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Bar Chat

03/03/2025

College Hoops...remembering Gene Hackman....

Add-on posted early Tues. a.m.

College Basketball

New AP Top 25, records a/o Sunday...

1. Auburn 27-2 (61)
2. Duke 26-3
3. Houston 25-4
4. Tennessee 24-5
5. Florida 25-4
6. St. John’s 26-4
7. Alabama 23-6
8. Michigan State 24-5
9. Texas Tech 22-7
10. Iowa State 22-7
11. Clemson 24-5
12. Wisconsin 22-7
13. Maryland 22-7
14. Louisville 23-6
15. Missouri 21-8
16. Memphis 24-5
17. Michigan 22-7
18. Purdue 20-9
19. Kentucky 19-10...can’t believe they are still this high....
20. Marquette 22-7
21. Saint Mary’s 27-4
22. Texas A&M 20-9...down 10....
23. BYU 21-8
24. Arizona 19-10
25. Mississippi State 20-9

Kansas is No. 35 if you carry out the vote...UConn 37.

--Monday night, Kansas (19-11, 10-9) then lost at 3 Houston (26-4, 18-1) 65-59.

And 2 Duke (27-3, 18-1) mauled Wake Forest (20-10, 12-7) 93-60 as Cooper Flagg played like the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, 28 points on 10 of 16 shooting, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals.  He was absolutely terrific. 

MLB

--The Yankees’ Luis Gil, last year’s Rookie of the Year, is out at least three months with a high-grade lat strain, the team announced Monday.  He could be out the whole season if after six weeks the Yanks see his arm is not responding to the shutdown. Gil missed most of 2022 and 2023 due to Tommy John surgery.

NHL

--The Rangers have been continuing to reshape their roster, even as they battle for a wild card spot, trading two players who would be free agents, defenseman Ryan Lindgren and forward Jimmy Vesey to the Avalanche for veteran defenseman Calvin de Haan and 24-year-old center Juuso Parssinen.

New York then went out and beat the Predators at the Garden Sunday night, 4-0, as recently acquired J.T. Miller continued to shine, a goal and an assist, giving him 12 points in his first 10 contests back with his old team.

Just as importantly, Miller seems to have unlocked Mika Zibanejad’s game, Zibanejad with four goals and 11 assists since Miller’s trade, including two assists Sunday.

So Monday at the Garden, the Rangers did it again, shutting out the Isles 4-0, J.T. Miller with another goal and assist.

NBA

--The Knicks, for all the sturm und drang concerning their inability to beat the NBA’s elite (0-7 against the Cavs, Thunder and Celtics), are nonetheless 40-20 after Sunday night’s come-from-behind 116-112 overtime win down in Miami (28-31).

New York had trailed 62-45 at the half, then flipped the script, got it into OT and Jalen Brunson (31 points) once again took charge.

NASCAR

Christopher Bell won his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series race of the 2025 season, capturing the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.  William Byron, winner at the Daytona 500, was second.

Bell’s win was career No. 11.

Stuff

--For the archives...at the Oscars, the big winners....

Best Picture – “Anora”
Best Leading Actor – Adrien Brophy, “The Brutalist”
Best Leading Actress – Mikey Madison, “Anora”
Best Supporting Actor – Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”
Best Supporting Actress – Zoe Saldana, “Emilia Perez”
Best Director – Sean Baker, “Anora”

Conan O’Brien was a terrific host.

Next Bar Chat, Sunday p.m.

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[Posted early Sunday p.m.]

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.

Indiana Basketball Quiz: [In honor of Gene Hackman and his role in “Hoosiers.”]  Name the starters on the 1975-76, 32-0 NCAA championship team. 

College Basketball

--In games prior to Saturday’s action after I last posted....

Tuesday, 3 Florida (24-4, 11-4) fell at Georgia (17-11, 5-10) 88-83.

Wednesday, 8 Michigan State (22-5, 13-3) got a spectacular beyond half-court game-winner at the buzzer from Tre Holloman to defeat 16 Maryland (21-6, 11-5) 58-55. 

