I want to note on this the 213th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth that with the completion of tomorrow’s 56th Super Bowl, there will be as many Super Bowls played as the number of years Mr. Lincoln lived on this earth.
It certainly is not a fact that makes me feel good. Hopefully as you involve in all that is the 56th such game, you take time to consider all that is Abraham Lincoln, including all the transcendent events, he led the country through and perhaps lean in the direction of more understanding as “original sin,” of U.S. sanctioned slavery still and likely always will haunts.
Dipping your chips, betting on your apps and caring who wins in “proper” proportion with trying to make these angst ridden days better and more equitable?!!
“Mandela,” detailing some of the life of the great Nelson Mandela, directed by John Ruiz Miranda and starring Robert Greene in a transcendent performance as Mr. Mandela, is a truly fantastic show.
One can see it at The American Theatre of Actors at 314 West 54th Street in New York City.
Seeing actual filmed historical clips, some light hearted, but with a reason, (Roy Rogers with his horse “Trigger”) combined with Greene and an extraordinary cast on stage, hits home, as to the enormity of what Mr. Mandela, his incredible wife Winnie (both Nadijah A.K. and Malika Nzinga stand out in the role) and his A.N.C. (African National Congress) cohorts endured, before an epic triumph.
There is so much more here including some incredible humor. Before citing the rest of the cast and contributors, I realized during the performance, that Nelson Mandela was arrested and Marilyn Monroe died, essentially on the same day, August 4, 1962 (Ms. Monroe died in the early hours of Sunday August 5th). Each person suffered greatly on this earth, Monroe in a singular effort to pursue and Mr. Mandela in a seminal, transcendent effort to secure basic human rights for Black people in South Africa. Certainly Monroe’s strife garnered exponentially more coverage, when clearly it ought to have been the opposite and I mean no disrespect to Marilyn Monroe.
Thaddeus Birkett, Yohance Allenye, Jimmy Garrett, Lamine Thiam, John Shorti, Clark Pena, Albin Weidenbladh, Keith Wright, Ben Butler, Tyler McCall, Arlene McGriff, and Lufefe Kente are the members of the tremendous cast.
Robert Greene, pictured above as Nelson Mandela in “Mandela,” written by John Ruiz Miranda and Yolanda Brooks.
Click below for more information and how to purchase tickets to “Mandela,” a truly amazing show.
This will be the twelfth “neutral network” telecast Super Bowl (’84,’87,’90,’94, ’99,’02,’05,’08,’11,’14,’17), all but the first one with Al Michaels, likely on his last Sunday, in “hometown with a home team in the Supe,” Los Angeles.
It will mark the tenth time a team with NFL roots is facing a team with either AFL or AFC roots in a neutral network Super Bowl.
The team with NFL roots has won the previous nine, clear NFL/NFC over AFL/AFC results in ’84,’87,’90, ’94,’99, ’11 and ’17. Add the NFC “roots” (they started in ’76) Tampa Bay BUccaneers’ win vs the Raiders in ’02.
Pittsburgh (Steelers) while an AFC team, began as an NFL team and won a Supe in ’05 vs Seattle Seahawks, a team with AFC roots (as with Tampa Bay, oh 7 time winner, Mr. Brady-do not “waffle” regarding retirement please, say never and end an all-time career), so that is nine.
Pittsburgh also won (no covered) vs NFL “roots team,” Arizona Cardinals in ’08 while “AFL roots,” New England took aforementioned Seattle, in the ’14 neutral network game with Mal Butler making THE BIG PLAY!
In the most recent “neutral network” Supe, the still great, but mistake prone, “most of Brady’s career coach,” Bill Belichick kept Butler out of the game, a big reason, Nick Foles and the NFL “roots” Eagles “Philly’d (with a Philly play), Belichick and Brady’s Patriots.
So the NFC is (8-3), two of the losses to NFL roots, Pittsburgh and the other a loss by AFC “roots” Seattle.
I start with football and the fact that the Bengals, though more than respectable in both losses, are (0-2) in previous Super Bowls.
Unofficially, however likely, this is the sixth time a team has gained Super Bowl entry with an (0-2) record in previous such games.
Two teams, the first of 6 New England title teams and of 7 (this past week retiring Tom Brady, a true great, told you he would retire before any reports and I tell him get away from Jim Gray) Brady title teams in ’01 and the ’17 Eagles vs Brady, who played great that game won to get to (1-2) in Supes.
Three teams lost to fall to (0-3), the ’74 Vikings, the ’87 Broncos and ’92 Bills. All three eventually fell to (0-4) with the Bills and Vikings still with that (0-4) in Super Bowls mark.
Additionally the three teams to fall to (0-3) in Supes all lost its 3rd Supe the next year after losing its second.
