A couple of questions from this weekend’s NFL games.
Why did the Browns coach, Pat Shurmur kick the 1 point extra point up 15-10 with 14 minutes left in the eventual 17-16 Philadelphia Eagles win? Sure, a miss on the 2 point play would have meant 2 field goals beats you but not going for it meant one touchdown beats you and that is what happened.
Why did Bill Belichick, a coach I truly admire, have kicker Stephen Gostkowski kick what amounted to a “rub it in” field goal with 31 seconds left in a 34-13 win vs the Tennessee Titans?
During the incredible first half or so of their undefeated regular season in 2007, Belichick and the Pats clearly “tacked it on” most demonstrably vs venerable coach Joe Gibbs and the Washington Redskins. Maybe that bad karma or other more sinister forces manifested in the two Patriots’ Super Bowl losses to the New York Giants. In the first one following 18 straight wins, David Tyree made a miracle catch on the Giants’ winning drive. In the “Supe” last season, the usually “money in the bank” Tom Brady to Wes Welker combination failed to complete what very likely would have been a Super Bowl clinching first down pass late in the 4th quarter.
It was an exciting weekend of football and U.S. Open tennis. Some quick observations follow. See the previous two posts for our weekly American and National League review of baseball.
Andy Murray and Serena Williams repeated their Olympic tennis titles by winning the U.S. Open. Murray captured his first “Grand Slam” tennis victory, winning the first two sets, losing the next two sets, before prevailing in the decisive 5th set to capture the title. Murray was a 2 to 1 underdog vs Novak Djokovic in the final. For Ms. Williams, it was her 4th US Open title as she also needed a decisive set (in her case a 3rd and deciding set) to edge by 4 to 1 underdog, Victoria Azarenka.
In college football, neither Alabama nor the University of Southern California won by more than the “expected” margin, while Louisiana Monroe, a 30 point underdog, won outright vs 8th ranked Arkansas. Saying that the Arkansas team was looking ahead to a date this week with defending national champion Alabama is an understatement of exponential proportions. However, give Louisiana Monroe great credit for one of the bigger college football upsets.
In the first week of the season, NFL teams that are scheduled to grace the airwaves this Thanksgiving won all six games. It is early but network executives are already giving thanks. For the record, the Houston Texans are in Detroit to face the Lions and the Washington Redskins are visiting the Dallas Cowboys in the two traditional “Turkey Day” games while in the greed driven, “lets have 3rd’s” (please remember others are starving in this world when you waste food) night game, the New England Patriots visit the New York Jets. Dallas and Washington won as road underdogs. Only Detroit won by less than than the “expected” margin.
There is nothing really new in the National League divisional races while the wild card races are not all that exciting either. Some details will follow.
The Washington Nationals, who apparently will not pitch Steven Strasburg again in this season, have a five and a half game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the NL East. The Nationals had a (5-2) week at home while the Braves won 5 of 6 games, including a 3 game sweep vs the New York Mets on the road. The Mets won their first four games vs the Braves this season but Atlanta has won 10 of 11 since that point.
Though they lost 4 of 6 at home this week including 2 of 3 vs the (44-96) Houston Astros, the Cincinnati Reds still have an eight and a half game lead in the NL Central. The St.Louis Cardinals, who went (3-3) at home, are in 2nd place.
The San Francisco Giants, who also went (3-3) at home gained a game on the Los Angeles Dodgers and lead them by five and a half games. The Giants won 2 of 3 vs the Dodgers in San Francisco. In the Sunday night series finale, Dodgers’ ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw was unable to make the start. Likely the Dodgers only chance for the playoffs is through the wild card. Their manager Don Mattingly has never been part of a team that made the World Series. Also as either a player or manager, a Mattingly team has never finished first in his 14 previous big league seasons in either capacity.
The Braves, who suffered an incredible collapse last season in failing to make the “tournament,” have built a 5 game lead over the Cardinals for the top wild card berth. In turn, the defending world champion Cardinals have a one and a half game lead over the Dodgers and 2 and a half game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates, who had a terrible (2-4) week at home vs the Astros and (54-86) Chicago Cubs, for the 2nd wild card spot. The Cubs swept a 3 game weekend series in Pittsburgh.
