May 10, 1876: The Centennial Exhibition

Memorial Hall

May 10, 1876, 150 years ago: The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, opens in Philadelphia, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in the city, on July 4, 1776.

Officially named the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, it was held in Fairmount Park, along the Schuylkill (SKOOL-kill) River, northwest of what's now known as Center City, on fairgrounds designed by Herman J. Schwarzmann. Nearly 10 million visitors attended the exposition, and 37 countries participated in it. It ran until November 10, when colder weather made keeping it going impractical.

A 1,000-foot Centennial Tower was proposed, but never built. (World's Fairs that did build towers have included the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris with the Eiffel Tower, the 1939 New York World's Fair with the Trylon, and the 1962 Century 21 Exposition in Seattle with the Space Needle.) But the right arm and torch of the still-incomplete Statue of Liberty were on display, and fees collected to stand in the torch and view the fair helped raise money for the Statue's completion.

There was an Agricultural Hall, a Horticultural Hall, a Machinery Hall, a Women's Pavilion, and a few other themed exhibition areas. Among the new products shown for the first time at this fair were Alexander Graham Bell's telephone, the Remington No. 1 typewriter, Heinz ketchup and Hires root beer.

The Exhibition was intended not only to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of American independence, but to show that America was coming out of the economic depression that had been caused by the stock market's Panic of 1873. The celebrations were meant to peak on Centennial Day, July 4, 1876. Unfortunately, that was the day that word reached Philadelphia by telegraph of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, where Native American tribes routed the U.S. Army's 7th Cavalry, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer in the Montana Territory, putting a damper on the big day.

The fair was a mixture of the Gilded Age and the pain of the depression brought about by the Panic of 1873, and the strain that the Wild West was putting on the nation.

One of the few remaining buildings from the Exhibition is Memorial Hall. Since 2005, it has housed the Please Touch Museum, an interactive museum for children.

Bobby Cox, 1941-2026

No manager in the history of Major League Baseball has been thrown out of more games than Bobby Cox: 158, plus 3 more in postseason play. Which I was surprised to learn: He never seemed all that argumentative to me.

Robert Joe Cox (not "Robert Joseph") was born on May 21, 1941 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and grew up in Selma, California, outside Fresno. Like Mickey Mantle, Allie Reynolds and Bobby Murcer, he was an Oklahoma native who went on to play for the Yankees. Unlike them, however, he would not be a great player. His destiny would be in a different role, for other teams.

He was originally signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but before he could reach the major leagues, was traded to the Yankees. He played in 135 games of the 1968 season, making him a teammate of Mantle in the Mick's last season; and 85 games in 1969, playing mostly 3rd base, although he made 6 appearances at 2nd base.

He played and managed in the Winter league in Venezuela, which led the Yankees to let him manage in their farm system, starting in 1971. He won Pennants in the Eastern League with the 1972 West Haven Yankees, and in the International League with the 1976 Syracuse Chiefs. For the 1977 season, the Yankees called him up, and made him their 1st base coach. They won the World Series.

The Atlanta Braves signed him as their manager for 1978, but it didn't work out, and he was fired after the 1981 season. The Toronto Blue Jays signed him for 1982, and they were building something. In 1985, he took them to the American League Eastern Division title, edging the Yankees for it. But he blew a 3-games-to-1 lead in the AL Championship Series, and the Jays were beaten by the Kansas City Royals.

The Braves decided to bring him back, not as field manager, at first, but as general manager. The Jays let him go, and he was still the GM in 1990, when he fired manager Russ Nixon, and made himself the manager. He then hired John Schuerholz as his replacement.

With Cox in the dugout, and Schuerholz in the front office, the Braves then went on one of the most successful runs any MLB team has ever had. They won the National League Western Division title in 1991, '92 and '93. Realignment and the Strike of '94 meant no Division title in 1994 -- MLB doesn't recognize first-place finishes from that season -- but they won the NL Eastern Division title in 1995, '96, '97, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04 and '05.

In 1991, they won their 1st Pennant since moving to Atlanta in 1966, their 1st Pennant since 1958 in Milwaukee. They lost a thriller of a World Series to the Minnesota Twins. They won another Pennant in 1992, but lost the Series to the Blue Jays. They won another Pennant in 1995, and, this time, won their 1st World Series in Atlanta, their 1st title since 1957 in Milwaukee. They won the Pennant again in 1996 and 1999, but, each time, lost the World Series to the Yankees, managed by the man who'd succeeded Cox the 1st time he'd managed the Braves, Joe Torre.

Cox never won another Pennant. He remained the Braves' manager though the 2010 season, in which he won 1 last NL East title. Overall: 2,504 wins, 2,001 losses, 16 Division titles, and 5 Pennants. But, despite having managed future Hall-of-Famers Phil Niekro, Ted Simmons, Bruce Sutter, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Chipper Jones, Fred McGriff, Andruw Jones and Billy Wagner, he only won 1 World Series.

