[Posted: Sunday 9:00 PM ET]
NFL Quiz: Name the four running backs for the Los Angeles Rams to rush for 1,000 yards in a season during the 1960s and 70s. Answer below.
Ball Bits
—N.L. Central…prior to St. Louis’ Sunday night contest
St. Louis 91-64
Pittsburgh 89-67…2.5GB
Cincinnati 89-67…2.5
For Pittsburgh and Cincy, it’s not only about the wild card (they are both locks) but who gets home-field advantage for the one-game playoff. Great stuff.
A.L. Wild Card
Tampa Bay 86-69
Cleveland 86-70 (shocker)
Texas 84-71…1.5 GB (huge collapse…manager Ron Washington should be fired now to fire up the team this final week)
Kansas City 82-73…3.5
[Yanks 4 back…toast…bye bye…]
—Alex Rodriguez hit his 24th career grand slam on Friday night in the Yankees’ 5-1 win over San Francisco, thus passing Lou Gehrig as baseball’s career leader in the category. It’s very depressing to a lot of us.
A-Rod 24
Gehrig 23
Manny Ramirez 21
Eddie Murray 19
And now A-Rod is just six home runs shy of another legend.
“First, because of an impending bonus if he can get to 660 home runs, Alex Rodriguez is discussed with Willie Mays.
“Now, because he hits that grand slam on Friday night, he is discussed with Lou Gehrig.
On Andy Pettitte and the lefty’s announcement he was retiring, for good this time….
“(Pettitte) gets to talking about his use of human growth hormone and says, ‘I never did anything to try to cheat this game.’
“And he is allowed to think that, and so are his teammates, and his supporters, and those who just want to give the big guy a big hug.
“Pettitte says he only did what he did because he wanted to be a good teammate and heal faster, and he’s allowed to say that – and think that – as well.
“But by what objective standard are the rest of us supposed to buy that?
“He uses the stuff and then he has a few years to reflect on that, and then decides to use it again, knowing he is breaking the rules of his sport when he does.
“So if it’s not cheating, what is it?”
—So is Pettitte a Hall of Famer, all the above aside? He’s 255-152, 3.86, and of course 19-11, 3.81, in the postseason. Super career. Won 20 games twice. But never won a Cy Young (top five in the voting four times) and was an All-Star only three times. Only five seasons out of 18 in which his ERA was under 3.50. [The 3.86 career ERA would be the highest of any pitcher in the Hall.]
—Derek Jeter is the last of the “Core Four”…Jorge Posada, Mariano, and Pettitte. Stretching it a little to include Bernie Williams (1991-2006), consider the following from the New York Post’s Joel Sherman.
“(It feels) right – on the occasion of Mariano Rivera Day and Andy Pettitte’s last start ever at the Stadium (assuming no second un-retirement or the Yanks making the playoffs) – to praise, not bury, these Yankeees. Because I hope the most spoiled and dissatisfied of their fans can understand and appreciate this: No team is ever doing again what they have done for the last 21 seasons – 21 straight years over .500 and in contention, 17 playoff trips (probably 18 if the season were not halted in 1994), seven pennants and five championships.
–As for Rivera…and Jeter…I forgot the following, courtesy of Sports Illustrated.
“Rivera made his major league debut on May 23, 1995, as a starter against the California Angels. He started against Chuck Finley, who had made his debut for the Angels in ’86 in relief of Don Sutton, who had made his debut in ’66 following Koufax in the Dodgers’ rotation.
“Rivera was knocked out in the fourth inning of a 10-0 New York loss. Six days later Jeter made his big league debut. Rivera made four starts, pitching to a 10.20 ERA, before the Yankees decided he wasn’t ready. On June 11, 1995, immediately after he was pulled from a start after giving up five runs while getting only seven outs, the Yankees demoted Rivera and Jeter, who was hitting .234, to Triple A Columbus.
“Between them Rivera and Jeter would combine for 26 All-Star Games and 10 world championship rings, but on this day they were failed big leaguers sharing a car ride over the George Washington Bridge to a hotel in Fort Lee, N.J., on their way back to the bush leagues.”
