This is a football weekend. Bowl games on Saturday. A full slate of NFL games on Sunday. More bowl games on Monday and Tuesday. It is amazing how over saturated the airwaves will be with the better teams in the collegiate ranks. The NFL schedule highlighted the teams for the playoffs on Sunday, which culminated in a win and you’re in a game in Nashville on NBC between Indianapolis and Tennessee. TV for the football zealots, a click away on the remote or on NFL Red Zone.
So how did I start my weekend? By going to a Rutgers basketball game, of course. The Black Bears of the University of Maine traveled from Orono to the RAC on Saturday. Maine was 2-11 headed into the game. Their one win against a D-I opponent was a double overtime thriller against Fordham. Fordham—the squad which beat RU on Rose Hill a couple of Saturdays ago.
Fresh off of nearly being upset by Columbia last Saturday after exam break, RU wanted to lose this game pretty badly. Maine looked ferocious and hit nearly 58% of their shots in the first 16 minutes of the game, while RU was shooting in the lower 30% range. While the Knights had a superior height advantage, they could not capitalize at close range until the last three minutes of the first half. Rutgers secured a 30-27 lead, but that was tenuous, as a Maine player swished a 70 foot, two-handed heave that would have tied the score. Except the replays showed that the ball left his hand after the red lights illuminated the outer portion of the backboards.
With that gift, RU seized the momentum from Maine, as they should have, and cruised to a much needed victory. Next up is a conference home game next Saturday against Maryland, a much better team than the Maine Black Bears. RU needs to eliminate the sloppiness and play more pressure defense against the Terrapins, as well as hit a higher percentage of the three point goals which are a staple of the RU offense and dominate the paint. That, alas, is no small feat.
Continuing with college basketball, F&M moved to 8-3 with a pair of wins at home against Delaware Valley and Rowan. Rowan is now 9-4, and will be in the midst of the fight for the NJAC title. The Diplomats had their hands full with the Profs in a contest that featured streaks by both teams. F&M put on one final burst to overcome Rowan for the win.
In other games involving New Jersey teams, Seton Hall edged previously unbeaten St. John’s by two at the Rock in what has been described as a wild finish which went the Pirates way. Seton Hall has a couple of signature wins under its belt—St. John’s, Miami (FL) and Kentucky, with losses to Louisville, Nebraska and St. Louis. The Pirates should make the NCAA tournament.
Meanwhile, Princeton traveled to Arizona State, winners over previous number 1 Kansas, and shocked the Sun Devils and their head coach, New Jersey native Bobby Hurley. Princeton’s squad now sits at 7-5, with a staggering loss at Duke under its belt plus indescribable losses to Sacred Heart and Fairleigh Dickinson, and they were coming off a nail biter win at Lafayette, which owns a 3-8 record. Upending ASU was Princeton’s first win over a ranked opponent since the March 14, 1996 upset of defending champion and number 17 ranked UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Current Tigers’ head man Mitch Henderson was on the team that defeated the Bruins.
For all of the successes putting Seton Hall and Princeton in the limelight, there is the sad state of affairs at Monmouth University. The Hawks, the darlings of New Jersey basketball just a few years ago, were 0-12. That’s right—they hadn’t won a game this season—until they beat Penn on New Year’s Eve (last season Penn and Monmouth played for four OT). Coming off of an 11-20 record last season, this dreadful scenario was unexpected. Sure, they have come close to wins this season, and they will probably break through once the MAAC schedule begins in earnest. It’s sad to see a program which was so highly touted fall this far so fast.
Steve Alford was fired by UCLA. His 7-6 record coupled with not enough winning overall doomed his chances to stay at the home of college basketball’s best known coach, John Wooden. From all reports, the Alford staff are fine people. Alford is a good coach, as evidenced by his success at New Mexico. I never thought it was a good fit for him—at UCLA, the alumni and fans crush coaches who aren’t performing at Wooden’s level, bringing national championships to Westwood by the droves. Wooden had talent which was rare—Lew Alcindor as he was known then and Bill Walton were two of the best college centers ever. Wooden’s achievements cannot be replicated today—Coach K is the closest to him, and Coach K brings in one and done players to an elite university which somehow looks the other way.
I liked Alford as a player while at Indiana under the tutelage and abuse of the volatile Bob Knight. He comes from a basketball family; I expect he will resurface somewhere and be successful again. If Rutgers had an opening—which they don’t—I would be all for them to hire Steve Alford.
The Knicks are on a seven game losing streak. The Nets have started to lose after their tremendous winning streak. No surprises there.
Golden State lost two games last week and the critics have been ravaging the lack of team work and chemistry. My wife did notice that in one sequence, Draymond Green tumbled to the floor, and Kevin Durant did not make a move to help him up; he left that for other team members. Maybe KD was thinking about other things—like leaving the Bay Area or which shot will he be taking next.
Somehow the Warriors rebounded and won at Portland on Saturday. The funny moment from that game was provided by the recently slumping Klay Thompson. In finally scoring with regularity that night, Klay looked at his right hand, his shooting hand, and said “I missed you.”
What a romantic gesture!!
LeBron has been out with a groin injury which he suffered on Christmas night against Golden State. Although he laughed off how severe it was, opining that he expected to be back soon, at the Clippers’ as a home game in the Staples Center the two teams share, LeBron was seen entering the arena with a glass of red wine. When the Lakers hosted the Kings two nights later, LeBron played the air guitar to honor the moves of teammate Lance Stephenson (he of the blown kiss to LeBron’s cheek while a member of the Indiana Pacers).
