As February Ends...

                                                              As February Ends...

     It is February 27th--just 2 days left in this month. Already, at least in New York City's weather annals, this has been the warmest February since the National Weather Service began keeping such records. Today it is 57 degrees here in New Jersey and tomorrow the temperature will be in the 60's. All this with no snow presently on the ground. After all, it is still Winter until March 20th. And some of the biggest snowstorms ever have occurred in the next 3 week time frame. Remind me--there isn't any significant global warming? At least not in the Midwest and Upper Great Plains, anyway.

     Here in the East, it is a time to wind down winter sports and to gear up for the spring and summer months. With this being the largest market in the United States and with the plethora of games broadcast on cable television and via the computer, there is absolutely no respite for the sports fan. As if the addicted fanatics want any respite anyhow.

     Where does this writer stand today in his interest level? Somewhat subdued on his winter sports and not quite enthused about the spring and summer ones. Time to explain the mixed emotions.

     My alma mater, Franklin and Marshall College, plays mostly in Division III. The notable exceptions are wrestling and both men's and women's squash. The men's basketball program has legendary D-III coach Glenn Robinson, who holds the all-time record for wins in that section. My expectations are always high with Coach Robinson's squad, winners of numerous Centennial Conference championships and trips to the NCAA's including three to the Final Four.

     While missing the presence of an experienced big man and down one key player plus battling some untimely injuries, this Diplomats squad came on strong at the end of the regular season, finishing second with an 18-7 overall mark. Although this team had two wins over the eventual champion, Swarthmore College, there were some unfathomable losses and difficulty with the likes of Ursinus, Johns Hopkins and Dickinson. Even having conference leading scorer Brandon Federici making incredible and timely shots, there were some question marks about this group. The season ended on Friday night with a 6 point loss to Dickinson in the semi-finals, a game which F&M led at the expiration of the first half but surrendered the lead late in the second half. Federici had a subpar evening and the hopes of the Diplomats were squashed. As were mine.

     The remainder of F&M's teams went down with either a whimper or some modest achievement in squash against the bigger name schools. I have given up hope that wrestling will give me some satisfaction, for F&M is virtually non-competitive versus the bigger D-I programs.

     For the spring sports, baseball lost 2 of 3 at #12 Washington & Lee. Lacrosse lost both their matches this weekend too. I have the feeling that my attention will be glancing at the scores in March though May, hoping for something good to happen.

     Then there is Rutgers. Basketball is almost over. Tomorrow night I see my last home game with the Maryland Terrapins coming to the RAC. Coach Pikiell has coached the heck out of this group and they have been hanging tough for the most part. Maybe they can steal a win from Maryland, Illinois on Saturday, or in the Big 10 Tournament. It has been a struggle this season, at times very frustrating. The record may be below .500 yet there has been significant improvement.

     Wrestling took a hit when they were soundly defeated by Lehigh in the National Duels. The Big 10 Championship is in Bloomington, Indiana; I anticipate 4 to 6 Scarlet Knights grapplers to emerge for the NCAA's in St. Louis. Not too shabby. Especially for Rutgers.

     Women's hoops is another story. Not fun to watch Hall of Fame Coach Stringer's team get trounced almost every game. Next year will be much, much better, for there a number of players coming back to Rutgers who are legitimate scoring and defensive threats.

     Rutgers baseball always starts out slowly, a byproduct of no outdoors training in warmer climates (notwithstanding this year's record temperatures). A win down at the University of Miami gave some hope. Against #12 Virginia in Charlottesville this past weekend, Rutgers fared poorly. It is too early to evaluate this team--so I am waiting until they hit the Big 10 schedule to see if they are any better than last year's below .500 team. Maybe men's lacrosse will be somewhat decent.

     College basketball overall is an open book as to who will win the National Championship.  There are so many contenders this season that truly anyone can win. One thing for certain, the suspense is over with Gonzaga's loss to Brigham Young on Saturday--there will not be an undefeated team this year.

     The three NHL teams are in varying states of flux right now. The New Jersey Devils are near the bottom of the playoff chase. I don't see much happening to change their position concerning the playoffs. The Islanders switched coaches recently; even with some wins, they are not going to make the playoffs either unless they get redhot. Whereas they will make the playoffs and perhaps win a round or two, the Rangers are inconsistent--winning against Washington but being humbled at home yesterday by Columbus.  No Stanley Cup championship for them this, the franchise's 90th year. Thus I'll cheer for Sidney Crosby and his Pittsburgh Penguins.

