[Posted Sun. p.m.]
Chicago Cubs Quiz: [Pitching] 1) Who is the only pitcher to win 200 games in a Cubs uniform? 2) Post-1900, who is the single-season leader in strikeouts? 3) Who is the single-season leader in saves? Answers below.
NBA Playoffs
–After posting last Wednesday, the Raptors took a 3-2 series lead over the Heat, 99-91 in Toronto, as DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry came up big, combining for 59, DeRozan with 34.
Friday, the Heat then evened it up in Miami, 103-91, as Goran Dragic scored a postseason-high 30 points, while Lowry had 36 for the Raptors in defeat.
So we went back to Toronto and its rabid fans on Sunday for Game 7. The Raptors rolled 116-89, outscoring the Heat 30-11 in the fourth. DeRozan and Lowry combined for 63, Lowry with 35.
Toronto advances to the conference final for the first time in franchise history.
–The San Antonio Spurs won the first game of their series with Oklahoma City by 32 points. The matchup NBA fans have been waiting for, with Golden State, was clearly in the bag. Until it wasn’t.
Down 3-2 and hoping to bring the series back to San Antonio for a Game 7, the Spurs went to OKC and started out solidly, taking a 19-13 lead as Tim Duncan quickly got into the flow, scoring 8 points. But then they took him out for his first rest and the Thunder went on a 12-0 run and never looked back. It was 55-31 at the half, the Spurs shooting just 31% from the field (14 of 45), and they cruised, save for a little Spurs run late, 113-99.
So will Duncan and Manu Ginobili return? San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said the day after the Spurs were eliminated, “I really don’t know what they’re going to do. But when they do decide to move on, sometime between now and the next five years – that’s a little bit of a joke – it will feel a little differently walking into the gym.”
Both Duncan, 40, and Ginobili, 38, have player options on the two-year contracts they signed last summer, but as for Timmy D., he said he would “get to that after I get out of here and figure life out.”
Duncan has been around for the Spurs’ five titles in his 19 seasons; Ginobili has been a part of four of them.
Harvey Araton / New York Times
“As Tim Duncan’s erstwhile mentor, and a devoted friend and fan, Dave Odom had no idea if the stunning conclusion of the San Antonio Spurs’ season Thursday night also meant the termination of Duncan’s quietly magnificent 19-year career.
“ ‘I never hear him comment on that,’ said Odom, who first saw Duncan play on an outdoor court overlooking the Caribbean in St. Croix, then recruited him and coached him for four years at Wake Forest. ‘He’s saying, ‘Don’t ask me that. It’s none of your business. I’ll let you know.’
“In a telephone interview from his home in North Carolina, Odom paused and drew the most obvious NBA contrast: ‘Kobe Bryant’s farewell was fine, but that would never be Tim’s way.’
“The 60-points-on-50-shots, self-glorification way, he meant. Duncan went down with the Spurs, a 67-win regular-season team that, under adrenaline-heightened playoff circumstances in Oklahoma City, wasn’t athletic enough, particularly in the legs….
“Duncan was made out to be a shell of his all-timer self for the first five games, but he was on the floor in Game 6, scoring 19 points, setting those familiar sturdy high screens, clogging the lane on defense, for the Spurs’ only competitive periods in the first and final quarters.
“He graciously congratulated the Thunder for moving on to face the Golden State Warriors in the conference finals and walked off with an index finger raised – for Duncan, as demonstrative as it gets….
“ ‘Here, in my opinion, is the essence of Tim,’ Odom said Thursday afternoon, a few minutes after texting Duncan his best wishes for Game 6. ‘He was never afraid to win, nor was he ever afraid to lose.’
“Not the sexiest pitch in the history of NBA marketing. But if Duncan does retire, he will surely be appreciated and feted for the purity of his game, the commitment to his team – adult qualities more important to the sport than most people may think, though not easily quantified by television ratings and jersey sales….
“His skills and approach were reminiscent of a young Bill Walton, bank shot included, only far less flamboyant. In a telephone interview, Walton said: ‘I don’t get into positions. Tim Duncan has been like Oscar Robertson, like every other great player. He’s done everything for his team.’
“For the sake of injecting some much-needed fervor into a possible farewell, the verbally unrestrained Walton was our man.
“ ‘He personifies what’s good about the NBA and has been the epitome of everything I believe in basketball and life – and I don’t separate the two,’ he said.”
