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Bar Chat

02/13/2023

It's Kansas City!

Add-on posted early Wed. a.m.

Final Thoughts on the Super Bowl

--I posted last Sunday about two minutes after the game and wasn’t about to write up some of the issues that led discussion in the hours after.

There was lots of offensive wizardry displayed on both sides: Patrick Mahomes, bum ankle and all, 21/27, 182, 3-0, 131.8, plus a super-clutch 26-yard run late in the game that was the key play in setting up the winning field goal; the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, 27/38, 304, 1-0, 103.4, plus a record 70 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

But Hurts did have the critical inexcusable fumble, where he just lost the handle, and then had it scooped up by Nick Bolton who carried it in from the 36 for a TD that tied things up at 14-14.

And the vaunted Eagles defense, second-best in the NFL this season to San Francisco, and with a league-leading 70 sacks, fifteen more than the next team on this list, Kansas City, sucked, especially in the second half when they couldn’t stop the Chiefs from scoring on a single possession, and along the way the Eagles had zero sacks for the game.  Not one.  Nada.  As in the Baby Eaglets came up small.

--Zach Pareles of CBS Sports had this bit on Mahomes:

Since 2018, when Mahomes took over as the full-time starter in K.C. …

He is 14-10 (.583 win pct.) in games his team trails by double digits.

All other quarterbacks are 192-1003-5 (.162 win pct.) in games their team trails by double digits.

And CBS’ John Breech pointed out:

Mahomes led the NFL in passing yards and won the Super Bowl in the same year.  Tom Brady never did that.  [No QB in NFL history had ever done that before this year.]  Mahomes now has won two Super Bowls and two regular-season MVPs in a five-year span.  Brady never did that. [No QB in NFL history had ever done that.]

--And Andy Reid is in select company with his two Super Bowl triumphs, a legend forever in K.C. as well as Mahomes.

--As for the controversial holding call on the Eagles’ James Bradberry at the end, Bradberry admitted after the game that he had hoped the officials hadn’t seen it.  But they had.

“It was holding,” Bradberry told reporters following the loss. “I tugged his jersey. I was hoping they would let it slide.”

Referee Carl Cheffers told the pool reporter following the game that the play involving Bradberry was a “clear case of a jersey grab that caused restriction.”

“That’s what we’re looking for, those kinds of restrictions in those kinds of routes that put the receiver at a disadvantage,” Cheffers said.

Andrew Marchand / New York Post

“At the end of what might become the most watched Super Bowl in history [Ed. see below, it wasn’t] with potentially more than 115 million viewers, Burkhardt and Olsen nailed the most crucial play of the game, the third-and-8 from the Eagles’ 15.

“With less than two minutes remaining, Burkhardt said, ‘Mahomes…pressure…lofting one…end zone…incomplete…JuJu Smith-Schuster couldn’t catch up.’

“And then with amazement of the Super Bowl-deciding call, Burkhardt exclaimed, ‘There is a flag at the 10! Hang on, there’s a penalty.’

“After the official announced holding on the Eagles’ defensive back James Bradberry, Fox showed a replay and Olsen shined.

“The analyst’s job here is to understand the storyline and, if it calls for it, give a clear opinion.  Olsen immediately said he thought the call was too minor to make at such a crucial point in the game.

“ ‘I don’t love that call,’ Olsen said.

“On the next play, realizing the clock situation, the Eagles were trying to let Chiefs running back Jerick McKinnon score, Olsen sounded desperate, knowing it would be a bonehead move for McKinnon to take the bait and score.

“ ‘He’g got to get down!’ Olsen said.  ‘He’s got to get down.’

“McKinnon did get down, sliding in at the 1.  Kansas City would hit a game-deciding field goal with seconds remaining. And the Chiefs, Burkhardt and Olsen – two Jersey boys – were champions for the night.”

--For good reason, fans, and players and coaches, were highly critical of the playing surface at State Farm Stadium.

“The field was kind of terrible,” Kansas City defensive lineman Frank Clark said.  “We’ve had this problem in Arizona before.  A lot of these stadiums try to do new tactics with the grass, they try to do new things.  I’ve been playing football since I was 7. The best grass is grass that is naturally there.

“At the end of the day, it was the field that we were given.”

Other players said it was “terrible,” “awful,” “slick.’

--Ian O’Connor / New York Post

“(Sunday night), Pat Mahomes’ son Patrick rose above all the formidable obstacles in his way, including a screaming right ankle, to use the forum of an epic Super Bowl clash to win his second championship and notarize his standing as an all-time great at age 27.  On the decisive endgame drive in this 38-35 Chiefs victory over the Eagles, Mahomes broke free up the middle for a 26-yard run to the Philadelphia 17, chugging like mad through the pain.

“It was his Willis Reed moment in his own Game 7, a triumph of the spirit over the body, of will over weakness.  Mahomes was named league MVP for the second time, the youngest man to make his third Super Bowl start joined Tom Brady, Joe Montana and Peyton Manning as the only quarterbacks with more than one Super Bowl victory and more than one regular-season MVP award.

“Mahomes also ended a run of nine straight reigning league MVPs who had lost in the Super Bowl by being named the game’s MVP, by coming back from 10 points down at the half….

“His counterpart, Jalen Hurts, delivered a tremendous performance, and yet Mahomes walked away with the trophy anyway. That’s who he is and what he does.

“ ‘He wants to be the greatest player ever,’ Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.

“Mahomes said he didn’t take a painkilling shot at halftime, when he was busy telling his teammates, ‘You have to enjoy the moment.  You can’t let the moment overtake you.’  Mahomes set the ultimate example by refusing to surrender to the adverse circumstances he faced.

“ ‘It didn’t feel good,’ he said of his ankle, ‘but I was going to leave it all out there. …You’re in the Super Bowl.  You can worry about getting healthy in the offseason.’….

“Patrick Mahomes will be back for more, and more, and more.  He is the new and undisputed king of American sports.”

--Nielsen data shows the Super Bowl was watched by an average of 113 million viewers, close behind the record of 114.4 million from 2015, New England over Seattle.

Fox had the second most-watched Super Bowl in 2017, when 113.6 million saw New England top Atlanta.

The audience figure includes 7 million people who watched on streaming devices, a figure added to Super Bowl totals in recent years.

--We note the passing of former three-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Conrad Dobler, 72.

Dobler joined the St. Louis Cardinals in 1972 as a fifth-round pick out of Wyoming, playing six seasons with the Cards, two with New Orleans and finishing up with two at Buffalo.

He’ll best be remembered for bending the rule book and once appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline: “Pro Football’s Dirtiest Player.”  In the accompanying story, Dobler admitted, “I’ll do anything I can get away with.”

Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill released a statement Monday:

“Our hearts go out to the family, friends and former teammates of Conrad Dobler.  He was the kind of tough, physical and fierce player that you love to line up with as a teammate and hate to line up against as an opponent.  On the field, Conrad was a big reason for the success of the Cardiac Cards of the 1970s. Away from it, he brought authentic joy and caring to everyone who had the privilege of being his friend and that is what I will remember most.”

Long-time fans will remember the 1974-76 Cardinals who went 10-4, 11-3, and 10-4, going to the playoffs 1974-75 under the leadership of Coach Don Coryell, Jim Hart the solid quarterback, with Jim Otis, Terry Metcalf and Mel Gray the prime weapons on offense.

College Basketball

--New AP Top 25 poll (records thru Sun.)

1. Alabama (38) 22-3
2. Houston (22) 23-2
3. Purdue (2) 23-3
4. UCLA 21-4
5. Kansas 20-5
6. Texas 20-5
7. Virginia 19-4
8. Arizona 22-4
9. Baylor 19-6
10. Tennessee 19-6
11. Marquette 20-6
12. Kansas State 19-6
13. Gonzaga 21-5
14. Indiana 18-7
15. Miami 20-5
16. Xavier 19-6
17. St. Mary’s 22-5
18. Creighton 17-8
19. Iowa State 16-8
20. UConn 19-7
21. San Diego State 20-5
22. TCU 17-8
23. NC State 20-6
24. Providence 18-7
25. Florida Atlantic 24-2

Alabama is No. 1 for the first time since the 2002-03 season.  And they once had a player, Darius Miles, who was charged with capital murder about a month ago.  It’s part of their story, folks.

--Monday, Texas Tech (14-12, 3-10) did it again, upsetting 6 Texas (20-6, 9-4), 74-67 in Lubbock, after knocking off Kansas State over the weekend.

15 Miami (21-5, 12-4) beat North Carolina (16-10, 8-7) in Chapel Hill, 80-72.

Just astounding.  This is essentially the same Tar Heal team that went to the NCAA Championship game last spring.  Armando Bacot chose to return rather than be a probable lottery pick in the NBA Draft.  And yet here they are…clearly not deserving of even a bid.  It doesn’t help when you shoot 5 of 31 from three.

--Tuesday, 24 Providence (19-7, 11-4) beat 18 Creighton (17-9, 11-4) 94-86 in double overtime; while 12 K-State (19-7, 7-6) suffered a bad loss at Oklahoma (13-13, 3-10), 79-65.

Syracuse picked up a biggie for its resume, 75-72 over 23 NC State (20-7, 10-6), the Orange moving to 16-10, but 9-6 in the ACC.  It’s not too late for a classic Jim Boeheim run.

Rutgers (16-10, 8-7) suffered a horrendous loss at home, 82-72 at the hands of lowly Nebraska (13-14, 6-10), the vaunted Scarlet Knights defense allowing the Cornhuskers to shoot 58.2% from the field.

RU, with three straight losses, falls from tied for second in the Big Ten to tied for eighth, and if they don’t arrest the slide immediately, they’ll be on the NCAA bubble.   The losses have all come since Rutgers lost valuable forward Mawot Mag to a season-ending injury.

--New Mexico State’s six remaining games have been deemed forfeits by the Western Athletic Conference in the wake of the men’s basketball program canceling the rest of the season.

After I last posted, a police report was issued that cited three players for false imprisonment, harassment and counts of criminal sexual contact against a teammate on Feb. 6.

The campus police report redacted the names of the players involved, while the victim, no doubt one of the two players I mentioned last time who left the program, said other incidents had been occurring since last July or August, and that inappropriate physical and sexual touching by his teammates had been occurring in the locker room and on road trips.

The report said that Friday, the victim went to campus police to report a possible assault but did not want to press criminal charges for the time being.

New Mexico State was 9-15 and 2-10 in the WAC under first-year coach Greg Heiar, who was then fired Tuesday night.

NBA

--Big game at Madison Square Garden on Monday night as the Knicks (32-27) snapped a 9-game losing streak against Brooklyn (33-24), 124-106, with Jalen Brunson pouring in 40 points, and his Villanova teammate Josh Hart contributing 27 points in 28 minutes off the bench, the Knicks 2-0 after the Hart acquisition.  I’m tellin’ ya, this was a brilliant move at the trade deadline.

As for the Nets, with all their new pieces, it’s going to take a little time to figure out the right rotation, but they have some terrific pieces.

--The Mavericks (31-28) are 0-2 with both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in the lineup together, Dallas losing to the T’Wolves (31-29) 124-121 Monday.

Kyrie (36) and Doncic (33) combined for 69, with Kyrie having a career-high 26 in the fourth quarter, but they messed up at the end of the game and it was a loss.

--We are near the point where we can stick a fork in the Lakers (26-32), 2 ½ games out of a play-in slot, LeBron missing another game Monday in Portland, L.A. falling to the Trail Blazers (28-29) 127-115.

Golf

--The next stop on the PGA Tour is another ‘designated event,’ fabulous Riviera Country Club, with 23 of the world’s top 25 teeing it up.  [LIV Golf’s Cam Smith and Joaquin Niemann the exceptions.]

Like at last weekend’s WM Open, the purse is $20 million and the winner receives $3.6 million.

As for Tiger Woods playing, I just hope he’s able to walk around the course and make the cut.  Anything beyond that would be gravy.  He needs competitive rounds prior to Augusta.

MLB

--Major League Baseball made permanent starting extra innings with a runner on second base during the regular season, after three seasons of use during the pandemic.

I’m totally in favor of this…I like the “Ghost Runner” rule. Certainly it injects more strategy into the game.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, home teams went 113-103 in extra-inning games last year and are 262-263 in extra innings since the runner on second rule starting in 2020.  Home teams were 312-294 in extra-inning games from 2017-19.

Additionally, MLB tightened the use of position players as pitchers.  They will be limited to extra innings, when a player’s team is losing by eight or more runs or is winning by 10 or more runs in the ninth inning.

Last year a position player could pitch only in extra innings or if his team was losing or winning by six or more runs.

But, then you have all the other huge changes coming to the sport this season, and beginning in spring training.  Shift bans, pitch clocks, pickoff limits, larger bases that shrink the distance between first and second….

As The Athletic’s Jayson Stark put it:

“The s---show….

“As spring training approached and the talk turned to all of MLB’s new rule changes, I noticed I began to hear the same descriptive, spring-foreshadowing term over and over:

“The s---show.

“People in big-league front offices used it.  Even people inside the commissioner’s office seemed to drop it way more casually than you’d expect.  And why is that?

“Because every one of baseball’s dramatic new rule changes…will be in effect from Day One of spring training.  Not March 1.  Not March 15.  Not Opening Day. Not April 15.  It all starts on Day One of spring training.

