Carlos Alberto, 1944-2016

You know a year is taking too many great and/or inspiring people when it takes the Captain of the greatest team ever assembled in the history of a sport.

Baseball: The 1998 New York Yankees didn't have an official Captain. Unofficially, it was Paul O'Neill. He's still alive.

Football: Whether you think it was the 1966 Green Bay Packers, the 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers or the 1989 San Francisco 49ers, none of those teams had an official Captain. You could say, unofficially, it was, respectively, Bart Starr, Mean Joe Greene and Joe Montana, all of whom are still alive.

Basketball: The 1992 U.S. Olympic Team didn't have an official Captain. Unofficially, it was Magic Johnson. Despite being HIV-positive then, he is still alive.

Hockey: The best team ever assembled was probably the 1976 Canada Cup team, which had Bobby Orr, Bobby Hull, Guy Lafleur, Bobby Clarke, Darryl Sittler, Gil Perrault, Marcel Dionne, Bob Gainey, Larry Robinson, Denis Potvin, Gerry Cheevers in goal, and, as Captain, Phil Esposito, who is still alive.

Soccer: Carlos Alberto. Period.

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Carlos Alberto Torres was born on July 17, 1944 in the city of Rio de Janeiro, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1963, he joined local club Fluminense, the original big club of Brazil. At the time, it was rare, anywhere in the world, for a right back to be known for attacking skills. But Carlos Alberto (Brazilian players are traditionally known by nicknames, and, in his case, he simply dropped his last name) was noted for his ball control, dribbling and playmaking ability. In 1964, he and "La Flu" won the Campeonato Carioca, the state championship of Rio de Janeiro.

In 1966, he was purchased by Santos, a team in the city of Santos, in the state of São Paulo. There, he became a teammate of the biggest "futebol" star in the world, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, a.k.a. Pelé.  Together, they won the Campeonato Paulista, the São Paulo state championship, in 1967, 1968, 1969 and 1973.

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Carlos Alberto was selected for the Brazil national team, a.k.a. the Seleção (Selection) that won the Gold Medal at the 1963 Pan American Games and the Taça das Nações (Nations' Cup), a 1964 tournament held in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Brazilian Football Confederation. But he was not selected for the 1966 World Cup -- the only one from 1954 to 1974 that Brazil did not win. Whether that was due to his absence or Argentina literally kicking Pelé out of the tournament is open to debate.

When the 1970 World Cup convened in Mexico, Brazil was a nation in trouble, dominated by a military dictatorship. Thus it was ironic that they put together the most creative soccer team ever assembled: 

* 1 Goalkeeper: Félix Miélli Venerando, a.k.a. Félix, then playing for Rio de Janeiro club Fluminense.
* 2 Centerback: Hércules de Brito Ruas, a.k.a. Brito, best known for playing for Rio club Vasco da Gama, but then playing for Rio club Flamengo.
* 3 Centerback: Wilson da Silva Piazza, a.k.a. Piazza, Belo Horizonte club Cruzeiro.
* 4 Right back: Carlos Alberto Torres, a.k.a. Carlos Alberto, São Paulo club Santos.
* 5 Midfielder: Clodoaldo Tavares de Santana, a.k.a. Clodoaldo, Santos.
* 6 Left back: Marco Antônio Feliciano, a.k.a. Marco Antônio, Fluminense.
* 7 Right winger: Jair Ventura Filho, a.k.a. Jairzinho, Rio club Botafogo.
* 8 Midfielder: Gérson de Oliveira Nunes, a.k.a. Gérson, played for both Flamengo and Botafogo, but by then playing for São Paulo FC.
* 9 Forward: Eduardo Gonçalves de Andrade, a.k.a. Tostão, Cruzeiro.
* 10 Forward: Edson Arantes do Nascimento, a.k.a. Pelé, Santos.
* 11 Left winger: Roberto Rivellino, a.k.a. Rivelino (note the single L), São Paulo club Corinthians.
* 12 Goalkeeper: Eduardo Roberto Stinghen, a.k.a. Ado, Corinthians.
* 13 Forward: Roberto Lopes de Miranda, a.k.a. Roberto, Botafogo.
* 14 Centreback: José Guilherme Baldocchi, a.k.a. Baldocchi, São Paulo club Palmeiras.
* 15 Centreback: José de Anchieta Fontana, a.k.a. Fontana, Vasco.
* 16 Left back: Everaldo Marques da Silva, a.k.a. Everaldo, Porto Alegre club Grêmio.
* 17 Centreback: Joel Camargo, a.k.a. Joel, Santos.
* 18 Midfielder: Paulo Cézar Lima, a.k.a. Caju, Botafogo.
* 19 Forward: Jonas Eduardo Américo, a.k.a. Edu, Santos.
* 20 Forward: Dario José dos Santos, a.k.a. Dario, a.k.a. Dadá Maravilha, Belo Horizonte club Atlético Mineiro.
* 21 Centerback: José Maria Rodrigues Alves, a.k.a. Zé Maria, São Paulo club Portuguesa.
* 22 Goalkeeper: Émerson Leão, a.k.a. Leão, Palmeiras.

