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Bar Chat

07/29/2024

Let the Games Begin....

Add-on posted early Tues. a.m.

MLB

--Sunday night after I posted, the Yankees won their second straight against the Red Sox at Fenway, 8-2, taking the 3-game series, 2-1, Carlos Rodon with his second straight strong outing, 6 1/3, 2 earned, 7 Ks, to move to 11-7, 4.34.

Jazz Chisholm was 1-for-5, playing center field, and the Yanks really haven’t figured out where they will play him.  Gleyber Torres is the incumbent at second, Chisholm’s next best position, but Torres, ever the jerk, is balking about moving to third, while Chisholm, recognizing he has been given a tremendous opportunity, said he’s open to playing third, even though he’s never played there in the big leagues.

The Yankees then went to Philadelphia and blasted the Phillies 14-4 last night, Phillies ace Zack Wheeler giving up 7 earned in 5 innings, now 10-5, 2.94.

For New York, Aaron Judge hit home runs No. 38 and 39, and now has 99 RBIs, in July.  And Chisholm homered twice, playing third.

Baltimore split a doubleheader against Toronto Monday, the Yankees just a ½-game back in the AL East.

--The Mets’ bats came back alive Monday night at Citi Field against the Twins, 15-2, 17 hits.

--The Cubs vowed last week to only make trades for the future, and not any short-term rentals, and Sunday they delivered on that promise by acquiring All-Star infielder Isaac Paredes from Tampa Bay.  The Cubs sent third baseman Christopher Morel (18 home runs, but only a .199 BA), reliever Hunter Bigge and a pitching prospect to the Rays.

Paredes, who has been in a horrendous slump, was hitting .245 with 16 homers and 55 RBIs.  He won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2027 season.

Paredes became the sixth player traded by the Rays in July, joining Randy Arozarena, Zach Eflin, Aaron Civale, Phil Maton and Jason Adam.

--The White Sox Monday unloaded pitchers Erick Fedde and Michael Kopech, and outfielder Tommy Pham, in a 3-team deal.  Pham and Fedde went to the Cardinals, Kopech to the Dodgers, who also receive infielder Tommy Edman from the Cardinals.  Edman was being targeted by the Yankees.

Fedde returned to the majors this season after being in Korea and was 7-4, with a 3.11 ERA, in 21 starts.  [As in the rest of the Sox were thus 20-77.]

Chicago then lost again, a franchise-record 15th straight last night (after a 14-game streak earlier in the season).  The White Sox were up 5-2 on the Royals going to the top of the 8th when K.C. erupted for six on the way to an 8-5 victory.  This is awful.  Chicago is 27-82!

--Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes got another no-decision Monday, as the Pirates rallied for 3 in the 9th to defeat the Astros 5-3, Skenes going 6 innings, one earned, now 6-1, 1.90.

Olympics

--Your editor, a proud member of Team McIntosh, watched as the 17-year-old Canadian took gold in the Women’s 400M IM Monday, with Americans Katie Grimes and Emma Weyant taking silver and bronze. Well done, USA.

--In the Men’s 200M Free, David Popvici of Romania takes gold, Matthew Richards of Great Britain silver, and Luke Hobson of the U.S. the bronze.

--In the Men’s 100M Backstroke, Italy’s Thomas Ceccon took the gold, the U.S.’s Ryan Murphy grabbed the bronze.

--In the Women’s 100M Breaststroke, South Africa’s Tajiana Smith won gold, Ireland’s Mona McSharry a big bronze for the Emerald Isle. 

--And in the Women’s 200M Free, the tough Australians went 1-2, Mollie O’Callaghan, gold, and Ariarne Titmus, silver.  Good for them. 

--In the Men’s Gymnastics team competition, Japan took Gold, China Silver, U.S. Bronze.  It’s our first Olympic medal in the event since 2008. 

--Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal, 6-1, 6-4 in the second round of the men’s tennis singles tournament, most likely the last time these two ever face each other.

