Smack Zone — Sports Rivalries

No one is enjoying this season of resurgence for the Mets more than super fan Jim Breuer. The comedian, Saturday Night Live alum and New Jersey resident OWNS his fanhood. His podcast is called Jim Breur Mets and More. His Facebook feed is loaded with epic fan rants about his beloved Amazin's (see his latest below; you must be signed in to Facebook to view it). And he LIVES it, you know? It's not just show. He is one of you, Mets fans. One. Of. You. He posted this on his Twitter feed before heading to the Rocky Mountains for a gig:

Any METS FAN want to meet at a sports bar tomorrow in Denver to possibly watch us CLINCH?!

— Jim Breuer (@JimBreuer) September 26, 2015

We know there are other celebrity fans out there. Ashley Judd does the Kentucky Wildcats proud. Jack Nicholson (Lakers), Spike Lee (Knicks) and other stars are mainstays in NBA floor seats. Bill Murray is a Cubs legend. And of course, Jerry Seinfeld famously staked out some Mets territory of his own in the 1980s and '90s. At the moment, though, Jim Breuer is the standard bearer for celebrity fans who not only love a team, but live and die with it. Here's a Smack Zone hat tip to Mr. Breuer. Well done, Mets fan. Well done. [facebook url="https://www.facebook.com/JimBreuer/videos/10153450376072025/" /]

[caption id="attachment_1140" align="alignright" width="474"] The Jim McElwain Era at Florida is off to an auspicious start. The Gators are back in the AP top 25 for the first time since 2013, and are poised for a game with Ole Miss that has national title implications. Seems like old times ...[/caption]   By Erez Ladetzky, SMACK ZONE contributor After Florida’s wild, last-minute victory against Tennessee Saturday at the Swamp, the Gators have re-entered the AP poll as the No. 25 team for the first time since 2013. Making room for the Gators, Oregon dropped out of the AP for the first time since 2009 after getting whooped at home by Utah. The days of Tim Tebow leading the Gators to double-digit wins are over. Outside of All-America defensive back Vernon Hargreaves III, there are not too many potential first-round NFL picks on this Gators team. This team probably won’t win the national championship any time soon, but returning to relevance is the next step. That step was taken with a crazy victory over the Vols on Saturday. Tennessee did the most Tennessee thing possible, blew ANOTHER double-digit lead to lose a heartbreaking game. This time, the Vols had a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter and STILL managed to lose this game. Florida was set up with fourth and 13 with just under two minutes to go and down by 6. Not only did the Gators convert, they scored a TD on that play to take a 1 point lead. Vols coach Butch Jones is feeling the heat on his seat right about now. Tennessee drove the field to set themselves up for a last second field goal, and came inches away from ending UF’s dominance over them. Jones did a little, very brief, wishful thinking celebration when he thought the field goal was good. That was just kind of sad, actually. Florida heads into October undefeated, and facing a brutal schedule. Who thought Ole Miss-UF would have national championship implications? We sure didn’t. But next Saturday, Florida hosts Ole Miss in a battle of ranked, undefeated SEC teams. Ole Miss goes to Gainesville as the No. 3 team in the nation, and has playoffs on its mind. The Gators can make a huge statement with a victory Saturday. Not only will it help them gain confidence heading into the meat of their conference schedule, but it would be a story book start to the Jim McElwain era. Not too many people counted on Florida to play meaningful games in October this year, but that is what they will do. Another bonus for Florida: FSU dropped a spot in the AP poll to No. 11 after not playing last weekend. Not a bad day to be a Florida Gator. But just as a friendly reminder to the Gators that things can go South quickly in this game, here's a Vine clip of receiver C.J. Worton taking one off the gourd during Saturday's game:

Monday morning hits you like … https://t.co/F19YYmlo0r

— SB Nation (@SBNation) September 28, 2015

 

