Pre-Bat Mitzvah Thoughts

  Early blog this week. That’s because  most of our family is headed to Georgia, my birth state, for a family bat mitzvah. 

That’s the place which seems to be the epicenter of the political and collegiate football worlds. And by the way, don’t look now, but the Atlanta Falcons, led by the suddenly rehabilitated Marcus Mariota at quarterback, are in first place in the NFC West with a 4-4 record. They are actually favored to win on Sunday, when Atlanta hosts the Los Angeles Chargers, a disappointing team which many had picked to be in the Super Bowl. Matt Ryan, it seems like Falcons fans hardly knew you—and now you are a casualty of a generous contract which would pay you handsomely for 2023, which Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has made clear he doesn’t want to pay up on. 

Yes, I will be many miles away from Albany, where I last visited in February. By and large I will be in Alpharetta, a northern suburb of Atlanta, provided my escape isn’t too traumatic from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, merely one of the busiest airports in the world. Georgia traffic can be very unkind on any day, but especially on Friday afternoon. 

But the focus will be on a game on Saturday about 50 miles east of downtown Atlanta. The suddenly resurgent Tennessee Volunteers head to Athens, Georgia to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. 

In the first BCS poll, Tennessee, largely based on its monumental win at home over the Alabama Crimson Tide, sits in first place. Most polls had Georgia and Ohio State at one and two, Not so, says the BCS, as Georgia has tumbled to the third slot.

While initial polls are hardly going to reflect the final one, it is noteworthy that Georgia, at home and defending between the hedges, has even more motivation to put Tennessee in its rightful place—behind the Bulldogs. Almost everything will come to a stop on Saturday around 3:30 EST when the two SEC powerhouses clash. 

As you may know, a former Georgia student running for U.S. Senator has been in the news. Republican nominee Herschel Walker, football royalty in the Peach State, is trying to take the seat currently held by Reverend Raphael Warnock. ‘Dawg Nation is very proud of their adopted son, Walker, a Heisman Trophy winner, as he attempts to unseat his Democratic opponent. I am sure that if I watch the game on Saturday, the CBS broadcast will be saturated with commercials for the two candidates and for Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp as they once more vie for the governorship, held by Republican Kemp. I wouldn’t be surprised if I see former President Donald Trump on the screen, touting his former New Jersey Generals star running back. Ditto for the probably smaller audience checking out the Falcons-Chargers game. 

The bigger question for this trip is something which arose at my 50th college reunion at Franklin and Marshall two short weekends ago. Will there be pigs in blankets or am I going to see more grits than I want to?

Before the big game on Saturday, we might have a World Series champion. With a rainout forcing the game schedule to be compressed, either team could be in position to walk away with the trophy. 

Many are surprised at how the Philadelphia Phillies, the team which virtually snuck into the NL playoffs, seem to be dominating the Houston Astros with home runs. That appears to be out of the New York Yankees playbook—crush your opposition with the long ball. Some have called them the South Philly Bombers, which is a little sarcasm thrown at the Bronx Bombers, who could not compete with the Astros and weakly went out in four games in the American League Championship Series. 

Could it be that the Astros, even while winning their previous series handily, might be a bit deflated? Or could it be that the Phils have a could-care-less attitude and nothing seems to faze them?

Whatever moves them, the Phils became a very formidable opponent for the vaunted Houston team, an offensive juggernaut with some pretty fair pitching. The two best-known bats in the Phillies lineup, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, are big boppers and they are leading the attack. With the rain delay, the Phillies were able to even more favorably align their pitching rotation, which seems to throttle the hard outs in the Houston batting order. 

Then there are the fans. Rowdy, loud and mean. So much so that two eateries refused to serve the Astros when they tried to order food. As one of my favorite comedians, Rodney Dangerfield, used to say on The Tonight Show, “Tough crowd!” I would think he would say that even the girls in Philly hit like guys. 

Which might not be far from the truth. We had a woman at the Public Defender’s office, a daughter of a Philadelphia cop, who was an All-American defender at Johns Hopkins in women’s lacrosse. While I liked to joke with her, may she rest in peace, I was always careful to not offend her lest she level me. Based on that sort of mentality, I bet Houston cannot wait to leave for the safe confines of South Texas.

Philadelphia fans face a major dilemma on Thursday night. Game 5 of the World Series is on at 8:00 pm. Airing directly opposite is the Eagles-Texans contest on Amazon Prime. What a rarity—teams from two sports clashing on the same night and it’s a Thursday. Can you imagine the fights which could break out in area bars as to which game should be shown? 

Thankfully, the Sixers and Flyers are both off—the proximity of their arena to the Phillies ballpark would have been a nightmare. And the NFL fortunately scheduled the Eagles to be away, although I seriously doubt that anybody on Park Avenue in NFL HQ really believed that the Phillies might be hosting the Astros in the World Series. 

It is bad enough that the baseball season is ending in November. Luckily, the nights have been mild thus far in the Northeast. I don’t like it, and I don’t know if the schedule will be different next season, unaffected by the strike which caused the 2022 season to start late—and added a couple of playoff berths, to the great benefit of the the Philadelphia Phillies. 

A lot of noise has been generated about Daniel Snyder, the embattled owner of the Washington Commanders, enlisting Bank of America to solicit offers for the team. Then there is Kyrie Irving, the Nets’ guard who has squarely placed himself in the line of fire for his support of an anti-Semitic film. Two boorish individuals who deserve all of the criticism which heads their way. 

The debacle in the tunnel last Saturday at Michigan Stadium which both Michigan State and Michigan used was ugly. Eight Spartans have been suspended for their role in this horrific scene. Previously, trouble was brewing in the same tunnel when Penn State and Michigan players congregated. 

Something like this should never have happened. Staggering the use of the tunnel could have avoided this unseemly mess. Certainly the Michigan State players were wrong. So, too, is the University of Michigan to blame for not better policing the area and to not let the teams meet in such a confined space. The Wolverines come to Piscataway, where the same kind of situation exists at SHI Stadium. Let’s hope all have learned a sad lesson from this mess. 

Such are my pre-bat mitzvah thoughts.