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Bar Chat

11/17/2014

Mississippi State Goes Down

NFL Quiz: Name the top five in career passing yards for the San Francisco 49ers. [Hint: No. 5 on the list has 16,000 yards.] Answer below.

Congrats to Kevin Harvick!

As soon as I heard of the latest format for the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship, I said it was going to be terrific and that proved to be the case. Entering the final race today in Homestead, Fla., four drivers had a shot at the title: Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick. It was simple. Whoever finished the highest of these four won the Cup.

So I picked up the action midway and in the end, Harvick held off Newman to win the championship...winning the race as well, with Newman second. [Hamlin was 7th, Logano 16th.]

In fact, for much of it the four finalists were all in the top 6 to 8.

What makes Harvick’s first title even more intriguing is that he raced for Tony Stewart’s team, a nice salve for Stewart.

College Football Review...what now?

[The following is written up before release of the latest AP poll. College Football Playoff selection committee rankings are used.]

No. 1 Mississippi State traveled to Tuscaloosa to face No. 5 Alabama and after building a 19-3 halftime lead, the Crimson Tide (9-1, 6-1) held on 25-20, handing the Bulldogs (9-1, 5-1) their first loss and setting Alabama up for the final four, assuming they defeat Auburn on Nov. 29. A loss in the SEC title game wouldn’t hurt them. Alabama was outgained 428-335, but took advantage of three Dak Prescott interceptions. Prescott was 27/48, 290, 2-3, with 82 yards rushing, as his Heisman hopes went up in flames.

No. 3 Florida State (10-0, 7-0) faced off against Miami (6-4, 3-3) and the Hurricanes jumped to a 16-0 lead, but once again the Seminoles came back to prevail, 30-26, as Jameis Winston improved to 23-0 as a starter, while the ‘Noles won their 26th straight.

But despite outgaining FSU 492-418, Miami was done in by a dropped touchdown pass and a faulty kicking game. My man Michael Badgley from Summit booted field goals from 45 and 46, but missed a 26-yard chippie and had an extra point blocked. There’s your four-point difference.

I have to admit, I have never felt invested in a kicker like this and I was sick for the kid, having watched him in high school quite a bit. [I also haven’t said this before but I worked with Michael’s uncle at PIMCO, himself a real star at Summit High School back in the day. Duff is a good man.]

So Miami missed a prime opportunity to take a huge step forward but this is a team on the rise, especially with talented freshman QB Brad Kaaya at the helm.

As for FSU, how many times can they survive like this? They should have lost to Clemson. Ditto Notre Dame. They were down big at Louisville....

Yet another scandal involving the Florida State football program. As reported by Mike McIntire and Walt Bogdanich of the New York Times:

“In the early-morning hours of Oct. 5, as this college town [Tallahassee] was celebrating another big football victory by Florida State University, a starting cornerback on the team drove his car into the path of an oncoming vehicle driven by a teenager returning home from a job at the Olive Garden.

“Both cars were totaled. But rather than remain at the scene as the law requires, the football player, P.J. Williams, left his wrecked vehicle in the street and fled into the darkness along with his two passengers, including Ronald Darby, the team’s other starting cornerback.

“The Tallahassee police responded to the off-campus accident, eventually reaching out to Florida State University police and the university’s athletic department.

A Times investigation revealed that Williams, “driving with a suspended license, was given a break by the Tallahassee police, who initially labeled the accident a hit-and-run, a criminal act, but later decided to issue him only two traffic tickets. Afterward, the case did not show up in the city’s public online database of police calls – a technical glitch, the police said.”

Williams eventually returned to the scene but wasn’t given a breathalyzer. Apparently, the police never asked if he had been drinking, even though the accident occurred at 2:37 a.m.

The accident was never reported by the news media. There’s also a potential tie-in to a burglary minutes before the accident.

Williams was the most valuable defensive player in this year’s national championship game.

