Cleaning out the inbox:Passings

I told you the inbox was overflowing.
Overflowing to the point of not just a sports version and a non-sports version,but one just devoted to passings!

Editor's Note:I prepared this last night at work for release today.
In the interim,Adam West passed away-Had I known that then,that would have been the cover story-I plan on doing an Adam West post later tonight from the road office...

We start with one of the great racehorses that I saw during my time as a passionate horse racing fan as Holy Bull was euthanized at the age of 26.
The 1994 Horse of the Year won grade one stakes races from distances from six furlongs to a mile and a quarter and did it in the toughest manner possible-going to the front and staying there.
Holy Bull was the beaten favorite in the Kentucky Derby,but rebounded with wins against older horses in the Met Mile and his most brilliant performance-a dominant victory against his elders in the Woodward stakes,but his most remembered race was the Travers Stakes at Saratoga,where D.Wayne Lukas,trainer of Preakness/Belmont winner Tabasco Cat entered a "rabbit" to soften Holy Bull up for Tabasco Cat's run.
After a blazing mile,the rabbit (Commanche Trail) was far through,but so was a beaten Tabasco Cat,still the Bull had "Cause for Concern" as said by race caller Tom Durkin as Maryland bred closer Concern (who would win the Breeders Cup Classic later that year in a race absent of Holy Bull) appeared on the horizon and loomed as ready to storm by Holy Bull.
In as a courageous performance as you'll ever see,Holy Bull showed championship grit and held Concern at bay to win by a neck.
Holy Bull would sire a Kentucky Derby winner at stud in Giacomo.


Two Hall of Famers from different sports also passed recently as baseball's Jim Bunning and football's Cortez Kennedy each passed on.

Jim Bunning was elected to the Hall by their Veterans Committee in 1996 and it was long overdue as Bunning's credentials were certainly deserving.
Bunning won 224 games,two no-hitters,one of which was a perfect game in 1964 and was just the second pitcher ever to notch 100 wins and 1,000 strikeouts in both the American and National leagues.
Bunning pitched for four teams,but will be remembered by most as a Philadelphia Phillie and for likely being on his way to the 1964 Cy Young award and the NL pennant before a ten game losing streak with Bunning and Chris Short being pitched every other day by manager Gene Mauch in the center of the collapse-a decision debated to this day.
Bunning also was elected to the U.S Senate for two terms from Kentucky from 1998-2010.
Bunning was 85.


Cortez Kennedy passed away at just 48 years old.
Kennedy,who spent his entire career with the Seattle Seahawks was the third overall pick in the 1990 NFL draft and was a dominant defensive tackle after his college career at Miami,Florida.
The 2012 Hall inductee was a rare three down defensive tackle as Kennedy could both plug the running game and yet provide a seldom seen talent as an up the middle pass rush from defensive tackle.
I always thought Kennedy was an underrated player because he spent so many years on Seattle teams that ranged from average to bad in a market that tended to hide great players such as Kennedy and and 2017 HOF inductee Kenny Easley,
Kennedy was the 1992 defensive player of the year with 15 sacks on a 2-14 team that would pick second in the following years draft.
Honestly,I have always thought Kennedy was a better defensive tackle than the fellow Miami Hurricane Warren Sapp,who had a bigger reputation than Kennedy and a much bigger mouth as well...


Another baseball loss as Jimmy Piersall passed away at the age of 87.
Piersall,who won a Gold Glove in the outfield and was selected to two all-star teams with the Red Sox,was more famous for his emotional breakdown in 1952 and the resulting film based on that event "Fear Strikes Out" a 1957 drama starring Anthony Perkins of "Psycho" fame as Piersall.
Piersall was known for colorful behavior (running around in the outfield during at bats),fighting with other players (most famously a brawl with Billy Martin) and his days in the booth with the White Sox announcing games with Harry Caray,which saw him fired for being too critical of the hometown team.

Wrapping up with a thanks to Brad Adams for letting me know of the passing of "Pretty Boy" Doug Somers at the age of 65.
Somers was a undercard wrestler for most of his career for several territories before getting a big run with the AWA when they were a dying territory,yet had arguably their largest national exposure on ESPN with "Playboy" Buddy Rose as the company's tag team champions.
The team of Rose and Somers were the men responsible for making two young wrestlers stars on the national scene-the Rockers or Midnight Rockers as they were known as in the AWA-Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels in a series of really good matches that saw lots of blood (one match in particular on ESPN,brought heat from an unhappy network) and a terrific steel cage match that ended the feud with the Rockers winning the championship belts.

