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Bar Chat

09/08/2014

Pigskin Review

Baseball Quiz: Name the five players to hit 20 homers in a season at least 12 times since 2000. Answer below.

Note: This year in covering both the NFL and College Football, I’m not going to attempt to mention every game, or note all the scores, unless it’s for the first 3 or 4 in the CFB rankings each week just to keep some flow for the archives. I will otherwise maintain my parochial bent for both.

The NFL’s Opening Week

--Thursday, Russell Wilson and Seattle picked up where they left off in the Super Bowl with a 36-16 thrashing of Green Bay at home. Wilson finished 19-of-28 for 191 yards and two touchdowns, while Marshawn Lynch ran for 110 yards and two scores and Percy Harvin had 160 all-purpose yards. For Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers was largely a non-factor, 23/33, 189, 1-1.

--My Jets defeated the Raiders 19-14 and for quarterback Geno Smith it was like night and day vs. early last season. Geno threw an interception and fumbled early, but it didn’t matter. You could see he was exuding confidence and then he went on to go 23/28, 221, 1-1, while the Jets had 212 yards rushing, including a 71-yard scamper by Chris Ivory.

But what was most important to yours truly was the play of converted safety Antonio Allen, forced into playing cornerback due to a myriad of injuries. Allen was terrific, and that alone gave Jets fans a huge shot in the arm. Maybe the d-back situation isn’t as bad as advertised. As Rex Ryan says, Allen is a “guy who knows how to play football.” 

But we’ll find out quickly if my optimism is warranted as the Jets go up against Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, Matthew Stafford, Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady the next six weeks.

Meanwhile, Raiders fans should be optimistic. Rookie quarterback Derek Carr was fine, 20/32, 151, 2-0. But the Jets held Oakland to just 25 yards on the ground.

But for the Raiders it was their 14th straight loss when traveling to the Eastern time zone.

--Minnesota whipped the Sam Bradford-less St. Louis Rams 34-6 as Cordarrelle Patterson, a receiver, had 102 yards rushing, while Adrian Peterson had 75.

--The Falcons came back from down 20-10 at half to beat New Orleans 37-34 in overtime behind Matt Ryan’s 31/43, 448, 3-0 performance.

--Pittsburgh, up 27-3 at half, held on to beat Cleveland 30-27 behind Ben Roethlisberger, 23/34, 365.   But it was further proof you never take a running back with one of the first picks in the draft these days. Cleveland RB Terrance West, a rookie from Towson, had 100 yards on 16 carries for the Browns.

--Miami was another big comeback winner, down 20-10 at half to New England but prevailing 33-20. For the Dolphins, Knowshon Moreno had 134 yards rushing on 24 carries.

--Carolina defeated Tampa Bay 20-14 behind quarterback Derek Anderson. Who? With Cam Newton unable to play due to injury, Anderson, who had thrown all of four passes the prior three seasons, was 24/34, 230, 2-0.

--Dallas had four first half turnovers, three on Tony Romo interceptions, as San Francisco went on to a 28-17 victory, after leading 28-3 at the half.

--The first overall pick in the NFL draft, Houston’s Jadeveon Clowney, suffered a meniscus tear in his knee and will miss 4-6 weeks. The Texans defeated the Redskins 17-6.

--Denver’s Wes Welker denied his four-game suspension for breaking the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs was a result of his taking MDMA, also known as Ecstasy or Molly, at last spring’s Kentucky Derby.

“I wouldn’t have any idea where to get a Molly or what a Molly is,” Welker said in an e-mail to the Denver Post.

--Michael Sam signed with the Dallas Cowboys for the practice squad. So did former Wake Forest defensive lineman Nikita Whitlock, who is making the transition to fullback. This is a tremendous opportunity for him. Just stay in the game. He will get an opportunity, if not this year, next.

College Football

What an awful weekend for the Big Ten...what with Michigan State, Ohio State and Michigan all going down. But first....

No. 1 Florida State defeated Citadel 37-12, while No. 2 Alabama whipped Florida Atlantic 41-0 in a game that was suspended due to lightning with 7:53 remaining in the 4th quarter. But what was significant about the score when the game was called off?

“Florida Atlantic lost, 55-7, to Nebraska last week, and as it was playing mighty Alabama this week, the Owls were a huge underdog. Point spreads for the game mostly ranged from 39 to 40, getting as high as 40.5.

