This year the American League Central race is wide open.
While the defending world champion, Kansas City Royals and the often touted, rarely successful Cleveland Indians are considered co favorites in the division, I give the other three teams a chance.
Those teams, the consensus third choice Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins managed by the great former player, Paul Molitor all will improve.
My prediction is that the Detroit Tigers will win it but alas last year I said the 2014 American League Champion, Kansas City Royals would fall back.
They fell back all right, all the way to the World Series title.
It was a jam packed crowd at the fabulous Bergino Clubhouse (67 East 11th Street) to hear author Douglas M. Branson speak about his book, “Greatness In The Shadows,” which is about the life of Larry Doby.
As always, Bergino Clubhouse proprietor Jay Goldberg set a great tone introducing the event.
Mr Branson then spoke about the relative little publicity Larry Doby gets for being the first black player in the American League and a good deal of what that entails.
I look forward to reading the book, as I would in any case having met and greatly admired the classy Mr. Doby, but even more so after hearing some of the stories Mr. Branson has uncovered.
“Greatness in the Shadows” will be a great read and again Bergino Clubhouse, with so much to offer in the way of baseball nostalgia and real hospitality, courtesy of Mr. Goldberg, is a definite must for baseball fans.
Greatness in the Shadows: Larry Doby and the Integration of …
Click above for information and how to purchase the book.
Visit the Bergino Clubhouse here.
The national semi-final/Final Four game this Saturday between North Carolina and Syracuse will match “N.C.” coach Roy Williams, who has won 2 titles and Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, a one time title winner.
Boeheim’s title with Syracuse came at Williams’ expense in 2003, when the latter was coaching Kansas.
Both of Williams’ titles have been with North Carolina and his team is even money to move him ahead of the legendary coach Dean Smith for most titles won with North Carolina.
The other North Carolina NCAA basketball title was won under coach Frank McGuire vs a Wilt Chamberlain led Kansas team in 1957.
Five years later, McGuire was Wilt’s coach when he averaged over 50 points per game and had a 100 point game during the 1961-1962 NBA season.
North Carolina coach Frank McGuire, celebrating the 1957 NCAA title win above. (in the picture, above the court, and perhaps still doing so in a good place ABOVE)
North Carolina, an excellent basketball team but one getting its road to a title “paved” won fairly decisively vs Notre Dame to advance to the national semi-final/Final Four next Saturday.
The problem with long shot teams like Notre Dame and Syracuse continuing to advance is that so often it creates an easy road for a higher seeded team. This has happened before, will again and this is not the first time for North Carolina.
However, Virginia had its chance vs 10 seed Syracuse and failed so the top seeds do not always take advantage.
Now North Carolina gets its chance and based on the fact they have the “on paper” far easier game than Villanova and Oklahoma, which face each other, are roughly even money favorites to win the title.
In two regional final games in which all four teams were from the Atlantic Coast Conference, favorite North Carolina and stunning underdog Syracuse emerged victorious and will meet in a national semi-final/Final Four game next Saturday.
Syracuse, aided immensely by Middle Tennessee’s upset win vs Michigan State was a 40 to 1 underdog, at least to win the South Region but did so giving them their 6th Final Four appearance and 5th under coach Jim Boeheim.
In the last two wins, Syracuse dispatched 4 plus point favorite Gonzaga and the region’s top seed, 8 point favorite Virginia.
More on North Carolina, an early nine plus point favorite vs Syracuse, in the next post.
This will be the fifth national semi-final/Final Four appearance for Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim, pictured above.
It was great fun and highly inspirational to read “Wildflower” by Drew Barrymore.
The book (published by Dutton Penguin Random House) is about Ms. Barrymore’s incredible life as a mother, wife, actress and “Do Things” woman, feeding those without among those endeavors.
She talks about her life as part of the Barrymore acting legacy, her grandfather was John , her great uncle Lionel and great aunt Ethel. Her father John was not around much and Drew became an emancipated teenager at age 14.
In the book Ms. Barrymore talks of and recounts adventures with friends among them, Cameron Diaz and Steven Spielberg.
Trips to many places including India were recalled and in each Drew grew emotionally and spiritually, perhaps culminating in the penultimate chapter of the relatively short book.
It takes us to Africa and Drew ultimately working with the United Nations and The World Food Council in establishing “The Barrymore Learning Academy.” Truly inspirational!
Finally, I was so glad to see Drew’s mom Jade, still by all accounts not close to Drew, acknowledged in a positive away as was her late father John.
Remember all that ridiculous ESPN/ABC hype surrounding what I knew was a meaningless regular season game between the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors last week.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who had done this before, rested 5 star players and his team was routed by the Oklahoma City Thunder last night.
I applaud Popovich’s decision as he knows his team will be the NBA West 2 seed no higher, no lower hence the game vs the one seed Warriors last week meant little, if anything.
Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich, pictured above, has guided the team to 5 NBA titles.
Yesterday the long shot long shot winner, 1985 NCAA basketball title winning school, Villanova defeated the 1988 long shot winner, Kansas to reach the national semi-finals to be held in Houston,Texas next week.
Their opponent is from the Texas neighboring state of Oklahoma, the University of Oklahoma Sooners. They were denied by Kansas in the 1988 title tilt.
Oklahoma defeated Oregon yesterday to also reach the national semi-final game.
Villanova is an early two point favorite in that tilt which as with tonight’s regional finals (Syracuse vs Virginia and Notre Dame vs North Carolina) and the other national semi-final next week are on TBS and NOT over the air CBS.
My American League East predictions are ready.
Their splendid play in the spring plus the fact that their great play was just for a half season, I think the Toronto Blue Jays will start strong and hold on to win the American League East this season.
I do not think the Boston Red Sox will be as strong as most forecasters think.
The New York Yankees are my pick to finish just ahead of Boston for second place.
Neither the Tampa Bay Rays nor the Baltimore Orioles will make that much positive noise in the division this season.
Some random notes from television watching will follow.
I offer no formal remembrance but Ken Howard and Garry Shandling, each of whom died too soon this past week, so often entertained on television.
Watching Mr.Shandling’s first appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, which aired as a tribute to Mr.Shandling on Antenna TV last night, guests actor/director Richard Benjamin and golfer Jan Stephenson and not Shandling were seated next to Johnny and Ed McMahon when the 1981 show ended.
However, Shandling surely impressed Carson and was asked back on numerous occasions.
Later as a stretch in the “Quantum Leap” credits for an episode in which series star,Scott Bakula’s (along with Dean Stockwell) character “leaps” back to 1964, include Fran Ryan.
Add a “k” to Fran’s first name and it is Frank Ryan the quarterback of the last Cleveland Browns’ title team in 1964.
Finally you can’t go wrong watching the great television series, “The Fugitive” on “The Decades binge” all weekend long on the Decades channel.
Andy B Sports 