The First AFL-NFL World Championship Game

Newk’s Bender on the Game

Throwing you a bender because I just thought you should know…..

With the Super Bowl set and now fast approaching, I thought it may be time to look back at a time when the NFL title game wasn’t exactly the same as the monstrosity most of us are used to today.

Would you believe or remember that it wasn’t even called the Super Bowl. In fact, the first two AFL-NFL World Championship Games were entitled just that. With the Super Bowl coined for the third contest, it was retroactively applied to the first two contests.

The first AFL-NFL World Championship Game to be played was between the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs and was held in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Apparently sellouts are an assumption when dealing with the modern version, but this event was not sold out and even blacked out on TV in the Los Angeles area! Imagine the outcry if the Indianapolis area were only able to view the game this year through some pirated TV channel or internet hookup. News outlets of the day printed directions on how to pick up an out of town channel with hopes of seeing the game. The sellout was not even close as ticket prices reached an exorbitant $12!!

Not to worry, chances of picking up a signal from another city was excellent as the game was actually broadcast on two different networks, with two completely different sets of announcers.  Picture Troy Aikman and Joe Buck on one channel while Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth announce the game a click or two away and you have a choice!!!

The ultimate sandlot solution came into play during the game as a result of the dual broadcast. NBC had not returned in time from commercial for the second half kickoff. So, as every kid has invoked at some time during a playground dispute, a “do over” was implemented for the second half kickoff. Incredible but true, as the referees made the teams line up and do it again. Based on the NFL still using part-time referees (another topic, another day), I suggest they invoke the “do over” to replace replay! I even think it may take less time.

Of course, the pomp and circumstance was slightly different with the halftime show featuring a trumpeter accompanied by two college bands and no one performing to sell albums. There was a trophy presentation handled by Pat Summerall and George Ratterman (former Browns quarterback) who shared one microphone.

Of course, there was  a well fought game and a victor, but that is common knowledge and the above items are what you really need to know!

All this because I know more about nothing…..

Super Bowl 46 Prediction, It's a Lock!

Newk’s Bender on the Game

Throwing you a bender because I just thought you should know…

There are many ways to pick a Super Bowl winner. As the game is now set, the next weeks will bring a multitude of reasons and analysis on who will win and why. Everyone from experts to clueless folks who have never watched a football game will weigh in with their opinions and bets. They will use actual football analysis, current hot streaks, nicest uniforms, favorite colors, geographical affiliations and a host of other nonsense to determine the winner and place their bets accordingly.

One way to look at the upcoming match up on February 5 might be to look back to 2007. That season brought us a memorable Super Bowl and exciting upset as the New York Giants beat the undefeated New England Patriots. As this championship game brings us a repeat of Super Bowl 42, maybe we should analyze 2007 a little more. 

 

In 2007, as the regular season wound to a close, the Giants lost 22-10 to Washington in Week 15. 

However, they did make the playoffs and defeated an NFC South division team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round.

They continued on and beat the #1 seed, Dallas Cowboys, on the road, 21-17.

This propelled them to the NFC Championship game against the #2 seed, the Green Bay Packers. On a frigid day in Wisconsin, the Giants used an OT turnover, the Brett Favre interception, to position their kicker Lawrence Tynes for the game winning field goal. 

This also happened to be 17 years to the day after Matt Bahr kicked a game winning field goal over the 49ers to take the Giants to Super Bowl 25.

Now we might fast forward to the 2011 season to complete the thoughts behind placing our minuscule wager on the Giants for Super Bowl 46.

In week 15 this past season, the Giants lost to Washington 23-10.

Again, they qualified for the playoffs and faced an NFC South division team, the Atlanta Falcons, which they defeated to advance.

They traveled to Green Bay to face the #1 seed in the Divisional round. Again, they won this game against the top seeded, favored Packers while playing on the road.

Now the Giants were set to face the #2 seed again, the San Francisco 49ers, in the NFC Championship. Once the game was forced to overtime, we all knew exactly what was going to happen, right? Of course! There was a turnover, the 49ers Williams fumbling the punt, which led directly to Lawrence Tynes kicking the game winning field goal. 