St. John’s (25-4, 16-2) clinched a share of the Big East title, 76-70 at Butler (13-15, 6-11).

For a second straight game, Wake Forest (19-9, 11-6) suffered a devastating loss, this time at home to Virginia (14-14, 7-10) and again, it came down to shooting the three.  After giving up 13 3s to North Carolina State, while the Deacs shot 2 of 9, against the Cavaliers, Wake yielded 10 of 22 from beyond the arc, while shooting 2 of 14!

What a s---show...another collapse down the stretch of the season, a la last year.

Hunter Sallis shot 40.5% from three last season and is 28.5% this year.  Parker Friedrichsen has gone from 36.5% to 25.3%.

I have to admit, this loss kept me up for a while after going to bed.

On to Saturday....

No. 1 Auburn (27-2, 15-1) easily handled 17 Kentucky (19-10, 8-8) in Lexington, 94-78.  Johni Broome was held in check by the Wildcats, just nine points and six rebounds, but Miles Kelly had a season-high 30 on 9 of 14 shooting from three.  At the same time Kentucky committed 18 turnovers.

2 Duke (26-3, 17-1) continued to roll, 100-65 over Florida State (16-13, 7-11).

3 Florida (25-4, 12-4) beat 12 Texas A&M (20-9, 9-7) 89-70.

4 Houston (25-4, 17-1) defeated Cincinnati (17-12, 7-11) 73-64.

In a biggie, Jahmai Mashack hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer from about 35 feet to propel 5 Tennessee (24-5, 11-5) to a 79-76 win over 6 Alabama (23-6, 12-4) in Knoxville.  The Vols got the final opportunity because they forced a 5-second inbounds violation on Bama prior to the Mashack heroics.

7 St. John’s (26-4, 17-2) secured its first Big East title in 40 years, 71-61 over Seton Hall (7-22, 2-16).  Just a great story being written by Rick Pitino and a team that is getting better and better at the right time.

10 Texas Tech (22-7, 13-5) beat Kansas (19-10, 10-8) in Lawrence, 78-73, as the Jayhawks’ dreadful season continues.  Afterwards, Zeke Mayo, who shot just 1 of 7 from the field, 0 for 5 from 3, said he was receiving hate mail on social media, which is disgraceful.  Gambling no doubt has something to do with it.

13 Clemson (24-5, 16-2) beat Virginia (14-15, 7-11) in Charlottesville, 71-61, as Ian Schieffelin had 21 points and 13 rebounds.

And Wake Forest (20-9, 12-6) stayed sort of relevant, I guess, needing to go 19 of 19 from the foul line to beat Notre Dame (12-17, 6-12) 74-71.  The Deacs were again miserable from three, 3 of 13, now 7 of 36 their last three games.

Wake travels to Durham Monday to face Duke.  This could be a disaster.

Today, Sunday, 11 Wisconsin (22-7, 12-6) fell at 8 Michigan State (24-5, 15-3) 71-62, as the Badgers were 5 of 32 from deep, a team that loves to take threes and normally hits a respectable 36% of them.

--North Carolina coach Hubert Davis was granted a contract extension that ties him to the program through the end of the 2029-2030 season.

It turns out the extension was officially signed in early December – despite being initially agreed to in July.  But we’re just hearing of it.

Davis has been under fire all season, though the Tar Heels (19-11, 12-6) have won five straight and played their way into the bubble conversation.

--Thursday in Ann Arbor, Rutgers (14-15, 7-11) had 57 points in the first half against 20 Michigan (22-6, 14-3), but fell in another heartbreaker, 84-82.

“Just f------ devastated for our f------ guys,” head coach Steve Pikiell said in his postgame radio interview.  “(They) played so hard the whole f------ time.” [NJ.com]

Yup, Pikiell’s gone.

NBA

--It truly is amazing that the Detroit Pistons are 34-27, even after Friday’s 134-119 loss to Denver (39-21), Nikola Jokic with a 23-17-15 triple-double. [The Pistons rebounded Sat. against the Nets, 115-94.]