The Texas Rangers picked up a half game in the past week and lead the Oakland A’s by 3 and a half games in the AL West. Texas won 3 of 4 in Kansas City vs the Royals before losing 2 of 3 at Tampa vs the Rays. Oakland lost all 3 at home to the Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels before winning 3 in Seattle vs the Mariners. The Angels swept 3 games at home vs the Tigers to complete a (6-0) week that has them right in the middle of the wild card race.
The New York Yankees did not trail in 2 wins at Baltimore vs the Orioles and split 4 games there. Earlier in the week, the Yankees salvaged one of 3 games vs the Tampa Bay Rays. The Orioles won 2 of 3 games at Toronto vs the Blue Jays. All of this left the Yankees one game up on the Orioles and 2 games ahead of the Rays.
Despite losing 2 of 3 games at home to the lowly Kansas City Royals, the Chicago White Sox have a 2 game lead over the Detroit Tigers. No, I will not call the Tigers over rated as these standings change and teams get hot and cold. However, losing 2 of 3 at home vs the lowly Cleveland Indians after sweeping the White Sox and being swept by the hot Angels left Detroit behind in both the division and wild card race. Luckily for them, the White Sox only went (3-3) at home vs 2 lower teams, the Royals and Minnesota Twins.
The A’s three and a half games out in the divisional race, have a 2 game lead over the Orioles for the top wild card spot and a 3 game lead over both the Rays and Angels for playoff qualification. The Tigers 2 games out in the division are 4 and a half games behind the Orioles in the wild card race.
On the day that another National Football League season opened, Art Modell ,a man very instrumental in the enormous growth of the league, died at the age of 87. Modell did so much in helping the NFL become a great attraction and an enormously compensated one on television. He negotiated many of the league’s important television contracts and favored Monday night football games. Those games have been a regular occurrence since September 21, 1970 When Modell’s Browns were victorious in the first regular Monday night game winning (31-21) vs the New York Jets. (That same day here in New York, music station WMCA switched to a talk radio format).
On the day Modell died, I happened to speak briefly with Ernie Accorsi, a truly bright man who among other things in a distinguished football career worked for Modell and the Cleveland Browns. Ernie mentioned that he left the Browns when he was 51 years old. They were still the Browns of Otto Graham, Jim Brown and Lou Groza; a proud franchise that I rooted for despite living in New York for 11 seasons (1963-1973) and did so with much intensity, too much at times.
Of course those Browns became the Baltimore Ravens with Modell as the owner and he was persona non grata after that in Cleveland. The Ravens handed the Giants their only Super Bowl loss. An expansion franchise team was awarded to Cleveland that has the Browns’ colors and their records. Cleveland got a new stadium but a great franchise left and there is no continuity. Blame can be dispensed by others but the franchise that won 3 NFL titles in the ’50’s and dominated the old All American Football Conference moved to Baltimore.
One great day December 27, 1964: (Oprah Winfrey calls it her most important day seeing Diana Ross perform on the Ed Sullivan show) and for me the Browns’ (27-0) Title game win vs the favored Baltimore Colts. Frank Ryan threw 3 touchdown passes to Gary Collins (once I heard Mr. Accorsi, a genuine historian, talk of the irony that the Browns with the great Jim Brown as a running back scored all their touchdowns via the pass that day.) Jim Brown had a big run to set up the first score. Lou Groza kicked 2 field goals, the defense which included Jim Kanicki, shutout the great John Unitas and the Colts. Blanton Collier was the coach. An upstart, (he supplanted the legendary Paul Brown to take over the team named for Brown) impeccably dressed, Art Modell was the owner. Memories!
The spectacle that is the National Football League was on display in a Wednesday night opener with the Dallas Cowboys, who failed when it really mattered in the last game of last season, won vs the defending champion New York/New Jersey Giants. Last season, the Giants won when it mattered and won the title despite a (9-7) record.
