[Posted Sun. PM]
Baseball Quiz: I covered the event extensively a few weeks ago, so you can find it in my archives, but April 8 marks the 40th anniversary of Hank Aaron’s No. 715 to break the Babe’s home run record. 40 years! Those of us of a certain age remember the night vividly. So I’m going to give you the initials of some pitchers (and their teams) who gave up key home runs to Aaron. #1 V.R. (St. Louis) #500 M.M. (San Fran) #600 G.P. (San Fran) #700 K.B. (Phila.) #714 J.B. (Cincinnati) #715 A.D. (L.A.) #755 D.D. (California) Name ‘em. Answer below.
Final Four
8 Kentucky vs. 7 Connecticut
Good vs. Evil…I pray UConn’s Napier and Daniels stay out of early foul trouble.
“Well everyone had it wrong – you, me, the postman and the NCAA selection committee.
“All that teeth-gnashing over tournament seeding has produced an NCAA championship game between a No. 7 and No. 8.
“No. 8 Kentucky dramatically capped Saturday night with a 74-73 victory over No. 2 Wisconsin in the second NCAA semifinal game before a Final Four record crowd of 79,444 fans at AT&T Stadium.
“After you combined that with No. 7 Connecticut’s much less dramatic 63-53 win over top-seeded Florida, the Final Four became the Final Two.
“A week after the freshman guard sent Kentucky to the Final Four with his three-pointer to beat Michigan, Harrison put the dagger in Wisconsin when he sank the game-winning three against them.
“Harrison’s shot came with 5.7 seconds left on his only three-point attempt of the night.
“Wisconsin players said afterward Aaron had the ‘clutch gene.’
“Kentucky Coach John Calipari described him as a basketball assassin.”
But with the score tied 71-71 and 16 seconds left, Wisconsin’s Traevon Jackson was fouled beyond the three-point line. The Badgers had made all 17 of their foul shots but Jackson missed the first of his three. He made the next two but that set up Harrison for the win.
Only Jackson had another attempt at the buzzer but missed a clear look.
In the opener, UConn was down 16-4 after the first 11 minutes, only to go on a 33-11 run for a 37-27 lead with 13 minutes to go in the game. The Huskies shot 55.8% from the field while holding the Gators to 38.8% shooting.
UConn had been the last team to beat Florida, Dec. 2, before the Gators embarked on a 30-game win streak, and then the Huskies did it again.
As for Monday night, UConn has won national titles in San Antonio (2004) and Houston (2011). There’s your omen.
Just a month ago the Huskies lost to Louisville 81-48. They were buried…dead. And then they weren’t.
–Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky was a total non-factor, 8 points, 5 rebounds in 32 minutes.
–The Kentucky player whose game I really like is James Young, who had 17 points Saturday night. He’ll be a super pro.
–Zach Schonbrun of the New York Times wrote a less than complimentary piece on the Harrison twins…worth checking out. They just aren’t likable in the least.
–Say what you will about John Calipari, but you have to respect his coaching ability, as in the way he handles all these kids, getting them to peak at the right time. It’s not as easy as it looks.
–The Big Ten hasn’t won a title since 2000…Michigan State.
–My alma mater, Wake Forest, hired a new coach, Danny Manning, and my initial reaction was ‘whatever.’ For me it was Shaka Smart or no one. And it seems Wake and Shaka did talk but he turned us down, which if true speaks volumes, especially since the story is he was interested a few years ago…plus he had turned down the Marquette job before Duke’s Wojo took it.
I have no idea if Manning was the right selection. He deserves a grace period but by the middle of year two we’ll have an idea if this is another disaster or not. He was 38-29 in two seasons coaching Tulsa, including a first-round loss to UCLA in the current tournament, but did spend nine years at Kansas, the last five as an assistant to Bill Self, who sung Manning’s praises.
The thing is he isn’t supposed to be a real charismatic figure and this is a heavyweight conference. In other words, Danny Manning isn’t the kind of guy who will fire up the students.
That said, if you had asked me two weeks ago who I’d rather have if I couldn’t have Shaka, Danny Manning or Manhattan’s Steve Masiello, I would have said Masiello. Then look what happened to him.
So like I said, whatever. When it’s time for basketball season again I’ll give a damn, at least for a few weeks, and that’s assuming Manning can retain the three or four current sophomores with potential, let alone keep the two who Bzdelik recruited for this fall. If a couple from either group walk, we won’t win four games in the conference.
