A Facebook Reconnection

     This week has had its share of unusual events. There were Tiger Woods chronicles and the continuation of the Winter Olympics with the United States capturing gold by defeating Canada in Women's Ice Hockey and in Curling. Drexel University's men's basketball broke an all-time record, by coming from 34 points down to roar back and defeat the University of Delaware. Seton Hall won a 2 day basketball game against Providence, condensation from the ice floor underneath the basketball court causing a major interruption of the game at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.

     All good stuff. I could write about the Golden State Warriors or the Cleveland Cavaliers as I seemingly do every week. Or I could write about the Boston Red Sox finally landing slugger J.D. Martinez. Not to be outdone, the New York Yankees acquired infielder Brandon Drury from the Arizona Diamondbacks to plug up a hole at either second or third base. Plus I could report on the Yankees' spring training thus far and about Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Plus there is a late-breaking scandal that has been reported by Yahoo! Sports involving college basketball and agent payments to players.

     Lots of topics to monitor and expound upon. But it was a simple Facebook post that caught my eye and reminded me that I should make the person in the post the subject for this week's blog.

     I am branching into a different area of sports this week. I am becoming a writer profiling another writer. But not just any writer. Let me explain.

     Mitchell David Albom is that writer. Some of you may know him as a best selling author. Others may know him as a revered Detroit sports columnist and regular contributor to ESPN's late and award-winning Sunday morning staple, The Sports Reporters. That is where I first really encountered Mitch Albom, when I would work my Sunday morning schedule to fit in the stellar round table discussions among well-known sports columnists on the topics of the week.

     That was significant enough for me to become conscious of him as a sportswriter. I read some of his columns. And I researched who Mitch Albom really is. I came away with a picture of an incredible man.

     Born into a Jewish family in Passaic, New Jersey, the 59 year old Albom spent his early, formative years in Buffalo, New York before his family resettled in Oaklyn, New Jersey, a South Jersey suburb of Philadelphia. His family encouraged Albom and his siblings to reach out to the world and explore it. None of the three remained in the Philadelphia metropolitan area after finishing high school.

     Albom so wanted to get away from Oaklyn that he finished high school in three years; I say that facetiously, as this accomplishment demonstrates his overall brilliance and superb intellect. He matriculated at Brandeis University, majoring in sociology.

     He ventured to New York City where he went to continue his dream to become a musician. Albom began his music career in high school and continued it in college and even enrolled in the Berklee College of Music where he studied jazz piano. He has been well-recognized as a lyricist and as a musician.

     While playing in various bands, Albom started to be drawn towards journalism. He started working for the Queens Tribune, a weekly paper. His success there led to admission into the prestigious Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.  As he secured his Master's Degree in Journalism, Albom supported himself with nighttime gigs as a jazz pianist; a baby sitter; and freelance writer for SPORT Magazine. It is likely through work for SPORT that he encountered the venerable Dick Schaap, a well-known author, critic and television reporter, who became editor of SPORT in 1973. Schaap was the permanent host of The Sports Reporters and Albom appeared frequently on the program.

     Albom pursued and received an M.B.A. from Columbia while writing freelance articles for SPORT and Sports Illustrated and The Philadelphia Inquirer among other publications.  Ever resourceful, the intrepid and aspiring writer Albom paid his own way to the Olympics, hustling articles he wrote from the sites.

     In 1983, The News and Sun-Sentinel, a daily paper located in Fort Lauderdale, presented Albom with his first steady work in journalism. He started out as a feature writer, quickly ascending to a columnist role.

     After winning the Associated Press Sports Editors award for Best Sports News story, in 1985 Albom began his association with the The Detroit Free Press, which continues to this day, where he is the lead sports columnist. Rapidly, his columns became a very popular staple in the rich Detroit sports tapestry. When the Detroit News merged weekend editions with the Free Press, Albom began a non-sports column in 1989 in the "Comment" section devoted to living in America. That column eventually became nationally syndicated. Both columns are still written by Mitch Albom, maintaining his ongoing love affair with Michiganders.

     Mitch Albom's prose is populist and germane, intellectual but not condescending. His sports writing is so widely accepted that the Association Press Sports Editors have named him best sports columnist a record 13 times. He has won over 200 prestigious awards and was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. Albom has his detractors within the business; those protests are far-outweighed by the breadth of his popularity.

     Albom has endured criticism and he has made mistakes; he and four editors were suspended briefly in 2005 for a mistake rushing to meet a deadline which Albom made regarding players attending an event when they did not. In hindsight, his editor felt that she mishandled the mistake by blowing it out of proportion due to a critical segment's loud complaints. This unfortunate blot on his record proved that, perhaps, Mitch Albom is human.

     Albom also has a daily radio show which started in 1987 and now airs on WJZ, a powerful, clear channel outlet in the Detroit market. Naturally, Albom handles the 5-7 p.m. drive time 5 days a week, with a general discussion on a number of non-sports topics and current events. In 2001, MSNBC simulcast his show. For good measure, he hosts a sports call-in show on Monday nights.

