[Posted Sunday PM immediately following UNC-ND]
NCAA Basketball Quiz: OK, I admit up front this is a ridiculous quiz unless you are of a certain age, i.e., old like me. But the other day I mentioned that Villanova was one of UCLA’s victims during its great streak, including 1970-71, when the Wildcats lost the NCAA title game to the Bruins, 68-62.
Name the ten players on the “Consensus” All-American team that season. For hoops junkies, all will be familiar, except one.
Four of the players were in the 1971 Final Four.
So you get the initials…1st team: A.G., A.C., D.M., J.M., S.W. 2nd team: C.R., H.P., J.R., J.N., K.D. [this last one is easily the toughest] Answer below.
March Madness
Just a quick recap for the archives, Thursday’s Sweet Sixteen games could not have sucked more:
1 Kansas over 5 Maryland 79-63; 1 Oregon over 4 Duke 82-68; 2 Villanova over 3 Miami 92-69; and 2 Oklahoma over 3 Texas A&M 77-63.
I do have to note that in the Villanova game, the Wildcats shot 62.7% from the field, including 10 of 15 from three, plus 18 of 19 from the foul line. [Mini-shades of 1985 and the national championship game where ‘Nova defeated Georgetown, hitting 22 of 28 from the field, an unequaled .786.]
Friday’s Sweet Sixteen contests were better, particularly the last two.
1 North Carolina whipped 5 Indiana 101-86 behind Marcus Paige’s 21 (6 of 9 from three) and Brice Johnson’s 20 points, 10 rebounds; and 1 Virginia beat 4 Iowa State 84-71.
But then in the nightcaps, 6 Notre Dame scored the last eight points of the game to come from behind and defeat 7 Wisconsin 61-56; Demetrius Jackson with two late steals as the Fighting Irish go to their second straight Elite Eight under Mike Brey.
And the surprise of the tournament, 10 Syracuse, who many said didn’t even deserve a bid (I wouldn’t have given them one), pulled it out over 11 Gonzaga 63-60.
So entering the Elite Eight…the conference standings:
ACC…7 teams in…16-3 W/L…4 left
Big 12…7…8-5…2
Big East…5…6-4…1
Big Ten…7…8-7…1
SEC…3…3-3…0
A-10…3…2-3…0
American Athletic…4…1-4…0
Then Saturday, the two 1-seeds went down.
2 Oklahoma beat 1 Oregon 80-68 behind the great Buddy Hield’s 37 points, which included 8 of 13 from three, while 2 Villanova beat 1 Kansas 64-59, as the Wildcats’ defense totally bottled up Jayhawks star Perry Ellis, holding him to just 4 points on 1 of 5 shooting from the field in his college finale.
I have been one of those doubting Villanova all season and frankly for good reason, as the last two tournaments they flamed out early with squads that on paper had Final Four potential.
This time, though, coach Jay Wright gets the job done in taking ‘Nova to its second Final Four in his long tenure at the school. Saturday night was far from pretty, but his gritty squad prevailed.
As for Kansas, since coach Bill Self guided them to the national title in 2008, it’s been one disappointment after another, often with seemingly the best team in the country, as was the case this year.
Think about it. As Scott Gleeson of USA TODAY Sports pointed out:
“In the last eight years, the Jayhawks have been a No. 1, No. 2, No. 2, No. 1, No. 2, No. 1, No. 1 and No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. And they turned those great regular season resumes into only one Final Four run….
“Self no doubt will have another impressive recruiting class coming in, and Kansas will likely be a preseason top 10 team. But until this program starts excelling in March, its elite status will always have a blemish.”
Back to Oklahoma-Oregon….
Chuck Culpepper / Washington Post
“An art exhibit showed Saturday here before 16,232 patrons. A joyous Bahamian virtuoso on a student visa performed it. Anyone who likes basketball served with beauty and electricity could derive goose bumps from it.
