Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for November 3, 2011 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
- Mike Quade is out as Chicago Cubs manager.
- Baseball's free agency period has officially begun.
- So is 51 percent the magic revenue split to solve the NBA lockout? And if it is, why can't both sides get there? No new talks are scheduled.
- Lenny Dykstra will fight Jose Canseco in a celebrity boxing match Saturday in Hollywood. Oy.
2. Managerial Carousel
Three of baseball's glamour franchises now have managerial openings, the Red Sox, Cardinals and Cubs. Just wondering why the name Bobby Valentine isn't being tossed around? Wouldn't he be a fun choice for any of those teams?
3. Testing 1, 2
And still there's still no HGH testing in the NFL even though the two sides supposedly agreed to it when the lockout ended. To its credit, Congress is trying to exert pressure. To its detriment, can Congress accomplish anything? They're writing letters to baseball urging them to include HGH in their new agreement. They also want chewing tobacco to be addressed. It all makes perfect sense. But the fact that in 2011 NFL and baseball players can use HGH with immunity makes you wonder what the percentage of usage really is? Keep on swinging Congress. One of these days you may hit one out of the park.
4. Boomer Sooner
A tradition like no other. No, not the Masters golf tournament. Stuff that goes on at college games. You know, the marching band dots the "i" at Ohio State. Georgia has a bulldog named UGA. But you gotta love John Brown University in Arkansas. The most eagerly awaited tradition comes around once a year. After the first made basket of the season for the home team, bonzai! A sea of toilet paper. Nobody cares that they call a technical foul on the fans, two shots for the other guys. By the way, did I mention the official speed limit at the University of Mississippi is 18 in honor of quarterback Archie Manning's number?
5. Lost in Translation
When a team of Major League all stars beat the Taiwanese national team the other day, Curtis Granderson hit a grand slam homer. When he homers for the Yankees, radio announcer John Sterling sings on the air, "The Grandy man can." If you're wondering what the Taiwanese announcer could have sung, here it is. 该 Grandy 名男子. And "Thuh Yankees Win" becomes: 洋基队获 胜. Then again, the on-line translator could be gaming me. Yesterday, the Top 5 was opened in Taiwan. If that Top 5 subscriber speaks Chinese, lemme know.
Happy Birthday: Giants Super Bowl winning quarterback and CBS sportscaster Phil Simms. 56.
Bonus Birthday: Funny guy Dennis Miller. 58.
Today in Sports: Sweet Lou Piniella is named manager of the Cincinnati Reds replacing the banished Pete Rose. (The Reds won the World Series the following year.) 1989.
Bonus Event: Wanna go to a car show? The first auto show opened in Madison Square Garden. 1900.
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