[Posted Sunday p.m. before late sports action.]
Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.
ACC Football Quiz: Ten quarterbacks threw for 10,000 yards in their ACC careers. Name them. [Hint: Six were with either Clemson or N.C. State] Answer below.
MLB
–Going back to Tuesday, the Mets beat the Tigers 12-5 in Detroit as rookie sensation Nolan McLean pitched six innings of 2-run ball. He’s won his first four big-league starts, with a 1.37 ERA.
The Mets demoted starter Kodai Senga, who before the season began was expected to be the ace, and his year started out that way, a sterling 1.47 ERA through his first 13 outings.
But after returning from a hamstring injury, he pitched to a 6.56 ERA in his past nine games.
The 32-year-old could have declined the move to Triple-A Syracuse, as stipulated in his contract, but he accepted the demotion.
The Mets then had a big 3-game series in Cincinnati this weekend, a chance to put the Reds away in terms of contending for the final wild card spot, and the Metropolitans took Friday’s opener, 5-4, as closer Edwin Diaz survived a remarkable bottom of the ninth inning rally attempt by the Reds.
With the score 5-4 since the fourth inning, Cincinnati loaded the bases on a single and two walks, no outs…and Diaz then struck out Noelvi Marte and Elly De La Cruz (inexplicably looking at a 3-2 fastball), and induced Gavin Lux to ground out to second, Luisangel Acuna making a great play but hoping Diaz would cover first, he did, Acuna made a perfect throw…game over. It was truly a game the Mets didn’t deserve to win and you never saw more excited teammates as they walked off the field.
So New York was now six games ahead of the Reds in the wild card race, but they had someone else to watch out for…the Giants, who in beating the Cardinals 8-2 Friday remained just four behind the Mets after winning five straight and 11 of 12, though the Mets were now tied with the slumping Padres, who had lost five straight.
NL Wild Card race after Friday night….
Cubs 81-60…+5
Padres 76-65…–
Mets 76-65…–
Giants 72-69…4
But Saturday, the Mets fell to the Reds 6-3. The other Mets rookie hurler, Jonah Tong, allowed just three hits in six innings, but all three hits were Cincy home runs (4 runs in all). Four walks didn’t help…but he showed grit in gutting out six.
Tong had allowed just two home runs in 113 2/3 innings in the minors this season.
The Mets, however, caught a break when the Giants blew a 2-0 ninth-inning lead against St. Louis after Justin Verlander had thrown six scoreless for San Francisco. Reliever Ryan Walker in the bottom of the ninth yielded 4 hits and hit a batter as the Cards rallied for the win, 3-2.
New York on Sunday then unveiled our third stud rookie pitcher for his major-league debut, Brandon Sproat.
And Sproat was good, in fact very good, as in 5 1/3 of hitless ball, though he walked four early on and the score was 1-1 heading to the sixth, Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene spectacular, 7 innings, just one hit, a Brett Baty homer, and 12 strikeouts.
Sproat ended up yielding 3 runs in six, but the third successful rookie debut for the Mets in the past three weeks.
Alas, the Mets offense fell short in the top of the ninth, Starling Marte grounding into a double play after a Juan Soto homer had made it 3-2, and it’s another loss.
My boys are in trouble.
But, once again, the Giants lost to the Cardinals, 4-3, so the Mets are still four ahead in the wild card as they head to Philadelphia for four games. [Cincinnati and Arizona are also four back as I go to post.]
–Also going back to Tuesday, the Yankees got their third straight strong effort from Max Fried (after a lengthy rather horrid stretch), Fried pitching seven innings, one run, in a 7-1 win over the Astros in Houston, Fried now 15-5, 2.98.
But Wednesday, reliever Devin Williams yielded 4 runs in 2/3 of an inning, 3 walks, as the Astros beat the Yanks 8-7, Williams 3-6, 5.60 ERA.
Thursday, however, the Yanks rebounded for an 8-4 win over Houston, Carlos Rodon with six innings, one run, as he won his major-league leading 16th game (matched by Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta), now 16-7, 3.12. The surging Trent Grisham hitting home run No. 30 for New York.
