NCAA Basketball Quiz: Name the only three players to be named Most Outstanding Player (MOP) two or more times. Answer below.
Pick ‘Em….
It’s over…38-1. I have to admit I’m not surprised Kentucky lost to Wisconsin 71-64 because that was how I laid it out when I told you my bracket. I also said all year Kentucky would finally lose when the Harrison twins had a poor shooting night and on this I was just partially right. Aaron and Andrew were a scintillating combined 8 of 10 from the field in the first half and the reason why Kentucky went into the locker room at the break tied at 36.
But then they were only 2 of 11 in the second half, Frank Kaminsky (20 pts. 11 reb.) and Sam Dekker (16 pts.) came up huge for the Badgers, there were some awful calls (and non-calls) and, just as in 1991 when UNLV was undefeated going into the Final Four, Kentucky doesn’t even make it to Monday night.
Coach John Calipari said after, “I’ve had some tough losses and some unbelievable wins at the buzzer. My concern is that these guys keep it in perspective. They just had an historic year. If you want to blame anyone, blame me.”
I wouldn’t blame Calipari. Wisconsin is just good and when Kentucky pulled ahead 60-56, the Badgers went on an 8-0 run and that was basically it; Dekker hitting a huge three to make it 63-60 and then drawing a charge, while Kaminsky and Bronson Koenig iced the game at the line.
So Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan goes for his first title and Duke’s Coach K his fifth.
As for Duke’s dismantling of Michigan State, 81-61, there were the Spartans, up 14-6 on 4 of 4 shooting from downtown after less than four minutes and we’re all thinking ‘this is going to be a classic.’
Wrong. Michigan State shot 3 of 20 from the field the rest of the half, Duke led 36-25, it was 44-27 early in the second and that’s all she wrote as Justise Winslow had another solid effort, 19 points, 9 rebounds, and Jahlil Okafor added 18 and 6. Tom Izzo drops to 1-9 against Coach K.
I’ll go with Wisconsin on Monday, 72-70.
–We’ve all seen Andrew Harrison a few times in post-game situations, or being interviewed as he was last Sunday with Coach Cal, and the guy’s a jerk. I didn’t see Saturday’s night’s post-game live, having turned to “SNL” (very funny first half hour, by the way), but watched the video of his expletive directed at Frank Kaminsky and its par for the course for Andrew.
—Karl-Anthony Towns is my No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft now.
“What makes the relationship between Izzo and Krzyzewski compelling is their similarities. They have working-class backgrounds – Izzo was raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, in Iron Mountain, and Krzyzewski grew up in a Polish-American community in Chicago. They both prefer tough, gritty, defense-first players.
“The difference is that Krzyzewski has managed to recruit those type of players who also have McDonald’s all-American pedigrees. Izzo typically lands highly talented, gritty players whom he can mold in the image of the Spartans’ program.
“Izzo has the hunger of a mid-major coach while prospering in a big-time environment. The us-against-them mind-set is pronounced, even when he says his program has outgrown it. Truth is, Izzo relishes the underdog role, and statistically, that role has suited him.”
I noted before MSU’s win in the Elite Eight, Izzo was 12-9 in games when the Spartans were the lower-seed. 13-9 after defeating Louisville. 13-10 after the loss to Duke.
–For the record, John Calipari was named AP Coach of the Year, while Frank Kaminsky took AP Player of the Year honors.
The only other two Kentucky coaches to get the award (which started in 1967) are Eddie Sutton (1986) and Tubby Smith (2003). Tony Bennett of Virginia was second in the voting.
The AP Player of the Year started in 1961 and Kaminsky is the first Badger to receive it.
–Good for Shaka Smart, the new head coach at Texas replacing Rick Barnes (who went to Tennessee). I wanted Smart badly for Wake Forest, and you can’t begrudge him one bit for leaving VCU, which he put on the map.
Smart is the first African-American men’s basketball coach at Texas, which has Charlie Strong, the school’s first African-American football coach.
Smart called the Texas opportunity “a no brainer.” He’s right. But VCU, and Richmond, are in a state of shock. They knew this day would come, but with Shaka being royalty in town, it’s still hard. As athletic director Ed McLaughlin told the Washington Post’s John Feinstein, it’s tough on alumni and fans – “on everybody. Not just because he’s such a good coach but because everyone – everyone – in Richmond loves Shaka Smart.”
