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06/07/2018

Operation Overlord

[Posted Wed. a.m. ...June 6...we remember D-Day....]

Triple Crown Quiz: How many of the 12 winners of horse racing’s Triple Crown can you name? Answer below.

MLB

--The Yankees split a day-night doubleheader Monday against the Tigers in Detroit, winning the first game 7-4 behind Luis Severino’s eight innings, 2 runs, and 10 strikeouts, Severino now a stupendous 9-1, 2.20...with the Yankees 12-1 overall in his starts.  [Contrast that with the 5-7 mark for the Mets when Jacob deGrom is on the mound, pitching to a 1.49 ERA.]

But New York’s Aaron Judge had a  doubleheader to forget, 0 for 9 with a major-league record 8 strikeouts, including 5 times in the nightcap, Yanks losing 4-2.  Judge has fanned 83 times in 214 at-bats, compared with 208 in 542 ABs last year.

However, after hitting 52 home runs last season, he does still have 16 this year, so essentially on a 45+ homer pace.

New York then gave Judge Tuesday off, as the Yanks resumed their winning ways, beating the Tigers 7-2 behind CC Sabathia.  Earlier, the team learned they had lost starter Jordan Montgomery to Tommy John surgery, a big blow, with Montgomery 2-0, 3.62, in six starts after a solid rookie campaign in 2017.

[CC, by the way, in 17 games following a Yankees loss, going back to last season, is 10-0 with a 2.71 ERA.]

Domingo German will be the permanent fifth starter, behind Severino, Tanaka, Gray and CC.  But there is even more pressure for the Yanks to go after Cole Hamels.

Lastly, the Yankees scored a win off the field when they got ESPN to change their Sunday telecast on July 8. The network had picked Yankees-Blue Jays for that day, but New York bitched up a storm, led by manager, and former ESPN employee, Aaron Boone, who argued it was unfair to have the Yankee players compete in a late-night Sunday tilt, and then fly to Baltimore for a doubleheader on Monday, July 9.

Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred stepped in to broker a deal, and the July 8 Yankees-Jays game will begin at its originally scheduled time – 1:00 p.m.  Dodgers-Angels will air that Sunday night instead.

--The irrelevant Mets entered Tuesday’s game against the Orioles having scored one run in their past 24 innings, losers of 9 of 11.  Make that two runs in 33 innings, the Mets suffering their fifth loss in a row, now 10 of 12, falling to Baltimore and Alex Cobb, 2-1. The same Alex Cobb who entered the game 1-7, 6.80 ERA, giving up 72 hits in 46 1/3.

But last night, Cobb allowed just 2 hits in 6 innings, with the Mets’ 3-hit for the second consecutive game.  Yuck.

And get this...with the improved pitching of Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler, entering Tuesday, the Mets’ starters over the last 16 games had an ERA of 2.48, yet the beyond hideous bullpen led to a 5-11 mark over that span.  Between this and the deGrom record, it has to be the worst in the history of the game.

The Mets are now 12-18 at home and Citi Field has become a morgue.

But this weekend it won’t be a morgue, because the Mets are hosting the Yankees!  Yes, the place will be packed with Yankees fans.

--The great Max Scherzer did it again last night, going 8 innings in a 4-2 win over Tampa Bay, allowing 2 runs while striking out 13 and improving his record to 10-1, 1.95 ERA.

In the game he threw the second “immaculate inning” of his career, believed to be just the fifth pitcher in MLB history to do so multiple times.

Facing Johnny Field, Christian Arroyo and Daniel Robertson in the top of the sixth, Scherzer struck out all three on nine pitches.  Overall, 81 of his 99 pitches were for strikes, the highest rate of any starter this season, and the best performance in this regard for his career.  He also recorded 25 first-pitch strikes (out of 28 hitters).

Monday, Scherzer donned a Capitals jersey and helped rile up the crowd at Washington’s Game 4 Stanley Cup Final win over the Vegas Golden Knights.

--I’ve been writing how well the Dodgers have played over the years without Clayton Kershaw, and since he went back on the DL, this time with another back issue, L.A. has won 4 in a row, including 5-0 over the Pirates in Pittsburgh last night, the Dodgers back to .500, 30-30, after starting out 16-26. So they are 14-4 since, and within striking distance of first place in the N.L. West, just two games back of 32-28 Arizona.

--Madison Bumgarner made his season debut last night, after breaking his pinkie on his pitching hand during his final start of spring training.  Bumgarner yielded just 2 runs in 6 innings against Arizona, but lost the game, 3-2.

