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Bar Chat

06/12/2014

Spurs Up 2-1!

U.S. Open Golf Quiz: Who are the last seven foreign winners of the Open? Answer below.

Yup, when you are trying to win a close game late, two things stand out in the world of sports. First, in baseball, you can’t walk the leadoff hitter. Second, in basketball, you must hit your free throws. In Game 2, Sunday, San Antonio’s Tony Parker and Tim Duncan inexplicably missed all four of their free throws, leaving the Spurs up just 87-85 with 6:25 to go. They would lose 98-96, series tied at 1-1 as it headed to Miami. LeBron went crampless and had a superb 35 points and 10 rebounds; once again a man amongst boys.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the Heat’s third straight title. Like many of you I watched in amazement Tuesday, Game 3, as San Antonio blitzed Miami in a record-breaking, all-world, first-half performance. The Spurs, led by Kawhi Leonard, made a Finals-record 75.8% of their shots on the way to a 71-50 lead; the first 70-point first half in the Finals since 1987. They made 19 of their first 21 shots (25-for-33 for the half).

It seemed inevitable, though, that the Heat would make a run in the second and they cut the lead to seven before the Spurs pulled away again for a 111-92 victory.

Leonard picked a rather important game to score a career-best 29, 16 in the first quarter, and he smothered LeBron, who had 22 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals, but also 7 turnovers. James seemed strangely indifferent for much of the contest, after scoring 14 of the Heat’s first 20 points.

So it’s Game 4 in Miami, Thursday, and then back to San Antonio for Game 5 Sunday. Fingers crossed for Timmy D. and Co. This would be sweet payback for last year.

--Derek Fisher was introduced as the Knicks new coach (5 years, $25 million). I like the choice, but Knicks fans have to be resigned to the fact next season has the potential to be truly horrendous. Like 20-62 horrendous. There just isn’t a lot of talent, regardless of whether Carmelo Anthony decides to stay. Phil Jackson is trying to get everything in place for 2015-16, though he’ll say all the right things about this coming year.

--And in the Donald Sterling debacle, he has decided after all to pursue his $1 billion lawsuit against the NBA and commissioner Adam Silver, as well as withdraw his support for the sale of the team negotiated by his wife.

“I have decided that I must fight to protect my rights,” Sterling said in a letter.  “While my position may not be popular, I believe that my rights to privacy and the preservation of my rights to due process should not be trampled.”

Sterling is thus challenging wife Shelly’s actions and negotiation of the sale to Steve Ballmer for $2 billion.

It’s not clear if Donald Sterling just wants the NBA to rescind the $2.5 million fine and lifetime ban as a condition for letting the sale go through. For her part, Shelly was going to court on Wednesday to ask a judge to expedite the sale.

Little to say here. By the time some of you read this it could all be over, L.A. taking a 3-0 series lead with a 3-0 win in Game 3 on Monday as Jonathan Quick made some huge saves at the Garden, while Henrik Lundqvist was very ordinary.

But Rangers fans will always remember the non-call on goalie interference in Game 2 at the Staples Center. Lundqvist couldn’t move on the play...it was 4-2 Rangers at the time in the third. They should have been going back to New York even at 1-1.

The league’s competition committee met Monday and the adviser to the executive director of the NHL Players’ Association said the committee room was split on whether or not Dwight King’s goal should have counted. But the play remains unreviewable in the course of a game.

Meanwhile Lundqvist said that it feels like the Kings “had the luck so far in these three games.”

One other...high-priced winger Rick Nash has just three goals in 23 playoff games, despite taking a playoff-leading 80 shots. Rangers fans are not happy with this effort.

As for the history of coming back from 3-0 deficits, Jeff Klein had a piece in the New York Times addressing the topic.

“The Rangers are the 321st team in the NHL, NBA, and Major League Baseball to fall behind in a best-of-seven series by three games to none....only 5 of the previous 320” have managed to then win.

Four of the 5 are NHL teams, including this year’s Kings, who came from down 3-0 to the San Jose Sharks to storm back and win the next four.