     Pro basketball in New York is bad. The Knicks are still barely in the playoff hunt, but need a miracle. I cannot stand another news item regarding owner James Dolan, Team President Phil Jackson or superstar Carmelo Anthony. I cannot wait for the season to conclude. The Brooklyn Nets are hopeless.

     Thankfully I can still watch and root for the Golden State Warriors. Playing on the East Coast for back to back games tonight in Philadelphia versus the sometimes competitive 76'ers and tomorrow night in D.C. to play the vastly improved Wizards, Golden State has to navigate a tough remaining schedule which includes  7 of the next 8 contests on the road and trips to San Antonio (twice) and Houston and Oklahoma City. Still the favorites to emerge from the Western Conference to the NBA Finals, Curry, Thompson, Durant & company will have their hands full. In the Eastern Conference, the defending champs, the Cleveland Cavaliers and all-world Lebron James might not make it past Washington, Boston or Toronto.

     Baseball has started spring training. The stories from Florida are coming fast and furiously about the Mets and Yankees. I will not get very excited. These are exhibitions. I pray for no injuries when Opening Day arrives. Then I can be interested in earnest.

     This is where I stand at the end of the last full month of Winter. Some things to watch, some things to wait on.

     But not to worry. I received a call from a representative for the New York Jets, wanting to know how I felt about the team and its off season changes. I felt sorry for the guy. I did not hit him to hard. My plate was too full. After all, it is still the end of February...

   

   

                                                              The NBA at the ASG Break

     Last night the NBA culminated All-Star Weekend in New Orleans with a monstrous show of offense coupled with little guarding or defense. The crowd at the Smoothie King Arena (I kid you not--that IS the commercialized name for the building which stands next to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and is the home of the New Orleans Pelicans, who were once the Charlotte Hornets, not to be confused with the present Charlotte Hornets, but that is another whole story) was treated to its hometown player, center Anthony Davis, scoring 52 points, starting  the game with a long jump shot and dunking his way to the MVP trophy while breaking the legendary Wilt Chamberlain's scoring mark for the game.

     I am not a big fan of All-Star games other than the Major League Baseball extravaganza, simply because, as the TNT commentators reiterated last night, this was an EXHIBITION. In the MLB game, the pitchers throw hard against the best hitters in the majors. There is some legitimate tension therein.

     In this "contest," everyone watched the stars do their thing--passing and shooting open 3 pointers or making an array of slam dunks that after awhile looked boringly the same no matter how athletically they were performed. The players put on a show and their collective teams hoped no one would get hurt so that the regular season could pick up where it left off.

     Absent teams really playing for something meaningful which I cannot imagine, there isn't much else that the NBA can do to tweak the format. Same thing goes with the Rising Stars Challenge, engaging 1st and 2nd year players running up and down the court on Friday night as a precursor to the Sunday lovefest. The Slam Dunk contest can only have so many different moves and attempts--it is a far cry form Michael Jordan's gravity-defying flying leap from the foul line in 1988 at home in Chicago or little Spud Webb in 1986 coming into Reunion Arena in Dallas and mesmerizing the crowd by out dunking his much taller opponent, Dominique Wilkins. While the Skills Challenge has some interesting features, it is not redeeming enough by itself.

     The only skill set which draws my attention yearly is the 3 point shooting on Saturday nights. My attraction to this is that it takes skill and fortitude to win the trophy. Larry Bird, the Boston Celtics iconic Hall of Fame player, would participate in this event. As lore has it, Bird would go into the locker room and loudly say who is playing for second, then back up his boasts by whipping the others. Last year saw an epic duel between teammates Steph Curry, a two time league MVP, and Klay Thompson, an unreal streak shooter who holds the NBA record for points in a quarter.

     Thompson was unable to defend his crown this year, failing to make it past the first round. The winner, Eric Gordon of the Houston Rockets, had to go into an extra session to defeat  the Cleveland Cavaliers' All Star guard, Kyrie Irving (he of "the earth is flat" statement). That had some pizzazz to it. But a well-intentioned tribute to beloved TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager and the Sager Strong Foundation was a disaster with a stunt to have stars, former players and celebrities make 3 point shots at $10,000 per goal, culminating with an ill-conceived move of bringing an obviously unprepared Steph Curry, in street clothes, to try half court shots which he could not convert.

     Otherwise, the weekend was a showcase of talented musical performers and siting of the rich and famous courtside (a very pregnant Beyonce with her husband Jay Z along with the ever-present movie maker, Spike Lee). I thought that the player introductions was a hot mess which could have been simplified instead of being attenuated and silly (players rising up from beneath the stage?). I did enjoy the performance of the National Anthem by very talented singer and pianist, Jon Batiste, as well as the halftime singing of John Legend more than the game itself.

