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Bar Chat

07/22/2024

Xander Schauffele is The Open Champion

Add-on posted very early Tuesday a.m.

MLB

--After I posted Sunday, the Dodgers hosted the Red Sox in the ESPN game, L.A. blasting six home runs in a 9-6 win, with Shohei Ohtani hitting one out of Dodger Stadium! 473 feet, 116.7 mph off the bat.

Through Sunday’s play, Ohtani has 30 home runs, 70 RBIs, .315 BA, 1.039 OPS, 78 runs scored.

In the American League, Aaron Judge had 35 HR, 89 RBI, .309, 1.116, with 75 runs.  Two all-time seasons thus far.

Back to the game, Boston starter Kutter Crawford, after allowing one earned his last 20 innings over three starts, gave up five of the Dodgers’ home runs.

--Monday afternoon...the Yankeess earned a split of their 4-game series with the Rays, 9-1, Juan Soto with another big game, two home runs, a double and 4 RBIs.

Carlos Rodon, after allowing a staggering 29 earned runs in his last 27 innings (six starts), threw 7 innings, one run, Rodon now 10-7, 4.42.

--Monday night the Mets completed their 4-game series with the Marlins in Miami before a late flight home for two games against the Yankees, Tuesday and Wednesday at The Stadium.  This was a must win, the lowly Marlins having taken two of the first three.

Prior to the contest, I just have to reemphasize what a loser Pete Alonso has been for a Mets team he keeps professing his love for, as in he wants to stay in New York, being a pending free agent.

With the Mets in the wild card hunt today, however, knowing they can’t get anything for Pete at the trade deadline, they’ll keep him.

But the guy has a .213 batting average with runners in scoring position batting mostly out of the cleanup spot. He has two home runs in 67 at-bats this month, and he’s supposed to be a premier slugger.

And as the New York Post pointed out, it doesn’t help when the saccharine Alonso says things like: “I feel like I have done a great job of commanding the strike zone.  I feel like I’m swinging at quality pitches... I feel like I’m in a really good spot right now.”

So would a guy who hasn’t had a classic Alonso ‘hot streak’ all season bust out Monday in a must-have contest?

Top of the first, first and third, one out, up he comes...and hits into a double play.

But the Mets hang on for the win, 6-4, Edwin Diaz with problems in the bottom of the ninth but a ‘save’.

The Metsies now face Luis Gil and Gerrit Cole...they had success against both earlier.

--The Royals beat the Diamondbacks Monday in K.C., 10-4, as Bobby Witt Jr. continued his amazing streak at the plate since the All-Star break. Witt had his fourth consecutive three-hit game (12-for-15), a double, triple and home run, his average up to .341.  [Cleveland’s Steven Kwan leading the AL at .343]

--The Dodgers’ River Ryan made his major league debut on the mound against the Giants, 5 1/3, 0 earned, L.A. winning 3-2 at Dodger Stadium.

Clayton Kershaw is slated to make his season debut Thursday.

--Cincinnati beat the Braves in Atlanta, 4-1.  The Braves had to put Ozie Albies on the IL with a fractured wrist, suffered in Sunday’s game, Albies out a projected two months, a day after placing starter Max Fried on the IL.

Atlanta is already without reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. (torn ACL) since late May and ace Spencer Strider (Tommy John surgery).

--NL Wild Card Standings through Monday....

Atlanta 54-45...+3
St. Louis 52-48...+0.5
New York 51-48...--
Pittsburgh 51-49...0.5
San Diego 52-50...0.5
Arizona 51-50...1

Stuff

--In next Sunday’s Bar Chat, I’m going to get into the FedEx Cup playoffs, which are imminent, and the sudden race for Golfer of the Year...but I’m tying it to a quiz so nothing more now.

I do have to say, in looking back at Sunday’s finale at Royal Troon, Billy Horschel really does deserve a ton of credit for finishing birdie, birdie, birdie to tie Justin Rose for second.  That’s a gamer, and he’s highly likable.

And Horschel made some money those last three holes.

1st – Schauffele...$3,100,000
T2 – Rose...$1,443,500
T2 – Horschel...$1,443,500

--In the alternative field event, the Barracuda Championship out in Truckee, California, that finished up Sunday evening (ET), an event employing the Stableford scoring system, 20-year-old Nick Dunlap won it, his second title of the year after winning at The American Express back in January as an amateur!

