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Bar Chat

06/19/2017

Koepka Captures A Major

 [Posted Sunday p.m.]

Yankees Quiz, part deux: Ten have hit 250 home runs in a Yankees uniform.  Name them.  Answer below.

U.S. Open

After three rounds....

Brian Harman -12
Justin Thomas -11
Brooks Koepka -11
Tommy Fleetwood -11
Rickie Fowler -10
Si Woo Kim -9
Patrick Reed -8
Russell Henley -8
Charley Hoffman -8

All of the above shot 68 or better on Saturday, remarkable stuff.  [In the previous 116 U.S. Opens, only six players had ever reached 10-under or lower, and here at Erin Hills we have five.]

Including the stupendous 63 by Justin Thomas, just the fifth player to shoot 63 in a U.S. Open after eagling the 18th hole from 8 feet. This Open has been criticized for lack of ‘buzz’ at the top of the leaderboard, with all the ‘stars’ having missed the cut, but Thomas would be a terrific champion given the great start to the season he had and given the fact the 24-year-old is just one big win from putting himself right up there officially with the other young superstars.

So what would happen?

Brooks Koepka is what happened.  He fired a superb 67 to run away with it in the end, his second PGA Tour title and first major.  Every good golf fan has been waiting for the 27-year-old to break through and with the win he is now No. 10 in the world, up from 22 when the week began.

Koepka -16...67
Matsuyama -12...66
Harman -12...72
Fleetwood -11...72

Fowler -10...72
Haas -10...69...Go Deacs!

Thomas -8...75

The key in the final round for Koepka was a critical great par putt on No. 13, and then he used the momentum from that to birdie 14-16...game over.

Koepka had had three top-5s in majors before today.  This afternoon he officially ‘arrived.’

Tidbits:

--The other 63s in a U.S. Open were Johnny Miller 8-under 63 in the final round at Oakmont, 1971, which he won; Tom Weiskopf’s 63 at the 1980 opening round at Baltusrol; Jack Nicklaus’, also that year at Baltusrol, as he won; and Vijay Singh’s 63 at the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields, which he didn’t win.

It was the 31st score of 63 in major championship history, including Henrik Stenson’s final-round 63 for the win at The Open at Troon last year.  It’s still remarkable no one has ever gone lower.

--Koepka won $2.16 million for his victory, which means his caddie will earn $216,000.

--Kudos to 50-year-old Steve Stricker, who went through the qualifying round to gain a spot, for finishing T-16 with a 69-69 weekend.

--So who was missing this weekend? The world’s top-3 ranked players, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day, along with major champions Danny Willett, Jason Dufner, Jimmy Walker, Angel Cabrera, Graeme McDowell, Bubba Watson, Lucas Glover, Charl Schwartzel, Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott and Justin Rose.  Plus budding superstar Jon Rahm and young gun Daniel Berger, all failed to make the cut.  And European star Alex Noren, who came in at No. 8 in the world rankings.

Rory McIlroy (78-71) said: “The golf course is great, it really is. I’m a big fan of this place.  It’s a big, big golf course, with long rough and all that stuff, but it lets you play.  It lets you be aggressive, you can get on runs where you can make birdies. Not your typical U.S. Open setup, but I’m a big fan.”

I think after watching the tournament, despite the lack of drama at the end, we all are fans of Erin Hills and look for another Open there within 14 years.

MLB

--The Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka was signed to a massive $155 million, 7-year contract back on Jan. 22, 2014, and while he has often been injured, in his first three seasons he rewarded the Yanks in going 39-16, including 14-4, 3.07 ERA last season.  I can’t emphasize enough that the Yankees go nowhere without him as an ace this year and now after getting shelled again on Saturday, 5 earned in 4 innings, he is 5-7, with a 6.34 ERA, having given up 21 home runs in just 76 2/3 innings!  Good lord, that’s hideous.

And here’s the thing, he is owed $67 million for 2018-2020.  You think management is a bit worried over the prospects of eating this if he doesn’t turn it around, or goes down to serious surgery, which has been looming in the background the past two seasons?