Smart was 163-56 in his six seasons at VCU (at least 26 wins each year), capped off by that Final Four in 2011. He made $1.8 million with the Rams this season, while Rick Barnes made $2.62 million, so start there for Shaka. He does owe VCU a $500,000 buyout. Also, interestingly, his contract contained a provision that if he became a head coach elsewhere, that school would have to play VCU in a home-and-home series or pay VCU $250,000.
Meanwhile, Wichita State signed Gregg Marshall to a new seven-year deal reportedly paying him $3 million a year. Marshall was being targeted by Alabama, which is now talking to former NBA coach Avery Johnson, who I think would make for an excellent coach at the college level.
—Stanford won the NIT, defeating Miami in overtime, 66-64.
But a story by Victor Mather in the New York Times kind of surprised me. How the NIT is not always a jumping-off point to NCAA success.
“Of the last 20 NIT winners, 10 made the step to the NCAA tournament the next year. But most were only middle-ish seeds: Aside from Michigan, seeded third in 1998, no NIT winner was seeded better than fifth; the median seed was seven.
“And the records of those teams in the tournament were a bit worse than even those seeds would have predicted. They were a combined 7-10, with two Sweet 16 appearances and nothing further.
“I don’t coach it, I don’t play it, so I don’t understand all the ins and outs of it, but as a spectator – forget that I’m a coach – as a spectator, watching it, it’s a joke,” adding “only like 10 teams” in the top 25 play watchable basketball.
“People have to decide: ‘Do I want to pay 25 bucks, 30 bucks to go see a college scrum where everybody misses six out of every 10 shots they take, or do I want to go to a movie?’”
To which Dick Vitale fired back that Auriemma’s comments were a “real cheap shot.” “Give me a break, Geno,” Vitale tweeted.
MLB…Play Ball!
Man, I’m pumped for my Mets. Very worried about the bullpen, but otherwise I just want meaningful games in September.
USA TODAY Sports polled seven of its writers and editors to give their forecasts.
I was a little surprised. 3 have the Nationals winning the World Series, but 3 have the Dodgers and the other has the Mariners. Expected maybe 5 of 7 would pick the Nats.
AL MVP…2 Mike Trout, 2 Robinson Cano, 1 Jose Abreu, 1 Michael Brantley, 1 Edwin Encarnacion
NL MVP…3 Giancarlo Stanton, 1 Paul Goldschmidt, 1 Anthony Rendon, 1 Justin Upton, 1 Andrew McCutchen
AL Cy Young…4 Chris Sale (huh), 2 King Felix, 1 Corey Kluber
NL Cy Young…4 Clayton Kershaw, 2 Max Scherzer, 1 Johnny Cueto
I’m going with Washington over the Angels in the World Series.
Shu has Bucs over Mariners…McCutchen and Cano…Kershaw and King Felix [Shu also drove four hours to Laughlin, Nevada on Saturday to get 25-1 odds on the Bucs.]
Johnny Mac has Mariners over Cardinals…Bryce Harper and Brantley…Wainwright and Sale.
By the way, Ted Berg for USA TODAY is the only one of the seven picking the Mets and Cubs to be the NL wild cards. All 7 pick the Nationals, Cardinals and Dodgers to win their divisions. Shu, 6 of the 7 have the Pirates as a wild card.
A four-person treatment board created by baseball’s joint drug program deadlocked 2-2 on whether Hamilton should be disciplined, which sent it to an arbitrator to break the tie.
The arbitrator did not give reasons why Hamilton was not subject to discipline for self-reporting he suffered a relapse involving the use of cocaine and alcohol.
One of the conditions of Hamilton’s reinstatement in 2006 was that he undergo drug testing three times a week.
“The Office of the Commissioner disagrees with the decision,” MLB said in a statement, “and will seek to address deficiencies in the manner in which drugs of abuse are addressed under the Program in the collective bargaining process.”
The ruling ensures Hamilton won’t lose any money on his mammoth contract (see below).
“Hamilton’s side was said to argue that, although he had slipped, he had not violated the terms of the program he is under, and was diligently working to adhere to it.”
