Sports At Christmas 2021

As we approach Christmas and then the end of 2021, I like to write about the past year. Mostly it is a reflection upon what has happened with perhaps a peek at what will happen in the upcoming year. 

The sad thing about this retrospective is that we are once again at a COVID-19 crossroad when it comes to sports. Because we can all attest that this pandemic is not even close to being over. 

What was happening in 2020 is now happening in 2021. Basketball games postponed or canceled. NFL games shifted to Monday or Tuesday. The NHL is on a lockdown until they can figure out what to do next, and the league’s dilemma is complicated by its significant presence in two countries which do not share COVID treatment philosophies. 

Let’s be realistic. We, the sports fans of this country, became complacent. We thought the pandemic was not that bad anymore and that sports could proceed without serious hiccups. Yeah, right.

We have managed to have championships determined in somewhat normal fashion in baseball, college basketball, college football, the NBA, NFL and NHL. Now that is not so likely to happen. 

First, the Delta variant appeared, wreaking its own form of havoc. It has been usurped by the Omicron variant. The numbers of the infected are surpassing previous high marks on a daily basis. People who have been so careful are now getting the virus. 

What I have observed has troubled me. I attended two New Jersey Devils games at the Prudential Center in Newark on December 16 and 19. The Thursday night affair with the Vegas Golden Knights was not well-attended, with maybe half of the arena filled. A much bigger crowd, just short of capacity, was there on Sunday night for “Star Wars Night.”

The advance requirements for entry to the arena was proof of vaccination along with your tickets. I thought this was acceptable. Except that wasn’t. 

The bigger concern was if an entrant was wearing a mask to enter the building, and for males, taking off one’s belt to make it through the metal detector. Unfortunately, once beyond the ticket scanning, the masks came off of almost all faces. 

I felt very uncomfortable with the situation. Sitting masked in our seats, we saw virtually no masks covering faces. Those who wore masks had them situated below their faces. No arena staff even sought to enforce a mask mandate; the arena personnel wore masks, but the policy definitely was masks were preferred but not required. 

Rutgers has changed its policy for entry into Jersey Mike’s Arena. Proof of vaccination or a very recent negative COVID test will suffice for entry. The difference from the Prudential Center is that masks are expected to be worn during the duration of the event and those who fail to do so will be asked to leave. Supposedly the mask wearing was a previous policy, but I didn’t see that much of it when RU games were televised. 

F&M has an attractive men’s basketball tournament—the Sponaugle New Year’s Tip Off. It will be held on December 29 and 30. The participants include a very good Wesleyan team taking on Wilkes in Game 1, with the host Diplomats facing a good Alfred team in the Wednesday night cap. 

This would have been a chance to see schools F&M normally does not play in an afternoon doubleheader the next day. So I inquired about the policies for entry into Mayser Center. I was told no proof of vaccination required and masks were to be worn. I had considered going, but there wasn’t enough safety in place for me to be really comfortable. Besides, even if there was a proof of vaccination requirement, I wonder how many people have fake cards to go along with their picture ID?

Look—I am back to take out after having experienced proof of vaccination requirements in Hawaii and New York City eateries, which gave me some degree of comfort. At least until Omicron invaded. Call me prudent—we did not remove our masks at any time during the trips to and from the arena on NJ Transit nor did we take them off at any time in the Prudential Center. 

Americans want their world to continue. I get it. But how best to do this is still debatable throughout the country. 

With sports, the virus has run roughshod. Rutgers and Seton Hall men’s basketball teams were infected (probably SHU gave it to the RU players) and unable to play regularly scheduled contests. RU has rescheduled games at home with Central Connecticut and Maine. Seton Hall’s predicament about forfeiting conference games with Big East foes De Paul and St. John’s due to COVID depleting their squad led to an amendment of the rules in place, because they seemed to be a bit unfair. 

Many other college teams have had similar occurrences. This has impacted the college bowl scene, as Texas A&M was so decimated by the coronavirus that it could not field a team to face #20 Wake Forest in the Tax Slayer Gator Bowl. Hawaii, the host team in the Hawaii Bowl, had to pull out due to COVID infections, leading to a cancellation of that post-season event. 

In the case of the Gator Bowl, the NCAA awards teams for academic performance. 5-7 teams with high APR would receive consideration for bowl eligibility if needed. Which became a necessity and has led to Rutgers receiving an emergency invitation to the Gator Bowl. Good for them, although the team hasn’t practiced since its loss to Maryland on November 27.

With the College Football Playoffs set to start on December 31, a school unable to field a team would be forfeiting the game. There is some leeway for the championship, set at this time for January 10. The fact that this pronouncement was made is ominous. 

The NBA has its showcase event on Christmas Day. Five games on national TV, beginning at noon Eastern time. Commissioner Adam Silver is gung ho to keeping the season going, despite disruptions which have affected teams like the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets, among others. Remember, only a bit over 60% of the players are vaccinated. 

The Nets may just be able to put together a team to face the Lakers in LA on Saturday. However, the best player and NBA-leading scorer, Kevin Durant, may not be able to play. 

Fans are paying top dollar for these events and getting less than they expected. Droves of replacement players are being signed to fill up NBA roster space; the Nets signed 40 year old Joe Johnson because they were so desperate to have healthy bodies to use in a game. The Devils were using minor league call ups on defense and it showed; the transaction pages in the newspapers are filled daily with the movements between the parent clubs and the minor league affiliates or replete with new signees. 

The NFL may be facing more postponements in its last 4 regular season weeks. The New York Jets have 20 players on COViD restriction. As of Friday morning, the team had 45 available players on its roster. I can see the game with Jacksonville being moved into next week.

