**The following Bar Chat is rated ‘M’ for mature audiences only**
Baseball Quiz: Time to check your short-term recall. Two weeks ago, San Francisco pitcher Tim Lincecum won his second consecutive Cy Young Award. Name the other seven to accomplish this feat…going back-to-back. Answer below.
New Jersey Nets…0-18…a new record for worst start in NBA history.
*Update: But what\’s this? Nets won on Friday, breaking the streak.
Recently fired coach Lawrence Frank: “Look, we didn’t get the job done. I accept responsibility for our inability to win some of the games we had a chance to win. You learn from it, you grow and move on….With me there is no bitterness. I only root for this organization to win, to be successful.” Frank is a class act.
Note: I’m posting this column around 3:30 pm ET on Wednesday, about five hours after Tiger’s latest statement. This entire Web site is partly about documenting the decade, all stories, from all angles, as much for my future purposes as my readers’. So what follows is a chronology of ‘thoughts’ after posting the last chat, leading up to Wednesday’s confession from Tiger.
As we pick up our story, it’s clear Elin had “gone ghetto” over allegations in the National Enquirer, she scratched Tiger’s face, he didn’t want to hit her and thought I’ve gotta get out of here, attempted to take a drive, probably to Mark O’Meara’s place, or a similar friend’s nearby, while Elin chased him with a golf club. Tiger would later bag his own tournament.
“This tactic works fine at golf tournaments and any time he has a product to push. He appears when he is good and ready, and is just blandly helpful enough to give a few snippets of quotes to the waiting world. He’s a green-jacketed master at it.
“This is a man who has never had the yips in public. But we are now witnessing his hooking and slicing his image straight into the rough, into the trees, into the drink.
“As the great salesman and role model of a very difficult and upscale sport, he is in danger of setting off a recession in the golf industry, unless he puts out a more complete story, soon.”
Mike Lupica / New York Daily News
“[Tiger] has a perfect right not to talk. You have a perfect right to defend him not talking. But you either get out in front of your own story or it takes off without you, like an out-of-control SUV.
“Nobody is demanding an explanation from Woods, nobody is saying he owes anybody anything other than driving a golf ball better than a car. But Woods had a chance over the weekend to take control of his own narrative the way David Letterman did. And sure did not….
“The media isn’t doing this to him. He is doing it to himself, by acting in a way that makes him look guilty….
“Only Tiger Woods is the one who gets lost now, saying he is too sore to play his own tournament. This from a guy who won the U.S. Open on a broken leg. It makes about as much sense as Woods talking about how ‘courageous’ his wife was in the moments after the accident….
“So the biggest winner in sports keeps playing a losing hand, doing a lot more damage to himself than he did to the car.”
Sally Jenkins / Washington Post [writing from Tiger’s perspective]
“[I] understand the relentless curiosity about me, given my sacrosanct greatness and all I do for the good of humanity, and so I have decided to release a statement, on the advice of my agent, media consultant, personal blogger, sponsor liaison and attorneys. But rather than give this statement to the authorities, who somehow think they have real authority over me, I have decided to post it on my Web site, where the little men with badges can also find news, biographical info, statistics, audio and video clips, photos and signature merchandise such as $75 drop-needle polo shirts and washable wool sweater vests, as well as framed art, naturally of me….
“Let me pause to express my disapproval of the vicious rumormongers who continue to spread untruths, when no actual truth is being offered by me as an alternative. I don’t see why people won’t just accept my evasions at their word….
“Cops – they’re just like photographers. People need to understand that I’m entitled to privacy at all times. Privacy is a commodity I own exclusively, and it’s mine to give up only under the right circumstances, in exchange for seven-figure checks. These people who think I’d give it up for free must be crazy. Of course, we’re not talking about the same police officers who provide security to keep those hounding autograph-seekers away. Or the photographers who spread images of me as a family man with my newborns and dogs or document my latest charity event for the world. Those folks are just doing their jobs – jobs in which they essentially report to me.”
John Feinstein / Washington Post
“Woods can’t simply fall back on ‘this is a private matter’ and expect the world to turn its interest elsewhere.
