Note: It was a blowout weekend with the boys, a mini-high school reunion… late nights for our 50-year-old plus crowd down at the Jersey Shore. Ergo, this is a brief chat.
Baseball Quiz: I was going through a box of stuff the other day and found a 1970 All-Star ballot. Granted, this will be hard for the younger folk, but name the A.L. outfielders on the ballot that year. Here are the initials: P.B., K.H., W.H., F.H., R.J., C.M., R.M., B.M., J.N., T.O., L.P., F.R., R.S., M.S., C.T., T.U., R.W., C.Y. Answer below.
Rachel’s Win for the Ages
Rachel Alexandra, the super filly, led virtually wire-to-wire in the Preakness Stakes, a length ahead of hard-charging Derby winner Mind That Bird, the first filly to win the race since 1924. It is expected that the two will face off again at the Belmont in three weeks.
“There was about a sixteenth of a mile left to run in the Preakness Stakes, six seconds or so of horse racing in which Rachel Alexandra would show what she was all about. She had the lead, and the wire was fast approaching, yet the Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird was closing furiously on the outside.
“But Rachel Alexandra, pitted against 12 males, had the talent and speed to do what no filly had done in 85 years….
“ ‘I think she’s the greatest horse in the country,’ said her jockey, Calvin Borel, who had ridden Mine That Bird in the Derby but, as Rachel Alexandra’s regular rider, returned to her for the Preakness. ‘That’s colts, fillies, boys, whatever. She’s an amazing filly.’”
Ray Kerrison / New York Post
“Rachel Alexandra, the filly hyped to the heavens as the finest of her gender since the immortal Ruffian, did something Ruffian never did. She whipped the daylights out of colts and geldings, won one of the great classics of the American turf, the Preakness Stakes, dusted the winner of the Kentucky Derby – and ran her way into hearts and history.
“What a gal! In one of the truly memorable runnings of the Preakness, the superstar filly came speeding out of her extreme outside gate of 13, engaged the leader, Big Drama, on the clubhouse turn, then ran by him, opened daylight and ran them all off their legs. The boys didn’t have a chance.”
The attendance at Pimlico, though, was a huge disappointment. Last year it fell 7.5% to 112,222, and Saturday’s total was just 77,850. The company that owns the Preakness, Magna Entertainment, filed for bankruptcy in March, thus jeopardizing the future of the Preakness at Pimlico. As for the crowd itself, a ban on rowdy behavior and the inability to bring in alcoholic beverages severely limited the numbers in the infield. But you could still buy beer and the traditional black-eyed Susans.
–At the Charlotte UltraSwim meet, the first appearance for Michael Phelps since Beijing, he finished second to teammate Aaron Peirsol in the 100-meter backstroke, an event Phelps didn’t compete in at the Olympics but hopes to in 2012. Peirsol won the 100m backstroke the last two Games. Phelps did capture the 200 free and 100 butterly, but also lost the 100 free to Frederick Bousquet of France.
–The current edition of Golf Digest takes a look at Ben Hogan’s career after he suffered his horrible car accident on Feb. 2, 1949. Hogan’s vehicle was struck by a bus and when you see a picture of the car you can only wonder just how he survived. As reported by Jaime Diaz.
“It has been 60 years since the Cadillac sedan carrying Hogan and his wife, Valerie, along a foggy two-lane road outside Van Horn, Tex., was smashed by a Greyhound bus that had crossed the center line. With so much scrutiny being paid to (Tiger) Woods’ return, it’s a fitting time to take a fresh look at Hogan – the ultimate U.S. Open player – and how his comeback defines and distorts the way he is remembered.”
Hogan suffered a broken collarbone, pelvis, left ankle and rib. “He also suffered deep cuts and contusions around his left eye. Each injury would cause Hogan pain and problems for the rest of his life. But when doctors discovered blood clots formed in his legs were threatening to block the veins to his lungs, it forced the most consequential violation to Hogan’s system. Cutting through his abdomen, they tied off the inferior vena cava, an inch-thick tube that is the main carrier of blood from the lower body. It meant that for the rest of his life, Hogan’s legs would swell and fatigue whenever he walked.”
And yet Ben Hogan won the U.S. Open in 1950. In fact, he won six of the eight majors he entered following the crash; the 1950 Open, the ’51 Masters and U.S. Open, and the ’53 Masters, U.S. Open and British Open. [He didn’t play in the PGA.] In 1953, he won the only five tourneys he entered. But he just had one win thereafter, playing in a mere handful of events each year.
