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12/14/2017

Eagles Fans in Agony

[Posted Wed. a.m.]

Minnesota Vikings Quiz: 1) Name the three Vikings players to have three or more 1,000-yard rushing seasons in a Vikings uniform.  2) Name the only four QBs to toss 30 or more TD passes in a single season.  Answers below.

NFL

--After I posted last time it was confirmed...Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in the Eagles’ win over the Rams and he’s out for the season. This is as bad as it gets in the NFL. Philadelphia, 11-2, was having a special season behind Wentz’ stellar play and seemingly Super Bowl bound, or at least NFC Championship game bound.

Wentz was leading the NFL in touchdown passes with 33, even as he was only in his second year.  In fact the 33, including four on Sunday, was the most for a single season in franchise history.

So Nick Foles, 28, is asked to step in and the Eagles are lucky to have him. It was in 2013 that Foles played the same role, starting 10 games in place of the injured Michael Vick, going 8-2, with 27 touchdown passes and just 2 interceptions, plus a league-leading 119.2 passer rating.  He was superb. Foles regressed some in 2014, but was still 6-2 in games he started, and then he bounced around before ending up back in Philly.  He can do the job.  [Nate Sudfeld is the current No. 2.]

Jason Gay / Wall Street Journal

If you’re a Philadelphia Eagles fan, I’ll assume you woke up Monday morning in a foggy, tormented state.  If you have a dog, or a cat, you didn’t speak to the dog, or the cat. It felt like a hangover, even if you didn’t have a hangover.

“If you didn’t have a hangover, I’m sorry.

“And I’m really sorry now – now that it’s officially confirmed that Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz is out for the season. This stinks.

“If you’re friends with a Philadelphia Eagles fan, be kind to them this week. Even if they’ve been bristly or hard to deal with in the past – show some good old-fashioned empathy for your Philly pals. Get them a comfy blanket, and a cup of coffee.  Buy them a doughnut or two, to anxiety-eat....

Sunday was torturous for Eagles Nation.  Philadelphia won again, doing it on the road versus the newly-formidable Los Angeles Rams, 43-35.  The team is now 11-2, tops in the NFC, and has clinched an otherwise-forgettable NFC East division over Dallas, Washington and New York.

“The bad news: UUGHHHHHHHH....

“Wentz is done for the season.

“UGGGGGHHHHHHHH....

“Even if traditionally sky-is-falling Eagles fans told themselves not to believe – to fear something exactly like this injury was bound to happen – the dreamy notion of Philadelphia as possibly a Team of Destiny had to cross their minds, especially after the Eagles flew out of the gates 10-1....

It’s been that kind of year in the NFL. Quarterback injuries had already reshaped seasons in Green Bay, Houston, Arizona, Indianapolis and Miami. There have been season-ending blows to other stars (J.J. Watt, Odell Beckham Jr.) and last week’s alarming spinal injury to Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier, who is still in the hospital, prognosis uncertain.

“On Sunday, the Houston backup quarterback Tom Savage appeared to suffer a concussion and some kind of seizure – only to be allowed back into the game.

This is football. Don’t buy all that happy talk about precautionary measures and building a safer game – there’s only so much that can be done for a competition in which high-velocity bodily collision is an essential constant.  Everyone on the field is at risk. Very few get through unscathed.

“For Eagles fans, an injury to Wentz is a painful way to be reminded of this fact. There’s a silver lining somewhere in here; that numerous players have recovered from ACL injuries... But that’s not great consolation amid a Philadelphia season that looked outrageously promising – until, suddenly, it doesn’t.”

--Monday night, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots lost again in Miami (6-7) 27-20 in a game that was nowhere near as close as the final score, it being 27-10 after three.

Brady, now 7-9 lifetime when playing in Miami, was picked off twice for the first time this season (both by Xavien Howard), a miserable 24/43, 233, 1-2, 59.5 overall, and the Pats were 0 for 11 on third down.

Meanwhile, having watched much of this one myself, Jay Cutler was terrific, 25/38, 263, 3-0, 112.1, while Kenyan Drake rushed for 114 yards on 25 carries, New England only having 25 yards rushing for the game itself.

The Pats thus head to Pittsburgh at 10-3 for their big faceoff against the 11-2 Steelers on Sunday.

--New England is finalizing a two-year deal with receiver Kenny Britt, who was released last week by Cleveland.  He’s a nine-year pro with just 18 catches for 233 yards and two touchdowns this season, but he had 1,006 receiving yards for the Rams in 2016.

Britt fits the Patriots’ mold of taking chances on discarded veterans.

--Sunday night, what a game...Steelers and the Ravens at Heinz Field.  Before the contest Steelers players and fans showcased their support for injured linebacker Ryan Shazier.  He is still in a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hospital after undergoing spinal stabilization surgery Wednesday.  Shazier had been carted off the field the previous Monday night after a collision in the first quarter of Pittsburgh’s 23-20 win over the Bengals.

So Sunday, in a truly wild affair, the Steelers took a 20-14 lead at half, only to have Baltimore score 17 unanswered in the third for a 31-20 lead heading into the fourth, at which point Pittsburgh got two touchdowns and two field goals, the latter from Chris Boswell, who won it with a 46-yarder at 0:42, after Le’Veon Bell had run it in from 11 to cut it to 38-36 Ravens with 3:29 left.  Final...39-38, Steelers.

Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger had a career-high 44 receptions (on 66 attempts), for 506 yards and two touchdowns, thus becoming the first in NFL history to record three games with at least 500 yards.  He had been only one of two with two 500-yard games, the other Drew Brees.

With the comeback, Roethlisberger also now has 39 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime, the most in the NFL since he began his career in 2004.

Receiver Antonio Brown had his fourth straight 100-yard game, 213 on 11 receptions, while tight end Jesse James had 10 for 97, and Bell had 9 for 77 and a touchdown out of the backfield.

Bring on New England.

--Playoff Standings....

AFC

1. Pittsburgh 11-2...your Bar Chat “Pick to Click”!
2. New England 10-3
3. Jacksonville 9-4
4. Kansas City 7-6
5. Tennessee 8-5
6. Buffalo 7-6

7. Baltimore 7-6
8. L.A. Chargers 7-6

NFC

1. Philadelphia 11-2
2. Minnesota 10-3
3. L.A. Rams 9-4
4. New Orleans 9-4
5. Carolina 9-4
6. Atlanta 8-5

7. Seattle 8-5
8. Detroit 7-6

In the hunt: Green Bay 7-6, Dallas 7-6

Huge game Saturday night, Chargers-Chiefs for the AFC West lead.

And Aaron Rodgers returns for the Packers in a do-or-die contest at Carolina on Sunday.

--As for my Jets, having lost quarterback Josh McCown for the season with a broken hand, McCown, until this past game in Denver, a pleasant surprise all year and the leader of the club both on and off the field.  He’s being replaced by Bryce Petty, who I always thought deserved an extended look and we’ll get that the final three games.

