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Bar Chat

06/24/2013

Wrapping Up the NBA Season

Minnesota Twins Quiz: 1) How many seasons did Harmon Killebrew hit 40+ home runs? 2) Who is the only other Twin, including when the franchise was in Washington, to hit 40 home runs in a single season? 3) Who is the single season leader in runs scored with 140? [Post-1980] 4) Who am I? I hit .300 and .311, 1970-71, and outhit Rod Carew in ’71? Answers below.

LeBron’s Legacy Is Secure

Shaking off the crushing 103-100 overtime Game 6 loss, the Spurs staged a team dinner at the hotel rather than hit South Beach in the wee hours.

But Miami and LeBron prevailed, 95-88, in a thrilling Game 7.

“Legacies are generally determined after the fact, written by others, imposed on the subject without their input. For the last three years, LeBron James had endured daily revisions to his legacy, a chorus of critics framing his career based on a single game, a single series, the shots that swished and those that missed, never waiting for a fuller picture to emerge.

“James at last seized control of his own narrative Thursday night, leaving nothing to chance and no more room for debate. He drove hard, shot brilliantly, scored every critical basket and finally pushed the Miami Heat past the San Antonio Spurs....

“It was a heartbreaking conclusion for the Spurs, who came within seconds of winning the championship in Game 6. Duncan was aiming for his fifth title, which would have placed him alongside Kobe Bryant for the most by any star in the post-Jordan era. This was his first defeat in the finals, and it hit hard.

“Sitting on the postgame podium, Duncan looked inconsolable. He stared down at the table, his left hand on his head, and paused frequently between phrases. He bemoaned his ‘bad decisions’ and missed shots, in particular two point-blank shots that could have tied the game at 90-90 with about a minute to play.

“Still, Duncan was mostly brilliant, finishing with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 4 steals. (Manu) Ginobili added 18 points and 5 assists but had four turnovers, all in the fourth quarter.”

Duncan said in the end, “For me, Game 7 is going to haunt me.”

ESPN analyst Jon Barry: “(LeBron) is the best pure all-around basketball player the game has ever seen.”

Mike Lupica / New York Daily News: “So why does that change if Manu Ginobili or Kawhi Leonard makes his free throws in Game 6, or if Chris Bosh doesn’t get an offensive rebound, or if Ray Allen’s foot is on the line when he takes that shot from the corner?

“How many titles does he have to win to validate that genius, or is the guy who just won again fighting a losing game against all the people still obsessed with the way he announced he was taking his talents to South Beach?....

“I’m a Michael Jordan guy, I saw Jordan from the time he made that jump shot to beat Patrick Ewing and Georgetown in 1982 and win the first of all the titles that would come later for him, in the Olympics and in the pros. After Bill Russell, the greatest winner in professional sports history, Jordan comes next for me.

“But in a way, it’s unfair to compare Michael to LeBron as it is to compare LeBron to Michael, because they don’t just have different bodies, they have different games. LeBron just has more game, he has made that official over the past two seasons – if he didn’t make it official the first time by taking that Cavaliers team of his to the Finals against the Spurs, beating the Pistons along the way – in every single big game he has played.”

“What’s striking about the last 72 hours is how much perceptions about a player’s career can change so drastically over the course of two games and, really, 5.2 seconds.

“If Bosh doesn’t secure LeBron’s errant three-point attempt in the final seconds of Game 6 and funnel a perfect pass to Allen...if Allen doesn’t ensure his tippy toes are behind the three-point line...if the arc on that shot is off just two inches, then the Spurs’ bench is storming the floor in jubilation and teams carried by LeBron are 1-3 in the Finals.

“But Allen swished that shot, and LeBron parlayed it into a clutch Game 7, scoring 37 points on a buffet of midrange jumpers and five three-pointers – including that, yes, Jordan-esque, Kobe-esque shot over a charging Kawhi Leonard that very much sealed the game with less than 30 seconds left.”

Manu Ginobili: “We were five seconds away from raising that trophy. There’s such a fine line between celebrating all summer and now feeling like crap.”

Ginobili had 12 turnovers in Games 6 and 7. And three other Spurs flamed out in a big way.

Tony Parker...9 of 35 from the field in the last two.

Danny Green...2 of 19 (2 of 11 from three).

Green was beyond pathetic, after being the Finals MVP for the first five games.

Through their age-28 season, LeBron and Jordan had two titles apiece, with LeBron averaging 28.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists in 138 playoff games, while Jordan went 34.6, 6.7 and 6.8 in 92 playoff contests.

