The Chicago Cubs eased to a (5-0) victory vs Clayton Kershaw (the losing pitcher in three of the four games in which L.A. sans a pennant for 28 years, has been eliminated in, having made the post-season 4 straight years) and the Dodgers in game 6, to win their first pennant in 71 years.
Incredibly, Cubs’ pitchers Kyle Hendricks (0 runs, 2 hits, no walks allowed in 7 and one third innings) and Aroldis Chapman (an “almost anybody could have done it,” 1 and two thirds scoreless, o hits, 1 walk allowed innings), faced the minimum 27 batters.
The Cubs, who jumped (2-0) in the first inning, (the team scoring first not only won all 11 LCS games in the two leagues but never trailed in any of those 11 games which spells not ROLAIDS but BORING) turned 3 double plays.
When they turned the last one, 6-4-3, they were on their way to the World Series, an event they have not won since 1908.
The double plays, especially the last evoked the immortal Cubs’ double play combination of (Joe) Tinker to (Johnny) Evers to (Frank) Chance which was an integral part of great Cubs’ teams from (1906-1910.) Those teams won titles in 1907 and 1908 and pennants in 1906 and 1910.
Likely you “don’t give a darn,” but the third baseman on those Cubs’ teams was Harry Steinfeldt, handy to know for a “bar bet,” if you go back in time.
I truly do not have an NFL prediction this week.
Last week’s picks were (3-3), leaving me at (14-8-1).
This week I will not watch football!
The system games are with Oakland plus one at Jacksonville, Pittsburgh plus 7 vs New England and the Eagles plus 3 vs the Vikings.
Two others with teams that lost, pushed and are underdogs are with the Colts at Tennessee, and the Rams vs the Giants in London, England.
Again no predictions, no football today.
My lament is not looking at the NFL “Turkey Day” schedule before the season. Guess who’s “having dinner” in the traditional holiday football venues of Detroit and Dallas this season.
Try (5-0) Minnesota at (3-3) Detroit and (4-2) Washington at (5-1) Dallas. What the NFL wants, the NFL gets, no matter how much violence on and off the field it generates.
Unlike the fictional “Fonz,” played brilliantly by Henry Winkler, on the television show, “Happy Days,” I have no trouble admitting I was wrong.
My prediction of Texas A&M plus 18 points lost by one point, my over prediction by a decent amount more. I was wrong.
Yet as a viewer, I have the right to point out what is so annoying.
Next year I will wish Verne Lundquist, not “my cup of tea,” but certainly a distinguished veteran broadcaster, was still calling SEC games, when some abrasive newcomer takes his place.
However, Verne topped himself, intoning he goes deep more than once when it was far from the case. This was epitomized by saying “he goes deep,” on a 2 point conversion attempt.
Far worse, Gary Danielson, who knows the reality, started “boning” bettors (it was not the first time), when with the spread and certainly not the game on the line, he talked of how “good it would be,” for A&M, trailing by 19 points to get a touchdown. That is absurd as it would have been a lucky, “backdoor’ cover and the Aggies, no disgrace, were shown they could not move way up in class at Alabama. A touchdown meant nothing other than the spread!
Either have the “b—s,” to cite the spread, which is a big deal anywhere, but of colossal importance at schools in the South (a penalty vs Alabama with the game in the bag on the above referenced drive drew loud boos) or keep your mouth shut.
One, maybe two plays later, Danielson really made me sick talking of how the new rules, where a player is penalized for hitting an exposed receiver with his helmet has made “our game safer.”
I guess I deserve that for having the sound on and picking vs Alabama. Really do I? Do the viewers?!!
In all of our lives, there is a long and winding road and thus The Beatles’ iconic hit song of the same name resonates, often exponentially, enhancing our memories both good and bad.
There was a great one for me, two nights back when as his lovely and talented wife Karon Kate Blackwell was singing “The Long and Winding Road” as part of a great show at Metropolitan Room in New York City, I looked in the “wings” (there is a Beatles, at least a Paul McCartney association there) and waiting to come back on stage, was the incredibly funny, comedic legend Marty Allen.
He is 94 years old and still able to dance a bit, tell a great joke and collaborate with Karon his wife of 32 years, to put on a great show at a great venue, Metropolitan Room in New York City.
Nostalgia was in the air and on the screen, as a priceless video of Mr. Allen with Martha Raye from the television show, “The Hollywood Palace” had the crowd laughing continually for the approximate 5 minute duration.
There were stories about legendary singers Sarah Vaughan and Nat King Cole, the latter the man who introduced Allen (and vice versa), to his superb partner, Steve Rossi.
I felt so good watching this incredible couple and was floored by Karon’s voice, range and song selections, including one in which her niece Molly, joined her on stage.
There were great “still” pictures showcasing Marty’s great career and one more video, resulting in Marty telling a great story about Dean Martin’s reaction to what happened in said video.
Marty met the Beatles, “cracking up” John Lennon, telling him they looked alike. Karon brought it close to full circle, with a Beatles’ medley.
That is where we came in, “the long and winding road,” that included Marty’s beyond brave efforts in global conflict, for which he was awarded The Soldier’s Medal, honoring extreme bravery.
Both Caron and Marty greeted the patrons warmly, posing for pictures and signing autographs. I asked Marty, who was born in Pittsburgh, if he perhaps recalled the Pirates and Paul Waner. He said Steelers and told of how when he was honored at his high school, someone wanted to meet him. It was the great Steelers’ player Franco Harris.
That great story capped an incredible evening.
Click below for information on events at Metropolitan Room
Metropolitan Room Manhattan, NYC, music, jazz, jazz club ..
