[Posted Sunday PM prior to conclusion of Nets-Raptors]
Baseball Quiz: In 1927, Babe Ruth led baseball with 60 home runs and Lou Gehrig was second with 47. Who was third in the A.L. with just 18, a Hall of Famer. Answer below.
Donald Sterling…A Very Bad Guy
In an audio recording, released by celebrity gossip site TMZ, a person identified as the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers argues with his girlfriend, V. Stiviano, criticizing her for posting a picture of herself on Instagram posing with Magic Johnson.
“It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people,” Sterling allegedly says, later adding, “I’m just saying, in your…Instagrams, you don’t have to have yourself with, walking with black people.
“Don’t put him on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me. And don’t bring him to my games.”
Then on Sunday we learned, courtesy of an extended 15-minute version (of what is purportedly a one-hour chat!) from Deadspin, that a woman, supposedly Stiviano, asks, “Do you know that you have a whole team that’s black that plays for you?”
The man assumed to be Sterling responds: “You just, do I know? I support them and give them food, and clothes, and cars, and houses. Who gives it to them? Does someone else give it to them? Do I know that I have – Who makes the game? Do I make the game, or do they make the game? Is there 30 owners, that created the league?”
Clippers Coach Doc Rivers was furious, especially at the distraction it caused on the eve of the team’s Game 4 with the Golden State Warriors (which the Clippers would lose to even the series at 2).
“I think the biggest statement we can make as men – not as black men, as men – is to stick together and show how strong we are as a group, not splinter, not walk. It’s easy to protest. The protest will be in our play.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Saturday night that the remarks were “truly offensive and disturbing” and that the league was conducting an investigation into the tape’s authenticity that would “move extraordinarily quickly.”
Sterling did not attend Sunday’s game in Oakland. He faces a substantial fine and suspension, but those calling for Sterling to have to sell the team immediately are going to be disappointed.
Neither TMZ or Deadspin has said how they obtained the recording.
As for Stiviano, who is in her 20s and, until recently, was often at Sterling’s side, Sterling’s wife, Rochelle, said in a lawsuit filed last month that her husband “showered Stiviano in money and expensive cars, and that he had been having an affair with her for four years.” [Ben Bolch / Los Angeles Times]
As for the suit, Stiviano is said to be the defendant in what Rochelle Sterling claims is a $1.8 million embezzlement case.
Clippers President Andy Roeser, in a statement, claims that after the lawsuit was filed, Stiviano told Donald Sterling that she would “get even.”
Chris Paul, the Clippers point guard and president of the NBA players’ union, issued a statement calling the remarks “a very serious issue which we will address aggressively.”
LeBron James told reporters that “there’s no room for Donald Sterling in the NBA.”
Magic Johnson tweeted, “I will never go to a Clippers game again as long as Donald Sterling is the owner.”
Johnson then said on Sunday on ABC: “He shouldn’t own a team anymore. I had a friendship with him. So for him to then make these comments, or alleged comments, about myself as well as other African-Americans and minorities, there’s no place in our society for it. There’s no place in our league, because we all get along. We all play with different races of people when you’re in sports. That’s what makes sports so beautiful.”
Michael Jordan weighed in: “As an owner, I’m obviously disgusted that a fellow team owner could hold such sickening and offensive views…. As a former player, I’m completely outraged….
“I am appalled that this type of ignorance still exists within our country and at the highest levels of our sport. In a league where the majority of players are African-Americans, we cannot and must not tolerate discrimination at any level.”
Back in November 2009, Sterling agreed to pay $2.73 million to settle allegations by the government that he refused to rent apartments to Hispanics and blacks and to families with children. The Justice Department sued Sterling in August 2006 for allegations of housing discrimination in the Koreatown area of Los Angeles.
“This is not a one-day story, this is a 30-year saga of intolerance documented by alleged racist quotes, sworn testimony and the largest payout ever for a rental-housing discrimination lawsuit settlement.
“It is not news that the only thing worse than Donald Sterling’s win-loss record as a Clippers owner is his views on minorities.
“The difference here, the hope here, is that the NBA finally has a leader with enough guts to finally take Sterling down. Where David Stern once cowered, new Commissioner Adam Silver must strike.
