Stocks and News
Home | Week in Review Process | Terms of Use | About UsContact Us
   Articles Go Fund Me All-Species List Hot Spots Go Fund Me
Week in Review   |  Bar Chat    |  Hot Spots    |   Dr. Bortrum    |   Wall St. History
Stock and News: Bar Chat
 Search Our Archives: 
  
 


   

 

 

 


Baseball Reference

Bar Chat

AddThis Feed Button

   

07/02/2018

Vlad and the Russkies Move On!

[Posted 7:00 PM Sunday, prior to Yanks-Red Sox...and the finale of the US Senior Open.]

Wimbledon Quiz: In the Open Era (since 1968), name the six to win at least three men’s titles. Answer below.

World Cup

--“Super Saturday” proved to be a bust for Lionel Messi and Ronaldo, and supporters of Argentina and Portugal, respectively, seeing their boys knocked out by France, which beat Argentina 4-3, and Uruguay, which defeated Portugal 2-1, Messi and Ronaldo both going scoreless; Messi now having played 756 minutes in World Cup knockout play with zero scores.

So the debate about who is the GOAT (greatest of all time), remained unsettled, though most would concede it’s Ronaldo, today.  Both now, however, may have made their final appearances in the WC.

Messi looked old and tired on Saturday. Ronaldo just didn’t get the kind of support from his teammates in terms of getting the ball in the right spot for him to maneuver and work his magic.

In the Uruguay game, the star was Edinson Cavani, who scored twice, though he limped off the field in the 74h, status going forward unknown. [Late word is not good...hamstring injury.]

Uruguay makes the last eight at the World Cup for the first time since its fourth-place finish in 2010.

One more on Argentina.  As Dr. W. told me, why the heck didn’t Manchester City striker/superstar Sergio Aguero start, Aguero with a late goal for Argentina once he did get into the game? What was Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli thinking?

--With the wins by France and Uruguay, that extended a World Cup streak of 16 straight games for group-stage winners in the first knockout game – dating back to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa – that a group winner beat the team which was runner-up in the cross-over group.  [But then in Sunday’s first game, Russia broke that streak.]

--Chuck Culpepper and Sam Fortier / Washington Post

“The notion of this World Cup as something mercifully light on dreariness while unusually rich in sparkle deepened in Kazan Arena early Saturday evening, when a heaving, crackling gem of a round-of-16 bout saw France best Argentina, 4-3, while momentous scene piled atop momentous scene.

“In the final such scene, Lionel Messi stared off blankly with trademark opacity while a billion or so Earthlings accustomed to watching him might have wondered which thoughts coursed behind that absurdly famous face. The fourth World Cup venture of the player widely deemed the world’s best had wound up kaput sooner than any of the other three, which had gone quarterfinal, quarterfinal and final.

“Yet somehow, as a player who just reached 31 might have surmised a final trudge away, a player who hasn’t yet reached 20 supplied a bouquet of scenes that also matter globally. At the moment when France’s charismatic Kylian Mbappe followed one of the two goals he scored and the three he caused by sliding on his knees with his arms folded, the 19-year-old stated his grandest ‘Here I am’ to date.

“And to think: His goals in the 64yj and 68th minutes, which finished a young France team’s strong-stomach climb from a 2-1 deficit to a 4-2 lead, somehow gave way scene-wise to something way back in the 11th.  In that, Mbappe materialized at the midpoint of a dreary Argentina pass atop the French box and began making his way alone down the pitch like some cartoon giant with seemingly half of Buenos Aires giving chase, his stomping steps seemingly audible, until Marco Rojo spilled the big lad and met with referee’s arrest.

“Antoine Griezmann slid the penalty behind a sliding Franco Armani, France led 1-0 on a goal awarded to the outstanding Griezmann yet wreaked by Mbappe, and the audience buzzed about having seen something powerful....”

Mbappe became the first player younger than 20 to score twice in a World Cup game since Pele in 1958.

Christopher Clarey / New York Times

“Many a great player has never won the World Cup, and it seems ever more likely that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will end up on that list.

“Messi is 31 now, still a master of the close-quarters dribble and the quick strike. Ronaldo is 33, still capable of scoring productively for club and country and howling into a referee’s face after receiving a yellow card for dissent.

“The desire remains, but so does the frustration. For all of their individual wizardry, neither has conjured a goal in the knockout phase of his sport’s essential tournament, and now they are both out of it again after being upstaged by opposing players on Saturday....

“They have won national prizes: Argentina and Messi won Olympic gold in 2008; Portugal and Ronaldo won the European Championship by surprise in 2016.

“But the biggest prize keeps going to others, perhaps even to France or Uruguay this year.”

So on to today, Spain and host Russia, No. 70-rated Russia, that is, and while it was hardly a scintillating regular and extra-time affair over the first 120 minutes, 1-1, Russia prevailed 4-3 on penalty kicks to shock Spain and move on to the quarterfinals.  Vlad the Impaler is one happy man, Russia’s success redounding to him politically without a doubt.  The average Russian has a lot to be depressed about, so the good feelings generated by the boys on the pitch helps bigly.

The star ended up being Russia’s keeper, Igor Akinfeev, who saved Koke’s and Iago Aspas’ spot kicks; the first one, by Koke, was a weak effort, but Akinfeev made a spectacular leg save on the fifth to seal the deal.

Russia makes the quarterfinals for the first time in 48 years.  Wow.

Then in the second game, another rather boring affair, it was also 1-1, heading into extra time....

....that is it was boring until it wasn’t.  In ET, players cramping up in the heat and humidity, on a breakaway, Croatia got an opportunity for a penalty kick in the 116th minute (of 120).  Game over, right?

Wrong. Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester City’s keeper) made a superb stop for Denmark and we headed to penalty kicks, just like the first game.

I know there are many who don’t like the PK ending, but I love it.  You just have to imagine the pressure, on both ends, and what we witnessed today was truly spectacular as Schmeichel saved two of the first three Croatia kicks, but Danijel Subasic was up to the task for his team and in the end, Croatia prevailed 3-2 in what the BBC described after as “nerve-shredding.” That it was.

So thus far in the quarters, we have France vs. Uruguay; Russia vs. Croatia.

The other two quarters will be decided by the action the next two days.

Monday, it’s Brazil vs. Mexico; Belgium vs. Japan.

Tuesday, we have Sweden vs. Switzerland; Colombia vs. England.

As for England, who I’m rooting for with Iceland out, in their Group match last Thursday against Belgium, it was one of those you get now and then in Group play...where it isn’t always advantageous to win, depending on the bracket you get thrown into.  And so in losing 1-0, England got the seemingly easier way forward, while Belgium is in the same bracket with France, Uruguay and Brazil.

--I’m kind of surprised to see Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris in goal for France. Watching the Spurs as closely as I do, I just don’t think he’s that good.