An ace is supposed to stop losing streaks, but with New York’s 5-2 loss to Oakland yesterday, the Yanks had lost five in a row. Suddenly, with the loss of CC Sabathia to a hamstring injury, and the bullpen spent in the absence of Aroldis Chapman, what seemed like a dream season, led by phenom Aaron Judge, just a week ago now has major red flags.

But Chapman returned on Sunday. Did it make a difference?

No, the Yanks lost their sixth in a row, 4-3, and their lead over the Red Sox was reduced to ½ game as Boston faced off against Houston tonight.

The Yankees also learned that top prospect Gleyber Torres suffered a left elbow injury Saturday playing for AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and no word yet on how serious it is.  [X-rays were negative but he’ll be examined Monday.]  Torres was likely to come up at mid-season to play third.

--Boston’s Rick Porcello was 22-4, 3.15, in winning the Cy Young Award.  This year he is 3-9, 5.05 ERA, allowing 26 earned runs on 58 hits over his last 37 1/3 (six starts).  Very similar situation to the Yankees with Tanaka.  Boston has to keep running him out there.

[I have to note that in Boston’s 1-0 loss to the Phillies on Thursday, Red Sox hurler Chris Sale was his usual excellent self, 8 innings, 10 strikeouts, but he’s 8-3, 2.82, receiving zero offensive support.]

--As for my Metsies, I was really looking forward to the 4-game series with the Nationals at Citi Field this weekend, the Mets having had a dramatic win over the Cubs on Wednesday to pull within 8 ½ and, what the heck, if they could take 3 of 4 we have meaningful baseball in July, and hopefully after.

Wrong.  Season over.  The Mets lost the first three by a combined score of 22-9, with the Nats outscoring the Mets 66-33 in the first nine games between the two this year (Washington leading the series 7-2), hitting 23 homers over those 9.

And the last few days, the Mets put three more on the disabled list; Matt Harvey, Neil Walker and Juan Lagares, Lagares finally earning some playing time with solid all-around play.

But Sunday, the Mets rolled out their designated daytime starter, Jacob deGrom, and he threw 8 innings of 1-run ball, 0 earned, as the Mets won 5-1 to cut the deficit with Washington back to 10 ½.

DeGrom is now a stupendous 16-4, 1.71 ERA, in day games as a Met (32 starts).

Separately, the Mets recently drafted left-handed pitcher David Peterson out of Oregon in the first round and the significance here is that Johnny Mac and I are assuming Oregon cheerleaders are part of the move.  I think they could be a perfect replacement for Mr. Met, maybe have them intern from mid-May to mid-August when school is out and let Mr. Met take the other months.

--The Minnesota Twins deserve credit for the coolest fan giveaway Friday... “Prince Night” ...where the first 10,000 fans at Target Field received a Prince umbrella, purple on top, of course, with a cool Prince scene on the inside.

During the seventh-inning stretch, fans opened their umbrellas and sang along to “Purple Rain.”

And now those umbrellas are a huge collector’s item.

--So I’ve written of baseball’s aging demographic in terms of viewership and now a study from the Sports Business Journal and marketing consultant Magna Global reveals that the average age of MLB viewers on television is 57, up from 53 a decade ago.  Yikes.  And children under 18 make up a smaller portion of the overall audience than ever.  Double yikes.

Actually, baseball isn’t the only sport suffering from the age issue. The average age of golf and men’s tennis viewers is 64 and 61, respectively.  The NBA is still relatively youthful at 42, while the NFL is at 50.  [Emily Bary / Barron’s]

--A program record eight Wake Forest Demon Deacons were selected in the 2017 MLB Draft!  Four were selected in the top 10 rounds. The previous record was six in 2012.  Very cool.  I just hope one of them makes it all the way to the big show for at least a five-year run.

Actually, one of Wake’s high school signees, Shane Muntz, a catcher, was taken by the Padres as well, but since he was a 36th-round selection, it seems he’ll be in Winston-Salem.

--In the College World Series, which is double-elimination, Saturday, Oregon State defeated Cal State-Fullerton 6-5, and LSU edged Florida State 5-4.

Sunday, Louisville beat Texas A&M 8-4, as your editor pulls for FSU and Louisville to defend the honor of the ACC.

