Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for August 5, 2010 from Len Berman at
1.
Quick Hits
- Alex Rodriguez becomes the youngest player to reach 600 career home runs.
- Nolan Ryan's group buys the Texas Rangers at auction.
- Buck Showalter is undefeated as Orioles manager. 2-0.
- The Minnesota Vikings reportedly offer to sweeten Brett Favre's deal to potentially20-million if he'll play one more season.
- Plaxico Burress could be released from prison in the next couple of weeks, and the Giants could give him a shot, so to speak.
- The National Enquirer reports that after his divorce is final, Tiger Woods will marry Rachel Uchitel and have a baby with her.
2.
600*
Here's what I've learned from writing the Top 5. Outside of New York, the reaction to Alex Rodriguez chasing baseball records is the same as the reaction was to Barry Bonds, outside of San Francisco. Local fans of the team are excited, the rest of the country scoffs. It's the old line, "he may be a creep, but he's our creep." Coincidentally, when A-Rod hit his 600th yesterday, I was with Dr. Gary Wadler. He's the nation's preeminent authority on performance enhancing drugs. His reaction to the milestone? "600 enhanced is not the same as 600 unenhanced."That sums it up perfectly. 3.
Failing to Succeed
A sportscaster once told me he never wanted to be the #1 announcer at a network. He said that would be too much pressure. If you're #2 you can work under the radar forever. There's something to be said for lack of effort. Monday, I mentioned the Miami Heat season ticket sales force being fired because they sold out all the seats. There was nothing left for them to do. Now comes Chicago goalie Antti Niemi. He was one of their Stanley Cup heroes. But because he did so well, he won a lot of money in arbitration. So the Blackhawks dumped him. Moral of the story. Don't be so competent. Don't win any championships. Mediocrity pays dividends. 4.
A Fish Tale
Fishermen like to catch carp. But wanna see a Carp make a great catch? That would be
, who plays for the Hiroshima Carp in Japan.
In the opening for Spanning the World, which we produced in 1987, we have a Japanese outfielder climbing the fence to make a great play. This one is even better.
5. Defining Moment
A recent survey says that women don't like golf because it's too expensive, hard and boring. Men have a word for that. They call it shopping.
Happy Birthday: Former Knicks center Patrick Ewing. 48.
Bonus Birthday: The original Moonwalker himself, astronaut Neil Armstrong. 80.
Today in Sports: Mark McGwire of the Cardinals hits his 500th home run. 1999*.
Bonus Event: Setting the stage for Frank Sinatra's great song "My Kind of Town," a village of about 250 people is incorporated. They name it Chicago. 1833.