Magic City and Maz

We received feedback regarding the piece on the 1968 Detroit Tigers WS championship.  Incarnation Elementary school is where Yard delinquents listened to the 1968 game on the radio.  Several of the 1971 Incarnation alumni subscribe to the Yard.  They promptly reminded staff that it was not 5^th grade Mrs. Dawson’s class, but 6^th grade with Sister Leona.  Leona was a Yard favorite who spent countless hours in parent-teacher conferences with Yard parents. Leona was a lifelong family friend who even attended a Dodger game with her three T’s of trouble: Tim, Tom and Tony.  

 We also were called out for citing hall of famers who never played in the Super Bowl.  Dan Marino’s name was mentioned.  I was notified by many that Dandy did play in SB XIX.  In just his second year in the league, Marino’s legacy was etched when he became the youngest starting QB in SB history. He still owns that record. The game was played in the old Stanford stadium for some reason. Joe Montana and the SF 49’ers bulldozed the Dolphins 38-16.  Marino would pass for over 300 and 1 TD but two picks. Marino would play 17 years for Miami. He would never play in another SB.

Yard beginnings in career work life began with a southern firm called Lanier Business Products. LBP was led by the irascible Gene Milner. Lanier offered sales training to neophytes to learn how to sell dictation equipment. Lanier bought the technology from Thomas Edison, so it goes back a bit. Dictation was an archaic business product that is buried alongside 8-track tapes.  Lanier is where Jim Rome got his start after UCSB. The sales training was in Atlanta, GA at a converted Ramada Inn off I-85 in an area that preceded gentrification.  Tattletale Gentleman’s Lounge was a stumble away. Sales newbies and sales trainers made the clandestine trek to the Tale.  Atlanta has a legendary strip club history. The Gold Club raised the bar in 2001 luring in NBA superstars like Patrick Ewing, Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman. Special favors were provided to their famous clientele and profits soared.  The Gambino Crime family was thrilled until the FBI got involved and started deposing NBA players. Gold Club closure and jail for the owners came next.

Twenty-five years later, the Atlanta Hawks will be hosting Magic City Night at State Farm Arena on Monday March 16. The event pays tribute to Magic City which the Hawks contend is a cultural institution.  Magic City advertises itself as the Premier Atlanta Strip Club on their website. We don’t think there will be table dances at the arena, but we are advised to bring some small bills. Not sure if the “like a good neighbor” State Farm guys are thrilled with this promotion.  The backlash has just started, and the Hawks marketing department is on LinkedIn update alert.

The Ides of March are upon us. In 44 BC, it was when Julius Caesar was dramatically removed from the Roman Senate.  Leaders of state seemed to be getting removed a bit of late.  In 2026, March 15 is when the NCAA March Madness selection show is scheduled. The Yard has always pledged our allegiance to the NCAA basketball tournament.  It is a national event that links communities small and large on either side of the political spectrum. It can be pure joy until Bryce Drew hits a 23-foot runner at the buzzer to eliminate your team. Unless of course, your pool had Valparaiso that afternoon. The first two days of the tourney are the most exciting 48 hours in sports.  April 6, there will be an NCAA Champion and Notre Dame will probably still be pissed at the NCAA.  Let the Madness carry us through the insanity.

Senior night can be a special night in an NCAA basketball player's life. Graduating and graduation adjacent, these seniors are recognized by the university, family and friends celebrating their journey.  It was a real big deal before the one and done era.  Kobe and Lebron were none and done and don’t think they missed it. Patrick Ewing had a senior night and so did Reggie Miller.  The UCLA greats from John Wooden’s ten championship teams all had epic senior nights including Lew Alcindor, Marques Johnson and Gail Goodrich. Today’s elite programs have few graduating seniors who play.  The “players” are usually in the NBA prior to their senior night.  It was the only night seniors at Kentucky got on the floor. In 2026, senior night is farcical at times.  With NIL, players are staying in college longer.  Not to get an education but to get paid for playing college sports. The Yard supports that.  Athletes are going to court to get years five and six of their college eligibility. Athletes claim lost seasons to Covid seasons or other injuries.  Bluto Blutarsky could barely get away with this rationale.

