The Dr. Anthony Fauci Of College Hoops

Black Friday. I bet that’s how they are feeling in Detroit and Dallas. The two Thanksgiving Day NFL games played—the prime time contest between sinking Baltimore and undefeated Pittsburgh was first moved to Sunday afternoon and now it is scheduled for Tuesday evening due to COVID-19 issues with the Ravens—were blowouts. Both Houston and Washington put up 41 points on their hosts. 

I was curious about the Lions. They entered the game at 4-6, although they suffered a 20-0 loss in Carolina last Sunday. This was a team on the periphery of the playoffs via the Wild Card. They had the enigmatic Matthew Stafford at QB along with sure-fire Hall of Fame running back Adrian Peterson. While Peterson showed some vintage highlight runs, Stafford and the offense were ineffective. The best offense the Lions have is their punter, whose hang time and distance are superior. 

Moreover, the Lions defense, decimated by injuries in the secondary, could not contain the Texans, who broke off long runs or easily converted passes into touchdowns. Head Coach Matt Patricia is in trouble. His job tenure was described as tenuous at best, coming off of this national TV embarrassment. That was prophetic, because Patricia and GM Bob Quinn were both fired on Saturday. 

Game 2 featured a battle for the top spot in the NFC East. And it was a no contest. Aided by two questionable decisions by Cowboys’ Head Coach Mike Mc Carthy to go for it on fourth down in his own territory—both failures, one via pass and the other a fake punt—Washington dominated the team formerly known as “America’s Team.” 

Just like Patricia, I believe Mc Carthy will be fired if the Cowboys don’t win the division. Even with Dak Prescott out, Andy Dalton is a serviceable quarterback. Yet Ezekiel Elliot and a stable of gifted wide receivers somehow are not making the plays which they are capable of. 

Such does not bode well for Dallas, with a tough schedule to finish the campaign. Jerry Jones is not a patient man, and he does not like losing, no matter what the situation is. 

A few notes which came from Thursday’s broadcasts. First, the Lions are the first team to have the Thanksgiving Day game, starting in 1933 when the Chicago Bears came to town and left as a winner. That game was played at the University of Detroit Stadium, which existed when the Titans played football, and was torn down in the early 1960’s. Other home venues for the Lions included Briggs/Tiger Stadium, the Pontiac Silverdome and the team’s current home, beautiful Ford Field in downtown Detroit. 

The Dallas Cowboys franchise began in 1960. So we have had over 60 seasons of Cowboys football. Their first Thanksgiving Day affair was in 1966. From the Cotton Bowl to Texas Stadium and now to AT&T Stadium, where the roof, doors and windows were kept open and supposedly 33,000 fans were inside the building, the Dallas Turkey Day game has always been the second game of a doubleheader or, more recently, a triple header. More than not, masks were worn, but there also were plenty of pictures of mask less patrons in the stands.

I have seen every team in the NFL this season with the exception of Jacksonville. Which doesn’t matter, because I can exclude the Jaguars because they are missing their QB, Gardner Minishew II and they are almost as pitiful as the Jets. 

What I have come away with is this: there is no runway team that I can point to as a favorite to win the Super Bowl. Of course, there is Pittsburgh, which is presently undefeated. The Steelers have beaten a couple of good teams but haven’t played top flight opposition. Baltimore, expected to be a contender in the AFC North along with Cleveland, is a disappointment and star QB Lamar Jackson supposedly has the coronavirus. Plus Cleveland is missing Odell Beckham, Jr. and defensive standout Myles Garrett and they have had their COVID-19 issues. 

Kansas City survived a late TD by the Raiders to charge down the field on Sunday night led by Patrick Mahomes II, to defeat the Raiders in Las Vegas. While the Chiefs have the most exciting offense in the NFL, I feel their defense is soft and suspect. I am not sure that the Raiders are a playoff team at 6-4, even with an improved offense and fairly solid defense. 

Indianapolis is an interesting team. They surprised a lot of observers by downing the Green Bay Packers at home on Sunday, the win courtesy of a fumble late in the game by Green Bay. I think that they are still getting used to Philip Rivers at QB, and they do have a ton of offensive weapons. Again, like many other contenders, they do not have a shut down defense. 

Staying in the AFC, I have not been that impressed with the Bills and Titans, both being likely playoff teams. If they make the tournament, anything can happen. But for now, they aren’t elite teams. 

Up and coming Miami suffered a bump in the road in Denver when the Broncos beat the Dolphins. Ryan Fitzgerald relieved a struggling and injured Tua Tagolaviloaa at QB, rallying the team before being picked off in the end zone to end the comeback. Could Miami make the playoffs? Yes. For them, it may come down to end of the season and a visit to cold and probably snowy Buffalo, as the teams are currently separated by just one game.

The Saints’ Taysom Hill stepped in for the battered Drew Brees, who suffered 11 rib fractures and a collapsed lung, and stopped the Falcons on Sunday. Hill is a dual threat QB, akin to Michael Vick when he was in his prime with the Falcons. New Orleans appears to be the best team in the NFC, if not the NFL. If they can maintain their lead in the overall standings and not have to travel to frigid Green Bay, they could go all the way in the NFC. 

Speaking of Green Bay, they are legitimately good. With Aaron Rodgers at QB the Packers will always be among the NFC leaders. Their defense is that good too. No other team in the NFC North is good enough to push the Pack—the Bears are weak and falling fast, while I already said my piece regarding the Lions. 

All four teams in the NFC West can beat each other on any given day. The Seahawks stopped the Cardinals last Thursday night, but have issues with the Rams. Meanwhile, LAR put a hurting on Tom Brady and the Buccaneers on Monday night, with GOAT Brady throwing an interception to end any chance for a miracle win. I like the Rams, but they have a daunting schedule ahead—home and home with Arizona and a trip to Seattle and Russell Wilson and company, with games versus the Jets at home and a trip to Foxboro to meet the fading Patriots. Deciding who wins the division might come down to the final game each team has.

Going back to the Bucs, they cannot win in prime time. Which is what the playoffs are. As for Brady, he walked off the field rather than exchange words with the Rams’ Jared Goff, as quarterbacks tend to do. We know that Brady is a sore loser and we know he has his favorites whom he considers his peers (Brees, Rodgers). Just another shameless act by Brady, who has been known to cheat, too.