COVID hurt the Washington Football Team. The game at Philadelphia, moved to Tuesday night to allow WFT to have  a team on the field, demonstrated the lack of competitiveness. The New Orleans Saints will be using a rookie QB after the current starting QB, Tayson Hill, got COVID. Such are the instances which will be occurring repeatedly throughout the remainder of the season with so many players unavailable. Even with a vaccine rate said to be over 90%. 

Coaches are impacted, too. Rick Carlisle and Frank Vogel in the NBA were out due to the protocols. Sean Payton of the Saints has contracted COVID a second time. Robert Saleh of the Jets is out because he is ill from the virus. 

The NHL players have decided not to attend the Beijing Olympics in February. Health and safety priorities were cited. Plus the three week period off from regular season competition may be needed to complete postponed games or set up a bubble.

That’s right. You heard me. The bubble may have to return if the pandemic isn’t under control very soon. And the rumor that the Ivy League is considering canceling spring sports isn’t so far-fetched. 

We haven’t even heard about baseball players. I can only imagine how many of them are sick and what kind of impact that might have once the players-owners stalemate is resolved. 

I have no answers for the sports chaos unfolding. Yes, games are being played. But at what cost to those playing and those who opt to attend? 

This is sports at Christmas 2021. 

Sports Idols

Many of us have idols. They may be in government, industry, the arts or religion, to name a few. 

Moreover, many of us have sports idols. This worshiping of athletes is primarily based upon their performance, which gains them notoriety or even fame. There are others who like the performers because of how they look, how they conduct themselves and who they work for.

Whatever the reason, it is certainly not a bad thing to like an athlete or even a team. Our favorites are a product of our environments and how we best receive them. 

As I grew up, I experienced many stimuli which formed my likes and dislikes in sports. Living in the New York metropolitan area, we were saturated with local sports on Channels 9 and 11. Channel 4 also had some Knicks games on and Channel 2 carried the NHL on Saturday afternoons, an event CBS broadcast across the country. 

Then there was the print media. New York had the most newspapers and offered the bevy of writers who could describe the elements of a game, the side stories and offer opinions, no matter how slanted they may have been. I scrupulously devoured the papers at lunch time after I walked home from the schools which were on the North Side of Highland Park—Hamilton School and Highland Park High School. Ditto the evening paper, The Home News, a New Brunswick icon. 

There was WCTC Radio, 1450 on your dial, which, despite its having “Hungarian Melody Time” on Sundays, a result of the influx of escapees from the 1956 Hungarian Revolution who were sent to a still active portion of Camp Kilmer in Edison and Piscataway then sealed in New Brunswick along Albany Street in what became known as the “Hungarian section.” WCTC, with Station Director Tony Marano calling the action, was the home for Rutgers football and basketball. Bill Speranza and Sam Mudie for football and Bob Lloyd for basketball were the bigger-than-life student-athletes I adored from afar. 

In those formative years, I watched summer afternoon and evening broadcasts of the Yankees—especially the prodigious blasts of one Mickey Mantle, my first idol. Between him and Tom Tresh, an American League Rookie of the Year, I molded my ability to hit from both sides of the plate. And in 1961, I emulated Roger Maris as he and Mantle chased the ghost of Babe Ruth. 

I could pitch with the no wind of “Bullet” Bob Turley. I tried to throw a screwball like Luis Arroyo. I learned to throw from the outfield by watching Maris with his lethal arm. 

When the Yankees fortunes soured until the mid-1970’s, watching the games just wasn’t the same. Then along came Reginald Martinez Jackson, as the erudite Howard Cosell would speak of him. His 1971 All-Star game blast to the light towers at Tiger Stadium in Detroit made him must see TV. So when he joined the Yankees, I would monitor his at bats during the game so that I would not miss something special. Like his epic three home run performance versus the Dodgers in the 1977 World Series. 

There were other Yankees through the years who I wanted to see. Hall of Fame outfielder Dave Winfield and first baseman Don Mattingly were my Yankee guys. Bobby Murcer was fun to watch, too. 

Then in the new run that began in the mid-1990’s, there were Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, whose exploits landed them in the Baseball Hall of Fame. I never wanted to miss Jeter. Period. And Mo closing a game was a work of art. I also loved Andy Pettitte’s stare. 

Now it is Aaron Judge and to a degree, Giancarlo Stanton whom I wait to view. Gerrit Cole is the Yankees’ top hurler and there are always the end of game situations for Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman to agonize over. These are my Yankees heroes. 

Yankees were not the only ones I watched. There was Sandy Koufax and his dominating fastball and unhittable curve ball. Tom Seaver, when he was with the Mets, was always a thrill to see. 

Willie Mays in an All-Star Game was incredible. I never missed those contests because the best players in baseball were showcased. 

When WTBS came to the nation, Atlanta Braves baseball was a national phenomenon. I loved to watch Dale Murphy swat homers in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium and Phil NIekro flutter his knuckleball, baffling batter after batter. Then with the new group in the 1990’s, how could I miss the performances of the pitching trio of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smotz—all in the Hall of Fame? 

Hockey and football were more team sports. While I had my favorites to watch, it was in the context of a New Jersey Devils game to see Martin Brodeur and Scott Stevens; or Mike Bossy of the Islanders and Phil Esposito with the Rangers. 

There was no one player in football who intrigued me enough to always turn on his team’s games. The closest I came to watching one particular player was either Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson—two powerful and speedy running backs. 

With basketball, I watched Lew Alcindor at UCLA when I could. I marveled at the battles between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson meeting on the floor was great theater. And of course , there was HIs Airness, Michael Jordan. The probable G.O.A.T.