No. 4 TCU traveled to Lawrence to face the lowly Kansas Jayhawks and TCU (9-1, 6-1) had to rally back to defeat Kansas (3-7, 1-6) 34-30. The Horned Frogs overcame three turnovers.

In a late Saturday night shocker, Oregon State (5-5, 2-5) upset No. 6 Arizona State (8-2, 5-2) 35-27 in Corvallis. The Beaverwear in my sports drawer was restless last night and I should have known something was up. Beaver Nation is back as they outgained the Sun Devils 498-367.

No. 8 Ohio State (9-1, 6-0) held on for a 31-24 win over No. 25 Minnesota (7-3, 4-2) in snowy Minneapolis, a highly entertaining contest. For the Buckeyes, quarterback J.T. Barrett started off like a house afire with an 86-yard touchdown run and a 57-yard scoring strike, but after those two plays, the Gophers did a pretty solid job containing him, Barrett finishing 15/25, 200, 3-1 through the air, with an additional 189 yards on 17 carries.

For Minnesota, senior running back David Cobb had 27 carries for 145 yards and three touchdowns. He’s an NFL back, for sure. And you’ll be able to steal him in the sixth round, is my guess.

No. 9 Auburn (7-3, 4-3) was manhandled by No. 15 Georgia (8-2, 6-2) in Athens. Former Heisman hopeful Todd Gurley returned after his four-game suspension by the NCAA to rush for 138 yards on 29 carries, while backfield mate Nick Chubb had 144 on 19. 

But late in the game, Gurley suffered what we learned on Sunday was a torn ACL. I feel terrible for him.

So last time I said No. 16 Nebraska (8-2, 4-2) had been dissed in the CFP rankings, but No. 20 Wisconsin (8-2, 5-1) then exposed the Cornhuskers, winning 59-24 in Madison. The story was Badgers running back Melvin Gordon, who set a single-game Division I rushing record with 408 yards (and four scores) on 25 carries (in just three quarters), thus exceeding the 406 yard total of LaDainian Tomlinson when he was at TCU, 1999.

Wisconsin should soar in the next poll and are a likely New Year’s Eve/Day bowl game participant.

No. 18 Notre Dame (7-3) lost to highly mediocre Northwestern (4-6) 43-40 in overtime, as the Fighting Irish slide into oblivion.

No. 21 Duke (8-2, 4-2) suffered a huge loss to Virginia Tech (5-5, 2-4) at home, 17-16. Blue Devils quarterback Anthony Boone was miserable, 18/40, 181, 0-2, as VaTech had the kind of effort on defense we had long become accustomed to, before this season’s irregular play.

The Hokies’ win, though, helps Ohio State, even if slightly, as Tech was responsible for the Buckeyes’ lone loss.

Marshall (10-0, 6-0) remained in the hunt for a “Group of Five” major bowl bid with a 41-14 win over Rice (6-4, 4-2). The other contender for the bowl game, Colorado State (9-1), was idle.

Rutgers (6-4, 2-4) became bowl eligible with a 45-23 win over hapless Indiana (3-7, 0-6). How hapless are the Hoosiers? The Star-Ledger had a chart on Indiana’s futility in Big Ten conference play. On top of 0-6 this season....

2013...3-5
2012...2-6
2011...0-8
2010...1-7
2009...1-7
2008...1-7
2007...3-5
2006...3-5
2005...1-7
2004...1-7
2003...1-7
2002...1-7

Pitt (4-6, 2-4) had another tough loss, 40-35, at the hands of North Carolina (5-5, 3-3). Once again the Panthers wasted sterling efforts by James Conner (30 carries, 220 yards, 4 TDs) and Tyler Boyd (5 receptions, 160 yards, one score).

Paul P.’s SMU Mustangs (0-9) lost on a final-second pass play to South Florida (4-6) in Dallas. Sorry, Paul. There’s always hoops!

