"Sounds of Silence"

“Hello darkness, my old friend. I’ve come to talk with you again.”

These are the opening words to the classic Simon & Garfunkel song, “Sounds of Silence.” Words which had been reverberating in my mind this week, for sure.

On Tuesday, Tropical Storm Isaias arrived in New Jersey. With a fury and intensity that reminded us that a tropical storm with 70 m.p.h. sustained winds is nearly a hurricane, the state was clobbered. 

At 12:31 p.m., the power went. First there was a flicker. Then there was nothing. 

Outside, the rain was pelting the road and the trees were swaying, in a staccato-like rhythm. With one big burst, a very large limb tore from the tree in front of the house, one of three sizable ones to break away in the storm. This one bounced off of the roof near the bay window, settling in front of the steps and into a newly set garden. 

With the rain pelting down on me and the wind growling ominously, I went outside to survey the damage. I had to climb over the limb to see that a small chunk of roof shingles and wood was exposed to the elements. It could have been much worse. 

I knew that I had to move the branch to allow ingress and egress to the house. I grabbed my branch cutter and went to work. Piece after piece I cut, making the huge limb lighter and a bit easier to move. Meanwhile, the winds howled in that moaning sound, a deafening, constant reminder of the fierceness of the storm as it headed north, the center somewhere in eastern Pennsylvania.

After a tough 20 minutes of work, I had cut enough small branches from the big one that I was, with a great effort, able to move it away from its landing spot to a new one, square on the front lawn. The rain stopped, and I started the task of picking up the debris and moving it to the curb. Lots of debris. 

I went to the backyard and spent a lot of time taking more small and medium branches to the front curb. After an hour, I was drenched in sweat and I entered the house. Where it was grey and humid.

Then the thought hit me—Superstorm Sandy. As unpleasant a time as I have had in my life. With Sandy, we knew how massive the storm was and we expected the worst. I recall sitting in the den, watching TV, and bang, everything went dark. 

It was the beginning of an eight day nightmare of no heat, lost food in the freezers and refrigerators, darkness and being cut off from the world. Eventually we learned the magnitude of the damage when we were able to charge our phones. Day after day, night after night there was nothing to do other than listen to the portable generators hum and hope that the ink black darkness of the night would miraculously become fluorescent. 

We were luckier than many others, as we had power in just over a week. It was the beginning of my retirement, and what a way to start it.

My wife and I vowed to purchase a generator, but we were scared off by the costs involved. So we rolled the dice. On August 4, 2020, our luck ran out.

Almost all of our food spoiled. We ordered in what we could from towns less harmed than Springfield. Peanut butter and bread became a lunchtime staple. All meals were eaten out on the patio. 

It was warm this time around. In the mid to upper 80’s. The house stayed in the 70’s and reached 81 degrees one afternoon. It was no haven. 

Carrying flashlights after 8:00 was necessary. Showers to cool the body down occurred at night, by battery power. Except that the showers never quite cooled us. 

Bedtime came early—I had the two best nights of sleep I had in months sequestered on the cellar couch. It was so dark and quiet—until I went up one flight and heard the chorus of generators in the neighborhood. We definitely were not dancing in the dark. 

The routine repeated itself, with car trips to secure food or to break the monotony. Rumors persisted that JCP&L, a notoriously bad power company, would not repair the damaged circuits until Tuesday, a glum forecast. 

Anger persisted. First, it was self-directed for not doing the right thing and buying  a generator and having the house wired. Then it was focused on JCP&L, who had well over a million customers without power in New Jersey. How could they not be better prepared and why would we have to wait a full week to return to normal, we asked ourselves. 

The roof was fixed. The spoiled food was tossed. The landscaper came and chopped off the bad branch. The sun shone after a night of rain. 

We kept our devices powered at the local recreation department, taking two or more hours a day to do this. The media was all over the storm—both in print as well as digitally. 

On our Friday morning trip to the rec center, we saw electric company trucks in droves on the Springfield streets. The word was that we should have power by 11:59 p.m. on Friday. 

There was a nervousness, which made us question if this was true. Suddenly, trucks from Alabama Power and Ohio Edison were on the street. We had just finished our lunch on the patio and I walked into the house. The lights were on. A little past 1:00. 

We shut the windows, made sure the kitchen refrigerator, which had received a thorough cleaning the day before, was running. It was. Within an hour the temperature was back to a cool 71 degrees indoors. 

For us, the ordeal was over. Good thing, too, because thunderstorms arrived in the afternoon and continued into the night. We were happy, but we felt for those who still had no power. I heard that Overlook Medical Center in nearby Summit had to turn away patients due to power problems. With the day of the coronavirus still very much present, that was not good news.

A lesson had been painfully learned. On my list of things to do besides submit my damage claim to Allstate is to call my electrician and discuss in earnest how to wire the house for a generator. It may not make the house cooler to sleep in, but it will definitely save the food from being lost a third time. With a very active hurricane season and strong fall and winter storms hitting New Jersey, a generator is a necessity. 

