Broken stopwatch: Despite big day, 4:19 game shows what’s wrong with baseball

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I know I am going to get shouted down here for complaining after what was a big day for baseball. Dramatic homers; a no-hitter into the eighth; and Sandy Koufax hugging Clayton Kershaw.

But I’m diving in anyway. As good as Monday was, a 4-hour, 19-minute game that lasts only 9 innings underscores everything that is wrong with baseball.

Yes, Tampa Bay’s 5-4, not 15-14, victory over Boston broke my stopwatch. I mean, you’ve got to be trying really hard to play any slower. The finish might have been exciting, but getting there felt at times like a long slog through the Florida swamp.

It was the second 4-hour, 9-inning game in as many nights for baseball. Sunday, the Dodgers’ 13-6 victory over Atlanta stretched to 4:01.

I’m on a mission during the postseason to highlight the maddening slow pace of baseball. Check out my interview last week with Jim Kaat, the quick-pitch artist who also believes something needs to be done.

When I started to complain about the never-ending game last night on Twitter, several fans told me to shut up.

Tweeted back Chris Lake: “At this point no one cares about time of game… Great unpredictable ending…worth every second.”

Yes, but how many people got to “this point?” I wish Chris had been watching the game with my 18-year-old son. I wish Bud Selig and his crew also were with us.

Bored by the slow pace, my squirming son kept wanting me to switch to the football game. I can assure you many viewers in that key young demographic felt the same way. That’s the demo that is tuning out baseball.

By comparison to Tampa-Boston, the Dodgers’ 4-3 win over Atlanta felt brisk at 3:19, which still is too long. And did the St. Louis-Pittsburgh game really get done in 2:36? Now that’s the way it should be.

Too bad the St. Louis game will be an anomaly during the postseason, the rare finish under three hours. Heck, forget about three hours. At this rate, four hours might be the new standard.

I’ve got you on the clock, baseball. More to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New 30 for 30: Crazy tale of Spirits of St. Louis; Marvin ‘Bad News’ Barnes and young Bob Costas

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If you’re like me, you probably have some vague notion that the Spirits of St. Louis were a wonderfully dysfunctional ABA basketball team in the mid 70s, but you probably don’t know the complete story.

Tonight you will. The latest 30 for 30 is Free Spirits (8 p.m. ET).

Wildly entertaining to say the least.

Here is the official rundown:

When the American Basketball Association disbanded in 1976, four ABA franchises joined the NBA — the Nets, Nuggets, Pacers and Spurs. But one of the odd teams out found a different way to secure its future. “Free Spirits” tells the colorful story of the Spirits of St. Louis — an entertaining and at times controversial team featuring stars like Marvin “Bad News” Barnes and James “Fly” Williams with an upstart sportscaster named Bob Costas calling the play-by-play.

The Spirits managed to pull off a stunning playoff upset of the defending champions in their first season, and then, on their way to franchise extinction, co-owners Daniel and Ozzie Silna managed to negotiate a contract that has allowed the team to continue to exist in the most unusual fashion.

 

Jerry Rice on pressure in new Big Break: Wouldn’t have agreed if knew what I had to endure

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Got to give the Golf Channel some credit here. It’s not easy to continue to re-invent yourself with new concepts.

The Golf Channel, though, appears to have done with its latest version of the Big Break.

The new series, which begins Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET, features the Breakers being paired with former NFL players (video preview below). The list includes Jerry Rice, Tim Brown, Marc Bulger, Al Del Greco, Chris Doleman and Mark Rypien.

As we’ve seen previously, when big-name athletes put their golf swings on public display, they feel the same nerves we do.

Here are some excerpt about the players talking about the pressure of playing in the Big Break.

Jerry Rice: “I had been part of Super Bowls, a lot of playoff games, but if I had known what we were going to endure over in Puerto Rico, I don’t think I would have agreed to this to be honest with you.  You know, the breaking of the glass, the ‘Flop Wall,’ all those difficult shots.  It was just unbelievable…When you get so many ballplayers together, all of a sudden, that competitive nature comes out for some reason; and yeah, I wanted to beat Tim Brown.  I wanted to beat all of those guys, I’m going to be honest with you.”