“That last number turned out to be very significant, because lightning in the area caused the game to be called off midway through the fourth quarter. Fortunately for those who took the favorite, the Crimson Tide was leading at the time, 41-0, and that became the final score.

“So a laugher in on-field terms was anything but for bettors who had either side of that line. The score was 38-0 entering the fourth quarter, with Alabama driving toward another score, so a game stoppage at that point would have had a drastically different effect on the gambling outcome. As it turned out, the Tide kicked a field goal on that drive, providing just enough points to cover. Six plays later, the game was halted.”

No. 3 Oregon took an 18-7 lead at home against No. 7 Michigan State in the game of the week (perhaps of the entire season), only to see the Spartans roar back to lead 24-18 at the half. But then Marcus Mariota, your 2014 Heisman Trophy winner, led the Ducks to a 28-3 second half, final score 46-27, ending with 318 passing yards and three touchdowns, plus 42 more yards on the ground, while eluding constant pressure innumerable times. Both teams could easily be in the Final Four at season’s end if Michigan State can run the table from here.

No. 4 Oklahoma served notice it could be playoff bound with a 52-7 road win at Tulsa.

No. 8 Ohio State was upset by Virginia Tech in Columbus, 35-21, in the biggest road victory of coach Frank Beamer’s long career. Just a huge win for the Hokies’ program, which had gone from a perennial top ten to having lost 11 games the last two seasons. Beamer is now 226-109-2 in his 28 years in Blacksburg.

Buckeyes quarterback JT Barrett, the freshman who took over for the injured Braxton Miller, was just 9-of-29 for 219 yards and a touchdown with three interceptions. He was sacked seven times.

In a marquee Pac-12 matchup, No. 14 USC edged No. 13 Stanford as the Cardinal bumbled the game away. All nine of its drives entered Trojans territory, yet they could manage only a touchdown and field goal. Two turnovers, two missed field goals, and costly penalties did Stanford in.

No. 16 Notre Dame handed Michigan a humiliating 31-0 defeat in the final time they will play each other in this storied rivalry (at least for the foreseeable future). For the Fighting Irish, quarterback Everett Golson is back following his one-year suspension for an academic issue, going 23-of-34 through the air for 226 yards and three touchdowns. [Michigan is now just 3-7 in its last 10 games.]

Nebraska coach Bo Pellini would have been run out of town if the No. 19 Cornhuskers had lost to McNeese State, but thanks to a spectacular play by Ameer Abdullah, a 58-yard touchdown reception with 20 seconds left, Nebraska escaped 31-24. Abdullah eluded four would-be tacklers before midfield and then raced to the end zone from there.

No. 20 Kansas State was down by eight in the fourth quarter at Iowa State but rallied back to win 32-28. Good for coach Bill Snyder. The Wildcats’ quarterback, Jake Waters, threw for 239 yards and rushed for 138 more.

In other games of note involving unranked teams, BYU went to Texas and destroyed the Longhorns, 41-7.

I told you Pitt could be a big surprise. At least they have looked good their first two games, winning Friday night at Boston College 30-20 behind their two super sophs, wide receiver Tyler Boyd, who had two touchdown receptions, and running back James Conner, who rumbled for 214 yards on 36 carries.

Paul P.’s SMU Mustangs are off to a dreadful start...45-0 and 43-6 defeats at the hands of Baylor and North Texas...but I promise to take it easy on him the rest of the way. [Paul, I hope you didn’t take the Mustangs and 4. Yikes. That was a bad line.]

Too bad Wake Forest and SMU don’t square off this season. It would no doubt be a close, if incredibly dreadful, contest. My Demon Deacons defeated Gardner Webb 23-7 on Saturday, giving up a last second TD to the Merriam-Websters that meant those of us giving 21 points, the betting line, lost. Pathetic.

So there is one of Wake’s two wins for 2014. Everyone is saying we’ll beat Army in two weeks, but I’m guessing they kick our butt. I actually think our second win will be at home against Syracuse as we have success with the “Hey, look over there!” trick time and time again.

But Phil W. passed along the heartwarming tale that Wake introduced beer to the masses this weekend at BB&T Field. The Top Hat Tavern, open for business 90 minutes before kickoff, with last call at the end of the third quarter. Heretofore, beer was available only in the private club settings at Wake games.

