Thanksgiving Weekend 2016

     As always, I had a lot to be thankful for this year. My wife and I spent the extended weekend in Pittsburgh with our daughter who is working on a feature film being shot in town (No details as I would get shot by my daughter but the stars are big time). A fine restaurant meal for us this year (a big shout out to Lidia's who did a first rate job in food and atmosphere) started the weekend right for us. We gorged ourselves on Hibachi, pizza, Thai, chicken piccata to name a few items.

     But the real gorging occurred with the number of games on television starting Thursday. Coupled with my following Rutgers hoops eking out a come-from-behind 77-75 win @ the RAC over Hartford on Friday to go 6-0 and the Facebook posting of Highland Park, NJ H.S. trouncing arch-rival Metuchen on Turkey Day, it was a cornucopia of sports to delight any palate.

     Vikings-Lions started the binge watching; it continued with the Washington-Dallas affair; and was ended by the non-traditional rivalry of the Steelers and the Colts in Indianapolis. Additionally, I saw the Giants in Cleveland; New England overcoming my New York Jets (again); Carolina-Oakland bonus coverage and Kansas City topping Denver. Throw in tonight's Green Bay contest with the Eagles in Philadelphia, that's 8 National Football League games out of 16 played or 50%.

     The 5 college games I took in for more than a fleeting moment were Rutgers-Maryland (why, I asked myself?); The colossal Michigan-Ohio State rivalry thriller; Michigan State traveling to Happy Valley to take on Penn State; a glance or two at the grudge match known as Auburn and Alabama; and the local game which ended in a basketball score--Pitt thumping the Syracuse Orangemen. Factor in some Houston-Memphis on the hotel screen--that is 6 games in total.

     The only basketball I took in was some of Charlotte playing the Knicks at Madison Square Garden; a D-League game in Delaware; and Iowa State playing Gonzaga in a battle of ranked teams. I did check on Franklin and Marshall rebounding from a stinging to loss to Gettysburg against Lebanon Valley College in Annville on Sunday.

     Then there was the National Hockey League. I saw Calgary visit the Boston Garden to play the Bruins along with the Rangers left New York to defeat the Flyers in Philadelphia. But I actually went to newly-renamed PPG Paints Arena where my New Jersey Devils lost a heartbreaker to the Pittsburgh Penguins first on a goal by all-world Sidney Crosby with :14 left in regulation, then to be beaten 1-0 in the shootout.

     Let me recap--8 NFL games; 6 college football games; 3 hoops contests; and 3 more hockey games including 1 in person. That's a total of 20 games in 5 days. With only 1 of them tonight.

     I am glad that I ate our sumptuous meal on Thursday in the midst of the Redskins-Cowboys tiff. By the time last evening was over, I was unsure if it was pass the meat (whatever we were eating) or hand me the remote. Fortunately I take antacids, because I would necessarily require such for an acute disease of sports televisionitis.

     Yes, I have plenty to be thankful for. How come the Utah Jazz is finishing its match with the Timberwolves in Minneapolis? Isn't Golden State on NBA TV at 10:30? Or must I wait until RU plays at Miami on Wednesday? Please serve me some more pumpkin pie...

                                                                    Football finis

     With the conclusion of yesterday's 152nd edition of the Lehigh-Lafayette rivalry, held in balmy mid-60 degree temperatures at Fisher Field on the latter's campus in Easton, Pennsylvania, my 2016 football season came to an end. I have bequeathed my 2 remaining night games with the New York Jets to my son. The advent of today's chilly and windy weather secured that, although the Jets losing record thus far was a major factor in my decision not to freeze my tail off at Met Life Stadium in December.

     Sure I will watch games, both college and pro, Jets games included. I will not be sorry to wee woeful Rutgers end its moribund season next week in College Park, Maryland against the Maryland Terrapins; I gave up on the Scarlet Knights last night at halftime when it was only a 9-0 deficit. That ballooned into a 39-0 rout. And my alma mater, Franklin and Marshall College, lost a game it had led in the fourth quarter, to Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania yesterday in something called the Centennial-MAC Bowl, an amalgam between the 2 conferences for the highest finishers not selected to play in the Division III playoffs.

