Greatest Song Evah 11/22/24

Little Red Corvette

Little Red Corvette was the first time I really GOT Prince. He had a sizable hit early in his career with I Wanna Be Your Lover - which included an appearance on American Bandstand in which he showed his eccentricity for all to see - but even through his subsequent releases Dirty Mind and Controversy were highly acclaimed neither broke through on Top 40 radio, let alone the album rock stations that I listened to most at the time.

And then one day one of those album rock stations played this song, and it made an immediate impression on me; it was a great mashup of new wave and guitar rock. When the DJ back-announced the song I incorrectly heard it as a band named “Prints,” I didn’t imagine that it was Prince, but it must have instead been some new artist whom I had not heard of. I was misinformed.

The song is outstanding; the synths give it a clear early-1980’s vibe without that cold electronic drum sound that dates too many 80’s songs. The lyrics are just filthy enough that it made it past the censors, but you know exactly what he’s talking about when he sings of jockeys that were there before he as well as the “used” Trojan horses. The record was made when he was still in one-man band mode. Despite what the video implies, Prince plays every instrument on the recording with the exception of Dez Dickerson’s guitar solo. The video is still significant, however. Not all of the members of The Revolution were in his live band at this juncture, but that classic lineup was starting to take shape.

The success of this song burst a big dam. Prince was just as responsible as Michael Jackson was for breaking the racial barrier at MTV, and he would spend the remainder of the decade as a major player in the music scene, both with his own career as well as with the myriad of artists whom he promoted and/or wrote songs for.

Ballot Breakdown - Tommy John

Tommy John was the type of pitcher I’m generally not a huge fan of. You know, a guy who throws a lot of off-speed and breaking stuff, giving up a lot of hits and more runs than you would want to see. It seemed as if he would have runners on first & third in almost every inning. Yet, he frequently got out of those jams by enticing soft contact from the hitter, getting a weak grounder to second or an infield pop-up. There’s a lot to be said for that, and he pitched effectively well into his forties.

My HOF issue with John is that as good as he was, he was rarely great. There is almost no bold type on his Baseball Reference page. In a 26 year career, he led his league in shutouts thrice (impressive) and hits allowed and wild pitches once each (less impressive.) Moreover, he only received Cy Young votes in 4 different seasons, although to be fair he would certainly have gotten votes in a couple of his earlier years when voters could only vote for one person per league rather than use the 1-3 ranking ballot in use today. Yes, he won a lot of games, but his ERA’s & WHIP’s were pedestrian. All this is to say that as admirable as his durability was, he had the profile of a really good #2 man in the rotation rather than a true ace.

Of course, his main contribution to the sport is that he was the first recipient of the elbow surgery that now bears his name. Who knows how differently the game would be had he not proven that an elbow tear is not necessarily a career ender. An argument can certainly be made that he and Dr. Frank Jobe warrant induction if there were such a thing as a pioneer category. As far as his playing career goes, he falls short to these eyes.

Random Notes

After a couple of years of promises that it is on the way, Rob Manfred confirmed that Major League Baseball will test out an Automatic Ball-Strike (ABS) system in spring training with the expectation that it will be used in the regular season as early as 2026. It will be similar to the system that has been used in the minor leagues; a team will have 2 challenges available and the system is set up so that it can immediately determine whether a pitch should be called a ball or a strike - think of the Hawk Eye system used in tennis. People who have seen it used in minor league games confirm that the process plays out so quickly that it’s barely noticeable, and with only 2 challenges it would not be used frivolously; only used to correct the most egregious missed calls.

ESPN has confirmed that this will be the final season that Hubie Brown will sit at the mic. He hasn’t done any games yet this season, but he will do one final game at a yet to be determined date, and he will be broadcasting next to Mike Breen for that farewell. Brown recently turned 91, and amazingly enough the few times I watched any of his games last season I saw no sign that he has lost a step. His has always been a technical type of analysis. No shtick, but he can break down a play like no one else. He has been a credit to the game and to his profession; I’m very happy that he will have an opportunity to receive a well-earned curtain call.

Flash back to 1983; Steve Carlton and Nolan Ryan were each in reach of Walter Johnson’s record for most career strikeouts. They both surpassed Johnson, and their career totals were so close that they kept switching back and forth at the top of the leader board with each start. Carlton is 3 years older than Ryan, so it made sense that in the long run Ryan would establish the record; I don’t think anyone at the time conceived that Ryan would show so much staying power that he not only surpassed Carlton but he blew him away so decisively that he would go on to set a record that will likely last forever.

