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Bar Chat

07/07/2014

Winding Down in Brazil

Baseball Quiz: Name the four players who had 3,000 hits and 1,500 walks? [All played at least a portion of their career in the 1960s or later.] Answer below.

World Cup

Brazil 2 Colombia 1
Germany 1 France 0
Argentina 1 Belgium 0
Netherlands 0 (4) Costa Rica 0 (3)

Tuesday...Brazil vs. Germany
Wednesday...Argentina vs. Netherlands

I watched all of the first three, which were far from scintillating (kind of like how the first round of the NBA playoffs was awesome but the rest of it was less than riveting), but missed the Netherlands-Costa Rica penalty kick drama.

Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal made the move of the World Cup, switching goalkeepers late in extra time for the penalty kick phase, an unheard of move, because Van Gaal thought Tim Krul “was the best keeper to stop penalties. He is taller and has a longer reach. We prepared for the Costa Rica penalties just as we prepared for our own penalties.”

Krul proceeded to stop two of the five and guessed right on all of them, while Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas could not stop any of the four Dutch kicks, after performing superbly in the first 120 minutes (and throughout Costa Rica’s great run in the tournament).

Van Gaal said he told Krul in advance that he would bring him in if it went to penalty kicks, but didn’t say anything to starter Jasper Cillessen because he did not want Cillessen to be “disappointed” before the game.

Meanwhile, Brazil suffered a big blow when Neymar sustained a fractured vertebra in his lower back towards the end of Brazil’s 2-1 win over Colombia.

Neymar took a knee to the back from Juan Zuniga. The Brazilian doctor said, “It’s not serious in the sense that it doesn’t need surgery, but he’ll need to immobilize it to recover. Unfortunately, he’s not going to be able to play.”

I thought Zuniga made a real dirty play on Neymar. Plus Brazil will be facing Germany without captain Thiago Silva, who played the role of village idiot in taking a totally unnecessary second yellow card that got him a suspension for the semifinal. [Brazil is appealing the suspension. No way FIFA gives them a break.]

Meanwhile, it appears Argentina winger Angel di Maria is doubtful for the game against the Netherlands after suffering a thigh injury. He’s critical in teaming with Lionel Messi.

--USA-Belgium averaged 16.5 million viewers on ESPN, making it the third-most-viewed soccer telecast ever in the U.S., pretty spectacular considering it was at 1:00 p.m. on the West Coast. USA-Portugal drew 18.2 million and back in 1999, 18 million viewed the U.S. women’s team defeat China.

An additional 5.1 million watched USA-Belgium on Univision, so the total was really 21.6 million (and nearly 25 million for USA-Portugal when you add in Univision for that one).

Tuesday’s knockout round game viewership exceeded the average for the most recent World Series and NBA Finals, events that took place during prime time. The NBA averaged 15.5 million, with 18 million watching the final game, while last fall’s World Series averaged 14.9 million, with 19.2 million watching the Red Sox beat the Cardinals in the clincher.

ESPN said overall viewership for the World Cup is up 44% over 2010. That’s strong.

--But let’s talk about the U.S., shall we? We’re just not that good, folks. I thought Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times summed it up well.

“By Wednesday reality had returned. The U.S. is no more ready to win the World Cup than the Houston Astros are ready to win the World Series....

“Essentially (Juergen Klinsmann is) directing a team with little pedigree and even less history. The U.S. hasn’t had a winning record in a World Cup since 1930. And though its reputation is improving, the U.S. has gone 2-5-4 under three coaches since 2002, reaching the World Cup’s round of 16 twice but losing in the first knockout game both times.

“The problem, Klinsmann said, isn’t one of talent or even ambition. It’s one of mentality, expectation and accountability. The U.S. accepts mediocrity in a sport it doesn’t really understand. Where else are there public viewing parties for a team that has won just two of its last 11 World Cup games?

“For Klinsmann, just trying is no longer enough. If Chris Wondolowski had scored instead of missing the net on his chip shot at the end of regulation Tuesday, the U.S., not Belgium, could be playing in the quarterfinals, the coach said.

