September 25th, 2009 01:36pm
by OldSchool
The Old School blog is on vacation, returning Oct. 19. Autumn means unmatched weather and sunsets in the North Bay, so lots of hiking is planned on trails at Bodega Bay, Point Reyes, Salt Point, Sugar Loaf and Putnam Park, among others. Many thanks to readers of the blog and of my Sunday column in The Press Democrat, which returns Oct. 25.
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September 25th, 2009 01:25pm
by OldSchool
Wayne Gretzky’s resignation as coach of the Phoenix Coyotes comes after four seasons of missing the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Great One joins an impressive list of elite athletes who came nowhere their accustomed success as coaches or managers. There are some exceptions, though.
Bill Russell, who led the Boston Celtics to 11 NBA titles in a 13-year career, had only brief, moderate success as a coach of the Seattle SuperSonics …
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September 24th, 2009 01:16pm
by OldSchool
Former N.Y. Giants defensive star Michael Strahan has a new career: TV actor. He will co-star with Carl Weathers in the sitcom “Brothers.” This development reminds me of two old-school NFL players who had successful runs on TV shows.
Alex Karras, the great defensive lineman for the Detroit Lions (1958-70) starred in the long-running sitcom “Webster” in the 1980s.
And Ed Marinaro, a running back (1972-77) mostly with the Minnesota Vikings but …
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September 21st, 2009 11:57pm
by OldSchool
In Quentin Tarantino’s new film “Inglourious Basterds,” the graphic-novel-style ultra-violent adolescent fantasy of a group of Jewish-Americans on a Nazi killing spree during WWII, one of the Basterds invokes the batting exploits of Ted Williams while smashing a Nazi officer’s head with a Louisville slugger. I don’t want to tell Quentin Tarantino how to write his scripts, but he picked the wrong WWII-era baseball hero. Ted Williams? The Basterd should …
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September 21st, 2009 02:54am
by OldSchool
Center fielder Torii Hunter has an excellent chance to win his ninth consecutive Gold Glove Award this season. Willie Mays won 12 in a row. To excel defensively, that consistently, in center field is amazing.
Curt Flood, another superb defensive center fielder, won seven consecutive Gold Glove Awards, from 1963 through 1969. Mays won his from 1957 through 1968.
To win it as a center fielder, I think, is more impressive than …
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September 20th, 2009 03:18am
by OldSchool
Assistant sports editor Bill Pinella loaned me a book that’s just been published, “Muhammad Ali and the Greatest Heavyweight Generation” by Tom Cushman. I started reading it yesterday and can’t put it down.
First of all, Cushman is a wordsmith. It’s such a pleasure to read this true stylist.
But the style has substance. This isn’t just another boxing chronology, nor is it yet another hero-worshipping tribute to Ali.
If you’ve got any …
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September 20th, 2009 03:07am
by OldSchool
Kurt Suzuki has made A’s history, passing Frankie Hayes as the last catcher to lead the team in RBIs.
Suzuki has 79 RBIs and will most certainly lead the A’s in that category at season’s end. Hayes, who caught for the Philadelphia A’s from 1933-42 and from 1944-45, led the team with 78 RBIs in 1944.
That’s right, Suzuki set a mark that had lasted through two team reincarnations (Kansas City and …
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September 16th, 2009 07:44pm
by OldSchool
Eight years ago, Sept. 18, 2001, to be exact, Andres Galarraga hit what still has to be one of the longest home runs in AT&T Park history.
The game, Astros at Giants, was the first the Giants had played since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The mood among the near-capacity crowd was one of righteous recovery and determination but there was wariness, too, naturally. The world had changed. Could we still …
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September 14th, 2009 10:20pm
by OldSchool
The 49ers public relations passed along a note the reporters covering Sunday’s game. It stated that Shaun Hill was the third undrafted quarterback to start a 49ers’ season-opening game. The 49ers are wrong.
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September 14th, 2009 03:00am
by OldSchool
Monday Night Football is about to begin its 40th season. What are your favorite MNF games? Here are my top two.
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Robert Rubino has been a daily copy editor for nearly 30 years and a weekly sports columnist for 15 years. 
