Elementary My Dear Watson

No football being played this weekend. None. Nada. Zilch. Not that anyone cares. Yeah, right. 

Yet football remains in the headlines after the AFC and NFC winners were crowned. For good reason. This Super Bowl is bound to generate a ton of interest. 

Guess who is back to another Super Bowl? Tom Brady. Love him or hate him-and there is that kind of range of feelings towards number 12—his 10 appearances far outnumber the second closest QB to have appeared in the Super Bowl. That would be the great Denver QB John Elway. Elway made it to the big stage five times. 

The novelty is that Brady isn’t leading the Patriots in the game, Nor is Bill Belichick patrolling the sidelines in search of another gaudy ring. 

Nope. Tom Brady is the QB of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a franchise with a historically losing record. When he decided to align with the Gulf Coast Florida sun by bringing his considerable talents, along with some heavy armaments, there were skeptics aplenty. After all, Brady should be retired, not throwing passes with alacrity and accuracy at age 42 and now at age 43. Except the fortitude of this icon simply was underestimated by those who doubted him. 

It wasn’t a pretty season. The Bucs came into the NFC playoffs as a #6 seed. To many, that was a huge impediment. To Brady, it simply was three road victories in Washington, New Orleans and in the cold of Green Bay last weekend. 

The Bucs have done something no other team has accomplished. By winning the NFC, they happen to be playing in their home stadium—a feat that took 55 tries given the NFL’s penchant for neutral sites. Could this be an added advantage for the G.O.A.T.? 

Did the Bucs win the NFC title game? Yes. Did Green Bay lose it with some baffling moves? Yes again. Green Bay had to claw their way back into the contest. They had a chance to go for the end zone on third and goal. 

QB Aaron Rodgers, the frontrunner for the NFL M.V.P. award, was pressured. He stepped up, with nearly a clear path to the goal line—and threw a pass into coverage for an incompletion. He could have made the run of his life and maybe gone in for the score to put the Pack much closer to the TD they desperately needed. 

Except that Coach Matt LeFleur took the ball out of Rodgers hands on fourth down and Green Bay kicked a field goal. Rodgers could only stay on the sidelines and watch the clock expire, partly aided by a clear pass interference call when the officials had previously swallowed their whistles and not called those kinds of penalties. 

Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs spotted Buffalo a 9-0 lead. There might have been a bit of worry for Chiefs fans, because this was a really good Bills team they were facing.

Nah. KC does this all the time. They seemingly need the motivation to get things in gear. Which QB Patrick Mahomes II, tight end Travis Kelce and WR Tyreek Hill did. Final score was 38-24, and it wasn’t even that close. 

Mahomes is the wunderkind. He wins and wins and wins. He thrives on pressure. He has a heck of a lot of talent on his side of the ball. 

I love the way the guy plays. He is extraordinary. It always looks like he is having fun, no matter how difficult and trying the situation might be. Mahomes is my Steph Curry for football.

Throw out the comparisons. Disregard the hype. Forget the old guard versus the new young gunslinger. So what that the Chiefs went to Tampa and defeated the Bucs in the regular season. That means very little. Nor does the 2-2 record they share in head-to-head matchups. 

There are too many intangibles in this matchup which makes it hard to predict. KC suffered some significant player injuries in the Buffalo game. Brady looks like the Brady of old—well, yes he is old—and that is a factor. Or is KC just better at defending than the Bucs? 

We’ll have to wait for another week to decide the matter. The new field is in place. There is a chance of rain, with the temperatures in the 70’s during the day and 60’s at night. The Chiefs will fly in only 2 days before kickoff, to control COVID exposure—and that could be another factor in deciding the winner.

I find I am actually looking forward to this game. I wonder if it will meet or exceed my expectations. 

One more Super Bowl note. Commercial air time was till available at the beginning of the week. Normally, the commercials are bought up by November. Coke, Pepsi and Bud aren’t participating this year. Companies anticipate ratings to be down due to the lack of Super Bowl parties in deference to the coronavirus. Does this mean the great toilet flush at halftime won’t be as bad this year?

Sticking with the NFL, I want to go back to the Buffalo-KC game. Late in the fourth quarter, Bills QB Josh Allen was sacked and he tossed the ball into the face mask of a Chiefs player. This set off a skirmish. C’mon, Josh. You can do better than that—losing isn’t fun but have some class. 

And talking about quarterbacks, Matthew Stafford and the Lions are parting ways. Stafford already has been linked to the Rams, which inexplicably means that Jared Goff is no longer in vogue in SoCal. 

Stafford is a fine QB. He never brought the Lions to prominence, largely because the Lions weren’t that good. I am unsure that at age 32 he can now lead a team to the Super Bowl, no matter how good his credentials may be. But if he moves to LA, he can reunite with his good buddy and high school teammate, Dodgers ace left-hander Clayton Kershaw. 

