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04/14/2021

The Chiefs and Britt Reid

[Posted Tues. p.m.]

NBA Quiz: Name the five in NBA history who averaged 40+ minutes per game for their careers, all Hall of Famers.  [Hint: LeBron James is 15th at 38.24.]  Answer below.

A Final Look Back at The Masters

Hideki Matsuyama overcame a potentially ruinous moment to become the first Japanese man to win a major championship with a one-shot Masters victory over Will Zalatoris at Augusta National on Sunday.

“Hopefully I’ll be a pioneer and many other Japanese will follow,” Matsuyama said through an interpreter inside Butler Cabin where he was presented with the Green Jacket.  “I am glad to open the floodgates hopefully and many more will follow me.”

“Making Japan proud Hideki,” five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods, who is home recovering from serious leg injuries suffered in a February car crash, wrote on Twitter.  “Congratulations on such a huge accomplishment for you and your country.  This historical @TheMasters will win impact the entire golf world.”

Speaking to reporters on Monday morning in Tokyo, Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga called Matsuyama’s historic win “wonderful” and a source of pride and courage for the Japanese people during the difficulties posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“He’s also a graduate of a university in Tohoku,” Suga said, referring to the northeastern region of Japan devastated by the massive earthquake and tsunami 10 years ago.  “(His win) has also provided a big boost to the recovery from the disasters.”

Matsuyama’s win has prompted calls for him to be given the honor of lighting the Olympic Games cauldron at the opening ceremony in July.  “It would be quite an honor,” he said in a PGA Tour statement.  “But I’m not sure about my schedule. If the schedules worked out and I am in Japan when that happens and they ask me, what an honor that would be.”

Thomas Boswell / Washington Post

“When Hideki Matsuyama tapped in on the 18th green at the Masters on Sunday to become the first man from Japan to win a major golf championship, he stood expressionless, then walked toward his caddie so subdued that he did not even smile.

“This is total emotional exhaustion.  This is what pressure looks like when it leaves one of the world’s best players, at the moment of his greatest triumph, so squashed by demands, both his own and his country’s, that he looks like a human pancake.

“This may be the first time anyone ever got a green jacket and you wanted to say, ‘That was the best bogey-bogey-par-bogey finish in golf history.’

“The weight on Matsuyama, who hadn’t won in four years despite arriving at Augusta (Ga.) National ranked 25th in the world, is a sports phenomenon so much beyond what American fans can imagine for a U.S. athlete that it requires context to appreciate….

“Compared with the melodrama of many Masters, Matsuyama’s 1-over-par 73 on Sunday, during which he often had a five-shot lead, might seem an entertaining but not hair-raising Masters finale.  Don’t be fooled.  Few players have held themselves together under such scrutiny and for such symbolic stakes in the eyes of their countrymen….

“To me, considering his rocky start, then factoring in the way his lead rapidly dwindled in the evening, perhaps we should rank Matsuyama’s self-control, his ball-striking and his resolution as part of a genuinely remarkable Masters Sunday….

“For decades, I have watched the way the press from Japan obsessively covers its athletes, especially in golf and baseball, sports in which it shares a common, profound passion with America. You have to see it to believe it. It is adoration and judgment, celebrity and imminent disgrace, the highest honor and profound loss of face, pressed close against each other.

“A dozen or dozens of reporters and photographers will follow just one player from Japan, reporting his (or her) every move day after day, sometimes month after month. No doubt, the royals in Great Britain have it worse for ludicrous levels of scrutiny over trivialities and flaws.  But for many years, whenever a player from Japan has been in contention at any major, especially the Masters, everywhere he looked he would see a moving mass of photographers and reporters from his country.

“What was different this year? Because of the pandemic, there were strict limits on press access – in number and proximity.  You might as well have banned a firing squad, especially for the shy Matsuyama.

“ ‘Being in front of the media is still difficult,’ Matsuyama said this week.  ‘It’s not my favorite thing to do, to stand and answer questions.  And so with fewer media, it’s been a lot less stressful for me, and I’ve enjoyed this week.’

“Just how private is Matsuyama?  In 2017, he mentioned to reporters at a PGA Tour event that he was now a father.  His wife, Mei, had given birth to a baby girl a month earlier. This was only remarkable in one respect: Nobody knew Matsuyama was married!  Asked why it wasn’t common knowledge, he said, ‘Nobody asked me that question.’….

“How many microscopes has Matsuyama been under for the past 10 years as he finished in the top 10 in seven majors but frequently showed nerves?  Few players, even excellent ones, can suddenly find it in themselves and their games to win ‘out of nowhere.’  But Matsuyama, despite his long drought, just did it….

“On Sunday, everything did not come together for Matsuyama.  In fact, things almost came apart, both early and late. That makes his win more admirable, not less.

“ ‘It’s been a struggle recently,’ Matsuyama said afterward.  ‘This year, no top-10s, haven’t even contended.  So I came with little or no expectation. …But Wednesday I found something new in my swing. That gave me confidence.’

“Hideki Matsuyama, who spent Saturday’s rain delay playing games on his phone in his car, did not ask to be a symbol of his golf-loving nation’s quest for a major champion.  But when the moment came, he was equal to it – by one shot.  If your heart is kind, give a thanks for that.”

--Daniel Rapaport / Golf Digest

“You can’t really see if the bravado’s legit until the rubber meets the road. Or, in this case, the driver meets the ball.

Will Zalatoris said the right things all week.  How he belongs out here, how he’s playing with house money, how he’s ‘stupid enough to think I can win.’  But Masters Sunday is a different animal, especially when the wind is a factor.  Surely he’d come back to earth, make a few nervy bogeys, fade from the mix, settle for a top-10, bank some world ranking points, collect a fat check and call it a day.

“Screw that.

“Zalatoris went full alpha from the get-go on Sunday at Augusta, birdieing his first two holes and emerging as the only guy with the gumption to chase down Hideki Matsuyama. He fell one shot short – one shot! – in a bid to become the first player to win his Masters debut since 1979.

“ ‘I think the fact that I’m frustrated I finished second in my third major says something,’ he said with a smirk.  He’s one of those people who cannot speak without smirking.  ‘And the fact that I didn’t let any moment really get to me was really exciting.’

