Last night, the Texas Rangers, a franchise that began play in 1961 as the expansion Washington Senators, (the old Senators having moved to Minnesota, becoming the Twins), with a new U.S. President, John F. Kennedy, just 3 months into a term that would end in tragedy, not far from where the Rangers play in Arlington Texas, and manifest in Kennedy going far too soon to a national cemetery, with the same name, clinched their 7th “one eighth,” division crown.
In their 33 years of legitimate baseball from (1961-1993), before the wild card presence and a strike that denied the 1994 season a conclusion, the Senators/Rangers essentially never even came close to finishing first.
The Rangers will play in their 7th Division Series which is scheduled to begin on Thursday October 6th. Texas currently has a slight lead over fellow A.L. (to be) division winners, the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox, in the race for seeding in the American League. If they are the one or two seed, the Rangers would open the Division Series at home.
An iconic photo above of President John F. Kennedy throwing the ceremonial first pitch/ball at the first Senators’ game in April 1961.
Vice President Lyndon Johnson is to Kennedy’s right, while I believe the uniformed baseball Senator, to be Mickey Vernon, the Senators’ manager.
After taking on such issues as Vin Scully’s greatness and though in a minimum, fairly objective way, the horror concerning police shootings and resulting protests, I do not have the “strength” to fully argue vs the presence of the bogus wild card(s) in baseball.
Suffice to say, and I know what wild card presence supporters will say and I will leave my answer to it for another post, all six (that is two more than needed) division winners are known in baseball 2016.
A number thing, perhaps annoying, but at least not an opinion (I respect all points of view and know the rage a column/post can cause. Discussion in a reasonable manner is suggested and “blogger heal thyself” applies here, as often I go too far, or at the very least cite mistakes in not relevant circumstances) involving the two most recent division winning “claims,” the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.
The two franchises have met only once in World Series play and that was 100 years ago in 1916. Boston prevailed in 5 games,vs the then Brooklyn based team.
Someone still 4 years away from helping save baseball after the damage caused to it by the alleged “fixing” of the 1919 World Series (side note: nobody is suggesting, as might be inferred in my last post, such actions by the Cubs vs St. Louis or any other game. However, please consider that the presence of wild card teams has put an onus on division winners to play, say regulars in games after they clinched titles), with his incredible home run prowess, starred as a pitcher in the Boston win in 1916.
His name: the great, George Herman “Babe” Ruth.
Even he could not save baseball from the greedy, unnecessary implementation of the bogus wild card, which took away the excitement of a true pennant race, a great happening which made following the long, often boring, day to day action/ non action of a once great, but usually slow paced game, truly worthwhile.
Only in the 1916 baseball final, aka the World Series, have the Red Sox and Dodgers met in post-season play.
On Friday October 7th, weather permitting of course, the Chicago Cubs will open a best of five post season series at home for the third time. They lost the previous two, a 2008 division series vs the Dodgers and the 1984 NLCS.
In that famed and last best of 5, National League Championship Series in 1984, the San Diego Padres lost the first two games in Chicago, but won the final three at S.D. denying the Cubs their first pennant in 39 years.
Now the number of years has grown to at least 71 and while the Cubs are the top choice and barely over even money, to finally win the N.L. crown, I see many intangibles working against them, not the least of which, the fact they have won too many games, especially vs contenders.
Maybe the Cubs will “lay down” (“Sally”) a bit, when hosting the contending Cardinals for 3 games this weekend. Of course “St. Loo” must face Jake Arrieta today, continuing a big contrast concerning facing “on paper” top pitching opponents, with one of their fellow bogus wild card(s) contenders, the New York Mets.
That team (the Mets), which recently lost all three home games to the lowly Atlanta Braves, twice avoided Washington ace Max Scherzer thanks to Dusty Baker’s questionable “good graces” and will not face Miami Marlins’ ace Jose Fernandez, when the teams begin a three game series in Miami next week.
Imagine the person who took 8 to 1 odds that the Patriots would win their first four games, the games to be played without their great quarterback, Tom Brady.