Speaking of Tottenham, next to Harry Kane, my second favorite player in soccer is the Spurs’ Christian Eriksen and he was a goat today for Denmark, missing the first penalty kick.

--Mike Lupica / New York Daily News

“You watch these World Cup games, and watch the way the fans of the countries involved are as wonderfully invested as they are, and have to believe that the last time our country was as invested in one of our national teams – and no disrespect to the American women when they won the World Cup – was when our hockey kids beat the Russians and won a gold medal in Lake Placid.  Thirty-eight years ago.”

--Wayne Rooney, one of the top names in the Premier League and English soccer history, is joining D.C. United in a coup for the MLS.  Yes, I know. Rooney is 32 and his best days are behind him, but he’s still more than capable and will help D.C. usher in a new era with a new stadium.  Rooney’s rights with Everton are being purchased and he’s signing a 2 ½-year guaranteed contract.

What a move like this does is it may force yours truly to follow the MLS just a little.  Heretofore, I haven’t.  Rooney’s an a-hole, but a most entertaining one.

MLB

--It was funny after the Yankees beat Boston in the opener of a critical three-game series in the Bronx on Friday, 8-1, that Saturday morning, many on local sports radio were talking about the Yankees running away with the AL East, while the saner folks realize this race is going down to the wire, and as I will note ad nauseam the rest of the way, if you’re Boston or New York you must win the division and avoid the wild-card playoff.  [Ditto Houston and Seattle in the AL West.]

Friday, CC Sabathia continued to play the role of grizzled veteran, throwing seven innings of 1-run ball, improving his record to 5-3, 3.02. 

But then Saturday, Boston rolled 11-0, Chris Sale with seven innings of 1-hit ball, 11 Ks, as he upped his record to 8-4, 2.41.  He now has a career ERA against the Yanks of 1.73, the best since 1920 of any pitcher who has at least ten starts against the Bronx Bombers.

For New York, starter Sonny Gray once again was shelled at home, 6 earned in 2 1/3, as his record fell to 5-6, 5.44.

But here’s the thing. Gray has made 16 starts this season, eight at home, eight on the road, and here are his splits.

Home – 2-3, 8.25!
Away – 3-3, 3.28

In fact, he has now made 13 starts at the Little Bandbox Ruth Didn’t Build over his season-and-a-third in the Bronx and has an ERA of something like 7.40, the worst in Yankee history for that many starts.

Gray also has a 9.35 ERA in his four starts as a Yankee against the Red Sox.

Yes, the Yanks’ rotation is a concern for a team that won’t accept anything less than winning a World Series.

Behind Luis Severino and Sabathia, the starting rotation is a huge question mark, especially given the iffy health of Masahiro Tanaka.  GM Brian Cashman knows he has to deal for a starter, soon.  And there sit the Mets, across the way, with Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom; though the two teams, for obvious reasons, have a history of reluctance in dealing with each other.

Meanwhile, for Boston, how great has J.D. Martinez been?  With three ribbies on three hits Saturday, he’s at .327 BA, 25 HR, 67 RBIs, 1.033 OPS.

--How bad have my Mets been?  They lost with Jacob deGrom on the mound for a second straight time on Saturday, 5-2 (deGrom yielding 3 earned in six innings both outings, the Mets 6-11 when he’s on the mound, overall, despite his 1.84 ERA), with awful fielding and runners not busting it to first, which meant the Mets completed their worst June in franchise history, 5-21.  According to the Elias Sports Bureau, they went from 10 games over .500 (11-1, 12-2) to 15 games under faster than any team in major league history!  Oh, and they also hit a league-worst .210 in June.

Plus, on Friday and Saturday, with the Mets losing 8-2 Friday, Marlins starters Sandy Alcantara and Pablo Lopez won their first major league starts, marking the first time since 1967 that a team had consecutive wins out of two making such debuts since Gary Nolan and Mel Queen did so for the Reds.

And you have the case of Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who the team signed to a four-year, $110 million contract before the 2017 season, after a one-year, $27 million deal in 2016, and he played a whopping 81 games last year due to a variety of leg injuries, and just 37 thus far in 2018.  Cespedes, the key to the team’s offense, was placed on the DL May 16 with a “mild strain” of the right hip flexor and six weeks later, there is zero sign he is returning any time soon.

I mean they still owe the lazy SOB $58.5 million in 2019 and 2020!

I keep pleading with Johnny Mac to send me my sword, after he uses it on himself, but then we both recently agreed we need to wait until after Carnoustie, which at that point, I might as well see if the Wake Forest football team is worth a damn.

Kevin Kernan / New York Post

“Losing is a disease. The Mets are living proof of that.

“They have perfected the art of losing with a 5-21 month of June, their worst June swoon ever....

“There needs to be a complete cultural shift and a lot of different players, because these Mets have become an embarrassment. They own the key to unlock a different way to lose nearly every game.

“Bad defense.  Check.

“Bad selection of pitches.  Check.

“Bad instincts.  Check.

“Bad clutch hitting.  Check....

“Mets manager Mickey Callaway said it would do no good to blow up in the media regarding the Mets’ losing ways. He said he addresses those issues with the players. With so much losing, there certainly is disharmony in the clubhouse. Some players who thought Terry Collins was the Mets’ problem are now not happy with Callaway’s first-year managing style.

“Too bad.  Get a bigger mirror and look into it.

“Callaway has made his mistakes, but this goes way beyond managerial decisions.

“Losing is a disease. Losing is a culture.”

I would add that Callaway is in way over his head.

Well, today, the Mets did win 5-2 to finish up the first half a scintillating 33-48, five games worse than last season at the midpoint.  Meaningful games in July are not in the cards, let alone September.  Sucks.

But one more on the Metsies...Tim Tebow made the Eastern League (AA) All-Star team as his batting average is up to .257, following a solid June.

Granted, he only has five homers and 30 RBIs, and his strikeout ratio is hideous, but you know how I like the guy so what the hell.  He’ll help sell tickets in Trenton, where the All-Star Game is being held.  And at this point, I’d say there is little doubt the Mets bring him up at the end of September, even if just for a cameo.  At least we’d have something to cheer about.

--How about Cincinnati relief pitcher Michael Lorenzen!  Lorenzen hit a grand slam on Saturday in the Reds’ 12-3 win over Milwaukee (the second by a Cincy pitcher in a week, fourth homer in eight days by Reds hurlers), but it was also Lorenzen’s third homer in his past three at-bats.

The guy is now 4 for 6 this season, with those three homers and six RBIs.  In his career, he is now 16 for 59, .271, with five home runs, 14 RBIs, and a .854 OPS.

Also for Cincinnati Saturday, Tyler Mahle struck out 12 in just 5 2/3, though he had a no-decision due to a fielding error behind him.

Give the Reds credit.  They were 22-43, but have now won 13 of 18 to get to 35-48, and there is some excitement, and hope, for the future.

