[Posted Sunday PM, prior to late football…]
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Baseball Quiz: Fourteen players in baseball history played 2,000 games or more without ever making the postseason (post-1903). Eight of them played at least a significant portion of their career from 1960 on. How many of these eight can you name.
OK, I’ll give you help. These are the years the eight played in the big leagues, not necessarily in order.
1953-71; 1972-89; 2001-14; 1964-79; 1951-66; 1969-86; 1960-77; 1960-74. Answer below.
MLB
Wild Card standings through Saturday….
NL
Cubs 83-66…+2.5
Phillies 82-67…+1.5
Padres 80-68…–
Diamondbacks 79-70…1.5
AL
Yankees 85-63…+10.5
Red Sox 81-68…+6
Guardians 75-74…–
Blue Jays 74-75…1
Rangers 73-76…2
Orioles 72-77…3
AL Central
White Sox 76-72
Guardians 75-74…1.5
AL West
Astros 75-74
Rangers 73-76…2
—Aaron Judge returned to the Yankees lineup last Tuesday, after a 3+ month absence due to a fractured rib, and through Friday’s game against the Mets, he’s gone 3-for-10, zero extra-base hits.
Friday, us Mets fans had a frustrating night at the Stadium, as the two teams commemorated the 25th anniversary of 9/11. The Mets kept inching back from a 5-1 deficit, the Yanks hitting our ace, Nolan McLean, hard (5 innings, 5 earned), Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice with home runs.
But the Mets’ final rally in the 9th fell short when Juan Soto hit into a game-ending double-play. Yanks take the opener of the Subway Series 6-4, Carlos Rodon terrific on the mound, 6 1/3, one earned, 8 strikeouts.
The Mets (69-79) then mauled the Yanks 12-2, Saturday, hitting a season-best six home runs, Francisco Lindor with two of them, including a grand slam, while rookie lefthander Zac Thornton was superb, seven innings, two runs, for the win.
The Yankees (85-63) fell four games behind the Rays (89-59) in the AL East, Tampa Bay beating the Astros 3-2 Saturday.
Sunday, the Yanks and Cam Schlittler shut out the Mets 2-0, both teams with just three hits, but Ben Rice and Austin Wells went yard against the Mets’ Christian Scott (6 innings, 2 runs).
Schlittler pitched one-hit ball for six to move to 14-6, 1.95, as he solidified his Cy Young prospects further.
[The Rays beat the Astros 14-4.]
—Milwaukee and Tampa Bay became the first teams in their respective leagues to secure postseason berths Friday, and both punched their tickets rather emphatically. The Brewers – in for the eighth time in nine years as baseball’s smallest-market team – two-hit the Reds in a 20-0 rout. The Rays took a different track: Tied 1-1 with the Astros in the ninth, Junior Caminero hit a 2-run homer, his 40th, for his first career walk-off hit.
—The Dodgers opened a series in Miami Friday, sans Shohei Ohtani, who was placed on the 15-day injured list for the first time since he joined the team. L.A. wants to make sure he is fully recovered from his various ailments in time for the playoffs and he’s eligible to return Sept. 23, with five regular-season games remaining.
Friday, Blake Snell continued to pitch great, 5 2/3, one run, as the Dodgers beat the Marlins (72-76) 6-2.
Los Angeles, however, failed to clinch a division title Saturday, falling to the Marlins 4-3. Tyler Glasnow, looking to become the Dodgers’ fourth starter in the playoffs, yielded the four runs in four innings.
—The Phillies had gotten to within four games of Atlanta in the NL East as they squared off for a weekend set in Atlanta, but the Braves won a thriller in 11 innings, 6-5 Friday, and the lead was five.
Saturday, Atlanta whipped the Phils 12-2, scoring eight in the 4th to make it a blowout early.
—Tues., Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski threw his 1,000th triple-digit pitch of the season. How astonishing is this? No team in the pitch-tracking era had topped 1,000 triple-digit fastballs in a single season.
—Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated did a detailed piece on the issues behind Paul Skenes’ mysterious season of mediocrity after a fast start, and even the great Verducci didn’t mention what I’ve told you should be obvious.
