Add-on posted Monday p.m.
Hope you had a good Memorial Day…I did my civic duty, marching in a local parade.
For New York sports fans, especially Mets and Knicks fans, it was a great Sunday night.
The Mets won the rubber game of their 3-game series against the Dodgers at Citi Field, 3-1, as Pete Alonso broke his career-long home run drought and the Mets’ pitching staff continued to get the job done, still No. 1 ERA in all of baseball.
–And then we settled back for the second half of Knicks-Pacers, Game 3 in Indianapolis, Indiana up a seemingly insurmountable 2-0 after two brutal losses for the Knicks at home.
New York coach Tom Thibodeau did what he never does; change up the starting lineup, putting Mitchell Robinson in for Josh Hart, and there was some early energy, Knicks down 30-26 after the first quarter.
But then Indiana opened up a 55-35 lead in the second, 3:20 to play in the half, and a 3-0 series lead seemed a certainty.
But the Knicks cut the lead to 13 at the intermission and that was critical for their confidence.
Thibodeau then put in guards Landry Shamet and Delon Wright, Wright having played just three minutes in the entire playoffs, Shamet just 11, and the two played 11 and 13 critical minutes in the second half, totally stabilizing things, Jalen Brunson on the bench with foul trouble, and the Knicks were down ten after three, 80-70.
And that’s when Karl-Anthony Towns, just four points for the game, totally took over, 20 points in the fourth quarter, including three 3-point shots, while the Knicks tightened up on ‘D’ and Josh Hart and Brunson hit all six free throws in the final minute, New York winning it in startling fashion, 106-100.
Game 4 Tuesday in Indy.
MLB
–Back to Sunday, the Yankees weathered a nearly 2-hour rain delay to put away the Rockies in Denver, 5-4, to move to 32-20, Colorado 9-44.
Monday, the Mets hosted the White Sox in a late afternoon affair…and the Metsies pulled it out, 2-1, on late-game, and game-winning, sac flies from Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor. It was far from pretty, but it’s a ‘W.’
The Yankees are in Anaheim to face the Angels.
Golf Balls
—Angel Cabrera won the Senior PGA Championship on Sunday, his second senior major in just six days, having won the rain-delayed Regions Tradition on Monday in Alabama, for his first senior major. He became the fifth player since 1990 to win his first two senior majors of the year – although the first to do it in consecutive weeks.
Cabrera earned his third victory in his last four starts on the senior circuit.
The 55-year-old Argentinian and former Masters and U.S. Open champion served 30 months in prison for two sexual assault-related charges, having been released in August 2023.
–Former Demon Deacon Will Zalatoris, who has not had a good 2025, announced he underwent his second back surgery today. Ugh.
—Eamon Lynch / Golfweek
“The most tediously unshakable assumption about the division in men’s professional golf is that responsibility for resolving it falls to those who didn’t create it, while those who did just keep dealing from a seemingly inexhaustible deck of victim cards. The Framework Agreement was announced 719 days ago and the expectation ever since has been that the PGA Tour must engineer the reunification of a game it didn’t fracture, and that its members must make concessions to facilitate the return of guys who split to LIV of their own accord.
“Count Scottie Scheffler among those finally pushing back publicly against that ersatz sentiment.
“A few days ago, he was asked about the state of negotiations, in which he isn’t involved. ‘If you wanna figure out what’s going to happen to the game of golf, go to the other tour and ask those guys,’ he replied. ‘We had a tour where we all played together, and the guys that left, it’s their responsibility, I think, to bring the tours back together. So go see where they’re playing this week and ask them.’
“Scheffler’s comment generously grants LIV players agency they don’t actually enjoy. Having sold their services, they are hostages of Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the chief of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. What they want is irrelevant and what Al-Rumayyan wants is unclear since he hasn’t engaged with the Tour since a fractious meeting at the White House on February 20. And that’s why the Tour should forget about any onus to build bridges and focus exclusively on what will help its business….