“After he signed his card to make his two-under 70 official, Zalatoris was whisked away by a green coat into a cabin for a CBS interview.  Fellow Texan Jordan Spieth was holding court with media when he caught a glimpse of his old pal.  He stopped mid-answer: ‘Great playing, dude.’  Zalatoris thanked him earnestly, but there was no hierarchy involved.  This wasn’t a kid awed that the great Jordan Spieth paused to acknowledge him.  Because Will Zalatoris always expected to be here, and Jordan Spieth always expected Will Zalatoris to be here.”

--For the record, Matsuyama was just the second man from Asia to win a major, South Korea’s Y.E. Yang beating Tiger Woods to win the 2009 PGA Championship.

--Finally, I forgot to bring up something incredibly important when I posted Sunday evening.

There are birds at Augusta…repeat…there are birds at Augusta.  I’m sure many of you saw it too, on Sunday.

No bird sightings all week, but then as Matsuyama played the third hole, we had a picture of a hawk flying above.  And then on the seventh, a tee shot almost hit a bird sitting in the fairway!

I was shocked and was waiting for Jim Nantz to say, “See, friends…there really are birds at Augusta.”

Of course that would have gotten him fired.

Seriously, no one has seen a bird…like in, ever.  Think pesticides…heavy use of same.

At least that’s my story (and Michael Bamberger’s and Rick Reilly’s) and I’m sticking to it.  Pesticides is my angle.

MLB

--Two Chicago Cubs coaches tested positive for the coronavirus and three relievers were placed on the Covid-19-related injured list.

But Monday’s night’s series opener at Milwaukee was played as scheduled, the Cubs losing 6-3.

Manager David Ross said, “Everyone has tested today that is here and is negative.”

We’ll see what happens the next few days and if it spreads.

But tonight, Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks was scratched “out of an abundance of caution” because he wasn’t feeling well.

--Canada has been spiking in terms of Covid cases, which doesn’t bode well for the Toronto Blue Jays (or the NBA’s Raptors) returning to their home anytime soon.

--Shohei Ohtani had three hits, two of them doubles, and three RBIs in the Angels’ 10-3 win Monday over Kansas City…Bar Chat being on “Ohtani Watch” 24/7 this year…because it’s really all about getting Mike Trout into the playoffs, which L.A. can’t do without contributions from Ohtani.

--What a disastrous start to the season for the New York Mets.  First, we had the season-opening series against the Nationals postponed due to Covid cases on Washington.  Then the Mets finally get five games in, only to have Sunday’s rainout fiasco that I wrote of last time…followed by a rainout Monday, the Mets scheduled to play the Phillies, and that necessitated a doubleheader today, Tuesday.

Which necessitated a 7-inning doubleheader today.

And the Metropolitans swept the Phils, 4-3 in extra innings and 4-0 behind Marcus Stroman.

A big rainstorm is slated for Thursday here in New York, and then the Mets head to Colorado where it’s supposed to snow Friday.

Before Monday’s rainout, Mike Vaccaro / New York Post…on Sunday’s debacle…

“A brief history of rain-and-sports quotes:

“Noah, 5,000 BC: ‘We’re gonna need a bigger boat.’

“Carl Spackler, 1980: ‘I’d keep playing. I don’t think the heavy stuff’s going to come down for quite a while.’

“Crash Davis, 1988: ‘Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.’

“Luis Rojas, 2021: ‘We had an exclusive forecast expert. He said it was going to be lighter rain or a mist-like rain.’

“(NOTE TO METS: Get a forecast expert with more expertise.)

“Yes, only the Mets could make something as annually routine as the April shower and turn it into a 2-hour and 10-minute soap opera.  That’s how long it took everyone in charge at Citi Field on Sunday to wait out the rain, which refused to be waited out.  To anyone with a weather app on their phone, this was the least-surprising news of the day.

“ ‘I’m on the phone all the time,’ Rojas said, and so is anyone else who has a vested interest in whether the weather will allow early-season baseball games to be played.  There are a number of these apps available, and on Sunday every one of them had essentially the same forecast.

“It’s going to rain.

“A lot.  All day.

“No, seriously: All day, a lot. I saw that.  Rojas saw that. Most of the fans who chose to stay away from Citi Field on Sunday – and a hearty cheer to those of you who came, anyway – could see that.  Of course, we’re not forecast experts…

“There are certain threads of common sense that really need to be applied to springtime baseball and the dark clouds that sometimes interrupt the fun.

“It rains in April.  It’s rained in April since the very first April.  The old ditty ‘April showers bring May flowers’ was not authored on a whim.

“Baseball cannot be played in the rain.  Now, this is where football fans can pound their chests and talk about the fact that football is played in rain, in snow, in sleet, in hailstorms. That’s football.  Baseball has never been played in the rain.  It never will be played in the rain.

“It rains in New York, in April.  A lot. Every year.  Going back to when you were in Little League and you cast a furtive first glance out your bedroom window to make sure you could see your shadow like some kind of peewee groundhog, we are trained that rain stinks, it’s the enemy, but it’s real.

“Not for nothing?  If you want to guarantee dates in April, then someone should’ve spent the extra few shillings on a retractable roof.

“The last one may be the commonest of the common:

“When the Mets and Marlins took the field Sunday, the pitcher’s mound, batter’s box and basepaths were already glistening.  This was ‘light rain’ only compared to the sideways rain Forrest Gump encountered in Vietnam.  The second batter of the game, Starling Marte, hit a lazy bloop to right that Michael Conforto had to slosh through to corral.

“And Marcus Stroman, the Mets’ pitcher, didn’t look at all comfortable, walking around between pitches, throwing balls out of play. We learned later just how uncomfortable he was when he tweeted:

“ ‘This game should have never been started.  Not smart at all. Those conditions put everyone at risk.  Beyond happy no players on either side were injured. Hate that I have to wait another 5 days to pitch again.  That’s a miserable feeling.  However, #LFGH each and every day! @Mets’

“Now, you may be of the old school that players should keep their opinion about things that don’t pertain directly to them to themselves. But Stroman does seem to be the only person willing to believe his eyes over a forecast expert.  But what he said was correct.”

--Umpire Joe West was awarded $500,000 plus interest on Monday after winning a defamation lawsuit against former major leaguer Paul Lo Duca.

Judge John Kelley of Manhattan Supreme Court rendered the decision.

In April 2019, Lo Duca said on “The Favorites” podcast on the Action Network that West had once agreed to give Lo Duca’s New York Mets teammate Billy Wagner a bigger strike zone in exchange for use of the pitcher’s vintage car.

