Monday, November 30, 2015

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

The New York Red Bulls almost pulled off a miracle last night. But you know what they say: "'Almost' only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades."

For the 2nd time in 3 seasons, they won Major League Soccer's Supporters' Shield, for having the best overall record in the regular season. In any other soccer league on the planet, this would have made them League Champions.

Not in MLS. Because it's a North American league, they have Playoffs. And, just as in 2013, the Red Bulls went out in the Conference Finals.

They let the Columbus Crew score on them 9 seconds -- not minutes -- into the 1st Leg, and allowed another in stoppage time, and failed to score a vital away goal, and went into last night's 2nd Leg at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey trailing 2-0.

In other words, they had to win 2-0 just to send the game to extra time. A 3-1 win would have been no good: That would have made it 3-3 on aggregate, and 1-0 to Columbus on away goals.

It took until the 3rd minute of a 4-minute stoppage time for Metro to get a goal, from Anatole Abang. For a moment, the fans -- the ones who hadn't left early, that is -- had reason to hope for a miracle.

But in the 95th minute, a minute now necessary because of the goal, Bradley Wright-Phillips hit the post, and that was it.

How much woodwork would a Red Bull work, if a Red Bull could work woodwork?

The game ended 1-0 to the Jersey Boys, but 2-1 to the Ohioans on aggregate. The Crew advance to next Sunday's MLS Cup Final, where they will host the Portland Timbers.

The Red Bulls, founded as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, have ended their 20th season, and have still never won the MLS Cup.

They will always let you down.

*

It's been a while since I did a countdown, so here goes:

Days until the Devils next play a local rival: 4, this Friday night, against the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth, at home, at the Prudential Center in Newark. The Devils next play the New York Islanders on Sunday afternoon, December 13, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn; and the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum, on Tuesday night, February 2, at home.

Days until Arsenal play again: 5, this Saturday morning (our time), home to North-East club Sunderland. Arsenal played a lousy 0-0 draw with Norfolk club Norwich City yesterday, setting the tone for the Red Bulls match.

Days until the next North London Derby: 96, on Saturday, March 5, 2016, at White Hart Lane. Depending on British TV coverage, this game may be moved to the following day.

Days until the Red Bulls play again: As yet unknown, but they usually open the season on the 3rd Sunday in March, which would be March 20, 2016, which would be 111 days.

Days until the Red Bulls play another derby: Unknown when they will again play New York City F.C., the Philadelphia Union, D.C. United or the New England Revolution.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 116, on Friday, March 25, 2016, away to Guatemala in a World Cup Qualifier.

Days until the Yankees play again: 126, on Monday, April 4, 2016. A little over 4 months.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series: 144, on Friday, April 22, 2016.

Days until the Copa América Centenario kicks off: 187, on June 3, 2016.

Days until Euro 2016 in France kicks off: 194, on Friday, June 10, 2016.

Days until the next Yankees-Mets series: 247, on Monday, August 1, 2016. It will be played over 4 days, 2 at Citi Field, then 2 at Yankee Stadium II.

Days until the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 251, on Friday, August 5, 2016.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 278, on Saturday, September 3, 2016, away to the University of Washington.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 284, on Friday, September 9, 2016, opponent to be determined. Yes, we lost the Thanksgiving game against the Purple Bastards, again, this time 20-7 at home.

Days until the next World Cup of Hockey begins: 292, on Saturday, September 17, 2016. All games will be played at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 359, on November 24, 2016, at the Shithole.

Days until Alex Rodriguez' contract runs out: 702, on October 31, 2017. Seriously: 1 World Championship in 12 seasons is better than many teams have done, but it is not acceptable for the New York Yankees, and he has failed us and embarrassed us too many times. If Brian Cashman grows a pair and buys him out before then, it will be the best thing for the Yankees.

Days until the 2018 World Cup in Russia: 928, on June 14, 2018. Hopefully, the U.S. national team will have fired Jurgen Klinsmann and hired a real manager by that point.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

How to Be a Devils Fan In Carolina -- 2015-16 Edition

The New Jersey Devils travel to play the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh next Thursday night, and go back on the day after Christmas. The 'Canes have given the Devils fits over the years, including in he Playoffs.

They didn't seem to do so from 1982 to 1997, when they were known as the Hartford Whalers. (They were the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1979, then were brought into the NHL and changed their name to the Hartford Whalers.) But as the 'Canes, yikes. That loss at home in Game 7 of the 1st Round in 2009, going from 3-2 up with 1:20 to go to losing 4-3 still sticks in my craw.

Needless to say, I don't like the Hurricanes. And hockey doesn't belong in the South, anyway. Y'all go back to Hartford, y'hear?

Before You Go. Being in the South, it's going to be warmer in Raleigh than in Newark. But, this being December, it won't be hot. For next Thursday, the Raleigh News & Observer is predicting mid-60s for daylight and mid-50s for night, and rain.

Charlotte is in the Eastern Time Zone, so you won't have to fiddle with your timepieces. It is in North Carolina, a former Confederate State, but you won't need your passport or to change your money.

Tickets. The Hurricanes averaged 12,594 fans per game last season. That's only 67 percent -- averaging 2/3rds full. In each case, they rank 29th, 2nd-worst, in the NHL, ahead of only the Florida Panthers. For the sake of comparison, the Whalers averaged 13,680 fans per game, or 87 percent of capacity, in their last season before the move. So tickets shouldn't be very hard to come by.

Tickets in the lower level, the 100 sections, are $140 between the goals and $100 behind them. In the upper level, the 300 sections, they're $60 between and $35 behind. Seats in the 200 section are club seats and only available to season-ticketholders.

Getting There. It’s 505 miles from the Prudential Center in Newark to the PNC Arena in Raleigh. It's in that tricky range: A bit too close to fly, a bit too far to go any other way.

If you're going to drive, take the New Jersey Turnpike/Interstate 95 all the way from New Jersey to Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Exit 138 will put you on Interstate 495/U.S. Route 64 West, and that will take you right into Raleigh. You’ll be in New Jersey for about an hour and a half, Delaware for 20 minutes, Maryland for 2 hours, inside the Capital Beltway (Maryland, District of Columbia and Virginia) for half an hour if you’re lucky (and don’t make a rest stop anywhere near D.C.), Virginia for 3 hours, and North Carolina for an hour and a half. Throw in traffic at each end, rest stops, preferably in Delaware, near Richmond and near Raleigh, and it’ll be close to 12 hours.

Greyhound has 9 buses a day leaving from Port Authority to Raleigh, but only 3 of them are no-changeover routes. It costs as much as $263 round-trip (though it can be as low as $114 on advanced purchase). The trip takes 13 hours, including a long layover to change buses in Richmond. The station is at 2210 Capital Blvd., 3 miles northeast of downtown. Take the Number 1 or 3 bus in.

Amtrak's Carolinian leaves Newark's Penn Station at 7:24 AM, and arrives at Raleigh at 4:42 PM, giving you enough time to get to a hotel and then to the game the same night. The next morning, the Silver Star leaves Raleigh at 8:45 and arrives back in Newark at 6:23 PM. Round-trip fare is $229. The station is at Cabarrus and West Streets, 8 blocks southwest of the State House. Take the Number 11 bus in.

Perhaps the best way to get from New York to Raleigh is by plane. True, you'd have to change planes at Charlotte on your way to Raleigh-Durham International Airport, but if you order your ticket online at this writing, you could get a round-trip flight for just $261.

Once In the City. Both North Carolina and South Carolina were named for the King of England at the time of their initial settlements, King Charles I. Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina, was named for Sir Walter Raleigh, the English soldier who led the early English colonization of the Atlantic Coast (Virginia and the Carolinas).

Founded in 1792, Raleigh is home to about 430,000 people, making it the 2nd-largest city in the State, behind Charlotte. The Raleigh-Durham area, known as the Triangle (or the "Research Triangle," to give it a tech-savvy nickname to suggest it's an East Coast version of the Silicon Valley) is home to a little over 2 million people. This ranks it 23rd among NHL markets, and would rank it 27th in the NBA, 29th in the NFL, and 30th and last in MLB, Don't expect it to ever get a team in the other markets, though.

The State House is the divider for addresses. The north-south divider is New Bern Avenue east of the State House, and Hillsborough Street west of it. The east-west divider is Halifax Street north of the State House, and Fayetteville Street south of it.
The State House

Capital Area Transit runs buses around Raleigh. The fare is $2.25. GoTriangle serves the Triangle region: Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. There is a light rail system being planned for the area, but it won't open before 2026.

The sales tax in North Carolina is 4.75 percent, but it rises to 6.75 percent in Raleigh.

Going In. The official address of the PNC Arena is 1400 Edwards Mill Road, at E. Stephen Stroud Way, about 5 miles west of downtown Raleigh. Stroud Way separates it from Carter-Finley Stadium, home field of the football team at North Carolina State University. N.C. State also uses PNC Arena as its basketball home, succeeding the Reynolds Coliseum, where it won National Championships in 1974 and 1983.

Parking is $15. If you're using public transportation, use Bus 100. That will get you to Blue Ridge Road at the State Fairgrounds, but then you'll have to make a left on Trinity Road to the stadium and the arena.
The arena opened in 1999 as the Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena, and was named the RBC Center from 2002 to 2012. Concerts held there this year include Eric Church, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift and Sam Smith.

The rink is aligned northwest-to-southeast. The Hurricanes attack twice at the southeast end, the sections with 2 and 3 as the middle digit.

Food. This is the South, tailgate party country, and North Carolina is among the places in this country particularly known for good barbecue. Tailgating is usually not done before NHL games, but there are enough options to satisfy all but the most discriminating foodie.

A bar called The Locker Room is at Section 110. Pub 300 is at, no, not Section 300, but Section 312. North Carolina BBQ Company is at 104, 115, 123, 130, 306 and 326; The Carvery sandwiches and chips (potato chips, not what the British call thick-cut fries) at 104 and 123; Metro Deli at 104 and 326; Sausage Stop at 105, 120 and 304; Rituals Coffee Company at 105 and 120; Dos Bandidos pseudo-Mexican food at 112; South Street Cheese Steaks ("cheesesteak" is one word, guys) at 123 and 324; Fire It Up! Grill Stands (burgers, chicken, fries, onion rings, corn dogs) at 130 and 301;

For dessert, there's Nutty Bavarian at 101, 116 and 316; Gourment Pretzels (as if there is such a thing) at 103, 118 and 304; Breyes Ice Cream at 105, 110, 126, 309 and 329; Dippin' Dots at 105, 110, 120, 306 and 326; Sinfully Sinnamon at 110, 128 and 304; Twisted Waffle at 116 and 322; Poppin' Plants popcorn and cotton candy at 118, 124, 130 and 324.

Team History Displays. Despite having been around for only 18 seasons (17 if you don't count the canceled 2004-05), the do have some history, which they display with banners for their 2006 Stanley Cup; their 2002 and 2006 Eastern Conference titles; and their 1999, 2002 and 2006 Division Championships.
The name banners are not in place of retired numbers.
They represent Olympians on their team.

Their retired number history is complicated. When the Whalers moved to Carolina to begin the 1997-98 season, the previously retired Number 2 for Rick Ley (defenseman, 1972-1981) and Number 19 for John McKenzie (right wing, 1977-79) were returned to circulation. The Hurricanes have never issued Number 9, which Gordie Howe wore with the Whalers (right wing, 1977-80), and consider it unofficially retired, as there is no banner to recognize it.

Number 2 has been retired anyway, for defenseman Glen Wesley (1994-2008, 1997-2008 in Carolina). Number 10 is retired for Ron Francis (center, 1981-91 in Hartford, 1998-2004 in Carolina, and now the team's general manager). Number 17 is retired for Rod Brind'Amour (center, 2000-10).

