In their game 3 win, four Cleveland pitchers combined for a shutout in the baseball finals.
Their names are Tomlin, Miller, Shaw and Allen.
As often is the case, only I in almost complete obscurity, note their namesakes, one of each, have coached in NFL finals/title games/Super Bowls.
Mike Tomlin, still at it with Pittsburgh won a Supe in ’05, lost in another after the 2010 season.
Red Miller made, but lost the Super Bowl after the 1977 season.
Buck Shaw guided the Philadelphia Eagles to the 1960 NFL Title game win vs the Green Bay Packers. It was the only post-season game, legendary Packers’ coach vince Lombardi ever lost. (Bonus: pitcher, Vic Lombardi started 2 games for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1947 World Series).
Last but not least, George Allen made, but lost the Super Bowl after the 1972 season.
Again no predictions this week in NFL games.
My record remains (14-8-2), the loser/loser/underdog vs winner/winner/favorite “system” was (3-2) last week.
There are just two such games this week.
One is the (0-7) Cleveland Browns (maybe this will be a great, if not the greatest day in Cleveland sports’ history, although an Indians’ win would almost equal that distinction on its own) plus two points at home vs the (2-5) New York Jets.
The other is the (4-3) Buffalo Bills vs the (6-1) New England Patriots. Remember the Bills handed the Pats their lone loss this season at New England.
Cleveland is ahead three games to one in the World Series for the first time since 1948, when they last won it, after a (7-2) win at Chicago, vs the Cubs, in game four Saturday night.
Corey Kluber allowed one run in six innings, to notch his second win of the series.
The game had the first lead change of either of the two LCS and World Series, in what was the 15th such game.
Carlos Santana homered to tie the game vs game 4 losing pitcher, John Lackey. Later in the inning, Lackey, the winning pitcher in home World Series clinching games for two different teams, 11 years apart (the Angels in ’02 and the Red Sox in ’13) was victimized by two errors from third baseman, Kris Bryant that enabled “Cleve” to take the lead in the same second inning.
Kluber’s slow grounder between home plate and third, an infield hit, with a second Bryant throwing error of the inning on the play, gave Cleveland the lead to stay.
Francisco Lindor, who later started another one run inning with a walk, singled in Jason Kipnis, to make it (3-1) in the third inning.
Kipnis, who grew up in Chicago, rooting for the Cubs, iced the game with a three run home run in the seventh inning.
In 1948, Cleveland was ahead three games to one and playing at home, but lost in that game 5 vs the Boston Braves. They won the title in Boston, where they had won a one game playoff for the American League Pennant, vs the Red Sox.
Tonight with Trevor Bauer opposing the Cubs’ Jon Lester, again the Indians will be underdogs, hoping this is the game and day, the team ends a 68 year title drought.
Before their game 3 win in this World Series, the last time the Cleveland Indians won a game 3 of the World Series was in 1995.
That night, a man named Murray, the quiet, often called sullen by the many babies in the sports media, Ed Murray, drove in the winning run.
I will take that type of “Murray” any day, compared to what I saw last night concerning celebrity, Bill Murray.
That Murray, for a long time, publicized as a big fan (try being a fan when you can not afford tickets and still go, to his credit not a Murray problem for at least three plus decades), talked of beer and then did a ridiculous rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”
In days past I was home, and one year before the cable company greed and ridiculous blackouts in certain areas set in, I could watch the Cubs on WGN, their so called superstation eminating from Chicago.
An original, Harry Caray, led the song and I kept tabs of the boring games, not as boring as most baseball now, but boring enough, to not miss Caray, in the daylight, sing the song.
Why did they not just let it go when Caray died? Also in their tributes to departed Cubs, they rightfully cite Ernie Banks, Ron Santo and I guess Caray, though he should be best known for his work with the St. Louis Cardinals, but leave out their great announcer Jack Brickhouse.
This can not end soon enough, it is almost as bad as this so called “election cycle,” no not really, but I surely could have lived without Bill Murray last night? Oh yes, was he not at the White House last week, doing a not so funny bit.
It is all related, they “dumbed us down,” myself included, and now look at US.
They took my T-Bird and “fun-fun-fun” away, many moons ago.
Thus far in this World Series involving the Cleveland Indians, there has been quite a connection with the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers.
On Tuesday, both game 1 of the World Series and the first game of the Cavs’ new season, complete with a ceremony honoring last year’s title, were played. Both Cleveland teams were victorious.
Wednesday, the night of game 2 of the World Series, was a different story. On a dreary night in Cleveland, the Cubs squared the World Series with a (5-1) win. The Cavaliers were idle.
Last night, both teams won on the road, the Indians’ exponentially more important win in game 3 of the World Series, and the Cavs’ 3 point win at Toronto, vs the Raptors in just their second game of the season.
