[Posted Sunday p.m.]
College Football Quiz: 1) Only five quarterbacks in Div. I-A have thrown 50 touchdown passes in a single season, all since 1990. I’ll give you the year and the school, you give me the QB. 2008 (Oklahoma), 2013 (Fresno State), 2006 (Hawaii), 2003 (Texas Tech), 1990 (Houston). 2) Until 1990, the single-season leader was at 47, 1980, BYU. Who was that? Answers below.
Cubs Win!
It’s no mystery why the Chicago Cubs, on the brink of disaster trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 in the NLCS, Games 4 and 5 in L.A., suddenly burst out to win the next three, including the clinching 5-0 win Saturday night behind Kyle Hendricks’ superb 7 1/3 innings of two-hit ball. The Cubs began to hit.
Last Bar Chat, I noted that through Game 3, Chicago’s Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell were a combined 3-for-50 in the postseason.
Well, the next three games the two went a combined 13-for-27 (Rizzo 7-14, Russell 6-13), with 4 home runs (two each) and 9 RBIs (Rizzo 5, Russell 4)…Chicago winning Games 4-6 by scores of 10-2, 8-4 and then 5-0.
John Harper / New York Daily News
“When the last two outs were made, ironically with a 6-4-3 double play their infamous predecessors in 2003 couldn’t turn, and the Cubs were finally going to the World Series, the beauty of it was how much they seemed to want it for their city as well as themselves.
“At every such celebration players make a point to thank their fans for their support, but this felt different.
“These Cubs may have succeeded because they were able to play freely, unburdened by the weight of the history surrounding this franchise, but they genuinely seemed to understand and respect the misery it had caused for generations of Chicagoans, knowing their team hadn’t even played in a World Series since 1945.
“ ‘We really did want it for them,’ Anthony Rizzo said on the field after the 5-0 clincher over the Dodgers in this NLCS Game 6. ‘We know how long they’ve waited.’
“ ‘They’ve been amazing since I’ve been here, and we lost 103 games my first year. We’ve got four more big ones to go, but to be out there in the ninth inning, and hear it get louder and louder, and see the flashes going off, it was amazing.’….
“Yes, the biggest barrier still stands before them, as they try to win the Cubs’ first championship since 1908. But who would doubt them now, after they not only finished off the Dodgers but made it look easy.
“That was the stunner on this night. After 71 years and heartbreak at every close encounter since then, this city fully expected the best scenario to be heart-in-throat suspense to the very end. Nobody thought making it back to the World Series could be so angst-free.
“Not against Clayton Kershaw, the best pitcher in baseball.”…
“Kershaw lasted only five innings, delivering mediocrity on a night when his team needed – and surely expected – brilliance, while Kyle Hendricks, the Cubs’ soft-tossing NL ERA leader, delivered a gem worthy of Greg Maddux, the pitcher to whom he has often been compared this season.”
As for Kershaw, after shutting down the Cubs in Game 2, going seven scoreless, for the big one he came up very small. After seemingly exorcising his playoff demons once and for all this postseason, the questions remain after all.
Kershaw: “It’s tough to swallow tonight, obviously. I’d much rather be in this situation and fail than not be in this situation at all. As much as this does hurt, as much as I would have liked to have won tonight, I’m really thankful that I’ve gotten to be on a team that’s been in the postseason four years in a row.”
But all four have ended in defeat, and the Dodgers’ World Series drought is now 28 years. Kershaw is now 4-7, 4.55 ERA in the postseason overall.
So it’s on to Cleveland, Tuesday, for Game 1. The Indians dispatched of the Blue Jays 3-0 on Wednesday to take the series 4-1. Cleveland started Ryan Merritt, whose major league career had consisted of 11 innings prior to this, and all the kid did was start off with 4 1/3 of shutout ball before the spectacular Indians bullpen took over. [The pen has a 1.67 ERA in 32 1/3 innings this postseason. Andrew Miller hasn’t allowed a run in 11 2/3, while striking out 21.]
The World Series thus matches the two franchises with the longest Series droughts, the Indians last winning in 1948 (while losing the Series in ’54, ’95 and ’97), the Cubs, of course, 1908.
Chicago’s 71-year World Series gap had been the longest spell for any team in the four major American sports in between trips to the crowning event.
