Note: The following is being posted late Sunday night. Hours earlier, I learned of the passing of the great Arnold Palmer, a true hero to many of us and a person I dearly loved.
I just plugged his name into my search engine and over 200 mentions come up. Around the time of this past Masters tournament I wrote of how the end seemed near and now this day we have long feared has arrived.
At such a late time tonight I can’t begin to do this story justice. I will attempt to do so next time, but understand I’ll be writing of Arnie forever…as long as I’m alive and utilizing this space.
For golf fans around the world, for those of us with roots in the Latrobe, Pennsylvania area, for those of us who went to Arnie’s alma mater, Wake Forest, we will not only always remember The King, we will do our best to make sure future generations hear his story…that of a humble man, a sportsman in the truest sense, a real man of the people.
God bless you, Arnie. We are already missing you deeply.
College Football Quiz: Name the four Division I coaches with 300 wins. One is a major league old timer. [Eddie Robinson, 408, and John Gagliardi, 489, were not Division I.] Answer below.
MLB
–Sunday morning, the baseball, and sports, world in general, was rocked by word Miami Marlins superstar pitcher Jose Fernandez had died in a boating accident off Miami Beach that claimed two other victims, all three in their 20s.
The team released a statement: “The Miami Marlins organization is devastated by the tragic loss of Jose Fernandez. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at a very difficult time,” with the Marlins canceling Sunday’s game in Miami against the Braves.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred added in a statement of his own that “all of baseball is shocked and saddened” by the death of one of the game’s “great young stars.”
The U.S. Coast Guard said a patrol boat spotted a 32-foot overturned vessel on a jetty at 3:30 a.m., with the bodies of three men – none wearing life vests – discovered shortly afterward. Two were underneath, one was found on the surface. The boat had a “severe impact” with the jetty suggesting it was traveling at a high rate of speed. The Coast Guard said it did not appear alcohol and drugs contributed to the accident, but, frankly, they can’t possibly know for certain yet.
The boat was not owned by Fernandez, and he was not driving it, according to the Coast Guard.
Just five days ago, Fernandez posted a picture of his girlfriend, Carla Mendoza, who is pregnant. She was not on the boat.
Jose Fernandez’ story was a remarkable one. He defected from Cuba to the United States in 2007 at the age of 15 with his mother and sister after three previous failed attempts resulted in jail time. As noted in wire service reports today:
“He escaped the communist country by boat, leaving his grandmother Olga, a woman he called the ‘love of his life,’ behind. While crossing the rocky waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Fernandez jumped in to rescue a woman who had fallen overboard. It wasn’t until he reached her that he discovered it was his mother.”
He settled in Tampa, Fla., and attended Braulio Alonso High School, pitching for the school’s baseball team.
Fernandez was drafted in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft by the Marlins with the 14th pick, receiving a $2 million signing bonus. At age 20, two years later, he was making his major league debut at Citi Field, going five innings, allowing just one run and striking out eight.
Fernandez went on to become N.L. Rookie of the Year that season, going 12-6, with a stupendous 2.19 ERA and 187 strikeouts. A day before he received the award, the Marlins surprised him by reuniting him with the grandmother he hadn’t seen in six years.
The pitcher only threw 19 games between 2014 and 2015, going 10-3, as he underwent Tommy John surgery.
But by this season he was all the way back from it, and as I just recently documented in this space, he was 16-8, 2.86 ERA, with a staggering 253 strikeouts in only 182 innings, Fernandez having earlier made his second All-Star team.
His final start was Sept. 20 against the Nationals, tossing eight scoreless with 12 strikeouts in Miami’s 1-0 win, his 16th.
He ends his career at 38-17, 2.58, with 589 strikeouts in 471 innings; an otherworldly 29-2 at home.
Ironically, he was scheduled to start Sunday, initially, but then the team announced it was pushing him back until Monday to face the Mets. Had he started Sunday, he obviously wouldn’t have been on the water late the night before.
And as the Mets’ announcer Gary Cohen said this afternoon in his opening, what a tragic irony that the man who saved a life on the water, his mother’s, should lose his own on it.
