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!
The Montreal Canadiens return home tonight facing the Philadelphia Flyers, well on the outside, looking in in the race to make the NHL playoffs.
This glorious franchise, sans a title since 1993, got off to a great start this season.
As their woeful slump continued, one crack about the Canadiens a team with more titles than any but the New York Yankees in major North American sports’ leagues, surfaced.
“The Canadiens will be honoring the players from the hot start at the beginning of the season.”
Montreal won its back to back home games on Super Bowl weekend and another home tilt that followed.
However 3 subsequent road losses leaves Montreal in dire shape, as far as reaching the playoffs.
In looking through past interviews, I came across one I conducted with the wrestler, Sherri Martel, who later would be known as “Sensational Sherri.”
Sadly, she is no longer with us but my memories of her kindness and “schtick” will stay with me.
She yelled, as wrestlers did or do, during our interview, but was so friendly, even granting my co host Sunshine Chance Smith and me, access to her shared dressing room before a show.
What a great, accomodating, forthright lady. An attractive, personable wrestler who climbed higher, after we met in 1986.
Much of what one leaves is how other people remember you and Sherri gets straight A’s from me, leaving me memories of a really nice day.
By this point, “Sensational Sherri” pictured above was so friendly and gracious to both my co host and me in a long interview segment years back. She was Sherri Martel at the time.
Yesterday I listened to an audio reminder of the 1991 Stanley Cup playoffs, specifically early in the preliminary round.
There were updates by me and some commentary.
Then some play by play, brief, but decisive and in the course of time, amazing.
The heavily favored Pittsburgh Penguins had lost game one of their preliminary series at home vs the New Jersey Devils and were in overtime vs New Jersey in game 2 also in Pittsburgh.
Suddenly a great individual effort by rookie Jaromir Jagr ended the game in the Penguins’ favor. The play was called by Chris Moore, still heard on rare occasion on WFAN. I noted Jagr as a potentially brilliant player.
The Penguins went on to the first of two straight Stanley Cup titles led by Mario Lemieux and among others, Jagr.
Incredibly, in two months, barring injury, Jagr will be playing in the playoffs, 25 years later, this time for the Florida Panthers, a team not even in existence when Jagr was a rookie in the 1991 playoffs.
The great hockey player, Jaromir Jagr, pictured above.
There are a total of 14 divisions in major league baseball and the NFL and only one has a complete set of teams that has won its league’s World Series or Super Bowl. That division is the American League Central.
Only one other division, football’s NFC West has a complete set of teams that has won its league’s title, in this case an NFL title.
Interestingly the Arizona Cardinals, sans a Super Bowl title and in their third city won their lone NFL crown as the Chicago Cardinals in 1947.
Another franchise the second incarnation of the Los Angeles Rams won its Super Bowl as the St. Louis Cardinals in 1999.
The Rams also have been in 3 cities and won the NFL crown as the Cleveland Rams in 1945 and as the Los Angeles Rams in 1951.
The other NFC West teams: the San Francisco 49ers have won 5 Super Bowls after never winning a pre AFC/NFC entity of any kind.
Meanwhile the Seattle Seahawks won it all in 2013.
Andy B Sports 