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Bar Chat

06/26/2023

Talkin' Baseball...including College World Series

Add-on posted early Wed. a.m.

College World Series

What had been a truly scintillating CWS was flat out nuts Sunday and Monday.

Sunday, in a best-of-three finals, Florida slaughtered LSU 24-4, to even the series at 1-1 after Saturday’s superb 4-3, 11-inning LSU win.

And then in Monday’s finale, LSU returned the favor, 18-4 for the seventh national championship in program history, first since 2009.  The Tigers are now 7-1 in title games, the only loss to Florida in 2017.

For LSU, Monday, starter Thatcher Hurd was a big star, giving the Tigers six innings of 2-run ball when they needed it most, and then the offense took over, outhitting the Gators 24 to 5, Tommy White with four hits and three RBIs, Dylan Crews, the 2023 Golden Spikes Award winner and possible No. 1 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, had four hits and finished the season having reached base in each of the Tigers’ 71 games this season (and a .426 batting average), and Brayden Jobert with four hits and home run.

LSU and Wake Forest had been the two No. 1 teams all season, LSU holding the top spot in the coaches’ poll for the first 10 weeks before the Deacs took the helm.

And then after Wake defeated LSU in the second game of the CWS, LSU needed to win three-in-a-row to advance to the final round and did just that, eliminating Tennessee and then beating Wake in back-to-back games to advance to the final against Florida.

Florida, on the other hand, won all three of its games to get to the final and had the better rested pitching staff, but failed to take advantage of it in Saturday’s Game 1.  And then we had the fireworks from both sides in Games 2 and 3.

On to the MLB Draft, July 9-11.  Dylan Crews, LSU’s Paul Skenes and Florida’s Wyatt Langford are going in the top 3-5, Skenes and Crews 1-2.  Pittsburgh has the first pick, Washington the second.

MLB

--The Angels opened an important seven-game homestand Monday with a 2-1 win over the White Sox, Mike Trout scoring on a game-ending wild pitch after walking, Shohei Ohtani with his 26th home run for the other run, a 446-foot shot.

So the Angels are 43-37, solidly in the wild card picture at the midway point.

Ohtani’s homer was his 11th in the past 19 games, with 21 RBIs in that stretch.

But wait…there’s more!

Last night, Ohtani threw 6 1/3 of one-run ball, striking out 10, as the Angels defeated the White Sox 4-2.

Oh, and he hit two solo home runs, giving him 28, as well as 64 RBIs, to lead the majors in both categories.

On the mound, Ohtani is 7-3, 3.02 ERA.

--Sunday after I posted Freddie Freeman collected his 2,000th career hit in a 6-5 loss to the Astros, the 98th in MLB history to have logged 2,000 or more hits and 300 or more home runs. [The only other active players in the 2,000 / 300 club are Joey Votto, Nelson Cruz and Miguel Cabrera.]

Freeman has a .299 career batting average, .897 OPS, and one of the things I love about the guy is he led the N.L. (and MLB) in doubles last season with 47 and leads the majors in the category again this year with 27.

--Speaking of doubles, the topic is a good one when examining the Mets, the club with the $364 million payroll, who entered Tuesday’s play at 35-43 (21-36 since their 14-7 start).

Take Jeff McNeil, last year’s batting champion, .836 OPS with 39 doubles.  This season he has 8, with a .663 OPS.

Pete Alonso…27 doubles in each of 2021 and 2022.  This season?  6.

Starling Marte…24 in 2022, with four seasons of 30+.  This season…7.

This team has underperformed on so many levels, with largely the same lineup as last season’s team that went 101-61.  It’s disgraceful.  Manager Buck Showalter needs to be fired.

And I’m so sick of the modern ballplayer lingo, where everything is good.  Prior to Monday’s awful 2-1 Mets loss to the Brewers at Citi Field, local NBC sports reporter Bruce Beck was asking Pete Alonso about the state of the team and Alonso goes, “My confidence is sky high!”  As in everything is fine.

Oh puh-leeze…you guys suck.

Well, last night the Mets beat the Brewers 7-2 behind Brandon Nimmo’s two home runs.  David Peterson was called up, again, from AAA and this time threw six shutout innings to improve to, err, 2-6, 7.00.

