Just say notes . . .
Oh, for the old days when an NBA player would miss a game with a pulled hammy, not a pulled .45. . . .
The Broncos started 6-0 this season, then finished 2-8. OK, so you knew that. But how about this one? They started 4-0 vs. teams that made the playoffs, then finished 0-4. . . .
Scary thought of the day: The Bronx allowed 124 fewer points in 2009 than they did in 2008, but finished with the same record. . . .
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you coach Jeff Fisher’s Tennessee Anti-Broncos, who opened the season 0-6 and finished 8-2. . . .
You have to hand it to Scott Boras. He not only got Matt Holliday $120 million, he got Adrian Beltre, a career .179 hitter at Fenway Park, $9 million for 2010 from the Red Sox. A buck-79 at Fenway? Ted Williams could come off the severely disabled list and do better than that. . . .
Great guy, Holliday, but 120 mill? In this economy? I’m not off to see the wizard. I’m off to find the team that was offering 119. . . .
Jeff Bzdelik, during a downtown social function, when a hopelessly optimistic fan informed him that he has owned four season tix to CU hoops games for 26 years: “Are you a Cub fan too?” . . .
This just in. Mike Leach is suing Texas Tech for slander and libel. Oh, and for subjecting him to the nightlife in Lubbock. . . .
OK, I admit it. I thought rotary phones had a better chance of making a comeback in Cleveland than Eric Mangini. . . .
Now this is getting downright ridiculous. According to the NBA rumor mill, the Wizards are trying to trade Gilbert Arenas for two shooters named Smith and Wesson. . . .
Tom Brady reportedly is playing through a broken finger and three broken ribs. Tell you what. Two broken legs, three or four amputations and a lobotomy or two, and I might feel sorry for him. …
Brandon Marshall is taking a trip around the world, stopping, among other places, in Asia. Let me guess. Josh McDaniels was hoping for somewhere more convenient like, say, Mars. . . .
It had never happened before, but it has now. The SEC has accounted for four consecutive national championships in football. Only once had the same conference accounted for three in a row. And what conference might that be? Hint: You just passed it three sentences ago. . . .
On the off chance you thought the new decade was off to a normal start, Nick Saban just smiled and Norv Turner’s team is favored by a lot of people to win the Super Bowl. . . .
An unauthorized biography of Warren Beatty claims he has slept with 12,775 women. Said Tiger Woods, when asked for his reaction: “Not only that, he can’t hit a golf ball like I can, either.” . . .
OK, so I made up that previous note. What, like I was supposed to get through a whole column without a Tiger reference? . . .
Who knew? Other than getting rid of the electric chair, Mike Shanahan has decided to keep all the furnishings in Jim Zorn’s old office. . . .
By the way, I hear Shanny’s new restaurant has this really cool fireplace and marble all over the joint. I would tell you firsthand, but my invitation to the grand opening is hopelessly lost in the mail. . . .
And finally, longtime Post outdoors writer Charlie Meyers’ standard greeting every time I walked in the sports department: “Jimmy, I just read this great column. What I can’t figure out is how your name was on it.” Farewell, so long and happy trails, my good friend.
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost or catch him weekdays 7-10 a.m. on The Score with Armstrong and Shapiro on Mile High Sports Radio 1510 AM.
Take me out to the Hall game
Contrary to popular belief, computing an NFL quarterback’s passer rating isn’t the most confusing thing in sports. That distinction belongs to the Baseball Hall of Fame voting.
Case in point: By now, you’ve probably heard that Andre Dawson was voted in. Great. I’m happy for him. But how can Dawson be voted in after Ron Santo has spent decades without getting a whiff of the place?
In case you didn’t know, they’re the same player. But don’t take my word for it. Consider this:
Santo’s average season, prorated over 162 games: .277-25-96 with a .362 on-base percentage. Dawson’s average season, pro-rated over 162 games: .279-27-98-.323.
Santo had four 30-homer seasons, Dawson three.
Santo had four 100-RBI seasons, same as Dawson.
Santo made nine all-star teams, Dawson eight.
Santo was in the top eight of the MVP voting four times, same as Dawson.
Santo won five Gold Gloves, Dawson eight.
Yes, Dawson was a much greater threat on the bases with 300-plus stolen bases. But Santo played third base, a position that has produced relatively few middle-of-the-order run producers worthy of Hall of Fame consideration.
Too bad that’s all Santo has ever received, consideration.
Jim Armstrong
Five fearless predictions
Doesn’t seem possible, but the 2010s are upon us. Here are five fearless prognostications for the decade ahead, all of which are guaranteed to prove true*:
5. Tiger Woods returns from his self-imposed exile to play in the 2012 John Deere Classic. Amazingly, he plays four rounds, wins by 21 strokes, and the media never discover his presence in the field. Afterward, Woods tells tournament officials, “I’d like to thank you all for having a tournament nobody cares about.”
4. David Stern, in a concession to the NBA Players Association during 2014 labor negotiations, agrees to a two-gun limit for bringing firearms in the locker room. Provided, of course, the players have collars on their shirts when they’re packing heat.
3. NASCAR overtakes the NHL in popularity in . . . Oh, wait, that happened a long time ago. Never mind.
2. Peyton Manning wins the last of his seven NFL MVP awards in January 2015. Asked for his reaction, Manning says he just wants to win one more Super Bowl than his overrated brother.
1. The Broncos, in 2018, miss the playoffs for the 13th consecutive season. Meanwhile, a display called Broncomania debuts at the Colorado History Museum.
* If not, you can have both nickels left in my 401(k).
