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Bar Chat

01/12/2015

On to the Conference Finals

[Posted 9:00 PM ET, Sunday]

Boston Bruins Quiz: Name the five Bruins to score 50 goals in a season (some of course having done it multiple times). Answer below.

NFL Playoffs

Sunday, Jan. 18

Packers vs. Seahawks
Colts vs. Patriots

Well, after last week’s yawners, 3 out of 4, at least, Ravens’-Patriots was a great one. After Baltimore got off to a 14-0 lead after their first two possessions, quarterback Joe Flacco looking every bit the playoff superhuman he’s shown to be his previous five postseason games in particular – 13 touchdowns, zero interceptions – New England’s Tom Brady showed he still has it as well, plus offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels dialed up a play for the ages.

With the Pats down 28-21 and the ball at the New England 49, Brady threw behind the line of scrimmage to receiver Julian Edelman, a former college quarterback who had not thrown a pass in his six-year NFL career, and the former Kent State star unloaded a deep scoring strike to a wide-open Danny Amendola as the Ravens totally bit on the play.

Then, after a Justin Tucker field goal made it Ravens 31-28, Brady led the Pats back down for the deciding score, a 23-yard touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell.

Baltimore had two more opportunities, but Flacco was picked off with 1:39 to go, yet they still had a final chance, though Flacco’s pass was knocked down at the goal line. A true thriller. 

For the game...the QBs...

Brady 33/50, 367, 3-1, 99.3
Flacco 28/45, 292, 4-2, 92.1
Edelman 1/1, 51, 1-0, 158.3 [err, perfect]

Aside from finally throwing an interception (two of them), Flacco’s 92.1 rating was his first below 100 in six postseason contests.

But in throwing four touchdown passes, he did set a new playoff mark with eight consecutive games with two touchdowns or more.

For his part, Brady moved past Joe Montana as the NFL’s career leader in postseason TD passes with 46.

Separately, Ravens coach John Harbaugh was a bit miffed by a “substitution trick” by the Pats in the third quarter. I watched the first half at home and the second half in a bar with a Wake friend and with it being hard to hear the sound, all I saw was Cris Collinsworth’s telestration when the Pats lined up just four offensive linemen and declared a normally eligible receiver as ineligible to keep Baltimore off balance.

Ravens players were confused who to match up with in coverage and Harbaugh drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when he rushed onto the field to object. After the game, Harbaugh said the officials “didn’t understand what was going on.”

“What (the Patriots) were doing was they announced the ineligible player and then Tom (Brady) would take them to the line right away and snap the ball before we had a chance to figure out who was lined up where....It was clearly deception.”

Anyway, the Pats ended up using the strategy on three plays and coach Bill Belichick said, “The one who was ineligible reported that he was ineligible. No different than on the punt team or a situation like that.”

Harbaugh said “Nobody has ever seen (the tactic) before.”

[Sunday, Jimmy Johnson said this was all much ado about nothing. The NFL then ruled it was all legal as well.]

As for Seattle’s 31-17 win over Carolina, all you need to know is the Panthers had three turnovers and the Seahawks zero. 

Carolina kept it close until halftime, down just 14-10, but then Seattle pulled away for a 31-10 lead as Russell Wilson played spectacularly well...15/22, 268, 3-0, 149.2. Cam Newton, on the other hand, was spectacularly mediocre...23/36, 246, 2-2, 79.2.

But the other story of the game was the superb play of Seattle strong safety Kam Chancellor, who put the last nail in the coffin with a 90-yard interception return for a score making it 31-10 with 5:55 left. Chancellor was all over the field with 11 tackles. He also now has an interception in three straight playoff games.

Sunday, in another good one, Green Bay prevailed on the semi-frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, beating the Cowboys 26-21.

It was 30 degrees warmer than Ice Bowl I, Dec. 31, 1967, and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, playing with a bum calf that limited his running ability, nonetheless had a superb game, 24/35, 316, 3-0, 125.4.