Mets owner Steve Cohen is addressing the press later today, but he won’t be announcing any big changes, as some of us want.

Max Scherzer, however, has reportedly said he is willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to a contender.  The big issue there would be who takes on much of his remaining $65 million in salary for the second half of this season and next?

--Back to the Dodgers, Tuesday, Clayton Kershaw went six innings, yielding just one hit in L.A.’s 5-0 win at Colorado (J.D. Martinez hitting career home run No. 300).

But afterwards, Kershaw, who left after just 79 pitches, complained of considerable “fatigue”.  Uh oh, Dodgers fans.

--Luis Arraez was 2-for-5 last night in the Marlins’ 10-1 at Boston, Arraez sitting at .399.

Golf Balls

Ahead of an upcoming Senate subcommittee meeting, the PGA Tour released a 5-page framework of its agreement with Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund (PIF) to form an alliance with the LIV Golf series, though the outline is still lacking many details.

A review of the agreement by the New York Times (and others) “points to the rushed nature of the secret, seven-week talks that led to the deal and the complex path that remains ahead for the new venture, a potential triumph for Saudi Arabia’s quest to gain power and influence in sports and, its critics say, to distract from its reputation as a human rights abuser.”

“Most crucially, the tour and the wealth fund must still come to terms on the values of the assets that each will contribute to their planned partnership.  Bankers and lawyers have spent recent weeks beginning the valuation process, but the framework agreement includes no substantive details of projected figures or even the size of an anticipated cash investment from the wealth fund.

“Instead, most of the agreement focuses on the basic structure of the new company that is to house what the accord describes as all of the ‘commercial businesses/rights’ of the PGA Tour and the European Tour, now known as the DP World Tour.” [Alan Blinder / New York Times]

The PGA Tour is to maintain “at all times a controlling voting interest” in the new company, while the wealth fund is expected to contribute its “golf-related investments and assets,” including the LIV circuit, and will have the first opportunity to invest in the new company.  Yasir al-Rumayyan, the wealth fund’s governor, will serve as the chairman of the new joint entity.  Jay Monahan is chief executive.

But the only details that are really clear are that the two sides dismissed all litigation, as well as installing a ban on recruiting players to rival circuits, and a deadline of Dec. 31 to sign the final accord.

In terms of player rights, the agreement says the new entity will set in motion “a fair and objective process” for any players who week to return to the PGA Tour and DP World Tour after the 2023 tournament season ends.  The fate of LIV Golf remains uncertain.

In Washington, Justice Department officials and congressional investigators are preparing to pore over the details of the alliance, which antitrust regulators could ultimately try to block.

But…last night the PGA Tour’s board, in a meeting, signaled that it intended to move ahead with the agreement, though it also made plain that closing the deal was no certainty, as reported by the New York Times.

Stuff

--The Atlanta Hawks are trading forward John Collins to Utah (the trade can’t become official until July 6), freeing up $25.3 million cap space.  Atlanta is acquiring forward Rudy Gay and a future second-round pick for Collins, who is owed $78 million over the next three seasons.

This is the needed change of scenery for the former Wake Forest star, adding him to a Jazz front line of All-Star Lauri Markkanen and All-Rookie center Walker Kessler.  Utah also used the ninth pick in Thursday’s draft to select Taylor Hendricks, a power forward out of Central Florida.

Collins averaged 15.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in six seasons with the Hawks, though his production tailed off to 13.1 and 6.5 in 2022-23.  He’s still just 25 years of age.

--Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid was elected the league’s MVP for the third time after a dominant season.  McDavid was announced as both the winner of the Hart Trophy (writers vote) and Ted Lindsay Award (players vote) on Monday night after finishing with a spectacular 150-point season (153…64 goals and 89 assists), the first 150-point season since Mario Lemieux had 161 in 1995-96.

The Vezina Trophy (goaltender) went to Linus Ullmark of the Bruins.  Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Shark won the Norris Trophy (defenseman). 

Jim Montgomery, Bruins, was coach of the year, and Matty Beniers won the Calder Trophy (rookie).

--Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of NASCAR superstar Jimmie Johnson.  His in-laws and their grandson were apparently involved in a murder-suicide, the wife killing her husband and grandson in Muskogee, Okla.

Next Bar Chat, Sunday.

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[Posted early Sun. p.m.]

Very brief Add-on up top by noon, Wed.

Cincinnati Reds Quiz: In light of the Reds’ resurgence, the Big Red Machine that won back-to-back World Series in 1975-76, had the same starting lineup both seasons, as well as basically the same pitching staff each year.  Name the starting lineup, the key player off the bench, and the four starters who won at least 11 games in both ’75 and ’76.  Answers below.

MLB

--New York baseball fans are a surly bunch these days.  The Yankees lost to the Rangers at the Stadium on Friday night, 4-2, falling to 41-35 (6-10 since Aaron Judge’s latest injury and lineup absence), 10 ½ back of first-place Tampa Bay.

But it’s the hitting…some of it beyond atrocious, that’s the story.  Giancarlo Stanton, who returned recently after his own latest IL stint, is batting .067 (3-for-45) in his last 13 games.

Stanton is at .183 in 104 ABs with a .635 OPS.  For this he is receiving $32 million (and $32m in each of 2024 and 2025, with further riches beyond that, though partially paid for by the Marlins at that point).

Josh Donaldson, who has been out much of the season, entered play Saturday batting .125, 8-for-64, six of the eight hits home runs.

The Yankees also have struggling rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe.  The ‘second coming of Derek Jeter’ has 10 home runs, but he’s batting .194 with a .635 OPS, and his fielding has been spotty.

Well, Saturday, we received more details on Aaron Judge’s injury from Judge himself, who told reporters he has a torn ligament in his right big toe.

He said he is still dealing with pain when he walks.

“I’m not giving you any timeline,” Judge said.  “There’s no need.  I’ve just got to get better and then I’ll be out there.”

Remember how concerned I was when Judge crashed into the bullpen at Dodgers Stadium?  I said it was a potential Mickey Mantle type deal (circa 1956), as Judge stayed in the game and played the next day, before the pain became too great.  I wasn’t far off.

The Yanks won Saturday’s game 1-0, Stanton 1-for-3.

And today, New York had a super 5-3 win, 3 in the bottom of the eighth, Stanton a key RBI single, overcoming a poor start from Gerrit Cole, 4 2/3, 3 runs, 9 hits.

--Speaking of Tampa Bay, they beat the Royals Friday, 11-3, as K.C.’s Zack Greinke, supposedly in his final year, yielded 7 earned in 4 2/3 to fall to 1-8, 5.31, befitting the Royals’ overall 21-55 mark.

But the Royals prevailed 9-4 Saturday, as Jordan Lyles went six innings, 3 earned, for K.C., thus earning his first win of the season after 11 losses!  As in Lyles is now 1-11, 6.68 ERA.

For Tampa Bay, Wander Franco returned after being benched for two games for lack of hustle and poor baserunning.  Franco, 22, was 2-for-4 with a home run.

And the Rays won today, 3-1…now 4 ½ over the Orioles, 9 ½ over the Yanks.

--The Mets lost to the Phillies 5-1 Friday in Philadelphia, with center fielder Brandon Nimmo dropping a first-inning fly ball that led to the Phils’ first two runs of the evening.  Typical of the Mets dismal play since they got off to a 14-7 start on April 1st.  Since then they are 20-34 and as of Friday, 14 games back of the Braves (48-27).  To add insult to injury, the Mets lost to former teammate Taijuan Walker, who with six strong improved to 8-3, 4.10, the Mets opting not to extend a contract to the free agent last winter.

So the Mets began to shake things up, trading third baseman Eduardo Escobar to the Angels for two pitching prospects.  Good. Escobar, save for literally one big month last season, has been a huge disappointment in his nearly 1 ½ seasons at $10 million per.  Everyone on the team talks about what a great teammate he is and a leader in the clubhouse, but we’re 34-41!  Who gives a s--- about what a great guy he is.

Saturday, the Mets won 4-2, Max Scherzer with six strong, 2 earned, as he improved to 7-2, 3.95.

