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Bar Chat

02/06/2012

Eli 2...Peyton 1

NBA Quiz: Name the eight players on the 1969-70 World Champion New York Knicks that averaged at least seven points a game. Answer below.

Giants 21…Patriots 17

Nice ending, eh? Wish I was a Giants fan instead of the Jets. And, yes, Mario Manningham made one of the great catches of all time, but not a bad throw by Eli, either. Eli now owns Gotham the rest of his life. And even the Jersey suburbs.

I’ve praised Tom Coughlin all year so I’m happy for him. Nice to see “Old School” still mean something these days, what with companies being valued at $100 billion based on online display revenue that has already peaked. But I digress…

As for the production itself, hey, nothing to complain about. And I don’t want to hear or read any snarky comments about Madonna. I’m not a fan, but that was a solid effort on her part… plus any woman wearing boots above the knee is a major turn on for yours truly. In fact once I picked up a friend at the Summit train station….oops, can’t go there. Moving along….

Loved the Hyundai cheetah commercial, and the Apocalypse ad with Barry Manilow’s music for Chevy Silverado.

So congratulations, Giants fans. I’m jealous as hell. I’m a fan of the Jets, Mets and Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Geezuz. What a pathetic life some of us have these days. Throw in the Knicks and it’s enough to make you want to blow your brains out.

Plus, when it comes to the presidential election…oh, never mind. Go Murray State basketball!

--The 2012 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class: Curtis Martin, RB, Patriots/Jets (1995-2005); Cortez Kennedy, DT, Seahawks (1990-2000); Chris Doleman, DE, Vikings/Falcons/49ers (1985-1999); Willie Roaf, OT, Saints/Chiefs (1993-2005); Dermonti Dawson, C, Steelers (1988-2000); Jack Butler, DB, Steelers (1951-1959). Surprisingly, Bill Parcells didn’t get in his first year of eligibility. He should have.

--Mike Wise / Washington Post…following word Peyton Manning had been cleared to play by a doctor.

“Within seconds, NFL Network and ESPN reporters who had never attended medical school – and, like me, could not pass the MCAT entrance exam with House M.D. as their tutor – began theorizing about ‘nerve regeneration,’ and whether Manning’s brain synapses had formed a neural connection with his triceps.

“Over the next 24 hours, the most deserving Super Bowl stories were again put on hold: Tom Brady vs. Eli Manning; the nine coaching lives of Tom Coughlin and how he saved his job for the second time in five years; Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski trying to pull a Terrell Owens by playing through a debilitating foot injury; and the obvious: Giants-Pats II, a New York-Boston Redux for all the marbles in the NFL kitty just four years after they enraptured millions with an heirloom of an ending.

“Thanks Peyton, thanks Jim – way to make this week all about your homeroom breakup. You couldn’t have waited till everyone left town Monday to pass notes in class?

“The NFL’s greatest ambassador the past decade, the reason Lucas Oil Stadium was built and Indianapolis was awarded a Super Bowl, can’t even let a kid like (presumed first pick Andrew) Luck have his moment without Team Peyton leaking news. He couldn’t allow Eli one week in the spotlight during his most impressive season. Especially after so many more years when Eli was compared unfairly to his future Hall-of-Fame brother.

“Who knew such an accessible, thought-to-be grounded superstar…had this closet diva side to him?

“This is becoming one of the more disappointing exits by an athletic legend since, yes, that text monster from Kiln, Miss.

“Really, where did Peyton Manning get his Brett Favre Unseemly Retirement Starter Kit?”

Manning’s statement saying he had been cleared to play, led Colts owner Jim Irsay to respond, “Peyton has not passed our physical nor has he been cleared to play for the Indianapolis Colts.”

But then Irsay added, “the entire Colts family remain close and unified as we continue to work through all the options that relate to (Peyton’s) future with the Colts.”