–The Los Angeles Times has some graphs on the Dodgers’ spectacular run. June 21, they are 9 ½ games out of first, 30-42. They then win 42 of 50 thru Aug. 17 and when they clinched the division the other day were 10 ½ in front.
But did the Dodgers commit a breach of etiquette by jumping in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ pool to celebrate the N.L. West championship the other night?
Arizona Sen. John McCain thought it egregious enough to tweet: “No-class act by a bunch of overpaid, immature, arrogant, spoiled brats!”
Actually, I can’t believe the Dodgers would want to take a dip in that disgusting body of water, especially with talk of brain-eating amoeba these days (such as in St. Bernard Parish near New Orleans).
–The Pirates’ television ratings are currently third among all teams in baseball, up 22% over last year and trailing only Detroit and St. Louis.
—Only three Mets have survived the entire year uninterrupted on the team’s active roster: second baseman Daniel Murphy, starting pitcher Dillon Gee, and reliever LaTroy Hawkins. This is the fewest in baseball.
–The Mets swept the Phillies this weekend and so both are 71-84, tied for third in the division!
Meanwhile, Phils manager Ryne Sandberg had the interim tag dropped and he is their full-time manager through 2016…at least that’s what the contract says.
–The Pittsburgh Pirates have been around 126 years…126 years…but on Saturday, A.J. Burnett became the first right-hander to strike out 200 in a season. Remarkable.
–What a spectacular season for the Dodgers’ Hanley Ramirez. In just 82 games due to injury, Ramirez is hitting .350 with 20 home runs and 57 RBI out of the shortstop position.
—Bill Mazeroski is auctioning off his jersey from Game 7 of the 1960 World Series in November at the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory. Don’t feel sorry for him. Mazeroski said it’s been collecting mothballs and that it was time to “share it with the public.” It’s expected to fetch around $100,000. Maz is also selling six Gold Glove Awards.
–Finally, I watched the entire pre-game ceremony honoring Mariano Rivera at the little bandbox known as the New Yankee Stadium. First class all the way, with Rivera getting his No. 42 retired and Rachel Robinson in attendance.
I know I’ve said this a million times, but there is no classier woman in the world than 91-year-old Rachel. She is absolutely amazing.
And it was very cool to have Metallica there in person to perform “Enter Sandman,” Rivera’s signature song as he emerges from the bullpen. From the expression on Mariano’s face, you could tell his favorite gift was a speaker autographed by the band.
But then the Yankees, in Pettitte’s final home start, lost 2-1. Andy pitched great, allowing two hits and the two runs in seven innings, and Mariano pitched 1 2/3 of scoreless relief, but the offense once again failed.
College Football
It was hardly a scintillating weekend but for most of the major powers the cupcake part of their schedules is history.
—Colorado State was offered $1.5 million to play No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa Saturday and they not only collected, they beat the spread! ‘Bama was favored by 39 and won by only 25, 31-6.
–Crazy game in Durham, N.C., as Pitt defeated Duke 58-55, with Panthers quarterback Tom Savage throwing for six touchdowns and James Conner rushing for 173 yards. Duke’s quarterback Brandon Connette had a wild day, throwing for four touchdowns and rushing for 101 yards, but he was picked off four times as well. And the bottom line? I showed Pitt favored by 4 points. Doh!
—No. 4 Ohio State blasted Florida A&M 76-0, with 34 first downs to A&M’s 2. The Buckeyes were favored by 51 and played without injured star quarterback Braxton Miller.
—No. 5 Stanford rolled over No. 23 Arizona State 42-28, but it was worse than this. The Cardinal was up 29-0 at the half. And I was so disgusted by the lack of coverage of the ASU cheerleaders that I switched to the Mets game.
—No. 6 LSU upended Auburn 35-21.
—No. 7 Louisville, favored by 42 ½, annihilated Florida International 72-0, 20-2 in first downs. FIU actually only had one turnover. The teams went to a running clock (sporadically) in the second half as FIU’s coach was worried about all the players he was losing.
