The National Semi-Finals

We will not have another Saturday with college football or college basketball until late August.  I will miss it enormously, but as I grow older I appreciate different seasons more and more.  Today's games represent one of the best Final Fours in many years:

5:09 PM Central (TBS):  (7) Connecticut (33-5) v. (13) Illinois (28-8)

7:49 PM Central (TBS):  (2) Arizona (36-2) v. (3) Michigan (35-3)

This year's tournament is the first time since 2014 that the names of the four teams are also the names of four different states.  In 2014 the Final Four was Connecticut, Kentucky, Florida, and Wisconsin.

Thirty-Two Franchises: Chicago Bears

Have participated in the NFL since the 1920 Season.

All-Time Record:  798-646-42 (.553)

1920:  Decatur Staleys:  10-1-2 (.909)

1921:  Chicago Staleys:  9-1-1 (.900)

1922-2025:  Chicago Bears:  779-644-39 (.547)

Without their two years as the Staleys, the Bears would trail the Chiefs, the Dolphins, the Vikings, and the Patriots in winning percentage.

Super Bowl Record:  1-1 (XX) (1985)

Top Passer:  Jay Cutler (23,443 yds)

Top Rusher:  Walter Payton (16,726 yds)

Top Receiver:  Johnny Morris (5,059 yds)

Top Coach:  George Halas (318 wins)

Halas holds the record for most wins with a single team.  He coached the Bears from 1920 through 1929, from 1933 through 1942, and from 1946 through 1967.  His last season, at the age of 72, he went 7-6-1.  In 40 seasons, he went 318-148-31 (.682) in the regular season.  Since then, the Bears have gone 480-498-11 (.491).  In other words, the post-Halas Bears have almost the same record as the Bills, who are 486-505-8 (.490).

Mike Ditka's regular season record coaching the Bears was 106-62-0 (.631).

Top All-Time Player Based on Approximate Value:  Walter Payton (AV of 167)

William Perry finished with an AV of 59 in 138 games.  Jim McMahon had an AV of 49 in 66 games for the Bears.  His record as a starter was 46-15-0.

Thirty-Two Franchises: Arizona Cardinals

Have participated in the NFL since the 1920 season.

All-time Record:  593-812-41 (.422)

1920-1943:  Chicago Cardinals:  99-141-21 (.413)

1944:  Chi/Pit Cards/Steelers:  0-10 (.000)

1945-1959:  Chicago Cardinals:  66-107-4 (.382)

1960-1987:  St. Louis Cardinals:  186-202-14 (.480)

1988-1993:  Phoenix Cardinals:  32-64-0 (.333)

1994-2025:  Arizona Cardinals:  210-288-2 (.422)

Super Bowl Record:  0-1

Top Passer:  Jim Hart (34,639 yds)

Top Rusher:  Ottis Anderson (7,999 yds)

Top Receiver:  Larry Fitzgerald (17,492 yds)

Top Coach:  Bruce Arians (49 wins)

Top All-Time Player Based on Approximate Value:  Larry Fitzgerald (AV of 138)

1978

Here's the American Top 40 from today in 1978: Saturday, March 11. Maybe we can squeeze this in before sitting down for some intriguing first-round NCAA-tournament action on Channel 6 this afternoon.

10 Mar 1978, Fri The Paducah Sun (Paducah, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

Hello again, and welcome to American Top 40. I'm Casey Kasem, and this is our weekly countdown of the 40 most popular songs in the country. Well, falling out of the survey this week are Randy Newman, Player, Foreigner, Odyssey and Rod Stewart, and moving into the Top 40 are debut hits by Rod Stewart, Enchantment, England Dan and John Ford Coley, Van Halen (a new group) and ELO. Let's get it started right here ...

MLB Update

We are still planning to do MLB Month in October, but here's the latest from that world:

In the National League, it seems pretty clear that the Phillies, Dodgers, Brewers, and Padres will all be in the playoffs.  The Diamondbacks and Braves will probably take the last two spots, although the Mets are still hanging on with an outside shot.