“By the 131st game of his Oklahoma career that will conclude in his Final Four dreamland because of an 80-68 win over Oregon in the West Region final, Buddy Hield had become a rare concoction. He had combined such Type-A preparation, advanced know-how and shooting otherworldliness that even his stomach went calmed. After he anticipated waking up at 5 a.m. with butterflies that told him, ‘It’s going to be real,’ he came to Honda Center and looked like a man who could handle the moment from the get-go.
“He beautified the early part of the first half with three-point shots that looked sure and landed even surer. He served as his usual kinetic force without the ball to reconfigure doomed plays and free up teammates….
“With a near-romp emerging in the region final from an enticing match of two entertaining teams, Oklahoma (29-7) reached its first Final Four since 2002 and fifth overall. It also became the first athletic program to reach both the basketball Final Four and the newfangled football final four in the same calendar year.”
And now Buddy Hield gets the national stage at least one more time next Saturday in Houston. NBA GMs and fan bases are salivating.
–Back to Thursday night’s Duke loss….
Coach K, in keeping with a season that wasn’t exactly the Blue Devils’ best in terms of sportsmanship, was forced to apologize for a real jerk move of his own.
Near the end of the contest, Dillon Brooks, who led Oregon with 22 points, took a long three-pointer in the final seconds as the Duke defense had pulled back, sinking it, and then Duke’s Grayson Allen turned his head when Brooks extended his right hand in congratulations at the end of the game.
Earlier, after Brooks celebrated a three-pointer in front of Duke’s bench in the first half, Coach K appeared to have said something to the Oregon guard.
So in the line after the game ended, Brooks said Coach K chastised him. “He just told me that I’m too good of a player to be showing out at the end. And he’s right. I’ve got to respect Duke.”
Krzyzewski offered his own account after the game.
“Yeah, I just congratulated him. I said, ‘You’re a terrific player.’”
But the tape appeared to show Coach K did call Brooks out.
For his part, Oregon coach Dana Altman said he instructed Brooks to take the shot. Altman then said that the issue was Brooks’ on-court behavior and that “we don’t want our players talking, ever…”
Well, ten years ago the issue would have ended there, but with today’s technology, CBS produced footage that proved Krzyzewski was scolding Brooks.
“You’re too good a player to do that,” he can be heard saying. “You’re too good of a player.”
So on Saturday, Coach K issued a statement apologizing, saying he “reacted incorrectly” to an inquiry about the exchange.
Krzyzewski said he apologized to Dana Altman as well.
“It is not my place to talk to another team’s player and doing so took the focus away from the terrific game that Dillon played.”
Ordinarily, and obviously during the regular season, this wouldn’t be an issue, but it’s in keeping with Duke’s year. Not their best by a long shot.
Nancy Armour / USA TODAY Sports
“Tempting as it is to accept Mike Krzyzewski’s mea culpa and move on, it’s worth remembering why this was even a big deal in the first place.
“Think what you will about Krzyzewski scolding someone else’s player, particularly when one of his own needed a lesson in losing gracefully. It was the Duke coach’s denial of what he said, the willingness to paint a 20-year-old as a liar, that was so disappointing.
“Hypocritical, too.
“Krzyzewski has become college basketball’s moral compass, taking others to task when they fail to meet his standards. But his behavior after Thursday’s loss to Oregon gave the impression that those same rules don’t apply to him; that the respect and integrity he demands of others doesn’t have to be returned….
“It’s just too bad that, on a weekend when the best of college basketball is on display, it was overshadowed by something that was completely avoidable.
“ ‘Making a mountain out of a molehill,’ Virginia coach Tony Bennett said when someone filled him in Saturday.
“That’s on Coach K, no one else.
“Coaches reprimand players all the time. Usually their own, but sometimes others. It’s not a big deal, so long as they own it….
“Had Krzyzewski said Thursday night that he thinks Brooks is a fantastic player and he didn’t want his talent to be diminished by showboating, no one would have raised an eyebrow….
“(But) by lying, and forcing Brooks to defend himself that night and the next day, Krzyzewski was selfish and mean-spirited. There’s no place in the game for behavior like that by anyone, let alone a Hall of Fame coach.