“Fairly or unfairly, it doesn’t work that way these days. Privacy stops at your front door. Woods has a legal right not to speak to the police, especially when he hasn’t been charged with anything and the police say there was no evidence that alcohol was involved in the accident. Woods also has the absolute right not to speak to the media on this subject.
“But there’s a difference between what one has the right to do and what is right to do.
“For years, he has used his extraordinary talent and carefully burnished image to make millions of dollars pitching products ranging from golf equipment to cars to shaving cream to credit cards. He has often refused to play in tournaments whose title sponsors are competitors to one of his own. When you trade on your image, issues related to that image can’t be dismissed as ‘private matters.’
“The other reason such avoidance doesn’t fly is a lot more pragmatic. For years, Woods has intimidated most of the golf media. TV networks have been told in the past that Woods would speak to certain members of their broadcast crews, but not others. The networks have complied with his various rules. Woods rarely does any one-on-one print interviews except if he is under contract to a publication (Golf Digest) or if he has a specific agenda. Those who cover golf live in fear of being ‘cut off’ by Team Tiger and rarely stray into subjects that haven’t been approved….
“Worse for Woods, the incident has brought a lot of other media into play. The tabloids and gossip Web sites couldn’t care less if he cuts them off. The same is true for the joke writers at Letterman and Leno and Conan, among others. Already cyberspace is filled with one-liners about what happened Friday morning. Woods has become the one thing he probably least wants to become: a punch line….
“Right now Tiger Woods has lost control of his public persona. There’s only one person who can get it back. The sooner Woods understands that, the better off he will be.”
Rachel Uchitel / New York Post interview
“I was happy to answer any of their [National Enquirer’s] questions, but they didn’t want to listen to me when I denied it. I look like a home wrecker and an a-hole….
“[The source of the story] is not even a friend of mine. I’ve met her twice in my life. I’ve got some really horrible things I can say about her and her past….
“She [the source] got paid money to sell a story to the National Enquirer. I heard she got $25,000 and another girl got $25,000. The other magazines heard about it, but they turned it down because there was no hard evidence….
“I’ve always been the director of VIP services, that’s my job – to know these people, to have a relationship with them, to hang out with them. It doesn’t mean I am having sex with them or an affair with them. These are people I hang out with and become friends with.
“But Tiger and I are not friends. That’s a whole different ballgame. I’ve only met him twice. He came in to The Griffin [the Meatpacking District nightclub where she worked as a VIP hostess] in the summer. As usual in my job, I got a call from a promoter that he’s coming in. I went outside and brought him and his entire group in, walked them upstairs, introduced him to his waitress.
“I may have asked him if he needed anything. I hung out at the door to make sure they were OK, and when they were ready to leave, I walked them downstairs to the car. That’s my job. Then I heard rumors I was making out with him at Griffin, that I had brought him in to Griffin.”
[As for the Australia rumor….]
“I didn’t see him in Australia at all. I was just there with friends. I travel all the time for business, I travel with bottle-service customers, and I set up their nightclub stuff, their restaurants, their lunches, kind of like a concierge would. I become friends with my clients and go on trips with them….
“I have never spoken on the phone with Tiger Woods, or texted him, ever. I get this stuff all the time. I see celebrities all the time. I was just in Vegas for a week, having dinner with celebrities. I hear this all the time….
“I do not have sex with celebrities, and I have not had an affair with Tiger Woods.”
“I don’t really care what happened between Tiger and…whatever happened. I’m just glad he’s OK. We need him, probably more than anybody on the tour, to keep things going, the way the economy is. Tiger’s the biggest asset the tour’s had in a long, long time. Golf needs him badly.”
Daly also said Tiger should make an appearance at his tournament.
“Starting Monday morning, volunteers will begin working on the Chevron World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif. The tournament raises money for the Tiger Woods Foundation, including the learning center, which also teaches kids golf. One of the best things that golf teaches you?
From the New York Post:
“At least two more buxom beauties claim to have had torrid affairs with embattled superstar golfer Tiger Woods – including one whom he bombarded with more than 300 text messages and warned last week that his wife was getting suspicious….
“ ‘I will wear you out…When was the last time you got laid?’ a hot-and-bothered Woods allegedly texted to mistress Jaimee Grubbs on Sept. 27, according to Us Weekly.
