I Do Actually Follow College Football

None of my football teams are doing well right now. While my baseball team has won the AL East and secured a first round bye, they look anything but a sure bet going forward in the playoffs. Slim pickings, for sure. 

Let’s start with the New York Jets. Mainly because I want to get past this part of my blog as soon as possible. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—probably not for the last time—they aren’t very good. My wife and I went on Sunday to see them face the 0-2 Cincinnati Bengals, a team they beat last season at home and which might have been ripe for the taking on Sunday. 

Except that the Jets couldn’t stop Joe Burrow and his offense on third down, or for that matter, much of the game. Bad tackling, a hallmark of previously inept Jets defenses, was present at Met Life Stadium. I felt badly for Joe Flacco, the ageless former Baltimore Ravens star QB now relegated to a backup role on a woeful team with very limited personnel on the offensive line to protect him. 

While he miraculously led the team to a comeback win in Cleveland, courtesy of a myriad of last minute Browns bad decisions, Flacco can only do so much in any given sequence. Moreover, Cincinnati was really not a 0-2 team, having lost to Pittsburgh in OT due to the loss of their long snapper that contributed to missed kicks, and the luck of the Dallas Cowboys hitting a long field goal to win. 

No, the hungriness of the Bengals didn’t help the Jets at all. Matching Cincinnati touchdowns with field goals wasn’t going to win the game.

With impending bad weather on the horizon and my being still under the weather myself, we made a decision to leave the half-filled stadium at the half. With absolutely no vehicles clogging the exits and light traffic on Route 3 and the Garden State Parkway, we made it home in time to see the end of the third quarter. 

Why do I continue to watch? Maybe because I feel loyal, I kept on checking the TV, hoping that I could be wrong and another miracle could happen. But that’s what I am reduced to these days. Praying for miracles. 

Rutgers. Oh RU, the Birthplace of College Football. You teased us so much with a dramatic win at Boston College and then thrashing Wagner, before having some difficulty on the road at Temple. A 3-0 start heading into Big Ten play, with a home sellout for Iowa, a team with a stout defense and a lack of a scoring punch. Heady thought on the Banks of the ‘ol Raritan. 

We who root for the Scarlet Knights should know better. Stuck with a third string quarterback who looked lost among the taller linemen on both teams, Rutgers was no match for the Hawkeyes. 

This is how the conference portion of the season opens. With a resounding defeat. A trip to Columbus to face Ohio State, one of the top two or three teams in the nation is next. I think the 40 points by which the Buckeyes are favored is low. 

Perhaps I expect too much from Greg Schiano in his second incarnation in Piscataway. He was once the savior. There was some progress made last season. Yet, without a true QB running the show, it feels like the Knights have taken a couple of giant  steps backwards. 

Sure, there are some potentially winnable games on the slate. There are also blowouts upcoming with the likes of Michigan and Penn State in addition to Ohio State. Progress is not measured in baby steps anymore. 

If Kansas can be undefeated and running a potent offense under a coach who was successful in Division III at Wisconsin-Whitewater and then at Buffalo, the question looms large as to why not Rutgers? Until that is answered and the necessary recruits land in Schiano’s lap, anticipate more mediocrity. I can tell you this—if my wife is disgruntled by where the team stands, I am sure she is not alone. 

Franklin and Marshall is 2-2 heading into Saturday’s home game versus #8 Johns Hopkins. I should have eyes on the ground for this game, provided the ominous weather from Ian does not cancel my roommate’s plans to attend. 

F&M is under new guidance. The former head coach is now at Lafayette, his alma mater, and the Leopards are already a better team. 

I have low expectations for the Diplomats this weekend. Historically, F&M has given the Blue Jays some difficulty in the past. This is a new regime and things could easily be different.

Last week, F&M picked off 4 Ursinus passes but could not mount much of an attack. The Bears are a fairly good team—they have a win over Muhlenberg under their belts, a team predicted to finish second in the Centennial Conference. 

Meanwhile, F&M gave a ranked Susquehanna squad a very close game the week before. While Hopkins is a tough matchup and a trio to Muhlenberg is in late October, Juniata, a 70-0 victim of Hopkins, Gettysburg and Moravian might be a win for this edition of F&M football. 

