[Posted late Sunday PM]
*Folks, once again a ton going on this weekend, especially if you like golf. I’ll fill in the blanks Wednesday.
New York Giants Quiz: Name the six passers to throw for 10,000 yards in a Giants uniform. Answer below.
MLB…bring on the playoffs!
—The Mets clinched a wild card berth Saturday with a 5-3 win in Philadelphia and thus gained the home-field advantage for Wednesday’s contest. The amazing Bartolo Colon won his 15th, giving the Mets just enough, 5 innings of two-run ball; Colon finishing the season 15-8, 3.43.
–Saturday, in a game they had to have, the Giants took on the Dodgers in San Francisco and Ty Blach outdueled Clayton Kershaw, 3-0, with Blach tossing eight scoreless.
Ty Blach? The guy had put himself on the radar with a strong second half in AAA, pitching to a 2.01 ERA in his final 11 starts there. So he got the call.
Kershaw entered the game with an 18-7, 1.58 ERA, career record against the Giants and he once again proved he’s playoff ready, allowing two earned in seven.
But what a performance for Blach as the Cardinals were staying a game behind with one to play, beating Pittsburgh 4-3 in St. Louis.
–In the A.L., Saturday night, the Mariners were eliminated in a heartbreaker, 9-8 in 10 innings to the A’s in Seattle.
And Detroit continued to choke down the stretch, losing Saturday to the Braves, 5-3 in Atlanta, as the Bravos’ Aaron Blair struck out a career-high 10 in six-plus innings. Blair had gone 1-4, with a 9.00 ERA in his previous eight starts.
So we went to Sunday with the Tigers needing to win, while getting help from Baltimore and Toronto, which would mean the Tigers would play their 162nd game on Monday against Cleveland.
But Detroit lost to the Braves 1-0, so it was over for them, while both the Orioles, 5-2 winners over the Yanks, and Toronto, a 2-1 winner over the Red Sox*, took the other two slots…so Baltimore at Toronto on Tuesday night.
*David Ortiz finished the year, his last regular season, at .315, 38-127.
As for the N.L., the Giants handily defeated the Dodgers 7-1, in Vin Scully’s final game, which made the Cards’ 10-4 win over Pittsburgh moot.
It’s San Francisco having to fly across country to face the Mets on Wednesday, Madison Bumgarner vs. Noah Syndergaard. The Citi Field crowd will be stoked.
—For the Mets, what a remarkable season, with as many key injuries as any team in baseball, including losing starters Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz for long stretches (all three now for the season), never getting Zack Wheeler back from Tommy John surgery like had been the plan at mid-season, losing David Wright early, Lucas Duda for over half the season, and many others, including Asdrubal Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes, to the DL.
The Mets were 60-62 on Aug. 19, having lost the first two of a four-game series in San Francisco, the Giants then 68-54. But the Mets won the next two and went on a 27-12 run through Saturday’s clincher. [The Giants were going 18-21 over the same period.]
Mets fans have always had a love-hate affair with their manager, Terry Collins, especially when it comes to some of the late-game moves the guy makes.
But the fact is he did an awesome job keeping the team together this year, including how to handle stars like Jay Bruce, who came over from the Reds, leading the league in RBI at the time, and proceeded to stink up the joint. Collins benched Bruce for four days, believing it was necessary for the slugger to clear his head, while Bruce was reportedly taking extensive batting practice.
Not all managers would do this, but it paid off big time down the stretch as Bruce went on a mini-tear and is seemingly a new man.
–Ball Bits….
The Cardinals’ Jedd Gyorko hit his 30th home run of the season on Saturday and it was pointed out by the Fox folks that he had the second-fewest doubles in baseball history of any player to hit 30 homers with just nine doubles; the fewest coming off the bat of Mark McGwire in 2000, when he had only 8 doubles to go with 32 home runs.
The Angels’ Albert Pujols finished the season with a very solid .268 average, 31 home runs and 119 RBIs, despite dealing with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He hit .293 in the second half, not bad for the 37-year-old who was deemed to be washed up, but is still owed $140 million for the next five seasons…yikes!
[Teammate Mike Trout had another superb season, but fell short of 30-30, slamming 29 home runs and driving in 100, while stealing 30 and hitting .315.]