From a ratings standpoint, Dallas’ Tony Romo was even better, 15/19, 191, 2-0, 143.6.

But despite 123 yards rushing from the Cowboys’ DeMarco Murray, the Pack won it as there was another controversial call at the end, a spectacular Dez Bryant grab at the goal line that upon review was ruled no catch...he didn’t follow all the way through. End of game, essentially.

Ergo, for Lions fans, the Dallas call was sweet revenge for the one that went against Detroit last week.

As for Colts vs. Broncos, Peyton Manning should retire after Denver lost at home to Indianapolis and Andrew Luck, 24-13.

Manning hasn’t been great for some time now, with Sunday no exception, just 26/46, 211, 1-0, 75.5.

Luck wasn’t much better, 27/43, 265, 2-2, 76.2, but the Colts’ defense came up big when it needed to.

--Rex Ryan is shuffling off to Buffalo as their next head coach, $27.5 million, five years. Wonder if he’ll keep his home in Summit? I have no problem with him staying in the division. But I know Patriots fans aren’t happy. [I’m over the Jets for now...on to the Mets...]

--Dick LeBeau resigned as Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator, after being asked to step down. LeBeau, 77, is a legend, a Hall of Famer as a Detroit Lions cornerback, and former head coach of the Bengals, who had two tours of duty with the Steelers as coordinator. Five times under his watch the Steelers’ defense finished with the league’s top ranking.

--The Giants fired defensive coordinator Perry Fewell after a season in which the defense ranked 29th in the NFL. They had ranked 8th in total yardage the year before.

--The investigation led by former FBI director Robert Mueller into the NFL’s handling of the Ray Rice in-elevator video concluded no one in the league offices saw it before the public did.

“We found no evidence that anyone at the NFL had or saw the in-elevator video before it was publicly shown. We also found no evidence that a woman at the NFL acknowledged receipt of that video in a voicemail message on April 9, 2014,” the report said.

The AP previously reported a law enforcement official showed it the video and played a 12-second voicemail dated April 9 in which a woman verified receipt of the tape.

The report by Mueller did add that on numerous levels, the NFL failed, such as in not contacting Atlantic City police officers who investigated the incident, let alone asking Rice or his attorney for access to the video.

NFL owners issued a statement expressing confidence in Roger Goodell that he can “lead the league as we move forward.”

--Meanwhile, I didn’t realize it but a Jets linebacker, Jermaine Cunningham (who was hurt this past season), literally lives two blocks from me. It’s probably a good thing I don’t know him. He was arrested on charges of “revenge porn” the other day. A New Jersey law makes it a crime to distribute sexual images of someone without that person’s consent. [My state was the first in the nation, ten years ago, to make the spreading of such images a crime.] This was part of a domestic violence case.

Cunningham isn’t well known enough for “Dirtball of the Year” consideration, but he will receive a medallion and certificate suitable for framing for his efforts.

And then over the weekend, Jets running back Chris Johnson was arrested in Florida on a weapons charge.

Yup, the offseason is off to a flying start for my Jets, as they wait for the Seahawks’ playoff run to end so they can make a head coaching offer to Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, along with 3 or 4 other teams.

--Former Dallas Hall of Famer Jethro Pugh died at the age of 70. Pugh, who played in the first four Super Bowls for the Cowboys, was part of the “Doomsday Defense,” playing alongside fellow Hall of Famers Bob Lilly and Randy White.

Pugh led the team in sacks five straight seasons (1968-72) and he finished with 95 ½ during his 14 seasons.

Pugh was drafted out of Elizabeth City State in North Carolina.

Oregon – Ohio State

There hasn’t been a lot of buzz regarding the title game after the two awesome semis on New Year’s Day. I think part of it is simply that the NFL playoffs commenced right after, but it’s also about the lengthy gap, 12 days, before the two take the field on Monday night. It’s also about Oregon still not having a real national profile, with the Ducks often viewed in some circles more as a novelty act despite their gaudy record the past decade or so.

