A Harbinger Of The Fall

  There really isn’t much going on these days to write about. We are in between the pre-season and regular season in the NFL. College football gets going in earnest this weekend. 

Baseball is in its last 30 games to determine which teams make the playoffs and in what place. And the WNBA continues its season.

I can start with Rutgers for a moment. There seems to be some chaos on the Banks of the Raritan. 

First, Athletic Director Pat Hobbs, the longest tenured AD in the Big Ten, suddenly resigns, citing health issues. Then the renowned women’s soccer program ends up in an ugly brawl while losing to the University of Massachusetts. Plus The Star-Ledger publishes a scathing report on the woeful women’s gymnastics program, noting a pattern of abuse which Hobbs did nothing to curtail while keeping a coach who has won only TWO Big Ten meets in the program’s history. 

All this with football and men’s basketball on the rise. Coach Greg Schiano’s team has been projected as a possible sleeper for the National Championship playoffs which expand to twelve teams in 2024. 

The schedule is not a killer involving all of the tormenting Big Ten powers which fed on the Rutgers carcass in past years. Still, with a transfer quarterback from Minnesota at the helm, and an injury or two involving key starters before the opener against Howard, one must remember that this is Rutgers and a .500 or above record remains a vast improvement. Schiano may produce plenty of NFL caliber players, but they are not on a par with Michigan, Ohio State or Penn State, let alone be able to produce a squad capable of reliably beating Indiana, Northwestern, Maryland or newcomers to this season’s slate, USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon.

Plus the hopes for the men’s hoopsters, largely on the shoulders of two highly-regarded recruits may be overblown. I have seen projections that the team would make the NCAA Tournament as one of ten Big Ten schools—possibly the last one to make the post-season. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, and the team plays a gauntlet of good teams in an event in Las Vegas in November in addition to the daunting Big Ten schedule. 

So Rutgers goes about this new academic year leaderless at the top of its athletics totem pole. Hobbs didn’t do a good job with NIL, leaving a new person a deficit to make up in terms of competitiveness. 

It just never seems that the Scarlet Knights are catching up with its established brethren in the conference. That largely has to do with money—the powers have it in train loads while Rutgers is comparatively cash poor. That is something which will take more years to overcome in this era of the transfer portal and NIL endorsements. Good luck to the next person to inherit the hot seat.

Which is why the news about Hobbs, women’s gymnastics and the UMass fiasco come at a bad time in RU athletic history. Making national news for these reasons is the kind of black eye Rutgers and its infinitely loyal and somewhat patient alumni and fans don’t deserve.  

While I am singling out Rutgers right now, many of the top programs have been subject to scrutiny for behavior and unnecessary transgressions. Head Coach Jim Harbaugh timely fled Michigan after winning a title last year with the football team embroiled in scandalous activity which has gotten the attention of the NCAA. Ohio State has had its shortfalls. Penn State had the notorious Sandusky affair which led to the downfall of legendary coach Joe Paterno. 

With all that happens in college sports and the immense pressure to win and justify the enormous budgets for athletics, one wonders how clean a successful program can be—in any sport at the Division I level. You just hate it a little bit more when its the school you root for.

As I mentioned at the beginning, baseball is in its final month. There are some stirring pennant races in each league. All three divisions in the American League are up for grabs. 

Only the Milwaukee Brewers seem to have a lock on the NL Central Division. The Dodgers are being pursued by the Diamondbacks in the West. And while the Phillies have maintained a lead over Atlanta, the Braves have suddenly gotten hot while the Phils are playing .500 or less baseball. 

New York and Baltimore have been going neck and neck for the bulk of the season. There is no reason not to believe that the AL East won’t be decided in the last week of the season, when the Yankees host the Birds before ending the schedule with Pittsburgh at home while the O’s travel to Minnesota, a team almost certain to be a Wild Card entry and which currently sits 3.5 games behind AL Central leader Cleveland. 

Plus Cleveland is looking over its shoulder at Kansas City. The Royals briefly held first place this week with a couple of wins over the Guardians. KC is looking to win the division outright, totally reversing its fortune from a 106 loss campaign in 2023. 

Out West, Houston is in the driver’s seat. Seattle, with its managerial change, has a little life left. If the Mariners can stay close, the three games in Houston in the last week of September could be pivotal. 

Boston, Detroit and Seattle maintain faint hopes in the AL Wild Card chase. Only the floundering Mets have a puncher’s chance of making the playoffs if any of the five teams ahead of them falter. Which seems unlikely. 

The US Open is in its first week of play at Flushing Meadows. Novak Djokovic looks nonetheless the top player even after his grueling Olympics triumph in Paris. My kids are going on Labor Day. I hope the weather holds up. I haven’t been there in nearly 20 years—it’s too hot for me during the day and too tough to travel at night.

From the fun and games department. Lebron James stated that his son Bronny has been instructed no to call him “Dad” on the court this season. That’s not going to stop opponents and fans from taunting him as to “Who’s Your Daddy?”

Caitlin Clark set the rookie record for three point baskets when the Indiana Fever defeated the Connecticut Sun. Clark has led the team to almost a .500 record and the cusp of a playoff spot with the seventh best record. 

Angel Reese has Chicago in the last playoff position right now; despite her record for double doubles, Clark has shined that much brighter. Which is why Clark will be the Rookie of the Year while Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson will walk away with the M.V.P. trophy. 

The Kelce brothers scored a big financial windfall, as their podcast was sold for nine figures. Taylor Swift should get a percentage of that money—the duo are funny guys by themselves but her popularity coupled with dating Travis Kelce might just have influenced the buyers price a slight bit.

For now, the heat has broken once more in the East. I didn’t get to experience it the first time while in Spain. This time the temperate temperatures will feel nice.

I am sure I will be ranting about the NFL and college football next week. (Georgia Tech already moved the landscape a little with a win over a ranked Florida State team and thee are a plethora of games this week). Add that to my sports plate and  what I have discussed—all of this is a harbinger of the Fall.