So You Think There Was Sports News Last Week?

Forget about the obvious. The college football games where the Fightin’ Illini truly upset #6 Wisconsin; or Oregon established Pac 12 supremacy with a win at Washington; that Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa suffered a high ankle sprain which will concern Nick Saban for the remainder of the season; that Vanderbilt upset #22 Missouri; that BYU downed #14 Boise State; that Tulane was walloped by an angry Memphis team and that Temple was massacred by #19 SMU; or that F&M knocked off #16 Johns Hopkins in Baltimore for the first win in 6 years and the Blue Jays first loss in October since 2010. Or that Princeton put up 65 points at Brown; Columbia routed Penn at Homecoming by a score of 44-6; that Yale stepped up in competition and won on the road at Richmond; and Harvard went to Worcester, MA and defeated Holy Cross. Nor was it that Amherst and Wesleyan both lost on Saturday, with Amherst suffering two consecutive losses, leaving Middlebury as the sole unbeaten squad in the NESAC. I would be remiss I didn’t say that Rutgers scored an offensive TD at home versus unbeaten Minnesota. Yawning again. 

No it wasn’t that the New Jersey Devils won their first two games of the season at home by beating the Rangers and Vancouver, with top draft pick Jack Hughes scoring his first NHL goal against the Canucks, a team his brother plays for. Or that there will be a game on October 26 between Calgary and Winnipeg in Regina, Saskatchewan. Not even that the St. Louis Blues went to the White House to celebrate their Stanley Cup win.

While there was the first marathon completed in under two hours and there is a new controversy brewing about shoes which are higher and whether they give elite runners even a greater advantage. Nope, not that. 

Nor that a promising young boxer succumbed to his ring injuries. As sad as that was, it isn’t the first story. 

Even Pat Mahomes going down with a knee dislocation, with the Chiefs winning at Denver and now totally changing the landscape of the AFC for at least three weeks, the amount of time the Chiefs QB will need to recover, isn’t the big news. Or the Jets rising up and beating a mystifying Dallas Cowboys team behind the return of Sam Darnold for their first win of the year. While certainly big news, I cannot go with that as my lead. 

I am even going to leave my NBA intro for last along with my list of top players per franchise. Nice stuff, but what else could top that?

Try the ALCS and NLCS. That was where the action was. The two series ended so differently yet were evocative of such great thrills and chills for the fans who watched. 

Outside of the D..C. Metro area, who could have foreseen the Washington Nationals first winning the Wild Card game, plus triumphing over the favored Los Angeles Dodgers? Then to go on and sweep the St. Louis Cardinals behind the timely pitching from their starters and the clutch hitting of the regulars? 

If you had objectively looked at the Nats, you would have seen a loose team, unafraid of its plight, with a bevy of excellent starting pitchers. Matt Scherzer, Steven Strasburg, Patrick Corbin and Anibel Sanchez are as formidable a pitching foursome which exists on MLB teams. Shortstop Trea Turner batted .298 in 2019 and he is a leadoff catalyst. Third baseman Anthony Rendon only batted. .319, slugged 34 homers and drove in 126 runs while playing steady defense. Overall, Washington hit 231 home runs and had a .265 team batting average. Their only weakness was in the bullpen, which they overcame by using Strasburg and Scherzer effectively in the playoffs.  

Then there is outfielder Gerardo Parra, who has infected the team and its crazed fans with the “Baby Shark” phenomenon. Parra started to use that music as his walk up to bat sound on June 19th, to rid himself of a slump, to maybe excise the Nats of their slump and just because his little daughter loved the song. It has become the anthem for the team, a rallying cry which has gotten legs. (Should Washington win the World Series, is an appearance on Shark Tank forthcoming?)

A well-rested Nationals team awaited the end of the ALCS. A series which had many eyes on it, as it featured the big time offenses of the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees plus the trio of Astros starters and the excellent bullpen the the Yankees had put together. 

The 7-0 New York win behind Masahiro Tanaka in Game 1 proved to be somewhat of a mirage. The Astros, with the expected top flight pitching by Justin Verlander and the out of sight pitching from Gerrit Cole, with an assist from Game 1 starter Zach Greinke, took the next three contests. 

Game 2 was an enigma for New York fans. Holding a 2-1 lead, with Chad Green mowing down Astros in relief of starter James Paxton, manager Aaron Boone took the ball from Green in the bottom of the 5th inning and handed to the lately inconsistent pitching of Adam Ottavino. Ottavino, who usually possesses a deadly slider, threw a flat one to Astros outfielder George Springer, who promptly hit the ball over the fence, tying the score. 

An at bat in the top of the 11th proved tp be costly for New York. Catcher Gary Sanchez, who hit very little in the ALCS, was battling Astros reliever Josh James, who had just entered the game. Fouling off pitches and reaching a full count with two outs, Sanchez was punched out by the home plate umpire on a ball which was clearly outside the strike zone. 

J.A. Happ, the last of 9 Yankees pitchers and a starter during the regular season, left a pitch up high enough for Astros shortstop Carlos Correa to deposit in the right field stands for a walk off victory and start a delirious celebration and dance. Had the Yankees hit better that Aaron Judge’s 2 run, 423 foot  blast off of Verlander in the fourth inning and capitalized on the opportunities presented to them, it could have been a 2-0 lead for New York heading home.  Especially the one play where D.J. LeMahieu inexplicably was thrown out by Correa at home to end a rally. But it wasn’t to be for New York.