Tim Brown: “What got me was the fact that when I stood over the ball, I realized I wasn’t playing for myself.  I was playing for Mallory (Blackwelder) and Will (Lowery), and it’s really hard to get yourself under control at times because you felt so much pressure to hit a good shot to make a putt for those guys.”

Marc Bulger: “With football, there’s the nerves, or at least I would feel them up until the first play.  Once the first snap or first hit happened, they were gone.  But this felt like every shot was the first play of the game, because you hit one, you might have to wait for production for two hours and you hit another one, and you know how much it means.  Like Tim said, with your teammates, I never felt as much stress.”

Al Del Greco: “The pressure, yeah, to me, was a lot like kicking, because physically, you get one chance.  They call on your, you just kind of wait around and then it’s your turn to go out there and get it done.”

Mark Rypien: “To be on a stage and put in an environment where we are playing golf for somebody else, holy smokes, you know, I thought playing in Tahoe was difficult.  This thing it tenfold.”

Chris Doleman: “It was hard on you in a sense that you did not have the masterful control that you have when you’re out there on the field.  We knew how to get to the pass rush and we knew how to catch a pass, how to get open, how to throw a lob and how to fake a kick.  We all have expertise in that area.  None of us had expertise in this area.”

We live in his world: How soon before someone develops a Peyton Channel?

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There’s only one player in the NFL who matters right now.

CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, NFL Network are all giving thanks for Archie Manning’s second son. Especially CBS.

Peyton delivered again Sunday for CBS with the highest ratings since the Oscars (details below). If the network could figure out a way, it would air Sunday’s Denver-Jacksonville game in primetime. “Manning completes a touchdown pass to himself…”

With Fox having the doubleheader window this week, Sunday’s mismatch will mark the first Broncos game that won’t be going national this year. However, it is merely a one-game blip.

Look at the Peyton feast that lies ahead for the networks:

Oct. 20: Manning’s return to Indy on Sunday night. NBC already doing cartwheels.

Oct. 27: Washington at Denver. Doubleheader game on Fox.

Nov. 3: Bye. Will networks run compilation of Manning’s touchdowns instead of games?

Nov. 10: Denver at San Diego. CBS on doubleheader coverage.

Nov. 17: Kansas City at Denver. Fox has doubleheader window that week with San Francisco-New Orleans likely pick. This game, though, will get plenty of attention on CBS.

Nov. 24: Denver at New England on Sunday night. More cartwheels for NBC.

Dec. 12: San Diego at Denver on Thursday night. NFL Network gets to show Manning throwing his 100th touchdown pass of the season.

Ah yes, it should be a good year for the networks, thanks to Manning.

From CBS off of yesterday’s game:

*******

CBS Sports’ Week 5 coverage of THE NFL ON CBS on Sunday, Oct. 6, highlighted by the Denver Broncos’ wild, 51-48, win over the Dallas Cowboys earned the highest rating of the NFL season-to-date on any network with an average overnight household rating/share of 18.6/34 in the metered markets.

Yesterday’s game rating/share peaked at 24.4/41 from 7:30-7:45 PM, ET.  The 18.6/34 also was an 18% increase from last year (15.7/29; highlighted by Denver-New England; Buffalo-San Francisco; Tennessee-Minnesota).

In addition, the game’s rating/share is the highest-rated program on television in the metered markets since the 2013 Academy Awards (26.1/41; 2/24/13).

 

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Honored: Deadspin names Sherman Report to list of Top 100 ‘Worst’ Twitter accounts

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On behalf of the entire Sherman Report organ-I-zation (me), I would like to thank Deadspin and editor Tommy Craggs for this honor.

Deadspin has named me No. 35 on its list of the Top 100 Worst Twitter accounts. And as you can see, they had some kind words for me.