He was overused his senior season in college at LSU, leading his team to the College World Series, and it’s catching up to him.
Saturday, Skenes pitched seven solid innings, yielding two runs, but striking out only four as the Cubs beat the Buccos 4-3.
College Football Review
–Before the weekend’s action, LSU ended its quest to add two players who had signed NFL contracts to its roster, tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive end Zxavian Harris, and now their attorney said they were considering their legal options.
The news came the same day the SEC said in a federal court filing that it would discuss a vote on Thursday on whether to kick LSU out of the conference.
The conference’s presidents and chancellors then met via videoconference and opted not to sanction LSU.
[8 LSU beat Louisiana Tech 45-14 on Saturday.]
—When it comes to Top 25 action this week, it was an incredibly barren schedule and I only jotted down eight games that I was going to report on, including action involving most of the top ten.
But there was one game that was hugely important. No. 1 Ohio State at 4 Texas, the Longhorns a 1.5-point favorite.
So, I wrote the above Saturday morning…and, boy, what a Saturday in college football we ended up having…perhaps the greatest single weekend in recent memory.
Starting off, I was focused on Wake Forest at Purdue, a big early test for both programs, and having watched the entire contest, let’s just say you won’t find a better college football game all season.
Forget that it wasn’t a titanic upset involving a top ten team, just from a purest standpoint.
Wake led 17-10 at the half as quarterback Gio Lopez was spectacular, 11 of 13, 146 yards. Every throw on the mark. And he rushed for 62 yards, making one third down conversion after another.
But in the second half, Lopez was clearly not himself health wise, the exact status of his injury not evident, but he suddenly didn’t have the same mobility and his throws were inaccurate.
That said, Wake led 23-13 after a clutch 44-yard field goal with 9:13 to play in the game.
Purdue then tied it with two scoring drives, Lopez and the Deacs a quick three-and-out in between, but Wake held the Boilermakers to a game-tying field goal when it appeared they were going in for the winning score in the final minute.
We went to overtime, and Lopez and the Deacs’ offense rallied, scoring two touchdowns, Lopez running it in for the second score, and then Gio ran it in for the deciding two-point conversion, injuries and all, and the Deacs win on the road, 38-36.
It was one of the bigger Wake wins in recent years and now fingers crossed on Lopez’s health as the Deacs host Miami next week.
In another game involving ACC and Big Ten teams, Duke had a terrific road win at Illinois, 31-27, as it was the Nate Sheppard show for the Blue Devils. The running back had 147 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, and caught five passes for another 41 yards and two scores.
Duke lost quarterback Darian Mensah in the offseason to Miami, but they retained Sheppard from last season’s squad, and he’s NFL bound.
–As for top ten action, 2 Georgia blitzed Western Kentucky 70-20, the Bulldogs favored by 40.5 points.
3 Notre Dame blasted Rice 52-0, the Fighting Irish favored by 44.5.
5 Indiana annihilated Howard 55-0, both coaches agreeing to shorten the fourth quarter to ten minutes, outgaining the Bison 505 to 57 yards, Charlie Becker three receptions for 81 yards, all three touchdowns. I didn’t see how much money Howard received for the ‘effort.’
Then we had a massive upset in Stillwater, Oklahoma, as 6 Oregon fell to Oklahoma State, 39-31, in an absolute stunner.
The Cowboys had fallen in Week One to Tulsa, 24-10, taking their losing streak to 12. Last season OK State lost its last eleven games of the season.
But they retooled, hiring North Texas’ coach, Eric Morris, who brought his quarterback, star running back and receiver with him. Yet they had still lost to Tulsa.
Saturday, however, they outgained the Ducks 554-281.
Picture, last season Oregon defeated Oklahoma State 69-3!
In the end, though, trailing 36-31 with 6:48 to play, Oregon coach Dan Lanning went for it on 4th and 8 from their own 33-yard line and failed to convert.
Plenty of time was left on the clock to get a stop and drive down the field. It was the dumbest coaching decision I’ve seen in years.
Oklahoma State took advantage of the field position and kicked a field goal with 3:11 to play and their defense sealed the amazing win.
It was the first time in history that an FBS team snapped a 10+ game losing streak against an AP Top Ten team!