“We’re playing like a really tight game against the Phillies and Billy Wagner comes in from the bullpen,” Lo Duca said on the podcast.  “I used to go to the mound every time and I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ and he’s like, ‘Hey, Joe’s behind the plate. Set up a couple more inches inside.  I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?  Joe hates me.’  He’s like, ‘No, no, no, no, no, no.  Joe loves me.’

“I go, ‘He hasn’t given us the corner all day.’  He’s like, ‘Don’t worry about it.’  He literally throws 10 pitches and strikes out three guys.  Joe rings up all three guys.  Eight out of the nine pitches were at least three to four inches inside, not even close.  Guys were throwing bats and everything.  Joe walks off the field…

“I get back into the clubhouse and I’m like, ‘What the f--- just happened right now?’  And Wagner just winks at me.  I’m like, ‘What’s the secret?’  He’s like, ‘Eh, Joe loves antique cars, so every time he comes into town I lend him my ’57 Chevy so he can drive it around so then he opens up the strike zone for me.’”

West denied the allegation.  According to USA TODAY, West was behind the plate only once for a Phillies-Mets game in 2006 and ’07, the seasons in which Lo Duca and Wagner were Mets teammates, and Wagner didn’t pitch in that game.

West also maintains Lo Duca’s comments could hurt his chances of making the Hall of Fame.

The court awarded West $250,000 for “past mental anguish and emotional distress” and another $250,000 to “compensate for expenses he will need to incur in retaining a public relations firm to formulate and operationalize a sufficient reputation remediation plan.”

NBA

--Quite a night for Steph Curry on Monday, as he led Golden State to a 116-107 victory over Denver.  Curry poured in 53 points to pass Wilt Chamberlain as the Warriors’ all-time scoring leader.  It was the third 50-point game of the season and ninth of his career.

Curry needed 19 points to pass Chamberlain, who had 17,783 points in his Warriors’ career (in less than six seasons), and Steph took care of matters early, scoring 21 in the first quarter.

Curry finished the night 14-of-24 from the field, 10-of-18 from three, and 15-of-16 on free throws.  It was his 18th game with at least 10 3-pointers, most in NBA history.  Teammate Klay Thompson is next on the list with five.

Yes, as Warriors coach Steve Kerr said: “What he’s doing is ridiculous. Nobody has ever shot the ball like this….It’s kind of crazy…”

Curry, 33, is now averaging 30.4 points per game for the season, which would be the best of his career, the prior high 30.1 in 2015-16.

--My Knicks were in big trouble, losing five of six, but they have suddenly won three in a row, including Sunday, 102-96 over Toronto, and last night, 111-96, over the Lakers.

So the Knickerbockers are back to 28-27, as they attempt to get in the sixth slot and avoid the play-in tournament that all the players around the league seem to be bitching about.

--The Nets played Minnesota this afternoon, after they postponed last night’s contest due to the protests in Brooklyn Center, Minn.  The Nets crushed the T’Wolves 127-97, Durant with 31 points in 27 minutes.  I’d say he’s back.

--Eastern Conference

1. Philadelphia 37-17
2. Brooklyn 37-17
3. Milwaukee 33-20
4. Atlanta 30-25…16-5 under Nate McMillan after firing Lloyd Pierce…
5. Miami 28-25
6. Charlotte 27-25
7. Boston 28-26
8. Knicks 28-27
9. Indiana 25-27
10. Chicago 22-31

Meanwhile, the Lakers, sans LeBron and Anthony Davis, have been tumbling down the standings.

--Western Conference

1. Utah 40-14
1. Phoenix 38-15
3. L.A. Clippers 37-18
4. Denver 34-20
5. L.A. Lakers 33-21 …could easily drop into play-in slot
6. Portland 31-22
7. Dallas 29-24
8. Memphis 27-25
9. San Antonio 26-26
10. Golden State 26-28
11. New Orleans 25-29…playing well lately

College Basketball

--No doubt, the sport has changed drastically with the new transfer rule and kids being allowed to play right away instead of sitting out a year.  Wake Forest just picked up a promising kid from East Tennessee State, to go with two earlier pickups from Colorado and Indiana State, after the Deacs saw five of their own enter the portal.  Every school is going through the same thing.  Rutgers, to state another example, is a mess, though two players who are testing the NBA waters, Geo Baker and Ron Harper Jr., could yet return.

As the Wall Street Journal’s Laine Higgins writes in the Tuesday edition, “Just one week after the season officially ended with Baylor cutting down the nets to win the national title, 1,296 players have indicated a desire to transfer by entering the NCAA’s ‘transfer portal,’ a national database introduced in 2018 that lets players broadcast their intention to leave without first obtaining permission from their current school.  That is more than double the 600 or so who switched schools via the transfer portal last season.

“That means that more than 28% of the more than 4,500 Division I scholarship men’s basketball players could be on the move this offseason.

“ ‘It’s like a big game of musical chairs.  And the interesting thing to me is going to be when the music stops,’ said Tad Boyle, the coach at Colorado, where six of the 18 players have indicated they intend to transfer.”

Colorado is one of 104 universities with at least five players in the portal, but none of the players transferring (such as the kid to Wake Forest) are underclassmen on scholarship.

The huge uptick comes as players anticipate that the NCAA is going back to the old rules, requiring athletes to sit out a year if they choose to transfer.  At the same time, owing to the pandemic, the NCAA temporarily modified its strict eligibility rules. Athletes who previously had five calendar years to complete four seasons of competition wouldn’t have to count the 2021-21 season against their eligibility clock.  Which is why a senior like Rutgers’ solid guard, Geo Baker, could conceivably return.  And you still have the grad transfer option.

Villanova coach Jay Wright said: “I don’t think it’s good for college basketball, but it’s good for the student-athletes, and that’s what we’re all here for.  We’ll all adjust.  It’s going to make it a little messier.”

Meanwhile, football saw 1,400 players put their names in the portal.

--Phil W. just informed me a former Wake Forest player, a very solid one, Justin Gray, was named new head coach at Western Carolina.  Good for him.  Gray had been an assistant at Winthrop for two seasons, among other positions.

NFL

--Dan Wolken / USA TODAY

Since Britt Reid’s drunk driving accident in Kansas City that left a 5-year-old girl with serious brain injuries – just days before the team that employed him played in the Super Bowl – the chiefs’ public posture about the incident has been notably passive.

“Besides canned statements of support for Ariel Young at every development in the case and an acknowledgement that Reid, son of head coach Andy Reid, was no longer employed as a Chiefs assistant coach, there hasn’t been much transparency from the team about what it has learned from the night of the crash.