And then today, the Mets had the most atrocious, disgraceful loss of all time, falling 7-6, details not worth it.  We absolutely suck!  Players are performing well under their baseball cards, guys given a chance have underperformed, and I’m ready to commit hari-kari, having requested the sword from Johnny Mac…who might use it himself first before wife Ellen sends it to me all cleaned up. Thanks, Ellen.

--Meanwhile, the Angels appear like they can be a wildcard contender for the remainder of the year, as rumors swirl on the Shohei Ohtani front and whether L.A. is going to trade him to get something solid in return before he becomes a free agent.  Ohtani* hit his MLB-leading 25th home run Friday, going back-to-back with Mike Trout (No. 16), but they fell 7-4 to the Rockies in Denver.

*In a 2-0 loss to the Dodgers last Wednesday, Ohtani threw seven innings, one earned, striking out 12, as he moved to 6-3, 3.13.

The Angels have injury issues and Escobar can actually be a big help.  It was also a sign management is ‘all in’ in trying to make the playoffs, at least until Ohtani goes at the trade deadline…or maybe not.

This week, Angels GM Perry Minasian said: “I think anybody that’s watched us play and where we’re at in the standings…I think it’s pretty self-explanatory with where we’re at.”

So he was asked, again, is an Ohtani trade off the table?

“Pretty self-explanatory with where we’re at,” Minasian curtly repeated.

This is not an easy decision.

So Saturday, I was following the Angels-Rockies game online (always curious to see what Ohtani and Trout are doing), and I’m thinking, boy, they just keep racking up runs in the top of the third…like 13 of ‘em!  The Angels led 23-0 after four!  Final: 25-1.

Trout, Brandon Drury and Matt Thaiss hit homers on consecutive pitches.  Trout, 3-for-3 with a walk, was removed in the fifth.

Mickey Moniak and Hunter Renfroe both went 5-for-5 with 4 RBIs.

But Shohei Ohtani, as DH, only went 1-for-7 with a ribby. 

The Angels (42-36) set franchise marks for runs, hits (28) and margin of victory in a game and tied team records for runs and homers with their huge third inning.

The margin of victory was tied for the third-highest in the majors since 1900, behind Texas’ 30-3 victory over Baltimore in 2007 and Boston’s 29-4 victory over the St. Louis Browns in 1950.

Today, the Angels lost 4-3, though Eduardo Escobar went 2-for-4 with a triple.

--The Dodgers are hosting the Astros this weekend, giving Los Angeles fans a chance to vent against the team that stole a World Series from them (2017).  It’s the first interleague meeting between the two since 2021.  The Dodgers took the first game Friday, 3-2.

And they won Saturday, 8-7, despite L.A. starter Bobby Miller being rocked a second straight outing (4 innings, 6 earned) after getting off to a stirring start to his career.

--The Giants are home to the surprising first-place Diamondbacks and won the first Friday, 8-5, behind Michael Conforto’s four RBIs.  San Fran (43-33) moved to 2 ½ back of Arizona (46-31).

Make that 1 ½, as the Giants won again 7-6 yesterday.

--But the biggest story in baseball is the staggering run of the Cincinnati Reds, epitomized by rookie Elly De La Cruz, who hit for the cycle* Friday night in a scintillating 11-10 win by Cincy over Atlanta, before a sellout crowd of 43,086 at Great American Ball Park.

*First Red to do so since Eric Davis in 1989.

Joey Votto, who finally made his 2023 debut just this past week, slammed two home runs, including the go-ahead shot.

Cincinnati erased an early 5-0 deficit and halted Atlanta’s eight-game winning streak. “I think this might be the best regular-season game that I’ve been a part of,” Reds manager David Bell said after.  “I think a lot had to do with the atmosphere in the ballpark.  Both teams played a great game…”

It was the Reds’ 12th win in a row, tied for second-best in franchise history, as they moved to 41-35.  Just a great story.  After all, they were 62-100 last season!

De La Cruz, in his first 15 games, is hitting .361 with a 1.074 OPS.  He also has 17 runs scored.

But Saturday the Braves held off the Reds 7-6, the winning streak over at 12, another sellout for the Reds.

And the Braves won again today by the same score, 7-6.  De La Cruz was 0-for-5, his average falling to .333.