As Phil noted, “At least now 2-10 will feel like 4-8 to many of the fans.”

--Guess I have to mention this item via ESPN.com. “Tusculum allowed minus-100 total yards and minus-124 yards rushing to set NCAA single-game records in both categories Thursday night in a 71-0 victory over the College of Faith in Greeneville, Tennessee.

“Tusculum (1-0), a Division II school, had three safeties, which tied a D-II mark....

“The previous record for fewest yards rushing allowed was minus-112, by Division III program Coast Guard against Wesleyan (Connecticut) in 1989.”

I’m guessing Coast Guard had Wesleyan where they wanted them. On the water.

But wait...there’s more. Not a good day for those of the Christian faith as in another Div. II affair Thursday night, “Texas A&M-Commerce beat East Texas Baptist 98-20 while going for 986 total yards (590 passing, 396 rushing). The total yards set an NCAA Division II single-game record, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“Lions starting quarterback Tyrik Rollison went 26-for-33 for 562 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions.”

[I had to look...on Friday, Catholic University lost to McDaniel, 34-31. But Presbyterian College defeated Bluefield 69-14! Of course Paul P.’s SMU squad should really be part of this conversation as well.]

*Christian football watch...another free feature of Bar Chat.

--One other item...in the USC-Stanford game, Trojans Athletic Director Pat Haden “jogged across Stanford Stadium field between the third and fourth quarters...after he said he received a text message saying USC Coach Steve Sarkisian wanted to talk to him.

“The Trojans had just been penalized a combined 35 yards on three consecutive plays: five yards for a delay of game, 15 when Sarkisian received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for arguing with officials, and then 15 more when linebacker Hayes Pullard was penalized for targeting and ejected from the game.

“Television cameras showed Haden as he stood next to Sarkisian on the sideline, engaged in an animated conversation with officials....

“During a rare in-game television interview, Haden told a sideline reporter that Sarkisian ‘felt the penalty he received was unfair.’....

“The decision by Haden to run to the sideline to assist his coach is now raising eyebrows – not just because of its bizarre nature – but because Haden is part of the 13-member College Football Playoff selection committee....

“Haden is recused from voting for USC in the selection process, but his actions Saturday bring into question the biases committee members take into the selection process.” [Lindsey Thiry / Los Angeles Times]

“USC athletics director Pat Haden should resign from the College Football Playoff selection committee, and he should do it today. If he refuses, CFP executive director Bill Hancock should lead him in that direction....

“What Haden did Saturday in the third quarter of USC’s 13-10 victory against Stanford was unacceptable – unacceptable for any athletics director, but particularly one who will represent the Pac 12 on the CFP selection committee.”

--New AP Poll, released Sunday PM....

1. Florida State
2. Oregon
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma
5. Auburn
6. Georgia
7. Texas A&M
8. Baylor
9. USC
10. LSU
11. Notre Dame
17. Virginia Tech

Ball Bits

--Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington suddenly resigned on Friday, saying he needed to devote his full attention to an “off-the-field personal matter.” He didn’t add anything, and as I go to post no one knows for sure what it’s about but let’s just say Washington has a history. But General Manager Jon Daniels said Washington had given the team permission to acknowledge the move “was not drug-related.” Washington had admitted during spring training in 2010 to using cocaine once the previous year and the team stood behind him.

Washington is in his eighth year guiding the Rangers and it hasn’t been an easy one. In his brief statement he said, “This is in no way related to the disappointing performance of the team this season.”

Washington leaves with a record of 664-611 (.521) while guiding the Rangers to their only World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.

--Albert Pujols joined an exclusive club on Saturday night in the Angels’ 8-5 win over Minnesota. Pujols had the go-ahead double for his 2,500th hit, while earlier he hit a solo homer to score his 1,500th run. Not for nothing but the guy does have 87 RBI.

So Pujols becomes just the fifth player in baseball history to have 2,500 hits and 500 home runs with a .310 lifetime batting average. But I’m not going to tell you the other four because I’ll use it as a quiz later...maybe in the winter when some of us are itching for baseball.