–Hats off to the Yankees’ CC Sabathia, who made 30 starts this season, gave them 179 innings, and was a very respectable 9-12 with a 3.91 ERA. Because he stayed healthy, his contract for 2017 vested, $25 million.
–Baseball America had a piece on Jose Fernandez and his high school years. At age 15, after defecting, he stood 6-feet, weighed 160 pounds, and threw 84 mph. He turned to Orlando China, a renowned pitching coach from Cuba who also defected in 2008, like Fernandez.
Under Chinea’s guidance, Fernandez developed into a star pitcher at Tampa’s Alonso High School, leading the school to two Florida 6-A titles and compiling a 30-3 record with 59 walks and 314 strikeouts over three years.
But he was ruled ineligible to play his senior year by the Florida High School Athletic Association when it was determined he had exhausted his four-year limit because he entered ninth grade in Cuba in 2006, but once he was cleared (he spent a year in prison as a kid, after all) Fernandez quickly established himself as one of the best in the nation and his fastball was reaching 98 mph.
–Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post had a funny story on a potential issue should the Nationals play in the World Series. Specifically Sunday night, Oct. 30, which would be Game 5. There could be an announcement to the crowd that the last train is leaving the Metro station at 11:20, the last one guaranteed to hit all transfers. Talk about a national narrative.
You see the Metro tracks are undergoing a maintenance blitz caused by years of decay. At least, as Dan Steinberg writes, Metro board Chairman Jack Evans argued that 15,000 people getting up early and leaving a World Series game would ‘look foolish’ and be ‘an embarrassment’ for the city.
A World Series game would likely draw 10,000-12,000 riders.
Steinberg noted of the five World Series games last year, one ended at 11:02, and the others 1:18 a.m., 11:30, 11:37 and 12:33.
Far more on regular season stats and such next time.
Ryder Cup
The following is from the beginning….
It all started with a 4-0 sweep of the foursomes for the U.S. on Friday morning; Spieth and Reed, Mickelson and Fowler, Walker and Zach Johnson, Dustin Johnson and Kuchar, all defeating their Euro opponents.
But then Europe won 3 of 4 in the afternoon four balls. 5-3 USA after day one.
Saturday morning, Europe took two, the U.S. one, and the other was halved (Reed and Spieth blowing a 4-shot lead after 12, but salvaging a half on a clutch Reed putt).
Saturday afternoon, Team USA won three of four, led by the continuing spectacular play of Reed, who carried Jordan Spieth along the way for a win over Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson. Phil Mickelson and Matt Kuchar also had an inspiring effort over Martin Kaymer and Sergio Garcia.
So entering Sunday singles, it was 9 ½ – 6 ½, U.S.
The U.S. would end up winning 17-11, meaning the singles went 7 ½-4 ½. Patrick Reed went off first against Rory McIlroy, the dream matchup, and for the first eight holes the two played spectacular golf, culminating in one of the great scenes in golf history on the 8th hole as McIlroy first made a long birdie putt, and celebrating like he never has before, only to see Reed sink a long one of his own to halve the hole. Reed would go on to win it 1up, but the tone was long set for the rest of the American squad.
Reed is now the unquestioned leader of the team, in a golf sense, as he is 6-1-2 in his two Ryder Cups.
But when it comes to behind the scenes, its Phil Mickelson, who not only had 10 birdies on Sunday, needing all of them to gain a half point against Sergio Garcia, but he has become the main figure behind the Task Force and in inspiring the younger players. It was a superb Ryder Cup for Phil, despite all the problems he put on himself, as noted below.
As for the Europeans, they complained all week about the hostile environment they faced. Rory McIlroy, in explaining his histrionics, said: “You don’t want to let that get to you, but you just want to let them know when you hole a putt how much it means to you.”
Danny Willett, whose brother P.J. inflamed tensions by writing a magazine piece full of offensive criticisms of American fans, was regularly targeted for abuse that was way over the top. Danny didn’t deserve it. But it affected him, as he went 0-3. I’m guessing the Masters galleries are kinder to him next spring.
But going back to Friday, 43-year-old Cup veteran Lee Westwood said, “Anything can happen – it’s freaky like that,” and sure enough he blew a 2-footer on No. 18 Saturday that gave the win to J.B. Holmes and Ryan Moore, a putt that now takes its place in Ryder Cup lore.