And my Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-8, 0-6) had another dreadful performance in losing to North Carolina State (6-5, 2-5) 42-13; the Wolfpack outgaining the Deacs 445-219. I know new coach Dave Clawson had higher expectations, but he’s also smart enough to know there simply isn’t a lot of talent in Winston-Salem. And he understands he needs to recruit some linemen, though Wake picked up 58 yards on the ground this week!!!

Shout out to Bobby C., whose Navy Midshipmen (5-5) defeated Georgia Southern (8-3) 52-19 as Navy QB Keenan Reynolds had 277 yards rushing (30 carries) and six touchdowns on the ground (plus a seventh thru the air).

Finally, while we’re talking about outstanding rushing efforts this weekend. Western Kentucky’s Leon Allen ran for 345 yards and three touchdown as WKU beat Army, 55-24.

--The fun and games continues at the Univ. of Michigan. School President Mark Schlissel, speaking to a group of university employees, said that graduation rates for the football program had been ‘terrible’ until recent years and that he was taking his time finding a new athletic director because he wanted to find a candidate who shares his stance on academic integrity.

Well he was forced to apologize to coach Brady Hoke. It turns out that during his four years as coach, all 69 seniors have graduated, while the team’s academic progress rate is the highest it has been in school history.

Schlissel, you see, took the president’s job just last July after serving as provost at Brown University. He realizes he has a lot to learn about big-time college athletics. He also goes in the December file for consideration for “Jerk of the Year.”

So....what would my first four be in the next CFP rankings? Oregon, Alabama, Florida State and...TCU by a hair over Mississippi State. [But the CFP will put MSU fourth.]

--Florida is dumping coach Will Muschamp, who will still be at the helm the final two games.  The Gators are 27-20, 17-15 in the SEC, in his four years and will receive a $6.3 million buyout.

And now...the new AP Poll:

1. Florida State 10-0 (43 first-place votes)
2. Alabama 9-1 (16)
3. Oregon 9-1 (1)...quack quack
4. Mississippi State 9-1
5. TCU 9-1
6. Baylor 8-1
7. Ohio State 9-1...still possible
8. Ole Miss 8-2
9. Georgia 8-2
10. Michigan State 8-2
14. Wisconsin 8-2
18. Marshall 10-0...huge...maybe...
22. Colorado State 9-1

--Last week Green Bay (7-3) beat Chicago 55-14. This week they manhandled the Eagles (7-3) 53-20. Aaron Rodgers had another super game, 22/36, 341, 3-0, 120.3 rating.

For Philadelphia, it didn’t matter what Mark Sanchez did, as the score was 30-6 at the half. But he finished 26/44, 346, 2-2, 80.3.

--Arizona is now 9-1 after defeating Detroit (7-3) 14-6 behind Drew Stanton, who filled in ably once again for Carson Palmer; Stanton going 21/32, 306, 2-2, 91.4.

--Cleveland (6-4) laid an egg at home, losing to Houston (5-5) 23-7.

--San Diego (6-4) snapped its 3-game losing in beating still winless Oakland (0-10) 13-6.

--I watched the Giants (3-7) lose to the 49ers (6-4) 16-10 in one of the more frustrating games for a Giants fan, of which I’m not but on this one you have my sympathy. They played well, except for Eli Manning, who threw five interceptions. 22/45, 280, 1-5, 36.6 rating.

--Ryan Wilson of CBSSports.com had a piece on the “Coach Killers,” Jay Cutler and Andy Dalton. 

Cutler is 1-11 lifetime against the Packers. He’s just started a seven-year, $126.7 million contract that includes $54 million guaranteed. Actually, I didn’t realize entering this week he was only 59-54 as a starter overall.

As for Andy Dalton, after his incredibly dreadful performance against the Browns, where he ended up with a 2.0 quarterback rating, he is now known as “Dalton 2.0.” As Ryan Wilson points out, Dalton’s big problem, despite a 34-21-1 record, is he’s 2-11 in national television games (the Cleveland effort was a Thursday night contest), and, like Cutler, he signed a big extension before the season.

But while these two are considered “franchise quarterbacks,” ‘sup with Cam Newton, another with that moniker?

