He can write, oh can he write! After the 1996 NCAA Basketball final, my friend, a doctor and I (what and whomever I might be) delayed our journey back and marveled at his determination, typing away at press row, to file his story/column. True we were waiting out the endless traffic, but it was a truly compelling example of determination.
When I read his work for the first time in The New York Post after a regular season “1975 part of the ’74-’75 NBA season,” at Boston between the defending champion Celtics and Washington Bullets, I knew it was a cut above.
I know he is a cultured individual, who among other things has an appreciation of fine music, I could only dream of attaining.
At a charity softball game in the Long Island Hamptons, (Pat Cooper regarding the Hamptons, helped rid me of the ridiculous occasional sojourn there) I witnessed him making a major league play, from his position around second base.
Perhaps the best transition as to why, despite all the above cited positives, I come to at least balance my praise of Mike Lupica with a more complicated, as with Marc Antony, regarding Caesar, view, is my regret at not calling that play by Mr. Lupica.
Tune in tomorrow, or some time in the near future, as I will try and put “many things Lupica” in some perspective.
As of now, unlike in some of my previous posts, look at the nice things, all true and well deserved I wrote about Mr. Lupica today.
The great comedian, Pat Cooper “set me straight” about going to the Hamptons.
As you may have ascertained or already knew, the Oklahoma Sooners prevailed in that great game in Columbus, Ohio exactly one week shy of 39 years ago this Saturday when the schools meet again, this time in Norman, Oklahoma.
It also was probably somewhat apparent that Uwe von Schamann, who went on to become an excellent NFL kicker, booted the game winning field goal as Oklahoma rallied for a (29-28) victory.
I knocked Ohio State coach Woody Hayes in the last post and stand by what is largely agreed upon concerning his “volatility” (that is a nice word although as applied to 2 of 3 bad with the stock market in the last three trading days, not so).
Many would disagree with even calling Hayes, who had a truly great record of sorts, over rated, no less a not so great coach. I stand by my assertion that he was not all that great as a coach.
Yet one thing about Mr. Hayes, and the great and I mean great, offensive lineman, Jim Parker, who played for Hayes in the 1950’s does attest to in glowing terms, is that in a very positive way, Coach Hayes was ahead of the curve in his relations with black players.
The great Jim Parker pictured above. In a time when players could not necessarily afford more expensive culinary items such as steak, the great Parker was asked if he liked to eat steak.
He answered in the affirmative and was told to look at the man standing not far away on the Baltimore Colts’ practice field, their great quarterback, John Unitas.
Parker was told “protect that man” and you will eat a great deal of steak. He did!!
Click below to see Uwe von Schamann’s historic field goal vs Ohio State on September 24, 1977
Oklahoma’s last second winning field goal @ Ohio St. * (from Sept. 24, 1977)
In what undoubtedly is the ABC/ESPN/Disney feature game this Saturday night with non play by play man, Chris Fowler presiding (maybe because Patrick McEnroe, not a great tennis player was so annoying and brother John, who was a great tennis player, always was and will be the same, Fowler on tennis is tolerable–can’t he go back to the studio for football?!), Ohio State will travel to Norman, Oklahoma and face the Sooners (Oklahoma University).
Though the game has lost some of its luster with Oklahoma having lost its opener at Houston University, it does evoke memories of a “same calendar” game between the schools, one week shy of 39 years ago, on Saturday September 24, 1977.
Then the game was played at Ohio State, with legendary coaches Barry Switzer (our second mention of him this football season) and Woody Hayes, the epitome of borderline mental case, INTENSE football coach, whose coaching career ended a little over a year later, when he slugged opposing player Charlie Bauman of Clemson, after the player assured the over rated Hayes of another bowl game loss, with an interception in the 1978 Gator Bowl, roaming the sidelines for OU and Ohio State respectively.
There will be more on that 1977 game with me not “backpedaling” re Coach Hayes’ demeanor, but citing a big positive about the man. Also why the picture above is there.
For now, the “V” on the uniform pictured above should be “v.” as the name is spelled von Schamann. We will get to Uwe von Schamann and more on that 1977 tilt in my next post.
Recently I had the great pleasure of attending “An Evening With Sophia Loren,” which was a question and answer show, featuring the great Academy Award winning actress, the still so beautiful Sophia (Loren).
Taking the ball and running with it, giving humorous, forthright and emotional answers to questions posed by the fine Hollywood journalist, Bill Harris the host, Ms. Loren dazzled the crowd.
Her honesty about winning the Academy Award for her superb performance in “Two Women” and her comments about some of those she worked with in a fabulous career, made for an outstanding show.
Additionally, at least a half dozen film clips of Ms. Loren’s most famous and best movies were shown and discussed.
Ms. Loren’s remarks, which I will not reveal and her reactions are priceless. The show has a limited run in selected cities. Hopefully the outstanding show will be in your city.
The next show is tomorrow night at Detroit Opera Hall, beginning at 8 P.M. A link for ticket purchase to that performance and others in the future, is below.
Sophia Loren Tickets – Buy Sophia Loren Tickets Today.
I believe the picture above of Sophia Loren was the one displayed above the stage as Ms. Loren sat with Bill Harris for the intriguing question/answer/film clips show.
Sooner or later, maybe tonight, the Chicago Cubs will complete a dominant performance in winning the N.L. Central Division as they were favored to accomplish.
However they were not overwhelming favorites and few expected such a wide margin of victory.
Likely the Cubs will be the National League one seed and face the wild card round winner in a best of 5 division series.