That person will be a reasonably big (how big, will depend on manifestations from New England’s next opponent, the Buffalo Bills,’ tilt vs the Arizona Cardinals, this Sunday), favorite to cash the bet, as I will say “N.E.” will be at least a six point, home favorite vs the Bills next week.
Of course, based on what were the odds in New England’s wins in the first three games and my projected odds for the upcoming home game vs Buffalo, the person taking the Pats to win in effect a 4 team parlay, by letting the previous week’s winnings “ride,” would secure at least a 13 to 1 payout, should “N.E.” prevail next week.
Thus far, and people can read into it what they want, (my obvious take is that both Belichick and Brady are true football greats and that would be the case, no matter the result in these 4 games), but other than the truly out of whack opening night line of N.E. as a near 10 point underdog, winning as respective 6 plus and 1 point, home favorites, while nice, is not all that great.
As far as great, I did not need seeing Mr. Belichick winning 3 games sans Brady, to acknowledge his greatness. That was determined long before these past 3 games.
This will be simple and not really about the literally burning topics of police shooting and killing black males and the resulting protest by some athletes, not to stand for the playing of the U.S. national anthem.
My only point is that if we do not agree that the loss of a human life, essentially no matter the reason, innocent or guilty, is far worse than any number of people not standing for the national anthem, then we are in even greater trouble than I think.
Let’s agree, or move thirty percent toward an agreement on my point, that HUMAN lives matter more than whether people stand for the national anthem and almost by definition, we will have made progress.
In case you think this is anti-police and I have already been called a fool for knocking the great Vin Scully a bit (to many that is like knocking the flag, which of course symbolizes to me, among many other things, that I have the right to do so), it is not.
The police are paid to protect, sadly what is little known is that many laws are tied in to them protecting property, but they often have a thankless job and there are people committing violent crimes.
Thus remembering HUMAN or better yet ALL HUMAN life matters, let’s stop the violence, (I have spoken out vs guns before) and move thirty percent toward knowing that is far more important and thus it is far worse when lives are lost, than whether some people did not stand for the national anthem.
For the record, I not only stand for the U.S. anthem but also anthems from other nations. While I do not salute or with rare exceptions sing along, I remove my hat and do NOT interrupt any national anthem with early cheers as I have heard so often, while attending sporting events.
Whitney Houston, pictured above, sang the U.S. national anthem before the 25th Super Bowl.
Click below to hear (sorry no video), Frank Sinatra sing “My Way” aka “the national anthem ” at the nationally televised “Main Event” and pay attention, if you will, to his opening “tongue in cheek” comment, “you need not stand,” but also to the words, to which just about all of us HUMANS can relate.
My Way (Live At Madison Square Garden/1974)
The Los Angeles Dodgers, now with a 6 game lead for at least the National League three seed, will be in post-season play, even if their retiring and revered broadcaster, Vin Scully will not.
In his 67th consecutive and last season with the club, Scully has stated he will not broadcast L.A. post-season games, even any in L.A.
Mr. Scully is rightfully universally acclaimed, but beyond vastly overrated in my opinion.
However, one can still be great without being a deity. Closer to the former than the latter, Scully is a superb “between pitches broadcaster.”
Long ago, he dropped from the ranks of even good play by play broadcasters, but in an era of so few that actually are even fair, Scully still rates higher than almost all even in that category.
Scully called the last out of Don Drysdale’s 5th consecutive shutout in 1968, concluding what he imparted to L.A. and beyond, with an emphatic, superb inflexion (Wes) Parker’s GOT IT!
It is the very essence of what I aspired to be, and even now no matter how many times I play it on my “sports highlights” tape, I made with hope in early 1974, gives me a feeling of “high,” I doubt drugs could match, certainly not without peril.
I will not embarrass Mr. Scully by referring to his low key, little, if any inflexion call, of the Monday L.A. game clinching play, won in exciting fashion with home team, L.A. at bat.
Again before his last game, and it is a shame he is not going to broadcast L.A. post-season, (do not be surprised if Scully changes his mind, should L.A. make the World Series) I will reflect further on Scully as a broadcaster.
I do not believe the picture of the great actor Lee J. Cobb pictured above is in his role as “Scelly” maybe it is from “Twelve Angry Men.”