I kept tabs on baseball, basketball, hockey and of course, football. The Yankees had to play one game in New York against the Phillies on Monday, then play two seven inning games on Wednesday in Philadelphia, with the grey-clad Bombers the home team. Then off to St. Petersburg for a four game set with the Rays in three days. 

Aaron Judge, D.J. Le Mahieu and Gerrit Cole still led the team, propelling them to a 10-4 mark. Of concern is catcher Gary Sanchez, whose batting average was below .100. Overall, the starting pitching was not good besides Cole, which left it to the hot bats to carry the squad. 

The Dodgers, Rockies, Athletics, Twins and Cubs were the top teams in the early going. Yet leading the NL East are the Marlins, back from COVID exile. I wonder how long that will last.

MLB has a serious issue with the Cardinals. More positive tests returned and have kept St. Louis from playing since July 29. This weekend’s showcase series in Chicago has been postponed. If more positive tests are forthcoming, what will MLB do with the franchise when it appears that the other 29 teams are starting to get it right? Good question. 

Hockey has had some major upsets, as Montreal, the #12 seed in the East, took down the Pittsburgh Penguins and Sidney Crosby, shutting the Pens out in the final on Crosby’s birthday. The Chicago Blackhawks rose up and took down the homesteading Edmonton Oilers. The Islanders, Arizona and Vancouver have punched their tickets to the next round. Toronto won a dramatic overtime contest at home to force a deciding fifth game against Columbus. 

Philadelphia and Tampa Bay are playing for the top spot in the East, while Vegas and Colorado vie for the top seed in the West. Both Boston and St. Louis, the teams with the best records in each conference when play was halted, did not fare well in the round-robin format. 

The NBA continues its short season en route to the playoffs. Brooklyn, despite not being at full strength, secured a playoff berth. Philadelphia lost point guard Ben Simmons to a subluxation of the knee and surgery. Milwaukee, Toronto and Boston are the East leaders, but they do not look like world beaters. 

In the West, the Lakers are the first seed, but are not playing like one. Houston has looked good in stretches. There is a wide open competition for the last spot in the West between Memphis, Portland, San Antonio’s New Orleans and Phoenix. Damien Lillard has played sensationally leading Portland to the brink of the playoffs. 

Over 60 players opted out this season in the NFL. Training camp is on, without a bubble. Note this—both the NHL and NBA had no positive tests the past two weeks because they have bubbles. Wait until somebody breaks self-quarantine.

College football is a mess. The Power 5 is determined to play. Notwithstanding that Rutgers had a whopping 28 players test positive. Independent U Conn, the Mid-America Conference have both shut down for the fall; Division II and III will not have football championships this year. As I read on line from a former RU players—when are the colleges going to face the inevitable?

To quote Simon and Garfunkel once more:

“Fools,” said I, “you do not know

Silence, like a cancer, grows

Hear my words that I might teach you

Take my arms that I might reach you.”

But my words, like sent raindrops fell

And echoed in the wells, of silence

And the people bowed and prayed

To the neon god they made

And the sign flashed out its warning

In the words that it was forming

And the sign said, “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls

And tenement halls”

And whispered in the sounds of silence.

Be safe out there.

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Broken Record

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Broken Record: I take no great pleasure in being right about MLB. Their desire to proceed with a 60 game schedule with only a 113 page protocol which d...

Broken Record

I take no great pleasure in being right about MLB. Their desire to proceed with a 60 game schedule with only a 113 page protocol which does not account for everything, leaves the players vulnerable. Having a taxi squad of minor leaguers and fringe major leaguers standing by is their defense to making teams whole when, as we have seen, 20 Miami Marlins have succumbed to the coronavirus thus far, with a couple of Phillies and Cardinals aded to the mix. 

This has lead to postponements galore, schedule rejiggering, 7 inning doubleheader games and more is coming. Teams like the Yankees are winging it. At the last moment, as they were set to bus to New York after the postponement of their two games in Philadelphia, they ended up in Baltimore, conducted and 8:00 p.m. workout on Tuesday night and managed to continue their streak of wins at Camden Yards behind solid pitching from Gerrit Cole and the potent lineup, which is featuring a slugging Aaron Judge a healthy, powerful and consistent Giancarlo Stanton and the hit machine—D.J. LeMahieu.

But with a rain delay of nearly 2 hours on Thursday night, the Yankees were a weary team when they opened the home schedule against the Boston Red Sox on Friday. The fact that they won is more attributable to how bad Boston might be this season. 

If the schedule had been intact, the Yankees would have been in New York after playing the Phillies in the second set of home and home games, while the Red Sox played two games at Citi Field against the Mets, which resulted in two Boston victories and normal rest in their hotel. Good thinking gone awry with the input of COVID-19.