Lastly, there is the NFC East. Presently, the Washington Football Team is in first place. Their remaining games are at Pittsburgh, at San Francisco, home against Seattle and Carolina before ending the season in Philadelphia. This team is rejuvenated by the leadership of Alex Smith, who has returned to form from his horrific leg injury to show some of the brilliance he demonstrated with the 49’ers and then with Washington. If this schedule was not so difficult, I could see this team winning the NFC East.

The 3-6-1 Eagles host Seattle on Monday night, travel to Green Bay, are home with the Saints, go to the desert to play the Cardinals, visit Dallas and are home for the season finale versus Washington. A rugged schedule.

Dallas has road tilts with the slumping Ravens and the Joe Burrow-less Bengals, home games with the Niners and Eagles, ending the year in the Meadowlands with the Giants. Andy Dalton and crew can actually win a good number of these games if they play like they did in Minnesota the week before when they upset the Vikings,

Which leaves the Giants. Joe Judge has clearly stamped his name on this team. Starting with a game in Cincinnati this Sunday, the G-Men have to go to tough Seattle, are home for Arizona and Cleveland, then visit Baltimore prior to the clash with the Cowboys. Not a very easy schedule.

Right now, the Giants have a clear tie breaker with Washington by virtue of two wins this season. Dallas has the most favorable schedule. Washington is suddenly improved. Philadelphia has that tie with the Bengals, which can help them win the division if all teams end with the same amount of wins. 

What is clear is that the winner of the NFC East will come from the games of January 3 when all four teams meet divisional rivals. All for the right to be summarily defeated in the first round of the playoffs.

Speaking of the playoffs the NFL should really recognize the need for a neutral site bubble or bubbles if they want see the events through. Any chance for normalcy resides in being proactive—there have been two games this year pushed to Tuesday, which places teams at a disadvantage for the next week in terms of practice and travel. 

Look at the scenario in Denver—all three QB on the roster are now on the COVID list; the Broncos say they won’t forfeit. Moreover, Santa Clara County is forbidding contact sports for 30 days, which impacts the home games for the 49’ers, who now must find an alternate site for their two remaining home games. 

C’mon, NFL. These COVID-19 related disruptions are going to become more frequent. Man up and do the right thing.

Rutgers football took another step in its development with a 48-42 loss at home to Michigan. This was a game the Scarlet Knights should have won, as they forked up a 17-7 lead. But Greg Schiano’s team never gave up, tying the game with less than a minute to go and then making the needed two point conversion to tie the game. 

It took the Wolverines a change at QB in the second half and some luck to win in 3 OT. Rutgers needs to learn how to win winnable games like this one, or to take something from the stunning reversal of fortune at the end of regulation time and make even more good things happen.

Some pundits say this is a down year for the Big Ten, largely based on the pandemic. Maybe so, looking at how perennial winners like Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State have fared. 

Nevertheless, give Noah Verdal, the RU QB, and his mates all of the necessary praise for being better than even the faithful expected. Will it carry over into the final three games starting Saturday at Purdue, then home with Penn State before heading to Maryland? Hard to say. But for some small moments, I am certain I was not the only one last Saturday night thinking that RU could’ve beaten Michigan and, in the process, become the best major college team in Michigan with wins over the Wolverines and Spartans. 

This is what dreams are made of. All of the hard work is paying off, as demonstrated in Saturday’s 37-30 win at Purdue, with Verdal unable to play. Rutgers and its long-suffering fans are in a good place, dream-wise. 

College basketball has begun its season. A number of head coaches have come down with COVID-19. Most notably Scott Drew of Baylor. This led to cancellation of games on the East Coast for the #2-ranked Bears. Then all of a sudden, Baylor has scheduled games with Louisiana-Lafayette and the University of Washington before meeting #8 Illinois then #1 Gonzaga. 

I don’t like Baylor for a myriad of reasons. The best thing about the school is its medical school, located in Houston. Which is nowhere near its primary campus in Waco. I have always thought of Baylor as a bunch of cheaters in an outpost like Waco, so full of themselves with so little substance. 

I thought Scott Drew came from a coaching tree with integrity, starting with his College Basketball Hall of Fame dad, Homer, at Valparaiso, and his brother, Bryce, who had a legendary career with Valpo, played in the NBA and was the head man at Valpo, Vanderbilt and now at Grand Canyon. 

Scott Drew is deep into his faith as a Christian. I do not challenge his devotion to religion. I challenge how any upstanding man succumbs to pressure to renege on East Coast games, which included Seton Hall, only to schedule more favorable early opposition to be ready for the gauntlet of contests his Bears face in the next week plus. 

I turn to that pillar of faith and honesty, Rick Pitino, currently the head man at Iona, for reason and logic. Pitino is usually not somebody I subscribe to, based on his nefarious conduct at both Kentucky and Louisville, where scandals erupted and where he cheated on his wife one night in an Italian eatery while coaching the Cardinals. 

At the Kentucky schools, he faced enormous pressure to win. He has a chance to redeem himself at Iona. I wasn’t rooting for him, but now I am.

Why? Because he said the right thing. There should not have been anything but a reduced slate of conference games, to allow for control of the virus and to give schools a chance to actually make it to March Madness. Which makes what Baylor is doing so shallow and contemptuous. 

And allows me to say that I have finally found my Dr. Anthony Fauci in college hoops—Richard Andrew Pitino. Keep on wearing the mask, Rick!!

Time To Send In The Turkeys!

It is another weekend and I am down on sports. I know why. Besides the dearth of real exciting games right now and COVID-19 cancellations, it is the blahs before Thanksgiving and the sports world is in a tailspin.

Sure, there is the usual spate of college football cancellations. It is the frightening weekly occurrence of coaches and players falling prey to the disease as we await winter and anticipate the advance of vaccines.  

The NFL is clamping down even harder on teams, fearful that their product will not make it to the Super Bowl where The Weeknd will be performing at halftime. Calamitous.  

Look at this Sunday’s return match between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders in the desert. These two divisional rivals hate each other. Really. When Vegas won in Kansas City earlier this season, ending a lengthy period of futility at Arrowhead Stadium, the team buses circled the stadium in a joyous celebration. 

That has not sat well with Chiefs’ head man Andy Reid, who let his displeasure be known this week. Not a good thing to anger Mr. Reid.