Which leads me to this season. Thee has been one player who has captivated me for years. Steph Curry. From his heroics at Davidson College in his junior year, Steph’s final year there, to his time with the Golden State Warriors. 

No one player had taken me to a place where I had to watch him every time he played. Which meant that I would stay up late because of the three hours time difference 

Curry has an aura that is simply breathtaking. His moves, his passes, his three point shooting and free throw accuracy are unlike anyone I ever seen. 

No matter what he does, something almost unimaginable might happen the next time he touches the ball. He is magical and graceful. He is tough yet looks to be a nice guy in his public appearances and commercials. 

Thus, when he was in the throes of chasing down Ray Allen as the NBA’s all-time three point shot maker, I was there. ESPN and ABC moved games to accommodate the interest in Curry’s run for the record. 

TNT had the great fortune of televising the game from Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night which would involve the potential record-breaking bucket. They sent Reggie Miller, once the record holder, to help broadcast the game. Allen was nearby.

This ultimate foray was the result of his trying too hard against Orlando at home to get the final 16 in one night. To an abysmal shooting performance in Philadelphia last Saturday night when the Sixers covered him like a glove en route to a Warriors loss. While he fared better in Indiana, the Garden was going to be his triumphant moment. 

On Tuesday night, the Garden was electric. Like a playoff game. All eyes were on Curry. He hit his first three pointer attempt, then missed the second. When he hoisted his next one, it was all net, Wardell Stephen Curry became immortal. He had the record he chased for so long and the moments he shared with teammates, his coach Steve Kerr, and family were precious. 

This is why I watch certain individuals more than others. They deliver performances which exceed those of the mere mortals playing with them. 

We are riveted by their actions. We pray and pray for them to excel. Which invariably they do. 

For they are sports idols. 

Euphoria In Piscataway

A lot has happened since I last sat down at my laptop to write. I had a whole list of things to discuss. Then my opening was usurped last night. 

Rutgers, on the strength of a monster game from Ron Harper, Jr., which included a last second heave from just inside the Block R logo at midcoast, took down #1 Purdue before a raucous crowd inside Jersey Mike’s Arena. The final score was 70-68. 

To the delirious fans who stormed the court after Harper’s bomb swished through the net, it was the biggest thing to happen to RU sports since the football team, ranked #15, downed #3 Louisville on a Thursday night watched in prime time via ESPN with the top announcing team of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit in the booth (that turned out to be the third largest ESPN audience at that time). I happened to be there when Jeremy Ito booted the winning field goal with 13 seconds left in the game. 

Same thing with Rutgers-South Florida in 2007, when the Scarlet Knights defeated the then #2 Bulls. I was there.

Last night, I was not at the arena. I was in the comfort of my den, since RU had sold out almost all of their home men’s basketball games for the season without offering an attractive mini-plan (seat backs rather than higher up with bleacher seats which hurt multiple parts of my aging body and were the subject of numerous complaints from my spouse).

Which made it all the more exciting when my wife and daughter were with me and my college roommate was texting me from his den in Maryland as the action unfolded. Three of the four glued to the TV are basketball junkies. 

This was a seesaw affair. Rutgers and the Boilermakers traded leads throughout the game. While RU was ahead at the half by a mere point, there was a time in the second half that  looked as if the team from Indiana was going to prevail as they should, as they were undefeated and Rutgers was a middling 4-4, having lost to the likes of Lafayette, De Paul and U Mass and were most recently blown out by Illinois on the road. Additionally, the Knights  were without the leadership of star guard Geo Baker. 

Some numerology here. Rutgers was 0-11 all-time when facing the top-ranked team in the country. I went to a game at the RAC on December 16, 2007 versus North Carolina. It was  the Dean Smith era, so it was expected that Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough would dominate the smaller Knights. The final score was 93-71, sending the 8,312 home mildly disappointed. 

But RU seemingly has Purdue’s number. Heading into Thursday night’s contest, RU was 3-0 in their past games with the Boilermakers. They were hardly intimidated by their opponents. And the crowd noise in the trapezoid made it seem like there were 20,000 in the building. 

Purdue is a talented team. Sophomore guard Jaden Ivey is the floor general. He is quick and athletic. His math is the head women’s basketball coach at Notre Dame. Senior Sasha Stefanovic is a 6’5” marksman. Canadian sophomore Zach Edey is a 7’4” monster. And reserve senior center Trevion Williams looks like a pro player with his moves a prototypical 6’ 10” 255 pounds of muscle headed to the NBA someday soon. 

Contrast that with RU, which in addition to missing Baker, had only one recognizable name—Ron Harper, Jr. Since I am a Rutgers devotee, I know the names of the players who contributed. But do not be mistaken—they paled in comparison to the talent presented by Purdue coach Matt Painter. 

Yet it was the Rutgers team of relatively unknowns who repeatedly came to the rescue. Caleb Mc Connell, who contributed 12 points, five rebounds and five assists in this game, was the Big Ten leader in assists average thus far this season. He had two and played ferocious defense and attacked the boards relentlessly. 6’7” sophomore forward Mawot Mag, started off on fire with his coring, ending up with 12 points, far exceeding his seasonal average of 4.8 points. Sophomore center Cliff Omoruyi battled the Purdue bigs as best he could, while scoring 11 points on 5 for 10 shooting. 

Rutgers shot 7-14 from three point land, while hitting 13 of 18 free throws. Conversely, Purdue went 7 for 26 from behind the arc and connected on 11 of 16 free throws. 

Purdue had a 10 point lead with 8 minutes left in the game. Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell said it best: “We just kept hanging around, fighting. It didn’t look like it was going our way a few times and they just stayed the course and made big plays and made big stops.” 