The other instance is the 2004 Red Sox when they stunned the Yankees in the ALCS and went on to vanquish the Curse of the Bambino.

In baseball, Boston is one of 33 to accomplish the feat. 177 NHL teams have fallen behind 3-0. And in the NBA, all 110 have failed to come back. Now that’s remarkable.

California Chrome

After his post-race outburst following the Belmont Stakes, and after a slightly lesser one on Sunday, California Chrome co-owner Steve Coburn apologized to the racing world on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Monday.

“It’s just the emotion of the whole journey coming together at one time,” he said. “I need to apologize to the winners; they ran a beautiful race.”

Coburn was alongside his wife, Carolyn, and was near tears. “Their horse won the race. I want to apologize to everybody associated with Tonalist, his trainer, Mr. Clement.”

“I want to apologize to my wife, Carolyn, who literally stood behind me since we started this journey. I want to apologize to my partner, Perry Martin, and his family.”

The thing is, as I mentioned last time, Coburn had a point with his rant about needing to run all three races, but he had nothing to be ashamed of in terms of his horse. We quickly forgot that Chrome was only two lengths from Tonalist at the end. That’s kind of getting lost amid all the shouting, and now apologies.

I also don’t blame Victor Espinoza. Yeah, it was a rough ride...a tough trip. As trainer Art Sherman, who was a total gentlemen amid the disappointment, said, “Sometimes, in this game, when you have a bad trip, that’s part of it. Racing luck means a lot.”

--Sherman said Chrome will be given lots of rest and then they’ll begin preparing for the Oct. 31-Nov. 1 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita. Chrome being California-based, there would appear to be zero likelihood it would be racing in something like the Travers Stakes in Saratoga beforehand.  More likely, Chrome will run in a California stakes race in the fall leading up to the Cup.

[I said last time I’d give my idea for the Triple Crown but I’ll wait for when the debate formally picks up again, which I suspect will be late summer or before the Breeders’ Cup.]

World Cup

At first it was thought the United States was in the Group of Death, Group G, for play that starts on Thursday, but with the latest FIFA rankings, that is now Group D.

Group D (54)

Group G (56)

2. Germany

13. United States

“Easiest” is Group F

The lowest-ranked teams in the 32-team field: Australia (62), South Korea (57), Cameroon (56).

Highest-ranked teams not in the field: Ukraine (16), Denmark (T-23), Slovenia (25).

Spain is No. 1, host Brazil No. 3.

And your World Cup “Pick to Click” is...Germany!!!

USA schedule:

An Argentina vs. Brazil final, as Sports Illustrated predicts, would be rather delicious. [SI says Argentina will be the overall winner.]

Ball Bits

--Unless Virginia comes through, it will be another year without an ACC team winning the College World Series. The survivors...

UC Irvine vs. Texas; Louisville vs. Vanderbilt; Texas Tech vs. TCU; Virginia vs. Mississippi

Yes, it’s another excuse to say the last time an ACC team won the CWS was Wake Forest way back in 1955. [Reminder, Miami has multiple wins but they were before it was admitted to the conference.]

--Talk about a heckuva night. Cleveland’s Lonnie Chisenhall had one of the single best ballgames in history as he went 5 for 5 with three home runs and a club-tying 9 RBI in the Indians’ 17-7 win over Texas Monday night. Chisenhall raised his average to .385, 62-161 in 51 games with 7 HR 32 RBI. In 2013 he hit just .225 in 289 ABs. [He still needs more plate appearances to qualify for the A.L. batting lead.]

Major League Baseball said it was the first time a player went 5 for 5 with three homers and 9 ribbies since the RBI became a statistic in 1920. He’s also the first with 5 hits, 3 HR, 9 RBI since Fred Lynn for the Red Sox in 1975.

Chris James is the only other Indian to have 9 RBI in a game (1991).

[Chisenhall went 2-for-4 on Tuesday in a 9-5 loss to K.C. to hike his average to .388.]