     The only justifiable theater in the game came from the ongoing feud between former Oklahoma City Thunder teammates, Kevin Durant, now with the high-flying and 3 point shooting Golden State Warriors, and the surly, athletic guard for the Thunder, Russell Westbrook. Their dislike for each other persisted during the course of being on the Thunder, then erupted when free agent Durant opted to join the already title-contending Warriors and did not say good bye to Westbrook. Words were exchanged on court during their teams' last meeting, so the media wondered if the rift would persist during the game if they were on the floor at the same time. Early on, during a fast break, Westbrook passed the ball to Durant who responded by throwing an alley oop pass for Westbrook to slam home. A time out followed and the cameras and microphones caught the West All Stars uproariously celebrating the moment with laughter, kidding and some liquid flowing.

     So now we can return our focus to the quest for the NBA title.  This season has so many subplots that it supersedes any soap opera currently airing on TV. Will the Cavaliers repeat as champs given the loss of star forward Kevin Love to knee surgery, or will all-world Lebron James play too much and be wiped out by time the playoffs reach nearer to conclusion? Are there other teams in the East who can now challenge the Cavs, like the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards? And in the West, will Golden State and its four All Stars be too formidable for the San Antonio Spurs or the Thunder or the Los Angeles Clippers?

     Moreover, will there be more trades now that the Sacramento Kings have decided to trade their star, DeMarcus (Boogie) Cousins to the Pelicans? Will supreme egotist and coaching icon Phil Jackson get ball hog Carmelo Anthony to agree to drop his no-trade contract clause and leave the woeful New York Knicks?

     Ah, the Knicks. Team owner James Dolan who, in a fit of pique last week, had former player Charles Oakley forcibly removed and banned from Madison Square Garden, only to have a peace brokered by Michael Jordan and Commissioner Adam Silver; this brouhaha actually outdid the 'Melo/Jackson problem in the salacious New York media. You simply can't make this stuff up.

     Say goodbye to New Orleans and, mercifully, the 2017 All Star game. Let's finish out the regular season with a flourish and watch other controversies arise--can Magic Johnson resurrect the moribund Los Angeles Lakers after the damage done by Jim Buss, the son of the great owner, Dr. Jerry Buss? Will the mercurial Westbrook take his incredible season of triple-doubles in points, assists and rebounds to record heights and outperform Durant and the Houston Rockets' bearded wonder, sharpshooter James Harden, himself a former Thunder player with Durant and Westbrook, who has elevated his game and leads the NBA in assists? Or will tiny Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics take his 4th quarter heroics and garner enough votes to squeak in as the MVP if voters split between the aforementioned trio?

     Questions, questions and more questions. That is what this NBA season is about. We can take our hiatus for college basketball's March Madness, but keep an eye open for NBA news, as much more intrigue and action on and off the court is forthcoming. The wags at the NBA offices and the talking heads on NBA TV, ESPN/ABC and TNT (especially the no holds barred Hall of Famer, Charles Barkley) will have no difficulty promoting the sport right up and through The Finals.

     There surely is enough material for all to dwell upon and for the players to play the games in earnest. I, for one, am glad that we can get to the end of the season. As if there hasn't been enough drama already...

                                                           The RAC

     I spent what felt like half my weekend at the major indoor athletic facility on the campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway, NJ. I attended 2 events, one each on Saturday and Sunday, both starting at noon. Plus I drove by it on my return home after eating lunch on Saturday. If I had bought tickets for the Saturday night performance by the Harlem Globetrotters, the masters of basketball showmanship, I might have been able to stay overnight and avoid another $10 parking fee.

     I went to the Rutgers Athletic Center on Saturday for the men's basketball game versus the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, a close contest but in the end, another loss for the struggling Scarlet Knights. Sunday brought the final home match for the 12th ranked Rutgers wrestling team, who won handily against an undermanned Northwestern University squad.

   The crowd on Saturday was announced as 6,002. Sunday's attendance was 2,527. Capacity for the building is 8,000. There was more noise on Saturday because of the crowd size, the presence of the Rutgers Pep Band and a whole complement of cheerleaders and the Dance Team. The die hard wrestling fans made themselves known to the participants with their enthusiasm during the matches, but the atmosphere was decidedly in need of a smaller venue to look and feel better.

