STARTING FIVE

1. Portrait of Resilience

The Sports Illustrated cover of what appears to be the entire populace of Dorchester perched at the finish line of the Boston Marathon is an example of a brilliant idea perfectly executed. Kudos to SI photo dept. head Brad Smith for pulling it off — I don’t yet know who shot it, but perhaps occasional reader MoeCav will enlighten us. As for whose idea, I don’t know, but a number of the top editors are either from Boston or attended college there.

And you thought I was going to lead today with a story on a very different photo, now didn’t you? (I won’t even link to it; Phyllis reads this, after all).

2. Coachella Fitzgerald McRainey

So there’s like 166 bands and tickets cost $375, and that’s before you factor in transportation, food and lodging. The last time I attended a music festival (Pemberton, 2008) is probably the last time I attended a music festival. And I’m not the only dude who’s down on them.

Then again, I’m old. If Guns and Roses reunited for this, I’d at least give it a shot. If three of your five favorite bands on the bill were The Replacements, The Pixies and The Cult, then you are probably…me.

Also, there was/is a band playing there named UZ. How many disappointed fans showed up expecting to see them? Don’t the organizers of Coachella know that U2 fanboys now need reading glasses and might easily misread that band’s name? Of course they do!

Festival was both last weekend and this weekend in Indio, Calif., which is Spanish for “dust gets in your food.”

3. Lap Dance

So, Michael Phelps is jumping back into the pool. Because he’s not exactly a charismatic personality, he’s not handsome or dumb enough to be Ryan Lochte, and how long do you want to be shilling fritos on your sub and flatizzas for Subway? Phelps is the greatest swimmer that America has ever produced, even better than Mark Spitz (who once dated a woman who appears regularly on NBC), but most of us who heard him say that he was retiring after London thought, He just needs a year or two off. He’ll be in the pool in Rio. And so it looks as if Phelps, who will still only be 30 then, will be.

Besides, did you see what was going on with Tinder at the Sochi Olympic Village? I’m sure Michael did.

4. Veep is Peeve Spelled Backwards (Kinda)

So much terrific television on Sunday evening, as there has been for years, but no program features better ensemble acting than HBO’s “Veep.” Think about the degree of difficulty. On “Walking Dead” or “Breaking Bad”, for example, but particularly on the former, it’s just one person soliloquying (is that a word? No? Deal with it) followed by another. Even “Game of Thrones” isn’t so verbally challenging; it’s the action where choreography is required.

In “Veep”, however, it’s often multiple people bickering at once, and the frenzied chaos is so authentic that you forget you’re not watching a documentary. Besides, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a unique figure, a self-absorbed female anti-hero who may be more venal than everyone who works for her. Oh, and I don’t know where Tony Reali finds the time to appear in the show, but I think that he does.

I hesitate to call it the best show on Sunday nights. But right now, it may be the smartest.

5. Pullit Surprise

Medium Happy isn’t losing sleep wondering when its Pulitzer will come (though we do wonder when Matt Taibbi will receive his long overdue bauble). Anyway, the Pulitzers were announced yesterday and some dude from the Washington Post (or, WaPo…or, as Jonah Ryan of Ryantology calls it, the Washington Toast), gave a really nice speech.

The Hall

Charter Inductees: Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner 1937:  Tris Speaker, CF; Cy Young, P ; 1938: Grover Cleveland Alexander, P; Eddie Collins, 2B 1939:Nap Lajoie, 2B; Joe Jackson, LF; 1940: Billy Hamilton, OF; Cap Anson, 1B; 1941: Wee Willie Keeler, RF; George Sisler, 1B; 1942: Rogers Hornsby, 2B; Pie Traynor, 3B; 1943: Mickey Cochrane, C; Frankie Frisch, 2B 1944: Ed Walsh, P; Old Hoss Radbourn, P 1945: Lou Gehrig, 1B; Kid Nichols, P 1946: Ed Delahanty, LF; Lefty O’Doul 1947: Pud Galvin, P; John McGraw, INF 1948: Carl Hubbell, P; Addie Joss, P 1949: Harry Heilman, OF/1B; Monte Ward, P/SS 1950: Cool Papa Bell, CF; Jimmie Foxx, 1B 1951: Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown, P; Josh Gibson, C 1952: Paul Waner, RF; Charlie Gehringer, 2B 1953: Mel Ott, RF; Hank Greenberg, 1B 1954: Eddie Plank, P; Dan Brouthers, 1B 1955: “Wahoo” Sam Crawford, OF; John Clarkson, P 1956: Chief Bender, P; Bill Dickey, C 1957: Sam Rice, RF; Joe DiMaggio, CF 1958: Bill Terry, 1B; Heinie Manush, LF 1959: Dizzy Dean, P; Tim Keefe, P 1960: Gabby Hartnett, C; Mickey Welch, P 1961: Bob Feller, P; Ducky Medwick, LF 1962: Luke Appling, SS; Jesse Burkett, LF 1963 Jackie Robinson, 2B; Zack Wheat, LF 1964: Jake Beckley, 1B; Rube Waddell, P 1965: Ralph Kiner, 1B; Lefty Grove, P

