by John Walters
Tweet Me Right
Starting Five
Dem-olition Derby*
*The judges will also accept “Miami Nice”
We did not watch. Ten candidates on one stage is hardly a debate—though Julian Castro apparently did his best to make it one versus Beto. Our idea, since these two nights of debates will have only four fewer entries (20) than the Women’s World Cup (24) is that these debates should follow the same format.
That is, five groups of four candidates. Each candidate goes one-on-one versus the other three members of his group. Make those debates half an hour long and you could have, NBC, a show that takes us through the entire summer. By October we’ve winnowed the field down to the knockout rounds, with but five candidates left. Which is manageable.
Also, I want FIFA to do the rankings before the tournament in terms of what candidates are placed into what groups. Just don’t hold the debates in Qatar.
LeySPN
ESPN’s maiden broadcast took place on Sept. 7, 1979.
Bob Ley began working there two days later.
Ley who, along with Chris Berman, was the face of ESPN in its first dozen years who is most responsible for keeping the lights on until it took off like a rocket ship in the early Nineties, announced his retirement yesterday. Ley had 40 years at the WWL, which is a helluva run.
In November of 1992 Sports Illustrated dispatched me to spend a day in this far-off land called Bristol to work on a piece about SportsCenter. Even then, when Ley was but 37, other anchors who had cubicles close by (Chris Berman, Keith Olbermann, Bill [not Dan] Patrick referred to him with reverence, “our man of letters.” He was the smart guy. Never the dude with the schtick, he was the Edgar R. Murrow of SportsCenter and other shows: even-tempered, well-informed, trustworthy.
And yet Ley has an excellent sense of humor, which fortunately was illuminated when he’d appear on the inaugural “Men In Blazers” segments during the 2014 World Cup in Rio. Bright and funny; he just never had the look-at-me ego of some of his co-workers. For four decades, Bob Ley was ESPN’s on-air conscience.
It’s Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It)
If you find yourself in New York City between now and October, or if you’re looking for a (nother) reason to visit, we’ve found it: “Play It Loud,” the rock-and-roll exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibit tells the story of rock through the instruments it has assembled, and it’s a rock-and-roll Hall of Fame-worthy collection.
Among them, and these are the original pieces: the piano Jerry Lee Lewis had in his home the last 60 years of his life; the guitar Jimi Hendrix used to play “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock (on loan from Jeff Bezos, who’s only giving it to the exhibit for six weeks); the Fender guitar Bruce Springsteen used through much of the 1970s and that’s featured on the cover of Born To Run; the double-necked guitar that Jimmy Page used to play “Stairway To Heaven” during Led Zeppelin’s hey day; John Lennon’s Rickenbacker; the mellotron the Stones used to record “She’s A Rainbow”; and, as the kids say, much, much more.
There are also some wonderful “It chose me” shorts starring some of the electric guitar’s greatest craftsmen: Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Tom Morello and Eddie Van Halen. From Keef (and I’m paraphrasing): “The electric guitar operates on electromagnetic waves. We operate on electromagnetic waves. It’s how we’re able to think. So it’s the most natural thing I can imagine.”
A few notable absentees from the exhibit: John Mellencamp, Steve Howe (Yes), arguably the greatest guitarist of his era, and anything from Boston who, like them or not, revolutionized the sound of electric guitar.
One final thing: I was struck by how many parents were there with young children, wanting their kids, who cannot yet possibly appreciate what they’re seeing, to bear witness to the most influential art form of these parents’ lives. Rock and roll is really only about 60 years old, and while it may never die, it’s had its peak moment. These parents wanted their kids to feel this phenomenom, like going to see an endangered species at a zoo.
Another Ann Arbor Almost
It’s truly bad form to troll, and we’re sorry, but then this is Michigan we’re trolling, so it must be done. The Wolverines lost the College World Series last night to ________ (does it matter?) and the game wasn’t even played in Pasadena.
Sure, props to Michigan for even advancing to the finals, but then in true Michigan fashion they take a one-game lead and lose the final two. The Wolverines have now advanced to the CWS finals, the NCAA tournament championship game and the Frozen Four in the past decade and come away empty. But at least they got that far, which is more than the football team can say.
Rad Max
Remember about a week or so ago when Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer broke his nose while working on bunting during batting practice? Well, of course that went viral because there’s nothing social media likes better than to tear down someone who’s done more than we have.
But here’s what most of us did not know because it never trended on Twitter: the following night Scherzer did not miss his scheduled start and, pitching with a black eye and some loose proboscis cartilage, he threw seven innings of 4-hit ball, striking out 10 and walking only 2 in a 2-0 Nats win.
In his next start, three days ago, Scherzer struck out 10 and walked zero as the Nats won 5-1. But here’s what you must not forget: in that game he bunted for a base hit and it was the first bunt base hit of his career.
Scherzer, with three Cy Young Awards and two no-hitters, is a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame (even we think so, and we think the membership in Cooperstown should be cut in half). You can argue Clayton Kershaw or Mariano Rivera, but he’s right there with them as the greatest pitcher of this century thus far.
One thing Scherzer has never done: pitch in a Fall Classic. Will that happen this year? Will the Yankees, who have way too much hitting, extend a sumptuous offer to the Nats, for the one thing they really need: an ace? Stay tuned. We won’t be surprised if they do.
Lastly: Rick Sutcliffe on an ESPN broadcast had a great line about Scherzer, who is heterochromatic, the other night: “So now he has a brown eye, a blue eye and a black eye.” Tim Kurkjian, a career-long sportswriter seated next to him in the booth, patted Sutcliffe on the shoulder after he said it as if to say, “Every writer in America wished he or she had thought of that line.”
Music 101
Bad Reputation
Pretty kick-ass performance coming from a 56 year-old rocker at her R&R HOF induction four years ago. Joan Jett was only 17 years old when she became a founding member of the aptly named all-female punk band, The Runaways, in 1975. She’d go on to commercial success fronting her own band in the 1980s, but she’s always been the indefatigable Punk Rock Girl.
(psst: stick around for “Crimson and Clover” later in the video; worth it!)
Remote Patrol
Dem-olition Derby, Night 2
9 p.m. NBC
This night’s lineup is deeper: Bernie, Joe, Kamala and Mayor Pete. The Prez will still tweet out “Boring.”