Especially when the Raiders may be without significant defensive players for the game. Wanna believe Patrick Mahomes and the KC offense isn’t stoked over that prospect? Expect the Chiefs to run up the score in any way possible. 

And let’s not count out the KC defense either. They have a score to settle and they are going to be angry. This makes for great theater for CBS in the doubleheader game. 

I watched Thursday night’s Arizona-Seattle with a modicum of interest. These are supposed to be two of the best teams in the NFC. Maybe they are, but neither really impressed me. Sure the QB’s are pretty good; both are former baseball players in college who could easily have made it to the big leagues. Experience wise, I think that Russell Wilson is better than Kyler Murray. I also felt that the Seahawks defense was better prepared to handle Murray and the Seattle wide receivers had a good night due to Wilson’s acumen. 

What I also came away with was that the Jets have to play both Arizona (home) and Seattle (away) later in the season. Those will be blowout losses. NYJ is confronting the issue of what to do with Sam Darnold and his shoulder. Joe Flacco will be under center in Inglewood when the Jets visit the 2-7 Chargers. LA is in need of a victory and the Jets should provide them with such a moment, although in this pandemic year, it would be just enough karma for the Jets to do the unthinkable and win. Especially now that the Chargers leading tackler has COVID-19.

The suddenly relevant New York Giants are in a bye week. But not out of the news. Head Coach Joe Judge decided he wasn’t satisfied with the offensive line, so he brought in another coach with experience to augment the instruction his players were receiving; after all, the object is to keep QB Daniel Jones upright in order to have any chance to win the NFC East.

Well, that didn’t go over well with the then-offensive line coach, who had a heated disagreement with Judge. Some say punches were thrown; the Giants vehemently deny that was the case. Anyway, that line coach is now an unemployed line coach.

More importantly, right after he signed a contract extension , Giants kicker Graham Gano, having a Pro Bowl type season, was diagnosed with COVID-19. Then three other players were similarly diagnosed. All are on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Luckily for the Giants, this is the bye week. It still will have a major impact on how the team fares going forward. For now, team facilities are closed until Monday. 

Everywhere in the NFL, players are on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Star defender Myles Garrett of Cleveland is one standout who unfortunately has contracted the disease. It isn’t going to get any better. I hope all recover and can play again.

Returning to college football, Pennsylvania mask mandates are requiring Virginia Tech and Pitt to play with masks on—the first game in the pandemic to do so. The Eagles and Steelers, along with Penn State believe that they are not under the mandate. State officials disagree. Stay tuned on this one. 

After 15 of 59 college games last week were canceled or postponed, this week the number was at 16 of 63 on Thursday. The PAC-12, desperate for its teams to play—see the Cal-UCLA quick rescheduling last weekend—is willing to let its teams play non-conference games instead when a conference foe has to cancel due to COVID-19. Yet, when Clemson reported a positive test for a player on Friday before Trevor Lawrence returned against Florida State in Tallahassee, the medical staffs for the Tigers and Seminoles could not agree on a comfort level to play the game. Again, what is the message here?

I will return to college football in a bit.  We are in the free agency period in the NBA after the NBA Draft was held on the campus of ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut on Wednesday. Players are finding new homes, whether by signing for bigger deals, or the result of trades. Teams are going to look dramatically different than they did last season. Even if Anthony Davis of the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers did not re-up with the champs. It’s only a matter of time, Laker Nation, before he has a deal paralleling Lebron James in both time and money. Don’t get crazy. 

Speaking of crazy, Houston’s James Harden and Russell Westbrook want out of Southeast Texas. Harden has made his demands known—he wants to join the Brooklyn Nets with former teammate Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Brooklyn made a major move by re-signing Joe Harris. But they don’t have the players to send to Houston plus the draft choices that the Rockets would want as compensation. 

As for Westbrook, he has been mentioned with the Knicks and Wizards, the latter involving a swap of star guards, with John Wall heading to Texas. This is all premature, as the owner of the Rockets was hurt by the trade demands and even reminded the two starts that they may have to come to training camp in December, as they are still under contract to Houston. 

A sad note is that Klay Thompson is lost to the Warriors for this year, after suffering an Achilles tendon injury in a pick up game this week in Southern California. Thompson had made it back from his gruesome leg injury in the 2019 playoffs, only to suffer this devastating injury. Just like his NBA brethren who showered Klay with best wishes, I hope he comes back. The guy is a determined player whose greatness will be greatly missed. 

Due to the pandemic and border restrictions, the Toronto Raptors, like the Blue Jays, will have to play their home games in the U.S. this season. While the Prudential Center in Newark was discussed, which would have saved every visiting team a lot of travel costs with three teams in the New York Metropolitan area, the Raptors are playing this season in Tampa. 

MLB is also beginning its free agency mad dash. With Robinson Cano having been banned for the season due to a positive steroid test, the suddenly money-infused New York Mets might be stiff competitors for AL batting Champion D.J. Le Mahieu. Other suitors include the Blue Jays and Nationals. The word out there is that he prefers the Yankees, where he was very comfortable. I prefer him there, too. 

The Dodgers, who suddenly laid off 500 employees in a coronavirus-related move, are hot again over obtaining Nolan Arieindo from the Rockies. Could this mean bye bye for free agent Justin Thomas?

With the Yankees, Aroldis Chapman’s suspension was reduced to two games for his intent to decapitate Tampa Bay’s Mike Brousseau. I am more concerned in the coming months that I don’t hear about new injuries for Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge among other important players. NYY is too injury-plagued and I don’t get it. 

The NHL is having all sorts of issues. Commissioner Gary Bettman wants an additional 13% salary deferral, added onto the 10% salary deferral and other concessions already agreed upon between the league and the NHLPA. The players are not happy about this and the January 1 starting date is in jeopardy.

In New Jersey, interscholastic wrestling, a high contact sport, has been pushed back to March, probably in hopes that the COVID-19 vaccines will be administered. Someone had thought about a state tournament outdoors. March and early April can be a bit cold in these parts. 

Another high school football tradition has fallen to the virus. Easton, PA versus Phillipsburg. Two towns separated by a bridge over the Delaware River, with an intense rivalry, since everyone seemingly knows everyone. Usually held at Fisher Field on the campus of Lafayette College, the annual Thanksgiving game was first moved to Phillipsburg, then ultimately canceled for the first time in over 100 years. 