“Golf executives have spent years deliberating how to share in Saudi riches without upending the entire structure of the sport. A PIF-PGA Tour deal would be driven by money, regardless of any grandiloquent waffle about unity and a shared future. But the Tour doesn’t need their conditional investment – it hasn’t yet spent a dime of the $1.5 billion infusion it obtained 16 months ago from Strategic Sports Group. Nor does it need any component of the LIV product. There’s no market of scale for team golf to exploit, no broadcast audience to co-opt, no revenue to redirect, no sponsors to covet (unless Jay Monihan has an undisclosed craving for Freddy’s Frozen Custard). There’s literally nothing that should entice the Tour to jettison its current model or commercial partners to make space.
“Which leaves players as the only thing LIV owns that the Tour does want. Just not all of ‘em.”
Well, you know the names, Rahm, DeChambeau, Koepka, Cameron Smith…maybe Patrick Reed for his villain status, ditto Sergio, but that’s it.
And as Eamon Lynch put it, DeChambeau and Koepka can walk away in ’26 if they wish. Only Rahm has a lengthy term ahead as Al-Rumayyan’s asset. “If all that the PGA Tour wants by way of reunification is the return of the few men who matter, then it can simply wait until they’re contractually free and do what Scottie suggested, go ask ‘em.”
Stuff
–I have to admit…I watched Mets-Dodgers and then Knicks-Pacers all night and never tuned in for the Coca-Cola 600. The race lost a lot of buzz when Kyle Larson crashed out of the Indy 500, so even though he got to Charlotte in time to race the 600, it wouldn’t have been “The Double,” completing both, and Larson wrecked out of the nightcap, finishing 37th, after his self-inflicted wound at Indy, finishing 27th.
Ross Chastain won the 600, his first win of the year, sixth of his career.
–The NCAA men’s baseball tournament begins this coming weekend at 16 regional sites.
Vanderbilt is the No. 1 overall seed, one of a record 13 SEC teams. Wake Forest is a 2-seed in a bracket with 1-seed Tennessee.
Next Bar Chat, Sunday p.m. A new StocksandNews is coming….
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[Posted Sunday p.m. prior to Knicks-Pacers, Mets-Dodgers.]
Brief Add-on posted up top late Monday night.
NL Rookie of the Year Award / Dodgers Quiz: Between 1979 and 1996, the Dodgers had nine players win the award. How many can you name? Answer below.
Indy 500
–Prior to the running of the race, Roger Penske attempted to close the latest cheating scandal engulfing his team – this one at his beloved Indy 500, Penske owning the track – by firing his top three executives at Team Penske after two of the Penske cars were found to be illegal following the qualifying rounds.
Penske fired team president Tim Cindric (father of NASCAR driver Austin Cindric), IndyCar managing director Ron Ruzewski and IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer on Wednesday in the wake of this latest scandal.
“Nothing is more important than the integrity of our sport and our race teams,” Penske said in a statement. “We have had organizational failures during the last two years, and we had to make necessary changes. I apologize to our fans, our partners and our organization for letting them down.”
Penske has won the Indy 500 a record 20 times.
The firings and Penske’s statement were his first public reaction since two-time defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden and teammate Will Power were found to have an illegally modified spec part on their cars ahead of the final round of qualifications (it’s a bit confusing).
Penske held a team owner’s meeting remotely in which he took responsibility for the team’s actions. The meeting, as reported by the Associated Press, lasted 20 minutes and the owners were satisfied with the outcome; no owners called for the Penske cars to be kicked out of the race, and the only questions asked were about how IndyCar moves on from the scandal ahead of the biggest race in the world.
“What he did in firing three people is a big deal,” Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan told the AP.
Neither Newgarden or Power were allowed to qualify Sunday when rivals pointed out the illegal modification. Both drivers on Monday were then dropped to the back of the field and will start 32nd and 33rd. Rival teams have been arguing it was not enough since it’s the second cheating scandal in two seasons and potentially illegal cars bumped Jacob Abel of Dale Coyne Racing from the field.
Newgarden is attempting to become the first driver in history to win three consecutive Indy 500s, but no driver has ever won starting from the last row.