“That may not be what Wondolowski wants to hear but that’s Klinsmann’s point.

“ ‘Think about that a second,’ Klinsmann said. ‘They need that sense of accountability and that sense of criticism [from] people that are around them that they care about it. That is good because it gives a sense people care about the game. It makes them feel accountable and not just walk away from a bad performance and nothing happens.

“ ‘No, if you have a bad performance then people should approach and tell you that, and make sure next game is not bad and you step it up and be alert about that.’”

Great points, all. I mean we all know that, despite Wondo’s missed opportunity, were it not for Tim Howard we would have been blitzed 5-1 or 5-0, in all likelihood.

Klinsmann talks of his time in Italy’s Serie A when, he said, if his team lost a big game he couldn’t show his face in a store or a restaurant for a week without being berated and heckled by fans.

Those of you who have watched the other World Cup games also know we just don’t have the skill players who can dominate the ball.

But as Kevin Baxter notes, Klinsmann himself isn’t blameless.

“(There) are other things that went wrong in Brazil... The loss of Jozy Altidore with a hamstring strain 21 minutes into the tournament left the U.S. without a strike partner for (Clint) Dempsey and crippled the U.S. attack, which was statistically the worst in the World Cup. It also made Klinsmann look silly for choosing a team without Landon Donovan, who could have filled in for Altidore.”

Donovan, who had exhibited class in his comments through the U.S. run despite being dissed, finally let loose after the loss to Belgium.

“I think the most disappointing (thing) is we didn’t seem like we gave it a real effort, from a tactical standpoint. I thought the guys did everything they could, they did everything that was asked of them, but I don’t think we were set up to succeed, and that was tough to watch.”

Donovan also said Michael Bradley was played in an “unnatural position” at attacking midfield when he should have been played deeper with someone in front of him (like Donovan).

Well, back to the future, at least 19-year-old Julian Green and 20-year-old DeAndre Yedlin look skilled and talented.

One place to start is to convince some of our good high school athletes who are playing lacrosse  to focus on soccer instead. There are certainly a lot more career opportunities, including internationally, to have a good 10-year career in futbol than there are in lacrosse, where there are essentially none.

I get a kick out of the gigantic lacrosse program we have in my home city of Summit, New Jersey, with Summit winning multiple state championships and holding the record winning streak. The day after school ended two weeks ago, the fields were filled with lacrosse camps...not soccer, let alone baseball or football. 

At least the kids are out getting exercise rather than sitting in a dark room wasting their time on the Web and making sure some jerk isn’t slamming them in a chat room.

Ball Bits

--Boy, what a fascinating franchise the Oakland A’s are. They’re on track for their third straight 90-win season and playoff appearance, but after losing two consecutive ALDS, Billy Beane and company are determined to get to the World Series this go ‘round...and win the freakin’ thing.

So Moneyball Beane went out and acquired the Chicago Cubs’ two best pitchers, Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija [yes, I know about Jake Arrieta], while giving up some terrific prospects in 2012 first-round draft pick, shortstop Addison Russell, as well as solid pitching prospect Dan Straily, outfielder Billy McKinney and a player to be named later.

Hammel is 8-5, 2.98, while Samardzija is the hard-luck pitcher of 2014, going just 2-7 but with a 2.83 ERA. [Prior to his start for the A’s, Sunday, and all Samardzija did then was go 7 innings, allowing one run in gaining a 4-2 win over the Blue Jays...advantage, Beane.]

It’s rare for the frugal A’s to go for it like this, especially considering Hammel is a free agent after this season and Samardzija can become one after 2015, while Russell, McKinney and Straily are the kind of young – and inexpensive – players the A’s have historically thrived with.

But the trade is getting duly criticized in Chicago because many believe GM Theo Epstein could have gotten a similar type package for Samardzija alone.