I bring this up because 6 months ago it figured that we would see something similar play out in college basketball. Tara VanDerveer broke Mike Krzyzewski’s record for most career victories, with Geno Auriemma close behind. VanDerveer unexpectedly retired this offseason, so instead of the two matching each other victory for victory it was simply a matter of Geno earning the victories he needed to take the top spot, which he did on Wednesday. Now the only question is to see how long he wants to continue coaching and how high of a standard he is going to set.

What he has done at UConn is amazing. Similar to VanDerveer at Stanford and Pat Summitt at Tennessee he essentially created a perennial championship program from scratch, but the difference is that VanDerveer & Summitt were working at major universities that had pre-existing athletic infrastructures. I’m not taking anything away from either; it was not easy to build what they built. But building a program at Storrs was a much different challenge; remember, when Auriemma took the job in 1985 that was still in the early stages of Jim Calhoun’s time coaching the men’s team. UConn was a bottom dweller in the Big East, there were no signs that either coach had any chance to build dynasties. Almost 4 decades later the depth in the women’s game has grown considerably. There are several notable teams that consistently rank in the top of the ratings, but UConn remains the gold standard.

TV Of the 21st Century - The Big C

The Big C was a show that tried to thread the fine line between comedy and drama, and I think the uneasy contrast in tone is what prevented it from becoming a truly great show. It was necessary to lighten the mood on occasion - the underlying premise of the series was tragic, so you don’t want to make it too much of a downer - but at times the comedic traits were so over the top that it became jarring.

Laura Linney starred as Cathy, a high school teacher in Minnesota who had recently been diagnosed with Stage IV melanoma. At the beginning she chose not to disclose her condition to her family; she took a YOLO attitude to her life which initially puzzled those around her. One of the earliest plot lines involved a brief affair she had with a painter working at the school portrayed by Idris Elba. (She and her husband were going through a trial separation, which ended when she finally revealed her diagnosis to her husband, played by Oliver Platt.)

Platt’s husband was initially introduced as an immature guy, but he did step up once he learned of Cathy’s health. A bit trickier was their teenage son. He was a typical kid, certain that the world revolved around him & a bit of a troublemaker but not a bad kid at heart. He did not take well to the news of his mother’s illness. Oh, and what I mentioned earlier about the comedic part? That largely came from Cathy’s brother, a bipolar man who refused to take his meds, saw conspiracy theories everywhere, and was homeless. Cathy did take care to keep an eye on him, so he had a safety net despite his lack of a roof over his head. (In the later seasons he moved into a house across the street, but otherwise his character traits remained.)

The series ran on Showtime, a network notorious for renewing shows long after they passed their expiration date. That was not the case here; at the onset producers announced their intention to have the show run for 4 seasons, with each season of the show corresponding to a season of the year. Season 1 took place in summer, 2 in autumn, and so on. They stuck to that, although the final season wound up being shortened to only 4 episodes.

One element of the show that I really admired is that the writers always found a way to end each season with a gut wrenching moment. I won’t get too spoiler heavy, so I’ll only mention the one from the first season. As I mentioned, the son was very self-centered. He discovered that Cathy had a secret storage locker, and he took the key and opened it up. There he found a room filled with pre-wrapped gifts for every birthday and life milestone in his future. Cathy had prepared for the likelihood that she would not be alive long enough to actually give him those gifts. The kid broke down.

There were lots of other noteworthy actors in the show, either as series regulars or recurring characters. Gabourey Sidibe was one of Cathy’s students, who spent some time living with the family. A pre-Veep Reid Scott was her oncologist. Cynthia Nixon recurred as an old college friend of Cathy’s who winds up sharing carnal knowledge with Cathy’s brother. In season 2 Cathy participated in a clinical trial run by a preeminent oncologist portrayed by Alan Alda, and Hugh Dancy was a fellow participant in that trial. He and Cathy served as a mutual support system throughout the trial. And Susan Sarandon popped up in season 3 as a famous self-help guru.

In the end, the show frustrated me to a certain extent. It was ambitious, but it fell a bit short of what it could have been. One thing cannot be criticized, however, and that is Laura Linney. She is a radiant actress, and she made the show worth watching. The nature of the character called for an actress with the ability to hit all sorts of different notes, and she did it. Well played.

Originally Aired On: Showtime

Currently Streaming On: Paramount+

Closing Laughs

Another week is in the books. Have a pleasant weekend everyone, and see you all once again on Monday. Be kind to each other.