It’s funny. Dunlap, turning pro after that first win, then didn’t make the cut at The Masters, the PGA, and the U.S. Open, but while a minor event, the Barracuda win moves him into the FedEx Cup playoff field at No. 64, from 95 (the top 70 making the first round of the three-round championship).

--Oscar Piastri secured his maiden Formula One victory Sunday in the Hungarian Grand Prix, McLaren’s second win of the year (teammate Lando Norris with the other).  It was a messy situation between the teammates that was mismanaged, but all good.

More importantly, this is the third straight race that Max Verstappen didn’t win. George Russell won the Austrian Grand Prix and Lewis Hamilton the British GP, both racing for Mercedes.

So Verstappen has now been shut out of the winner’s circle six times this season, out of 13 races.

In 2023, he won 19 of 22 races, teammate Sergio Perez with two of the other three for Red Bull Racing.

In 2022, Verstappen won 15 of 22.

--Kyle Larson won NASCAR’s Brickyard 400, two months after racing in the Indy 500, Larson winning on the second overtime restart after taking the white flag before NASCAR officials threw a yellow flag for a Ryan Preece crash.  Larson winning under caution, besting Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney.  [Bubba Wallace fifth, one of his better efforts this season.]

For Larson it was career win No. 27.

--After the NBA inked a new media rights agreement valued at $76 billion over 11 years with Disney, NBC Universal and Amazon, Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT exercised its matching rights in a last-ditch effort to keep games on the cable network.

Warner didn’t specify which bid it proposes to match, but reports say it’s Amazon Prime Video’s segment.

The NBA is now reviewing Warner’s proposal.

The new package doesn’t take effect until after the coming season.

--For the archives, Slovenian Tadej Pogacar joined rare company Sunday in winning his third Tour de France (by age 25). Two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard finished second.

--We note the passing of Abdul “Duke” Fakir, the last surviving member of The Four Tops. He was 88.  Fakir died at his home in Detroit.

The four members of the group, Fakir, Levi Stubbs, Renaldo “Obie” Benson and Lawrence Payton formed in the late 1950s and eventually struck it big in the early 1960s.

They continued to play together as a group until Payton’s death in 1997.  Benson and Stubbs died in 2005 and 2008, respectively.

Next Bar Chat, Sunday p.m.

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[Posted early Sunday p.m.]

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.

Track and Field Quiz: 1) Name the world record holder in the following events on the track and try to guess the record time...men’s 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m. 2) Who holds the women’s world record in the 100m and 200m.  Answers below.

Note: Sports fans...we were about 20 minutes or so from a true disaster this afternoon.  If President Biden had released his statement earlier, NBC would have had to break in to cover this momentous occasion and, unless Golf Channel had the wherewithal to seamlessly take over, us golf fans would have had to take to the streets to riot...I would have been part of the mob.  It would have rivaled the “Heidi” game.

The Open Championship...from the beginning....

The weather was up in Thursday’s opening round at Royal Troon in Scotland, the kind of rainy, cold conditions golf fans love to watch but don’t want to play in.

After eighteen....

Shane Lowry -5
Englishman Daniel Brown -5
Justin Thomas -3
Justin Rose and Xander Schauffler among those at -2
Scottie Scheffler, Adam Scott and Brooks Koepka in the group at -1

Tiger Woods +8, Cam Smith +9

Friday’s weather was better in terms of little rain, it was warmer, but the winds were up.

After 36 holes....

Lowry -7
Brown -5
Rose -5
Billy Horschel -2
Scheffler -2
Dean Burmester -2

Daniel Brown, 29, has one win on the European Tour, and was 61st last week at the Genesis Scottish Open, after missing the cut in six of his last seven tournaments going in.

--Among those missing the cut, which was at +6...Bryson DeChambeau +9, Will Zalatoris +7. Tommy Fleetwood +9, Ludvig Aberg +9, Tony Finau +10, Cam Smith +12, Rory McIlroy +11, Tiger +14, Tyrell Hatton +8, Viktor Hovland +10 and Wyndham Clark +16.