Game 3 was all Cole, a 7 inning 4 hit shut out with 7 strikeouts. Nonetheless, the Yankees had their chances via 5 base on balls and didn’t capitalize. Rain intervened on Wednesday, setting up a potential 4 games in 4 days scenario.

In Game 4, Greinke recovered to pitch well enough to keep the Astros in the lead. Chad Green, who had been nearly invincible, and Tommy Kahnle, who had not allowed an earned run in the longest time, were tagged for 3 run homers. The vaunted bullpen was running on fumes. Aaron Boone wasn’t getting the length from his starters that he needed.

Game 5 was an elimination game. Yankee Stadium was buzzing. James Paxton had another rough first inning and New York was behind 1-0. Verlander wasn’t sharp in the first inning and it resulted in a leadoff homer by LeMahieu and an unlikely three run home run from the bat of Aaron Hicks, striking the foul pole. Hicks, who was possibly looking at Tommy John surgery for his elbow, had been fooling around at his Arizona home and found his arm was sound again. Good thing he was back. Suddenly it was 4-1 Yankees. No more runs would be scored as Verlander settled down and Paxton threw a gutsy 111 pitches. The bullpen closed out the game and the series was headed back to Houston.

Both teams arrived in Texas in the early morning hours. TV, press and the umpires were delayed by mechanical issues on their charter plane, landing at nearly 11:00 am CDT. Not what anybody wanted, given that there were no days off after the rain out.

This Game 6 became a classic. Both managers opted for bullpen pitchers to open the game. Green, who had been over utilized, pitched poorly. A three run homer by a slumping Yuri Gurriel followed. New York chipped away, with Sanchez driving in Didi Gregorius in the second inning and Gio Urshela smashing a homer into the bullpen in right field in the 4th inning. 

Kahnle was pitching for the third time in 3 days and Houston extended the game with a grounder to short which resulted in a force at second while Astros second baseman Joe Altuve raced home. Playing the infield back cost New York a run. 4-2 Houston.

CBS Sports noted that the Yankees had the tying or go ahead run come to the plate 22 times in Game 6. 22 times!! One of the more egregious instances was in the 8th inning after Judge had laced a single to left. Hicks hit a blooper which Astros left fielder somehow caught and doubled up Judge at first base as the Yankees star thought the ball would not be caught.

Still, in the top of the 9th inning, LeMahieu stepped up and swatted a game-tying 2 run blast to knot the score at 4. The Yankees had seized momentum.

Except they hadn’t. Closer Aroldis Chapman was brought in to pitch. He does not pitch well in tie score contests. He managed to get the first two Astros out before walking Springer. 

Up strode Altuve. The Yankees had two choices—go after Altuve or pitch around him to face defensive replacement and weaker hitting Jake Marisnick. We know the result—a slider hung belt high to which the future Hall of Famer Altuve drove over the wall to end the series at 12:12 am EDT. It was predictable. What a blunder.

New York scored 22 runs against Houston, yet lost the series. Houston skipper A.J.Hinch didn’t out manage his good friend, Yankees manager Aaron Boone. It was Boone and his coaches who didn’t recognize situations which could have played out differently. The management of the bullpen was atrocious. They were also stuck with a bottom of the order hitting plague which finally erupted a bit in Game 6. Sanchez was awful behind the plate and at bat. Giancarlo Stanton’s injury, as much as he tried to come back in Game 5, was costly. Eduardo Encarnacion, the DH, looked old and outclassed. 

Fan X, who should stick to analyzing his Mets, said to trade Judge. That is not happening. His defensive play made up for his lack of power. Deconstructing the team is not the idea either. 

However, trading Sanchez might be an option. Who knows what to do with Stanton—if healthy, he is so tough paired with Judge. Gregorius is a free agent. Will Happ, nearly 37, stay? What about Jordan Montgomery coming back and same with Luis Severino and Domingo German, whose absence was enormous. They face decisions on Brett Gardner, Luke Voit, Mike Tauchman, Cameron Maybin and Clint Frazier. 

New York played over its head during the season. Too many injuries finally caught up with them. This will be a subject for later discussion. Game 6 was exciting—like a Game 7 atmosphere. I felt like I did when I watched Bill Mazeroski launch a Ralph Terry pitch over the left field wall at Forbes Field, giving the Pittsburgh Pirates a dramatic walk off win in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. Empty for the moment but hoping that the 2020 Yankees will play like the 1961 team which won the Series. 

Meanwhile, the 2019 World Series will be based upon which pitching holds up and which is more burnt out. Can Cole continue his unreal dominance? Will the bullpen hold up for Washington? Can there really be 6 or 7 high quality starters for each team? Are Turner and Rendon capable of equalizing Springer and Altuve? Is there going to be more drama and suspense in this matchup? Everyone is on normal rest. It is time for the World Series. 

The NBA season begins on Tuesday night. Don’t worry Knicks fans—your team will be better and still be mediocre. Besides, the experts are more salivating over Eastern teams like Milwaukee, Boston and Philadelphia. The Nets might make the playoffs, but without Kevin Durant, they aren’t a real contender. The 76’ers are interesting—barring major injuries. If Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid have fine seasons, they could advance to the NBA Finals. 

