The 2014 World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants is tied at one game each after the Royals followed SF’s 7-1 game 1 win with a 7-2 win in game 2.
The Royals were stymied by Madison Bumgarner in the opener. Remember Jack Nicholson’s “Randall” asking someone in “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” who he liked in the opener of the ’63 World Series? That one matched true greats Sandy Koufax and Whitey Ford as mound opponents.
In game two, Kansas City, bolstered by franchise great George Brett throwing out the ceremonial first pitch, eased after a 5 run 6th inning to win.
Only one of the Giants’ 7 World Series victories came in a (1-1) series and that was in 1905, when the great Christy Mathewson pitched three shutouts, a feat that is likely to never be matched again in World Series play.
This is the first time in 3 World Series that the Royals are involved in a (1-1) series. In 1980 KC lost the first 2 at Philadelphia vs the Phillies, won the first 2 at home but lost game 5 at home and #6 at Philly giving the Phils their first title in their long history.
In 1985, the Royals won their only World Series to date. This was accomplished despite falling down (2-0) and (3-1) in that Series.
It is amazing that 4 of the top 5 ranked teams in college football are not only from the Southeastern Conference, but from its Western Division.
Those teams, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Alabama and Auburn join defending champion Florida State in the top five.
There are intrastate clashes at the end of the year involving the two Mississippi teams as well as Auburn and Alabama, two Alabama teams.
Georgia University from the conference’s Eastern Division is also in the race to be one of four teams to take part, in this the first year of a 4 team college playoff.
The race to be one of the teams in that playoff is wide open and much figures to change, but 4 Southeastern Conference teams in the top 5, well into the season is quite a story.
The (5-1) Denver Broncos host the (5-2) San Diego Chargers in this week’s Thursday night game. Unless there is a very unlikely tie in the game, the winner will lead in the AFC West.
The (5-2) Indianapolis Colts are going places (a cynic would rehash their cold hearted move from Baltimore to Indy in the middle of the night 30 plus years ago) as they have won and covered the spread in 5 straight games. They are beyond prohibitive favorites to win the AFC South and a viable threat to make, or even win, the Super Bowl.
The New England Patriots escaped with a 2 point win vs the (1-6) New York Jets and are still big favorites to win the AFC East.
Suddenly the (5-2) Baltimore Ravens are in first place in the AFC North. The (3-2-1) Cincinnati Bengals have been awful since their (3-0) start. The Bengals host the Ravens this week.
The 2014 World Series, an all wild card one for the second time, both involving the San Francisco Giants (the Angels beat them in 7 games in 2002), begins tomorrow night with the Kansas City Royals hosting the Giants.
The series is considered even by the odds makers and I have no strong opinion as to which team will prevail.
However, I do have a strong opinion about the horrible wild card presence and the now evident absurdity of the second wild card team and the “play in” game.
This is to take nothing away from either the Royals or Giants, each of whom, won the necessary games under the baseball playoffs mandate to get to the Series.
Yet it must be noted that neither team won its division, thus over the course of the “true test,” 162 game season, came up short.
“Coming up short,” is not “stopping short” as was the case in a “Seinfeld” episode that irritated the Jerry Stiller played, “George Costanza.”
I try to diffuse with possible laughter, the honest, perhaps overblown rage I feel that baseball rewards 2 to 3 hot weeks of play and stops “way short” of honoring a 162 game season.
Further, the nature of baseball where just about any team could beat another in a short series, adds to the horrible decision, Bud Selig and baseball made in ever implementing this horror, called the wild card (ie your team does not have to win its 162 game regular season entity to qualify for the playoffs).
Click here for “Stopping Short” clip
It may be time for me to start changing my opinion on the Arizona Cardinals’ chances to actually host the Super Bowl this season.
The Cards are (5-1) after covering a three plus point spread at the still winless Oakland Raiders, who are (0-6). They also gained ground on both the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West.
The St.Louis Rams (2-5) won at home vs Seattle (3-3) while Denver quarterback Peyton Manning set more records as the Super Bowl favorite Denver Broncos (5-1) dismantled the 49ers (4-3).
Next week the Cards host the (5-1) Philadelphia Eagles, who had a week 7 bye. When Arizona made its lone Super Bowl appearance after the 2008 season, they “punched their ticket” (gained entry) to the game by winning vs the Eagles in Arizona.
Meanwhile the (6-1) Dallas Cowboys moved a half game ahead of the idle Eagles in the NFC East by beating the (3-4) New York Giants by ten points.
The Green Bay Packers eased vs the still NFC South leading (3-3-1) Carolina Panthers and the Detroit Lions came back to beat the disappointing NFC South (2-4) New Orleans Saints. The Packers and the Lions share the NFC North lead with (5-2) records.
In the weak NFC South, Carolina and New Orleans with their records cited above, are the top two teams in the current standings.
Click here to watch the Cardinals punching their ticket vs the Eagles (2008 season)
I fondly recall the years from 1963-1968 when the World Series would open with a Wednesday afternoon game. Those days are long gone.
The World Series began on Wednesday nights from 2007 through last year. This year it will begin on a Tuesday night (as was the case from 1977-1984).
Perhaps the reason for the return to the Tuesday start, is so that baseball’s World Series would not compete with regular season NFL games. Such ratings competition might have proved embarrassing for baseball.
Now, with the Tuesday start, the only scheduled “conflict” will be Sunday night if game 5 of the World Series is necessary.
For years now, the NFL, formerly a Sunday staple, has invaded not only Monday night but the Thursday and Saturday night television landscapes.
