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07/18/2016

A Duel for the Ages

[Posted Sunday p.m.]

1966 Baltimore Orioles Quiz: Two weekends ago, the Orioles honored their 1966 World Series Champions. 1) Name the four on that team who hit 20+ home runs.  2) Name the four who won 10 or more games (this was not a great staff).  Answers below.

The Open Championship...and Golf Balls...

What an Open it turned out to be, one of the greatest match play finales of all time, but starting out with Phil Mickelson’s spectacular 63 in the first round, the final putt for a history-making 62 just lipping out in a clear move by the golf gods to deny anyone, forever, of a 62.

As the tournament unfolded, Mickelson and Henrik Stenson began to separate themselves from the field so that after three rounds, after the two had played together on Saturday, the leaderboard looked like this:

Stenson -12
Mickelson -11
Haas -6
Johnston -5

Off they went at 2:35 p.m. local, Sunday, the weather better than expected, and after five holes they were tied at -14, with Andrew Johnston third at -7.  Following a birdie and eagle by Mickelson, and three straight birdies by Stenson after an opening bogey, both with superb shotmaking, it was clear these were the only two to watch the rest of the way and, frankly, we didn’t need to see anyone else.

At the postage stamp 8th hole, Phil missed a 10-footer for birdie while Stenson nailed his longer effort and Stenson, on the heels of now five birdies was up one, -16 to -15.

Both birdied No. 10, Stenson bogeyed No. 11, and after both parred No. 12, Phil with a huge putt, they were tied at -16. 

But Stenson birdied 14-16, including a 50-foot bomb on 15, Phil birdieing just 16, though Phil had an eagle putt that just missed, while Stenson made a great chip from the rough that led to his birdie when it appeared Phil had the potential to pick up two shots.

So after 16, Stenson still had a two-shot lead.

Stenson -19
Mickelson -17

Phil made another great par putt on 17 to keep it interesting, but Stenson stayed out of trouble with his tee shot on 18, barely, and closed the action with a 20-foot birdie putt.  A final round 63 that matched Johnny Miller for the lowest closing round by a major champion.  Mickelson had a 65 with no bogeys.  Stenson had 10 birdies, 2 bogeys.

A first major for Sweden and a first major for a very deserving 40-year-old, Henrik Stenson.

As usual Mickelson was classy in defeat, especially since he genuinely likes Henrik, and when you know Stenson’s full story, the days when his golf game was beyond all hope and he was at the bottom of the world rankings, and the time (2009) when he lost $millions in the Stanford Financial scandal, let alone seven Top 5 finishes in majors without a victory, you have to feel real good for the guy.

So in the end it was:

Stenson -20 (63 final round... -8)
Mickelson -17 (65... -6)
Holmes -6
Stricker -5

There is so much that was amazing about the play of the two leaders.  For instance, Rory McIlroy’s final found -4 was the next best of the day.

The gap between second and third is the largest in major championship history.

This is going to be one of those final rounds that will make for a good video to plug in in the dead of winter.  Look for NBC to replay it more than once, especially if a PGA Tour event has a weekend round washed out.  I know while I watched it all live, at some point I definitely want to see it again.

--The prior six Opens at Troon had all been won by Americans....

Arnold Palmer ‘62
Tom Weiskopf ‘73
Tom Watson ‘82
Mark Calcavecchia ‘89
Justin Leonard ‘97
Todd Hamilton ‘04

But now we put the Big Swede on the board.

--Mickelson, at 46, was attempting to become the oldest player to win the tournament since Tom Morris Sr., better known as Old Tom Morris, in 1867.

Brian Costa / Wall Street Journal:

“Seven of the past nine Open titles [Ed. now 8 of 10] have been won by players age 35 or older.  Over that same span, that has been accomplished only seven times at the other three majors combined [Ed. amazing].  In the last 10 years, the only three major titles won by players in their 40s have all come at the British Open: Mickelson at Muirfield in 2013, Ernie Els at Royal Lytham in 2012 and Darren Clarke at Royal St. George’s in 2011.  That’s to say nothing of 2009, when Tom Watson nearly won the Claret Jug at age 59.”

And this year we had 59-year-old Mark O’Meara make the cut, along with 53-year-old Colin Montgomerie and 52-year-old Marco Dawson...and Miguel Angel Jimenez, 52, and almost 50, 49-year-old Steve Stricker.

Montgomerie finished 78th, Dawson T-68, O’Meara T-63, Jimenez T-18, and Stricker a terrific 4th.  [You know what, I have an old-fashioned word to describe Stricker’s career...neat.  A neat career.]

--Good for Bill Haas, who finished tied for ninth after an admittedly disappointing +4 final round, but at least it was his first Top 10 in a major (incredibly) for his career, a T-12 at the 2011 PGA Championship being his previous best.  Hopefully this gives him some confidence going forward, maybe even in two weeks at Baltusrol.

--Mickelson, despite missing the cut at The Masters and U.S. Open, was having a nice bounceback year with five Top 5s heading to Troon, but now he is still winless since the 2013 Open Championship.

--Jordan Spieth lamented the perception of his poor play this year, even though he would argue it hasn’t been a bad year at all.  Two wins, six Top 10s in 16 events.  It’s just that you have that collapse at The Masters, a missed cut at The Players Championship, and a T-37 at the U.S. Open, and then this week.

“It’s been tough, given I think it’s been a solid year,” said Spieth on Saturday.   “I think had last year not happened [wins at the Masters and U.S. Open], I’d be having a lot of positive questions.  Instead, most of the questions I get are comparing to last year and, therefore, negative because it’s not to the same standard.

“So that’s almost tough to then convince myself that you’re having a good year when nobody else [thinks so].  Even if [the media] think it is, the questions I get make me feel like it’s not.  So I think that’s a bit unfair to me.”

The fact is, Jordan, you have indeed been subpar in the three biggies since Augusta (including Troon).  It’s great when you get good press, now you just have to deal with the flipside of fame.  [I’ll be very interested to see how he does at the PGA.]

Spieth finished this week T-30.  Others...Adam Scott T-43, Jason Day T-22, Dustin Johnson T-9, and Rory T-5.

--Sergio Garcia finished T-5, his record 12th Top 5 in a major without a victory, Lee Westwood having 11 without taking home the silver.

Phil Mickelson’s runner-up was his 11th in a major; the 65 the lowest final round of his career in a major as well.

--Golf legend Gary Player isn’t happy with the likes of Spieth and Rory not going to the Olympics.

“This excuse about Zika is feeble,” Player said on Fox Business the other day.  ‘You have Zika in America in some states right now.  You’ve got more of a chance of being killed by a gun or a motor car in America than getting Zika. ...I think it’s pathetic and I’m sad to see it.”

Matt Kuchar, on the other hand, who snuck in with a clutch birdie putt at the 72nd hole of the WGC-Bridgestone, that lifted him from No. 17 to 15 in the Official World Golf Ranking (thus allowing the U.S. to have a fourth player), is embracing Rio, saying that while “it’s a shame that the field won’t include several top players...when you look back at it in 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, nobody is going to care what the field was like.  If you medaled in the Olympics, you medaled in the Olympics.  And in doing that, you can become a very cool part of history.”

Of course Kuchar is also a pure sportsman.  Like Mickelson he can talk every sport.  Someone to root for heavily in Rio.

--Golfweek in its July 11 issue had a feature by Adam Schupak on Andrew “Beef” Johnston, who finished 8th this week by himself.  There is nothing fake about the guy.  Count me in as a new fan along with, I imagine, the rest of you followers of the game...the 27-year-old being a breath of fresh air.

Johnston was at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational two weeks ago at Firestone, and aside from eating hamburgers with the masses, he devoured a 32-ounce steak at a local establishment when his waitress challenged him.

Adam Schupak:

“America has found a new golfer to love. He is a British version of Boo Weekley, a little rough around the edges, unfiltered, but still lovable, with a red-tinged beard that rivals Canadian Graham DeLaet’s facial hair.  Johnston first established himself as a YouTube favorite for his chest-bump celebration of a hole-in-one at the 2015 BMW PGA to win a BMW M4.  Later that year, when Johnston holed his second shot on the 18th hole of the third round at the Scottish Open, he mimicked the signature dance celebration of playing competitor Miguel Angel Jimenez.  It earned Johnston a hug and a handshake from the Spaniard.

“Johnston truly went viral in April after his maiden victory at the Spanish Open. When asked how he planned to celebrate, he famously said he couldn’t wait to get home and ‘get hammered’ with his mates and see his mum.