“Grubbs, a sexy, 24-year-old LA cocktail waitress, told the mag she had her first of 20 wild sex romps with Woods in mid-April 2007, two days after she met him at a Las Vegas club.
“She said they headed to his hotel room for dinner, and then ‘went into another room to watch a movie.’ But ‘he just grabbed me and kissed me, and we started taking our clothes off and had sex,’ said Grubbs, who has appeared on the VH1 dating reality show ‘Tool Academy.’
“The bar worker said their steamy affair continued off and on for nearly three years.
“She said they were even supposed to get together the week in February that his wife, Elin, gave birth to their son. But he suddenly told her ‘he couldn’t make it because of a ‘family issue,’ she said….
“But Grubbs said a panicked Woods called and left a message on her voicemail Nov. 24 – a day before the National Enquirer published its story about another alleged mistress of the billionaire golfer – saying Elin, 29, might be on to them.
“ ‘I need you to do me a huge favor. Can you please take your name off my phone? My wife went through my phone and may be calling you,’ Woods allegedly pleaded, according to Us Weekly.
“ ‘So if you can, please take your name off that. Just have it as a number on the voicemail…You got to do this for me. Huge. Quickly. Bye,’ the golfer allegedly said….
“Grubbs’ ex-beau, Bradley Berman, 22, told The Post he and the waitress broke up over Woods around Labor Day, after he found a text message on her phone from Tiger saying ‘he wanted to meet her in Vegas and how much would it cost to get her out there.’….
“A few months ago, the mag said, Woods also was spotted in the VIP room of an Orlando bar with ‘a girl on either side, and his hand was up one of the girls’ skirts.’”
This last tale was the final straw in the ongoing closed door negotiations between Tiger and Elin. He was forced to confess Wednesday morning.
“I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far too short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.
“Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means. For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives. The stories in particular that physical violence played any role in the car accident were utterly false and malicious. Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect.
“But no matter how intense curiosity about public figures can be, there is an important and deep principle at stake which is the right to some simple, human measure of privacy. I realize there are some who don’t share my view on that. But for me, the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one’s own family. Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions.
“Whatever regrets I have about letting my family down have been shared with and felt by us alone. I have given this a lot of reflection and thought and I believe that there is a point at which I must stick to that principle even though it’s difficult.
“I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.”
Tiger’s whole situation reminds me of the time of Bill Clinton and Monica. Or Barry Bonds. What we hated in these two instances was how both Clinton and Bonds played us all for chumps. Such is the case, we discover, with Tiger Woods as well.
This story will last the rest of his career because a new dynamic has been introduced. For starters, think of all the journalists Tiger has blown off, or belittled over the years. Think of all those who have been faithfully carrying his water, only now to look like a ship of fools.
Sure, Tiger will undoubtedly remain the same great golfer, but while the first early polls on ESPN say his fans won’t care, there are liable to be more than a handful at every hole from here on who instead of shouting “You da man” with each drive or approach shot, will now be saying, “You’re an asshole, Tiger!”
From Dennis Dodd / CBS Sports.com, on issues surrounding Notre Dame coaching prospect Brian Kelly of Cincinnati, in light of the firing of Charlie Weis.
Referring to comments Kelly made to the Detroit Free Press four years ago:
“At the time, five of his players had been charged with second-degree murder in the beating death of a man outside a Mount Pleasant, Mich. bar in June 2004. Although he inherited the players, the crime occurred on Kelly’s watch at Central Michigan. He had been hired as the Chippewas’ coach before the 2004 season.
“These are Kelly’s comments after perjury charges were made against the players.
“ ‘A number of them were African Americans that had been in that culture of violence, and they’re taught to look away,’ Kelly was quoted in the Free Press as saying. ‘You don’t want anything to do with it. Get out of there. You don’t say anything to anybody.’
“Kelly was admonished for the remarks by then-Central Michigan president Michael Rao and later apologized.
“ ‘I am appalled and offended at the obvious lack of forethought and sensitivity these remarks…connote,’ Rao said in a statement at the time. ‘Coach Kelly expressed his deep regret to me….’
Two of the three Central Michigan players went to prison. Three eventually entered into plea agreements on lesser charges.