So much talk about quarterbacks this week. Aaron Rodgers vented after the loss to the Bucs, wondering what his status is with the Packers with his heir apparent on the sidelines waiting his chance. Landing spots in Denver and San Francisco have been mentioned, notwithstanding the Packers hierarchy saying that Rodgers is the team’s QB next season. 

Ben Roethlisberger has a humongous contract. He wants to finish his playing days with the Steelers. He is willing to restructure the contract to allow the Steelers to keep other necessary players. All well and good. Is Big Ben on a precipitous decline as measured by the team’s collapse at the end of the season?

All of this pales when addressing the mega talent of Deshaun Watson. Watson has a no trade clause in his contract and he signed a lucrative extension last year. Yet he wants out of Houston (sounds like James Harden?) because management did not surround him with players necessary for the team to be better than its 4-12 record. 

Watson can throw. Watson can run. He is big. He is fast. The experts are unanimous that he is a star which any team should be fortunate to have. Houston maintains that he is under contract. And that Watson is going nowhere. The new coach was hired with the expectation that Watson would be his QB.

Supposedly, Watson has a preference list. The top two teams are the Jets and Dolphins. Carolina is third because he is from that region. Both New York and Miami have a ton of draft capital. Incredibly, Tua Tagovailoa has been linked to a potential package Miami might offer. 

This is going to get ugly soon. Would a team to be wise to pass on a disgruntled player?

Turning to the NBA, Steph Curry passed Reggie Miller on the career made three point goals list. He trails leader Ray Allen by 400+ trifectas. To show what makes Curry so great, it took Miller 18 seasons to amass his total in 1389 games. Curry did it in 12 seasons and 715 games. 

The Nets are still giving up too many baskets to the other team. Which results in OT games. Usually it is Kevin Durant who is steadiest. One night Kyrie Irving was the ‘catalyst. Another night James Harden broke out of his funk and led Brooklyn. This is how its going to be—no defense and a lot of scoring. Not a recipe for a championship. 

To those who wonder if the Lakers have lost a step and might be weary from last season—forget about it. Some losses on the road are meaningless right now. Plus Lebron looks as good as ever. Anthony Davis, too. 

What was with Devin Booker of Phoenix giving a groin shot to Tim Hardaway, Jr, the other night? Uncool. Really uncool. 

What was really cool was that two female referees participated in one game when Charlotte and Orlando met. Another glass ceiling shattered.  

The Yankees secured right-hander  Jameson Taillon in a trade with Pittsburgh. A friend of Gerrit Cole, Taillon is coming off of his second Tommy John surgery and he replaces Masahiro Tanaka, who has returned to Japan. A solid move—you can’t have enough pitching.

Adam Ottavino traded to Boston is noteworthy only because the teams don’t trade much with each other. Something about a trade involving Babe Ruth may be the reason…

New York has begun talks with Brett Gardner to fill a left-handed hitting OF spot. Didi Gregorius signed a two year deal with Philadelphia, so Gleyber Torres is the shortstop. Now if they remain heathy and Gary Sanchez re-emerges…

All Star Third baseman Nolan Arenado was traded by small market Colorado to the Cardinals. This makes St. Louis even more of a threat to win the NL Central and give the Dodgers and Padres a run for the roses in the National League. 

Rutgers suddenly is playing like it did earlier. With Geo Baker at the helm, the Knights won on the road at Indiana for the first time ever, then demolished a COVID-scarred Michigan State 67-37 at home. Turning the ball over less, playing relentless defense and shooting foul shots much better than in the past, RU may still make a run at a post season berth.  

A note—Rutgers is the first major conference men’s basketball team to hold a team to less than fewer than 40 points and force at least 19 turnovers in a conference game since…2014, when Louisville beat RU 92-31 while forcing 26 turnovers. 

In a quick count, I noted that over 20 games were postponed this weekend. The University of Michigan has paused all sports activity. COVID still is greatly impacting college sports. 

UFC fighter and celebrity Conor Mc Gregor got his ass kicked in his recent fight. He’s had his 15 minute of fame. I still harken back to his chair tossing episode at a bus in Manhattan. The guy simply is not charismatic for me. 

A soccer item—Manchester United is 14-3-3 with its recent win over Liverpool. It’s good to see Man U playing well. That’s like the Yankees, Celtics and Montreal Canadiens all once more being champs. 

That’s a wrap for this week. To the current QB of the Houston Texans, who desires a new address, I offer that New Jersey is a fine place to live and play.

After all, joining the Jets is elementary, my dear Watson.

Luck

This week’s installment is about a lot of men, women and teams. It is about the luck they have had which placed them in the positions they are in. 

Rutgers men’s basketball is lucky. Lucky that their fans haven’t given up on them despite the horrendous five game tailspin which has taken them from a #11 ranking to a 3-6 mark in the Big Ten. Ranked next to last in the country in free throw percentage, the speed and confidence is eroding fast. 

