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Bar Chat

05/27/2024

Rangers Take 2-1 lead...Newgarden goest back-to-back

Add-on posted early Tues. a.m.

Remembering Bill Walton

I was very saddened to learn of the death of Bill Walton, after a long struggle with cancer at the age of 71.  To say I expressed my love for this guy in these pages over the years would be an understatement.  Aside from the fact I loved watching him as one of the 3 or 4 greatest college basketball players of all time growing up, and after winning two NBA championships despite losing literally like four years to injuries, which forced his retirement after just ten seasons, Walton then became one of the great college basketball announcers of his era.  There were those who didn’t like his shtick, a huge defender of the dignity and honor of his beloved Pac-12, but I loved his amazing sense of humor, like when he would do the games around Thanksgiving from Maui and his shilling for Maui Jim sunglasses.  He cracked me up.

For starters, Bill Walton made his name at UCLA under the great John Wooden, Walton and Wooden winning two titles, 1971-72 and 1972-73, before losing in the semifinals the next season to champion North Carolina State.

How good a college player was he?  Try his .651 field goal percentage for his three seasons, and 15.7 rebounds.  Blocked shots weren’t an official stat back then, but he would have led the nation I imagine all three seasons.

In title games he was huge.

1972 against Florida State, Walton had 24 points and 20 rebounds in an 81-76 win.

1973 against Memphis, the most perfect NCAA final performance, ever...21 of 22 from the field, 44 points, 13 rebounds, as the Bruins rolled 87-66.

I’ve YouTubed this game from time to time just to remind myself what true greatness looks like.

Even in 1974 in the semifinal against David Thompson and Tom Burleson’s North Carolina State squad, one of the great games of all time, the Wolfpack pulling it out 80-77, it wasn’t Walton’s fault...29 points on 13 of 21 shooting, 18 rebounds.  It was just too much David Thompson, 28 points, and Burleson contributed 20 points and 14 rebounds.

As for his NBA career, Walton literally never played 70 games in a single season until his ninth season with Boston, 1985-86, when he won the Sixth Man of the Year Award and helped the Celtics to an NBA title.  He won his other title with Portland, 1976-77, averaging 18.2 points, 15.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.4 blocks in the postseason that year.

The following season, despite playing just 58 games, he was league MVP.

Otherwise, Bill Walton missed three full seasons due to his severe foot issues between 1978 and 1982, playing all of 14 games in 1979-80 with San Diego.  But he deserved his NBA Hall of Fame nod. When he was healthy, he was as dominant a center as there was in the game.

“It’s very hard to put into words what he has meant to UCLA’s program, as well as his tremendous impact on college basketball,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said Monday. “Beyond his remarkable accomplishments as a player, it’s his relentless energy, enthusiasm for the game and unwavering candor that have been the hallmarks of his larger-than-life personality.

“As a passionate UCLA alumnus and broadcaster, he loved being around our players, hearing their stories and sharing his wisdom and advice.  For me as a coach, he was honest, kind and always had his heart in the right place. I will miss him very much.  It’s hard to imagine a season in Pauley Pavilion without him.”

Ah yes, Walton and his relationship with UCLA are legendary, specifically with Coach John Wooden. 

Walton was a hippy type back in the early 70s, as many of his generation were.  [By his own account, he went to over 1,000 Grateful Dead concerts.]

It was at the start of Walton’s senior season, in 1973, his UCLA teams had won 75 consecutive games and the two NCAA titles.  But when Wooden walked into the locker room before the first practice and saw Walton’s just-trimmed but still long hair, Wooden told him, “Bill, that’s not short enough. We’re sure going to miss you on this team.  Get on out of here.”

As the story goes, Walton jumped onto his bicycle, raced back to the barber shop where his hair had been trimmed the day before, got his head almost shaved and rode back.  He made the last half-hour of practice.

Coach Wooden was tough and old school. 

“During the Vietnam War era, Wooden’s young players, including Walton, asked permission to stage an antiwar protest.  ‘He asked us if this reflected our convictions,’ player Steve Patterson told Sports Illustrated in 1989, ‘and we told him it did.  He told us he had his convictions, too, and if we missed practice it would be the end of our careers at UCLA.’”  [Frank Litsky and John Branch / New York Times]

When Wooden died, Walton issued this statement.

“The joy and happiness in Coach Wooden’s life came from the success and accomplishments of others. He never let us forget what he learned from his two favorite teachers, Abraham Lincoln and Mother Teresa, ‘That a life not lived for others is not a life.’

“I thank John Wooden everyday for all his selfless gifts, his lessons, his time, his vision and especially his faith and patience.  This is why our eternal love for him will never fade away. This is why we call him ‘Coach.’”

Walton once said of Coach, “Stuff I laughed at, I now have written on my walls, and I tell my kids, and I hear my kids saying it to their friends.”

Like “Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.”

Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times related how when Coach Wooden was 90, Plaschke interviewed him at his Encino, CA, home.  The phone rang and the answering machine went off.

“That’s Bill,” Wooden told Plashke, as the voice on the machine began describing his vacation in Australia, what the weather was...long enough so that Wooden had the time to make the slow walk from his family room down the hall to pick up the phone.

“A simple act of thoughtfulness, breathtaking in its beauty.  It was pure Bill Walton,” Plashke writes.

Wooden finally reached the phone and cradled the receiver with a smile.

“Bill, Bill, I love you too,” he said to Walton.  “Yep, it’s me, I’m here.”

Walton called Wooden twice a week and always waited long enough for Wooden to be able to pick up.