In the American League, the Orioles, Yankees, Guardians and Twins all appear to be near-locks for the playoffs.  The Astros will probably make it again.  The Royals have the best chance at the last slot, although the Red Sox and the Mariners are hanging in there as well.  The Rangers are not going to defend their title.

Finally, it should be noted that the White Sox have a record of 30-95, for a winning percentage of .240.  If the White Sox finish the season with a winning percentage of .240, their final record will be 39-123, which will be even worse than the record of 40-120 posted by the 1962 New York Mets.  I have no idea why the White Sox are so bad, as I have not bothered to read any article about them all year.

President Vance

J.D. Vance is a very compelling writer, and I feel confident that he will give a very compelling speech at the Republican convention tonight. I imagine a lot of the country is going to be moved by Sen. Vance's speech tonight in a similarly profound way that I and so many others were moved by the following speech in July 2004, and I imagine they are going to make sure their guy is president some day (and maybe some day very soon).

Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2004 9:10 AM 
Subject: i'm on the bandwagon 
i know that i'm so ripe for being played by big media; i'm so easy that i cry at the end of almost every "west wing." still -- screw it -- i think/hope this guy is the real deal.

1976

I'd never realized it until today, but George Blanda's Topps 1976 might get my vote for best football card of all time. Blanda was approaching 49 years old when this card was released that summer, and he ended up being waived into retirement by the Raiders before the regular season. So, for starters, it has his complete, tremendous professional-football record on the back ...

Even an 8-year-old kid like me in 1976 could not have read the statistics had Topps gone to a smaller point size on the record, in order to squeeze in some cartoon and/or anecdote on the back--such as this one from his 1972 card ...

I think I actually read that autobiography. I know I read Ken Stabler's, and I think I might've also read George Blanda's--or at least most of it before mistakenly leaving it behind in the backseat of a cab riding home from a post-Natalie Merchant 10,000 Maniacs performance around Washington in the late 1990s. But, back to the card, ...

The picture is just dynamite. As a kid, of course, Blanda looked ancient, and, now, he looks so virile and defiant. (Which is how he apparently went out--"I just want to get out of here now," he's quoted as saying in the Associated Press report of his slipping out of the locker room quietly and without any sort of press conference on August 25.) I also love it that there's nothing in the picture that makes it look more like Blanda is part of a football game than he is waiting on his fillup at a self-serve Sunoco or Phillips 76 on a chilly evening.

The card also brings up a couple of questions for me about Blanda. He was from Illinois; how'd he end up playing at the University of Kentucky? (I have some ideas on this, but I've also read a book about Joe Namath, and I think I might be mashing into Blanda's story some of Namath's story about considering going to Kentucky before ending up at Alabama.) And Blanda was born in 1927 and went to college and made money by playing football; did he ever slide into self-doubts around leading a more frivolous life than the people just slightly older than him who dropped out of school to go fight in World War II and came home if they were fortunate to scrape out a living doing actual-tough-guy jobs like construction? I'm not saying that Blanda should've been embarrassed about the life he lived; I'm just saying that is very definitely a thing for some people, and I wonder where Blanda came down in those mysteries.

Anyway, lots of stuff to think about in 1976 Topps No. 355. It's quite a relic of the United States into which we were born.

Today's date, Sept. 28, was a Tuesday in 1976. In my young-man pretend from this time, I'm checking out of Dallas this morning after watching the Cowboys outlast the Colts, 30-27, a couple of days ago. We're three weeks in to the NFL season, and here are the standings ...

28 Sep 1976, Tue Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas) Newspapers.com

On to somewhere. Haven't decided yet. Could be Rams at Dolphins, but pretend me just saw Los Angeles. Could be Raiders at Patriots, but that's a long haul up to Foxboro. Probably should be Steelers at Vikings for Monday night, but pretend me just got out of Minnesota. Should've planned better.