Detroit pitcher Justin Verlander, whose Tigers have ousted Oakland the past two seasons, said no doubt the A’s made the move for the two starters with Detroit in mind. Verlander won decisive game 5s each year.

“If they want to win the World Series, they’re envisioning that they have to go through us, and, even though it’s been two fantastic series, it’s been heartbreaking for them the last two years,” he said.

Back to the Cubbies, they now have a plethora of young middle infielders, including Starlin Castro, Javier Baez and Addison Russell. Some say the Mets should pursue Castro, offering some of our young pitchers in return. I agree with broadcaster Keith Hernandez. Don’t do it. Castro is a jerk.

--The Yankees are facing the loss of CC Sabathia not just for the remainder of the season, but it’s very possible his career is over as he faces microfracture surgery on his right knee

So if this is it, Sabathia will have gone 208-119, 3.63, in his career, winning the 2006 Cy Young Award and finishing in the top five in the voting four other seasons.

For the Yanks, he is 91-46, 3.59, in his sixth season, though he was a spectacular 74-29 his first four, 2009-2012. Certainly, CC came through for New York.

The problem is he has two years and $48 million remaining on his contract, plus a $25 million vesting option that kicks in automatically as long as he doesn’t experience any left shoulder injuries. What’s not clear, as the New York Daily News’ Mark Feinsand writes, is “whether that option would still vest if he didn’t pitch at all in 2015 or ’16 because of the knee issue.”

--Meanwhile, the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw is roaring along, his scoreless innings streak up to 36 after eight shutout frames against the Rockies on Friday. Only two Dodgers pitchers are ahead of him: Orel Hershiser and Don Drysdale, who also happen to hold the all-time scoreless inning marks of 59 and 58, set in 1988 and 1968, respectively.

Kershaw is now 10-2, 1.85, and has 115 strikeouts and just 12 walks in 87.1 innings.

So look at what the duo of Kershaw and Zack Greinke have done the last two seasons for the Dodgers.

2014...10-2, 1.85
2013...16-9, 1.83

2014...11-4, 2.66
2013...15-4, 2.63

Anyway, I looked up Koufax and Drysdale for the period 1962-66. Go ahead and do the same at baseballreference.com. What you’ll find is that in terms of winning percentage and ERA, only 1962 and 1965 come close to what Kershaw and Greinke are doing.

Koufax...14-7, 2.54
Drysdale...25-9, 2.83

Koufax...26-8, 2.04
Drysdale...23-12, 2.77

Here’s hoping Kershaw bests Hershiser. That would make for great drama.

“As teams passed the 81-game midpoint of the season, they were averaging just 4.13 runs per game through Wednesday. If the average stays at that level through the end of the season, it will be the majors’ lowest mark since 1992. Strikeouts continue to rise; walks and home runs continue to decline; and the major league batting average, .251, is the lowest since 1972, the year before the creation of the designated hitter.

“A stronger testing program for performance-enhancing drugs, more sophisticated analysis of hitters’ tendencies, a changing amateur scene, and, especially this season, a sharp increase in defensive shifts have coalesced to help the pitchers – with no end in sight....

“The 4.13-runs-per-game average is a full run lower than in 2000, the peak of the so-called steroid era. The major league on-base percentage is a meager .316, and the slugging percentage, .390, is at its lowest point since 1992.”

As for the college game, the leading baseball programs are allowed only 11.7 scholarships, fewer than other popular sports, and most scholarships are only partial.

And regarding the failure to develop power hitters, agent Scott Boras says the strength athletes are going to basketball and football, partly because as part of the 2011 collective bargaining agreement, teams’ draft spending is capped. [Pitchers, on the other hand, don’t necessarily need to have a lot of strength to throw hard.]

Brosnan was 55-47, 3.54, 67 saves, as a starter/reliever for the Cubs, Cards, Reds and White Sox from 1954-63.

But in 1959, he kept a diary of his experience with, first, the Cardinals, and then later, the Reds, after being traded. Published the next year as “The Long Season,” it was perhaps the first sports book of its kind...candid and highly literate, and, as the New York Times’ Bruce Weber put it, “more interested in presenting the day-to-day lives and the actual personalities of the men who played the game than in maintaining the fiction of ballplayers as all-American heroes and role models.