The Yankees then entertained the first-place Blue Jays with a chance to tighten the race in the AL East further, New York entering Friday’s play 3 games back of Toronto.
But they lost 7-1, as Cam Schlittler had his worst of ten outings, giving up 4 earned in 1 2/3, his ERA rising from 2.61 to 3.24.
Meanwhile the Red Sox, who could have leapfrogged the Yankees in the AL East, fell in Arizona to the Diamondbacks, 10-5, as prized rookie hurler Payton Tolle gave up 5 runs in 3 innings.
Boston is playing without rookie sensation Roman Anthony, who was lost for the rest of the regular season with a left oblique strain. The 21-year-old future superstar had been playing lights out, a .292 batting average, .859 OPS in 71 games. He might be ready for the postseason at some point.
Saturday, the Yanks then beat Toronto 3-1 behind Luis Gil’s six strong. It was the longest of Gil’s seven outings since coming back from a lengthy injury stint that had him on the shelf and suddenly, New York has a strong threesome for the playoffs, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, and Gil (if not Schlittler). That’s pretty good. Yankees fans should be very optimistic.
But then you look at Aaron Judge, 2 RBIs in his last nine games, just 12 in his last 102 at-bats since returning from his little injury stint.
Judge DH’d yesterday because he still has trouble throwing and can’t always play right field. In his place, Cody Bellinger unleashed another spectacular throw to gun down a runner at home when the score was 2-1. It was the play of the game. So this is what manager Aaron Boone is faced with. Bellinger is a better outfielder. But DH’ing Judge means you aren’t playing Giancarlo Stanton, who has been terrific.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox lost again to the Diamondbacks Saturday night, 5-1.
Sunday, the Yanks cut the Blue Jays’ lead to just two games, 4-3, as Max Fried had another quality start, 7 innings, 3 earned…now 16-5, 3.02.
—Thursday, the Dodgers, in the midst of a rough stretch, fell to Paul Skenes and the Pirates in Pittsburgh, 5-3, with Skenes throwing six shutout innings, two hits, eight strikeouts…his record now above .500! 10-9, 1.98 ERA.
L.A. is in the midst of a 4-game losing streak, falling in Baltimore to the Orioles Friday night, 2-1, another close loss, as $72 million reliever Tanner Scott took the loss, giving up a game-winning homer to Orioles rookie Samuel Basallo with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
Scott has been horrid, giving up 10 earned in his last nine innings, including five home runs, dating to July 6.
Shohei Ohtani was the emergency opener, pitching 3 2/3 of shutout ball.
But the Dodgers remained two ahead of the Padres in the NL West with San Diego’s five-game skid.
Well make that one game…L.A. falling again in rather spectacular fashion Saturday in Baltimore, 4-3, the Orioles with all four runs in the bottom of the ninth.
The Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto was rolling, taking a no-hitter into the ninth. He got the first two batters out, but then Jackson Holliday homered to make it 3-1, and with Yamamoto at 112 pitches, Dave Roberts replaced him with Blake Treinen.
Treinen, and then Tanner Scott, proceeded to give up two hits, two walks, a hit batter and voila! Baltimore had scored four to win it. Unbelievable.
Meanwhile, the Padres snapped their losing streak, 10-8 over the Rockies.
But L.A. prevailed Sunday, 5-2, as Ohtani hit Nos. 47 and 48, while Clayton Kershaw improved to 10-2, 3.27, with 5 2/3 of solid stuff.
–One more from Saturday…Detroit’s Tarik Skubal will win a second consecutive Cy Young Award, Skubal with 7 scoreless in a 6-0 win over the White Sox to move to 13-4, 2.10.
—Sunday, the Mariners lit up the Braves in Atlanta in the Roku early game, 18-2, as Cal Raleigh hit No. 53, Eugenio Suarez with Nos. 44 and 45.
Boy, Seattle’s offense is loaded!
—Pittsburgh’s prized rookie, Bubba Chandler, gave up 9 earned in 2 2/3 today, the Pirates falling to the Brewers 10-2. As Homer Simpson would say, ‘Doh!’