RIP:  Pittsburgh Pirate HOF Bill Mazeroski died last week at the age of 89. Maz will always be known for his dramatic walk off Game 7 bottom of the 9^th homerun to win the 1960 World Series over the Yankees. His HOF career batting average was .260.  He hit 138 HR’s and 853 RBI’s.  It was pedestrian stats for the Hall. He is still the only Game 7, bottom of 9 walk off HR to win the WS. Everyone saw Joe Carter’s but that was Game 6. Yard youth loved the pugnacious 2^nd basemen called Maz and Glove.  He did win 8 Gold Gloves.  He won another title with the Pirates in 1971.  The Baltimore Orioles were heavily favored to repeat as WS. Maz was coming off the bench, but Roberto Clemente was at the height of his powers and carried the day.  Yard Youth got to see those Pirates on June 16, 1970.  Maz went 0-4 with four assists. Matty Alou went 0-4 leading off and Willie Stargell 0-4 batting cleanup.  Dodger Don Sutton pitched a 4-hit shutout and the Blue won 1-0.  The Pirates would win the WS the following season.  Mazeroski played his entire 17-year career for Pittsburgh. Good speed Glove, they might need you for spring ball upstairs.

Super Bowl Sam and the Tigers of Summer

There have been many iconic moments in Super Bowl history with LX looming in Santa Clara. The original two SB were called the World Championship until KC founder Lamar Hunt coined the Super Bowl in 1966.  It became official in 1969 just in time for Broadway Joe and the NY Jets to storm the Orange Bowl on January 12. The heavily favored Colts were still in the NFC and residing in Baltimore. Who knew it was the Jets last moment in the sun? The 1970 KC Chiefs showed the World that the AFL was no joke blasting the heavily favored MN Vikings 23-7 behind the mastery of Len Dawson. Many future HOF athletes played in the Super Bowl.  Some famously did not like Dan Marino, Dan Fouts and Phil Rivers. Trent Dilfer has a SB Ring, so does Jeff Hostetler and Nick Foles. The most surprising QB’s missing from Super Bowl lore is one from USC.

The rich Trojan legacy has produced many heroes in Super Bowl history. Lynn Swann SB X MVP, Marcus Allen SB XVIII MVP and Malcolm Smith XLVIII represented the U well.  USC is among the leaders trailing Michigan with six SB MVP’s five go to Tom Terrific and one for Desmond Howard.  USC has never had an alumni QB start in the Super Bowl.  Carson Palmer got the closest. Pat Haden got injured and Vince Ferragamo got the nod in 1979.  Matt Lienart thought pro football was supposed to be like the pool scene in 1969 with Broadway Joe lounging in a bathing suit talking to reporters.  Mark Sanchez was a Jet and a sportscaster with a bright future once. John David Booty was booted out of the NFL before an opportunity arose.  Sam Darnold will be the first USC QB on the main stage. UCLA has had two in our less storied history.  Troy started 3 and the ageless Billy Kilmer started SB VII for the Washington Redskins. Darnold has had a remarkable two seasons after an unremarkable start of his career.  The Jets will do that to you.  The Yard is rooting for Sudden Sam and the upstart Seahawks. Yard disdain for the Patriots has not diminished since TB moved to the booth.  With Belichick’s recent HOF snub, we are not the only ones.

Indiana’s mythological charge to 2026 Natti happened fast.  Fernando Mendoza is a rare talent, and Curt Cignetti is an exceptional coach. Mark Cuban’s investment via NIL into Indiana University cannot be understated. The Indiana Alum partnered with Cignetti to leverage his financial largess into a national champion.  USC has been funneling donor money to athletes for a millennium. Reggie Bush and Joe McKnight were cashing NIL money 20 years before NIL became a thing.  The Trojan alumni have been conducting research on this slippery slope for generations.  Their results with legitimate NIL graft have been middling. With Will Ferrell, Spielberg, Lucas and the rest of the Trojan oligarchs, USC should be dominating the Big Ten not losing in the Valero Alamo Bowl. Oklahoma State had T-Bone to fund their rise from obscurity in the SWC.  Phil Knight made the Oregon Ducks into a powerhouse. We are waiting for Sergey Brin, and the Google boys to put the Stanford Cardinal back in the mix.  Nick Saban bailed from Alabama when he realized there were not many billionaire Tide fans to support the tectonic shift in college recruiting.  He could compete in the recruit’s living room but not their checking account. 