What an embarrassment for Oregon. And so much for the mystique surrounding Dan Lanning.
And we aren’t finished. Michigan, after their fake win against Western Michigan last week, upset 11 Oklahoma 17-10, as Sooner QB John Mateer threw a huge interception in the fourth quarter.
Which brings us to the big game of the week…No. 1 Ohio State at 4 Texas.
It was all Buckeyes, up 23-3 heading to the fourth quarter.
But Arch Manning and the Longhorns were driving and scored their first touchdown at the 14:19 mark, 23-10, Manning having engineered a 91-yard drive. There was hope for Texas fans.
And sure enough, Arch led Texas on two more long drives of 72 and 73 yards, and, helped by a missed 45-yard field goal from Ohio State’s Connor Hawkins that would have clinched it, Texas pulled off a stunning comeback, 24-23, giving coach Steve Sarkisian that elusive validating victory against a heavyweight program. It was Texas’ first win against a top-ranked team at home in 76 years.
And it was validation for Manning, with all the NFL scouts in attendance (those that weren’t watching Oregon’s Dante Moore implode up the road in Stillwater).
Lastly, Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith solidified his ranking as a top five Heisman candidate with eight receptions for 164 yards and a score. He is truly electric.
—Friday night, in the annual Welles Crowther ‘Red Bandanna’ game (Crowther a Boston College alum who was a hero on 9/11, dying at the World Trade Center while rescuing scores of others), BC beat Rutgers 28-21 in Chestnut Hill, Greg Schiano’s Scarlet Knights starting the season a nightmarish 0-2, BC 1-1.
I watched a fair amount of this one, and it was sloppy affair, Rutgers’ quarterback AJ Surace with an eventful night, 18/27, 230, 3-4. Future NFL receiver KJ Duff had eight receptions for 137 yards and two touchdowns.
For BC, their quarterback, Mason McKenzie, passed for 252 yards and rushed for another 94, but he had two interceptions.
—And the new AP Poll….
1 Texas 2-0 (56)
2 Georgia 2-0 (3)
3 Notre Dame 2-0 (1)
4 Indiana 2-0 (3)
5 Miami (FL) 2-0 (4)
6 Ohio State 1-1
7 LSU 2-0 (1)
8 Ole Miss 2-0
9 Texas A&M 2-0
10 Alabama 2-0
19 Michigan 1-1…back in…
21 Oregon 1-1…down 15!
24 Oklahoma 1-1…down 13…
This coming week, Miami travels to Wake Forest for a Friday night contest.
And then next Saturday night, LSU at Ole Miss…Lane Kiffin’s return to Oxford. Oh baby. It’s also the first top-10 matchup between these teams since 1962!
NFL
—In Wednesday’s season-opener, the Seahawks beat the Patriots 13-10 in the battle of last year’s Super Bowl contestants.
New England quarterback Drake Maye was leading his team to at least a game-tying field goal when he threw a pathetic interception (one of three on the game).
But the game was about the injuries. Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold injured his hip on the first series of the game and it could have been Seattle’s season, just like that.
But Darnold did not fracture his hip, and he should miss just one game, at least according to the team. Call it two games. But the Seahawks really dodged a bullet.
Darnold’s replacement, Drew Lock, led the team to two late scoring drives for the win.
For New England, their key offseason acquisition, receiver A.J. Brown, suffered a high-ankle sprain in the third quarter and was placed on the IL, meaning he’ll miss at least four games.
—Thursday, the 49ers shocked the preseason Super Bowl pick, the Rams, 27-7, Down Under in Melbourne, Australia.
The Rams, the team with an embarrassment of talent, sleep-walked through the game, and for good reason. The team stupidly arrived in Melbourne just 24 hours before the game, while the Niners were there a full week to prepare and get over the jet lag…which is considerable after a 15-hour flight! I’ve flown non-stop to Asia multiple times and it takes more than 24 hours to adjust. The Rams were idiots. Their play was embarrassing…and this was the first NFL game in Australia…a crowd of 100,000 showing up to see one team play like crap.
Meanwhile, L.A.’s big acquisition, superstar defensive end Myles Garrett, who had missed much of training camp to rest his knee, made zero tackles and had no impact on the game.