Bobby Cox was married to Pamela, and had 8 children. He is 1 of only 4 managers to be named Manager of the Year in each League. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Braves retired his Number 6.

He died today, May 9, 2026, at the age of 84.

Yankees Overcome Replacements to Mess With Texas

The Yankees played a 3-game midweek series at home against the Texas Rangers. Once again, they messed with Texas.

On Tuesday night, Elmer Rodríguez made his 2nd major league start. He didn't get out of the 5th inning, showing that he's not ready. Brent Headrick had to finish the 5th, and pitch the 6th. He ended up as the winning pitcher.

Starting out down 3-0, the Yankees got a run in the 1st inning, and Ryan McMahon tied it with a 2-run home run in the 2nd inning. Jazz Chisholm hit a home run in the 6th, and Cody Bellinger hit a 2-run double in the 7th. Paul Goldschmidt homered in the 8th, his 374th career home run. The Yankees won, 7-4.

Will Warren had been pitching surprisingly well, going 4-0, before Wednesday night. He simply didn't have it, giving up 6 runs in 4 innings. In contrast, the Rangers started Nathan Eovaldi, the starting pitcher that Brian Cashman gave up on after the 2016 season. Since returning to the majors in 2018, he has always driven the Yankees crazy. This time, he went 8 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits, the run coming on a home run by Aaron Judge.

It was the 383rd of his career, passing Frank Howard, Jim Rice and Ryan Howard on the all-time list. Next up is Harold Baines with 384. But it wasn't enough: Rangers 6, Yankees 1.

The Wednesday afternoon game started out badly. Ben Rice missed another game with a bruised hand. Then, David Weathers had to be scratched as the starting pitcher due to illness. So Paul Blackburn, usually a reliever, started the game.

Then on the 1st play of the game, Jasson Domínguez made a great catch of a drive hit by former Met Brandon Nimmo. But he crashed into the left field wall, and will be on the Injured List for "at least a few weeks" after an MRI revealed a low-grade sprain of his left AC joint.

So Cody Bellinger was moved from right field to left field, Amed Rosario was moved from 3rd base to right field, and Ryan McMahon was put at 3rd base, replacing Domínguez in the 6th slot in the batting order. Judge was the DH, and the Yankees didn't want to give up the DH, so Judge didn't go to right field. And, since Rosario was playing 3rd instead of shortstop, Max Schuemann was playing shortstop instead of Anthony Volpe.

So now, the only Yankees in their preferred positions were Paul Goldschmidt at 1st base, Jazz Chisholm at 2nd base, and Trent Grisham in center field.

 And here's what Blackburn gave up: The aforementioned long fly ball, a walk to Ezequiel Duran, who was then caught stealing 2nd, a walk to Corey Seager, he hit Josh Jung with a pitch, and got Joc Pederson to ground out. He did not go back out for the 2nd inning: It was determined that he, too, was injured. So, without warning, this became a "bullpen game."

The new pitcher was Brendan Beck, making his major league debut. At the age of 27. And a half. Not a good sign: Most pitchers who are going to make it do so younger than that. He was born during the Yankees' 1998 American League Division Series win -- over the Rangers. He's a righthander from the San Diego area, and a Stanford graduate.

Wearing Number 89, he pitched 3 innings, giving up 2 runs on 2 hits and 3 walks, with 1 strikeout. Not a good performance. Basically, all he did was eat innings.

I can hear the late, great John Sterling now: "You know, Suzyn (Waldman), you just can't predict baseball." And I can also hear the late, great Phil Rizzuto: "I tell ya, Bill White, this is unbelievable, this is givin' me agita. Holy cow."

Fortunately, the Yankee bullpen did the job the rest of the way: Tim Hill, Headrick, Jake Bird and Camilo Doval pitched 5 scoreless innings.

And the Yankees unloaded the lumber. Goldschmidt and Bellinger both hit triples in the 1st inning, to make it 1-0 Yankees. Duran tied it with a home run in the 3rd, and gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead with an RBI groundout in the 4th.

Then came the bottom of the 6th. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Bellinger led off with a walk. Then came a single by Rosario, a popup by Chisholm, a walk by McMahon, a double by Grisham, a strikeout by Schuemann, a single by J.C. Escarra, a walk by Goldschmidt, a single by Judge, and a single by Bellinger. 7-2 Yankees.

Schuemann, a 28-year-old utility infielder from Derek Jeter's hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan, played with the Athletics the last 2 seasons. He doubled home a run in the 7th. McMahon singled home a run in the 8th. Headrick was named the winning pitcher.

Despite a rough start, the Yankees won, 9-2, taking the series from the Rangers, and going 6-1 on the homestand. They are 26-12, half a game ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, and tied with the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs for the best record in baseball.

Today, the Yankees called up Spencer Jones, their 6-foot-7 slugging prospect, to replace Domínguez on the roster. And they have gone on a roadtrip, starting with a weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Come on you Bombers!