Interim manager Jim Riggleman is 32-33, after Cincinnati fired Bryan Price following the team’s 3-15 start.

You want strong franchises in places like Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and St. Louis.  Just better for the health of the sport.

One more...the last pitcher to homer in three straight at-bats was Colorado’s Mike Hampton in 2001.

--Back to the Yankees, as a jealous Mets fan, what a great time for followers of the Evil Empire. Gleyber Torres is 21.  Miguel Andujar is 23. Aaron Judge is 26. Giancarlo Stanton 28. Gary Sanchez 25. Didi Gregorius 28.  Heck, even Greg Bird, if he ever stays healthy enough to truly blossom, is just 25.

And you have an ace in Severino who is 24.

[But Boston has four stars of their own – Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers, who are all between 21 and 25. And so the rivalry will continue.....and more Sunday night games between the two, unfortunately.]

--The Dodgers lost to the Cubs on Thursday in L.A., 11-5, but at least Clayton Kershaw looked good, going five innings and yielding just one run, while striking out six, no walks.

At this point, the Dodgers just want six efficient innings from him the rest of the way...and keep him healthy. Afterward he said everything (back and shoulder) felt strong.

--In the College World Series, Oregon State took their third national championship with a 5-0 win over Arkansas in Game 3 on Thursday, the Beavers having come within a strike of losing in Game 2.

Freshman pitcher Kevin Abel stifled the Razorbacks with a two-hit complete-game shutout,  allowing two walks, while string out 10, and throwing 129 pitches, as he retired the last 20 batters he faced. Abel became the first pitcher to win four games in a single College World Series and the fourth to throw a shutout in the championship game, the last to do so being Brett Laxton of LSU in 1993.

As Ronald Reagan would have said, ‘Not bad, not bad at all.’

Abel has been both a starter and reliever all season, and two of his four wins in the CWS came in relief.

But in Game 2, Arkansas led 3-2 with two outs in the ninth when Oregon State’s Cadyn Grenier sent a two-strike pop-up down the right-field line.  But instead of it being a title-clinching out, the ball fell in foul territory between three Arkansas fielders.

Grenier then took advantage of the reprieve, singling in the tying run three pitches later. Trevor Lamach then followed with a two-run homer and the Beavers won 5-3. Arkansas had taken Game 1 of the best-of-three on Tuesday, 4-1, as I wrote last time.

NBA

--Just like the NFL finds a way to intrude on other sports, even in its offseason, the NBA has mastered the art of taking away the stage from baseball come July, when the free agent season begins.

And this offseason it’s all about LeBron James, who opted out of his contract with Cleveland to test the free agent waters again; all LeBron, 24/7.  At 33 he’s still the NBA’s best player and he knows it.  In Cleveland, he became a major part of the local economy in the winter time.

But rather than exercise his $35.6 million option to stay under his current contract for another year, he’s testing the market – which means he can sign with the likes of the Lakers, Celtics, Rockets or 76ers, the teams deemed to be in serious contention for his services.

Or he could go back to Cleveland, but that is highly unlikely.

I keep saying he should go to Philly, but the Lakers could emerge victorious, if, and only if, they trade for Kawhi Leonard first, which LeBron would require, we assume.

But in the meantime, with free agency officially opening up at midnight, Sunday, players allowed to officially sign on July 6, there has been a flurry of activity.

I’m shocked, but Paul George agreed to re-sign with Oklahoma City for four years, $137 million; a deal involving a player option for the fourth season.

Of course there had been strong rumors George was heading to the Lakers.  It was last August that L.A. was fined for tampering when the NBA discovered that George’s agent had improper communication with Lakers GM Rob Pelinka.

But George has been happy with the Thunder organization, and major kudos to them for locking up both Russell Westbrook and George for at least three more years (though they have to deal with Carmelo Anthony just kind of hanging around this coming season).

Kevin Durant intends to re-sign with Golden State, as expected, but just on a two-year max deal and he can opt out after next season.  He’ll make a reported $30 million for 2018-19 (as opposed to the $35.3 million it would have been on a four-year deal).

In Houston, due to the way the NBA’s salary structure is laid out, Chris Paul was able to agree to a four-year, $160 million! deal to stay with the Rockets. But the guy is 33.  Good luck in years three and four, mused the editor.

So we come back to LeBron.  The Lakers now have to trade for Kawhi, quickly, to entice James, but even with Kawhi, will that be enough for him; James hoping L.A. would have also attracted Paul George?

[Late word has LeBron’s ‘people’ meeting with the Sixers in L.A.  Not James himself, as Philly tries to figure out a way to trade for Kawhi.]

As for all the other signings, such as DeAndre Jordan to the Mavs, and Trevor Ariza to the Suns, I really don’t care.

--For a brief moment, Knicks and Rangers fans got all excited on stories that owner James Dolan was going to sell the teams as part of a restructuring for the Madison Square Garden holding company.

But then we were told...never mind...

--There was one positive Knicks story for us fans...Enes Kanter opted in for his contract next season, when a lot of us thought he would leave. Kanter averaged 14 points, 11 rebounds, and is a highly-likable, hard-working sort.

So the Turk teased us with a picture of himself on Twitter with the caption, “Make Knicks Great Again.”

Recall, if Kanter ever went back to his native Turkey, he’d be jailed for his anti-government statements.

Here, you and I can say whatever we f’n want!!!  Appreciate that.

Golf Balls

--Congratulations to Italy’s Francesco Molinari, who became the first Italian-born player since Tony Penna, way back in 1947, to win on U.S. soil.  Molinari won by eight shots at the Quicken Loans National in steamy Potomac, MD.

Long-time golf fans have watched the guy, knowing his success overseas, but he’s been always falling short here.  Not this week. Good for Francesco!  A popular win.

Tiger Woods finished T-4, but was ten shots back and once again his putter betrayed him on short ones.

--We note the passing of golfer Phil Rodgers, 80. Rodgers won five times on the PGA Tour from 1962 to 1966, but after turning 28, he never won again.  In 1962, at the age of 23, he won the Los Angeles Open by nine strokes. It seemed like he had a brilliant future.

Rodgers made the Jan. 14, 1963, cover of Sports Illustrated under the headline “The Brashest Man in Golf,” as he was known for being outspoken and supremely confident in his own ability.

But success was limited.  While he never won a major championship, he came close at the British Open.  After finishing third at Troon in 1962, Arnold Palmer winning the Claret Jug, Rodgers tied with New Zealand’s Bob Charles after 72 holes at Royal Lytham in 1963, one stroke ahead of Jack Nicklaus. But The Open used a 36-hole playoff at the time (yikes, that would be truly hideous today), and Charles won by eight strokes.

Rodgers then finished fourth in the 1966 British Open, at Muirfield, with Nicklaus winning the first of his three Open Championships.

