My heart is heavy with the news that Dave Henderson, a fine major league outfielder, best known for his incredible post-season heroics that helped the Red Sox win the pennant and nearly end a 68 year title drought in 1986, has passed away at the age of 58.

Dave played on the 1989 World champion Oakland A’s and two other pennant winners with that club.

An unbelievable, emotional, multi dimensional bolt registered in me, as news came on Sunday past, that Dave Henderson had passed.

Back in time, I so intensely recall another Sunday, when Henderson’s exploits led the Red Sox to an unbelievable come from behind win in game 5 of the 1986 ALCS, vs the then California Angels, 3,000 or so miles away in Anaheim.

I happened to be in the Shea Stadium parking lot, getting ready to work in the ABC booth for game 4 of the NLCS, contested between the New York Mets and Houston Astros.

“Rooting” for the Angels, I watched in “horror” on a “stranger someone’s” very small portable television, as Henderson, with the Red Sox down to their last strike, and facing post-season elimination, hit a home run to put Boston ahead.

So much else happened in that game, the melodramatic post-season of baseball 1986, and of course since.

Some of what did, follows.

Sadly, Donnie Moore the Angels’ pitcher, who surrendered the home run to Henderson, killed himself, with that home run pitch a factor, but of course, not the only one in his heartbreaking decision.

Henderson, this time with both he and I in Shea Stadium, hit a home run in the top of the 10th inning of game 6 of the World Series, (vs the Mets), 13 days after his home run in Anaheim, that put the Red Sox one inning away from their first World Series win in 68 years.

As with what manifested concerning the Angels vs them, the Red Sox, though one strike away from winning it all, were denied, as was Henderson, from being an all-time post-season hero.

Ah, but alas he was!

The confluence of time and dramatic memories which are all part of life, which in turn, inexorably heads to our end, is very powerful.

I think of this and Dave Henderson. Both he and 29 plus years of life since those dramatic memories are gone.

I hope this is playing out in a better place.

Even and perhaps especially God has assistants (personal and God in any vein, including whether one believes, is redundant).

One (an assistant to God/a force) is summoned and says. Mr. Henderson you have no problem getting in here. In fact the “big guy/girl/it” wants to say this.

Baseball even as late as 1986, was still a great human achievement and you involved in so much drama, uniquely emotional, heart stopping, HUMAN drama (only after writing it I realized the tag line for ABC’s Wide World of Sports ie “the human drama of athletic competition, I suppose) moved the “big entity” with great pride.

So run the reel forever, hope “Donnies,” Moore and Hathaway, each of whom chose to end their lives, can help us evoke Mr. Hathaway’s song and say we FOUND, not “Where is the Love?”

One thing, I bring into focus with a rare smile. Though I did not have its importance in perspective, Dave Henderson and the 1986 baseball post-season, will always be a great memory for me.

Dave–Though I cringed then, thank you  for those great moments provided by your exploits, glad your A’s and you “titled” in 1989, and with some perspective, more with your sad passing, I go on living!

Dave Henderson, pictured above, played in 4 World Series in 5 seasons, first with the Boston Red Sox in 1986 and then with the Oakland A’s (1988-1990). Click below to see video of “Hendu’s” two home runs, in the clinching game of the only winning World Series for his team in 1989, vs the San Francisco Giants.

Dave Henderson’s two 1989 World Series homers with A’s

I highly recommend the current movie, “Carol” as it is quite entertaining and tells a heartfelt love story with beautiful images of the New York area set in the 1950’s.

Once again Cate Blanchett who won the best lead actress Academy Award for her performance in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine, is brilliant.

Rooney Mara, yes she is a product of the union between the football families Rooney and Mara, gives a nice performance as I saw her for the first time since “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.” This movie is much better as in Mara’s performance.

Oh the places, (The Oak Room), the then current film (Sunset Boulevard) and other tidbits add to another great effort by Ms. Blanchett and nice work by Ms. Mara, playing Ms. Blanchett’s character’s lover.

The amazing, two time Academy Award winning actress, Cate Blanchett pictured above, stars in a superb film, “Carol.”

While I no longer hold much against John Sterling from his days as a not so nice sports talk show host, it was a bit unnerving hearing him today on WFAN radio.

A late acquaintance held it as a “badge of honor” that Sterling used his infamous “give it a rest you creep” as a response to one of his questions.

Far more annoying than Sterling ever was and even the inexorable passage of time is the fact Sterling uttered before his “nice turn” as host today.

“Every city and hamlet has some form of sports talk radio.” That claim is true and since as Bob Costas once said it is mostly heat and not light,” how sad a state!

John Sterling pictured above once had an opening that cited sports “greats” and he as “Superstar”

As offensive as that was– ubiquitous sports talk radio is far worse.

Going into the final week of the NFL regular season, the two host teams, each with remarkable records, for the division round are set.

Though handed their first defeat yesterday by the now eliminated Atlanta Falcons, the Carolina Panthers with a (14-1) record can wrap up the number one seed for the first time in the franchise’s 20 year history with a home win vs the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday.

Meanwhile the Arizona Cardinals, who ripped the still likely “3” seed Green Bay Packers yesterday, are (13-2), at least the “2” seed and will host a division round/slots game for the first time in franchise history.

If the Panthers lose and the Cardinals win at home vs the eventual “5” or “6” seed Seattle Seahawks, then Arizona becomes the NFC “1” seed.

The game at Green Bay between the host Packers and Minnesota Vikings, each with (10-5) records, will decide the NFC North crown and “3′ seed.