—Boston College hired Ohio University coach Jim Christian to replace Steve Donahue. Many B.C. fans are like me, ‘whatever.’ Not a lot of excitement over this one.
–Story in the Los Angeles Times that the Lakers should look at UConn’s Kevin Ollie to replace Coach Mike D’Antoni, though with another guaranteed year on his contract, D’Antoni could be around next season. Decimated by injuries, most notably to Kobe, the Lakers’ 25-51 mark isn’t D’Antoni’s fault, but it’s been a while since he’s had a successful team.
Ollie played his high school ball at Crenshaw High in South Central Los Angeles. [Hey, that’s Darryl Strawberry’s high school!] But while his coaching experience is limited, he was highly respected during his playing days in the NBA, some 13 years. Kevin Durant, for one, credit’s Ollie for changing the culture of the Thunder and Ollie was there just one season, but the team went from 23 to 50 wins. Durant said the other players respected Ollie’s “professionalism every single day….We all wanted to be like that.”
“Larry Shyatt, the basketball coach at Wyoming, has been to the Final Four more times than he cares to count. Twice, he enjoyed the experience – in 2006 and 2007, when he was Billy Donovan’s top assistant at Florida and the Gators won back-to-back national championships.
“Other years weren’t quite as much fun. So this year, he decided to skip the trip here and take his wife on vacation.
“ ‘Enough is enough,’ he said. ‘You go to the Final Four, you spend hours and hours in that lobby hugging people you can’t stand. I can miss that scene for a year.’
“Unless Florida makes it to Monday’s final. Then he’ll make it here to watch his old boss and old school play for a championship. ‘But I won’t go near the lobby,’ he said. ‘Just the game.’
“ ‘The lobby’ is basketball’s answer to Nathan Detroit’s famous ‘permanent, floating crap game’ in the musical ‘Guys and Dolls.’
“On Thursday, the lobby was awash with coaches checking in to the hotel, checking in for the coaches’ convention and looking for old friends. Or old non-friends. There were very few handshakes. Almost everyone hugged.”
–Finally, back to John Calipari. In his forthcoming book “Players First: Coaching From the Inside Out,” Calipari, in the following excerpt (as printed in the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal), explains why he has embraced “one-and-done” players.
“In 2005, NBA owners, players and their agents hammered out a compromise on a collective bargaining agreement that put us where we are now: one and done.
“Players can’t go to the NBA until one year past their high-school graduation. So they come to Kentucky or one of the other top programs. They play one season. And then the best of them leave.
“I’ve made it work for the teams I coach – and for the players – as best I can. But I don’t like it one bit.
“Some people say I’m renting players or I’m working the system. Let me make this very clear: I want to coach players for four years. Very few of the young players are truly ready for the rigors of the NBA. All but a handful would benefit from more time playing college basketball, more class time and more time on a college campus.
“Notice what I didn’t say: that if we changed the one-and-done rule it would be better for college basketball. I hear people talk like that and sometimes I want to laugh. It sounds so high-minded, but what is college basketball? Can anybody tell me? Is it something unto itself that exists on its own, with a soul and a heart that beats? Is college basketball just a spawn of the NCAA? Or when we say that we care about ‘the good of the game,’ are we talking about its history?….
“What I propose isn’t radical, nor should it be difficult. All that it would require is that the NBA come together with the players association and agree that no player comes into the league until at least two years after his high-school class has graduated.”
Calipari argues that because players start taking classes before the rest of their freshmen class, and then take summer classes, that after two years, “even if he puts his name in the draft and goes to the NBA, he should be about a year from graduation. He’s a year from his degree, not three years.
“Some people think players don’t care about the academic aspect,” writes Calipari. “That is nonsense. We get kids with a range of abilities in the classroom, but nearly all of them want to do well. Some tell me when they get here that they don’t like being students, and then they end up changing their minds.”
As Coach Cal adds: “We’re not keeping these NBA-quality players for four years. Those days are gone. My point is there is a middle ground.”
Ball Bits
–The Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig was at it again.
“Vin Scully, marching to the middle of the field to throw out the ceremonial first pitch in all his red-roaring glory, was on time.
“Sandy Koufax, sprinting out of the dugout to home plate to catch that pitch amid shrieks of surprise, was on time.