It is the True Blue Weekend contest with traditional rival Dickinson which will determine whether the Diplomats finish over or under .500 in CC games. Since I expect to be at Shadek Stadium as the red Devils list coincides with my class celebrating our 50th reunion, nothing would be sweeter than a triumph and keeping the Conestoga wagon in Lancaster for another year. 

It is true that the Southeastern Conference is once more loaded with Top 25 teams. Seven SEC schools are ranked. I wonder how good the teams are which are behind the top two—Georgia and Alabama. The SEC will sort itself out—it always does. Minus Vanderbilt, which rarely goes to a bowl game (and the Commodores are 3-2), teams like South Carolina, Mississippi State, Florida and Missouri can’t be counted out of the post-season. 

 

Meanwhile, perennial Top 25 Oklahoma was beaten in Norman by a recent nemesis, Kansas State. Red River Shootout partner Texas, headed to the SEC with OU, was shocked in Lubbock by Texas Tech. 

Five ACC schools made the Top 25. Check in at the end of the season to see if that holds true. Ditto the Big Ten, which I continue to believe is overrated in all sports. Remember, this is an early ranking and the pollsters need teams to fill the ranks. 

What caught my eye was Fordham, a school with a rich football tradition but now comfortable in the Patriot League with the likes of Colgate, Lehigh and Lafayette, almost pulling off a stunning upset of Ohio University of the stronger Mid-American Conference. The Bobcats win over Florida Atlantic makes them appear to be a better than average team—FAU gave Purdue all it could handle. 

Also a stunner was how Miami, a supposed power in the ACC, was thrashed at home by Middle Tennessee. Go ‘Canes?

Losing has consequences. Coaches at Arizona State, Georgia Tech and Nebraska have been summarily fired this early into the season. With huge budgets and impatient alumni, more firings may occur. Which is why Greg Schiano may be on the hot seat next year if the losing trend continues. 

For me, I look at the NESCAC, that hallowed D-III conference to see that Colby actually beat Williams and Amherst, almost always a power, sits at 0-2 after losses to doormat Hamilton and Middlebury. In college football, in most every venue, it is a mentality of any given Saturday something can happen. 

Which is why: 1) I am grateful that my neighbor, an Ursinus grad who played football and baseball there didn’t give me too much grief this week over the Bears win over F&M; and 2), contrary to some beliefs, even if I remain fixated on Aaron Judge (who finally slugged the AL-record tying 61st homer in Toronto on Wednesday night), I do actually follow college football. 

Blog Redux

  I wrote a very nice blog earlier this week, covering the NFL thus far. With a tiny bit devoted to Aaron Judge. 

Under the headline Dog Ate My Homework (and we don’t currently have a dog nor can I blame a neighbor’s pet), in the process of saving it and copying the article for my editor to review, it disappeared into the ether. Which is too bad, because I kind of liked what I had written.

Rather than try to recreate it, I move on. Last Sunday I relapsed and ended up watching TV sports all day. Which was a blessing, considering how I am still coughing and wheezing and now on a second set of medication which is only slightly helping. Getting in touch with my GP has become a process—she did a TeleMed on Monday and I called yesterday to provide an update and seek a refill on my inhaler, with her office making me call CVS to send her a fax request for the medication. Oh, and taking doxycycline on an empty stomach, in line with the instructions on the pill bottle label, is a no-no.

So, while I ruminate about how I think I am suffering from what is called “Post-COVID’ since many of my upper respiratory symptoms mirror what befell me in January, sports doesn’t stop simply because I’m ill. Just because I won the law school prize for medical malpractice doesn’t come close to making me an expert in medical science. Then again, because I watch TV sports incessantly and played some college baseball doesn’t exactly make me any more knowledgeable than Yankees manager Aaron Boone, a USC grad or Jets head man Robert Saleh, who matriculated at that football factory, Northern Michigan (Michigan State Hall of Fame hoops coach Tom Izzo and his pal, former 49’ers and Lions head coach who now is an analyst for the NFL Network, Steve Mariucci).

Those guys are handsomely paid for their work. My reward is in the praise and criticism you, my loyal readers, offer to me. 

One of my readers went after me for not writing enough about the NFL. Well, I was fixated on Aaron Judge and his pursuit of the American League home run record and the Triple Crown.  Largely because I am that kind of Yankees homer. And in this kind of magical season, a once in a generation if not better kind of season, following and reporting on Judge is, in my mind, perfectly acceptable. 