     Albom's workload and work ethic is impressive enough if merely limited to what I have outlined thus far. Not only an excellent a columnist, radio host and television panelist, his gift to mankind, still within his capacity as a writer, is found in the books he has authored.

     Given his exceptional workload, it is surprising that Albom could write one book. Incredibly, but yet not surprisingly, he has penned eight award winning books and five plays. Albom's name and The New York Times best seller list are synonymous.

     His first two best sellers were sports books. Bo: Life, Laughs and Lessons of A College Football Legend, co-authored with the late Michigan Head Football Coach Bo Schembechler in 1989, started the hit parade.  He followed that up with Fab Five: Basketball, Trash Talk, the American Dream,  which came out in 1993, chronicling the exploits of the Michigan basketball team which reached the NCAA Final Four twice, when the players were freshman in 1992 and again as sophomores in 1993.

     The book which has defined Albom to America was not a sports anthology. It was Tuesdays With Morrie. Morrie Schwartz was Albom's Sociology professor at Brandeis. When Schwartz appeared on Nightline, a late night television news program on ABC hosted by Ted Koppel, a friend of Albom's told him about Schwartz's battling the terminal disease ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease). Albom, who had been very close with Schwartz, felt guilty and reconnected with his former mentor. That started a series of 14 visits on Tuesdays whereby Albom would fly to suburban Boston to talk with Schwartz about life and death. Albom convinced publishing house Doubleday to print his book about those visits as a way to cover the costs of Schwartz's demise.

     Published in 1997, the book has sold over 14 million copies, has been translated into 45 languages, has been the subject of a TV movie produced by Oprah Winfrey, a two man Off- Broadway play which Albom co-authored. It is taught in the curriculum of many high school classes. Albom set up the Tuesdays with Mitch Foundation from some of the proceeds. A truly legendary book.

     In 2003, his second book was published. The Five People You Meet In Heaven was another rousing success, making the Times list again on its way to selling 10 million copies in 35 languages. Another TV movie ensued--this was the highest rated TV movie of 2003.

     For One More Day was a childhood-inspired novel which quickly made its way to the top of the charts in 2005. It is about a son having one more chance to connect with his deceased mother. Oprah produced a 2 hour TV movie from this novel.

     Have A Little Faith came next in 2009.  A non-fiction book, it is borne out of Albom's relationship with his hometown Rabbi, Albert L. Lewis,  and what Albom did to write a eulogy for him. He had a re-awakening of his faith as a result. This reawakening in turn caused him to make contact with an African-American pastor in Detroit who ministered to drug addicts and others down on their lot in a church which leaked when there was rain. This relationship with Henry Covington, a former addict and an ex-convict, along with his eulogy experience combined for another unique book and another TV movie.

     Albom's next two books also were acclaimed. The Time Keeper was a fictional story about the man who made the first clock in history and who was banished to a cave for centuries, gets a reprieve and tries to save two unlikely souls. The First Phone Call From Heaven centers around a small Michigan town receiving phone calls from deceased ones and a search for the truth.

     His last book, The Magic Strings Of Frankie Presto, arrived in 2015. The life and death of this fictitious character, a giant in the music business, is narrated by the voice of Music. Actual big name musical talents like Tony Bennett, Wynston Marsalis and Darlene Love gave first person impressions for the book. What made this a unique book was a 17 song soundtrack written and performed by Albom and others, as if these were the greatest songs written by Frankie Presto.

     Once a struggling musician looking for direction after college, Albom is estimated to have a net worth beyond $10 million. He has found a way to express himself through writing while finding himself.

     What caught my eye on Facebook was an announcement that Albom is writing a sequel to The Five People You Meet In Heaven. The Next Person you Meet In Heaven will be available on October 16. The staggering number of positive hopes for this new book made me think about Albom. And why haven't I read a single book of his. After all, I am extremely impressed with Albom's career..

     My wife and I began a two person book club upon our retirements. We have focused exclusively on the litany of books written by Daniel Silva about his Israeli spy Gabriel Allon. Silva has reached the #1 slot on the Times chart and has an eighteenth spy novel ready for consumption in July. Once finished with all of Silva's books, we switched to the primarily southern attorney-based novels of John Grisham.

     We are nearing the end of the Grisham list. We need a lift to recharge our reading. This is where Mitch Albom's books come into play. Who better to read than one of the most accomplished authors and columnists in the country? If ever there was a person to cite as a perfect example of a Renaissance man, it is Mitch Albom.

     I have been chiding myself for not thinking about his writing sooner. Nonetheless, I am thankful that Facebook has done something good lately, generating a tremendous enthusiasm in anticipation of Mitch Albom's new book, given the fire it has taken for unwittingly influencing the 2016 election.

     I ask you, my loyal readers, especially those in book clubs, to look into the writings of the extraordinary Mitch Albom, if you haven't already done so. Should you opt to read some or all of his works, I think you will be as interested as I expect I will be.