--Tuesday, all about Simone Biles and the women’s team competition.

Stuff

--Going back to Sunday and the Belgian Grand Prix, for a fourth consecutive race, Max Verstappen did not win! He finished fourth, Leonard Hamilton winning for the second time in three races, though his Mercedes teammate George Russell, who had finished second, was disqualified for his car being underweight.

Last year at the Belgian GP, Verstappen won it, at the time his eighth in a row.  He would go on to make it an F1 record 10, and as I noted the other week, 19 in 22 races for the season.

Verstappen appeared to be off to another title march this year after winning four of the first five races.  But since then, he has just three wins in the last nine Grand Prix and has gone four consecutive without a victory for the first time since 2020, before he became a dominant force in the sport.

The circuit takes a break before the season restarts at the Dutch GP on Aug. 25.  Ten races to go.

--I saw this gruesome story from the BBC.  A surfer whose severed leg washed up on Australian beach last Tuesday, after it was bitten off by a shark, confirmed Monday that the limb has not been reattached, but at least he lived to talk about it.

Kai McKenzie was surfing near Port Macquarie in New South Wales when what he describes as “the biggest shark I’ve ever seen” attacked him.  [It was identified as a 9-foot great white.]

But after the attack, McKenzie, 23, caught a wave into shore, where he was saved by a bystander who made a makeshift tourniquet with a dog leash to stem the bleeding.  The leg washed up a short time later and was put on ice by locals, before being taken to hospital, where a medical team had hoped surgery may save it.

McKenzie, Monday, was able to post a photo of himself on social media.

“Spot something missing?  Hahah,” the post was captioned.

McKenzie said the outpouring of public support has “meant the absolute world.”

“I’ll be back in that water in no time!” he added.

Citing privacy concerns, the trauma center he was eventually flown to (with the leg) didn’t say if they had attempted to reattach it.

What a brave kid.  And how fortunate an off-duty police officer was right there to apply the tourniquet. Imagine the horror of that site.

--Speaking of horror, a 54-year-old caretaker at a zoo in India died Sunday after being brutally mauled by an angry hippo at an animal park, Ranchi’s Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park.

The caretaker went into the hippopotamus compound to remove a newborn calf for feeding, The Indian Express reported.

The protective mother hippo attacked the man, critically injuring him.  He succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

According to the Times of India, the man suffered multiple injuries, including having several limbs crushed by the hippo.

In December, a worker at another Indian zoo was attacked and killed by a hippo.

Just like with a bear, boys and girls, if you see a hippo in the park while jogging or taking a long walk, assume a young ‘un is around and that the mother hippo will maul you to death, or bite your head off.

Next Bar Chat, Sunday p.m.

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[Posted Sunday p.m.]

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.

Golf Quiz: Going back to last week and Xander Schauffele’s win at The Open, he became just the seventh golfer to win two majors in a season and have top-10 finishes in the other two majors.  Name the other six.  Answer below.

MLB

--All about the trade deadline, 6:00 PM ET, Tuesday, some early transactions woven into the following.

--Going back to last Tuesday, the Mets beat the Yankees at The Stadium 3-2 in an absolutely riveting contest with a real playoff atmosphere.

The Mets walked Aaron Judge four times and then reliever Jake Diekman struck Judge out looking in the bottom of the ninth, the tying run on first.  Jeff McNeil had a 2-run homer for the Mets.

Wednesday, the Mets then blasted Gerrit Cole for a second time, humiliating the Yanks 12-3; the Mets with five home runs, three off Cole, who gave up 6 earned in 5 2/3, falling to 3-2, 5.40 ERA.  Francisco Lindor homered twice and had 5 RBIs.

Cole, in 9 2/3 innings against the Mets, has allowed seven home runs.

The Mets then hosted the Braves for a big 4-game series, and Thursday, New York, in another tension convention, defeated Atlanta and Chris Sale, 3-2 in 10 innings, Lindor with another home run and McNeil with the game-winning single.