How are things in the NFL after two plus weeks? In flux is the best way to describe it. 

New York Giants fans are euphoric. A 2-0 start with a win at Tennessee after converting a 2 point conversion, followed by a gritty, field goal-laden victory in the home opener against Baker Mayfield and the Carolina Panthers. All the talk around the area is that the G-Men could make it three in a row on Monday night when the Cooper Rush-led Dallas Cowboys come to New Jersey. Notwithstanding that all-knowing and omnipotent Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has anointed Rush as his QB over the injured Dak Prescott, stating that a quarterback competition might actually be good. 

Let me set the record straight. The Giants are not in the upper echelon of NFL teams. I don’t know if any team from the NFC East belongs there—even with Philadelphia’s beat down of the Vikings, winners over Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay on Opening Day on Monday night; the Eagles barely escaped Detroit with a win on opening day.  Remember, Minnesota QB Kirk Cousins stinks on Monday nights. And how good are the Lions, or for that matter Washington, after Detroit beat the Commanders?

Remaining with the NFC North, all four teams are 1-1. Perhaps the Lions are better as it may cooer; they haven’t left Ford Field yet, which should test the team. The Bears may have beaten the 49’ers with Trey Lance at the helm, but they looked horrible in Green Bay. As for the Packers, I still believe that the loss to Minnesota isn’t fatal to their efforts. Nor would a loss this week at Tampa Bay hurt their aspirations. 

Speaking about Tom Brady—he now gets Wednesdays off to ready himself for the upcoming game. Nice perk, and one that might be necessary for domestic tranquility in the Brady household. Could his Bucs be the best in the NFC? Even with a win, it is too early to tell. 

What is surprising is that Carolina and Atlanta are 0-2. Maybe not the Falcons so much, but I thought Baker Mayfield might light up the league with a chip on his shoulder—perhaps the Browns knew something in jettisoning him?

The NFC West has four 1-1 teams. The Rams are defending Super Bowl champs and they have looked sluggish out of the gate. I am not enamored with either Arizona or Seattle. 

Things took a definite turn in that division when Niners QB Lance broke his ankle on Sunday. That’s when the unfairly-maligned Jimmy Garoppolo went under center and led the team to an easy win over Seattle. Jimmy G is a winner. 

I think he can lead the Niners to the NFC West crown. His incentive-laden contract will benefit him greatly. The fact that both sides moved on from their off-season acrimony will pay dividends for everybody. Sunday night’s game in Denver against old foe Russell Wilson will be a real good game and might show us that the Niners are for real.

Over in the AFC, there are two teams head and shoulders above everyone else. Buffalo is trouncing its opponents. They face a very improved Miami Dolphins squad, one which came back to down the Ravens in a 21 point rally in Baltimore. Despite Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson attaining a perfect QB rating. This will be an interesting matchup.

Then there is Kansas City. Patrick Mahomes II is on his game and the Chiefs look tough.  A trip to surprisingly woeful Indianapolis, where Matt Ryan is looking his age, could put KC at 3-0. 

Bigger shocks in the AFC are that Cincinnati, last year’s AFC representative in the Super Bowl, is 0-2 along with the Raiders, who experts believed would be a threat to the Chiefs and Chargers in the West. Vegas goes to another 0-2 shocker, Tennessee, in what appears to be a must-win scenario for both teams. 

Meanwhile, the Bengals come East to play the Jets. My team came back in the fourth quarter to win in Cleveland, ending a 14 game winless streak in September games. No matter how enthusiastic Head Coach Robert Saleh is, the Jets with either Joe Flacco or Zach Wilson guiding the offense, this team has a way to go. Nonetheless, I would not at all be surprised if the Jets win—they beat Cincinnati last year at home. 

Jacksonville won at home last week. They face a more imposing task when they take on the Chargers in Inglewood. The game turns on how well Justin Herbert can play—he suffered broken rib cartilage in KC and it limited his mobility. I fear he is one hit away from being out indefinitely. I like Herbert, and the Chargers will go as far as he can take them. 

While Cleveland currently leads the AFC North, I still feel that Baltimore is the class of the division. Pittsburgh is mediocre with Mitchell Trubinsky leading them; rookie Kenny Pickett won’t be the answer and alas, Steelers fans, Ben Roethlisberger isn’t coming back. 

