There will be no mention of guns in this post, other than to say I have not changed my opinion on the matter.
Please do yourself a favor and tune into Decades tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern Time or 2 a.m. for the Dick Cavett Show with guest, the extremely entertaining and intelligent Charlton Heston.
In the first minutes of the show, Mr. Heston gives the audience so much information about the great Michelangelo that I thought my head would explode. It was riveting television.
Mr. Heston, who played so many historical figures and per Mr. Cavett’s introduction also “voiced” both God and FDR (thought of the 3 letter thing. FDR being Franklin Delano Roosevelt, this nation’s president for over 12 years), brilliantly portrayed Michelangelo in “The Agony and the Ectasy.”
Rex Harrison also brilliant on the left and Charlton Heston on the right dazzled in “The Agony and the Ectasy” a 1965 film.
Tonight the Baltimore Orioles face the Toronto Blue Jays in a Toronto based game, with the team emerging with more runs moving on to face the Texas Rangers in one of two American League division series. In the other, though sans home advantage, the Boston Red Sox are close to 8 to 5 favorites vs the Cleveland Indians.
Toronto and Baltimore, two of ten teams in the baseball tournament, have never clashed in this ridiculous spectacle and since they occupied the same, real, “you had to finish first” division/entity starting with the Jays’ first season in 1977 until true baseball ended with Joe Carter’s World Series sixth game ending home run, which propelled Toronto to a second straight title in 1993, and thus have never squared off in post-season play. I guess what transpires tonight passes for post-season play.
The teams battled for the one quarter A.L. East title until the next to last day of the 1989 season and I believe in a game, in which the broadcasters were the so called “B” team of Bob Costas and Tony Kubek and not Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola, Toronto prevailed vs what was an upstart O’s team, to clinch the “real division.”
That game was also the last regular season game in the 24 year history of the NBC “Baseball Game of the Week” coverage, which beamed baseball to a grateful audience, for many in that audience, their only televised baseball.
The great televised baseball, director, Harry Coyle, such an integral, if not the best part of NBC’s excellent baseball coverage back when it was well you know…..
I did start my “predictions post” by stating “it quite possibly would not be a good week regarding these predictions.” It was not as those predictions/selections were (1-4).
Perhaps the “gods” had their fill or is it “Phil” of the “Roll,” on which losers vs winners was on. All four such cases lost, the predictions are both “on file” and now (11-5-1) in pro and (0-2) in college football.
As stated above, it is early in the season but the 5 NFC playoff teams from the 1980 season (the NFL went to 6 teams per conference, in the playoffs in 1990) all are either ahead, tied or just behind another 1980 NFC playoff team in the 4 NFC divisions.
The Minnesota Vikings are (4-0), (4-0), have covered at least 7 straight games, including their heartbreaking loss to the Seattle Seahawks in a wild card round game last season, and lead the NFC North.
While the NFC East leading (3-0), (3-0) vs the spread, Philadelphia Eagles were idle, the (3-1) Dallas Cowboys won at (1-3) “S.F.” in a second “Emperor/Okman” tilt and first win in such a “presentation.” For the record, the “translation” (I hear Google, as Stephen King wrote our day’s “Big Brother,” has a new translation “computer talk” way of translating the English and some form of the Chinese language into the other) of “Emperor/Okman” is Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.
The Atlanta Falcons’ Julio Jones is a great receiver, but statistics in football are almost meaningless, yet I will cite his 300 plus receiving yards as Atlanta is (3-1) after Jones and Company toppled (1-3) defending NFC champion, Carolina, with its supposed “best thing since sliced bread,” quarterback, Cam Newton.
In their return to Los Angeles, the Rams have started (3-1) (tied with Seattle atop the NFC West) and if one “parlayed” their 3 wins, (vs Seattle, at Tampa Bay and at Arizona) a 39 to 1 “payout” was the reward. Did anyone do so or come close to doing so?
All this information because in 1980, the Eagles won the NFC East, Minnesota won the then, NFC Central and the Atlanta Falcons won the NFC West (the lords of football were not the only sports “czars” in need of a geography lesson as Atlanta is pretty far east, not west. The baseball Braves were in the N.L. West, the real N.L. West in all 25 years of its existence. The basketball Hawks started their time in Atlanta, battling the L.A. Lakers unsuccessfully for NBA West honors. I believe the NHL had it “geographically correct,” regarding the Atlanta Flames, now the Calgary Flames.).
The (one) NFC wild card game opponents in 1980 were the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams.
