GA Russell

Happy birthday!

FFA, it's unamerican to dislike circus peanuts, even if they're really stale!

I listened to Sangam today. It had been a number of weeks since I last pulled it out. It occurred to me early, listening today, that Sangam is a jazz requiem. If Seim didn't intend it to be, it is anyway. I really enjoyed it thinking of it that way, although it's probably ten minutes too long, clocking in at 69:35.

Dan, I think you make good points, but I think you are living in the past. Of course, living in the past is a lot of what being a baseball fan is all about - comparing stats of players from bygone eras for example. I believe that you are living in the past because you feel that a team's regular season record is relevant to the respect it deserves as a champion. I think that there would be a lot of merit to that - that's the way it was done before 1969. But once a sport/league puts in a playoff system, the champion is whoever goes undefeated the last month of the season. Nothing else matters. I've stated earlier that I think the MLB should do away with the playoffs. But the powers that run pro baseball choose to have playoffs. So I choose not to care about baseball. Easy. My favorite sport is the Canadian league, in which almost everybody (six of eight) makes the playoffs. It is very common for the team with the best record to not win the Grey Cup. All the fans understand that. They enjoy the regular season games because they are exciting, not for the pennant race. If baseball didn't have a pennant race, I think very few tickets would be sold during the regular season. I don't think that there are that many people who would enjoy watching a baseball game without post-season implications.

I've listened to this one a number of times this past week, and I've enjoyed it. It's too bad I can't recommend it for your Your Music queue (because YM doesn't carry it).

In my book the season ended the week before, when as I recall the Sox lost five straight games to two last place teams.