And Friday, the Mets won their fifth straight, 8-4, the Mets with 7 runs in the third on three homers, including a grand slam by J.D. Martinez (his ninth career slam), Charlie Morton giving up the three bombs.

The Mets (55-48), with the win, surpassed Atlanta (54-48) for the first wild card position, which is staggering, considering they were ten games from Atlanta on June 3.

BUT...the game also marked the season debut of Mets ace Kodai Senga and Senga was sharp, 5 1/3, 2 runs, 9 strikeouts. 

And then on a popup to the infield, Senga moved off the mound to make way for Pete Alonso and Senga went down, grabbing his calf...a severe calf strain.  We then learned Saturday he is out for the regular season.  Oh joy. 

Tuesday, the Mets had put promising starter Christian Scott on the IL with a right ulnar collateral ligament sprain, the team convinced he doesn’t need Tommy John surgery, but to hear Scott tell it, it’s almost as if he wants to have the surgery so, in his own words, he’ll be ready for 2026.

Saturday, the Mets were humbled by Braves rookie Spencer Schwellenbach, who entered the game 3-5, 4.62, for his first nine starts in his MLB career, and instead twirled a gem, seven innings, two hits, 11 strikeouts, now 4-5, 4.06, as the Mets lost 4-0.

For Atlanta, Matt Olson, who hit 54 homers last season, but had just one in his last 29 games, hit No. 14.  Marcell Ozuna (No. 30) and Eddie Rosario also went yard off starter Tylor Megill (2-5, 5.20).  Yup, we somehow need to find a starter at the deadline, but the biggies being targeted have way too high a price.

So much for our wild card lead, too.

But the Mets later Saturday night announced a trade with the Nationals for outfielder Jesse Winker, a terrific move.

Winker, a 30-year-old free agent-to-be (31 in August), is having a solid season, 11 home runs, 45 RBIs, 14 steals, .374 OBP, .793 OPS.

With Starling Marte still on the injured list since June 22 with a knee issue, Winker can play a corner outfield spot and DH.

Yes, he has had a checkered past with Mets fans, but he said recently he loves their passion, and if he gets off to a good start, the Citi fans will embrace him big time. We just want to win.

[The trade means the end for D.J. Stewart, who after a promising second half last season with the Mets, has been a huge disappointment off the bench.  He needs to find himself in AAA again.]

However, this afternoon, the Braves hit four more home runs, including another from Matt Olson, and Atlanta blasted the Metropolitans, 9-2, Pete Alonso with a meaningless 2-run homer in the 8th.

For Atlanta, Reynaldo Lopez left the game after three scoreless with right forearm tightness.  Not good.  Lopez, a reliever last season, has been spectacular in a starting role, his ERA now 2.06, but the Braves were already trying to limit his innings, now 104.

I am very worried as a Mets fan.  Suddenly, everyone is in a slump.  And tough Minnesota (58-46) is coming in for three before the Mets embark on a godawful road trip.  [Jesse Winker struck out in a pinch-hitting assignment.]

--The Yankees were in Boston this weekend and it was another pathetic performance for manager Aaron Boone’s team Friday night, closer Clay Holmes blowing another save, his seventh of the season (after eight in 2022 and 2023, combined).

Boston scored two in the bottom of the seventh, three in the eighth, for a 9-7 win, New York wasting a 470-foot 3-run blast off the bat of Aaron Judge, No. 36.

The Yankees (60-45), have lost 24 of their last 35 games.

Prior to the Yanks Saturday night contest in Fenway, they acquired second baseman/outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. in a trade with the Marlins, the Yanks giving up some prospects.

Chisholm has some pop, speed, and is flamboyant, but really not that good (.246 career batting average, lousy on-base percentage) and he can’t stay healthy.

But he’s better than some of the players in the current Yankees lineup, so we’ll see.