Steve Chiasson (defenseman, 1996-99, 1997-99 in Carolina) was killed in a car crash in 1999. The 'Canes have not reissued his Number 3. But they can't retire it, because he was driving drunk.
Several Whalers were named to the WHA's All-Time Team: Gordie, Mark and Marty Howe; Rick Ley, John McKenzie, Dave Keon, Al Smith, Andre Lacroix, Ron Plumb, Ted Green and Tom Webster. Despite the achievements that Ron Francis and Rod Brind'Amour had already had, and would add, when The Hockey News named its 100 Greatest Players in 1998, Gordie Howe was the only player they selected who had played for the Whalers/Hurricanes franchise, unless you count the sad last few games of Bobby Hull. (Not even Keon.)

Mark Johnson and Rob McClanahan, members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, played for the franchise when it was still the Whalers. No members of the Team Canada that beat the Soviets in the 1972 Summit Series did so.

One of the streets in the parking lot of the arena is named Peter Karmanos Jr. Drive for the team's owner.

The Arena also holds banners for the N.C. State basketball team: Their 1974 and 1983 National Championships, their 1950, 1974 and 1983 Final Four berths, their 13 regular-season conference titles, and their 17 conference tournament wins. They also have 23 "honored numbers," including 1983 heroes Dereck Whittenburg (25), Sidney Lowe (35), Thurl Bailey (41) and Lorenzo Charles (43); but only 1974 hero David "Skywalker" Thompson's Number 44 is actually retired.

According to a May 12, 2014 article in The New York Times, the Charlotte Hornets' reach doesn't get much beyond the Charlotte area. Then again, it doesn't help that the Hornets play 168 miles from downtown Raleigh. The most popular NBA team in the Raleigh-Durham area, as it has been since the dawn of the 21st Century (dovetailing nicely with the post-Michael Jordan fall of the Chicago Bulls), is the Los Angeles Lakers.

Stuff. The Hornets Fan Shop is on the Trade Street (south) side of the arena. The arena website mentions that it sells not only Hornets merchandise, but Jordan brand items. Just so you know who's in charge. (Of course, that means that, in 5 years, Jordan the owner has won nothing, not even a single Playoff game, which must truly gall Jordan the player. Then again, Bill Russell was a lousy coach when he didn't have Bill Russell playing for him.)

Hockey is not exactly a glamour sport in the South. In North Carolina in particular, it trails basketball, football and NASCAR (which, of course, is not a sport). So there haven't been many books written about the 'Canes. And, since hurricanes frequently hit the Carolinas (hence the name of the team), if you type "Carolina Hurricanes" into Amazon.com, you get books about local storms.

Erin Butler recently published the Hurricanes' edition in the Inside the NHL series. And after the 2006 Stanley Cup, the sports staff of the News & Observer published a commemorative book, titled Whatever It Takes.

Commemorative DVD sets were produced for the 2006 Cup and the team's 10th Anniversary in 2007, but that's about it as far as videos go.

During the Game. A November 19, 2014 article on The Hockey News' website ranked the NHL teams' fan bases, and listed the 'Canes' fans 23rd out of 30, saying, "Canes put weak product on ice, so fans won't come even if tickets are cheap."

At least your safety is unlikely to be an issue. Unless you're going to a basketball game between Duke University and the University of North Carolina -- especially at Duke -- North Carolina fans, in any sport, don't have a rough reputation.

Amanda Bell is the regular National Anthem singer for the 'Canes. Their fans haven't yet come up with a chant more imaginative than "Let's go, 'Canes!" Their theme song is "Noise" by the Chris Hendricks Band. Their goal song is "Song 2" by Blur (a.k.a. "Whoo Hoo"), and, according to actor Liam Neeson, who, despite being from Northern Ireland, is a big hockey fan, the 'Canes have "the manliest goal horn in the league."

Their mascot is Stormy the Ice Hog. Fortunately, he's not a wild boar, a warthog, or even a Razorback hog like the University of Arkansas' mascot. He's a friendly-looking brown pig, whose jersey has Number 97 in honor of the year the team moved to North Carolina.
After the Game. Unlike Charlotte, whose sports facilities are now all downtown, Raleigh's arena and football stadium are in a suburban part of town, 2 islands in a sea of parking. Crime should not be an issue: Most likely, you will be safe, and if you drove in, so will your car.

But this setup also means you'll have a bit of a walk back to public transportation, and to any place serving late-night food and/or drinks. Backyard Bistro is across Trinity Road from the complex, and there's a Wendy's at Trinity Road and Edwards Mill Road. If those aren't good enough for you, you may have to head back downtown.

Downtown Sports Bar in Raleigh is the home of a local Giants fan club. It's at 410 Glenwood Avenue at Anwood Place. There are 2 places worth mentioning just off the N.C. State campus. Amadeo's Italian Restaurant is the home of a local Jets fan club. It's at 3905 Western Blvd. at Whitmore Drive. Fuhgeddaboudit Pizza, at 2504 Hillsborough Street and Horne Street, is said to be covered in various items of New York memorabilia.

If you're looking for someplace in Durham or Chapel Hill -- in case you, or a relative or friend, is going to Duke in the former or UNC in the latter, and is willing to put you up for the night -- I'm afraid I came up dry looking for references to such places.

Sidelights. Charlotte's sports history, at least at the major league level, isn't much, and Raleigh's is even less than that.

* Carter-Finley Stadium. After playing football at Riddick Stadium from 1907 to 1965 (demolished in 2005), North Carolina State moved into Carter Stadium in 1966. It was originally named for brothers Harry C. Carter and Wilbert J. "Nick" Carter, N.C. State graduates and major financial contributors. Albert E. Finley, another big contributor, had his name added in 1979. The playing surface is now named for yet another contributor: Wayne Day Family Field.
Currently seating 57,583, the N.C. State Wolfpack have won 3 Atlantic Coast Conference football titles there, in 1968, 1973 and 1979. This is in addition to the 8 titles they won in their various leagues at Riddick Stadium, for a total of 11: 1907, 1910, 1913, 1927, 1957, 1963, 1964 and 1965. Those last 3 conference titles provided the revenue for the building of a new stadium, to replace the obsolete Riddick. It features a display of 10 retired numbers, including current NFL quarterbacks Philip Rivers (17) and Russell Wilson (16), and former New York Jet Dennis Byrd (77 for them, 90 for the Jets).

It was also home to what's been called the worst team in the history of professional football: The Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks of the World League of American football. Their red, kelly green, black and white uniforms, and their jets in formation leaving vapor trails helmet logo, were weird enough. Their cheerleaders, tapping into the aviation theme and the Wright Brothers' first flight in the Outer Banks in 1903, were named the Kittyhawks. Charlotte Hornets owner George Shinn owned them, and Roman Gabriel, another N.C. State quarterback whose number has been retired (18), was their head coach.

But even with Shinn's money, Gabriel as head coach, and former pro quarterback Johnnie Walton and eventual Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Claude Humphrey as offensive and defensive coordinators, they went 0-10 in a weak league (the WLAF was nicknamed "The Laugh League") in the 1991 season. And, with no beer sold, they averaged just 12,066 fans per home game. (Even the Hurricanes can usually top that.) The team was moved to Columbus for the 1992 season and renamed the Ohio Glory.

Carter-Finley Stadium hosted a summer tour soccer game between Italy's Juventus and Mexico's C.D. Guadalajara (a.k.a. "Chivas") in 2011. It has also hosted concerts by Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, U2 and, just this past summer, the Rolling Stones. 4600 Trinity Road at Youth Center Drive, separated from the PNC Arena by Stephen Stroud Way.

According to an article in the September 2014 issue of The Atlantic, as you might guess, the Charlotte-based Carolina Panthers, just 168 miles from the State House, are the most popular NFL team not just in Charlotte and in the Raleigh-Durham area, but in the entire State of North Carolina. However, both Carolinas have significant pockets of support for the Washington Redskins, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys, mainly due to the media saturation (and, in the Redskins' case, proximity is also a cause). In particular, these teams tend to cancel out Panther support in the ocean resort communities, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and at Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head in South Carolina.

* Reynolds Coliseum. Home to N.C. State basketball from 1949 to 1999, the William Neal Reynolds Coliseum (named for the former chief executive of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and brother of R.J. himself) hosted the Wolfpack teams that won the National Championship in 1974 and 1983, reached the Final Four in 1950, and won the ACC title in the regular season in 1950, '51, '53, '55, '56, '59, '73, '74, '85 and '89; and in the tournament in 1950, '51, '52, '54, '55, '56, '59, '65, '70, '73, '74, '83 and '87. (They haven't won either since moving into the new arena.)
The Coliseum was the home of the ACC Tournament from 1954 to 1966, and has hosted many NCAA Tournament games, and still hosts them for the women's tournament. It remains the home for N.C. State women's basketball and wrestling. It is currently undergoing a renovation that is scheduled to be completed next August, providing more space for offices and a school Athletic Hall of Fame, but also reducing the seating capacity from 9,500 to 5,600. 2411 Dunn Avenue at Jeter Drive (not named for Derek Jeter), next door to the Talley Student Union, 2 miles west of downtown.
The only Final Fours held in the Carolinas have been 1974 at the Greensboro Coliseum (N.C. State interrupting the UCLA dynasty in the Semifinal and beating Marquette in the Final) and 1994 at the 2nd Charlotte Coliseum (Arkansas beating Duke).

* Five County Stadium. Home to the Carolina Mudcats since 1991, the original owner wanted to get as close to downtown Raleigh as possible without infringing on the territory of any other team, including the Greensboro Hornets, which he also owned. Zebulon was as close as the Durham Bulls would let him get.

The Mudcats won Pennants in the Class AA Southern League in 1995 and 2003, but have not won one since moving to the Class A Carolina League in 2012. Ironically, where they were once higher in classification than the Bulls, they are now lower. 1501 State Highway 39 at Old U.S. 264, 26 miles east of the State House. Accessible by car only: No public transportation out there.

* Durham Athletic Park. Made famous by the 1988 film Bull Durham, which jump-started the minor-league baseball craze of the late 20th Century, the Durham Bulls played at the site of "The DAP" from 1926 until 1994 (with a rebuild in 1939-40 after a fire), mostly in the Class A Carolina League. Having already won Pennants in 1924 and '25, they won them at The DAP in 1929, '30, '40, '41, '57, '65 and '67.

The film, which takes place in 1987, the year before it was released (a fact confirmed by the calendar in the manager's office), gives the impression that they weren't very good, and hadn't been for a long time, but got to 1st place by the 4th of July, and then faltered. In real life, they went 67-75 that season, But they did have 6 players who went on to reach the major leagues: Kevin Brown, Kent Mercker, Mark Lemke, Derek Lilliquist, Gary Eave and Rusty Richards. Not bad for a Single-A team that was 8 games under .500. Then again, this was before their parent club, the Atlanta Braves, got good again in 1991, so they needed whatever help they could get. But Mercker and Lemke were a part of the Braves' quasi-dynasty.

The film made The DAP the most famous minor-league ballpark ever. But the park became a victim of the film's success: Soon, people came flocking to it, and its 5,000-seat capacity was now obsolete. A new ballpark was built, but the old one was left standing, and is still used for local baseball.

428 Morris Street. Unlike the Mudcats' home, The DAP can be reached by public transit from Raleigh. Take Bus 100 to the Regional Transit Center, then switch to Bus 700, and take that to the Durham Amtrak station. Then Bus 4 or a short walk.

* Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The DBAP (pronounced DEE-bap) has been home to the Bulls since 1995, and since 1998 they've been the Triple-A farm team of the Tampa Bay Rays. The Bulls have won International League Pennants there in 2002, '03, '09 and '13, making a total of 13 Pennants in various leagues at various levels.

Although it seats twice as many, 10,000, the Bulls tried to make it as much like the old DAP as possible, including the 305-foot right-field fence, nicknamed the Blue Monster, complete with the famous bull "HIT SIGN WIN STEAK" sign that was erected for the movie and kept. Even the overhanging roof, although up to public safety code, looks pretty much the same. 409 Blackwell Street at Willard Street, a 5-minute walk from the train station.

According to an article in the April 24, 2014 edition of The New York Times, the Yankees are the most popular MLB team in the Triangle, averaging around 26 percent, with the Boston Red Sox at 20 and the Atlanta Braves at around 12. That's almost totally due to the media outreach, since the Braves are easily the closest team, 265 miles away.