While injuries have contributed to some unevenness as key members of the squad have been playing hurt and thus way below their effective peaks, the more zealous fans see hustle and determination. I see one-on-one basketball, bad shot selection, lack of rebounding and way too many turnover resulting in points for the opposition. 

Coach Steve Pikiell points to last season when RU had a bad skid, only to recover and make a serious run to what would have been the team’s first NCAA Tournament bid since 1991. As much as I would like to use last season as a marker, I just don’t see this team making the turn around happen. 

I saw trouble when Caleb Mc Connell, out for unspecified reasons, suddenly joined the team and was even starting in the absence of speedy guard Jacob Young when Young was hurt. Even with heralded freshman big man Cliff Omoruyi back, there seemingly isn’t cohesion with players like Montez Mathis, Ron Harper, Jr., who looks nothing like the NBA first rounder he appeared to be a few weeks ago, and Geo Baker, who used to hit mid-range jumpers and make spectacular dunks. 

Commentators claim that RU lost its home court advantage without the din that the RU faithful create when the team is on a roll or in need of support. Maybe so, but that is more excuse than execution.

Thursday night’s loss at Penn State epitomized the season at this juncture. RU shot poorly and defended badly. The 8 point margin for Penn State could have been greater. This was a loss to a team which had not had any success in the Big Ten this season. Until last night. 

Has RU bottomed out with this bad loss? One can only hope. For the way they have played, this Rutgers team is lucky not to be in the conference basement. 

UConn’s women’s basketball team was lucky. In restarting its storied rivalry with the University of Tennessee, the Huskies came back from almost losing to the Lady Vols to leave Knoxville still unbeaten. 

Huskies’ Head Coach Geno Auriemma is a lucky person. Besides all of the dominance his UConn teams have had and may have in the future, he now has surpassed his great rival Pat Summit, the Hall of Fame Tennessee coach in career wins. He remains second to Tara VanDerveer of Stanford, who also passed Summit’s mark this year. 

With some more good fortune, Auriemma should win a few more games than the Stanford coach and maybe win a title along the way and end up as the winningest coach in women’s hoops. Because, to me, he is the G.O.A.T. in that sports annals. 

I am not going to get on my soapbox about the troubles that hamstring college basketball as the season heads towards the conference playoffs and the NCAA Tournament in the Indianapolis area. Know that there are a lot of teams that are lucky to be atop their league and in a position to make the final 68. It’s going to take a lot more luck for them to stay at this level and navigate the coronavirus and its new and more virulent strains emerging in this country where the access to vaccines is not fast enough for way too many people. 

The NBA has suffered lately, as the Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies are currently unable to play due to new and more restive rules set down by the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver. Silver has had luck on his side, as the marquee players and teams mostly have made the effort to do the right thing hygienically. At least so far. 

Unquestionably, the best team in the league is still the Los Angeles Lakers. Although tripped up at home on Monday night by a hustling Golden State team and a late effort by Steph Curry, the Lakers took down the Bucks in Milwaukee on Thursday night and remain unbeaten on the road. 

And those Brooklyn Nets found out in Cleveland on Wednesday night that when Kyrie Irving returned from his absence, he was motivated to take more shots than newly-acquired gunner James Harden. Which was a significant reason why the Nets lost to Cleveland in double OT. Plus the fact that the man Kyrie was covering torched him for 42 points while Kyrie shot poorly. 

The team needs to find itself in the next couple of months. The best player is still Kevin Durant, who now is second in scoring in the NBA. But he is in need of periodic rest to keep his legs fresh—he did have Achilles tendon surgery and he has had leg issues before. So Kyrie and James need to find a way to co-exist. Or else this costly experiment will fail miserably. 

Staying with the NBA, when is Draymond Green going to learn to keep his trap shut? Every game his yapping has resulted in a technical foul. Thursday night he received his first one just 4 minutes into the game. 

In the second quarter, he was tossed after receiving his second technical foul. Despite the fact that his swearing was directed to rookie big man James Wiseman, whom he was trying to motivate. 

While the league admitted it blew the call, it didn’t help the Warriors feel any better, as they were soundly beaten by the resurgent New York Knicks. Having Steph Curry try to carry the team alone without the support of such a multi-dimensional player like Green is near impossible. 

So I say to Green shut up and play basketball. Your team needs you on the floor, not in the locker room. 

One more NBA note. Dogs will be employed at American Airlines Arena when the Miami Heat admit a limited number of fans to games in February. The dogs will be able to sniff those who might be carrying the COVID-19 virus. A tremendous idea. Every fan who gets to attend should consider themselves very lucky in regards to their safety.

The NFL Conference Championships are this Sunday. I believe the best four teams are in these games. Kansas City needed some luck when its star QB, Patrick Mahomes II was removed from the game looking like he was in another world after a hit by Cleveland defenders.  Reserve Chad Henne miraculously won the game for the Chiefs with a daring third down rush that created a fourth and one situation. A gambling Head Coach Andy Reid went for the dagger on fourth down and Henne completed a short pass to speedy WR Tyreek Hill. Ball game. 