--Early in the week, Luis Arraez had his third 5-for-5 game of the month, just the fourth in baseball history to accomplish this (the others George Sisler, Ty Cobb and Dave Winfield), and entering Saturday’s play, his average was up to .402!

Arraez then went 1-for-3 with a home run in the Marlins’ 4-3 win over the Pirates yesterday, his average at .401.  Understand, second place on the batting average list for the major leagues is Ronald Acuna Jr. at .328.*

*Corey Seager of Texas is at .354 but he doesn’t have enough at-bats to qualify.

Today, the Marlins moved to 45-34, 2-0 over the Pirates, Arraez 1-for-4, his average falling to .399.

College World Series

--It was heartbreak for Wake Forest fans on Thursday night at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, as LSU beat Wake 2-0, Tommy White with a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 11th off our closer, Cam Minacci.

This was indeed a true CWS classic.   Future No. 1 or 2 overall MLB draft pick Paul Skenes of LSU (his teammate, center fielder Dylan Crews the other first or second pick), against Wake’s Rhett Lowder, 15-0 (Wake 18-0 in games he started) and a probable top 12 pick in the upcoming draft himself.

Skenes went eight scoreless, Lowder seven, a matchup that proved to be better than advertised. [The first time since aluminum bats were introduced in 1974 that both starting pitchers threw at least seven scoreless innings in a CWS game.]

But Wake’s bats went limp in the four games of the CWS.  A team that batted. 305 with 130 home runs entering the event, scored eight runs in four games, batting .164 (21-for-128), 4-for-29 with runners in scoring position, after outscoring its opponents 75-16 in five NCAA tournament games (all at home) leading up to the CWS.

[I do have to note that I wrote on 6/12, following Wake’s 22-5 romp over Alabama in the super regional final: “I am slightly worried about first baseman Nick Kurtz, who got drilled in the ribs late in the game, stayed in, but was hurting.  Hoping we don’t receive bad news tomorrow upon further examination.”  Kurtz, our best hitter, was then 0-for-9 in the first three games of the CWS, and sat out Thursday against LSU because he had reaggravated the injury.  He was tentative at the plate and there was a reason.]

Anyway, Wake almost advanced to the championship but was unable to convert an eighth-inning attempted squeeze play, LSU first baseman Tre’ Morgan with a spectacular play as he rushed in to field the bunt and threw to home in one motion, just nabbing Wake’s Justin Johnson to keep it scoreless.  Oh, what could have been.

So now we had LSU vs. Florida in an all-SEC final (a rematch of the 2017 finals that the Gators won for their first national title), with Florida’s pitching staff well-rested, the rotation perfectly set up for its two best starters, while LSU’s staff is a bit stressed.  Skenes will not be appearing in the series, unless, possibly, a Game 3 stint on three days’ rest.

There has been a lot of talk during the NCAA Championship, writ large, however, about pitch count.  I wrote of the concern MLB scouts were having over Skenes throwing 127 pitches in a regional contest, and then he threw 123 and 120 pitches in his two CWS appearances, the 120 against the Deacs.  That’s three outings of 120+ in the tournament overall.  No major leaguer has thrown 120 pitches in a game all season.

Stanford’s Quinn Mathews threw a whopping 156 in an NCAA Super Regional game.

Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal noted that the last MLB pitcher to throw more than 135 pitches in a game was Tim Lincecum in 2013.

“This is a risky business from a sports medicine point of view, for sure,” said Glenn Fleisig, the director of biomechanics research for the American Sports Medicine Institute.

As Fleisig told Jared Diamond, a sharp spike in workload and frequency of pitching is “maybe the strongest indicator of injury risk.”  Throwing a lot of pitches at maximum effort at high velocities is also linked to injury. Skenes threw 46 of his 123 pitches against Tennessee on Saturday at 100 mph or harder.

So then last night in Game 1 of the best-of-three finals, LSU starting pitcher Ty Floyd struck out 17 batters in eight innings – tying the single-game record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game at the CWS, but it was 3-3 when he exited (after also throwing 122 pitches).

The Tigers’ Tommy White had tied it at 3-3 in the top of the eighth with another clutch home run, and then in the 11th inning, LSU’s Cade Beloso channeled White’s 11th-inning magic against Wake Forest, going yard, and LSU reliever Riley Cooper completed his third inning of relief to preserve a 4-3 win over the Gators. 