Detroit, after all, was 17-65 and 14-68 the previous two seasons, including a 28-game record-setting losing streak last year.  But Wednesday, they defeated the Celtics 117-97, which was their eighth straight, the team’s longest such streak in 17 years.  They could be fun in the playoffs.  Knicks fans don’t want to face them.

--Speaking of the Celtics (42-18), they lost to Cleveland (49-10) in Boston on Friday, despite Jayson Tatum’s 46-16-9 performance; Donovan Mitchell, 41 points, leading the Cavs back from a 22-point deficit.

--The Knicks, sans Karl-Anthony Towns (knee), beat the Sixers 110-105 on Wednesday, Josh Hart picking up the slack on the boards with 17 rebounds...reminder, he’s 6’4”.  Jalen Brunson had 34 points and was his usual clutch self down the stretch.

Friday, the Knickerbockers (39-20) had a terrific win at Memphis (38-21), 114-113, Brunson and OG Anunoby with big threes to win it; the game marking the return of Mitchell Robinson, out since last April with ankle injuries, and Robinson had an impact, six points, five rebounds in 12 minutes, his usual presence down low.  This is huge.

The Knicks are in Miami tonight, Sunday.

--The Lakers received a 19-15-12 triple-double from Luka Doncic last Tuesday as he faced his old team, helping L.A. defeat Dallas 107-99.

Thursday, the Lakers defeated the Timberwolves 111-102, Doncic shooting poorly again, but with 21 points and 13 rebounds.

And Friday, L.A. (37-21) won again, 106-102 over the Clippers (33-27), Doncic with 31 points.  Four straight for the Lakers and Doncic (5-2 overall since the Big Trade).

--Basketball fans were buzzing Thursday night as Steph Curry went off for a season-high 56 points, 12 of 19 from three, in just 34 minutes, the Warriors (32-27) beating the Magic (29-32) in Orlando.

It was Curry’s 26th career game with 10 or more 3-pointers.  It was also his ninth career game with 50+ points and 10+ threes, which is 3X more than any other player in league history (Klay Thompson with three such efforts).

--The Sixers finally decided to shut down Joel Embiid for the rest of the season, 24 games, the team announced Friday, because “top specialists” assessed his injured left knee and “determined that he is medically unable to play.”

Embiid said recently he might need another knee operation, with the team saying in a statement that they are working with both the center and the specialists to “ensure the best path forward for his long-term health and performance.”

Embiid played 19 games this season, after 39 last season, and has never been in more than 68 in his nine years.

And the team owes him another $55 million to $67 million each of the next four seasons.

--In the WNBA, Diana Taurasi, the league’s all-time leading scorer and a champion at every level, announced her retirement after 20 seasons.

Taurasi, 42, has six Olympic gold medals, is a three-time WNBA champion, a two-time Finals MVP and the league MVP in 2009.

And she won three NCAA titles at UConn!

I’d say that’s a helluva career.

MLB

--All about injuries in spring training, and the Yankees may have suffered a big one, as righthander Luis Gil experienced tightness near his right shoulder throwing a bullpen session. 

The reigning AL Rookie of the Year (15-7, 3.50 ERA) was headed for an MRI Saturday to find out what’s wrong.  [No word as I go to post.]

And the Yankees announced Giancarlo Stanton will be out to start the season because of tennis elbow in both arms.

After playing through the elbow injuries last season, Stanton reported to camp not having swung in 3-4 weeks because it flared back up over the offseason.

--President Trump says he will pardon Pete Rose, more than three decades after he was banned for life following an investigation which found that he bet on baseball.

“Major League Baseball didn’t have the courage or decency to put the late, great, Pete Rose, also known as ‘Charlie Hustle,’ into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Now he is dead, will never experience the thrill of being selected, even though he was a FAR BETTER PLAYER than most of those who made it, and can only be named posthumously.  WHAT A SHAME!” Trump posted on Truth Social.  “Anyway, over the next several weeks I will be signing a complete PARDON of Pete Rose, who shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING.  He never betted against himself, or the other team. He had the most hits, by far, in baseball history, and won more games than anyone in sports history.  Baseball, which is dying all over the place, should get off its fat, lazy ass, and elect Pete Rose, even though far too late, into the Baseball Hall of Fame!”

