I will just state the facts or the lack thereof presented by Yes Network commentator Ken Singleton in the top of the first inning of last night’s New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox game.
David Ortiz, not exactly an obscure player was at bat. Singleton told us that after a good series vs the Yankees last weekend, the Red Sox went on the road and Ortiz went 0 for 21.
I thought the Red Sox played 3 games on in Chicago (vs the White Sox) before this series vs the Yankees, so I doubted Ortiz had 21 official at bats, even if it was 4 games in the windy City.
In doing the research, I found Ortiz after going 0 for 3 in the first game had a 2 for 4 and 2 for 5 game. Some 0 for 21 slump! Where are the researchers? Most of all, Singleton should care enough to check the notes if he is using them.
It is not a back breaking task to check the facts you are going to use in the broadcast and Singleton should be held accountable.
However I should write 100 times that the ship has sailed regarding standards and craft in most broadcasting, especially sports.
It is still so early in the 2016 baseball season and I certainly rarely, if ever talk of one game or individual players, but will make an exception for the (22-6) Chicago Cubs and other matters pertaining to yesterday’s Cubs (8-6) win vs the (19-10) Washington Nationals, the team with baseball’s third best record, of course still early in the season.
The game featured the two second basemen from last year’s World Series, each with a different team, Ben Zobrist of the Cubs from the world champion K.C. Royals and Daniel Murphy of the Nationals from the National League champion, New York Mets going a combined 6 for 6.
Zobrist hit two home runs, while Murphy, who tore up the Cubs in last year’s NLCS went 4 for 4 . The Cubs’ start is the best in the National League, since the 1977 L.A. Dodgers.
Meanwhile baseball’s second best record, so far in this the last baseball season of President Barack Obama’s two terms in office, belongs to his favorite team, also from Chicago, namely the (20-10) White Sox.
Both the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers will gain at least one road win at Portland (Trail Blazers) and Atlanta (Hawks) respectively, before their quarterfinal series end, likely in no more than 5, and certainly not six games.
These four teams are the only ones among the 32 teams that qualified for the NBA and NHL playoffs, that have not lost at home, as of yet.
In the other NBA quarterfinal series in progress, I will stay with my San Antonio Spurs in 6 vs the Oklahoma City Thunder prediction, strongly “advising” the Spurs to win in tonight’s game 3, at “OKC.”
The Miami Heat, able to split in 2 overtime games at Toronto vs the Raptors, will win that series in 6 games.
However, it will not be easy. They will give up the home advantage they gained with their split in Toronto. Heat, however, will win games 3,5 and 6 and go on to face the Cleveland Cavaliers (Dwyane Wade vs LeBron James) in what will be a hyped NBA “semi,” though not nearly as much as the imminent Warriors/Spurs “semi.”
Maybe, even likely, Washington Capitals’ coach Barry Trotz has a point in saying the NHL does have preferences as to which teams win. Certainly the league and its commissioner Gary Bettman, prefer long series and overtime games.
Last night, to the tune of “Whatever Lola Wants,” (Lola Gets,”), substitute Bettman for “Lola,” as both Western Conference game winners, the Dallas Stars (vs the St. Louis Blues) and Nashville Predators (vs the San Jose Sharks) squared their quarterfinal series at 2 apiece with overtime wins. Score it “jackpot” for Mr. Bettman.
So as a reward, the Stars must play a noon local time, pivotal (ESPN’s Steve Levy once called a decisive game 7, “pivotal”) 5th game vs the Blues tomorrow. I hope the game goes 8 overtimes or long enough that NBC will switch from it to its Kentucky Derby coverage, as happened at least once, before the Preakness Stakes in 2007.
For the record, other than the play by play announcers, who have little in the way of play by play skills even for television (ie on the game winner for Dallas, at least identify the eventual scorer as he took a pass from 3 time Stanley Cup winner “con” Chicago, Patrick Sharp, but did not), the games are good. Mike Fisher won it for Nashville in the third overtime while Cody Eakin was the Dallas scorer, “play by play man,” John Forslund was late to identify.
Click below to view the great Gwen Verdon’s “Whatever Lola Wants,” from “Damn Yankees.”
Whatever Lola Wants, Damn Yankees.
Patrick Sharp, pictured above, was not retained by the Chicago Blackhawks, for whom he helped win 3 Stanley Cup crowns. While “Chi” was ousted in the first round of this year’s playoffs, Sharp and the Dallas Stars play on.
Maybe in the 5th game of the series but certainly by next week another Penguins vs Capitals series will be part of history.