Dalton was superb, 16/22, 320, 3-0, 143.9! as the Bengals moved to 6-3-1 in beating the 4-6 Saints in New Orleans.

Cutler led the Bears (4-6) over the Vikings (4-6), 21-13, in going 31/43, 330, 3-2, 98.0.

But Cam Newton continued to underwhelm as the Panthers dropped to 3-7-1 in losing to the Falcons (4-6). Newton was 23/37, 292, 2-2, 82.3.

--Will the Eagles trade up to get Marcus Mariota in the draft? [Yeah, I’m jumping the gun a bit but Eagles coach Chip Kelly would love to have his former QB and there’d be no learning curve for Mariota. But the cost is probably prohibitive.]

--Jets coach Rex Ryan was fined $100,000 by the NFL for profanity last weekend, the fine being so hefty because Ryan is a repeat offender. Ryan said at a news conference after learning of it that he was merely saying “Thank you.”

--I’m shocked at what the Miami Marlins are preparing to do; sign All-Star Giancarlo Stanton to the largest contract in North American team sports history, a reported 13-year, $325 million deal; which would eclipse that of Alex Rodriguez’s 10-year, $275 million debacle with the Yankees. Stanton, 25, was eligible for free agency in two years.

Marlins president David Samson told USA TODAY Sports in September, “He’s the leader of this franchise. We always knew the talent he had, but what he’s done this year, playing every day, he’s the definition of a game-changer.”

What surprises me is that I just assumed Stanton would go to the Dodgers or Angels, because that’s where he’s strongly hinted the past year he’d like to play. Plus he’s expressed his displeasure with the direction of the team and the dimensions of his home stadium.

But his mega contract will have an opt-out clause after probably five years, along with a no-trade clause, so if he’s unhappy with the team’s direction, he’ll have an out and he’ll still just be 30.

I’m also surprised, though, that after he missed the last 17 games of the season after being hit in the face, the Marlins wouldn’t wait until they saw him in spring training against live pitching.

But assuming this all goes down, credit the Marlins big time. They are loaded with young talent. The power in the N.L. East is shifting. It will be the Mets and Marlins dominating the next five years, typed the editor with a mischievous grin.

--Meanwhile, these next few weeks are all about the free agent and trade markets, with everyone curious to see where Max Scherzer and Jon Lester sign, and who the Phillies trade Cole Hamels to, and whether the Giants are able to re-sign Pablo Sandoval. Pirates catcher Russell Martin is another hot commodity. Can Pittsburgh offer enough to keep him?

And then you have the Rockies and Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez. What happens with those two oft-injured stars?

Plus there is word out of Washington that the Nationals would entertain offers for star pitcher Jordan Zimmerman, who is due $16.5 million in 2015, the final year of a two-year deal, so he could be a free agent next offseason. The Cubs are said to be interested, as they are in every big pitching name out there, but the Nationals are denying reports there is anything imminent.

--A.J. Burnett was 26-21, 3.41 ERA, with Pittsburgh in 2012-13. He then turned down an offer to play there this past season and instead signed with Philadelphia where he was 8-18, 4.59, leading the majors with those 18 losses.

So he just signed a one-year deal to return to Pittsburgh at $8.5 million - $4.25 million less than the player option he turned down with Philadelphia.

--There are reports the Mets may eventually want Stephen Drew at short and with everything positive going on with the franchise otherwise, note to Mets management. Why the hell would you do this?!!! Geezuz. Us fans would gladly take Tejada over that stiff.

--The Tigers re-signed AL MVP runner-up Victor Martinez to a four-year, $68 million deal. Good for them. It ain’t my money. But no way would I give him four years. Yes, he was super last season, his best in the majors, hitting .335 with 32 home runs and 103 RBI, but he’s 35. And he’s strictly a DH these days. That said, the Tigers need that bat to help protect Cabrera.