Out West, Golden State is projected for only 45-48 wins without Durant and Klay Thompson. Everyone thinks that it is Lakers-Clippers, with the Rockets possibly sneaking in. What I see is tremendous competitive balance—the Lakers, Clippers, Portland, Dallas, Houston, Denver and Utah are all legitimate contenders. Maybe even the Warriors if healthy at the end of the season. Sacramento is improved; so is Phoenix. Don’t count out Greg Popovich and San Antonio to give teams fits. Memphis and Minnesota will surprise at times.

Then there is New Orleans. Zion Williamson has knee issues which will sideline him for a few weeks at the start of the campaign. If they are healthy, the Pelicans would be in the mix. 

Thus, there are no clearcut choices to be in the NBA Finals like the Warriors or Cavaliers when LeBron James was there.

Speaking of James, he should stick to basketball and not get caught up in the maelstrom that the Hong Kong-China protests caused. He has an image to protect with all of his investments, which would be better served if he kept quiet. Leave the comments to the coaches like Steve Kerr and Popovich and Commissioner Adam Silver. Just play the game, Lebron. The fickle Lakers fans are demanding another title and they sure don’t want the Clippers to be holding the trophy.

Here are my top players per franchise. Comments are always welcome.

New York: Ewing/Frazier/Reed

Boston: Russell/Bird/Havlicek

Baltimore/Washington: Unseld/Hayes/Monroe

Philadelphia: Erving/Iverson/M. Malone

Miami: Wade/James/Mourning

New Jersey/Brooklyn: Kidd/Erving/Buck Williams (Rick Barry was only 6th)

Chicago: Jordan/Pippen/Jerry Sloan (Bob Love came in 4th)

Detroit: I. Thomas/Dumars/Ben Wallace (Laimbeer 4th??)

Cleveland: James/Mark Price/Brad Daugherty (Irving is 9th)

Orlando: O’Neal/Anfernee (Penny) Hardaway/D. Howard

Charlotte: Gerald Wallace/Raymond Felton/Emeka Okafor

St. Louis/Atlanta: Wilkins/Petit/Hudson

Houston: Olajuwon/M. Malone/Hayes

Dallas: Nowitzki/Mark Aguirre/Rolando Blackman

Phoenix: Nash/Barkley/Kevin Johnson

Denver: Alex English/Carmelo Anthony/Dikembe Mutombo

New Orleans/Utah: Stockton/K. Malone/Adrian Dantley (Maravich was 4th)

Los Angeles Lakers: Bryant/E. Johnson/Abdul-Jabbar

Philadelphia/Golden State: Chamberlain/S.Curry/Barry

Cincinnati etc./Sacramento: O. Robertson/Webber/Cousins

Charlotte/New Orleans: A.Davis/C.Paul/ Mourning (Not Mugsy Bogues?)

Minnesota: Garnett/Wally Szczerbiak/Sam Cassell (wow!!)

Buffalo/San Diego/Los Angeles: Bob Mc Adoo/Elton Brand/C. Paul

Seattle/Oklahoma City: Gary Payton/Durant/Fred Brown

Toronto: Carter/C.Bosh/Damon Stoudamire

Indiana: Miller/Mel Daniels/Jermaine O’Neal Rick Smits was next)

Vancouver/Memphis: Zach Randolph/M. Gasol/P. Gasol

Milwaukee: Abdul-Jabbar/O. Robertson/Sidney Moncrief

Portland: Drexler/Walton/Terry Porter

San Antonio: Duncan/D. Robinson/Gervin

There you have it. Lots of legends. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson, Lebron James, Chris Paul, Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Elvin Hayes and Alonzo Mourning made at least 2 teams top 3.  We sometimes forget how good Mark Price was. The Gasol brothers 2 and 3 with Memphis. Kobe over Magic? That is worth debating…

This was exhausting. I have to rest. After all, it is Patriots week and we are going tomorrow night. And the Jets may be a better opponent than New England anticipates. Plus I am away next weekend. 

See you post-Halloween. Boo.

Bits And Pieces

In this week’s sports activity, a small news article caught my eye. Brigham Young University, the school of the Latter Day Saints, was going to do the unthinkable. BYU was going to start a black QB in a school overwhelmingly white. This is a tremendous first for the school, and they did not bastardize themselves in the process. The young man who would start for BYU is a member of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. BYU stayed true to their beliefs and did the right thing, starting a QB who fit the profile of the school who happens to be black. 

I hoped he would succeed. He enjoyed some early success against South Florida. However, in the fourth quarter Jaren Hall was sacked and suffered concussion-like symptoms, ending his day and putting his next game in doubt. 

I saw a billboard on the way back from Newark Airport on Saturday morning. It was for Seton Hall basketball and shows a picture of their star guard, Myles Powell, arms outstretched. His arms are covered with tattoos, which is a shame. While the ink looks good now when he is muscled and toned, what will it look like in 30 or so years?

I recognize that I am being judgmental. The kid is a wonderful individual. He has the talent to play in the NBA and could have opted to do that after his junior season. 