More series starting day details: begining with 1963, the Series was scheduled to start on Saturday night 22 times (1985-2006.) I believe only game 1 of the 1996 World Series among the 22, was postponed. There was no World series in 1994 due to a labor dispute. The World Series opened on a Saturday afternoon 8 times (1969-1976).
With Joe Buck and the never quiet Harold Reynolds on this years telecast, I subscribe to the late Beano Cook’s wish that whomever wins game 1 of the World Series, wins in 4 straight games.
Beano Cook
Recently I had a chance to see “Born for Broadway,” a benefit concert whose proceeds goes to “Unite 2 Fight Paralysis,” a non profit that supports education about and spinal cord injury research.
The performances by myriad artists were tremendous and the words of inspiration, not over done, added to the event. This, of course, put many of our “problems” in perspective.
Oh those “problems” are real, but it is hard not to be inspired by performers like Carole Lasser, Ali Stroker and Adrian Bailey, all of whom rise above their physical setbacks to not only perform magnificently, but also to live quality lives.
The host for the evening was the magnificent Richard Kind, whose humor and passion, always entertaining, was moving and just right for the benefit performance.
All the performers were outstanding and the constant in that high quality was musical director, Lawrence Yurman. The event was directed by Marcia Milgram Dodge, a Tony Award nominee for “Ragtime.”
Carole Lasser and Marcia Milgrom Dodge
Two League Championship Series played, and it produced an all wild card World Series between the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants.
Some early thoughts and notes:
This will be the first ever Kansas City vs San Francisco post season meeting in any of the 4 major sports leagues. It is not a ratings dream: at this point, football is far more popular than baseball.
In that football regard: San Francisco QB Joe Montana led the 49ers to 4 Super Bowl wins, and later playing for Kansas City near the end of his great career, he led the Chiefs to the AFC Title tilt.
The Royals will have the home field advantage and the team with that advantage has won 23 of the last 28 World Series contested, starting in 1985, the first season in which the LCS was a best of seven series.
No team that won its LCS “at the plate” as the Giants did last night on Travis Ishikawa’s 3 run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, has beaten a team that did not win its LCS at the plate in the subsequent World Series.
Only the great 1976 Cincinnati Reds, who won game 3 “at the plate” won its subsequent World Series, sweeping the New York Yankees.
However the Yankees had won the pennant on Chris Chambliss’ home run leading off the bottom of the ninth inning of game 5 vs the Royals.
Altogether all 7 teams that won the LCS “at the plate” and faced a team that did not, lost in the subsequent World Series.
Today is the 45 year anniversary of the 100 to 1 underdog New York Mets, aka “The Miracle Mets,” winning the 1969 World Series.
They were a tremendous team, winners of 100 games in the National League regular season, who went on to sweep the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS, despite home runs by the great Henry Aaron, in each of the three games.
In the World Series, they dropped the opener to the 109 regular season wins Baltimore Orioles team. The Mets then went on to win the next four games and become the World Champions.
The Orioles were a great team, but the Mets with Jerry Koosman winning two games and series MVP Donn Clendenon smacking homers in three different games, won it all.
Those 1969 Mets, and for that matter, the year 1969 (Woodstock and a man named Neil Armstrong walking on the moon) provide great memories.
On the day of the last game, I was in school, games were in the glorious daylight then. Homers by pitcher Dave Mc Nally (he hit more World Series homers than Willie Mays) and Frank Robinson gave “The Birds” a (3-0) lead. Robinson is still one of my favorites and certainly one of the greatest players ever, but his bitterly, self righteous, total opposition and failure to forgive a disease and allow the great Pete Rose into the no longer so hallowed, Hall of Fame is a big turn off.
The Mets fought back; I recall the superb Baltimore announcer Bill O’Donnell, intoning Clendenon’s drive with a man aboard, is “in and up for a home run.” The Mets were within one run.
Mentioning Bill O’Donnell reminds me of our mutual friend Lenny Nadel, whom you may not know, but was a fine man who received a moving tribute at his recent funeral by both his family and the Navy.
Back to Baseball: Next, I was walking through the school halls when I heard “the Mighty Mite,” Al Weis, had tied the game with a home run.
On the bus home, the Mets had men on and I made it home in time to see Ron Swoboda hit a ball that landed fair to drive in the go ahead run and most of all, to see Cleon Jones go down on one knee, as he caught Dave Johnson’s drive to end it.
Johnson would later manage the only other Mets’ World title team.
My late father Norman’s call from work after the ’69 win and Joseph Durso’s remarkable lead in the New York Times will always be remembered. It read: “After years of wandering in the baseball wilderness the New York Mets reached the promised land today.”
Another really good man, Jesse Krawitz, still laments missing the game, although as with most of life, has it in perspective.
Playing “God,” which he loved , actor George Burns answered John Denver’s character’s question about which was the last miracle, in the movie, “Oh God.” It was “The ’69 Mets,” he replied.
Three predictions for Week 7, including one Thursday night game.
In that Thursday night tilt, while I think the New England Patriots will win, their opponent, the New York Jets, will keep the game fairly close. Patriots 20 Jets 14 is my prediction.
On Sunday, I predict the Oakland Raiders, a 4 point home underdog, will win their first game. I think they will win by a field goal vs the Arizona Cardinals.
Finally on Sunday night while the experts setting the line with the Denver Broncos as a seemingly high nearly one touchdown favorite vs the San Francisco 49ers, makes me think. What do they know that I do not? I say Denver is lucky to win by a field goal. One step further, a field goal game either way, as “SF” may well win outright.
Predictions are the Jets, Raiders and 49ers.
Andy B Sports 