“Johnston made his American debut last month at the U.S. Open, tying for 54th at Oakmont  Country Club.  The recent Bridgestone Invitational, in which he tied for 42nd, marked his first World Golf Championships appearance.  He was overwhelmed by the warm receptions, first at Oakmont and then here at Firestone Country Club.

“ ‘Every single hole it was like ‘Beeeef,’’ he said, stretching his voice to a deep baritone n recalling the U.S. Open fans.  ‘People were moo-ing at me.  It was mad.’....

“(Johnston) is the best thing to happen to the sometimes-stodgy game in a while. Rather than retreat to the sanctuary of the clubhouse, he ate burgers and sipped a peanut-butter shake among the great unwashed. He posed for selfies and signed autographs for more than 30 minutes.  He even scribbled his name on an iPhone and a woman’s skirt.”

But it hasn’t been all fun and games for Johnston. His father, who taught him the sport, died of brain cancer at age 56, when Johnston was 17, and he speaks openly of a lot of hurt still being there and how afterwards he drifted...on the verge of packing it in.  But he persevered.  Now we want more “Beef.”   [He’ll be a massive fan...and media...favorite at Baltusrol.]

--Never did hear what happened to Billy Horschel, who fired a fine -4, 67 opening round and then ballooned to an 85!

--I didn’t realize at the time that there was serious consideration of moving up the date of the John Deere Classic to the Greenbrier Classic’s slot after it was cancelled, and then holding a PGA Tour event at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minn., during the Deere’s slot (Aug. 11-14).  But they just couldn’t swing the logistics.

The Blaine location is hosting a Champions Tour event the week before, so it would have been prepared in some respects.

MLB

--The Mets lost 4-2 on Saturday as their pathetic offense continues to rely solely on the home run.  They didn’t hit any Saturday night, dropping their record to an incredible 5-24 when they don’t homer.  They are simply a godawful team with runners in scoring position; dead last in all of baseball with a .210 average after Saturday’s play (0-for-7 in this category)*, with, ironically, the Yankees next to last in the majors at .226.  So us New York baseball fans are seeing a lot of clutch hitting all around...NOT!

*1-for-6 on Sunday.

The Mets are 44-18 when they do hit a home run, which I could write now after they hit two in support of Jacob deGrom today, after he fired a one-hitter, his first career complete game/shutout, 5-0, as the Mets take a needed 2 of 3 from the Cheesesteaks.

--Daniel Murphy was a casualty of the All-Star Game, what every manager fears, as he hurt his hamstring in the contest, or rather aggravated it.

But no problem for the Nationals as they roared out of the gate with 5-1, 6-0 defeats of the Pirates, Friday and Saturday, behind Stephen Strasburg and Tanner Roark.

On Friday, Strasburg moved to 13-0, 2.51 ERA, with 8 innings of one-run ball.  That 13-0 means he is the first National League starter to begin a season in such a fashion since the New York Giants’ Rube Marquard began the 1912 campaign 18-0.  Strasburg is just the eighth starting pitcher to begin 13-0 in major league history.  He has also won his last 16 decisions.  The Nationals are 16-1 in his starts this season.

So on Sunday, Daniel Murphy appeared as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the ninth, the Nationals down 1-0 to the Pirates, and Murph hit a pinch-hit home run to send it into extra innings.

Only Pittsburgh prevailed 2-1 in 18 as, ironically, another former Met and Murphy teammate, Jon Niese, the much-maligned Mr. Niese, threw three scoreless for the win.  So one ex-Met taketh, and the other giveth back...or something like that...in terms of the N.L. East race.

--In other games on Friday, you have to hand it to Detroit’s Justin Verlander, who is pitching his best in three years, winning 4-2 over Kansas City with 7 innings of two-run ball, striking out 10 to move to 9-6, 3.91, but with 130 strikeouts in 124 1/3.

Though then there is Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer, as talented as any pitcher in the game, but not this year after a 4-3 loss to Baltimore.  Archer, who yielded all four runs in 7 1/3, is now 4-13, 4.68.

--Sunday, the Padres defeated Johnny Cueto and the Giants 5-3, Cueto dropping to 13-2.

--The Red Sox acquired All-Star hurler Drew Pomeranz from the San Diego Padres, as Boston continues to make a statement that they want to win it all this year.  Earlier, team president Dave Dombrowski acquired closer Brad Ziegler from Arizona and infielder Aaron Hill from Milwaukee, plus infielder Michael Martinez from Cleveland.

But this move is a most controversial one.  For starters, the Red Sox gave up a very highly-touted prospect, 18-year-old right-hander Anderson Espinoza.

Secondly, Pomeranz, who was so-so at best with Colorado and Oakland, has suddenly emerged with a 2.47 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 102 innings, but this last bit, innings, is already a career high.

[He will make his Boston debut on Wednesday.]

--The Angels’ Matt Shoemaker had an impressive performance Saturday night against the White Sox, a complete game shutout with 13 strikeouts to move to 5-9, 4.08, though I really wouldn’t be bringing up this otherwise meaningless game except it was Chicago’s third consecutive shutout, the first time this has happened since 1968, when everyone and their mother lost 1-0, seemingly night after night.

[Actually, just saw Shoemaker, runner-up in the A.L. rookie-of-the-year voting in 2014, has a 2.37 ERA in his last 11 starts, with 88 strikeouts in 76 1/3, which isn’t chopped liver, Angels fans (a dwindling bunch).]

--It’s possible Clayton Kershaw is returning later this week, having been sidelined with back problems.  Aside from the fact he has an otherworldly 145 strikeouts and just nine walks, with an ERA of 1.79, if he could finish the year at that ERA level or better, assuming he pitches about another 40 innings to be eligible (41), he would become just the third pitcher in major league history (live-ball era, since 1920) to have multiple qualified seasons with a sub-1.80 ERA.  [Joining Greg Maddux and Sandy Koufax...don’t bother looking up Pedro Martinez, I already did.]

NFL

--It’s over...finally.  Tom Brady said he would not ask the U.S. Supreme Court to block his four-game “Deflategate” suspension.  The battle with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is finis, though Brady deserves his “tarnished” reputation.

Golden Boy posted on Facebook: “It has been a challenging 18 months and I have made the difficult decision to no longer proceed with the legal process.  I’m going to work hard to be the best player I can for the New England Patriots and I look forward to having the opportunity to return to the field this fall.”

The deal was that he could have gotten a single Supreme Court Justice to issue a ‘stay,’ but then it could have dragged out into a part of the season not in the least advantageous to the Patriots...like even the playoffs.

Ergo, best to take his medicine the first four games of the year, three of which are at home.

But the NFL, and Goodell, look awful through it all.

Adam Kilgore / Washington Post

“The National Football League beat Tom Brady in the Deflategate saga...(but) that doesn’t mean the NFL won.  Over more than 17 months fighting Brady, the NFL maintained its power but utterly lost track of why that power mattered.

“The real issue behind Deflategate traces back to about 2007, shortly after Roger Goodell assumed the NFL commissioner’s office.  After a spate of arrests and off-field problems gave the league a public-image black eye, Goodell wanted to strengthen his ability to suspend troublemakers. Fans called for stiffer punishment, and even players agreed.  The NFL wanted to protect its reputation.  Players believed a small cluster of misbehaving players had given them an unfair, inaccurate portrayal.

“ ‘We were all fed up,’ said one former player who worked closely with the NFL Players Association.  ‘When we trusted Goodell, that’s when our first mistake was make.  We wanted to clean the game up and wanted to send the message that those bad apples didn’t define us.  We were all on board with trying to come down on guys like that.  I think that was opening the door to people beginning to believe the players [union] would allow players to be over-punished.’

“The sides agreed to give the league more power to discipline players for off-field incidents other than substance abuse and gave the commissioner ‘full authority to impose discipline as warranted.’  In April 2007, Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones received a season-long suspension owing to a series of arrests related to drugs and violence, mostly occurring at strip clubs. The NFLPA, led by Gene Upshaw and Troy Vincent at the time, supported the policy.”

But then the NFL took their new power too far and players began to complain that the meting out of justice was too arbitrary, but in their 2011 collective bargaining talks, after owners locked out the players, the players’ priorities were player safety, the revenue split and the rookie pay scale, and so they kept Article 46, the language that gave Goodell his sweeping power, thinking it would apply to just a miniscule number of players.