“And what’s the logic behind that?  To get ‘the s---show’ over with as early as possible. That’s what I was told, and more than once. And if you think it through, that makes sense.

“At some point, somewhere over the horizon, there is widespread confidence that these rules are going to transform baseball into a more watchable, more entertaining sport in many important ways.  But between now and whenever that point arrives, there is going to be a period of…OK, let’s just use the word ‘adjustment.’”

We’ll get through this.  I think I’ll be watching a few spring training games to get adjusted myself, when I otherwise would just wait for the box score.

--The World Baseball Classic, March 8-March 21, will interrupt spring training, some teams more than others.

Mets fans, for example, have their whole starting infield, Alonso, McNeil, Lindor and Escobar, playing for their countries, but they’re all veterans.

But among the other Mets participants is closer Edwin Diaz, and as a fan I’m most concerned he overdoes it.

Yankees fans received some bad news on Monday when they learned pitcher Nestor Cortes has a “low Grade 2” hamstring strain and will not be permitted to throw off a mound for a few weeks, though he is throwing.  He was scheduled to participate in the WBC.

I’m guessing despite what Cortes is saying, he won’t be ready for Opening Day.

--We note the passing of Ted Lerner, real estate magnate and principal owner of the Washington Nationals who oversaw the team’s rise to prominence, capped by its victory in the 2019 World Series.  He died Sunday at the age of 97.

More than a decade after Lerner bought the franchise for $450 million (2006), the pinnacle of Mr. Lerner’s stewardship of the Nationals came in 2019.

No team from Washington had been baseball’s champion since 1924, one year before Lerner was born.

As the Washington Post put it:

“The victory was the capstone to his career, reshaping his public legacy from that of a publicity-averse real estate and shopping mall magnate known for his gruff and litigious personality to that of a community-spirited team owner who brought a championship to his hometown.”

Lerner purchased the Nats a year after the franchise moved from Montreal to Washington.  There were some major growing pains, while at the same time Lerner was closely supersizing the construction of the publicly financed Nationals Park, which opened in 2008, 15 blocks from the U.S. Capitol, leading to the revitalization of a once-desolate district along the Anacostia River.

After a rocky start, the Nationals’ fortunes under Lerner’s stewardship began to turn when the team drafted pitcher Stephen Strasburg, paying him $15.1 million, a record contract for an amateur player.

Lerner built a strong working relationship with Scott Boras, the agent for many of the Nats’ top players, and the owner continued to open his pocketbook in 2010 when the team drafted Bryce Harper, paying the 17-year-old $9.9 million over five years, including a signing bonus of $6.25 million.

In 2015, the Nationals signed pitcher Max Scherzer to a seven-year contract worth $210 million.

And it was onward and upward.

Stuff

--Latest Div. I Men’s Hockey Poll (USCHO)

1. Quinnipiac (26)
2. Minnesota (16)
3. Denver (7)
4. Michigan
5. Boston University (1)
6. St. Cloud State
7. Penn State
8. Western Michigan
9. Harvard
10. Ohio State

--Chris Richards / Washington Post

“ ‘Make me feel like I’m the only girl in the world,’ Rihanna sang to roughly 100 million members of the human race near the start of her Super Bowl halftime performance on Sunday night – and somehow, she got exactly what she asked for: civilization’s undivided attention for 13 minutes while she made her streamlined expertise look, sound and feel like total nonchalance.

“The rest of civilization? We got whiplash. The kind that feels good. Because for the past handful of years, we’ve been living on a planet where Rihanna mostly exists as a fond, semi-recent memory. The 34-year-old made her boldest and latest album, ‘Anti,’ way back in 2016, and has since kept relatively zip-lipped, choosing to cloak herself in whatever perfumed fog floats atop the mountains of cash generated by her respective cosmetics and lingerie lines. As a business, Rihanna booms in perpetuity. But as a superstar of popular song, she prefers shadows to spotlight, still holding on to that one thing that cannot be bought: mystique.

“What does that word even mean now? Is it something anyone still wants?  In a digital era when shameless overexposure seems like a prerequisite for any kind of stardom – on TikTok, in Congress – Rihanna remains cool and unthirsty, operating on her own terms and timeline.  She might materialize on Instagram now and then, pulling from her vast repertoire of Mona Lisa smiles, but her musical absence has turned her hit-drenched songbook into one of those secrets that the whole world is in on – a pervasive sound with a logic-defiant aura of exclusivity….

“Mystique is a blank space that the listener gets to live in, but one whose breadth the musician always designs.  Remember that ancient quote frequently credited to Claude Debussy about how music is the space between the notes?  Miles Davis eventually gave it a nice twist – something like It’s not the notes you play; it’s the notes you don’t play.

“After bringing out her most beautiful notes for the biggest show of her life, Rihanna thanked her audience and flashed another one of those unknowable smiles – the kind that da Vinci could have painted.  It was time to go back to that silent place where everybody else gets to decide what they hear now.”

Next Bar Chat, Sunday p.m.

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Add-on up top by noon, Wed.

[Posted immediately after the Super Bowl.]

Philadelphia Quiz: The Eagles are attempting to match the Philadelphia Athletics for most titles in city history, five.  1) How many titles do the Phillies, 76ers and Flyers have?  2) What year did the Athletics leave Philadelphia for Kansas City?  3) What year did the A’s leave Kansas City for Oakland?  Answers below.

Well, I have to admit I was in a foul mood at the start of the Super Bowl, with the interminable pregame, and I’m talking only after 6:00 pm ET, since I was watching golf beforehand.

The game was supposed to start at 6:30, and it normally does…so all this garbage (yeah, I know, noble causes, whatever) before had this one kicking off at 6:45!  You could tell even Fox’ Kevin Burkhardt was irritated.

So the Chiefs won the coin toss and elected to defer and Philadelphia took it down the field, 75 yards, for the opening touchdown.

--We all saw the same game…both teams taking the opening drive 75 yards for a touchdown, Patrick Mahomes reinjuring his ankle end of the first half, Eagles up 24-14, having outgained the Chief 270-128, despite Jalen Hurts laying the ball on the ground, the Chiefs’ Nick Bolton taking it in from 36 for the TD that at the time made it 14-14.

But as Johnny Mac wrote me immediately, the field sucked, and then at the half, Terry Bradshaw was clearly irate the NFL had “painted the whole thing,” so it was slippery as hell.

Anyway, after Rihanna’s solid halftime show (I’m tired of elderly folks writing me bitching about modern acts…yeah, it’s not Anita Bryant and Up With People…live with it…but it’s also clear she is pregnant again…), it was all about Mahomes and his ankle.

And Patrick and the Chiefs took the second-half kickoff 75 yards for the score, 24-21.

But the Eagles then ate up 7:45 for a Jake Elliott 33-yard field goal, 27-21.

