Baseball Quiz: [easy ones for some] 1) For a 162-game schedule…name the two N.L. teams to win 108. Name the one A.L. team to win 116. 2) For a 162-game schedule, give the worst team and their record in each league. 3) What two players hold the N.L. record for most home runs in a season by a second baseman with 42? 4) Who holds the N.L. record for home runs in a season by a shortstop with 47? 5) Who holds the major league record for most home runs in a season by a pitcher with 9? Answers below. [If you are a baseball fanatic, you cannot treat yourself to a premium unless you get them all correct.]
The U.S. and the World Cup
If you thought I was tough on the American women last time after they choked against Japan, too bad. I couldn’t believe the break the press gave them. If it was the men’s team in a similar situation, the nation would be howling. I’m sick of this “but they did so well,” B.S. This wasn’t some middle school league…these girls are almost all professionals, albeit no one in the country gives a hoot about their league, witness the absolutely abysmal attendance.
But here is another opinion piece, post-Japan’s terrific win.
“For absence of all reasonable behavior, for fits, spasms, shouts and other involuntary reflexes, have you ever experienced anything like the Women’s World Cup? If we at home were insensible and raw-throated after all the ‘GOALS!’ and the ‘OH NOOOOOS!’ can you imagine how the participants felt? It was past 11 p.m. in Germany, and Japan and the United States were dirty, limping and panting with exhaustion. But underneath all the grime, players from both teams were covered with something else, too. Call it honor. [Ed. One side, yes. The other, no way.]
“By then speechlessness had set in – but what was there to say? Nothing, except a bewildered congratulations to Japan and thanks to both teams for such an unanticipated, enthralling spectacle – and thank God we don’t have to go through this again until 2015….
[Ed. Oh puh-leeze]
“Let’s get this straight: The World Cup has no magical powers that can make a tsunami and a nuclear meltdown un-happen. But it can console, and uplift and send a message home about fighting back, and you’d be one ugly American to begrudge them this victory.
“You’d be ugly, too, to criticize the American team unduly for the loss after such a memorable run. [Ed. They were heavy favorites, for crying out loud! Japan hadn’t beaten the U.S. in 25 prior contests.] The penalty-kick phase was inglorious – Boxx, Carli Lloyd and Tobin Heath each missed on successive attempts, no doubt affected by the pressure of the moment. But I’d defy any viewer or critic to hold up under the same circumstances, given the way Japan had seized the momentum with its overtime comeback. [Ed. Oh freakin’ spare me. It’s their job!] The Americans suffered from an invisible drag all game long, even though they dominated for long stretches, and twice led, including that 2-1 margin that came off Wambach’s header in the 104th minute. Though they ran themselves into the dirt mounting huge offensive surges, they were never properly rewarded on the scoreboard….
“(The U.S. women) had every right to reproach us for not paying attention to them between Olympics and World Cups, but they were gracious enough not to. [Ed. This is nonsensical.] One of the traits of this program over the last dozen years has been how uncomplaining players are; they are never surly no matter how poorly paid or ignored they are compared with men’s soccer. [Ed. Yoh, Sally…think WNBA.] Instead they just put their heads down and run as hard as they can. Though relative have-nots in a sports world full of entitlements, whose job futures in Women’s Professional Soccer are by no means assured, they don’t carp about their disadvantages; rather, they just keep trying to build a future. For that alone they command the deep respect.”
Ms. Jenkins, whose work I have praised and quoted innumerable times in this space, goes on to talk about how “Solo’s followers on Twitter increased from 10,000 to more than 130,000. Tweets of encouragement came from Lil Wayne, Tom Hanks, Wanda Sykes [Ed. Who gives a blank about Wanda Sykes?!], and countless fellow athletes such as Aaron Rodgers, not to mention various Obamas, Bidens and Clintons. [Ed. I think I’m getting sick.] A handsome U.S. Army captain stationed in Afghanistan decided to quit shaving his upper lip until the U.S. women won, and made a YouTube video in which he invited Solo to the Austrian Officer’s ball, promising to shave first. [Ed. OK, stop…U.S. military men and women…just stop! No more videos inviting stars to balls and such. You got Justin and Mila to bite. It was all Justin, too, as we know. But the novelty is over. I’m just waiting for the first Marine to get all pissed off a celeb didn’t take him/her up on their offer.]….