So maybe Kelly isn’t the answer. I really don’t understand why you’d want the ND job, anyway, unless the school is willing to throw ridiculously funny money at you, guaranteed. Why would you leave Oklahoma (Bob Stoops) or Florida (Urban Meyer)?
I’ll say, upon further review, it’s a coach with a NFL pedigree, but not Bill Cowher. Which really leaves only Tony Dungy.
And Bobby Bowden is retiring, forced out. There are those who say Florida State didn’t handle this well, that Bowden deserved to stay on one more year as he wanted, but I disagree. It is clear he was losing it, and the school has to come before the man. It’s just too bad Florida State and Bobby couldn’t reach an agreement before the season began.
Coach Steve Spurrier of South Carolina said, “He had a wonderful run, and I hope he’s at peace going out now…But we’re in a profession that’s based on performance. If you’re not doing very well, the next guy comes in and gets the chance. I guess the question is, ‘Have you earned the right to stay as long as you want?’”
After his initial hurt, Bowden can sit back in his rocking chair and reflect on his great run, 1987-2000, when FSU finished in the top five a record 14 consecutive seasons, with national titles in 1993 and 1999.
Bowden’s career mark in 34 years at the helm of FSU was 315-97-4. He never finished below .500 after his first season when he went 5-6. Including his four years at Howard College (now Samford) and six years at West Virginia, Bowden won 388 games, second to Joe Paterno all time.
I imagine we’re all in agreement, at least those of us who watched Drew Brees’ performance against the Patriots the other night. That was an awesome show, probably the best I’ve ever seen from a quarterback in terms of the quality of the throws. It was a real thing of beauty.
Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, home of the defending Super Bowl champs, as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger watched from the sidelines because of his 4th (documented) concussion, some of his teammates, namely star receiver Hines Ward, were none too pleased. Ward told NBC in an interview before the Steelers’ 20-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in overtime:
“This game is almost like a playoff game. It’s almost a must-win [the Steelers fell to 6-5]. I could see some players or teammates questioning, like, ‘It’s just a concussion. I’ve played with a concussion before. It’s almost like a 50-50 toss-up in the locker room. Should he play? Shouldn’t he play? It’s really hard to say.”
Ward was upset no one on the team knew Roethlisberger wasn’t playing until Saturday because Ben had seemingly recovered but then suffered from headaches that day, after which he was advised he couldn’t play.
Ron Cook / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Shame on wide receiver Hines Ward…saying it’s ‘almost like a 50-50 toss-up in the locker room’ about whether quarterback Ben Roethlisberger should or should not have played. Roethlisberger was benched by team neurosurgeon Dr. Joseph Maroon after experiencing concussion-related symptoms late last week after taking a knee to the head in Kansas City the previous Sunday….
“Shame on the 50 percent in the locker room who questioned Roethlisberger’s toughness. This is fair to say: Virtually all of those who did will never be as tough as he is.
“Ward, who is as tough as any player in the NFL…didn’t do his quarterback – his teammate and supposed friend for the past six years – any favors by pointing out that he and a lot of other guys would do just about anything to play in ‘almost a must-win’ game, even if it means lying to team doctors.
“ ‘I’ve been out there dinged up. The following week, got right back out there,’ Ward told NBC.
“ ‘I don’t think guys really worry about the future when they’re playing currently in the NFL. Trust me, the players want to go out there because these games you don’t get back. You’re never going to get this Baltimore-Pittsburgh game back. This is a big game.’
“If I’m Ward, I don’t know how I look Roethlisberger in the eye.
“If I’m (coach Mike) Tomlin, I’m thinking I have to get the two in a room. Life first thing this morning.”
Bob Smizik / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“If the Steelers locker room was, as Hines Ward said last night in an interview with Bob Costas, ‘50-50’ in its support of Ben Roethlisberger’s decision to sit out the game…there’s only one thing to say:
For his part, Hines Ward said he apologized to Roethlisberger and Coach Tomlin. “Ben and I are cool and always will be. We will not let this come between us.” Right.