With so many crowd size restrictions in place along with shortened schedules, I wonder how many traditional high school rivalries will continue. In my youth, I was obviously aware of Highland Park-Metuchen, since I attended Highland Park High School. So many others were played: New Brunswick-South River; Perth Amboy-Carteret; J.P. Stevens-Edison; South Brunswick-North Brunswick; East Orange-Barringer; Bloomfield-Montclair; Vineland-Millville; Westfield-Plainfield; North Plainfield-South Plainfield, etc. Due to the NJSIAA playoffs and scheduling difficulties, these rivalries are mostly defunct. Which, to many of us older fans, is sad. 

Which brings me back to college football. Thanksgiving in my youth meant Cornell-Penn at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. Due to dwindling attendance, that historical rivalry is no longer contested on Thanksgiving. 

So the first Thanksgiving Day game was Yale playing Princeton. Yale won the inaugural game, but then the Yale faculty decided not to let the team play on the holiday. The first game was held in Hoboken. They played 11 more times, all before 1900. 

Cornell-Penn still ranks number one in most games held on Thanksgiving. They met 59 times. The last one was held in 1989, at the behest of ESPN, who televised the game.

The most consistently played affair is Mississippi State-Mississippi in the Egg Bowl. Normally a hotly contested rivalry, it has been played on Thanksgiving Day 27 times. 

A game that was a constant for 54 years was Texas-Texas A&M. Until the Aggies bolted for the SEC, the bitter rivals met 54 times on Turkey Day. Both have substituted other schools for the Thanksgiving opponent, but Texas Tech, TCU and Arkansas and LSU aren’t as appealing. 

Other frequent Thanksgiving meetings included Virginia Tech-VMI (56 times); Utah-Utah State (36 times); Pitt-Penn State (33 meetings); Missouri-Kansas (32 meetings). Iowa State and Drake met in Des Moines 11 times, which was a 34 minute drive for the Cyclones. Richmond and William & Mary had met 25 times on Thanksgiving , with I-64 being the route most traveled.

Here are some other weird matchups: Maryland-Johns Hopkins (12-1 UM); Vanderbilt-Sewanee (10-3 Vandy, including a 68-4 win); Lafayette-Dickinson (14-1 LC); St.Mary’s-Oregon (4-1 SMC); Washington & Lee-NC State ((6-1 W&L); Davidson-Wake Forest (10-4 DC); and Georgia Tech-Clemson met on Thanksgiving Day 10 times, with the Yellow Jackets winning 8. Bet that won’t happen anymore. 

Finally, two other notables. Alabama State hosts a HBCU opponent every Thanksgiving. Alabama is 27-9 on Thanksgiving Day, having played Auburn, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Mississippi State among the notables. The Crimson Tide has a winning record against all but Mississippi State, who ruined Tide fans celebrations in 1913, 1914 and 1921. 

I think I have stuffed enough information into this blog. Enjoy your holiday celebrations and be smart and safe. Watch a little pro football, since there is no college football for Thanksgiving 2020. Houston visits Detroit to take on the Lions in a noon time affair; Detroit could reach .500 with a win against the Panthers in Charlotte on Sunday. Washington and Dallas reunite in Texas for the 4:30 post-dinner game; and the Ravens and Steelers collide in a good game at 8:20. 

Time to send in the turkeys!

Howling Into The Wind Without A Full Moon

The new normal is here…again. The SEC has multiple football games postponed, with very little wiggle room for rescheduling through December 19. Unless the FCS and bowl games are willing to move dates to accomplish these “necessary games” for teams like Alabama and Ohio State, which lost games this Saturday when their opponents couldn’t field teams due to COVID-19. Otherwise, they might not be eligible for the National Championship college football must have (how do I say $$$ drives the bus here?)

I reiterate the “new normal’ for a reason. More and more games have been postponed and/or canceled ASU-Cal went down the tubes on Friday when former Jets head coach and now the Sun Devils leader Herm Edwards tested positive. It is so bad that the NCAA tracker for this weekend’s college football schedule says 13 games have been postponed, canceled or rescheduled. More recent news besides ASU-Cal is Coastal Carolina @ Troy has been postponed, North Texas @ UAB has been canceled and Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech are rescheduled for December 12 due to a pause in football activity by the Panthers. 

The number is either at or over 50 games have been affected by COVID-19. It is now November 13-14, putting college football 5 weeks away from the start of the playoffs. 

The coronavirus is running rampant in the United States. The totals are rising fast, with expectations that by Thanksgiving or shortly thereafter, the numbers infected will reach springtime figures. And the Pfizer vaccine and any of its cousins may not be generally available until April or May, and the effectiveness won’t be fully felt until the fall of 2021. Provided that this vaccine works as promised. Nothing is guaranteed with COVID-19 except the carnage and resulting havoc it perpetrates. 

So expect more games to be postponed or canceled in the upcoming weeks. This is inevitable. Without a bubble, the college player doesn’t have the protection offered by the NFL, and there are big-time NFL names such as Ben Roethlisberger and Baker Mayfield who made the COVID/IR list this week. Cobbling a game at the Rose Bowl on short notice between Cal and UCLA is nonsensical. 

And please be careful about spectators. Look at the end of the Clemson-Notre Dame game last Saturday night when hordes of students overran the field, many without masks. Do I dare say super spreader event?

Even if the college football honchos look to rearrange the landscape by pushing bowls and playoff games back into January, the certainty is that there is no certainty how the college season plays itself out. The rush to play, which has given sports fans something to watch in the void since the NBA, NHL and MLB ended their seasons and has left us with the NFL and college football, and the latter is facing more scheduling woes and the former is likely to see some changes in its schedule despite its insistence to fine players and staff for getting COVID as a way of detouring the disease away from the NFL coffers. 

From the outset, I have questioned the necessity to play these games. As much as the fall sports are being impacted, the winter sports are going to be even more seriously impacted. Already set to play a truncated schedule, college basketball teams will find that their innovative measures of playing multiple games at one site may allow basketball to be contested in the short term. But it doesn’t bode well when schools like Iona and Seton Hall had to pause their practices due to COVID-19 issues.  Just know that the NCAA is hellbent on playing its tournament given the tremendous economic loss it suffered this past season, and the competing teams are all for enriching their coffers. 

