10-0; The AFC North; Some Pre-season Wagers

The Coach, Big Ben, Dionte, and JuJu 

enjoy a big day in Jacksonville

 

In spite off a slow start in Jacksonville today, the Steelers took care of business nicely today on their way to a 27-3 win that improved their record to 10-0.  The question that everyone wonders about, but doesn't really want to discuss is, can the Steelers go undefeated?  Here's the remaining schedule:

• Ravens
• Washington
• @Bills
• @Bengals
• Colts
• @Browns

Can they win them all?  Well, it is probable that they will be favored in all of them, but as we all know, the goal isn't to go 16-0.  The goal is to secure a playoff spot, with home field advantage, and advance to and win the Super Bowl.  This team seems steadfast in living by the old chestnut of only looking at the "next game" ahead of them, but I have to think that they are certainly one of the the two or three teams that are most likely to be playing for the Lombardi Trophy come February in Tampa.  I'm not going to look that far ahead, but I am certainly going to continue to enjoy this ride on which the 2020 Steelers are taking us.  Predictions and further analysis can wait until Playoff time.

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So how is it looking in the hot kitchen of the AFC North as we head into the Thanksgiving Weekend?  The current standings after today's games:

Steelers        10-0

Browns          7-3

Ravens           6-4

Bengals           2-7-1

Let's face it, when we were all making pre-season predictions, not many had the Steelers in first place, let alone undefeated.  The fact that they are both at this moment is a big surprise, but perhaps an even bigger surprise is the Ravens being in third place and four (4!) games out of first place.  Everyone knew that the Browns would be better, but not better than Baltimore.  Still, the Browns, who were crushed by the Ravens in September have to play them once again on December 6, a game that could prove to be of critical importance to both teams.   The Steelers and Browns also meet in the last game of the season.  Who knows of what significance that game might be at that time.

The Bengals are no surprise at the bottom of the heap, but they were exciting with Joe Burrow learning the ropes at quarterback.  Today, they had crushing news when Burrow was injured and will be lost for the rest of the season.  I read that it was dirty hit that did it, although I haven't seen it as yet.  As readers know, I'm no fan of the Bungles, but I liked Burrow, and I hate to see his season end in such a fashion.  I hope that he recovers fully and continues his development next season.

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Prior to the season, I made a number of small wagers on certain propositions for 2020.

• Steelers would win OVER 9 games.  Cash that ticket!
• Steelers would win AFC North.  Can't cash it yet, but that one gets better looking every week.
• Ben Roethlisberger  would be Comeback Player of the Year.  At this point, I cannot imagine him NOT wining that one.
• JT Watt would be Defensive Player of the Year.  He's certainly in the running for that one.

I also made three separate wagers on the Bucs, Ravens, and Steelers to win the Super Bowl.  At the time, the odds were shortest on the Ravens at +260, followed by the Bucs at +600, and the Steelers at +1000.  If you were to make those same bets today (on Fan Duel), the odds are +500 on the Steelers, +600 on the Bucs, and +1400 on the Ravens.

In case you're wondering, the Chiefs remain the favorite at +330.  The Steelers are the second favorite.  The remainder of the Top Five are the Saints +700, Packers +900 and the Buccaneers +900.

To Absent Friends - Paul Hornung

 

Paul Hornung

"The Golden Boy"

1935 - 2020

Football fans in 2020 refer to Tom Brady as the Golden Boy, but if you are a football fan of a certain age, and your football memories stretch back to the 1950's and 1960's, there is only one Golden Boy, and that is Paul Hornung, who died this past Friday at the age of 84.  As pro football crashed into the consciousness and living rooms of America in the late 1950's and early 1960's, it was the handsome bachelor Hornung, the most glamorous player on the NFL's most glamorous team, the Lombardi Era Green Bay Packers, that captured the imagination of fans, even non-football fans, across the nation.  He was the sexy idol ten years before Joe Namath, and he was the undeniable Golden Boy forty years before Brady.

In 1956, he won the Heisman Trophy while playing quarterback for a pedestrian (2-8) Notre Dame team.  He remains the only player to win that award while playing on a losing team.  He could run, pass, block, and kick.  To this day many consider him the greatest player ever to play for the Fighting Irish.