In the magical ’53 year, Hogan won the Masters by five, the U.S. Open by six and the British Open by four. The British was the only time he played in it.
But the accident had an accumulating effect, psychological as well as physical.
–The Celtics couldn\’t overcome the loss of Kevin Garnett and lost to Orlando in Game 7 of their playoffs….so it\’s Orlando vs. Cleveland, and Denver vs. L.A., the Lakers having won their seventh game against Houston.
—All-NBA 1st team: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, and Dirk Nowitzki. 2nd team: Chris Paul, Brandon Roy, Tim Duncan, Paul Pierce and Yao Ming.
–Hall of Famer Bob Feller unsurprisingly said Manny Ramirez is no longer Hall material, nor does he believe A-Rod is. “These players all want instant gratification without working at it,” he told the New York Post’s Kevin Kernan.
Feller, now 90, also said of today’s pitchers, “There are a lot of throwers around, but damn few pitchers.” On pitch counts, he added, “I never would have gotten out of the third inning. It’s all over-coaching. It’s a simple game, you just throw the ball, you hit the ball, you run, you’re safe or out."
–According to the New York Daily News’ I-team, the feds are looking hard at Jose Canseco and his relationship with Roger Clemens, with the feds interviewing at least 12 associates of Canseco’s. For all that Canseco has gotten right on the steroids issue in general, he is about the only one who has stuck up for Clemens on numerous occasions, including the controversial party at Canseco’s home in 1998 where Clemens is alleged to have attended and possibly purchased steroids, but Canseco insists he wasn’t there.
—Bob Timmons was the legendary track coach at Kansas who coached the likes of Jim Ryun in the 60s. Ben Paynter of Runner’s World did a story on a man known as the “King of pain” and his workouts. This is an October week in 1963, as chronicled in “The Jim Ryun Story,” by Cordner Nelson.
Morning: Hilly 16-mile run from Wichita to Augusta completed in 1:38 (6:07 average); followed by kicking exercises in the pool.
Afternoon: Off
Afternoon: 20-minute warmup of a one-mile jog and 4X120 yards and 4X60 yards; one-mile time trial (4:23); 3X880 (2:45 average) with two minutes of calisthenics between efforts; 4X400 (69-second average) with 1:50 rest between efforts; running while tied to a stretching cable for a few minutes; cooldown with a two-mile run and short sprint intervals. End session with strength training exercises (with 33-lb. and 60-lb. weights) and kicking exercises in the pool.
Afternoon: 20-minute warmup; 6X1500 (5:02 average) with three minutes of calisthenics between sets; 6X880 (2:49 average); 2.5-mile cooldown; kicking drills in the pool.
Afternoon: 20-minute warmup; 8X440 (71-second average) with 1:45 rest between efforts. Jog a mile, then repeat whole set three times. [For the total 32X440, Ryun averaged 70 seconds per interval.] End workout with weights and pool drill.
Afternoon: 20-minute warmup; 10X220 (30-second average) with two minutes rest between efforts. Recover with cable runs and calisthenics for a few minutes, then repeat whole set two more times. [For the total 30X220, Ryun averaged 31 seconds per interval.]
Afternoon: Warm up, race a two-mile cross-country race (Ryun won and broke a course record); cool down.
Timmons constantly concocted more grueling workouts. “There was the one where men were dropped off 26.2 miles from campus as the crow flies and told to run home. There was a distance decathlon, a 10-mile circuit that was broken up with push-ups and sit-ups. Timmons conducted practices like boot camp.”
Many of Timmons’ runners broke down physically or psychologically. He retired in 1988, having captured four NCAA team crowns, 13 Big Eight Outdoor Championships, and two cross-country national titles, but when he walked away in the late 1980s, the Kansas program was a shambles.
–So after dissing my Mets for their lackluster start, they are 12-4 in May. David Wright had a 3-game stretch last Thursday-Saturday where he had 9 hits, 9 RBI, and five steals against San Francisco.
–Toronto’s Roy Halladay is 8-1 thru the team’s first 40 games. Kansas City\’s Zack Greinke is 7-1, 0.60 ERA. Cleveland\’s Victor Martinez is hitting .401. The Texas Rangers, out of nowhere, have won seven straight and are now 23-14.
–Golfer Adam Scott has missed five straight cuts on the PGA Tour. But this week it was Zach Johnson winning again at the Valero Open, his 6th title, 2nd of the year.
—Michelle Wie came up short at the LPGA tourney in New Jersey, finishing tied for 3rd. She is playing pretty well this year, her first full one on tour, but still hasn’t picked up that initial victory. The LPGA desperately needs her to succeed.
