[Posted Wednesday a.m.]
Baseball Quiz: Monday night, the Mets’ 42-year-old Bartolo Colon passed Pedro Martinez on the Dominican-born pitchers’ career win list, as Colon won No. 220. Juan Marichal is tops at 243. Who are Nos. 4 and 5? Answer below.
Leicester City’s Improbable Run
I am proud I picked up on this story very early in the Premier League season; well before the likes of Sports Illustrated, the New York Times and others realized the potentially historic nature of the Leicester City Foxes’ attempt to capture the title.
Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with second-place Tottenham on Monday meant the north London club couldn’t catch Leicester in its remaining games, so Leicester won their first top-division British football championship for a club that was founded in 1884 and joined the Football League in 1890. It’s high-water mark was a runner-up finish in 1929.
Seven years ago, Leicester was playing third-division soccer.
And now they’re headed to the Champions League for the first time.
[Tottenham blew a two-goal lead, which unfortunately has been their problem this year…they aren’t the best in dealing with prosperity. The Spurs also now haven’t won at Chelsea, Stamford Bridge, for 26 years.]
I mean this was a club of cast-offs and, as the BBC put it, “bargain buys.” The payroll is less than $44 million. [Another story pegs it at $82m, or according to this Bloomberg piece, “roughly one-quarter of what Chelsea paid en route to its 2015 title.” The accounting of “transfer fees” and contracts isn’t the most transparent item in the sport.]
Standings…35/36 of 38 matches
1. Leicester 36 – 77 points
2. Tottenham 36 – 70
3. Arsenal 36 – 67
4. Manchester City 36 – 64
5. Manchester United 35 – 60
So as even non-sports fans know by now after the media coverage since Monday afternoon when it became official, Leicester was 5,000-1 to win the title when the season began last August. Bookies thought it more likely that Elvis Presley was alive and well. [This seems to be a running 2,000-1 bet, by the way. At Paddy Power, a major bookmaker in Ireland and the U.K., President Obama declaring that the moon landing was faked was seen as a mere 500-1.]
As I wrote the other day, even as late as December you could have received 66-1 on Leicester.
By comparison, the USA men’s hockey team was 1,000-1 to win gold at the 1980 Olympics, and Buster Douglas was 42-1 to beat Mike Tyson in Feb. 1990 (a fight I’ll never forget…having decided with a friend at the last minute to shell out the pay-per-view bucks for it).
One bookmaker, Sky Bet, told the Associated Press it paid out 4.6 million pounds ($6.8 million) to bettors who picked Leicester to win the title, with 128 putting money on the team at those enormous odds.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the Leicester-related losses total an unprecedented $37 million. “Leicester winning the title was in the realms of the ridiculous, and it has cost us the biggest anti-post payout in our 130-year history,” a spokesman for Ladbrokes told the paper.
A Ladbrokes representative said, “For a 5,000-1 shot to emerge as a winner is absolutely off the charts in betting terms. The longest odds on a Grand National [Ed. English horse race] winner were 100-1, England were 250-1 before they won the Ashes [cricket tournament] in 1981, and Buster Douglas beat Mike Tyson as a 50-1 shot in 1990*, so nothing else comes close.”
*Most stories I’ve read remember the odds as 42-1.
Ladbrokes, and the other bookies, actually convinced some anxious Leicester backers to take smaller payouts over the past few months before the team wrapped it up. One Englishman, for example, who placed 50 pounds (about $75), on the Foxes before the season, accepted a settlement in March from Ladbrokes of $105,000, when he would have made $367,000 letting it ride. [Guardian]
Yes, the bookmakers swept up all the money laid on the big-name Premier League clubs, but it will be interesting to see how many commit to, say, 2,000-1 or1,000-1 in the future….on anything. Then again, someone already has. [See my note below on Burnley.]
Leicester Manager Claudio Ranieri did have the foresight to have a clause written in his contract that will now pay him a bonus of $7.25 million! And while this is an obvious statement, what an awesome job the highly likable Ranieri did. [Having observed the Premier League intently for a few years now, I’d say about 4 of the 20 managers appear to be likable; Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino being another.]
Leicester is set for a potential $220 million boost for winning the title, analysts at sports data and marketing firm Repucom told the BBC.
“The sum comprises Premier League prize money, Champions League participation cash, and increased match day revenues from ticket and hospitality sales.