Yet Goodell and the league used their power against Brady and the Pats and kept this thing going for 15 months, failing to understand that now both players and fans loathe the commissioner and the league when disciplinary matters arise.

Pats owner Robert Kraft:

“From day one, I have believed in Tom and given him my unwavering support in his pursuit to rightfully clear his name of any wrongdoing....Unfortunately, this stopped being about air pressure a long time ago.

“This entire process has indelibly taken a toll on our organization, our fans and most importantly, Tom Brady.”

So Brady will miss the first four games against Arizona (away), Miami, Houston and Buffalo; the last three at home.

--Meanwhile, Denver linebacker Von Mill signed the biggest contract for a defensive player in history, $114.5 million, including $70 million guaranteed.

Miller had rejected an earlier proposal with less guaranteed money.  Quarterback Andrew Luck recently received $87 million in guarantees.

A four-time Pro Bowl selection in his five-year career, Miller has averaged 12 sacks a season.

--As expected, the Washington Redskins and quarterback Kirk Cousins did not reach a long-term deal by Friday’s deadline, so Cousins will play 2016 under the franchise-player tag and become a free agent again next offseason.  He’ll receive $19.95 million guaranteed.

Despite the fact Cousin had a great first season as a regular, 4,166 yards, 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, the Redskins are leery of giving a long-term top deal to a QB with a limited body of work.

--The big surprise of the New York sports world the past few weeks, and maybe months, was the Jets reaching a long-term deal with defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson, five years, $85 million, with $37 million fully guaranteed, $54 million in the first three years.

Wilkerson, a loyal soldier if ever there was one and a true cornerstone player, had been trying to get a long-term deal the last two seasons and would have had to play under the franchise tag this year at $15.7 million.

So now will the Jets finally sign quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick?

One thing is for sure, regardless of whether Fitzpatrick finally comes into the fold, Jets fans, and Wilkerson’s teammates, are psyched to have one of their true leaders happy.

The Wilkerson deal “was huge for our locker room,” Brandon Marshall wrote on Twitter.

NBA

--Nate Thurmond died.  The NBA Hall of Fame center for the Golden State Warriors who was one of the most dominant defensive players and rebounders of his time, while battling some of the other greats of the game, such as Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Willis Reed, was 74.

On more than one occasion, I have listed Thurmond as one of the five most underrated athletes of the 20th century, along with Tris Speaker, Billy Casper, Dan Gurney and Smokin’ Joe Frazier.  [NASCAR’s David Pearson is there as well.]

For Thurmond’s 14-year career, he averaged 15 points and 15 rebounds a game, but the numbers were 17 and 17 in his 11 seasons for the San Francisco and Golden State Warriors.  They are even better if you take out his first year when he didn’t play as much, averaging 7 points and 10 rebounds, the raw 6-11 rookie out of Bowling Green.

I mean look at those numbers.  He was a seven-time All-Star and was selected to the first or second all-defensive team five times.

Abdul-Jabbar once said, “The toughest center for me to play against is Nate Thurmond.”

“He played with unbelievable intensity and was simply a man among boys on most nights, especially on the defensive end,” said Jerry West.

Former teammate and coach Al Attles said, “Looking back, he was as ferocious as any player in the history of the game on the court, but one of the kindest and nicest souls in his everyday life.”

LeBron James, Thurmond’s fellow Akron, Ohio, native, wrote on Twitter on Saturday: “Knowing u played in the same rec league as me growing up gave me hope of making it out!  Thanks!”

Thurmond was the first player to record an official quadruple-double when he made his debut with the Bulls, scoring 22 points along with 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocks against Atlanta on Oct. 18, 1974.  I mean think about that effort.

In the mid-60s, Thurmond once hauled down 42 rebounds against the Pistons, the best single-game rebounding effort of his career (and one of only four with 40 in league history).  He once had 18 rebounds in a single quarter against the Bullets in 1965.

In 1996, he was named one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players when it celebrated its 50th anniversary. 

Thurmond was born in Akron and played his high school ball there, before playing for Bowling Green, where he averaged 17.8 points and 17 rebounds over his college career.  Just more amazing stats...the same numbers he would have in his 11 seasons with the Warriors.

Thurmond was the third overall pick in the 1963 draft, playing power forward alongside Wilt Chamberlain, who was then traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, allowing Thurmond to take the lead.

Aside from having his No. 42 retired in Golden State, he was so well respected the Cavaliers also retired his number after just two seasons, the first jersey to be so retired by Cleveland.

Johnny Mac reminded me that Thurmond played his high school ball with future NBA star Gus Johnson, and that the only game they lost was to Jerry Lucas’ Middletown, Ohio team.

--I just have to pat myself on the back for noting Kevin Durant’s “I’m not a $88 player” comment a week ago, referring to his newest shoe, which costs $150.  Sports Illustrated, in its current issue, highlighted it as well.  [Which gave me another opportunity to take another shot at Mr. Durant!]

Actually, Commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday that while he completely respects Durant’s right to join the Golden State Warriors as a free agent, he wishes he hadn’t done so.

“I’ve read some stories that the league wants this notion of two ‘super teams’ that is a huge television attraction,” said Silver. “I don’t think it’s good for the league, just to be clear.”

Expanding on the topic, Silver said: “I do not think that’s ideal from the league standpoint. For me, part of it is designing a collective bargaining agreement that encourages the distribution of great players throughout the league.

“On the other hand, I absolutely respect a player’s right to become a free agent and, in this case, for Kevin Durant to make a decision that he feels is best for him.  I have no idea what’s in his mind or heart in terms of how he went about making that decision.”  [Ed. That’s a diss.]

This is a big deal. The current collective bargaining agreement runs through June 30, 2021, but either side can opt out next off-season as long as it lets the other know of any intentions by Dec. 15.

--Phil W. wondered if I had seen that Chris Paul was named ESPN’s Second Annual Humanitarian of the Year the other day for his work with the Boys and Girls Club in Los Angeles and, frankly, I hadn’t.  Some of us Wake Forest fans just wonder if Julius Hodge nominated him (Phil observed...tongue very much in cheek).

--At the ESPY’s on Wednesday evening, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James stood on stage together and spoke about the need for professional athletes to be involved in pushing for social change in light of the recent police shootings in Baton Rouge and St. Paul, as well as the killing of five officers in Dallas.

But with Sunday’s developments in Baton Rouge, I would hope Dwyane Wade feels a little queasy over how he opened his pitch:

“Racial profiling has to stop. The shoot to kill mentality has to stop.”

Yes, he added, “the retaliation, has to stop,” but it just looks, and sounds, awful, D-Wade.

NASCAR

--So there are two big stories...Jeff Gordon could come out of retirement next weekend, but this is because Dale Earnhardt Jr. may not be cleared to race.

Earnhardt was forced to sit out this weekend’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway because he is experiencing concussion symptoms.

[Alex Bowman drove in his place on Sunday and finished 26th.]

But Gordon said he was available to drive next week if he was needed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway; Gordon having won the last of his record five Brickyard 400 victories in 2014.

Gordon has not raced since last season’s finale at Homestead, Fla., wrapping up a career that included 93 Cup wins and four series championships.

A decision could be made on Wed. (Gordon being in France on vacation from his Fox Sports duties, where he has been outstanding).

As for Earnhardt, he was evaluated this week and doctors did not clear him after he was involved in a wreck at Daytona this month and another one the month before at Michigan International Speedway.  He missed two races in 2012 when it was determined he had sustained two concussions in six weeks.

Earnhardt told his Hendrick Motorsports team last weekend he wasn’t feeling well (though he raced) and then on Tuesday he said he was feeling worse.

So Earnhardt got tested by a team of neurologists and he was told he should shut it down.

NASCAR changed its protocols in a big way in 2013 and concussed drivers must be cleared by an independent neurologist or neurosurgeon before they can return to racing.

This is the last thing the sport needs today...DJ being out.  [Though Gordon returning for a race or two is good.]

Earnhardt is winless this season and he’s struggling to make the Chase, which the sport also desperately needs.

And now there are some distressing rumors Dale Jr. could retire for health reasons.  While we all want the best for him, this wouldn’t be good for NASCAR.

[Ironically, he’s on the cover of the New Hampshire Motor Speedway program this week, with a headline asking, “Is This The Year?”  Earnhardt still without a Sprint Cup championship, whereas his father had seven.]

I’m guessing he hangs it up...but potentially after next year’s Daytona 500.  He could be cleared to drive soon, but he could say before Daytona that he just can’t take any more risks.  There wouldn’t be a soul who would blame him.

