Men’s Tennis Quiz: Rafael Nadal became the seventh man in tennis history to win every Grand Slam at least once. I’ll give you Fred Perry and Don Budge. Give me the other four. Answer below.
Nadal Rocks On…
Nadal won his first U.S. Open in defeating Novak Djokovic in four sets, to go with five French Opens, two Wimbledons, and an Australian Open, thus becoming the second youngest at 24 (next to Bjorn Borg) to get to nine majors as he now presents a serious challenge to Roger Federer’s record 16. Nadal’s Grand Slam finals record is 9-2, with the two losses coming to Federer at Wimbledon.
J-E-T-S…Jets Jets Jets…suck
BC 9/6…at which point I picked the Packers over the Colts in the Super Bowl; Green Bay then suffering a big opening loss as star running back Ryan Grant suffered a season-ending ankle injury in week one. But then I wrote this about the Jets.
“Yes, I’m a Jets fan, but I am not in the least bit optimistic about their prospects. I hope I’m wrong…I just see the Jets having a disappointing 9-7 season, with no wild-card in their future either. [I’d feel much better if you told me Kris Jenkins is going to be healthy the entire season.]”
BC 9/9…after signing Darrelle Revis
“I love that we have the talent, especially on defense with Revis’ return, to be competitive in every game, but we have a second-year quarterback and some big questions on offense. And it’s just so tough to live up to the hype.”
And so it was that on Monday night, 9/13, the Jets lost to Baltimore, 10-9, in what was easily the most pathetic performance this Jets fan has ever seen.
The Jets had just six first downs, 1-for-11 on third down, and but 176 yards total offense as quarterback Mark Sanchez was 10-for-21 for only 74 yards, the longest completion going for a whopping 13.
The Jets also committed an astounding 14 penalties for 125 yards, 10 for 100 in the first half alone.
And then as time was running out, with the Jets only needing a field goal to win despite the horrid effort the previous 59 minutes, tight end Dustin Keller caught a fourth-down pass and, not understanding where the first down marker was, came up a yard short as he headed to the sidelines.
Coach Rex Ryan said afterwards, “Our goal is still the same. We want to win the Super Bowl. We think we can win the Super Bowl. We got beat by one point by a heckuva team.”
Well, Ryan will have a tough time convincing fans we are truly contenders, with the Patriots and Dolphins next up, and with my man Kris Jenkins having suffered another season-ending injury on just the sixth play of the first game, tearing the ACL in the same knee he had an operation on last year!
When he’s healthy, Kris Jenkins is the best defensive player in the game (though watching Ray Lewis on Monday, I would understand if you felt otherwise). That’s why I spoke of him the way I did a week ago. Now he’s gone. Or as Bill Murray once famously said, “And then the depression set in.”
As for Mark Sanchez and his teammates’ effort, I told Johnny Mac I would have rather watched Lady Gaga change costumes for three hours, to which he correctly offered up, “I would have rather seen her as the QB!”
[Pssst…BC, 3/8/10… “Ravens made a great move in getting Arizona receiver Anquan Boldin.” Rather prescient, at least for one week, as Boldin dominated the Jets in catching 7 balls for 110 yards. He can be a man among boys.]
Regarding the case of TV Azteca reporter Ines Sainz, Rex Ryan said of the NFL investigation into alleged harassment by members of the Jets team and staff, including Ryan himself, “I think everyone knows me well enough and we want to have an environment here where everyone is comfortable.”
It started last Saturday, at the Jets nearby training facility in Florham Park, N.J. Sainz, a well-known (at least among some fans) former Miss Universe contestant, complained she was being bombarded with catcalls and boorish antics by the team, such as Ryan and assistant coach Dennis Thurman purposefully overthrowing passes so they landed near her, at which point she tweeted in Spanish, “I’m dying of embarrassment.”
Commissioner Roger Goodell ordered an immediate investigation, the result of which appears to be to remind all 32 teams to treat female reporters better, and Jets owner Woody Johnson apologized after hearing Sainz’ side of the story
For her part, two days later after the supposed harassment took place, Sainz was in the press box covering the game and felt the whole situation was being blown out of proportion.