As for LeBron and his quest for three in a row, next season the Bulls (finally) return Derrick Rose, while the Pacers get Danny Granger back. The Knicks and Nets should also be 50-win teams. That’s just in the East. 

--As I go to post, it appears the Clippers and the Celtics have agreed in principle on a deal that will send Coach Doc Rivers to Los Angles, with the Clippers taking over the contract Rivers had with Boston, which has three years and $21 million left on it.

The Clippers will send the Celtics a first-round pick in 2015. 

Just Sunday morning, it seemed the Clippers were about to announce Byron Scott as their new coach.

Ball Bits

--Detroit’s Max Scherzer ran his record to 11-0 on Saturday, as the Tigers whipped the Red Sox, 10-3. He is the first Detroit pitcher to open the season 11-0 since George Mullin in 1909, and the first in baseball to do so since Roger Clemens in 1997.

--Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder have combined for 133 RBI in Detroit’s first 74 games. As Ronald Reagan would have said....not bad, not bad at all.

Chris Davis got off to a solid start in his career, power-wise, in 2008 and ’09 for Texas. But then he fell apart, spending time in the minors, 2010-2011. Last year, he then reemerged as a slugger and this year, at age 27, has blossomed big time with 27 home runs and 70 RBI.

--The Pirates are 46-30. Do you believe in miracles?!

--The Angels’ Josh Hamilton is hitting .207 after 76 games with 10 home runs and 25 RBI. Somehow I don’t think management expected this when rewarding Hamilton with an absurd contract.

--Seattle’s Raul Ibanez has 17 home runs and 42 RBI; production his old team, the Yankees, desperately needs this year.

--The Phillies Ryan Howard is 7 for 15, with six home runs and 14 RBI, against the Mets’ Dillon Gee, including two homers on Saturday in Philadelphia’s 8-7 win over New York. 4 of Howard’s 10 home runs this season are against Gee.

--The Mets’ David Wright had four extra-base hits on Sunday in an 8-0 win over the Phillies (two doubles, triple, homer) as Matt Harvey moved to 7-1. Suddenly, the Mets are playing some good baseball, but still 30-42.

--No one is playing better baseball than Toronto. The Blue Jays were 27-36, before reeling off 11 straight to climb to 38-36.

--Washington’s Stephen Strasburg had an impressive return after his stint on the DL in a 2-1 win over Colorado, Friday; giving up the lone run over seven innings with zero walks and nine strikeouts.

--The New York Daily News reports that Commissioner Bud Selig could announce penalties or suspensions ahead of any appeals process in the Anthony Bosch-Biogenesis drug scandal, which he is allowed to do, in order to make an example of the players.

--In the College World Series, it’s Mississippi State vs. UCLA in the finals, fist contest Monday; Mississippi State having taken out Oregon State, with UCLA eliminating North Carolina in the semis. So another year without a title for the ACC.

James Gandolfini, RIP

Just two weeks ago, 6/6, I listed the Writers Guild of America’s 101 best-written TV shows and “The Sopranos” was No. 1. Of course the show isn’t at the top, all time, without James Gandolfini, whose portrayal of Tony Soprano was brilliant. Gandolfini died of a heart attack last Wednesday in Rome. He was 51.

David Chase, the show’s creator, said: “He was a genius. Anyone who saw him, even in the smallest of his performances, knows that. He is one of the greatest actors of this or any time.

“A great deal of that genius resided in those sad eyes. I remember telling him many times, ‘You don’t get it. You’re like Mozart.’”

Gandolfini was a Jersey boy, through and through. He grew up here. Went to Rutgers and was an enthusiastic supporter of not just the Scarlet Knights but also the Jets.

“Growing up, Gandolfini admitted, he was no scholar. When he grudgingly went off to Rutgers – the first one in his family to go to college – ‘I had no idea what I was doing,’ he once told me with a laugh.

“ ‘But then I got there and I thought, Jeeze, 50,000 18-year-olds in one place – what the hell was I complaining about?’ he said. ‘This is great. I was around a lot of fun people and I had a ball. I had more fun than somebody probably should have and I learned a lot – although I don’t think I remember anything from communications.’

“After graduation, he moved to New York. He worked as a bartender, and a bouncer, and managed a nightclub or two. And yeah, he met a few wiseguys, he later reluctantly admitted. ‘Living in New York and New Jersey,’ he told a reporter after ‘The Sopranos’ began, ‘you kind of do.’....

“Despite his shyness, though, despite his moodiness – and definitely despite his money – he remained a Jersey guy to the end. And a Jersey booster. ‘I think the thing about New Jersey is you have a lot of regular people doing regular jobs,’ he told me last year.