“In the midst of it all, the American players seemed to understand just how hard it would be to bring the Cup home….They didn’t underestimate the team they would be facing in Japan. Goalie Solo put it best. ‘They are the sentimental favorites of this tournament, and it’s pretty clear to us they’re playing for something bigger and better than the game. When you are playing with so much emotion and heart, that’s hard to play against.’”
“There was no shame in this, in losing to Japan. Not in this tournament. Not in this year. Such an organized and disciplined team, Japan knocked two-time defending champion Germany out of its home tournament last weekend. And, just four months after the nation’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, it defeated the USA for the first time ever – its record against the Americans now is 1-22-3. To call this stirring victory Japan’s ‘Miracle on Grass’ is probably to get it about right. [Ed. Don’t disagree on this last bit.]
“The positives about this game for the U.S. team and the worldwide game they represent so well will eventually bubble to the surface, and there are many. It was a much more entertaining game than the 0-0 final at the Rose Bowl in 1999, and not just because there was actual scoring. The speed and skill of the women’s game have improved tremendously. Parity has arrived, and its name is Japan. The game is good and getting better. No one has to explain themselves for loving women’s soccer as they did in 1999. The raw, awe-inspiring athletic moments from this tournament will not soon be forgotten [Ed. I’ll forget them in about three more days], and will bring more girls to the game around the world. That’s a given.
“So, yes, the Americans lost the World Cup on Sunday. But they once again were an integral part of another moment in the advancement of women’s sports around the world. If there’s such a thing as winning while losing, that’s what the Americans just did in Germany.”
But thank God there was the L.A. Times’ T.J. Simers. To wit:
“In all my years watching futbol, I have never seen a side on the pitch gag as much as the U.S. gals.
“Come on, where does President Obama get off tweeting: ‘Couldn’t be prouder of the women of #USWNT after a hard-fought game’?
“So the big guy wouldn’t have been prouder had they won?
“This was the mighty Soviet hockey team losing in Lake Placid to a bunch of kids and then fearing the next stop might be Siberia.
“How come the president didn’t remind the U.S. before its game with Japan they might be spending August in Nebraska if not successful…
“Some of us were undoubtedly expecting a clean sheet from Hope Solo, and I’m sure my fellow futbol fans understand what I’m talking about.
“The powerhouse U.S. hadn’t lost to Japan in 25 games, had a 1-0 lead with nine minutes to play, a 2-1 advantage with three minutes left in overtime and just flat out folded.
“And the president couldn’t be prouder of these losers?….
“Credited for their resiliency after beating Brazil, the Americans seemed insistent on establishing their legacy as chokers in allowing Japan back into the game….
“Just think about all those warm, fuzzy and fictional columns that were going to be written about the advances in women’s sports and growth in soccer popularity in the afterglow of a thrilling U.S. win. [Ed. You can see from the above they were written anyway.]
“Just think about how quickly everyone will forget these duds unless someone mentions Greg Norman and other great choke artists of our time.
“In the days leading up to the final game, the U.S. players talked in radio interviews about their never-quit attitude and other attributes that made them a great team….
“I’m guessing someone who plays for Japan was saying the same thing after actually winning the World Cup.
“There is no way you can feel sorry for this bunch. They talked about preparing themselves for this moment, never they’d get an opponent who didn’t have a chance against them. And they still weren’t up for it.
“The U.S. hockey team beat the Soviet Union and everyone gushed and then the hockey team went out and finished the job with a win over Finland.
“No one around here, though, seemed interested in waiting for the U.S. women’s soccer team to prove itself more than a shooting star. Who didn’t go overboard? Some were suggesting no men’s team could do what these women were doing given their unselfish, tough and tireless play for one another.
“I couldn’t agree more – hard to fathom a U.S. men’s team collapsing in such a manner.
“As for hanging tough together, which teams seem to do when they win, anyone watching TV couldn’t help but notice Solo leaving her teammates behind in defeat to share her emotions with some folks in the stands.