Tigers of Summer:  After being swept in the 1966 WS by the Baltimore Orioles, the Los Angeles version of the Boys of Summer had fallen with the leaves. They finished 28.5 games behind pennant winner STL Cardinals in 1967.  Those Cards were stacked with Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, Tim McCarver, Curt Flood, Lou Brock and the Baby Bull Orlando Cepeda.  Managed by the legendary Red Schoendienst, STL would win the 1967 WS over the then still cursed Boston Red Sox.  The Dodgers would finish 21 games out in 1968, and the Cards would return to the WS as defending champions. Yard yearling was just getting their legs underneath them when the Dodgers went to the WS in 1963, 1965, and 1966 winning twice.  It seemed that this is how sports fandom rolled for the inexperienced LA fan.  Pain and suffering would be revealed during this period.  This would last 16 years and beyond. The Cardinals were our demons then.  The Giants were not on our radar, and the Miracle Mets were a year away. 

We rooted fanatically for the Detroit Tigers in the 1968 WS. The Fifth grade at Incarnation was in an early testosterone phase and sides were taken that fall in Mrs. Dawson’s class. The Tigers would counter the Cards with our new heroes. Denny McLain and his 31 wins with 28 complete games.  HOF Al Kaline was coming off the bench with Norm Cash at first and Bill Freehan catching. Our favorite was Jim Northrup. The 28-year-old RF had 21 home runs in the regular season but four of them were Grand Salami’s.  On June 24, Northrup hit GS in consecutive innings on consecutive pitches. He would hit another GS in WS Game 6 to blow a hole in the Cardinal’s mystique at home forcing game 7. Mickey Lolich hit the only HR of his career to lead to Game 2 Win.  He was given the ball facing surly HOF Bob Gibson that final Thursday afternoon in October in 1968. They both had won two games in this Series. Mickey would prevail as both pitchers would go the distance.  Lolich would be the WS MVP.  He would pitch seven more seasons for the Tigers and won 217 games in the majors.  He is in the Yard HOF but not the MLB HOF.  He is one of only 14 pitchers to win three WS games in a single series. The most recent Dodger Yoshi Yamamoto with only Randy Johnson with DiamondBacks in 2001 in between.  Mickey Lolich is a name forever etched in Yard lore.  Mickey passed away last Wednesday at age 85.  RIP ML!

The Christmas Bowling Edition

Tim of K-State has hosted an annual Bowl Battle for nearly two decades.  It is a fun cashless challenge to pick the most outright winners during the bowl season.  No point spreads need to be considered just victory. The Yard sealed victory with 27 winners in BB VIII. The Winner gets the golden toilet seat.  It is like a Masters green jacket. I gotta keep it for my victory year, but Tim gets it back at the end. It has gotten much more complex picking these bowl winners. First, opting out by star players became all the rage.  Coaches changing jobs before their bowl game and taking people with them has become very popular. And this was before NIL. Arch Manning can make more money staying in Texas for now. They expanded the CFP to 12 teams and Notre Dame still could not get into the thing. It is not your father’s Rose Bowl anymore.