     Thank you, Facebook, for pointing me in the right literary direction. It is time for Mitch and me to get closer.

   

   

Potpourri

     Too much is happening in sports today and during the past week to center on one specific topic of interest or intrigue. Valentine's Day has come and gone, bringing the price of flowers and chocolate back to reasonable levels. We don't have a lunar eclipse coming up. Elon Musk hasn't launched another car into outer space. Politics and calamity are front page news. The stock market is suddenly on a wild, tumultuous ride. No sports fans, this is the post-Super Bowl, pre-NCAA tournament, Spring training blues.

     Sure, there is the Winter Olympics. If you are fixated on the events from South Korea, you have not rented a movie from Netflix or streamed a program from Amazon Prime. Your devotion to country and the giant slalom are remarkable, unless you don't want to watch all of the reruns of The Big Bang Theory.

     Watching the former stars on foreign teams and some even on the Canadian and U.S. hockey teams doesn't do it for me. I would much rather see Canada and the U.S square off with Sidney Crosby leading the way for Team Canada; or watch Henrik Lundquist and Pekka Rinne toil in the nets for Sweden and Finland; and have Patrick Kane star for the U.S. rather than muck around for the suddenly last place Chicago Blackhawks.

     Shaun White is a fine story as a come from behind winner in snowboarding. NBC is most thankful for that, having invested a lot of time and money in marketing White to the public.

     Lindsey Vonn is a great comeback story, having rebounded from so many surgeries and broken bones, let alone a romance with Tiger Woods. Mikaela Shiffrin is the next generation of U.S. skiers and she has already won gold. The pressure that they exert upon themselves is too harsh--Exhibit A is Shiffrin vomiting before her first race on Friday. But our expectations are too high, even unreasonable, for these fine athletes, as we suffer from the Michael Phelps syndrome of demanding wins in every event and garnering 4 or 5 first place finishes. It is not fair, America (and NBC).  Be pleased with their efforts.

     This is the event when we see curling along with ice dancing. The biathlon shines next to men's and women's figure skating. The NBC networks are replete with coverage of everything and anything at all hours of the day, with the major events live or on tape on the home network. Al Roker and The Today Show are there, as well as NBC Nightly News anchor, Lester Holt. After all, the money NBC has invested in this winter showcase is enormous.

     So what if you cannot spell PyeongChang. The ABC affiliate in Chicago is right there with you, as they referred to the locale as P.F. Chang's. Hey guys--the Winter Olympics is being held in South Korea. And the South Koreans and their enemy to the North have reached a detente in sharing a hockey team. Plus the North Koreans have offered us non-stop cheerleaders instead of nuclear missile testing at least for this period. Anyway, we have Vice President Mike Pence ably representing the U.S. government, causing controversy from his previous stands on gay rights.

     This Winter carnival will be over soon, buried for another four years. Can't you just wait until the Winter Olympics resurfaces in Beijing in 2022? Who knows what will happen then--will the NHL relent on sending its stars to play some real hockey? Will a 36 year old White try again for skateboarding gold? I am confident that as you surf the TV for anything interesting, you have asked these probing questions...

     Alternatively, college basketball's regular season winds down. There seems to be no clear front runner for the national title. All the big names have recently taken a tumble in the rankings due to unexpected losses. Villanova righted itself with a big win at Big East rival and #4 ranked Xavier yesterday. Virginia, Michigan State (who twice had trouble with lowly Rutgers), Arizona, Clemson, Auburn, the aforementioned Xavier, Kansas, Gonzaga, St. Mary's, Cincinnati, Duke, North Carolina, Purdue and Ohio State along with Villanova all have Final Four aspirations. Someone will emerge in April to become the National Champion. At least on the women's side it appears that UConn (no surprise) should be there at the end, but we are reminded that current #2 Mississippi State, now 27-0 this season, derailed the Huskies last year en route to the title.

     There are two other noteworthy events this weekend. This is NBA All Star weekend In Los Angeles. The Staples Center will host the actual game--a change in format which pits teams led by LeBron James (Team LeBron) against the team drafted by Stephen Curry (Team Stephen). No matter how presented, it is still an exhibition game with little defense in order to showcase the marvelous athleticism of the best in the NBA.  There was also the Rising Stars game on Friday; the Skills Competition (won by a Brooklyn Nets' player no less); the 3 point shooting contest (where Devin Booker's record-setting performance outlasted Klay Thompson and Tobias Harris in the final round); and the Slam Dunk contest (winner Donovan Mitchell donned a Vince Carter jersey to replicate Carter's winning dunk in a prior contest and Larry Nance Jr. wore his father's jersey and repeated his dad's contest winner).

     In the end, it is entertainment. At least they are in the right town for the game. Should you choose to watch, Fergie is singing the U.S. national anthem; Bare Naked Ladies will sing "O Canada"; and Pharrell Williams and N.E.R.D. will provide the halftime music.