     Undoubtedly, The RAC, like High Point Solutions Stadium a couple of minutes away, visually defines RU major sports.  It is home of the flagship state university of New Jersey's wrestling and two basketball teams, who play in one of the most dominant athletic conferences in this country, the Big Ten.

     In comparison with its companion, High Point Solutions Stadium is shiny, big and shows an earnest investment in the future of RU football. Football is the dominant sport at RU--it should be, given the fact that the first intercollegiate football game was held in New Brunswick in 1896, resulting in a Rutgers 6-4 victory over Princeton.

     This November, The RAC, which is formally called the Louis Brown Athletic Center after a former Rutgers golf team member who made a sizeable bequest in his will, will be 40 years old. A mid-sized arena in the Eastern Eight, Atlantic 10 Conference, Big East Conference and the American Athletic Conference before Rutgers left each one, it now has the smallest capacity in the Big Ten. While its size is considered small, the former home for Rutgers basketball was the 3,200 seat College Avenue Gymnasium, which had seats on three sides, with the wall where the team benches were located  dividing the court from the from the swimming pool.

     So, when The RAC was ready, this was a big upgrade from Rutgers' previous winter sports home. The RAC was a beautiful place back in 1977--modern, gleaming. Featuring trapezoid sides at two ends, the building looks like a giant, truncated tent. Given its size, The RAC was not huge but still evidence of a meaningful arena. Upon entry, there was a concourse at the east end, which was also home to athletic offices above concession stands and the ticket office, which also had a row of windows outside for day-of-game sales. There were restrooms on both ends of the concourse. Standing centered on the concourse presented a clear view of the arena floor.

     The seating area in 1977 and today consisted of folding chairs at the lower level, so that practice could be conducted on the entire floor; then permanent seating from the entry or 200 level; and then bleacher-like seats at the 300 level. At both ends of the basketball floor there are folding beachers--the west end being bigger to accommodate the student section. There were also areas on the floor for other teams to practice including netting for baseball. The dominant color is scarlet red, which is the main Rutgers color. An overhead scoreboard, fairly recently updated to have video on its four sides, hangs over center court. Since the roof is supported by four ples to the sides of the main stands, Rutgers wisely placed auxiliary scoreboards on them, which have been upgraded to full length, state of the art matrix boards. Pennants for the conference schools have been on the end of the arena over the student section; now they hang over the main stands, replacing banners for the post-season successes of the Scarlet Knights teams. There are bigger banners for the numbers of the players who have achieved All-America status as well as banners commemorating women's coaches Theresa Grentz and C. Vivian Stringer who have been enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Other banners of note are for former player and coach Eddie Jordan and for the teams who have made it to the National Championship level. At the east end, the American flag is suspended from the rafters, accompanied by the New Jersey and Rutgers flags.

     Because of its unusual shape, the noise levels when the arena is filled to capacity make it one of the loudest and more intimidating places to play. The new sound system makes a loud and noticeable presence when recorded music is played. The Rutgers Pep Band is a predominantly brass group emanating from the student section, which helps to supercharge The RAC when there are time outs.  Announcers and players have acknowledged that the fervor of the fans is a big factor in how games are won and lost.

     Another tenant of The RAC was the NBA's New Jersey Nets, who played there from 1977-81 after relocating from Long Island, while awaiting completion of their arena in the New Jersey Meadowlands. There have been concerts, graduations and even a Professional Bowlers Association tour stop held inside of The RAC.

     Parking has always been an issue. The lots are large, but they are shared with student vehicles. There are two directions to go in and out of the lots on parallel two lane roads, creating some large traffic tie ups when there is a big crowd.

     Personally, I have gotten very used to The RAC. It has that homey kind of look to it. I like when it is filled, but with the teams in decline, that is not happening unless another Big Ten power is playing and has a strong local following. When Rutgers was in the Big East Conference, The RAC was nearly filled to the rafters if the University of Connecticut, Syracuse University or other national championship-caliber teams visited. With the good teams in the Atlantic 10, championship games versus Penn State and Massachusetts were wild affairs which the country viewed on ESPN.

     Coach Steve Pikiell is trying to revive the semi-dormant Scarlet Knights following. That will take time. But one of his hindrances in recruiting top flight talent is The RAC itself. Compared to the other Big Ten arenas, The RAC looks like a freshly-painted, very large high school gym. For games at which attendance is not very big, the place looks not very pretty. Bryce Jordan Arena at Penn State is a much more beautiful and modern facility which can hold 15,000 fans when needed. And Penn State is , like Rutgers, a football school, and the teams are perennially second tier in the Big 10. The massive Beaver Stadium dominates the State College skyline. Yet abutting Beaver Stadium is the saucer-like roof of the basketball arena, clearly visible next to its gigantic kin.