Raleigh's relatively low metropolitan population means it would rank 31st and last in MLB, 29th in the NFL, and 28th in the NBA.

* Duke University. As with the Durham ballparks, reachable by taking Bus 100 to the Regional Transit Center and transferring to Bus 700. Cameron Indoor Stadium, opening in 1940 and thus celebrating its 75th Anniversary this year, is at 115 Whitford Drive. Wallace Wade Stadium, opening in 1929, is next door. Wade Stadium hosted the only Rose Bowl away from Pasadena, in 1942, because of concerns over the Pacific Coast just 25 days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Duke lost it to Oregon State. 27 miles northwest of downtown Raleigh, up U.S. Route 70.

* The University of North Carolina. About 28 miles northwest of downtown Raleigh, but in a slightly different direction, on Interstate 40. The Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center, a.k.a. the Dean Dome (where they've won National Championships in 1993, 2005 and 2009), is at 300 Skipper Bowles Drive. It's just 11 miles between the Dean Dome and Cameron.

The old court, Carmichael Arena, where the Tar Heels played from 1965 to 1986 (and won the National Championship in 1982), is at 310 South Road. Woollen Gymnasium, where they played from 1937 to 1965 (and won the National Championship in 1957), is also at South Road. And Kenan Memorial Stadium, home to Tar Heel football since 1927, is at 104 Stadium Drive.

According to an April 23, 2014 article in The New York Times, the Yankees are actually the most popular MLB team in Raleigh, a little bit ahead of the Atlanta Braves, the 2nd-closest team at 408 miles away. The Washington Nationals are the next-closest, 278 miles, but are not as popular in the Triangle as either the Yanks or the Braves.

The U.S. national soccer team has only played 1 game in the Triangle, a 1-1 draw with Jamaica in 2006, at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, about 8 miles west of the State House. The nearest Major League Soccer team is D.C. United, 283 miles, and that will remain the case after Atlanta United starts play in Spring 2017: 406 miles.

Museums. The North Carolina Museum of History and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences are next-door to each other, across Edenton Street from the State House.

The Beatles never performed together in the Raleigh-Durham area, although Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have done so on solo tours. Elvis Presley only did so early in his career, all in Raleigh (never in Durham or Chapel Hill), at the Memorial Auditorium on May 19 and September 21, 1955; and a whopping 4 shows in 1 day at the Ambassador Theater on February 8, 1956. The Memorial Auditorium is now the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, at 2 E. South Street, 7 blocks south of the State House. The Ambassador is at 115 Fayetteville Street, just south of the State House, but was demolished in 1989.

PNC Plaza, at 538 feet, is the tallest building in Raleigh, and the tallest building in the Carolinas outside of Charlotte.

Bull Durham was filmed almost entirely in Durham and other North Carolina minor-league towns. Mitch's Tavern, site of the bar scenes near the beginning and the end of the film, is still in business, at 2426 Hillsborough Street in Raleigh. Other movies filmed in the area include The Handmaid's Tale (which used Duke University for some location shots) and Brainstorm (Natalie Wood's last film, which also did some filming at Duke).

A few TV shows have been filmed in North Carolina, most notably Dawson's Creek in Wilmington. But shows set in Raleigh are few and far between. The Andy Griffith Show, set in fictional Mayberry and based on Griffith's real-life hometown of Mount Airy, mentioned Raleigh a few times, but was filmed in Southern California. A statue of Griffith and Ron Howard as Sheriff Andy Taylor and his son Opie was dedicated by television network TV Land. It depicts them walking down the fishing trail, as seen in the show's famous opening. Unfortunately, the fishing poles the figures hold are frequently swiped. Pullen Park, near the carousel. 408 Ashe Avenue, a mile and a half west of downtown. The 100 bus gets you about halfway there. A copy of the statue stands outside the Andy Griffith Museum at 218 Rockford Street in Mount Airy, 139 miles to the northwest, near the Virginia State Line. Pilot Mountain (known on the show as Mount Pilot) is 16 miles southeast of Mount Airy.

*

The Raleigh-Durham Triangle isn't really big enough -- yet -- for a major league sports team. And the Carolinas are certainly no place for hockey. But, for better or for worse, the Hurricanes are there, and they have a Stanley Cup and are a perennial Playoff team. Maybe the Devils can show the fans down there -- the ones who show up, anyway -- what a real hockey team looks like.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Top 10 College Football Rivalries

Okay, this isn't scientific, but I checked 7 different online polls, to get as comprehensive as possible, and to weed out any outliers.

Note that I have listed all of these rivalries in alphabetical order. It has nothing to do with which team I like better, or with who has won this year's game, or with who has the better overall record, the better academics, the better mascot, the hotter cheerleaders, the better-looking uniforms, the better city, the better restaurants, or anything else. It's alphabetical order, the simplest way to do it.

Regardless of whether a poll listed 10 teams, 25 teams, or any other number, I assigned the rivalry that finished 1st 25 points, 2nd 24, and so on. Matchups mentioned in a poll but did not make the cutoff in it got 1 point.

First, a few that got mentions, but didn't make the cut:

* Mentioned in 1 of the 7: Arkansas vs. Louisiana State (hereafter referred to as LSU), Auburn vs. Georgia, Baylor vs. Texas Christian, Colorado vs. Colorado State, Colorado vs. Nebraska, DePauw vs. Wabash, Florida State vs. Louisiana State, Georgia vs. South Carolina, Grambling State vs. Southern, Iowa vs. Iowa State, Kansas vs. Kansas State, Kansas vs. Missouri, LSU vs. Mississippi (hereafter referred to as Ole Miss), Maryland vs. West Virginia, Michigan State vs. Notre Dame, Ohio State vs. Pennsylvania State (hereafter referred to as Penn State), Penn State vs. Pittsburgh (hereafter referred to as Pitt), Texas A&M vs. Texas Tech.

* Mentioned in 2 of the 7: Alabama vs. LSU, Amherst vs. Williams, Florida vs. Tennessee, Kentucky vs. Louisville, Michigan vs. Notre Dame,  Nebraska vs. Oklahoma, Washington vs. Washington State.

* Mentioned in 3 of the 7: Alabama vs. Tennessee, Arizona vs. Arizona State, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, Lafayette vs. Lehigh, Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State.

* Mentioned in 4 of the 7: Harvard vs. Yale (#5 in one of the polls), Michigan vs. Michigan State, Minnesota vs. Wisconsin, Pitt vs. West Vriginia, Texas vs. Texas A&M,

* Mentioned in 6 of the 7: Brigham Young vs. Utah, Clemson vs. South Carolina, Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss, Oregon vs. Oregon State.

You may have noticed some interesting names missing. If this were basketball, Kentucky vs. Louisville would be a lot higher. And you would likely see Duke vs. North Carolina, Indiana vs. Purdue, maybe Georgetown vs. St. John's or Connecticut vs. Syracuse. Although you wouldn't see Rutgers vs. Princeton: That died out as a serious rivalry long before anyone not at ARPA ever heard of the Internet.

If it were hockey, Harvard vs. Yale, Michigan vs. Michigan State and Minnesota vs. Wisconsin would be higher; while Minnesota vs. North Dakota and Boston College vs. Boston University would be on the list. If it were wrestling, Iowa vs. Iowa State and Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State would be the top 2.

About any of these pairs of teams, you could use the line of the greatest of all college football announcers, ABC Sports' retired but still living legend, Keith Jackson: "These two teams just... don't... like each other!"

Top 10 College Football Rivalries

Note that every one of these games is played in late November, except where noted, and may even be playing today.

10. Florida vs. Florida State. It was mentioned in 5 of the 7 polls, but still had more cumulative points than the 4 Honorable Mentions cited above that were mentioned in 6 of the 7. This is one of the more recent big rivalries, as it didn't get noticed nationally until Bobby Bowden propped FSU up in the late 1970s.

It is part of a 3-way hate triangle with Miami (see below, although Florida vs. Miami didn't even make my first cut). Particularly in the 1990s, this was rough. Fights still happen on the field. Once, a fight happened even before the kickoff.

9. The University of California at Los Angeles vs. the University of Southern California, a.k.a. UCLA vs. USC. It was mentioned in 5 of the 7 polls, but still had more cumulative points than the 4 Honorable Mentions cited above that were mentioned in 6 of the 7.

This one isn't as big as it was, but it's still a classic, with spectacular uniforms (powder blue and gold vs. maroon and gold), great old stadiums (the Los Angeles Coliseum as home ground for USC, the Rose Bowl for UCLA), and one of the closest matchups (the campuses are just 14 miles apart).

8. Florida vs. Georgia. It was mentioned in 5 of the 7 polls, but still had more cumulative points than the 4 Honorable Mentions cited above that were mentioned in 6 of the 7. "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" has to be held on "neutral ground" at EverBank Field in Jacksonville (and, before that, at the previous stadium on the site, the Gator Bowl).

7. California vs. Stanford. It was mentioned in 6 of the 7 polls, and probably only missed the 7th because that one only mentioned 6 rivalries. "The Big Game" between the East Bay school usually called "Cal" for sports and "Berkeley" for all other purposes, and the Peninsula school nicknamed "The Farm," is the best one on this list, academically speaking, although the students at the schools at #3 may dispute this. It's probably the one with the richest alumni, although those from the schools at #4 may dispute this. With either of those, people of Harvard and Yale might dispute it.

Put it this way: If the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders ever met in a Super Bowl, Cal vs. Stanford would still be a bigger game to people in the Bay Area.

6. Florida State vs. Miami. It was mentioned in 6 of the 7 polls. Miami has fallen on hard times, or else this one could be higher. And, somehow, a Hurricanes game at the Dolphins' stadium out in the suburbs doesn't have the same kind of atmosphere as one at the Orange Bowl in the ghetto.

Seminoles fans are fine with having the better atmosphere at Doak Campbell Stadium, and with having the better team the last few years. But in the 1990s, this game was every bit as big as FSU vs. the Gators.

5. Notre Dame vs. USC. It was mentioned in 6 of the 7 polls. It is held in mid-October when ND hosts in South Bend, Indiana, and on the Saturday after Thanksgiving when USC hosts in Los Angeles. It can't be held in November when the Fighting Irish are the hosts, because it would be too cold.

This is the only real intersectional rivalry in college football, and between 2 of the biggies. There are people who don't like either team, for their successes and their arrogance, but they still watch this game, for all the history involved, at and between the schools.

The last 4 were the only ones mentioned in all 7 polls.

4. Oklahoma vs. Texas. This one came in 3rd in one poll, and 4th in all the others. It is held at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, as part of the Texas State Fair, every 2nd Saturday in October, but is actually closer to the Sooners' campus in Norman than it is to the Longhorns' base in Austin.

When rich Southern men who are not used to defeat go up against each other, well, I'm surprised there isn't usually shooting afterwards.

3. Army vs. Navy. This one came in 1st in 2 polls, 2nd in another, 3rd in another, 4th in another, and 5th in the other 2.

It is always played at a neutral site, usually in Philadelphia, which is roughly halfway between the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York and the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. (They've used Franklin Field, Municipal/John F. Kennedy Stadium, Veterans Stadium, and now Lincoln Financial Field.) They've also used the Meadowlands, Baltimore's new stadium, and the Washington Redskins' new stadium in recent years.

It this the best one, academically? Maybe. The one with the best pageantry? Could be. The one with the most respect for each other? Absolutely. One where each team's given record, now and historically, really doesn't matter? You bet your brass.

Based on my ratings system (25 points for 1st place in a poll, 24 for 2nd, and so on), the last 2 were very close: 170 to 168. If you put a gun to my head and told me to write down the top 10, and rank them, these would be the 1st 2 I would think of, in that order.

2. Alabama vs. Auburn. It came in 1st in 2 polls, 2nd in 3, 3rd in the other 2. For years, it had to be held on neutral ground, at Legion Field in Birmingham, because they hate each other that much. Known as the Iron Bowl, this game has divided families, broken up marriages, and even led one angry Alabama fan to poison a pair of beloved trees in the town center of Auburn a few years back. And with both teams challenging for the National Championship the last few years, and each team having won it recently, it's as good (or as bad) as ever.