–Last time I mentioned how Kevin Durant would be rather foolish to leave OKC after the season as he is a free agent. I said he could make $227 million over the next six seasons vs. $110 million over the next four and if you were wondering how this works, the way he gets to $227 million is he signs a one-year deal this summer for $25.9 million with a team option in the second season, then opts out a year later to maximize the league-instituted advantages that only the Thunder possess.
This would lead to a $201 million contract the summer of 2017. It’s a little complicated, but has to do with the salary cap moving from $69 million this season to $107 million in the summer of 2017 owing to the NBA’s nine-year, $24 billion TV rights deal with ESPN and Turner. It also has to do with players being able to sign max deals that occupy 35% of the team’s salary cap and so on.
–On Wednesday, four-time NBA MVP LeBron James said Stephen Curry “deserved” to win the league’s first unanimous MVP. But then LeBron added that the word “valuable” was open to interpretation.
“Look at Steph’s numbers,” James said. “He averaged 30, he led the league in steals, he was 90-50-40 [shooting percentages from the free throw line, field and three-pointers], and they won 73 [games]. So, I don’t, do you have any debate over that, really, when it comes to that award?
“But when you talk about most ‘valuable’ then you can have a different conversation, so, take nothing away from him, he’s definitely deserving of that award, for sure.”
James seems to be saying he has taken the Cavaliers to three straight Eastern Conference finals despite not having as much talent around him as Curry.
Upon hearing of LeBron’s comments on him winning the MVP award unanimously, Curry said, “I’ve gotten really good at ignoring people…that is the theme of the last two years. I’m all right.”
LeBron continues to cement his position as a major “Jerk of the Year” candidate. [I really hope the Raptors now beat the Cavs. I won’t miss much of this series.]
Wednesday, Klay Thompson (33) and Curry (29) combined for 62 points as the Warriors closed out the Trail Blazers, 125-121 in Oakland for the 4-1 series win. Portland fans, though, should be fired up over their future, starting with the second-best backcourt in the game…Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.
Game 1, OKC at Golden State, is Monday.
Ball Bits
–After posting Wednesday morning, there sure were some big moments Wednesday night in baseball.
Washington’s Max Scherzer became just the fourth pitcher in history to strike out 20 in a nine-inning game as the Nats defeated the Tigers and former teammate Jordan Zimmermann 3-2; Zimmermann falling to 5-2, 1.50 ERA.
Scherzer allowed 2 runs on 6 hits, but had no walks with his 20 Ks to move to 4-2, 4.15. Of 119 pitches, 96 were for strikes. According to baseball-reference.com, no pitcher in history has thrown so many strikes in so few pitches. The previous “record,” if you want to call it that, was Roy Oswalt, who needed 125 pitches to throw 98 strikes in a shutout while he was pitching for Houston
Scherzer’s previous career high was 17, but in reaching 20 he tied the record held by Roger Clemens (twice), Kerry Wood and Randy Johnson.
Incidentally, after I mentioned last time that some were clamoring for Daniel Murphy to be inserted into the cleanup spot over Ryan Zimmerman, Murphy batted fourth and was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI.
–Also on Wednesday, the Mets’ Noah Syndergaard made some history of his own. Syndergaard, aka “Thor,” homered twice and drove in all four runs, while pitching eight strong innings as the Mets defeated the Dodgers in L.A. 4-3.
I mean to tell ya, both homers were shots…one to right-center, the other to left-center.
“Holy mackerel, two home runs by Syndergaard,” Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully said. “I should say, he is Thor.”
Syndergaard became only the second Mets pitcher to ever homer twice in a game, joining Walt Terrell, who accomplished the feat on Aug. 6, 1983, at Wrigley Field. He actually came up to bat with the bases loaded in the sixth and a chance to become only the second pitcher in major-league history to homer three times in a game, matching Jim Tobin’s feat in 1942 for the Boston Braves against the Cubs. But Thor, after ripping the first two pitches down the line, foul, struck out swinging. Syndergaard also fanned in the eighth.
–Thursday, Clayton Kershaw shut out the Mets, 5-0, allowing just three hits while striking out 13 to move to 5-1, 1.74.
Kershaw has 77 strikeouts and just 4 walks in 62 innings. Phenomenal ratio. The record is 11.625 held, surprisingly, by Phil Hughes, 2014 with Minnesota, when he struck out 186 while walking just 16. So this will be interestingly to follow the rest of the year with Clayton.