Joel Sherman / New York Post
“You search for words. But you will not find the right ones.
“Death is always sad, too often tragic. Young death is worse yet. And then there is something about young athletes dying because publicly they represent our vibrancy and spirit and possibilities.
“Jose Fernandez was 24. Past tense, was 24….
“That the Marlins ace died at such an early age is sad. That he died on the water feels twisted, macabre….
“It is gut-wrenching to a sport, an organization and, really, for us all. Fernandez was not just a great pitcher. He was – sorry for this word – lively. His every pitch, movement came with animation. Fernandez’s love for the game and competition was there in every offering.
“To watch him was to see a young master of the craft – not just dynamic fastball, but sliders and changeups that would dazzle and baffle. But also in his every movement, there was a passionate showman embracing the game, the attention, the theatrics of it all….
“Fernandez was already arguably the greatest pitcher in Marlins history, just two years away from a free agency that promised someone born in Santa Clara, Cuba, untold riches. He was that good. That word again, ‘was.’
“Like Len Bias. It was just beginning. Like Oscar Tavares. Like Drazen Petrovic. Like Hank Gathers. Like Sean Taylor….
“I was in Cuba in March. I saw the waves crest over the seawall on the Malecon, and finally understood better what those who leave face. The courage needed to just get into that water to try for freedom here is overwhelming.
“Jose Fernandez and his family got into the water. He made it here…finally.
“So how can this be? How can we be writing less than a decade later that he died on the water a free man living out his baseball dream?
“Unfathomable.”
Gary Cohen also said in his opening on Sunday, “There could not have been a more vibrant star…(He) was one of the most dynamic figures in the game.” That was, indeed, Jose Fernandez.
Back in March 1993, Cleveland Indians pitchers Tim Crews, 31, and Steve Olin, 27, were killed in a boating accident in Clermont, Florida, that nearly claimed the life of pitcher Bobby Ojeda, who lost four pints of blood, but survived.
—
Wild Card Standings [prior to Sun. night’s Cards-Cubs game]
N.L. [prior to Cards-Cubs Sunday night]
Mets 83-73… +1
St. Louis 81-73… —
San Francisco 82-74… —
A.L.
Toronto 86-69… +1.5
Baltimore 85-71… —
Detroit 83-72… 1.5
Seattle 82-73… 2.5
—After getting swept by the lowly Braves at Citi Field, early in the week, the Mets began a four-game series at home against the Phillies on Thursday, in what turned out to be one of the greatest regular-season games in team history.
In a back and forth contest, one of the great relievers in the game today, Addison Reed, entered the game in the top of the eighth, the Mets with a 4-3 lead on two clutch RBI hits by Yoenis Cespedes. But Reed then shockingly gave up a three-run homer to Maikel Franco to give the Phillies a 6-4 lead.
But then in the bottom of the ninth, Jose Reyes blasted a two-run shot Jeanmar Gomez to send the game into extra innings, 6-6.
So in the 11th, the Phillies scored twice on A.J. Ellis’ RBI single off closer Jeurys Familia, and Franco’s bases-loaded walk off Jim Henderson, and it was 8-6 Philadelphia.
But in the bottom of the frame, Asdrubal Cabrera crushed a three-run, walk-off home run, complete with an epic bat flip, for the tremendous victory, 9-8, especially given the wild card race. [Watching it live, an unreal contest.]
Friday, the Mets prevailed 10-5, as their makeshift rotation failed to get them off to a good start this time, Gabriel Ynoa lasting only two innings. But then the offense took over
So Saturday night, the Mets fell behind 10-0 after four innings as Sean Gilmartin was forced to start after Noah Syndegaard went down with a strep throat. Gilmartin also didn’t come through.
But manager Terry Collins remembered what former manager Jim Leyland once told him, “When you get your butt kicked, get your stars out and get those other guys in because they’re playing for something; they’re playing for jobs.” So Terry removed all his veterans and replaced them with the call-ups from Las Vegas and the B squad launched a terrific comeback that had it back to 10-6 after six.