Florida hosts the University of Tennessee Saturday. Once upon a time, that meant Steve Spurrier would be in his element. The undisputed king of college football smack cut his teeth at UF on former UT coach Phillip Fulmer's backside: "You can't spell Citrus [Bowl] without U-T." He made mincemeat of Peyton Manning. "I know why Peyton came back for his senior year. He wanted to be a three-time star of the Citrus Bowl." Spurrier's swagger at Florida always seemed calculated to give the Vols an inferiority complex. It worked, you know: Prior to coming to South Carolina, he was 9-4 against Tennessee -- including five in a row in 1993-97. The Ole Ball Coach even turned the non-existent rivalry between South Carolina and the Vols into something. Since taking over the Gamecocks, Spurrier is 5-5 against UT; before he came to Columbia, South Carolina was 2-19-2 all-time against the Vols. But no one outside of Knoxville and Central South Carolina cares about Gamecocks-Volunteers. This is about the Gators and the Vols, and about Spurrier's delicious habit of smacking down his old rivals. Which brings us to this week. Florida-UT no longer carries the luster it once did. The national title is not on the line this weekend. The Gators will turn the Swamp blue tomorrow, but so what? It's just not the same as when Spurrier prowled the sideline, scowling and chucking his visor and generally wearing his arrogance like a comfortable old pair of boots. Let's revisit some of the all-time great moments in Spurrier history, shall we? It'll probably be more entertaining that tomorrow's UF-UT game -- unless you're really into blue. WATERMELON [caption id="attachment_1095" align="aligncenter" width="400"] That is a MIGHTY good watermelon.[/caption] NEARLY THREW IT [caption id="attachment_1096" align="aligncenter" width="443"] He wanted to throw it. See? He does have self-control.[/caption] DEAL WITH IT [wpvideo qGkhPqsX] SO ... YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE? [caption id="attachment_1100" align="aligncenter" width="360"] Yes. YES![/caption] CAPTION THIS [caption id="attachment_1101" align="aligncenter" width="267"] I betcha I could win a Super Bowl in Washington ...[/caption] STILL GOT IT [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkOIAD2eI0A]

[caption id="attachment_1060" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Superstitious much? The Cubs remain convinced that the black cat that haunted Ron Santo on Sep. 9, 1969 was a harbinger of doom.[/caption] By Bob D'Angelo, Smack Zone Contributor You probably already know about Bucky Dent’s three-run homer in 1978 and the implosion that cost the Phillies the National League pennant in 1964. But the beautiful thing about major-league baseball history is that there are plenty of exciting, tantalizing, funny, odd and just plain weird events to choose from. As another regular season winds down, here are 10 strange or interesting things that gave an irregular shape to the remnants of the regular season during September or October. The items on this list hardly scratch the surface, but we think they’re pretty interesting:

1. Black cat — Baseball players and managers can be superstitious, so having a black cat stroll toward your dugout can be unnerving.

Ask the 1969 Chicago Cubs. The Cubs were teetering atop the National League East, but still clung to a 1½-game lead over the upstart New York Mets when the teams clashed at Shea Stadium on September 9. [caption id="attachment_1061" align="alignleft" width="240"] The Cubs' curse is now manager Joe Maddon's problem.[/caption] As Ron Santo waited in the on-deck circle late in the game, a black cat ran onto the field, circled the Cubs’ third baseman several times, and then quickly scampered under the stands. The Cubs, who would go 8-17 in September, lost that game 7-1, and lost 6-2 the next day at Philadelphia, yielding first place to a Mets team that never let go of its lead en route to a stunning playoff run and World Series title.

2. Dick McAuliffe — The Tigers’ infielder with the unorthodox, front-foot pointing at the pitcher’s batting stance only hit into two double plays in 1967 — but the second one was a killer. On October 1, Detroit needed a victory to tie the Boston Red Sox for the American League pennant but trailed the Angels 8-5 in the bottom of the ninth. Detroit had runners on first and second with one out, but McAuliffe grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to eliminate the Tigers. McAuliffe would not ground into a double play in 1968, and the Tigers won the AL pennant.
3. Charley O’Leary — On September 30, 1934, at Detroit, the St. Louis Browns sent 58-year-old O’Leary up to pinch hit against the Tigers. He singled and later scored a run, becoming the oldest major-leaguer to get a hit and score a run. He was used as a pinch hitter and singled, then scored a run in the Browns’ 6-2 loss to the Tigers. It was O’Leary’s first appearance in a major-league lineup since October 5, 1913, when he played shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals,
4. Alou, Alou, Alou — On September 10, 1963, at the Polo Grounds, the San Francisco Giants set up a trio of Alou brothers in order against the New York Mets. In the top of the eighth inning, Jesus Alou made his major-league debut, pinch hitting for Jose Pagan. He grounded out against Mets starter Carl Willey. Giants manager Al Dark then sent up Matty Alou to hit for pitcher Bob Garibaldi. Matty, who only struck out 13 times in 1963, whiffed against Garibaldi.

