Leonardo DiCaprio will almost certainly win his first Academy Award this Sunday for his performance in “The Revenant,” a film I have yet to see.
He has done some superb work over the years, proving he is much more than a pretty face.
I loved him in “Catch Me If You Can,” particularly in a scene with a prostitute, who thinks she is getting the financial upper hand, but is not.
If one is so inclined to wager on Mr. DiCaprio to win the Best Actor Award, a risk of 60 dollars to win one dollar is required. Though almost surely he will win, that wager and any like it (if not all wagers) is not advisable.
My admiration for Tom Hanks is immense, but not because he has been awarded 2 Academy Awards.
It is the work he has done, in my case some of his earlier work, that especially hits home with me.
In the 1982 first Hanks’ Johnny Carson Tonight Show appearance referenced here this week, Hanks’ appearance at the San Francisco comedy club, “Punch Line” was promoted by Mr. Carson.
Subsequent to that appearance, Hanks and Sally Field were superb together in a movie called “Punchline.”
“Punch Line” in S.F. is still there. It is not exactly like being asked to sit down on Johnny Carson’s panel, but I am noting that comedian Brett Ernst is appearing there now.
Punch Line Comedy Club – San Francisco Tickets
Click above for ticket information for Mr. Ernst appearing February 25-27
Two teams that played their first seasons in 1961, the Texas Rangers and Minnesota Vikings have never won a league title.
While the Vikings never led at any point in their 4 Super Bowl losses the Rangers came so close to winning the 2011 World Series.
Last year both teams made the playoffs but lost in their first round of play, the Vikings in the wild card round to the Seattle Sehawks.
After battling past the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and/despite David Freese, the St. Louis Cardinals’ hero along with Lance Berkman, in the 2011 World Series, Toronto took out the Rangers in the divisional round of the baseball playoffs.
Texas came home up (2-0) in the best of 5 series, but lost both home games and then the decisive 5th game in Toronto.
In 12 post-season home games before the LCS or World Series, the Rangers have a pitiful (1-11) record, (1-10) in the divisional series.
No baseball division houses more teams that have never won a World Series than the American League West.
There are three such teams in the division.
One the Texas Rangers, formed as the expansion Washington Senators in 1961, when Calvin Griffith took the old Senators to Minnesota to become the Twins, as whom they have won 2 titles, one more than they won in Washington D.C., have accumulated more non title years than all but two baseball teams.
Only the Cleveland Indians sans a World Series title since 1948 and the Chicago Cubs, being bet far too intensely to change that this season, 40 years longer than that have gone longer sans a World title among baseball teams.
The other A.L. West teams without a World Series win are the Houston Astros, formed in 1962 and the Seattle Mariners, a team that began in 1977.
Watching a Johnny Carson hosted Tonight Show from 1982 last night on “Antenna TV,” brought back some nice memories and some notes.
The show will probably be best remembered as Tom Hanks’ first Tonight Show appearance. He was on “Bosom Buddies” co starring with Peter Scolari but was the last of the three guests to be introduced and Mr. Carson noted the short amount of time Hanks was given.
Earlier Johnny cited two daytime talk show hosts of note.
A lady wanted her mother cited for watching Carson “daily.” Johnny quipped we are not on during the day citing John Davidson as the “John” her mother was watching.
The classy Lynn Redgrave explained her lovely dress was given to her by Mr. Blackwell, a designer, who had put Ms. Redgrave second among the worst dressed stars.
She explained the gift was made to keep her off future “worst dressed lists.” Mr. Carson noted he saw this played out on the Regis Philbin show. At that time, Mr. Philbin had begun the morning show talk format in Los Angeles with Cyndy Garvey, who had been married to LCS, but not World Series great, Steve Garvey.
Cyndy Garvey pictured above.
All sixteen pre expansion major league baseball teams have won at least two World Series titles.
Additionally six of the fourteen expansion teams have won the World Series, four of them (Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays) twice each.
Three of last year’s semi-final teams were expansion teams and when the games included all four “semis” teams had 2 World Series wins.
The other semi-final entrant last year, the Chicago Cubs won all 7 regular season games vs the New York Mets.