Boomer Esiason, who hosts a sports talk show in New York, said on Monday that Roethlisberger has a reputation for being “a drama queen,” and it’s clear some in the locker room feel the same way, but this was a doctor’s decision to keep Ben out. And after Commissioner Roger Goodell got an earful from Congress last month for the NFL’s handling of brain injuries, the league is instituting new rules…and it’s about time. Goodell’s new mantra? “We’re not in the business of ending careers. We’re trying to extend careers.”
Meanwhile, on a different topic, but in an attempt to extend his career, the Jets brought in Yankees manager Joe Girardi to teach quarterback Mark Sanchez how to slide! I kid you not. When Sanchez scrambles he tends to go down head first and he tweaked his knee last week as a result as the defensive player rolled up on him.
College Basketball AP Men’s Poll
9. Michigan State
In the first ten years of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the Big Ten has never won more games than the ACC, 0-10. As I go to post, though, it’s 3-3 with five games on tap for Wednesday night.*
*Update…the Big Ten took the challenge 6-5 with Wisconsin defeating Duke.
But on Tuesday, Wake Forest, in West Lafayette, Ind. to play No. 4 Purdue, and after losing to William & Arthur Murray over the weekend, led at half before going down in flames, 69-58. The Deacs had 25 turnovers, 17 in the second half. Embarrassing. And of course the Deacs continued to have problems at the free throw line. In fact, I don’t ever recall them having a good team in this respect. They’ve had individuals like Jeff Teague and Randolph Childress who could knock ‘em down, but as a team we have seldom stepped up.
The latest example is guard Ish Smith, a senior, who has played extensively all four years. Following are his FT percentages.
Yes, those figures are right. 29% from the foul line! So he gets his act together the following season, but is now 7 of 22 thus far in ’09. Incredible. He missed all five on Tuesday and I swear, I have never seen a worse collection of shots in my life.
Division I-AA (FCS) Football Playoffs
William & Mary vs. Southern Illinois
New Hampshire vs. Villanova
Appalachian State vs. Richmond…game of the week
Stephen F. Austin vs. Montana
–Good for the Grand Slam committee, comprised of the leaders of tennis’ four Grand Slam events, for fining Serena Williams $82,500 for her outburst at the U.S. Open where she threatened a lineswoman. Better yet, Serena was placed on two years probation. While some say she should have been suspended, and admittedly I would have liked to see that, this is still a heavy penalty. If Williams commits another major offense in the next two seasons at one of the Grand Slam tournaments, she will be suspended from the next U.S. Open and the fine increased to $175,000. The fact is her conduct has now been highlighted and hopefully she’s given the business by fans.
[Tiger Woods should be publicly placed on probation next time he hurls a club like he did in China. The PGA Tour is fining him all the time for his on-course language, but it’s the Tour’s policy to keep any actions quiet. They should be made public.]
–If you’re thinking a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight is around the corner, first, it would seem, Pacquiao is going to step up again in weight and go after a universe record 8th different title; this time light-middleweight WBA champ Yuri Foreman, probably in March. Then Pacquiao, who is very politically active, is running for Congress in the Philippines on May 10. Trainer Freddie Roach says September is thus a possibility for Mayweather.
Well, that was the story just a few days ago, but now it’s said a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout could indeed be held as soon as March 13 and that Manny would not first fight Foreman.
–The World Cup draw is Friday.
The following ‘pots’ will be divided into eight groups, according to BBC.
Pot 1 is all the seeded teams: South Africa, Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina, England
Pot 2: Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Mexico, Honduras
Pot 3: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Algeria, Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay
Pot 4: France, Portugal, Slovenia, Switzerland, Greece, Serbia, Denmark, Slovakia.
It’s all about the draw in terms of the early matches and trying to move on.
–Former NBA All-Star Antoine Walker agreed to pay $900,000 to settle bad check charges with Las Vegas casinos and avoid felony criminal charges.
–Speaking of the NBA and lowlifes, former referee Tim Donaghy is doing his first interview for “60 Minutes” this coming Sunday and evidently has something to say on corruption in professional basketball. He was just released from prison, having served a year for pleading guilty to federal charges he was betting on games.