[caption id="attachment_1062" align="alignright" width="257"] The Royals are on a mission that would make George Brett proud.[/caption] That brought up eldest brother Felipe Alou, the Giants’ leadoff hitter who was playing right field. Felipe hit back to the mound and was retired by Willey to end the inning. The Mets won, 4-2.

5. Gary Sheffield — The Tampa, Florida, native hit the 250,000th homer in major-league history, connecting for a grand slam off Oakland’s Gio Gonzalez during the second inning on September 8, 2008. It also was the 496th of Sheffield’s career.

Sheffield had hit the 249,999th homer an inning earlier, a solo shot off Gonzalez. Sheffield’s Detroit Tigers would win, 14-8.

6. Crazy Eights — Twenty-nine major-leaguers have collected 3,000 or more hits in their career. Eight of them hit the milestone in September: Nap Lajoie (1914), Roberto Clemente (1972), Al Kaline (1974), Carl Yastrzemski (1979), Robin Yount (1992), George Brett (1992), Dave Winfield (1993) and Paul Molitor (1996).

[caption id="attachment_1063" align="alignleft" width="300"] Can the Pirates recapture their 1979 We Are Family glory days?[/caption] Winfield and Molitor got No. 3,000 on September 16, while Clemente and Brett achieved it on September 30. Kaline did it 41 years ago today (September 24). While Clemente and Lajoie doubled for their milestone hit, Molitor is the only player — September or otherwise — to smack a triple for hit No. 3,000. If you’re wondering, only one player has reached the milestone in October—Rickey Henderson, who doubled on October 7, 2001.

7. Addie Joss — With the 1908 American League race hanging in the balance, Joss pitched the second perfect game in league history on October 2 in Cleveland, outdueling Chicago’s Ed Walsh 1-0. The victory foiled Walsh’s bid for his 40th victory of the season. The Naps (later renamed Indians), scored the game’s lone run in the third inning to stay a half-game behind Detroit in the white-hot pennant race. The game at League Park took 92 minutes to play. Detroit would win the pennant by a half game, even though the Tigers played three fewer games than the Naps.
8. Double dose — The 1968 season was truly the year of the pitcher. On September 17, Giants pitcher Gaylord Perry tossed a no-hitter against the Cardinals at Candlestick Park, outdueling Bob Gibson 1-0. Gibson allowed only four hits, but a first-inning homer by Ron Hunt was the difference in the game.

The Cardinals returned the favor the next afternoon, as Ray Washburn no-hit the Giants 2-0. This marked the first time in major-league history that a no-hitter had been achieved in successive games involving common opponents. It was the Cardinals’ first no-hitter since Lon Warneke threw one in 1941.

9. Shattered — Cubs rookie outfielder Tyler Colvin’s chest was punctured when he is hit by a sliver of Welington Castillo’s maple bat on September 19, 2010, during Chicago’s 13-3 victory against the Marlins. Colvin was leading off third when Castillo smacked a drive down the left-field line for a double. In the process, his bat shattered and hit Colvin in his right upper chest. Colvin was taken to the hospital but was later released. [caption id="attachment_1064" align="alignright" width="232"] Of course, wishing for the curse to end doesn't make it happen. And that black cat, man. Don't forget the black cat![/caption]
10. Ball on the wall — In the top of the 13th inning at Shea Stadium on September 20, 1973, Dave Augustine’s long drive to left bounces off the top of the fence — and directly into the hands of Cleon Jones. The Mets’ left fielder fires to relay man Wayne Garrett, who throws a strike to catcher Ron Hodges to nail the Pirates’ Richie Zisk with what would have been the go-ahead run. Instead, the game remains tied until Hodges ends it with an RBI single in the bottom of the 13th, giving New York a 4-3 win.