–Back to the Mets, the “Dark Knight,” Matt Harvey is officially ‘lost.’ After yielding 5 runs and 11 hits in 5 2/3 to the Rockies in Colorado on Friday, the Mets losing 5-2, Harvey dropped to 3-5, 4.93. We continue to hear he isn’t injured, and Harvey himself said after the game he feels fine, he just doesn’t have a clue on the mound.
Then Saturday, the Mets were potentially robbed of the game on an absolutely atrocious missed third-strike call. With the Rockies leading 3-1 in the bottom of the third, Mets pitcher Logan Verrett was about to get out of a jam to keep the Mets in the game when rookie home plate umpire Carlos Torres missed a critical strikeout. Colorado catcher Tony Wolters struck out on a breaking ball, but Torres insisted it was a foul ball. Replays show Wolters didn’t come within a foot of fouling it off! One of the worst calls I’ve ever seen. Wolters himself knew that he was struck out as he immediately headed for the dugout. Given new life he doubled in two runs and Colorado went on to win 7-4. Mets manager Terry Collins was ejected arguing the call.
Then Sunday the Mets got totally screwed on another critical call as they lost 4-3 to finish their 11-game west coast swing a depressing 4-7. This particular umpiring team better not show its face in New York anytime soon. Even I’m ready to take them out. [Just kidding, FBI!]
–Up next for the now 21-16 Mets, Washington (23-15). This will be interesting…the first of 19 games between the two.
Saturday, the Nats’ Stephen Strasburg went to 6-0, 2.95, with six innings of 3-run ball as the Nats beat the Marlins 6-4.d
Sunday, Miami’s Jose Fernandez beat the Nats 5-1. Daniel Murphy was given a day off, though was 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter, and now sits at .400.
–Thursday, Chase Headley, the immensely overpaid ($13m per) third baseman for the Yankees hit his first home run of the year in his 90th at bat; his first extra-base hit! It was his first home run in 170 ABs going back to last year as well…this from a guy who is supposed to be a power hitter.
But I was watching the game when Headley homered (Mets were on the west coast…the only reason why I’d be watching the Yankees) and they mentioned it was the longest extra-base hit drought for a Yankee since Horace Clarke in 1968, so I had to look it up.
Get this. In ’68, Clarke ended up with 6 doubles, 1 triple and 2 home runs in 579 ABs! Good lord, that blows! He had a slugging percentage that season of .254.
To be fair, I then looked up Bud Harrelson, the Mets’ shortstop in ’68, and his slugging percentage was .251 in 402 ABs, but he had 7 doubles and 3 triples.
Back to Headley, he homered again on Friday, off the White Sox’ Chris Sale, no less, but it was the only run Sale gave up as he tossed a complete game (Chicago winning 7-1), walking none, fanning six, in moving to a fantastic 8-0, 1.67! This 27-year-old lefty has been very good thus far in his career, but he is taking his star turn in 2016 for sure.
For the Yankees on Friday, Luis Severino was shelled for 7 runs in 2 2/3, Severino now 0-6, 7.46! He was then placed on the DL with a sore arm.
It was better on Saturday as the Yanks won 2-1, unveiling their three-headed bullpen monster for the first time. After Ivan Nova had thrown a solid 5 2/3 of one-run ball, Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman combined for 3 1/3 of one-hit ball, striking out 8.
Sunday the Yanks won again, 7-5, with Betances getting the win, though he stumbled, while Miller and Chapman closed it out.
–The Red Sox received a great pitching performance from David Price on Thursday as Boston defeated Houston 11-1. Price fanned 12 in 6 2/3 in advancing to 5-1, but with a 6.00 ERA after signing his monster contract. Something called run support.
Saturday, the Big Needle, David Ortiz, doubled, tripled and homered as the Sox beat the Astros, 6-5, in 11 innings, the first time Ortiz had done all three in the same game. The homer, his 513th, pushed him past Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews for sole possession of 22nd on the all-time list. The triple tied the game at five with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and the double, which won it in the 11th, made him the third player in MLB history to hit 500 home runs and 600 doubles. (The other two? Henry Aaron and Barry Bonds.)
So why is Ortiz retiring? He is batting .320 with 10 homers and 33 RBI for the season.
–Back in the N.L., the Cubs beat the Pirates 8-2 on Saturday behind Jake Arrieta, who continued his phenomenal stretch with 8 innings of 2-run ball, striking out 11, to move to 7-0, 1.29 ERA.