“That needs to change – and soon.

“On Monday, Reid was charged with driving while intoxicated, a felony that could potentially imprison him for up to seven years.  Now that more details have emerged from the investigation, a civil lawsuit also seems likely as Ariel Young still cannot talk, walk or eat and could face medical complications for the rest of her life.  According to the family’s attorney, she was sent home from the hospital earlier this month in hopes that familiar surroundings would help her recover.

“Meanwhile, the family has had to rely on GoFundMe donations in excess of $500,000 to help pay significant medical bills.

“But the warrant for Reid’s arrest raises questions that need to be answered by the Chiefs about what exactly happened in their building on the night of Feb. 4, before Reid got in his car drunk and forever altered a little girl’s life.

“Though it was always assumed based on the location of the crash on an Interstate on-ramp near Arrowhead Stadium that Reid had just left the practice facility when he plowed into two cars on the side of the road at nearly 83 miles per hour, the charging documents make it clear that Reid told the responding officer at the scene he had just left work.  No mention of stopping at a liquor store or a restaurant or a bar, and no specific reference to where he had consumed the drniks.

“When you combine that with the other big revelation from the warrant – his blood alcohol level was .113 roughly two hours after the crash – it suggests a potentially important chain of events: That Reid walked out of the Chiefs’ offices in a significant state of intoxication and directly into his vehicle. Or that Reid wasn’t being truthful in telling police he had just left work.

“To be clear, we don’t know for sure that he got drunk in the facility. It’s not outlined explicitly in the warrant.

“But it’s absolutely now important in determining whether the Chiefs bear any responsibility in what happened to Ariel Young.

“The story Reid told the officers was that he had a couple of beers before getting behind the wheel.  The reality of a .113 blood alcohol level is that he more likely had consumed at least five or six.  Missouri’s blood alcohol limit is .08.

“What, exactly, was happening in the Chiefs’ practice facility three days before the Super Bowl?

“It’s not necessarily unusual for coaches who put in long hours to have a drink in the office, but the Chiefs need to lay out publicly exactly who might have known or seen Reid that night and what led up to him getting in that car….

“But so far, they’ve said nothing, and the NFL has said nothing indicating that the Chiefs are being investigated or sanctioned for anything related to Reid’s behavior. That has to change now.  It’s time for transparency on everything, from where Reid was drinking to the circumstances surrounding his employment in the first place.”

Reid had a very troubled past, including drug and DUI charges and a 2007 incident in which he pointed a gun at a motorist in a road rage incident.  His hiring was all about nepotism.

As Dan Wolken concludes:

“The Chiefs need to be transparent about whether the tragic chain of events began in their facility and own up to any responsibility that might come with it.”

--Longtime New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is retiring, the franchise having terminated his contract Monday under the designation of a failed physical.  Edelman then announced his retirement from football in a video posted to his Twitter account.

“Nothing in my career has ever come easy,” Edelman said.  “And, no surprise, this isn’t going to be easy, either. Now I’ve always said, I’m going to go until the wheels come off, and they have finally fallen off.  Due to an injury last year, I’ll be making my official announcement of my retirement from football.

“It was a hard decision, but the right decision for me and my family.”

Edelman, 34, played all 11 of his NFL seasons with New England and currently ranks fourth on the team’s all-time career receiving yards list with 6,822.  His 620 receptions rank second in franchise history.

Edelman played a big part in three Super Bowl championships and is perhaps best known for an improbable catch he made against the Falcons in Super Bowl 51 that helped secure New England’s victory after it had trailed by 25 points in the third quarter.

He was also named Super Bowl 53 MVP after recording 10 catches for 141 yards in New England’s 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said in a statement: “By any measure of what constitutes an elite NFL career – wins, championships, production – Julian has it all.  Few players can match Julian’s achievements, period, but considering his professional trajectory and longevity, the group is even more select.  It is historic.  This is a tribute to his legendary competitiveness, mental and physical toughness and will to excel.  Day in and day out, Julian was always the same: all out.  Then, in the biggest games and moments, with championships at stake, he reached even greater heights and delivered some of his best, most thrilling performances.”

In 19 playoff games, he caught 118 passes for 1,442 yards, ranking second only to Jerry Rice in career postseason totals for both categories.

Edelman was also an outstanding punt returner, returning four for touchdowns, and because of his days as a quarterback at Kent State, the Pats sprinkled in some trick plays, with Edelman completing all six of his career passes – for 128 yards and a TD.  Hey, the guy retires with a perfect passer rating, 158.3!

He also had a 51-yard touchdown pass in a 2015 divisional round game against the Ravens, a game they won 35-31, as they’d later win the Super Bowl.

NASCAR

Martin Truex Jr. won a stirring, laps-long duel for the lead Sunday night at Martinsville Speedway with teammate Denny Hamlin, the Cup Series race having been suspended Saturday night due to rain.  It was his third win in the past four stops at the 0.526-mile oval – the oldest and shortest track on the Cup circuit – and 29th of his career.

Chase Elliott held off Hamlin for second.

Joe Gibbs Racing had all four of its drivers, the others Christophe Bell (7th) and Kyle Busch (10th), in the top ten.

Hamlin has now finished in the top-five in seven of the first eight races.

Truex became the first repeat winner in NASCAR’s top series this season.

Top 3 songs for the week 4/14/73: #1 “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia” (Vicki Lawrence…not to be confused with Vikki Carr, who I had a crush on…) #2 “Neither One Of us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)” (Gladys Knight & The Pips)  #3 “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree” (Dawn featuring Tony Orlando)…and…#4 “Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got)” (Four Tops)  #5 “Sing” (Carpenters)  #6 “The Cisco Kid” (War)  #7 “Danny’s Song” (Anne Murray)  #8 “Break Up to Make Up” (The Stylistics)  #9 “Killing Me Softly With His Song” (Roberta Flack)  #10 “Call Me” (Al Green…B week…)

NBA Quiz Answer: Only five to average 40+ minutes per game for their career….

Wilt Chamberlain 45.8 …amazing, but he also never fouled out…then again, Wilt was also known for his stamina, having bed- …oops, can’t go there.
Bill Russell 42.3
Oscar Robertson 42.2
Allen Iverson 41.1 …I admit to not fully appreciating his career as much as I should have…
Elgin Baylor 40.03

Next Bar Chat, Sunday p.m.