–The other day, tongue firmly planted in cheek, I gave a long-time fan of Bob Dylan the poet’s new Christmas album, “Christmas in the Heart.” Woody relayed that he can only listen to one song at a time before risking driving off the road and I frankly lost the copy I bought for myself. The Weekly Standard’s Andrew Ferguson commented:
“It’s not too unusual for a performer to lack respect for his most worshipful admirers; he hears himself as they do not, knowing how far short of his hopes his performance invariably falls, despite their wild applause….But not since Don Rickles at the height of his powers – the second greatest artist of the past 50 years, some believe – has a performer taken delight in actively abusing the people who pay money to enjoy his act. And when Rickles did it, the people were supposed to laugh, and did. When Dylan does it, the fans pull their chins and think hard. Then they pop right back, Baby Huey-like, and start explaining. [With one honorable exception, critic Greil Marcus, who upon listening to a Dylan release started a review with, “What is this s—t?”]
“A Dylan concert is unlike any other event in the history of American show business. It is notable most for the uneasy sense among the audience that no one has the slightest idea what song they’re listening to….Yet I’ve seen fans weep in gratitude as he garbles his most famous lines. The ovations are deafening….Dylan fans are the battered wives of the music industry.”
“We should be clear: the record is not irony, or camp. This is not a case of ‘It’s so bad it’s good.’ Dylan is not Florence Foster Jenkins or Tom Waits. This is a case of ‘It’s so bad I can’t believe it.’ Under no one else’s name would a commercial concern like Sony release a product so embarrassing. Yet embarrassing doesn’t quite cover it. For a man as self-aware as Bob Dylan, it’s – what?…It’s not a gag. It’s an affront, a taunt. He’s giving us a choice. He’s saying, Okay, this is what it’s come to: You’ve got two options. You can cover your ears and go running from the room in horror, or you can call me an enigmatic genius who’s daring to plumb heretofore unexplored archetypes of the American imagination. But you can’t do both.”
—I received my newsletter from the National WWII Museum in New Orleans the other day and there’s a bit on wartime shortages. [The museum has a great exhibit on this topic…the whole place is fantastic.] With the WWII generation dying off rapidly the museum has been in a frenzy trying to collect as many memories and oral histories as possible. Here is one from William K., of Luck, Wisconsin.
“Sugar was available but closely rationed. It was during the war years that Mother and just about everyone else gave up putting sugar in their coffee. All of the recipes calling for sugar were modified to use much less sugar, and the substitution was usually Karo brand syrup. It was sold in ½ gallon buckets. Applesauce was another commonly used substitution.”
Eva F., Palo Alto, CA:
“My sister sent by parcel post some fresh killed chickens. The chickens arrived about a week after sending. They were a little green but were wiped off with vinegar. They were fried for dinner that evening and tasted great. Such a treat!”
Carl J., Cotati, CA:
“My mom and pop decided to raise rabbits for meat. Because of pop’s increased income at the shipyard, we could afford to rent a bigger house. It also had more land where we could keep some chickens for eggs and pop could build the rabbit cages. We got two pairs of male and female rabbits and we waited. And the rabbits did what rabbits do, and soon we have more than a half-dozen of the cuddly creatures. Finally, the time had come to kill and dress the rabbits as planned. Mom and I anxiously stayed in the house while pop took the axe and went out to the rabbit hutches. We waited. And we waited. Pop finally came back into the house. ‘I can’t do it,’ he said. Mom and I yelled with happiness and we all trailed out to the backyard to watch the newly reprieved rabbits in their cages.”
—Derek Jeter became the first New York Yankee to be named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year in what can really be viewed as a lifetime achievement award more than anything else.
Nothing really wrong with this. Jeter is the storied Yankees’ all-time hit leader, after all, and is a threat to finish his career at worst 3rd or 4th on the all-time hit list, just picked up his fifth World Series ring, and did bat .334 this past season. In addition, Jeter is known for giving back to the community and squiring gorgeous women.
SI Group Editor Terry McDonnell said that when you add it all up, “Derek Jeter has always presented himself with class; he does numerous good works for the community with his Turn 2 Foundation…and he’s extremely generous with not just his money but with his time, which in many cases is more valuable. He also had another signature year on the field.”
But McDonnell adds, “He’s the greatest shortstop in the history of the game.”
