This was going to be a simple chronology of my week in sports. Until an unthinkable event happened last Sunday in Calabasas, California. Which set off shockwaves throughout the entire sports world and beyond.
Last weekend was the annual father-son trip to see the New Jersey Devils play a team from Canada. This year’s destination was Ottawa, the capital of the great country to our north.
Since it was a destination unlike any other in Canada, a bucket list city for me because of its importance as the epicenter of Canadian law and politics, my wife was invited to join us. And she had a blast taking her “Travels with Toby” Facebook status north of the border.
We arrived at Newark International Airport with some wind and rain. Naturally, there was a delay in the arrival of the turnaround Air Canada flight from Ottawa. Still, we managed to get out of the gate nearly on time, only to sit on the tarmac near the runway.
Sit we did. For at least 20 minutes. Finally, we made the turn to the runway. The small plane accelerated…slowly and then turned off to the right and circled back to the runway. I hadn’t had that happen in my years of travel.
Except, as we faced the runway for the second time, the same thing happened. Then, unexpectedly, we went onto a side roadway and barreled away from the original spot, went to the end of the airport where the side runway is, turned completely around, and took off on the aborted runway, facing to the south.
The pilot, part of a split crew from Montreal and Calgary, informed us over the intercom that the flight time was 55 minutes. They must tell time differently in Canada, because it took almost 75 minutes from the time we took off to the time we landed in snowy Ottawa.
We made it through Canadian Customs without a hitch, although our son went through twice, as he likes to have his passport stamped. There was a prolonged wait for a Lyft, and we made it to the Westin in downtown Ottawa 5 hours after we left our home in Springfield.
A friend of our son’s from Emory University, now teaching at the lonely outpost of St. Lawrence University, met us in the lobby as we arrived. Dinner was simply finding a place that was not too crowded on a Saturday night, as calls for late reservations was futile. My wife and I mushed through the snow back to the hotel as the two Emory grads hit the town for a drink (or two).
Sunday morning we traveled to Rideau Hall, en route passing the white, fortified U.S. Embassy complex. Rideau Hall is a treasure. It is the Queen’s home in Canada, otherwise occupied by the Governor General, a focal person in the Canadian governance system. The current occupant, Julie Payette, a former astronaut, was away in Poland when we toured the magnificent 22 room “cottage.” The place defies description as to its beauty, even if one of the main rooms was under construction. It had a regal elegance to it, which would be expected.
The estate looked so beautiful in the continuing snowfall. We did take a small excursion off the grounds to see the Prime Minister’s home, the French and South African Embassies and a host of beautiful homes in the area.
Our lunch back in central Ottawa was at a place called Nando’s. This is a fixture on the father-son trips, as our son fell in love with this South African favourite while a student at the University of Cape Town.
We then hiked to Parliament Hill. We entered the underground entrance to the House of Commons, the lower house of the Canadian Parliament, for a tour. It did not disappoint. The setting is extraordinary, as the chamber was placed in a courtyard of the original structure, then enclosed to protect it from the elements. The House was as beautiful as any legislature we have seen, and we were explained the ins and out of the Canadian Parliamentary system, which I will not bore you with. It was, like Rideau Hall well worth the price of admission (free).
As I sat in the waiting area while my wife and son explored the gift shop, my Apple Watch lit up with breaking news. Sad, shocking and tragic news. Kobe Bryant had died in a morning helicopter crash in Calabasas. I texted our daughter back in Pittsburgh who was seeing Cirque de Soleil, and I informed my wife and son, who were in stunned disbelief.
We trudged through the unceasing snow back to the hotel and watched the reports flow in. It was horrific. There had been fog. The LA County Sheriff had grounded their helicopter fleet. But this was Kobe Bryant’s chosen method of travel for years, a perk of his wealth, which allowed him to avoid the inevitable tie-ups on the roads in and around Los Angeles, while giving him a singular focus to his craft.
The more the coverage, the grimmer the picture. Besides the smoldering ruins of the copter on the hillside, we learned that his daughter, Gianna had been with him, as they traveled to a basketball tournament she was to participate in. In total, 9 people perished on that fateful flight.
What began as tragic news turned into a love fest within the unprecedented grief. Kobe Bryant was an icon in the basketball world and beyond. While NBA players and coaches struggled with the news, the games went on. Spontaneously, Toronto and San Antonio held the ball for 24 seconds, a tribute to one of the numbers he wore during his prolific career. The same thing happened in Denver. At the Pro Bow in Florida, players honored “The Mamba.” When the Lakers arrived in LA from their loss in Philadelphia on Saturday night, tears were abundant, starting with superstar LeBron James. It was indeed a stunning event and topped the news of the day, taking impeachment out of the limelight.