Tuesday’s pitching matchup will have Corey Kluber for the Indians against the Cubs Jon Lester.
College Football Review
There will be a shakeup in the top five of the polls this week, though not at No. 1. Alabama (8-0), after struggling in the first half against No. 9 Texas A&M (6-1), led only 13-7, and then fell behind 14-13 early in the third. But ‘Bama scored the next 20 unanswered for a comfortable 33-14 victory.
Then, Saturday night in Happy Valley, Penn State (5-2) pulled off a shocker, 24-21 over No. 2 Ohio State (6-1), as Nittany Lions coach James Franklin picked up his first win against a ranked team since taking the helm in 2014. The thing is, Penn State hardly played great, getting outgained 413-276, though the defense was stout enough (sacking J.T. Barrett six times, including two during OSU’s final possession), while it’s not as if the Buckeyes were turning it over time after time. They had nary a TO.
It’s just that Penn State, 20-point underdogs on White Out Night, came back from a 21-7 deficit after three quarters on special teams play, blocking a field goal and returning it for the winning touchdown with 4:27 left, handing Ohio State its first road loss in Urban Meyer’s tenure. For Penn State, it was their first win over a top five team since 1999.
But Ohio State is far from being out of the playoff hunt, they just have to win out, including against Michigan on Nov. 26.
Meanwhile, No. 3 Michigan (6-0) manhandled Illinois (2-5) 41-8, outgaining the Illini 561-172.
No. 5 Washington will move into a top four BCS slot, at least for one week following Ohio State’s loss, as the 7-0 Huskies rolled over the Beavers of Oregon State (2-5) 41-17, with sophomore QB Jake Browning having another solid game, throwing for 291 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He now has 26 TD passes and just two picks on the year.
No. 7 Louisville (6-1) built up a 44-0 halftime lead against North Carolina State (4-3) as quarterback Lamar Jackson had 304 yards passing, 55 rushing, and four combined touchdowns at the intermission…the Cardinals eventually prevailing 54-13. Jackson certainly didn’t hurt his Heisman chances.
No. 8 Nebraska (7-0) defeated Purdue (3-4) 27-14 in Lincoln.
No. 10 Wisconsin (5-2) had a nice 17-9 road win over Iowa (5-3) in a classic Big Ten defensive struggle.
The No. 11 Houston Cougars (6-2) deserve to tumble out of the top 25 entirely after an embarrassing 38-16 loss at SMU (3-4). [Congrats, Paul P.] It was 28-7 at half…never a contest. What an amazing disappointment for Houston fans after seemingly legitimate BCS talk earlier in the campaign following its season-opening win over Oklahoma.
Houston’s loss also hurts Louisville’s playoff hopes big time. The two play each other later and it was thought Houston would be undefeated at the time, which would have helped propel the winner forward, but not now.
Surprising No. 12 West Virginia (6-0) should climb another notch or two, certainly over Houston, as pollsters begin to ‘buy in’ to the Mountaineers’ story, the latest a solid 34-10 win at home against TCU (4-3), with quarterback Skyler Howard throwing for four scores.
No. 20 Western Michigan remained undefeated at 8-0 with a 45-31 win over Eastern Michigan (5-3). Zach Terrell threw for 398 yards and three touchdowns.
Then there was No. 16 Oklahoma (5-2) at Texas Tech (3-4). How do you begin to describe this one? I was noticing the points pile up online, while watching the Cubs, as well as Penn State-Ohio State, but I didn’t realize the final tally until this morning, the Sooners holding on for a 66-59 win in Lubbock, and this didn’t go into overtime.
At least seven FBS records were broken or tied, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
The Sooners and Red Raiders shattered the FBS record for combined yards in a game with 1,708 – both sides finished with 854 yards apiece. The previous record of 1,640 yards was set by San Jose State and Nevada in 2001.
Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes II tied the FBS record for passing yards in a game with 734, with splits of 52/88, 734, 5-1. Washington State’s Connor Halliday had previously held the record in 2014. Mahomes’ 819 yards of total offense also set a new FBS record.
On the other side, Oklahoma became the first offense in FBS history to feature a 500-yard passer, a 200-yard rusher and 200-yard receiver.