Thus it would seem a good time to note that 2 seasons ago, the Bengals got the first draft pick, yielding Joe Burrow (I think Joes are (6-1) in previous Supes at the quarterback position/”station” having won the first 6, Namath in ’68, Montana in ’81,’84,’88 and ’89 with ’81 and ’88 in a “no cover,” coming vs the Bengals. Joe Theesman, his name changed to Theismann as a Heisman hype (it rhymes with Heisman), won in ’82 before losing in ’83). Last season Burrow played some but was hurt. Cincy was in some circles a 100 to 1 shot to win the Supe, in which as a genuine road team at L.A. vs the Rams, they are now less than a 2 to 1 underdog.
Somewhat incredibly, perhaps, no team suffered defeats in as many as 2 of their first NFL “all the way” Championship Games, a final round entity for 33 seasons, beginning in 1933 and going through 1965.
For the record in AFL annals, the Chargers at (0-2) in such tilts, won in their third in a “3” year, routing the Patriots of Boston led by Keith Lincoln.
Perhaps I will delve into similar history regarding (0-2) and beyond teams in the other 3 major North American sports leagues.
In fact, here, unofficially, please write in with comments and I clearly allow the possibility of factual error, something unlike so many who get paid big bucks do not, I care so much about avoiding.
Again the Bills and Vikings are (0-4) in final round/Supe play. The Bengals and Panthers as cited in a past post are (0-2).
In baseball, three teams are currently (0-2), none worse in final round entities/the once great World Series, so and too often won by wild card teams. Those teams are the San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays, with the Rangers 2011 World Series loss to the Cardinals’ 11th crown, an excruciating one for them.
The NBA currently has an (0-3) in final round play team, the Phoenix Suns while 3 teams the Utah Jazz, Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic are (0-2).
NHL yields an (0-3) in final round play team, the Vancouver Canucks and an (0-2) team, the Buffalo Sabres.
The late Carl Monroe opened the scoring in the first “neutral network” Supe, a 49ers near home rout of the Miami Dolphins, as their great secondary stymied Miami’s second year, record breaking quarterback, Dan Marino.
So many said Marino would get another Supe shot. He never did!
Burrow, as cited in his second year, first full one, already having won it all in college, something Marino also never accomplished, ought to be aware.
While the upcoming 56th Supe, (the first not only was not called the Super Bowl, but had only two thirds capacity attendance, also in L.A.) marks the first Rams/Bengals post-season action and just the second playoff entity contested between teams from Cincinnati and Los Angeles, there is great history involved in Rams vs Paul Brown/Ohio teams in NFL Championship Game annals.
First of all Paul Brown the legendary coach and founder of the Cleveland Browns for whom the team was/is named, was/is the father of current Bengals’ owner, now 86 year old Mike Brown. Paul Brown was the first Bengals coach, after much but especially a dispute with then Browns’ co owner, Art Modell, caused his departure from the team which enjoyed sustained excellence, and at times utter greatness with Paul Brown from (1946-1962).
Mr. Modell eventually moved the Browns from Cleveland to Baltimore where they are known as the Ravens. E.A. Poe could have done much with the treachery involved in big business, teams moving, lack of loyalty and utter greed which could have an NFL picture next to it.
However, the less exposed NFL and in these cases, barely exposed league is rich in history. That sustains me through the other.
Those Paul Brown founded Cleveland Browns (son Mike was 10 or 11 when the team started play in the long defunct All American Football Conference in 1946) made its league’s title game in their first 10 seasons, all with Brown as coach and the great “Automatic” Otto Graham at the quarterback helm/station (alas I made up quarterback station and in a rare nod by me to the military, Mr. Graham later became the head football coach at the Coast Guard Academy).
The first four seasons were as members of the aforementioned AAFC.
Cleveland did not slow down, far from it, appearing in the NFL Championship Game in their first 6 seasons and 7 of 8, the 7th in Jim Brown’s first season in 1957.
Thrice (1950, the Browns’ first NFL season, 1951 and 1955) it was the Browns vs the Rams for the NFL crown. Ten days hence it will be the Rams vs a Brown/Ohio team in a 4th game with the NFL title at stake.
Cleveland won the 1950 game at home and the ’55 last ever Otto Graham game in L.A. The Rams only L.A. title came 70 years ago in a (24-17) win vs the Browns in the 1951 NFL Championship Game. There is much more and I will detail some of it during the seemingly endless wait for the 56th Supe to commence.
In a typical AndyBsports.com “esoteric stretch,” 19FIFTY SIX was the only year from (1945-1957) that neither the Browns or Rams made a title tilt. The Rams won it all as the Cleveland Rams in 1945 and also played and lost a home title tilt to a repeat champion Philadelphia Eagles team led by Steve Van Buren in 1949.
