Baseball Quiz: Gotta do some of the standards before the season really gets cranking. Name the top 20 career in home runs. 521 is the benchmark. Answer below.
Nets win! Daaaaaaaa Nets Wiiiinn!
Yes, our very own New Jersey Nets have successfully avoided having the worst record in NBA history as they defeated San Antonio on Monday night to get to 10-64, thus assuring that they won’t match the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers mark for futility, 9-73. I have a confession to make. Weeks ago I purchased four tickets off Stub Hub for this very game, Monday, $40 seats for $5 each! The hope was the Nets would be like 7-66 heading into it but when they won two games last week to get to 9, I lost all enthusiasm. Couple that with the fact the weather was lousy, and Johnny Mac had a bit of a drive to get here, and I made the $20 decision to bag it.
So if you’re a Nets player, what’s the point in finishing, say, 12-70? You still had an incredibly awful season, but now your grandkids won’t go years from now, “Grandpa, is it true you were on the Nets team of 2009-2010 that won just 8 games all season? Did you guys really suck that bad?” “Yes, Jimmy. We really did.” “Wow…that’s cool, Grandpa!”
Actually, there is suddenly a risk the Nets won’t even have the best odds for getting the first draft pick. Entering Wednesday’s play, the Nets are just four games behind the Timberwolves, 14-60, with Minnesota having lost 16 straight. As Dave D’Alessandro of the Star-Ledger pointed out, the team with the worst record gets a 250-1,000 chance of getting the top pick (i.e., John Wall), with the second-worst record having a 178-1,000 chance of winning it. If New Jersey and Minnesota tie in wins, they then have equal opportunities at securing the No. 1 selection.
College B-Ball…as we prepare for Saturday’s Final Four
“Division I schools – most notably their presidents – appear to be warming to a proposal to expand the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.”
“Support has grown to the point that Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delany, a former chairman of the committee that oversees the tournament and a critic of large-scale expansion, sees a move from 65 to 96 teams as likely, he said Tuesday.”
Thus 31 additional games (today’s play-in contest would be eliminated), but this is one guy who won’t rearrange his schedule like he has before to catch the first day’s action. With the first 32 teams receiving a bye, why would you give a damn about those initial contests unless your school is involved? And it makes filling out the brackets, that all of us so love, way too cumbersome. But then the NCAA was always ruled by a true Band of Idiots.
–It was eight years ago that West Virginia coach Bob Huggins called a friend from outside a Pittsburgh airport rental car agency. Huggins was on a recruiting trip for the University of Cincinnati and he began to feel chest pains, so he told the friend, “I’m sweating. I feel like I’ve got an elephant on my chest, I’m having a heart attack.”
Luckily, paramedics were on the scene quickly and rushed him to the hospital. He was back directing practice two weeks later after what was indeed a “massive” coronary.
The other day, Huggins told the New York Daily News’ Dick Weiss, “Honestly, I’ve always felt when God says it’s time, it’s time….You’re not going to change that. There was a 24-year-old kid who was a former cross-country runner at Cincinnati and he had a heart attack two days after I did and died – just coming back from a five-mile run he did every morning. It is what it is.”
Huggins said he couldn’t believe all the suggestions he got in terms of living his life after the attack.
“I got a great letter from Skip Prosser’s high school coach. He told me to drink a glass of red wine and eat the hottest pepper I could stand every night. He did that for years and said his heart was great.”
–The Washington Post’s Michael Wilbon on the whole ‘why people hate Duke’ dynamic.
“When the tournament began there were folks who thought Duke was being set up with the easiest path to succeed and now, I suppose, those folks feel justified. But here’s the problem with that: in a tournament full of upsets Duke survived. I know you could easily make the argument that Kansas shouldn’t have drawn the toughest 8-9 seed winner, Northern Iowa. Still, Duke beat a legit No. 3 team playing well in Baylor…
“As far as simply ‘Duke hate’ which seems to have become a national sport, I just don’t share in it. I have too much respect for how difficult it is for a small private school to consistently be a top-five basketball program and graduate 90 percent of its students. So, count me as a guy who fawns over Duke.”
The Star-Ledger’s “Bracket Boy” has ten reasons why this edition of Duke b-ball is quite likable, a few of which are:
1. Christian Laettner is not going to walk through that door. [Or J.J. Redick, or Steve Wojciechowski] This Duke team is devoid of truly annoying or arrogant Dukies.
