Sunday, June 18, 2017

The Freakin' Weekend (1971)



And happy Father's Day 1971! It's Friday, June 18, 1971, and we're down to just two more days to get our shopping done. Sports Illustrated has had some great ideas ...



 

Of course, Sears has all sorts of solid choices ...



In Chicago, we could swing by Marshall Field for some attractive wildlife coasters ...



My dad finally announced he no longer wanted any gifts he couldn't read or eat ...





Actually, I'm probably going to just end up going to Walgreens ... 






I've been working on my picks for the All-Star ballot ...




Here's where we stand, by the way ...


35 comments:

  1. Well, the man who preached the funeral
    said it really was a simple way to die ...


    And that's how's you write the first line of a song or really anything that you want people to actually pay attention to, and, on a related note, I'll bet this book is fantastic.

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  2. Middle initials were huge among prominent men from Kentucky of this day and age ... Tom T. Hall, Joe B. Hall, Gov. Louie B. Nunn ...

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  3. Turning to sports, the Phillies' Rick Wise no-hit the Reds (and hit two home runs) last night. I wish we got to vote for pitchers on the All-Star ballots. I'd consider Wise for my National League pitcher based on this performance alone. Of course, this was the second time Cincinnati has been no-hit in three weeks, so I'd probably go with St. Louis's Steve Carlton, San Francisco's Juan Marichal or somebody else instead.

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    1. I'll tell you one guy who is definitely going on my ballot, and that's Willie Stargell. He's already up to 26 home runs and 72 runs batted in, both tops in the majors. Stargell's three-run homer in the first inning last night against the Mets was all Pittsburgh would need; the Pirates won, 6-2, and moved 4.5 ahead of New York in the N.L. East. Earlier this season, there was a game where the Pirates beat the Expos in the 13th inning when Stargell fouled off eight straight pitches before homering.

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    2. Here’s where the National League stands as of the morning of June 24, 1971 …

      East
      Pirates 45-26
      Mets 38-28, 4.5 games back
      Cardinals 39-33, 6.5
      Cubs 34-35, 10
      Expos 28-37, 14
      Phillies 28-40, 15.5

      West
      Giants 48-25
      Dodgers 38-32, 8.5
      Astros 33-37, 13.5
      Reds 32-39, 15
      Braves 33-42, 16
      Padres 25-47, 22.5

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  4. I'm a Boog Powell guy, but he's not going to be my All-Star choice for American League first baseman. He was the MVP last season; until piling up nine hits over three games with Washington this 1971 week, he was hitting below .200 and being threatened with benching by Orioles manager Earl Weaver. Anyway, I'm probably rolling with Mike Epstein, who has been phenomenal since coming over to Oakland from the Senators.

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    1. Meanwhile the '71 A's continue to look terrific! Johnny Odom on June 23, 1971, beat the Twins, 8-3, to raise his record to 3-3 as he continues to bounce back from an elbow injury.

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    2. And the American League as of the morning of June 24 …

      West
      A’s 46-23
      Royals 35-30, 9
      Twins 35-35, 11.5
      Angels 32-40, 15.5
      White Sox 26-38, 17.5
      Brewers 25-39, 18.5

      East
      Orioles 43-23
      Red Sox 37-30, 6.5
      Tigers 38-31, 6.5
      Yankees 32-37, 12.5
      Indians 31-36, 12.5
      Senators 24-42, 19

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  5. Replies
    1. I'm back in Kentucky today 1971, by the way. I've already been to Bowling Green, Middlesboro and Whites burg this morning.

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  6. I love how Nina Simone in live performances is forever working direction or commentary into her singing. Here, she announces a microphone isn't working right during "Suzanne." There's a great version of "Ain't Got No" out there where she's telling the rest of the band how many more times she's going to sing the chorus and a "No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Required" when she works into the performance how she has been overworking her voice.

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  7. Well, getting back to the Lafe Coker/Mac Divot saga ... he did it. Setting up his putt to win the U.S. Open, Lafe Coker moved his ball in brushing away a lady bug. Presumably, he's going to be penalized in the Tuesday, June 22, Chicago Tribune, giving away the major championship to his cousin. But, for now, Mac Divot is utterly livid!

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  8. No, Mac Divot's dragging out Lafe Coker's agony until at least Wednesday, June 23, anyway.

    Meanwhile, Lee Trevino ran away with a Monday-playoff victory over Jack Nicklaus at the real U.S. Open. The Chicago Tribune took some glee in Nicklaus's complaining about the Merion course early in the tournament while a Chicago club pro had fared better through the first round or two. But he's having a giant year. Nicklaus scored a wire-to-win win in the year's first major, February's PGA Championship, and now he has finished second in each of the last two.

    Of course, Lee Trevino's having a pretty good year, too.

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    1. Some of the best Dan Jenkins moments from his U.S. Open story in Sports Illustrated:

      -- ... Nicklaus, the country-club kid from Ohio, our best shotmaker, against Trevino, the Mexican from Texas, our best hustler ...

      -- Par golf is colossal golf on Merion's closing holes and those who saw it will long remember the way Nicklaus came down the stretch behind Trevino. At the 15th, 16th and 17th he was confronted with the necessity of sinking difficult putts for pars on the icy-slick greens. Making any of them in a round of pleasure golf would have been impressive. Now, in the pressure of the U.S. Open, Jack made all three. Each time that he bent over to concentrate, those watching could see the Open escaping him. It had to. But the putts dropped, each of them, even the seven-footer at the 17th, when he knew Trevino had finished with a bogey. The putt broke like a winding mountain road, but it dropped—and Nicklaus was tied for the lead. The one that didn't drop was a birdie putt at the final hole. There it was, the most perfect calendar picture of all: Nicklaus at Merion sinking a 14-foot birdie for a 279 and the Open. But it slid left, Merion's par held up and golf had another playoff for the ages.

      -- Nicklaus struggled to a 72 on the second day and was twice warned about taking so much time to get through his round. Palmer commented on the pace, implying that it was inexcusable. "They should have told him to move up," he said. Nicklaus had some remarks to make about the pin placements. "They were ridiculous," he said. On which holes? "One through 18," he said. He accused the USGA of trying to hide the pins so as to protect the integrity of Merion, which he said was unnecessary.

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  9. As of the morning of June 27, 1971, the A's lead the Royals by 10 games. Oakland beat visiting Kansas City, 7-0, as Vida Blue gave up five hits and one walk but struck out 12 in improving to 16-2 on the season.

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  10. As of June 28, 1971, the A's are up 11 games in the A.L. West. Jim "Catfish" Hunter homered in his last start and is now hitting .365 on the season.

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  11. It's about that time of year. Last night, Wednesday, June 30, 1971, CBS aired an episode of NFL Action featuring highlights from NFL70's Cowboys-49ers NFC Championship.

    By the way, starting with NFL71, officials won't be using their own pistols to signal the ends of halves and games.

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