At that point it was like all of us who were texting our fellow fans, saying we were moving on to something else at 10-0, but never actually lost did, were telling our friends, hey, get the game back on!
Yes, the Metsies lost 10-8, in what would have been the biggest comeback in team history, but they had the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth and it was stirring. It was indeed a moral victory.
So which team would show up on Sunday? The inspired one, particularly rookie pitcher Robert Gsallman, who threw seven shutout innings in what would end up being the Mets’ biggest shutout win in their history, 17-0.
–Meanwhile, the Yankees, in losing at Toronto 3-0 on Saturday, suffered their third consecutive shutout loss, something that had not happened since 1975 (the other scores being 2-0 on Thursday and 9-0 on Friday). Overall, the Yanks had lost 10 of their last 13.
[11 of 14 after another dreadful late-inning loss on Sunday to the Blue Jays, 4-3.]
–Some games of note on Saturday….
Detroit suffered a potentially devastating loss to Kansas City at home, taking a 4-2 lead into the top of the ninth, only to see closer Francisco Rodriguez give up five as K.C. ended up winning 7-4.
The Tigers then lost Sunday, 12-9.
Boston’s Rick Porcello won his 22nd, 22-4, 3.11, as he yielded 3 earned in 6 1/3, the Red Sox beating the Rays 6-4..
And the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw threw 7 shutout innings in a 14-1 win over the Rockies, so it’s official…Kershaw is playoff ready. He’s also now 12-3, 1.65, with just 10 walks in 142 innings, while fanning 168. [No, he should not get the Cy Young.]
–The Washington Post had a story on 30-year-old Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph, and I have to admit to not following his story one wit this year.
In seven seasons in the minors, he proved to be a capable player, hitting 76 home runs, and he drove in 97 runs in Class AA Bowie in 2013.
Joseph actually hit 20 homers and drove in 77 for the big league club in 2014 and 2015, as Baltimore dealt with injuries to starter Matt Wieters.
But this season, in 132 at-bats (thru Sunday), he has zero RBIs. Zero!
No one, in the 97 seasons since RBIs became a stat, has been to the plate so frequently and failed to drive in a run.
Supposedly, before RBI became official, Oscar Jones of the 1904 Brooklyn Superbas went to the plate 150 times and recorded 137 at-bats, even getting 24 hits, without driving in a run.
In modern times, Minnesota’s Dean Chance recorded 92 at-bats with no RBI. Four years later, Wilbur Wood of the White Sox upped that by four at-bats.
–The Seattle Mariners suspended catcher Steve Clevenger for the remainder of the season after he posted racially-charged messages on social media. As USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale put it, Clevenger “disgraced the entire baseball industry when he called for protesters in Charlotte to be ‘locked behind bars like animals.’”
–As the New York Times’ Benjamin Hoffman, and others, note, the 2000 baseball season marked the high in home runs in the majors at 5,693, but that figure could be surpassed this year, even as no one is likely to hit 50, though there were 51 players with at least 26 (and thus a shot at 30), when in 2000, 47 belted 30 or more.
At the same time, in 2000, teams scored an average of 5.14 runs per game, the highest level of scoring since 1936. This season’s home run surge has been accompanied by a runs-per-team-per-game figure of 4.48, which while an increase from the previous six seasons is not nearly back to the offensive levels the sport produced from 1994 to 2007.
But what is the reason for the surge in home runs? Who knows, but despite MLB having the most stringent drug testing policy in professional sports, it seems likely steroids are still prevalent, plus there is simply more of an emphasis on power in the game than ever.
One thing I think we can dismiss is the theory the ball is juiced.
–The Cubs are on pace to win 100 games, thus becoming the 23rd to do so during the Wild Card era (1995- ); but only two of the previous 22 won a championship (six wild cards won titles over that span). Exactly half of the 22 teams failed to win a single playoff series. [Eric Eisenberg / Wall Street Journal]
–The world’s most expensive baseball card is hitting the auction block, the 1909 Honus Wagner card, the “Holy Grail” of sports memorabilia, that is expected to fetch up to $5 million in an online auction ending October 1, according to Goldin Auctions.