     The other glamour event was the Daytona 500 on the tri-oval at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida. This was the kickoff to the NASCAR season and is a storied competition won by auto racing's best. Once conducted on the beach, it is now on a track which holds 101,000 revelers in the stands.

     All the big NASCAR names were present--Martin Truex, Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Kyle and Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski to name a few. They may not be household names to much of America, but to NASCAR Nation they know and worship those names like it is a religion.

     My sentiments go to one racer. Danica Patrick. Danica is leaving motor sports this year. She is reunited  with one-time sponsor GoDaddy, in her Chevrolet. Patrick was a veritable long shot to win at Daytona. Yet she has my gratitude for doing something great--dating Green Bay Packers' QB Aaron Rodgers.  There was a big pileup during the race.  Fortunately no one, including Ms. Patrick, was hurt. Because I didn't want Danica to go out and mess this up--her present romance is almost as good as J Lo and A-Rod.

     Other stories that resonated through the past week included the new-look Cleveland Cavaliers suddenly being revived in the NBA's weak Eastern Conference; the Houston Rockets overtaking the Golden State Warriors for the best record in the NBA; Tiger Woods not making the cut at this week's PGA event at the Riviera Country Club in LA; Canadian golfer Bubba Watson, who led the same event at -10 heading into today's final round and finished on top, managed to score 2 points on Friday night at the NBA Celebrities' game; the expansion Las Vegas Knights continue to win, on Saturday knocking off the NHL's most storied franchise, the Montreal Canadiens, to take the lead in the league with the most points;  and Roger Federer, the ageless Swiss tennis star, has risen to the number 1 ranking in men's singles.

     I am glad the snow has melted from Saturday night's storm and the temperature may rise to 70 on Wednesday. I can get outside and away from the television set and all of these telecasts which would keep me otherwise glued to my seat. For I had my first Aaron Judge sighting earlier this week and that trumped a whole lot of other sports on my plate, in a week where more tragedy confronted our nation.

Fly, Eagles, Fly

     Resiliency. That's the word repeatedly used by the Philadelphia Eagles players. Their belief that the team was resilient proved to be correct. For at the end of Super Bowl LII, it was clear that the Philadelphia Eagles were in fact resilient.

     If you loved offense, then the Eagles-New England Patriots match up was for you. The teams combined to set a record for most combined yardage gained from scrimmage in a single game EVER in NFL history.

     Not quite like a track meet with relays, it seemed like the teams would go down the field nearly at will and score. It was the second highest score for a Super Bowl, missing the mark by merely one point. And that record could have been broken had a couple of extra points been made.

     In watching the game, there was never a dull moment. Miraculous throws and catches were almost normal. Hard running was also prevalent. The two teams went at it with an offensive mind set, a ferocity that almost immediately set the tone for the game.

     I did not think that the defenses were as bad as critics have complained. Especially New England. Don't blame Matt Patricia despite the sometimes befuddled looks he displayed. I thought that the Philadelphia offensive line was excellent and provided QB Nick Foles with the time to throw to his receivers, some of them making circus catches in the end zone. That line continuously opened up holes for Eagles' running backs to gain critical yardage.

     For when the game was winding down and the ball was in the hands of the greatest QB of all time, Tom Brady, the pervasive feeling was that the Patriots were going to repeat a comeback, perhaps not as epic as in Super Bowl LI against Atlanta, and prevail. After all it was Tom Brady, who has shown us so many times why he can lead a team to victory at the end of a game.

     Except it was not to be. First, after Philadelphia regained the lead at 38-33 with 2:21 left to play, on a drive culminating on a controversial 9 yard TD pass from Foles to tight end Zach Ertz.  Ertz lost control of the ball as he dove into the end zone. Since he was ruled a runner and he had crossed the plane of the goal line, the catch was ruled to be a valid score.

     On the next drive, Brady went to work. During the second play, Brady went back to pass and as he attempted to throw, the big paws of Eagles' defensive lineman Brandon Graham reached out and stripped the ball away from the New England QB. Defensive end Derek Barnett recovered the ball for Philadelphia. This was the only sack of the game.

     Foles masterfully guided the Eagles offense, as he had done all evening, forcing the Patriots to use up their remaining 2 timeouts. With 1:05 left on the game clock, Jake Elliott booted a 46 yard field goal to boost the Eagles lead to 41-33.

     Still, Brady and the Patriots had the opportunity to tie the score if they could make a touchdown and a two point conversion. After nine plays which included a 4th and 10 catch by Danny Amendola, Brady was left with one more chance from the 49 yard line. His Hail Mary pass was true to the end zone and was intended for gigantic tight end Rob Gronkowski or a deflection into the arms of Amendola or Chris Hogan. Although the ball popped up for a second, the pass was incomplete. While there might have been a penalty or two on the play with the hindsight of replays, none were called. Game over. Philadelphia had dethroned the defending champions and were, for the first time, Super Bowl victors.

     Many Super Bowl records were set in this game: the fewest punts (1, Philadelphia); most points by a losing team (33); most yards by a team (New England 613); and Brady threw for 505 yards and 3 TD's while competing 28 of 48 passes. Additionally, this was the first Super Bowl where both QB's threw for over 200 yards in the first half and most combined yards (613).