Speaking of rain delays, I echo the sentiments of Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, himself a cancer survivor and extra cautious when it comes to the disease, carrying hand sanitizer onto the field with him. Ultimately there was a postponement of the Cubs game in Cincinnati on Thursday night after the teams sat in the clubhouses for over two hours. Rizzo observed the lack of social distancing during the time inside, ironically something the Marlins had complained about during an exhibition game in Atlanta. Ironically, it has been shown that Marlins officials did a poor job of following the rules regarding the virus. 

The Yankees had to endure a rain delay in Washington which shortened their first game. Then there was this rain delay in Baltimore. With close quarters and not everyone wearing a mask (that’s you, Aaron Judge), whereupon the CDC has said the chance for infection multiplies in close quarters, what is MLB thinking? Where could they fit the players in these empty and spacious stadiums? I worry that it is only a matter of time that infections arise with the Yankees, Orioles, Cubs and Reds.

And let’s not forget that the outbreaks on the Marlins, Phillies and Cardinals are probably the tip of the iceberg. Given the close proximity of the players, the laxity of mask usage and who knows what else, the incubation period is ongoing despite reports that the tests are returning negative so far.

As it is, the games are not very exciting without the fans. Piped in noise is inappropriate and the recorded music is just as bad. The Los Angeles Dodgers-Houston Astros bench clearing on Tuesday night was much more interesting in terms of context and action.

Players are still high-fiving, spitting and doing much of what was outlined not be inappropriate. Mask wearing in the dugout is not really in vogue. At least the Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton observed protocol with his mask and social distancing when he went to argue balls and strikes calls with the masked umpire.

What’s it going to take to turn this budding travesty into a disaster.? Or will MLB think it is a good idea to use replacement players to dilute the product while keeping it alive? If you are Mike Trout, currently on the paternity list for the birth of his first child, would you stay out for the remainder of the season or await to see how things progress? Commissioner Rob Manfred put the MLBPA on notice that if more happens this weekend in terms of positive tests, he may shut down baseball on Monday.

A little pity for the Blue Jays. On the road to open the season, their first home series was played at Nationals Park on Wednesday and Thursday. The team remains sequestered in D.C. as they were scheduled to play the Phillies and that series has been postponed. Plus their “home” stadium in Buffalo isn’t ready yet. With nowhere to go, the situation is ripe for Toronto players to have let downs in protocol and not remain sequestered. 

I feel like I am repeating this mantra every blog. These are supposedly very bright people in charge of MLB. Without a pod situation like in the NHL or the Orlando bubble that the NBA has unwrapped, baseball, like the NFL and college football, are at the whim of the coronavirus. MLS made their scenario work. The WNBA and women’s soccer, too. 

Intelligent people know how and when to protect their brethren. While the Big Ten is supposedly working on a 10 game conference only schedule, I have read that there is internal conflict about proceeding at all, given the use of testing measures not available to students and not to have long-distancing travel for the teams, the use of open dates to prolong the season into November is extending the possibility that, with cooler temperatures, the onset of COVID-19 will only worsen. Remember that Rutgers and Michigan State recently shut down their programs due to an influx of positive tests, which places them behind the other teams who can adhere to practicing protocols—until something goes wrong in those systems. 

Big Ten officials privately noted they are dealing with unpaid players who are young, living on a campus without football-only dorms, and susceptible to having fun to blow off steam. They recognize the reality. I will say it again—it is all about the money until the virus says no—and look what it has done to the U.S, economy with unemployment, a definite recession which is more like a depression. Very few businesses will go unscathed and the politicians argue about stimulus packages which are band aids. Let repeat this—we are in the throes of a surge right now which is imperiling many, many states and even putting New Jersey behind the curve due to summertime partying.

I watched the NBA open up Thursday night on TNT and Friday night on ESPN. By the scores, the games were close. To me they were boring and unentertaining. Sure the players played hard, but they didn’t have a real rhythm to their play. Lebron James looked particularly out of sync, yet he recovered to lead the Lakers to a win over the cross-town Clippers. In the opener, because he was on a playing time restriction, Zion Williamson’s absence then his mandated quarantine cost the Pelicans, as he wasn’t on the floor during the deciding minutes of the loss to Utah. So why are the Pelicans in Orlando if they are likely not to get into a one game playoff for the final playoff spot  by being 4 games out of 8th place when the “regular” season ends? 

Friday night James Harden demonstrated he can score—49 points in Houston’s come from behind win over Dallas. However, his Rockets’ teammates did the heavy lifting at the right time to tie the game in regulation and to preserve the lead in OT. On the other hand, the Mavericks may have a great duo in Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, but little else. I don’t see them going very far in the playoffs. 

The NHL Playoffs start Saturday with the top 4 teams participating in a round-robin for seeding purposes and the teams 5 through 12 playing best of 5 series. I read that hockey normally uses 26 cameras for its national games. For this season, there will be 32 cameras in use per venue. That, along with made for TV arenas, may make the games better viewing, although using crowd sounds from EA Sports isn’t going to make it sound better. 

