Sports Shorts

  • “Breaking,” as we know, was part of this year’s Olympics. But what about the Limbo Bar and the Bristol Stomp?
  • Attendance for the first Rays-Athletics game in Oakland: 3,998. The franchise will relocate next year to Sacramento—and ultimately to Las Vegas.
  • For the first time, a team from Florida (Lake Mary) has won the Little League World Series.
  • The New York Times ran a piece comparing the woeful Chicago White Sox (who recently lost 21 games in a row) with the Philadelphia Phillies of 1961, who lost 23 straight. Also referenced was 1964 when the Phillies blew a 6 ½ lead with 12 to play. It’s still known as the “Phlop.”

I was a Philly guy back then, so I do remember it. I also recall one of the more memorable lines that came out during that stretch. The Phils lost 1-0 to Cincinnati. The Reds scored when Chico Ruiz stole home with Frank Robinson, THAT Frank Robinson, at the plate. After the game, reporters asked Reds manager Dick Sisler what would have happened had Ruiz been out. The quick, blunt response: “He’d still be running.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *