Did I Leave Anything Out?

  I love baseball. It’s my favorite sport. Somehow I was good enough to play at the collegiate level. I talk, write or watch the sport as much as I can. 

Yet I won’t watch a lick of televised Spring Training games. Even if there is a phenom raking the ball, hitting moonshots and wearing a broad smile on his face. Because those games are meaningless. 

Look at Aaron Judge. He only started to play in exhibition games on March 1. And I am quite sure he won’t be getting on a bus to travel around Florida to the Spring Training sites of other teams. 

However, the fans are smitten with the games. They look at them as a way to get closer to the action, even if the prices continue to rise. Great marketing, I guess. 

I’d rather read the reports from Florida and Arizona to see who is hurt. Unfortunately, the Yankees always seem to have too many players with early injuries which will impact when they might play in the regular season. 

Seemingly, it is always at least one or more pitchers. Louis Gil, last season’s AL Rookie of the Year, has a stiff arm. Maybe because he was overused in his first full season? Reliever Scott Effross, coming back from Tommy John surgery is on the shelf due to a hamstring issue. 

I worry more about Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Clarke Schmidt and Carlos Rodon staying healthy. Those guys comprise the formidable Yankees starting rotation, which normally would include Gil if his arm was cooperative.

Yet I am not surprised that slugger Giancarlo Stanton is hurt. Except that the injuries go back to last season and haven’t healed. His tennis elbows, unlike my Golfer’s Elbow (different location on the arm), take a long time to heal. I can directly relate to that. One has to wonder what did he do to try to get better instead of landing on the IL and facing potential surgery which could leave him out of the lineup for considerable time? Is that on him, the Yankees, or both?

I am also troubled by the balky calf that third base candidate DJ Le Mahieu suffers from. For the past three seasons, the former hitting star has been hurt and unavailable. That’s why the Yankees had to get Jazz Chisholm, a second baseman, and throw him into the fire at third base. With Le Mahieu once more hurting, now who is going to play third, with Chisholm ensconced at his natural position, poised to make a dynamic middle infield duo with shortstop Anthony Volpe?

Here it is, the beginning of March, and the Yankees’ season is already up in the air. I’ve got to find something else to distract me from major league baseball.

Except that there is a movement afoot to remove the tarnish from the late Pete Rose. Rose had a lifetime ban from baseball for betting on games. Such a shame, given that he holds the record for most hits in a career and would be enshrined in Cooperstown if he hadn’t succumbed to gambling. 

President Trump is going to pardon Rose for his tax crimes. Now Commissioner Rob Manfred is willing to look into a petition to reinstate Rose. All this is happening posthumously. 

But will it matter? The Baseball Writers Association of America acts as the guardian of the game. Its members are the ones who vote on who has a plaque in the building. They include morality in their judgment. 

Are there some unsavory characters who weren’t voted in despite their playing abilities? Ty Cobb comes to mind. 

And we know that those who chose to use banned substances aren’t getting in. Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and Mark Mc Gwire immediately come to mind. 

Pete Rose goes in a different category. He played the game hard. He could hit like nobody else. On merit, this would have been a no brainer for the writers. 

Except that they can be a sanctimonious bunch. Even if the Commissioner reinstated Rose, will that sway their opinions? All because he bet on baseball and lied about it for a long while until he came clean?

Now that Rose and former Commissioners Bart Giamatti and Fay Vincent, who banned him from baseball for his sins, are dead, should this issue be put to bed and Rose be finally inducted into the Hall of Fame? I haven’t wavered on this subject—Rose deserves to be a Hall of Famer. What President Trump does has no relationship to what baseball will do. I hope the BBWAA and fans can accept that. 

Meanwhile, I have become engrossed in basketball. College basketball at the Division I and III levels, and the NBA. As I should, with D I and the NBA in their stretch runs and DIII finishing their post-season conference tournaments. 

