[Posted late Sunday PM]
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Edition 1830…yup…
New York Giants Quiz: 1) Name the four Giants to have 5,000 yards rushing in their New York careers. 2) Name the three to have 5,000 yards receiving. [This second one is tricky] Answers below.
College Football Review…comments written prior to release of the latest AP Poll.
No big surprises the final week of the regular season and there is little mystery who is going to the College Football Playoffs.
But to run down the main action…using CFP rankings…
No. 1 Clemson (12-0) held on to beat South Carolina (3-9) 37-32. It was 28-10 but owing to three lost fumbles, the Tigers allowed the Gamecocks to get back into it as they cut the lead to 28-25 before Heisman candidate Deshaun Watson wrapped it up with his third rushing touchdown, as part of his 114 yards on the ground, to go with a 20/27, 279, 1-0 passing effort. South Carolina scored a meaningless touchdown with a second remaining.
The closeness of this one won’t hurt the Tigers. They still have to beat North Carolina in the ACC title game.
For its part No. 14 UNC (11-1) easily beat North Carolina State (7-5) 45-34 in a game that was 35-14 at the half. For the Tar Heels, Marquise Williams had a sub-par game at quarterback, but Elijah Hood rushed for 220 yards and two touchdowns, while T.J. Logan added 100 yards and two scores of his own on just six carries.
No. 2 Alabama (11-1) rolled over Auburn (6-6) 29-13 as it was once again the Derrick Henry show; the other main Heisman candidate, along with Watson in the eyes of your editor, piling up 271 yards on 46 carries (a school record) and a touchdown.
Alabama now plays the incredibly overrated No. 12 (though they should now drop like a stone) Florida Gators (10-2) in the SEC title game. Florida lost to No. 13 Florida State (10-2) 27-2 with Dalvin Cook rushing for 183 and two scores.
No. 3 Oklahoma (11-1) is in the Final Four after a commanding 58-23 win over No. 11 Oklahoma State (10-2) in Stillwater. For the Sooners, Joe Mixon rushed for 136 and two touchdowns, while Samaje Perine added 131 yards and two scores of his own on the ground.
No. 4 Iowa (12-0) just keeps winning, defeating Nebraska (5-7) in Lincoln 28-20 behind Jordan Canzeri’s 140 yards rushing and two touchdowns. For the Cornhuskers, quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. threw four interceptions, one of which was returned for a score.
Iowa is far from scintillating but here they are, a Final Four playoff bid on the line as it goes up against No. 5 Michigan State (11-1) in the Big Ten title game next Saturday, the Spartans securing their place in the contest with a 55-16 road win at Penn State (7-5). MSU’s Connor Cook returned from injury with a solid 19/26, 248, 3-0 effort, while the Spartans returned a Nittany Lions fumble and interception for touchdowns.
Meanwhile, No. 9 Stanford (10-2) pulled out a classic against No. 6 Notre Dame (10-2) 38-36 on a last second 45-yard field goal by Conrad Ukropina; this after the Fighting Irish had taken a 36-35 lead with 0:30 remaining on a Deshone Kizer 2-yard touchdown run. The Cardinal were beneficiaries of a huge face mask penalty on quarterback Kevin Hogan’s final drive setting up the winning kick.
Hogan was a superb 17/21, 269, 4-0. Stanford now plays USC in the Pac-12 title game with a Rose Bowl bid on the line.
USC (8-4) defeated No. 22 UCLA (8-4) 40-21 as the Trojans take the Pac-12 North with a 6-3 conference mark.
In other games that at one time seemed important in terms of the CFP, No. 8 Ohio State (11-1) got its act back together after its horrible effort against Michigan State the week before, blasting No. 10 Michigan (9-3) 42-13, as Ezekiel Elliott bounced back himself for 214 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, while quarterback J.T. Barrett added 139 yards rushing and three touchdowns of his own.
In a fascinating game Friday night, No. 7 Baylor (9-2) saw its playoff hopes crumble with a 28-21 double overtime loss at No. 19 TCU in godawful weather. Baylor’s third-string quarterback (due to injuries taking out the first two), Chris Johnson, was only 7 of 24 for 62 yards through the air, while TCU’s Trevone Boykin, at one time a prime Heisman candidate, came back from injury to do just enough in the driving rain, 18/33, 148, 2-1. In the second overtime, Baylor was stopped 4th and 1 to end the game.
It also needs to be noted the TCU cheerleaders performed superbly despite the conditions. Amazingly so.
No. 17 Oregon (9-3) won its sixth straight, 52-42 over Oregon State (2-10) in the Civil War, with Ducks QB Vernon Adams Jr. throwing for 366 yards and three scores, while running back Royce Freeman had 167 yards rushing and two touchdowns; Freeman’s 8th straight 100-yard effort, raising his season total to 1,706 yards, 6.6 avg.