Later in life, Bill Walton had to deal with severe back pain.  In an interview with Howard Beck of the New York Times from way back that I have in my Bar Chat archives, Walton said, “I had a life that was not worth living. I was on the floor and unable to move. The closest that I can come to describe it is, visualizing yourself being submerged in a vat of scalding acid, with an electrifying current running through it.  And there’s no way to ever get out. I had nothing.”  He contemplated suicide.

Walton’s injury issues started at UCLA when he broke his back, “low-bridged” by an opponent, “a despicable act of intentional violence and a dirty play,” he told the San Diego Union-Tribune. When he returned two weeks later, he had to wear a corset with steel rods.  It was at this time that UCLA had its 88-game winning streak snapped at the hands of Notre Dame.

Walton told Howard Beck that by his count he had undergone 36 orthopedic operations, starting when he was 13.

“I had two fused ankles, my knees, hands and wrists don’t work; and now I have a fused spine.  But I’m doing great.”

Walton had to give up broadcasting for a while but returned when he had an 8 ½-hour operation, four incisions, four 4-inch bolts, two titanium rods and “a big Erector-set cage to hold it all together.”  He was then pain free.

And then cancer came.

“The world feels so much heavier now,” fellow legendary UCLA big man Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote on X alongside a picture of the two men smiling with their arms draped across one another.  “On the court, Bill was a fierce player, but off the court he wasn’t happy unless he did everything he could to make everyone around him happy.  He was the best of us.”

Peace and love, Bill.  

NBA Playoffs

--Not a lot of drama in the conference finals in terms of where the series’ stand.  After Dallas’ 116-107 win Sunday night in Big D, the Mavs led the Timberwolves 3-0, and the Celtics led the Pacers 3-0.

But many of these games went down to the wire.

I posted prior to Mav-Wolves Sunday and for the record Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving did it again, 33 points each, offsetting a respectable 26-point effort from Anthony Edwards, who received little support. In fact, Karl-Anthony Towns has sucked, hitting 27.8% from the field and 13.6% from 3 in the first three games of the series.

Game 4 Tuesday back in Dallas.

Monday night, the Celtics attempted to sweep the Pacers...Tyrese Haliburton was out again.

And Indiana, up 9 with 8:35 to play, couldn’t hold another late lead and fell 105-102, Boston taking the series 4-0, 3 of the 4 crushing late defeats.

Stanley Cup Playoffs

--Dallas took a 2-1 series lead over Edmonton last night, 5-3, the slumping Jason Robertson exploding for a hat trick.  Game 4 Wednesday.

--Game 4 of Rangers-Panthers tonight!

MLB

--When I posted about Atlanta’s win over the Pirates yesterday, Ronald Acuna Jr. was telling reporters that he didn’t think the injury to his left knee that he suffered while attempting a steal would only keep him out about a month.  But later Sunday night, the team learned it was a torn ACL, ending another season taken away by the same injury, only this time to his left knee, when the first torn ACL was on his right knee during the 2021 season.  The outfielder also sustained a sprained left ACL in 2018.

Acuna was MVP last season, a spectacular .337 BA, 1.012 OPS, 41 homers, 106 RBIs, 73 steals, and 149 runs scored.

But this will now be the third season in his last four where he has played less than 120 games.

Atlanta is a disappointing 30-20, given their high standards, and after a 19-7 start, through Sunday they had gone 11-13.

Acuna was only batting .250 with 4 home runs, 15 RBIs.

Everyone in the lineup is underperforming except for Marcell Ozuna, who has 15 HR and 47 RBIs.  And it doesn’t help the Braves lost their ace, Spencer Strider, for the season after just two starts.

Atlanta then lost to the Nationals Monday, 8-4.

--Controversial umpire Angel Hernandez is retiring effective immediately, USA TODAY reported Monday night.  MLB and Hernandez were negotiating a financial settlement over the past two weeks and came to an agreement.

Hernandez was simply the worst ump of his era, a bitter, angry man who should have been fired long ago.

--In College Baseball, they released the NCAA Tournament bracket, and eight ACC teams made the field, five of them hosting regionals.  Wake Forest is a 2-seed in Greenville, N.C., where the No. 1 is East Carolina.  I want at least three ACC teams getting to the CWS.  [Duke and North Carolina s/b two of the three, says moi.  Yes, when it comes to NCAA championships, I root for otherwise hated rivals.]

Let the fun begin, Friday.

Golf Balls

--Richard Bland has been playing on the LIV golf circuit, but the 51-year-old received an exemption to play in the Senior PGA Championship in Benton Harbor, Michigan, this past weekend and he won it, his Champions Tour debut.

--Harry Higgs has won back-to-back events on the Korn Ferry Tour, including Sunday’s Knoxville Open, and both titles in playoffs.

Higgs, 32, nicknamed the Big Rig, becomes the first player ever on the Korn Ferry Tour to win consecutive weeks in such fashion, locking up full PGA Tour status for next year, where he played the last four years before finishing 144th in the Fed Ex Fall standings in 2023.

--In the Men’s NCAA Golf Championship, Wake Forest failed to get to the final 15, finishing 16th in the team competition.  The individual champion was decided Monday, Hiroshi Tai from Georgia Tech.

The team champ is decided Wednesday.

NASCAR

--Christopher Bell won the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 in Concord, N.C., Sunday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The drivers had completed 249 of 400 laps on the 1.5-mile speedway.  The race was called at 11:30 p.m., a good move, as they would have been racing the final 151 well past midnight.

It was Bell’s second win of the season, 8th of his career.

Kyle Larson made it down to Charlotte from Indianapolis, where he had finished 18th in the 500, and was prepared to take over for Justin Allgaier, but the race never restarted.

French Open

--In what was his final appearance at Roland Garros, 14-time French Open winner Rafael Nadal lost in the first round to Alexander Zverev, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 Monday.

