Yesterday as “Pooh” presided and Phil Simms’ statement “you know every play will be a pass” was followed by an Aaron Rogers run, the Colts with “pooh”/Jim Nantz rooting hard, upset the Green Bay Packers at “G.B”
Both teams are (4-4) and while certainly possible, it is extremely unlikely the two glorious franchises, whose meaningless scheduled exhibition game was that rarity of rarities, a canceled NFL game (see November 24, 1963 and other instances) will meet again this season, which is only possible in the “Supe.”
In 1966, they met twice, both games on Saturdays and I believe nationally televised.
In the second one at Baltimore, a second Green Bay win which more or less wrapped up another Western Conference crown, a late tackle of the great John Unitas (a man who had trouble walking and more than any one player made the NFL the popular sport it is, yet who helped him?!!) by Willie Davis, a man who made big bucks after football, but does help the less fortunate, caused a Unitas fumble that iced the game for “G.B.”
Davis came in without Unitas seeing him. I remember reading in the 1967 (reviewing 1966) Pictorial Sports Annual, that Davis knew the “blind side” tackle would cause a fumble and he was sorry it had to be Unitas victimized.
That respect for the greatness of a competitor is one good thing about sports and stayed with me the nearly 50 years since Mr. Davis expressed it regarding Mr. Unitas.
Fifty years ago, on Thanksgiving night in 1966, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Cleveland Browns, a if not the key victory in the Dallas team’s march to the first of what would be an incredible 17 post-season appearances in the 18 seasons from (1966-1983).
Yesterday’s win in Cleveland vs a team called the Browns, an expansion team formed after the original Browns moved to Baltimore, made it very likely the now (7-1) Cowboys will be in the playoffs, at the very least.
In 1966, the first year of a Super Bowl, the NFL had two conference winners and they played, with the winner representing the NFL vs the old AFL in the Super Bowl.
That year Green Bay defeated the Eastern Conference champion Cowboys (34-27) in an often forgotten, great NFL title game. The next year, the Packers won at home vs Dallas in the title tilt, known as “The Ice Bowl.” Both years G.B. went on to win the subsequent Supe rather handily.
This year and I will cite the opponents in a game yesterday that also played a key game in 1966 in a post later today or tomorrow, Dallas will need two playoff wins at least to make the Supe, so there is a long way to go.
They will end this week, way more than less, the halfway point of the 16 game schedule (some teams have played 9 games) with at least a game and a half lead for the best record in the NFC and its inherent home advantage game(s).
Starting with the St. Louis Cardinals home win vs the Milwaukee Brewers in game 7 of the 1982 World Series, the home team prevailed in 18 consecutive “winner take all/game 7 of a final in the NBA, NHL and major league baseball over a period of approximately 26 and two thirds years.
However, since the streak, which I pointed out as “Lucky 7’s” on my cable television show in late June 1988 after the Lakers became the 7th such winner, ended with the Pittsburgh Penguins win at Detroit in the 2009 Stanley Cup finals, the home./road results have taken a fairly sharp “road” turn.
Starting with the Maxime Talbot led Pens’ Cup winner in #7 at Detroit in ’09 (the Pens won another title this season, their 4th, all clinched on the road and it was sandwiched in between Sunday road title clinchers by the Royals in the 2015 W.S. and the Cavaliers a week later in the NBA finals. The Indians had a chance for another, which surely would have been a record, 3 probably was, but the top heavy favorite Cubs won game 5 at home and never trailed, though scared, when Raj Davis’ 2RHR tied game 7, in winning two games and the title in Cleveland) the road team has prevailed in 5 of the 8 “ultimate” games.
For the record, the Boston Bruins made it two straight game 7/finals wins for the road team, both NHL, in 2011.
The NHL had 6 straight home team wins in game 7 of the finals after Montreal won at Chicago in 1971.
After that Bruins’ road win, the baseball Cardinals, the team that started the 18 game home win skein as cited above, in ’82, won #7 of the 2011 World Series at home. Next the Lakers (2010) and Miami Heat (2013) made it 6 straight for the home team in game 7 of the NBA title series.
However, the Giants became the first baseball team to win game 7 on the road since the ’79 Pirates, winning at Kansas City in 2014.
Before the Cubs win in number 7 World Series last week, having overcome a (3-1) series deficit which included two road wins vs a Cleveland team, a Cleveland team turned that trick, which included a road game 7 Cavs’ win, at record breaking Golden State.