     That scene can be repeated at most every Big 10 school. Wisconsin and Ohio State play in newer, dual purpose buildings. Even Minnesota, Rutgers foe this past Saturday, plays in a musty old place dubbed The Barn, which is still larger than The RAC. With such attractions as large crowds and separate practice areas, Rutgers cannot presently compete evenly with other, more established basketball powers. The talent in New Jersey and the New York metro area is among the best in America. Unfortunately, they flee to places like the University of Kentucky with its 22,000 seat Rupp Arena and accumulation of nationally recognized players, or Duke University, whose noisy old arena, Cameron Indoor Stadium, outranks Rutgers academically and has the attraction of legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski. Tradition and facilities have trumped Rutgers repeatedly when competing for the homegrown players.

     Just like in football, it will take an influx of New Jersey kids willing to stay home and play for RU. Once that starts to happen, then once more The RAC will be regularly filled and be intimidating as it was in the past. Then, When Rutgers has more of the revenue stream which the Big 10 will offer after 2021, long-standing plans to either increase The RAC capacity to a still smallish 12,500 or to build an entirely new arena, will be warranted.

     For now, there is always hope. Every time I go to The RAC, I still enjoy the atmosphere. No matter how small a crowd. I long for the days of Rutgers basketball success and larger crowds becoming the standard, just like in the 1960's and 70's at the College Avenue Gym. Their high level of play packed the building and made The RAC possible. Winning teams in the 2010's-20's will reprise the fervor for the games and thereby demonstrate the need for a larger capacity, whether it be The RAC or a new site.

     All of this overdue. The foundation is there. The architect is in place. The shortcomings of the Rutgers program can be outweighed by what Rutgers has to offer both athletically and academically. And the outdated RAC can be an advantage for the teams in close games. No matter how it pales in comparison with the other Big 10 schools.

     Call me a dreamer. A realistic, pragmatic one. This is what I thought about when I spent my weekend at The RAC.

                                                                                               
   
   

                                                             The State of the NFL

     The National Football League is feeling pretty good about itself right now in the immediate afterglow of Super Bowl LI. A drama-filled game with the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history culminating with a masterful drive engineered by the New England Patriots and Tom Brady, the most hated team and player in the league (outside of New England). While the partisans of the Atlanta Falcons wonder what happened and team owner Arthur Blank seemed mortified while he watched from the sidelines in disbelief that he was not going to receive the Lombardi Trophy given to the winning team after trekking down from the joyous luxury box the owners sit in.

     Commissioner Roger Goodell, who in an obviously rehearsed answer, had weathered the media storm from the New England media earlier in the week about his decision in Deflategate, the probe of under inflated game footballs which led to Brady's suspension of 4 games to start the season. So there he was, merrily shaking Tom's hand after the epic game, as if nothing had happened, then presenting the trophy to owner Robert Kraft while being soundly booed by the Pats fans. The first words out of Kraft's mouth were a vilification of Goodell by a powerful force withing the League's cabal of millionaires for the Commissioner's seemingly unfair role in protecting the integrity of the game. It was great theater, if not somewhat awkwardly absurd. Those who wanted to see how the scene would play itself out were not at all disappointed.

     The NFL triumphantly struck gold (again) in Houston in 2017. More than 100 million people in the United States viewed the game on FOX. The halftime show, starring the incredibly talented Lady Gaga, symbolically opened the second act of this game when the roof on NRG Stadium was parted exclusively for her widely-anticipated extravaganza. While enriching the Harris County economy with this game, the advertisers and networks made a bundle for their coffers, too. Nationally, food emporiums--from sub and pizza shops to restaurants and markets--thrive on this day. Then there is the ton of legal (in Nevada anyway) and illegal betting (in the form of pools at parties and in offices). Not to mention, most of all, the windfall that the NFL itself garners as part of this American ritual.

     From its humble roots in the Los Angeles Coliseum, the ancient temporary Olympic home for the transplanted Los Angeles (nee St. Louis) Rams, where the first Super Bowl was held before a sizable but certainly not sold out venue, the NFL has tirelessly marketed themselves into the multi-billion dollar institution through the celebration of its championship as a national holiday. The other 30 owners of franchises in various cities joined the league for exactly this--to make even more money in a closed corporation akin to a country club for rich people  where football, not golf or tennis, is played for high returns.

