The Yankees Have the Twins' Number (and it isn't 2)

After finishing that rain-forced doubleheader in Detroit with an 8-0 win -- 6 runs in the 9th -- the Yankees closed out the series with a weak 6-0 loss. That they've now lost 4 of 5 isn't a big concern, but that they got shut out in 2 out of 4 (2 out of 3, actually), even against a good team in a pitchers' park, is.

Fortunately, the Yankees come home to face the Minnesota Twins, against whom they've won 10 straight -- 13 straight if you count the 2009 American League Division Series.

The Twins last beat the Yankees on July 4, 2007. That's 2 days after the birth of our own twins, my nieces Ashley and Rachel. Someday, I'm going to have to explain to them why the Minnesota team is called the Twins. (Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the "Twin Cities," each had a team in a Triple-A league before the original Washington Senators moved out there in 1961 and united the two teams. Their original logo was two players, with the logos of the Minneapolis Millers and St. Paul Saints on their respective sleeves, shaking hands over the Mississippi River.)

My sister, their mother, and her new guy (she and their dad are divorced) are going tonight, because it's the new guy's birthday.

I keep telling the girls that one day I'll take them to Yankee Stadium. They love the idea. But they're still too young to really "get it."

*

One of the things I really worried about when moving into the new Stadium was leaving behind the old Stadium's tradition. The Montreal Canadiens haven't won a Stanley Cup, or even reached the Finals, since 1996 when they left the Yankee Stadium of hockey, the Montreal Forum, for the building now known as the Bell Centre. Prior to that, they won 24 Cups, all but the first 2 as Forum tenants. It took the Boston Celtics 13 years to win their first NBA Championship at the building now known as the TD Bank Garden; at the old Boston Garden, they won 16.

However, the Yankees finished last season, their first in the new Stadium, by winning the World Series, after 26 in the old one. Last night, the Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. And the night before, the 8th-seeded Canadiens beat the defending Stanley Cup Champion -- two-time defending Eastern Conference Champion -- Pittsburgh Penguins to advance, for the first time since moving, to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Habs could play their ancient rivals, the Boston Bruins, who jumped out to a 3-games-to-0 lead over the Philadelphia Flyers. But the Flyers have stormed back, and Game 7 is tonight.

Only 3 times in the history of major league sports has a team blown a 3-games-to-0 lead. The first was in hockey: 1942 Stanley Cup Finals, Toronto Maple Leafs over Detroit Red Wings. Revenge very nearly came soon: 1945 Stanley Cup Finals, the Wings came from 3-0 down before the Leafs ground out Game 7.

The second time it happened was also in hockey: 1975 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals, the New York Islanders, in only their 3rd season, after beating the New York Rangers (who, then as now, sucked), came from 3-0 down to beat... the Penguins, in only their 7th season. Then the Isles almost did it again, falling 3-0 behind the defending Champion Flyers, then coming back, but the Flyers won Game 7 and went on to make it back-to-back Cups.

The third time it happened was in baseball, but since we now know the Red Sox cheated, it doesn't count. But wouldn't it be nice to see another Boston team make it the fourth time?

Of course, that would mean that the Flyers are in the Conference Finals... Can the Habs beat them? Or the Bruins? I hope so, and not just because, in those days before the arrival of the New Jersey Devils, it was the Canadiens of Guy Lafleur, Serge Savard and Ken Dryden -- not to mention future Devils' Cup-winning coaches Jacques Lemaire and Larry Robinson -- who taught me how the great game of hockey is meant to be played. Particularly in 1979, when they had that thrilling seven-game Cup Semifinal against the Bruins (too many men on the ice, Don Cherry) and then beat the Rangers in 5 in the Finals. (Ooh, la la, you suck!)

*

Today, mere hours after the Celtics ended their season, the Cavaliers fired coach Mike Brown. All he ever did was lead them to the only NBA Finals, and 2 of the 3 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, in club history.

But it's well-known that LeBron James wanted Brown out. Firing Brown is ownership's first sign that, yes, they do want to keep James.

Tough luck, Knicks fans, he ain't comin' to Da Gawden.

Side note: It was another Mike Brown who was Mayor of Cleveland when Art Modell stole the original Cleveland Browns away and moved them to Baltimore. But he talked the NFL into putting a new team in Cleveland and denying Modell and the renamed Baltimore Ravens the right to claim any part of the Browns' identity and history.

*

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series: 3, starting next Monday night, at Yankee Stadium II.

Days until the 2010 World Cup begins: 27. Just 4 weeks.

Days until the World Cup Final: 58. Under 2 months.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 113.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 119.

Days until the new Meadowlands Stadium (still unnamed) opens for football: 121. 4 months. If they end up getting Super Bowl XLVIII, I'll start a countdown for that.

Days until the Devils play another local rival: 148 (estimate).

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving clash: 195.

Days until Derek Jeter collects his 3,000th career hit: 382 (estimate).

Days until the Rutgers-Army football game at Yankee Stadium: 547.

Days until the last Nets game in New Jersey: 695 (estimated).

Days until the 2012 Olympics begin in London: 815.

Baseball's Top 10 Should-Be Hall-of-Famers

For this list, I am using certain items from Baseball-Reference.com. That website is your friend, whether you know it yet or not. They use a "Hall of Fame Monitor," to show which active players are likely to reach the Hall, "likely" being 100; "Hall of Fame Standards," with the "Average Hall-of-Famer" being at 50; and a statistical comparison to show the 10 players the player most closely resembles in terms of career statistics.

10. Don Newcombe. The fact that he's a lifelong resident of New Jersey (grew up in Elizabeth, and has lived most of his adult life in Woodbridge) is nice, but has nothing to do with his qualifications. Unlike a lot of the early black players, racism didn't keep him out long enough to cost him his prime, as he was 23 years old when he debuted.

But injuries and alcoholism ended his career at 34, and the Korean War cost him the seasons in which he turned 26 and 27, and half of the season when he turned 28, ruining what could have been his 3 best seasons. (Shocking: The Dodgers won the Pennant in 1952 and '53 without him -- imagine them facing the Yankees in those World Series with him. Though it's worth noting the Yanks were, themselves, without Whitey Ford due to the same war in '52, and won anyway.)

In the 3 seasons before that, his first 3, he won 56 games; in his first 2 after that, he won 47 -- he went 47-12! In 1955, he won 20 games and hit 7 home runs, a feat topped only by Wes Ferrell (twice, I'll get to him shortly) and Newk's Dodger teammate Don Drysdale.