--On the awards front...Corey Kluber was a surprise winner of the A.L. Cy Young Award; edging out Felix Hernandez. Kluber did enjoy a breakthrough season for the Indians, 18-9, 2.44 ERA and 269 strikeouts in 235 2/3 innings. Frankly, I was aware of how well he was doing but forgot how many innings he threw.

As for Hernandez, he was 15-6, with a league-leading 2.14 ERA and 248 Ks in 236 innings. He also had that major league record stretch where he pitched 16 straight games of seven or more innings and allowing two earned runs or less. 

In the N.L., Clayton Kershaw became the sixth pitcher to win three Cy Young Awards in a four-year span since the award was first given in 1956.

Randy Johnson 1999-2002
Pedro Martinez 1997-2000
Greg Maddux 1992-95
Jim Palmer 1973-76
Sandy Koufax 1963-66

But then Kershaw became the first pitcher to win the N.L. Most Valuable Player award since Bob Gibson in 1968, beating out Giancarlo Stanton and Andrew McCutchen. Kershaw received 18 of 30 first-place votes in the balloting.

Now a lot of fans say no way should a pitcher be eligible for the award but as you can see, it’s not like this happens all the time. I have no problem with it. Kershaw dominated the sport like few others in recent memory. Consider this: The Dodgers were 21-4 when he was on the mound, and only three games over .500 when anyone else pitched.  [Justin Verlander did win the A.L. MVP in 2011.]

Meanwhile, as expected, Mike Trout won the A.L. MVP Award, after finishing second the prior two seasons to Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera. Trout joins Mickey Mantle as the only players who finished as MVP runner-up in consecutive seasons before winning in the following one.

--USA TODAY Sports’ Ben Krimmel interviewed Stan Conte, vice president of medical services for the Dodgers and the lead investigator for a study that began in 2012 that has surveyed major and minor leaguers to examine their history of injuries and the prevalence of the Tommy John procedure.

There were 31 players whose last appearance was at the major league level who required TJ surgery in 2014, after 36 in 2012 and 19 in 2013.

Q: You are a big opponent of the 12-month rehab program from Tommy John surgery. What is behind your rejection of the 12-month “myth”?

Conte: I am not necessarily rejecting the 12-month rehab program but more getting the numbers right... Several medical studies have shown that the average months to return to major league competition (for a) pitcher is between 18 to 20.... We did a study recently...that looked at 144 major league pitchers and took only the ones that had their surgeries before June – and they still showed an average of 18 months. The median was 14. This is where I started to think the more realistic goal was 14 to 15 months.

The issue is “a tendon is taken from one part of the body and used to reconstruct the (UCL). But that tendon not only is weaker when it is first put in the elbow but it takes time for the tendon to not only get stronger but for the body to replace the tendon cells with ligament cells,” says Conte.

--Sports agent Scott Boras says he “never talked to” Tony Bosch, and “never met Tony Bosch,” hours after he was accused of “cooking up a preposterous story to explain why Manny Ramirez tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone in 2009 and urging Biogeneis founder Bosch to fabricate medical records,” as reported by the New York Daily News’ I-team.

Actually, Newsday first reported that Boras told federal agents that Bosch produced a patient chart for Ramirez to provide to the Players Association.

“Bosch told Boras that he didn’t keep records on his patients. Bosch then told the DEA that he fabricated a file for the union’s use.”

--Robinson Cano broke his toe when he was hit by a pitch in a game in Tokyo; the MLB All-Stars vs. Japan. He’ll be out about a month, so no issue for spring training.

In the game, though, four Japanese hurlers combined to no-hit the MLB squad, 4-0.

--We note the passing of Alvin Dark, 92, a baseball lifer. It’s easy to forget what a good ballplayer he was, Dark better known for his managing stints with a later generation. He was the 1948 Rookie of the Year with the Boston Braves in 1948 and played in three World Series, that same Braves team and the ’51 and ’54 Giants.

Playing mostly at short, he made three All-Star teams and hit .289 with 2,089 hits in 14 seasons.