--Mets captain David Wright has zero home runs on the road; 142 at-bats. Goodness gracious.

--I won’t get into all the details, but the Wall Street Journal’s Michael Salfino had a piece wondering if Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud, who was just sent down after hitting .180, will ever become a big-time ballplayer. Past history of catching prospects at his age, 25, suggests he won’t. I believe Mr. Salfino. I have written d’Arnaud off. For me it’s all about AA prospect Kevin Plawecki.

D’Arnaud seems like a good kid, and he’s a solid defensive catcher. Here’s hoping he can hit enough in the minors to warrant a career backup position somewhere, like current Mets receiver Anthony Recker appears to be doing. 

But wait...there’s more! The guy the Mets brought up to replace d’Arnaud, Taylor Teagarden, hit a grand slam in his first game on Tuesday, a 6-2 Mets win.

--Baltimore’s Manny Machado looked like he was on the fast track to the Hall of Fame last season at age 20 before he hurt his knee and required reconstructive surgery.

This season he is hitting only .222 in 36 games and has lately been acting like a Class A Dirtball, throwing his bat in apparent retaliation during Sunday’s game against the A’s and getting suspended five games (which he appealed). Earlier in the series, he hit Oakland catcher Derek Norris twice in the head with backswings.

--Shockingly, the Tampa Bay Rays are 24-42, having been shutout for a third straight game on Tuesday by the Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright, 1-0. The Rays were 23-28, but have now lost 14 of 15.

--We note the sudden passing of former A’s and Dodgers pitcher Bob Welch at the age of 57. He was found in the bathroom of his Seal Beach, Calif., home and reportedly suffered a heart attack.

Welch pitched 10 seasons with the Dodgers before being traded to Oakland. For his career he was 211-146, 3.46. He played on five teams that reached the World Series and won two titles, one in 1981 with the Dodgers and another with the A’s in 1989.

But it was in 1978 as a 21-year-old rookie that he memorably struck out Reggie Jackson to end Game 2 of the World Series. Nine fastballs. The raw rookie vs. the legendary slugger. [Look up the YouTube clip...baseball drama at its best.]

Welch has long been the answer to a trivia question for decades now...who was the last to win 25 games? He went 27-6 in 1990 (just 35 starts), tying him with Steve Carlton in 1972 for most in a single season since Denny McLain’s 31 in 1968.

--Craig Muder of the Baseball Hall of Fame notes a special game, Tigers at the Philadelphia A’s, June 11, 1927, Shibe Park.

Leading off for Connie Mack’s A’s was Eddie Collins, followed by Zack Wheat, Ty Cobb, Al Simmons and Jimmie Foxx. Later in the game, Mickey Cochrane entered as the A’s catcher and Lefty Grove relieved starter Howard Ehmke in the sixth. Seven Hall of Famers.

Wheat and Cobb were finishing their careers, while Collins was in his second stint with the A’s at the end of his playing days. Simmons and Foxx were beginning stints in Philly.

May 24, 1928, the A’s had a game with the Yankees that featured 13 future Hall of Famers – the most of any one game in big league history.

U.S. Open

There is no doubt golf needs a huge shot-in-the-arm with this week’s U.S. Open Championship at Pinehurst No. 2. Winning this event has been the only thing on Phil Mickelson’s mind since taking last year’s British Open, as a win at Pinehurst would complete the career grand slam for Lefty and firmly ensconce him among the best of all time.

But he’s been playing miserably this year, last week’s T-11 at the St. Jude Classic being his best finish, and now he has something else on his mind; the insider-trading allegation that emerged two weeks ago.

It’s clear Phil’s health also hasn’t been great (he has arthritis, after all), and his final round play in particular has been abysmal.

But without Tiger Woods in the mix, Mickelson is the only other ‘name’ the casual fan (who normally only turns on the majors if either one is in the mix...and that’s a lot of viewers) relates to. Maybe down the road it’s Jordan Spieth. Rory McIlroy certainly can draw some viewers... but not yet at the level Phil and Tiger always have.