Nadal had indicated 2024 likely would be his last season before retirement, but he said Saturday that he is not 100% sure he won’t play again at the French Open.  And he reiterated that after Monday’s defeat, only his fourth in 116 career matches at the place.

Nadal, who has suffered from hip and abdominal injuries the last 1 ½ years, thanked the raucous Court Philippe Chatrier crowd for the “incredible amount of energy” it provided throughout the 3 hours, 5 minutes of play.

But he said “I don’t know (if) it’s going to be the last time I am here. I am not 100% sure.  If it’s the last time, I enjoyed it.”

The reason he was playing 4-seed Zverev in a first round is because Nadal had fallen to No. 275 in the rankings and was unseeded for the French Open for the first time.

“To be honest, I don’t know what to say,” Zverev said.  “First of all: Thank you, Rafa, from all of the tennis world.”

Stuff

--Notre Dame won its second consecutive men’s lacrosse championship, 15-5 over Maryland.

Next Bar Chat, Sunday p.m.

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[Posted 8:00 p.m. Sunday, before Charlotte 600 and NBA playoffs]

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.

Baseball Draft Quiz:  Eight players have been selected No. 1 overall in the MLB Draft since 1965 and then gone on to hit 300+ home runs in the majors. Three are Hall of Famers, at least one of the others will be, and another, some would say, should be as well.  Name them.

Indy 500

I held off on posting to see what would happen at Indy, knowing there would be bad weather and a delayed start, and to see what NASCAR’s Kyle Larson would do, Larson attempting the Indy/Charlotte 600 double.

We had a 4-hour delay, and they went off at 4:45 p.m., so no way Larson could do both races, but after all kinds of crashes and cautions, at lap 125 of 200, Larson had survived and was 6th.

And Larson was first with 18 laps to go...but due to fuel issues and pits...it’s not to be...Larson then pits...

And in a spectacular finish...Josef Newgarden goes back-to-back over Mexico’s Pato O’Ward.  You have got to YouTube it.  Having been to Indy, I appreciate these guys so much...220 mph...man...Roger Penske’s 20th Indy 500 win.

Larson, who finished 18th, learned a ton.  Next year he could win the pole.  [He has a 2-year contract to attempt this double.]

Stanley Cup Playoffs

--Going back to Game 1, Wednesday, of the Rangers-Panthers series, as one scribe put it, “New York may be the city that never sleeps, but the Rangers’ offense didn’t get out of bed for Game 1.”  For the first time this postseason, the Rangers were shut out, 3-0, including an embarrassing late ‘own goal.’

Florida’s defense was impenetrable, immovable.

But the Rangers won the President’s Trophy and were the favorite to win the Stanley Cup for a reason. Great teams make adjustments.

And in Game 2, Friday night at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers came out firing, playing far more aggressively, playing off the energy of 6-8 defenseman Matt Rempe, who dressed for the first time in a few games, and he even got five shifts in the third period, having won over coach Peter Laviolette who saw what a difference Rempe made in the team’s play.

Rempe’s great.  He said after, “I heard Lavy call my name with like two minutes left. I was like, ‘Oh, man.  That’s wild.  Jiminy Crickets, let’s go,’” he told reporters.

That said, it was 1-1 after regulation.  Drat, mused your editor.

But fourth-line winger Barclay Goodrow, who had four goals in 80 games in the regular season, came up with the game-winner for New York at 14:01 of OT with a super sweet shot that beat Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.  It was Goodrow’s fourth goal of the playoffs!

Entering Friday’s game, Florida had won 11 straight overtime games in the playoffs, eight of them on the road.

And then today, it was nuts down in Sunrise, FL.  The Panthers scored first, early, the Rangers answered with two goals in 25 seconds, Panthers tied it, and it was 2-2 after one.

In the second, the Rangers scored twice, 4-2 after two, as both Barclay Goodrow and Alexis Lafreniere had two goals apiece for the game, Lafreniere’s second absolutely brilliant, and Goodrow with his sixth of the playoffs on a shorthanded goal.  Unreal.

And then in the third, the Panthers scored twice to tie it at 4-4...14:00 to play...holy [Toledo]!

And we go to overtime again...Igor Shesterkin saving the Rangers with spectacular saves.

And the Rangers win it in OT....Alex Wennberg....wow.  Game 4 Tuesday.

--In the Western Conference finals, Edmonton won Game 1 in Dallas, 3-2, as superstar Connor McDavid scored just 32 seconds into double overtime.

Game 2 was Saturday in Big D...and the Stars flipped the script, 3-1, evening the series at 1-1. Game 3 Monday night in Edmonton.

NBA Playoffs

--In Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, Dallas got a combined 63 points from Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to sneak past the Timberwolves in Minneapolis, 108-105, Anthony Edwards with just 19 points.

And then Friday night in Game 2, Doncic (32 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists) hit a dramatic 3-pointer from the top of the key with 0:03 left over NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert for the 109-108 win.  Mavs up 2-0.

Edwards, who was labeled as the NBA’s next great American superstar, came up small again, 21 points on putrid 5 of 17 shooting from the field.

‘Ant Man’ is just 17 of 57 his last three games, including 9 of 29 from three.  That’s not superstar material.

Game 3 tonight in Dallas.

--In the Eastern Conference finals, Boston went up 2-0 over Indiana with a dominant 126-110 win Thursday night, Jaylen Brown with 40 points. Tyrese Haliburton left the game early with a hamstring injury.  Would he be available for Game 3 Saturday in Indianapolis?

No, Haliburton was out, but the Pacers built up an 18-point third quarter lead, only to blow it, 114-111. 