     Make no mistake--from its tax-exempt status to its tie ins with the United Way to its licensing agreements which are rigidly enforced--the NFL is a capitalist's dream. Captained by Goodell as the highly-compensated corporate head, the sixth commissioner of the league since its inception, the motives of the NFL are singular in its pursuits--to make money while promoting itself to the rabid fan base and, on Super Bowl Sunday, the more casual observer. Very few people do not know who Tom Brady, or for that matter his supermodel wife, or that he allegedly conspired to deflate footballs and received punishment outside of a courtroom for his dastardly deeds. That was ongoing, voyeuristic national news.

     No, this is a corporate giant immune to anti-trust laws because of its legal status and the need for cities and states to ingratiate themselves to the league in the form of subsidies for stadiums with luxury suites and low rents, thus allowing the teams to further profit, while burdening the populace with the cost of building these monuments and the transportation infrastructure needed to move 70-80,000 people on game day. Sure, there are jobs that are related to the day of the game and the teams, but overall, the profits enriching tax coffers pale in comparison to those generated by the NFL teams.

     I do not blame the owners of any sports team in any league for trying to make as much money as they can. The NFL epitomizes this aspect in all its glory. It is first and foremost a business.

     But with all the merchandising money and the immortalizing its great players for their efforts as demonstrated by the announcement of 7 new members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday night (including Jerry Jones, the bombastic owner of the richest franchise in professional sports, the Dallas Cowboys), plus the constant media presence on its own network  and ESPN, to being the lead story on all broadcasts last night, the NFL faces serious problems in the near future.

     Football is a violent sport. Seemingly the masses of this country are in love with violence. Look at the multitude of commercials for the Super Bowl that touted violent behavior. Or the FOX merchandised transformer man who was a metaphor for the powerful nature of the sport. This is a nation which has glorified Mixed Martial Arts and persona like Rhonda Rousey, who pummel each other into submission with devastating kicks and utilizing gloves that even boxing does not use. People go to NASCAR for the crashes, not necessarily the thrill of the race. Hockey fights are still cheered vociferously.

     Nowhere is aggressive physical contact with the disregard of safety more evident that in football. And nowhere is it more aggressive than in the NFL. The artistry of throwing and catching a football is offset by the combativeness of running and being tackled or fighting an opponent for a pass. These are big, strong men in protective gear trying to knock each other out of the game through collision after collision.

     It takes a rough mentality of a person who understands and accepts these conditions, in this case, for significant pay. Which is why the sport is so beset with domestic violence--the psychology of such actions are a direct correlation to the nature of the game. We look at Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson and Josh Brown, the kicker for the New York Giants--all with varying degrees of unfathomable behavior.  Moreover, how many players or former players have been murdered or been involved with a murder---former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez  comes to mind here, as does the iconic O.J. Simpson.

     It is hard to say if this is a microcosm of society as a whole. While race may be pointed to as a factor, it is a nullity, for the vast majority of fans are white and they riot and act out at political rallies in unacceptable ways. Again, I point out the vast number of science-fiction action commercials during the game.

     The NFL reacts to this, as they do with every violent or drug-related action-after the fact as a sort of self-policing, above the law unit. On the field offenses are penalized and can come with suspensions and fines also being imposed.  The New Orleans Saints had a system in place a couple of years ago whereby defensive players were rewarded for violent hits. The head coach was suspended as well as the defensive coordinator, but both are still employed in the NFL. Yet Ray Rice became the poster boy for domestic abuse throughout the NFL--a pariah who still should be playing football despite having atoned and made the necessary amends to society for his actions.

     It is a flawed system which desperately needs to be revamped, except it never will be.  With the money that pro football accesses, coupled with the public's requirement for head bashing, even with the concussion protocol  in place--with rules that have been enforced and selectively overlooked in a venue which fought clinical studies about the nature of head trauma in the sport notwithstanding the overwhelming numbers of former players who have died prematurely as a result of dementia from their head injuries.

     Let the NFL run a campaign for showing us how tackling at Dartmouth College is so much more refined at less likely to cause injury--I surely did not see that on display by either sides defenders. Let them show us how artificial fields are better constructed and safer--except when behemoths are involved. Legs and joints can only withstand so much torsion. Rhetorically--how many cripples are there among the NFL alumni? No contest here--the game is what it is--a violent sport which almost was paradoxically disbanded in the early 20th century because it once was too ferociously played.