“Written with a slightly jaundiced eye – but only slightly – the book is often given credit for changing the nature of baseball writing, anticipating the literary reporting of Roger Angell and Roger Kahn and others; setting the stage for ‘Veeck – as in Wreck,’ the vibrant memoir of Bill Veeck, the maverick owner of several teams; and predating by a decade Jim Bouton’s more celebrated, more rambunctious (and more salacious) pitcher’s diary, ‘Ball Four.’”

For instance, Brosnan wrote about the first day of spring training:

“The first workout was scheduled for 10 o’clock. The clubhouse was filled by 9, and we sat around for an hour, anxious to go. But first came the speeches. Spring training has a convocation ceremony that follows strict patterns all over the baseball world. Manager speaks: ‘Wanna welcome all you fellows; wanna impress on you that you each got a chance to make this ball club.’ (This hypocrisy is always greeted by an indulgent and silent snicker from the veterans of previous training camps.)”

Many in baseball were not pleased by Brosnan’s work. Joe Garagiola called him a “kooky beatnik.”

Brosnan wrote another book called “Pennant Race,” which was an account of his 1961 season with Cincinnati, when he was 10-4 with 16 saves and the Reds won the National League pennant. A New York Times reviewer called this “one of the best baseball books ever written.”

[That ’61 Reds team had all sorts of stories, like Gordy Coleman and Gene Freese, let alone Wally Post, Vada Pinson and F. Robby on the offensive end. And as I’ve written more than once, you had pitchers Jim O’Toole and Joey Jay, both of whom would have benefited tremendously from modern medicine, ditto 21-year-old Jim Maloney. You can look it up at baseballreference.com.]

--Alex Rodriguez continues to make news for all the wrong reasons, and the latest revelation is a huge embarrassment for Commissioner Bud Selig.

As first reported in Sports Illustrated, Tim Elfrink and Gus Garcia-Roberts wrote the following for SI as part of the release of their new book, “BLOOD SPORT: Alex Rodriguez, Biogenesis, and the Quest to End Baseball’s Steroid Era”:

“A transcript of a confidential arbitration hearing obtained by the authors of this book suggests that Rodriguez put up those monster numbers in 2007 with the help of a powerful anabolic steroid.

“Under baseball’s performance-enhancing drug policy, players can apply for a so-called therapeutic use exemption (TUE) to take certain medical substances otherwise banned by MLB.   A doctor appointed by both sides – the independent program administrators (IPA) – reviews all applications. Baseball also has an expert medical panel to advise the IPA. If an exemption is granted, the player cannot be punished for using that substance. The exemption is good for one year.

“Before the 2007 season Rodriguez asked for permission to use testosterone, which has been banned by baseball since 2003. The IPA in ’07 was Bryan W. Smith, a High Point, N.C., physician....On Feb. 16, 2007, two days before Rodriguez reported to spring training, Smith granted the exemption, allowing Rodriguez to use testosterone all season.”

“By 2008, Rodriguez had played at least a significant portion of his career – including, at a minimum, two of his three MVP seasons – with the apparent help of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. He was by far the richest man in MLB, which was finally coming to terms with its steroid problem. Rodriguez had a guaranteed contract until the age of 42. The only wise thing to do would be to ride out that contract while continuing to apply for dubious exemptions but staying on the right side of the law.”

After the book excerpt was released, the commissioner’s office denied it knew A-Rod had been given permission to use the drugs in question in 2007 and 2008 and defended Smith’s actions in letting him do so, saying exemptions are granted “with no input by either the office of the commissioner or the players association.”

When he made his 2009 admission, A-Rod stated he used performance enhancers while playing for Texas from 2001 to 2003 but had stopped doing so after joining the Yankees for the 2004 season.