Boston cut the lead to 93-90 with 8:30 to play, but then Indiana hung tough, as Andrew Nembhard had 32 points, while T.J. McConnell added 23.

McConnell’s field goal at 2:38 made it 109-101, but he was super cocky after the shot and wouldn’t you know, the Pacers choked, just like in Game 1, as veteran guard Jrue Holiday came up big for the Celts, with a 3-point play that put Boston up 112-111, and then a steal with 3.3 seconds left, preventing Indiana from attempting a go-ahead shot, his two free throws with 1.7 seconds left accounting for the final score.

Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 36 points and hauled down 10 rebounds, Jaylen Brown had 24, and Al Horford 23, including 7 of 12 from 3.

The Celtics can complete the sweep Monday night in Indy.

--The Cleveland Cavaliers fired J.B. Bickerstaff after 4 ½ years as head coach.

--I got a kick out of the comments of former NBA official Bill Spooner, who in a conversation with The Athletic opened up about Warriors point guard Chris Paul – who has a well-known feud with veteran referee Scott Foster.

“I’m going to tell you, and I know you are recording me, but I get asked all the time: ‘Who are some of the tough guys, some of the bad guys?’  And when I tell them that Chris Paul, in my 32 years in the league, was one of the biggest assholes I ever dealt with, they say, ‘Not Rasheed Wallace...or da-da-da?’  Nope.  Nothing like (Paul).

“And they are like, ‘Oh, he seems like such a nice guy.’ And I say, ‘Yeah, he’s a great image cultivator.’”

Well, long-time readers know what I think of fellow Wake Forest Demon Deacon Paul.  He cost us a Final Four appearance, if not an NCAA title, through his assholedom in a final regular season game against N.C. State, that ended up costing us a No. 1 seed and we would lose in the NCAA Tournament as a 2-seed to a very tough West Virginia team we shouldn’t have faced.

And yet every Wake fan I know, of my generation, gives him a pass.  Bill Spooner totally nailed it!  CP3 is the ultimate ‘image cultivator.’

WNBA

Caitlin Clark won her first game Friday night for the Indiana Fever, 78-73 over the Los Angeles Sparks in a packed Crypto.com Arena, some 19,103.

Clark went into the fourth quarter with only five points and she’d missed her first seven 3-point attempts.  But she hit two big threes down the stretch.  Clark finished with 11 points on 4 for 14 shooting, but she did have eight assists and 10 rebounds.

The 1-5 Fever then took on the Las Vegas Aces Saturday night in Vegas and Clark was a non-factor, 8 points on 2 of 8 shooting, six turnovers, the Fever losing 99-80.

For her first seven games, Clark is shooting just 37.1% from the field and 31.6% from 3.

Earlier in the week, Clark signed a big contract with Wilson Sporting Goods, which announced it will release a signature basketball collection for Clark with the intension of “celebrating Clark’s continued legacy.”  Financial details were not given.  But this is after her big Nike deal.

MLB

--Thursday, Pittsburgh rookie sensation Paul Skenes threw six innings of one-run ball, but it ended up being a no-decision as the Giants came back to defeat the Pirates 7-6, overcoming a 5-1 deficit.

Skenes, who threw 93 pitches, only struck out 3, though this was seen as a great sign.  He was effective.  His fastball velocity was down to 98.6 from 99.7 in his first two starts and it didn’t matter. That’s maturation...already.  He registered four first-pitch outs between the fourth and sixth innings.

--So, I started with the Pirates game because the Giants then moved on Friday to play the Mets at Citi Field, and San Francisco again staged a late comeback to deal the Mets another crushing loss, 8-7, storming back after trailing 6-2 in the eighth.

The Giants scored five runs in the top of the inning off Reid Garrett, who at one point just a week ago was one of the 3 or 4 best relievers in the league with a 5-0 record and 0.72 ERA, and now has losses in his last two appearances, ERA up to 2.67.

Since May 17, Mets relievers, their strongest unit, have allowed 13 earned runs in 18 2/3 (6.79 ERA), after having a 2.99 bullpen ERA before May 17, tops in the NL and third in MLB behind the Yankees and the Guardians.

The Mets have lost nine of 11, and after Friday’s game, owner Steve Cohen, aka Uncle Stevie, wrote on X: “What a stretch, mind boggling, I know how disheartening this is for our fans.  Ty for caring so much.”

Yes, us incredibly loyal Mets fans do care.  I watch every freakin’ game (except West Coast affairs) and like many of you live and die with them.  You might call us idiots.

And we were watching Saturday afternoon, as Edwin Diaz blew his third straight save, allowing a run in the ninth, Giants tying it 2-2, the game going to extra innings, where the Giants promptly won it, 7-2, the Mets wasting seven sterling innings from Luis Severino and going 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

The Mets started the season 0-5, then won 12 of 15, and are now 9-22 their last 31, the worst team in baseball over that stretch.

But...they scored 3 in the bottom of the ninth for a dramatic 4-3 win this afternoon.  #LGFM!

--As for the Yankees and their spoiled fans (lingering bitterness from the jealous Mets faithful), going back to Thursday, New York beat the Mariners 5-0 as Luis Gil threw 6 1/3 and moved to 6-1, 2.11. This is the guy who replaced Gerrit Cole...as in job well done!

The Yanks then flew out to San Diego, the return of Juan Soto, and he was booed, but Soto doubled and homered (No. 14), while Aaron Judge (No. 16) and Giancarlo Stanton (No. 13) also went yard, the Yanks with another shutout, 8-0 Friday, behind Carlos Rodon’s six strong, Rodon now 6-2, 2.95, a super comeback for him after his disastrous 2023 Yankee debut.