He was a first round draft pick of the Packers in 1957, and he would become a key player in the Packers Dynasty that Vince Lombardi would build.  He was a member of four NFL Championship teams, including the first Super Bowl, a two time Pro Bowler, a league MVP, and a member of the NFL's 1960's All Decade team. He is a member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame.

In the 1960 season, Hornung established a record for most points scored in a season with 176 (15 TDs, 15 FGs, 41 PATs).  That record stood for 48 years, until LaDanian Tomlinson of the Chargers surpassed it in 2008 by scoring 186 points (31 TDs).  It should be noted that Hornung's record, which still stands at Number Two in the NFL record books, was accomplished in a twelve game season.

Running the famed "Packer Sweep" behind Fuzzy Thirston,

Horning leaves another Hall of Famer, Sam Huff, in the dust.

Any mention of Hornung must include the one blemish on his career.  He, along with the Lions' Alex Karras, was suspended for one year, the 1964 season, for associating with "undesirable characters" and betting on games, although not games in which they were involved.

Here's an interesting fact that I learned while researching this piece.  Hornung served in the US Army in 1961, but somehow was able to get weekend passes so as not to miss any Packers games.  In order to have Hornung available for the NFL Championship game against the Giants that year, Lombardi called upon a friend of his, Commander-in-Chief John F. Kennedy, to arrange for a leave for his star so he could play in that game.

RIP Paul Hornung, THE Golden Boy

 

The Masters 2020

 

Hello, Friends.

So it finally became time to stage The Masters for 2020 this past weekend, after a seven and one-half month delay.  The Masters is always must-see-television for golf fans, and even for non-golf fans, and especially more so in this crazy year of 2020.  However, unlike most years, this version offered very little drama or edge of the seat excitement.  World Number One Golfer Dustin Johnson  seized hold of the tournament by the end of the second round and had a four shot lead after the end of the third round.  Bogies on 4 and 5 for yesterday caused his lead to slip to two strokes early on, and that made it look as though DJ would be seriously challenged, but a birdie on number six righted the ship, and Johnson would go on to earn a five stroke victory and set a Masters scoring record of twenty under par.  He recorded only four bogies throughout the 72 hole event.  That is astonishing.

He is a most worthy Champion.

Some other thoughts and takeaways from this year's toon-a-mint....

The sight of Augusta National without fans Patrons was pretty astonishing, although we have gotten used to such sights at sports events in 2020.  If possible, seeing it in such a natural state made it - in my mind, at least - even more beautiful, even without the azaleas and other flora in full bloom as they are in April.  I suppose sports are always better when played before packed houses, so let's hope that full galleries of fans Patrons will be on hand come April, but for this one year only, I am glad we got to see Augusta National as we did this past weekend.

********

Runner-up Cameron Smith finished at -15, a score that would have won the Masters in 78 previous years, and had all four rounds with scores in the sixties.  Was anyone else as surprised as I was to learn that that was the first time that that had ever happened at The Masters?

********

As always, CBS coverage of this Tradition Unlike Any Other was superb, even if Jim Nantz always appears to  be close to openly weeping when talking in hushed and reverential tones when speaking of the Augusta National, Bob Jones, Alistair MacKenzie and the hallowed Traditions of The Masters.   I loved the drone shots of the golf course.  I didn't miss Peter Kostis.  I did miss David Feherty, and I liked Dottie Pepper and Trevor Immelman on the coverage.  Verne Lundquist on 16 is truly a CBS Tradition Like No Other.  I am willing to bet that he knows the contours and quirks of the 16th green better than any of the golfers who play in the tournament every year.  And Nick Faldo is always good, too.  Doesn't take himself too seriously as so many of the other ex-golfers now doing the TV gig.  I was, however, wondering what the deal was with his sideburns.  Looks like he's trying to bring back 1968 again.

********

This will go down as a mere footnote to the tournament, and if it happened to any other golfer in the field we wouldn't be talking about it all.  I am referencing the 10 that Tiger Woods took on the Par 3 twelfth hole yesterday.

