THIS COLUMN WAS WRITTEN IN FRONT OF A LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE
QUICK QUIZ
In 1959, Harvey Kuehn of the Detroit Tigers led the American League in batting with a .363 average and teammate Al Kaline was second with a .327 mark. Who finished third?
QUOTABLE QUOTES
“If Bud Grant and Tom Landry were in a personality contest, it would be a 0-0 draw.” – Don Meredith.
“Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets.” – Yogi Berra.
“It’s a compromise between what your ego wants you to do, what experience tells you to do, and what your nerves let you do.” – Golfer Bruce Crampton, on tournament golf.
IDLE THOUGHTS
Jordan Noyes, a senior from Kent, England, is the place kicker for Colorado State University. Noyes is 31-years-old and is married with three kids. I’m guessing he sneaks food home from the team’s training table.
The Oakland Athletics gave Miguel Cabrera a Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley valued at $90 as a retirement gift. What an insensitive, crappy gift for Cabrera, who is a recovering alcoholic. I doubt they put any time and effort into the gift. Just imagine the team sending a junior employee out to Costco with $100 two hours before the game to pick up a gift.
St. Joseph’s Parish in Saginaw recently celebrated its 150th anniversary with a gala at Horizons Conference Center. The parish was founded in September 1873 with the assistance of St. Mary’s Parish to allow the Irish Catholic community a place to worship on the northeast side of Saginaw, known as the First Ward. Much of the Irish population living in the area were the laborers and operators involved in the building and operation of the Pere Marquette Railroad known as the Potter Street Station.
It seemed as if St Joseph’s High School always possessed a scrappy basketball team. During the 1970-71 season, the Buccaneers advanced to the state semifinals in Class D despite operating on a shoestring budget. The parish was in jeopardy of closing. The school needed an additional 67 students if it was to open in September (’71), and enrollment had been open to the public. The transportation situation at St. Joe’s was not very good, noted coach Charles Cormier. The school bus broke down early in the season and the team was always looking at alternatives in getting to games. The Bucs got a shot in the arm from the Michigan High School Athletic Association during the tournament. The school was paid $1 per mile one way to the quarterfinal site, a meal allowance of $6 per day for 15 players, and lodging for 15 players (if needed). The school also got $100 per day per diem. The Bucs uniforms were five years old, but were kept neat and clean. By contrast Fowler, the team St. Joe’s beat in the regional, had fancy warm-up jackets that featured each player’s name embroidered on the back. “Those things are nice but they don’t win ball games,” Cormier said. “Our kids realize that playing together as a team is what the game is all about.” Delta College Athletic Director Lynn Conway came through by letting the team practice at the college’s gym. The school had its own gym, but was tiny and antiquated. They played their home games at Arthur Eddy Junior High School.
Great gamesmanship between the Walt Disney Company and Charter Spectrum TV. The Walt Disney Co., better known as the Mickey Mouse Co. – literally – took all the ESPN channels and several others and “swiped left” just prior to the start of the college football season. On its surface, the quarrel was about how much Disney can charge Charter for its content, and how much Charter’s customer would pay for Disney’s streaming apps. Snip, snip.
A batter struck out twice in a row in 1939. Walter Missler of the Class D Ohio State League’s Lima Pandas took a 2-2 pitch and went to the dugout to change bats. Missler didn’t realize that the umpire called the pitch strike three when he returned with his new bat. Meanwhile, the umpire Missler was Lima’s next hitter. After Missler struck out again, the umpire realized his lapse but called two outs against Lima anyway.
Saturday night’s clash between Notre Dame and Ohio State University was a true slugfest between two heavyweights. The Buckeyes scored the go-ahead touchdown with just one second remaining for a 17-14 victory. Just a couple of quick observations:
My favorite sports name comes from the Saginaw Spirit as their goalie/video coach is named Rick Ice.
Please stop with the Taylor Swift clips of her cheering like crazy from the Kansas City Chiefs luxury suite. I’m guessing 99.9 percent of pro football fans don’t give a crap. I can’t believe ESPN even did a report on her during their Sunday night wrap-up show.
Now is the time of year when Major League Baseball takes a back seat to King Football. It’s too bad because there are still playoff races to be determined.
Stetson Bennett, the back-up quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, has reportedly been completely removed from the team’s roster. Sources say its due to an “excessive alcohol problem” that stemmed through his college days. Thoughts and prayers are with the Mailman.
On January 26, 1971, St. Mary’s Cathedral beat St. Joseph’s 96-88 in a boys’ varsity basketball game. All 10 starters in the game hit for double figures. For St. Mary’s, Tim Looby led the way with 29 points. Bob Mangold canned 20, followed by Joe Weisenberger with 18, Joe Harrington with 12 and Don Serrato chipped in with 10. For the Bucs, Del Delaney had 25 markers. Wayne Ramsey came through with 19, followed by Jimmy Beavers with 15. Alvin Howell and Elijah Coates had 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Linebacker Malcolm “Rodrigo” Rodriquez was the feel-good story for the Detroit Lions a year ago. The under-sized Rodriquez, who played his college ball at Oklahoma State University, played well last season when he started 15 games and racked up 87 tackles (62 solos and 25 assists). This year he has yielded the starting job to Derrick Barnes and only has five tackles through the Lions’ first three games.
Back in the 1970s, wide receivers in the National Football League were the first players who played without knee pads in their uniform pants. Today, it’s a rarity to see any players wear them in the NFL. It has now trickled down to the college and high school levels as well. In fact, uniform pants are now designed sans knee pads. Yes, I understand that small piece of rubber doesn’t offer a tremendous amount of protection to begin with, but it does protect the knee from an inadvertent kick to the knee.
I know it’s hard to pick an all-time starting five with all the talent UCLA has had throughout the years. After all, the Bruins have won the most championships in the history of NCAA Men’s College Basketball, with 11 titles wince 1939. A recent Facebook post I saw had their all-time team as follows: Lew Alcindor at center, Sidney Wicks and Ed O’Bannon at the forward position, Reggie Miller at shooting guard and Tyus Edney at point guard. Check out the other Bruin players who didn’t crack the top five: Bill Walton, David Myers, Gail Goodrich, Keith Wilkes, Curtis Rowe, Kiki Vandeweghe, Don MacLean, Marquis Johnson, Baron Davis, and Lucius Allen.
A quick note to local television sports anchors: Grand Blanc High School isn’t the only school in the region. Mix it up and feature some smaller schools for a change. Please and Thank You.
Durham Bulls fans were pleasantly surprised to see their second baseman Lee Mohr take the field in 1946. United States War Department files previously had said Mohr was killed in World War II.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew did something no NFL quarterback should ever do – he pulled a Dan Orlovsky. Minshew mistakenly stepped out of the back of his own end zone for what was an easy two points for the Baltimore Ravens.
It is estimated that over 500 local volunteers will be needed to help assist during the 2023 Memorial Cup that will be hosted by the Saginaw Spirit. If interested, go to the Spirit’s website at www.saginawspirit.com and sign up under the 2023 Memorial Cup header.
Whatever happened to Mickey Zofko?
QUICK QUIZ ANSWER
D. Jim Runnels of the Boston Red Sox batted .314 to finish third behind Kuenn and Kaline, respectively.
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Oct 01, 2023
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