"Show Me The Way"

My apologies. Mea culpa. I had two incorrect statements in my last blog. And I should have known better. 

Thanks to my eagle-eyed cousin in Connecticut, he noticed that I gave the credit for the song “Time of the Season” to the Hollies. Any real follower of rock music knows that the Zombies are the group which sang that unforgettable song. 

The Hollies are well-known for a lot of other songs—22 made the Billboard Hot 100. Incredibly, the Hollies, the name coming from the group members affection for Buddy Holly, have never disbanded, as they continue to record and perform to this day. Original members Tony Hicks and Bobby Elliott remain with the group. Founder Graham Nash moved on in the late 1960’s to even greater fame with Crosby, Stills & Nash. 

No wonder The Hollies were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. “Bus Stop,” “On a Carousel,” “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” ”Long Cool Woman” and “The Air That I Breathe” are legendary hits. 

The Zombies are known for “She’s Not There” along with “Time of the Season.” Both memorable tunes. But not in the league of The Hollies.

My second mistake last week was the misspelling of the name of remarkable UConn freshman Paige Bueckers. I know how she is—simply one of the greatest freshmen to play women’s basketball. Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Bueckers single-handedly guiding a flawed UConn team to the 2021 Final Four. She’s that talented. 

And I know how to spell her name, just like I know how to spell Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres or Miami Dolphins’ QB Tua Tagovailoa difficult names. I want to make that clear. 

So where should I begin? How about with this—I had a blast watching the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Tournament games this year. Many were exciting and won on last second shots or non-calls. 

As exciting as the game proved to be, there were added bonuses to this year’s Big Dances. My wife, as always, showed her interest in sports by more than periodically watching games with me. Even if she lost the Sperber bracket challenge to me—she get the dinner of my choice Saturday night and she has her eyes on a few items on the menu at Nero’s in Livingston.

This year I was joined by an old friend. My junior year roommate at F&M, an intramural leaper out of Belleville, now a retired dentist from Columbia, Maryland, began texting me during the contests. We analyzed and agonized over Rutgers’ two games, the close games and the upsets, the scintillating UConn-Baylor, South Carolina-Stanford and Arizona-Stanford women’s tilts. The comments were whirring during the amazing UCLA-Gonzaga men’s semi final, won by the ‘Zags on that monster 45 foot shot by all-everything and ready-to-play-in-the-pros freshman Jalen Suggs.

I was literally in college basketball heaven—with the TV on and a dialogue at home in the midst of a texting flurry. Which tempered my ongoing criticism of the NCAA in general and the Selection Committee for botching the men’s seedings.

In the end, the best teams won. While the belief that Gonzaga left everything on the court win the OT win versus UCLA has some validity, Baylor looked every bit the super team that could derail an undefeated team like the Bulldogs. The trouncing of Houston in the semi finals was no fluke. Baylor is a legitimate National Champion. 

As for Gonzaga, the critics had questioned how strong and good Gonzaga was, playing the majority of its schedule in the weak West Coast Conference. Those experts claimed that if Gonzaga had been a member of the Pac 12, it never would have been undefeated for as long as it was. 

This was said by those who had disdain for the Pac 12 this season—which proved to be very inappropriate, as the Pac 12 may have been the best conference with Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, USC and UCLA all playing very well. I wonder what excuses these pundits will have next year to put down the Pac 12 and elevate the Big 10, ACC, SEC and Big 12?

With Stanford, the Cardinal survived two heart-throbbing challenges from South Carolina and Arizona. Both with last second shots that failed to go in for Stanford’s opponents. While lucky, Hall of Fame Coach Tara VanDerveer assembled a squad which was ready for the toughest of games. That defined a winner. 

So I looked at the final rankings for both the men and women. I was astonished by what I saw with the men. As expected, Baylor and Gonzaga were 1-2. Houston was third, not UCLA, whose run in the tournament from the play-in game was outstanding. Except in the eyes of the voters in the Coaches Poll. Michigan, who UCLA downed in the Elite Eight, was fourth. Alabama and Arkansas were both ranked higher than the Bruins, who finished seventh. And Illinois, which went out in the Second Round, was ahead of USC, which made it to the Elite Eight. Talk about undeserved favoritism for the Big Ten. 

Those who follow the women got it right. Stanford, Arizona, UConn, South Carolina, Baylor were #1-5. Plus the voting wasn’t that close for any spot other than the 3 votes which separated UConn and South Carolina. #6 Louisville was far distant from #5 Baylor. 