Instead, he has stated numerous times that he came back to campus not just to win the Big East title and even the NCAA Championship, but for a far different reason. He wants to be the first from his family to have a college degree. That to me speaks volumes about the kid. How can I not root for him (except when they play Rutgers)?

What Seton Hall could have done with the billboard would have been to have Powell clad in his home uniform, with a cap and gown over him. What a profound message that would have sent to many black youngsters who think basketball is the path to the NBA, when, in reality, so few make it. Get your degree—it is valuable way beyond basketball and the recruiting and marketing impact would have been enormous. 

Saturday was the annual clash between border rivals Oklahoma and Texas, held at the venerable Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, adjacent to the Texas State Fair. As per custom, half the stadium is in the burnt orange of the UT Longhorns while the other half is in the red tint of the OU Sooners. A tremendous atmosphere and a meaningful game to both schools. For the record, Oklahoma was the winner. 

What I liked about how the game has been treated is the following—this affair is now called “The Red River Showdown.” It used to be called “The Red River Shootout.” In this climate of assault weapon mass shootings, this is one time, in a conservative, gun-loving area of the country that political correctness prevailed for the right reasons. Anyone who criticizes this move is someone who is vengeful—it is not about tradition, because the contest and the surrounding hoopla is the tradition which endures. 

Rutgers was destroyed by Indiana for the Hoosiers’ Homecoming. There must be a lot of happy alums in Bloomington. The Knights passed for a total of 1 yard in the game. A headline in the Star-Ledger asked if this is the worst Big Ten team ever? Probably. 

I wanted to call the football team hapless. That would be in poor taste—the kids are truly trying but are in way over their heads in Big Ten play. Nonetheless, the definition has applicability: “being caught in the grip of forces we can do little about.”

Meanwhile, the pressure for bringing Greg Schiano back as head man of the Scarlet Knights grows and grows. Columnist Steve Politi has been waging a one man campaign to reunite Schiano and RU. His latest tactic was to interview the 3 members of the New England Patriots who went to RU—the Mc Courty twins and Duane Harmon. All sang the praises of Schiano and thought it would be a no-brainer for their alma mater. 

Sadly, nothing is ever a no-brainer in Piscataway. Temper your enthusiasm, Knights fans. AD Pat Hobbs is secretive right now. We can only assume that he has heard the rumblings for Schiano. This will not play itself out in the immediate future, so hope against hope right now that Hobbs does the right thing and get ready for some pretty ugly losses for the remainder of the season-including to Indiana and Illinois, teams which RU could have beaten a few seasons ago. 

I was invited to the RU Men’s Basketball open house on Saturday morning. It would have been fun to participate, have my picture taken with Geo Baker and his teammates, feel the positive energy going from coach Steve Pikiell. 

Alas, we drove our son to Newark Airport fo his trip to Miami. Then we went to Brooklake Country Club to use the gym alongside CBS Sports basketball analyst Bill Raftery, as he walked on the treadmill. I protested when Bill left and said goodbye to the ladies. He politely said “And gentleman” to me. 

What a nice man. Really. Plus he watches my antics in the gym as a sort of entertainment besides the Sirius XM ’70’s music or ESPN’s College Game Day  on the TV. I feel like an entertainer. Lol

The Jets sent me an email about using the Jets App to order food from our seats in Section 340. Explicit instructions were provided on how to access this new feature which was being offered on a trial basis. Except that what the email described doesn’t appear on my screen when I have signed in to use the app. Why am I not surprised? After all, this is the New York Jets I am talking about. 

The NLCS is about 2 teams no one outside of their limited fan base remotely believed would be playing each other for the right to represent the National League in the World Series. While pitcher extraordinaire Clayton Kershaw once more laid an egg in relief of a gutty performance by Walter Buehler by surrendering 2 homers in 3 pitches to permit the Nationals to tie the Dodgers, the party for Washington started in the 10th inning via a grand slam home run by the talented and oft-traded Howie Kendrick, it paled in comparison to what happened in the other Game 5.

Atlanta was demolished by St. Louis in the top of the first inning when the Cards scored 10 runs. Game, set and match. It left most everyone dumbfounded. Except for Fan X, who reveled in the Dodgers and Braves misfortune. 

Washington has two exceptional starters in Steven Strasburg and Max Scherzer. Both pitched admirably, even if Scherzer had a weak outing in one of the games. There are two other starters on their staff—Patrick Corbin and Anibel Sanchez. Corbin was shelled in one game but came back to pitch very well in Game 5 when the Dodgers tried to inflict the fatal blows to the Nats chances. And Sanchez, a very serviceable major league pitcher, tossed an absolute gem in the opener in St. Louis, taking a no hitter into the 8th inning as Washington drew first blood. 

With Washington’s win Game 2 behind Scherzer’s one hit pitching, the Nationals have Strasburg and Corbin lined up for Games 3 and 4 on regular rest. That might make this NLCS a very short series. 

A footnote is appropriate here. Sanchez and Scherzer have both pitched 1 hitters in the same series—2012 for Detroit. Ah, the Detroit Tigers—losers of 100 games this season, a far cry from a team which boasted Justin Verlander, Scherzer and Sanchez among its pitchers.