May 7, 2006: The Highbury Farewell & the Tottenham Lasagne

May 7, 2006, 20 years ago: The rivalry between the professional soccer teams of North London takes its strangest turn ever.

Arsenal Football Club (a.k.a. "The Arsenal") and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (a.k.a. "Spurs") are separated by 4.7 miles in North London. To put that in perspective: Imagine that, in New York City, the Yankees and Mets played each other regularly, and that, while the Mets played in Flushing Meadow as they actually do, the Yankees played in Astoria, instead of the South Bronx.

The relationship is similar -- or it would be, if the Mets, instead of being the successors to the baseball version of the New York Giants, were a continuation of the same team: Great long ago, but only sporadically so since the Yankees first began winning, perennially getting humiliated by the more successful club, treating every win over the more successful club like you'd just won a world championship, and collapsing just as glory seems within your grasp.

But Met fans think the Yankees have unfair advantages: Money (true), getting the benefit of the doubt from the officials and the league office (don't make me laugh), favorable treatment by the media (don't take drugs). Tottenham fans think Arsenal have these advantages, and one more: Arsenal "bribed their way into the First Division in 1919." (It's been over 100 years: Not one shred of evidence has ever been found to back up this fact that "everybody knows is true.")

Therefore, both Met fans and Spurs fans claim a moral high ground over their local rivals. This results in a huge superiority complex and a huge inferiority complex at the same time.

Even the mottoes are similar: The Mets' is "Ya gotta believe!" while Spurs' is "To dare is to do."

I've mentioned before that the Mets are the Tottenham of New York, and that this might not be fair... to the Mets. Tottenham have not won their league since 1961, while the Mets, who started in 1962 as a replacement for the Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers (who left for California in 1957), have now won their league 5 times. (The real "Tottenham of New York" is hockey's Rangers, complete with their idiot thug fans: They talk as much trash as Yankee and Arsenal fans do, but they don't get the results to back it up.)

Tottenham have won England's top division of soccer (or, as they say, "football") twice, both times clinching at their home ground of White Hart Lane: In 1951 and 1961. They beat the same opponent both times: Sheffield Wednesday.

Arsenal have also twice clinched England's top division of soccer (or, as they say, "football") at White Hart Lane: In 1971 and 2004. They beat the same opponent both times: Tottenham.

Arsenal have won the League 13 times, including 6 times since Spurs' last title: 1971, 1989, 1991, 1998, 2002 and 2004.

Tottenham have won the FA Cup, England's national tournament, 8 times. This is actually a very impressive total. But they haven't won it since 1991, when they beat Arsenal in a Semifinal. They haven't even been to a Final since, going 0-3 in Semifinals, including losing to Arsenal in 1993 and 2001. Arsenal have won the FA Cup 14 times, more than any other club, including 9 times since Spurs last did: 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2020.

Because of their association with the old Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, in what's now Southeast London, Arsenal have always had a cannon on their club crest, and are thus known as the Gunners. Their fans, known as Gooners, like to say that Tottenham Hotspur, named for early 15th Century English rebel Henry Percy, a.k.a. Lord Harry Hotspur, are "forever in our shadow."

But every so often -- currently, we are in one of those moments -- the lopsided advantage in honors that tilts toward Arsenal looks like it might be reversed, what Spurs fans call "a power shift in North London."

A decade ago, there was one of those moments. But it ended up getting flushed down the toilet. Almost literally.

In 2005-06, Arsenal had their best Champions League campaign ever, reaching the Final. That Final, still the closest Arsenal have ever come to winning the European Cup (the UEFA Champions League format kept the name for the trophy), turned out to be the last appearance in Arsenal's colors for Dutch forward Dennis Bergkamp, French winger Robert Pires, English centreback Sol Campbell (who controversially transferred from Spurs to Arsenal 5 years earlier), and, controversially, English left back Ashley Cole.

Cole had grown up as an Arsenal fan and in Arsenal's youth system, but had been "tapped up" by West London rivals Chelsea, and would go to them due to new owner Roman Abramovich's spending spree, which had gotten Chelsea the 2005 and '06 Premier League titles. Cole has been known as "Cashley" to Gooners fans ever since.

But the 2005-06 season was the end of an era for another reason: It was the last season for the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury. The new Emirates Stadium -- some call it The Emirates, some by the area's former name Ashburton Grove, some cheekily call it New Highbury -- was going up, 500 yards away, and would open in the summer, the product of the success Arsenal had enjoyed in its 1st 10 years of management by the Alsatian genius, Arsène Wenger.

Arsenal wanted very badly to end the last game at Highbury with a win. It was against Manchester area club Wigan Athletic, and was expected to not be hard, but Arsenal have a history of losing the occasional game that they really should win.

But it wasn't just sentiment: Arsenal went into the season's League finale in 5th place in the Premiership, with Tottenham in 4th. All Spurs had to do in their game, which was away to East London club West Ham United, was match Arsenal's performance on that final day of the Premiership season, and it would be Spurs in the 2006-07 Champions League, with Arsenal "relegated" to the UEFA Cup -- unless, of course, Arsenal could win the CL Final, as the defending champion is always invited back.