Arrieta is 18-0 in his last 20 regular-season starts since Aug. 1 with a 0.75 ERA! The Cubs have won his last 21 regular-season starts.
–Major League Baseball suspended Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes 51 games, through May 31, the second player to be punished under baseball’s new domestic violence policy. Reyes accepted the penalty and won’t appeal. The penalty stemmed from an alleged altercation with his wife at a Hawaii resort in October.
The four-time All-Star will lose $6.25 million of his $22 million salary.
The Yankees’ Aroldis Chapman joined the team last week after serving a 30-game penalty for domestic violence, though Chapman wasn’t formally charged. In Reyes’ case, Hawaii prosecutors dropped charges before the trial date and said his wife was not cooperating.
Of course Colorado now has Trevor Story at short and it’s still not clear whether the Rockies will just release Reyes or try to trade him…though I’m not sure who would take him and at what cost.
–12 years after he was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, and seven months after he was released from prison, the Texas Rangers promoted hard-throwing reliever Matt Bush.
Bush signed a minor league deal with the Rangers in December after completing a 39-month prison term in October for a drunken-driving accident in Florida that left a man seriously injured.
Last December, Bush said he had been sober since the March 2012 accident after years of alcohol problems.
Bush was drafted No. 1 as a shortstop by his hometown team, the Padres, in 2004, just ahead of Justin Verlander, but he had a number of alcohol-related incidents and was traded to Toronto, who then released him.
Well Bush has appeared in his first two games out of the pen and has thrown 2 1/3 scoreless while picking up the win in Sunday’s 7-6 triumph over Toronto.
—Tom Verducci / Sports Illustrated…on the issue of PED penalties.
Referring to the 80-game suspensions handed down recently to Toronto’s Chris Colabello, Dodgers pitcher Josh Ravin, and Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon:
“Those three men…are the latest evidence that baseball players take us for fools. Over and over again they test positive for banned drugs and try to explain it away with ignorance.
“Truth is, the players are the fools. As the saying goes, it’s not a drug test, it’s an IQ test. Lately the foolish ones are getting busted for old-school drugs that are more likely to show up in mass spectrometry readings, the more sophisticated tests baseball adopted in 2014 that can pick up not just a drug but also the metabolites of a drug – essentially, leftover markers of the drug after it is metabolized….
“But even baseball’s more sophisticated tests aren’t enough. Said one All-Star, ‘I’d say 20 to 25 percent of players are taking something [banned], and it’s getting worse. Players are transformed. What happens is, they know somebody who is taking something and that guy continually beats the tests, so now he wants it.’
“It’s an old story: The cheaters plot to stay ahead of the tests. That’s why an 80-game suspension upon first offense isn’t enough. The calculus the cheater makes doesn’t involve a risk-reward assessment; it’s all reward. He is taking the drugs because he believes he will not be caught.
“As MLB and the players’ association negotiate a collective bargaining agreement this year, they must think of PED penalties not as a deterrent but as a penalty befitting the intentional, covert and often sophisticated scheme to defraud their peers, the game and its fans.
“Baseball cheats should be thrown out for four years upon a first offense that is found to be intentional by the collectively bargained arbitration panel. At least one player wants to go even further.
“ ‘I support one and done,’ said Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander. ‘If it’s intentional, you should be banned for life. I also support drug testing every day. I haven’t been tested since the season started. These guys are taking drugs that are out of the system so quickly that they don’t show up in the next three or four tests you might get all year. I have no problem providing a sample every day. It’s not steroids I’m against. I’m against cheating.’”
Verlander is also convinced the players would go along with stricter penalties, “because I think the majority of players want a clean game.”
This is really depressing…to hear the situation is essentially as bad as it’s ever been (maybe only slightly better).
–Sunday, May 15, marks 75 years since Joe DiMaggio began his 56-game hitting streak. It’s such a remarkable record that Pete Rose’s 44-game streak of 1978 remains the second longest.
Golf Balls
–What a strange The Players Championship it was in Ponte Vedra Beach this weekend.
Jason Day got off to a phenomenal start, with a course record-tying 63 in the first round and the record start of 129 through 36 holes. The field averaged 71.01 the first round and 71.11 the second.