“The best of Dodgers history and majesty showed up as scheduled Friday in what should have been a glorious 53rd home opener at Dodger Stadium.
“If only their most exciting young player of the present had shown this game the same respect.
“Puig was about 45 minutes late for batting practice, benched against the San Francisco Giants as the distracted Dodgers were thrashed, 8-4, and why are people still defending this kid?
“Missing a cutoff man is one thing, missing the start of your workday is another. He didn’t run into an out in the ninth inning, he walked into a clubhouse a full two hours after most of his more earnest teammates had already showed up….
“When does youthful carelessness become arrogant insouciance? When does one kid’s growing pains become a throbbing ache that affects an entire clubhouse? And when will Puig’s defenders realize these are not the old-school rantings of some stodgy sportswriter, but the fears of the entire Dodgers organization?”
–The paternity leave by the Mets’ Daniel Murphy I alluded to the other day became a national story when some of the local radio broadcasters blistered the second baseman for missing the team’s first two games of the season. [Notice how my editor stopped me from joining the caveman chorus.]
One of those who caught heat from the mainstream press, as well as a lot of fans, was Boomer Esiason. Now most of you outside the area know Boomer for his work on Sundays in the NFL season and all of us like Boomer.
But ever since he was teamed up on radio with one of the biggest jerks, and mysteries of radiodom, Craig Carton, Esiason has regressed to the level of the moron.
So Esiason, in commenting on Murphy’s leave, said his wife should have scheduled a C-section to avoid Murphy missing time. Boomer apologized two days later after even national newscasts came down on him.
“My deep apologies to both Daniel and Tori Murphy for creating an intrusion into a very sacred and personal moment in their lives, and that’s the birth of their son, Noah. Daniel is the Mets’ second baseman, whose brief paternity leave led to a flippant and insensitive remark that I sincerely regret. (In the) meantime, I’m very grateful to my many friends over at the March of Dimes who graciously reached out and re-educated me that if a pregnancy is healthy, it is medically beneficial to let the labor begin on its own rather than to schedule a C-section for convenience. In fact, babies born just a few weeks early have double the risk of death compared to babies born after 39 full weeks of pregnancy. As their promotional campaign says, ‘Healthy babies are worth the wait.’ And as a proud father, I couldn’t agree more.”
Earlier, WFAN host Mike Francesa said on Wednesday when it was known Murphy would miss a second straight game, “One day I understand. And in the old days they didn’t do that. But one day, go see the baby be born and come back. You’re a Major League Baseball player. You can hire a nurse to take care of the baby if your wife needs help.
“What are you going to do? I mean you are going to sit there and look at your wife in a hospital bed for two days?” he mocked. “Your wife doesn’t need your help the first couple of days; you know that you’re not doing much the first couple days with the baby that was just born.”
What was funny with Francesa is that he brought up the fact that when his son Harrison was born, “I worked that day. What was I gonna do, sit with my wife in the hospital?”
As the New York Daily News’ Bill Price so aptly put it, this coming from a guy “known to take whole summers off.”
Meanwhile, Murphy returned to action in the Mets third game and promptly made two errors.
–My Sports Illustrated subscription mysteriously stopped, or my post office has been screwing up, so the first issue I missed was their baseball one and I just got around to reading Tom Verducci’s piece on the lack of right-handed power hitters these days in the majors. As in only seven righthanded batters hit 30 home runs last season, a 21-year low for a full season. Only six righthanded batters drove in 100 runs, the fewest since 1988. In 1996, 32 did. In the N.L., only one righthanded hitter, Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt, hit 30 homers in 2013.
So the above makes you appreciate the success of Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout even more (and Albert Pujols, if he gets back to form).
By the way, Verducci has this great bit on Trout’s potential for power numbers. Two years ago he hit 30 homers at the age of 20. Only five other players have accomplished this, “and except for Tony Conigliaro, whose career was cut short by a beaning, they all hit at least 42 homers in a season and more than 500 in their career (Mel Ott, Ted Williams, Frank Robinson and Alex Rodriguez).
Verducci has a theory as to the paucity of righthanded power today. For starters, “any coach, parent or child understands that the most basic way to catch the eye of a scout or college coach is to throw 90 mph on the mound – and major league bullpens are now teeming with flamethrowers, most of whom are righthanded. ‘I would bet that a lot of these tall power pitchers we’re seeing probably would have been power-hitting outfielders in another era,’ says Padres GM Josh Byrnes.”