Meanwhile, the Yankees took out the Twins in 3 games. They had plenty of rest before Game 1 in Houston. New York added outfielder Aaron Hicks and soon-to-be retired pitcher C.C. Sabathia to the roster, replacing Luke Voit and Tyler Wade. Let’s see if Hicks and Sabathia can show signs of life coming off injury; if not, this could be a fatal gamble by New York. Then again, with all of the injuries suffered during the course of the season, these could be prescient moves. 

Tampa Bay showed grit and determination in taking the exalted Astros to five games. Justin Verlander was bad in Game 4,  but the Astros, behind the two double-digit  strikeout performances by Gerrit Cole and the slugging from the diminutive Jose Altuve, survived to host the Yankees in the ALCS.

Experts predict this series to be one for the ages with the pitching and hitting of these clubs. As soon as I heard that, I now anticipate lifeless, boring games dominated by one or the other team.

Aaron Boone nominated Masahiro Tanaka to pitch Game 1 in Houston, setting him up for Game 5 in New York if necessary. James Paxton and Luis Severino will pitch Games 2 and 3, allowing for them to go again in Games 6 and 7 if necessary. 

A.J. Hinch has countered with Zach Greinke in Game 1, who Tampa Bay beat up. Games 2 and 3 have Verlander and Cole lined up for Houston. 

The Yankees bullpen, used enough against the Twins, is fully rested. New York can choose to go the opener route in Game 4, starting with Chad Green, followed by J.A. Happ and Sabathia, among others. Houston’s bullpen is less rested than the Yankees, but I don’t know if that is so bad for them.

If New York’s offensive firepower is not offset by the Astros pitching, New York will prevail. Should the Yankees pitching later, it is more likely that the Astors will be in the World Series.

At least in Game 1, it was the Yankees offense, behind emerging star Gleyber Torres, and the sharp pitching of Tanaka, shut down the vaunted Astros lineup. Torres had 5 R.B.I., and at age 22, is already etching his name among Yankee legends. 

Greinke did not pitch badly. He made some bad pitches, which the Yankees took advantage of. If the Yankees can get to Verlander and/or Cole, this might be a shorter series than anticipated. But, caution is advised here—it is only 1 game in a best of 7 series against the team which won the most games in the regular season.

A couple of TV moments happened this week. A.J. Pierzynski playfully teased Joe Girardi about where he might be living given the managerial openings he has been linked to. Girardi simply responded that he will continue to live in Florida, where he now resides. 

A field reporter went up to Cole and started to ask Cole a question, and Cole said “Oh, no, not now,” when he anticipated talk about his free agency after the season ends. Instead, the question was focused on Cole having grown up as a die hard Yankees fan and the reporter wanted to know how hard it would be for him to face the team of his youth. Cole answered it like the pro he is—that he would pitch to them like any other team. I wonder if that thought will be in his head at the outset of Game 3? And could Cole become a Yankee next season instead of heading back to his native California? 

One more baseball note. As expected, the Phillies fired manager Gabe Kapler after one season. At least they waited until after Yom Kippur. Does this mean any atoning Kapler must do will have to wait to the next High Holidays?

Daniel Jones has come back to earth after two losses to Minnesota and New England. Of course, he had no Saquan Barkley to assist him, and the offensive line wasn’t very protective. Remember, Giants fans, this team is average at best, and without Barkley, they are not very good at all. 

Sam Darnold will make his way back to the field on Sunday, protected with special padding to insulate his spleen. Anticipate him to be rusty. Will he eventually lead the Jets to that elusive first win—yes. I don’t think that it will be at home this week against Dallas or next Monday night when the Patriots come to Met Life Stadium. Just don’t let something bad happen to him—he is likable and is very important to the team’s development. 

What a terrible sight in Pittsburgh last week. QB Mason Rudolph, subbing for the injured Ben Roethlisberger, was knocked coldly a vicious hit from Baltimore Ravens DB Earl Thomas. The hit was so egregious that Thomas was fined $21,000. Analysts agreed that it did not warrant Thomas being tossed from the game—but I disagree. If the QB is cold cocked by a hit, it should be an automatic ejection with a one game suspension.

What was bad enough was exacerbated by the fact that they had to cut away the face mask to aid Rudolph. Then the cart to transport injured players from the field had stalled. Terrible. What if this had emergent consequences? There must always be a back up for these situations. I hope the Steelers were substantially fined for this unacceptable situation.

The NFL returns overseas for another game, this time showcasing two emerging team. The Buccaneers faces Carolina with a 9:30 EDT starting time. It could be a good game which nobody watches. 

NBC has a stinker for its Sunday night contest. Pittsburgh travels to California to meet the Chargers. Yawn. Just as well—the Yankees and Astros play Game 2 and the last episode of Ballers airs at 10:30.

There are no Centennial Conference results to provide. It was a bye week.

The NESCAC featured wins by all of the haves—Middlebury, Williams, Amherst, Wesleyan. Middlebury had to sweat out a 1 point win at home against lowly Colby.

Georgia fans were shocked when South Carolina outlasted the Bulldogs in 2 OT in Athens on Saturday. This put a dent in Georgia’s hopes to play in the SEC Championship and then the BCS Championships. They are far from elimination, because if the Bulldogs take care of business the remainder of the way, which would include toppling SEC East opponents Florida and somebody defeats Missouri, then they are the winners of the SEC East and get to play the winner of the SEC West—which looks like Alabama, LSU or possibly Auburn.