2. It’s been a while. Duke hasn’t been to a Final Four since 2004 and hasn’t won a championship since 2001. “How can you hate a team that keeps losing in the Sweet 16,” notes Bracket Boy.
10. The Blue Devils saved this Final Four. Did anybody really want to see West Virginia-Baylor? Unknown teams are fun, but it’s good to have a traditional power to anchor the big event, too – especially when that power hasn’t been here in a while.
Boston College’s Al Skinner was fired after two of his last three seasons saw the Eagles finish below .500. Skinner nonetheless had a 247-165 record and seven NCAA tournament bids in 14 seasons there. Whoever gets the job [Steve Dohahue of Cornell? Harvard’s Tommy Amaker?] inherits a senior laden team that has real top 20 potential in the eyes of your editor.
St. John’s named Steve Lavin its head coach. Lavin hasn’t had a job since being fired from UCLA in 2003 after his first losing season. Prior to that he had guided the Bruins to six straight NCAA appearances, including four Sweet 16s. Lavin reportedly accepted a little less money as long as he was allowed to bring in a powerful staff that will include a number of former and current head coaches with New York connections.
[The Daily News on Wednesday highlighted Lavin’s wife…and well it should have. Goodness gracious, she’s drop-dead gorgeous…32-year-old actress Mary Ann Jarou. “I am beyond thrilled. I’m ecstatic. I love noise. I love energy and hustle and bustle. And I’m a big theater geek.” Well we are delighted too, Mary Ann. We look forward to the Johnnies’ televised contests and your stunning visage behind the bench. As for the coach/husband, he’s used to being in the spotlight and I expect him to handle the excessive coverage of his wife well. “What do you expect me to say? I hit the lottery! I’m glad everyone else feels that way, too.” Handling the press when you have a gorgeous wife; another free feature of Bar Chat.]
Seton Hall hired Kevin Willard of Iona, but before he got his parking spot, three of the Pirates announced they would apply for the NBA draft, though only one of the three is likely to follow through on this, that being Herb Pope, the guy who likes to punch opponents in the groin.
–Kansas center Cole Aldrich is skipping his senior year to head for the NBA. He’s a definite high first-rounder, possibly a lottery selection, and should be a double-double machine, though not necessarily an All-Star.
–Lastly, the Women’s Final Four is lining up thusly:
Baylor vs. UConn
Oklahoma vs. Stanford
UConn has won its four tourney games by 95-39, 90-36, 74-36, and 90-50. Staggering. But now they go up against Baylor’s 6’8” sensation, Brittney Griner.
And did any of you see Xavier’s Dee Dee Jernigan? In the team’s Elite Eight contest against Stanford, Jernigan missed two wide open layups in the final 12 seconds. Stanford then drove the length of the court in the last four seconds to win it, 55-53. I mean we aren’t talking about someone driving to the basket and missing…these were two shots you all took in your backyard, mindlessly, growing up and made 99% of them. She was standing directly underneath the hoop. I can’t even feel sorry for her. This was totally inexcusable.
Go on…Be a Tiger [then again, maybe not]
Oh, don’t you know Tiger Woods is not fired up by the latest report on his behavior, this one from the New York Daily News’ David K. Li.
“Tiger Woods became a self-indulgent, sex-crazed narcissist because he hung out with the wrong crowd – namely, hard-partying, high-stakes hoopsters Jordan and Charles Barkley, the shamed golfer’s longtime former adviser claims in an explosive new interview.
“I told him, ‘Stay away from that son of a bitch (Jordan), because he doesn’t have anything to offer to the f—ing world in which he lives except playing basketball, which he did yesterday,’’ lawyer John Merchant told the latest edition of Vanity Fair magazine, which hits newsstands today (Wed.).
“Tiger temptress and Las Vegas nightclub hostess Jamie Jungers added, ‘One of the times [Woods] arrived in town, he texted me, ‘I’m gambling with Charles Barkley. Text me when you’re here, and I’ll tell the gate you’re coming.’
“ ‘As soon as I got to gate, I said, ‘I’m with Tiger,’ and they walked me to their table. Charles was playing roulette, and Tiger was playing blackjack. I would say probably $25,000 and above.’”
The Vanity Fair piece supplies Elin with further ammo should she wish to do what she should have done months ago…dump the jerk and pocket $100 million+.