The Yanks are 17-5 in May.

Make that 18-5, New York with a 4-1 win Saturday night, Aaron Judge homering for his fourth straight game (11 in 19), Anthony Volpe extending his hitting streak to 18, Marcus Stroman (4-2, 2.76) with six shutout innings.

Forget Shohei Ohtani and talk of his extra-base hit pace (he has 32 at the 54-game mark, and a hamstring issue), Judge now has 35...17 homers and 18 doubles!  [Ergo, a 105 pace.]

The 37-17 Yankees start is their third-best through 54 games since 1956.  Judge is the first player in the majors since at least 1901 with 11 homers and 12 doubles in a 20-game stretch.

But the Yanks lost Sunday, 5-2.

The Padres’ Xander Bogaerts is out indefinitely with a fracture in his left shoulder.  He was off to a poor start, .204 through his first 40 games, but he had heated up of late.

--Philadelphia is an MLB-best 38-15 after an 8-4 win, Saturday in Colorado, Bryce Harper with his 13th homer, four RBIs.

But the Phils lost today, 5-2, as Ranger Suarez suffered his first loss, 9-1, 1.75, having yielded 4 earned in six innings.

--The Reds (23-30) completed a sweep of the Dodgers (33-22) in Cincinnati today, 4-1, as the $325 million man, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, fell to 5-2, 3.51.

--Atlanta’s Chris Sale is now 8-1, 2.12, after seven strong, one run, the Braves (30-20) defeating the Pirates (25-29) 8-1 Sunday.

--The Royals’ Seth Lugo is now a rather stunning 8-1, 1.74, after throwing seven innings of one-run ball in K.C.’s 8-1 win over the Rays Friday night in St. Pete.

College Baseball

--The ACC Tournament was big for Wake Forest and the Demon Deacons whipped Pitt in the first game Wednesday, 8-1, and then Friday night, we had a game for the ages, what everyone involved, including the broadcasters on the ACC Network, called one of the best big-time college baseball games they had ever seen.

The Deacs sent ace Chase Burns to the mound against No. 1-seed North Carolina’s potent offense and Burns, as he has been all season, was sterling, six innings, no runs, six hits, two walks and 15 strikeouts!  [Giving him 184 Ks in 95 innings!  And this is against Top 25 competition almost every week.]

But Burns had thrown 106 pitches and his night was over, Wake up 4-0.  Flipping back-and-forth with the Rangers game, I was on pins and needles knowing Wake’s bullpen is, shall we say, hideous.

The Deacs promptly yielded 3 runs in the bottom of the seventh, 2 more in the eighth, and going to the top of the ninth, it was 5-4 UNC.

Wake needed to win this game in the worst way to send a note to the NCAA Selection Committee that we could still be deserving of hosting a regional next weekend.  Right now, we were a 2-seed, according to the projections.

So in the top of the ninth, Nick Kurtz, with two outs and a runner on first, drilled a ball deep into right-center field, doubling in the tying run.

But Wake’s pen still had to get the job done to send it into extra innings.

And we did...and it was then 5-5 after 10 innings, and after 11 innings,

And then Kurtz blasted a titanic home run to the opposite field, a 2-run shot, the Deacs added two more, and it was 9-5 headed into the bottom of the 12th.

That’s when Michael Massey entered the game, he struck out the side, and Wake had an amazing 9-5 victory to send us into the semifinals against 5-seed Florida State on Saturday.

The Wake bullpen shutout the powerful Tar Heels the last four innings.  Kurtz came through twice like the true superstar he is, and Chase Burns did as well.  For good reason, Burns and Kurtz locked up their top ten selections in the upcoming draft.

Only one problem.  The game ended at 12:15 a.m. (yes, I stayed up), and the Deacs were facing FSU at 1:00 p.m.  Wake had also used 10 pitchers!  Uh oh.

And it wasn’t to be.  Wake was clearly tired, with shortstop Marek Houston uncharacteristically struggling in the field, and the Deacs lost 9-6, starter Josh Hartle with another lousy performance, though he was victimized by the sloppy play and some cheap hits...5 1/3, 5 earned.  No dramatics from Kurtz, and the Deacs now await what bracket for the NCAA Tournament they are going to be a 2-seed in...no chance of hosting a regional.

Duke, however, has a shot at hosting, 8-2 winners over Miami last night in their semifinal.

So 5-seed FSU vs. 6-seed Duke for the ACC Championship.

And Ken P.’s Blue Devils kicked the Seminoles’ butts, 16-4.  Duke is in line to host a regional now.

--The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is Monday at noon, ET, ESPN2.

Golf Balls

--Scottie Scheffler is clearly going to get all the charges in his case dismissed, or maybe pay a minimal fine, if that.

The Louisville detective who arrested Scheffler at the PGA Championship last week violated department policy by not turning on his body camera, the city police chief and mayor said Thursday.

The department released a video of the arrest taken from other cameras, but Mayor Craig Greenberg said they aren’t aware of any footage that captures the initial interaction between Scheffler and the detective as his scheduled arraignment was postponed to early June.

The chief of Louisville Metro Police Department said that Detective Bryan Gillis had violated two policies by not turning on his body camera during the encounter and that Gillis had been “counseled by his supervisor” and received a performance observation form, which was in line with department disciplinary protocols.

Scheffler then struggled in his opening round at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, Texas, a two-over 72, his first opening round over par of the season, which included his first triple bogey of the year.

But then he fired a 65 in the second round and trailed leader Davis Riley by seven, Riley -10.

Saturday, I was watching the Mets and the Wake Forest-Florida State game when I saw the headline about the passing of golfer Grayson Murray at the age of 30.