In 2025, Lane Kiffin was on the first bus leaving Ole Miss to take the LSU job. The Yard couldn’t blame Kiffin; he is making $3 million a year more in Baton Rouge.  Ole Miss is a nice job with modest expectations.  The LSU HC is a bigger job than the governor of Louisiana.  Kiffin never gets a dinner and a proper send off when he departs.  It is always a shotgun divorce. Raider owner Al Davis got out the 1967 overhead projector to fire him in 2008.  Knoxville, TN still serenades Kiffin with boos every time he visits because of his sudden departure to USC in 2010.  USC AD Pat Haden met Kiffin’s return flight at LAX to remove Lane from the job at 2:00 AM five games into the 2013 season. Kiffin joined up with Darth Saban in Alabama as his OC. Apparently, Saban’s daughter and Kiffin got along great.  Not so much with Nick who sent him packing before the 2017 Championship game. Kiffin’s wife packed up and moved on as well. Ole Miss took a flyer on the Little Kiff in 2019 after his penance at FAU. Kiffin has delivered Ole Miss into the CFP playing in the grueling SEC. This season he was brilliant and he could have coached in Oxford for another 20 years, but he opted for the Bayou. Ole Miss fans are genteel southerners; LSU fans are rabid Tigers. Those Ole Miss genteel fans chased Kiffin’s exodus convoy all the way to the plane. It will not be pleasant if Lane does not meet LSU expectations which are National Championships.  If the LSU gig goes south, he won’t be chased to the airport; he will be driven out into Blue’s Bayou.

The Irish were ready to fight when they learned they had no ticket on the CFP Tour Bus.  Notre Dame had won ten straight games by double digits leading up to the selection show.  The football independent Irish got leapfrogged by the ACC dependent Miami Hurricanes.  Neither team played the weekend of the show.  Somehow the Hurricanes moved up a spot ahead of ND while everyone was watching at home.  Notre Dame is an ACC member in all sports except football and hockey.  The Yard is not sure on the hockey holdout. Football ND kept their lucrative TV money but needed a conference for basketball.  When football ACC Miami needed to rally votes over ACC lite ND, guess who won that battle.  Las Vegas books have ND being a favorite in any CFP game except Ohio State. The Hurricanes will be in College Station playing Texas A&M as 3-point underdogs.  The Canes will be underdogs in every game. Notre Dame will be at home in South Bend playing Scrooge this Christmas.

The Raiders are working hard to secure the first pick in the NFL draft.  They have a lot of competition with the dreadful NY Giants and the woeful Tennessee Titans.  They are all at 2-12 in this dogfest. Arizona, Cleveland and the NY Jets are in hot pursuit at 3-11.  The Yard is hoping the Raiders do the right thing and lose the rest of their games.  They would end up with the number 1 pick because those 3 losses would include one at home to the NY Giants. The Raiders have not had a franchise QB since Kenny Stabler in the 70’s.  Derek Carr holds most of the records thanks to increased games per season in pass happy times. Carr was released and disappeared into the NOLA wasteland. A QB does not solve all the Las Vegas, but it will get them closer than Geno Smith ever would. This biggest obstacle in the Raiders mission to lose is Pete Carroll.  Peter is not going to be here next year, so he wants to go out with a few wins.  His legacy is scratched but not tarnished.  He is not the guy for a rebuild.

OMG Michigan: University of Michigan is a top academic institution and sports powerhouse. Academic light Ohio State has been their football Huckleberry since 1897. Bo vs. Woody was the Civil War.  Michigan Alum Jim Harbaugh was hired to bring Michigan back from being a perennial 9-3 team that always seemed to lose to Ohio State when it mattered. It took Jimmy awhile to beat the Buckeyes but once he did, he would never lose to them again. The Wolverines would go 38-3 in Harbaugh’s last three years and win the National Championship in 2023. Michigan was thrilled with the results while gradually removing many compliance guardrails to accommodate Jim.  He pushed every boundary to bring greatness.  The NCAA investigators were in hot pursuit those last three years. Michigan athletics was losing faith they could keep not taking their calls.  Harbaugh finally burned the house down after the National Championship.  He resigned at the end of January when all coaching candidates had found their chair and the music stopped.  Michigan was left standing. UM was left with few options to save the recruiting class.  OC Sherrone Moore became the HC.  Moore had already been head coach for four games when Harbaugh was suspended for his NCAA shenanigans. Moore was already in the system, so he was not vetted like a new hire.  Well, here is another nice mess you got us into.

Merry Christmas