Two other teams worth mentioning are the Patriots and Broncos. They will be on the cusp of teams vying for the playoffs. Russell Wilson is always exciting and they should have won at Seattle but for horrible clock management. With New England, Mac Jones is a steady leader, and Bill Belichick is, well, Bill Belichick, maybe the greatest coach of all time. 

Yeah, Judge hit number 60 in leading the Yankees back versus Pittsburgh. He remains tied with Babe Ruth when his fly ball landed in the glove of Red Sox outfielder Keke Hernandez on Thursday night, some 404 feet away from home plate. His laser throw from right field showed his prowess in the field. 

You know how I gush over Judge. I will have plenty more to say about him, baseball, the NFL, college football and even basketball and hockey.

That’s it. Blog Redux. 

And I Didn't Write About The Jets

I am feeling better. My cough is subsiding. I am getting my energy back. Finally. 

Could it be a coincidence that the Yankees are playing, well, like the Yankees of the first half of the season? Maybe they all took Z-pack like I did? Or maybe the calendar turned and August is a distant memory? Or perhaps that some pitchers have really stepped up and the hitters—yes, you Gleyber Torres—have gotten hot at the right time? Even without D.J. LeMahieu and Anthony Rizzo absent from the lineup and Aaron Hicks becoming a true enigma?

Whatever the reasons, this is a feel good period for the Bronx Bombers. I mean they won a game in Boston with what announcer Michael Kay aptly described as a Little League home run—Torres hit a single and with some bad play by the Red Sox, he scampered around the bases to slide in safe at home plate. Check the Internet for that hot video. 

Pursuers Tampa Bay and Toronto are in the midst of their head-to-head play over a two week period and now New York sits 6 games ahead of the Blue Jays and 6.5 in front of the Rays. With 19 more games to go. 

The Yankees magic number has been mentioned. It is 14 right now. Dare I say that two weeks ago, most Yankees fans were not thinking about the team clinching the AL East, let alone making the playoffs. 

A lot of things can still happen during this last stretch of games. Some great philosopher once said “It ain’t over til it’s over.” But just like me, the Yankees and their fans are breathing once more. 

Rizzo and LeMahieu are coming back soon. Giancarlo Stanton is slowly coming around, although he did strike out 4 times on Wednesday and looked awkward at bat. Harrison Bader will be making his Yankees debut very soon and can make the loyalists forget about the seemingly one-sided trade for Jordan Montgomery.

Luis Severino will be on the mound in short order, making the rotation more formidable. A number of relievers will be returning too. Suddenly, the team is getting healthy.

Oh, and Aaron Judge has been in another zone. His statistics are Ruthian—and I do mean that, because his season is being compared to those of the Bambino. 

Sitting at 57 home runs, it is a matter of when he will surge past Roger Maris. For now, he isn’t the player on the Yankees who has had the most home runs in a season—Stanton  slugged 59 in 2017. He will race by that shortly. 

In New York, we haven’t had too many watches involving the Yankees. The Jeter watch seems to be the last one, when he was looking to collect his 3,000 hit. 

The three game inter league series this weekend in Milwaukee, followed by the Pirates coming into Yankee Stadium for two tilts should give us an idea of when Judge’s at bats will be must see TV (as if they already aren’t?). And ironically, the Red Sox come to town after the Pirates—it was Maris clubbing a Tracy Stallard pitch for his 61st homer; Stallard wore a Boston uniform that day. 

I was questioned about being too Yankees centric. I acknowledge my long time bias. But there are only a few races left to follow as the season heads to its ultimate conclusion. 

The closest is in the NL East, where the Mets and Braves are separated by 0.5, with Atlanta having played one less game. Both could win 100 games this season. They have a critical three game set in Atlanta the final weekend. New York must go on the road to Milwaukee and Oakland. The Braves have a slew of games with the Phillies, a team two games up on San Diego and four games ahead of the Brewers for a Wild Card berth. One will emerge as the division winner, one will be the top NL Wild Card team. New York just needs one win to secure the tiebreaker between the two rivals. 

Otherwise, the Orioles sit for games behind the Rays for the final AL Wild Card slot. Cleveland holds a four game margin over the White Sox and five over the Twins in the AL Central. That’s the extent of what is happening in pennant races for 2022. 