Rodgers also tied for third at the 1962 U.S. Open.

But after leaving the tour, Rodgers became well-known as a short-game instructor, and Jack Nicklaus credited him for his victory at the 1980 U.S. Open at Baltusrol (where your editor had his best job ever as a toy cop guarding the players’ parking lot).

Nicklaus said Rodgers “totally revamped my short game and gave me confidence. It  was a significant part of why I won.”

Rodgers was an outstanding junior golfer at the University of Houston, winning the 1958 NCAA Championship, before joining the Marine Corps.  He then turned pro in 1961.

Stuff

--As rumored, Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston was suspended for the first three games of the 2018 season by the NFL, for violating the league’s personal conduct policy “by touching (an Uber) driver in an inappropriate and sexual manner without her consent,” the NFL having launched an investigation into the March 2016 incident in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Winston won’t appeal. He apologized in a statement, saying in part, “I’m sorry to the Uber driver for the position I put you in. It is uncharacteristic of me and I genuinely apologize.”

But of course it is characteristic of him.

This is it for Jameis.  He has screwed up way too often.  And it is truly an example of a man with a low IQ, who has  a long history of bad behavior.  One more and he’s history.

As things stand, his days in Tampa Bay should already be numbered.  When you listen to analysts like Boomer Esiason, the fans there want to run him out of town.  I’m sure his teammates do as well.

But who will start in Winston’s place the first three?  Ryan Fitzpatrick, the ultimate survivor.

--So I’m reading this story in USA TODAY Sports on Division I  (FBS) transfers in football, and how many of the big schools are relying on them to be their starters this season (think Russell Wilson from days gone by), and what is pretty amazing is that for all positions, there were 211 graduate transfers playing in the FBS in 2017, up from just 17 in 2011.

In terms of quarterback, though, the trend in transfers has led to the near extinction of the four-year backup. As in today, there are only seven quarterbacks in FBS who fit the criteria going into this season.

I remember how at Wake Forest we had a slew of four-year backups at QB, but that was also the time of 110 Div. I scholarships vs. today’s 85.

--The Washington Capitals named Todd Reirden as their next head coach, promoting the top assistant after Barry Trotz’s sudden resignation, Trotz then signing with the Islanders.

The Capitals have been grooming the 47-year-old Reirden for the role, and he was a finalist for Calgary’s head job in 2016, the Capitals then promoting him to associate head coach that summer.

So you have your reason why the Caps let Trotz go...to save money even though he led them to the Stanley Cup...knowing they had a capable (they hope), much cheaper, replacement in Reirden.

--Joe Jackson, the Jackson Family patriarch, died at the age of 89 as I was going to post last time.  I just wanted to include this from the New York Post’s Jessica Sager:

“Joe’s relationship with his famous family has been checkered at best.

“He sired 11 children – 10 with estranged wife Katherine and one, daughter Joh’Vonnie, with (mistress) Cheryl Terrell.  [Ed. Better Joh’Vonnie than Joh’Mama, I guess.]

“In the 1960s and ‘70s, Joe used a combination of business savvy, musical genius and allegedly abusive parenting to turn his five sons – Jermaine, Jackie, Tito, Marlon and Michael – into the legendary Jackson 5, giving Michael a springboard to eventually become the King of Pop.

“His children frequently recalled beatings at Joe’s hand, which Joe didn’t deny, telling Oprah Winfrey that his whippings, for which he used a switch and a belt, ‘kept [them] out of jail and kept them right.’

“In 2014, a family insider told The Post of Joe, ‘He’s no longer a part of the family.’

“Joe himself said in a sad missive on his website in 2014, ‘When I suffered four strokes last year and was in the hospital recovering, only two people in my family traveled all the way to see me. My granddaughter Brandi [Jackie Jackson’s daughter] and my baby girl, Janet.’

“Janet spoke warmly of her father as recently as the Radio Disney Music Awards on June 22, at which she told the audience, ‘My mother nourished me with the most extravagant love imaginable, my father, my incredible father, drove me to be the best that I can. My siblings set an incredibly high standard for artistic excellence.’

“The sibling who set the bar highest, of course, was Michael Jackson, who died of a propofol overdose in 2009. Michael frequently alleged that the Jackson family patriarch physically abused him, famously telling Oprah that the sight of his father made him throw up. Sources close to the family speculated that the King of Pop’s extensive plastic surgery was a desperate effort to eliminate any resemblance he bore to Joe.

“Joe was reportedly left out of Michael’s will entirely.

“ ‘I taught them to be tough,’ Joe told The Post of raising his sons with corporal punishment. ‘We raised them in a tough neighborhood [in Gary, Ind.], where other kids were in gangs and getting into drugs. I didn’t want them to be soft....

“Michael wasn’t the only of Joe’s children with whom he had a poor relationship.

“La Toya Jackson wrote in her 1991 memoir that Joe beat his children and molested her and sister Rebbie.

“ ‘When your father gets out of bed with your mother and gets into bed with his daughter and you hear the mother saying, ‘No, Joe, not tonight. Let her rest. Leave her alone, she’s tired,’ that makes you crazy,’ La Toya wrote.

“At the time of the book’s release, Rebbie denied that Joe raped her, but said he touched her inappropriately.

“Joe denied the allegations of sexual abuse.

“Despite the controversies and tragedies the Jacksons suffered through the years, Joe remained adamant that he had no regrets about anything in his life.

“ ‘Not at all,’ he told The Post in 2014. ‘I don’t live that way.’”

I do just have to add this from a 2001 Michael Jackson interview, when he talked about his father: “Who could have imagined what it was like to grow up a poor black man in the South, robbed of dignity, bereft of hope...working long hours in the steel mills?  Is it any wonder why he pushed his sons so hard to succeed as performers?”

Top 3 songs for the week 7/6/68: #1 “This Guy’s In Love With You” (Herb Alpert) #2 “The Horse” (Cliff Nobles & Co. ...the bane of every high school marching band...)  #3 “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (The Rolling Stones)...and...#4 “The Look Of Love” (Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66) #5 “Grazing In The Grass” (Hugh Masekela)  #6 “Lady Willpower” (Gary Puckett and The Union Gap) #7 “Angel Of The Morning” (Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts) #8 “Here Comes The Judge” (Shorty Long) #9 “MacArthur Park” (Richard Harris...one of the truly awful songs of the century, nay millennium...)  #10 “Reach Out Of The Darkness” (Friend and Lover...great one...)

Wimbledon Quiz Answer: Six to win at least three men’s titles since the Open Era (1968):

Roger Federer, 8; Pete Sampras, 7; Bjorn Borg, 5; John McEnroe, 3; Boris Becker, 3; Novak Djokovic, 3.

Wimbledon starts Monday.  I’ll get into this one once we get to the quarterfinals. [Andy Murray is out with his hip injury.]

