Love him or hate him, Joe Buck, the play-by-play man whose Twitter bio includes the line "I love all teams EXCEPT yours," has been in the announcer's booth for the end of two of baseball's longest World Series curses.
From Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Oct. 27, 2004, at the end of an 86-year drought: "Back to Foulke; Red Sox fans have longed to hear it: the Boston Red Sox are world champions!"
From Progressive Field in Cleveland, Nov. 2, 2016, at the end of a 108-year drought: "The Cubs have won the World Series. Bryant makes the play. It's over! And the Cubs have finally won it all!"
According to Amara Grautski of the New York Daily News, Buck, 47, didn't have anything prepared or prewritten either time. He hasn't scribbled down an idea on his score sheet since Mark McGwire belted his 62nd home run in 1998 (a "cheesy line" he never used, anyway).
"Being the first broadcaster in the history of television to say the Red Sox are world champions and the same for the Cubs, I'm just happy to be sitting in the right place at the right time and the right year for this stuff," Buck, the son of Hall of Fame Cardinals announcer Jack Buck, told the Daily News last week.
Back in 1998, with St. Louis' Mark McGwire on the verge of breaking Roger Maris' home run record, Buck spent a lot of time thinking about what to say when in happened. Finally, he decided to jot down a line: "McGwire goes around the bases and into the history books."
But when he time came, and McGwire's record breaker barely cleared the wall at Busch, Buck didn't have time to glance down at whe he'd written, so he simply reacted: "Touch first, Mark, you are the new single-season home run king."
Buck liked the way it played out.
"If you're trying to squeeze a moment into some predetermined line, I think you're looking for quicksand," Buck said.
Bolt in for jolt?
He has the speed. Does he have the footwork?
Last year, Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt, a huge soccer fan, told British sportscaster Andy Goldstein that he thought he could play for a top-tier team.
"For me, if I could get to play for Manchester United, that would be like a dream come true," Bolt said. "Yes, that would be epic."
But how to get there?
"In my mind I think I should do a trial and see if they would say 'Alright, come on in' or if they would say 'No, you are not any good'. I think I would be pretty good because I am fit, I am quick, I can control the ball and I understand all of the play.
"So I think if I do a trial then they would say, 'You know what, here is a contract for five years! You are 30 years old, here's a five-year contract. Let's just do it!'"
Now he's getting his chance to prove it.
Borussia Dortmund's chief has confirmed that nine-time Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt will practice with the Bundesliga team.
Hans-Joachim Watzke told Kicker magazine on Sunday that "it was no joke" and "not a marketing move."
Watzke was responding to a report in a Guardian newspaper that Bolt planned to train with Dortmund, one of the top Bundesliga teams.
Dortmund and Bolt are both sponsored by the same Germany-based sporting goods company Puma, whose president contacted Dortmund to say that Bolt had asked about training with the team.
Watzke said he welcomed the idea and that Dortmund Coach Thomas Tuchel also looked forward to it. Watzke said the timing of the practice remains to be determined.
Asked if Bolt could have a future in Dortmund, Watzke replied, "We don't even need to talk about it."
Sports quiz
No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Washington lost on Saturday. When was the last time No. 2, 3 and 4 lost on the same day in college football?
Answer
Oct. 19, 1985, when No. 2 Michigan lost to No. 1 Iowa, 12-10; No. 3 Oklahoma lost to Miami, 27-14, and No. 4 Arkansas lost to Texas 15-13
Sports on 11/14/2016