The night before, Tottenham manager Martin Jol had secluded his players at a hotel, the Marriott Canary Wharf, in London's financial district, a.k.a. The City. This is not unusual: Many managers do things like this, even before home games. American football head coaches, in both the professional and the collegiate ranks, also do this. The players would have a nice dinner the night before the game, and get a good night's sleep, and would have a nice short bus ride to the stadium, all away from the prying of fans and the media.

What did Scottish poet Robert Burns say? Translated into modern common English, "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray."

In the middle of the night, 10 Spurs players woke up, vomiting, and/or having diarrhea: Robbie Keane, Edgar Davids, Michael Carrick, Aaron Lennon, Michael Dawson, Lee Barnard, Calum Davenport, Teemu Tainio, Lee Young-Pyo and Radek Cerny.

Someone decided to blame the lasagne they'd eaten for dinner that night, and after the whole thing was over, some Spurs fans started a conspiracy theory (shades of their delusions about 1919) that the Marriott chef was an Arsenal fan, and had purposely poisoned the Spurs players! It became known as Lasagne-gate.

In the morning, several Spurs players were still, uh, indisposed. So club chairman Daniel Levy called the League office, and asked League chairman Richard Scudamore to postpone the game.

Nothing doing: With 1 League game to go, all teams were to play their games at the same time, 3:00 PM. This was a change from past policy, to avoid teams whose League place had already been decided from laying down on the job, thus giving gamblers some easy pickings and paying customers a less than honest performance.

Levy protested: We have sick players, so can't the game be postponed until tomorrow? Or even until tonight, just to give us a few more hours to recover? Scudamore asked if Spurs had 11 players who could play. Well, yes, but... Then the game would go on. If Spurs wanted to postpone, they could refuse to play, but an inquiry would be held, and Spurs would likely lose that appeal, and the penalty for refusing to play would be a deduction of points, which would make a win in the rescheduled match meaningless.

West Ham officials said they were willing to accept a postponement, so long as it wasn't too close to the following Saturday, when they were to play Liverpool in the FA Cup Final (which Liverpool went on to win). Unlike Spurs, West Ham were not threatened with a points deduction for going along with the postponement (which makes sense, since it wasn't their idea).

But the police were afraid of what additional time to drink that day would do, considering the reputation that both Spurs' and the Hammers' fans had for hooliganism, including against each other. (A fight between fictionalized versions of hooligan firms from those clubs opened the 2005 film Green Street.) So the cops said they would allow the game to start no later than 5:00 -- an extra 2 hours, not much of a help for the last 2 players who still needed rehydration, Carrick and Lennon.

Carrick and Lennon

In the end, the game kicked off on time, at the traditional English football starting time of 3:00 in the afternoon, and only one of the affected players, backup goalkeeper Cerny, did not make it into the game, although Carrick had to be subbed off after 63 minutes, Lee (for fellow affectee Barnard) in the 78th, and Tainio (for fellow affectee Davenport) in the 87th.

*

That season was Wigan's first-ever season in the Premiership, and they had achieved midtable respectability, finishing 10th. An Arsenal win shouldn't have been assumed, but it was well possible. West Ham were about Wigan's equal, finishing 9th, and were hosting Spurs -- hence the Canary Wharf hotel, not far from the Hammers' Boleyn Ground, a.k.a. Upton Park.

Pires scored the Highbury opener, and, for the last time at that ground, the song "One-nil to The Arsenal" was sung -- by both Arsenal fans at Highbury and West Ham fans, learning by radio and text message, at Upton Park.

But Wigan struck back, and led 2-1. Spurs fans, getting calls and messages on their mobile phones, found out, and were ecstatic. And when Jermaine Defoe scored in the 35th to match Darren Fletcher's goal for the Hammers in the 10th, meaning Spurs were looking at a draw while Arsenal were losing, it looked like it would be Spurs' day.

It wasn't. Arsenal's superstar French forward Thierry Henry scored a hat trick, tallying in the 35th, the 56th, and the 76th with a penalty that was the last goal ever scored in the ground's 93-year history. Feeling that history, after putting the ball in the net, instead of launching a ghastly celebration, he bent down and kissed the grass. The final score was Arsenal 4-2 Wigan Athletic.

Of course, it wouldn't have mattered if Spurs had also won. But West Ham came from behind, and won 2-1 on a goal in the 80th minute by Yossi Benayoun, a midfielder from Israel.

Arsenal finished 4th, 2 points ahead of Tottenham, and qualified for the Champions League; Tottenham, finishing 5th, went to the UEFA Cup.

*

The remains of the supposedly offending lasagne were sent to a laboratory, and tested. As it turned out, there was nothing wrong with it, at least not medically. The virus that spread among the Spurs players was real, but it had nothing to do with food.