Adams, who earlier missed three games with injury, has guided Oregon during the streak, tossing 21 touchdown passes over these six games.
Ergo, the Ducks, playing Top Four ball these days, will make for a terrific New Year’s Day bowl opponent…Ohio State?
And in the American Athletic Conference, any hopes No. 15 Navy had of playing in a New Year’s Day Six contest fell by the wayside as the Midshipmen (9-2) lost their big one to No. 21 Houston (11-1) 52-31, with Keenan Reynolds being outplayed by Houston’s Greg Ward Jr. at quarterback. Ward was 26/35, 305, 3-0, plus 83 yards on the ground and a score, while Reynolds had just 84 yards rushing and a touchdown, though he did throw for a career-high 312 yards, but also a costly interception.
No. 25 Temple (10-2) defeated UConn (6-6) 27-3 to advance to the AAC inaugural championship game against Houston with a New Year’s Six bowl bid still a possibility for the winner.
No. 24 Toledo (9-2) officially kissed any big bowl game hopes goodbye in losing to Western Michigan (7-5) 35-30. [Toledo’s coach, whoever he is, is said to be going to Iowa State.]
In Frank Beamer’s last game, unless they get a bowl bid, Virginia Tech evened its mark at 6-6 with a 23-20 win over Virginia (4-8).
Sunday, UVA Coach Mike London resigned. He was 27-46 since taking over for Al Groh in 2009 and led Virginia to just one winning season and a single bowl game. Ergo, he pretty much sucked.
Maryland (3-9) stormed back from a 21-point deficit to beat Rutgers (4-8) 46-41 in Piscataway, as Brandon Ross had an 80-yard TD run with 4:40 to play to put the Terps up front. For Rutgers there seems little chance coach Kyle Flood survives. The athletic director also needs to be canned.
[In all honesty I wrote the above early Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon, ESPN first reported both Flood and AD Julie Hermann were indeed fired. Flood was 27-24 in his tenure, though just 4-12 in Big Ten conference games since Rutgers joined last season. As for Hermann, what a freakin’ mess she was, and why the heck she was hired in the first place is one of the great mysteries of the century. At her previous positions she was awful. Thank god I’m not a Rutgers fan. Easily one of the most dysfunctional institutions in the country, including government.]
Syracuse (4-8) beat Boston College (3-9) 20-17 as these two end their miserable seasons.
On Friday, Miami (8-4) beat Pitt (8-4) 29-24 as Summit High School’s Michael Badgley tied a school record with five field goals. Badgley is 25 of 30 on the season, including 7 of 7 from 40-49 and a 57-yarder last week against Georgia Tech. [Miami improved to 4-1 under interim coach Larry Scott, who replaced fired Al Golden.]
And Wake Forest completed its second straight 3-9 season under coach Dave Clawson, losing to Duke (7-5) 27-21. But Deacon fans have some reason for hope with their very young squad and can look back on pretty decent efforts against the likes of Florida State, Notre Dame and Clemson this year…beating the spread in all three!
–In the Division I-AA (FCS) playoffs, Chattanooga (9-3) defeated Fordham (9-3) 50-20, while Colgate (8-4) beat host New Hampshire (7-5) 27-20 as James Holland ran for four touchdowns.
William & Mary (9-3) outlasted Duquesne (8-4) 52-49, while Citadel (9-3), hot off the heels of its upset win over South Carolina last week, beat Coastal Carolina (9-3) 41-38.
—LSU’s Les Miles survives after all, with athletic director Joe Alleva making the announcement Saturday night, following the Tigers’ (8-3) 19-7 victory over Texas A&M (8-4), thus ending a week of intense speculation as to Miles’ fate.
After the win over A&M, Tigers players lifted Miles on their shoulders and carried him down the field as the crowd chanted “Keep Les Miles! Keep Les Miles!”
Miles’ job status had been in question following the program’s first three-game losing streak since 1999.
Since Miles was hired in 2005, LSU has the second most players drafted by the NFL, 64, with USC at 69 and Alabama and Florida State tied for third with 56.
But he was under criticism for not winning more than two conference titles (2007 & 2011), though they were national champions in ‘07. He has a 111-32 record at the school.
—Mark Richt is out at Georgia despite a 9-3 season, including a 13-7 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday. He had just signed a contract extension last January and is apparently owed $4.1 million. He has, however, agreed to coach the Bulldogs in whatever bowl game they participate in.
Georgia lost to Tennessee, Alabama and Florida this season.
Richt has a 145-51 record at the school, second on Georgia’s all-time list and has guided the Bulldogs to a bowl game in each of his 15 seasons, including SEC championships in 2002 and 2005.