One of the tales concerns Loredana Jolie Ferriolo. Matchmaker Michelle Braun “said she once dispatched Ferriolo, a Hawaiian Tropic girl, to hook up with Woods at a casino in the Bahamas – and the sexy model almost ended up with the basketball legend. When Ferriolo arrived, [Jordan] allegedly spotted the Sicilian hottie and put his best moves on her.
“ ‘[Jordan’s] bodyguard goes, ‘Michael wants to meet you,’’ Ferriolo recalled. ‘I walked over to him, and he grabbed my hand. I walked away, and he kind of gave chase. He goes, ‘I’m Michael Jordan. I will find you.’’”
I noted a week or two ago that with Jordan’s proclivity for gambling, just why the NBA is so excited about him being owner of the Charlotte Bobcats is beyond me. Now this stuff, which you can be sure is at least 90% true; knowing what we knew of the guy long before the Tiger story erupted.
–Sorry, Wall Streeters. It would appear that ESPN, which is televising the first two rounds of the Masters, will not be allowed to cover Tiger outside of the assigned hours for the telecast. The only concession the Lords of Augusta will make is to allow ESPN to break into its normal programming to show Tiger’s drives, live, the first two rounds, and nothing more.
For example, as the New York Times’ Richard Sandomir points out, “If Woods tees off at 1:52 p.m. next Thursday, as he did in last year’s first round, some of his shots will be seen live during ESPN’s 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern time slot. If he has a morning tee time, like last year’s 10:45 a.m. second-round time, nothing he does after his first tee shot will be shown live.”
ESPN will, however, be able to show taped highlight packages along the way and you can expect these to be available on ESPN.com.
Saturday and Sunday, CBS will carry the tourney from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., respectively. For all the above times, you can expect yours truly to be in front of the tube, possibly a domestic in hand (though not too early…I don’t want to leave the wrong impression with the youth audience).
[We’ve also just learned Monday’s press conference with Tiger may not be the big event some of us expected. Instead of holding it at a large, nearby auditorium, it is being held in the small interview room and access will be limited.]
Meanwhile, Joslyn James will be performing at the Pink Pony strip club in Atlanta while Tiger is competing at Augusta, with Elin back in Sweden, doing whatever they do there. As reported by Corky Siemaszko of the Daily News, “Of all the women Woods reportedly bedded, Nordegren was most upset by James, the 32-year-old star of XXX-rated skin-flicks like ‘Big Breasted Nurses’ and ‘My First Sex Teacher #12.’” Not sure on #s 1-11, but they say #12 was a real sleeper.
–Steve D., Boston College grad, notes that the real Final Four is the Frozen Four, where for selfish reasons Steve notes B.C. is in much better shape than its basketball brethren.
Miami (Ohio) vs. Boston College
Wisconsin vs. RIT
–Sports Illustrated’s John Heyman on observations out of spring training, including the best prospects.
“There were dozens of pretty good ones this spring. But three stood out: Braves outfielder Jason Heyward, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg and Reds pitcher Aroldis Chapman.
“Heyward is cited by just about every scout as the best positional prospect in years, maybe decades. ‘If he stays healthy and works hard, he’s the next superstar,’ gushed the Yankees’ Mark Texeira. ‘I’m just glad he’s in the other league so I can root for him.’ Strasburg wowed people with three plus pitches and surprising poise. Chapman was the best story in Arizona, drawing folks to Goodyear with a 100-mph fastball and several other pitches. ‘He’s the best pitching prospect I’ve ever seen,’ one N.L. scout said. ‘He looks like he’ll win a Cy Young, maybe not this year but someday. He has four out pitches.’
“The polished Heyward made the Braves, and everyone agrees that was the right call. “He was the best player in Florida this spring,’ one scout said. Many believe Strasburg and Chapman are ready, as well, but those decisions are trickier. The Nats sent Strasburg to Double-A Harrisburg but are expected to recall him around June 1. Chapman may go down as well. But if he does, he shouldn’t stay down for long.”
The most underrated prospect group
John Heyman writes, “The Mets’ minor-league system looks a lot better now than more realized last year, when so-called experts rated it near the bottom. Those ratings will need to be re-evaluated now that five young Mets looked very good or better this spring.” [Jon Niese, Ruben Tejada, Jenrry Mejia, Fernando Martinez and Ike Davis.]
Mets Fever…Catch It!
And then….depression set in. As fellow Mets fans Johnny Mac and Phil W. reminded me, through Tuesday’s play the projected five starters on Opening Day for the Metsies have spring ERAs of 5.65, 6.75, 7.94, 7.97, and 8.66. With the exception of Johan Santana, the fans are not going to be real patient if this is the deal come end of April, if not sooner. We’ve had it with this franchise.