“I don’t feel that they attacked me in a sexual way,” she said. “I didn’t feel danger in the locker room. Uncomfortable? Yes. But I didn’t feel any danger or that at any minute it could be dangerous for me.”
Ah, but then Redskins running back Clinton Portis entered the conversation when he told a D.C. radio station:
“You put a woman and you give her a choice of 53 athletes, somebody got to be appealing to her. Somebody got to spark her interest or she’s gonna want somebody. I don’t know what kind of woman won’t, if you get to go and look at 53 men’s packages.”
Yikes! Shortly thereafter, league spokesman Greg Aiello said Portis’ comments were “clearly inappropriate, offensive and have no place in the NFL.” Portis immediately apologized.
But Joanna Molloy of the Daily News had the following observations.
“Ines Sainz’ last name sounds like ‘science,’ but everyone knows by now her brain isn’t the body part that ignited the chemistry of athletes and male sports fans alike. [Ed. I, too, plead guilty and throw myself at the mercy of the court.]
“Long before Saturday, when the sportscaster tweeted about feeling increasingly ‘uncomfortable’ in the Jets locker room as players’ antics and murmurs about her body reached a crescendo, she was the object of comments that would make a halfback blush.
“You know, jokes about end zones and players hard at work.
“Sainz’ pulchritudinous posterior is said to have an entire fan site dedicated to it.
“Even her network, the Mexican-owned TV Azteca, shot a ridiculous close-up of her crotch as she tried to report on a Honduras versus Costa Rica soccer game….
“If you watch Spanish-language TV, you know Sainz probably wouldn’t have her job unless she was a sizzler: You’re not about to see Susan Boyle do sports updates on Televisa, or on American TV, home of Erin Andrews, for that matter.”
But as Ms. Molloy concludes, of course “the players…made asses of themselves.”
Meanwhile, there were lots of empty seats for both the Giants and Jets opening games at the $1.6 billion New Meadowlands Stadium. It’s about the personal seat licenses, PSLs, and how loyal season-ticket holders were given the shaft.
Such as Judy Staubo. Harvey Araton of the New York Times reported that Staubo’s family had six tickets on the 50-yard line going back to the 1930s.
“I went to my first game when I was 8,” Staubo said. “When I went to my last game last season, I was 68. That’s 60 years, going through four generations, with so many lovely memories, so many friendships with the people sitting in front of us and in back.”
But no longer. To keep her seats, she would have had to shell out $20,000 for each of the six and opted instead to buy four seats in the upper deck that carried a $1,000 PSL. That was for the 2009 season.
“They sent me my assignment – the last four seats in the last section,” she said. “I said, ‘Wow, what a slap in the face.’ All those years, all that loyalty, and what they were telling me was, ‘You don’t matter.’ And I said, ‘OK, I’m out.’”
Mets…Jets…all the same
The present, and future, are bleak for us Mets fans. As the team’s announcers were saying during Tuesday’s broadcast, consider that the Mets have a staggering $120 million in salaries already committed to just nine players for next season, including for the likes of injury-riddled John Santana and Carlos Beltran, Jason Bay (concussion), and malcontents and all-time underperformers Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez. In a nutshell, there isn’t a single team in baseball that would take these guys off our hands unless the Mets pick up virtually all of their contracts.
And this $120 million figure is before arbitration, trades and free agent signings involving the other 16 available slots
As for Frankie Rodriguez, a k a K-Rod and one of the nine, a Queens Supreme Court justice spared him a possible jail term in his assault case against his former live-in lover’s father.
But it wasn’t just the assault, in front of Mets family members, including children, that K-Rod had to appear in court for. It turns out he violated a court order of protection for his girlfriend by sending her 56 texts between Aug. 19 and Monday in an attempt to mend the relationship; though one such message couldn’t have helped his case when he said to the girl, “Your parents are manipulating you like a marionette.” But because K-Rod’s notes weren’t menacing, the judge let him off, though the issue of the texts remains a separate, pending case.
Bush Returns Heisman
“One of the greatest honors of my life was winning the Heisman Trophy in 2005. For me, it was a dream come true. But I know that the Heisman is not mine alone. Far from it. I know that my victory was made possible by the discipline and hard work of my teammates, the steady guidance of my coaches, the inspiration of the fans, and the unconditional love of my family and friends. And I know that any young man fortunate enough to win the Heisman enters into a family of sorts. Each individual carries the legacy of the award and each one is entrusted with its good name.