–Karen Crouse had a story in the New York Times on the role Tiger Woods played as a vice captain. One of the players in his “pod” was Patrick Reed, “who has long emulated Woods’ game, going so far as to wear red and black on Sundays. Reed, 26, said he had not had much contact with Woods and did not know what to expect from him when he arrived here Monday. Someone as successful as Woods, Reed said, could either go through the motions or go the extra mile.
“That first day, Reed said, Woods went the extra 3,857 yard – 2.19 miles – for him. The wind was gusting over 30 miles per hour, and the other players called it quits after the front nine. Reed wanted to keep going. Woods, who finished second at the 2002 and 2009 PGA Championships at Hazeltine, offered to accompany him. Reed said the tips he got from Woods on that back nine would help him not only this week but in the years to come.
“ ‘It was amazing,’ Reed said. ‘I learned so much just from that nine holes walking around that I felt like that alone could save me so many shots throughout my career – just by thinking about the little minor details.’”
Reed made these comments before play began Friday. He obviously learned something.
Woods is still slated to resume his competitive career in Napa, Calif., in two weeks, but he didn’t swing a club all week.
–Earlier in the week, Phil Mickelson put undue pressure on himself when he blasted former U.S. Ryder Cup captain Hal Sutton for putting Phil together with Tiger in 2004, which in Mickelson’s mind set up players to fail. For example, the two use different types of balls and had no time to prepare when Sutton sprung the pairing on them.
Mickelson was comparing back then to today, and the U.S. team having more of a process following the input of the new Ryder Cup task force Phil is basically responsible for.
Sutton, a most sensitive guy, was pretty torqued off and Mickelson immediately apologized.
“I was trying to use an example of how a captain can have a strong affect. Unfortunately it came across the way it did. I feel awful and I want him to be out here and be a part of this, so I’ve communicated with him that I’m sorry and I hope that he stays.” [Former captains usually being allowed in the hotel and team rooms, with Sutton already in Minneapolis for a past captain’s event.]
–The Ryder Cup is a huge event for its participants in building up their Q-scores (ratios) that can lead to major endorsements, for one. Patrick Reed’s will soar, for example, and the performances of the likes of Matt Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker won’t hurt theirs either.
But for Europe, Thomas Pieters put himself on the map in a big way, going 4-1-0 as a rookie. U.S. sponsors (let alone European ones) will be falling all over themselves to get Pieters to their tournaments.
–Finally, major kudos to Davis Love III for redemption. He deserved it. The Cup is back home.
*More on the passing of Arnold Palmer next time as his memorial service is Tuesday.
College Football Review
A big reshuffle is looming in the Top Ten….
But No. 1 Alabama will remain at the top following a 34-6 win over Kentucky (Kentucky is now 2-37-1 lifetime against ‘Bama), while 2 Ohio State destroyed Rutgers 58-0 in Columbus, the Buckeyes holding the Scarlet Knights to just 33 yards passing, 3 of 16 by Rutgers quarterbacks. Good gawd! Overall, Ohio State outgained New Jersey’s state team, 669-116, in a game marking the return of Rutgers head coach Chris Ash, formerly an assistant under Urban Meyer. For Ohio State, J.T. Barrett was 21/29, 238, 4-1.
But then down in Death Valley, No. 5 Clemson beat 3 Louisville 42-36 in an instant classic.
Clemson scored 28 points in the second quarter after a sluggish start to take a 28-10 halftime lead. But Louisville, behind Heisman favorite Lamar Jackson, opened the second half with 26 unanswered as the Cardinals went ahead 36-28, only to have Clemson’s own Heisman candidate, Deshaun Watson, throw two late scores, giving him five for the game (though with three interceptions) and Clemson held on, barely.
Louisville had a final shot, fourth-and-12 from the Clemson 14-yard line, with Jackson completing a pass in the flat to James Quick, but Quick was pushed out of bounds a yard short of the first down, giving Clemson the ball and the victory.
Watson finished with 306 yards through the air and 91 on the ground, while Jackson, who was not a model of composure, passed for 295 and rushed for 162 and a combined three scores, hiking his season total to 28 in five games.
Meanwhile, in Ann Arbor, 4 Michigan beat 8 Wisconsin 14-7, outgaining the Badgers 349-159.