Only about 50 copies of the card are known to have been printed, but 47 of the 50 “look like a dog chewed them up,” according to Goldin spokesman, Doug Drotman. The one on auction is the second-highest-graded in terms of condition.
According to officials at Goldin, values of baseball cards have been escalating, after a prolonged slump.
–Finally, the Dodgers paid tribute to Vin Scully on Friday night and as the Los Angeles Times’ Bill Shaikin wrote, it “was the world’s biggest thank-you card, come to life.
For nearly an hour the likes of Sandy Koufax to Kobe Bryant, and from Bob Costas to Kevin Costner, extolled the virtues of Scully.
Then Scully stepped before the microphone as the fans rose as one and applauded, seemingly forever.
“Aw, come one,” Scully said. “It’s just me.”
Bill Shaikin:
“And then he brought the house down by dropping the line with which he greets his listeners, his viewers, his friends.
“ ‘Hi everybody, and a very pleasant good evening to you,’ he said, almost mischievously. ‘I thought I’d get that out of the way right away.’….
“Charley Steiner, the Dodgers’ radio voice, said Scully’s 67 years with one team would be as unbreakable a baseball record as Cal Ripken’s streak of 2,632 consecutive games played, Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, and Cy Young’s 511 victories.
“Don Newcombe, 90, the Dodgers’ starting pitcher in Scully’s 1950 debut, was there [remarkable.]. So were Koufax and Clayton Kershaw, the greatest left-handers in team history. Scully called no-hitters for each, half a century apart.
“Kershaw, on behalf of Dodgers players past and present, thanked Scully for ‘painting a picture for us.’
“Said Kershaw: ‘Long from now, when we’re retired and we don’t have this game anymore, we’ll always have your voice.’….
“Koufax thanked Scully for his friendship and decency, for his compassion for players on both sides, and for not being ‘a homer’ in his broadcasts.
“ ‘You never heard the word ‘we,’’ Koufax said….
“Costner delivered a long ode to Scully, accompanied by music from the ‘Field of Dreams’ score.
“ ‘You’re our George Bailey, and it has been a wonderful life,’ Costner said.
“The Dodgers had distributed a letter from Scully to each fan, in which he wrote about growing up with the fans of Los Angeles.
“ ‘The transistor radio is what bound us together,’ he wrote. ‘Were you at the Coliseum when we sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to an umpire? Were you among the crowd that groaned at one of my puns? Did you kindly laugh at one of my little jokes? Did I put you to sleep with the transistor radio under your pillow?
“ ‘You were simply always there for me. I have always felt that I needed you more than you needed me.’
“As the last speaker Friday, after he greeted the fans, he said, ‘Welcome to my thanksgiving.’….
“Scully, who turns 89 in November, grinned as he talked about his retirement plans.
“ ‘I’m going to try to live,’ he said.
“And, amid all the love and tears, he closed with a laugh line.
“ ‘I’m looking for a much smaller house and a much larger medicine cabinet,’ he said. ‘Good night, everybody!’”
College Football
No.1 Alabama did what you would expect against Kent State, build up a 41-0 halftime lead on the way to a 48-0 win. [Psst…the line was 44.]
No. 3 Louisville’s Lamar Jackson accounted for another 7 touchdowns (417 yards through the air with 5 scoring strikes, plus 62 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground), giving him 25 in just the first four games, as the Cardinals (4-0) whipped the Thundering Herd from Marshall, 59-28, Marshall dropping to 1-2.
4 Michigan (4-0) beat Penn State (2-2) 49-10. Some of us love seeing Penn State suck because we can’t stand the coach, James Franklin, who just isn’t a good guy.
In a shocker to some of us, 11 Wisconsin (4-0), who opened with a big win over then-No. 5 LSU, manhandled 8 Michigan State (3-1) in East Lansing, 30-6, as the Spartans turned it over four times. The Badgers are winning with suffocating defense. But next up, Michigan and Ohio State.