[Arizona, by the way, acquired one of the righthanded power hitters in the offseason, Mark Trumbo of the Angels, and Trumbo has five homers in his first 9 games for the Diamondbacks.]
–I’m sorry, but I support the White House in being rather torqued off that David Ortiz used the president in taking a “selfie” with Obama, only to learn later that Ortiz had just signed an endorsement deal with Samsung the day before for use of his Galaxy smartphone. What appeared to be a spontaneous moment was distributed by Samsung to millions on its Twitter feed.
Ortiz said the selfie with the president wasn’t part of the deal. What a freakin’ liar. When Ortiz saw that a White House photographer and members of the press were prepared to take a shot, he interjected: “Actually, would you mind if I take my own?”
Samsung Mobile US then wrote in retweeting the pic: “Big Papi, Big Selfie.”
Ortiz is going in my December file for yearend dishonor. [Sorry, Boston fans. Understand that outside of Beantown, I don’t know of many who like this guy.]
–Finally, after one week we can make some major 2014 projections using our Commodore computer.
Giancarlo Stanton of the surprising 5-2 Marlins has 2 home runs and 12 RBI. We can say with 100% certainty he will finish the year with 36 homers and 232 RBI.
Atlanta’s B.J. Upton, he of the $12.45 million salary in 2013 and .184 batting average, is off to a .120 start in ’14 and we see him hitting .118, while making $13.45 million.
The Yankees’ Alfonso Soriano is off to a 1 for 19 start, but we see him getting 46 hits in 505 at bats, .091, though with 22 home runs.
Toronto’s Jose Bautista has 3 home runs and 4 RBI and we can safely see him slamming 49 homers with 58 runs batted in.
Miami’s Jose Fernandez is off to a sterling 2-0, 0.71 ERA start with 17 Ks. We project 28-2, 0.83, with 306 strikeouts. A very nice season, I think you’d agree.
The aforementioned Mark Trumbo, with 5 homers and 13 RBI in nine games, will end up with 79 and 199.
The Mets, off to a predictable 2-4 start, have catcher Travis d’Arnaud, who is off to an 0 for 15 start at the plate. Our crack staff looks for d’Arnaud to break loose and end up with 11 hits in 484 ABs. .023.
Milwaukee’s Yovani Gallardo, 2-0, 0.00 ERA, will finish 27-1, 0.23 and will handily win the Cy Young over Miami’s Fernandez.
The Angel’s Josh Hamilton is off to a 11-22, 2-5 start. He won’t hit .500, but we see .399 with 47 homers and 82 RBI.
Ichiro wants to play every day for the Yanks but he’ll be a part-time outfielder. 6 for his first 13, we see Ichiro going 90 for 199, a cool .452.
Meanwhile, few teams are off to really hot, or dreadful, starts, so we project 20 of baseball’s 30 teams will finish exactly .500, 81-81, which will really be something.
–The Knicks briefly held the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference last week, and then proceeded to lose two in a row and now Atlanta is back in front by two games. Carmelo Anthony, who injured his shoulder but has played through it, had nine turnovers in the first game and then went 4 of 17 from the field in Sunday’s loss to the Heat. I won’t be in the least bit shocked if the Knicks opt not to sign Anthony to a new contract in the offseason.
–Cool bit in USA TODAY concerning Tim Duncan. Since he made his NBA debut in 1997, “the San Antonio Spurs have won a lot of games. They’ve only fallen below 50 once in his 17-year career – and that was the lockout-shortened 1999 season, when the franchise won its first championship.
“Just how incredible is this? Well, only four teams in NBA history have had more 50-win seasons than Duncan has, and one of those teams is the Spurs, who have had 16 of their 26 50-win seasons with Duncan.”
Lakers 32 50-win seasons
Celtics 31
Spurs 26
Suns 19
Duncan 16
76ers 16
Bulls 15
San Antonio had its franchise-record 19 game win streak snapped on Thursday, losing at Oklahoma City 106-94.
NFL Hits
–So the Redskins signed receiver DeSean Jackson ($24 million over three years, $16 million guaranteed) despite the allegations he was involved in a Los Angeles gang, and Jackson gave an interview afterwards to ESPN, telling them he is not a gang member and that the article on NJ.com was wrong and disrespectful.