A moment to celebrate the trade of Jamal Adams and his big mouth to Seattle. He’s yours, Pete Carroll. Yes, Adams may possess a ton of talent. There was no place for him with his “I” mentality, when we all know that Vince Lombardi once said that there is no “I” in the word team. GM Joe Douglas received a player who can start in place of Adams, two first round picks and a third round pick. If those pan out and Sam Darnold can continue the progress he started to show at the end of last season without suffering another injury, then maybe this moribund franchise might have something going. 

` Then there is the NFL. Ready to fine those who contract COVID-19 while providing no bubble for the players. The numbers of top players who are opting out prior to training camp bespeaks the dangerousness of playing football and going to locker rooms, showers, etc. It is near 40 and will rise during the week. Coaches may want to opt out, but unlike the players who receive a guaranteed salary of $350,000, the coaches are guaranteed nothing if they don’t coach. 

I see plenty of red flags with the NFL, not unlike college football. The fact that the ACC took in Notre Dame for this season to make a solid conference schedule is the best example of how panicked colleges are to try to play. The Pac-12 pushed its conference only start date back to September 26, as did the SEC, who went with a 10 game conference schedule. That is noteworthy, because the ACC went with a 10 game conference schedule and 1 non-conference game, to allow for long-standing rivalries like Georgia-Georgia Tech, Clemson-South Carolina and Florida-Florida State to continue uninterrupted. The SEC said no dice.

On PTI, Michael Wilbon said all this gesturing and pontificating will not matter. Football games aren’t going to be played this fall. He’s probably right. But the money is too great and the AD’s and Presidents know this. If they can get through this pandemic and keep their athletic programs afloat, then it will all be worth it. Yeah, right. Big if here. 

The logo for the Washington Football Team was unveiled. Analysts were all over it, trying to guess in what direction the team was headed, given the boldness and growth of the yellow color through the name Washington. Many surmise that the team will become the “Redtails,” a nod to the Tuskegee Airmen, three who came from Washington.

Alabama fan Harvey Updyke, who poisoned the Toomer’s Corner trees at arch-rival Auburn, has died. His hatred for Auburn was so deep that, when Auburn pranksters put a Cam Newton jersey on legendary Alabama head coach Bear Bryant’s statue outside of the Alabama stadium, in his rage, Updike stuck 800 darts in those trees. And he bragged about it on the radio. Updyke went to jail, was on probation and had had to make $800,000 in restitution. 

My Connecticut cousin made mention of the great commercial that Nike has put out in wake of the protests and upheaval. It is a much see. 

ESPN’s crawl irked me. It made note of an Orlando Magic player who did not kneel for the National Anthem before today’s Brooklyn-Orlando game. Leave it alone. It is his choice. Those who watched the game may have noticed it, along with the poolers and support staff in attendance. He can deal with the ramifications of his actions from the responses of his peers. Unanimity is nice. If he supports the ideals that his friends, family and teammates embrace, then that is enough. Which, he explained he does, as and ordained minister who deeply believes in the Gospel.

` My daughter has sent me a turntable for my collection of 1970’s and early 1980’s albums. At long last I will hear The Best of The Bee Gees again or replay Barbra Streisand Live at the Forum. Of course, there are Beatles and Rolling Stones records amongst the 35 to 40 I have retained over the years. Probably the most obscure ones I have are The Drifters Golden Hits and the Greatest Hits of Dennis Yost and the Classics IV. There is Glen Campbell, The Association, early Springsteen, lots of Billy Joel, and even Jesus Christ Superstar. Plenty of Linda Ronstadt, Carly Simon, The Doors, Steppenwolf. Perhaps The Doobies will do, or Michael Jackson. One of my favorites is the “Days Of Future Past” by the Moody Blues. Oh for a Tuesday afternoon, helped along by the London Festival Orchestra. Too bad I don’t have my Gordon Lightfoot album, nor do I have the Guess Who or Gary Puckett and the Union Gap. Bummer. 

Those records may be a bit warped from being stored away and from overuse many years ago. What they won’t sound is like a broken record, which is where sports is today. 

This Is Kraken ME Up

It has happened. Baseball. Sports is back. I better get Kraken.

Okay, I went there. The newly-released nickname of the Seattle NHL franchise is the Kraken. While the uniforms are fairly sharp with two shades of blue and a small patch of red, the name choice was baffling. And it sent a whole lot of people to Google to see what the name meant. 

Some people ascribe the name to the mythical sea creature film producer Jerry Bruckheimer, a part owner of the team, displayed in Pirates of the Caribbean. Public opinion favored more regional, culturally-appropriate name like the Sockeyes or Totems. In this case, public option be damned. 

A kraken is a sea monster borne from Scandinavjan folklore, a gigantic monster that lived in the North Atlantic and terrorized Norse mariners. It had huge tentacles like an octopus. The beast could grow to 40 to 50 feet in size. Whales and ships were swallowed whole. No one wanted to encounter a kraken. More likely, the sailors observed giant squid and then fantasized about them. 

