Maybe showing Roger Moore as “The Saint” helped as I went 3 for 3 yesterday.
Today I will pick the three teams that each network is rooting for to enhance its “Turkey Day” tilt in 11 days.
NBC wants “Wash,” which faces nowhere “Hack” on Turkey Day night and I say Wash 21 Minne 17.
Fox wants Detroit which hosts Minne in 11 days but, it is no “sport” to say they will beat Cleveland as a 10 point fave. So a rarity, I say they will cover, Detroit 27 Cleveland 13.
CBS wants San Diego now the L.A. Chargers, I say the Chargers play well, but lose (20-17) to upstart Jacksonville as a 5 point underdog.
Certainly no “locks.”
Three football predictions, a rarity, this season.
Starting within the hour, Auburn stays in the title race while Georgia remains in it, Auburn a slight underdog, wins (23-21).
The usual, likely losing pick vs Alabama.
The Tide favored by 14, wins (30-17) at Mississippi State.
Also tonight, Oklahoma stays in the title race, all but eliminating T.C.U, winning, I guess, covering, say (42-32) as a near touchdown favorite.
This was the eleventh year of TBS coverage of some post-season action, including one of the two League Championship Series.
The winner of the “other” League Championship Series, the one telecast on Fox with the seemingly all powerful, Joe Buck is now (10-1) vs the TBS winner, in World Series play.
Only the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals won their LCS on TBS and then won the World Series.
Of course the Cardinals are Joe Buck’s team.
Hoops Cabaret and Sports Bar (48 West 33rd Street, New York City) has been receiving rave reviews for combining the fun of a sports bar with the excitement of a gentlemen’s club. It will celebrate its one year anniversary on November 8th through November 11th with dozens of beautiful exotic dancers stripping out of sports themed outfits; food and drink specials; “Happy Hour” extended until 11pm; and no cover charge until midnight.
Located in the heart of midtown Manhattan, just one block from Madison Square Garden, and next door to world famous Rick’s Cabaret, Hoops Cabaret has been called “the sexiest sports bar ever!”
The three story club is noted for its “Super VIP Man Cave,” mezzanine and balcony seating, deluxe private boxes, and multiple H-Def TVs and Big Screens throughout the club.
Everyone is a VIP at Hoops Cabaret, as there is not a bad seat in the house. Highly Recommended.
Both 1949 NFL Title Game participants, the (8-1) Philadelphia Eagles and the (6-2) Los Angeles Rams, scored 51 points two days ago, in resounding victories against the fading (3-5) Denver Broncos and the (1-7), all time “value team,” the (1-7), New York Giants.
Since the Eagles led by Steve Van Buren defeated the Rams in that ’49 title tilt, both the Eagles and the Rams as the Los Angeles Rams, (they started in Cleveland and won the ’45 crown and won it all as a before season tremendous long shot, soon to be prohibitive favorite, as the St. Louis Rams in ’99) have each won but one NFL title.
“Philly” did not exactly “cream” the team most associated with “cheese,” the Green Bay Packers, winning (17-13) on the Monday after Christmas Day in 1960 to win the crown (Vince Lombardi’s lone ‘offs loss as he won the next 9 and 5 NFL crowns).
Meanwhile 51, perhaps is operative, as the lone Rams’ L.A. title was won in 1951.
The Houston Astros of course titled and that makes the year for Houston sports.
Again any Houston fan will take it and should not complain.
However, the coaching of Bill O’Brien, a good coach, but what a lousy, cowardly decision in the Texans’ loss to the “Sea” Seahawks (they may finally be out to seas, themselves) just hours before Astros 13 Dodgers 12 in the pivotal 5th game of the World Series has not been properly scrutinized.
You had DeShaun Watson (had the operative word as now Watson is out) a fine quarterback and you run thrice, on a day your offense scored and scored.
Bill O’Brien blew it, Watson got hurt, now “low win,” Indy probably ended Houston’s chances and O’Brien avoided criticism amidst the Astros title.
