tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28893334475150353622024-03-19T04:48:08.377-04:00Uncle Mike's Musings: A Yankees Blog and MoreThis is mostly about sports, and then mostly about baseball. It will favor the New York Yankees, the New Jersey Devils, Rutgers University football, and the London soccer club Arsenal. You got a problem with that? Make your own blog.Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.comBlogger5597125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-49349704938299545012024-03-13T00:00:00.001-04:002024-03-13T00:00:00.247-04:00March 13, 1964: The Murder of Kitty Genovese<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiINhPNkJ-dlMA1Hnw-6W-jcPK1erBIZrq1QGG497MroxN9pMC4lTcH4Zs3CxMd-2AvT1denXUTp-zaXr7cN9as1uDpCfyqo6wIRt0TlD_s8RoBbA-AaBqC5TWoEiDGSoqaaq1SBCeDqyxIGNyBtgScu251DJKazSPdw4Q037nGQHr9RPBhBbHYmrc0_w=s583" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="583" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiINhPNkJ-dlMA1Hnw-6W-jcPK1erBIZrq1QGG497MroxN9pMC4lTcH4Zs3CxMd-2AvT1denXUTp-zaXr7cN9as1uDpCfyqo6wIRt0TlD_s8RoBbA-AaBqC5TWoEiDGSoqaaq1SBCeDqyxIGNyBtgScu251DJKazSPdw4Q037nGQHr9RPBhBbHYmrc0_w=w400-h240" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>March 13, 1964, 60 years ago:</b> A murder is committed, symbolizing the rising crime wave in New York City, and American cities in general. What's worse wasn't the number of people who cared, but the number of people who seemed not to care.</div><div><br /></div><div>Catherine Susan Genovese was born on July 7, 1935 in Brooklyn, and grew up in the neighborhood of Prospect Heights. As far as has been determined, she was not related to New York's Genovese organized crime family. In 1954, her mother witnessed a murder, and her parents left, moving to New Canaan, Connecticut. But Catherine, known as Kitty, decided to stay in Brooklyn, as she was about to get married. But the marriage was quickly annulled.<br /><br /></div><div>She took clerical jobs, but found bartending more to her liking. In 1961, she was arrested for bookmaking, for taking horse racing bets from bar patrons. She pleaded guilty, paid a $50 fine, and was fired from her job.</div><div><br /></div><div>She soon got another bartending job, at Ev's Eleventh Hour Bar, on Jamaica Avenue and 193rd Street in Hollis, Queens. Soon, she began managing the bar on behalf of its absentee owner. This enabled her to make enough money to get an apartment in the Kew Gardens section of Queens, at 82-70 Austin Street. She shared it with Mary Ann Zielonko. As comedian Bill Maher once said of this period, "Lesbians were called 'roommates.'"</div><div><br /></div><div>She went to work on March 12, 1964, and left at 2:30 AM on March 13 -- a Friday the 13th. At 3:15, she parked her red Fiat in the Kew Gardens station of the Long Island Rail Road, about 100 feet from her apartment's door, in an alleyway at the back of the building.</div><div><br /></div><div>She and her Fiat had been seen by Winston Moseley, who was driving a Chevrolet Corvair. He followed, parked his car in a bus stop on Austin Street, and got out, taking a hunting knife with him. He ran after her, caught her, and stabbed her twice in the back.</div><div><br /></div><div>She yelled out, "Oh my God, he stabbed me! Help me!" Some neighbors heard the sound, but only a few of them recognized it as a cry for help. One, Robert Mozer, shouted out, "Let that girl alone!" but did nothing else. Moseley ran away, and Kitty got to the entrance of her apartment.</div><div><br /></div><div>But she only got as far as a hallway at the back of the building before falling, barely conscious. Moseley went back, found her, stabbed her again, raped her, and stole $49 from her (about $448 in 2022 money), before finally leaving.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sophia Farrar, a neighbor and friend, found her, called an ambulance, and held her until the ambulance arrived. One witness said his father had called the police after the initial stabbing, saying, a woman was "beat up, but got up and was staggering around." Another witness called friends for advice on what to do, before finally calling the cops. At 4:15 AM, the ambulance got to the scene, but it was no use: Kitty died on route to the hospital, just 28 years old.</div><div><br /></div><div>The first suspect the police questioned was Zielonko, thinking the gay relationship might have soured and turned violent. She denied knowing anything about it. The neighbors also denied that Zielonko had anything to do with it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Six days later, on March 19, Moseley was arrested in Ozone Park, Queens, after a stolen television set was found in the trunk of his Corvair. During questioning, Moseley admitted that he killed Kitty. He also confessed to killing Annie Mae Johnson, shot in her apartment in South Ozone Park a few weeks earlier; and Barbara Kralik, only 15, and killed in her family's house in Springfield Gardens in July 1963. He said he preyed on women because "they were easier, and didn't fight back." On June 11, he was convicted, and remained in prison until his death in 2016, at age 82.</div><div><br /></div><div>The murder of Kitty Genovese would have been a footnote in the history of crime in New York City, if not for Police Commissioner Michael J. Murphy meeting A.M. "Abe" Rosenthal, then the metropolitan editor of <i>The New York Times</i>, for lunch and telling him, "That Queens story is one for the books." Rosenthal launched an investigation, and on March 27, 2 weeks after the murder, the <i>Times</i> published a story titled "37 Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidhuwS_z4z7YbmTzgw3HSuefIOxnu49GVmAR-YQx4CKE2Q5euIMSq3yHj2fX9T6VR5jPzyGnaz210CCOSbon51lFKbYGQNY06vMXBIue2KdQGas0bj32O3iwISwGRuZSwdLyLiqr77sRQfd0iW5A_cIwPYoTzpsezrowT4FR4elolg5Kp0ZHIRMfmvhVw5/s1920/1964-03%20Genovese%20Headline.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidhuwS_z4z7YbmTzgw3HSuefIOxnu49GVmAR-YQx4CKE2Q5euIMSq3yHj2fX9T6VR5jPzyGnaz210CCOSbon51lFKbYGQNY06vMXBIue2KdQGas0bj32O3iwISwGRuZSwdLyLiqr77sRQfd0iW5A_cIwPYoTzpsezrowT4FR4elolg5Kp0ZHIRMfmvhVw5/w400-h225/1964-03%20Genovese%20Headline.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div>The text of the article raised the number to 38, and subsequent editions printed the number 38 in the headline, but it entered the public consciousness as "37 people saw a murder and did nothing about it." The article quoted one witness as saying, "I didn't want to get involved."</div><div><br /></div><div>Crime had been on the rise in New York since the end of World War II, and with the Baby Boomers, the largest generation America has ever produced, now beginning to reach adulthood, and illegal drugs becoming more available and more widespread than ever, it was starting to get out of control. The Genovese murder didn't start the crime wave that continued to plague New York until the mid-1990s, but it was a convenient symbol. And the reaction to it was a convenient symbol for the callousness of New Yorkers, making the City look very bad to the rest of the country.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the years to come, the facts of the case began to emerge. In 2014, on the 50th Anniversary of the murder, a book was published suggesting that the number of 38 witnesses who "did nothing" was misinterpreted. Some witnesses thought they saw, or heard, a minor argument, and had no idea a that murder was taking place until the next morning. She was attacked 3 separate times, and in each of the 1st 2, only 1 witness saw her get stabbed. And the 1st stabbing punctured a lung, rendering her incapable of screaming.</div><div><br /></div><div>What's more, there was no real way to get in touch with emergency services: The best that could be done at the time was to dial zero for a telephone operator, say, "Get me the police," and go through the NYPD's calling system of the time, and hope that it led to an ambulance getting there in time. This was considered unacceptable, and in 1968, 4 years later, the 911 emergency-call system was put into effect.</div><div><br /></div><div>Episodes of the CBS legal drama <i>Perry Mason</i>, like the novels that inspired it, were usually titled "The Case of the... " followed by an alliteration. On November 21, 1965, the show aired "The Case of the Silent Six," with 6 residents of a small apartment building failing to help a murder victim. The 1975 ABC film <i>Death Scream</i> was also based on the murder. So were 2 episodes in the NBC <i>Law & Order</i> franchise, one of them titled "41 Witnesses."</div><div><br /></div><div>In the 1986 comic book miniseries <i>Watchmen</i>, the character of Walter Kovacs recalled reading about the Genovese murder, saying that it inspired him to become the vigilante Rorschach. This was also mentioned in the 2009 film version. What the film version did not include, but the original graphic novel did, was that his mask was made from a dress that Kitty had worn.</div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-42723205201214474022024-03-04T12:24:00.002-05:002024-03-04T12:24:10.991-05:00MLB Ballpark Corporate Names, Ranked<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/TropicanaFieldEntrance.JPG/250px-TropicanaFieldEntrance.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="250" height="299" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/TropicanaFieldEntrance.JPG/250px-TropicanaFieldEntrance.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is a ranking of the teams in Major League Baseball based not on how much I like the team, but on how much I like the product that holds their ballpark's naming rights.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm not doing this for the other sports, simply because there are too many of them with companies that I know too little about.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>30. Colorado Rockies, Coors Field:</b> I don't like Coors beer. Worse still, the Coors family have long been heavy donors to right-wing extremist causes. To Hell with them and their barley-flavored water.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Note: The first time I tried to type that, it came out "Coors Light is barely-flavored water." I decided not to edit it, because it was still true.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>29. Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park: </b>The old yard is named for its section of Boston, The Fenway, or The Fens. Fens are a swampy area. The Meadowlands Sports Complex was built on a former swamp, too, but they didn't keep that in the name. The Red Sox did. And it's one of the less disgusting things about them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>28. Los Angeles Dodgers, Dodger Stadium:</b> The Dodgers no longer represent Brooklyn, or Ebbets Field, or Jackie Robinson. At this point, they no longer even represent Sandy Koufax or Fernando Valenzuela. But the fact that this stadium still stands, on land taken from its residents by the City of Los Angeles, and given to Walter O'Malley, just so he could make more money than he was making in Brooklyn, makes it, and what its name represents, despicable.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>27. Pittsburgh Pirates, PNC Park:</b> The city and the ballpark are terrific. Not the name: I have had a lot of difficulty with PNC Bank, and its initials are said to stand for "People Never Count."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>26. Oakland Athletics, Oakland Coliseum.</b> After going through a few corporate names, the most-mocked stadium in baseball is once again identified by its city, which, within the last 5 years, has already lost the Warriors to nearby San Francisco, and the Raiders to not-even-close Las Vegas, and may be about to lose the A's to Vegas as well. Maybe that shows that the City of Oakland, and/or the County of Alameda, have better priorities. Or maybe it shows that they can't get their act together.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>25. San Diego Padres, Petco Park:</b> I don't have a problem with Petco as a company, but I can't stand the smell of pet stores. It's not the pets, it's the pet food. And the fishtanks smell terrible, too.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>24. Milwaukee Brewers, American Family Field:</b> American Family is an insurance company, and I have no familiarity with it. Had they kept their previous name, Miller Park, it would be higher, because Miller Lite is one of the few beers that I actually like.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>23. Cincinnati Reds, Great American Ball Park:</b> Great American is an insurance company, and I have no familiarity with it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>22. Cleveland Indians, Progressive Field:</b> Progressive is an insurance company, and I have no familiarity with it, beyond enjoying their TV commercials.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>21. Seattle Mariners, T-Mobile Park:</b> I've heard that T-Mobile is rather unreliable. Catherine Zeta-Jones, whom regular readers of this blog know that I love, used to do commercials for them, but that was years ago.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>20. Miami Marlins, LoanDepot Park:</b> I've never had any reason to use a mortgage company, but having "loan" in the name makes me suspicious.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>19. Chicago White Sox, Guaranteed Rate Field:</b> I've never had any reason to use a mortgage company.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>18. Toronto Blue Jays, Rogers Centre:</b> Rogers Communications is a Canadian media corporation, which also has its name on the arenas of the NHL's Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers, and seems to find nothing confusing in that. None of their networks are available on my cable TV system.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>17. Atlanta Braves, Truist Park:</b> I have never had any dealings with Truist Bank, not even one of their ATMs.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>16. Detroit Tigers, Comerica Park:</b> See the previous answer. Detroit ranks ahead of Atlanta because I like it better as a city.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>15. San Francisco Giants, Oracle Park:</b> As far as I know, I have never had to use Oracle software.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>14. Kansas City Royals, Kauffman Stadium:</b> The ballpark is named for the founding owners of the team, pharmaceutical magnate Ewing Kauffman and his wife Muriel. They restored the city's baseball respectability after the Charlie Finley-led Kansas City Athletics years, and I have no reason not to like them, other than that I hated their team in the George Brett years of 1976 to 1985.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>13. New York Mets, Citi Field:</b> As banks go, Citi is not well-liked, due to their role in the 2008 economic crash. I've personally never had a problem with them, and have used their ATMs without trouble.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>12. Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field:</b> I haven't chewed any brand of Wrigley's gum in many years, but I have no ill will against the company.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>11. Philadelphia Phillies, Citizens Bank Park:</b> As banks go, Citizens is pretty good. My only dealing with them has been through their ATMs, which operate well.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>10. Arizona Diamondbacks, Chase Field:</b> As banks go, Chase is among the most trustworthy.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>9. Houston Astros, Minute Maid Park:</b> Minute Maid makes good orange juice, but they're owned by Coca-Cola, which I don't like.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Once, the Yankees were playing the Astros, and broadcast John Sterling turned to partner Charley Steiner, and said, "You know Charley, I hear, at Minute Maid Park, the balls are juiced." Steiner didn't miss a beat, or maybe they planned it out beforehand, because he immediately said, "Ah, that's just pulp fiction."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>8. Los Angeles Angels, Angel Stadium of Anaheim:</b> Although the Orioles as a team have given me trouble, I have no reason to actively dislike them now.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>7. Baltimore Orioles, Oriole Park at Camden Yards:</b> Although the Orioles as a team have given me trouble, the organization has usually been a class act.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>6. St. Louis Cardinals, Busch Stadium:</b> Anheuser-Busch is one of the best companies to work for in America. Their give their employees terrific benefits. I don't like Budweiser, or Bud Light, but I do like Michelob.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>5. Texas Rangers, Globe Life Field:</b> Globe Life insurance has proven to be trustworthy for my family.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>4. Minnesota Twins, Target Field:</b> Target is a good store, especially now that they have Starbucks stands.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>3. Washington Nationals, Nationals Park:</b> The Nationals have a class organization that restored baseball to the nation's capital, and they certainly can't be blamed for MLB removing the Expos from Montreal. I will always be grateful to them for 2 reasons, both connected with the 2019 World Series: Their fans booing Donald Trump in Game 5, and beating the cheating Astros in Game 7.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>2. Tampa Bay Rays, Tropicana Field:</b> The worst stadium in MLB, but good products. I practically grew up on Tropicana orange juice.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>1. New York Yankees, Yankee Stadium:</b> And, of course, Yankee Stadium is also a powerful brand.</div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-73939433152170485972024-03-03T00:00:00.001-05:002024-03-03T00:00:00.244-05:00No Domes for Baseball<div class="xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs" style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWLR02Z9eZBNpkevvqwbpQtiHBeZgB91o5-J1U9I_t6ZlebCPANQQemwy7WGT61ebafk4ZkcAYl9_SJvzzQX0mZTsg7wHambDOy0FmxHHkD9c6fqGa-SdD8YZ9YgUcXtAc_Xr-pmWyXvi9h_Tdof11Jdou0pv1Bnj_qFa2vaW-4Fr9XDx4aHQaRja2_GI/s633/Houston%201965-99%20Astrodome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="633" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWLR02Z9eZBNpkevvqwbpQtiHBeZgB91o5-J1U9I_t6ZlebCPANQQemwy7WGT61ebafk4ZkcAYl9_SJvzzQX0mZTsg7wHambDOy0FmxHHkD9c6fqGa-SdD8YZ9YgUcXtAc_Xr-pmWyXvi9h_Tdof11Jdou0pv1Bnj_qFa2vaW-4Fr9XDx4aHQaRja2_GI/s320/Houston%201965-99%20Astrodome.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Baseball is supposed to be played outdoors. No domes.</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If I were the Commissioner of Baseball, I would order every team to play with the roof open. If that's not physically possible, given their current stadium, I would give them one year to get a deal done to build a stadium without a permanent roof, and then three years to get it done. Any team playing a game with a closed roof after April 1, 2028 would forfeit that game to the visiting team.</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This would also apply to artificial turf, although that should be considerably easier to replace.</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Don't tell me you can't afford it. Every MLB team is owned by a man, or a group, that can build a dozen or more new stadiums without one damned penny of the taxpayers' money.</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">"But what about rain?" And, "What if it's cold?" Postpone the game, and make it up later. If you need help with rescheduling, notify the MLB office, and we will accommodate you.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">"But that would make the doubleheaders pile up!" So? Play them.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">"But that would be a terrible inconvenience!" You're getting paid millions, team management. Suck it up.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">"But it will exhaust our pitchers!" No, what exhausts your pitchers is not letting your starters pitch 7 or more innings. Trust your starters.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">"But what about the fans?" Oh, so <i>now</i>, you care about the fans? The fans will be fine with the doubleheaders. Heck, they can plan day-long parties around them, like that other sport does with its Super Bowl.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">MLB Domed Stadium History:</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Houston: 1965-1999, Astrodome. Permanent Roof, with Artificial Turf from 1966 onward. 2000-present, Enron Field/Minute Maid Park. Retractable Roof with Real Grass.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Seattle: 1977-1999, Kingdome. Permanent Roof. 1999-present, Safeco Field/T-Mobile Park. Retractable Roof with Real Grass.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Minnesota: 1982-2009, Metrodome. Permanent Roof.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Montreal: 1988-1998, Olympic Stadium. Retractable Roof, with Artificial Turf. Roof had to be removed due to ineffectiveness.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Toronto: 1989-present, SkyDome/Rogers Center. Retractable Roof with Artificial Turf.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Tampa Bay: 1998-present, Tropiciana Field. Permanent Roof.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Arizona: 1998-present, Bank One Ballpark/Chase Field. Retractable Roof with Real Grass until 2019, then switched to Artificial Turf.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Milwaukee: 2001-present, Miller Park/American Family Field. Retractable Roof with Real Grass.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Texas: 2020-present Globe Life Field. Retractable Roof with Artificial Turf.</span></div></div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-14207202071253844082024-02-25T00:00:00.001-05:002024-02-25T00:00:00.341-05:00February 25, 1964: Muhammad Ali Becomes Heavyweight Champion of the World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bhFksnWtw7s/YDQWCRmSqSI/AAAAAAAADnw/9NCbsIgwy4g4c0bUsEqFCNQg8igdN_tQwCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/1964-2-26.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bhFksnWtw7s/YDQWCRmSqSI/AAAAAAAADnw/9NCbsIgwy4g4c0bUsEqFCNQg8igdN_tQwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/1964-2-26.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>February 25, 1964, 60 years ago:</b> The Miami Beach Convention Center hosts a fight for the Heavyweight Championship of the World.</div><div><br /></div><div>Neither fighter is popular. The Champion is Charles "Sonny" Liston, who had won the title in 1962, by knocking out the popular Floyd Patterson in the 1st round, then doing it again in the rematch. Liston was big, moody, nasty-looking, had served 2 years in prison for armed robbery, and wasn't exactly friendly with the media, or with anyone else.</div><div><br /></div><div>The challenger is Cassius Clay. On the surface, the 22-year-old Clay seemed like the perfect antidote. He had won a Gold Medal for America at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. He was a stylish fighter, already known for "dancing" in the ring. He made himself accessible to the media, predicting the round in which he would knock out his opponent (and frequently turning out to be right), and reciting poetry made up on the spot. He may have been the original battle-rapper.</div><div><br /></div><div>And he was a good-looking guy. As he said himself, comparing himself to Liston, "He's too ugly to be the world's champ! The world's champ should be pretty, like me!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Still, a lot of people didn't like Clay. They saw him as a young upstart, a braggart, an egomaniac. The native of Louisville, Kentucky was nicknamed the Louisville Lip. If he'd been white, they might have called him "the Mouth of the South." Being black didn't help: Lots of white people didn't like that a black man was talking so big. Liston was also black, so bigots didn't like either man.</div><div><br /></div><div>An interviewer asked Clay what percentage of the fans were coming to see him, as opposed to coming to see Liston. He said, "Well, 100 percent are coming to see me, but 99 percent are coming to see me get beat. Because they think I talk too much."</div><div><br /></div><div>Liston was 35-1 as a professional fighter, his only loss a split decision 10 years earlier. His last 3 fights, including his dethroning of Patterson and a rematch with him, had all ended in 1st-round knockouts. Twice, he had beaten rising contender Cleveland Williams, in a total of 5 rounds. He had knocked out rising contender Zora Folley in the 3rd round. Of his last 8 fights, only 1 had gone beyond the 4th round.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Las Vegas oddsmakers posted 8-1 odds in Liston's favor. Hardly anybody was willing to publicly say that Clay would win.</div><div><br /></div><div>But Clay was sure he could. He had been trained to believe that by his trainers, Angelo Dundee and Drew Brown. Brown -- whom Ali always called "Bodini," a variation on his middle name, Bundini -- gave the boxing starlet his first big quote:</div><div><br /><i>Float like a butterfly,</i><br /><i>sting like a bee!</i><br /><i>The hand can't hit</i><br /><i>what the eye can't see!</i><br /><br />Sometimes, to psych Clay up, Brown would look him in the eye, and, together, they would yell, "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! Ahhhh! Rumble, young man, rumble! Ahhhh!" Clay was telling people, "I am the greatest!" Brown was telling him, "Born the champ in the crib!" Dundee wasn't yelling or creating quotes, but he and Brown were both getting him ready.</div><div><br /></div><div>So when the fight with Liston for the title came, everyone wanted to know when he was going to knock out Liston. He said:<br /><br /><i>For those of you unable to watch the Clay-Liston fight, here is the 8th round, exactly as it will happen:</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>Clay comes out to meet Liston, </i><i>and Liston starts to retreat!</i><br /><i>If Liston backs up any further, </i><i>he'll end up in a ringside seat!</i><br /><i>Clay swings with his left! </i><i>Clay swings with his right!</i><br /><i>Look at young Cassius </i><i>carry the fight!</i><br /><i>Liston keeps backing, </i><i>but there's not enough room!</i><br /><i>It's just a matter of time: </i><i>There! Clay lowers the boom!</i><br /><i>Liston crashes through the roof </i><i>with a terrible sound!</i><br /><i>But the ref can't start counting </i><i>until Sonny comes down!</i><br /><i>Liston disappears from view! </i><i>The crowd is getting frantic!</i><br /><i>But our radar stations have picked him up: </i><i>He's somewhere over the Atlantic!</i><br /><i>Who would've thought </i><i>when they came to the fight</i><br /><i>that they'd witness the launching </i><i>of a human satellite!</i><br /><i>The crowd did not dream </i><i>when they put down their money</i><br /><i>that they would see </i><i>a total eclipse of the Sonny!</i><br /><br />Like <i>Star Wars</i> character Han Solo, this was a man you would never tell the odds. He'd tell anyone who would listen, especially Liston, "If you'd like to lose your money, be a fool and bet on Sonny!"<br /><br />Clay was in Liston's head, citing his appearance, his courage, and his age: "You're 40 years old, if a day, and you don't belong in the ring with Cassius Clay!" (Like Archie Moore, whom Clay had demolished in 4 rounds, 2 years earlier, nobody really knew how old Liston was. Officially, he was 31, but nobody believed he was that young.) Sportswriter Bert Sugar, who knew more about boxing than any man alive, said, "Liston could handle anything except crazy people. And Clay, then his name, struck Liston as a crazy person."<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>In the 1st 4 rounds, Clay danced around the ring, and Liston hardly laid a glove on him. With advantages in height, reach and speed, Cassius messed Sonny's face up. Liston knew he was in trouble, and that cheating might get him out of it. In the 5th, he got his glove into Clay's eye, and suddenly, Clay started blinking. He couldn't see. And Liston finally started landing punches.</div><div><br />When Clay got back to his stool, he was, for the first time in his boxing career, scared. He told Dundee, "I can't see! Cut the gloves off!"<br /><br />History -- that of boxing, and that of American culture -- hung in the balance at that moment. Everything this boxing contender would become, and everything he would come to mean to anyone, might not have happened.<br /><br />Dundee saw a white powder on Clay's glove, from where he'd wiped it out of his eye. Dundee washed Clay's eyes out, and, acting as "bad cop" to Brown's "good cop," told him that he was too close to winning the title to give up now. He told Clay to use his great footwork to stay out of Liston's way until his eyes cleared, and then go after him again.<br /><br />He did. The film shows Clay pretty much dancing away from Liston's blows in the 5th and 6th rounds. Late in the 6th, Clay's eyes cleared, and he resumed his methodical demolition of Liston's face.<br /><br />The bell rang for the 7th round, and Clay was ready to finish the job. Liston decided that, his cheating unsuccessful, the job was finished. He quit on his stool. Cassius Clay was the Heavyweight Champion of the World.</div><div><br /></div><div>On the surviving TV broadcast, he can be heard yelling, "I just knocked out Sonny Liston, I don't have a mark on my face, I just became the world's champ, and I'm only 22 years old! I <i>must</i> be the greatest! He wanted to go to heaven, so I knocked him out in seven! I am the king of the world! I'm pretty! I'm a <i>bad</i> man! I shook up the world! I shook up the world! I shook up the world!"</div><div><br />Certainly, he'd thrilled the world. But the shakeup was yet to come.<br /><br />"I'm young, I'm handsome, I'm fast, I'm pretty, and can't possibly be beat!"<br /><br />As it turned out, there was one man who could beat Cassius Clay. He even wiped him out of existence. And his name was Muhammad Ali.</div><div><br /></div><div>Over the next 10 years, the world would change tremendously, and Ali would be one of the reasons why. He would become perhaps the most hated man in America, including by many people who would have been expected to be among his biggest fans. But times would change, and the general perception of him changed with them. When he won the title for the 2nd time, on October 30, 1974, he would be the most popular man in the world.</div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-74404479526607723042024-02-23T00:00:00.001-05:002024-02-23T00:00:00.124-05:00February 23, 2014: Jason Collins Becomes the 1st Out U.S. Athlete<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1zs1jPkbfD0XS8bi0sADL_aKjGy9f_Hcq4PG8jEVoitFxX2MtJZMAvexRCvpJ7eUuLHAwGwIA4-TLuz-e2yc_AWIZEVosNPb8mUNsbsXaWL4Xi_5uRW2UN0qw2Er9Rts5FHWHtFD9j75fAew0qOswKNfnPL4Hi_IwgXRbEwVq7LHXlBoz1XJ-ry-FuA/s1200/2014%20Jason%20Collins.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1zs1jPkbfD0XS8bi0sADL_aKjGy9f_Hcq4PG8jEVoitFxX2MtJZMAvexRCvpJ7eUuLHAwGwIA4-TLuz-e2yc_AWIZEVosNPb8mUNsbsXaWL4Xi_5uRW2UN0qw2Er9Rts5FHWHtFD9j75fAew0qOswKNfnPL4Hi_IwgXRbEwVq7LHXlBoz1XJ-ry-FuA/s320/2014%20Jason%20Collins.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>February 23, 2014, 10 years ago:</b> The Brooklyn Nets beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 108-102 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Jason Collins </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">played 10 minutes and 37 seconds for the Nets, and he didn't score any points. He did, however, have an offensive rebound, a defensive rebound, and a steal.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">This appearance made Collins, who, in the off-season, publicly revealed that he is gay -- also known as "coming out of the closet," or "outing yourself," and was not, at the time, signed to any team -- the first openly gay athlete in major league sports in North America.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Presuming, of course, that you do not include MLS, Major League Soccer, as "major league." </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Robbie Rogers had already played for the Los Angeles Galaxy since coming out. So far, the reaction to him has been positive. </span><span style="background-color: white;">But in the traditional "Big Four" North American sports, Collins was the first. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">And it appeared that, on that night, the L.A. fans -- presumably, many of whom have cheered Rogers -- treated Collins no worse than they treated any other opposing player.</span></div><span><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">A few other athletes have come out after retirement. Collins, knowing that he could still have a shot at signing with a new team, but also that teams might shy away from signing him if they knew, chose to be honest, and let them know. The Nets decided that it didn't matter, that it wasn't an indication of bad character, and that he might still be able to help them win, and they signed him.</span></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Born on December 2, 1978 in Los Angeles, Collins was an All-American center at Stanford University. He had previously played with the New Jersey Nets from 2001 to 2008, before their 2012 move to Brooklyn. He played the 2nd half of the 2007-08 season with the Memphis Grizzlies, 2008-09 with the Minnesota Timberwolves, 2009-12 with the Atlanta Hawks, most of 2012-13 with the Boston Celtics, and the end of that season with the Washington Wizards. He ended up playing 22 games for the Nets, starting only 1, and never played again.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">In that 1st game for the Nets, he wore Number 46. For his remaining games with the Nets, he wore 98, as he had with the Celtics and the Wizards. He wore it in memory of Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student who was murdered for being gay in 1998. Having proven his point, he </span><span style="background-color: white;">announced his retirement on November 19, 2014.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Glenn Burke, who played baseball in the 1970s, didn't "come out" while he was playing, because, in his own mind, he was never "in." Baseball fans at large didn't know he was gay, but his teammates knew, and most of them didn't care. Unfortunately, he played for 2 bigoted managers, Tommy Lasorda and Billy Martin. Lasorda ordered him traded away from the Los Angeles Dodgers; and Billy Martin, with the Oakland Athletics, had him sent down to the minors, burying him and prematurely ending his career.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">One day, people who are gay will not have to face the choice of announcing it, or keeping themselves in the closet because they're afraid of repercussions. One day, we will hear that someone is gay, and we'll say, "So what? It doesn't make a difference. It's his (or her) business, not ours."