Birthday Wishes

Sunday marks my 70th birthday. I have seen a lot of sports during those 70 years. 

So what I am going to do, since I am bound to receive tons of birthdays wishes, is to make my own wish list. Perhaps you will make one when you have a milestone birthday, or just for fun.

Here we go:

I wish that the Yankees win the World Series soon. Since 2009 there has been an enormous drought in my lifetime. I grew up spoiled, with the 1950’s and ’60’s teams of Mantle, Berra and Ford. Then there were Munson, Jackson and Randoph. In the 1990’s and up to the 2009 title, there were Jeter, Williams, Posada, Pettitte, Rivera and O’Neil. Now there are Judge, Stanton and Cole. Brian Cashman—please find those final pieces to make the Yankees World Champions once more and keep those guys healthy.

I want Aaron Judge to hit 50 homers every year and make the Hall of Fame. I want his health to be good. Same with Giancarlo Stanton. I want Gerrit Cole to make it into the Hall, too, wearing a Yankees cap.

If the Yankees can’t win multiple titles, I want to see Cleveland win one. None since 1948 is a long, long time. The Braves haven’t won since 1995. Pittsburgh hasn’t sniffed the Series since winning in 1979. Baltimore has gone without an appearance or win since 1983. The Twins last win in 1991 was their last appearance. There are other franchises who have never won a crown—Seattle has never made the Fall Classic and San Diego, Colorado, Texas and Milwaukee haven’t come away with a title. I don’t wish it for Tampa Bay. 

I want the Devils to make it back to the Stanley Cup Finals and win it all. If they can’t, I want the Islanders, Maple Leafs or Canadiens to lift the trophy. Vegas, too, because they are so close. Maybe Arizona as well. The Rangers winning 2 Cups in 80 years is  more than enough. Not Vancouver. I got sick on my recent trip there. Ottawa is more deserving, according to my stomach. 

I foolishly wish that the Jets would win a Super Bowl. That they get Trevor Lawrence and that they become relevant in the NFL. I have held season tickets since 1977 and not one trip to the big game. If they can’t win, I would like to see Detroit win one. The Lions have never played in a Super Bowl. I am not adverse to Tennessee hosting the Lombardi Trophy, or the Cardinals, Vikings or Chargers. Not Tampa Bay or New England; Brady has won enough rings. 

Just as silly a wish is for the Knicks to win an NBA title.  They aren’t even close to making the playoffs. I don’t care that Lebron keeps on winning—he’s that good. I would like the Celtics to overtake the Lakers in the numbers of title won, so that a semblance of order can be restored. 

I hope that Rutgers can emerge from its dormancy and start playing even with the big boys of the Big Ten—Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin—and beat them handily. I want the stadium always packed and then to expand because the demand for tickets is so great. Oh, and as for Penn State, please beat them regularly while James Franklin is still the coach. I just can’t stand him.

I want Roger Federer to win one more Grand Slam. Serena, too. I want Nadal to win more titles than Djokovic. Just because he is more likable. 

I wish I could have an all-access pass to one of the major pro sports. Be in the press box, go on the field, head into the locker room.

I would love to see RU win the Big Ten football crown and Princeton win the Ivy League title in 2029, on the 140 th anniversary of the first contest between the schools. 

I want to see RU hoops win the Big Ten. I want RU to outgrow the RAC and build a new arena that will still give them an edge in recruiting and home court noise. 

I want to see the elimination of MMA and UFC when statistics come back and show how much brain damage the fighters have suffered.

I want Mike “Doc” Emerick to call one more NHL game either on NBC or MSG. His use of words was appropriate and useful,  unlike the way Howard Cosell tried to show us how smart he was. 

I want F&M to win the Centennial Conference in football. An NCAA playoff game would be incredible to see. 

I wish there was a way that the Giants and Jets would reconsider their stupid decision not to put a roof on Met Life Stadium. Besides my selfishness desire to be inside in December and January, being indoors would help both teams more than enduring the cold. And what a revenue stream it could create. 

I hope I can complete my five remaining baseball cities tour by the time I turn age 75. That, unfortunately, is out of my hands right now. 

I would like Tiger Woods to win a Masters at age 50 and then retire. I cannot tell you if he was the greatest golfer of all times, because Jack Nicklaus may have won more majors. What Tiger still is the most exciting and watchable golfer of all time.

I want Jim Kaat and Tommy John to make the Baseball Hall of Fame. Two great left-handers who carry remarkable stories with them which are meritorious for enshrinement. And, I dare say Pete Rose and all the steroids players, because the results count. Take away the wins by their teams, then those who cheated also shouldn’t be in. Besides, Whitey Ford, Gaylord Perry and others doctored the baseball and they are ensconced in Cooperstown. What a double standard. 