No. 7 Stanford prevailed, barely, beating UCLA (2-2) at the Rose Bowl, 22-13, as the Bruins couldn’t hold onto their 10-6 lead after three quarters, the Cardinal, now 3-0, getting two late scores, including a fumble return for a touchdown on the final play.
Stanford drove down the field in the final two minutes to score the go-ahead touchdown on a leaping catch by J.J. Arcega-Whiteside from Ryan Burns with 24 seconds left.
It would have been a huge win for the Bruins’ program, but it wasn’t to be. [Tough times in Los Angeles this fall, USC is 1-3.]
13 Florida State (3-1) got back on track having been annihilated by Louisville the week before, besting South Florida (3-1) 55-35, as FSU running back Dalvin Cook finally got untracked, 28 carries for 267 yards and two scores.
16 Baylor, and interim coach Jim Grobe, stayed undefeated (4-0) with a nice 35-24 win over Oklahoma State (2-2) in Waco with quarterback Seth Russell throwing for 387 and 4 TDs.
Meanwhile, down in Auburn, 18 LSU (2-2) apparently eked out a thrilling 19-18 victory, Auburn (2-2) not having won an SEC home game since 2014, 0-6, with a 15-yard touchdown pass as the clock ran out, capping a 60-yard drive, LSU erupting in joy.
But a review of the clock showed the play clearly didn’t get off in time (I saw all the replays) as the clock was running down to 0.00. Auburn won instead 18-13, behind six field goals by Daniel Carlson. LSU’s Les Miles’ job remains very much in jeopardy. Miles afterwards criticized his offensive coordinator Cam Cameron for running superstar back Leonard Fournette just 16 times (101 yards). [I agree.]
Well, I wrote the above Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon, both Miles and Cameron were fired.
23 Ole Miss is the best 2-2 team in the land, blasting 12 Georgia (3-1) 45-14 as quarterback Chad Kelly was 18/24, 282, 2-0, plus 53 yards rushing with another score. Ole Miss can run the table from here and make some real noise in the polls; losses being 45-34 to Florida State and 48-43 to Alabama. Here’s my guarantee, they are major bowl bound.
Elsewhere in the SEC, 14 Tennessee moved to 4-0 in defeating 19 Florida (3-1), 38-28, behind Joshua Dobbs’ four TD passes.
Thursday night, 5 Clemson (4-0) had a nice win at Georgia Tech (3-1), 26-7, as the Tigers are rounding into form; Deshaun Watson throwing for 304 yards and two scores, Clemson outgaining Tech 442-124!
In other games…
Duke (2-2) had a tremendous 38-35 win at Notre Dame (1-3), kicking a late field goal for the decider, as the Sloppy, Drunken Irish turned the ball over three times and are now going to be looking at the “Give It To Mickey, He’ll Eat Anything” Bowl. [Sunday, ND fired defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder.]
Pitt (2-2) had a tough loss down in Chapel Hill, 37-36, as North Carolina (3-1) scored on a last-second 2-yard TD pass for the big win in terms of setting the tone for both the rest of the way. The Tar Heels’ Mitch Trubisky threw for 453 yards and five touchdowns, with receiver Ryan Switzer hauling in 16 for 208 yards and a score. The Pitt secondary has yielded 993 yards the last two games! Good gawd.
Army suffered its first loss, falling to 3-1, with a tough 23-20 defeat at the hands of Buffalo (1-2) in overtime.
Boston College had an inspiring 42-10 win over Wagner…cough cough. The crowd was announced at 22,728….cough cough. The Eagles held Wagner to 107 yards of offense.
Rutgers had a tough assignment in hosting Iowa (3-1), but the Scarlet Knights beat the spread! Rutgers, 14 ½-point underdogs, lost by 14-7 as the defense performed superbly, only to be let down by the pathetic ‘O’, Rutgers now 2-2, with Ohio State and Michigan the next two weeks. [Inverse of Wisconsin’s schedule.]
And, finally, we have Wake Forest, suddenly one of the surprises in college football at 4-0, their best start in 10 years, as the Demon Deacons traveled to Bloomington, Indiana, for the first time and beat the Hoosiers (2-1) 33-28.