“In the middle of his prolonged fight with drugs and alcohol, Josh Hamilton has been plagued by a different sort of nemesis.
“His new demons are Angels.
“An arbitrator ruled Thursday that Hamilton’s recent self-reported relapse did not warrant discipline for a violation of baseball’s drug treatment program. At which point, his own team screamed he should be suspended.
“ ‘It defies logic that Josh’s reported behavior is not a violation of his drug program,’ Angels President John Carpino said.
“The path is now clear for Hamilton to rejoin the Angels upon completion of his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery, possibly as soon as next month. Except, his own team essentially announced they don’t want him back.
“ ‘The Angels have serious concerns about Josh’s conduct, health and behavior,’ Angels General Manager Jerry Dipoto said in a statement. ‘We are disappointed that he has broken an important commitment, which he made to himself, his family, his teammates, and our fans.’
“The team that has already given away Hamilton’s locker is now publicly kicking him to the curb. The organization known for a cuddly primate has bared its teeth and revealed its vindictiveness. This is not only about wanting to make sure Hamilton is off drugs, this is about wanting him off their payroll and out of their lives.
“The Angels want Hamilton suspended so they can save the remaining $83 million on his contract [Ed. 2015: $23M; 2016: $30M; 2017: $30M], save awkwardness when he returns to a clubhouse, and basically just save themselves the hassle. They don’t care that Hamilton or his teammates are listening, they don’t care that a Southern California fan base that often winces at such intolerance is listening. They just want him gone.
“This column is not a defense of the arbitrator’s ruling. The Angels are right that it was wrong. While the ruling technically adheres to baseball drug law, it goes against the spirit of the discipline required to make that law effective. Reportedly one of the factors in allowing Hamilton to avoid discipline is he reported his relapse instead of failing a drug test. That sets a dangerous precedent. So if a player thinks he just tested positive, he can get off the hook by immediately throwing himself on the mercy of the commissioner before the test results become public? That’s a gaping loophole that needs to be closed.”
“But the Angels should have kept their mouths closed. Why further humiliate a sick player by warning him he’s no longer welcome? Why not let him finish his rehabilitation while finding some inner peace, then leave open the possibility he could play for you again?”
Again, totally agree. I was floored the Angels lashed out in the manner they did.
As Plaschke points out, after all, Hamilton suffered a relapse in 2009 while with the Texas Rangers and the next year was AL MVP while leading them to the World Series.
Since their initial statements, Angels management is backing away, with Dipoto saying, “For us to express some type of human emotion shouldn’t be counted as anything more than just that.”
But Plaschke adds “the damage by the front office already had been done, their true feelings emerging from the legendary anger of owner Arte Moreno, whose fingerprints are all over this mess.”
While it’s not exactly apples to apples, there are similarities between Hamilton’s situation, the massive/dumb contract and A-Rod’s situation.
–Yankees manager Joe Girardi has always done a good job handling Alex Rodriguez and the circus that surrounds him, and no doubt A-Rod appreciates this. He owes Girardi this season, big time.
And as everyone has commented this spring, A-Rod has been the model citizen, doing everything asked of him, including playing some first base, which he has handled well. Plus, thru Saturday, he was batting .267 with 3 home runs.
Heck, it’s always more fun around here with the tabloids and all when A-Rod is playing. If he hits enough, Yankees fans will embrace him. [I’m a Mets fan…I can continue to loath the guy.]
–Meanwhile, MLB lowered the hammer on Minnesota Twins pitcher Ervin Santana, suspending him 80 games without pay for testing positive for stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance.
In a statement, Santana said he did not know how the PED got into his system.
“I preach hard work, and don’t believe in short cuts,” Santana said. “I am very disappointed that I tested positive for a performance enhancing drug. I am frustrated that I can’t pinpoint how the substance in question entered my body. I would never knowingly take anything illegal to enhance my performance.”
Santana was 14-10 with a 3.95 ERA after signing a one-year contract with Atlanta, which he then parlayed into a four-year, $55 million deal with the Twins, the largest in franchise history. He was due to start the second game of the season.
–The Boston Red Sox lost their number one catcher, Christian Vazquez, to Tommy John surgery, a big blow. Ryan Hannigan is the new number one.
