STARTING FIVE

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 flying over Poland two years ago

1. Bullet the Blue Sky

Here’s The Guardian with a purported recording between the rebels, realizing they’ve made a catastrophic error in their mission. Nearly 300 dead, half of them Dutch, including some of the world’s top AIDS researchers who were en route to Melbourne for a conference.

Two other noteworthy mid-July air disasters:

July 17, 1996…TWA Flight 800…. “Breaks apart” shortly after takeoff from JFK… 230 die.

July 19, 1989….United Flight 232, Sioux City…. 112 perish, though 184 survive.

2. Giant

One of the more famous NFL photos of all time was shot by Morris Berman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

I’ll admit, I have only skimmed the first few paragraphs of Seth Wickersham’s profile of Yelberton Abraham “Y.A.” Tittle, now 87, but it appears that Seth just Gary Smith’ed the heck out of this story. Wonderful read. Tittle was a New York Giant from Texas, where the film “Giant” was set and shot.

3. Jerry & Jon

Stewart and Seinfeld had the best chemistry yet of any duo on “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee”

I look at “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” as a multi-millionaire’s little gift to us, but Jon Stewart ribbed his pal Jerry Seinfeld for “making a second career out of getting breakfast with your friends six times a year.” Here’s Stewart and Seinfeld in this season’s final installment, among the two or three best,  which starts out in a Gremlin, a vehicle that Stewart refers to as “a method of contraception.”

Of course, these two Jewish comics had to wend their way to the Holocaust.

Jerry: “The term ‘concentration camp.’ I don’t think it was a camp.”

Stewart: “Well, they did have bunks.”

4. Chasing the Bear

Asked what an “acceptable finish” would be in Liverpool, Tiger tersely replied, “First.”

Tiger Woods was 32 years old when he won his 14th major, the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

Jack Nicklaus was 35 years old when he won his 14th major, the 1975 PGA Championship in Akron, Ohio.

Nicklaus was 38 when he won the 15th of his 18 majors, the 1978 British Open at St. Andrews.

Tiger is now 38, and he is competing at the British Open this week…and has yet to win his 15th major.

The six-year drought is the longest in Woods’ career and has surpassed, in days, the longest drought of  Nicklaus’ career, which came between his 17th and 18th majors, 1980 and 1986. Those were his last two majors. Nicklaus drought lasted five years and eight months. Woods’ is currently at six years and one month.

Tiger shot a 3-under in yesterday’s opening round at Liverpool, which puts him just three shots back of leader and noted Lilliputian golfer Rory McIlroy.

5. (More) Death on Everest

From the moment that a bunch of Sherpas perished in an avalanche on Mount Everest last spring, the only question was which month the tragedy would become Outside’s cover story. Answer: August. The big surprise is that it’s not penned by Jon Krakauer, but rather Grayson Schaffer.

STARTING FIVE

If you haven’t yet, do yourself a favor and read Bill Hubbell’s essay on The Captain, Derek Jeter, in the post below.

Amjyot (L) and Amrit Pal (R) in a game against China last year

1. Turban Outfitters

On Saturday two of the top players on India’s national team, Amjyot Singh and Amrit Pal Singh, were told minutes before tip-off at the Asia Cup  that they would not be allowed to wear their turbans, which are customary Sikh headgear. India lost by 23 to Japan.

Then again, the following night, the two Singhs’, turban-free, were both game-high scorers (13 points apiece) as India defeated China for the first time in its 78-year history as a national team. My story in Newsweek.

An aside: The arena in Wuhan was not even half-filled, which is funny since India and China are the world’s two most populous nations.

2. ESPYs

I don’t watch the ESPYs. I just read the disgruntled tweets of everyone who is watching the ESPYs. But I hear they did a nice thing for Stuart Scott, which is cool. He’s handling his bout with cancer with true courage.

3. Newman Is An Island

“Hellooooooooo, Newman!”