If you just looked at the stats, you’d have no sense how the Deacs were generally in total control most of the contest, Indiana’s Richard Lagow throwing for a whopping 496 yards and three touchdowns. But he also threw five interceptions! Plus the Deacs blocked a field goal. And they held Indiana’s star running back, Devine Redding, to just 68 yards on 16 carries after he had rumbled for 100+ in five consecutive games. Just a great effort by my Deacs, who next week are at North Carolina State, a winnable game.
Bottom line, suddenly Wake is looking at 7-5 at worst…which means we’ll be goin’ bowlin’.
*Jumping ahead…another free feature of Bar Chat.
–Sports Illustrated had some stats on FCS (Div. I-AA) power North Dakota State, which upset Iowa last Saturday, 23-21, receiving $500,000 to travel to Iowa City in the process.
The Bison have five consecutive FCS titles and are 74-5 since the start of 2011 (better than Alabama’s 66-7 thru yesterday).
It also has now beaten six consecutive FBS teams since 2010; Kansas, Minnesota, Colorado State, Kansas State, Iowa State and Iowa.
The next time North Dakota State is slated to play an FBS team is 2020, at Oregon.
NFL…I apologize it is getting short shrift these days…something to do with following my Mets.
–Goodness gracious…my Jets turned the ball over 8…8!…times in a 24-3 loss at Kansas City. Ryan Fitzpatrick tied a franchise mark with six interceptions as he was 20/44, 188, 0-6, for a sterling rating of 18.2.
There’s a reason why us Jets fans were worried about the opening six games of the schedule, with Seattle, the Steelers and Cardinals to follow.
But now we look at Week 7 and the Ravens, now 3-0.
If the Jets don’t beat Seattle at home next week, the season is over…period.
–Meanwhile, the other New York team, the Giants, stunk up the joint at MetLife Stadium in losing to the Washington Redskins (1-2), 29-27, New York falling to 2-1 as Eli Manning threw two picks and the ‘Skins got enough from Kirk Cousins, 21/35, 295, 2-0.
—Rex Ryan’s Bills (1-2) gained a critical win against the Cardinals (1-2) in Buffalo, 33-18, as Arizona’s Carson Palmer threw three picks, while LeSean McCoy rushed for 110 and two touchdowns for the Bills.
–The aforementioned Ravens beat the 0-3 Jaguars, 19-17 in J’ville.
—Denver is 3-0 after beating Cincinnati (1-2) 29-17 in a nice road win, Trevor Siemian with his finest game as a pro, four touchdown passes.
—The Vikings, without Teddy Bridgewater and Adrian Peterson (who opted for what seems to be season-ending surgery to repair a torn meniscus), are 3-0 after beating Carolina in strife-torn Charlotte, 22-10. This could be the story of the year. Sam Bradford is 2-0 as a starter and just playing solid.
–Houston Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler, he of the four-year, $72 million contract, was outplayed Thursday night by Patriots rookie Jacoby Brissett, who is making about ten times less per week than Osweiler is; the Pats winning 27-0.
–Hall of Fame coach Mike Ditka is known to be rather conservative in his beliefs, so it should be no surprise he was critical of Colin Kaepernick and kneeling during the national anthem.
“I think it’s a problem…anybody who disrespects this country and the flag. If they don’t like our flag…get the hell out.”
Ditka added: “I see opportunities if people want to look for opportunity – now if they don’t want to look for them – then you can find problems with anything. But this is the land of opportunity because you can be anything you want to be if you work. If you don’t work…that’s a different problem.”
Golf Balls
–In the best FedEx Cup finale in its 10 years, Rory McIlroy came from three shots back with three to go to force a playoff with Ryan Moore and Kevin Chappell, which Rory then won on the fourth hole of sudden death, over Moore, to capture his 13th PGA Tour title and a cool $11.53 million in the process (including the $10 million FedEx Cup bonus).