Gleyber Torres, the current second baseman, is in his walk year, and sucks, while Chisholm is under team control through 2026, so New York is looking at Chisholm as a cheap alternative.  And who knows, maybe they catch lighting in a bottle.  And he’s only 26. [I’ve seen a lot of this guy and I just think he is highly overrated.]

So, Saturday night in Fenway, and it was a back-and-forth affair, the Yankees pulling out a huge win, 11-8 in 10 innings.

It was 8-6 Boston in the top of the eighth when Aaron Judge* hit a double, driving in a run, but Juan Soto ran through a stop sign and was gunned down at the plate on a terrific relay play from the outfield...as good as it gets.

So it was 8-7, but the Yanks managed to tie it on a two-out double in the ninth from Trent Grisham, and then they put up a 3-spot in the 10th for the 11-8 finale, Gleyber Torres with a 2-run double, Clay Holmes rebounding with two innings of no-hit relief for the win, now 2-5, 2.74.

Yanks and Red Sox are the Sunday night matchup on ESPN...because, if it’s Sunday, it’s Yankees-Red Sox, though at least these are meaningful games these days.

--The Orioles remain in front of the Yanks, but they lost Friday night to the Padres (56-50), 6-4, as All-Star Jurickson Profar had a pair of 2-run homers, the second the difference maker off Craig Kimbrel in the top of the ninth.

Baltimore, desperately seeking help in the starting rotation, acquired right-hander Zach Eflin (5-7, 4.09) from Tampa Bay for three minor leaguers.  Eflin had an outstanding 2023, 16-8, 3.50.

As for San Diego, with the win they stretched their win streak to six.

And then on Saturday, they made it seven, 9-4 over the Orioles.

So, entering play Sunday....

AL East

Baltimore 61-43...
New York 61-45...1

NL Wild Card

Atlanta 55-48...+0.5
San Diego 57-50...+0.5
New York 55-49...--
Arizona 55-50...0.5
St. Louis 53-51...2
Pittsburgh 52-52...3

In action after I posted the above, aside from the Mets’ loss, the Orioles held off the Padres 8-6... And after I post, Arizona is playing the Pirates, so could be a change in the WC standings.

--Thursday afternoon, Dylan Cease pitched the second no-hitter in San Diego history down in Washington (the first from Joe Musgrove in 2021, ending the longest MLB drought for a franchise, 1969-2021).  He threw a career-high 114 pitches, striking out nine, in the Padres’ 3-0 win.

I’ve been writing of Cease this season, the 28-year-old who was a sterling offseason acquisition from the White Sox, though the Padres gave up some good prospects, including current starter Drew Thorpe (though in his last start he gave up 8 earned in 2/3s of an inning, now 3-2, 4.81).

Cease has yielded two hits in his last 22 innings.  One hit in six innings against Atlanta, one hit in seven against Cleveland, and then the no-no against Washington.  Making it even more impressive was the fact Cease’s effort came despite a 76-minute rain delay which came in the first inning.

Cease is the first pitcher to go at least six innings with no more than one hit allowed in three consecutive starts since 1901.  Thursday was his sixth start of at least six innings with no more than one hit allowed this season. That is two more than any other pitcher in any season since 1901 as well.

He is 10-8, 3.50 ERA, with 168 strikeouts in 131 innings.

--Clayton Kershaw returned on Thursday, and he was solid, 2 runs in 4 innings, 6 strikeouts, 72 pitches, the Dodgers beating the Giants 6-4, Shohei Ohtani with his 31st home run.

Wednesday, Tyler Glasnow made his first start in 19 days after a stint on the IL, Glasnow 5 innings, 2 runs, but L.A. lost to San Francisco 8-3.

--The Mariners acquired outfielder Randy Arozarena in a trade with the Rays, Tampa Bay getting back two prospects, along with a player to be named later.  Arozarena was the 2021 Rookie of the Year, but was hitting only .211 this season, though he has 15 home runs, much needed for a Seattle offense that through Friday had the second-worst OPS in the majors.