The Iron Bowl is easily the nastiest in-State rivalry. But the best one between one State and another, and the best one period, is this one, and that's far from just my choice:

1. Michigan vs. Ohio State. This one came in 1st in 3 polls, 2nd in 3, and 3rd in the other.

Michigan was the original dominant football school in the Midwest, and Ohio State coach Woody Hayes decided that he would do whatever it took to, to borrow a phrase from English football (soccer), knock them off their perch. He would never refer to his rival as "Michigan" or "The Wolverines": It was always "That School Up North" (which Buckeye fans now abbreviate to TSUN).

When Bo Schembechler, who had played for Hayes at Miami of Ohio and assisted him at Ohio State, became the Michigan coach, Buckeyes vs. Wolverines became bigger than ever, retroactively known as The Ten-Year War (1969-78). Woody would hear that Bo was recruiting in Ohio, and he'd call up the State Police and say, "Close the border! Bo's in the State!" Paranoid? Al Davis of the Raiders had nothing on Woody.

Michigan would reassert its dominance, but when Jim Tressel was given the OSU job, he said his priority was not to win the National Championship or the Big Ten Championship, but to beat Michigan. Mission accomplished: Michigan has won just twice since he took over, even though he's now gone, and former Florida maestro Urban Meyer is in charge.

You can fit nearly 100,000 fans in Ohio Stadium in Columbus, and over 110,000 fans in Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. And getting tickets for this game can be filed under "Forget it." As with Harvard vs. Yale, this is known simply as "The Game."

Ken Johnson, 1933-2015

According to Wikipedia, there are 13 men named Kenneth Johnson who are notable athletes. But one is an auto racer, and another is a professional wrestler, so it's really only 11 athletes.

I'm focusing on the most famous one, although what he's famous for is a little dubious.

Kenneth Travis Johnson was born on June 16, 1933 in West Palm Beach, Florida. A righthanded pitcher who stood 6-foot-4, weighed 230 pounds (making him huge for that era), and with an effective knuckleball, he was signed by the Philadelphia Athletics out of high school in 1952. But he was soon drafted into the U.S. Army to fight in the Korean War. When the war ended, he spent a year at the University of South Carolina, where he met Lynn Ergle, whom he married.

By the time he made his major league debut on September 13, 1958, they had moved to Kansas City. On that day, A's starter Jack Urban got rocked, so Johnson was brought out of the bullpen in the 1st inning. Wearing Number 27, he was no improvement, allowing 4 runs in 2 1/3rd innings, including a home run by light-hitting catcher (and ex-Yankee) Clint Courtney, and the A's lost to the Washington Senators, 8-5 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.

The A's were going nowhere. (Actually, when Charlie Finley bought them in 1960, they were going a lot of places: Louisville, Dallas, Seattle. Finally, he settled on Oakland.) So, in 1961, they traded Johnson to the Cincinnati Reds, and, lo and behold, he was on a Pennant winner.

Wearing the Number 40 which he would wear for the majority of his remaining career, he went 6-2 with a 3.25 ERA for the Reds down the stretch, after going 0-4 with a 10.61 ERA for the A's to that point. He even got to pitch in the clinching game of the World Series. Okay, it was Game 5, and the Yankees won it 13-5, but, unlike his big-league debut, the defeat wasn't his fault: In the top of the 2nd, relieving Jim Maloney, who had already relieved Joey Jay, he got Elston Howard to line out to 3rd base, and got Moose Skowron to fly out to center.

And his reward for pitching 2/3rds of perfect baseball in the World Series, against one of the best teams ever, the '61 Yankees? He got pinch-hit for and relieved. He never threw another postseason pitch.

*

In a span of just 5 months from May to October 1961, Ken Johnson went from one of the worst teams in baseball (the Kansas City A's) to a minor-league team (the Toronto Maple Leafs, for whom the hockey team was named) to a Pennant winner (the Cincinnati Reds) to another bad team. He was taken in the expansion draft, by one of the National League's new teams, the Houston Colt .45's. Hey, it could have been worse: He could have been taken by the Mets.

He went 7-16 for the expansion Colts in '62, and 11-17 in '63. On April 23, 1964, he was 2-0, and took the mound against his former team, the Reds, at Colt Stadium, which the Colt .45's used as a stopgap facility until their permanent stadium, the Astrodome, could be built next-door. The next year, it opened, and the name of the team was changed to the Houston Astros.

The Colts/Astros weren't very good in 1964, mainly because they were very young. They had a couple of solid veterans in future Hall-of-Famer Nellie Fox and 2-time batting champion Pete Runnels. But most of their players who turned out to be good ended up doing so later, and some for other teams: Joe Morgan, Jimmy Wynn, Jim Beauchamp, and future Met All-Stars Rusty Staub and Jerry Grote.

In contrast, the Reds had a very good team in 1964. The had Frank Robinson, future Hall-of-Famer; Vada Pinson, a multiple All-Star; Pete Rose, who would have made the Hall if he hadn't ignored baseball's warnings about gambling; Deron Johnson, an All-Star; Leo Cardenas, an All-Star; and Joe Nuxhall, once the youngest player in the game's history, now "The Old Lefthander," wrapping up what turned out to be a nicer career (1952-1965) than anyone could have imagined when he got smacked in his debut, not yet 16 years old (1944).

Nuxhall was the opposing pitcher that day, and he and Johnson traded goose eggs for 8 innings. Johnson walked a batter in the 1st inning, and walked another in the 5th, but those were the only 2 baserunners he'd allowed.

Nuxhall was effectively his equal, if less spectacularly. He allowed a single to Fox in the 1st, but he was caught stealing. He then walked Runnels, but stranded him. He allowed a single to Bob Aspromonte in the 2nd, but induced a double play to erase him. He allowed a single to Runnels in the 4th, but got another double play. In the 7th, he allowed a single to Fox, and there was no double play this time, as Cardenas made an error, allowing Runnels to reach. The Colts had men on 1st and 2nd with nobody out. Now, Nuxy got a double play, and a flyout to end it. He allowed a leadoff double to Wynn in the 8th, but retired the next 3 batters to keep it 0-0.

His wife Lynn, and sons Kenneth Johnson Jr. and Russell "Rusty" Johnson were at the game. "I knew it was close," Lynn said. "Every inning he would get them out. I was getting pretty nervous. Our youngest son, Rusty, wanted to go to the bathroom, and I wouldn't let him leave."

Nuxhall himself led off the top of the 9th with a groundout to 3rd. But Johnson hurt his own cause by throwing away a grounder that Rose had hit to him. Rose got to 2nd base. Johnson got Chico Ruiz to ground back to him, and he threw to 3rd to get Rose, but he was safe. Aspromonte, the Colts' 3rd baseman, then threw Ruiz out at 1st. Pinson then hit a grounder to 2nd, which should have been the 3rd and final out, completing the (word you can't say while one is in progress, for fear of jinxing the pitcher). But, of all players to make an error at this time, it was Fox, the team's earliest (though not 1st) Hall-of-Famer. Rose scored, and it was 1-0 Reds.

Johnson got Robinson to fly to left to end the inning, but the damage was done. The Colts weren't done, though: With 2 out in the bottom of the 9th, Runnels reached on an error by 1st baseman Johnson. (A born DH before there was a DH, Johnson would soon be replaced by Tony Perez, and the rest is history.) The tying run was on 1st, the winning run was at the plate, and maybe Johnson could win the game anyway. But the batter was the Houston right fielder, John Weekly, a man who lived up to his name with a .133 batting average at the time. Nuxhall struck him out looking to end it.

The totals on the ballgame: For the Reds, 1 run on no hits and 2 errors; for the Colt .45's, no runs on 5 hits and 2 errors. WP: Nuxhall (1-1). No save. LP: Johnson (2-1). Attendance on this Thursday night: 5,426. The time of the game, a brisk 1 hour and 56 minutes.

Ken Johnson had pitched a no-hitter, for a full 9 innings. And lost the game. This had never happened before, and has never happened since.

Fox, through tears, apologized to Johnson after the game. Runnels told him, "How many no-hitters were thrown last year? Who threw them? They'll remember yours."

For the record, 3 no-hitters were thrown in 1963, 1 by Johnson's own roommate, Don Nottebart, the 1st no-hitter in the history of the Houston franchise. So Runnels should have remembered. You might have heard of the guys who threw the other 2: Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Juan Marichal of the San Francisco Giants. Also throwing no-hitters in 1964 were Koufax, and Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies, who threw a perfect game against the Mets.

On July 1, 1990, Andy Hawkins of the Yankees pitched 7 no-hit innings against the Chicago Whit Sox at Comiskey Park. But the Yankees hadn't scored, either. In the 8th, he walked 3 batters, and his fielders made 3 errors. The Yankees lost the game 4-0, but, at first, Hawkins was credited with a no-hitter. After all, he had pitched a complete game without allowing a hit.

A year later, Major League Baseball made a ruling that a pitcher could only be credited with a no-hitter if he pitched all of a team's game, went at least 9 innings, and didn't allow a hit. In other words, if he pitched 9 no-hit innings, and was relieved in the 10th, no no-hitter. If he pitched 9 no-hit innings, and kept pitching, and his team eventually won, but if he allowed a hit in the 10th, the 11th, or whichever inning, he didn't get credit for the no-hitter -- not even if he kept going into the 19th inning, having effectively pitched 2 no-hitters in 1 day.

Even if he pitched 9 perfect innings, he wouldn't get credit for the no-hitter or the perfect game unless his team won, he was the only pitcher they used, and he stayed hitless (or perfect).

Not only did Hawkins lose credit for his no-hitter (he had pitched 8 innings), but Harvey Haddix, who pitched 12 perfect innings in a 1959 game but lost it all in the 13th, lost credit for his perfect game.

During the commercial break between the 8th and 9th innings of the Andy Hawkins Game, I switched from WPIX-Channel 11 to WWOR-Channel 9, to see if the Mets' announcers were talking about what was happening at Comiskey. They were, and Ralph Kiner mentioned that only 1 pitcher had ever pitched a complete-game no-hitter and lost: "I think it's Ken Johnson." Tim McCarver confirmed: "It is Ken." I'd never heard of Johnson at that point, but you can be sure that the name has stuck with me in the 25 years since the Andy Hawkins Game, which I still have on videotape somewhere.

I don't know if Ken Johnson and Andy Hawkins ever met. If they didn't, it's too late now.

*

Colts owner Roy Hofheinz, a federal Judge and a former Mayor of Houston, gave Johnson a $1,000-a-year raise, equivalent to $7,672 now. He was invited to come to New York to appear on the TV game show I've Got a Secret.

He went 11-16 in that 1964 season, and on May 23, 1965, the Astros traded him, along with Beauchamp, to the Milwaukee Braves for Lee Maye. He ended up having his best season, going 16-10 with a 3.42 ERA. He moved with them to Atlanta in 1966, and went 14-8 that year and 13-9 the next.
But he only won another 7 games in the major leagues. He had particularly bad luck in 1969. Still with the Braves, they sold him to the Yankees on June 10. He wore Number 54 for them, later made famous by Hall-of-Famer Goose Gossage. Not only did Johnson not get to pitch for the Braves in the 1st-ever NL Championship Series that October, but he missed being in attendance at Mickey Mantle Day by 2 days.

These were not Mickey's Yankees: These were the Yankees of Joe Pepitone, Bobby Murcer, Mel Stottlemyre, Fritz Peterson, a young Roy White, and 20 guys named Jerry Kenney. Then, on August 11, the Yankees gave up on Johnson, selling him to the Chicago Cubs, allowing him to be a part of their infamous September Swoon.

The Cubs released him just before the 1970 season began, but he was picked up mere hours later by the Montreal Expos. They released him 20 days and 3 games later, and his career was over: 91-106, ERA 3.46, ERA+ 102, WHIP 1.199. He was a good pitcher with bad luck, never more so than on that humid Thursday night in Houston, early in the '64 season.