But Georgia’s last national championship came in 1980 under Vince Dooley.
–Chuck Culpepper / Washington Post
“So we have clarity. How dreadful.
“Seven days to the promised discombobulation, we have a wretched serenity. With the revelation of the College Football Playoff final four coming next Sunday, there appears very little chance for angst, spite or bad vibes.
“It’s so disheartening.
“One, last, allegedly momentous weekend to go, and we already know too much. We know the second-ever College Football Playoff will include Oklahoma. It almost certainly will include Alabama. There’s a strong chance it will include Clemson. It will include the winner of the Big Ten Championship Game between Iowa and Michigan State. It will not include Notre Dame….
“The Selection Committee might not even need to hire a sommelier to help endure the voting….
“(But) of all the scenarios for the kind of chaos that makes college football so wonderful and aggravating, the likeliest would be in Charlotte next Saturday, where the ACC Championship will pit a North Carolina on an 11-game winning streak against a Clemson on a 15-game winning streak.”
Should Carolina pull off what most in the know realize wouldn’t be a huge upset, then Ohio State has to be next in line. But that’s it. Stanford? No way.
–Regarding the Heisman Trophy, I believe its Deshaun Watson or Derrick Henry. I just don’t see Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield being near these two.
So I would say it could be easily determined by Watson’s performance against North Carolina, more so than Henry against Florida, because I don’t see the latter game as being remotely close and, ‘Bama just needing to win to advance to the Final Four, perhaps not playing Henry much in the second half, for example. Watson, though, should be in it the entire time.
Meaning, the ballots must be submitted by Monday, Dec. 7, with an announcement on the finalists at 6:00 PM ET that day.
I’m just unclear how, logistically, this takes place and if voters have the option of deciding Monday morning. Bottom line, Saturday’s action could be the decider.
–And now the new AP Poll….
1. Clemson 12-0 (52 first-place votes)…as it should be
2. Alabama 11-1 (8)
3. Iowa 12-0 (1)
4. Oklahoma 11-1 (2)
5. Michigan State 11-1
6. Ohio State 11-1
7. Stanford 10-2
8. North Carolina 11-1
9. Florida State 10-2
10. Notre Dame 10-2
15. Florida 10-2…s/b 19
16. Oregon 9-3…s/b maybe 2 higher…quack quack
18. Houston 11-1…appropriate
21. Temple 10-2…get it done, Owls! Go Cos! [Oops, sorry]
The CFP rankings are released Tuesday night.
NFL
Next week the Giants and Jets play each other (Giants’ home game) and the lead-up to it will dominate local sports coverage with both in the playoff hunt. As has been the case for much of the year, though, next week one team will be happy, the other not so much.
Today, the Jets were at home to play the Dolphins and my boys, after losing 4 of 5, finally put a game together to move to 6-5 in beating Miami 38-20, the Dolphins now out of it at 4-7. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw four touchdown passes, two to Brandon Marshall, who caught nine for 131 yards. Miami had 12 yards rushing on nine carries, though receiver Jarvis Landry hauled in 13 passes for 165 yards and a score.
But down in Washington, the Redskins tied the Giants at 5-6 and first in the NFC East, beating New York 20-14 as the Skins’ took advantage of three first half Eli Manning interceptions. For Washington, Kirk Cousins had a solid game, 20/29, 302, 1-0, 114.4 passer rating.
Elsewhere….
Indianapolis (6-5) beat Tampa Bay (5-6) 25-12, with Matt Hasselbeck going 26/42, 315, 2-0.
Houston (6-5) won its fourth in a row, 24-6 over New Orleans (4-7) as J.J. Watt had another two sacks for 9 ½ his last five games.
Minnesota is now 8-3 after a 20-10 win over struggling Atlanta (6-5), with Adrian Peterson picking up 158 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
“Good Andy” Dalton showed up as Cincinnati defeated St. Louis (4-7) 31-7, the Bengals moving to 9-2. Dalton was 20/27, 233, 3-1, 121.4.
Kansas City is now 6-5 and very much in the wildcard chase after a 30-22 over Buffalo (5-6); for K.C. its fifth straight.
Oakland stayed relevant at 5-6 with a 24-21 win over Tennessee (2-9).
Arizona is now 9-2 following a 19-13 win over 3-8 San Francisco.
And then there was Pittsburgh-Seattle. The Seahawks stayed in the wild-card chase at 6-5, defeating Pittsburgh (also 6-5) 39-30 at home. Ben Roethlisberger had 456 yards through the air for the Steelers, though he threw two picks, while Russell Wilson had the best game of his career, 21/30, 345, 5-0, 147.9, including three scoring strikes to Doug Baldwin, who had a decisive 80-yard catch and run with two minutes to go after Pittsburgh had pulled to 32-30. Roethlisberger was removed for concussion protocol late and replacement Landry Jones threw a final interception with 1:37 left.