Except Petty is probably going to get creamed and the Jets, facing the Saints, Chargers and Patriots, are going to finish 5-11, after such a promising start.

Ergo, at the end we’re going to be thinking, “What the hell was that all about?”  Might as well have tanked for the No. 1 or 2 pick if you were going to end up 5-11.

How the Jets lose these last three will be important heading into the offseason, let alone for the future of head coach Todd Bowles.  I just hope we’re competitive.

--Poor Adam Vinatieri. The all-time great Indianapolis kicker, 44, who turns 45 on Dec. 28, has a clause in his contract that pays him $500,000 if he finishes the year hitting 90 percent of his field goals and entering Sunday’s game at Buffalo he was 22 of 23, 95.7 percent.

But you might have noticed, the Colts and Bills played in a blizzard and Vinatieri went 0-for-2, now 22 of 25 on the season, or 88 percent.  To hit 90, he would have to go 5-for-5 the last three games (among the simplest calculations).

It’s really not fair.  It was impossible to kick Sunday, yet Vinatieri hit a 43-yard extra point!

College Football

AP All-American team...the only one that matters....

First Team

QB – Baker Mayfield, senior, Oklahoma

RBs – Bryce Love, junior, Stanford; Rashaad Penny, senior, San Diego State

TE – Mark Andrews, junior, Oklahoma

WR – James Washington, senior, Oklahoma State; Anthony Miller, senior, Memphis (my man)

All-purpose player – Saquon Barkley, junior, Penn State

Defensive ends Bradley Chubb (N.C. State) and Clelin Ferrell (Clemson) highlight the first-team defense, with Alabama safety Minkah Fitzpatrick on it as well.

Louisville’s Lamar Jackson and Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph are the second- and third-team quarterbacks, respectively.

Jonathan Taylor (Wisconsin) and Kerryon Johnson (Auburn) are the second-team running backs; Ronald Jones II (USC) and Devin Singletary (Florida Atlantic) third team.

--On a different topic, Phil W. sent me an older piece from Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal that I hadn’t seen, written by Michael Smith, which talked about the tremendous facilities Wake Forest has been building for its sports programs; especially football, basketball and baseball...golf already largely having that, ditto soccer.  They are indeed now (or soon-to-be) as good as any in the country and this from the smallest Power Five program in terms of undergraduate enrollment.

Among the Power Five programs with under 10,000 undergrads you have:

Wake 4,805
Duke 6,485
Vanderbilt 6,813
Stanford 6,994
Northwestern 8,216
Notre Dame 8,413 [still playing football as an independent]
TCU 8,574
Boston College 9,365

College Basketball

AP Poll (Dec. 11...records as of Dec. 10)

1. Villanova (41) 10-0
2. Michigan State (19) 9-1
3. Wichita State 8-1...Bar Chat “Pick to Click” for national title
4. Duke 11-1
5. Arizona State (5) 9-0...shocking that they not only move up 11 spots, but are one of only three teams with first-place votes.
6. Miami 8-0...this isn’t football, sports fans...
7. North Carolina 9-1
8. Kentucky 8-1
9. Texas A&M 8-1
10. Xavier 9-1
13. Kansas 7-2...down from No. 2
14. TCU 10-0
15. Seton Hall 8-1...Bar Chat “Final Four” guarantee
19. Florida State 9-0

It’s exam week for most schools so the schedule is light.  Tuesday, Seton Hall improved to 9-1 with an 84-61 over fellow local Saint Peters (4-5).

Tonight, Villanova squares off against Philly rival Temple.

NBA

--My Knicks won Sunday night, at home, 111-107 over the Hawks, and then followed that up with a 113-109 win at Madison Square Garden over the Lakers behind Kristaps Porzingis’ 37 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks.

But this means the Knicks, 14-13, are now 13-5 at home, 1-8 on the road, and the 16 of 20 road-game stretch I keep referring to is looming.

As for the Laker’s Lonzo Ball making his MSG debut (with LaVar at courtside, of course), he was good...17 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and he even shot well, 6 of 13 from the field, including 3 of 6 from downtown.  The kid is the real deal, no doubt.

--Kawhi Leonard made his debut for the Spurs last night after being out with his quadriceps injury, playing 16 minutes and scoring 13 points, with 6 rebounds, but that’s all he was limited to and in the fourth quarter he was in the locker room (getting treatment) as San Antonio was outscored by Dallas 28-20, the Mavs (8-20) pulling out the win, 95-89.

--It might not be fair, but because of his New York years, there’s a feeling you can’t win with Carmelo Anthony and so many of us Knicks fans were thrilled to see him go (and then the return we received, Enes Kanter and Doug McDermott, cemented that feeling).  Oklahoma City, on the other hand, knew that Anthony wasn’t the star he once was, but he was certainly a good No. 3 with Russell Westbrook and Paul George.  There was every reason for Thunder fans to be pretty optimistic.

But it hasn’t worked out well for OKC thus far and Monday night at home was emblematic of their struggles, the Thunder giving up 64 second-half points and falling to Charlotte 116-103 to drop to 12-14.

Paul George said: “For the talent that we have, obviously this is not where we want to be.”  Melo left before the door opened up to reporters for postgame availability.  Not good.

--Monday, the Celtics lost at Chicago, 108-85, to drop to 23-6, while the 6-20 Bulls have suddenly won three in a row.

--LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball reached an agreement to play pro ball with the Lithuanian club Prienu Vytautas, the team hoping the brothers are a shot in the arm for the organization, though as ESPN’s Jeff Goodman reported, there are concerns the Ball Bros. can fit in.

The team has already said the two may not play much in the competitive Lithuanian (LKL) league, but they could see decent time in the lesser Baltic League

Talk about a culture shock, Vytauntas, or BC Prienai as it’s called, is a low-level club from a small, non-English speaking village of 10,000 in southern Lithuania.  The team has had financial problems and started out 4-8 in the LKL, 4-1 in the Baltic League.

The club plays in a 1,700-seat area; 500 of the seats being reserved for team sponsors and their friends, with tickets costing less than $7.

LaMelo is just 16, a combination-guard, and considered more talented than LiAngelo.  He is said to have NBA potential down the road.

But as Adrian Wojnarowski and Jonathan Givony write for ESPN.com on LiAngelo: “He projected as a mid-major college player out of high school and wasn’t expected to be in UCLA’s regulation rotation.  He would be expected to struggle to add any value in the Lithuanian or Baltic leagues....(he) is a limited ball handler and defender, and plays strictly below the rim.”

Your editor also plays below the rim.

Bottom line, we shouldn’t be hearing much about these two for a while, and that’s a good thing.

MLB

--Yahoo Sports first reported that Shohei Ohtani has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow, which isn’t supposed to cost him any time in 2018, but this is a significant development.  A physical exam Nov. 28 in Tokyo, that was then distributed to teams bidding on Ohtani, revealed a grade one sprain of his right UCL, and his representatives said he had received a platelet rich plasma injection on Oct. 20.

