[Posted Sunday evening]
Baseball Quiz: Last time I asked you to name those who had won three MVP awards. This time, name the nine who won three Cy Young Awards. [Hints: The first award was handed out in 1956 and it was one for the two leagues combined through 1966, after which it was one for each.] 2) Name the two Pirate hurlers to win it. Answers below.
College Basketball Review
On Saturday….
7 Miami had a chance to grab at least a share of the ACC regular season title but fell to Virginia Tech (18-13, 10-8) in Blacksburg, 77-62. What a job Buzz Williams has done with the Hokies. Miami fell to 24-6, 13-5.
So that left the door open for 8 North Carolina to win the ACC crown outright and they proceeded to do so, downing 17 Duke (22-9, 11-7) in Durham, 76-72, behind Brice Johnson’s 18 points and 21 rebounds.
The Tar Heels outrebounded the Blue Devils by a staggering 64-29 as they finished up 25-6, 14-4.
For Duke, it was announced forward Amile Jefferson, who has been out virtually the entire season with a broken foot, will not be able to come back for tournament play and the school is seeking a medical redshirt. The thing is he did play the first nine games and to me that is too many to be given a fifth season.
Lastly, in major ACC play, 4 Virginia beat 11 Louisville 68-46 in Charlottesville as the Cavaliers end the regular season 24-6, 13-5, while Louisville is finished, following the self-imposed ban on postseason play. The Cardinals were 23-8, 12-6.
In other games, 10 West Virginia (24-7, 13-5) beat 19 Baylor (21-10, 10-8) 69-58.
1 Kansas (27-4, 15-3) beat 21 Iowa State (21-10, 10-8) 85-78. Earlier in the week, the Jayhawks wrapped up their 12th straight regular-season Big 12 title.
–As for my “Pick to Click” San Diego State Aztecs, they did recover from their crushing loss to Boise State last weekend to whip New Mexico, 83-56 (a score I missed last time).
And then Saturday night, the Aztecs destroyed UNLV (17-14, 8-10) 92-56 to finish 23-8, 16-2, heading into the Mountain West conference tourney.
How ironic that after the Boise defeat, they played their two best back-to-back games of the entire year. That tells you something. Good job, Coach Fisher. [The insertion of Malik Pope into the starting lineup has helped.]
—Monmouth has been a good story for New Jerseyites this season but they needed to win the MAAC tournament to ensure they were going to the Big Dance. No way they can rely on an at-large bid.
Monmouth advanced to 27-6, 17-3, with a semifinal win on Sunday in the MAAC tourney over Fairfield and will now play for the championship and bid on Monday.
–Local school Fairleigh Dickinson goes for a tourney bid on Tuesday in an NEC title game against Wagner.
–Northern Iowa (21-12, 11-7) beat Evansville for the Missouri Valley Conference title on Sunday. The Panthers had taken out Wichita State (24-8, 16-2) in the semis. Somehow the Shockers have to get an at-large bid, but it is far from a certainty. That would suck if they don’t.
–Johnny Mac’s UNC-Asheville got a ticket to the dance with a Big South Championship win over Winthrop 77-68. Winthrop was 5 of 33 from downtown.
Your editor wore his UNC-A sweatshirt all three successful rounds (J. Mac having supplied me with it). My San Diego State Aztecswear will now be worn for the Mountain West tourney.
Deaconwear will be laid out in case Wake wins its first-round ACC game against N.C. State on Tuesday.
Oregon Duckwear could be unveiled at a moment’s notice, as well, while the Oregon State Beaverwear is, to say the least, rather restless and concerned I will be shipping it to Yap with my annual supply of t-shirt surplus.
–Wednesday, Lehigh plays Holy Cross for the Patriot League title. Jimbo and David P. are among my friends who are thrilled to have another potential shot in the NCAAs for the Mountain Hawks, but an old friend’s nephew, Matt Husek, plays for Holy Cross.
—Boston College lost a heartbreaker in Raleigh last Wednesday, 73-72, to go to 0-17 in ACC play.
And then on Saturday, the Eagles completed an 0-18 regular season in losing at home to Clemson 66-50.