Cy Young died the following off-season, and the Cy Young Award was established to honor the pitcher (first in all of the majors, then in 1967 in each League) judged to be most valuable to his team, a reflection of the idea that, not playing every day, pitchers didn't deserve the MVP. Newk ended up winning the first Cy Young, and the MVP anyway, with 27 wins, a total topped only once since and matched only 2 other times.

He had a lifetime batting average of .271, a .705 OPS (though only an 85 OPS+, still amazing for a pitcher), and hit 51 extra-base hits including 15 home runs. He won 149 games despite missing almost 3 prime seasons, with career stats of a .623 winning percentage and a 1.203 WHIP. In his first 6 seasons, the Dodgers finished 1st or 2nd every year; in each of his first 5 full seasons, the Dodgers either won the Pennant or lost it on the final day.

The knock on Newk was that he wasn't a big-game pitcher. In 1949, as a rookie, he started Game 1 of the World Series and held the Yankees scoreless for 8 innings, but Allie Reynolds held the Dodgers scoreless for 9 and Tommy Henrich homered off Newk in the bottom of the 9th to win it. On the final day in 1950, he held the Phillies off for 9 innings, before giving up Dick Sisler's Pennant-winning homer in the 10th.

In the final game of the 1951 Playoff, he threw his 264th through 272nd innings of the season, complained that he was tired in the 270th, was told by teammate Jackie Robinson (who didn't want people to see a black man complain of fatigue), "You keep pitching until your fucking arm falls off," and was finally relieved in the 9th while still holding a 4-2 lead in the Polo Grounds. (Ralph Branca was brought in, and you know what happened: The Giants won the Pennant.) Newk gave it his all in big games; that his opponents were often the better team isn't his fault.

Finally, allowance should be made that, while he was just 23 when he reached the majors, he did pitch in the Negro Leagues, and quite well, helping the Newark Eagles win the 1946 Negro World Series.

HOF Monitor: 78, which means he should not be in. HOF Standards: 28, which means he should not be in. 10 Most Similar: Roy Halladay (active but may make it), Ray Kremer (No, but a case could be made that he should be in), Tim Hudson (active, probably won;t make it), Dizzy Dean (Yes), Schoolboy Rowe (No, a little short), Dennis Leonard (No), Newk's Dodger teammate Preacher Roe (No), Nig Cuppy (No), Rip Sewell (No), Mike Garcia (No).

9. Wes Ferrell. In his first 4 full seasons, he won 91 games -- all before his 25th birthday. He won 21 at 21, 25 at 22, 22 at 23 and 23 at 24. That was from 1929 to 1932, one of the biggest periods ever for hitters, rather than the Dead Ball Era or the 1960s. And it was for a Cleveland Indians team that really didn't contend while he was there. Acquired by Tom Yawkey in his bid to buy championships for the Boston Red Sox, he rode better support to add 2 more 20-win seasons, and finished with 193 wins and a .601 winning percentage.

Rick Ferrell, a catcher who is in the Hall of Fame,

but probably shouldn't be; and his brother, Wes Ferrell;

a pitcher who isn't in the Hall of Fame, but should be

And he was a really good hitter, too: In 1931, he won 22 games and hit 9 home runs. In 1935, he won 25 and hit 7. His lifetime batting average was .280, he had a .797 OPS, and OPS+ of exactly 100 (How many pitchers hit as well as the average hitter of their time?), and had 107 extra-base hits, including 38 home runs, more than any player whose primary position was pitcher. (This, of course, excludes former pitcher Babe Ruth.)

So why is he not in the Hall? Well, an injury meant that his last productive season was at age 30, and he last pitched in the majors at at 33, and then came World War II. His career ERA was 4.04. Granted, that was, as I said, in the power-happy 1930s, and his career ERA+ was 117, meaning he was 17 percent better than the average pitcher of his time. But his career WHIP was also high, 1.481. And he also gave up a lot of home runs, including a league-leading 25 in 1937. His brother Rick Ferrell, a fine defensive catcher, is in the Hall. Wes deserves it more.

HOF Monitor: 75, which means he shouldn't be in. HOF Standards: 22, which means he shouldn't be in. 10 Most Similar: None of them are in. It doesn't matter: I think he should be in.

8. Allie Reynolds, Eddie Lopat and Vic Raschi. Individually, these pitchers might not deserve election. But Reynolds had 182 wins and a career winning percentage of .630; Lopat, 166 and .597; Raschi, who due to World War II didn't reach the majors until he was 27 and retired due to injury at 36, 132 and .667. But as a unit, from 1949 to 1953, they led the Yankees to 5 consecutive World Championships.

Being elected as a unit was done for the 1906 to 1910 Chicago Cubs double-play trio of Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers and Frank Chance. Tinker was the 2nd-best shortstop of his time behind Honus Wagner, maybe the 3rd-best behind also George Davis. Evers was the 2nd-best 2nd baseman of his time, behind Nap Lajoie. Chance was a good 1st baseman, but it's mainly as a manager that he deserves his place in Cooperstown. Evers? Maybe. Tinker? Not by himself. If it could be done for Tinker-Evers-Chance, why not the Yankee Big 3?

HOF Monitor: Reynolds 110, which means he should be in; Raschi 82 and Lopat 64, which means they should not. HOF Standards: Reynolds 33, Lopat 27, Raschi 25, which means they fall short. 10 Most Similar: Only Reynolds has anyone in his Top 10 who are in, but those are his Top 2: Lefty Gomez and Bob Lemon.

7. Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker. Individually, each half of the 1977 to 1995 Detroit Tiger double-play pair is a step short of the Hall of Fame. Together, which is how they're remembered anyway, they deserve it. And while they never had a 1st baseman as good as Chance -- Cecil Fielder had a booming bat, but he was not a good glove man -- Trammell was better than Tinker, and Whitaker was better than Evers. Put them in.

Lou Whitaker (left) and Alan Trammell

HOF Monitor: Trammell 118, which means he should be in; Whitaker 92, which means he falls a little short. HOF Standards: Whitaker 43, Trammell 40, which means they both fall a little short. 

Trammell's 10 Most Similar: Barry Larkin (Became eligible this year and will probably get in), Edgar Renteria (No), Jay Bell (No), Whitaker, Ray Durham (No), Tony Fernandez (No), B.J. Surhoff (No), Ryne Sandberg (Yes), Pee Wee Reese (Yes), Julio Franco (No).