The sprain doesn’t mean Tommy John surgery is inevitable, but such a procedure would shelve him 1 ½ years.  Current Yankee hurler Masahiro Tanaka has been pitching for over a year with a partial tear of the UCL and has been fine, but all Yankees fans are waiting for the day he takes the mound for warmup pitches between innings and then walks off.

--Giancarlo Stanton was introduced as a Yankee on Monday at the MLB Winter Meetings in Florida (not before solely the New York press) and among the things he commented on was an appraisal of the Marlins.  Before taking the podium he ripped his now-former team for being unprofessional at times, calling them a “circus.”  Stanton then told the press:

“You guys are the media,” he said.  “You’ve seen what’s gone on down there. What I mainly meant is just no structure, no stamp of this is how things are going to be. It’s a different direction every spring training.  You’ve got to learn something new. Every spring a different manager, every spring, every middle of the season.  So that’s mainly what I meant.”

Stanton then said that new-GM Derek Jeter didn’t want to give winning a shot in 2018, Stanton feeling the team should have waited until mid-season and the trade deadline before reassessing.  Jeter wasn’t into it.

I thought we were in a great position lineup-wise,” Stanton said (which is true).  “We just needed some pitching and I reiterated I wanted to give at least a half-season chance to see if we could put something together with some arms, but then that wasn’t the direction.”

He added: “You could say I’m wrong or I’m not, but that’s my view of it and I would imagine you would give it a try if you are just opening up a team, but I’m not up there, so.”

Giancarlo said the Yankees were attractive because they were already successful and gushing with young talent.

“Just watching them from afar, seeing their young, dynamic group, the way they flow together on the field, how they never give up, never quit, that atmosphere, the storied franchise. There’s not much you can say about why you wouldn’t want to be there. They’re for sure on the list of where I want to be.”

Stanton said he is fine with playing left field or being a DH.  “I can bounce it around. Wherever they need me I’m okay with that. I always liked DHing when we played the AL teams in previous years.”  [Brendan Kuty / NJ.com]

As for his opt-out clause in 2020, heck, that’s three years away, and after the free agencies of Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, so just enjoy the next three years first.  I suspect, though, that Stanton won’t be able to get a much better deal at what will then be his age-31 season.  [See Masahiro Tanaka and his recent situation.]

Stanton’s biggest problem could be dealing with the media.

Ken Davidoff / New York Post

“Since we’ve been hearing his name even more than usual these last couple of days, let’s set the record straight about Alex Rodriguez:

“A-Rod never had a New York problem.

“He had a tone-deafness problem. He had a Derek Jeter problem. He had a self-discipline problem.  He had a Joe Torre problem.

“But New York?  A-Rod loved New York and everything it offered. Shoot, a week into his first spring training at (then) Legends Field, he already knew every media person that covered the Yankees.  Come to think of it, he knew many of us from his time with the Mariners and Rangers, even before the Yankees landed him.

“Now, Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees’ biggest trade acquisition since A-Rod? We won’t know if he has a New York problem until he spends 2018 as a Yankee.  Yet with his official introduction set for Monday afternoon here at the Winter Meetings, this can be said:

Stanton has New York questions to answer.

“ ‘He’ll enjoy New York City,’ a friend of Stanton’s said of the newest Yankee, on the condition of anonymity.  ‘He won’t enjoy the New York media.’....

“New York will offer far more opportunities for fame, fortune and fun; it’s one of the reasons why the Big Apple appealed to Stanton, according to a second friend. With that, however, will arrive a level of fan and media scrutiny that Stanton has by all accounts not experienced in the least. It’s probable, for instance, that Stanton has never been booed heavily by his own fans.

“The one time the perpetually lousy Marlins drew a national platform, last July, it didn’t go great for Stanton. Designated as an ambassador for the All-Star Game held at Marlins Park, Stanton bristled at softball questions about his Home Run Derby challenger (and now Yankees teammate) Aaron Judge... When the Yankees’ Gary Sanchez upset Stanton in the first round that night, clearing the way for Judge’s eventual title, Stanton didn’t stick around for media questions.

“This might sound like petty stuff. But it matters to your teammates and to your clubhouse culture. Playing for the Yankees means understanding and embracing the reality that reporters, broadcasters, producers and the like will be abundant in the clubhouse for a few concentrated periods. If you think railing against that reality – one that also exists in Boston – carries no risk, then you should Google ‘David Price Boston miserable.’  Conversely, handling the situation well carries a reward, as exemplified by the overwhelmingly positive coverage of the 2017 Yankees.”

Separately, the Yankees continued to stay active, trading Chase Headley and his $13 million salary back to the San Diego Padres, where he had his most productive season. The Yankees also sent reliever Bryant Mitchell and cash considerations to the Padres in exchange for a 28-year-old outfielder who has hit .200 in 99 career games, Jabari Blash.

The Yanks are looking to pare back payroll after obtaining Stanton’s contract so that they can go after a starting pitcher, while at the same time they have lots of options for the infield, Headley spending most of his time in a Yankees uniform at third base. They could also opt to sign Todd Frazier, who was a positive presence last season after the Yanks obtained him in a late trade, and he does still have some pop.

--Meanwhile, across town, the Mets said they would be in the market for bullpen help and instead every top reliever they were said to have a bead on, largely because of connections to new manager Mickey Callaway, Cleveland’s former pitching coach, has gone elsewhere.  Mets GM Sandy Alderson said he doesn’t want to pay the type of dollars that are being handed out to the likes of Bryan Shaw (reported $27 million for three years), but then Sandy seems to be setting up his team for a 63-99 campaign, which given what will be happening in the Bronx at the same time will have many of us committing hari-kari by mid-May.  [Johnny, please send me my sword before New Year’s.]

--Umpire Dale Scott retired at age 58, saying he didn’t want to risk another concussion.  Scott had missed nearly the entire 2017 season after a foul ball off the bat of Baltimore’s Mark Trumbo in Toronto on April 14 caught him hard in the mask, causing Scott’s second concussion in nine months and fourth in five years.  Yikes.

--I didn’t have a chance to comment extensively last time on the selection of Alan Trammell and Jack Morris for induction into the Hall of Fame, via a vote in the Veterans Committee (Modern Era), and in just reviewing the two, as much as I liked Trammell as a player in the day, I’m like, ‘Eh.’  Six-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove, .285 batting average, 185 home runs, 1,003 RBI, but never led the league in anything.

In looking back at Morris, though, I’m more comfortable with him than I was before.  3-time 20-game winner, five times in the top five of the Cy Young Award voting (big for me), 254-186 lifetime, and 7-4 in the postseason, including the game he is best remembered for, pitching all 10 innings in a 1-0 win for the Minnesota Twins over the Atlanta Braves in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.