*

After leaving baseball, he worked for Palm Beach Atlantic University in his hometown, and later coached at Louisiana College in Pineville, where he spent the rest of his days. After his coaching, he ran a nursing service for his local Baptist church.

Ken and Lynn had 3 children: Sons Kenneth and Rusty, and daughter Janet Johnson. He would live to see 6 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.

Kenneth Johnson Jr. is a doctor, and this past Wednesday, confirmed that his father had died in Pineville the preceding Saturday, November 21, 2015, of a kidney infection. He had also battled Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. He was 82 years old.

Unfortunately, I can't find a picture of him later than that Braves photo. Even more unfortunately, he was too ill to be honored by the Astros last year on the 50th Anniversary of his no-hitter. Nor could he be honored in Milwaukee this year on the 50th anniversary of the last Braves team in that city, or in Atlanta next year on the 50th anniversary of the first Braves team there. As far as I know, he was never invited back to any ballpark for any ceremony.

He deserved better than that. But at least his strange moment in baseball history is remembered. There have been 18,662 players to have played in at least 1 Major League Baseball game, and most of them end up being not particularly noteworthy.

"I pitched the best game of my life," Ken Johnson said at the time, "and still lost. A hell of a way to get into the record books."

Agreed. But he's in them. After all, if someone other than the man who had been the youngest player ever to appear in a big-league game (and later a beloved Reds broadcaster) had been the opposing starter, how well would we remember him?

But, in 2004, on the 40th Anniversary of his achievement, Johnson admitted to a local newspaper in Louisiana, "Instead of the notoriety, I’d rather have won the game."

Sunday, November 22, 2015

How to Be a Giant Fan In Washington -- 2015 Edition

A week from today, the New York Giants will play away to the Washington Redskins.

At this time, I don't feel like having a debate over whether to continue using the "Redskins" name. Yes, it's bad. But I want to make this travel guide as simple as possible, so I'm going to use "Redskins" and the abbreviation "'Skins" throughout.

Before You Go. D.C. can get really hot in summer, but this will be late November, so you won't have to worry about the heat. The Washington Post is predicting low 70s for the afternoon, and mid-50s for the evening. They do not mention a chance of rain, so it should be dry.

Washington is in the Eastern Time Zone, so you won't have to fiddle with your clocks, digital or otherwise.

Tickets. Tickets are always harder to get for NFL games than for MLB games. This is especially true in Washington: Having one of the smallest stadiums in the League before they had one of the largest, even with 24,000 extra seats to sell, the waiting list for season tickets is incredibly long. As Richard Nixon said while he was President, "The only thing people in Washington care about is the Redskins. Nobody gives a damn about the Smithsonian or the Kennedy Center." (Yeah, he would say something like that about something named for JFK. And let the record show that the Watergate complex is right next-door to the Kennedy Center.)

Despite the Redskins' struggles the last few years, they still average 74,347 fans per home game -- but that's 87 percent of capacity, and only Oakland and St. Louis have a lower percentage. And any tickets returned by the visiting team go to people on their massive season-ticket waiting list. So you'll have to go to either a scalper or the NFL Ticket Exchange.

In the lower level, the NFLTE has sideline seats for this game running from $135 to $285, and in the end zone from $120 to $277. In the upper deck, sidelines go for $76 to $155, and end zones for $76 to $137.

Getting There. Before I begin this part, let me remind you that this upcoming weekend is Thanksgiving Weekend, and a lot of seats on planes, trains and buses will be bought up already. Especially for Sunday, since that's the end of the weekend. So expect what's left to be more expensive than usual.

Getting to Washington is fairly easy. Ordinarily, if you have a car, I recommend using it, and getting a hotel either downtown or inside the Capital Beltway, because driving in Washington is roughly (good choice of words there) as bad as driving in New York. However, since FedExField is not in the District, I would recommend driving, especially if you're only going down for the game, and not "seeing the city."

It’s 229 miles by road from Times Square to downtown Washington, and 219 miles from MetLife Stadium to FedExField. If you’re not “doing the city,” but just going to the game, take the New Jersey Turnpike all the way down to the Delaware Memorial Bridge (a.k.a. the Twin Span), across the Delaware River into the State of, well, Delaware. This should take about 2 hours, not counting a rest stop.

Speaking of which, the temptation to take an alternate route (such as Exit 7A to I-195 to I-295 to the Ben Franklin Bridge) or a side trip (Exit 4, eventually leading to the Ben Franklin Bridge) to get into Pennsylvania and stop off at Pat’s Steaks in South Philly can be strong, but if you want to get from New York to Washington with making only 1 rest stop, you’re better off using the Delaware House Service Area in Christiana, between Exits 3 and 1 on the Delaware Turnpike. It’s almost exactly the halfway point between New York and Washington.

Once you get over the Twin Span – the New Jersey-bound span opened in 1951, the Delaware-bound one was added in 1968 – follow the signs carefully, as you’ll be faced with multiple ramp signs for Interstates 95, 295 and 495, as well as for US Routes 13 and 40 and State Route 9. You want I-95 South, and its signs will say “Delaware Turnpike” and “Baltimore.” You’ll pay tolls at both its eastern and western ends, and unless there’s a traffic jam, you should only be in Delaware for a maximum of 15 minutes before hitting the Maryland State Line.

At said State Line, I-95 changes from the Delaware Turnpike to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway, and you’ll be on it for about an hour (unless you want to make another rest stop, either the Chesapeake House or the Maryland House) and passing through Baltimore, before seeing signs for I-895 and the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, Exit 62.

From here, you’ll pass through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. Take I-895 to Exit 4, and you’ll be on Maryland Route 295 South, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. BWP exits are not numbered, so you'll have to watch the mileposts and the town names on the exit signs. Your exit onto the Capital Beltway, I-95/495, will be just past Mile 6, And it will read "I-495 S/I-95 S" and mention Richmond, Virginia and Andrews Air Force Base. (That's where the 747s that serve as Air Force One are kept -- and, no, you won't be allowed in to see them, so don't bother visiting.)

Once on the Beltway, it's important to remember that, while I-95 and I-495 have directions, the Beltway itself is (more or less) circular. It has an Inner Roadway, running clockwise, and an Outer Roadway, running counterclockwise. On the way in, you'll be on the Inner Roadway. You'll take Exit 16, for Maryland Route 202/Landover Road, with signs indicating Bladensburg and Upper Marlboro. M-202 will run parallel to the Beltway, until you reach Exit 17A, again saying M-202/Landover Road, toward Upper Marlboro. Then you take Exit 16 for Arena Drive. (Yes, that's what Google Maps says: 16, then 17A, then 16 again.)

When you reach Arena Drive, turn right. Arena Drive flows right to the stadium, which is encircled by FedEx Way. If all goes well -- getting out of New York City and into downtown Baltimore okay, reasonable traffic, just the one rest stop, no trouble with your car -- the whole trip should take about 3½ hours.

Washington is too close to fly, just as flying from New York to Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore, once you factor in fooling around with everything you gotta do at each airport, doesn’t really save you much time compared to driving, the bus or the train. So forget about flying from JFK, LaGuardia or Newark to Reagan National or Dulles International Airport. (John Foster Dulles was President Eisenhower's Secretary of State.)

The train is a very good option, if you can afford it. Washington’s Union Station is at 50 Massachusetts Avenue NE, within sight of the Capitol Building. But Amtrak is expensive. They figure, "You hate to fly, you don't want to deal with airports, and Greyhound sucks, so we can charge whatever we want." New York to Washington will run you $152 each way on a standard Northeast Regional, and $176 on Acela Express (formerly the Metroliner), which would be $304 or $352 round-trip. And that’s before you add anything like Business Class or, God forbid, Amtrak’s overmicrowaved food. Still, it’s less than 3 hours if you take the Acela Express, and 3 hours and 40 minutes if you take a regular Northeast Corridor train.
Union Station

Another option is to buy a ticket for the New Carrollton, Maryland station, head out to Bus Bay C, and take the F14 bus to Hill Oaks Drive & Michele Drive. From there, it's a 10-minute walk to the stadium. The Amtrak price won't be any different, although the price for the bus may be, compared to the Metro.

Greyhound has rectified a longtime problem. They now use the parking deck behind Union Station as their Washington terminal, instead of the one they built 6 blocks away (and thus 6 blocks from the nearest Metro station), in the ghetto, back in the late 1960s. So neither safety nor aesthetics will be an issue any longer. Round-trip fare on Greyhound can be as high as $132, but you can get it for as little as $97 on advanced purchase. (This is much higher than normal, due to this being T-Day weekend.) It takes about 4 1/2 hours, and usually includes a rest stop about halfway, either on the New Jersey Turnpike in South Jersey or on the Delaware Turnpike.

Once In the City. Founded in 1800, and usually referred to as "The National City" in its early days, and "Washington City" in the 19th Century, the city was named, of course, for George Washington, although its "Georgetown" neighborhood was named for our previous commander-in-chief, King George III of England.
The name of its "state," the District of Columbia, comes from Columbia, a historical and poetic name used for America, which was accepted as its female personification until the early 20th Century, when the Statue of Liberty began to take its place in the public consciousness. "Columbia" was derived from the man who "discovered America," Christopher Columbus, and places throughout the Western Hemisphere -- from the capitals of Ohio and South Carolina to the river that separates Washington State from Oregon, from the Ivy League university in Manhattan to the South American nation that produces coffee and cocaine, are named for him.

Like a lot of cities, Washington suffered from "white flight," so that, while the population within the city limits has seriously shrunk, from 800,000 in 1950 to 650,000 today; the metro area went from 2.9 million to double that, 5.9 million. As a result, the roads leading into the District, and the one going around it, the Capital Beltway, Interstate 495, are rammed with cars. Finally, someone wised up and said, "Let's build a subway," and in 1976, the Metro opened.

That metropolitan growth was boosted by the Maryland and Virginia suburbs building housing and shopping areas for federal-government workers. And, perhaps more than any other metro area, the poor blacks who once lived in the city have reached the middle-class and built their own communities (especially to the east, in Maryland's Prince Georges County, which includes Landover). The metro area now has about 6 million residents -- and that's not including the metro area of nearby Baltimore, which would boost it to nearly 8.5 million and make it the 4th-largest "market" in the country, behind New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, slightly ahead of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Lots of people from the District and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs went up the Parkway to Baltimore to see the Orioles during the District's 1972-2004 baseball interregnum. However, during the NFL interregnum between Robert Irsay's theft of the Colts in 1984 and the arrival of the Ravens in 1996, Baltimore never accepted the Redskins as their team, despite 2 Super Bowl wins in that period. (So from March 1984 to August 1996, if you lived in the BaltWash Corridor, you had to take the Orioles for baseball and the Washington teams for the other sports. Since April 2005, you've had options for MLB and the NFL. But if you live closer to Baltimore, you still have to go to D.C. for the NBA, the NHL or MLS.)

When you get to Union Station, pick up copies of the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun. The Post is a great paper with a very good sports section, and in just 6 seasons (now into a 7th) has covered the Nats very well, despite the 1972-2004 era when D.C. had no MLB team of its own. As a holdover from that era, it still covers the Orioles well. The Sun is only an okay paper, but its sports section is nearly as good as the Post's, and their coverage of their town's hometown baseball team rivals that of any paper in the country -- including the great coverage that The New York Times and Daily News give to the Yankees and Mets.

Do not buy The Washington Times. It was founded by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon in 1982 as a replacement for the bankrupt Washington Star as the area’s conservative equivalent to the “liberal” Post. (That’s a laugh: The Post has George Will, Charles Krauthammer, Michael Gerson and Kathleen Parker as columnists!) Under editor-in-chief Wesley Pruden, the Times was viciously right-wing, “reporting” every rumor about Democrats as if they were established, proven fact, and giving Republicans a free pass. Moon’s “Unification Church” sold the paper in 2009, and Pruden retired the year before. But it has cut about 40 percent of its employees, and has dropped not only its Sunday edition but also its sports section. And now, there’s another paper, the Washington Examiner, owned by the same company as the conservative magazine The Weekly Standard, and it is so far to the right it makes The Washington Times look like the Daily Kos. It is a truly loony publication, where Michael Barone of the American Enterprise Institute and Byron York of National Review are considered moderates.

