Responding To Criticism

  I want to answer a critic. That individual likes to press my buttons on a range of sports.  But I am not that thin-skinned to not weather criticism. I actually welcome opposing or different opinions, as my take on sports-related issues may not be close to popular, let alone mainstream. 

His belief is that I don’t offer enough coverage to college sports and gymnastics, and way too much time is devoted to baseball and pro football—especially the Yankees and Jets. He is not wrong. 

I talk about my favorite sports because it is what I am most passionate and opinionated. Still, I sometimes don’t offer enough insight about a topic as I try to fit more news and discourse within my allotted a little over two plus pages of typed material. 

The latest blast from him regarded the paucity of my coverage of Simone Biles at the recent World Championships. He felt that I did not recognize what she has accomplished and how, comparatively, she ranks in her own sport let alone among other top performers in more mainstream sports. 

First, the fact that this blessed athlete has overcome some nasty mental issues which would paralyze a gymnast—whether it is a world class one like she is, or the myriad of youth gymnasts I watched regularly when my daughter competed in New Jersey—is absolutely amazing. And to return to elite status and look even better than when she left the world stage is even more remarkable. 

Her ability to weather the most difficult expectations and repeatedly turn in some incredible performances is astounding. The fact that she is the most decorated female gymnast in the sport is testimony to her fortitude and abilities. 

Biles reminds me of the top tier tennis players and boxers. Like the fighters, Biles is out there, alone, facing individual failure in a sport which is judged harshly by those who score the events. Yet seemingly she thrives on being in the spotlight. 

At a time when Mary Lou Retton, one of the more decorated American female gymnasts of our era struggles with her life while in an ICU battling pneumonia, it is certainly a time to reflect on how much the sport has improved from the days of Olga Korbut and Retton to the superiority of Simone Biles. With no better ambassador than Simone Biles.

The recognition of her accomplishments is not unnoticed. Sure, there is the mania over Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce and the romance which is budding (she came to Kansas With for the Broncos-Chiefs game on Thursday night and the duet spent private time together afterwards). That pales (to some) in comparison to what Biles has done.

There is only one Simone Biles and she is the best. Period. I won’t get into his arguments about male gymnasts. 

I saw a note this week. With the start of the National Hockey League season, the Pittsburgh Penguins trio of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letting achieved the most number of years any three have been together on a team. The three have been playing together for 18 seasons, surpassing the 17 seasons the Yankees tiro of Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera were together. That is quite an accomplishment and the winning that they have done has made it clear that each one will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. 

I did check in on Opening Night in Pittsburgh where number one overall draft choice Connor Bedard faced off against his idol Crosby. Crosby may have won the opening puck drop, but Bedard showed his quickness and skill in leading the Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-2 win. The next night Bedard scored his first goal in Boston in a loss to the Bruins. The kid is good. But does he ever look young. 

Staying with hockey. The New Jersey Devils picked up a win and an overtime loss in their first two games. The expectations are high for this team. 

The team leader is Jack Hughes. He has two goals and three assists thus far—tops in scoring in the league. I know that there are a lot of very important players on the Devils; how Hughes goes will determine how the Devils fare. He is worth watching.

Baseball has reached the League Championships. Without a top team alive in the bracket. 

This is not to demean the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks. Each knocked off a division winner to get to where they are. 

Only Arizona is a real surprise— and when I saw the in Milwaukee in June, the team looked like a legitimate contender. A post-All-Star break swoon which had the team lose 25 games while winning only 6 had the team fall out of contention for the Wild Card. 

Led by probable NL Cy Young Award winner Zac Gallen and likely NL Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll, Arizona was resilient in the last part of the season, securing the final Wild Card spot, where the team took care of the Brewers and the Dodgers in sweeping each series. 

Arizona faces a Philadelphia team which may be better than last year’s group which made the World Series. I am picking the Phillies here, but don’t count out the D-backs quite yet. 

In the American League, two teams 250 miles apart which play in retractable roof stadiums and hate each other, get to lock horns. Texas led the AL West for most of the season, dropping the last game to Seattle to tumble from first to a Wild Card, while elevating Houston to a bye. 

It didn’t hurt the Rangers, which easily handled the top-seeded Baltimore Orioles to make it to the ALCS., after having dispatched Tampa Bay in the first round. No losses in either round. I like the team’s chances.

They face a formidable Astros team that has made the ALCS for the seventh straight year. Having re-acquired Justin Verlander, the suspect Houston pitching has gotten better. The hitting has never been a problem. 