“The Foxes will also enjoy a higher valuation of sponsorship assets, and a growth in fan bases globally, it said.”
Spencer Nolan, head of consulting at Repucom, said adding fans worldwide remained “central to realizing the club’s full potential as a commercial entity.”
Leicester’s Facebook following has grown by 540% this season. Get this, the largest following is from Algeria with 500,000, thanks to the play of the Foxes’ Riyad Mahrez, a member of the Algerian national team.
Nolan said this summer will be important, during the break, “as brands vie to associate themselves to the club and, in turn, the league winners aim to maximize the returns their status could command.”
Seeing as their global TV audiences soared 23%, this will also help the value of their sponsorship properties.
—Chelsea, defending champions, had an incredible fall this season and will finish outside the top 6 for the first time since 1996.
–On the relegation/promotion front, Burnley, who was relegated from the Premier League last spring, just clinched its return, which is a heckuva feat. Understand, once you’re relegated you more often than not immediately lose your top players, which was the case with Burnley, but it seems ownership has lots of pounds lying around and so they went out and signed a bunch of guys and it paid off.
So followers of Burnley, and the other two clubs yet to be promoted (one of which will be either Middlesbrough or Brighton) can dream of their own Leicester story come next season. Leicester’s triumph will have underdogs across all of sports dreaming big…except the Atlanta Braves.
But a bookmaker named Betfred has already given Burnley the same 5,000-1 odds. I’m tempted to hop across the pond.
—Atletico Madrid advanced to the Champions League final, despite losing Tuesday to Bayern Munchen 2-1. Atletico won on aggregate, 2-2, with more away goals.
Wednesday, Real Madrid hosts Man City in the second leg of the other semifinal.
NBA Playoffs
—After routing the Thunder in Game 1, San Antonio was upset by Oklahoma City at home in Game 2, 98-97, in a very strange contest, with a controversial ending.
San Antonio, which shot 60.7% from the field in the first game, missed 12 of its first 13 shots, Monday, and I caught these opening minutes and we’re talking these were bricks, like missing the rim from four feet out.
But the Spurs were right there behind LaMarcus Aldridge’s 41 points, when with 13.5 seconds remaining and the Thunder up 98-97, OKC’s Dion Waiters inbounded the ball near midcourt and, aside from the fact it looked like five seconds ran off before he got the pass off, he elbowed defender Manu Ginobili to create space, only then the pass was stolen by the Spurs’ Danny Green. Three passes later the ball found its way to Patty Mills, who threw up an errant shot on a potential game-winner, there was a scrum, Aldridge grabbed the air ball, then lost it, and Kawhi Leonard was unable to gather it before the buzzer sounded.
After the game, the crew chief of the referees, Ken Mauer, acknowledged that the controversial inbounds pass resulted in a play the officials had never seen before. In a statement, Mauer said: “On the floor we did not see a foul on the play. However, upon review we realize and we agree that we should have had an offensive foul on the play. It’s a play we have never seen before, ever, but we feel we should have had an offensive foul on Waiters.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was more miffed afterwards about what he saw as a five-second violation that wasn’t called.
Meanwhile, after even more analysis of the video tape, it seems Ginobili stepped on the line while defending the inbounds play, which should have been a delay of game, while Patty Mills, Kawhi Leonard and Serbe Ibaka all grabbed players’ jerseys in the frantic last seconds.
–In Game 1 of their series, Atlanta battled back from an 18-point deficit to take the lead against Cleveland with eight minutes to play, but LeBron and the Cavs pulled away for a 104-93 win despite Dennis Schroder’s playoff career-high 27 points for the Hawks. LeBron finished with 25 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists.
If Atlanta is to turn this into a 6- or 7-game series, they’ll need far better play from point guard Jeff Teague, who had just eight points.
—Steph Curry is confident he’ll be back for Game 3 Saturday at Portland, but if I’m Golden State I hold him out a little longer after the Warriors took a 2-0 series lead Tuesday with a 110-99 win over the Trail Blazers. Golden State trailed 87-76 after three but then outscored Portland 34-12 in the fourth.
–Meanwhile, after winning their first playoff series since 2001 – only the second in 21 NBA seasons after dispatching of Indiana in Game 7 – Toronto took on Miami in Game 1 of the conference semis on Tuesday hoping that their star backcourt combo of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry could get their act together.
DeRozan shot .319 from the field in the seven games against the Pacers, .167 from three, while Lowry’s pathetic splits were .316, .163. I mean to tell ya, sports fans, this is hideous.
