Baseball Quiz: This one comes from the New York Post’s Page Six. Who are the five catchers to hit more than 350 doubles, 250 home runs and 1,000 RBIs? Answer below.
Kaymer Wins PGA
In one of the more entertaining final rounds to a major championship in recent memory, 25-year-old German Martin Kaymer captured the PGA at Whistling Straits in a playoff with Bubba Watson; a tournament that will forever be known as much, though, for Dustin Johnson’s 2-shot penalty on the 72nd hole that prevented Johnson from joining the other two.
When Johnson, playing in the last group, hit his drive on No. 18, CBS immediately showed the graphic of the hole and said he had ended up in a trap. But when Johnson got to his ball, in an area that had been trampled down by fans, he acted like it was simply a waste area, or dirt, and not a hazard, and grounded his club. I immediately thought, as did millions of other viewers, gee, guess he checked out that it was a waste area, because everyone knows you can’t ground your club (touch the sand) in a trap.
So Johnson played the hole, scrambled for a bogey that put him in a 3-way playoff, and then immediately the discussion began with rules officials as to Johnson’s actions. Yes, it was a trap. Dustin hadn’t checked, or read the rules sheet handed to all the players that explicitly brought up hazards of this kind, and there really wasn’t any debate. He grounded his club when he wasn’t allowed to, two-shot penalty, end of story.
Rules are rules when it comes to golf. It’s part of what makes it such a great sport, as opposed to Congress where the likes of Charlie Rangel ignore the rules…but I digress.
And while yesterday’s finish is being called the cruelest ending to a major since 1968 and the incorrect scorecard signed by Roberto de Vicenzo that gave the Masters to Bob Goalby, in actuality it isn’t.
Dustin Johnson is a huge talent, and all of America saw a tremendous comeback from his 4th-round meltdown at the U.S. Open this year. His initial comments could have been a little better, but that’s asking too much of him given the circumstances. Bottom line, he gained as much, if not more, publicity from what happened and won over more fans than if he was hoisting the trophy at the end.
It’s also obvious that the sport of golf is in tremendous shape with one talented young player after another breaking through this year. What’s needed, though, to really build back fan interest, assuming Tiger’s funk continues, is for one of these 20-somethings to win two majors and begin to separate themselves, or have Johnson and Rory McIlroy, for example, each winning 4 or 5 tourneys a year, like when Palmer and Nicklaus were rivals.
Next time we’ll chat about the impact of the PGA Championship on the Ryder Cup and the decisions facing Captain Corey Pavin.
But one other note on Martin Kaymer, who for all we know could go on to win a bunch of tournaments, let alone majors, himself; he proves my long-held point that Germans speak better English than we do.
College Football
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Boise State
4. Texas
5. TCU
6. Iowa
7. Florida
8. Oregon
9. Nebraska
10. Virginia Tech
11. Wisconsin
12. Oklahoma
13. North Carolina
14. Georgia Tech
15. Miami
16. Pitt
17. USC
18. Cincinnati
19. Penn State
20. Oregon State
21. LSU
22. Utah
23. Arkansas
24. Stanford
25. Florida State
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Boise State
4. Miami
5. Florida
6. TCU
7. Nebraska
8. Wisconsin
9. Texas
10. Oklahoma
11. Oregon
12. Virginia Tech
13. Iowa
14. Florida State
15. Oregon State
16. USC
17. Auburn
18. Georgia Tech
19. Pitt
20. LSU
21. Arkansas
22. Utah
23. North Carolina
24. West Virgina
25. Washington
Ball Bits
While I’m going to a Boise State game this year, and I already have a lot of Oregon Duckwear, looks like a good year to be a closet Pitt fan, seeing as I have roots there anyway. Then again, a lot of folks still feel Oregon has more than enough talent to contend, even without QB Jeremiah Masoli. What’s going to be exciting about the Pac-10 is watching Oregon running back LaMichael James and Oregon State’s Jacquizz Rodgers, who along with Pitt’s Dion Lewis are probably the three most exciting backs in the country.
Speaking of Oregon and Masoli, coach Chip Kelly was asked by Dan Patrick if he felt he made the right decision in booting the quarterback, now that Mississippi has picked him up. “We have standards here at school and it was plain and simple, straightforward. People have asked me, ‘Was it a hard decision?’ No, it wasn’t.” Good for you, Coach.
The consensus No. 1 pick in next spring’s NFL draft? Washington QB Jake Locker.
Man on the hot seat? Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, of course, after a disastrous 8-16 in his first two seasons at the helm. The guy sucks on so many different levels.