Baker Mayfield at QB was 27/36, 545, 7-0; receiver Dede Westbrook caught nine passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns; and running back Joe Mixon had 263 yards on 31 carries and two scores. Mixon also had 114 yards receiving and three more TDs. [Westbrook, his last four games, now has 35 receptions for 776 yards and 10 touchdowns.] Bowl scouts are salivating over the Sooner offense.
In other games….
No. 24 Navy (5-1) bested Memphis (5-2) 42-28 in Annapolis, as quarterback Will North rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns, plus he picked up another two through the air on just four passes as he ran the triple-option to perfection.
Rutgers lost again, though this time they showed up, losing 34-32 at Minnesota (5-2), the Scarlet Knights falling to 2-6.
Army (4-3) had a horrible 35-18 loss at home to North Texas (4-3) as QB Ahmad Bradshaw threw four interceptions.
Thursday, 14 Boise State remained undefeated, 7-0, with a 28-27 win over BYU (4-3) behind quarterback Brett Rypien’s 442 yards and three touchdowns. [Rypien is former NFL QB Mark Rypien’s nephew.]
Friday, Cal (4-3) defeated Oregon (2-5) 52-49 in overtime as the Golden Bears’ defense held Ducks star running back Royce Freeman to just 10 yards on 15 carries. At least for Oregon, freshman Justin Herbert, in just his second start, threw for six touchdowns, but the Ducks have now lost five in a row for the first time since 1996. This is a team that from 2010-2014, finished in the final AP top ten each year, including two seconds and a third. Just a total collapse for the program.
Finally, in Div. I-AA play, I missed a big upset last weekend, South Dakota State’s 19-17 win over perennial power North Dakota State, handing the Bison their first loss of the season. NDSU rebounded this week to beat Western Illinois 21-13.
And now…your new AP Top 25 Poll….
1. Alabama 8-0 (60)
2. Michigan 7-0 (1)
3. Clemson 7-0
4. Washington 7-0
5. Louisville 6-1
6. Ohio State 6-1
7. Nebraska 7-0
8. Baylor 7-0
9. Texas A&M 6-1
10. West Virginia 6-0
13. Boise State 7-0
15. Auburn 5-2…big game looming with ‘Bama
16. Oklahoma 5-2
20. Western Michigan 8-0
22. Navy 5-1
23. Colorado 6-2…good story, program has sucked
24. Penn State 5-2…still can’t stand James Franklin
No Houston, as predicted. They would be 26.
[In all honesty, I write everything above prior to release of the new AP poll.]
NFL
–As I was posting last Bar Chat, I said that there was a chance Jets coach Todd Bowles would change his mind and opt to start Geno Smith over Ryan Fitzpatrick this week against the Ravens, and hours later, Bowles announced, “I felt it was time for a change,” as he indeed decided to give Geno a shot. “We had six games where we didn’t play very well in five of them. The quarterback is ultimately responsible;” Bowles also conceding that “I’m responsible, the rest of the team is responsible” too.
So Jets fans were eager, kind of, to see how Smith would do. And the result?
Geno left the game midway with a knee injury (status unknown) and he was replaced by Fitzpatrick, both throwing a touchdown pass in a 24-16 win over the Ravens, New York is now 2-5, Baltimore 3-4 after its fourth straight loss. Matt Forte rushed for an even 100 yards and a TD for the Jets, plus he had a touchdown receiving, while Baltimore’s Joe Flacco had a miserable day, 25/44, 248, 0-2 (TD-INT), 54.0 rating.
–Earlier in London, the Giants moved to 4-3 with a 17-10 win over the Rams (3-4), L.A. losing its third straight. This one was all about the Giants’ secondary, as they picked off Rams quarterback Case Keenum four times, two by Landon Collins and two by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
But it was Collins’ two that were the whole game for New York; one he returned for a touchdown and the other set up the winning drive. Collins also had 8 tackles out of his safety position.
For his part Eli Manning was, eh…nothing special but he didn’t turn it over, while the Giants rushed for just 36 yards. But a win is a win, boys and girls.
—Pittsburgh (4-3) lost 27-16 at home to New England (6-1) in their first game without Ben Roethlisberger, though the Patriots didn’t need any heroics from Tom Brady as LeGarrette Blount rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns.
Roethlisberger was initially thought to miss just one game with his latest knee injury, but that has turned into 4-6 weeks, a real killer for the Steelers.