“Assuming the tape is authentic, Sterling needs to be suspended from the team’s daily operations immediately. He needs to be pulled out of that courtside seat from where he once heckled his own players. He needs to be banned from the locker room where he reportedly once told women guests to ‘look at those beautiful black bodies.’ He needs to be locked out of a front office where Elgin Baylor once claimed his former boss had a ‘pervasive and ongoing racist attitude.’
“The NBA needs to run Sterling out of his office the way Major League Baseball twice ran Marge Schott out of her office for expressing racist views, as she was stripped of her ownership duties of the Cincinnati Reds during the 1993 season and from 1996 through 1998.”
“What makes the latest vitriol particularly reprehensible is that the NBA has become the model for diversity in men’s professional sports. It consistently gets the highest grades on the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport’s Racial and Gender Report Card, and former commissioner David Stern last year was hailed for embracing ‘the moral imperative for diversity.’
“According to the institute’s most recent report card, from last season, 81% of NBA players were people of color and more than three-quarters were African-American. Of the league’s head coaches, 43.3% were African-American, the second-highest percentage in NBA history.
“No doubt Stern is seething at seeing his legacy tarnished. And you can bet he was especially incensed that Johnson, Stern’s dear friend who has become the role model for life after the NBA, has been dragged into the cesspool.”
NBA Playoffs
–But no doubt the playoffs have been terrific, and it’s only the first round. Just a few things that stand out to me thus far. Obviously the majority of the games have been highly competitive, but check this out.
Friday the Nets took a 2-1 lead over the Raptors, hanging on 102-98 despite Deron Williams’ missing two critical free throws late.
The thing is Brooklyn was 33-67 from the field and Toronto was 31-67, with both the exact same 29-37 from the foul line. I’d call that pretty competitive.
Then in the Mavs 109-108 win over the Spurs that put Dallas up 2-1 (shockingly), San Antonio was 44-81 from the field, Dallas 42-82. Spurs 14-17 from the foul line, Mavs 16-19.
I’ve actually watched just about all of the Hawks-Pacers thus far, thanks to my interest in Wake’s Jeff Teague. He was shackled by Paul George in a great coaching move on Saturday as Indiana evened the series at 2-2.
And how ‘bout Washington having a 3-1 lead on Chicago?! I have seen zippo of the Wizards all year, but Beal and Wall make for a helluva backcourt.
–Separately, Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson said Carmelo Anthony should get out of New York.
“I would leave today [if I were Carmelo],” Robertson said on SiriusXM NBA radio Thursday. “Let me tell you why: Wherever that kid has gone, when he was at Denver, they had a team that fooled around with the ball, fooled around with the ball, then all of the sudden when they needed a basket, threw it to Carmelo. Then, when he shot the ball, they said he shot too much. Then when he didn’t shoot they said he didn’t shoot enough….
“No matter what he does in New York, they’re going to criticize him.”
New president Phil Jackson said he’d welcome Melo’s signing a long-term deal with the Knicks, after Anthony tests the free-agent market, but only at a discounted salary that would save the Knicks cash and help them with a supporting cast.
Anthony can sign a max deal with the Knicks for five years and $129 million, but if he signs with another team the max is four years and $95.8 million.
The Big O says: “Let me ask you: When was the last time Phil Jackson played? …I think Phil is great to have gotten $12 million out of [Knicks owner Jim Dolan]. Super job. Take the money and run. If I were Carmelo I would say, ‘Listen, I’m not going to stay here and take all this gruff and all this criticism. You got other guys on this team making $12, $15, $16 million and doing nothing, and here I am averaging 28, 29 points per game.’”
Robertson said Melo should go to Houston.
Back to Jackson, it really is remarkable he is making $12 million a year not to coach the Knicks and, as the New York Daily News’ Frank Isola adds, pretty rich that he would then ask his star player to “seriously consider fiscal responsibility. Pretty please.
“Why didn’t James Dolan think of that when he was negotiating Jackson’s contract with the Knicks? ‘Hey Phil, let’s make it $6 million a year and call it a day.’ Phil and Jeanie Buss would have been on the next plane back to Los Angeles.
“Something tells me Anthony, LaLa [Ed. his wife] and his representatives at CAA will not be thrilled that the Zen Master called Melo out publicly to be ‘true to his word’ about taking less when he becomes a free agent on July 1. ….