--We note the passing of former Pirates and Angels hurler Bruce Kison. He was 68 and died of cancer.

It was in 1971 when, as a rookie, Kison won Game 4 of the 1971 World Series when he threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings of one-hit relief against the Baltimore Orioles, with the Pirates winning the Series in seven games. It was an historic game in that it was the first World Series game played under the lights

When the Pirates met the Orioles again in the 1979 World Series, Kison started the first game and lost, getting just one out and giving up five before he was removed after a nightmare of an outing on a cold night. But the Pirates won that Series, again in seven.

Despite that ’79 start, Kison had a 5-1 record, 1.98 ERA, in 10 postseason appearances.

Overall in his career, which included a final season in Boston, Kison was a solid 115-88, 3.66.  He also had 12 saves.  After retiring as a player, he went on to become the pitching coach for the Royals (1994-98) and Baltimore (1999).

--Finally, the College Baseball Championship is down to the Super Regionals, 16 teams, the eight winners of play this coming weekend advancing to Omaha and the College World Series.

Just two teams from the ACC made it this far, Duke (which beat Georgia to advance) and North Carolina.  The top two teams in the country, Florida and Oregon State, advanced as well.  The Beaverwear is at the top of the sports drawer.

Stanley Cup Final

The Washington Capitals whipped the Vegas Golden Knights 6-2 on Monday to take a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 lead, Game 5 in Vegas on Thursday.

Warriors vs. Cavaliers

This series is over...Golden State up 2-0 as they travel to Cleveland for Game 3 tonight.  There was no way the Cavs could recover from their Game 1 meltdown, and George Hill’s missed free throw and J.R. Smith’s gaffe for the ages.

The Belmont

It is very possible we will have a third straight Triple Crown race in the slop, as storms are in the forecast for Saturday’s running of the Belmont Stakes.  Justify pulled the No. 1 post position for this ultimate test, a mile-and-a-half, and is currently at 4-5, with Hofburg 9-2, followed by Bravazo and Vino Rosso at 8-1.

Both Good Magic and Audible were held out, their owners opting to go for the lucrative summer stakes circuit. Audible’s ownership is the same as Justify’s, as well, and they made the decision not to potentially spoil Justify’s run for immortality.

NFL Anthem Controversy

Monday night, President Trump disinvited the Philadelphia Eagles from a celebration at the White House, eventually announcing plans to change the event the next day to “a celebration of the American flag” with Eagles fans and performances by the United States Marine Band and Army Chorus. The Eagles had reportedly only planned to send a small contingent of players, less than 10, per reports.

Trump tweeted: “The Philadelphia Eagles Football Team was invited to the White House. Unfortunately, only a small number of players decided to come, and we canceled the event. Staying in the Locker Room for the playing of our National Anthem is as disrespectful to our country as kneeling. Sorry!”

Tuesday, the White House blamed the Eagles for the president’s decision to cancel.  Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement that the Eagles notified the White House last Thursday that 81 individuals, including players, coaches and managers would be attending.

However, the team got back in touch with the White House late Friday and tried to reschedule, proposing a time when Trump would be overseas.

In the end, Sanders said the Eagles offered to send “only a tiny handful of representatives” to the event, “while making clear that the great majority of players would not attend.”

“In other words, the vast majority of the Eagles team decided to abandon their fans,” Sanders said, prompting Trump to cancel.

But in a true outrage, it turns out Fox News Monday night aired footage of Eagles players kneeling before a game, claiming it was a protest during the national anthem, when they were actually praying.  A big freakin’ lie.  The network apologized for what it described as an “error.”

Christopher Wallace, the executive producer of Fox News @Night, explained in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports: “During our report about President Trump canceling the Philadelphia Eagles’ trip to the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl win, we showed unrelated footage of players kneeling in prayer.  To clarify, no members of the team knelt in protest during the national anthem throughout the regular or post-season last year. We apologize for the error.”

The segment on Fox News aired less than 12 hours after President Trump announced he was rescinding the invitation to the White House.

Eagles tight end Zach Ertz and defensive lineman Chris Long criticized Fox.  Ertz wrote on Twitter: “This can’t be serious. Praying before games with my teammates, well before the anthem, is being used for your propaganda?!  Just sad.  I feel like you guys should have to be better than this....”

Long wrote: “Imagine wanting to please the boss so very badly that you run stills of guys knelt down PRAYING during pregame,” Long wrote. “Not one Eagles player knelt for the anthem this yr.  Keep carrying his water to sow division while mispresenting Christian men. Aren’t many of your viewers...never mind.”