A player I really liked who fell one vote short of making it into the Hall, Ted Simmons, was an eight-time All-Star, hitting the same .285 as Trammell, with 2,472 hits, 248 home runs, 1,389  RBI mostly out of the catchers position.  [Reader Ken P. disagrees with all three of my takes.]

--Finally, we note the passing of pitcher Tracy Stallard, 80.  Stallard pitched from 1960-66 with a number of teams, going just 30-57.

But he became a footnote in baseball history for giving up Roger Maris’ 61st home run on the last day of the 1961 season, as Maris broke Babe Ruth’s record 60 for the 1927 Yankees.

Stallard was a 24-year-old starting pitcher for Boston that afternoon of Oct. 1, at Yankee Stadium. Stallard said after, “I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. I’d rather he hit the homer off me than I walk him.”

Stallard also pitched two seasons for the Mets, 1963-64, going 16-37.  But in ’64, while he was 10-20, his ERA was a respectable 3.79 ERA.

Champions League

The draw for the knockout round (last 16) was held on Monday and the five Champions League entrants from the Premier League have the following opponents for their home and away series, matches to be played in February and March.

Tottenham v Juventus
Manchester City v Basel
Liverpool v Porto
Manchester United v Sevilla
Chelsea v Barcelona...Chelsea paying a price for not winning its group, while the other four did.

Among the other matches, holders Real Madrid will face Paris St.-Germain in a biggie.  Madrid has won the CL title 12 times, including the last two.

I’ve been remiss in not explaining to newbies why the Premier League has five, not four, in the Champions League competition when I’m always telling you the top four in the PL season standings qualify for the CL.

Manchester United got in this time by virtue of winning the Europa League title (which is the competition below the CL).

Separately, the Premier League is/was in action Tuesday and Wednesday, with Chelsea beating Huddersfield 3-1 yesterday, while Burnley temporarily moved into the 4- spot with a 1-0 win over Stoke. 

And Crystal Palace shook off their awful draw the other day for a huge 2-1 win over Watford, scoring both goals as late as can be, at the 89-minute mark to tie it at 1-1, and then two minutes into extra time.  So for the moment, CP is suddenly out of relegation.

The other teams are in action today.

This weekend, Tottenham will be the latest to attempt to stop Man City.

Stuff

--Mark Hensby of Australia, a 46-year-old with one PGA Tour victory (2004 John Deere Classic), became just the fourth golfer in a decade to be suspended for violating the Tour’s Anti-Doping Policy.

On Monday, the commissioner’s office released a statement announcing Hensby was suspended for one year for failing to provide a drug testing sample after notification.  Last year he played on the Web.com Tour.

--Men’s Division I Hockey Poll (Coaches...Dec. 11)

1. St. Cloud State
2. Denver
3. Notre Dame
4. Clarkson
5. Cornell

14. Boston College
18. Colgate!!!

--Back when I was a kid, I was allowed to see a movie with my older brother, “The Endless Summer,” that was the epitome of cool back in the day.  Just one big surfing adventure, at the height of California mania, the Beach Boys and all.

Steve Marble / Los Angeles Times

“On a tight budget and with an armful of surfboards, Bruce Brown helped introduce America to surfing with a story of two friends trotting around the world, in chase of the perfect wave.

“Though it was considered a longshot at best by distributors, there was something about ‘The Endless Summer’ that resonated with audiences from New York City to Santa Monica, marking a cultural turning point for a sport – a lifestyle, Brown and others insisted – that had been largely viewed as a mind-numbing distraction for aimless teens.

“The film came to be regarded as one of the finest surfing movies ever made, beckoning people to the shore and romanticizing the idea that maybe there really was nothing wrong with trading the conventions of the working world for a simpler life on the water.”

Brown, a lifelong surfer and motorcycle rider, died Sunday at his ranch north of Santa Barbara. He was 80.  [I wonder how his place was impacted, or threatened, by the Thomas Fire.]

Surfer Kelly Slater tweeted: “Thank you for showing us the world as you saw it, #BruceBrown.”

Brown was one of many who barnstormed Southern California with low-budget films that often just played at school assemblies and the like, but “The Endless Summer” found  a national audience.

But Brown, and his partner Roger Riddell who traveled all over the world for months, required some guerrilla marketing to get distributors to pay attention.

Riddell said Monday that Brown was so certain audiences would enjoy his movie he rented a theater in Wichita, Kan., in the dead of winter, to prove that, even in a place hundreds of miles from the ocean, people would line up...and the crowds arrived.

But the distributors remained unconvinced, so Brown rented a movie house in New York to show the film, where it was supposed to play for a week. It showed for 18 months.

The film was narrated by Brown and starred two surfers and board shapers, Mike Hynson and Robert August, who stayed in the sunshine of summer, following the seasons around the world.

Shockingly, the film was made on a budget of $50,000, as Brown and a small crew hopscotched from Hawaii to New Zealand to the shores of Ghana.  Even India (where customs agents confiscated their surfboards); and Kenya (where they witnessed a revolution).

Brown once talked about the success of the film with the Los Angeles Times in 1991.

“In the Vietnam era, everybody needed something like that. God, you felt good when you left the theater.”

Three decades later, Brown and company reprised the film with “The Endless Summer II,” retracing their steps. It was often sobering, such as returning to South Africa and seeing endless condos where once there was miles of unspoiled beach.

So about ten years ago, I popped in the original “Endless Summer” flick to watch for the first time since I was a kid and it was hilarious...truly.  So incredibly politically incorrect, today, but those were such different times.  It’s worth looking up. 

Top 3 songs for the week 12/16/67: #1 “Daydream Believer” (The Monkees)  #2 “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” (Gladys Knight & The Pips)  #3 “Hello Goodbye” (The Beatles)...and...#4 “I Second That Emotion” (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles) #5 “The Rain, The Park & Other Things” (The Cowsills)  #6 “Incense and Peppermints” (Strawberry Alarm Clock”  #7 “I Say A Little Prayer” (Dionne Warwick)  #8 “Boogaloo Down Broadway” (The Fantastic Johnny C.)  #9 “In And Out Of Love” (Diana Ross and The Supremes)  #10 “You Better Sit Down Kids” (Cher...pretty good week, I think you’d agree...)

Minnesota Vikings Quiz Answers: 1) 3 or more 1,000-yard seasons rushing: Adrian Peterson, 7, including 2012 when he rushed for 2,097 yards; Robert Smith, 4 (1997-00), including 1,521 in 2000; Chuck Foreman, 3 (1975-77).  2) 30 TD passes in a season: Daunte Culpepper, 39, 2004, a season in which he also threw for 4,717 yards, both single-season Vikings records. Culpepper also threw 33 TD passes in 2000; Warren Moon, 33, 1995; Brett Favre, 33, 2009; Randall Cunningham, 34, 1998.

Next Bar Chat, Monday.