I put CBS’ coverage of the Charles Schwab Challenge on and Jim Nantz and Trevor Immelman were talking normally about the action on the course.

After both games were over I went back to CBS and it was at 5:18 p.m. that Nantz started talking about Murray.  It turns out CBS had opened its coverage with a statement from Commissioner Jay Monahan on the tragedy.

Webb Simpson and Peter Malnati, both members of the PGA Tour Policy Board, then gave emotional interviews to Amanda Balionis.  There were players on the course who did not know until they completed their rounds.

“We were devastated to learn – and are heartbroken to share – that PGA Tour player Grayson Murray passed away this morning,” Monahan said in his statement.  “I am at a loss for words. The PGA Tour is a family, and when you lose a member of your family, you are never the same.

“We mourn Grayson and pray for comfort for his loved ones.  I reached out to Grayson’s parents to offer our deepest condolences, and during that conversation, they asked that we continue with tournament play. They were adamant that Grayson would want us to do so.

“As difficult as it will be, we want to respect their wishes. The PGA Tour has grief counselors available at both tournament sites, as well as virtually for those not in the field.”

Monahan then flew to Colonial to be on site.

Murray won the Sony Open this past January as well as the Barbasol Championship in 2017.

He has been very open about battling depression and alcohol issues throughout his career and said in 2023 that he had gotten sober.

“I just thought I was a failure,” he said.  “I thought I had a lot of talent that was just a waste of talent.”

No details were given, but it was significant that Jim Nantz used the word “tormented” to describe Murray and his demons.

Murray shot a 68 in the opening round, but in the second, he was two over when he made three straight bogeys at holes 14-16 and told his playing partners, Adam Schenk and Malnati, that he was withdrawing, citing illness.

Immediately after his Sony Open in Hawaii in January, an emotional Murray said, “It’s not easy. I wanted to give up a lot of times. Give up on myself. Give up on the game of golf. Give up on life, at times.”

He also praised his fiancée and Jesus and said, “When you get tired of fighting, let someone else fight for you. ...I hope everyone at home watching can get a little inspiration from it. If I can just help one person, that’s all it takes... I knew today was not going to change my life, but it did change my career, and I’m excited.”

I noted in my column of 1/15/24, following the Sony Open:

“That he won at the Sony was fitting as it was the site of one of his lowest points. Three years ago, at this very tournament, Murray was involved in an incident at a hotel bar where many of the players stayed, and the Tour placed him on probation.

“ ‘Why was I drunk?’ he posted on social media.  ‘Because I’m an alcoholic that hates everything to do with the PGA Tour life and that’s my scapegoat.’”

“He regained exempt status on the PGA Tour this season after winning twice on the Korn Ferry Tour last year and set out to treat his return to the big leagues as a new beginning.  Mission accomplish...so far...”

On Saturday, Murray’s caddie, Jay Green, told Golf Channel, “Grayson was the absolute best.  Not only was he an incredible, thoughtful and generous boss, he was an even better friend.  He truly would do anything for anyone.”

Murray won three consecutive Junior World championships and was the top-ranked player in his age group. The Raleigh, N.C., native captured a state title in high school and then played for three different universities – Wake Forest, East Carolina and Arizona State.

Sunday morning, Murray’s parents issued a statement and revealed it was suicide.  They also added, “please honor Grayson by being kind to one another.”

So, they played golf today and Davis Riley’s lead had been cut to four after three rounds, and there was Scottie Scheffler.

Riley -14
Scheffler -10

But Riley closed the deal as Scheffler hit some awful shots, Riley’s second career win and a game-changer for his career.

Riley -14
Scheffler -9
Keegan Bradley -9
Collin Morikawa -8

For a non-signature event...good entertainment.

--Going back to last Wednesday, Stanford won its second NCAA Women’s Golf Championship in three years.

--In the Men’s Championship...they are playing the third round, meaning the top 15 teams qualify for tomorrow, and then it’s the top eight in match play.  The individual title will be decided Monday.

Separately, Michael Thorbjornsen picked up a PGA Tour card for taking the top spot in the PGA Tour University rankings over Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht, who had to pull out of the championship after one round owing to back soreness, which eliminated him from a shot at No. 1 Thorbjornsen of Stanford.

He gets the card for the rest of 2024 and all of 2025, which is a great new system, designed to keep some top players in fold rather than being tempted to go to LIV.

Those who finish in the No. 2-5 positions in PGA Tour U earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for the rest of this season and are exempt into the final stage of PGA Tour Q School in the fall.

Last year, Ludvig Aberg of Texas Tech earned the Tour card, wrapping it up before the NCAAs, and then parlayed that into winning the 2023 RMS Classic and playing for the winning European Ryder Cup side.

NCAA Settlement

If ever there was a classic case of my dictum ‘wait 24 hours,’ this is it.  So many unanswered questions and massive implications across the landscape, including Title IX issues.

But for starters, some comments from the New York Times’ Billy Witz to set the scene:

“Since its founding, the NCAA has operated with a business model that defined the college athlete as an amateur.  Over the years, as college sports evolved into a mega-enterprise, lawsuits and labor actions chipped away at that model, which came to be increasingly seen as exploitative in big-money sports like football and men’s basketball.

“But the NCAA’s $2.8 billion settlement on Thursday night in a class-action antitrust lawsuit represents the heaviest blow – and perhaps a decisive one – to that system.

“If approved by a U.S. district judge in California, the settlement would allow for the creation of the first revenue-sharing plan for college athletics, a landmark shift in which schools would directly pay their athletes for playing.