Just another thrilling game in the CWS, the packed house, largely filled with LSU fans, going wild.

But in Game 2 today, as I go to post, the Gators have rebounded in a big, big way…up 15-3 in the top of the eighth.   Will LSU’s Skenes pitch Monday night for the title on 3 days rest?

Back to Wake, we had a helluva season, ACC regular-season champs, never lost an ACC series (out of ten) and made it to the CWS for the first time since 1955 in an era when few overall No. 1 seeds, as we were, even make it to the CWS.

We had the best pitching staff in college baseball despite playing in what many call a bandbox.

And we put our name on the map and should reap the rewards in the transfer pool the next few seasons.  So many key players on the CWS squads were transfers, including LSU’s Tommy White.  In a nutshell, this is one guy who is glad he trekked out to Omaha to catch the experience and I’m Proud to be a Deac!

NBA

--To say I didn’t give a damn about the NBA Draft would be an understatement, but this was for very selfish reasons as my Knicks didn’t have a draft pick, and there were no Wake Forest players in the draft pool.

I am, however, very anxious to see Victor Wembanyama play next fall for San Antonio.  He obviously couldn’t have been selected by a better team for his journey.  I wish him nothing but massive success because it will be good for the sport…that’s always my bottom line.

Meanwhile, there are some saying Michael Jordan, whose influence in Charlotte remains greater than we thought on the player personnel front, even after he recently agreed to sell his majority stake in the Hornets, made a mistake in picking Brandon Miller second over Scoot Henderson.

Well, unlike in the case of Wemby, I couldn’t give a damn about Miller, for reasons stated during the past season, and I haven’t seen Henderson play, he being of the G-League.

As for the twins who went Nos. 4 and 5, Amen and Ausar Thompson, they bypassed college to play in the Atlanta-based Overtime Elite developmental league, so I haven’t seen them play either.  And since they went to Houston and Detroit, respectively, I have a hard time caring about this historic (first brothers taken in top 5) development.

Anyway, Go Wemby and us Knicks fans are waiting to see what moves we make in the offseason.  One thing we know for sure…reserve forward Obi Toppin will not be on the team.  It was kept quiet until this week but word emerged Toppin, in Game 4 against the Heat, essentially challenged coach Tom Thibodeau, physically, in the locker room after not getting a lot of playing time.  You just don’t do that, in front of the team, or anywhere.  That’s a punk.  [And I thought Toppin was a good guy.]

Lastly, you have the Washington Wizards, and new president Michael Winger, who wasted no time transforming the roster, controversially, trading Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and Chris Paul (acquired in the Beal trade to Phoenix), to acquire Jordan Pool, Tyus Jones and Landry Shamet, while trading up to get the No. 7 draft pick, French forward Bilal Coulibaly (a teammate of Wembanyama on their team in France).

At first, the Beal trade was broadly dissed, but when you look at the whole, it’s going to be kind of interesting to see how it all plays out.  The Wizards desperately needed to reduce their payroll.

Meanwhile, the Celtics acquired Porzingis, Boston’s Marcus Smart went to Memphis, and Chris Paul was sent to Golden State (for Jordan Poole).

--In College Basketball, UConn awarded coach Danny Hurley was rewarded with a six-year, $31.5 million contract extension, two months after he led the team to its fifth national championship.  He’s signed through 2029.

Hurley took the helm of the program in 2018 after establishing himself at Wagner and Rhode Island.

Golf Balls

--This week, ahead of the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn., the Player Advisory Council, of which Adam Scott is the chairman, met, and then PGA Tour members were invited to a players meeting with Tyler Dennis, the EVP and President of the PGA Tour, and Ron Price, the Tour’s Chief Operating Officer (in the absence of Commissioner Jay Monahan, still out with an undisclosed illness).

But on the issue of the proposed alliance between the Tour and the Saudi PIF, LIV Golf’s financial backer, there are still lots of questions and no answers…only a framework.  For good reason, the players, on both tours, have reason to be upset.

Saturday, LIV CEO Greg Norman said his circuit continues to line up its schedule for 2024.