—Minnesota suffered their first loss of the season, now 5-1, losing at Philadelphia (4-2) 21-10. This game truly sucked with both teams turning the ball over four times, but for the Eagles, Josh Huff had a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz was putrid, 16/28, 138, 1-2, 52.4, while Sam Bradford wasn’t much better for the Vikings in his worst effort thus far, 24/41, 224, 1-1, 71.6.
–The Lions and Redskins are both now 4-3 after Washington lost in Detroit, 20-17, with the Lions’ Matthew Stafford tossing a last second touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin for the win.
–The Dolphins snapped the Bills’ 4-game winning streak in Miami, 28-25, as Jay Ajayi rushed for 200 yards for a second consecutive game, 29-214-1, only the fourth in NFL history to do so, the others being O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams. Buffalo is 4-3, Miami 3-4. [Ajayi is in his second season out of Boise State.]
—Cleveland is still winless, 0-7, after a road loss at Cincinnati (3-4), 31-17.
—Oakland advanced to 5-2 with a 33-16 victory over dreadful Jacksonville (2-4). This is another game that must have been horrid to be in the stands for, both having exactly 344 yards offense.
For the Jags, Blake Bortles has had a miserable season, 9 TD passes, 9 picks, after a 35-18 split last year in his second season.
–Thursday night, the Packers improved to 4-2 with a 26-10 win over the 1-6 Bears, as Aaron Rodgers returned to form, 39/56, 326, 3-0, and a 102.2 rating.
–Ordinarily the story of Giants kicker Josh Brown wouldn’t be the big deal it has become because in light of what we know now, he should have been out of football last year, never to return, and then everyone moves on.
But that’s just it. Josh Brown kept kicking, despite what the NFL knew, or should have known, and despite the fabled New York Giants ownership’s unreal insensitivity and understanding of our times.
On Friday, Commissioner Roger Goodell, who is disliked (I’m being kind) more than even Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, placed Brown on the exempt list and by all accounts, Brown will never kick again for the Giants, and most likely the NFL, following the release of documents from his domestic abuse case against his wife last year that reveal a far more serious situation than we were led to believe.
A letter from the NFL to Brown said: “As you may be aware, the NFL made multiple requests of the Sheriff’s Office [King’s County, Washington] for any and all pertinent information developed through its investigation. Because the Sheriff’s Office was treating its investigation as an open matter, however, the NFL’s requests were rejected and the materials first became known and available to us at the same time they were released publicly.
“The released materials appear to contain information regarding other incidents of abuse separate from the May 22, 2015 incident for which you were disciplined under the Personal Conduct Policy. As a result, further investigation by the league into those separate incidents is needed.”
Goodell said in an interview with BBC Sport: “We take this issue incredibly seriously. This is something we’ve been working on with policy changes, to educating our players to make sure they understand how they deal with issues with their family, given them resources to be able to deal with this. But when it happens, we’re not going to tolerate it. So we have some new information here, we’ll evaluate that in the context of our policy, and we’ll take it from there.”
Brown had already served a one-game suspension without pay to start off the season for violating the personal conduct policy. But among the many issues here is that the case wasn’t brought to light until late in training camp this summer when the league and the Giants knew about it all last season. I told you earlier that it seemed clear when Brown was handed his initial penalty that the NFL didn’t attempt to get more details from the authorities in Kings County, even though they had it…and it proved damning.
So Brown, as of today, is on the exempt list but still collecting his base salary of $1.15 million and can visit the Giants facility for meetings, workouts and other non-football activities.
The Giants left him home rather than having him travel with the team to London for the Rams game. Coach Ben McAdoo said, “We’re not going to turn our back on Josh. He’s our teammate.”
Juliet Macur / New York Times
“Television ratings for the NFL are down 11 percent this season, and league officials have been grasping for possible explanations.
“To some extent, they blame the presidential election. Some fans have tuned out football, they theorize, to tune in to a political race in which sexual assault and the treatment of women have been front and center, thanks to Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee who has bragged about groping and kissing women without their consent.
“Those issues are important to some people, like – and this is just a guess here – women. And anyone else with even a sliver of decency.
“But how important are those issues to the NFL? Yet again, in the case of Giants kicker Josh Brown, the league has shown that it could not care less about women and really, really doesn’t want to call out its players for doing bad things to them.