“It is for these reasons that I have made the difficult decision to forfeit my title as Heisman winner of 2005.”
Gee, do you think he wrote that himself? Bush continued that he’d like to turn a negative situation into a positive one by establishing an educational program at USC for helping student-athletes and families avoid some of the mistakes he made.
Well I don’t know if you need a program for that, Reggie. You cheated the school and the system big time for receiving benefits way beyond the pale of the rules, like free rent for your parents. You knew damn well that what you were doing was wrong. No special program needed.
The eight-member Heisman Trophy Trust hasn’t decided what to do about Bush.
Meanwhile, the 2005 runner-up, Vince Young, said, “I definitely want it,” which would be absurd.
But back to Bush, he never specifies what the mistakes were and he continues to leave his school hanging, USC now being on four years’ probation and facing other serious penalties.
War Story
“Sgt. 1st Class Jack White was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army’s second-highest military decoration, at a ceremony Sept. 7 at Fort Benning. He is the 16th soldier to receive the honor since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began.
“White was honored for his actions June 29, 2008, in Khost province, Afghanistan, while serving as a squad leader with the Vicenza, Italy-based A Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment.
“White and 18 other soldiers on an observation post near the Pakistani border turned back 105 Taliban fighters who attacked from a ridge with small-arms fire, RPK machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, according to an Army release.
“On that morning, the Taliban fighters began a 10-hour crawl up the side of the mountain toward White’s position at the top. As the attack commenced, White was awoken by an RPG that landed less than 20 meters away. He low-crawled out of the sleeping area to lead the observation point’s defense, according to the Army account.
“Maneuvering through heavy enemy fire, White engaged and quickly directed his men to repel the attacking force, according to his citation. With no regard for his own safety, he ordered multiple ‘danger-close’ fire missions, called in airstrikes, and directed lethal mortar and artillery launches.
“The fight lasted more than an hour, but the enemy finally retreated.”
Yanks 88-57
Tampa Bay 87-57 [loser gets wild-card]
Philadelphia 85-61
Atlanta 83-63
San Diego 82-62…settling down after big swoon?
San Francisco 81-64
Colorado 79-66
*Atlanta thus up on San Fran and Colorado for the wild-card.
Ichiro has 189 hits…11 to go
It’s over for Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez and his triple crown dreams, seeing as he’s 7 homers behind Albert Pujols.
–Light week when it comes to big college football games this go ‘round, as in there really aren’t any, with the possible exception of No. 6 Texas vs. Texas Tech (slight upset potential there), and No. 9 Iowa at No. 24 Arizona.
But No. 3 Boise State has one of those games that could influence a few voters when they take on Wyoming; the reason being that Wyoming lost to Texas last week, 34-7, so Boise at worst needs to match this, though the Broncos have had a tough time in recent years vs. the Cowboys.
—Chase for the Sprint Cup
I have to admit this year I’ve followed NASCAR about as little as I ever have, which makes me a pretty good barometer of the overall national scene in this sport as it’s suffering with lower crowds virtually across the nation. Not too long ago, you didn’t see any empty seats. That’s no longer the case during the Great Recession.
But now it’s the big chase, the final 10 races of the 36-race season, with only 12 drivers being eligible for the Sprint Cup championship. So wow your significant other with this knowledge, the 12 being:
Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowyer
Dale Earnhardt Jr. once again failed to qualify, finishing 19th in points after the first 26 events.
“It’s 5:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning at Wal-Mart in northern San Diego. Six days ago, Phil Mickelson shot 67 in the final round of the PGA Championship. This morning, he’s the cheerful host of the sixth annual Start Smart, a back-to-school shopping spree for 1,500 needy first- through fourth-graders hosted by the Phil & Amy Mickelson Foundation. The Mickelsons could just write a check, but their intimate involvement turns Start Smart into a celebration of family values. On hand to help stock shelves and shepherd the kids are the Mickelsons’ own children, plus assorted parents, friends and business associates.