The Cubs’ overwhelming margin of victory and excellent regular season is not even close to a guarantee of victory, in even one tournament round.
Last year, the Cubs finished third in the N.L. Central, but beat both teams that finished ahead of them the second place Pittsburgh Pirates and the N.L. top seed, St. Louis Cardinals.
Tonight against a Cardinals’ team battling for tournament qualification, the Cubs could clinch the division title, but that will happen sooner or later and will mean very little in tournament play.
The Cubs will be nice favorites in the division series on TBS but whether their opponent is the Giants, Mets, Cardinals or Dodgers, it will not be an easy task for the Cubs to win and gain entry into the NLCS which unlike last season is not on TBS, but on Fox.
This past Sunday both the Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears played games in Houston vs the Astros and Texans respectively.
The Cubs won their tilt and will almost certainly be the National League one seed.
A game in Houston involving the Bears evokes memories of when baseball tinkered with its rules to accommodate television and the popularity of the reigning NFL champion, Bears.
The 1986 NLCS which eventually ended with a classic New York Mets’ win in Houston vs the Astros in game 6 was supposed to open in the N.L. East winner’s city and if 6th or 7th games were necessary close there as well.
That was not the case as major league baseball gave the N.L. West the home field advantage so that the Bears game at Houston vs the Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans) would not have any conflict or have to be moved.
The second of the two times before tonight there were Yankees vs Dodgers and 49ers vs L.A. Rams games on the same day was on Sunday afternoon October 7, 1956.
Later in the day, the 49ers won (33-30) vs the Rams but in the far more important World Series game 4, the Yankees squared the ’56 Fall Classic at two games apiece routing the Dodgers (13-3), coincidentally the same 10 run margin of victory the Yankees had in another Sunday, home World Series game victory in an eventual World Series win that broke me emotionally, (12-2), vs the L.A. Dodgers 22 years later.
As was the case in the other same day as a 49ers/Rams tilt scenario, the Yankees’ game 5 win on Sunday October 4, 1953, the great Mickey Mantle of the Yankees hit his second home run of that W.S. in the game 4 ,1956 victory.
In the next day’s pivotal (every time I refer or hear of a pivotal game in a best of 7 series, I think about Steve Levy calling the decisive 7th game of an NHL playoff series “pivotal”–his bank account is not only NOT debited, but grows at a staggering level) 5th game, Don Larsen pitched the only World Series no hit game ever, a perfect game, on Monday October 8th (for the record Levy’s mistaken use of the word “pivotal” was in reference to a Monday decisive 7th game).
Closing on a more positive note than all things/Steve Levy, as was the case in the 49ers’ win vs the L.A. Rams in 1953, Gordy Soltau played a big part in the S.F. victory, booting 4 field goals.
On a Monday AFTERNOON, about a month shy of 60 years ago today, also a Monday on which the Dodgers will visit the Yankees, albeit in a night regular season game, Don Larsen uncorked the pitch, pictured above.
Batter Dale Mitchell did not swing and umpire Babe Pinelli, in his last game as a home plate umpire, called strike 3 and Larsen had achieved, what has not been duplicated since, a no-hitter (A Perfect Game!) in a World Series game.
Twice before tonight, each time with part of it, glorious daytime World Series play, there have been days when the Dodgers played the Yankees and the Los Angeles Rams faced the San Francisco 49ers.
Now again as the L.A. Rams, they left for St. Louis in 1995, and in their first game as such, in S.F. tonight, with regular season, but meaningful Dodgers at Yankees baseball also on tonight’s slate, I decided to research if this ever happened.
As stated above it happened twice before, the S.F. 49ers and Yankees winning both times, and in the Yankees’ case, en route to World Series wins vs the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The first time was on October 4, 1953 and that day a Gordy Soltau short field goal was decisive as the 49ers beat the L.A. Rams (31-30).
That day the Yankees beat the Dodgers in Brooklyn (11-7) to take a (3-2) series lead back to Yankee Stadium for game 6.
In game six,Alfred “Billy” Martin’s 12th hit of that World Series scored Hank Bauer with the World Series winning run, the last Dodgers’ W.S. loss, before John Podres led them to their lone Brooklyn title in 1955.
The 2016 major league baseball season has less than 3 weeks to go and it appears the Cleveland Indians will win their eighth, “one eighth” division, (all A.L. Central) crown.
In 25 seasons of one quarter division play from (1969-1993), Cleveland failed to win any division titles.
Cleveland won 2 of 3 over the past weekend at Minnesota (winning Friday night and yesterday afternoon) while the A.L. Central second place, Detroit Tigers lost two of three games at home vs the Baltimore Orioles, manifesting in a seven game Cleveland divisional lead at this time.
Evoking some Minnesota Twins’ history as they suffer through a horrible season, in 1984 they lost a crushing Friday night game to the Indians that hurt them as they bid for the A.L. West crown which eventually went to the Kansas City Royals.
However, en route to a glorious World Series title in 1987, the Twins virtually 29 years ago on a Friday night had a great win vs the Indians.
Today the football and baseball teams from Tampa Bay won their games.
The NFL Buccaneers beat the Atlanta Falcons in their NFL opener, on a day the New York Mets beat Atlanta’s going nowhere baseball team, the Braves.
Meanwhile the baseball Rays slowed down the red hot other New York baseball team which is in tournament contention, the Yankees.
The Rays win, ended the Yankees’ winning streak at 7.
Tomorrow night the Yankees host the L.A. Dodgers and I will have some notes in a post tomorrow that you will not find any other place, concerning that clash and another rivalry also being renewed tomorrow night.
Andy B Sports 