     So I am done with sitting in the stands for football. I saw one high school consolation game, one F&M contest, two Lafayette home games and one Jets tilt. My record for the season was 4-1, the lone loss coming from Lafayette at the hands of the bitter rivals, the Lehigh Mountain Hawks.

     Now I can nap if I want to. Skip games entirely. Or watch as I see fit. On my HD television in the comfort of my den. I might miss the camaraderie of the Lafayette tailgates. And certainly a warmer Autumn to enhance the viewing. But I will not have to put the gloves,thermals, five layers of clothing, hand, feet and other body warmers to sit outside this year. Which will not be missed at all.

     I guess that I have become a warm weather fan. Unfortunately, I live in a cold weather climate. Notwithstanding global warming. At age 66, some concessions must be made to sanity. For at least this season, I have opted for no more football games for this season. A wise choice indeed.

     Besides, I have so many Rutgers games to attend; an F&M game or two; and maybe some others along the way until and through the NCAA tournament conclusion. RU is winning, F&M is nationally-ranked in Division III. The airwaves are jammed with games (even a relative by marriage  is broadcasting on CBS Sports Network from the Virgin Islands).  Non-stop hoops. Without even mentioning that Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers and Steph Curry and Kevin Durant with the Golden State Warriors are TV favorites. Of the nation as well as me.

     Have no sympathy for me now that I have given up freezing at football games for the year. Surely have even less sympathy for me now that I am in hoops heaven. It is only a bridge until Major League Baseball starts again in March with games that count. Not just the Hot Stove trades and free agent acquisitions and Spring Training. They go hand-in-hand with the obsession to watch basketball games.

     After all, Cubs manager Joe Maddon, a Lafayette player in his younger years, passed 10 feet from me in the stands at the game yesterday. That was when I knew it was time to stop football for this year--baseball had already encroached upon me during a football game. Swish.

                                                        Rutgers, The State University

     I have loyalty to a number of New York-based professional teams in the four major sports. I have New York Jets season tickets--this is my 40th season. I had New York Rangers season tickets for 11 years. Additionally, I have had partial shares of New Jersey Devils tickets. My main pro team remains the New York Yankees. On a lesser scale, I watch with interest, the New York Mets. The New York Knicks and the now Brooklyn Nets only provide momentary allegiance. And the New York Giants I do not root against unless they play the Jets.

     Outside of my loyalty to my undergraduate school, Franklin and Marshall College where I played some varsity baseball and compiled football statistics in the late 1960's and early 1970's, my greatest alliance is with the teams of Rutgers University.

     Growing up across the Raritan River from Rutgers' New Brunswick campus and situated adjacent to the Piscataway fields, it was a natural for a sports geek like me to drift to Rutgers sports. That persistence remains today, over 50 years after I saw my first RU lacrosse match versus Princeton and from my first RU hoops game at the College Avenue gym in 1965. It is is intoxicating and beguiling, sometimes playing out like a Greek tragedy. A psychologist might have a field day investigating what drives me to remain a Rutgers fan.

     I have seen the aforementioned lacrosse; softball; tennis; track; wrestling; swimming; crew; field hockey and golf. There aren't too many other sports which I have not attended.

     The bigger sports are where my heart lies--football; men's basketball and baseball. Within that grouping, there is not much of a pecking order. I enjoy baseball on the spring days when I can bring my own chair and lounge outside the outfield fences and watch some quality Division I athletes, some of who will play Major League Baseball.

     Football is integral to Rutgers. The first ever intercollegiate game was between the Scarlet Knights and the Princeton Tigers in 1869, an affair won by RU. Fortunately, I attended the first game big time power Army marched in at the then Rutgers Stadium. I used to ride my bike and then scale the fences while in high school to see Colgate, Lafayette, Lehigh, Columbia play the mostly genial hosts. I knew Head Coach John Bateman through his sons who went to Highland Park High School like me. My favorite HPHS footballer, Richie Policastro played @ RU, leading them to a victory at Rutgers Stadium over Princeton on the 100th anniversary of their first game, and before a national television audience which permitted me to view the game in Lancaster, PA. Throughout the 1970's and into the 1990's, I followed RU at a distance as they morphed from a Middle Atlantic Conference University Division school into playing some of the tougher teams in the nation--Alabama under legendary Paul " Bear" Bryant, who barely won at Giants Stadium against the Knights; Tennessee; Auburn; Florida; Penn State, Texas. There was the undefeated season in 1976 and a bowl game called the Garden State Bowl in Giants Stadium  in 1979 (a loss to Arizona State).