    This aspect is obviously accepted by so many people given the popularity of the sport. The rush to build new temples to worship these players beating up on each other is at a crossroads. Three venerable franchises have sought to relocate because they could not reach agreements with state and local politicians or in the case of San Diego win a 60% majority on a referendum for a new edifice. The fans in St. Louis--who willingly accepted the Cardinals from Chicago before they abandoned the city for greener pastures in the desert of Arizona, only to accept the Rams when they fled Los Angeles/Anaheim because Southern Californians didn't flock to their home games--cried foul when the Rams owner took off for his own self-financed complex in Inglewood  and his team became the Los Angeles Rams reincarnated.

     San Diego's team, the Chargers, is "reluctantly" leaving to share the Rams fine new building when it is ready as a co-tenant because the citizens of San Diego did not wish to underwrite billionaires. Oakland and the Raiders, a team who split from Oakland for L.A. only to return to Oakland with a renovated building which now they can no longer find any comfort (luxury suites and amenities), is now seeking to land in the comfort of Las Vegas, seduced by a new stadium financed in part by billionaire gambling magnate Sheldon Adelson, Clark County and the State of Nevada. Except that underwriter, Goldman Sachs, a dubious financial institution itself, is no longer interested in the venture, nor is Adelson. Nor was the ever virtuous NFL seeking gambler involvement from the likes of the politically-involved activist and casino owner.  Which leaves the Oakland franchise in a quandary, even though, in an odd ironic twist, the San Diego mayor would welcome the Raiders to the Chargers old stadium and then see what develops.

     Plus the NFL still maintains a global interest, with ideas of playing more games in Mexico and England, taking some of the weaker franchises in terms of attendance and plunking them in a foreign country to enhance the NFL's marketability. Ergo, more games are available nationally through Thursday Night Football, so that games are seen all day Sunday, Monday night and Thursday night along with Saturdays once the college football season has morphed into bowl games. Then there is live streaming which involves Google, You Tube, Twitter and Facebook.  The games can be seen virtually everywhere.

     While the NFL seems to be in good shape, there are numerous cracks in its foundation. Right now there is peace with the NFL Players Association. At some juncture the NFLPA will be seeking a greater piece of the revenue pie, which could lead to a strike, something that dreadfully hurt the NFL previously in the eyes of the public.

     No, the NFL is not breaking apart like the Humpty Dumpty commercial for TurboTax. They have not fallen off the wall of their own doing. Nonetheless, the stressors are there and the fault lines could become more pronounced.

     Until then, the National Football League will chug along its merry, money-making way. With all the turmoil and chaos surrounding the product itself, the honchos at the NFL still find a way to put on a game for the ages.

     I am certain that the vast majority of people were not talking about anything else but Super Bowl LI in some form on the day after the game. Therein lies the state of the National Football League circa 2017.

   

                                                        Requiem for a Heavyweight

     This is not about boxing. Although boxing was heavily covered along with other sports and issues of the day. I am talking about ESPN's The Sports Reporters.

     After 30 glorious years, ESPN has pulled the plug on this most venerable show. Slotted at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time on Sundays (and replayed at 10:30 a.m. on ESPN2), it loomed large in its scope and breadth. The weekly sessions were topical and discussed in the down-to-earth intellectual style which attracted both the educated as well as the everyday fan. The opinions provided rarely made headlines; they were, after all, the legitimate comments of a stable of well-respected journalists who made far more noise for their respective newspapers.

     Now broadcast from the ESPN main studios in Bristol, Connecticut, up until 1999 the show originated from Manhattan, subsequently settling into the ESPN Sports Zone in Times Square until 2010. The format was simple--a roundtable-like discussion on a small range of topics--a current events of sports for the past week or into the near future. Four sports reporters from a stable of very respected columnists, reporters and media personalities comprised the panel with a moderator leading the activity. The show was formatted to a degree after a show from Chicago known as Sportswriters on TV.

     First hosted by Gary Thorne, attorney-turned-broadcaster and presently the play-by-play man for the Baltimore Orioles, it was Dick Schaap who gave the show its energy and credence.  Schaap, a Cornell University grad where he played lacrosse as a goalie and a prestigious Columbia University School of Journalism-trained author and reporter, both in print and on NBC and ABC, as well as a respected theater critic, had the uncanny ability to bring out the best from the panel on a weekly basis. For me, it was must see TV for the varying insights and opinions of the panelists were incredibly on point.

     What a cast of panelists presided over the half hour discussions. They covered every major sport and had plenty to say about the games and the participants. Regular contributors to the show included Mike Lupica, a gifted and brash columnist from the New York Daily News; Mitch Albom, the award-winning novelist and musician who wrote for the Detroit Free Press; Bob Ryan, the well-traveled and widely-quoted essayist from the Boston Globe; and William C. Rhoden, the Mississippi-born lead sports columnist for the august New York Times.