Plus, the NBA is going at it for 2020-21 at home arenas subject to attendance restrictions in each locale. They do not want to return to a bubble. The NHL is of the same mindset—no bubble for the upcoming season, although there has been strong hints that hockey will have a temporary division realignment, which could include an all-Canadian division, regional play and multiple games in one city for a single visit. 

Good luck to those two leagues. What each has working for it is the effectiveness of the vaccine, which could make postponements and rescheduling through the summer and fall feasible to completing a season. Similarly, MLB, with a shortened season, can make it through 2021. They know how to do it—they did it once, even with a plethora of bumps along the way. 

Having said all of this, I look to my barometer, the Ivy League. The Ivies have canceled all winter competition for 2020-21. They were the first to eschew fall competition and now, prudently, they are acting in the best interests of their students and student-athletes. Another celebrated group of superior colleges, the NESCAC, has already jettisoned its winter sports competitions. 

Perhaps it is their lofty intellectual standing which offers better reasoning acumen. Or maybe it is the fact that the eight Ivy schools, along with the NESCAC institutions are private and have large endowments and ample donors, which causes them not to be money-driven at this time. I haven’t heard from the Centennial Conference, another group of prestigious small liberal arts schools, but I expect them to follow their brethren regarding the winter contests. 

The same result is likely for the Patriot League, another collection of top schools. 

I hope that the athletes and administrators remain healthy and safe. I also hope that they will know when to fold on the fall season (and winter sports too). Until the scientists and doctors get on top of this virus, is it really safe and necessary to play sports right now when we are in that dreaded winter wave? (Let me add here interscholastic sports and the fact that they are contested in small gyms) With the experts’ haunting warnings about Thanksgiving gatherings, with school systems shutting down and states commencing lockdowns or reinstating preventive measures that were in place in April, the answers are indelible. Except in the sports world.

On Friday I walked into the R.W.J Barnabas Ambulatory Care Center for a yearly medical appointment wearing a Jets sweatshirt and cap. A security officer asked me if I had a plan for the team, still 0 for the season after the disappointing Monday night loss to Cam Newton and the not-so-good New England Patriots. My answer was this “Get rid of all of them.”

While that may not be feasible, it captures my mood about this moribund franchise. Instead of getting better, they are actually worse that they were a couple of years ago. With no discernible light at the end of this seemingly unending tunnel.

So I thought about what I would do to resurrect the New York Jets. Especially if they obtain the top draft choice in the 2021 lottery. Trade it. 

Say what? Trade the top pick, most likely Trevor Lawrence, the top flight Clemson QB currently sidelined by COVID-19. 

`Have I gone mad? Have I lost my mind? Nope. Not even close. Before I sound like those annoying callers on sports talk radio, let me explain. 

The Jets need far more than Lawrence to make things better. A QB, whether it is Sam Darnold or Joe Flacco, is a better placeholder until there is the opportunity to draft or procure the right QB to take the team to the next level. 

Moreover, Lawrence’s health may be in issue after his battle with COVID-19. The fact that he missed two games and could miss more leaves open how well will he be once he hopefully recovers. From what I have seen and read, the lingering effects from this virulent virus can remain with a person for an undetermined period. Plus the fact that there are hidden dangers lurking which may not be immediately observed which could haunt an individual who contracted COVID-19. 

This makes the drafting of Lawrence problematic based on health reasons. The notion that he does not want to play for the New York Jets because of their terrible reputation makes sense from his perspective. 

Where does this leave the Jets and GM Joe Douglas? In a very good place to make a deal which could easily change the fortunes of the franchise. 

There will be plenty of suitors for Lawrence. He will have that can’t miss tag and maybe that is true. Use that to your advantage, Mr. Douglas. I think a place like Atlanta would be a great destination for the Clemson QB, a Georgia native. Get the Falcons first round pick this year and next year plus Matt Ryan, the current QB if Darnold and/or Flacco don’t fit the bill for next season. If Darnold is traded, a second round pick would be just compensation. 

` Then go about fixing the holes in the offensive and defensive lines. Find a lockdown defensive back or unstoppable linebacker. Draft a highly-touted, game breaker type wide receiver. Use that second round choice wisely and bring in a quality running back who has speed, strength and can catch passes. The Jets presently have an astounding 18 picks in the 2021 and 2022 drafts, nine of them are in the first round. With the capital that a trade of the first overall choice can bring, coupled with shrewd drafting and a projection of nearly $56 million available to lure quality free agents, the New York Jets could be a dominant force in the NFL for years to come. 

Sounds like I am dreaming? Nope. And even if a healthy Lawrence can be convinced to come to the team, there will be enough arriving to change the dynamic of the team overnight. Food for thought, Jets fans. Food for thought. 

A few more bits and pieces. It is strange seeing the Masters in November. I miss the azaleas.I do miss the galleries. I was happy for Tiger Woods shooting his best opening round ever at Augusta at -4. I don’t think he will make a run to the top, as he must play 8 more holes on Saturday to complete his second round before diving into the third round. Darkness before 6:00 Eastern Standard Time is not the friend of this tournament. 

Let’s talk a little baseball. Now it has come out that newly signed Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa faces a DUI charge and he apparently was quite a bore with the officers who stopped him. He may be bright, but his arrogance and age (76) given cause to wonder why he is better than other candidates to take the Sox to the World Series. Can he communicate with younger ballplayers if he cannot communicate very well with the police? And does he have an alcohol problem? I see this to be a bad fit, one which might retard rather than accelerate the climb of this very young and talented team, which now has the 2020 AL M.V.P. in slugger Jose Abreu. 

I liked all of the choices for the baseball awards this year. Some were easy to see—Shane Bieber of the Indians was a unanimous choice for the AL Cy Young Award. Ditto former Indians teammate now with the Reds,Trevor Bauer, for the NL Cy Young Award. Kevin Cash of the Rays and Don Mattingly of the Marlins were the correct choices for AL and NL Manager of the Year. Abreu was the best candidate for AL M.V.P., although I wanted third place finisher D.J. LeMahieu to win. Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman overcame COVID-19 and led the Braves to the post-season; a nice feel good story.