Earlier, Jones had thrown a pick on an absurd fake field goal call by Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.
—In games on Thanksgiving Day, Dallas’ season officially ended with a disheartening 33-13 loss to undefeated Carolina (11-0), dropping the Cowboys to 3-8. Quarterback Tony Romo reinjured the same collarbone that had kept him out seven games, all losses, and is now finished for the season. What a year for Jerry’s Boys.
But for Romo, who at 35 is no longer young, this is his third broken collarbone overall, including the first time in 2010.
Before he exited Thursday’s game, Romo had thrown three interceptions, two of which were returned by the Panthers for scores. Dallas only had 210 yards of total offense.
Detroit (4-7) has suddenly won three in a row behind Matthew Stafford’s solid play and a good defense, the latest effort being a 45-14 pasting of Philadelphia (4-7). Stafford was 27/38, 337, 5-0, 137.8, with Calvin Johnson grabbing eight for 93 yards and three touchdowns.
For the Eagles, coach Chip Kelly is getting blistered – with players throwing each other under the bus, ripping the fans, and blowing off the media.
Even Fox play-by-play man Joe Buck ripped Kelly during the contest for not having the kind of quarterback you need to run his up-tempo offense. Every single fan agrees with Buck, going back to the issue of Kelly trading Nick Foles to the Rams for Sam Bradford, who is a walking injury machine. And with Bradford out again, Buck wondered, why did Kelly think keeping Mark Sanchez around was the appropriate move because he can’t run this offense either.
It’s all “on Chip Kelly,” Buck added, because remember, Kelly also has the title of GM and is making all the personnel decisions.
Back to college for Kelly, this much is certain, and there are a ton of job openings in the college game these days.
And in Green Bay on Thanksgiving, Brett Favre’s number was formally retired by the Packers, but Chicago (5-6) stayed in the playoff hunt with a 17-13 win over the slumping Pack, now 7-4 after a 6-0 start. Jay Cutler outplayed Aaron Rodgers as Green Bay couldn’t take it in from fourth and goal at the 8 in the final seconds; James Jones having dropped a third down pass from Rodgers in the end zone, and then Rodgers having the last pass play deflected from his receiver.
–Cleveland’s amazingly immature quarterback, Johnny Manziel, who no longer deserves the moniker “Johnny Football,” was demoted to third string for Monday’s game against the Ravens after he lied to the team’s coaching staff concerning the timeline of a video of him partying in Austin, Texas during the team’s bye week.
According to Fox Sports, Manziel, who you’ll recall had been through 10 weeks of rehab for whatever, not only lied about the video to coach Mike Pettine, but he told his friends to cover for him. If he had told the truth, he might have kept his starting job, a source told Fox.
—Frank Gifford’s family released the following statement on Wednesday, the Hall of Famer having died Aug. 9 at age 84. The message was he suffered from the concussion-related brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
“After losing our beloved husband and father, Frank Gifford, we as a family made the difficult decision to have his brain studied in hopes of contributing to the advancement of medical research concerning the link between football and traumatic brain injury.
“We decided to disclose our loved one’s condition to honor Frank’s legacy of promoting player safety dating back to his involvement in the formation of the NFL Players Association in the 1950s….
“During the last years of his life Frank dedicated himself to understanding the recent revelations concerning the connection between repetitive head trauma and its associated cognitive and behavioral symptoms – which he experienced firsthand.”
Mike Lupica / New York Daily News
“This was the week in pro football when we discovered, thanks to Frank Gifford’s family, that one of the great Giants of all, a giant of his sport and later television, was suffering from CTE at the time of his death.
“This was a week that really began in pro football with us witnessing Case Keenum of the Rams looking like a fighter gamely trying to beat a 10-count after getting knocked down, obviously (brain) wounded after a hit that snapped his head back to the turf, but still being allowed to continue playing.
“And making you want to ask the Rams’ coach, Jeff Fisher, and his trainers and even league spotters in the booth what the hell they were all watching.
“This was the week in pro football when we saw Tony Romo knocked down and finally knocked out of the season for good with his second broken collarbone of the year. Romo rushed back from the first broken collarbone because he was going to save the Cowboys’ season, because that is the code of his sport and all sports, that you get back up and get back out there, until you are flat on your back for good.
“It is a hard, violent game. Frank Gifford was one of the first to show the pro football world that on television when he got concussed in November of 1960 at Yankee Stadium after getting laid out by Chuck Bednarik of the Eagles. Gifford didn’t stay in that game, he went to the hospital. He didn’t come right back to the Giants because he retired for a year instead. But he came back. They all come back until somebody finally tells them they can’t.”
