[Posted Sunday pm before end of Knicks-Celtics, Heat-Spurs…for the record…plus end of rain-delayed Houston Open.]
NBA Quiz: Minnesota coach Rick Adelman, with 997 career wins, is about to become the eighth in NBA history with 1,000 victories. Name the other seven, all of whom coached from 1970 on. Answer below.
March Madness
April 6…Final Four
9 Wichita State
1 Louisville
4 Syracuse
4 Michigan
So I’ve been saying all college basketball season that it was fascinating watching the year unfold, with the sport as competitive as it’s ever been, but that there wasn’t a lot of actual big-time talent and the games the past four days certainly have borne that out. It’s not just great defense that has produced some dreadful shooting numbers. To wit…
Thursday…No 4 Syracuse defeats No. 1 Indiana, 61-50, as the Hoosiers shoot 33% from the field. No. 3 Marquette holds No. 2 Miami to 35% shooting in its 71-61 win.
At least you had more normal efforts in No. 2 Ohio State’s 73-70 win on a LaQuinton Ross buzzer-beater over No. 6 Arizona, and No. 9 Wichita State’s 72-58 win over No. 13 LaSalle.
And Friday featured an outstanding game as No. 1 Kansas fell to No. 4 Michigan 87-85 in overtime, with the Wolverines’ Trey Burke hitting a 30-foot three end of regulation because Kansas coach Bill Self forgot to foul him.
[No. 1 Louisville ousted No. 12 Oregon, 77-69; No. 2 Duke bested No. 3 Michigan State, 71-61, behind Seth Curry’s sharpshooting; and No. 3 Florida ended No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast’s ride, 62-50.]
Then on Saturday, the numbers were like this…38, 23, 37, 31…the shooting percentages for all four teams.
Syracuse (38%) beat Marquette (23%) 55-39. Wichita State (37%) upset Ohio State (31%) 70-66.
Now I’ve said during the regular season that Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim should hang it up and my attitude wasn’t without cause.
I mean after all, the Orange got off to an 18-1, 6-0 Big East, start and were ranked No. 3, but then went into freefall, winning just 5 of their last 12, all Big East contests, to finish 11-7 in league play. They looked awful in some of the games I saw and one could blame Boeheim because the ‘Cuse has some real talent.
As for Wichita State, coach Gregg Marshall said of his squad, they are no Cinderella. “Cinderellas are usually done at this stage. If you get to this point, you can win it all.” The Shockers are going to the Final Four for the second time in school history, the other being 1965, when they lost a national semifinal to John Wooden’s second championship team at UCLA. That was the year the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four was actually Princeton’s Bill Bradley (who lit it up in the consolation contest).
Sunday, I was involved in Easter activities with family and intently saw just the first half of the Michigan-Florida 79-59 blowout, and then only the second half of Louisville’s 85-63 win over Duke. Obviously, it didn’t matter I wasn’t following either the whole way. I heard about Kevin Ware’s injury on the drive home. Not having seen it, I couldn’t help but wait for CBS’ halftime show and when they didn’t show it, I went on YouTube and saw it there. In hindsight, I kind of wish I hadn’t. We wish Kevin our best.
–Talk about getting screwed again, UCLA approached Phil Jackson to see if he was agreeable to leading the search for a new basketball coach, he agreed, and then when Bruins AD Dan Guerrero talked to Jackson’s rep and was told what it would cost to hire Jackson as a consultant (only natural), Guerrero told Jackson’s agent he would take the holiday weekend before putting the deal together. Guerrero never got back to Jackson’s rep….on Saturday he hired Steve Alford of New Mexico. What a strange choice.
“He has a rock-star image with an opening-act resume.
“He was once Hoosiers, but, in the last decade, Gene Hackman has led the exact same number of teams to the Sweet 16.
“He prides himself on playing Ivy League-smart basketball, which was pretty cool until a couple of weeks ago when his team was knocked out of the NCAA tournament in the first round by, um, Harvard.
“Of course, regarding Saturday’s hiring of Steve Alford as the UCLA basketball coach, there is only one question that matters.