As reported by ESPN.com, Jackson told interviewer Stephen A. Smith when asked about specifics in the NJ.com story, such as his association with Theron Shakir, “one of two men charged with the murder of a 14-year-old, who police said was shot for flashing a rival gang sign to Shakir and another man…that it was a touchy topic because he and Shakir grew up together.”
Jackson said he no longer associated with him because he is a professional athlete. [Sorry, not buying it.]
Smith asked Jackson if he hangs out with gang members and Jackson replied, “Not if they’re doing negative things.” Then he added, “Do I know people who are involved? Yes, I’m definitely aware of and know certain gang members.
“But as far as being affiliated, never have been in one. I’ve always felt I’ve been a product of my environment, but I’ve always felt I’ve wanted to do things the right way.”
The Eagles and coach Chip Kelly have been very close-mouthed, saying in a statement they decided to part with Jackson “after careful consideration,” while a source told ESPN that the release had mostly to do with “work ethic and attitude.”
Incredibly, some people are blasting the Eagles for just getting rid of the guy and not at least getting something in return. He’s one of the best in the game at his position after all, is the argument.
But, boy, where’s there’s smoke there’s fire. The Eagles, and Chip Kelly, know a lot and I understand why they wouldn’t reveal what they have on him. Plus Jackson, while immensely talented, has been a pain in the butt to deal with by all accounts.
So here’s what I think happens. Jackson will have a great season for the Redskins, and he’ll be made out to be a model citizen, and the Eagles will be ridiculed. But then the chickens will come home to roost next off-season.
[Mike Wise of the Washington Post reported that a source told him Washington bid against itself. “Other teams, including the 49ers, had guarded interest, and none had made a single financial offer.”]
–The Titans released running back Chris Johnson, after the Jets had been pursuing a trade for him, so with salary cap room, can my Jets sign Johnson? I would. I know he had injuries and a career low 3.9 yards per carry, but I’m guessing he wouldn’t cost too much as a result and I bet he still has enough in the tank.
–We note the passing of Emmy-winning director Sandy Grossman, who directed the broadcasts of 10 Super Bowls, 18 NBA finals, 5 Stanley Cup finals and Olympic hockey. He was 78. The name should be familiar for one reason above others. He did the games of John Madden and Pat Summerall for 21 years, the last of them on Fox.
It was Madden who made the crews watch coaches’ films of the teams to give them a better sense of what to look for. Grossman took the knowledge from the films to the cameramen, who then knew what to shoot.
Grossman grew up in Newark and went to Weequahic High School (mentioned for my local readers). He then studied broadcasting at the University of Alabama and after graduating, did a stint as an usher at the Ed Sullivan Theater and eventually found work at CBS.
Golf Balls
–At the Houston Open, Matt Kuchar blew a four-shot lead and lost on the first hole of sudden death to Aussie Matt Jones, who captured his first PGA Tour title with a spectacular 46-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to force a playoff, and then an equally stupendous chip on the first hole of OT.
As NBC’s Johnny Miller said, Kuchar hit “just two terrible shots at 18 (site of the playoff as well).”
—Tiger Woods’ announcement he wouldn’t be playing in the Masters has done a number on ticket prices, down in some categories 10% the day after he withdrew.
But Matthew Norman of the Daily Telegraph had some of the following points as to why Woods’ absence is a positive.
“6. We will be spared the Sunday evening ritual of Woods, clad in traditional final round red, doing the flatter-to-deceive charge up the leaderboard, before sliding out of contention with the regulation trio of bogeys around the turn.
“7. There will be a hiatus in the pointless speculation about Woods’ imminent reincarnation as the Tiger of old. He may yet scrape another major, as his arguable fellow GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) Roger Federer did at Wimbledon in 2012 despite being past his prime. Also like the Fed, however, Woods’ ability to handle pressure, and with it his dominance, went long before his back. His absence will persuade the world’s media that his age, glorious as it was, has passed. Not until he returns from his back surgery will a man with very little chance of winning a major again be the only story in Golfsville. Enjoy the peace while it lasts. It will not last long.”
Norman also notes it “will be nice to watch the Masters without being subjected to Woods’ endless gobbing.” [Peter Alliss’ pet peeve.]