I have mixed feelings about the Mara family (co-owners of the Giants) but certainly the late Wellington Mara deserves credit along with George Halas (owner of Chicago Bears) and I believe Dan Reeves (owner of the Los Angeles Rams) for sharing the awesome television revenue throughout the league which created the marriage of television and football. Another time, there will be talk of not a “mistress” but an equal even a more important third entity in the “marriage;” and that is gambling.
Many things go through my mind including an excitement that football season has arrived. This has been the case for me and millions of others for a long time. I can separate myself from that excitement, to a degree. I know the NFL is a big, big business with at best, a history that has coincided with greed. I can address the current situation with the officials or the fact that players like John Unitas and Jim Otto had trouble even walking due to their years in football. Their pensions and “thanks” for the years of toil more resembled Otto’s “double zero” than any significant financial compensation. Hopefully the millions who will mainly “tune in” but also attend, drink, eat, root, and wager all in fierce connection with football will have some perspective. It is a perspective that I am still learning and to which as Mildred Dunnock said in both the movie and stage version of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” “attention must be paid.”
While the National League has 3 division leaders with at least 4 and a half game leads the American League has no divisional leader with more than a 3 game lead.
The New York Yankees lead in the AL East has been reduced to two games and they were somewhat lucky to have any lead as they won only the middle game of a 3 game home series vs the Baltimore Orioles, who were 100 to 1 underdogs to win the division at the beginning of the season. A bases loaded walk drawn by Derek Jeter, the Yankees’ 17 year veteran, who has played on 5 World Series winners was the key play in the lone Yankees’ win vs Baltimore. The Tampa Rays are 3 and a half games behind.
Last week I wrote that the Detroit Tigers were over rated and when they lost 3 games during the week at the Kansas City Royals it seemed there would be no need to retract the statement. However, after sweeping the Chicago White Sox at home, the Tigers and White Sox are tied for first place in the A.L. Central. The Orioles won 3 of 4 at home vs the White Sox while Detroit lost 3 at Kansas City keeping Detroit within striking distance.
The Texas Rangers’ lead has been cut to just 3 games in the AL West. Texas won 2 of 3 vs Tampa Bay and in Cleveland but the Oakland A’s, another big surprise team, have won nine straight games and swept in Cleveland vs the Indians and at home vs the Boston Red Sox, who have lost six straight games. Thus Oakland is only three games out of first place. The A’s lead the Orioles by 2 games for the top wild card spot while Tampa is one and a half games behind Baltimore. Both the Tigers and White Sox have records that leave them 2 out in the wild card race. The Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels despite a (5-1) week are three and a half games out of playoff qualification. There are also 4 teams ahead of them at this point.
The three National League division leaders have nice leads as Labor Day has arrived. The wild card leader has a decent lead after a dramatic win capped by a game winning 3 run home run by a long time star. A closer look follows.
The Cincinnati Reds have opened a 9 and a half game lead in the NL Central which means that very, very likely Reds’ manager Dusty Baker will manage a 3rd different franchise to a first place finish. Previously Baker managed both the Giants and Cubs to one eighth division titles meaning the first place finish meant qualification in the 8 team baseball tournament which started in 1995. The Braves beat out Baker’s Giants in the last real division/pennant race in 1993 which was Baker’s first year as a major league manager.
The next biggest lead is 6 and a half games which is the lead for the Washington Nationals in the NL East. The Nationals are managed by Davey Johnson, who if the lead holds up will be managing a 4th different team to a first place finish. Previously, Johnson managed the Mets to two “one quarter” divisional titles and guided the Baltimore Orioles and Cincinnati Reds to one eighth divisional wins.
The San Francisco Giants, who ended a 56 year World Series Title drought two years ago have a four and a half game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. The Giants won 5 out of 6 on the road in the past week albeit against two poor teams the woeful Astros, whom the Giants swept and the Chicago Cubs.