So avoid the loonies and the Moonies, and stick with the Post. Even if you don’t agree with my politics, you’re going down to D.C. for baseball, and the Post’s sports section kicks ass.

The sales tax in the District, once as high as 9 percent, is now just 6 percent.

The centerpoint for street addresses is the Capitol Building. North and South Capitol Streets separate east from west, and East Capitol Street and the National Mall separate north from south. The city is divided into quadrants: Northwest, Northeast, Southeast and Southwest (NW, NE, SE and SW). Because of the Capitol's location is not in the exact geographic centerpoint of the city, NW has about as much territory as the other 3 quadrants put together.

Remember: On street signs, 1st Street is written out as FIRST, and I Street is written out as EYE, so as to avoid confusion. And for the same reason, since I and J were virtually indistinguishable in written script when D.C. was founded in 1800, there is no J Street. Once the letters are expended, they go to to 2- and then 3-syllable words beginning with the sequential letters: Adams, Bryant, Clifton, etc.

Going In. Washington’s subway, the Metro, was not in place until 1976, but, thereafter, it was a relatively easy ride to Redskins games at RFK Stadium. But the move to the Beltway made this a lot harder.

From Union Station (having taken either the train or the bus in), you'll get on the Red Line to Metro Center, and transfer to the Blue Line to Morgan Blvd. The walk up Morgan to the stadium should take about 20 minutes. Because the outbound trip will be during rush hour, it will cost you $4.10. To make matters worse, the Metro stops running at midnight, and you won't be able to get back from Morgan Blvd. station to Union Station. For this reason, driving down would be the best option for this game. Next season, when the Giants are more likely to be playing the Redskins away on a Sunday, things will be different.
As for driving: Going from downtown D.C., you should take any northbound numbered street that gets you to New York Avenue, a.k.a. U.S. Route 50. Take it to Exit 3B, which will take you onto M-202/Landover Road. When you get to Brightseat Road, turn right. Brightseat becomes Redskins Road, which, as you might guess, goes right to the stadium. It's about 10 miles east of downtown Washington, and should take between 20 and 30 minutes.

The official address of FedExField -- for a reason that I don't know, it is officially written as one word -- is 1600 FedEx Way, Landover, Maryland. If the name Landover sounds familiar, it's because the stadium is almost exactly across the Beltway from the site of the Capital Centre, where the Bullets (now the Wizards), the Capitals, and the Georgetown basketball team used to play.

Parking is a whopping $57.50 -- but would you rather take a taxi back to Union Station (which might cost the same), and then stay there until the middle of the night? I didn't think so. All lots permit tailgating and open four hours before the game begins. Parking permits may be obtained via eBay, Craigslist or StubHub or by calling the Redskins Ticket Office at (301) 276-6050.

Despite its size, the stadium is not an architectural marvel. It's not even an architectural curiosity, the way RFK Stadium is with its weird sloping roof and its overhanging upper deck. While the NFL is a league that shuns imagination, embracing functionality first, and aesthetics much further down the line (if at all), there are some stadiums that are distinctive: Soldier Field with its exterior Doric columns (iconic, if not Ionic), the Los Angeles Coliseum with its arched "peristyle" at the east end, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis with its windows. FedExField, home to a team with 5 NFL Championships to its name but none won while playing there, is just a stadium. A big stadium, but no big deal.
The field is natural grass. Most football stadiums are aligned north-to-south, so that the angle of the sun doesn't bother the players. FedEx, however, is aligned (more or less) east-to-west. Whether this is a factor with the Redskins not having done well, I don't know. But in their 1st 18 seasons at FedEx, the 'Skins have made the Playoffs only 4 times. Contrast that with RFK Stadium: They made the Playoffs in 8 of their last 15 seasons there, and in 13 of their last 19.

The Redskins went from having the smallest stadium in the NFL, and possibly the best atmosphere and the best home-field advantage, to having the largest stadium, with the worst atmosphere, and hardly any home-field advantage.

The move from RFK in the District, where the fans had to walk down hard city streets from the Metro (hazardous even if you weren't wearing enemy colors), to FedEx (originally named Jack Kent Cooke Stadium in memory of the team's former owner, before new owner Daniel Snyder sold the naming rights to Federal Express) in the comfortable suburbs, meant that the 'Skins could no longer play in a stadium where the upper deck was right on top of the field, and where the aluminum stand that retracted to fit in a baseball field could no longer be jumped on to create noise like an oversized high school football game.
Capacity at FedEx was once 91,704, the highest in the league. (The Cowboys' AT&T Stadium now surpasses this.) But the furthest-back seats were so far back that Redskin fans, used to the closeness of the seats at RFK (the first of the oval multipurpose "concrete ashtray" stadiums, and easily the most intimate of those), complained like hell. The team kept tarping over seats, until the capacity was reduced to 79,000, 4th-largest in the NFL, and people still complained. Now, it's officially 82,000, less than MetLife and AT&T Stadiums.

According to Richard Smith of Stadium Journey:

The biggest shock I had as a first time guest to FedExField was how old the stadium felt. Opened in 1997, it seemed like a stadium opened possibly two decades earlier. It is shocking to consider that it is only one year older than Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium.

The concourses are dark and dreary. It has modern touches, such as the wider public areas and numerous food stands of a newer facility, but still never felt like a place that opened five years AFTER the groundbreaking Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Wandering the concourses brought back memories of long gone places such as Veterans Stadium, The Kingdome and Candlestick Park. That is not a good thing.

The Vet, the Kingdump, and The 'Stick? Oy vey -- especially if you're a fan of an NFC East team and thus had to visit The Vet. He continues:

The stadium is just so poorly designed that it must be disheartening to be a Redskins fan. The stadium is far too loud and the upper deck seems incredibly too high to enjoy the game. I found seating sections in the upper deck that you have to go both up AND down set of stairs to find your seat. A former walkway has been filled in with three rows of seating. Doing so has created some navigational issues, in that fans may need to go up and then back down a small set of stairs just to move from one area to another.
There are frankly just poor conditions for the fans. The audio, especially in the upper sections, is nearly inaudible. Seats in the lower deck have an obstructed view of the field. It is incredible that a stadium built just one year prior to Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium has the severe design flaws that it does.

In 2008, Sports Illustrated took a poll, and FedEx came in 28th among the 31 NFL stadiums, keeping in mind that the Giants and Jets groundshare. So if you count them as having 2 different atmospheres in the same stadium, FedEx is really 29th out of 32.

The Army-Navy Game was played at FedExField in 2011. So far, the U.S. soccer team has played just 1 match at the stadium, a draw with Brazil on May 30, 2012. There were 4 matches played there in the 1999 Women's World Cup. European soccer clubs Real Madrid, Barcelona, Internazionale Milano , Manchester United and Chelsea have plays summer tour games there. It's hosted concerts by Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, U2 and Metallica.

Food. In 1992, I attended a preseason baseball game at RFK Stadium, between the Orioles and the Red Sox. The food was horrible, including the worst hot dog I've ever had at a sporting event. Worse even that the terrible tube steaks at Sayreville High School football games (and those things are foul). The next day, right before the O's were to open the brand-new Camden Yards, it was reported that several of their players (but none of the Red Sox) had come down with food poisoning. I wasn't surprised. (They won the Camden Yards opener anyway.) I would later attend 2 Nationals games and the 2013 U.S.-Germany soccer match at RFK, and the food, while not great, had substantially improved.

Hopefully, it is better at FedExField. According to the team website:

Starting 3 hours before every preseason and regular season game, the AAA Ultimate Fan Zone offers its members a pre-game food and entertainment extravaganza unmatched anywhere else in the NFL. Bar-B-Q food and soft drinks are included in the admission price. Entertainment includes live music, appearances by cheerleaders and former players, video games, giveaways and flat screen televisions showing the early games. For more information, contact the Premium Seat Sales department at 301-276-6800 or by email at clubinfo@redskins.com.

They also have other areas where such amenities are available, including a Hooters restaurant, but most of them are in Club Seating, so forget it. A Johnny Rockets is available to all ticketholders, but, like the one at the new Yankee Stadium, prices are going to be closer to Outback Steakhouse than to McDonald's. They also have Ben's Chili Bowl, which was described on one website I saw as a local icon, although I've been to D.C. many times (including visits to RFK Stadium, Nationals Park and the Verizon Center), and have never noticed it.

Team History Displays. The Redskins have a Ring of Fame, featuring 47 individuals considered important to the history of the team. In 2002, as part of the team's 70th Anniversary celebrations -- they've been in Washington since 1937, but first played in 1932 as the football version of the Boston Braves -- the 70 Greatest Redskins were named. In 2012, on the 80th Anniversary, they added 10 names to make it the 80 Greatest Redskins. Some of these players are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Players are noted by the abbreviations ROF (Ring of Fame), 80GR (80 Greatest Redskins) and HOF (Pro Football Hall of Fame):

* From the 1937 and 1942 NFL Champions: ROF, founder-owner George Preston Marshall, quarterback-safety Sammy Baugh, running back-cornerback Cliff Battles, and two-way end Wayne Millner; 80GR, Baugh, Battles, Millner, head coach Ray Flaherty, two-way tackle Turk Edwards, and two-way back Andy Farkas; HOF, Marshall, Flaherty, Baugh, Battles, Millner, Edwards.

* From the 1950s: ROF, Quarterback Eddie LeBaron, running backs Bullet Bill Dudley, Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice and Dick James, and defensive end Gene Brito; 80GR, each of the preceding, plus running back Don Bosseler, receiver Hugh Taylor, center Al DeMao, guard Dick Stanfeld and linebacker Chuck Drazenovich; HOF, only Dudley.

* From the 1960s (but not making it to 1972): ROF, head coach Vince Lombardi (the former Packer boss came out of retirement to coach them in 1969, but died before the next season started), flanker Bobby Mitchell, guard Vince Promuto and linebacker Sam Huff; 80GR, Mitchell, Promuto, Huff, and safety Paul Krause; HOF, Lombardi, Mitchell, Huff and Krause. In addition, Dutch Bergman, who briefly coached the Redskins, and also in D.C. at the Catholic University of America, was, along with just about all of these figures, on the old Washington Wall of Stars at RFK Stadium, for running the company that built RFK.

* From the 1972 NFC Champions: ROF, head coach George Allen, quarterbacks Sonny Jurgensen and Billy Kilmer, running back Larry Brown, receiver Charley Taylor, tight end Jerry Smith, center Len Hauss, linebacker Chris Hanburger, and cornerbacks Brig Owens and Pat Fischer; 80GR, each of the preceding, plus receiver Roy Jefferson, offensive tackle Terry Hermeling, defensive tackle Diron Talbert, defensive ends Ron McDole and Bill Brundige, linebackers Harold McLinton and Rusty Tillman, cornerback Mike Bass, and punter Mike Bragg; HOF, Allen, Jurgensen and Hanburger. In addition, Edward Bennett Williams, the Washington "superlawyer" who owned the Redskins from 1962 to 1985, buying them from Marshall, selling a majority share in them to Cooke in 1974 and the rest of his stock to Cooke in 1985, was on the Washington Wall of Stars, but not in the 80GR or, as yet, in the ROF.

* Between the 1972 and 1982 seasons' trips to the Super Bowl: ROF, 80GR and HOF, safety Ken Houston.

* From the 1982 NFL Champions: ROF, owner Jack Kent Cooke, head coach Joe Gibbs, defensive coordinator Richie Petitbon, trainer Lamar "Bubba" Tyer, public address announcer Phil Hochberg, quarterback Joe Theismann, running back John Riggins, receiver Art Monk, guard Russ Grimm, offensive tackle Joe Jacoby, defensive tackle Dave Butz, defensive end Dexter Manley, and placekicker Mark Moseley; 80GR, Gibbs, Petitbon, and each of the preceding players, plus general manager Bobby Beathard, offensive line coach Joe Bugel (builder of that legendary "Hogs" line), running back Joe Washington, running back Mike Nelms, tight end Don Warren, center Jeff Bostic, offensive tackles George Starke and Mark May, linebackers Neal Olkewicz and Monte Coleman, and safety Mark Murphy; HOF, Gibbs, Riggins and Grimm.