In an email to employees, Norman said: “As we look ahead to the second half of this season and into 2024, especially with legal disputes behind us, I could not be more optimistic about the opportunities ahead… Our 2024 schedule is nearing completion, which will feature world-class venues both familiar and new, continuing to bring out the very best in our players.”

Gotta bring out the best in Pat Perez, you know.

Of course under the preliminary plans of the merger/alliance, Greg Norman is out.

I can’t help but add that Norman claimed in the email that “In just one year, through 14 events, eight countries, on four continents, you have helped bring golf to a new generation of fans, with hundreds of millions in economic impact.” [Emphasis mine.]

Hundreds of millions?!  There are lies…and then there are Big Lies.

--Meanwhile, at The Travelers, entering the final round of this “designated event,” we had the following leaderboard….

Keegan Bradley -21
Chez Reavie -20
Patrick Cantlay -16
Rickie Fowler -15
Adam Scott -15
Denny McCarthy -15
Justin Thomas and Scottie Scheffler among those at -14

For JT, a critical tournament, as he came in 78th in the FedEx Cup standings.

And Bradley picked up win No. 6, second of the wraparound season.  The New Englander was a popular, and emotional, winner at ‘home.’

--The ratings for the U.S. Open at L.A. Country Club were outstanding, owing to all the prime-time coverage, and it’s safe to say you can count on two West Coast Opens out of every ten going forward, not that I’ll be around to see more than another cycle.

But it’s Pebble in 2027 and, just announced this week, Riviera in 2031 (this great course last hosting an Open in 1948).  Riviera is hosting the U.S. Women’s Open in 2026 for the first time.

Both Pebble and Pinehurst No. 2 are going to be in a regular rotation whereby we see each one every 5 to 6 years.

--On the LPGA Tour, they held the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at nearby Baltusrol (Springfield, NJ, ten minutes from moi), and the weather was less than ideal, but Ruoning Yin of China, all of 20 years old, won it.

I have to admit, I’m not thrilled, for all kinds of reasons, mostly because Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow from the Emerald Isle started off the final round first and third.

Stuff

--Colorado football coach Deion Sanders (aka “Coach Prime”), said he was feeling better after lengthy surgery on Friday to remove blood clots and he was expected to leave the hospital Sunday.

“I had a big blood clot in my thigh that they got out, and I had some below my knee that they got out,” Sanders said in an Instagram post.  “Then I’ve got one in the right leg that they’re going to get soon.”

In the same post, Sanders told his family that the blood clot that was removed from his left thigh was “really bad.”

The surgery was just the latest in a series of health problems Sanders has been dealing with related to clots, having had several surgeries on his left foot and leg since 2021.  He previously said it was a life-threatening situation at one point then, and there has been talk he could have his leg amputated below the knee.  He already had two toes removed from his left foot, and had surgery on his left calf that left him with little of the lower leg.

Scary stuff.  We wish him a lasting recovery.

Colorado plays its first game under the coach Sept. 2 at TCU.

--West Virginia replaced coach Bob Huggins with assistant Josh Eilert, who is being given the ‘interim’ tab but is at least expected to be at the helm the entire 2023-24 season.

Athletic Director Wren Baker said it was too late in the year, after speaking “with knowledgeable people around the country,” to conduct a true search and that he didn’t want to put current team members at even more of a disadvantage.

--The Qatari Investment Authority is seeking to buy a minority stake in the group that owns the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, according to the Washington Post, and would become the first foreign sovereign fund to own a piece of a major U.S. team sports franchise.

The stakes the state-owned Qatari fund are seeking to acquire appear to be small, 5 percent or thereabouts.

The NBA adjusted its rules last year to allow for such foreign investment.  No fund is able to own more than 20 percent of a team, according to the amended rules.  The NHL is not known to have any rule precluding such a foreign investment.

In 2011, the QIA shook up the soccer world when it purchased a controlling stake of the French club Paris Saint-Germain, eventually becoming the sole owner. 

--Final thoughts on Omaha, NE.

