Baseball-Basketball Time Of Year?

Baseball. Basketball. Basketball. Baseball. That’s what you get when it’s the end of March. The collision of the two great global sports in the U.S. Which keeps the airwaves of CBS, ESPN and FOX very occupied.

With that in mind, my first topic is…wrestling. Last weekend in Pittsburgh, Rutgers finally had its first two NCAA titleholders. Nick Suriano, a NJSIAA champion while at Bergen Catholic, transferred to powerhouse Penn State, but returned to New Jersey and Rutgers to complete his collegiate career. Last year, Suriano had medical problems which cost him a chance at the title. This season, after a couple of losses to highly-ranked opponents, Suriano came through at both the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA’s, defeating some of his tormentors along the way. His last-second escape in sudden death won the title along with redemption.

Anthony Ashnault was a four time state champ from South Plainfield. He was the most-heralded recruit Rutgers wrestling had ever garnered. Ashnault’s career at RU landed him 4 All-American spots. He also had a series of significant injuries and surgeries which hampered him and got him another chance this season via a medical redshirt from the NCAA.  

Still, going into this final season of eligibility, there were significant questions which were unanswered as he sought the one elusive NCAA title he had come to Rutgers to obtain. Ashnault shed the doubters by racking up the #1 ranking in his weight class heading into the Big Ten Championships and then the NCAA’s, winning both, thereby cementing his legendary status in NJ wrestling lore.

RU scored the most points it has ever put up in an NCAA championship. Coach Scott Goodale made his team into a top Ten team and was rewarded with recognition as the Coach of the Year. Finally something to really cheer about at Rutgers.

Let’s turn to baseball. Both New York teams won their openers. The Yankees, on the strength of homers by Luke Voit and Greg Bird, the two men battling to be the full-time first baseman, downed the Orioles. Masahiro Tanaka won his first Opening Day start in three tries; New Yankee Adam Otttavino, a re-signed Zach Britton and Aroldis Chapman provided nearly perfect relief in support of the Yankees bats. A very nice opener on a sun-splashed afternoon in the Bronx.

Down in D.C., Jacob deGrom, who recently signed an extension worth just over $137 million, recorded his 30th consecutive start allowing less than 3 runs while notching 12 stakeouts in 6 innings. Notable new addition Robinson Cano belted a homer in the first inning against Nats’ ace Max Scherzer in support of deGrom, as the Mets won, 2-0. Scherzer racked up 10 K’s in this duel of two of the best pitchers in baseball.

The Phillies won without Bryce Harper recording a base hit, although he did look snazzy in his green Philly Phanatic cleats. Seattle started now 3-0 after smashing Red Sox ace Chris Sale, another pitcher who recently signed a lucrative extension, en route to a 12-4 victory. The Dodgers smacked an Opening Day record 8 home runs in beating Arizona at Dodger Stadium. Justin Verlander out dueled last season’s AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell as the Astros beat the Rays 4-1. Oakland shut out Mike Trout and the Angels. 

In total, 48 home runs were hit on Opening Day. This new MLB record must mean the ball is juiced.

Boston won on Friday night, so they avoided two losses to start the season. Ditto Arizona, Tampa Bay, St. Louis and the Angels. The only teams without a win entering Sunday’s contests were Atlanta, the White Sox and Washington.

On Saturday, the Phillies won again, with Harper getting a curtain call from the fickle Philadelphia fans who had booed him on Thursday with his first hit—a home run. The Dodgers rebounded from an extra inning loss on Friday night, led by Clay Bellinger, who hit 2 homers and drove in six as the Dodgers plated 18 runners. 4-1 Seattle beat the Red Sox again, to the delight of Yankees’ fans soured with the loss to Baltimore. The Giants won their first game after two losses to the Padres. Manny Machado hit for a .273 average in his first three games for San Diego.

Christian Yelich, the reigning NL M.V.P., hit another home run on Sunday, making him the 6th player to homer in each of the first four games of the season. He also drove in the game winner on a walk off hit in the same game. The Dodgers scored another 8 runs on Arizona to win 3 of 4. But the supposedly moribund Orioles, who might match last season’s disastrous low in wins, took 2 of 3 at Yankee Stadium. Yankee fans are still unfazed—Boston lost once more in Seattle.

Remember, the season is a marathon. Teams which get out of the gate fast can fizzle out—look at the Mets last year—11-1 to open the season and they didn’t come close to winning the NL East. So I guess that the Yankees aren’t a good March team at home. Blame it on the change of weather?

This week marks the 50th anniversary of my first baseball game wearing the grey flannel uniform of F&M. We traveled to Elizabethtown College for a freshman team encounter. I remember little from the trip in the vans to the western part of Lancaster County. I don’t recall if we won or lost. What I do vividly remember is that, on the first pitch I saw on the collegiate level, I hit a hard line drive to right field for a single. I was stunned—it could have been a double  for anyone else. Nobody was happier than me—and for good reason.