–The Mets open with three at Washington and they need to take at least one. Last year the Nats were 15-4 against the Metsies, outscoring New York by 43 runs.
–With a 123-93 win over the Denver Nuggets the other night, the San Antonio Spurs moved to 50-26, extending their league record of consecutive 50-win seasons to 16 straight, the Tim Duncan era. Think about it…never worse than 50-32. From a win percentage standpoint, if you win 90 in baseball, that’s a .555 percentage. 50-32 in b-ball is .609. No baseball team has won 90 games 16 seasons.
In fact, I just went to baseballreference.com and the Yankees’ best streak of 90+ was 1947-58, 12 seasons, and 90 wins in a 154-game schedule is .584, in case you were wondering.
Separately, the trio of Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili have 534 career victories, placing them six behind the all-time record for a trio set by Boston’s Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish.
DeMarcus Cousins had 24 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists, six blocks and three steals but Sacramento lost to Houston 115-111, as James Hardin exploded for a career-high 51 points, to go with eight rebounds, six assists and three steals. He went 8-for-9 on three-pointers.
Russell Westbrook had his 10th triple-double of the season, 31-11-11, but the Thunder lost to the Mavericks.
In San Antonio’s 103-91 win over Orlando, the Spurs’ bench racked up 69 points to Orlando’s 12.
Evan Turner had his third triple-double of the season: 13 pts., 12 assts., 11 reb, as the Celtics topped the Pacers 100-87.
–But wait…on Sunday…Houston defeated OKC 115-112 and Hardin had 41 points, while Westbrook had his 11th triple-double; 40 pts., 13 assts., 11 reb…the most triple-doubles since Jason Kidd’s 13 in 2007-08.
Golf Balls
—J.B. Holmes won his fourth PGA Tour Title at the Shell Houston Open, defeating Johnson Wagner and Jordan Spieth in a playoff. Holmes fired a final-round 64 to tie 54-hole leader Spieth who shot 70.
—Tiger Woods ended the speculation, announcing he will play in The Masters…a tradition unlike any other…on CBS. He last teed it up Feb. 5 at Torrey Pines, when he walked off after 11 holes because of a back issue. That followed a horrid performance at the Phoenix Open where he not only missed the cut, he shot a career-worst 82.
The story is Tiger shot 74 with five birdies in his practice round at Augusta on Tuesday. I didn’t see what the result was Friday, but on his website afterwards, Woods said: “I’m playing in the Masters. It’s obviously very important to me, and I want to be there. I’ve worked a lot on my game, and I’m looking forward to competing. I’m excited to get to Augusta, and I appreciate everyone’s support.”
One thing we all know, expectations are incredibly low. If he could just make the cut, that would be a big step forward.
Actually, Woods has never missed the cut in 19 previous starts there, 13 top-10 finishes, 11 of fifth or better, as Karen Crouse notes in her column for the New York Times.
But will Tiger totally embarrass himself? Is he playing just because Nike basically said, ‘You’re playing.’
As Karen Crouse puts it, this isn’t a trip down memory lane for Tiger like it is for Ben Crenshaw (who is mercifully teeing it up for a last time), or Tom Watson (who is leaving the stage to Crenshaw this year and will take it himself next year, at 66).
If Tiger doesn’t play well, even the polite Masters patrons may not be so kind. Oh, you might not hear boos like you would at any other Tour stop, but there would be lots of looks of disgust (and deserting galleries).
Or as Ms. Crouse put it: “Woods entered the Masters knowing that playing wouldn’t be its own reward. And that’s the real pity.”
I haven’t seen anyone mention this, but you’d think girlfriend Lindsey Vonn could be a huge help for Tiger. I’m picturing them sitting around, Vonn asking him to visualize each shot at Augusta that he wants to hit in his typical round. Not dream round…just a good one.
That’s what Tiger needs…confidence. And to relax. Just whale at the ball. Let it flow, Bud. Forget all this technical B.S., just go for it. Adopt the attitude, screw everyone else, which worked so well before.
[Shu, on his Laughlin, Nevada visit on Saturday, took a flyer on Tiger at 40-1.]
—Lydia Ko missed a chance to break the LPGA Tour record for consecutive rounds under par, closing with a bogey for a one-over-par 73 on Friday in the second round of the ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage, Calif. She needed a birdie to extend her streak to 30, having tied a record held by Annika Sorenstam in 2004.