-- The Royals’ Danny Duffy threw one pitch against the Yankees before being removed with a sore left shoulder. Duffy, while just 8-11, has a 2.42 ERA, third best in the A.L. This would be a big blow for K.C. as it tries to make the playoffs for the first time since 1985 and their World Series title.

--The Rangers ended Yu Darvish’s season, Darvish having last pitched on Aug. 9 as he has been battling right elbow inflammation. Darvish was 10-7, 3.06, and with the Rangers having the worst record in baseball, there was zero reason to bring him back even if he said he was healthy.

--Big day Sunday for Derek Jeter as he was given his final, formal, honors at Yankee Stadium. The New York Daily News’ Mike Lupica had some of the following:

“Yankees Captain Derek Jeter leaves the stage with his uncommon grace and the fierce pride that makes people want to watch him to the end.

“Always remember what Joe Torre said back in February, when Derek Jeter announced that this season would be his last with the Yankees, as their shortstop and captain, as the most important Yankee to the Yankee brand, in all the big ways, since Babe Ruth.

“ ‘We live in a time when we glorify too many bad things,’ Torre said. ‘Derek has always represented the good things.’....

“ ‘It will never be fair, and I mean never, to ask anybody to replace him. He was this kind of Yankee and this kind of star for this long, and somehow he’s made it look easy. On top of it all, he never made an excuse. You want to glorify something in sports? Glorify that.’....

“Nobody has been bigger than Jeter, over his two decades on the stage, with all his big moments and, most importantly, for conducting himself in the way we still want our biggest stars to conduct themselves....

“He did not dominate baseball, either with a bat in his hand or at shortstop, the way Michael Jordan dominated the NBA in his time. But he felt like our Jordan, even though Joe Torre likes comparing him to Bill Russell, the greatest winner of them all, in college and the Olympics and then winning 11 titles in 13 seasons with the old Celtics.

“ ‘Russell may not have been the most talented,’ Torre said to me one time when he was still managing the Yankees, ‘not the way Michael was. But he had that gift, that quality, to not just make everybody better, but make them want to be better.’”

Jeter, in his remarks Sunday, thanked George Steinbrenner, family, friends and teammates and then addressed the multitudes chanting his name.

“Lastly and most importantly, I want to thank you, the fans. Anyone who is here today, anyone who is at home watching, anyone who has ever been over the course, over the last 20 seasons, thank you very much. You guys have watched me grow up over the last 20 years. I’ve watched you, too. Some of you guys are getting older, too. I want to thank you for helping me feel like a kid the last 20 years.

“In my opinion, I’ve had the greatest job in the world. I’ve had a chance to be the shortstop for the New York Yankees – and there is only one of those. I always felt my job was to try and provide joy and entertainment for you guys, but it can’t compare to what you brought me. For that, thank you very much. I’ve loved what I’ve done. I love what I do. More importantly, I’ve loved doing it for you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you very much.”

Yup, that’s Derek Jeter. Total class to the end.

The Yankees gave him all kinds of gifts, as you can imagine, but the No. 2 will be retired later. No reason not to milk that day next summer.

“I don’t think anybody can say one thing bad about Derek,” Jordan said. “He’s a complete champion. He’s an idol for me in terms of how he’s well-respected in the game, from not just his teammates, but his opponents. He carries himself like every professional baseball player, or professional athlete should.”

Alas, the Yanks lost the game after the ceremony, 2-0 to Kansas City, as Jeter was 1-for-3 with a walk. New York is 4 ½ behind in the wild-card hunt as I go to post.

--After winning their last three, the Pittsburgh Pirates now occupy the second wild-card slot, a half-game ahead of both Milwaukee and Atlanta.

--The Dodgers’ Adrian Gonzalez had six RBI on Sunday in a 7-2 win over the Diamondbacks to give him 100 on the season. It is the seventh 100-RBI season of his career and it would be eight in a row if he hadn’t fallen one ribbie short in 2009.

--Friday night, the Mets homered five times in a 14-5 victory over Cincinnati for the first time since 2006. But on Saturday, Cincy’s Johnny Cueto moved his mark to 17-8 in a 2-1 win over the Metsies.

--No doubt Cubs rookie infielder Javier Baez is going to be a star, but while the power hitter has 7 home runs in his first 136 at-bats, he has struck out an astounding 61 times (with just 8 walks). Overall, his average is .169 and OBP .215.