–William C. Rhoden / New York Times
“Jonathan Stewart is not a fan of your fantasy football team.
“ ‘It’s not a fantasy, it’s real life,’ Stewart, the Carolina Panthers running back, said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. ‘These are guys who have actual families. This is a job. It’s not fantasy.’….
“The more troubling issue about fantasy football to me, though is that its increasing popularity is masking something darker: the densitizing effect it is having on fans, numbing them to the pain and injuries that are the stock in trade of a violent game….
“The players see it, too.
“ ‘I see them bashing people’s names, cursing them out on social media,’ Stewart said. ‘Bashing guys for not performing because they didn’t win $10 in their fantasy football league. You want to respect your fans, but you want the fans to respect the game.’”
Personally, since I play for a whopping $3 each week, I think Mr. Stewart and Mr. Rhoden may be overstating things a bit.
I have noted in this space that I will never trash an individual I have in my lineup (including golf) and that I am very aware of separating a little gambling from true fandom. I have never gone on Twitter or Facebook (the few times I do either) to blame a player or golfer. [Instead, I go after television commentators and politicians big time.]
But I do recognize there are an amazing number of jerks in this country who do.
One thing is for sure…even though I am already writing about the two sports, I am more engaged and reading even more during the week just to keep up…and that’s good for you all.
Stewart asks, but “What are you engaged for? Are you engaged because you love the game and respect the players? Or are you trying to make easy money?”
Oh c’mon. First off, there is no such thing as easy money. And, actually, in terms of respect, I can count on two hands the number of big-name NFLers I feel that way about.
It’s entertainment. And a lot of times, Mr. Stewart should know, not exactly great entertainment. This has not been a great NFL season, by far. There’s been a lot of hideous play.
In fact, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post addressed this very topic the other day.
“Somewhere around 12 percent of the American population, as a conservative estimate, will gather in front of television sets Thursday and watch at least a portion of an NFL game. They will be treated to a three-course smorgasbord representative of an uneven, enigmatic and often downright dreadful season.”
So Kilgore goes into the three Thanksgiving contests and two of the three indeed turned out to be awful, and the third, while close, wasn’t because of great play, though the weather had something to do with it.
“Welcome to the NFL in 2015: a smidgen of excellence, a heap of dreck and an abundance of mediocrity. Add in slipshod officiating, a confluence of key injuries and persistent confusion over a bloated rulebook, and you have the ingredients of this aesthetically lousy NFL season….
“The NFL has become spasms of athletic greatness buried within intermittent and inconsistent contests. Moments can be thrilling when penalty flags don’t interfere and injuries don’t deter, which has not been very often this season. The good news for the NFL is, it has six weeks for the product to improve. And no matter what, everyone will be watching.”
College Basketball
–There have been so many games and tournaments the past few days it’s hard to keep up. So following are some of the key contests, though I’m not going to attempt to identify where they were played.
Thursday, Syracuse beat No. 18 UConn 79-76, while No. 25 Texas A&M was defeating No. 10 Gonzaga 62-61.
Then UConn lost to Gonzaga on Friday, 73-70.
Also on Thursday, No. 17 Notre Dame was upset by Monmouth (N.J., think Monmouth Park, where American Pharoah raced) 70-68, Monmouth having earlier defeated UCLA.
Friday, Providence moved to 6-0 in upsetting No. 11 Arizona 69-65.
Richmond beat No. 14 California 94-90.
Northeastern beat No. 15 Miami.
No. 20 Wichita State fell to 2-4 in losing to Alabama, Iowa and USC; all three without All-American point guard Fred VanVleet. Wichita State also suffered a potentially critical blow when power forward Anton Grady suffered a ‘spinal contusion,’ though he is now not expected to be out long.
As for my “Pick to Click” San Diego State Aztecs, coach Steve Fisher, following the dreadful loss at home to Arkansas Little-Rock, shook up the lineup and benched seniors Winston Shepard, Sklar Spencer and super-soph Malik Pope (who continues to be far from super) and it worked as SDSU beat East Carolina, 79-54, and then 14 Cal, 72-58, with Shepard in particular providing a huge spark off the bench.
But on Friday, the Aztecs’ shooting woes reemerged and they lost 72-50 to West Virginia (6-0) to drop to 4-3.
Sunday, No. 3 Michigan State played upstart Providence, though game time on the West Coast is after I posted.
Here’s what we know after this last chaotic week. The rankings are going to change in a huge way, especially for Nos. 10-25. That’s the beauty of college basketball. They’re kids, and normally there are big roster turnovers year to year. It’s impossible to know what you really have until about mid-December. Contender or pretender.
Finally, the one tournament I’ll mention by name, the Maui Invitational, proved to be a good one for Wake Forest as they went 2-1, including wins over Indiana and UCLA (while losing to No. 19 Vanderbilt).
