Today, while Michigan State (3-6) in previous national semi-final games, bids for its fourth Final game appearance, (one of their two crowns manifested in the famed “Magic” Johnson and Greg Kelser Michigan State win vs Larry Bird and Indiana State forty years ago), Virginia, Auburn and Texas Tech, the latter two in their first national “semi,” hope to make their first final game.
In far less publicized tournaments, Texas won its second NIT crown, forty one years after their first, when co MVP’s Jim Krivacs (later a baseball agent to and a friend of Don Mattingly) and Ron Baxter led the Abe Lemons coached team, to the title.
Additionally, Marshall won the College Insider Tournament, while South Florida took the best of three CBI Final.
In women’s play, both Baylor and defending champion Notre Dame were 5 point “semis” victors vs Oregon and Connecticut respectively, (this was the second straight season Notre Dame took Connecticut in the semis, last year as big underdogs, this time as favorites) and will meet in tomorrow night’s title tilt.
A great college basketball player, North Carolina University’s Lennie Rosenbluth, pictured above.
The 1957, three overtimes, North Carolina victory vs Kansas and Wilt Chamberlain, is rightfully, greatly remembered.
Less known, is that the night before in the national semi, “N.C.” also needed 3 overtimes, in a win vs Michigan State, in Mich State’s first such game.
Thirty five years ago, the Detroit Tigers “roared” to an incredible (35-5) start en route to an easy A.L. East crown and an eventual (7-1) ‘offs run en route to their most recent title.
The season began in Minnesota vs the Twins, with 3 great Hall of Fame “K’s” who became broadcasters.
George Kell and Al Kaline on the Tigers’ telecast and Harmon Killebrew throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the Metro Dome tilt.
Detroit won the game behind Jack Morris, whose next start was his no hit game on national television.
I am very glad to see that the late wrestler, Chyna will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this Sunday.
This is a well deserved honor for Chyna (her real name being Joan Laurer) an athletic, versatile and extremely intelligent individual.
It was a very rewarding experience for me to have interviewed her, at the famed Rick’s Cabaret.
She was friendly, well informed, well spoken and the nice memory of the evening stays with me.
Again it was great to meet and interview Chyna some years back at Rick’s Cabaret.
Chyna with Andy B, pictured above, on that nice evening.
One game remains the most important in leading a league into incredible popularity, while the other will largely fly under the publicity radar.
It is a tale of two “Lipscombs,” involved in title games played in famed New York City venues, over 60 years apart.
In the first one, the one heralded as “the greatest game,” Eugene “Big Daddy” Lipscomb was an integral player on a Baltimore Colts’ team, that won the 1958 NFL title, with an overtime victory at Yankee Stadium, vs the New York Giants.
Tomorrow night in the “under the radar,” NIT Final game, at Madison Square Garden, Lipscomb University (located in Nashville, Tennessee) will face The University of Texas.
It is of course, so early in the 2019 baseball season, however, it is noteworthy that only one team (the (3-0) Philadelphia Phillies) is either undefeated or sans a victory.
“Out of the gate” fast, is (6-1) Seattle (Mariners) which won both games in Japan with the retiring Ichiro, and thus far, 4 of 5 in Seattle.
Included in that, were 3 of 4 wins vs the defending champion, Boston Red Sox, who have lost four of five games.
The great player, George Sisler, pictured below, held the big league record with 257 hits in a season for 84 years, until Ichiro Suzuki, cited above as having retired 2 games into the this season, broke it with 262 hits in 2001.
Click below for a nice article by Bob Sherwin, written 15 years ago this October, regarding Ichiro, Sisler and the one season hits record.
HITS-TORY! Ichiro breaks Sisler’s record – The Seattle Times
While Michigan State is headed to their eighth national semi-final/Final Four in a 20 year, 21 season span (’99-2019, all under Tom Izzo), the other three such entrants (Texas Tech, Auburn and Virginia) either are there for the first time or the first time in a long time.
Both Texas Tech (they took out Michigan then Gonzaga) and Auburn (they eliminated North Carolina easily and then Kentucky in an overtime tilt) dispatched a pair of higher seeded, fairly significant favorites, en route to their first ever national semis appearance.
Meanwhile, Virginia is headed there for the first time in 35 years, after beating Oregon and Purdue in regional semi and final play, respectively. “UVA” has opened as a 5 plus point(s) “fave” vs Auburn.
