Perspectives

  Funny thing—no sooner did I publish the last blog and make a flippant comment at the end that I didn’t have to discuss LeBron James, the basketball super star ended his decision-making in free agency by selecting Philadelphia as his next landing spot. I am not at all prescient. 

So, the kid from Akron, Ohio is not going home to complete a circle by rejoining the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nor is he returning to South Florida to join forces with Pat Riley, Eric Spoelstra and newly-acquired Giannis Antetokounmpo in Miami. 

How about that desire to play with Steph Curry? Barring a trade, the only time he will ever play with the Warriors super nova would be in the 2024 Olympics. Besides, did he want to be part of a geriatric ward in San Francisco, with Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler and Al Horford, all over 35, and the oft-injured Kristaps Porzingis having hit 30?

The other suitors evidently were non-starters. Minnesota’s quest for a first championship for the franchise will have to be without LeBron. As appetizing as Denver with Nikola Jokic, Dallas with old Cleveland pal  Kyrie Irving and Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg and San Antonio with Victor Wembanyama might have been, they were never in the running. Boston wasn’t appealing and the reigning NBA champion New York Knicks simply weren’t interested in having him come to the Big Apple.

There were a lot of obvious reasons why LeBron chose Philadelphia. It sounded nice that he wanted to bring the NBA title to the City of Brotherly Love for the first time since 1983. 

His agent, Rich Paul, a.k.a. Adele’s boyfriend, had ties to the Sixers with young star Tyrese Maxey in his stable. The enigmatic Joel Embiid was another lure; they played together on the Olympic team. 

Then there was the administrative side of the Sixers. Bob Myers, the architect of winning basketball at Golden State, was now in control in Philadelphia. President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey played against LeBron in high school, finishing second to the Akron flash for Mr. Basketball hours in Ohio. 

That familiarity, along with Nick Nurse, a coach who won a NBA championship in Toronto, was also appealing. The other coaches who might have been good fits were 2024 US Olympics Head CoachSteve Kerr with the Warriors; Spoelstra; and Mike Brown with the Knicks, who previously coached LBJ in Cleveland. That wasn’t enough.

The biggest hint was dropped by LeBron when he casually mentioned that he was trusting the “process.” That was the mantra in Philly when the franchise was building its roster from the depths of the bottom of the NBA. LeBron’s denial that he was headed to Philadelphia was meant to throw off those trying to predict where he would eventually land. 

Now he is headed to Philly for two years for a measly $8 million. An absolute bargain if he stays healthy. 

For that matter, if the Sixers roster stays healthy, the team could easily be a title contender. That, with injuries to Maxey, Embiid and James last season, is not a given. 

Besides, in the East, the Knicks will be strong again and they did eliminate Philadelphia in the playoffs en route to the crown. Detroit is still quite good. Indiana gets Tyrese Haliburton back. Boston remains formidable. Cleveland, Orlando and Atlanta will not be pushovers, either. 

A more experienced San Antonio and a determined Oklahoma City lead the Western Conference contenders. Denver, Minnesota and Houston aren’t easy foes. 

Don’t just anoint LeBron and his new team as champs just yet. The team needs to decide who gets the ball when in crunch time—James, Embiid or Maxey?

You know that Philly will be on TV the max of 34 times in a season. I kind of anticipate a Philadelphia visit to the Lakers, LBJ’s former team, on Christmas Day. Knicks-Sixers games will be in prime time; the top tier teams in the West will see Philly on national TV.  Also, the rumor is that ESPN will train cameras on LeBron this season (and maybe in 2027-28) in a sort of “Last Dance” series. 

This won’t be the last time I discuss LeBron James. That’s for sure. He did dominate the headlines with his franchise pick—just as he always dominates the sports news. Should we have expected anything more in the way of drama?

Baseball’s trade deadline is fast approaching. It is hard to discern who is going to be sellers outside of a few cellar dwellers. Everyone else is within shouting range of a Wild Card spot in both leagues. 

Yet seemingly every team which is presently contending or has dreams of snaring a Wild Card berth or division title wants to make a deal which could significantly bolster their chances of being in the post-season. With whatever players that might be made available. 