Still, Spurs fans blame that lasagne, and the chef that served it. Just like the Yankees-Red Sox "Curse of the Bambino," the lasagne contagion never really existed, but it has taken on a life of its own, because the afflicted team's fans believed it. And so, to spite them, ever since, Arsenal fans have sung, to "Volare":

Lasagne, whoa!
Lasagne, whoa!
We laughed ourselves to bits
when Tottenham got the shits!

Which matches another Arsenal chant. I don't know how far back it goes, but it was already in place in early 2007:

Q: What do you think of Tottenham?
A: Shit!
Q: What do you think of shit?
A: Tottenham!
Q: Thank you!
A: That's all right! We hate Tottenham and we hate Tottenham! We hate Tottenham and we hate Tottenham! We hate Tottenham and we hate Tottenham! We are the Tottenham haters!

Indeed, Tottenham didn't finished higher than Arsenal in the League between 1995 and 2017. They then did it 4 times in a row, before Arsenal took over again in 2022.

For talk among their organization, and talk among their fans, and talk among the media, all combined, and then divided by results, Tottenham Hotspur are arguably the biggest joke franchise in sports on planet Earth, any sport, any country.

Lasagne-gate may have been the highest moment -- or the lowest, if you prefer.

Ted Turner, 1938-2026

Ted Turner once said, "There's a fine line between being colorful and being an asshole, and I hope I'm still just colorful."

Robert Edward Turner III was born on November 19, 1938 in Cincinnati, and grew up in Savannah, Georgia. Expelled from Ivy League school Brown University for being caught with a woman in his dorm, he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard, so he wouldn't be drafted to fight in Vietnam during the early phase of that war. He later admitted, "I like boats," and was "deployed to some pretty sweet places -- Charleston and Fort Lauderdale."

How much did he like boats? In 1964, he competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials for yacht racing. In 1974, he entered the defender's trials for the America's Cup. On September 18, 1977,  commanding

Courageous, Ted Turner won the America's Cup, defeating Australia in a 4-race sweep.

His father committed suicide in 1963, and 24-year-old Ted took over his father's business, producing advertising billboards. Like another young man who would become a baseball mogul, George Steinbrenner, he took his father's business and grew it far beyond anything his father had imagined, making it "the largest outdoor advertising company in the Southeast."

He began buying radio stations, and, in 1969, traded them for a struggling Atlanta TV statin, WJRJ-Channel 17. He changed the call sign to WTCG, for Turner Communications Group, although he advertised it as "Watch This Channel Grow."

Initially, the station ran old movies from prior decades, along with theatrical cartoons and bygone sitcoms and drama programs. As a better syndicated product fell off the VHF stations, Turner would acquire it for his station at a very low price. WTCG ran mostly second- and even third-hand programming of the time, including fare such as I Love Lucy, Gilligan's Island and Star Trek.

In 1972, he bought the rights to broadcast the games of baseball's Atlanta Braves and the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. In 1976, he bought those teams outright, thinking that his broadcast revenue would allow him to buy better players, and the teams would help the station grow further

On May 2, 1976, Turner announced that, instead of their surnames, the Braves players would have their nicknames above their uniform numbers on their backs. Darrell Evans had "HOWDY." Darrel Chaney had "NORT." Jimmy Wynn's nickname, "The Toy Cannon" (because he was short but powerful), was too long to fit, so his was just "CANNON." And pitcher Andy Messersmith had "CHANNEL."

Bowie Kuhn, the Commissioner of Baseball, saw through this blatant attempt by Turner to advertise for his station, and prohibited it thereafter. Turner and Kuhn were now at odds, and would remain so. (Not that he was the only owner with whom Kuhn was at odds.) On January 3, 1977, Kuhn suspended Turner for a year, for his actions in signing free agent outfielder Gary Matthews. Turner appealed the suspension, and it was overturned.

On May 11, 1977, with the team mired in a 16-game losing streak, Turner sent manager Dave Bristol on a 10-day "scouting trip," and installed himself took over as interim manager. This made him the 1st owner/manager in the major leagues since Connie Mack stepped down as manager of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1950.

That night, the Braves lost 2-1 to the Pirates. Phil Niekro went the distance, and pitched well, but fell to 0-7 on the season. He would end it 16-20. John Candelaria held the Braves to 1 run on 8 hits, 3 of them by rookie outfielder Barry Bonnell, who ended up batting .300 for the season. Dave Parker hit a home run for the Pirates, and that made the difference. Willie Stargell went 1-for- 2 with 2 walks.

The next day, National League President Charles "Chub" Feeney ordered Turner to step down as manager, citing MLB's Rule 20(e), which prohibits managers from owning any stock in the team that employs them, unless specifically granted an exemption by the Commissioner. This rule was put in place in 1927, after a situation regarding Rogers Hornsby. Mack, and also John McGraw of the New York Giants, who owned stock in their teams, were "grandfathered in." Turner appealed to Kuhn, but was never going to get anywhere with him.