Click below to view a performance by the fabulous team of Marty Allen and Steve Rossi
Both Karon Kate Blackwell and Marty Allen are warm, friendly people in addition to being very talented performers.
Somehow the coin we used found a clear place on his football card, maybe because he was such a fine receiver with the Detroit Lions.
On a day I thought of the one and only Michael Santasieri Jr. for other reasons, word came that Gail Cogdill, a star with the Lions and the absolute best at our coin/football card game (we had imagination and no video games to deter us) had died at the age of 79.
I certainly have distant recall of the Lions’ upset win vs the eventual 1962 NFL champion Green Bay Packers, in fact the only loss dealt the “Pack” that season.
Mr. Cogdill had a great game, catching two touchdown passes from Milt Plum. It seems he made a great finger tip catch in that tilt, as though the coin were coming to his card.
Whether in the reality of the NFL games, or in “our” coin-football card games, Gail Cogdill excelled.
Now after his death, and speaking to a harsh reality of football, Mr. Cogdill’s brain and brain stem will be examined, as part of a concussion study at Boston University.
I just realized that when Cogdill is asked by God how “he” kept making those catches, of all those coins for touchdowns in a great activity, he will not know to which God is referring.
Click below for more about Gail Cogdill.
Gail Cogdill, one of the all-time great Detroit Lions WRs, dies at 79
It was a card like, but not the one above, that somehow, defied the odds, as far too often for me vs Mr. Santasieri, the coin landed completely within the boundaries of Mr. Cogdill’s card for a touchdown.
I would not trade those memories for a football card or even much more.
Additionally I have good memories of Gail Cogdill in the NFL.
There will be a link below that actually represents something good posted on ESPN.com. Maybe the sun is out and I hear birds singing. Alas, let’s not get carried away but do enjoy the great Pete Rose talking about hitting with Alex Rodriguez and Frank Thomas.
In the video, Mr. Rose will reference a 5 hit performance, he achieved vs Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry on September 28, 1968.
Of course it is true, Rose has almost total recall of his career, another reason to admire him as he lived, ate and breathed baseball, as I once did.
His effort to achieve, the example he set, the belief in craft Mr.Rose exemplified, makes what non players, nowhere near perfect, “judge and jury,” purveyors of “absolute power,” which as Lord Acton famously said “corrupts absolutely,” entities like Bart Giamatti, Fay Vincent Bud Selig and Rob Manfred have done, in keeping Pete out of the Baseball Hall of Fame, ever more shameful.
Getting back into the “birds are singing” mode, if possible, in a future post I will talk about the five Hall of Fame players in that 9/28/1968 game, but alas, must also “descend” into the bad, but worthy anger regarding two associated with the game (obviously Pete is one, can you determine the other?), who are not in the no longer sacrosanct, Baseball Hall.
Click below
Did Pete Rose really go 5-for-5 off Gaylord Perry? es.pn/2ee0scA
John Dalberg-Acton, better known as Lord Acton and his timeless quotation pictured and cited above.
An early prediction for tomorrow’s Alabama vs Texas A&M game will follow.
It (18 points) just seems like to many points to be giving in a battle of (7-0) teams.
18 was the famous point spread when the New York Jets upset the Baltimore Colts, in the third Super Bowl, causing a “bridge jumper” to fall down.
Alas in that parlance, “give them a game.”
18 point favorite, Alabama 39 Texas A&M 27, in another CBS “over” and out.
The Robot “asked” me, why do I keep picking vs the great Alabama Crimson Tide?!
In a sensational game that capped a great 20th WNBA season, the second seed Los Angeles Sparks won their first title since 2002, with a (77-76) win at Minnesota, vs the defending champion and top seeded Lynx in the decisive 5th game of their WNBA finals series.
A basket by regular season MVP, Nneka Ogwumike with three seconds left were the last points of the WNBA season. Candace Parker scored 28 points and was named the MVP of the finals series.
The L.A. WNBA title came on the exact 28 year anniversary of the last Dodgers’ World Series win on October 20, 1988, also coming on a night the Cubs pivotal game 5 victory at L.A. made it unlikely, far from impossible that the Dodgers will end their title drought this season.
A word about the Lynx. They are a truly tremendous team that has three straight “odd year” titles and came so close to another one this season.
As was the case in 2003, the Chicago Cubs return home with a three games to two lead in the NLCS in a bid to end a long pennant drought.
In 2003, after losing game 5 at Florida vs the Marlins, the Cubs led (3-0) in the top of the 8th inning of game 6 in a bid to win their first pennant in 58 years. They failed to do so.
Now in 2016, the Cubs led by shortstop Addison Russell, who hit key home runs in both games four and five at L.A. vs the Dodgers, have the (3-2) series leads after winning a pair of seemingly interminable, essentially boring games, in numbers 4 and 5.
Game 6 is Saturday night in Wrigley Field.
He certainly bothers me less than he once did, as he does offer criticism, however, the unchanged allowance of Christopher Russo sprouting off factual mistakes, is starting to bring back the harsh reality that the need to be accurate, has taken a back seat to just saying anything, perceived mildly entertaining.
Russo and certainly the staff at MLB Network on the show “High Heat,” which really should not be cited, deserve criticism and then some, for lack of preparation.
Believe me, Russo makes many more factual errors as he rants on sans “fact checking,” but here are two from today.
Orel Hershiser, who had started in game 3 the day before, did NOT pitch 3 innings in game 4 of the 1988 NLCS as Russo said he did. He faced one batter, getting the Mets’ Kevin McReynolds to fly out to an oncoming John Shelby, to end the game.
The score of the Indians’ win in game 1 of the just completed ALCS was NOT (2-1), it was TWO to NOTHING.