As for the race itself at Loudon, Matt Kenseth won his second of the year, 38th of his career.

The Rio Olympics

--Rebecca Ruiz of the New York Times was the first to report on the extent of Russia’s doping program and with the Russian track and field team already barred from the Rio Olympics, Ruiz reports that on Monday, antidoping officials will request that the entire Russian contingent be prohibited from competing.

“Antidoping officials from at least 10 nations and 20 athlete groups are preparing the extraordinary step of requested that the entire Russian delegation be barred from the Summer Olympics over allegations of a state-sponsored doping program, according to email correspondences obtained by the New York Times.

“The antidoping officials and athletes were expected to pressure Olympic leaders on the matter  as soon as Monday.”

It goes back to claims first published by the Times of a state-sponsored doping program tied to the Sochi Olympics in 2014.

Antidoping organizations from the U.S., Germany, Spain, Japan, Switzerland and Canada are among the 20 groups that have banded together to attempt to validate the claims of Grigory Rodchenkov, Russia’s former antidoping lab director, who told the Times in May that he followed government orders to cover up the widespread use of PEDs by dozens of Russian Olympians at Sochi.

Needless to say the Kremlin won’t be happy.          

--Over the past two years I have written of every single issue raised in the following, but Sally Jenkins below does a terrific job of setting it all up.  For example, on 5/3/2014 in my “Week in Review” column I had the following.

“Brazil: It’s been the policy here at StocksandNews that you are a fool if you’re thinking of attending either the World Cup next month or the 2016 Rio Olympics. Will they both go off smoothly? I guess everything is possible. But why take the risk? True, Sochi wasn’t the terror disaster many feared, including yours truly, but was it worth it if you weren’t a family member? Hardly. 

“So I bring this topic up again because the International Olympic Committee’s vice-president, an Australian by the name of John Coates, said preparation for the Rio Olympics are the ‘worst’ he has ever seen and the IOC has taken the unprecedented step of placing experts in the local organizing committee to ensure the Games go ahead.

“Coates has been involved in the Olympics for 40 years and he said Rio is worse than the concerns leading up to the 2004 Athens Games. Rio is ‘not ready in many, many ways.’

“Incredibly, construction has not even begun on some venues, while infrastructure hasn’t been addressed, and then you have Brazil’s social issues, which will no doubt be on full display during the World Cup.”

That was 2014.

Today, we all know that potential disaster looms.  I offered the other day that Jordan Spieth’s real reason for withdrawing from the golf competition wasn’t Zika, but rather security.  I’m frankly surprised more athletes haven’t stated this obvious fact.

But now it’s time to just sit back and see what happens.  Some of us were terrified with France holding the Euro 2016 football championships but outside of some drunken brawls between Russian and England fans it went off without a major hitch.  But then look what happened in Nice shortly after the tournament ended.

Sally Jenkins / Washington Post

“The International Olympic Committee has been playing with a lake of fire, and it’s everybody else who is going to get burned.  You can feel it coming, can’t you?  One of these days there’s going to be a catastrophe.  The Olympics will be lucky to escape a large-scale disaster in Rio de Janeiro, and if it happens, we all will wonder why we didn’t do more to stop IOC officials from dragging us all down into their muck.

“Half a million people will descend on Rio for the Summer Games, with a security force of just 85,000 to keep them safe from terrorists and roving bandits.  Many of them are resentful, underpaid law enforcement officers with out-of-gas cars and grounded helicopters in the midst of the country’s worst economy since the 1930s who were already trying to cope with one of the most seething, crime-ridden cities on earth.  In the past year, state hospitals have lacked basic supplies, and medical facilities have cut hours.  So yes, by all means, let’s accept the IOC’s  confident declarations issued Monday that ‘Rio is ready.’  And just hope that if there’s real trouble, Mother Gaia or some invisible super hero Skyman will descend to save everyone should the hour turn darkest.

“The IOC declares that Rio is ready because 44 test events have been held there – neglecting to mention that competitors in some of those events have been stricken by rashes and vomiting from the trash and raw human feces flowing into Guanabara Bay, the toilet bowl of Rio.  Or that a group of Brazilian scientists this week detected a drug-resistant super-bacteria growing off the beaches that can cause meningitis and pulmonary, gastro and bloodstream infections....

“The truth is that a large-scale catastrophe is already happening in Rio, but it has been happening in slow motion over a period of years. The state is running a $6 billion deficit....

“A Rio Olympics was a romantic idea when the city first bid on it, and the entire world fervently hopes that it is a safe celebration for the city.  But the fact is that Brazilians themselves are apprehensive about hosting it given Rio’s ‘profound problems,’ (Prof. Oliver) Stuenkel says.  ‘The situation of the whole country is so dire that it’s difficult to openly and in an unrestrained way say, ‘I’m really looking forward to it.’”

Stuff

--Sidney Crosby returned to his hometown of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, Friday, carrying something special...the Stanley Cup.  It marked his assigned day to spend with Lord Stanley.  So he took it to his favorite spots around town, including a stop at Tim Hortons.

“We heard this big explosion of applause and heard someone say, ‘Sidney,’” Cole Harbour’s Tim Hortons operations manager Paul MacFarlane said.  “We came up to the front and saw Sidney Crosby walk through with the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy.  I had never seen it before, it was awesome.”

Crosby then took the Cup to his hockey school to let the kids see it.  Wish I was there.

--From BBC News:

“Four dogs who worked with the U.S. military in Afghanistan have been awarded medals for their sacrifice and service to the United States.

“The canines were given the K-9 Medal of Courage, and are the first to receive the honor created by welfare group the American Humane Association....

“All four dogs had saved humans’ lives by smelling out explosives.

“ ‘Soldiers have been relying on these four-footed comrades-in-arms since the beginning of organized warfare and today military dogs are more important than ever in keeping our service men and women safe,’ said Robin Ganzert from the AHA.”

The four honorees were:

Matty, a Czech German Shepherd

Fieldy, a black Labrador retriever

Bond, a Belgian Malinois

Isky, a German Shepherd

Matty and his handler were wounded and both are retired; Fieldy was discharged and reunited with his former handler; Bond suffers from combat trauma but has been reunited with his former handler as both help each other adjust; Isky lost a leg in combat but still does work as a service dog.

--Great story on “60 Minutes” tonight on California’s mountain lions.  Hang in there, boys (and girls).  [The report didn’t state the obvious, however.  Don’t hike alone in the hills!]

[In lieu of a Top 3]...mixing it up just this once, because it’s not a bad list and the last tune wouldn’t otherwise make my rotation.

#1 Songs on July 18

1955 – Rock Around The Clock (Bill Haley & His Comets)
1956 – The Wayward Wind (Gogi Grant...great tune...)
1957 – (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear (Elvis Presley)
1958 – Hard Headed Woman (Elvis Presley)
1959 – Lonely Boy (Paul Anka)
1960 – I’m Sorry (Brenda Lee)
1961 – Tossin’ And Turnin’ (Bobby Lewis)
1962 – Roses Are Red (My Love) (Bobby Vinton)
1963 – Surf City (Jan & Dean)
1964 – Rag Doll (The 4 Seasons)

1966 Baltimore Orioles Quiz Answers: 1) Four to hit 20+ homers: Boog Powell (34-109, .287); Brooks Robinson (23-100, .269); Curt Blefary (23-64, .255); Frank Robinson (49-122, .316).  2) 10-game winners: Dave McNally (13-6, 3.17); Jim Palmer (15-10, 3.46); Wally Bunker (10-6, 4.29); Steve Barber (10-5, 2.30).  Eddie Watt was a spot-starter and overall was 9-7, 3.83, while John Miller had 16 starts and was 4-8, 4.74.

Instead, the Orioles relied heavily on a super bullpen, especially for that time; Watt, Eddie Fisher, Mo Drabowsky, and Stu Miller.

But for what seemed an underwhelming staff, they then blanked the Dodgers (and Koufax and Drysdale) in four in the Series.  [Can’t say ‘blitzed’ because that implies some hitting.]

5-2, 6-0, 1-0, 1-0...shutouts by Palmer, Bunker and McNally, while in Game 1, Mo Drabowsky had one of the more famous Series relief efforts, 6 2/3 of one-hit ball, striking out 11.  [McNally was removed early because of five walks in 2 1/3.]

This was also the first Series I remember in some detail, barely remembering a little of 1965.

1962’s Top 3 songs next Bar Chat, Thursday.