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">Until then, anyone facing the choice that Jason Collins and Robbie Rogers have made -- not </span><i style="background-color: white;">being</i><span style="background-color: white;"> gay, but </span><i style="background-color: white;">revealing</i><span style="background-color: white;"> it -- will need more Collinses and Rogerses, to move people's hearts and minds forward. Such people will advance our society in the same way that Jackie Robinson did on race, to the point where the only thing that matters is, "Can he play?"</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">If a player is a good player and a good teammate, then I don't care if he's a purple Buddhist from Mars in a ménage-a-trois with a college kid and a teddy bear: His personal life doesn't matter, and he can play on my team. </span><span style="background-color: white;">If a player is exactly like I was as a young man, except with talent, but not enough to make it at the major league level, then I'd cut him.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">I'd rather have a gay player on my team than an anti-gay player.</span> </div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-11821491451464955212024-02-21T00:00:00.001-05:002024-02-21T00:00:00.143-05:00February 21, 1974: Tim Horton Is Killed In a Car Crash<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipKvJONWV-O1VWYObzOMG5ubKh9Cm-GDyipmzsnasje_eWqxOuYpGdZCN2zXRumNa0MhRp8xmdcHGNZlcc6rBmja397Yp-SNjQ4wRYtEPP0UyjGC8AbZskMMbVVo2_LzTkUEGTujEsMlFOpZxBVePT3zI76TpKszfQe-gCvB8E46g93tzvktQD6Hq46A/s344/1962%20Tim%20Horton.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipKvJONWV-O1VWYObzOMG5ubKh9Cm-GDyipmzsnasje_eWqxOuYpGdZCN2zXRumNa0MhRp8xmdcHGNZlcc6rBmja397Yp-SNjQ4wRYtEPP0UyjGC8AbZskMMbVVo2_LzTkUEGTujEsMlFOpZxBVePT3zI76TpKszfQe-gCvB8E46g93tzvktQD6Hq46A/s320/1962%20Tim%20Horton.JPG" width="233" /></a></div><div><b>February 21, 1974, 50 years ago:</b> Hockey star Tim Horton is killed in a car crash. It was the only thing that could stop him from playing hockey.</div><div><br /></div><div>Miles Gilbert Horton was born on January 12, 1930 in Cochrane, in northern Ontario. He grew up in Sudbury, Ontario, and was signed as a defenseman by the Toronto Maple Leafs. That team was in a dynasty, having won the Stanley Cup in 1942, 1945, 1947, 1948 and 1949. They would win another in 1951.</div><div><br /></div><div>But Tim Horton would not be a part of it: He would play 1 regular-season game on March 26, 1950, and a Playoff game on April 9, but would remain in the Leafs' minor-league system, with the Pittsburgh Hornets, whom he would help to win the 1952 American Hockey League Championship.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">He was called up for good for the start of the 1952-53 season, but this would be a transition period for the Leafs, as their 1940s dynasty had aged, and it took a while for a new great team to be built. For a while, Horton was their best player.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bobby Hull of the Chicago Black Hawks explained: "<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">There were defensemen you had to fear because they were vicious, and would slam you into the boards from behind, for one, Eddie Shore. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">But you respected Tim Horton, because he didn't need </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">that</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"> type of intimidation. He used his tremendous strength and talent to keep you in check."</span></span></div><div><div class="table_wrapper" id="all_gamelog_playoffs" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 1em auto 20px; scroll-margin: 2.5em 0px 0px; width: 1421px;"></div></div><div>In 1958, George "Punch" Imlach was named head coach and general manager. He built a veteran team that reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1959 and 1960, and then won it in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967. Horton was key for this team, appearing in 486 consecutive games between February 11, 1961 and February 4, 1968. This remains the Toronto franchise record, and was an NHL record for defensemen until 2007.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the meantime, in 1964, Horton co-founded the Tim Hortons restaurant chain, featuring baked goods and coffee. In 1967, he took on investor Ron Joyce, who ran Canada's Dairy Queens. Joyce was able to turn Tim Hortons into an icon of Canada.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://cor.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/a_notice_regarding_products_at_tim_hortons_4027_title.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="700" height="205" src="https://cor.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/a_notice_regarding_products_at_tim_hortons_4027_title.png" width="400" /></a></div><div>After the 1967 Stanley Cup, knowing that internal politics within the Leafs organization meant that money needed to be saved, Imlach began to break up the dynasty. In 1970, he traded Horton to the New York Rangers. He remained with them through the end of the 1970-71 season. He was claimed by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the intra-league draft.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">After 1 season with them, he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres, who, by then, were being run by Imlach. As Rick Martin of the "French Connection Line" (also including Gilbert Perreault and <span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">René </span>Robert) was already wearing Number 7 for the Sabres, Horton was given Number 2. In 1973, though he was 43 years old, Horton helped the Sabres reach the Playoffs in only their 3rd season of play.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">On February 20, 1974, the Sabres played their 55th game of the season. Horton, now 44 years old, played in it, and in all 54 games before it. The game was at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, The Leafs won, 4-2.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">A few hours later, early on the morning of February 21, Horton was trying to make the 100-mile drive from Toronto back to Buffalo, in his De Tomaso Pantera sports car, on the Queen Elizabeth Way (named for the widow of King George VI, not her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the way, he stopped at his office in Oakville, Ontario, and met with Joyce. <span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">While there, he phoned his brother Gerry, who recognized that Tim had been drinking, and tried to persuade him not to continue driving. Joyce also offered to have Horton stay with him. Horton chose to continue his drive to Buffalo.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At around 4:30 AM, Horton approached the Lake Street exit in St. Catharines, Ontario, and lost control, crossing onto the center grass median. His tire caught a recessed sewer, causing him to flip onto the Toronto-bound lanes. In addition to being drunk </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">-- which was not publicly revealed until 2005 -- he also had several drugs in his system, including Dexedrine, a stimulant, and Amobarbital, a sedative. To make matters worse</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;">, he wasn't wearing a seatbelt. He was found 123 feet from his car. He never had a chance.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;">After Tim's death, Joyce offered his widow, Lori, $1 million for the shares of Tim Hortons that she inherited. She accepted, and Joyce became the sole owner. Lori lived until 2000. The Hortons had 4 children, all daughters. One of them, Jeri-Lyn, married Ron Joyce Jr., so some shares returned to the Horton family.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;">The Sabres retired Number 2 for Horton in 1996. The Leafs retired Number 7 for him and 1930s star King Clancy in 2016. A statue of Horton now stands outside the original store in Hamilton, Ontario, about halfway between Toronto and Buffalo. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977. In 1998, <i>The Hockey News</i> ranked him 43rd on their list of the 100 Greatest Players. In 2017, he was named to the NHL's 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players.</span></div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-90754270592757933282024-02-16T00:00:00.001-05:002024-02-16T00:00:00.132-05:00February 16, 2004: The A-Rod Trade<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://vault.si.com/.image/ar_4:3%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_1200/MTY5MTA2MjQ5MzE5OTE3MDE5/alex-rodriguez-yankees-vaultjpg.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://vault.si.com/.image/ar_4:3%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_1200/MTY5MTA2MjQ5MzE5OTE3MDE5/alex-rodriguez-yankees-vaultjpg.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>February 16, 2004, 20 years ago:</b> The biggest trade in baseball history -- in terms of money and hype, if not in terms of number of players -- is announced.<br /><br />The Texas Rangers got Alfonso Soriano, age 28, one of the most exciting talents in baseball, who had mainly been a 2nd baseman, but could also play shortstop and 3rd base; and a player to be named later, who, on April 23, turned out to be Joaquin Arias, 19, a minor-league infielder who ended up playing 474 games in the major leagues, including winning 2 World Series rings as a backup with the 2012 and 2014 San Francisco Giants.<br /><br />The New York Yankees got Alex Rodriguez, a shortstop, soon to be 29, accepted by some as the best player in baseball, and the last 7 years of the biggest contract ever signed in professional sports to that point: $252 million.<br /><br />I had to explain about Arias. But we know what happened to the 2 big names. Soriano bounced around, including back to the Yankees at the end, finishing with 412 home runs and 289 stolen bases, including (as far as we know, he was clean) the 1st honest season in MLB history with at least 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases, with the 2006 Washington Nationals.<br /><br />And yet, he got traded again, not because the Nats no longer wanted to deal with him, but because the Chicago Cubs were going for broke, and he did help them reach the postseason in 2007 and 2008.<div><br /></div><div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">These are all the players, through the 2023 season, who have exceeded Soriano's totals in both home runs and stolen bases, in chronological order: Willie Mays (660 HRs and 338 SBs), </span>Andre Dawson (438 and 314), <span style="font-family: inherit;">Barry Bonds (762 and 514, the only man to have 400 of each, let alone 500), </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;">Carlos Beltrán (435 and 312)</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">... and Alex Rodriguez.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">(So, really, only Mays and Dawson.)</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div>As for A-Rod: The Yankees were able to make the trade because their arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox, had already tried and failed to trade their All-Star shortstop, Nomar Garciaparra, to the Rangers for him. On July 31, 2004, as part of a 4-team deal, the Sox sent Nomar to the Chicago Cubs, getting Doug Mientkiewicz from the Minnesota Twins and Orlando Cabrera from the Montreal Expos.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Yankees made the trade because he was, right up there with their own All-Star shortstop, Derek Jeter, one of the biggest stars in baseball; and team owner George Steinbrenner was in one of his "I want it <i>now</i>!" phases that many people thought had stopped after his 1990 suspension, but really hadn't.</div><div><br /></div><div>A-Rod moved to 3rd base, because Jeter had earned the right to keep playing at shortstop for the Yankees. A-Rod ended up helping the Yankees reach the postseason 7 times, but won only 1 Pennant, in 2009, also winning the World Series. His regular seasons were solid, sometimes spectacular. His postseasons, 2009 excepted, were horrendous.</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>He seemed to be personally responsible for the Yankees' failures to "show up" in the 2005 American League Division Series, the 2006 ALDS, the 2007 ALDS, the 2010 AL Championship Series, the 2011 ALDS, the 2012 ALCS, and the 2015 AL Wild Card Game. And it all seemed to start with his stupid "Slap Play" in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS.</div><div><br />He finished his career with 14 All-Star berths, 3,115 hits, 696 home runs, 2,086 RBIs, 329 stolen bases, a batting title (before he was a Yankee), 2 Gold Gloves (both before he was a Yankee), 3 AL Most Valuable Player awards (2 as a Yankee)... and 1 World Championship, the category that Yankee Fans <i>should</i> care about.<br /><br />And he frequently embarrassed the Yankees, both on and off the field. If it was just little things, like the various manifestations of his huge ego, I could have lived with it. After all, my favorite player of all time is Reggie Jackson, and I lived with his similar issues.<br /><br />But Reggie never cheated, as far as we know. A-Rod got caught cheating. Twice. And that was on top of his many postseason failures, and his single postseason success.<br /><br />No player in the history of baseball has ever polarized fans more. If that's incorrect, then, certainly, none has ever done so within the fandom of his own team.<br /><br />He retired in August 2016. The Yankees did not give uniform Number 13 back out until 2021, to Joey Gallo, who, at the least, was only an embarrassment in terms of his performance. They probably won't officially retire it for A-Rod, and he may never get a Plaque in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium.<br /><br />And, while he is now eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame, don't count on him being elected. Ever. Meanwhile, David Ortiz, who cheated, lied about it, got caught, and still lies about it, became eligible at the same time, and, oh-so-predictably, got in on his first chance.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, who won the trade of Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees for Alfonso Soriano to the Rangers? The Boston Red Sox, of course.</div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-3005760910618514412024-02-14T14:55:00.002-05:002024-02-14T14:55:35.935-05:00The Republican Party Is Now Donald Trump's Personal Slush Fund<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://mediaproxy.salon.com/width/1200/https://media2.salon.com/2024/02/lara_trump_donald_trump_1233293175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="267" src="https://mediaproxy.salon.com/width/1200/https://media2.salon.com/2024/02/lara_trump_donald_trump_1233293175.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since 2016, I've been saying, "Donald Trump did not take over the Republican Party, he fit right in." Well, he makes a liar out of everyone else, starting with himself. I suppose my time was bound to come.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Effective February 24, after the South Carolina Primary, Mitt Romney's niece, Ronna Romney McDaniel, is out as Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. Lara Trump, Eric Trump's wife, is in.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is typical of Dumb Donald's Mob-boss mentality. But it's also loaded with the potential for electoral disaster for the Republicans. Not just because she's totally unqualified for the job, but because of what would happen if she did her job exactly the way her father-in-law wants.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In an interview with right-wing propaganda website Newsmax, Lara said, <span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;">"Every single penny will go to the number one and the only job of the RNC," </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;">namely the election of Donald Trump to another term in the White House.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;">The only way that happens is if he avoids criminal conviction. The only way that happens is if he can delay his trials until after the election on November 5.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;">Trump isn't running for President to do what's best for the country. He's running to do what's best for himself: First, stay out of prison; second, to be a dictator.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;">And, by the way, he doesn't look like Elvis Presley. Even the 1977 version of Elvis was thinner. He was probably sweating less than Trump is now, too. We knew Trump wanted to be America's king, but we didn't know he wanted to be the King of Rock and Roll.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;">He said he was high-class. Well, that was just a lie. He ain't nothin' but a hound dog, cryin' all the time. Well, he ain't never caught a rabbit, and he ain't no friend of mine.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, Trump's way has always been to take money meant for things he was promoting, and spend it on himself. He's going to look the RNC's funds to pay his legal bills. That's not a crazy prediction, it's what he does. It's a new variation on what he's always done.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">"No one tell her the RNC is supposed to be in charge of assisting the entire party at the federal, state and local level. Not just Trump’s personal slush fund," quipped attorney Bradley Moss.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Republican strategist Bobby Trivett, a self-acknowledged supporter of the last remaining other Republican candidate in the race, former Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina, argued </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">that Lara Trump has "no interest in Republican Victory up and down the ballot, she just wants Trump legal fees paid."</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">How many Republican candidates for office in 2024 are going to lose their races by 3 percent or less -- races they could win, given the right spending, the right message, and maybe also a lucky break -- because they didn't have the campaign funds they needed, either because they didn't kiss his ass, or his ring, enough?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How many candidates are going to lose based on not having enough money, because he looted the campaign fund to pay his legal bills?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The chickens are coming home to roost, and Trump is Colonel Sanders. And that is the closest he should ever again be allowed to being commander-in-chief.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Actually, if Trump were the Colonel, he'd have given the Russians the recipe, with all 11 herbs and spices.</span></span></div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-5675893542293153492024-02-14T00:00:00.010-05:002024-02-14T00:00:00.132-05:00February 14, 1934: The Ace Bailey Benefit Game<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2NCsgCPbCw0/YTkg2ZIt3uI/AAAAAAAAE1w/CSOa2BL7T7ou9kDz2lnulUisy1Vdl54GgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/1932%2BAce%2BBailey.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2NCsgCPbCw0/YTkg2ZIt3uI/AAAAAAAAE1w/CSOa2BL7T7ou9kDz2lnulUisy1Vdl54GgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/1932%2BAce%2BBailey.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A colorized photo of Ace Bailey, included in a composite photo</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">of a Maple Leafs' Centennial Team, 2016</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>February 14, 1934, 90 years ago:</b> One of the greatest moments in National Hockey League history occurs. But it was brought on by perhaps its ugliest game.</div><div><br /></div><div>On December 12, 1933, the Boston Bruins were hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Boston Garden. The Bruins still had most of the players who had led them to the 1929 Stanley Cup, including 2 of the greatest defensemen the game has ever known, Eddie Shore and Aubrey "Dit" Clapper. The Leafs, winners of the Cup in 1932, had another, Francis "King" Clancy.</div><div><br /></div><div>This game, which the Leafs would win 4-1, was in the 2nd period. The Leafs had taken 2 quick penalties, and sent Clancy, defenseman George "Red" Horner, and right wing Irvine Wallace "Ace" Bailey out to defend the 5-on-3 Bruin power play.</div><div><br /></div><div>Shore, who helped the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 1929, rushed up the ice. Clancy, charitably listed at 5-foot-7 and 155 pounds, and a winner of the Cup with the Ottawa Senators in 1922, '23 and '27, and with the Leafs in '32, followed him, and checked him into the boards.</div><div><br /></div><div>Shore got up, and, in his daze, he figured the closest Leaf player to him must have been the one who did it. He guessed wrong: The closest Leaf player to him was Bailey. Shore hit him from the side, and he landed head-first on the ice.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P0YRD2iTEwg/YTkhLvwl_xI/AAAAAAAAE14/7Jw9-w7vtNcbnU3RhioljIbZpxDlUcvDgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/1929%2BEddie%2BShore.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P0YRD2iTEwg/YTkhLvwl_xI/AAAAAAAAE14/7Jw9-w7vtNcbnU3RhioljIbZpxDlUcvDgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/1929%2BEddie%2BShore.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div>Horner skated over, knowing full well that it wasn't Bailey who had checked Shore, and yelled, "What did you do that for, Eddie?" Shore, not realizing the enormity of what he had done, gave Horner a big grin. What happened next is in dispute: The first source I saw on the story said that Horner hit Shore over the head with the blade of his stick. Another source said that Horner punched Shore, knocking him out in an instant.</div><div><br /></div><div>Whatever the truth was, Shore was also out cold. The Boston crowd booed the hell out of Horner, who was already known as one of the dirtiest players in the game. But so was Shore, who, with his attitude, his receding hairline, and the fact that he was admired but not especially liked, was practically the Ty Cobb of hockey.</div><div><br /></div><div>But it quickly became apparent that Bailey was hurt worse. Both men regained consciousness, and were carried off the ice together. Shore apologized. Bailey seemed to forgive him, saying, "It's all part of the game," and then passed out again.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bailey was taken to Boston City Hospital. He was diagnosed with a fractured skull and an extradural clot on the brain. His father, listening to the game on the radio in Toronto, packed a gun, and immediately boarded a train for Boston, intending to kill Shore.</div><div><br /></div><div>Leafs owner Conn Smythe found out about this, and talked to his general manager, Frank Selke. Selke had a friend working with the Boston Police, who met Bailey's father at the hotel, and talked him out of the murder plot.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nevertheless, the BPD said they would charge Shore with manslaughter if Bailey died. Within 24 hours, he underwent 2 spinal taps to relieve intracranial pressure. There was at least one news report that Bailey had died. But, through several procedures, he came out of his coma after 10 days. He hung on, through Christmas and New Year's. In mid-January 1934, he was released from the hospital.</div><div><br /></div><div>NHL President Frank Calder suspended Horner for 6 games, and Shore indefinitely. Once he was confident that Bailey was going to live, Calder set Shore's suspension at 16 games, or 1/3rd of the season at the time (48 games). Bailey never played again.</div><div><br /></div><div>Walter Gilhooly, sports editor of the <i>Ottawa Journal</i>, recommended that a benefit game be played, to offset Bailey's loss of income. Calder agreed. The Leafs would host the game, and put their team out against a team made up of players from the rest of the League, 2 from each of the other 8 teams then in it.</div><div><br /></div><div>The game was played at Maple Leaf Gardens on February 14, 1934. Here were the lineups:</div><div><br /></div><div>* From the Toronto Maple Leafs, coached by Dick Irvin, once a great player, and the father of eventual Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Irvin Jr.: Number 1, goaltender George Hainsworth, formerly a star with the Montreal Canadiens; 2, defenseman Red Horner; 3, defenseman Alex Levinsky; 4, defenseman Clarence "Hap" Day; 5, center Andy Blair; 7, defenseman King Clancy; 8, left wing Harold "Baldy" Cotton; 9, right wing Charlie "the Bomber" Conacher; 10, center Joe Primeau; 11, left wing Harvey "Busher" Jackson; 12, left wing Hector "Hec" Kilrea; 14, center Bill Thoms; 15, right wing Ken Doraty; 16, right wing Charlie Sands; 17, left wing Frank "Buzz" Boll.</div><div><br /></div><div>NHL All-Stars, coached by Lester Patrick of the New York Rangers, also once a great player:</div><div><br /></div><div>* From the Chicago Black Hawks: 1, goaltender Charlie Gardiner; and 7, defenseman Lionel Conacher, brother of Charlie.</div><div><br /></div><div>* From the Boston Bruins: 2, defenseman Eddie Shore; and 9, center Nelson "Nels" Stewart, better known as a Montreal Maroon.</div><div><br /></div><div>* From the Ottawa Senators: 3, right wing Frank Finnigan; and 17, defenseman Al Shields.</div><div><br /></div><div>* From the Montreal Canadiens: 4, left wing Aurele Joliat; and 16, center Howie Morenz. Morenz, known as "the Babe Ruth of Hockey" -- like Ruth, he had several nicknames -- normally wore 7, but Lionel Conacher was considered the greatest all-around athlete in Canada, and had priority.</div><div><br /></div><div>* From the Detroit Red Wings: 5, left wing Herbie Lewis; and 14, right wing Larry Aurie.</div><div><br /></div><div>* From the New York Rangers: 6, defenseman Ivan "Ching" Johnson; and 15, right wing Bill Cook. Somebody decided that the Irish-Canadian Johnson looked Chinese, and nicknamed him Ching. He had seniority over Aurie, who also wore 6; but Lewis had seniority over Cook, who wore 5 with the Rangers.</div><div><br /></div><div>* From the Montreal Maroons: 10, center Reginald "Hooley" Smith; and 18, right wing Jimmy Ward.</div><div><br /></div><div>* From the New York Americans: 11, center Norman Himes; and 12, defenseman Norman "Red" Dutton.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T8tDxGkauHs/YTkZ82wyH-I/AAAAAAAAE1g/TNOx5ZI7BHAxuEtOsFxMaRsawfP4JHVgACLcBGAsYHQ/s760/1934%2BNHL%2BAll-Stars.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="760" height="227" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T8tDxGkauHs/YTkZ82wyH-I/AAAAAAAAE1g/TNOx5ZI7BHAxuEtOsFxMaRsawfP4JHVgACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1934%2BNHL%2BAll-Stars.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Before the game, the other teams' players posed at center ice in their regular sweaters. Then they were given white jerseys with "NHL" on them. And the Leafs had special jerseys, too, with "ACE" on them.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xmZR2PgPjM0/YTkamFjaqBI/AAAAAAAAE1o/rnHKOZhn6MEYy2u4eV2UGUPomVuqp24nQCLcBGAsYHQ/s500/1934%2BMaple%2BLeafs.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="500" height="218" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xmZR2PgPjM0/YTkamFjaqBI/AAAAAAAAE1o/rnHKOZhn6MEYy2u4eV2UGUPomVuqp24nQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1934%2BMaple%2BLeafs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div>The selection of Shore was controversial. When he skated up to receive his Number 2 jersey, the crowd of 14,074 was silent. Then he skated over to the Leafs bench, where Bailey was sitting in a suit, long coat and fedora. Shore offered his hand, and Bailey shook it. The crowd roared, and the players tapped their sticks on the ice, in what was already a long-established hockey salute.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uj2IBm-0LvI/YTkhUeGL1GI/AAAAAAAAE18/xi4O1E3b4dYohFonLxS12lG7M8B3XHseACLcBGAsYHQ/s200/1934%2BBailey%2B%2526%2BShore.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="185" data-original-width="200" height="370" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uj2IBm-0LvI/YTkhUeGL1GI/AAAAAAAAE18/xi4O1E3b4dYohFonLxS12lG7M8B3XHseACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h370/1934%2BBailey%2B%2526%2BShore.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div>The ceremony concluded with Smythe giving Bailey his Number 6 jersey, and announced that it would be retired.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bailey dropped a puck for a ceremonial faceoff, and the game began. Charlie Conacher already had an injured knee, and left the game early. Other than that, there wasn't much hitting, and no penalties were called. Cotton and Jackson scored to put the Leafs up 2-0, before Stewart scored to make it 2-1 Leafs at the end of the 1st period.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jackson scored again early in the 2nd period. Morenz and Finnigan scored to tie it up. But it was all Leafs the rest of the way: Day scored halfway through the 2nd, and Kilrea, Doraty and Blair scored in the 3rd. The Leafs won, beating the entire rest of the NHL, 7-3.</div><div><br /></div><div>The game raised $20,909 for Bailey's family, about $494,000 in 2024. Bailey applied to the NHL to be a referee, but was turned down. Smythe hired him to work in the team's front office. He worked there in one capacity or another until a later owner, Harold Ballard, already perhaps the most hated man in the history of Canadian sports, fired him in 1986. Bailey lived until 1992, ironically becoming one of the game's last surviving players.</div><div><br /></div><div>A later player, Garnet Bailey, no relation, played in the NHL from 1969 to 1978, and was known as Ace Bailey. (An athlete receiving the same nickname as an earlier player with the same surname has happened a few times.) He was working as a scout for the Los Angeles Kings when he died in the destruction of United Airlines Flight 175 at the South Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.</div><div><br /></div><div>Shore continued to play with the Bruins through their 1939 Stanley Cup win. In 1940, he bought the minor-league Springfield Indians of Massachusetts, and remained their owner until his death in 1986. Both he and Bailey were elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bailey wanted the benefit game to become an annual event, for injured players. That didn't happen. But additional benefit games were held for the families of Morenz, who died of heart trouble in 1937, and the Canadiens' Albert "Babe" Siebert, who drowned in 1939. Both of those games were played at the Montreal Forum: The former was a combined Montreal team, Canadiens and Maroons, against the rest of the NHL. The Maroons folded in 1938, so it was just the Canadiens against the rest of the NHL in Siebert's benefit. Both times, the NHL All-Stars won. In 1947, the NHL finally established an annual All-Star Game.</div><div><br /></div><div>Charlie Gardiner and Lionel Conacher led the Black Hawks to win the Stanley Cup, 2 months later. But, just 2 months after that, with antibiotics not yet available, Gardiner died of a tonsil infection. Conacher also died young, suffering a heart attack while playing in a charity softball game on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in 1954.</div><div><br /></div><div>Howie Morenz of the Canadiens broke his leg in a 1937 game, and never left the hospital, suffering a pulmonary embolism. George Hainsworth was killed in a car crash in 1950. Larry Aurie of the Red Wings suffered a stroke while driving in 1952. And Charlie Sands died in 1953.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nels Stewart in 1957; Normie Himes in 1958; Hooley Smith in 1963; Bill Thomas in 1964; Busher Jackson in 1966; Charlie Conacher in 1967; Hec Kilrea in 1969; Al Shields in 1975; Andy Blair in 1977; Ching Johnson in 1979; Ken Doraty in 1981; Baldy Cotton in 1984; Eddie Shore in 1985; Bill Cook, <span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Aurèle Joliat and King Clancy in 1986; Red Dutton in 1987; Joe Primeau in 1989; Buzz Boll, Hap Day, Jimmy Ward and Alex Levinsky in 1990; Herbie Lewis and </span>Frank Finnigan in 1991; and Red Horner was the last survivor from this game, living until April 27, 2005.</span></div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-26814376089567375592024-02-13T00:00:00.011-05:002024-02-13T00:00:00.335-05:00February 13, 1999: The Last "Original Six" Arena Closes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K5WjNceG5ng/YY6XEgD1GrI/AAAAAAAAFuE/xl4b_3j1Mbg9b4oNJggMdTgicYBY8yn4wCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/1931%2BMaple%2BLeaf%2BGardens.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K5WjNceG5ng/YY6XEgD1GrI/AAAAAAAAFuE/xl4b_3j1Mbg9b4oNJggMdTgicYBY8yn4wCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/1931%2BMaple%2BLeaf%2BGardens.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>February 13, 1999, 25 years ago:</b> The last National Hockey League game is played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, after 67 seasons. The host Toronto Maple Leafs lose to the Chicago Blackhawks, 6-2.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Hawks had also been the opponent, and a victorious one, in the Gardens' 1st game, on November 12, 1931, 2-1. The Leafs' Charlie Conacher scored the 1st goal, but it wasn't enough.</div><div><br /></div><div>For the 1999 finale, a member of each team that played in that 1st game was on hand for a ceremonial puck drop: George "Red" Horner of the Leafs, and Harold "Mush" March of the Hawks. (March died in 2002, Horner in 2005.) Derek King scored the Leafs' last goal, while Bob Probert, better known for his fighting and his drug abuse, scored the last goal overall.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup while playing at the Gardens in 1932, 1942, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967 -- clinching on home ice in '32, '42, '47, '49, '51, '63, '64 and '67. In addition, the New York Rangers clinched the Cup by beating the Leafs at the Gardens in 1933 and 1940, the Detroit Red Wings in 1937, and the Montreal Canadiens in 1959 and 1960.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>Leafs player Irvine "Ace" Bailey had been injured by Eddie Shore of the Boston Bruins in a game in Boston in 1933, and never played again. On February 12, 1934, the Gardens hosted a benefit game for him: The Leafs against a team of players from all the other teams in the League. When Shore skated over to the Leafs' bench, where Bailey was in street clothes, and shook hands with him, the Gardens erupted in cheers. The Leafs won the game. In 1947, the Leafs beat an All-Star team from the rest of the League again in the 1st official NHL All-Star Game.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Gardens became known as "The Shrine of Hockey," with CBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, broadcasting <i>Hockey Night in Canada</i> from the building on most Saturday nights, first on radio, and then, starting in 1952, on television. It helped to make the Gardens -- even more than Parliament Hill in Ottawa or the Montreal Forum -- the most famous building in Canada.