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Bar Chat

04/14/2021

The Chiefs and Britt Reid

[Posted Tues. p.m.]

NBA Quiz: Name the five in NBA history who averaged 40+ minutes per game for their careers, all Hall of Famers.  [Hint: LeBron James is 15th at 38.24.]  Answer below.

A Final Look Back at The Masters

Hideki Matsuyama overcame a potentially ruinous moment to become the first Japanese man to win a major championship with a one-shot Masters victory over Will Zalatoris at Augusta National on Sunday.

“Hopefully I’ll be a pioneer and many other Japanese will follow,” Matsuyama said through an interpreter inside Butler Cabin where he was presented with the Green Jacket.  “I am glad to open the floodgates hopefully and many more will follow me.”

“Making Japan proud Hideki,” five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods, who is home recovering from serious leg injuries suffered in a February car crash, wrote on Twitter.  “Congratulations on such a huge accomplishment for you and your country.  This historical @TheMasters will win impact the entire golf world.”

Speaking to reporters on Monday morning in Tokyo, Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga called Matsuyama’s historic win “wonderful” and a source of pride and courage for the Japanese people during the difficulties posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“He’s also a graduate of a university in Tohoku,” Suga said, referring to the northeastern region of Japan devastated by the massive earthquake and tsunami 10 years ago.  “(His win) has also provided a big boost to the recovery from the disasters.”

Matsuyama’s win has prompted calls for him to be given the honor of lighting the Olympic Games cauldron at the opening ceremony in July.  “It would be quite an honor,” he said in a PGA Tour statement.  “But I’m not sure about my schedule. If the schedules worked out and I am in Japan when that happens and they ask me, what an honor that would be.”

Thomas Boswell / Washington Post

“When Hideki Matsuyama tapped in on the 18th green at the Masters on Sunday to become the first man from Japan to win a major golf championship, he stood expressionless, then walked toward his caddie so subdued that he did not even smile.

“This is total emotional exhaustion.  This is what pressure looks like when it leaves one of the world’s best players, at the moment of his greatest triumph, so squashed by demands, both his own and his country’s, that he looks like a human pancake.

“This may be the first time anyone ever got a green jacket and you wanted to say, ‘That was the best bogey-bogey-par-bogey finish in golf history.’

“The weight on Matsuyama, who hadn’t won in four years despite arriving at Augusta (Ga.) National ranked 25th in the world, is a sports phenomenon so much beyond what American fans can imagine for a U.S. athlete that it requires context to appreciate….

“Compared with the melodrama of many Masters, Matsuyama’s 1-over-par 73 on Sunday, during which he often had a five-shot lead, might seem an entertaining but not hair-raising Masters finale.  Don’t be fooled.  Few players have held themselves together under such scrutiny and for such symbolic stakes in the eyes of their countrymen….

“To me, considering his rocky start, then factoring in the way his lead rapidly dwindled in the evening, perhaps we should rank Matsuyama’s self-control, his ball-striking and his resolution as part of a genuinely remarkable Masters Sunday….

“For decades, I have watched the way the press from Japan obsessively covers its athletes, especially in golf and baseball, sports in which it shares a common, profound passion with America. You have to see it to believe it. It is adoration and judgment, celebrity and imminent disgrace, the highest honor and profound loss of face, pressed close against each other.

“A dozen or dozens of reporters and photographers will follow just one player from Japan, reporting his (or her) every move day after day, sometimes month after month. No doubt, the royals in Great Britain have it worse for ludicrous levels of scrutiny over trivialities and flaws.  But for many years, whenever a player from Japan has been in contention at any major, especially the Masters, everywhere he looked he would see a moving mass of photographers and reporters from his country.

“What was different this year? Because of the pandemic, there were strict limits on press access – in number and proximity.  You might as well have banned a firing squad, especially for the shy Matsuyama.

“ ‘Being in front of the media is still difficult,’ Matsuyama said this week.  ‘It’s not my favorite thing to do, to stand and answer questions.  And so with fewer media, it’s been a lot less stressful for me, and I’ve enjoyed this week.’

“Just how private is Matsuyama?  In 2017, he mentioned to reporters at a PGA Tour event that he was now a father.  His wife, Mei, had given birth to a baby girl a month earlier. This was only remarkable in one respect: Nobody knew Matsuyama was married!  Asked why it wasn’t common knowledge, he said, ‘Nobody asked me that question.’….

“How many microscopes has Matsuyama been under for the past 10 years as he finished in the top 10 in seven majors but frequently showed nerves?  Few players, even excellent ones, can suddenly find it in themselves and their games to win ‘out of nowhere.’  But Matsuyama, despite his long drought, just did it….

“On Sunday, everything did not come together for Matsuyama.  In fact, things almost came apart, both early and late. That makes his win more admirable, not less.

“ ‘It’s been a struggle recently,’ Matsuyama said afterward.  ‘This year, no top-10s, haven’t even contended.  So I came with little or no expectation. …But Wednesday I found something new in my swing. That gave me confidence.’

“Hideki Matsuyama, who spent Saturday’s rain delay playing games on his phone in his car, did not ask to be a symbol of his golf-loving nation’s quest for a major champion.  But when the moment came, he was equal to it – by one shot.  If your heart is kind, give a thanks for that.”

--Daniel Rapaport / Golf Digest

“You can’t really see if the bravado’s legit until the rubber meets the road. Or, in this case, the driver meets the ball.

Will Zalatoris said the right things all week.  How he belongs out here, how he’s playing with house money, how he’s ‘stupid enough to think I can win.’  But Masters Sunday is a different animal, especially when the wind is a factor.  Surely he’d come back to earth, make a few nervy bogeys, fade from the mix, settle for a top-10, bank some world ranking points, collect a fat check and call it a day.

“Screw that.

“Zalatoris went full alpha from the get-go on Sunday at Augusta, birdieing his first two holes and emerging as the only guy with the gumption to chase down Hideki Matsuyama. He fell one shot short – one shot! – in a bid to become the first player to win his Masters debut since 1979.

“ ‘I think the fact that I’m frustrated I finished second in my third major says something,’ he said with a smirk.  He’s one of those people who cannot speak without smirking.  ‘And the fact that I didn’t let any moment really get to me was really exciting.’