ESPN The Magazine asked college football players if during the recruiting process, did teams use hostesses to influence their decision? Yes, 25.2%. ESPN also polled the players as to their BCS title pick and a whopping 51.5% said Alabama. Florida was next at 11.4%.
In the ACC review section, ESPN has Wake No. 10 out of 12 teams. But while Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer is selected as the best coach in the conference, No. 2 is Wake’s Jim Grobe, who “draws kudos for doing lots with little (only ACC team with zero ESPNU 150 recruits over the last four years when Wake has 33 wins).” “Nobody knows how he does it,” says one senior, “but Wake’s always pretty good.”
So I read Grobe’s and the offensive coordinator’s pre-season comments the other day in Wake’s sports publication and I forgot how young we are, as in there are only like two seniors on the entire depth chart. Grobe likes the team, but without Riley Skinner at QB, looks like we’re going the option route. I’m not in the least bit optimistic, and would be ecstatic with 6-6. Alas, Sports Illustrated has Wake finishing 3-9, as does Sporting News.
Sporting News also has Notre Dame going 8-4, Navy 7-5, and Army 6-6, for you independents out there.
QB…Ryan Mallett, Jr., Arkansas
RB…Mark Ingram, Jr., Alabama
RB…Dion Lewis, Soph., Pitt
WR…Ryan Broyles, Jr., Oklahoma
WR…A.J. Green, Jr., Georgia
TE…Kyle Rudolph, Jr., Notre Dame
My Pathetic Mets
Following Wednesday night’s game, Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez, aka “K-Rod,” started cussing out his girlfriend, or common-law wife, she also being the mother of his twin 1-year-olds, in the family/friends lounge off the clubhouse, at which point his girlfriend’s father said K-Rod can’t say those things to his daughter. K-Rod told the 53-year-old to step outside, whereupon Frankie proceeded to pummel him, including knocking his head against the wall…this while Mets wives and children were watching. The Mets suspended K-Rod for two days without pay, he returned to boos on Saturday night, and he still faces a criminal hearing in mid-September. He further infuriated fans, however, by issuing a pathetic apology.
“Rodriguez spoke yesterday for 54 seconds and refused to answer questions. Instead, in 96 words, he apologized to all the usual suspects – except the person he punched out Wednesday – and acknowledged he would be undergoing anger management therapy. ‘I look forward to being a better person,’ Rodriguez said.”
The response of Mets management thus far, starting with the fact K-Rod should have been suspended for far longer, has been pitiful.
“If the Mets were really so revolted by Rodriguez’s actions, why on Friday was their designated spokesman, general manager Omar Minaya, calling what Rodriguez did the kind of ‘mistake’ that you expect from all 25 of your players? Really, the Mets believe all 25 of their players are capable of repeatedly punching in the face the grandfather of their children in the Citi Field family room while other friends and family of players looked on?”
K-Rod has a history of family abuse, plus he has gotten into all kinds of tiffs with teammates, coaches and opposing players, His histrionics on the mound are absurd as well.
“Sorry for your team. Sorry for having to put up with all the amateurs running the show. Sorry that there are no meaningful games in your baseball life….
“Then last night (Sat.) the Mets went out and put on another sorry performance, being totally outclassed by the Phillies and Roy Halladay, 4-0, at Citi Field before 39,151booing customers.
“Rodriguez came on to pitch the ninth and was booed. Boos are all Mets fans have left….
“This is another Lost Season…After a while, though, it all gets so old. Even for the fans. Saying you are sorry is not enough anymore.
“Those are just empty words masking a sorry franchise.”
After K-Rod’s apology, the New York Daily News’ Filip Bondy reports:
“(K-Rod) headed back to the clubhouse, where he joked at length on his cellphone and goofed around with teammates Ollie Perez, Manny Acosta and Elmer Dessens. K-Rod scooted around the room on his roller-based chair.”
Of course K-Rod isn’t the only legal issue confronting the team. Ace Johan Santana is facing a civil suit for sexual assault.
Father: “Son, I know you like the Mets…and I’ve been buying you Metswear, but why don’t we go with Minnesota?”
Father: “I’ll explain to you when you’re older. Now give me the hat and jersey and let’s go outside and burn ‘em.”
—David C. Dolby, a Medal of Honor winner from Vietnam, died. He was 64.
Dolby was a machine-gunner with a platoon that came under fire on May 21, 1966, while advancing on a ridge in the Central Highlands.
“Six members of the platoon were killed instantly and others were wounded, including the platoon leader, who was dying but able to order Specialist Dolby to withdraw the soldiers still exposed.