—No. 9 Georgia, favored by 33 at home against North Texas won by only 45-21, with the game being tied at 21 in the third. Aaron Murray did throw for 408 yards for the Bulldogs.
—Georgia Tech moved to 3-0 with a 28-20 win over North Carolina (1-2)
—Virginia Tech barely got by Marshall in triple overtime, 29-21.
—No. 19 Florida beat Tennessee 31-17 but lost starting quarterback Jeff Driskel for the season with a broken leg.
—No. 22 Notre Dame won a real yawner over Michigan State 17-13.
—Wake Forest evened its record at 2-2 with a solid 25-11 win up at West Point. We finally got the running game going, 228 yards. Nose tackle Nikita Whitlock also had an outstanding game with 14 tackles, 3 for a loss.
But to show you how bad our loss the prior week to La.-Monroe was, No. 20 Baylor crushed ULM 70-7.
—Maryland moved to 4-0 with an impressive 37-0 thrashing of West Virginia.
—No. 15 Michigan avoided total embarrassment with a 24-21 win over UConn in Storrs (East Hartford).
—Nice win for Rutgers (3-1) over visiting Arkansas 28-24.
–Thursday night, No. 3 Clemson had a solid road win over North Carolina State, 26-14.
–Finally, on Friday, Fresno State defeated Boise State 41-40. The Bulldogs previously defeated Rutgers 52-51 in OT and Cal Poly, 41-25. A game with Colorado was postponed due to the flooding in Boulder.
Bottom line, Fresno State passed its big test, though Boise is nowhere near the power this season that it has been. Fresno, however, can now run the table and be a legitimate threat to crash the BCS.
–And now…the latest AP rankings:
1. Alabama (56 first place votes)
2. Oregon (4)…quack quack….Duckwear featured prominently in the home office these days
3. Clemson
4. Ohio State
5. Stanford
6. LSU
7. Louisville…not good….if they are to get into the BCS title game with Oregon as I project, they need to inch up almost every week
8. Florida State
9. Georgia
10. Texas A&M
11. Oklahoma State
22. Notre Dame…I do this just for alum Mark R., you understand. Couldn’t care less about the Fighting Blarney
25. Fresno State
–Wow, the New York Giants laid an egg of epic proportions down in Charlotte as they lost to the Panthers 38-0 in what was easily one of the worst games in franchise history. Quarterback Eli Manning was sacked five times in the first quarter, seven for the game, as Carolina outgained the Mighty Midgets 402-150. Manning was 12 of 23, 119 yards and an interception. It all added up to a 49.0 rating.
So the Giants (better known as the Gints in these parts) are 0-3. My good friend, Newt S., Giants fan extraordinaire, is in deep depression.
–But how ‘bout them J-E-T-S…JETS JETS JETS!!! I thought they would finish 2-14 and yet here they are, 2-1, after defeating Buffalo 27-20 despite a staggering team-record 20 penalties for 168 yards! Goodness gracious!
Rookie QB Geno Smith outplayed fellow rook E.J. Manuel and Bilal Powell rushed for 149 yards.
Who wudda thunk after three weeks that New York area fans would actually care about the Jets come Week 4 while the Giants are buried and done?
–What a game between Cincinnati and Green Bay. The Bengals (2-1) took a 14-0 early lead, Green Bay (1-2) scored the next 30 to go up 30-14 with about 5:30 left in the third, but Cincy roared back with 20 straight to take it 34-30. Aaron Rodgers had one of his worst efforts, 26/43, 244, 1 TD, 2 INTs, for a 64.5 rating. Ughh.
But UCLA rookie Johnathan Franklin busted out for 103 yards rushing, thus providing Green Bay fans some hope.
Well gosh darnit, I’m stickin’ with ‘em, despite their horrific 31-7 loss to the Cowboys (2-1) that drops St. Louis to 1-2.
–For all the bitching over the Ravens and how they let everyone go from their Super Bowl champion squad, after Week 3 they are 2-1 following a solid 30-9 win over 2-1 Houston.