“After he signed his card to make his two-under 70 official, Zalatoris was whisked away by a green coat into a cabin for a CBS interview.  Fellow Texan Jordan Spieth was holding court with media when he caught a glimpse of his old pal.  He stopped mid-answer: ‘Great playing, dude.’  Zalatoris thanked him earnestly, but there was no hierarchy involved.  This wasn’t a kid awed that the great Jordan Spieth paused to acknowledge him.  Because Will Zalatoris always expected to be here, and Jordan Spieth always expected Will Zalatoris to be here.”

--For the record, Matsuyama was just the second man from Asia to win a major, South Korea’s Y.E. Yang beating Tiger Woods to win the 2009 PGA Championship.

--Finally, I forgot to bring up something incredibly important when I posted Sunday evening.

There are birds at Augusta…repeat…there are birds at Augusta.  I’m sure many of you saw it too, on Sunday.

No bird sightings all week, but then as Matsuyama played the third hole, we had a picture of a hawk flying above.  And then on the seventh, a tee shot almost hit a bird sitting in the fairway!

I was shocked and was waiting for Jim Nantz to say, “See, friends…there really are birds at Augusta.”

Of course that would have gotten him fired.

Seriously, no one has seen a bird…like in, ever.  Think pesticides…heavy use of same.

At least that’s my story (and Michael Bamberger’s and Rick Reilly’s) and I’m sticking to it.  Pesticides is my angle.

MLB

--Two Chicago Cubs coaches tested positive for the coronavirus and three relievers were placed on the Covid-19-related injured list.

But Monday’s night’s series opener at Milwaukee was played as scheduled, the Cubs losing 6-3.

Manager David Ross said, “Everyone has tested today that is here and is negative.”

We’ll see what happens the next few days and if it spreads.

But tonight, Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks was scratched “out of an abundance of caution” because he wasn’t feeling well.

--Canada has been spiking in terms of Covid cases, which doesn’t bode well for the Toronto Blue Jays (or the NBA’s Raptors) returning to their home anytime soon.

--Shohei Ohtani had three hits, two of them doubles, and three RBIs in the Angels’ 10-3 win Monday over Kansas City…Bar Chat being on “Ohtani Watch” 24/7 this year…because it’s really all about getting Mike Trout into the playoffs, which L.A. can’t do without contributions from Ohtani.

--What a disastrous start to the season for the New York Mets.  First, we had the season-opening series against the Nationals postponed due to Covid cases on Washington.  Then the Mets finally get five games in, only to have Sunday’s rainout fiasco that I wrote of last time…followed by a rainout Monday, the Mets scheduled to play the Phillies, and that necessitated a doubleheader today, Tuesday.

Which necessitated a 7-inning doubleheader today.

And the Metropolitans swept the Phils, 4-3 in extra innings and 4-0 behind Marcus Stroman.

A big rainstorm is slated for Thursday here in New York, and then the Mets head to Colorado where it’s supposed to snow Friday.

Before Monday’s rainout, Mike Vaccaro / New York Post…on Sunday’s debacle…

“A brief history of rain-and-sports quotes:

“Noah, 5,000 BC: ‘We’re gonna need a bigger boat.’

“Carl Spackler, 1980: ‘I’d keep playing. I don’t think the heavy stuff’s going to come down for quite a while.’

“Crash Davis, 1988: ‘Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.’

“Luis Rojas, 2021: ‘We had an exclusive forecast expert. He said it was going to be lighter rain or a mist-like rain.’

“(NOTE TO METS: Get a forecast expert with more expertise.)

“Yes, only the Mets could make something as annually routine as the April shower and turn it into a 2-hour and 10-minute soap opera.  That’s how long it took everyone in charge at Citi Field on Sunday to wait out the rain, which refused to be waited out.  To anyone with a weather app on their phone, this was the least-surprising news of the day.

“ ‘I’m on the phone all the time,’ Rojas said, and so is anyone else who has a vested interest in whether the weather will allow early-season baseball games to be played.  There are a number of these apps available, and on Sunday every one of them had essentially the same forecast.

“It’s going to rain.

“A lot.  All day.

“No, seriously: All day, a lot. I saw that.  Rojas saw that. Most of the fans who chose to stay away from Citi Field on Sunday – and a hearty cheer to those of you who came, anyway – could see that.  Of course, we’re not forecast experts…

“There are certain threads of common sense that really need to be applied to springtime baseball and the dark clouds that sometimes interrupt the fun.

“It rains in April.  It’s rained in April since the very first April.  The old ditty ‘April showers bring May flowers’ was not authored on a whim.

“Baseball cannot be played in the rain.  Now, this is where football fans can pound their chests and talk about the fact that football is played in rain, in snow, in sleet, in hailstorms. That’s football.  Baseball has never been played in the rain.  It never will be played in the rain.

“It rains in New York, in April.  A lot. Every year.  Going back to when you were in Little League and you cast a furtive first glance out your bedroom window to make sure you could see your shadow like some kind of peewee groundhog, we are trained that rain stinks, it’s the enemy, but it’s real.

“Not for nothing?  If you want to guarantee dates in April, then someone should’ve spent the extra few shillings on a retractable roof.

“The last one may be the commonest of the common:

“When the Mets and Marlins took the field Sunday, the pitcher’s mound, batter’s box and basepaths were already glistening.  This was ‘light rain’ only compared to the sideways rain Forrest Gump encountered in Vietnam.  The second batter of the game, Starling Marte, hit a lazy bloop to right that Michael Conforto had to slosh through to corral.

“And Marcus Stroman, the Mets’ pitcher, didn’t look at all comfortable, walking around between pitches, throwing balls out of play. We learned later just how uncomfortable he was when he tweeted:

“ ‘This game should have never been started.  Not smart at all. Those conditions put everyone at risk.  Beyond happy no players on either side were injured. Hate that I have to wait another 5 days to pitch again.  That’s a miserable feeling.  However, #LFGH each and every day! @Mets’

“Now, you may be of the old school that players should keep their opinion about things that don’t pertain directly to them to themselves. But Stroman does seem to be the only person willing to believe his eyes over a forecast expert.  But what he said was correct.”

--Umpire Joe West was awarded $500,000 plus interest on Monday after winning a defamation lawsuit against former major leaguer Paul Lo Duca.

Judge John Kelley of Manhattan Supreme Court rendered the decision.

In April 2019, Lo Duca said on “The Favorites” podcast on the Action Network that West had once agreed to give Lo Duca’s New York Mets teammate Billy Wagner a bigger strike zone in exchange for use of the pitcher’s vintage car.