Cavaliers stop History-Win Game Four

The Cleveland Cavaliers zoomed to the lead with 49 point first quarter and never allowed history or the Golden State Warriors to seriously challenge them again as the Cavaliers stayed alive with a 137-116 drubbing in Cleveland in game four of the NBA finals.

LeBron James finished with a triple double (31 pts,10 rebounds,11 assists) with Kyrie Irving supporting James with 40 points and Kevin Love adding 23 more.
Golden State continues to lead the series at 3-1 and the Warriors can end the season Monday in Oakland.


Swashbucklings

1) To say that the Cavaliers were inspired to come out firing early would be a severe understatement.
49 first quarter points-NBA finals record for points in a quarter.
86 first half points-NBA finals record.
That says more than I can type....

2) LeBron James continued to show why he is the best player in the world still-no matter the eventual result of this series,
The overall play of James is what makes him the games top player.
He's not the shooter that Stephen Curry or the pure offensive force of Kevin Durant,but he's good enough at both to dominate on the right night and the other gifts in his game that James possesses far outweighs anything that Curry or Durant does beyond what their strength is.

3) Kyrie Irving's 40 points led the team,but his 15 of 27 was more important (seven three pointers made as well).
Irving is an offensive machine and when he's clicking like he was in this game,few are going to be able to defend him..

4) Loved the ball movement in this game by the Cavaliers.
The ball was kept moving and the Cavaliers didn't fall into the trap of constant isolation of James or Irving going one on five.
Ball movement creates open looks and open looks make complementary players much more likely to contribute..

5) Kevin Love fired in 17 points in the first half and even was a help on defense.
Combine Love with the resurgent games from J.R.Smith and Tristan Thompson and that goes a long way toward a victory.

6) The whole technical foul on Draymond Green/Not on Green thing is the type of thing that makes casual fans,some of which already question NBA basketball being on the level,cringe and wonder.
Put aside whether the technical that was called on Green or not,it looks bad...

7) Nice work by Zaza Pachulia,who will likely miss game five by suspension,for punching Iman Shumpert in the groin.
Add in the resume of Draymond Green and it's no wonder that the Warriors are so disliked.

8) When you are down 3-0 in a series,each game is the most important.
Cleveland came up with a huge effort to avoid the sweep,now they have to have another one in Oakland where they have been blown out twice in the series.
It's unlikely and will take another game of dazzling play to win,but for a second imagine this scenario-If Cleveland wins in Oakland,the series becomes 3-2 and the thoughts of last season has to be on the Warriors mind as they return to Cleveland for game six,where they 'should' have lost both games.
That takes it to game seven and then who knows what happens because then the pressure is all on Golden State,not Cleveland who is playing with house money.
Chances of this happening? Not very good,but there is your road map to a miracle...

Ohio State hires Chris Holtmann

Ohio State took a few days,looked at a few different avenues and floated the obligatory unrealistic big names before getting their new basketball coach from familiar waters as the Buckeyes hired Chris Holtmann from Butler to an eight year contract worth three million dollars a season.

Holtmann led Butler to NCAA tournament bids in all three of his season at the Indianapolis based school,winning over 20 games in all three and according to recruiting services had an excellent incoming class for the Bulldogs,who are no longer a mid-major since being accepted into the basketball based Big East.
Butler was predicted to finish into the middle of the pack in the Big East in 2016-17 and instead notched a second place finish at 25-9 12-6 conference,which made Holtmann a hot candidate for several jobs and was reported to have been in the hunt for the job openings at Tennessee and North Carolina State after the season.
The 45 year old is noted for being a strong recruiter and has been doing some of his best work in the midwest since being at Butler,most notably taking top 100 rated recruit Kyle Young of Massillon,Ohio away from Ohio State,just before Young was scheduled to take an OSU visit.