So B.C. became the first Power Five conference school in anyone’s memory to lose all conference football and basketball games in a single year, football having gone 0-8.
But the baseball team, last I saw, was 8-0.
–Wednesday, Rutgers hosted 2 Michigan State and was drilled 97-66 to fall to 6-24, 0-17 in the Big Ten.
But Rutgers salvaged a win in their last Big Ten contest on Saturday, defeating Minnesota (8-22, 2-16) at home, 75-52, thus snapping a 32-game losing streak in conference play. However, the Golden Gophers were playing without their top four scorers (three suspended, one injured) and had only five scholarship players available.
Regardless of the outcome Saturday, though, in stating the obvious that Rutgers coach Eddie Jordan needs to be fired, Steve Politi of the Star-Ledger notes that Rutgers hoops has been so awful no coach of the past 25 years “has made it out of Piscataway with their careers alive.
“Bob Wenzel. Kevin Bannon. Gary Waters. Fred Hill. Mike Rice. It is telling that only one of the five – Waters at Cleveland State – ever landed a head coaching job again, and that three haven’t coached at the college level at all since leaving Piscataway.”
Jordan’s three years have gone like this….
2013-14…12-21
2014-15…10-22 (2-16 in inaugural season in Big Ten)
2015-16…6-25 (1-17)
Rutgers has not been to the NCAAs since the 1990-91 campaign.
–Congratulations to Austin Peay for qualifying for the NCAA tournament after winning the Ohio Valley Conference championship on Saturday against Tennessee-Martin. The Governors had upset No. 1 seed Belmont in the semis.
–LSU’s Ben Simmons may be the first person selected in the upcoming NBA draft, but he’s falling short academically and the school announced he had not been certified to be eligible for the Wooden Award. Simmons was benched for the start of a game in February for an academic issue.
Looking at the criteria for the Wooden trophy, one of them stands out… “All candidates must have a cumulative 2.00 grade point average since enrolling in their current university.”
Sounds like we may have a Mendoza Line issue, boys and girls. I can relate.
Personally, I give the award to Buddy Hield, with Denzel Valentine second.
*Back to Mendoza, I’ve written of this a few times before (do you know I am now over 1,850 Bar Chats!), but he actually hit .215 for his career (1974-82), including .245 and .231, 1980-81.
But Mendoza earned his reputation as a part-time player for the Pirates when from 1975-77, he hit .180, .185 and .198.
Actually, the guy you don’t want to come close to emulating if you are a college student is the late Ray Oyler (1965-70), who hit .175 for his career, including 1969 with Seattle when he hit .165 in 255 at-bats, yet at least he had seven homers. Those of us who collected baseball cards in those days always seemed to get his…at which point you stuck it in the bicycle spokes.
NBA
–In a Thursday rematch, Golden State defeated the Thunder in Oakland, 121-106, as Steph Curry had 33, though he cooled off some from 3-point land, 5-15.
For Golden State it was their 44th straight regular-season home game, tying a mark held by the Chicago Bulls (March 30, 1995 to April 4, 1996). For Chicago that streak was part of the 1995-96 record 72-10 season the Warriors are seeking to surpass.
Then Sunday, the Warriors traveled to Los Angeles to face the Lakers and lo and behold, the Lakers won! 112-95. L.A. is now 13-51, the Warriors 55-6.
But how could this possibly happen? Steph Curry and Klay Thompson combined to go 1-18 from three-point land, that’s how.
So this result gives renewed hope to the Spurs. These two next face off Sat., March 19.
–Some say San Antonio just made a move that could give them an edge in a hoped-for Spurs-Warriors Western Conference final…signing free-agent guard Kevin Martin.
Martin negotiated a buyout with the Minnesota Timberwolves and chose San Antonio after being pursued by the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets, among others.
But who could pass up an opportunity to play with the Spurs? Because an agreement was reached before the Tuesday deadline, Martin stayed playoff eligible.
Martin has averaged 17.6 points per game for his career and he’s a lifetime 38.5 percent three-point shooter. He is also a career .870 from the foul line.