The marketing branch of the Seattle franchise has a very descriptive explanation for its creature nickname. Their catch phrase is “Release the Kraken.” NHL executives were in favor of the choice. The outcry of the public and the ridicule  of sportswriters came naturally with this selection. Some said that the team was “Kraken me up.”

The onus is squarely on management to put together a product that will remove the laughter associated with the nickname. This isn’t the first time in the NHL that a nickname was inappropriate and originated in a movie—ergo, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, named after Disney’s fictional hockey film. 

Winning will erase any stigma attached to the nickname. If the success of the Las Vegas Golden Knights’ rookie campaign can be duplicated, Kraken jerseys will become a hot item. Ownership and GM Ron Francis are on the hot seat to deliver. 

Speaking of nicknames, the former Washington Redskins will be known as the Washington Football Team for 2020. Owner Daniel Snyder has outdone himself by cowardly deciding not to give his franchise a real moniker that D.C. area fans can appreciate. If it is marketing that drives the bus here, there still is no reason, with over a month to go before the scheduled start to the NFL season, that new jerseys and paraphernalia couldn’t be made and sold. 

Whatever the reason, if I were a Washington football fan, where winning is all but forgotten, I wouldn’t be very happy with this latest development. Then again, would I be very surprised how this is turning out?

Speaking of the NFL, the league gave the NFLPA its request—no pre-season games this year. But what they want is to impose a salary cap and defer the losses incurred this year through 2030. Which is something the NFLPA is not buying into. Nor should they. The NFL seemingly is capitulating on most everything the players want—the owners need to have a 2020 season to profit financially. 

Which leaves the NFL with a dilemma. Should the league postpone the opening of training camps, already pushed back to next week, even further, until this is resolved? It’s always about the money. 

One of my West Coast readers sharply criticized me for not taking a stand about the New York Jets and how they continually make very bad managerial decisions on players and how to properly utilize the salary cap. I don’t disagree with him. It’s probably more than I am so desensitized by the Jets being so mediocre year after year that I haven’t taken umbrage with the fact that they are talent-poor. When All Pro DB Jamal Adams continued his campaign to be traded by singling out Head Coach Adam Gase as not the right coach for the team (he may not be wrong), I thought trade Adams now. Then I thought that Adams should remain with the team and be punished for his outbursts by continuing to be a Jet rather than a Dallas Cowboy. Is wearing the green and white something a football player really wants?

I am glad that New Jersey has said no fans can attend football games at Met Life Stadium or at Rutgers for 2020. Safety is paramount and the pandemic isn’t over. 

But I am also relieved that I won’t sit in the stands and get aggravated in the early season heat, at night on a chilly October Monday, or in the cold when the team is on the verge of blowing another shot at the playoffs in a seemingly wide open AFC East. Too many years I have suffered through the heartaches associated with the team’s failures. 

I don’t need to risk my life to see the Jets play. Especially the perpetually mediocre Jets. But I would say that goes for the Vikings, Cowboys, Rams, Eagles and every one of the NFL franchises. It simply is not worth it.

One more Jets-related item. Woody Johnson, team owner of the Jets and U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, is in a bit of hot water these days. Between racially-insensitive remarks and sexist rhetoric, Johnson behaved unethically when he attempted to promote, after speaking with President Trump, the attractiveness of Trump’s Scotland golf courses for future British Opens. Just a little bit more positive news associated with the franchise.

The NBA has started to play scrimmages between teams in the Florida bubble. The most riveting thing thus far are the patches of gray on Lebron James’ beard and the play of Denver’s Bol Bol, son of former NBA player Manute Bol. Bol, a 7 foot giant, is scoring and shooting with abandon, perhaps making the Nuggets a more legitimate threat in the upcoming playoffs. I love that the league gave Bol a drug test after his breakout game. 

Pity the poor Toronto Blue Jays. Homeless as the season begins. No place to nest. What an embarrassment.

Canadian authorities did not give the Jays the green light to play games at the Rogers Centre, largely due to the visiting teams all coming from the United States and the Jays’ own frequent trips outside of Canada. Considering that there are serious border restrictions in place between the two countries, the reluctance of the Canadian officials to okay the Jays playing in Toronto should not be surprising. Canada has flattened the curve. The U.S. hasn’t.

Except that MLB and the Jays seemingly were unprepared for this eventuality. Perhaps they were complacent, thinking that the NHL secured 2 Canadian hubs in Edmonton and Toronto. But the way that is structured, there is no travel and the participating American team would be sequestered in both cities. 

The Jays set their sights on Pittsburgh and PNC Park, to share the venue with the Pirates. Local and Commonwealth officials wanted no part of the Jays coming in, bringing in double the amount of teams which the Bucs would face. Those officials said this plan would create too many health risks and vetoed the idea. 