If I could eliminate the nagging injuries and lose some pounds, I would like to run a mile consistently for one whole year, then go back to walking. 

I want RU wrestling to win an NCAA title. New Jersey is a hot bed of high school wrestling. If the top kids stay home and go to RU, it is possible. 

I would like Morristown-Beard to win multiple state titles in boys lacrosse. Because I like their coach. 

I would love to see the Phoenix Suns or Sacramento Kings win an NBA title. Zero Titles for the Suns, none for the Kings franchise since 1951. The Hawks only win came in 1958, when they resided in St. Louis. The Clippers haven’t won one either; since a friend’s son works for them, I am okay with their winning a crown. Indiana and Denver have not won since going to the NBA—I like them better than the Nets. Utah is deserving of a win, as well.

Speaking of cities without titles, how about Buffalo? If my teams cannot win, then let the cold inhabitants of upstate New York be warmed with a win.

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Unsettling Times

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Unsettling Times: Two more baseball icons have died. COVID-19 is starting to affect major college football. The Lakers are World Champions. Baseball plods o...

Unsettling Times

Two more baseball icons have died. COVID-19 is starting to affect major college football. The Lakers are World Champions. Baseball plods on to its conclusion—with the World Series set to start next week. And there are just over 2 weeks left until the voters finally decide who will lead this country for the next four years.

So what am I upset about? For starters, my alma mater, Highland Park High School, a once great football power, was scheduled to come to Springfield on October 16 to face the homesteading Jonathan Dayton Bulldogs. A matchup of two smaller programs struggling to achieve wins. Except that the game was canceled. Thankfully, because it rained very hard on Friday, and even with the artificial turf, it would have been a big mess. 

I am guessing that HPHS is not playing fall athletics due to the coronavirus. With my birthday 9 days away, it would have been so much fun to watch my school against my kids’ school.  Just a five minute walk away from my house. Sigh.

What else am I upset over? Try my perpetual angst with the New York Jets. This team is horrible. Really horrible. While dispatching malcontent and manipulative Le’Veon Bell to find a new location to play (Kansas City) is a good thing, the talent level is not enhanced by the move and the salary cap hits absorbed by the team hurt. 

NYJ is in the running for the top spot in the NFL Draft, with the prize being Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence. After 5 games played, they have company in Atlanta and the Giants, who also sport no wins on their resume. Typical for the Jets would be to lose out the remainder of the season yet lose the chance to get Lawrence to another team by a coin toss gone awry. 

The Jets schedule has been altered by the virus. This week they are in Miami instead of playing the Chargers in LA. The plane ride is shorter, but the outcome will be the same. Furthermore, Joe Flacco will be under center, with the regular starter, Sam Darnold, still ailing from the hit he took to his right shoulder in the Denver game. Pundits are already circling the Jets, advocating that the team should trade Darnold now, perhaps to the Indianapolis Colts, where the team can get multiple 2nd and 3rd round draft picks in return. 

Sportswriters and sportscasters are blaming the triumvirate of Head Coach Adam Gase, GM Joe Douglas and temporary managing owner Christopher Johnson, standing in for his brother, the current Ambassador to Great Britain, Woody Johnson. Sure, the previous GM, Mike Mccagnan was bad. He gave the coaching reins to Gase, who cannot reach his players. All with ownership consent.

With oodles of free cap money to lure free agents, who wants to come to the dysfunctional New York Jets? Can this group change the mindset around the league that the Jets are a bad team to play for? Will it take a draft choice like Lawrence to turn around the franchise like Hall of Fame QB and Super Bowl III guarantor, Joe Willie Namath, the one megastar star in team history, and exciting established starts to come join the rebuild?

When they face the Dolphins on Sunday, the Jets will be decided underdogs to Miami. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was more than serviceable before the decision to go with Darnold was made, has looked more than good enough in leading the Dolphins to a couple of wins, including a blowout of the 49’ers in California last Sunday—a team which humiliated the Jets in Met Life Stadium. I see a woeful result in the offing.

I can empathize with Giants fans. They so desperately are trying to make something out of nothing, first with old and mediocre GM Dave Gettleman and new Head Coach Joe Judge, who is less than ready for prime time NFL coaching. With star RB Saquan Barkley out for the year, there is little to look forward to. QB Daniel Jones, seemingly always running for his life with no offensive line protection, makes bad, hurried plays as a result, which kills drives.  

Have no worries Giants fans—your division is the absolute worst in the NFL and it does not include the Jets. The Cowboys, saved by former Bengals star QB Andy Dalton salvaging a win over the G-men in Texas when Dad Prescott suffered a gruesome ankle injury, have the most wins. Philadelphia isn’t too good; Carson Wentz may be gone before the boo birds of Lincoln Financial Field are back in their seats after the pandemic ends. 