“This was the worst version of myself that I’ve put out there, and I’ve got to be better,” Garrett said afterwards. He acknowledged his knee injury is more serious than he’s been letting on, but didn’t even want to discuss which knee it is.
For San Francisco, aside from their sterling defensive effort, quarterback Brock Purdy was terrific, 25/34, 205, 3-1.
We then learned Sunday that Garrett will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery and is heading to the injured list, where he will miss at least the next four games. A big blow.
—Today, the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets had their way with the pathetic Titans down in Nashville, 23-10.
Tennessee is coming off back-to-back 3-14 seasons and new coach Robert Saleh, the former Jets coach, has his work cut out for him.
For my Jets, however, what a difference an authentic quarterback makes. They have weapons on offense and Geno Smith exploited them. Geno was 19/24, 215, 0-0, 104.0, with star receiver Garrett Wilson catching six for 79, and New York rushing for 152 yards. It’s a simple formula.
The defense was good, giving up just 195 yards.
But the Jets have Green Bay, Detroit and Chicago the next three weeks. We’ll see.
–As I’ve told you in the past, I watched the entire Jets game while keeping tabs online on everything else, including baseball and the U.S. Open. That’s how I roll. [It’s the same anytime Wake Forest is on.]
But I knew Buffalo at Houston was a good affair and CBS switched to it after our game…so I saw the exciting ending and with a shot to win it, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud was stripped of the ball on the final play…Buffalo winning a biggie, 36-31, Josh Allen shredding the vaunted Houston defense, 20/29, 334, 2-0, 130.5.
Tight end Dalton Kincaid caught five for 130 yards and DJ Moore was five for 100 and a score.
—Pittsburgh beat Atlanta 20-13, Aaron Rodgers 24/40, 221, 1-0, 83.4 for the Steelers. Forty attempts for 221 yards isn’t great, but they won the game.
—Dallas is at the Meadowlands tonight to face the Giants, New York coach John Harbaugh’s debut.
U.S. Open
–In the women’s semifinals on Thursday, No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka beat 3 Jessica Pegula, 7-5, 6-2, and in the one I watched a lot of, 4 Coco Gauff fell to 2 Elena Rybakina, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6.
So, we had No. 1 vs. No. 2, Rybakina becoming the new No. 1 in the world regardless of the outcome, Saturday. Sabalenka is looking for her third consecutive U.S. Open title.
And the ice-cool Rybakina won it, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2…her third Grand Slam title, having triumphed at Wimbledon in 2022 and the Australian Open earlier this year.
–On the men’s side, in Friday’s semis, No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev advanced to the finals in straight sets over unseeded Karen Khachanov.
And in the nightcap, in the battle of two Americans, 8 Ben Shelton defeated 11 Frances Tiafoe, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5, in a match that thankfully for yours truly ended at a reasonable hour for a Friday night, and not 3:33 AM like Shelton’s quarterfinal effort against 2 Carlos Alcaraz.
It is beyond absurd that a big tennis match that is supposed to capture viewers, ends at such an hour, but this has happened all the time at the U.S. Open.
Shelton becomes the latest American, and first Black American since Arthur Ashe in 1972, to not only play in the Open Final, but also attempt to become the first since Andy Roddick in 2003 to win a Grand Slam…not just the U.S. Open, but any Grand Slam title.
But in the finals just completed, Zverev took his second Grand Slam title, both this year (the other the French Open)…6-3, 7-6, 5-7, 6-2.
The U.S. streak, unfortunately, continues.
Golf Balls
—Shane Lowry took a 4-shot lead into the final round of the Irish Open at Doonbeg Golf Club (now Trump International Golf Links & Hotel), and won it by a staggering, record 11 shots over Patrick Reed and Joaquin Niemann.
It was Lowry’s 7th win on the DP World (European) Tour, but first since 2022.
—Europe won the Solheim Cup over the United States in the Netherlands, 15-13.
—LIV Golf filed for bankruptcy protection after months of speculation about its future, but league officials said the move is intended to facilitate a restructuring and launch a new player-owned version of the tour.