We still had to eat. Our son through his contacts had found a charming bistro not too far from the hotel. Mostly populated by a younger crowd more our son’s age, we continued to discuss the days travels, and, of course, Kobe Bryant. The food was excellent, but our mood was a bit subdued. Turning the TV on when we came back to the room, the coverage of Kobe’s death was ongoing.
Which dominated the early news on Monday. We left the hotel, went past the Parliament (the Senate had relocated to a former train station closer to our hotel as their chambers was under construction) and entered the Supreme Court of Canada building. Although English tours were not until 1:00, we had a reservation for 11:00 and, after a small bit of scurrying by the security guards, we had a private tour of the Federal Appeals Court on the first floor and the Supreme Court. For legal junkies like our son and me, as well as for my wife, this was a great tour, one where we could ask anything and our guide gave us informative answers.
I have to say that I watched the weather reports in Ottawa and went to the Weather Channel app on my I phone. Each expressed 0% chance of snow on Monday and Tuesday. Yet it snowed…and snowed..and snowed.
The only time the snow stopped was when we traveled out of Ottawa for the hockey game at the Canadian Tire Centre in suburban Kanata. Ditto for the return trip home.
The Canadian Tire Centre is shaped like… a tire. It is fairly modern, even if it was opened in 1996. We had good seats, along the goal line, facing towards the team benches.
Both the New Jersey Devils and the Ottawa Senators have poor records this season. Both teams are rebuilding, but the Devils have more older players than the Senators. This did not stop the teams from playing a good, hard hockey game. The crowd size was said to be just over 9,500 in an arena which holds over 18,000—I think that head count was generous.
Before the game, the Senators honored Kobe Bryant and the other 8 individuals who were killed with a moment of silence. A girl then did a stirring rendition of each National Anthem—the first time I saw a standing ovation for the Star-Spangled Banner in Canada.
The game was more a contest between the goalies than anything else. New Jersey led for much of the second and third period, only to squander the lead when Ottawa scored two short-handed goals within :35. Kyle Palmieri of New Jersey scored the game-tying goal with just under four minutes left in regulation time.
New Jersey won the shootout 2-0, with overall number 1 draft pick Jack Hughes scoring the game-winner on a nifty move. I watched Hughes, who had 8 shots on goal, not counting his shootout goals. He is designed to be offensive, has bursts of speed, is a little weak along the boards and he can create scoring chances. I think he will be fine, once the Devils give him some real offensive support.
` We left Ottawa after the morning snow had placed a coating on the streets. We never saw the sun during the entire trip, and the meteorologists said there would be 0% chance of snow on Monday or Tuesday. Wrong guess on their part.
Back in Springfield on Tuesday night, I learned that the Clippers-Lakers game schedule for that night had been postponed. A wise move with the overflowing emotion in Southern California. Many teams offered tributes to the Bryants and the others on the copter. On Monday night, before his team played the U.S. National Team, UConn Coach Geno Auriemma left a chair empty, had roses placed there and retired jersey number 2 for Gianna, who had said she would have loved to attend the school and play for Auriemma.
Rutgers played Purdue at the RAC on Tuesday night, securing their first conference win versus the Boilermakers. It was RU’s second win against Purdue, the other in 1975. RU also won on Saturday at home against Nebraska. The team remained win the Top 25 at #25, and they had the best home record in the country at 16-0.
We watched Stephen Colbert’s tribute to those who died in the crash. He shared something personal and deep—his father and 2 brothers had died many years before when an Eastern Airlines plane they were on went down, killing everyone. He used this link with the Bryant family to call for mandatory black boxes on all helicopters, so that tragedies like this one can be avoided in the future, the same way his father and brothers deaths led to more safety improvements.
The Devils hosted Nashville on Thursday night. While the offense was once more there, the Devils had a tough shootout. This, I think, will be the team’s season. Win some, lose some more.
On Thursday, someone asked me what I thought about Kobe Bryant’s death. I said that it hadn’t affected me as deeply as it had so many others, like my cousins who reside in LA and are huge Lakers fans.