“ ‘There are a few rich place, rich enclaves, and half an hour away, you have the greatest city in the world,’ he said. ‘But it’s basically a middle-class, working-class state, so you have normalcy, that foundation of a regular outlook on life. That’s why a lot of people who come out of New Jersey are successful, you know, they can look at things from a lot of different ways. I think it’s an exceptional place to grow up. But then I’m totally, completely biased.’

HBO: “He was a special man, a great talent, but more importantly a gentle and loving person who treated everyone no matter their title or position with equal respect. He touched so many of us over the years with his humor, his warmth and his humility. Our hearts go out to his wife and children during this terrible time. He will be deeply missed by all of us.”

My brother met him a few years ago at a wake and said he was as you’ve heard; a genuine, seemingly down to earth, good guy.

It’s hard to believe it’s been six years since “The Sopranos” ended, June 10, 2007, with a conclusion that in hindsight looks brilliant. I thought it was so at the time as well, even as others hated it.

But I do have to end by saying I was ticked off at some of the asinine articles that came out concerning his last day, his last meal.

From the New York Post: “Gandolfini guzzled four shots of rum, two pina coladas, and two beers at dinner with his son – while he chowed down on two orders of fried king prawn and a ‘large portion’ of foie gras, a hotel source in Rome said.”

Sounds like a pretty normal dinner to me, especially given he was on vacation.

The Post then quoted their ‘source’: “Nearly ‘everything (Gandolfini) ordered was fried. Obviously, that’s going to cause problems with your heart.’”

An autopsy found it was nothing more than a bad heart that felled Gandolfini. There were no signs of lethal drug or alcohol abuse.

--Chicago leads Boston, 3-2, in the Stanley Cup Finals. I haven’t watched much of it. Still smarting over the Rangers. But after the record-setting start the Blackhawks had in this lockout-shortened season, it only seems right they take it all.

--The New York Rangers named Alain Vigneault as their new head coach. Vigneault was 313-170-57 at Vancouver in seven seasons and made it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals in 2011, where his team lost to the Bruins.

--Ken Duke, 44, won his first PGA Tour title in a playoff with Chris Stroud at the Travelers. 

--Craig Stadler, 60, won the Champions Tour event this weekend in Glenview, Ill., besting Fred Couples by a stroke. It had been 8 years and 9 months since Stadler last won a senior title, the longest stretch ever between wins in Champions Tour history.

--Maria Sharapova, responding to a perceived slight of Serena Williams’ in Rolling Stone.

“At the end of the day, we have a tremendous amount of respect for what we do on the court. I just think she should be talking about her accomplishments, her achievements rather than everything else that’s just getting attention and controversy.

“If she wants to talk about something personal, maybe she should talk about her relationship, and her boyfriend that was married, and is getting a divorce and has kids,” Sharapova said of Williams’ coach, Patrick Mouratoglou.

Mouratoglou, 41, has three children, one from a previous marriage and two with his most recent wife.

In Rolling Stone, Williams spoke of a “top-five player who is now in love,” saying that the player “begins every interview with ‘I’m so happy. I’m so lucky.’ It’s so boring.

“She’s still not going to be invited to the cool parties. And, hey, if she wants to be with the guy with a black heart, go for it.”

Williams said on Sunday that she apologized to Sharapova in person at the players’ party, Thursday. She is 14-2 against the Russian, including the French Open final two weeks ago. At Wimbledon, with the draw being what it is, they would only meet in the final. Let’s hope for that.

--Tyson Gay eclipsed Justin Gatlin and clocked the fastest 100m of the year to win the U.S. championship in 9.75 in Des Moines. Gatlin, who edged out Gay for the bronze at the London Olympics, finished second in 9.89.

[Gay then doubled in the 200, winning in 19.74, the fastest time in the world this year.]

Usain Bolt won the Jamaican championship in 9.94. The World Championships are in Moscow, Aug. 10-18.

--Dave Jennings, the great NFL punter for both the Giants and the Jets, died at the age of 61 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He earned four trips to the Pro Bowl during his 11 seasons with the Giants and was inducted into their Ring of Honor.

After his playing career ended, Jennings spent 19 years as a radio analyst and locker room reporter for the Jets and then the Giants. He was a class act, in every sense of the word.

--So back in my youth, the 24 Hours of Le Mans was a big deal on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports.” You have that great start to the race and back then (talking 60s and 70s) all the world’s greatest racers participated.

But just ten minutes into this weekend’s 24 Hours, Danish driver Allan Simonsen died following a crash in his Aston Martin. I’m watching the coverage on Speed Channel maybe about six hours later and it’s sort of bizarre how the announcers are just carrying on. The coverage of the night racing is outstanding.

