Of course with the presence of the Chicago Cubs in the N.L. Central its division members have the combined total number of years sans a World Series win.
Chicago’s North Side Cubs last won it all in 1908, the year William Howard Taft, later the first U.S. President to throw out a ceremonial first pitch and oh yes a Supreme Court Justice, was elected to the United States’ highest office.
Other N.L. Central teams, most notably the Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers add to the years sans a World Series win.
Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family” was their team song and Willie “Pops” Stargell was their leader when Pittsburgh last won the W.S. back in 1979.
Meanwhile the Milwaukee Brewers formed as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and moving to Milwaukee as the Brewers a year later, have never won a World Series.
The Cincinnati Reds last won it all in 1990, sweeping the Oakland Athletics. St.Louis last “titled” in 2011.
Oh the memories involving the great Willie Stargell! Alas I had the above baseball card, but as kids we did not sell them, we flipped them even “endangering” the cards by doing so, where my mother kept water under the radiator.
Suddenly after 7 non split squad wins at their winter home in Lakeland, Florida the Detroit Tigers have lost two consecutive Lakeland games in as many days.
The teams that won were the opponents in the last real baseball season’s (no wild card teams) World Series in 1993.
They are the Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays.
Toronto won that World Series in six games, the ending coming on Joe Carter’s three run home run.
1993 WS Game 6: Joe Carter wins Series with homer
Click above to view Joe Carter’s World Series ending home run in 1993. Only one other player has ever accomplished that feat, Bill Mazeroski in 1960.
Today is the great sportscaster Bob Costas’ birthday. Three nights hence North Carolina University meets Indiana University in a round of 16 tilt, dare I say “sweet” with history, between two of the three teams/universities tied for third place, with 5 NCAA basketball titles.
I have an association between Costas and North Carolina/Indiana tournament history. As the brilliant actor Robert Shaw’s character in the great film “The Sting” said (see if you can) “Folla,” meaning follow.
On a Bob Costas, 2001, HBO show, best remembered for his interview segment with “wrestling” mogul, Vince McMahon, the by comparison calm, relaxed basketball coach Bob Knight also appeared.
I happened to be at the show and among the topics that night was the return to the NBA of Michael Jordan. Sadly (not all that so) Mr. Jordan did return, thus his game and sixth Chicago Bulls’ title winning shot, called so deftly by Costas on the 1998 NBC telecast, was not his final moment as an NBA player.
Coach Knight was walking out of the studio when I recalled to him that his Indiana coached team denied Jordan and North Carolina in Mr. Jordan’s last college game, also a round of 16 clash between Indiana and North Carolina, now 32 years ago in 1984.
From left to right, Robert Shaw, Robert Redford and Paul Newman, pictured above as characters in “The Sting.”
There are some notes I gathered while watching a couple of movies around the television dial/remote control yesterday.
In “Come Blow Your Horn,” a 1963 film, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bill are brothers with the last name Baker.
Many years later (1989), real life brothers Jeff and Beau Bridges starred in a film along with Michelle Pfeiffer as and called “The Fabulous Baker Boys.”
Also from 1936 in the film, “The Law is in Her Hands,” (starring Margaret Lindsay), a character/organized crime type is named Frank Gordon. (Lyle Talbot featured in a nice TCM segment this month plays “Gordon.”).
Years later, on the television show “The Untouchables,” actor Bruce GORDON appeared regularly as real life organized crime type, FRANK Nitti.
I remember Michelle Pfeiffer, pictured above, truly impressing legendary “Tonight Show” host, Johnny Carson in her first appearance on that show, I believe as another version of the film, “Grease” was being promoted.
It was probably over before, but after last night’s (4-1) home loss to the Calgary Flames, it is all but definite the once glorious Montreal Canadiens will miss the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Starting with 5 Stanley Cup victories in 5 straight seasons (1956-1960), Montreal has gone (17-2) in the Stanley Cup finals, one of the two losses to the Flames in 1989.
One of the 17 Cup wins in that span was vs the Flames a (4-1) series win in 1986 The last three Montreal titles came in (4-1) finals series wins, all after losing the first game.
So it all but ends for Montreal in a (4-1) loss, a team/franchise that incredibly made the playoffs of some kind 71 out of 76 seasons, starting in 1923, a year another greatest team in its sports league, the New York Yankees won their first World Series in the first year of play at Yankee Stadium.