U.S. Open

Someone give me a reason to watch the men’s final Monday...Kei Nishikori vs. Marin Cilic. The No. 10 seed vs. No. 14. Good lord. I guess I’ll tune in just to see if it’s close, but after Nishikori upset Novak Djokovic in the first of the two semis on Saturday, which I watched from the middle of the second set on, I just assumed Federer would defeat Cilic and chose to watch golf and college football instead. I was then looking forward to seeing Federer pick up his 18th Grand Slam title (assuming it would also be his last).

But noooo! Network executives at CBS are crying their eyes out over their misfortune. It should have been Djokovic-Federer in the final, which would have been a ratings bonanza, but now they have a total disaster on their hands.

Oh well, at least ratings in Japan will be huge, Nishikori apparently being all over television and print there for his many endorsements that have made him a most wealthy celebrity despite never appearing in a Grand Slam semifinal until this weekend.

I do have to add that for those of you who don’t live on the East Coast, Saturday was the worst weather day of the entire summer. I went for a long run early in the morning and it was brutal. I really thought Nishikori would suffer the fate of China’s Shuai Peng in her semi match against Caroline Wozniacki on Friday. 

[Rutgers had a home football game Saturday afternoon and 50 fans suffered from heat-related issues. And down in Richmond, you’ll see below the heat was also an issue.]

Anyway, back to Nishikori-Djokovic, the Japanese player became the first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam final in the 137-year history of the tournament in winning in four sets, while Cilic beat Federer in straight sets in just one hour, 45 minutes. Cilic’s only Grand Slam semifinal prior to this week was a loss to Andy Murray in the 2010 Australian Open. Nishikori had 50-1 odds to win the title before the tournament began, Cilic 80-1, according to the Las Vegas Hotel’s SuperBook. [Eben Novy-Williams / Bloomberg]

So much for the Big Four in men’s tennis – Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Murray. The last time one of them was not in the finals of a Grand Slam was the 2005 Aussie Open final between Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin. Since then the Big Four had won 36 of 38 majors.

The Los Angeles Times’ Bill Dwyre, commenting on the angst at CBS said the final “may draw ratings the size of an ‘I Love Lucy’ rerun. Hopefully, somebody is taking razor blades out of the medicine cabinets at CBS headquarters.”

On the women’s side, it was Caroline Wozniacki against good friend Serena Williams in the finals, with Wozniacki playing her best tennis since her breakup with Rory McIlroy (while he has done fairly well himself since then too).

In a Friday semifinal, though, Wozniacki won when China’s Shuai Peng was overcome by the heat and humidity and was forced to withdraw in a sickening scene, eventually taken away in a wheelchair. Peng, understand, had heart surgery at age 12.

The whole incident was handled poorly, as Peng was initially given 10 minutes to recover from her cramping, only to return and then be forced to quit for good shortly after. Wozniacki was left standing there, confused, trying to figure out what was going on. Commentators John McEnroe and Mary Carillo blasted officials for the delay and appearing indecisive. But Wozniacki handled herself with class.

As she did late Sunday afternoon after losing the title to Serena, 6-3, 6-3. Caroline said Serena was buying drinks.

For Williams, it was her 18th grand slam title, tying her with Martina Navratilova and Chris Evertfor second in the Open era behind Steffi Graf’s 22. It was also her sixth U.S. Open title, third in a row, while at age 32 she is the oldest winner in the modern era.

Golf Balls

At the next to last event in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills, Phil Mickelson withdrew when it became clear he wasn’t going to make the field for next week’s Tour Championship, opting to focus on the Ryder Cup instead. Then fellow Ryder Cupper Keegan Bradley also withdrew over a potential rules violation in the first round, which bothered him as he played the second round, whereupon he said after it was eating him alive. Speaking of a drop he was given in the grass face of a bunker, Bradley said, “I know the official approved the drop, but I just can’t be absolutely sure it was the right spot.” Bradley lost his chance to make the top 30 for the finale and now like Mickelson will focus on Gleneagles.

Meanwhile, Billy Horschel, after blowing the lead last week at the Deutsche Bank Championship and finishing second, won his second PGA Tour title this weekend to position himself to take it all next weekend. 

But the story of the playoffs thus far is really New Jersey’s Morgan Hoffman, who has risen from 124 to 21 in the FedEx Cup rankings the last three weeks and now heads to Atlanta with the big boys.