Whitaker's 10 Most Similar: Sandberg (Yes), Trammell, Roberto Alomar (newly eligible this year, a lot of people say Yes but I say No), Buddy Bell (No), Joe Morgan (Yes), Joe Torre (No, falls a little short as far as his playing is concerned), Durham (No), Brian Downing (No), Larkin, Franco.

6. Ted Simmons. You have to judge the stats of catchers, who play the hardest defensive position, a little differently from those of outfielders and 1st basemen. His lifetime batting average is .285, his OPS .785, his OPS+ 117, and he hit 248 home runs despite his position and playing most of his home games at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

As the man who sponsors his Baseball-Reference.com page points out, compared to other HOF catchers of the last half-century, "The Mighty Simba" had more career RBIs than Johnny Bench, scored more runs than Gary Carter, and had more hits than Yogi Berra or Carlton Fisk. He had 3 seasons of 100 or more RBIs, and just missed 4 other times. He played in 8 All-Star Games.

He led the Milwaukee Brewers to their 1st 2 postseason appearances, in 1981 and '82 -- until 2008 their only postseason appearances -- but, ironically, ran into his former Cardinal teammates in his only World Series appearance, and still almost won it for the Brew Crew, hitting 2 home runs in that 7-game thriller. (In another irony, the Series MVP was his replacement as Cardinal catcher, Darrell Porter.) He never won a Gold Glove, but that was because he played in the same league at the same time as Bench and Carter, and then Fisk.

From the ages of 22 to 33, he was one of the most productive catchers ever, was still a productive regular at 35, and still a productive pinch-hitter at 37 -- pretty good considering he caught 1,771 games in his career, more than all but 4 players before him.

HOF Monitor: 124, which means he should be in. HOF Standards: 44, which means he falls a little short. 10 Most Similar: Trammell (No, but should be), Joe Torre (No, falls a little short as far as his playing is concerned), Fisk (Yes), Carter (Yes), Whitaker (No, but should be), Miguel Tejada (active, and the steroid cloud will probably keep him out), Larkin (became eligible this year and should get in), Joe Cronin (Yes), Berra (Yes), Sandberg (Yes).

5. Tommy John. He used a blazing fastball to win 124 games for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers -- which would be a fine career for most pitchers. Then he wrecked his elbow. Then he had surgery, a pioneering procedure that now bears his name. Then, after sitting out the 1975 season, he became a sinkerballer, and won 164 games for the Dodgers, New York Yankees, California Angels and Oakland Athletics -- winning more games after the surgery that could have ended his career (had it gone wrong) than he did before it.

Think about this: Due to an injury, Dizzy Dean won "only" 150 games, and he's in the Hall of Fame. Due to an injury, Sandy Koufax won "only" 165 games, and he's in the Hall of Fame. Though, to be fair, from 1933 to 1937, Dean was one of the top 3 pitchers on the planet along with Carl Hubbell and Satchel Paige; from 1961 to 1966, Koufax was one of the top 5 pitchers on the planet at the time and from 1963 to 1966 was one of the top 5 pitchers who has ever lived. TJ was only occasionally (1973-74, 1977-80) one of the top 5 or even one of the top 10 pitchers on the planet.

But he won more games after his potentially career-ending injury than Dean did in his entire career, and almost as many as Koufax won in his entire career. He was durable, too: He made his 1st major league appearance on September 6, 1963, when John F. Kennedy was President; and his last on May 25, 1989, when George H.W. Bush was President. Total wins: 288, the closest any post-1900 pitcher comes to 300 major league wins -- long considered a benchmark for Cooperstown -- without making it. His .555 career winning percentage also opens eyes.

HOF Monitor: 111, which means he should be in. HOF Standards: 44, which means he falls a little short. 10 Most Similar: Jim Kaat (No, but should be), Robin Roberts (Yes), Bert Blyleven (No, but should be), Fergie Jenkins (Yes), Early Wynn (Yes), Burleigh Grimes (Yes), Tom Glavine (No, but will be), Tony Mullane (No), Don Sutton (Yes), Eppa Rixey (Yes).

4. Jim Kaat. He won 283 games and 16 Gold Gloves. He was the ace of the Minnesota Twins' 1st Pennant, and was a key member of a St. Louis Cardinals' World Championship -- 17 years later. In between, he helped the Philadelphia Phillies to 3 postseason berths. He won 18 games at age 23, and 20 at age 36. He won his 1st game in Dwight D. Eisenhower's 2nd term, and his last in Ronald Reagan's 1st term. And he was a terrific broadcaster. And as both a player and a broadcaster, "Kitty" was a man of sterling character. Put him in.

HOF Monitor: 130, which means he should be in. HOF Standards: 44, which means he falls a little short. 10 Most Similar: John (No, but should be), Roberts (Yes), Jenkins (Yes), Rixey (Yes), Blyleven (No, but should be), Wynn (Yes), Grimes (Yes), Frank Tanana (No), Red Ruffing (Yes), Ted Lyons (Yes).

3. Bert Blyleven. He won 20 games, 9 of them shutouts, at age 22, and went 17-5 at age 38. He won 287 games despite pitching most of his career for mediocre teams. True, he had 250 losses to go with his 287 wins, but he did so much pitching in the cold, homer-happy Metropolitan Stadium, and for those awful Cleveland Indian teams.

And his career winning percentage of .534 is a bit higher than Nolan Ryan's .526. His career ERA is 3.31, lower than those of such current or likely HOFers as John Smoltz, Fergie Jenkins, Lefty Gomez, Phil Niekro, Roy Halladay, Robin Roberts and Curt Schilling. His career WHIP is 1.198 -- that's under 1.2 for a career lasting 22 seasons. He struck out 3,701 batters in his career, 3rd all-time when he retired. (Remember when Walter Johnson's record of 3,508 seemed impossible to reach? I do.)

He won World Series, and World Series games, in both leagues, with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979 and the Minnesota Twins in 1987. He also pitched for the Twins in the 1970 ALCS, meaning he pitched for the same team in postseason play at age 19 and at age 36. He is generally regarded as having the best curveball of his era. Considering all that, there's no good reason not to let him in.

Not even the Pirates' Jimmy Carter era uniforms.