Tonight both teams play again, the Indians 6 to 5 underdogs at the Cubs in game four, while the Cavs host the Orlando Magic.
In “The Great Gatsby” “Nick Carraway” is looking for a business “connection.”
Cleveland took a two games to one lead in the World Series for the first time since 1948, the last time they won it, posting a (1-0) victory at Chicago, vs the Cubs in game three last night.
Coco Crisp, in his second stint as a Cleveland player, who caught the last out when the Red Sox completed a comeback from a (3-1) A.L.C.S. deficit under Terry Francona vs “Cleve” in 2007, drove in the game’s only run with a 1 out 7th inning single that scored pinch runner, Michael Martinez from third base.
Meanwhile 4 pitchers (Josh Tomlin, Andrew Miller, Brian Shaw and Cody Allen) combined to hand the Cubs their 4th shutout loss, (second in the W.S.), of this post-season.
Allen struck out the much hyped Javier Baez with runners on second and third to end yet another three hour plus game, this one at least, competitive, a 14th in as many L.C.S. and W.S. games, sans a lead change.
It seems much was made of the fact that 24 of the last 28 teams to win game 1 of the World Series went on to win the title.
As noted here, the team with home advantage in the series has won 24 of the 30 World Series contested since the advent of the best of seven LCS in both major leagues in 1985.
Only one team in the previous 30 World Series has won the title sans home advantage and after losing game 1.
That team was the 1992 Toronto Blue Jays, who prevailed in six games winning the title on a Saturday night in Atlanta.
The last four teams to lose game 1 of the World Series on the road and win game 2 also on the road, eventually lost the World Series (the ’13 Cardinals, ’11 Rangers, ’97 Indians and ’93 Phillies).
Again it is the 1992 Blue Jays, who were the last to “defy” that pattern, riding Ed Sprague Jr.’s dramatic home run, to a game 2 win in Atlanta.
Tonight’s World Series game 3 involving Cleveland (Indians) vs the Chicago Cubs is infinitely more important than the NBA semis redux, matching the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers visiting Toronto (Raptors).
Cleveland semi’d Toronto, en route to the NBA crown last season.
In baseball, Cleveland also won a semi-final series vs Toronto, the recently completed Indians’ 5 game victory vs the Blue Jays.
On the night of game 1 of the World Series, the first World Series ever to open in Cleveland, not only did the Indians win a World Series opener for just the second time in 6 World Series appearances, but the Cavs were honored at home, for their 2015-2016 NBA title.
Game 2 was different, a dreary night in Cleveland regarding weather and the Cubs eased (5-1) in their first W.S. victory in 25,952 days. Chi led (5-1) after 6 innings in the two games, 71 plus years apart.
However, back then there were comebacks and exciting games, the Cubs eventually winning (8-7) in 12 innings to force a game 7, in which Detroit (Tigers) beat them decisively.
Toronto teams, the NHL Maple Leafs (0-3), Blue Jays (2-5) and Raptors (0-1) are a combined (2-9) in semi-final series since the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup in 1967.
“Jeopardy” host, Alex Trebeck (I preferred Art Fleming), narrated the 1967 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs highlights film. Of course, the Leafs have not been in a finals series since that time.
What follows below was written on MLB.com, if not other places. As you might know, I like this kind of “stuff.” I will add some notes following “their” note.
“After dropping Game 1 of the World Series, the Cubs bounced back on Wednesday night, with a 5-1 victory over the Indians at Progressive Field.
The series-evening triumph was the first World Series game win for the franchise since Game 6 of the 1945 Fall Classic on Oct. 8, 1945. That’s a span of 25,952 days, which is a numerical palindrome (the same number forwards and backwards).”
I “added” the following.
Here is how they determined the number: 71 years multiplied by 365 days, equals 25,915 days.
Add the one extra day, in the 18 leap years since 1945. That becomes 25,933. Then add the 19 days from (October 8th-October 26th) inclusive, which is 19.
The number is 25,952–the same number forwards or backwards, as stated above.
No World Series game, a bad football game, who cares as there is an incredibly great Dick Cavett Show, airing on Decades tonight at 8 P.M. Eastern time, to be repeated at 2 A.M.
The show is highlighted by Don Rickles, not the “pure kryptonite, sans the lead pipe,” one might hear in a nightclub, but non stop and truly priceless.
The great opera star, Beverly Sills, columnist Earl Wilson and actress Lucy Kirk all tremendous, were on the show as well.
I am so grateful to Decades for airing these type shows, I can forgive their rather poor efforts in sports, including Kerry Sayers saying Mickey Mantle played 17 seasons when he played “chai”/18 seasons.
There is a Rickles joke there but I will not attempt it. Watch the show. I laughed and that is a testimony to Rickles.
One of the best, if not the best, stand up comedians ever, the great Don Rickles pictured above.
Andy B Sports 