Early 2020 Musings

David Stern’s death hit me quite hard. I did not know the man, nor was I ever in the same place at the same time with him, unless he was at the Garden or Brendan Byrne Arena and I was not aware of his presence. 

To me, David Stern personified what a leader of a world-wide business should be. He also showed me what a commissioner of a sport must be. Smart, courageous, able to think globally as well as locally, Stern had an uncanny ability to see the future and bring his extraordinary plans to fruition. 

More than that, he was well-educated, having graduated Rutgers and then Columbia Law. Stern found his way to pro basketball by mere happenstance, as the prestigious New York City law firm he was a part of did legal work for the the NBA and Stern was the point man. His charm and intellect won over the owners, who made him the Commissioner. Which was a move that resuscitated and then allowed for the tremendous growth of the league domestically and internationally,

The latter was largely the result of his great idea to form the Dream Team for the 1992 Olympics. This opened up international markets and resulted in top stars from other countries coming to the U.S. to play against the best players in the world.

While he did work for the owners and endured labor strife among the players, he managed somehow to get the league righted and prosperous even when there was tumult. Stern’s acumen and insight, along with an ability to see the grander picture were the unique qualities which made him so great. 

All of this was borne from a 10 year old who, when he lived in Manhattan before the family moved to New Jersey, walked to the Garden to see his beloved Knicks play. Those Knicks, led by Carl Braun and Richie Guerin, were his idols. Which is why, in his actions as Commissioner, he never forgot that he was a fan of pro basketball.

Most leaders of leagues are hired guns for the owners. Roger Goodell is certainly one. He has never cared much for the players and the fans. Pete Rozelle was more the epitome of a visionary leader for the NFL. I liked the lawyerly guidance of Paul Tagliabue much more. 

Bud Selig meant well. Yes, he was a fan. He was also an owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, his primary interest. His business sense came from the car leasing business he owned. A fan of minor league baseball in Milwaukee, he was a significant shareholder for the Braves when they migrated from Boston. When the Braves left, he worked assiduously to bring baseball back to Wisconsin, which culminated in the Seattle Pilots relocating and Selling becoming the face of the franchise. 

I like Selig’s successor, Rob Manfred, largely because he has a seemingly better personality and intellect than his predecessor. Manfred is a Cornell grad with a degree in Industrial and Labor Relations, and a J.D. from Harvard.

Gary Bettman, the NHL Commissioner, called David Stern his long-time friend and mentor. Two lawyers, Bettman worked under Stern in the NBA offices before ascending to the top position in North American hockey. A Queens native, Bettman graduated from Cornell where he studied Industrial and Labor Relations like Manfred and achieved his law degree at NYU. Bettman was at the same law firm as Stern, then joined the NBA in 1981, ultimately becoming the league’s General Counsel and Vice President. His greatest achievement was engineering an agreement of the soft cap system for team salaries, which persists to this day. Bettman has had it much rougher in the NHL, dealing with labor strife and expansion issues. Still, he has managed to remain Commissioner—the prior leaders wore the President title—since 1993.

The current NBA Commissioner is Adam Silver, another attorney with impeccable credentials from the New York metropolitan area—Rye, New York—and mentored by David Stern. The genial leader was first the head of NBA Entertainment then General Counsel and ultimately Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Commissioner for the NBA. He attended the top schools—Duke as an undergraduate and The University of Chicago School of Law. Silver, like Stern and Bettman, worked in big law before entering sports administration. His path was a bit different, as he worked in politics prior to law school, and then was a law clerk in the Southern District of New York after Chicago.

Like Stern, Bettman and Silver are Jewish and liberal in their views. I am not sure about Manfred’s politics; he hails from Rome, New York and is Catholic. I am, however, certain about his grasp of what the job entails. 

So you can see that I am partial to lawyers as the heads of the major sports leagues. Goodell possesses a degree in economics from Washington & Jefferson College and, despite his exposure to lawyers in labor negotiations, I believe that his lack of a legal education is pitfall.

Which brings me back to David Stern. The man is an icon as far as the NBA is concerned. As much as the NFL searches for a global identity, it is an American sport not so widespread around the globe. MLB, NHL and NBA players are far more recognizable internationally by the nature of the sports being played in multiple countries. 

Baseball has Asian and Latin American roots which are deep. The NHL is well-known in Russia, the Scandinavian countries, many European nations and originated largely in Canada.

The NBA under David Stern and now his protege Adam Silver, has become the standard bearer for the second most-played sport in the world after soccer. Muhammad Ali was perhaps the most well-known athlete in the world. I am willing to wager that Michael Jordan and now Lebron James and Steph Curry are nearly as recognizable as Christian Rinaldo and Lionel Messi. The aforementioned Dream Team was every bit international as it was national. 

All of this was enabled by a true visionary and fan of the game he loved. When Stern was felled during lunch at a New York eatery, I thought this might lead to his demise. I hated that I was correct in my intuition.

David Stern’s death at age 77, only 8 years older than me, brought the reality that death is always certain, even for a revered figure such as he was. I felt an identity with him even though we came from largely different worlds and his intellectualism and education far exceeded mine. I could appreciate his thoughts and insight from a legal standard and also from a fan’s vantage. 

I felt that another piece of my world was taken from me with his untimely death. I have mourned Mickey Mantle, Mel Allen, the voice of the Yankees and Bobby Murcer, another Yankees great on the field and in the TV booth.  I was sad about Yogi Berra’s death, just like that of Mel Stottlemyer, who was always a favorite Yankee pitcher. These were athletes.

David Stern was different. He was unique. While making money and expanding the NBA empire, he cared about his players and owners the way an attorney cared for his client. His integrity was unmatched. I saw that, and I marveled how he navigated seamlessly between sides that had much in common but at times little empathy for each other. And like me, his love of the Knicks was pure and unabated. 