Saturday, San Antonio defeated the Kings 104-94 as the Spurs moved to 53-9, 30-0 at home. Manu Ginobili made his first appearance after missing 12 games due to testicle surgery and he poured in 22 points in just 15 minutes. [Kevin Martin didn’t suit up.]
The Spurs, by the way, clinched their 19th straight playoff berth the other day. That coincides with the 19 seasons Tim Duncan has been in San Antonio.
Bazooka Joe says Timmy D. went to Wake Forest and graduated in four years!
–As for my Knicks, they lost to Boston in Beantown on Friday, 105-104 to fall to 25-28, 3-16 since they were 22-22. One of the issues is that rookie sensation Kristaps Porzingis simply hit the wall, which any basketball fan knew would happen. He isn’t getting any rebounds or blocked shots these days.
Meanwhile, the surprising Celtics moved to 38-25. I imagine for years to come we’ll just keep saying, ‘What an amazing job Brad Stevens is doing.’
Well, Saturday the Knicks rebounded to defeat the Pistons at home, 102-89, as Porzingis sat out with a leg injury, while Boston was being rolled by the Cavaliers in Cleveland, 120-103. Just not easy winning on back-to-back nights in the NBA.
–Speaking of Cleveland, LeBron James caught some, err, heat, when he took advantage of consecutive off days to go down to Miami to work out with old buddy Dwyane Wade. When asked about it, James said, “I don’t care” (what the hell you a-holes think…I have more power than all of you combined).
How many of you really give a damn about LeBron anymore? I sure don’t.
–Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan set an NBA record on Friday night as the Raptors held on to defeat the Trail Blazers 117-115 . DeRozan made 24 straight free throws (24-25 for the game).
In defeat Portland’s Damian Lillard scored 50. Backcourt mate C.J. McCollum added 24, so the two had 74 of the 115 (no other Trail Blazer was in double figures).
–Finally, the following is for adult audiences…children under 13 need to switch to the Animal Planet for a few minutes.
Jaclyn Hendricks of the New York Post:
“A hotel tryst could cost an NBA player more than the cash in his wallet.
“As adult film star turned fantasy sports aficionado Lisa Ann tells Complex, athletes have become easy blackmail targets for ‘actresses’ in the porn industry.
“ ‘Most stories of NBA players getting hustled do not shock me since I’ve probably heard the worst from girls talking on porn sets about the things they do to players,’ Ann explains.
[Editor break: Am I allowed to say I love the name Lisa Ann?]
“ ‘You would be shocked how many NBA players have been blackmailed in an effort to keep their privacy. My guess is a minimum of 25 percent of NBA players have dealt with blackmail at some point in their career,’ she continues. ‘I’ve heard girls brag about long-term hustles where they have a player paying their rent and expenses just to keep them quiet and out of their family life.’
“While single players are still considered prey, Ann shares that it’s the wedded stars who are the top of the depth chart.
“ ‘I’ve heard girls say make sure he is married or in a relationship before going back to his hotel with him. Once there they wait for their moment alone with his wallet and take photos of all of his credit cards and his ID. The final part of the plan is blackmail,’ Ann adds.
[Editor break: I’m beginning to sour with the name Lisa Ann.]
As for going to strip joints, Ann says these are nothing but trouble, with credit cards being scammed, wallets stolen. The Knicks Cleanthony Early was shot and robbed leaving such a club early this season and he is finally ready to return (if the team wants him).
Ms. Ann: “With hustles like this happening to regular people (in strip clubs), you can imagine how much more likely it is to happen to a famous, naïve, 6’8” NBA millionaire. He’s like a neon target to these people, and the longer he’s at the club, the greater the chances sinister plans get set in motion.”
MLB
–So the other day I wrote how the Pirates’ Gerrit Cole was upset with his $541,000 contract for 2016, the same amount he made last season despite going 19-8 and finishing fourth in the Cy Young voting.
The Mets’ Jacob deGrom is another now upset with his deal. DeGrom rejected his contract, a procedural move that indicated the team and the pitcher couldn’t reach agreement on a salary figure, so the Mets told him what he’s making, $607,000, after deGrom was 14-8 with a 2.54 ERA.