Next Bar Chat, Thursday.  [Late Wed., after Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest!  Noon ET, ESPN2]

 



AddThis Feed Button

 

-07/02/2018-      
Web Epoch NJ Web Design  |  (c) Copyright 2016 StocksandNews.com, LLC.

Bar Chat

07/02/2018

Vlad and the Russkies Move On!

[Posted 7:00 PM Sunday, prior to Yanks-Red Sox...and the finale of the US Senior Open.]

Wimbledon Quiz: In the Open Era (since 1968), name the six to win at least three men’s titles. Answer below.

World Cup

--“Super Saturday” proved to be a bust for Lionel Messi and Ronaldo, and supporters of Argentina and Portugal, respectively, seeing their boys knocked out by France, which beat Argentina 4-3, and Uruguay, which defeated Portugal 2-1, Messi and Ronaldo both going scoreless; Messi now having played 756 minutes in World Cup knockout play with zero scores.

So the debate about who is the GOAT (greatest of all time), remained unsettled, though most would concede it’s Ronaldo, today.  Both now, however, may have made their final appearances in the WC.

Messi looked old and tired on Saturday. Ronaldo just didn’t get the kind of support from his teammates in terms of getting the ball in the right spot for him to maneuver and work his magic.

In the Uruguay game, the star was Edinson Cavani, who scored twice, though he limped off the field in the 74h, status going forward unknown. [Late word is not good...hamstring injury.]

Uruguay makes the last eight at the World Cup for the first time since its fourth-place finish in 2010.

One more on Argentina.  As Dr. W. told me, why the heck didn’t Manchester City striker/superstar Sergio Aguero start, Aguero with a late goal for Argentina once he did get into the game? What was Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli thinking?

--With the wins by France and Uruguay, that extended a World Cup streak of 16 straight games for group-stage winners in the first knockout game – dating back to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa – that a group winner beat the team which was runner-up in the cross-over group.  [But then in Sunday’s first game, Russia broke that streak.]

--Chuck Culpepper and Sam Fortier / Washington Post

“The notion of this World Cup as something mercifully light on dreariness while unusually rich in sparkle deepened in Kazan Arena early Saturday evening, when a heaving, crackling gem of a round-of-16 bout saw France best Argentina, 4-3, while momentous scene piled atop momentous scene.

“In the final such scene, Lionel Messi stared off blankly with trademark opacity while a billion or so Earthlings accustomed to watching him might have wondered which thoughts coursed behind that absurdly famous face. The fourth World Cup venture of the player widely deemed the world’s best had wound up kaput sooner than any of the other three, which had gone quarterfinal, quarterfinal and final.

“Yet somehow, as a player who just reached 31 might have surmised a final trudge away, a player who hasn’t yet reached 20 supplied a bouquet of scenes that also matter globally. At the moment when France’s charismatic Kylian Mbappe followed one of the two goals he scored and the three he caused by sliding on his knees with his arms folded, the 19-year-old stated his grandest ‘Here I am’ to date.

“And to think: His goals in the 64yj and 68th minutes, which finished a young France team’s strong-stomach climb from a 2-1 deficit to a 4-2 lead, somehow gave way scene-wise to something way back in the 11th.  In that, Mbappe materialized at the midpoint of a dreary Argentina pass atop the French box and began making his way alone down the pitch like some cartoon giant with seemingly half of Buenos Aires giving chase, his stomping steps seemingly audible, until Marco Rojo spilled the big lad and met with referee’s arrest.

“Antoine Griezmann slid the penalty behind a sliding Franco Armani, France led 1-0 on a goal awarded to the outstanding Griezmann yet wreaked by Mbappe, and the audience buzzed about having seen something powerful....”

Mbappe became the first player younger than 20 to score twice in a World Cup game since Pele in 1958.

Christopher Clarey / New York Times

“Many a great player has never won the World Cup, and it seems ever more likely that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will end up on that list.

“Messi is 31 now, still a master of the close-quarters dribble and the quick strike. Ronaldo is 33, still capable of scoring productively for club and country and howling into a referee’s face after receiving a yellow card for dissent.

“The desire remains, but so does the frustration. For all of their individual wizardry, neither has conjured a goal in the knockout phase of his sport’s essential tournament, and now they are both out of it again after being upstaged by opposing players on Saturday....

“They have won national prizes: Argentina and Messi won Olympic gold in 2008; Portugal and Ronaldo won the European Championship by surprise in 2016.

“But the biggest prize keeps going to others, perhaps even to France or Uruguay this year.”

So on to today, Spain and host Russia, No. 70-rated Russia, that is, and while it was hardly a scintillating regular and extra-time affair over the first 120 minutes, 1-1, Russia prevailed 4-3 on penalty kicks to shock Spain and move on to the quarterfinals.  Vlad the Impaler is one happy man, Russia’s success redounding to him politically without a doubt.  The average Russian has a lot to be depressed about, so the good feelings generated by the boys on the pitch helps bigly.

The star ended up being Russia’s keeper, Igor Akinfeev, who saved Koke’s and Iago Aspas’ spot kicks; the first one, by Koke, was a weak effort, but Akinfeev made a spectacular leg save on the fifth to seal the deal.

Russia makes the quarterfinals for the first time in 48 years.  Wow.

Then in the second game, another rather boring affair, it was also 1-1, heading into extra time....

....that is it was boring until it wasn’t.  In ET, players cramping up in the heat and humidity, on a breakaway, Croatia got an opportunity for a penalty kick in the 116th minute (of 120).  Game over, right?

Wrong. Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester City’s keeper) made a superb stop for Denmark and we headed to penalty kicks, just like the first game.

I know there are many who don’t like the PK ending, but I love it.  You just have to imagine the pressure, on both ends, and what we witnessed today was truly spectacular as Schmeichel saved two of the first three Croatia kicks, but Danijel Subasic was up to the task for his team and in the end, Croatia prevailed 3-2 in what the BBC described after as “nerve-shredding.” That it was.

So thus far in the quarters, we have France vs. Uruguay; Russia vs. Croatia.

The other two quarters will be decided by the action the next two days.

Monday, it’s Brazil vs. Mexico; Belgium vs. Japan.

Tuesday, we have Sweden vs. Switzerland; Colombia vs. England.

As for England, who I’m rooting for with Iceland out, in their Group match last Thursday against Belgium, it was one of those you get now and then in Group play...where it isn’t always advantageous to win, depending on the bracket you get thrown into.  And so in losing 1-0, England got the seemingly easier way forward, while Belgium is in the same bracket with France, Uruguay and Brazil.

--I’m kind of surprised to see Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris in goal for France. Watching the Spurs as closely as I do, I just don’t think he’s that good.

Speaking of Tottenham, next to Harry Kane, my second favorite player in soccer is the Spurs’ Christian Eriksen and he was a goat today for Denmark, missing the first penalty kick.