1976

My word, I adore newspapers. If I had lived in Philadelphia today in 1976, there's about a 101-percent chance that this page would've already been taped to my bedroom wall in advance of tonight's game ...

13 Jul 1976, Tue The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.com

NFL75: Preseason

"Regularly scheduled programs will not be seen tonight, so that we can bring you the College All-Stars football game ..."

Previous and future reports:

-- Super Bowl X

NFL21 Update

 Dolphins at Bears ... 15:00 to go in the first quarter ... comments flow ...

XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2020 (Day 3)

It's 8 a.m. Monday in Tokyo, and Channel 6 is ready to lay some Sunday-night Olympics love on us. Here are our medal standings of the moment:

 

1. China 6 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze

2. Japan 5, 1, 0

3. United States 4, 2, 4

4. South Korea 2, 0, 3

5. Italy 1, 1, 3

T6. Australia 1, 1, 1

T6. France 1, 1, 1

T8. Hungary 1, 1, 0

T8. Tunisia 1, 1, 0

T10. Austria 1, 0, 0

T10. Ecuador 1, 0, 0

T10. Iran 1, 0, 0

T10. Kosovo 1, 0, 0

T10. Thailand 1, 0, 0

T10. Uzbekistan 1, 0, 0

T16. Canada 0, 2, 0

T16. Netherlands 0, 2, 0

T18. Brazil 0, 1, 1

T18. Chinese Taipei 0, 1, 1

T18. Great Britain 0, 1, 1

T18. Indonesia 0, 1, 1

T18. Serbia 0, 1, 1

T23. Belgium 0, 1, 0

T23. Bulgaria 0, 1, 0

T23. Colombia 0, 1, 0

T23. Georgia 0, 1, 0

T23. India 0, 1, 0

T23. Romania 0, 1, 0

T23. Spain 0, 1, 0

T30. Germany 0, 0, 2

T30. Kazakhstan 0, 0, 2

T30. Turkey 0, 0, 2

T30. Ukraine 0, 0, 2

T34. Estonia 0, 0, 1

T34. Israel 0, 0, 1

T34. Mexico 0, 0, 1

T34. Mongolia 0, 0, 1

T34. Slovenia 0, 0, 1

T34. Switzerland 0, 0, 1

They've also given seven medals to athletes from Russia, which invited everybody over to Sochi for the Winter Olympics in 2014 and then cheated.

 

Previous reports:

 

-- XXX Olympic Summer Games, London 2012 

-- XXXI Olympic Summer Games, Rio 2016 

-- XXXII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2020 (Programming Note) 

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2020 (Day 0)

-- XXXIII Olympics Summer Games, Tokyo 2020 (Days 1 and 2)

Salukis!

 Apparently they are now playing I-AA college football.  Anyway, Southern Illinois just beat North Dakota State -- the number 1 team in the country, a team that had won 39 games in a row, a team that had not lost since 2017 -- by the score of 38 to 14.  Wow!

Tree(s) Today/#Stamps/The Freakin' Weekend (2020/1974)

First, it's almost Saturday in 2020, and you know what that means: It's about time to get our stamps on!™

Second, my YouTube Watch Later queue is working again, and that makes everything better. 

Third, I've got some 1974 media (pictured with Ella) backed up and ready for consumption, and so what I'm saying is this weekend is about to blow up!

BMW Championship -- Day Four Wrap-Up

Well, it was  a long and disappointing day for John Augenstein (of Owensboro Catholic and Vandy) in the finals of the U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst.  After 28 holes of the 36 hole match, Augenstein was 2-up with only eight holes to play.  Then the roof fell in.  His opponent, Andy Ogletree of Georgia Tech, won the 29th hole thanks to a bogey by Augenstein.  Then Ogletree birdied the 31st hole to tie the match.  Then Augenstein bogeyed the 32d hole to go 1 down.  And when Augenstein double-bogeyed the par-3 35th hole, he was 2 down with only 1 hole left, and the match was over.  So Ogletree is your new U.S. Amateur Champion, and Augenstein will be left to ponder what might have been.