Now KC has some more luck on its side when Buffalo comes to town. Mahomes cleared concussion protocol and will start against the Bills. Which make the Chiefs the favorites to make it back to the Super Bowl.

Meanwhile, there will be cold and snow on the ground when Tom Brady and his Bucs teammates invade Lambeau Field to take on Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Which gunslinger will be lucky enough to emerge as the NFC representative in the Super Bowl? Will it be Rodgers, so that if he meets up with Mahomes, State Farm will have a bonanza in commercial air time? Or will the G.O.A.T., already setting a new record for conference championship appearances, add to his legacy with a win? This game is even more of a toss up than the AFC title game.

Some other lucky men in pro football are the new coaches for the Jets, Eagles, Lions. Each one has the ability to make his mark on the league at a young age. From the way they have risen through the ranks to their brashness when first interviewed, one has to be impressed. However, will that translate into wins very quickly? For rookie head men, history is not necessarily on their sides. Rosters and talent decide that. 

Phillip Rivers was a lucky man. He played all but one year of his career for the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers. He took his Indianapolis Colts team to the playoffs this season. He now retires to coach H.S. football in Alabama. He waves the pro scene ranked among the top five in many categories. He does not have a Super Bowl win in his resume. Is he a Hall of Fame QB? Absolutely. 

Dwayne Haskins is a lucky man. Booted out of Washington by Ron Rivera for his poor performance and even poorer judgment, he is receiving a second chance to rehabilitate himself under the tutelage of Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh. If he gets it right, he could be the heir to Ben Rothlisberger when the big guy finally hangs up his cleats. Or he could be another high draft choice bust. 

Another lucky man is former Lions Head Coach Matt Patricia. His first head coaching gig went badly and he was summarily dismissed. But his strengths are such that his former boss and mentor, New England Patriots icon Bill Belichick is taking him back, like he did with Josh Mc Daniels when he failed in Denver. 

Then there is the Washington Football Team. First, Jennifer King has been tabbed as the first Black full-time assistant coach in the NFL. Then the team hired 49’ers executive Martin Mayhew as the new General Manager. Great stories and making good on minority hires.

Notre Dame was lucky—as the Irish always tend to be. Their penalty for NCAA recruiting violations is one year probation and a few other not-so-devastating sanctions. 

This is as opposed to the University of Tennessee, where the coaching staff was canned in the wake of what will be serious NCAA penalties. Orange is not the new color of the week. 

The New York Mets and owner Steve Cohen are very lucky. Their newly hired GM, Jared Potter was let go after word came from an accuser of sordid pictures of his genitalia and stalking texts. Potter did not deny those horrible allegations. It reminded me of former Congressman Anthony Weiner. Which says it all.

The baseball world lost three Hall of Fame greats. This is so sad and untimely.

First, the great Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, died at age 93. Garrulous and bigger than life, this man bled Dodger blue, as this was his only team. He lived a grand life and was an iconic figure in baseball.

Then, Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton passed away this week. His curly locks on the mound were just as beautiful as his mastery of hitters in the long line of great Dodgers pitchers. Number 20 was a fierce competitor. 

Yet he made a tremendous second career as a broadcaster in Atlanta on TBS in the early days of the Braves tenure in Georgia. His stories and insight was as captivating as any announcer I listened to. His wit and charm will be missed as much as his ferocity on the field.

Then there is Henry Aaron, who died on Friday at age 86. Hammerin’ Hank was the first to break Babe Ruth’s sacred homer run total. He did it gracefully and with understated flair. He battled threats on his life and was lucky enough to transition from a teenager in Alabama and the Negro Leagues to become the greatest natural home run hitter in history. If any youngster needs a history lesson on how to handle himself on the diamond and against immeasurable odds, he should read and watch what Henry Aaron said and did. 

Henry Aaron was simply marvelous. He was beloved by fans in Milwaukee and Atlanta as well as recognized by his peers and the nation for the man he became. Baseball and mankind was lucky enough to have had Henry Aaron at the time he played. He will be missed by so many for what he stood for.

Finally, I recognized who the luckiest man is. That man would be Alex Rodriguez. He had a great career, with numbers worthy of the Hall of Fame but tainted by steroid use. He made millions and is set for life financially. A-Rod has TV jobs with ESPN and FOX. He has captivating looks and a great personality.

What separates him is from everyone else is that he is the love of one Jennifer Lopez. Which is why he was seen on national TV kissing her at midnight in Times Square to welcome in the New Year. And there he was, seated next to her at the inauguration of President Joe Biden after she performed “America the Beautiful.” 

Talk about being lucky. Luck is on his side. Yes, it is. 