This “dreary newspaper hack” likely made the list because I have dared to criticize Deadspin on occasion. You see, Deadspin can knock the snot out of anyone it wants. But if you call them on something, it irritates their sensitive, thin skin.

But hey, I have no problem being on the list. I’m in some elite company.

From Deadspin:

These are listed in no particular order, and the only real criteria for inclusion were 1) working our nerves in some way and 2) coming to mind when we were drawing up a list of terrible accounts. We hope this list is useful to you as you choose sports-related Twitter feeds to avoid.

The list features Sports Illustrated Pete Thammel at No. 1; Shaq is second. SI’s Richard Deitsch actually checks in at No. 7. Who did you tick off over there, Richard?

Others: Dan Levy of Bleacher Reports, 19; Peter Gammons, 22; Jason La Canfora, 25; Bill Simmons, 33; Colin Cowherd, 37; Peter King, 44; Skip Bayless, 56; Jason Whitlock, 58; Dick Vitale, 68.

The Big Lead’s Jason McIntyre checked in at No. 70. Deadspin referred to him as “ESPN PR guy.”

Hey Deadspin, I thought that was my job.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was Darren Rovell only being ranked at No. 40. You would have figured one of Deadspin’s favorite targets would be placed much higher, especially  for a Twitter list.

At least, Deadspin showed that everyone is fair game. It had Craggs ranked 53rd.

As I write this, the post has had nearly 140,000 page views. So under the heading of “any publicity is good publicity,” hell yes, I am happy to be included on this list.

This is a proud day for Sherman Report.

Thanks, Deadspin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course he did: Musburger knew how wacky last play impacted bettors in Northwestern-OSU game

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I was at the game and didn’t hear Brent Musburger’s call live.

With Ohio State winning 34-30, Northwestern tossed the ball around on the last play of the game. It eventually landed in the endzone and was recovered by the Buckeyes.

WTF???!!!?!!??! Suddenly, Ohio State, which had been a 6 1/2-7 point favorite, covered for a 40-30 win. You only could imagine the reaction to bettors across the country.

Musburger knew. Of course, he did.

To the video.

 

Oh, David Pollack: Right about Rice; wrong about women

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I agree with David Pollack. It is ridiculous to have Condoleezza Rice on the new college football selection committee.

But it has nothing to do with her being a woman. I’d say the same thing if it was Colin Powell. The committee should be made up of college administrators, the same as the NCAA basketball tournament.

If there are women who are qualified, great.

Where Pollack went wrong yesterday on GameDay is that he said no women should be on the panel. That’s a stupid statement considering all the women who cover college football, including many at ESPN.

David, I’d like to introduce you to Sam Ponder.

Pollack obviously realized his mistake after the show. He sent out this tweet.

 

 

 

 

 

Look for Pollack to “clarify” his statement on next week’s show.

It’s all about creating attention for yourself, right?

 

 

A good read: Moving column on Bob Cousy; pain from losing wife of 63 years

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Diane Williamson of the Worchester Telegram & Gazette writes beautifully about the heartbreak Bob Cousy is experiencing over the loss of his wife. At its core is a reminder that while Cousy is a basketball legend, he also is human. He feels pain just like the rest of us.

Williamson writes:

The grueling travel schedule would define the first half of their marriage. While her husband was transforming the game of basketball and later worked as a coach and sports commentator, Missie raised two daughters and instilled in them her passion for civil rights and the peace movement. Quick-witted, beautiful and kind, she was a mentor to the new Celtics’ wives and especially embraced the wives of black players such as Bill Russell and Jo Jo White. She was a Girl Scout leader and a gardener, a fiercely independent woman who could discuss politics with the same skill she applied to the faulty plumbing in the family’s English Tudor on Salisbury Street.

“I was busy playing a child’s game,” Cousy said last week, sitting in the living room with daughters Marie and Ticia. “I thought putting a ball in a hole was important. Looking back, I should have participated more in the lives of my family. But my girls were in the best possible loving hands.”

Today, the Celtic legend known as “Cooz” is 85 but looks younger by a decade. Articulate and gracious, he tears up easily when discussing his wife and the love affair that flourished as the couple aged.