Bottom line: the last 3 game 7’s for “all the marbles,” have been won by the road team and the road team has prevailed in the last two World Series and NHL finals game sevens and the most recent NBA final such game as well.
Let’s get really low key and talk about the redux of the first two AFL title tilts, cities and years removed taking place in San Diego today.
The Tennessee Titans are visiting the Chargers.
Tennessee was once a franchise known as the Houston Oilers, the team George Blanda led to the first two AFL crowns.
Both title game victories came against the Chargers,the first with the franchise in L.A. the next one, in 1961 in the Chargers’ first season in San Diego.
Curt Gowdy, pictured above was the lead announcer for AFL games.
This week I will actually predict the five loser/loser/underdogs in the five such games involving them vs winners/winners/favorites (for the record, the unimpressive, she shows it during the puzzle segment each week, NPR host, Rachel Martin said “winner” as I typed it).
I will lead with the Browns plus 7 and change, Dallas 19 Cleveland 13.
Next the victims of a burn cover, Dallas bettors benefited with their overtime touchdown vs them, the Eagles, plus 2 and a half, as the Giants will figure out a way to not cover, maybe not win, as 2 and a half point favorites.
Also Jacksonville getting 7 plus points at K.C.
The Rams plus three vs Carolina.
A seemingly woeful 49ers team, plus 4 and a fraction points, vs the Saints.
Throw in the Jets, not a “system” pick, plus four at Miami.
Advice: Do not bet, if you do, bet small especially on my predictions. also likely these underdogs will likely get more points, so wait to make those small bets.
There will be no rants and just one “rave.”
It is for The University of Alabama football program and success, under Nick Saban.
That is why I might watch their tilt in Baton Rouge vs LSU tonight.
I learned from Beano Cook long ago, not to go vs LSU especially at night.
One day I will recall Billy Cannon here.
However how many times will I “lose” vs Alabama.
No prediction, 7 Alabama is the right line. Enjoy, it is worth watching. I will not but will not think little of you if you do. It is Alabama!
Beano Cook, pictured above, would be “raving” about Alabama football but would have warned, “beware at LSU in a night game.”
Back to 1997 but not without pointing out how horrible some of Joe Maddon’s managerial decisions were in the recent World Series.
So Cleveland, denied the title in the bottom of the ninth were up in the top of the 11th and were issued the free pass.
Jim Valvano won a so called miracle title with N.C. state in the ’83 basketball event because he knew if he lost doing the right thing, “he could sleep like a baby” but the wrong way would haunt him.
Of course it must be noted Valvano died of cancer ten years later which I suppose puts it all in perspective?
Hargrove had his best hitter Sandy Alomar Jr. , sadly or maybe not as I have to learn being second is not only no disgrace but quite a feat, a coach on the 2016 Indians and he had Alomar bunt/sacrifice.
NOOO! First of all, Alomar failed to even sacrifice but even if he had, Cleveland would have lost a top left handed hitter, Jim Thome, to an intentional walk. Hargrove lost, without using his not so arguably, best hitter and would have lost Thome if Alomar sacrificed successfully.
In game 7 of the 1997 World Series which was an even more devastating loss for Cleveland than the game 7 loss days ago, Mike Hargrove made one of the worst managerial decisions ever in a truly big game.
Managing the Cleveland team, which had been forced into extra innings, dissipating a (2-0) 7th inning lead and most significantly a (2-1) lead in the bottom of the ninth, Hargrove got the free pass/leadoff walk as Jay Powell walked Matt Williams.
I need not tell you the value nor detriment, depending if your team is at bat or in the field, of a leadoff walk.
What Hargrove did next was inexcusable. I will detail it in my next post.
I will get to Mike Hargrove’s agregious 11th inning/game 7, 1997 World Series decision tomorrow, I promise.
For now, enough venom and even tomorrow it will be an opinion citing facts and vicissitudes, nothing more.
Just as one negative would continue, the other cease, regarding the respective 108 year title drought of the Cubs and the 68 year one the Indians still have, another involving positive results had to have the same outcome, one continuing, the other ending.
As cited here, the winner of the 6 previous ALCS involving the Toronto Blue Jays had gone on to win the subsequent World series all six times. that ended as the Cubs won vs the ALCS winner vs Toronto, the Indians.
However, going in to the World Series, all 4 winners of a Chicago vs Los Angeles area semi-final had prevailed in their sports’ final round/game.