The Elephant Is In The Room

Lots to talk about, and for a change, some good things happening in the New York market. Not that sports doesn’t exist outside of NYC/NJ, but…

Yankees fans can rejoice (or at least exhale). D.J. Le Mahieu is returning to the Bronx for the next 6 years. He will be paid $90 million for his expected productivity. 

Obviously, Le Mahieu loves being in New York, loves hitting at Yankee Stadium, loves the American League East and, from what is said, he loves his teammates. This is a win-win scenario. 

What this might signal is a trade for Luke Voit, the reigning AL home run king. His market value is high, even if he would be another loss of a quality individual and teammate. 

The Yankees would be crazy not to obtain a shortstop to replace Gleyber Torres, who should be stationed at second base. Necessarily, Le Mahieu would be shifted to first base, as Gio Urshela is the incumbent at third base. Has anyone made a phone call to Didi Gregorius to see how interested he might be in returning to the Bronx after his stint in Philadelphia?

More good news from the Stadium. The team and Aaron Judge avoided arbitration, settling on a one year, $10.175 contract for 2021. If he remains healthy, the sky is the limit hitting behind “La Machine.”

GM Brian Cashman still must address the pitching staff. With the prospect of not having James Paxton or Masahiro Tanaka on board for the upcoming season and Luis Severino not likely to be back until mid-season (or the beginning of the season if COVID pushes the start back) along with question marks regarding youngsters Delvi Garcia and Domingo German as he returns from his suspension, do the Yankee brass believe in another youngster like Clarke Schmidt to come through or Luis Cessa to fill the gaps? 

Perhaps the Yankees will find their second top tier pitcher in Corey Kluber, a former two-time Cy Young Award winner with Cleveland who has rehabbed himself back into form as evidenced by a recent pitching session in front of a number of MLB teams. He was worth a $11 million investment for one year. Or will Voit or somebody else be used as trade bait for a third proven arm?

On a gray mid-January day, the Yankees again stole the local headlines. Simply because they are the New York Yankees. BTW—no injuries have been reported as of this date!! Fingers and toes remain crossed…

Then there is my football team, the New York Jets. In a bold move, the team has hired 41 year old Robert Saleh, who comes from the 49’ers where he was a highly-respected Defensive Coordinator. From all accounts, Saleh is bright, energetic and laser-focused. His Niners defenses were ranked consistently among the top in the NFL. He is likely to bring some key offensive and defensive assistants with him from San Francisco, which may include the whiz brother of the Packers’ Head Coach, Matt LeFleur. 

Was it a solid move? Yes. The fact that the choice seemingly came down to Saleh and Arthur Smith, an assistant for Tennessee, who was snapped up by the Falcons as their head coach demonstrated how good this man can be in the minds of at least two teams. 

Is the cupboard bare in Florham Park? Look at the 2-14 record and know that there is some more talent there than people credit. The Jets failed to send anyone to the Pro Bowl this season. That is not indicative of the team having some talent. Simply not enough talent to avoid a significant losing record. And that includes QB Sam Darnold, who would prosper in a new regime. 

Team management will have some very hard decisions to make. Who to pick with the #2 selection in the NFL Draft? And they have plenty of cap space to be active in the free agent market to get some quality players to come to play for an up and coming coach. 

There is light at the end of the tunnel in East Rutherford. GM Dave Gettleman is back for one more try and Head Coach Joe Judge will have Saquan Barkley healed and ready to go. I expect Daniel Jones to improve even more and the Giants can win more than 6 games in 2021. The other member of the NFL East aren’t so formidable—even Dallas when it gets back QB Dak Prescott, who I think is a tad overrated. 

Jacksonville made a splash by hiring former Florida and Ohio State head man Urban Meyer. The lure of Trevor Lawrence must have been too enticing for Meyer to remain on television. Even if he has had health issues previously, Meyer, who won National Championships at the aforementioned schools, figures he can handle the pressures of the NFL—a league he has never coached in. 

The second week of the NFL Playoffs is this weekend . There were no great surprises last weekend—Baltimore was playing much sounder ball and their win at Tennessee was a product of the maturity of QB Lamar Jackson and a stifling defense. Cleveland overcame a rough finish to the regular season and downed a Pittsburgh team which was a shell of itself from four weeks ago. 

The NFC has future Hall of Fame QB’s Tom Brady and Drew Brees going head-to-head. Brees turned 42 on Thursday, which is one year younger that the ageless Brady. Brady looked sharp versus Washington, but it was Washington, that won the moribund NFC East. On the other hand, Brees looks like he is recovered from his broken ribs and collapsed lung. This will be a fun game to watch.

Jared Goff came into the game at Seattle with a hand that was 12 days removed from surgery. The Seahawks were playing so-so the entire season. The Rams defense thoroughly frustrated Seattle QB Russell Wilson, sacking him numerous times and forcing him into bad throws and interceptions.