Manager: Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo. Once a left winger, he had starred for Flamengo and Botafogo, and played with Pelé and earlier legends Garrincha, Hilderaldo Bellini, Gilmar, Djalma Santos, Didi, Nílton Santos and Vavá on Brazil's 1958 and 1962 World Cup winners.

The World Cup had been broadcast on television since 1954, but 1970 was the 1st time it had been broadcast around the world in color. Brazil's yellow shirts with green trim and numbers, and blue shorts, really stood out, especially since England, despite wearing red shirts when they won the 1966 Final, usually wore white shirts. So did West Germany, who lost the '66 Final, and would turn out to be the only team in the '70 edition besides Brazil to make it through the Group Stage with wins in all 3 games. Italy's blue shirts also stood out.

Brazil played all their games in Guadalajara until the Final. In the Group Stage, they came from 1-0 down to beat Czechoslovakia 4-1, on goals by Rivelino, Pelé, and 2 by Jairzinho; beat England 1-0 on Jairzinho's 59th minute goal, despite Gordon Banks coming up with one of the all-time great saves to deny Pelé (the famous photo of Pelé and England Captain Bobby Moore exchanging shirts was taken after this game); and beat Romania 3-2 on 2 goals by Pelé and 1 by Jairzinho.

A less famous photo of the Captains, before the game:

Carlos Alberto and Bobby Moore

They beat Peru in the Quarterfinal, on 2 goals by Tostão and 1 each by Rivellino and Jairzinho. They fell behind Uruguay 1-0 in the Semifinal, but a goal each by Clodoaldo, Jairzinho and Rivellino put a stop to that, putting them in the Final at 3-1. That set up a match with Italy, who had beaten West Germany 4-3 in an extra-time thriller that was called "The Game of the Century."

Brazil lined up for the Final, in front of 107,412 paying customers at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, as follows: Félix; Carlos Alberto, Brito, Piazza, Everaldo; Jairzinho, Clodoaldo, Gérson, Rivelino; Tostão, Pelé.

Italy was loaded as well, with talents such as Tarcisio Burgnich, Giacinto Facchetti, Roberto Boninsegna and Luigi "Gigi" Riva. However, manager Ferruccio Valcareggi made what could have been a decisive mistake: He never found a way to make AC Milan superstar Gianni Rivera and Internazionale Milano legend Sandro Mazzola play together. As a result, he started Mazzola, and only brought Rivera on as a substitute.

In the 18th minute, Rivelino sent in a cross that Pelé headed in. But Brazil's defense faltered in the 37th, and Boninsegna scored an equalizer for Italy. In the 2nd half, Italy's famed catenaccio (meaning "padlock") defense was worn down by Brazil's creativity. In the 66th, Gérson fired a rocket past Enrico Albertosi to give the Seleção a lead they would never relinquish. In the 71st, Gérson sent a long free kick to Pelé, who headed down into the path of the onrushing Jairzinho. 