Again, it’s all about being arbitration eligible and that normally occurs after three years in the majors, though sometimes after two depending on the exact length of service in the big leagues. Until then the teams have control and, actually, deGrom is making out better than Cole in that deGrom has less than two years in the Bigs, while Cole is short of three.
Of the Mets Big Four (Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and deGrom…with Zack Wheeler also on the horizon), Harvey is the first to hit free agency and that’s not until after the 2018 season.
But knowing how fragile their profession is, both deGrom and Harvey have already said they’d be interested in long-term deals, only the Mets, and any other team in this situation, has zero incentive to acquiesce.
–Sports Illustrated’s Jonah Keri released his fourth annual ranking of the top 50 players in baseball based on Trade Value, or as he puts it, “Would you trade this guy for that guy?
“We need to consider a wide range of factors along with talent and raw numbers. How old is a player? What does his medical record look like? For how many years does his team control him, and at what salaries?”
For example, “Would you rather have Clayton Kershaw making $33 million a year for the next five seasons, or Chris Archer making a hair over $20 million, total, for the next four years?”
So Keri comes up the following top ten.
1. Mike Trout, OF, Angels
2. Carlos Correa, SS, Astros
3. Bryce Harper, OF, Nationals
4. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Diamondbacks
5. Kris Bryant, 3B, Cubs
6. Anthony Rizzo, 1B, Cubs
7. Nolan Arenado, 3B, Rockies
8. Corey Seager, SS, Dodgers
9. Manny Machado, 3B, Orioles
10. Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pirates
Archer is No. 11. Kershaw 21. Jacob deGrom 22
–Former Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia gave an interview to the New York Times’ Ben Berkon wherein he said he was the victim of a witch hunt by Major League Baseball and that the players’ union essentially abandoned him.
Mejia, who tested positive twice in 2015 and then received his permanent suspension last month for a third positive said he was guilty only of the first offense. After the second test, which he says was inaccurate, Mejia said MLB pressured him to share information about his connections.
“I felt there was a conspiracy against me,” Mejia said through an interpreter in the Dominican Republic.
MLB denies they did any such thing, and Mejia’s blaming the union for not doing more is a really, really dumb idea if he hopes to get reinstated in two years’ time.
The guy’s an idiot, pure and simple. He’s also a liar.
–A family that has chosen to remain anonymous was clearing out their great grandfather’s house in California early last week when they found a crumpled brown paper bag and opened it up.
Inside were seven authentic Ty Cobb baseball cards that are believed to have been printed between 1909 and 1911. Only about 15 of them are said to be in existence before this find.
One collector told the AP the total worth of the cache should exceed $1 million. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being mint condition, the cards range from 3.5 to 4.5, which is high for cards that are more than a century old.
NFL
–Yes, Peyton Manning is now apparently retiring Monday, but I just had to get this last bit down from Jarrett Bell / USA TODAY, written over the weekend before we learned Sunday afternoon that he was hanging it up:
“Manning still hasn’t announced whether he’s done with his NFL career, and at this point we’ve surpassed the statute of limitations for when it can be called ‘riding off into the sunset’ after he became the first to quarterback two franchises to a Super Bowl crown.
“I mean, he’s only had enough time to go to the moon and back….
“No, we haven’t heard squat from Manning himself. But his agent, Tom Condon, told me and others last week that his star client has expressed how much he still enjoys playing. And not long after the Super Bowl, Archie Manning talked of his son being done in Denver…but he didn’t maintain that Peyton was done with his NFL career.
“While the suspense lingers, and the Broncos try to seal a deal that keeps Brock Osweiler from bolting, the messages from the Manning camp mean something.
“Still, it is a bit surreal that it has come to this for one of the all-time greats: A physically-challenging season. Allegations that linked him to HGH shipments. A revival of the gross episode that involved a female trainer at Tennessee. And now a reality check regarding Manning’s here-and-now NFL value.”
I’ve grown very tired of not only Peyton, but Archie, too.
–As noted by ESPN.com:
“An Atlanta Falcons coach asked former Ohio State cornerback Eli Apple whether he is gay during a meeting last week at the NFL combine.
“Apple described the meeting during an interview with Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, although he did not identify the coach.