Another Kentuckian, however, had a much better day.  Justin Thomas (of Louisville St. X and Vandy) picked up his first win of the year, and the 10th win of his career, by cruising to a three-shot win at the BMW Championship in Medinah.  Thomas had a huge lead going into today's round, since he shot an 11-under par 61 yesterday.  But given that Medinah was basically playing like the typical pitch and putt, you knew that other guys would have low scores today.  Sure enough, Hideki Matsuyama shot a 63.  Patrick Cantlay shot a 65.  If Thomas had been shaky, his lead could have gotten away.  Instead he shot a solid 68, and won by three shots.

From my perspective, the experiment of treating the BMW Championship like a major tournament was a failure.  It had a great field, and Medinah is a great old course that has hosted numerous majors in the past.  Thomas is a major-quality winner.  But the barrage of birdies and eagles that we saw over the last few days made it feel like you were watching something more like the John Deere Classic than the PGA Championship.  (When Brooks Koepka won the PGA at Bethpage Black earlier this year, his winning score was 8-under par.)

Next year we have the Olympics and the GOP Convention in August, so maybe there will be enough sports to get through that month.  But I don't think the BMW Championship is the answer.

Oh, and neither Tiger Woods nor Jordan Spieth qualified for next week's Tour Championship.  And the PGA has come up with some sort of gimmick that is supposed to create more drama, but which will make me want to turn to the channel.  No matter what they try, I am never going to believe that winning the Playoffs is a bigger deal than winning a major.  I wish they would accept that, but I fear that they won't.

1.  J. Thomas:  -25 (65+69+61+68=263)

2.  P. Cantlay:  -22 (66+67+68+65=266)

3.  H. Matsuyama (JPN):  -20 (69+63+73+63=268)

4.  T. Finau:  -18 (67+66+68+69=270)

T5.  J. Rahm (ESP):  -16 (68+69+66+69=272)
T5.  B. Snedeker:  -16 (66+71+67+68=272)

T7.  C. Conners (CAN):  -15 (69+66+69+69=273)
T7.  L. Glover:  -15 (66+69+69+69=273)

T9.  A. Scott (AUS):  -14 (67+71+69+67=274)
T9.  K. Kisner:  -14 (68+68+69+69=274)

BMW Championship -- Day Three Wrap-Up

It's a shame I decided to take a nap, because I missed one of the best rounds of golf you will ever see.  Justin Thomas put on a spectacular show at Medinah today, shooting an 11-under par sixty-one in order to pull away from the field.

On the other hand, a major problem with trying to treat the BMW Championship as a major tournament is that the course is not set up like a major.  The scores this week look more like the best golfers in the world are at Paxton Park than at a famous old country club.

Anyway, the golf world is better when Justin Thomas is playing well, and we will hope he can win tomorrow.

In retrospect, I should have been following the U.S. Amateur, which is also being played this weekend, and which is an actual major tournament.  This year, they're playing the Amateur at Pinehurst Number Two, and one of the great stories of the week is another Kentuckian -- John Augenstein.  Augenstein played his high school golf for Owensboro Catholic and now plays for Vandy.  Here's what he's done so far:

In the round of 64, he played Ryan Smith, a rising high school senior from Carlsbad, Calif.  He beat Smith 6 and 4.

In the round of 32, he played Akshay Bhatia, the top-ranked player in the country under 18.  He beat Bhatia 4 and 2.