“Our marriage was somewhat contrary to tradition,” he said. “Most couples have the most intensity in the beginning. But I was always working. So we had the best and most romantic part of our marriage at the end. We literally held hands for the last 20 years.”

And:

The couple’s social life vanished as Missie’s symptoms worsened. Other than a Thursday night “out with the boys” and some quick rounds of golf, Cousy spent all of his time alone with his bride. He watched “General Hospital” with Missie and patiently answered the same questions. He stocked the fridge with her favorite candy, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. At night, she’d cover him with a blanket and he’d stroke her arm.

“I love you honey,” he’d say.

“I love you, too,” Missie would always reply.

The sports legend who led the Celtics to six World Championships said he never felt defeated by the challenge of caring full time for his ailing spouse.

“It drew us closer together,” he said. “It was never a chore, because I knew she would have done the same for me. You just have to go with the flow. Every three months, I’d scream out something just for release.”

 

Random football card: L.C. Greenwood, who should be in the Hall of Fame

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Paying tribute to one of my all-time favorites, L.C. Greenwood, who passed away Sunday.

I know most of the Steel Curtain defense is in the Hall of Fame, but there should be one more. Greenwood was a force at defensive end.

From his obituary in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

At 6 feet 6 inches, Mr. Greenwood eventually played at 245 pounds and was a menace to opposing quarterbacks. If Mr. Greenwood didn’t sack quarterbacks, he often batted down their passes.

In the first of many clutch performances in big games, Mr. Greenwood batted down two passes in the Steelers’ first Super Bowl victory, against Minnesota in 1975. In the Super Bowl X victory against Dallas the following year, Mr. Greenwood sacked Roger Staubach four times in the 21-17 win.

“L.C. was a quiet guy, he didn’t attempt to position himself as the center of attention even though he played an integral part of that front four,” said former Steelers scout Bill Nunn, who also scouted Mr. Greenwood. “I used to call him and Jack Ham the quiet assassins because neither one of them would say a word, or put on a show for you. They both just went about their business quietly. But when they got on the field, as far as playing ability, playing aggressively, being tough, they were both in the same category as any of the Hall of Famers. He had a lot of qualities of the Hall of Famers and probably should be in there.”

Mr. Greenwood was a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005 and 2006 but was not elected either year. There had been a movement in recent years to get him into the Hall of Fame via the seniors committee.

“The saddest thing is, he never got into the Hall of Fame,” Mr. Rooney said. “To me, it’s terribly sad. He deserves to be there.”

*******

For the latest in sports media and more, follow me on Twitter at Sherman_Report.

 

A standing O for Darren Rovell? Northwestern media alums swept up in excitement over big game

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Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune, and oh by the way a Northwestern alum, reports its prominent media grads are a bit excited about Saturday’s NU-Ohio State game.

Northwestern went 3-40-1 while Michael Wilbon earned his journalism degree — and he did not experience any of the three wins as a fan. (He covered the Wildcats’ 1979 victory over Wyoming for the Washington Post.)

“I have to admit,” Wilbon said during “Mike & Mike,” “that I am totally swept up in this.”

He was not alone.

J.A. Adande of ESPN’s “Around the Horn” recalled having plucked some purple-painted grass from the Rose Bowl field on Jan. 1, 1996.

First-year men’s basketball coach Chris Collins came out to Deering Meadow, in the heart of NU’s campus, to watch “Mike & Mike” and rev up a huge recruiting weekend for his program. His team will scrimmage at 3:15 p.m. Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

“The vibe, the excitement,” he said, “it’s a great motivator.”

And…

ESPN sports business reporter Darren Rovell introduced Fitzgerald at a Northwestern Gridiron Network luncheon at the Orrington Hotel, remarking: “We are no longer satisfied with an eight-win season. Sorry, Fitz, it’s your doing.”

The crowd rose as Fitzgerald stepped to the lectern. The coach responded: “Hey, Darren, is that your first standing ovation? Great job!”