“ ‘The Falcons coach, one of the coaches, was like, ‘So do you like men?’’ Apple told Comcast SportsNet. ‘It was like the first thing he asked me. It was weird. I was just like, ‘No.’ He was like, ‘If you’re going to come to Atlanta, sometimes that’s how it is around here. You’re going to have to get used to it.’
“ ‘I guess he was joking, but they just ask most of these questions to see how you’re going to react.’
“Falcons coach Dan Quinn released a statement Friday, acknowledging the incident.
“ ‘I am really disappointed in the question that was asked by one of our coaches,’ Quinn said. ‘I have spoken to the coach that interviewed Eli Apple and explained to him how inappropriate and unprofessional this was.’”
And so we hereby place the Atlanta Falcons in the December file for “Dirtball Franchise of the Year” consideration.
For the record the NFL is investigating and can discipline the coach and/or the team.
–One college football note. Last week the Ivy League made a dramatic change to eliminate full-contact hitting from regular-season practices, as first reported by the New York Times.
Jon Solomon / CBSSports.com
“Whether people want to accept evolution or not, this is the future for all of football. Every level of college football is now on the clock. The same is true for high school and youth football, where it’s smarter for younger kids to play flag football in order to protect their more vulnerable brains.
“If the Ivy League says no tackling at practices, why are those concepts not best for Alabama, Ohio State and Oklahoma players? That’s the question now directly staring in the face of college football coaches and leaders and they have nowhere to duck.
“The NFL allows only 14 full-contact practices during the 18-week regular season. The players negotiated this through collective bargaining. The NCAA guidelines – they’re not rules – state that live contact should be limited to twice a week at practices during the regular season.”
Golf Balls
–Last week Adam Scott picked up the win at the Honda Classic despite having a quadruple bogey in the tournament, one of just two or three in the last 30+ years to do so in a PGA Tour event.
This week, Scott won again, this time at the WGC/Cadillac Championship (Trump National Doral), a one-shot win over Bubba Watson, despite two double bogeys in his last round. Pretty amazing. Yes, also rather resilient.
So Scott now has 13 career titles. The Big Three of Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Jordan Spieth has been passed by, at least for now.
[It was curious how NBC handled Trump’s presence on Sunday. As in the network very briefly mentioned him but didn’t show him live, which is rather stupid. I was not happy with his last debate performance, to say the least, but he deserves credit for renovating Doral and turning it back into a terrific tournament venue. That said, Cadillac is leaving as a sponsor and it gives the PGA an excuse to look elsewhere next year to avoid any controversy.]
—Tiger Woods announced Wednesday that he’s chipping and putting again, but the longest club he’s hitting is a 9-iron, not the rumored driver. While he didn’t set a timetable for his return, it seems highly doubtful he’ll be ready for The Masters, a tradition unlike any other…on CBS.
Premier League
Last time I noted Leicester’s draw with West Brom on Tuesday allowed Tottenham to move into first place if they beat West Ham Wednesday evening but it wasn’t to be. I warned West Ham was good and sure enough the Spurs lost 1-0.
But then Arsenal was shocked by Swansea 2-1, and Liverpool blasted Manchester City 3-0 the same day, so Leicester picked up a point on the field.
So Saturday….
In a superb game at White Hart Lane (Tottenham), my Spurs took on Arsenal in the biggest North London derby between these two in history (and this was match 158). Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey put them up 1-0 at the 38:00 mark, but then at the 55’ mark, the Gunners’ Francis Coquelin went off with a red card and Tottenham had a man advantage for the duration.
So the Spurs quickly scored two in about 90 seconds, the second one a spectacular kick by Harry Kane, and it was Tottenham 2-1 and a gigantic three points seemed a lock with Arsenal a man down.
But at the 76’ mark, Alexis Sanchez scored the tying goal on a poor play by Tottenham’s keeper and it ended 2-2. Just a terrific contest start to finish, albeit a depressing ending for Tottenham fans who are looking for their first title in 55 years.
Manchester City whipped last-place Aston Villa 4-0 and then Leicester prevailed over Watford 1-0.