Ken P. and I were incredulous at this statement…but then I just looked up the Hall of Fame shortstops and you know what? Jeter is indeed right there. Only Honus Wagner is ahead of him (Ken vehemently disagrees), and it was a different era. Ozzie Smith has no competition when it comes to fielding, but obviously Jeter is better all-around. And Ernie Banks and A-Rod each only played short eight full seasons.
Ah, but not everyone is in agreement with Jeter getting Sportsman of the Year.
Joel Sherman / New York Post
“Fourteen years into the existence of the Turn 2 Foundation, Derek Jeter finally received the Roberto Clemente Award for community service on Oct. 29.
“Two days later, he was handed the Hank Aaron Award as the American League’s top hitter.
“Why now for the Clemente Award or why not, say, Barry Zito, who initiated Strikeout for Troops and recruited more than 60 players to help wounded vets being treated at military hospitals?
“Why now for the Aaron Award? Jeter was not even the Yankees best offensive player, much less better than Minnesota’s Joe Mauer.
“And now Jeter was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year. Why should he even win the Yankee version of that award over, say, Mariano Rivera and Alex Rodriguez, or be a better candidate across the sports spectrum vs. Tim Tebow or Roger Federer or Kobe Bryant?
Sherman, like your editor, talks of how it’s a “lifetime achievement” honor.
“Maybe SI has turned its lonely eyes to Jeter for skirting controversy and illegalities when so many athletes have not. But enough about the plummeting stock that is Tiger Woods.
“However, this is sports in 2009, and Sports Illustrated should not run from an atmosphere it helped create. After all, SI is the entity that outed A-Rod as a steroid cheat.
“And Rodriguez should win this award. He embodies where sports are now. He is the intersection of illegal performance enhancers, advancements in sports medicine, celebrity and on-field genius.
“Rodriguez could end up in People or US Weekly because of Madonna, Kate Hudson or his inner Centaur. Or he could end up in the New England Journal of Medicine for his rapid, successful return from major hip surgery. He could be in a game of shadows over ‘boli’ or playing his game, baseball, brilliantly.
“And his 2009 story also included redemption. He became a better teammate – less obsessed with himself – and as the hitting star of the postseason, he freed himself from the choking shackles….
“Which returns us to Jeter, who somehow has dated starlets and is building a vanity mansion in Tampa, yet has remained as pristine as a New York star could ever be. Kudos to him for being such a wonderful caretaker of his reputation. That deserves admiration.
–Former Yankee Tommy Henrich, “Old Reliable,” passed away at the age of 86. Henrich was a five-time All-Star who played 11 seasons for the Yanks from 1937 through 1950, with a three-year military hitch in the middle, 1943-45. Henrich finished his career batting .282, with 183 home runs and 795 RBIs. He hit a career high 31 homers in 1941 and drove in 100 in 1948. Tommy also played in four World Series, with the Yankees winning each time; 1938, 41, 47, and 49.
Henrich got the nickname during a game with the Philadelphia Athletics.
“The score was tied in the late innings, and the Yankees had to catch a train,” he told The Chicago Sun-Times in 1989. “I got a hit that won the game, and broadcaster Mel Allen said: ‘Good old reliable Henrich. Looks like we’ll catch the train after all.’”
And as noted by the New York Times’ Richard Goldstein, Henrich played a role in three memorable World Series games against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
“In the 1941 Series, he swung and missed for strike three and what seemed to be the final out of Game 4, which would have tied the Series at two games apiece. But the Dodgers’ catcher, Mickey Owen, committed a passed ball that led to the winning rally.
“ ‘Even as I was trying to hold up, I was thinking that the ball had broken so fast that Owen might have trouble with it, too,’ Henrich said in ‘Baseball Between the Lines.’
“ ‘I saw that little white jackrabbit bouncing and I said, ‘Let’s go.’ It rolled all the way to the fence. I could have walked down to first.’
“In Game 4 of the 1947 Series, Cookie Lavagetto’s two-run double that broke up Bill Bevens’ no-hitter with two out in the ninth inning caromed off Henrich’s glove after hitting the right-field wall at Ebbets Field, allowing Brooklyn’s Eddie Miksis to score the winning run. The Yankees took the Series in seven games.