The win was capped in the 86th, with one of the greatest goals ever scored. Tostão was just to the left of Brazil's 18-yard box, with his back to the goal, then passed to Brito, and the ball went in turn to Clodoaldo, Pelé, Gérson, Clodoaldo again, Rivelino on the wing, to Jairzinho, a cross to Pelé, and finally to Carlos Alberto, who knocked it in. Here, he describes it himself, in English.

Brazil had the game won, 4-1. Carlos Alberto accepted the Jules Rimet Trophy as Captain of the World Champions. Zagallo thus became the 1st man to both play for and manage a World Cup winner. Franz Beckenbauer of Germany would be the 2nd. As yet, there has not been a 3rd.

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Carlos Alberto continued to play for Santos until 1974, then returned to Fluminense, winning the Campeonato Carioca again in 1975 and 1976. In 1977, he was reunited with Pelé on the New York Cosmos, a team that played at Giants Stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands. That team also had Beckenbauer, Italian striker Giorgio Chinaglia, and former Santos player Nelsi Morais. They won the North American Soccer League championship, the Soccer Bowl, in 1977.

Pelé retired, but Carlos, wearing Number 25 instead of his usual 4 (Cosmos Captain Werner Roth wouldn't give it up), later switching to 5, remained with them, to win the Soccer Bowl again in 1978, reach it but lose in 1979, win it in 1980. He played for the Anaheim-based California Surf in 1981, and the Cosmos only reached the Semifinal in 1981. He went back to the Cosmos in 1982, and they won it all again.

Carlos and Giorgio with the league title trophy

He then retired, and managed many teams, including Brazilian giants Flamengo, Corinthians, Botafogo, Fluminense and Atlético Mineiro, and the national teams of Oman and Azerbaijan, last doing so in 2005.

Italy's Fabio Cannavaro, Brazil's Carlos Alberto,

Argentina's Daniel Passarella and Germany's Lothar Matthäus,

during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil

He became a commentator for Brazilian network SporTV, and made appearances on behalf of the reborn Cosmos franchise of the new NASL. He was on SporTV just 2 days before his death this morning, of a heart attack. He was 72.

This leaves 17 of the 22 players from the 1970 Brazil team still alive. 8 of them starters: Pelé, Brito, Piazza, Clodoaldo, Jairzinho, Gérson, Tostão and Rivelino. And 9 reserves: Marco Antônio, Ado, Roberto, Baldocchi, Caju, Edu, Dario, Zé Maria and Leão. Manager Zagallo is also still alive. He and Pelé are the last remaining survivors from the 1958 Brazil team; they and Amarildo are the last ones from the 1962 Brazil team.

Everaldo was the 1st player from the 1970 Brazil team to die, in a car crash in 1974. Fontana died in 1980. Félix died in 2012. Joel died in 2014. And now, Carlos Alberto in 2016. Descanse em paz, velho amigo.

UPDATE: Carlos Alberto's final resting place is not publicly known.

Oh HELL No, Yankees; Zito, 1932-2015

After winning 7 straight games for the 1st time in 3 years, and finally getting some people to believe in them as a serious contender again, the Yankees have fallen into another slump.

On Wednesday afternoon -- a bit of an extended doubleheader, as we played them the previous night, and these were the only 2 games of the series -- Nathan Eovaldi and Gio Gonzalez of the Washington Nationals got into a pitchers' duel, one in which neither one of them would be the winning pitcher.

The Nats led 2-0 going into the bottom of the 7th inning, but Chris Young led off with a single. Jose Pirela lined out, but Brendan Ryan tripled him home. Brett Gardner tied the game with a double. Chase Headley flew out, but Alex Rodriguez gave the Yankees the lead with an RBI double, Mark Teixeira was hit with a pitch, and Brian McCann singled home A-Rod. 4-2 Yankees.

