Daily Dirt: To this day, we still love Maggie, Caroline, Beth, Eileen and Annie

I think I got something to say to you … Welcome to today’s three thoughts and Vol. 235 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Every time “Maggie May” comes on the radio I smile.

It started my love affair with Rod Stewart music in the summer of 1971. I heard “Maggie May” again earlier this week, which got me to thinking about other songs with girls’ names in the titles. The following list is what I came up with when I began to put together my own personal list of songs about females:

• 1. “Maggie May,” by Rod Stewart: The name “Maggie May” does not appear in the song; Rod borrowed the title from “Maggie Mae,” a Liverpool folk song about a prostitute that the Beatles included on their “Let It Be” album.
• 2. “Sweet Caroline,” by Neil Diamond: One of the most popular songs at sporting events, thanks to the Boston Red Sox introducing it as regular game fare in 1997.
• 3. “Beth,” by KISS: One of my three favorite releases from KISS, and Peter Criss sang lead on two of them — “Beth” and “Hard Luck Woman”. The third, of course was the anthem “Rock and Roll All Night Long,” with Gene Simmons on vocals.
• 4. “Come On Eileen,” Dexys Midnight Runners: Lead singer Kevin Rowland and the rest of the Runners had this monster hit in 1982, and then soon disappeared forever.
• 5. “Annie’s Song,” by John Denver: For me, John Denver’s finest effort.
• 6. “Gloria,” by Them: Van Morrison was the lead singer. This song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
• 7. “Mandy,” by Barry Manilow: The song that put Barry Manilow on the musical map.
• 8. “Cecilia,” by Simon and Garfunkel: “Bridge Over Troubled Water” would likely be most people’s selection for the top Simon and Garfunkel song — and rightly so — but I’ve always been a “Cecilia” fan.
• 9. “Help Me, Rhonda,” by Beach Boys: It’s songs like this that have allowed the Beach Boys to bridge numerous generations.
• 10. “Barbara Ann,” by the Beach Boys: So has this one.
• 11. “Lucille,” by Kenny Rogers: One of the best sing-a-long songs ever.
• 12. “Alice’s Restaurant,” by Arlo Guthrie: Arlo Guthrie’s middle name was Davy.
• 13. “Baby Jane,” Rod Stewart: Another song with Rod at his raspy best.
• 14. “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl),” by Looking Glass: The group’s one and only success.
• 15. “Along Comes Mary,” by the Association: The Association was known for both its music and lyrics, and this is arguably the group’s finest effort.
• 16. “Jennifer Eccles,” by the Hollies: A semi-sleeper from 1968.
• 17. “My Maria,” by B.W. Stephenson: B.W. had a hit with this song before Brooks and Dunn.
• 18. “Rhiannon,” by Fleetwood Mac: The sultry side of singer Stevie Nickes.
• 19. “Delilah,” by Tom Jones: This song reached No. 1 several countries, but never got higher than No. 15 in the U.S.
• 20. “Wake Up, Little Susie,” by the Everly Brothers: The oldest song on my list. It was a hit in 1957.

2. I was able to try the new Starlight Coca-Cola.

Not impressed, not at all. In a word, “blah”. My wife, Kathy, had the exact same reaction. Maybe it’s just us, but what a disappointment. Here are my top five favorite Coke flavors:

• 1. Classic Coke: It remains the gold standard.
• 2. Coke Zero Sugar: Best-tasting low-calorie drink on the market, slightly better than the diet versions of Mountain Dew.
• 3. Vanilla Coke: A well-deserved bronze medal.
• 4. Coca Cola with Coffee: I like those tall, skinny cans, too.
• 5. Coca-Cola Orange: Here’s where things begin to really taper off, but the math says I needed a No. 5 for a top five.

3. I saw an interesting piece the other day on The Athletic website where one of its baseball writers, Stephen Nesbitt, reported on a study that ranked MLB franchises over the past decade (2012-21) based on postseason success.

Teams earned 11 points for winning a World Series, 5 points for losing a World Series, 3 points for losing a League Championship Series and 1 point for making the playoffs.Here were the top 10 MLB franchises:

• 1. New York Yankees, 78 points
• 2. Boston, 61 points
• 3. St. Louis, 55 points 
• 4. San Francisco, 42 points
• 5. Los Angeles Dodgers, 41
• 6. Houston, 39 points
• 7. Atlanta, 35 points
• 8. Chicago Cubs, 25 points
• 9-tie. Los Angeles Angels, 21 points
• 9-tie. Philadelphia, 21 points. 

Steve Thought O’ The Day — The first baseball card Steve ever possessed was a 1961 Topps Billy Bruton. “It was the first card I saw in the first pack of cards I ever bought,” Steve said.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He’s still on his “baseball is back” high.