“Seriously, plucking Alford’s fallen star from the wilds of New Mexico and placing it in the middle of Hollywood feels more like a casting decision than a coaching decision.
“Hey, John Wooden’s school is now being led by a guy whose basketball roots are in Wooden’s small-town Indiana! Look, an undisciplined program is now being led by a disciple of Bobby Knight! And, oh my, look at that hair!
“The reality is that Alford, 48, hasn’t been a serious top coaching prospect for several years. He was unable to inspire either Iowa or New Mexico out of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament in his 14 seasons at those two big programs. His sideline presence sold tickets and inspired confidence until it came time to win big games. Witness this month, when he signed a 10-year extension at New Mexico shortly before his team entered the record books by becoming the first squad in NCAA tourney history to lose to Harvard.
“His tourney reputation is about as strong as that contract….
“The Los Angeles stage is as big as his last two coaching stops in Albuquerque and Iowa City combined. Alford is going to feel the heat here, immediately, and his ability to lead this program at least back to the Sweet 16 after a five-year absence could depend on his ability to handle it.”
UCLA wanted Butler’s Brad Stevens after firing Ben Howland, but once again the Indiana native said he was happy at Butler, thank you very much. But reading all the articles each year about the chase for Stevens is a reminder that Wake Forest was in the mix back in 2010 and we ended up, well, you know…we’ve struggled a bit.
As for Shaka Smart, he’s staying at VCU with the school making changes to his contract involving “program enhancements for the student-athletes and coaches.” I’m thinking free cable.
I mean it’s not as if Shaka isn’t doing alright. He earned $1.5 million this season with incentives. And the student body comes out in droves and loves the guy.
–Meanwhile, USC is targeting FGC’s Andy Enfield. Wife Amanda would fit in well in Los Angeles. Actually, she’d fit in well just about anywhere but Karachi.
But I hope Enfield stays just one more year. He has everyone returning but Sherwood Brown. His contract is only for $152,500, however, with $5,000 annual raises, and he just completed year two of five.
So like I said last time, double it to get him to stay. Remember, he doesn’t need the money and he is clearly different, like Stevens and Shaka Smart.
“A dream job is really what makes you happy and where you think you can win and where your family is happy. I’m fine with this dream job right now,” said Enfield.
—President Obama spoke to Robert Griffin III at the Syracuse-Marquette contest in Washington on Saturday, RGIII being the second most powerful man in Washington these days. Griffin said after that Obama spoke of “protecting myself.” Good advice.
–Goodness gracious…the Oregon Duck cheerleaders are flat-out gorgeous. Just a real shame they weren’t able to hang around ‘til the Final Four, know what I’m sayin’?
–CBS analyst Doug Gottlieb stepped in it big time Thursday night. During the pregame show, speaking on a panel with four African-American men, Gottlieb said:
“I don’t know why you guys ask me, I’m just here to bring diversity to this set, give kind of the white man’s perspective.”
Gottlieb remained on the set and commented later, “It was not a smart thing to say and I apologize.”
Fellow analyst Charles Barkley stood by Gottlieb on the broadcast during a break in the games that evening.
“I know this has nothing to do with the game; I want to say something about Doug Gottlieb. He made a joke earlier tonight and people are going crazy. All those idiots on Twitter, which I would never ever do, all you people at home who’ve got no life and are talking bad about Doug Gottlieb, get a life. It’s over with. It’s no big deal.”
I like Gottlieb from watching Mountain West Conference games that he is a regular on. He knows his stuff….but he’s always on the verge of crossing the line. “Don’t go there, Doug!…Doh!”
–With Miami out, time to focus on their pending NCAA sanctions, which seem a certainty. A person familiar with the investigation says the NCAA has asked the school if officials ignored evidence that dirtball booster Nevin Shapiro was providing impermissible benefits to Hurricanes’ athletes, coaches or recruits. The NCAA charges Miami lacked “institutional control.”
For its part, Miami wants all charges dropped because, as it came to light, the NCAA’s investigators broke some rules of their own.
Shapiro is a convicted felon who gave benefits to players on the football and basketball teams for nearly a decade.
–Kevin Clark had a bit in the Wall Street Journal on the NBA draft and avoiding juniors. It’s really quite logical.
“Juniors entering the NBA have mostly been busts. Since 2008, eight juniors have been a top-10 pick in the draft. Five of those eight players have already been dumped by their original teams.
“Kansas juniors have especially struggled making the transition to the pros. Thomas Robinson was taken with the No.5 pick by the Sacramento Kings in last year’s draft, but was traded in February after only 51 games. Cole Aldrich (11th overall in 2010) and forwards Markieff and Marcus Morris (13th and 14th overall in 2011) have also been non-factors for their teams.
“A look at the numbers and the struggles of juniors makes sense. College players with the most-NBA ready talent usually turn pro after one or two years of college, while seniors have more refined games (Roy Hibbert and Tyler Hansbrough come to mind).”
Ball Bits…rather….Play Ball!!!
The weather has sucked around here. March didn’t have a single day where it hit 60 degrees. So it’s been a little tougher to get pumped for baseball, plus it’s not like us Mets fans are thinking playoffs. We’d just like to still be playing meaningful games in August. September seems out of the question with the likes of Washington and Atlanta in the division.
Anyway….the Washington Nationals defeat the Detroit Tigers in the World Series.
Sports Illustrated has Nationals over Rays.
[For respective MVPs, I agree with you, Shu…it’s Andrew McCutchen in the N.L. I’ll go with Prince Fielder in the A.L. Yes, Pittsburgh will finally finish over .500. For Cy Young I’m going Josh Johnson, A.L., and Stephen Strasburg, N.L.]
Here’s the thing, Mets fans. For this year only you are allowed to half-root for the Nats because it is Davey Johnson’s last year and every Mets fan should want him going out a winner after all the good memories he gave us in the 80s; especially since the 2013 Mets will blow, going 75-87.
In comparing this year’s Nats to the ’86 Mets, Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci had a great take.
“Even the teams’ signature stars run on parallel tracks: In the roles of 21-year-old Dwight Gooden and 24-year-old former Rookie of the Year outfielder Darryl Strawberry, Johnson has 24-year-old ace Stephen Strasburg and 20-year-old reigning Rookie of the Year outfielder Bryce Harper.”
The Yankees, by the way, will go 76-86, thus making for some delicious back page tabloid headlines as the two Gotham entrants fight it out for ‘worst in the city.’
Sunday’s New York Post has a story written by Joe Peta, a former hedge-fund trader who now spends his time wagering on baseball in Vegas, while writing a book, “Trading Bases: A Story about Wall Street, Gambling, and Baseball.”
We’re talking this guy is quite good at it. Peta built his own model, using the likes of Bill James’ work.
As Peta puts it, “what makes gambling on baseball less heart-breaking than football…(is that) there are no point spreads, where you’re say, praying for the New York Giants to score a meaningless field goal in the final minutes to be up by more than 10. When you bet on a baseball team to win, your interests are aligned perfectly with the players on the field.”
Peta started a hedge fund for baseball betting in 2011 and ended up 41% for the season. Last year, after admittedly a brutal start, he said he was up 14%.
–After the Mets’ experience with Johan Santana, I cringe anytime I see a contract more than 3 or 4 years for a pitcher. I can maybe understand five years for a young guy, but history shows that’s a stretch, too.
So the Tigers just signed Justin Verlander to the biggest contract in history for a pitcher, seven years, $180 million; this after the Mariners signed Felix Hernandez to one of equal length for $175 million. Seven years!!! That’s nuts.
Verlander was actually under contract for 2013 and 2014, so it’s an extension through 2019, with a $22 million option for 2020 that becomes guaranteed if he finishes among the top five in 2019 Cy Young voting…so potentially eight years for $202 million.
Now, perversely, if he gets the eighth year that means that in all probability he was a raging success for the entire term.
I love that the guy is committed to Detroit, but Verlander is also no fool. Nor is Hernandez.