“Jackson inherited a mess, no question about it. But it shouldn’t be Anthony’s responsibility to fix it.”
Personally, I change my mind every day on whether the Knicks should keep Anthony or let him go.
Ball Bits
–Yet another name for the December file…an “Idiot of the Year” candidate in Yankee pitcher Michael Pineda, suspended 10 games by Major League Baseball “for possessing a foreign substance on his person” in Wednesday night’s game against Boston. His second episode with getting caught using pine tar, this time smeared on his neck.
“I’ll accept it because I know I made a mistake. That’s it.”
Yankees GM Brian Cashman expressed “embarrassment” on behalf of the organization.
It was a cold night and Pineda said “I was trying to be careful not to hit somebody on the other team… Pine tar does not make me throw more hard. It helps me to feel a better grip on the mound.”
–Can you believe what Ryan Braun did to teammate Jean Segura? On Saturday, Braun was standing on the top step of the Brewers’ dugout, loosening up and swinging his bat back and forth, when Segura, who was hitting in front of him in the order, walks up from behind and Braun clocks him with the bat on the side of the head. Manager Ron Roenicke said after, “a plastic surgeon stitched him up.”
So Braun goes: “You never want to see something like that. It breaks your heart a little bit.”
Good gawd. That might be Braun’s normal routine, but it’s absolutely idiotic when you watch the video.
It reminded me of when David Ortiz last season almost took off Dustin Pedroia’s head when in a fit of ‘roid rage Ortiz smashed his bat in the dugout and missed his teammate by an inch.
—Bryce Harper was placed on the 15-day DL with a thumb injury he suffered when sliding head-first into third base in Friday’s contest. It was a costly bases-loaded triple, actually.
–Now I’ve written a lot about Atlanta’s B.J. Upton the past year after he signed the ridiculous contract with the Braves that is paying him $14 million this season and another $46 million+ for 2015-17. But consider after he hit .184 last year with a whopping 9 home runs and 26 RBI in 391 at-bats (plus a staggering 151 strikeouts!), that he has 1 HR 2 RBI and a .211 average thus far in 2014 in 90 at-bats! 2 RBI from a ‘power hitter’ in 90 at-bats!!!
–Give the White Sox major credit for rolling the dice on Cuban slugger Jose Abreu and signing him to a mammoth contract, untested, essentially, at age 27 (maybe). I read a piece before the season started where a scout said Abreu had a slow bat and would be lucky to hit 15 home runs.
Well the guy has 10 in the Sox’ first 26 games with 31 RBI! Go Jose! Great for the game. And potentially huge for the ChiSox. He can put fannies in the seats. Heck, Adam Dunn is off to a decent start. With those two in the lineup together, you’ve gotta watch when they’re up.
—Zack Greinke continued his streak of stellar pitching the other night and the Dodgers hurler is now 11-1, 1.76 ERA since Aug. 5, plus 17 straight starts of 2 or fewer runs and five+ innings.
–It’s going to be interesting to see how fickle the Pirates fans are. After last year’s excitement brought out the crowds, they are off to a 10-16 start after Adam Wainwright and the Cards shut them out 7-0 on Sunday. Wainwright, who went eight, is now 5-1 with a 1.20 ERA. Pittsburgh’s new acquisition Ike Davis is hitting .196 after some big early hits.
–Hey Wake Forest fans…former Deac Allan Dykstra is playing for the Mets’ AAA affiliate in Las Vegas and is off to a 23-for-56, .411 start with 3 homers, 21 RBI, 10 doubles, .535 OBP…huge. There is zero conversation about him, it seems, in the organization but I’m guessing he gets his first cup of coffee by year end, though it may not be with the Mets. He’s setting up to be trade material…and that’s OK.
–The Cubs celebrated the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field the other day, 1914-2014, and of course they haven’t won a World Series since 1908.
Plus, as the Wall Street Journal’s Brian Costa points out, they’ve had just 11 winning seasons since 1984, but, “not once during that 30-year span have they ranked in the bottom half of the majors in attendance,” despite the city ordinance forcing them to play many of their weekday home games at times when most fans are at work.
—Former Met Mookie Wilson is out with a book titled “Mookie: Life, Baseball and the ’86 Mets” that takes a shot at the current Mets organization for not including any member of the ’86 championship team in positions of authority in the front office or manager’s office, though Tim Teufel is the third base coach.