Friday night, 7 Stanford got their asses kicked in Seattle, 44-6, as No. 10 Washington will move up a few notches in the polls. The Huskies’ Jake Browning was a cool 15/21, 210, 3-0 while Stanford’s Heisman candidate, Christian McCaffrey, is no longer one…just 49 rushing and 30 yards receiving. The Washington defense sacked Stanford’s two quarterbacks eight times.
Back to Saturday’s action…
In another thriller, 11 Tennessee pulled off a 34-31 miracle against 25 Georgia to stay undefeated. Tennessee went ahead 28-24 after recovering a fumble in the end zone with 2:56 left. Georgia then scored on a 47-yard pass play to make it 31-28 with just 0:10 left, but an excessive celebration penalty forced Georgia to kick off from the 20, giving Tennessee one final shot, and after a nice return, the Vols’ Joshua Dobbs completed an improbable Hail Mary pass to Jauan Jennings in the end zone for the score, with like seven Georgia defenders draped all over him.
Tennessee coach Butch Jones was crying in amazement; this team pulling off one escape after another early this year, including the opener to Appalachian State they should have lost.
No. 12 Florida State has suddenly lost two (3-2) as North Carolina traveled to Tallahassee and emerged victorious, 37-35, on a last-second 54-yard field goal by Nick Weiler. Tar Heel quarterback Mitch Trubisky had his second straight monster game, 31 of 38 for 405 yards and three touchdowns, with receiver Ryan Switzer catching another 14 for 158 yards, after hauling in 16 for 208 against Pitt the week before. UNC has bowl-game scouts salivating because that’s the kind of aerial show that could put fannies in the seats.
In defeat, FSU’s Dalvin Cook rushed for 140 yards and three scores, but just a great win for the Carolina program.
13 Baylor stayed undefeated (5-0), beating a game Iowa State team in Ames, 45-42, on a last-second field goal. Shock Linwood rushed for 237 yards as my main man, interim coach Jim Grobe, continues to write a very cool story down in Waco amid all the controversy there. They have legitimate BCS aspirations (a nightmare for most associated with college football), especially given a weak schedule the rest of the way.
14 Miami is suddenly 4-0 after a solid 35-21 road win over Georgia Tech (3-2).
15 Nebraska moved to 5-0 in beating Illinois 31-16.
My sleeper team, 19 San Diego State, can say bye-bye to any major bowl game hopes after a 42-24 loss to South Alabama.
In other games….
Air Force moved to 4-0 with a 28-14 win over Navy (3-1).
Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer threw for 471 yards and three scores as the Irish bested Syracuse 50-33. For ND, receiver Equanimeous St. Brown had four catches for 182 yards and two scores. Yes, that is his real name. His parents were obviously totally wasted when they came up with it, befitting the Irish football program these days as they are still just 2-3 after the win.
Gregg Doyel had a piece in USA TODAY Sports the other day on Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly, as in the guy just isn’t that great.
“(Kelly) has had as many Fighting Irish teams finish in the top 10 as Charlie Weis. Kelly has had more five-loss seasons than Weis and as many as Bob Davie.
“Charlie Weis and Bob Davie were terrible.
“Maybe Kelly just isn’t as good as everyone thinks?….
“In fairness to Kelly, he has had more seasons at Notre Dame (seven) than the other coaches. But he is trending toward his fifth unacceptable season. He has gone 8-5 three times, 9-4 once and then whatever happens this season….
“Last season, Notre Dame went 10-3, losing to all three top-10 teams it played (Clemson, Stanford and Ohio State. The 10 teams Notre Dame beat went a combined 58-68.
“But Kelly has been untouchable – even when his program is dogged by a sexual assault allegation in which the accuser, Lizzy Seeberg, later committed suicide, and by the death of a student, Declan Sullivan, filming a football practice from a 50-foot hydraulic scissor lift; gusts of winds reaching 51 mph blew the tower over.
“But the point is not that Kelly is a bad person or that he should be fired immediately.
“The point is it’s easy to imagine him not coming back for an eighth season at Notre Dame.”
Virginia beat Duke 34-20 in a battle of teams with high SAT scores. [Or at least the students do.]
And, finally, the bloom is off the rose, at least for one week, as my Wake Forest Demon Deacons suffered their first defeat of the season, 33-16, to the North Carolina State Wolfpack in Raleigh. Next up, Syracuse at home…a must win if the Deacs are to assure themselves of a bowl bid.