The next day, with 3rd base coach Vern Benson running the team, the Braves broke their 17-game losing streak, beating the Pirates, 6-1. Bristol returned for the next game, and the team finished 61-101, in 6th and last place in the NL Western Division, 37 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Turner fired Bristol after the season, and replaced him with New York Yankees coach Bobby Cox. He got nowhere with the Braves, but their next manager, Joe Torre, led them to the NL West title in 1982, and almost did it again in 1983.

That 1982 season was the year that made the Braves a national phenomenon: Not only had Turner changed Channel 17's call letters to WTBS, for "Turner Broadcasting System," but he'd made it a national "SuperStation." Like the Chicago Cubs on WGN, his games were now broadcast nationwide, and they got a national following, not just a regional one. He even billed the Braves as "America's Team," just as football's Dallas Cowboys had done. They lost the NL Championship Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, whose vast radio network had made them something like a national team.

Cox went on to the Toronto Blue Jays, and led them to their 1st Division title in 1985, but they lost the American League Championship Series to the Kansas City Royals.

In 1990, Turner lured away the Royals' general manager, John Schuerholz. He brought Cox back to the Braves, and the next year, they began one of the most successful runs in NL history. Not counting the strike-shortened 1994 season, the Braves won their Division -- the NL West through 1993, the NL East thereafter -- every season from 1991 to 2005. They won their 1st Pennant in Atlanta in 1991, and also won in 1992, 1995, 1996 and 1999. And they won the 1995 World Series, although they lost the others, including in 1996 and 1999 to the Yankees, who were managed by... Joe Torre.

In 1980, Turner founded CNN, Cable News Network, creating the 24-hour news cycle format. It revolutionized news broadcasting, in ways both positive and not-so-positive. Due to its role in covering the Persian Gulf War, Time magazine named Turner its Man of the Year for 1991.

He sold Turner Broadcasting, including CNN, in 1996, a year after the Braves finally won the World Series. He sold the Braves and the Hawks in 2007. He became one of the largest private landowners in America, and one of the country's leading conservationists.

Turner was married and divorced three times: To Judy Nye (1960–1964), Jane Shirley Smith (1965–1988), and actress Jane Fonda (1991–2001). He had five children: Laura Turner Seydel and Robert Edward Turner Jr., a.k.a. Eddy Turner, with Judy; and Beau Turner, Rhett Turner and Jennie Turner Garlington with Jane Smith. Generally, his children have followed in Ted's philanthropic and conservationist goals.

Turner and Fonda

In a 2018 interview on CBS Sunday Morning, Turner revealed his diagnosis of Lewy body dementia, which had led comedian-actor Robin Williams to commit suicide, and would also lead to the death of baseball legend Tom Seaver. It was Turner's last public appearance. He died today, May 6, 2026, at his home in Lamont, on the Florida Panhandle, at the age of 87.

In spite of their divorce, today, Fonda spoke well of Turner on Instagram:

MY IMMEDIATE THOUGHTS ABOUT TED He swept into my life, a gloriously handsome, deeply romantic, swashbuckling pirate and I've never been the same. He needed me. No one had ever let me know they needed me, and this wasn't your average human being that needed me, this was the creator of CNN, and Turner Classic Movies, who had won the America's Cup as the world's greatest sailor. He had a big life, a brilliant mind and a soaring sense of humor.

He could also take care of me. That was new as well. To be needed and cared for simultaneously is transformative. Ted Turner helped me believe in myself. He gave me confidence. I think I did the same for him, but that's what women are raised to do. Men like Ted aren’t supposed to express need and vulnerability. That was Ted's greatest strength, I believe.

He also taught me more than any other person or school classes, mostly about nature and wildlife, hunting and fishing (hunters and fishermen who follow the law are the best environmentalists), but also about business and strategy. Ted was supremely strategic. It was likely innate, but he studied the Classics in college, knew about the Peleponesian War inside and out and the strategies used by Alexander the Great and even Genghis Khan. And sailing big boats as he did further honed those strategic talents which he then brought into his businesses to much success. He could see around corners for sure.

Next to Katharine Hepburn, Ted was the most competitive person I have ever met and that was fascinating to witness. Whether it was who'd made the most ski runs at the end of the day, to acres of land owned (stewarded is the more fitting word for his relationship to land), who had the most billions, how many countries he'd made love to his prior lover in and could I match that, it was challenging. Ted was challenging, but I've always been up for a challenge, and with Ted it was almost always worth it.

As our friend, Ron Olson, said, "Ted was a great teacher, often by example. He challenged us to think big (he once asked me to draft a resolution for the UN and the US Congress to ban all nuclear weapons; I did) and act small (for the twenty years since meeting Ted, I too, pick up trash on my walks)."

I loved Ted with all my heart. I see him in heaven now with all the wildlife he helped bring back from extinction – the black footed ferrets, the prairie dogs, Big Horned sheep, Mexican Gray Wolf, the Yellowstone wolf pack, bison, the red cockaded woodpecker and so many more, they’re all gathered at the pearly gates applauding and thanking him for saving their species.