–Some LPGA Tour stars aren’t real happy that Paulina Gretzky is the cover girl for the upcoming issue of Golf Digest. I must say it’s a rather stunning shot, don’t you think, guys?
Gretzky, of course, is engaged to Dustin Johnson and is the daughter of Wayne Gretzky and former actress Janet Jones Gretzky, and what has a few LPGA types riled up is that the last three women to appear on the cover have been Golf Channel anchor and personality Holly Sonders (May 2013), Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover girl Kate Upton (who appeared with Arnold Palmer…December 2013), and Gretzky. Lorena Ochoa was the last player to appear on the cover – in 2008!
Stacy Lewis, the top-ranked American at No. 3 in the world, told the New York Times:
“It’s frustrating for female golfers. It’s the state of where we’ve always been. We don’t get the respect for being the golfers we are. Obviously, Golf Digest is trying to sell magazines, but at the same time you like to see a little respect for the women’s game.”
[I’m posting before the finish of the LPGA Kraft-Nabisco event, though 19-year-old Lexi Thomspon is in the lead.]
Kentucky Derby
Two important Derby prep races on Saturday, as Bar Chat prepares to make its pick in a few weeks. Actually, as of today it is an easy choice…California Chrome, which romped to a very impressive 5 ¼-length victory in the Santa Anita Derby, Victor Espinoza up. The horse has won its last four races by a combined 24 ¼ lengths for 77-year-old trainer Art Sherman.
In the other important race on Saturday, the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, Wicked Strong was the 9-1 upset winner over Samraat by 3 ½ lengths. 8-5 favorite Social Inclusion was third.
It’s been a few days but haven’t had a chance since last Bar Chat to get down the story of a 63-year-old Australian woman who was killed by a shark, about 200 miles south of Sydney. Christine Armstrong was taken while making her regular swim between the wharf and beach near the village of Tathra, about 2,000 feet. She was part of a group that meets at the beach every morning to swim out and back.
“The water was still under an overcast sky as they made their way from the beach to the town’s famous wharf and back. About halfway through the return swim, Mrs. Armstrong turned around to head back to the beach alone, as she often did. [Ed. I don’t exactly follow this…but moving on…]
“Her fellow swimmers, including her husband, spotted a ‘large shark’ on their way back to the beach, and grouped together as they returned to shore, but Mrs. Armstrong was nowhere to be seen.
“A police spokesman said a witness who was on the rocks saw a shark ‘mauling something’ around where she would have been swimming.”
The thing is the local press had been running stories of lots of sharks in these waters, but the swimmers went out anyway.
Her family said in a statement that Christine had been making the swim for 14 years. No details on the species of the shark have been released, last I saw, nor was she found as yet. Going back to last November, this is the third shark fatality in Aussie waters.
But the other day, police recovered remains of a 38-year-old man reported missing last week while diving in waters off Perth. Police said the remains had shark bites, but it was not clear whether the man had been bitten before or after he died. So there’s a chance that’s No. 4.
Director of Shark Attacks for Bar Chat, Bob S., and I remind everyone the Spring offensive is on. Granted, Down Under it’s the Fall offensive. Always be mindful of the season when swimming in foreign waters.
—Northwestern’s football coach, Pat Fitzgerald, is urging his players to vote no to forming a union when they hold a secret ballot later in the month. Following the National Labor Relations Board ruling that said Northwestern’s scholarship football players were employees and eligible to collectively bargain with the school over issues like expanded medical care, Fitzgerald held a meeting with the players and then sent a letter to their parents.
“I just do not believe we need a third party between our players and our coaches, staff and administrators. Whatever they need, we’ll get them.”
After reading a piece by Ben Strauss in the New York Times, I get the sense the players will vote no. As receiver Kyle Prater, a senior, put it:
“As a team, we feel there are things that need to be addressed in college football and amongst players with the NCAA. But we don’t feel it should be us versus Northwestern.”
A majority of an estimated 70 players need to vote yes for a union to be certified.
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said he wants to see a $4,000 annual stipend for football and men’s basketball players, but past attempts at such a move have been squelched by lower-earning athletic departments.