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Bar Chat

07/18/2016

A Duel for the Ages

[Posted Sunday p.m.]

1966 Baltimore Orioles Quiz: Two weekends ago, the Orioles honored their 1966 World Series Champions. 1) Name the four on that team who hit 20+ home runs.  2) Name the four who won 10 or more games (this was not a great staff).  Answers below.

The Open Championship...and Golf Balls...

What an Open it turned out to be, one of the greatest match play finales of all time, but starting out with Phil Mickelson’s spectacular 63 in the first round, the final putt for a history-making 62 just lipping out in a clear move by the golf gods to deny anyone, forever, of a 62.

As the tournament unfolded, Mickelson and Henrik Stenson began to separate themselves from the field so that after three rounds, after the two had played together on Saturday, the leaderboard looked like this:

Stenson -12
Mickelson -11
Haas -6
Johnston -5

Off they went at 2:35 p.m. local, Sunday, the weather better than expected, and after five holes they were tied at -14, with Andrew Johnston third at -7.  Following a birdie and eagle by Mickelson, and three straight birdies by Stenson after an opening bogey, both with superb shotmaking, it was clear these were the only two to watch the rest of the way and, frankly, we didn’t need to see anyone else.

At the postage stamp 8th hole, Phil missed a 10-footer for birdie while Stenson nailed his longer effort and Stenson, on the heels of now five birdies was up one, -16 to -15.

Both birdied No. 10, Stenson bogeyed No. 11, and after both parred No. 12, Phil with a huge putt, they were tied at -16. 

But Stenson birdied 14-16, including a 50-foot bomb on 15, Phil birdieing just 16, though Phil had an eagle putt that just missed, while Stenson made a great chip from the rough that led to his birdie when it appeared Phil had the potential to pick up two shots.

So after 16, Stenson still had a two-shot lead.

Stenson -19
Mickelson -17

Phil made another great par putt on 17 to keep it interesting, but Stenson stayed out of trouble with his tee shot on 18, barely, and closed the action with a 20-foot birdie putt.  A final round 63 that matched Johnny Miller for the lowest closing round by a major champion.  Mickelson had a 65 with no bogeys.  Stenson had 10 birdies, 2 bogeys.

A first major for Sweden and a first major for a very deserving 40-year-old, Henrik Stenson.

As usual Mickelson was classy in defeat, especially since he genuinely likes Henrik, and when you know Stenson’s full story, the days when his golf game was beyond all hope and he was at the bottom of the world rankings, and the time (2009) when he lost $millions in the Stanford Financial scandal, let alone seven Top 5 finishes in majors without a victory, you have to feel real good for the guy.

So in the end it was:

Stenson -20 (63 final round... -8)
Mickelson -17 (65... -6)
Holmes -6
Stricker -5

There is so much that was amazing about the play of the two leaders.  For instance, Rory McIlroy’s final found -4 was the next best of the day.

The gap between second and third is the largest in major championship history.

This is going to be one of those final rounds that will make for a good video to plug in in the dead of winter.  Look for NBC to replay it more than once, especially if a PGA Tour event has a weekend round washed out.  I know while I watched it all live, at some point I definitely want to see it again.

--The prior six Opens at Troon had all been won by Americans....

Arnold Palmer ‘62
Tom Weiskopf ‘73
Tom Watson ‘82
Mark Calcavecchia ‘89
Justin Leonard ‘97
Todd Hamilton ‘04

But now we put the Big Swede on the board.

--Mickelson, at 46, was attempting to become the oldest player to win the tournament since Tom Morris Sr., better known as Old Tom Morris, in 1867.

Brian Costa / Wall Street Journal:

“Seven of the past nine Open titles [Ed. now 8 of 10] have been won by players age 35 or older.  Over that same span, that has been accomplished only seven times at the other three majors combined [Ed. amazing].  In the last 10 years, the only three major titles won by players in their 40s have all come at the British Open: Mickelson at Muirfield in 2013, Ernie Els at Royal Lytham in 2012 and Darren Clarke at Royal St. George’s in 2011.  That’s to say nothing of 2009, when Tom Watson nearly won the Claret Jug at age 59.”

And this year we had 59-year-old Mark O’Meara make the cut, along with 53-year-old Colin Montgomerie and 52-year-old Marco Dawson...and Miguel Angel Jimenez, 52, and almost 50, 49-year-old Steve Stricker.

Montgomerie finished 78th, Dawson T-68, O’Meara T-63, Jimenez T-18, and Stricker a terrific 4th.  [You know what, I have an old-fashioned word to describe Stricker’s career...neat.  A neat career.]

--Good for Bill Haas, who finished tied for ninth after an admittedly disappointing +4 final round, but at least it was his first Top 10 in a major (incredibly) for his career, a T-12 at the 2011 PGA Championship being his previous best.  Hopefully this gives him some confidence going forward, maybe even in two weeks at Baltusrol.

--Mickelson, despite missing the cut at The Masters and U.S. Open, was having a nice bounceback year with five Top 5s heading to Troon, but now he is still winless since the 2013 Open Championship.

--Jordan Spieth lamented the perception of his poor play this year, even though he would argue it hasn’t been a bad year at all.  Two wins, six Top 10s in 16 events.  It’s just that you have that collapse at The Masters, a missed cut at The Players Championship, and a T-37 at the U.S. Open, and then this week.

“It’s been tough, given I think it’s been a solid year,” said Spieth on Saturday.   “I think had last year not happened [wins at the Masters and U.S. Open], I’d be having a lot of positive questions.  Instead, most of the questions I get are comparing to last year and, therefore, negative because it’s not to the same standard.

“So that’s almost tough to then convince myself that you’re having a good year when nobody else [thinks so].  Even if [the media] think it is, the questions I get make me feel like it’s not.  So I think that’s a bit unfair to me.”

The fact is, Jordan, you have indeed been subpar in the three biggies since Augusta (including Troon).  It’s great when you get good press, now you just have to deal with the flipside of fame.  [I’ll be very interested to see how he does at the PGA.]

Spieth finished this week T-30.  Others...Adam Scott T-43, Jason Day T-22, Dustin Johnson T-9, and Rory T-5.

--Sergio Garcia finished T-5, his record 12th Top 5 in a major without a victory, Lee Westwood having 11 without taking home the silver.

Phil Mickelson’s runner-up was his 11th in a major; the 65 the lowest final round of his career in a major as well.

--Golf legend Gary Player isn’t happy with the likes of Spieth and Rory not going to the Olympics.

“This excuse about Zika is feeble,” Player said on Fox Business the other day.  ‘You have Zika in America in some states right now.  You’ve got more of a chance of being killed by a gun or a motor car in America than getting Zika. ...I think it’s pathetic and I’m sad to see it.”

Matt Kuchar, on the other hand, who snuck in with a clutch birdie putt at the 72nd hole of the WGC-Bridgestone, that lifted him from No. 17 to 15 in the Official World Golf Ranking (thus allowing the U.S. to have a fourth player), is embracing Rio, saying that while “it’s a shame that the field won’t include several top players...when you look back at it in 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, nobody is going to care what the field was like.  If you medaled in the Olympics, you medaled in the Olympics.  And in doing that, you can become a very cool part of history.”

Of course Kuchar is also a pure sportsman.  Like Mickelson he can talk every sport.  Someone to root for heavily in Rio.

--Golfweek in its July 11 issue had a feature by Adam Schupak on Andrew “Beef” Johnston, who finished 8th this week by himself.  There is nothing fake about the guy.  Count me in as a new fan along with, I imagine, the rest of you followers of the game...the 27-year-old being a breath of fresh air.

Johnston was at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational two weeks ago at Firestone, and aside from eating hamburgers with the masses, he devoured a 32-ounce steak at a local establishment when his waitress challenged him.

Adam Schupak:

“America has found a new golfer to love. He is a British version of Boo Weekley, a little rough around the edges, unfiltered, but still lovable, with a red-tinged beard that rivals Canadian Graham DeLaet’s facial hair.  Johnston first established himself as a YouTube favorite for his chest-bump celebration of a hole-in-one at the 2015 BMW PGA to win a BMW M4.  Later that year, when Johnston holed his second shot on the 18th hole of the third round at the Scottish Open, he mimicked the signature dance celebration of playing competitor Miguel Angel Jimenez.  It earned Johnston a hug and a handshake from the Spaniard.

“Johnston truly went viral in April after his maiden victory at the Spanish Open. When asked how he planned to celebrate, he famously said he couldn’t wait to get home and ‘get hammered’ with his mates and see his mum.