“I’ve always said that Peyton Manning is the most cutthroat player in the NFL. Many times that’s a good thing. You want that aspect on the field. You want a quarterback to go for the kill. Manning does that, but off the field he’s the same way. The jovial Manning you see in commercials isn’t really that guy. He’s thrown teammates under the bus publicly, and now in an attempt to win the PR battle with fans is overshadowing his little brother during the Super Bowl week.

“(The leaks from Manning’s camp) are carefully plotted, well designed and…manipulative…. This is a Brett Favre-like ploy to put pressure on Irsay and the Colts. No question about it.

“Which is why Irsay reacted so strongly on Twitter to the Manning news early this morning. Irsay knows what Manning is doing and Irsay isn’t going to let him get away with it. Good for Irsay. It’s one thing for Manning to use the media to push his agenda; it’s another for Irsay to sit back and let Manning do it without a fight.

“I respect Irsay for this. He’s putting his name to his side of the fight, which is more than Manning and his agent are doing.

“I’ve been saying for some time the probable departure of Manning from the Colts is going to get ugly and it’s starting now. Both sides want to blame the other for Manning’s likely exit from Indy when there is actually no one to blame. It’s just the circumstances. It’s football. And it’s Manning being Manning.”

--Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers won the 2011 AP NFL Most Valuable Player award in a landslide; garnering 48 of 50 first place votes, the other two going to Drew Brees. Rodgers joins former Packers Bart Starr, Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung as MVPs. He is also the third consecutive quarterback, joining Tom Brady (2007, 2010) and Peyton Manning (2008, 2009).

--We note the passing of former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, Greg Cook, who died of pneumonia at the age of 65.  Cook got off to a meteoric start in 1969, winning his first three games, though he ended up 4-6-1 as the Bengals starter. Sports Illustrated notes that while he threw for 1,854 yards and 15 touchdowns, “an undiagnosed torn rotator cuff, suffered midseason, quickly deteriorated, and surgery could not put him right. He remained with the team through ’73, undergoing multiple operations, but played in only one more game.”

Kyle Stanley!!!

Totally overshadowed by the Super Bowl was one of the great sports stories in recent memory. Golfer Kyle Stanley, who as I described the other day blew a 7-shot lead last Sunday at Torrey Pines, started today’s final round 8 back to Spencer Levin and all Stanley did was fire a 65, as Levin imploded, to win the Phoenix Open. I mean, folks, this is truly spectacular. Stanley has an historic collapse, including a triple bogey on 18, you’d think he’s shell-shocked and incapable of competing again for months, maybe years, and yet the very next week he wins the freakin’ tournament! God bless him. In eight days his emotions have reached levels none of us can remotely begin to relate to. But now he’s won over millions of golf fans for the rest of his professional career. Go get ‘em, Kyle. I’d pay to see you.

[As for Spencer Levin, he was six clear of the field heading into the final round, so now we wait to see how he handles his disaster; Stanley winning his first PGA Tour title and Levin still awaiting his.]

Don Cornelius, RIP

The creator of “Soul Train” committed suicide the other day.

“The idea was simple – but groundbreaking: Create a live showcase for black music, modeled on ‘American Bandstand.’

“Don Cornelius pulled $400 from his own pocket to launch the dance show on a local Chicago TV station in 1970. As host and executive producer of ‘Soul Train,’ he was soon at the throttle of a nationally syndicated television institution that was the first dance show to cater to the musical tastes of black teenagers and also helped bring black music, dance, fashion and style to mainstream America.

“In the process of presenting the soul, funk and R&B of the day, the Afro-haired, dapper Cornelius became a TV icon, his sonorous baritone welcoming viewers to ‘the hippest trip in America.’”

Quincy Jones said of Cornelius, “Don was a visionary and giant in our business. Before MTV there was ‘Soul Train’; that will be the legacy of Don Cornelius. His contribution to television, music and our culture as a whole will never be matched.”