I actually was present at Drew University on Saturday to watch the Rangers seek to win a berth in the upcoming D III NCAA Tournament by defeating the Catholic University Cardinals for a third time this season. Which they did, by a 85-70 score. 

The game started out tight. Then Drew pulled away, opening leads of over 20 points while amassing 50 points in the first half. 

Catholic came out firing in the second half, cutting the margin down to 11 points at one time. Drew proved to be resilient and, coupled with a lot of missed free throws by Catholic, they secured their spot in the Big Little Dance. To the great joy of a very packed Baldwin Gymnasium, full of Drew supporters waiting for the big moment. 

Both teams are quite good. Catholic may make the NCAA’s as a Pool C entrant; there are 43 automatic entrants and 21 at-large slots. Having seen teams from the NESCAC, Centennial, NJAC, UAA, MIAA and Middle Atlantic Conference among others, these are worthy tournament squads. Drew might even get a home game or two, which would be a big boost. 

I have been following Franklin and Marshall College, my alma mater, throughout the season. At first, things looked grim. A stunning loss at home to Virginia Wesleyan after holding a large lead and a road loss to middle-of-the-pack Landmark League foe Elizabethtown College and in-conference losses to powerhouses Gettysburg and Johns Hopkins made me think this isn’t the year for the Diplomats. 

Then the team ran off victory after victory to secure home court for the entire playoffs. Which proved to be very important in a semi-final win over Ursinus College. The Diplomats nearly squandered another huge lead before scoring the victory. The reward—a date with Johns Hopkins on Sunday; Hopkins survived Gettysburg in overtime on Thursday. 

In a rugged defensive battle, F&M outscored its nemesis 60-47 to win the Centennial Conference and punch their ticket to the field of 64. I enjoyed the play-by-play of F&M alum Steve Ulrich, class of ’82. Ulrich is the excellent voice of F&M streaming sports. He is a DIII guru with his DIII Playbook and having been the long-time Executive Director of the CC. Ulrich made mention of CC and F&M all-time scoring champion Brandon Federici ’18. If you want to know what epitomizes F&M sports and you have Linkedin, look up Ulrich and Federici. 

Don’t look now—St. John’s is a powerhouse. Hall of Fame Coach Rick Pitino has his team primed to win the Big East Tournament and then go deep into the NCAA’s. Could they be the most interesting team in the New York Metropolitan area—more watchable than the Knicks?

I did view a bit of #18 Memphis and UAB. It reminded me why mid-majors are tall, talented and somewhat undisciplined. Also, I saw a bit of Michigan State and Wisconsin. Those are two very good teams. With even better athleticism and basketball acumen. 

Then again, Duke is really good and the experts are sticking with Auburn. How good is Houston? Tennessee? The regular season ends this week and the post-season conference tournaments start soon thereafter. I am sure that I will be getting into this topic in greater depth in the next two weeks, once Selection Sunday is upon us. 

By the way, the USC women destroyed UCLA for a second time this season. There is no one team which is head and shoulders apart from the other women’s teams. 

Have you noticed the amount of buzzer beater baskets to win games this season? Just this past week, a heave towards the far hoop, way beyond half court, gave Michigan State a big road win over a ranked Maryland team. And Michigan came all the way back after Rutgers had scorched the Wolverines in the first half to sink a game-winning three point shot as time expired, escaping with a home court win. 

As to the NBA, I saw how vulnerable Golden State is without Jimmy Butler playing. Butler suffered back spasms in the Thursday game at Orlando, where Steph Curry went off for 56 points in a win. Without Butler, the lowly Philadelphia 76’ers came alive, breaking a nine game losing streak by downing the Warriors on national TV. He has to remain healthy for GSW to have a prayer of a chance this post season. 

Plus don’t piss off the Cleveland Cavaliers. Boston ran out to a 25-3 lead on the Cavs, and superstar Jayson Tatum mocked the Cavs. Bad move. Cleveland won the game handily. The Cavs are that good. Kenny Atkinson for Coach of the Year?