Side note: This has nothing to do with their qualifications, but as they're both high on the Should Be In List, I thought it was noteworthy: Blyleven was born in the Netherlands, while Kaat is of Dutch ancestry, born in Zeeland, Michigan. Michigan is loaded with Dutch town names. I wonder how Kitty and Bert would have fared in soccer. Though neither seemed to have a "Total Football"-type approach to pitching.

HOF Monitor: 120, which means he should be in. HOF Standards: 50, which means he should be in. 10 Most Similar: Sutton, Perry, Jenkins, John, Roberts, Tom Seaver, Kaat, Wynn, Phil Niekro, Steve Carlton -- all but John and Kaat in, and they should be, too.

2. Ron Santo. The best 3rd baseman of his generation is generally considered to be Brooks Robinson. Santo was almost as good a fielder, and was a better hitter. They don't combine achievements for playing and broadcasting. If they did, Santo would be in already, and you could add Joe Nuxhall, Herb Score, Steve Blass, Larry Dierker, Bobby Murcer, and, of course, Kaat.

HOF Monitor: 88, which means he falls short. HOF Standards: 41, which means he falls short. 10 Most Similar: None are in: Dale Murphy, Ken Boyer, Gary Gaetti, Ruben Sierra, Chili Davis, Bobby Bonilla, Brian Downing, Graig Nettles, Ron Cey and Robin Ventura. Keep in mind, though, that Murphy, Sierra, Davis and Downing were mostly outfielders, and the rest were Santo's fellow 3rd basemen; and a good case can be made for Nettles, and a very good one for Boyer, whom Santo replaced as the best 3rd baseman in the National League.

1. Gil Hodges. They don't combine playing and managing. If they did, this would be, to mix my sports metaphors, a slam dunk. After all, he managed the New York Mets to a World Championship. True, so did Davey Johnson, and no one recommends him for the Hall. Then again, Johnson was lucky: While he also managed L.A. and Baltimore to postseason play, he only won that 1 Pennant. We'll never know what else Gil could have done as a manager: He died right before the '72 season, and the Mets won the '73 Pennant.

But what a player: A 120 OPS+, 370 home runs, 10th all-time when he retired, and he did not play in a homer-happy era; and the best-fielding 1st baseman of his generation. He belongs.

HOF Monitor: 83, which means he falls a little short. HOF Standards: 32, which means he falls a little short. Keep in mind, though, this measures only hitting, not fielding. 10 Most Similar: Norm Cash, George Foster, Tino Martinez, Jack Clark, Boog Powell, Rocky Colavito, Lee May, Joe Adcock, Willie Horton, Andruw Jones. Jones is still active, and will end up as the likeliest HOFer of these. But Colavito might also belong, and Foster, Powell and Clark sure looked like they would end up in before tailing off.

No matter: Gil Hodges belongs.

Update: Through the election of 2019, of these men I nominated, only 3 have gotten in: Santo, Blyleven and Trammell.

Living Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame as of May 12, 2010

This is a companion piece to the one I did on living members of the Baseball Hall of Fame last week. There are 156 living members, with the recent death of Merlin Olsen.

Teams, and then their inductees, are listed by alphabetical order. Inductees are listed with a team if they played, or coached, or were an executive, with them for at least 4 seasons. 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. Coaching/executive tenure not counted unless they were elected as such:

Arizona Cardinals, none: Emmitt Smith wasn’t with them long enough. From their Chicago days, count Ollie Matson and Charley Trippi. From their St. Louis days, count Dan Dierdorf, Jackie Smith, Roger Wehrli, Larry Wilson.

Atlanta Falcons, none: Eric Dickerson and Tommy McDonald each played one season for them, but that’s as close as they come.

Baltimore Ravens, 1: Rod Woodson.

Buffalo Bills, 9: Joe DeLamiellure, Jim Kelly, Marv Levy, James Lofton, Billy Shaw, O.J. Simpson (had to list him), Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, Ralph Wilson.

Carolina Panthers, none: Mike McCormack was an executive with them, but that’s as close as they come. Reggie White, who played for them in 2000 and died in 2004, is their only former player inducted.

Chicago Bears, 8: Doug Atkins, George Blanda, Dick Butkus, Mike Ditka, Dan Hampton, Stan Jones, Gale Sayers, Mike Singletary.

Cincinnati Bengals, 2: Charlie Joiner, Anthony Munoz.

Cleveland Browns, 7: Jim Brown, Joe DeLamiellure, Leroy Kelly, Mike McCormack, Bobby Mitchell, Ozzie Newsome, Paul Warfield.

Dallas Cowboys, 10: Troy Aikman, Mike Ditka, Tony Dorsett, Michael Irvin, Bob Lilly, Mel Renfro, Emmitt Smith, Roger Staubach, Randy White, Rayfield Wright.

Denver Broncos, 4: Willie Brown, John Elway, Floyd Little, Gary Zimmerman.

Detroit Lions, 6: Lem Barney, Yale Lary, Dick LeBeau, Barry Sanders, Charlie Sanders (no relation), Joe Schmidt.

Green Bay Packers, 9: Herb Adderley, Willie Davis, Forrest Gregg, Paul Hornung, James Lofton, Bart Starr, Jan Stenerud, Jim Taylor, Willie Wood.

Houston Texans, none. In fact, no Hall-of-Famers yet. Not surprising, as they are the newest franchise.

Indianapolis Colts, 1: Eric Dickerson. From their Baltimore days, count Raymond Berry, Art Donovan, Ted Hendricks, John Mackey, Gino Marchetti, Lenny Moore, Don Shula.

Jacksonville Jaguars, none. In fact, no Hall-of-Famers yet. Not surprising, as they are one of the 4 newest franchises -- 3 if you count the Browns as an established team (and you should, even if they have looked like an expansion team).

Kansas City Chiefs, 7: Marcus Allen, Bobby Bell, Len Dawson, Willie Lanier, Marv Levy, Jan Stenerud, Emmitt Thomas.

Miami Dolphins, 9: Nick Buonoconti, Larry Csonka, Bob Griese, Jim Langer, Larry Little, Dan Marino, Don Shula, Dwight Stephenson, Paul Warfield.

Minnesota Vikings, 9: Carl Eller, Bud Grant, Paul Krause, Randall McDaniel, Alan Page, John Randle, Fran Tarkenton, Ron Yary, Gary Zimmerman.

New England Patriots, 4: Nick Buonoconti, John Hannah, Mike Haynes, Andre Tippett. This counts players from their AFL days, when they were officially the Boston Patriots.