“You’re complicit in PLAYING America.  This is just another day at the office for you, though.  Most players (and there were many players, many players...) that wanted to opt out had decided long b4 the anthem rule came down. It wasn’t discussed once in our meetings about the visit.”

Trump said on the South Lawn Tuesday: “We love our country, we respect our flag and we always proudly stand for the national anthem. We always will stand for the national anthem.”

--Separately, we note the passing of the great San Francisco receiver, Dwight Clark, who died of Lou Gehrig’s disease at the age of 61.

The 49ers said in a statement: “For almost four decades, he served as a charismatic ambassador for our team and the Bay Area. Dwight’s personality and his sense of humor endeared him to everyone he came into contact with, even during his most trying times. The strength, perseverance and grace with which he battled ALS will long serve as an inspiration to so many.”

The 6-foot-4 Clark will forever be linked to Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, who threw him the pass that would become known as “The Catch.” That was Clark’s six-yard grab in the back of the end zone with 51 seconds left against the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship game on Jan. 10, 1982. The fingertip reception clinched a 28-27 win over the nighty Cowboys and paved the way for the first of five Super Bowl victories by the 49ers.

Clark, a 10th-round pick out of Clemson in 1979, became the toast of San Francisco.  He would go on to have a nine-year career with the 49ers, snagging 506 passes for 6,750 yards and 48 touchdowns.

But three years ago he began to lose strength in his hands, and he was diagnosed with ALS.

French Open

Serena Williams was scheduled to square off against Maria Sharapova, who had ripped her in a book, only the fourth round match, a tasty one, never took place because for the first time in a Grand Slam event, her 67th dating from 1998, Williams had to withdraw due to a pectoral issue.

So Sharapova reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since her doping suspension in April 2017 in a walkover.  Williams held a 19-2 record against the Russian.

On the men’s side, Rafael Nadal, seeking his 11th French Open title, continues to roll.

Stuff

--Remember how Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius committed two titanic gaffes in the Champions League final against Real Madrid?

Well, the German had tests at hospitals in Boston and doctors said he had sustained a concussion prior to the first of the errors that was “likely” felt immediately.

Dr. Ross Zafonte said it was “possible” the injury “would affect performance.”  He came to his conclusion after reviewing “game film,” a “physical examination” and “objective metrics.”

Zafonte said Karius had suffered from “visual spatial dysfunction,” a process which hampers a person’s ability to process visual information about where objects are in space.

He said it was “likely” that would have occurred immediately after the event that caused the concussion.

Karius collided with Real defender Sergio Ramos early in the second half of the final – when the score was goalless, and then minutes after that collision, Karius threw the ball against Real striker Karim Benzema, and it rolled home to give the Spaniards the lead.

In the aftermath of the game, Karius received death threats.

But why he revealed this possible explanation is beyond me, and a lot of players in the sport say people will just say he is making an excuse, which it could be, but that doesn’t change what happened on the pitch.

Top 3 songs for the week 6/7/80: #1 “Funkytown” (Lipps, Inc. ...tune hasn’t aged well...)  #2 “Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)” (Paul McCartney & Wings...another crappy one from Sir Paul...)  #3 “Biggest Part Of Me” (Ambrosia...oh, I have a story behind this one...but can’t tell it...wouldn’t be prudent...)...and...#4 “Don’t Fall In Love With A Dreamer” (Kenny Rogers with Kim Carnes) #5 “Call Me” (Blondie)  #6 “The Rose” (Bette Midler)  #7 “Against The Wind” (Bob Seger)  #8 “Hurt So Bad” (Linda Ronstadt)  #9 “Cars” (Gary Numan)  #10 “Little Jeannie” (Elton John...basically a week of crapola...back to the ‘60s...)

Triple Crown Quiz Answer: Twelve horses to win it....

1919 – Sir Barton
1930 – Gallant Fox
1935 – Omaha
1937 – War Admiral
1941 – Whirlaway
1943 – Count Fleet
1946 – Assault
1948 – Citation
1973 – Secretariat
1977 – Seattle Slew
1978 – Affirmed
2015 – American Pharoah

Next Bar Chat, Monday.

Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, D-Day message to all of the ground, naval, and air “crusaders,” June 5, 1944, in preparation for the cross-channel attack the next morning.

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not an easy one.  Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened.  He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944!  Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned!  The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!