But then on Saturday, that all changed with a combination of maddening pin placements, high winds and lightning fast greens and the result was an average 75.59 in the third, leaving the players that had made the cut in a state of shock. The greens were suddenly the slickest of the year. Out of the 76 players in the third, there were only three scores in the 60s and 7 in the 80s.
Day shot 73, while Hideki Matsuyama, 67, and Ken Duke, a spectacular 65, made up huge ground to finish tied for second heading into the final round, four behind the PGA Champion. You can make the case for the 47-year-old Duke’s round being the best of the year thus far, certainly on a weekend. Duke has just win on the PGA Tour.
Rory McIlroy, in shooting 75 to finish the third 8 strokes back of the leader, had five 3-putt greens.
But in the final round, Jason Day won with ease by four strokes over Kevin Chappell (Duke was among a group in third), despite a few hiccups along the way. It was Day’s 10th PGA Tour title, 7th in his last 17 starts.
There is no doubt who is #1 in the world these days.
–Some of those missing the cut even after Thursday and Friday’s benign conditions were Jordan Spieth, defending champion Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson, and Patrick Reed.
Spieth suffered his second missed cut in 10 tournaments this season and afterwards said: “I just think that, you know, I’m beating myself up a little bit too much on the golf course and it’s affecting me and I realize that now….It just seems I’m so tense and I just need to get back to the way I enjoy playing golf and I’m not far off.”
–We note the passing of 91-year-old Christy O’Connor, who won over 20 tournaments on the Irish and British golf circuit and finished in the top 10 of the British Open 10 times.
O’Connor won the British Masters in 1956 and 1959 and played in every Ryder Cup between the years of 1955 and 1973. His record of competing in 10 Ryder Cups was only surpassed by Nick Faldo in 1997.
O’Connor was the uncle to Christy O’Connor Junior who passed away in January.
NASCAR
In a practice session on Friday at Dover International Speedway, Danica Patrick’s car dumped oil on the track, spun and the rear of her Chevrolet burst into flames. Tony Stewart was behind her and the No. 14 followed the skid marks into the oil and smacked the wall. Jamie McMurray was also involved in the wreck. Both Stewart and McMurray hit an unprotected portion of the wall; this after Dover officials touted the addition of their new energy-absorbing soft walls – called SAFER barriers.
Except this part of the wall didn’t have them and the drivers couldn’t understand why. It was a serious crash, with McMurray injuring his left elbow.
Stewart appeared to be OK, but he was just back from his serious back injury suffered in an ATV accident.
For Patrick, who was shaken up, it was her second serious wreck in three weeks. All three did race on Sunday.
So the above was prelude to the Sprint Cup main event. Matt Kenseth won it in an exciting finish over Kyle Larson. It was Kenseth’s 37th Sprint Cup title, while the 23-year-old Larson has four seconds but no wins.
Jimmie Johnson triggered a late 18-car pileup when he had transmission problems he said he’s never experienced before.
–I haven’t followed Formula One this year but what a race at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday as Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, the top two in the world, came together on lap one as Hamilton tried to pass Rosberg; rather inexplicably taking such a risk at the start. Red Bull’s Max Verstapen took advantage of it to become the youngest winner in F1 history at just 18 years and 227 days. Extraordinary.
Premier League
—A lot of the drama for Sunday’s finale was lost Wednesday as Sunderland defeated Everton 3-0 to stave off relegation, Sunderland having done so three straight years in the final five matches of the seasons. Actually it lost just one of its final 10 matches this time as the decision to hire survival specialist Sam Allardyce back in October paid off.
Manager Allardyce has yet to be relegated from the English top flight in 25 years at the helm in various stops.
Sunderland has now qualified for its tenth straight Premier League campaign, which isn’t too shabby.
Meanwhile, Norwich was relegated for a second time in the last three seasons, along with Newcastle and Aston Villa. As I’ve discussed the last few months, this is a huge deal monetarily, let alone incredibly depressing for a team’s fan base. It isn’t easy getting back to the big show.
It’s particularly devastating for Newcastle, whose manager, Rafa Benitez, was coaching Real Madrid at the start of the season before being lured away. It is unlikely such a well-regarded coach will stick around for a second tier job as he can trigger a clause in his three-year deal to terminate the contract.
But wait, there’s more! Late word has Benitez staying and extending his contract, having been promised full control to bring the club back to Premier League action in short order (plus he has family in the area).
So on Sunday the final 10 games of the Premier League were on the slate, a few important items still to be decided on what has been the best season by far in recent memory.