“If there is anything memorable now about this U.S. women’s soccer team, it’s how it melted in the glare of the big moment. Their role model, I presume, is Phil Mickelson.
“They just gave it away, and to make excuses or diminish the magnitude of such a collapse is to treat the U.S. gals like women instead of world-class athletes.
“I would imagine that’s how most would want to be viewed in victory, so no reason to offer a free pass in defeat and go all gushy.
“I say treat the gals like athletes and make sure they understand if they choke again, it’s off to Nebraska for the whole lot.”
More on Darren Clarke’s British Open Win
No one appears to be enjoying a major triumph more than Darren Clarke. There are some great clips on the Web, including a press conference he did at 9:00 a.m. Monday morning. Clarke admitted he hadn’t stopped drinking until 8:30, 30 minutes before the presser, and that he was mixing pints of Guinness and red wine, which made my head hurt. He slurred a few words but kept up his humor and charm.
I was kind of struck by seeing the ages of Clarke and his fellow Northern Ireland compatriots who have given the land of 1.7 million three major titles in 13 months. Clark is 42, Graeme McDowell 32, and Rory McIlroy 22. Anyone recognize a similar symmetry? Tom Watson 61, Jack Nicklaus 71, and Arnold Palmer 81.
The three Irish lads are also fast drinking buddies. As Bill Dwyre of the L.A. Times wrote:
“When McDowell won at Pebble Beach, McIlroy said later that they partied for a week. When McIlroy won his U.S. Open and headed home to celebrate, Clarke canceled out of his next tournament so he wouldn’t miss the parties.”
So Monday, when Clarke got back home, he went straight to the Bayview Hotel in Portrush and allowed hundreds of locals to get a look at the Claret Jug. Clarke himself called the hotel, a favorite hangout of his, on Sunday night to tell them he was coming and instructed that for the first two hours the tab was on him. They say when he arrived, he was like the Pied Piper, carrying the trophy, tons of kids trailing behind.
“It’s just so good to meet him,” nine-year-old Aaron Douglas from Belfast said after getting Clarke’s autograph on a scrap of paper. [Irish Independent]
And if you saw the trophy ceremony at Royal St. George’s and the moment Phil Mickelson put his arm around Clarke and whispered something, it was all about Clarke being one of the first to call Phil when Amy Mickelson was diagnosed with breast cancer (as well as Phil’s mother; this after Clarke lost his wife, Heather, to the same disease).
“He’s been through this and couldn’t have been a better person to talk to,” Mickelson said after his round. “We talked for a few hours a couple of times. He’s a tremendous person and a very good friend, and I couldn’t be happier for him.”
It also turns out another good friend of Clarke’s, Tiger Woods, may have helped out immensely. It was Clarke who said after the round on Sunday that he had received two texts from Tiger on Saturday that he was most appreciative of.
But it turns out these were no simple “Go get ‘em” or “Play well” messages. Nope, Chubby Chandler, Clarke’s manager, said on Monday that the two texts were on sports psychology and how to take care of business mentally. One of the texts, as reported by the Irish Independent, “ran to hundreds of words and meticulously outlined to Clarke the techniques (Tiger) used to win his 14 majors.” Suffice it to say, Clarke wouldn’t reveal the details. So that’s the other side of Tiger; the good side.
Meanwhile, the endorsements are going to be flooding in for Clarke because he is so universally loved, and despite his prior lack of major success one of the best known golfers in the world. He loves to travel and is supposedly huge in Japan. It couldn’t happen to a better guy.
As for Chubby Chandler, he being manager of Masters champ Charl Schwartzel, as well as McIlroy and Clarke, some of the players are now pointing to another Chubby client, Lee Westwood, to complete the Chubby Slam at the upcoming PGA in Atlanta.
–Hopefully the NFL lockout is over by end of Thursday or Friday. This is good to see. Plenty of time for chat and a season starting on schedule…can’t beat that.
—Tiger Woods dumped caddie Steve Williams. About time, Stevie being one of the real jerks on the planet.