“Brown was arrested in 2015 and was charged with assaulting his wife at the time, Molly. Police and court records documented that Brown had assaulted her nearly two dozen times, including at least once, Molly Brown said, when she was pregnant.
“The league investigated the matter for 10 months, sending in its crack investigative team, whose stated goal is to dig and dig for the truth. In the end, Brown was suspended for one game. One. A mere hiccup in the season. Apparently the NFL’s investigators didn’t find much, and after the fact, the league blamed the victim. Brown’s wife had failed to cooperate, the league said, and that’s why its investigators couldn’t get to the bottom of what he had done.”
But, again, the NFL hardly tried to get the facts, as the sheriff in charge said on Thursday. John Urquhart told a Seattle radio station that the league never asked for any relevant documents.
As for the Giants, they knew about Brown’s problems, yet they re-signed him anyway before the season.
“He’s admitted to us that he’s abused his wife in the past,” co-owner John Mara said Thursday on WFAN. “And I think that’s what’s a little unclear, is the extent of that.”
Macur: “So Mara decided it was O.K. for a player to abuse his wife just a little bit?”
What Brown admitted to in his own journals is awful, saying his stepsons “witnessed me abusing their mother.”
Paul Schwartz / New York Post
“The Giants look terrible here.
“Josh Brown is not quite gone yet and certainly not forgotten, but his newly appointed presence on the Reserve/Commissioner Exempt list is the rightful next step toward his eventual banishment. He will not kick for them again. But the stain his domestic abuse history has cast over the Giants as an organization will not easily be wiped clean.
“This is a lose-lose for everyone.
“With every statement, the NFL sounds weaker and weaker, as if the main thrust of their investigative power is to ask for information, and when rebuffed, to ask again and then throw their hands up and proclaim no one is cooperating.
“With every milquetoast reaction and tempered quote, the Giants look smaller and smaller. From the top on down.
“Ben McAdoo is a bit player in all this….He has sounded as if he is twisting in the wind, mainly because he will not question ownership, nor will he turn his back on a player – that would not resonate kindly in the locker room. But he could have been more forceful in denouncing domestic violence.
“Players were put in a terrible situation here, feeling the need to defend a teammate without much knowledge at all about the details. To a man, they should have been more forceful about denouncing domestic violence before any ‘We stand by Josh’ pronouncements.
“This is especially true of Eli Manning. When you are featured in the NFL’s No More campaign, and look straight into the camera in a PSA video and proclaim, ‘No more boys will be boys,’ you need to make that point clearer than the rest whenever you are asked about Josh Brown….
“Manning has come down harder on Odell Beckham Jr.’s relationship with the kicking net than he has on Brown’s relationship with Brown’s ex-wife, Molly.”
Mike Lupica / New York Daily News
“There is a lot to unpack, not just with Goodell but with Giants co-owner John Mara and Mara’s decision to re-sign Brown to a two-year contract even after he, Brown, admitted to the team that he had abused his ex-wife Molly. John Mara spoke a few months ago about ‘accusations’ with Brown. Only now it turns out that they were a bit more than that, even if Brown – who was such a tough and violent guy with his ex-wife for a long time – didn’t tell the league or the Giants the whole truth about the full extent of his abuse.
“Brown in that moment didn’t care about telling the whole truth, or doing the right thing with a woman, at last. He was more concerned with himself and his football future. So he covered up, and acted like a coward in the process.
“But when you are unpacking the mess…you also have to believe that (Brown) never would have kept a journal as part of marriage counseling, a journal in which Brown actually did tell the truth about the way he has treated women his whole life, if he ever dreamt it would be made public. At a time when there is hardly any sympathy for Brown anywhere, as he is being properly flogged in the public square, there at least has to be some consideration for that.
“But Brown certainly has everybody scrambling to cover up now. The authorities in Washington state are blaming the league’s investigators and the league is defending a new policy on domestic violence that is about as effective, just going off Josh Brown’s case, as the old one….
“If Brown originally got just a one-game suspension from the league just off what they knew without a journal that is the same here as the Ray Rice elevator video, what WOULD this guy have had to do to get the max, which means six games?….