I am headed to our game against Rutgers Monday night.
–Speaking of tournaments, as Johnny Mac reminded me the other day, remember when there was but one this time of year that mattered…the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage?
The very best teams in America scrambled to play in it every few years, but now with more attractive recruiting locations such as the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Florida, Las Vegas, Arizona and a seeming plethora of events in Hawaii, who wants to take a team to Alaska, let alone tell a prospective recruit, “Hey, we played in Anchorage this year!” “I want a trip to Hawaii or the Bahamas, not freakin’ Alaska!” the high school junior is likely to reply.
Anyway, this year’s Great Alaska Shootout lineup has the likes of Asheville, Drexel, Loyola Chicago, Middle Tennessee, San Diego (that’s not SDSU), San Jose State, Toledo and host Alaska-Anchorage. Good seats were no doubt available.
–Legendary Houston Cougars coach Guy Lewis died. He was 93.
Lewis coached Houston for 30 years, guiding them to back-to-back NCAA title games in 1983 and ’84, but he never won the national championship, losing to N.C. State in the 1983 final on Lorenzo Charles’ last-second shot as the “Phi Slamma Jamma” teams of Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler failed to close the deal. [I have a ton on the site on Lewis and this team…no time to resurrect it but you can find it. All about leaving Drexler in to pick up his fourth foul of the first half against N.C. State. One of the worst coaching decisions in college b-ball history.]
Lewis compiled a 592-279 record at Houston, with 27 consecutive winning seasons from 1959-85. The Cougars went to 14 NCAA tournaments overall, including five Final Fours.
Among the many things the flamboyant Lewis was known for was putting together the “Game of the Century” at the Astrodome in 1968, Elvin Hayes and Houston vs. Lew Alcindor and UCLA. It was the first regular-season game to be broadcast on national television and Houston prevailed 71-69 in front of a crowd of more than 52,000 to end UCLA’s 47-game winning streak and avenge a loss in the Final Four of the previous year’s tournament. [I have a lot on this one, too. I’ll try to put it all together for next time.]
Lewis also integrated Houston in signing its first two black basketball players, Hayes and Don Chaney in 1964, who led the team to the Final Four in 1967, only to lose to UCLA and Alcindor in a semifinal.
NBA
–Saturday, Golden State won its 18th in a row, best start to a season in NBA history, in defeating the Kings 120-101. Draymond Green had his second straight triple-double.
But this is win number 22 in a row going back to last season and the playoffs, so this ties the Warriors for third all-time with the 2007-08 Houston Rockets. Lying in front are the 2012-13 Miami Heat at 27, and then that incredible Lakers run of 33, 1971-72.
–Friday night, Houston’s James Harden had 50 points, nine rebound and eight assists as the Rockets beat the 76ers 116-114 in Houston. It was the third 50-point game of his career.
But this was Philadelphia’s 27th loss in a row dating to last season for the longest losing streak in major U.S. professional sports history, passing the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1976 to ’77. The 76ers of 2013-14 also had a 26-game skid.
Philadelphia then fell to 0-18 on the season, 28 in a row over two, in losing to the Grizzlies 92-84 on Sunday.
–Philadelphia rookie Jahlil Okafor was in a street fight in Boston early Thursday, started by a heckler, but the Philadelphia Inquirer reported this wasn’t his first run-in with hecklers. In October one pointed a gun at Okafor’s head following a verbal exchange at a Philadelphia club, according to the Inquirer, citing five sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
But there is no known report and Okafor has declined to address it. Yet one source told the paper that federal officers witnessed the encounter.
Thursday’s incident in Beantown was prompted by taunting about the 76es’ record. According to a source who spoke to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, he heard a guy saying “The 76ers suck and you guys are all losers.” The source then turned the corner and Okafor had “knocked the dude out.”
A police report issued Friday evening, filed by a man, reported he was the victim of assault and battery outside the Storyville nightclub on Exeter Street in Boston at around 2 a.m. Thursday. The man said Okafor and another man approached his group and asked some of the women for their phone numbers. The woman declined and then a scuffle followed.
Okafor told reporters on Friday, “It was definitely dumb on my part. It’s something that I am embarrassed about.” He had 11 points and six rebounds in the Houston loss Friday night, by the way.
–Saturday, San Antonio improved to 14-3, 9-0 at home, with a 108-88 win over the Hawks. I bring this one up only because Tim Duncan had 18 rebounds in 28 minutes (along with 10 points). Bazooka Joe says, “Timmy D. went to Wake Forest.”