—Washington has had a tough stretch…the city, that is. The Nationals drastically underachieved, Congress and the President blow, you had the tragic incident at the Navy Yard, and now the Redskins are 0-3 as Robert Griffin III proves he isn’t the second coming of, err, err, Joe Montana! [Or Terry Bradshaw, Tom Brady, John Elway ….] Sunday the 2-1 Lions took out the (call them anything but Redskins to be politically correct) 27-20.
–Not for nothing but after his opening carry for the season of 78 yards, Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson has averaged just 3.0 yards on his next 68. The Vikings fell to 0-3 after losing to the Brownies (1-2) 31-27, behind third-string quarterback Brian Hoyer, a Frenchman who paints in Montmartre.
–Yes, that was a rather startling trade the other day, the Browns trading running back Trent Richardson to the Colts for next year’s first-round pick. Richardson had 950 yards rushing, with 11 touchdowns, and caught 51 passes in his rookie season for the Browns last year.
But many are questioning Indy for the move. Richardson has injury issues and as we all know by now, you can pick up a good running back these days with a middle round pick. Heck, if you have a decent offensive line, you can turn any back into a 1,000-yard rusher. But in today’s NFL, running is secondary to the passing game.
Richardson was the third selection overall in 2012 out of Alabama but he has been a 3.5 yard per carry guy.
The Browns are stockpiling picks in an attempt to get a franchise quarterback in next spring’s draft. They certainly will have a shot at a good one…Johnny Manziel? Teddy Bridgewater? Tajh Boyd’s stock continues to rise….
Meanwhile, Richardson, in his first game with the Colts (2-1) on Sunday sucked…13 carries for 35 yards…but Indy upset the 49ers (1-2) in San Francisco 27-7 as Colin Kaepernick had his second straight dreadful performance.
–And what’s this? Another Super Bowl favorite, Atlanta, is also now 1-2 after losing to the Dolphins, who are a shocking 3-0, 27-23?! It’s trooo….it’s really troooo.
–On Thursday, Andy Reid had a nice homecoming in Philadelphia as his new team, the Chiefs, took care of business in dismantling the now 1-2 Eagles, 26-16. The Chiefs are 3-0 and Reid is the toast of Kansas City. Good for him. Heck, with the Kansas City Royals having a very solid season, it’s been a good year thus far for the K.C. faithful.
Back to Reid, the Philly fans gave him a standing ovation, a fitting acknowledgement of the four NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl he guided the Eagles to in 14 seasons at the helm.
–Boomer Esiason, writing in Sports Illustrated on Detroit nose tackle Ndamukong Suh.
“Two games into his fourth season, Suh has been hit with 11 personal-foul penalties and fined six times for $177,500. Can you say ‘habitual offender’? In 2011 he was suspended for two games after stomping on the arm of Packers lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith. In 2012 he kicked Texans quarterback Matt Schaub in the groin. In 2011 and 2012 he was voted the league’s dirtiest player in a Sporting News poll of NFL players. His latest assault occurred on opening week, when Suh cut out the knees of Vikings center John Sullivan from behind while blocking on an interception return. It was dangerous and extremely dumb – he cost his team a touchdown after he was called for an illegal block….
“Most players view the NFL as something of a brotherhood. We recognize the aggressive nature of the game but also the small window of opportunity we have to play it. Therefore, we respect each other’s well-being. Not Suh. He seems to fail to grasp that it’s not a right but a privilege to wear an NFL uniform….
“The only way to make Suh understand that he needs to change his on-field behavior is to take away the thing that he claims to love so much – the game itself….
“No individual is bigger than the game, and anyone who has shown such blatant disregard for the safety and careers of his fellow players needs to change or be removed from the field.”
FedEx Cup
Congratulations to Henrik Stenson, the first European to win the FedEx Cup title as he prevailed on Sunday at East Lake by three strokes over Jordan Spieth and Steve Stricker.
Stenson thus wins $1.44 million for winning the TOUR Championship, plus another $10 million for the FedEx Cup. It was his fourth PGA Tour title overall.
But I have to note the spectacular year Steve Stricker had playing a limited schedule. The 46-year-old entered only 13 events, yet had seven Top 5s. As Ronald Reagan would have said…not bad, not bad at all. Stricker hasn’t missed a cut since early 2010.