After the passing of golfing great, but more important human great, Arnold Palmer at age 89 last week, it is noteworthy, albeit quite sobering, that not so arguably, the greatest performers/promoters/ambassadors and surely skilled in their 3 sports/games, have died in 2016.
Muhammad Ali, who died too soon at 72 and after enduring a sickness that squelched his bravado but not his spirit, was about the best heavyweight boxer ever (Ray Robinson, called “Sugar Ray,” is generally regarded as the best boxer period. That was also the opinion of Ali, whose “Georgeous George” (a famed professional wrestler) style of promoting, hid the fact he was a humble man) and certainly the best promoter/ambassador, the brutal sport of boxing has ever known.
Palmer (I can still hear a great voice, golfing commentator, sorry I do not know whom, not likely but possibly the great Jimmy Demerat, intoning “ARNEE PALMERR,” stretching out the great player and ambassador’s name, as he putted for victory in a famed 3 way playoff vs/with Gary Player and Dow Finsterwald in the 1962 Masters Tournament.
Arnie was my favorite, Player my Dad’s and somehow I remember it, Palmer’s third Masters title.
Gordie Howe, “Gord” Howe on a poster of sports greats which I believe included Ali and Palmer (wish I could find it and a famous one of the beautiful Farrah Fawcett), was a seminal great, arguably the greatest player in his sport of hockey. He was also a great ambassador of the sport.
The great Arnold Palmer, pictured above.
Cue the “Get Smart” theme, as Sunday was a victory for “CONTROL,” as baseball completely avoided any “KAOS,” (the non “Get Smart” spelling is chaos), as there will be no extra games this season.
The S.F. Giants jumped early and often, in Dodgers’ broadcasting legend’s Vin Scully’s last game, ripping L.A., rendering the St. Louis Cards’ win vs Pittsburgh meaningless and sending “S.F.” to Citi Field, for a game, at the New York Mets on Wednesday night.
The winner of that tilt will face the 104 win Chi Cubs, who “b’ teamed Cincy, with a 9th inning rally, to win a meaningless game, I believe a result, they will truly rue.
The Giants’ franchise on a Wednesday 65 years to the day, will face an elimination game in New York, as was the case 65 years and 2 days earlier, 65 years ago today (one day after the second day of Rosh Hashanah in 1951, which starts today this year, and whose 2 days in 1951 coincided/conflicted with the first two games of the Giants/Dodgers, unscheduled best 2 of 3, playoff for the National League Pennant) on October 3, 1951.
Then it capped an incredible pennant race and the Giants were home winners, vs the Brooklyn Dodgers, on Bobby Thomson’s three run home run, to gain World series entry.
Now the winner in a game between two wild card teams, albeit two dangerous ones, will be one of 8 teams, still remaining in the baseball tournament.
Both Baltimore (Orioles) and Toronto (Blue Jays) won on the final day of the regular season to set up a Baltimore at Toronto extra game, tomorrow night in Toronto.
Also on the final day, a Cleveland Indians win at K.C. vs the no longer World champion, Royals combined with the aforementioned Toronto win in Boston, means Cleveland is the A.L. “2” seed and will have the home advantage, vs the Boston Red Sox in the tournament quarterfinals.
The “Royals’ Reign” is over And their season actual number of wins (82) went UNDER the projected total of 84 and a half. Still a title last year and a 7 game W.S. loss in 2014 are two accomplishments that the Royals can take great pride in achieving.
This is especially so, as they are a so called “small market” team.
Next Sunday, it will be Boston vs Cleveland in 5th week NFL action and game 3 of an American League Division Series.
The (3-1) Patriots will be say, 10 point favorites (I hit the spread right on the money, but so what in that I was (1-3) on predictions/suggestions yesterday, but I do have talent) in Tom Brady’s return and after an embarrassing loss yesterday, to the (2-2) Buffalo Bills, even on the shores of Lake Erie, at the (0-4) Browns.
There will not be both football and baseball there, as the Indians have home advantage vs the Red Sox.
The Red Sox will play in Cleveland on Thursday and Friday and onto to Boston for game 3 next Sunday, of course weather permitting.
The last time the Cleveland Indians won the World Series was in 1948. They won a one game, unscheduled playoff game to get “there.”
“There” was the World Series and happened to be Boston vs the Braves, a baseball franchise since relocated to both Milwaukee and Atlanta.
The Indians stayed in Boston and lost the Series opener (1-0) (the famed safe call, likely incorrect on Bob Feller’s attempted pickoff play and subsequent rbi hit by Boston’s Tommy Holmes).
However, Cleveland got a split in “Beantown,” winning game 2, and eventually won it all there in game 6.