My thoughts on Holtmann are these-Considering the time constraints (a issue created by Gene Smith's ridiculous decision to wait until June to fire Thad Matta),I'm not sure that Ohio State could have done better unless the huge names would have been brought in.
At 45,Holtmann is young enough to be in Columbus for years,should he do what he seems to be capable and young enough to have the energy that recruiting at a high level takes.
When you hire a coach that is untested at the highest level of the game,there is always a risk and for every coach that moves up successfully,there is one that reaches a plateau and cannot do as well after a move up the ladder,but hiring a coach from Butler is not the risk that it would have been years back.
Some coaches do better as the underdog than they do when they have the resources that so many schools don't have,so we will see if Holtmann can make the best of having the type of program that has the ability to write the check that can cover most amenities and facilities.

I certainly preferred Holtmann to the other coach that was reported to have gotten an offer from Columbus in Creighton's Greg McDermott.
Both would have came from similar sized schools from the same conference,but Holtmann is almost ten years younger and McDermott was unsuccessful at Iowa State,which makes me think that he might be one of those "underdog" type coaches as mentioned above.

Ohio State is certainly not loaded (just nine returning scholarship players)for the upcoming season and they are behind a bit in recruiting for the next class,so Chris Holtmann has his work cut out for him in the immediate future and it'll take a little time to turn the Buckeye basketball program back into a perennial tournament team-we'll see if he's up to the task.

For a very interesting column written by from the Butler/Indianapolis perspective on what the Buckeyes are getting and what the Bulldogs are losing,read this by the Indianapolis Star's Greg Doyel.

Road Trip:Durham

The little over an hour drive from Buies Creek to Durham went by quickly and we would arrive in the early portion of the game between the homestanding Bulls (AAA Tampa Bay) and the Pawtucket Red Sox (AAA Boston) to meet Derreck and Brandon.

Durham Bulls Athletic Park is turning 20 this year,but through consistent upkeep and the occasional renovation to keep things fresh,this looks like a ballpark that is no more than a few years old.
Wide concourses and plenty of food choices,the home of the Bulls reminds one of a big league park,which a AAA park should be-a smaller version of a beautiful major league field.

Sorry for the crooked pic,the Kindle is sometimes hard to hold evenly

Entering the stadium with a standing room only ticket as the game was sold out otherwise for a fireworks night,it was a pretty sight walking up the ramp to see the field itself.
The field is one of those that hits you in the face upon arrival and for a 20 year old field is quite amazing.
The famous Bull sign stands tall in left field above a high wall and in right field,there is a large grassy area for lawn seats and a roomy spot down the right field line to eat and drink from one of the many stands.
As noted in the Buies Creek post,I didn't eat,so I'm not sure how the food there was,but there were plenty of choices to choose from.

Since for the most part,I (and Fred too) didn't feel like standing,the two of us with Derreck walked around the park for various pictures and sightlines.
Doug hit the team store,while Michael & Brandon moved around the stadium doing whatever as the game played on.
After that,we sat in the area with tables in right field and watched the remainder of the game from chaired seats.
The heat was starting to get to Fred a bit,so the relaxed setting allowed him to get his bearings a bit along with giving us a seat,which we didn't have otherwise.

After the game,there are many exits,so you don't have the clog of so many parks and we moved to the outside to make our only attempt to graph in Durham.
Derreck,Doug, Brandon and Michael decided to stay in the front of the park and attempt to acquire Pawtucket players,while Fred and I moved to the first base side of the stadium to work on the Bulls.
I had done the Bulls last season in our visit to Syracuse,so I had a few guys already and with AAA,I try to stick to a few targets that I want most rather than do a team set or bring cards for most of the team.
In this case,since I rarely do AAA or Tampa Bay affiliates,I wanted to concentrate on Top 100's-2 from the 2016 set (Blake Snell and Jose DeLeon) and 3 from the new 2017 set (DeLeon,Brett Honeywell and Willy Adames).
I didn't have anything for Casey Gillespie,since I had him sign a card at Syracuse last season,but Fred needed him and Gillespie was far from polite as he stomped by everyone without signing,although as he walked down the street,he did stop once reluctantly before moving away.