One more comment here. Baylor had the top team in the country for the men and the fifth-best team for the women. Gonzaga had number 2 for the guys and #20 for the gals. Michigan finished #4 on the men’s side and #11 on the women’s side. UCLA had that seventh ranking for the men and the women finished at #12. Other schools with dual rankings included Oregon, Iowa, West Virginia, Arkansas and Texas. 

Let’s look at some trends. The number of players entered into the transfer portal is over 1200. Rutgers has two players who entered their names into the NBA draft but who retain their rights to return to school (underclassman Ron Harper, Jr. and senior Geo Baker, who has that extra year granted by the NCAA due to COVID-19) and at least 3 who want out of Piscataway. 

On the one hand, something must be amiss under Head Coach Steve Pikiell with so many wanting to flee RU. Cincinnati fired their basketball coach after his team did not make the tournament and six players entered the portal. This is disturbing.

Alternatively, teams are going to be different each year as players look for greener pastures. Those who miscalculate and cannot find better locales with more playing time may be replaced and have nowhere to return to. 

I don’t know what the answer is. There has to be some regulation on this behavior. It has become an epidemic, like the current one which has been regulated with masks, testing, social distancing and vaccinations.

Sam Darnold is gone. Jets GM Joe Douglas shipped him off to QB seeking Carolina, amassing some intermediate draft picks in the process. I feel good and bad for Darnold. He tried his darndest for the Green and White, with very little support. His college flaws were apparent at the professional level and they could not be corrected. I wish him well—just not in the game between the two teams this season in Charlotte. 

This leaves Jets fans wondering if Douglas is going to make the right choice for the newest Jets phenom at QB. Will it be Zach Wilson from BYU or Justin Fields out of Ohio State?Will this be the time that the real savior of the franchise, the legitimate heir to Joe Namath finally appears—albeit 50+ years later? We’ll know soon enough, as it is less than three weeks until the NFL Draft starts.

Another trade shocked the local hockey world. New Jersey traded top goal scorer Kyle Palmieri and long time Devil Travis Zajac to the Islanders. Palmieri is a free agent after the season, while Zajac waived his no-trade clause to reunite with former Devils and current Isles GM Lou Lamiorello. New Jersey received New York’s 2021 first round choice and a fourth round selection plus two young players who were not on the current Islanders roster. A nice haul for a rebuilding team which is already armed with young future stars and more high draft choices to come. 

I always thought Zajac would be a Devil for life. I read an article earlier in the year which stated his desire to stay. Evidently the lure of playing in the area on a team which has Stanley Cup aspirations was too good to pass up. I wish him the best; just not in the game versus his former team. 

We are into the second week of the MLB season. The Yankees are already struggling and Aaron Judge, after getting untracked and hitting two homers and driving in 5 runs, now has soreness in his side, which forced him got sit out the final game of the first homestead against Baltimore—a loss—and the opener in Tampa on Friday—a drubbing. 

I have seen flashes of greatness on this team. D.J. LeMahieu has had a few multi hit games. Judge, as I said, started to be more aggressive at the plate. Giancarlo Stanton mashed a 471 grand slam laser against the Orioles, yet he is not hitting for average. And while Gary Sanchez has slugged two homers, he still doesn’t hustle down the line.

Jordan Montgomery looked to be an able left-handed starter counterpoint to Gerrit Cole, who mowed down the O’s for his first win in 2021. Reliever Zach Britton is badly missed, and Chad Green has been spotty, as has been the remainder of the rotation. 

I recognize that it is early in the season. April is notorious for meaning very little over the course of a 162 game schedule. 

Look at White Sox catcher Yermin Mercedes. A player very few have heard of. Mercedes, who is a 28 year old catcher, started out 8 for 8 this season. He is hitting a robust .536 with 2 HR and 7 RBI. By May, he likely will be hitting under .300. 

Or Rule 5 prospect Akil Baddoo, an outfielder Detroit picked up from the Twins. He hit a homer on the first major league pitch he saw on Opening Day and continues to bat .455. Baddoo had to stay on the Tigers major league roster or his rights went back to Minnesota. Hopefully the downtrodden Tigers have found gold here.

The Mets have looked good thus far. Even if Francisco Lindor, recently inked to a 10 year mega deal, hasn’t begun to hit and the team won its home opener on a questionable walkout hit by pitch. I liked that Lindor and team owner Steve Cohen’s in-laws are from the same Puerto Rico town, which led to an immediate bond between Lindor and Cohen’s wife, as they talked about the neighborhood in Caguas, the food and restaurants. There is an energy in Queens that could become magical. 

Yes, there is optimism in the air in many major league cities. It is early and much will happen. 

From that April optimism. two songs come to mind. “Do You Feel The Way I Do” and “Show Me The Way.” I bet you weren’t thinking that Peter Frampton was my closer for this blog.