And back come the Chiefs…75 yards again…Mahomes to Kadarius Toney for five yards, and they take a 28-27 lead.

Toney, the 2021 first-round pick of the Giants who disappointed, then returned a punt for a Super Bowl record 65 yards to set up a Mahomes to Skyy Moore short TD pass…suddenly 35-27 Chiefs with 9:22 left.

But the Eagles then took it 75 yards, the key play a 46-yard pass to DeVonta Smith from Hurts to the two, Hurts then taking it in for his Super Bowl record third rushing touchdown for a quarterback.  And he converts the two-point play, game tied, 35-35.

Only to have Mahomes and the Chiefs drive 66 yards for the game-winning 27-yard field goal.

38-35…Chiefs.

Not for nuthin’, but Gracie Hunt looked resplendent.  [Actually, better than that.]

Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen were outstanding, I also can’t help but add.

And I thought Gronk made the FanDuel field goal!

--Mahomes won his second AP NFL MVP award receiving 48 of a possible 50 first-place votes, after setting a new NFL record for offensive yards in a season (5,614).  He joins Brett Favre as the only quarterbacks with multiple MVPs by the age of 27.

I’m writing this before the game, but the last nine MVPs to play in the Super Bowl that season are 0-9.  Kurt Warner was the last to win both the MVP award and Super Bowl following the 1999 season.

Among the other awards….

Nick Bosa was Defensive Player of the Year

The Jets picked up two big ones, especially for GM Joe Douglas.  Wide receiver Garrett Wilson was the Offensive Rookie of the Year, while cornerback Sauce Gardner was Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Geno Smith was Comeback Player of the Year.

And the Giants’ Brian Daboll was named Coach of the Year.

And the NFL announced the latest members of the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame…and it was more Jets.

Cornerback Darrelle Revis and defensive lineman Joe Klecko.

Additionally…OL Joe Thomas, LB Zach Thomas, LB DeMarcus Ware, CB Ronde Barber, LB Chuck Howley, and CB Ken Riley.

Don Coryell gets in for the Coach/Contributor category.

Back to Klecko, an all-time Jets fave, with the NFL not officially recording sack stats until 1982, he is listed as having only 24 official career sacks, but he racked up an unofficial tally of 78 during his career, including 20.5 in 1981 when he was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year.

So here’s the list of Hall of Famers who are enshrined largely based on their contributions with the Jets…Don Maynard, Joe Namath, offensive lineman Winston Hill, Curtis Martin, OL Kevin Mawae, Revis and now Klecko.

--Looking back at Sports Illustrated’s preseason outlook, SI had the Bills over the Buccaneers in the Super Bowl.  Ah, not quite.

College Basketball

--4 Arizona (22-4, 11-4) was upset at Stanford (11-14, 5-9), 88-79, a loss like this potentially costing the Wildcats a No. 1 seed down the road.

--6 Tennessee (19-6, 8-4)  lost its second straight game on a buzzer-beater, 86-85 to Missouri (19-6, 7-5), a huge win for the Tigers and their NCAA hopes.  DeAndre Gholston buried the game-winner from well behind the 3-point line.

--The Big 12 continues to be nuts….

11 Iowa State (16-8, 7-5) lost to Oklahoma State (16-9, 7-5) at home, 64-56.

And 12 Kansas State (19-6, 7-5) suffered a bad loss at Texas Tech (13-12, 2-10) 71-63.

Big 12 standings….

Texas 9-3
Kansas 8-4
Baylor 8-4
Kansas State 7-5
Iowa State 7-5
Oklahoma State 7-5

--In a Big East biggie, 23 Creighton (17-8, 11-3) beat 21 UConn (19-7, 8-7), as the Bluejays now seem headed to a 4-seed…really.

20 Providence (18-7, 10-4) fell at St. John’s (15-11, 5-10), 73-68.

Friday, 13 Xavier (19-6, 11-3) had a bad loss at Butler (13-13, 5-10), 69-67.

The Big East standings….

Marquette 12-3
Xavier 11-3
Creighton 11-3
Providence 10-4
UConn 8-7
Seton Hall 8-7

--I noted the other day that 24 Rutgers has proven they can beat anyone in the country, but they are also very capable of flaming out in a 5 vs. 12 matchup come March Madness.  Simply because they really can’t shoot.

And yesterday at Illinois (17-7, 8-5), RU was outscored 28-13 in the final 15 minutes, going 10 consecutive minutes without scoring a point.  Ten minutes!  Illinois went on a 19-0 run during that period and won, 69-60, the Scarlet Knights falling to 16-9, 8-6, and back out of the Top 25.

Rutgers was just 34.8% from the field, 4 of 16 from three.

--Here’s an NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) story Wake Forest fans, at least, have to like.  Star guard Tyree Appleby hooking up with Applebee’s.

In a social media video at an Applebee’s restaurant, Appleby says, “I love this place, but they spelled it wrong. It should be ‘y’ not ‘ee,’ but lucky for them, I have their backs.  Help me out!  Go to ‘ynotappleby.com.’”  He adds, ‘That’s Appleby with a ‘y.’”

[The site is great…but for North Carolina Applebee’s.  Phil W., get your coupon.]

Well, Appleby, who has been shooting miserably from the field recently, at least has been money from the line, 19 of his last 20, including 4 of 4 down the stretch yesterday as the Deacs clawed back in the final minutes to avoid an ugly loss, beating Georgia Tech (9-16, 2-13) 71-70 at home, the Deacs now 17-9, 9-6, and barely hanging into the conversation for the NCAAs.

Appleby, by the way, is an iron man, playing in 37+ minutes in each of his last ten games, five of which he played all 40.

--In other ACC games of note, Duke (17-8, 8-6) suffered an important loss at 8 Virginia (19-4, 11-3), 69-62 in overtime, the Blue Devils, like North Carolina, shockingly in danger of not making the NCAA Tournament field.

However, there was a no-call at the end of regulation that led to overtime, and after the game, the ACC admitted the officials missed a foul with 1.2 seconds to play on Duke’s Kyle Filipowski under the rim.

As Filipowski drove to the basket, he was met by two Virginia defenders. A foul was initially called before officials overturned the call, stating contact happened after the buzzer, sending the game into OT.

But replays clearly showed Filipowski got a shot off before .00, and therefore should have gone to the line.  That sucks.

Speaking of the Tar Heels, they moved to 16-9, 8-6, with a 91-71 win over Clemson (18-7, 10-4).

22 North Carolina State (20-6, 10-5) mauled Boston College (12-14, 6-9) in Chestnut Hill, 92-62.

But look at the ACC standings….