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Bar Chat

12/14/2017

Eagles Fans in Agony

[Posted Wed. a.m.]

Minnesota Vikings Quiz: 1) Name the three Vikings players to have three or more 1,000-yard rushing seasons in a Vikings uniform.  2) Name the only four QBs to toss 30 or more TD passes in a single season.  Answers below.

NFL

--After I posted last time it was confirmed...Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in the Eagles’ win over the Rams and he’s out for the season. This is as bad as it gets in the NFL. Philadelphia, 11-2, was having a special season behind Wentz’ stellar play and seemingly Super Bowl bound, or at least NFC Championship game bound.

Wentz was leading the NFL in touchdown passes with 33, even as he was only in his second year.  In fact the 33, including four on Sunday, was the most for a single season in franchise history.

So Nick Foles, 28, is asked to step in and the Eagles are lucky to have him. It was in 2013 that Foles played the same role, starting 10 games in place of the injured Michael Vick, going 8-2, with 27 touchdown passes and just 2 interceptions, plus a league-leading 119.2 passer rating.  He was superb. Foles regressed some in 2014, but was still 6-2 in games he started, and then he bounced around before ending up back in Philly.  He can do the job.  [Nate Sudfeld is the current No. 2.]

Jason Gay / Wall Street Journal

If you’re a Philadelphia Eagles fan, I’ll assume you woke up Monday morning in a foggy, tormented state.  If you have a dog, or a cat, you didn’t speak to the dog, or the cat. It felt like a hangover, even if you didn’t have a hangover.

“If you didn’t have a hangover, I’m sorry.

“And I’m really sorry now – now that it’s officially confirmed that Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz is out for the season. This stinks.

“If you’re friends with a Philadelphia Eagles fan, be kind to them this week. Even if they’ve been bristly or hard to deal with in the past – show some good old-fashioned empathy for your Philly pals. Get them a comfy blanket, and a cup of coffee.  Buy them a doughnut or two, to anxiety-eat....

Sunday was torturous for Eagles Nation.  Philadelphia won again, doing it on the road versus the newly-formidable Los Angeles Rams, 43-35.  The team is now 11-2, tops in the NFC, and has clinched an otherwise-forgettable NFC East division over Dallas, Washington and New York.

“The bad news: UUGHHHHHHHH....

“Wentz is done for the season.

“UGGGGGHHHHHHHH....

“Even if traditionally sky-is-falling Eagles fans told themselves not to believe – to fear something exactly like this injury was bound to happen – the dreamy notion of Philadelphia as possibly a Team of Destiny had to cross their minds, especially after the Eagles flew out of the gates 10-1....

It’s been that kind of year in the NFL. Quarterback injuries had already reshaped seasons in Green Bay, Houston, Arizona, Indianapolis and Miami. There have been season-ending blows to other stars (J.J. Watt, Odell Beckham Jr.) and last week’s alarming spinal injury to Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier, who is still in the hospital, prognosis uncertain.

“On Sunday, the Houston backup quarterback Tom Savage appeared to suffer a concussion and some kind of seizure – only to be allowed back into the game.

This is football. Don’t buy all that happy talk about precautionary measures and building a safer game – there’s only so much that can be done for a competition in which high-velocity bodily collision is an essential constant.  Everyone on the field is at risk. Very few get through unscathed.

“For Eagles fans, an injury to Wentz is a painful way to be reminded of this fact. There’s a silver lining somewhere in here; that numerous players have recovered from ACL injuries... But that’s not great consolation amid a Philadelphia season that looked outrageously promising – until, suddenly, it doesn’t.”

--Monday night, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots lost again in Miami (6-7) 27-20 in a game that was nowhere near as close as the final score, it being 27-10 after three.

Brady, now 7-9 lifetime when playing in Miami, was picked off twice for the first time this season (both by Xavien Howard), a miserable 24/43, 233, 1-2, 59.5 overall, and the Pats were 0 for 11 on third down.

Meanwhile, having watched much of this one myself, Jay Cutler was terrific, 25/38, 263, 3-0, 112.1, while Kenyan Drake rushed for 114 yards on 25 carries, New England only having 25 yards rushing for the game itself.

The Pats thus head to Pittsburgh at 10-3 for their big faceoff against the 11-2 Steelers on Sunday.

--New England is finalizing a two-year deal with receiver Kenny Britt, who was released last week by Cleveland.  He’s a nine-year pro with just 18 catches for 233 yards and two touchdowns this season, but he had 1,006 receiving yards for the Rams in 2016.

Britt fits the Patriots’ mold of taking chances on discarded veterans.

--Sunday night, what a game...Steelers and the Ravens at Heinz Field.  Before the contest Steelers players and fans showcased their support for injured linebacker Ryan Shazier.  He is still in a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hospital after undergoing spinal stabilization surgery Wednesday.  Shazier had been carted off the field the previous Monday night after a collision in the first quarter of Pittsburgh’s 23-20 win over the Bengals.

So Sunday, in a truly wild affair, the Steelers took a 20-14 lead at half, only to have Baltimore score 17 unanswered in the third for a 31-20 lead heading into the fourth, at which point Pittsburgh got two touchdowns and two field goals, the latter from Chris Boswell, who won it with a 46-yarder at 0:42, after Le’Veon Bell had run it in from 11 to cut it to 38-36 Ravens with 3:29 left.  Final...39-38, Steelers.

Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger had a career-high 44 receptions (on 66 attempts), for 506 yards and two touchdowns, thus becoming the first in NFL history to record three games with at least 500 yards.  He had been only one of two with two 500-yard games, the other Drew Brees.

With the comeback, Roethlisberger also now has 39 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime, the most in the NFL since he began his career in 2004.

Receiver Antonio Brown had his fourth straight 100-yard game, 213 on 11 receptions, while tight end Jesse James had 10 for 97, and Bell had 9 for 77 and a touchdown out of the backfield.

Bring on New England.

--Playoff Standings....

AFC

1. Pittsburgh 11-2...your Bar Chat “Pick to Click”!
2. New England 10-3
3. Jacksonville 9-4
4. Kansas City 7-6
5. Tennessee 8-5
6. Buffalo 7-6

7. Baltimore 7-6
8. L.A. Chargers 7-6

NFC

1. Philadelphia 11-2
2. Minnesota 10-3
3. L.A. Rams 9-4
4. New Orleans 9-4
5. Carolina 9-4
6. Atlanta 8-5

7. Seattle 8-5
8. Detroit 7-6

In the hunt: Green Bay 7-6, Dallas 7-6

Huge game Saturday night, Chargers-Chiefs for the AFC West lead.

And Aaron Rodgers returns for the Packers in a do-or-die contest at Carolina on Sunday.

--As for my Jets, having lost quarterback Josh McCown for the season with a broken hand, McCown, until this past game in Denver, a pleasant surprise all year and the leader of the club both on and off the field.  He’s being replaced by Bryce Petty, who I always thought deserved an extended look and we’ll get that the final three games.

