The AFC West has a corresponding baseball team for all four of its members and it is very likely, none will qualify for the upcoming baseball tournament.
That includes the defending World Champion and two time American League champion, Kansas City Royals, who are likely out of contention.
Meanwhile the Kansas Chiefs are not alone among AFC West teams, as the other three definitely will not have their baseball counterpart in the tournament.
San Diego (Chargers) with the Padres, the Oakland Raiders, with the A’s and the NFL Champion Denver Broncos, with the Rockies will all be playing football with no tournament baseball in its city/area.
At the moment, the AFC West cities house the current baseball and football champions. It is very likely that will not be the case much longer.
Yesterday the Baltimore Orioles won (1-0) in Boston to move within one game of the host Red Sox in the A.L. East. The O’s (pun intended), are ahead for playoff/tournament qualification at the moment.
The (1-0) scores certainly evoke memories of the 1966 World Series.
After winning game 1 vs the defending champion, Dodgers by a (5-2) score, the Orioles, aka O’s, won the next three, by shutouts.
The last 2 wins in Baltimore were by (1-0) scores, first Wally Bunker outdueled Claude Osteen ,then in #4, Dave McNally, did the same, vs Don Drysdale.
In game 2, a young future Hall of Famer, Jim Palmer won vs another, Sandy Koufax, in his last game as he was forced to retire due to an arthritic elbow.
Years later, Davey Johnson, then the New York Mets manager, who recorded the last hit vs Koufax, joked to me, that is why Sandy retired.
Yesterday, just three weeks shy of the exact fiftieth year anniversary of their World Series opener, also on a Wednesday, (October 5, 1966), both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles secured low scoring, road, shutout victories.
The low scoring is in keeping with the 1966 World Series especially on the part of that event’s losing team, the Dodgers.
In fact the two runs L.A. scored yesterday in a (2-0) win at New York vs the Yankees, that makes it very likely the Dodgers will face the Washington Nationals in the upcoming baseball tournament quarterfinals, equals their total for the entire ’66 W.S.
L.A. scored 2 runs before the third inning ended, in the Wednesday opener loss in 1966, before being blanked by relief pitcher Moe Drabowsky, the rest of the game.
Their scoring drought continued and in my next post, comments regarding the Orioles and Dodgers both then (1966 W.S.) and now as each team is at least a tournament contender.
Surely somewhere there was a headline: “Moe Mowed the Dodgers” Oh did he, allowing but one hit and fanning 11 in 6 and two thirds brilliant innings of relief pitching that set the tone for L.”A.” doom.
In the 2015 NFL regular season, the Buffalo Bills coached by one time New York Jets’ coach Rex Ryan defeated the Jets in both games, one a Thursday night tilt the other in the January 2016, 2015 “reg” finale which coupled with a Pittsburgh Steelers’ win that day, ended the Jets’ hopes of making the NFL playoffs.
Tonight in a Thursday night tilt, I believe still on CBS and I guess with the all powerful, (not as powerful this year with the Supe to be televised by Fox), “Pooh,” aka Jim Nantz presiding, the Jets visit the Bills.
The game is considered even and I believe this time the Jets will get few breaks and win.
Jets 23 Bills 16.
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.
Andy B Sports 