My daughter has me watching Friday night SEC women’s gymnastics. Big crowds and sterling performers. Fun to watch these very skilled athletes. 

The outdoor hockey game between Detroit and Columbus at Ohio Stadium was a magnificent setting, drawing over 94,000 to the horseshoe. The NHL got it right—again. 

On TV at the gym I caught the final hole of this week’s golf tournament. A guy named Joe Highsmith made the cut by one stroke and won the whole event by two strokes. Amazing story and good for him—he really earned his $1.7 million prize. 

Two melancholy deaths this week. Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman, who played the irascible coach in Hoosiers, died suddenly in New Mexico. Chess master Boris Spassky passed away, too. His matches versus the aloof Bobby Fischer were fraught with tension and unforgettable. 

Finally, Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce will return to the team for another season. Which I figured he would. The bigger question now is when will he propose to his girlfriend, pop star Taylor Swift. Will that happen before former Green Bay and New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers finds a new team—perhaps the Giants or Raiders now that the Los Angeles Rams resigned their QB, Matthew Stafford?

Baseball. Basketball. Gymnastics. Hockey. Golf. A mention of the Oscars. Chess. Football. Taylor Swift’s engagement. Aaron Rodgers. Did I leave anything out this week?

Politics: The Bane Of Sports

  I tend to stay away from politics in my blogs. For good reason. The political world can be a mixture of righteousness and toxicity, with common sense at a minimum. 

Then again, the self-centered nature of college and professional sports, driven, as it is,  by money is a microcosm of the political world.

With the political climate in Washington and in many states which are known as “red states” in a state of measured chaos right now and with highly divisive agendas, it made me think about what could happen if the same mentality permeated the sports world. As it continues, we have no idea what the landscape of this country or the world will look like. 

How this tumult affects sports is a great question. These are uncertain times.

What you see now in sports may have changed in six months. Witness at the big wigs of the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference having a powwow in New Orleans this past week. 

These are the power brokers of collegiate sports. These are the two mega conferences where the vast amount of television money along with NIL payments reside. This is where the television networks and streaming services gravitate. March Madness would never have become such a big thing without CBS making it into a must-see event. 

The SEC has sixteen members. There are the flagship public universities of 12 states. Additionally, there are three public land-grant universities and one private research university. The conference headquarters is in Birmingham, Alabama. Every member either makes a profit or breaks even on expenses compared to revenue generated; those figures are in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Even with four schools (Georgia, Auburn, Texas A&M and South Carolina) competing in Equestrian events as a SEC-sanctioned sport.  

Meanwhile, the expanded Big Ten has 15 of 18 schools enrolling more than 30,000 students, with all public universities, with the exception of Northwestern University and the University of Southern California. All except Nebraska are members of the Association of American Universities, while USC is the only non-member of the Universities Research Association. These schools educate more than 520,000 students and are purported to have 5.7 million living alumni. Big Ten headquarters is in Rosemont, Illinois. Moreover, Johns Hopkins University is an affiliate member for lacrosse, while Notre Dame University is a member solely in ice hockey. 

These conferences extend from the West Coast to the East Coast, up and down the Eastern Seaboard and states abutting the Gulf of Mexico or America, as some now must refer to that body of water. That covers a lot of territory which is full of political ammunition and entrenched power. 

Which is why, in this politically-charged environment, a cartel is forming and will certainly be protected like other big businesses will be. The fact that the two conferences each want to have four guaranteed spots in the College Football Playoffs shows their strength and avarice. 

Expect that to translate to basketball—I believe that upwards of nine schools from each conference will likely make the Big Dance. That will diminish the opportunities for upsets by small to mid-major schools over the big boys, because the marginal spots in the tournament will go to one of the Big Ten or SEC schools on the bubble. 

Don’t expect the state legislatures to act against what is going on. Nor, in this time of wholesale change in government, where reckless downsizing is happening with abandon, will this overriding of the collegiate sports landscape be halted. 