Let me go back to Judge’s pursuit of 61. There are the baseball purists, who point out that Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire muscled their way into the record books by cheating—allegedly using steroids to enhance their power. Those purists want Judge to be their standard bearer. 

This brings me back to when Maris was hitting homers in 1961. It was decreed that his performance would not be breaking Babe Ruth’s mark—because it happened in a 162 game season, whereas Ruth and his Yankees played in only 154 games. 

While this slight was ultimately corrected, baseball never really has dealt with the home run record. Only the Hall of Fame voters have chosen to police the steroid use by keeping the aforementioned trio out of the shrine. Those voters are sportswriters. 

My take on this is simple. Unless the games suddenly don’t count anymore, then the records stand. The marks set by Bonds and Mc Gwire will not necessarily be threatened by Judge this year.

What Judge is doing is unprecedented. He will have the American League record for home runs. That is one heck of an accomplishment. Everything else that he leads the league in is so far ahead of his pursuers that it is almost comical. That’s how good he’s been.

Let’s celebrate Judge for what he is doing. No matter if he wins or loses the AL M.V.P., this will be a year to remember. Like I do with 1961. Or how there was always a second individual chasing Bonds (Sosa) or Mc Gwire (Sosa). Or even Maris (Mantle). 

Nobody is close to Judge in homers—in either league. Let that sink in, purists. How are you going to deal with that one to denigrate what Judge has achieved?

One other topic. Retirement has become of vogue. First, there was Serena Williams after her US Open loss. 

Then there was the kerfuffle regarding the G.O.A.T. of the NFL. That would be one Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, Jr. So much has been made of his 11 day absence from training camp. 

He left because his wife wanted to go on a pre-planned family vacation—one which he decided to do when he initially retired after last season, before unretiring. Giselle Bundchen  has made it abundantly clear that she disapproved of his choice and there are plenty of reports that the marriage is rocky right now. 

Brady is obsessive when it comes to football. He wanted to play at age 45. Check. 

His career will end this season, no matter what. Whatever happens to his marriage as a result is a private matter. Except to everybody who follows the NFL. It sure is hard to be Tom Brady these days.

Serena kind of said that she could play on like Brady. Really? I doubt it. I would advise her to look no further than Roger Federer, the Swiss tennis legend who announced that he will play in one more tournament than call it quits. I don’t hear that his marriage is in trouble—nor did Serena’s appear to be this last US Open fortnight. 

College football heads into its third week with Georgia leading the polls. Alabama had trouble in Austin. Texas A&M has Miami invading College Station. With the weather beautiful for much of the country. 

The Giants upset the Titans on a gutsy two point conversion called by first year head coach Brian Daboll. Denver’s coach blew the game with his horrible clock management. The Bengals loss of long snapper Clark Harris cost them a win over Pittsburgh. Indianapolis and Houston played to an ugly tie. And Eagles fans, let’s see how your team does at home with a Minnesota team which took down the vaunted Aaron Rodgers and his Green Bay Packers. At least those teams are better off than Dallas, where QB Dak Prescott is out after hand surgery. 

A lot of rocking the boat this week. In baseball, college football and in the NFL. And I didn’t even write about the Jets. 

Watching Sports On TV While Sick

As I write from my perch at the computer desk, also doubling as my wife’s desk in the room formerly home to our son and reconverted into our office (much to his chagrin), I have a horrendous cold which has led to my being on three medications to control a raging cough and post-nasal drip. This cold is the courtesy of our children, who happily returned from a visit to South Africa. Just like when I had COVID, I am seemingly the one who suffers the most. 

It’s a joy to be in a house where three people are displaying varying degrees of illness. So entertaining.

Speaking of entertaining, since I was sequestered in the den, I actually watched the entire Twins-Yankees doubleheader on Wednesday, split between Amazon Prime for Game 1 and the second game telecast on the YES Network. And I wasn’t disappointed despite hacking up my guts all too frequently.

There is something medicinal about the Yankees playing the Twins. The Yankees lately have a 98-37 winning advantage over the boys from Minnesota. New York has won 22 of the past 24 games at Yankee Stadium, making the Twins 1-17 there since 2017. Since 2002, the Yankees are 53-13 at home versus the Twins. That may not include a 16-2 record in the post-season. 

Maybe this dominance over the Twins is rooted in the past, when the Twins were the original Washington Senators, perennial doormats in the American League, compared to the continually winning Bronx Bombers. I don’t know how accurate this is, but New York leads in the all-time series by a count of 1136-770. 