It struck me yesterday afternoon, right around the time I read Drew Magary’s “Hater’s Guide to Derek Jeter.” (I love Magary’s work for Deadspin, I should say, although if I may get all Phyllis on you for a moment, I don’t think he needs ALL the F-bombs to be funny. Anywayyyy….). If your life is that bereft of hope and happiness that you need to seek out reasons to loathe Jeter, maybe it’s more about you.

And that’s how I came to Seinfeld and Newman.

On his eponymous, quasi-autobiographical sitcom, Jerry was successful, single at an age when most men aren’t, and universally loved while never being too polarizing. Except for one person: Newman. The portly postal worker thought he saw through Jerry’s charade. Oh, how he wanted to nab him for mail fraud.

So, to me, if you hate Jeter it’s probably more about the fact that you hate how much other people love him. You think hes’s receiving more than his earned share of adulation. And so I ask you, WHY do you care?

Worth noting: Jerry’s best friend was George, while Derek’s was Jorge.

Also, if it’s just too darn strenuous to scroll down, here’s Bill Hubbell’s wonderful essay on “Jeets.”

Oh, and yeah, this from Vanity Fair will rob you of the next 12 minutes of your life. But it’s worth it.

4. That Went Well…

Sonders is off to FOX Sports. Her husband, Eric Kuselias, is…off.

So this is Holly Sonders (her second mention in MH this week), and it’s not difficult to see what FOX Sports, and before them, The Golf Channel, saw in her. And her husband is Eric Kuselias, who long ago worked at ESPN and then moved to The Golf Channel before landing at NBC Sports (though, really, I’ve never, ever, ever, in the most Taylor Swift-ian way, EVER, understood his appeal).

Anyway, our friend Jason McIntyre at The Big Lead out-Deitsched Sports Illustrated on the scoop that Kuselias overplayed his hand with Sam Flood and the boys at NBC and (well, just read it here). I’ll just add that 1) The Golf Channel is owned by the same people who own NBC, which you probably already knew and 2) the president of The Golf Channel is Mike McCarley, who started out as NBC Sports in P.R. and has deservedly risen through the ranks. Good guy, always enjoyed either dealing with him and then later working with him.

FOX only wants me. Sorry. Now don’t say anything that’ll get a pot of molten gold tossed over your head.

So do Holly and Eric move to L.A.? And is his (agent’s) next call to the NFL Network –he was doing Pro Football Talk– or FOX, or does he just ask for a job at Sports Nation. Meanwhile, it’s all very Danaerys and Viserys –minus the sibling aspect–between Holly and Eric right now, I’d imagine. She’s the potentate of the pair, while he deludes himself into thinking he is.

And you know how that turned out.

5. Welcome to the Dahlhaus

His first miracle? Rendering thousands of women speechless.

This is model Ben Dahlhaus. I don’t know much about him other than the fact that not a few soft-news websites have done stories on how “ridiculously gorgeous” he is this week, which, yeah, he is. And that he kinda looks like what people think Jesus kinda looked like, if Jesus smoked.

Where in the World?

Tuesday’s answer: The Thin House, London

Hint: this is not the product of an industrial accident

On Friday night, September 26, 2008, Derek Jeter played in a baseball game that didn’t matter. The Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 19-8 that night and up until this week’s All-Star break, it was the only one of Jeter’s 2,685 regular season games where the Yankees had been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

2,685 baseball games played and only one that didn’t matter. One.

Jeter took his All-Star bow last night at Target Field and it was nearly perfect.  From his taped introduction from the voice of God to the thunderous ovation from everyone in the stadium before his first at bat. National League pitcher Adam Wainwright provided a nice touch by placing his glove and ball on the mound and stepping off the back to join in the applause and stretch the moment to the appropriate length.

Jeter finally settled into the box and as the FOX announcers let the moment bathe in natural sound, a nit-wit fan (Was it A-Rod? Who let him in?) was clearly heard yelling, “overrated” twice.  Jeter obviously didn’t hear him, but you’d swear he did as he shut the clown up by lacing a double to the opposite field. You have a criticism of Jeter? You’re wrong, and he’ll prove it quickly.