But back to Santana, Mets fans are just sick these days. The club signs him after the 2007 season (after a big trade with Minnesota), and two Cy Young awards with the Twins, to a six-year, $137.5 million deal and we’ve now learned his career could easily be over as he heads for a second operation for a torn anterior capsule in his left shoulder. Few ever come back after one operation, as Santana did for a spell last year after taking 2011 off to rehab. But to do so after a second? Doubtful. Never been done.
Anyway, if he does come back in 2014, it sure as hell won’t be with the Metsies. Santana – as I have to keep repeating because it is part of my therapy, facing reality, that is – will earn $25.5 million this year, plus the Mets will owe him a $5.5 million buyout at season’s end when they choose not to pick up his option. So $31 million for doing nothing. NOTHING!!! [Pause…the Bar Chat nurse is checking my blood pressure…] I mean there is all this talk that Alex Rodriguez is earning more this year than the entire Houston Astros, $29 million to $25 million, and who knows when A-Rod will be back, but we know Johan won’t.
So let’s look to see what the Mets got for their $137.5 million over six seasons.
Santana was solid in 2008, the first year, but that was his only full season!
Start slicing up the contract any way you want. Over $1 million per appearance! $3 million per win! I mean the guy threw 717 innings as a Met….figure that one out. Try like $191,000 per inning!
Well, Santana does remain a part of Mets lore; Johan’s 134-pitch no-hitter last June, the first in franchise history. His performance was generally awful after that but there is no way to ever prove this was also the beginning of the end for the shoulder. It is what it is. Plus as Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen said the other day, “He had good velocity and arm strength after that. It doesn’t matter, because he would have never let us get him out of the game anyway.”
–Meanwhile, the Giants rewarded NL MVP Buster Posey with a nine-year contract worth $167 million, a deal that includes an option for 2022. It is the longest contract for a catcher.
–Back to the Yankees, the New York Times had a lengthy piece over the weekend detailing the genesis of Alex Rodriguez’ 10-year, $275 million contract that has been an unmitigated disaster on a number of levels, and with the team being still responsible for the final $114 million over five years through 2017, at which point A-Rod would be 42.
But now they have outfielder Vernon Wells on the roster and while the Yanks aren’t responsible for his $21 million each of the next two seasons (his former employer, the Angels, are), I forgot that in 2011, Wells not only hit just .218 in 505 at-bats, but his on-base percentage was .248! This was the worst season since 1990 for any player with at least 500 plate appearances.
–We note the passing of former catcher Gus Triandos, who spent the main part of his 13-year career with the Baltimore Orioles in the 1950s. This was a quality hitter for that position, especially given the era, and Triandos was a three-time All-Star from 1957-59. From ’56-’59 he knocked in at least 70 RBI and smashed 30 home runs in ’58. I loved his season in ’59, though. He only hit .216, but had 25 homers and 73 RBI on just 85 hits (he also had just 7 doubles). Yes, Gus Triandos was a bit of a lead foot. He had….get this…a single stolen base in his career.
—Tim McCarver announced this will be his last year in the broadcast booth. He’s 71.
Give the guy credit. He played 21 seasons, then was smart enough to go right into broadcasting, calling local games for the Phillies, Mets, Yankees and Giants, as well as network games for NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox….calling 23 World Series.
Now a lot of folks criticize McCarver, and often for good reason, but as his partner Joe Buck put it, “What makes him great is that he doesn’t let criticism bother him. He takes it in and moves on.”
But the New York Post’s Phil Mushnick had an interesting bit on McCarver’s playing career.
“Strange, but a mention of McCarver brings to my mind Rickey Henderson, of all people, and those ‘experts’ who label him the ‘best base runner in history.’
“McCarver, in 5,529 at-bats, had 57 triples. Henderson, faster and with more power, in 10,961 ABs, had just 66 triples. That’s because ‘the greatest base runner’ actually was among the worst, choosing to reach third either by home run or by stealing it.
You want to know something else about McCarver? I forgot he finished second in the 1967 N.L. MVP vote to Orlando Cepeda. And you can look it up.
–I hope Ichiro hits .350 and Adam Dunn clubs 50 home runs this year.