“In other words, you’re too good a coach for that, Coach K.”
–Meanwhile, on Sunday, 10 Syracuse and Jim Boeheim pulled off a mammoth upset in beating 1 Virginia 68-62, after being down 54-39 with about 9:30 left in the game.
Malachi Richardson had 21 of his 23 points in the second half and, frankly, UVA crumpled like a cheap suit. Coach Tony Bennett is rapidly approaching Bill Self territory.
So Syracuse becomes just the fourth double-digit seed to advance to the Final Four in a remarkable achievement.
And in the nightcap…Notre Dame was down 51-40 early in the second half, came back to take a 52-51 lead with a 12-0 run, but then ran out of gas as the Tar Heels became the only 1-seed to make it to Houston, 88-74, thus setting up what is a fascinating Final Four, with what seems a virtual certainty to be a solid title game on April 4.
–In other hoops news….
Georgia Tech fired coach Brian Gregory after four years and a 76-86 record, including 27-61 in the ACC.
Stanford hired Jerod Haase, formerly of UAB, as its new coach after firing Johnny Dawkins. Haase took the Blazers to the NCAA tournament last year and the NIT this season.
–As for those stupid “Always Reppin’” t-shirts that a lot of the teams in the NCAA tournament seem to be wearing, I had no idea what it was about until reading Karen Crouse’s column in the New York Times. It’s for all the Nike-sponsored teams. Yeah, I’ve seen the commercials, but I’ve been more focused on Syria and didn’t put two and two together in terms of sports garb.
But what do the players think?
Caid Kirven, a senior forward for Virginia, which is sponsored by Nike, told Ms. Crouse: “I’m always a fan of getting new stuff. But, yeah, it is one of those things because we get them and they’re awesome and we’re really excited and then we turn on the T.V. and everyone is wearing them and it’s like, Oh, man.”
Buddy Hield lives by a different motto, one not found on any NCAA tournament t-shirt.
“My mom always taught us to share,” he told Crouse. “She said, ‘What’s yours is mine, what’s mine is yours.’”
–Finally, in the Women’s tournament….
4 Syracuse will be playing 7 Washington in one of the Final Four matchups, while the other will be decided on Monday…1 UConn vs. 2 Texas and 1 Baylor vs. 2 Oregon State.
Personally, owning some Beaverwear, I have to go with the Lady Beavers against Baylor.
NBA
–In between the two NCAA games Saturday night, I was flipping to the Knicks-Cavs game at the Garden (Knicks losing 107-93) and the fraternization* taking place between LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony was pathetic. When Anthony missed a shot or did something stupid, he would shoot a glance at LeBron and smile.
*James’ fraternization with Dwyane Wade at halftime of the Cavs-Heat game last Saturday was equally despicable.
LeBron’s latest attention grabber, for no reason at all, was to tell Bleacher Report of the bond between himself, Anthony, Wade and Chris Paul.
“At least one, maybe one or two seasons – me, Melo, D-Wade, CP – we can get a year in. I would actually take a pay cut to do that.
“It would be pretty cool. I’ve definitely had thoughts about it… We’ll see.”
Oh brother. LeBron has really morphed into a mega-jerk. I just know Cavs fans are thrilled.
Here’s hoping the Raptors (or Celts) kick the Cavs’ butts in the Eastern Conference finals.
Actually the Hawks have suddenly been playing much better.
–But of course the story in the NBA this season is still 1 Golden State and 1A San Antonio.
So Saturday night, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich pulled another one, resting Tim Duncan, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili against the Thunder. Imagine how ticked you would have been in OKC to have purchased a ticket to this one long ago.
The Thunder of course rolled, 111-92, but Pops knows the Spurs aren’t catching the Warriors, and after San Antonio beat Memphis on Friday to go 37-0 at home, Popovich did what he always does in these situations. It’s about the playoffs and being rested.
