Let's Get It Right Out There!

  Here it  is the end of February, and  so much in the sports world is in flux. The NFL is partially asleep right now, in its off season. Baseball has just begun its exhibition games. Hockey is in its run to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The NBA is muddling along to its playoffs, with so many playoff slots undecided. 

College basketball is heading towards the conference championships in Division I; the conference tournament winners in Division III has been decided; and the DIII NCAA tournament begins this week. Yet collegiate ice hockey, wrestling and gymnastics continue while sports such as tennis, baseball, lacrosse and outdoor track are already into their seasons. 

It is college basketball where I begin. Winston-Salem, North Carolina to be exact. Duke, long the bane of the ACC schools in basketball due to its success under Mike Krzyzewski, its Hall Of Fame coach, along with the arrogance of its student body, was playing at member school Wake Forest, the other private university in North Carolina. After arch rival North Carolina, it is Wake which Duke has played the most. Since 1949-50, Duke is 126-59 versus the Demon Deacons. 

As in other years, Duke is highly ranked—they were #7 heading into Saturday’s game. Wake wasn’t terrible—17-9—and in fourth place in the conference. It was a Saturday afternoon and the students were primed.

Wake needed a quality win to bolster its resume when the NCAA Selection Committee starts to evaluate teams qualifications for the field of 68. While among its nine losses were games against North Carolina, Virginia and Duke—all ahead of the Deacons in the standings—there were a few bad losses and no real quality Quad 1 wins. 

A win over Duke would make a statement to the Committee. Which is what happened. But that is not the story. 

Instead, the frenzy which followed is an all-too-familiar scene—whether it is on a football field or basketball court. The students felt it is was their right to spam the floor to celebrate with their team—it happened when Ohio State beat Caitlin Clark  and Iowa; and on Thursday when LSU won on a last second basket to defeat long-time SEC force Kentucky; amongst the joyous throng was women’s basketball star April Reese. 

In the Clark incident, she was run into and seemed stunned and possibly hurt. There was indignation over this scene, but security really hasn’t been tightened. 

Thing were different this time. Kyle Filipowski, a possible top ten NBA lottery pick in the next draft, wanted to get off the court, away from the celebrants. Except he couldn’t. He was run into by a taunting Wake Forest fan, injuring his knee and ankle. The severity hasn’t been disclosed. 

First, I hope that Filipowski recovers to play again and lead Duke this season. But I hold the Wake Forest athletic department and the ACC responsible for this incident. When will it stop? When somebody is severely injured and the subsequent lawsuits hit a school and conference where it hurts the most—in the wallet? 

What would have happened if Clark—arguably among the best ever to play on the women’s side—or Filipowski, a top tier men’s player this season—had their careers ended? While these euphoric spectacles look great on TV—I have been to one at Rutgers when the Scarlet Knights topped Louisville on national television—a lot of bad things can happen. 

I was at a Rutgers-Colgate game in my youth when the fans ran onto the field after the game ended, tearing down the goalposts. They were solid wood, and when they fell, there were jagged edges, I saw some revelers with blood from the resulting celebration. 

Something has to be done to end this riotous behavior. And it must be done now. The NCAA, losers in court this week about Name, Image and Likeness and suffering loss after loss in the judicial and intercollegiate worlds, must ensure that this behavior does not permeate the upcoming tournament. The organization has the resources to make this happen. As long as the NCAA still has power—that’s story for another time. 

However, not all colleges and universities are willing and able to devote money to stopping this long-standing “tradition.” Employ more security, including police officers. Use TV footage to prosecute fans, akin to what the Justice Department did to the January 6th invaders of the Capitol. Make it ironclad and clear during pre-game and end of game announcements that this type of behavior will not be tolerated and could result in prosecution—even if the crime is merely trespassing. The person who ran into Filapowski looked to have an intent to injure—a mens rea if you would; that is the perfect time to show that this kind of action is illegal. 

Buying a ticket to a game does not give the fan the right to go onto the playing surface—at any time. Booing and name-calling, as vile and abhorrent as it has become, is an unfortunately accepted part of the game. Good sportsmanship be damned, I guess. 