The Atlanta Braves rode a 2 out game ending 3 run home run from Chipper Jones, their long time star, rallying for 5 runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Phillies (8-7) and avoid a 3 game sweep. Atlanta has a 3 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals for the top wild card berth and a 3 and a half game lead over the Dodgers for playoff qualification. The Pirates, who were swept in Milwaukee by the Brewers are one and a half games behind in the race for playoff qualification.
I wonder how many times a female lead actress has played a character with the same name as one her male co star played in a previous role. That and other great synergy between Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones takes place in “Hope Springs,” a romantic comedy about a married couple and their attempts to spruce up their marriage.
Their marriage has some problems in the romance department. Their gifts for each other are impersonal, they sleep in separate rooms and sex between them has not manifested in any of the rooms in quite a while. The sympathetic but determined Kay played by Ms. Streep is determined to change that. Enduring the loud, “volume turned up” first few words, she becomes interested in a therapist’s course in intimacy within a marriage. The course teacher is played by the improving and recently low key, Steve Carell. (Do see Carell in “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.”)
Sadly, I rarely laugh out loud but that is my problem. The audience at times laughed so loud as to drown out the dialogue. Given its context, loud laughter was appropriate and I’ll wait for the DVD. Yes, I would see “Hope Springs” again as Streep and Jones do take a relatively realistic look at all that many do, instead of actively loving the one who is there, and has been there. It works out pretty well.
By the way Streep as stated is Kay in “Hope Springs” and Mr. Jones played “K,” officially Agent “K,” in “Men in Black.” In “Men in Black,” Jones’ “K” goes home to the wife he has missed for so many years while protecting the earth. In “Hope Springs” Jones’ “Arnold” is helped to understand what he has each day with his wife.
None of the current champions in the 4 major team sports have ever repeated as champions in the following season. Only two other “quartet of champions” has yet to have even one of that quartet repeat as champions at any time in their history. Those other times were 1969-1970 and 2002-2003 (all seasons are counted that way with baseball and football as the year most of it was played which is the earlier year, while basketball and hockey have more action and its playoffs in the later year.) Thus the current champions (St.Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Kings) comprise the 2011-2012 season. This includes every season from 1946-1947, (the first year of the NBA, the youngest of the 4 leagues) until the present. More succinctly; of the 66 years with the 4 leagues in operation only in 1969-1970, 2002-2003 and 2011-2012 were there 4 league champions, none of whom have ever repeated as league champion in their history.
The St.Louis Cardinals and New York Giants, the current baseball and football title holders each won it all in 1934. The Cardinals’ Joe “Ducky” Medwick was pelted with garbage and the Giants used sneakers to gain the advantage in the teams’ respective final victories. Neither repeated as champion in 1935 nor any time in each franchise’s storied history. Only the Yankees have more World Series wins than the Cardinals but after the previous 10 Cards’ titles, there was no repeat title. That includes volatile 1968 when America suffered myriad tragedies and the Detroit Tigers with Mickey Lolich winning 3 series games, overcame a (3-1) World Series deficit to beat the Cardinals. The Cardinals also lost in the World Series trying to repeat as champion in 1943.
The Giants have won 6 previous NFL Titles and never repeated as champion in the following season. Twice in 1935 and 1939 they lost in the championship game in a bid to repeat as champion. The Miami Heat have but one previous title and failed to repeat while this is the first title for the Los Angeles Kings.
The 4 (1969-1970) champions all of whom have never repeated as league champions were the New York Mets, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Knicks and Boston Bruins. The teams have combined for only 4 titles in the over 40 years since. The Kansas City Chiefs have not even made the finals since their (1969-1970) title. Kansas City gained the title as “double digit” underdogs vs the Minnesota Vikings in the 4th Super Bowl (that was the first of 4 Super losses for Minnesota and they have never won one) which was the last game for an AFL team.
The 4 (2002-2003) champions, all of whom have never repeated as league champions were the Anaheim Angels, Tampa Bay Buccaneers ,San Antonio Spurs and New Jersey Devils. Since that season, the Spurs have won 2 titles and none of the other teams has won any. The Devils’ finals loss this past season was the only finals appearance other than the Spurs’ 2 titles for that quartet of teams since 2002-2003.