Except Petty is probably going to get creamed and the Jets, facing the Saints, Chargers and Patriots, are going to finish 5-11, after such a promising start.

Ergo, at the end we’re going to be thinking, “What the hell was that all about?”  Might as well have tanked for the No. 1 or 2 pick if you were going to end up 5-11.

How the Jets lose these last three will be important heading into the offseason, let alone for the future of head coach Todd Bowles.  I just hope we’re competitive.

--Poor Adam Vinatieri. The all-time great Indianapolis kicker, 44, who turns 45 on Dec. 28, has a clause in his contract that pays him $500,000 if he finishes the year hitting 90 percent of his field goals and entering Sunday’s game at Buffalo he was 22 of 23, 95.7 percent.

But you might have noticed, the Colts and Bills played in a blizzard and Vinatieri went 0-for-2, now 22 of 25 on the season, or 88 percent.  To hit 90, he would have to go 5-for-5 the last three games (among the simplest calculations).

It’s really not fair.  It was impossible to kick Sunday, yet Vinatieri hit a 43-yard extra point!

College Football

AP All-American team...the only one that matters....

First Team

QB – Baker Mayfield, senior, Oklahoma

RBs – Bryce Love, junior, Stanford; Rashaad Penny, senior, San Diego State

TE – Mark Andrews, junior, Oklahoma

WR – James Washington, senior, Oklahoma State; Anthony Miller, senior, Memphis (my man)

All-purpose player – Saquon Barkley, junior, Penn State

Defensive ends Bradley Chubb (N.C. State) and Clelin Ferrell (Clemson) highlight the first-team defense, with Alabama safety Minkah Fitzpatrick on it as well.

Louisville’s Lamar Jackson and Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph are the second- and third-team quarterbacks, respectively.

Jonathan Taylor (Wisconsin) and Kerryon Johnson (Auburn) are the second-team running backs; Ronald Jones II (USC) and Devin Singletary (Florida Atlantic) third team.

--On a different topic, Phil W. sent me an older piece from Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal that I hadn’t seen, written by Michael Smith, which talked about the tremendous facilities Wake Forest has been building for its sports programs; especially football, basketball and baseball...golf already largely having that, ditto soccer.  They are indeed now (or soon-to-be) as good as any in the country and this from the smallest Power Five program in terms of undergraduate enrollment.

Among the Power Five programs with under 10,000 undergrads you have:

Wake 4,805
Duke 6,485
Vanderbilt 6,813
Stanford 6,994
Northwestern 8,216
Notre Dame 8,413 [still playing football as an independent]
TCU 8,574
Boston College 9,365

College Basketball

AP Poll (Dec. 11...records as of Dec. 10)

1. Villanova (41) 10-0
2. Michigan State (19) 9-1
3. Wichita State 8-1...Bar Chat “Pick to Click” for national title
4. Duke 11-1
5. Arizona State (5) 9-0...shocking that they not only move up 11 spots, but are one of only three teams with first-place votes.
6. Miami 8-0...this isn’t football, sports fans...
7. North Carolina 9-1
8. Kentucky 8-1
9. Texas A&M 8-1
10. Xavier 9-1
13. Kansas 7-2...down from No. 2
14. TCU 10-0
15. Seton Hall 8-1...Bar Chat “Final Four” guarantee
19. Florida State 9-0

It’s exam week for most schools so the schedule is light.  Tuesday, Seton Hall improved to 9-1 with an 84-61 over fellow local Saint Peters (4-5).

Tonight, Villanova squares off against Philly rival Temple.

NBA

--My Knicks won Sunday night, at home, 111-107 over the Hawks, and then followed that up with a 113-109 win at Madison Square Garden over the Lakers behind Kristaps Porzingis’ 37 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks.

But this means the Knicks, 14-13, are now 13-5 at home, 1-8 on the road, and the 16 of 20 road-game stretch I keep referring to is looming.

As for the Laker’s Lonzo Ball making his MSG debut (with LaVar at courtside, of course), he was good...17 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and he even shot well, 6 of 13 from the field, including 3 of 6 from downtown.  The kid is the real deal, no doubt.

--Kawhi Leonard made his debut for the Spurs last night after being out with his quadriceps injury, playing 16 minutes and scoring 13 points, with 6 rebounds, but that’s all he was limited to and in the fourth quarter he was in the locker room (getting treatment) as San Antonio was outscored by Dallas 28-20, the Mavs (8-20) pulling out the win, 95-89.

--It might not be fair, but because of his New York years, there’s a feeling you can’t win with Carmelo Anthony and so many of us Knicks fans were thrilled to see him go (and then the return we received, Enes Kanter and Doug McDermott, cemented that feeling).  Oklahoma City, on the other hand, knew that Anthony wasn’t the star he once was, but he was certainly a good No. 3 with Russell Westbrook and Paul George.  There was every reason for Thunder fans to be pretty optimistic.

But it hasn’t worked out well for OKC thus far and Monday night at home was emblematic of their struggles, the Thunder giving up 64 second-half points and falling to Charlotte 116-103 to drop to 12-14.

Paul George said: “For the talent that we have, obviously this is not where we want to be.”  Melo left before the door opened up to reporters for postgame availability.  Not good.

--Monday, the Celtics lost at Chicago, 108-85, to drop to 23-6, while the 6-20 Bulls have suddenly won three in a row.

--LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball reached an agreement to play pro ball with the Lithuanian club Prienu Vytautas, the team hoping the brothers are a shot in the arm for the organization, though as ESPN’s Jeff Goodman reported, there are concerns the Ball Bros. can fit in.

The team has already said the two may not play much in the competitive Lithuanian (LKL) league, but they could see decent time in the lesser Baltic League

Talk about a culture shock, Vytauntas, or BC Prienai as it’s called, is a low-level club from a small, non-English speaking village of 10,000 in southern Lithuania.  The team has had financial problems and started out 4-8 in the LKL, 4-1 in the Baltic League.

The club plays in a 1,700-seat area; 500 of the seats being reserved for team sponsors and their friends, with tickets costing less than $7.

LaMelo is just 16, a combination-guard, and considered more talented than LiAngelo.  He is said to have NBA potential down the road.

But as Adrian Wojnarowski and Jonathan Givony write for ESPN.com on LiAngelo: “He projected as a mid-major college player out of high school and wasn’t expected to be in UCLA’s regulation rotation.  He would be expected to struggle to add any value in the Lithuanian or Baltic leagues....(he) is a limited ball handler and defender, and plays strictly below the rim.”

Your editor also plays below the rim.

Bottom line, we shouldn’t be hearing much about these two for a while, and that’s a good thing.

MLB

--Yahoo Sports first reported that Shohei Ohtani has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow, which isn’t supposed to cost him any time in 2018, but this is a significant development.  A physical exam Nov. 28 in Tokyo, that was then distributed to teams bidding on Ohtani, revealed a grade one sprain of his right UCL, and his representatives said he had received a platelet rich plasma injection on Oct. 20.