--Mike Lupica / New York Daily News

“You watch these World Cup games, and watch the way the fans of the countries involved are as wonderfully invested as they are, and have to believe that the last time our country was as invested in one of our national teams – and no disrespect to the American women when they won the World Cup – was when our hockey kids beat the Russians and won a gold medal in Lake Placid.  Thirty-eight years ago.”

--Wayne Rooney, one of the top names in the Premier League and English soccer history, is joining D.C. United in a coup for the MLS.  Yes, I know. Rooney is 32 and his best days are behind him, but he’s still more than capable and will help D.C. usher in a new era with a new stadium.  Rooney’s rights with Everton are being purchased and he’s signing a 2 ½-year guaranteed contract.

What a move like this does is it may force yours truly to follow the MLS just a little.  Heretofore, I haven’t.  Rooney’s an a-hole, but a most entertaining one.

MLB

--It was funny after the Yankees beat Boston in the opener of a critical three-game series in the Bronx on Friday, 8-1, that Saturday morning, many on local sports radio were talking about the Yankees running away with the AL East, while the saner folks realize this race is going down to the wire, and as I will note ad nauseam the rest of the way, if you’re Boston or New York you must win the division and avoid the wild-card playoff.  [Ditto Houston and Seattle in the AL West.]

Friday, CC Sabathia continued to play the role of grizzled veteran, throwing seven innings of 1-run ball, improving his record to 5-3, 3.02. 

But then Saturday, Boston rolled 11-0, Chris Sale with seven innings of 1-hit ball, 11 Ks, as he upped his record to 8-4, 2.41.  He now has a career ERA against the Yanks of 1.73, the best since 1920 of any pitcher who has at least ten starts against the Bronx Bombers.

For New York, starter Sonny Gray once again was shelled at home, 6 earned in 2 1/3, as his record fell to 5-6, 5.44.

But here’s the thing. Gray has made 16 starts this season, eight at home, eight on the road, and here are his splits.

Home – 2-3, 8.25!
Away – 3-3, 3.28

In fact, he has now made 13 starts at the Little Bandbox Ruth Didn’t Build over his season-and-a-third in the Bronx and has an ERA of something like 7.40, the worst in Yankee history for that many starts.

Gray also has a 9.35 ERA in his four starts as a Yankee against the Red Sox.

Yes, the Yanks’ rotation is a concern for a team that won’t accept anything less than winning a World Series.

Behind Luis Severino and Sabathia, the starting rotation is a huge question mark, especially given the iffy health of Masahiro Tanaka.  GM Brian Cashman knows he has to deal for a starter, soon.  And there sit the Mets, across the way, with Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom; though the two teams, for obvious reasons, have a history of reluctance in dealing with each other.

Meanwhile, for Boston, how great has J.D. Martinez been?  With three ribbies on three hits Saturday, he’s at .327 BA, 25 HR, 67 RBIs, 1.033 OPS.

--How bad have my Mets been?  They lost with Jacob deGrom on the mound for a second straight time on Saturday, 5-2 (deGrom yielding 3 earned in six innings both outings, the Mets 6-11 when he’s on the mound, overall, despite his 1.84 ERA), with awful fielding and runners not busting it to first, which meant the Mets completed their worst June in franchise history, 5-21.  According to the Elias Sports Bureau, they went from 10 games over .500 (11-1, 12-2) to 15 games under faster than any team in major league history!  Oh, and they also hit a league-worst .210 in June.

Plus, on Friday and Saturday, with the Mets losing 8-2 Friday, Marlins starters Sandy Alcantara and Pablo Lopez won their first major league starts, marking the first time since 1967 that a team had consecutive wins out of two making such debuts since Gary Nolan and Mel Queen did so for the Reds.

And you have the case of Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who the team signed to a four-year, $110 million contract before the 2017 season, after a one-year, $27 million deal in 2016, and he played a whopping 81 games last year due to a variety of leg injuries, and just 37 thus far in 2018.  Cespedes, the key to the team’s offense, was placed on the DL May 16 with a “mild strain” of the right hip flexor and six weeks later, there is zero sign he is returning any time soon.

I mean they still owe the lazy SOB $58.5 million in 2019 and 2020!

I keep pleading with Johnny Mac to send me my sword, after he uses it on himself, but then we both recently agreed we need to wait until after Carnoustie, which at that point, I might as well see if the Wake Forest football team is worth a damn.

Kevin Kernan / New York Post

“Losing is a disease. The Mets are living proof of that.

“They have perfected the art of losing with a 5-21 month of June, their worst June swoon ever....

“There needs to be a complete cultural shift and a lot of different players, because these Mets have become an embarrassment. They own the key to unlock a different way to lose nearly every game.

“Bad defense.  Check.

“Bad selection of pitches.  Check.

“Bad instincts.  Check.

“Bad clutch hitting.  Check....

“Mets manager Mickey Callaway said it would do no good to blow up in the media regarding the Mets’ losing ways. He said he addresses those issues with the players. With so much losing, there certainly is disharmony in the clubhouse. Some players who thought Terry Collins was the Mets’ problem are now not happy with Callaway’s first-year managing style.

“Too bad.  Get a bigger mirror and look into it.

“Callaway has made his mistakes, but this goes way beyond managerial decisions.

“Losing is a disease. Losing is a culture.”

I would add that Callaway is in way over his head.

Well, today, the Mets did win 5-2 to finish up the first half a scintillating 33-48, five games worse than last season at the midpoint.  Meaningful games in July are not in the cards, let alone September.  Sucks.

But one more on the Metsies...Tim Tebow made the Eastern League (AA) All-Star team as his batting average is up to .257, following a solid June.

Granted, he only has five homers and 30 RBIs, and his strikeout ratio is hideous, but you know how I like the guy so what the hell.  He’ll help sell tickets in Trenton, where the All-Star Game is being held.  And at this point, I’d say there is little doubt the Mets bring him up at the end of September, even if just for a cameo.  At least we’d have something to cheer about.

--How about Cincinnati relief pitcher Michael Lorenzen!  Lorenzen hit a grand slam on Saturday in the Reds’ 12-3 win over Milwaukee (the second by a Cincy pitcher in a week, fourth homer in eight days by Reds hurlers), but it was also Lorenzen’s third homer in his past three at-bats.

The guy is now 4 for 6 this season, with those three homers and six RBIs.  In his career, he is now 16 for 59, .271, with five home runs, 14 RBIs, and a .854 OPS.

Also for Cincinnati Saturday, Tyler Mahle struck out 12 in just 5 2/3, though he had a no-decision due to a fielding error behind him.

Give the Reds credit.  They were 22-43, but have now won 13 of 18 to get to 35-48, and there is some excitement, and hope, for the future.

Interim manager Jim Riggleman is 32-33, after Cincinnati fired Bryan Price following the team’s 3-15 start.