However, the Mets won all four in the NLCS as Joe Maddon, seemingly more concerned with holding press conferences waxing poetic about past Mets’ teams did not start his top pitcher, Jake Arietta, in the opening game of the NLCS.
The city of Philadelphia, the home of fictional at one time champion, Rocky Balboa has notched 16 titles in major North American sports’ leagues.
7 of those titles were won by teams/franchises no longer residing in the City of Brotherly Love.”
Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics now the Oakland Athletics, by way of Kansas City, lead the “Philly title parade” with 5, the last in 1930.
The franchise still in Philadelphia with the most crowns are the NFL Eagles (3) the last in 1960.
Four teams, three still in Philadelphia, and one the current NBA champions have or had two “Philly titles.”
The NHL Flyers last won it all in 1975.
Baseball’s Philadelphia (Phillies) last in 2008 and the NBA 76ers, last in 1983 also won 2 as did the then Philadelphia Warriors, now the NBA champion, Golden State Warriors, who last won a Philadelphia title in 1956, led by local hero Tom Gola.
Two American League East teams, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have recent, at least relatively, recent World Series victories.
Boston (Red Sox), famously denied a World Series victory for 86 years, has won 3 titles since ending the drought in 2004, the most recent in 2013.
The Yankees with 27 World Series victories and for them a dry spell with just one in the last 15 seasons, won that title in 2009.
For other members of the A.L. East it has been longer or not at all.
The Toronto Blue Jays, who surged to the division crown last season and performed well in the baseball tournament, losing a tough 6th game to the eventual World Series winning, Kansas City Royals have been sans World Series title since 1993, 21 completed seasons (1995-20150 as there was not a World Series played nor completed season in baseball 1994.
Baltimore (Orioles) last won the World Series in 1983, Eddie Murray homering twice in the ABC televised (Howard Cosell, Al “Alfalfa” Michaels and Earl Weaver in their broadcast booth) 5th game Sunday AFTERNOON clincher.
The Tampa Rays have never won a World Series, losing under over rated manager Joe Maddon to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008. The great Phillies’ announcer Harry Kalas got to call the last out.
“Good afternoon” has not been heard on a World Series broadcast since the 6th game of the 1987 entity. No “Gillette theme,” no day games, but they give us useless “sideline reporters” such as Erin Andrews. Why?!!
Click below for a treat. View the last out of the 2008 World Series, as called by Harry Kalas.
Kalas’ call of the Phillies winning World Series
“A Season To Remember,” (Penguin Random House Penguin Canada) a book about the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays has been out for a while, but as baseball is on the precipice of another season, looking back at the last one always serves well.
This book gives a great detailed account of the Blue Jays rise to the playoffs for the first time since Joe Carter’s home run vaulted Toronto to the second of back to back World Series crowns.
The 2015 Blue Jays faced with three rounds of playoffs, did not make it that far, losing a heartbreaking 6th game to the eventual World Series winners, the Kansas City Royals.
However, as “A Season To Remember” chronicles with great details and text, the 2015 Blue Jays, who among other accomplishments, scored 127 more runs than the next best team, were quite a story.
Going hand in hand, as the explosive bats and relief pitching excellence of the 2015 Blue Jays, “A Season To Remember” is quite a good book to read.
Random House of Canada – Official Site
Click above and then easily to “sports” for information on how to purchase this information filled, “gem of a book.”
As always, time has marched on and the WNBA will be entering its 20th season when play begins in May.
I think the league is great and last season enjoyed a playoff game at Madison Square Garden between the top ranked New York Liberty and the Washington Mystics.
The game went into 2 overtimes, before the Mystics prevailed.
The contest was one of the best and most exciting, I have seen in many years.
Last year the Liberty had the best record in the WNBA and went to the Eastern finals after beating the Mystics, before losing a decisive third game to the Indiana Fever.
This is a great time to make plans and to purchase tickets for a New York Liberty game. It is quite an experience.
There will be many updates on the WNBA, stay tuned.
Please contact Michael regarding some great ticket plans.
Michael Proska|MSG Sports
The Madison Square Garden Company
2 Pennsylvania Plaza, 14th Floor
New York, NY 10121-0091
Phone: (212) 631-5671
Fax: (212) 465-6075
Michael.Proska@msg.com
Andy B Sports 