I don’t see the Rams coming back from Green Bay with a win. Aaron Rodgers and company is primed and ready to reach the Super Bowl. I have no reason to believe they aren’t capable of that. 

I self-taught meteorology this past year as a pandemic exercise. It is supposed to snow in Buffalo at game time. Lake effect snow in Buffalo in January. I think that may have been in my book.

Lamar Jackson has never played in snow. He is a running QB. How it will affect his game is the Ravens’ greatest concern. That and stopping the high-resolution offense of the Bills led by QB Jared Allen. 

The most intriguing contest matches the Browns and Chiefs in Kansas City. When Cleveland QB Baker Mayfield was at Oklahoma, he racked up over 500 yards passing and threw for 7 TD’s in a win over Texas Tech. 

His opposite at QB threw for over 700 yards and 5 TD’s in a losing effort. His name was Patrick Mahomes II. 

I am not enamored with either defense. If these two bring that kind of high intensity offense to their clash, the chance to win could come down to which QB has the ball last. 

There was a college football game on Monday. It was billed the National Championship. In reality, it was coronation. Ohio State was absolutely no match for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Led by QB Mac Jones, RB Najee Harris, WR DeVonta Smith, C Landon Dickerson and T Alex Leathewood, these players swept the awards for their respective positions and Smith won the Heisman Trophy as well as was named offensive M.V.P. with his three TD catches in the first half before suffering a hand injury.

Add in the fact that Steve Sarkasian, the Tide’s Offensive Coordinator, won the Frank Broyles Award for the top assistant coach. He is now the new head coach at Texas. Sarkasian’s play calling was superb, baffling the Buckeyes’ defense.

Now Nick Saban has won 7 national titles, 6 while in Tuscaloosa. He is the college equivalent of his good friend Bill Belichick, who has won the most titles in the NFL. Belichick didn’t have a good a team as Saban did, one loaded with high NFL Draft choices. (Note to Jets GM Joe Douglas: you cannot go wrong with drafting either Smith or Harris at #2)

Belichick garnered plenty of praise for declining the Presidential Medal of Honor that was to be awarded to him on Thursday. Whatever his motivation was, it was the right decision.

The NHL season began for all except the Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers, due to COVID-19 attacking the Stars. Naming rights have been sold for the four playing divisions. Evidently this move was a financial necessity. Games are grouped together—the Islanders and Rangers are meeting twice at Madison Square Garden to open the season while the Devils host the Boston Bruins.

The favorites to meet in the Stanley Cup Finals are the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Vegas Golden Knights. For Leafs fans, it would end over 60 years of frustration. For the upstart Knights, it would be their second Cup Finals in their third year of existence. 

Let’s see how this unfolds. COVID-19 and injures will have a lot to do with which teams emerge. Along with good goaltending. 

I have left the best for last. That is the mega deal involving the trade of James Harden for Houston to Brooklyn. Four teams were involved—Indiana and Cleveland acquired talent in the swapping of multiple draft choices and young star players.

The Nets went all in to establish another version of a Big 3—like Lebron James, Dewayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. The prospect of a multiple scoring champion in Harden joining NBA title winners Kevin Durant (Golden State) and Kyrie Irving (Cleveland) sounds great on paper and even when spoken. 

But their union is nothing like the one in Miami. Durant has recovered from his horrible Achilles tendon tear. However, he has lost so mileage on his legs that no matter how Dr. Martin O’Malley has reconstructed KD, he just isn’t going to be the player who first came to the Warriors to team up with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

Then there is Irving. He is a selfish, uncertain lot. He recently went AWOL, was seen unmasked at a party, and now is on the COVID restricted list as well as being out almost $900,000 in salary. He is talented for sure. He wears out his welcome where he goes—Cleveland and Boston. And he may still think the world is flat. 

Which leaves Harden. He couldn’t win with Chris Paul or Russell Westbrook. He manufactured a trade from Houston with his boorish and selfish behavior. He is a gunner and hasn’t met a shot he doesn’t like. Harden is way down in scoring this week with a 24.8 ppg average, far behind the top three of Bradley Beal of Washington, the surprising C.J. Mc Collum of Portland, a Lehigh product, and Curry.

The best defender of the group is Durant. Harden is atrocious at defense. Each one thinks he’s the man. The rest of the team is actually weaker as a result of the trade. 

My questions are these—who will pass to whom? How many shots will be forced? And with the game on the line, which one is going to want to take the final shot and who will sulk? In Miami they didn’t have those problems. They played and won as a team. With defense supplementing offense.

The Nets gave away the future for winning now. It may be a bad, bad bet. Time and egos will tell. 

It might not matter anyway. Games in the NBA are being postponed at an alarming rate due to the coronavirus. Many college teams are on pause and another women’s program, this time at the University of Virginia, halted play for the remainder of the season.