David Stern had a great sense of the moment. He would needle reporters and he would use self-deprecating humor to navigate through the boos of another NBA Draft. 

Two Jewish kids from New Jersey. Two lawyers in vastly different fields. He would have understood the necessity of my job in defending the downtrodden youth who felt they had no promise. 

David Stern had my admiration and gratitude for what he did to make the world a better place by marketing basketball in a way that kids who might had no future could avoid idolize and emulate NBA stars, and avoid the fate that my juvenile clients faced Such a talent was so rare. Such appreciation of his fellow man was beyond reproach.

I will miss you, David Stern. Your legacy will live on in the NBA and in other sports. I hope that you are properly honored for all that you have done.

The NFL Playoffs began this weekend with the Wild Card rounds. In the AFC, Buffalo is at Houston and upstart Tennessee is at New England. The Bills are missing some key DB’s for this game. Houston finally has J.J. Watt back to bolster the defensive line. Many believe that Tom Brady is showing his age and the Patriots rely on gadget plays to win. Could this be the last home game EVER for Tom Brady? Ryan Tannehill has become a major efficient passer and the league’s leading rusher, Derrick Henry, is a Titan. Tennessee has a very potent offense and I wonder how strong the vaunted New England defense really is. Besides, I like Mike Vrabel and I would find it sweet if a star former player eliminated his old team and coach.

The NFC teams vying this weekend are Seattle at Philadelphia and Minnesota at New Orleans. Seattle is looking for redemption after unbelievably blowing a possible win against San Francisco to secure home field with the NFC West crown. Philadelphia managed to win out in the weak, weak NFC East and, as a division champ, gets to host a game even with a very average record. By the way, Seattle plays better on the road, which this season included a win in Philly. Minnesota is missing key players and New Orleans is an offensive powerhouse. The reward for the winner of that game is a trip to frigid Green Bay next weekend.

One more thing about aging QB’s. I’ve said it before—they find it so difficult to let go and they think that they can resurrect the glory days when it is virtually impossible. Eli Manning turned 39 this week. Let it go, Eli. You have had a marvelous career. Brady is 42. Unless he proves most everyone wrong and takes the Patriots to the Super Bowl, he should give tremendous thought to calling it a career, too. The older they get, the harder it is to stomach the pounding and ineptitude they show. They are playing when they shouldn’t be.

College football has nearly completed it almost interminable bowl season. The National Championship game is January 13, when the Tigers play—defending champ Clemson and top seed LSU, whose campus is a mere hour away from New Orleans. Rooting for LSU is a religion and believe me, as nutty as the Saints fans will be in the Vikings game, that will pale in comparison to the defining noise in the Superdome a week from Monday.

A lot has been said about the officiating in the Ohio State-Clemson game taking away any hopes the Buckeyes had. I disagree—I think the call to eject the player for targeting the Clemson QB was correct. Besides, I always believed that Ohio State was overrated and Clemson devalued. 

LSU overwhelmed Oklahoma. For my money, I thought Georgia and Alabama were more worthy of the final spot in the semi-finals. Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow continued his awesome season with 7 TD throws. However, the LSU defense was not so good against the pass, which I think Clemson will exploit. It ought to be fun.

College basketball conference play has begun in earnest. The sorting out of the solid NCAA teams from the pretenders with gaudy non-conference marks against lesser teams will occur.

Rutgers lost top guard Geo Baker to a left thumb injury which will sideline him indefinitely. RU played unaffected on the road, handling Nebraska. Next on tap is #21 Penn State at the RAC, where the Scarlet Knights appear to be very tough. I don’t see them in person until February when Northwestern and Illinois visit. My final game is highly-regarded Maryland. I picked the game because I felt it would be important to RU’s post-season hopes. We will know if I am right and how the Baker injury affected the team.

Seton Hall is back on track with the return of All-American Myles Powell. The guard suffered a concussion against Rutgers. Without him, the Pirates knocked off Maryland at the Prudential Center. In Big East action, the Hall has bested De Paul on the road and Georgetown at home, living up to their pre-season billing as one of the top tier squads in the conference. 

F&M continues to struggle in its first season without legendary coach Glenn Robinson at the helm. In their home tournament before the New Year, they went 1-1, with a loss to Susquehanna. It is hard for me to see F&M not dominant in the Centennial Conference.

The Devils are starting to string together more wins than losses. The team beat the Islanders on the road on Thursday in a promising start for 2020. I anticipate more improvement during the season, but not nearly enough to contend for a playoff spot. Perhaps another trade and a couple of good draft choices will set the team in the right direction. What they need, however, is a great goalie, and goaltenders like Martin Brodeur are exceptionally hard to find. 

In the NBA, the Knicks are playing much better ball under interim coach Mike Miller. Will they make a playoff run? Don’t be silly. It is just nice to see the New York Knicks win a couple of games. That’s how I look at the Warriors, who were brought back to reality by a huge loss to Dallas.

If still alive, David Stern would be proud that the league is doing well. He would be ecstatic about the LA market being home to two of the best teams. Big ratings and fan following there. So, too, would he be happy about the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat doing so well in the East. While he would also be glad that the 76’ers are in the hunt, he would not be so pleased with Joel Embiid sniping at Ben Simmons, bemoaning the big Aussie guard’s unwillingness to shoot from the outside. Stern would also be encouraged about the young starts like Devin Booker in Phoenix and Trae Young in Atlanta, as well as the surprisingly good return of Carmelo Anthony.

When I watch the NBA for the remainder of the season, I will see the arm bands and initials on the uniforms, remembering their fallen former leader. It is the level of play, the array of stars from the collegiate and international ranks which will be his lasting imprint upon the sport he loved so very much.

These are my early 2020 musings.