In the round of 16, he played Ricky Castillo, the number-9 amateur in the world.  Castillo just graduated from high school, and he will be playing for Florida in the fall.  He also had the second-best score of anyone in the qualifying rounds at the Amateur.  This was a great match.  After eight holes, Augenstein was 4-up.  But then Castillo won the 10th hole with an eagle, the 11th hole with a birdie, and the 12th hole with another birdie.  Now Augenstein was only one up.  But he parred the last six holes in a row -- and all Castillo could do was match him par for par.  With the one-up victory, Augenstein moved into the quarter-finals.

In the quarterfinals, Augenstein faced Palmer Jackson, who just graduated from high school in Murrysville, Pa. and who will be playing at Notre Dame in the fall.  Augenstein was 3-up after five holes, but lost the eighth and ninth holes due to bogeys.  But he righted the ship, and the next five holes were halved.  Jackson then bogeyed the 15th and 16th holes, and Augenstein had a 3 and 2 victory.

In the semifinals, Augenstein faced William Holcomb V from Crockett, Tex.  Holcomb is a rising senior at Sam Houston State.  Holcomb birdied the third hole to go 1-up.  Augenstein tied him with a par on the 4th.  Holcomb then bogeyed the 6th and 7th holes, and found himself 2 down.  But he birdied the 9th and was only 1 down.  The next four holes were halved, but Holcomb lost the 14th with a bogey.  When Augenstein won the 16th with a birdie, he had a 3 and 2 victory and a trip to tomorrow's 36-hole final.

So Kentucky golfers are going for a double tomorrow.  Justin Thomas -- of Louisville St. Xavier and the University of Alabama -- will be trying to win the BMW Championship.  John Augenstein -- of Owensboro Catholic and Vanderbilt University -- will be trying to win the U.S. Amateur.  He will be taking on Andy Ogletree, a rising senior at Georgia Tech.

Meanwhile, here are the scores from Medinah:

1.  J. Thomas:  -21 (65+69+61=195)

T2.  T. Finau:  -15 (67+66+68=201)
T2.  P. Cantlay:  -15 (66+67+68=201)

4.  R. Sabbatini (RSA):  -14 (67+68+67=202)

5.  J. Rahm (ESP):  -13 (68+69+66=203)

T6.  B. Snedeker:  -12 (66+71+67=204)
T6.  C. Conners (CAN):  -12 (69+66+69=204)
T6.  L. Glover:  -12 (66+69+69=204

T9.  K. Kisner:  -11 (68+68+69=205)
T9.  X. Schauffele:  -11 (67+68+70=205)
T9.  H. Matsuyama (JPN):  -11 (69+63+73=205)

BMW Championship -- Round Three

The big story from Chicago yesterday was Hideki Matsuyama setting the course record at Medinah with a stunning 9-under par 63.  That puts him at 12-under par for the tournament, and left him all alone in first place after two rounds.

The big story so far today is that Tiger Woods is 5-under for the day through 17 holes.  That brings him to 7-under for the tournament and puts him in a tie for 25th.  As of now, he is projected to finish 39th in the FedEx Cup standings, which will keep him out of the Tour Championship next week -- since you have to be one of the top 30.  There will be a bunch of disappointed folk in Atlanta, but silly rules lead to silly results.

We haven't heard much from Gary Woodland since he won the U.S. Open in June.  But today he posted a 64 that moves him to 9-under par, just three shots off the lead.  However, my guess is that Matusyama and company will shoot low scores of their own before the day is over.

Matsuyama is about 20 minutes from teeing off.  Here is your current top 10:

1.  H. Matsuyama: (JPN):  -12 (36 holes)

T2.  P. Cantlay:  -11 (36)
T2.  T. Finau:  -11 (36)

T4.  J. Rahm (ESP):  -10 (40)
T4.  X. Schauffele:  -10 (38)
T4.  J. Thomas:  -10 (36)

T7.  G. Woodland:  -9 (54)
T7.  W. Clark:  -9 (54)
T7.  J. Dahmen:  -9 (41)
T7.  S.W. Kim (KOR):  -9 (41)
T7.  R. Fowler:  -9 (40)
T7.  K. Kisner:  -9 (39)
T7.  C. Conners (CAN):  -9 (38)
T7.  R. Sabbatini (RSA):  -9 (37)
T7.  A. Hadwin (CAN):  -9 (36)
T7.  L. Glover:  -9 (36)