–I do have to note a kind of bizarre stat line from Saturday night. As the 76ers were falling to the Trail Blazers in Portland, 108-105, former Wake guard Ish Smith had quite an evening in defeat…17 points, 14 rebounds (career high) and 9 assists. 14 rebounds!
–The NBA is closely following any further developments in the North Carolina legislature after the adoption of House Bill 2, which, bottom line, offers no legal protections for gays and lesbians in the state. The 2017 All-Star Game is scheduled for Charlotte.
–Lastly, after the Warriors defeated the 76ers (9-65) on Sunday in Oakland, 117-105….
Golden State 66-7 (35-0 at home)
San Antonio 61-12 (37-0 at home)
MLB
–There really has been little to write about during spring training. But I was reading a piece by Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times and it seems clear that the Angels have the worst farm system in baseball.
“Awful,” said one scout.
Which means that when the inevitable injuries pop up, the Angels are hosed. Ergo, don’t bet any money on these guys.
–Bad news if you’re a Milwaukee Brewers fan. Reliever Will Smith, who was 7-2 with a 2.70 ERA in 76 appearances last season, tore a ligament in his right knee taking his spikes off after a game.
“I pulled hard (on the shoe) and it stayed on,” he said. “My knee just went up and popped.”
He’s going to be out a long time.
–Success breeds ticket sales. After going to the World Series, the Mets have registered a season ticket sales increase of 100 percent over this time last year, team executives told the New York Post. Single-ticket sales are up 23 percent.
—Alex Rodriguez was really on his best behavior last season; just grateful to be playing and reasonably healthy, while not seeking the limelight. No acting up.
So then the other day, the old A-Rod popped up as, for zero reason, he said he would retire after the end of the 2017 season, which is when his contract expires, and also when he’ll be 42 years old!
As in this isn’t a story in the least, but it’s A-Roid and he just felt he needed to fill the void.
But then he said, no, he really wasn’t thinking of retiring, and then he said, yes, he was. And here I am writing about it because he is, A-Rod.
It will nonetheless be interesting to see how much game Rodriguez has left. He hit 33 home runs last year and drove in 86, playing in 151 games, but as Tyler Kepner of the New York Times points out, he only hit .187 from Aug. 1 through the Yankees’ wild-card loss.
—Sports Illustrated released its predictions for the 2016 season…the Astros over the Cubs…with the AL Championship Series being Astros over Royals, and in the NL the Cubs prevailing over the Dodgers.
Others in the playoffs…Rangers, Red Sox and Blue Jays; Giants, Cardinals and the Mets.
I’m going with the Mets to take it all, of course, though I’m guessing they get off to a lackluster start, like 12-11, before turning it on for a 98-win season.
The Mets will defeat Toronto in the Series.
The Yankees will finish a very dull 84-78. In these parts it will be Metsies, Metsies, Metsies…24/7.
–Lastly, we note the passing of Joe Garagiola, the former catcher, broadcaster and television personality, who died on Wednesday at the age of 90.
Richard Goldstein / New York Times
“Garagiola was propelled from the catcher’s box into the broadcast booth largely by his crowd-pleasing appearance before a United States Senate subcommittee on monopoly practices in April 1954. At the time, he was playing for the Chicago Cubs.
“The committee chairman, Senator Edwin Johnson of Colorado, had sponsored a bill to make corporate ownership of baseball teams illegal and was targeting one of Garagiola’s former teams, the St. Louis Cardinals, who were owned by the Anheuser-Busch brewery.
“Garagiola, who was near the end of his playing career, had been looking for a radio job in St. Louis. Because the advertising agency working on his behalf also represented the brewery, Johnson suggested that the Cardinals were guilty of ‘tampering’ by improperly trying to lure him from the Cubs.
“ ‘Senator, how can you tamper with a .250 hitter?’ Garagiola said.”
His testimony earned him a broadcasting job with the Cardinals, after which he went on to a long career with NBC, first with the “Game of the Week,” and a pregame show, “The Baseball World of Joe Garagiola,” and later as a host of the “Today” show, as well as various game shows.