--Lastly, Oregon State pitcher Luke Heimlich, who is staying away from Omaha due to the discovery of his past and his conviction in 2012 for molesting a six-year-old girl the year before when he was 15, was not selected in the MLB Draft, 40 rounds, when he was slated to go in the first two, maybe three rounds.

I’ve thought a lot about this case the last week.  Oregon State has some explaining to do in how he ended up at the school, and what they knew and when.

But otherwise, I won’t give my own opinion....I do wish I knew more about what has transpired in Heimlich’s life since 2012.

And I do give Oregon State President Ed Ray credit for offering to take Heimlich back for his senior year.

“I concur with this decision (of announcing Heimlich wouldn’t play in Omaha) as to do otherwise would certainly serve as a disruption and distraction to the team due to the significant public scrutiny that this matter has attracted. As well, I am mindful of the need for providing safety for all concerned that otherwise might be at risk during times of heightened emotions,” Ray’s statement read.

“If Luke wishes to do so, I support him continuing his education at Oregon State and rejoining the baseball team next season.”

I do believe this would be best for all parties and give us more time to think...and learn...about the boy.   

NBA

You know what’s funny?  Even among those of us who normally can’t stand the NBA, or at least the regular season, there is a buzz surrounding Thursday’s NBA Draft like no other; not only because it is so deep, but you have the whole Lonzo Ball, will the Lakers select him, angle.

And now you have the intrigue that the Sixers acquired the No. 1 overall pick from Boston (official Monday) for a package that includes the No. 3 choice Thursday and future first-round picks, just so the Sixers can select Washington PG Markelle Fultz, who the team believes completes a dream team of sorts of their own with Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Dario Saric...IF THEY STAY HEALTHY!!!

It would be great for the NBA to have a good team in Philly, re-creating an ancient rivalry with Boston, and adding another team to compete against Cleveland.  As Mark R. and I were reminiscing over the weekend, those old Philadelphia teams of the ‘60s were great fun in those Sunday national TV matchups with Boston.  [I’d throw the Knicks in the mix, but one need not get carried away...New York will remain irrelevant for the next 20 years and I’ll be dead when they’re in their next Final.]

Meanwhile, the Celtics, who don’t need a point guard, already having Isaiah Thomas, thus the willingness to pass on Fultz, are now sweet on Kansas forward Josh Jackson.  What NBA scouts love about him, aside from his awesome raw talent, is he plays terrific defense.  Danny Ainge loves him...that should be enough for Celtics fans.

But now the real drama concerns Lonzo Ball, and dad, and how the Lakers appear to be souring on taking him with their No. 2 pick.  It would be crushing to the Ball Family’s marketing and endorsement plans for Lonzo not to be a Laker and have the L.A. market.

I keep saying De’Aaron Fox will be a better pro and as I go to post Sunday night, knowing the next few days could be chaotic, it’s suddenly possible the Lakers could take De’Aaron. God, I wish the Knicks had a shot at the guy.

As for New York at No. 8, now it’s looking like they might not even get Kentucky’s Malik Monk, who could go earlier as he moves up on some lists.

--Following the Warriors’ triumph in the Finals, the team issued a statement that while it had not been formally invited to the White House, it “will make those decisions when and if necessary.”

So Steph Curry said, “I wouldn’t go.”

Since Trump came into office, the Patriots and Clemson Tigers have visited, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, bless their souls, said of course they would go if invited, but the Warriors players oppose it.

Curry was actually the first to say so in February, when asked a hypothetical at the time.  Kevin Durant hasn’t given his definitive opinion yet. Andre Iguodala said, “We’re going to do what our leader [Curry] does.”

Separately, it appears Steve Kerr is going to be back as coach, despite his health issues, as Kerr told ESPN he hopes to be on the bench for many years to come.

--Jerry West, who has been an executive board member and advisor with the Golden State Warriors the last six seasons, will serve in the same capacity with the Los Angeles Clippers in a blow to the Lakers.

West is 79, but age doesn’t matter in this instance.  “I don’t feel old,” he said.  “I feel really competitive.”

West said he’s done all he can at Golden State, where he was very instrumental in acquiring Kevin Durant, and he wants a new challenge.

Recall, West was a terrific GM with the Lakers after his Hall of Fame playing career.  There is simply no one more respected man in the sport, period.  [Plus, seriously, have you ever heard a bad word about him?]