The first of the group to come out was Brett Honeywell,who was easy to pick out because of his long hair and cowboy boots,that Fred pointed out that he wore when we saw AA Montgomery last year in Tennessee.
Honeywell was quiet,but nice enough as I added his top 100 to this years set.
Blake Snell was easy to pick out as well because he pitched for my fantasy team before being sent to Durham,so I knew what he looked like.
Snell likes to joke around and mess with you as he signs and was very friendly in chatting while he signed his 2016 100-2 for 2.
Jose DeLeon was the only player that I had two top 100's for and I was hoping to get lucky and have him sign both.
I didn't and chose the 2017 with Tampa over his 2016 with the Dodgers because I saw him with the Rays organization.
Derreck and Brandon are said to be returning to Durham in a few weeks and hopefully,they can get the other DeLeon for me.
Willy Adames was the final 100 and due to help from my traders,I only needed the new one after the 15 and 16 were done in the past.
Adames came out with three other players and started walking,by the time that I realized that it was him,he was halfway down the street-the race was on and for a fat guy and when motivated (remember Chance Sisco?) I can move,so I managed to run Adames down,get him to sign on the move and finish the night strong!
4 for 4 in players,4 for 5 in top 100's,which is an excellent batting average for AAA.
Combined with the three from the Carolina Mudcats,the total for the day was 7 of 8 in cards,7 of 7 in players-Not bad.

The ride back to the hotel was about an hour and we were welcomed with a really bad room in Dunn NC at their Quality Inn.
I never had a bad room with the Choice Hotel chains,but this one was bad and looked like Choice bought a lower level facility (think Super 8 or Econolodge) and just slapped the Quality Inn name on it.
The room had 1970's decor,which wouldn't have been bad,had it not come with 70's bed linen complete with cigarette holes.

On the overall,I liked Durham.
Nice park,graphing pretty good for AAA and Derreck ranked it at the top of his AAA list above Nashville,which we both really liked from last year.
I'd rank it as competitive with Nashville and Columbus,but my gold standard for AAA parks is still Louisville as my top choice.

Good run and a great time,but two more parks and stops ahead,so stay tuned for the next stop in Zebulon,NC for the Carolina Mudcats (cleaning up stragglers) and the Winston-Salem Dash.

Road Trip:Buies Creek

The latest road trip features several people,several towns,several ballparks and lots of fun.
I'll be splitting each stop into a different post over the next few days,but they might not be consecutive as I have a lot of inbox buildup and one never knows when news breaks...

The first stop was Buies Creek NC,a small town that makes Hagerstown look like Washington DC and best known for being the home of Campbell University,one of the smaller Division I athletic schools in the country.
We left around nine in the morning and arrived at Campbell early in the afternoon with only a stop at Ralph's BBQ,a buffet filled with Southern BBQ (a North Carolina specialty) and other local delicious items.
Ralph's was a excellent stop and if in the area,Ralph's should be on your radar-make sure you use the house sauce,a vinegar sauce with some peppery taste tossed in....
The Landucci's (Fred and Michael) along with Doug Hopkins were in one car with another car with Derreck Chupak and Brandon Diehl skipping Buies Creek and another person as well.
We would meet up with that party in Durham later in the day in part two of our recap.

Jim Perry Stadium was named after the former pitcher,who won 215 games in the bigs,won the 1970 Cy Young award along with being the older brother of Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry.
The stadium holds just 1,000 people,which I would guess makes it the smallest stadium in professional baseball,but it was the best stadium available for the Carolina League,which expanded by two teams for the 2017 season and one of them was awarded to Fayetteville,NC,which is building a new stadium for the team.
The problem was that Fayetteville didn't have a facility good enough to play in for two years.
Enter Campbell and Buies Creek with Jim Perry Stadium and in return for the Houston Astros installing new artificial turf and a state of the art scoreboard,the two year deal was struck.
This situation made Buies Creek one of my two "Must Have's" to check off my stadium list with a later trip to Augusta GA,who are in their last year in their current stadium.

We arrived around 3ish for a 6 PM game (better early than late) and we were greeted by a team employee,who welcomed us and allowed us to go and look around the stadium.
I was impressed by the tiny,yet immaculate park and when looking at the new turf,you could actually see the "steam" coming off the turf on a humid,yet not beyond what I would guess as normal humidity for the area.
Very few teams in the minors use turf anymore (the only one that I know of currently using turf are the West Virginia Black Bears,Short Season Pittsburgh),but it makes sense for college teams that have to play games in late February and into March/April and need to get games in that just couldn't be played on a natural surface.
We watched BP and got a few players to sign that came out very early,but mainly just enjoyed the laid back atmosphere of Buies Creek.
There were a few small table with umbrellas and we sat watching the field,enjoying the scenery and company.
Prices on food and drink were super low compared to other places and the other guys took advantage of that fact.
Me? I'm still cutting back,so I took it as easy as possible (actually,I wouldn't eat after Ralph's until the next morning's breakfast),but the prices were right,if you needed a bite or a swig to beat the heat.