Five children survive him, five talented, complex kids who I had the privilege of becoming stepmother to. I had four stepmothers growing up and I know how important stepmothers can be, so we all did our best to build an extended, rag tag family, and I love them to this day. If it was complicated to be married to him, think how complicated it was being his child. And they are all doing fine.

Rest in Peace, dearest Ted. You are loved and you will be remembered.

Whatever caused them to split up, clearly, Jane Fonda thought Ted Turner was still, to use his word, "colorful" -- and, to use a too-often-used phrase, a great man.

If he had still been able to run CNN in 2015, I have no doubt that there would have been a proper journalistic investigation of Donald Trump. And that fat fascist son of a bitch would have been arrested by the FBI when he got to the bottom of the damn escalator. And, today, the world would be much better off.

Yankees Sweep Orioles Amid Sterling Memorial

The Yankees were doing so well, looking like they might be launching a historic season, in spite of all their injuries.

And then, yesterday, we got word that John Sterling, Yankee broadcaster from 1989 to 2024, had passed away at the age of 87. To paraphrase the man himself: Ballgame over, life well lived over.

The Yankees played on, with the letters "JS" stitched in white on the backs of their caps. I suspect there will be a uniform sleeve mourning band or patch to come.

*

They began a weekend 4-game series with the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium II on Friday night. Will Warren, meant to plug one of the holes in the rotation caused by the long-term injuries to Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt, pitched very well again, going 6 1/3rd innings, allowing 2 runs, only 1 earned, on 3 hits and 1 walk, striking out 9.

His main support came in a 4-run 2nd inning that included home runs by José Caballero and Ben Rice. The Yankee bullpen allowed just 1 baserunner, a walk, and the Yankees began the series with a 7-2 win.

Ryan Weathers was also meant to be a hole-plugger. On Saturday afternoon, he only went 5 innings, because he had thrown 90 pitches. He allowed 3 runs, but only 1 earned, on 3 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5.

But Cody Bellinger had himself a very nice day. How nice was it? 4-for-4 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs. Trent Grisham also homered, and the Yanks beat the O's, 9-4.

On Sunday, in the last game that John Sterling would ever see, Max Fried had a rare struggling start, going just 5 1/3rd innings, throwing 107 pitches, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks, although he did strike out 9. The bullpen pitched shutout ball the rest of the way, allowing 3 hits and no walks. Fernando Cruz turned out to be the winning pitcher.

Rice hit another home run, his 12th of the season. Aaron Judge hit his 13th, to retake the American League lead. Returning from injury to make his 1st major league appearance of the season, highly-touted prospect Jasson Domínguez, "The Martian," went 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. With 7 runs in the bottom of the 8th, the Yankees pulled away, and won, 11-3.

The Yankees gave Sterling one last smile.

Last night, a pregame ceremony was held in his memory. Highlights of his calls were played on the big video board in center field. Two of his former broadcast partners, Michael Kay and Suzyn Waldman, walked onto the field, and each laid a bouquet of flowers on home plate.

Like Fried the day before, Cam Schlittler struggled, going 5 2/3rds innings, allowing only 1 run, but 7 hits and 3 walks. Fortunately, the bullpen threw shutout ball the rest of the way.

Judge went 2-for-4 with a walk and 4 RBIs, including a home run. It was the 382nd of his career. On the all-time list, this surpassed Albert Belle, and tied Frank Howard, Jim Rice and Ryan Howard (no relation to Frank). Next up on the all-time list: Larry Walker, with 383.

Yankees 12, Orioles 1. The Orioles did not hold a lead in any of the 36 innings of this series.

*

We are now 21 percent of the way into the season, 1/5th. The Yankees are 24-11, a pace for 111 wins, having won winning 13 of their last 15. They have done this without 3 projected starting pitchers, and also without Domínguez until Sunday.

They have also done this without their intended starting shortstop, Anthony Volpe. But Caballero has played so well, they Yankees decided to send Volpe to their Class AAA team in Scranton (actually, Moosic), Pennsylvania. They had to do either that, or promote him (meaning they would have to clear a roster spot), or waive him, or "designate him for assignment," or release him outright. They chose the path most likely to make him a contributing player in the future.

The Yankees have the best record in the American League. Only the Atlanta Braves, by half a game (1 more win and the same number of losses) have a better one in the National League. The Yankees lead the AL Eastern Division by a game and a half over the Tampa Bay Rays, 8 over the Toronto Blue Jays, 9 over the Orioles, and 10 over the despised Boston Red Sox.

Tonight, the Yankees start a home series with the Texas Rangers, from whom they took 2 out of 3 last week. Elmer Rodríguez makes his 2nd major league appearance and start, against Jacob deGrom. For his career, Rodríguez is 0-1, while the fragile deGrom is 98-66. Perhaps Rodríguez will end up with more career wins.

Come on you Pinstripes!

