Memories are stirred, truly good entertainment recalled in remembering both Chuck Negrin, the founding member and often lead singer of the seminal group, “Three Dog Night,” and Demond Wilson, an ahead of his time, fine actor, best known as Redd Foxx’ son on “Sanford and Son.”
Mr. Wilson along with the great Cleavon Little appeared on All In The Family, still in my opinion the most significant television show (“The Sopranos” of course, also changed the TV landscape, in a significant way), as burglars at the Bunkers home.
The ensuing words made us laugh and think, maybe even cry, satisfying Mr. Valvano’s “suggestion” (each day, laugh, think and cry) as a dying man, speaking at the first and only worthwhile ESPY’s, as that monolith and its concepts, its talking heads shrieking nonsense, never checked, gives the universe’s D.A. another reason to condemn the earth).
Chuck Negrin sang lead on such great songs and big hits as “Joy To The World” and “An Old Fashioned Love Song.”
The group had many other great songs. Music is almost always a painless pleasure and though I still might think of the group and have here, in writing, when 3 sports underdogs win on the same night (even day) it is my fervent hope that music and not gambling will permeate society in the time that follows.
Chuck Negrin, pictured above.
Click below as Mr. Negrin performs as the lead singer on “Three Dog Night’s” seminal hit song, “Joy To The World.”
Below Demond is second through the window and ‘con’ Afro, with Cleavon Little on “All In The Family.” I did just laugh, think and yes cry, watching it.
Left to right above, Demond Wilson and Cleavon Little.
Carlos Alcaraz, who did win 2 of the 4 major tennis titles last year (as many as “pay up” Sinner—ode to Ed Asner as Axel Jordache in “Rich Man Poor Man”), defeated Novak Djokovic in 4 sets, winning the final three, to notch his seventh major crown and first ‘down under.”
The following Associated Press notes what Alcaraz also accomplished and recaps the final round match.
At 22 years and 272 days, Alcaraz is the youngest man to complete a set of all four major singles titles. He broke the mark set by Don Budge in the 1938 French championships, when he was 22 years and 363 days.
Alcaraz now has seven major titles — his first in Australia along with two each at Wimbledon and the French and US Opens.
Carlos Alcaraz, pictured above.
More inaccurate information from so called “A.I.” below –Djokovic was denied the “grand Slam in that year’s U.S. Open
The men’s tennis players who have won all four Grand Slam tournaments in a single calendar year are:
- Don Budge (1938)
- Rod Laver (1962, 1969)
- Novak Djokovic (2021)
These players achieved the remarkable feat of winning the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open in the same year.
The great Don Budge, pictured below, and Mr. Laver (twice) for whom a tournament site is named did accomplish the feat.
Slight underdog, Elena Rybakana defeated Aryna Sabalenka (6-4, 4-6, 6-4) to capture her third major tournament and first Australian Open title.
Below from wire report(s) after Sabalenka, who defeated Rybakana in two previous major tournament final round entities, took a (3-love) lead in the decisive 3rd set.
However, “Rybakina, the world No. 5, responded with five consecutive games to wrestle back control. She calmly served out the match with an ace to clinch her second Grand Slam title, avenging her defeats to Sabalenka in both the 2023 Australian Open and 2021 Wimbledon” final rounds.
Elena Rybakana, pictured above.
It ended a bit ago and first I had to excuse myself, via the arrogant Fowler’s use of a term that once meant (-) and now is thrown about in beyond exponentially, not informed, terms.
He “compounded” with “Never count out ……, ” however, the story is there will be a non Alcaraz/Sinner Australian Open Men’s Final, as Alcaraz, who himself, struggled mightily, but did “5 set” the still “major-less” Zverev, will meet Djokovic, who 5 setted top ranked Jan Sinner.
Alas Fowler and others, let’s not forget Djokovic was on a free ride and had the unprecedented luck of Musetti withdrawing up 2 sets to none or is it love, in the quarters.
All that said, it is quite a feat for one of the all-time greats in tennis (emphasis one of not the), Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz will be a big favorite, I will back Djokovic, but root for Alcaraz. The world is falling apart, journalists are arrested one named Lemon, while different “lemons” such as Fowler and much worse, roll merrily along.