So when the Yankees fell behind early in both games, there was still this feeling that the games weren’t going to end in a Twins victory. Even though the Yankees’ playing had been pitiful and their lineup was so decimated that all five of the minor league call ups played, including three in both contests. Their presence proved to be important. 

Sure, Aaron Judge homered again in Game 1. That made 4 in 4 games for the Yankees slugger. His blast made him the all-time right-handed single season home run king for the Yankees (Lefty swingers Babe Ruth and Roger Maris benefitted from the short-porch in right field at the old Yankee Stadium). His home run also made him the Yankees player with the most home runs at the new Stadium, passing Mark Texieira with his 114th shot into the seats. 

I know that the season Shohei Ohtani is having will forever be etched into history. He is having a truly great season. But when Aaron Judge takes his short-handed team to the playoffs; when he scores ALL of the runs the Yankees accumulated in St. Petersburg in losing two out of the three to the hard-charging Rays; when he breaks Maris’ record in possibly 154 games, which was the controversy when Roger beat Ruth with his 61st home run in game number 162 sixty-one years ago, and he leads the league in homers, R.B.I. and runs scored, and hits around .300, c’mom already. Stop the nonsense. He’s the A.L M.V.P.

When Judge failed to hit a home run in the second game, I was majorly disappointed. His 0-2 included 3 bases on balls. And it included his 16th stolen base, a theft of third base. 

The trend is to pitch around Judge, lest he swats one into the seats. The raising of four fingers by an opposing manager to intentionally walk the Yankees best three will occur more often. 

Which makes his accomplishments down the stretch that much more startling—in limited chances to swing the bat, his productivity is absolutely amazing. With sluggers Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton, D.J LeMahieu, Matt Carpenter sidelined and recently-acquired Anthony Benintendi facing hand surgery, there is little support in the lineup. 

Against the Twins, two players mired in slumps—Gleyber Torres and Aaron Hicks came through. Then there was the much-maligned shortstop, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who has ben aware of the social media comments about his recent poor fielding and lack of power. Playing third base, where he has won a Gold Glove, IK-F slammed a grand slam into the left field seats to erase a 1-0 deficit in the second game. He now has 3 homers after going homerless in his first 120 games. His bat flip showed his true emotions. 

Yet it was the play of the rookies which stood out the most. I cannot get over Oswaldo Cabrera. He has been forced into playing the outfield after being an infielder for almost the entirety of his minor league career. He threw out a Twins runner at home in the tense 12 inning first game—he has an astounding 5 outfield assists in 13 games in addition to many other spectacular defensive gems. 

And he delivered the game-winning single, breaking an 0-24 slide at the plate. The desperate Yankees slotted him in the cleanup spot because the think so highly of a guy batting .192. Although he strained four runners, Cabrera went 1 for 4 at the dish. Do you think that GM Brian Cashman may have lucked into something great out of necessity?

Oswald Peraza played admirably at shortstop, collecting his first major league hit in the first game, ending with a 3-5 line score and 4-8 for the doubleheader. Estevan Florial made up for a bad play in center field which led to a Minnesota score by going 2-3 in Game 2. Miguel Andujar played in the first game and Ronald Guzman looked over-matched at the plate but was steady at first base.

Let me heap some praise on the Yankees pitchers. The six pitchers in Game 1 held the Twins to three earned runs. Another rookie, Greg Wiessert, was the winning pitcher when New York overcame a one run Minnesota lead by scoring two runs in the bottom of the 12th. 

The second game belonged to ace Gerrit Cole. While he surrendered a double and home run to his former Houston teammate Carlos Correa, who heard it loudly from the Bronx crowd regarding hi role in the Astros cheating scandal, Cole was outstanding. He struck out 14 while walking 2 in 6.2 innings, throwing nearly 120 pitches. Lucas Luetge threw 30 more pitches in sitting down the Twins for the victory. 

Suddenly, there is an air of confidence in the Bronx, where the Yankees are more formidable. Sure, we can excuse this as taking advantage of the Twins. Yet Minnesota is only trailing Cleveland by 2 games in the AL Central—a 68-66 record is meaningful. Plus, staring on Friday, the Twins and Guardians meet 8 times in 11 days, which could decide which team wins the division. 