</div><div><br /></div><div>On November 1, 1946, the Gardens hosted the 1st game in the league that would become the National Basketball Association. But the Toronto Huskies lost it to the New York Knicks, and only lasted that 1 season before folding. Pro basketball would return, briefly: From 1971 to 1975, the Buffalo Braves (the team now known as the Los Angeles Clippers) played 16 "home games" there, and the Toronto Raptors played 6 home games there in 1997, '98 and '99 when the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) was unavailable.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also due to a scheduling conflict, the Rangers played their 1950 Stanley Cup Finals games at Maple Leaf Gardens, possibly costing them the Cup, as they lost to the Red Wings. In the World Hockey Association, the Ottawa Nationals had to move their 1973 Playoff games there, and the Toronto Toros played the 1974-75 and 1975-76 seasons there, before being forced to a smaller arena by the onerous rent charged by Leafs owner Harold Ballard, who, because of his presiding over the declines of both the Leafs and the CFL's Toronto Argonauts, became the most hated man in Canada.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ballard was cheap, he was evil, and he was crooked. Smythe wasn't flat-out evil, but he was imperious, and he was certainly cheap. At one end of the Gardens was a large portrait of Canada's head of state, the British monarch. From 1931 to 1936, this was King George V. For much of 1936, it was King Edward VIII. Then, until 1952, it was King George VI. Finally, it was Queen Elizabeth II.</div><div><br /></div><div>In 1968, the seating capacity at the Gardens was raised from 13,718 to 16,316. This was done through installing narrower seats, and removing the Queen's portrait so that more seats could be installed. Smythe, who had sold the team to a consortium including his son Stafford Smythe and Ballard, said of the new seats, "Only a young man could sit in them, and only a fat old rich man could afford them."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQJ5zXbbMI9uC6QZeOmSspM10PeEbXgbby-WUEM71T5dZ7I6ES-5FIJOFl08SzhAlunUk4&usqp=CAU" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="281" height="256" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQJ5zXbbMI9uC6QZeOmSspM10PeEbXgbby-WUEM71T5dZ7I6ES-5FIJOFl08SzhAlunUk4&usqp=CAU" width="400" /></a></div><div>As for the removal of the portrait of the woman to whom Canadian citizens still paid a share of their taxes (and still pay them to the British Crown, to this day), Ballard pointed out that, in spite of a visit to the building in 1951, before she became Queen, she didn't pay admission to games: "She doesn't pay me. I pay her. Besides, what the hell position can a queen play?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Maple Leaf Gardens hosted Game 2 of the 1972 "Summit Series" between Canada and the Soviet Union, a 4-1 win for Canada. It also hosted minor-league hockey: The Toronto Lions of the Ontario Hockey Association, 1931-39; the Toronto Marlboros (or "Marlies") of the OHA and its successor, the Ontario Hockey League, 1931-89; the Toronto Young Rangers of the OHA and the OHL, 1937 to 1948; the Toronto Knob Hill Farms of the Metro Junior A League, in the 1962-63 season; and the Toronto St. Michael's Majors (or "St. Mike's") of the OHL, 1997-2000.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lacrosse is not considered a major sport in America. In Canada, where it was invented, it is considerably bigger. Canada's National Lacrosse League had the Toronto Tomahawks playing at the Gardens in 1974, and the Toronto Rock in the 1999-2000 season. The Gardens also hosted professional indoor soccer, the "pinball" version of "the beautiful game": The Toronto Blizzard in the 1980-81 and 1981-82 seasons, and the Toronto Shooting Stars in 1996-97.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Gardens was 1 of 16 buildings to have hosted both Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Because Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker, was an illegal immigrant from the Netherlands, a fact not known during Elvis' lifetime, Elvis could only leave the North American continent to fulfill his U.S. Army obligation from 1958 to 1960. He sang at the Gardens on April 2, 1957. It was the only building to host The Beatles on all 3 of their North American tours: September 7, 1964; August 17, 1965; and August 17, 1966.</div><div><br /></div><div>It also hosted boxing and "professional wrestling," with Killer Kowalski making that "sport" popular in his native Canada. On March 29, 1966, Muhammad Ali defended the Heavyweight Championship of the World there, defeating Canada's heavyweight champion, George Chuvalo.</div><div><br /></div><div>Conn Smythe, who had served in the Canadian Army during both World Wars, and enjoyed being called "Major Smythe," resigned from the Gardens' board of directors over the decision to host a fight featuring a man who had already been making statements about how he would refuse to accept being drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. Smythe said of the owners, including his son, that they had "put cash ahead of class."</div><div><br /></div><div>They could do that because the Leafs were a gold mine. From 1946, when the boys came back from World War II, until 1999, the Leafs never played to an unsold seat. This was in spite of the fact that, after the closing of the dynasty coached and managed by George "Punch" Imlach on May 2, 1967, the Leafs never appeared in another Stanley Cup Finals game at the Gardens -- and still haven't. The building, whose address was 60 Carlton Street, became known as the Carlton Street Cashbox.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Gardens outlasted the somewhat enlightened despot Smythe, and the tyrant Ballard. It outlasted the Great Depression, World War II, and the high tide of the conflict between the Canadian federal government and Quebec nationalists. It outlasted the League of Nations, the Third Reich, the British Empire and the Warsaw Pact.</div><div><br /></div><div>It outlasted 20 Mayors of Toronto, 12 Premiers of Ontario (equivalent to the Governor of a State), 10 Prime Ministers of Canada, and 1 Flag of Canada. (The current Maple Leaf Flag replaced the old "Red Ensign" in 1965.) It outlasted Maple Leaf Stadium (home of the minor-league baseball team that gave the NHL Maple Leafs their name), the Mutual Street Arena, the original Varsity Stadium, and Exhibition Stadium.</div><div><br /></div><div>It outlasted the Montreal Maroons, the New York Americans, the California Golden Seals, the Cleveland Barons, the Atlanta Flames (now the Calgary Flames), the Kansas City Scouts and the Colorado Rockies that they became (now the New Jersey Devils), the Minnesota North Stars (now the Dallas Stars), the Quebec Nordiques (now the Colorado Avalanche), the original version of the Winnipeg Jets (now the Arizona Coyotes), the Hartford Whalers (now the Carolina Hurricanes), and the entire World Hockey Association.</div><div><br /></div><div>It outlasted the NHL's other "Original Six" arenas, some by plenty: New York replaced "the old Madison Square Garden" with "the new Madison Square Garden" in 1968, Detroit replaced the Olympia Stadium with the Joe Louis Arena in 1979, Chicago replaced the Chicago Stadium with the United Center in 1994, Boston replaced the Boston Garden with the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in 1995, and Montreal replaced the Montreal Forum with the Molson Centre (now the Bell Centre) in 1996.</div><div><br /></div><div>While not home to "Original Six" teams, the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and the St. Louis Arena were contemporaries, and they were also replaced before 1999. Considerably newer arenas were replaced in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Vancouver, Atlanta, Ottawa, Tampa and the San Francisco Bay Area. (And the ones in Minnesota and Atlanta were demolished before the Gardens closed.)</div><div><br /></div><div>But nothing lasts forever. The ownership group for the NBA's Raptors didn't like playing in the huge SkyDome, and wanted to build their own arena, the Air Canada Centre, next to Toronto's Union Station. Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, owners of the Leafs and the Gardens, knew that there was only so much that could be done to modernize the Gardens, and increasing seating capacity, including adding more luxury boxes, was operationally impossible.</div><div><br /></div><div>So they bought the Raptors, giving their owners shares in MLSE, and had the plans for the ACC to be altered so that it could host hockey as well. Both teams moved in a few days after their last game at the Gardens in February 1999. (In 2018, the ACC was renamed the Scotiabank Arena.)</div><div><br /></div><div>The Gardens didn't close immediately. It still hosted amateur hockey and professional lacrosse, and the British rock band Oasis gave a concert there in 2000. The last "sporting event" there came in 2004, a re-creation of prizefights of eventual Heavyweight Champion James Braddock for the film <i>Cinderella Man</i>, taking advantage of the Gardens' old-time appearance.</div><div><br /></div><div>But MLSE didn't want to own a dormant building, and they also didn't want to sell the old arena to anyone who would use it as a competing arena. (There has long been talk of putting a 2nd NHL team in Toronto, and the Maple Leafs have thus far managed to shoot it down.) In 2000, after a massive renovation, the Montreal Forum reopened as a mall, with stores, a movie theater, and other entertainments. It was suggested that the same be done with the Gardens. But a feasibility study showed that it couldn't be done: If the bowls of seating were removed, the exterior walls would collapse.</div><div><br /></div><div>In 2004, Loblaw Companies, Canada's largest food retailer, bought the Gardens for $12 million. In 2009, they made a deal with Toronto's Ryerson University to renovate the building, to make the playing area a rink with 2,796 seats, while the rest of the building would host retail space.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dynamic-media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-o/15/a2/64/3e/maple-leaf-gardens.jpg?w=1200&h=1200&s=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="800" height="378" src="https://dynamic-media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-o/15/a2/64/3e/maple-leaf-gardens.jpg?w=1200&h=1200&s=1" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The famed marquee, following the renovation</div><br /></div><div>In 2011, the new Loblaw's store finally opened, with a red dot on the floor marking the original location of centre ice. In 2012, the Mattamy Athletic Centre at the Gardens opened, and has been home to Rynearson's hockey team ever since. From 2013 to 2017, it also hosted the Toronto Predators of the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League.</div></div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-8460888345258874442024-02-12T14:36:00.000-05:002024-02-12T14:36:02.029-05:00The Chiefs' "Eras Tour"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/240211231723-86-super-bowl-58.jpg?c=original" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="267" src="https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/240211231723-86-super-bowl-58.jpg?c=original" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">For all the fuss over Taylor Swift, it's worth mentioning: Oh yes, there was a game last night. For the 1st 2 quarters, and most of the 3rd, it was kind of dull. Then it got really good.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It turned out to be the longest Super Bowl ever, only the 2nd to go to overtime, and the 7th-longest in NFL history. Under current overtime rules, the San Francisco 49ers kicked a field goal, but it would not be enough, as the Kansas City Chiefs would get a chance to at least tie the game, and scored a touchdown, a 3-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes, who won his 3rd Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award, to Mecole Hardman. <span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Final: Kansas City 25, San Francisco 22.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Chiefs have now won 3 titles in 4 appearances in 5 years. It's not quite a "dynasty," but, as Taylor might say, it's quite an "era." So, like Taylor, the Chiefs have their own "Eras Tour."</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Andy Reid joins Chuck Noll, Bill Walsh, Joe Gibbs and Jimmy Johnson as coaches who have won 3 Super Bowls. Mahomes joins Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Troy Aikman and Peyton Manning as quarterbacks who've done it. </span><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">And the Chiefs became the 1st back-to-back Super Bowl winners since the 1998-99 Denver Broncos.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">(Note: Proven cheaters not included, so don't tell me about the Bill Belichick and Tom Brady New England Patriots.)</span></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">The winning touchdown was caught be Mecole Hardman -- who, like Aaron Rodgers, began the season with the New York Jets. For some people around here, Ouch.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Travis Kelce got a big hug from Taylor at the end, but, other than that, he was the one Chief who ended up not looking better. His antics on the victory stand didn't help. And getting caught yelling at Reid on the sideline was bad. He's already a meme.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://preview.redd.it/why-travis-kelce-was-really-yelling-at-andy-reid-v0-lk5cv3zmd2ic1.jpeg?auto=webp&s=f16cb53c3baf9a9d4e8cda86dd9ecb73244690bf" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://preview.redd.it/why-travis-kelce-was-really-yelling-at-andy-reid-v0-lk5cv3zmd2ic1.jpeg?auto=webp&s=f16cb53c3baf9a9d4e8cda86dd9ecb73244690bf" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Yeah. He's going to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as are Reid and Mahomes, but this is not a good look.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">One more thing, for all the Trump fans: We might not be in the mess we've been in for the last 50 years if Frank Sinatra hadn't switched parties, and endorsed first Richard Nixon, then Ronald Reagan.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">At least Frank hated Trump, as do his kids, who've spoken well of Taylor.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's also worth noting that Elvis Presley didn't endorse Adlai Stevenson over Dwight D. Eisenhower. But he did get the polio vaccine, on live TV, right before the 1956 election! (Of course, both Ike and Adlai supported the vaccine.)</div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-16459312470947155722024-02-12T00:00:00.014-05:002024-02-12T00:00:00.181-05:00February 12, 1999: President Bill Clinton Is Acquitted<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--jOGFu1_dCY/YPx8WhpigfI/AAAAAAAAEaE/vXCcKLCmm9Upv8oMlJ-Pk8xlinYa1ZtnACLcBGAsYHQ/s976/1999-02%2BAcquittal%2BHeadline.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="976" height="205" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--jOGFu1_dCY/YPx8WhpigfI/AAAAAAAAEaE/vXCcKLCmm9Upv8oMlJ-Pk8xlinYa1ZtnACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h205/1999-02%2BAcquittal%2BHeadline.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>February 12, 1999, 25 years ago:</b> President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the U.S. Senate in an Impeachment trial.<div><br /></div><div>There were 4 Articles of Impeachment drawn up by the House's Committee on the Judiciary, and 2 of them passed the full House, with a 2/3rds' majority, of the Senate, 67 out of 100, required to vote "Guilty" in order to remove him from office:</div><div><br /></div><div>* Perjury before a grand jury: 55 Nay, 45 Yea. All Democrats voted Nay. Republicans voting Nay: Ted Stevens of Alaska, Richard Shelby of Alabama, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, John Chafee of Rhode Island, Fred Thompson of Tennessee, Jim Jeffords of Vermont, John Warner of Virginia, and Slade Gorton of Washington. </div><div><br /></div><div>Specter had been a Democrat until switching parties as a young prosecutor in 1965, and would switch back in 2009. Shelby had been a Democrat until 1994, when the Republicans won the Congressional majority, and he cowardly joined them. Chafee died later in the year, and was succeeded by his son, Lincoln Chafee, who later switched parties. Jeffords switched parties in 2001.</div><div><br /></div><div>* Obstruction of Justice: 50 Yea, 50 Nay. All Democrats voted Nay. This time, Stevens, Shelby, Thompson, Warner and Gorton voted to convict, while the other Republicans stayed consistent.</div><div><br /></div><div>The case was based on Clinton's attempt to hide the fact that he had an extramarital relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern. It had nothing to do with using the power of his office to commit election fraud, as was the case with Richard Nixon, who resigned in 1974 before the full House could vote on Articles of Impeachment; and with Donald Trump, who was impeached in 2019 and acquitted early the next year.</div><div><br /></div><div>The evidence against Clinton was so ridiculous, the Republicans, who held the majority, could not get a majority, 51 votes, to say that he had done it. Surely, there were some Senators who knew he was innocent, but voted "Guilty" anyway, because, like the leaders of the impeachment movement in the House, they hated him so much.</div><div><br /></div><div>And yet, with Speaker Newt Gingrich having resigned before the impeachment, once the trial was over, things calmed down considerably. Over the last 2 years of Clinton's Administration, the White House and the Congress worked together much better, got some things done, and kept the good economy going. It can be argued that, by the end of the year, decade, century and millennium, America had never been in better shape. Maybe, it still hasn't.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Of the 50 Republican Senators who voted "Guilty" on at least 1 Article of Impeachment, 3 are still serving in the Senate, 25 years later:</div><div><br /></div><div>* Chuck Grassley of Iowa, elected with the "Reagan Robots" Class of 1980, now the last remaining member of that class, and the longest-serving active Senator.</div><div><br /></div><div>* Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, elected in 1984, the 2nd-longest-serving active Senator, and the Republicans' longest-serving Senate Leader, in that post 2007.</div><div><br /></div><div>* And Mike Crapo of Idaho, who had been elected to the Senate just before the Impeachment vote, and thus voted to both successfully impeach Clinton in the House and unsuccessfully convict him in the Senate. (And that's pronounced KRAY-poh, not CRAP-o, although confusion would be understandable.)</div></div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-66030413462651350472024-02-09T18:29:00.000-05:002024-02-09T18:29:04.007-05:00Pro Football Hall-of-Famers By Team, 2024 Edition <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/t_editorial_landscape_12_desktop/league/yu4ian5fvuu8rhhiycvf" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/t_editorial_landscape_12_desktop/league/yu4ian5fvuu8rhhiycvf" width="400" /></a></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">Congratulations to the newly-elected members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. New members are annually announced on the day before the Super Bowl. This time, they did it on the preceding Thursday. This year's class is defense-heavy, and includes the righting of some longstanding wrongs. </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">Here are the new electees, </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">listed here in chronological order:</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">* Randy Gradishar, linebacker, 1974-83 Denver Broncos. Pro Bowls: 7. Appeared in Super Bowl XII, but the Broncos lost. The Broncos have elected him to their Ring of Fame. Although college achievements don't count toward the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Ohio State elected him to their Varsity O Hall of Fame, encompassing all sports. His coach, Woody Hayes said, "Randy Gradishar is the finest linebacker I have ever coached."</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">* Steve McMichael, defensive tackle, 1980 New England Patriots, 1981-93 Chicago Bears, 1994 Green Bay Packers. Pro Bowls: 2. Won Super Bowl XX with the Chicago Bears, who named him to their 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">He has been stricken with Lou Gehrig's disease, and his wife has said she has 2 speeches ready for his induction at Canton, Ohio: One if he was still alive when he was elected, one if he wasn't, in which she would torch the voters for doing it too late. Now, she won't have to do that.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">* Julius Peppers, defensive end, 2002-09 Carolina Panthers, 2010-13 Chicago Bears, 2014-16 Green Bay Packers, 2017-18 back with the Panthers. Pro Bowls: 9. Appeared in Super Bowl XXXVIII with the Panthers. The Bears named him to their 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">* Dwight Freeney, defensive end, 2002-12 Indianapolis Colts, 2013-14 San Diego Chargers, 2015 Arizona Cardinals, 2016 Atlanta Falcons, 2017 Seattle Seahawks, 2017 Detroit Lions. Pro Bowls: 7. Won Super Bowl XLI and lost Super Bowl XLIV with the Colts. The Colts </span><span style="background-color: white;">have elected him to their Ring of Honor.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">* Andre Johnson, receiver, 2003-14 Houston Texans, 2015 Indianapolis Colts, 2016 Tennessee Titans. Pro Bowls: 7. Never played in a Super Bowl. The Texans have elected him to their Ring of Honor. Also won a National Championship at the University of Miami.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">* Devin Hester, receiver, 2006-13 Chicago Bears, 2014-15 Atlanta Falcons, 2016 Baltimore Ravens, 2016 Seattle Seahawks. Pro Bowls: 4. Appeared in Super Bowl XLI, returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown, although the Bears still lost the game. </span><span style="background-color: white;">The Bears named him to their 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players, and he was named a return specialist on the NFL's 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. Also elected to the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">* Patrick Willis, linebacker, 2007-14 San Francisco 49ers. Pro Bowls: 7. Appeared in Super Bowl XLVII with the 49ers, who have elected him to their team Hall of Fame.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: white;">All are deserving. There are others who are deserving who didn't get in, but the deserving ones usually get in eventually.</span></div></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div>*</div><div><div><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">Inductees are listed here with a team if they played, or coached, or were an executive, with them for at least 4 seasons.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">I have divided moved teams accordingly (i.e., Johnny Unitas never took a snap for the Indianapolis Colts). "Sure future Hall-of-Famers" are not included, because, as we have seen in baseball, there is no such thing anymore. </span><br /><span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">Tenure as a player, or a coach, or an executive is only counted if they were elected as such. In other words, Raymond Berry coached the Patriots into a Super Bowl, and Forrest Gregg did so with the Bengals, but they were elected as a Colts player and a Packers player, respectively, so those are the teams with which they're included.</span><br /><span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">Ties in the rankings are broken by more players, as opposed to other categories; and then by time in the league. So a team with 4 players is ahead of one with 3 players and 1 coach, and a team with 3 players in 50 years is ahead of one with 3 players in 80 years.</span><br /><span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">Figures are listed here as follows: Players in chronological order of their Hall of Fame service with the team (even if they had other functions with that team), then coaches, then executives, then broadcasters.</span><br /><span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;" /></span><span><strong style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">1. Chicago Bears, 34</strong><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">: George Halas (founder, owner, general manager, head coach, player), John "Paddy" Driscoll, George Trafton, Ed Healey, William "Link" Lyman, Red Grange, Bill Hewitt, Bronko Nagurski, George Musso, Dan Fortmann, Joe Stydahar, Sid Luckman, George McAfee, Clyde "Bulldog" Turner, Ed Sprinkle, George Connor, George Blanda, Bill George, Doug Atkins, Stan Jones, Mike Ditka (player & coach), Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers, Walter Payton, Alan Page, Steve McMichael, Jim Covert, Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, Mike Singletary, Brian Urlacher, Julius Peppers, Devin Hester, Jim Finks (executive).</span></span><br /><span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></span><span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">They have 6 from their 1985-86 "Super Bowl Shuffle" team (7 if you count Ditka as coach), as opposed to 4 from their 1963 NFL Champions, and 7 from their 1940s "Monsters of the Midway" team (8 if you count Nagurski's 1943 comeback).</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">Willie Galimore and Gary Fencik should be in. Thomas Jones is now eligible, and while he didn't spend 4 seasons with any team, his 3 years with the Bears were his most productive period, so I'd list him with them if he got in, and with over 10,000 career rushing yards, he should be in.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><div><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">2. Green Bay Packers, 30</strong><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">: Earl "Curly" Lambeau (founder, owner, executive, head coach, player), Cal Hubbard, John "Johnny Blood" McNally, Mike Michalske, Arnie Herber, Clarke Hinkle, Don Hutson, Tony Canadeo, Bobby Dillon, Jim Ringo, Bart Starr, Forrest Gregg, Paul Hornung, Jim Taylor, Jerry Kramer, Ray Nitschke, Henry Jordan, Willie Davis, Willie Wood, Herb Adderley, Dave Robinson, James Lofton, Jan Stenerud, LeRoy Butler, Reggie White, Brett Favre, Charles Woodson, Vince Lombardi (coach & executive), Ron Wolf (executive), Ray Scott (broadcaster, later the main voice on CBS' NFL telecasts).</span></div></span></div><div><span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">Nearly half of the Packer figures enshrined in Canton, 13, are from the Lombardi Era, including Lombardi himself. This doesn't count Emlen Tunnell, who played the last 3 seasons of his career with the Packers and retired after the 1st title of the Lombardi Era, 1961.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">Now </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">eligible from the Mike Holmgren era, and they would join White, Favre, Butler and Woodson, are Holmgren himself, Adam Timmerman and Gilbert Brown. Eugene Robinson could be considered, but he was only a Packer for 2 seasons, although both ended in Super Bowls, but only 1 won.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">Sean Jones played 3 seasons for the Packers, and would qualify as a Raider and an Oiler if he got in. </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">Donald Driver is the only figure from the Mike McCarthy era yet eligible and worthy of consideration.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">3. Pittsburgh Steelers, 29</strong><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">: Walt Kiesling (also coach), John "Johnny Blood" McNally, Bill Dudley, Ernie Stautner, Jack Butler, John Henry Johnson, Bobby Layne, Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Mike Webster, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Mel Blount, Donnie Shell, Rod Woodson, Dermontti Dawson, Jerome Bettis, Troy Polamalu, Alan Faneca, Art Rooney (founder-owner), Dan Rooney (owner), Bert Bell (coach, later NFL Commissioner), Chuck Noll (coach), Bill Cowher (coach), Bill Nunn (scout), Myron Cope (broadcaster). </span><br /><span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">While the Steelers were rarely competitive for their 1st 40 seasons, they did have a few players who were Hall-worthy, but note that 15 of the 29, more than half, including 11 of the 22 players, were involved with the club during their 1972-79 "Steel Curtain" dynasty.</span></span></div><div><span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">Hines Ward is now eligible, and while that touchdown he scored on a kickoff return for the Gotham Rogues as the field collapsed behind him in </span><em style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">The Dark Knight Rises</em><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"> does nothing to help his candidacy, if he does get in, you know that highlight will be played over and over again.</span></span><br /></div><div><span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><div><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">4. Dallas Cowboys, 23</strong><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">: Bob Lilly, Chuck Howley, Mel Renfro, Bob Hayes, Rayfield Wright, Mike Ditka, Roger Staubach, Cliff Harris, Drew Pearson, Randy White, Tony Dorsett, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, Larry Allen, Charles Haley, DeMarcus Ware, Tom Landry (coach), Jimmy Johnson (coach), Bill Parcells (coach), Tex Schramm (executive), Jerry Jones (owner).</span></div><div><span><br style="line-height: 16.9px;" /></span><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">Parcells did coach them for 4 seasons, so that counts. Ditka is so identified with the Bears (with whom he practically invented the position of tight end and won an NFL Championship in 1963) that people forget he was a Cowboy, and won a Super Bowl each as a player and as one of Landry's assistant coaches -- as did Dan Reeves, although if he ever gets elected, it will be as a head coach, and therefore not as a Cowboy.</span><br /><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">Don Meredith was elected as a broadcaster, but was never a broadcaster specifically for the Cowboys. A case can be made that he deserves election as a player. Charlie Waters and Herschel Walker also have their advocates.</span></div></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">5. New York Giants, 22</strong><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">: Steve Owen (elected as a coach, also a pretty good player for Giants), Ray Flaherty, Benny Friedman, Red Badgro, Mel Hein, Ken Strong, Alphonse "Tuffy" Leemans, Emlen Tunnell, Arnie Weinmeister, Frank Gifford, Roosevelt Brown, Sam Huff, Andy Robustelli, Y.A. Tittle, Fran Tarkenton, Harry Carson, Lawrence Taylor, Michael Strahan, Tim Mara (founder & owner), Wellington Mara (owner), Bill Parcells (coach), George Young (executive).</span><br /><span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;" /></span><span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">Gifford has also been elected as a broadcaster. So has Pat Summerall, but as a CBS & Fox broadcaster, not as a Giants player or broadcaster, so he can't be included here. Tom Landry was the 1st great defensive back to be </span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">only</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"> a defensive back, after the early 1950s shift to two-platoon football, and was the defensive coordinator on the Giants' 1956-63 contenders. But was elected to the Hall based on his service as a head coach, and he only served as such for the Cowboys, and thus can't be counted here.</span></span><br /><span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></span><span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">There are 6 from the 1956 NFL Champions, but only 3 from Parcells' Super Bowl-winning teams, 5 if you count Parcells himself and the newly-elected Young. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">Phil Simms has not yet been elected, and you can also make a case for Mark Bavaro (tight ends are in short supply in the Hall), George Martin and Leonard Marshall. I wonder if anyone will be willing to vote for Tiki Barber, who is now eligible.</span><br /><span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></span><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">6. Washington Commanders, 22</strong><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">: Cliff Battles, Turk Edwards (also coach), Wayne Millner, Sammy Baugh, Bobby Mitchell, Sonny Jurgensen, Charley Taylor, Sam Huff, Paul Krause, Chris Hanburger, Ken Houston, John Riggins, Art Monk, Russ Grimm, Darrell Green, Bruce Smith (last 4 years of his career as a Redskin), Champ Bailey, George Preston Marshall (founder & owner), Ray Flaherty (elected as a Giants player, but coached Washington to 2 NFL titles, so I'm counting him as one of theirs), George Allen (coach), Joe Gibbs (coach), Bobby Beathard (executive).</span><br /><span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">Jurgensen and Huff have also been broadcasters for the team. Grimm is the only one of the "Hogs" yet elected, but Jeff Bostic and Joe Jacoby should also be elected. A case can be made for an earlier Washington lineman, Len Hauss.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">None of the men who have thus far quarterbacked the team formerly named the Washington Redskins into a Super Bowl is in: Not Billy Kilmer, not Joe Theismann, not Doug Williams, not Mark Rypien -- and good cases can be made for all but Rypien, who just didn't play long enough. If Jan Stenerud got elected as a kicker (who didn't also play another position, as did Lou Groza and George Blanda), then why not Mark Moseley?</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /><i><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">Oakland Raiders, 22</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">: Jim Otto, Fred Biletnikoff, George Blanda, Ken Stabler, Gene Upshaw, Willie Brown, Art Shell, Cliff Branch, Dave Casper, Ray Guy, Ted Hendricks, Mike Haynes, Howie Long, Marcus Allen, Jerry Rice, Warren Sapp, Tim Brown, Charles Woodson, Richard Seymour, John Madden (coach), Tom Flores (coach), Al Davis (owner-coach), Ron Wolf (scout).</span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">Madden has also been elected as a broadcaster. Rice and Sapp were both there for 4 seasons, so they count. Now that Guy is in, who's the most obvious Raider not in? I'd say Jack Tatum, if anybody's got the guts to elect a great cornerback who needlessly paralyzed a man in a preseason game. Also worthy of consideration are Ben Davidson and Lester Hayes.