For his part, Tiger was fairly upbeat after, though his season is over until December and the Hero World Challenge.  He said he’s in much better physical shape, he just needs to play more and there is that tradeoff we’ve talked about...playing more risks injury.

I wish he’d play in a Fall Series event or two, but we will see if he expands his schedule a bit more next year.

Earlier in the week, though, Tiger had to deal with comments made by that all-time asshole, Colin Montgomerie.

“I hope people remember Tiger as Tiger was, the passion and the charismatic aura around him,” Monty said in an interview with The Times of London.  “There is none of that now.  At Pinehurst (for the U.S. Open), he did not seem to enjoy a single shot and you think, ‘What the hell is he doing?’  He’s coming to Troon, and he won’t enjoy it there either.”

Montgomerie later added, in response to Woods’ comments last month that his competitive days may be numbered, “Aren’t we there? I’d have thought we were past there.  There is a time for all sportsmen to say goodbye, but it’s very difficult to tell Tiger it’s time to go.  Obviously, he still feels he can win. We are more realistic.”

So, Tuesday at Troon, Woods, in his press conference, said he only tees it up when he thinks he can win.  “I’ll play as long as I can play and I feel like I can still win the event,” Woods said.

Then he issued this zinger.

“Well, as a past champion, I’m exempt. Colin’s not. He’s not a past champion, so he’s not exempt. So he doesn’t get the opportunity to make that decision. I do.”

Touche!

Look at Arnold Palmer, his last win on the PGA Tour was when he was 43, yet he kept playing, and appearing in majors in his 50s and 60s, and he’d draw the biggest galleries.  I know I saw him a few times in those days, and he was the one guy I wanted to follow.

We move on to the third round...and wow, it was great fun.  Those who went out early had perfect conditions, and Justin Thomas (67) and Adam Scott (66) took advantage of it to finish the round Even.  Knowing the weather was coming in, they sat back to see how much ground they had gained.

But others took advantage, too...Sam Burns (65) and Thriston Lawrence (65). [Lawrence, a 27-year-old South African with five international wins.]

By the time the leaders teed off, the weather was beginning to roll in, but after five holes, Shane Lowry had a 3-shot lead at -8.

And then Lowry and playing partner Daniel Brown went to the postage stamp, No. 8, put their tee shots in the pot bunker left, Brown bogeyed, Lowry doubled it, and the whole complexion of the tournament changed.

Lowry, Brown and Billy Horschel were tied at -6 at that point, Horschel thru 9, and it was a struggle the rest of the way.

What a fun Sunday it is going to be...great stories galore, and Billy Horschel on top!

Horschel -4
Rose -3
Brown -3
Lawrence -3
Burns -3
Russell Henley -3
Schauffele -3
Scheffler -2
Lowry -1
Thomas E
Scott E

I have to admit I kind of want Horschel, who was very public in saying last year he wished he could play more overseas, just to see different places and experience different conditions; Horschel talking about his hope this was part of any PGA Tour-LIV agreement. As in he would appreciate this title as much as anyone.

On to Sunday....

Jon Rahm, who started the day +2, was -4 for his first seven holes to get to -2.

Horschel went out and birdied the first, -5, and after a wayward drive on the 2nd, secured his par.

Justin Rose was at -4...and we were off and running.

After three holes....

Horschel -4
Rose -4
Lawrence -4
Scheffler -3
Schauffele -3...thru 4
Henley -3

And then....

Rose -5 thru 6
Lawrence -5 thru 5
Horschel -5 thru 5

Meanwhile, Shane Lowry, after an early bogey to fall back to Even, got four birdies in five holes to move to -4 after eight!
Schauffele -4 thru 6
Henley -4 thru 5
Scheffler -4 thru 8

Seven golfers within a shot.

We move on....They say the course starts on No. 9, and then 10-15 are a bear.

Lawrence, though, birdied 9... -7 (4-under on the front)
Rose -6 thru 10
Schauffele -5 thru 10
Horschel -5 thru 9

Schauffele birdies No. 11, the Rail Hole, the first to do so all day.  He’s -6.

And Xander birdies No. 13... -7
Lawrence bogeys 12... -6
Rose -5 thru 13
Henley -4 thru 12
Horschel -4 thru 12

Schauffele birdies par-3 14th... -8 (5-under for the round)

Lowry with a nice birdie on the long par-3 17th to get back to -4.