Well that can all change with a win over the Buckeyes, though Oregon is going to be severely shorthanded at wide receiver as Darren Carrington, the No. 2 wideout who had been playing great in recent games, was ruled ineligible for failing a random drug test...marijuana, according to reports. The Ducks were already shorthanded at the position when No. 1 Devon Allen suffered a knee injury on the opening kickoff at the Rose Bowl. So we’ll see who can step up for my Ducks.

Additionally, running back Ayele Forde is also ineligible as he too failed a drug test (marijuana).

Hey, it’s the Pacific Northwest. They smoke a lot of pot in that part of the country.

But as head coach Mark Helfrich pointed out at media day, this is no time for whining. Certainly Ohio State had an opportunity to when both Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett went out. But did they? Nooooo! Cardale Jones, come on down!

--Mark R. and I have had a huge argument the past week on who’s better; Oregon’s cheerleaders or Alabama’s. As I’ve told him, “I can’t believe this is even up for debate! It’s the Ducks, hands down. Perhaps the greatest cheerleading force since the Roman Coliseum Girls of 82 AD (arguably their best season, though historians also note the ’86 squad, both during the reign of Emperor Domitian).

--In the FCS (Div. I-AA) championship game on Saturday, North Dakota State made it four straight titles with a 29-27 victory over Illinois State. Quarterback Carson Wentz ran 5 yards for the deciding score about a minute after Illinois State’s Tre Roberson had a 58-yard TD run to put the Redbirds ahead, 27-23, with 1:38 to play, but then Wentz led the Bison down the field with passes of 32 and 33 yards before the winning run.

So North Dakota State’s seniors had more national titles (four) than losses (58-3 record). Appalachian State is the only other FCS team to win three straight (and the Apps should have stayed in the FCS, rather than move up, but I digress).

--Jameis Winston declared for the NFL draft on Wednesday after a 26-1 record in two seasons at the helm of Florida State.

So where will he go? Many in the New York area are wondering if the Jets, who have the No. 6 selection, would roll the dice with him if Winston is available. He might actually still be on the board, but who is going to want to deal with his off-field problems? Is the guy capable of growing up? I have my doubts. He just isn’t that intelligent...and I separate real intelligence, like common sense, from football intelligence.

So as a buddy and I were discussing last night, I think us Jets fans may be stuck another year with Geno Smith.

--Former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel and Kansas State coach Bill Snyder were selected for induction to the College Football Hall of Fame, along with Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams of Texas and Oklahoma linebacker Brian Bosworth (plus 13 others).

Tressel won four Division I-AA national titles at Youngstown State (where he is now president) before going to Ohio State, where he was 106-22 in 10 seasons, including a national championship in 2002.

But of course he was forced to resign after a number of rules violations, including failure to tell the NCAA the truth when the school was being investigated. I’ve long said my piece on this guy. What I didn’t realize is he remains the only coach to win national championships at both levels of Division I.

As for Snyder, good for him. It is not easy winning at Kansas State and he turned the Wildcats into a national title contender with seven double-digit victory seasons in a span of nine years. He is 187-94-1 at the school, still active at age 75. It’s because of his age that he was eligible.

College Basketball

--Here’s what we’ve learned the past few days since the last chat. Kentucky does not deserve to be a unanimous No. 1 in the polls anymore when they are released Monday afternoon. Not after eking out overtime wins against Ole Miss, 89-86, and a double OT win over Texas A&M on Saturday, 70-64. Kentucky is far from a great shooting team and the Harrison twins, Aaron and Andrew, who were a combined 6 of 30 from the field against the Aggies, are incredibly overrated.

So who deserves some votes? Try No. 3 Virginia (15-0, 3-0), a 62-56 winner over No. 13 Notre Dame (15-2, 3-1), in South Bend.

But not No. 2 Duke (14-1, 2-1), which lost to North Carolina State (12-5, 3-1) in Raleigh on Sunday, 87-75. 