And Washington has no real QB—Alex Smith’s heroic comeback from his horrific leg injury culminated in his playing when Colt Mc Coy was injured and Highland Park native Dwayne Haskins has been a bust. The Washington Football Team, WFT for short, though I am sure that their fans have turned the initials around just slightly when describing the team, is actually an underdog to the Giants this Sunday. Only in 2020 could this happen in the once formidable NFL East.

Let us not forget COVID-19. Atlanta had to close down its facility, placing Sunday’s game in Minnesota in doubt. This comes in a week when the coach and GM were fired. Plus there is another doubleheader on Monday, the result of the rescheduling havoc Tennessee created with its COVID-19 troubles. 

Speaking of Tennessee, they dismantled the previously undefeated Buffalo Bills on Tuesday night in Nashville. QB Ryan Tannehill has looked so good since relocating from Miami to Tennessee. Probably because he was rid of former Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase, who did not like Tannehill very much. This would be the same Adam Gase, currently head man with the Jets. Perhaps there is a pattern here—Gase can take a talented QB and make him look really bad and destroy his confidence in the process. 

While The Titans looked very much like a potential Super Bowl team, everyone’s darlings, the Kansas City Chiefs, were upset by a determined Las Vegas Raiders team, which won at Arrowhead Stadium for the first time since 2012. Jon Gruden’s team was so excited with the very deserved win that the buses circled the stadium twice in an impromptu victory celebration before heading to the airport. 

Not quite time to worry about the Chiefs. The loss to division rival Las Vegas coupled with an OT win in LA against the struggling Chargers may be a trend. We need further study and results to reach a conclusion. Let’s see how they fare in Buffalo on Monday night in a game of redemption for both teams.

A couple more NFL pieces. The Patriots, who were to see the return of QB Cam Newton and RB Steven Gilmore from the coronavirus, shut their facility down on Friday with the onset of a new positive test. This places their rescheduled Sunday contest at home versus Denver in question. The Colts have re-opened their facility after re-tests on initial positives came back negative. For now, the Colts’ home game with Cincinnati is a go.

SEC notes for this week center around COVID-19. With an influx of positive tests, the LSU at Florida game has been postponed. Same is true with Vanderbilt at Missouri. 

#3 Georgia at #2 Alabama is the highlight of this weekend’s schedule. Except that legendary Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban and the AD both tested positive for the coronavirus. Hopefully they will be okay. How this will affect the Alabama team, now led by former Washington and USC Head Coach Steve Sarkasian, remains to be seen. 

All totaled, 31 contests have been postponed or canceled due to COVID-19. Besides the two SEC tilts, Oklahoma State at Baylor, Cincinnati at Tulsa, FIU at Charlotte and Southern Mississippi at UTEP are off this weekend. 

With the second wave starting to hit in full force, expect this number to increase. Plus, beginning next weekend, the Big Ten and Mid-American Conferences start play and in a couple of weeks, the Pac-12 joins in. What the college football landscape will look like in November is anybody’s guess, even if the signs are pointing downward for a full slate to be played.

The Lakers coronation happened on Sunday night. A tired and overwhelmed Miami Heat squad finally could not keep up with the better team. Lebron James won his fourth M.V.P. trophy, leading Los Angeles to its crushing win. The dedication of the win to Kobe Bryant and his daughter was beautiful. 

I don’t root for James when he plays the Warriors or Knicks. I wanted to see the Heat win, but I knew that this was nearly impossible. He is the best player in the game—even now at age 35, a veteran of 17 tough grinds in the NBA. James has led 3 franchises to championships: Miami, Cleveland and now LAL. Have all the debates you want about whether he or Michael Jordan is the NBA G.O.A.T. Definitely the two best ever to play the game. Possibly the most important for the pro game, although Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Kobe and Shaq, Bill Russell  and Kareem Abdul Jabbar among others demand consideration with Jordan and James. 

So bye bye, basketball. No NBA until at least January 18. Where is TBD. COVID-19 and a vaccine will likely make the call on how the NBA proceeds. 

Right now, I have no real clue as to what is happening with college hoops. We know it is a shorter season upcoming, but no one has released a schedule. By this time, my Rutgers ticket rep would have contacted me. Not this season. No fans are destined for the RAC right now, if the basketball season even starts. Plus, even if tickets were available, that is a non-issue for me, just as it was for me going to Jets games if a crowd was permitted. 