New Orleans Saints, 1: Rickey Jackson, newly elected, just one day before the Saints finally won a Super Bowl.

New York Giants: Harry Carson, Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, Andy Robustelli, Fran Tarkenton, Lawrence Taylor, Y.A. Tittle.

New York Jets, 3: Don Maynard, Joe Namath, John Riggins.

Oakland Raiders, 13: Marcus Allen, Fred Biletnikoff, George Blanda, Willie Brown, Dave Casper, Al Davis, Mike Haynes, Ted Hendricks, Howie Long, John Madden, Jim Otto, Jerry Rice, Art Shell. Note that I’m making an exception to my one-city-only rule for the 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).

Philadelphia Eagles, 6: Chuck Bednarik, Bob Brown, Sonny Jurgensen, Tommy McDonald, Pete Pihos, Steve Van Buren.

Pittsburgh Steelers, 12: Mel Blount, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Greene, Jack Ham, Franco Harris, John Henry Johnson, Jack Lambert, Chuck Noll, Dan Rooney, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann, Rod Woodson.

St. Louis Rams, none: From their Los Angeles days, count Eric Dickerson, Deacon Jones, Tom Mack, Ollie Matson, Andy Robustelli, Jackie Slater (who did play their first season in St. Louis), Jack Youngblood.

San Diego Chargers, 6: Lance Alworth, Fred Dean, Dan Fouts, Charlie Joiner, Ron Mix, Kellen Winslow.

San Francisco 49ers: Fred Dean, Jimmy Johnson (the cornerback, not the coach), Ronnie Lott, Hugh McElhenny, Joe Montana, Joe Perry, Jerry Rice, Bob St. Clair, Y.A. Tittle, Dave Wilcox, Steve Young.

Seattle Seahawks, 1: Steve Largent.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1: Lee Roy Selmon.

Tennessee Titans, 1: Bruce Matthews (3 years as a “Tennessee Titan,” but counting 2 as a “Tennessee Oiler,” he qualifies for the Titans). From their days as the Houston Oilers, count Elvin Bethea, George Blanda, Earl Campbell, Dave Casper, Ken Houston, Charlie Joiner, Matthews, Warren Moon, Mike Munchak,

Washington Redskins, 12: Joe Gibbs, Darrell Green, Russ Grimm, Ken Houston, Sam Huff, Sonny Jurgensen, Paul Krause, Bobby Mitchell, Art Monk, John Riggins, Bruce Smith, Charley Taylor.

From the defunct NFL version of the Brooklyn Dodgers (played 1930 to 1948), 1: Clarence “Ace” Parker. At 97, he is the oldest living Pro Football Hall-of-Famer. He also played Major League Baseball, and is their 3rd-oldest living player.

Brain Drops On a Wet Wednesday

The Yankees lost the Sunday game to the Red Sox, 9-3. Then they went out to Detroit and a late rally from 5-2 down failed, 5-4 with the winning runs on base. Last night, they were rained out, so a day-night doubleheader with the Tigers today. Alfredo Aceves goes on the Disabled List.

In spite of all these injuries -- the kind that have made Met fans (and Arsenal fans) freak out, the Yankees were still even with the first-place Tampa Bay Rays in the loss column coming into today.

Update: The first game is over, and the Tigers won, 2-0. This is the first three-game losing streak for the Yankees this season. They only got 4 hits: 1 each for Cano, Posada, Swisher and Winn.

On the other hand, Javier Vazquez pitched 7 innings, allowing only 5 hits and 2 walks. He still got tagged with the loss (making him 1-4), and his ERA (though reduced today) is still 8.10. But this was an encouraging appearance. (Boone Logan pitched a scoreless 8th. Being a road game that the Yankees lost, the bottom of the 9th was not necessary.)

The Yankees fall to 21-11, a game and a half (1 in the loss column) behind Tampa Bay, and also holding the lead for the Wild Card (not that that would be my first choice as to how to get into the Playoffs) going into today's night games. The Tigers are 19-14, two and a half (2 in the loss column) behind the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central, 3 and a half behind the Yanks for the Wild Card. The Tigers are a good team: They almost made the Playoffs last season, and have at least been in the race in 2 of the last 4 seasons. There's no reason they should not still be in it this September.

Tonight's probable starting pitchers are Phil Hughes for the Good Guys, and Jeremy Bonderman for the Bless You Boys. (Or the Motor City Bengals. Or the Michigan Marauders. Or the Cadillac Cats. Or pick your own name.)

*

Based on recent comeback wins, like last night's, the Mets do seem to have more character than their 2005 to 2009 versions.

All they need now is more talent, and more health.

No, I do not want to trade Javier Vazquez for Oliver Perez. A classic "your headache for my headache trade" is not the answer for either New York team. Besides, even if, as Mike Lupica suggested in the Daily News the other day, sending Vazquez from the Yanks to the Mets would help both teams, what would the Mets send the Yanks in return? What do the Mets have that the Yanks need? The Mets aren't exactly up to their necks in reliable outfielders. Or middle relievers.

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The Atlanta Braves announced they will retire Tom Glavine's Number 47. No word from the Mets on whether they will do the same.

They could always retire Number 47 for Jesse Orosco. The difference is, Orosco got the final out of a World Series and threw his glove in the air; Glavine got only one out in a regular-season finale, blowing a Playoff berth, and Met fans wanted to throw things in the air, so long as they hit Glavine.

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Ken Griffey Jr. was caught sleeping in the Seattle Mariners' dugout. No, I'm not making that up.

Somebody suggested that this was worse than Rickey Henderson and Bobby Bonilla playing cards in the Met dugout, because "at least they were awake."

I disagree: It sounds like Griffey was trying to pay attention and failed; whereas Rickey On Behalf of Rickey and Bobby Bo "made their move" to not pay attention.

Even if your father is still alive, I think you should drop the "Junior" from your name -- and retire from playing professional sports -- if you're so in need of a nap that you literally fall asleep on the job.

Griffey has 630 career home runs. But he hasn't hit any this season, at age 40.

Then again, I'm 40 -- 27 days younger -- and I haven't hit any home runs this season, either. I also didn't hit any in the preceding 20 years (the length of Griffey's career).

We all thought he would turn out to be the new Willie Mays. Instead, with all his injuries, he turned out to be the next Mickey Mantle. (Rest in peace, Bobby Ray.)

