Happy Tuesday everyone, here's my Top 5 for February 7, 2012 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
- It's parade day up the Canyon of Heroes for the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.
- Here's MVP Eli Manning explaining the Ahmad Bradshaw TD to David Letterman last night.
- The Super Bowl was the most watched show in U.S. TV history, 111.3 million viewers. (Just curious what the other nearly $200 million Americans were doing, other than the very young?)
- The Knicks Amar'e Stoudemire missed last nights game with Utah after his 35-year-old brother Hazell died in a Florida car accident.
- 2010 Tour de France winner Alberto Contador was stripped of his title and banned two years for doping.
2. Quote of the Week
The quote of the week comes from the slightly distraught wife of Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen. She was not happy that her hubby's passes were dropped by his "incompetent" teammates. Life's a bitch. It's not easy being Gisele.
3. Halftime Show
When I watched the halftime show I was unaware that an artist known as M.I.A. had cursed and shot the bird. On Fox 5 in New York yesterday morning I called M.I.A. an "idiot." Somebody named @optoutreplay tweeted me @LenBermanSports saying Maybe u could look at a bigger political perspective re her b4 dismissing someone.get a brain,len! Dearest @optoutreplay. I don't care one iota what her political motivation might have been. She disrespected the event and the audience. The only political agenda was to increase her name recognition. She, not I, is the "the scarecrow" in the group. (If I only had a brain.)
4. Flush the Bowl?
Commissioner Roger Goodell has come around to the fans' way of thinking. There's got to be something better than the Pro Bowl. He said the league is thinking about getting rid of it. Here's an idea. The top players deserve to be recognized. And as one Top 5 subscriber suggests, how about a skills competition? Kicking, punting, passing through tires. That would be fun, no? The Pro Bowl despite itself does great TV ratings. I'm sure the NFL will want to save it in some fashion.
5. #2
When I called Babe Ruth the single greatest baseball player of all time yesterday on the anniversary of his birth, I asked who is number two? You were unanimous. Willie Mays.
T.P. writes, "The epitome of a 5 tool player. Bear in mind he played half his games @ Candlestick, the place where home runs die." But since this is the Top 5, nothing is ever unanimous.
D.L. writes, "As great as Ruth was, he did not play against the best players of his day. He played only against white players. Also, Ruth never played a night game, or a day game after a night game, or after a cross-continent flight."
But I'll second what K.A. wrote: "If there were ever a celestial All-Star game among all time stars, I can envision Bob Sheppard announcing the lineup: 'Pitching and batting third, number 3, Babe Ruth, number 3.' About who else could that possibly be said?'"
Happy Birthday: Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. 24.
Bonus Birthday: Singer Garth Brooks. 50.
Today in Sports: Toronto's Darryl Sittler sets the NHL record of 10 points in a game. Six goals, four assists in an 11-4 Maple Leafs rout. 1976.
Bonus Event: The Beatles arrive in America. 1964.
Here's a brief clip of my appearance with Rosanna Scotto on WNYW-Fox 5 yesterday. I was a guest co-host for the 9am hour of Good Day New York.
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