Alas, Sunday ended up being a dark moment in the history of the PL….at least that’s what many of us thought initially.
Manchester United started the day with an outside shot at overtaking Manchester City for the final Champions League slot if it beat Bournemouth and Man City lost to Swansea.
But Man U’s match was never held, the match “abandoned” in British parlance, after a suspicious package was found in the stands prior to the game. An orderly evacuation of Old Trafford took place, with no panic, and there was a controlled explosion of the device that Greater Manchester Police first described as “incredibly lifelike” but confirmed it “wasn’t viable.”
Bournemouth players flew home Sunday night.
And then the story changed. It turns out the package was a training device “accidentally left behind by a private company following a training exercise.”
The match will now be held Tuesday. This is disturbing on a number of levels I’ll get into in my next “Week in Review,”
The thing is Manchester City wrapped up the fourth Champions League berth with a 1-1 draw with Swansea. Even if Man U beats Bournemouth, Man City advances on goal differential (unless Man U wins 19-0).
Man U has already clinched a Europa League (second-tier to Champions League) slot, along with Southampton.
Also on Sunday, Tottenham players “took an early holiday,” in the words of their coach Mauricio Pochettino, inexplicably losing to just-relegated Newcastle 5-1. What an embarrassment. Coupled with Arsenal’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa, Tottenham thus falls to third behind their north London rivals…the 21st straight season they have done so.
As a Spurs fan this really sucks. With four games to go Tottenham had a real shot to give Leicester a run for the title, four it should have won, and instead it ended up with just 2 points out of a possible 12.
West Brom… D 1-1 at home
Chelsea… D 2-2
Southampton… L 2-1 at home
Newcastle… L 5-1
Tottenham is the youngest team in the league and all the top players (I think) will be back. They have the winner of the Golden Boot, Harry Kane, who led the Premier League in scoring this year with 25 goals (the first Englishman to do so since Kevin Phillips in 2000).
But it’s no guarantee they have learned from their experiences this season, the inability to close out games. They should be the favorite for next year. Cliché alert: But “time will tell!” [I really didn’t want to go there…sorry.]
Final Standings….38 matches (except for Man U and Bournemouth)
1. Leicester 81 points
2. Arsenal 71
3. Tottenham 70
4. Man City 66
5. Southamptonn 63
6. Man U 63
7. West Ham 62…blew chance for Europa League
8. Liverpool 60
9. Stoke 51
10. Chelsea 50…ughh
2014/15 Standings
1. Chelsea 87
2. Man City 79
3. Arsenal 75
4. Man U 70
5. Tottenham 64
6. Liverpool 62
7. Southampton 60
14. Leicester 41
—Louis van Gaal is expecting to be back with Man U as manager next season, having a year left on his contract, but former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is the latest to have spoken to the Man U board.
The club also just announced record third quarter results and said they expect overall revenue to pass $720 million for the year, yet they have missed the Champions League for the second time in three seasons.
Man U is in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace on May 21.
–In the latest ranking of franchise values in futbol from Forbes magazine, Spain’s giants top the list, but six of the top ten are Premier League clubs.
1. Real Madrid – $3.645 billion
2. Barcelona – $3.549
3. Manchester United – $3.317
4. Bayern Munich – $2.678
5. Arsenal – $2.017
6. Manchester City – $1.921
7. Chelsea – $1.661
8. Liverpool – $1.548
9.Juventus – $1.299
10. Tottenham – $1.017…surprised this high
Forbes said Real ranked as the world’s second richest sports team, behind only the Dallas Cowboys, who are valued at around $4 billion.
–At least 14 fans of Real Madrid were killed by ISIS gunmen in Samarra, Iraq during a gathering of the team’s fans at their headquarters. At least another 20 were injured. Sickening.
NHL Playoffs
—Awful Game 7s on Wednesday and Thursday in the Western Conference.
The St. Louis Blues defeated the Dallas Stars 6-1 in Dallas, while the next night, the San Jose Sharks whipped the Nashville Predators 5-0 in San Jose.
The first game of Sharks-Blues is going on tonight as I head to post. Every hockey fan, outside of San Jose, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh, should want the Blues to finally win their first Stanley Cup after coming into existence in 1967; those first teams led by Red Berenson.
Because of the way the NHL set up expansion, St. Louis went to the Stanley Cup Finals each of their first three seasons and haven’t been back then since. [Montreal won the first two, Boston the third.]