Meanwhile, those Rays are in town for three contests over the weekend. Friday night the Yankees are honoring Derek Jeter for his Hall of Fame induction. The Yankees captain will be in the house. The place may be raucous.

The Yankees will need all the help they can get. Losing two of three to the Rays won’t be disastrous. Tampa Bay has to contend with surging Toronto, six behind New York, for eight games, with six more against league leader Houston and three at Cleveland. If The Rays can navigate that schedule and pass the Yankees, then they will have deserved to win the AL East. 

It is sure going to be exciting baseball down the stretch. Both here and in Queens, where the Mets and the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves are neck and neck for the NL East title. 

It’s going to be tough for me on Thursday night. Yankees facing the Twins once more. Plus the NFL season begins with a blockbuster game—Buffalo at the LA Rams. No Mets game to contend with as they are off until Friday in Miami. 

Yeah, I will be spitting out gunk all day and into the evening. Again stuck in my den recliner. Watching sports on TV while sick.

Happy Labor Day

College football season is truly upon us. While there were a smattering of games last weekend, things begin in earnest this weekend. Although Northwestern upsetting Nebraska was nice (and I didn’t think it was that much of an upset given the horrific coaching of Scott Frost at his alma mater, to the consternation of Big Red fans, as opposed to how Pat Fitzgerald has been one of the best coaches in the country at his alma mater, to the joy of the Northwestern alumni), the big boys get going on Labor Day Weekend. 

Of interest are two games in Atlanta. First, Georgia hosts Oregon in an intersectional matchup on Saturday. After the revelers clear town, the rowdies from Clemson can come into the city for a game against Georgia Tech, not on Tech’s campus, but inside of the same Merceds-Benz Stadium that hosted the Ducks and Bulldogs. I foresee a whole lot of partying in Hotlanta this holiday weekend.

I saw three scheduling oddities that might not have occurred years ago. Blue bloods Virginia Tech, North Carolina State and North Carolina are playing non-ACC in state rivals on the road for their openers. Va Tech heads to Old Dominion; the Tar Heels venture to East Carolina and the Wolfpack heads to Boone to meet with Appalachian State. I hope the bus drivers have road maps. And leave early on account of traffic. 

Other interesting contests are Colgate at Stanford; Maine at New Mexico; Albany at Baylor; Rice at USC; and Northern Oregon at Marshall. How do you spell rout?

There are a lot more geographically desirable meetings, such as West Virginia-Pitt; Western Michigan-Michigan State; Richmond-UVA; North Dakota-Nebraska (if the Cornhuskers lose this one, Frost is a goner); Houston-UT San Antonio; and Idaho-Washington State. But there also are some big time games, with Penn State heading to Purdue; Indiana and Illinois meeting; Florida State at LSU; Notre Dame and Ohio State vie in Columbus; Cincinnati is at Arkansas; and Louisville goes to Syracuse.

RU opens up at Boston College, a game Greg Schiano didn’t schedule. I am sure that he would prefer Wagner, next’s weeks’s home opener, to start the season (thanks again to my roommate from law school and his wife for offering tickets to the Scarlet Knights and Seahawks). I feel like RU is in flux and is in for a thumping. I hope that I am wrong. 

Ditto for my alma mater. F&M was picked to finish fifth in the Centennial for 2022. In the first ever night game at Shadek Stadium, the Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen come in seeking to down the Diplomats in this historic game. Even with a former head coach from Colgate as offensive coordinator, a new head coach who was an assistant at Williams College, a very successful DIII program, and few returning starters, this looks to be a long season in Lancaster. 

As if college football wasn’t enough, baseball is in its last 30-32 games before the playoffs. For some teams, they are in struggles for the division lead. 

For teams like the Dodgers, it is simply seeing how not to get injured in a cakewalk in the NL West. LAD came to New York to meet the NL East-leading Mets. I watched the Dodgers to see how good they are. And the answer is that this teams is scary good. 

Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Trae Turner are superb players having fine years. Freeman and Turner are neck and neck for the NL lead in hits. The pitching is a bit suspect with some injuries to Tony Gosolin and Clayton Kershaw is just returning from his latest IL stint. The closer status for LAD may be a bit murky. What can you say negatively about a team that is making a run at Seattle’s 116 victories? Other than hoping that the same fate which happened to the Mariners doesn’t await the Dodgers—losing short of the World Series would be a shame. 