Thus I could not take the hype, though already his, that of Djokovic, advance this far, is truly worth praise, just not even in a sports sense, no less in the real world, the amount Fowler and others will give it.
Where is Bill Gallo, pictured above, when we need him?
The Seattle Seahawks, the only current “Sea” team to get that far, will be in a sixth final entity for the city and fourth for their franchise.
They are (1-2) in previous Super Bowl games, losing one each to the teams tied with the most Supe wins (6), the Pittsburgh Steelers in ’05 and their current Supe opponent, the New England Patriots in 2014.
Seattle ripped the Denver Broncos (another Peyton Manning “no show”/poor performance in a/the big game, yet this “aw shucks” phony, is shoved down our collective throats, in commercial after commercial) in the 2013 season, such game.
Now the current champion Oklahoma City Thunder, a not so hot, even poor “choice” especially after another “bargain,” as the great Pat Cooper would say, Drew Dinsick touted a 70 win season for them, the Seattle SuperSonics were (1-1), in a pair of NBA final round encounters, vs the Washington Bullets, losing in ’78 but winning in ’79.
‘El’ baseball Mariners, still the only one of the current 30 big league baseball teams to have never made a World Series/final round, after being 7’d by the Blue Jays, who were in turn 7’d by the 2 time champion Dodgers, lost in all 4 “semis”/ALCS.
The ’95 Cleveland Indians (I will say Indians, not the former Wash D.C. football team nickname and feel justified doing so. Lighter (maybe pun intended) note– “Hail to the Commanders,” a no bargain name also, does not resonate while “Hail to the” offensive name did/does) and 2001 New York Yankees also lost World Series, after LCS’ing the Mariners losing those final rounds in 6 and 7 games respectively.
2000 Yankees 5’d the other league rival, New York Mets, so teams semi’ing the Mariners are (1-3) in final round entities.
Once in “there was more time” hope, I watched the incredible offensive player and one of a trio of great Sonics’ guards (sadly both “D.J.” (Dennis Johnson) and “Monami Gus” (Gus Williams died far too young), Fred Brown, nicknamed “Downtown,” well before Julie, by the way a nice friendly lady when I interviewed her, and pictured above “go off” (i.e. put on an offensive show) in a likely Channel 9 game on a late Sunday afternoon game vs the New York Knicks.
It was something to behold!!
A same calendar (unprecedented, in football annals second straight as 2014 was the last year with the current calendar) Super Bowl matchup has manifested as the Seattle Seahawks will face the New England Patriots in a rematch of the 2014 season Supe won by N.E. with Malcom Butler’s historic “int” decisive.
After New England gained a twelfth Supe ‘app’ (Denver among 3 teams with two thirds as many (8) for second in the category) with a (10-7) win in the second half Denver snow, much maligned quarterback, Seattle quarterback, Sam Darnold joined greats “Automatic” Otto Graham threw 2 and ran for 2) and Roger “The Dodger” –no double L.A. baseball/football crowns– Staubach as QB’s accounting for at least 3 TD’s passes vs the Rams (“Dodger” threw 4, 3 to running back Preston Pearson) in a “5” year Rams NFL or NFC title game loss, in Seattle (Seahawks) (31-27) win.
“Deli Larry” holding a pretty huge 9 to 1 Sea to win it all “ticket” can monetize, should (not picking N.E. but he ought to hedge, the ? is how much) he choose as the Seahawks opened a 5 point(s) say 2-12/$ line fave.
N.E. scored the game’s final 10 points after a backup (back operative as his backward pass which led to a Drake Maye TD run was the game’s key play. Alas the real key may have been a call that Denver with said “backup” would be a 10 point or more dog and NBC/NFL did not want that) QB Jarrett Stidham TD toss opened ‘el’ scoring.
Sea led (7-0), (7-3), (10-3), (10-6), trailed (13-10) and then went 3 and out however, McVay with Brady, almost as bad as a commentator as he was great at football-though he failed to catch a pass in the loss to Philly) applauding it, ran on first down. It did not as Brady opined run out the clock and Sea took a (17-13) lead at ‘el’ half. Next (24-13), 24-20), (31-20) ( a Sea player #28, Vollmer “unsportsmaned” –(31-27) but that ended the scoring.