Substantial fines to schools which continue to permit this aberrant conduct may help a bit. Threatening to place the school on probation and banning the teams from the post-season might possibly get an administration to act in a prophylactic manner. Whatever measures help post-game civility are fine. 

Measures designed to prevent all activity after games are necessary. Look at the major brawl which erupted at the conclusion of the Texas A&M-Commerce and University of Incarnate World basketball game this week. A young girl and a student manager were injured. 

The schools denounced this heinous event, which should be condemned no matter the trigger for the melee, which broke into clusters of players  and lasted for a while. Those who participated will be disciplined—suspensions may not be enough here. Collegiate careers need to be on the line—both athletically and academically. 

At the high school level, we have repeatedly seen instances of this type of activity, where  fans empty from the stands and start to fight. Referrals to local authorities have resulted. 

Thankfully, no guns of knives have been used. This is not to say that such mob-like behavior would not take off, using things in the area as armaments. Again, I refer back to January 6th and how many U.S. Capital Police officers were injured or died. 

We are a society of laws. Rules are there to be followed—for the protection of the people. While some laugh at the saying “Rules are meant to be broken”, rules and dictates about fan behavior should be observed and followed. If we want the games to continue—then root for your team and scream your head off in exaltation if you wish—just stay in the stands where you belong.

Do we need to return to the early days of college basketball—when wire mesh encircled the court to protect spectators from players going for loose balls and to protect them from over-eager fans? This is why basketball players are sometimes referred to as cagers. 

Our society is in turmoil for many reasons. But there is no political reasons to oppose ending this craziness aligned with sporting events—now. 

It may be a bit late for Clark and Filipowski or the non-combatants in Texas. Let’s get it right out there!

Heartache, Hoops and Hockey

  I’ve ben a busy sports blogger this week. This is largely due to the plethora of sports which interested me, both in person and on TV. 

Before I get to the substantial portion of this week’s installment, I need to comment on the events surrounding the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory parade. What was a largely joyous celebration of a second consecutive title for Patrick Mahomes II, Travis Kelce and company turned into a nightmare when shots were fired near the venerable Union Station in downtown Kansas City. 

Up until that time, about one million fans celebrated this win in true KC fashion. Tomahawk chops and hoots and hollers echoed throughout the route and especially when the team arrive at the station. 

With the mayor concluding his remarks and the crowd ready to disperse into the beautiful day, chaos ensued. There were multiple active shooters whose shots resulted in many injuries and the tragic death of a local DJ. Children were among the victims. 

There were heroes galore in the hysteria. Some tackled apparent shooters trying to flee. Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid and number of payers comforted those who were in emotional distress. The pictures of police officers, weapons drawn, running outside and into Union Station, were constantly repeated, along with pictures of snipers poised on rooftops.

While the facts remain sketchy, apparently a dispute among groups which included juveniles led to this terrible situation. I immediately put my retired Public Defender hat back on, thinking of the unfathomable harm these alleged perpetrators unleashed and what would ensue for them. 

What was clear, though, was the reaction of the community—from the immediate fright to the heroic measures of the police and first responder medical personnel and the doctors who knew what was incoming. Everybody maintained their composure, no matter the outrage. 

Travis Kelce and his girlfriend Taylor Swift each donated $100,000 to a Go Fund me page for the murder victim. Mahomes and his wife visited the children wounded and still hospitalized. 

No matter what, the scars will run deep for years to come. Going to a celebration like this is becoming more and more dangerous. 

My wife asked me what would I go to a parade if the New York Jets finally won another Super Bowl title? At my age, freezing for hours would be a sufficient deterrent from attending a parade; had I been younger, I might have gone. 

Perhaps these public events need to be handled like New Year’s Eve in Times Square—with metal detectors in use—or held in the stadiums where everyone is scanned before entering. It is a terrible shame that once happy occasions are repeatedly marred by gun violence. We, as a nation, must get a grip on this issue; I heard that shooting deaths are the leading cause of death for black teenagers. These scenes cannot be endlessly repeated. 