The only thing which will serve to hurt the SEC-Big Ten conglomerate will be what affects it the most—money. While the revenue seems to be guaranteed, if there is a downturn in the nation’s economy, which many believe will occur with a slowing of economic growth coupled with rising inflation, then the dollars spent on everything from merchandise to luxury suites won’t necessarily be there. 

The NCAA seems to be toothless in its governing of its membership. The CFP is not part of the NCAA, and football is the driving sport in the equation. What is going on isn’t good. But in this day and age, no one is going to decry what is happening—except maybe a negative blogger or two who thinks conference expansion and TV money are the root causes of all evil in collegiate sports and who prefers to watch the clarity of competition at the Ivies, Patriot League or Division III, where few worry too much about NIL and even fewer go on to play professionally. 

Sure, I watched the glitz and glamor of Friday night SEC women’s gymnastics on ESPN.  Just like I tuned into Michigan State-Michigan and USC-Rutgers in men’s basketball. 

Yet I found myself at peace watching Franklin and Marshall vie with Gettysburg for the regular season title in the Centennial Conference, and home court advantage in the upcoming playoffs. Two schools in historic areas, with the word College affixed to their names. 

Not too many people cared to watch on their computers—there isn’t any commercial appeal for these games nor are there any TV time outs at regulated times. Just a number of kids playing their hearts out in a less-than packed small gymnasium. 

Simplicity in sports. What a novel idea. Which, at that level, will seemingly endure. Unlike what is happening in Division I. (For the record, F&M won)

Returning to the theme I began with, I worry where this new government will be heading regarding sports. I see a President who appeared at the Super Bowl, staying for a half, then heading to Daytona for the big race, and providing such a stirring pep talk to the USA hockey team before the 4 Nations championship game versus Canada, complete with references to our neighbors to the north as the 51st state. He didn’t fare too well after praising supporter Brittany Mahomes, wife of the Kansas City quarterback nor were his words impactful on the USA team, which lost in overtime to its northern rivals. Heck, I hope he doesn’t weigh in on the efficacy of the “Tush Push.”

No, I am concerned that he and his fans will seek to quash the number of players from other countries entering the United States. The impact will be catastrophic for professional and college sports at all levels. In keeping with the theme of less reliance upon other nations while angering their residents and leaders, I don’t see this outside the realm of possibility. Especially if there is an economic decline. 

You won’t see players like Frenchman Victor Wembanyama display his enormous talent in a nation alien to his interests once he is medically cleared to return from the deep vein thrombosis which has sidelined him for the remainder of the NBA season. Who knows how the anti-vaccine beliefs permeating government will align with the safety of foreign players coming into our country—that is a serious potential issue. 

In this changing world, will the National Football League be welcome in its outreach and games outside of the US? Ditto the NBA and all of the foreign-born players in so many other sports. And will the Olympic ideal be lost to political vitriol? 

Outlandish, you think? No more than the changes which are happening on a daily basis in Washington and resonating throughout our Nation. 

I love to discuss sports. My beliefs are my own. When politics overwhelms sports, I worry.

Politics. The bane of sports right now and in the future. 

So Much Going On

  The NBA held its All-Star Game this past weekend in San Francisco. The last time the game was held in San Francisco (one was played in Oakland in 2000) was in 1967. The site was the Cow Palace. Located in Daly City, over 13,000 fans watched the Western Conference players outshine a loaded Eastern Conference squad in what has been described as the biggest upset in the history of this contest. New Jersey native Rick Barry of the then San Francisco Warriors, a team just five years removed from its former home in Philadelphia, was the M.V.P. Hopefully no cattle were present when the game was held; to this day the Cow Palace is still home to the Grand National Rodeo & Junior Livestock Show.  

Fast forward to this iteration of the All Star Weekend. It is a far different world that the NBA finds itself in. And world is the key word—so many stars come from outside the United States, playing in the best-paying and most prestigious league on the planet. 