Left to right, two Football immortals, Otto Graham and Paul Brown.
I eschew more title tilt game details, not a foolish “ESCHEW” (no “God bless you,” for Reid, now (3-6) in title tilts with one Supe win) as Reid committed at “first half end,” in his Chiefs HOME LOSS (a 4th in title tilt, annals for Reid) for some Supe notes.
Twenty of the NFL’s (Jim Brown/O.J. Simpson)/32 teams, including the 4 point favorite Rams, have won Supes, while 12, including the Bengals have not.
Eleven, a seemingly powerful number is the number of Supes after the “by definition,” first one, matching two teams with no previous Super Bowl wins. (The last was the ’99 “Alfalfa” Michaels Rams on the # win vs Tennessee (Titans).
If Cincy prevails on February 13th in the second straight home team Supe, after all 54 previous were not such, only 11 teams will be without a Supe win.
Four teams the Detroit Lions (0 for 56, Mr. DiMaggio was 56 for 56 and only once did Detroit reach a “semi” in those 56 seasons), Cleveland Browns (the NFL says use the Otto Graham/Jim Brown/ say Bernie Kosar team records) thus they are (0 for 53, failing in 5 games in which victory would have gained them Super Bowl entry. Those were NFL title tilt losses vs Baltimore in ’68 and at Minnesota in ’69. Add on 3 losses vs the Denver Broncos in AFC title tilts, at home in ’86 and at Denver in both ’87 and ’89. None of the 5 teams to top the Browns in those games won the subsequent Super Bowl game), Jacksonville Jaguars (0 for 27 seasons, with 3 semis losses two at New England, each vs an excellent ,”Willie Boy” coach. (Bill Parcells’ Pats in ’96 and Bill Belichick’s Pats in ’17 won home AFC title games vs “Jax,” before losing the subsequent Supe) and a home loss vs Tennessee, who also lost the next game Supe in ’99) and the Houston Texans, (never as far as a “semi” in their 20 seasons.
The seven teams, other than the Bengals (0-2) in Supes (a fact that will be not only jammed down our collective throats, but will involve references to Cris Collinsworth, a beyond annoying/”never shuts up commentator,” who was a very good football player), that have been in but never won the so called “Big Game,” are the Bills and Vikings each (0-4) in Supes, the Falcons and Panthers each (0-2) in such games and the Cardinals, Chargers and Titans, each of whom lost in their lone Supe appearance. (All three (0-1) in Supes teams lost its Super Bowl game, in an Al “Alfalfa” Michaels broadcast.
Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer, pictured above.
After no team hosted any of the first “Chuck Howley”/54 Super Bowls, there will be a home team in that game for a second straight year, with the Rams (menos 4) in their L.A. home, vs the Cincinnati Bengals. (Four is operative as each team is a conference “4” seed, the first time no team as high as a conference “3” gained Super Bowl entry).
In the earlier tilt Steve “Ap,” a young man in tune with “apps,” hit both KC (menos 4, there is that # again), and Cincy 18 to 1 to win the AFC, as the Bengals down by the discovered by me, “comeback score,” of (21-3), rallied to (27-24) the K.C. Chiefs and raise their AFC title tilt record to (3-0).
Next as the NFL has produced 5 of 6 tilts decided by 3 points and the other by “6,” in an overtime/almost all-time classic after a dull so called “Super wild card weekend,” the Rams won their first L.A. home title tilt, (they lost to Dallas in their previous 2) overcoming a 10 point, 4th quarter deficit (in fairness L.A. was on the move as the 4th quarter began, however, it is another big lost lead game suffered by Niners’ coach Kyle Shanahan-see the ’16 Supe as Atlanta assistant and the ’19 season Supe as Niners coach vs K.C.) to “no cover” the San Francisco 49ers (20-17), as 3 plus point(s) favorites. (Rivkah, 2 for 2 yesterday, has correctly picked 9 of 12 ‘offs tilts after winning her division in the “regular season”).
In their slot 1 win AT Tennessee (Titans) (by the way that dropped the home team’s record in slot 1 to a still sensational (42-10), a tipped ball, interception by Logan Wilson (ode to defensive backs Jerry Logan and Larry Wilson) set up Evan McPherson’s last play field goal.
Yesterday, it was Vonn Bell, who set up McPherspon’s (called Adam by the monolith’s ) game winning/overtime boot, that sets up just the second ever Cincy vs L.A. ‘offs entity (the other a baseball Reds’ “bastardized/div series/”quarters” vs the Dodgers in ’95, also the only other time the Atlanta Braves won it all. Who but me?!!