Michigan State defeated L.S.U. in the regional “semi,” (the 1979 “Mich” St. title team also won in that round vs L.S.U, which in fact lost to the eventual national champion three straight seasons (’79-’81), before getting by tournament favorite, Duke in the regional final.
Michigan State will play Texas Tech in the later game on Saturday. They are only 3 point favorites.
Long ago, the Tampa Bay Lightning wrapped up the best record in the NHL.
It now is almost certain that the Calgary Flames will get the best record in the NHL’s Western Conference.
Fifteen years ago, the Lightning defeated the Flames in a 7 game NHL Final to win their lone Stanley Cup crown to date.
Thirty years ago in 1989, the Flames won their lone NHL crown 6’ing the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL Final.
Montreal had won in their last nine NHL Final series including the ninth vs the Flames in 1986.
Martin St. Louis, pictured above, scored in overtime to keep Tampa Bay alive in game 6 at Calgary in that ’04 Final. “T.B.” then titled with a game 7 win at home.
It was pitcher John Tsitouris of the Cincinnati Reds, who beat the Philadelphia Phillies (1-0) in the game that started the Phils’ 10 game loss skein that essentially cost them the 1964 National League Pennant.
Tsitouris was also the Reds losing pitcher in a last day of the season game vs the Phillies, which coupled with a St. Louis Cardinals’ win vs the New York Mets, lifted the Cards to the pennant and eventually a World Series title.
Three years later, on a day a great American League race played out, Tsitouris won his only decision of the year, in a meaningless game vs the Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field, where John had lost the ’64 finale.
It was George Altman’s last game in the major leagues. He was a three time National League All-Star, playing in both such games in 1961.
Postscripts: 1967 again was a Cardinals’ title season, as they beat the “Impossible Dream” Boston Red Sox in 7, to win the World Series.
The Red Sox had prevailed in the great American League pennant race.
Rather than tell you again, how the wild card presence has ruined the chance of great races such as ’64 N.L. and ’67 A.L. –I choose to recall Altman’s tale of playing baseball in Japan, especially regarding how surprised he was, regarding the very hot temperature of a bath there.
Likely a hot (but not too) bath pictured above.
There are twelve teams remaining in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, none that made the final four/national semi-finals last season.
Last season Purdue was ousted in the “sweet sixteen/regional semis round by Texas Tech. Last night, both advanced to the Elite Eight/regional final round. Purdue won in overtime vs Tennessee while Texas Tech defeated Michigan.
Gonzaga, the top seed in the West and Virginia the South top seed, also advanced, the former avenging a loss in the same round to Florida State last season, the latter bidding for its first Final Four appearance in 35 years, when they face Purdue, itself bidding for a first such appearance in 39 years, in the regional final, on Saturday. Virginia won by four points, eliminating Oregon, which went (3-0) vs the point spread.
Last year’s champion, Villanova, was ousted in the second round on a Saturday (Purdue won vs them) for the second time in 3 seasons, however, “Nova” won it ALL in ’16 and ’18.
Texas Tech won last night vs Michigan to advance to a second straight regional final. Last season “Tech” lost in that round to Villanova.
Michigan made it to the final game last season, before they lost to Villanova. Another final four team from last season, Kansas lost in the second round this season, to Auburn.
Last year’s surprise final four entrant, Loyola of Chicago, failed to qualify for this season’s NCAA Tournament.
In the 1939 All-Star Game played at Yankee Stadium, two thirds of the American League starting players were representing the then three time champion, New York Yankees.
Those starters were Joe DiMaggio, George Selkirk, Bill Dickey, Joe Gordon, Red Rolfe and pitcher Charlie “Red” Ruffing.
Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds were on their way to the first of two consecutive pennants in 1939. They lost in 4 straight games to the Yankees in the ’39 World Series but bounced back to win the franchise’s second title (the other was in 1919, vs a Chicago White Sox team, that allegedly played to lose) in a 7 game World Series vs the Detroit Tigers.
The Reds had 5 of the 9 National League starters in that ’39 “Star” game. The players batting second through fifth, were Lonny Frey, Ival Goodman, Frank McCormick and Ernie Lombardi. Paul Derringer, also a Reds player, was the National League starting pitcher.
Andy B Sports 