by John Walters

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Starting Five

Up Shildt’s Creek

Yes, the Nationals swept the Cardinals to reach the World Series for the first time in their franchise’s history with a 7-4 win last night. But also, maybe there’s some karmic retribution for Card manager Mike Shildt‘s speech that followed the Cards’ series-clinching win against the Atlanta Braves last week. Geez, Mike. Do you chew tobacco with that mouth?

Anyway, there will be a World Series in Washington, D.C., for the first time since 1934. Also, today is Bryce Harper’s 27th birthday.

12 Angry Dems

Only watched a moment or two last night, but these Democratic “debates” feel more like a liberal arts core course I was required to take in in college where we’d have to spent the entire year discussing “issues” and philosophical theme. Enough already. Send the dozen of them on a 5-hour hike or do some feats of strength competitions. We’d find out just as much about them, probably more.

And who’s this Tom Steyer guy? Does a billiionaire who’s never previously run for office really believe he can be elected president???

Carrie Nation

The 1976 horror classic Carrie was on last night and we’d never seen it, so we stuck around for the final hour. Here’s a few bits of tid we found:

–This was the first Stephen King book that was turned into a film. How much was a then unknown King paid for the rights to his novel? $2,500. Brian DePalma bought the rights and directed.

–During the slow dance scene Carrie (Sissy Spacek) bumps heads with Tommy (William Katt) and apologizes. Tommy replies, “No harm…no foul.” So people have been saying that for more than 40 years.

–The cast. Incredible. Sissy Spacek would be nominated for an Oscar for this role and five years later would win one for Coal Miner’s Daughter. Betty Buckley, who plays the well-intentioned teacher, would win a Tony Award for Cats in 1983. William Katt would go on to play the title role in Pippin on Broadway and then of course become The Greatest American Hero.

John Travolta, the knucklehead boyfriend of the sinister teen played by Nancy Allen would go on to be John Travolta (he was already starring in Welcome Back, Kotter at the time). Allen would marry DePalma. Amy Irving, who plays Allen’s friend and Katt’s girlfriend, would go on to an Oscar nomination. Piper Laurie, who plays Carrie’s mom, has been nominated for an Oscar in three different decades, including in this film.

But it’s Spacek who holds the film together. Is there a better performance by an actor or actress in a horror film? And is this the horror film that jump-started the next wave of teen-based horror movies? Think about it: Halloween (1978), When A Stranger Calls (1979), Friday The 13th (1980) and He Knows You’re Alone (1980).

Hollywood saw Carrie and immediately put more teen horror flicks into production, it would seem.

The Tide Was Out

We are offering no ancillary commentary on this, simply noting that our part-time employer The Athletic released its “Midseason 2019 College Football All-American Team” on Tuesday and there’s something (Alabama) missing (Roll Tide!) from the first (“PAWWWWWWWL!”) unit. Whatever the opposite of Rat Poison is, Nick Saban’s program just got served a heaping helping of it.

I think Saban winning with this scrappy bunch of overachievers is an underreported narrative. https://t.co/6CYNjuRl7a

— Cecil Hurt (@CecilHurt) October 15, 2019

Of course, part of the problem is that Alabama has such a surfeit of talent, particularly on offense this season, that they cancel one another out from a statistical standpoint. Neither wideouts Jerry Jeudy or DaVonta Smith are in the top 10 in terms of receptions partly because the other is on the field. And then there’s Henry Ruggs. Last Saturday Jaylen Waddle, considered the Tide’s fourth-best received scored on a play in which he made Texas A&M’s defense look as if they were playing in molasses (no one laid a hand on him). When you’re fourth-best receiver is a cheat code, that’s just not fair.

We still think Alabama or Ohio State is the best team in the nation (the Buckeyes landed three players on The Athletic’s first team) and if they were to meet on Saturday, we’d give the edge to the Tide due to the big game experience of both Tua Tagovailoa and Nick Saban relative to their Buckeye counterparts.

Two more notes: 1) Only one Clemson player, linebacker Isaiah Simmons, made the first team and 2) I played no role in compiling this list (obviously, I would’ve insisted a few Michigan players, particularly quarterback Shea Patterson, be named to the first team).

Springsteen And Springer

Look at these two guys. Above, that’s George Springer of the Houston Astros, who is an outstanding outfielder and one of the more personable ballplayers out there. You can tell because he’s the guy that Fox always tries to interview. Springer, 30, is from (“hard hittin'”) New Britain, Connecticut, and played his college ball at UConn (which is insane because it doesn’t get above 60 degrees there until mid-May).

And here is a young Bruce Springsteen, who is now 70. The same first six letters of the surname, the same East coast upbringing, the same ridiculous talent in their crafts, and the same charming smile. Am I crazy or is there a somewhat uncanny resemblance between the two?

In case you’re wondering, Springer is Panamanian and Puerto Rican. Bruce is Italian and Irish. There’s no good explanation, relative to their heritages, for either man’s last name.

And Finally…

A Very Happy Birthday to ‘Mama Dubs,’ alias ‘Phyllis,’ alias ‘Mom’ this morning. Her coffee cake and lasagna remain unsurpassed in western annals of cuisine, and no one wields a broom or mop with more flair. She is the Inigo Montoya of domestic cleaning devices.