May 5, 1956: Bert Trautmann Breaks His Neck to Win the FA Cup

May 5, 1956, 70 years ago: Many sports fans have said they would die for their team. Most don't mean it. And most don't expect their players to die for their teams. Well, one man broke his neck to win his team a trophy, and lived to tell about it.

Bernhard Carl Trautmann was born on October 22, 1923 in Bremen, Germany. This was the same month in which Charlton Heston, Glynis Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, and New York baseball legend Bobby Thomson were born.

He excelled in multiple sports, including soccer, where he was an expert goalkeeper. Like nearly every German male of his generation, he joined the Army, fighting for the Nazis whether they liked it or not. He became a paratrooper, so he was certainly brave. He would eventually be captured by, and escape from, the Americans, the Soviet Red Army, and the French Resistance. The 4th time, he was captured by the British. This time, he accepted his fate, and was taken to a prisoner-of-war camp near Liverpool.

After The War, he was released, but declined an offer of repatriation, and stayed in England. He played for St. Helens Town, a club near Liverpool. He was allowed to marry Margaret Friar, the daughter of the club secretary. He got the club promoted, and in 1949, he was signed by Manchester City Football Club. This made him the 1st soccer player in England to wear Adidas shoes, since he was a friend of the company's founder, Adolf Dassler. (His nickname was Adi, hence, "Adi Das." His brother Rudolf Dassler founded Puma.)

Man City fans were not happy about the signing. A, Trautmann wasn't just German, he had actually fought for the enemy. B, He was replacing Frank Swift, the greatest goalie in Man City's history to that point. (Swift then became a journalist, and died in the Munich Air Disaster of 1958, covering Manchester United's European Cup run.)

A January 1950 match away to West London club Fulham changed things. He made several great saves, and, although Fulham won 1-0, their fans stopped hurling insults at him, and gave him a standing ovation as he walked off the field.

Man City were relegated to the Football League Division Two at the end of the season, but bounced back up to Division One at the end of the next season. Led by Trautmann and forward Don Revie (later the manager of the great Leeds United team of the late 1960s and early 1970s), they reached the 1955 FA Cup Final, losing to Newcastle United FC.

In 1956, they got back to the Final, and faced Birmingham City FC. The game was 1-1 at the hour, but Bobby Johnstone and Jack Dyson scored in quick succession to make it 3-1 to Man City. In the 73rd minute, Peter Murphy attempted a shot for the Brummies, but Trautmann dove at his feet to win the ball. In the process, Murphy's knee struck Trautmann in the neck.

Trautmann was knocked unconscious. Substitutes were not allowed in English football until the 1965-66 season, so if he could not continue, an outfield player would have to put on the green shirt, and City would be down to 10 men. Trautmann came to, and, with the situation explained to him, he insisted on staying in the game.

The Man City players did what they could to keep the ball away from him, but he had to make 2 more saves, the 2nd of which was another collision with Murphy, resulting in his needing treatment.

The game ended 3-1, and the Man City players climbed the famed Wembley Stadium steps to the royal box, where Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, handed out the Cup to winning Captain Roy Paul, and the winner's medals to all the players. On the film, Trautmann can be seen rubbing his neck. Prince Philip expressed concern for Trautmann's condition.

After 3 days, the pain didn't go away, so Trautmann went to the doctor. He was told he had dislocated 5 vertebrae, 1 of which was cracked. The 3rd vertebra had lodged against the cracked 2nd, possibly saving his life. He had, quite literally, broken his neck to win the FA Cup.

He missed much of the 1956-57 season, and in 1958, because he had not fully recovered, Man City became the only team in the history of England's Football League (including the post-1992 Premier League) to score 100 goals and allow 100 goals in a single League season. But he continued to play until 1964, and his final match was a testimonial at Maine Road, City's ground from 1923 to 2003. He captained a combined City and United team, with Bobby Charlton and Denis Law guesting from United, against an International XI that had England stars Stanley Matthews, Tom Finney and Jimmy Armfield.

He was not allowed to play for the West Germany national team, under their rules of the time, because he was playing outside the country, and so he was not on the team that won the 1954 World Cup. He later coached in England, Germany and Spain, and managed the national teams of Burma, Tanzania, Liberia and Pakistan.

He settled in the Mediterranean coastal city of Valencia, Spain. He married 3 times, and had 4 children, 1 of whom died in a car crash as a boy, which led to the breakup of his 1st marriage. Queen Elizabeth II awarded him an OBE for his efforts at diplomacy through sport, and, on the occasion, asked him if his neck felt better.

He was honored with a statue outside the City of Manchester Stadium, to which Man City moved in 2003, and is now named the Etihad Stadium.

He died on July 19, 2013, in Valencia, from the effects of a pair of heart attacks earlier in the year, up to which point he was still thought to be in good health. He was 89 years old.

Bert Trautmann was a symbol of courage, perseverance, understanding and sportsmanship. He could have been embittered by either the war he was in or his new country's reaction to his service in it. Instead, he made both his old country and his new country better places to be. That's testimonial enough for anyone.