</span></span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="line-height: 16.9px;" /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">Note that I'm making an exception to my one-city-only rule for the California-era Raiders, treating them as a continuous Oakland franchise, since they did return, even though their Los Angeles edition became a cultural icon (and not for good reasons). Counted separately, the Oakland Raiders have 19, and the Los Angeles Raiders have 4 (Haynes, Long, Allen, with Branch the only one qualifying for both).</span></i></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><div><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">7. San Francisco 49ers, 19</strong><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">: Bob St. Clair, Y.A. Tittle, Joe "the Jet" Perry, Leo Nomellini, Hugh McElhenny, John Henry Johnson, Dave Wilcox, Jimmy Johnson, Joe Montana, Fred Dean, Ronnie Lott, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, Charles Haley, Bryant Young, Terrell Owens, Patrick Willis, Bill Walsh (coach), Eddie DeBartolo (owner).</span><br /><span><br style="line-height: 16.9px;" /></span><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">Tittle, Perry, McElhenny and John Henry Johnson are the only entire backfield that all played together to all be elected to the Hall, and they were known as the Million Dollar Backfield. The Jimmy Johnson listed above was a black cornerback in the 1960s and '70s, and should not be confused with the white coach for the Cowboys -- although this Jimmy Johnson, unlike the coach, was actually born in Dallas.</span><br /><span><br style="line-height: 16.9px;" /></span><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">Rickey Jackson only played 2 seasons for the Niners, but he did win his only ring with them. Deion Sanders played only 1 season for them, but got the same Super Bowl XXIX ring that Jackson did. So, due to insufficient longevity, I can't count either of them as 49ers HOFers.</span><br /><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">From their 1980s champions, Dwight Clark, Roger Craig, Randy Cross, Guy McIntyre, Harris Barton and Ken Norton Jr. have not been elected, but all are worth consideration, and Craig absolutely should be in.</span></div><div><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"><div><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">8. Kansas City Chiefs, 19</strong><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">: Bobby Bell, Len Dawson, Willie Lanier, Buck Buchanan, Emmitt Thomas, Johnny Robinson, Curley Culp, Jan Stenerud, Derrick Thomas, Marcus Allen, Willie Roaf, Will Shields, Tony Gonzalez, Hank Stram (coach), Mary Levy (coach), Dick Vermeil (coach), Lamar Hunt (founder-owner), Bobby Beathard (executive), Charlie Jones (broadcaster, did Dallas Texans/K.C. Chiefs games before becoming the main voice for NBC's AFL and then AFC broadcasts).</span></div></span></div></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">Dawson has also been elected as a broadcaster.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><div><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">9. Cleveland Browns, 18</strong><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">: Otto Graham, Marion Motley, Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli, Bill Willis, Mac Speedie, Frank Gatski, Len Ford, Mike McCormack, Jim Brown, Bobby Mitchell, Gene Hickerson, Leroy Kelly, Paul Warfield, Joe DeLamiellure, Ozzie Newsome, Joe Thomas, Paul Brown (coach-executive).</span></div><div><span><br style="line-height: 16.9px;" /></span><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">It says something about this franchise that Thomas is the 1st player who has played so much as a down for them since 1990 that can be called a Browns' HOFer -- and, additionally, only DeLamielleure and Newsome have played for them since 1977. Tom Cousineau hasn't made it, and neither has Clay Matthews Jr. (father of Packer linebacker Clay Matthews III and brother of Oliers/Titans HOFer Bruce Matthews -- Clay Sr. played for the 49ers in the 1950s, but wasn't HOF quality).</span><br /><span><br style="line-height: 16.9px;" /></span><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">And yet, look at just what they produced in the 1940s and '50s. And that doesn't include players they let get away, like Doug Atkins, Henry Jordan, Willie Davis, Len Dawson, and (while they did both play long enough for the Browns to be counted with them) Mitchell and Warfield.</span><br /><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">Maybe that's the real reason Art Modell isn't in the Hall: It's not that he moved the original Browns, and screwed the people of Northern Ohio, it's that he was a bad owner. (Though, to be fair, his firing of Paul Brown and installation of Blanton Collier in 1962 did bring the 1964 NFL Championship, Cleveland's last title in any sport until the 2016 Cavaliers.)</span></div></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></div><div><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">10. Detroit Lions, 16</strong><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">: Dutch Clark (also coach), Jack Christiansen, Bobby Layne, Doak Walker, Yale Lary, Alex Wojciechowicz, Lou Creekmur, Dick Stanfel, Dick "Night Train" Lane, Joe Schmidt (also coach), Alex Karras, Lem Barney, Dick LeBeau, Charlie Sanders, Barry Sanders (no relation to each other) and Calvin Johnson.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although he played for their 1935 NFL Champions and coached them to the 1952 and '53 titles, Buddy Parker is not in the Hall. It took until this year, a little over 7 years after he died, for Karras to be elected. If Paul Hornung, a man whose morals were a lot looser than Karras', could be forgiven for his gambling charge that led to his suspension for the 1963 season and get elected, why not Karras, who was suspended at the same time for the same offense? Even though he's in now, the question still hangs there.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">It says something about this franchise that there has been only 2 players (Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson) who have played so much as a down for them since 1977 that can be called a Lions' HOFer, although cases can be made for Herman Moore, Lomas Brown and Chris Spielman.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">11. Minnesota Vikings, 15</strong><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">: Fran Tarkenton, Carl Eller, Alan Page, Paul Krause, Ron Yary, Mick Tinglehoff, Chris Doleman, Gary Zimmerman, Randall McDaniel, Cris Carter, John Randle, Randy Moss, Steve Hutchinson, Bud Grant (coach), Jim Finks (executive). Warren Moon was only there for 3 seasons. </span></div><b style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">12. Los Angeles Rams, 15:</b><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px;">Bob Waterfield, Tom Fears, Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch, Norm Van Brocklin, Les Richter, Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, Tom Mack, Jackie Slater, Jack Youngblood, Eric Dickerson, Kevin Greene, George Allen (coach), Dan Reeves (owner, not to be confused with the Denver/Atlanta coach), Dick Enberg (broadcaster).</span><br /><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">Joe Stydahar coached the Rams to their only NFL Championship in Los Angeles, 1951, but he was elected as a player, not a coach, and so he can't be counted as a Rams' Hall-of-Famer. Counting their St. Louis years, the Rams franchise has 19. </span><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">Now that Greene is in, Henry Ellard is the most deserving</span><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">former L.A. Ram not yet in the Hall, but he's a borderline case at best.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">13. Philadelphia Eagles, 15</strong><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">: Steve Van Buren, Alex Wojciechowicz, Pete Pihos, Chuck Bednarik, Sonny Jurgensen, Tommy McDonald, Norm Van Brocklin, Bob Brown, Jim Ringo, Harold Carmichael, Reggie White, Brian Dawkins, Greasy Neale (coach), Dick Vermeil (coach), Bert Bell (founder-owner-coach, later NFL Commissioner).</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">Van Brocklin only played 3 seasons for the Eagles, but he was the quarterback on their last NFL Championship team before the Super Bowl era, 1960, and then he retired, despite being only 34 years old, so I'm bending the rule to count him. On the other hand, Claude Humphrey played 3 seasons for them, 1 being their 1st trip to the Super Bowl, but unlike Van Brocklin is not an Eagles icon, so I can only include him with the Falcons.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">Art Monk, James Lofton and Richard Dent briefly played for the team, and cases could be made for Stan Walters, Jerry Sisemore, Bill Bergey, Randall Cunningham, Clyde Simmons, Seth Joyner and Donovan McNabb. Ron Jaworski, however, only stands to be elected as a media personality, not a player. That is how </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">Irv Cross was elected: While he made 2 Pro Bowls as an Eagle cornerback, he is not in the Hall as a player.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><div style="line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">Johnson didn't win as Dolphins' head coach, but he was there for 4 seasons, so he counts there. In spite of everything that happened in his career, Ricky Williams rushed for over 10,000 yards. He is now eligible, but I doubt he'll ever get in. If he does, he would qualify only as a Dolphin, not as a Saint.</span></div><div style="line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><div style="line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; line-height: 16.9px;">14. Denver Broncos, 13</strong><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: 16.9px;">: Willie Brown, Floyd Little, Randy Gradishar, John Elway, Steve Atwater, Shannon Sharpe, Gary Zimmerman, Terrell Davis, Champ Bailey, John Lynch, Peyton Manning, DeMarcus Ware, Pat Bowlen (owner). 3-time AFC Champion coach Dan Reeves has not been elected, but should be. So should Mark Schlereth, although, because of how many feathers he ruffled, I don't think you'll ever see Bill Romanowski get in. Ware was a Bronco for 3 seasons, but 1 was a Super Bowl season, so I'm bending the rule for him.</span></i></i></div><div style="line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></i></i></div><div style="line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: 16.9px;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">15. Miami Dolphins, 13</strong><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">: Larry Csonka, Nick Buoniconti, Bob Griese, Jim Langer, Larry Little, Paul Warfield, Dan Marino, Dwight Stephenson, Zach, Thomas, Jason Taylor, Don Shula (coach), Jimmy Johnson (coach), Bobby Beathard (executive).</span></span></i></i></div><div style="line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></i></i></div><div style="line-height: 16.9px;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">16. Buffalo Bills, 12</strong><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">: Billy Shaw, O.J. Simpson (had to list him), Joe DeLamiellure, James Lofton, Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, Marv Levy (coach), Ralph Wilson (owner), Bill Polian (executive) and Van Miller (broadcaster).</span></div></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">Shaw played his entire career in the AFL, making him the only man in the Pro Football Hall of Fame who never played a down in the NFL. (Remember, it's not the <i>National Football League</i> Hall of Fame, it's the <i>Pro Football</i> Hall of Fame.) So much fuss was made over the special-teams skills of Steve Tasker that I'm surprised that he's not in.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><div style="line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">Houston Oilers, 11: George Blanda, Elvin Bethea, Curley Culp, Robert Brazile, Earl Campbell, Dave Casper, Ken Houston, Charlie Joiner, Warren Moon, Mike Munchak, Bruce Matthews. Since Matthews counts as both an Oiler and a Titan, if we combine the Houston years and the Tennessee years, their total rises to 12.</i></div><div style="line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 16.9px;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">17. New England Patriots, 11</strong><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">: Nick Buoniconti, John Hannah, Mike Haynes, Andre Tippett, Curtis Martin, Ty Law, Richard Seymour, Junior Seau, Randy Moss, Bill Parcells (coach) and Don Criqui (broadcaster). This counts players from their AFL days, when they were officially named the Boston Patriots.</span></div><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><div style="line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: 16.9px;">Cases could also be made for Jim Nance, Jim Hunt, Steve Nelson, Julius Adams, Irving Fryar, Drew Bledsoe and Tedy Bruschi, all eligible.</span></i></i></div></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">18. New York Jets, 11</strong><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">: Don Maynard, Winston Hill, Joe Namath, John Riggins, Joe Klecko, Curtis Martin, Kevin Mawae, Darrelle Revis, Weeb Ewbank (coach), Bill Parcells (coach-executive), Ron Wolf (executive).</span><br /><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">Although the Big Tuna only coached the Jets for 3 seasons, he was an executive with them for 4 seasons, and thus meets my qualification for a Jet HOFer. Wesley Walker and Marty Lyons should be considered, although nobody seems to be willing to vote for Mark Gastineau. Vinny Testaverde is eligible, but not yet in. (He would also qualify as a Buccaneer.) No, you can't count Alan Faneca, as he was only a Jet for 2 seasons.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">San Diego Chargers, 11</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">: Ron Mix, Lance Alworth, Fred Dean, Dan Fouts, Charlie Joiner, Kellen Winslow, Junior Seau, LaDainian Tomlinson, Sid Gillman (coach), Don Coryell (coach), Bobby Beathard (executive).</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">Chicago Cardinals, 10: Jimmy Conzelman, Paddy Driscoll, Guy Chamberlin, Duke Slater, Ernie Nevers, Walt Kiesling, Charley Trippi, Ollie Matson, Dick "Night Train" Lane, Charles Bidwill (owner). Conzelman, Driscoll and Kiesling were also head coaches for the Cards. Counting all their cities, despite having been around for nearly a century, the Cards have only 14 Hall-of-Famers.</i></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><i style="line-height: 16.9px;">Baltimore Colts, 10: Art Donovan, Raymond Berry, Gino Marchetti, Johnny Unitas, Lenny Moore, Jim Parker, John Mackey, Ted Hendricks, Weeb Ewbank (coach), Don Shula (coach). Counting their Indianapolis years, the Colts have 14.</i></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><i style="line-height: 16.9px;"></i><div style="line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"><strong style="line-height: 16.9px;">19. Indianapolis Colts, 8</strong><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">: Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk, Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Edgerrin James, Dwight Freeney, Tony Dungy (coach), Bill Polian (executive). Reggie Wayne is now eligible. </span></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="line-height: 16.9px;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; line-height: 16.9px;">20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7</strong><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: 16.9px;">: Lee Roy Selmon, Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, Ronde Barber, Tony Dungy (coach), Ron Wolf (executive). Warrick Dunn is now eligible, and should be in, and would also qualify as a Falcon.</span></i></span></span></span></span></i></i></div></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><b>21. Seattle Seahawks, 6:</b> Steve Largent, Kenny Easley, Cortez Kennedy, Walter Jones, Kevin Mawae, Steve Hutchinson. Rickey Watters is eligible, and while he only played 3 seasons each with the 49ers and Eagles, he played 4 with the 'Hawks, so if he goes in, he would qualify only for them. Tom Flores coached 3 seasons with the 'Hawks, so is not eligible here.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="line-height: 16.9px;">Canton Bulldogs, 6: Jim Thorpe, Guy Chamberlin, Joe Guyon, Pete Henry, William "Link" Lyman, Earl "Greasy" Neale.</i></span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><i style="line-height: 16.9px;">St. Louis Rams, 6: Orlando Pace, Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, Aeneas Williams, Dick Vermeil (coach). Torry Holt is eligible. Note that the St. Louis edition of the Rams is now italicized as a former team. Unlike the Raiders with their Oakland and Los Angeles eras, it doesn't really make sense to fold the St. Louis era in with Los Angeles.</i></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">22. Baltimore Ravens, 5</strong><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">: Jonathan Ogden, Ray Lewis, Rod Woodson, Ed Reed, Ozzie Newsome (executive). Newsome was elected as a Cleveland Browns player, but has been a masterful executive for the franchise since the move, so I'm bending the rules to include him as a Brown and a Raven. Jamal Lewis is eligible, but isn't yet in.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><i style="line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">23. Atlanta Falcons, 5</strong><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">: Deion Sanders, Claude Humphrey, Morten Andersen, Tony Gonzalez, Bobby Beathard (executive). I wonder how many writers voted for Michael Vick, now that he's eligible? Andre Rison, another controversial figure, is also eligible, and, while he played for 7 different teams (plus 1 in the CFL), on this list, he would qualify only for the Falcons.)</span></span></span></i></span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><i style="line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: 16.9px;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">24. New Orleans Saints, 5</strong><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">: Rickey Jackson, Willie Roaf, Morten Andersen, Sam Mills, Jim Finks (executive). Mike Ditka was Saints coach for 3 seasons and Tom Fears for 4, but neither was elected as a coach, so they can't be included here anyway. Same for Hank Stram, who </span><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">was</i><span style="line-height: 16.9px;"> elected as a coach, but only coached the Saints for 2 seasons.</span></span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><i style="line-height: 16.9px;">St. Louis Cardinals, 5: Larry Wilson, Dan Dierdorf, Jackie Smith, Roger Wehrli, Don Coryell (coach). Dierdorf has also been elected as a broadcaster, although not specifically with the Cardinals. Ottis Anderson should be elected as a Cardinal, although he achieved his greatest moment as a Giant.</i><br /><i style="line-height: 16.9px;"><br /><strong style="font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; line-height: 16.9px;">25. Cincinnati Bengals, 4</strong><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: 16.9px;">: Charlie Joiner, Ken Riley, Anthony Munoz, Paul Brown (founder-owner-coach). Reggie Williams and Corey Dillon should be in, but Boomer Esiason is a borderline case. Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson is both a borderline Hall of Fame case and a borderline mental case.</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><i style="line-height: 16.9px;">Duluth Eskimos, 3: Walt Kiesling, John "Johnny Blood" McNally, Ernie Nevers.</i><br /><i style="line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></i><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">26. Tennessee Titans, 2</strong><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">: Bruce Matthews, Kevin Mawae. Matthews only played 3 years as a "Tennessee Titan," but counting 2 years as a "Tennessee Oiler," he qualifies for the Titans. Eddie George is eligible, and should be in.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">27. Arizona Cardinals, 2</strong><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">: Aeneas Williams, Kurt Warner. Emmitt Smith wasn't with them long enough. Nor was Edgerrin James.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">28. Carolina Panthers, 2:</strong><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"> Sam Mills, </span><span style="line-height: 16.9px;">Bill Polian (executive). Kevin Greene only played 3 seasons for them, so he doesn't count. Cam Newton, of course, is still active.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><i style="line-height: 16.9px;">Frankford Yellow Jackets, 2: Guy Chamberlin, William "Link" Lyman. The 1926 NFL Champions should also have Russell "Bull" Behman and Henry "Two-Bits" Homan -- the former a big guy by the standards of the time, and the latter a little guy who was the NFL's answer to Wee Willie Keeler -- in the Hall. But both died in the early 1950s, so neither was able to speak on his own behalf since the 1962 founding of NFL Films. Although the Eagles replaced the Jackets as Philadelphia's NFL team, the two teams are not the same franchise.</i><br /><i style="line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></i><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">Providence Steam Roller, 2: Jimmy Conzelman (player & coach), Frederick "Fritz" Pollard.</i><br /><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></i><i style="line-height: 16.9px;">Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL 1930-1948), 2: Clarence “Ace” Parker, Frank "Bruiser" Kinard.</i><i style="line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></i><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">29. Houston Texans, 1:</strong><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"> Andre Johnson. J.J. Watt will almost certainly be elected in his 1st year of eligibility, which will be 2028.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">30. Jacksonville Jaguars, 1:</strong><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"> Tony Boselli. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">Fred Taylor is also a possibility.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><i style="font-family: inherit;">Rock Island Independents, 1: Duke Slater.</i></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><b>31. Las Vegas Raiders, none.</b> Sorry, Mark Davis, but you dropped your team (nearly) to the bottom of this list when you screwed Oakland over, like your daddy did before you.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"><br /></span><strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;">32. Los Angeles Chargers, none.</strong><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.9px;"> Sorry, Dean Spanos, but you dropped your team to the bottom of this list when you screwed San Diego over.</span></div></div></div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-76564679538811370982024-02-09T00:00:00.014-05:002024-02-09T00:00:00.135-05:00February 9, 1964: The Beatles On "The Ed Sullivan Show"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEht9UKJ_YdKybXtjht_-fC8fjPA6R-8xhJl7KNBj81gC2PfgGVCt712zZxZ0uDt67yx0S_ODZS67A4N0sv9L2RiI0Bb0xlzSf5cvaNEpluCiaQlWqRd3-YxgHuAnRa0Y4LMWNevX3RxMnMOucyvjbcz5s0axkY6bI3XORs_WuAlhqBTd54eM1EiQ-dCvw=s768" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="768" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEht9UKJ_YdKybXtjht_-fC8fjPA6R-8xhJl7KNBj81gC2PfgGVCt712zZxZ0uDt67yx0S_ODZS67A4N0sv9L2RiI0Bb0xlzSf5cvaNEpluCiaQlWqRd3-YxgHuAnRa0Y4LMWNevX3RxMnMOucyvjbcz5s0axkY6bI3XORs_WuAlhqBTd54eM1EiQ-dCvw=w400-h268" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>February 9, 1964, 60 years ago:</b> The Beatles perform on <i>The Ed Sullivan Show</i>, live on CBS, from what was then named CBS Studio 50, at 1697 Broadway between 53rd and 54th Streets, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1927, the theater still stands, seating 400. It was the home of <i>The Ed Sullivan Show</i> from 1948 to 1971, and was renamed the Ed Sullivan Theater in 1967.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Beatles had been superstars in their native Britain for about a year, but it was only about a month before this that America had taken notice. On January 25, their song "I Want to Hold Your Hand" hit Number 1, launching what became known as rock and roll's "British Invasion."</div><div><br /></div><div>On February 7, they landed at the newly-renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport, and there were thousands of screaming teenage girls there to greet them. They had become the biggest music phenomenon since Elvis Presley, 8 years earlier.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, like Elvis, they <i>had</i> to appear on <i>Sullivan</i>, America's biggest TV variety show. And they weren't the only performers on the show that night, or even the only British performers. In fact, Sullivan, who had seen them while scouting Britain for acts for his show a few months earlier, made the point that he had purposely booked other Brits to make the Liverpool quartet feel more at home:</div><div><br /></div><div>* The cast of the Broadway musical <i>Oliver!</i>, based on Charles Dickens' novel <i>Oliver Twist</i>. Since the theater was literally on Broadway, just up the block from most of the "Broadway theaters" (most of which are a block or two off Broadway, not on the street itself), Sullivan frequently booked the shows' stars to do their big numbers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Among the cast of <i>Oliver!</i>, playing The Artful Dodger, was Davy Jones, later of <i>The Monkees</i> -- who never appeared on <i>Sullivan</i> in full, since they were an NBC act. Also in the show, and singing on the <i>Sullivan</i> stage, was Georgia Brown, an English singer born Lilian Clair Klot, who had recorded the song "Sweet Georgia Brown," and renamed herself for it. She would later appear on 2 episodes of <i>Star Trek: The Next Generation</i>, playing Helena Rozhenko, adoptive mother of Worf.</div><div><br /></div><div>* Tessie O'Shea, a Welsh singer I can best describe as Britain's answer to Sophie Tucker.</div><div><br /></div><div>* American husband and wife comedians Charlie Brill and Mitzi McCall.</div><div><br /></div><div>* American actor and impressionist Frank Gorshin, later to be known for playing villain The Riddler on the 1966-68 <i>Batman</i> TV show, and Commissioner Bele, a bigoted lawman on the original <i>Star Trek</i> series.</div><div><br /></div><div>* Dutch magician Fred Kaps. Sullivan loved magic acts, and tried to get acts from Europe onto his show as often as possible.</div><div><br /></div><div>* Acrobats Wells and the Four Fays. Sullivan loved novelty acts like acrobats.</div><div><br /></div><div>* Terry McDermott, who had won a surprise Gold Medal for America, in speed skating at the just-concluded Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.</div><div><br /></div><div>At the time, the theater seated 728 people. There were 50,000 ticket requests. When Elvis played there, there had been 7,000. Former Vice President Richard Nixon's daughters Tricia (who was about to turn 18) and Julie (15) were there, as guests of Randy Paar, daughter of comedian and former <i>Tonight Show</i> host Jack Paar. (Although the Nixons were Californians, they lived in Manhattan from 1963 to 1968.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Sullivan began the show by telling the audience that Elvis Presley had sent The Beatles a telegram, wishing them success in America. What Sullivan didn't know at the time is that it wasn't true: The telegram had been sent in Elvis' name, without his knowledge, let alone his permission, by his manager, "Colonel" Tom Parker. But it seemed to give Elvis' approval for the Mop Tops. (The King of Rock and Roll and the Fab Four finally met on August 27, 1965.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Sullivan said, simply, "Ladies and gentlemen... The Beatles!" A few hundred high-pitched shrieks filled the air, and then Paul McCartney kicked things off with the song "All My Loving."</div><div><br /></div><div>As a tribute to the street on which they were performing, they sang a show tune they'd recorded, "Till There Was You" from <i>The Music Man</i>. While Paul sang lead on that, they were identified by graphics, so the TV audience could learn their individual names. The camera focused on Paul, then on George Harrison, and then on Ringo Starr for a few seconds. When they got to John Lennon, the graphics included "SORRY GIRLS, HE'S MARRIED." (If they only knew how seriously John was taking his wedding vows.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Then they sang their biggest hit of the previous year, at least in their own country, "She Loves You." It remains the song which seems to symbolize the early Beatles, with its chorus of "Yeah, yeah, yeah" and their headshakes as they went, "Woo!" in homage to rock and roll pioneer Little Richard, with whom they'd toured England in late 1962.</div><div><br /></div><div>Over the next 40 minutes or so, the other acts took the stage. The show closed with The Beatles returning for 2 more songs: The B side of their current single, "I Saw Her Standing There"; and the A side, the Number 1 hit, "I Want to Hold Your Hand."</div><div><br /></div><div>The Beatles themselves weren't satisfied with their performance. Paul later said that John's microphone volume was too low. He was right: On the surviving recording, it does sound like John was only singing backup on "I Want to Hold Your Hand," which was at least as much his composition as Paul's.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sullivan and CBS were fine with it, because they got the biggest TV audience for a single-network broadcast in American history to that point: 73 million viewers. The band's manager, Brian Epstein, was also very happy with it.</div><div><br /></div><div>That night has often been cited as the first time Americans felt good again after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, 79 days earlier. That record of 73 million would hold for 3 1/2 years, until the last episode of <i>The Fugitive</i> in 1967.</div><div><br /></div><div>The New York Police Department was fine with it, too: They had the fewest reported crimes of any night in their recorded history, a record that has been broken only once: The night of the 1965 blackout. As George Harrison later put it, "Even the criminals were at home, watching us."</div><div><br /></div><div>The Beatles would also appear on <i>Sullivan</i> the following week, February 16, at a remote location: The Deauville Hotel in Miami. They week after that, February 23, the performance was pre-taped, not broadcast live. They made another live appearance on August 14, 1965, taping for broadcast on September 12. All of these appearances were in black & white.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thereafter, Sullivan would occasionally show them in color promotional clips for their records -- what would later be called music videos. On June 5, 1966, he showed them playing "Paperback Writer" and "Rain"; on February 12, 1967, "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever"; on November 26, "Hello Goodbye," believed to be the only footage of the band performing in their <i>Sgt. Pepper</i> uniforms (although John and Paul had shaved their mustaches); and on March 1, 1970, "Let It Be" and "Two of Us."</div><div><br /></div><div>Today, the Beatles are known for many things. If Ed Sullivan is known for one thing, it's for hosting the Beatles.</div><div><br /></div><div>On a personal note: My father was 20 years old, living in Newark, New Jersey, and soon to graduate from the school now known as the New Jersey Institute of Technology, also in Newark. My mother was 16, in nearby Belleville, and a senior in high school. Neither of them were rock and roll fans, and both of them claimed they weren't fans of The Beatles, and never watched any of their appearances on <i>The Ed Sullivan Show</i>.</div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-51823240012830613692024-02-07T12:00:00.001-05:002024-02-07T12:00:00.133-05:00Stadium Distinctions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNpDevXsNpd5r6hgIJy1r-hwK_orAuL1EN_cgZyct_Fy5VVW1Im2YYdUYJ1Lnn53Kttuw9N8_3y_BDrObaw6KmxI7a3TSgDeHtKrNZffSaaT6cCVHW2MYL2LXxkedZzgyEZOSXDQgFsAeA1ITDdOX5zGGZg4DqD16HvYojqOV8lJNW4Eq7Z2HnRuCgs84/s300/East%20Rutherford%202010%20MetLife%20Stadium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="300" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNpDevXsNpd5r6hgIJy1r-hwK_orAuL1EN_cgZyct_Fy5VVW1Im2YYdUYJ1Lnn53Kttuw9N8_3y_BDrObaw6KmxI7a3TSgDeHtKrNZffSaaT6cCVHW2MYL2LXxkedZzgyEZOSXDQgFsAeA1ITDdOX5zGGZg4DqD16HvYojqOV8lJNW4Eq7Z2HnRuCgs84/s1600/East%20Rutherford%202010%20MetLife%20Stadium.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">With the announcement of MetLife Stadium as the site of the 2026 World Cup Final, I decided to make these lists.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Stadiums that have hosted an NFL Championship Game (under that name or under the Super Bowl name) and a World Cup Final:</b> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">1. The Rose Bowl, Pasadena (Los Angeles), California: Super Bowl, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1987, 1993; World Cup Final, 1994.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">2. MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey (New York, New York): Super Bowl 2014; World Cup Final, 2026.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Stadiums that have hosted a World Series and an NFL Championship Game (under any name):</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">1. Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois: World Series, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938, 1945, 2016; NFL Championship Game, 1933, 1937, 1941, 1943, 1963.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">2. Polo Grounds, New York (Manhattan), New York: World Series, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1951, 1954; NFL Championship Game, 1934, 1936, 1938, 1944, 1946.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">3. Griffith Stadium, Washington, District of Columbia: World Series, 1924, 1925, 1933; NFL Championship Game, 1940, 1942.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">4. Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois: World Series, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1959; NFL Championship Game, 1947.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">5. Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio: NFL Championship Game, 1945, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1964; World Series, 1948.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">6. Shibe Park/Connie Mack Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: World Series, 1910, 1911, 1913, 1914, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1950; NFL Championship Game, 1948.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">7. Navin Field/Briggs Stadium/Tiger Stadium, Detroit, Michigan: World Series, 1934, 1935, 1940, 1945, 1968, 1984; NFL Championship Game, 1953, 1957.