More than likely at this time next week Sylvester Stallone will have won a Best Supporting Actor Award at the previous night’s awards.
My feelings and opinion of his work has changed for the better over the years.
First of all, I liked “Rocky” when I saw it but did not appreciate how really good the film was.
I did not want Stallone to win the Best Actor Award for the 1976 film and I believe properly the award was awarded posthumously to the great actor Peter Finch for his transcendent performance in “Rocky.”
“Network” is an all-time great film while “Rocky” so much better than I originally thought, is an all-time popular film and a very good one. There is a difference.
Yet time has marched inexorably on and if Stallone a 3 to 1 favorite, does win the Supporting Actor Award for “Creed” which I have not seen, it will not bother me and will serve as a tribute to Mr. Stallone’s perseverance, a word that might come with his picture next to it in future dictionaries.
Sylvester Stallone pictured above.
Last year the Toronto Blue Jays roared to an incredible second half record and easily moved past the New York Yankees, to win their first one eighth division title.
Toronto had not made the playoffs since winning a second consecutive World Series title with Paul Molitor and company in 1993.
The New York Yankees with 27 World Series victories made the playoffs as a wild card team.
It was only the 4th Yankees’ playoff entrance as the bogus or one of the bogus wild card teams.
None of their 27 World Series wins or 40 pennants came in a “wild card’ playoff appearance.
One step further: The Yankees have never won a playoff round as a wild card team, losing division series in 1995, 1997 and 2007 and in the even more prostituted wild card round/play in game last season.
A number of years back, the great player and Mets’ broadcaster (the original three Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy and Kiner were so good) Ralph Kiner came into the press room at Citi Field and sat at the same table as me.
This was a great honor and pleasure as I came up with the name of the St. Louis Cardinals’ pitcher John Beazley against whom Ralph got his first big league hit.
I reminded Ralph of his most meaningful “call” when reliever Nolan Ryan of the Mets got the Atlanta Braves’ Tony Gonzalez to ground out third to first, Wayne Garrett to Ed Kranepool, clinching the 1969 National League pennant for the Mets.
In listening to a good chunk of that clinching game the other night, I note that Ralph came in to broadcast the third inning, and as in the first with Murphy behind the microphone, Gonzalez got a hit followed by a Hank Aaron extra base hit.
The great Aaron homered in all 3 games of that best of 5 1969 NLCS, the great home run hitter, Kiner’s first and last calls were with Tony Gonzalez batting.
NLCS Gm3: Aaron crushes two-run homer to center
Click above to view Mr.Aaron’s home run in game 3 of the 1969 NLCS as called by Curt Gowdy on NBC television.
Only I could “link” Kiner and Johnny Beazley the following way: 27 years apart in 1942 and 1969, the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets lost the first game of the World Series but won the next four, clinching the title in New York.
Kiner was a Mets’ broadcaster and Beazley, as was the case regarding Jerry Koosman of the Mets 27 years later, won games two and five of the World Series.
Though the subject matter is highly disturbing, I truly enjoy and commend the show American Crime which airs at 10 P.M. Eastern time on ABC for bringing these issues to the forefront.
While going from the harsh reality of the show to the inane commercials and network promos is both weird (a Disney ad with a little kid seeing animals juxtaposed with what can happen to children in a world of bullying texts and other negatives) and annoying (they are non stop), I only took real exception to ABC’s misleading Academy Awards promo.
They call the awards’ races wide open and they are not. In fact the two best actor categories have never had such aggregate favorites.
They will get a big audience for the apples/oranges contest in any case so to promote wide open award races is worse than misleading. It is dishonest.
Baseball’s American League Central Division is the only one of the 14 divisions in major league baseball and the NFL to have a complete set of teams that has won its league’s World Series or Super Bowl.
It houses the current world champion, Kansas City Royals, who last year won their second World Series, 30 years after winning their first.
The Chicago White Sox endured an 88 year World Series title drought before winning it all in 2005.