My point regarding Vin Scully is that while I believe him to be a great broadcaster with play by play limitations, the fact he has lasted so long has produced tributes of unanimous claims of Scully as the best ever.
In this matter, which is far less important than a jury verdict regarding, as it turns out an innocent man’s life in “Twelve Angry Men,” I do not need to channel my “inner Henry Fonda,” but only to listen Scully’s work, to dissent rather intensely to this view that Scully walks on water. He DOES NOT!!
Tonight’s Thursday night football tilt is a battle between a pair of defending divisional champions, who have started the season with two wins.
The game in which the Houston Texans are visiting the New England Patriots also matches two cities/areas that housed original A.F.L. franchises.
New England or the once Boston Patriots, are still there, enjoying a 15 season or so period of great success.
Houston housed the original A.F.L. team, the Oilers, still in existence as a franchise, but as the Tennessee Titans. The Texans are in their
In that regard, think of the movie, of “Cast Away” and the returning, marooned Tennessee resident being informed that the state not only had an NFL team, but one that came within a yard and an extra point of forcing Super Bowl overtime, which still has never happened, in their 1999 season Supe loss, vs the then St. Louis Rams.
As cited in the previous post, the WNBA has a fine new,and fair playoff format in which the eight playoffs qualifiers are seeded from (1-8) by record, regardless of conference affiliation.
Tonight in a pair of single elimination games, the 5 seed Indiana Fever and 8 seed Phoenix Mercury battle to see which team will visit the 3rd seed, New York Liberty at Madison Square Garden, in what also will be a single elimination game.
The winner of tonight’s tilt between the 6 seed Atlanta dream and 7 seed, Seattle Storm will journey to Chicago for a single elimination game vs the 4 seed, Chicago Sky.
The remaining teams will be reseeded (tomatoes perhaps) with the top ranked and defending champion Minnesota Lynx and second seed Los Angeles Sparks having the home advantage in best of 5 semi-final series.
A Lynx vs Sparks final is likely and thanks to the new format at least possible, but much intriguing basketball remains to be played.
The WNBA playoffs, as with a good tomato such as the one pictured above, due in part to good “seeding” shapes up as fresh and “ripe” for enjoyment.
The WNBA playoffs with a fresh, fair format in which the teams are seeded by record with no regard to conference, begin tonight with two single elimination games.
In the first tilt, the defending Eastern Conference champion, (there will be no conference champions this season with the new format which seeds teams from (1-8) regardless of conference), and 5 seed, Indiana Fever host the eight seed, Phoenix Mercury.
The other game pits the Seattle Storm, the 7 seed, led by Sue Bird against the six seed, home team, Atlanta Dream, coached by Michael Cooper.
Bird, not Larry and the same “Coop” battling again, evokes memories of the classic L.A. Lakers vs Boston Celtics games (three NBA Finals) in which the great, great Larry Bird was guarded by Michael Cooper. “Coop” as he is still known, was a superb player and Mr. Bird said nobody was a tougher defender vs him, than Michael Cooper.
These WNBA playoffs, of course can not match vintage Celts/Lakers, but no current NBA battle could either. I think the WNBA playoffs, again kicking off tonight, will be great!
Today marks the 46th anniversary of the first N.F.L. Monday night game in the still existent A.B.C./Disney package.
In that tilt on September 21, 1970, the Cleveland Browns, now the Baltimore Ravens, though NFL records say otherwise, defeated the New York Jets (31-21).
Keith Jackson was the original play by play announcer, replaced by “Fearless” Frank Gifford the next season.
Howard Cosell and Don Meredith joined Jackson on that telecast.
Homer Jones, who did little else for the Browns, after a fine career with the truly New York Giants, who played at Yankee Stadium, returned the second half kickoff for a touchdown.
Browns’ linebacker Billy Andrews, number 52 above wrapped up the victory in that first ABC Monday night game with an interception return for a touchdown.
I believe it is another Browns’ linebacker, John Garlington, number 50 above, celebrating, in a dignified way by the way, another play with Andrews. Also I believe it is Tom Beer, a tremendous college football receiver, at Houston University, to the right.