Shunned in Highland Park by a coach supportive of his “boys” who had unmercifully hazed me during my freshman year, resulting in a clash on the bus back from Bernardsville with several of my tormentors, my baseball career was definitely sidelined and I was destined to be a basketball manager. Playing baseball at F&M was vindication from persecution and bullying. 

Before I start in with the NCAA tournament, I have to talk briefly about the Colgate Red Raiders. The team made the tournament as the winners of the Patriot League. They lost to Tennessee,  the #2 seed in the South Region in a game held in Columbus, Ohio. Unlike every other school, the administration at Colgate elected to send the basketball team but not the pep band. Instead, they paid bring in members of the Ohio State band, outfitting them in Colgate gear and passing them off as Colgate students. Except that the administrators failed to tell the members of Red Raiders pep band that they weren’t going to Columbus with the team. Colgate’s lame excuse—the existing pep band was too small. 

I still think that Colgate is a fine academic institution. However, the administration leaves a lot to be desired. This was a classless act and deprived the band members of the thrill and adventure of a lifetime. To me, the essence of college—is to learn and experience things that will remain with the student for a lifetime. Despite their efforts during the season, those Colgate pep band members were unfairly deprived of this tremendous experience.

Thursday night provided some thrilling college basketball. Gonzaga was tested by Florida State but survived. Texas Tech, a team which has made some Sweet 16’s recently, handily defeated last year’s runner-up, the Michigan Wolverines. Virginia had its struggles against #12 seed Oregon but still prevailed.

The most compelling game was between #2 seed Tennessee and #3 seed Purdue. The Boilermakers raced out to a lead which mushroomed to 18 points. The Volunteers rated back and actually led near the end of the game by three, when Purdue star Carsen Edwards was fouled on a three point attempt. Edwards missed the first free-throw and sank the last two to tie the score. In the overtime, it was all Purdue as the Boilermakers made the Elite Eight.

Friday night was not a good night for North Carolina. Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers eliminated the Tar Heels, to the chagrin of TNT analyst Kenny “The Jet” Smith as opposed to his colleague and former Auburn star, Charles Barkley. While Auburn ran away from Carolina, they suffered a great loss with the seemingly gruesome injury to the left leg of Chuma Okeke. This brought Coach Pearl to tears in the post-game interview. This puts Auburn in a vulnerable position when they face off on Sunday.

Michigan State fought off the challenge from LSU to move to the East Region final. Their opponent in that game would be Duke, which barely outplayed a valiant Virginia Tech team. Kentucky fought off a rugged Houston team to move on.

Thus the pairings in the Elite Eight became Virginia-Purdue, Gonzaga-Texas Tech, Duke-Michigan State and Kentucky-Auburn. Three #1 seeds made it to this round along with two #2 seeds, two #3 seeds and a #5 seed being close to a Cinderella team for this year’s tournament.

Texas Tech was the first to punch its ticket to the Final Four. By holding Gonzaga to under 70 points and limiting the Zags to 43% shooting the Red Raiders deservedly earned their spot. This is a hot team—it has been on fire since the start of 2019 and it has the potential to reach the Championship game.

Saturday night’s second game was an epic. Neither team had been to the Final Four since 1984. It took OT for Virginia to stop Purdue’s bid to be the second #3 seed headed to Minneapolis. Despite 42 points again by Purdue’s Carsen Edwards (he scored 42 against Villanova), Virginia used a miracle shot at the buzzer in regulation time to catapult them to the elusive Final Four. Finally a #1 seed made the Final Four in 2019. One year ago, UVA was eliminated by a #16 seed. How do you spell liberation? 

As for Edwards, the junior’s next move should be to the NBA. He set the tournament record for most 3 pointers with 28 in four games and he can score at will and play tough defense. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him play. 

Kentucky had gone to the Final Four 34 times, winning 8 titles. Auburn had never gone to a Final Four. That has changed with the Tigers first win over the Wildcats this season in the game that mattered the most. With Okeke wheeled into the area in Kansas City, he provided an inspirational lift for his teammates. A classic struggle between two highly talented teams went to OT before Auburn could claim victory. Charles Barkley is one happy camper. Bruce Pearl is one of the most animated coaches in the NCAA and he was on full display, sweating profusely through his suit jacket and shirt while imploring and disciplining this Auburn team. Although Auburn was given a #5 seed, they are as close to a Cinderella team as this tournament has produced. 

The final game of the Elite Eight was another barnburner. Back and forth, battling, making unbelievable shots, playing stout defense, the two teams traded leads and emotions. In the end, Michigan State, the Big Ten champs, ruined Duke’s run to the Finals by a 58-57 score. Zion Williamson could not will his Blue Devils to a victory. He is so ready for the NBA, as evidenced by his outstanding double double. His resume will lack one thing he covets—an NCAA title.

The matchups for next Saturday are: Virginia-Texas Tech and Michigan State-Auburn. From what I have seen, any of these team is a worthy champion. Since my bracket is totally eviscerated, let me hazard a guess: Auburn-Virginia is a real possibility here. Of course, so is Michigan State-Virginia or Texas Tech-Auburn or Michigan State-Texas Tech. 

You probably share my feelings here. The best thing to do is simply be by your TV next weekend and again on Monday night to see how this evolves.

The UConn women survived a scare from UCLA in their Sweet Sixteen match. The Huskies trailed heading into the final quarter. Notre Dame, Baylor, Louisville, Oregon, Iowa, Mississippi State and Stanford make up the rest of the Elite Eight. 

It didn’t end for UConn on Sunday in Albany, NY as they were better than #1 seed Louisville. I don’t know if they are the best team in women’s basketball this season, but they sure are in the discussion. It is a record twelve straight Final Fours for Geno Auriemma.

Oregon, behind scoring machine Sabrina Ionescu, took down #1 seed Mississippi State to reach the Women’s Final Four. Notre Dame plays Stanford for the right to meet UConn while Baylor and Iowa meet, the winner to take on Oregon.

We have a winner in Division II Men’s Basketball after the Elite Eight week in Evansville: the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats won 64-58 over the Point Loma Sea Lions, becoming the fifth D II school to finish the season undefeated. California Lutheran is the DII Women’s champ.  Wisconsin-Osh Kosh earlier won the D III Men’s title with a win over Swarthmore. Thomas More stayed undefeated in beating Bowdoin for the DIII Women’s prize. 

The women and men are down to their Final Fours. The NIT Final Four consists of Wichita State, Lipscomb, a winner over NC State on a last second shot, and old friends and Big 12 combatants Texas and TCU. And the NBA is in its final stages with Golden State and Denver tied for the Western Conference lead. The West is all but wrapped up as to the teams making the playoffs. In the East, Milwaukee looks to be the team with most wins overall, but there is a dogfight for the last three spots among Brooklyn, Detroit, Miami and Orlando. 

I abandoned the Yankees game on Saturday after the first inning when Miguel Andujar could not deliver with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning, grounding into a 1-2-4 double play. Sure enough, I came back to the game in the bottom of the ninth to see Andujar strike out to end the game as New York absorbed a 5-3 loss to the Orioles.

Instead, we took the short ride to Oratory Prep in Summit on a 75 degree Saturday to watch Morristown-Beard and the hosts tangle in boys’ lacrosse. We know the Mo-Beard Head Coach Sal Tromonda from our gym at Brooklake Country Club. Interest in this season started early this year as Coach Tromonda excitedly talked about taking his charges to Arizona in March for a week. So we wanted an early peak at the team, and we were afforded a beautiful day.

Mo-Beard lost their first game to Columbia H.S. by a two goal margin. The team seemed to be focused from the start for this game. At the half, the score was 5-4 in favor of the visitors. In the second half, Mo-Beard took control, with some solid hits, takeaways, winning more face-offs, stellar goaltending and some real accuracy in their shots. 

Ultimately Mo-Beard prevailed 10-7 to even its NJ record. Coach Tromonda has a relatively young team and they will make their mistakes, but the talent is evident and the coaching is excellent for the high school level. 

Special Olympics has a funding reprieve by, of all people, President Trump, after Education Secretary Betsy de Vos made like a villain before Congress in her attempts to justify cutting Federal funding for this most worthwhile organization. I saw a powerful rebuke of de Vos on ESPN’s Around The Horn by host Tony Reali, a strong supporter of the Special Olympics, which was one of the most compelling statements I have heard in a while. 

And former Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano, who was the defensive coordinator under Urban Meyer at Ohio Stage last season, abruptly resigned his new position as Defensive Coordinator for the New England Patriots, citing the need to spend more time with his family and to regain his faith. The embattled Schiano, once beloved in New Jersey but who was unsuccessful as the headman in Tampa and was forced not to take the head job at Tennessee due to his ties to Joe Paterno and the Sandusky debacle while he was an assistant at Penn State, seems to have more trouble ahead. I wish and hope for the best in this unforeseen turn of events. 

I have ignored the NCAA Hockey Sweet Sixteen, Tiger Woods’ reaching the quarterfinals in match play and pro football in general. For good reason.

I am worn out and VEEP returns to HBO tonight for the final season. There is only so much sports even I can be saturated with…after I switch the channel from NBA TV and the Hornets getting demolished by the Warriors at Oracle Arena…