Of course in the old days, there were lots of tragedies here, but this was the first fatality since 1997, and that guy lost his life in qualifying. The last driver to die in the 24-hour race was Jo Gartner in 1986.

The worst crash in Le Mans history occurred in 1955 when Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes flew into the crowd, killing more than 80 spectators.

Simonsen’s family, by the way, told the Mercedes team to continue in the race.

Some of the drivers who were members of winning teams at Le Mans in the 60s and 70s....Phil Hill, Jochen Rindt, Chris Amon, Bruce McLaren, Dan Gurney, A.J. Foyt, Pedro Rodriguez, Jacky Ickx, Jackie Oliver, and Graham Hill. Ickx won it six times.

--Jersey boy Martin Truex Jr. won just his second NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Sonoma’s road course.

--A number of you wrote in concerning the passing of best-selling author Vince Flynn, 47, who died of prostate cancer. Flynn wrote 14 books, selling 15 million copies in the U.S. As he put it once, “In my series, the heroes are the men and women of the Secret Service, the C.I.A., Special Forces, the whole national security apparatus. And the villains are, shockingly enough, Islamic radical fundamentalists. The secondary villains that I have are politicians and bureaucrats. It’s very easy to build a story around that because it’s reality.”

--Ken P. pointed out yet another example of why ‘Man’ will never again sniff the top 100 on the All-Species List. It seems an estimated 25,000 dead bumble bees were found in an Oregon parking lot this week, the corpses clustered under linden trees lining the lot, with officials saying a toxic insecticide is to blame for the carnage.

--There is also a sickening photo in the current issue of TIME, a display of bear paws, 213 of which were seized from two Russian smugglers in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia. Some in China consider bear paws a delicacy.

--Chris “Mad Dog” Russo’s five-year, $15 million contract with Sirius/XM expires in August. Sirius isn’t eager to renew, according to the New York Post. Is a reunion with Mike Francesa in the cards?

--We note the passing of Slim Whitman, 90. As the New York Times’ Douglas Martin wrote, while Whitman was the butt of late-night television jokes, it was Whitman who “laughed all the way to the proverbial bank.”

“He recorded more than 500 songs, made more than 100 albums and sold more than 70 million records. In the 1970s his recording of ‘Rose Marie’ was No. 1 on the British pop charts for 11 weeks, a feat the Beatles never accomplished. Michael Jackson named Mr. Whitman one of his 10 favorite vocalists. George Harrison credited him as an early influence. Paul McCartney said Mr. Whitman gave him the idea of playing the guitar left-handed.

“Elvis Presley, in his first professional appearance in Memphis in 1954, opened for Mr. Whitman. Mistakenly billed as Ellis, he was paid $50; Mr. Whitman got $500. Mr. Whitman later let Presley borrow his trademark white rhinestone jacket.”

Whitman had 8 Top 10s on the country charts from 1952-54, but only 3 thereafter. 

Top 3 songs for the week 6/28/80: #1 “Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)” (Paul McCartney & Wings...Sir Paul gets a pass for this garbage...) #2 “Funkytown” (Lipps, Inc. ...tune hasn’t aged well at all...) #3 “The Rose” (Bette Midler...just shoot me...)...and...#4 “It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me” (Billy Joel...even he would admit he mailed this one in...) #5 “Against The Wind” (Bob Seger...eh...) #6 “Little Jeannie” (Elton John...this week just bores the hell out of me...) #7 “Steal Away” (Robbie Dupree...I mean I know these are good people and all...) #8 “Biggest Part Of Me” (Ambrosia...uh oh...a few weeks earlier this was hanging out in the top three and getting a ton of air play...and I have a bad memory from around the time of my graduation that spring associated with this one...mini broken heart, sports fans...cough cough...) #9 “Cupid/I’ve Loved You For A Long Time” (Spinners...not one they should be proud of...) #10 “She’s Out Of My Life” (Michael Jackson...and now you are out of hers...)

Minnesota Twins Quiz Answers: 1) Harmon Killebrew hit 40 home runs in a season 8 times. When men were real men, and not steroid-addled junkies. 2) Roy Sievers is the only other Twin to hit 40 homers, doing so with Washington in 1957 when he hit 42. Underrated slugger who finished career with 318...back when it meant something to hit this many, when men were real men, and not steroid.... 3) Chuck Knoblauch, speaking of steroids, is the single season leader in runs scored with 140 in 1996. 4) Cesar Tovar hit .300 and .311, 1970-71. In ’70, the underrated Tovar (at least I forgot he had five or so real good seasons for that era) scored 120 runs and led the league in doubles and triples. In ’71 he had 204 hits.

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