–Amateur Shane Lowry won the Irish Open, the first amateur to win his debut on the European PGA Tour…a rather incredible feat.
—Greg Paulus, a three-year starter for the Duke basketball program who also just graduated, under the rules of the NCAA, has one year of college eligibility left if he plays another sport, so Paulus is headed to Syracuse where he hopes to become their quarterback while attending graduate school.
—Manchester United secured its third consecutive Premier League championship and matched Liverpool’s record of 18 titles in England’s top soccer league. It was also ManU’s 11th title in the 17-year history of the Premier League. Manager Alex Ferguson has been at the helm since 1986.
—Bald eagles were down to 400 pairs in the 1960s, but are now up to more than 10,000 pairs in the lower 48 states, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Minnesota, Wisconsin and Florida each have more than 1,000 pairs.
–Brad K. passed along this story from the AP:
“Some researchers in Texas trying an unusual approach to combat fire ants – parasitic flies that turn the pesky insects into zombies whose heads fall off….
“The tool is the tiny phorid fly, native to a region of South America where the fire ants in Texas originated….
“The flies ‘dive-bomb’ the fire ants and lay eggs, and then the maggot that hatches inside the ant eats away at the brain. Later, the ant gets up and starts wandering for about two weeks, said Rob Plowes, a research associate at the University of Texas at Austin.
“About a month after the egg is laid, the ant’s head falls off and it dies – and the fly emerges ready to attack any foraging ants away from the mound as it lays eggs.
“Plowes said fire ants are ‘very aware’ of these tiny flies, and it only takes a few to cause the ants to modify their behavior.
“ ‘It’s kind of like a medieval activity where you’re putting a castle under siege,’ Plowes told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
–We note the passing of Wayman Tisdale, 44, after a two-year battle with cancer. Tisdale averaged 15 points per game in a solid 12-year NBA career after three All-American seasons at Oklahoma (and gold at the 1984 Olympics). But he left the NBA to become an award-winning jazz musician. Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry, who attended OU at the same time as Tisdale, said, “Oklahoma has lost one of its most beloved sons. Wayman Tisdale was a hero both on and off the court.”
–And the winner of the 1959 PGA Championship, and former ABC broadcaster Bob Rosburg died. He was 82. Rosburg won five other PGA Tour events. "Rossie" was the first broadcaster to walk the fairways back in 1974.
–Jeff B. pointed out I missed a passage from a recent edition of Rolling Stone concerning Billy Joe Shaver.
“One of Bob Dylan’s greatest lines on his new album, Together Through Life, is from ‘I Feel a Change Comin’ On.’ Over a gentle groove, he sings, ‘I’m listening to Billy Joe Shaver, and I’m reading James Joyce / Some people they tell me I’ve got the blood of the land in my voice.’”
Shaver was asked what he thought. “It was really nice of him,” he said. “It’s nice to be mentioned in the same sentence with James Joyce too.” By the way, Tim L. says some of the best Billy Joe albums are with his son Eddie on guitar… “Live at Old Smith’s Bar” and “Tramp on your Street.”
–Uh oh…Madonna is planning a kabbalah wedding ceremony for her boy toy Jesus Luz. It won’t be legally binding, but I’m imagining a number of animals are sacrified.
Top 3 songs for the week 5/18/85: #1 “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” (Simple Minds) #2 “Crazy For You” (Madonna) #3 “One Night In Bangkok” (Murray Head)…and…#4 “Everything She Wants” (Wham!) #5 “Smooth Operator” (Sade) #6 “Some Like It Hot” (The Power Station) #7 “Rhythm Of The Night” (DeBarge) #8 “We Are The World” (USA For Africa) #9 “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” (Tears For Fears) #10 “Axel F” (Harold Faltermeyer)
*Congratulations to Barbara Mandrell, the great Roy Clark, and Charlie McCoy, who were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday.
**You have to catch the Eurovision 2009 winner, Alexander Rybak, and his performance from Saturday night. Very catchy tune…this 23-year-old from Minsk (now living in Norway) is clearly a superstar in the making. Just YouTube it.
Baseball Quiz Answer: 1970 All-Star ballot…outfielders
Paul Blair, Ken Harrelson, Willie Horton, Frank Howard, Reggie Jackson, Carlos May, Rick Monday, Bobby Murcer, Jim Northrup, Tony Oliva, Lou Piniella, Frank Robinson, Reggie Smith, Mickey Stanley, Cesar Tovar, Ted Uhlaender, Roy White, Carl Yastrzemski