—The woman who bizarrely went off on the father who snared a foul ball and then gave it to his son, goes into the December file for “Jerk” hardware. The Phillies’ Harrison Bader is in line for a “Good Guy” award when, after the game in Miami, he met with the boy and gave him a signed bat.
–Lastly, Mets fans are in mourning this weekend with the announcement that former manager Davey Johnson died, age 82.
Johnson was the manager of the exciting, dynamic, incredibly charismatic Mets teams of 1984-88, which won 90, 98, 108, 92 and 100 games.
As former Mets public relations executive Jay Horwitz recalled Johnson’s time with the Mets:
“Wins and losses don’t really tell the story of what made Davey great. He was brash, had swagger, and was the perfect guy to lead our team in the 1980s, which had so many different personalities. He was never afraid to speak his mind.”
When he got the job in October 1983, Davey asked the media, “Why did it take (GM) Frank Cashen so long to hire me?” In spring training, 1986, Davey addressed the team in this manner. “Not only will we win this year, but we will dominate.” The Mets won 108…116 including the playoffs.
As Jay Horowitz recalled, “After we got off to a 2-3 start in 1986, he told our welcome home dinner, ‘Don’t worry we won’t lose 50 games the rest of the season. Well, we actually lost 51 to wind up 108-54.” [After the 2-3 start, the Mets reeled off 11 in a row and were off and running.]
Here’s the thing…for Mets fans, 1984 and ’85 were just as exciting, seriously, if not more so, than 1986. We had been down for so long and in 1983, Frank Cashen traded for Keith Hernandez, June 15, while Darryl Strawberry made his Rookie of the Year debut.
Mets fans knew about the riches in the farm system, and in 1984, Dwight Gooden came up, age 19. In 1984 and 1985, for those of you who weren’t from the area, just understand every time Gooden pitched it was a “happening.” I would meet friends in New York, where I was working at the time, for drinks in bars every time Gooden was on the mound. And in ’85, Cashen added Gary Carter.
So those two years we went 90-72 and 98-64, and it almost didn’t matter we fell short of the division title because we knew this nucleus, along with Wally Backman, Lenny Dykstra, Mookie Wilson, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, Roger McDowell, Jesse Orosco…so many of them home grown…was eventually going to win it all and everything pointed to 1986.
Johnson let the players do their own thing…and they were wild. They were brash like their manager…opponents hated us…and for good reason. We were real assholes, but we backed it up, and then got some rather amazing breaks in the playoffs.
But just as we thought it was the start of a real dynasty, Strawberry and Gooden had their personal issues, injuries began to hit, we missed the playoffs in 1987, and then suffered a crushing 7-game defeat in the ’88 NLCS to the Dodgers. The non-dynasty years were over…way too soon.
Veteran sportswriter Bob Klapisch had some thoughts in NJ.com / Star-Ledger.
“To merely say Johnson was the perfect leader in the Ronald Reagan-Ed Koch-Wolves of Wall Street era barely captures his qualifications.
“Johnson had a larger-than-life swagger, as did many managers a generation ago. But he wasn’t angry at the world like Billy Martin, he wasn’t a phony like Tommy Lasorda or a bully like Whitey Herzog.
“Johnson was more like crooner Dean Martin, charming and smooth, with just enough of an edge to make you think twice about crossing him.
“ ‘Davey kept me in line,’ legendary Mets right fielder Darryl Strawberry said on Saturday. ‘I was a knucklehead back then, but Davey never once threw a player under the bus. There was nothing two-faced about him, which is why I respected him.’
“The feelings were stronger than that. Hearing that Johnson was in failing health earlier this year, Strawberry flew to Johnson’s farm outside of Sarasota, Florida, to see his former manager.
“Sensing it would be their last visit, Strawberry opened his heart.
“ ‘I wanted Davey to know he gave us the opportunity to be great,’ Strawberry said. ‘I said, ‘Without you, there would’ve been no championship (in ’86).’
“ ‘When you get older and you’re sick, people stop talking about you. People forget. But none of us ever forgot about Davey. He was the perfect manager for us.’”
Davey Johnson would be fired early in the 1990 season by Cashen, but he would reemerge and go on to have 98-win seasons with the Orioles in 1997, and the Nationals in 2012.
