by John Walters

On the day Roger Ebert would have turned 75, our own Chris Corbellini posted his “25 Best Films Since 2000” list yesterday. If you missed it, here it is. 

Starting Five

Lady Diana

I remember her as the freshman who was unable to crack the starting lineup at UConn (all five starters were or would be first-team All-Americans), but her coach, Geno Auriemma, was correct when he forsoothed that Diana Taurasi would be the greatest of them all.

Yesterday in Los Angeles Taurasi scored 19 points to pass Tina Thompson as the WNBA’s all-time scoring leader. Thompson, who played with the Houston Comets, scored 7,488 points in 17 seasons; Taurasi, who has spent her entire WNBA career with the Phoenix Mercury, now has 7, 494 points in fewer than 13 seasons (recall her team from Russia paid her a hefty sum to NOT play in the WNBA last season).

Perhaps the best thing for Taurasi yesterday is that the kid from Chino’s childhood idol was in attendance: Kobe Bryant.

Last note: she’s a better passer than she is a shooter.

2.  Golf”s Leaderboard Is Very Crowded

The immediate story is that 27 year-old Brooks Koepka, a Florida State alum who has already dated two hyperlink-worthy women (Becky Edwards and Jena Sims), won the U.S. Open at Erin Hills yesterday. Koepka, in winning his first major, shot a minus-16, tying Rory McIlroy for the greatest score to-par in a U.S. Open.

The larger story? Koepka becomes the seventh consecutive major winner (Sergio Garcia, 2017 Masters; Jimmy Walker, 2016 PGA Championship; Henrik Stenson, 2016 British Open; Dustin Johnson, 2016 U.S. Open; Danny Willett, 2016 Masters; Jason Day, 2015 PGA Championship) who is a first-time major winner. Good for that septet, but not necessarily good for golf.

There is only one golfer under the age of 45 who has won at least five PGA majors. His name? Tiger Woods. And he’s probably toast.

3. Fenn Diagram

Yesterday Earlier today CBS This Morning profiled the deadly treasure hunt involving Santa Fe art dealer and author Forrest Fenn. Not unlike another alliterative New Mexican, Walter White, Fenn was diagnosed with cancer and immediately became obsessed with riches. Instead of accumulating them, however, Fenn sought to give away some $2 million worth of gold coins and other treasure.

The catch? Fenn, 87, hid his loot somewhere in the Rocky Mountains seven years ago and only provided this poem as a clue. A Colorado pastor has recently gone missing in search of the treasure and last year, Randy Bilyeu, 54, was found dead after searching for the treasure in a remote area of the Rio Grande.

Charlie Rose after the piece aired: “Money will drive you crazy.” His sit-in co-host: “Yes, it will. So will billionaires.”

4. Sunshine on My Shoulders*

*The judges are opting to use other John Denver songs instead of always going with the obvious one here.

He is the best player that nobody knows playing for the best team that no one talks about. But that may change after yesterday. With his Colorado Rockies trailing the San Francisco Giants 5-4 with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Nolan Arenado struck a game-winning three-run blast over the left-field wall. It was Arenado’s fourth hit of the game, following a triple in the first, a double in the fourth and a single in the sixth.

Colorado now has baseball’s second-best record (46-26) after the Houston Astros and Arenado has his first career cycle. He’s now batting .299 with 15 homers and 55 RBI and it’s worth remembering that the SoCal native LED the National League in BOTH home runs and RBI the previous two seasons without, I think, ever leading off SportsCenter.

5. Farewell, Flounder

“Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son” — Dean Wormer to Dorfman, a.k.a. Flounder (Stephen Furst)

Actor Stephen Furst, who played Flounder in the 1978 film Animal House, the funniest college comedy since the Marx Brothers did Horse Feathers, passed away at age 63.

 

RIP Flounder who will doubtless make it past the Pearly Gates because he’s a legacy. https://t.co/Sx9ngJStjj

— Cecil Hurt (@CecilHurt) June 18, 2017

Reserves

Update on the Grenfell Tower tragedy in London last week: at least 79 dead.

Music 101

Carry On/Questions

What a sound Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young had. They were rock ‘n roll’s first “super team,” as Graham Nash had come over from The Hollies, Stephen Stills and Neil Young from the Buffalo Springfield, and David Crosby from The Byrds. This song defnes 1970, that transition from the turbulent/psychedelic late Sixties to the songwriter-heavy California sound of the early Seventies.

The bridge from 1:54 to 2:09 is one of the most ethereal moments in rock history. You gotta listen to that!

Remote Patrol

Better Call Saul

10 p.m. AMC

Season finale. I’m an episode behind as I type this, but I’ll be there. Mike Ehrmentraut demands nothing less.