The five time winner and defending champion started the day at -5 and was something like T-24.  Seven shots back and with over twenty guys ahead of him, he wasn't going to win The Masters this year, and who could blame him if all he wanted to do was go out, play quickly, and get it over with.  On the infamous twelfth hole, the shortest hole on the course, he rinsed his tee shot into Rae's Creek, put it into the water two more times, and ended up with a septuple bogey 10 on the hole.  Now at this point, no one, but NO ONE, would blame him if he really did check out both physically and mentally after that.  Didn't happen though.  He played those final six holes in five under par, going birdie-par-birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie.  The mental strength it took to do something like that is as amazing and as impressive as almost anything Woods has ever done on a golf course.  If you play golf, even if you are a hacking amateur like me, you know how mentally hard it is to recover and play even decently after thoroughly screwing up on a hole.

Tiger Woods, six weeks short of his 45th birthday, is still one of a kind.

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Bryson DeChambeau was the talk of the golf world, positively and negatively, coming into The Masters.  If you follow the game, you know that he's a bit of an oddball in his approach, and he talked openly about a course like Augusta National would play like a "par 67" for him.  Karma can be a bitch, and it bit Bryson in the butt this weekend.  He finished the tourney at -2 and way down the track, and was never really a factor at all.  I softened my opinion of DeChambeau after reading the cover story on  him in the current month's Sports Illustrated, but I was still glad to see him served up some humble pie this weekend.  At the same time, I'm sorry that it turned out the way it did.  Golf in general is a lot more interesting when he is in the mix on the weekends, and this Masters would also have been bit juicier if it was DeChambeau, instead of Cam Smith or Abe Ancer, chasing down Johnson on Sunday.

********

Heard this interesting tidbit on the Tony Kornheiser Podcast this morning.  Dustin Johnson now has both a Masters Championship and a US Open Championship on is resume.  How many other golfers currently active in the PGA Tour can make that same statement?

The answer is TWO.  Tiger Woods and Jordan Speith.  Are you as surprised as I was that this is such a short list?

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Finally, a $7.50 investment on Fan Duel made by me last week on Dustin Johnson to win The Masters turned into a $78.75 payout, so you know for whom I was  rooting.

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One great thing about a one-time Masters in November is that we only have to wait a little less than five months until we get to do it again!

To A Trio of Absent Friends: Trebek, Schano, and Heinsohn

It's been a busy time in the Departure Lounge this week, so let us now note the passing of three Absent Friends.

Alex Trebek

1940 - 2020

It's hard to find someone who has been in the public eye as long as Alex Trebek has been, and who is so universally admired.  Honestly, have you ever heard or read anything negative about Alex Trebek?  Trebek was tapped to  replace original "Jeopardy" host Art Fleming sometime in the 1980's and he went on to host the show for 36 years and over 8,000 episodes, right up until his death this week the age of 80.  Episodes with Trebek as host will air into December.

Trebek was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few years ago, and he fought the disease nobly and courageously, setting an example and being an inspiration for millions of people in the process.  It is for this that he will be particularly remembered in this household.

If you want to have a few laughs, go down the YouTube rabbit hole and search out episodes of Saturday Night Live's "Celebrity Jeopardy."  The exchanges between Will Farrell's Alex Trebek and Darryl Hammond's Sean Connery are absolutely priceless and hilarious.  You will even find one clip where Alex Trebek himself shows up at the end of one of the sketches, demonstrating yet another admirable trait: He never took himself too seriously.

Eleanor Schano

1932 - 2020

This one is a purely local one for Pittsburghers, but the death of Eleanor Schano yesterday at the age of 88 marks the passing of a true pioneer in Pittsburgh broadcasting.  Miss Schano's first television job came in in 1951.  She was Pittsburgh's first TV "Weather Girl" (she gave the weather while wearing a negligee; we've come a long way) at WDTV, Channel 3, the predecessor station to KDKA Channel 2.  Except of a brief one year stint as a news anchor in Palm Beach, Fl in 1982, she spent her entire career in Pittsburgh, working at all four commercial channels and at the public station WQED, Channel 13.  

As her on air presence lessened, she remained active in all facets of Pittsburgh community life, serving on the Boards of the Pittsburgh CLO and the Carnegie Science Center, among many other service organizations.  Her broadcasting awards are too numerous to list here.  I can recall seeing Eleanor Schano several  times in the lobby at Fifth Avenue Place over the years.  I believe that she did some community service work on Highmark's behalf over the years.  This would have been in the late '90s or early '00s.  She was a striking and elegant presence.

Her career literally encompassed the entire history of television in the Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania area.  Her passing closes a chapter in that history.

