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.
It was a great pleasure to have just watched “I’ll Be Seeing You” a 1944 film under the auspices of David O. Selznick (“Gone With The Wind and other classics) on Turner Classic Movies.
The film starred two greats, Joseph Cotten and Ginger Rodgers while Shirley Temple transitioning from child star to that of a young adult leads a fine supporting cast.
Lessons can be learned that are applicable all these years later. It is a beautiful story with some incredible outward beauty on display by the actors, including an early stint by John Derek.
Robert Osborne hosted adding great tidbits of information including one about the title and title song, the great one of the same title “I’ll Be Seeing You” by Sammy Fain and Irving Cahal.
Billie Holiday – I’ll Be Seeing You (1944) – YouTube
Click above for Ms. Holiday’s classic version of the song “I’ll Be Seeing You”
The Washington Redskins, easily the biggest long shot before the season, can clinch the NFC East crown with a win at Philadelphia vs the Eagles, in the final NFL Network telecast Saturday night.
I predict the Eagles will win that game and thus control their playoffs destiny.
Eagles 19 Redskins 10.
Saying that will happen, and if it does, the New York Giants will still have a chance to win the woeful NFC East.
With that incentive, I predict: Giants 20 Vikings 19, the same score the Giants won a key game at Minnesota in 1986.
A reason the Giants might win Sunday night in Minnesota, at least why one might pick them, is I also forecast an Arizona Cardinals’ win earlier that day, at home vs the Green Bay Packers.
That will lessen the Vikings’ intensity for their tilt with the Giants, as no matter that result, for Minnesota, the final week game at Green Bay will decide the NFC North.
Cardinals, four plus point favorites, 27, Packers 24.
Click below for a video which includes CBS TV’s Tim Ryan’s call of Phil Simms’ huge completion to Bobby Johnson, in the aforementioned Giants’ win at Minnesota in 1986.
Phil Simms to Bobby Johnson on fourth-and-17 – Giants.com
Giants’ kicker Raul Allegre, (pictured above) who also once booted the rival New York Jets into the playoffs with a last game of the year field goal in 1991, kicked the game winning field goal in that (20-19) win.
This Sunday will mark the exact 51 year anniversary of the last Cleveland major sports league championship, which was won by the Cleveland Browns (27-0) vs the Baltimore Colts in the 1964 NFL title game, played on December 27th, 1964 at Municipal Stadium.
That day with over 80 thousand people in attendance, Browns’ quarterback (Dr.) Frank Ryan threw three touchdown passes to Gary Collins while the Browns’ “bend but don’t break” defense allowed no points, vs the great John Unitas and the Colts.
All time greats Jim Brown and Lou Groza, the latter with two field goals including a long one to open the scoring, made major contributions for the Browns.
This Sunday, the current incarnation of the Browns, an expansion team that began play in the NFL in 1999, will be in Kansas City playing the Chiefs.
While Cleveland is sans a sports crown since 1964 and has but 6 current major sports league titles (the Otto Graham led Browns, under coach and founder Paul Brown won NFL titles in 1950, 1954 and 1955 in addition to the Blanton Collier coached 1964 title, while the Indians’ only World Series wins were in 1920 and 1948), Kansas City won its third when the baseball Royals won their second this past season.
The Chiefs lone crown was in 1969, the year the Royals began play. They should at least make the playoffs this season.
The great coach Paul Brown, a same named deceased (no school principal would want “late” in front of their name) Yonkers school principal evokes similar great praise for his work, pictured above with the Cincinnati Bengals, was somehow not on ESPN’s list of the 20 greatest coaches in sports history. That is a disgrace!
So much of modern football innovation is owed to this man. Both Paul Browns cited here, the great coach and school principal helped future greats in their field.
Chuck Noll, a 4 time Super Bowl winner as a coach, June Drusin as an unforgettable school teacher are one example from each field.
“Boogie Stomp,” now playing through January 16th at the Elektra Theater (300 West 43rd Street) takes the audience on an incredible journey piecing together the history of boogie-woogie and in so doing ties it to the blues, rock and roll and other musical genres.
Both the esteemed Bob Baldori and younger phenom (Bob would be ok with that comparison) Arthur Migliazza, each a brilliant pianist, tell the story with dignity, humor, all the time bringing home the passion this great music evokes.
Evoking Chuck Barris and more to the point and I love Chuck Barris, Chuck Berry with whom he has played piano for thirty years, Baldori, with his piano play and a little schtick (he physically and in the schtick sense positively evokes Barris) tells us the story.
This is a tremendous performance, two greats telling us about a great musical genre’s history. The passion both Bob and Arthur have for this and the way they translate it into a great show is something to behold.
Both “boogie-woogie” and “Boogie Stomp” fit that description.
Click above for more information and to purchase tickets to this wonderful performance.
On opposite ends of the NBA rankings, the devastating, defending champion Golden State Warriors and “team horrible,” Philadelphia 76ers are the big stories thus far in the endless NBA regular season.
The Warriors, a surprise last year when they won their first NBA title in 40 seasons (the “Bellman” mentioned in the last post boldly predicted a long shot Warriors’ title that season after watching them play vs the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden–no betting involved and there is a beautiful purity to that story involving Rick Barry and the 1975 Warriors), were expected to be very good but their (27-1) record is beyond that.
Led by Steph Curry and under Luke Walton, Bill’s son, who is filling in for the injured Steve Kerr, Golden State has been devastating, winning their first 24 games (24 Rick’s number) before being stopped in Milwaukee by the Bucks.
History repeated as the Bucks stopped the Los Angeles Lakers’ record 33 game winning streak also in Milwaukee nearly 44 (Lakers’ great and current Warriors front office person, Jerry West’s number) years ago. Thus the Bucks’ franchise while ending the streak on January 9, 1972 in a nationally televised game on ABC, helped in a big way to preserve the record all these years later.
The less said about the once proud 76ers franchise, the better. They are off to a (1-30) start.
Steph Curry, pictured above is my choice as Athlete of the Year in 2015. He was the most important player in their title won in June and has led them to a great start in the current NBA season. Getting my award will “dwarf” those other honors Steph won such as MVP of the playoffs. (What do they write, LOL?!)