Here's his AP obit, from the Toronto Globe & Mail: Red Auerbach: 1917-2006 Associated Press Washington — His genius was building a basketball dynasty in Boston, his gift was straight talk, his signature was the pungent cigar he lit up and savored after every victory. Red Auerbach, the Hall of Famer who guided the Celtics to 16 championships — first as a coach and later as general manager — died Saturday. He was 89. Auerbach died of a heart attack near his home in Washington, according to an NBA official, who didn't want to be identified. His last public appearance was on Wednesday, when he received the Navy's Lone Sailor Award in front of family and friends at a ceremony in the nation's capital. Auerbach's death was announced by the Celtics, who still employed him as team president. Next season will be dedicated to him, they said. "He was relentless and produced the greatest basketball dynasty so far that this country has ever seen and certainly that the NBA has ever seen," said Bob Cousy, the point guard for many of Auerbach's championship teams who referred to his coach by his given name. "This is a personal loss for me. Arnold and I have been together since 1950. I was fortunate that I was able to attend a function with him Wednesday night. ... I am so glad now that I took the time to be there and spend a few more moments with him." Tom Heinsohn, who played under Auerbach and then coached the Celtics when he was their general manager, remembered his personal side. "He was exceptional at listening and motivating people to put out their very best," Heinsohn said. "In my playing days he once gave me a loaded cigar and six months later I gave him one. That was our relationship. We had a tremendous amount of fun and the game of basketball will never see anyone else like him." Auerbach's 938 victories made him the winningest coach in NBA history until Lenny Wilkens overtook him during the 1994-95 season. "Red Auerbach was the consummate teacher, leader, and a true pioneer of the sport of basketball," commissioner David Stern said on NBA.com. "The NBA wouldn't be what it is today without him." Auerbach's nine titles as a coach came in the 1950s and 1960s — including eight straight from 1959 through 1966 — and then through shrewd deals and foresight he became the architect of Celtics teams that won seven more championships in the 1970s and 1980s. "Red was a true champion and one whose legacy transcends the Celtics and basketball," Sen. Ted Kennedy said. "He was the gold standard in coaching and in civic leadership, and he set an example that continues today. We all knew and loved Red in the Kennedy family." Auerbach was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969. The jersey No. 2 was retired by the Celtics in his honor during the 1984-85 season. "He was a unique personality, a combination of toughness and great, great caring about people," said author John Feinstein, who last year collaborated on a book with Auerbach on the coach's reflections of seven decades in basketball. "He cared about people much more than it showed in his public face, and that's why people cared about him." With the Celtics, he made deals that brought Bill Russell, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale to Boston. He drafted Larry Bird a year early when the Indiana State star was a junior to make sure Bird would come to Boston. He coached championship teams that featured players such as Russell, Cousy, Heinsohn, Bill Sharman, K.C. Jones and Sam Jones, all inducted into the Hall of Fame. Phil Jackson matched Auerbach's record nine championships when the Los Angeles Lakers won the title in 2001-02. After stepping down as general manager in 1984, Auerbach served as president of the Celtics and occasionally attended team practices into the mid-1990s, although his role in the draft and personnel decisions had diminished. "Red was a guy who always introduced new things," Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca told The Associated Press in an interview this month. "He had some of the first black players in the league and some people didn't like that, but you've got to do what's right for the fans." When Rick Pitino took the president's title when he became coach in 1997, Auerbach became vice chairman of the board. After Pitino resigned in 2001, Auerbach regained the title of president and remained vice chairman. When the team was sold in 2002 to a group headed by Wyc Grousbeck, Auerbach stayed on as president. Through all those changes and titles, Auerbach didn't lose his direct manner of speaking, such as when he discussed the parquet floor of the Boston Garden shortly before the Celtics' longtime home closed in September 1995. "The whole thing was a myth," Auerbach said. "People thought not only that there were dead spots, but that we knew where every one was and we could play accordingly. "Now, did you ever watch a ballplayer go up and down the court at that speed and pick out a dead spot?" he asked. "If our players worried about that, thinking that's going to help them win, they're out of their cotton-picking mind. But if the other team thought that: Hey, good for us." As Celtics president, Auerbach shuttled between Boston and his home in the nation's capital, where he led an active lifestyle that included playing racquetball and tennis into his mid-70s. Auerbach underwent two procedures in May 1993 to clear blocked arteries. He had been bothered by chest discomfort at various times beginning in 1986. Auerbach was also hospitalized a year ago, but he was soon active again and attended the Celtics' home opener. Asked that night what his thoughts were, he replied in his usual blunt manner: "What goes through your mind is, 'When the hell are we going to win another one? I mean, it's as simple as that." Auerbach had planned to be at the Celtics' opener this season, in Boston next Wednesday against the New Orleans Hornets. In his 16 seasons as the Celtics' coach, Auerbach berated referees and paced the sideline with a rolled-up program in his clenched fist. The cigar came out when he was sure of another Celtic triumph. He had a 938-479 regular-season coaching record and a 99-69 playoff mark. Auerbach had a reputation as a keen judge of talent, seemingly always getting the best of trades with fellow coaches and general managers. In 1956, he traded Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan to St. Louis for the Hawks' first-round pick and ended up with Russell — probably the greatest defensive center of all time and the heart of 11 championship teams. In 1978, he drafted Bird in the first round even though he would have to wait a year before Bird could become a professional. Before the 1980 draft, the Celtics traded the No. 1 overall selection to Golden State for Parish and the No. 3 pick. The Warriors took Joe Barry Carroll. The Celtics chose McHale. In 1981, Boston chose Brigham Young guard Danny Ainge in the second round. Ainge was playing baseball in the Toronto Blue Jays organization at the time, but was freed after a court battle to play for the Celtics. In June 1983, another one-sided deal brought guard Dennis Johnson from Phoenix for seldom-used backup center Rick Robey. Born Arnold Auerbach in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Sept. 20, 1917, he attended Seth Low Junior College in New York and George Washington University. His playing career was undistinguished. In three seasons at George Washington he scored 334 points in 56 games. He would often attend games at GW's Smith Center, where the court is named in his honor. As a coach, he was an instant success, posting the best record of his career in his first season. He led the Washington Capitols to a 49-11 mark in 1946-47, the NBA's debut season, and took them to the playoff semifinals. The Capitols had winning records the next two seasons under Auerbach, who moved on to the Tri-Cities Blackhawks for one season in 1949-50. They had a 28-29 mark, Auerbach's only losing record in 20 years as an NBA coach. In the NBA's first four seasons, the Celtics never had a winning record. But Auerbach changed that dramatically when he succeeded Alvin "Doggy" Julian as Boston's coach for the 1950-51 campaign. They went 39-30 that year, and the Celtics never had a losing record in his 16 seasons on the bench. Boston's lowest winning percentage was .611 in his last 10 seasons. His last game as coach was on April 28, 1966, when Boston edged the Lakers 95-93 in Game 7 of the finals to win the NBA title. He was just 48 years old, but ready to move on. On Feb. 13 of that season, Auerbach was honored at halftime of a loss to Los Angeles at Boston Garden. "They say that losing comes easier as you grow older," he said after the game. "But losing keeps getting harder for me. I just can't take it like I used to. It's time for me to step out." Russell became player-coach the next season, while Auerbach concentrated on his job as general manager. Russell was the first of five Boston coaches who had played for Auerbach. Auerbach is survived by his two daughters, Nancy Auerbach Collins and Randy Auerbach; his granddaughter, Julie Auerbach Flieger, and three great-grandchildren.

