Once, I believe on one of those great “roasts” hosted by Dean Martin, the one and only Muhammad Ali said “everyone’s talking about Gabe Kaplan” as only he could, a tribute to Mr. Kaplan a rising and so talented comedian.
Having seen Gabe Kaplan, on one of the recently aired, marvelous “Tonight Shows,” with Johnny Carson shown each night on Antenna TV, I talk some more here about Kaplan’s great sense of humor, much of it recalling his days in Brooklyn, New York.
The show that aired recently was from May of 1974, before Kaplan starred in the television show “Welcome Back Kotter,” which also truly launched the career of John Travolta.
Coincidentally, Cindy Williams appeared on that Tonight Show, also a year before her big television show, “Laverne and Shirley” which also starred Penny Marshall.
I was fortunate to be a contestant on a Gabe Kaplan hosted “NFL Trivia” show. He was funny both on and off camera.
More telling to me, he was gracious even telling me the genesis of his making “that noise” in a great “Kotter” episode, in which he plays basketball with student “Fred Boom Boom Washington,” (played by Lawrence Hilton Jacobs), as each of us were getting “tv makeup” applied.
What a thrill for me then and to have seen this fine performer and others on the Tonight Show with Mr. Carson.
Gabe Kaplan, pictured above.
The two teams, (Detroit Red Wings, for a North American major sports league high 25th consecutive season and Philadelphia Flyers) that qualified for the last two NHL playoff spots yesterday met in the 1997 NHL finals.
That final resulted in Detroit winning its first Stanley Cup crown in 42 years.
Meanwhile the Flyers enter the playoffs, 5 days after fellow Philadelphia team, Villanova ended a 31 year NCAA title drought, seeking to win their first Stanley Cup in 41 years.
By the way each team knows its first round playoffs opponent.
The Red Wings will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round for the second straight season. Last season the Lightning won in 7 games en route to a Stanley Cup finals loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Meanwhile the Flyers are to battle the top ranked Washington Capitals, a team that began play in the season (1974-1975), in which the Flyers last won the title, still seeking their first such title.
Switching channels earlier today, I came across two of the great actors, Lee J. Cobb and Robert Duvall, each from a different era, in a scene together on the television show, “The Virginian.”
I could hardly concentrate in awe of their greatness, at this point Cobb well established as an all-time great, Duvall at the beginning of an ongoing great career.
Two other greats come to mind when thinking about both men, each rarely a leading man type but with the “acting chops” few could match, leading men or not.
Those others are Marlon Brando and Gregory Peck.
Just one year before the referenced episode of “The Virginian,” called “The Golden Door,” aired in 1963, Mr. Duvall made his film debut in “To Kill A Mockingbird,” in which Mr. Peck turned in an iconic performance.
Both Cobb and Duvall had great film roles opposite Marlon Brando, the former in “On The Waterfront,” the latter in “The Godfather.”
One sentence from today’s brief viewing resonates as Duvall’s character says “the old man” the same three words as he said in “The Godfather” prefaced by “if” and followed by “dies we take the deal.” Again these guys were/are among the true acting greats.
Robert Duvall, pictured above.
Certainly there will be “scoreboard watching” today as the three NHL East teams battling for the two remaining playoff spots all have afternoon games.
Two of the games are to be played simultaneously, the Detroit Red Wings, still in control of their bid for a 25th straight post-season appearance, are at New York vs the Rangers while the Boston Bruins, needing help to qualify, host the Ottawa Senators. Both tilts begin at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time.
Next, the third team in the playoffs hunt, the Philadelphia Flyers host the Pittsburgh Penguins in an NBC telecast beginning at 3 p.m.”Philly” controls its fate as well but to assure a playoffs berth must win 2 games, while Detroit needs only one. There are other contingencies as well, stay tuned for an interesting NHL day.
The Los Angeles Kings have won the last two “even year” Stanley Cup titles thus the fact they have but one first place finish/divisional title in their 47 previous seasons of play is downplayed as perhaps it should be.
Winning the Stanley Cup and going far in the playoffs is what counts and winning a divisional title does not assure that.
However, the Kings with a magic point total of 1, (a win or overtime loss by L.A. or a loss by the Anaheim Ducks), hope to garner their second divisional title (NHL Pacific Division), tonight. Their lone regular season division title to this point was in 1990-1991.(NHL Smythe Division).
L.A. faces the Winnipeg Jets at home, a game starting 5 hours after the Ducks’ road encounter with the Colorado Avalanche so the Kings will know where they stand before their game.
Today marks the exact 11 year anniversary of the funeral of Pope John Paul II (born Karol Jozef Wojtyla), a modern and progressive Pope, humanitarian ,who helped Jewish people, among others, during the horrors in his native Poland during the 1940’s, a country he loved and helped move forward.
One does not have to be Roman Catholic to appreciate this man and what he accomplished. Far from it!
As fate would have it, I was on the street in Rome eleven years ago, watching the entire funeral on a large television screen.
Many things connected that day, including a beautiful song in the service that brought tears to my eyes.
It sounded just like a song my father loved called “My Yiddish Mother.” That moment will stay with me, as I stated, you need not be Catholic, to be in awe of all that Pope John Paul II did to help others.
Witnessing first hand, the tribute to Pope John Paul II pictured and almost surely above, was one of, if not the best, event I ever attended.
Despite an impressive home win vs the Detroit Red Wings, the Boston Bruins still do not “control their destiny” for NHL playoffs qualification.
Also, though the Philadelphia Flyers lost in overtime to the big underdog, Toronto Maple Leafs, the one point they did get in that tilt, keeps them in control of their playoff qualification situation.
Meanwhile the Red Wings seeking a 25th consecutive playoffs appearance still are in control of their playoffs qualification fate.
Detroit and Boston each have 93 points and one game remaining with Detroit holding the tiebreaker over Boston. Philadelphia has 92 points but two games remaining, but would lose in any tiebreaker situation.
Before last season began,, the Washington Nationals were perceived as being about 12 games better than the New York Mets. The Mets won the N.L. East with Washington second.
This season begins with the teams considered even.
I say the Washington Nationals will finish first.
The Mets will be second. None of the other three teams, the Miami Marlins, Atlanta Braves and almost certainly not the Philadelphia Phillies will contend in the division.
I will go along with the consensus and predict the Chicago Cubs to win the National League Central Division title.
Both the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals could even should challenge but it will be the Cubs, I suppose.
Neither the Cincinnati Reds nor the Milwaukee Brewers, though each will improve, have enough to take the title.
Cubs first, Cardinals second, Pirates third, Reds fourth, Brewers fifth.
The NHL regular season ends Sunday and tonight there are 13 games, some with playoff implications.
Only two of the 16 playoff spots are open and three teams are contending for those two playoff berths.
Two are original six NHL teams, the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings, the other a part of the first expansion and the first such team to win the Stanley Cup, namely the Philadelphia Flyers.
Detroit is bidding for its 25th consecutive post-season appearance which is a record for any major North American sports league.