He was also a broadcaster for the Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks, and was inducted into the broadcasters’ wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.
Joseph Henry Garagiola was born in St. Louis on Feb. 12, 1926, raised on the Hill, the Italian working-class neighborhood where he would become best friends with a kid who lived across the street, Yogi Berra. It’s kind of ironic they both died within months of each other.
Garagiola came up to the Cardinals (while Berra was working his way through the Yankees’ farm system) in 1946, and while he talked about what a poor ballplayer he was, he was a solid backup catcher, hitting .257 in his career, including a year in Pittsburgh where he was as close to being an everyday player as he ever was, 1952, when he hit .273 with 8 home runs and 54 RBI.
He also hit .316 in the 1946 World Series as St. Louis defeated the Red Sox in seven, getting four hits in Game 4.
Back to his friendship with Berra, Yogi said that he came up with one of his better-known pronouncements, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it,” while giving Garagiola directions to his home in Montclair, N.J. There really was a fork near his house, and the roadways it split into both wound up at the Berra home, so the story goes. [19 Highland Ave., if you want to Google Map it…I think I know which fork he is referring to. Many of these homes have back entrances, if I recall from last time I was on the street.]
I have to be honest. I was not a fan of Garagiola. But from humble beginnings, both he and Yogi wove quite remarkable stories.
NFL
Owners wrapped up their annual meetings Wednesday, after I went to post, approving two rule changes that had drawn heavy protests from coaches.
For 2016 only, players will be subject to automatic ejection if they commit two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the same game. The league is also moving the ball spot on touchbacks after kickoffs to the 25-yard line, a further move to limit the number of returns which the league maintains is the most dangerous play.
Separately, the chop block has been entirely outlawed from NFL games, and the move to snap extra point attempts from the 15-yard line is now permanent.
As for the two unsportsmanlike penalties expulsion, many coaches are concerned opponents will goad players into committing infractions that qualify for ejection.
Regarding the rule on touchbacks, some coaches suggest this will lead to more returns as kickers try to drop the ball close to the goal line and require a return. This will be interesting.
[The rule does not apply to punts or turnovers in the end zone, where the football will still be placed at the 20-yard line for touchbacks on those plays.]
For example, while he is likely to be cut, Jets kicker Nick Folk had touchbacks on only 33.3% of his kicks before his season-ending injury, but last season the Jets’ opponents’ average starting position after kickoff returns was the 21.1-yard line, according to Stats, LLC.
The Colts, meanwhile, forced touchbacks on 87% of their kickoffs, but this season that would mean the 25-, not 20-yard line. Hmmm.
I was listening to WFAN’s Mike Francesa the other day and I kind of agree with him that we are rapidly heading towards a day when there will be no kick or punt returns, period. The kickoff will just automatically be placed at the 25, while on a punt play, the only thing that happens is the returner either catches it or lets it roll (which makes the punter himself even more valuable). I’m guessing fans would quickly get used to both.
–Cleveland signed Robert Griffin III. I don’t see this working out real well.
—Kevin Turner, who played eight seasons at fullback in the NFL with New England and Philadelphia, died the other day at the age of 46 from ALS – Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Turner was diagnosed with it in 2010 and believed his condition was the direct result of his football career and he had become a lead plaintiff in the concussion lawsuit brought by former players in the NFL.
Soccer / Football News
–Good lord…the U.S. national soccer team lost to Guatemala in a World Cup qualifier on Friday night, 2-0, in Guatemala City. Guatemala had lost 21 straight to the Americans.
Midway through the group schedule, the Americans (1-1-1, four points) sit behind Trinidad and Tobago (2-0-1, seven) and Guatemala (2-1-0, six). St. Vincent and the Grenadines (0-3-0, no points) is last. Two teams will advance to the next stage.
We’re in deep s—, sports fans! The U.S. meets Guatemala again on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio, and if we don’t win that, it’s ballgame over.
—No Premier League action this weekend, but in a ‘friendly,’ England’s national team came back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to defeat defending World Cup champion Germany 3-2, as the new, young, face of English football is taking over from the Wayne Rooney era types.