Of course this was the partying team of Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Wally Backman, Lenny Dykstra, Keith Hernandez, Teufel et al, but fans don’t care about that. They won.
Mookie is making a point, though, about the Sandy Alderson regime. Let’s face it, Alderson is highly overrated, even as he has his ready-made excuse that his hands are tied financially because of Mets ownership and its involvement in the Bernie Madoff fiasco.
As a member of the ’86 Mets told the New York Post’s Mike Puma, “If they would have come in here and turned this thing around, it might be a different feeling. At this point they are still betting on the next roll.”
Puma notes, “the same player questioned whether Alderson, (Paul) DePodesta (VP of player development) and special assistant J.P. Ricciardi have an understanding about the love affair between Mets fans and the iconic ’86 team.
“ ‘New York fans are the most passionate there are in the world and they take sports heroes to heart,’ the player said. ‘There is an emotional attachment and I don’t know if those guys have that kind of history with the fans.’”
It was DePodesta who supposedly said at spring training three years ago, “I’m tired of hearing about the ’86 Mets.”
It’s an ugly little situation. But the Mets are 14-11, even with the worst offense in baseball. Go figure.
–Michael Salfino of the Wall Street Journal had a piece on the fastest-rising college baseball draft prospect, Evansville junior lefty Kyle Freeland, who as of April 23 was 7-1 with a 1.83 ERA, but also 87 strikeouts against just four walks in 64 innings. “That 21.8 strikeout-to-walk ratio is twice that of the most heralded college pitching prospect in recent history, Stephen Strasburg. His was 10.3 for San Diego State before being selected first overall by the Washington Nationals in 2009.”
Baseball America has Freeland as a possible top 10 pick in June’s MLB draft.
College Basketball / NBA Draft
–Michigan’s title hopes for next season were dealt a blow when it was learned star center Mitch McGary had to leave school after his sophomore season for the NBA draft because he had failed a drug test for marijuana during this year’s NCAA tournament and would have been suspended a full season under NCAA rules. There was a decent chance McGary would have otherwise returned because he was out much of last season due to a back injury.
McGary admitted he smoked pot one night in March at a campus party before March Madness and was then randomly selected for a drug test after Michigan’s win over Tennessee days later, even though he hadn’t played since December because of his injury (but he was dressed for the game to lend support).
This is another case of the NCAA screwing up. It’s 2014. I think we all can understand a penalty of some kind, say five games, or no pre-season practice, because McGary had passed five tests administered by the university during this past season and never failed an NCAA test. Let alone that obviously public attitudes, and state laws, have been changing rapidly.
In fact, the NCAA announced on April 15, about two weeks after McGary failed his test, that it was reducing its penalty for smoking pot to half a year, but too late for him.
–Meanwhile, Kentucky’s Harrison twins, Aaron and Andrew, smartly decided to stay for their sophomore seasons, thus locking up Kentucky as preseason No. 1 when the first polls start rolling in next fall. Willie Cauley-Stein, Dakari Johnson, Alex Poythress and Marcus Lee all previously announced they were staying, plus Coach Calipari has another big recruiting class coming in. CBSSports.com’s Gary Parrish says the Wildcats will have “at least nine and perhaps 10 future NBA draft picks” on their roster. Actually, nine McDonald’s All-Americans compared to last season’s seven. Plus now you have a seasoned team.
–UConn’s DeAndre Daniels has opted to parlay his super March Madness run into an NBA contract as he is going out a year early. But at least guard Ryan Boatright is returning for his senior season.
–Wisconsin center Frank Kaminsky has decided to stay in school for his senior year, a smart move and big for the Badgers. ESPN says that according to NBA executives, Kaminsky’s range was anywhere from 25th to 45th in the upcoming draft and I beg to differ. He’s 15 to 20, for a team that can carry him a year without pressure. But after another solid year in college, he’ll be a top ten in 2015.
Wisconsin thus returns four starters…but as we already know, they’ll be playing for No. 2.
–The Danny Manning era at Wake Forest is off to a poor start as Arnaud William Adala Moto announced he is transferring (destination unknown). This is a huge blow. Adala Moto, who averaged 6.9 points and 5.2 rebounds, has tremendous athletic ability and I was expecting him to take a big leap forward his junior season.
