Rickey Henderson died at the age of 65. I read that pneumonia was what caught him. Very few pitchers or catchers could stop him either at bat or on the base paths.
Henderson was a superb player. He redefined the leadoff spot in the lineup with power and speed. The cumulative body of work was more than Hall of Fame worthy when he was elected to join baseball immortality in Cooperstown.
In his illustrative career, he spent time with both the Yankees and Mets. While gifted with a great body which he took pride in keeping in top shape into his 40’s when he finally retired, I found him to be aloof, cocky and just not likable except for his exceptional efforts on a baseball field.
It is not right to speak ill of the dead. Let’s simply remember Rickey Henderson as the best base stealer of all time and a dangerous hitter to open the game.
Before I get to the meat and potatoes of this week’s blog, I want to congratulate a few teams which don’t get a lot of publicity. Which they should.
The University of Vermont men’s soccer team won the NCAA Division I title. This is the first team championship of any kind for the Burlington school. Until this win, the only titles the Catamounts were associated with were individual ones in skiing. It is great to see UVT, a school from the America East Conference, a lower rung league, end up on top ahead of the big boys from the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC.
On the women’s side, a familiar face has returned to the winner’s circle. The University of North Carolina won the Division I Women’s trophy, getting its program back in order after years of turmoil. The Tar Heel women have won an unbelievable 23 titles. Their coach, Damon Nahas, was only an interim head coach, having succeeded the legendary Anson Dorrance.
Dorrance built a program modeled after another UNC legend, the late Dean Smith, the famous head coach of the men’s basketball team. His legacy forever will be not only the wins and the titles, along with his team’s 101 straight victories, but also the sexual harassment suit which finally settled out of court in 2008, ten years after it was filed. Smith didn’t have that on his resume, even if there were other dubious events during his storied career, too.
Credit should go to Nahas, recently named as the full time head coach, for rising from his assistant’s role to lead the team to the ultimate prize. Dorrance timed his retirement just before the season began—typically to have the limelight on him. That, to an extent, was the way he coached the US National Team to win the inaugural Women’s World Cup, with the likes of Michelle Akers and Mia Hamm on that team.
The Division III football championship is down to the final two—unbeaten North Central and Mount Union. The latter has won 13 NCAA Division III crowns and has produced 12 undefeated seasons—including this year. The Purple Raiders had to overcome a very competitive Johns Hopkins University squad which actually led into the fourth quarter before Mount Union mounted its winning comeback.
Mount Union faces a familiar foe to them and to those who follow DIII football. North Central won it all in 2022 and lost to SUNY Cortland by a point in 2023. The Cardinals obliterated Susquehanna University by a score of 66-0 to make their third straight appearance in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.
In 2022, North Central beat Mount Union for the title. While revenge is on the minds of both schools, if playing a Centennial Conference team (JHU) this season and a team which left the conference two years ago (SU) is a measuring stick, North Central should be favored to win it all again.
Perhaps the most compelling story was the 2 wins by the Penn State women’s volleyball team to catapult the team to the Division I title. First, in a thrilling match against conference rival Nebraska, the Nittany Lions came from a two set deficit where it looked like they would be eliminated, to storm back and fight off multiple match points to make it to the final.
Then they faced Louisville, playing at home, victors over top-seeded Pittsburgh. It took four sets for the women from Happy Valley to prevail.
Their coach, Katie Schumacher-Cawley, made history. She became the first woman to coach a team to the national title in volleyball.
That’s not the story here. Schumacher-Cawley has been diagnosed with breast cancer and has been receiving chemotherapy while coaching this team to the title. It is a question of which is the bigger inspiration—her courage and resiliency or the dedication of her players to their coach and he determination not to lose. That is the story.
We began the 12 team tournament to determine a FBS champion this past weekend with four games on college sites. I watched much of those games. I will comment shortly on that and the NFL.
It is exactly what I would have expected—convincing wins by the home teams. SMU and Tennessee were literally out of their element with the cold they encountered in State College and Columbus. Indiana and Clemson were the weakest teams in the field, which was clearly on display when Notre Dame manhandled the Hoosiers and Texas beat up on the Tigers.
To the naysayers like Lane Kiffin of Mississippi who felt his school, not Indiana, should have been in the tournament, I find that to be sour grapes. Ole Miss would have been routed just like Tennessee or Indiana. Moreover, Alabama and Miami, the last two teams left out, wouldn’t have fared much better on the road.
In the next round, play gets more interesting. Top seed Oregon meets Ohio State in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day—if this game unfolds like the nail biter the two teams played in Eugene, fans are in for a treat. I don’t know how good Arizona State really is, so Texas might coast into the semi-finals. Georgia is without top quarterback Carson Beck, so its defense better be ready for the multi-dimensional attack of Notre Dame; the Fighting’ Irish looked really good against Indiana. And Penn State plays Boise State—Boise is that kind of unknown entity—they gave Oregon a real battle early in the year then didn’t face any hurdles thereafter. Meanwhile, can PSU win a big game under James Franklin—who knows?
One more comment on college football. ESPN college football and Amazon Prime NFL analyst Kirk Herbstreit, an Ohio State alum, came to the defense of beleaguered Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day. After his most recent loss to arch rival Michigan, there was a loud rant for OSU to fire the highly successful coach because he doesn’t beat the Wolverines. This led to a war of words between Herbstreit and other ESPN personalities Shannon Share and Stephen A. Smith who want Day gone.
Two things here—Day is a really good football coach and mind. Having read up on him, he is a decent and caring man. His father committed suicide when Ryan was nine. He met his wife on the same T-ball team when he was six and she was seven. They have three children. The Days are very involved with a children’s charity. He was a winner in high school in New Hampshire and at he University of New Hampshire, where, at quarterback, he led an amazing fourth quarter comeback against a highly-ranked Delaware team.
Whatever the motivation of Sharpe and Smith or the “lunatic fringe” as Herbstreit refers to those OSU supporters wanting to oust Day, this war of words over a really solid individual is wrong. He molds men and he wins. He will eventually get those elusive victories over Michigan. Leave the man alone.
Finally, the NFL is coming into clearer focus as the Christmas Day games were played. Kansas City is still the team to beat in the AFC, and, with a win over Pittsburgh, will have home field advantage. Buffalo and Houston have cemented their places in the playoffs. Yet seven other teams are still alive for berths.
I am watching Cincinnati, which is on a roll and will play Denver, one of those teams still alive for the playoffs. Joe Burrow and friends are red hot right now and could be a thorn for any team if hey get into the post-season. Problem is they need to win and have plenty of help, as the odds of the Bengals making the field is just 6.8%
In the NFC, the top seed will be determined in the last game when Minnesota and Detroit meet, unless either is upset this week. Philadelphia is in, but faces major issues with QB Jalen Hurts whose future is uncertain after suffering a concussion against Washington.
The Rams, by virtue of a win against the Jets and a Seattle loss, are currently in first place in the NFC West. Seattle remains in the hunt for that berth, and the two meet in Inglewood to end the season.
Atlanta and Tampa Bay have to resolve which team represents the NFC South. The Atlanta-Washington battle this weekend could determine the fates of the Falcons and Commanders, or the drama will head to the final weekend.
So rest and watch the plethora of games that the NFL and NBA offer on Christmas Day into the first night of Chanukah. I will.
Happy Holidays, everybody.
No comments:
Post a Comment