The glass ceiling has been broken in MLB. Kim Ng has bee named the GM of the Miami Marlins. She has spent her working career in baseball. The 51 year old Ng, a Ridgewood High School  grad and former star softball player at the University of Chicago, has been successful, first with the White Sox, then with the Yankees and Dodgers. She has been part of 3 World Championship teams with New York and Los Angeles. Brian Cashman relied heavily on her in New York, as did Ned Coletti in Los Angeles. Her disappointments with the Dodgers, Mariners, Angels, Giants and Padres when she was passed over for the GM position, left her to start with a hungry young team in Miami managed by Mattingly, an old friend from LA. She is positioned to be a success and she has more than earned her chance.

I hate harping on so many negatives. With the sports scene in a horrible pandemic, I sound like a broken record, constantly repeating myself. 

Which give me no pleasure. And the belief that I will again be howling into the wind. Without a full moon. 

Disharmony and Civility

In the aftermath of the most-voted Presidential election in US history, sports remains stuck where it always has been—in the midst of the pandemic, forging ahead albeit with troubling signs. That kind of summarizes the way our country is right now, with us still in the claws of a demonic COVID-19.

Eventually there will be outcomes for both. As with all sporting events, there are winners and losers, good sports and not so nice people. This is the essence of competition, going back to the days of a previous team of lions heading into the Colosseum. Actually, the LA Coliseum was never unfriendly to the Detroit Lions, who went 14-14-1 against the Rams in LA, which included the Rams stint in Anaheim. 

It is interesting how, for instance, college sports have polls and politics relies on polling to assess how to spend their resources up to the final weekend. Because the final college sports polls are unreliable and weekly polls are somewhat of a beauty contest, all sports are played to a championship. 

Political pollsters, who had much egg on their faces after 2016, claimed that they would be more accurate in 2020. Except that their analytics weren’t too good this time around either, making both sides unhappy even though the election is undecided, elections, incomplete until all of the votes are counted. 

With a close election, people are drawn to their TV sets, waiting for something to happen. It could be like Federer playing Nadal; NASCAR running hard to a finish, with a few crashes on the way; the World Series; a heavyweight fight; the Masters with Tiger Woods getting hot. Or even more appropriate, the Super Bowl. 

We root for winners, who receive the adulation and spoils associated with victory. This goes back to the days of Attila the Hun, Charlemagne, Napoleon and others inflamed by the need to be victorious. 

It is not in our nature to call a team a bunch of lovable losers anymore. The days of rooting for the horrible expansion Mets ended in 1969 when they upset the Baltimore Orioles to win the World Series. So much is the desire to win engrained in new Mets owner Steve Cohen, that he fired the entire existing baseball management. Clearly, he didn’t sink his money into the franchise not to win now and in the long term.  

The long-suffering Cubs faithful were rewarded with a World Series win in 2017. Think they aren’t too charitable anymore with the team and ownership? This isn’t the team of wait until next year. 

The New York Jets haven’t won a Super Bowl, let alone been in one other than Super Bowl III. While that game changed the course of pro football, the Jets have been anything but a powerhouse since the days of Hall of Famers Joe Namath and Don Maynard. Now, over 50 years later, the worst Jets team of all time may be the 2020 model, which is hard to believe given how bad they were in 1996. I don’t think that Jets fans are going to look back fondly at this season; the sure don’t with the 1996 team. 

If there is a savior, an owner who cares, a GM who can find the right coach, convince the talented players to come to New Jersey and wear the Green and White (with some black thrown in), Jets fans like myself would be all in on it. I want one—just one—Super Bowl win in the next few years. That seems like little to ask, yet it is so unrealistic to fathom. And it shouldn’t be.

Heck, the Kansas City Chiefs won a Super Bowl in 1970 and had to wait until 2019 for their next one. With Patrick Mahomes II at QB, the future is now and they are winning. Because they have outstanding coaching, real talent and dedicated and competent management. 

Something which is missing with both New York pro football teams. Plus the Knicks, Nets, Rangers and Islanders (to a lesser degree) and Devils. 

The hockey teams have very little to show for my lifetime in terms of the Stanley Cup wins, apart from the runs of the Islanders in the 1980’s (4 Cups), the Devils in a stretch from 1994-95 to 2002-03 behind the best goaltender ever to play in the NHL, Martin Brodeur (3 cups), and the Rangers (1993-94) breaking the curse that had prevailed since their previous win in 1940. 

It took great players, great coaches and equally astute management to win Stanley Cup. The names are legendary: players Messier, Bossy, Potvin, Trottier, Brodeur, Stevens, Niedermayer; coaches Al Arbor, Mike Keenan, Jacques Lemaire, Larry Robinson and Pat Burns; and executives Bill Torrey, Lou Lamoriello and Neil Smith. 

The Knicks are now a disgrace. Even in the Patrick Ewing years, they failed to deliver. It took a legendary group in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s to capture the NBA title. Walt Frazier, Earl; Monroe, Willis Reed, Dave DeBusshere, Bill Bradley, Dick Barnett, Jerry Lucas are names etched in New York sports history. As is the name of Red Holzman, the head coach for the championship teams. Teams put together by the brilliant basketball mind of Eddie Donovan. 

Basketball has always found itself labeled a city game, now more so than ever. New York has had its share of great talent. That talent, along with other talented players, never really gelled at Madison Square Garden. Which has been unduly painful for those whose NBA hopes are not with the Celtics, Lakers or other team which have embraced success much better than has happened in New York.

It is that New York mentality—born of being the biggest city in the US and the financial, media and corporate hub of America— demanding greatness because it isgreat. New York’s  arrogance and hubris came from success and endless self-promotion. Except that in sports, outside of the magnificence of the Yankees over a prolonged period, New York teams have not been winners. 

Hey, Mets fans, you want Steve Cohen and his new administration to succeed because, although he is slightly richer than most anyone, he is one of you—a diehard who has had it with losing and wants a winner so badly. 

This mentality is no different than that of George Steinbrenner, principal owner of the Yankees. Steinbrenner used war analogies and absolutely hated to lose. He may have offered apologies to the fans for not meeting the standard he set—a championship. The Boss demanded excellence and it showed in how he went through so many managers and executives in search of the right combination that would give him players who would produce and win the ultimate prize. 

I harken back to those Detroit Lions. The Lions have not made one appearance in the Super Bowls, and the NFC Championship game is seemingly beyond their reach. New management after new management, coach after coach has not been able to find the keys to success, even with some very capable players on many teams. 