* From the 1987 NFL Champions: ROF, Cooke, Gibbs, Petitbon, Tyer, Hochberg, Monk, Grimm, Jacoby, Butz, Manley, quarterback Doug Williams, receiver Gary Clark, defensive end Charles Mann and cornerback Darrell Green; 80GR, Gibbs, Petitbon, Bugel, Beathard, Monk, Grimm, Jacoby, Butz, Manley, Williams, Clark, Mann, Green, Warren, Bostic, May, Olkewicz, Coleman, receiver Ricky Sanders, guard Raleigh McKenzie, and offensive tackle Ed Simmons; HOF, Gibbs, Grimm and Green.

* From the 1991 NFL Champions: ROF, Cooke, Gibbs, Petitbon, Tyer, Hochberg, Monk, Grimm, Jacoby, Clark, Mann, Green, and running back Brian Mitchell; 80GR, Gibbs, Petitbon, Beathard, Monk, Warren, Bostic, Grimm, Jacoby, Clark, Mann, Green, Mitchell, Sanders, McKenzie, Simmons, Coleman, quarterback Mark Rypien, running back Earnest Byner, offensive tackle Jim Lachey, and linebacker Wilber Marshall; HOF, Gibbs, Grimm and Green.

* Since 1991: ROF, linebacker Ken Harvey, safety Sean Taylor, and Prince George's County Executive Wayne Curry, who led the drive to get the stadium built; 80GR, Harvey, Taylor, running back Terry Allen and Clinton Portis, offensive tackles Jon Jansen and Chris Samuels, and linebacker LaVar Arrington; HOF, defensive end Bruce Smith (better known as a Buffalo Bill, and didn't make the 80GR or, as yet, the ROF).
Long ago, the Redskins retired Baugh's Number 33. It remains the only number officially retired by the team, and they probably won't officially retire another unless it's another quarterback who turns out to have been as good as Baugh (and good luck with finding one). However, some numbers are understood to be unofficially retired; Theismann's 7, Jurgensen's 9, Sean Taylor's 21, Green's 28, Charley Taylor's 42, Brown's 43, Riggins' 44, Mitchell's 49, Butz's 65, Huff's 70 and Monk's 81.
Slingin' Sammy Baugh

There is no exterior display of Baugh's retired number. Nor is there any of the team's 5 NFL Championships (1932, 1942, 1982, 1987 and 1991), their 11 conference titles (1936, 1937, 1940, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1972, 1982, 1983, 1987 and 1991), their 13 divisional titles (1936, 1937, 1940, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1972, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1991, 1999 and 2012), or their 10 Wild Card Playoff berths (1971, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1992, 2005 and 2007).

Baugh and Houston were named to the NFL's 75th Anniversary Team in 1994. They, Huff, Taylor, Monk and Green were named to The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Football Players in 1999. Baugh, Huff and Green were named to the NFL Network's 100 Greatest Players in 2010.

Stuff. The Redskins Hall of Fame Store is located next to the Comcast SportsNet Gate (Gate H) on the Lower Level, across from Section 141. The Hall of Fame Store is open during the week from 10 AM to 6 PM, Monday through Saturday, all year round. On game day the store opens when parking lots open and stays open up to 2 hours after the game. The store accepts American Express, MasterCard, Visa and Discover.

Fans old enough to remember the 1980s might remember the fans wearing plastic pig noses, or even entire pig masks, in honor of the offensive line "Hogs." I don't know if they sell those. Nor do I know if they sell Indian headdresses, in keeping with the Redskin image, as many fans have been known to do.

I am seriously hoping the Hall of Fame Store, and any other stores at RFK Stadium, do not sell the "Hogettes" outfits. These were big fat guys who wore dresses, ladies' hats, wigs, sunglasses and plastic pig snouts to games from 1983 until 2012, when they decided to retire the act. But they raised a lot of money for charity, and still do so -- just not in costume.
Being in the Nation's Capital (well, since 1997, sort of), there are plenty of books written about the Redskins, some of which may be available at the Hall of Fame Store. In 1996, Thom Loverro published The Washington Redskins: The Authorized History; he followed this in 2007 with Hail Victory: An Oral History of the Washington Redskins. (He's also written books about the nearby Baltimore Orioles and the Negro Leagues.) David Elfin, the former president of the Pro Football Writers of America, and Art Monk collaborated on Washington Redskins: The Complete Illustrated History in 2011.

Historian Thomas G. Smith wrote Showdown: JFK and the Integration of the Washington Redskins, telling of how the 'Skins (in a situation dripping with irony) became the last team in America's top 3 sports to racially integrate. (I'm not counting hockey: Although every NHL team has had black players now, until the 1980s the game was dominated by Canadians, and there simply aren't very many black Canadians. But even the Boston Bruins, with Willie O'Ree in 1958, had integrated before the Redskins. The last team then in existence to integrate was the Montreal Canadiens, with Steven Fletcher in 1988 -- although there wasn't any outcry, the way there was in baseball and football.)

Since the District of Columbia Stadium (later to be renamed for the President's brother) was on land owned by the federal government, President John F. Kennedy had the man with jurisdiction, Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall (father of one recent U.S. Senator and uncle of another) tell Redskins owner George Preston Marshall that if he wanted the stadium, he had to integrate, or else he'd be stuck in the Senators' old Griffith Stadium with its 35,000 seats. Marshall relented, and traded for Cleveland Browns running back Bobby Mitchell, who was moved to receiver and was fully embraced by Washington fans.

In 2008, the NFL released the DVD NFL: History of the Washington Redskins. They've also released NFL's Greatest Rivalries: Washington vs. Dallas, and NFL: Washington Redskins -- 3 Greatest Games, containing their 3 Super Bowl wins (1982-83/XVII, 1987-88/XXII, and 1991-92/XXVI).

During the Game. A recent Thrillist article had the Redskins 10th on a list of the NFL's most obnoxious fans. (The Giants were 8th, the Jets 4th.) In spite of this, you do not need to fear wearing your Giant gear to FedExField. Despite the boisterousness of Redskin fans, you are not Cowboy fans. They won't start anything, so if you don't, you will be safe.

The Redskins are 1 of only 3 NFL teams with an official marching band. The band will play the National Anthem, usually in support of a singer chosen from auditions. Since 1938, they have played "Hail to the Redskins" after every score and every win. Why a band and a fight song? Founding team owner George Preston Marshall (a visionary but also an unrepentant bigot) knew, in those early days, that college football was more popular. So, since D.C. didn't have a major college team (the University of Maryland is inside the Beltway, but there wasn't any Beltway until 1961), he wanted to give the city the college football experience.
It worked: Redskin games have nearly always been well-attended, even when the team was bad. (Although, even in the RFK days, there were a lot of guys there to impress others. You know: Businessmen, lobbyists, lawyers, politicians... ) While the chorus includes the words "Braves on the warpath," the verses have been altered over the years to make the song less offensive (i.e., "Scalp 'em" became "Beat 'em").

Although, in a great irony, Griffith Stadium, the Redskins' 1st home in D.C., was just off a college campus -- but it's that of Howard University, the mostly-black school known as the Black Harvard. I'm guessing Marshall wasn't happy about that. In fact, Howard's hospital is now on the site of the stadium.

Today, the band is integrated by both race and gender, which would no doubt cause Marshall's eyes to bug out. Although the lyrics to "Hail to the Redskins" were written by his wife, actress Corinne Griffith. (Despite the name, she was not related to Washington Senators owner and stadium namesake Clark Griffith, or Clark's nephew and successor as Senators owner, Calvin Griffith, who moved the team to Minnesota mainly because D.C. had become a majority-black city, and he was even more overtly racist than Marshall.)

Oddly, the song is the source of the Redskins-Cowboys rivalry. In 1959, when Marshall, whose vote carried a lot of weight with the other NFL owners, refused to allow a Dallas team in the NFL -- which would end his team's status as the southernmost in the league, thus breaking into the biggest source of his income, Southern radio and TV rights to NFL games -- Clint Murchison, the leader of the group trying to get the Cowboys in, bought the rights to the fight song, and told Marshall that if he didn't want to pay through the nose to use the song, he had to back the Cowboys' entry. Marshall did so, and Murchison sold him the rights to the song.

The Redskins do not have an official mascot. But they do have Zema Williams, a.k.a. Chief Zee. He's been coming to Redskin games in an Indian-themed costume since 1978, and went to all 4 Super Bowls in the Joe Gibbs era -- not an easy feat considering they were in Pasadena, Tampa, San Diego and Minneapolis, all far from Washington. He's also done local car ads.
Being interviewed for the NFL Network

He's missed 2 Washington home games in 36 years: In 1981, when his father died; and in 2007, when, in a class act, he paid tribute to the best-known fan of the arch-enemy, the Dallas Cowboys. Wilford Jones, a.k.a. Crazy Ray, had been dressing up in a Wild West outfit in Cowboys colors from 1963 to 2006, and he and Zee had gone to every Redskins-Cowboys game -- in D.C, Landover and Irving -- for many years, and become good friends in spite of their opposition. The "mascot" version of "honor among thieves," I suppose. For the Cowboys' 2007 home opener, in full costume, Zee escorted Jones' widow onto the field at Texas Stadium, and they got a standing ovation, including from people who normally can't stand the Redskins.

During a 1983 visit to Veterans Stadium, the Redskins beat the Philadelphia Eagles, and angry Eagle fans took their frustrations out on him: He was beaten up, his leg was broken, and his original costume was ruined. But he still goes up to Philadelphia, and has been left alone since. Nor to Giants or Cowboys fans give him a hard time. Zee is now 74, and has had health difficulties in recent years, but he's still at it, and still one of the most recognizable fans of any NFL team, up there with the Jets' Fireman Ed and the Giants' License Plate Guy.

After the Game. If you’re looking for a postgame meal (or even just a pint), you’ll have trouble finding it nearby, as the stadium is an island in a sea of parking. However, with this game being a 1:00 start, it will probably end by 4:30, so you could go down Arena Drive, and across the Beltway to the mall (The Boulevard at Capital Centre).

The bar 51st State is a known hangout for Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, Knicks and Rangers fans. (No mention of the Nets, Islanders or Devils, though.) 2512 L St. NW at Pennsylvania Avenue. Metro: Blue or Orange to Foggy Bottom. Nanny O'Brien's is also said to be a Giants fan bar. 3319 Connecticut Ave NW. Metro: Red to Cleveland Park.

If you visit D.C. during the European soccer season, which we are currently in the 2 best "football pubs" in town are Lucky Bar, at 1221 Connecticut Ave. NW (Red Line to Farragut North); and Fado Irish Pub, 808 7th Street NW., in Chinatown, a block from the Verizon Center (Red, Yellow or Green Line to Gallery Place).

Sidelights. Washington's sports history is long, but not good. The Redskins haven't won a World Championship in 24 seasons; the Bullets/Wizards, 37 seasons; all of its baseball teams combined, 92 years (yes, ninety-two); the Capitals, never in their 42-season history. Indeed, no D.C. area team has even been to its sport's finals since the Caps made it 18 seasons ago. But, if you have the time, these sites are worth checking:

* Site of Griffith Stadium. There were 2 ballparks on this site. Boundary Park was built in 1892 and burned down in 1911, within weeks of New York’s Polo Grounds. Just as the Polo Grounds was rebuilt on the same site, the Senators rebuilt their home exactly where it was. Originally called League Park and National Park (no S on the end) before former pitching star Clark Griffith bought the team, this stadium was home to the old Senators from 1911 to 1960, and the new Senators only in 1961.