Tottenham’s Harry Kane (22), Dele Alli (19) and Eric Dier (22) all played critical roles, with Kane and Dier scoring, along with Leicester City’s star, Jamie Vardy (29).
England’s fans should be pumped for 2018.
On a gloomy note, in terms of this summer’s European Championship, to be held in France, it’s possible the games could be played in empty stadiums, depending on the terror threat.
–And we note the passing of Dutch soccer legend Johan Cruyff of cancer at the age of 68.
In a glittering career, first as player and then manager, Cruyff became identified with two of the most storied clubs in Europe, Ajax Amsterdam and FC Barcelona. He rose to fame with the Dutch club in the early 1970s before moving over to Barcelona; later managing both teams as well.
Cruyff was considered the greatest former player never to win the World Cup, though, as the leader of the brilliant Netherlands’ team of the ‘70s.
In Cruyff’s brand of soccer known as “Total Football,” all 10 outfield players attacked, constantly switching positions. Plus he gave us the “Cruyff turn.”
Cruyff led Barcelona to four straight league titles in the early 1990s.
But his biggest disappointment had to be the 1974 World Cup final between the Netherlands and West Germany in Munich, with the Oranje falling short 2-1.
Golf Balls
Jason Day won his second straight event, the WGC Dell Match Play tournament in Austin, TX, at the Austin Country Club.
First off, I’m not normally into this one, but with nothing else on all Saturday until the hoops in the evening, it was great fun. Plus I thought the new venue in Austin was terrific, at least visually, and offered all manner of risk-reward shots that are perfect for this format.
But how ‘bout Jason Day, who upped his PGA Tour win title to nine as we head to The Masters in two weeks…a tradition unlike any other…on CBS.
Day bested Rory McIlroy in the semis Sunday morning and then defeated Louis Oosthuizen in the finals.
Rory got what he needed heading to Augusta, while Jordan Spieth flamed out on Saturday with major swing issues. No telling what Spieth we’ll see in two weeks.
Meanwhile, with the Match Play tournament being a limited field event, there was a regular tour title on the line in Puerto Rico and Tony Finau picked up his first win in a playoff with Steve Marino. [Kind of a shock to moi because I thought Finau was playing like crap after a strong 2015.]
Back to Austin, I just have to hand it to Michael Dell, whose company sponsored the tournament.
I always liked the guy. I’ve had a ton of Dell computers over the years and been largely satisfied.
It’s just that the guy caught a lot of s— from Wall Street for perhaps not adapting to change quickly enough, but it would seem Dell is doing just fine these days and I’m happy for a man who pulled off one of the great American success stories.
Stuff
–In college hockey’s Frozen Four, to be played April 7-9 in Tampa, Fla., it will be North Dakota vs. Denver and Boston College vs. Quinnipiac.
–We note the passing of the great comedian, Garry Shandling, who died apparently of a heart attack at the age of 66 (though as I go to post, his doctor isn’t ready to sign off on the cause of death as yet).
The Chicago-born Shandling (who was raised in Tucson, Arizona) was a true pioneer, one of the first real cable TV stars with HBO’s “The Larry Sanders Show”.
Scott Collins / Los Angeles Times
“Shandling was among a generation of comics who helped revolutionize TV comedy by casting aside the setup-punchline mechanics of the traditional network sitcom and exploring characterization more deeply. Like his contemporary David Letterman, Shandling had little patience for show business conventions, which he found worthy of ridicule. Unlike Letterman, he never earned the brass ring of his own network talk show, even though he was a frequent guest host on ‘The Tonight Show’ and was at one time, along with Letterman and Joan Rivers, a leading contender to replace Johnny Carson, who retired in 1992. That job ultimately went to Jay Leno.
