Baseball Quiz: With Mariano Rivera tying Trevor Hoffman in all-time saves at 601, name the other eight in the top ten. Answer below.
Pitt and Syracuse Bolt
Like I’ve said before I’m sick of the college conference stories and the huge changes taking place in the NCAA, but I’ve gotta talk about them and Pitt and Syracuse bolting from the Big East to the ACC is huge. Imagine what the other Big East schools are doing today. It really sucks, but we might as well just go with four super conferences and get it over with at this point. ACC, SEC, Big Ten, and Pac-whatever, with the Big East and Big 12 shelved.
And how ironic was it that the founder of the Big East, Dave Gavitt, died on Friday? He was 73. After coaching Providence to the NCAA Final Four in 1973, he was the driving force behind the formation of the conference. A true visionary. He was also the commissioner from 1979 to 1990.
“Tim Pernetti applied to become Big East commissioner when the job opened three years ago, and looking back now, there’s little doubt he would have done a better job than John Marinatto.
“Then again, as we survey the charred remains of the once-proud league after the latest raid from the south, most department-store mannequins would have handled this better, too.
“Just 47 days ago, Marinatto stood in front of the assembled media at the league’s kickoff bash and, pointing to the riches that were certain to come from a new television deal, declared, ‘We’re so solidly positioned to secure the future stability of this league for years to come.’
“The commissioner was so oblivious to the speed at which things were changing in college sports, so passive in his leadership to keep his conference out of harm’s way from the coming tidal wave, his comments required a laugh track.
“The Big East needed a shark. It ended up with a guppy. Syracuse and Pittsburgh are headed to the ACC now, joining original defectors Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech.
“Marinatto, who spent much of last month encouraging other conference commissioners to make sure things were ‘done the right way,’ found out about the raid only when a reporter asked him for a response. Don’t blame Syracuse and Pittsburgh. Blame the leadership vacuum at the top.
“How does the Big East respond? Oh, it’ll do what it always does: Gobble up the leftovers. That likely will be the remnants of the Big 12, assuming Texas and Oklahoma break free from that league in the coming days. Maybe there will be another Conference USA raid, too. Yippee.”
“The day after Dave Gavitt, the founding father of the Big East Conference, died, the league for which he sacrificed so much was stunned by the defections of Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the Atlantic Coast Conference….
“(With) the loss of these two universities the Big East faces grave questions about its survival.
“Multiple sources told the Post league members were shocked, angry and disappointed at the administrations of both schools and in the league office.
“Neither university notified the league office until yesterday (Sat.) morning after filing for membership with the ACC on Friday night…Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg is chairman of the Big East executive committee, which makes this move even more distasteful.
“League members were flabbergasted that the league office was caught unawares by the development. A sense of uncertainty and fear could be felt like a tremor throughout the conference.
“The league exit policy requires a $5 million fee and a 27-month wait period, but the latter is usually waived to expedite the divorce. The fate of the other Big East schools that play FBS football is unknown….
“The Big East might very well stay together, but it will revert to being a non-football league featuring parochial schools in northern cities: DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Villanova would form the nucleus.”
So do Rutgers and UConn go to the ACC to make it a 16-team conference, both with representative football programs?
And what does TCU now do after committing to the Big East for next year?
Back to Syracuse, it’s a double blow for the Big East because of the huge fan base in the New York City area. The Big East basketball tournament loses more than a bit of luster, to say the least.
“What happens to Texas? Last year’s realignment discussions were centered on the possible availability of Texas and Notre Dame. Both stayed put, but they are still the big prizes. Texas has been chatting with the ACC or could head to the Pac-12 if Oklahoma heads that way….
“What about the Irish? Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick has said that the Irish will maintain football independence unless ‘seismic change’ comes. It may be here. The Irish have always been coveted by Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, who has maintained a quality-over-quantity stance on expansion. But the ACC could also make a play for what is still one of college football’s most storied programs….
“Who will be program No. 14 in the SEC? If, and only if, the Big 12 dissolves, the SEC will be inclined to take Missouri. The SEC wants nothing to do with any type of legal wrangling, which Baylor is threatening, and also doesn’t want to be viewed as a poacher. But if Oklahoma and Oklahoma State leave the Big 12, the SEC will listen if Missouri approaches it….