Alabama’s mascot is an elephant. The story goes back to 1930 when then-Coach Wallace Wade assembled a gigantic line, one which had grown exponentially in size from the previous season. A writer referred to them as “Red Elephants,” a nod to the color of the Alabama uniforms. 

With all of the items I have covered, from baseball, to the NFL, to college football, hockey, the NBA and COVID-19, it is fair to say that, even without mentioning the Oakland A’s and the pachyderm on their logo, the elephant is surely in the room. 

A Gin Rickey Might Be Nice Right Now

It is fair to say that we have never seen a week like this. It is hoped that we never see another of this ilk. 

The sports world reacted to the incredible events in Washington in strong and unforgettable terms. What happened was an abomination, a travesty of the worst kind. The assault on democracy was heinous and despicable. 

In expletive-laden remarks, Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green angrily gave some context. He said these weren’t protestors. It was a terrorist mob that invaded the Capitol. 

I posted on Facebook on Wednesday night how upset I was with what had transpired. I have a greater interest than most—I spent six months in 1971 as an intern to Congressman Edward J. Patten (D-NJ). 

My familiarity with Congress was enormous. I spent countless hours watching debate in the House and Senate. I met or was in close proximity to some of the great legislators of that era. I was privy to some information that stayed within the walls of Congress and the adjacent buildings (and some bars in the surrounding area). I saw democracy in action. To say I had an absolute blast would be a gross understatement. 

Thus, I love Congress as much as I love sports. And the two were intertwined during my time in D.C. I attended 13 Washington Senators games at R.F.K. Stadium. Some were in the intense Washington summer heat, which didn’t change much at night. I was present at a game when under 2,000 attended for a September weekday makeup game which had Cleveland Indians seated in the visitors dugout; they were actually the home team since the game should have been held in Ohio. I sat adjacent to the Indians dugout due to my association with James Warfield, my F&M trainer, who left to become the Indians trainer. A picture capturing the emptiness of the stadium made Time magazine and there I was. 

My Congressman had season tickets to the Washington Redskins. I attended an early November game against Philadelphia, seated in the club/press area. I quickly learned that it gets really cold at NFL games on the East Coast, which prepped me for my late Fall days watching the Jets. 

Somehow, my name came up in conversation as having played college baseball. I was recruited by the team of the Hon. Bob Bergland (D-MN); Bergland later became the Secretary of Agriculture in the Carter Administration. Such a nice man. He was proud we were the regular season champions but saddened when we lost in the semi-finals of the playoffs. 

I hung out with my older teammates, partied in a lot of places and met some people who ascended to even more public roles. I was a fixture at their Monday Night Football gatherings in SE Washington. Most of them were Baltimore Colts fans, although there were Vikings, Lions and Redskins fans in attendance. 

My giant game winning swing with the bases loaded landed me a date with a Jewish AU cheerleader from NJ who I took to see the Knicks and Bullets play in the Baltimore Civic Center—the day Earl Monroe was traded to New York. Bummer.

I managed to see an American University basketball game at Fort Mc Nair. I actually got to know Kermit Washington, the star player on the squad, while working out in the AU gym “weight room.” Washington was later notoriously known for his terrible punch which shortened the career of Rudy Tomjanovich of the Houston Rockets. 

I traveled to Cole Field House on the campus of the University of Maryland to see the intra squad Red-Yellow game. A friend was a DIII All-American high jumper, and a group of us journeyed to Annapolis on a fall night to watch him compete. 

Fortunately, I was able to practice with the AU baseball team for a bit in the fall. I had my tryout with the Baltimore Orioles in Virginia because a teammate knew someone in the Orioles organization.

I ran. I lifted. I played. I watched Reggie Jackson’s mammoth All-Star Game homer in Detroit on a small TV in the George Washington dorm I stayed in. I read Shirley Povich’s column (Maury’s dad) in The Washington Post. Warner Wolf was a young sports reporter at WTOP and an announcer for the Senators along with the legendary Bob Wolff. 

It goes on and on. Washington was just as much a sports town as it was the hub of American politics. It is even a greater sports mecca since the Capitals and Bullets (now the Wizards) first came to the suburbs then into the heart of the city, and the Nationals built Nationals Park, a beautiful edifice in SE Washington, which became the home of the World Champions in 2019.

It is no small bit of irony that the headline contest of Saturday’s opening weekend of the NFL playoffs features the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming to the DC suburbs to meet the Washington Football Team. Bucs’ QB Tom Brady, the G.O.A.T., facing certain Comeback Player of the Year, WFT QB Alex Smith. 

The healing which must go on in strife-torn D.C. must include pro football. As much as Bradley Beal of the Wizards leads the NBA in scoring and the Capitals age again among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup when the season opens next week, it is the local NFL team which is the heartbeat of the sports world in the D.C. Metro area.  