–The Astros are finishing 38-124.
—Rusty Staub is throwing out the first pitch for the Mets’ opener on Monday. So I looked up his career and you know what kind of sucks? While Rusty, for all his greatness, doesn’t deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, he never received even 10% of the vote! C’mon.
–We note the passing of former Yankee hurler Bob Turley, 82. “Bullet Bob” was 101-85 in a 12-year career (1951, 53-63), 82-52, 3.62 with the Yankees including the 1958 A.L. Cy Young award (21-7, 2.97), a season in which he was also then MVP of the World Series, winning two games against the Milwaukee Braves, including Game 7 when he hurled 6 2/3 innings in relief of Don Larsen. The day before, manager Casey Stengel had brought Turley in to retire the Braves’ Frank Torre for the final out in the Yankees’ 4-3 victory (after Turley had thrown a shutout in Game 5 two days before that). The Yanks had been down 3-1 in the Series.
I didn’t realize Turley made a fortune after his playing days were over as an independent insurance salesman in Atlanta.
NBA Fever….it’s Fannn-tastic!
–In a 103-98 Lakers win over the Kings on Saturday night, Kobe Bryant eclipsed Wilt Chamberlain’s career mark of 31,419 points to become No. 4 on the all-time list. Bryant now trails just Michael Jordan (32,292), Karl Malone (36,928) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387).
It’s hard to believe Bryant is in his 17th season. Where does the time fly, sports fans.
“Tim Duncan continues to remind us, week in and week out this season, why he is the single most underrated great player in all of NBA history.”
“When Pat Riley tells Danny Ainge to shut up the way he did this past week after Ainge went after LeBron for complaining about the refs – it made me remember how much I liked Riley when he first arrived in the big, bad city.
“By the way…LeBron was absolutely right about some of those fouls in Chicago the other night, and all those who suggested that they weren’t really hard fouls because LeBron didn’t end up with a bloody nose or something are dead wrong.
“The idea that the only hard fouls in the NBA occurred back when Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason were committing them is dumber than all the clock reviews that keep brining March Madness to a dead stop.”
–For the archives, the Heat’s 27-game winning streak was snapped Wednesday night, 101-97, in Chicago and then Miami rebounded with a 108-89 win in New Orleans, which I only bring up because former Demon Deac Al-Farouq Aminu had 16 rebounds for the Hornets. It’s easy to forget this guy is still just 22.
–The Knicks’ J.R. Smith, with three consecutive 30-point efforts off the bench, is the first player to do so as a reserve since Ricky Pierce in 1990.
–We note the passing of former Chicago Bulls 7-foot center Tom Boerwinkle, 67. Playing all ten of his seasons in the Windy City from 1968-78, Boerwinkle only averaged 7 points per game but had a solid 9 rebounds per contest in just 22 minutes. He was also a terrific passer out of the post.
But as William Yardley of the New York Times notes, Boerwinkle will forever be known in Bulls lore for one single contest, Jan. 8, 1970.
“One of the most wicked cold snaps in Chicago history was paralyzing the city. By Jan. 8, it had been below zero for 10 straight days.
“Of course, you normally wouldn’t worry how cold it was outside when playing a game indoors at Chicago Stadium, but Murphy’s Law applied to this game – the stadium’s heater was broken. And as the teams and officials were discussing whether to play the game at all on that very chilly night, there was one little secret nobody knew: I was a cold-weather person.”
Everyone on the bench was wearing coats and mittens. The opponent was Phoenix.
“Never had I experienced the breaks – not in high school, college or the pros – that I did on that night,” Boerwinkle recalled. “Everything was bouncing my way. I had 12 rebounds by the end of the first quarter and was closing in on 20 by halftime.”
Boerwinkle ended up with 37, still a Bulls record and tied with the most in the NBA (Moses Malone in a game in 1979) since then, which is rather remarkable. [Wilt Chamberlain of course has the record with 55; still my vote for best player in NBA history in terms of total domination of his era. It’s the same principle I apply to Jim Brown in football. And that’s a memo….Bernie Goldberg is here. Bernie, what say you?]