“We’re playing like a really tight game against the Phillies and Billy Wagner comes in from the bullpen,” Lo Duca said on the podcast.  “I used to go to the mound every time and I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ and he’s like, ‘Hey, Joe’s behind the plate. Set up a couple more inches inside.  I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?  Joe hates me.’  He’s like, ‘No, no, no, no, no, no.  Joe loves me.’

“I go, ‘He hasn’t given us the corner all day.’  He’s like, ‘Don’t worry about it.’  He literally throws 10 pitches and strikes out three guys.  Joe rings up all three guys.  Eight out of the nine pitches were at least three to four inches inside, not even close.  Guys were throwing bats and everything.  Joe walks off the field…

“I get back into the clubhouse and I’m like, ‘What the f--- just happened right now?’  And Wagner just winks at me.  I’m like, ‘What’s the secret?’  He’s like, ‘Eh, Joe loves antique cars, so every time he comes into town I lend him my ’57 Chevy so he can drive it around so then he opens up the strike zone for me.’”

West denied the allegation.  According to USA TODAY, West was behind the plate only once for a Phillies-Mets game in 2006 and ’07, the seasons in which Lo Duca and Wagner were Mets teammates, and Wagner didn’t pitch in that game.

West also maintains Lo Duca’s comments could hurt his chances of making the Hall of Fame.

The court awarded West $250,000 for “past mental anguish and emotional distress” and another $250,000 to “compensate for expenses he will need to incur in retaining a public relations firm to formulate and operationalize a sufficient reputation remediation plan.”

NBA

--Quite a night for Steph Curry on Monday, as he led Golden State to a 116-107 victory over Denver.  Curry poured in 53 points to pass Wilt Chamberlain as the Warriors’ all-time scoring leader.  It was the third 50-point game of the season and ninth of his career.

Curry needed 19 points to pass Chamberlain, who had 17,783 points in his Warriors’ career (in less than six seasons), and Steph took care of matters early, scoring 21 in the first quarter.

Curry finished the night 14-of-24 from the field, 10-of-18 from three, and 15-of-16 on free throws.  It was his 18th game with at least 10 3-pointers, most in NBA history.  Teammate Klay Thompson is next on the list with five.

Yes, as Warriors coach Steve Kerr said: “What he’s doing is ridiculous. Nobody has ever shot the ball like this….It’s kind of crazy…”

Curry, 33, is now averaging 30.4 points per game for the season, which would be the best of his career, the prior high 30.1 in 2015-16.

--My Knicks were in big trouble, losing five of six, but they have suddenly won three in a row, including Sunday, 102-96 over Toronto, and last night, 111-96, over the Lakers.

So the Knickerbockers are back to 28-27, as they attempt to get in the sixth slot and avoid the play-in tournament that all the players around the league seem to be bitching about.

--The Nets played Minnesota this afternoon, after they postponed last night’s contest due to the protests in Brooklyn Center, Minn.  The Nets crushed the T’Wolves 127-97, Durant with 31 points in 27 minutes.  I’d say he’s back.

--Eastern Conference

1. Philadelphia 37-17
2. Brooklyn 37-17
3. Milwaukee 33-20
4. Atlanta 30-25…16-5 under Nate McMillan after firing Lloyd Pierce…
5. Miami 28-25
6. Charlotte 27-25
7. Boston 28-26
8. Knicks 28-27
9. Indiana 25-27
10. Chicago 22-31

Meanwhile, the Lakers, sans LeBron and Anthony Davis, have been tumbling down the standings.

--Western Conference

1. Utah 40-14
1. Phoenix 38-15
3. L.A. Clippers 37-18
4. Denver 34-20
5. L.A. Lakers 33-21 …could easily drop into play-in slot
6. Portland 31-22
7. Dallas 29-24
8. Memphis 27-25
9. San Antonio 26-26
10. Golden State 26-28
11. New Orleans 25-29…playing well lately

College Basketball

--No doubt, the sport has changed drastically with the new transfer rule and kids being allowed to play right away instead of sitting out a year.  Wake Forest just picked up a promising kid from East Tennessee State, to go with two earlier pickups from Colorado and Indiana State, after the Deacs saw five of their own enter the portal.  Every school is going through the same thing.  Rutgers, to state another example, is a mess, though two players who are testing the NBA waters, Geo Baker and Ron Harper Jr., could yet return.

As the Wall Street Journal’s Laine Higgins writes in the Tuesday edition, “Just one week after the season officially ended with Baylor cutting down the nets to win the national title, 1,296 players have indicated a desire to transfer by entering the NCAA’s ‘transfer portal,’ a national database introduced in 2018 that lets players broadcast their intention to leave without first obtaining permission from their current school.  That is more than double the 600 or so who switched schools via the transfer portal last season.

“That means that more than 28% of the more than 4,500 Division I scholarship men’s basketball players could be on the move this offseason.

“ ‘It’s like a big game of musical chairs.  And the interesting thing to me is going to be when the music stops,’ said Tad Boyle, the coach at Colorado, where six of the 18 players have indicated they intend to transfer.”

Colorado is one of 104 universities with at least five players in the portal, but none of the players transferring (such as the kid to Wake Forest) are underclassmen on scholarship.

The huge uptick comes as players anticipate that the NCAA is going back to the old rules, requiring athletes to sit out a year if they choose to transfer.  At the same time, owing to the pandemic, the NCAA temporarily modified its strict eligibility rules. Athletes who previously had five calendar years to complete four seasons of competition wouldn’t have to count the 2021-21 season against their eligibility clock.  Which is why a senior like Rutgers’ solid guard, Geo Baker, could conceivably return.  And you still have the grad transfer option.

Villanova coach Jay Wright said: “I don’t think it’s good for college basketball, but it’s good for the student-athletes, and that’s what we’re all here for.  We’ll all adjust.  It’s going to make it a little messier.”

Meanwhile, football saw 1,400 players put their names in the portal.

--Phil W. just informed me a former Wake Forest player, a very solid one, Justin Gray, was named new head coach at Western Carolina.  Good for him.  Gray had been an assistant at Winthrop for two seasons, among other positions.

NFL

--Dan Wolken / USA TODAY

Since Britt Reid’s drunk driving accident in Kansas City that left a 5-year-old girl with serious brain injuries – just days before the team that employed him played in the Super Bowl – the chiefs’ public posture about the incident has been notably passive.

“Besides canned statements of support for Ariel Young at every development in the case and an acknowledgement that Reid, son of head coach Andy Reid, was no longer employed as a Chiefs assistant coach, there hasn’t been much transparency from the team about what it has learned from the night of the crash.