The sprain doesn’t mean Tommy John surgery is inevitable, but such a procedure would shelve him 1 ½ years.  Current Yankee hurler Masahiro Tanaka has been pitching for over a year with a partial tear of the UCL and has been fine, but all Yankees fans are waiting for the day he takes the mound for warmup pitches between innings and then walks off.

--Giancarlo Stanton was introduced as a Yankee on Monday at the MLB Winter Meetings in Florida (not before solely the New York press) and among the things he commented on was an appraisal of the Marlins.  Before taking the podium he ripped his now-former team for being unprofessional at times, calling them a “circus.”  Stanton then told the press:

“You guys are the media,” he said.  “You’ve seen what’s gone on down there. What I mainly meant is just no structure, no stamp of this is how things are going to be. It’s a different direction every spring training.  You’ve got to learn something new. Every spring a different manager, every spring, every middle of the season.  So that’s mainly what I meant.”

Stanton then said that new-GM Derek Jeter didn’t want to give winning a shot in 2018, Stanton feeling the team should have waited until mid-season and the trade deadline before reassessing.  Jeter wasn’t into it.

I thought we were in a great position lineup-wise,” Stanton said (which is true).  “We just needed some pitching and I reiterated I wanted to give at least a half-season chance to see if we could put something together with some arms, but then that wasn’t the direction.”

He added: “You could say I’m wrong or I’m not, but that’s my view of it and I would imagine you would give it a try if you are just opening up a team, but I’m not up there, so.”

Giancarlo said the Yankees were attractive because they were already successful and gushing with young talent.

“Just watching them from afar, seeing their young, dynamic group, the way they flow together on the field, how they never give up, never quit, that atmosphere, the storied franchise. There’s not much you can say about why you wouldn’t want to be there. They’re for sure on the list of where I want to be.”

Stanton said he is fine with playing left field or being a DH.  “I can bounce it around. Wherever they need me I’m okay with that. I always liked DHing when we played the AL teams in previous years.”  [Brendan Kuty / NJ.com]

As for his opt-out clause in 2020, heck, that’s three years away, and after the free agencies of Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, so just enjoy the next three years first.  I suspect, though, that Stanton won’t be able to get a much better deal at what will then be his age-31 season.  [See Masahiro Tanaka and his recent situation.]

Stanton’s biggest problem could be dealing with the media.

Ken Davidoff / New York Post

“Since we’ve been hearing his name even more than usual these last couple of days, let’s set the record straight about Alex Rodriguez:

“A-Rod never had a New York problem.

“He had a tone-deafness problem. He had a Derek Jeter problem. He had a self-discipline problem.  He had a Joe Torre problem.

“But New York?  A-Rod loved New York and everything it offered. Shoot, a week into his first spring training at (then) Legends Field, he already knew every media person that covered the Yankees.  Come to think of it, he knew many of us from his time with the Mariners and Rangers, even before the Yankees landed him.

“Now, Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees’ biggest trade acquisition since A-Rod? We won’t know if he has a New York problem until he spends 2018 as a Yankee.  Yet with his official introduction set for Monday afternoon here at the Winter Meetings, this can be said:

Stanton has New York questions to answer.

“ ‘He’ll enjoy New York City,’ a friend of Stanton’s said of the newest Yankee, on the condition of anonymity.  ‘He won’t enjoy the New York media.’....

“New York will offer far more opportunities for fame, fortune and fun; it’s one of the reasons why the Big Apple appealed to Stanton, according to a second friend. With that, however, will arrive a level of fan and media scrutiny that Stanton has by all accounts not experienced in the least. It’s probable, for instance, that Stanton has never been booed heavily by his own fans.

“The one time the perpetually lousy Marlins drew a national platform, last July, it didn’t go great for Stanton. Designated as an ambassador for the All-Star Game held at Marlins Park, Stanton bristled at softball questions about his Home Run Derby challenger (and now Yankees teammate) Aaron Judge... When the Yankees’ Gary Sanchez upset Stanton in the first round that night, clearing the way for Judge’s eventual title, Stanton didn’t stick around for media questions.

“This might sound like petty stuff. But it matters to your teammates and to your clubhouse culture. Playing for the Yankees means understanding and embracing the reality that reporters, broadcasters, producers and the like will be abundant in the clubhouse for a few concentrated periods. If you think railing against that reality – one that also exists in Boston – carries no risk, then you should Google ‘David Price Boston miserable.’  Conversely, handling the situation well carries a reward, as exemplified by the overwhelmingly positive coverage of the 2017 Yankees.”

Separately, the Yankees continued to stay active, trading Chase Headley and his $13 million salary back to the San Diego Padres, where he had his most productive season. The Yankees also sent reliever Bryant Mitchell and cash considerations to the Padres in exchange for a 28-year-old outfielder who has hit .200 in 99 career games, Jabari Blash.

The Yanks are looking to pare back payroll after obtaining Stanton’s contract so that they can go after a starting pitcher, while at the same time they have lots of options for the infield, Headley spending most of his time in a Yankees uniform at third base. They could also opt to sign Todd Frazier, who was a positive presence last season after the Yanks obtained him in a late trade, and he does still have some pop.

--Meanwhile, across town, the Mets said they would be in the market for bullpen help and instead every top reliever they were said to have a bead on, largely because of connections to new manager Mickey Callaway, Cleveland’s former pitching coach, has gone elsewhere.  Mets GM Sandy Alderson said he doesn’t want to pay the type of dollars that are being handed out to the likes of Bryan Shaw (reported $27 million for three years), but then Sandy seems to be setting up his team for a 63-99 campaign, which given what will be happening in the Bronx at the same time will have many of us committing hari-kari by mid-May.  [Johnny, please send me my sword before New Year’s.]

--Umpire Dale Scott retired at age 58, saying he didn’t want to risk another concussion.  Scott had missed nearly the entire 2017 season after a foul ball off the bat of Baltimore’s Mark Trumbo in Toronto on April 14 caught him hard in the mask, causing Scott’s second concussion in nine months and fourth in five years.  Yikes.

--I didn’t have a chance to comment extensively last time on the selection of Alan Trammell and Jack Morris for induction into the Hall of Fame, via a vote in the Veterans Committee (Modern Era), and in just reviewing the two, as much as I liked Trammell as a player in the day, I’m like, ‘Eh.’  Six-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove, .285 batting average, 185 home runs, 1,003 RBI, but never led the league in anything.

In looking back at Morris, though, I’m more comfortable with him than I was before.  3-time 20-game winner, five times in the top five of the Cy Young Award voting (big for me), 254-186 lifetime, and 7-4 in the postseason, including the game he is best remembered for, pitching all 10 innings in a 1-0 win for the Minnesota Twins over the Atlanta Braves in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.

