs’ home win over the Pistons on Monday. The kicker? The hotel in which Irving was so tormented is widely reputed to be haunted.
“The 105-year-old Skirvin Hilton in Oklahoma City is said to feature the spectral activities of ‘Effie the Housekeeper.’ According to lore, she was involved in an ill-fated affair with the hotel’s original owner in 1930, and she eventually killed herself and the couple’s child by leaping from an upper-floor window.
“Since then, Effie has pulled spooky stunts on members of the Lakers, Knicks, Bulls and other visiting NBA teams, at least by their accounts. But in Irving’s case, he could only wish that his nocturnal visitors were mere apparitions.
“ ‘Just imagine how freaked out you’d be if you saw friggin’ five, Big a—bedbugs just sitting on your pillow,’ Irving said (via Ohio.com)….
“Irving said he got three hours’ sleep at most, even after moving to a couch in his room.”
The manager at the Skirvin said the bugs were isolated to one room.
Gross.
[Speaking of sleep, Sumathi Reddy had a story in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal that research has shown the best temperature to set your thermostat to before going to bed is around 65. The National Sleep Foundation recommends room temperatures for sleep of between 60 and 67 degrees. I like 73.]
MLB
—Odds to win the 2016 World Series (per Las Vegas’ Westgage SuperBook)
Chicago Cubs 4-1
Los Angeles Dodgers 10-1
Houston Astros 10-1
Boston Red Sox 12-1
New York Mets 12-1
San Francisco Giants 12-1
Toronto Blue Jays 14-1
New York Yankees 14-1
Washington Nationals 14-1
Cleveland Indians 16-1…hope they have a 90-win season
Pittsburgh Pirates 18-1
Kansas City Royals 18-1
Cincinnati Reds 300-1
Philadelphia Phillies 500-1
Atlanta Braves 500-1
How the heck can the Dodgers be 10-1?! And the Yankees at 14-1?! No way.
Love my Mets at 12-1. They should probably be 6- or 8-1.
The Giants should be 2-5, seeing as this is an ‘even’ year. [For casual fans, the Giants won the World Series in 2010, 2012, and 2014.]
–Nothing of significance has emerged as yet from MLB spring training camps. Fans just want their guys to stay healthy, with exhibition play commencing next week.
In the case of the Red Sox, their fans are ready to skewer Pablo Sandoval, who signed a five-year, $95 million deal last year, played absolutely horribly, was about 50 pounds overweight, and came into camp the other day even heavier. He’s listed at 5’11”, 255, but must be 300.
–Baltimore signed free-agent outfielder Dexter Fowler to a three-year, $35 million deal. Fowler, who turns 30 in March, is solid, with pop, some speed and a good on-base percentage, but there are a lot of guys like this in baseball. He set a career high in home runs with 17 last season with the Cubs, but struck out 154 times and hit only .250.
–Commissioner Rob Manfred said Monday that he could be handing down verdicts in three domestic violence cases shortly – those of Colorado shortstop Jose Reyes, Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman, and Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig.
These are the first cases under a new policy for domestic violence so as Manfred himself put it, “It’s important to try to get these as right as possible.”
So Tuesday afternoon, Manfred announced Reyes had been placed on paid leave by MLB pending the completion of his domestic violence case in Hawaii. Reyes is scheduled to go on trial for assaulting his wife in a Hawaii hotel April 4, the same day the Rockies are scheduled to open the regular season at Arizona.
As for the status of the collective bargaining agreement, which expires after the 2016 season, Manfred said he expected the two sides to hold some initial negotiations during spring training. But, Manfred told reporters on Monday that the idea of the designated hitter coming to the NL will not be part of the negotiations this go ‘round.
“I have always thought the debate about the DH was a healthy debate for the industry in the sense that people are talking about the game,” Manfred said. “…[Also] the leagues remain really important competitive devices for us, and the principle differentiator between those two leagues right now is the DH. I would be really reluctant – really reluctant – in the age of interleague play to give up that differentiator.” [Barry Svrluga / Washington Post]
Golf Balls
—Tiger Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, said tweets that reported Woods had suffered a major setback following his third surgery to his back were “ridiculous and absolutely false,” Steinberg wrote in an email to USA TODAY Sports. “It’s reprehensible that every few months someone makes something up and it’s treated like a real story. Tiger continues to work on his rehabilitation and we will have an accurate update at the appropriate time.”
Woods had his first back surgery in March 2014. A second microdisectomy was performed in September 2015, with a follow-up procedure six weeks later.
Robert Lusetich, author of “Unplayable: An Inside Account of Tiger’s Most Tumultuous Season,” tweeted that Woods had suffered a setback, after which he went on The Dan Patrick Show and said:
“What I was told from a very reliable source is that Tiger had had quite a setback….It’s very difficult I’m told for him to walk; there’s a lot of pain. Sitting is painful. If he rides in the car, he sits in the passenger seat, he has to fully recline the seat to avoid pain.
“It’s obviously not been a good scenario. He was hoping to come back originally for the Masters; I think that’s a pipe dream. It certainly doesn’t sound good.” [Steve DeMeglio / USA TODAY Sports]
–So now we have the four-week Florida swing on the PGA Tour, beginning with the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens, followed by the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral, the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook, and then the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.
Tiger has 8 wins in 17 starts at Bay Hill, but the last two years, Matt Every has won, his only two tour titles, which is rather remarkable.