BMW Championship -- Day One Wrap-Up

A pretty good start to the old Western Open today.  Medinah is set up for a regular tour event, as opposed to a major, and the air was full of birdies.  Tiger and Matt Kuchar both broke par, with 1-under par 71's, and they are in a tie for 50th place.  At the top of the leaderboard is our old friend Justin Thomas.  The St. X grad shot a 7-under par 65 that has him in a tie for first place.  But as you will see below, it's a pretty crowded leaderboard at this point, and we may be in for a fair amount of drama before the weekend is over.

We have seven Americans at the top of the field.  In all the years I've written for this blog, I don't remember ever seeing that before.

T1.  J. Thomas:  -7 (65)
T1.  J. Kokrak:  -7 (65)

T3.  J. Furyk:  -6 (66)
T3.  J. Dahmen:  -6 (66)
T3.  L. Glover:  -6 (66)
T3.  B. Snedeker:  -6 (66)
T3.  P. Cantlay:  -6 (66)

T8.  R. Sabbatini (RSA):  -5 (67)
T8.  S. Piercy:  -5 (67)
T8.  T. Finau:  -5 (67)
T8.  A. Scott (AUS):  -5 (67)
T8.  X. Schauffele:  -5 (67)
T8.  C. Morikawa:  -5 (67)
T8.  A. Hadwin (CAN):  -5 (67)
T8.  R. Fowler:  -5 (67)
T8.  C. Reavie:  -5 (67)

BMW Championship

Of course, we should have the PGA Championship this week -- or maybe it would have been last week.  Anyway, we don't, because the powers that be want us to watch the FedEx Playoffs instead.  I don't really care that much about who wins the playoffs -- to me, Brooks Koepka is the number one player of the year because:  (1) he's the top-ranked player in the world, (2) he won the PGA Championship to give him four major titles in three years, and (3) he beat Rory McIlroy head-to-head a few weeks ago at their big showdown in Memphis.  So I'm not going to get caught up on who wins the playoff.

Having said that, I do like the BMW Championship -- this week's playoff tournament -- for several reasons.  It's got 70 players, which means that we are pretty much dealing with all the big stars, and we don't have to deal with so many long shots.  Also I think everyone makes the cut.  The BMW Championship is the descendant of the old Western Open, which was one of my favorite tour stops, and it's pretty easy for me to ignore the playoffs and pretend that I'm watching the Western Open.  And it's usually played at really interesting courses.  This year we are at Medinah, near Chicago, where Tiger won the PGA in both 1999 and 2006.  (Tiger was always great in the Midwest -- he won three Western Opens near Chicago, and whole host of tournaments over in Akron.)

Anyway, rather than worry about the FedEx Cup rankings, here are the Official World Golf Rankings, which will give you a better sense of how everyone's doing:

1.  B. Koepka (won the PGA and the WGC-St. Jude Classic this year)
2.  D. Johnson (won the WGC-Mexico)
3.  R. McIlroy (NIR) (won the Players Championship and the Canadian Open)
4.  J. Rose (ENG) (won the Farmers Insurance Open)
5.  J. Rahm (ESP) (his team won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans)
6.  T. Woods (won the Masters)
7.  F. Molinari (ITA) (won the Arnold Palmer Invitational)
8.  B. DeChambeau
9.  P. Cantlay (won the Memorial Tournament)
10.  J. Thomas

Tiger and Phil Mickelson both won official PGA Tour events this year.  They also did so in 1996.  My guess is that 2019 will be the last year that we see this particular double, but I would be happy to be proven wrong.

The Freakin' Weekend (1973)

This week in 1973, the so-called "mainstream (sports) media" (MS(S)M) is showcasing baseball teams who are not the World Series-champion Oakland A's.