“Does the ACC go to 16? If Texas and Texas Tech are available, that will certainly be an option. But as the current Big 12 members can attest, a partnership with Texas is often better in theory than reality. The ACC said it had been approached by more than 10 programs, so the conference has options.”
By the way, there are also stories the Big Ten could go after Maryland and Georgia Tech to expand their range into the South.
College Football Results
I watched mostly Penn State-Temple, then Mets-Braves, then Navy-South Carolina, then Florida State-Oklahoma.
Boy, I wanted Penn State to go down. Would have been a great win for Temple but the Owls came up short, 14-10, as once again it was totally embarrassing that Coach Joe Paterno watched the game from the box and this time the team closed the glass so we couldn’t see how Paterno’s orders were being ignored. Even ESPN’s Lou Holtz seems embarrassed that the Nittany Lions don’t have the guts to jettison the guy. [As for Paterno being responsible for a gutty late call on 4th and 1, I’ll wait for the story ten years from now that he had nothing to do with it and was actually ordering pizza while an assistant made the call to go for it instead of kicking a tying field goal, which led to Penn State’s decisive touchdown with less than three minutes to go.]
Heisman Trophy candidate Marcus Lattimore ran for 246 yards as No. 10 South Carolina held off a game Navy squad, 24-21. Lattimore carried it 37 times.
The ACC’s big day was pretty good. Needing to enhance its national image, No. 1 Oklahoma defeated No. 5 Florida State, 23-13, but Clemson defeated national champion Auburn, 38-24, thus ending Auburn’s 17-game winning streak as Clemson piled up 624 yards of offense, and Miami knocked Ohio State out of the AP top 25, 24-6. West Virginia, though, defeated Maryland in the other marquee matchup of conferences, 37-31.
Also in the ACC, Steve D. is definitely buying lunch in the next few weeks after his Boston College Eagles lose to Duke…DUKE…20-19, and drop to 0-3. North Carolina goes to 3-0 in besting Virginia, 28-17, and my Wake Forest Demon Deacons go to 2-1 with a stirring 48-5 victory over Gardner “Dickinson” Webb (for you old-time golf junkies out there).
Notre Dame fans finally got something to cheer about, a 31-15 upset win over No. 15 Michigan State.
Horrible loss for my No. 2 team, Pitt (while on the campus this week I picked me up some Pantherwear but was not donning it on football Saturday, opting for Black Hills Statewear, out of Spearfish, South Dakota, instead, since it was a little nippy and it’s a long-sleeve jersey), as it let Iowa rally from 17 back in the fourth to stun the Panthers 31-27 in Iowa City. Kind of a Wake Forest-like collapse, know what I’m sayin’?
Hey, look who’s 3-0…Vanderbilt! 30-7 winners over Ole Miss.
And Dartmouth shredded Colgate 37-20.
New AP Poll
1. Oklahoma
2. LSU
3. Alabama
4. Boise State
5. Stanford
6. Wisconsin
7. Oklahoma State
8. Texas A&M…Booo….Boooooo!!!
9. Nebraska
10. Oregon
18. South Florida…No. 1 cheerleaders
21. Clemson…still partying
23. USC…No. 2 cheerleaders
NFL Bits
Jaguars quarterback Luke McCown threw four interceptions and finished with a rating of 1.8 (you’re reading that right) as the Jets ran away from Jacksonville, 32-3.
Donovan McNabb is 0-2 in Minnesota; the Vikes losing to Tampa Bay, 24-20.
Rookie Cam Newton has thrown for 422 and 432 yard in his first two games as a Carolina Panther, but he’s 0-2 and threw three interceptions as Green Bay beat Carolina, 30-23.
The Peyton Manning-less Colts are 0-2, this week losing to Cleveland, 27-19.
The Redskins, 22-21 winners over Arizona, are 2-0.
The Steelers bounced back from their opening week loss to Baltimore, shutting out Seattle 24-0.
Baltimore, though, fell to Tennessee, 26-13, as Titans wide receiver Kenny Britt of Rutgers had his second straight big game. Britt has 136 and 135 yards receiving the first two contests.