So Tuesday, Game 1 Heat vs. Raptors in Toronto, the Raptors tied it in regulation on a half-court heave by Kyle Lowry, but then were outscored 12-6 in OT as Miami prevailed 102-96. DeRozan had a critical turnover late and, once again, Lowry and DeRozan sucked, going a combined 12 of 35 from the field.
MLB…Ball Bits
–The aforementioned Bartolo Colon of the Mets turns 43 on May 24. 43! He is beloved by Mets fans, who appreciate his performance in the two+ years they’ve had him; one of the better free agent signings in years by any team. He’s 31-27 with a 4.01 ERA and eats up innings. They signed him to be a 4 or 5 starter and there isn’t a team in baseball that wouldn’t take him for that role.
Oh, when his fastball (that he’s still throwing 91-92) flattens out he gets shelled, but it seems invariably he rights the ship next time out.
Righting the ship is what Matt Harvey, on the other hand, needs to do quickly. Harvey had another unimpressive outing on Tuesday as the Mets (16-9) fell to the lowly Braves (7-19) 3-0, Harvey giving up 3 earned in 5 2/3. He’s now 2-4, 4.76 and is flat out ‘lost.’
–Speaking of lost, the Yankees are now 8-16 and in total freefall, the latest being a 4-1 loss to the Orioles last night. The Yanks may also have lost the services of Alex Rodriguez to a hamstring injury, just when he was beginning to hit.
But if you had to target one player on the roster for the team’s dreadful start, it would be third baseman Chase Headley, who is in the midst of a five-year, $60 million deal and is hitting .147, after a mediocre 2015, his first year in New York.
Headley has no extra-base hits in 68 at bats this season, and has just two doubles in his last 148, going back to last season.
–The Cubs (19-6) and Jake Arrieta are on fire. Tuesday the Cubbies defeated the Pirates 7-1 in Pittsburgh as Arrieta threw seven scoreless to move to 6-0, 0.84 ERA. Chicago has won the last 19 games that Arrieta has started.
–The shocking Phillies are now 16-11 after a 1-0 win over the Cardinals.
–You want yet another example of why you don’t sign pitchers to long-term contracts? Try White Sox hurler John Danks, who was just designated for assignment after going 0-4 with a 7.25 ERA over his four starts this year.
Here is how Danks’ career with Chicago started out:
2008…12-9
2009…13-11
2010…15-11
2011….8-12
At this point he then signs a five-year, $65 million contract.
2012….3-4…earns $8 million
2013….4-14, 4.75 ERA…$14.25m
2014…11-11, 4.74…$14.25m
2015….7-15, 4.71…$14.25m
2016….0-4, 7.25…$14.25 [Baseball Reference has different numbers. Mine are the correct ones after looking up old articles on his signing.]
What a disaster.
–Speaking of disasters, then there’s Boston’s Pablo Sandoval, who underwent season-ending shoulder surgery Tuesday. This is bad for Sandoval, and the Boston front office, who shelled out $95 million over six years for the corpulent third sacker.
But the thing is Boston is far better off with Sandoval’s replacement, Travis Shaw, who is hitting .312 with three homers and 17 RBI, while playing a stellar third.
—Dodgers minor league pitcher Josh Ravin, who appeared in nine games in relief last season for L.A., was suspended 80 games for violating baseball’s PED policy. He tested positive for Growth Hormone Releasing Peptide 2. Sounds kind of peppy, doesn’t it?
Ravin was on the disabled list already after breaking his left forearm in a car accident in February and wasn’t expected to be able to pitch until June.
Ravin said his positive test was caused by supplements he took after dealing with illnesses during spring training.
Because he is on the big league disabled list, he qualified as the sixth major leaguer to receive a suspension for violating the league’s drug policy this season. Congratulations!
–I got a kick out of a story in the New York Post on Alex Rodriguez’ latest girlfriend, Anne Wojcicki – the former wife of Google founder Sergey Brin. They were to make their coming out appearance, after months of dating, at Monday night’s Met Gala in New York ($30,000 a ticket). But, alongside Sergey! I’d say that’s a tad awkward.
As for the gala itself, the New York Post noted: “Guests will be dining on asparagus with white sturgeon caviar to start, followed by entrees of grilled lamb chops and wild striped bass served with vegetables and roasted potatoes.”