In 2007, A-Rod won his third MVP, hitting 54 home runs and driving in 156 runs. He then signed his 10-year deal in the offseason for a guaranteed $275 million.

NBA Free Agency

--In these parts there is only story...does Carmelo Anthony take the five-year, $129 million max contract the New York Knicks and Phil Jackson offered him, or does he go to the Bulls or Lakers. We’ll know by Monday, it seems.

I can take or leave Melo. The Knicks are certainly better with him, but without more changes, they aren’t winning more than 36 or so games next season. And there is no way in the backend years of this contract he’s the same player as he’ll probably be the first two.

But if Carmelo stays healthy, then next offseason perhaps the Knicks can make their big splash in the free-agent market.

As I go to post, I’ll be shocked if Carmelo goes elsewhere. He likes New York. He has to know Jackson is committed to building a winner. His wife, La La, wants him to stay in New York so she can pursue her own entertainment world interests (though admittedly that’s what makes L.A. attractive as well). And Anthony gets his final big contract.

Regarding the Lakers, they reportedly would offer the max four years and $96 million and of course this would team him with Kobe, but then L.A. would have little salary cap flexibility to fill out the rest, like re-signing Pau Gasol...who could end up with the Knicks for drastically less money, seeing as Gasol has ties to Jackson and Fisher, as well as new point guard Jose Calderon.

As for the Bulls, there is zero reason to be confident Derrick Rose will remain healthy for years to come.

--Regarding the Big Three, I still believe LeBron stays in Miami, but there are major issues in the salary reductions that would be required of Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade after they opted out to give the Heat flexibility.

Bosh could easily go elsewhere, but no one else would want Wade. LeBron reportedly didn’t ask either to take lesser salaries to allow the Heat to add other top players. But James dispatched his agent, Rich Paul, to hear pitches from various teams.

So Bosh and Wade are waiting on LeBron.

--The Toronto Raptors agreed to terms on a four-year, $48 million contract with budding superstar, and free agent, point guard Kyle Lowry. Lowry was being wooed by the Rockets and Lakers. [Talk of him going to Miami was unfounded.]

--The Clippers reached agreement on a four-year, $23 million deal with free-agent center Spencer Hawes, who played for Philadelphia and Cleveland last season, averaging 13.2 points and 8.3 rebounds. This is a steal. He’ll be terrific backup for both Blake Griffin and center DeAndre Jordan. Plus the 7-foot-1 Hawes can hit the three and he makes his foul shots. Love the move.

--Dirk Nowitzki re-signed with Dallas, as expected, for three years and $30 million. He’s 36 but still productive (21.7 points and 6.2 rebounds). So he’ll end up playing his entire career in Big D. Good for him and good for Mark Cuban for retaining him. The two get along swimmingly, so they say.

--The Brooklyn Nets moved quickly to distance themselves from the Jason Kidd debacle in hiring Lionel Hollins to be their new head coach. Hollins last led Memphis to the Western Conference Finals in 2013, though he wasn’t able to agree on a new contract with the new management there and exited before last season.

Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4, in an epic match for his seventh Grand Slam title and second Wimbledon crown.  Soon-to-be 33 Federer remains stuck on 17, time running out, having won his last in 2012.

Grand Slam titles...

Federer 17
Sampras 14
Nadal 14
Emerson 12
Laver 11
Borg 11

Earlier, in the quarterfinals, defending champion Andy Murray had been ousted by Grigor Dimtrov of Bulgaria, who then lost to Djokovic in the semis. It was the first time since 2008 that the 27-year-old Brit failed to reach the Wimbledon semifinals.

On the women’s side, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic rolled through Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard in 55 minutes, 6-3,6-0, to claim her second title, and second major. Bouchard at least made history in becoming the first Canadian to reach a Grand Slam final; Canada being best known for hockey and beer....and grizzly bear attacks.

Anyway, Kvitova, 24, and Bouchard, 20, could be facing off against each quite often in the future.

Louis Zamperini, RIP

The Olympic runner and World War II hero who served two years as a prisoner of war, died at the age of 97.