Overall, for his managing career, Johnson was a very good 1,372-1,071, .562 winning percentage, but only the one World Series championship.
Bob Klapisch also had this great anecdote. After the Mets defeated the Astros in a dramatic NLCS in ’86, the flight back to New York and the celebration onboard became rather famous.
“After the Mets tore up the charter plane…general manager Frank Cashen forwarded a letter from Trans World Airlines demanding $10,000 payment for damage to the aircraft.
“Once again, Johnson took the floor in the middle of the clubhouse.
“He held up the letter and ceremoniously tore it in half.
“ ‘Frank can pay it,’ Johnson told his players. ‘If it wasn’t for us, there wouldn’t have been any playoffs.’
“Cashen had the personality of Mr. Potter in the classic Christmas movie, ‘It’s A Wonderful Life.’ Bitter and disapproving, the GM was especially contemptuous of Johnson’s swag.
“Johnson wore the friction like a badge of honor, even though it ultimately got him fired in 1990.”
As a player, Davey was good. A quality second baseman, 3-time Gold Glove winner, 4-time All-Star with the Orioles, Braves and others, 1965-78, bashing an other-worldly 43 homers for Atlanta in 1973 (then a record for a second baseman), when his second-most homers for a season was 18. He won two World Series rings with Baltimore, 1966 and 1970, though he was part of the Orioles team that lost to the Miracle Mets in 1969, making the last out…a fly ball to left caught by left-fielder Cleon Jones.
RIP, Davey Johnson…you are remembered very, very fondly.
College Football
—Going back to the AP Poll, which was released Tuesday afternoon, Ohio State had gained the No. 1 spot after their defensive masterclass against then-No. 1 Texas in the opener last Saturday. LSU (No. 3) and Florida State (No. 14) were major climbers, too. But Alabama had fallen from No. 8 to No. 21, its lowest ranking in 17 years!
- Ohio State (55 first-place votes)
2. Penn State (7)
3. LSU (3)
4. Georgia
5. Miami
6. Oregon (1)
7. Texas
8. Clemson
9. Notre Dame
10. South Carolina
It’s the first time Ohio State is at the top of a regular-season poll since November 2015.
–So on to Saturday’s action, and there were few marquee matchups….
The day started with 11 Illinois traveling to Durham, N.C. to face Duke and the Blue Devils turned it over five times, the Illini drilling them 45-19. Boy, I wasted a lot of time watching this one.
—16 Iowa State won their annual biggie against Iowa, 16-13 in Ames, on a Kyle Konrardy 54-yard field goal with 1:52 to play. It was a typical matchup, the Cyclones outgaining the Hawkeyes, but just 238-214. But it’s always about who can gut it out in the end.
ISU is a cool team, with a fun quarterback in Rocco Becht, who has now been in Ames four seasons. Gotta love it in these transfer portal times.
—18 Oklahoma had a potentially huge win for the program, 24-13 over 15 Michigan (which doesn’t deserve to be in the top 25 this week), former Washington State QB John Mateer with 270 yards passing with a touchdown, and another 74 yads on the ground and two scores for the Sooners. Mateer, highly sought, is the real deal.
—8 Clemson fell behind Troy 16-0 midway through the second quarter, and Death Valley was deadly quiet.
But the Tigers came back for a 27-16 win.
Troy is an interesting program. They’ve had some very good seasons…I wouldn’t want to play them, especially early in the year.
—Arch Manning was 19/30, 295, 4-1, as 7 Texas rebounded against San Jose State 38-7.
—4 Georgia was far from impressive in beating Austin Peay 28-6.
—Mississippi State pulled off a 24-20 upset over 12 Arizona State.
—17 SMU suffered a crushing loss at home to Baylor, 48-45 in two overtimes, after the Mustangs were up 38-24 in the fourth.
Sawyer Robertson was 34/50, 440, 4-0 for the Bears, who have beaten SMU 14 straight times, going back to their Southwest Conference days.
—Bill Belichick got his first win as North Carolina defeated Charlotte 20-3.
—Michigan State beat Boston College 42-40 in double overtime, despite a terrific performance from the Eagles’ Dylan Lonergan (formerly at Alabama) who went 34/45, 390, 4-0.