The Packers will be either the “3” or “5” seed, Minnesota a “3” seed if they win a “5”seed if they lose and Arizona beats Seattle and a “6” seed with a clash for a second straight week in Green Bay, something the league does not want but has endured in the past, if they lose and Seattle beats Arizona.

The (8-7) Washington Redskins are the NFC East champions and will host the “5” seed in the wild card round.

At the half of the later week 16 games, can anyone guess which will be the NBC week 17 game?

Surely the game matching the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers at Green Bay will have meaning but I believe NFC network Fox gets to pick one game, NBC can not have and at this point that will be Green Bay hosting Minnesota.

As of now, the Kansas City Chiefs and Jets, the first two teams from the old A.F.L. to win Super Bowls, respectively have clinched a playoff spot and control their destiny for one.

The Atlanta Falcons still have a chance to make the playoffs, having handed the Carolina Panthers their first loss.

Best guess for NBC at this point is the  San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos.

If the Chiefs win next week at home vs their old rivals, the Oakland Raiders, they clinch at least a “5” seed, meaning an on paper easier wild card round game likely at Houston but possibly Indianapolis rather than at Cincinnati.

If that happens then no matter the result of the Broncos home tilt vs the Bengals tomorrow night, Denver will need a win or at least a tie to either win the division or make the playoffs.

There is death, being knocked out and being knocked out of the playoffs.

After each died in 2015, perhaps football greats Frank Gifford  (New York Giants) and Chuck Bednarik (Philadelphia Eagles) watched together, or at least were aware that in a year, the two forever linked by Bednarik’s legal but vicious tackle that knocked Gifford out for the season in 1960, that the Washington Redskins’ win at Philadelphia last night, knocked both their former teams out of playoff contention for the 2015 season.

1960 was the last great glory for the Eagles culminating in Bednarik’s tackle of the Green Bay Packers’ great Jim Taylor, which clinched the 1960 title game in Philadelphia, 55 years ago yesterday.

Gifford’s Giants, a near great and certainly glorious team when he played, won but one of six title tilts from (1956-1963).

However, as Frank told me as he took a “Bullwinkle” doll for one of his newer children, he always took pride in his 1956 Giants winning the title, by the greatest margin in New York Giants’ annals, (47-7) vs the Chicago Bears.

The Giants have won four subsequent titles. For now, however, it is hail to the Redskins!

Yesterday’s predictions were (2-0) in college and (0-1) in the pros. WFAN radio’s Mike Francesa’s predictions are unavailable.

One can not be expected to endure all the commercials and inane phone calls on the off chance Francesa will reveal his week 16 predictions.

Credit him for going (3-0) last week and being (27-17) for the year.

ESPN announcer  Tom Hart was so obviously behind the play on a third quarter field goal miss (by Marshall) in their eventual (16-10) bowl victory vs Connecticut.

The analyst in replay actually said it had no chance yet Hart after the kick was obviously many yards wide, was still saying “does it have a chance?”

The three game glut of bowls two, three and four manifested in two being after three quarters and the other at the half. Commercials galore, 41 bowl games, three with (5-7) teams.

Oy vey as we say in the Japanese language!

It was 55 years ago today in a game at Philadelphia’s Franklin Field that the Philadelphia Eagles last won the NFL title.

The game was played on a Monday, the day after Christmas and the Eagles handed Vince Lombardi’s Packers their only post-season loss winning (17-13).

Vince Lombardi’s teams never lost another post-season game, winning 9 games and 5 titles all with the Green Bay Packers. He ended his coaching career with the Washington Redskins, coincidentally tonight’s Eagles’ opponent.

The Eagles, still in control of their destiny to win the weak NFC East have not won the NFL title since that game 55 years ago today. They lost in both Super Bowl appearances 24 years apart after the 1980 and 2004 seasons.

The great coach Vince Lombardi vowed never to lose another playoff game after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL title game 55 years ago today. He and his teams kept that vow, going (9-0) in such games and winning NFL crowns in 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967.

I guess it is deemed a joke that one of the never ending cookie cutter, Stepford wife types that indulges in questions for the coaches/managers during the games no less (where is Vince Lombardi to fight this, he did not even want agents) “gave” San Antonio Spurs’ coach, Gregg Popovich, a Lombardi type great coach/hard a–, a present by not asking a second question.

Recently Popovich appeared with Craig Sager, a man who is not well physically and perhaps lightened the mood regarding Sager’s annoying questions over the years.

In the big picture that includes the fact we all get sick and eventually die, the fact Sager and so many others have filled their lives asking ridiculous questions, the fact we at home watching get annoyed is not that important.

Yet the situation can be improved. However, I doubt that it will be.

Gregg Popovich, pictured above has at least two things in common with legendary Green Bay Packers’ coach Vince Lombardi. First each has won 5 titles with one team, the other is each man has/would have had a low tolerance for the inane questions posed by sideline “reporters.”

Here are some predictions on today’s minor bowl games.

In the Pinstripe Bowl played where else but Yankee Stadium two schools better known in the sports world (there is a thing called academics, and surely Duke University excels in that), for basketball, Duke and Indiana clash in a football game.

Each school has 5 national titles in basketball.

Today in football Duke 37 Indiana 31

In 43 days, the Super Bowl will be played at the venue for tonight’s bowl game between U.C.L.A. and Nebraska.

U.C.L.A. (speaking of basketball with 11 titles) 42 Nebraska 38.

The great John Wooden, pictured above guided U.C.L.A. to 10 of their 11 basketball titles. Incredibly,he did so in a span of just 12 seasons.