The ACC is proving to be a bear. No. 18 North Carolina (12-4, 2-1) bounced back from a one-point loss to Notre Dame on Monday with a stirring one-point victory over No. 5 Louisville (14-2, 2-1) as guard Marcus Paige made a spectacular bucket for the win with 8 seconds left and Carolina held off a last-ditch attempt by the Cardinals in Chapel Hill.

Staying in the conference, suddenly there’s some buzz in Winston-Salem. My Wake Forest Demon Deacons have fashioned a nice little run of relevance. After solid wins over Richmond and Princeton, the Deacs lost last week to Louisville 85-76, but were in it ‘til virtually the end, while it was an almost identical performance a few days later as the Deacs lost to Duke 73-65. It was the first time Wake faced top five opponents back-to-back and they held their own.

But you need to win and so on Saturday, Wake then beat Georgia Tech 76-69 for coach Danny Manning’s first ACC victory. The guys are playing hard and seem to be together. Now if we can just keep the three big recruits we have coming in for next year, perhaps the program will finally be back on solid ground. Heck, I watched the entire Georgia Tech game (on the computer, with Tottenham on the tube). I wouldn’t have thought I’d be doing that just three weeks ago.

And guess what? For some reason I actually donned Deaconwear before Saturday’s game; the first time I have done that in quite a while. [Duckwear has been dominating the action.]

Plus Wake has beaten the spread at least the last three games...and at the end of the day, that’s what truly matters.

One other game...this one of local interest. No. 19 Seton Hall (13-3, 3-1) had a big road win at Creighton (9-8, 0-4), which obviously isn’t the same in this post-Doug McDermott era, but a conference road win is a win and the Hall needed last second heroics from developing star Sterling Gibbs, who sank a game-winning 3-pointer with 2 seconds left. Final Seton Hall 68, Creighton 67. Good bounce back after losing to Xavier earlier in the week.

--The ACC said referee Karl Hess will no longer work league games after an incident last Sunday at the Louisville-Wake Forest contest in Winston-Salem. Hess got into it with a Demon Deacon fan, Mit Shah, who was sitting courtside. “When I’m older, I want to sit in your seat & watch your Egyptian ass ref a game,” Shaw, via Twitter, said Hess told him.

Shah, a hotel magnate, is of Indian descent. He is a former member of the Wake Forest Board of Trustees.

It seems Hess has been involved in a number of on-court situations, though he has called 393 games involving two ACC teams since 1995.

Hess told ESPN, “It’s a sad day and is devastating. But I’m responsible. I wasn’t trying to deliberately hurt anyone. That’s not my character. I goof around a lot, and there was no intent to hurt anyone.”

Hess has worked six Final Fours and nine ACC tournament title games, but he’s been criticized in the past for his on-court manner. For example, in 2012 he was reprimanded by the league after he ejected former Wolfpack stars Chris Corchiani and Tom Gugliotta from their seats behind the scorer’s table during an NC State-Florida State game. [Matt Bonesteel / Washington Post]

For the record, some, including my friend Phil W., who has worked with the ACC office, monitoring officials, say Hess is getting a raw deal.

--The Atlanta Hawks are a startling 29-8 after defeating the Washington Wizards (25-12) on Sunday, 120-89. Atlanta started out 7-6. Ergo, 22-2 since!!!

The Hawks are tied with Portland* for second in the entire NBA, both trailing Golden State, 29-5.

*Prior to Portland’s Sunday night contest against the Lakers.

--Nice game Saturday night for Chicago’s Pau Gasol, a career effort, as he went off for 46 points and 18 rebounds in the Bulls’ 95-87 victory over Milwaukee. He was the first player for Chicago to have those numbers since Michael Jordan had 69 and 18 in a 117-113 overtime victory over Cleveland back in 1990, according to STATS.

--30 minutes before Saturday afternoon’s Knicks-Charlotte contest at the Garden, Phil Jackson held court, telling the media, “I take responsibility.” It was his first public comments since early December, and a few hours later the Knicks had extended their franchise-worst losing streak to 15 with a 110-82 loss that doesn’t begin to tell the story. I mean it was 89-44 after three! 89-44!!! Against lowly Charlotte!