Tom Heinsohn

1934 - 2020

Basketball Hall of Famer Tom Heinsohn died yesterday at the age of 86.  I won't go into the statistics and career accomplishments of Heinsohn here.  It's easy enough to look that up, but here is one truly remarkable fact.  Tom Heinsohn is the only person who can be directly linked to involvement with all seventeen NBA Championships won by the Boston Celtics as either a player, coach, or broadcaster.  That is amazing.  On PTI yesterday, Michael Wilbon said that there was nothing better - nothing - than being in a locker room, press room, or hotel bar and listening to Tom Heinsohn hold court.  I can only imagine.

But I have a rather peculiar memory of Tom Heinsohn.

In 1954 and 1955, Heinsohn's Holy Cross teams met Duquesne in the finals of the NIT.  Holy Cross won it in '54, and the Dukes won in '55.  My parents are Duquesne alums and my Godmother and frequent babysitter Martha Cordic (yes, Rege Cordic's sister) was a student at Duquesne at the time.  I can remember that it was being said that the three guys that we did not like in our house were "Togo, Heinsohn, and Kaszprzak," even though I had no idea what that meant.  I can remember being able to say the names "Togo, Heinsohn, and Kaszprzak" to the great delight of my parents, brothers, and Martha.

I looked it up this morning.  Togo Palazzi, Tom Heinsohn, and Frank Kaszprzak were teammates on the 1954 Holy Cross team, the team that beat the Dukes (Palazzi was gone by 1955).  Then I did the math.  When the Dukes were losing to Holy Cross in that 1954 NIT, and little Bobby Sproule was making his family and his Godmother laugh by saying "Togo, Heinsohn, and Kaszprzak", he was all of two years old!!!  I would turn three in September of 1954.  That just might be my earliest known memory!!

When I told Marilyn that story this morning, she said, "Wow, you really were raised in a sports environment."  Indeed, and I will always be glad for that.

RIP Alex Trebek, Eleanor Schano, Tom Heinsohn

 

A Case For Bringing Back Tie Games

 

In the showcase game of the College Football Weekend, #4 ranked Notre Dame defeated #1 ranked Clemson 47-40 and it took two overtime "innings" for the Irish to do so.  If you watched the game, I am sure that you will agree with me that it was a terrific game between two teams deserving of those #1 and #4 rankings.  It is likely that the two teams will meet once again in the ACC Championship game next month with the winner going to the College Football Playoff.  As often happens in such rematches, the second game will probably not be the equal of last night's contest.

The point of this monograph, though, as the headline suggests, is would it have been so awful had that game ended after four quarters in a 33-33 tie?  The late Myron Cope used to postulate, and I agree with him, that in many cases, a tie can often be a "just result" in a football game.  I believe that such was the case last might.  Both teams played valiantly, each team had to come from behind during the game, and neither really deserved to lose. I truly believe that a tie game last night would have been a "just result" to that game.

Instead, we saw each team conduct two "drives" from the 25 yard line in order to settle the outcome.   In an era when football, institutionally, is paying lip service to player safety, is it really necessary to expose these "student-athletes"  - remember, college kids aren't getting paid for these games - to additional injury risk?  In Playoff Games, sure, you need to determine a winner, so have your OT protocols for those games, but do we really need it in a regular season?  (As an aside,  I went to a youth league football game about ten or twelve years ago where my nephew was coaching his son's team.  The game ended in a tie and they went into overtime to settle it.  I thought that was appalling.)

Here's another element that would have made last night's game far more appealing had there been no provision for overtime.  Trailing 33-26, Notre Dame scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to make the score 33-32.  With no overtime, HC Brian Kelly would have been forced to make a decision:  go for two points and win the game, or kick and "settle" for tie.  No coach wants to have to make that decision and answer to critics afterward, which is why overtime will be with us forever.

I don't expect many to agree with me on this, but, as the saying goes, that's my....

******

More disconcerting was what happened after the game ended, and the Irish fans, in their misplaced enthusiasm and excitement, rushed the field. If you weren't watching, this is what you missed:

Yep, we saw before our eyes the creation of what may well be yet another COVID Super Spreader event.  I hope that my niece, a student at ND was not among that crowd, yet even if she wasn't, she will no doubt be exposed to many of those who were out there in the days ahead.  It was not a good look.