“This sea change, though, also carries its own questions, according to critics. Those include whether women would be compensated fairly, whether smaller conferences would bear a disproportionate burden of the settlement and whether this framework would do anything to limit the power of collectives – the booster-funded groups that entice players with payments to hopscotch from school to school.

“ ‘It’s both a historic and deeply flawed agreement,’ said Michael H. LeRoy, a law professor at the University of Illinois.  ‘The idea that schools are paying millions of dollars to the people who are selling the TV contracts and filling the seats – that’s good. But it closes one Pandora’s box and opens four or five others.’”

The Suit, House v. NCAA, by the way, is named for the former Arizona State swimmer Grant House, a plaintiff.

“In settling the case, the NCAA sought to avoid a catastrophic judgment and ward off the steady drumbeat of antitrust lawsuits that have hampered the organization’s ability to make even the most basic of rules.

“Had the suit gone to trial, the NCAA and the major conferences that were names as co-defendants – the Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12 – would have feared a potential price tag exceeding $4 billion....

“ ‘The settlement, though undesirable in many respects and promising only temporary stability, is necessary to avoid what would be the bankruptcy of college athletics,’ the Rev. John I. Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, said in a statement.  He called on Congress to pre-empt a patchwork of state laws, to establish that athletes are not employees and, with an antitrust exemption, to allow schools a freer hand to make rules.”

The settlement has two basic components: back pay from name, image and licensing revenue that were denied to players before the rule change three years ago, including revenue from football broadcast rights; and a framework for paying athletes for those rights going forward.

But no one knows today who will get paid and how much. 

There are three classes of plaintiffs: major conference football and men’s basketball, women’s basketball in the major conferences, and everyone else.

Going forward, the settlement means that schools could set aside about $20 million to pay their athletes as soon as the 2025 football season.

But it’s up to the schools who to pay it to.  As Billy Witz offers:

“Does Michigan, for example, want to sprinkle money among its lacrosse and cross-country teams, or plow almost all of the money into football and basketball?  And will Title IX require the money to be distributed equally among men and women?”

The thing is the settlement is being largely subsidized by the schools that do not participate in big-time football. The 27 Division I conferences that are not named in the lawsuit are being required to pay $990 million of the settlement through NCAA distributions from the men’s basketball tournament that will be withheld over a 10-year period.

“It feels like the NCAA is bailing out the biggest spenders, and conferences like ours are paying for the majority of the settlement,” Robin Harris, the executive director of the Ivy League, said.  “The Ivy League isn’t under attack in these suits, and we’re bearing the costs from the majority who are, so it’s frustrating.”

The NCAA Board of Governors approved the settlement agreement on Wednesday night by a vote of 8 to 0 with one abstention.

So to sum up from what we know today....

Former athletes will be compensated for prior restrictions on NIL income.

Power Four schools (now that the Pac-12 no longer exists) could pay athletes $20 million annually (or more) with a new revenue-sharing deal.

Scholarship limits could be lifted while roster sizes get reduced.

Group of Five schools and non-revenue sports could struggle to stay afloat.

The NCAA will be responsible for paying 40% of the $2.8 billion settlement.

The other 60% will be funded by reducing revenue sharing with the Division I conferences.

Those 32 leagues will see a total of $1.6 billion in lost revenue over the next decade.

You can see how it will be exceedingly difficult for the non-power conferences to recruit given the power conferences will have all the advantages, even more so than today.

And the Big Ten and SEC, specifically, are the big winners again...which will only amp up efforts from the likes of, say, Florida State, to exit the ACC.

The television contracts going forward for the likes of the Big Ten are even more massively important.

But Title IX looms, and an unspoken truth is that administrators are unlikely to advocate for equal pay for athletes whose sports earn less than football and men’s basketball.

All of this will take time to develop.  The big games will still be played and we will watch them.  There will be increasing efforts to have the Power Four break away from the rest of the NCAA to hold their own championships for football and basketball (in the latter case, at least a Power Five assuming the Big East would be included)...all to be worked out.

The whole thing makes my head hurt.  And through it all, of course, nothing about academics.

--Meanwhile, the hype surrounding Colorado under coach Deion Sanders isn’t slowing down heading into the 2024 season. For the second year in a row, the Buffaloes have sold out their season ticket allotment, the school announced this week.

Before Coach Prime’s arrival, Colorado went nearly 30 years between season ticket sellouts, last doing so in 1996 – the final year of a seven-year sellout streak that started in 1990.

On the field, though, last year’s 4-8 was the program’s 16th losing season in the past 18 years.

NASCAR

--Going back to last week’s All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fined $75,000 by NASCAR for fighting with Kyle Busch.  Stenhouse’s father, who joined the fracas, was suspended indefinitely.

It was the largest fine ever handed down by NASCAR for fighting.  Busch was not penalized.

The two tangled on the first lap and then Busch seemed to deliberately wreck Stenhouse on the second lap, Ricky forced to retire.

After the race, Stenhouse confronted members of Busch’s crew and then Kyle, landing a right hook on Busch with a melee then breaking out involving members of both teams. Stenhouse’s father, who has no affiliation with the team, then went after Busch, throwing punches.

Stenhouse in the fight vowed to wreck Busch this Sunday during the Coca-Cola 600.

“Bring it,” Busch replied.  “I suck as bad as you,” implying that both drivers are not having great seasons, neither having won a race this year.

Some of NASCAR’s stars pushed back on Stenhouse receiving such a large fine.

Chase Elliott said this week he was stunned to learn of the amount.

“That seems like a lot for that situation,” Elliott said.  “You are going to fine him, but you are going to promote with it?  Like, what are we doing? That’s a little strange to me. ...That’s a lot of money to fine a guy.  It’s like, ‘it’s not OK, but we are going to blast it all over everything to get more clicks.’”