Good Luck!  And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

 



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Bar Chat

06/07/2018

Operation Overlord

[Posted Wed. a.m. ...June 6...we remember D-Day....]

Triple Crown Quiz: How many of the 12 winners of horse racing’s Triple Crown can you name? Answer below.

MLB

--The Yankees split a day-night doubleheader Monday against the Tigers in Detroit, winning the first game 7-4 behind Luis Severino’s eight innings, 2 runs, and 10 strikeouts, Severino now a stupendous 9-1, 2.20...with the Yankees 12-1 overall in his starts.  [Contrast that with the 5-7 mark for the Mets when Jacob deGrom is on the mound, pitching to a 1.49 ERA.]

But New York’s Aaron Judge had a  doubleheader to forget, 0 for 9 with a major-league record 8 strikeouts, including 5 times in the nightcap, Yanks losing 4-2.  Judge has fanned 83 times in 214 at-bats, compared with 208 in 542 ABs last year.

However, after hitting 52 home runs last season, he does still have 16 this year, so essentially on a 45+ homer pace.

New York then gave Judge Tuesday off, as the Yanks resumed their winning ways, beating the Tigers 7-2 behind CC Sabathia.  Earlier, the team learned they had lost starter Jordan Montgomery to Tommy John surgery, a big blow, with Montgomery 2-0, 3.62, in six starts after a solid rookie campaign in 2017.

[CC, by the way, in 17 games following a Yankees loss, going back to last season, is 10-0 with a 2.71 ERA.]

Domingo German will be the permanent fifth starter, behind Severino, Tanaka, Gray and CC.  But there is even more pressure for the Yanks to go after Cole Hamels.

Lastly, the Yankees scored a win off the field when they got ESPN to change their Sunday telecast on July 8. The network had picked Yankees-Blue Jays for that day, but New York bitched up a storm, led by manager, and former ESPN employee, Aaron Boone, who argued it was unfair to have the Yankee players compete in a late-night Sunday tilt, and then fly to Baltimore for a doubleheader on Monday, July 9.

Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred stepped in to broker a deal, and the July 8 Yankees-Jays game will begin at its originally scheduled time – 1:00 p.m.  Dodgers-Angels will air that Sunday night instead.

--The irrelevant Mets entered Tuesday’s game against the Orioles having scored one run in their past 24 innings, losers of 9 of 11.  Make that two runs in 33 innings, the Mets suffering their fifth loss in a row, now 10 of 12, falling to Baltimore and Alex Cobb, 2-1. The same Alex Cobb who entered the game 1-7, 6.80 ERA, giving up 72 hits in 46 1/3.

But last night, Cobb allowed just 2 hits in 6 innings, with the Mets’ 3-hit for the second consecutive game.  Yuck.

And get this...with the improved pitching of Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler, entering Tuesday, the Mets’ starters over the last 16 games had an ERA of 2.48, yet the beyond hideous bullpen led to a 5-11 mark over that span.  Between this and the deGrom record, it has to be the worst in the history of the game.

The Mets are now 12-18 at home and Citi Field has become a morgue.

But this weekend it won’t be a morgue, because the Mets are hosting the Yankees!  Yes, the place will be packed with Yankees fans.

--The great Max Scherzer did it again last night, going 8 innings in a 4-2 win over Tampa Bay, allowing 2 runs while striking out 13 and improving his record to 10-1, 1.95 ERA.

In the game he threw the second “immaculate inning” of his career, believed to be just the fifth pitcher in MLB history to do so multiple times.

Facing Johnny Field, Christian Arroyo and Daniel Robertson in the top of the sixth, Scherzer struck out all three on nine pitches.  Overall, 81 of his 99 pitches were for strikes, the highest rate of any starter this season, and the best performance in this regard for his career.  He also recorded 25 first-pitch strikes (out of 28 hitters).

Monday, Scherzer donned a Capitals jersey and helped rile up the crowd at Washington’s Game 4 Stanley Cup Final win over the Vegas Golden Knights.

--I’ve been writing how well the Dodgers have played over the years without Clayton Kershaw, and since he went back on the DL, this time with another back issue, L.A. has won 4 in a row, including 5-0 over the Pirates in Pittsburgh last night, the Dodgers back to .500, 30-30, after starting out 16-26. So they are 14-4 since, and within striking distance of first place in the N.L. West, just two games back of 32-28 Arizona.

--Madison Bumgarner made his season debut last night, after breaking his pinkie on his pitching hand during his final start of spring training.  Bumgarner yielded just 2 runs in 6 innings against Arizona, but lost the game, 3-2.