     The Super Bowl M.V.P. was Foles, who completed 28 of 43 passes for 373 yards, 3 TD's and 1 interception (which really wan't his fault as his receiver, Alshon Jeffrey attempted a one-handed catch and the ball bounced off his hand and into the arms of former Rutgers star Duron Harmon of New England).

     What made Foles' masterful game even more unique was his chiding Eagles' Head Coach Doug Pederson to go for it on 4th and goal on the New England 1 yard line with 38 seconds left in the first half. The so-called "Philly Special" where Foles began the play as QB then moved over to become a wing back off of right tackle, led to a direct snap to running back Corey Clement, who pitched the ball to tight end Trey Burton, who in turn tossed a beautiful pass while on the run into the arms of the wide open Foles for a TD. This was reprise of the Patriots' failed attempt at trickery, when wide receiver slightly overthrew a wide open Brady.

     To me the truest star of the game was Pederson. I think he totally baffled the Patriots' defense with his superb play calling. He showed ice water in his veins as he had the Eagles go for fourth down a couple of times, including the aforementioned "Philly Special." This high caliber performance came from a career backup in the NFL with Miami, Green Bay, Philadelphia, Cleveland as well as a stint in the long-forgotten World League of American Football.

     As late as 2009, Pederson was coaching high school football in Louisiana. Pederson joined the staff of then-Eagles coach Andy Reid and moved up the ranks of assistant coaches, following Reid to Kansas City where he was Reid's offensive coordinator. Philadelphia hired Pederson in 2016, and in his second season as the Eagles' head man, he has won a Super Bowl.

     It was a tough loss for Brady, Head Coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots. Belichick took a lot of heat for not playing defensive back Malcolm Butler. While Butler had a sub-par season, he was a starter and the benching was total surprise. Some experts thought that inserting Butler, who intercepted a Russel Wilson pass in the end zone with 20 seconds to go to preserve a New England victory over Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX, would have made a difference. I disagree. Pederson and Foles were having an on day and the diversity of the plays called and the execution would not have been changed by changing one defensive back in this instance.

     When time expired, pandemonium arrived in Philadelphia. With the Eagles' players, coaches and management celebrating on the field, singing the "Fly, Eagles, Fly" anthem, the Eagles' fans took to the streets of Center City for an impromptu celebration. The usual drunken revelry occurred--climbing on a hotel awning that gave way to the weight of too many people on it ; a couple of cars overturned and damaged; a few traffic lights and other poles downed. Despite the acts of lawlessness, the long-suffering Eagles' fans had their first Lombardi Trophy and first NFL Championship since 1960. It was historic day. At least no police horses were punched this time, unlike the previous rowdiness after wins over Atlanta and Minnesota.

     Philadelphians had their day on Thursday with a massive parade and love fest on the Art Museum's famed steps, immortalized by Sylvester Stallone in the movie Rocky. Bud Light came through, supplying beer based on the boast of tackle Lane Johnson that he would pay for the suds if the Eagles won the Super Bowl. Coach Pederson showed his athleticism by making a one-handed catch of a beer can tossed up to him during the parade. And the epic, profanity-laden speech of center Jason Kulce, who was festooned in a green outfit that was part Mummers' Parade, part sultan, put an exclamation mark to the awesome win. The arrests were minimal and the joyousness of the throng, many who had come back to Philadelphia from afar in order to witness this coronation, was omnipresent. To paraphrase the current series of Bud Light commercials, which Anheuser-Busch marketing adroitly did, Philly Philly, Eagles fans. Philly Philly.

     Thus the long NFL season came to its conclusion. Many questions abound for these two teams: what is the fate of Foles when incumbent QB, Carson Wentz returns from ACL surgery? Will a now 40 year old Brady show signs of aging next year, making New England regret shipping backup Jimmy Garappolo to San Francisco where he has starred and landed the biggest contract for a QB in NFL history? How will New England do in the wake of Patricia now becoming the Head Coach of the Detroit Lions?

     My ranking of the NFL top 10 teams for 2017 is as follows:

          1. Philadelphia
          2. New England
          3. Minnesota
          4. New Orleans
          5. Los Angeles Rams
          6. Jacksonville
          7. Pittsburgh
          8. Tennessee
          9. Atlanta
        10. Carolina

     I am sure that many will disagree on my rankings. If 5 of these teams make it to the 2018 Top 10 list, given the tumultuous off-season thus far, that will be a good sign for some continuity in the NFL.

     But for now, the self-described resilient Philadelphia Eagles, the team that did not panic when Tom Brady was destined to beat them on either of two end of game drives, are the top dogs, wearing the crown that seems to fit just fine.

   

Complaints and then some (long version)

     This edition is reduced to reader complaints. Yes, I know the Super Bowl is upcoming. Sure it is a question of how good is New England, or is the Philadelphia defense enough to throttle Brady & Co.? Will the Patriots underrated defense stifle Eagles' backup QB Nick Foles and bring another championship home to Foxborough? All of this can be dissected in the next blog, or by countless talking heads in the media.