“It’s such a feel-good scene that many looking on are visibly moved. ‘It’s incredibly touching to know that someone cares about these kids,’ says Susie Sovereign, the principal at Herbert Ibarra Elementary School, which had 78 students at this year’s Start Smart. ‘These are our neediest children. Some of them have literally never had a pair of new shoes in their life, only hand-me-downs. Now they can feel good about themselves. This program is successful on so many levels.’”
And so it was that because of actions like Phil’s, inspiring others ‘inside’ the ropes as well as ‘outside,’ Golf Magazine named him their No. 1 Golfer of the Year.
–Former Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions tight end Ron Kramer died. He was 75. Kramer was a two-time All-American at Michigan who played with the Packers from 1957-64, and then the Lions from ’65-’67, catching 229 passes for a 14.3 avg. and 16 TDs. Kramer was a first-team All Pro in 1962 and caught two TD passes in the Packers’ 37-0 victory over the Giants in the 1961 title game.
–A record 2.5 million people visited Yellowstone National Park in June, July and August, up 200,000 compared with summer 2009 [the full year mark is 3.3 million and the park will handily exceed that for all of 2010.]
Boy, I can’t think of a worse nightmare than dealing with crowds like this. Some days they had 25,000 to 30,000, exceeding the summer elk population of 15,000 to 22,000.
But at least the 100 wolves had lots of prime targets.
—Billie Mae Richards died. She was 88. Richards was a Canadian actress best known for one thing…being the voice of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in the 1964 animated television special. In the show she was credited as “Billy Richards,” thus obscuring the gender.
It turns out producers Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass went to Canada for the voices because they could do it more cheaply. Also, radio dramas were still a big deal in the 1960s in Canada and there were plenty of actors to choose from.
As Richards later said, “What better legacy can you leave than a show that everybody loves?”
–And character actor Harold Gould died at the age of 86. He was best known as Rhoda Morgenstern’s father, and had a regular role on “Golden Girls,” but also played characters in films such “The Sting.” Born in Schenectady, N.Y., Gould saw action in France during World War II as a mortar gunner.
–Army Times had a piece on Oktoberfests in the U.S. and one I’ll have to check out in the future is in Fredericksburg, Texas, a place I need to get to anyway because it has some great museums (including the Admiral Nimitz National Museum of the Pacific War…Nimitz coming from Fredericksburg).
–So on Sunday, I watched the first 20 minutes or so of the VMA Awards, and what I saw was awful. Then I learned later that while Taylor Swift took the high road in her tift with Kanye West, he closed the evening with an obscenity-laced new tune that invited the audience to “have a toast for the douchebags,” partly referring to himself. Whatever.
–And J. Lo has decided to be a judge on “American Idol” after all, accepting $12 million a year to do so. She wanted far more, initially, but came to her senses. But talk about a diva, Lopez supposedly wasn’t happy she wasn’t consulted on the pending offer to Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. Should Tyler accept, as expected, that leaves one slot left to go with Randy Jackson.
Top 3 songs for the week 9/17/77: #1 “I Just Want To Be Your Everything” (Andy Gibb) #2 “Float On” (The Floaters…love this one… “Cancer and my name is Larry, And I like a woman, That loves everything and everybody, Because I love everybody and everything”…just sayin’) #3 “Best Of My Love” (Emotions)…and…#4 “Handy Man” (James Taylor) #5 “Don’t Stop” (Fleetwood Mac) #6 “Keep It Comin’ Love” (KC & The Sunshine Band) #7 “Strawberry Letter 23” (The Brothers Johnson…pretty good) #8 “Telephone Line” (Electric Light Orchestra) #9 “Smoke From A Distant Fire” (The Sanford/Townsend Band…great beginning and then sucks) #10 “Star Wars main title” (The London Symphony Orchestra…just shoot me)
Men’s Tennis Quiz Answer: Roger Federer (4 Australian Opens, 1 French Open, 6 Winbledons, 5 US Opens); Roy Emerson (6 AO, 2 FO, 2 WIM, 2 USO); Rod Laver (3 AO, 2 FO, 4 WIM, 2 USO); Andre Agassi (4 AO, 1 FO, 1 WIM, 2 USO). [Sampras never won the French]
Next Bar Chat, Monday. I’m delaying the Tommy James and The Shondells story until after I see him this weekend.
