For the third time in five seasons, the NFL playoffs will begin in Houston the home of the Texans.
Twice before the Texans, who face the K.C. Chiefs nee Dallas Texans, opened the NFL playoffs with wild card round victories.
Each of those victories was against the Cincinnati Bengals, who oddly play later tomorrow as there are two AFC games on the same day for the first time ever in this round and just the second time in NFL post-season history (the 1977 divisional round being the other).
I offer no prediction on what I feel is a too close to call game or even spread with the road team, Chiefs favored by three points.
A higher scoring game than expected, the total points gauged at 40 and I predict more than 40 points to be scored in the game.
The second season of the incredible network show “American Crime” premiered on the ABC television network last night.
I was lucky enough to not only see an advanced screening of season 2, episode 1 the night before at the 92 Y in Manhattan but also to have seen and heard from cast members and the incredible writer/director of the series John Ridley.
When such great, experienced (they all look great by the way) performers as Timothy Hutton, Felicity Huffman and Lili Taylor all are back and enthused about a second season with the “Incredible Mr. Ridley (not Ripley, though Ripley should be informed concerning this man’s ability and work) surely this is a show not to be missed.
This comes from someone so disappointed in television, especially network television.
I love the three performers as well gaining tidbits from all three both before and after the talk.
Mr. Hutton commented on his role as a basketball coach this season and told the audience he sought advice from the coach of the world champion Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr.
I will have more on the show, revealing now that the actors all have different roles in a completely new story line this season, in the future weeks.
To close this post, I feel so fortunate to have met the gracious, talented Timothy Hutton and to extend my praise for the work of his dad, actor Jim Hutton.
Sadly as Timothy pointed out we had Jim Hutton for far too short a time. On we all go, few carrying on his father’s legacy and adding to it, the way Timothy Hutton has done.
After the Houston Oilers did themselves and the Cincinnati Bengals a big favor by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in a season finale Sunday night tilt, in 1990–Cincy had no mercy, routing the Oilers in a wild card round game the following week.
That game 25 years ago was the last time that the Bengals won a post-season game.
Starting with a loss to the Oakland Raiders in the divisional round (a game best remembered as the one in which the Raiders’ Vincent “Bo” Jackson suffered a football career ending injury) a week later, the Bengals currently are amidst a 25 year, 7 game post season losing streak.
They have lost in all six wild card round games since the 1990 win.
Additionally Cincy has lost in the wild card round in each of the last 4 seasons, all in games started by quarterback Andy Dalton.
It is very likely that A.J. Mc Carron and not the injured Dalton will start at the quarterback position in the Saturday night (first time ever that the neutral/Al Michaels affiliated network is not televising the Saturday night or later Saturday or until last year any Saturday wild card round game) game on CBS likely with Jim Nantz as the lead announcer.
Vincent “Bo” Jackson who also played major league baseball for the team that won this year’s World Series (The Kansas City Royals) and at least one other, was injured in the game that started the current 7 game Cincinnati Bengals post-season losing streak.
In addition to Ken Griffey Jr, who set a record for the highest percentage of votes received, (this also is ridiculous as the so called “Kid” was a great player but his accomplishments and for that matter are dwarfed by the likes of Joe DiMaggio and Willie Mays). Mike Piazza also made the Hall of Fame.
Even more than in the case with Griffey forgive me for not doing cartwheels, in fact forgive me for not being moved one bit.
Piazza, a catcher with great statistics, so the voters put him in. Could you write a history of Piazza’ s time in baseball without including him. I think one can.
Most discouraging was writer/ESPNer Ian O’Connor writing that Piazza became a Hall of Famer a September night in 2001 because he hit a home run that keyed a New York Mets’ win vs the Atlanta Braves. The Mets failed to make the expanded post-season that year.
Events took place on September 11th of that year that among other things caused baseball games to be postponed. In the first game played by his team, Piazza hit a home run for a team that failed to make the playoffs. That does not make him a Hall of Fame player.
Joe DiMaggio, note the space on the Life cover but that is not how his name was spelled or configured, played in 10 World Series, his Yankees’ teams winning 9, yet did not even make the Hall on his first try.
In contrast not only does Griffey Jr., who never even played in a World Series, make the Hall in his first try but does so with the highest percentage of votes ever.
On a lighter note to ease my perhaps misplaced and clearly exaggerated frustration with all things baseball today some recollections of one of the great playwright Neil Simon’s autobiographical works.
Simon wanted to be a New York Yankee. However, in addition to likely limited baseball ability, he observed Yankees were named Tony or Joe. Neil lamented that he ate spaghetti made with tomato sauce from a can and decided he would be a writer.
First thank goodness he did become a writer and as one with limited baseball ability and whose mother made baked spaghetti (actually pretty good, greatly appreciated now when what I eat is much less) I surely can relate.
The Cincinnati Bengals played in and lost the first NFL divisional round game with the AFC/NFC configuration in 1970.
Cincy lost its first three playoff games, (all divisional round games), the first two under its great coach, Paul Brown and to the eventual Super Bowl champion (the then Baltimore Colts in 1970 and a great Miami Dolphins team in 1973).
They also lost to a fine Oakland Raiders team, covering the spread in defeat, in 1975. The next year Oakland won it all, giving John Madden, the vastly over rated Raiders’ coach his only title in his only Supe appearance.
Next in the playoffs in 1981, guided by Ken Anderson at quarterback, the Bengals won both the divisional round game and AFC title game at home. They lost to the great Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl. It was the first of 5 “S.F.” titles, the first four with Montana at quarterback in 9 seasons (1981-1989).
After losing to the New York Jets in an extra round of playoffs caused by the player’s strike in 1982 (now there is an extra round which has included 8 teams since 1990), the Bengals again rode home divisional round and AFC title game wins to make the Super Bowl.