Doral will be interesting because of the Trump factor. He’ll be there, at least briefly, but the coverage should be muted. [“Equal time” rules, for starters.]
–Speaking of Trump, on Tuesday, the New York Times ran an extensive piece on him, saying he isn’t the ‘power-broker’ in New York City he makes himself out to be. It’s true, Trump has nowhere near the holdings he once did here, but it’s a pretty stupid piece (and I am not making a political statement of any kind).
I bring this up because while Trump may not have many actual investments in Gotham, the current issue of Golfweek has a piece on the Donald that notes:
“Golf is a small but important part of Trump’s empire….
“So important, in fact, that he has been known to court writers who oversee rankings of his courses, chastise them if he’s not satisfied with how his courses fare and offer to buy more ads if his courses were rated higher.
“There’s no denying his willingness to spend freely to upgrade the properties that he acquires.
“For example, that just-completed $250 million renovation of Doral has transformed what had been a tired resort. He hired architect Gil Hanse, who made inspired changes to The Blue Monster, and also infused new life to two other layouts. Trump gutted much of the rest of the resort to create a far more elegant lodging and spa experience.
“He’s in the process of pumping nearly $300 million into Trump Turnberry in Scotland. That has created genuine excitement in Europe about the changes he has commissioned at Turnberry’s wonderful Ailsa links. The resort’s iconic hotel also is getting a much-needed makeover, though there is some trepidation that the gold-plated Trump stamp he is placing on the hotel might strike a discordant tone.
“We marvel at his ability to parachute in and land a sweetheart deal to manage Trump Ferry Point, a perpetually troubled New York municipal course that took 30 years to build and cost north of $200 million, but the property opened last year to strong reviews.”
Well that’s $750m on just these three projects. That’s huuuuge in my book.
–According to Golfweek, President Obama played 269 rounds of golf his first seven years, or 38 a year. I’m a little surprised it’s not more than that, because about 20 of them would be between his Christmas vacation in Hawaii and his summer break.
But prior to the summit of Southeast Asian leaders at Sunnylands in California, he played four consecutive days in the Palm Springs area with old friends from Honolulu.
Stuff
—Division I Men’s College Hockey Poll (Coaches…Feb. 22)
Unchanged top five….
1. Quinnipiac
2. Boston College
3. St. Cloud State
4. North Dakota
5. Providence
19. St. Lawrence
–I’m not going to mention the names because they are public enough, but in the span of 24 hours, a man from New Jersey and a well-known Wall Streeter died in skiing accidents in Snowbasin, Utah, and Aspen, Colorado, both from head injuries. The New Jersey man wasn’t wearing a helmet when he hit a tree. I didn’t see if the Wall Streeter was.
–I’m kind of shocked by this one. A new poll conducted by Loyola Marymount University reveals that 88% of Angelenos want L.A. to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The USOC wanted Boston but dropped the bid amid public support of only 51% there in January 2015.
The one thing L.A. has on its side, and it’s a significant factor, is existing facilities for each sport, so I guess the people are thinking money isn’t a big issue as it would be elsewhere and the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles were a big success.
–So I’m reading this piece in the High Plains Journal on coyotes, from a fellow at the Univ. of Arkansas, and he notes: “If coyotes are lurking in the neighborhood, residents should react appropriately. That means not running away. ‘If approached, yell, wave your arms or throw something at it,’ said R. McPeake. ‘Running from a coyote may engage its predator-chase response.’ Coyotes should generally flee when people see them, but if they show aggressive behavior by growling, stalking or chasing then it’s time to notify city animal control or the Game and Fish Commission.”
Notify animal control? At that point it’s too freakin’ late! You’ve been mauled!
“Hello, animal control? Ah, this is Bud Spudolynyk A coyote just bit off my hand and has a hold of my leg. Plus I now have just one ear. Can you send someone? Not for two hours? Gee, thanks, animal control.”
–We note the passing of country singer Sonny James, 87. James had the 1957 No. 1 ballad “Young Love” that sold 3 million copies and topped both the country and pop charts. [Great tune.]
But he floundered after this song until 1963 and the No. 1 country tune “The Minute You’re Gone” and then between 1967 and 1971, the man known as the “Southern Gentleman” had 16 consecutive No. 1 records! including “Need You,” “Heaven Says Hell,” and “Running Bear.”
He retired in the mid-1980s because of vocal issues and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006.
Top 3 songs week of 2/21/81: #1 “9 to 5” (Dolly Parton) #2 “I Love A Rainy Night” (Eddie Rabbitt) #3 “Celebration” (Kool & The Gang)…and…#4 “Woman” (John Lennon) #5 “The Tide Is High” (Blondie) #6 “Keep On Loving You” (REO Speedwagon) #7 “The Best Of Times” (Styx) #8 “Giving It Up For Your Love” (Delbert McClinton…I remember a rather wild springfest type event with him at Wake Forest in ’79 or ’80…) #9 “Same Old Lang Syne” (Dan Fogelberg…Trump would say Fogelberg was a ‘low-energy’ guy…) #10 “Hey Nineteen” (Steely Dan…for listenability, their albums are as good as any…)
Baseball Quiz Answer: Top ERAs, active pitchers….
Clayton Kershaw 2.43
Adam Wainwright 2.98
Madison Bumgarner 3.03
David Price 3.09
Felix Hernandez 3.11
6. Johnny Cueto 3.29
7. Cole Hamels 3.312
8. Jordan Zimmermann 3.315
9. Zack Greinke 3.34
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
