TGIF everyone, here's my Top 5 for October 15, 2010 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
* The American League Championship Series begins tonight in Texas. CC Sabathia for the Yankees, CJ Wilson for the Rangers. 8:00pm Eastern, TBS.
* Talk about playing both sides of the street, Alex Rodriguez is still on the Texas payroll. He's cashing checks from both teams!
* The National League Championship Series begins tomorrow night in Philadelphia with a great pitching matchup. Tim Lincecum for the Giants, Roy Halladay for the Phillies. 7:30pm, FOX.
* Hall of Famer broadcaster Bob Uecker will undergo a 2nd heart operation Tuesday.
* The NBA Players Association threatens legal action over the NBA's new get tough technical foul policy on player bellyaching.
* The top ticket for the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Olympics in London will cost 2012 pounds ($3,220). The cheapest seat, 20.12 pounds ($32.20). In other words, New Yankee Stadium pricing.
2. A Piece Of History
Sunday will mark the 42nd anniversary of one of the iconic moments in sports. Tommie Smith and John Carlos with their black power salutes after winning the gold and bronze in the 200 meters in Mexico City. And now Tommie Smith, who is 66, is putting his gold medal and his spikes up for auction. As for the famous glove? It's been misplaced. The bidding starts at $250,000. Even history comes with a price tag.
3. Crime And Punishment
In a tennis match yesterday in Austria, Ana Ivanovic was penalized 4 points (an entire game) because she took too long on a bathroom break. She was docked 1 point for every 20 seconds over the time limit. She still won her match. But can we come up with a similar rule in real life while we're cooling our heels waiting for our wives/dates?
4. Friday eMailbag
Lots of you had something to say about Brett Favre. From R.F. on Facebook at "Len Berman's Top 5." "The line on Brett Favre against the Jets: 34 Attempts 14 Completions, 3 TD's, 1 INT, 2 Fumbles and 3 text messages to Jets cheerleaders hoping to arrange a hot tub party after the game."
L.Z. noted that the S.F. Giants took time out from their celebration to salute Bobby Cox, and Texas poured ginger ale over Josh Hamilton, a recovering alcoholic. He asks, "Is sports becoming sensitive and heartwarming? Probably not, but if we can emphasize the negative nonsense (which seems endless), why not accentuate the positive when possible!"
Editor's Note: Amen to that.
A.C. had a good question on Twitter. "Watching (Mets outfielder) Carlos Beltran salsa on the Channel 11 news...does that count for an offseason workout?"
R.B. has a suggestion, "The next parade down the 'Canyon of Heroes' shouldn't be for the Yankees, but for the 33 Chilean miners who are real heroes."
Editor's Note: No argument from me.
And when I wondered about a team having an official erectile dysfunction pill, J.S. wrote: "It'll be Viagra and the sport will be the Pole Vault."
5. Spanning The World
Our Spanning the World highlight this week comes from Manila, Arkansas. It isn't a knee-slapper. It's one of those feel good moments involving a handicapped youngster at a sports event. But you've never seen anything like this.
Despite having cerebral palsy, Dylan Galloway "motors" for the score. Cool.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Happy Birthday: Now pitching for Medicare, Jim Palmer of the Baltimore Orioles. 65.
Bonus Birthday: Actress/Director Penny Marshall. 67.
Today in Sports: Shortstop Johnny Pesky swore to me he didn't hold the ball too long as Enos Slaughter dashed home with the winning run that gave the Cards the World Series title against Boston. 1946.
Bonus Event: Oh Lucy! I Love Lucy debuted on CBS-TV. 1951.
I'll be at Barnes and Noble in Manhasset N.Y. tomorrow at 1pm and Books & Books in Westhampton N.Y. at 4pm signing copies of my new kids book, The 25 Greatest Baseball Players Of All Time.