The team being such a temporary tenant didn't add a team store,they just used a small trailer for various souvenirs (it brought to mind Pulaski Va and last years visit!) and we did buy a team set.
I hadn't planned on buying one since Buies Creek had already made their one visit this season to Frederick,but since we could work on it while there and it was the first ever team set,I decided to work on one,despite the top prospect in the Astros system,outfielder Kyle Tucker having just been promoted to AA Corpus Christi,a few days before.
Tucker,a powerhitting outfielder,was one of the more impressive prospects that I've seen so far this season and will likely be the Astros most asked about young player as the trade deadline nears and the Astros begin to scan the market for potential upgrades for a playoff run.
Doug Hopkins did almost all of the work on the Astros,although I did call some numbers out to him.
The Astros had far less access than the visiting team,so we had to be much faster in figuring out who was who when they walked by.

As much as I wanted to work on Buies Creek,the visiting Carolina Mudcats (High A Milwaukee) were more important to me.
The Carolina League had once had the best schedule in baseball as you could count on the teams like clockwork-they came to town in order three times and then the season ended.
But as often happens in business,someone decided to fix what wasn't broken and ruined the whole thing.
Carolina hit Frederick twice in the first month and then would not return,so the recent release of the top 100's put all the pressure on me to knock the three players on Carolina out on this trip.
Corey Ray was easy as he's one of the nicest players I've met in years and he signed after finishing batting practice.
Ison Diaz doesn't seem to like signing as much,but he did sign his top 100 and another card.
Diaz hates when his name is mispronounced "I-Son" rather than the correct "E-Son",so I made sure I got that part correct.
Trent Clark was the final Top 100 player to get and I didn't think I was going to get him as when I asked he stepped into the dugout.
I began to shuffle cards and evaluate how best to get another shot,when Michael,who was right beside the dugout,shouted to me "Give me your cards,he's coming back".
Clark was indeed coming back,but there were a few kids in front of me,so I handed the cards off to Michael,who was able to get them to Clark for the signature.

With the most important cards finished,we had to prepare for the run to Durham to meet up with Derreck and Brandon,so we watched an inning or so before the "run TO the Bulls",but I wish we could have spent more time in Buies Creek.
Perhaps we can make a run there next year in the Astros final season there and be able to settle in and enjoy a game.
I liked the cozy park and small community that much and I'm hoping that maybe Buies Creek could land an Appalachian League team down the road for their community as a payback for their help and cooperation in a time of need for the minors.
Thanks to the Astros and their terrific team of employees for extending kindness and help for our visit.
When you consider the work involved for any temporary and imperfect situation,their employees are doing a great job in making things go so smoothly.

Next road trip stop will be our time in Durham,which is the plan unless something breaks in the Ohio State search for a new basketball coach or I decide to clean the overflowing inbox!

Late fade leaves Cavaliers down 3-0

The Cleveland Cavaliers were thrown on the shoulders of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving and through the efforts of Cleveland's top stars,the Cavaliers looked to have an excellent chance of making the series with the Golden State Warriors,well an actual series.
That was before either A) fatigue set in,B) the supporting players couldn't step up,C) Both.
In the end,it was the Warriors pulling away with under a minute to play,winning 118-113 and taking a three game lead in the series.
LeBron James scored 39 points with Kyrie Irving adding 38 more in the loss that likely essentially ended the series.
Game four is Friday night in Cleveland...

Swashbucklings

1) As much as we all (and they) want to believe that fatigue was not a factor late in the game,LeBron James and Kyrie Irving were clearly gassed out.
Their late shots were falling short and who can blame them after playing 46 and 44 minutes respectively.
You can't really ask or expect for any more than those two players gave,but something tells me that the Cavaliers fired their best shot and it wasn't enough.