“Instead, Shandling reached his greatest career pinnacle as Larry Sanders, a host of a fictional talk show who was caught in an awkward, passive-aggressive dance with everyone in his sphere, including his on-air sidekick Hank ‘Hey Now’ Kingsley (Jeffrey Tambor). ‘Larry Sanders,’ which aired on HBO from 1992 to 1998, pushed the boundaries by featuring real celebrities in sometimes less-than-flattering cameos (often discussing real projects), having Shandling directly address the audience and refer not-so-subtly to his own problems and – especially controversial at the time – doing away with a laugh track.”
“Garry Shandling was as kind and generous as he was funny and that is saying a lot,” Jimmy Kimmel tweeted. Albert Brooks wrote: “Brilliantly funny and such a great guy. He will be so missed.”
Rip Torn, who costarred as Sanders’ blustery producer, Artie, said: “Working with him was one of the great privileges of my career.”
HBO said in a statement: “Garry ushered in the modern period of original programming at HBO with his brilliant masterpiece, ‘The Larry Sanders Show.’ All of us at HBO have a special place in our hearts for him not only for his enormous talent but for his kindness and decency. We will miss him terribly.”
After “Larry Sanders” wrapped up, Shandling was in demand as an emcee, hosting the Emmys in 2000 and 2004, but his attempt to break out in movies fizzled. And he had a very nasty falling out with his onetime manager, Brad Grey, now the chief of Paramount Pictures. [Think Anthony Pellicano and his trial for wiretapping and conspiracy. Grey denied Shandling’s charge he was the target of a “smear campaign” directed by Grey and Pellicano.]
Shandling had a tragic childhood. His older brother, Barry, died of cystic fibrosis at age 10. Garry would later move to Los Angeles in the early 1970s to pursue a career in comedy writing and landed staff jobs on sitcoms like “Sanford and Son” and “Welcome Back, Kotter.”
After a serious car accident in Beverly Hills when he was 27, Shandling opted to focus on building a career as a stand-up comedian and in 1981, he booked a spot on “The Tonight Show,” becoming one of Carson’s favorites, including as permanent guest host.
I remember these times vividly. Jason Lynch / Adweek
“Garry Shandling provided HBO with its first great series, The Larry Sanders Show, and set HBO on its top-shelf series path, which eventually led to shows like The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Deadwood and The Wire….
“(He) single-handedly turned cable series from also-rans into programs that were every bit as good as (and in the case of Larry Sanders, far superior to) anything else on TV. Before him, cable shows had to content themselves with vying for CableACE Awards. But by the end of Larry Sanders’ run, cable series were going home with Emmys….
“(The Larry Sanders Show) was one of the greatest shows of all time, its peerless cast included Rip Torn and Jeffrey Tambor as well as Sarah Silverman, Janeane Garofalo, Penny Johnson Jerald and Jeremy Piven….
“Every showbiz satire that followed – including The Comeback, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage – owes a debt of gratitude to Larry Sanders.”
Recently, Shandling joined Jerry Seinfeld on his Web series “Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee” in an episode with the eerily foreboding title,’ “It’s Great That Garry Shandling Is Still Alive.”
Shandling mentions he had a hyperparathyroid gland that was undiagnosed because, as Shandling put it, “the symptoms mirror the exact same symptoms an older Jewish man would have. Which is, you know, lethargic, you get puffy, you get heavy, you kind of feel like you want a divorce but you’re thinking you’re not married.”
The pair also chatted about death, particularly those of David Brenner and Robin Williams.
Shandling said: “What I want at my funeral is an actual boxing referee to do a count. And at 5 just wave it off and say, ‘He’s not getting up.’” [Scott Collins / L.A. Times]
Shandling never married and appeared to have no close survivors.
–And we note the passing of actor and union president Ken Howard. He was 71.
Howard was a Tony- and Emmy-winning actor who in recent years was known as championing the merger of Hollywood’s two largest actors’ unions, SAG-AFTRA.
He was first elected as union president in 2009 on a campaign to combine the Screen Actors Guild with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which occurred in 2012.
Howard was credited by his supporters, including Tom Hanks and George Clooney, with bringing stability and unity to a once deeply divided union.