“Johnston made his American debut last month at the U.S. Open, tying for 54th at Oakmont  Country Club.  The recent Bridgestone Invitational, in which he tied for 42nd, marked his first World Golf Championships appearance.  He was overwhelmed by the warm receptions, first at Oakmont and then here at Firestone Country Club.

“ ‘Every single hole it was like ‘Beeeef,’’ he said, stretching his voice to a deep baritone n recalling the U.S. Open fans.  ‘People were moo-ing at me.  It was mad.’....

“(Johnston) is the best thing to happen to the sometimes-stodgy game in a while. Rather than retreat to the sanctuary of the clubhouse, he ate burgers and sipped a peanut-butter shake among the great unwashed. He posed for selfies and signed autographs for more than 30 minutes.  He even scribbled his name on an iPhone and a woman’s skirt.”

But it hasn’t been all fun and games for Johnston. His father, who taught him the sport, died of brain cancer at age 56, when Johnston was 17, and he speaks openly of a lot of hurt still being there and how afterwards he drifted...on the verge of packing it in.  But he persevered.  Now we want more “Beef.”   [He’ll be a massive fan...and media...favorite at Baltusrol.]

--Never did hear what happened to Billy Horschel, who fired a fine -4, 67 opening round and then ballooned to an 85!

--I didn’t realize at the time that there was serious consideration of moving up the date of the John Deere Classic to the Greenbrier Classic’s slot after it was cancelled, and then holding a PGA Tour event at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minn., during the Deere’s slot (Aug. 11-14).  But they just couldn’t swing the logistics.

The Blaine location is hosting a Champions Tour event the week before, so it would have been prepared in some respects.

MLB

--The Mets lost 4-2 on Saturday as their pathetic offense continues to rely solely on the home run.  They didn’t hit any Saturday night, dropping their record to an incredible 5-24 when they don’t homer.  They are simply a godawful team with runners in scoring position; dead last in all of baseball with a .210 average after Saturday’s play (0-for-7 in this category)*, with, ironically, the Yankees next to last in the majors at .226.  So us New York baseball fans are seeing a lot of clutch hitting all around...NOT!

*1-for-6 on Sunday.

The Mets are 44-18 when they do hit a home run, which I could write now after they hit two in support of Jacob deGrom today, after he fired a one-hitter, his first career complete game/shutout, 5-0, as the Mets take a needed 2 of 3 from the Cheesesteaks.

--Daniel Murphy was a casualty of the All-Star Game, what every manager fears, as he hurt his hamstring in the contest, or rather aggravated it.

But no problem for the Nationals as they roared out of the gate with 5-1, 6-0 defeats of the Pirates, Friday and Saturday, behind Stephen Strasburg and Tanner Roark.

On Friday, Strasburg moved to 13-0, 2.51 ERA, with 8 innings of one-run ball.  That 13-0 means he is the first National League starter to begin a season in such a fashion since the New York Giants’ Rube Marquard began the 1912 campaign 18-0.  Strasburg is just the eighth starting pitcher to begin 13-0 in major league history.  He has also won his last 16 decisions.  The Nationals are 16-1 in his starts this season.

So on Sunday, Daniel Murphy appeared as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the ninth, the Nationals down 1-0 to the Pirates, and Murph hit a pinch-hit home run to send it into extra innings.

Only Pittsburgh prevailed 2-1 in 18 as, ironically, another former Met and Murphy teammate, Jon Niese, the much-maligned Mr. Niese, threw three scoreless for the win.  So one ex-Met taketh, and the other giveth back...or something like that...in terms of the N.L. East race.

--In other games on Friday, you have to hand it to Detroit’s Justin Verlander, who is pitching his best in three years, winning 4-2 over Kansas City with 7 innings of two-run ball, striking out 10 to move to 9-6, 3.91, but with 130 strikeouts in 124 1/3.

Though then there is Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer, as talented as any pitcher in the game, but not this year after a 4-3 loss to Baltimore.  Archer, who yielded all four runs in 7 1/3, is now 4-13, 4.68.

--Sunday, the Padres defeated Johnny Cueto and the Giants 5-3, Cueto dropping to 13-2.

--The Red Sox acquired All-Star hurler Drew Pomeranz from the San Diego Padres, as Boston continues to make a statement that they want to win it all this year.  Earlier, team president Dave Dombrowski acquired closer Brad Ziegler from Arizona and infielder Aaron Hill from Milwaukee, plus infielder Michael Martinez from Cleveland.

But this move is a most controversial one.  For starters, the Red Sox gave up a very highly-touted prospect, 18-year-old right-hander Anderson Espinoza.

Secondly, Pomeranz, who was so-so at best with Colorado and Oakland, has suddenly emerged with a 2.47 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 102 innings, but this last bit, innings, is already a career high.

[He will make his Boston debut on Wednesday.]

--The Angels’ Matt Shoemaker had an impressive performance Saturday night against the White Sox, a complete game shutout with 13 strikeouts to move to 5-9, 4.08, though I really wouldn’t be bringing up this otherwise meaningless game except it was Chicago’s third consecutive shutout, the first time this has happened since 1968, when everyone and their mother lost 1-0, seemingly night after night.

[Actually, just saw Shoemaker, runner-up in the A.L. rookie-of-the-year voting in 2014, has a 2.37 ERA in his last 11 starts, with 88 strikeouts in 76 1/3, which isn’t chopped liver, Angels fans (a dwindling bunch).]

--It’s possible Clayton Kershaw is returning later this week, having been sidelined with back problems.  Aside from the fact he has an otherworldly 145 strikeouts and just nine walks, with an ERA of 1.79, if he could finish the year at that ERA level or better, assuming he pitches about another 40 innings to be eligible (41), he would become just the third pitcher in major league history (live-ball era, since 1920) to have multiple qualified seasons with a sub-1.80 ERA.  [Joining Greg Maddux and Sandy Koufax...don’t bother looking up Pedro Martinez, I already did.]

NFL

--It’s over...finally.  Tom Brady said he would not ask the U.S. Supreme Court to block his four-game “Deflategate” suspension.  The battle with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is finis, though Brady deserves his “tarnished” reputation.

Golden Boy posted on Facebook: “It has been a challenging 18 months and I have made the difficult decision to no longer proceed with the legal process.  I’m going to work hard to be the best player I can for the New England Patriots and I look forward to having the opportunity to return to the field this fall.”

The deal was that he could have gotten a single Supreme Court Justice to issue a ‘stay,’ but then it could have dragged out into a part of the season not in the least advantageous to the Patriots...like even the playoffs.

Ergo, best to take his medicine the first four games of the year, three of which are at home.

But the NFL, and Goodell, look awful through it all.

Adam Kilgore / Washington Post

“The National Football League beat Tom Brady in the Deflategate saga...(but) that doesn’t mean the NFL won.  Over more than 17 months fighting Brady, the NFL maintained its power but utterly lost track of why that power mattered.

“The real issue behind Deflategate traces back to about 2007, shortly after Roger Goodell assumed the NFL commissioner’s office.  After a spate of arrests and off-field problems gave the league a public-image black eye, Goodell wanted to strengthen his ability to suspend troublemakers. Fans called for stiffer punishment, and even players agreed.  The NFL wanted to protect its reputation.  Players believed a small cluster of misbehaving players had given them an unfair, inaccurate portrayal.

“ ‘We were all fed up,’ said one former player who worked closely with the NFL Players Association.  ‘When we trusted Goodell, that’s when our first mistake was make.  We wanted to clean the game up and wanted to send the message that those bad apples didn’t define us.  We were all on board with trying to come down on guys like that.  I think that was opening the door to people beginning to believe the players [union] would allow players to be over-punished.’

“The sides agreed to give the league more power to discipline players for off-field incidents other than substance abuse and gave the commissioner ‘full authority to impose discipline as warranted.’  In April 2007, Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones received a season-long suspension owing to a series of arrests related to drugs and violence, mostly occurring at strip clubs. The NFLPA, led by Gene Upshaw and Troy Vincent at the time, supported the policy.”

But then the NFL took their new power too far and players began to complain that the meting out of justice was too arbitrary, but in their 2011 collective bargaining talks, after owners locked out the players, the players’ priorities were player safety, the revenue split and the rookie pay scale, and so they kept Article 46, the language that gave Goodell his sweeping power, thinking it would apply to just a miniscule number of players.