Last night, Antenna TV showed a John Carson Tonight Show from Friday night October 18, 1974, the day after the Oakland Athletics clinched their third straight World Series title “5’ing” the Dodgers, who were eliminated in W.S. play on Oct 17th twice (in ’74 and ’78) and Oct 18th once (1977), in losing 3 of their 4 st. W.S. losses, from ’66-’78.
Mr. Carson talked of the plane his parents were on the night before, being diverted because of fog, but the highlight to me, was the then 90 year old actor, Burt Mustin, talking about the very first World Series in 1903.
In that first W.S. Boston defeated Pittsburgh 5 games to 3 and Mr. Mustin recalled the “Tessie song” or just “Tessie” being sung by the Boston fans, even in his hometown of Pittsburgh.
By the way, Bill Dinneen (over a year later, I checked and Dinneen is the correct spelling with Dineen cited as an alternate one) (3) and “True” Young better known as Cy Young, yes that Cy Young, combined for all 5 Boston pitching victories. Deacon Phillippe, a distant ancestor of actor Ryan Phillippe, notched all 3 Pittsburgh victories.
Burt Mustin on the right (you would have thought “Archie Bunker”) with the great Carroll O’Connor, on the seminal show, “All In The Family,” pictured above.
Only one previous World Series had the same win/lose/home/road configuration as the just completed fine 2017 World Series which manifested in the Houston Astros’ 7 game triumph over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
That was one of the few better World Series that I saw that was not so arguably better than this one, the 1975 Cincinnati Reds’ 7 game victory over the Boston Red Sox.
In both the 1975 and 2017 World Series and in no other one, did the following configuration manifest: home team/eventual losing team won game 1, road team/eventual winning team won game 2, home team/eventual winning team won game 3, road team/eventual losing team won game 4, home team/eventual winning team won game 5 (in each of those tilts, first baseman for the game and eventual Series winning team, who were from Cuba, hit home runs–the Astros’ Yuli Gurriel, hit the first of two Astros’ game tying 3 run homers 42 plus years after the great Tony Perez of the Reds hit two home runs in #5/’75), home team/eventual losing team won game 6 and the road team/by definition Series winning team won game seven.
For the third time in as many situations where at the least post-season qualification was on the line the Astros and Dodgers took a cue from the great musical group, “The Eagles,” and “took it to the limit.”
In ’80 L.A. had to win the last 3 games of the then so much more meaningful regular season to force a playoff with the Astros for the ’80 N.L. West title.
Playing at home, L.A. did so, the first game on a Friday night I listened to on “Armed Forces Radio,” I believe with Gene Elston, on a Grundig radio. The next two were on NBC, followed by ABC.
However, as was the case in the decisive games, an L.A. win en route to a strike marred 1981 season title and the Astros’ first title clincher in their 56 year history (Russo “Christophered,” yet another factual mistake saying their first SINCE 1962, NO they had never won one. Say that, NOT “SINCE”), one team, in ’80 and as cited ’17, (the Astros), won easily.
I will have more notes, but before this post ends, I must cite John Smoltz saying two consecutive World Series were played on his daughter’s birthday.
Was she born on 2 straight days? If it was a natural birth, not always the case these days and for some time, that must have been rough, to say the least, on the child’s mother.
Of course that was not the case. Last year when the Cubs “titled” for the first time in 108 years, that #7 was played on Wednesday November 2nd. This year #7 was on Wednesday November 1st.
I prefer listening to Smoltz over the equivalent pain of giving birth, something as a man I can not fathom, but have learned the hard way, there is nobody like your mother as I heard Al McGuire, now there was a rarity, a good television sports analyst, say so long ago, but it is CLOSE!!
A Grundig radio
Tomorrow night in West Los Angeles, an extraordinary film about the life of the wonderful, talented, compassionate performer, Kellyann Chippendale will be shown at 6 P.M. at The Revive L.A. Theater located at 12420 Santa Monica Blvd.
The film is being screened as part of the PTAFF Film Festival.
Ms. Chippendale told me, that “at its core, the film is about the positive effect one teacher can and does have on a student’s life.”
We will keep you posted on other screenings of this film, all around this spinning world.
Andy B Sports 