The New York Yankees are one of those teams seemingly in need of reinforcements. Saddled with an anemic offense minus the potent bats of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger, the starting pitching has been mostly good. 

However, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried and Cam Schlittler, as brilliant as they can be, do not go deep into games. Thus, there is a need for the bullpen to step in repeatedly. 

Since run production is way down, the reliance on the bullpen becomes more paramount and with little margin for error. That became apparent in Chicago during a four game series against the AL Central-leading White Sox. 

Fried opened the series and was not himself. He lasted only three innings, surrendering three runs. Seven relievers came to his aid, limiting Chicago to two more runs while the offense momentarily awoke to the tune of a 9-5 win. 

Cole was brilliant on Tuesday night, limiting the Sox to just four hits while walking two and striking out seven. The trouble was that three more relievers had to come to Cole’s rescue. 

That included closer David Bednar, who pitched on Monday night. Bednar saw his 24 inning scoreless streak end on a two run homer in the bottom of the ninth. NYY hung on 3-2. 

Wednesday night’s pitching from young stud Cam Schlittler was outstanding. He held Chicago to two hits in 6.1 innings, striking out eight while walking one. Yet the tired bullpen had to become engaged and normally steady pitchers gave up three runs, ruining another gem by Cam and sending the game into extra innings. Five relievers later, after a miscue by substitute catcher Ali Sanchez in the 11th inning allowing the score to be tied, the Sox triumphed in 12 innings by a 6-5 margin. 

Thursday afternoon, lefty Ryan Weathers gave NYY seven scoreless innings. Unfortunately, the New York offense couldn’t score. 

The game went into extra innings again. Manager Aaron Boone, trying every measure he could to score runs, still had to rely on a depleted bullpen once more. Pitcher Anthony Chivilli actually gave up a run in 1.1 innings to raise his E.R.A. to 0.60. Fernando Cruz got out of trouble in the 10th inning but couldn’t control his emotions or pitches, walking in the winning run for a 2-1 CWS win in 11 innings. This was the first time since the rule about placing a runner on second base to begin an extra inning that games between the same two teams went more than ten innings on consecutive days. 

But that doesn’t help the Yankees one bit knowing this. The problems run way too deep. Moreover, the team isn’t getting a day off until August 6th. That will put more strain on the beleaguered bullpen, no matter how brilliant a season some members have had. 

So we wait to see if General Manager Brian Cashman upgrades the catching position, brings in some more potent bats or gains some reinforcements for the pitching staff. The price is going to be high to buy this year. Whether the Yankees will be successful in their quest remains to be seen. Just like it remains to be seen whether Stanton, Judge and Bellinger are able to return in time to resuscitate the lineup enough to make it to October and be impactful.

Again, the Yankees will be competing against most of the other MLB teams which have defined goals of their own. Many of those goals will coincide with those of the Yankees. Which makes prying legitimate talent that much more difficult. 

The biggest name on the trade market would appear to be Detroit left hander Tarik Skubal. Don’t be fooled by the pedestrian 7-5 record he has in 2026. The guy’s a beast on a Tigers team which simply isn’t good enough to reach the playoffs in a fairly weak AL Central Division. 

Skubal is a two-time Cy Young Award winner. He’s won the pitching Triple Crown by leading the league in wins, strikeouts and E.R.A. Eighteen of the 24 who have achieved this feat are either in the Hall of Fame or eligible for Cooperstown; only Chris Sale of Atlanta is currently playing. Sale and Skubal are the two best left-handed pitchers around. 

Management has decided that they cannot afford him in lieu of free agency, thus making him available to other teams to pursue. Even if he might be a rental before becoming a free agent. 

Which is why the big boys are named to be in the running to get Skubal.  Atlanta, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, the Yankees, the Chicago Cubs, AL East-leading Tampa Bay and the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers are possible landing spots. They have capital to afford him long-term as well as part with talent the Tigers can remake their roster with. 

Coming off the success of the World Cup, FIFA head honcho Gianni Infante has turned the soccer world upside down with a plan that has provoked boycotts by numerous soccer federations. FIFA has proposed to sell off 21% of its newly-created FIFA Forward Enterprise to private investors to raise $4.2 billion. To the federations, who were not consulted before the announcement, this will imperil the operation of the aforementioned World Cup and that is a no go. 