Friday and Saturday, Seattle was in Chicago to play the beyond awful White Sox, and the Mariners took the first two, 10-0 and 6-3 to move to 55-51.

Chicago, 27-80, has now lost 13 straight and in that stretch, has one game with 4 runs, two with 3, and the rest 0 to 2 runs.  Think about that.  It ends up being 23 runs in 13 games.

I have to keep repeating...we do not want the White Sox beating the 1962 Mets’ 40-120 mark, yet after 107 games, that Mets edition was 28-79.  Ugh. The Mets were lovable losers, led by legend Casey Stengel.  The White Sox are just an embarrassment to the sport.  [I can’t imagine what their TV ratings are.]

And the ChiSox are now 27-81 after losing today to Seattle, 6-3.  Eegads...make this stop!

Bazooka Joe says: “Former Demon Deacon Gavin Sheets, 0-for-4 today, is still above the Mendoza Line at .220!”

--The Red Sox took a flyer on lefty starter James Paxton, who last week was DFA’d by the Dodgers.  His record was a sterling 8-2, but his ERA was 4.43, and he had yielded a career-worst WHIP of 1.455 (82 hits and 48 walks in 89 1/3).  His strikeout ratio was also a career-low 6.4 per nine.

--Detroit’s Tarik Skubal is a top trade prospect, but the Tigers want way too much, as they should.  Skubal improved to 12-3, 2.35, with 7 innings of 2-run ball Saturday in Detroit’s 7-2 win over the Twins. He’s under team control through 2026.

--The Cubs shelled Royals All-Star Seth Lugo Saturday, 9-4, Lugo giving up 6 earned in 6 1/3, falling to 12-5, 2.66.

--Remember Blake Snell? He of the massive late free agent contract signing by the Giants? [$32 million in 2024, $30 million player option in 2025, or he could opt for free agency again.]

Snell had no spring training and was awful, April thru June, but Saturday, in a 4-1 over the Rockies, Snell pitched 6 innings of 2-hit ball while striking out 15!

He has a 0.75 ERA in July in four starts.

But he is still 0-3, 5.10.  Yes, in July, four great starts, all no-decisions.

--Oakland A’s All-Star closer Mason Miller will be out for the foreseeable future, placed on the 15-day IL with a broken pinky in his left hand, the team announced.  Manager Mark Kotsay told reporters that Miller suffered the injury when he “kind of pounded his fist down on a padded table out of emotion” following Monday’s win over the Astros.

At least it’s his non-pitching hand and he should be back fairly soon, you would think.

Miller is prime trade material, 70 strikeouts in 40 2/3 this season with 15 saves.

--Poor Christian Yelich. The Brewers outfielder was having a terrific season, .315 BA, .909 OPS and hitting with power after his big comeback campaign last season.

But once again back issues, this time lower back inflammation, have shelved him.  It seems he will attempt to rehab and not have surgery. He had missed a month of the season earlier because of his back.

Surgery in the offseason, however, seems inevitable, according to his manager, Pat Murphy.

--And Mike Trout shut it down in his first rehab start after suffering a setback from knee surgery.  Trout has played fewer than 100 games in two of the last three season, and it will three out of four this year.

--Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes lost his first game Tuesday night, 2-1 to St. Louis, though he was hardly chopped liver...8 1/3, 2 earned, 8 Ks, 104 pitches, Skenes 6-1, 1.93.

Golf Balls

--We came into the week with just two tournaments left to get into the FedEx Cup Playoffs, this week’s 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities, Blaine, Minnesota, and then in two weeks, the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina.  Next week is of course the Olympics.

As in...two opportunities left to get into the Top 70 for the playoffs, which also automatically qualifies you for the signature events in 2025. It’s a massive incentive.

But this late in the year, it’s tough to make up much ground, if, say, you are No. 110 in the standings, unless basically you win the tournament or finish second.

