Did you see the end of Saturday night’s Boston game? Wow! One of the craziest finishes ever!
And that was two hours before the Red Sox-Cardinals game ended. I’m referring to the last moments of Devils-Bruins, as seen on MSG Plus 2 (rounded off to the nearest Cablevision dividend).
In the last 90 seconds, both teams’ goalies were pulled! Ever see that before?
With 1:50 left and the Bruins up, 3-2, a second penalty on Boston gave the Devils a 5-on-3. With 1:30 left, Marty Brodeur was pulled to make it six skaters vs. three.
With 1:08 left, Marek Zidlicky scored to tie it. Then, Brodeur back in goal, Andy Greene scored, 5-on-4, with :44 left to give the Devils the lead.
And then it was time for Boston to pull its goalie, Tuukka Rask. Crazy stuff!
Two hours later, Boston lost Game 3 of the World Series, crazy style, too — on a baserunning obstruction both third-base ump Jim Joyce and plate ump Dana DeMuth, bless their blue hearts, quickly recognized and called.
DeMuth was signaling the runner from third, Allen Craig, was not out due to third baseman Will Middlebrooks’ obvious (desperate and even wise-to-give-it-a-shot) obstruction of Allen after a wild throw down the left-field line. Even as Allen was being tagged “out” at home, DeMuth and Joyce were on it.
MLB’s video-rich website nonetheless reported the umps had “to sort it out.” Oh, no, they didn’t.
Before that, it didn’t look much different from many MLB games. In a relatively low-scoring game, 12 pitchers pitched, four hours passed, three French hens, two turtle doves …
Heck, in the third inning, Matt Holliday made jogging look effortless as he immediately surrendered after hitting a high fly to short center. After the muffed catch was retrieved, he was easily thrown out, having just rounded first.
The corner of Ho and Hum: that’s how the game’s played, these days. Even the World Series.
And given an astonishing ending to a World Series game occurred after midnight, and given the Nielsen company gauges how many people and households watch the World Series, I wonder what percentage of Nielsen viewers were asleep with the game on.
Heck, throughout the reign of Bud Selig, how many Nielsen-attached and Nielsen-rated viewers have watched the ends of World Series games with their eyes closed?
Bill was simply ‘Amazing’
Bill Mazer’s passing inspired scores of readers to share “I’ll never forget the time” memories.
Ed Smith: “My enduring memory of Bill Mazer was the night of the Northeast Blackout of 1965. I was in my room, listening to him talk with a caller on the radio. The caller suddenly said, ‘Hey, my lights went out.’
“A moment later, Mazer says, ‘Hey, our lights went out, too.’
“About a minute later, my lights in Massapequa Park died, too. Funny, how things like that can stay in your brain as if they happened yesterday.”
Bob Kelly: “Day 1 of the 1987 Celts-Lakers finals, I found myself waiting for a red light in Midtown. Who’s standing next to me? Bill Mazer. I didn’t even say hello; I just said aloud, ‘So who’s going to win this series?’
“He then gave me his take for two city blocks. And he was right — the Lakers won. Just a nice man.”
Another good weekend for genuine gridiron gibberish, and other new-age pigskin absurdities.
At the top of Houston-Rutgers on ESPN2, play-by-player Dave LaMont told us to get ready because, “Rutgers averages 35 [ppg].” True — but only if you ignore the fact Rutgers scored 26 points after regulation in two overtime games and beat blowout-for-hire Norfolk State, 38-0.
On ESPN, after Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah had the ball knocked free by a Minnesota open-field pursuer, Brian Griese explained the fumble as Abdullah’s inability “to secure the football” once entering “the second level.”
On NBC Sports Net’s Towson-Richmond, Qadry Ismail, ex-NFL receiver, told us “maintaining gap integrity” is essential
We’re again left to wonder how much could have been donated to curing and treating breast cancer had college and pro teams in all sports this month simply worn conspicuous pink logos or decals, rather than millions of dollars in pink socks, gloves, jerseys, hats, towels, et. al. Public relations trumps substance, every time.
BS never ends in world of NFL broadcasts
The BS — bogus spiels — never end. Early in CBS’s Jets-Bengals on Sunday, game-long baloney-thrower Solomon Wilcots praised Jets defensive back Antonio Allen for “shutting down [Patriots tight end] Rob Gronkowski, last week.” Gronkowski returned from four surgeries to catch eight passes for 114 yards.
Saturday night’s World Series Game 3 quickly became a “walk-off obstruction” win. Hey, what doesn’t kill us … So the un-recruited college kid kicks the winning field goal on the last play. Ready? Here’s the headline: “Walk-On Walks On, Boots Walk-Off.”
That early 15-yard penalty Antrel Rolle and other Giants defensive backs drew for an excessive demonstration/bird-mime taunt of the Eagles after Rolle’s interception, Sunday? That’s the same junk all NFL networks sell — often in slow-motion — as what we’re supposed to love! Fox later showed Giants defensive tackle Linval Joseph’s I-love-me dance — in slo-mo.
No more emails! We’re wrong. Fox’s postseason score/inning/count box is plenty large enough to read — even if we can’t. Otherwise, Fox would have enlarged it by now or never have made it unreadable in the first place.
Every time Fox’s Moose Johnston knocks a running back for running sideways — after he’s tackled for no gain or a loss (Johnston, as he said during Giants-Eagles, instead would have him “run north and south”) — I wonder if he ever knocked a running back for running sideways before turning it for 20 yards. Or does he praise that running back’s “patience?”
Saturday on ESPNU, Duke — school colors, blue and white — wore black helmets and pants. Baylor, green and yellow, will wear black uniforms for its Nov. 7 Thursday-nighter against Oklahoma, moved from a Saturday for Fox Sports1 money.
Fox pregamer Jimmy Johnson said Panthers quarterback Cam Newton “now plays team football.” Odd, we watched Newton play Thursday night on NFLN. He remains the most demonstrably all-about-me pro QB I’ve ever seen.
Original Cosmos fans may recall Erhardt Kapp, a locally grown defender and U.S. National Teamer in the early 1980s, born in Europe. Saturday night on YES, his son, Alex Kapp, was Boston College’s goalie.