Rose is still MLB’s all-time leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562) and at-bats (14,053).

Commissioner Rob Manfred said he will consider a petition to reinstate Rose, which is the needed first step if he is to have a shot at being selected through one of the veterans’ committees.

NFL

--Travis Kelce announced he was returning for a 13th season, during which he will turn 36.

“I’ve got a real bad taste in my mouth with how I played in that last game and I can’t go out like that!!!” Kelce said in a text to Pat McAfee, which McAfee then read on the air.

Kelce told McAfee that he wants to get “in the best shape I’ve been this offseason and get back to the mountaintop.”

--Matthew Stafford, 37, said he was staying with the Rams, after testing the waters by entering into contract negotiations with the Giants and Raiders.

A local report has the Giants now thinking about Aaron Rodgers.  Otherwise, the market for the 41-year-old isn’t as strong as Aaron might have thought.

--San Francisco granted wide receiver Deebo Samuel his wish, trading him to Washington for just a fifth-round pick, Jayden Daniels getting another weapon.

The 49ers freed up some cap space after signing receivers Jauan Jennings and Brandon Aiyuk to extensions last year, but to only get a fifth-round pick?  C’mon.

Washington now gets to pair a former All-Pro with Pro Bowl wideout Terry McLaurin.

--The NFL intends to put its electronic system to measure first downs into regular season use beginning this coming season, the league announced Wednesday.  The league said the camera technology to put the system in place is already installed in every stadium.

The 10-yard sticks and chain will still be on the sideline as a backup, even if the electronic system is used.

The electronic system could reduce the time required to measure a first down to about 30 seconds, much quicker than the 75 seconds needed for an on-field measurement with the sticks-and-chain system.

But the system would not necessarily address an issue such as the controversial spot on the failed fourth-down quarterback sneak by Buffalo’s Josh Allen during his team’s loss to the Chiefs in the AFC championship game.

The NFL is also thinking of changing the overtime format for regular season games, potentially to make it match the format for postseason games.

In postseason overtime, each team is guaranteed at least one offensive possession. In regular season overtime, a team can win the game by scoring a touchdown on the opening possession of overtime.  This change would require the approval of at least 24 of the 32 owners.  The electronic system for first downs does not.

--I have nothing to say on the allegations against Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, though Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta did say this week the allegations were “serious” and “concerning.”

The NFL is investigating, while Tucker, and his wife, have issued multiple denials.

Golf Balls

--They played the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, PGA National this week, the “Bear Trap,”  and so much for that moniker on Thursday, as Jake Knapp fired a 12-under 59, the 15th sub-60 round in the history of the PGA Tour (Jim Furyk with the only 58 at TPC River Highlands, the 2016 Travelers Championship).

But as has often happened after a 59, or super-low score, it is followed by more pedestrian fare, in this case a second-round 70, and it was game on for the field.

And after three rounds....

Knapp -16
Michael Kim -15
Russell Henley -14
Ben Griffin -14
Doug Ghim -14
Rickie Fowler -13

Hardly a scintillating leaderboard for this non-Signature event, which is why Fowler needs to step up.

Fowler didn’t, and Joe Highsmith, a 24-year-old out of Pepperdine, picked up his first PGA Tour win, Highsmith with a 64-64 weekend after making the cut on the mark.  Good for him.  Likable guy.

NHL

--Alex Ovechkin scored Goal No. 883 on Tuesday, his 30th on the season, getting him to within 12 of besting Wayne Gretzky’s 894.  It was his 19th season out of 20 with 30 or more, the only season when he didn’t hit that level the Covid year.

Ovechkin joined Teemu Selanne, Johnny Bucyk and Gordie Howe (who did it three times) as the only players in hockey history to score 30-plus goals in a season at age 39 or older.