Longtime readers know that the striped bass is probably farmed Pollock from Mrs. Paul’s.
–Huge weekend in college baseball. Wake Forest goes to Boston College for three. A Ferraro’s lunch is on the line for the kid vs. BC alum Steve D.
NFL
–Mark Maske / Washington Post
“Believe what the Cleveland Browns did, not what they said.
“The Browns said after the NFL draft that Robert Griffin III will have competition to be the team’s starter at quarterback for the 2016 season.
“Before and during the draft, however, the Browns did nothing to add a young quarterback ready to immediately vie with Griffin for the starting job.
“So the franchise’s 2016 fortunes are tied inextricably to Griffin’s ability to regain the magic touch from his rookie NFL season with the Washington Redskins four years ago.
“The Browns began with the No. 2 overall choice in the draft and traded down twice from there, once before the draft and once during the opening round. They passed on a chance to select Carson Wentz after the Los Angeles Rams took Jared Goff with the top overall pic. They passed during the draft on opportunities to take Paxton Lynch and Connor Cook.
“When they did select a quarterback in the third round, it was Cody Kessler of Southern California.”
Sashi Brown, the team’s executive vice president of football operations, tried to convince fans that RG III faces a challenge from Kessler, but clearly they are counting on Griffin.
—Mark Sanchez doesn’t see Denver’s selection of Paxton Lynch in the first round as being a threat to Sanchez’ position. He still believes he’ll be the starting quarterback for the defending champions.
One thing Denver fans need to understand about Sanchez, having observed him from his time in New York. He’s a great guy and seemingly a terrific teammate. We all wanted him to succeed when he was with the Jets, the problem was he just wasn’t that good!
But he’ll be great for Lynch and you’ll undoubtedly hear lots of stories how Sanchez is doing all he can to help the kid.
As Sanchez says of himself, he sees his immediate mission as meeting his teammates, “developing a relationship with them, learn the playbook, get involved in the community, that’s it, those three things.”
–According to the Palm Beach Post, the Miami Dolphins believe that a former financial advisor, who worked for Laremy Tunsil, was the one who leaked the bong video onto Tunsil’s Twitter page. Although the Post didn’t reveal the advisor’s name, it did note the man was fired by Tunsil sometime before the NFL draft.
Tunsil’s lawyer, Steve Farese, didn’t confirm the report, but he did rule out the suspect everyone assumed did it; Tunsil’s stepdad. The stepdad, Lindsey Miller, has adamantly denied he was involved in the hacking.
Reports say the Ravens were going to select Tunsil with the sixth overall pick, but by slipping to 13th, it is estimated the drop will cost Tunsil $8 million over the life of his rookie deal.
Tunsil did receive some good news. He reportedly won’t be put in the NFL’s substance abuse program, which means he won’t be subjected to multiple monthly drug tests by the league. [John Breech / CBSSports.com]
Golf Balls
–A friend of mine volunteers at PGA Tour events when they are in New Jersey, like the Barclays, so he can then get his pass to walk around the rest of the time he isn’t working, and we were talking the other day about how there are tickets still available for the PGA Championship in July at Baltusrol; Steve making two points. They overpriced it and the Tour needs Tiger.
Say what you will about Woods, but he can still be a draw. Us golf fanatics want to believe the casual sports fan knows who Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy are, but their Q-ratings are still nowhere near Tiger’s, even after his now-lengthy stretch without success.
And the Tour isn’t helped one bit when weather impedes on a tournament as was the case in New Orleans last weekend with the Zurich Classic. I’m amazed with all the rain, including historic flooding in some neighboring communities, that they actually got the tournament finished on Monday, as they struggled to get in 54 holes in five days.
Brian Stuard won a playoff against Jamie Lovemark and Ben An, all three looking for their first win. Not exactly the kind of event that moved the Wow Needle. Post-Masters, golf has hit a speed bump. Gotta get the excitement back and it would help if the weather would cooperate. At least next week we have The Players Championship.
I do have to note that Mr. Stuard played 54 bogey free holes, the first Tour winner to do so since Lee Trevino at the 1974 Zurich Classic of New Orleans when the event was played on a different course.
As for Tiger and his return, no word yet which event it will be.
–In an interview with Golf Channel, instructor David Leadbetter questioned Michelle Wie’s mental makeup. You remember her, don’t you? As a teenager she dreamed of playing the PGA Tour and participating in the Masters, but this proved to be counterproductive and she didn’t get her act together until winning the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst at age 24.
