Happy Monday everyone, here's my Top 5 for October 29, 2012 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
- The San Francisco Giants sweep the Detroit Tigers to win their second World Series in three years, 4-3 the final last night in 10 innings.
- Pablo "Kung Fu Panda" Sandoval, who hit three homers in Game 1, is named World Series MVP (Most Valuable Panda).
- The Atlanta Falcons go to 6-0 pasting Philadelphia 30-17. The Eagles firing of their defensive coordinator didn't help, Atlanta scored on their first 6 possessions.
- In college football, Alabama is ranked #1, Kansas State is #2 and Notre Dame is #3.
Just so we don't feel left out during the current major storm, here are my Top 5 appropriate sports names of the day:
1. Boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter
2. The Miami Hurricanes
3. Gale Sayers
4. Curt Flood
5. A guy who took way too long getting ready to hit, Mike Hargrove. "The Human Rain Delay."
3. A Game of Inches
Talk about cliches being accurate. The Dallas Cowboys nearly beat the Giants on a last second touchdown pass but Dez Bryant's hand was out of bounds by inches. Years ago, Dallas would have won the game and the record books would have noted that forever. But thanks to instant replay and high definition television, the Dallas "win" became a Dallas "loss." Just wondering, if you went back in sports history and applied today's technology, how many results would be overturned.
4. Attention Please Ladies and Gentlemen
Interesting maneuver by Yankees manager Joe Girardi during the playoffs. When he pinch-hit for Alex Rodriguez he personally called up to the public address announcer with a special request. He asked Paul Olden not to mention the person that Raul Ibanez was pinch-hitting for. Don't you wonder what the reaction would have been had Olden had announced, "Batting for Alex Rodriguez...?" Cheers? Boos? I guess that's in the job description of Major League skippers these days. You have to manage the lineup, the pitching rotation and hurt feelings.
5. They Might Be...
So who's the champ? Right the Giants. The reigning champs of both Major League Baseball and the NFL are both called Giants. Here's the part where I'm supposed to research if that's ever happened before and give you the brilliant answer. But I'm too busy on Weather.com and they don't seem to cover sports. I will say that the St. Louis Browns never won a World Series, so the name Browns is out.
Happy Birthday: Former Islanders defenseman Denis Potvin. 59.
Bonus Birthday: Actress Winona Ryder. 41.
Today in Sports: Cassius Clay won his first pro fight. 1960.
Bonus Event: The ballpoint pen went on sale for the first time and it was a luxury item, selling for $12.50 at Gimbels. (They quickly sold out). 1945.
Fun Fact: The Top 5 was read over the weekend in Argentina, Germany, Australia and Thailand but not in South Dakota, Nebraska, Mississippi or Vermont.
To sign up for Len's free daily Top 5 email click here.