When Spurrier was asked whether stipends for male athletes would violate the federal gender equity law Title IX, he said: “I’m not a legal expert, but I know this: I make a whole lot more money than our women’s softball coach makes. And I make a whole lot more than our women’s soccer coach makes. So if Title IX says we all got to be the same, then those ladies should be making about three or four million [dollars] right now.” [Rachel Bachman / Wall Street Journal]
–Not that I care who replaces David Letterman but the late-night landscape sure has changed since he started. With all the competition his audience, once around 4 million viewers per night, is less than 2.5 million, while the ad revenue for CBS, at one time more than $200 million, has fallen to $130 million.
These shows aren’t cheap to produce either. As reported by the L.A. Times’ Scott Collins and Meredith Blake, “with costs that include a live band, a large writing staff and richly compensated hosts. Letterman himself once earned a reported $30 million annually.
“But the downturn in late-night ad revenue forced Letterman to take cuts in salary and staff recently, just as they did for Jay Leno before he left ‘Tonight.’”
CBS doesn’t have to replace Dave. And I’m guessin’ Colbert, the front-runner, isn’t the right fit. The network could just go with something else.
By the way, the median viewer age for Letterman went from 39.6 in 1993 to 58.2 today.
–45-year-old former Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is showing “moments of consciousness and awakening” after three months in a coma following his skiing accident in the French Alps on Dec. 29. This is the best news that’s been released yet…but it would be a major stretch to say Schumacher could be on the road to recovery.
The information coming from his family and management team has been sparse and in a brief statement they gave no further details such as is he responding to words, like ‘squeeze my hand’ and then doing so? As one expert told the New York Times, were this the case that would be encouraging. Otherwise, any kind of substantial recovery seems a longshot at this point.
One side bar generating lots of ink in the European press is what his wife will do with Schumacher’s estimated $750 million fortune. The story is that she may build a clinic for him on property they own in Switzerland.
–The New York bakery behind the world-renowned “cronut,” Dominique Ansel Bakery in SoHo, was shut down by the New York City Dept. of Health after an inspection found a “severe mouse infestation.”
“Honey, I love how they sprinkle these brown things on them. What are they? They’re delicious!”
–Get fired up, British Invasion fans…Tuesday, PBS, “Great Performances”… The Dave Clark Five! Tom Hanks convinced founder Dave Clark, now 71, to self-produce a two-hour documentary titled “The Dave Clark Five and Beyond: Glad All Over,” which is airing at 8:00 PM ET.
Yes, back in 1963, the DCFive was the Beatles’ biggest rival in Britain. They proceeded to have 24 U.S. hits and wound up appearing on “The Ed Sullivan Show” 18 times – more than any other English group. They were also the first to tour in the U.S. – May/June 1964.
Dave Clark recalls that when Ed Sullivan called in January 1964, he turned him down because he had no idea who Ed Sullivan was. But after the Beatles were on, Sullivan called again and the DCFive went.
But Sullivan insisted they appear the following week and Dave Clark balked. “New York for a week would have been chaos for us with the fans. So Sullivan flew us to Jamaica to hide out. But when we returned on Friday before the show, there were 30,000 fans at the airport.”
Top 3 songs for the week 4/14/84: #1 “Footloose” (Kenny Loggins) #2 “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)” (Phil Collins) #3 “Somebody’s Watching Me” (Rockwell)…and…#4 “Hello” (Lionel Richie…hello, wassup?) #5 “Automatic” (Pointer Sisters) #6 “Miss Me Blind” (Culture Club…ughh….) #7 “Here Comes The Rain Again” (Eurythmics…bleh….) #8 “Hold Me Now” (Thompson Twins) #9 “Adult Education” (Daryl Hall – John Oates…reminder…I always list the formal title a group was going by when the hit was recorded) #10 “Jump” (Van Halen…I’m growing very weary of this era…itching to get back to the 60s…)
Baseball Quiz Answers: Pitchers who gave up Aaron home runs.
#1 Vic Raschi (St. Louis) 4/23/54
#500 Mike McCormick (San Fran) 7/14/68
#600 Gaylord Perry (San Fran) 4/27/71
#700 Ken Brett (Philadelphia) 7/21/73
#714 Jack Billingham (Cincinnati) 4/4/74
#715 Al Downing (Los Angeles) 4/8/74
#755 Dick Drago (California) 7/20/76
I am going to have some tidbits on Aaron throughout the 2014 season.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday…lots of golf, if you keep it where it is. [Apologies to Sal Marchiano]