UVA 11-3
Pitt 11-3 !!!
Miami 11-4
Clemson 10-4
NC State 10-5
Wake Forest 9-6
Duke 8-6
North Carolina 8-6
Syracuse 8-6

--Pete M.’s Colgate Red Raiders (19-8, 13-1) beat Bucknell (10-17, 3-11) in Patriot League play, bouncing back from their lone loss to American University.

Colgate has to win the Patriot League conference tournament to get into the NCAA field, but should they get there, they will be a tough out, sports fans.

--But hold on…today, Sunday, Northwestern (18-7, 9-5) picked up its first win ever over an AP No. 1, defeating Purdue 64-58, the Boilermakers falling to 23-3, 12-3.

It was just two weeks ago that Purdue looked unbeatable, but after losses to Indiana and Northwestern (its first loss earlier in the season to Rutgers), this team is highly fallible.

Zach Edey was contained by the Wildcats’ defense, 24 points, as once again his supporting cast absolutely sucked.  [Purdue blew a 55-47 lead with about 3:52 to play.]

But get this…Northwestern, picked to finish 13th in the Big Ten this season, is now tied for second with Indiana.

And they’re on their way to just their second NCAA Championship appearance.

--What an ugly story at New Mexico State.  The school announced Friday night it was shutting down it’s men’s basketball program until further notice while investigating unspecified “potential violations of university policy.”

First-year head coach Greg Heiar was placed on administrative leave.

“NMSU personnel were recently informed of new allegations, separate from the events that took place in Albuquerque late last year, involving potential violations of university policy,” the school said.

The statement appears to refer to the shooting in Albuquerque involving Aggies forward Mike Peake.

The Aggies reached three of the past four NCAA tournaments under previous coach Chris Jans, who is now the head coach at Mississippi State. But they are 9-15 in their first year under Heiar and are sitting in last place in the Western Athletic Conference.

On Nov. 19, authorities allege, four University of New Mexico students attempted to “lure” Peake to campus and jump him as retaliation for a previous fight.  Peake and one of the UNM students, Brandon Travis, each drew a gun, police said.  Travis was killed in the ensuing shootout, while Peake sustained a gunshot wound in his left leg.

The aftermath has drawn further scrutiny. Surveillance video shows that, before police arrived, three of Peake’s teammates came to the scene in a Chevrolet Camaro and Peake put his gun and a tablet in the trunk.  Authorities later retrieved the weapon and the tablet from assistant basketball coaches, and an athletic department administrator turned over Peake’s phone.

Yup, this is ugly.

But I wrote the above Saturday morning, and later Saturday night, NMSU’s chancellor said the university was interviewing members of the men’s team in the wake of hazing allegations, and that this was the reason the chancellor, Dan Arvizu, decided to suspend the team’s play to ensure that hazing wouldn’t become the norm within the program.  He said the program would be sidelined “until further notice.”

The team was in California, preparing to play Cal Baptist, when Arvizu took his action.  The players were then interviewed when they got back to campus.  Two players, Shahar Lazar and Kent Olewiler, then announced on social media that they were leaving the program.  Neither had played this season.

Lazar, a freshman who came to Las Cruces from Israel, said he was leaving because, “I don’t think the program that I originally committed to aligns with my beliefs and core values.”

Olewiler was a preferred walk-on who was not listed on the Aggies official roster.

The school said the latest allegations are not tied to the Peake incident.

NBA

--The Brooklyn Nets did it…traded Kevin Durant to Phoenix, which suddenly makes the Suns the favorites in the West.  Durant should be back on the court soon from his knee issue, combining with Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton.  And the Nets also sent the Suns T.J. Warren, who is very solid.  The only problem with Phoenix now is a lack of depth.

Meanwhile, the Nets received Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and four first-round picks, and a 2028 pick swap.  [Jae Crowder was part of the deal and then was moved elsewhere.]

Boy, the Nets’ lineup will be drastically different, but this is a team that is going to qualify for the playoffs, maybe still top six.  There will be some fans of the sport in this area (like me) who kind of hope they mesh…that would make for a cool story.

Well, I had a family dinner obligation last night that was a good ways from home and I caught the end of the Brooklyn-Philadelphia game at the Barclays Center on the radio and at the end of regulation, the Nets announcers were screaming so uncontrollably, with the crowd, that I couldn’t even tell what exactly happened (awful broadcasting).  They then went to commercial and when they came back, things were much calmer…as in it was a false alarm.  Brooklyn had not tied it at 101 on a buzzer-beating three from Spencer Dinwiddie from nearly half court…it came after the buzzer, the Nets (33-23) falling 101-98.

Joel Embiid and James Harden combined to hit 21 of 22 from the free throw line.

New Net Mikal Bridges had 23 points in his debut.

--Earlier in the week, Brooklyn guard Cam Thomas was fined $40,000 for using “derogatory and disparaging language” after Thursday’s win over the Bulls, the NBA announced Friday.  I won’t repeat it.  Thomas apologized.

But in the 116-105 win, Dinwiddie made his debut following the big trade that sent Kyrie to Dallas and had 25 points, Thomas with 20, as the latter saw his 40-point streak end at three games.

--I loved the move the Knicks made in picking up Jalen Brunson’s Villanova teammate, swingman Josh Hart, the Knicks shipping Cam Reddish, Svi Mykhailiuk, Ryan Arcidiacono and a lottery-protected, first-round pick to Portland.

Hart is a gamer and when I got home last night I was able to see the second  half of the Knicks’ 126-120 win over Utah (no Russell Westbrook), as Hart could not have had a better debut in front of the Garden fans…25 minutes, 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals.  The fans ate it up.  An instant favorite.

It’s not quite the same, but the trade kind of reminds me of the Knicks’ trade for Dave DeBusschere way back in the 1968-69 season that led to the championship the following season, DeBusschere the missing piece.

[As for Westbrook, he told Utah he’s going to take some time off to explore his options.]

--The Lakers couldn’t get Kyrie Irving, but landed former teammate D’Angelo Russell from Minnesota. Russell played his first two years in L.A., but was a bit immature.  At 27 and now in the league eight seasons, his last four he’s been very productive with the T’Wolves.  This should be a popular move, especially since the Lakers were able to unload Westbrook to Utah.

Saturday, the Lakers, playing without LeBron a second straight game due to his foot issues after breaking the scoring record, barely stayed relevant at 26-31 with a 109-103 win over the Warriors (28-28) as Russell had 15 points, six assists in his L.A. return.

--Luka Doncic made his debut with Kyrie in Dallas on Saturday night, the two combining for 55, but the Mavs (31-27) lost to the surprisingly good Kings (32-24), 133-128, behind De’Aaron Fox’s 36.

--Celtics guard Jaylen Brown will be missing some time due to a facial fracture he suffered during Boston’s 106-99 win over the 76ers on Wednesday.  Brown exited after taking an accidental elbow to the face from teammate Jayson Tatum late in the second quarter.