Both series will be good watching for the baseball fan. And it is fans and players who have complained that the format in place for its second year has failed. 

Teams winning with over 100 victories—Baltimore, Atlanta and Los Angeles—all did not advance. It has happened twice to a very good Braves team. All receive bye and had to wait 5 days before beginning post-season play. Each looked like they had lost their rhythm, except for the Astros, a non-100 game winner, but nonetheless a veteran team which knew how to navigate the bye week. 

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred says it is too early to make a judgement about how the playoffs have worked. Fans are ecstatic in Phoenix, Arlington, Philadelphia and Houston. Not so in Atlanta, LA, Baltimore and Minnesota, the latter did play in the opening round but fell to Houston. 

I know what the obvious solution is—add another Wild Card team and reward the top teams with perhaps all home games. Baseball would love it—the coffers would be that much more enriched. The clamor will grow for changes. We shall see. 

College football has some dandy matchups on Saturday with USC and Notre Dame colliding while big time offenses for Oregon and Washington will meet. Oh, and once vaunted Colorado blew a 29 point halftime lead to Stanford at home. 

There is much more to discuss. I am seeing the Eagles and Jets on Sunday. Will Zach Wilson get better than he was versus moribund Denver? And we had to watch the Broncos twice within one week—oy! I don’t even have time to write about how good the 49’ers are.

This is what happens when you respond to criticism. 

Suspensefulness

  Remaining in the afterglow (my first reference to Taylor Swift, who performed this song) of our son’s wedding and trying to regain some sense of normalcy, the first sporting event I watched was the Kansas City Chiefs visiting the New York Jets on Sunday Night Football. Far be it from NBC, who owns the rights to the broadcast, and the National Football League, which controls everything regarding its product, to not capitalize on the presence of Swift, merely the hottest singer/performer on the planet, as she cheered on her beau, Travis Kelce, at his job. That job happens to be in the NFL as the best tight end in the league, catching passes from probably the best quarterback in the league, Patrick Mahomes II.

Heading into the game, the hype about the romantic duo far exceeded the hype for the actual game. The press had a field day tracking Swift, as she ate in Manhattan with friends and Brittany Mahomes, Patrick’s wife. For his part, Kelce dined with teammates in Manhattan. 

The paparazzi noted that Kelce emerged from Swift’s Manhattan digs early on Sunday morning, rejoining the team at its hotel in New Jersey. I can only assume that the pair wanted some private time to reflect on what has been happening with their relationship. 

Both separately made it to Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford in plenty of time for the game. Swift was in New York Giants’ owner John Mara box with other celebrities. Kelce was confined to the field and the locker room. And not to despair, Donna Kelce, Travis’ mom and who Swift had giggles with in KC the week before, made it up from Philadelphia, where she sat next to “Jake from State Farm” (for the record, he eats chicken tenders with ketchup) and cheered on her other son Jason, a pretty fair center for the Eagles. For the record, Philly won in OT over Washington, which probably meant that Ms. Kelce had to scramble a little to make it up the New Jersey Turnpike. 

`Moreover, the Jets had a surprise celebrity visitor who addressed the team on Saturday night. Injured QB Aaron Rodgers flew in from California, was on the sidelines for warmups and was shown grimacing in owner Woody Johnson’s box when things weren’t going right for the team. 

Oh, yeah—there was a game to be played. A mere formality, it was presumed—Kansas City would romp over the offensively challeged Jets, which no longer had Rodgers at the helm, and relied upon Zach Wilson to lead the offense. Wilson had looked like anything but a better player in games against Dallas and New England, and his performance versus Buffalo was just okay. 

It sure looked like that rout was on when the Chiefs stormed out to a 17-0 lead. Until the wheels began to fall off the bus for the defending champs. Coupled with a number of mistakes and uncharacteristic throws by Mahomes, KC looked very vulnerable—even with the outstanding running from New Jersey native and Rutgers star Isiah Pacheco. 

Wilson and his mates capitalized on those errors and the defense did its part—and the game was tied 20-20. In fact, the Jets missed a 52 yard field goal at the end of the first half which clanged off the right upright and which would have crept the Green and White closer to its foe. 

Mahomes threw another interception on an ill-advised throw. New York could actually win the game. Except that there was a dubious pass interference call on Sauce Gardner which baffled most everyone except the official who called it. Kansas  City retained the ball and own the game. 