“That needs to change – and soon.

“On Monday, Reid was charged with driving while intoxicated, a felony that could potentially imprison him for up to seven years.  Now that more details have emerged from the investigation, a civil lawsuit also seems likely as Ariel Young still cannot talk, walk or eat and could face medical complications for the rest of her life.  According to the family’s attorney, she was sent home from the hospital earlier this month in hopes that familiar surroundings would help her recover.

“Meanwhile, the family has had to rely on GoFundMe donations in excess of $500,000 to help pay significant medical bills.

“But the warrant for Reid’s arrest raises questions that need to be answered by the Chiefs about what exactly happened in their building on the night of Feb. 4, before Reid got in his car drunk and forever altered a little girl’s life.

“Though it was always assumed based on the location of the crash on an Interstate on-ramp near Arrowhead Stadium that Reid had just left the practice facility when he plowed into two cars on the side of the road at nearly 83 miles per hour, the charging documents make it clear that Reid told the responding officer at the scene he had just left work.  No mention of stopping at a liquor store or a restaurant or a bar, and no specific reference to where he had consumed the drniks.

“When you combine that with the other big revelation from the warrant – his blood alcohol level was .113 roughly two hours after the crash – it suggests a potentially important chain of events: That Reid walked out of the Chiefs’ offices in a significant state of intoxication and directly into his vehicle. Or that Reid wasn’t being truthful in telling police he had just left work.

“To be clear, we don’t know for sure that he got drunk in the facility. It’s not outlined explicitly in the warrant.

“But it’s absolutely now important in determining whether the Chiefs bear any responsibility in what happened to Ariel Young.

“The story Reid told the officers was that he had a couple of beers before getting behind the wheel.  The reality of a .113 blood alcohol level is that he more likely had consumed at least five or six.  Missouri’s blood alcohol limit is .08.

“What, exactly, was happening in the Chiefs’ practice facility three days before the Super Bowl?

“It’s not necessarily unusual for coaches who put in long hours to have a drink in the office, but the Chiefs need to lay out publicly exactly who might have known or seen Reid that night and what led up to him getting in that car….

“But so far, they’ve said nothing, and the NFL has said nothing indicating that the Chiefs are being investigated or sanctioned for anything related to Reid’s behavior. That has to change now.  It’s time for transparency on everything, from where Reid was drinking to the circumstances surrounding his employment in the first place.”

Reid had a very troubled past, including drug and DUI charges and a 2007 incident in which he pointed a gun at a motorist in a road rage incident.  His hiring was all about nepotism.

As Dan Wolken concludes:

“The Chiefs need to be transparent about whether the tragic chain of events began in their facility and own up to any responsibility that might come with it.”

--Longtime New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is retiring, the franchise having terminated his contract Monday under the designation of a failed physical.  Edelman then announced his retirement from football in a video posted to his Twitter account.

“Nothing in my career has ever come easy,” Edelman said.  “And, no surprise, this isn’t going to be easy, either. Now I’ve always said, I’m going to go until the wheels come off, and they have finally fallen off.  Due to an injury last year, I’ll be making my official announcement of my retirement from football.

“It was a hard decision, but the right decision for me and my family.”

Edelman, 34, played all 11 of his NFL seasons with New England and currently ranks fourth on the team’s all-time career receiving yards list with 6,822.  His 620 receptions rank second in franchise history.

Edelman played a big part in three Super Bowl championships and is perhaps best known for an improbable catch he made against the Falcons in Super Bowl 51 that helped secure New England’s victory after it had trailed by 25 points in the third quarter.

He was also named Super Bowl 53 MVP after recording 10 catches for 141 yards in New England’s 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said in a statement: “By any measure of what constitutes an elite NFL career – wins, championships, production – Julian has it all.  Few players can match Julian’s achievements, period, but considering his professional trajectory and longevity, the group is even more select.  It is historic.  This is a tribute to his legendary competitiveness, mental and physical toughness and will to excel.  Day in and day out, Julian was always the same: all out.  Then, in the biggest games and moments, with championships at stake, he reached even greater heights and delivered some of his best, most thrilling performances.”

In 19 playoff games, he caught 118 passes for 1,442 yards, ranking second only to Jerry Rice in career postseason totals for both categories.

Edelman was also an outstanding punt returner, returning four for touchdowns, and because of his days as a quarterback at Kent State, the Pats sprinkled in some trick plays, with Edelman completing all six of his career passes – for 128 yards and a TD.  Hey, the guy retires with a perfect passer rating, 158.3!

He also had a 51-yard touchdown pass in a 2015 divisional round game against the Ravens, a game they won 35-31, as they’d later win the Super Bowl.

NASCAR

Martin Truex Jr. won a stirring, laps-long duel for the lead Sunday night at Martinsville Speedway with teammate Denny Hamlin, the Cup Series race having been suspended Saturday night due to rain.  It was his third win in the past four stops at the 0.526-mile oval – the oldest and shortest track on the Cup circuit – and 29th of his career.

Chase Elliott held off Hamlin for second.

Joe Gibbs Racing had all four of its drivers, the others Christophe Bell (7th) and Kyle Busch (10th), in the top ten.

Hamlin has now finished in the top-five in seven of the first eight races.

Truex became the first repeat winner in NASCAR’s top series this season.

Top 3 songs for the week 4/14/73: #1 “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia” (Vicki Lawrence…not to be confused with Vikki Carr, who I had a crush on…) #2 “Neither One Of us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)” (Gladys Knight & The Pips)  #3 “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree” (Dawn featuring Tony Orlando)…and…#4 “Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got)” (Four Tops)  #5 “Sing” (Carpenters)  #6 “The Cisco Kid” (War)  #7 “Danny’s Song” (Anne Murray)  #8 “Break Up to Make Up” (The Stylistics)  #9 “Killing Me Softly With His Song” (Roberta Flack)  #10 “Call Me” (Al Green…B week…)

NBA Quiz Answer: Only five to average 40+ minutes per game for their career….

Wilt Chamberlain 45.8 …amazing, but he also never fouled out…then again, Wilt was also known for his stamina, having bed- …oops, can’t go there.
Bill Russell 42.3
Oscar Robertson 42.2
Allen Iverson 41.1 …I admit to not fully appreciating his career as much as I should have…
Elgin Baylor 40.03

Next Bar Chat, Sunday p.m.