As I try to cite some individuals, I hail the comradery after the NFC title tilt between Odell Beckham Jr. of L.A. (9 receptions, 113 yards) and the brilliant player, Deebo Samuel of the Niners. Also the sensational Rams’ receiver, Cooper Kupp gathered in 2 Matthew Stafford TD passes.
Plenty of notes, you likely can only get here ahead in the next 2 weeks and I will do so without listening to the endless hype for the Lawrence Taylor/56th Supe.
Beckham consoles Samuel.
Both Ashleigh Bardy and Rafael Nadal made history in winning Australian Open crowns.
First Bardy (I hit the small stuff, aforementioned Brady to retire, this originally 11 to win 49, but “mucho” hedging and about a 10 dollar profit on Nadal, but now bad intangibles on a bigger, still small Nadal French Open bet) became the first Australian woman to win a major title, “Down Under,” since Christine O’Neil (in attendance as was the great Rod Laver) did so in 1978.
Bardy won vs big underdog, Danielle Collins, who had an excellent tournament and reached her first major tournie final round.
Earlier this day in an unbelievable 5 set, 5 and one half hour match, Nadal passed Roger Federer and the non vaccinated/thus out of this one, in which he was close to an odds on “fave” (so foolish Mr. Djokovic, not to mention dangerous) great player, Novak Djokovic, by winning his 21st major tournie, at this moment the most won by any man.
He did so vs Danill Medvedev, who had eased in straight sets vs Djokovic, in the last major tournament, the 2021 U.S. Open.
Associated Press:
MELBOURNE, Australia — Rafael Nadal got to 21 first, breaking the men’s record for Grand Slam singles titles and doing it the hard way by coming back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in an almost 5½-hour Australian Open final.
Rafael Nadal, for the time being has the most Men’s major tennis tournie titles.
In today’s later Conference Title tilt/NFL “semi,” the L.A. Rams (0-2) in previous L.A. hosted such games, are 3 plus point(s) favorites vs the San Francisco 49ers, a team that has won 6 straight games vs them.
On January 9th, 3 weeks back, SF overcame a (17-0) deficit and a (24-17) one in the last minute plus to overtime the Rams and qualify for the ‘offs as the NFC “6” seed while dropping the Rams from a “2” to a “4” seed, something Joe Buck did not convey to the millions of people tuned to the broadcast.
Both the 49ers with road wins as respective 3 plus points and 6 point underdogs at Dallas (Cowboys) and top seed Green Bay (Packers) and the Rams (menos 4 vs Arizona (Cardinals) and plus 3 or so, in Mr. Brady’s last (told you so but only 7 at plus 175 as it really was not accessible) at Tampa Bay (Buccaneers) won 2 games and will meet today in Buck’s 20th title tilt, commencing about 6:30 Eastern Time following KC (-7 plus) vs Cincy, which starts about 3 Eastern Time.
The only previous NFL ‘offs clash between the teams was a semi and is one of only 2 times in say, as a stretch, 12 possibilities that the winner of a San Francisco/Los Angeles playoffs entity went on to win the league crown.
A great 1989 Niners’ team under George Seifert ripped both the Rams in a home title game/semi and the Denver Broncos in the subsequent Super Bowl.
However, I count, again with a bit of, but not much of a “stretch,” 10 times the winner of a San Francisco franchise vs L.A. franchise ‘offs entity failed to win it all.
In NBA annals, the Lakers took the Warriors in semis in both 1968 and 1973, in quarters (’69, ’77, ’87. ’91) and in the past season’s “BS” play in game. The Warriors swept L.A. in a best of 5 “quarter” in 1967.
Only the ’87 Lakers won it all, the Lakers lost in the final in ’68, ’69, ’73 and ’91 while the Warriors lost in the ’67 final. (Greats Bill Russell (2-0), Wilt Chamberlain (1-2) while both Rick Barry and Earvin “Magic” Johnson went (0-1) in those final round entities). The Lakers were semi’d out in ’77 and “round of 16’d” last season.
In baseball’s most recent completed season, the 105 wins L.A. Dodgers one runned the 106 wins Giants in the decisive 5th game of their bastardized/division series, only to lose to the 88 wins Atlanta Braves, who went on to title, in the NLCS/semis.
Those two teams/franchises also engaged in two all-time type, unscheduled best of 3 playoffs for the National League Pennant.
The first one was in 1951 when the Giants were New York and the Dodgers were Brooklyn. The next one was in 1962, each team in its current locale.
Both times the Giants, who had overcome overwhelming odds to force the ‘off, rallied in their last at bat to take the pennant, only to lose tos the vaunted Yankees in the subsequent World Series.
Thus 7 of 8 times basketball and 3 of 3 baseball but o for 1 football, the SF vs /LA franchise ‘offs entity winner, did NOT win it all.
Andy B Sports 