Cornelius showcased the likes of James Brown, Marvin Gaye, the O’Jays and Barry White. He told USA TODAY in 2010:

“The primary mission of the show was to provide TV exposure for people who would not get it otherwise. People who didn’t get invited to The Mike Douglas Show, or Carson. There was no ethnic television, just general-market television, which meant mostly white people.”

I forgot that among the dancers he had on were Rosie Perez, Jody Watley, MC Hammer and Jeffrey Daniel (later of Shalamar), who taught Michael Jackson how to moonwalk.

Yes, Don Cornelius was the black Dick Clark, signing off each week with his signature, “We wish you love, peace and soul!” Don Cornelius was one cool cat.

College Basketball

--So I went to the Murray State-Southeast Missouri State game on Thursday. Suffice it to say, Murray State basketball is all the rage in this small city of 18,000. MSU does have a longstanding history of success in the sport, however, as they are in the midst of their 25th consecutive winning season, a streak that trails only Syracuse, now 42, and Kansas, 29. They have been to the NCAA tournament 14 times.

I had a courtside seat and arriving early, I could see the Racers would have their hands full as I watched SEMO warm up. I mean to tell ya, the Redhawks have some athletes and SEMO led virtually the entire first half by 6 to 11 points. The home crowd of 8,700 was more than a bit concerned they were witnessing the Racers’ first loss of the season.

But what was interesting for me was the calmness of first-year coach Steve Prohm. He didn’t call a timeout in the entire half. Maybe that confidence he shows in his players was the difference, or maybe not, but MSU came out after intermission and played much better in the second half, winning by 8, 81-73. At times the atmosphere in the arena was electric. Just a lot of fun.

The Racers then followed up Thursday’s win with a road victory at Tenn.-Martin (which is now just 3-22), Murray prevailing 65-58. Yes, not exactly an impressive triumph, but they’re still undefeated, which means they have a big-time target on their backs these days. Everyone in the conference gets up for them.

In other contests of import over the weekend, Wyoming pulled off a nice upset of No. 13 UNLV at home, 68-66. Notre Dame defeated No. 15 Marquette, 76-59. The Fighting Irish are still just 15-8, but a more impressive 7-3 in Big East play.

No. 4 Missouri prevailed over No. 8 Kansas, 74-71.

No. 5 Duke lost at home on Sunday to Miami, 78-74, in overtime. Pathetic.

And No. 24 Florida State moved to 7-1 in ACC play in defeating No. 18 Virginia, 58-55. The Seminoles certainly appear to be for real and their defense is as good as any in the country right now.

ACC Standings

North Carolina 7-1
Florida State 7-1
Duke 6-2

Wake Forest is at 2-7, along with Georgia Tech and Boston College. These three truly blow.

--Following a loss to Memphis on Saturday, Xavier is now 7-8 since the big fight with Cincinnati. At that time, the Musketeers were 8-0 and ranked 8th in the country.   Now they’ll need to virtually run the table to get into the Big Dance.

--The ACC announced that once Pitt and Syracuse join the league, every school will compete in the ACC tournament. In football, there will be a nine-game conference schedule. Pitt and Syracuse are being held up by a Big East bylaw requiring 27-months notice for a university to leave.

College Football

--I’m having dinner in Philadelphia on Monday night with Mark R., long-time friend and Notre Dame alum, and among the topics of conversation is bound to be the subject of new Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, who has already been placed on the defensive as some Big Ten coaches accuse Meyer of “flipping” prospects who had made verbal commitments to their schools. Meyer, in a prepared statement, denied this.

“It should be noted that my coaching staff is in full compliance with our recruiting efforts, and no one on this staff did anything illegal or unethical.”

Meyer’s first OSU class included eight players who initially had said they were attending another school, including four who originally were going to Penn State. Two others had verbally committed to Notre Dame.

Well, this will just make Saturdays more interesting, seeing as Meyer is now a marked man.