A player I really liked who fell one vote short of making it into the Hall, Ted Simmons, was an eight-time All-Star, hitting the same .285 as Trammell, with 2,472 hits, 248 home runs, 1,389  RBI mostly out of the catchers position.  [Reader Ken P. disagrees with all three of my takes.]

--Finally, we note the passing of pitcher Tracy Stallard, 80.  Stallard pitched from 1960-66 with a number of teams, going just 30-57.

But he became a footnote in baseball history for giving up Roger Maris’ 61st home run on the last day of the 1961 season, as Maris broke Babe Ruth’s record 60 for the 1927 Yankees.

Stallard was a 24-year-old starting pitcher for Boston that afternoon of Oct. 1, at Yankee Stadium. Stallard said after, “I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. I’d rather he hit the homer off me than I walk him.”

Stallard also pitched two seasons for the Mets, 1963-64, going 16-37.  But in ’64, while he was 10-20, his ERA was a respectable 3.79 ERA.

Champions League

The draw for the knockout round (last 16) was held on Monday and the five Champions League entrants from the Premier League have the following opponents for their home and away series, matches to be played in February and March.

Tottenham v Juventus
Manchester City v Basel
Liverpool v Porto
Manchester United v Sevilla
Chelsea v Barcelona...Chelsea paying a price for not winning its group, while the other four did.

Among the other matches, holders Real Madrid will face Paris St.-Germain in a biggie.  Madrid has won the CL title 12 times, including the last two.

I’ve been remiss in not explaining to newbies why the Premier League has five, not four, in the Champions League competition when I’m always telling you the top four in the PL season standings qualify for the CL.

Manchester United got in this time by virtue of winning the Europa League title (which is the competition below the CL).

Separately, the Premier League is/was in action Tuesday and Wednesday, with Chelsea beating Huddersfield 3-1 yesterday, while Burnley temporarily moved into the 4- spot with a 1-0 win over Stoke. 

And Crystal Palace shook off their awful draw the other day for a huge 2-1 win over Watford, scoring both goals as late as can be, at the 89-minute mark to tie it at 1-1, and then two minutes into extra time.  So for the moment, CP is suddenly out of relegation.

The other teams are in action today.

This weekend, Tottenham will be the latest to attempt to stop Man City.

Stuff

--Mark Hensby of Australia, a 46-year-old with one PGA Tour victory (2004 John Deere Classic), became just the fourth golfer in a decade to be suspended for violating the Tour’s Anti-Doping Policy.

On Monday, the commissioner’s office released a statement announcing Hensby was suspended for one year for failing to provide a drug testing sample after notification.  Last year he played on the Web.com Tour.

--Men’s Division I Hockey Poll (Coaches...Dec. 11)

1. St. Cloud State
2. Denver
3. Notre Dame
4. Clarkson
5. Cornell

14. Boston College
18. Colgate!!!

--Back when I was a kid, I was allowed to see a movie with my older brother, “The Endless Summer,” that was the epitome of cool back in the day.  Just one big surfing adventure, at the height of California mania, the Beach Boys and all.

Steve Marble / Los Angeles Times

“On a tight budget and with an armful of surfboards, Bruce Brown helped introduce America to surfing with a story of two friends trotting around the world, in chase of the perfect wave.

“Though it was considered a longshot at best by distributors, there was something about ‘The Endless Summer’ that resonated with audiences from New York City to Santa Monica, marking a cultural turning point for a sport – a lifestyle, Brown and others insisted – that had been largely viewed as a mind-numbing distraction for aimless teens.

“The film came to be regarded as one of the finest surfing movies ever made, beckoning people to the shore and romanticizing the idea that maybe there really was nothing wrong with trading the conventions of the working world for a simpler life on the water.”

Brown, a lifelong surfer and motorcycle rider, died Sunday at his ranch north of Santa Barbara. He was 80.  [I wonder how his place was impacted, or threatened, by the Thomas Fire.]

Surfer Kelly Slater tweeted: “Thank you for showing us the world as you saw it, #BruceBrown.”

Brown was one of many who barnstormed Southern California with low-budget films that often just played at school assemblies and the like, but “The Endless Summer” found  a national audience.

But Brown, and his partner Roger Riddell who traveled all over the world for months, required some guerrilla marketing to get distributors to pay attention.

Riddell said Monday that Brown was so certain audiences would enjoy his movie he rented a theater in Wichita, Kan., in the dead of winter, to prove that, even in a place hundreds of miles from the ocean, people would line up...and the crowds arrived.

But the distributors remained unconvinced, so Brown rented a movie house in New York to show the film, where it was supposed to play for a week. It showed for 18 months.

The film was narrated by Brown and starred two surfers and board shapers, Mike Hynson and Robert August, who stayed in the sunshine of summer, following the seasons around the world.

Shockingly, the film was made on a budget of $50,000, as Brown and a small crew hopscotched from Hawaii to New Zealand to the shores of Ghana.  Even India (where customs agents confiscated their surfboards); and Kenya (where they witnessed a revolution).

Brown once talked about the success of the film with the Los Angeles Times in 1991.

“In the Vietnam era, everybody needed something like that. God, you felt good when you left the theater.”

Three decades later, Brown and company reprised the film with “The Endless Summer II,” retracing their steps. It was often sobering, such as returning to South Africa and seeing endless condos where once there was miles of unspoiled beach.

So about ten years ago, I popped in the original “Endless Summer” flick to watch for the first time since I was a kid and it was hilarious...truly.  So incredibly politically incorrect, today, but those were such different times.  It’s worth looking up. 

Top 3 songs for the week 12/16/67: #1 “Daydream Believer” (The Monkees)  #2 “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” (Gladys Knight & The Pips)  #3 “Hello Goodbye” (The Beatles)...and...#4 “I Second That Emotion” (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles) #5 “The Rain, The Park & Other Things” (The Cowsills)  #6 “Incense and Peppermints” (Strawberry Alarm Clock”  #7 “I Say A Little Prayer” (Dionne Warwick)  #8 “Boogaloo Down Broadway” (The Fantastic Johnny C.)  #9 “In And Out Of Love” (Diana Ross and The Supremes)  #10 “You Better Sit Down Kids” (Cher...pretty good week, I think you’d agree...)

Minnesota Vikings Quiz Answers: 1) 3 or more 1,000-yard seasons rushing: Adrian Peterson, 7, including 2012 when he rushed for 2,097 yards; Robert Smith, 4 (1997-00), including 1,521 in 2000; Chuck Foreman, 3 (1975-77).  2) 30 TD passes in a season: Daunte Culpepper, 39, 2004, a season in which he also threw for 4,717 yards, both single-season Vikings records. Culpepper also threw 33 TD passes in 2000; Warren Moon, 33, 1995; Brett Favre, 33, 2009; Randall Cunningham, 34, 1998.

Next Bar Chat, Monday.