In the “twitter can make a mountain out of any molehill” world we now live in, Wainwright was bashed for suggesting he’d piped a couple of pitches for Jeter. Many took to the twitter pulpit immediately as if Wainwright had bet on the outcome of the game and shot up steroids while doing so. “Wainwright has clearly stained the sanctity of the game and should be burned at the stake!”

Intrepid (and oh so young and pretty) reporter Erin Andrews played her part, attaching a grave look to her face when she questioned Wainwright about why he’d killed that man, rigged the election perhaps gutted a couple of fastballs to Jeter.

When it all got back to Jeter postgame, he gave a short response that nicely encapsulated why he’s Derek Jeter.

“He grooved them? I don’t know man….if he grooved it, thank you. You still have to hit it.”

Perfect.

Above the fray and out of the nonsense, just like always. That’s Derek Jeter.

Another opposite field single and another goose-bump inducing moment when he exited the game after taking the field in the top of the fourth. Jeter saluted the National League dugout before tipping his cap to the crowd and then hugged every player in the American League dugout. (And these were real hugs, Jeter hugs, not A-Rod hugs where he was already looking glassy-eyed past the guy he was embracing. You almost expected each player to get a gift basket after Jeter moved on to the next guy.)

Oh, and the American League won, of course. Derek Jeter was on their team, so they won, that’s how it works.

Jeter arrived in MLB in the mid-90’s along with Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra, as a trio of superstar shortstops. They were the progression of the position that Cal Ripken had started: shortstops who could not only field, but hit like stars. Miguel Tejada soon joined them. When all the dust settles, Jeter might be the only one of them in the Hall of Fame.

A-Rod became infamous. Nomar and Miggy became Almost Famous. Jeter? He’s cool man, trust me, I’ve seen him and he’s cool. WAR doesn’t measure how cool somebody is and Jeter’s as cool as any cat that ‘s played baseball since George Brett.

Let’s get this part out of the way: He never won an MVP. He never won a batting title. He never hit 25 home runs. He only reached 100 RBIs once. Now let me repeat this: There’s no stat for cool. There used to be a stat for clutch, but Jeter broke it.

If you want to tell me that Jeter’s zone coverage analytic declined over the last decade,  go ahead, but I’d ask that you put down your protractor and go look at pictures of Minka Kelly, Jessica Alba, Adrianna Lima and Jessica Biel.

Derek Jeter won five rings. Derek Jeter has more hits than any other New York Yankee ever. He’s the longest-tenured captain of the greatest franchise in the history of sports. Astros All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve was quoted this week as saying, “He’s not just the captain of the Yankees, he’s the captain of baseball.”

Here’s one for the stat-heads: Jeter is one of only two players to have over 3,000 hits, 250 home runs, 300 stolen bases and 1,200 RBIs. The other is Willie Mays.

No stage was ever too big. The bigger the game, the better Jeter got. He worked his ass off and got everything he could possibly get out of his talent. At 40, he’s clearly not the player he once was, but did you think he’d let anybody down last night in his final All-Star game? With the entire sports planet watching him and hoping for the best, he went two-for-two and made a fantastic fielding play. The lights were the brightest imaginable and Jeter came through. That’s what he does.

“The flip” is perhaps his most famous play, and some have deemed it as overrated over the years. It’s not. Who backs up a cut off throw down the first base line? A guy who’s paying attention to everything around him, that’s who. Go watch the clip again, Jeter takes off the second Shane Spencer uncorks his throw because he knows it’s sailing over the head of the cutoff man and ending up in no man’s land.

Jeter spent a lot of time in no man’s land. Five rings. No scandals. More beautiful girlfriends than George Clooney. For god’s sake, Jeter let go of the only woman on earth who didn’t want to marry Tim Riggins.

No sports fans on earth hate something as much as Red Sox fans hate the Yankees. But even Red Sox fans are going to get misty and mumble “Derek freaking Jeetah” under their breath when the captain plays his last baseball game, which is scheduled to be Sunday, September 28 at Fenway Park.

It will be nearly six years from the day that he played in the one game that didn’t matter.