And kudos to Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples, who picked Spieth and Wake Forest’s Webb Simpson as his two captain’s picks for the upcoming event and all they did was finish second and fourth this weekend.
Ken Norton, RIP
The former heavyweight champion died the other day at the age of 70. Norton fought three memorable bouts (to varying degrees) with Muhammad Ali, winning the first by split decision and breaking Ali’s jaw in the process*, losing the second, also by a split decision, and then Norton lost the third in 15 rounds by unanimous decision, even though the statistics were on his side.
As reported by Gordon Marino of the Wall Street Journal, Bob Canobbio of CompuBox, who reviewed the 3rd fight after the fact, says that Norton connected with 286 total punches to Ali’s 199.
Norton, who ended with a career record of 42-7-1 with 33 knockouts, contended this controversial loss broke his fighting heart.
That was September 1976. Norton did go on to defeat the likes of Duane Bobick and Jimmy Young, and was to fight the winner of a fight between Ali and Leon Spinks, but when Spinks upset Ali for the W.B.C. title, he shunned Norton for this first defense in favor of a rematch with Ali. The W.B.C. then stripped Spinks of the crown and awarded it to Norton.
So it was 1978 when Norton made his first defense against Larry Holmes and lost by a 15-round split decision in one of boxing’s greatest fights of all time. [I just watched the 15th round on YouTube and some day will watch the entire bout again. Brutal…and truly spectacular.]
Ken Norton acted in many movies, including famously in “Mandingo,” and he was the father of Ken Norton Jr., who played linebacker for Dallas and San Francisco from 1988 to 2000.
Norton was a class act and a great American, having served in the Marines for four years, 1963-67. He had reasons to be bitter after all the decisions that went against him, but he became a good friend of Ali’s and was as respected as any in the fight game.
*To give Ali his due, Norton broke his jaw in the second round and Ali continued another ten.
“He was born into the time of America’s great heavyweight renaissance…the time of Holmes and Foreman…Cooney and Frazier…Shavers and Lyle. And looking down on that magic kingdom from a perch high above it all, like the master puppeteer he was, Muhammad Ali illuminated the horizon like the brightest shining star.
“Into this world, Ken Norton fought and bled and, sadly, always seemed to be lost on a journey too long and a payday too short.
“Norton died at 70 in Las Vegas and the obits all told of his finest moments. He was, above all, a decent man who plied his trade with honor and talent. But when you measure his career, fate always seemed to conspire against him.
“What heavyweight champion never won a heavyweight championship fight?
“It happened like this. Jose Sulaiman, who never saw a hustle he didn’t like, had no heavyweight champion in his World Boxing Council orbit. So he matched Norton against a slick Philadelphia boxer named Jimmy Young, dangling before them the promise of a heavyweight title match with Ali. It was a fight he had absolutely no right to offer, but then nobody ever said Jose was perfect.
“Norton beat Young, and Ali, who had turned in the worst performance of his career in losing to Leon Spinks, was obviously going to head to New Orleans, where the livin’ was easy and the money was large and beat Leon like a Salvation Army drum to win back his title.
“So Jose declared the title vacant – which the whole world from Bombay to Oslo already knew – and matched Larry Holmes and Norton for his own non-existent title after first declaring Norton was the champion.
“Ironically, even though he lost a 15-round split decision in that 1978 fight, it produced the single most magnificent three minutes in Norton’s career.
“I have watched boxing for more than 60 years, from Ray Robinson and Rocky Marciano onward. But I am here to tell you that the 15th round of Norton-Holmes was the greatest 15th round of heavyweight boxing I ever saw. Larry won it, and once again Kenny, through no fault of his own, was on the outside looking in.
“And who of us old enough does not recall the three fights with Ali? In the first one in San Diego in 1973, Kenny broke Ali’s jaw and won a split decision. My most vivid memory of that event was the non-publicized private visit Kenny made to see Muhammad in the hospital.
“The second fight was in Los Angeles. It was neither fighter at his best. My scorecard had Norton winning. ‘Their’ scorecards – the three judges (the ones that counted) – gave it to Muhammad.