Kobe was a great scorer. He was dedicated to basketball, and he had a native intelligence which allowed him to be fluent in Italian and play the piano among other feats. I had nothing against the man- but I thought that Michael Jordan was a better player and more iconic. I also said that if Derek Jeter were to die tragically like Bryant, I would have been more affected, as he was my favorite player. It’s not that I don’t sympathize with the fans who mourn his death— I do. He just wasn’t my hero.
On Friday night, the Lakers played their first home game since Bryant died. It was an emotional night, with tears aplenty inside the Staples Center and many fans writing tributes on the makeshift memorial that grows exponentially on a daily basis. LeBron James spoke for the team and organization in an emotional and caring way. It was James who passed Bryant for third place scoring all-time Saturday night in a loss in Philadelphia. Their connection was enormous. Portland won the game behind 48 points from Damion Lillard; the fact that LA made a game out of it was courageous.
Kyrie Irving, who, overwrought with emotion, could not play against the Knicks last Sunday night, overwrought with emotion, scored 54 points on Friday night, and dedicated his performance to his idol and mentor. Carmelo Anthony did not travel with the Trail Blazers to Los Angeles, knowing he couldn’t be in the arena that his close friend Kobe Bryant had made his home.
And let’s talk a moment about the Orange County junior college baseball coach John Altobelli, who along with his daughter, was on the helicopter on Sunday. His team opened its season on Tuesday, with all the alumni coming together for this marvelous man. Aaron Judge knew him from summer baseball and was heartbroken. As were so many others who were friends of those on the helicopter. Therein lies the other part of this tragedy.
Saturday, RU took the trip to the Garden to face Michigan. It was part of a wrestling/basketball doubleheader which nearly filled MSG with RU and Big Blue fans. The wrestling team lost another close match. The basketball team did the same.
Don’t be fooled by the 16-6 record of Rutgers. They play hard and tough defenses in stretches. Their poor shooting and free throw misses continually plague the Scarlet Knights. Also, Geo Baker still has’t recaptured his form since sitting out some games when he broke his left thumb. If Baker can return to be the consistent player he was prior to the injury, RU will be better off. The remainder of the schedule is tough—Tuesday night they travel to College Park to take on a ranked Maryland squad. Rutgers winning the majority of its games away from the RAC is a daunting challenge, and once the invincibility of the RAC is broken, Rutgers is just another team with high aspirations—and not a lock for a NCAA Tournament berth by any means.
This Sunday, a week after the crash, the most well-known athletic contest in the U.S. was set in Miami Gardens, Florida. Of course, that was the Super Bowl, which had been taking a back seat to the loss of life in California. San Francisco and its vaunted run game against Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes.
I picked up the FOX coverage around 5:00 P.M., so I may have missed some of the better early commercials. I did see a bit with Alex Rodriguez interviewed outside of fiancé Jennifer Lopez’s trailer while I was at the gym. FOX showed a clip of them at the gym at 8:30 Sunday morning. J-Lo was crushing it while A-Rod was at a slower pace reading his I-Pad.
The game itself was nothing spectacular. The 49’ers running fame was confined by the Chiefs. Mahomes looked average at best for three quarters. Upon until that time, Shakira and J-Lo offered more heat on the chilly for Florida night with their performances during halftime.
As has been the Chiefs short playoff history this season, they fell into a fairy formidable deficit. And just like they had with the Texans and Titans, the Chiefs took control of the game and won going away. They are the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl having trailed by double digits in each of its playoff games and then won.
KC waited a bit longer this time, having to get deep into the fourth quarter before finally taking the lead for good. Good defense and that potent offense simply was too much for San Francisco.
That and, of course, Pat Mahomes, a superstar in his 2 years in the league. Lamar Jackson deservedly won the MVP award on Saturday night. Mahomes is so much better, brimming with optimism and full of confidence.
Plus, I believe that Mahomes played hurt, as evidenced by a graphic offered that he will have an MRI this week on the same knee he dislocated on a Monday night in Denver. Imagine if Mahomes is really hurt and still led the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl win 50 years, allowing Head Coach Andy Reid to finally win the Super Bowl after all of the years he has spent in the NFL as a coach. Although it was slightly early and Reid had some last minute coaching to do, I am certain he enjoyed the orange Gatorade bath his players gave him
The devastation of a week ago won’t go away. Football on this night gave us reason to remember that sports is so important in our culture and provided us an outlet from our grief, for a short while.
As it is February, pitchers and catchers aren’t too far away from reporting to Florida and Arizona. For in our need for more optimism, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on this Groundhog’s Day. Only 6 more weeks of winter. Perhaps not in Ottawa, where I am guessing it continues to snow.
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