Tampa Bay rocketed out to a 3-0 ALCS lead on those dastardly Houston Astros. But Houston and its stars have awoken and have made this a possible 7 game series. I hope they aren’t cheating their way to victory once more. 

The Dodgers were considered a shoo-in for the NL title. This is the team which won the most games in the shortened 60 game schedule. Someone forgot to inform the young and hungry Atlanta Braves. LAD’s hitting has been either great or horrible. They managed to come up with a 5 run 9th inning in Game 2, which still resulted in a loss. Then LAD torched Braves pitching for 15 runs, including a post-season record 11 run 1st inning to win Game 3. Atlanta responded with its own offensive outburst to emphatically take Game 4 and grab a 3-1 lead. Either the Dodgers’ bats awaken, or this will be a long off season to contemplate what went wrong. 

Finally, MLB lost two icons. Edward Charles Ford, better known as Whitey to the legions of Yankees fans and baseball aficionados, die at the age of 91 last week. The Yankees are prominently known for their hitters in the Hall of Fame. Ruth, Gehrig, Di Maggio, Mantle, Jackson and Jeter are synonymous with Yankees baseball. As far as pitching goes, there are two revered names—Ford and Mariano Rivera. 

In my youth, Whitey Ford was the best post-season pitcher. He may have cheated by scuffing the ball, but he sure was crafty and a winner. The nickname “The Chairman of the Board” aptly suited him as much as it did crooner Frank Sinatra another ’50-’60’s legend. It was a pure pleasure to watch him down opposing batters while compiling win after win. 

Old Timers Day isn’t going to be the same without Whitey, Yogi, Joltin’ Joe, the Mick. My childhood Yankees heroes have gone on to baseball heaven. The games must be something up there. 

Joe Morgan died this week at age 77. Maybe the best second baseman in the game, he combined power, speed and defense in helping the Big Red Machine Cincinnati teams of the early ’70’s to 2 World Championships. A 2X M.V.P., 10 time All-Star and 5 time Gold Glove winner, he played with the Reds, Astros, Giants, Phillies and A’s in a career which stretched from 1963 to 1984. Famously, Morgan, a lefty winger, was known for his unusual “chicken flap” with his left arm, a timing mechanism which undoubtedly helped his hitting. 

To a whole lot of others, Morgan had a fine broadcasting career, starting in 1985 and ending in 1990. He called many national games for NBC and ESPN. Morgan astutely analyzed the action, with a no-nonsense approach. He will be missed.

With all that is going on in this country and in the microcosm known as sports, how we yearn for normalcy, which is hardly in sight. Which is why, begrudgingly, I accept Hal Steinbrenner’s apology to the fans for the Yankees not winning the World Series again and apply it to everything that is going on right now. These are unsettling times.

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: A Touch Of TV Sports Fatigue

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: A Touch Of TV Sports Fatigue: This was the week I got TV fatigue. It’s gotta be. Between watching the nation’s political scenario unfold in DC, Salt Lake City and Mic...

A Touch Of TV Sports Fatigue

This was the week I got TV fatigue. It’s gotta be.

Between watching the nation’s political scenario unfold in DC, Salt Lake City and Michigan, the weekly tumultuous saga of the “reality” show Below Deck and a couple of episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David’s faux psychological parody of his life, I’ve has been watching some sports on the tube. Just a wee bit.

The past weekend was devoid of baseball. Not to worry—a full slate of divisional series games started on Monday and culminated with Game 5 of the war of attrition between the Yankees and Rays. Plus the NBA Finals. 

Meanwhile, the Jets shut down their Florham Park facility because of a suspected case of COVOD-19—which is all over ESPN along with the status of the Bills, Raiders and Patriots, who have positive tests among their players and staff. The Chiefs are also under scrutiny, as the affected New England player, Steven Gilmore, was seen interacting with Kansas City players after the rescheduled Monday night game—including an embrace with Patrick Mahomes II, the new face of the NFL. Mahomes apologized for his indiscretion, but like the Rose Garden ceremony for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, will this lapse of judgment come back to haunt the Chiefs? All this with the Patriots conducting tests on Monday at 6:00 am, before boarding planes separating those who were in contact with QB Cam Newton, who had been infected with COViD-19 and then heading to KC for the game early Monday evening, then traveling back home. So much for the accuracy of rapid testing. Plus the Jets test was a false positive. 

The NFL schedule is beginning to unravel. Because of the Newton situation, the Patriots-Chiefs game was reset for a Monday 6:00 starting time. CBS kept the game and the number one team of Jim Nance, Troy Aikman and Tracey Wolfson was on hand to broadcast what turned out to be a tough task for KC, who won the game by a 26-10 score with a fourth quarter spurt. The regularly scheduled Atlanta-Green Bay contest airing on ESPN, was moved back to 8:50 for kickoff. Pittsburgh and Tennessee had already been moved to later in the season, which sparked some disgruntled comments from the Steelers, who received their bye week four weeks early.