     No, I would be remiss if I did not address a couple of things, some brought to my attention by readers of this blog. First, I was asked what was the consecutive 3 point record for Division III men's basketball. The answer is that Chris Carideo of Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania sank a 3 pointer in 75 consecutive games from 1992-95. And over a season, Troy Greenlee of De Pauw University in Greencastle, Indiana sank a 3 pointer in 31 consecutive games.

     Secondly, there was the news story that Rutgers terminated a contract to play UCLA in football in 2020 and 2021. A big time game. A recruiting bonanza for RU to play in the Rose Bowl, UCLA's home stadium and to say to recruits we play the best teams and we travel cross-country to do it. Similarly, it would be a great thing to see a nationally-ranked and prestigious academic school, which has a solid football program, come to Piscataway. That would be a big sell to the RU fan base as well as to recruits.

     Instead, RU has substituted a home and home series with Syracuse. The Orange are an old Big East foe now in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Syracuse had success in the 1950's and 60's, but has struggled to be a vibrant force in football. Perhaps an easier team for the Scarlet Knights to play and beat.

     A couple of things arise from this schedule switch. First, to escape from the UCLA contract, Rutgers has to pay UCLA $500,000 within 30 days of a request by UCLA for that money. This from a school that is poor in its athletic department and will remain poor until the revenue sharing in 2021 from the Big Ten Conference puts RU on equal footing with its conference brethren. How RU can afford this unnecessary payment when it is not selling out High Points Solutions Stadium for Big Ten games is baffling. One reader questions the morality of this decision when RU cannot fund its research programs adequately nor pay professors top dollar.

     Secondarily, what does this move implicitly say about the state of RU football? That it is not expected that they will compete with more established programs in the future. RU would rather play a team more on its own footing--one that exudes mediocrity at best--than play another challenging game besides the already-tough Big Ten gauntlet RU faces annually. Too much Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Maryland, Indiana and Michigan State plus the crossover games from the other division.

     Look at the upcoming schools on future Rutgers schedules: Texas State, Kansas, Buffalo, Syracuse, Boston College, Virginia Tech, UMass, Liberty, Temple, Ohio University and in 2030 and 2031 Kansas State. These are not attractive games. Plus some come with guarantees--I am sure RU is paying good money for the right to beat the Liberty University Flames in New Jersey. These are games designed to get a struggling program wins and thrust RU towards a bowl game should RU win a couple of contests in the Big Ten in a given season.

     It is a mixed bag. Recruits want to shine against the best talent. Coaches want to keep their contracts and garner wins that result in bowl games establishing that their program is on a legitimately upward swing.

     To bail out of the series with UCLA makes no real sense other than the program isn't ready for that level of inter sectional competition. It reminds me of how RU doctored the 2017-18 basketball schedule so that all of the non-conference games would be held at the RAC. With such stacked odds favoring all wins, RU managed to lose two of those contests. Any chance of going to a post-season tournament like the National Invitation Tournament had the Scarlet Knight won a couple of Big Ten clashes and all of the non-conference schedule minus maybe a loss to Florida State and Seton Hall (the latter was a game RU actually won as opposed to bad losses to Stony Brook and Hartford) was made difficult if not virtually impossible. This basketball schedule doctoring was merely a mirage. The same logic applies to football.

     Moreover, RU has seen an inordinate amount of assistant coaching changes since season's end. Coach Chris Ash has to break in another offensive coordinator--the third in three years. Other assistants have left for better places, including one who left yesterday for Big Ten foe Maryland. It appears that there is something inherently amiss in the RU football program. The instability of the coaching staff translates to the ineffectiveness of the team. Which is borne out by the Scarlet Knights' abysmal performance over the first two years of Ash's tenure.

     Yet Athletic Director Kevin Hobbs is given accolades for extending Ash's contract despite any positive results and doing the same for men's basketball coach Steve Pikiell and Hall of Fame women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer, whose recent results have not been as stellar as tehy had been before joining the Big Ten. All in the sense of showing recruits that there is stability in these programs.

     Or is it simply creating illusions? And when will the long-suffering Rutgers fans have had enough. RU has not been to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament since 1991. 1991!! The last NIT berth was in 2004 and RU made it to the championship where Michigan beat the Scarlet Knights. Football hasn't been to a bowl game since the less than memorable 2014 Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit where Rutgers triumphed over a mediocre North Carolina squad which finished at 6-6.

     No, Rutgers isn't getting it right. Contrary to a reader who places the blame on the firing of football coach Frank Burns in 1983, after 3 consecutive losing seasons, when Rutgers transitioned to big-time college football and Burns's team even beat Tennessee in Knoxville.  That same reader has an issue with the axing of Bob Wenzel as basketball coach in 1997 when RU was playing in the Big East Conference, one of the best basketball leagues back then. He also blames AD;'s Fred Gruninger and Robert Mulcahy for the demise of Rutgers athletics with poor coaching choices. In Mulcahy's defense, he did steer RU from the Atlantic Ten Conference to the Big East Conference, and was instrumental in organizing the football part of the Big East, plus he did make one good hire in Greg Schiano as football coach.