Cindric and Ruzewaki had already been suspended by IndyCar for the race and both teams fined $100,000. It is the second consecutive year the two were suspended from the Indy 500.
Rival team owner Chip Ganassi was among a chorus of competitors who accused Team Penske of cheating. They noticed unapproved changes had been made to the rear attenuator, a safety device designed to absorb and reduce the force of impacts, and the assumption was the modifications would have given the two Team Penske cars an aerodynamic advantage in their four-lap qualifying runs.
Further investigation showed Newgarden’s winning car from last year that is displayed in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum has the same illegal modification, as did the car Team Penske brought to the White House last month. Rivals claim to have photos indicating the modification has been in place for some time.
Helio Castroneves, who won three Indy 500s driving for Team Penske (4-time winner overall), was among the few who doubted the team was cheating and believed Cindric’s explanation that the illegal modification was for aesthetic purposes only. Penske, after all, requires everything he owns to be pristine and with as clean lines and looks as possible.
–So then as to the race, which started a little late due to some pissant rain, jeopardizing Kyle Larson’s attempt to do “The Double,” race both Indy and the Coca-Cola 600, it got underway and before it officially started, having nearly completed the pace laps, a pre-race favorite, Scott Mclaughlin, crashed. He was out. It is very chilly at Indy, the drivers liking heat, which of course you normally get by Memorial Day weekend, and it’s tough adjusting. As the analysts said, the cars are adjusted to go left!
And then later on, as I scribbled some notes that the action in the pits was nuts, Alexander Rossi came in, car clearly with issues, and his car caught on fire, he got out OK, but a pit crew member had a near disaster as he was on fire (he said he was OK).
And then a few minutes later, Takuma Sato, came in hot into the pits, and rookie Robert Schwartzman, the polesitter, went in hot and hit his pit crew team, injuring at least one. Plus Schwartzman f’ed up his car. The track conditions are really screwing the guys up.
And on the restart, which was a mess, cars way too bunched up, an accident involving Kyle Larson took him out (“needless downshift” causing it, as the broadcast team said), but he walks away. Sting Ray Robb was taken out as well. Others, too….
Before the halfway point, 8 cars were out. But Josef Newgarden had worked himself up to No. 10.
Larson admitted it was totally his mistake and he was heading to Charlotte…that will be interesting.
Newgarden, who then got up to 7th, had to exit with a fuel pressure issue, no history made, no 3-peat.
But then we had a terrific race develop the last 65 laps…as good as it gets…clean…and in the end, the most respected IndyCar racer to never win the race, Alex Palou, did it, holding off the 2022 winner Marcus Ericsson, to become the first winner from Spain. If you were a race fan, this was awesome…and kudos to the Fox team for doing a great job in describing the drama.
—Lando Norris won the Monaco Grand Prix…Charles Leclerc second, Oscar Piastri third.
—Sunday night we have the Coca-Cola 600….
–On Tuesday, NASCAR announced drivers Kurt Busch, Ray Hendrick and Harry Gant were voted into the Hall of Fame, while executive Humpy Wheeler was named the Landmark Award winner for his contribution to the sport.
The 46-year-old Busch, a first-ballot selection, held off Jimmie Johnson to win the 2004 Cup Series championship and went on to win 34 Cup races. He retired in 2023.
Hendrick was the original “Mr. Modified, with more than 700 modified and late model sportsman wins between 1950-88.
The 85-year-old Gant, known as the “Bandit” for his long-time sponsorship with Skoal Bandits, won 18 Cup Series races. He was runner-up for the championship in 1984 to Terry Labonte.
Gant raced into his 50s, and still holds premier series records for oldest driver to win a race (52 years old) and a pole (54). It was his seventh time on the ballot.
Wheeler spent 33 years as the president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway and played a pivotal role in transforming the venue into a world-class facility.
NBA Playoffs
—Knicks fans were apoplectic on Wednesday, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals at Madison Square Garden against the hated villains, the Indiana Pacers.