--But speaking of recruiting, the consensus No. 1 pick out of high school, 6’6” 225 lb. wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, signed with his native Missouri. Most folks had quarterback Gunner Kiel No. 2 and he’s headed to Notre Dame after blowing off ‘commitments’ he had made to, first, Indiana, and then LSU. LSU coach Les Miles ripped him on Wednesday.

1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. Florida
4. Ohio State
5. Stanford
6. Michigan
7. Southern California
8. Florida State
9. Miami
10. Oklahoma

As for the ACC, the bottom three on the recruiting list are:

No. 10 – Wake Forest
No. 11 – Boston College
No. 12 – Duke

Here’s what gets me about the Deacs, though. Recognizing we’re always rated about No. 10 in this category, Vanderbilt, which in so many respects is our mirror image in the SEC, pulled off a No. 29 class, nationally.

--Former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said he has no interest in coaching in the NFL and opted to take a job at Akron as vice president of strategic engagement, a position created for him. He’ll work with students and alumni on a variety of issues. Sounds like the easiest job in America.

--Lindsey Vonn won her 50th World Cup race Saturday. As the New York Times’ Bill Pennington put, “a feat in ski racing equivalent to a baseball player hitting 600 home runs.” And Vonn is only 27 years old. So Vonn trails Vreni Schneider, 55, and Annemarie Moser-Proll, 62. Among men, Ingemar Stenmark had 86 wins, Hermann Maier 54, and Alberto Tomba 50. Vonn’s win was in the downhill (her 25th title in that event) at Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

What’s remarkable about Vonn’s season of triumph (nine wins) is it all came after her very public split with her husband/coach/manager, Thomas Vonn.

[American Julia Mancuso won the Super-G event on Sunday, her first World Cup victory of the year. Vonn failed to finish.]

--Federal prosecutors suddenly closed their investigation of Lance Armstrong without charging him, two years after they began looking into teammates’ allegations that he was doping and committing a number of crimes in the process, including defrauding of the government, drug trafficking, money laundering and conspiracy. Armstrong had never tested positive for any illegal substances. He issued the following statement.

“I am gratified to learn that the U.S. Attorney’s Office is closing its investigation. It is the right decision and I commend them for reaching it. I look forward to continuing my life as a father, a competitor, and an advocate in the fight against cancer without this distraction.”

Jeff Novitzky, who brought down the BALCO doping lab and was heading up the Armstrong case, did not respond to requests for comment.

“Sources, legal and otherwise, who were not directly connected to the investigation, said prosecutors were still actively producing new leads, and these sources had expected indictments this spring. Several witnesses who testified before the federal grand jury in Los Angeles or spoke to investigators said they were stunned by the news. Other sources close to the case said investigators had described their evidence against Armstrong as being the strongest of any of the government’s doping-related cases. And another person who has not testified, and who spoke only on condition of anonymity, had scheduled a meeting with lead investigator Jeff Novitzky next week.”

But U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. had the authority to close the investigation unilaterally if he concluded there was insufficient evidence that a federal crime had been committed in his jurisdiction. There’s obviously far more to this story than meets the eyes. And to top it off, Birotte issued his ruling the Friday afternoon of Super Bowl weekend, an attempt to totally bury it.

--Texas Rangers star Josh Hamilton had another relapse with alcohol, his second in three years, as Hamilton himself admitted in a brief press conference where no questions were allowed. Hamilton acknowledged he slipped at two Dallas bar/restaurants last Monday night because of a “personal reason with a family member.”

“You guys all know how hard I play on the field and I give it everything I absolutely have. When I don’t do that off the field, I leave myself open for a weak moment. I had a weak moment on Monday night in Dallas….

“It was just wrong. That’s all it comes down to. I needed to be at a different place. I needed to be responsible. I was not responsible. Those actions of mine have hurt a lot of people I’m very close to.”