An upset win would create euphoria in a new week, one in which the wounds of Wednesday’s insurrection and the political uncertainty and acrimony is still very apparent. Bragging by star WFT defensive lineman Chase Young that he looks forward to sacking Brady many times will have extra emphasis for the WFT fans. In this way, sports can become part of the antidote to the poison which permeated Congress when attacked. 

I wouldn’t normally care too much about the game. It would seem to be a mismatch on paper. However, they play the games for a reason, and the predicted results don’t always come true. Just like elections. 

I like the story of Smith and the difficult, life-threatening recovery he struggled to complete and get back on the field. My dislike for Brady is on multiple layers—from his cheating, to his politics, to his arrogance. 

So count me in for the WFT on this one. I love the city. I love the people. I love Congress for what it symbolizes. And I love happy endings.

What happened at the Capitol made me think of some games I went to where there was unruliness. My first instance was when I was in high school and snuck into Rutgers Stadium for the game against rival Colgate. RU won and the fans stormed the field. Someone grabbed my arm and there I was on the field as they brought down the wooden goalposts and took souvenirs. I was given some shards and took away something that I shouldn’t have but still is in great shape nearly 60 years later. Believe me, I learned how wrong my behavior was. 

I was at that last Senators game with the Yankees and saw the fans run onto the field, tear apart the stadium, ultimately causing the home team to forfeit. I was at Shea Stadium for the last home game of the Jets before they moved to Giants Stadium. The pillaging and looting was incredible to the eye. 

I saw fans pile onto the stadium turf after RU upset Louisville on national TV. I have seen guns flashed at Madison Square Garden. Tossing eggs at fans after the Islanders downed the Rangers in the play-offs. I was present in a quad at the University of Delaware when women and men streaked, the crowd turning into a drunken mess with bottles smashing heads and chaos ensuing. 

These are my personal recollections. There are countless other instances when mobs created a riot during or after a sporting event. 

I may have learned from my mistake. But in the sports world as well as in the political arena, we have not learned that peaceful protest is necessary. 

Colin Kaepernick is still vilified for taking a knee and is black balled from the NFL. The comparison of the actions of those in charge on Wednesday are in sharp contrast to what the response was when protest occurred after the deaths of George Floyd and Brianna Taylor. 

We must learn from this dark episode in America’s history. We must recover. Perhaps, in this year plus of COVID-19, sports will daringly defy the odds and take us to a better place and a feeling of freedom, fun and joy. 

The entire country will be watching. The whole world will be waiting. 

I had intended to talk at length on a number of topics. Instead, I will cover them in short order. 

The Mets pulled off a great trade in obtaining SS Francisco Lindor and P Carlos Carrasco from Cleveland. The NL East now became that much more competitive. 

D.J. LeMahieu may have a price which is heftier for the Dodgers, who really want his services. The Yankees are reportedly his favorite, but could the Mets, with Lindor at short, steal LeMahieu away from the Yanks?

Two other baseball notes. Hall of Fame Dodgers’ manager Tommy Lasorda died on Friday. He was colorful and passionate. A tremendous loss for baseball. And Tommy John, namesake of the famous arm surgery, has COVID-19. Well wishes to a player who should be enshrined in Cooperstown. 

After a weekend of some thrilling games and a tanking by the Eagles which gave Washington the NFC East crown, as mentioned, the NFL playoffs start this weekend. While I will be watching most, if not all of the games, I will become more interested in the second round matches when Kansas City and Green Bay join the fray. Mahomes and Rodgers. A State Farm bonanza?

Teams seeking new head coaches have begun the process. The Jets have interviewed Eric Bieniemy, the KC Offensive Coordinator, and Marvin Lewis, former head man at Cincinnati. Former Florida and Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer’s name has surfaced as a possibility in Jacksonville. 

Trevor Lawrence declared for the NFL Draft. Is he bound for the Jaguars, or did his poor performance versus Ohio State knock down his stock?

The College Football Championship game is Monday night. Alabama is favored over Ohio State. Nick Saban’s daughter insensitively accused OSU of looking to postpone the game due to an outbreak on the campus. I think this game is a toss up. Either team emerging victorious would not be surprising. 

This week the aforementioned Bradley Beal scored 60 points in a loss to Philadelphia. Steph Curry was unconscious in hitting for 62—looking like his old self again. And James Harden still hasn’t been traded by Houston. 

COVID-19 is everywhere, forcing multitudes of college hoops postponements. Seth Curry, Steph’s brother, was yanked from the game in Brooklyn on Thursday night when he learned of a positive test. Kevin Durant is sidelined due to contract tracing. The NCAA is creating its own bubble for March Madness in sites in and around Indianapolis. 

Let us not be distracted from what is even more troubling than the attempted coup. The coronavirus is running rampant in many sections of the country, even as the vaccination effort has begun. 

More than ever sports has its place in society—as a tonic for our societal ills and a forum for its anger. I know that is true for me.

I wish I could drink. With all that’s gone on and will continue to unfold, a gin rickey might be nice right now.