Just call him Mozart Mangini.
Jets coach Eric Mangini has added Mozart to the musical playbook fans attending training camp can hear from sideline speakers during workouts.
He's not doing it to turn Hofstra's practice fields into Central Park, though. He's doing it to try to give his team an edge.
“From different studies, they assume . . . Mozart's music and brain waves are very similar, and it stimulates learning,” Mangini told Rich Cimini of the New York Daily News. “They play it in a lot of schools around the country – kind of underneath, very low – so I thought if that's the case, why not give it a shot?”
The Jets usually play Mozart during the low-intensity drills, when the team splits up into individual units and the coaches are stressing mental work over physical, Cimini writes. In team drills, when the speed picks up, the Jets crank up the music and switch to rock and hip-hop. They do it to simulate crowd noise, forcing the players to increase their concentration amid the din.
So, which music do the players prefer?
“Mozart, Beethoven, guys aren't feeling that,” linebacker Jonathan Vilma said.
Said defensive end Shaun Ellis: “It kind of puts you to sleep a little bit. I'm not complaining about it. They say it helps learning. As long as we get our music at the end of the day, it's OK.”
Trivia time
On Aug. 1, 1998, this former San Diego high school and college player set an American League record by homering from both sides of the plate for the third time in a season. Name him.
The Hall monitor
Ross Newhan, a Baseball Hall of Famer (media wing), gave the Atlanta Journal-Constitution his top-five list of previously snubbed players who deserve a place in Cooperstown, and why:
1. Ron Santo. Superior stats and player to several third basemen in the Hall.
2. Maury Wills. Re-revolutionized the game with his stolen bases, leading to Lou Brock, Rickey Henderson and now Jose Reyes among others on Fleet Street.
3. Bert Blyleven. On basis of his strikeouts, wins and complete games.
4. Gil Hodges. On defense alone, but also cornerstone of title teams with supporting stats.
5. Walter O'Malley. Pioneering gumption and foresight in bringing major league baseball to the Gold Coast.
Minor League Promotion of the Week
Barring a rainout, the Lowell (Mass.) Spinners were to hold Political Correctness Night last night during their home game vs. the Brooklyn Cyclones. Highlights, courtesy of milb.com:
Position players referred to in gender-neutral terms (“first baseperson” and so on).
Bases not identified as first, second or third (rankings promote a sense of inferiority).
Players who commit an error not identified by name, so as not to hurt their feelings.
Parting shot
Reggie Hayes of The News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Ind.), on the Atlanta Falcons' quarterback situation:
“Isn't it amazing the lengths the feds will go to resurrect Joey Harrington's career?”
Trivia answer
Tony Clark, then of the Tigers.
Big, bad number
11
On today's date in 1941, the Yanks' Lefty Gomez walked 11 in a 9-0 victory over the Browns to set a major league record for walks in a shutout.