Schauffele pars No. 15... -8
Lawrence -6 thru 14
Rose -5 thru 15

Henley birdies 15 to move to -5.

Schauffele and Rose birdie the par-5 16th.

Schauffele -9
Rose -6
Lawrence -6 thru 15

And Schauffele closes the deal...his second major of the year, ninth win of his PGA Tour career.

Schauffele -9...65 final round!
Rose -7...67
Horschel -7...finishes with three birdies in a row...just his second top-5 in a major
Lawrence -6
Henley -5
Lowry -4
Rahm -1
Sungjae Im -1
Scheffler -1...very disappointing Sunday for him

Yes, the first time since 1982 that Americans swept the majors...which is really kind of incredible.

There is going to be some drama by the time we get to the FedEx Cup Finals between Scheffler and Schauffele.

--Congratulations to four old-timers for making the cut...Darren Clark, 55 (+15), Phil Mickelson, 54 (+11), Alex Cejka, 53 (+15) and Padraig Harrington, 52 (+1).

MLB

--The back half of the season is underway after the All-Star break, and as the Mets announcers said Friday night in Miami, you never know how pitchers will react after a long break.  In the case of the Mets, starter Sean Manaea, who had been pitching lights out recently, yielded 5 runs in 5 innings, the Mets (49-47) falling 6-4 to the 34-63 Marlins and moving backwards into a tie for the third wild card slot with Arizona; the Metsies wasting two home runs by struggling Jeff McNeil.

New York needed to bounce back immediately on Saturday...and they did, in a nailbiter, 1-0, as Luis Severino (7-3, 3.58) and three relievers, including closer Edwin Diaz, held the Marlins to 4 hits while striking out 13. Diaz looked terrific...a very good sign for the Mets down the stretch.

Sunday...the Metropolitans had another awful loss, 4-2, Miami having taken 5 of 9 against them this season...one more tomorrow night.  The offense, so good for New York going into the All-Star break, has shut down.  This blows.

--The Yankees got off to a good start, post break, 6-1 over the Rays at the Stadium Friday night, Gerrit Cole with his second straight strong outing, 6 innings, one run, 8 strikeouts, Cole now 3-1, 4.60.  He’s officially back.

Juan Soto went 4-for-4, 2 doubles, 3 runs scored...Anthony Volpe with a big 3 RBIs.

But Saturday, the Rays romped, 9-1, as Randy Arozarena clubbed two homers and a double.

The killer early on, though, was Rays backup catcher, Alex Jackson.  Jackson entered the game 7-for-85 from the plate (.082), and he proceeded to hit a 3-run homer in the fourth off starter, and loser, Nestor Cortes (4-9, 3.99).

Taj Bradley (5-4, 2.63) had seven sterling innings of one-hit ball for Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay then won Sunday, 6-4, despite Juan Soto’s three hits, and Aaron Judge’s 35th  home run, a 3-run shot.

--The Pirates finished Friday night at 49-48, just a ½-game back of the third wild card slot (kind of out of nowhere), Pittsburgh with a stirring 8-7 win over the Phillies (62-35) before the home fans (39,500 of them), the Buccos with two in the bottom of the ninth.

The Pirates have won five straight, 7 of 8.

Make it six straight, 8 of 9, as Pittsburgh beat Philadelphia 4-1; Luis Ortiz with seven shutout innings.

At least Philadelphia got J.T. Realmuto back after he had been out since June 9 following a procedure on his right knee.

And the Phillies took today’s game 6-0, Tyler Phillips with six scoreless.

--In a marquee series out in Los Angeles, the Dodgers (57-41) received an eighth-inning grand slam from Freddie Freeman (the seventh of his career), L.A., having lost 6 of 7 prior to the break, with an important 4-1 win over the Red Sox (53-43).

Saturday night the two teams played a thriller.  The Dodgers tied it at 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth on a Kike Hernandez homer off former Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, the two teams both scored two runs in the tenth, and then L.A. won it in the bottom of the eleventh, 7-6, on a Will Smith single.

Tyler O’Neill had two homers for Boston, including a 2-run shot in the tenth.