--We note the passing of former Pirates and Angels hurler Bruce Kison. He was 68 and died of cancer.

It was in 1971 when, as a rookie, Kison won Game 4 of the 1971 World Series when he threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings of one-hit relief against the Baltimore Orioles, with the Pirates winning the Series in seven games. It was an historic game in that it was the first World Series game played under the lights

When the Pirates met the Orioles again in the 1979 World Series, Kison started the first game and lost, getting just one out and giving up five before he was removed after a nightmare of an outing on a cold night. But the Pirates won that Series, again in seven.

Despite that ’79 start, Kison had a 5-1 record, 1.98 ERA, in 10 postseason appearances.

Overall in his career, which included a final season in Boston, Kison was a solid 115-88, 3.66.  He also had 12 saves.  After retiring as a player, he went on to become the pitching coach for the Royals (1994-98) and Baltimore (1999).

--Finally, the College Baseball Championship is down to the Super Regionals, 16 teams, the eight winners of play this coming weekend advancing to Omaha and the College World Series.

Just two teams from the ACC made it this far, Duke (which beat Georgia to advance) and North Carolina.  The top two teams in the country, Florida and Oregon State, advanced as well.  The Beaverwear is at the top of the sports drawer.

Stanley Cup Final

The Washington Capitals whipped the Vegas Golden Knights 6-2 on Monday to take a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 lead, Game 5 in Vegas on Thursday.

Warriors vs. Cavaliers

This series is over...Golden State up 2-0 as they travel to Cleveland for Game 3 tonight.  There was no way the Cavs could recover from their Game 1 meltdown, and George Hill’s missed free throw and J.R. Smith’s gaffe for the ages.

The Belmont

It is very possible we will have a third straight Triple Crown race in the slop, as storms are in the forecast for Saturday’s running of the Belmont Stakes.  Justify pulled the No. 1 post position for this ultimate test, a mile-and-a-half, and is currently at 4-5, with Hofburg 9-2, followed by Bravazo and Vino Rosso at 8-1.

Both Good Magic and Audible were held out, their owners opting to go for the lucrative summer stakes circuit. Audible’s ownership is the same as Justify’s, as well, and they made the decision not to potentially spoil Justify’s run for immortality.

NFL Anthem Controversy

Monday night, President Trump disinvited the Philadelphia Eagles from a celebration at the White House, eventually announcing plans to change the event the next day to “a celebration of the American flag” with Eagles fans and performances by the United States Marine Band and Army Chorus. The Eagles had reportedly only planned to send a small contingent of players, less than 10, per reports.

Trump tweeted: “The Philadelphia Eagles Football Team was invited to the White House. Unfortunately, only a small number of players decided to come, and we canceled the event. Staying in the Locker Room for the playing of our National Anthem is as disrespectful to our country as kneeling. Sorry!”

Tuesday, the White House blamed the Eagles for the president’s decision to cancel.  Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement that the Eagles notified the White House last Thursday that 81 individuals, including players, coaches and managers would be attending.

However, the team got back in touch with the White House late Friday and tried to reschedule, proposing a time when Trump would be overseas.

In the end, Sanders said the Eagles offered to send “only a tiny handful of representatives” to the event, “while making clear that the great majority of players would not attend.”

“In other words, the vast majority of the Eagles team decided to abandon their fans,” Sanders said, prompting Trump to cancel.

But in a true outrage, it turns out Fox News Monday night aired footage of Eagles players kneeling before a game, claiming it was a protest during the national anthem, when they were actually praying.  A big freakin’ lie.  The network apologized for what it described as an “error.”

Christopher Wallace, the executive producer of Fox News @Night, explained in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports: “During our report about President Trump canceling the Philadelphia Eagles’ trip to the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl win, we showed unrelated footage of players kneeling in prayer.  To clarify, no members of the team knelt in protest during the national anthem throughout the regular or post-season last year. We apologize for the error.”

The segment on Fox News aired less than 12 hours after President Trump announced he was rescinding the invitation to the White House.

Eagles tight end Zach Ertz and defensive lineman Chris Long criticized Fox.  Ertz wrote on Twitter: “This can’t be serious. Praying before games with my teammates, well before the anthem, is being used for your propaganda?!  Just sad.  I feel like you guys should have to be better than this....”

Long wrote: “Imagine wanting to please the boss so very badly that you run stills of guys knelt down PRAYING during pregame,” Long wrote. “Not one Eagles player knelt for the anthem this yr.  Keep carrying his water to sow division while mispresenting Christian men. Aren’t many of your viewers...never mind.”