It was a little over a decade ago that the NCAA gave the city an ultimatum…build a new stadium (to replace historic Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as the site of the CWS since 1950), or ‘we’re moving elsewhere.’  So the city built a superb 25,000 seat facility, with grand concourses, and a big area in centerfield to watch the game and congregate.  Loved the place.

The city has also ringed the stadium with major hotels and bars and it is truly one big party, everything basically less than a 10-minute walk from the stadium proper.  And the parking was a breeze.  Plus, the crowds were terrific, as we ended up partying mostly with LSU folks.

Gregg R. (high school friend/college frat bro) and I, however, stayed out west, in Wahoo, 45-50 minutes away, and saved major bucks on our hotel.   The College World Series is not cheap (starting with the tickets), and the hotels take advantage of the guaranteed sellout crowds each year.  Our room at a comfortable place was $80 a night, whereas the hotels around the stadium charged $350+.  Beers at the standard stadium refreshment stand were $14 for a Coors Light tallboy.  The hot dogs were at least cheap, $6.

Sadly, we didn’t catch LSU gymnast and enormous social influencer Olivia Dunne, who made an appearance.

And as for the Jell-o shot bar you heard about, Rocco’s, it was way too packed to get into and contribute our share to Wake’s total.  But what a marketing gimmick, at $5 a pop.  Good for them…that’s America!

[I did have an Add-on last Monday that talked of Wahoo, NE, so if you missed it, hit the archives.]

Top 3 songs for the week 6/26/76: #1 “Silly Love Songs” (Wings)  #2 “Get Up And Boogie (That’s Right)” (Silver Convention)  #3 “Misty Blue” (Dorothy Moore)…and…#4 “Sara Smile” (Daryl Hall & John Oates…one of their two best…with “She’s Gone”…which happened to be their first two hits…and now you know, the rest of the story…)  #5 “Shop Around” (Captain & Tennille)  #6 “More, More, More” (Andrea True Connection…not bad, for a Disco tune…)  #7 “Afternoon Delight” (Starland Vocal Band)  #8 “Love Hangover” (Diana Ross)  #9 “I’ll Be Good To You” (The Brothers Johnson…good tune…)  #10 “Kiss And Say Goodbye” (Manhattans…C week…)

Cincinnati Reds Quiz: The starting lineup for the 1975-76 Big Red Machine.

C – Johnny Bench
1B – Tony Perez
2B – Joe Morgan
SS – Dave Concepcion
3B – Pete Rose
LF – George Foster
CF – Cesar Geronimo
RF – Ken Griffey

Key Reserve – Dan Driessen

Key starters:

Gary Nolan…15-9 and 15-9 both seasons (but out of baseball after ’77 at age 29)
Jack Billingham…15-10, 12-10
Fred Norman…12-4, 12-7
Don Gullett…15-4, 11-3 (just 22 and 20 starts, out after 1978 at age 27)*

Pat Darcy…11-5 in ‘75
Pat Zachry…14-7 in ‘76
Santo Alcala…11-4 in ‘76

Clay Kirby was 10-6 in ’75, with 19 starts.

*Nolan and Gullett were poster boys for ‘if only they had modern sports medicine back then,’ ditto another Reds star from a few years before, Jim Maloney, whose sterling career was over essentially at 29.

The Reds also had basically the same bullpen in 75-76….

Rawley Eastwick, Pedro Borbon, Clay Carroll (’75), and Will McEnaney.

All of them went multiple innings, especially Borbon, who was in 67 games, 125 innings in ’75, and 69-121 in ’76.  Eastwick was 58-90, 71-107.

Clay Carroll appeared in 56 games, 96 innings in ’75.

But it’s amazing to think that the “Big Red Machine” really didn’t go yard.

124 home runs in ’75; 141 in ’76.

Bench (110 RBIs), Perez (109) and Morgan (94) were the RBI guys in ’75.

Foster (121), Morgan (111) and Perez (91) in ’76.

But they hit .271 as a team in ’75 and .280 in ’76.

Cincy defeated the Red Sox in perhaps the greatest World Series ever in 1975, 4-3.

And swept the Yankees, 4-0, in ’76.

And they had Joe Morgan, N.L. MVP both ’75 and ’76…plus manager Sparky Anderson, I hasten to add.

Very brief Add-on, by noon, Wed.

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