Ovechkin was shut out in Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Blues.

And then Saturday afternoon, he scored the Caps’ only goal in a 3-1 loss to the Lightning, No. 884.....

--The Rangers had a good win on Tuesday, 5-1 over the Islanders, as they try to stay in the wild card hunt.

But they lost All-Star defenseman Adam Fox for at least seven games to an upper-body injury, a huge blow.

New York then lost a toughie, 3-2 at home Friday night to the Maple Leafs.

Stuff

--No Premier League this weekend...it was FA Cup play instead.

--In women’s Alpine FIS World Cup action, they held two downhills at Kvitfjell, Norway, and America’s Lauren Macuga finished second in one, and Breezy Johnson was third in the other.

We will have some strong competitors for next year at the Olympics in Milano (Milan) Cortina, Italy.  Aside from Mikaela Shiffrin, Johnson and Macuga, Paula Moltzan has multiple podium finishes this year.  Johnson won the downhill in the world championships.

And, who knows.  Maybe Lindsey Vonn continues her comeback.

[As for the men, we aren’t that good.]

--In the Mexico Tennis Open in Acapulco this week, as The Athletic put it, “A bizarre Wednesday ended with the top five seeds out of the tournament, with at least three of them succumbing to illness.”

Yup, it seems, food poisoning.  Casper Ruud pulled out of his match because of a “stomach illness,” and Denmark’s Holger Rune wrote on X: “Furious and so sad at the same time.  Had a food poisoning and was unable to play today.”

Tommy Paul also succumbed to stomach issues and withdrew.  Three others were defeated, including Alexander Zverev and Americans Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe.  It wasn’t confirmed if they were suffering from illness as well.

Yup, when going to Mexico, pack snack bars and drink Corona.  [I haven’t been there in like 30 years.  A really dumb conference, looking back.]

--Boris Spassky, the legendary Russian chess player and the 10th World Chess Champion who rose to international fame in the 1972 “Match of the Century” against American Bobby Fischer, died Thursday in Moscow at age 88.

Spassky became chess World Champion in 1969, becoming the face of the daunting Russian chess machine.

He famously defended his title against Fischer – a match which, played at the height of the Cold War, became a cultural proxy battle between the U.S. and Soviet Russia.

Fischer’s well-documented histrionics during the match – including showing up several days late, forfeiting a game in protest of television cameras, and demanding a venue change before game three – famously had zero effect on Spassky, who was known for his unfazed, though good-natured demeanor.

Spassky lost the best-of-24 match to Fischer by a score of 8.5 to 12.5.

--The great actor, Gene Hackman, his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa, and their dog, were found dead at home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Thursday.  An early investigation shows that Hackman had been dead nine days, which we learned from his pacemaker data.  The deaths were labeled “suspicious” but no foul play was immediately suspected.

Hackman, a former Marine known for his raspy voice, appeared in more than 80 films, winning two Oscars and being nominated five times.

His first Oscar nomination was for his breakout role as the brother of bank robber Clyde Barrow in 1967’s “Bonnie and Clyde.”  He was also nominated for best supporting actor in 1971 for “I Never Sang for My Father.”

It was his turn as Popeye Doyle, the rumpled New York detective chasing international drug dealers in director William Friedkin’s thriller “The French Connection,” that asserted Hackman’s stardom and a best actor Academy Award.

He also won a best supporting actor Oscar in 1993 as a mean sheriff in the Clint Eastwood western “Unforgiven,” and was nominated for an Academy Award for his turn as an FBI agent in the 1988 historical drama “Mississippi Burning.”

Hackman could come across on the screen as menacing or friendly, having a face that he described to the New York Times in 1989 as that of “your everyday mine worker.”

Among his many other roles, was that of the small-town basketball coach in the 1986 sports film “Hoosiers,” one of the best ever of its genre, and as Superman’s archrival Lex Luthor.

Hackman retired from acting in 2004 on the advice of his heart doctor, and rarely gave an interview again – opting for a quiet life in New Mexico with his second wife, Betsy.