--Back to the Warriors, they had quite a celebration. According to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Ron Kroichick, they went through at least 300 bottles of champagne, many of them of the $1,200-a-pop Moet variety.

One night earlier, though, the Pittsburgh Penguins repeated as champions and at their celebration, they were chugging $10 bottles of Korbel.  Yet another reason to love hockey players...and loathe their NBA brethren.

--In the college game, the NCAA came down hard on Louisville and its coach, Rick Pitino, saying the school didn’t go far enough with its self-imposed sanctions following a sex scandal investigation, so the governing body Thursday laid down some more and Pitino is outraged.

After completing its investigation of Katina Powell’s allegations that she and other escorts were hired to have sex parties and strip for Louisville recruits and players, which the NCAA described as “repugnant,” Pitino was given a five-game suspension, which is less than Jim Boeheim and Larry Brown for their recent transgressions, both receiving nine games.

But Louisville is appealing the decision, with Pitino saying: “Not only was this unjust and over the top in its severity, but I’ve lost a lot of faith in the NCAA.”

Pitino was suspended specifically for five ACC games, but Louisville also needs to vacate wins in which ineligible players participated, while the NCAA placed the basketball program on four years’ probation.

Here’s the thing that should upset any basketball fan. The NCAA is still contemplating whether to vacate the Cardinals’ 2013 national championship, which is no doubt the big reason why Pitino and the school are appealing.  Players deemed ineligible would be those involved in the sex parties, which are considered impermissible benefits.

It would be beyond outrageous to take away Louisville’s title.  Personally, I’d have to riot.

I’ve written countless times before the act of taking wins away from a school or coach, unless they were involved in something like a point-shaving scandal, is just absurd because every fan knows who won the games in question.

As for the suspension given Pitino, I believe that part is totally appropriate and a significant enough penalty because it is five conference games.  The length of the probation I’d reduce to two years.

Stuff

--Kyle Larson took his third career NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series win at Michigan, winning from the pole.

--Andre Ward, the former Olympic gold medal winner, defeated rival Sergey Kovalev Saturday night in Las Vegas with an eighth-round technical knockout, thus unifying the light-heavyweight world title, Ward now 32-0, 16 knockouts, while Kovalev fell to 30-2-1.

But hours after, Main Events CEO Kathy Duva, who promotes Kovalev, said she was filing a protest with the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Monday because Ward, she claims, hit below the belt three times in the deciding eighth.

“I’m still having a hard time processing what I just witnessed,” Duva said.  “I saw someone who should have been disqualified get his hand held up.  [Kovalev] got hit with three low blows, four actually, in the last round.  We asked the commission for an instant replay analysis, and they did not give it to us.”

To be continued....

But this bout should have been major stuff, and had it been on HBO I would have watched, though it was completely overshadowed by the hype over the coming fight between Floyd Mayweather and Connor McGregor, now officially set for Aug. 26 in Vegas, that I for one refuse to give a damn about.  ‘Real’ boxing fans know this is a true farce, but it is sucking the wind (and $dollars) out of what otherwise should be a great rest of 2017 for boxing with some terrific fights lined up the rest of the way.  [Yes, boxing is back.  Good.]

Las Vegas oddsmakers have the fight being a bloodbath, with Mayweather, 49-0, wiping the floor with McGregor.

You see, while McGregor is one of the UFC’s best punchers, he’s never trained as a boxer before this year and experts feel like what he’ll be doing against Mayweather is like stepping to the plate against Clayton Kershaw after a few trips to the batting cages.  [Or think Tim Tebow’s baseball experience thus far...it hasn’t been good, and yet he’s an outstanding athlete and in great shape physically.]

Plus McGregor’s longest-ever MMA fight lasted five rounds and the fight is slated for 12.  He’ll also be carrying 10-ounce gloves rather than the 4-ounce MMA gloves and the boxing gloves will feel like bricks.

Plus he’s going up against one of the best defenders in boxing history.

The contract McGregor signed for the bout expressly prohibits any MMA moves, such as kicking away an opponent that gives you time to plot your next move.

But McGregor is a lefty and Mayweather has had trouble with southpaws, so maybe this is an advantage for McGregor.

Bottom line, don’t waste your money.

--Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has expressed interest in exiting Real Madrid, according to multiple media outlets in Europe.

Ronaldo is signed through 2021 and had previously said he wanted to end his career at Real, but because the club hasn’t backed him while he’s been under scrutiny for tax fraud he’s duly miffed.  This could be interesting.

So I started to dream...how about Ronaldo coming to the MLS, play with NYC FC or the LA Galaxy, a la Pele and his big splash long ago.

I mean Ronaldo has nothing more to prove in the sport, and he would juice the MLS in America in a truly transformative way.

But, alas, I’m guessing if he leaves, he could return to the Premier League...assuming someone can afford the record transfer fee.

--Ivan Fandino, 36, a Spanish bullfighter, was gored to death during a festival in southwest France. Fandino caught his feet in his cloak and fell to the floor, where he was gored by the bull.

He suffered a lung injury and died on his way to the hospital from a heart attack on Saturday, according to French media and the BBC.

Fandino was reportedly the first matador to die in France in a century. The Basque-born matador had already taken part in a competition earlier in the day before he was injured.

Last July, bullfighter Victor Barrio, 29, became the first matador to die in Spain in 30 years after he was gored during an event being aired live on television.

Long-time readers know as a 12-year-old I went with my family to a bullfight in Spain and to this day, I was never more scared watching something live as I was sitting there that day.  

I do understand how most people these days find it barbaric, but back in 1970, bullfighters in Spain were elevated to amazing hero status.  I remember buying a postcard with El Cordobes’ photo when I was there that I kept on my bulletin board at home for years after.  [He was a true legend.]

--Brad K. passed along this piece from Janet Tappin Coelho of the Daily Mail.

“Bathers in Brazil have been savaged in a wave of horrific attacks by piranhas scavenging for food near popular holiday resorts.

“Scores of tourists have complained to local authorities that they are not doing enough to warn of the threats of shoals of the predatory fish.

“Last Saturday a young woman had a chunk of flesh bitten out of the sole of her foot by the omnivorous six-inch red-eye species after swimming off the Praia de Cristo in north east Brazil....

“The 22-year-old was rushed to hospital suffering from shock and heavy blood loss from the open wound.”

Can you say infection?  Piranha are like the Komodo dragon...full of bad stuff.

Over forty have been attacked by piranha in the region in the past year.

Did you know that piranha, No. 212 on the All-Species List, “can small blood up to two milies away, devour cattle to the bone in a matter of minutes, and pound for pound,” has a bite that “is more powerful than a great white shark’s and three times stronger than an alligator’s?”  It’s true, boys and girls.

--From Cindy Boren / Washington Post:

“A Maine woman learned the hard way that raccoons are not the adorable creatures she always believed them to be.

“In a scene she likened to something out of a Stephen King novel, Rachel Borch was out for a run on a wooded trail near her home when she was attacked by a rabid raccoon.  Faced with having no other choice, she fought it off, killing it with her bare hands by holding it in a puddle of water as it gripped onto her hand with its teeth and clawed and scratched at her.  Borch, who lives in Hope, Maine, told the Bangor Daily News that her run was lovely, ordinary and peaceful...until it wasn’t.

“ ‘Imagine the Tasmanian devil,’ the 21-year-old said.  ‘It was terrifying.’

“At that point on a path too narrow for both of them, the raccoon lunged at her.  She knew instantly that she was going to be bitten and its behavior as it moved around her feet indicated that the animal was probably rabid.  It latched onto her thumb with its teeth and refused to let go, its paws scratching her arms and legs and she screamed.  Borch had no idea what to do until she noticed that she had dropped her phone into a puddle. At that point, Borch had to do what she had to do.

“ ‘I didn’t think I could strangle [it] with my bare hands,’ she said, so, ‘with my thumb in its mouth, I just pushed its head down into the muck.’

“As it stopped moving, she pulled her thumb from its mouth and ‘bolted as fast as I could through the underbrush,’ looking over her shoulder.  ‘It felt like ‘Pet Sematary,’’ she said.”

Borch’s father later retrieved the raccoon for testing and it was indeed rabid.  Her treatment, aside from rabies shots, was immunoglobulin and tetanus injections.