But as I watched on television, up 14 with 2:51 to play, the game was in the bag. Even as the Pacers then fired away from deep, sinking one 3 after another, Jalen Brunson had a driving layup to put the Knicks up by 9 with 0:58 left. Game still in the bag.
And then Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith made three more 3s, Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby missed free throws, and when Tyrese Halliburton made an impossible shot from deep, after the ball bounced about 15 feet in the air and came straight down through the hoop, at first it looked as if Halliburton had won the game with a 3, 126-125, giving the choke sign, a la Reggie Miller, but his foot was on the line, 125-125, and we were headed to overtime, where Indiana put the game away 138-135.
Per Elias Sports, no team trailing by nine points or more in the final minute of regulation or overtime had won a playoff game since 1998. The record was 0-1,414. Now, it’s 1-1,414. Furthermore, since 1997, no team has lost a playoff game leading by 14 or more with 2:50 remaining in regulation or overtime. The leading team was 977-0 going into Wednesday. Now, it’s 977-1.
I wasn’t alone in waking up Thursday morning with my first thought being, ‘Did we really lose that game?’
It was the biggest choke job in New York sports history. It was perhaps the second-biggest choke job in sports ever, No. 1 being the 2017 Super Bowl, when the Atlanta Falcons blew a 28-3 second-half lead against the Patriots, eventually falling in overtime, 34-28.
After Wednesday’s game, Josh Hart made a deadly comment. “We were playing not to lose.” You don’t want to hear that.
Brunson scored 43 points, but he had seven turnovers.
The Pacers had a staggering 23 points in the final 3:14 of regulation.
Aaron Nesmith was 8 of 9 from 3, five of those coming in the final 3:14 of regulation, but it’s those three in the last minute that forever cement him in Indiana Pacer lore.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said, “We gotta be ready for Game 2. That’s all you can look at. So you take disappointment, turn that into more determination.”
And then the Knicks lost Game 2, 114-109. Pascal Siakam had a superb night, 16 points in the first quarter, 39 for the game on 15 of 23 shooting.
Jalen Brunson had 36 but once again, he was not “Mr. Clutch,” having won that NBA Award. His tendency to go one-on-two, one-on-three down the stretch of games is coming back to haunt us.
The Knicks are now 3-5 at home in the playoffs. The Pacers, on the other hand, have won six straight on the road!
As one New York sportswriter put it.
Game 1 was crushing.
Game 2 was depressing.
The Knicks were soft on defense, Friday, and didn’t play well enough to win.
When the Knicks’ starting 5 is on the court in the playoffs, they have been outscored by 81 points. Staggering. KAT was benched for most of the fourth quarter having a minus-20 in 28 minutes.
The Knicks’ five starters were on the court together for the colossal fourth-quarter collapse in Game 1 as well.
Game 3 Sunday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
One more on Game 1, it was ratings gold for TNT. The broadcast averaged 6.6 million viewers and peaked at 8.5 million at 11 p.m. It was the most-watched Eastern Conference finals Game 1 in seven years, when the Cavs with LeBron James faced the Celtics in 2018 on ABC.
—Meanwhile, in the Western Conference finals, the No. 1 overall seed Thunder took a 2-0 lead over the Timberwolves, winning 118-103 on Thursday in OKC.
The Thunder took Game 1 on Tuesday, 114-88.
But the T’Wolves rewrote the script on Saturday night in Minneapolis, 143-101! Minnesota hit 57.3% from the field, 50% from 3 (20 of 40), and had 66 bench points. Julius Randle (25 points) was also outstanding again, Anthony Edwards with 30.
Game 4 Monday night in Minny.
—Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named the NBA’s most valuable player, receiving 71 out of 100 first-place votes, perhaps a minor surprise, given the race was thought to be close between him and Nikola Jokic.
Rounding out the first team were Giannis, Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell (beating out Anthony Edwards and LeBron James).
—Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley was named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year this season. Others on the All-Defensive first team were Atlanta guard Dyson Daniels, Oklahoma City guard Luguentz Dort, Golden State forward Draymond Green and Houston guard Amen Thompson.