Eugene Allen Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California, in 1930.  His parents divorced, and he was palmed off on various relatives until settling with his maternal grandmother in Danville, Illinois. [Hackman’s mother died in 1962, after setting fire to her mattress with a cigarette while drunk.]

Hackman lied about his age to join the Marines at age 16, and served nearly five years.

He was stationed in China where he worked as a radio operator, which led to later work as a disc jockey.

When Hackman enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse in California in the 60s, he and classmate Dustin Hoffman were voted the “least likely to succeed.”

Undeterred, both actors decamped to New York where they shared a flat with another aspiring actor, Robert Duvall.

Hackman would rise to screen prominence at a time when unconventional leading men held sway – Hoffman, Elliott Gould, Robert De Niro, and Al Pacino.

Among his other movies were as a demanding Olympic skiing coach in “Downhill Racer” (1969), the Watergate-era drama “The Conversation” (1974), Warren Beatty’s “Reds” (1981), “The Firm” (1993), and “The Royal Tenenbaums.”

But Hackman would say one of his favorite parts was the aggressively uncommercial road drama “Scarecrow” (1973), playing one of two vagabonds (the other was Pacino) who aspire to start a car-wash business.  ‘It’s the only film I’ve ever made in absolute continuity,” he told Film Comment magazine, “and that allowed me to take all kinds of chances and really build my character.”

He had a cameo role in Mel Brooks’ horror-film spoof “Young Frankenstein” (1974), where he told his friend and tennis partner Gene Wilder, the star, that he would take any role for union-scale wages.

Personally, I have to watch “Bonnie and Clyde” and “The French Connection” again.  And, of course, “Unforgiven.”

Hackman was known for his quick temper, nicknamed “Vesuvius” for his volcanic anger.  He once took responsibility for a minor West Hollywood traffic incident in 2001 that led to a full-on brawl: “He brushed against me, and I popped him.”

--We note the passing of legendary New York Dolls rocker David Johansen, 75.

The punk icon died of multiple causes...cancer, brain tumor...broken back, according to his stepdaughter.

After the New York Dolls went their separate ways, Johansen became a solo performer; later rebranding himself as lounge singer Buster Poindexter, and performing with the “Saturday Night Live” band.

Top 3 songs for the week 3/4/67 (a return after the yearly 12/31 issue with the list...I’d be repeating a lot of songs): #1 “Ruby Tuesday” (The Rolling Stones)  #2 “Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone” (The Supremes)  #3 “Kind Of A Drag” (The Buckinghams)...and...#4 “Baby I Need Your Lovin’” (Johnny Rivers)  #5 “Georgy Girl” (The Seekers)  #6 “The Beat Goes On” (Sonny & Cher) #7 “Gimme Some Lovin’” (The Spencer Davis Group)  #8 “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye” (The Casinos)  #9 “Sock It To Me-Baby!” (Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels) #10 “I’m A Believer” (The Monkees...B+ week...)

Indiana Basketball Quiz Answer: Starters on 32-0 1975-76 team coached by Bob Knight....

Scott May (23.5 pts., 7.7 reb.), Kent Benson (17.3 pts., 8.8 reb.), Tom Abernethy (10.0 pts., 5.3 reb.), Quinn Buckner (8.9 pts., 4.2 asst.), Bob Wilkerson (7.8 pts., 4.9 reb., 5.3 asst.)

The four reserves who averaged 10+ minutes per game...Wayne Radford, Jim Crews, Rich Valavicius, and Jim Wisman.

Indiana beat St. John’s, Alabama, Marquette, UCLA and then Michigan in the tournament, the Hoosiers winning the title game 86-68, May with 26 points and Benson 25.

This team is still the last undefeated NCAA champion.

But I forgot the 1974-75 IU team was 31-1, losing a regional final to Kentucky 92-90.  That Wildcats team was led by Mike Flynn, Kevin Grevey, Jimmy Dan Connor, Jack Givens, Rick Robey and Mike Phillips. 

Kentucky would win the title 1977-78.

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.

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