2) Looking for an underrated reason for the Cavalier loss?
Try the late second quarter rush that saw the Warriors scored ten straight points that was only trimmed by Kyrie Irving's points as the last shot of the quarter.
I know that was the only two minute stretch that LeBron James sat out,but pretty crucial points were lost...

3) J.R.Smith finally woke up with a 16 point game and hitting five three's,but none of the bench players hit double figures and the total bench barely made there with just 11 points.
The supporting players have been such a letdown in this series..

4) Kyle Korver did hit two three pointers,which is why he was brought to Cleveland,but his miss late in the game on a pretty clean look at the basket cleared the way for the late Warrior win.
I know Korver is a one dimensional player,but shooting is that one dimension...

5) Cleveland missed all nine of their shots in the final 3 minutes of the game.

6) Devon Williams has yet to make a basket in this series.
No wonder Kyrie Irving has to play so many minutes,the role players that the Cavaliers added to give them a chance vs the Warriors have yet to make themselves present in the series.

7) Tristan Thompson continues his struggles as he finished the game without a point and just three rebounds in 23 minutes on the floor.
No one expects points from Thompson,but he is even struggling on the boards,which is supposed to be his strength..

8) Kevin Love did finish with just nine points (1-9),but did grab 13 rebounds and six steals,which for a player not noted for his defense is a strong number.
The biggest Love miss was a inside the paint miss that he might have been fouled on,but missed and the Warriors took the ball right down the floor for a Stephen Curry layup.
Huge momentum swing.

9) Finally this-No team has ever come from a 3-0 deficit to win any playoff series in basketball history and against one of the greatest teams to play ever,it's unlikely to this time either.
Cleveland needs to take things bit by bit and see what happens.
There is no margin for error,but that is how the game must be played from here on out.

Tebow Mania is Runnin' Wild

I wanted to write a little about Tim Tebow mania in Hagerstown,but allow me to preface this with that I was only there for one night.
Cherie and Rachel were there for another day while I was on my whirlwind four games in two days tour of North Carolina.
That recap will dribble out over the next week as things slow down (baseball wise) and I return to work along with several posts from the knee-deep pile of the inbox that needs cleaning...

I have to be really honest (ever notice how that is used? Like I don't use brutal honesty here any other time) here-I thought the Hagerstown Suns did a pretty good job in keeping things in order as much as possible.
My expectations for the series were very low,I've been critical of the Suns,the city of Hagerstown (responsible for stadium maintenance) in the past and present for botching so many various issues.
However,I try to be straight up and I thought the Suns made themselves look credible in the eyes of the attendees.
They had security that was visible,but not obtrusive,they brought food trucks in,so the service could be upgraded in order to keep food lines moving,they were fair to the graphers and allowed them to stand down the line and try to graph,even with the seats being sold,until the fans in those seats arrived,which was very fair of them (I wish they would do more of that on other days,but I digress) and whether it was the team or the city-the hideous board that stuck up and caused me to fall had been replaced.
Not a bad job at all.

As far Tim Tebow goes,I didn't really have much interaction with him.
I didn't try before the game,I just sat above the fray with Fred Landucci and watched.
After the game,I went to the parking lot to try to get him for Rachel (a big fan) on his book and the bus was surrounded by a portable gate.
Tebow did sign,but signed at another part of the gate-breaks of the game and he did sign,so just one of those things.

Wrapping up,I do have a few thoughts on this mess that is Tebow Mania.
First-I have just one problem with this whole thing,mainly that Tebow's attempt knocked two guys down a level and likely one lost a job for a lark.
However,Tim Tebow has done some good for the SAL and the teams in it as they are making a lot of money off his visits-money that could keep a team like Hagerstown afloat for a little bit,but more importantly give a town a chance to see what fun at the ballpark can be.

I get Tim Tebow wanting to try and I get teams being more than happy to make money off the attempt,but where does it stop?
Would it be just as fair to see more athletes from others sports try? Any singers or actors?
I'm sure one could find someone that could make just as much dough by appearing in the Hagerstown's of the minors.

Jason LaCanfora (normally a football writer) writes far better than I about Tebow's visit to Hagerstown here.

I'll be back plenty over the next few days.
I have game three of the suddenly tedious NBA finals (missed game two while on the road),notes from said road and all those inbox notes!