But the biggest early stories are 2-0 Buffalo, 38-35 comeback winners over Oakland, and Detroit, a 48-3 blowout winner over Kansas City. For the Bills, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has seven TD passes to start the year, while the Lions’ Matthew Stafford is healthy and playing as originally advertised when he was drafted out of Georgia three years ago.
Finally, note to Tim Tebow fans. Would you please shut up! Geezuz. He’s a nice boy. Was a great college quarterback. He’s just not ready, if he ever will be, to lead an NFL team.
Newsweek reports that the average ticket price for a Dallas Cowboys game is $160, but get this. The cost for parking is $75!
And guess who has the highest cost for a standard hot dog in the NFL? The Lions…at $13. [I got a standard dog at a Pirates game last week for $2.65. I forgot to tell you last time that I also got some pulled pork barbecue at Manny’s (former Pirate great Manny Sanguillen’s joint) that was a ‘stacker.’ As in topped with two pierogis.
The minimum salary in the NFL is $320,000 and 793 players are earning it with no kind of bonus. Considering the average career is 3.5 years, that’s not a lot of money for many players just hanging on as reserves.
Ball Bits
–Just about ten days ago, baseball fans were bemoaning the fact there were no races for the playoffs; that the picture was complete. Now, though, Tampa Bay is suddenly just two behind Boston in the wild-card chase (the Angels four back), while in the N.L., San Francisco and St. Louis have moved to four back of Atlanta.
–The New York Post’s Joel Sherman had the following on Mariano Rivera’s career.
“He was great when Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson were the dominant pitchers in the sport and great when Roy Halladay, CC Sabathia and Johan Santana prospered. From 1996-2003 – his age 26-33 seasons – Rivera pitched in 493 games to a 2.15 ERA and allowed 9.33 baserunners per nine innings. From 2004 through this weekend, he had pitched to a 1.91 ERA and 8.80 baserunners per nine innings.
“If you believe Rivera is a clean player, that level of consistency from the first half of his career – played in his prime – until now is incredible.
“Now absorb a playoff-record 0.71 ERA in 94 games and 134 2/3 innings against the best opponents under the greatest duress. And, again, look at the consistent genius: Rivera has a .179 batting average against and a 0.75 ERA in his first 47 postseason games, and in the 47 postseason games since his results are .173 batting average and a 0.66 ERA.” [Ed. note. Baseballreference.com shows Rivera with 139 2/3 postseason innings but Joel Sherman has the ERA and games correct.]
—Stephen Strasburg went six innings on Saturday night, throwing only 61 pitches and allowing one earned run on four hits while striking out three and walking none. So in 14 innings thus far since coming back from Tommy John surgery, he has struck out 11 with zero walks and his ERA is 0.64. He also topped out on Saturday at 99 mph, with his fastball consistently in the 95- to 97-mph range.
–The Phillies’ Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay have each thrown 219 2/3 innings this season.
Lee…16-7…42 walks, 223 strikeouts…2.38 ERA
Halladay…18-5…30 walks, 211 strikeouts, 2.34
Throw in Cole Hamels (14-8, 2.71…throwing Sunday night after I go to post) and how the heck do you beat Philadelphia in the playoffs?
–Detroit’s Justin Verlander went to 24-5 on Sunday with eight scoreless.
–Twins catcher Joe Mauer looks to be finished for the year after being diagnosed with a mild case of pneumonia. If so, that means he appeared in 82 games and had 3 homers and 30 RBI while batting .287. For this Mauer was paid $23 million.
–Great story by Bill Pennington in the New York Times on Ted Williams’ .406 in 1941 and how after 70 years, it’s time the achievement got its full due, seeing as it’s often eclipsed by Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak the same season.
Of course we all know that Williams entered the final day of the season, a doubleheader, with his average at .39955, which would have rounded off to .400, but as Williams put it, “If I’m going to be a .400 hitter, I want more than my toenails on the line.” So he proceeded to go 6-for-8 in the twin bill to end up at .406.
Williams would say 50 years later, “If I had known hitting .400 was going to be such a big deal, I would have done it again.”