Oh, forgot to mention. Lydia Ko is 17! Good gawd! I really apologize for not covering her story better. She already has six wins on the LPGA Tour….and is the youngest of either gender to be No. 1 in the world.
Heading into the first major this weekend, the ANA Inspiration (formerly Kraft Nabisco), Ko hadn’t missed a cut in 48 career starts.
Well she made it 49 but as I go to post, she ended up 71-73-74-73, like T-51, and a winner hasn’t been determined yet (California time zone).
–The other day, Jack Nicklaus received the Congressional Golf Medal in a U.S. Capitol rotunda ceremony. The likes of Arnold Palmer and Johnny Miller were in attendance, as well as Donald Trump. Nicklaus’ oldest son, Jackie, told the story of being asked at age 6 what his father did and replying, “Nothing, he just plays golf.”
Unsurprisingly, Speaker of the House John Boehner cried during the presentation speech, as did Nicklaus.
Premier League
Lousy action this weekend, especially for followers of Liverpool (my brother) and Tottenham (me).
Arsenal destroyed Liverpool 4-1, while Tottenham played lowly Burnley to a 0-0 draw that was about the worst football I’ve watched in years. The Premier League has been generally very exciting this season, high-quality play. This one was an exception.
For both Liverpool and Tottenham, any fleeting chances they had of finishing in the top four for the Champions League went out the window.
Standings….30 or 31 of 38 matches complete:
1. Chelsea 30 (games) – 70 (points)
2. Arsenal 31 – 63
3. Man U 31 – 62
4. Man City 30 – 61
5. Liverpool 31 – 54
6. Tottenham 31 – 54 (trails Liverpool on goal differential)
7. Southampton 31 – 53
Meanwhile, in Spain’s La Liga action, Cristiano Ronaldo scored five goals…FIVE…in Real Madrid’s 9-1 demolition of Granada on Sunday.
As my grandfather used to say, “Gee willickers!” [Better than what Andrew Harrison would say, for sure.]
–We’ll be seeing a lot of trainer Bob Baffert again come May 2 at Churchill Downs. Baffert has two of the favored three-year-olds in Dortmund and American Pharoah, as well as One Lucky Dane.
—Eddie LeBaron, a quarterback who was a college Hall of Famer at the University of the Pacific before playing in the NFL from 1952-1963 for Dallas and Washington, died at the age of 85.
LeBaron was an undersized QB at just 5’7”, but in his senior season he led Pacific to an 11-0 record and led the nation in total offense. He was a three-time All-American.
In the NFL he threw for 104 touchdowns (141 INTs) and was a four-time Pro Bowler, though to give you a sense of what a different game it was back then for quarterbacks, his lifetime rating was just 61.4.
Before he began his NFL career, LeBaron served in the Marine Corps as a lieutenant and was wounded twice in Korea and awarded the Bronze Star
—NASCAR took Easter week off.
–The pay-per-view cost of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. – Manny Pacquiao fight on May 2 is $89.95 to watch in standard definition and, in some cases, $99.95 for high def, easily the highest ever charged.
A 2013 Mayweather-Canelo Alvarez bout generated a boxing pay-per-view record of $152 million in revenue from about 2.44 million buyers, according to the New York Times’ Richard Sandomir. That one was priced at $64.95 and $74.95.
–So I’m reading the April 6 issue of Army Times (for new readers, I did not serve in the military but I subscribe to this to keep up on things) and there’s a story about Army Capt. Mark Wise, who lost his left eye and socket, cheek, portions of his left hand and chunks of his legs and torso in an IED blast in 2009.
But by 2013, he was joining 11 other wounded warriors on a 13-day, 250-mile trek to the South Pole, “using skis to cross the icy terrain and dragging 150 pounds of gear on sleds behind them.”
The reason why Patricia Kime is writing of him now, though, is because he is taking on what’s been called the “toughest footrace on Earth” – “the infamous Marathon des Sables, a six-day, 156-mile jaunt through the sands, rocky bluffs and stones of the Sahara Desert.”
Six marathons in the Sahara! The race takes place in Morocco, where temps can soar above 125 degrees.