The NBA, given the ludicrous high scoring affairs which became routine with the lack of any defense being played, has tried repeatedly to find a combination worth watching. This year was no different. 

Four teams were fielded, honoring the former players who populate Inside The NBA. Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley were joined by WNBA legend Candace Parker as leaders of four squads. The goal was to reach 41 points and advance to a final game. 

Team Shaq was stacked. Hometown hero Steph Curry led his group to the title and picked up the M.V.P. trophy just like Barry did 58 years ago. Outside of some ridiculous shot-making by Curry, it was a snooze fest. So much so that I didn’t watch any of the event while it was televised for the final time by TNT, whose NBA basketball tenure is ending with the season (although the stars of Inside The NBA will still operate out of Atlanta, in a show produced by Turner Sports, but which will be seen on ABC/ESPN next season; each star has been signed with lofty deals ensuring their continued participation).

I opted for two different shows to watch—first on Saturday, when the three-point contest and Slam Dunk contest were conducted (G League star Matt Mc Clung won the dunk show for the third consecutive year, this time leaping over a car for a three peat which the Kansas City Chiefs were unable to do). Then again on Sunday when the major stars competed (except for aging Lebron James, who opted to rest his legs for the regular season and post-season, to the marked dismay of those watching at the Chase Center and on national TV). 

In no way could the NBA ever compete with the lure of Canada and the United States meeting in hockey-crazed Montreal on Saturday night. Nor was there any chance the NBA could eclipse the powerful 50th anniversary show for Saturday Night Live. 

Therein lies the NBA’s dilemma. How to secure an audience when other networks and leagues could provide even more satisfying content. (I left out HBO’s return of The White Lotus  for a third season on Sunday night)

Players like Draymond Green were outspoken in their criticism of the current format. Younger stars like Victor Wembanyama support a US versus the World match up. 

Watching the intensity of the 4 Nations Face-Off, the NHL found an absolute winner in comparison to the non-checking, inflated goal-scoring games of the past. By staging it in a year before the NHL players are allowed to take a mid-season break to participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, there was meaning to the games. Nationalistic pride was squarely on the line.

In the Canada-Sweden game, it took overtime to decide a winner. Awakening with a roar in the third period, the U.S. routed Finland. 

But what transpired in Quebec in the first nine seconds of the game showed why this was a winning format. Three fights broke out, two involving the Tzchuck brothers, Matthew and Brady, defining the Americans honor. These are established stars duking it out, not goons brought in for a purpose. 

The hitting was for real. The skirmishes and pushing was the norm. And real hockey was played, with sharp goaltending and great passing and shooting. 

Canada had to outlast Finland on Presidents Day to insure a spot in the championship game against the U.S. when the contests moved to Boston. The finale on Thursday ought to be phenomenal. TV ratings for hockey were markedly raised. Nobody missed the former All-Star Game. Take note, NBA. 

There was plenty of basketball in mid-February as the colleges continue to head towards their post-season tournaments and then on to the NCAA Tournament. Good matchups, too. 

Let’s begin with the women. In a midweek match, USC and their star, JuJu Watkins, hosted their crosstown rivals, #1-ranked UCLA. The two best women’s players in college are Watkins and Paige Bueckers of the University of Connecticut. More on the UConn star in a moment. 

Watkins showed why she may be a smidge better when she led the Trojans to an “upset” of the Bruins. Her stat line was phenomenal: 38 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 8 blocked shots. When UCLA came back with a 10-0 run fueled by 6’7” Lauren Betts, a defensive nightmare for opposing teams, to lead by five heading into the fourth quarter, Watkins and her teammates shut down their rivals with a marvelous display of tenacious defense. All predicated on the leadership of this outstanding sophomore. 

These teams are going to meet once more at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion to end the regular season on March 1, a game televised on FOX at 9:00 p.m. Tickets are going for as low as $106.00, remarkable for the women’s game. With the win, USC sits atop the Big Ten standings in their first year in the conference. Both teams are clear of third place #8 Ohio State, a formidable team which went to Los Angeles earlier this month and absorbed two punishing losses. 

