Strange And Unusual Sports Facts That May Interest Only Me

Joe Pepitone and John Lennon had something in common – they were both born on October 9, 1940, Pepitone in Brooklyn and Lennon in Liverpool, England.
Ten strange and unusual sports factoids that may interest only me:

Former New York Yankee first baseman Joe Pepitone was born on October 9, 1940, the same birthdate as late [...]

July 20, 1969: Man on The Moon, Baseball As Usual

Casey Stengel always said the Mets would win when they put a man on the Moon. Both miracles happened in 1969.
The whole world didn’t stop on July 20, 1969, when astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the Moon. It just seemed that way.
For even as astronaut Neil Armstrong was [...]

Leetch A Hall of Famer, On And Off The Ice

Brian Leetch, here scoring in Game Seven of the 1994 Stanley cup finals, showed true class and character in helping children who lost parents on 9/11.
Hockey fans in general, and New York Ranger fans in particular, know all about newly-inducted Hall of Fame defenseman Brian Leetch and his on-ice exploits.
Leetch, the Rangers second all-time leading [...]

Happy Father’s Day, Dad

The first college football game ever televised, Waynesburg vs. Fordham in 1939.
On a steamy August Saturday afternoon in the summer of 1938, New York right-hander Monte Pearson pitched the first no-hitter in Yankee Stadium history. The Yanks beat the Cleveland Indians, 13-0, that afternoon to complete a doubleheader sweep.
Pearson, shown below,, who was 16-7 that [...]

First Impressions Aren’t Always Lasting

On April 23, 1952, Hoyt Wilhelm, a rookie with the New York Giants, stepped to the plate and in his first major league at-bat clouted a home run at the Polo Grounds..
A right-handed knuckleballer, Wilhelm went on to record his first major league win that day as the Giants beat the Boston Braves, 9-5.
It marked  [...]

Like Being in Paris: IBM Powers French Open Website

IBM technology practically puts fans on the clay court at Roland Garros Stadium.
The French Open has been full or surprises so far this year. In one of the biggest upsets in tennis history, top-seed and four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal, master of the clay court, was knocked out by unheralded 23-seed Robin Soderling of [...]

10 Baseball Records That Will Never Be Broken

No pitcher will ever equal the 511 wins chalked up by legendary hurler Cy Young.
They say that records are made to be broken. But there are exceptions to every rule.
These 10 baseball records (and some related ones) will never be broken.
1. Most wins, lifetime, Cy Young, 511
Young’s record spanned the 1890s and baseball’s modern era. [...]

A Quick Fix to The Home Run Problem in The Bronx Bandbox

The new Yankee Stadium has opened to a plethora of empty seats, walk-off wins and long home runs.
The new house has become a launching pad, a homer-happy haven for hitters. The Bronx Bandbox has yielded 87 homers in the first 23 games, just off the all-time pace set in the mile-high homer haven at Coors [...]

Sultans of Not Sinking Fast in Fantasy Baseball

Like a 1970 Ford Pinto desperately in need of a tune-up, the Sultans of Swat have stalled out on the fantasy baseball highway. They’ve become the Sultans of Not.
Throughout April, the Sultans, co-owned and operated by Dr. G and yours truly, were the class of the Nightcap League.
But now the Sultans are sinking faster than [...]

Arnie & Jack: Reliving Golf’s Greatest Rivalry

In an era dominated by Tiger Woods and a field of also-rans, it’s nice to recall a time when real, honest-to-goodness rivalries existed in golf.
And none of those rivalries came close to rivaling the one between Arnold Daniel Palmer and Jack William Nicklaus.
Ian O’Connor, columnist with the Bergen Record, chronicles the rivalry that put professional [...]