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">8. Yankee Stadium I, New York (Bronx), New York: World Series, 1923, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003; NFL Championship Game, 1956, 1958, 1962.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">9. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California: NFL Championship Game, 1949, 1951, 1955; World Series, 1959.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">10. Memorial Stadium, Baltimore: NFL Championship Game, 1959; World Series, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1983.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">11. San Diego Stadium/Jack Murphy Stadium/Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California: World Series, 1984, 1998; Super Bowl, 1988, 1998, 2003.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">12. Joe Robbie Stadium/Pro Player Stadium/Sun Life Stadium/Hard Rock Stadium: Super Bowl, 1989, 1995, 1999, 2007, 2010, 2020; World Series, 1997, 2003.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">13. Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota: World Series, 1987, 1991; Super Bowl, 1992. It also hosted the NCAA Final Four in 1992, meaning that, not only did it become the only venue to host all 3 of these events, but it did so in a span of 6 months, between October 1991 and April 1992.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Since there are no more stadiums hosting an MLB team and an NFL team, this category is retired.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Arenas that have hosted an NBA Finals and a Stanley Cup Finals</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">1. Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois: Stanley Cup Finals, 1931, 1934, 1938, 1944, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1971, 1973, 1992; NBA Finals, 1947, 1991, 1992, 1993.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">2. Madison Square Garden III, New York (Manhattan), New York: Stanley Cup Finals, 1929, 1932, 1933, 1937, 1940; NBA Finals, 1951.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">3. Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts: Stanley Cup Finals, 1929, 1930, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1946, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1988, 1990; NBA Finals, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">4. Madison Square Garden IV, New York (Manhattan), New York: NBA Finals, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1994, 1999; Stanley Cup Finals, 1972, 1979, 1994, 2014.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">5. The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Stanley Cup Finals, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1985, 1987; NBA Finals, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">6. The Forum, Inglewood (Los Angeles), California: NBA Finals, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991; Stanley Cup Finals, 1993.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">7. Brendan Byrne Arena/Continental Airlines Arena/Izod Center, East Rutherford, New Jersey (New York, New York): Stanley Cup Finals, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003; NBA Finals, 2002, 2003.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">8. First Union Center/Wachovia Center/Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Stanley Cup Finals, 1997, 2010; NBA Finals, 2001.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">9. Staples Center/Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California: NBA Finals, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010; Stanley Cup Finals, 2012, 2014.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">10. United Center, Chicago, Illinois: NBA Finals, 1996, 1997, 1998; Stanley Cup Finals, 2010, 2013, 2015.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">11. TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts: NBA Finals, 2008, 2010, 2022; Stanley Cup Finals, 2011, 2013, 2019.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">12. Pepsi Center/Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado: Stanley Cup Finals, 2001, 2022; NBA Finals, 2023.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">13. American Airlines Arena/Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida, Texas: NBA Finals, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2023; Stanley Cup Finals, 2023.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The "Old Garden," The Spectrum, and the Meadowlands arena are the only venues to have hosted a Stanley Cup Finals, an NBA Finals, and an NCAA Final Four.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Metrodome, the Superdome in New Orleans, the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ford Field in Detroit, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, NRG Stadium in Houston, AT&T Stadium outside Dallas, State Farm Stadium outside Phoenix, and U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis are the 9 buildings that have hosted a Super Bowl and a Final Four. By 2028, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas will make it 11.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Stadiums that have hosted a World Cup Final and been the main stadium for the Olympic Games:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Stade de Colombes/<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Stade Yves-du-Manoir</span>, Paris, France: Olympics, 1924; World Cup Final, 1938.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2. Wembley Stadium, London, Great Britain: Olympics, 1948; World Cup Final, 1966. It was an Olympic venue again in 2012, but not the main stadium.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Olympiastadion, Munich, Germany: Olympics, 1972; World Cup Final, 1974. It was a World Cup venue again in 2006, but not for the Final.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4. Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany: Olympics, 1936; World Cup Final, 2006. With Germany divided between 1945 and 1990, it could not be a World Cup venue in 1974.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5. Estadio do <span style="background-color: white;">Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: World Cup Final, 1950, 2014; Olympics, 2016.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">6. Stade de France, Saint-Denis (Paris), France: World Cup Final, 1998; Olympics, 2024.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy was the main stadium for the 1960 Olympics, but was totally torn down and rebuilt for the 1990 World Cup. This is also true of the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, home to the 1980 Olympics (under the name of the Lenin Stadium) and the 2018 World Cup.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico hosted the World Cup Final in 1970 and 1986, and was a venue for the 1968 Olympics, but was not the main stadium for those Games.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Los Angeles hosted the Olympics in 1932 and 1984, and is scheduled to do so again in 2028, and hosted the 1994 World Cup Final -- but not in the same stadium. Barcelona, Spain hosted World Cup matches in 1982, but not the Final, and it wasn't in the same stadium that was used as the main venue for the 1992 Olympics.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Seoul, South Korea hosted the 1988 Olympics and had 2 different venues for the 2002 World Cup, but not the same venue as for the Olympics, and neither hosted the Final, anyway. That World Cup was a joint hosting between South Korea and Japan. Japan hosted the Olympics in 1964 and 2020, but not in the same stadium as the 2002 World Cup Final.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is the only stadium to be the main venue for 2 Olympic Games. It will be used again in 2028, although SoFi Stadium is set to be the main venue. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The </span><span style="background: white; font-family: inherit;">Maracanã is 1 of 2 stadiums to have hosted 2 World Cup
Finals, along with the Azteca.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background: white; font-family: inherit;">In 2024, the Stade de France will become the 4th stadium to have hosted an Olympic Games, a World Cup Final, and a UEFA Champions League Final. The others are the old Wembley Stadium, and the Olympiastadions in Berlin and Munich.</span></div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-36150422001050519592024-02-07T00:00:00.001-05:002024-02-07T00:00:00.132-05:00February 7, 1974: "Blazing Saddles" Premieres<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p1036_p_v12_an.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="400" src="https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p1036_p_v12_an.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>February 7, 1974, 50 years ago:</b> <i>Blazing Saddles</i> premieres, director Mel Brooks' tribute to, and parody of, classic Western movies.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hedley Lamarr (played by Harvey Korman) is a railroad executive, and the Attorney General of an unidentified Western territory of the United States. His name always gets turned into that of Hedy Lamarr, a popular actress of the 1930s and '40s. He gets told, "This is 1874: <i>You</i> can sue <i>her</i>!" He wants to build his railroad through the town of Rock Ridge, but the residents (who all seemed to be named Johnson) won't leave.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So he sends his flunky Taggart (Slim Pickens) and his goons there, to, as Taggart, says, "go ridin' into town, whompin' and a-whompin'," until the terrified citizens leave. But the move backfires: They are willing to fight for their town, and demand that the Territorial Governor, William J. Le Petomane (Brooks) appoint a Sheriff to protect them.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lamarr figures out a way around this: Since Le Petomane is an idiot, and Lamarr is clearly the power behind the throne, he convinces Le Petomane to appoint a Sheriff that the people of Rock Ridge will never accept: A black man named Bart (Cleavon Little -- the character's last name is never mentioned).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sure enough, at first, they are repulsed. As Jim (Gene Wilder), a former hired gun known as the Waco Kid, explains: "You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know: Morons." (The ending was an ad-lib by Wilder. Little cracked up, and Brooks left it in, because it was funny. As Brooks has said, "The only true sin is not being funny.")</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">In a flashback, where Bart tells Jim his backstory, he mentions his family being the only black family in a wagon train, and thus at the back of it, as if it was a segregation-era bus. When they're attacked by Indians, the chief, also played by Brooks, tells his braves to give them a break: "They're even darker than we are!"</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jim helps Bart win the town over. So Lamarr sends in his doomsday weapon: Mongo (former football star Alex Karras), a gigantic man of limited intelligence and words. Lamarr figures Bart wouldn't be able to handle him. As Jim says, when Bart suggests shooting him, "Don't do that. It'll only make him mad!" Well, not only does Bart find a way to handle Mongo, but Mongo defects to Bart's side, respecting him as the only man ever to stand up to him.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">This not having worked, Lamarr sends in another secret weapon: Lili von Shtupp, an overtly sexy German singer </span>(Madeline Kahn, in an obvious homage to Marlene Dietrich), who is meant to seduce Bart. But Bart is a lover as well as a fighter, so she defects to his side, too.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">So Lamarr decides he needs total war, telling Taggart, "I want you to round up every vicious criminal and gunslinger in the west. Take this down. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">I want rustlers, cutthroats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados! Mugs, pugs, thugs! Nitwits, halfwits, dimwits! Vipers, snipers! Con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits! Muggers, buggerers! Bushwhackers, hornswogglers, horse thieves, bull dykes! Train robbers, bank robbers! Asskickers, shitkickers! And Methodists!"</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The final brawl breaks the fourth wall. Well, it breaks <i>a</i> wall, as the fighting Wild Westerners crash through the set of a movie musical, directed by Buddy Bizarre (Dom DeLuise). Then it breaks </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">into the commissary at Warner Brothers' studio. Finally, it spills out onto the streets of Hollywood, where Bart shoots Lamarr in front of the famous Chinese Theatre. Back in 1874, the townspeople thank Bart for his service, and he and Jim start to ride off into the sunset, as Western heroes tend to do. Then they get off their horses and into a limousine, and are driven off into the desert -- possibly to Las Vegas.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Brooks wrote the screenplay with black comedy legend Richard Pryor, who was supposed to play Sheriff Bart. But Pryor's cocaine habit was out of control at the time, and he became unreliable: The insurance company for the film wouldn't insure him. So it became a starmaking role for Little.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Brooks also wrote the songs for the film, including the title song. Thinking of Frankie Laine's singing of the theme to the TV show <i>Rawhide</i>, and his big Western-themed hit song "Mule Train," both with the sound effect of a cracking whip, Brooks placed an ad in the trade paper <i>Variety</i>, calling for "a Frankie Laine type." Laine himself answered the ad. Brooks didn't tell him the film was a comedy, and he sang it absolutely straight, and it's a great performance.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">(There was precedent for this: Ten years earlier, Stanley Kubrick directed <i>Dr. Strangelove</i>, and told half the cast that the film was a comedy, and the other half that it was a drama, with equally stunning results.)</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">The studio had a lot of problems with the film. There was a lot of usage of "The N-word." In a 2012 interview, Brooks said, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">"If they did a remake of </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Blazing Saddles</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"> today, they would leave out the N-word. And then, you've got no movie." The purpose was to satirize racism, to show how rotten it is, and how stupid it is. And Brooks got support on it from both Pryor and Little.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">There were also objections to Karras punching a horse. And to the beans scene. Brooks pointed out that, in pretty much every movie with cowboys in it, they're eating beans, but nobody hears the sounds that result. But </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Brooks' contract gave him final content control, and he refused to make any substantive changes.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Times change. When the film is shown on TV today, the N-word is blanked out. And there's a scene near the beginning where Taggart accuses some of the rail workers of "jumping around like a bunch of Kansas City faggots!" That word is often called the gay version of the N-word, but the TV version could have used a better rewrite than "a bunch of Kansas City dummies!"</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">And Kahn's German singer? Her name is Lili von Shtupp. "Schtup" is, basically, "fuck" in Yiddish. So the TV version blanks it out, so it sounds like her name is "Lili von Sh." And yet, her name can be seen on the poster for the concert. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;">But they left in the Indian chief's reaction upon seeing Bart's family, the single word "</span><i style="color: #202122; font-family: inherit;">Schwarzes</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;">!" (German, or in Brooks' case, Yiddish, for "Blacks!" In the vampire parody </span><i style="color: #202122; font-family: inherit;">Love at First Bite</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;">, George Hamilton's Dracula said it, but, for the TV version, it was replaced with, "Good evening!")</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;">Wilder, who had previously worked with Brooks in <i>The Producers</i>, agreed to be in </span><i style="color: #202122;">Blazing Saddles</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;"> on one condition: He had a special project he wanted to do, and he asked Brooks to direct. So they made that movie next: <i>Young Frankenstein</i>. Brooks has said that </span><i style="color: #202122;">Blazing Saddles </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;">is his funniest movie, but </span><i style="color: #202122;">Young Frankenstein</i><span style="color: #202122;"> is his best.</span></div><div><span style="color: #202122;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;">In 1995, I had a terrible cold, a cough that lasted for weeks, and kept me up nights. One night, I saw that </span><i style="color: #202122; font-family: inherit;">Blazing Saddles</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;"> was going to be on TV. I'd never seen it before, so I figured, what the heck. Big mistake: Every time I laughed, I started coughing again. I began to wonder who would die first, me or Hedley Lamarr. (I didn't see <i>Young Frankenstein</i> until 2021. Shame on me for waiting until then to get over the hump.)</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;">Slim Pickens died in 1983, Jack Starrett (Gabby Johnson, a parody of Western actor Gabby Hayes) in 1989, Cleavon Little in 1992, Madeline Kahn in 1999, Richard Pryor in 2005, Frankie Laine in 2007, Harvey Korman in 2008, Dom DeLuise in 2009, Alex Karras in 2012, Gene Wilder and David Huddleston (Olson Johnson) in 2016, and John Hillerman (Howard Johnson) in 2017.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit;">Amazingly, as of February 7, 2023, Mel Brooks is still alive, at age 96. Also of note in the film and still alive on that date are Robyn Hilton, who played Miss Stein, the Governor's top-heavy secretary; and Rodney Allen Rippy, the former hamburger spokeskid who played young Bart, who grew up and left acting for a successful career in marketing.</span> </div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-77087881188554386482024-02-05T12:14:00.008-05:002024-02-05T12:14:51.294-05:00It's Coming Home!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYsU8095cn1DTHYdTvc34_KCxD-Piam9y9IQ6qR8xCgz25mAION7zTvzyBM2j1j3O-F71FrKJCiHcux_ChQkDEmAMvWOLLsoDK6913LTCi66VE9Oy1_wN19MDOjS2Ztj9efigwR9grMyVvac5OxeYqwvwQi3hZsQorUD4Oy1M_w25F3Pl-FjZVmf8YkH4/s300/East%20Rutherford%202010%20MetLife%20Stadium.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="300" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYsU8095cn1DTHYdTvc34_KCxD-Piam9y9IQ6qR8xCgz25mAION7zTvzyBM2j1j3O-F71FrKJCiHcux_ChQkDEmAMvWOLLsoDK6913LTCi66VE9Oy1_wN19MDOjS2Ztj9efigwR9grMyVvac5OxeYqwvwQi3hZsQorUD4Oy1M_w25F3Pl-FjZVmf8YkH4/w400-h245/East%20Rutherford%202010%20MetLife%20Stadium.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">In 2018, sure that England, the country that didn't invent soccer but popularized it around the world, were going to win the World Cup, the English media released a slogan: "It's Coming Home."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It went home, all right: The World Cup Trophy is named for the founder of the tournament, FIFA President Jules Rimet, who was French. In 2018, France won it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We already knew that the 2026 World Cup would be a joint hosting effort between the U.S., which had previously hosted in 1994; Mexico, which had done so in 1970 and 1986; and Canada, which never had, although it had hosted the Women's World Cup in 2015. What we didn't know was where the Final would be held.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In 1994, the games were held mainly in the suburbs of major cities New York, Giants Stadium, at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey; Boston, Foxboro Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts; Detroit, the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan; San Francisco, Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California; and Los Angeles, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Within cities, games were held at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, Soldier Field in Chicago, the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, and the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(Of those 9, only the Rose Bowl, the Cotton Bowl and the Citrus Bowl still stand, and the Citrus Bowl has been renamed Camping World Stadium. Soldier Field and Stanford Stadium have been replaced with new stadiums on the site, while Giants Stadium and Foxboro Stadium were replaced by new stadiums next-door.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The choice for the venue the Final came down to 3: New York and Los Angeles, as the 2 biggest cities; and Washington, as the national capital. Since the Rose Bowl had the biggest seating capacity, it was chosen.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The venues for the 2026 World Cup were announced yesterday. In Canada: BMO Field in Toronto and BC Place in Vancouver. In Mexico: Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, which hosted the 1970 and 1986 Finals; Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe, outside Monterrey; and Estadio Akron in Zapopan, outside Guadalajara. In the U.S.:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">* MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing New York.</div><div style="text-align: left;">* Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.</div><div style="text-align: left;">* Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, representing Boston.</div><div style="text-align: left;">* Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.</div><div style="text-align: left;">* Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, representing Miami.</div><div style="text-align: left;">* Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.</div><div style="text-align: left;">* AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, representing Dallas.</div><div style="text-align: left;">* NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.</div><div style="text-align: left;">* SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, representing Los Angeles.</div><div style="text-align: left;">* Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, representing San Francisco.</div><div style="text-align: left;">* Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />All 13 of the stadiums in the U.S. and Canada are in metropolitan areas with at least 1 Major League Soccer franchise, 5 are currently home to MLS teams, and 2 previously hosted a team. None of these is a holdover from the 1994 World Cup, although, of the 11 U.S. sites, 6 are in markets that are. And 7 have previously hosted Super Bowls.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Why not Washington, the nation's capital? Simple: The stadium issue. With the demolition of RFK Stadium, the biggest stadium in the city is Nationals Park, and that's a baseball-specific stadium. The next-biggest is Audi Field, and the home of the city's MLS team seats only 20,000. The suburbs, of course, have a bigger stadium: FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, which has hosted many soccer games. But it's considered inadequate, particularly with its distance from the city's subway system.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For a while, the Final seemed narrowed down to 2: New York and Los Angeles -- or, more accurately, the Meadowlands and Inglewood. It seemed like a difficult choice. After all, America does not have a "national stadium." I was hoping the Final would come, not just to New York, but to New Jersey.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Sometimes, the choice is easy. England hosted in 1966, and put the Final at Wembley Stadium in London. Mexico, as I said, put it at the Azteca both times. Brazil put it at the <span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Estádio do Maracanã </span>in Rio de Janeiro both times they hosted. Italy has put it in their national stadium in Rome both times (although not the same stadium). West Germany put it at the Olympic Stadium in Munich in 1974, and, after the country was reunited, had the Olympic Stadium in Berlin available in 2006, and put it there.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But just last week, a rumor got around that the choice for the Final had been narrowed to 2: Los Angeles/Inglewood and Dallas/Arlington. And Arlington was the favorite.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Texas? A State that has proven itself to be openly hostile to foreigners coming in, hosting the biggest event in the world?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Dallas? The city that killed a President and became synonymous with greed and excess?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">AT&T Stadium? The home of the Dallas Cowboys?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Oh, <i>hell</i>, no! I was infuriated.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The announcement was yesterday, and I was apprehensive. Were they really going to give it to Dallas? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">No. It was given to MetLife. To New York. To New Jersey. As they would say in England, it will be on my manor.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That made me happier than the game a few hours earlier, when Arsenal beat Liverpool, 3-1.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For all that is wrong with the sport, its governing body, and its signature tournament, I am not merely pleased, but proud that it's coming to my home.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I just hope that the State government, through the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority and New Jersey Transit, fix the issues that messed up Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014. They have 2 years to get whatever kinks remain out.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>*</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Days until the next Arsenal match: 6, this coming Sunday, at 9:00 AM New York Eastern Time, away to West Ham United in East London. They are out of both domestic cups, but only 2 points behind Liverpool for 1st place in the Premier League after beating them yesterday, and still in the UEFA Champions League.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Days until the New Jersey Devils again play a local rival: 12, on Saturday, February 17, 2024, at 8:00 PM, away to the Philadelphia Flyers.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;">Days until the next New York Red Bulls game: 20, on Sunday, February 25, at 5:00 PM Eastern Time, away to Nashville SC. This is the season opener. Under 3 weeks.</div><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;">Days until Donald Trump's federal election trial begins: 28, on Monday, March 4. Exactly 4 weeks. If we're lucky, he'll be convicted before the Republican Convention, and the Republican Party will do the right thing, and drop his fat fascist ass.</div><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Days until the next game of the U.S. National Soccer Team: 45, on March 21, at 7:00 PM (6:00 local time), in the CONCACAF Nations League, home to Jamaica, at AT&T Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Days until the Yankees' season opener: 52, on Thursday, March 28, time TBA, away to the Houston Astros. Under 2 months.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Days until the Yankees' home opener: 60, on Friday, April 5, at 1:05 PM, vs. those pesky Toronto Blue Jays. Exactly 2 months. Unusually, the Yankees do not have the day after the home opener off, in case of rainout.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Days until the next North London Derby: 82, on Saturday, April 27, at 10:00 AM New York time, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The game will almost certainly be rescheduled, to a different time, maybe to a different day, for the purpose of TV ratings. But it will still be that weekend. Under 3 months.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Days until the Red Bulls again play a nearby rival: 96, on Saturday, May 11, 2024, at 7:30 PM, home to the New England Revolution.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Days until the Yankees' next series against the Boston Red Sox begins: 130, on Friday night, June 14, 2024, at Fenway Park. A little over 4 months.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Days until the next Summer Olympic Games: 172, on Friday, July 26, 2024, in Paris, France. Under 6 months.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Days until the next Rutgers University football game: 208, on Saturday, August 31, 2024, at 12:00 Noon, home to Howard University. Under 7 months.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Days until the next East Brunswick High School football game: Unknown, as the schedule hasn't been released yet. If it goes as usual, starting on the 1st Friday in September at 7:00 PM, that will be on September 6, 2024. That's 214 days, or a little over 7 months.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge game: Unknown. If the 2024 game is played in the same week of the year as was the 2023 game, a close 30-28 loss, it will be on Friday, September 20, at 7:00 PM, away, at Vince Lombardi Field. That would be 228 days. Under 8 months.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Days until the next Presidential election: 274, on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Exactly 9 months.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;">Days until the next elections for Governor of New Jersey and Mayor of New York City: 638, on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. A little under 2 years, or a little under 21 months.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit;">Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: Unknown. With the expansion of the Big Ten Conference for the 2024 season, these 2 schools will not play each other in 2024. They are set to play each other in 2025, but a date has not been set. Since Rutgers entered the Big 10 in 2014, the Penn State game has usually been on the 3rd or 4th Saturday in November. If that holds true, then it will be on November 22, 2025, at 12:00 Noon, in Piscataway, at what's currently named SHI Stadium. (The naming rights could well be sold to someone else by then.) If that turns out to be when it's played, that's 656 days.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Days until the next Winter Olympics open in Milan, Italy: 732, on Friday, February 6, 2026. Almost exactly 2 years, or 24 months.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Days until the next World Cup opens: 854, on Monday, June 8, 2026. Under 2 1/2 years, or a little over 28 months.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Days until the World Cup Final in New Jersey: 895, on Sunday, July 19, 2026. Under 2 1/2 years, or a little over 29 months.</span></div></div></div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-49205259723734666432024-02-04T00:00:00.012-05:002024-02-04T00:00:00.248-05:00February 4, 2004: Facebook Goes Live<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cqzYizosjZrxbiPHs8eFtzjq_bc=/0x0:2040x1360/1200x800/filters:focal(857x517:1183x843)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53282143/DSC01391.0.0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="267" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cqzYizosjZrxbiPHs8eFtzjq_bc=/0x0:2040x1360/1200x800/filters:focal(857x517:1183x843)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53282143/DSC01391.0.0.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>February 4, 2004, 20 years ago:</b> Facebook is launched in Cambridge, Massachusetts by Harvard University student Mark Zuckerberg, who screwed over Divya Narendra and the twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. This was, of course, before Zuckerberg screwed over America by helping Cambridge Analytica help steal the 2016 Presidential election.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Narendra did all right for himself, having founded SumZero, an online investment company. The Winklevoss Twins got rich, too, even more so in the recent cryptocurrency craze that shows no signs of fading.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Facebook's </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">IPO, launched on May 18, 2012 at $38.00, dropped to $27.72 by June 1, with no help at all from Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. But it rebounded: On December 26, 2023, a single share of Facebook stock closed at </span>$354.83.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">On December 7, 2018, the Internet series <i>Epic Rap Battles of Histor</i>y had a battle between Zuckerberg (played by series co-founder Nice Peter) and Elon Musk (EpicLloyd, the other co-founder). At the time, Zuckerberg seemed like more of a villain. In hindsight, that role is now a toss-up.</div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-86096369002042187642024-02-03T07:00:00.000-05:002024-02-03T07:00:00.135-05:00Class Is In Session<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://people.com/thmb/cT19YCwa7xRyL7Y-U28h4Sza6hU=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2)/taylor-swift-star-tracks-011324-tout-d578c05b6c044d2d8f84134a24709163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="267" src="https://people.com/thmb/cT19YCwa7xRyL7Y-U28h4Sza6hU=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2)/taylor-swift-star-tracks-011324-tout-d578c05b6c044d2d8f84134a24709163.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">In the immortal words of Bruce Campbell, All right, you primitive screwheads, listen up!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">"Super Bowl" is one word, not two.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you've previously said that you were boycotting the NFL, shut the hell up about how the TV networks cover Taylor Swift's appearances at the games.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's okay to root for the Kansas City Chiefs to win the upcoming Super Bowl, because it will make right-wingers upset over Taylor Swift, who wants President Biden to be re-elected.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's okay to root for the San Francisco 49ers to win the upcoming Super Bowl, because it will make right-wingers upset that "liberal" "coastal" "elite" San Francisco beat "conservative" "Middle America" Kansas City.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Joe Montana is the greatest quarterback who ever lived. There are a few other legitimate candidates. Tom Brady is not one of them, because he was a compulsive and unrepentant cheater.