Steelers 28 - Ravens 24

At this point, we all know that the Steelers defeated the Baltimore Ravens on the road yesterday to push their record to 7-0 and their lead in the AFC North to two games.  You probably also know that the Steelers overcame a poor (to be kind) first half and outscored the Ravens 21-7 in the second half to win 28-24, a game that they seemed destined to lose.

Some of the narrative that seems to be emerging after the game from the talk show circuit is "the Ravens lost this one more than the Steelers won it."  Maybe, maybe not, but the scoreboard never lies.  My personal favorite, though, is "if Lamar Jackson doesn't turn the ball over four times, the Ravens would have won."  To which I say, so what?  The fact of the matter is, Jackson DID turn the ball over four times.  Isn't that part of the game?  Doesn't the effort put forth by the Steelers count for something?  Should the touchdowns the Steelers scored off of the two interceptions count for only four points instead of seven?  If, if, if....  You know the old saying, if the Queen had testicles, she'd be King.

The fact of the matter is, the Steelers-Ravens game yesterday was fantastic, and it  was exactly what you would expect from a Steelers - Ravens game, and I would be saying that even if Minkah Fitzpatrick had not been able to tip away that last pass from Jackson that might have won the game for Baltimore.    Did you see the one graphic CBS put up on the screen yesterday?  The overall score between the two teams at that point in the game in the Ravens-Steelers series stood at 971-971.  That is almost unbelievable.

The two teams meet again at Heinz Field on Thanksgiving Night, and that will be a perfect way to end the holiday.  It's another game that should be settled by less than a touchdown.  In the meantime, the Steelers next three games are @ Cowboys, Bengals, @ Jaguars.  They should be favored in every one of those games and could - could -  come into that Ravens game at 10-0.  I am guessing that they will lose one of those games, and the team that I fear the most, and I can't believe I'm going to say this, is the Bengals.  Joe Burrow appears to be doing some pretty good things down there in Rhineland.

So, until Jim Nance gives an "Hello, friends" in Dallas next week, enjoy some scenes from yesterday's game.

Three TD's Zero INTs

James Conner scores

TJ Watt sacks Lamar Jackson

Minkah Fitzpatrick deflects pass 

on last play of the game.

To Absent Friends - Sean Connery

 

Sean Connery

1930 - 2020

In what has become a depressingly common theme for the year 2020, another Giant in His Field has left us with the death of Scottish actor Sean Connery at the age of 90.

Connery has had a long and distinguished acting career.  It includes 94 credits on IMDB, and stretches back to 1954.  He received his big break as an actor when he appeared in the title role of Rod Serling's "Requiem For A Heavyweight" in a 1957 BBC television production.  At another point in 1957, he also has a role as a "Porter" on an episode of "The Jack Benny Program!  (That is going to merit a YouTube search later today.)  But of course, his huge international breakout came in 1962 when he played the role of British spy James Bond, 007,  in the movie "Dr. No."  His obituary in the Washington Post tells us that the producers considered better known actors such as Richard Burton and Michael Redgrave for the role of Bond, but they were working with a very limited budget so they went with Connery because, among other attributes, he came cheap.  He was paid $16,500 his first time for the role that made him famous.

"Bond. James Bond."

"A martini. Shaken, not stirred."

Connery would make five James Bond movies from 1962 to 1967 before he quit the franchise.  He didn't want to become typecast, and he said that he would never play the character again.  Well, he DIDN'T become typecast, but he DID reprise the role once again in 1983's "Never Say Never Again."  Clever play on words by the producers for that title, don't you think?

A ton of stuff about Connery and his death has already been written and is available today on the Internet.  Great write-ups that will detail his career and legacy far better than The Grandstander can, so I will simply end this with a list of my own favorite Sean Connery films.  Purely personal opinions here, but any one of these are worth seeking out and watching.

• The Anderson Tapes (1971)
• Murder On The Orient Express (1974)
• The Great Train Robbery (1978)
• The Untouchables (1987)
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
• Hunt for Red October (1990)
• Finding Forrester (2000)

Connery won his one and only Oscar for his role in "The Untouchables."

RIP Sean Connery

With Dyan Cannon

"The Anderson Tapes"

With Lesley-Anne Down

"The Great Train robbery"

With Harrison Ford

"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"

With Andy Garcia, Kevin Costner, 

and Charles Martin Smith

"The Untouchables"