–So I have this Pittsburgh connection, you see, both my parents having gone to Pitt and my nephew about to matriculate there, plus I still have a lot of relatives in the area, and now the Pirates are 51-44, thru Tuesday, a half-game in first place after a North American sports record 18 straight losing seasons, and one thing led to another and I just picked up tickets for Pirates-Cards on Sept. 13 and 14. Could be kind of important. Front row, outfield bleachers for the cost of two six-packs, thanks to Stub Hub. Go Bucs! The crowds are coming back, and, hell, I just got three tickets. I need a date for the 14th…only local-area women need apply. It’s a day game and I assume my nephew has classes…he better not be cutting them that soon like his uncle, err, err…. better not go there. I need to set a better example for the lad. Now to let the relatives know I’m coming and that I prefer Yuengling, not Iron City.
–In the worst doping scandal at the World Cup since the men’s in 1994, when Argentine star Diego Maradona was ousted for testing positive, five players from the North Korean women’s team tested positive. “This is a shock,” said crook Sepp Blatter, the FIFA president.
Of course the North Korean delegation was full of excuses, and as reported in the AP, told FIFA “the steroids were accidentally taken with traditional Chinese medicines based on musk deer glands to treat players who had been struck by lightning June 8 during a training camp.”
–So it seems Rory McIlroy was a little out of sorts after his poor performance at the British Open, though to be fair at least he made the cut, finishing T-25. After his last round, he was seen as being a bit petulant, as reported by the British press, and it was then his management company issued a statement on Monday night, which helped explain Rory’s sarcastic comments on playing links golf.
“Rory McIlroy’s long-time relationship with Holly Sweeney came to an amicable end before the Open Championship,” read the statement.
“The pair had a period apart earlier in the year, but 20-year-old student Sweeney, a cheerleader for the Ulster rugby team [Ed. ooh baby], and McIlroy regrouped before the Masters. After his traumatic final day at Augusta, where he shot an 80, she flew out to console him, but she chose not to attend last month’s U.S. Open, where he claimed his first major title by eight shots.”
Earlier, in a BBC documentary, McIlroy said of Sweeney, “I have known Holly for six years, and for a 22-year-old that is a big part of my life.
“At the start of the year I wanted to focus on my game, and just take a break or whatever. But I realized pretty quickly that I had made a mistake, and I had to do a lot of begging and groveling to get her back. She is fantastic. She definitely keeps my feet on the ground, and she knows me better than anyone else.”
Rory was then seen the other day with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, she of the great, err, you know, as well as no majors.
“State troopers escorting the coach as he leaves the football field. Throughout the course of history, I understand when polarizing political figures – Napoleon, Mussolini, Gandhi, Sarah Palin, et al – are heavily protected in public arenas. But football coaches? I’m sure Bob Stoops knows the way to the locker room by now. Considering the state of the economy, aren’t there better ways for our tax dollars to be at work? Frankly, I’d rather see a state trooper getting a cup of coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts than running alongside Mack Brown through a stadium tunnel….
“Penalty kicks in soccer (and the shootout in the NHL). Even though basketball has become a foul-fest joke in a game’s final minutes, at least if the game is tied through overtime, each team doesn’t shoot free throws to determine the winner. How do you play 90 minutes of soccer, then 30 minutes of OT, before deciding the outcome by repeating a play that virtually never occurs during the context of a game? Besides, I could make a penalty kick four times out of five while sitting on my couch. Just let them keep playing until someone scores – if it takes a week, it takes a week; it’s good for beer sales.”….
“After a basketball player shoots an air ball, the crowd chants, ‘Air ball, air ball!!!’ If you’re at a Yo-Yo Ma concert and he makes a mistake, does the gallery chant, ‘Wrong chord, wrong chord!!!’?”
—Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee South African sprinter known as the “Blade Runner,” made the ‘A’ standard qualifying time for this year’s world track and field championship and the 2012 London Olympics with a personal best 45.07 in the 400 meters at a meet in Italy the other night.
Back on 11/19/09 in this space, I wrote of researchers concluding runners using the carbon-fiber prosthetic blades that Pistorius employs have a huge advantage and I went on record as saying then that Pistorius should not be allowed to run in the Olympics. I saw an exhibition of similar runners at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene and if you saw what I saw, in person, you’d totally agree.