–But then you had a bunch of less-than-stirring matchups…1 Ohio State over Grambling 70-0, outgaining the Tigers 651-166; 2 Penn State over Florida International 34-0; 6 Oregon whipping Oklahoma State 69-3, the Cowboys now 1-10 since a 3-0 start to the 2024 season; and 14 Florida State destroying East Texas A&M (I swear, I never heard of this school) 77-3.
–Which brings us to South Florida vs. 13 Florida in Gainesville.
The Bulls had upset 25 Boise State in Week 1, 34-7, so the Gators had to treat them with respect. But late in the fourth quarter, Florida DT Brendan Bett was seen spitting on Bulls OL Cole Skinner, Skinner pushed Bett in response, and flags were thrown.
Bett was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and was ejected for the spitting, with South Florida earning a free 15 yards.
On the very next play, the Bulls completed a 29-yard pass to get themselves into field goal range with 1:54 left in the game, Nico Gramatica nailed the 20-yarder, and South Florida won it, 18-16, a second straight win over a ranked opponent.
The Florida faithful are furious with coach Billy Napier, who many were shocked to see return this year after three mediocre-to-awful seasons.
The Gators now face LSU, Miami, Texas and Texas A&M in succession.
–Lastly, Rutgers beat Miami (OH) 45-17 behind Athan Kaliakmanis’ 4 TD passes, and Wake Forest whipped Western Carolina 42-10 amidst two lengthy weather delays. A game that started at 2:00 p.m., ended at 8:00 p.m. Needless to say, there were few fans left at 8:00.
But the Deacs got a rather sterling performance from stud running back Demond Claiborne, 10 carries for 193 yards and three touchdowns.
Claiborne carried the ball only 3 times in last week’s nailbiter over Kennesaw State owing to a rib injury, but there he was Saturday, in all his glory.
—Florida State freshman linebacker Ethan Pritchard, who did not play in the Seminoles’ season-opening victory against Bama, was shot in the back of the head Sunday night, his father said, and is in stable condition at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.
Earl Pritchard told WFTV in Orlando that Ethan was shot while driving his aunt home from a family gathering in Havana, Florida, which is about 16 miles from Tallahassee, near the Georgia state line.
“He was actually in the car taking my sister around the corner to her daughter’s house to drop her off,” Earl Pritchard said. “They turned the corner, and as soon as they turned the corner, they heard gunshots.”
Florida State coach Mike Norvell said Wednesday he has been able to briefly visit Ethan in the hospital.
“It’s a lot, not going to say it’s not,” Norvell said. “I try to give the players a daily update. …I was also able to go by yesterday for a short period of time with limited visitation… It was good to be with him.”
—And now the new AP Poll!
- Ohio State (57) 2-0
2. Penn State (5) 2-0
3. LSU (2) 2-0
4. Oregon (1) 2-0…quack quack….
5. Miami 2-0
6. Georgia 2-0
7. Texas 1-1
8. Notre Dame 0-1
9. Illinois 2-0
10. Florida State 2-0
11. South Carolina 2-0
12. Clemson 1-1
13. Oklahoma 2-0…up 5
14. Iowa State 3-0
15. Tennessee 2-0
16. Texas A&M 2-0
17. Ole Miss 2-0
18. South Florida 2-0
19. Alabama 1-1
20. Utah 2-0
21. Texas Tech 2-0
22. Indiana 2-0
23. Michigan 1-1
24. Auburn 2-0
25. Missouri 2-0
Arizona State, Florida and SMU exit the stage….
The SEC has 11 of its 18 teams in the Top 25…first league to have 11.
Next week, 18 USF at 5 Miami…lots of quality cheerleaders in this one.
6 Georgia at 15 Tennessee.
16 Texas A&M at 8 Notre Dame…an early season must win for the Irish.
NFL
–Thursday, the NFL season opened with the Super Bowl champion Eagles hosting the Cowboys. And the Eagles won it, 24-20, despite a 65-minute lightning delay that had the game ending at 12:18 a.m.