Yet Goodell and the league used their power against Brady and the Pats and kept this thing going for 15 months, failing to understand that now both players and fans loathe the commissioner and the league when disciplinary matters arise.

Pats owner Robert Kraft:

“From day one, I have believed in Tom and given him my unwavering support in his pursuit to rightfully clear his name of any wrongdoing....Unfortunately, this stopped being about air pressure a long time ago.

“This entire process has indelibly taken a toll on our organization, our fans and most importantly, Tom Brady.”

So Brady will miss the first four games against Arizona (away), Miami, Houston and Buffalo; the last three at home.

--Meanwhile, Denver linebacker Von Mill signed the biggest contract for a defensive player in history, $114.5 million, including $70 million guaranteed.

Miller had rejected an earlier proposal with less guaranteed money.  Quarterback Andrew Luck recently received $87 million in guarantees.

A four-time Pro Bowl selection in his five-year career, Miller has averaged 12 sacks a season.

--As expected, the Washington Redskins and quarterback Kirk Cousins did not reach a long-term deal by Friday’s deadline, so Cousins will play 2016 under the franchise-player tag and become a free agent again next offseason.  He’ll receive $19.95 million guaranteed.

Despite the fact Cousin had a great first season as a regular, 4,166 yards, 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, the Redskins are leery of giving a long-term top deal to a QB with a limited body of work.

--The big surprise of the New York sports world the past few weeks, and maybe months, was the Jets reaching a long-term deal with defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson, five years, $85 million, with $37 million fully guaranteed, $54 million in the first three years.

Wilkerson, a loyal soldier if ever there was one and a true cornerstone player, had been trying to get a long-term deal the last two seasons and would have had to play under the franchise tag this year at $15.7 million.

So now will the Jets finally sign quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick?

One thing is for sure, regardless of whether Fitzpatrick finally comes into the fold, Jets fans, and Wilkerson’s teammates, are psyched to have one of their true leaders happy.

The Wilkerson deal “was huge for our locker room,” Brandon Marshall wrote on Twitter.

NBA

--Nate Thurmond died.  The NBA Hall of Fame center for the Golden State Warriors who was one of the most dominant defensive players and rebounders of his time, while battling some of the other greats of the game, such as Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Willis Reed, was 74.

On more than one occasion, I have listed Thurmond as one of the five most underrated athletes of the 20th century, along with Tris Speaker, Billy Casper, Dan Gurney and Smokin’ Joe Frazier.  [NASCAR’s David Pearson is there as well.]

For Thurmond’s 14-year career, he averaged 15 points and 15 rebounds a game, but the numbers were 17 and 17 in his 11 seasons for the San Francisco and Golden State Warriors.  They are even better if you take out his first year when he didn’t play as much, averaging 7 points and 10 rebounds, the raw 6-11 rookie out of Bowling Green.

I mean look at those numbers.  He was a seven-time All-Star and was selected to the first or second all-defensive team five times.

Abdul-Jabbar once said, “The toughest center for me to play against is Nate Thurmond.”

“He played with unbelievable intensity and was simply a man among boys on most nights, especially on the defensive end,” said Jerry West.

Former teammate and coach Al Attles said, “Looking back, he was as ferocious as any player in the history of the game on the court, but one of the kindest and nicest souls in his everyday life.”

LeBron James, Thurmond’s fellow Akron, Ohio, native, wrote on Twitter on Saturday: “Knowing u played in the same rec league as me growing up gave me hope of making it out!  Thanks!”

Thurmond was the first player to record an official quadruple-double when he made his debut with the Bulls, scoring 22 points along with 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocks against Atlanta on Oct. 18, 1974.  I mean think about that effort.

In the mid-60s, Thurmond once hauled down 42 rebounds against the Pistons, the best single-game rebounding effort of his career (and one of only four with 40 in league history).  He once had 18 rebounds in a single quarter against the Bullets in 1965.

In 1996, he was named one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players when it celebrated its 50th anniversary. 

Thurmond was born in Akron and played his high school ball there, before playing for Bowling Green, where he averaged 17.8 points and 17 rebounds over his college career.  Just more amazing stats...the same numbers he would have in his 11 seasons with the Warriors.

Thurmond was the third overall pick in the 1963 draft, playing power forward alongside Wilt Chamberlain, who was then traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, allowing Thurmond to take the lead.

Aside from having his No. 42 retired in Golden State, he was so well respected the Cavaliers also retired his number after just two seasons, the first jersey to be so retired by Cleveland.

Johnny Mac reminded me that Thurmond played his high school ball with future NBA star Gus Johnson, and that the only game they lost was to Jerry Lucas’ Middletown, Ohio team.

--I just have to pat myself on the back for noting Kevin Durant’s “I’m not a $88 player” comment a week ago, referring to his newest shoe, which costs $150.  Sports Illustrated, in its current issue, highlighted it as well.  [Which gave me another opportunity to take another shot at Mr. Durant!]

Actually, Commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday that while he completely respects Durant’s right to join the Golden State Warriors as a free agent, he wishes he hadn’t done so.

“I’ve read some stories that the league wants this notion of two ‘super teams’ that is a huge television attraction,” said Silver. “I don’t think it’s good for the league, just to be clear.”

Expanding on the topic, Silver said: “I do not think that’s ideal from the league standpoint. For me, part of it is designing a collective bargaining agreement that encourages the distribution of great players throughout the league.

“On the other hand, I absolutely respect a player’s right to become a free agent and, in this case, for Kevin Durant to make a decision that he feels is best for him.  I have no idea what’s in his mind or heart in terms of how he went about making that decision.”  [Ed. That’s a diss.]

This is a big deal. The current collective bargaining agreement runs through June 30, 2021, but either side can opt out next off-season as long as it lets the other know of any intentions by Dec. 15.

--Phil W. wondered if I had seen that Chris Paul was named ESPN’s Second Annual Humanitarian of the Year the other day for his work with the Boys and Girls Club in Los Angeles and, frankly, I hadn’t.  Some of us Wake Forest fans just wonder if Julius Hodge nominated him (Phil observed...tongue very much in cheek).

--At the ESPY’s on Wednesday evening, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James stood on stage together and spoke about the need for professional athletes to be involved in pushing for social change in light of the recent police shootings in Baton Rouge and St. Paul, as well as the killing of five officers in Dallas.

But with Sunday’s developments in Baton Rouge, I would hope Dwyane Wade feels a little queasy over how he opened his pitch:

“Racial profiling has to stop. The shoot to kill mentality has to stop.”

Yes, he added, “the retaliation, has to stop,” but it just looks, and sounds, awful, D-Wade.

NASCAR

--So there are two big stories...Jeff Gordon could come out of retirement next weekend, but this is because Dale Earnhardt Jr. may not be cleared to race.

Earnhardt was forced to sit out this weekend’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway because he is experiencing concussion symptoms.

[Alex Bowman drove in his place on Sunday and finished 26th.]

But Gordon said he was available to drive next week if he was needed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway; Gordon having won the last of his record five Brickyard 400 victories in 2014.

Gordon has not raced since last season’s finale at Homestead, Fla., wrapping up a career that included 93 Cup wins and four series championships.

A decision could be made on Wed. (Gordon being in France on vacation from his Fox Sports duties, where he has been outstanding).

As for Earnhardt, he was evaluated this week and doctors did not clear him after he was involved in a wreck at Daytona this month and another one the month before at Michigan International Speedway.  He missed two races in 2012 when it was determined he had sustained two concussions in six weeks.

Earnhardt told his Hendrick Motorsports team last weekend he wasn’t feeling well (though he raced) and then on Tuesday he said he was feeling worse.

So Earnhardt got tested by a team of neurologists and he was told he should shut it down.

NASCAR changed its protocols in a big way in 2013 and concussed drivers must be cleared by an independent neurologist or neurosurgeon before they can return to racing.

This is the last thing the sport needs today...DJ being out.  [Though Gordon returning for a race or two is good.]

Earnhardt is winless this season and he’s struggling to make the Chase, which the sport also desperately needs.

And now there are some distressing rumors Dale Jr. could retire for health reasons.  While we all want the best for him, this wouldn’t be good for NASCAR.

[Ironically, he’s on the cover of the New Hampshire Motor Speedway program this week, with a headline asking, “Is This The Year?”  Earnhardt still without a Sprint Cup championship, whereas his father had seven.]

I’m guessing he hangs it up...but potentially after next year’s Daytona 500.  He could be cleared to drive soon, but he could say before Daytona that he just can’t take any more risks.  There wouldn’t be a soul who would blame him.