Actually, the only stat you need to know is the Knicks were outrebounded 51-29. At least no one was seen wearing a paper bag, as was the case on Thursday.

Jackson remained in the stands the entire game. When the video board showed a baby picture of injured Knick Andrea Bargnani, the crowd booed.

Jackson said he would like to bring “five or six” new players for next year and that he was confident he could attract free agents. He also absolved first-year coach Derek Fisher of any of the blame. “He’s doing the best job possible, and it’s not his fault.”

But it’s about the lottery, baby! Lose for Okafor! [Who played well in the loss to N.C. State on Sunday.] Meanwhile the 76ers have stupidly won their last two games to advance to 7-29.

One other note on the Knicks. ESPN announced it was not televising a scheduled game on Feb. 6 between the Knicks and Nets in Brooklyn, or the Knicks’ March 25 home contest against the Clippers.

As the network put it (prior to two more defeats), “(When) you’ve lost 13 straight and your record is 5-33, it doesn’t matter where your team is located. You’re no longer a national ratings draw.”

--We note the passing of Roy Tarpley. He was only 50, cause of death not known as yet.

Tarpley was an immensely talented 6-foot-11 post player, the seventh pick overall in the 1986 draft out of Michigan by Dallas, who earned the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award in his second season.

But he had all kinds of drug issues and in October 1991, was kicked out of the NBA for using cocaine.

After playing in Greece for three years, he was reinstated by the NBA, re-signed with Dallas, but after 55 games received a lifetime ban for violating his aftercare program.

This guy had as much potential for a big man as anyone who has played the game in the last 25 years.

--The A’s acquired super utilityman Ben Zobrist and shortstop Yunel Escobar from the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. In exchange the Rays acquired catcher John Jaso and two minor leaguers, including one named Boog Powell (for you old-timers out there). This Powell is a speedy outfielder.

It seems that Oakland GM Billy Beane’s offseason madness is beginning to make a little sense. His infield will now probably consist of Billy Butler and Ike Davis at first, Zobrist at second, Escobar at short and Brett Lawrie (part of the Josh Donaldson trade) at third.

--Forgot to mention the other day that when Craig Biggio was elected for Baseball’s Hall of Fame that he played his college ball around the corner from here, Seton Hall, and that he had two pretty fair teammates in Mo Vaughn and John Valentin.

Seton Hall coach Mike Sheppard never scouted Biggio, leaving that up to his assistant. But when Sheppard saw clips of Biggio playing football that’s when he knew he had a special athlete.

Biggio says: “I wanted to play football in college. Baseball was really going to be a backup plan. I loved football....And the reality is it didn’t happen and I was fortunate to play baseball.” [Star-Ledger]

--And for the archives I have to note the comments of new Hall of Famer John Smoltz. I didn’t have a chance to post his thoughts on PED use last time, Smoltz saying some of the following in his first conference call with reporters after being notified of his selection.

“Back in 2000, I tried to find different ways to make my point,” said Smoltz, a strong proponent of drug-testing before baseball initiated its first program in 2003. “I was one of those skeptics way back when, who didn’t think we’d get to this point, but [the current drug-testing program] has exceeded my expectations.

“The game had to go through what it did to get back to appreciating some of the all-time best hitters and pitchers who did it within the rules of the game. What it means going forward, I’m not sure, but we’ve found a way to make sure this game has the integrity it needs so that the great fans don’t have to sit there and wonder if what they’re watching is legitimate or not.” [Mike DiGiovanna / Los Angeles Times]

Let’s Go Ran-gers!

For the first time since the San Jose Sharks joined the NHL in 1993-94, the New York Rangers swept a three-game journey through California with a 3-1 victory over the Sharks Saturday, after wins in Anaheim and Los Angeles, the latter some revenge for the Stanley Cup finals loss to the Kings last spring.