Dark then managed five teams from 1961-77, taking the ’62 Giants to the pennant, and then managing the Oakland A’s to the World Series championship in 1974.

But he had some issues off the field. As Richard Goldstein writes in the New York Times:

“In the summer of 1964, Dark was quoted by Stan Isaacs of Newsday as saying: ‘We have trouble because we have so many Negro and Spanish-speaking players on this team (the Giants). They are just not able to perform up to the white players when it comes to mental alertness.’”

Dark held a news conference saying he had been misunderstood. Of course that ’64 team had Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal and Orlando Cepeda. He was fired on the last day of the ‘64 season.

Dark was born in Comanche, Oklahoma and was a three-sport star at LSU.

--Doc Gooden turned 50 on Sunday. As he told the New York Post, he never thought he’d make it. I think most of us fans who saw him are well past the ‘what if’ issues. I choose to smile, thinking of those first two magical years, in particular, where you scheduled your life around his starts.

Grizzlies 9-1...wow
Raptors 8-2...legit major factor come playoff time
Wizards 7-2...coming into their own?
Rockets 8-1 (prior to Sun. night contest)

Lakers 1-8 (prior to Sun. night contest)
Philadelphia 0-9

Then the next night, Philadelphia played at Houston and lost 88-87 on a James Harden shot with 9 second to go.

The worst start in NBA history is the 2009-10 New Jersey Nets, who opened 0-19. [That club finished 12-70.]

--I watched the last half of the Knicks’ 102-100 loss to the Jazz at the Garden on Friday night and despite Carmelo Anthony’s 46 points, it’s clear the Knicks simply don’t have any talent.

After New York’s seventh straight defeat, though, rookie coach Derek Fisher said: “Excitement, belief in who we are and who we’re made of,” he said of the team’s effort. “That was New York City out there. They went out and fought as hard as they’ve fought all season. We still have some things to clean up. But you question their commitment, go out and watch that game. That’s all our fans want to see, what management wants to see.”

Which led to a collective “Huh?” among the New York media and Knicks fans. You just lost your seventh freakin’ game in a row to go to 2-8, Coach!

Well the Knicks bounced back on Sunday to defeat the pathetic Nuggets (2-7) 109-93, as Melo and J.R. Smith had 28 apiece.

[We learned this week that Prince William and pregnant Kate are coming to New York, Dec. 7-9, and among the items on the agenda are attending an NBA game in the Big Apple. Thankfully it will be the Cavs and LeBron taking on the Nets in Brooklyn. The Knicks are not in town.]

--Thursday night on Inside the NBA, Charles Barkley ripped Derrick Rose for the guard’s recent comments about how his playing decision are based on long-term thoughts about his health, rather than the team that pays him $10s of millions.

Rose told reporters: “I’m thinking about long term. I’m thinking about after I’m done with basketball. Having graduations to go to, having meetings to go to, I don’t want to be in my meetings all sore or be at my son’s graduation all sore just because of something I did in the past. [I’m] just learning and being smart.”

Rose was then unapologetic when TNT’s Rachel Nichols asked him about the quotes, which led Barkley to say this after being asked by Ernie Johnson if Sir Charles took issue with Rose’s statements.

“Of course I do. That was stupid. Derrick Rose is a great player, he’s a great kid. Love his mom. That was stupid. You know, Ernie, we’re so blessed. I limp around but I go home to a big ol’ mansion. There’s people who work harder than Derrick Rose who go home to a shack.

“There are consequences to what we do for a living. We got the best life in the world. I’m a poor black kid from Leeds, Alabama who grew up in the projects and listen, I don’t mind limping around.... I never have to worry about my bills.... Derrick Rose is making $20 million a year. He got a couple bad knees. That’s disrespectful to maids, people who are in the army who go out and kill people and get killed.... As much as I like Derrick Rose, that is just flat-out stupid.”

Meanwhile, Rose just missed his fourth straight game with a sore hamstring.