“Begin with these (numbers): 185 hits, 147 walks, 27 strikeouts and a .553 on-base percentage in 606 plate appearances.
“After missing most of April with a broken bone in his right foot, Williams hit .436 in May.
“During his 56-game hitting streak, DiMaggio batted .408. During the same stretch of games, Williams hit .412.
“Williams started a 23-game hitting streak, the longest of his career, on May 15, the same day DiMaggio began his streak. During his hitting streak, Williams batted .489.
“He was hitless in only 22 of the 143 games he played in.
“His longest hitless stretch was seven at-bats. [Ed. this to me might be the most amazing stat of all.]
‘Sacrifice flies were counted as at-bats. Under today’s rules, Williams might have hit .411 to .419, based on accounts of games that season.”
–As noted in BloombergBusinessweek, Brad Pitt, in the new film “Moneyball,” does more for the chewing tobacco industry than they could buy in any shape or form, especially since U.S. makers cannot pay for product placements in movies or on TV since a 1998 settlement with state attorneys general. Sony was asked to remove the spitting from the film by Major League Baseball but the studio refused, saying it needed to keep the “authenticity.”
—Justin Rose won his third PGA Tour event in taking the BMW Championship, the next to last stage of the FedEx Cup playoffs. On to Atlanta as the top 30 gun for The TOUR Championship and the $10 million prize. If Rose, Webb Simpson, Dustin Johnson, Luke Donald or Matt Kuchar win next weekend, they take the Cup and the mammoth check.
–I just noticed this while catching up on my golf reading that 40-year-old Thomas Bjorn won back-to-back European tour events in Scotland and Switzerland, a big achievement. Bjorn, who had fallen off the map, has three wins on the year.
–After an event slated for Guangzhou, China, Sept. 29-Oct. 2, was suddenly cancelled, this year’s LPGA Tour is essentially over with only 23 events, the fewest in 40 years.
But what a final event it was this weekend as 16-year-old Lexi Thompson shattered the record for youngest to win an LPGA event in taking the Navistar Classic by five strokes! Paula Creamer held the multi-round tourney record for youngest winner at 18.
–I didn’t see the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Victor Ortiz bout on Saturday but the Los Angeles Times’ Bill Dwyre described it thusly.
“The boos rang into the night and may not stop for months to come.
“Floyd Mayweather Jr. won his mega fight against Victor Ortiz in the MGM Grand Garden Arena…and each ought to be ashamed of himself. Any resemblance between sportsmanship and boxing vanished on a night of mugging and dirty play.
“In a fourth-round flurry, Ortiz got Mayweather in a corner and was pounding away. OK. That is boxing.
“But then, in the middle of it, he suddenly lunged head-first into Mayweather’s mouth, a butt that cut the 41-0 superstar. Mayweather recoiled in shock and indignation and anger. Rightly so.
“Referee Joe Cortez stepped in and immediately assessed a penalty point against Ortiz. Correctly so.
“Then, after Ortiz went to Mayweather, smiling and apologizing, Cortez gathered the two in the middle of the ring, they touched gloves and each backed off a step for an instant. Then, with Cortez not even looking at the fighters and Ortiz looking like he was still waiting for some signal for the action to continue, Mayweather stepped forward and hit him with a shot in the mouth. Big left hand.
“That sent Ortiz staggering backward and, in a flash, Mayweather followed with another shot, a huge right that put Ortiz down and out for good. Cortez, who probably didn’t see either shot, then counted Ortiz out and the uproar and boos cascaded down.
“The fight was over. What Mayweather had done was basically legal. The fight was back on and the niceties were over. Mayweather was the more experienced fighter….
“The first thing Mayweather said in the ring afterward was, ‘You have to protect yourself at all times.’
“HBO’s Larry Merchant tried to corral Mayweather to interview him. Mayweather suggested Merchant just talk to Ortiz ‘since you’ve never given me a fair shake.’ He then used an expletive and questioned Merchant’s knowledge of the sport, to which Merchant replied, ‘If I was 50 years younger, I’d kick your ass.’
Mayweather earned a minimum $25 million for the bout, perhaps as much as $40 million when the pay-per-view revenue is tallied. Ortiz picked up $2 million.