The Titans were hopeful to resume playing this weekend, with a marquee matchup against the similarly undefeated Buffalo Bills. Having made it through two straight days of no positive tests, the optimism was burst when more infections were reported on Thursday. Now the NFL is looking at a potential Tuesday game, if it gets played at all. Those Chiefs play the Bills in a very interesting matchup the next week, and that too could be impacted by the scheduling changes.

Welcome to the world of the NFL without a true bubble. The league’s remedy for those who violate their mandates are hefty fines—against coaches who bring down their masks on the field or teams which are lax in following protocols and insuring that the players are healthy and the games are timely played. Suspensions are in play. The word “forfeit’ has been bandied about, a final measure to gain compliance—if at all possible. 

With the onset of colder weather the ominous predictions from scientists and medical professionals is that the coronavirus is not going away. Instead, it is going to become stronger and unfortunately affect wide swaths of the population. The NFL, like college football, which is strangely silent for now concerning the virus, is going to be heavily impacted. How heavy remains to be seen. It is are strangely reminiscent of the early days of the baseball season. The question is has the NFL learned enough to weather this onslaught?

MLB managed to reach the ALCS and NLCS without controversy and some thrilling baseball. The Houston Astros, the team everyone hates outside of South Texas, rolled over the favored Oakland A’s in four games. They will meet the Tampa Bay Rays, who won a 2-1 squeaker over the Yankees in a Game 5 on Friday night. More on that later. 

In the NL, the Dodgers vanquished the upstart Padres, who have an air of arrogance about them and an abundance of talent. However, the Dodgers have more talent and owned the best record in baseball for a reason. A highlight of the clinching game was a great, timed leap by Cody Bellinger to rob Fernando Tatis, Jr. of a homer.

Atlanta is the Dodgers NLCS opponent. They put away the Marlins with timely pitching and hitting. I don’t see them folding in four games to the Dodgers, no matter how formidable LA is. 

I have to admit that all the baseball on FS 1 and TBS was great. Games starting at 2:00 and lasting until after midnight. The neutral site locations were weird—seeing the Yankees pinstripes in San Diego when they were the “home” team in Games 3 and 4 was a bit unsettling. Playing 5 straight days was a great idea in this COVID-19 era, since there is no travel between home ballparks. However, this drains pitching staff that is not deep.

Which leads me to the Yankees. Game 1 was a Yankees beatdown of Blake Snell, a former Cy Young Award winner. Giancarlo Stanton was on fire, and the Yankees clubbed homers. Then they ran afoul of tall righty Tyler Glasnow and the Rays bullpen in Game 2. 

And that is the game which Yankees manager Aaron Boone made a very bad decision . He opened the game with Deivi Garcia, who became the youngest pitcher to start in the post-season for the Bombers. Garcia yielded a home run in the first inning. Then he was yanked by Boone, replaced by J.A. Happ, who was horrendous. 

In the third game, Masahiro Tanaka didn’t have it. I have always liked Tanaka, but his skills have diminished greatly, and we still don’t know if he ever really recovered from the line drive of Stanton which struck him in the head during Summer Camp.

Behind two games to one and facing elimination, New York relied on Jordan Montgomery to keep them in the contest, and the dormant Yankees bats awoke with a couple of home runs—two monster shots by Luke Voit and Gleyber Torres. Boone pieced together his pitching in that game, relying on Chad Green, Zach Britton and Aroldis Chapman to string together multiple innings to secure the victory. 

The success of the pitching in Game 4 came back to haunt them in Game 5. Ace Gerrit Cole struggled into the sixth inning, taking a no hitter into the firth inning before surrendering a homer to the Rays’ Austin Meadows, which snuck over the right field wall when Aaron Judge, unfamiliar with the Petco Park fences, hit his head on padding which protected signage and prevented him from leaping with his 6’7” frame and possibly snaring the ball, like Brett Gardner did an inning later. That one sequence epitomized the Yankees chances against the Rays. 

The reliance on Cole, Green, Britton and Chapman showed the Yankees vulnerability. For whatever reason, Chapman does not fare well in tie game scenarios, which led to the redemption home run by Tyler Broussard, the Rays player who Chapman famously threw his 100 mph heater at a couple of weeks ago. For all the hype about the vaunted bullpen, it was the lack of starting pitching beyond Cole and Montgomery and Boone’s insistence on using his three top bullpen pitchers exclusively which did the team in. In contrast, Rays Manager Kevin Cash used a bevy of relievers to shut the Yankees down in Game 5. 