Brad Keselowski led all but 17 of the 400 laps Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway to capture the last race prior to the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. It was his fourth victory of the season and it gave him the top seed in the Chase, which begins next Sunday in Chicago.

1. Keselowski, 2012 points
2. Jeff Gordon, 2009
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2009
4. Jimmie Johnson, 2009
5. Joey Logano, 2009
6. Kevin Harvick, 2006
7. Carl Edwards, 2006
8. Kyle Busch, 2003
9. Denny Hamlin, 2003
10. Kurt Busch, 2003
11. Kasey Kahne, 2003
12. Aric Almirola, 2003
13. AJ Allmendinger, 2003
14. Matt Kenseth, 2000
15. Greg Biffle, 2000
16. Ryan Newman, 2000

Johnson finished eighth Saturday night but was suffering from dehydration at the end and was treated for roughly 90 minutes at the infield care center.

Tony Stewart would have made the Chase had he won but he finished 15th.

Joan Rivers, RIP

“There was nobody like her. Some people are knockoffs or imitations of other, stronger, more vivid figures, but there was never another Joan Rivers before her or while she lived. She was a seriously wonderful, self-invented woman.

“She was completely open and immediately accessible. She had the warmth of a person who found others keenly and genuinely interesting. It was also the warmth of a person with no boundaries: She wanted to know everything about you and would tell you a great deal about herself, right away. She had no edit function, which in part allowed her gift. She would tell you what she thought. She loved to shock, not only an audience but a friend. I think from the beginning life startled her, and she enjoyed startling you. You only asked her advice or opinion if you wanted an honest reply.

“Her intelligence was penetrating and original, her tastes refined. Her duplex apartment on the east side of Manhattan was full of books in beautiful bindings, of elegant gold things on the table, lacquered boxes, antique furniture. She liked everything just so. She read a lot. She was a doctor’s daughter....

“She wouldn’t let a friend pay a bill, ever. She tipped like a woman who used to live on tips. She was hilarious that day [Ed. in July in Los Angeles...last time Ms. Noonan saw Rivers] on the subject of Barack and Michelle Obama, whom she did not like. (I almost didn’t write that but decided if Joan were here she’d say, ‘Say I didn’t like Obama!’)....

“Joan now is being celebrated, rightly and beautifully, by those who knew and loved her. They are defining her contributions (pioneer, unacknowledged feminist hero, gutsy broad) and lauding the quality of her craft.

“But it is a great unkindness of life that no one says these things until you’re gone.

“Joan would have loved how much she is loved. I think she didn’t quite know and yet in a way she must have: You don’t have strangers light up at the sight of you without knowing you have done something.

“But we should try to honor and celebrate the virtues and gifts of people while they’re alive, and can see it.

“She was an entertainer. She wanted to delight you. She wanted to make you laugh. She succeeded so brilliantly.”

“I’ve had so much plastic surgery, when I die they will donate my body to Tupperware.”

“I must admit I’m nervous about getting Alzheimer’s. Once it hits, I might tell my best joke and never know it.”

“At my funeral, I want Meryl Streep crying in five different accents.”

“Elizabeth Taylor was so fat that whenever she went to London in a red dress, 30 passengers would try to board her.”

“I said to my husband, ‘Why don’t you call out my name when we’re making love?’ He said, ‘I don’t want to wake you up.’”

“I got a waterbed, but my husband stocked it with trout.”

“My husband killed himself. And it was my fault. We were making love and I took the bag off my head.”

“Trust your husband, adore your husband, and get as much as you can in your own name.”

“My daughter and I are very close, we speak every single day and I call her every day and I say the same thing: ‘Pick up, I know you’re there.’”

“When I was born, my mother asked the doctor: ‘Will she live?’ He said, ‘Only if you take your foot off her throat.' " [BBC News]

--Atlanta Hawks owner Bruce Levenson informed NBA Commissioner Adam Silver he was selling his controlling interest in the team, following a self-reported email he wrote to the team’s co-owners and general manager Danny Ferry in 2012 that he called “inappropriate and offensive.”

Levenson wrote in a statement that the racially offensive comments were made as he sought to increase fan attendance at Hawks’ games.