The Mariners made a big deal of Griffey "coming home" as they looked to try to overtake the Whatever They're Calling Themselves This Season Angels of Anaheim as the leaders of the American League West. Instead, they're off to an awful first quarter of the season, and they will soon have to make a big decision as to whether to keep Junior, or talk him into retiring, or to take the decision out of his hands.

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If Junior retires, the top 10 active home-run hitters will be as follows, with their totals current through games of last night (May 11, 2010): Alex Rodriguez, 586 (tying Frank Robinson); Jim Thome, 569 (surpassing Rafael Palmeiro); Manny Ramirez, 548 (tying Mike Schmidt); Larry Wayne Jones Jr. (Chipper), 428; Vladimir Guerrero, 413; Jason Giambi, 409 (also none this season, and should pack it in); Andruw Jones, 397 (and seems to have rebounded from 3 awful seasons, with a little help from Javy Vazquez); Jim Edmonds, 384 (after sitting out 2009, is playing with Milwaukee and not doing all that badly, and I was surprised that this man, so well-known for his defense, has more career home runs than Hall-of-Famer Jim Rice); Albert Pujols, 373 (and, believe it or not, still not halfway to Hank Aaron, let alone to Barry Bonds); and Paul Konerko, 339.

Griffey has 2,779 career hits, making him 2nd among active players. The top 10: Derek Jeter (surprise!), 2,785; Griffey, 2,779; Ivan Rodriguez, 2,747; Omar Vizquel, 2,708; A-Rod, 2,563; Manny, 2,515; Garret Anderson, 2,508; Johnny Damon, 2,458; Chipper, 2,426; and Vlad, 2,289.

Griffey is the active leader in RBIs, with 1,834. If he retires, the top 10 become: Manny, 1,801 (if Griffey doesn't retire, Manny will pass him soon); A-Rod, 1,726; Thome, 1,580; Chipper, 1,452; Garret, 1,358; Vlad, 1,344; Giambi, 1,334; Pudge, 1,279; Todd Helton, 1,209; and Bobby Abreu, 1,200. Jeter? He has usually been 1st or 2nd in the order in his career, and currently ranks 19, with 1,090. But that's more than David "Big Steroid Papi" Ortiz with 1,079.

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Today, I was at the Freehold Raceway Mall in Central Jersey, going to pick up the newly-published Reggie Jackson biography. While waiting for the bus to take me back up Route 9, I saw a girl head for the mall entrance, and, knowing that smoking was not allowed inside, drop her cigarette, and crush it with her foot.

Which was wearing a flip-flop.

Suppose she had turned her ankle? And burned her foot on the lit cigarette?

Those goddamned things are dangerous to your health. In so many ways.

She was wearing flip-flops. And sweatpants. And a sweatshirt with the hood up. And shades.

Somebody from England, who I knew from a message board I used to be on, said, "You should thank God that you don't have "chav culture" in the U.S.

The hell we don't. And America's malls are Sector 001 for that.

I would have said "Ground Zero for that," but those words have a very different meaning since 2001.

Chavs make ginkers look classy by comparison.

Top 5 Reasons To Appreciate George Steinbrenner (and 3 Reasons Not To)

Today marks the publication of 2 biographies of Yankee legends: Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball, by Bill Madden, Hall of Fame writer for the New York Daily News; and Reggie Jackson: The Life and Thunderous Career of Baseball's Mr. October, by Dayn Perry of Fox Sports.

Along with on-again, off-again manager Billy Martin and broadcaster Phil Rizzuto, they were the men who marked the fandom of my youth. From October 1976, when the Yankees won their first Pennant of my lifetime (with Reggie in the press box as part of ABC's broadcast team), and the following month when George signed Reggie, to 1988, when I was finally old enough to go to games on my own, with Billy fired for the 5th and last time and Reggie newly retired as a player, they were always there -- as were such stars of other teams like Tom Seaver, Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, Carlton Fisk, George Brett.

A weird thing happened yesterday: I was reading Madden's book Pride of October: What It Was to Be Young and a Yankee, while listening to Mike Francesca on WFAN, and Madden came on to be interviewed to plug his book about George. That's a weird thing, to be reading someone's book and then to hear their voice -- and no, I'm not talking about audiobooks, either. In such an eventuality, you expect to hear the voice of the author. (Assuming the recording was made while the author was still alive.)

Madden gave some hints as to George's health, which has been a topic of speculation ever since his public appearances and statements became less frequent. He says George has suffered a series of strokes which have resulted in brain damage, giving him dementia similar to Alzheimer's disease.

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I have had my problems with George Michael Steinbrenner III. Contrary to the words of Paul Anka (who wrote "My Way" for Frank Sinatra, and of course it was masterfully done by Elvis Presley as well)... Regrets? I've had a few, and they're not too few to mention. Let me mention three:

1. He's often treated his employees very badly. He's said that he never asks anyone to work any harder than he does, and, to his credit, while he was working, he did work hard. Call him any name in the book, as long as it's not a variation on "lazy." Fine, ask people to work hard. But don't lose your cool when things aren't precisely to your specifications. Such an occasion is a time to speak calmly. To guide. To teach, in effect.

This is one of the things George and I actually have in common. I have also been known to lose my temper over little things. One of the easiest ways to get me to flip out when I was young was to say, "It's only a game." Right, something that's "only a game" turns into a multi-billion-dollar industry. Something that's "only a game" results in some of the finest writing in the English language and some terrific films, fictional, based-on-true-stories, and documentary.

We fans all think we could run our teams, whatever the sport, better than the owner(s). But would we? Surely, we would all flip our lids at the least little thing. Check out WFAN, particularly the Met fans calling in: One week, the manager is a bum, he has to be fired; the next, he's a genius; the next, he's a bum again and they gotta get him outta there. And that's when the manager has not been changed. The difference between ordinary fans thinking this way and George Steinbrenner thinking this way is that George had the power to make it happen.

2. The Howie Spira situation. George and Dave Winfield had a contract dispute. Dave was brave enough to stand up to George over it, and smart enough to find out how, in a way that drove George bananas. Bananas enough to appeal (sorry for the atrocious pun) to Spira, a private detective and compulsive gambler, and pay him $40,000 for damaging information on Dave. Apparently, Spira never found it, but the result was that George traded Dave, Spira talked, and Commissioner Fay Vincent suspended George.

I wonder what would have happened if Spira had not also been a gambler. Sports, and particularly baseball, have been nutso about gambling from the beginning, well before the 1919-21 Black Sox Scandal.

