A Real Mish Mash In March

  Usually, sports and the political arena are intertwined only so much. Besides the usual sports metaphors and occasional forays of ex-jocks into politics (see Senator Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn head football coach and Rep. Jim Jordan, a multiple NCAA wrestling champion at Wisconsin), our heads seemingly can divorce the two entities outside of the White House visits for championship teams. 

This past week, sports and politics intersected in not such a nice way. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the son of the late Senator who was assassinated while running for President, and who is seeking to become President, spoke about two possible vice presidential running mates—both with connections to the sports world.  One was former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, who was a professional wrestler of some fame. 

The other name belongs to a present day competitor. That person is Aaron Rodgers, currently under contract to play quarterback for the New York Jets. Rodgers is coming off a serious injury to his Achilles tendon suffered in the first quarter of the opening game last September against Buffalo.

Evidently Rodgers has been in contact with Kennedy and they have discussed a number of their coinciding views. Just know that I do not share their visions. 

What was greater news was a report by CNN that Rodgers had some wild thoughts about the horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. They were so outlandish and that information dominated the news cycle until Rodgers denied he said that the shootings weren’t real. 

It’s what he didn’t say which still is in question—if it was as the article reported, then Rodgers’ attempt to distance himself from the alleged comments was only smoke and mirrors. Which wasn’t at all addressed by the Jets hierarchy nor by my team representative when he randomly called this week and I broached the subject. 

The odds that Rodgers will receive the Kennedy nod for vice president are probably slim. But wouldn’t that be fitting for the team which has the longest drought for post-season play in any professional sport—to have their star QB/savior divert his focus from the team to politics? 

The off season free agency signings have been fairly good for the Jets, especially addressing the poor offensive line which is being assembled to protect the aging 40 year quarterback. Combined with the potential for a positive draft in April, the pieces that could make this a really good season for the Jets are begin g to fall into place if Rodgers is healthy and returns to his Hall of Fame form. 

But, as Tony Kornheiser, co-host of Pardon The Interruption on ESPN likes to say, these are the Jets. They never get it right. And now their quarterback has the team embroiled in politics as an added distraction. You cannot make this up.

Yankees fans went ballistic this week when it was discussed that ace pitcher and reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole had soreness in his pitching elbow. This was to be the season of redemption after last season’s unacceptable 82-80 record. Cole was counted on as a mainstay in the starting rotation. 

That no longer is the case. While the MRI came back clean and a visit with famed orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neil ElAttrache confirmed that surgery is unnecessary at this time and a conservative treatment regimen which includes a PRP injection and rest could return Cole to the mound in a couple of months, there remains great uncertainty. 

Look no further than former Mets star Jacob deGrom and what happened when he joined his new team in Texas. He too felt soreness in his elbow and tried the rest routine before attempting to come back early in the season. Except that he reinjured the arm and ultimately needed Tommy John surgery to repair the UCL ligament in his throwing arm. Despite losing deGrom, the Rangers went on to win the World Series. 

New York fans can take solace that a former Yankees pitcher, Masahiro Tanaka had similar problems and fared well without surgery. However, his story seems to be in the minority with these types of injuries. 

Coupled with the news that star outfielder Aaron Judge has a core injury which he has been resting, the injury bug has once more struck the Yankees as the team seeks to quiet fans clamoring for the first World Series title since 2009, an eternity for the rabid fan base. Perhaps the talent in the minors, which has shown flashes of brilliance this Spring, will save the day until Cole returns. Or if Cole’s injury persists, is this another season in tatters?

Less than two weeks until Opening Day in Houston. Too many unanswered questions for this 2024 team throughout the lineup. Who sanely would have expected less?

I have this crazy little streak. Every year I watch the NCAA Selection Show on CBS as the Field of 68 is announced. Some years I have a team I am watching in the draw. Other years, it is purely the interest of a college basketball junkie. 

In my last blog, I discussed some the teams likely to lose berths in the playoffs if they failed to win their conference tournaments. Naturally, that happened in a number of leagues. I am not and never have been a proponent of post-season tournaments to decide the league winner. This cuts across all intercollegiate sports at all levels. To me, a post-season championship can easily allow for an upset, thereby negating a dominant effort by a school in the regular season. 

Twenty-one top seeds didn’t make it to the conference finals. Many of them, like Princeton, which succumbed to a below .500 Brown, or Missouri Valley Conference regular season champion Indiana State, won’t get to the Dance even with sterling records. Such a shame. Yet teams like NC State get hot in a five day span and win the Atlantic Coast Conference, depriving a team which successfully navigated a tough regular season in their particular league the chance to go forward as the might have in the once-dominant Big East Conference, which has only 3 schools in the field of 68. 

I have attended the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden. It is a spectacle like no other. Outside of the ACC Tournament, it is probably the best and  most enjoyable one to watch. Given its location in the biggest city and in “The World’s Greatest Arena,” no wonder the seats are still filled and the location will remain the same though 2032.

Watching other neutral site conference tournaments, there are so many empty seats, including the Power 5 locations that the funding from TV makes these get together so profitable. The ACC ventured from its Tobacco Road roots to be in Washington, D.C. this year. Which makes very little sense since the initial reason the conference left its Greensboro home was to placate the University of Maryland. Maryland has long abandoned the ACC for the Big Ten, so going to DC wasn’t the wisest move. Thus, the number of empty seats is the result of poor planning coupled with TV avarice. 

A little hockey. I watched the Carolina Hurricanes dominate the New Jersey Devils on the road. They are the best team I have seen this season. Then the New York Rangers, a strong team, went to Raleigh and shut out the ‘Canes. 

What is certain is that there is no clear cut favorite in either conference. Any team could get hot and make its way to the Stanley Cup Finals. Handicapping the 2023-24 playoffs would be ludicrous . In a month, the field will be set. Let the insanity reign.

By the way—who wasn’t thinking when they scheduled the Islanders and Rangers at MSG on St. Patrick’s Day? Are you kidding me? With all that venom already existing between the fan bases now fueled by inane drunkenness? That’s a recipe for big trouble.

Lastly, Steph Curry returned from his ankle injury to meet the Lakers at the Staples Center on national TV. It was great TV until the end when a malfunctioning clock coupled with reviews of plays elongated the game by nearly 25 minutes. The seemingly ageless Lebron James scored 40 in a losing cause while Steph and Klay Thompson shined. Still, Golden State wouldn’t have won but for an unfortunate eye injury to Lakers center Anthony Davis which removed him from the game after the first quarter. 

That’s a wrap. Go fill out your brackets. It’s all a real mish mash in March if you ask me.