     Rutgers went though a litany of coaches after Frank Burns had achieved a modicum of success. As the competition level ramped up, so did the losses--big losses. West Virginia, Miami, Boston College all regularly trounced RU in the Big East Conference. More competitive games ensued at times with Pitt, Virginia Tech, Temple and the University of Connecticut. Until no nonsense Greg Schiano showed up on the Banks.

     Schiano recruited and developed talent. Many players went on to play in the National Football League. At times, the RU teams under Schiano were good. Sometimes not so much. He spearheaded the stadium expansion to its 52,000 seat capacity with lights for night games on TV. And he almost won the Big East and a trip to the Orange Bowl with his 2006 team but for a drop in the end zone of a perfect pass on a cold West Virginia night.  I was there to see Notre Dame come to Piscataway--Notre Dame, college football elite!! I too was there when RU upset no. 2 Louisville on a November night when the stands emptied onto the field before a national ESPN audience. And then he left for the NFL.

     RU is now in the Big Ten Conference. Where they regularly play the likes of powerhouses Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. This is not the Big East of yore. Nor the the American Athletic Conference where Rutgers resided until joining the big boys. No more U Conn, Temple, South Florida.

     While New Jersey is a fertile base for recruiting, the football talent migrates away from Piscataway. Which leaves RU at a decided disadvantage. The scores reflect the dichotomy between the haves and have nots--RU was blown out by a subpar Michigan State squad in East Lansing on Saturday. They looked horrible.

     Pundits say that RU may not be competitive until full revenues kick in from the Big Ten in 2021. Until then, the struggles will abound. The recruiting should get better. Some of the games will become more competitive. The facilities will be enhanced. And I will go to High Point Solutions Stadium when invited and dutifully watch on television, hoping for those miracles that Greg Schiano (in a twist of fate, he is currently the defensive coordinator at Ohio State replacing the former coordinator, Chris Ash, now RU's head man). Simply because it is Rutgers, my state university, and my RU ties go back to my youth.


     Such fervor is good even if the football teams have not produced as I would have liked. Except to say that I get the most crazed when it comes to RU basketball. My ardor for the Knights extends back to the old College Avenue gym where I saw them play for the first time in 1966. I grew up in the realm of Bobby Lloyd and Jim Valvano--two of the greatest guards EVER to play for RU, who along with a talented bunch took the Knights to Madison Square Garden and a third place finish in the 1968 National Invitational Tournament after a tough loss to the Walt Frazier-led and eventual champion Southern Illinois Salukis. I trekked to New york to see them play; I emulated Lloyd's free throws and Valvano's tougher than nails defense. I was smitten with Scarlet Fever.

     Success was such at Rutgers under Tom Young, with a great team led by many future NBA players ending up in the Final Four in Philadelphia. A legendary team. Rutgers maintained a fairly high level of continuity into the early 1990's when in the Atlantic 10 Conference. But who could have predicted that the 1991 NCAA-qualifying team would be the last to represent Rutgers in the tournament?

     I have had a partial subscription for Rutgers basketball for a number of years. I like the environment at the Rutgers Athletic Center. The quality of the opponents from the Big East Conference included luminaries like Syracuse, Georgetown, Louisville, St. John's, UConn to name a few. RU had marginal success with the talent they could scrape together--almost all of the five star recruits avoided the RAC as their home floor. Coaches came and went; some with a little success, others clothed in scandalous conduct. Miraculous runs in the Big East tournament and three point bombs from Quincy Douby were all RU could really muster.