I don't know what the July 28 Sporting News is thinking, but I do credit the July 30 Sports Illustrated for at least featuring this Page 6 advertisement for the Miami Dolphins' banking partner.

(I'm pretty sure I know which Dolphins' game that photograph comes from, but I'm going to plan to confirm and have more on that in the comments.)

And while I’m not going to buy the August 1973 SPORT (because $30 is a lot of money, even in 2019), but let me just say that all four teasers on the cover do, in fact, tempt me:

— I do want to know why Bobby Murcer is lost on a $100,000 turf and what that even means.

— I do want to know whether this author thinks Colts general manager Joe Thomas is a genius or a goat for unloading Johnny Unitas, Tom Matte, Bill Curry, etc.

— I do want to know who they think is the “poor man’s Joe Namath.” I’ll bet it’s Dan Pastorini. No, on second thought, I’ll bet it’s John Hadl! (More on this theory in the comments, too.)

Actually, also upon further review, I do not care to read that SPORT story associated with “U.S. Olympic House: Castle Under Siege.” After the Munich 1972 debacle, I don’t want to hear anything more bad about the Olympics.

Of all the sports publications I've seen for this weekend, what I'm most interested in is this sweet Chicago Tribune Charities, Inc., program for the "College All-Stars vs. World Champion Miami Dolphins" in Soldier Field on July 27, 1973 ...

And you better bet I'm going to be rocking some comments on that bad boy!

Also, here's tomorrow 1973's American Top 40, and you don't want to miss that. You'll just have to record the live coverage of Skylab 3's launch ...

The Freakin' Weekend (1973)

It's Friday, June 29, 1973, and the Oakland A's are in first place in the American League West for the first time this MLB73 season:

A’s 41-34, .547

Angels 39-33, 0.5 games back

White Sox 37-32, 1

Twins 37-33, 1.5

Royals 40-37, 2

Rangers 24-44, 13.5

Here are the other divisions:

AL East

Yankees 41-33, .554

Orioles 36-30, 1

Brewers 37-36, 3.5

Red Sox 35-35, 4

Tigers 36-37, 4.5

Indians 27-46, 13.5

NL East

Cubs 46-31, .597

Expos 34-35, 8

Cardinals 35-37, 8.5

Phillies 35-38, 9

Pirates 32-38, 10.5

Mets 31-39, 11

NL West

Dodgers 49-27, .645

Giants 44-43, 5.5

Astros 43-34, 6.5

Reds 38-36, 10

Braves 32-44, 17

Padres 24-51, 24.5

The A’s are playing the craziest run of schedule I’ve ever heard of in sports. Their last day off was Monday, June 11. Last weekend, the A’s were in Chicago for a five-game series with the division-leading White Sox. They closed it out with a double-header on Sunday, June 24, and then they had to be in Dallas to start a two-game series with the Rangers on Monday night. After Tuesday night’s game there, the A’s hustled back home for Wednesday- and Thursday-night games with the Royals. Now the White Sox are in town for four games (another double-header Sunday), and then it’s the Angels in Oakland for games Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The A’s will belatedly observe the nation’s 197th birthday with a day off on Thursday, July 5—but don’t party too hard, guys, because you have a double-header on Friday, July 6. In Baltimore! 

Everybody likes to talk about how ill-humored these A’s teams were; maybe these guys were so testy because they were having to work all of the time after Major League Baseball tried to stick it to Charlie Finley with the worst schedule in the history of sports.

Nonetheless, the defending World Series champs are--at last this season--thriving. This is, of course, a much better scenario for 1973 me than when-- at first this season--the A's were last.