The two teams play Sunday night on the ESPN game.

--San Diego’s Dylan Cease had his second straight masterpiece Saturday, seven innings, one hit, 10 strikeouts, as the Padres shut out the Guardians 7-0.  Cease (9-8, 3.76) had yielded just one hit in six (11 Ks) his last time out against Atlanta.

--Speaking of Atlanta, they lost All-Star left-hander Max Fried to left forearm neuritis, whatever that is. [Inflammation of a nerve, is what it is.]  He’s on the 15-day IL (initially).

Fried, 7-5, 3.08, missed three months last year with a strained forearm.

--Former Met Seth Lugo pitched a complete game, 3-hitter, for the Royals against the White Sox this afternoon, K.C. winning 4-1, Lugo now 12-4, 2.38.

But Chicago is 27-74!   The 1962 Mets (who famously finished 40-120), were 26-75 after their first 101 games.  We do not want the White Sox beating this record.

Bazooka Joe says: “Former Wake Forest Demon Deacon Gavin Sheets had one of the three hits for the ChiSox!”

--Going back to Tuesday night, it was fun to see Paul Skenes open the All-Star game, and many of us enjoyed seeing Livvy Dunne.

Monday, I was channel flipping between the Home Run Derby and the Republican National Convention and missed Ingrid Andress’ rendition of the national anthem, live.  When I got to watch a tape of it, indeed, it was horrid.

And then Andress admitted the next day she was drunk while performing it and entered rehab as a result.  Oh brother.

The A.L. won its 10th in 11 All-Star Games, 5-3, with Jarren Duran taking MVP honors for his 2-run homer in the fifth that broke a 3-3 tie.

--Today was Hall of Fame Induction Day at Cooperstown for Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton, Joe Mauer and Jim Leyland.

The Mets announcers were talking about the mini-controversy over Helton’s selection, which I have zero problem with, but some do because he played his career in the thin air of Colorado, which boosted his numbers.

It’s true, Helton did hit .345 at home, but he still hit .287 on the road with an .855 OPS, which isn’t chopped liver.

But that got me just looking up two all-timers...Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. Their consistency is remarkable.

Mays...Home batting average, .302. Away, .301.
Aaron...Home, .304, Away, .306.

OK, I looked up one more...Ted Williams, because of the Fenway impact.

H: .361
A: .328

Don’t write me with other comparisons...I’m not that interested.

NBA

--Russell Westbrook was dealt from the L.A. Clippers to Denver, via Utah, with the Clippers receiving backup point guard Kris Dunn.

Westbrook, 35, is a shadow of his former MVP-self, but he can still be effective in spots.  It’s his sixth team in the last seven years.

--The Wizards selected 7-footer Alex Sarr with the second pick overall and he has gotten off to a brutal start, averaging 4.1 points on just 19.1 percent shooting from the field in four games in the summer league.  Tuesday, he actually went 0-for-15 from the field, missing all 7 shots from 3-point range.

--In an exhibition game prior to Paris, Team USA got a wake-up call, a 101-100 victory against South Sudan Saturday in London.

South Sudan, which has just two players on its roster with a little NBA experience and is mostly G League players, had a 16-point lead at one point and led 58-44 at the half.

South Sudan shot 7-for-14 from 3 in the first half (14 of 33 overall), vs. Team USA’s 1-for-12 (7 of 28 for the game).

--Caitlin Clark set the WNBA’s all-time single-game assist record Wednesday night against the Dallas Wings.  Clark had 19 assists, to go with 24 points and six rebounds, but the Wings won it 101-93.

The WNBA All-Stars on Saturday then beat Team USA, which is headed to Paris, 117-109.  The WNBA’s Arike Ogunbowale was MVP, scoring a record 34 points.  Caitlin Clark had a rookie rookie 10 assists, while Angel Reese became the first rookie with a double-double, 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Breanna Stewart led Team USA with 31 points.

NFL

--We note the passing of Kansas City Chiefs Hall-of-Fame running back, Abner Haynes.  He was 86.

Haynes played 8 seasons in the AFL, 1960-67, his best seasons with the Dallas Texans, which relocated to Kansas City in 1963.  Overall he had 4,630 yards on the ground, a 4.5 average and 46 touchdowns, with another 3,535 yards receiving on 287 catches, a terrific 12.3 average and another 20 TDs.