“So they fought the last time in Yankee Stadium on Sept. 28, 1976, the strangest night ever to host a boxing match.
“They would fight in the glamorous ballpark in the city that never sleeps and with the world watching.
“On that night, the New York City Police Department did the unthinkable. It voted to strike. Nobody believed it could possibly happen. But it did and while some of New York’s finest stood by, marauding bands of thugs attacked people outside the park. Suddenly, there was more foot traffic heading back to the subway station to get away from the Stadium than to get into it.”
It ended up being “one of the worst fights in history….Norton was willing, but his talent had faded. He fought for revenge. Ali was not very willing, the wind off the Harlem River was ferocious, and it was clear Ali would have signed a peace pact if it would have gotten him inside….
“It may have been Muhammad’s worst fight. His biggest contribution between rounds two to seven was a series of missed punches punctuated by a series of scatological remarks. Norton piled up points. And then a very strange thing happened.
“Kenny was convinced he was so far ahead he could not be caught. He stopped fighting and started clowning…stuck out his tongue…taunted Ali with words, not punches.
“Looking back, it ruined his final chance at redemption and it overshadowed his brilliance on the night he fought Holmes.
“I prefer to remember the way he fought that 15th round.
—Rabies kills two to six people a year in America, down from more than 100 a century ago. Globally, rabies kills about 60,000 people a year, according to The Economist.
—Director of Shark Attacks for Bar Chat, Bob S., passed along a tale from off the coast of Mexico wherein Dean “Deano” Stefanek “spent 30 minutes battling an enraged 6-meter great white shark – and lived.”
Stefanek, a tuna diver, volunteered to jump into a tuna pen to try to kill the injured shark.
You see the shark bit its way through the bottom of the net at this tuna farm and they had to get it out, so Stefanek’s associates shot the beast but it wouldn’t die.
“The shark saw me and went berserk. I tried to kill it quickly and fired at its head, which only stunned it.”
Eventually, he tied a rope around the shark’s tail and the boat’s winch took it up. The picture is unreal.
–“Elephant tramples Briton to death”
The Foreign Office confirmed a British national has been killed in southern India. The man died at the Masinagudi National Park, in the state of Tamil Nadu.
There were conflicting reports about the moments leading up to the man’s death.
“He was killed after failing to hear guides and other tourists shout warnings to him as the elephant approached during a trek, it was reported.
“Other accounts claimed the man was engrossed in his photography and did not hear two other elephants charge at him from behind.”
Top 3 songs for the week 9/26/81: #1 “Endless Love” (Diana Ross & Lionel Richie…endless drivel…) #2 “Queen Of Hearts” (Juice Newton…tune isn’t aging well…) #3 “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” (Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers…geezuz…well speed it up!)… and…#4 “Urgent” (Foreigner…initially thought they were saying “Virgin”…which of course makes no sense in terms of how it fits into the lyrics…) #5 “(There’s) No Getting’ Over Me” (Ronnie Milsap…whatever….) #6 “Who’s Crying Now” (Journey…Mets fans…) #7 “Arthur’s Theme” (Christopher Cross…boy he sure flamed out quickly…) #8 “Step By Step” (Eddie Rabbitt…he did better…) #9 “Lady (You Bring Me Up)” (Commodores) #10 “Start Me Up” (The Rolling Stones…prefer ‘Hot Rocks’ era…)
NFL Quiz Answer: Four L.A. Rams to rush for 1,000 yards in the 60s and 70s.
Dick Bass 1,033 (5.3 per carry) 1962; 1,090 (4.4) 1966
Willie Ellison 1,000 (4.7) 1971
Wendell Tyler 1,109 (5.1) 1979
Lawrence McCutcheon 1,097 (5.2) 1973; 1,109 (4.7) 1974; 1,168 (4.0) 1976; 1,238 (4.2) 1977. He also had 911 yards in 1975, so a heckuva five-year run.
Dick Bass starred in my electric football games as I had the Rams, Packers and the Jets.
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!! [Bless her soul, Mom never complained about the noise.]