In his post-game comments, Painter offered this: “When you go on the road, you gotta be 10 points better than somebody, because if you allow it to be close, crazy things happen. Obviously, that was a once-in-a lifetime shot, but we allowed it to be close.”

Rutgers had reduced the Purdue lead to 65-63 when Mc Connell sank a turnaround jump shot with 2:07 to go. Mag pulled the Knights to within one point with a dunk off of a pass from a double-teamed harper with 1:05 remaining. Rutgers forced Ivey into a backcourt trap which resulted in a traveling violation. Ivey had earlier made a windmill dunk and provided some choice words for the Jersey Mike’s crowd. That dunk was so spectacular that it made the ESPN Sports Center Top Ten plays at #6. 

The lead changed hands three times in the final 13.1 seconds. Harper had hit a shot to forge RU ahead at 67-66, its first lead since early in the second half. 

When Rutgers huddled after taking their final timeout, Harper told his teammates that if Purdue scored, ”give the me the ball and I’m going to send them home.” Sure enough, Williams muscled his way into scoring what looked like the backbreaker, putting the Boilermakers ahead, 68-67.

Inbounding the ball with 3.4 ticks left on the clock, Mag gave Harper a perfect lead pass to generate some speed up court. He weaved through the Purdue defenders, aware of how many steps he had before time expired. He squared his body up towards the basket. He let the shot fly. 

It went in. Game over. RU had finally downed a #1 team and in the process, extended its winning streak over Purdue to four. 

Harper’s father, a 5-time NBA champion with the Bulls and Lakers, said he was shaking from what his son did. Magic Johnson, a pretty fair college player from Michigan State simply said “Wow, wow, wow!”

Harper scored a career-best 30 points on 10-15 shooting along with grabbing 10 rebounds. In a twist of irony, this week in 1984, the elder Harper scored 30 points to lead Miami (Ohio) over…drum beat…Purdue. So maybe this outcome was fated to happen?

What happened on a Thursday night in the first full week of December was magical. It will never be forgotten on the banks of the old Raritan. It excised the pain of the Illinois loss. Rutgers gained some credibility for its beleaguered men’s basketball program which finally made the NCAA tournament after a wait of 30 insufferable years, only to inexplicably lose to an eventual Final Four team, Houston. Those losses to Lafayette, De Paul and UMass can be forgiven for a night. 

Now Rutgers has to regroup for its Garden State Hardwood Classic battle with #23 Seton Hall, which topped # 7 Texas at the Prudential Center, the site of this Sunday’s affair. The Hall has two wins over Top 10 teams this season. 

It is not going to be easy. Who knows if this was a one night thing or if RU starts to play like Pikiell expects the team to perform. 

For one golden evening, there was euphoria in Piscataway.

Arenas and Stadiums

There were a few things which struck me as odd, and a few things which seemed to be normal. I guess that is to be expected in the sports world as it heads towards Thanksgiving Day.

Arenas and stadiums are always a hot topic for me. First, the New York Islanders just completed a 13 game season-opening road trip, necessitated by the construction delays at the gleaming new UBS Arena at Belmont Park. The Isles finished the trip a tad under .500, which isn’t bad for a team without a home game in a compressed schedule due to Olympic participation by NHL players in February. The 5-6-2 record garnered 12 points, positioning them in last place in the Metropolitan Division. In comparison, the 3 top teams, Washington, Carolina and the New York Rangers have 25, 24 and 23 points, respectively. Philadelphia, the New Jersey Devils and Columbus maintain above.500 marks in equal or fewer games played. Only Pittsburgh sports a below .500 record in the division, and the Penguins have had major injuries to their stars. 

While the Islanders have suffered their share of injuries, the prospect to rejoin the hunt after this protracted stay away from home is encouraging. The reward for the early season away games is that a whopping 25 of the next 32 contests will be on Long Island (and that is very technically Long Island, because the building is right by the Cross Island Expressway, which is the border between New York City and Nassau County). Through the end of December, the longest trips they make are to Detroit and Ottawa, which are very short hops out of La Guardia. 

This will help the team get adjusted to their new surroundings on game days. They will still be practicing at the NorthwellHealthIC located in Eisenhower Park. And for the fans, there is a new Elmont LIRR station to shuttle those fans who come by train from Long Island and the City and beyond. 

UBS Arena is a state of the art building. It will have all the new bells and whistles that one would expect, especially in the New York market. But it will have sight lines and a roof that will be reminiscent of the Nassau Veteran Memorial Coliseum, the team’s home except for some already-forsaken games at the Barclays Center, the home of the Brooklyn Nets, a building designed for basketball and concerts, not hockey.

I have been to the Coliseum 5 times—having seen the Canadiens, Capitals, Red Wings, Rangers and Devils play there. It served its purposes for me—for three of the occasions  I was either seeing somebody who lived on the Island or met somebody who was going to be married out there. I persuaded my wife to go to the Coliseum to see the Rangers, and my son and I drove to Uniondale on a Saturday for a 1:00 game for which we barely got to our seats in time. 

Because of the way Barclays Center was promoted, I had no desire to go there to see hockey. For that matter, I have very little desire to go there to see basketball. 

Since my interest in sports began when I was 7 years old, there have been many arenas and stadiums dotting the landscape in the New York Metropolitan area. The Nets have been in at seven places—the vagabonds of the area. I never made it to the Commack Arena or the New Jersey Armory in Teaneck. Yet I have seen them at the Rutgers Athletic Center and the Brendan Byrne/Continental Airlines Arena. Just not at the Barclays Center or the Coliseum. 