Meanwhile, in the East, Tampa Bay beat Pittsburgh on the road in Game 1 Friday 3-1. Game 2 is Monday.
Stuff
—University of Dayton center Steve McElvene died on Thursday at his home in New Haven, Indiana. He was at a neighbor’s when he suddenly fell to the ground. CPR was performed before paramedics arrived but he never regained consciousness.
McElvene, a 6-foot-11, 268-pound center, averaged 6.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, with a school record 56 blocks, in his first season for the Flyers and had a promising future in the game.
Dayton coach Archie Miller said: “We are devastated at this news. Any death is a tragedy, but for someone so young, who worked so hard to have his dreams within reach, it’s hard to put into words how painful this is.”
No word on the cause of death.
—Heavyweight contender Alexander Povetkin has tested positive for the banned substance meldonium, putting his mandatory shot at world titleholder Deontay Wilder in jeopardy.
Russia’s Povetkin was supposed to challenge Wilder on May 21 in Moscow, but a test conducted by the Las Vegas-based Voluntary Anti-Doping Association on April 27 revealed “anabolic agents…stimulants and drugs of abuse,” according to VADA president Dr. Margaret Goodman.
Meldonium is the same drug for which Maria Sharapova recently tested positive. It is said to increase blood flow and allow more oxygen to be carried to the muscles and, therefore, enhance stamina, a trait boxers would want.
VADA has tested for several major fights and caught some boxers doping.
Povetkin – a 2004 Russian Olympic gold medalist – is 30-1, 22 KOs. Wilder is 36-0, 35 KOs. No word on whether the fight will come off.
–Former Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds has been given the all-clear by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, who will allow the QB-turned Baltimore Ravens receiver to play in 2016 (should he make the roster), while fulfilling his military obligation through service to the Naval Reserves.
—Serena Williams became ill “after eating dog food hours before reaching the last eight of the Italian Open.”
“The world number one tried ‘a spoonful’ of food meant for her dog Chip before beating fellow American Christina McHale in straight sets in Rome.
“ ‘I thought ‘What the heck, I’m gonna try a piece, it looks good’,’ said the 34-year-old.
“ ‘Fast forward two hours – I just ran to the toilet like I thought I was going to pass out.’”
Williams explained she sampled a dish of chicken and rice offered on a ‘doggy menu’ at her hotel.
“It did taste weird,” she said. “I force-swallowed it. It tasted kind of like house cleaner. I don’t know what they put in these dog foods, but Chip liked it.” [BBC News]
Well, Serena ended up winning the tournament, beating fellow American Madison Keys in straight sets – Williams’ first WTA title in nine months, having lost finals at the U.S. Open and Australian Open (as well as Indian Wells). She will begin the defense of her French Open title next Sunday.
—New Jersey residents can take heart that in congressional hearings last week on daily fantasy sports, New Jersey Dem. Congressman Frank Pallone asked, “How can the professional sports leagues oppose sports betting at casinos and racetracks, but support and prosper from the betting that is taking place every day in daily fantasy sports?”
“To date, the leagues and others have not sufficiently explained the difference between fantasy sports, sports betting and other forms of gambling,” said Pallone.
A 1992 federal law banned sports betting in all but four states: Nevada, Delaware, Montana, and Oregon. Pallone and Republican Rep. Frank LoBiondo have introduced legislation to change the law and allow New Jersey to offer it.
Some of us have been bitching about this for six years. It is beyond outrageous, and hypocritical, that I or anyone else can’t place a legal sports bet in my state, but I can bet on fantasy sports (as I do…football, golf and NASCAR).
–From the Associated Press and Brad K.
“When a venomous Eastern diamondback rattlesnake appeared in the backyard of a 7-year-old girl in Tampa, Fla., her German shepherd came to her rescue, refusing to back down even when the snake bit him three times. In short, Haus is a hero.
“Now hundreds of donors are coming to the family’s rescue, quickly topping the goal of $15,000 Friday on a GoFundMe account to help pay for the antivenom needed to keep the dog alive. By Friday afternoon, $35,000 had been raised for the dog’s care.
“Vets expect a full recovery, but it won’t be cheap: Each day in the ICU costs about $1,500, and each vial of antivenom costs $618. Haus is averaging four vials per day as the poison leaves his system.”
“Dog” once again offers proof why it remains No. 1 on the All-Species List…and it’s not even close.