The Redskins played there from 1937 to 1960, and won the NFL Championship there in 1937 and 1942, although only the ’42 title game was played there. There was another NFL title game played there, in 1940, but the Redskins were beaten by the Chicago Bears – 73-0. (Nope, that’s not a typo: Seventy-three to nothing. Most points by one team in one game in NFL history, slightly ahead of the ‘Skins’ 72-49 victory over the Giants at RFK in 1966.)
While the Senators did win 3 Pennants and the 1924 World Series while playing at Griffith, it was not a good home for them. The fences were too far back for almost anyone to homer there, and they hardly ever had the pitching, either (except for Walter Johnson). In 1953, Mickey Mantle hit a home run there that was measured at 565 feet – though it probably shouldn’t count as such, because witnesses said it glanced off the football scoreboard at the back of the left-field bleachers, which would still give the shot an impressive distance of about 460 feet.

The Negro Leagues’ Homestead Grays also played a lot of home games at Griffith, although they divided their "home games" between Washington and Pittsburgh. Think of the Grays as the original Harlem Globetrotters, who called themselves "Harlem" to identify themselves as a black team even though their original home base was Chicago (and later moved their offices to Los Angeles, and are now based in Phoenix).

By the time Clark Griffith died in 1955, passing the team to his nephew and adopted son Calvin, the area around Griffith Stadium had become nearly all-black. While Clark, despite having grown up in segregated Missouri during the 19th Century, followed Branch Rickey's path and integrated his team sooner than most (in particular going for Cubans, white and black alike), Calvin was a bigot who wanted to move the team to mostly-white Minnesota. When the new stadium was built, it was too late to save the original team, and the “New Senators” were born.

Griffith Stadium was demolished in 1965, and, as I said earlier, Howard University Hospital is there now. 2041 Georgia Avenue NW at V Street. Green Line to Shaw-Howard University Station, 3 blocks up 7th Street, which becomes Georgia Avenue when you cross Florida Avenue.

* Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. Originally named District of Columbia Stadium (or “D.C. Stadium”), the Redskins played there from 1961 to 1996. The new Senators opened there in 1962, and President John F. Kennedy threw out the first ball at the stadium that would be renamed for his brother and Attorney General in 1969. (There was a JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, formerly Municipal Stadium, where the new arena, the Wells Fargo Center, now stands.)
The new Senators played at RFK Stadium until 1971, and at the last game, against the Yankees, the Senators were up 7-5 with one out to go, when angry fans stormed the field, and the game was forfeited to the Yankees. The ‘Skins moved to their new suburban stadium in 1997, after closing the '96 campaign without the Playoffs, but the final regular-season game was a thrashing of the hated Cowboys, with over 100 Redskin greats in attendance.
The Nats played the 2005, ’06 and ’07 seasons at RFK. D.C. United, once the most successful franchise in Major League Soccer, have played there since MLS was founded in 1996, winning the league title, the MLS Cup, 4 times, including 3 of the 1st 4. The MLS Cup Final was played there in 1997 (DCU over the Colorado Rapids), 2000 (the team now known as Sporting Kansas City over the Chicago Fire) and 2007 (the Houston Dynamo over the New England Revolution). Previously, in the North American Soccer League, RFK was home to the Washington Whips, and the Washington Diplomats, featuring Dutch legend Johan Cruyff. And the Beatles played there on their final tour, on August 15, 1966.

DC/RFK Stadium was the first U.S. stadium specifically designed to host both baseball and football, and anything else willing to pay the rent. But I forgive it. It was a great football stadium, and it’s not a bad soccer stadium, but for baseball, let’s just say Nationals Park is a huge improvement. And what is with that whacked-out roof?

No stadium has hosted more games of the U.S. national soccer team than RFK: 23. (Next-closest is the Los Angeles Coliseum, with 20.) Their record there is 15 wins, 3 draws and 5 losses. So RFK is thus the closest America comes to having a "national stadium" like Wembley or the Azteca. The last match there was on September 4, 2015, a 2-1 win over Peru.

On June 2, 2013, I was in attendance at RFK Stadium for the 100th Anniversary match for the U.S. Soccer Federation. It was a 4-3 win over Germany, but this was not indicative of their true strength: They were operating at half-power because their players from Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund had so recently played the UEFA Champions League Final. Only 4 players who played in this game went on to play and win for Die Mannschaft in the 2014 World Cup Final: Centreback Per Mertesacker (of Arsenal), left back Benedikt Howedes, and forwards Miroslav Klose and Andre Schurrle (you can't be serious).

RFK hosted 5 games in the 1994 World Cup, 9 games of the 1996 Olympic soccer tournament (6 men's and 3 women's, with the main portion of the games being played in Atlanta), and 6 games of the 2003 Women's World Cup.

With the Nats and ‘Skins gone, United are the only team still playing there, and plans for a new stadium for them, near Nationals Park, are moving slowly, so it will still be possible to see a sporting event at RFK Stadium for the next few years.

2400 East Capitol Street SE. Orange Line or Blue Line to Stadium-Armory. The D.C. Armory, headquarters of the District of Columbia National Guard, is that big brown arena-like thing across the parking lot.

* Nationals Park and new D.C. United stadium. The Nats' new home opened in 2008, at 1500 South Capitol Street at N Street. It's not flashy, but it looks nice. The plan for a new D.C. United stadium is for one at Buzzard Point, on land bounded by R, 2nd, T & Half Streets SW, 3 blocks from Nationals Park. The land has finally been acquired, but not yet cleared, and construction may not begin until the spring. For the moment, the plan is for DCU to begin play there in March of 2018, meaning 2 more seasons at RFK.

Prince Georges County had a proposal for a new stadium near FedExField, and Baltimore offered to build one, leading fans of DCU's arch-rivals, the New York Red Bulls, to mock the club as "Baltimore United." But the Buzzard Point stadium is now almost certain to happen.

* Uline Arena/Washington Coliseum. This building was home to the District’s first NBA team, the Washington Capitols, from 1946 to 1951. They reached the 1949 NBA Finals, losing to the Minneapolis Lakers of George Mikan, and were the first pro team coached by Red Auerbach. Firing him was perhaps the dumbest coaching change in NBA history: By the time Red coached the Boston Celtics to their first NBA title in 1957, the Capitols had been out of business for 6 years.

The Coliseum was last used for sports in 1970 by the Washington Caps (not "Capitols," not "Capitals," just "Caps")of the ABA. It was the site of the first Beatles concert in the U.S. (aside from their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show 2 nights before), on February 11, 1964.

It still stands, and its interior and grounds are used as a parking lot, particularly for people using nearby Union Station. Unfortunately, it’s in a rotten neighborhood, and I wouldn’t recommend visiting at night. In fact, unless you’re a student of NBA history or a Beatlemaniac, I’d say don’t go at all. 1140 3rd Street NE, at M Street. Red Line to Union Station, and then it’s a bit of a walk.

* Site of Capital Centre. From 1973 to 1997, this was the home of the NBA’s Washington Bullets, who became the Wizards when they moved downtown. From 1974 to 1997, it was the home of the NHL's Washington Capitals. The Bullets played in the 1975, ’78 and ’79 NBA Finals there, although they’ve only won in 1978 and clinched that at the Seattle Kingdome.

The Cap Centre was also the home for Georgetown University basketball, in its glory years of Coach John Thompson (father of the current coach, John Thompson III), Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo and Allen Iverson. Remember those 1980s battles with the St. John’s teams of Louie Carnesecca, Chris Mullin and Walter Berry?

Elvis Presley sang there on June 27, 1976 and on May 22 and 29, 1977. (He never gave a concert in the District.) It was demolished in 2002, and a shopping mall, The Boulevard at the Capital Centre, was built on the site. 1 Harry S Truman Drive, Landover, Prince George’s County, Maryland, just outside the Capital Beltway. Blue Line to Largo Town Center station.

* Verizon Center. Opened in 1997 as the MCI Center, the NBA’s Wizards, the NHL’s Capitals, the WNBA's Washington Mystics, and the Georgetown basketball team have played here ever since. Only one Finals has been held here, the Caps’ 1998 sweep at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings. (Georgetown has reached a Final Four since it opened, but those are held at neutral sites.) But it’s a very good arena. 601 F Street NW, at 6th Street. Red, Green or Yellow Line to Gallery Place-Chinatown Station.

* Maryland SoccerPlex. The Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League play here, at the main field, with a stadium with 4,000 seats. 18031 Central Park Circle, in Boyds, Montgomery County, Maryland, about 30 miles northwest of downtown D.C. You'd need the DC Metro and 2 buses to get there without a car.

* The Smithsonian Institution. Includes the National Museum of American History, which contains several sports-themed items. 1400 Constitution Avenue NW. Blue or Orange Line to Federal Triangle. (You could, of course, take the same lines to Smithsonian Station, but Fed Triangle is actually a shorter walk.)

If you're into looking up "real" TV locations, the Jeffersonian Institute on Bones is almost certainly based on the Smithsonian. The real NCIS headquarters used to be a short walk from Nationals Park, on Sicard Street between Patterson and Paulding Streets. Whether civilians will be allowed on the Navy Yard grounds, I don't know; I've never tried it. I don't want to get stopped by a guard. I also don't want to get "Gibbs-slapped" -- and neither do you. However, they have since moved to the Marine base at Quantico, Virginia, and that's a bit of a trek.

Of course, The West Wing was based at the White House, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The best-known D.C.-based show that didn't directly deal with government officials was Murphy Brown. The FYI studio was said to be across the street from Phil's, whose address was given as 1195 15th St. NW. Neither the bar nor the address actually exists, but if the address did, it would be at 15th & M Streets. This would put it, rather conveniently, right down the block from 1150 15th Street, the headquarters of The Washington Post.

The University of Maryland, inside the Beltway at College Park, can be accessed by the Green Line to College Park and then a shuttle bus. (I tried that for the 2009 Rutgers-Maryland game, and it works very well.) Byrd Stadium is one of the nation’s best college football stadiums, but I wouldn’t recommend sitting in the upper deck if you’re afraid of heights: I think it’s higher than Shea’s was.

Across from the stadium is Cole Field House, where UMd played its basketball games from 1955 to 2002. The 1966 and 1970 NCAA Championship basketball games were played there, the 1966 one being significant because Texas Western (now Texas-El Paso) played an all-black starting five against Kentucky’s all-white starters (including future Laker, Knick and Heat coach Pat Riley and Denver Nuggets star Dan Issel). In the 1970 Finals, it was UCLA over the University of Jacksonville.

Elvis sang there on September 27 and 28, 1974. The Terrapins won the National Championship in their final season at Cole, and moved to the adjacent Comcast Center thereafter.

Remember that Final Four run by George Mason University? They’re across the Potomac River in Fairfax, Virginia. Orange Line to Virginia Square-GMU.

The U.S. Naval Academy is 30 miles east in Annapolis, Maryland; the University of Virginia, 117 miles southwest in Charlottesville; and Virginia Tech, 270 miles southwest in Blacksburg. 

I also recommend visiting the capital’s museums, including the Smithsonian complex, whose most popular buildings are the National Archives, hosting the originals of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; and the National Air and Space Museum, which includes the Wright Brothers’ Flyer, Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, Chuck Yeager’s Glamorous Glennis (the 1st plane to break the sound barrier), and several space capsules including Apollo 11. The Smithsonian also has an annex at Dulles International Airport out in Virginia, including a Concorde, the space shuttle Discovery, and the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the 1st atomic bomb.

One of the 1960 Presidential Debates between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon was held in Washington -- still the only Presidential Debate held in the capital. On October 7, it was hosted not in a sports arena, a theater or a college auditorium, but in front of no live audience other than the panelists and the TV crew, at the studios of the NBC affiliate, WRC, Channel 4, 4001 Nebraska Avenue NW. Red Line to Tenleytown-AU.

In spite of what some movies have suggested, you won't see a lot of tall buildings in the District.  The Washington Monument is 555 feet high, but, other than that, no building is allowed to be taller than the Capitol. Exceptions were made for two churches, the Washington National Cathedral and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and the Old Post Office Pavilion was built before the "unwritten law" went into effect. In contrast, there are a few office buildings taller than most D.C. buildings across the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia, and in the neighboring Maryland cities of Silver Spring and New Carrollton.

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Have fun in the Nation’s Capital. And enjoy Giants vs. Redskins, a rivalry now in its 84th season -- it's 79th season in Washington.