I would say that he remained the greatest persona of the NBA for many years after he retired from coaching. I can recommend a book he wrote about fifteen years ago called MBA - Management By Auerbach. He discussed business principles using his basketball background.

Marlin McKeever died yesterday. Here's his obituary from the LA Times: Marlin McKeever, 66; former USC All-American, L.A. Rams linebacker By Ben Bolch, Times Staff Writer October 28, 2006 Marlin McKeever, a former USC All-American defensive end and Los Angeles Rams linebacker whose life was interspersed with tragedy, died Friday at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach. He was 66. A hospital spokeswoman declined to give the cause of death, but McKeever had fallen and hit his head in his Long Beach home earlier this week and was found by his wife, Judy. McKeever initially indicated he was all right but was later unresponsive, and paramedics were called. McKeever slipped into a coma, and later a blood clot was removed from his brain. A two-time All-American who played offensive and defensive end as well as fullback and punter for USC from 1958-60, McKeever was selected in the first round of the 1961 NFL draft by the Rams. He fashioned a 13-year pro career as a tight end and linebacker with the Rams, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles. McKeever and his twin brother, Mike, had been standouts at Mt. Carmel High in Los Angeles who were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. But Mike's career as an All-American left guard at USC was curtailed by a head injury suffered against Stanford his senior year that resulted in two blood clots in his brain. Despite being drafted by the Rams in the 13th round, Mike never played pro football and died at age 27 in 1967 after spending 22 months in a coma after an automobile accident. "I've learned to live with the death of Mike, but I've never gotten over it," McKeever told the Long Beach Press-Telegram in 2003. "There's not a day that passes that I don't think of him. He was part of me. He will always be part of me." Marlin McKeever also was involved in a serious automobile accident in 1966 with Rams teammate Roman Gabriel in which McKeever's right ring finger was severed. McKeever was in charge of the Trojan Football Alumni Club and had been one of a handful of former Trojan greats issued a sideline credential for the 2006 Rose Bowl against Texas. USC's leading receiver in 1959 and 1960, he caught a 21-yard touchdown pass during an eventual 17-6 upset victory over No. 11 UCLA in 1960, earning him honors as the Trojans' player of the game. Legendary USC Coach John McKay, then in his first year with the Trojans, would later say that the victory saved his job. Both McKeevers also competed in the discus throw and shot put for the USC track team. They also had brief acting careers, appearing together in "The Three Stooges Meet Hercules" (1962) and as football players in the 1961 Disney film "The Absent-Minded Professor." USC Coach Pete Carroll said McKeever and Marv Goux, the former Trojan football player and coach who died in 2002, had provided insight into the rich history of the Trojans football program after Carroll was hired before the 2001 season. "He was a great friend," Carroll said of McKeever, who in 1993 had asked the school to consider him for the athletic director post that went to Mike Garrett. "He was obviously a big factor just being around, just introducing me to the program and the people and what the Trojan family is all about." McKeever, who was born Jan. 1, 1940, in Cheyenne, Wyo., was an honors finance student at USC and had worked as a stockbroker and insurance executive after his football career ended. In 1974, he lost his election bid as a Republican candidate in the 72nd Assembly District, which at the time encompassed all of Santa Ana and most of Garden Grove. McKeever also served as director of player relations for the short-lived World Football League in 1974 and was vice president for player administration for the Southern California Sun of the WFL. Among McKeever's survivors, besides his wife, are four children, Marlin Jr., Kellee, David and Michelle, and niece Teri McKeever, the women's swim coach at UC Berkeley. Services are pending. Instead of flowers, donations in McKeever's memory may be sent to any of the following organizations: High Hopes Head Trauma Center, 2953 Edinger, Tustin, CA 92780; Crespi Carmelite High School, 5030 Alonzo Ave., Encino, CA 91316; St. Mary Medical Center Foundation, Marlin McKeever Head Trauma Fund, 1050 Linden Ave., Long Beach, CA 90813; Marv Goux, USC Athletics, University Park Center, Los Angeles, CA 90089.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