Transitioning away from this horror, it’s been a pretty good week for the teams and individuals I root for. The Yankees began Spring Training and no pitchers have complained about anything thus far. Nor have the Jets screwed up anything more as the off season intensifies. 

The college basketball teams I follow have done particularly well this week. Franklin and Marshall returned home after getting trounced on the road by Johns Hopkins and Swarthmore, the two hottest teams in the Centennial Conference. Wins over Dickinson and Washington College propelled the Diplomats to a third seed in the upcoming CC playoffs. With Swarthmore defeating the Blue Jays on Saturday, Gettysburg unseated JHU as the top seed by virtue of the Bullets two wins over the Jays. The Garnet are the fourth seed and will face Ursinus; F&M must wait for a Monday play-in game between Dickinson and Muhlenberg to know their opponent.

Princeton won twice, including a win over Yale, which had been undefeated in conference play. Yale meets Cornell, the other top team, next weekend; Princeton must wait until March 2 to seek revenge from the Big Red. Sadly, the Ivy League will remain a one team league come NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday. 

We went to Drew University on Saturday, forgoing another trip to Lancaster due to the snowy conditions which prevailed early that day  The Rangers hosted Susquehanna to determine which team would be the second seed in the upcoming Landmark Conference tournament. 

This contest was played at break-neck speed. Both teams put up over 40 points in the first half. Solid defense plus timely shooting by Drew sent the home team to victory by a score of 94-82. Drew can be a thorn to top-seed Catholic, each winning on the road in the two games played against each other. Drew has also scored over 90 points in eleven games en route to a sterling 20-5 record. Drew will see either Goucher or Susquehanna in its playoff opener, having gone 2-0 versus Goucher and split its two games with SU. 

I was at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Thursday for the early evening match between Northwestern and Rutgers. Once left for dead near the basement of the Big Ten standings, RU has awoken with the addition of Jeremiah Williams. The transfer from Iowa State by way of Temple and Chicago, Illinois, has shown his talent and swagger in leading the Scarlet Knights. To four straight wins, including a come-from-behind win over the Wildcats. 

RU dug a real hole for itself. Boo Buie, Northwestern’s star guard, annihilated the Knights in the first half, sinking the first seven three point attempts he took. The persistent RU defense shackled Buie and the Wildcats in the second half, overcoming an eleven point deficit to win 63-60. 

Buie is a really good point guard; he probably has pro potential. However, he was repeatedly using his off arm to push away defenders without getting called for an offensive foul. This enraged the RU faithful, who continually let the referees know about this egregious affront. 

I don’t know what will happen for the remainder of Rutgers’ season. Nothing is really a lock. Maybe the NCAA or NIT might eventuate if the play continues to shine. Although a 81-70 loss at Minnesota didn’t help the cause. #2 Purdue, losers to cellar-dwelling Ohio State, is next. Momentarily RU Nation has something to cheer about. 

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark broke the women’s all-time scoring record with a signature 49 point performance. She is an ambassador for young women, and her game is outrageous. Plus she is dating the son of the Iowa men’s head coach; think she is enjoying life?

Switching to the pros, Golden State won three of four before the All-Star break. Steph Curry shined, as he has been while the Warriors have resurrected their dormant playoff hopes. 

What was momentous was the benching of future Hall of Fame player and fellow Splash Brother to Curry, Klay Thompson. Head Coach Steve Kerr said Thompson did not take it well. Rather than sulk, Thompson took his demotion personally, scoring 35 points on Thursday against Utah. It was nice to see; whether this offensive surge continues is anybody’s guess. Too bad the Warriors couldn’t get traction on their interest in trading for Lebron James at the trade deadline. How delicious would that have been—Curry and James paired together?

NBA All-Star Saturday is a favorite of mine. I was mildly amused with the Skills contest. I was more engrossed in the 3-Point Shooting Contest. Damien Lillard, formerly with Portland and now with suddenly spiraling Milwaukee Bucks, repeated as champion, sinking a money ball on his final shot. Great theater. 

Also fun to watch was G-League player Mac Mc Clung defending his dunk title. He cleared 7’1” Shaquille O’Neal to score a resounding victory over Jalen Brown of Boston. Mc Clure also scored 12 points in Friday’s Futures Game. Why this kid isn’t on some NBA team baffles me. 