It was the second — and last — hit of the season for Augustine, who had just seven at-bats in 1973.

Welcome to the Smack Apparel weekly football picks contest, where t-shirts and bragging rights are on the line every week. To play, click this link: Smack Apparel Picks Contest. Once there, register at the top-right of the page. Next, pick your winners for every game and enter a score for the tie-breaker. Each weekly winner will receive three Smack Apparel t-shirts, and the runner-up will receive one t-shirt. Share this post on Facebook and Twitter and tag your friends. Don’t forget to remind them who’s the king of picking games with your best smack talk! To help you out, here are a few random thoughts on this week’s slate.

COLLEGE GAMES

Florida State at Boston College – Welcome to the ultimate Tea Party event. Northwestern at Duke – May the highest composite IQ win. Virginia Tech at Purdue – What’s a Boilermaker without a splash of Wild Turkey? Georgia Tech at Notre Dame – This week’s lock: A team with gold helmets will win this game. Nebraska at Miami – Hello, 2015? 1995 called. It wants its national championship game back. Auburn at LSU – So many Tigers. Rawr. South Carolina at Georgia – After last week’s shocker against Kentucky, the Ole Ball Coach needs to bounce back against his Ole Rival. Texas Tech at Arkansas – The Razorbacks have allowed one TD pass in two games. Tech’s Pat Mahomes might double that … in the first quarter. Florida at Kentucky – A chance for one of these teams to stake an early claim as an SEC East contender. California at Texas – The Horns could use a “get-better” game to right their season. This ain’t that. Rutgers at Penn State – The battle for the bottom of the Big Ten East. Pittsburgh at Iowa – Coming off a rivalry win against Iowa State, favored Hawkeyes could be ready for letdown. Stanford at USC – The last 19 times Stanford entered this game unranked, it went 1-17-1. Stanford is unranked this week. Do the math. Ole Miss at Alabama – The touchdown-underdog Rebs could win, but it would make some major history: Ole Miss is 1-27 all-time in Tuscaloosa, and the Tide has never lost consecutive games to the Rebs. BYU at UCLA – Hint for UCLA: If BYU QB Tanner Mangum drops back for a Hail Mary pass, pray.

NFL GAMES

Patriots at Bills – Rex the Wonder Coach and his upstart Bills try to announce their presence with authority against the Very Shady Brady Bunch. Seahawks at Packers – We’ll defer to Marshawn Lynch’s mom, Delisa, for commentary on this one. Actual, news-making, direct quote from her Facebook page after Seattle’s loss to St. Louis: "Too the smart azz media who wrote that's why marshawn didn't get the ball in the superbowl ,how many times did russell get sacked yesterday. Dont worry i will wait on the answer plus it was totally different at the superbowl the line was better than yesterday no blocking and to the offense caller who should have been fired yes i said it Fired !!! He is the worst play-caller ever the only reason he called that dumb azz play yesterday is to be able to justify the 1 yard that wasn't called in the superbowl ,but most fans already figured this out .were still on a mission but i know the Seahawks staff loves that play caller more than a win ,go figure ‪#‎nfldontpayme# I love this team and will stand up to anybody who tries to destroy it boom!!!!" We could not have said it better ourselves. Lions at Vikings – It won’t matter how well QB Teddy Bridgewater or RB Adrian Peterson play for Minnesota if the Vikes’ D doesn’t do much better against Detroit rookie RB Ameer Abdullah than it did against San Fran’s Carlos Hyde (168 yards on 26 carries). Texans at Panthers – Houston’s DL/LB J.J. Watt could very well be the best fantasy play of the week from this game. Cowboys at Eagles – Eagles RB DeMarco Murray had nine yards on eight carries against the Falcons in Week 1. Very, very, very safe to say he’ll perform better than that this week against the team that was too cheap to pay him after he set a Cowboys record for rushing yards in a season.