Today, though, Boston (41-16) beat Memphis (34-24), 119-109, the Celtics 1 ½ games ahead of Milwaukee (39-17) in the East.

Eight Celts were in double-figures, led by Derrick White’s 23 points and 10 assists.

--Sorry to be harsh, but Zion Williamson has become somewhat of a joke.  I didn’t realize he hasn’t played since Jan. 2, playing in only 29 games thus far this season for the Pelicans, and now the team says he will miss “multiple” weeks with his right hamstring injury.

Zion was out all of last year.

This is not a Sam Bowie situation, for long-time NBA fans.  Bowie’s injury issues were sad (let alone the great Bill Walton’s).  But I really have trouble feeling sympathy for Zion.

Golf Balls

--Heading into the final round of the WM Phoenix Open in lovely Scottsdale, Arizona (one of my favorite spots…actually, my favorite states would be South Dakota, Arizona, Pennsylvania and North Carolina…in that order) we had this very solid leaderboard….

Scottie Scheffler -13
Nick Taylor -11
Jon Rahm -11
Jordan Spieth -10
Adam Hadwin -10

And Scottie Scheffler closed the deal, with a dramatic eagle on No. 13 and a superb par save on 16, finishing two ahead of Taylor at -19, Rahm five back at -14.

Scheffler is thus the new No. 1, again, as Rory McIlroy finished T32 and lost his place atop the world rankings.

For Scheffler it was win No. 5 and his first since The Masters…a tradition unlike any other, on CBS…

I do have to add, we remember the late Tom Weiskopf, designer of the course (with Jay Moorish), for the terrific No. 17…as well as the whole course in general.

And Trevor Immelmann had a strong debut with Jim Nantz.  I loved how on No. 16, after Scheffler’s wayward tee shot, Immelmann said of Taylor’s poor following effort, “can’t make that mistake.”  That’s the honesty we expect from the color commentator.

--Tiger Woods is returning next week at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, one of the best tour stops of the year and another ‘elevated’ event.

Aside from the fact the Genesis benefits his TGR Foundation, it only makes sense he gives it a go because he knows he has to get in a few competitive rounds before Augusta, as long as he’s physically able to.

Tiger competed in just nine rounds in three majors last season, his first starts since his Feb. 2021 car crash.

He’s been suffering from planta fasciitis, which impeded his recovery from his leg injuries.

--LIV Golf is adding both Sebastian Munoz (previously discussed) and Chilean Mito Pereira.  Pereira had been rumored to be making the jump since August, he being close friends with fellow countryman Joaquin Niemann, already with LIV.

Pereira is the fellow best known for surrendering the lead of the PGA Championship last year at Southern Hills on the 72nd hole, Justin Thomas eventually defeating Will Zalatoris in a playoff.  Pereira handled the shocking finish with class.

--Gambler Billy Walters had a sit-down interview with Brent Musburger, but as Alex Myers of Golf Digest writes, Walters didn’t say much about his relationship with Phil Mickelson, instead clearly saving the best parts for his book, which won’t be released until August.

But Walters, who went to prison for insider-trading, told Musburger that he doesn’t believe he would have gone to jail if Mickelson had testified in his trial.

“I had a trial in New York City and as a result, the way things work out, Phil and I no longer have the relationship we (used to have).  But all of that will be in detail in the book, our relationship, the six-year gambling relationship we had. And the book gives me a chance to set the record straight on what happened in the Southern District of New York.”

Walters’ autobiography is being written in collaboration with Armen Keteyian, a co-author of Tiger Woods’ 2018 unauthorized biography.  A Wednesday press release promised “explosive details” on Walters’ relationship with Mickelson.

“This is not a vanity book,” Walters told Musburger.  “This is a real book.  And there’s lots of things in this book I’m not proud of. But what’s in this book, when the reader reads it, they’re going to see I’ve shared everything with them.”

With Keteyian’s ties to “60 Minutes,” well, you can see what could be a future segment.

As I’ve written countless times before regarding this topic, Phil no doubt has had many sleepless nights over what is going to be revealed.

MLB

--As pitchers and catchers begin to assemble, I was a little surprised at the huge extension the Padres gave Yu Darvish…six years, $108 million.

Darvish was terrific last season, 16-8, 3.10, 194 2/3 innings, but he is 36 (37 in August).  Oh well, ain’t my money.

--The New York Post’s Jon Heyman recently talked to Angels owner Arte Moreno about the team’s intentions with Shohei Ohtani.

“I’d like to keep Ohtani,” Moreno said at the MLB owners meetings.  “He’s one of a kind. He’s a great person.  He’s obviously one of the most popular baseball players in the world, and he’s an international star.  He’s a great teammate. He works hard. He’s a funny guy, and he has a really good rapport with fans.”

General Manager Perry Minasian recently said Los Angles intends to make a run at re-signing Ohtani.

But Moreno wasn’t supposed to be still around.  He was to have sold the club and the new owners would recognize they had to pay Ohtani what he deserves to keep him for the long term.

Now, few really believe the Angels will be able to do so.

And that’s where Mets fans’ Uncle Stevie comes in.  No doubt he is ready to pounce.

NHL

--New York area hockey fans have been excited by some big-time acquisition.  The Islanders acquired center Bo Horvat from Vancouver and then signed him to an 8-year, $68 million contract.  Horvat, in the midst of his best season, has two goals in his first three games for the Isles, giving him 33 on the season.

And the Rangers picked up veteran winger Vladimir Tarasenko from the Blues, where he was a six-time 30-goal scorer.

Ranger fans believe this is the missing piece and all the guy did in his first game Friday night was score on his first shift!  You talk about a roar from the Garden faithful, New York going on to beat the Kraken 6-3 for their fourth win in a row.

Make that five in a row…the Blueshirts (31-14-8) with a super 6-2 win down in Carolina (34-10-8), Artemi Panarin, who has had trouble finding the net this season, with four…count ‘em, four…goals.

Meanwhile, New Jersey Devils fans have Jack Hughes, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft who at age 21, has blossomed this season into a superstar, 67 points (35 goals) and he was rewarded with an 8-year, $64 million extension.

The Devils (31-13-5), however, lost at Minnesota (28-20-4) last night, 3-2.

The Rangers and Devils will be in the playoffs, the Islanders are on the edge and need to play well the rest of the way (better than Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss at Montreal, Horvat with goal No. 3 in four games).  But it should be exciting times…because, boys and girls, while the other three Big Four sports get the ink, there is nothing better than Stanley Cup action.

Premier League

--Tottenham had a dreadful loss at Leicester City on Saturday.  After going up 1-0 early, the Spurs gave up four goals, a 4-1 loss, after it seemed they were beginning to turn things around, especially after last week’s win over Man City.

Keeper Hugo Lloris is out for at least six weeks with a knee injury and this could be a killer.