While Wilson had a really good night, he made a costly turnover in the fourth quarter when he fumbled a snap. This led the the winning KC score. 

NBC got what they wanted—ratings. Swift, Mahomes and Kelce got what they wanted—a win. Wilson received an apology from legendary Jets QB Joe Namath, who had ripped Wilson’s previous efforts. 

But Jets fans received nothing more that a glimpse into the potential of Wilson, who now faces an undistinguished Denver team looking to make it two straight victories after a come-from-behind win over hapless Chicago (I know the Bears ended its 346 days of futility with a 40-20 defeat of Washington on the road). Which Zach Wilson shows up on Sunday will largely determine if there is a faint chance that the Jets can compete the remainder of the season. 

Because the teams ahead all are capable of beating New York, with the possible exception of the Giants, who had their own misery the next night when hosting Seattle. We shall see. 

Of course, the question still persists—will Swift make it three straight games on Sunday when the Chiefs travel to Minnesota to take on the Vikings? Stay tuned. 

The baseball playoffs began this week. All ended with two game sweeps. Road teams Texas and Arizona were victorious, while the Phillies bombed Miami and Minnesota ended its 18 game post-season losing streak by downing Toronto. 

What did I take away from this? The Phillies will be a challenge for the Atlanta Braves. The Dodgers, with their tattered pitching, should still make it to the NLCS by downing Arizona. Baltimore will have its hands full with Texas, and Houston should get past Minnesota—albeit with some degree of difficulty. 

Toronto, Milwaukee and Tampa Bay all disappointed their fans. Maybe in St. Petersburg the fans kind of knew the outcome. The attendance for both games was the lowest in the post-season since 1919, excluding the pandemic games when nobody was in the stands. And Brewers manager Craig Counsell will be very free to leave and take the New York Mets managerial vacancy, rejoining former Brewers executive David Stearns in Queens. Plus will the Blue Jays front office turn to bench coach Don Mattingly to return to managing and lead the Blue Jays past the first round with the team’s abundance off talent? 

College football will focus on the Red River Rivalry in Dallas when #3 Texas and #12 Oklahoma collide at the Cotton Bowl. Rutgers travels to Wisconsin to meet the Badgers; a first win over the home team would do wonders for the program. 

Maryland heads to Columbus to meet Ohio State. The Buckeyes are coming off a bye week after the thrilling win at Notre Dame. Maryland isn’t that bad. I am not saying upset here, but Ohio State will have a harder time than would be anticipated. 

I saw that the top three offenses in the collegiate ranks belonged to Washington, Oregon and USC. Again, who determined that the Pac-12 schools were lesser that the SEC, ACC or Big 12? Of course, the season hasn’t quite reached the halfway mark, so there is a lot of football left to be played among the title contenders.

Finally, with my daughter visiting, the television has been turned to Peacock and the World Gymnastic Championships in Antwerp. Simone Biles, arguably the greatest female gymnast ever, led the United States to a record-setting win over rival China in the team championship. 

I can hear my wife and daughter screaming as they watch the individual performances. Will Biles dominate as expected? 

I guess you will just be in suspense, like the legions of Swifties waiting on their hero for Sunday, or Jets fans, those “On the Banks” in Middlesex County, or baseball fans in eight cities. 

I Can't Be Missing Taylor Swift

  I actually went a period of time without watching sports. Not a lot of not watching, but still I watched less than I normally would. 

This was our son’s wedding weekend, and it was a fantastic time. We spent Thursday through mid-Sunday afternoon in the Borough of Queens, having a blast. Greek food. Meeting the new in-laws and family. Eating little at times, then gorging one’s self. I have had more smoked salmon than I would like—and I love smoked salmon. 

Reminiscing. Making new friends. Seeing family for the first time since the pandemic. Botching an attempt to greet somebody in Swedish. 

Ubers. Shuttles. Tuxedos and gowns. Dancing more than I have in years, especially with younger people who repeatedly forgot my age. 

My esteemed editor met a few readers and I picked up some more people who would like to read what I have to say. Touching vows were exchanged in a theater. People came from South Africa, England, Florida and Maryland. 

In attendance there were doctors, dentists and Ph.Ds . Retired people. Very active people. And more lawyers than can be believed. I could not tell if there were more graduates from Emory University than the University of Miami School of Law. 

There were gay people. Plenty of queens in Queens, as the officiant remarked. After all, the wedding involved two gay males.