Jalen Hurts led Philadelphia with a conservative game plan, 19/23, 152, 0-0, but he had two touchdowns on the ground, 62 yards on 14 carries, while Saquon Barkley was held in check by the Dallas ‘D,’ 18 carries for just 60 yards and a score.
Dallas was actually pretty solid and should be OK, despite three drops from wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who already has a zillion in his short career.
But the game was somewhat overshadowed by the fireworks at the start of the game, when Eagles’ star defender Jalen Carter was tossed for spitting on Dak Prescott, though it was Prescott who actually spit first, as the Zapruder replay showed.
Carter apologized after the game.
—Friday night in Sao Paolo, Brazil, the Chargers, behind a terrific effort from quarterback Justin Herbert, defeated the Chiefs 27-21. Herbert was 25/34, 318, 3-0, 131.7.
For K.C., Patrick Mahomes was a pedestrian 24/39, 258, 1-0, 89.5, while Travis Kelce had a 37-yard touchdown reception (but only two catches for 47 for the game). Kelce also collided with Chiefs receiver Xavier Worthy, with Worthy getting the worst of it, forced to exit with a right shoulder injury.
–So I make no apologies, both with college and the NFL, I focus on one game at a time and try to watch it all, and if it’s my team, a la the Jets or Wake Forest, that’s what I do.
Today, the Jets were playing without key offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker, who suffered a season-ending triceps injury…devastating. But no one is going to feel sorry for them and they entertained their old teammate, Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers.
And, boy, what an absolutely terrific NFL game it was, and at the end, Jets fans can go back to a missed extra point by Nick Folk following a touchdown that made it 9-7 Jets instead of 10-7.
That missed XP ended up changing the whole complexion of the decisions new head coach Aaron Glenn had to make, and the Steelers won it 34-32, on a 60-yard Chris Boswell field goal that should have been for the tie.
I mean that’s just a fact. But as Tony Soprano would have said at Holstein’s in Bloomfield, ‘Whaddya gonna do.’
Jets fans have a lot of positives to take away, at least on offense…Justin Fields was terrific, 16/22, 218, 1-0, 119.1 PR, plus 48 rushing and two TDs. Breece Hall rushed for 107 yards on 19 carries, plus two receptions for 38, and Garrett Wilson caught seven passes for 95 yards and a TD.
Those are the three main characters on offense that must perform for the Jets to remain, at worst, entertaining the whole season.
But the defense came up small in parts, namely the secondary, as Aaron Rodgers was also darn good, 22/30, 244, 4-0, 136.7. Steelers fans should be thrilled.
And they should be thrilled at the performance of their own defense in the clutch on the final Jets drive, especially from Jalen Ramsey.
But what a game.
–The Giants earlier in the week named Jaxson Dart as the primary backup to Russell Wilson, leaping over Jameis Winston on the depth chart, and Monday morning’s sports airwaves will be filled with talk of Dart getting the start in Week 2 over Wilson, who did nothing against the Commanders, 17/37, 168, 0-0, 59.3, in a 21-6 loss.
On the other side, Jayden Daniels did enough…233 passing, 68 rushing, as Washington takes the opener.
—Former Giant Daniel Jones played very well in his first game with the Colts, 22/29, 272, 1-0, 115.9, as Indianapolis whipped the Dolphins in Indy, 33-8, Miami coach Mike McDaniel on death watch…as in he’s fired very quickly.
Tua had two INTs for the Dolphins.
—The Bengals beat the Browns in Cleveland 17-16, despite being outgained 327-141. Yup, just 141 yards of total offense for Joe Burrow and Co. But for the Brownies, Joe Flacco, aged 96 but still with a strong arm (we should all be so lucky), threw two interceptions.
–And the Raiders defeated the Patriots in Foxborough, 20-13, as new Vegas QB Geno Smith was solid, 24/34, 362, 1-1, 102.8, while rookie Ashton Jeanty only had 38 yards on 19 carries.
US Open
–Friday, defending champion Jannik Sinner came through a slight injury scare in his semi-final against Feliz Auger-Aliassime, setting up another tantalizing Grand Slam final with Carlos Alcaraz.