But of course it mattered. Derek Jeter was playing in it.

— Bill Hubbell

STARTING FIVE

Just another two guys who were born in New Jersey.

1. Target Practice

Bottom of the first inning, Target Field, Minneapolis:

Derek Jeter, double.

Mike Trout, triple.

Miguel Cabrera, following a Robinson Cano whiff, home run.

All four of those American League All-Stars will some day enshrined in Cooperstown, methinks. The American League, which won 5-3, hit for the cycle by the bottom of the third, as Jeter singled in his next at bat. Both of Jeter’s hits were opposite-field jobs. Brian McCann, take note.

As for Adam Wainwright “grooving” a pitch to the A.L.’s leadoff hitter, which he joked about doing, then denied doing to Pam Oliver Erin Andrews? Perhaps that was just his way of tipping his hat to The Captain.

2. All In

I’m lovin’ it

The most newsworthy NBA event to take place in Las Vegas this month? Probably LeBron James‘ 58th-floor confab with Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated in the Wynn Hotel.

Number 2: The early validation of Creighton’s Doug McDermott –I’ve been on record as calling him a Top 5  pick (he went 9th) since at least March–who scored 31 points in the Chicago Bulls’ second NBA Summer League contest on Sunday and buried 20 points in just 26 minutes of action, a 34-point defenestration of the Minnesota Timberwolves, last night.

Oh, and the fans love him.

One thing to file away: His nickname is Dougie McBuckets, and he’ll be playing in Chicago, which happens to be the world-wide headquarters of…McDonald’s. Oh, I think this is going to work out just fine.

3. Yellin’ vs. Yellen

CNBC doesn’t care whether or not you like Santelli. They care that you find this compelling TV–which it is

It’s easy to loathe CNBC’s Rick Santelli, at least for the masses, because 1) he’s white 2) middle-aged 3) seems to have little empathy for the poor and 4) he yells and 5) he’s talking about things that few want to discuss and that most don’t actually understand.

His latest rant took place on Monday, and the topic was Fed easing, and my guess is that more of you can explain WAR than you can Fed easing (hey, me too).

Help me if I’m wrong here, but it seems that Santelli is angry at Janet Yellen and the Fed continuing to give us PEDs even though we don’t need them to overcome our injury because we’re no longer injured. Now she’s just giving us the PEDs because our offensive numbers are inflated. And he’s saying that the longer we continue to use PEDs –the new normal –the harder the thud will be when we are eventually taken off them. And Steve Liesman, who at least argues in a sane and rational way, is saying, “But look at how happy everyone is now.”

But I may be wrong. Please feel free to correct me.

I did agree with Santelli on his famous earlier economic rant, the gist of which was, Just because you live in a house that you put a down payment on does not mean you OWN the house. If you bought a house whose mortgage you clearly could never afford, and then the bank forecloses on it, tough. That house was never really yours–and the rest of us who were prudent enough not to buy something we could not afford should not have to bail you out. But that’s just me. I’m kind of a hardass on that stuff.

4. They Will Rock You

He’s just a poor boy, from a poor family

Queen, with original members guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, and without bassist John Deacon and also without the greatest front man in the history of rock and roll (the judges will also accept Mick Jagger), recently launched a summer tour. Gifted “American Idol” alum Adam Lambert is playing the role of Freddie Mercury, and while no one can ever match his charisma and vocal gifts, Lambert is coming close, apparently.

The magazine Rolling Stone just did a feature on the theatrical and utterly original British band –and it should have earned the cover over Melissa McCarthy, but whatevs– that is worth a read. And here’s the band’s entire set from Live Aid, 29 years and 3 days ago, from Wembley Stadium. It was the band’s rebirth, and what May called “the best day of our lives.”

(Check the moment at about 6:00, when Freddie leads the entire stadium in the clap-clap for “Radio Ga Ga.” That’s power. Apparently, all the other artists looked on in disbelief, and Elton John rushed up to them after the set and told them, with a laugh, that they’d just stolen the show. It was incredibly gratifying for Queen, who by this time appeared to have been left behind by the new wave of, well, New Wave.)