For example, after three rounds....

Jhonattan Vegas -16
Matt Kuchar -15 ...Kuchar’s 555th career start
Maverick McNealy -14

If these positions held, Vegas would move from 149 to 67 in the FedEx Cup standings, Kuchar would go from 155 to 88, and McNealy from 68 to 56.

And in the end today....Vegas won his fourth title...first since the 2017 Canadian Open, one shot over local Max Greyserman, who is from Short Hills, N.J., two minutes from here.

Vegas is thus FedEx Cup playoff bound, ditto Greyserman. [Vegas 66, Greyseman 63, as I post...which should be enough if they underperform at the Wyndham.]

Ryan McCormick and Bill Haas both missed the cut.  Drat!

--To put more meat on the debate as to who should be PGA Tour Player of the Year, Scottie Scheffler or Xander Schauffele, Schauffele made it a contest with his win at Royal Troon last week.

So here’s a tale of the tape.

Schauffele...two major titles (the PGA and The Open), an 8th at Augusta and a T7 at the U.S. Open.  He has 8 other top-10s including a T2 at The Players.

Scheffler...six wins, including The Masters and The Players.  Scheffler was 8th at the PGA, T41 at the U.S. Open, and T7 at The Open.  He has six other top-10s.

It’s going to come down to the FedEx Cup Playoffs.  Scheffler will be Player of the Year, unless Schauffele wins the championship.  Then you have to give it to Schauffele.  At least that’s my opinion.  It could be a special final round in Atlanta five weeks from today.

NFL

--Jordan Love reached an agreement with the Packers on a four-year, $220 million contract extension, tying him for highest-paid quarterback in the league’s history.

He will also get a $75 million signing bonus, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The deal averages out to $55M per year, tying him with Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, who signed in June.  His deal matched Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow.

--What a tragedy for us local Summit, NJ, sports fans and Detroit Lions kicker Michael Badgley, who will miss the rest of the season after suffering a “significant injury” during Thursday’s practice.

Badgley suffered a torn hamstring, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.  Badgley was placed on injured reserve and he is expected to have surgery, according to Lions coach Dan Campbell.

“We feel awful for Badge,” Campbell said. “He worked his tail off to get ready for this season. He was having a good spring and was ready for camp. It’s tough.”

Badgley has had hamstring issues in the past.

Here I just wrote about the guy, talking about my exchange with him.  It’s sickening, and heartbreaking.  Life can be so cruel.

--The NFL is expanding to an 18-game schedule in the next few years, certainly before the current collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2030 season.

Olympics

--As I noted earlier, I only care about swimming, specifically Katie Ledecky, the U.S.-Aussie rivalry, women’s gymnastics, maybe the USWNT soccer effort, and everything on the track.

Saturday, the U.S. picked up its first gold medal in the pool, the men’s 4X100 freestyle relay, beating the Aussies, Caleb Dressel winning his eighth gold medal!  One of the four on the team, Jack Alexy, hails from Mendham, N.J., 20 minutes from global HQ for Bar Chat.  [Mendham is a beautiful town.]  He’s also a graduate of Delbarton School (Anthony Volpe’s alma mater).

Alexy currently competes for Cal.  ACC! ACC!  [Snickered the editor...]   Cal actually won back-to-back Division I National Championships in 2022 and 2023, with Alexy as a key component.

The other two men’s relay team members were Chris Giuliano and Hunter Armstrong.

The women’s 4X100 free relay team took silver, falling to the Aussies.

And Katie Ledecky took bronze in the women’s 400m freestyle, falling to rival, Australian Ariarne Titmus (gold) and Canadian Summer McIntosh (silver). 

As we all have learned over the years, Ledecky’s best events are the 800 and 1500.

Mark it down...the 1500m free final is 2:04 p.m. ET, Wednesday...or you can watch it taped in NBC’s evening coverage.

The 800m free final is Saturday, 2:09 p.m. ET.