Oakland opened MLB73 at home with three games against the Twins. They were swept. I’m sure he is a very nice man in real life, but I don’t know Jim Kaat in real life. So, seriously, if you discovered this 2019 HP report on the 1973 A’s because you Googled your great-grandfather Jim Kaat on a cigarette break from the cheese mines on the moon in 2065, please don’t take offense—I freaking can’t stand Jim Kaat. Everything that dude has ever said on TV I took as a direct shot against the A’s, but it started even back when he was a player. I don’t even know why. Maybe 10-year-old me got rooked in some baseball-card trade involving Jim Kaat. Maybe it was just because he beat the A’s to close out this season-opening sweep by the Twins in 1973. I don’t know. Whatever, can’t stand him.

So the A’s started MLB73 in last place in the AL West. They spent a lot of the rest of April and May in fifth. Their last game before their most recent day off—a 5-0 win over the Tigers on June 10—punched them over .500, to 29-28, and into fourth. Now they’re amid this torrid stretch against the rest of the division contenders, and a couple of 3-2 wins for a sweep of the short series with the Royals has them, finally, in first.

Last night’s game was especially huge. Vida Blue looked good, and the A’s debuted a promising kid, Manny Trillo, in the middle of the infield, where they’ve had injuries all season.

Blue went 7 2/3 innings for the win and yielded two earned runs, three hits and three walks. Blue has been good in MLB73 but not dominant (7-3, 3.62); John Odom has been bad and hardly even useful, other than as a pinch-runner (1-9, 6.19). That has left Ken Holtzman (11-7, 1.99) and Jim Hunter (11-3, 3.05) to do the heavy lifting in the Oakland rotation. Recently, Dick Williams has shelved “Blue Moon” and opted instead for a kid starter, Dave Hamilton (4-1, 2.90).

The A’s, in fact, have a slew of promising young players in the minors, and 1973 me is excited about this next crop of home-grown studs (Manny Trillo, Phil Garner, Jay Johnstone, Chet Lemon, Claudell Washington, etc.) continuing Finley’s success right into the 1980s. Trillo’s major-league debut was last night’s game with the Royals, and, in his first at-bat, he singled home in the second inning what would eventually hold up as the game-winning run.

Now it's four games with Chicago. It has not gone unnoticed by 1973 me that Sports Illustrated this year has already twice featured the White Sox on its cover while devoting nary a cover to the defending-champion A's (you just made the list, with the schedule makers and Jim Kaat, SI). Chicago has the last two AL home-run leaders (Bill Melton in MLB71 and Dick Allen in MLB72), and it has a knuckleballer who got off to such a fast start that people started talking about his chances of winning 40 games (Wilbur Wood). But the White Sox have fallen out of first, and, just this 1973 week, they lost Allen to an injury and another slugger, Rick Reichardt, in a contract walkout/cut/squabble. I am excited about watching this series in Oakland.

And, as always, I am excited about all of the television to be watched this (freakin') 1973 weekend. (Welcome home from the mission trip, ladies!)

Kicking things off on Channel 3 at 6:30 p.m. Central Friday is Wait Till Your Father Gets Home. It's an animated show that originated with a Love, American Style segment and was a softer-edged, laugh-tracked All In the Family. Here's a DailyMotion.com video of the first of 48 episodes that aired over three seasons. Wikipedia has a very interesting and thorough article about this show, and I have only two things to add:

-- I love Tom Bosley. I spent the last hour reading about his life, and it's staggering to think about his losing his first wife at the height of his Happy Days fame. I'm thrilled that he found love again and that it lasted for the rest of his life, and I'm glad his daughter is a huge success.

-- The ongoing thing where the Wait Till Your Father Gets Home father digs at his teen-age daughter about her weight is really off-putting. I'm glad we're getting smarter as a people. 

This was the show I was trying to think of on the podcast yesterday, in terms of shows with stuff that doesn't age well (along the lines of Fish's wife jokes in Barney Miller). Next up on Channel 3 is the famous (and typically fantastic) "Oh, my nose!" rerun of Brady Bunch. I'm going to watch that now with my daughter. 

Comments flow!