5. So, Not the Bruckner Expressway?

Thelma and Louise may have voted for it, but Highway 153 did not make the list

Here’s Outside magazine with a compelling list of “America’s Best Car-Touring Roads.” I’d add –though not to say they are more scenic –Connecticut’s Merritt Parkway and Mississippi’s Natchez-Trace Parkway. Highway 1 between Santa Cruz and Morro Bay in California is pretty spectacular, too.

Where in the World?

Monday: Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Hint: This home would suit Twiggy

The final World Cup-themed “Men in Blazers” podcast, with a nod to, at around the 20th minute, the notion of German superiority in all things. Also, right before 2:00, “Algentinian Malbec.” From the “CRAP part of SoHo.” Also, an excellent suggestion from Jordan Weissman of Slate for an annual Fourth of July sports event that would hopefully take the focus off competitive eating.

STARTING FIVE

Cespedes and Puig: Real Cubans, although real Dominicans (Cano, Ortiz) are also smokin’.

1. Cuban Missiles

Cuba’s Yoenis Cespedes “for the rest of us” (I didn’t watch; Did Boomer use this?) won the Home Run Derby last night for the second year in a row. I don’t want to say the contest was a protracted affair, but Dr. James Andrews performed three Tommy John surgeries in a kiosk beyond the center field wall between the first and last homer.

2. Hat’s Entertainment

Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Joe Torre, Tino Martinez and Jorge Posada

Cut from the final version of Nike’s “Tip of the Cap” ad tribute to Derek Jeter…

1) Howard Stern, who was here before and will be here after, and is one of the few New Yorkers as popular as Jeter but also wealthier.

2) Alex Rodriguez tipping his hat while staring at a mirror (thanks to @okerland) and backed by his legal team.

3) A group tip from Mariah Carey, Jordana Brewster, Jessica Alba, Adriana Lima, Jessica Biel and Minka Kelly –all clad in over-sized pinstriped nighties..

4) Stephen Colbert, who  lives in New York and even has a segment titled “Tip of the Cap.”

5) Times Square’s “Naked Singing Cowboy”, who is arguably the second-biggest male attraction in the city, and, like Jeter, wears a hat as part of his uniform.

6) Lena Dunham…naked.

7) Former New York Yankee (assistant to the) traveling secretary George Costanza.

8. Former mayor Michael Bloomberg, pouring out a 32-ounce soda.

3. Just Missed

Please, God (or Mother Nature), improve your aim

The 113th U.S. Congress has apparently just reached its Lightning Round.

I’m sure it is only a coincidence that only a day earlier a congressional blog noted that this edition was the ultimate “do-nothing Congress” (even its sexual congress is lacking, from the dearth of recent scandals), having passed fewer laws of substance than any.

They truly do not work for us; they work for themselves. Or, as John Oliver put it on Sunday, “You’d think that in a democracy, policies that benefit the very few at the expense of the many would not have a chance to succeed. But they do…”

4. Spokes and Sprinkles

This is a good time to remind you that “deluge” is a French word

(with our own tip of the cap to unpaid Medium Happy cycling correspondent Susie B.)

The Tour de France overtakes “Noah” as 2014’s Wettest Drama. Through 10 stages, wet weather (“Il pleut!”) has pelted the peloton (the peltoton?) and, sorry, Gene Kelly, but not no one is singing about it. Last year’s champ, Chris Froome, dropped out one day after crashing in during a stage that mixed pelting rain with cobblestone streets.

Kelly: Indifferent to cycling woes

Two-time champion Alberto Contador dropped out yesterday after crashing on a descent and breaking his tibia. Popular rider Mark Cavendish dislocated his shoulder after crashing on the final sprint, which is his specialty, during the race’s opening stage in Yorkshire.

Right now Italian Vincenzo Nibali wears the yellow jersey and has a 2 minute, 23 second lead as the Tour takes a day of rest. But he’s only a spill away from disaster.