     Now in the Big Ten and yet with another new coach, RU has to play a different set of national powers--Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Purdue and Maryland for openers. With the resounding win against a rebuilding Drexel five and a coach who had great success at Stony Brook, perhaps the Scarlet Knights are perched on the precipice of becoming players in the conference, winning more regularly versus the Penn States and Nebraskas while scoring some victories over the more proficient ones.

     Rutgers has joined the prestigious Big Ten Conference for the glory that it brings athletically and academically. RU has the academic thing down pat. Now it is time for the school to measure up against its sister schools--even before full revenue-sharing kicks in.

     Such is the dream of a man in his mid-60's who has endured more than enough athletic failure rooting for his New York Jets while doggedly sticking with his hometown college who has gone from the entertaining if not successful football games of the 1960's to the major conference football and basketball of the 2010's. The alumni want wins; so do I. We wish upon wish that the new basketball coach can survive and thrive. That better days must be out there after the possibility of a winless conference schedule in 2016. I painfully watched Michigan State pile on RU on Saturday. Sunday there was hope with the win over Drexel.

     Such is the life of the Rutgers fan I have always been. I hope someone is listening to me up high--not in the upper reaches of High Point Solutions Stadium nor the 300 level of the RAC--I am more than ready in my retirement for many more enjoyable days (and nights) with my Knights. Win a championship and I might even learn the entire alma mater...

                                                 Ask Me If I Really Care?

     Last week, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series. They were the favorites, handling a game but undermanned Cleveland Indians squad in a pivotal Game 7 which took an extra inning to determine the ultimate outcome. The contest itself was a highly over-managed affair where the moves of Joe Maddon of the Cubs and Terry Francona of the Indians threatened to derail a great battle while concurrently creating superb theater.

     Much of the drama had to do with the Cubs not having won the World Series crown in 108 years, BEFORE venerable Wrigley Field, the ivy-walled palace the North Siders inhabit, was even built. The Cubbies, dubbed the loveable losers for their lack of appearances in the Series let alone in the playoffs, were most everyone's darling. Heck, they had a supposed hex laid upon them by the owner of the Billy Goat Tavern, a local Chicago establishment, who foolishly attempted to bring a billy goat with him into Wrigley Field for the 1945 Series, the last time Chicago had represented the National League in the Fall Classic.

     Then there was the Cleveland team, the American League champs. While the Tribe had been in the 1997 Series, their last championship was merely in 1948. They, too, like the Cubs, had a rich history of losing seasons. In fact, Cleveland has had a lot of losing until this year when the Lebron James-led Cavaliers themselves won an epic Game 7 of the NBA Finals in Oakland against the defending champs, the Golden State Warriors who had set the regular season record for wins. This was the franchise which was mocked in film by the classic Major League movies and Charlie Sheen's bespectacled, myopic character, Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn. Plus the Browns, who had won the last Cleveland championship in 1964, had moved to Baltimore and won as the Ravens; the current expansion Cleveland Browns team has yet to win a contest this season. More ineptitude.

     Emboldened by the Cavs' dramatic win and the fact that the Republican National Convention was held on the shore of Lake Erie, the Indians faithful were exuberantly believing it was their time, not that of Cubs fans. Even with Lebron perched in a box at Progressive Field, his karma could not undo the vibes surrounding the Cubs and their fans. Perhaps denying Sheen a reprise of his movie role to throw out the ceremonial first pitch might have reversed the fortunes--a fact we will never know for sure.

     Alas, the Indians were denied and the Cubs were victorious. All throughout were were enveloped by stories of Cubs fans young and old, of villain Steve Bartman who went to catch a foul ball rather allowing it to drop into the waiting glove of Moises Alou and would have extinguished the Florida Marlins rally in 2003 in the League Championship Series. There were dogs, cats, centenarians, babies and everyone and everything in between which personified fandom loyalty. That steady stream culminated in the victory parade and rally attended by a throng estimated to be 5 million people--one of the largest gatherings anywhere, EVER.

     I am positive that Cubs fans are contiuing to exalt in the aura of the historic win. That is their choice, for which I do not offer judgement. Notwithstanding that I am a proud New York Yankees fan whose team, despite last winning the title in 2009 and having accumulated 28 World Series crowns, I have my own opinion of the ongoing celebration by Cubs fans. It is borne out of loyalty to other teams in other sports.