This has created a real dilemma for the Blue Jays. The team says it had 5 contingency plans. Negotiations with the Orioles and the State of Maryland had been confirmed. Yet this option was far from secure. 

There were two other choices—to head to Buffalo, where the team has its AAA team and use that stadium. However, there was not sufficient lighting nor were the clubhouse facilities at major league levels. And the team’s Dunedin, Florida spring training site is in a state where the COVID-19 infection rate is soaring. That was not enlightening.

Hartford, Connecticut offered its AA ballpark as an option, since the Jays were trying to remain in the designated geographical area which encompasses the AL East and NL East. I doubt that was a realistic consideration. 

This underscores the effect that the coronavirus has had on sports. For awhile it was entirely possible that the Blue Jays would be a road team for all of its games. That was not a great situation. Ultimately opting for Buffalo was a weak fallback position—but necessarily the only one to choose. I believe a good number of players will be glad to remain in their hotel during a 3 game series in Buffalo, although an excursion to Niagara Falls might be tempting. 

The Yankees opened in Washington against the defending World Champion Nationals. Take a moment to reflect on that. A classic matchup of stellar right handers—multiple Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer for the Nats against Gerrit Cole, coming off the incredible season in Houston and now the richest pitcher on the planet. 

Prior to the game, the teams lined up along the fouls lines, social distanced. The starting lineups were announced. Then a video was shown narrated by Morgan Freeman. The words, along with the long black ribbon held by the players, were the brainchild of former NL MVP Andrew McCutcheon, currently with the Phillies, and his wife, Maria, to tastefully and forcefully acknowledge where race and caring stand in players’ minds. 

In contrast, enter super Washington fan and our expert on infectious diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Given the honor of throwing out the first pitch, Dr. Fauci confidently strode to the mound, only to uncork a very awkward and wild throw allegedly headed to the vicinity of home plate. I immediately thought that this better not be a metaphor for the 2020 season.

As for the game, Giancarlo Stanton took care of the outcome early. After Aaron Judge singled hard to left and Gleyber Torres moved Judge to second with a weak roller, Stanton took a Scherzer fastball and deposited almost 450 feet away from home plate. 2-0 New York. Stanton collected 2 hits and drove in 3 runs. Judge also had 2 hits.

Cole gave up a homer to Adam Eaton. Period. Nothing else. He looked like an ace. Scherzer struck out 11 Yankees during his time on the mound. A fierce thunderstorm deposited buckets of rain and flooded the dugouts, finally causing the umpires to call the contest after a 1 hour, 58 minute stoppage, Final score was 4-1 New York with one out in the 6th inning. 

Juan Soto, the emerging star outfielder for the Nationals was diagnosed with COVID-19. His loss was felt last night and will hamper Washington as they seek to repeat as champions. Moreover, the Atlanta Braves, last season’s NL East champs, have two top catchers out with COVID-19 symptoms. Just a reminder of the potency of the disease.

ESPN televised the Giants and Dodgers on a beautiful Thursday night in Southern California. Future Hall of Fame Dodgers’ pitcher Clayton Kershaw was scratched from the opening night start due to back stiffness as a result of lifting weights. The ESPN announcers talked about how badly Kershaw must be feeling missing the start—while the screen showed Kershaw enjoying himself greatly, with a big smile while teasing teammates. 

Rookie Dustin May filled in against veteran Giants hurler Johnny Cueto, who has the third lowest N.L. E.R.A. on Opening Day. Both only allowed 1 run while in the game, May left after 4 2/3 innings and 60 pitches. 

Los Angeles opened the game up with a big 8th inning, keyed by Mookie Betts. Betts, a former A.L. M.V.P., this week scored a huge 12 year deal to stay with LA. The Dodgers lineup is formidable—2019 N.L. M.V.P. Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner, Max Muncy, Corey Seager, Joc Pederson and A.J. Pollock are potent hitters. The pitching is solid. LA is the team to beat in the N.L.

Sticking with baseball, the players and owners agreed to a 16 team playoffs for 2020. The opening rounds would be best of 3 before resuming the normal best of 5, then the best of 7 formats.  The higher seeds would host the 3 game series. Is this a preview of the future?

Finally, in the panicked world of big-time college football, the ACC and its partner, Notre Dame, may have reached a deal to play a 10 game conference schedule plus one more non-conference foe. To diehard Irish fans, losing their cherished independent status, and becoming eligible for the ACC playoff, is something hard to swallow, even if necessitated by the coronavirus. It is a big win for the ACC and a nice compromise for Notre Dame. Yet not surprising in this year of the pandemic, when avoiding monumental financial losses is paramount. 

Within the fabric of what is happening in the sports world, everything is still up in the air regarding how far sports will go from here on. COVID is firmly in control. 

With so much going on right now, it is what Fan X texted on Thursday that got me. He proclaimed, in a tirade, that he is “…a legend in my own mind.” 

I say stop it now, Fan X. With your rantings, a pandemic and sports at this juncture, this is kraken ME up. 