I would go back to the way it was fifty years ago. I would get rid of the divisions, get rid of the playoffs, get rid of interleague play, and get rid of unbalanced schedules. This would reduce September ticket sales for those teams that are out of the pennant race. My solution to that would be to end the season on Labor Day. Play the World Series in September when it is cool, not cold. Times have changed. It has been decades since baseball had a lock on people's interest. When Labor Day comes, the public's attention shifts to football. Labor Day was nearly two months ago, and they just finished playing baseball last night. Of course, none of this will happen unless a television network pays for it to happen. If the Nielsen ratings continue to decline, maybe one day a network will do just that.

I don't believe that some of my favorites from the 70s have been released on CD: Warren Bernhardt - Manhattan Update (Arista) Warren Bernhardt - Floating (Arista) Warren Bernhardt - Solo (Arista) Blood Sweat & Tears - Brand New Day (ABC)

Doug Ramsey discusses jazz under communist rule in his Rifftides blog dated tomorrow. He mentions Stanko thus: ...I thought of the Skvorecky and Tyrmand stories when I read Nate Chinen's New York Times article about Tomasz Stanko, the Polish trumpeter who was captured--and freed--by jazz when he first heard it half a century ago. "The message was freedom," he said one afternoon last week in a Midtown Manhattan hotel room. "For me, as a Polish who was living in Communist country," he continued in his slightly broken English, "jazz was synonym of Western culture, of freedom, of this different style of life." To read the entire interview, go here. Stanko's new recording is Lontano (ECM). He is one of dozens of Eastern European musicians who, since the collapse of Communism, have joined the top ranks of jazz musicians in the world. He, George Mraz, Emil Viklický, Robert Balzar, František Uhlíř, Adam Makowicz, the late Aladar Pege, Laco Tropp and many others kept the music alive underground during years of subjugation and proved that in art, talent and the human spirit trump race and nationality.

Happy Birthday!

Tom. I think I played JuJu more often than any other album last year. The title track is my least favorite cut. I burned a copy for the car without it.

LOL at Al!