–The ACC announced it would hold its championship game in Orlando, Fla., having pulled out of Charlotte in response to Carolina’s controversial House Bill 2. It’s the first time being held in Orlando.
–And here’s the new AP Top 25…released Sunday….
1. Alabama 5-0 (53)
2. Ohio State 4-0 (6)
3. Clemson (1) 5-0
4. Michigan (1) 5-0
5. Washington 5-0
6. Houston 5-0
7. Louisville 4-1
8. Texas A&M 5-0
9. Tennessee 5-0
10. Miami 4-0…very surprised
12. Nebraska 5-0…interesting story
13. Baylor 5-0
14. Ole Miss 3-2…going to be in a major bowl game…the Bar Chat guarantee!
17. North Carolina. 4-1…Carolina-Ole Miss could be a fun New Year’s Eve game
NFL
—It’s over for my Jets…finis…stick a fork in ‘em. Now 1-3 after a 27-17 loss at home to Seattle (3-1) as Ryan Fitzpatrick threw another threw interceptions, freakin’ nine in two games!!! For Seattle, Russell Wilson, who was questionable to start, was splendid…23/32/309, 3-0, 133.5 rating. The Jets’ secondary has sucked.
In a huge game for Buffalo coach Rex Ryan, his Bills (2-2) beat the Patriots (3-1) 16-0, but now Tom Brady is back and New England will finish 14-2.
The Falcons (3-1) beat the Panthers (1-3), Carolina quarterback Cam Newton knocked out with a concussion, as Atlanta QB Matt Ryan had a franchise-record 503 yards, including four touchdown passes, and receiver Julio Jones had a team-record 300 yards on 12 catches.
Dallas is 3-1 after a 24-17 victory over San Francisco (1-3) as Dak Prescott threw for 245 yards and two scores, once again without an INT. Ezekiel Elliott chipped in 138 on the ground.
The Raiders are 3-1, Derek Carr throwing four touchdown passes, three to Michael Crabtree, as they hand the Ravens (3-1) their first loss, 28-27.
Denver is 4-0 after a 27-7 win over the Bucs (1-3), but Trevor Siemian was knocked out, replaced by Paxton Lynch, who performed ably.
The Rams are suddenly 3-1, beating the Cardinals 17-13. So Arizona and Carolina, two Super Bowl favorites (to play New England or Denver), are both 1-3.
Houston and much-maligned QB Brock Osweiler is 3-1 after a 27-20 win over Tennessee (1-3).
Washington is 2-2, beating the winless Hash Brownies 31-20.
–Thursday night, the Bengals (2-1) beat the Dolphins (1-3) 22-7 in Cincy as receiver A.J. Green had 10 receptions for 173 yards and a touchdown. I expressed in Week One how much I liked this guy as he put up a great performance against the Jets earlier.
–In reading a note on the stock of Buffalo Wild Wings, the analyst noted the company has a new worry on its hands. Some 10% of the traffic for the sports bar chain is tied to football and through the first three weeks, the NFL’s TV ratings were down 10.5% from a year ago, a sizable decline.
–I loved that the Steelers’ Antonio Brown was to wear black-and-gold cleats inscribed with an image of Arnold Palmer on Sunday. Brown spent time at Palmer’s house in Latrobe before 2016 training camp.
“A guy like Arnold, his legacy and what he meant not only to the world, but to Latrobe, to Pennsylvania, his legacy will live on,” Brown said. “An inspiring guy. I’m glad I got a moment to share with him.”
You rock Antonio!
–We note the passing of Suzanne Mitchell, “who replaced a squad of high school bobby-soxers with a scantily clad chorus line that became a choreographed global brand called the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.” [Sam Roberts / New York Times] Mitchell was 73.
Mitchell was an administrative assistant to Cowboys president and general manager Tex Schramm, “when the team office was swamped with calls after one of its cheerleaders was captured winking suggestively – and uncharacteristically – into a television camera during the 1976 Super Bowl.
“Maybe, Schramm figured, there was more to cheerleading than met the eye,” so he “decided to capitalize on the emerging synergy between television and professional sports by enlisting performers on the sidelines to complement the players on the field.”
Ms. Mitchell, a former public relations executive in New York, was designated to put the group together. It would become a pop culture phenomenon. They even inspired a pornographic riff, “Debbie Does Dallas,” which prompted a lawsuit from the team. [Great flick…just kidding!!!]