5. SEC Media Doze

My suggested cover for the 2014 University of Florida football media guide. Own the moment, Gators

Four days in Birmingham in July???

What was second prize– a jailhouse visit with the Alabama tea bagger?

If all 14 SEC media guide can be condensed to one disc, can’t this Hoover Happening be condensed into one two-hour phone call? Answer: yes.

Reserves

Pam in her prime

Pamelot

I covered the NFL for Sports Illustrated in the mid-Nineties, right as Pam Oliver’s career was taking off on Fox, and here’s what I can tell you: not a few players, when told that Fox wanted to do a feature on them during the week, specifically requested Oliver.

She was, and still is, a gorgeous African-American woman. And she’s also good at her job. She just happens to be 53 now, not 33 or 34 or 35. She’s the age of a lot of these players’ moms now.

Yesterday, my old friend and colleague Richard Deitsch broke the story about Oliver’s No. 1 role being usurped by everybody’s favorite Trubiotics salesperson, Erin Andrews (“It supports digestive AND immune health!”) and the internet reacted with its typical gnashing of teeth and tearing of garments (And I thought, Wow, I do miss the World Cup).

Another old friend and colleague, Jeff Pearlman, tore off this appeal-to-the-masses take on the whole sad incident.

Someone wrote me on Twitter this morning that Oliver had experience at six stations before she landed her FOX gig. Great! I don’t care if she’d memorized the NFL Fact & Record Book. She’s a terrific reporter, but then so is Vic Carucci (Who? Exactly) and no one gave him a high six-figure deal to stand on a sideline and report news and land interviews.

Carucci is an inveterate Cleveland Browns reporter; actually, FOX or ESPN should hire him now

My point? Oliver landed this job, at least in part –and if you are honest with yourself, more than just “in part”–because of how telegenic she was and because not only did that appeal to viewers, but it also appealed to players who were more willing to talk to her. So if part of her initial evaluation was superficial, and that evaluation provided her 20 years of high-profile living and income, as well as a wonderful gig –when not being struck in the head by wayward passes–why is everyone so upset that a second evaluation based on superficial values bumped her to No. 2?

And, by the way, when two FOX executives fly to your hometown to break the news to you, that’s a sign of respect. Most people in most jobs never get that.

And so the era of Pamelot draws to a close. Is Oliver “better” than Andrews? All depends on your definitIon of “better.” Andrews is 36, has a larger contract and also more leverage. And 10 years from now she won’t. That’s how this game works. And everyone who plays knows it.

Then again, maybe Roger Goodell is still pissed off over this….

Holly Sonders. Sure, I’ve seen Jack Arute strike this pose

Finally, we would be remiss if we failed to note that yesterday it was announced that Fox had just hired Holly Sonders (who is married to Eric Kuselias, Over-Chicked Hall of Fame first ballot inductee) away from the Golf Channel. So maybe they had to clear some air space for her?

Remote Patrol

All-Star Game

Fox 7:30 p.m.

King Felix, or as one Sports Guy Mailbag reader once dubbed him, “F-Her”, will start for the A.L. at Target Field

In which The Captain, Derek Jeter, will hit a slow roller between the pitcher’s mound and third base, leg it out for an infield hit, and be named MVP. The Midsummer Classic will never again draw the viewers it did when I was a child, in the Seventies, because a prime-time nationally televised baseball game (there was at the time one per week) is no longer an event, nor is seeing players from the American League face off against those from the National League something we only see in this game and in the World Series. Also, there’s Candy Crush and binge-watching of Orange is the New Black.

By giving us Christmas once a month, Bud Selig has devalued Christmas. As if it took a genius to see that.

Also, 37 players on a roster?

And, you start the best players, then sub them out while not allowing them to return, but you decide that the stakes of the game are which league’s champion hosts the final two games of the World Series?

More is not more, Bud. Less is. Ask anyone who ever put on a bikini.

My suggestion: 25 players to a roster, and you may sub position players back into the game. And if your favorite team doesn’t have an All-Star, tough. Tell them to play better. NEXT!