Money, as in all sports, is the driving force today. Whether it is TV-generated revenue which has led to ESPN firing on-air personalities to be able to absorb the purchase of the NFL Network, or Name-Image-Likeness capital available to stock college football and basketball teams, those in power want to control the narrative and the cash. Which is evidently plentiful out there and consolidated among those who have it and want more. 

I look at the SEC and Big Ten, who don’t see eye-to-eye on most things and their unwillingness to consider endorsing the bi-partisan Protect College Sports Act of 2026. As with anything related to their best financial interests, which would exclude everyone else, the hegemony they have created in a heartbeat threatens to undermine college athletics through destroying the NCAA and making the College Football Playoffs their own playground. 

Sports needs to reign in the uncontrolled pursuit of money. The Big Ten looked to infuse itself with $2.4 billion from the University of California pension fund in exchange  for a 10% stake in Big Ten Enterprises. Each school stood to receive between $135 to $150 million in a tiered progression based on earning potential. In furtherance of winning championships. 

With all this greed and financial gamesmanship, it is to their credit that schools like Michigan and USC are not buying into the proposal. Just like CONCAF and others who oppose the FIFA soccer fleecing. And baseball is headed to a showdown over a salary cap which will imperil the 2027 season.  

Whatever purity existed in professional and also collegiate sports had been blown apart a long time ago. With the advent of N-I-L and the fact that Stanford University football players have reached a threshold for creation of a union, the college level, once full of amateurism and kids actually going to school for a degree and also playing sports, is largely symbolic except for Division III. And they have been actively preparing for the invasion of N-I-L. 

Will I continue to watch sports and root for my teams? Yes. Will I feel a bit sorry for LeBron James if he doesn’t win it all in Philadelphia? No. 

What is needed is regulation. Sadly, that may never get a foothold in sports again.

In the end, it’s all about perspectives.

Feedback

  Sometimes I get feedback from these who read my blogs. Some of it is good. Some of it is middle of the road. And there are those who complain I don’t cover a particular topic that interested them. 

Such was the case this week. I took heat about my coverage of the recently concluded World Cup. Look, I am not a soccer aficionado. I kinda understand offsides. I don’t have a grasp as to why a referee holds up a yellow or red card in a wildly discretionary manner. Strategy is something foreign to me. 

Nor do I comprehend how a player writhes on the ground, in immeasurable pain which would require a stretcher and a trip to the hospital, yet if no penalty is assessed they are up and running at full speed. Not my type of drama. 

Don’t even get me going on how they add up extra time in a soccer match with running time. I am clueless on that topic. 

I am an American. I was brought up on the 4 major sports. In some way I have played them all. I played football as a freshman in high school, then I wisely turned to statistics through college as there was no place on a football field when there are bigger players than 5’5” me. 

Basketball was something I could navigate at certain levels. Certainly not with guys twice my height. I could shoot, thanks to the backboard and hoop my father put up over our garage door. But again, at a short height, offensive players could shoot over me. So I knew that  statistics and managing at the high school level while participating in some drills and an exhibition game here and there was enough. 

With hockey, I had a stick, a puck and some skates. I could go to Johnson Park along the Raritan River and skate on a pond as a boy. It was fun pretending that I knew how to skate up the ice, shoot a wrist shot or make a pass. I didn’t have the other necessary equipment. And I lacked one other key component to play hockey—I could not stop and start on skates. Thus I stuck to being a hockey fan—first the New York Rangers and then the New Jersey Devils. 

But there was baseball. Nobody told me I couldn’t play. Yes, there were coaches who went with bigger players, but in my hometown of Highland Park I was a good summer league player. I morphed what I thought was a measurable bit of talent into walking onto the freshman and varsity teams at Franklin & Marshall until an injury derailed me. 

Baseball was instrumental in getting me into the New Jersey Public Defender’s Appellate Section, as they needed a replacement player on their softball team. It made me friends in 1971 in D.C. when I interned in Congress. I loved baseball and baseball, to quote that sage, Chico Escuela, “been berry berry good to me.”