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Will Talking About The Coronavirus Make Me Redunda...

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Will Talking About The Coronavirus Make Me Redunda...: I really don’t want to write about the coronavirus. Every week, like clockwork, I start ranting about it and how the virus impacts society...

Will Talking About The Coronavirus Make Me Redundant And Irrelevant?

I really don’t want to write about the coronavirus. Every week, like clockwork, I start ranting about it and how the virus impacts society and sports. Let’s face it—this is going to go on for a long while with very mixed results as to how the U.S., the world and the sports world deal with the problems of a pandemic.

Right now, there is disagreement about how to confront the disease. To wear a mask or not. Whether testing is a good thing or not (for the record, my wife and I recently were tested for the SARS-2 antibody and the tests came back negative). Is Dr. Anthony Fauci credible or a nuisance to political agendas. 

So many questions can be asked and the number of answers that come back are wide-ranging. There isn’t a consensus that the disease is real and as bad as we are making it out to be. The extremes are given as much credence as the middle ground, and in this 24/7 news and social media world, the opinions and disagreements continue unabated. 

I am a guilty party. When I walk my 3 laps around Garden Oval, totaling between 1.5 and 2 miles, I carry my mask with me. I put it on when I see others approaching and I keep it on until they are way passed me—which ultimately is a mistake, because my hands go too near to my face and we are uncertain about how far the virus carries in any environment even if appropriately social distanced. Almost uniformly, those outside with their children, those who are running or walking, or the worker who tend to lawns and repair items inside homes—they are not wearing a mask or have it sit below their noses and mouths. And this is New Jersey, which was the first state to mandate mask wearing and has done a fairly good job at leveling the curve.

Every weekend I see the pictures of those at the beach, working on their tans and hanging with their friends. They aren’t socially distances and masks are foreign items. Same thing on the trains which carry many of the same people to the Jersey Shore. Which makes me look at the statistics of new cases and deaths a week or two after a beach weekend with the hope that we haven’t had another spike. Plus we are approaching the two week mark after July 4th, and I have my hopes and prayers that the reports of new cases isn’t as bad as I envision.

Nobody wants to endure what we have gone through thus far and the ominous warnings for the future are even scarier. People want to live their lives free of encumbrances, and this is one whale of a serious encumbrance. 

In New Jersey, outdoor dining is available. No matter how tempting that may be, it is not for me and my wife, who fall into the high risk category due to our ages. I get nervous enough picking up items for take out, as the delivery mode at curbside varies tremendously and many times you have to enter the establishment to retrieve your meals. I quickly move past people at Shop Rite, even in the tight produce aisles, never lingering much if I can help it, because social distancing isn’t possible nor is it observed. 

Quite frankly, I see too many people mask less in the parking lots or near the doors, either entering or leaving and promptly ridding themselves of facial protection. And I don’t want to have someone shop for me, because they substitute their judgment about items and you’re stuck with what they give you. So I go, a couple of times a week, in a nervous roulette-like game, hoping the ball always lands on black.

Thus, I go very few places right now. Having learned that the cars need to be run at 55 mph on a weekly basis, I have some trips on Route 24, passing the far-from-filled Mall at Short Hills and exiting at Morristown Airport, before returning via local roads in Florham Park and Chatham, sometimes stopping at CVS for some needed items. 

A trip to Kings Supermarket in Short Hills is the exception to the rule—only if something I want is on sale. I went to the Summit Farmers’ Market last Sunday which was moved two parking lots from its usual spot to allow for social distancing. It was bustling and the lines were longer—with minimal adherence to the 6 foot rule and with people ripping their masks off as soon as they exited the premises. 

Doctor’s visits are highlights. Boldly marked on my calendar. I had so much fun seeing the allergist on Wednesday; I cherished my time there and didn’t want it to end. I stayed outside of the Summit Medical Group building in Florham Park near the Jets’ facility while my wife was seeing an orthopedist for her shin (she’s in a boot, staying off of her feet and resting for what might be a possible stress fracture). When we went for bloodwork, it was almost a normal activity—except that we made the appointment two weeks ago and you have to exchange emails and texts to enter the facility. 

Virtual doctor’s visits aren’t nearly as exciting. Nonetheless, they more than serve their purpose—to keep the patient and provider insulated and healthy. 

Speaking of virtual—Face Time use is up. And who ever heard of Zoom before the pandemic? When you mention that you are going to a Zoom meeting, everyone understands. 

A big day is some garden work, or watering the parts of the garden and grass which the sprinkler system cannot reach. Cooking, always a hobby of mine in retirement, is a staple and making dinner is a sign that we are headed towards PTI on weekdays (now back in its full 30 minute format, even if grumpy old Tony Kornheiser remains sequestered in his attic) and some form of TV entertainment—whether it be a Netflix movie, watching Curb Your Enthusiasm in its entirety (we have completed season 2, leaving only 80 more episodes to view) or just talking (yes, talking is nice).