Stanley Cup Playoffs
—Thursday, the defending champion Florida Panthers obliterated Carolina on its home ice, 5-0, to take a rather commanding 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. The scoring margin is 10-2, but, incredibly, it was also Carolina’s 14th straight loss in the conference finals, which just doesn’t seem possible. But they were swept in 2009, 2019 and 2023.
Make that 15 straight, Florida blitzing Carolina again Saturday night in Game 3, 6-2.
—Friday, the Oilers beat the Stars in Dallas, 3-0, to even their series at 1-1.
And Sunday, they blitzed Dallas 6-1.
MLB
—Following Friday night’s play, the Phillies suddenly had a 3-game lead over the Mets in the NL East. Philadelphia (33-18) defeated the struggling A’s (22-30) in Sacramento, 4-3, as Zack Wheeler (6-1, 2.42) threw 6 2/3 of shutout ball.
The A’s, who have lost 10 straight, got all their runs on a 3-run dinger by Wake Forest’s Nick Kurtz, his fourth home run in his last four games, as the rookie is clearly gaining confidence. He could be around a long time. Go Deacs!
But the A’s lost again Saturday, 9-6, Philadelphia 34-18, though Kurtz was 2-for-3, an RBI, and two walks for Sacramento (though we aren’t supposed to call them Sacramento, even if they’re going to be playing there for three years).
However, Kurtz suffered a hip flexor injury running the bases and wasn’t in the lineup Sunday, listed “day to day,” as are we all.
–As for the Mets, just like the Knicks over in Manhattan, they suffered a depressing 7-5 loss in 13 innings Friday night to the Dodgers in Queens. The Mets are batting .213 with runners in scoring position for the season, epitomized by Friday’s 2-for-14 with RISP.
Juan Soto, 1 for his last 19, 5-for-40, is .119 with runners in scoring position.
Pete Alonso is 9 for his last 59, zero home runs.
This sucks.
Well, the Metropolitans (31-21) had a very nice bounce back win Saturday night, 5-2, David Peterson and Edwin Diaz combining for the ‘W’, Brett Baty 3-for-3, 2 RBIs, and Juan Soto with a big 2-run double, L.A. falling to 32-20.
And Mets-Dodgers is the Sunday night game on ESPN.
–The other team in New York, the Yankees, lost at Colorado Friday, 3-2, the Rockies ninth win! Good lord…9-42. Aaron Judge hit No. 17 for New York.
The Yanks (31-20) then restored order Saturday, 13-1, 10 runs in the 5th, Judge No. 18, and Max Fried, 7 1/3 of one run ball, now 7-0, 1.29!
But they are in a rain delay Sunday so I’m posting before the conclusion.
—Friday, in a 19-5 blowout of the Orioles, the Red Sox’ Rafael Devers went 4-for-6, 2 home runs, 8 RBIs…giving him an MLB-leading 47 ribbies.
But Boston lost third baseman Alex Bregman to a quad injury in the contest. Bregman signed a 3-year, $120 million deal with the Red Sox in February and he was having a big season, with 11 home runs, 35 RBIs, .938 OPS.
Saturday, he was placed on the IL with what was described as a “significant injury.”
–Today, Sunday, the 2024 AL Cy Young Award winner, Tarik Skubal of Detroit, threw a 2-hitter, 13 strikeouts, Tigers (34-20) beat the Guardians (29-23) 5-0, Skubal 5-2, 2.49.
Golf Balls
–We had the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, TX, this week, and after three rounds….
Ben Griffin -13
Matti Schmid -13
Rickie Fowler -9
T7 Scottie Scheffler -7
Huge tournament for Fowler as he can leap into the top 70 on the FedEx Cup points list (99 to 68 after three).
And then today, as we played the final round, both leaders doing nothing…Schmid nails his chip on No. 18 to get to -11….Griffin, one ahead, needs to make a 4-foot par for his second win (second in four weeks)…and he does! An out of nowhere spectacular finish. [Hot fiancée, Ben.]
Unfortunately, Fowler crumbled to T16 and only moved up to No. 90 in the standings.
Scheffler finished a ho-hum T4.