Which brings up something else about the Yankees. While Stanton was on fire in the first couple of games, Judge did not fare well in this series or the playoffs, even if he clubbed a home run to put New York in the lead in Game 5. Torres can hit, but his fielding left a lot to be desired. Gardner had a good series, but Aaron Hicks did not. Voit was playing hurt and still contributed, but not to the extent necessary. 

Boone went with Kyle Higashioka behind the plate after Game 2. He was great in picking up pitches in the dirt, especially helping out Montgomery in Game 4. His bat was ok, but he is not the thumper that Gary Sanchez is—or should I say was. Without that feared bat n the lineup, it was a hole that dearly hurt New York offensively, even if Higgy is a far better defensive catcher than Sanchez.

New York faces an off season of decisions. D.J. LeMahieu’s contract is up. Can he be resigned? What to do about Sanchez? Tanaka is surely gone, with multiple young arms eager to replace him. I think Happ also is finished with New York. If the youngsters return to form next season, New York will be right there with the Rays, who are every bit as talented as they seem. Gardner wants to return—is he still better than Clint Frazier, who started out hot and then came crashing down at the end of the shortened season? Can GM Brian Cashman acquire another arm for his beleaguered bullpen? Can the Yankees find better bench players than Mike Ford? I will ruminate over this into the fall and winter, as we wait the 2021 season—whenever it begins.

The League Championship series will be a maximum of 7 straight days. The only travel involved is at the beginning, with Houston coming to San Diego and Atlanta headed to Arlington to meet the Dodgers. I’ll watch, but not with the intensity that I did this past week. 

Adding to my TV viewing are the NBA Finals. Thought to be a coronation for Lebron James and Anthony Davis, when they produced a 3-1 lead over the Miami Heat, it is anything but that. Jimmy Butler has given his all in this playoffs, willing his team to two victories. Duncan Robinson, my D III hero, had an exceptional Game 5, tallying 26 points, creating turnovers and drawing a hard charge from James. I said to one of my friends that Robinson, who averaged 17 points a game at Williams College, scored 17 in Game 4, thus equating DIII with the NBA Finals. He opined that I have been trying to sell that losing argument for years. 

Let me comment on Lebron James. He has been superb during this 9th visit to the NBA Finals in the last 10 years. He Is an incredible athlete. What I learned is this: he hold so many playoff records: most playoff games: 259; most playoff minutes: 10,728 entering Friday night’s game; most consecutive playoff games played: 259; most points: 7463; greatest closeout record @ 38-11; and he Is second to Magic Johnson in assists. On Friday night he made 15 of 21 shots; 6 for 9 from three point range for a total of 40 points. He added 13 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals. 

Conversely, Butler has scored or assisted on 240 points in the past 4 games. That is second to James’ 245 in the 2017 Finals. They guarded each other in the fourth quarter. Butler also was geared by Davis, who is much bigger than he is. Somehow Butler ended with 35 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, 5 steals and a block. He played all but 48 seconds of the game. 

When fans need a compelling NBA Finals in the midst of the pandemic, we got it. Two exceptional players leaving it all on the court. 

Miami has a tough road ahead. Two more wins against the Lakers is as difficult as it gets. Without any home crowd, or for that matter any real crowd, the level of play has been outstanding and compelling TV. These teams have made it through a bubble of over two months, mostly without friends and family, but on the campus of Disney where they rode bikes, golfed and even communed a bit with the enemy. Kudos to Adams Silver for pulling this off. 

Sunday brings us the French Open finals. Rafael Nadal went for a Roger Federer-tying 20th Grand slam title against top seeded Novak Djokovic. Djokovic was also chasing Federer, and his untimely demise in New York when he struck a lines person with a ball out of frustration and anger has fueled his play in Paris. More must see TV. Especially if you were rooting for Nadal, who triumphed in 3 sets.

So let’s summarize this week. Football. Baseball. Basketball. Seemingly every day and night. My eyes are bleary. But I am destined for more tiredness with a new slate of upcoming games, starting on Sunday with the NFL, the ALCS and the NBA Finals. 

I may be suffering from a touch of TV sports fatigue.  Do you hear me complaining? 

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: The First Weekend Of October

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: The First Weekend Of October: It’s the first weekend of October. The first of crispness of a fall night is paired with the splendor of the Waning Gibbous phase of the H...

The First Weekend Of October

It’s the first weekend of October. The first of crispness of a fall night is paired with the splendor of the Waning Gibbous phase of the Harvest Moon shining its effervescent light over the countryside. The trees are starting to turn the beautiful hues that Autumn brings, even if the colors won’t be as splendid due to a lack of summertime rain. And what am I doing? I’m watching the NBA Finals, a spectacle normally held in June. 