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Mets have not surpassed the Yankees. Not in any way. They don't even have the better ballpark food. Maybe they had that at Shea, but not since they both opened new ballparks.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Golf is still not a sport. Nor is figure skating. Nor is auto racing.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The </span><a style="background-color: white; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;" tabindex="-1"></a></i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>Honeymooners</i> is the greatest sitcom of all time. <i>M*A*S*H</i> is a better show, but it's not a sitcom. <i>The Sopranos</i> had its moments, but the vulgarity, and I don't just mean the language, hurts it. <i>The Office</i> was not funny, in either version.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Robert Pattinson is a better Batman than Ben Affleck, and David Corinswet will be a better </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Superman than Henry Cavill, if for no other reason than Zack Snyder will not be involved.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Elon Musk has never invented a damn thing, and he is not a genius.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It's pork roll. Not Taylor ham. Says who? Says Taylor, the company that invented the stuff, and sells more of it than anybody. They call it pork roll, because it legally isn't ham.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Pizza tastes better by the water. New York City is practically surrounded by water. And in New Jersey, the pizza is better down the Shore.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There is no such thing as a chicken cheesesteak. A chicken sandwich with the things you might put on a cheesesteak might be very good, but the word "steak" implies beef. No beef, no steak.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Chicago and San Francisco are better places to live than Florida or Texas.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Evidence matters.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">You don't get to call something a "crisis" if you're not willing to try to stop it until a President who belongs to your party takes office. Especially if the last President who belonged to your party already failed to stop it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I don't care if you're the biggest pop star in the world, or a sitting U.S. Senator who recently suspended your campaign for President: Don't tell a man you love him unless you actually do.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Stop caring about what bathrooms people use, and just make sure you wash your hands. More kids get molested by clergymen than "trans" people, anyway.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The race of the cop matters less than the race of the arrestee.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The history of all the peoples of America is American history, whether you like them, or not; whether you accept it, or not.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Class dismissed.</span></div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-52256885966915779702024-02-01T00:00:00.001-05:002024-02-01T00:00:00.135-05:00February 1, 2004: Timberlake vs. Jackson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLVXAXu23qq8WWxXT2MHVbiO-UXHew-ImZGh3eDn_eM_J4oD91iyOyfZfZnKlttvfAS18y8D0ujaFVvN911MchF0fo1BxH6tN45v_ONS56q5CxxjgY7j0FlC8dZR2z0NNW-naHKPxeqPiCJolprl_shCWgLzEzRHBxd12j7Ijj2xOnOJEZ936QJLi6hA=s320" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="240" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLVXAXu23qq8WWxXT2MHVbiO-UXHew-ImZGh3eDn_eM_J4oD91iyOyfZfZnKlttvfAS18y8D0ujaFVvN911MchF0fo1BxH6tN45v_ONS56q5CxxjgY7j0FlC8dZR2z0NNW-naHKPxeqPiCJolprl_shCWgLzEzRHBxd12j7Ijj2xOnOJEZ936QJLi6hA" width="240" /></a></div><div><b>February 1, 2004, 20 years ago:</b> Super Bowl XXXVIII -- thus far, the Super Bowl with the longest Roman numeral -- is played at Reliant Stadium (now NRG Stadium) in Houston. And, for the first time, and thus far the only time, a Super Bowl is overshadowed by something else that happened inside the stadium. (<i>Black Sunday</i> was a novel, and then a film. Same with <i>The Sum of All Fears</i>. Thankfully, nothing like either has ever happened in real life.)</div><div><br /></div><div>The New England Patriots were AFC Champions, after winning Super Bowl XXXVI on a last-play field goal by Adam Vinatieri and then missing the Playoffs in the season in between. By an unusual turn of events, it was the 4th Super Bowl appearance in team history, but the 1st that wasn't played at the Superdome in New Orleans.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Carolina Panthers were NFC Champions in their 8th season of play, after reaching the NFC Championship Game in 1996-97, only their 2nd. This was not the 1st time a Carolina-based team had reached a Final, though: The Carolina Hurricanes had reached the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was the 2nd time the Super Bowl was held in Houston, after Super Bowl VIII was held at Rice Stadium, home of Rice University. It was already outdated by 1974, but it seated about 20,000 more people than the Astrodome did. The NFL waited until both the Houston Oilers and the Astrodome were replaced before awarding Houston another game. (The League now has a policy that the game can only be played in stadiums that are a team's home field, even as they hope that team won't make the game, so that it will be a neutral field.) It was the 1st time that the Super Bowl was held in a stadium with a retractable roof.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Patriots were favored by 7 points. Houston native <span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Beyoncé </span>Knowles sang the National Anthem. The 1st quarter was scoreless: The closest either team came to scoring was Vinatieri missing a 31-yard field goal attempt.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the 2nd quarter, Vinatieri attempted a field goal from 36 yards out. This time, the Panthers blocked it. But the Panthers were no better: Quarterback Jake Delhomme completed only 1 of his 1st 9 passes, got sacked 3 times, and fumbled. The last of those sacks, by Mike Vrabel, forced the fumble, which became the break the Patriots were looking for. Richard Seymour recovered it at the Patriots' 20-yard line, and, 3 plays later, Tom Brady threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Deion Branch.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">This was 26 minutes and 55 seconds into the game, the longest a Super Bowl had gone from kickoff without scoring. But it opened the floodgates: Delhomme figured things out, drove the Panthers 95 yards in 8 plays, and threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith to tie the game. But there was 1:07 left in the half, and Brady took the Pats 78 yards in 6 plays, 52 of those yards on a pass to Branch. Brady threw a 5-yard pass to David Givens, to make it 14-7 New England. But there was still enough time for the Panthers to get into field goal range, and John Kasay kicked one from 50 yards out on the last play of the half. Patriots 14, Panthers 10.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Super Bowl Halftime Show was next. It was sponsored by MTV (which, like the game's telecaster, CBS, was owned by Viacom), and it began with a "Choose or Lose" video, encouraging young people to vote. So far, so good.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">As for the live performances, Jessica Simpson, a Texas native, started the festivities not by singing -- there was a relief -- but by shouting, "Houston, choose to party!" Next up, the combined marching bands of the University of Houston and Texas Southern University (a historically black school in Houston) played "The Way You Move," by OutKast (who were not there). Still, nothing that couldn't be rated PG.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div>Next up was Sean Combs, then using the name P. Diddy. I have never liked him, but he wasn't especially offensive this time, singing "Bad Boy for Life." Next up were singers dressed like cheerleaders, singing Toni Basil's 1982 Number 1 hit "Mickey," substituting first "Diddy," then "Nelly." That was the cue for Nelly, the St. Louis-based rapper, who sang his best-known song, "Hot in Herre." This is where the trouble started: Nelly kept grabbing and shaking his dick.</div><div><br /></div><div>Diddy followed with another song, his duet with his pal, the late Notorious B.I.G., "Mo Money Mo Problems." This was followed by Robert James Ritchie, a.k.a. Kid Rock. Or, as he said, introducing himself, "My name is Kiiiiiiiiiiiid... " I never did hear him say, "Rock!" This great conservative was wearing a plastic American flag as a poncho. That should have been the most offensive gesture of the day, although the 2 songs he did, "Bawitdaba" and "Cowboy," were not exactly <i>Sgt. Pepper</i> material.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next was Janet Jackson, who wore a long black vinyl outfit with what looked like rhinestones around the breasts, and led a group of dancers through her song "Rhythm Nation." At the time, she was bigger than any of these people. She had done what few relatives of superstars had managed to do: Build her own brand, and get on, if not quite the same level, then maybe only one level below her brother Michael.</div><div><br /></div><div>And if that had been the end of it, well, we might have been talking about how disgusting Nelly was, and how hypocritical Kid Rock is. But that was not the end of it. The last song was "Rock Your Body" by Justin Timberlake.</div><div><br /></div><div>The biggest heartthrob of the vocal group NSYNC, he has had, far and away, the biggest solo career of any member of the late 1990s-early 2000s "boy bands." He did it by doing what Janet did: Building his own brand. In his case, building an image of the Southern version of a sex maniac who is simply too charming for women to resist.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Rock Your Body" had been written by Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams, collectively known as The Neptunes. Ironically, they had first offered the song to Michael Jackson, but he turned it down. So they gave it to Justin, and his recording of it hit Number 2 in 2003.</div><div><br /></div><div>But I didn't like Justin. Never have. Never will. Janet, I liked, and still do. But not Justin. I was watching this game, and this show, at a chain restaurant that has since closed (though the chain is still in business). When I saw him come onstage, I thought, "Good time for a bathroom break."</div><div><br /></div><div>It seemed as though the halftime show was going to end with Janet and Justin dancing together to Justin's big hit. And if that had been the case, no one would remember it today. But they got to the last line of the song, which is "I gotta have you naked by the end of this song."</div><div><br /></div><div>And just before getting to that line, thus proving that both of them had been lip-syncing, Justin grabbed Janet's right breast, and pulled, tearing off a piece of the outfit, and exposing the breast, with what looked like a jeweled earring attached to the nipple.</div><div><br /></div><div>At that moment, presumably as scheduled, fireworks were shot off from the stadium's roof. Someone at CBS saw what was happening, and immediately switched camera angles to show the fireworks above -- not the "fireworks" below.</div><div><br /></div><div>And, being in the bathroom at the time, I missed it.</div><div><br /></div><div>When I came back out, the restaurant wasn't exactly packed, and if anybody was talking about it, I didn't hear it. This was February 1, 2004. Facebook went online exactly 3 days later. Twitter was more than 2 years away. We had the Internet, but we didn't have "social media" as we now understand that term. Had I gone into a chat room, or onto a message board, or even clicked on a newspaper or TV network website, I would have found out what happened rather quickly. But there was no way to know within minutes what had happened. I literally didn't know about it until I woke up the next morning.</div><div><br /></div><div>I didn't know about it because CBS announcers Greg Gumbel and former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms didn't talk about it. They did briefly talk about, but did not show, a streaker who ran onto the field after the halftime show's stage was dismantled. The streaker wasn't completely naked: He wore a thong. And he had the address of a website written in black ink on his back. This was no Morganna the Kissing Bandit, or 1986 World Series parachutist Michael Sergio, or even the "Fan Man" at one of the Evander Holyfield vs. Riddick Bowe fights. This was just some fat yutz trying to make a quick buck and maybe a name for himself.</div><div><br /></div><div>It probably never entered his mind that he might be taking some of the heat off the halftime show. If that had been his secondary intent, along with the primary intent of promoting the website, it didn't work at all.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, with me only knowing about the game itself, the game itself went on. There was no scoring in the 3rd quarter, leaving it still at New England 14, Carolina 10. But there would be 37 points scored in the 4th quarter, the most ever in a single Super Bowl, breaking the record of 35 in the 2nd quarter of Super Bowl XXII, all by the Washington Redskins.</div><div><br /></div><div>Two plays into the 4th quarter, Antowain Smith scored on a 2-yard run, and the Patriots led 21-10. The Panthers got the ball back, and DeShaun Foster broke off a 33-yard touchdown run. The Panthers tried a 2-point conversion, but failed, leaving the score at 21-16. The Patriots launched another drive, but Reggie Howard intercepted Brady in the end zone. Delhomme then threw an 85-yard touchdown pass to Mushin Muhammad, the longest play from scrimmage in Super Bowl history. Another 2-point conversion attempt failed.</div><div><br /></div><div>But the Panthers now led, 22-21. It was the 1st time a team had trailed a Super Bowl by at least 10 points and had taken the lead.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Patriots were not fazed. (Because they knew they were still going to win? Were they cheating?) The Patriots got to 3rd & goal, and set Vrabel up as a tight end, and scored. The Patriots attempted a 2-pointer, and made it, taking a 29-22 lead with 2:51 to go.</div><div><br /></div><div>There was plenty of time for the Panthers. Two years earlier, Ricky Proehl had caught a game-tying touchdown pass for the St. Louis Rams against the Patriots, who won that Super Bowl anyway. This time, he was playing for the Panthers, and Delhomme threw him a 12-yard touchdown pass. Having already failed on 2 2-point conversions, Panthers coach John Fox went for 1, and Kasay kicked the extra point to make it 29-29.</div><div><br /></div><div>But there was 1:08 left, and Kasay's kickoff went out of bounds, giving the Pats the ball on their own 40. Brady got them close enough for Vinatieri to try a 41-yard field goal attempt with 9 seconds left. In his career, he had attempted 35 field goals in indoor stadiums, and missed only 4 of them -- but all 4 had been right there at Reliant Stadium.</div><div><br /></div><div>He made it. The Panthers could do nothing with the ensuing kickoff, and the Patriots had won, 32-29. There had now been 4 field goal attempts to win Super Bowls in the last 10 seasons, 3 of them successful, and Vinatieri had made 2 of them.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Panthers didn't blow it. They didn't choke. They didn't break their fans' hearts. They played pretty well, scoring enough points to have won 17 of the 37 previous Super Bowls. But it would take them 12 years to get to another, and they still haven't won one. The Patriots, meanwhile, continued their run of success.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was one of the best Super Bowls ever played. And, outside of New England, and North and South Carolina, nobody cared. All people wanted to talk about was what was already being called "Nipplegate." It had overtones of sex, overtones of race (Janet is black, Justin is white), and a connection to sports. A triple threat.</div><div><br /></div><div>The NFL ruled that MTV would never be invited to participate in anything with them again. The Federal Communications Commission fined CBS $550,000 for "indecency." A federal court ultimately voided the fine, and it was never paid. That was the right call: The situation wasn't CBS' fault. They were taken every bit as much by surprise as everyone else was.</div><div><br /></div><div>The bulk of the public anger fell on Janet. The jokes from late-night comedians, while embarrassing and seeming to go on forever, turned out to be the least damaging part of it. Viacom and its subsidiaries, including CBS, MTV and Infinity Broadcasting, blacklisted her from their broadcasts.</div><div><br /></div><div>"There are much worse things in the world," Janet said, "and for this to be such a focus, I don't understand."</div><div><br /></div><div>From 1986 to 2001, she had 10 songs reach Number 1 on <i>Billboard</i> magazine's Hot 100 chart. Her next album, titled <i>Damita Jo</i> after her middle name, was released on March 30, 2004, 58 days after the incident, and none of the 3 singles from it cracked the Top 40. From 2006 to 2021, she would have only 2 singles that did.</div><div><br /></div><div>She was 37 years old at the time of the incident, and still looked, moved and sounded great, so it's not like she was washed up. And her fans still sold out arenas all over the planet. But she has never again been a hitmaker.</div><div><br /></div><div>And Timberlake? His next album came on September 8, 2006, and it produced 3 Number 1 hits. From 2006 to 2018, he had 18 Top 10 hits, 5 of them hitting Number 1.</div><div><br /></div><div>He got off scot-free from hurting Janet's career. Just as he had gotten off scot-free from the way he treated Britney Spears, both while and after he was her girlfriend.</div><div><br /></div><div>In 2021, a documentary about Britney's struggle to reclaim her legal rights aired, and it put Timberlake's actions and words -- toward her, and toward Janet -- in a new light. In an Instagram post, Timberlake said:</div><div><br /></div><div><p class="dcr-eu20cu" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #121212; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;"><i>I am deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn, or did not speak up for what was right...</i></p><p class="dcr-eu20cu" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #121212; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;"><i>I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism...</i></p><p class="dcr-eu20cu" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #121212; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;"><i>I didn’t recognize it for all that it was while it was happening in my own life but I do not want to ever benefit from others being pulled down again.</i></p><p class="dcr-eu20cu" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #121212; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;"><i>I can do better and I will do better. </i></p></div><div style="text-align: left;">He had better. To paraphrase one of his later hits, he was one of those other boys who don't know how to act.</div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-54746878598988270352024-01-31T12:13:00.002-05:002024-01-31T12:13:27.908-05:00Taylor the WAG<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://fox4kc.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2024/01/GettyImages-1968530700-e1706549156234.jpg?w=2560&h=1440&crop=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://fox4kc.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2024/01/GettyImages-1968530700-e1706549156234.jpg?w=2560&h=1440&crop=1" width="400" /></a></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Conservative media is now claiming that the National Football League is rigging the Super Bowl, so that the Kansas City Chiefs, and therefore Travis Kelce, and therefore Taylor Swift, will win; so that Taylor can then ride that to help President Joe Biden get re-elected.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's not the craziest conspiracy they've ever come up with. But it's one of the dumber ones. Why the hell would the NFL rig the Super Bowl for the Chiefs? There's 3 big reasons why they wouldn't do that:</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. They wouldn't rig it at all. They want people to bet on the game. Therefore, they would want the game to appear to be on the level.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2. What's the point? The Chiefs are the defending Champions. They don't need the rigging.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Of the NFL's 32 teams, 28 are owned by contributors to Donald Trump's Presidential campaign. Clearly, they don't want Biden to win.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, the right-wingers are ready, either way. If the San Francisco 49ers
win, they'll say it was rigged to help liberal San Francisco against
conservative Missouri and Kansas. So, either way, they look like idiots.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">*</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway... Today, on <i>The View</i> on ABC, Sara Haines made the point that American football has places for women: As cheerleaders, and in the stands. Their place is <i>not</i> by the side of their boyfriend or husband, the player.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And they see Taylor Swift cozying up to Travis Kelce, star tight end of the Kansas City Chiefs, and his family. And they don't like it.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">They also don't like that she's registering voters to vote the way she would want them to: For Democrats, for women's rights, and other liberal causes.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, Haines used the phrase "American football." That's important. Because, whether she meant to or not, it draws a contrast to soccer, the sport the rest of the world calls "football."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In England, they have "WAG Culture." WAG: Wives And Girlfriends. If an English soccer star, or a foreign soccer star in England's Premier League, still the highest-grossing sports league in the world -- ahead of the mighty NFL, mind you -- has a girlfriend or a wife (hopefully, not both) who is also famous, it provides the same kind of effect as when Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe got married (and, just as quickly, divorced): Each builds on the other's fame, until, on top of what they were already famous for, they become "famous for being famous."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">America isn't used to that. Reggie Jackson was very good at keeping his private life private: He married once, was divorced while still in Oakland, and if he ever dated a famous woman while in the markets of New York (with the Yankees) or Los Angeles (with the team then named the California Angels), the media never found out.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Also in Reggie's time, nobody seemed to care who Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Carl Yastrzemski, George Brett, Ozzie Smith, Rickey Henderson, Don Mattingly or Ryne Sandberg was married to. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez both dated famous women, but that was in New York, which isn't like the rest of the country.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In other sports, Joe Montana's wife was Jennifer Wallace, and Wayne Gretzky's wife was Jennifer Jones, and neither was ever anything more than a minor actress. Michael Jordan and Dan Marino had embarrassing divorces, but they were quickly forgotten. We hear lots of talk about LeBron James' son Bronny, but how many of us recognize the name of Savannah Brinson, LeBron's wife and Bronny's mother?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Tom Brady was married to Gisele Bündchen, but that was treated as an afterthought. Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs quarterback and Kelce's teammate, having led them into a 4th Super Bowl and looking for a 3rd win, is the most famous player in the NFL, but how many of us would recognize his wife on sight? Or recognize her maiden name, Brittany Matthews? And she was a pro athlete, too, a soccer player. She's one of the co-owners of the K.C. area's team in the National Women's Soccer League, the Kansas City Current. And yet, she can walk through Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan without one single autograph request. Her husband can't do that.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">There's something else to consider about the Taylor & Travis phenomenon. Taylor Swift is the 1st female performer to be, unquestionably, the biggest music star in America. Every predecessor in that regard was male: Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, The Beatles (British rather than American, but embraced by America), Michael Jackson.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Not Madonna. When she first hit it big in 1984, Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and Prince were bigger. When she was at her most hyped and controversial, in 1989 and '90, Jackson was still bigger. So were imports U2. Janet Jackson was never the biggest. Nor was Jennifer Lopez. The Beehive won't like reading this, but Beyoncé has been with Jay-Z since 2002, and he's been either the biggest or 2nd-biggest hip-hop figure longer than that, so Bey has never even been the biggest performer in her own relationship.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, there is an element of race involved. If Beyoncé had merely collaborated with Jay-Z, and never gotten into a relationship with him, she would still be very big. But being black would have prevented her from being the biggest star among white fans. Taylor doesn't have that issue. She does have issues, but not that one.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But Taylor got to where she is by writing and singing songs about a troublesome love-life. And while she did sing, "I'm the problem, it's me" in "Anti-Hero," a lot of her songs are about breakups with inadequate boyfriends.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Guys see this, and think, "If only she'd come to me, I could show her a real man." Then she starts dating a Super Bowl-winning football star, and they feel betrayed. And so they hate her.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And, like Mariah Carey a few years earlier, she can sing a song titled "Shake It Off." (Neil Sedaka also had a Number 1 hit titled "Bad Blood" decades before Taylor did.) And that just ticks them off more.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Let them be ticked off.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By the way, you should have seen the look on my face when I remembered that there were meat-packing companies named Taylor and Swift.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Taylor Provisions Company, of course, invented pork roll, and still sell more of it than anybody else. They sell it under the name "Pork Roll." Not "Taylor Ham."</span></span></div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-31440203851491542622024-01-29T07:00:00.005-05:002024-01-29T07:00:00.137-05:00Finals Appearances, 1871-2024<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/super-bowl-2024-lasvegas-chiefs-patrick-mahomes-49ers-brock-purdy.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="681" height="225" src="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/super-bowl-2024-lasvegas-chiefs-patrick-mahomes-49ers-brock-purdy.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1" width="400" /></a></div><div>Updated to include the set of Super Bowl LVIII, between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Includes the following:</div><div><br /></div><div>* Baseball: The World Series, 1903-2023; pre-1903 championship finals, including the Temple Cup (1894-97); and single-division leagues that did not have postseason series.</div><div><br /></div><div>* Football: All professional league championship games, including the pre-Super Bowl NFL Championship Game, 1932-1965; and Canada's Grey Cup.</div><div><br /></div><div>* Basketball: The NBA Finals, 1947-2023, and the WNBA Finals, 1997-2023.</div><div><br /></div><div>* Hockey: The Stanley Cup Finals, 1894-2023, including before the founding of the NHL.</div><div><br /></div><div>* Soccer: The NASL Finals, 1967-1984; the MLS Cup, 1996-2023; and the finals of the various women's leagues.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the case of an intra-city finals, the city will be counted twice. Ties will be broken by most wins, then by most recent.</div><div><br /></div><div>Still to be done: NASL, MLS, WUA/WPS/NWSL</div><div><br /></div><div>New York, 136: World's Championship Series, 1888, both teams in 1889, 1890; Temple Cup, 1894; National League Champions, 1899, 1900; World Series, 1904, 1905, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1916, 1917, 1920, 1921 (both), 1922 (both), 1923 (both), 1924, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1933, 1936 (both), 1937 (both), 1938, 1939, 1941 (both), 1942, 1943, 1947 (both), 1949 (both), 1950, 1951 (both), 1952 (both), 1953 (both), 1954, 1955 (both), 1956 (both), 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1969, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 (both), 2001, 2003, 2009, 2015; NFL Champions, 1927; NFL Championship Game, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1944, 1946, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963; Super Bowl, 1987, 1991, 2001, 2008, 2012; AAFC Championship Game, 1946 and 1947; NBA Finals, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1994, 1999, 2002, 2003; ABA Finals, 1972, 1974, 1976; WNBA Finals: 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2023; Stanley Cup Finals, 1928, 1929, 1932, 1933, 1937, 1940, 1950, 1972, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2012, 2014</div><div><br /></div><div><div>New England, 90: National Association Champions, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875; National League Champions, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1892, 1893, 1898; World's Championship Series, both teams in 1884 and 1891; Temple Cup, 1897; World Series, 1903, 1904, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1918, 1946, 1948, 1967, 1975, 1986, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2018; NFL Champions, 1928; NFL Championship Game, 1936; AFL Championship Game, 1963; Super Bowl, 1986, 1997, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019; NBA Finals: 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 2008, 2010, 2022; WNBA Finals: 2004, 2005, 2019, 2022; Stanley Cup Finals, 1927, 1929, 1930, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1946, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1988, 1990; WHA Finals, 1973, 1978</div><div><br /></div><div>Montreal, 74: Grey Cup, 1931, 1944, 1949, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2023; Stanley Cup Finals, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1903, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1919, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1935, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1986, 1989, 1993, 2021</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Toronto, 67: World Series, 1992, 1993; Grey Cup, 1909 (both), 1910, 1911 (both), 1912, 1913, 1914 (both), 1915, 1920 (both), 1921, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1930, 1933, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1942, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1952, 1971, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2012, 2017, 2022; NBA Finals, 2019; Stanley Cup Finals, 1902, 1904, 1908, 1914, 1918, 1922, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967</div><div><br /></div><div>Los Angeles, 59: World Series, 1959, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1988, 2002, 2017, 2018, 2020; NFL Championship Game, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1955; AFL Championship Game, 1960; Super Bowl, 1980, 1984, 2019, 2022; NBA Finals, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2020; ABA Finals, 1970; WNBA Finals: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2016, 2017; Stanley Cup Finals, 1993, 2003, 2007, 2012, 2014</div><div><br /></div><div>Chicago, 58: National League Champions, 1876, 1880, 1881, 1882; World's Championship Series, 1885, 1886; American League Champions, 1901; World Series, both teams in 1906; 1907, 1908, 1910, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1959, 2005, 2016; NFL Champions, 1921, 1925; NFL Championship Game, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1937, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1956, 1963; Super Bowl, 1986, 2007; NBA Finals, 1947, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998; WNBA Finals, 2014, 2021; Stanley Cup Finals, 1931, 1934, 1938, 1944, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1971, 1973, 1992, 2010, 2013, 2015; WHA Finals, 1974</div><div><br /></div><div>Detroit, 50: World's Championship Series, 1887; World Series, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1934, 1935, 1940, 1945, 1968, 1984, 2006, 2012; NFL Championship Game, 1935, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957; USFL Championship Game, 1983; NBA Finals, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2004, 2005; WNBA Finals, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008; Stanley Cup Finals, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1941, 1943, 1945, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2008, 2009</div><div><div><br /></div><div><div>Philadelphia, 47: National Association Champions, 1871; American Association Champions, 1883; American League Champions, 1902; World Series, 1905, 1910, 1911, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1950, 1980, 1983, 1993, 2008, 2009, 2022; NFL Champions, 1926; NFL Championship Game, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1960; Super Bowl, 1981, 2005, 2018, 2023; USFL Championship Game, 1983 and 1984; NBA Finals: 1947, 1948, 1956, 1967, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983, 2001; Stanley Cup Finals, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1985, 1987, 1997, 2010</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Winnipeg, 42: Grey Cup, 1925, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2007, 2011, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023; Stanley Cup Finals, 1896, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1904, 1908; WHA Finals, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979</div></div><div><div><br /></div><div>San Francisco Bay Area, 36: World Series, 1962, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1988, 1989 (both), 1990, 2002, 2010, 2012, 2014; AAFC Championship Game, 1949; Super