“In trying to address those issues, I wrote an e-mail two years ago that was inappropriate and offensive. I trivialized our fans by making clichéd assumptions about their interests (i.e. hip hop vs. country, white vs. black cheerleaders, etc.) and by stereotyping their perceptions of one another (i.e. that white fans might be afraid of our black fans). By focusing on race, I also sent the unintentional and hurtful message that our white fans are more valuable than our black fans.”

“If you’re angry about what I wrote, you should be,” Levenson continued. “I’m angry at myself, too. It was inflammatory nonsense.”

Commissioner Silver commended Levenson “for putting the best interests of the Hawks, the Atlanta community, and the NBA first” in self-reporting to the league office.

Levenson has presided over the Hawks’ ownership group since 2004, but during that time the team has never been higher than 18th in attendance.

From Agence France-Presse and the South China Morning Post:

“New Zealanders keen to view hacked photos of naked celebrities are being blamed for a nationwide internet meltdown involving the country’s main provider.

“It is believed a handful of computer users clicked links on Friday evening believing they would take them to the images [like of Jennifer Lawrence], but instead they inadvertently installed malware triggering a crippling distributed denial of service attack.

“The attack slowed or halted the internet for up to 700,000 users.”

It took telecom giant Spark until Sunday to fully restore service.

--Japan began their seasonal Pacific whale slaughter, or what they like to call “research.” Japan’s Fisheries Agency said whalers plan to kill up to 51 minke whales, among others. Here’s hoping all four Japanese ships are upended by Moby Dick with the fishermen then being swallowed.

--But there was some good news on the whale front. According to University of Washington researchers, there are roughly 2,200 blue whales plying the waters from Mexico to Alaska. In the 1930s, that number was closer to 750.

--The case of art collector Cornelius Gurlitt just got more curious. Gurlitt was the German who died at home four months ago after it was discovered he was hoarding roughly 1,000 artworks, inherited from his father, a Nazi-era dealer. The works were seized by German authorities two years ago, though it was just made public last November.

Since then a task force has been responsible for researching the collection to try and determine  the original owners.

But Friday, officials announced they found what appears to be a Claude Monet in a suitcase Gurlitt “covertly kept at the hospital where he stayed shortly before he died in May.” [Mary M. Lane / Wall Street Journal]

I’m thinking he was looking to trade the Monet for Andy Etchebarren and Julio Gotay baseball cards.

--College basketball coaching legend Bob Knight was traveling on a remote section of a state road in Wyoming when his SUV hit a cow. The impact caused the air bag to deploy, but Knight was not hurt. Knight told a state trooper that he never saw the cow, “which was among several that wandered onto the roadway in an open range area.”

--Two women who were kayaking off the coast of Plymouth, Mass. were attacked by a great white shark, with the shark taking a bite out of the underside of one of the kayaks, sending both women tumbling into the water. Neither was hurt, but if you saw the video of them being interviewed after, they clearly won’t be sleeping restfully for a long time to come.

Why did the shark attack? The women were taking photos of seals, with Whitey later telling authorities, through an interpreter, “(The seals) are mine...all mine.”

Top 3 songs for week 9/7/74: #1 “(You’re) Having My Baby” (Paul Anka with Odia Coates...shocking this was #1 for three weeks) #2 “I Shot The Sheriff” (Eric Clapton...total crapola...) #3 “Tell Me Something Good” (Rufus...underrated for their early stuff...)..and...#4 “Rock Me Gently” (Andy Kim) #5 “I’m Leaving It (All) Up To You” (Donny & Marie Osmond...Marie one sexy grandma these days, right (older) guys?) #6 “Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe” (Barry White...would be #1 two weeks later...) #7 “Nothing From Nothing” (Billy Preston) #8 “The Night Chicago Died” (Paper Lace) #9 “You And Me Against The World” (Helen Reddy...another incredibly depressing tune...a la Gilbert O’Sullivan...) #10 “Then Came You” (Dionne Warwicke & Spinners...terrific...helps save the week...)

Baseball Quiz Answer: 20 home run seasons since 2000....

David Ortiz 13
Albert Pujols 13
Adam Dunn 12
Paul Konerko 12... 439 HR lifetime, 1412 RBI, six 100-RBI seasons, 6 AS...retiring after the season.
Alfonso Soriano 12... 412-1159, four 100-RBI seasons, 7 AS

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