Ideally, Phil is within striking distance on Sunday, maybe Ernie Els has a throwback tournament, Spieth and/or McIlroy are there, and maybe Arnie. [Oops, I was just informed Palmer isn’t playing....never mind.]

By the way, the latest Bovada.lv odds have the following....

Rory McIlroy 10-1 to win
Adam Scott 12-1
Phil Mickelson 14-1
Bubba Watson 18-1
Justin Rose 25-1
Jordan Spieth 25-1
Matt Kuchar 25-1
Henrik Stenson 25-1

“Much of golf’s swagger is missing this year. Woods and his 14 major championships have been sidelined because of back surgery, and Mickelson hasn’t had a top 10 finish this season.

“What golf can’t afford at this year’s U.S. Open is another snoozer like the Masters where (Bubba) Watson captured his second green jacket without much of a challenge in the final round from anyone on the back nine.......

“The star of the 114th U.S. Open is not a player, but the golf course. Pinehurst 2 has the mix of history, having hosted two previous U.S. Opens, and a freshness because of the $2.5 million restoration that removed the turf rough and replaced it with sand waste, wiry grass and pine straw....

“There are plenty of story lines that could develop into the kind of drama that can make this a special weekend. Mickelson could finally break through or McIlroy could reassert his status by winning his third major. Maybe Spieth gets it done and stamps himself as worthy of being called the next big thing. Or maybe Bubba bags another major.

“Without the rough, the U.S. Open will have a different look though count on the final score being close to par. Still, there needs to be a Sunday duel or a tear-jerking finish to make golf interesting again.

Country Music

Rolling Stone had its annual Country Music issue and had a list of the “25 Greatest Country Songs of All Time.”

1. I Walk the Line – Johnny Cash
2. Crazy – Patsy Cline
3. I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry – Hank Williams
4. He Stopped Loving Her Today – George Jones
5. Blue Yodel No. 9 (Standin’ on the Corner) – Jimmie Rodgers (1930)
6. Stand by Your Man – Tammy Wynette
7. You Don’t Know Me – Ray Charles...love this selection
8. Mama Tried – Merle Haggard
9. Jolene – Dolly Parton
10. Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys – Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson

16. Wichita Lineman – Glen Campbell...in my top ten all time, Pop list.

18. All Me Ex’s Live in Texas – George Strait...good one

I’m not going to pick apart or bitch about the list. The top ten is solid. But I’m sorry, Randy Travis’ “Forever and Ever Amen” has to be on everyone’s top 25 all time and it’s missing. It was an incredibly important tune that ushered in a new era in country. I’ll never forget the first time I heard it, driving in North Carolina as part of my job for Thomson McKinnon Securities. Ah yes, the barbecue tour.

--Former UCLA star Ed O’Bannon took the stand first in the non-jury trial against the NCAA for denying athletes the ability to profit from the use of their names, images and likenesses in television broadcasts, rebroadcasts, video games and DVDs.

O’Bannon talked of how he spent his playing days at UCLA, spending 40 to 45 hours a week on basketball and selecting a major that would fit with his schedule. When asked if he considered himself a student who just happened to be an athlete, O’Bannon said: “Nah. I was an athlete masquerading as a student. ...I was there strictly to play basketball.”

O’Bannon related how, in 2008, he was at a friend’s house when his friend’s son showed him a video game produced by Electronic Arts that included his likeness – a UCLA player with his jersey number (31) who shot with his left hand, was ‘bald-headed’ and shared the same complexion as O’Bannon. The lawsuit stemmed from this realization.

[The other day, in a related case, Electronic Arts reached a damage settlement with the NCAA on the video issue, agreeing to pay $20 million to current and former Bowl Subdivision football players and Division I men’s basketball players. Previously, EA reached a $40 million with athletes that could give some 100,000 current and former players payments ranging from $48 to $951 for use of their likenesses in videogames dating back to 2003. Par-tay!]