But since then nothing has gone right. After a mediocre 2015, this year she is 87th on the money winning list with just $39,477 in earnings.
Leadbetter, her teacher, said: “For me, it’s more a mental thing rather than physical.” He also said she needs to alter her swing to prevent injury but that Wie “is a very determined, single-minded person.”
Stuff
–I’m going with Gun Runner to win the Kentucky Derby.
But the New York Times’ Joe Drape had this on last year’s Triple Crown winner:
“He has put on some weight, 170 pounds to be exact, since sauntering off the racetrack and into what has to be the sweetest retirement in all of sports. American Pharoah, however, carries it well: There are no love handles, and his rich bay coat looks barely able to contain the muscles rippling beneath it.
“His day starts at sunup with a breakfast of high-end, organic grains – the equine equivalent of kale and quinoa – and then his work starts in earnest at 7:30 each day. That’s when American Pharoah hooks a left out of the stallion barn and ambles down the path to the breeding shed. Waiting for him is a mare, but not any old nag.
“No, securing one of the 160 or so spots on American Pharoah’s dance card this season requires a royal pedigree, an accomplished record as a racehorse and, most important, an ownership with the $200,000 required to have last year’s Triple Crown champion to ‘cover’ (a nicer term than impregnate) its mare.
“While horse lovers and aficionados had to wait 37 years for American Pharoah to become just the 12th horse to win the three races of the crown, thoroughbred racing’s holy grail, horsemen have hurried to get their mares in the breeding shed with the Big Horse. What’s a stud’s life? Most days, he does double duty, with a 1:30 p.m. lunch date after the morning fling. Often, he is at it again for a third time at 6 p.m.
“It sounds exhausting until you do the math: up to $600,000 a day, and a $30 million annual haul for his owners, Ashford Stud, over the course of the five-month breeding season.
“Best of all, American Pharoah has adapted to his new career with the same efficiency, elan and joie de vivre that he demonstrated while winning nine of his 11 starts, electrifying thoroughbred enthusiasts on the track and charming them off it.”
By the way, if you want to see Pharoah in Versailles, Kentucky, the daily tours have been sold out for months in advance.
–I mentioned last time what a mess the NASCAR race at Talladega was on Sunday, with 35 of the 40 cars sustaining some damage, plus there were some horrific crashes that prior to the death of Dale Earnhardt and safety changes, would have undoubtedly resulted in a fatality or two.
So the drivers are still talking days later and they don’t know how to slow this particular race down and keep cars from going airborne, ditto Daytona International Speedway, the two restrictor-plate tracks on the circuit.
The drivers are literally scared to race at Talladega. But while a tragedy seems almost inevitable, NASCAR has to be particularly conscious of a crash causing deaths and injuries to the spectators. I sure as heck wouldn’t sit down low myself at the place.
–In case there was any doubt, Villanova basketball star Kris Jenkins withdrew his name from the NBA draft and announced he would return for his senior season.
–Uh oh…Moscow residents are being threatened by an adorable but deadly threat. Some hedgehogs have rabies. Repeat…stay away from hedgehogs in Moscow. Two have been found that were infected and no telling how many more are out there.
Actually, according to the Moscow Times (and Life.ru), there have been 70 cases of rabies in wild animals in Moscow this year…including 57 foxes.
And get this. “More than 30,000 people, including 9,208 children, have sought medical treatment for tick bites in 2016…four times more than in the same period last year, the Interfax news agency reported Monday.”
Top 3 songs for the week of 5/7/77: #1 “Hotel California” (Eagles) #2 “When I Need You” (Leo Sayer) #3 “Southern Nights” (Glen Campbell)…and…#4 “Sir Duke” (Stevie Wonder) #5 “Don’t Leave Me This Way” (Thelma Houston) #6 “Right Time Of The Night” (Jennifer Warnes) #7 “So In To You” (Atlanta Rhythm Section…did some good stuff…) #8 “I’ve Got Love On My Mind” (Natalie Cole) #9 “Couldn’t Get It Right” (Climax Blues Band) #10 “I Wanna Get Next To You” (Rose Royce)
Baseball Quiz Answer: Dominican-born pitchers’ career win list….
Juan Marichal 243
Bartolo Colon 220
Pedro Martinez 219
Ramon Martinez 135
Pedro Astacio 129
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