But after Eovaldi allowed a leadoff single to Yunel Escobar in the top of the 8th, Joe Girardi consulted his binder, and it said, "PANIC!" So he brought in Jacob Lindgren, and he allowed a game-tying home run to Michael Taylor. Then he made the mistake of letting Chris Capuano into a game, and he blew it in the 11th.

Nationals 5, Yankees 4. WP: Blake Treinin (2-2). SV: Drew Storen (19). LP: Capuano (0-4).

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So the Nats went back down I-95, and so did the Yankees, for a weekend series against the Baltimore Orioles, their 1st visit since Charm City was wracked with police brutality-inspired racial unrest.

The Friday night game didn't go so well. Michael Pineda had perhaps his worst outing as a Yankee, allowing a run in the 1st, 4 in the 3rd, and another in the 4th. Esmil Rogers allowed 4 more in the 6th.

Looks like the Yankees may finally have had enough of Rogers: They sent him down to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, taking him off the 40-man roster entirely. He's 29, but he's a pitcher, and there's always going to be some team desperate for pitching. Let's just hope the Yankees don't get so desperate that they call this bum back up.

The newly called-up Mason Williams hit his 1st major league home run, but it was a cherry on a sundae made of brussels sprouts. Orioles 11, Yankees 3. WP: Ubaldo Jimenez (4-3). LP: Pineda (7-3).

Mason Williams is a native of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, longtime home of the Red Sox' Triple-A farm team, but he grew up outside Orlando, Florida. I don't know if he stayed a Red Sox fan. He's a center fielder, not a pitcher, so don't expect him to throw any Classical Gas.

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Speaking of Yankees with the same name as musical performers, after CC Sabathia could only pitch 5 innings, allowing 4 runs, in the Saturday game, Girardi brought Chris Martin in to relieve. His performance was, shall we say, some cold play: 1 full inning, 3 runs, and he ended up as the losing pitcher.

Alex Rodriguez hit his 12th home run of the season off Bruce Norris. It was the 666th home run of his career. It was a long drive into the right-center field bleachers at Camden Yards, so you could say that Number 666 was a hell of a shot.

It also gave A-Rod 2,000 runs batted in for his career. So far, 2,000 RBIs doesn't have the same cachet as 500 home runs, or 3,000 hits, or 300 wins, or 3,000 strikeouts. Maybe it should: The only other players with 2,000 RBIs are Hank Aaron with 2,297 and Babe Ruth with 2,214. Lou Gehrig just missed: He got to 1,995 before he got sick and had to retire.

Speaking of 3,000 hits, Home Run Number 666 was also Hit Number 2,995.

Chase Headley had 3 hits, and Teix and McCann 2 each, but it wasn't nearly enough to pull the Yankees out of this Dante's Inferno of a game. Orioles 9, Yankees 4. WP: Chaz Roe (2-0). No save. LP: Martin (0-2).

To make matters worse, closer Andrew Miller had to be put on the Disabled List. He could miss a month. Good thing Dellin Betances is ready to step in.

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The Yankees needed to snap out of it for the Sunday game. At first, it seemed like they had, as Teix -- the native of the Baltimore suburb of Severna Park, Maryland still booed by the Camden Yards faithful for signing big-bucks contracts with Texas, Atlanta and New York but not Baltimore -- doubled home Gardner in the 1st. But Adam Warren didn't have good stuff, and he allowed 2 runs in the bottom of the 1st.

Gardner tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the 2nd, but the Orioles reclaimed the lead in the 4th. But then, Oriole pitcher Mike Wright got wild: He walked Headley, A-Rod and Teix to start the top of the 5th, including what turned out to be a meaningless wild pitch.

Our old friend Buck Showalter, now the Oriole manager, had seen enough, and brought in Brian Matusz to relieve. Fat lot of good that did: Matusz walked Garret Jones, making Jones the 4th consecutive beneficiary of a base on balls, and forcing in the tying run. He struck out Stephen Drew and Didi Gregorius, and it began to look like another episode of New York's least favorite TV drama, Yankee RISPfail. But John Ryan Murphy doubled home A-Rod and Teix to make it 5-3 Yankees.

