Continuing our early look or reads on the six NFL divisions, today a look at the NFC South.
Last year, the Carolina Panthers became the first repeat champions in the 13 year history of the NFC South.
Of course they did it with a less than .500 record beating the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta in a CBS televised “cross over” (normally Fox would cover NFC games but last year exceptions were allowed) game to win it.
The Panthers, Falcons and Saints are more or less considered evenly matched. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had the first draft pick, selecting Jameis Winston of Florida State are a real long shot even in a weak division.
My only “early read” is that the division will improve overall, hard not to, and that all three top teams, the Panthers, Falcons and Saints are actual contenders to win the NFC. The Buccaneers will improve as well, again hard not to from whence they came.
This past week I was fortunate enough to see the great Neil Young perform at The Jones Beach Theater.
Amidst beautiful surroundings on a beautiful summer evening, Neil Young just kept going, as they say, “cranking out” song after song, so many beyond meaningful, all performed in great fashion by the iconic performer.
He opened the show with the mesmerizing hit “After the Gold Rush” from his legendary 1970 album of the same name, and highlighted it “jamming” about 10 minutes on the fabulous “Down By The River.”
Young who was part of “Buffalo Springfield” and of course “Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young,” also has had and continues an incredible solo career.
Seeing him perform this show with the band “Crazy Horse,” is certainly a must do/bucket list item for many music lovers.
I am so glad the great “item” Neil Young is checked but I surely hope to “check” him and his fabulous music out again and again.
No matter what the length, if any, of brilliant quarterback Tom Brady’s suspension, the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots will probably win the AFC East.
However, with what I see as nice improvement regarding the three other AFC East teams, the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets, do not “mortgage your house” on the Pats winning a seventh straight AFC East crown.
I think the Bills are ready to improve significantly this season and with new coach Rex Ryan, who like his father Buddy Ryan, is at least a good “short term” coach. I see the Bills winning say 9 games.
Both Miami and last year’s last place team, the Jets, will also improve. It is still the Pats, but even with Brady for all the games, nowhere near certain and with say 10 wins.
In the NFC East, the defending winners, the Dallas Cowboys, are the top choice.
Next are the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. The “outside chance” team is Washington (Redskins).
The Giants, twice in their history have won the Super Bowl four years apart. They did so in 1986 and 1990, with respectively a dominant and fine regular season team and again in 2007 and 2011, with just over mediocre regular season teams.
I feel the Giants will improve this season and surely can at least win the NFC East.
My early read is Dallas will slightly decline, the Eagles are a threat and Washington does have a chance.
My early prediction is that the Giants with a (10-6) record will win the division.
The early odds have been posted on the six NFL division races and in the next few days I will give some “early reads”/gut feelings on those races.
In the AFC North, the thought is that it will be a three team race among the defending AFC North winners, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens. The Cleveland Browns are considered a long shot.
In my early opinion, the Browns have an outside shot to win the division as I do not think all that much of either the Steelers or Bengals.
The Ravens are a class, solid team that have battled the New England Patriots, for example, on better than even terms for the last six seasons. They usually shine at playoff time and rarely have a great regular season.
I think the Ravens will win, say 9 to 10 games which should be enough to win the AFC North. The Browns will improve while the Steelers and Bengals will each slightly decline.
I have mentioned it before and now it is clearly very possible that the old great rivalry between the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals, that lay dormant for at least 30 years, may be rekindled in the playoffs this season.
Certainly each team has a great chance to not only qualify for the playoffs, but to win their divisional title as well.
The Yankees have a seven game lead in the loss column in the American League East.
The Royals, whose record is second only to their intrastate rivals the National League St. Louis Cardinals, whom they face in a makeup game tonight, have an eight game “loss column” lead in the American League’s Central Division.
The Yankees beat the Royals in three straight memorable ALCS from (1976-1978). The Royals, who ended a 29 year playoffs qualification drought when lost by one run in the 7th game of the World Series last year, swept the Yankees in three straight games in the 1980 ALCS.
The world of boxing had a truly fine event promoted by Dibella Entertainment at BB Kings in New York City’s Times Square.
The action packed “Broadway Boxing” card was held Wednesday night in front of a sold-out crowd. The show was headlined by Bryant Cruz who had an impressive TKO victory over Martin Cardona and improved his record to 15-0.
The lovely round card girls were from Vivid Cabaret New York, the midtown Manhattan gentlemen’s club famous for having the city’s tallest stripper pole and over 100 exotic dancers performing daily.
There were several celebrities in the audience, including singer/actor “50 Cent.” At one point, 50 Cent could be seen enjoying the matches with Vivid Cabaret NYC strippers perched on his lap.
“He’s so talented,” purred Vivid Cabaret NYC girl Justine. “The girls and I can’t wait to see his new movie.”
Vivid Cabaret NYC girl Diana said, “I only got to spend a brief moment with him, but I can tell you he is very nice.”