The baseball and football teams have gone through a number of buildings in their day. With the New York Football Giants, they have played at the Polo Grounds, Yankee Stadium, Giants Stadium and now Met Life Stadium. The Jets have the same stadiums, swapping out Shea and Yankee Stadiums. Yankees fans have sat their fannies in three Yankee Stadiums and spent two uncomfortable years at Shea while the renovations to Yankee Stadium were completed in the 1970’s. Mets fans endured the ravaged Polo Grounds for two excruciating seasons until Shea Stadium rose up in Queens, adjacent to the 1964 World’s Fair site in Flushing. I do not lament  not having seen the New York Giants play at the Polo Grounds nor the Brooklyn Dodgers at ancient Ebbets Field before the teams departed for California. 

Hockey and basketball in New York were centered at Madison Square Garden, first on 8th Avenue and West 49th Street, before migrating to its present spot above Penn Station, with one renovation in its fold. The Knicks played some games at the 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington Avenue when the Garden was booked; that practice ended in 1960. I did not make it there but I have driven by with a bit of awe that the Knicks, lousy as they were in my youth, played games there.

And the Devils came to the Meadowlands to share the arena with the Nets. When the parties believed that the facility was too antiquated, the Prudential Center in Newark was born. Even the Nets made a pit stop there from 2010-2012. 

But the UBS Arena intrigues me. Probably because it is the last arena I foresee being built for professional teams in this market in my lifetime. Everything else is new or reconditioned. I am not counting soccer in this discussion, nor tennis. The U.S.T.A. is not about to move out of their cozy arrangement, and the Red Bulls have their own place in Harrison; I don’t see N.Y.F.C. moving away from their owners, the Yankees.

Am I happy about the way the new properties look? Nope. Met Life angers me every time I enter, because the Giants refused to allow a dome to cover the building. Frigid temperatures await the meaningless Jets home games starting this Sunday with Miami and that continue until January 2 when Tom Brady comes to New Jersey to torture his pets. Seat licenses which mean very little, ugly gray seats, parking and train hassles up the wazoo. The list is seemingly endless. And don’t get me started on convicted and disgraced former NY politician Sheldon Silver, who didn’t get enough graft to allow the Jets to have their own building over the West Side train yards. 

Citi Field is nice but already looks a bit antiquated. The newest Yankee Stadium is a mausoleum—a monument to the late George Steinbrenner in its grandiosity. It’s beautiful, but it’s more the centerpiece of the event, rather than the ball game itself—augmented by outrageous prices attendees would possibly need an adjustable rate mortgage to afford. 

So UBS Arena is the promise to the future for the long-starving Islanders faithful. It is a $1.5 billion private investment, with optimistic goals of projecting $25 billion into the regional economy, along with the first newly constructed L.I.R.R. station in over 50 years. 

So if I have made it to Islanders games in the midst of Nassau County over the years, in rain and ice, cold and warmth, why not try a game there? There could be a lot worse places to see the Devils play a road game—my upcoming trip to Calgary in March might be just one of them, or that our trip to Winnipeg that might fall in the dead of winter comes to mind. 

All this euphoria is contrasted with the recent name change at the Superdome, from Mercedes-Benz sponsorship to that of Caesars. Way to promote gambling outright. That wasn’t enough. 

What really got me was the announcement that the Staples Center, the home for the Lakers, Clippers and Kings, will now become crypto.com Arena, for a mere $700 million. This company has aggressively promoted the new wave in currency for the next ten years. We’ll see. Does anyone remember Enron Field, a.k.a. The Ballpark at Union Square, Astros Field and now Minute Maid Park in Houston? 

Good luck, Islanders fans. You have a beauty to behold. And the team will right itself. You will sooner than later get out of the 40 year slump which has lasted since the glory days of Trottier, Nystrom, Bossy, Potvin, et. al. 

Enjoy the first game and the pageantry when Calgary come in on November 20 to kick off the new era in Long Island hockey (the Flames are a great pairing; the Long Island and Atlanta franchises joined the NHL together in 1972).

LA fans, you’ve been sold out. But what’s new about that? Evidently history means little in Southern California. Only a matter of time before Dodger Stadium gets a name that erases its past. As a commercial on New York radio many years aptly stated: “Money talks, nobody walks…”

Off until the weekend of December 10th. Enjoy your Thanksgiving!! Stay safe!!

Smart People Outsmarting Themselves

Since I published my previous blog I have done a lot of thinking. I will try to be smart about my thoughts.

I put myself on the IR. Due to my own cheapness and stupidity, with a slice of stubbornness thrown in. So I am taking the blame here. 

I tweaked my hamstring walking last Friday. I have tried twice to wear my running shoes for a normal 3 month period, since it is difficult to track my real daily mileage in the footwear. Both times I have been woefully unsuccessful at finding a point where I can comfortably switch to new Asics or Brooks shoes and not suffer an injury. 

Part of the reason for the injury is my being chintzy. We all know that running shoes aren’t the P.F. Flyers or Keds we grew up with. Nike didn’t become a multi-billion dollar industry with a magnificent campus in Beaverton, Oregon by catering to longevity in their products. In layman’s terms, sneakers ain’t cheap. 

Had I recalled my last brush with injury by trying to get every last mile out of my running shoes, I would have avoided this situation. Instead of four pairs of running shoes a year, I would have to buy six. $250 buys athletic tranquility and here’s that word again: longevity. 

That is enough to cringe over. What I did afterwards was further stupidity, with that touch of bullheadedness. 

Of course, when I felt the twinge, I didn’t stop the walk. Can’t do that, lest I don’t derive the full benefit of the workout, nor could I maintain that really good physical shape I had rounded into via exercise and diet. Gotta have those 10,000 steps a day. 