It will be the third consecutive meeting between the pair in a title decider after Alcaraz’s French Open win in June was followed a month later by Sinner winning at Wimbledon.
It is also the first time in the Open era that two players have contested three major finals in the same season and Sunday’s match will also be for the number one ranking – which Sinner has held for 65 consecutive weeks.
Alcaraz, earlier in the day, dispatched of Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-6, 6-2.
Djokovic had extended his record by reaching a 53rd Grand Slam semifinal in taking out 4 Taylor Fritz, 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, in their quarterfinal match. It was Novak’s record-tying 14th semi at Flushing Meadows. Fritz’ loss means the U.S. drought continues without a male singles champion at any major since 2003, when Andy Roddick won in New York.
But today, it was all Alcaraz, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, an incredible sixth Grand Slam at age 22 (2 French, 2 Wimbledon, 2 US Opens).
–On the women’s side, Amanda Anisimova eliminated 4-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in their semi-final, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, in a 3-hour epic that ended around 1 a.m. Friday morning.
The 8-seeded Anisimova, a 24-year-old who was born in New Jersey, reached her second straight major final. In the quarterfinals, she gained a bit revenge on world No. 2 Iga Swiatek, 6-4, 6-3, after Swiatek double-bageled Anisimova in their last meeting in the Wimbledon final in July.
Anisimova then faced defending champion, and No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday for the title; Sabalenka having taken out American Jessica Pegula in three sets on Thursday. Sabalenka owns three major titles, all on hard courts.
Make that four major titles (two Aussie, two U.S.), as Sabalenka defeated Anisimova, 6-3, 7-6, in a match that was closer than the score might indicate. Any day I get to see Chris Evert is a good day.
Stuff
—Over in Ireland today, Rory McIlroy, in dramatic fashion, won the Irish Open, nailing a 28-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole to force a playoff with Joakim Lagergren at K Club, then winning it on the third hole of the playoff.
Picture the Irish faithful and the massive ovation for Rory. Watching a tape of it, it was electric. And Rory was emotional…and extremely appreciative.
—Hockey legend and Hall of Famer Ken Dryden died. He was 78.
Dryden was one of the great goaltenders of all time, winning six Stanley Cups with Montreal in the 1970s. Canadiens owner Geoff Molson said in a statement, “Ken embodied the best of everything the Montreal Canadiens are about, and his legacy within our society transcends our sport.”
Dryden, an Ontario native, had an impressive amateur career at Cornell as a three-time All-America selection and a national title winner in 1967.
He then joined the Canadiens for a relatively short but incredibly memorable eight-year NHL career, winning the Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie in 1971-72 before winning the Vezina Trophy as the top goalie on five separate occasions.
Standing at 6-foot-4, Bruins forward Phil Esposito once referred to him as “that thieving giraffe” – Dryden often struck a famous pose in the crease, resting his chin atop the knob on his goal stick.
He played his last game in the 1978-79 season, finishing with a career mark of 259-57-74, a .922 save percentage and 2.24 goals-against average. [In 112 playoff games, he had a 2.41 GAA.]
Dryden later worked as a commentator during three Winter Olympics and was in the booth with Al Michaels when the U.S. beat the Soviet Union to reach the gold medal game in 1980.
—Caitlin Clark will miss the rest of the Indiana Fever’s season because of a right groin injury, which means she ended up playing in just 13 of the 44 regular season games.
–We note the passing of a real pioneer, George Raveling, the former Villanova hoops standout who coached in college basketball for more than two decades before retiring and moving to Nike. He was 88.
Raveling, who coached at Washington State, Iowa and USC, was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas wrote that Raveling was “a true guardian of the game” and “an icon.”
Former Villanova coach Jay Wright described Raveling as “the finest human being, inspiring mentor, and most loyal alum and a thoughtful loving friend.”
Born in 1937 in a segregated hospital in Washington, D.C., Raveling became the first Black coach in the ACC when Lefty Driesell hired him as an assistant at Maryland in 1969 (yet another reason to admire the underrated Driesell).
In 1972, he became the first Black coach in the Pac-12 (then the Pac-8) when he was hired as head coach at Washington State. He served as an assistant coach for both the 1984 and ’88 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball teams, earning both a gold and bronze medal, respectively.