Sunday morning, if you were watching on the east coast (and up early elsewhere), you saw Simone Biles have a scary injury situation in the qualifications for the women’s all-around, but she appears to be OK, though clearly she’ll have to deal with a calf issue the next week.

Biles nonetheless ended up with the top score, the women’s team finals Tuesday, and the women’s all-around, Thursday, with Biles joined by teammate Suni Lee for that one.  [Count me on “Team Suni.”  I’m also on “Team McIntosh,” but don’t tell anyone.]

Later Sunday, the men’s hoops team opened with a 110-84 win over Serbia, Kevin Durant with 23 points on 8 of 9 shooting in 17 minutes, LeBron James with 21 on 9 of 13.

Durant didn’t play in the exhibition games because of a nagging injury.  He looked pretty good to me.

In the pool, France’s potential hero of the Games, Leon Marchand, romped in the 400m IM, Carson Foster of the U.S. the bronze.

The U.S. women took 1-2 in the 100m butterfly, Torri Huske with the medal that is worth about $2380 an ounce.  Gretchen Walsh taking silver, just $28 an ounce...though Trader George would tell you silver is the better investment.

And in the 100m breaststroke final, the U.S.’s Nic Fink tied for silver.

Lastly, for today, the USWNT had a good win over Germany, 4-1, on the football/soccer pitch.

--Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2034 Winter Games to Salt Lake City in an 83-6 vote.  But only after a contingent of Utah politicians and U.S. Olympic leaders signed an agreement that pressures them to lobby the federal government into ending an FBI investigation into a suspected doping coverup by China and the Chinese swim team.

Outrageous...but then the IOC is one of the worst organizations in the history of mankind.

President Thomas Bach* wants to make sure the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is the lead authority on doping cases in Olympic sports, especially with the Summer Olympics headed to Los Angeles in 2028.  But as I’ve been writing in this space, it was WADA that accepted Chinese explanation for positive drug tests, which the U.S. is now investigating.

The IOC added a clause to Salt Lake City’s host contract, effectively demanding that local organizers – including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox – push to shut down the investigation or risk losing the Olympics.

*Bach, in his remarks to open the Games Friday, said, “We all respect the same rules and each other.”  He should have added, “Unless you are the Chinese.”  [Russia has long learned its lesson in this regard.  As in you don’t hear the Russian national anthem being played these days, do you?]

After a rocky start amidst a bribery scandal, Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Games in 2002.  Future Sen. Mitt Romney was brought in to clean up the Games, which then went off well, with tightened security, as this was the first Games held after the Sept. 11 attacks just five months earlier.

The 10 years Utah has to prepare is the longest lead-in for a modern Winter Games.

The 2030 Winter Games was awarded to France earlier; a regional project split between ski resorts in the Alps and the French Riviera city of Nice.  Will there be any snow in 2030, let alone 2034?  Utah is reliable, but the Alps these days is hit and miss.

NBA

--The Knicks extended coach Tom Thibodeau for three years, tying him to the franchise through the 2027-28 season.  Thibs has been solid, the players like him, and they play hard for the guy.  All good.

Quite an offseason for New York. 

--Charles Barkley was upset the NBA rebuffed TNT’s attempt to match Amazon’s bid for broadcast rights, which it has had for more than 30 years.

“Clearly the NBA has wanted to break up with us from the beginning,” he said in a statement posted on social media by Bleacher Report.

“I’m not sure TNT ever had a chance,” Barkley said.  “TNT matched the money, but the league knows Amazon and these tech companies are the only ones willing to pay for the rights when they double in the future. The NBA didn’t want to piss them off.”

“It’s a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over the fans. It just sucks,” Barkley said in his statement. “I just want to thank everyone who has been at Turner for the last 24 years.... We’re going to give you everything we have next season.”

TNT still expects to litigate this through the courts.