“If Goodell and the Giants didn’t know enough about Josh Brown and what he did to his ex-wife, that is on them. They never actually call themselves victims, because that would be too insensitive considering subject matter as important – and often dangerous – as this one is. But there is always the faint whiff of this, as they throw up their hands and say we did as much as we could do off what we knew….
“John (Mara) should simply say this: I was wrong. Goodell should say the same thing. They both got this wrong. Dead wrong.”
–Separately, Mike Lupica on Odell Beckham Jr.
“From the time Beckham made that one-handed catch against the Cowboys, we have gone out of our way, all of us, to convince him that the world is hanging on every word of his, and every move.
“But it has become clear that Beckham goes out of his way to make himself as annoying as defensive backs make him.
“He keeps going out of his way to act like a supremely talented jerk.
“I want people to stop telling me what a great team guy he is.
“Not when he acts the way he did after that touchdown [last week where he picked up the penalty] he’s not.
“Not after another flag and another fine.”
[Beckham was a non-factor Sunday…5 rec. 49 yards.]
Premier League
Saturday, Tottenham played to another draw, 0-0, this time at Bournemouth. The Spurs looked like the team that closed out last season, and that’s not good, though as Dr. W. keeps reminding me, this is where Champions League play enters the equation in terms of wearing down players and Tottenham played in the CL last Tuesday.
But Saturday’s game featured an obvious elbow thrown by the Spurs’ Sissoko, right in front of the officials, and he wasn’t called for anything, which was outrageous though should be rectified by the league.
In other games, Leicester City had a solid 3-1 win over Crystal Palace. Prior to the contest, manager Claudio Ranieri said he was “very, very angry” his team can’t replicate their Champions League success in the Premier League this season.
The veteran Ranieri said the difference in play isn’t unusual. “When you play in the Champions League you are switched on, very, very smart and focused on every situation. You use up a lot of mental energy in the Champions League. [Yup, Dr. W.]
“We want to change this though because the Premier League is our priority.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal had a disappointing 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough, Burnley had a nice 2-1 win over Everton, and American manager Bob Bradley picked up his first point at the helm of Swansea via a 0-0 draw with Watford.
Then Sunday….
Man City had to struggle for a tie at home against Southampton, 1-1, while Chelsea blitzed Manchester United 4-0 in Man U manager Jose Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge, Chelsea firing him last season. As the BBC put it, Mourinho was “humiliated.”
So the standings after 9 of 38….
1. Man City 6 (W) 2 (D) 1 (L)…20 points…ties settled by goal differential
2. Arsenal 6-2-1…20
3. Liverpool 6-2-1…20
4. Chelsea 6-1-2…19
5. Tottenham 5-4-0…19
6. Everton 4-3-2…15
7. Man U 4-2-3…14
8. Southampton 3-4-2…13
Golf Balls
–This is pretty funny. 23-year-old Justin Thomas is one of the more talented youngsters on the PGA Tour and now he has two wins, both at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia (a tour event), this time over Hideki Matsuyama. I mean his only two triumphs he goes all the way to Malaysia for. I’m guessing he’ll continue to go back.
–On the European Tour, it was another cool story at this week’s Portugal Masters as Padraig Harrington picked up his first Euro Tour title in eight years, 15th overall. [He has six on the PGA Tour.] I love how with all the problems with his game, like with the yips, Padraig just keeps plugging away.
–The Champions Tour begins its three-week playoff for the Schwab Cup next weekend. It’s a field of 72, reduced to 54, and then 36 for the final.
NASCAR
Joey Logano won at Talladega today as the Chase for the Sprint Cup is down to four races (Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead) with just eight drivers still eligible.
Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin.
Out after today were the likes of Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski.
Logano’s win was the 16th of his career.
NBA…play ball!
The long NBA season begins this week and for the record, Sports Illustrated has the Warriors defeating the Cavaliers in the Finals, not that this is going out on a limb. So I will. It’s going to be the Portland Trail Blazers! You heard it here first. Of course the only ‘drama,’ if you can call it that in the regular season, is to see if Golden State can go 81-1, which will make Portland’s eventual title all the more sweeter. [Al-Farouq Aminu will block LeBron James’ shot at the buzzer in Game 7 of the Finals to seal the title…in case you want to look ahead.]
I do hope my Knicks are at least half-entertaining until April, at which point I’ll have the Mets to watch. [And hopefully extended New York Rangers Stanley Cup action, let alone the Final Four and The Masters…a tradition unlike any other…on CBS…]
One other…USA TODAY’s power rankings have it….