But for all his on-court accomplishments, Raveling was best known for what he did later in life – specifically when he retired from coaching in 1994 and joined Nike, at the personal request of co-founder Phil Knight.
At 63, Raveling had risen to the position of director of international basketball.
His most impressive Nike recruit came before he began working for the sportswear behemoth, though.
While an Olympic assistant, Raveling played a pivotal role in Nike signing a young Michael Jordan from the University of North Carolina, helping build a global brand that continues to thrive today. In the 2023 movie “Air,” which tells the story of Nike persuading Jordan to pick the swoosh, Raveling was played by Marlon Wayans.
Jordan wrote the forward for Raveling’s book, “What You’re Made For,” which was published in 2025, and said he was “proud to call George a mentor and a friend.”
He added, “If not for George, there would be no Air Jordan.”
But the following is outstanding.
In August 1963, Raveling, 26, was working as a marketing analyst for Sun Oil Co. Randomly, Raveling, who was a hulking 6-foot-4 and more than 200 pounds, was asked by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s staff if he’d be willing to volunteer as a security guard for King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, which he delivered Aug. 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.
Raveling was standing near King when the civil rights leader uttered the famous line, “I have a dream.”
Raveling later explained: “At the end of the speech, as Dr. King finished and started to fold his speech, as he walked away, I just said – I don’t know why, just impulsively said: ‘Dr. King, can I have that copy?’ And he turned and handed it to me.”
George Raveling owned basketball memorabilia from around the world, but nothing was more valuable than the physical copy of Dr. King’s speech.
I mean how cool is that?!
—A shark fatally mauled a man in his 50s at a beach near Sydney, Australia, Saturday morning, drones searching for the predator.
The man was retrieved from the surf and brought to shore but died at the scene. Two sections of a surfboard were recovered and taken for examination.
The species of shark has not yet been identified.
Witnesses say the victim was brought ashore by two fellow surfers and that distraught family members rushed to the scene. I can not imagine how you would feel if you were in the family.
Local surfer Bill Sakula told reporters at the beach he heard of the attack as he was preparing to leave for a morning surf.
“It’s going to send shockwaves through the community,” he said. “Everyone is going to be a little bit nervous for a while.”
The attack is thought to be the first in the state of New South Wales this year. The last time a person was killed by a shark in Sydney was in February 2022, which had been the city’s first fatal shark attack since 1963. The 2022 attack was perpetrated by a great white shark.
Australia typically records about 20 shark attacks each year, with most in New South Wales and Western Australia.
Top 3 songs for the week 9/11/76: #1 “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty” (KC & The Sunshine Band) #2 “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine” (Lou Rawls…for a disco-ey tune, not awful…) #3 “Play That Funky Music” (Wild Cherry)…and…#4 “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight” (England Dan & John Ford Coley) #5 “A Fifth Of Beethoven” (Walter Murphy & The Big Apple Band…one of the worst songs in the history of the planet…top five…) #6 “You Should Be Dancing” (Bee Gees) #7 “Lowdown” (Boz Scaggs…this album, ‘Silk Degrees,’ saved our sanity after #5 overload…) #8 “Let ‘Em In” (Wings) #9 “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” (Elton John & Kiki Dee) #10 “Summer” (War…good one…C+ week…)
ACC Football Quiz Answer: Ten QBs to throw for 10,000 yards in their ACC careers….
- Philip Rivers 13,484 (2000-2003) North Carolina State
2. Sam Hartman 12,967 (2018-2023) Wake Forest
3. Kenny Pickett 12,303 (2017-2021) Pitt
4. Tajh Boyd 11,904 (2010-2013) Clemson
5. Brennan Armstrong 10,819 (2018-2023) North Carolina State
6. Ryan Finley 10,501 (2014-2018) North Carolina State
7. Sam Howell 10,283 (2019-2021) North Carolina
8. Deshaun Watson 10,163 (2014-2016) Clemson
9. Trevor Lawrence 10,098 (2018-2020) Clemson
10. Thaddeus Lewis 10,065 (2006-2009) Duke
Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.