Ken Howard was born in El Centro, Calif., on March 28, 1944, and grew up mostly on Long Island. After attending Amherst College and Yale School of Drama, he joined the cast of Neil Simon’s “Promises, Promises” on Broadway. He won a Tony for his performance in “Child’s Play” in 1970. That caught the eye of Otto Preminger, who cast Howard opposite Liza Minnelli in the film “Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon.”
But some of us will forever remember Ken Howard for his CBS show “The White Shadow,” which lasted three seasons before ending in 1981. The 6-foot-6 Howard found his most iconic role as a former pro basketball player turned inner-city high school coach. Loved this one.
In a statement, George Clooney recalled how he was a struggling young actor when he first met Howard in 1983. Clooney wasn’t going to be able to get from one studio lot to another in time to make an audition. Howard put Clooney’s bicycle in the trunk of his car and gave the actor, whom he did not know, a ride across town.
“Today his obituary read that he was six foot six, but he was so much taller than that,” said Clooney.
–Another horse to keep in mind for the Kentucky Derby… Gun Runner…who looked impressive in Saturday’s Louisiana Derby (having just watched the tape). He is not running again until May 7. Frankly, love the name. I imagine many out there hate it.
–Johnny Mac alerted me to a tragic crash on I-95 in central Florida the other day. Two trucks, one carrying Busch beer and the other Frito Lay chips, collided, spilling the cargo of both.
However, neither driver was seriously injured.
—The Rolling Stones became the biggest mainstream rock act since the 1959 revolution to play Cuba on Friday night before a crowd in the hundreds of thousands.
“Havana, Cuba, and the Rolling Stones!” Jagger cried. “This is amazing! It’s really good to be here! It’s good to see you guys!”
The Stones played 18 of their classics. A 62-year-old night watchman told the AP, “After today I can die. This is like my last wish, seeing the Rolling Stones.”
This could have more of a positive impact on the island than President Obama’s visit, in actuality.
[The crowd should have marched on the presidential palace after the show and crushed the regime, like the March of the Wooden Soldiers in Babes in Toyland, 1934 version.]
Top 3 songs for the week 3/25/67: #1 “Happy Together” (The Turtles) #2 “Dedicated To The One I Love” (The Mamas & The Papas) #3 “Penny Lane” (The Beatles)…and…#4 “There’s A Kind of Hush” (Herman’s Hermits) #5 “Baby I Need Your Lovin’” (Johnny Rivers) #6 “Sock It To Me-Baby!” (Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels) #7 “For What It’s Worth” (The Buffalo Springfield…love this one…talk about a song fitting the time…this has to be Top Ten in that regard…) #8 “My Cup Runneth Over” (Ed Ames…had to YouTube this…what a great tune…from the Broadway musical “I Do. I Do” with Mary Martin and Robert Preston…or as Ronald Reagan was saying from Sacramento, having been sworn in about three months earlier, “Not bad…not bad at all”…) #9 “Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone” (The Supremes…I think this is my favorite of theirs…was #1 two weeks earlier…then “Penny Lane” for one week before “Happy Together”…but wait, there’s more!) #10 “Ruby Tuesday” (The Rolling Stones…this was #1 three weeks before…replacing The Buckinghams’ “Kind of a Drag”…I mean what an awesome stretch…)
Ken P. has joined Jim D. in telling me to stay away from the ‘80s. “It’s too depressing to close out the column that way.”
The editorial board at Bar Chat is taking this under advisement.
NCAA Basketball Quiz Answer: 1970-71 All-American teams.
1st: Artis Gilmore (Jacksonville), Austin Carr (Notre Dame), Dean Meminger (Marquette), Jim McDaniel (Western Kentucky), Sidney Wicks (UCLA).
2nd: Curtis Rowe (UCLA), Howard Porter (Villanova), John Roche (South Carolina), Johnny Neumann (Mississippi), Ken Durrett (LaSalle…no way I get him, but I sure remember the guy)
I promise next quiz will be from a far more recent vintage as we close out the CBB season.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