It’s going to be a long year coming up. I liked Johnny Mac’s suggestion. We should join the Big South.
Earl Morrall, RIP
The quarterback best remembered as a backup who led the Baltimore Colts and the unbeaten Miami Dolphins to Super Bowls in the 1960s and 70s, died at the age of 79.
Morrall threw 161 touchdown passes in 21 N.F.L. seasons (three times he threw 20+), but will be best remembered for his two All-Pro seasons, 1968 with the Colts and 1972 with the Dolphins, when because of injuries to Johnny Unitas and Bob Griese, Morrall had to step in and did so admirably.
Morrall played for six teams in all, including the Giants, Steelers, Lions and 49ers, and was also memorable for his crew cut when it was long out of style.
When Unitas injured his elbow in the Colts’ final exhibition game of the ’68 season, Morrall stepped in and guided the Colts to a 13-1 regular-season record and two playoff wins, only the Colts ran into Joe Namath and the Jets in Super Bowl III and you know the result of that one. [Morrall was picked off three times.]
But Morrall stepped in for Unitas in the ’71 Super Bowl and guided Baltimore to a 16-13 win over Dallas (the Colts having joined the AFC as a result of the 1970 merger).
Then in April 1972, the Dolphins claimed Morrall off the waiver wire for $100 and at age 38, he was Bob Griese’s backup.
But Griese was knocked out in game five and Morrall guided the Dolphins the rest of the way for their perfect 14-0 regular season, though they were a running team behind Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Mercury Morris. Griese then came back in the AFC title game against the Steelers and started the Super Bowl, a 14-7 Miami win over Washington, to complete the dream season that no one else has yet to attain…17-0.
Star wide receiver of that Dolphins squad, Paul Warfield, once said of Morrall:
“If you lose Tom Brady, if you lose Peyton Manning, how many teams would be able to not only continue to win, but win all of your games? The moment that Earl stepped into the huddle, and I remember it very vividly, you knew with the command in his voice that he’d been there before. You knew that we were going to keep rolling, and that’s the way it turned out.”
Morrall was an All-American at Michigan State and drafted in the first round by San Francisco. After his playing career ended, he was a quarterbacks coach at the University of Miami and groomed Vinny Testaverde, Bernie Kosar and Jim Kelly. [Sources: Richard Goldstein / New York Times; Sam Farmer / Los Angeles Times]
2014 NFL Schedule
Mark is referring to the potentially spectacular slate of games.
Detroit – Chicago, Philadelphia – Dallas, San Francisco – Seattle.
Speaking of the schedule, looking at my Jets they need to be 5-5 heading into a reasonable final six games to have a shot at 9-7 and hopefully a playoff spot. The problem is the first ten games look pretty brutal.
The Giants need to be 4-3 heading into their bye week. At least that’s the call here.
Of course the beauty of the NFL is that each season is so unpredictable.
Golf Balls
—Seung-Yul Noh, 22, became the fifth Korean-born player to win a PGA Tour event, Noh taking the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
–I saw a bit in Golfweek by Bradley S. Klein the other day that the U.S. Open at Pinehurst is going to be a little different; as in it’s going to be “scruffier, less green, less manicured and also firmer and faster. Luck will play more than a small role. Expect the golf gods to be laughing. Expect some pros to be cursing….
“It’ll be a deliberate effort at sparse, starved turfgrass that’s healthier, more disease tolerant and also sustainable, with fewer inputs like water and chemicals….that will mean a golf course that is more environmentally friendly, while also playing faster in terms of ground-game roll and strategic angles.”
Oh yeah…the pros will be bitching. But it sounds like it could be to Phil Mickelson’s liking, if his short game is on. Lots of imagination will be required from 100 yards in, for sure.
But the ladies have their Open on the same course the following week. What will they say?
Bradley Klein guesses they’ll “be more accepting. They generally tend to be grateful for playing fine courses…even when those courses” are quirky (see last year’s Women’s Open venue at Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y.).
–I forgot Fox Sports is going to start covering some golf in 2015, beginning with the U.S. Open and Women’s Open, and including the U.S. Senior Open. Joe Buck, said to be an avid golfer, will be the lead, while Greg Norman will be his sidekick in the tower. Norman could be interesting. The two are spending the week together at Pinehurst to begin to work on their act.