--After a preseason game in Las Vegas last month, Clippers star Blake Griffin got into a scuffle with a man at a nightclub and Griffin has now been charged with one count of misdemeanor battery. In a Clark County, Nev., court filing, Griffin is accused of committing battery on Daniel S. by “squeezing his hand and shoulder and/or slapping him in the face.”

Griffin and teammates Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan were at Tao nightclub in the Venetian when the victim took a photo of Griffin, who grabbed the guy’s phone and deleted it, leading to the physical contact. [Des Bieler / Washington Post]

So not the best thing for Griffin’s image....but can’t say I blame him.

College Basketball

No big upsets the first weekend so I’m not creating stories where there are none. Except I can’t help but note Duke’s first two games.

113-44 over Presbyterian; 109-59 over Fairfield. Good lord.

And down in Kentucky, Coach John Calipari has already secured the top recruiting class for 2015. Yup, two five-star prospects signed up on Thursday, and according to ESPN.com, another nine major prospects are still considering Kentucky.

But wait...as I go to post just saw Holy Cross upset No. 25 Harvard, 58-57. #Jesus.

What a freakin’ mess. FIFA, the governing body of world football (soccer), released a report on Thursday from its ethics committee concerning the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and it found no significant evidence of corruption. So the bids by Russia for 2018, and Qatar for 2022, stand. There was the possibility the two hosts could have lost those rights.

Hans-Joachim Eckert, the German judge who heads the ethics committee, reviewed the work of former United States attorney Michael J. Garcia and in a 42-page summary of Garcia’s report (which as far as I know hasn’t been seen by anyone outside...it’s 400+ pages), “Eckert wrote that while Garcia found some potential ethics violations by Qatar and Russia, the discoveries were ‘far from reaching any threshold that would require returning to the bidding process, let alone reopening it.’” [Sam Borden / New York Times]

Eckert said Garcia should bring charges against individuals but close the investigation into the bidding process as a whole. FIFA concluded they look forward to planning the two tournaments, though there is still an issue over Qatar 2022 because of the usual summer date, which wouldn’t be great in Qatar. [Moving it to the fall then conflicts with American football, baseball playoffs, etc., let alone, rather importantly, the actual European league soccer season schedules, which start in August.]

As Sam Borden notes, and as I wrote at the time, voting on two tournament sites at the same time (in 2010 for both 2018 and 2022) “was seen as strange from the beginning.” It was unprecedented, “and many thought it invited vote-trading,” writes Borden.

As I noted at the time, it was then that the Sunday Times (U.K.) reported on a cash-for-votes scheme. I mean the whole procedure was absurd. Russia needed two rounds of balloting before securing 2018, beating out England; a joint bid from Spain and Portugal; and a dual app from Netherlands and Belgium.

For 2022, there were four rounds of voting before Qatar got enough votes to edge out the U.S.

Immediately there were reports of improprieties, and six of the 22 voters were connected to serious allegations of wrongdoing.

So over the weekend the war between FIFA and Michael Garcia intensified, with Eckert and the prosecutor apparently no longer on speaking terms as Eckert refuses to release Garcia’s full report. Meanwhile, the FBI is leading a probe in the U.S., with detectives telling CNN senior FIFA members could be charged. The FBI is seeking access to Garcia’s report.

As for Garcia himself, he issued a statement less than four hours after FIFA’s 42-page summary of his work, saying FIFA’s report “contains numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions.”

Members of Britain’s parliament are outraged over the 2018 vote, with one MP calling Eckert’s report “a whitewash.”

MP Damien Collins said: “It is a whitewash as it is an attempt to con people that there has been a full and independent investigation when there has not been. The result is that allegations of bribery and serious wrongdoing remain unanswered and they are still suppressing the full report.”

“Somewhere in a dark corner of his lair in Switzerland, Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, had such a rollicking belly laugh that some change fell out of his deep pockets.”