Premier League
—Sunday was the final day of the Premier League season, and it was a tension convention for Manchester City, Newcastle, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, the five teams battling for the last three Champions League slots…the first time this has ever happened.
Heading into the finale….
- Man City…68 points
4. Newcastle…66
5. Chelsea…66
6. Aston Villa…66
7. Nottingham…65
But for there to be real drama, Aston Villa needed to defeat Manchester United on the road, and Nottingham Forest had to defeat Chelsea at home.
Forest then lost to Chelsea, 1-0, which meant Chelsea was secure, but in a game they will be talking about for a long time, Villa was robbed of the first goal, despite being a man down due to a red card at the end of the first half.
The referee ruled the Man U goalkeeper had possession of the ball, but he lost control of it and Villa scored. It should have been 1-0 Villa. But the rule was the referee had blown the whistle and couldn’t go to the VAR (the monitor) whereupon he would have seen his mistake.
United when on to win 2-0, but how costly was this error? Had Villa just gotten a draw, a single point, they would have surpassed Newcastle, which inexplicably lost at home to Everton, 1-0.
Instead, Villa is out…and this cost the team 100 million pounds! $135 million dollars! That’s how much you can make by playing in the Champions League…money that then furthers the franchise in terms of being able to get better players, build up your youth team…that kind of thing.
And the season ends up….
- Liverpool 84 points
2. Arsenal 74
3. Man City 71…defeated Fulham 2-0
4. Chelsea 69
5. Newcastle66
6. Aston Villa 66…loses out on goal differential
7. Nottingham Forest 65
Crushing for Villa fans.
–Earlier in the week, in a shocking development, Manchester United and Tottenham, despite all their problems in the Premier League this season, played in the Europa League final and Tottenham won it, 1-0, in Bilbao, Spain, thanks to Brennan Johnson’s first-half goal. It was the first trophy for the club since 2008 and the Spurs earned an automatic berth in the 2025-26 Champions League competition, thus giving the PL six spots.
You have to feel good for 10-year Tottenham veteran Son Heung-min, who is now a Spurs legend (for one day, as he put it).
Only a few weeks ago, Son was congratulating Harry Kane, his former Tottenham teammate. Kane finally won the first trophy of his career after leaving the Spurs for Bayern Munich.
Son and Kane were together when Tottenham lost the 2019 Champions League final to Liverpool in another all-English decider.
—In the battle to see who is promoted to the Premier League from the Championship League, Sunderland beat Sheffield United in the playoff final at Wembley Stadium, with teenager Tom Watson scoring a 95th-minute winner.
So the Black Cats (love the name) return to the top flight for the first time in eight years, joining Leeds United and Burnley.
[Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton were relegated.]
Stuff
–The College Football Playoff administrators approved a proposal that the 12-team field would use a straight-seeding model beginning this season. As a result, the four highest-rated conference champions will no longer receive an automatic first-round bye. With the new seeding scenario, the top-four teams in the CFP selection committee’s final rankings will get the first-round bye instead. As it should be.
–We note the passing of George Wendt, famous for playing Norm Peterson in the iconic sitcom “Cheers.” Wendt was 76.
“George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him,” a family rep’s statement read. “He will be missed forever.” No cause of death was disclosed but he “died peacefully in his sleep while at home,” the statement read.
The actor earned six consecutive Emmy nominations for his performance as Norm, one of the most popular characters in television history.
The bearish, beer-quaffing Everyman had racked up about 170 film and television credits, prior to “Cheers.” He then appeared on every episode of the sitcom during its 11-year run on NBC, which began in 1982. His streak of Emmy nominations for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series began in 1984.
Wendt, a native of the South Side of Chicago, started his entertainment career in inglorious fashion, sweeping floors at the Second City, the famed improvisational comedy club in his hometown that helped launch the careers of generations of stars, including John Belushi, Mike Myers, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
In 1974, Wendt became part of the Second City’s touring production and resident company.
He headed for Hollywood to appear in the pilot for an NBC show called “Nothing but Comedy.” Wendt later popped up on popular television shows like “Taxi,” “Alice,” and “Hart to Hart” before becoming one of America’s favorite barflies on “Cheers.”