The thing is, Hamilton is in the last year of a two-year, $24 million deal so there is zero reason for the Rangers to grant him the extension he is seeking, nor is anyone likely to take a chance on him in free agency. First and foremost, though, the organization wants to make sure he gets the support he needs.

Hamilton added, “Any time I drink, there’s a point that comes where a switch flips and you never know when that point’s going to be reached, whether it’s the first three or four, or the 15th. And that’s what’s so dangerous about it.”

Hamilton has been without an “accountability partner” since Johnny Narron left for a position in the Milwaukee Brewers’ organization. Hamilton is also drug-tested three times a week and passed the ones he took in the last few days.

--Just an awful story involving Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who allegedly had an affair with a 36-year-old, she then stalked him and tried to extort $15,000, he paid $6,000 in separate payments, she was arrested, which made for big headlines in the New York tabloids as you can imagine, and immediately his wife divorced him.

The stalker, Louise Meanwell (also known as Louise Neathway), supposedly has a long line of men “who claimed the British-born blonde besieged them with death threats, phone hacking and lies about miscarriages.

“A laundry list of people have orders of protection against her, including her ex-husband, their daughter, the entire Cashman clan and a Westchester woman who was romantically linked with the Bombers exec last year.” [New York Post]

--USA TODAY had a headline the other day, “In post-lockout, quality of NBA under fire”. That’s for sure.  As Jeff Zillgitt points out, one example is the number of games where both teams score 100 points. Just 14% of contests qualify thus far vs. 30% last season. TNT analyst Charles Barkley observed this week, “I cannot believe how bad the NBA is right now… Watching the NBA, I’m embarrassed about the product we’re putting out there.”

--The Washington Nationals added hurler Edwin Jackson to an already impressive rotation. Jackson is the Nats’ seventh starting pitcher, the other six being Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmerman, John Lannan, Chien-Ming Wang, Ross Detwiler and the newly acquired Gio Gonzalez. Boy, the N.L. East is going to be strong, save for the Mets whose projected win total is now down to 38.

1. Minnesota
2. Minn.-Duluth
3. Boston Univ.
4. Merrimack
5. Boston College
6. Notre Dame
7. Ferris State
8. Michigan
9. Mass.-Lowell
10. Hio State
12. Union

--Angelo Dundee passed away at the age of 90, just weeks after attending Muhammad Ali’s 70th birthday party in Louisville, Ky. It turns out Dundee developed a blood clot on the flight home. Geezuz.

Dundee trained Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, as well as 15 world champions in his Hall of Fame career. He was in Ali’s corner for the Fight of the Century, the Rumble in the Jungle and the Thrilla in Manila, and in Leonard’s main bouts with the likes of Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler (as well as the No Mas match with Roberto Duran).

Dundee was invaluable. As reported by Steve Springer of the Los Angeles Times:

“At the end of the fourth round of a 1963 fight against Henry Cooper, Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, was surprised by a left-hand punch that floored him and left him dazed. Fortunately for Clay, it was the end of the round, allowing him to stagger back to his corner.

“It was there that Dundee, trying to buy time until his fighter’s head cleared, stuck his finger in a slight split in the seams of one of Clay’s gloves, causing a slightly bigger split. That allowed Dundee to ask the referee for another pair of gloves. None were available, but the incident added valuable seconds to Clay’s rest time, allowing him to recover and go on to win on a fifth-round technical knockout.

“His next fight, against heavyweight champion Sonny Liston, might not have occurred if Clay had lost to Cooper.

“In the fourth round of Clay’s 1964 fight against Liston, another crisis occurred. A substance of undetermined origin got in Clay’s eyes, temporarily blinding him. In the corner prior to the fifth round, Clay ordered Dundee to cut off his gloves, ending the fight.

“The trainer would do no such thing. He wet Clay’s eyes, alleviating some of the sting, and then literally shoved him back out into the ring when the bell rang. Clay, still unable to see, was told by Dundee to just run.

“Run he did until, midway through the round, Clay’s vision cleared. At the end of the sixth round, Liston, claiming a shoulder injury, quit in his corner.