Now it has been almost 32 years since the Detroit Tigers won it all. They did so in 1984 just before Ronald Reagan was returned to the White House in a landslide victory over Walter Mondale.
This year a 5th President, since 1984, will be elected and the odds are long that the Tigers will have won the title. Yet that is why they play the games.
It has been 25 years since the Minnesota Twins won the title in 1991 while only the Chicago Cubs (108 years) and the Arizona Cardinals (69 years) have gone longer sans a world title than the Cleveland Indians, who last won it all in 1948.
Before last night’s loss to the Portland Trailblazers, the Golden State Warriors had a (48-4) record.
At that time “Five Thirty Eight” stated the odds of the team achieving at least 72 wins which would tie the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls’ NBA record was a bit more than 68 percent.
Then the same group stated the chances of winning 73 or more games in the NBA’s 82 game season were only 54 percent.
I am not a statistics guru but one win more or less even given the Warriors’ prowess and the fact at that point, 30 games were left means to me the 14 percent rise for just one game is off.
In the movie “The Hustler” with Paul Newman, pictured above his character states “percentage players die broke” (also). Heed the advice regarding these statistical theories and those even more unsavory.
As the 2012 Presidential election moved toward its conclusion, so called “statistics guru” Nate Silver received so much more credit than he deserved for saying Barack Obama would win a second term as United States President.
I heard David Plouffe, a vital part of the Obama team, and one truly privy to the real numbers say as much at the 92nd Street Y, after hearing too much praise from NYC Democrats regarding Silver.
Plouffe, as an obvious Obama supporter was grateful to Silver for the perception but his “real numbers” kept him confident, in the race vs Mitt Romney.
Now in my next post, I will take apart something from “Five Thirty Eight” which is part of ESPN (a good indication of lowered standards).
Possibly I could value their political race odds but sports, I do not think so.
After watching an “An American in Paris” on TCM the other night I share some related notes, concerning some who appeared in “The Best Picture Academy Award” winner of 1951.
First of all, only 5 actors received screen credits, Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guetary and Nina Foch.
Recognizing his distinct voice, I noticed Hayden Rorke, who years later achieved television recognition as “Dr. Bellows,” seemingly always bothering Larry Hagman’s “Tony Nelson” on the show “I Dream of Jeannie,” which also starred Barbara Eden.
A true classic television show is Superman and Noel Neill, who appeared in “An American in Paris,” played Lois Lane. Both she and sultry voiced Phyllis Coates, “Lois” the first year of Superman on television are still with us on earth.
Ms. Neil and Superman star, George Reeves each appeared in films that won the Academy Award for Best Picture on two occasions.
Noel Neill did so in consecutive years with “An American in Paris” in 1951 and “The Greatest Show on Earth” a year later.
Mr. Reeves did so 14 years apart appearing in “Gone With the Wind” in 1939 and “from Here to Eternity” in 1953.
George Reeves (“Superman and do not forget also “Clark Kent,” whom he played so well) and Noel Neill (“Lois Lane”) pictured above. Ms. Neill is 95 years old.
Surely no player can be compared to Babe Ruth, who of course hit 714 home runs and was a great pitcher before playing every day.
Yet let’s talk a bit about another “Babe” this one named Herman.
His .393 mark is the highest one season average in the long history of the Dodgers,
He hit for the cycle three times more than any player.
In an exhibition game he once pinch hit for the great Ty Cobb.
Babe would say on the play he drove in the winning run while most remember the game he doubled into a double play as the Dodgers ended up with 3 runners at third base including Babe, two declared out.
Babe Herman, pictured above was quite a hitter!
The American League West seems to be a wide open division as baseball spring training is about to begin.
Last season, the Texas Rangers took the A.L. West crown for the first time since 2011, a year they came so close to winning the franchise’s first World Series.
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Houston Astros were both in the race well into the final week of the season.
I see more of the same this season.
As the spring training progresses, I will offer both early and ‘official” predictions in this and all the divisions in baseball.
Alas not picking the wild card entrants does make their presence vanish. Too bad!
Andy B Sports 