The O’Bannon class action is just one of a number of legal challenges to the “amateur conceit” of collegiate athletics, as the L.A. Times’ Lee Romney put it, and it is expected the issue will eventually make it to the U.S. Supreme Court.

I will cover it minimally unless there is a bombshell or two.

I’ve never thought these guys should be paid, though they definitely should be given more of a stipend, as well as two paid trips home each academic year, and, importantly, full medical care for any injuries suffered during their playing days for one year following their last year of eligibility.

--Amy Van Dyken, who won six gold medals in swimming, including four at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, severed her spine in an ATV accident in Arizona. She did not suffer any head trauma and was alert and in good spirits after emergency surgery. All you can do is wish her the best. Her husband, former Denver Broncos punter Tom Rouen, was with her when the accident occurred.

Wake Forest fans in particular are thinking of someone who suffered a similar injury a few years ago, but there’s no need for me to mention his name.

--Just wanted to note Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s win at Pocono on Sunday was the 21st of his Sprint Cup career.  But 15 of the wins were between 2000 and 2004, only six since then (including two this year).

--Congratulations to Nia Sanchez of Nevada who took the Miss USA title. She is a 4th-degree black belt in taekwondo. She is also quite attractive. First runner-up was Audra Mari of North Dakota, the reigning Miss Fracking 2014.

--Croc!!! Well, you all saw this one. In Australia’s Kakadu National Park the other day, a man went to the side of his boat to empty a bucket when he was attacked by what police in the Northern Territories say was a 15 ½-foot crocodile and vanished. His wife, son and daughter-in-law were unable to save him. His remains were then later supposedly found inside a croc that was shot near the original encounter, as reported in the Sydney Morning Herald.

--Brad K. passed along this one, ripped from the pages of the Adirondack Express (about ten days old).

“Sheila Brady and Peter Shannon were unpleasantly surprised to find a bear sitting in the passenger seat of their car in the morning. A mother bear had gotten into the car, presumably wanting to get her paws on a few gumdrops left in the middle console. She apparently didn’t count on the door closing behind her, separating her from her two cubs. The crazed mother bear tore the interior to shreds trying to escape; airbags deployed, seats torn out, dashboard demolished.”

[No word on if Todd Rundgren’s “Greatest Hits” were in the console...as would be the case with moi....but I digress...]

Anyway, bears know how to open car doors, and they can sing and dance, as you’ve seen on television and the movies.

[Eventually, the door was opened for the bruin, who was then reunited with his kids. No word on whether she offered to pay for the damages.]

--Some eating records, courtesy TIME.

44 lobsters in 12 minutes...Sonya “Black Widow” Thomas in Aug. 2005

275 pickled jalapenos in 8 minutes...Patrick Bertoletti in May 2011

121 Twinkies in 6 minutes...Joey Chestnut in Oct. 2013

--George Strait gave his final concert as part of a formal tour, playing before a record 105,000 at Cowboys Stadium (AT&T Stadium). That is pretty darn impressive. For a closed venue, this really is the all-time mark. Strait will only do an occasional small gig in the future.

Top 3 songs for the week 6/12/76: #1 “Silly Love Songs” (Wings...dreadful...) #2 “Get Up And Boogie (That’s Right)” (Silver Convention....blows...) #3 “Misty Blue” (Dorothy Moore)...and...#4 “Love Hangover” (Diana Ross) #5 “Happy Days” (Pratt & McClain) #6 “Shannon” (Henry Gross...song about Shannon Airport in Ireland) #7 “Sara Smile” (Daryl Hall & John Oates...saves the week...) #8 “Shop Around” (Captain & Tennille) #9 “More, More, More” (Andrea True Connection...one of the better ones for this otherwise awful genre...) #10 “Fool To Cry” (The Rolling Stones...heard of ‘em)

U.S. Open Quiz Answer: Last seven foreign winners...

2004 Retief Goosen
2005 Michael Campbell
2006 Geoff Ogilvy
2007 Angel Cabrera
2010 Graeme McDowell
2011 Rory McIlroy
2013 Justin Rose

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