Bowl, 1968, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1995, 2003, 2013, 2020, 2024; USFL Championship Game, 1985; NBA Finals, 1964, 1967, 1975, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022; 1969 ABA Finals; Stanley Cup Finals, 2017</div><div><br /></div><div>Hamilton, 34: Grey Cup, 1910, 1912, 1913, 1915, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1943, 1944, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1972, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1998, 1999, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2021; Stanley Cup Finals, 1910, 1911</div></div><div><br /></div><div>St. Louis, 34: World's Championship Series, 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888; World Series, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1943, 1944 (both), 1946, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1982, 1985, 1987, 2004, 2006, 2011, 2013; Super Bowl, 2000, 2002; NBA Finals, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961; Stanley Cup Finals, 1968, 1969, 1970, 2019</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Edmonton, 34: Grey Cup, 1921, 1922, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1960, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1990, 1993, 1996, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2015; Stanley Cup Finals, 1908, 1910, 1923, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 2006; WHA Finals, 1979</div><div><br /></div><div>Ottawa, 33: Grey Cup, 1925, 1926, 1936, 1939, 1940, 1948, 1951, 1960, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1976, 1981, 2015, 2016, 2018; Stanley Cup Finals, 1894, 1897, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1915, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1927, 2007</div><div><br /></div><div>Cleveland, 31: Temple Cup, 1895, 1896; World Series, 1920, 1948, 1954, 1995, 1997, 2016; NFL Champions, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1924; AAFC Championship Game, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949; NFL Championship Game, 1945, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1964, 1965; NBA Finals, 2007, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018</div><div><br /></div><div>Pittsburgh, 24: National League Champions, 1901, 1902; World Series, 1903, 1909, 1925, 1927, 1960, 1971, 1979; Super Bowl, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1996, 2006, 2009, 2011; ABA Finals, 1968; Stanley Cup Finals, 1991, 1992, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2017</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Baltimore, 22: Temple Cup, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897; World Series, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1983; NFL Championship Game, 1958, 1959, 1964; Super Bowl, 1969, 1971, 2001, 2013; USFL Championship Game, 1985; Grey Cup, 1994, 1995; NBA Finals, 1948, 1971</div><div><br /></div><div>Wisconsin, 21: World Series, 1957, 1958, 1982; NFL Champions, 1929, 1930, 1931; NFL Championship Game, 1936, 1938, 1939, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1965; Super Bowl, 1967, 1968, 1997, 1998, 2011; NBA Finals, 1971, 1974, 2021</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Washington, 21: World Series, 1924, 1925, 1933; NFL Championship Game, 1937, 1940, 1942, 1943, 1945; Super Bowl, 1973, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1992; NBA Finals, 1949, 1975, 1978, 1979; WNBA Finals, 2018, 2019; Stanley Cup Finals, 1998, 2018</div><div><br /></div><div>Minnesota, 21: World Series, 1965, 1987, 1991; Super Bowl, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1977; NBA Finals, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1959; WNBA Finals: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017; Stanley Cup Finals, 1981, 1991</div></div><div><div><br /></div><div>Calgary, 21: Grey Cup, 1948, 1949, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018; Stanley Cup Finals, 1924, 1986, 1989, 2004</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Regina, 19: Grey Cup, 1923, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1951, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1976, 1989, 1997, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013</div><div><div><br /></div><div>Vancouver, 18: Grey Cup, 1963, 1964, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1994, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2011; Stanley Cup Finals, 1915, 1918, 1921, 1922, 1982, 1994, 2011</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Houston, 17: World Series, 2005, 2017, 2019, 2022; AFL Championship Game, 1960 and 1961; NBA Finals, 1981, 1986, 1994, 1995; WNBA Finals, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000; WHA Finals, 1974, 1975, 1976</div><div><br /></div><div>Miami, 16: World Series, 1997, 2003; Super Bowl, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1983, 1985; NBA Finals, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2020, 2023; Stanley Cup Finals, 1996, 2023</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Dallas, 14: World Series, 2010, 2011, 2023; AFL Championship Game, 1962; Super Bowl, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1993, 1994, 1996; NBA Finals, 2006, 2011; Stanley Cup Finals, 1999, 2000, 2020</div><div><div><br /></div><div>Colorado, 14: World Series, 2007, Super Bowl, 1978, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2014, 2016; ABA Finals, 1976; NBA Finals, 2023; Stanley Cup Finals, 1996, 2001, 2022</div></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Indiana, 13: Super Bowl, 2007, 2010; NBA Finals, 1955, 1956, 2000; ABA Finals, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975; WNBA Finals, 2009, 2012, 2015</div><div><br /></div><div>Western New York, 13: AAFC Championship Game, 1948; AFL Championship Game, 1964 and 1965; Super Bowl, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994; NBA Finals, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1956; Stanley Cup Finals, 1975, 1999</div></div><div><div><br /></div><div>Cincinnati, 12: World Series, 1919, 1939, 1940, 1961, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1990; Super Bowl, 1982, 1989, 2022</div><div><br /></div><div>Arizona, 12: World Series, 2001, 2003; Super Bowl, 2009; USFL Championship Game, 1984; NBA Finals, 1976, 1993, 2021; WNBA Finals: 1998, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2021</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Kansas City, 10: World Series, 1980, 1985, 2014, 2015; Super Bowl, 1967, 1970, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024</div><div><br /></div><div>Tampa Bay, 9: World Series, 2008, 2020; Super Bowl, 2003, 2021; Stanley Cup Finals, 2004, 2015, 2020, 2021, 2022</div></div></div><div><div><div><br /></div><div>Seattle, 13: Super Bowl, 2006, 2014, 2015; NBA Finals, 1978, 1979, 1996; WNBA Finals: 2004, 2010, 2018, 2020; Stanley Cup Finals, 1917, 1919, 1920</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Atlanta, 11: World Series, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2021; Super Bowl, 1999, 2017; WNBA Finals, 2010, 2011, 2013</div><div><br /></div><div><div>San Antonio, 7: NBA Finals, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2012, 2013; WNBA Finals, 2008</div><div><br /></div><div>San Diego, 7: World Series, 1984, 1998; AFL Championship Game, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965; Super Bowl, 1995</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Kingston, 6: Grey Cup, 1922, 1923, 1924; Stanley Cup Finals, 1895, 1899, 1906</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Las Vegas, 5: WNBA Finals, 2020, 2022, 2023; Stanley Cup Finals, 2018, 2023</div><div><br /></div><div>Carolina, 5: Super Bowl, 2004, 2016; WNBA Finals, 2001; Stanley Cup Finals, 2002, 2006</div></div><div><div><div><br /></div><div>Utah, 4: ABA Finals, 1971 and 1974; NBA Finals, 1997, 1998</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Portland, 4: NBA Finals, 1977, 1990, 1992; Stanley Cup Finals, 1916</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Quebec City, 4: Stanley Cup Finals, 1912, 1913; WHA Finals, 1975 and 1977</div><div><br /></div><div>Louisville, 4: World's Championship Series, 1890; ABA Finals, 1971, 1973, 1975</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Orlando, 3: World Bowl, 1974; NBA Finals, 1995, 2009</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Sarnia, 3: Grey Cup, 1933, 1934, 1936</div><div><div><br /></div><div>Victoria 3: Stanley Cup Finals, 1914, 1925, 1926</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Halifax, 3: Stanley Cup Finals, 1900, 1906, 1913</div><div><br /></div><div>Kenora, 3: Stanley Cup Finals, 1903, 1905, 1907</div><div><br /></div><div>Tennessee, 2: Super Bowl, 2000; Stanley Cup Finals, 2017</div><div><br /></div><div>New Orleans, 2: Super Bowl, 2010; ABA Finals, 1968</div><div><br /></div><div>Sacramento, 2: WNBA Finals, 2005, 2006</div><div><br /></div><div>Brandon, 2: Stanley Cup Finals, 1904, 1907</div><div><br /></div><div>Oklahoma City, 1: NBA Finals, 2012</div><div><br /></div><div>Birmingham, 1: 1974 World Bowl</div><div><br /></div><div>Portsmouth, 1: NFL Championship Game, 1932</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Moncton, 1: Stanley Cup Finals, 1912</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Thunder Bay, 1: Stanley Cup Finals, 1911</div><div><br /></div><div>Dawson City, 1: Stanley Cup Finals, 1905</div><div><br /></div><div>Austin, none</div><div><br /></div><div>Jacksonville, none</div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-12347325086786732282024-01-26T13:50:00.002-05:002024-01-26T13:50:59.470-05:00Which Relievers Should Be in the Baseball Hall of Fame?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR12gnN28i5uDJSg1Xq581YWsNAKT42Gzdd50l0EtghHEBVkxZa_1V4M2yVb0KHiWRCgmElysWcL9mahUafKr9Upt1SbcDQKEapzXAWnCQZ1m6TanXFLVluRuUDTVpWu3dkksLALGmzQH_Aply3P2h1T0kWjeJwMlCdfRbEbpZ1jmvG8XPxCjmUB-a0QI/s640/2006-09%20Billy%20Wagner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR12gnN28i5uDJSg1Xq581YWsNAKT42Gzdd50l0EtghHEBVkxZa_1V4M2yVb0KHiWRCgmElysWcL9mahUafKr9Upt1SbcDQKEapzXAWnCQZ1m6TanXFLVluRuUDTVpWu3dkksLALGmzQH_Aply3P2h1T0kWjeJwMlCdfRbEbpZ1jmvG8XPxCjmUB-a0QI/s320/2006-09%20Billy%20Wagner.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">We don't yet have a clear idea of what gets a reliever into the Hall of Fame. So I'm going to run a comparison, between those who are in, and those who some people say should be in.</span><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">First, let's take Hoyt Wilhelm and Dennis Eckersley out of the equation, because they both spent significant time as starters. And John Smoltz, while pretty good as a reliever, was a starter for the vast majority of his career.</span><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">That means that there are only 6 relievers in the Hall of Fame. In order of election, they are: Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, Rich "Goose" Gossage, Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera and Lee Smith.</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Let's look at a few other relievers of note: Dan Quisenberry, star reliever of the 1980s; Jeff Reardon, another 1980s reliever, and the all-time leader between Fingers and Smith; John Franco, the all-time save leader among lefthanded pitchers; Billy Wagner, right behind Franco in that regard, and who, a few days ago, fell 5 votes short of election; and Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez, who has the most saves of any pitcher not in the Hall, eligible or otherwise, and holds the single-season record.</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">And if you think I missed any relievers worth considering, let me know. Just don't suggest any that are not yet eligible.</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Saves: Rivera 652, Hoffman 601, Smith 478, Rodriguez 437, Franco 424, Wagner 422, Reardon 367, Fingers 341, Gossage 310, Sutter 300, Quisenberry 244.</span><br /><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><br /><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Earned Run Average (ERA): Rivera 2.21, Wagner 2.31, Quisenberry 2.76, Sutter 2.83, Rodriguez 2.86, Hoffman 2.87, Franco 2.89, Fingers 2.90, Gossage 3.01, Smith 3.03, Reardon 3.16.</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">ERA compared to the league average (ERA+), with 100 being exactly average: Rivera 205 (making him the all-time leader, among all pitchers), Wagner 187, Rodriguez 148, Quisenberry 146, Hoffman 141, Franco 138, Sutter 136, Smith 132, Gossage 126, Reardon 122, Fingers 120.<br /></span><br /><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Walks and Hits (BB + H), Divided by Innings Pitched (WHIP): Wagner 0.998, Rivera 1.000, Hoffman 1.058, Sutter 1.140, Rodriguez 1.155, Fingers 1.156, Quisenberry 1.175, Reardon 1.199, Gossage 1.232, Smith 1.256, Franco 1.333.</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Why do I not count Wins + Saves? Because it's not that hard to blow a lead, then still be your team's pitcher of record when they retake the lead. For a reliever, Wins is a misleading statistic.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Why do I not count Strikeouts (K's), or K/Innings Pitched, or K/BB? Because, while strikeouts help, outs in general matter more than how you get them.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">The main case for Wagner is his career save total: He's 2nd all-time among lefthanded pitchers, right behind Franco. But most people supporting the election of Wagner do not support that of Franco. Also, until he was surpassed by Hoffman, and both were surpassed by Rivera, the all-time leader in saves was Smith. And yet, it took the Veterans Committee (or whatever that's called now) to get him in. The writers did not consider his all-time leadership in a major pitching category to be enough to elect him. Given where he ranked in the other categories, they had a point.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Based on Saves, ERA, ERA+ and WHIP, a case can be made for both Wagner and Rodriguez.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Based on Saves, ERA and ERA+, a case can be made for Franco. However, his WHIP is noticeably higher than the next-lowest reliever mentioned.</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Based on ERA, ERA+ and WHIP, a case can be made for Quisenberry. But the cumulative one, saves, is one on which he trails by a lot.</span></div></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Based on Saves and WHIP, a case can be made for Reardon. But ERA and ERA+ don't help him.</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Then again, based on the preceding judgments I've made, Fingers, Sutter and Gossage might not have enough saves. And Gossage and Fingers might not have a high enough ERA+. Gossage and Smith each have a WHIP that seems a bit high. Each of those assessments could be explained by things being different in their era, which would then help their contemporaries, Quisenberry and Reardon.</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Clearly, Hall voters took the pitchers' effects on their teams into account. So let's look:</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Rollie Fingers, In: Reached the postseason with the Oakland Athletics in 1971, '72, '73, '74 and '75; and the Milwaukee Brewers in 1981 and '82. Won Pennants in 1972, '73, '74 and '82. Won the World Series in 1972, '73 and '74. Was key to all of that.</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Bruce Sutter, In: Made the postseason only once, but he was critical to it, helping the St. Louis Cardinals win the 1982 World Series -- over Fingers and the Brewers.</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Goose Gossage, In: Made the postseason with the New York Yankees in 1978, '80 and '81; the San Diego Padres in 1984. Won Pennants in 1978, '81 and '84. Won the World Series in 1978. Was key to all of that.</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Dan Quisenberry, Out: Made the postseason with the Kansas City Royals in 1980, '81, '84 and '85. Won the Pennant in 1980, beating Gossage and the Yankees; and '85. Won the World Series in 1985, beating the Cardinals after they foolishly traded Sutter. Was key to all of that.</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Jeff Reardon, Out: Made the postseason with the Montreal Expos in 1981, the Minnesota Twins in 1987, the Boston Red Sox in 1990, and the Atlanta Braves in 1992. Won the Pennant in 1987 and '92. Won the World Series in 1987. Was key to all of that, although results varied: He had a 0.00 ERA in 4 games for the '87 Twins, but a 13.50 ERA in 2 games that may have helped cost the Braves the '92 Series.</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Lee Smith, In but had to wait for the Vets Committee: Made the postseason with the Chicago Cubs in 1984, and the Red Sox in 1988. Didn't win the Pennant either time. Clearly, this didn't help his bid for election.</span></div><div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Trevor Hoffman, In: Made the postseason with the Padres in 1996, '98, 2005 and '06. Won the Pennant in 1998. Was key to all of that.</span></div></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Mariano Rivera, In: Made the postseason with the Yankees in 1995, '96, '97, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07, '09, '10 and '11. Won the Pennant in 1996, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '03 and '09. Won the World Series in 1996, '98, '99, 2000 and '09. May well have been the biggest key to all of that, including 1998 over Hoffman and the Padres.</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Billy Wagner, Out: Made the postseason with the Houston Astros in 1997, '98, '99 and 2001; the New York Mets in 2006; the Red Sox in 2009; and the Braves in 2010. This is where the case for Wagner takes a huge hit: He may have been the worst pitcher in postseason history, going 1-1 with a 10.03 ERA and a 1.971 WHIP. In addition, he was with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2005, when they missed the National League Wild Card berth by one game. If ever a pitcher could not be counted on when you needed him most, it was Billy Wagner.</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">John Franco, Out: Made the postseason with the Mets in 1999 and 2000, winning the Pennant in 2000, although he was no longer the closer by that point. Nevertheless, he did save Game 3, their only win in the 2000 Series. He helped the Cincinnati Reds reach 2nd place 4 straight seasons, 1985-88, and it certainly wasn't his fault that they didn't reach the Playoffs; but they traded him to the Mets before he could be a part of their 1990 title team. That doesn't help much.</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Francisco Rodriguez, Out: Made the postseason with the team now known as the Los Angeles Angels in </span><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">2002, '04, '05, '07, '08; and the Brewers in 2011. The fact that he helped those teams, among the least successful in the post-expansion era, reach the postseason is remarkable. The fact that he was key to the Angels' only Pennant and only World Series win in 2002, his rookie season, speaks volumes. In between the Angels and the Brewers, he pitched poorly for the Mets, which may, thus far, have made a difference in keeping him out, but I'm not sure it should.</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">CONCLUSION: Among these names, Wagner and K-Rod are the closest to being Hallworthy. Quis, Reardon and Franco are certainly worthy of consideration. I can't definitively say that any of them should get in. But I don't think much of a fuss should be made if and when any of them get in.</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">There will be, though. There are plenty of people who will say the Hall has been "watered down" with the election of guys who should have remained in "The Hall of Very Good."</span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">But some of those people were fine with the election of steroids cheats like David Ortiz, so to Hell with them.</span></div></div></div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-8037324102422157902024-01-26T00:00:00.001-05:002024-01-26T00:00:00.140-05:00January 26, 2014: Hockey at Yankee Stadium<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilsDcpGd71plAiYe8FC0uYTOsmA7BqP1A632fWPtipwckAalKWbbZ46oi6OlPj32usDXCpuc5pIGzvgucXyNLm6zZQ4PGyMh8rp7WJ6FHcNUqjEl4lgj68zx0Lqn2f_Z-wFdSV1JpHYVSGWHSjYCOpe82Kpd00Ks3941rVTBnZ6a3xACV0Ib-FxKbFDw=s1200" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilsDcpGd71plAiYe8FC0uYTOsmA7BqP1A632fWPtipwckAalKWbbZ46oi6OlPj32usDXCpuc5pIGzvgucXyNLm6zZQ4PGyMh8rp7WJ6FHcNUqjEl4lgj68zx0Lqn2f_Z-wFdSV1JpHYVSGWHSjYCOpe82Kpd00Ks3941rVTBnZ6a3xACV0Ib-FxKbFDw=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>January 26, 2014, 10 years ago:</b> The NHL Stadium Series comes to the new Yankee Stadium in The Bronx.</div><div><br /></div><div>The New York Rangers are, by far, the oldest NHL team in the New York Tri-State Area. They were founded in 1926. The New York Americans were founded the year before, but went out of business in 1942. The New York Islanders were founded in 1972, and the Colorado Rockies moved to become the New Jersey Devils in 1982.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1928, 1933 and 1940... and then not again until 1994, losing in the Finals in the interim in 1950, 1972 and 1979.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Islanders won 4 straight Stanley Cups from 1980 to 1983, and made it back to the Finals in 1984. But, except for a run to the Conference Finals in 1993, hadn't done well since.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Devils got to the Conference Finals in 1988 and 1994, and won the Cup in 1995, 2000 and 2003, also reaching the Finals in 2001 and 2012.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Rangers have a contract that says that any game played away from their home arena, Madison Square Garden, must be considered an away game. Therefore, when the NHL set up their Stadium Series for Yankee Stadium in 2014, the Devils, despite being based in New Jersey, were the "home team" on January 26; and the Islanders were designated the "home team" on January 29.</div><div><br /></div><div>Devils fans -- you gotta put the "S" on the end, so it doesn't look and sound like you're fans of <i>The</i> Devil -- and Islander fans have one thing in common: Both hate the Rangers. The 1994 double-overtime loss in Game 7 of the Conference Finals was, for Devils fans, what the 1951 loss in the National League Playoff to the baseball version of the New York Giants was for Brooklyn Dodger fans.</div><div><br /></div><div>I mentioned this to my grandmother, who grew up in Queens as a Dodger fan, during the Rangers' early glory years, but she never took to hockey until long after she moved to New Jersey, and the Devils arrived. She had reason to be a Ranger fan, but she became a Devils fan. And she got the 1951/1994 analogy, and didn't think I was misunderstanding history.</div><div><br /></div><div>(The fact that we both listened to our respective games on the radio helped the analogy. In 1951, she heard on the radio that Ralph Branca was coming in to pitch to Bobby Thomson, and turned the radio off. She knew Branca was going to give up a home run. And, in 1994, I still didn't have cable.)</div><div><br /></div><div>So with the Devils playing the Rangers in Yankee Stadium -- albeit the new one -- I really, really wanted to win this game.</div><div><br /></div><div>My Facebook entries for the day of the game tell the story:</div><div><br /></div><div>"<span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit;">Half an hour to game time in Da Bronx. Let's go Devils! Beat The Scum!"</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Still early but I like what I'm seeing. Devils taking the game to 'em, not taking any of their crap, converting 2 good chances."</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the 1st 16 minutes and 7 seconds of the game, the Devils had gotten 2 goals from </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Patrik Eliáš</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, and 1 from Travis Zajac, against 1 from Dominic Moore. But it would be all Rangers from that point onward. With 3 minutes left in the 1st period, Marc Staal got them within 3-2.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">End of the 1st period. Devils 3, Rangers 2. Acceptable for the moment, but we need more goals, and we need to give Marty more defensive support."</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Things fell apart. The 2nd period was a bloodbath. Goaltender Martin Brodeur, 41 years old and nearing the end of the line, was getting no support from the New Jersey defense. The Rangers got 2 goals from Mats Zuccarello, 1 from Carl Hagelin, and 1 from Rick Nash.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Eliáš agreed with me in a postgame interview: </span>"That wasn't on Marty. We gave up way too many odd-man rushes."</div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My mother (daughter of the grandmother in question) has been known to jinx sports teams. She can turn a lead into a deficit just by walking into a room where a game is being watched on TV. In her junior year of high school, she went to every home football game, and they lost them all; in her senior year, she went to none, and they won all but one of them.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, I wrote: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit;">Ma, if you're watching this game, TURN IT OFF! You're jinxing us!"</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit;">As things got worse, I thought of the opening of the TV show <i>Life On Mars</i>, in which a New York cop gets hit by a car in 2008, and wakes up in 1973; and I thought of the play known as "The Miracle at the Meadowlands":</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My name is Michael Pacholek. I was in an accident, and I woke up in Giants Stadium on November 19, 1978.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If you're a Giants fan, you'll recognize the date. If you're a Devils fan, you'll understand completely."</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Derek Stephan scored halfway through the 3rd period. When the carnage was over, the Rangers had won, 7-3:</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I'll have an <i>Uncle Mike's Musings</i> about the Devils Disgrace in Da Bronx later. But now, I'm sick of thinking about it. I'm going to see if I can recover my appetite. But the way this day is going, I'm not counting on whatever I eat tasting good."</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Finally: "</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I wouldn't mind Ranger fans' monumental stupidity if it didn't come with overweening obnoxiousness. The problem is, a lot of them are also Yankee Fans, making them a lot smarter from April through October. But the Rangers have earned little of the arrogance that the Yankees have, and yet they take their Summer team's arrogance and apply it to their Winter team. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One title in 74 years... Even the hopeless Mets are on a better pace than that!"</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(And, by ever so slightly, so were the Jets, the Knicks, and, if you count the ABA, the Nets.)</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And what did I write in my post on the game? <a href="http://unclemikesmusings.blogspot.com/2014/01/devils-disgrace-in-da-bronx.html">Among other things, this</a>:</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><i>It would have been bad enough if the Devils had given a good effort and that lot across the Hudson had simply outplayed us. I would have hated it, but I would have understood it. That's sports, you know: Sometimes you don't lose, sometimes the other team just plain beats you.</i></div><div><i><br />That was not the case this time.<br /><br />This was an unacceptable performance.<br /><br />This was the biggest embarrassment at Yankee Stadium since Kevin Brown and Javier Vazquez made it so easy for the Red Sox to put their cheating to good use on October 20, 2004.<br /><br />The Devils embarrassed all of us today, from Hoboken to Hackettstown, from High Point to Atlantic City, from Trenton to the Tunnels, from Route 94 to I-195, from Route 29 to the Palisades Parkway.<br /><br />It was bad enough that it was against The Scum, that lot across the river. But for the last 43 minutes (at which point 3-1 Devils became 3-2 Devils), there was no effort at all.</i><br /><br />I also cited the song "Total Eclipse of the Heart," which Jim Steinman had written for Bonnie Tyler: "Once upon a time, there was light in my life. Now, there's only love in the dark."<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Three days later, the Islanders were only slightly better, losing to the Rangers, 2-1. Neither the Devils nor the Islanders had played an outdoor game before, and neither has since. The Rangers are 4-0 in such games.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On February 17, 2024, as part of the NHL Stadium Series, MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands, home of the Giants and the Jets, will be home for the Devils as they take on the Philadelphia Flyers. The next day, MetLife will host Rangers vs. Islanders.</span></div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2889333447515035362.post-33768441361447070202024-01-25T08:27:00.004-05:002024-01-25T08:28:02.227-05:00Baseball Hall-of-Famers By Team, 2024 Edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/t_2x1/t_w1536/mlb/uxwbl5oylzcnchbo2pne.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/t_2x1/t_w1536/mlb/uxwbl5oylzcnchbo2pne.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xdj266r x126k92a" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer have </span>been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>They </span><span>will be inducted on July 28, at the Clark Sports Center outside Cooperstown, New York, along with Veterans' Committee inductee Jim Leyland.</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There have been 23,114 men who have played in Major League Baseball, between the 1st season of 1871 and the most recent season of 2023. There are now 239 of them in the Hall, not counting players who were officially elected in categories other than "Players." That's 1.034 percent -- or 1 out of every 96.7. For those of you who believe the Hall has been "watered down," including too many players who should have stayed in "The Hall of Very Good," 1 out of 97 sounds pretty elite to me.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If we limited it to the top 1.00000000 percent, without going over, that would be 231. Which means we'd only have to kick 8 out. And if there comes a year in which nobody is elected, which has happened a few times, chances are, to keep as close to 1.000 percent without going over, we'd probably have to let 1 of those 8 back in.</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">For the sake of this list, a </span><span style="white-space-collapse: collapse;">player is counted as a Hall-of-Famer with the team if he played at least 4 seasons with them. However, there will be the occasional exception. Teams are ranked in order of most HOFers.</span></span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />If there is a tie, it will be broken by which team has more <i>players</i>, as opposed to those who were elected in other categories. If there is still a tie, then I go to which has more non-broadcasters. If it's still a tie, which has more players whose contributions were mostly with that club. If it's still a tie, which team has played fewer seasons will be ranked ahead -- since, for example, 5 HOFers is more impressive for a team that's been around since 1977 than it would be for one that's been around since 1961.<br /><br />Teams that no longer exist in that form will be listed in <i>italics,</i> and will be ranked behind current teams with the same number, regardless of composition.</span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Players are listed in chronological order of when they arrived at the club, then managers, then broadcasters.<br /><br /><strong>1. New York Yankees, 42</strong>: It works out to a little over 1 for every Pennant the team has won:<br /><br />Clark Griffith (the team's 1st manager, elected as a pitcher and he was still a solid pitcher while he was their manager), Willie Keeler, Jack Chesbro, Frank "Home Run" Baker, Waite Hoyt, Herb Pennock, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, Earle Combs, Bill Dickey, Red Ruffing, Lefty Gomez, Joe DiMaggio, Joe Gordon, Phil Rizzuto, Yogi Berra, Johnny Mize, Whitey Ford, Mickey Mantle, Enos Slaughter, Jim "Catfish" Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Rich "Goose" Gossage, Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson, Wade Boggs, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Mike Mussina.<br /><br />Also, managers Miller Huggins, Joe McCarthy, Casey Stengel and Joe Torre; owner Jacob Ruppert; executives Ed Barrow and George Weiss; broadcasters Mel Allen, Red Barber, Joe Garagiola, Jerry Coleman (played for the Yankees but elected as a broadcaster, first for the Yankees, then for the Padres) and Tony Kubek (played for the Yankees but elected as a broadcaster).<br /><br />Bucky Harris managed the Yankees to the 1947 World Championship, but was only their manager for 2 seasons (1947 & '48), so I'm not counting him with the Yankees. In this case, according to the rule I set, I have to count Rickey Henderson as a Yankee. If Lou Piniella is ever elected as a manager, I wouldn't be able to count him as a Yankee HOFer, since he wouldn't be elected as a player, and only managed them for 3 seasons, none of them a title season.<br /><br />Rizzuto was also a longtime broadcaster. Lee MacPhail was elected for what he did as American League President, not as Yankee general manager. Bernie Williams and Paul O'Neill have dropped off the writers' ballot. They, like Don Mattingly, will, in a few years, become eligible once again, through the Veterans' Committee -- but in all 3 cases, let's not kid ourselves.<br /><br />And then there's Roger Clemens: Even if he does get in, would you want to count him as a Yankee? George Steinbrenner, being dead, is now eligible through the Veterans' Committee.<br /><br />Tim Raines was a Yankee for only 3 years, although 2 of them were title seasons. <span>Iván Rodríguez</span> was a Yankee for about 3 minutes. So neither of them can be included here.<br /><br /></span><div style="line-height: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="display: inline-block; scroll-margin: 2.5em 0px 0px;">Álex Rodríguez and </span>Andy Pettitte are eligible. But because they are Yankees linked to PEDs, they will not get in. The </span><span style="background-color: transparent;">Yankee Doodle Double Standard remains in effect.