“Runners must navigate deep sand drifts, rocky hills and roughly 5,000 feet in elevation change, while carrying everything they need for the race – food, clothing, medical kit and a sleeping bag.”
By the way, when he was blown apart in Afghanistan on Oct. 24, 2009, his unit was trying to take out the machine gun that had them pinned when his radioman tripped an IED, killing him instantly (Pfc. Devin Michel), while Capt. Wise “was thrown back by the blast, his body armor and helmet blown clean off. Blinded, he was vaguely aware that he was missing several fingers.
“When he woke up nine days later at Walter Reed, he learned the extent of his injuries.”
Imagine, aside from awful facial injuries, “I was missing a huge hunk of my shoulder, three digits, another big hunk of my leg. I’ve got some hardware in there,” Wise said.
Needless to say, it was a tough recovery and he was very depressed at times.
“But a visit to Walter Reed by then-Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Pete Chiarelli proved to be a life-changer for Wise. Chiarelli asked Wise whether he had heard of Operation Mend, a program at UCLA that provides cutting-edge reconstructive and plastic surgery for wounded troops.
“Get strong enough to make the trip to California and the Army would send him, Chiarelli promised.”
For the Marathon des Sables, he will be the only American on a 19-person, U.K.-based “Walking with the Wounded” team.
The Bob Woodruff Foundation, incidentally, is sponsoring Wise’s flights and race fees.
As Patricia Kime writes: “(Wise) was to leave for Morocco shortly, bivouacking with team in London before flying to Rabat and traveling to the race start.
“For now, he said he’s looking forward to being on the ground for a few weeks facing only one purpose – to get ‘from Point A to Point B’ without any distractions, technology, comfort or aid.
“ ‘You can’t fix stupid, so I’m just going with it,’ Wise said.”
–One other item out of the same issue of Army Times….A study out of the Univ. of Kansas Medical Center “has found a correlation between milk consumption and the levels of a naturally occurring antioxidant called glutathione in the brain in older, healthy adults….
“Researchers found that participants who had indicated they had drunk milk recently had higher levels of glutathione in their brains.
“This is important, the researchers said, because glutathione could help stave off oxidative stress and the resulting damage caused by reactive chemical compounds produced during the normal metabolic process in the brain.
“Oxidative stress is known to be associated with a number of different diseases and conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and many other conditions.”
–So I heard Yuengling was just named the top-selling “craft” brewer in the United States, replacing Sam Adams producer Boston Beer Company, and then my brother passed on an article on same and I think all of us have the same impression….Yuengling? Craft brewer?
I prefer to think of Yuengling as one of our nation’s only “premium domestics,” a la Sam Adams and Shiner Bock. Craft beers are in a different category. Technically, they are all supposed to be premium.
Of course when I talk about “domestic” in my columns, including that other one I do Friday nights, the one I sign, I’m referring to Coors, Bud, Miller, etc.
And for new readers, when I refer to “premium,” that’s anything outside the U.S. My slogan for our friends up north, for example, is “Canada…where all domestic is premium.”
Anyway, this classification of Yuengling as a craft beer has stirred up some controversy. Victoria Taylor of the New York Daily News cites Chad Polenz, who wrote in the Albany Times Union’s “Beer Nut” blog:
“I’ve tried most of Yuengling’s products and they’re usually anywhere from ‘meh’ to ‘okay,’ so I’m not sure I consider them to be a true craft brewery.”
“Under the Brewers Association’s old rules, a craft brewery had to be independently owned, produce 6 million barrels or fewer annually, and produce an all-malt flagship beer. Yuengling, the oldest operating brewery in the U.S., uses corn in its beer.
“The trade organization lifted the all-barley requirement in 2014, opening the door for Yuengling, August Schell Brewing Company and Narragansett Brewing Company to get the craft designation.
“It’s a distinction that some craft beer quaffers find hard to swallow.”
Top 5 craft brewing companies in the U.S. by beer sales volume:
1. Yuengling (Pottsville, Penn.)
2. Boston Beer Co.
3. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (Chico, Calif. I don’t really consider them a craft beer….)
4. New Belgium Brewing Co. (Fort Collins, Colo. …Needless to say, Colorado State students imbibe a lot of their product….)