–The New York Times’ Michael S. Schmidt reports that antidoping officials are close to unveiling a new test that could catch athletes using human growth hormone.
“The test uses the same science that detects bone and breast cancer. A laboratory technician takes several milliliters of blood and spins the sample in a centrifuge. The blood is then mixed with chemicals, reaction occurs and an instrument is used to measure the illumination in the blood.
“The intensity of the light, antidoping experts say, signals whether the person has used H.G.H. over the past 10 to 14 days. The procedure is known as the biomarkers test.”
The current test can only detect if H.G.H. has been used in the previous 24 to 48 hours. So progress is being made, rapidly, but it’s up to the players unions in both the NFL and Major League Baseball whether or not to allow it.
–Uh oh…Roger Clemens is about to get embarrassed. According to Fox News, as reported by the Daily News’ Christian Red, country singer Mindy McCready has a salacious sex tape that is about to be released, featuring “McCready in a compromising position with a former boyfriend named ‘Peter,’ but the singer is also interviewed on the tape dishing about her long-term romance with Roger Clemens….
“In the tape, McCready reportedly claims that Clemens was ‘good in bed,’ but also experienced ‘a lot of problems’ due to erectile dysfunction. But McCready saves some high heat for Clemens, comparing his bedroom skills with that of ex-fiance Dean Cain – who starred as Superman on the hit TV show ‘Lois & Clark.’ According to the Fox News report, McCready says on the tape that Cain was the superior lover.” No word on Peter’s prowess.
–In divorce proceedings, Jamie McCourt, estranged wife of Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, is asking for $988,845 in monthly payments. In the words of Bob Uecker, just a little high. [This divorce is killing the Dodgers’ franchise as McCourt wouldn’t allow the club to go after free agents and it has broken off contract negotiations on granting Joe Torre an extension.]
–The conclusion to the PGA Tour’s Bay Hill event, Arnie’s tourney, extended into Monday due to rain but Ernie Els came out victorious for a second time in two starts, this after going winless since 2008. Yeah, I’d say the Big Easy is back and a pick to click at the Masters.
–USA TODAY’s Gary Mihoces reported on how attitudes have changed in Pittsburgh towards Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, even if he isn’t charged in the Milledgeville, Ga., incident. No one can understand how he could be so stupid and risk throwing everything away. As Pittsburgh-based sports agent, and former NFL linebacker, Ralph Cindrich said, “You have to question his judgment with a 20-year-old college student…Where is your mind?
“I don’t think there’s any question that Ben has lost the city. The Rooney family is just on hold trying to see what the facts are. But there isn’t a bank of goodwill that Ben has to go to.”
Stan Savran, a long time Pittsburgh TV and radio broadcaster, says, “Almost 100% have kind of lined up against him. I think they buy into the fact that the Steelers not only win, but do things the right way…They feel what Ben has done is a slap in the face to the Rooneys.”
Roethlisberger signed an 8-year, $102 million contract in 2008.
–For those of you who watched part III of “The Pacific,” the New York Daily News’ Bill Gallo, a World War II vet who fought in that theater, commented on the Marines who fought at Guadalcanal and then found themselves on leave in Melbourne, where they saw something they hadn’t seen in months…girls…only to get new orders.
“The boys are going to ship out again, and it’s time to say goodbye to girlfriends they may never see again. Before Pfc Leckie says his final farewell he sees great concern on the face of his Greek girlfriend. He asks her this question: ‘Are you pregnant?’
“She doesn’t say, so we are left to see a sad goodbye. It’s a love story, one of many the war produced in foreign lands, love stories that remained pleasant memories in the hearts of marines, who kept those memories to themselves, never disclosing them to the girls waiting back home, whom they eventually married. Of course, some guys came home to see the girls they once loved were already married, promises forsaken. This, too, was part of that war.”
“On this year’s Kentucky Derby trail, two colts have towered over the current crop of 3-year-olds. Eskendereya was a crushing eight-and-a-half-length winner in the Fountain of Youth in Florida; Lookin at Lucky easily came from behind to win the Rebel Stakes by a head.
“On Saturday, they will run their final tune-ups on opposite coasts. Eskendereya comes to New York from Florida and will be the prohibitive favorite in the $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. Lookin at Lucky will stay in his home base of California for what looks like the more competitive $750,000 Santa Anita Derby.”