1. Golden State
2. Cleveland
3. San Antonio
4. Clippers
5. Boston
12. Portland
18. Knicks
26. Nets…if they win 18 games it will be a miracle.
29. Lakers
30. Philadelphia…Ben Simmons out a while with a broken foot…typical of this historically sorry franchise.
College Basketball
The college basketball season begins in three weeks. I said end of last year that for 2016-17, just give it to Duke. But you gotta play the games, boys and girls…and so we will.
Preseason USA TODAY Coaches Poll
1. Duke*
2. Kansas
3. Villanova
4. Kentucky
5. Oregon
6. North Carolina
7. Virginia
8. Xavier
9. Michigan State
10. Wisconsin
16. UConn
24. Rhode Island
*I didn’t realize Duke will start out the year without one of its star freshmen, Harry Giles, who underwent another knee operation (he’s had several already).
I’ll have your EXCLUSIVE Bar Chat Pick to Click in a few weeks after I’ve done extensive, beer-brain soaked analysis, but here’s a clue…I’ve picked them a few times before and I have some Aztecwear (doh!)….drat, just spoiled it!
Yes, once again it’s SDSU, sports fans! They have great depth in the backcourt, the best preseason freshman in the Mountain West (Jalen McDaniels), the best “newcomer,” a transfer from Missouri (Montaque Gill-Caesar), and if Malik Pope finally develops, Steve Fisher and Co. will shock the world! [If you carry out the votes in the Coaches Poll, the Aztecs would be 35th.]
–The NCAA has charged current and former men’s basketball staff members at Louisville with four major rules violations following the investigation into the sex scandal, where a former self-described escort said she and others (her daughters) had sex in exchange for money.
The main focus of the probe was former director of basketball operations Andre McGee, who supposedly arranged for “adult entertainment, sex acts and/or cash” for 17 players and recruits.
The school has been cooperating fully and self-imposed a postseason ban from the NCAA and ACC tournaments last season, hoping that would be enough as coach Rick Pitino continues to proclaim his innocence. [McGee, who did not cooperate with the investigation, left Louisville in 2014.]
Louisville now has 90 days to respond to the NCAA’s notice of allegations, after which the sport’s governing body will rule on any further punishments. It seems as if the school can drag this out through the upcoming season and that any sanctions would be levied on succeeding years, though of course the NCAA could go back and void records, which I always find incredibly stupid, like taking away 40 wins for Bobby Bowden, that kind of thing.
Stuff
–The No. 2 Wake Forest men’s soccer team beat Boston College 1-0 on Saturday night, though the Deacs have a tough regular-season finale on Friday at Syracuse. Unfortunately, B.C. alum Steve D. and I don’t have a Ferraro’s lunch bet on soccer. [B.C.-Wake football, though, is Nov. 26 and I’m already salivating over some free salmon.]
No. 1 Maryland remained undefeated (13-0-2) with a 2-1 win over Hofstra. So when the new poll comes out, Wake will still be No. 2.
–I didn’t comment on the latest Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees the other day, all 19 of them, because this topic has become immensely boring. When Tommy James and the Shondells aren’t up for consideration, let alone already in, it’s a travesty. Look how long we had to wait for the Dave Clark Five to get their just due!
Anyway, the Zombies are one of the 19 on the list this time, but they don’t have a big enough body of work to warrant selection. It was good to see Steppenwolf among the group for the first time and while they were basically a shooting star in ’68 and ’69, I really believe they should be in…but I know they won’t get the votes, the process always being rigged (fact).
Oh well, as I’ve said a million times, it’s a fantastic museum, one of the best in the world.
–The Science Channel’s “What on Earth?” program revealed the findings from a research project into the Bermuda Triangle and found that strange clouds forming above it could explain why dozens of planes and ships have gone down, vanished in the patch of sea.
The new theory suggests that clouds are linked to 170-mph “air bombs” that would be more than capable of bringing down both planes and ships.
Using satellite imagery, the scientists discovered bizarre “hexagonal”-shaped clouds between 20 and 50 miles wide forming over the water, which meteorologist Dr. Randy Cerveny said “are in essence air bombs. They’re formed by what is called microbursts and they’re blasts of air.”