West Ham, down 2-0 to Everton, who was playing with 10 men, erupted for 3 goals in the final 12 minutes to win another thriller 3-2.
Then on Sunday, West Brom beat Man U 1-0, while Liverpool, playing a man down and trailing 1-0, defeated Crystal Palace 2-1 on a highly controversial penalty kick in the 94th minute. [For those watching as I was, we were lacking the definitive angle as to whether Benteke was clipped in the box. The one we were shown sure made it seem like an awful call.]
So the standings after 28/29 of 38 matches….
1. Leicester 29…60 points
2. Tottenham 29…55
3. Arsenal 29…52
4. Man City 28…50
5. West Ham 29…49
6. Man U 29…47
7. Liverpool 28…44
I cannot overemphasize the fact that what Leicester is doing is one of the great professional sports stories in recent memory. IF they close the deal, remember, they were 14 last year, 11 wins 8 draws 19 losses…41 points…just seven from relegation…and here they are, still on top.
As a Tottenham fan, I’m discouraged over this lost week, and really just hoping at this point we hold to a top four/Champions League slot. This has been, indeed, a terrific season.
–In La Liga play on Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo scored four times for the third time this season as Real Madrid cruised to a 7-1 win over Celta Vigo. It was Ronaldo’s fifth hat-trick of the season and number 39 for his career.
Ronaldo is also now second in La Liga history with 252 goals, surpassed only by Lionel Messi, who had three on Thursday to take his tally to 305.
Stuff
–Last time I wrote that it was amazing Lindsey Vonn had returned from her latest injury just last weekend. But hours after I posted, Vonn announced she had to end her season because of the three hairline fractures in her upper shinbone.
“Today I am making the difficult decision to end my season and leave the World Cup circuit due to an injury I suffered last Saturday. Because I am currently leading the Overall World Cup standings, this is one of the toughest decisions of my career,” she wrote on Facebook.
Vonn said she risked serious damage if she continued and she wants to be ready for the World Championships in St. Moritz next year and then the Winter Olympics in South Korea the following year.
What a shame.
American Mikaela Shiffrin won the only women’s race this weekend in Slovakia, while on the men’s side, Austrian Marcel Hirscher won a giant slalom and slalom (plus a third place in a second GS) at Kranjska Gora in Slovenia to further his seemingly insurmountable overall WC lead over Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway with just six races to go.
—Brad Keselowski won the Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas on Sunday over Joey Logano, breaking a 33-race winless streak.
–Huge win for the New York Rangers (38-21-6) Friday night at Washington (47-13-4), 3-2, with New York playing without goalie Henrik Lundqvist who was suffering from neck spasms. Washington is easily the best team in the league this year so a terrific ‘character’ win.
Don’t worry, hockey fans. I’m just beginning to gear up for the Stanley Cup playoffs, that’s all. I didn’t mention this but I actually watched the entire Rangers game last Monday where Eric Staal made his debut….a super-thrilling 2-1 win over Columbus.
Let’s Go Ran-gers!
But on Sunday, the Rangers lost a crazy one to the Islanders, 6-4.
Saturday, Washington beat the Bruins (36-23-7) in overtime, 2-1.
–I don’t watch the UFC but have to get down for the record that Nate Diaz upset Conor McGregor in the second round, Saturday, after Miesha Tate won the bantamweight title in finishing off Holly Holm (who had defeated Ronda Roussey in November) in a rear naked choke in the fifth that almost killed Holm, which wouldn’t have done a lot for the sport.
–Legendary tennis writer and broadcaster Bud Collins died. He was 86.
Collins revolutionized sports journalism when he began offering commentary on camera in the early 1960s. In a statement, the U.S. Tennis Association said:
“Bud was larger than life, and his countless contributions to the sport helped to make it the global success that it is today.”
Collins was a long-time writer for the Boston Globe and his first love was baseball. But he began covering tennis for the Boston Herald in the late 1950s and he fell in love with it. In an interview in 2014, Collins recalled:
“I covered a couple of other tournament, but as far as going to Forest Hill for U.S. Championships, no one at the Herald was interested. My appreciation for tennis grew.”
He was hired by the Globe to write a general sports column in 1963 and he was allowed to write about tennis as much as he wanted.