—Let’s Go Rangers! I have to admit, I’m watching major chunks of their games but not focused on the rest of the Stanley Cup action. Just thankful that with Sunday’s 4-2 win at the Garden over the Flyers, the Rangers are up 3-2. They never make it easy on their fans. I’m sure this is headed to Game 7.
—A Sherpa boycott and fresh avalanches have ended hopes of any group reaching the summit of Mt. Everest this year, at least from the popular Nepal side. More than 300 climbers had hoped to scale the peak. It’s the first time in 27 years the route will be closed to climbers, although dozens are slated to attempt to reach the summit from the northern, Tibet side.
Earlier, the Sherpas threatened to boycott the rest of the season unless the Nepalese government agreed to a new compensation package for those injured and higher life insurance payments for the families of those killed, following the deaths of 16 of them by an avalanche as they fixed ropes for the climbers that would follow.
So what happens to those who already paid for their expedition? There is no set refund policy and the best the climbers can probably hope for is an extension of their permits for up to five years. The poor Sherpas also probably won’t be compensated.
—Joey Logano clinched a spot in the Sprint Cup Chase for the championship with his second victory of the year, Saturday night at Richmond. Afterwards, Marcos Ambrose, who finished 18th, confronted Casey Means, who was 19th. It wasn’t clear why but Ambrose punched Mears in the face, drawing blood.
–Wladimir Klitschko knocked out Samoan-born Australian Alex Leapai in Oberhausen, Germany to retain his three heavyweight belts – WBA, IBF and WBO. Klitschko’s older brother, Vitali, a former heavyweight titleholder who is now one of the leading political figures in Ukraine, was once again in Wladimir’s corner.
–The Northwestern University football players cast secret ballots on whether to form the nation’s first union for college athletes, but the ballot boxes were sealed and the results not revealed until after the National Labor Relations Board hears Northwestern’s appeal of a regional director’s march ruling that the players are university employees and thus can unionize. So it could be some time before we learn the results, though everyone seems to believe the players emphatically voted ‘no’.
That said, I agree with former Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter, who helped lead the effort with the United Steelworkers.
“We’re one step closer to a world where college athletes are not stuck with sports-related medical bills, do not lose their scholarships when they are injured, are not subject to unnecessary brain trauma and are given better opportunities to complete their degree.”
I’m against players unionizing, but any good sports fan understands the players deserve proper post-college medical treatment, at least for the first year after their playing days are over, and an increased stipend and/or two free roundtrip plane tickets to go home twice each year. And perhaps some kind of sharing arrangement on sportswear sales.
I’m guessing the NCAA will actually work out some viable solutions, thus making efforts such as Northwestern’s worthwhile in the end for all.
–Noooo! The Buffalo Jills cheerleading squad has been disbanded for the upcoming Bills’ season. The decision was made by the company that manages the Jills after five former Jills filed a lawsuit complaining they worked hundreds of hours for free, and were subjected to groping and sexual comments.
Cheerleaders have launched similar suits against the Oakland Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals.
The case against the Bills claims the Jills are wrongfully classified as independent contractors and subjected to policies that violate the state’s $8 per hour minimum wage law.
As noted by the AP: “The Jills aren’t paid for games or practices and have to make 20-35 appearances, most of which are unpaid, at community and charity events each season, the lawsuit said. On top of that, they have to pay $650 for their uniforms and are not reimbursed for travel or other expenses, the cheerleaders said.”
“It may be legal to pay the cheerleaders a minimal amount for their games, and nothing for all the other work they do. As a matter of public relations, however, the football teams would be well advised to pay the cheerleaders something more like a salary and less like a gift certificate to Applebee’s. The cheerleaders are a very popular part of their games, and the amount it would cost to pay each of them, say, $1,000 a game is much less than the amount it will cost management in goodwill to become known as exploiters of earnest young women who just want to dance for the fans in scanty clothing and not one spare ounce of body fat. For that matter, it is probably less than is spent on spilled beer at those same games.
“But should people be outraged? For that, we still need to know why these women do it.
“They are not, after all, being forced. They audition for spots on the team, and the reason that management can get away with being so obnoxious is that for every woman who makes it, many more would love to take her spot. So they must get something out of their performance: status, the joy of dancing in public, esprit de corps.
“It seems conceivable to me – indeed, likely – that women who get a spot on the local cheerleading squad enjoy better job prospects and enhanced dating opportunities….