With that in mind, below is a factual mistake readers can find on Yahoo Sports, Pittsburgh Penguins Playoffs History.
1991 — defeated New Jersey, 4-3, Patrick Division semifinals
defeated N.Y. Rangers, 4-1, Patrick Division finals
defeated Boston, 4-2, Wales Conference finals
defeated Minnesota, 4-2, Stanley Cup Finals
The Penguins did win it all in 1991 but their Patrick Division finals victory was vs the Washington Capitals, NOT the New York Rangers.
Click below for the link and note the mistake regarding the 1991 playoffs.
Pittsburgh Penguins playoff history – NHL – Yahoo Sports
Forty years ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first playoff series, won a melodramatic 7 game quarterfinal series vs the Washington Bullets.
I can still hear their great broadcaster, Joe Tait calling Bobby “Bingo” Smith’s winning shot in game 2 of that epic series.
One thing did not change and that is the Cavaliers will win a quarterfinal series forty years later, but this series vs the Atlanta Hawks will not be epic.
In my opinion, no basketball announcer, not even Marv Albert or Chick Hearn were better play by play radio people than Tait, so replacing him, as with Hearn or Albert is darn near impossible.
Yet it must be noted that the replacement has little in the way of radio basketball play by play skills. This is so often a problem with this generation of radio sports play by play announcers as they did not listen to the radio.
Jim Cleamons Game Winner. 1976 NBA Playoffs Cleveland Cavaliers vs Washington Bullets Game 5
Click above to view and hear Joe Tait’s call of The end of game 5 of that epic Cavaliers/Bullets series forty years ago.
Compounding the ESPN decision to have the Yankees vs the Red Sox as their Sunday night game two weeks in a row is the fact it could have been the Washington Nationals vs the Chicago Cubs.
The combined record of the Cubs and Nationals going into the game Sunday night will be 25 games over.500.
Meanwhile the combined record of the Yankees and Red Sox will be at best .500. if both teams win today.
The Cubs and Nationals enter their 4 game series in Wrigley Field in Chicago with the two best records in the still very early baseball season.
Yet two weeks in a row, all powerful, stubborn and probably lazy ESPN gives us Yankees/Red Sox. Why?!!
Before their current quarterfinal series, the Pittsburgh Penguins enjoyed a (7-1) advantage vs the Washington Capitals in 8 previous playoff series, as with the current one, none later than the quarterfinal round.
Now after Patric Hornqvist’s overtime goal last night in game 4 in Pittsburgh, the Pens have a commanding 3 games to 1 series lead over the top ranked Washington Capitals.
The only time the Caps defeated the Penguins in a playoff series was in 1994 as they served as “the construction company” paving the way for the New York Rangers’ only Stanley Cup title in the last 75 seasons as “Wash” ousted Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and company.
The Capitals whose first season evokes a “75,” namely 1975 now must rally from a (3-1) series deficit as the Penguins have twice done vs them (1992, 1996) to avoid a 16th consecutive season without a semi-final appearance, this in a season in which they had the top record in the NHL.
It gets really hot and then eventually there is lightning.
Last night both the Miami Heat and Tampa Bay Lightning were at the opposite ends of incredible late in regulation time game tying situations.
However, the common thread between the teams is that each won and now has home advantage if not a big advantage in their quarterfinal series.
The Heat had to be crushed when the Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry hit a game tying, half court, three point shot to force overtime in game 1 last night in Toronto. Yet the Heat prevailed in overtime and are now series favorites with the home advantage.
Meanwhile the Lightning thrice rallied from a one goal deficits vs the New York Islanders, most notably on Nikita Kucherov’s tying goal in the last minute of regulation.
Then in overtime, Brian Boyle scored to give the Lightning a (2-1) series edge and again the home advantage.
A great goal scorer, Nikita Kucherov, pictured above.
I criticize their back and forth media and fans, too critical of the team when they lose and far too cocky when they win.
The over confidence was epitomized by The (Yankees) Yes Network’s Michael Kay, who in 1988 as a beat writer guaranteed a division title for the Yankees but was wrong.
In 2003, with the Yankees up 2 games to 1 in the World Series vs the Florida Marlins, he said the Marlins did not belong on the same field with the Yankees. Maybe it was the opposite but I, unlike Kay and so many in the media will not go to extremes, but the Marlins did win the last three games of the World Series and the title.
“Rinse and repeat,” in 2010 when Kay, after the Yankees won the ALCS opener at Texas vs the Rangers, again guaranteed a Yankees’ victory and was wrong. Texas won their first American League Pennant in 6 games.
Andy B Sports 