“Thanks to Dundee, Clay had his first title and a launching pad for the meteoric career that would follow.”

--From Sports Illustrated: “30…consecutive points to end a basketball game on Jan. 20 scored by South Dearborn (Ind.) High, which overcame a 29-point fourth-quarter deficit and edged East Central 55-54.” That would have been fun to see.

--I can’t say I’ve been keeping up on the potential Kentucky Derby field as much as I have in past years, but for the record I have to note that a 43-1 shot, I’ll Have Another, won a big race at Santa Anita. Before Saturday, one Las Vegas sports book was giving gamblers 200-1 odds on him winning the Derby. Now the horse is in the conversation.

--On Thursday, I went to the Fort Donelson National Battlefield across the Kentucky border in Tennessee (about 45 minutes from Murray). Ulysses S. Grant made his name at this battle, the first big win for the Union and a critical one as it cut off the Confederates’ supply lines in the west. About 1,000 died (if you include the ‘missing’) in the Feb. 1862 conflict that featured the ironclads, the North’s gunboats.

For the Confederates, one lead general, Gideon Pillow, was incredibly inept, while cavalryman Lt. Col. Nathan Bedford Forrest slipped away with his force of 850, losing only 8 killed. Forrest was as brilliant as they come…let’s just not get into what he did in his post-war career. 

Eventually, at the end of the battle, Brig. Gen. Simon Buckner (no relation to Billy, at least that I’m aware of, nor former NBAer Quinn), surrendered to Grant, Buckner asking for the terms. Grant’s answer was short and direct:

“No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted.” Thus commenced the legend of “Unconditional Surrender” Grant.

But in one of the classic Civil War twists, Buckner and Grant had been classmates at West Point and in the 1850s, Buckner gave a struggling Grant some money at a critical time in the latter’s life. After the war, Buckner would visit a dying Grant and ended up being one of his pallbearers.

[Fort Campbell (think 101st Airborne) is near Fort Donelson and as I sat on the bluff, overlooking the Cumberland River, I could hear artillery practice at Fort Campbell. It kind of gave you a sense of the sounds 150 years earlier. Like if you were a soldier approaching a distant battle. Or you’re sitting in your farmhouse thinking, “Holy (Toledo!) I better get the hell out of here!”]

--Actor Ben Gazzara died. He was 81. During a 60-year career, Gazzara appeared in more than 100 films and TV movies. One of his better known roles was in the series “Run for Your Life” (1965-68), about a successful lawyer diagnosed with a terminal illness who decides to live life to the fullest in his remaining time.

Top 3 songs for the week 2/6/71:   #1 “Knock Three Times” (Dawn) #2 “One Bad Apple” (The Osmonds…doo doo doo doo doooo…doo doo doo doo doooo… Jacksons weren’t real happy with this one) #3 “My Sweet Lord” (George Harrison)…and…#4 “Lonely Days” (Bee Gees) #5 “Rose Garden” (Lynn Anderson) #6 “I Hear You Knocking” (Dave Edmunds) #7 “Groove Me” (King Floyd) #8 “Your Song” (Elton John…my favorite of his…I’m a softie) #9 “One Less Bell To Answer” (The 5th Dimension...another great one…no one more beautiful than Marilyn McCoo, except Peggy Fleming…) #10 “If I Were Your Woman” (Gladys Knight & The Pips… Imperials better)

NBA Quiz Answer: 1969-70 Knicks…

Willis Reed 21.7 ppg
Walt Frazier 20.9
Dick Barnett 14.9
Dave DeBusschere 14.6
Bill Bradley 14.5
Cazzie Russell 11.5
Dave Stallworth 7.8
Mike Riordan 7.7

Nate Bowman played in all 81 games but averaged only 2.9 ppg. The other members of the team, who were seldom used, were Bill Hosket, Don May and Johnny Warren.

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