“Assisting the wounded and carrying one of the men to safety, Specialist Dolby fired until he ran out of ammunition, reloaded and killed three enemy machine-gunners while under intense attack. He crawled within 54 yards of enemy bunkers and tossed smoke grenades to mark them for air strikes and he also directed artillery fire.”
President Johnson awarded him the Medal of Honor in September 1967.
Dolby was born in Norristown, Pa., and joined the Army after high school. He served five tours of duty in Vietnam.
—Chipper Jones’ Hall of Fame career could be at an end after he tore his ACL, though for now he is saying he will attempt to return in 2011. Easier said than done at this stage in his injury-riddled career. He’s 38, after all. Huge blow for Atlanta’s pennant hopes as well.
–Bummer. A-Rod hit three home runs on Saturday. Plus he’s leading the majors in RBI. And then the depression set in….
—Nellie King died. He was a former Pirates pitcher who became a popular announcer for the Bucs, teaming alongside legendary Bob Prince from 1967 to 1975, the year in which they were both fired in a move that alienated many longtime Pirates fans…kind of like the Mets when they first traded Tom Seaver. King was 82.
–I didn’t get to see the first episode of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” and the Jets, seeing as how I was transfixed by Shelby Lynne that night, but I’ll catch it before episode 2. By unofficial count, head coach Rex Ryan swore 20 times, which Ryan was a bit embarrassed by, admitting his mother was upset.
“Sometimes, you get rolling and words come out, and you don’t even realize you’re saying it….I apologize if I offended more people than I usually offend.”
—Tyson Gay lit it up in London on Friday night, turning the fastest time of the year in the 100M…9.78. So technically, with his other wins this season, Gay is now the No.1-ranked man on the planet.
—LeBron James, commenting on all those ripping him following his decision to join fellow superstars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat.
“Don’t think for one min that I haven’t been taking mental notes of everyone taking shots at me this summer. And I mean everyone!” James Twittered.
What a jerk. Charles Barkley replied that he wanted James to put him on his list.
“He’s got enough people kissing his ass with his family and all the people who work for him. We don’t have to tell him what he wants to hear all the time.”
Ah, the Heat and James are marked men. It’s actually great for the NBA. I know I’ll be hoping they stumble…and stumble again…and pull hammies…and groins.
–After I posted my last chat, Isiah Thomas was indeed forced to end his consulting agreement with the Knicks because it violated NBA by-laws, but now Knicks fans are waiting for owner Jim Dolan to bag President Donnie Walsh and hire Thomas to run the whole operation, though Thomas shouldn’t leave his post at Florida International until after their coming season (not that Thomas will indeed do the right thing). Hell, we all know Dolan will be relying on Thomas for advice anyway as Walsh and coach Mike D’Antoni are undermined. Or as Mike Vaccaro puts it in the New York Post, “Cockroaches never die.” And neither does Dolan’s man-crush on Thomas.
“Peru’s health ministry has sent emergency teams to a remote Amazon region to battle an outbreak of rabies spread by vampire bats.
“Four children in the Awajun indigenous tribe died after being bitten by the bloodsucking mammals.”
The locals are now being vaccinated. I’m never stepping outside again and am going to double check my screen windows right now.
–On the popular beaches of Costa Blanca, Spain, more than 700 swimmers suffered stings from jellyfish over a three-day period last week, whereas at most 4 or 5 a day get stung. In another part of Spain, the Portuguese Man-o’-War has stung 300 during the past few weeks in Basque Country. Jellyfish are launching attacks all over the world this summer. I just hope affected governments have prepared their shore defenses for when the jellyfish head inland. “Vessels of opportunity” could be used to skim the suckers before they do further damage.
–Scientists have discovered that Orangutans will resort to mime to get their message across; suggesting ape communication is more complex than we think. But seeing as I hate mimes, this could impact Orangutans’ standing on the All-Species List.
–In Switzerland, when you are caught speeding, the level of fine you’re assessed is determined by your wealth and the speed recorded. In January, a Swiss driver was fined a world record $290,000, but a Swedish motorist was just clocked doing 290km/h (180 mph) in Switzerland, a cool 170km/h over the limit, and while the 37-year-old has not been named, he evidently has money and could face a fine in the neighborhood of $1 million. A police spokesman was not amused. “It is not controllable. It must have taken 500m to stop.”
–Hey New York area sports fans. You know what I was just reminded of in reading a piece in Bloomberg BusinessWeek? You know that bankrupt Xanadu project in the Meadowlands? There is a chance it could still be a white elephant, or a giant shell, come the 2014 Super Bowl there, which would be kind of funny. For those of you not familiar with Xanadu, this is a $2 billion colossus that was to include an indoor ski slope and a Ferris wheel as part of a giant shopping mall, and of course it was being built during the peak in the real estate bubble and was just an incredibly stupid idea to begin with, first and foremost, because traffic in the area, even on non-game days, sucks.