Sam Darnold, pictured above, led 2024 “Minne” to a (14-2) record into the last tilt, one at Detroit, that he and the Vikings lost, dropping them from a “1” seed had they won, to a “5” and an “at L.A.” tilt, in which Darnold and the Vikings again were bad and were routed.
This year again on the road and in a final game tilt for the “1,” this time, Darnold, now of course with “Sea” won at S.F. got the “1,” ripped S.F. and now have edged last year’s conqueror’s, the Rams, giving Darnold an “at near S.F.” shot to win it all.
Especially now, as the pretty solid “fave,” there is still pressure, fair or not, on Darnold and Sea to win and not “leave their hearts there and fall to (1-3) in Supes.
N.E. their opponent, goes in (6-5) in such, an excellent (6-3) with Brady, who did (think coffee or gasoline) “top it off,” winning a 7th with Tampa Bay in Covid 2020.
However though I opt Brady, Mr. Montana “Joe’d” a (4-0) Supe record, as did another great quarterback, Terry Bradshaw.
Tomorrow’s NFC Title game at Seattle vs the Seahawks will mark the 5th time the Rams are playing either for the all the way NFL crown (’45 and ’55) or the NFC title and a Super Bowl berth (’75,’85 and 2025).
In the previous four such games, the Rams are (1-3) and (0-3) as the L.A. Rams.
The two NFL title games produced a Cleveland Rams victory vs a Washington team in ’45 and a resounding Cleveland Browns’ triumph led by the great Otto Graham over by then, an L.A. based Rams team.
Forty years before the Rams reversed the ’85 title tilt loss with a “div” round win last week (20-17) in overtime, surviving Caleb Williams’ (a Southern Cal QB) incredible scramble/pass essentially game tying/yielding overtime TD pass that also “exchanged” more $$ than most banks, Chi (Bears) had shutout the Rams on the way to their lone Supe crown.
Back another ten years, now 50, Preston Pearson scored 3 touchdowns in the Dallas Cowboys’ rout win at Los Angeles vs the Rams in the ’75 NFC title game.
After starting (0-4) and (1-6) in NFC title games, the Rams were victorious in their most recent four such games, (two were followed by Supe wins in truly close games vs the Tennessee Titans in ’99 and in “Falfa Alfa’s” (Al Michaels) last Supe vs the Cincinnati Bengals and two were followed by a potential this season Supe opponent the New England Patriots in ’01 N.E.’s first title and ’18 the Pats’ sixth and most recent crown).
Seattle is (3-1) in NFC Title Games, the three wins at home, the loss at the eventual champion Raiders in ’83.
The Seahawks lone earlier title tilt resulted in a victory vs the Green Bay Packers in 2014.
“Sea” lost in the subsequent Supe as Malcom Butler, mysteriously benched by Belichick 3 years later in a Pats’ Supe loss vs Philly, made an all-time play, actually the biggest in making N.E. an, if not the NFL’s all-time dynasty, intercption saved/won the title for New England.
The most versatile, clutch player, Preston Pearson, pictured above.
In Sunday’s earlier title tilt, that the AFC (Rams at Seahawks, NFC’er is the later one as after 11 seasons of ‘them’ not alternating early or late by conference, this will be the thirtieth consecutive year (’96-2025) in which it is alternated), host team Denver is a near 5 point(s) underdog vs New England (Patriots).
This perception is due almost entirely to the fact that backup Jarrett Stidham and not the injured Bo Nix after his excellent effort in the “div” round win vs Buffalo (Bills), will be the Denver starting quarterback.
These two original AFL franchises met in the first AFL “reg” game on Friday night September 9, 1960. (Pretty good odds Nantz will cite that but apparently Romo stated, at some point this post season– “I am almost sure this is 4 down territory” when it was 100 percent such).
The Broncos are (4-1) vs the Pats in ‘offs tilts, (2-0) in previous title games and the home team prevailed in all 5 games.
One of my favorite players, now 87 year old Gene Mingo is pictured above.