–We wish the Houston Rockets’ Yao Ming well in retirement, a career drastically cut short at the age of 30 by injury. At his peak, 2005-08, Yao was a force, averaging 22.2, 25.0 and 22.0 over that three-year stretch, but he also only played in 57, 48 and 55 games in that time.
But Yao’s real impact was on his native China, giving them a sense of pride and accomplishment on the international stage, and he will continue to do good works there as well.
–From Laura Caroe of The Sun…a Rupert Murdoch newspaper. [As relayed by Johnny Mac.]
“A woman has been eaten by a lion after it escaped from a game reserve in Kenya.
“Martha Nduta was said to have been attacked in her own home, and dragged from the property on Friday.
“Officials, who searched the area in the Nyahururu district for her, found only a human skull and a few scraps of bone….
“It is believed the rogue animal escaped through a broken fence at the private Laikipia Nature Conservancy before entering a nearby village.”
It seems the reserve is “a huge site surrounded by an electric fence to keep dangerous animals inside.
“But local reports suggest part of the barrier had recently been destroyed by elephants.”
So you have this elephant-lion dynamic workin’ as well. Elephants know lions always have their back and are only too happy to return the favor, which is why both are consensus Top 15s on the All-Species List.
Meanwhile, in India a leopard “mauled” six villagers, the extent of the injuries unknown, but as Johnny Mac noted, if there was ever any doubt the war is on, the above two stories should have supplied the proof that the Animal Kingdom, tired of being encroached upon by an inferior species that produces the likes of a Moammar Gaddafi and Mullah Omar, has had it. Game on!
Lastly, Hawaii continues to have major issues with snakes that could devastate the native bird population, for starters. I know all about this topic, having written from Guam many a time on the issue of the brown tree snakes that have ravaged the bird population there and could easily find their way to Hawaii on an airplane (wrapped around the wheel assembly) or cargo ship. According to an AP story, just this month, a 9-foot boa constrictor and 7-foot albino Burmese python were captured in Hawaii. It is illegal to have pet snakes here and these were obviously pets at one point. I’d give the people who harbor the serpents the chair…and not a wicker one, know what I’m sayin’?
–Goodness gracious. I was just reading GQ, looking for some Bar Chat, and there is this article on Mila Kunis and….I’m speechless.
Top 3 songs for the week 7/24/71: #1 “Indian Reservation” (Raiders) #2 “It’s Too Late” (Carole King…my favorite of hers) #3 “You’ve Got A Friend” (James Taylor…not the former Packers running back of those great Lombardi teams)…and…#4 “Don’t Pull Your Love” (Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds…great tune) #5 “Mr. Big Stuff” (Jean Knight…never liked this one…nothing against Ms. Knight, mind you) #6 “Treat Her Like A Lady” (Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose…solid effort) #7 “Draggin’ The Line” (Tommy James…my man!) #8 “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” (The Bee Gees…last one of theirs I liked) #9 “Take Me Home, Country Roads” (John Denver…despite this terrific song, an all-time fave, Denver ran out of gas…) #10 “Sooner Or Later” (The Grass Roots)
Baseball Quiz Answers: 1) The 1975 Reds and 1986 Mets won 108 games. The 2001 Seattle Mariners won 116. 2) The 1962 Mets were 40-120. The 2003 Tigers were 43-119. 3) Rogers Hornsby, StL., 1922, and Davey Johnson, Atl., 1973, hold the N.L. record for home runs in a season by a second baseman, 42. 4) Ernie Banks holds the N.L. record for home runs by a shortstop, 47, in 1958. 5) Wes Ferrell hit a record 9 home runs for a pitcher while with Cleveland in 1931. [Don Newcombe, Don Drysdale (twice) and Mike Hampton hold the N.L. mark with 7.] Ferrell was 193-128 in his great career on the mound, and hit 38 home runs to go with a .280 average at the plate. Shockingly, he never received even 4% in the Hall of Fame voting. Today, he’d be borderline.