Yes, that’s Lookin at Lucky…the official Derby horse of Bar Chat, as designated way back on 12/21/09. In the final Kentucky Derby futures pool, our colt is the slight favorite, 9-2, and Eskendereya was 5-1. So before it’s too late, you may want to go to your local community banker and, even though credit remains tight, ask if you can take out a $100,000 loan. When the banker replies, “But Darryl, you already have a hefty mortgage and you haven’t worked in two years,” just tell him you need to bet on Lookin at Lucky in the Derby and he or she will certainly understand. I’m guessing you get real good terms, too.
–Walt “Clyde” Frazier celebrated his 65th birthday the other day. He looks like he’s 50 and some of us guys wouldn’t mind being in his shoes for a day, even in 2010. He remains one of the coolest cats on the planet.
–Sports Illustrated reported that Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell arrived at mini-camp weighing 290, or basically the size of Oakland’s linemen.
–“Hyenas use a ‘laughing language’ to communicate with each other, scientists have learned.” U.S. and French scientists have concluded hyenas were highly intelligent animals capable of understanding complex relationships, according to the Irish Independent. Kind of makes you want to treat them with more respect.
–And this, from BBC News, as reported by Matt Walker:
“Common toads appear to be able to sense an impending earthquake and will flee their colony days before the seismic activity strikes.
“The evidence comes from a population of toads which left their breeding colony three days before an earthquake that struck L-Aquila in Italy in 2009.
“How toads sensed the quake is unclear, but most breeding pairs and males fled.”
I’m thinking it was a prophesy from Nostoadamus that led to this behavior.
–Sorry, but I had never watched any “Dancing With the Stars” until Tuesday night, when I caught about the last 20 minutes. That was an interesting top Brooke Burke was wearing as she fixed breakfast for her kids. And good to see Pamela survive, if barely.
Top 3 songs for the week 4/5/75: #1 “Lovin’ You” (Minnie Riperton…chirp chirp… chirp… chirp chirp) #2 “Philadelphia Freedom” (The Elton John Band) #3 “No No Song” (Ringo Starr)…and…#4 “Express” (B.T. Express) #5 “You Are So Beautiful” (Joe Cocker…Belushi was better) #6 “Poetry Man” (Phoebe Snow…didn’t like this one when it came out, but kind of do now) #7 “Lady Marmalade” (LaBelle… “Hello, hey, Joe…you wanna give it a go?” “Ahh, ahh, err…you mean now?”) #8 “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song” (B.J. Thomas…underrated artist…long title) #9 ‘Have You Never Been Mellow” (Olivia Newton-John) #10 “My Eyes Adored You” (Frankie Valli…the one and only)
Baseball Quiz Answer: Top 20 all time in home runs.
Barry Bonds…762…Boooo Boooo!
Hank Aaron…755…Hooray for Hank, the real home run king!!!
Babe Ruth…714…Like Arnie in golf, the Bambino’s charisma, as well as immense talent, paved the way
Willie Mays…660…Greatest all-around player in history
Ken Griffey Jr. …630…Hope he plays well this year; not sure he should have come back
Sammy Sosa…609…Booo Booooo! You phony!
Frank Robinson…586…Looks greater and greater as the years go by
Mark McGwire…583…Booo Booooo! [see Sammy]
Alex Rodriguez…583…Booo Booooo! [Mr. Disingenuous]
Harmon Killebrew…573…They don’t make him ‘em like Killer any more*
Rafael Palmeiro…569…Booo Boooooo! [Will never sniff the Hall]
Jim Thome…564…Not sure on his legitimacy
Reggie Jackson…563…Irritating, but will always be Mr. October
Mike Schmidt…548…Would have hit 600+ in today’s parks
Manny Ramirez…546…Booo Boooo! Yet another phony jerk
Mickey Mantle…536…We love you, Mickey!
Jimmie Foxx…534…Gets lost in the shuffle, and it shouldn’t be that way…partied hard
Willie McCovey…521…Most fearsome slugger I ever saw
Ted Williams…521…Greatest hitter of all time
Frank Thomas…521…Need to think about his career a little more
*Totally forgot that Killebrew, who hit only .256 for his career, nonetheless had an OBP of .376. And get this…in 1969 he hit 49 homers, but only 11 doubles! Ya gotta love it.
Happy Easter…next Bar Chat, Monday. Does your editor pick the Yankees to go all the way? [Pssst…nope]