He later said his pronounced girth was key to the role, making Norm the relatable guy that viewers would feel like sidling up next to at their neighborhood bar.
“One nice thing about being fat for a living is that you don’t worry about losing weight or dieting,” Wendt once said.
When his agent told him about an upcoming audition for “Cheers,” Wendt noted: “My agent said, ‘It’s a small role, honey. It’s one line. Actually, it’s one word.’ The word was ‘beer.’ I was having a hard time believing I was right for the role of ‘the guy who looked like he wanted a beer.’ So I went in, and they said, ‘It’s too small a role. Why don’t you read this other one?’ And it was a guy who never left the bar,” Wendt told GQ in an oral history of “Cheers.”
“Cheers” premiered on Sept. 30, 1982, and spent the first season with low ratings. NBC president Brandon Tartikoff championed the show, and it was nominated for an Emmy for best comedy series in its first season. Some 80 million people would tune in to watch the series finale 11 years later.
Wendt became a fan favorite in and outside the bar – his entrances were cheered with a warm “Norm!” – and his wisecracks always landed. “How’s a beer sound, Norm?” he would be asked by the bartender. “I dunno. I usually finish them before they get a word in,” he’d respond.
Among the other one-liners. “What would you like, Norm?” “A reason to live. Keep ‘em coming.” “What’s happening, Norm?” “It’s a dog-eat-dog world, Sammy, and I’m wearing Milk-Bone underwear.”
While the beer the cast drank on set was nonalcoholic, Wendt and other “Cheers” cast members have admitted they were tipsy on May 20, 1993, when they watched the show’s final episode then appeared together on “The Tonight Show” in a live broadcast from the Bull and Finch Pub in Boston, the bar that inspired the series.
“We had been drinking heavily for two hours but nobody thought to feed us,” Wendt told the Beaver County Times of Pennsylvania in 2009. “We were nowhere near as cute as we thought we were.”
Among his post-Cheers roles, Wendt was part of a brotherhood of Chicago Everymen who gathered over sausage and beers and adored “Da Bears” on “Saturday Night Live.”
Wendt was born in Chicago, attended Campion High School, a Catholic boarding school in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and then Notre Dame, where he rarely went to class and was kicked out. He transferred to Rockhurst University in Kansas City and graduated, after majoring in economics. He then found a home at Second City.
Wendt did have a lifelong association with beer. He had his first taste as an 8-year-old and got drunk at 16, at the World’s Fair in New York.
Wendt co-authored a book with Jonathan Grotenstein, “Drinking With George: A Barstool Professional’s Guide to Beer.” One line: “Will Rogers once said he never met a man he didn’t like. I feel the same about beer.”
Ted Danson, who played bar boss Sam Malone, said he was “devastated to hear that George is no longer with us.”
Kelsey Grammer, who played Frasier Crane before starring in his own spin-off, said in a statement: “I believe mourning is a private matter. But I liked George a lot. He was beloved by millions.”
Rhea Perlman described Wendt as “the sweetest, kindest man I ever met,” adding that she would “miss him more than words can say.”
John Ratzenberger said he was “heartbroken to hear about the passing of my friend,” noting how they had “shared a stage, a lot of laughs, and a front-row seat to one of television’s most beloved friendships.”
Wendt was also the uncle of actor and comedian Jason Sudeikis.
—OnlyFans star Annie Knight was hospitalized after a sex stunt with 583 men in 6 hours. She said she may have overdid it.
–To go back to last weekend, and my bit on Sheriff Buford Pusser, played by the late Joe Don Baker in “Walking Tall,” Steve G. wrote that he wondered if any of the folks at the museum in Adamsville, Tenn., mentioned the Jimmy Buffett story.
Way back in 2006, when I was down in Adamsville, Jeff B. brought it up…a possible encounter with Pusser.