“You’re complicit in PLAYING America.  This is just another day at the office for you, though.  Most players (and there were many players, many players...) that wanted to opt out had decided long b4 the anthem rule came down. It wasn’t discussed once in our meetings about the visit.”

Trump said on the South Lawn Tuesday: “We love our country, we respect our flag and we always proudly stand for the national anthem. We always will stand for the national anthem.”

--Separately, we note the passing of the great San Francisco receiver, Dwight Clark, who died of Lou Gehrig’s disease at the age of 61.

The 49ers said in a statement: “For almost four decades, he served as a charismatic ambassador for our team and the Bay Area. Dwight’s personality and his sense of humor endeared him to everyone he came into contact with, even during his most trying times. The strength, perseverance and grace with which he battled ALS will long serve as an inspiration to so many.”

The 6-foot-4 Clark will forever be linked to Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, who threw him the pass that would become known as “The Catch.” That was Clark’s six-yard grab in the back of the end zone with 51 seconds left against the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship game on Jan. 10, 1982. The fingertip reception clinched a 28-27 win over the nighty Cowboys and paved the way for the first of five Super Bowl victories by the 49ers.

Clark, a 10th-round pick out of Clemson in 1979, became the toast of San Francisco.  He would go on to have a nine-year career with the 49ers, snagging 506 passes for 6,750 yards and 48 touchdowns.

But three years ago he began to lose strength in his hands, and he was diagnosed with ALS.

French Open

Serena Williams was scheduled to square off against Maria Sharapova, who had ripped her in a book, only the fourth round match, a tasty one, never took place because for the first time in a Grand Slam event, her 67th dating from 1998, Williams had to withdraw due to a pectoral issue.

So Sharapova reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since her doping suspension in April 2017 in a walkover.  Williams held a 19-2 record against the Russian.

On the men’s side, Rafael Nadal, seeking his 11th French Open title, continues to roll.

Stuff

--Remember how Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius committed two titanic gaffes in the Champions League final against Real Madrid?

Well, the German had tests at hospitals in Boston and doctors said he had sustained a concussion prior to the first of the errors that was “likely” felt immediately.

Dr. Ross Zafonte said it was “possible” the injury “would affect performance.”  He came to his conclusion after reviewing “game film,” a “physical examination” and “objective metrics.”

Zafonte said Karius had suffered from “visual spatial dysfunction,” a process which hampers a person’s ability to process visual information about where objects are in space.

He said it was “likely” that would have occurred immediately after the event that caused the concussion.

Karius collided with Real defender Sergio Ramos early in the second half of the final – when the score was goalless, and then minutes after that collision, Karius threw the ball against Real striker Karim Benzema, and it rolled home to give the Spaniards the lead.

In the aftermath of the game, Karius received death threats.

But why he revealed this possible explanation is beyond me, and a lot of players in the sport say people will just say he is making an excuse, which it could be, but that doesn’t change what happened on the pitch.

Top 3 songs for the week 6/7/80: #1 “Funkytown” (Lipps, Inc. ...tune hasn’t aged well...)  #2 “Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)” (Paul McCartney & Wings...another crappy one from Sir Paul...)  #3 “Biggest Part Of Me” (Ambrosia...oh, I have a story behind this one...but can’t tell it...wouldn’t be prudent...)...and...#4 “Don’t Fall In Love With A Dreamer” (Kenny Rogers with Kim Carnes) #5 “Call Me” (Blondie)  #6 “The Rose” (Bette Midler)  #7 “Against The Wind” (Bob Seger)  #8 “Hurt So Bad” (Linda Ronstadt)  #9 “Cars” (Gary Numan)  #10 “Little Jeannie” (Elton John...basically a week of crapola...back to the ‘60s...)

Triple Crown Quiz Answer: Twelve horses to win it....

1919 – Sir Barton
1930 – Gallant Fox
1935 – Omaha
1937 – War Admiral
1941 – Whirlaway
1943 – Count Fleet
1946 – Assault
1948 – Citation
1973 – Secretariat
1977 – Seattle Slew
1978 – Affirmed
2015 – American Pharoah

Next Bar Chat, Monday.

Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, D-Day message to all of the ground, naval, and air “crusaders,” June 5, 1944, in preparation for the cross-channel attack the next morning.

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not an easy one.  Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened.  He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944!  Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned!  The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!

Good Luck!  And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.