While baseball is in its expanded  playoff mode, college football is being played in a few locales and high school football has started in New Jersey, there is an oddness yo the way sports is proceeding. The French Open is underway in chilly Paris, where the COVID outbreak is peaking again. Hockey finished its tournament, crowning the Tampa Bay Lightning as Stanley Cup champions. The Preakness, a fixture in the spring, is being run in the fall. 

What else but to expect the irregular in the new normal which suffices as the sports calendar. It’s been this way since March, so why stop now?

COVID-19 sure reminded us of its virulence. Most notably, the President contracted the coronavirus and was transported to Walter Reed for treatment. The President of the University of Notre Dame also was overtaken by the disease, probably at the Rose Garden ceremony to announce the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court vacancy as a result of the death of the iconic Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Considering his school had been dealing with a rash of positive COVID tests which included Notre Dame’s celebrated football team, his not wearing a mask was heresy.

Out of the blue, the Tennessee Titans were subdued by a rash of positive tests running through the players and support personnel. This led to the postponement of Sunday’s game versus Pittsburgh, and the tweaking of the NFL schedule in weeks 7 and 8 to permit the two teams to play. And it is not so certain that the Titans will be allowed back to their practice facility next week if the positive tests don’t abate. If the Titans are unable to suit up a squad, that has the potential to throw the NFL schedule into chaos. 

Speaking of chaos, it was disclosed on Saturday that New England QB Cam Newton has contracted the coronavirus and will be unable to play. He was having a great year with the Patriots and now not just his season is in jeopardy. I wish him and all those affected by COVID-19 a speedy recovery.

Meanwhile, the NBA Finals have been dominated by  a show of force by the Los Angeles Lakers. Lebron James and Anthony Davis have been lethal in both scoring and defense. Their scoring is reminiscent of Shaquille O’Neal and Koby Bryant in their championship years. 

Miami is playing short-handed, having lost Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic to injuries. No matter how well Jimmy Butler plays, the Heat are over-matched. Kelly Olynyk, despite his 24 points in Game 2, is not going to offset Davis’ brilliance and determination. Rashon Rondo’s 16 points and 10 assists helped make the difference for the Lakers, who fired up 47 three point attempts, making 16. Imagine if LAL had made more of those attempts, It would have made an already lopsided game worse. 

I have enjoyed following Duncan Robinson of the Heat. Robinson started out at Williams College, where he led the Ephs to the DIII championship game while receiving DIII Rookie of the Year and Fourth Team All-American accolades. 

When Mike Maker, his head coach at Williams left to coach at Marist, Robinson was immediately contacted by a number of major college programs. Robinson wanted to play at a place which offered the academics that Williams could provide and was a winning program . He had gotten to know Nik Stauskus, who had played for John Beilein at Michigan. Through Maker, who had coached for Beilein at West Virginia, a contact was made and eventually a scholarship was offered and accepted. 

Robinson became a three-point shooting whiz at Michigan during his sophomore year, leading the Big Ten in three-point shooting percentage. Robinson was named the 2018 Big Ten Sixth Man and was part of the 2017-18 squad that lost to Villanova in the 2018 Championship game.

With Miami, Robinson has set or tied franchise records for three-point shots. He even participated in the All-Star weekend Three-Point Contest. 

Watching Robinson in the Finals made me think of a number of things. First, he is one of the best DIII players ever to play in the NBA. There he was, guarding Lebron James, arguably one of the two or three greatest players in the NBA’s rich history—a far cry from playing against Southern Vermont. 

It was clear that Robinson was forcing or rushing his shots, probably from nerves participating in the Finals and the Heat being an underdog to the Lakers. He is cumulatively 2-10 thus far, a far cry from his usual percentages.Plus, his defense is not very spectacular and looks to be a bit of a liability for Miami. Despite his dismal shooting and defensive awkwardness, ABC analyst and former Knicks and Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy praised Robinson on how he has developed as a passer. 

My final thought on Robinson is this—he will most likely be the only person to have played in the DIII and DI Men’s Championships and the NBA Finals. Quite an accomplishment. Even if he is likely to be the only player to ever lose all three. 

Turning to baseball, this is a rarity in itself. The 8 remaining teams have all played each other in this year’s bubble. The Rays and Yankees come from the AL East; Houston and Oakland are out of the AL West; the Marlins and Braves are NL East foes; and the Dodgers and Padres are the top two teams in the NL West. So, unlike the opening round where there were all first time matchups, there will be great familiarity among the participants. 

What was abundantly clear was that the AL Central (3 teams ) and the NL Central (4 teams) were the weakest divisions. The only other team to lose in the first round was the Blue Jays, who I thought played the Rays tough down in St. Pete for the two games they met.