–Love this one from Lindsay Putnam / New York Post:
“Last Friday, Tonia Mosteller was walking her 5-year-old Golden Retriever, Riley, in Belmont, NC, when the pair ran into a group of dogs from Riley’s day care during their morning walk.
“ ‘Riley was crying because he loves to play, he loves happy dogs,’ Mosteller told CNN, adding that the pup cried the whole way home.
“Hours later, Mosteller returned from her daily run to find Riley missing from the backyard.
“Turns out, the independent canine had lifted the latch on the gate and walked over a mile on his own to the Happy Dog Care, where he patiently sat outside the front door and waited to be let in.
“ ‘We noticed a dog sitting outside waiting to be let in,’ Happy Dog Care owner Teresa McCarter said. She remembers exclaiming, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s Riley!’
“We walk Riley every day, typically through town, and sometimes we will stop by the day care,’ Mosteller explained. ‘Riley knows his way around town.’
“After Riley arrived at the door, McCarter called Mosteller to inform them of her surprise guest.”
–Scooter, a Siamese cat, was named the world’s oldest living cat by the Guinness Book of World Records and celebrated his 30th birthday on March 26.
Well Scooter be dead. 30 is about 136 in human years, so the vets say.
Scooter hailed from Texas, also home to another cat, name unknown, who was said to have lived a record 38 years.
Housecat is No. 98 on the All-Species List and will never sniff the Top 50 because it kills billions of birds a year and its mouth is loaded with disease. Never let a cat lick your face or you could go blind.
[Re the above-noted story on the suspect device at the Manchester United game, they called on “sniffer dogs,” not “sniffer cats,” for a reason.]
—A hiker was bitten by a black bear while he slept along the Appalachian Trail the other day. The 49-year-old told Rangers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that the bear bit him on the leg through the tent. The bear then ran from the area before the hiker or other backpackers saw the animal.
The bear later returned to the area, tearing through the same tent – which had been vacated by the hiker – and a second tent.
The injured hiker was brought out of the backcountry by park rangers on horseback, then transported to a local hospital. His condition is unknown. [USA TODAY]
–My brother passed this one along out of Cincinnati and the New York Daily News:
“A mother goose on Monday started pecking at Sergeant James Givens’ cruiser door after she was unable to free her trapped gosling on her own.
“ ‘It kept pecking and pecking and normally they don’t come near us,’ the Cincinnati officer told WKRC. ‘Then it walked away and then it stopped and looked back so I followed it and it led me right over to the baby that was tangled up in all that string.’
“The goose’s baby somehow got tangled in a Mother’s Day balloon string and other litter near a local creek.
“Specialist Cecilia Charron, who was with Givens at the time, called the SPCA, but no one was immediately able to come out.
“So Charron picked up the baby goose and started to untangle it….
“After the little goose was freed, it sprinted off and her Mother Goose followed behind.”
I’m guessing the little kid has a bright future, for maybe a year or so.
–There’s a buzz among country music fans in my area as Garth Brooks announced he will make his first concert appearance in New York since a big free concert in Central Park back in 1997.
July 9 he is playing Yankee Stadium. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster.
Top 3 songs for the week 5/19/62: #1 “Soldier Boy” (The Shirelles) #2 “Stranger On The Shore” (Mr. Acker Bilk) #3 “Mashed Potato Time” (Dee Dee Sharp)…and…#4 “Johnny Angel” (Shelley Fabares) #5 “She Cried” (Jay & The Americans …good one…) #6 “Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)” (Ernie Maresca…fun tune…especially if you’ve had a few beers…) #7 “Old Rivers” (Walter Brennan…yes, the actor…) #8 “Everybody Loves Me But You” (Brenda Lee) #9 “P.T. 109” (Jimmy Dean ..ode to JFK…) #10 “Funny Way Of Laughin’” (Burl Ives…yup, strange week as America doesn’t know what’s about to hit it in 18-20 months…)
Chicago Cubs Quiz Answers: 1) Charlie Root (1926-1941) is the only Cub to win 200 games…201-156 for Chicago. Fergie Jenkins won 167 in a Cubs uniform, fifth on the list. 2) Jenkins is the single-season leader in strikeouts (post-1900) with 274 in 1970 (273 in ’69). In case you were thinking Kerry Wood, he had 266 in 2003. 3) Single-season saves: Randy Myers with 53 in 1993. Rod Beck had 51 in 1998.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