So despite the fact that I am not from New York and I feel Tom Brady is an elite quarterback, along with both teams colors being basically the same, and with my analysis and nonsense all lined up to go with the Patriots, I can only assume Eli Manning will make some incredible throws and pull this game right out from under Belichick and the Patriots again.

Then in 2015…..

All this because I know more about nothing…

Greatest Six Year Pitching Stretch Ever?

Newk’s Bender on the Game

Throwing you a bender because I just thought you should know…

Did you actually know that there was a player so dominant, so consistent, and on such a streak that he could conduct his post game interviews before the game actually took place?

Arguably, the greatest six year stretch in pitching history allowed Sandy Koufax to do just this. 

From 1961 through 1966, Koufax went 129-47 ….pitching four no hitters including a perfect game and setting a season record with 382 strikeouts in 1965. He won 5 ERA titles in that time and led the league in wins 3 times, also throwing 11 shutouts in 1963!!! 

During this time, he was the first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award unanimously, first to win the award multiple times when only one was awarded for all of major league baseball. Koufax also won the award in his last season, 1966.

Based on his desire for privacy, wanting to be a good teammate and his phenomenal results, Koufax did post game interviews with Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully before the game! He was so masterful, consistent and confident in his pitches that he would generically describe how his curve ball was “working good today”, and how he was able to “locate his fastball”, along with thanking his teammates for great defense. This allowed him to be able to dress with teammates and leave the park in private while Vin Scully just played the tape over the radio as if it was a live interview.

Based on his 115 complete games through those last 6 seasons (in 211 starts), the Dodger relievers often took advantage of the night before Koufax would start since their chance of getting in the next day’s game was very remote. Unfortunately, one afternoon Koufax did indeed struggle prompting manager Walter Alston to have two relievers begin to warm up. Upon visiting Koufax on the mound, Walter asked how Sandy was feeling to which he replied, “a lot better than those two guys you have warming up”. Alston returned to the dugout and let Koufax complete the game.

Despite this incredible pitching performance, Koufax did have his certain troubles. Bob Uecker, arguably the worst hitter ever with a lifetime .200 batting average, was a huge thorn in Koufax’s side. The most dominant pitcher of that era, Sandy yielded a lifetime average to Uecker of .429 in over 50 at bats!  

Koufax himself often claimed fellow pitcher Lew Burdette was the toughest hitter he faced…probably because Burdette was also 5-0 pitching against Koufax and hit .308 with 2 home runs, 3 RBI and 1 BB.

So the next time you are tucked under the covers, listening to your favorite broadcaster deliver the post game interview, stop and think if that player had the performance worthy of pre-recording his answers!

"I can see how he won 25 games. What I don't understand is how he lost five."

Yogi Berra, in 1963

No Unanimous Hall of Fame Selections!

Throwing you a bender because I just thought you should know…

Since it is January, with the NBA, NHL, and NFL in full swing…..I was thinking about baseball.  Of course, the recent Hall of Fame voting and Barry Larkin’s election prompted me to go back and review the voting process as his achieving 86% of the vote (75% needed for election) seemed to be unusually high compared to some of the other members and their totals. Yet it was not unanimous….which makes sense on Barry Larkin…but got me thinking….

This is a pretty select group of players and not one of them received a unanimous endorsement upon being voted to the Baseball Hall of Fame!

While there are criteria for being eligible regarding career length, retirement, etc…we will stick to #5 from the BBWAA Election Rules for the purpose of investigating this phenomenon! 

Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.

Each writer can vote for up to 10 candidates, there are not any points or places awarded, it is simply placing a “yes” vote for a player to be elected to the Hall. This makes the process very individual and precise. No player’s chances are diminished by a vote for another player.

These rules have governed thousands of writers/voters through the years. While different voters have come and gone, the requirements have remained and applied to each voter through the different eras. Therefore, with integrity, sportsmanship and character in place throughout the voting, there is definitely room for any individual writer to leave any player off his ballot based on his interpretation of the rule. But in review of the voting totals from years past, this Bender is astonished at the results and wonders how those three elements can outweigh the record, playing ability and contribution!

A quick glance of some players and voting results starting back in 1936 does not reveal any unanimous elections, even for these icons of the game! It even goes so far as to show how Cy Young was left off of 115 ballots cast in 1936. A pitcher with 511 career wins could not get a vote from over half the writers?