Go and elevate and ice the leg—not so fast. Aleve, Advil or Tylenol—nope; I had my booster shot coming on Tuesday and I worried that this could affect the results. I learned afterwards that taking Tylenol would have been fine. 

So I took most of the weekend off, walking a half mile on flat ground at a very slow pace on Sunday. That had been recommended by my Physical Therapist friend. 

Come Monday, I decide to walk a bit and go to the gym. The walking seemed to be okay. But near the end of my workout, I felt the twinge come back. Did I stop or did I complete the workout? I am a Sperber male, so the question is completely rhetorical. 

After my Moderna COVID booster on Tuesday, I walked a mile with just a small twinge. I should have rested, because the aftereffects of the shot floored me. At least it forced me to just do simple chores and cook on Wednesday, even if that involved some walking. 

I felt better on Thursday morning and walked 1.5 miles, then worked out in the basement with lighter weights and cords. Not good. Once more, I felt the uncomfortable feeling originating in the back of my upper R thigh. I completed my workout. 

On Friday, I dared to walk another 1.5 miles. Which I gutted out, as the pain came early into the walk. 

What have I learned? To stop walking. Which I will do. To elevate the leg and to ice it more often. And to contact a doctor on Monday for further evaluation.  

Nothing like taking seven days to figure this out, considering this is not my first rodeo with leg injuries. Especially considering that I graduated from a prestigious liberal arts college, went to law school and became a member of the New Jersey Bar. Which shows what native intelligence really does for allegedly inherently smart individuals.

Exhibit #2 is everybody’s favorite truth teller, Aaron Rodgers. The Green Bay Packers QB is set to return this Saturday from his COVID respite. Maybe a tad bit chastened, and certainly $14,000 poorer as the result of his stunt. 

Rodgers is smart. His football IQ is off of the charts. What he has fallen prey to is his intelligence burnishing his massive ego, while putting others at risk for infection and the serious consequences which could follow. 

I saw what the booster did to me—putting me in bed and giving me a 101.5 temperature as my body tried to adjust to the antibodies. From that snippet of interaction with COVID 19 in terms of its magnitude—and I am in very good shape—anyone who mistakes the severity of the consequences of an infection isn’t getting it right. 

When Rodgers went to an unsecured and unauthorized Halloween party knowingly unvaccinated, he abrogated the trust of his teammates. For which there were consequences, which included a loss at Kansas City to a surprisingly average Chiefs team. 

There are rules. And then there are rules for the others. Rodgers placed himself into that latter category based on his intellect and football acumen. Evidently the Green Bay brain trust made those other rules, in avoidance of clear NFL mandates and protocol, to assuage their disgruntled superstar. 

I would want to believe that these are very smart people. Yet collectively, what did they care about being smart? 

Thus I have little use for Rodgers and I won’t be rooting for the Packers to make the playoffs or go very far in them. Because they haven’t learned from their mistakes. I can identify with that.

Finally, the college basketball season tipped off this week. There were some good matchups—George Washington and Maryland played a close game—these teams should be regulars on each other’s schedule. Duke beat Kentucky and Kansas defeated Michigan State in battles of heavy weights. 

For every good offering, there were mismatches. Why did Princeton, a notoriously good Ivy League basketball school, or for that matter a notoriously great college, play Rutgers-Camden, a Division III school whose notoriety was once having had the longest college basketball losing streak at 117 games? Maybe a better opponent would have been Cal Tech, owners of a past 310 game SCIAC losing streak—the Tigers would not necessarily have been the smarter team on the court despite the lopsided score that would have eventuated. 

On the opposite side of the ledger were schools like Virginia, a pretty fair academic institution, inviting Navy to Charlottesville and losing. Arizona State, coached by Duke All-American Bobby Hurley, had UC-Riverside, not a national powerhouse, come to Scottsdale, where the visitors sank a game-winning 70 foot shot, shocking their hosts. UC-R is now ready to take on La Sierra (who?) In their home opener.

Even Rutgers, a legitimately good Big Ten team, looked to bring in a cupcake in Lehigh, picked to finish in the cellar of the Patriot League. RU escaped with a three point OT win.

All examples of smart people outsmarting themselves. When all they needed to do was get off on the right foot. 

"Misty Watercolor Memories..."

A lot to write about in this later-than-normal blog. Thank you to my editor, who has returned from a sabbatical but could not edit earlier due to a robust schedule involving grandchildren and other social obligations. 

Before I get to the rapid fire review of the week and where sports is right now, it is time for another stroll down memory lane. When I first thought about this episode in my life, the beautiful theme song from the movie The Way We Were, sung by the incomparable Barbra Streisand, came to mind. 

Picture a 21 year old Washington Semester student at American University/congressional intern (now unpaid, unlike my more lucrative summer gig for my Congressman) living in a sports-wild city where the sports editor of the prestigious paper in town, The Washington Post was a guy named Shirley. (You might have heard of his son, Maury Povich and Maury’s bride, Connie Chung) Which reminds me of the line in the movie Airplane, uttered by the late Peter Graves when called that name. I digress. 

So the Congressman made it known earlier in the year that he had season tickets for the-then Washington Redskins. You might now know them as the Washington Football Team; so many supporters have been known to scream the team’s initials out loud in anger when the WFT sucks once more. 

He approached me in the first week of November and asked me if I wanted his ticket for the home game against the Philadelphia Eagles at R.F.K. Stadium, a memorial to the slain U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate. As much as I had my adult friends in D.C. and the college guys in the Washington Semester, I still was starved for entertainment. There is only so much diversion that repeated trips to the Smithsonian, visits to the monuments, or walks around the city can provide. 

