Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for November 12, 2009 from
www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
Mike Tyson was arrested in L.A. after an airport scuffle with a
celebrity photographer. The photog was also arrested.
LeBron James says he is through talking about free agency until
after the season. He says free agent talk is getting "old." Not to
Knick fans who have nothing else to hang on to.
Thursday night NFL football has arrived. The 49ers host the Bears
tonight.
You too can buy Joe Montana's 500-acre estate for a "49er." As in
$49-million. It's so big in stretches into 2 California counties,
Sonoma and Napa.
According to the New York Daily News Kate Hudson is pushing A-Rod to
elope, but the big guy ain't ready.
2. Silly Season
The late great Betty Furness once told me there are two seasons.
Baseball and Christmas. Breaking it down even further, the baseball
season has two parts, A. In season games. B. Off season games. Part B
is underway. B as in Boras. Super agent Scott Boras is already beating
the drums why his client Johnny Damon deserves a big fat multi-year
contract despite the fact he is really a limited player. To hear Boras
talk, if it weren't for Damon batting second, Jeter batting first
wouldn't have thrived so well. Before Boras is done, Damon will have
cured swine flu.
3. Not so Big Mac
The St. Louis Cardinals may have a new hitting coach. What they still
don't have is a news conference to introduce Mark McGwire. That wasn't
always the case. I was in Jupiter in February of 1999 when McGwire
took his first cuts of the spring. He had set the world on fire with
his home run heroics the previous season. His ensuing news conference
was the most attended spring training news conference ever, until Alex
Rodriguez and steroids came along. McGwire's introduction to the media
this year will be an event. His last public utterances, before
Congress, were that he only wanted to talk about the future. McGwire
can't escape his past. And until he addresses it, he will have no
future.
4. Yeah, but
You had to love Jim Boeheim's reaction to winning his 800th game as
Syracuse basketball coach. "I guess there's a 'wow' factor, winning
800. But then, it's not like playing golf with Tiger Woods. I mean,
that's a real 'wow' factor.''
Boeheim knows something about golf. He's an outstanding golfer.
Doesn't look like an athlete eh? The very first game I ever announced
in 1965, Boeheim played in that game. He was a heck of a scrappy/heady
player.
800 and a national championship?
All I can say is "wow."
5. Golfing Mayhem
In Athens Georgia, two golfers were playing the 14th hole when
another twosome came up and started a fight. One golfer got punched in
the eye and was treated at the hospital. This has touched off a heated
debate on an Athens newspaper website. The consensus is the problem
must have been slow play. One guy ranted "If you slow play you deserve
to get your butt kicked." Someone countered "Very sensible. Oh, and if
someone cuts you off in traffic, be sure to shoot them dead, because
that's obviously the right way to handle the situation."
I love this game!
Happy Birthday: The first perfect 10! (And featured in my new kids
book "The Greatest Moments in Sports)," Olympic gymnast Nadia
Comaneci. 48.
Bonus Birthday: The figure skater best known for orchestrating an
attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan (and not featured in my new kids book
"The Greatest Moments in Sports"), Tonya Harding. 39.
Today in Sports: Mets pitcher Tom Seaver wins his third and final Cy
Young Award. 1975.
Bonus Event: That man on the flying trapeze. For the first time Jules
Leotard performed his act. Yup, that's why they call it a leotard!
(How educational is this?) 1859.