So who are the surprises to reach the second round? Start with Miami. Described as “Bottom Feeders” by NBC Sports Philadelphia on-air personality and former Phillies pitcher Ricky Bottalico, the Marlins have used that as a rallying cry for the season. Having survived COVID, the team that played the Yankees on the last weekend of the regular season looked pretty good to me. Under the tutelage of manager Don Mattingly, this young group showed confidence and maturity in taking down a Chicago Cubs team which is sure to be dismantled with so many top-heavy salaries and so little to show for it. 

The Braves pitching completely shut down the Cincinnati Reds offense for 22 innings. A series with Miami will be very interesting.

San Diego and Oakland both showed some grit after losing the first game of the three game series. For the Padres, they get the Dodgers, who they have no fear of. Oakland plays Houston, which dispatched the Minnesota Twins in two game, extending the Twins post-season futility to 18 straight losses.

Which leaves the enigmatic New York Yankees. Floundering through a forgettable season, marred by injuries and shoddy defense, the Yankees won Game 1 in Cleveland by bashing probable AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber in a 12-3 win, then, in the longest 9 inning game ever played, winning a come-from-behind victory in a 10-9 thriller. 

The Yankees bats awoke for those two games. Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez slugged homers. AL batting champ D.J. LeMahieu continued to hit, as did Gio Urshela. In Cleveland, the Yankees looked like the team they were projected to be. 

However, they draw the Rays. The heated history between these teams has been well-chronicled. New York went 2-8 this year in the season series with Tampa. From the team fans worried about as they entered the post-season to the brash, confident team which vanquished the Indians, which Yankees team will show up in San Diego to meet the Rays? This may be the most anticipated second round meeting from the media’s viewpoint. Let’s see how it plays out. 

Reverting to the NFL, the Jets and Giants are just bad teams. The Jets were embarrassed by a third-string QB on Thursday night when Denver won at Met Life Stadium. I realize that Sam Darnold is still young and inexperienced, having played only 30 NFL games. He is saddled with a horrible offensive line and mediocre receivers. With Le‘Veon Bell out, the running game is non-existent with 37 year old Frank Gore not able to make up for the ineptitude of the O-line. And it is that O-line which repeatedly causes dilemmas for Darnold, forcing him to get rid of the ball prematurely or take numerous hits and sacks. One of those sacks led to a sprained A/C joint which, while he admirably played in pain on Thursday, may limit him for the remainder of the season. 

I saw how angry Adam Gase was with his team’s performance. The offense underperformed and the defense made undrafted Brett Rypien look like a pretty good NFL QB (maybe). Pierre Desir may have intercepted Rypien and returned the pick for a TD, but he was repeatedly targeted and burned by the Broncos.

No matter the injuries and the excuses, the Jets are horrible. Coming off the longer layoff, they draw Arizona at home. With 5 more divisional games and three West Coast games ahead, it is difficult to see a win for Gang Green. And the more I watch, the more sympathetic I am for Gase, who is on the hot seat. Is this train-wreck really his fault?

The Giants are in LA to meet the Rams. I was thinking about a score. How does 52-9 sound? While the Jets seemingly have no chance. Daniel Jones does lead his team to near-victory—see the Chicago Bears game when the Giants had a chance at the end. Besides, the NFC East has the worst record for a division in the NFL. Which means that the Giants might have a shot to win against the hapless Eagles, Cowboys and the Washington Football Team.  

Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes II demolished the Ravens in Baltimore. Ravens QB Lamar Jackson called KC their “kryptonite.”Whatever way you describe them, the Chiefs are fun to watch. They draw New England in a game which has lost a lot of its luster with the loss of Newton as the Pats’ QB. 

A tip of the hat to the Tampa Bay Lightning in winning the Stanley Cup. They were deserving of this honor, defeating a very good Dallas team. Having secured the second seed, the Lightning played like one of the top teams. I felt good for them. 

Now I have an absence in my routine as hockey season is no more. By early next week, pro basketball will be finished. If the Yankees fail versus the Rays, baseball will effectively be done for me. Pro football—see above as to why the Jets season is over. 

Finally, with the death of the great Cardinals’ right-hander Bob Gibson, a grim statistic seemed to arise in my mind. Seventy-four former MLB players have passed in 2020. Too many for me to stomach. Many of them were names known for their greatness—Seaver, Kaline, Brock—or their meaning to the game—Don Larsen, Jay Johnstone, Tony Fernandez, Bob Watson, Glenn Beckert, Lou Johnson and Tony Taylor to cite just a few. So sad.

All this in the first weekend of October.