No, D.C, Maryland (but not near Baltimore where the Colts were kings) and Virginia was Redskins territory. R.F.K. was packed to the brim, full of throaty fans cheering on their charges. After all, sports was really two teams—the Redskins and the Senators, and the latter had fled town after its September 30th game, which I chronicled in an earlier blog. 

My lack of hesitation to the Congressman’s inquiry couldn’t have been too obvious. I was going to an NFL game. But not just any NFL game. To see the Washington Redskins play. Because the Redskins were quite good, playing in the NFC East. 

Washington had come out of the gate with five wins in a row. They were derailed by the Kansas City Chiefs on October 24, losing 27-20 in KC at the old Municipal Stadium (I had actually seen Municipal Stadium the one time my father drove through Kansas City on one of our cross-country trips. It was green, small and didn’t compare to the temple I knew—the old Yankee Stadium. 

The Redskins downed the New Orleans Saints the next week t raise their record to a very nice 6-1. A young QB from Mississippi named Archie Manning played unspectacular in that contest. You might have heard of his sons—they host an alternative version of Monday Night Football on ESPN2. Oh, and his grandson Arch is the hottest recruit in the country. 

This set the stage for the game I was going to. The 2-5 Eagles were coming to town. Ed Khayat was the Philly coach at the time—I bet a handful of readers would recognize his name. 

Meanwhile, Hall of Fame Head Coach George Allen was  guiding the home team. Allen went 67-30-1 in his time at the helm of the team. This was a star-studded group, unlike the Eagles. NFL fans were quite familiar with the names Kilmer, Larry Brown, Dowler, Jefferson, Alston, Hauss, and Snowden on offense. The defense, the pride of D.C., included luminaries like Mc Dole, Sistrunk, Talbert, Biggs, Pardee, Pottios, Hanburger, Fischer; Bass, Petitbon and Owens. 

But I will give Philadelphia credit for the kicker—at east in name. “Happy” Feller from the University of Texas. That made the Redskins kicker Curt Knight sound ordinary. 

Up unit a few days before the game, the Washington fall weather was still warm. Then, with a swift burst of rain and wind, that was over in the overnight of November 7th. 

The day dawned cold and windy. I was given access to the Stadium Club with the seats. I was also told that I needed to be in a blazer since I was in a Congressman’s seat. 

I had done football statistics for F&M for three years. There was a game at Muhlenberg to end the season. It was cold. It was gray. And unlike our rickety old press box above Williamson Field at F&M which had some basic heaters inside, the Muhlenberg press box lacked any amenities. Especially heat. 

So I hadn’t quite grasped the concept of layered socks, long johns, gloves or even hand warmers and a hat. Which led to a painful sunny day in the shade—I was seated in the baseball press box in the second tier, and the wind whipped through the stands, tossing aside wrappers like they were—-hot dog wrappers. 

I recall the game time temperature being 42 degrees. There was plenty of sun. My research did show that the wind averaged 20 m.p.h. And the change in weather affected the outcome. 

Billy Kilmer was the Washington QB. He was a good game manager, having come from the single wing offense his college team, UCLA, had employed. In the wind and the defense that the Eagles put on the field, Kilmer tossed 4 interceptions, to the utter disgust of the fanatics dressed in their Indian headdresses and other paraphernalia. He went 12-24 for 153 yards with 1 TD. His opposition at QB, Rick Arrington and then Pete Liske, threw for 124 yards and 1 TD along with 1 interception. 

Bill Bradley and Tim Rossovich, defensive backs for the Eagles, were Kilmer’s tormentors . Bradley had two picks while Rossovich had one. The last Bradley interception sealed the fate for the Redskins. The game would end in a desultory 7-7 tie, with the Redskins scoring their TD in the middle of the final stanza. The tie was the only tie Coach Allen had in his time on the Washington sideline. 

That would be the last NFL game I went to until my sister and I secured Jets tickets in 1977. I have thus learned how to dress in tons of layers for cold weather games—I have two upcoming with New Orleans and Jacksonville visiting Met Life Stadium. It may not have been the coldest game I have ever attended—the honors go to a 1978 game at Shea Stadium with Dallas and a 1985 game versus the Chicago Bears at Giants Stadium—both in December and both Jets losses. But I learned my lesson from this game—no more dressing chic and trying to warm up in the Stadium Club—my seats would not allow me that pleasure. 

Let me continue with quick hitters. Speaking of the Jets—when overnight sensation QB Mike White went down with a wrist/hand injury, the Jets, despite a run with Josh Johnson under center, really had  no answer on defense for the Indianapolis attack. 

Is there a QB controversy with the Jets when Zack Wilson returns as soon as the Buffalo game on November 14? Will Head Coach Robert Saleh go back to the big investment with Wilson, or is he willing to risk his luck with White, who looks so comfortable with the Jets offense? With the defense that is on the field, now minus Marcus Male in the defensive backfield, whatever way he goes won’t be as wrong as it will be right. Remember—there are 4 QB’s in the fold—Wilson, White, Johnson and Joe Flacco, a panic pick up from the Eagles when there were doubts about the capacities of White and Johnson. 

Sticking with the NFL—the Aaron Rodgers controversy is as stupid as it can be. Rodgers is demeaning to all intelligent people—and he counts himself among the elite intellects. He is costing his team, tarnishing his reputation and he will be punished as much as he will be applauded. Like I have heard repeatedly about Kyrie Irving—he made his decision and he has to live with the consequences. 