That turned out to be the final score, as Chasen Shreve, Justin Wilson and Betances pitched shutout relief for 4 2/3 innings, the only baserunners being 2 walks. WP: Shreve (3-1). SV: Betances (3). LP: Wright (2-2).

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Then the Yankees went down to Miami to face the Marlins, a franchise which, if fair was fair, wouldn't even exist. Not because of what they did to the Yankees (who mainly did it to themselves, including Jeff Bleeping Weaver) or even the Cubs (who also did it to themselves) in 2003, but for what they were doing to Montreal fans at the same time.

Masahiro Tanaka pitched well, but your starter can't win unless you get him some runs. Teixeira hit his 18th homer of the season in the top of the 2nd inning, but the Marlins came right back in the bottom half and tied the game. Aside from that homer, the Yankees got only 2 hits all night, a single and a double, both by Gregorius.

When Derek Dietrich -- no, not Derek Jeter -- led off the bottom of the 7th with a home run, you knew it wasn't going to be the Yankees' night. Marlins 2, Yankees 1. WP: Tom Koehler (5-4). SV: A.J. Ramos (9). LP: Tanaka (4-2).

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And then, last night, things got worse. Not only did Eovaldi and the Yanks get clobbered, but they got stopped by a great pitching performance by someone who was deemed not good enough to stay with the Yankees this season: David Phelps.

The Marlins scored 8 runs in the bottom of the 1st, shelling first Eovaldi, then the hapless Capuano. There was 7 Marlins who got at least 2 hits.

Marlins 12, Yankees 2. WP: Phelps (4-3). No save. LP: Eovaldi (5-2).

That's 5 losses in the Yankees' last 6 games. Can this be allowed to continue? Oh, hell, no!

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Zito is dead. No, not Barry Zito. This was a man who, like many other Brazilian soccer stars, was known by a nickname.

He was born José Ely de Miranda on August 8, 1932 in Roseira, in São Paulo state. A midfielder, he starred for his home-state club Santos from 1952 to 1967. That club also included Mauro Ramos, Coutinho (not the one now playing for Liverpool), Mangalvio, Pepe (not the one now playing for Real Madrid), and, of course, Pelé. All of these would contribute to one, or both, of Brazil's World Cup wins in 1958 in Sweden and 1962 in Chile.

Zito wore Number 19 in 1958, moving up from reserve to starter, and Number 4 in 1962, starting all the way and being named in the Team of the Tournament, scoring in the Final against Czechoslovakia.

He later served in Santos' administration, helping produce young players Robinho (later to star for Real Madrid, Manchester City and AC Milan), Diego (who starred for Porto, Werder Bremen, Juventus and Wolfsburg, and now plays in Turkey for Fenerbahçe; and Neymar, now part of the Barcelona "system."

Holding up a current Brazil Number 19 shirt

at the 50th Anniversary celebration

Zito was part of the celebrations in 2008 for the 50th Anniversary of the 1st of Brazil's 5 World Cup triumphs thus far. But he develped Alzheimer's disease, and he died on June 14, at the age of 82. He is the 5th member of that team to have died just in the last 2 years, following Djalma Santos, Gilmar, Nilton Santos and Hilderaldo Bellini, and leaves Pelé and Mario Zagallo as the last 2 living members.

Hanging On, Barely; Gilmar, 1930-2013

The Yankees needed to make a statement against the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg this week. They failed.

Yes, they won the finale in dramatic fashion, but that was hardly enough. The Rays are battling it out with the Boston Red Sox for the AL East title, and the loser of that race will almost certainly get one of the AL Wild Card berths in the Playoffs. So the Yankees needed to win at least 2 out of 3.

Hiroki Kuroda started the Friday night game, and allowed 3 runs in the 2nd, 2 in the 3rd, and 1 each in the 4th and the 5th. Instead of Hiro being a hero, the Daily News' back page called him MEATBALL HIRO.