Clemson rolled this week at home. Ohio State handled Michigan State at home. Notre Dame defeated USC. The BCS people will have their hands full down the stretch with so many permutations and combinations. 

In the Big Ten, besides Ohio State, Minnesota is undefeated along with Wisconsin and Penn State. Ohio State plays both Wisconsin and Penn State in the upcoming weeks as well as meets arch rival Michigan in the season ending game. Minnesota has to play Penn State, Iowa and Wisconsin. You get the picture here—either someone will emerge unscathed or the big boys will knock each other off. Fun times in the conference outside of Piscataway.

In Ivy League action—Dartmouth exploded to rout Yale. Princeton, Dartmouth and Harvard are the unbeaten thus far. It is early in the Ivy League campaign. I hope Princeton goes undefeated—they, along with Rutgers are the true celebrants of 150 years of college football. And there isn’t much to celebrate up Routes 1 & 18. 

Bucknell beat Colgate on Saturday.  What has happened to the Red Raiders, usually the class team in the Patriot League? Could Lafayette even beat them?

Unsung Temple downed #23 Memphis. Go Owls!  Tulane kept on rolling, downing UConn. (A UConn-RU game would be a resounding matchup) However, the Green Wave has Memphis. Temple and SMU ahead of them.

Two winter sports notes. The Devils have not won a game this season. Are they that weak? Plus why did Steph Curry go for 40 points versus Minnesota in an exhibition game? To acquaint himself with the new arena? Curry could hit for 40 in any gym or arena he’s never been to.

With all the sports which has been on TV this week, I have managed to miss a good chunk of it. Between breaking the fast, family dinner, a showing of When Harry Met Sally, Bill Maher, reading Michelle Obama’s book and a party Saturday night in Bayside (do I EVER hate the Cross Bronx Expressway!!), I have busy enough to only catch bits and pieces of the LCS series or some college games. 

Which is why, when I met a woman this week who was a former attorney who now is a psychotherapist for lawyers (she is probably kept very busy), I thought that maybe there is a psychotherapist for sports bloggers. Nah. That is too much of a niche anyway. 

Of Course It is Hockey Season

Yes, it is October. Finally. Baseball has begun its march to the World Series with the first two rounds of the playoffs. The regular season drama that was anticipated was over before we hit last Sunday.  In Wild Card action, Washington defeated the Brewers on some 8th inning heroics and a fatal outfield miscue. Tampa Bay took apart Oakland. 

Thus the Divisional Series were set: Atlanta and St. Louis and Washington and the Dodgers in the NL; Minnesota and the Yankees and the Rays and Houston. The best of 5 series demands good pitching and timely hitting. The teams which are involved have those qualities, plus in the case of the Twins and Yankees, record-setting home runs, appropriate for the season of the long ball.  

The Yankees have steam-rolled the Twins through 2 games. Yet the Twins scored a run in the ninth inning of Game 2, and shut the Bombers down after the 7 run outburst in the third inning. This, along with the energy of Target Field might awaken the Twins. Can the recent performance of Luis Severino persist and end the Twins season and continue their post-season losing skid to an amazing 16 games?

Houston has done what was expected with aces Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole—shut down Tampa Bay. With Zack Greinke up next in the rotation for the Astros, it could easily be sayonara for the Rays at the Trop on Monday. 

The NL series are 1-1 affairs as they head to D.C. and St. Louis. Washington has gone all out to address its bullpen talent shortage by employing starters Steven Strasberg and Max Scherzer for critical late game stops on their throw days. This kind of activity could be too much for their aces—either now versus the Dodgers or, should the Nats make it to the next round. St. Louis stole Game 1 from the Braves. They are very capable of winning two more, whether it be at home or in a Game 5 back in Georgia. 

By next weekend, we will have our survivors, the teams who will play for the right to participate in the World Series. It will seem like wall-to-wall baseball coverage, a lot like the carpet I am analogizing. This emotional roller coaster will be fun for some, excruciating for others. Such is the nature of playoff baseball.

With the end of the season, another ritual occurs. The firing of managers, coaches and sometimes even general managers. So far, Joe Maddon is gone from Chicago; Brad Ausmus is out in Anaheim; Mickey Callaway is no longer the Mets manger. Add in Andy Green, fired from San Diego and the retirements of Bruce Bochy and Ned Yost, there will be a bevy of speculation as to who ends up where, with Maddon and Joe Girardi leading the list of potential candidates. And this is just now, as there are other managers who remain on the hot seat, in tenuous position for returning to their teams for next season.

Pro football enters the fifth week of its season. On Thursday night, the Los Angeles Rams kicker couldn’t convert a 44 yard field goal in the waning seconds, losing to Seattle in Seattle. The Seahawks have this ridiculous statistic: they are 18-2 at home in prime time.    

BTW—Russell Wilson, the guy married to Chiara and the QB who famously threw an interception at the goal line to gift a Super Bowl to New England, has thrown 12 TD passes without an interception this year. There is somebody living a charmed life, deservedly so. 