Arsenal only managed a 1-1 draw at home against Brentford, as the Gunners have suddenly hit a rough patch.

Today, Manchester United defeated Leeds 2-0, while Man City beat Aston Villa 3-1.

Standings…20/23 of 38…points – played

1. Arsenal…21 – 51 …down to just three points!
2. Man City…22 – 48
3. Man U…23 – 46
4. Newcastle…22 – 41
5. Tottenham…23 – 39

9. Chelsea…22 – 31
10. Liverpool…20 – 29 …plays Everton Monday

Burt Bacharach, RIP

Carole King / Washington Post

“In 1962, the lyricist (and my then-husband) Gerry Goffin and I were driving up the Garden State Parkway when we heard Dionne Warwick’s recording of ‘Don’t Make Me Over’ for the first time. We were stunned into silence. If we hadn’t been in the left lane between exits, it would have been a pull-over-to-the-side-of-the-road moment.

“When the song was over, I exclaimed: ‘What was that?’

“By ‘that’ I meant the time signature changes, the instrumentation, and the unpredictable chords that allowed the melody to flow over them and carry the power of Warwick’s performance downstream.

“Gerry turned off the radio. I knew that he was already thinking about lyrics for a song in which we would aspire to rise to the standard of what we later learned was the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

“That was my introduction to Burt, the brilliant pop composer and arranger who died Wednesday at 94.  Over the years I’d sometimes see Burt at an event or party, but our paths didn’t cross long enough for me to really get to know him.  And though in 1999 I wrote a song with Hal, his most frequent collaborator, I never got the chance to write with Burt….

“You can hear the strength and clarity of Burt’s musical ideas and arrangements throughout his career.  When he began performing his own songs in concert, his was the authentic voice of a songwriter conveying what he heard in his head directly from the muse. And his collaboration in songwriting and in concert with Elvis Costello was brilliant.

“Burt and Hal received the Library of Congress Gershwin Price for Popular Song in 2012.  Their songs together and with other co-writers were recorded across genres and generations by artists such as Warwick, Marty Robbins, Jackie DeShannon, Dusty Springfield, the Carpenters, B.J. Thomas, Christopher Cross, Jerry Butler and Perry Como – with apologies to those I’ve left out.  It appears that great songwriters attract great performers, and vice versa.

“My daughter reminded me: ‘What about Burt’s horn lines?  They’re as memorable as the hooks.’

“Indeed, they are.

“Close your eyes and think of them.  ‘Walk On By.’ ‘The Look of Love.’ ‘Close to You.’ Recall that lone euphonium and piano at the beginning and end of Jackie DeShannon’s recording of ‘What the World Needs Now.’  And the flugelhorn in ‘I Say a Little Prayer.’

“What was that?

“The inspiring, soul-stirring legacy of Burt Bacharach.  We are all so much richer for it.”

Marc Myers / Wall Street Journal

“Burt Bacharach heard things differently. Unlike most songwriters and arrangers of the early 1960s who orchestrated for aging big-band singers, Mr. Bacharach composed and arranged pop music that wasn’t rock, jazz or easy listening.

“Instead, Mr. Bacharach was a compositional romantic with a cinematic ear whose catchy melodies and arrangements supported the singer but also snuck around the voice to engage the listener directly and emotionally in contemporary terms.

“Though Mr. Bacharach began his high-profile career in 1956 at age 28 as the musical director, arranger and conductor for the husky-voiced Marlene Dietrich, he became a household name in the 1960s after co-writing a stunning series of catchy hits for Dionne Warwick.

“An athletic workaholic with suburban good looks, Mr. Bacharach often appeared on TV variety shows conducting from the piano with enormous confidence, a soft voice and a wry sense of humor. As one of the most significant and enduring postwar American songwriters, Mr. Bacharach won six Grammy Awards, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the prestigious Gershwin Price for Popular Song from the Library of Congress, and three Oscars.  Five of his nearly 85 hit songs reached No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart.

Mr. Bacharach’s ambition to stand out began in 1964, when Ms. Warwick’s recording of ‘Walk on By’ became a No. 6 pop hit.  During my 2021 interview with Mr. Bacharach for the Journal, he called it a career turning point: ‘For the first time, I had given myself permission to use two fluegelhorns and two pianos.  That led me to use five pianos on ‘What’s New Pussycat?’ in 1965 with Tom Jones and a pair of fluegelhorns with Dionne on ‘I Say a Little Prayer’ in ’67.’….

“Born in Kansas City, Mo., in 1928, Mr. Bacharach soon moved with his family to Forest Hills, N.Y. A young jazz fan who frequented Manhattan bebop clubs in the 1940s, Mr. Bacharach was formally trained and studied with several prominent modernists, including Darius Milhaud, who had mentored Dave Brubeck.

“In 1952, after two years in the Army, where he met Vic Damone, Mr. Bacharach played piano for the singer following their discharge.  He also accompanied other pop singers and wrote some songs, but wound up at resorts in New York’s Catskill Mountains.  His touring years with Dietrich came next.”

Bacharach began taking piano lessons in elementary school after the family moved to Kew Gardens in Queens, N.Y.

“People always think I was this child prodigy on the piano, that I just couldn’t wait to sit down and practice,” Bacharach said.  “But you want to know the truth? I hated it.  In fact, I only did it to please my mother. She was the one who encouraged me.”

After graduating from Forest Hills High School, where he and some friends formed a 10-piece band that played at parties and local dances, Bacharach attended McGill University in Montreal.

Marc Myers:

“Meeting lyricist Hal David at New York’s Brill Building in 1957 motivated Mr. Bacharach to leave Dietrich for a full-time songwriting career.  His collaboration with David began in earnest at the start of the 1960s as gentler pop-rock was being composed for teen listeners.

“The pair signed Ms. Warwick to their music publishing company in 1962 with hopes that her recordings would, as Mr. Bacharach said recently, ‘click with the urban market.’….

“(Warwick’s songs) crossed demographic lines. While teens embraced the British invasion and older pop listeners bought albums by Al Hirt and Percy Faith, Mr. Bacharach created a new youthful sound that was jazzy and hip, and his songs with David addressed young-adult issues.

“Mr. Bacharach moved smoothly from radio to film in the 1960s, writing ‘The Look of Love’ for ‘Casino Royale’ (1967) and ‘Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head’ for ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ (1969)….

“Mr. Bacharach’s favorite Bacharach-David song was ‘Alfie.’  Recorded for the British film release by Cilla Black, whom Mr. Bacharach had sing it upward of 30 times, and by Cher* for the American market, the song was the only one he sang in full when touring with an orchestra.”

*Cher’s 1966 version only hit No. 32 on the Billboard charts.  Warwick’s 1967 version got to No. 15.