You want strong franchises in places like Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and St. Louis.  Just better for the health of the sport.

One more...the last pitcher to homer in three straight at-bats was Colorado’s Mike Hampton in 2001.

--Back to the Yankees, as a jealous Mets fan, what a great time for followers of the Evil Empire. Gleyber Torres is 21.  Miguel Andujar is 23. Aaron Judge is 26. Giancarlo Stanton 28. Gary Sanchez 25. Didi Gregorius 28.  Heck, even Greg Bird, if he ever stays healthy enough to truly blossom, is just 25.

And you have an ace in Severino who is 24.

[But Boston has four stars of their own – Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers, who are all between 21 and 25. And so the rivalry will continue.....and more Sunday night games between the two, unfortunately.]

--The Dodgers lost to the Cubs on Thursday in L.A., 11-5, but at least Clayton Kershaw looked good, going five innings and yielding just one run, while striking out six, no walks.

At this point, the Dodgers just want six efficient innings from him the rest of the way...and keep him healthy. Afterward he said everything (back and shoulder) felt strong.

--In the College World Series, Oregon State took their third national championship with a 5-0 win over Arkansas in Game 3 on Thursday, the Beavers having come within a strike of losing in Game 2.

Freshman pitcher Kevin Abel stifled the Razorbacks with a two-hit complete-game shutout,  allowing two walks, while string out 10, and throwing 129 pitches, as he retired the last 20 batters he faced. Abel became the first pitcher to win four games in a single College World Series and the fourth to throw a shutout in the championship game, the last to do so being Brett Laxton of LSU in 1993.

As Ronald Reagan would have said, ‘Not bad, not bad at all.’

Abel has been both a starter and reliever all season, and two of his four wins in the CWS came in relief.

But in Game 2, Arkansas led 3-2 with two outs in the ninth when Oregon State’s Cadyn Grenier sent a two-strike pop-up down the right-field line.  But instead of it being a title-clinching out, the ball fell in foul territory between three Arkansas fielders.

Grenier then took advantage of the reprieve, singling in the tying run three pitches later. Trevor Lamach then followed with a two-run homer and the Beavers won 5-3. Arkansas had taken Game 1 of the best-of-three on Tuesday, 4-1, as I wrote last time.

NBA

--Just like the NFL finds a way to intrude on other sports, even in its offseason, the NBA has mastered the art of taking away the stage from baseball come July, when the free agent season begins.

And this offseason it’s all about LeBron James, who opted out of his contract with Cleveland to test the free agent waters again; all LeBron, 24/7.  At 33 he’s still the NBA’s best player and he knows it.  In Cleveland, he became a major part of the local economy in the winter time.

But rather than exercise his $35.6 million option to stay under his current contract for another year, he’s testing the market – which means he can sign with the likes of the Lakers, Celtics, Rockets or 76ers, the teams deemed to be in serious contention for his services.

Or he could go back to Cleveland, but that is highly unlikely.

I keep saying he should go to Philly, but the Lakers could emerge victorious, if, and only if, they trade for Kawhi Leonard first, which LeBron would require, we assume.

But in the meantime, with free agency officially opening up at midnight, Sunday, players allowed to officially sign on July 6, there has been a flurry of activity.

I’m shocked, but Paul George agreed to re-sign with Oklahoma City for four years, $137 million; a deal involving a player option for the fourth season.

Of course there had been strong rumors George was heading to the Lakers.  It was last August that L.A. was fined for tampering when the NBA discovered that George’s agent had improper communication with Lakers GM Rob Pelinka.

But George has been happy with the Thunder organization, and major kudos to them for locking up both Russell Westbrook and George for at least three more years (though they have to deal with Carmelo Anthony just kind of hanging around this coming season).

Kevin Durant intends to re-sign with Golden State, as expected, but just on a two-year max deal and he can opt out after next season.  He’ll make a reported $30 million for 2018-19 (as opposed to the $35.3 million it would have been on a four-year deal).

In Houston, due to the way the NBA’s salary structure is laid out, Chris Paul was able to agree to a four-year, $160 million! deal to stay with the Rockets. But the guy is 33.  Good luck in years three and four, mused the editor.

So we come back to LeBron.  The Lakers now have to trade for Kawhi, quickly, to entice James, but even with Kawhi, will that be enough for him; James hoping L.A. would have also attracted Paul George?

[Late word has LeBron’s ‘people’ meeting with the Sixers in L.A.  Not James himself, as Philly tries to figure out a way to trade for Kawhi.]

As for all the other signings, such as DeAndre Jordan to the Mavs, and Trevor Ariza to the Suns, I really don’t care.

--For a brief moment, Knicks and Rangers fans got all excited on stories that owner James Dolan was going to sell the teams as part of a restructuring for the Madison Square Garden holding company.

But then we were told...never mind...

--There was one positive Knicks story for us fans...Enes Kanter opted in for his contract next season, when a lot of us thought he would leave. Kanter averaged 14 points, 11 rebounds, and is a highly-likable, hard-working sort.

So the Turk teased us with a picture of himself on Twitter with the caption, “Make Knicks Great Again.”

Recall, if Kanter ever went back to his native Turkey, he’d be jailed for his anti-government statements.

Here, you and I can say whatever we f’n want!!!  Appreciate that.

Golf Balls

--Congratulations to Italy’s Francesco Molinari, who became the first Italian-born player since Tony Penna, way back in 1947, to win on U.S. soil.  Molinari won by eight shots at the Quicken Loans National in steamy Potomac, MD.

Long-time golf fans have watched the guy, knowing his success overseas, but he’s been always falling short here.  Not this week. Good for Francesco!  A popular win.

Tiger Woods finished T-4, but was ten shots back and once again his putter betrayed him on short ones.

--We note the passing of golfer Phil Rodgers, 80. Rodgers won five times on the PGA Tour from 1962 to 1966, but after turning 28, he never won again.  In 1962, at the age of 23, he won the Los Angeles Open by nine strokes. It seemed like he had a brilliant future.

Rodgers made the Jan. 14, 1963, cover of Sports Illustrated under the headline “The Brashest Man in Golf,” as he was known for being outspoken and supremely confident in his own ability.

But success was limited.  While he never won a major championship, he came close at the British Open.  After finishing third at Troon in 1962, Arnold Palmer winning the Claret Jug, Rodgers tied with New Zealand’s Bob Charles after 72 holes at Royal Lytham in 1963, one stroke ahead of Jack Nicklaus. But The Open used a 36-hole playoff at the time (yikes, that would be truly hideous today), and Charles won by eight strokes.

Rodgers then finished fourth in the 1966 British Open, at Muirfield, with Nicklaus winning the first of his three Open Championships.

Rodgers also tied for third at the 1962 U.S. Open.