Year	Ballots Cast	Player	Votes	%
1936	226	Ty Cobb	222	98.2
		Babe Ruth	215	95.1
		Honus Wagner	215	95.1
		Christy Mathewson	205	90.7
		Walter Johnson	189	83.6
		Nap Lajoie	146	64.6
		Tris Speaker	133	58.8
		Cy Young	111	49.1
1937	201	Nap Lajoie	168	83.6
		Tris Speaker	165	82.1
		Cy Young	153	76.1
1966	302	Ted Williams	282	93.4
1969	340	Stan Musial	317	93.2
1979	432	Willie Mays	409	94.7
1982	415	Hank Aaron	406	97.8

Without listing the stats for some of these all time greats (trust me, they are mind boggling and incredible), I just wonder how writers can leave players off a ballot on what must solely be based on integrity, character and sportsmanship. Cobb was hated, Ruth had his moments, and unfortunately, even race could play a part of it. But Cy Young, Stan Musial, and Christy Mathewson were very respected and generally well liked. I understand media members have a job to do and certain players made that harder, unpleasant or even impossible to perform. But part of the job for any voting member of the BBWAA is to recognize the Hall of Fame for what it is and the players that deserve to be enshrined. So shouldn’t there be at least ten, if not a few more, unanimous selections since 1936? 

How do you receive a ballot and see that Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Cy Young, Nolan Ryan, Hank Aaron and Stan Musial are eligible but not select them? At that point, regardless of your personal opinion or relationship with a player, that type of achievement says you have to vote for election of a player with such significant statistics. It is even beyond the normal duty of analyzing and detailing all aspects of their career and statistics in order to make a valid and educated vote (or non-vote).  It basically has crossed over into plain old common sense. 

It also seems like a trend that is likely to continue. If baseball’s all time greats are not elected unanimously, are any of today’s stars capable of being the first? 

So while you review every player in the Hall, read each acceptance speech since 1936 and return to looking at every statistic (or is that just me?), remember that a few voters on each Hall member did not think they should be there.

All this because I know more about nothing…

First $1 Million Endorsement Deal

Newk's Bender on the Game

Throwing you a bender because I just thought you should know…

A true icon and pioneer died this past week. A man and legend in the sports world who paved the way for the modern athlete and the millions of dollars they can generate in endorsements. While his athletic feats and accomplishments should not be glossed over, this edition of The Bender wonders if today’s athlete even knows who to thank and acknowledge for blazing this profitable trail.

Peyton Manning is clearly in the forefront of our minds when it comes to endorsing products and earning $15 million in 2011 from the companies of the products he was selling. Does he know who to thank? By the way, how often does Manning go bowling, either by himself or with Eli, Archie and Andrew Luck?

In golf, Tiger and Phil pulled in $60 and $57 million respectively to convince us that these are products we must have. I am hoping they gather several times a year to have a beer and roll a few games at their local bowling alley.

Baseball had Derek Jeter pulling in $10 million and A-Rod receiving $4 million in endorsement fees while both being in the same New York market, a city that is filled with nightly leagues at local lanes.

In 2011, we saw Michael Jordan, a retired athlete no less; earn about $60 million in endorsements. At one time, he even earned $1 million annually from a deal with AMF Bowling. I don’t exactly remember Jordan as a bowling legend and frequent kegler, but I am sure he cashed the checks from AMF.

I could go on and on with the plentiful amounts athletes earn from companies wishing to increase sales and exposure of their products….all the while wondering if they say a little thank you each night to the man who was a champion of the endorsement deal.

And I mention the bowling references for each athlete since I am hoping they may be aware that the hero they all secretly thank is that famous bowler Don Carter. This made me recall Carter, known as "Mr. Bowling," as the game's original superstar. He was the sport’s most recognizable name, its leading force, and he became a charter member of the PBA Hall of Fame in 1975.

But most importantly to the previously mentioned athletes, and many others, Don Carter was also the first athlete in American sports history to sign a $1 million marketing endorsement contract, with bowling ball manufacturer Ebonite in 1964.

So let’s gather all those famous athletes of today, head to the alleys, roll a game, lift a bottle and say thanks to Don Carter.

All this because I know more about nothing…

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