For all Kuroda has done for us the last 2 years, he didn't deserve that. But this is 2 bad starts in a row, and he's no kid, and I'm starting to get worried that he may be running out of gas, just when we need the Yankees to pick it up.

The Yankees scored a run in the 1st and another in the 6th, but that was it.  Rays 7, Yankees 2.  WP: Chris Archer (7-5).  No save.  LP: Kuroda (11-9).

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CC Sabathia, another guy who's logged a lot of innings, started the Saturday game, against David Price: Ace vs. ace.

The duel lived up to its billing for 4 innings, before the Yankees got on the board in the top of the 5th. Alex Rodriguez (yeah, him again, Bill Madden) led off with a single, followed by another by Vernon Wells. Curtis Granderson struck out, but Mark Reynolds singled to short center -- to short to score A-Rod. Austin Romine worked a bases-loaded walk.  Ichiro Suzuki grounded to 2nd to force in another run. 2-0 Yankees.

But in the bottom of the 6th, CC allowed a Sam Fuld single, a Desmond Jennings walk, a Ben Zobrist double and an Evan Longoria single to give the Rays a 3-2 lead. And, in the 8th, off Preston Claiborne, Longoria, who (as John Sterling noted on WCBS) always seems to hit home runs off the Yankees, did it again. The Yanks went out meekly, with the Rays' pen getting out the last 8 batters.

Rays 4, Yankees 2.  WP: Price (8-5).  SV: Fernando Rodney (30).  LP: Sabathia (11-11).

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Then came yesterday's game, which looked like a lost cause. The Yankees got on the board in the top of the 4th, thanks to Robinson Cano's 24th home run of the season. In the top of the 6th, Ichiro led off with a single, and Cano doubled him home. But in the bottom of that inning, Longoria homered again, this time off Ivan Nova, who was once again putting together a very good start before that. That tied the game 2-2.

Nova pitched into the 7th, relieved by Shawn Kelley, then David Robertson, who pitched the 9th. When both teams went 1-2-3 in the 9th, we went to extra innings. A-Rod, pinch-hitting for Chris Stewart, singled to lead off the 10th, and Brett Gardner bunted him over, but Ichiro grounded into a double play to end it.

The bottom of the 10th was, clearly, an attempt by Yankee manager Joe Girardi to make my head explode, because he used both Joba Chamberlain and Boone Logan.

Well, Joba struck out Yunel Escobar to start the inning, but then walked Jose Molina -- whom you'll remember as the replacement for Jorge Posada for much of the 2008 season, and who hit the last home run at the old Yankee Stadium (making it somewhat appropriate that Jorge hit the first homer in the new one). Joba walked Molina, and, as he is slow and fat, was replaced by Fuld. Girardi pulled Joba for Binder Boy Boone, and I prepared for the worst.

Logan got Jose Lobaton to ground into a double play to end the inning.

And then ended up as the winning pitcher! With 1 out in the top of the 11th, Alfonso Soriano doubled, and stole 3rd, and Granderson hit one to center, a sacrifice fly to get him home. Mariano Rivera came on and went 1-2-3, and the Yankees had salvaged the finale.

Yankees 3, Rays 2. WP: Logan (4-2). SV: Rivera (38). LP: Jamey Wright (2-2).

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There are now 5 weeks left in the regular season, and the AL East standings are as follows:

Boston 77-55
Tampa Bay 74-54, 1 behind
Baltimore 70-59, 5 1/2
New York 69-61, 7
Toronto 58-73, 18 1/2

In the loss column, Tampa Bay leads Boston by 1, Baltimore by 5, the Yankees by 7, and Toronto by 19.

Here's the Wild Card standings. Remember, the top 2 qualify:

Tampa Bay 74-54
Oakland 72-57
Cleveland 71-59, 1 1/2 behind
Baltimore 70-59, 2
New York 69-61, 3 1/2
Kansas City 65-64, 7

Detroit currently leads the AL Central, and Texas the AL West. The other AL teams -- Seattle, Anahiem, Toronto, Minnesota, Chicago and Houston (the Astros have lost 86 games with over a month to go, on top of the 106 they lost last year and 107 the year before) -- are out of the race.