The Rangers have now won 13 of 14, outscoring the opposition 51-22. Goalie Henrik Lundqvist, in net on Saturday, has allowed two goals or fewer in 10 of his last 11 starts.

But huge game this coming Tuesday at the Garden. It will be like old times. The out of nowhere first-place Islanders come to town. This is one regular season game I won’t be missing. 

--On the topic of hockey, we note the passing of J.P. Parise, an All-Star left wing for the Minnesota North Stars, who was traded midseason in 1975 to the Islanders and helped them win their first playoff series, defeating the Rangers, which was the beginning of one of the most intense sports rivalries of all time. Parise scored the winning goal in the deciding Game 3 (best of three). [They then came from down 3-0 to win their best-of-seven quarterfinal series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, becoming the second team in NHL history to do so.]

Parise had 238 goals in his NHL career and played in All-Star Games in 1970 and 1973.

Parise’s son, Zach, starred with the Devils for years before signing as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild to be closer to his father, where J.P. retired to.

Premier League

Ughh...my Tottenham Spurs suffered a bad 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace on Saturday.   

Chelsea moved back on top with a 2-0 win over Newcastle, while Man City was held to a 1-1 draw at Everton.

And then on Sunday, Southampton moved into third with a 1-0 win over Manchester United.

1. Chelsea 15 (W) 4 (D) 2 (L)...49 points
2. Man City 14 – 5 – 2 ...47
3. Southampton 12 – 3 – 6 ...39
4. Man U 10 – 7 – 4 ...37
5. Arsenal 10 – 6 – 5 ...36
6. Tottenham 10 – 4 – 7 ...34
7. West Ham 9 – 6 – 6 ...33
8. Liverpool 9 – 5 – 7 ...32

Just a note on Spanish League play. Real Madrid defeated Espanyol 3-0, snapping a two-game losing streak after Madrid had won a Spanish record 22 straight. I have to admit, I always get confused who stars for Madrid and who is on Barcelona, but Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez are among those on Madrid. [Barcelona has Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.]

There’s just too much to keep track of, sports fans! I mean Spanish League (La Liga) rosters, Boko Haram, Procol Harum, the Mets’ shortstop situation, Iranian nuclear talks....[The Mets’ predicament is far more important than the nuke talks, at least in the short term....]

--Set your DVR...Sunday, Jan. 18, Fox is airing a one-hour documentary on Jack Nicklaus for his 75th birthday (Jan. 21). It will air before coverage of the NFC Championship Game. [Fox is picking up some PGA Tour coverage this year, remember.]

--Tiger Woods made it official. He’s making his 2015 tour debut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, his first appearance there since 2001. Of course this tournament is the Greatest Show on Turf, with some 500,000 spectators showing up for the four rounds, Jan. 29-Feb. 1. [Over 200,000 on Super Saturday.]

And it was in 1997, on the 16th hole, the stadium hole, that Tiger made his famous hole-in-one that was the official launching of Tigermania.

Shu told me the other day that he was there, alongside the fairway of 16 when Tiger scored his ace...the fist pump...the crowd going nuts.

Plus the final round is Super Bowl Sunday and some of us like to watch golf rather than endless ‘special interest’ stories I couldn’t give a flying burrito about prior to the game.  Just give me a dramatic national anthem and let’s play ball.

--The Tournament of Champions is a Monday finish. I’m posting before completion of the third round.

--I do not understand why Boston wants to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. Actually, I do not understand why the USOC selected Boston to be our candidate over the likes of Los Angeles. L.A. has been a proven venue (1984 being the most recent) for the Games and already has virtually all of the required facilities, so the expense would be relatively limited. 

But Boston?! What a freakin’ nightmare. It already has world class traffic issues (L.A.’s are at least spread out...Boston’s are magnified because of the small area), the city would need many new facilities, roads, parking, a media center, telecommunications upgrades...I mean like this is really stupid.

So it’s no mystery why only about half of the locals are in favor of staging the Games there. And I haven’t begun to bring up the costs. Boston said they can stage the event for $4.5-$5 billion, but London initially said it would cost just $4 billion to stage the 2012 Games and it turned out to be somewhere between $15 billion and $20 billion.