Thus it is no surprise that I didn’t develop an affinity for soccer. I may have seen one or two F&M matches. Our high school didn’t have a soccer team in the 1960’s—we were a football powerhouse and that’s where everybody went to on a Saturday afternoon. 

Gym class didn’t exactly peak my interest for the game. A brown ball that didn’t feel right. Loose shin guards which failed to really protect the shins.  Uneven dirt and gravel fields which didn’t allow for anything other than losing one’s dribble. 

Nope, soccer was just not my cup of tea. The U.S. didn’t have much of a national team. The furor over Pele and Giorgio Chinaglia and the New York Cosmos playing at Giants Stadium in the 1970’s was only mildly interesting to me. Besides, the New York Yankees and the New York Knicks were more fun to watch when there was minimal TV coverage of the fledgling NASL. 

I took notice in 2006, when we visited South Africa. The World Cup was on SATV. It was something to watch that wasn’t necessarily broadcast in Afrikaans. 

But I also knew that the FIFA process in awarding sites the privilege of hosting a World Cup was rife with politics which ere designed to enrich politicians and FIFA. I had my share of United States politics; getting interested in FIFA’s nefariousness was a non-starter. 

Even when the United States hosted the World Cup in 1994, I wasn’t drawn to going to Giants Stadium on sweltering days to watch a game which I knew very little about. I had invested my capital in trips around the country with my family and New York Jets football—a dubious choice of an investment if there ever was one. 

Where my son was doing a summer legal internship in South Africa in 2010 which coincided with the World Cup being in Cape Town, I followed his exploits from afar. I even snuck a peek at the US team’s games while using my computer in my OPD office in Elizabeth. It was more nationalistic pride which moved me to watch than an appreciation for the game the world seems to love. 

Heading into this year’s matches, I knew that Argentina had won it all in the heat of Qatar in 2022. That didn’t necessarily make them the team to beat this quadrennial, but they had to be among the favorites. 

It didn’t hurt that sentimentality was on the Argentine side. Superstar Lionel Messi, who plays for Inter Miami in the US, has widely been called the G.O.A.T. of his sport and still could flash his brilliance on the international stage. If Argentina played well behind Messi, it would have been a fitting send off with a repeat win for the guy wearing #10 in the blue and white striped shirt. 

An enlarged field came to North America for the World Cup. Americans falsely thought they could make a serious run in the draw. Belgium, a more seasoned team, saw to it that dream would end. 

Mexico, nearly invincible at home, found its comeuppance when the England team paid a visit. The Brits were that good, dispatching with Mexico, then Norway and their star, Erik Haaland. 

Haaland, a 6’5” striker who became the fastest ever to score 100 goals in the ancient English Premier League, showcased his talents in this World Cup. But as well as he acquitted himself on the pitch, Haaland may be more remembered for his taxidermied raccoon which he carried aboard planes for all to see. 

Argentina took out England in the semi-finals when the English coach went into a defensive shell after taking a 1-0 lead, only for Argentina to score two late goals to secure the win. Messi was at the heart of the comeback for Argentina . 

Spain, which made a great defensive effort throughout the tournament, was lucky in its own way to get to the finals. They struggled with upstart Cape Verde in a 0-0 tie. The only time their defense was penetrated was by Belgium with a first half goal in their quarterfinals match. 

It was apparent how good defensive midfielder Rodri was during the tournament. His stellar play led to his being awarded the Golden Boot trophy as the best player in the World Cup. Deservedly so.

Shutting down France and then Argentina in the manner which La Roja did was outstanding. The fact that Messi and his teammates were repeatedly thwarted before getting  shots on goal was amazing.  

Yes, the third place game was a scoring epidemic. England did just what it had to in holding off France. 

In the Finals, Argentina’s goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was outstanding. Repeatedly he repelled the Spanish attackers with remarkable saves. His social media sites took off after his remarkable performance. 

He was the pillar for Argentina, unlike Messi, who could not get untracked, no matter how much he tried. The expectations were so high for Messi, in what like was his swan sing on the international stage, to lead Argentina to another title. 

In the end, those thoughts were really unreasonable. Spain gave a tour de force, the likes of which had never been seen before in World Cup competition. 

