Sports on Tap: The Weird, the Wild and the Wacky

The late Homer Jones was 82.

In the 60's, Homer Jones was Fran Tarkenton's

favorite target. Jones had power and speed

and could break free for long touchdown receptions

for the New York Giants.

In 1967, Jones had 49 receptions for New York

and led the league with 13 touchdowns. The

East Texas native had multiple years in which

he averaged 24 yards per catch.

His NFL legacy was cemented by the fact that

Jones was recognized as the first NFL player

to spike the ball after scoring a touchdown.

Jones said he was planning to throw the ball

into the stands until he realized that

Commissioner Pete Rozelle would

fine him big-time. So he spiked it into the dirt,

Jones said in a 2015 article. He continued

his signature spikes after scoring plays for

the rest of his career.

Jones ran back the second-half kickoff

for a thrilling touchdown for

the Cleveland Browns in the first-ever

Monday Night Football game in 1970,

the year after he left the Giants.

He retired due to injuries in 1971.

Homer Jones, dead at 82.

Sources... New York Post and

         CBS Sports obituaries

Scorching the Babe.

George Herman "Babe" Ruth hit a record

60 home runs for the New York Yankees in 1927,

as any baseball fan can tell ya'.

However, the Sultan of Swat did not receive

the baseball writers' American League

MVP award that year (Most Valuable Player).

How could the Babe have been so snubbed?

It was possible because in that era, 96 years ago,

a player who had received the award previously

was not eligible to receive it a second time.

Babe Ruth had won the MVP in 1923.

The Babe's teammate, first baseman Lou Gehrig,

was awarded the MVP trophy in 1927 after

achieving a league-leading 175 runs-batted-in with

47 taters .. as he and Babe Ruth led the Yankees

to the league championship and victory over the

Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series.

Gehrig's batting average of .373 outdid the Babe's

.356 in the regular season.  The pair continued to

terrorize American League pitching for the next

seven years.

Historic blowout loss puts Dodgers in the dumps.

The San Francisco Giants annihilated the L.A. Dodgers,

15-0, on Saturday, the worst shutout loss at home for the

team in 125 years.

The game was scoreless until the fifth inning before

a three-run shot by the Giants' LaMonte Wade, Jr.

and a grand-slam home run in the sixth by

Giants pinch hitter J.D. Davis broke the game open.

Both taters were served up by the Dodger starter,

rookie right-hander Bobby Miller.

The Dodgers' 5-9 start to June has put them 4.5 games

behind division-leading Arizona and only half a game

in front of their longtime rivals from San Francisco.

The Dodgers had lost a home game by 15-0 once before.

That shutout was in 1898 when the team was called the

Brooklyn Bridegrooms. The 1898 loss was to the

Pittsburgh Pirates in Brooklyn.

  ---

Update... The Giants pushed across four runs in a

decisive sixth inning on Sunday to defeat the Dodgers

7-3 and sweep the three-game weekend series

at Dodger Stadium.

The win puts San Francisco ahead of L.A. by half a

game in the National League West.

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Elly's exploits.

CBS Sports calls Elly De La Cruz a

franchise-altering talent.

He has hit four home runs since being

called up by the Cincinnati Reds on

June 6, but what really sets him apart

is his derring-do on the basepaths.

Elly stole 14 bases in 16 attempts as of

last weekend, when the Reds were in Milwaukee.

His team is 23-7 since the call-up.

In the 7th inning of a tie game versus the

Brewers, Elly stole second and third base.

When the catcher returned the ball to the

Brewers' pitcher, the pitcher turned his back

on Elly, who was edging towards home plate.

That was all Elly needed to break for home

and successfully slide home head-first

just ahead of a tag .. for what turned out to

be the winning run.

You can see the exploits of that trip around

the bases by this dreadlocks-wearing star

at YouTube.com

It was the first time in 104 years that a

Reds player had stolen all three bases

in one inning.

Elly is a 22-year-old infielder who was born

in the Dominican Republic.

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