Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for March 7, 2013 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
- They're dropping like flies. Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira will be out eight to 10 weeks with a wrist injury.
- More of the same: 16 straight wins for the Miami Heat. LeBron James' layup beat Orlando. And it's now 30 games with at least a point for the Chicago Blackhawks.
- Golfer Rory McIlroy admits he made a mistake by leaving a golf tournament in the middle of a round.
2. Small Ball
Last season, the Yankees led the Majors and set a franchise record with 245 homers. Of those 245 homers, only 60 will be on the roster opening day (make that 45 if Derek Jeter isn't ready to go. The other 185 (or 200 if Jeter is out) were traded, let go or got injured. More evidence that the 2013 Yankees, where every day is Old Timers' Day, could easily turn themselves into Bronx Bummers.
3. Mea Culpa
Rory McIlroy fessed up yesterday. He admitted it was wrong to walk off the golf course last Friday when he was playing poorly. He said he realizes now he should have stayed out there. And he came clean about that wisdom tooth problem, saying it really wasn't that bad. He proclaimed clearly, "It was a mistake, and everyone makes mistakes, and I'm learning from them." Whoever coached him, done good. A PR lesson on "How to admit you screwed up, and let's move on." And for the record, he says he and Caroline Wozniacki, his tennis-star girlfriend, are not breaking up.
4. It's Criminal
OK, I guess I took things a little too lightly when I reported Tuesday's Manchester United loss to Real Madrid in a Champions League match. The game turned on a controversial red card which got Manchester's Nani ejected. How upset were Manchester fans? One of them called the police emergency line and reported that a crime had taken place. The 18-year-old fan could have been arrested for "wasting everyone's time," but police let him slide when he apologized.
5. Seeing Double
If you look at "Today in Sports" below, you'd think that was the oddest thing that happened in the NBA that season. Well the very next night, 59 years ago tomorrow, Milwaukee returned home and played another one of a kind NBA event. Old-timers remember NBA doubleheaders that involved four teams. Well the Milwaukee Hawks and the Baltimore Bullets played the only NBA doubleheader involving the same two teams on the same night. Milwaukee won the first game 64-54, and then came back and won the second game by the nearly identical score of 65-54. Apparently, the games were shortened from 48 minutes to 40 for the sake of the players. It obviously didn't do much for the fans. The idea never caught on.
Happy Birthday: Tennis great Ivan Lendl. 53.
Bonus Birthday: He's not 100, but he's closing in. Willard Scott. 79.
Today in Sports: In an NBA game, Minneapolis and Milwaukee experiment with 12-foot baskets. The Lakers won the game 65-63. 1954.
Bonus Event: Can you hear me now? Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for the telephone. 1876.
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