While I can feel their pain, like that in Arizona, where the Cardinals have not made it to the Promised Land either, I look at my team’s situation and feel numb when I am not angry. I like when they win.

I am still somewhat down about how the Yankees lost to the Rays. It certainly didn’t leave a great feeling. I grew accustomed to winning with the Yankees during my childhood, then reveled in it during the 1970’s and the glory years of the Core Four in the 1990’s to the early 2000’s. 

This winning only mindset isn’t limited  to New York. See Boston and New England. The Celtics haven’t won that much lately since the Larry Bird era in the 1980’s and Red Auerbach/Bill Russell glory days are almost from another time. The Red Sox success in recent years, coupled with the incredible run of the Patriots, has fueled a new sense of importance in Beantown. Let the teams slip into the Charles River, like the Bruins seemingly have, then the passion will turn to anger. 

Philly fans boo because they have seen so little in the way of championships. Since 1948, the Eagles have ruled the roost 4 times; the Phillies, Flyers and 76’ers each have raised a banner to the rafters twice. 

College sports fans have unrealistic expectations too. Out at UCLA, they haven’t recovered feom the retirement of John Wooden, the Wizard of Westwood, who dominated college basketball. Kentucky is a lot like that, too. 

With college football, Jim Harbaugh’s job at Michigan is tenuous because he cannot beat Ohio State and he loses too frequently to Michigan State. Winning at Notre Dame is the Holy Grail. Winners are demanded at SEC, ACC and Big Ten and Big 12 football programs or you are out as head coach. Because alumni pay big bucks to support their schools and the returns must be commensurate. Even at Rutgers the outcry was incredible to bring back Greg Schiano, the man who led the Scarlet Knights to respectability and then bowl games. 

Sure, it takes talented players and coaches who know what they are doing. Smart GM’s and savvy AD’s are necessary. Fandom doesn’t take coming in second very well. Something about coming close only applies in horseshoes…

So it is no wonder that suspended managers like AJ Hinch and Alex Cora, part of a cheating scandal at Houston, have resurfaced, Hinch in Detroit and Cora rehired in Boston because he won a title.  Rick Pitino, immersed in a scandal or two, somehow has done his penitence and is the head basketball coach at Iona. Maybe Carlos Beltran, also part of the bad thing in Houston, will get his shot to manage the Mets. 

Cheating is not condoned, but sometimes it isn’t the end to a career. A-Rod was suspended by MLB and he thrives as an ESPN commentator and is engaged to J-Lo. Conversely, Pete Rose is still banned by MLB for gambling. Then-NFL honcho Pete Rozelle handled the Paul Hornung/Alex Karras betting scandals better in earlier times; Karras had an acting career which included Mongo in Blazing Saddles. Tom Brady survived Deflategate.

Americans are a passionate lot. We derive ourselves as winners from the Revolutionary War through saving the world in World War II. Democracy is the key. We fundamentally embrace all that the Constitution has given us and how we go about doing it. 

Thus it is not a different story from sports allegiance to that of politics. Our fervor runs high and deep. Sometimes fans act out against rival fans—the Yankees-Red Sox games can be drunken brawls and Giants and Dodgers fans have killed each other. 

Because winning ultimately defines who we are. The spectacular knockout in a boxing match or the hit that places the opposing QB on the sideline is glorified. Going in for the kill is used in everyday parlance, whether it is sports, business or in the political venue. 

As a lawyer, I know that winning and losing in a courtroom is a big deal, wrought with emotion. In sports and especially in labor negotiations, when the parties are stalemated or feel their interests are unfairly abridged, they seek redress in the courts. Sometimes the plaintiffs prevail. Other times, the claims are dismissed out of hand. 

Seeking legal remedies is a time-honored American tradition. Whether it is instant replay, appeal of a Commissioner’s suspension or a politician desiring clarity or correcting a slight, fairness is supposedly the end result. Unless it is too difficult to overrule the original decision because there is insufficient evidence to overturn the original decision made on the field of play.

Many have said that sports is a metaphor for life. Just as politics is a metaphor for life. Rancor and dysfunction abound when so much is on the line. In sports, it allegedly is merely a game. In politics, the stakes and the craving for power has become much more. 

What I yearn for out of the chaos of disharmony in both sports and politics —more so, in the time of a deadly pandemic—is civility. Unfortunately, I feel like I am asking for too much.

Now What?

Okay, now what? With the Dodgers winning the World Series, what is left for me to watch on TV during the week? Or will I be subjected to a steady diet of the NFL on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays? And a Saturday full of college football, as limited as that is?

On Wednesday I watched a Netflix rental titled Little Italy (14% rating on Rotten Tomatoes but cute anyway) then repeatedly searched HBO and Showtime on Wednesday (watched Legally Blonde  with my wife). Before I look through On Demand programs and try to get on Apple and Amazon, I guess that I can discuss the current situation in sports. It beats politics and the current state of the world. Then again, this is an apolitical blog.

So, how about those Dodgers? They were everything that we expected them to be. Power hitting. Clutch pitching. Great fielding. LAD beat, in my mind, the second best team in baseball. Tampa Bay was no slouch. 

In reviewing the two lineups, it is  the Dodgers lineup which is loaded with the better-known players. Betts, Turner, Bellinger, Muncey, Pederson, Pollock, Hernandez, Smith, Barnes, Taylor and the eventual World Series M.V.P., shortstop Corey Seager. The pitching starts with eventual Hall of Famers Clayton Kershaw and right hander Walker Buehler, now a star in his second year with the team. And ends with a solid bullpen of hard throwers or short-term specialists, who kept the Rays off-balance. 

Still, it took an absurd, error-filled bottom of the ninth ending to Game 4 giving the Rays a gift-wrapped win, to create a 2-2 series tie heading into Game 5. That’s where the Dodgers, behind Kershaw, throttled Tampa Bay. 

Blake Snell stymied the Dodgers into the sixth inning, holding LAD to one hit. But a leadoff hit drove Rays Manager Kevin Cash to yank Snell, primarily based on analytics of how Snell fared when going through a lineup for a third time. Snell has absolutely overpowered the Dodgers until that point. 

The Dodgers were relieved that Snell was finished and they took advantage of Cash’s questionable decision. It was 2-1 LAD, augmented by a solo homer from Betts. The relief corps took over and the Dodgers were celebrating for the first time since 1988.