The talking heads at Pardon The Interruption believe that there will be a good number of teams in the NFC who will have 4 losses. 12-4. That’s pretty darn good. The names included the Packers, Bears, Eagles, Cowboys, Rams, 49’ers, Seahawks and Eagles. That would be 8 of the 16 NFC teams at 12-4. Not happening. Besides, did they purposely exclude the Bucs, who stomped on the Rams last Sunday? Are they not ready to give Daniel Jones much credit with his 2-0 start, one of which was a come-from-behind victory in Tampa? 

Does this mean that there are going to be some really bad teams like the Redskins? The Jay Gruden watch has begun in earnest after he threw a not-yet-ready Dwayne Haskins into the game versus the Giants which was disastrous, and now he went with his third QB, Colt Mc Coy. I do not particularly like the Redskins owner, Daniel Snyder. He knows very little about football and his hires have been atrocious. Expect him to impetuously fire Gruden this week if another big loss happens. 

PTI really didn’t discuss the AFC. What I can say is this—it looks like the Chiefs and Patriots are headed for another showdown. Tom Brady looked a bit older in the win over Buffalo and he was highly critical about his play. Let’s see if age isn’t creeping upon on him or the Bills game was just a hiccup.

The Jets were likely to lose to the Eagles in Philadelphia. They made the right call on something that was critical. Sam Darnold may have some more strength and stamina, but his spleen can hardly be ready for the rigors of an NFL game. The league may mess up medial decisions at times, but this was an easy call, even if the Jets made it a little suspenseful. 

Ditto the Giants showing the agility of Saquan Barkley during drills this week during practice. He had a high ankle sprain. This is only 2 weeks of recovery. Let him sit and rest. That is prudent. If Jones has ignited the team, a fresh Barkley will be an added spark for the club for the remainder of the season. 

Rutgers did the right thing—they finally fired Chris Ash. His coaching and recruiting was abominable. AD Pat Hobbs, the former Seton Hall Law Dean, was left with no choice. The season was in tatters. 

Now Nunzio Campanile, the former head coach at Bergen Catholic, a national prep power, has become the interim head coach. He went with his own former BC QB, which only led to a 48-7 trouncing by Maryland at home. Artur Sitkowski, the highly-touted local kid who came to RU to turn around the misery, requested not to play so that he can redshirt this year. Whether he or other players do the same and look to the transfer protocol remains to be seen. 

What this means is that the heat is on Hobbs to make the right choice to resurrect RU football. Greg Schiano is the name mentioned the most—but does he want to return to a chaotic situation and does he really have the magic he showed us before? Schiano never was a great game day coach, but, if surrounded by the right staff, he can make a difference and he knows how to recruit New Jersey and Florida, among other places.

Which is why Hobbs has to get somebody who can recruit and keep the better football players from attending schools out of state. Win the recruiting battles and the improvement will be incremental. He HAS to get this right. 

Notwithstanding the lack of a full slice of Big Ten money, Rutgers can be relevant in the conference if a good coach can recruit successfully. Right now, RU fans would take a 6-6 record and 3 conference wins. That would be a great opening statement that RU is on the way back. Remember—RU won the first collegiate game in 1869. How fitting could it be if RU, a program with history, creates a whole new history in the second century of the sport? 

I saw an article listing the top 25 collegiate stadiums in the country. After reading the article, I found it to be bogus. The number 1 place go see a college game on this list is the Rose Bowl, where UCLA does not always sell out. A great bowl venue on New Year’s Day, but not the top place in my mind. The schools that followed were: 2) Ohio State; 3) Washington; 4) LSU; 5) Clemson; 6) Michigan; 7) Notre Dame; 8) Virginia Tech; 9) Oregon; and 10) Penn State. 

Virginia Tech and Washington?? Really?? BYU at 18 and Yale at 19 ahead of Georgia at 20?? Alabama before Georgia? No mention of “The Swamp” at Florida, and actually ranking Florida State instead? North Dakota State? Minnesota and no mention of Iowa, with the wave towards the children in the nearby hospital? Texas A&M and not Texas? Oklahoma State and not Oklahoma, where the “Sooner Schooner” runs wild? Nothing about Arkansas? I can go on and on. I will leave to to my loyal readers to decide who deserves to be on the Top 25 list of college football venues. 

I share these tidbits on the college games played this weekend. Florida proved to be the better team at home against Auburn. If I were Alabama, I would expect a real tussle when they play their arch rivals at the end of the season. Holy Cross and Lehigh won their Patriot League openers. Princeton and Yale at 3-0 are the pacesetters in the Ivy League.

In D III action, #7 Muhlenberg came to Lancaster and demolished F&M 49-6. Amherst lost a 2 OT thriller at home versus Middlebury, who remains undefeated. As an avid NESCAC watcher would have opined, Williams could run the table, which would include downing Wesleyan and Amherst in the season’s final two tilts, thereby winning the league title—if Wesleyan, the other unbeaten squad thus far, takes down Middlebury. Except that Wesleyan, at 4-0, is pretty good, too, and has its own designs on the crown.

All of this is nice. Winter sports are starting up. The NBA is in the exhibition season—TNT actually televised the Lakers helping the Warriors open the new Chase Center in San Francisco. LA, behind the duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, were too much for Golden State. Remember this—it was only an exhibition. Steph Curry, who hit for 18 points, would play more for the Warriors if this game counted. It was nice to see Klay Thompson revving up the crowd from a suite high above the floor. 

