Happy Wednesday everyone, here's my Top 5 for September 21, 2011 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
- The Red Sox lost again, but they still lead Tampa Bay by one game in the loss column for the wild card. Atlanta still leads St. Louis by two games in the loss column for the NL wild card.
- Your move Oklahoma and Texas. The Pac-12 says they're standing pat, they'll remain a 12 team conference.
- The Big East says they're not going anywhere, pledging to remain a viable conference in football and basketball.
- Ladies (and kids) day. Nearly 50,000 women and children enjoyed free admission and watched a soccer match in Turkey. Men were barred as a punishment for bad behavior at previous matches.
2. Numbers Game
Top 5 subscriber Mark P. notes the paucity of 20-game winners. Clayton Kershaw became the first Dodger in over two decades to join the 20-win club. There are three in the majors so far this season. "It brings to mind a record that will never, ever again be touched. I am talking about FOUR 20 game winners ON ONE TEAM (the 1971 Orioles)!
Editor's Note: Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar, Pat Dobson and Dave McNally all won 20 games. Among them they had 70 complete games. By comparison, 40 years later, the Phillies lead the majors with 18 complete games.
3. Medicine Man
With the news that Colts quarterback Peyton Manning underwent stem cell treatment in Europe for his neck, comes word that free agent wide receiver Terrell Owens is in Korea for the same kind of treatment on his knee. Only the experts can tell you if the treatment works or if it's some kind of voodoo medicine. Will we ever know the extent athletes will go for treatment, and whether it's 100 percent kosher? We still don't know exactly what treatment Canadian doctor Anthony Galea gave to Tiger Woods or Alex Rodriguez. Galea's sentencing for bringing illegal drugs into the U.S. has been delayed until December. Subscriber Peter M. points asks, "Novak Djokovic likely doesn't win the US Open, and Tony Romo likely doesn't come back to lead his team to victory without the use of painkillers. At what point does the use of painkillers get seen in the same light as using 'performance enhancing drugs?"' Good question. Isn't everything performance-enhancing, including aspirin? And while painkillers are legal, where exactly do you draw the line?
4. Update
If you happened to catch the Giants/Rams the other night and saw the Giants Michael Boley throw a football after scoring a touchdown and hit a guy in the face, you might have wondered how the guy is? He's a Giants intern named Ryan Brown, and he is just fine. And a little more famous.
5. Bueller?... Bueller?... Bueller?
To mark the 25th anniversary of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the movie will be shown at Wrigley Field on October 1st. A scene from the movie took place at Wrigley. It's being billed as the First Movie Night at Wrigley Field. In much too easy a cheap shot, it's nice to see Wrigley Field being used for something in October for a change.
Happy Birthday: Best known as a Detroit Tiger slugger, Cecil Fielder. 48.
Bonus Birthday: Who you gonna call? The great Bill Murray. 61.
Today in Sports: Rocky Marciano gets knocked down in the second round but remains the undefeated heavyweight champ after knocking out Archie Moore in the 9th round. 1955.
Bonus Event: Did he ever lose a case? The TV show Perry Mason made its debut on CBS. 1957.
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