Even Sports Illustrated would not dare consider Serena Williams as its Sportsman of the Year” after unjustly giving it to her last year.
Ms. Williams’ tennis woes continued as Victoria Azarenka defeated her easily, in the finals of a (WTA) tournament at Indian Wells.
Again last year, if Williams had won the so called “Calendar Grand Slam” (Australian, French, Wimbledon and United States titles), her choice as “Sportsman/Year,” even over Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, might/would have been justified.
Instead Williams failed to win the U.S. Open, no terrible thing and she had a great year but not deserving of the honor Sports Illustrated bestowed upon her.
At this point this year, we do not have to “worry” about that injustice repeating.
It was great to watch the 1958 movie, “A Touch of Evil” directed by the great Orson Welles yesterday on Turner Classic Movies channel.
There were some fine performances all throughout this film about murder, police corruption and overall shady activities in a Mexican border town.
Charlton Heston, a year away from his Academy Award winning performance in “Ben Hur,” but likely already working on it as that film also shown yesterday on TCM took two years to complete, stars as an official (Mike Vargas) investigating narcotics traffic.
Janet Leigh, two years away from a landmark role, hers in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” is excellent as Heston’s wife (“Susan”) in the film. Welles is brilliant as police captain, “Hank Quinlan.”
I will not “spoil” the tremendous film, which was edited 40 years later to be more in tune with what Mr. Welles desired in the film but had trouble gaining, but as in “Psycho,” Ms. Leigh’s character is in trouble alone in an out of the way hotel.
Also look for Dennis Weaver in a nice supporting role as a hotel clerk. Others spotted in the cast include Marlene Dietrich, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Ray Collins, the latter known to television audiences as Police Lieutenant Tragg on Perry Mason, but also with Welles in his masterpiece film, “Citizen Kane.”
So far my predictions on this weekend’s basketball have been “pretty good” as Larry David might say.
I predicted Iowa to not cover vs Temple and to win by 3 points. They won by 2 points.
Oklahoma was favored by 14 and won by 14 vs Cal Bakersfield so the linemaker hit that on the head.
I did so calling an 8 point win by the San Antonio Spurs vs the Golden State Warriors.
In the end, this matters not and how many do we/I get wrong. Many is that answer.
The second round win by Indiana vs Kentucky received relatively little publicity considering the magnitude of college basketball in each state and the history involving the two universities.
Only U.C.L.A. with 11 titles has more than Kentucky which has won 8. Next is a three way tie among Indiana and two North Carolina teams, defending champion, Duke and North Carolina.
When I think of Kentucky/Indiana, I recall a 1975 regional final game when Kentucky upset an undefeated Indiana team some say was as talented or more so than their undefeated title team a year later.
The great sportscaster Marv Albert and the great player Jerry Lucas were the announcers for that tilt.
More history and I guess nostalgia: After Kentucky beat Syracuse in one national “semi,” and Richard Washington’s shot lifted U.C.L.A. over Louisville, the great U.C.L.A. coach John Wooden announced the title game vs Kentucky would be his last.
His team sent him out as the greatest winner in college sports history beating Kentucky for an incredible 10th title in 12 seasons.
Richard Washington, pictured above, hit a last second shot to lift U.C.L.A. to a victory over Louisville in the 1975 NCAA semi-finals. Then the Bruins as U.C.L.A. is called, defeated Kentucky giving their legendary coach John Wooden his 10th title in 12 seasons, in his last game.
On some level, I can still hear my father applauding and surely I hear Coach Wooden’s well pronounced and so meaningful “sorry,” when I told him of my father’s recent death, just before I interviewed him in 1994.
In today’s NCAA Basketball Tournament’s second round games, I will offer two predictions.
Both involve the teams that pulled off big upsets in round 1, Middle Tennessee and Stephen F. Austin.
I predict Syracuse will win vs Middle Tennessee State and cover the 6 point spread. After the win vs Michigan State, the beware of Middle Tennessee for Syracuse sentiment was a bit much.
Nobody knows which team will win today nor how Syracuse would have done vs Michigan State. However, the odds would have significantly favored Michigan State and Syracuse, all things being equal, is happy Middle Tennessee State and not Michigan State is their second round foe.
My other prediction is that 1 point favorite, Notre Dame will win vs Stephen F. Austin (70-64).
Andy B Sports 