But after leaving the tour, Rodgers became well-known as a short-game instructor, and Jack Nicklaus credited him for his victory at the 1980 U.S. Open at Baltusrol (where your editor had his best job ever as a toy cop guarding the players’ parking lot).

Nicklaus said Rodgers “totally revamped my short game and gave me confidence. It  was a significant part of why I won.”

Rodgers was an outstanding junior golfer at the University of Houston, winning the 1958 NCAA Championship, before joining the Marine Corps.  He then turned pro in 1961.

Stuff

--As rumored, Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston was suspended for the first three games of the 2018 season by the NFL, for violating the league’s personal conduct policy “by touching (an Uber) driver in an inappropriate and sexual manner without her consent,” the NFL having launched an investigation into the March 2016 incident in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Winston won’t appeal. He apologized in a statement, saying in part, “I’m sorry to the Uber driver for the position I put you in. It is uncharacteristic of me and I genuinely apologize.”

But of course it is characteristic of him.

This is it for Jameis.  He has screwed up way too often.  And it is truly an example of a man with a low IQ, who has  a long history of bad behavior.  One more and he’s history.

As things stand, his days in Tampa Bay should already be numbered.  When you listen to analysts like Boomer Esiason, the fans there want to run him out of town.  I’m sure his teammates do as well.

But who will start in Winston’s place the first three?  Ryan Fitzpatrick, the ultimate survivor.

--So I’m reading this story in USA TODAY Sports on Division I  (FBS) transfers in football, and how many of the big schools are relying on them to be their starters this season (think Russell Wilson from days gone by), and what is pretty amazing is that for all positions, there were 211 graduate transfers playing in the FBS in 2017, up from just 17 in 2011.

In terms of quarterback, though, the trend in transfers has led to the near extinction of the four-year backup. As in today, there are only seven quarterbacks in FBS who fit the criteria going into this season.

I remember how at Wake Forest we had a slew of four-year backups at QB, but that was also the time of 110 Div. I scholarships vs. today’s 85.

--The Washington Capitals named Todd Reirden as their next head coach, promoting the top assistant after Barry Trotz’s sudden resignation, Trotz then signing with the Islanders.

The Capitals have been grooming the 47-year-old Reirden for the role, and he was a finalist for Calgary’s head job in 2016, the Capitals then promoting him to associate head coach that summer.

So you have your reason why the Caps let Trotz go...to save money even though he led them to the Stanley Cup...knowing they had a capable (they hope), much cheaper, replacement in Reirden.

--Joe Jackson, the Jackson Family patriarch, died at the age of 89 as I was going to post last time.  I just wanted to include this from the New York Post’s Jessica Sager:

“Joe’s relationship with his famous family has been checkered at best.

“He sired 11 children – 10 with estranged wife Katherine and one, daughter Joh’Vonnie, with (mistress) Cheryl Terrell.  [Ed. Better Joh’Vonnie than Joh’Mama, I guess.]

“In the 1960s and ‘70s, Joe used a combination of business savvy, musical genius and allegedly abusive parenting to turn his five sons – Jermaine, Jackie, Tito, Marlon and Michael – into the legendary Jackson 5, giving Michael a springboard to eventually become the King of Pop.

“His children frequently recalled beatings at Joe’s hand, which Joe didn’t deny, telling Oprah Winfrey that his whippings, for which he used a switch and a belt, ‘kept [them] out of jail and kept them right.’

“In 2014, a family insider told The Post of Joe, ‘He’s no longer a part of the family.’

“Joe himself said in a sad missive on his website in 2014, ‘When I suffered four strokes last year and was in the hospital recovering, only two people in my family traveled all the way to see me. My granddaughter Brandi [Jackie Jackson’s daughter] and my baby girl, Janet.’

“Janet spoke warmly of her father as recently as the Radio Disney Music Awards on June 22, at which she told the audience, ‘My mother nourished me with the most extravagant love imaginable, my father, my incredible father, drove me to be the best that I can. My siblings set an incredibly high standard for artistic excellence.’

“The sibling who set the bar highest, of course, was Michael Jackson, who died of a propofol overdose in 2009. Michael frequently alleged that the Jackson family patriarch physically abused him, famously telling Oprah that the sight of his father made him throw up. Sources close to the family speculated that the King of Pop’s extensive plastic surgery was a desperate effort to eliminate any resemblance he bore to Joe.

“Joe was reportedly left out of Michael’s will entirely.

“ ‘I taught them to be tough,’ Joe told The Post of raising his sons with corporal punishment. ‘We raised them in a tough neighborhood [in Gary, Ind.], where other kids were in gangs and getting into drugs. I didn’t want them to be soft....

“Michael wasn’t the only of Joe’s children with whom he had a poor relationship.

“La Toya Jackson wrote in her 1991 memoir that Joe beat his children and molested her and sister Rebbie.

“ ‘When your father gets out of bed with your mother and gets into bed with his daughter and you hear the mother saying, ‘No, Joe, not tonight. Let her rest. Leave her alone, she’s tired,’ that makes you crazy,’ La Toya wrote.

“At the time of the book’s release, Rebbie denied that Joe raped her, but said he touched her inappropriately.

“Joe denied the allegations of sexual abuse.

“Despite the controversies and tragedies the Jacksons suffered through the years, Joe remained adamant that he had no regrets about anything in his life.

“ ‘Not at all,’ he told The Post in 2014. ‘I don’t live that way.’”

I do just have to add this from a 2001 Michael Jackson interview, when he talked about his father: “Who could have imagined what it was like to grow up a poor black man in the South, robbed of dignity, bereft of hope...working long hours in the steel mills?  Is it any wonder why he pushed his sons so hard to succeed as performers?”

Top 3 songs for the week 7/6/68: #1 “This Guy’s In Love With You” (Herb Alpert) #2 “The Horse” (Cliff Nobles & Co. ...the bane of every high school marching band...)  #3 “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (The Rolling Stones)...and...#4 “The Look Of Love” (Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66) #5 “Grazing In The Grass” (Hugh Masekela)  #6 “Lady Willpower” (Gary Puckett and The Union Gap) #7 “Angel Of The Morning” (Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts) #8 “Here Comes The Judge” (Shorty Long) #9 “MacArthur Park” (Richard Harris...one of the truly awful songs of the century, nay millennium...)  #10 “Reach Out Of The Darkness” (Friend and Lover...great one...)

Wimbledon Quiz Answer: Six to win at least three men’s titles since the Open Era (1968):

Roger Federer, 8; Pete Sampras, 7; Bjorn Borg, 5; John McEnroe, 3; Boris Becker, 3; Novak Djokovic, 3.

Wimbledon starts Monday.  I’ll get into this one once we get to the quarterfinals. [Andy Murray is out with his hip injury.]

Next Bar Chat, Thursday.  [Late Wed., after Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest!  Noon ET, ESPN2]