3. The loss of the original Yankee Stadium. Forgotten now are George's constant threats to move the Yankees to New Jersey, mainly because, as usual, the State Legislature was really screwed up at the time, and couldn't find a way to build a ballpark at the Meadowlands Sports Complex or anywhere else. George worked with then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani to build a superstadium atop the West Side Rail Yards, across 33rd Street from the Jacob J. Javits Convention Center and a short stroll from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. The stadium would have been home to the Yankees, the Jets, and the 2012 Olympics. When Giuliani left office without getting it approved, new Mayor Michael Bloomberg took up the idea.

But negotiations fell through, and George made a new deal, to build a new stadium across 161st Street from Yankee Stadium. Once New York was rejected as the site of the 2012 Olympics (they'll be in London), the Jets backed out of the stadium deal, and got together with the Giants, and made a deal with the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority to build a new stadium next to Giants Stadium.

That stadium is now nearly complete, and already hosting events (international soccer, college lacrosse and, in the coming days, its first concert, by Bon Jovi), and will take up football in the fall. The new Yankee Stadium is in its second season. So is Citi Field. The Prudential Center has completed its third season. Steinbrenner's monument to himself is up. John Mara's monument to his father Wellington/Woody Johnson's monument to himself is up. Fred Wilpon's monument to the Brooklyn Dodgers is up. Sharpe James' coat of paint on his rusted city is up. Bloomberg's monument to himself will have to be not a stadium but his own failed mayoralty.

Still, I never wanted to lose the old Yankee Stadium. As good a job as was done on the new one, it is a terrible thing that the old one is gone. I've said many times that I didn't know who George was really building it for. If it's for the fans, most of us didn't want to lose the old Stadium. If it's for himself, how much longer would George live? How long would he enjoy it? I've said that he will have to answer to God for this. Well, if Bill Madden is correct about George's health, then he has already suffered enough.

*

But let me give you...

The Top 5 Reasons to Appreciate George Steinbrenner

5. He Brought the Yankees Back. Twice. The second time, it was from his own screwups. But the first time, the Yankees were without question the second team in New York. They had fallen so far off the radar of championship contention, that they might as well have been, if not the Philadelphia Athletics (they didn't move), then certainly what the Toronto Maple Leafs have become, or what the Green Bay Packers were before Mike Holmgren came in.

He made the Yankees matter again, and then he made them Champions again. He, and general manager Gabe Paul, and manager Billy Martin, and the players they brought together. They made the Yankees back into The New York Yankees.

4. Charity. George founded the Silver Shield Foundation, to aid widows and orphans of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty. He's given local kids jobs. He saved the careers of several given-up-on players. He's given more than anybody realizes, because, in this regard, he is genuinely humble.

3. George is actually more loyal than people realize. He usually felt guilty about letting people go. He usually offered them other jobs in the organization, and very few ever left him on bad terms. Bob Lemon became a Yankee scout. Lou Piniella became general manger. So did Clyde King. Gene Michael became chief scout and later general manager. Bucky Dent and Stump Merrill, who had both managed Yankee farm clubs before becoming big-league manager, would manage Yankee farm clubs again. And, of course, George could never send Billy Martin away for good.

In early 1999, broadcaster Suzyn Waldman said to him, "I'd like to talk to you about Yogi." And George, thinking of the then-dying Joe DiMaggio, said, "Why? What's wrong?" Suzyn later said she knew instantly that George was open to repairing the rift with Yogi. George went to Yogi's museum at Montclair State University, apologized for sending Clyde King to fire him instead of telling him himself, and Yogi, as only Yogi can do, said, "It's over." They've been okay ever since.

Even Ralph Houk and Buck Showalter later accepted that George wanted to mend fences. I don't think Bill Virdon and Dallas Green, both still alive, hold any grudges with him. As far as I know, the only manager George has ever fired who still held a grudge was Dick Howser; since he's dead now, it's hard to say if they ever patched things up. Joe Torre? I guess only Joe knows for sure, but I can't imagine Joe holding a grudge.

Players? Reggie Jackson and Dave Winfield patched things up with him -- although I notice Dave's Number 31 is still in circulation and he doesn't yet have a Monument Park Plaque. Bobby Murcer and Mel Stottlemyre straightened things out with him, although in both of their cases it was likely Gabe Paul who was the guiding force in getting rid of them in the 1974-75 off-season; Mel and George had a later falling-out that's been repaired.

George was a nut. But, as he often said, he was not an ogre.

2. He Loves New York. "They're battlers," he's often said of his Yankees, "and New York is a city of battlers. You battle for everything in this town: For cabs, for tables in a restaurant, for everything." I wonder if he's ever watched people negotiate with ticket scalpers outside The Stadium. If he has, then that'll just back him up more. He never really wanted to go to New Jersey. (Maybe if he'd known in the 1980s that there was a New Jersey native living in Michigan who would be the linchpin of his next dynasty, kid name of Jeter.)

And Reason Number 1 is obvious:

1. He Wants to Win. He loves money, to be sure. He loves power, to be even more sure. But he knows that money comes from winning, every bit as much as the other way around. As I said, he ran the team as if he were a fan. And he has truly appreciated it when they've won. At every victory celebration from 1976 to 2003, he would say what a great thing it was for Yankee Fans and for the City of New York.

George Steinbrenner got it. Would that every owner did. Especially the ones who are even wealthier and choose not to spend that much.

Politics Trumps Sports

President Barack Obama appointed Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court, replacing the retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.

Apparently, he's still trying to embrace bipartisanship. His previous nominee, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, is a Yankee Fan, while Justice-designate Kagan is a Met fan.

I used to think Yankee Fans and Met fans hated each other more than Democrats and Republicans do. But after the vile hatred spewed forth by the right wing since Bill Clinton was elected in 1992, and especially since Obama was elected in 2008, I no longer think so.

And yet, every source I'm hearing suggests that Kagan's confirmation will be easier than Sotomayor's, which was tainted with suggestion from white Southern right-wing men that she was a racist. (I think they were just mad that, as a federal judge, she was the one who issued the injunction that forced baseball team owners to back down, ending the Strike of '94. A lot of baseball team owners, then and now, are big Republican donors. George W. Bush then owned the Texas Rangers.)

*

In spite of my baseball leanings, I support Justice-designate Kagan's appointment. Politics trumps sports. Seriously.