Meanwhile, the Yankees muddled through a West Coast trip which ends with a cross-country flight for a pre-Labor Day visit with second place Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg. In July, no one would have believed that this would be a critical series for both teams. Given New York’s misfortunes, it now is just that. The Yankees have the opportunity to give themselves some breathing room with a series win; the Rays can really tighten things with a sweep. 

This is where the once fearsome Bronx Bombers have put themselves. With their unprecedented swoon, even the Baltimore Orioles, on the periphery of a Wild Card slot, could overtake the Yankees if the losing continues. 

At least Aaron Judge is magnificent to watch. Pursuing the franchise home run record held by the late Roger Maris, to hear his name mentioned with Maris, Mickey Mantle, Alex Rodriguez and Babe Ruth is mind-boggling. That’s how great number 99 has been.

Call me a homer here, but I believe that Judge wins the AL M.V.P. award, despite the clamor for Shohei Ohtani. Sure, Ohtani does something else nobody else does—pitches and is the Angels DH. That is laudatory enough. Especially with his outstanding numbers in both departments, 

Overall, Ohtani hasn’t meant as much to the Angels winning as Judge has to the Yankees’s success; Ohtani did hit two game-winning homers in the recent series between the teams. Judge is a superb defender, playing both right and center field, robbing a number of players of home runs with his defense. 

I recognize that Ohtani is an All-Star in hitting and pitching. I also recognize that Ohtani is the first to have 30 homers and 10 pitching victories in two consecutive seasons. 

However, when there is an assault on Ruth and Maris’ sacred records, along with incredible run production by leading baseball in R.B.I.’s and runs scored and now accumulating a ton of walks, both intentionally and unintentionally, this proves who teams do not want to face. Which is why now, with 30 games left, Judge is ahead for the M.V.P. award while Ohtani is still the unicorn of MLB. 

More baseball to comment on. How about the streaking Albert Pujols? The Cardinals’ slugger is making a run at 700 home runs in his career. Only Barry Bonds and Henry Aaron have done that. 

This is Pujols’ last season. I hope he reaches that magic number. The what if people have already asked what happens if he does not reach 700 homers? Will he come back next year? 

Stop being silly. He has had a tremendous career. He is one of the greats. Whether he stops at 698 or 699, or even remains tied with A-Rod at 696, what does it matter? Albert Pujols’ legacy is a great one, no matter what the final numbers are. 

I watched the Mets Old Timers Game on Saturday evening. This is the first one in many, many years, a tribute to 60 years of Mets baseball. It was throughly enjoyable. 

So many Mets from the past. From Jay Hook, the pitcher who won the first game for the Mets in 1962, to franchise icons like Mike Piazza, Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden, Mets history came to life before the viewers’ and fans’ eyes. Name a player or manager who still is alive—they all seemingly were there. 

Two things stood out. First, in making good on a long overdue promise made by former owner Mrs. Joan Payson when she brought Wille Mays back to New York, number 24 was retired for good. 

Then in what I thought was an incredible feat, Steve Dillon took the mound in the Old Timers’ Game. Dillon pitched in four games for the Mets. That is not important. That he took the mound at age 79 and was competitive was the amazing fact for the Amazins’. 

The US Open drones on. Not much for me to watch except for two immortals. Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams. The crowds recognize their greatness—a raucous sellout was on hand for Serena’s opening match, which resulted in a win. Arthur Ashe Stadium was also alive for Nadal, the fan favorite who can add to his 22 Grand Slam victories while Novak Djokovic remains unvaccinated. 

Serena is giving it her best shot, but as she approaches age 41, it was fitting that she is saying goodbye to competitive tennis at the US Open with her singes matches and then competing in doubles with her sister Venus. GOAT is not used lightly when referring to Serena Williams. 

To some her two wins were a surprise and to others it was almost expected. For Williams has ascended to the third round with a three set win over the number 2 seed, Anett Kontaveit. She is keeping the ball rolling. And it is downright captivating. 

One last mention. Brian Robinson, Jr. a promising rookie running back out of Alabama who is on the roster of the Washington Commanders, was shot twice in a carjacking in D.C. Remarkably, his injuries weren’t life threatening and he might make it back to play this season. You can bet I am rooting for this kid. Big time. 

Enjoy the bonanza of sporting events on the airwaves. Happy Labor Day.