Well, Bostonians probably needn’t worry. Other bids will probably be made by Berlin, Paris, Rome, Istanbul, Casablanca (boy, this is a stupid one), Johannesburg, Doha and Melbourne. [Only Rome has formally submitted theirs thus far...the deadline not until September.]

We should...the duo has won three straight World Cup bobsled races, including the other day in Altenberg, Germany.

--Rob Konrad played six seasons for the Miami Dolphins and on Wednesday, in some ways that experience had to help him in a remarkable feat of survival. The former running back fell off of a fishing boat and had to swim nine miles back to shore before emerging early Thursday morning in Palm Beach, Fla.

He was alone on the boat and not wearing a life vest when he departed from Boca Raton, heading for Lake Worth, up the coast. When friends realized he had not returned, they contacted the Coast Guard.

Konrad told the Coast Guard he had caught a fish, fell out of the boat, but the boat kept going. He made it ashore 10 hours later.

--Phil W. wanted me to pass along news from the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association and the induction of Bill Raftery, Dick Schaap, Hal McCoy and Lesley Visser into their Hall of Fame. Also, the 2014 National Sportscaster of the Year is Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick (simply the greatest announcer of all time...including Marv Albert in his prime) and the 2014 National Sportswriter of the Year Tom Verducci. The induction is June 8 in Salisbury, N.C. [Phil personally knows a number of those above, as well as other inductees.]

I must say I may not have appreciated the late Dick Schaap as much as I should have back in the day. Schaap, who died in 2001, was really a national treasure, but his prime was before the media crush of today. If he were still alive, he’d likely be the single most popular authoritative figure, the No. 1 go-to guy for commentary on all sports, a la what many see as Bob Costas’ role.

--Funny story from the Moscow Times: “A storm in the Baltic Sea has cast a cache of amber on the Kaliningrad shore, scattering scores of gemstones on the beach and inspiring locals to brave the icy cold waters in pursuit of the prized yellow fossils....

“Despite frosty temperatures of minus 6 degrees Celsius, local residents flocked to the shore to dig through the sand until sunset while others donned wet suits (the article called them “dry suits”) and ventured into the tide.”

I had no idea the Kaliningrad region holds more than 90 percent of the world’s amber.

--Anita Ekberg died. She was 83 and best known for being the sex goddess in Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita.” [Don’t tell anyone, but I swear she died a few years ago.]

--Actor Rod Taylor died, 84. He will forever be known for his role in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.” [The birds used in this flick are all dead so you should be sleeping restfully.]

Top 3 songs for the week 1/15/83: #1 “Down Under” (Men At Work...song hasn’t aged well...) #2 “The Girl Is Mine” (Michael Jackson/Paul McCartney...ughh...this is when both were just trying to pick up some easy cash...) #3 “Dirty Laundry” (Don Henley)...and...#4 “Maneater” (Daryl Hall & John Oates...you see J. Lo recently, guys? Goodness gracious....) #5 “Sexual Healing” ((Marvin Gaye...speaking of which....) #6 “Mickey” (Toni Basil) #7 “Africa” (Toto...Chinese investments in natural resources there not looking too smart these days with the collapse in commodities prices....) #8 “Baby, Come To Me” (Patti Austin with James Ingram) #9 “Rock The Casbah” (The Clash... excellent tune after five beers in a dive bar...) #10 “Heartbreaker” (Dionne Warwick....excellent tune after 42 beers...and only that...)

Boston Bruins Quiz Answer: 50-goal scorers....

Phil Esposito, 76 (1970-71). He also had seasons of 68, 66, 61 and 55...all five consecutive, 1970-75
Cam Neely, 55 (1989-90). Also 51 (1990-91) and 50 (1993-94)
John Bucyk, 51 (1970-71)
Rick Middleton, 51 (1981-82)
Ken Hodge, 50 (1973-74)

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