There is laundry to do, cleaning around the house until we finally have the cleaning people back at the end of the month, reading, social media reviewing, and napping. There is so much to do and so little time to do it. And it is physically exhausting, too. 

Plus this is without reengaging in my exercise before I had a series of epidural procedures for my S-2, L-5 vertebrae and nerve in my L lower back. Now that I have the green light to exercise again, the days will be even more crammed. 

All of this has left little time for sports. Baseball is in it final rehearsals before the start of the season on July 23. The Yankees play an intra squad contest on Friday where Gerrit Cole tunes up for the opener in Washington. Then the Mets are on tap for two games—Saturday at Citi Field and Sunday night at Yankee Stadium. Saturday night’s game will be televised by ESPN. The Phillies close this abbreviated exhibition schedule with a game Sunday evening in New York. Joe Girardi returns, without the appropriate fanfare.

The Washington Redskins retired their nickname. Then The Washington Post reported serious allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct, primarily  on the team’s administrative side. Calls for owner Daniel Snyder to sell the team have increased. 

J-Lo and A-Rod have a group of present and former athletes as part of their bid to buy the Mets. They certainly have the glitter, but do they have the necessary cash? 

A-Rod is certainly thinking like an owner when he called for a salary cap. The rebuke from players was swift. I guess how he made his millions shouldn’t be available to other in the new economic landscape baseball faces—so his group’s bottom line doesn’t suffer. His attempts at walking his statement back are like the way he treated his use of performance-enhancing substances—very disingenuous. 

A quick aside here. One of the favorite players of my youth has passed away at age 84. Tony Taylor, known primarily as a Philadelphia Phillies star and who had some good years in Detroit, passed away after complications from a stroke. Never overly flashy, the second baseman from Cuba amassed just over 2,000 hits in his MLB career. I know the late Phillies’ announcer and Hall of Fame inductee Richie Ashburn liked Tony’s play. For me, a lasting memory of Taylor came from the launch of the Telestar TV satellite where he was at bat in Wrigley Field facing the Cubs when the first telecast to Europe and the US occurred. Rest in peace, number 8. 

Tiger Woods is playing for the first time since February at the Memorial. He is doing as well as one might anticipate for an older guy who hasn’t competed much lately and has a creaky body. Still, it is Tiger Woods, and any sighting of his eminence is huge for golf fans.

Pro basketball plods onward towards its July 31 opener. Now the NBA is minus Zion Williamson for an undetermined time, as he deals with family illnesses. How he comes back, assuming that Zion is quarantined and not infected with CoVID-19, will impact the TV ratings. As I have said it before—lose LeBron to the virus and the NBA is doomed. Meanwhile, more players are testing positive daily. 

How the NBA, NHL and MLB do will largely determine the future of the NFL as training camp approaches. The NFL and the NFLPA have much to work out and the clock is ticking. 

College football teeters on the edge of playing or not playing this fall. Probably the only games that may ultimately be played are Air Force versus Army and Navy and Army-Navy, because the service academies’ contests against one another are not regulated by conferences.

While most conferences have either held back making a decision on playing or have determined that a conference schedule only is the way to go, there is much at stake here. I read an article on NJ.com about the staggering money the Big Ten members will lose if no football is played this fall. Ohio State could lose over $100 million. Even Rutgers, the low man on the conference totem pole, would lose about $49 million without any football this fall. 

Spring football may be ethically and morally sound, but what about the bottom line? Will we lack a consensus among Power 5 teams and conferences about what to do this fall, or will there be economically-induced chaos? Just like the way things are regarding masks, I would not be surprised if some conferences opt to play while others say no thanks, I’ll wait and see. Will the money lure the schools into a deep hole either way—by not playing or by playing and putting the young men who play at risk? Who makes the decisions here and will they be more politically-driven as well as economic?

The economy is going to be a huge mess for years to come. Same with so many other segments—starting with the health care area, airlines, the hotel and hospitality industries. Not to mention how many people will suffer personal bankruptcies, lose their homes and apartments and jobs. Or burn through their savings with the increased costs of daily living. 

Then there are the families that have suffered the greatest with loss of life due to the virus or individuals who remain very affected by the ravages of the illness. What will their futures be like?

For me, I don’t want to talk about the pandemic. Coronavirus and COVID-19 are two terms which have very bad connotations. I don’t like using those titles. 

Besides, I am too busy right now to slow down (except when my batteries are drained in the afternoon and the upstairs couch beckons). I am in my own semi-bubble, isolating as best I can. My wife and I haven’t threatened to kill each other yet—a good sign during a pandemic or any other time. 

We are in the same dilemma. Homebound and no sports on TV. And she is wearing her Rutgers Basketball T shirt today while I am clothed in a Travis d’Arnaud freebie T shirt from his tenure with the Mets. Two of a kind, I guess. 

Nope, I really don’t want to talk about the coronavirus. For if I do, I will become redundant and irrelevant. What good would that be with some sports actually on the horizon?

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