Once asked about emerging in 1964 just as John Lennon and Paul McCartney began dominating the pop charts, Bacharach said the Beatles didn’t give him anxiety. “I never felt like I was in competition with anyone. I wasn’t above or below.”

Dennis McLellan / Los Angeles Times

“The beneficiaries of the Bacharach-David partnership were simply staggering: Gene Pitney (‘Only Love Can Break a Heart,’ ‘Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa’), Jerry Butler (‘Make It Easy on Yourself’), Bobby Vinton (‘Blue on Blue’), Jack Jones (‘Wives and Lovers’), Tom Jones (‘What’s New, Pussycat?’), Dusty Springfield (‘The Look of Love,’ ‘Wishin’ and Hopin’’), Herb Alpert (‘This Guy’s in Love With You’), Jackie DeShannon (‘What the World Needs Now Is Love’), and B.J. Thomas (‘Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head’), among others.

“But Bacharach and David are most closely associated with Dionne Warwick, a talented young backup singer whom they initially enlisted to sing on their demo records.

“Beginning with ‘Don’t Make Me Over’ in late 1962, Warwick scored with a slew of Bacharach-David songs, including ‘Walk on By,’ ‘You’ll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart),’ ‘Anyone Who Had a Heart,’ ‘I Say a Little Prayer,’ ‘Do You Know the Way to San Jose,’ ‘Alfie,’ ‘Promises, Promises,’ ‘I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,’ ‘Message to Michael’ and ‘Trains and Boats and Planes.’

“ ‘We were lucky,’ Bacharach told the Chicago Tribune in 1987.  ‘It was a case of all the right people in the right place at the right time.  Hal and I found the perfect partnership, and Dionne was the perfect voice for our songs.’

“Singer and music historian Michael Feinstein told The Times in 2011 that Bacharach and David were ‘absolutely the greatest songwriters of their generation,’ standing shoulder to shoulder with the most treasured American composers.

“Music historian and journalist Paul Grein said Bacharach…was ‘one of the greatest composers in pop music history.’ ….

“And in the 1960s, when there were two distinct markets – ‘music for kids and music  for adults’ – Bacharach and David uniquely appealed to both, Grein said.  [Ed. that was so true.] ….

“As a piano-playing singer, he appeared in sold-out concerts and starred in his own TV specials, including the Emmy Award-winning ‘Singer Presents Burt Bacharach’ in 1971….

“The boyishly handsome Bacharach, whose aura of glamour benefited from his 1965 marriage to actress Angie Dickinson, continued to tour in concert well into his later years….

“(Bacharach and David) also worked on Broadway, writing the music and lyrics for ‘Promises, Promises,’ the long-running 1968 hit musical comedy whose book was written by Neil Simon.

“In 1970, the Carpenters scored a No. 1 hit with Bacharach and David’s ‘(They Long to Be) Close to You’ and the 5th Dimension had a No. 2 hit with ‘One Less Bell to Answer.’

“But the celebrated songwriting team broke up after collaborating on the 1973 musical remake of ‘Lost Horizon.’

“After that critically drubbed box-office failure, Bacharach recalled in a 2003 Associated Press interview, ‘I didn’t want to write with Hal or anybody. It became a problem because we had a commitment to record Dionne for her next album. I didn’t feel like doing it, and that’s wrong.

“ ‘Dionne didn’t get recorded, and she sued us. And Hal, to protect himself, sued me. It was just ugly and stupid on my part.’

“The lawsuits were settled and all three later reunited. David died at 91 in 2012.

‘Bacharach’s post-David collaborators included lyricist Carole Bayer Sager, whom he married in 1982 after he and Dickinson divorced.

“Among Bacharach and Sager’s hit are the Oscar-winning ‘Arthur’s Theme,’ which they co-wrote with Christopher Cross and Peter Allen for the Dudley Moore comedy ‘Arthur.’….

“(Bacharach) also teamed with singer-songwriter Elvis Costello on the 1998 album ‘Painted From Memory,’ [Ed. brilliant] which resulted in the duo winning the Grammy for pop collaboration with vocals for their song ‘I Still Have That Other Girl.’

“And in ‘Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery’ in 1997, Bacharach made the first of three cameo appearances in actor-comedian Mike Myers’ 1960s spy-movie spoofs.”

What a truly amazing career…I absolutely loved this man’s music and I’m running through the catalogue in my mind now.  YouTube “Little Red Book” by Love, among others.

Stuff

--The World Championships are being held for both the men and women on the FIS Alpine World Cup circuit.  Remember, medals in the World Championships don’t count as regular wins in the World Cup season, so Mikaela Shiffrin thus far has a silver in the Super G, with the giant slalom and slalom to be run Feb. 16 and 18.

After this, Shiffrin resumes her quest for a record-tying 86th World Cup win (Ingemar Stenmark’s mark), and maybe No. 87, before the season wraps up.  She’ll have four events left in her best disciplines (2 slaloms, 2 giant slaloms).

But I have to mention a huge upset in the World Championships in the women’s downhill.  Jasmine Flury, who has one World Cup win in nine seasons (in the super G), picked up the gold.

Very cool…the 29-year-old from Switzerland forever a world champion.  You go, Girl!

Top 3 songs for the week 2/11/78:  #1 “Stayin’ Alive” (Bee Gees)  #2 “Short People” (Randy Newman)  #3 “(Love Is) Thicker Than Water” (Andy Gibb)…and…#4 “We Are The Champions” (Queen)  #5 “Just The Way You Are” (Billy Joel…super song…tries to save the week…)  #6 “Sometimes When We Touch” (Dan Hill)  #7 “Baby Come Back” (Player)  #8 “Emotion” (Samantha Sang)  #9 “Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)” (Chic…absolutely dreadful…)  #10 “How Deep Is Your Love” (Bee Gees…the week grades out to a D…)

Philadelphia Quiz Answers: 1) The Phillies (1980, 2008), 76ers (1966-67, 1982-83), and Flyers (1973-75…back-to-back) have each won two titles.  2) The Athletics left Philly after the 1954 season.  3) The Kansas City A’s lasted just 1955-67 before moving to Oakland.  They drew 1.39 million the first year in K.C. and never approached that level again.

The Philadelphia Athletics won titles in 1910, 1911, 1913, 1929 and 1930.

It really is amazing the Phillies just have the two titles, having started out way back in 1883 as the Philadelphia Quakers (1883-89) before becoming the Phillies.

My father’s favorite player, having grown up in the Harrisburg area (Mechanicsburg), was the A’s “Indian Bob” Johnson, an outstanding hitter, who once had seven straight seasons with 100 RBIs (.899 career OPS!)  He finished his career with the Red Sox.

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Wed.

*I apologize for the gremlins with the Add-on last week…long story…but had to do with Microsoft changing its Office 365 format and me taking a while to figure it out.

 

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