Here's the AP article: Tony Romo is now the first-string quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, and will make his first career start Sunday night at Carolina. Coach Bill Parcells said Wednesday that Romo, who replaced 14-year veteran Drew Bledsoe in the second half of Monday night's 36-22 loss to the New York Giants, will start. "Any time you do something like this, it's not without a lot of consideration," Parcells said. "I've been thinking about it for some time. ... Hopefully, maybe as the team is comprised right now, he might be able to do a couple of things that assist us." Neither Bledsoe nor Romo appeared in the Cowboys locker-room Wednesday. The team said Bledsoe would talk later in the day. Romo, a fourth-year pro who had never thrown a pass in a game until this season, will be the ninth different starting quarterback for the Cowboys (3-3) since Hall of Famer Troy Aikman retired after the 2001 season. Bledsoe joined Parcells in Dallas last year, reuniting with the coach who made him the No. 1 pick in 1993 for the New England Patriots. His last pass Monday night was an interception at the goal-line just before halftime when the Cowboys had a chance to take the lead. Bledsoe had already been sacked four times, once for a safety. Parcells rarely changes quarterbacks mid-season, often showing loyalty to veterans. Two years ago, Parcells stuck with 41-year-old Vinny Testaverde during a 6-10 season. Like Bledsoe, Testaverde had also played with Parcells earlier in his career. But Bledsoe apparently made too many costly mistakes for Parcells. His last interception came in a game that could have given the Cowboys first place in the NFC East. In Dallas' three victories, Bledsoe had six touchdown passes and one interception. But those have all been against teams with losing records. Against playoff contenders Jacksonville, Philadelphia and the Giants, he has one TD and seven INTs. Parcells told Bledsoe about his demotion Wednesday morning. "He was emotionally under control. I'm sure he wasn't happy to hear the news," Parcells said. "I just told him we're going to make this change right now, and that he needed to stay around ready. He assured me he would do that." Romo was intercepted on his first pass, on a ball tipped by Michael Strahan and caught by Antonio Pierce. He threw two more interceptions, one returned 96 yards for a touchdown. "He's got to be more careful with the ball than he was the other night," Parcells said. But Romo also showed he could be effective. He scrambled and completed 14 of 25 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns, and flashed more footwork running for a two-point conversion. Terry Glenn, the Cowboys' leading receiver with 29 catches, said the team has confidence in Romo and likes his mobility. But it's still a difficult move personally for Glenn, who spent the first six seasons of his career in New England with Bledsoe and has become a favorite target. "Well, you know Bledsoe is my guy. I wish things weren't going the way they are, but obviously the coaching staff sees something," Glenn said. "I'm just out here playing. I want to win. Whoever's out there, let's make plays and let's try to win." Before Monday night, Romo's only two passes were a pair of completions with a touchdown to Terrell Owens. That came in the closing minutes of a 34-6 victory over the Houston Texans. The limited game experience for Romo doesn't seem to bother the Cowboys. "The guys believe in him," receiver Patrick Crayton said. "His mobility, man. He's an improviser sometimes when he gets out there. You kind of expect the ball to come to you on every play."

Happy birthday!

Yesterday Doug Ramsey posted his review of Sonny, Please on his Rifftides blog: Sonny Rollins, Sonny, Please (Doxy). A canny balance between new compositions and show tunes he loved in his youth. The great tenor saxophonist proves that since 2001's Without a Song, and following the loss of his wife two years ago, his strength, imagination and intensity are undiminished. Steady work together has finely attuned Rollins and his five bandmates. His solos, laced with allusions and quotes, are notably cheerful. Stephen Foster is on his mind. "Oh! Susannah" pops up on two tracks, and he summons "Old Folks at Home" on another. Of the new pieces, his tribute to Tommy Flanagan, "Remembering Tommy," should have the staying power to become a jazz standard. With this release on his own label, Rollins joins the ranks of musicians taking their business affairs into their own hands. Universal will distribute Sonny, Please as a digital download in November and a CD in January, but now it is available in both forms only through Rollins's web site.

I'm far from the Coltrane expert here, but my first thought is the Concord/Fantasy box of live recordings from European concerts.

Happy Birthday!

Slo mo replay indicates the correct call was made. I'm surprised they showed it! It was late and I was ready for bed, so I just turned it off, figuring that they wouldn't want to cause controversy and decrease their ratings for the rest of the Series.

On the last play of tonight's game, I thought the guy sliding into second was safe.

I remember like it was yesterday Tony Kubek getting hit in the Adam's Apple by the ball in the seventh game of the '60 World Series. After that the players seemed like people, not icons.