Dustin Johnson, who after 36 holes seemed a lock to win it, finished tied for sixth. Had either Moore or Chappell won the playoff, D.J. would have picked up the $10 million.
–As for the Ryder Cup, with Captain Davis Love III making his final selection, Ryan Moore, Lee Westwood of the Euro squad dissed Love.
“His captaincy at Chicago was great for a couple of days,” said Westwood, alluding to the Americans’ meltdown at Medinah in 2012. “I don’t know if something went wrong on Sunday, or the team didn’t play very well for some reason, but that will be in the back of their minds.”
“There seem to have been issues about team spirit and chemistry. Love has not picked Bubba Watson and I don’t know what that does for team spirit – he was first outside the points qualification and is No. 7 in the world.”
Westwood also questioned Tiger Woods’ role, saying, “He could have an adverse effect in the team room.”
Meanwhile, Dustin Johnson said he does not want to be partnered with Phil Mickelson.
“I love Phil and we’re great friends, but we have a lot more fun when we’re playing against each other, not as partners.”
The two are known for their “Tuesday games” at PGA Tour tournaments, always as competitors.
At one time Johnson lobbied to be partnered with Mickelson, like at the 2010 Ryder Cup, but then they got waxed twice in both four-ball and foursomes and the experiment was over.
Premier League
Standings after six….
1. Manchester City…6 (W) 0 (D) 0 (L)…18 points
2. Tottenham 4-2-0…14
3. Arsenal 4-1-1…13 [ahead on goal differential]
4. Liverpool 4-1-1…13
5. Everton 4-1-1…13
6. Manchester United 4-0-2…12
Here I’ve been bitching about my Tottenham Spurs and after a 2-1 win over Middlesbrough, Saturday, on Son Heung-min’s two goals, it’s their best start in 51 years!
In other games, Bournemouth upset Everton 1-0, Liverpool blasted Hull 5-1, Man City stayed perfect with a 3-1 win over Swansea, and Arsenal shut out Chelsea 3-0.
But the big one was Man U hosting defending champion Leicester City at Old Trafford on Saturday, and United ended a three-game losing streak, including a Champions League contest, with a dominating 4-1 win as captain Wayne Rooney was benched. Manager Jose Mourinho, under the gun, made the right move.
In benching Rooney, who did substitute in late, it was finally the beginning of the changing of the guard after 14 years for club and country, as they say. He’ll still play; he just will no longer be the focus.
Stuff
—Kevin Harvick won this week’s Chase for the Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, his third win of the year. [Your editor won for the second time in three weeks at DraftKings.]
—Chris Bosh, an 11-time All-Star, failed his preseason physical and was not cleared to participate in the Miami Heat’s training camp, according to the team.
Bosh has done interviews in recent weeks on LeBron James’ digital platform, “Uninterrupted,” saying in one that “nothing” would keep him off the court this season though blood clots ended each of his last two seasons at the All-Star break. “I’m ready to play,” Bosh, 32, said last week.
Bosh is owed nearly $76 million for the final three seasons of his contract, and while its guaranteed, sometime next year, Miami will be able to remove his salary from their cap number.
—Kevin Garnett announced his retirement after 21 seasons in the NBA. Garnett, 40, entered the league straight from high school and helped put the Minnesota Timberwolves on the map by turning them into a perennial playoff team. He later helped return the Celtics to glory. He was the league’s MVP in 2004.
From 1998-2007, he averaged over 20 points per game and 10 rebounds each season and he was named to 15 All-Star teams.
What us casual fans will always remember was his work ethic, even though for us Knicks fans, he was also a royal pain in the ass, the editor wrote with admiration.
–We note the passing of the great track and field coach Ed Temple, 89.
Temple coached the likes of Wilma Rudolph, Wyomia Tyus and 38 other Olympians in his 43 seasons as women’s track coach at Tennessee State University. From 1950 until he retired in 1993, Temple mentored a roster of athletes that won 13 gold medals, six silver medals and four bronze medals.
In the 1960 Summer Games in Rome, the four women who won the 4X100 meter relay for the United States were all from Tennessee State, the Tigerbelles, who also won 34 national titles, including 16 indoor and 13 outdoor.