“His indomitable courage and fighting spirit were never more apparent than in these last days,” his family said in a statement.

“Zamperini was the ‘Torrance Tornado,’ the tough kid turned track star who set a national high school record for running the mile. In 1936, he was known as ‘the Zamp,’ the 18-year-old USC standout who ran at the Berlin Olympics, where his roommate was Jesse Owens. In 1943, he was Lt. Zamperini, a bombardier on a B-24 Liberator, who, along with 10 other crew members, fell off the map on a May 27 mission over the Pacific.

“When President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent his parents a formal condolence note in 1944, he had no idea that Zamperini was still alive and living a nightmare in a Japanese prison camp. For 47 days, Zamperini had drifted on a life raft, fighting off sharks and starvation with two other crew members, one of whom died. Picked up by a Japanese patrol boat, the two survivors were beaten, tortured and humiliated for more than two years.”

Zamperini returned home a broken man, emotionally battered, but he heard a then young Billy Graham at one of his crusades and as Zamperini tells it, learned the power of forgiveness. Once he was able to forgive the Japanese, he said his nightmares ended.

Zamperini’s tale has been simmering for years. In 1957, Universal Pictures bought the rights to his memoir, “Devil at My Heels,” and penciled in actor Tony Curtis for the leading role, but “Spartacus” came along and the project was shelved.

But in 2010, Laura Hillenbrand penned “Unbroken,” the best-selling story of Zamperini’s life, and in December, a film by the same name, directed and produced by Angelina Jolie, is being released.

Ironically, Jolie’s home in the Hollywood Hills was a stroll away from one Zamperini owned for more than 50 years.

Last February, in a “Today” show interview, Jolie said, “I imagine that for the last 10-something years, he’s been sitting there having a coffee in the morning and wondering, ‘Who’s going to make this movie?’ And I’ve been sitting in my roon thinking, ‘What am I supposed to be doing with my life?’”

Louis Zamperini learned in May that he was chosen to serve as grand marshal of the 2015 Rose Bowl Parade. You can be sure with the movie having just been released, there will be a very special ceremony of some kind in his memory, particularly before the game.

--In this week’s PGA Tour event at The Greenbrier, Angel Cabrera won his third title (the other two being majors), besting George McNeill.

Viewers had no idea until near the end of McNeill’s spectacular final-round 61 that he was playing for his gravely ill older sister and that he was rushing to her bedside after the event. It appears doubtful he will participate in the British Open, which he qualified for by his efforts this week.

Kudos to 64-year-old Tom Watson for making the cut (and going T-35), while Wake’s Webb Simpson, who barely made it to the weekend, then went 67-63 to finish solo third.

--SHARK! Marisa Gerber, Frank Shyong / Los Angeles Times

“Lance N. spent Saturday morning surfing the choppy waves south of Manhattan Beach Pier, just like he has most days this summer.

“More umbrellas than usual dotted the shoreline, signs of the Fourth of July holiday weekend crowd. Other than that, the 13-year-old, who lives in the neighborhood, said things seemed normal.

“Until 9:30 a.m. He heard a shrill, top-of-your lungs scream and turned toward a man flailing in the water nearby. Then he heard other people screaming: ‘Get a lifeguard! Get a lifeguard!’

“Nelson started to paddle toward the man but then got spooked.

“ ‘I saw blood spread through the water,’ he said. ‘It was just like a movie, but worse.’

“A seven-foot juvenile great white shark had attacked a swimmer near the pier, authorities said.

“The unidentified victim, described as a long-distance swimmer...suffered a single bite wound on the right side of his rib cage.”

His condition was described as stable. [I just saw an NBC report with the guy and he’s OK...but a little shaken up.]

So the shark had taken some bait a fisherman had thrown into the water from the edge of the Manhattan Beach Pier and the shark was hooked for about 45 minutes, thrashing around in the water, when the swimmer swam right into the shark’s line.

Great white sightings have been more frequent this year along the California coast, just as they’ve been in the east, particularly off New Jersey.