In a recent interview, LeBron declared himself to be the G.O.A.T. in pro basketball after the Cleveland Cavaliers had defeated Golden State in 2016 to win the title. Certainly he is a great basketball player. However, there are loads of opinions on that subject from the Michael Jordan fans, the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar fans, the Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain fans, those who adore Dr. J or even the Magic Johnson or Larry Bird fans. I offer no comment on this other than to say this: we liked Muhammad Ali when he said “I am the Greatest!” I don’t recall any of the above-mentioned players proclaiming their superiority. Memo to: LeBron: let others decide the debate for you.
I did catch the end of the Dallas Mavericks-New Orleans Pelicans game the other night. I saw two high profile scorers at work. Center Anthony Davis put in over 40 points in leading the Pelicans to a hard earned victory. He is everything to that franchise. I hope he can stay there and resist the lure of leaving to play with LeBron in LA.
It was my first opportunity to see Luka Doncic, the 6’7” scoring machine of the Mavs. While he is only 19 years old, he is a battle tested pro, having played for Real Madrid before coming to the NBA. The Slovenian was the Euro League & Liga ACB M.V.P. With each game he has become more comfortable and imposing. He can score from anywhere at any time. A probable Rookie of the Year, Doncic is the cornerstone for a new era in Dallas, and heir apparent to Dirk Nowitzki as he winds down his fabulous career.
Rutgers women’s basketball is in sort of a rebirth under hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer. On Monday, the Lady Knights defeated No. 4 Maryland in College Park. Good to see.
I even looked up Duncan Robinson, the small forward from Michigan’s National Finalist team this past April. Robinson signed a two way contract with the Miami Heat. The former D III All-American from Williams College played with the heat until just after Christmas and is currently playing in the G League. I expect him to return to Miami sooner than later.
So there was some football this weekend. I managed to see Clemson overwhelm Notre Dame. Did the Irish deserve to be there over Ohio State or Georgia? Perhaps not.
Alabama took apart Oklahoma. That was expected. The Tide did show some defensive weaknesses, especially when OU repeatedly picked on a freshman cornerback. Nick Saban was furious that his team had many mental cases, especially with three penalties at the end of the first half.
Who wins the big game? Alabama does. Tua Tagovailoa is a great QB and will make a name for himself in the NFL. The running game is punishing and unrelenting. The front seven on defense are fast and ferocious.
My choice is simple—Clemson hasn’t played as tough a schedule as Alabama encountered in the SEC. Clemson had trouble with Texas A&M on the road and with Syracuse at home. I foresee Alabama winning handily.
In NFL news, five head coaches received the axe either on Sunday or Monday. Now there are eight vacancies. That is 25% of the NFL having teams without head coaches.
I don’t know what kind of coach the Jets are looking for, but stay away from Jim Harbaugh. PLEASE!! His underachieving Michigan Wolverines were pummeled by Florida on Saturday. And a note to Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern: do not be beguiled by the Green Bay Packers opening. You are a legend at your alma mater. Stay there. Become coach emeritus. Temptation is evil.
As for the playoffs, the right teams are in it, and in the correct spots. Kirk Cousins is not a winner. I am relieved he turned the Jets down and I am very glad that the Jets instead drafted Sam Darnold. Pittsburgh suffered too many injuries which cost them just enough in the end. Same with Tennessee.
I am not enamored with Philadelphia repeating. Nor do I see the NFC anything more than a shootout between the Rams and the Saints. Similarly, I can easily see the Chiefs and the Patriots making the AFC Championship game. However, Baltimore, Indianapolis, and Houston have tremendous upsides and can beat either of those two frontrunners.
One last complaint—I am so pulling for the underdog UCF Knights against LSU in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day. I am still angry over the University of Florida’s offer of a 2 for 1 series—two games in Gainesville and a neutral site contest in Orlando acting as a home game for UCF. Such chutzpah for the Power 5 schools, to keep other successful programs away from the riches.
To usher the New Year in, we dined with close friends at our neighborhood Chinese restaurant, then came back to our house to watch #22 Northwestern have a third quarter for the ages in a huge comeback win against #17 Utah in the rain in San Diego. Turnovers by the Utes killed their 20-3 lead and gave the Wildcats confidence, which they used to perfection. I am probably not going to see a better bowl game in 2018—because it was the last one in 2018.
Which is my lead in to wishing my readership friends a happy and healthy New Year, with plenty of sports to digest. Here is my wish list for 2019:
The Yankees win the World Series
The Mets make the playoffs
The Jets hire a solid head coach and wisely use their cap money and draft choices
That Eli Manning has one more good year in him
Rutgers men’s basketball makes the NIT
F&M men’s basketball wins the Centennial Conference
Duke does not win March Madness despite all of its talent
Golden State makes one final run to win the NBA title
UConn women raise another banner
KC with Pat Mahomes wins the Super Bowl over the Saints and Drew Brees
NJ stays hot and makes the NHL playoffs
Colin Kaepernick gets one more chance
Rutgers football wins 6 games
F&M wins the CC title in football by finally overthrowing Johns Hopkins
The Knicks become respectable
Alabama is crowned National Champs
That all my injuries heal and I am able to run and play tennis once again
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