   
     I root for a number of professional franchises. The New Jersey Devils, one of 3 local National Hockey League franchises and who I currently watch, have won a couple of Stanley Cups in the last 30 years. My New York Knicks have last won a National Basketball Association finals in 1972-73; the Brooklyn nee New Jersey Nets have NEVER won an NBA Finals. So be it. I am not factoring in Rutgers Men's Basketball--no NCAA Tournament spot since 1991, let alone only 1 Final Four appearance way back in 1976.

     No, my considerable lack of empathy for the Cubs (or Indians fans for that matter) supporters is laid directly at the feet of the most inept National Football League team I have been a season ticket holder since 1977--the New York Jets. One Super Bowl slot, one Championship in 1969 whereby the now defunct American Football League ineers somehow on the exploits of  brash quarterback Joe Willie Namath ended up upsetting the vaunted Baltimore Colts.

     Nothing to show for it since then. A couple of American Football Conference championship games. Neither played at home. For my 40 years of allegiance, I have nunca. Nada. Zippo. Zero. Average or worse seasons are the norm with this group. Coaches and General Managers come and go. Players too.  But the outcomes are predictable.

     The 2016 side sits at a measly 3 wins coupled with 6 losses. The playoffs are almost out of sight. Somehow yesterday they managed to snatch defeat from victory by a player going offsides on a kickoff and drawing a 5 yard penalty after taking the lead, only to have the Miami Dolphins player return the ensuing kickoff 96 yards without much of a touch to win the game.

     These are my Jets. Whether it is the Butt fumble by quarterback Mark Sanchez versus the New England Patriots, a sack in the AFC title game or just another flat game in another losing season,  this is my lot.

     Understandably, I am increasingly unhappy as I grow older, wondering if I will see a Super Bowl visit, not a win, in the next 4 years when I have reached age 70?  The odds bode against such happening. Unless in a dream-like scenario, owner Woody Johnson in a rage of desperation can snare winning team builder Theo Epstein from the Cubs, Ivy League-educated and with a law degree earned in his spare time while working and learning the ropes with the San Diego Padres. Although he is baseball man, I am willing to wager that his grasp of what a franchise should be trumps what those who currently run the Jets have, even if Theo has a decided lack of NFL experience.

     Some might argue that the Jets do not possess the longest streak in the NFL without a league championship (Arizona Cardinals--68 seasons), so the position would be that I cannot trivialize the Detroit Lions, San Diego Chargers, Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons nor Minnesota Vikings and the aforementioned Browns fans who have suffered even longer with their droughts. Thirteen teams have not won a Super Bowl, four of them expansion teams.  A number of them have at least won their respective conferences.

     My response to that is akin to the Cubs and Indians fans (or for that matter the Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres who have not won the World Series)--I don't care about your plight. Mine is dire enough. I have no sympathy for the Toronto Maple Leafs fans post-1967-68 nor do I feel  much for the St. Louis Blues fans who have not won a Stanley Cup. No pity for the Sacramento Kings fans who go back 65 years to the 1951 Rochester Royals championship team. So to with the Atlanta Hawks who last won while in St. Louis in 1958; and the Phoenix Suns who have NEVER won a title in 48 seasons.

     Cumulatively, all the teams mentioned are serial losers. It is just that mine is among the worst and the losing is not going to end real soon. The time I invest in the Jets along with the astronomical prices for season tickets are in direct disproportion to the aggregate wins and titles. While we may be in lockstep with a lot of other similarly situated franchises in the four major professional sports, I derive no solace from their misery. Nor can I empathize with the Cubs fans and have any degree of happiness for them.

     When, perhaps make that if, the Jets win, maybe I will be a more magnanimous winner. Until then, I am a lousy, sore loser. Sorry Cubs fans, no love from me on this one. And stop getting giddy believing that you have a dynasty. You have won 1 World Series in 108 years. The Jets, like a lot of others, didn't win again. Do not compare yourselves with the New England Patriots or the Yankees, Boston Celtics or Montreal Canadiens who have own the most crowns in their leagues. Be content with 1 win after the hex and over a century.

     I sure would be.