—Don Bosco Prep of New Jersey is the No. 1 high school football team in the nation, as ranked by USA TODAY, and on Friday it played Manatee (Fla.) down there and prevailed 22-16. But this is so freakin’ stupid…playing high school football games a two-hour flight away. Of course this crap started with the ‘elite’ high school basketball programs doing the same.
“Wounded grizzly kills hunter along Montana-Idaho border”
“A grizzly bear wounded by a hunter later attacked and killed the hunter’s partner Friday after the two men tracked the animal in a remote area along the border.
“Steve Stevenson, 39, and Ty Bell, 21, members of a hunting party from Winnemucca, Nev., were going after black bears when the attack occurred about 10 a.m. PDT in a mountainous, heavily forested region.
“Bell shot and wounded a young male grizzly, believing it to be a black bear, undersheriff Brent Faulkner said.
“ ‘They tracked the bear into an area of heavy cover where Mr. Stevenson was attacked by the wounded grizzly bear,’ Faulkner said in a news release late Friday.
“ ‘Mr. Bell was able to shoot the bear multiple times, eventually killing it,’ he said.”
Stevenson died from his injuries before help could arrive. The area is extremely remote and could only be serviced by helicopter.
It’s illegal to kill a grizzly, but given the circumstances unlikely Mr. Bell will face any charges.
So it’s the third man killed by a grizzly since July, at least officially. My unofficial tally stands at 897.
–Former heavyweight champion Nikolai “Beast from the East” Valuyev is on a hunt in Siberia’s Kemerovo region for the yeti.
“Though its existence was never confirmed, the Kuzbass yeti was made a trademark of the Kemerovo region.” [Moscow Times]
I’ll keep you posted if Valuyev does indeed find the abominable snowman.
–An anonymous Chinese businessman dropped $200,000 on a bottle of Scotch whisky; a bottle of 62-year-old Dalmore Scotch, to be exact. Dalmore is owned by India’s United Distillers. The pricy tipple “boasts a cornucopia of flavors and aromas…(including) honey, Seville oranges, coffee, bitter chocolate, cardamom, cloves, ginger and almonds.” [Louise Lucas / Financial Times]
But it is assumed the buyer is simply looking to collect rather than drink it.
—362 women told Men’s Health the topics/exploits they want to hear most from you, guys.
1. Family bonds…OK, I can discuss this with confidence.
2. Kitchen skills…I have none.
3. Academics…Barely graduated…major problem for the kid.
4. Weekend adventures…Doing this column…’nuff said.
5. Career victories…Doh!
6. Athletic fitness…Yes! In decent shape.
7. Sexual prowess…Say, who wants a cold domestic?!
–Also from Men’s Health, say you’re at Red Lobster. Do you order the “Steak, Lobster and Shrimp Oscar,” or the “Peach-Bourbon BBQ Shrimp and Scallops”?
If you’re health conscious, the Steak, Lobster and Shrimp Oscar has 1,170 calories and 77 grams of fat, while the BBP Shrimp and Scallops have just 540 calories and 27 grams of fat.
Top 3 songs for the week 9/15/62: #1 “Sherry” (The 4 Seasons) #2 “Sheila” (Tommy Roe) #3 “Ramblin’ Rose” (Nat King Cole…still miss him)…and…#4 “The Loco-Motion” (Little Eva) #5 “Green Onions” (Booker T. & The MG’s) #6 “She’s Not You” (Elvis Presley) #7 “Teen Age Idol” (Ricky Nelson…one of the more underrated artists of all time) #8 “You Don’t Know Me” (Ray Charles…has climbed into my personal top 20) #9 “Patches” (Dickey Lee…interesting tune) #10 “Rinky Dink” (Baby Cortez…awful)
Baseball Quiz Answer: Top ten all-time in saves.
1. Trevor Hoffman…601
1. Mariano Rivera…601
3. Lee Smith…478
4. John Franco…424
5. Billy Wagner…422
6. Dennis Eckersley…390
7. Jeff Reardon…367
8. Troy Percival…358
9. Randy Myers…347
10. Rollie Fingers…341
11. John Wetteland…330
12. Roberto Hernandez…326