“In the final game of the 1949 season, Henrich hit a home run at Yankee Stadium in the Yankees’ pennant-winning victory over the Boston Red Sox. And in Game 1 of the 1949 World Series, his ninth-inning home run at Yankee Stadium off the Dodgers’ Don Newcombe brought a 1-0 triumph. The Yankees won that Series in five games.”
I also loved this anecdote, an example of Henrich’s reputation for strength of character, as related by Richard Goldstein. Casey Stengel once said of his player:
“He’s a fine judge of a fly ball. He fields grounders like an infielder. He never makes a wrong throw, and if he comes back to the hotel at 3 in the morning when we’re on the road and says he’s been sitting up with a sick friend, he’s been sitting up with a sick friend.”
–Here’s a clean golf story. From Golf World.
“How’s this for ‘old’ news? Vintage club aficionado Michael Beckerich made a hole-in-one at the 155-yard third hole at Baltusrol GC’s Upper Course in Springfield, N.J., Nov. 10, using a hickory-shafter 3-iron. The stick was part of a set made in the 1920s by New York area pro Willie Klein.
“Beckerich’s playing partner, Tillinghast Society co-founder Rick Wolffe, noted that the third green on the Upper is the oldest at the club founded in 1895. The ‘old’ theme ends there: Beckerich was playing a Titleist Pro V1.”
–But then in the same Nov. 30 issue of Golf World there is this quote from Tiger.
“ ‘Take out the trash’ or ‘clean up the house’ or ‘wash the dishes.’ I understand those [in Swedish]. Actually, I understand [them] in Thai, too.”
Perhaps a little too close for comfort in light of what we now know.
–In looking up the Jeter story in Sports Illustrated, I see that the Cheerleader of the Week is a Univ. of Oregon beauty, Katelynn Johnson, UO being home to the nation’s number one cheerleading squad.
–What happened about 20 years ago that caused some parents to give their children absurd first names? I mean I’m reading a college basketball write-up the other day and there’s Alabama’s JaMychal Green and Charvez Davis. Texas has J’Covan Brown. University of Oregon football has LeGarrette Blount, LaMichael James, and NaDerris Ward.
Is it any wonder, then, that your editor is super high on North Carolina’s budding basketball superstar, Ed Davis? The guy can play, no doubt, but both he and his parents deserve credit for simplifying his life, too.
–Goodness gracious…a former Miss Argentina, Solange Magnano, 38, died from complications after undergoing cosmetic surgery on her butt. She had a pulmonary embolism. Close friend Roberto Piazza (no relation to former Mets catcher Mike), said the procedure involved injections and the liquid “went to her lungs and brain. A woman who had everything lost her life to have a slightly firmer behind,” he said. [AP]
Personally, I prefer to go jogging to try and keep the butt firm. Others do yoga or pilates.
–From Page Six / New York Post: Regarding Tila Tequila’s “boundless energy,” “The bisexual bunny demanded 20 cans of Red Bull on her table ‘at all times’ when she performed the other night at HeadQuarters, the West 38th Street gentlemen’s club. ‘She stipulated that as each Red Bull was consumed, it should be replaced with another one immediately,’ a spy reports….The pampering paid off, and Tila stripped for an appreciative crowd.
–Not sure if Rihanna has been with Tiger, but she admitted the other day that she is the woman in certain nude pictures that were leaked earlier this year. “If you don’t send your boyfriend naked pictures, then I feel bad for him.”
Top 3 songs for the week 12/4/82: #1 “Truly” (Lionel Richie) #2 “Gloria” (Laura Branigan…I break out in hives when I hear this godawful song) #3 “Mickey” (Toni Basil)…and…#4 “Maneater” (Daryl Hall & John Oates) #5 “Heartlight” (Neil Diamond) #6 “Up Where We Belong” (Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes) #7 “Steppin’ Out” (Joe Jackson) #8 “The Girl Is Mine” (Michael Jackson/Paul McCartney) #9 “Dirty Laundry” (Don Henley) #10 “Muscles” (Diana Ross…gotta get back to the 60s, quick)
Baseball Quiz Answer: Back-to-back winners of Cy Young Award. Tim Lincecum, Sandy Koufax, Denny McLain, Jim Palmer, Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson.
Next Bar Chat, Monday. Guess what? More Tiger…of this I’m sure.