The Yankees head to Toronto, and they've played those pesky Blue Jays pretty well this year. In fact, if it wasn't for games against the Jays and the Minnesota Twins, the Yanks would be under .500.

And Derek Jeter is expected to be activated from the Disabled List.  o that's good news.

There are 32 games left to play. 7 of these (4 home, September 5-8; 3 away, September 13-15) are against the Red Sox. Only 3 (September 24-26, all at home) are against the Rays.

In order to have any hope of winning the Division, the Yankees will need to take at least 7 of those 10.

There are 3 left against the Rays. There are 7 left (3 home, August 30-September 1; 4 away, September 9-12) against the Baltimore Orioles. None left against the Oakland Athletics or the Cleveland Indians.

In order to have hope of winning the Wild Card, instead of the Division, the Yankees will need to take at least 7 of those 10.

In the cases of either of those 10, they will also, of course, have to take as many of the other 22 as they can.

Stay tuned. For the moment, the Yankees are hanging on.  Barely.

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Speaking of barely, I have one thing to say about Miley Cyrus: You CAN stop. And you should.

The Mets got swept by the Detroit Tigers. They allowed 7 runs in the 9th inning yesterday, to lose 11-3. The Tigers got 41 hits in the 3 games.

Hey, Met fans: Do you still like Interleague Play?

The Philadelphia Phillies had a weird game on Saturday night, home to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Starting pitcher Ethan Martin didn't get out of the 1st inning, and they were down 6-0 in the bottom of the 5th. They got to within 7-3 by the 6th, and then tied it in the 8th. But the game kept going and going and going. The last 2 pitchers they used were position players, Casper Wells and John McDonald.  McDonald, normally a shortstop, had never pitched in the majors before. Wells, normally a left fielder, had, once before, earlier this year for the Chicago White Sox.  nyway, the D-backs scored 5 runs in the 18th inning to win, 12-7, making Wells the losing pitcher.

The Giants played the Jets this weekend. The Jets won in overtime, 24-21.

In the words of the immortal Billy Martin, "It's an exhibition game, George! It doesn't mean anything!"

Well, here's what it means for the Jets: Mark Sanchez, supposed to be the starting quarterback, got hurt. He may not be able to play in the regular-season opener.

Here's what it means for the Giants: Eli Manning had a bad game, leading to thoughts that he might now be in decline (yes, he's no kid anymore), and Stevie Brown tore up his knee, so he's out for the season.

With players now bigger than ever, and faster than ever, resulting in collisions that are harder than ever, resulting in more and worse injuries than ever, I'm starting to wonder if American football is even worth it anymore.

Of course, there's that other kind of football... and, as an Arsenal fan, it is now #TottenhamHateWeek!

I'll have more on that later in the week.

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Gilmar is dead. You may not know his name, or even his nickname, unless you've studied Brazil before Mexico '70.

Gylmar dos Santos Neves -- why the spelling was changed to "Gilmar," I don't know -- was born on August 22, 1930 in Santos, São Paulo state, Brazil. A goalkeeper, he starred for local sides Corinthians and Santos, the latter with Pelé in front of the team.

He won São Paulo state championships in 1951, 1952, 1954, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967 and 1968. He won Brazil's newly-established national championship, Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, in 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1968. He won the Copa Libertadores, South America's continental title (their version of the European Cup/UEFA Champions League), in 1962 and 1963.

He played on the Brazil teams that won the World Cup in 1958 in Sweden and 1962 and Chile, and also on the 1966 team at the World Cup in England. He is the only starting goalkeeper on 2 World Cup winners.

He participated in the 50th Anniversary celebrations of Brazil's 1st World Cup win in 2008, and died on August 25, 3 days after his 83rd birthday.

UPDATE: His final resting place is not publicly known.