–The crate of whiskey discovered in explorer Ernest Shackleton’s hut in 2006 was finally thawed and opened to reveal 11 bottles of Mackinlay’s Scotch Whisky, wrapped in paper and straw to protect them from the rigors of the rough trip to Antarctica for Shackleton’s 1907 expedition. While discovered in 2006, the crate wasn’t retrieved until earlier this year, and while frozen solid, the whisky inside could be heard sloshing around in the bottles. Antarctica’s minus 22 Fahrenheit temperature was not enough to freeze the liquor, dating from 1896 or 1897 and described as being in remarkably good condition.
Each of the 11 bottles will be conserved, though samples will be extracted in an effort to replicate it since no original recipe for the Scotch exists. The samples will be sent to Scottish distiller Whyte and Mackay, which took over Mackinlay’s distillery many years ago. Later on, the bottles, currently at a museum in Christchurch, New Zealand, will be returned to their home – Shackleton’s hut, near Antarctica’s McMurdo Sound.
—Richie Hayward, one of the founding members of Little Feat, died. He was 64. The other founders of the L.A.-based group were Lowell George, Bill Payne and Roy Estrada.
–And a word about Shelby Lynne, who I saw last Wednesday night at Mexicali’s in Teaneck, N.J. For starters, I had never been to Mexicali’s and it seats all of about 100! It’s like a little dinner theater, but being a single I was seated at the bar (which was fine), all of about 40 feet from the stage.
It was years ago that I first called Ms. Lynne in this space “one of the more underrated performers in the business,” and another time I quoted her, describing how she comes up with her tunes. “What I do is pick up my guitar, play Waylon or Willie, and I have a drink.”
So it was just Shelby, playing guitar, along with her long-time partner, guitarist John Jackson, who is super in his own right, and the two filled the room with sound. She ended up doing her entire new album, “Tears, Lies, and Alibis,” which is excellent but mellow (didn’t want you to be surprised if you buy it), plus she played some more familiar tunes of hers from the past, like “Killin’ Kind,” for which I recommend the YouTube video.
If you buy just one of her albums, and want an introduction, make it “I Am Shelby Lynne,” for which she won Best New Artist even though it was her sixth album!
Born in Quantico, Virginia, October 22, 1968, Shelby Lynne Moorer grew up in Jackson, Alabama, where she and her mother were planning on forming a singing duo (Allison Moorer, Shelby’s sister, is a traditional country singer in her own right these days).
But Shelby’s alcoholic, abusive father killed her mother and then himself when Shelby was 17. It hasn’t been an easy road for Ms. Lynne, but now she has her own label, because, as she put it on Wednesday, when she feels like writing a song about Airstream campers she doesn’t have to worry about what some Nashville executive wants, she just does it.
To tell you the truth, I’m holding back on my comments. Let’s just say that I’ve always wanted to see her and for the full 90 minutes had a smile on my face. She was everything I hoped she would be. I mean, hell. When a sexy woman comes on stage and the first words out of her mouth are, “How y’all doin’….thanks for comin’ out on a school night,” I just melt.
Top 3 songs for the week 8/16/69: #1 “In The Year 2525” (Zager & Evans…eegads…and get this…it was No. 1 for six weeks…what the heck were we thinking, people? And what were the #2s that didn’t thus make it to No. 1? “Spinning Wheel, and “Crystal Blue Persuasion”… “Honky Tonk Women” became No. 1 the following week) #2 “Honky Tonk Women” (The Rolling Stones) #3 “Crystal Blue Persuasion” (Tommy James & The Shondells…in my top 3 all time)…and…#4 “Sweet Caroline” (Neil Diamond) #5 “A Boy Named Sue” (Johnny Cash) #6 “Put A Little Love In Your Heart” (Jackie DeShannon) #7 “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town” (Kenny Rogers and The First Edition…Kenny had his original face back then) #8 “My Cherie Amour” (Stevie Wonder…easily one of his top three) #9 “What Does It Take” (Jr. Walker & The All Stars…simply the best beginning of any rock song in history…and pisses me off to no end when DJs talk over it!) #10 “Baby, I Love You” (Andy Kim)
Baseball Quiz Answer: Five catchers with 350 doubles, 250 home runs and 1,000 RBI…
Johnny Bench, Gary Carter, Pudge Rodriguez, Carlton Fisk and Jorge Posada.