“We have matched the Amazon offer, as we have a contractual right to do, and do not believe the NBA can reject it,” TNT’s statement said.  The NBA claims, “Warner Bros. Discovery’s most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer.”

Barkley had previously said next season would be his last as a studio analyst and that he would only work for TNT, but now he’s saying he’d listen to offers from ESPN, NBC and Amazon Prime Video.

Stuff

--Boy, it’s going to take a while to get used to seeing Big Ten football games involving Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA.  Ditto the Big 12, which if you’ve looked at their new lineup of schools is a mess.  Not that the ACC, in adding Cal, Stanford and SMU, isn’t a mess too.

The SEC, in adding Oklahoma and Texas, actually looks normal.

--For those of you familiar with Manhattan, there was a story in the New York Post concerning Gallaghers Steak House, a well-known institution in the theater district, that really sheds a light on the number of idiots peopling the planet.

Gallaghers was long known as a celebrity hangout, from Joe DiMaggio to Elizabeth Taylor, and there is an autographed photo of singer Perry Como in a prominent place when you walk in.

Como had a variety show at CBS Studios nearby, so he was always popping in.

But the photo bears a resemblance to Jeffrey Epstein, and hundreds of customers were confusing Como for the creep.

Management got so sick of having to reassure people that it isn’t Epstein that they had to put a ribbon on top reading, “This is not Jeffrey Epstein.”  And then on the bottom, “This is Perry Como.”

The thing is, again, it’s signed, Perry Como!

Not for nothing, but “Season’s Greetings from Perry Como,” 1959, is the single best Christmas album of all time, in my estimation.  [The Beach Boys’ Christmas album is No. 2.  Nat King Cole No. 3.]

--I saw a bit in the Star-Ledger (NJ.com) that a summer home used by Frank Sinatra in Pt. Pleasant, N.J., finally sold for $2,275,000.

Known as the “Sinatra House,” it had been purchased in September 1986 by Paul and Anita Smith.  Paul was the former head of Sony Records’ music distribution department and a huge Sinatra fan, and after the Smiths had the house rebuilt, he began to play nonstop Sinatra music through outdoor speakers.

Smith had a compact disc player that held up to 200 CDs and would load it with 40 to 60 each day, depending on his mood.  The music played from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., only shutting down when he and his wife left for an extended time.

“The only time I hear complaints is when the music is not on,” Smith told the New York Times in September 2002.

Smith died on New Year’s Eve 2002, and the couple’s children kept the music playing until finally deciding in 2021 that the time had come to part with the home.  It’s been on the market since.  [The address is 175 Boardwalk...for those of you summering in the area.]

--Celine Dion was spectacular at the opening ceremony on Friday.  She had been rumored to be singing a duet with Lady Gaga, but instead went solo on the Eiffel Tower to bring the four-hour event to a stirring climax. 

It was Dion’s first live performance in four years and came a year and a half after she revealed a diagnosis of Stiff Person Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that causes muscles to spasm and can be debilitating.  It also affected her distinctive voice.

But no issues Friday, that’s for sure.

Top 3 songs for the week 7/27/68:  #1 “Grazing In The Grass” (Hugh Masekela) #2 “Lady Willpower” (Gary Puckett and The Union Gap)  #3 “Stoned Soul Picnic” (The 5th Dimension)...and...#4 “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (The Rolling Stones)  #5 “The Horse” (Cliff Nobles & Co.)   #6 “Hurdy Gurdy Man” (Donovan)  #7 “This Guy’s In Love With You” (Herb Alpert) #8 “Classical Gas” (Mason Williams) #9 “Hello, I Love You” (The Doors)  #10 “Indian Lake” (The Cowsills...B+ week...can’t give an ‘A’ to a week that has “The Horse” in it...this tune being the bane of all high school marching bands...I’m not a fan of #8 either...)

Golf Quiz Answer: The other six to win two majors in a season and have top-10 finishes in the other two aside from Xander Schauffele...Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Tiger Woods, and Jordan Spieth.

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.

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