Rodgers even belittled Irving with the “world is flat” comment. I know the man aspired to be the Jeopardy host. I know that Mayim Bialik is catching a ton of flack for her hosting the show—could Rodgers replace her? Wait-no!! You have to be vaccinated in California to be in that kind of environment. Which protects people who choose to attend.

Another miscreant—Ben Simmons—is back in the Sixers dog house. He has had psychological issues and he needs to see a professional. Except he won’t share that info with the team, see team doctors, or report to the team. So GM Darryl Morey is maintaining his stance and docking Simmons again—to the tune of $360,000 per game. The money goes into an account, potentially payable when he rejoins the team.

Simmons wants out. His leverage is weak. The team has gone 7-2 in its first nine games. This is proof that the Sixers are not in desperate need of his defense and ball handling. 

I say let him sit. Let him sue for his release. 

Let him bargain like Odell Beckham, Jr., the former star WR for the Giants and Cleveland Browns, whose father posted video of QB Baker Mayfield not throwing to him when Beckham was wide open. 

Beckham is another WR with talent who thinks more of himself that his talent represents. Terrell Owens comes to mind—gifted but a wild erratic personality. 

Whatever happens with Beckham will never be sufficient for him. I just don’t want him on the Jets. He would ruin the bruised ego of Wilson and affect White greatly. 

I should point out that backup QB’s did quite well last week. In addition to White—Denver and New Orleans won without their starting QB’s. 

And I must pay homage to Colts RB and emergency QB Tom Matte, who passed sway this week. The former Ohio State QB nearly won the NFL title when the great Johnny Unitas was injured. Matte was the first to wear a wristband with plus written on it—now commonplace int the NFL. 

The Giants had a scare.. 11 positive COVID tests. A second round proved all but one to be false positives. Finally something right for the G-men. 

This weekend, the NFL has arranged for teams which met previously in a Super Bowl to face each other. In addition to Jets-Colts, there is Green Bay-Kansas City; Dallas-Denver; Titans-Rams; and Patriots-Panthers. Good job, NFL. 

By the way, the 45-30 score of the Jets-Colts game was another number that hadn’t happened before. The Jets have been involved in two of those new scores this season. 

Some love for the Atlanta Braves. That would be the World Champion Atlanta Braves. Deservedly so, taking out the vaunted Houston Astors in six games. I watched some of their victory celebration. The teammates begged the GM, Alex Anthopoulos, who missed games when he contracted COVID despite being vaccinated, to sign now-free agent Freddie Freeman, the heart and soul of the club to a new deal. Which he should do.

Brett Gardner is a now a free agent. Is this the end of the line for Gardy—with the Yankees—or will he retire?

Buster Posey retired. The San Francisco catcher won 3 World Series crowns, a N.L. M.V.P. and N.L. Rookie of the Year. His name is mentioned with the greats at catcher—Bench, Berra, Campanella, Piazza, Fisk. A sure shot Hall of Fame inductee. 

College football of note. Army owns the Commander-in-Chief Trophy with a triumph at Air Force. Rutgers squelched bowl talk for the moment when Wisconsin came to SHI Stadium and won 52-3. 

Lehigh won its first game by a convincing score at Bucknell. There is hope for the Mountain Hawks in two weeks when they meet arch rival Lafayette, a big loser on the road at Holy Cross. 

Princeton’s dream undefeated Ivy League season came crashing down in Hanover, New Hampshire on Friday night when the Dartmouth Big Green whomped the Tigers. Harvard rebounded from its oozing ways and demolished Columbia in New York. Yale outscored Brown. 

Dartmouth and Princeton sit tied for the league lead with Yale. Dartmouth has Cornell and Brown left to play. That’s easy. Princeton has Yale at home then Penn on the road. Yale visits the Tigers then hosts Harvard in The Game. This is Dartmouth’s title to lose.

In the NESCAC, Williams handled Wesleyan at home. This sets up the chance for an unbeaten season when the Ephs travel to Amherst to face the Lord Jeffs. In a nice twist, Maine rivals Bowdoin and Bates played on Saturday evening at 5:30. There may be a bit more drunkenness in Brunswick this weekend as a result. 

Ithaca, with a 14-11 loss to R.P.I. on its record and with a win over a ranked Union squad today, will face arch rival S.U.N.Y Cortland next week, hoping to drop the Red Dragons from the undefeated ranks. It’s always a match with something on the line when these two rivals meet. 

I had a spy at the Johns Hopkins-Dickinson game in Baltimore. He gave me scores as I fed him F&M scores. I chose the word fed for a reason—he was duly impressed with the pre-and post-game spreads provided by the Hopkins football parents. 

For the record, Hopkins won easily, F&M clung to a 14-10 victory at Moravian, and league-leading Muhlenberg disposed of would-be-title-pretender Susquehanna in Selingsgrove. I still see Hopkins and Muhlenberg making the NCAA playoffs if they win out. 

A moose warning was sounded prior to the Dakota Marker game between South Dakota State and North Dakota State. I hope the moose behaved before caught, or there would be another marker for this game. 

Lebron James is now out with an abdominal injury. Time seems to be catching up with him. Sadly. I miss his play and histrionics. 

Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors, along with the Miami Heat and Utah Jazz are the only one loss teams left in the NBA. It’s early. I went to bed on Friday night with the warriors playing horrendously and ahead only by 4 at the half. The final result was a 41 point win. Jordan Peele has played outstanding ball; I hope that when Klay Thompson returns, Peele maintains this level of performance. 

College hoops begins this week. Rutgers now has signage at the RAC. The building is now named Jersey Mike’s Arena. At last, some decent food in the joint. My wife still is mad at AD Pat Hobbs for banning outside food a couple of seasons ago.  

“Misty watercolor memories…”