The tour de force for the Saturday event at the home of the Indianapolis Colts was a meeting of Curry, the NBA all-time three point leader, with the WNBA three-point champion, Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty. Ionescu used the WNBA basketball but shot from the longer NBA three-point line. She projected confidence in the pre-match interview with Ernie Johnson of TNT. 

Sabrina was uncanny, compiling 26 points in her round. This put pressure squarely on Steph, who knows how to handle it. Struggling just a bit, Curry righted himself and ended with a flourish by sinking his last two shots to win 29-26. Ionescu did not fail—she went against one of the greatest competitors ever and she pushed him hard. In comparison, McClung would have stood no chance versus Michael Jordan in his prime in a dunk contest as a reference point. 

It was wonderful. It was magnificent. Use all the cheerful and demonstrative words you choose to apply. Ionescu had every reason to be a proud and humble as Curry. She joined Clark as a second worthy face of women’s basketball. Now if he salaries could match the talent levels and become more commensurate with those in the NBA. 

Could there be an encore? Could Clark join Sabrina and face Steph and Klay? We shall see. It was one glorious competition. 

Add into the mix the NHL Stadium Series landing at Met Life Stadium this weekend. Philadelphia and the New Jersey Devils clashed in the NJ Turnpike rivalry while the Rangers and Islanders faced off. Two crowds of 70,000 willing to freeze for their teams. Talk about devotion. I was more than happy to watch from the warmth of my home. For the record, NJD won 6-3 and the Rangers were the first NHL team to rally from three down to emerge with a win, by a score of 6-5 on a goal 10 seconds into OT.

It was what was needed in a week of heartache, hoops and hockey. 

Super Bowl LVIII

  There seemed to be more hype and buildup for Super Bowl LVIII than just the regular overblown coverage. Maybe that is the nature of the beast, but I wonder how much viewers really care—or is it a way for the networks to cash in big time with so many commercials which are new? 

And if that isn’t enough, there is the betting aspect. Whether it has been through regular commercials or associated with the game, there are tons of betting opportunities called prop bets. You can bet on what dish Taylor Swift is going to eat first in her suite. Or the over/under in yardage gained after the catch for her boyfriend, Travis Kelce. This is the biggest day of the year for the gamblers, and there is no better place for a game which emphasizes betting than to be in the betting capital of the world, Las Vegas. (For the record, Vegas took a bath with the 9-1 odds on the game ending in overtime)

I am a purist to a degree. While I can enjoy gambling occasionally, it is not my kind of addiction. Watching the games themselves is all this guy needs to feel good. Gambling would make me insane, watching the points being scored while rooting for the oddsmaker’s favorite. It is far more enjoyable to see Steph Curry drain a ridiculous three point shot like he did with 2.7 seconds left versus Phoenix on Saturday night than to worry if the Warriors covered the point spread. 

Mercifully, I limited my TV watching to part of a retrospective on The NFL Today, which included having Brent Musberger, the face most associated with the program, and Jayne Kennedy, he first black woman to host this kind of studio show. Otherwise, I watched Caitlin Clark get shut out in the fourth quarter in her quest to become the leading scorer in Division I Women’s history, with Nebraska overcoming a deep deficit to send the #2 Hawkeyes to a crushing defeat. 

Before the game really began, I actually traveled to Denville, New Jersey to pick up Chinese food from my favorite place. I guess this showed where my mindset was. It didn’t help that there was an accident on Interstate 287 which slowed things down, nor was I happy that the restaurant ran out of one essential ingredient and the order had to be changed. 

Perhaps that was a harbinger of things to come. Nothing was going to be ordinary regarding the day, especially the Super Bowl.

It is not for me to recap each part of the game. Unless you live under a rock, which isn’t likely because you are reading this blog, you know the outcome of the game. Final score: Kansas City 25 San Francisco 22 in overtime. 

Instead, this was a game determined by ebbs and flows of emotion and expertise. Plus some luck. 