Vivid Cabaret NYC has four stages, the first of its kind “VIP Ultra Lounge,” a Roof Top Cigar Bar and Garden, Deluxe Luxury Suites, and is now open for lunch. The upscale club is a favorite spot for pro athletes from all the major sports who like to “make it rain” on the gorgeous dancers.
Today my final individual look at the four men, Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, Henry Aaron and Johnny Bench voted baseball’s greatest living players last week.
The indomitable Willie Mays was the quintessential “5 tool player” baseball scouts dream of discovering. He could hit, hit for power, field *as few others if any), run and throw.
Incredibly, for 12 straight seasons playing for both the New York and San Francisco Giants, Mays scored over 100 runs, and at one point drove in 100 runs or more for 8 straight seasons. He hit over 50 home runs eleven years apart in 1954 and 1965.
Yet statistics tell so little of his greatness. One need only see him play, “a baseball genius” as John Unitas was in football, to see his brilliance.
Willie has said he made better catches, (one off the bat of Bobby Morgan, which has no film record is often cited), but it is Willie Mays’ “over the shoulder” catch in game one of the 1954 World Series vs the Cleveland Indians on a drive off the bat of Vic Wertz, that is immortalized.
Wertz, who had 4 hits in that game was robbed of an extra base hit when Mays raced back to grab his drive with runners on first and second and none out in the top of the eighth inning.
He made a great throw, some say better than the catch, which kept runner Larry Doby from scoring. The Giants eventually won the game on Dusty Rhodes’ pinch home run and went on to sweep the (111-43) Cleveland Indians in four straight games.
The way Willie played and loved the great game of baseball, running the bases as no other, pounding his glove and making his “basket catch,” are all indelible, great memories.
A childhood memory: it was either Jerry Weinberg or Stan Gardner, each of whom an adult at the time and destined to die young, the latter shot to death in front of his son who has the same name as me, “hit” a ball (Spalding, red rubber ball) “off the stoop” (6 steps leading up to the garden apartment in which I lived with my parents) sailing well over my head.
Approximately 10 years old, I raced back and caught the ball over my shoulder. Either Mr. Weinberg or Mr. Gardner, perhaps both, said to my father, who was sitting and watching, my catch was similar to Willie Mays’ catch in the World Series!
If only I could go back and feel that triumphant again!
Appreciating the great fortune that I saw the great Willie Mays play is a good way to start!
Click here to watch the 1954 catch and throw.
Today I continue with thoughts on the four men voted baseball’s greatest living players, Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, Henry Aaron and Johnny Bench.
It is said that prayer helps and maybe it did as I prayed Sandy Koufax would pitch well each time he started from (1964-1966), a three season span in which he averaged 24 wins per season.
My favorite player on my then favorite team–the Dodgers– Sandy largely struggled in his first six seasons but was easily the best pitcher since Lefty Grove, who pitched 30 or so years before him, in his last six and certainly 5 seasons.
Then on what was such a sad day in my early life, he was forced to retire from baseball due to an arthritic elbow after the 1966 season.
From (1962-1966), Koufax compiled a (111-34) won/loss record. I do not have to look up nor research that he pitched no hit games in 4 straight seasons (1962-1965), the final one a perfect game.
The perfect game on September 9, 1965 was pitched against a Chicago Cubs team whose lineup included 3 future Hall of Fame players, Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Ron Santo. Sandy struck out pinch hitter Harvey Kuenn, who was a former batting champion, to end the game.
A truly modest man, who has kept a decidedly low profile since leaving baseball, Sandy pitched shutouts in the fifth and deciding seventh games of the 1965 World Series, a feat matched only by Lew Burdette in 1957.
In 1963 Koufax beat the two time World champion, New York Yankees twice as the Dodgers swept the Fall Classic in four straight games.
Sandy was named World Series MVP but when I interviewed him in 1989, one of the few “Sandy interviews about Sandy,” he modestly pointed out that the Yankees scored but 4 runs in the World Series and three were against him. He credited “John (Podres), Don (Drysdale) and Ron” (Perranoski) for allowing but one run in the other two Dodgers’ victories.
“John, Don and Ron,” it rhymes and it is of a rich poem that weaves through a great time. I am glad a modest great, Sandy Koufax is my baseball hero and tears flowed when I saw him receive a richly deserved honor last week.
Sandy with Andy B, 1989
Here are some random thoughts and comments/notes on a sweltering hot day.
Last night on TCM, “The Essentials” series, aired “The Candidate,” starring Robert Redford. The movie was well done and ahead of its time.
I thought about “The Essentials” series co-host, Sally Field, and her association with one of the movie’s stars, Don Porter.
Field overcame early roles in “The Flying Nun” and “Gidget” to win an Academy Award (“You like me, you really like me”) and become a star.
Porter, who was excellent in “The Candidate” as Robert Redford’s political opponent, played Field’s father on the television show “Gidget.”
Next up on TCM last night was “The Last Hurrah’ and in it Spencer Tracy has loved “Kate” his late wife since he was 6.
In real, not “reel” life, Tracy loved another “Kate,” name of Hepburn and thinking of that, maybe, “the Calla Lilies are blooming,” even in this heat.