In 1966, the producer for Boston’s Public Broadcasting Service, WGBH, approached Collins to do commentary for live tennis matches and he was off and running.
Collins spent 35 years on NBC, much of it with Dick Enberg in the booth at the All England Club.
Jason Gay / Wall Street Journal
“It’s hard to overstate what Collins meant to tennis. He was both the sport’s most visible advocate but also its preeminent historian, a man known for his on-court interviews with giants like Borg, Ashe, McEnroe, Billie Jean, Evert and Navratilova, but also for a knowledge that preceded the 1970s boom that revolutionized the game. Collins knew everything and everyone, and gave all due respect to the past. He would be quick to remind you that, yes, both Sampras and Federer had seven gentlemen’s singles titles at Wimbledon, but so did William Renshaw…who died in 1904.”
But Jason Gay recalls what a great writer Bud Collins was. In 1974, he wrote about the death of King Rat, an enormous rat who used to prowl the old Boston Garden:
“The King is dead. That is the gloomiest communique from Gloomy Garden, confirming the passing – actually the liquidation – of King Rat, probably the greatest athlete in the seedy platform above North Station. King, a huge, slick, intimidating rodent, spearheaded one of the most aggressive teams in the building’s history – the Garden Ratpack. He had speed, moves and cunning that made Havlicek, Orr, Russell, Esposito, Cousy and Schmidt seem like so many mice.”
Even the revered Globe columnist Bob Ryan had to admit when he himself signed off for a last time, “No one has ever written better columns for this paper than Bud Collins.”
–According to the Associated Press, Rio Olympics organizers say they have reached 74 percent of their actual projected ticket revenue ($194 million), but domestic ticket sales are lagging badly, owing to the economic crisis.
But forget the political chaos, the Zika virus and a Depression, there are some real logistical nightmares remaining. The swimming and cycling venues aren’t ready for scheduled test events in April, and the subway line connecting Copacabana and Ipanema beach areas to the main Olympic Village probably won’t be finished in time.
–Finally, if you catch me watching Steve Harvey’s “Little Big Shots,” just kill me. I’ll leave a note absolving you of any crime. I would deserve it.
Top 3 songs for the week 3/3/84: #1 “Jump” (Van Halen) #2 “99 Luftballons” (Nena…what a piece of garbage…) #3 “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” (Cyndi Lauper…was reading an article today that said this is a ‘must’ for karaoke bars…The next time I hear this one I’m taking out my sword…except Johnny Mac refuses to return it…)…and…#4 “Thriller” (Michael Jackson) #5 “Nobody Told Me” (John Lennon) #6 “Karma Chameleon” (Culture Club…Johnny Mac, send me my freakin’ sword! #7 “Somebody’s Watching Me” (Rockwell…not any more, dude…) #8 “Wrapped Around Your Finger” (The Police) #9 “Let The Music Play” (Shannon) #10 “I Want A New Drug” (Huey Lewis and the News….without my sword I have to stay in this godawful era one more year before heading back to the 60s…)
Baseball Quiz Answers: 1) Three Cy Young Awards….Roger Clemens (7), Randy Johnson (5), Steve Carlton (4), Greg Maddux (4), Clayton Kershaw (3), Sandy Koufax (3), Pedro Martinez (3), Jim Palmer (3), Tom Seaver (3). 2) Two Pirates… Vern (Deacon) Law, 1960. Doug Drabek, 1990.
My Uncle Bill from Greensburg, Pa., used to tell me about Vernon Law but his career with the Pirates was from 1950-67 and I just have faint memories of watching him in ’67. My first real baseball memories were of the 1965 World Series when I was 7, I became a Mets fan in ’66, but don’t have memories of a full season until 1967 when I was nine.
Anyway, in looking back at Law’s career, he was 162-147, though he missed 1952 and ’53 due to military service. I forgot what a great control pitcher he was. 2,672 innings, just 597 walks. I also forgot that in 1965, at age 35, he was 17-9 with a sterling 2.15 ERA.
And Law was a solid hitter for a pitcher, batting .216 for his career, a percentage point better than Mario Mendoza!
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