Mitchell told Sports Illustrated in 1978: “Sports has always had a very clean, almost Puritanical aspect about it, but by the same token, sex is a very important part of our lives. What we’ve done is combine the two.”
Mitchell also once said: “I understand that where little girls used to dream of being Miss America, now they dream about becoming a cheerleader for the Cowboys.”
–Finally, Lady Gaga will be the halftime performer at Super Bowl LI in February, a good choice, as I’m sure organizers will make sure some of the outrageousness of her act is toned down a bit for an older audience. She will bring the energy, at least.
Premier League
Yippee! My Tottenham Spurs won the game of the week, 2-0 at White Hart Lane over first-place Manchester City, handing City their first loss in 7 games. The first tally was an own-goal, the second netted by Dele Ali, as the Spurs continue to play without star Harry Kane. I frankly can’t believe how Tottenham has learned the lessons from their poor finish to last season.
In other key games….
Liverpool defeated Swansea 2-1, Chelsea beat Hull 2-0, Leicester drew with Southampton 0-0, Manchester United tied pathetic Stoke 1-1, and Arsenal beat Burnley 1-0.
So after seven games….
1. Man City 18 points
2. Tottenham 17
3. Arasenal 16
4. Liverpool 16
5. Everton 14
6. Man U 13
7. Chelsea 13
* I feel obligated to point out ties are settled by goal differential.
Greatest TV Shows of All Time
The current issue of Rolling Stone has a list that is quite good, as put together by Rob Sheffield.
1. The Sopranos
2. The Wire
3. Breaking Bad
4. Mad Men
5. Seinfeld
6. The Simpsons
7. The Twilight Zone
8. Saturday Night Live
9. All in the Family
10. The Daily Show
11. Freaks and Geeks
12. Game of Thrones…yes!
13. Late Night with David Letterman
14. The Larry Sanders Show
15. The West Wing
16. M*A*S*H
17. Twin Peaks
18. Star Trek
19. Curb Your Enthusiasm
20. Cheers
Others I liked on the list….
23. Deadwood…well deserved
26. Friends
30. The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson
42. NYPD Blue
46. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
49. Taxi
53. The Bob Newhart Show
56. ‘24’
59. Hill Street Blues
63. The Wonder Years…I’d put this top 40
67. The Odd Couple
69. The Ed Sullivan Show…RS criticizes Ed for some of his censorship, like of Elvis and the Stones, and I tend to agree; he doesn’t deserve to be much higher, despite his bringing us the Beatles and the whole 60s music scene.
You’re never going to please everyone for a list like this, but all in all, a very good top ten (though I admit to not ever seeing “Breaking Bad,” which I know is embarrassing).
For those of us of a certain age, before HBO broke through with The Sopranos (1999), it really was pretty special that from 1971 (All in the Family) to 1998 (Seinfeld), you had at least one all-time iconic comedy in play, including M*A*S*H and Cheers…and you could stretch it to Friends (1994-2004). [Actually, as a kid, I should really be going back to The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-77) and Bob Newhart (1972-78), plus The Odd Couple (1970-75).]
These days I’m reduced to “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Silicon Valley,” of that genre, and they are on so infrequently.
But one of my big regrets is missing a few seasons of The Wire, which one of these days I have to rectify.
Stuff
—NBA training camp is underway as you know and the Knicks traditionally spend some time up at West Point. I was pleased when the Knicks signed center Joakim Noah but wasn’t happy to see the following in the Wall Street Journal by Chris Herring.
“(Noah) declined to attend the team’s annual dinner with cadets Thursday night here at the U.S. Military Academy, citing his views on war. Noah also chose to skip a speech delivered by a retired Army colonel to the rest of the Knicks, saying he had ‘mixed feelings’ about training on the West Point campus.
“ ‘It’s hard for me a little bit, because I have a lot of respect for the kids who are out here fighting,’ said Noah, a New York City native. ‘But it’s hard for me to understand why we have to go to war, why kids have to kill kids around the world. So I have mixed feelings….
“ ‘I love America,’ Noah said, ‘but I just don’t understand kids killing kids around the world.’”
Oh, brother. What an idiot.
An academy spokesman, Lt. Col. Christopher Kasker, said: “The U.S. Military Academy at West Point develops leaders of character for the defense of our nation. We are disappointed and feel Mr. Noah’s choice of West Point to make a statement is inappropriate because of the great sacrifice that has originated from this institution over our nation’s history.”