His three best seasons were his first three...

1960...156 carries, 875 yards, 5.6 avg., 9 TDs
1961...179-841, 4.7, 9
1962...221-1049, 4.7, 13

“In the league’s first season in 1960, Abner earned Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honors, and more importantly, he earned the respect and admiration of his teammates and fans alike,” said Chiefs owner Clark Hunt in a statement.

“In addition to his on-the-field prowess, Abner was a man of courage and leadership from a very young age.  He remained involved in the community well after his playing days were over, and his legacy extends far beyond the gridiron.”

Haynes selected Dallas over the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, who had drafted him in the fifth round of the 1960 NFL draft out of North Texas.

I remember him fondly, myself, because he was one of my first football cards.  His stats were cool to look at, those early rushing averages impressive.

--NFL training camps open this week.  As a fan, you just want everyone to stay healthy until the opener...you don’t want to see the dreaded words... ‘non-contact injury.’

I forgot to mention about three weeks ago I did see kicker Michael Badgley as I thought I would this summer.  He was down at the high school field where I normally get my exercise in.  We had a pleasant chat.  He told me he thought Detroit had gotten rid of one of the three kickers I mentioned in a B.C. a month or so ago.  So, it’s a kickoff between two of them.

A good guy.  He knows he has a big fan here.

Stuff

--More than three years after he was suspended for Medina Spirit’s positive drug test following the 2021 Kentucky Derby, Hall of Fame Trainer Bob Baffert was reinstated Friday by Churchill Downs Inc., paving the way for his return next year to America’s biggest race.

Churchill CEO Bill Carstanjen said in a written statement: “We are satisfied that Mr Baffert has taken responsibility for his actions, complete a substantial penalty and is committed to running in full compliance with the rules and regulations going forward.  All parties agree that it is time to bring this chapter to a close and focus on the future.  Mr. Baffert is welcome to return to any of CDI’s racetracks, including our flagship Churchill Downs racetrack, and we wish him and his connections good luck in their future competitive endeavors.”

Baffert issued a written statement of contrition, in part:

“I am responsible for any substance found in the horses that I train, and I have paid a very steep price with a three-year suspension and the disqualification of Medina Spirit’s performance... My family and I want to put this behind us and get back to doing what we love to do without any more distraction or negativity.  I very much look forward to returning to Churchill Downs and getting back to the winner’s circle.”

This should have been a two-year suspension, not three.

--Saturday, Belmont Stakes winner Dornoch won the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park, N.J.  Dornoch is the horse owned in part by former MLB star Jayson Werth.  Dornoch now moves on to the Breeders’ Cup Classic Nov. 2 in Del Mar.  It’s great to have Werth so highly involved in the sport.

--A 20-year record was broken Wednesday when Cavan Sullivan debuted for the Philadelphia Union at 14 years and 293 days old, becoming the youngest player to appear in a Major League Soccer match – and the youngest to debut in a major North American pro sports league.

Sullivan broke the record previously held by former U.S. international Freddy Adu, who debuted for D.C. United in April 2004, at 14 years and 306 days old. 

Cavan’s older brother, Quinn, scored Philadelphia’s fifth goal in a 5-1 win over the New England Revolution.

--Gareth Southgate stepped down as coach of the English men’s soccer team after a mostly impressive eight-year run, with a World Cup semifinal appearance and two Euros finals appearances.  But bitter losses in all three hurt his legacy.

--Lastly, one of the greatest comedians of all time, Bob Newhart, passed away Thursday morning.  He was 94.  Newhart’s longtime publicist Jerry Digney called the star’s passing an “end of an era in comedy.”

Born George Robert Newhart in Oak Park, Illinois, on Sept. 5, 1929, Newhart was originally an accountant and advertising copywriter.  To fill the time at work, Newhart and his co-worker buddy worked on comedy sketches and recorded some of them, which they submitted to record companies.  Newhart was discovered by Warner Bros. Records, which in 1960 released the comedy album “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart.”  It became a phenomenon: one of the best-selling albums of the year.  It was No. 1 for 14 weeks on Billboard’s album chart and a multiple Grammy Award-winner, beating out Frank Sinatra, Harry Belafonte and Nat King Cole for album of the year.  He also hit No. 1 with the hastily made follow-up: “The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!”  For a time, both albums occupied the top two spots on the Billboard chart.