LIV lists assets of $100 million to $500 million, and liabilities of $500 million to $1 billion, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY.
Golf fans really only care how this impacts Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. Rahm’s potential free agency will now be determined by the U.S. bankruptcy court judge.
DeChambeau’s contract with LIV expired after this season and he has been actively involved in crafting the league’s future with CEO Scott O’Neill.
The Financial Times has reported that LIV Golf offered players settlements on their contracts prior to filing for bankruptcy. Both Rahm and DeChambeau could potentially be owed millions if they do not come to new agreements with LIV Golf 2.0.
–Last weekend’s Walker Cup at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland continues to garner wide praise.
Joel Beall / Golf Digest
“The Walker Cup was the golf event of 2026. A lot of credit belongs to a historic surge by Great Britain & Ireland in front of a partisan crowd, yet the instant-classic ending was facilitated by a framework that perennially makes the competition one of the last bastions of pure sport in high-level golf. Chiefly, intimate atmospheres, prestigious venues and a lack of commercial interests. It’s not an accident that the first two tenets are part of the PGA Tour’s revamped approach to its match-play postseason, but there’s another entity that should take note: the PGA of America.
“The organization suffered a black eye at Bethpage Black, outrageous ticket prices the primary storyline heading into last year’s Ryder Cup and a lack of institutional control and accountability during and after tarnishing the event. Moreover, both the American and European sides are guilty of choosing venues that have little to do with the course itself and more of its physical footprint to put up corporate hospitality. The Ryder Cup’s power has always stemmed from its communal energy, the way fans from both sides create an atmosphere unlike anything else in golf. That electricity requires authenticity as well as the diehards that live and breathe the game rather than consume it. Lately, the event has pushed that contingent to the side in favor of its own interests.
“Perhaps smaller crowds lining greens and fairways at better courses, and doing a better job of policing its spectators, seems too much to ask for an event that has transformed into a behemoth. But letting it continue to be what it has become is only going to make things worse. The Ryder Cup has a long way to go to reestablish what made it special; luckily, the Walker Cup just gave it a solution.”
Premier League
—Saturday, Chelsea and Hull City played to a 2-2 draw, as Hull City remains undefeated after four games, 2-2-0 (W-D-L) for solo third in league at 8 points. Pretty amazing start for the newbies.
Liverpool-Fulham, and Tottenham-Everton played to 0-0 draws. Tottenham, 0-2-2, has not scored a goal yet. Ugh.
First-place Arsenal beat Sunderland 2-0.
And Sunday, we had the Manchester Derby, Man U vs. City at Old Trafford, and City won it 1-0, despite playing with just 10 men after the 23-minute mark due to a red card on Phil Foden. A rather extraordinary effort.
Of course, the lone goal was scored by Erling Haaland, because that’s what Erling Haaland does.
City and Arsenal are the only two teams to start out 4-0-0.
Top 3 songs for the week 9/13/69: #1 “Honky Tonk Women” (The Rolling Stones) #2 “Sugar, Sugar” (The Archies) #3 “A Boy Named Sue” (Johnny Cash)…and…#4 “Green River” (Creedence Clearwater Revival) #5 “Get Together” (The Youngbloods) #6 “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” (Tom Jones) #7 “Lay Lady Lay” (Bob Dylan) #8 “Easy To Be Hard” (Three Dog Night…just a great tune…) #9 “Put A Little Love In Your Heart” (Jackie DeShannon) #10 “I Can’t Get Next To You” (The Temptations…A- week…)
Baseball Quiz Answer: Fourteen who played 2,000 games or more without ever making the postseason….
Ernie Banks (1953-71)…2528
Luke Appling (1930-50)…2422
Mickey Vernon (1939-60)…2409
Bubby Bell (1972-89)…2405
Ron Santo (1960-74)…2243
Joe Torre (1960-77)…2209
Toby Harrah (1969-86)…2155
Harry Heilmann (1914-32)…2147
Eddie Yost (1944-62)…2109
Roy McMillan (1951-66)…2093
Don Kessinger (1964-79)…2078
George Sisler (1915-30)…2055
Cy Williams (1912-30)…2002
Adam Dunn (2001-14)…2001
Brief Add-on up top Tues. AM…