–Victor Mather of the New York Times had a piece on Kobe Bryant, “the worst shooter in the league. Last season, he shot .373, the worst figure ever for a regular player…This year, he is worse, at .311 [Ed. now .315]. That’s the lowest figure in the league by a player with at least 150 attempts. Bryant is 16 of 82 [Ed. thru Sat.] from 3-point territory, at .195 the worst percentage of any player with 60 attempts.”
He was 1-for-14 against the Warriors the other night in a 111-77 fiasco that was Golden State’s 16th straight.
The other day Charles Barkley told the Los Angeles Times: “Somebody asked me how I knew it was time to retire. I said because I was pump-faking. So now I see Kobe and he’s pump-faking because he’s scared they are going to block his shot. That’s what the pump-faking is. People are knocking your shot into the stands.”
Well this just in early Sunday evening. Kobe announced his retirement at the end of the season.
Writing on The Players Tribune web site (very weak), Bryant said in part: “This season is all I have left to give. My heart can take the pounding. My mind can handle the grind but my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.”
MLB
We’ve had a little hiatus as the big free agents on the market have yet to sign. When one does, like David Price, that should begin to set the market for all the others to follow.
That’s what I wrote Sunday morning, but now it seems pitcher Jordan Zimmermann will sign a five-year, $110 million deal with Detroit, pending his physical. Another dumb contract.
Down Goes Klitschko!
27-year-old boxer Tyson Fury pulled off one of the bigger upsets in heavyweight history on Saturday in Dusseldorf when he outpointed Ukrainian champ Wladimir Klitschko, bringing an end to his nine-year reign. As there was a rematch clause in the contract, the 39-year-old Klitschko said he would exercise it and fight Fury sometime next year.
Fury, from Manchester, U.K., won by unanimous decision, bloodying Klitschko in the process to wrest the WBA, IBF and WBO belts from him.
Vitali Klitschko, himself a former heavyweight world champion and now the mayor of Kiev, said he was shocked by how badly his younger brother performed.
But who is Tyson Fury? This is a guy who was born three months too early and weighed just one pound! He wasn’t given much chance to live, but John Fury told doctors it was his kid’s destiny to live and become heavyweight champion of the world. John named the second of his six sons Tyson, after Mike Tyson.
Tyson Fury is of Irish-Gypsy heritage and comes from a bloodline of bare-knuckle champions on both sides of his family. So while he is a rare British heavyweight champion, it would seem he is the first Irish heavyweight champ of the world.
“It’s something I’ve been working on for my whole life,” Fury said. “I’m bred to be a fighter.” [Associated Press]
Back to Klitschko (64-4, 53 KO), this was his 28th title fight and first defeat since April 2004.
Premier League Standings after 14 of 38
1. Manchester City 9 (W) 2 (D) 3 (L) 29 points
2. Leicester 8-5-1…29 *ties broken by goal differential
3. Manchester United 8-4-2…28
4. Arsenal 8-3-3…27
5. Tottenham 6-7-1…25…13 matches without a loss, but all those draws
6. Liverpool 6-5-3…23
7. Crystal Palace 7-1-6…22
8. West Ham 6-4-4…22
9. Everton 5-6-3…21
14. Chelsea 4-3-7…15
20. Aston Villa 1-2-11…5
This weekend, Leicester drew with Man U 1-1; Man City beat Southampton 3-1; my Tottenham Spurs drew with Chelsea 0-0; and Liverpool beat Swansea 1-0.
The best game that I saw was the ending to Everton-Bournemoth. Everton took a 3-2 lead in extra time and seemingly had the win and the critical 3 points in the bag, only to have Bournemoth come right down with seconds remaining to score on a spectacular header for a crucial point in the season-long fight to avoid relegation. Just great stuff.
Back to the Leicester-Man U affair, Leicester’s Jamie Vardy set a new Premier League record by scoring in his 11th consecutive match.
Stuff
–I normally wouldn’t get too fired up about the NHL season until the spring, but in these parts it was hard not to be impressed by the New York Rangers’ start, 16-3-2, including nine in a row.
But then they faced the then 16-4-2 Montreal Canadiens at the Garden on Wednesday and were blasted 5-1. Then it was up to Boston on Friday where New York lost 4-3. Then back down to the Garden on Saturday, where the Rangers lost to the Flyers 3-0.
It’s a long season, made longer by the fact the Rangers’ best offensive player, center Derek Stepan, broke multiple ribs on an unpenalized late hit in the Bruins game that has the Rangers seething.
–American Mikaela Shiffrin won a World Cup slalom event on Saturday in Aspen, Colo., turning in two blistering runs to win by 3.07 seconds, the largest margin of victory in the history of the women’s discipline. Phenomenal.
Shiffrin’s two-run combined time was 1 minute 39.81 seconds, besting Veronika Velez Zuzulova of Slovakia.
