Too Much To Digest With Breakfast

Before I get to the pressing sports stories of the week (at least in my mind), I want to vent about the demise of the local paper. It is such a shame to those of us who grew up with the print media and what it provided to us Baby Boomers, not just in sports coverage. 

Since I moved to North Jersey in the late 1970’s, my paper of choice has been The Star-Ledger. It has also been known as The Newark Star-Ledger. It was the preeminent source for news about New Jersey, including sports. 

I was fortunate to be living in West Orange. Because I received the Essex edition of the paper. That gave me the latest news and sports scores. The coverage of the state and the local team was comprehensive. 

When we moved to Union County in the late 1980’s, the coverage was still full and complete. There were multiple columnists, complete coverage of all of the local teams with assigned staff writers traveling with the Devils, Yankees, Mets, Nets and Knicks. Box scores for every imaginable game graced those pages. The racing card for the Meadowlands or Monmouth Park was there. There were segments on horse racing and fishing. HIgh school sports coverage was outstanding. 

Fast forward to today. The sports coverage is meager. Four pages tops. There are few columnists. No writers travel with the teams. There is no Devils beat reporter, as the paper prints Associated Press accounts of games. Local schools other than Rutgers and Seton Hall barely get a mention—only because St. Peter’s authored its great NCAA Tournament run did the paper start to provide in depth stories. Because it had to, lest those who remain as loyal readers might flee. HS sports scores are non-existent and the stories offered are dull and mostly impertinent. 

NJ.com comes with the subscription. It proves to be the source for everything New Jersey, including sports. But unlike the paper, which is easily accessible, you have to go through a meandering search to obtain news about the Yankees after three or four clicks on one’s cell phone. Classify that as annoying as hell. 

Add into the mix delivery problems. Once a reliable staple arriving before I went to work, enabling me to devour the paper and be fully conversant on sports and the news of the day, the thin Union edition now appears in my driveway at any hour, no matter the weather—and if there is bad weather, forget about it. 

Sunday and Thursday papers carried circulars for supermarkets, plus coupons for various items which would amount to some serious savings at the register. It allowed for planning the week’s meals and a way to get to the store early before the crowds grow. Except that the papers come later and later, if at all. I’ve grown more attached to Coupon Mom for discounts than the insert in Sunday’s paper. 

I recognize that the newspaper era is coming to an end. Mounting costs of production have reduced the once mighty titans to the level of local rags. And with the pandemic, fewer people are available to deliver the news to one’s doorstep. 

Call me spoiled by the papers of yesteryear. For everything that ESPN, CBS Sports and  Fox Sports offer on air and on their web sites, the coverage is national, which I liken to a greater USA Today. I am still a kid in the candy store, except that candy stores are also outdated. Can I be faulted for my thirst for sports and other news first thing in the morning, reading while eating my bowl of cereal, instead of sitting in front of a screen?

I protest too much. My lament about the Star-Ledger may lead to the end of our subscription. Am I sad about it? Yes. Am I angry about it? Yes. Will I adapt? Of course. Maybe I am a dinosaur, like so many others of my age. 

In the past, the Star-Ledger would have had complete coverage of the NCAA Tournament, even with the cartoon character “Bracket Boy” offering humorous reflections on the picks in the busted brackets of so many. Instead, the games so noteworthy in this Final Four were simply AP articles hidden on the second page of the sports section. 

And the Duke-UNC game, because it went later than 11:00 on Saturday night, stood absolutely zero chance of reaching the readers on Sunday morning, as the paper is put to bed around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Ditto the final between Carolina and Kansas, a thrilling final act to Coach K’s farewell, which wasn’t seen until Tuesday’s paper, which still hasn’t arrived. 

Plus the Star-Ledger would have had in depth reporting from Augusta for this year’s Masters. A Masters which has the compelling storyline of Tiger Woods’ sudden decision to play and the back story on Phil Mickelson not playing. At least three writers would have been present, some beginning to report on Monday, with the others departing from New Orleans late on Monday night after putting a final coda on the NCAA’s. Not happening. 

Baseball’s Opening Day, pushed back by the rancid labor negotiations, is here. So many angles would have been dissected by the stable of journalists the Star-Ledger had assembled. There might have been multiple articles or columns provided by those ensconced in Georgia for the week on both topics. A full section might have been devoted to each.

Also, whatever clubhouse news on the Yankees, including the story within the story about Aaron Judge’s contract extension talks deadline for Opening Day, would have been looked at from a number of perspectives. There would have been articles about Jacob DeGrom’s future, with the Mets ace sidelined for another month with another arm woe. Or introducing more information about future hall of Fame pitcher Max Scherzer and his arrival in Queens. 

Instead, there will be virtually nothing like that available to those who cherish intimacy with their team—unless fans go to the on line sources of team news. Each team, school, sport has a plethora of them, accessible for a modest fee.

Was the Final Four everything I anticipated? Yes. Kansas put on a clinic in taking down an injury-depleted Villanova squad in the first game on Saturday. 

The compelling nightcap was everything dramatic a fan could have hoped for. The number of lead changes. The missed free throws. The made buckets. The intensity. All there. Either team could have won. Duke should not hang their heads in defeat. 

Monday night’s championship game featured a record comeback by a Kansas team which will celebrate now but its fans will agonize for years to come when the sanctions for serious recruiting violations are levied. Just like its arch rival, the Tar Heels should walk away proud of their accomplishment on the court. 

How much of these kinds of stories will be told to those who seek information? They are there, but not in the local papers. 

No—blogs like mine, podcasts, and on line services—they are the future. Too many to choose from, too much to digest with breakfast, I guess.