Noah has a foundation in Chicago supporting efforts to reduce gun violence, which is noble, but then he says things like, “I don’t understand the whole flags, supporting flags. I’m more into supporting people.”
–Mike Towell, a 25-year-old boxer from Dundee, Scotland, died Friday in a Glasgow hospital after sustaining injuries in a loss to Dale Evans of Wales on Thursday night.
Towell was 11-0-1 when fighting Evans in a bout promoted by the St. Andrews Sporting Club. Towell was stopped in the fifth round by technical knockout, then taken to the hospital.
The fight was billed as an elimination bout for the British welterweight championship.
Evans released a statement saying: “I am devastated and all my thought are with Mike and his family….He is such a fantastic fighter, you are happy to win but all I wanted to do was get the victory. Not this.”
–Separately, heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury of England was found to have cocaine in a recent drug test. Fury, who withdrew last week from his scheduled Oct. 29 rematch against longtime former champion Wladimir Klitschko, submitted the sample Sept. 22.
Fury (25-0, 18 knockouts) defeated Klitschko in a November 2015 bout that featured many segments of inactivity.
His promoter issued a statement Friday that Fury had been “declared medically unfit to fight.”
–The New York Post broke the story the famous Carnegie Deli in New York is closing on Dec. 31, the iconic home of gigantic Jewish-style sandwiches – like the 4-inch-high pastrami-and-corned beef “Woody” on rye, named after Woody Allen. It seems the owners are just tired of running an operation such as theirs.
The Carnegie Deli (Seventh Ave., between West 54th and 55th) has been around since 1937, but with the current family since 1976.
–I loved the story that Italian police recovered two Van Gogh paintings stolen during a dramatic raid on an Amsterdam museum in 2002. The works were recovered from the Naples mafia.
The paintings were taken from the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam (been there, awesome) when thieves used a ladder and sledgehammers to break into the museum.
The paintings were found wrapped in cloth in a safe in a house near Pompeii after an extensive investigation.
I saw pictures of the two paintings and they are indeed spectacular works, both valued at $100 million each. The works will eventually find their way back to the museum.
Top 3 songs for the week 10/3/64: #1 “Oh, Pretty Woman” (Roy Orbison) #2 “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” (Manfred Mann) #3 “Bread And Butter” (The Newbeats)…and…#4 “Dancing In The Street” (Martha & The Vandellas…tune will sound good 100 years from now…) #5 “Remember (Walkin’ In The Sand)” (The Shangri-Las…nice sweaters…) #6 “G.T.O.” (Ronny & The Daytonas) #7 “It Hurts To Be In Love” (Gene Pitney…used to do this one very well, until my voice got old-manish…vocal chords s/b properly lubed…) #8 “The House Of The Rising Sun” (The Animals…#1 for three weeks earlier…later turned into a Bill O’Reilly/Martin Dugard book*…) #9 “We’ll Sing In The Sunshine” (Gail Garnett…incredibly depressing tune…didn’t realize this until a few years ago when I actually listened to the lyrics…) #10 “Save It For Me” (The 4 Seasons)
*The other day, Bill O’Reilly said he has a contract to do three more ‘killing’ books, but the topics are top secret, “or else others would copy the ideas.” As if there hadn’t already been 6,200 books on Lincoln, for example, prior to theirs.
But I spent some time over a beer the other night thinking about what could possibly be the next three, and I could only come up with “Killing Porky Pig.” I mean he can’t do “Killing Archduke Ferdinand” because few kids today would have a clue as to who the guy was or his historical importance.
Maybe “Killing Shakespeare”! “Martin Dugard and I have uncovered exclusive, totally new details on the bard’s death and the man who scripted it.”
Or “Killing Marilyn Monroe.” Or “Killing Buford Pusser.” [Meaning no disrespect on this last one…I’ve been to his home and museum and it is indeed a tragic story.]
New York Giants Quiz Answer: Six to throw for 10,000….
Eli Manning…45,112 (2004-16)
Phil Simms…33,462 (1979-93)
Charlie Conerly…19,488 (1948-61)
Kerry Collins…16,875 (1999-2003)
Fran Tarkenton…13,905 (1967-71)
Y.A. Tittle…10,439 (1961-64)
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