Daniel Suarez posted on X: “If it’s so wrong then why is it all over NASCAR social channels?  We should be allowed to show our emotions, I don’t get it.”

Of course every good NASCAR fan also knows that Kyle Busch is an a-hole.

--NASCAR selected Ricky Rudd, Carl Edwards and Ralph Moody as members of the Hall of Fame Class of 2025.

Rudd posted 23 wins in his 32-year Cup Series career, winning six races for his Rudd Performance Motorsports team he operated from 1994-99, including the 1997 Brickyard 400.  He was the 1977 Cup Series Rookie of the Year and scored at least one win in 16 consecutive seasons (1983-1998), which is tied for the third-longest streak in history.

Edwards, over 13 years in the Cup Series, won 28 races, including the Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500, both in 2015.  He was the championship runner-up twice, losing by a tiebreaker in 2011.  His retirement at the early age of 37 following the 2016 season was a huge blow to the sport.  He was very popular.

Ralph Moody, after driving a tank under the command of Gen. George S. Patton in World War II, wound up in NASCAR and won five Cup Series races from 1956-57.

The mechanically skilled Moody teamed up with business-minded John Holman to form Holman-Moody Racing in 1957, which competed from 1957-73 winning consecutive championships with David Pearson (1968-69) and taking the checkered flag with Mario Andretti at the 1967 Daytona 500. 

Among the other drivers who raced for the team were Joe Weatherly, Fred Lorenzen, Fireball Roberts and Bobby Allison.  The Holman-Moody partnership earned 96 wins in 525 premier starts.

Also entering the Hall for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR was Dr. Dean Sicking, who, following the death of Dale Earnhardt in 2001, was an inventor of the SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barrier, an advancement that has saved countless lives over the past 20 years.  All NASCAR national series race tracks now feature SAFER barriers.

Stuff

--Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc held off race-long pressure from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri to win the Monaco Grand Prix on his home turf.  Leclerc was born and raised in Monaco.  Big win for Ferrari and Leclerc’s teammate, Carlos Sainz, took third.

As in no Max Verstappen on the podium, and that is good for the sport.

Leclerc’s girlfriend (or wife) is rather stunning, but then this is a most glamorous sport.

--In a stunner in the FA Cup finale, Manchester United beat Manchester City, 2-1, as manager Erik ten Hag, supposedly about to get fired by United’s new owner, got his boys to play inspired football.

In the Scottish FA Cup, Celtic downed rival Rangers on a dramatic 90th-minute winner from Adam Idah for the 1-0 win.

--Southampton beat Leeds in the Championship playoff final today to secure an immediate return to the Premier League and the $177 million to go with it.

The Saints are joined in promotion by Leicester and Ipswich.

--Chelsea parted ways with coach Mauricio Pochettino after just one season, which I found a bit surprising because Chelsea was on fire at the end of the Premier League season and managed to finish sixth.

But that’s not anywhere near Chelsea’s high standards after the club spent $1.27 billion on new players. Ownership expected quicker progress given the significant investment.

--Japanese competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi, the six-time Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest champion, announced his retirement from the sport due to rising health concerns.

Kobayashi, 46, said decades of overeating for sport has left him with no appetite or no sensation of fullness, which his wife has said has caused him to go days without eating anything at all.

Kobayashi needs to eat Black Bear hot dogs, available only at ShopRite.  And they’re good grilled or boiled, boys and girls.

--A British climber and his guide, a Kenyan banker, and a Nepalese climber are dead, and one other guide remained missing Friday following multiple incidents this week including an ice collapse on Mount Everest.

But did you see the crowd at the top?!  Unfreakin’ real...and insane.  No wonder people fall off more frequently than before.

--We note the passing of Richard M. Sherman, 95.  Richard and brother Robert Sherman were hired by Walt Disney himself to be full-time staff songwriters at his Burbank studio in 1960 and the rest is history.

The Sherman brothers were the ideal match for Disney’s family-film factory, where they built a career creating what Richard Sherman once described as “upbeat, spirited, happy songs that make people feel good.”

They won two Oscars for “Mary Poppins” – best score and best song, the haunting “Chim Chim Cher-ee.”

The brothers wrote dozens of songs for Disney TV productions and movies such as “The Parent Trap,” “The Absent-Minded Professor,” “Summer Magic,” “That Darn Cat!,” “The Jungle Book,” “The Aristocats, “ and “Winnie the Pooh” cartoons.

They also penned the theme song for Disney’s TV show “The Wonderful World of Color” as well as the unforgettable – in ways both good and bad – “It’s a Small World (After All).”

Top 3 songs for the week 5/24/86:  #1 “Greatest Love Of All” (Whitney Houston) #2 “Live To Tell” (Madonna)  #3 “On My Own” (Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald)...and...#4 “West End Girls” (Pet Shop Boys)  #5 “If You Leave” (Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark)  #6 “What Have You Done For Me Lately” (Janet Jackson)  #7 “Take Me Home” (Phil Collins)  #8 “Bad Boy” (Miami Sound Machine)  #9 “I Can’t Wait” (Nu Shooz)  #10 “All I Need Is A Miracle” (Mike & The Mechanics...D week...)

Baseball Draft Quiz Answer: Eight to be No. 1 overall draft pick and hit 300 home runs....

Bryce Harper...318...2010 / WSN
Justin Upton...325...2005 / ARI
Adrian Gonzalez...317...2000 / FLA
Alex Rodriguez...696...1993 / SEA
Chipper Jones...468...1990 / ATL
Ken Griffey Jr. ...630...1987 / SEA
Darryl Strawberry...335...1980 / NYM
Harold Baines...384...1977 / CHW

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tues.

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