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><strong>2. St. Louis Cardinals, 34</strong>: Charlie Comiskey (played for them before managing and owning teams elsewhere), Jake Beckley, Roger Bresnahan, Rogers Hornsby (won a World Series as their player-manager), Jesse Haines, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Jim Bottomley, Charles "Chick" Hafey, Burleigh Grimes, Frankie Frisch (elected as a player, won a World Series as their player-manager), Dizzy Dean, Joe Medwick, Johnny Mize, Enos Slaughter, Stan Musial, Red Schoendienst (elected as player, also managed them to a title), Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Orlando Cepeda, Steve Carlton (7 seasons), Jim Kaat, Ted Simmons, Bruce Sutter, Ozzie Smith, Lee Smith (4 seasons, so he qualifies here), Scott Rolen.<br /><br />Also, Miller Huggins (manager, also played several years for the Cards), Billy Southworth (manager, also played for them), Whitey Herzog (manager-executive), Tony LaRussa (manager), Branch Rickey (executive), Harry Caray (broadcaster), Jack Buck (broadcaster), Joe Garagiola (broadcaster).<br /><br />Jesse Burkett won a batting title with the Cards, but only played 3 seasons with them, so he just misses qualifying. On the other hand, Cepeda didn't even play 3 full seasons with the Cards, but his tenure included the 1967 title and the 1968 Pennant, and he, as much as Gibson, was a symbol of that team, and he may be better remembered as a Cardinal than as a Giants, so I'm bending the rule for him. Leo Durocher was a good player for the Cards, but was elected as a manager and never managed them, so he doesn't qualify here.<br /><br />Larry Walker was only a Cardinal for a year and a half, so, although that time did include the only Pennant he ever won (2004), he doesn't count for the Cards. Mark McGwire and Jim Edmonds did not qualify on enough ballots, and won't be eligible again until they qualify under the Veterans Committee. Surprisingly, longtime owner Gussie Busch has never been elected.<br /><br /><strong>3. Chicago Cubs, 28</strong>: Adrian "Cap" Anson, Mike "King" Kelly, Clark Griffith (elected as a pitcher for them, later a manager and owner elsewhere), Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, Frank Chance (elected as a player but should have been elected as a manager instead), Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Hazen "Kiki" Cuyler, Lewis "Hack" Wilson, Charles "Gabby" Hartnett (also managed them to a Pennant), Rogers Hornsby, Billy Herman, Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ron Santo, Ferguson Jenkins, Bruce Sutter, Ryne Sandberg, Lee Smith, Andre Dawson, Greg Maddux (spent enough time with them).<br /><br />Also, Al Spalding (elected as an executive but was also a great pitcher), Frank Selee (manager), Joe McCarthy (manager, managed them to a Pennant before going to the Yankees), Leo Durocher (manager), Jack Brickhouse (broadcaster), Harry Caray (broadcaster).<br /><br />Sammy Sosa is eligible, but he's not getting in. If Lou Piniella is elected as a manager, I'll have to count him as a Cub HOFer, since he managed them for 4 seasons.<br /><br />Lou Boudreau was a beloved broadcaster for the Cubs after his playing and managing career, but never played or managed for them, and so I can't count him as a Cub HOFer. Santo was also a longtime broadcaster. Surprisingly, longtime owner Phillip K. Wrigley is not in.</span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>4. Chicago White Sox, 26</strong>: <span>Ed Walsh, George Davis, Eddie Collins, Ray Schalk, Red Faber, Ted Lyons, Luke Appling, Minnie <span>Miñoso, </span>Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio, Early Wynn, Hoyt Wilhelm, Goose Gossage (5 years with them), Carlton Fisk, Harold Baines, Frank Thomas, Tim Raines, Jim Thome, Al Lopez (manager), Tony LaRussa (manager), Charlie Comiskey (owner), Bill Veeck (owner), Jack Brickhouse (broadcaster), Bob Elson (broadcaster), Harry Caray (broadcaster), Ken Harrelson (broadcaster).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Although Clark Griffith pitched for them in their 1st 2 seasons and won the 1st American League Pennant as their manager, those 2 seasons are not enough to qualify with the White Sox. Although Tom Seaver notched his 300th victory with the Pale Hose, he pitched for them in just 3 seasons, and can't be counted as one of their HOFers.<br /><br />Thome was a White Sock for less than 4 full seasons, but did play for them in 4 seasons, so he counts with them.</span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><i><strong>New York Giants, 26</strong>: Roger Connor, Buck Ewing, Tim Keefe, Mickey Welch, John Montgomery Ward, Roger Bresnahan, Christy Mathewson, Joe McGinnity, George Davis, Richard "Rube" Marquard, Dave Bancroft, Ross Youngs, Frankie Frisch, George "Highpockets" Kelly, Fred Lindstrom, Travis Jackson, Bill Terry, Mel Ott, Carl Hubbell, Johnny Mize, Monte Irvin, Willie Mays, Hoyt Wilhelm.</i><br /><i></i><br /><i>Also, John McGraw (manager, also played for them), Leo Durocher (manager), Russ Hodges (broadcaster).</i><br /><i></i><br /><i>Casey Stengel played for the Giants, but was elected as a manager, so I can't count him as a Giant HOFer. </i><br /><i></i><br /><i>Counting all figures who played or managed at least one game for the Giants, in New York and San Francisco, they have 76, more than any other team; however, many of those were with the club only briefly. But even by my definitions, they are ahead of the arch-rival Dodgers.</i><br /><br /></span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>5. Boston Red Sox, 24</strong>: Jimmy Collins (elected as a player but also managed them to the 1st World Series title in 1903), Cy Young, Tris Speaker, Harry Hooper, Babe Ruth (6 seasons with Sox before going to Yanks), Herb Pennock (7 seasons before Yanks), Red Ruffing (also 7 seasons before Yanks), Joe Cronin (elected as a player, but also managed them to the 1946 Pennant, though unlike Collins had already retired as a player; was also longtime AL President), Rick Ferrell, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Bobby Doerr, Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Jim Rice, Dennis Eckersley, Wade Boggs, Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz.<br /><br />Also, Dick Williams (manager, no relation to Ted), Tom Yawkey (owner), Curt Gowdy (broadcaster), and Ken Harrelson (broadcaster). "Hawk" only played 2 seasons for Boston, though 1 was the 1967 "Impossible Dream" Pennant season; but he broadcast for them for 7 years, so he counts here.<br /><br />I am bending the rule slightly for Dick Williams, who only managed 3 seasons for the Red Sox, but 1 of them, 1967, was the most important season in the club's modern history. Luis Aparicio played 3 seasons for the Red Sox, so by my rule he is not eligible to be counted with them. Eckersley, however, played 7 seasons with them, so I have to count him with them, and with their living HOFers for as long as he lives.<br /><br />It was long suspected that owner Jean Yawkey would become the 1st woman elected to the Hall of Fame, but Effa Manley, who owned the Negro Leagues' Newark Eagles, is in, while Mrs. Yawkey is still out.<br /><br />Manny Ramirez (500 Home Run Club but known steroid cheat, and not as popular as Ortiz), Roger Clemens (300 Win and 3,000 Strikeout Clubs but suspected steroid cheat) and Curt Schilling (3,000 Strikeout Club but possible steroid cheat) are eligible, but not yet in.</span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>6. Pittsburgh Pirates, 24</strong>: James "Pud" Galvin, Vic Willis, John "Honus" Wagner, Fred Clarke (elected as a player, also won Pennants as their manager), Jack Chesbro, Jake Beckley, Max Carey, Hazen "Kiki" Cuyler, Waite Hoyt (5 seasons with them), Harold "Pie" Traynor (also managed them), Paul Waner, Lloyd Waner ("Big Poison" and "Little Poison," though Lloyd was actually taller), Joseph "Arky" Vaughan, Al Lopez (elected as a manager but was an All-Star catcher for the Pirates), Ralph Kiner, Bill Mazeroski, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Bert Blyleven.<br /><br />Also, Bill McKechnie (manager), Jim Leyland (manager), Barney Dreyfuss (owner), Branch Rickey (executive), Bob Prince (broadcaster).<br /><br />Blyleven was only a Pirate for 3 seasons, but I'm bending the rule because he was a key cog on their last World Championship team in 1979. Barry Bonds is eligible, but while the stance against steroid cheats is softening, he still, for the moment, falls under the category of, "Who's kidding who?"<br /><br /><i><strong>Boston Braves, 22</strong>: Harry Wright (player and manager), George Wright, Al Spalding, Jim "Orator" O'Rourke, James "Deacon" White, Charlie "Old Hoss" Radbourne, Mike "King" Kelly, John Clarkson, Charles "Kid" Nichols, Cy Young, Hugh Duffy, Tommy McCarthy (he and Duffy were known as "the Heavenly Twins"), Billy Hamilton, Vic Willis, Jimmy Collins, Johnny Evers, Walter "Rabbit" Maranville, Dave Bancroft.</i><br /><i></i><br /><i>Also, Frank Selee (manager), Bill McKechnie (manager, though with no success with the Braves), Casey Stengel (ditto, also played for Braves), Billy Southworth (manager).</i><br /><br /><em><strong>Brooklyn Dodgers, 22</strong>: Willie Keeler, Joe Kelley, Richard "Rube" Marquard, Zack Wheat, Burleigh Grimes, Charles "Dazzy" Vance, Joseph "Arky" Vaughan, Billy Herman, Joe "Ducky" Medwick, Harold "Pee Wee" Reese, Gil Hodges, Jackie Robinson, Edwin "Duke" Snider, Roy Campanella, Ned Hanlon (manager), Wilbert Robinson (manager), Leo Durocher (elected as a manager but was also a good player), Walter Alston (manager), Branch Rickey (owner), Walter O'Malley (owner), Red Barber (broadcaster), Vin Scully (broadcaster).</em><br /><i></i><br /><i>Casey Stengel played 6 seasons for the Dodgers, and was good, but not Hall of Fame good. He managed 3 seasons for them; in spite of their poor performance under him, had he managed them for 1 more season, he would still qualify as one of theirs under my rule. Dick Williams played 5 seasons for them, but was elected as a manager, and never managed the Dodgers. Owner Charles Ebbets is not in.</i><br /><i><br /></i><strong>7. Philadelphia Phillies, 20</strong>: Billy Hamilton, Ed Delahanty, Sam Thompson, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Eppa Rixey, Dave Bancroft, Chuck Klein, Richie Ashburn, Robin Roberts, Jim Bunning, Jim Kaat, Steve Carlton, Mike Schmidt, Scott Rolen, Jim Thome, Roy Halladay, Harry Wright (manager), Pat Gillick (executive), By Saam (broadcaster), Harry Kalas (broadcaster).<br /><br />Thome spent 3 seasons with them, then left, then returned for a 4th, so he counts here. Ashburn was also a longtime broadcaster for the Phils. If Curt Schilling gets in, he can be counted with the Phillies. Pete Rose, of course, is ineligible.</span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>8. Detroit Tigers, 19</strong>: Sam Crawford, Ty Cobb, Harry Heilmann, Henry "Heinie" Manush, Charlie Gehringer, Goose Goslin, Hank Greenberg (the last 3 nicknamed the "G-Men" in those early days of the FBI), Mickey Cochrane (elected as a player, also managed them to 2 Pennants), Hal Newhouser, George Kell, Al Kaline, Jim Bunning, Jack Morris, Alan Trammell, <span>Iván Rodríguez</span>, Hughie Jennings (manager, also played for the team), Sparky Anderson (manager), Jim Leyland (manager), Ernie Harwell (broadcaster).<br /><br />With Trammell getting in through the Veterans Committee, Lou Whitaker's chances of also doing so increase. Kaline and Kell were also longtime broadcasters. Longtime owners Frank Navin, Walter Briggs and John Fetzer are not yet in. Former executive Will Harridge is in, but for what he did as President of the AL, so I can't count him as a Tiger HOFer.</span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>9. Cincinnati Reds, 19</strong>: Bid McPhee, Jake Beckley, Joe Kelley, Sam Crawford, Edd Roush, Eppa Rixey, Ernie Lombardi, Frank Robinson, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Tom Seaver (6 seasons with Reds), Barry Larkin, Ken Griffey Jr., Scott Rolen (5 seasons), Bill McKechnie (manager), Sparky Anderson (manager), Red Barber (broadcaster), Marty Brennaman (broadcaster).</span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Pete Rose, of course, is ineligible. John Franco is not yet in, but if he gets in, he pitched enough seasons with the Reds to qualify for this list. If Lou Piniella is elected as a manager, I'll count him as a Reds HOFer: He only managed them for 3 seasons, but 1 was a World Championship season. Miller Huggins played several years for the Reds, but was elected as a Yankee manager.<br /><br />Longtime owner Powel Crosley and GM Bob Howsam should be in, but they're not. Waite Hoyt broadcast for the Reds, and was beloved in that role, but has not been given the Ford Frick Award, so I can't count him with the Reds.<br /><br />And while 2 members of the 1st openly professional baseball team, the 1869-70 Cincinnati Red Stockings, are in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Harry and George Wright -- the other Wright Brothers who "invented" something important in American life -- that team was not the same team as the current Reds franchise, which began in the old American Association of 1882 and joined the NL in 1892.</span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>10. Cleveland Guardians, 18</strong>: Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, Elmer Flick, Addie Joss, Tris Speaker (elected as player but also managed them to a title), Stan Coveleski, Joe Sewell, Earl Averill, Bob Feller, Lou Boudreau, Bob Lemon, Larry Doby, Early Wynn, Gaylord Perry, Jim Thome, Al Lopez (manager), Bill Veeck (owner), Jack Graney (broadcaster), Jimmy Dudley (broadcaster).</span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Barring a major shift in voters' attitudes, Manny Ramirez is probably out of luck. Satchel Paige reached the majors with the Indians, but only pitched 2 seasons for them. So, although I can count him with 3 different Negro League teams on this list, I can't count him with any major league team. Indeed, that fact is the reason I've included the Negro League teams on this list, along with moved and defunct major league teams.<br /><br /><strong>11. Baltimore Orioles, 14</strong>: Brooks Robinson, Hoyt Wilhelm, Robin Roberts (4 seasons with O's), Luis Aparicio, Frank Robinson, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray, Cal Ripken, Roberto Alomar, Harold Baines, Mike Mussina, Earl Weaver (manager), Chuck Thompson (broadcaster), Jon Miller (broadcaster).<br /><br />Although he won his only World Series with the Orioles, we don't usually associate Aparicio with them, but he did play 5 seasons with them, so, by my own rule, I've got to count him here. Same with Robin Roberts, who played 4 seasons in Baltimore. Rafael Palmeiro is eligible, but he's not getting in.<br /><br />Frank Cashen should be in as an executive. Dick Williams played enough seasons with the O's to qualify, but was elected as a manager and never managed them, so he doesn't qualify as an O's HOFer.<br /><br /><i><strong>Philadelphia Athletics, 13</strong>: Eddie Plank, Rube Waddell, Frank "Home Run" Baker, Chief Bender, Eddie Collins, Herb Pennock, Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, George Kell, Connie Mack (owner-manager), By Saam (broadcaster).</i><br /><em></em><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>13. Los Angeles Dodgers, 12</strong>: Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Don Sutton, Mike Piazza, <span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Adrián Beltré, </span>Walter Alston (manager), Tommy Lasorda (manager), Walter O'Malley (owner), Vin Scully (broadcaster), Jamie Jarrin (broadcaster).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Snider played 5 seasons after the move, Hodges 4, so both count in both Brooklyn and Los Angeles. Steve Garvey is not getting in. Pedro Martinez started out with the Dodgers, but only played 2 seasons for them.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>13. Atlanta Braves, 11</strong>: Hank Aaron, Phil Niekro, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Chipper Jones, Fred McGriff, Bobby Cox (manager), Joe Torre (managed them in between Cox's 2 tenures there, also a player), John Schuerholz (general manager), Milo Hamilton (broadcaster).</span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Andruw Jones will be listed with them if he is elected. Don Sutton broadcast for the Braves, but can't be counted among their HOFers. Former owners Bill Bartholomay and Ted Turner are not in, nor do I ever expect them to be elected, but maybe they should be.</span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>14. New York Mets, 11</strong>: Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Gary Carter, Mike Piazza, Tom Glavine (5 seasons), Pedro Martinez (4 seasons), Casey Stengel (manager, 4 seasons), Joe Torre (manager), Lindsey Nelson (broadcaster), Bob Murphy (broadcaster), Tim McCarver (broadcaster). So that's 3 broadcasters, 2 managers, and 6 players.</span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Still, you didn't realize the Mets had so many, did you? And that's without counting Ralph Kiner, who was elected as a Pirates' player, not as a Mets' broadcaster. Nor can you count Richie Ashburn, Duke Snider, Warren Spahn or Willie Mays. And, based on what they did while they were Mets, why would you <i>want</i> to count Eddie Murray, Rickey Henderson or Roberto Alomar?<br /><br />Ryan did appear for the Mets in at least 1 game for 5 different seasons, including the 1969 World Championship season. So I have to count him here.<br /><br />I had previously counted Yogi Berra, but while he managed them for 4 seasons, including winning a Pennant, he was elected to the Hall as a player, not as a manager, and so I can't count him as a Met HOFer. Nor can we count Gil Hodges: Though he did manage the team for 4 seasons, including their 1st World Series win, he was elected as a player, not a manager, and his playing for them was a painful end to his career.</span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As for Torre: Yes, he managed in 4 seasons for them. They were awful then, and there wasn't much he could do about it, but he counts as a Met Hall-of-Famer. Although I notice that, unlike Yogi and Willie, he wasn't invited to the farewell ceremony at Shea Stadium in 2008.<br /><br />Frank Cashen should be in as an executive. If John Franco is ever elected, you can count him.</span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Washington Senators, 11</strong>: Walter Johnson, Stanley "Bucky" Harris (elected as a manager but was also a great player), Sam Rice, Henry "Heinie" Manush, Leon "Goose" Goslin, Joe Cronin (elected as a player but also managed them to a Pennant), Rick Ferrell, Early Wynn, Clark Griffith (owner), Arch McDonald (broadcaster), Bob Wolff (broadcaster).</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">No, you can't count Ted Williams as a manager.</span></i></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><strong>15. San Diego Padres, 9</strong>: Dave Winfield, Ozzie Smith, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Tony Gwynn, Trevor Hoffman, Dick Williams (manager), Jerry Coleman (broadcaster), Dick Enberg (broadcaster).<br /><br />Yes, the Wizard and the Goose each played 4 seasons in Mission Valley. Considering how many they have in a comparatively short history, you shouldn't also count Willie McCovey, Gaylord Perry or Roberto Alomar. Longtime owner Ray Kroc, who saved the team from being moved to Washington in 1974, is not in. Steve Garvey, who is not my Padre, is not getting in.<br /></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>16. Oakland Athletics, 9</strong>: Jim "Catfish" Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Rollie Fingers, Rickey Henderson, Dennis Eckersley, Dick Williams (manager), Tony LaRussa (manager), Lon Simmons (broadcaster), Bill King (broadcaster).<br /><br />Mark McGwire is eligible, but he's not getting in. Owner Charlie Finley is eligible, but I don't think he'll ever get in, either. I am bending the rule slightly for Williams, who only managed 3 seasons for the A's, but got them into the postseason in all 3, including 2 World Championships.<br /><br /><i><strong>Kansas City Monarchs (Negro Leagues), 9</strong>: Jose Mendez, Leroy "Satchel" Paige, James "Cool Papa" Bell, Wilber "Bullet" Rogan, Norman "Turkey" Stearnes, Andy Cooper (also manager), Hilton Smith, John "Buck" O'Neil (also manager), J.L. Wilkinson (owner).</i><br /><i></i><br /><i>Bell played 3 seasons for them, but because Negro League players bounced around as much as international soccer players do, and also like club soccer there were often loan deals involved, I'll bend my 4-season rule. </i><br /><i></i><br /><em>Jackie Robinson played his first season in professional baseball, 1945, with the Monarchs. They were also the first pro team of Ernie Banks. But neither was elected on the basis of anything he did in Kansas City.</em><br /><i><strong><br /></strong></i></span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>17. Minnesota Twins, 8</strong>: Harmon Killebrew, Jim Kaat, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, Bert Blyleven, Kirby Puckett, Joe Mauer, Herb Carneal (broadcaster).<br /><br />Tom Kelly could be elected as a manager. No, you can't count Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor or Jack Morris: Although hometown heroes, none played 4 seasons with the Twins. Jim Thome played only 2 seasons with them. Founder Calvin Griffith is not in, nor should he be.</span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><strong>Montreal Expos, 8</strong>: Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, Larry Walker, Pedro Martinez, Vladimir Guerrero, Dick Williams (manager), Dave Van Horne (broadcaster). Duke Snider cannot be counted for the Expos, although he broadcast for them. He also played in Montreal for the Dodgers' farm team, the Montreal Royals, as did Tommy Lasorda.</i><br /><br /><i><strong>Chicago American Giants (Negro Leagues), 8</strong>: Andrew "Rube" Foster (also manager and owner), Bill Foster (a.k.a. Willie Foster, Rube's brother), Cristobal Torriente, Pete Hill, George "Mule" Suttles, John Henry "Pop" Lloyd, Norman "Turkey" Stearnes, Willie Wells.</i><br /><br /><strong>18. San Francisco Giants, 7</strong>: Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry, Lon Simmons (broadcaster), Jon Miller (broadcaster).<br /></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Barry Bonds is eligible, and his rising percentages suggest that he might get in despite his known cheating. And I'm surprised that longtime owner Horace Stoneham isn't in, and that neither is his son-in-law, Charles "Chub" Feeney, a Giant executive who became President of the NL.<br /><br /><strong>19. Houston Astros, 7</strong>: Joe Morgan, Nolan Ryan, Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Gene Elston (broadcaster), Milo Hamilton (broadcaster), Harry Kalas (broadcast 6 seasons for them before joining the Phillies' broadcast team).</span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Roger Clemens is eligible, but only played 3 seasons with the Astros, and, even with his legal exoneration, it's not clear that he will ever get in.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><strong>Homestead Grays (Negro Leagues), 7</strong>: Cumberland "Cum" Posey (pitcher, then manager, then owner), Smokey Joe Williams, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, James "Cool Papa" Bell, Jud Wilson, Ray Brown.</i><br /><i></i><br /><i>Oscar Charleston and Judy Johnson each played 2 seasons for them, but I'm not willing to bend the rules THAT much. Gibson was known as the Black Babe Ruth, Leonard as the Black Lou Gehrig, and together they were known as the Thunder Twins or the Dynamite Twins. Williams was sometimes known as Cyclone Joe, sometimes as Smokey Joe (but never as Smokin' Joe, like boxer Frazier).</i><br /><i></i><br /><i>As for Posey, "Cum" was short for "Cumberland," and it is possible that, like James "Pud" Galvin, his nickname was not considered sexually explicit in his time. As an athlete, he was probably better in football, and Wendell Smith, the leading black sportswriter of the between-the-wars years and a winner of the Hall's Taylor Spink Award for media work, called him "the smartest man in Negro baseball and certainly the most successful."</i><br /><br /><em><strong>Newark Eagles (Negro Leagues), 7</strong>: George "Mule" Suttles, Ray Dandridge, Leon Day, James "Biz" Mackey (also manager), Monte Irvin, Larry Doby, Effa Manley (owner, the only woman in the Baseball Hall of Fame). Don Newcombe also played for the Eagles, and if his service there is counted, I believe that it makes him worthy of election to the Hall, but he hasn't been elected.</em><br /><br /><strong>20. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 6</strong>: Nolan Ryan, Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson, Bert Blyleven, Vladimir Guerrero, Dick Enberg (broadcaster). Jim Edmonds will have to wait for the Veterans Committee. Founder-owner Gene Autry is not in, but should be. All but Guerrero played for them under the "California Angels" name.<br /><br /><strong>21. Texas Rangers, 6</strong>: Ferguson Jenkins, Gaylord Perry, Nolan Ryan, <span>Iván Rodríguez, </span><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Adrián Beltré, </span>Eric Nadel (broadcaster). Bert Blyleven pitched just 2 seasons for them. Rafael Palmeiro and Juan Gonzalez are eligible, but who's kidding who? No, you can't count Ted Williams as a manager. And I sure hope former owner George W. Bush is never elected; but, since the team won nothing while he was in control, that seems safe.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><strong>22. Milwaukee Brewers, 6</strong>: Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Rollie Fingers, Ted Simmons, Bud Selig (owner), Bob Uecker (broadcaster). No, you can't count Hank Aaron, because, while he played 14 seasons in Milwaukee, only 2 of those were for the Brewers.<br /><i><br /></i><strong>23. Toronto Blue Jays, 6</strong>: Fred McGriff, Roberto Alomar, Roy Halladay, Pat Gillick (executive), Tom Cheek (broadcaster), Tony Kubek (broadcaster). No, you can't count Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson, Paul Molitor or Frank Thomas. Or Roger Clemens, if he ever gets in.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><i><strong>Baltimore Orioles, AA & NL 1882-1899, 6</strong>: John McGraw, Wilbert Robinson, Hughie Jennings, Willie Keeler, Joe Kelley, Ned Hanlon (manager).</i></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i><br /><i>While McGraw, Robinson and Jennings were all elected as managers, all could have been elected on the basis of their playing for the old Orioles. Indeed, to this day, McGraw has the highest lifetime batting average of any 3rd baseman, .334. Dan Brouthers played 2 seasons with them, the 1894 and '95 Pennant seasons, but can't be counted with them.</i><br /><em></em><br /><i><strong>St. Louis Browns, 6</strong>: Bobby Wallace, George Sisler, Rogers Hornsby (also managed them), Rick Ferrell, Branch Rickey (executive), Bill Veeck (owner).</i><br /><i></i><br /><i>Rube Waddell, Goose Goslin, Heinie Manush and Satchel Paige just miss, each having played 3 seasons for the Browns. That was also the length of time that Veeck owned the team, but since he (and his one-at-bat midget Eddie Gaedel) are now the people most identified with this team, I'm bending the rule for him.</i><br /><br /><i><strong>Pittsburgh Crawfords (Negro Leagues), 5</strong>: Oscar Charleston, Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, James "Cool Papa" Bell, WIlliam "Judy" Johnson.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i><strong>24. Seattle Mariners, 5</strong>: Edgar Martinez, Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr., <span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Adrián Beltré, </span>Pat Gillick (executive). If Lou Piniella is elected as a manager, I'll have to count him as a Mariner HOFer.</span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><strong>25. Kansas City Royals, 4</strong>: George Brett, Whitey Herzog (manager), John Schuerholz (executive), Denny Matthews (broadcaster). Founder-owner Ewing Kauffman, surprisingly, is not in.<br /></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Milwaukee Braves, 4</strong>: Warren Spahn, Eddie Matthews, Hank Aaron, Red Schoendienst. Joe Torre began his playing career with them, but can't be counted here.</span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Buffalo Bisons (NL 1879-1885), 4</strong>: Dan Brouthers, Jim "Orator" O'Rourke, James "Deacon" White, James "Pud" Galvin.</span></i></div></div><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Cuban Giants (Negro Leagues, based in New York), 4</strong>: Frank Grant, Sol White, Pete Hill, Bud Fowler. Unlike the later Cuban Stars and New York Cubans, both also based in New York, this 1880s-90s team had no Cubans: They were called "Cuban" so their all-black roster would be better accepted. Grant has been called the best black player of the 19th Century.</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Lincoln Giants/Brooklyn Royal Giants (Negro Leagues), 3</strong>: Louis Santop, Smokey Joe Williams, John Henry "Pop" Lloyd. Imagine that, a Brooklyn team called the Giants. What the heck, from 1944 to 1948, the NFL had a Boston Yanks (defunct); and, in the 1961-62 season, the NBA had a Chicago team called the Packers (today's Washington Wizards).</span></i></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Detroit Stars (Negro Leagues), 3</strong>: Pete Hill, Andy Cooper, Norman "Turkey" Stearnes. Stearnes now has a statue at Comerica Park, alongside several Tiger greats.</span></i></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i><i><strong>Indianapolis ABCs (Negro Leagues), 3</strong>: Oscar Charleston, Ben Taylor, James "Biz" Mackey (also managed them). A later team, the Indianapolis Clowns, was the first professional team of Hank Aaron.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i><strong>Philadelphia Giants (Negro Leagues), 3</strong>: Sol White, Pete Hill, John Henry "Pop" Lloyd.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i><strong>Philadelphila Hilldale (Negro Leagues), 3</strong>: Martin DiHigo, James "Biz" Mackey (also managed them), William "Judy" Johnson.</i><br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><strong>St. Louis Stars (Negro Leagues), 3</strong>: George "Mule" Suttles, James "Cool Papa" Bell, Willie Wells.</i><br /><br /><em><strong>Cuban Stars (Negro Leagues, based in New York), 3</strong>: Jose Mendez, Martin Dihigo, Alex Pompez (owner).</em><br /><em></em><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>26. Miami Marlins, 3</strong>: Jim Leyland (manager), Felo Ramirez and Dave Van Horne (both broadcasters). I'm really bending a rule for Leyland, as he only managed the Marlins for 2 years, but 1 was their 1st Pennant and World Series win. <span>Iván Rodríguez</span> was only a Marlin for 1 season, although it was a World Championship season. If Gary Sheffield gets in, he can be counted as a Marlin, but I don't think he's getting in.</span></div></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No, you can't count Miami native Andre Dawson, although he did close his career with the club and is now working in their front office. So is Tony Perez, who briefly managed the team, but you can't count him, either.</span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>27. Colorado Rockies, 2</strong>: Larry Walker, Todd Helton.<br /><br /><i><strong>Baltimore Black Sox (Negro Leagues), 2</strong>: Jud Wilson, Ben Taylor. This team is not to be confused with the Elite Giants.</i><br /><em></em><br /><i><strong>Washington/Baltimore Elite Giants (Negro Leagues), 2</strong>: James "Biz" Mackey (also manager), Roy Campanella. And that's pronounced EE-light, not the usual Eh-LEET.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i><strong>Birmingham Black Barons (Negro Leagues), 2</strong>: George "Mule" Suttles, Satchel Paige. Willie Mays played his first professional season, 1948, for the Black Barons, but only that 1 season, so he can't be counted here.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i><strong>Kansas City Stars (Negro Leagues), 2</strong>: James "Cool Papa" Bell, Willard Brown.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i><strong>New York Cubans (Negro Leagues), 2</strong>: Martin DiHigo, Alex Pompez. Although DiHigo and Pompez were also involved with the Cuban Stars, and that team was also based in New York, it was not the same team as the New York Cubans. Like several of the Negro League owners, Pompez got some funding from the black organized crime bosses of the era, and eventually turned state's evidence to avoid prison. He later worked as an unofficial scout for the New York/San Francisco Giants, helping to sign Hispanic stars like Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal, and the Alou brothers.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i><strong>Philadelphia Stars (Negro Leagues), 2</strong>: James "Biz" Mackey (also manager), Jud Wilson.</i></span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Providence Grays (NL 1878-1885), 2</strong>: John Montgomery Ward, Charlie "Old Hoss" Radbourn. Their 1879 Pennant was managed by original 1869 Cincinnati Red Stocking George Wright, but he only played with them for 2 seasons.</span></i></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i><i><strong>Cleveland Spiders (NL, 1887-1899), 2</strong>: Cy Young and Jesse Burkett.</i><br /><br /><i><strong>Detroit Wolverines (NL, 1881-1888), 2</strong>: Sam Thompson, Ned Hanlon (elected as a manager but played 8 seasons for them). Dan Brouthers and Deacon White played 3 seasons for them.</i><i><br /></i><strong><br /></strong><strong>28. Arizona Diamondbacks, 1</strong>: Randy Johnson. If Curt Schilling gets in, he can be counted with them.<br /><br /><strong>29. Tampa Bay Rays, 1</strong>: Fred McGriff. With his election, every current MLB team now has at least 1 legitimate Hall-of-Famer.</span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><strong>30. Washington Nationals, 1</strong>: Frank Robinson, their 1st manager, was already in the Hall long before MLB returned to D.C., but he did manage for them for 5 years, 1 more than my rules require. But you can't count the HOFers from this franchise's previous incarnation, the Montreal Expos. So of the 30 current teams, they're the last team without a legitimate Hall of Fame player.</span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Bacharach Giants (Negro Leagues), 1</strong>: John Henry "Pop" Lloyd. This team played its home games in Atlantic City, and were named for Harry Bacharach, who was that city's Mayor on and off from 1912 to 1935. He was played by John Rue on the TV series "Boardwalk Empire." Lloyd stayed in Atlantic City after he retired, died there, and a youth baseball facility there is named for him.</span></i></div><div style="white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i><i><strong>Harrisburg Giants (Negro Leagues), 1</strong>: Oscar Charleston.</i><br /><em></em><br /><i><strong>San Antonio Black Bronchos (Negro Leagues, pronounced like Broncos), 1</strong>: Smokey Joe Williams.</i> <br /><br /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Kansas City Athletics, none</strong>: No player in the Hall of Fame was with the A's in their K.C. tenure for at least 4 seasons. Ken Harrelson played 5 seasons for them, but he was elected as a broadcaster, not a player, so he doesn't count as one of their Hall-of-Famers.</span></i></div>Uncle Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11618876073064128027noreply@blogger.com0