As for the race itself at Loudon, Matt Kenseth won his second of the year, 38th of his career.

The Rio Olympics

--Rebecca Ruiz of the New York Times was the first to report on the extent of Russia’s doping program and with the Russian track and field team already barred from the Rio Olympics, Ruiz reports that on Monday, antidoping officials will request that the entire Russian contingent be prohibited from competing.

“Antidoping officials from at least 10 nations and 20 athlete groups are preparing the extraordinary step of requested that the entire Russian delegation be barred from the Summer Olympics over allegations of a state-sponsored doping program, according to email correspondences obtained by the New York Times.

“The antidoping officials and athletes were expected to pressure Olympic leaders on the matter  as soon as Monday.”

It goes back to claims first published by the Times of a state-sponsored doping program tied to the Sochi Olympics in 2014.

Antidoping organizations from the U.S., Germany, Spain, Japan, Switzerland and Canada are among the 20 groups that have banded together to attempt to validate the claims of Grigory Rodchenkov, Russia’s former antidoping lab director, who told the Times in May that he followed government orders to cover up the widespread use of PEDs by dozens of Russian Olympians at Sochi.

Needless to say the Kremlin won’t be happy.          

--Over the past two years I have written of every single issue raised in the following, but Sally Jenkins below does a terrific job of setting it all up.  For example, on 5/3/2014 in my “Week in Review” column I had the following.

“Brazil: It’s been the policy here at StocksandNews that you are a fool if you’re thinking of attending either the World Cup next month or the 2016 Rio Olympics. Will they both go off smoothly? I guess everything is possible. But why take the risk? True, Sochi wasn’t the terror disaster many feared, including yours truly, but was it worth it if you weren’t a family member? Hardly. 

“So I bring this topic up again because the International Olympic Committee’s vice-president, an Australian by the name of John Coates, said preparation for the Rio Olympics are the ‘worst’ he has ever seen and the IOC has taken the unprecedented step of placing experts in the local organizing committee to ensure the Games go ahead.

“Coates has been involved in the Olympics for 40 years and he said Rio is worse than the concerns leading up to the 2004 Athens Games. Rio is ‘not ready in many, many ways.’

“Incredibly, construction has not even begun on some venues, while infrastructure hasn’t been addressed, and then you have Brazil’s social issues, which will no doubt be on full display during the World Cup.”

That was 2014.

Today, we all know that potential disaster looms.  I offered the other day that Jordan Spieth’s real reason for withdrawing from the golf competition wasn’t Zika, but rather security.  I’m frankly surprised more athletes haven’t stated this obvious fact.

But now it’s time to just sit back and see what happens.  Some of us were terrified with France holding the Euro 2016 football championships but outside of some drunken brawls between Russian and England fans it went off without a major hitch.  But then look what happened in Nice shortly after the tournament ended.

Sally Jenkins / Washington Post

“The International Olympic Committee has been playing with a lake of fire, and it’s everybody else who is going to get burned.  You can feel it coming, can’t you?  One of these days there’s going to be a catastrophe.  The Olympics will be lucky to escape a large-scale disaster in Rio de Janeiro, and if it happens, we all will wonder why we didn’t do more to stop IOC officials from dragging us all down into their muck.

“Half a million people will descend on Rio for the Summer Games, with a security force of just 85,000 to keep them safe from terrorists and roving bandits.  Many of them are resentful, underpaid law enforcement officers with out-of-gas cars and grounded helicopters in the midst of the country’s worst economy since the 1930s who were already trying to cope with one of the most seething, crime-ridden cities on earth.  In the past year, state hospitals have lacked basic supplies, and medical facilities have cut hours.  So yes, by all means, let’s accept the IOC’s  confident declarations issued Monday that ‘Rio is ready.’  And just hope that if there’s real trouble, Mother Gaia or some invisible super hero Skyman will descend to save everyone should the hour turn darkest.

“The IOC declares that Rio is ready because 44 test events have been held there – neglecting to mention that competitors in some of those events have been stricken by rashes and vomiting from the trash and raw human feces flowing into Guanabara Bay, the toilet bowl of Rio.  Or that a group of Brazilian scientists this week detected a drug-resistant super-bacteria growing off the beaches that can cause meningitis and pulmonary, gastro and bloodstream infections....

“The truth is that a large-scale catastrophe is already happening in Rio, but it has been happening in slow motion over a period of years. The state is running a $6 billion deficit....

“A Rio Olympics was a romantic idea when the city first bid on it, and the entire world fervently hopes that it is a safe celebration for the city.  But the fact is that Brazilians themselves are apprehensive about hosting it given Rio’s ‘profound problems,’ (Prof. Oliver) Stuenkel says.  ‘The situation of the whole country is so dire that it’s difficult to openly and in an unrestrained way say, ‘I’m really looking forward to it.’”

Stuff

--Sidney Crosby returned to his hometown of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, Friday, carrying something special...the Stanley Cup.  It marked his assigned day to spend with Lord Stanley.  So he took it to his favorite spots around town, including a stop at Tim Hortons.

“We heard this big explosion of applause and heard someone say, ‘Sidney,’” Cole Harbour’s Tim Hortons operations manager Paul MacFarlane said.  “We came up to the front and saw Sidney Crosby walk through with the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy.  I had never seen it before, it was awesome.”

Crosby then took the Cup to his hockey school to let the kids see it.  Wish I was there.

--From BBC News:

“Four dogs who worked with the U.S. military in Afghanistan have been awarded medals for their sacrifice and service to the United States.

“The canines were given the K-9 Medal of Courage, and are the first to receive the honor created by welfare group the American Humane Association....

“All four dogs had saved humans’ lives by smelling out explosives.

“ ‘Soldiers have been relying on these four-footed comrades-in-arms since the beginning of organized warfare and today military dogs are more important than ever in keeping our service men and women safe,’ said Robin Ganzert from the AHA.”

The four honorees were:

Matty, a Czech German Shepherd

Fieldy, a black Labrador retriever

Bond, a Belgian Malinois

Isky, a German Shepherd

Matty and his handler were wounded and both are retired; Fieldy was discharged and reunited with his former handler; Bond suffers from combat trauma but has been reunited with his former handler as both help each other adjust; Isky lost a leg in combat but still does work as a service dog.

--Great story on “60 Minutes” tonight on California’s mountain lions.  Hang in there, boys (and girls).  [The report didn’t state the obvious, however.  Don’t hike alone in the hills!]

[In lieu of a Top 3]...mixing it up just this once, because it’s not a bad list and the last tune wouldn’t otherwise make my rotation.

#1 Songs on July 18

1955 – Rock Around The Clock (Bill Haley & His Comets)
1956 – The Wayward Wind (Gogi Grant...great tune...)
1957 – (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear (Elvis Presley)
1958 – Hard Headed Woman (Elvis Presley)
1959 – Lonely Boy (Paul Anka)
1960 – I’m Sorry (Brenda Lee)
1961 – Tossin’ And Turnin’ (Bobby Lewis)
1962 – Roses Are Red (My Love) (Bobby Vinton)
1963 – Surf City (Jan & Dean)
1964 – Rag Doll (The 4 Seasons)

1966 Baltimore Orioles Quiz Answers: 1) Four to hit 20+ homers: Boog Powell (34-109, .287); Brooks Robinson (23-100, .269); Curt Blefary (23-64, .255); Frank Robinson (49-122, .316).  2) 10-game winners: Dave McNally (13-6, 3.17); Jim Palmer (15-10, 3.46); Wally Bunker (10-6, 4.29); Steve Barber (10-5, 2.30).  Eddie Watt was a spot-starter and overall was 9-7, 3.83, while John Miller had 16 starts and was 4-8, 4.74.

Instead, the Orioles relied heavily on a super bullpen, especially for that time; Watt, Eddie Fisher, Mo Drabowsky, and Stu Miller.

But for what seemed an underwhelming staff, they then blanked the Dodgers (and Koufax and Drysdale) in four in the Series.  [Can’t say ‘blitzed’ because that implies some hitting.]

5-2, 6-0, 1-0, 1-0...shutouts by Palmer, Bunker and McNally, while in Game 1, Mo Drabowsky had one of the more famous Series relief efforts, 6 2/3 of one-hit ball, striking out 11.  [McNally was removed early because of five walks in 2 1/3.]

This was also the first Series I remember in some detail, barely remembering a little of 1965.

1962’s Top 3 songs next Bar Chat, Thursday.