I have heard so much publicity about today being Vin Scully’s last game as a baseball broadcaster and far worse about this being Verne Lundquist’s last season as a football broadcaster.
What about Dick Enberg, who while no Scully on the local level, was certainly as good or better, certainly in sports other than baseball, on a national level.
Today’s tilt in Arizona will be Padres’ broadcaster, Enberg’s last game.
Certainly doing a number of “P-Pads” games on television is not how I will remember Enberg.
He was the host of the show “Sports Challenge’s.” His introduction was as “the voice of the Rams and Angels,” (Scully of course was broadcasting the Dodgers’ games and richly deserves much, in my opinion, not all of this unanimous, gushing praise. Another great, Chick Hearn was broadcasting the basketball Lakers at the same time and many years after (what an L.A. trio, but Hearn died while still active and there was nowhere near the attention paid Scully) and was a very good, albeit at times, “soft” (really reluctant to criticize) network football and basketball broadcaster.
Enberg was more than tolerable on network baseball, intoning “it is his day of the week” after a Monday, decisive 5th game of the NLCS, top of the ninth, solo home run by Rick Monday gave the Dodgers the lead which they held at Montreal vs the Expos.
Today I will certainly try to hear Scully’s last moments as Dodgers’ broadcaster but certainly hope to hear Mr. Enberg’s as well.
Dick Enberg, pictured above, retiring after today’s Padres/Diamondbacks game, was superb as the host of “Sports Challenge.”
Click below to view Enberg hosting “Sports Challenge.”
It quite possibly will not be a good week regarding these predictions, as typically, I back off in my confidence level.
To this point, I am (0-2) on college predictions both preceding the (10-1-1) record I have “forecasting” pro pig outcomes.
Four games fit into the “take the outright and spread losing team the week before vs a team that won and covered the spread the week/game before and is the favorite” category this week.
I will suggest all four underdogs and add the Oakland Raiders plus three plus points at the Baltimore Ravens. Both the (3-0) Ravens and (2-1) Raiders won and covered last week.
The four “category” suggestions are both New York area teams, the shade under a field goal underdog, New York Jets at home vs the Seattle Seahawks and the New York Giants a 4 point underdog at (3-0) (3-0) Minnesota (Vikings).
I am less confident in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers plus three points at home, vs the (3-0) (3-0) defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos and the S.F. 49ers getting only two points at home, vs the Dallas Cowboys.
Though the late, great football specialist (that is what we lack in this country, a specialist, who believes in craft, honor, accuracy and effort in his work) Beano Cook, warned vs “teaser bets” (i.e. adding points, but having to win 2 games with those added points), I will do, I mean advise some “teasing,” involving those games this week.
Alas Beano did say “only idiots bet teasers,” and while lack of intelligence was/is not my problem, not finding a niche for all these notes and knowledge, no matter the reason, surely was/is the problem.
Be careful out there, best not to wager on this “drek,” (means something akin to garbage), but if you must, please do so within your financial and emotional means. ‘They’ are the near ultimate seductive temptress, today for example, presenting games, for what will be a duration approaching 15 hours.
Why editorialize by “ripping” the analysts, most notably Cris Collinsworth, that almost never stop talking?! The days of the great Ray Scott, pictured above, are gone.
He was precise and did so with a minimum of words. If he were broadcasting today I would tune in just to hear and often not hear him.
Where did it all go? The answer my readers is “blowin” in the mindset of televised sports executives, who present this “dreck” (that word again) knowing the public will allow it. I do not but it is tough to fight “windmills.”
Click below to hear Bob Dylan sing “Blowin in the Wind”
Blowing In The Wind (Live On TV, March 1963)
Before any of the 4 wild card teams were known, the 2 seed vs 3 seed division series matchup in both league’s was set.
In the N.L. it will be the 2 seed Washington Nationals vs the 3 seed Los Angeles Dodgers while in the American League, the home advantage has yet to be determined, but it will be the Boston Red Sox against the Cleveland Indians.
There is some history involving those franchises battling in post-season and before each series begins, I will detail some of that history.
Lou Boudreau of the Cleveland Indians and Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox, pictured above.
It is virtually certain the WNBA Finals will match the defending champion and top ranked Minnesota Lynx vs the Los Angeles Sparks.
Each team has won and covered in decisive home wins to take (2-0) semi-final series leads in series in which they were big favorites at the start.
Minne leads the Phoenix mercury while the Sparks lead the Chicago Sky.
It is not likely either series will return to the venue in which it started.
The finals series I believe will not only be considered up for grabs, (Minne will be about a 7 to 5 favorite, maybe slightly more) but well worth watching. I look forward to it.
Andy B Sports 