Again, though they kept it close, covering the spread in defeat, Cincy lost to Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers. It was the third Montana/49ers title.
Joe Montana pictured above (note the 4 Super Bowl rings, one achieved with help from a running back named Bill Ring), and the 49ers denied the Bengals in two Super Bowls. Neither loss was a rout the first game was considered even and SF won by 5 points after building a (20-0) lead. My point is through the 1988 season and even 1990 which I will touch on in part 2, the Bengals were a more than respectable post-season team.
In a few minutes, it will be announced that Ken Griffey Jr., whose teams never even made a World Series, no less won one, has rightfully and deservedly been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
His father Ken Griffey, whose father played with or against Stan Musial, will likely never be enshrined at Cooperstown. For that matter, it looks as if Ken’s teammate on an all-time great Reds’ team, Pete Rose also may never get there.
The elder Griffey was a big part of two Cincinnati Reds’ World championship teams.
Of course like any father Ken Griffey is so proud of his son’s accomplishments.
However, sadly for me even when deserving players like Griffey Jr. get into the Hall, it means less and less each year as greats like Rose are denied. Lesser but tremendous players like Ken Griffey and Dave Concepcion are not even considered.
So baseball and its network will have or had its long show and will celebrate with Griffey Jr. and others. Yet any true fan and historian, if nothing else I am that, suffers horribly knowing “they” have all but ruined the great game.
Ken Griffey Jr. on the left never made a World Series. His father, Ken Griffey played on consecutive World champions with the Cincinnati Reds in 1975 and 1976. As long as baseball denies Pete Rose entry to its Hall, the meaning and achievement for those who do get in, is lessened in my opinion.
Though Saturday’s earlier wild card round game between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs evokes memories of the 1962 AFL title game as it is one of the franchises (K.C.) vs the one of the cities (Houston) matched in that 2 overtime tilt, the upcoming game will be the first post-season game between the cities of Houston and K.C.
They met only months ago in a division series/quarterfinal in baseball with the eventual World champion K.C. Royals prevailing in the maximum 5 games.
In game 4, the Royals staged one of the most incredible comeback wins in post season history.
Add to that and make it just about the top of the list as far as greatest comebacks in a game facing elimination by an eventual world champion.
It was Houston that prevailed in the other post-season battle between the two cities.
Incredibly in the 1981 NBA semi-finals/Western Conference finals the opponents, Houston’s Rockets and the Kansas City Kings each had (40-42) regular season records.
After each team pulled upsets in the preliminary round and quarterfinals, the 5th ranked Kings were given home advantage over the sixth ranked Rockets.
However, it was the Rockets, led by Moses Malone, another great we lost in 2015, who prevailed in 5 games.
The Pittsburgh Steelers begin their quest for a seventh Super Bowl crown at Cincinnati, vs the Bengals in a Saturday night road wild card game.
One of three teams to win the Super Bowl with 3 road wins, the Steelers turned that trick in 2005 beginning the post season, as they do the upcoming one, in Cincinnati.
Their coach that season was Bill Cowher.
Current coach Mike Tomlin guided the Steelers to the 2008 season title, despite a horrible, cowardly decision to kick a field goal and not go for a touchdown at the Arizona Cardinals’ one yard line early in the Super Bowl game.
By the way, one of the two other coaches to guide a team to a Super Bowl title with 3 road wins is Tom Coughlin. (2007 with the New York Giants.) He made far too many cowardly decisions this season, is vastly over rated but was a stellar coach, who likely will end up in the Hall of Fame.
Stay tuned for an upcoming post regarding a prediction regarding Tom Coughlin’s status made before the decision.
Two great quarterbacks, Terry Bradshaw, who did so 4 times and Ben Roethlisberger pictured above (twice) have guided the Steelers to their 6 NFL crowns, all won in Super Bowl games beginning in 1974. That year was their 42nd season in which the NFL had a title game of some kind.
The great Pittsburgh Steelers’ franchise has won more Super Bowl crowns (6) than any other. Their 6 Super Bowl wins, all since 1974 are their only NFL crowns.
Pittsburgh is behind three teams in total NFL titles won since the advent of a title game in 1933. The Green Bay Packers lead with 10 titles (6 before Super Bowl play). Next the Chicago Bears and New York Giants are tied with 7 titles each.
Chicago won 6 of those titles before adding a seventh with their dominant 1985 team. The Giants with just a (3-11) record in the old NFL game have won in 4 of their 5 Super Bowl appearances, the last two with mediocre records under the recently “resigned” coach Tom Coughlin.
Today two “B’s” with “B”aseball memories and great notes are celebrating birthdays.
One, baseball historian and dedicated teacher “Pat B” recalls the 1953 National League Champion Brooklyn Dodgers.
He pointed out that six players in their lineup (Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges and Jim “Junior” Gilliam) scored over 100 runs and a seventh, Carl Furillo would have except for an injury.
Furillo did win the N.L. batting crown that season. This was an awesome team and that is a great note.
“Linda B,” of newspaper past and library present grew up rooting for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to L.A. after the 1957 season.
Her memories include such stars as Willie Davis, Tommy Davis and of course Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale.
I recall her tribute to Willie Davis, when he passed on a number of years ago.
So happy birthday to the B’s, Linda and Pat and thanks for rekindling some nice baseball memories and notes on this cold day. Surely each is enjoying their birthday in a warmer climate.
Jim “Junior” Gilliam, pictured above, was one of six members of the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers to score over 100 runs that season. He was part of the first 4 Dodgers’ World Series wins, most notably coming off the coaching lines to play for the team in 1965. His great defensive play in game 7 of the World Series helped L.A. win a second title in three seasons.
Andy B Sports 