--God bless NBA Commissioner Adam Silver! In an op-ed in the New York Times the other day, Silver said it was time for the United States to get with the times in regard to sports betting and that Congress “should adopt a federal framework that allows states to authorize betting on professional sports, subject to strict regulatory requirements and technological safeguards.”

This is the third time that Silver has spoken of his support for legalized sports betting and the comments come one week before a federal judge will rule on New Jersey’s efforts to bring sports betting to my home state.

Silver wrote: “Gambling has increasingly become a popular and accepted form of entertainment in the United States. Most states offer lotteries. Over half of them have legal casinos. Three have approved some form of Internet gambling, with others poised to follow.”

New Jersey state Sen. Raymond Lesniak, the main sponsor of New Jersey’s sports wagering law, called Silver’s latest statement “a game-changer.”

“He’s saying what I have been saying all along: To having regulated gaming and to have the federal government change the law.”

--Charley Hoffman won his third PGA Tour title in Mexico. 58-year-old Fred Funk tied for ninth. Not too shabby.

--Last year’s World Cup slalom champ, American Mikaela Shiffrin, finished 11th at the first event of the new season in Finland. Slovenia’s Tina Maze won.

--I have been a big fan of Bill Cosby since I was a kid in the 1960s and was listening to his comedy albums, which were a staple in my household. My brother and I probably listened to them 50 times. I then watched the “Cosby” show religiously. About five years ago I took my father to see Cos in Morristown, N.J.

But as to the renewed allegations that have surfaced, it’s tragic as much as anything else. We may never know the full truth, though he had already settled a civil suit in 2006 with a woman over an alleged incident two years before.

The tragedy is how his legacy is now forever tarnished. That’s tragic and sad.

--Brad K. passed along the story of a recent shark find in the Philippines. Fishermen there bagged a tiger shark and when they opened it, they discovered a human head and leg. “The flesh was only partly digested,” according to the fisherman quoted by UPI. One fishermen told Minda News, “It was so disgusting.” They threw the remains and the shark (except its head and fins) back into the water fearing the human remains would bring them bad luck.

But now investigators believe the remains were those of one of two still missing from a ferry accident in the area in September.

--So I’m reading the latest issue of Army Times (for new readers, I subscribe to this to keep up on issues...not because I served in the military), and they have a section on holiday gift ideas. I like this one, guys.

“Jim’s Jarhead Jerky: When Jim Ewen wanted to send a care package to his son-in-law in Iraq in 2009, the former Marine knew from experience that nothing beats a little taste of home. That 2-pound package of his signature beef jerky quickly turned into a full-time business. The 12-pack of .38-ounce cans ($18.50) would make a great stocking – and belly – stuffer. Or try his new spicy pickled sausage ($10.50 for a 3-pack)." Jimsjarheadjerky.com [Just saw the lad is a Jersey boy, too.]

Top 3 songs for the week 11/18/67:  #1 “To Sir With Love” (Lulu...great tune...) #2 “Soul Man” (Sam & Dave...eh...) #3 “Incense And Peppermints” (Strawberry Alarm Clock...Far out, Man!)...and...#4 “The Rain, The Park & Other Things” (The Cowsills...another great one...) #5 “It Must Be Him” (Vikki Carr...big fan of hers back in the day...) #6 “Please Love Me Forever” (Bobby Vinton...very eclectic week...) #7 “Your Precious Love” (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell...best musical duo of all time...she died way too young...) #8 “I Say A Little Prayer” (Dionne Warwick) #9 “Expressway To Your Heart” (Soul Survivors) #10 “I Can See For Miles” (The Who...peaked the following week at only #9...You know what tune enters the top ten the following week? The Monkees’ “Daydream Believer,” which would go on to occupy the top slot for four weeks...)

NFL Quiz Answer: Top five career passing yards for San Francisco 49ers.

Joe Montana 35124 (1979-1992) 244 TD
John Brodie 31548 (1957-1973) 214
Steve Young 29907 (1987-1999) 221
Jeff Garcia 16408 (1999-2003)
Y.A. Tittle 16016 (1951-1960)

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