We’re talking Cat 5 hurricane force winds that would certainly doom ships and planes, especially if they weren’t prepared for what was about to hit them.
–I caught a little of Morgan Spurlocks’ documentary for the Discovery Channel, “Rats,” and it’s not for the squeamish, though a 20-minute or so segment on rats finding their way from Cambodia into Vietnamese restaurants is rather fascinating. Yes, they say it “tastes like chicken – only sweeter.” Yuck.
But the serious message of the documentary is we are facing a real crisis with our health as rats do indeed spread all kinds of disease. The issue in the big cities, though, is somehow finding a better way to get rid of food waste.
The thing is the rat population just can’t be controlled. A New York City health official says in the film: “Rats can produce eight to 12 in a litter and up to five to six litters a year,” and now the rodents are becoming immune to the rodenticides the city is using to combat them.
–I saw this blurb in the Oct. 31 issue of TIME: “Authorities became aware that roughly 200 venomous cobras had escaped from a local farm in Nanjing, China, causing widespread panic; most were eventually recovered.”
Yeah, but what is “most”?! I mean 130 would qualify as most. That would leave 70! And given modern transportation methods, they could be about anywhere. Just as a precaution, check under your bed and behind the washing machine before you go to bed the next few days, just as we’ll be doing here in the home office.
—Sports Illustrated’s Sign of the Apocalypse: “When asked if he’d attended the Paul McCartney concert at the Golden 1 Center, Kings center DeMarcus Cousins admitted he doesn’t know who McCartney is.”
In case you were under the illusion this guy could be anything but a basketball player.
–From the Associated Press: “A toddler who died in a house fire was found with his dog and teddy bear next to him and authorities believe the dog tried to protect the boy, a spokesman for Spokane’s fire department said Sunday.
“The dog, a terrier mixed breed, also died in the fire that broke out at about 11:30 p.m. Friday, said the spokesman.
“Three other children and two adults escaped the blaze in Spokane’s Hillyard neighborhood, he said.
“The dog stayed behind in an attempt to protect the boy, firefighters believe, and the fire was so intense that it melted the metal on the frame of the boy’s bed.
“Jerry Atabelo, who lives across the street, told The Spokesman-Review he saw the flames and heard screaming as he was getting ready for bed. He yelled for his wife to call 911 and ran outside to hook up his 150-foot water hose.
“As people screamed that a child was still in the house, neighbors dragged the hose across the street and sprayed water through a window to try to put out the fire.
“The battery in the house’s smoke detector had been removed and it was not working, the spokesman said.”
–We note the passing of Phil Chess, co-founder of a Chicago record label that launched the careers of Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters, and amassed the most influential blues catalog of all time. He was 95.
Chess and his brother, Leonard, who died of a heart attack in 1969, founded Chess Records in 1950. The label also recorded the early rock ‘n’ roll of Chuck Berry.
Keith Richards called 2120 S. Michigan Ave. “hallowed ground;” it’s where the Rolling Stones in 1964 recorded “It’s All Over Now,” one of their first Billboard hits in the U.S.
Top 3 songs for the week 10/24/70: #1 “I’ll Be There” ( The Jackson 5) #2 “Cracklin’ Rose” (Neil Diamond) #3 “Green-Eyed Lady” (Sugarloaf)…and…#4 “We’ve Only Just Begun” (Carpenters) #5 “All Right Now” (Free) #6 “Fire And Rain” (James Taylor) #7 “Candida” (Dawn) #8 “Indiana Wants Me” (R. Dean Taylor) #9 “Lola” (The Kinks) #10 “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” (Diana Ross…pretty good week…)
College Football Quiz Answers: 1) 50 TD passes in a season: Colt Brennan, 2006, Hawaii, 58; David Klingler, 1990, Houston, 54; B.J. Symons, 2003, Texas Tech, 52; Derek Carr, 2013, Fresno State, 50; Sam Bradford, 2008, Oklahoma, 50. 2) Jim McMahon had the record until 1990, throwing 47 for BYU in 1980.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
* I have a change to the All-Species List Top Ten…but from here on you have to go there for the news. Allspecieslist.com, or through StocksandNews.com. We are still working out some kinks, which is why I haven’t been promoting the site elsewhere as yet, but we’re getting there. Duck lovers should be happy.