There were no scholarships during his first 18 years as coach. Even Wilma Rudolph, “the greatest woman athlete of all time,” Temple used to say, had to spend two hours a day doing clerical work and sweeping out the gymnasium.
Ed Temple was born on Sept. 20, 1927, in Harrisburg, Pa., and raised there. He was an all-state athlete in track, football and basketball at John Harris High School in Harrisburg. [Frank Litsky / New York Times]
–From the Los Angeles Times:
“In a historic rebound, California sea otters, the frolicking ocean ambassadors of Monterey Bay and Big Sur, have reached their highest population level since 1982, when federal and state officials first began keeping track.
“A growth in the amount of sea urchins, one of the otters’ favorite foods, seems to be the leading reason why otter numbers along the California coast have grown to 3,272 this year, up 11 percent since 2013,” according to a new U.S. Geological Survey.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the otter numbers need to exceed 3,090 for three years in a row before they can be considered for removal from the endangered species list.
The fact sea otters like delicious sea urchins places them No. 84 on the All-Species List, and thus they will always hold a place above Giant Pandas, who stupidly eat bamboo when they could eat just about anything else they like. I mean, like, if a Giant Panda showed up at a fancy restaurant, who is going to deny it a table? “Oh, you’re so cute. C’mon in. Want some steak tartare?”
Back to the sea otters’ range, they do have a problem. They can’t expand it north past Sana Mateo County, or farther south, past Santa Barbara, because they are being killed by great white sharks.
One official with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, though, says, “We don’t think sharks eat otters; they just bite them and spit them out because sea otters don’t have blubber.” Lilian Carswell believes great whites are targeting juvenile elephant seals and sea lions.
I think we need a conference between the sharks and sea otters to straighten things out. Just not sure who should arrange it. Once Sec. of State John Kerry leaves office, this is something he could tackle, but he doesn’t exactly have a track record of success, know what I’m sayin’?
—John D. Loudermilk, a prolific songwriter and country singer, died. He was 82.
Among his dozens of hits in the 1960s and ‘70s were, “Tobacco Road” by the Nashville Teens, “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye” by the Casinos (awesome tune) and “Indian Reservation” by Paul Revere and the Raiders.
He also wrote songs like the perky “Norman” (1961) for Sue Thompson and “Ebony Eyes” for the Everly Brothers (1961).
Top 3 songs for the week 9/29/62: #1 “Sherry” (The 4 Seasons) #2 “Ramblin’ Rose” (Nat King Cole) #3 “Green Onions” (Booker T. & The MG’s)…and…#4 “Monster Mash” (Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers) #5 “Sheila” (Tommy Roe) #6 “Let’s Dance” (Chris Montez) #7 “Alley Cat” (Bent Fabric and his piano…eegads…the bane of every old-time wedding reception…) #8 “Patches” (Dickey Lee…unusual tune…) #9 “You Belong To Me” (The Duprees…once got shitfaced with them at ‘Mile Square City’ in Hoboken, NJ, with old buddy Gregg R. …at their breaks they sat with the two of us…circa 1982…) #10 “Teen Age Idol” (Ricky Nelson)
College Football Quiz Answer: Four D-I coaches with 300 wins.
Joe Paterno, 409
Bobby Bowden, 357 [NCAA adj. to 344…a-holes]
Bear Bryant, 323
Pop Warner, 311*
I have to admit…I take Pop Warner for granted, as I’m sure all the kids playing Pop Warner do. The first thing they all should be taught is the greatness of the man.
Pop Warner coached form 1897-1938 and compiled a 311-103-32 record, which is freakin’ good. He started at Cornell, went to Carlisle (Pa.), back to Cornell, back to Carlisle, and then Pitt, Stanford and Temple.
Personally, I’m embarrassed I forgot he was 26-0 at Pitt from 1915-17, and I hope the Warner family can forgive me. As penance, I will drink a case of Iron City Beer. Johnny Mac, this will let you off the hook from sending me my sword, seeing as a case of this will indeed kill me.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