In summation, while I watched much of the end of the consolation match and almost all of the Finals, the level of play, while outstanding, didn’t move the needle forward as to me even watching more soccer. Which is okay, anyway. NFL training camps open next week. 

Then there was the harping of my cousin about his beloved Boston Red Sox. A previously team mired in last place in the AL East has done something miraculous. To the tune of 15 straight wins, which has moved the team into third place. 

That puts them within striking distance of the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays, the two top teams in the division. If the season ended today, the Red Sox would be the final American League Wild Card team, only a game behind Cleveland for the second Wild Card spot. 

I give Boston its props. Minus a few key players, they have resurrected their season after former Manager Alex Cora was fired. It took some time to adjust, but once they got on a roll, the winning began before the All-Star game and continued into this week before the Baltimore Orioles, who entered the series with Boston on its own 7 game winning streak (we saw win #2 when we were in Camden Yards on July 10), defeated the Red Sox. 

The Red Sox were supposed to be in contention with Cora at the helm. Then again, the Toronto Blue Jays, the defending American League champions, were supposed to be contenders as well. Baltimore added some pieces, including first baseman Pete Alonso;  the O’s too, were expected to be good. In a division which the Yankees were the prohibitive favorite and Tampa Bay was an afterthought. 

Nobody on the Boston roster who has been playing regularly has an average over .300. Firebrand Willson Contreras sports a .293 average along with swatting 22 home runs and driving in 66 runners. Ceddanne Rafaela is next, hitting at .280 with 9 homers and 43 R.B.I. Conversely, while batting only .190, Jarren Duran has still managed to club 13 home runs and accumulate 52 R.B.I. It has been more about timely hitting which has contributed to Boston’s turnabout. 

Boston’s pitching has come around. Sonny Gray and Connelly Early anchor a starting staff which has given the Red Sox and its fans hope—especially with ace Garrett Crochet out for the bulk of the season. Ranger Suarez and Payton Tulle are additional talented arms on the starting staff. 

Aroldis Chapman has been lights out as the closer, converting 23 out of 25 save opportunities. Greg Weissert has been a reliable arm in the bullpen, as the Bosox stitched together wins. 

The streak also coincided with away games in Anaheim and in New York against the Mets—two bottom feeders. Yet the Red Sox swept the AL Central-leading White Sox in Chicago and took four games from one of the teams they are looking up at—Tampa Bay. 

Wins are wins, no matter how good or bad the opposition is. It is now a 60 game sprint to the finish. New York hopes to have Aaron Judge back at some time. Giancarlo Stanton, too. Pitching aces Gerrit Cole and Max Fried combined for 18 strikeouts on Wednesday in a doubleheader against a decent Pittsburgh team. I fully expect that NYY will make some moves at the trading deadline; Boston, too. Even Tampa Bay may be buyers rather than sellers. 

NYY is in the throes of a 22 game schedule against teams with records over .500. The Yankees looked overmatched at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers ands struggled with the Pirates. Next up is a long road trip beginning with a stop in Philadelphia and then a 7 day stay in Chicago with games versus the White Sox and Cubs. St. Louis and Atlanta come to the Bronx, along with AL West contender Seattle. 

New York and Boston meet for the final time at Yankee Stadium at the end of August for four crucial games. In September, the Yankees have a West Coast swing to play the Angels and Padres. NYY ends the season with 6 home games against division foes Tampa Bay and Baltimore. Boston is at Fenway Park to end the season, against Cleveland and the Chicago Cubs in games which should be meaningful to all concerned. 

I anticipate Boston and New York battling it out. Tampa Bay might have a say in how the race ends. Maybe even the Orioles too. 

If you’re a Yankees fan, you flirt with doom even with a 57-45 record. Red Sox fans feel euphoric. Especially my cousin. 

And to the readers who wondered about the depth of my sports knowledge, it is only as good as what I remember at times or read in the moment. I do know that the crossword answer for the pitcher on the Minnesota Twins named Bradley is Taj. He’s 9-4 and might not be with the Twins for long, given his favorable trade stature. 

Thanks for the feedback. It has given me something to write about this week that’s not related to LeBron James.