I've always enjoyed watching Massachusetts politicians, and have particularly admired the Kennedy family, even though they're mostly Red Sox fans.

When the Chicago Bulls played the Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals, and when they played the Utah Jazz in the 1997 and '98 Finals, I was heavily in favor of the Bulls, not because of Michael Jordan, but because Chicago is a liberal Democratic city while Arizona and Utah are heavily conservative Republican States.

I always root against Florida teams -- and have even before the 2000 Presidential election, when Governor John Ellis "Jeb" Bush fixed their vote for his brother. While I'm not old enough to remember the Miami Dolphins' titles of the 1970s, I rooted against them when they played the Washington Redskins in 1983 and the San Francisco 49ers in 1985; for the Houston Rockets against the Orlando Magic in 1995; for the Colorado Avalanche against the Florida Panthers in 1996; for the Cleveland Indians against the Florida Marlins in 1997; of course, for the Yankees over the Marlins in 2003; for the Calgary Flames against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004; for the Philadelphia Phillies against the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008.

Occasionally, I may root for Florida State. But never for the University of Florida or the University of Miami. Unless they play each other, in which case I hold my nose and root for the Gators. The Hurricanes are scum. Such scum that, in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, I actually rooted for Penn State to beat them. (I have never rooted for Penn State again. If I ever have to choose between (SC)UM and the Shittany Lions again, I think I may have to root for (SC)UM.)

You may have noticed that some of these were before November 2000. Well, I've been to Florida, and it's just too damn hot. And full of old people who don't know how to drive. (As opposed to New Jersey, Mike?) We're not as bad as Florida.

I've made two exceptions in Florida-based Finals: The first was in 2003, in Super Bowl XXXVII, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Oakland Raiders. I'm sorry, but no matter how liberal California's East Bay is, I do not root for Da Raiduhs. The A's, maybe; the Warriors, possibly; the Raiders, never. They are evil, and what's worse, they enjoy it.

The second was in 2009, when the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Orlando Magic. I was able to rationalize picking conservative Central Florida over liberal L.A. by the fact that Florida did vote for Obama in 2008. Besides, how can anybody root for Kobe Bryant? What's worse, he'll get into the Basketball Hall of Fame. I hope the commentators talk about what he did in Colorado at least as much as they talked about Lawrence Taylor's peccadilloes (the ones he already had at that point) when he got into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In the 2006 NBA Finals, I unsuccessfully rooted for the Dallas Mavericks over the Miami Heat. Me, root for a Dallas team? The home town of the Cowboys? Of Bush's Rangers? Of Norm Green's (Norm Greed's) Stars and Derian "Hatchetman" Hatcher? A, I still wanted to punish Jeb Bush's State for how it fucked up the 2000 Presidential election; and B, I like Mark Cuban, because he pisses off other team owners. He's bipartisan, having made big donations to candidates as conservative as Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, and as liberal as Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren of San Jose, California.

Those of you familiar with Canada may ask why I supported the Flames over the Lightning for the 2004 Stanley Cup, when Alberta is Canada's only truly conservative Province, what with all the oil making them "Canada's Texas." Sorry, but even Albertans support Canada's social safety net.

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"But Mike," you may ask, "Didn't Yankee owner George Steinbrenner make contributions to Richard Nixon in 1972? And didn't he get convicted over it?" Well, yes. But he got dragooned into it, in connection with his shipbuilding contracts. Hard to defend George on this one, but it was hardly all his fault.

And Robert Wood Johnson IV (a.k.a. Woody Johnson), owner of the New York Jets, is a major Republican contributor. But I'm not a Jets fan. Besides, you have to look at a team's fan base. If, say, the Green Bay Packers (of Wisconsin, a State so liberal even its Republicans tend to wear the "Progressive" label) are playing, say, the Cincinnati Bengals (Cincinnati being the home town of the Taft family and one of the few big cities, especially outside the Sun Belt, that is truly conservative), then I take the Packers. Even if Mark Chmura turned out to be the football equivalent of a Republican Congressman.

Good luck, Justice-designate Kagan. In your hearings, anyway.

*

Chelsea beat Wigan 8-0 (even bad teams playing great teams usually don't lose that badly in top-division soccer) and won the Premier League. Captain Adultery himself, John Terry, lifted the trophy. Oh well, better them than Manchester United.

Arsenal won their finale, and arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur blew a 2-0 lead against relegated Burnley, and lost 4-2. So Arsenal finish 3rd, Tottenham 4th. Happy St. Totteringham's Day.

Rest in peace, Lena Horne. I read somewhere that a movie about her life was in the works, but stalled when their intended star, Janet Jackson, got in a little trouble during a Super Bowl. I wanted Alicia Keys to take her place: They don't sound much alike (like Janet does?), but she looks a little like the young Lena, and is an amazing singer. Alicia would have been a lot better as Lena Horne than Pink (as much as I like her) would have been as Janis Joplin (another project that collapsed around the same time).

On this episode of Sesame Street, Lena sang "Bein' Green" with Kermit the Frog.

Nobody's Perfect, Not Even a Perfect Fool

First the good news: The Tampa Bay Rays lost this afternoon, 4-0 to the Oakland Athletics. This means the Yankees are now tied with the Rays for first place, a game ahead of them in the loss column. Pending tonight's game with the Red Sox, of course.

Now for the weird part: The winning pitcher for the A's was Dallas Braden. The guy who whined like a bitch when Alex Rodriguez crossed his mound the other day. He pitched... a perfect game.

We Yankee Fans said, "Accomplish something in the major leagues, then you can talk." Well, he listened.

These are some of the pitchers who have thrown perfect games in the major leagues: Cy Young, Addie Joss, Ernie Shore, Jim Bunning, Sandy Koufax, Catfish Hunter, Tom Browning, Dennis Martinez, Kenny Rogers, David Wells, David Cone, Randy Johnson, Mark Buhrle.

But you know who else pitched a perfect game? Charley Robertson. Don Larsen. Len Barker. Mike Witt.

Larsen did it for the Yankees in the World Series, so we remember him. Witt burned out. Barker threw a once-in-a-lifetime game, and other than that he was hopelessly wild. And Robertson? Anybody know anything else about him? Seeing as how he did it in 1922, probably not.

In other words, Braden has now done something worth remembering, but he's still a clown.

In the immortal words of Huey Lewis, "Nobody's perfect, not even a perfect fool."