5.Gambrinus (Shiner, Texas ….aka the brewer of Shiner Bock, which is really Spoetzl Brewery…my favorite premium domestic…)
8. Deschutes Brewery (Bend, Ore. ….great beer up that way…beautiful part of the country….)
11. Brooklyn Brewery
13. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (Milton, Del.)
15. Harpoon Brewery (Boston)
—Tom Koch, author of thousands of comedy scripts for the Bob and Ray radio programs, died. He was 89. He also created a convoluted game 43-man Squamish for Mad magazine that I won’t get into.
Koch was a staff writer for Tennessee Ernie Ford, Dave Garroway, George Gobel, Pat Paulsen, Dinah Shore and Jonathan Winters, but was at his best with Bob and Ray as their silent partner, turning out almost 3,000 sketches in 33 years for them.
Koch told the L.A. Times in 1996 that “They usually ad-libbed their stuff, but NBC didn’t want things going out over the network without knowing what was coming in advance, so they asked me to start writing for them.”
Bob Elliott, who turned 92 on March 26, said he only met Mr. Koch three times and that partner Ray Goulding (who died in 1990) had seen him face to face only once. The scripts came by mail.
Koch never had a contract and got paid by the piece. Elliott later wrote, “I feel we didn’t give him a real shake that he should have had” in terms of getting credit on air.
–We note the passing of the original drummer for Lynyrd Skynyrd, Robert Burns Jr., 64. Burns died in a single-vehicle car crash in Georgia around midnight Saturday. Burns was one of the five musicians who founded the band in Jacksonville, Florida and while he was with the band, it recorded “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird.”
—Cynthia Lennon, John Lennon’s first wife, died at the age of 75. Cynthia and John met at the Liverpool College of Art in the late 1950s. “He was always around, always surrounded by people who were in awe of him,” she said in a 1995 London Times interview. “He was embarrassingly funny, and you couldn’t resist it.”
They married in 1962, when she was pregnant with Julian. That same year the Beatles made their first single, “Love Me Do.”
Beatles manager Brian Epstein wanted the couple to keep their marriage a secret, thinking it was best for the fans to think all four boys were single. But when the Beatles made their American television debut in 1964, word was already out and superimposed on a close-up of John Lennon was, “Sorry Girls, He’s Married.”
But Cynthia Lennon didn’t like the life of being married to a rock star. John didn’t make it any easier, with countless affairs and his experimentation with drugs. The two divorced in 1968, with Cynthia getting custody of Julian, along with the house and the equivalent of $240,000 at the time.
In her 2005 book, “John,” she said she was grateful for her son, but she wrote, “If I’d known as a teenager what falling for John Lennon would lead to, I would have turned round right then and walked away.”
She married three more times and is survived only by Julian.
—Brian Wilson is releasing a new album this week, “No Pier Pressure,” an album of songs about fun in the sun and perfect weekends.
Top 3 songs for the week 4/3/82: #1 “I Love Rock ‘N Roll” (Joan Jett & The Blackhearts) #2 “Open Arms” (Journey) #3 “We Got The Beat” (Go-Go’s)…and…#4 “That Girl” (Stevie Wonder) #5 “Make A Move On Me” (Olivia Newton-John) #6 “Chariots of Fire – Titles” (Vangelis…just shoot me…) #7 “Freeze-Frame” (The J. Geils Band) #8 “Don’t Talk To Strangers” (Rick Springfield) #9 “Pac-Man Fever” (Buckner & Garcia) #10 “Key Largo” (Bertie Higgins…just not a fan of this era, at all…so it was at this time that I turned back to the oldies…there was a great club in Hoboken where I was living, “Mile Square City,” that brought in some oldies acts…)
NCAA Basketball Quiz Answer: The only three to be named MOP two or more times…
Jerry Lucas / Ohio State (1960-61)…in 1960 Ohio State defeated California, but in 1961 Ohio State lost to Cincinnati, though Lucas still got the award.
Lew Alcindor / UCLA (1967-69)…1967 vs. Dayton; 1968 vs. UNC; 1969 vs. Purdue.
Bill Walton / UCLA (1972-73)…1972 vs. Florida State; 1973 vs. Memphis State.
**As always I appreciate your support, including those who have donated to StocksandNews. I’m running this announcement another two weeks (just Mondays) and in one of my other columns.
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