 1966: Ted Williams, LF; Smoky Joe Wood, P/OF 1967: Roy Campanella, C; Max Carey, OF 1968: Goose Goslin, LF; Rabbit Maranville, SS 1969: Stan Musial, 1B/OF 1970: Ferris Fain, 1B; Earle Combs, CF 1971: Warren Spahn, P; Yogi Berra, C 1972 Satchel Paige, P; Sandy Koufax, P 1973: Robin Roberts, P; Whitey Ford, P 1974: Mickey Mantle, CF; Eddie Mathews, 3B 1975: Lefty Gomez, P; Hack Wilson, CF 1976: Jack Pfiester, P; Johnny Mize, 1B 1977: Ernie Banks, SS; Mickey Welch, P 1978: Roberto Clemente, RF; Chuck Klein, RF 1979: Willie Mays, CF; Luis Aparicio,  SS 1980: Al Kaline, RF; Enos Slaughter, RF 1981: Bob Gibson, P; Harmon Killebrew, 1B 1982: Hank Aaron, RF; Frank Robinson, OF 1983: Brooks Robinson, 3B, Juan Marichal, P 1984: Hoyt Wilhelm, P; Arky Vaughan, SS 1985: Lou Brock, LF; Pete Browning, OF 1986: Sidd Finch, P 1987: Willie McCovey, 1B, Roger Maris, RF 1988: Willie Stargell, 1B, Catfish Hunter, P 1989: Earl Averill, CF, Billy Williams, LF 1990: Johnny Bench, C, Carl Yastrzemski, LF 1991: Jim Palmer, P, Joe Morgan, 2B 1992: Rod Carew, 2B; Gaylord Perry, P 1993: Reggie Jackson, RF, Tom Seaver, P 1994: Phil Niekro, P, Rollie Fingers, P 1995: Pete Rose, INF, Mike Schmidt, 3B

1996

Steve Carlton, P; 1965-1988, Phillies

“Lefty” finished with a 329-44 record and 4,136 strikeouts, which are 11th and 4th on the all-time lists, respectively. He is the last National League pitcher to win at least 25 games in a season (27-10 in 1972) was the first to win four Cy Young Awards. The 10-time All Star once struck out 19 batters in a game, though to be fair, it was the Mets in the Sixties. On the dubious side, Carlton holds the MLB record for most balks, with 90, which is more than double anyone else.

Denny McLain, P; 1963-1972, Tigers

I’m going off the grid and saluting a Detroit Tiger pitcher for having a singularly sensational season (and he likely won’t be the last Tiger pitcher I praise thusly). In 1968 McLain transcended sport, making the cover of Time magazine and appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show (with his quartet and guitarist Bob Gibson, performing “The Girl From Ipanema”) as he went 31-6. McLain is the first and only pitcher since Dizzy Dean, who did so in 1934, to win 30 or more games (Dean was on hand to congratulate him). The following year McLain was still brilliant, going 24-9 and pitching three more shutouts than the previous season. He was named the All-Star starter, but when the game was delayed one day due to rain, he chose not to cancel a scheduled dentist appointment. He visited the dentist, then flew himself (he had a pilot’s license) to Washington, D.C., and arrived at the park in the second inning. Those were different times.

Yes, I know all about his gambling involvement.

Remote Patrol

Hillsborough

ESPN 8 p.m.

A cynic (looks around) might note that ESPN’s first soccer-themed doc to get viewers gassed for the upcoming World Cup is not so much about soccer as it is about death and mayhem. Noted. Still, the tragedy that took place 25 years ago today in Sheffield, England (as I’m sure Bill Hubbell will tackle later today in Day of Yore) that claimed 96 lives was a signature moment in sport, and it occurred just before SportsCenter began to take off, which means that it really never resonated here. I’m not even Googling it, but I bet that Clive Gammon wrote the story for SI, because back then Clive Gammon was Grant Wahl, and that’s one of the best jobs in sports journalism: SI’s lone soccer writer (although now the editors there actually care about soccer so you can’t pretend to be an expert as much as you used to be able to…but I digress).

Quick aside: watched the Champions League final in 1998, a classic between I believe Man U. and Bayern, in a bar on the Upper East Side. With me were Steve Rushin and Jeff Bradley (Bob’s brother). Few journalists in America back then were as up on soccer as those two (in fact, I think ESPN even noted one or both of them during the telecast)…and they were with me in a a bar on the UES. Again, times have changed.