Once you begin showing symptoms, rabies is almost always fatal.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that from 1983-2014, raccoons accounted for 30 percent of all rabid animal cases, followed closely by bats and skunks.

In my area everyone knows to stay away from raccoons at all times, but if you see one in the daytime, it’s almost certainly rabid.  That’s when you pull out your official Bar Chat Bazooka, manufactured specially for BC readers in Turkmenistan.  [Monogram $3 extra.]

--We note the passing of Kent “Flounder” Dorfman, aka actor Stephen Furst, who played naive Flounder in the all-time best comedy flick, “Animal House.”  [An older generation would say “Some Like It Hot,” which is our Dr. Bortrum’s pick for funniest film.]

Furst was just 63 and died of complications from diabetes.

It was John Belushi’s character, Blutarsky, who drew Flounder into a prank that went horribly wrong and ended up with the frantic Flounder shooting a horse.

Furst also appeared on “St. Elsewhere,” and was an occasional director on the 1990s sci-fi series “Babylon 5.”

--And Anita Pallenberg, the former girlfriend of Keith Richards and Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, died at the age of 75 after a long illness.  [Other records have her at 73.]

Richards wooed Pallenberg away from Brian Jones in 1967, after Jones was abusive to Anita.  This created a rift in the Stones that helped lead to his being ousted in June 1969, Jones drowning in his swimming pool a month later.

In her 1994 autobiography, Mick Jagger’s former girlfriend, Marianne Faithfull, credited Pallenberg for transforming the Stones.

Faithful wrote: “She almost single-handedly engineered a cultural revolution in London by bringing together the Stones and the jeunesse doree. 

“The Stones came away with a patina of aristocratic decadence that served as a perfect counterfoil to the raw roots blues of their music.”

Pallenberg and Richards were together for over 12 years, though they never married.  They had three children together, Marlon, now 46, whose first words, reportedly, were “room service”, and daughter Angela, now 44.  The third, a second son, died of sudden infant death syndrome in 1976.

Pallenberg sang background vocals on the classic “Sympathy for the Devil.”

Richards acknowledged her impact in his 2010 memoir, “Life.”

“I like a high-spirited woman,” he wrote.  “And with Anita, you knew you were taking on a Valkyrie – she who decides who dies in battle.”

Pallenberg was a model in Paris, appearing on the cover of Vogue in her late teens. But she didn’t like that life. She was super bright and spoke four languages. [Richards claimed it was five... “She knew everything and she could say it in five languages.  She scared the pants off me.”]

The two were arrested together in Canada in 1977 for drug possession.

In 1979, while Richards was recording abroad, Pallenberg had an affair with a 17-year-old groundskeeper at the home she and Richards shared in New York.  While in her bed, Scott Cantrell fatally shot himself in the head with a gun owned by Richards, and Pallenberg later said, “I didn’t feel anything.  That’s one of the wonders of drugs and drink.”

She and Richards split in 1980.

In a mid-2016 interview with Alain Elkann, Pallenberg said, “I am ready to die....Now I am over 70 and, to be honest, I did not think I would live over 40.”  [George Varga / Los Angeles Times]

Top 3 songs for the week 6/13/70:   #1 “The Long And Winding Road” (The Beatles...last #1 while together...)  #2 “Which Way You Goin’ Billy?” (The Poppy Family) #3 “Everything Is Beautiful” (Ray Stevens)...and...#4 Get Ready” (Rare Earth)  #5 “Love On A Two-Way Street” (The Moments)  #6 “Cecilia” (Simon & Garfunkel)  #7 “The Letter” (Joe Cocker)  #8 “Up Around The Bend” (Creedence Clearwater Revival)  #9 “Make Me Smile” (Chicago) #10 “The Love You Save” (The Jackson 5)

Yankees Quiz Answer: Ten with 250 homers in a Yankees uniform.

Babe Ruth 659
Mickey Mantle 536
Lou Gehrig 493
Joe DiMaggio 361
Yogi Berra 358
Alex Rodriguez 351...easy to forget just how many he had here. 
Bernie Williams 287
Jorge Posada 275
Derek Jeter 260
Graig Nettles 250

Next Bar Chat, Thursday...I’m going to have a bit on the importance of June 15 in Mets history that I just didn’t have time for today.

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