     But another reader said that the scandals concerning basketball coach Mike Rice and Kyle Flood took away any momentum Rutgers may have had entering the Big Ten. Making AD Tim Pernetti, a young, bright and visionary former RU football payer, who is credited with negotiating Rutgers' entry into the Big Ten a scapegoat for the Rice affair was a major set back. His successor, Julie Hermann, was a nightmare. And when Schiano, credited with making RU viable in the Big East bolted to the NFL for the money that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offered, the elevation of assistant coach Kyle Flood to lead the Scarlet Knights led RU to another scandal.

     That reader questions Hobbs' leadership too. He is spending money, getting major donors for buildings and seemingly borrowing against the future Big Ten revenues in his attempts to jump start RU athletics. While there have and will be major facilities upgrades for many sports, it is questionable how successful RU is overall. Wrestling is nationally ranked but should be better than its current record if top New Jersey grapplers join the team. Lacrosse is middling at best even though the team attained the number 1 spot in the rankings last year for a fleeting moment; again, the talent is available in NJ but they aren't coming. Ditto men's soccer and baseball, which should be better if talented NJ players are recruited. Only women's soccer and perhaps softball seem to have things squared away. The reader disparagingly called the present state of Rutgers athletics " a facade with no apparent direction."

     When Rutgers appears on the schedule, it for somebody's homecoming during football season, as the opponent anticipates a win. Although Pikiell has made some strides in recruiting, the men's basketball team is injury-riddled and destined for the bottom of the Big Ten again. Stringer had the Lady Knights ranked for awhile, but they too are suffering losses and are in danger of not making the NCAA's. This, the reader says, reinforces why Hobbs is more a cheerleader and glad hander than an effective AD.

     Whatever is in the water of the Raritan River is toxic. It appears that RU athletics reflects that toxicity. If and when it will be purified is hard to discern. This latest faux pas with the UCLA contract is just the latest instance of RU not heading down the right path. The sins of the past seem to be still alive and preventing RU from becoming the legitimate athletic power that it can be.

     Pity the beleaguered fans who have stood by RU all of these years. Don't they deserve better than the direction RU is headed? Should they have to accept smoke and mirrors, missteps and empty promises from the leadership?

     The horizon does not look very good for RU sports. What RU didn't need is another black eye with this UCLA blip.

     A reader also chided me for not mentioning the deaths of two legends. The passing of television announcers Keith Jackson and Dick Enberg signaled the end of a great era in sports from the late 1970's to the present.

     Keith Jackson was the voice of college football for ABC for over 40 years, having called college football games from 1952 until his start with ABC in 1966. An authoritative, twangy voice resonated over the airwaves each Saturday from Michigan Stadium, which he referred to as "The Big House" due to its 100,000 seats, to the Rose Bowl, or as he called it, "The Granddaddy of them All," in proper homage to the first of the bowl games.

     Jackson was born and raised on a farm in Georgia and went to college on the G.I Bill far away from his home near the Alabama line--Washington State in Pullman where he majored in speech communications. He began his career in Seattle, then became a fixture at ABC. Jackson was the first lead announcer for Monday Night Football; he was the play-by-play man for ABC's coverage of Major League Baseball; he handled Olympics duties; was assigned to AFL games in the league's early years; XFL games in their first go around.

     Jackson succeeded the late Chris Schenkel on the network's NBA telecasts. He was paired with the iconic, New Jersey motor mouth, Dick Vitale when ABC covered college hoops.

     Jackson regularly contributed to ABC's long-running sports anthology series, Wild World of Sports. He has covered auto racing for the network, working with Chris Economaki and Jackie Stewart, two giants in motor sports.

     Jackson appeared in humorous commercials for Bud Light and Gatorade using his college football broadcasting skills. He had been cast in a number of movies as himself.

     But what he was known for was college football. Jackson called 16 Sugar Bowls and 15 Rose Bowls. He was paired with great color commentators; the longest stint was with former Purdue and Miami Dolphins QB Bob Griese. Phrases which became college football jargon included  "Whoa..Nellie!" "Fum-BLE" and "Hold The Phone," the latter spoken after a penalty flag was thrown. Jackson described the big linemen as "Big Uglies." Jackson was irreverent in a homey way, and usually spot on in his call.

     Jackson was awarded 5 straight National Sportscaster of the Year Awards. He was inducted into 3 Halls of Fame. He won the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award from the American Football Coaches Association and the National Football Foundation Gold Medal Award. Michigan and other school have honored him in some capacity. The press box at the Rose Bowl is named after him and a lavatory inside the broadcast booth at the University of Nebraska's Memorial Field is named after its designer--Keith Jackson, aptly called the Keith Jackson Toilet Facility.