Supposedly, the day Jimmy recorded “God’s Own Drunk,” he and drummer Sammy Creason went to a bar and wound up drinking a lot of tequila. After leaving the bar they could not find their rental car, so Jimmy got up on the hood of a Cadillac to get a better view of the parking lot (stomping with his golf shoes on). The owner of the car, Buford Pusser, happened to be watching the whole thing. Jimmy and Creason saw him coming after them and they ran toward their car, got in it, but could not get away in time.
Well, let’s just say it got a little ugly, and Buford taught them a lesson. When Buffett and Creason returned to the bar, it’s then they found out they were victims of the famous lawman.
By the way, when Buford got out of the military, his big dream was to be a champion wrestler and he was once on professional cards that included Johnny Valentine and Ivan Koloff…yes, the Ivan Koloff, from Behind the Iron Curtain.
Well, I never recall Renee at the museum confirming the story concerning Buffett, but I just read an account by Buffett himself, which he gave later in 1974 at a concert and it’s true. He and Sammy were rolled by Buford Pusser.
—Billy Joel is canceling all his upcoming concerts as his representatives announced the singer has been diagnosed with a brain disorder known as normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH).
“This condition has been exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision, and balance,” a statement posted to Joel’s Instagram said. “Under his doctor’s instructions, Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period.”
The news comes as a blow to fans of Joel, who has smashed records at Madison Square Garden and delighted audiences for decades.
NPH is a disorder in which excess fluid accumulates in the brain, causing issues with thinking and reasoning, as well as walking and bladder control, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
“Billy is thankful for the excellent care he is receiving and is fully committed to prioritizing his health,” the social media statement continued. “He is grateful for the support from fans during this time and looks forward to the day when he can once again take the stage.”
In the statement, Joel said, “I’m sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience, and thank you for understanding.”
The statement also confirmed that all ticketholders would receive an automatic refund.
Joel, 76, was scheduled to perform in over a dozen stadiums in the upcoming months alongside such peers as Rod Stewart, Sting and Stevie Nicks.
Songs That Will Never Be In My Top Ten Lists, part III (Nos. 11-30, 1960s/70s):
Marianne Faithful…#22 As Tears Go By
Fifth Dimension…#13 Sweet Blindness, #19 Love’s Lines, Angles and Rhymes (underrated tune)
The Flamingos…#11 I Only Have Eyes For You (1959…this is absolutely stunning…one of the greatest songs of all time was not a top ten….)
Fleetwood Mac…#11 Rhiannon, #11 Say You Love Me
Four Seasons…#12 Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby Goodbye), #24 Will You Love Me Tomorrow
Four Tops…#11 Baby I Need Your Loving, #14 Walk Away Renee
Peter Frampton…#12 Baby I Love Your Way
Godspell (original cast)…#13 Day By Day
Bobby Goldsboro…#13 Little Things, #11 Watching Scotty Grow
Lesley Gore…#16 California Nights (this is criminal), #12 That’s The Way Boys Are
Dobie Gray…#13 The ‘In’ Crowd
Al Green…#11 Tired Of Being Alone
Heatwave…#18 Always and Forever
Herman’s Hermits…#13 I’m Into Something Good
Buddy Holly…#17 Maybe Baby (1958)
Janis Ian…#14 Society’s Child
The Impressions…#20 Gypsy Woman, #14 People Get Ready
The Intruders…#36 I’ll Always Love My Mama…#36?!
Iron Butterfly…#30 In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
Isley Brothers…#22 For The Love Of You
Deon Jackson…#11 Love Makes The World Go Round (great tune)
NL Rookie of the Year Award / Dodgers Quiz Answer: In the 18-year period, 1979-96, the Dodgers had nine win the award (and everyone else, combined, had nine during this period).
1979 – Rick Sutcliffe
1980 – Steve Howe
1981 – Fernando Valenzuela
1982 – Steve Sax
1992 – Eric Karros
1993 – Mike Piazza
1994 – Raul Mondesi
1995 – Hideo Nomo
1996 – Todd Holandsworth
*I am going to do a brief Add-on late Monday night, not Tues. morning. A new version of StocksandNews.com is coming late Wednesday, early Thursday.
