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.