     Mention college football to someone who was born before World War II to into the mid-1980's and they will tell you that Keith Jackson was synonymous with the sport. His death last month at age 89 took a little piece of Americana away from us.

     Just as well known over nearly the same time frame was the ubiquitous Dick Enberg. Enberg worked for NBC, CBS and ESPN. He covered UCLA basketball, the Los Angeles Rams, the California Angles and most recently,the San Diego Padres, until his retirement in 2016. His signature phrases were "Oh, MY!!' for a remarkable feat that was as useful on the baseball diamond, the college basketball floor or at Wimbledon.

     A Michigan native, he graduated in 1967 from Central Michigan Univesity with a B.A. while playing baseball and becoming the student body President. Enberg went on to earn an M.A. and a Ph.D in health sciences at Indiana University in Bloomington. While at Indiana, Enberg was the play-by-play man for IU football and basketball; did the radio broadcast of the Little 500 bicycle race which was featured in the movie Breaking Away; and he called his first NCAA championship game in 1961.

     From 1961-65, Enberg put his degrees and baseball experience to work as an assistant professor  and baseball coach at San Fernando Valley State University (now Cal State Northridge).

     In 1965 Enberg began working television in Los Angeles for station KTLA. During that span, he was the voice of UCLA basketball, the Rams and the Angels. In 1968 he was recommended to be the play-by-play man for the national TV broadcast of the UCLA-Houston Basketball game from the Astrodome. This was the beginning of TV college basketball coverage as we have come to know it and it was Enberg's big break.

     He began a 25 year career with NBC Sports in 1975. During his time with NBC, Enberg called 8 Super Bowls while being the lead football announcer for NBC. He also handled 9 Rose Bowls; he had handled Rose Parade coverage while at KTLA.  He also handled NFL duties while he was at CBS.

     Enberg was supposed to be the lead man for NBC's baseball coverage in 1982 until he was usurped by Vin Scully, the voice of the rival Los Angeles Dodgers since they arrived in Southern California in 1957. He was miffed and settled for peripheral duties associated with baseball, but at a significant pay increase.

     He partnered with gritty New Yorker and former National Championship coach at Marquette, Al McGuire and all-knowledgeable, former Wake Forest guard Bill Packer to form a highly entertaining lead basketball crew. He continued to call college basketball when he switched to CBS in 2000.

     Enberg had association with Wimbledon starting at NBC then again with ESPN, where he also called matches at the French, Australian and US Opens; the Flushing Meadows event was a continuation of duties he started with CBS.

     With CBS, he was part of golf coverage. At NBC he was involved in the call of boxing, which he did for KTLA at the famed Olympic Auditorium. Also at  NBC, Enberg did Olympic coverage, horse racing and the NBA.

     Enberg ended his career calling Padres games. During his last week in 2016, he appeared with Scully, who was closing his 67 year career. He did a ceremonial curtain call for the Detroit Tigers in 2016, broadcasting a Tigers-Tampa Bay Rays game for his boyhood team. He added a series that the Tigers had with the Dodgers to his baseball broadcast resume.

     Located in Southern California, Enberg hosted 3 game shows on NBC. He appeared in numerous movies including Heaven Can Wait and The Naked Gun and as a guest on 2 TV series. Enberg penned a one man show entitled "COACH", modeled after Mc Guire.

     Among his achievements were 13 Sports Emmys and a Lifetime Achievement Award. (he is the only recipient to win in broadcasting, production and writing). He was inducted into numerous Halls of Fame including enshrinement in Cooperstown as a winner of the Ford C. Frick Award. Enberg, along with Curt Gowdy, are the only two announcers to garner awards from the Halls of Fame in football, baseball, basketball. He gave commencement speeches at Central Michigan where an academic building is named after him as well as a student-athlete award, and he also spoke at Marquette. In 1973, Enberg was the first TV broadcaster in China. He even coined the name of his high school yearbook.

     Dick Enberg died too early this past December at the age of 82. What a man. His feats were incredible and his name indelibly lives on. All I can say is "Oh, MY!!"

     Two short postscripts. One is that a talented California QB named Brevin White has remained true to his commitment to Princeton despite heavy recruitment recently by National Champion Alabama. White believes that Princeton offers him the best opportunities on and off of the field. Kudos to White for making the right choice. How can I not root for his success?

     Finally, the Philadelphia 76'ers hosted the Miami Heat last night at the Wells Fargo Center. It was a festive night, an homage to the Eagles upcoming Super Bowl game. From green all around the arena to chants for the Eagles to the spontaneous singing of "Fly Eagles Fly," the Sixers won the game and barked up a storm like their Eagles compatriots do. All Star Joel Embiid and a few of his teammates will be traveling to Minnesota to take in Super Bowl LII, after their game in Indianapolis tonight. Embiid, who grew up in Cameroon, wants to experience the atmosphere of a Super Bowl.

     If it is big in Cameroon, then the Super Bowl is, in fact, really super...Enjoy the game.