Mikaela’s performance was one day after she crashed in the giant slalom, won by Lara Gut of Switzerland. Lindsey Vonn also crashed in that race. [I didn’t realize Vonn was already back from her latest injury. I’ll try to do a better job in the future, folks.]
Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway won the first World Cup men’s downhill race of the season at Lake Louise, Alberta, edging Peter Fill of Italy by 0.01 of a second. Slight contrast in these two races, eh?
–As reported by the New York Daily News’ Laurie Hanna, “Mexican authorities are desperately hunting an escaped Bengal tiger that has been eating cows and horses.
“The ferocious beast, called Ankor, has been on the loose in the southern state of Guerrero since late October, when it escaped from the Mangrove Paradise theme park.
“Experts believe it remains in the local area and are concerned the rare tiger could eat a human next.”
Good. Tiger is No. 3 on the All-Species List for a reason. [Behind ‘Dog’ and ‘Elephant’. Homebuilder ‘Beaver,’ long off double-secret probation, is No. 9.]
–There have been 14 recorded shark attacks this year in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, one fatal. By comparison, in 2014, there were just three attacks and in 2013, five.
So now the NSW government is launching a campaign, including the use of drones, to protect swimmers and surfers. Noooo! We need ratings! Err, I need ratings!
But why the increase in attacks? One expert told the Sydney Morning Herald, “there are more bait fish and whales up and down the coast, and obviously the sharks follow them.”
One species you don’t want to ‘come back as’ is a bait fish.
–I was reading the music critic of the Sydney Morning Herald, Bernard Zuel, and his review of Taylor Swift’s concert this weekend in Sydney, where 76,000 turned out at ANZ Stadium, and Swift’s people must be thrilled.
“ ‘Dear diary, was there ever a night like this? Like, you know, in history? Surely not. Ever.’
“Certainly not for a good portion of the 76,000 for who this was an extended moment of ecstasy….
“This is one of the most spectacular stadium shows I have seen. Nothing is missed….
“There is no resisting it, and why would you? Some fun is perfect.”
Wow. Ms. Swift couldn’t have written it better herself.
–U2 has been blowing it out in a series of concerts in its native Dublin (they live in a suburb, Howth, that is very cool).
–Finally, we note the passing of Cynthia Robinson, a trumpet player and original member of Sly and the Family Stone. She was 71.
Ms. Robinson joined Sly Stone in 1966, first with the short-lived group called Sly and the Stoners. Soon after, he asked her to be a member of the Family Stone, a group that with both black and white musicians, of both sexes, made it a living poster for the ideals of the counterculture.
Cynthia also chimed in with some of the vocals, such as on “Dance to the Music” and “I Want to Take You Higher.”
Robinson grew up playing the flute in elementary school in Sacramento, but there were none available at her high school, and after being unhappy with the clarinet, she tried the trumpet, which the boys hated because girls weren’t supposed to play the instrument. Well, she had the last laugh. [And I imagine also told the boys to blank off.]
When Sly and the Family Stone broke up in 1975, Robinson continued to record with Sly, as well as the funk band Graham Central Station, led by her cousin and fellow Family Stone member Larry Graham. She also worked with George Clinton and Prince.
This girl was way cool. RIP, Cynthia.
Top 3 songs for the week 11/24/79: #1 “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)” (Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer…god this one sucks…) #2 “Babe” (Styx…ditto…hated when Big Hair groups tried to get the female sale with a ‘tender’ song…) #3 “Still” (Commodores…however, these guys crossed from one mode to another pretty seamlessly…)…and… #4 “Dim All The Lights” (Donna Summer…I have like one dimmer switch in my place…) #5 “Heartache Tonight” (Eagles…hands down their worst, and it’s not even close…talk about mailing it in…) #6 “Please Don’t Go” (K.C. & The Sunshine Band…see #2 and groups trying to do a slow tune when they should stick to what got them the big gigs in the first place…just hideous…) #7 “You Decorated My Life” (Kenny Rogers….eegads…variety show staple…) #8 “Send One Your Love” (Stevie Wonder…ughh…) #9 “Tusk” (Fleetwood Mac…at least this was before they turned historically crappy…) #10 “Pop Muzik” (M…I had to YouTube this one…man, you would have needed 13 beers to think this was good….as my friend Jim D. said the other day, vomitous….)
New York Giants Quiz Answers: 1) 5,000 yards rushing: Tiki Barber 10,449 (1997-2006); Rodney Hampton 6,897 (1990-97); Joe Morris 5,296 (1982-88); Brandon Jacobs 5,087 (2005-13). 2) 5,000 yards receiving: Amani Toomer 9,497 (1996-2008); Frank Gifford 5,434 (1952-64); Tiki Barber 5,183 (1997-2006). Joe Morrison 4,993 and Homer Jones 4,846…Jones with a 22.6 yards per catch average.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