Then there was the nationally-televised Sunday meeting between UConn, the name brand in women’s basketball, and two-time defending champion South Carolina. Led by Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong, legendary head coach Geno Auriemma’s team issued a statement game by thrashing the Gamecocks on their home floor, ending a 71 game winning streak for the other USC. 

When the NCAA came out with its initial seeding chart for the upcoming one’s tournament, South Carolina was a #1 seed and UConn a #2 seed in a different region (USC was also a #2 seed). With the losses by UCLA and South Carolina, the Associated Press Top 25 rankings have changed dramatically. A very good Notre Dame team is at the top, followed by Texas, UCLA, USC, UConn, South Carolina, LSU, Ohio State, North Carolina and TCU. 

A lot is going to change in the upcoming weeks. What is apparent that on any given night, the top teams are vulnerable. 

On the men’s side, #1 Auburn invaded #2 Alabama. That sentence sounds more like a football game than men’s hoops. The Tigers knocked off the Crimson Tide to retain the top spot. Alabama fell to #4, with Texas and Duke ahead of them. Houston, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Iowa State, Texas Tech and St. John’s round out the Top Ten. 

Any of these schools are capable of winning the big prize. And like the women, a lot is going to change between now and Selection Sunday. With no clear cut favorite to win it all. 

While at the gym on Sunday afternoon, after the TV was changed from first Robin Hood (yes the Errol Flynn masterpiece), then the gristle of Greta Van Susteren on Newmax, I caught a battle between the top two teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. Bradley defeated Drake on the road, still having a chance to win the regular season crown. Both are capable of winning a couple of games during March Madness. 

Before I watched SNL, I saw Rutgers and its talented freshmen lose another game, this time at Oregon. Head Coach Steve Pikell’s job is in jeopardy with the mounting losses dashing high expectations. 

Reliance on freshmen isn’t working in major college basketball—NIL and the transfer portal allow for 21 and 22 year olds with experience to go between schools seeking the best deals and making powerhouses in the process. See the SEC for a model of the new reality. As Hall of Fame coach Rick Petino indicated about his St.John’s teams, he isn’t going to see high schoolers play anymore when he can recruit veterans and negotiate a deal. So sad. 

I did follow some Division III games this week. #1 Wesleyan completed a second trip to Maine with wins at Bowdoin and Bates. #2 NYU concluded a successful road trip with a close win over #7 Emory and then flying up to Rochester for a far easier victory. 

NYU is the home for DIII hoops this season. As stated, the men are ranked second. Which pales in comparison with NYU women, undefeated and ranked #1. Big time DIII basketball at a former big time basketball school—I remember Barry Kramer and Satch Sanders leading the Violets when they met NYC rivals at the old Madison Square Garden. 

I also watched my alma mater, Franklin and Marshall, soundly defeat nemesis Johns Hopkins, the top team in the Centennial Conference, creating a tie with the Blue Jays and Gettysburg for the CC lead with two games to go before the playoffs begin. This ended a 14 game winless streak against JHU and is the first time since 2017-18 that the Diplomats have beaten Hopkins and Swarthmore in the same season. 

A shout out to Drew University. With a win over second-place Catholic on Saturday, the Rangers continued their quest for an undefeated Landmark Conference season. Losers of three games, including at NYU, Drew is ranked #13 in the NPI rankings, the DIII index the Selection Committee uses. This squad might be legitimate enough to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.

I caught one additional sporting event. On Friday, #2 LSU downed #1 Oklahoma before a packed house in Baton Rouge. High level competition in a place which treats the sport almost equally with basketball and football in terms of cheerleaders and bands. 

All in a week where New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton is once more injured and the New York Jets severed their ties with Aaron Rodgers, the enigmatic future Hall of Fame quarterback. It took this long to mention them—when there is so much else going on.