–Speaking of rebounds, nice game on Thursday night in Portland for the Brooklyn Nets’ Reggie Evans; 22 points and 26 rebounds…his first 20/20 game.
–I didn’t realize 30% of the players on current NBA rosters have played in the Development League (D-League) and 40% of the 2012 draft class had played in it as of January, according to the NBA. [Curtis Eichelberger / Bloomberg]
–Quarterback Kevin Kolb won’t be fighting for the starting position with the Jets. Instead he has opted for a two-year deal with Buffalo, this after the Bills released Ryan Fitzpatrick. Kolb has 28 touchdown passes and 25 interceptions in 34 career games, having played his last two seasons with Arizona.
–Former Giants star defensive end Osi Umenyiora signed with Atlanta, another good move for the Falcons, who earlier got running back Steven Jackson. Umenyiora has 75 career sacks and has enough left in the tank to make a difference (a la John Abraham after he left the Jets for Atlanta and was a star).
–The Pittsburgh Penguins have won 15 in a row, two shy of the NHL record of 17 straight, set by the 1992-93 Penguins.
But in Saturday’s 2-0 win over the Islanders at home, star Sidney Crosby took a puck to the mouth, lost several teeth and had to undergo oral surgery. The poor guy. He missed large portions of the last two seasons because of concussions, but is leading the league in scoring this lockout shortened season.
–With just eight matches remaining, Manchester United is rolling to its 20th Premier League title, up 15 points on Manchester City, last year’s winner.
“In the next few weeks, some 25,000 migrating birds – flying through New York City to their annual spring breeding grounds up north – will perish by smashing into glass skyscrapers, according to New York City Audubon, the local affiliate of the famed group.”
Several million birds fly through New York over the course of the year with annual casualties of around 90,000.
“After a 200-mile, 10-hour night flight, the birds can be flying as fast as 30 mph when they collide with a building. The daily death toll peaks early in the morning – when birds see trees and clouds reflected in glass facades.”
“Five South African soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash on Saturday while they were on patrol for rhino poachers in the Kruger National Park, the defense department said on Sunday.
“A spokesman said the five were taking part in ‘Operation Rhino,’ in which the army is trying to stop the slaughter of the animals for their horns, worth more than their weight in gold….
“On Wednesday, three suspected poachers were killed in a shoot-out with rangers in the vast Kruger, where the killing of the animals has become rampant.
“So far this year, 188 rhinos have been poached in South Africa, 135 in Kruger alone, according to government figures released this week.
“In 2012, 668 rhinos were poached in South Africa, a 50% rise on the previous year and double the number killed illegally in 2010.”
–Brad K. passed along the following from the Daily Mail:
“A giant fish got its own back on an angler when it dragged him to his death after he hooked it in southern China.
“The fish, believed to be a giant sturgeon, pulled Huang Wu, 58, into the water when he tried to retrieve his fishing rod, say witnesses.
“ ‘One minute he was chatting to us about what a big fish he had, the next it was the fish that had him,’ said Chen Wan (Ed. don’t know him) who was fishing alongside him in Nanning.
“Huang was pulled more than 150 feet out into the river before he disappeared under the water.
“Despite being endangered, sturgeons weighing between half a ton and a ton are regularly pulled out of rivers in China.
“ ‘They might be endangered but an inexperienced angler will be the only who’s in trouble if he hooks one of these monsters,’ explained one fisherman.”
It also being April 1st, the Beaver comes off double-secret probation and is placed back in the top ten at No. 8, regaining its position as the highest ranked rodent. Beaver remains on notice, however, that it can’t attack any more humans unless it’s with cause.
–We note the passing of veteran record producer Phil Ramone, 82, one of the most revered figures in the business. All he did was work with everyone from Barbra Streisand, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Duke Ellington, Billy Joel, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, to Aretha Franklin…as well as on soundtracks for films such as “Midnight Cowboy” and “Flashdance.”
Ramone won 14 Grammy Awards, including for Simon’s “Still Crazy After All These Years” in 1975 and Billy Joel’s “52nd Street” in 1978, both of which were honored with Grammys for album of the year.
