Mays, forever young, is 90
Willie Mays is turning 90, and no mistaking that number. It strikes with the clarity of a line drive. Mays played in a sport measured by milestones — 3,000 hits, 500 homers, signposts he passed and then some — and now here’s one more.
On Thursday, when baseball’s oldest living Hall of Famer is serenaded with renditions of “Happy Birthday to You,” it might be time to expand the playlist. A player of such infinite variety deserves as much.
There’s plenty to choose from. References to the Giants center fielder cut across the years and the genres — rock, pop, folk, country, rap, hip hop.
The two most frequent mentions come in what have become ballpark anthems: John Fogerty’s “Centerfield” and Terry Cashman’s “Talkin’ Baseball (Willie, Mickey & The Duke).”
Fogerty grew up in San Francisco, his father a Joe DiMaggio fan. His song, released in 1985, is one of hope on a day when all seems possible. Fogerty goes on to sing of a player riding the bench and dying to get into the game. He summons a pantheon of outfielders: “So say, ‘Hey Willie, tell Ty Cobb and Joe DiMaggio/Don’t say it ain’t so you know the time is now.” Finally, there is the plea and the heart of the song: “So put me in coach,
I’m ready to play today/Look at me, I can be centerfield.” Mays, no doubt, would understand.
Soccer CHELSEA OUSTS MADRID TO SET UP ALL-ENGLISH CL FINAL »
Chelsea will end a turbulent season by playing in the Champions League final after making the competition’s most successful team look ordinary.
Timo Werner and Mason Mount scored to secure a 2-0 victory over Real Madrid in the second of their semifinal on Wednesday to oust the record 13-time European champions 3-1 on aggregate.
It will be an all-English final against Manchester City on May 29 but the Premier League rivals will have to fly four hours to play the
UEFA showpiece in Istanbul, which is currently in a coronavirus lockdown.
Getting a shot at adding to its 2012 Champions League title will vindicate Chelsea’s decision in January to fire club great Frank Lampard and hire Thomas Tuchel, the manager who led Paris Saint-Germain to last season’s final.
NHL SHARKS’ KANE HIT WITH $15 MILLION LAWSUIT »
San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane, who filed for bankruptcy in January, has been sued by one of his creditors for $15 million.
In its lawsuit filed this week in the Northern District of California’s federal bankruptcy court, Professional Bank, which says it loaned Kane $1.5 million in
March 2019, claims it is entitled to “punitive and exemplary damages based on the fraud of Defendant Kane … ten times the amount of the compensatory damages.”
Professional Bank’s complaint alleges that the Sharks forward made promises on how he would repay the loan that he did not fulfill, and that he misrepresented his financial circumstances and financial condition — overstating his assets and understating his liabilities.
Tennis
NADAL CRUISES PAST SPANISH TEENAGE SENSATION »
In a much-anticipated battle of generations, Rafael Nadal showed he is still clearly the man to beat in Spanish tennis, cruising to a 6-1, 6-2 win over teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the Madrid Open.
Nadal, seeking his sixth title in Madrid and looking to regain top form ahead of the French Open, was never threatened by Alcaraz, who turned 18 on Wednesday.
The two Spaniards had never played a match against each other but practiced together at the Australian Open, when Alcaraz reached the second round.
John Isner saved a match point before outlasting Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6), while Alexander Zverev, the 2018 Madrid champion, comfortably defeated 2014 finalist Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-2.