What I do like about the NBA exhibition season are the names of some of the opponents. Besides Maccabi Haifa, and the Shanghai Sharks, there are the Adelaide 36’ers, Franca Franca, New Zealand Breakers, Buenas Aires San Lorenzo and the Guangzhou Long-Lions. 

If the NBA gets the Washington Generals, the patsies for the Harlem Globetrotters, to play an NBA team, I’m all in. The best scenario would be if the Generals met the Washington Wizards for the bragging rights to DC. I’m not betting on the Wizards to win…lol

However, of course it is hockey season right now. The opening week of the National Hockey League season has happened. It is still hard to fathom that the defending NHL champs are the St. Louis Blues, who were defeated at home on opening night by Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, who are 2-0-1 to open the season.

I love seeing the Canadiens and Maple Leafs play—they used to be blood enemies. In the old days, it was rare to see them meet on a weekend, as the other four of the Original Six would rotate in and and out of Montreal and Toronto on Saturday nights—or Hockey Night in Canada on the CBC. For the record, the Canadiens defeated the Leafs in Toronto in a shoot out this past Saturday night. 

How are the locals doing? The revamped Rangers are 2-0, showing some signs of improvement. New Jersey is 0-1-1, losing at home to Winnipeg in OT then being stung by Buffalo by the tune of 7-2. The Islanders are 0-1 thus far. 

Like I have done with baseball and football, I am going to provide the list of the three best players per franchise. There are some which I don’t agree upon, which I will explain. When I don’t list the first names of some players, it is obvious to even casual sports fans who they are.

NYR: Leetch/Bathgate/Messier; Henrik Lundquist and Mike Richter are next up.

NJD: Brodeur/Stevens/Niedermayer followed by Elias and Daneyko

NYI:  Bossy/Potvin/Trottier the next 3 are Billy Smith, Pat La Fontaine and Clark Gillies

PHI:  Parent/Clarke/Lindros 

WAS: Ovechkin/Niklas Backstrom/Braden Holtby

PIT:   Lemieux/Crosby/Jagr

CBJ: Nash/Sergi Bobrovsky/Artemi Panarin

FL:    Bure/Luongo/Aleksander Barkov, Jr Jaramir Jagr is fourth here

TB:    Nikita Kucherov/ Vincent LeCavalier/Martin St. Louis Steven Stamkos will may eventually be #1, as he is #4 now

CAR: Justin Williams/Rod Brind’Amour/Sebastian Aho

MON: M Richard/LaFleur/Beliveau Next two are Patrick Roy and Larry Robinson

TOR:  Sundin/Gilmour/D Sutter Frank Mahavolich was #11!!

AZ:     Shane Doan/Oliver Ekman-Larsson/Keith Tkachuk

VAN: Daniel Sundin/Mats Sundin/Pavel Bure

EDM: Gretzky/Messier/Connor Mc David 4-5-6: Kurri/Coffey/Fuhr

WIN:  Teemu Selanne/Dale Hawerchuk/Bobby Hull Hull is from the WHA to NHL time

COL: Roy/Sakic/Peter Forsberg

MIN:  Marian Gaborik/Zack Parise/Ryan Suter

NSH: Pekka Rinne/Shea Weber/Flip Forsberg Even I don’t know Forsberg 

DET: Howe/Yzerman/Niklas Lindstrom

BUF: Hasek/Perreault/La Fontaine

CHI: Bobby Hull/Patrick Kane/Jonathan Toews Stan Mikita is #6?

DAL: Modano/Belfour/Jere Lehtinen Brett Hull is #7

SJ:   Thornton/Pavelski/Marleu

ANA: Teemu Selanne/Kariya/Niedermayer

LAK: Gretzky/Robitaille/Anze Kopitar Drew Doughty is #4 and Marcel Dionne is at #5

STL: Brett Hull/Al MacInnis/Bernie Federko

BOS: Orr/Borque/Bergeron Esposito, Neely, Bucyk, Chara come next in order

OTT:  Daniel Alfredsson/Eric Karlson/Jason Spezza

CGY: Jarome Igilna/Theo Fleury/Al MacInnis

VGK: Marc-Andre Fleury for fun. The franchise is too new to rank players

There are certain names you expect to see multiple times—Wayne Gretzky, Jaromir Jagr, Mark Messier, Scott Niedermayer. A surprise is Teemu Selanne as #1 in Anaheim and Winnipeg, until you realize how good he was and the dearth of talent in Winnipeg over the years. Al MacInnis, the defenseman with the wicked slap shot, is #2 In St. Louis and #3 in Calgary. I might have an issue of listing Bernie Parent over Bobby Clarke in Philadelphia. And no matter how well he plays, Sidney Crosby will never overtake Mario Lemieux in the minds and hearts of Pittsburgh fans. Five goalies lead their teams—Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy, Dominik Hasek, Pekka Rinne and Bernie Parent. Showing the international influence in the NHL, the top performer on 10 franchises is not a North American native. A whole lot of current stars are among those enumerated. 

Don’t worry. I plan on listing the NBA top player per franchise in a couple of weeks. A can’t miss blog. Until then, there is a ton of baseball and football to keep me—and you—occupied.