LAD’s win was overshadowed by what happened at the start of the 8th inning of Game 6. Third baseman Justin Turner was pulled from the game, as he had tested positive for COVID-19. 

Turner remained masked and away from his teammates only until the Dodgers won the Series. Then he returned to the field, breaking all of the protocols, and appeared mask-less for much of the on-field celebrating. 

I get his enthusiasm and desire to be with his team, supported by Betts and others. Turner had just completed his four year deal with LAD. He was celebrating his first Series win at age 35, just prior to becoming a free agent. 

Still, it was a selfish act that put others at risk who were not normally in contact with the full ensemble of LAD personnel. The amount of criticism he received was enormous, and rightfully so. His actions delayed the departure of both teams from the bubble, as they had to endure more tests before boarding their respective planes. 

MLB had almost made it through the bubble environment they had artificially created in haste to allow a World Series to be played. There is an investigation under way. We haven’t heard how Turner became infected. Whatever the reason, his actions upon learning that he had COVID-19 were irresponsible and are worthy of some significant punishment.

And just like that, there is no more baseball to watch.  When and how they are going to return is subject to conjecture given the state of the raging second wave of the COVID-19 tearing into this country. Too bad the Dodgers win was tarnished by the actions of one. 

A few more baseball notes. Hall of Famer Tony La Russa, now in his seventies, returns to the White Sox, the team he first managed, to lead the up and coming South Siders to the next level. Whether this move by team owner Jerry Reinsdorf Weill right the mistake of permitting former GM Ken Harrelson to fire La Russa is largely dependent on La Russa’s  ability to relate to the youngsters on his squad. 

A.J. Hinch, suspended by MLB for his part in the Houston Astros cheating scandal, has resurfaced with the woeful Detroit Tigers. I hope Hinch is contrite and understands how fortunate he is to receive this second chance. Whether he survives will be determined by his players and how he can motivate them to play beyond their present level. Which may be a very hard thing to do.

The Yankees exercised their option on receiver Zach Britton but declined options on Brett Gardner, J.A. Happ and Tommy Kahnle. I wish Gardner would retire. He may have some playing life ahead of him, but it is obvious that his better days are behind him. Memo to GM Brian Cashman—sign D.J. Le Mahieu!!

Let’s delve into the NFL. More and more positive COVID tests are occurring. A lineman on the Giants is one of them. It isn’t going to make things any better (or worse) when the G-men host Tom Brady and chums on Monday night. 

The Jets were a deserved 20 point underdog entering the game with Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium. That is a whopping margin by NFL standards. 

The Jets-Trevor Lawrence watch continues. Or does it? Early in the week Lawrence made mention that he might continue to stay at Clemson for a fourth year, eschewing the chance to play for the Jets. 

Who knows if that was hyperbole or a negotiating ploy? For Lawrence’s world changed dramatically with the announcement on Thursday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and he was exhibiting mild symptoms. 

First, like so many others, I wish him a speedy recovery, just as I do for Justin Turner and the Giants’ Will Hernandez. Lawerence did not play against Boston College as Clemson eked out a home win on Saturday. It has been announced that Lawrence will not play next Saturday when the top-ranked Tigers travel to meet #4 Notre Dame in South Bend. 

It is apparent that his illness will have a major bearing on how Lawrence decides to continue as a football player. For all my hoping that he comes to the moribund Jets, that, for now, is not something to ponder. 

Then there is Rutgers. Thanks to seven turnovers, Michigan State looked dreadful and Rutgers was able to take advantage of the Spartans’ miscues and put enough points on the scoreboard to leave East Lansing a winner, breaking a 21 game Big Ten losing streak and giving Greg Schiano his first Big Ten win. For one week, it was great to see Rutgers atop the standings along with Indiana, Ohio State and Wisconsin. 

RU returned home and was overrun by a very talented Indiana team. The weaknesses were glaring and will be on full display next week in Columbus when national title contender Ohio State will have their way with the Scarlet Knights once more. 

This is a Rutgers team with enthusiasm and heart. Even with the lack of talent, they play hard. Against Indiana, a lateral-filed touchdown was called back because it was determined that there was one illegal forward lateral. The fact that RU scored on that play told me all I needed to know about this group. They drank the Schiano Kool-Aid and they will compete. The program is looking better than it has been in a long time. 

And there is a P.S. to this. Michigan State took out their anger on #13 Michigan in a rivalry game in Ann Arbor, defeating the Wolverines. Which now makes the RU win over the Spartans look that much better. 

Meanwhile, COVID-19 attacked the Wisconsin team, forcing cancellation of the Badgers’ game with Nebraska. It also hit Illinois, who lost their starting QB to the virus. Expect more of this as we head into November and the peaking of the second wave. 

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver wants to start the 2020-21 campaign on December 22. Not so fast, says Lebron James, his Lakers teammates and a lot of other players. Silver claims that the NBA will lose $1 billion by starting in mid-January. Without a bubble. Stay tuned. 

College basketball teams are slowly putting together their schedules for the upcoming season. Rutgers will host Syracuse in the ACC-Big East Challenge. Yet tournaments in an Orlando bubble were cancelled. Once more I invoke the pandemic in wonderment as these schools forge ahead with basketball despite the likelihood that students will be exposed to the virus. This is another wait and see the outcome situation.

I haven’t heard too much about the NHL. What are they up to?

So there you have it. Baseball is over and we start the free agency period. Not something to watch on TV. 

The NFL game in the New York market are worthless and Sunday night’s Dallas-Philadelphia matchup in the rain with Dallas playing an unproven QB out of James Madison University is for the birds…pun intended. Nothing there is appealing.

The college football season has an empty feel to it. 500 people were in SHI Stadium in Piscataway on Saturday, with no band. At Clemson, the band was not in uniform, was socially distant and the stands were a quarter full. A little bit more of an environment, but still strange. And play is scheduled to go on until mid-December—if COVID does not short-circuit more games (Wisconsin’s game versus Purdue next week is in question.  

No, everything is sports now is out of sync since basketball and then baseball have ended. There is no flow to the games, no importance or quality of competition as there has been in other years. It simply isn’t appealing to me, and I am a die-hard sports fan. 

With sports in flux right now, it’s back to Netflix, HBO, Showtime, Apple TV, Amazon. Sports has left me with this uneasy feeling—now what?