In 1972 “The Bob Newhart Show” debuted.  He played a Chicago psychologist, Bob Hartley, who ministered to a host of eccentric patients.  That show ran, successfully, from 1972-78 and was part of a great era for sitcoms with the likes of “All in the Family,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “M*A*S*H” and “Happy Days.”

Then there was “Newhart” (1982-90), where he played the role of Vermont innkeeper Dick Loudon, who tried to maintain his sanity while surrounded by comical locals.

In both cases, his characters found refuge with their wives, played by Suzanne Pleshette in “The Bob Newhart Show” and Mary Frann in “Newhart.”

The latter show’s finale remains one of the most famous, and well-received, in television history.  In the final “Newhart” episode, Newhart’s town is purchased by a Japanese millionaire.  Golfers at a new course regularly batter the inn with their drives, and one day – in the midst of an argument with townspeople – Newhart is hit by a golf ball.  After a quick fade to black, he awakens... as Hartley, his character from “The Bob Newhart Show,” in bed with Pleshette.

“Honey, wake up!  You won’t believe the dream I just had,” he tells her, to uproarious audience laughter.  The entire second series had been a dream.

But to try to preserve secrecy for the final episode, a fake ending was conceived in which Dick wakes up in heaven and meets God, who was to be played by either George Burns or George C. Scott.

“That scene never appeared in a script, because we knew that the tabloids would get ahold of it,” Newhart recalled in an interview for the Archive of American Television. The secrecy continued right up till filming, which was in front of a live audience.

“We brought Suzie in from two sound stages over; snuck her in,” Newhart said.  The crowd got the joke before a word was spoken.  “The audience recognizes the bedroom set, and they start applauding,” he said.  “They started applauding even before they saw Suzie or myself.”

Newhart was a frequent guest on the era’s many variety and talk shows, and a regular fill-in host for his good friend, Johnny Carson.  He was married to the same woman for 60 years, Virginia (“Ginnie”), the daughter of Bill Quinn, a veteran character actor.  Newhart’s fellow comedian Buddy Hackett introduced them.  It was Ginnie who came up with the idea for the finale.

The Newharts were also great friends of Don Rickles and his wife, Barbara, and the two couples often vacationed together, which would have been a hoot to watch them interact in a restaurant.

Carol Burnett wrote of Newhart, who guest-starred on her show: “I had the great pleasure of working with Bob and being his friend,” Burnett posted on X alongside a black-and-white photo of the pair.  “He was as kind and nice as he was funny. He will be missed.”

Indeed, in Hollywood Bob Newhart had a reputation as just a real good, down to earth guy. I loved his work, ditto my father, and years ago took Dad to the local Morristown Theater to see Newhart do his standup act.  The guy was truly funny.

RIP, Bob Newhart.  Your genius lives on forever.

Top 3 songs for the week 6/24/67:  #1 “Groovin’” (The Young Rascals)  #2 “Respect” (Aretha Franklin)  #3 “She’d Rather Be With Me” (The Turtles)...and...#4 “Windy” (The Association)  #5 Little Bit O’Soul” (The Music Explosion)  #6 “San Francisco” (Scott McKenzie)  #7 “Somebody To Love” (Jefferson Airplane)  #8 “Can’t’ Take My Eyes Off You” (Frankie Valli)  #9 “Sunday Will Never Be The Same” (Spanky & Our Gang) #10 “Let’s Live For Today” (The Grass Roots... ‘A’ week...)

Track and Field Quiz Answer: 1) Men’s world records....

100m...9.58, Usain Bolt, Jamaica (2009)
200m...19.19, Usain Bolt, Jamaica (2009)
400m...43.03, Wayde van Niekerk, South Africa (2016)
800m...1:40.91, David Rudisha, Kenya (2012)
1500...3:26.0, Hicham El Guerrouj, Morocco (1998)

2) Women’s world records....

100m...10.49, Florence Griffith-Joyner, USA (1988)
200m...21.34, Florence Griffith-Joyner, USA (1988)

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.

 

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