On Saturday, Director of Shark Attacks, Bob S., was actually out in his boat on New Jersey’s Shrewsbury River, scene of the legendary attack in 1916, and said all appeared to be in order. Of course Bob has a day job and can’t protect New Jersey’s citizens by himself. We’re both convinced the summer offensive is officially on.

By the way, the L.A. Times says there have been 13 shark-attack fatalities in California waters since 1950; the last three being great white attacks in 2012, 2010 and 2008. See a pattern? Parents, test your kids by using this as a word problem. That way their skills won’t deteriorate over the summer.

--Joey Chestnut, one of the greatest athletes of this or any era, captured his eighth consecutive Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, scarfing down 61 dog and buns without a reversal of fortune amid dreary weather, though this year he was challenged in a big way by Matt Stonie, who finished with 56.

“I could never find my rhythm so it was just a dogfight the whole time,” Chestnut said.

By the way, the average American eats 70 hot dogs a year. Chestnut’s 61 (short of his record of 69 set last year) is 9,211 calories.

Prior to the contest, Chestnut proposed to his girlfriend, fellow competitive eater Neslie Ricasa, who said yes, though she then vowed they would not be serving hot dogs at their wedding.

On the women’s side, three-time champion Sonya Thomas, the Black Widow, was upset by Miki Sudo.

Thomas, who swallowed a women’s record 45 wieners last year, only did 27 ¾ this time, with Sudo eating 34.

Back to Chestnut, one of the other records he holds is eating 121 Twinkies in six minutes, which some say is comparable to hitting four home runs in a game. [Really, some say that.]

-- “Seinfeld” debuted 25 years ago, July 5, 1989. For four seasons it flirted with cancellation, but it all clicked in Season 5, when the show moved to Thursday nights behind “Cheers.” On February 4, 1993, an episode in which Jerry and George pitch NBC a pilot for a show about “nothing,” – “Seinfeld” cracked the Top 10 for the first time and the rest became television history. 

--Garth Brooks was slated to hold five concerts in five nights at Croke Park in Dublin this month, July 25-29, and it has turned into an international fiasco for Ireland as the Dublin City Council, concerned over the impact five huge events would have on the local area, said Brooks could hold only three, at which Garth said “five shows or none at all.”

Understand that not only have 400,000 tickets already been sold, going back to January and February, but 70,000 fans from outside Ireland have made travel plans – and now everyone is in the dark as to which – if any – of the dates will be honored.

Labour Relations Commission chief executive Kieran Mulvey said the country’s image abroad was “in shreds.”

Ireland also faces an economic hit, as each concert is estimated to be worth 10 million euro.

The Dublin City Council, as of this posting, had refused to budge.  The Irish government said it won’t interfere in their decision.

Understand also that a cargo ship carrying 18 trucks with the customized equipment and staging departed the U.S. on July 1, while Brooks was planning a big film documentary, with network participation, and some of the film crew is coming over after their work on the World Cup is completed.

--Paul McCartney returned to the concert stage on Saturday in Albany, N.Y., after being sidelined two months with a virus. Sir Paul turned 72 two weeks ago, yet has 19 U.S. shows planned the rest of the year, including one at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, where the Beatles made their final concert appearance in 1966.

Top 3 songs for the week 7/17/82: #1 “Don’t You Want Me” (The Human League) #2 “Rosanna” (Toto) #3 “Hurts So Good” (John Cougar)...and...#4 “Eye Of The Tiger” (Survivor) #5 “Let It Up” (Dazz Band) #6 “Hold Me” (Fleetwood Mac) #7 “Love’s Been A Little Bit Hard On Me” (Juice Newton) #8 “Tainted Love” (Soft Cell) #9 “Only The Lonely” (The Motels) #10 “Caught Up In You” (38 Special)

Baseball Quiz Answer: Four with 3,000 hits and 1,500 walks:

Rickey Henderson, Stan Musial, Pete Rose and Carl Yastrzemski

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