Now it is 5 for 5 with the Chicago win. By the way 4 of the 5 wins in that streak manifested in “Chi” titles, one each by the Cubs, White Sox, Bears and Blackhawks.
Where have you gone Brooks Robinson?!! You know the rest.
Oh Jayson Stark, take advice from Wayne Newton’s song and “slow down,” not just “some,” but a great deal.
Stark, a typical writer going with the “latest is the greatest,” easy route, called the latest game 7, obviously a great game, the greatest game. It is not close to being so.
Other game 7’s had more significant twists and turns, need I cite them (1912, 1924, 1925, certainly 1960, 1997 and 2001) all games in which the eventual winning team, trailed at some point.
Now I am getting mad as the fact the Cubs never trailed in this so called “greatest game,” also serves to illustrate the luck of Joe Maddon.
Having the lead is also called “having the wood,” and if you think about it, much of life and certainly future life is about that. Ostensibly, those with money and a start prosper, those without, minimum struggle. often failing completely. As in baseball, where deficits are overcome, there are exceptions of course.
To the point, the Cubs never trailed, how dare Stark call this tilt better than # 7 in 1960, as just the fact another #7 Mickey Mantle, delivered, albeit in defeat, almost equals the 2016 game.
The Pirates overcame a (7-4) deficit as late as the 8th inning, the Yankees overcame a (4-0) and then (9-7) deficit, the latter in the top of the ninth inning, when Mantle somehow made it back to first base, enabling the tying run to score.
Earlier in that frame, Mantle at least twice the player as any in the recent tilt, save Ben Zobrist, whom even “modern” Stark does not recognize as the “absolute ringer” he is–i.e. doing it when it matters, not compiling almost meaningless statistics, delivered a big single.
You think that is all, that is not even close, to being true!
The Pirates’ Hal Smith hit what is arguably baseball’s most important home run, a 2 out three run home run that transformed a one run Pirates’ deficit, into a two run lead in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Even Stark recognized that the Series ended with the Pirates winning on Bill Mazeroski’s lead off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, one of just two times the series ended on a home run, one of just 6 times a 7th game ended with the winning team, by definition the home team, winning it, while at bat.
The Cubs’ win was not while at bat, not their fault, but also in a game in which they never trailed. It is not even close to many of the 7th games cited above, especially the one in 1960.
Finally years from now when people hear or watch, you think Joe Buck can rival Bob Prince or Mel Allen? Worse, you think Dan Schulman can compare with Chuck Thompson or Jack Quinlan?!!
I once gave Bob Costas an audio tape of game 7 of the 1960 World Series. Years later, on the day of the fine show airing the Allen/Prince broadcast of that game, hosted by Costas, whose love for baseball of course shines through doing such things, making it almost tragic he has called but two and a half W.S., juxtaposed with 19 by Buck and now 6 by Schulman, Mr. Costas happened to return a recent call, I made to him.
I reminded him of that ’60 tape and with true passion and honesty, I listened as Costas, as is the case with me, he knows great broadcasting and unlike me, fighting for and getting the opportunity, showed he is a great broadcaster, call Jack Quinlan one of the greatest broadcasters ever. Amen to that!
For many reasons, and you zealot Cubs’ fans will soon enough realize the “is that all there is aspect” of the Cubs finally winning it all, I am not thrilled the Cubs won.
Largely, it is the ridiculous hype and the fact once Joe Maddon made ridiculous managerial decisions in a series triumph vs a Terry Francona managed team and this time unlike after the 2008 ALCS, it manifested in a Maddon title, his first tying him with that “overblown parody of himself” (Mr. Cosell’s words), over rated, similarly named John Madden.
However, some solace can be taken by evoking Jack Quinlan and Ernie Banks pictured above. At least Banks lived a full life and was a great player, at a time with better players, specifically in the National League which was the first to overcome not only the ban of black players (only in ‘America” indeed) but also employ enough to HELP (certainly white players such as Stan Musial, Ken Boyer, Ron Santo, there is a Cub to remember, Don Drysdale and many others were a vital part) make it a great league.
Mr. Quinlan’s life was cut short in an auto accident before the 1965 season. It was during spring training in Arizona, maybe the Cubs played the Indians that day, the next day, probably at least that week. He was a brilliant announcer. I am good, but will never get the chance. Many others, lucky enough to get the chance, are a disgrace to that privilege.
Andy B Sports 