If the game was only three quarters long, then the Niners would be World Champions. San Francisco was the better team for much of the game. 

But the Kansas City Chiefs were defending champions for a reason—resiliency. Along with some really terrific football players who executed on the field. And a coaching staff which countered any moves from their opponents. 

Look, Brock Purdy did a most capable job playing in his first Super Bowl. The kid drafted last in his class, “Mr. Irrelevant” as the final draftee is called, is a solid quarterback. He managed the game well and actually put the Niners in a position to win the game in regulation. Moreover, he led the team to a field goal in the overtime period and asked his defense to make one more stop.

The Niners defense put plenty of pressure on Patrick Mahomes II at the start of the game. So much so that when Mahomes threw an interception, that broke a long streak of clean attempts in the playoffs. 

With the San Francisco offense operating in rhythm, fueled by the running of Christian Mc Caffrey and the accurate throws from Purdy, the game could have easily remained in the dominating grasp of SF. With the time of possession favoring the Niners, it was nearly miraculous that the Chiefs managed to stay within hailing distance at 10-3 with a late second quarter field goal. 

The game featured turnovers. Both teams had their share. For much of the game, it was really the kickers who prevailed. San Francisco’s Jake Moody broke a Super Bowl record with a 54 yard boot, only to be topped by Kansas City’s Harrison Butker later kicking a 57 yard field goal. 

Yet the singular play which changed the complexion of the game came upon an extra point. Kansas City managed to block the kick, which made the differential three points instead of four. This would later allow Butker to kick the game tying field goal with under ten seconds left in regulation to force OT. 

There has been much criticism about San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan opting to take the ball after winning the overtime coin toss. Some of his players said there was little if any discussion about the new rules for overtime which gives both teams a shot at the ball, even if the first team scores a touchdown. 

While KC players said they were familiar with the rules, in the end, it came down to what happened on the field. The Niners went deep into KC territory but their drive stalled. Faced with a 4th and 4, Shanahan fatefully sent the field goal unit onto the field where the resulting three points put the pressure squarely on the Chiefs. 

And that is where Mahomes, Kelce and the KC offense shined. Marching 75 yards downfield, Mahomes connected with a wide open Marcus Hardman (you recall him, Jets fans, and how the team misused him before sending him back to KC where he is once more a Super Bowl champion) and the celebrations began. 

Remember that the game wasn’t won just on this play. San Francisco had dominated play early on yet allowed the game to be a one score battle at the half. 

To me, what won the game was the moxie of the Chiefs. Defensive star Chris Jones held an impromptu meeting of the defensive players, exhorting his teammates to step it up. Which they did, executing the brilliant defensive strategies of Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnola. That turned the tide for Kansas City, along with a little luck when a punt struck a San Francisco players foot and the Chiefs recovered. 

Sure, the Niners scored on the Chiefs, including the trick play double pass which resulted in a touchdown. But when it came to crunch time, the KC defense was superb, giving Mahomes and the offense the chance to win the game. 

Mahomes reminds me of Steph Curry. Two very flashy and exciting players who know what the bright lights mean and can win championships when given the opportunity. This kind of DNA is hard to find. The parallels are this—both had fathers who played professional ball at the highest levels with success—Curry’s dad in the NBA and Mahomes’ father played baseball. Being around professional athletes at such a young age is a tremendous learning experience; it doesn’t hurt to be gifted with extraordinary talent too. 

Let’s shelve the talk about whether Mahomes is the greatest QB in NFL history. He’s young and he has produced better than anyone preceding him. We have to compare him to the bodies of work of Joe Montana and Tom Brady. It is simply too early to do that. 

As for talk of the Kansas City dynasty—that is fact. They are among a rare group of teams that are repeat Super Bowl champions. 

The talk of a there-peat is natural, although the odds are against that. Recall that KC was fortunate to navigate the land mines of games at Buffalo and Baltimore this season and get to the Big Game. 

For now, fans, like me, should savor one of the best games of Super Bowl history, watched by more people for a sporting event period (Thank you, Swifties, for your participation). This audience was surpassed only by the moon landing—which was the ultimate in sports TV.

That’s it. Super Bowl LVIII.