As I write this blog, I am suffering from exhaustion from staying up late on Saturday night to waking up suddenly and make it to the Sunday Brunch and a ton of goodbyes. You know I napped this afternoon—the fatigue from the adrenaline high comes on quickly.

My right arm stayed intact, able to easily write the final checks and deliver the tip money. While I did get in some good exercise on Saturday, it took until Sunday evening to re-injure my left quadriceps muscle by simply walking down the steps. 

I saw some of Thursday night’s Detroit-Green Bay game while at the rooftop bar at the hotel. Our TV reception was spotty and the game was on Amazon Prime, which was not even remotely within the purported package. The YES Network was unavailable, which kept me from seeing the Yankees defeat Toronto in the series finale. 

For the record, I didn’t see any baseball until I was home on Sunday, when all games began at 3:10 p.m. What little I did see reminded me as to why the Yankees annoy me so much. 

Bases loaded, none out, top of the first inning. A couple of pitches later, Kansas City turned a double play then got a ground out to keep the Yankees off the scoreboard. 

Next time I tuned in, starter Michael King uncharacteristically surrendered two 2 run homers in the same inning. The final score was lowly Kansas City 5, New York 2. 

The Yankees lost two of three to end the season. A lost season—one that had been filled with promise.

Sure, I will watch the playoffs to see if the Orioles and Braves can meet in the World Series, bringing together the two teams from each league with the best records. But I won’t be tuning in to watch my regular dose of which Yankees team will show up—the one which hits the ball hard, plays good defense and has solid pitching, or the one which looks so moribund. 

Friday night, after the cocktail hour, the group migrated once more to the rooftop bar. The television had the ending to the Columbia-Princeton football game. The Tigers downed the Lions, but I didn’t see any real action. I went to bed coincidentally when the University of Hawaii’s volleyball team appeared on the screen.

But before I went to sleep, I checked on the Franklin and Marshall game at arch rival Dickinson. Which made me very unhappy. Capping a 98 year drive, the Red Devils scored on the final play of the game to come away winners. The next morning, my college roommate, who was in attendance with his wife, was equally as bummed out with the result when he read my text. 

I did not see any football on Saturday. The lobby screen was focused on the House of Representatives trying to avert a government shutdown. 

That didn’t mean I didn’t check in on games through my cell phone apps. I saw that Penn State asserted their dominance over Northwestern. Michigan romped. Texas and Georgia remained unbeaten, although the Bulldogs worked hard to win 27-20 at Auburn. Syracuse is no longer unbeaten courtesy of Clemson. USC went up big, but held on to defeat Colorado. Alabama won handily at Mississippi State. All in all, there weren’t too many surprises this Saturday, so I didn’t miss too much.

Baseball settled the playoff picture, with Florida and Arizona securing the final Wild Card berths in the National League and Toronto and Texas in the American League. Somehow the Houston Astros came out on top in the American League West, while Seattle fell just short of the Rangers for that final Wild Card spot. 

Of course, I didn’t know this until much later. I was a bit busy with the wedding and the reception. 

Do not feel badly about my not seeing much televised sports. I engaged in so much dialogue with attendees on sports. There were fans of the Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and New York Jets discussing their teams respective positions. A few people skipped the Wagner-Rutgers football game to come to New York City. (RU won 52-3 over the FCS Seahawks) 

A number of Yankees fans were interspersed with Mets fans, Reds fans, old Brooklyn Dodgers fans and younger Atlanta Braves fans who actually have tickets to the NLCS should the team get that far. 

There was hockey talk. New York Rangers fans mingled with Detroit Red Wings, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs and a preponderance of New Jersey Devils followers. One man wore an old Hartford Whalers shirt, while another person brought upon memories of the Atlanta Thrashers from his college days at Emory. 

Stories were told about Ohio State, Notre Dame, a game at the University of Georgia (was I ever envious), John Hopkins lacrosse. There was a former swimmer from N.C. State amongst the guests. 

I didn’t lack for sports talk. I did get to see the Buffalo Bills handle the Miami Dolphins. I caught the end of regulation and the overtime between Philadelphia and Washington; the Commanders tied the game on the last play, but Philly won on an OT field goal.  Checked out Dallas returning to dominance over New England. 

But I gotta go. I gave up my Kansas City Chiefs-New York Jets tickets to my son-in-law’s two brothers. I can’t be missing Taylor Swift.