There’s a little confusion over his age, with some obits listing him as 79. He was born in South Africa in 1931, according to his memoir, “Making Records,” but some public records give his birth year as 1934.
Ramone grew up in New York and as he put it, “While most 10-year-olds were outside playing ball, I was inside playing the violin.”
He studied at the Julliard School before moving to pop and jazz.
After apprenticing as an engineer, he founded A&R Recording; the ‘A’ was for his partner, Jack Arnold.
Heck, this guy did everything, including engineering Marilyn Monroe’s 1962 “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” at President Kennedy’s televised Madison Square Garden birthday party.
Ramone won his first Grammy for Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto’s “Getz/Gilberto,” which turned “The Girl From Ipanema” into an international smash. [Talk about a timeless tune.]
Billy Joel said in a statement on Saturday, “I always thought of Phil Ramone as the most talented guy in my band.”
Heck, I didn’t realize he produced my girl Shelby Lynne’s 2008 tribute to Dusty Springfield, “Just a Little Lovin’”.
In his memoir, Ramone wrote, “The greatest interaction in the world, is the creativity involved in making music.” [Mikael Wood / Los Angeles Times]
–And Gordon Stoker died. He was 88. Stoker was the lead tenor in the Jordanaires vocal group that backed Elvis Presley on recordings such as “Hound Dog,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “It’s Now or Never,” and “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”
Stoker also performed with Patsy Cline on “Crazy,” “I Fall to Pieces” and “Sweet Dreams,” as well as with Ricky Nelson on “Traveling Man” and “Hello Mary Lou.”
–The Rolling Stones have committed to playing the Glastonbury Festival on Saturday June 29. This is a big deal, but makes sense in this their 50th anniversary. The group had always resisted playing it, even though the likes of David Bowie, Beyonce, U2, Paul McCartney and almost every other major name in pop and rock has, chiefly because the Stones want to do things their own way.
Glastonbury is normally a muddy mess, taking place in a field in Somerset, and major bands are expected to pitch in and become part of the experience rather than get VIP treatment, as reported by the London Times. The pay is only about $150,000, compared to the $750,000 and up the big acts get from commercial festivals. But no other festival garners the interest Glastonbury receives and the Stones obviously make this year’s version a guaranteed success.
“Jagger, at the age of 69, can still dance like a priapic imp. Keith Richards can still crank out those instantly recognizable riffs to Brown Sugar, Satisfaction and countless others, however sloppily he does it. And Charlie Watts still looks like he’s waiting for the whole thing to be over so he can get home in time for a good night’s sleep.”
Top 3 songs for the week of 4/7/84: #1 “Footloose” (Kenny Loggins) #2 “Somebody’s Watching Me” (Rockwell…buy a shotgun, according to Joe Biden…) #3 “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)” (Phil Collins…has a volcanic temper, so they say…)…and…#4 “Here Comes The Rain Again” (Eurythmics….very, very depressing…if you are singing this one in the shower you have real problems…) #5 “Jump” (Van Halen…don’t jump when you are in the shower…you’ll fracture your skull…) #6 “Automatic” (Pointer Sisters…ughh…) #7 “Miss Me Blind” (Culture Club…I think I’m coming down with Sars…) #8 “Adult Education” (Daryl Hall – John Oates…not their best…but the editor cuts them slack because at least they were trying…) #9 “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” (Cyndi Lauper…hand me my sword…) #10 “Hello” (Lionel Richie…yeah, what do you want?! I’m busy….)
NBA Quiz Answer: Seven coaches with 1,000 victories.
Phil Jackson…1,640 – 1,155 .704 [1990-2011]
Don Nelson…1,335 – 1,063 .557 [1977-2010]
Lenny Wilkens…1,332 – 1,155 .536 [1970-2005]
Jerry Sloan…1,221 – 803 .603 [1980-2011]
Pat Riley…1,210 – 694 .636 [1982-2008]
George Karl…1,124 – 754 .598 [1985-present]*
Larry Brown…1,098 – 904 .548 [1977-2011]