“The team then has something these women value. Should we be angry that the team trades it on the best possible terms?”
—Michael Phelps finished second to rival Ryan Lochte in the 100-meter butterfly in Phelps’ first race since announcing his comeback. Phelps’ time equaled the fourth fastest in the world for 2014, Lochte’s was second fastest.
–Talk about a jerk, try the wife of Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley, who forged her Boston Marathon registration number so she could run alongside her husband. The couple, presented with the evidence, admitted as much on Friday.
Dennis Crowley, facing intense outrage on social media, was forced to defend his wife.
“Yes, using a duplicate number to get Chelsea into the starting Corral was wrong,” he said in a statement. “I don’t expect everyone to understand our strong need to run and finish together – but after trying unsuccessfully to get a charity number and trying unsuccessfully to officially transfer a number from an injured-runner friend, we did what we could to make sure we could run together in hopes of finishing together.”
“Crowley got nailed after steamed marathoner Kathy Brown told ABC that she got her bib by registering as a charity representative – but was stunned to see Crowley wearing her digits in photos of the race on an official website.”
–Speaking of fakes…from Hiroko Tabuchi / New York Times:
“When the Atlanta wine collector Julian LeCraw Jr. spent $91,400 on a single bottle in 2006, he was convinced that the 1787 vintage from the renowned Chateau d’Yquem in France was worth the lofty price, then the highest ever for a white wine. Now, Mr. LeCraw says he has been left with the bitter aftertaste of a fake.
“Mr. LeCraw claimed in a recent lawsuit in Atlanta that the Chateau d’Yquem and 14 other rare bottles he bought were nothing more than ‘worthless glass containing unknown fluids.’ The collector, who paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for the bottles in 2006 and 2007, is suing the seller, the Antique Wine Company, based in London, for $25 million.
“ ‘He really enjoyed buying these wines, which are really like pieces of art,’ said Mr. LeCraw’s lawyer, Sean Sullivan. ‘Mr. LeCraw didn’t believe in a million years that he was being sold fake wine.’”
–According to a U.S. Geological Survey, the population of grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region has grown from 136 in 1975 to 741 today; or about five companies of warrior bruins.
—George Clooney told Esquire magazine in December that he wasn’t suited to marriage, Clooney having been married once before from 1989 to 1993.
Top 3 songs for the week of 4/24/65: #1 “Game Of Love” (Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders) #2 “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” (Herman’s Hermits) #3 “I’m Telling You Now” (Freddie and The Dreamers)…and…#4 “I Know A Place” (Petula Clark…we love you, Pet!) #5 “Stop! In The Name Of Love” (The Supremes) #6 “Tired Of Waiting For You” (The Kinks) #7 “I’ll Never Find Another You” (The Seekers) #8 “The Clapping Song” (Shirley Ellis) #9 “Shotgun” (Jr. Walker & The All Stars…loved these guys…) #10 “Silhouettes” (Herman’s Hermits)
Baseball Quiz Answer: Tony Lazzeri was third in the A.L. in 1927 with 18 home runs. The Hall of Fame second baseman had 178 homers for his career and drove in 1,194, while batting .292. He drove in 100, seven seasons.
Lazzeri, from San Francisco, is also considered one of the first great Yankees of Italian heritage, to be followed by the likes of Frank Crosetti, Joe DiMaggion, Phil Rizzuto and Yogi Berra. Even as a rookie, Italian-American organizations held testimonial dinners for him around the American League.
Lazzeri was a boilermaker by trade and I learned the following in the Baseball Hall of Fame magazine as part of a piece by Marty Appel.
“(Lazzeri) suffered from epilepsy, a disease which kept other teams from signing him. As it turned out, no one ever saw him suffer an attack during a game, and there were only one or two sightings off the field during his baseball days. Once, his roommate Mark Koenig witnessed an attack at the team hotel, and ran down the hall to fetch Waite Hoyt, who ‘took care of him.’ Hoyt’s only medical credential was off-season work as an undertaker.”
*No Bar Chat this week. I’m going to be overseas and a little busy with “Week in Review” stuff. Next one, May 5.
**The official Bar Chat pick for the Derby, likely California Chrome, will be given in my WIR column…J. Mac and I just want to see the post position.