I knew Gene was a fine kicker, but did not realize he was a return specialist and also once threw a TD pass to Broncos’ great, Lionel Taylor.
In that first AFL tilt, Mingo had a 76 yard punt return TD, the first TD in AFL annals, that put Denver up (13-3) in an eventual (13-10) win.
Gene as is the case with ” Indiana title clinching interception player, Jamari Sharpe was born on September 22nd.
Sharpe also wears/wore #22 and is 22 years old.
I noted it days back without seeing it, (doubt Fowler did, if he did, I apologize) but below the juxtaposition of title game endings and near such, between Sharpe and his uncle Glenn is cited.
What’s wild about Sharpe’s history is his uncle, Glenn, was penalized on a game-extending play in the end zone for Miami against Ohio State in the 2003 national champion. Now, it’s Jamari stepping in front of Beck’s pass to win a title for Indiana.
In a game I did not watch, first opting for “The House On 92nd Street” and “The Seven Year Itch,” before sleep, credit Indiana football under Cignetti, (let’s not deify him as the transfer portal and a largely upper classmen roster aided, this still incredible rise.) as they finished (16-0), (only Yale in 1894 also had that great a record), claiming a first crown (27-21) OVER Miami as a TD plus favorite.
The undefeated title season for Indiana football, once a no chance losing program in Ohio State/Michigan dominated Big Ten (by the way three straight crowns for 3 different teams for the Big Ten–elephant sans power/forum me, recalls the more than tolerable and quite talented, Sean McDonough “bad mouthing” the Big Ten, as Indiana fell at Notre Dame in the 12 to 8 round last season) comes 50 years after the last undefeated college basketball title team, also Indiana, accomplished the feat in March 1976.
Indiana led (10-0) at the half, and by scores of (10-7), (17-7 as a pair of upper classmen, Mikail Kamara blocked a Joyce punt and Isiah Jones fell on it for a touchdown), (17-14), (24-14–all everything 2025 into 2026 (we shall see him in Sin City where rain will fall, we all get some, those of us with standards get a deluge) Fernando (another Fernando title, L.A. got 2 with Fernie Valenzuela patches, and he was someone I liked) Mendoza’s brilliant 4 yard TD run on fourth down), (24-21), an Indiana “settle” to (27-21) giving Miami with 5 previous crowns, but none since ’01 by the way the same # as Indiana basketball, which also has a long title drought, their last in ’87, a year Miami also a long time college football “no chance” team, won their second), a chance.
However, on a second and 7 from the Indy (the Pacers shocked to the 7th game of the NBA final before falling to (68-14) reg, just (16-7), but double 8 was “enough,” Ok City and the Colts started (8-2) only to lose their last seven) 30, Jamari Sharpe recorded an all-time big “int.”
Oh the coincidences and my notes (doubt Fowler had them, maybe he did–I did not watch or listen) as Jam Sharpe, pictured below is a nephew of former Miami player, Glenn Sharpe.
Last night Jamari’s (see I got his first name in there) “int” wrapped an incredible Indiana first football crown–(I am so VS Fowler and Herbstreit and believe me there are worse, in fact much worse that I will not post legendary broadcaster Don Fischer’s call of Sharpe’s interception (got the full word in also), however you ought to listen)— juxtaposed with the fact Uncle Glenn was more than questionably called for pass interference in overtime vs eventual game and title winner, Ohio State in the ’02 season title, which kept Ohio State going.
Jamari Sharpe, all it entails, see above, is pictured there as well.
The bookend games went into overtime, however, excitement is/was limited by virtue of them being won by field goals.
Denver and L.A. FG’d in overtime, while New England and Seattle eased to set up first, N.E. (-4 plus) vs a Denver sans Bo Nix team to be followed by Sea about a field home favorite, vs the Rams.
Some great plays, questionable calls and non calls and I enjoyed listening to the likes of Harry Caray and Bob Wolff on old W.S. games (openers in ’67 and ’61, respectively) as the picture piped in the Chi snow. (ode to ex Rams player, Jack Snow and more details down the road.
Harry picked the great Lou Brock, pictured above to be the ’67 W.S. star.
Andy B Sports 