     Other contributors to the show included large presence of Jason Whitlock from the Kansas City Star; the highly-opinionated Stephen A. Smith of the Philadelphia Inquirer and now of ESPN;  the erudite Bryan Burwell who wrote for the St.Louis Post-Dispatch; and Michael Wilbon, the Northwestern-educated writer from the Washington Post. Along with Bill Rhoden, the black journalist was well-represented on The Sports Reporters.

     Women were not involved very much at the outset, for there were not many female sports reporters when the show began back in the late 1980's. Christine Brennan of USA Today led the list of females who appeared on The Sports Reporters. Hannah Storm, Rachel Nichols, Jackie MacMullan,  formerly of the Boston Globe and now an ESPN columnist and personality; Jane McManus, who trained at Newsday and was one of the original writers at ESPNW;  and Jemele Hill, all of ESPN, later served as notable panelists.

     Noteworthy is the legacy of The Sports Reporters. The heralded opinion show Pardon The Interruption, starring the aforementioned Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser, also a fairly regular panelist on The Sports Reporters when he was with the Washington Post with Wilbon, was a direct descendant of the ESPN stalwart. Last week, when it was announced that The Sports Reporters would end in May, Kornheiser and Wibon each declared their undying thanks for their starts in broadcasting via Dick Schaap.

     So, too, just preceding PTI daily on ESPN is Around the Horn, filled with regular and fill-in participants who are either newsprint columnists or appear on-air for ESPN. And leading up to Around the Horn is Highly Questionable, originating from Miami led by Dan Le Batard, the fine writer for Miami Herald, along with his very funny father and Bomani Jones from ESPN. This is a lot like seeing the successful spinoffs from N.C.I.S.

     On September 16, 2001, the show expanded to one hour for a take on the sports perspectives following the September 11 attacks in both Washington and New York as well as the crash of the third plane in Pennsylvania. That show would be the last for Schaap, whose untimely death three months following a surgery he delayed until after that particular episode, cast a big hole in the program.

     John Saunders, the Canadian-born hockey player turned ESPN announcer took over as moderator until his death from a heart attack in 2016. Saunders was a witty and worthy successor to Schaap, permitting continuity that The Sports Reporters required. Lupica and Jeremy Schaap, Dick's son, a journalist in his own right, have hosted the show since then.

     Broken down into 4 segments, Blocks A, B and C focused on three current topics of significant interest. The program always ended with a segment called "Parting Shots," where the 3 newsmen would opine on a sports subject dear to them. The moderator, whether it be Schaap or Saunders, would offer his own reflection on something that happened in the sports world, thereby neatly wrapping up the program. The format was tested and true.

     Now it seems that ESPN is courting a young demographic and, sadly, The Sports Reporters does not offer the necessary vibes. The essence of The Sports Reporters is soon to be left to its heirs, the remaining assemblage of knowledgeable sports personalities on many other ESPN programs, who will convey opinions which dedicated sports fans would debate in countless places--arenas, bars or dens. The loss of a program like The Sports Reporters is another signal that print journalism is dying a not so slow death.  ESPN, by its visual recapping of all sporting events, usurped the newspaper coverage, thus setting the landscape for future generations as to how they receive their sporting news. Ironically, The Sports Reporters ultimate demise was the predestined success of ESPN itself.

     Let us not mourn the upcoming passing of a literary giant. Hopefully the sendoff for The Sports Reporters will be about its huge positive effect on the American sports journalistic landscape. 

     Perhaps that is what Dick Schaap and John Saunders would have said in their final commentaries. 

   

                                                       The Cost of a Game

     On Saturday, we attended the Rutgers-Nebraska basketball game along with over 6,000 other people hoping for a Scarlet Knights victory. Which, in thrilling style with 1.0 seconds left, sophomore guard Corey Sanders banked home a tipped ball from his previous errant shot to put the Knights ahead for good at 65-64. Thus, RU was able to secure its first Big 10 victory of this season under new Coach Steve Pikiell.

     The Rutgers Athletic Center was alive, abuzz with the enthusiasm of a large student contingent along with a game where the Knights were not being outclassed. For a simple midseason conference matchup of two teams who have very little history between them, this was good theater. We could not have been happier with the result and the way it came about. A team effort on defense coupled with a not-to-be denied effort by the effervescent point guard Sanders. For a school which had a 3-33 Big 10 men's basketball conference record heading into this season and with a football team that could not win in the league, this amounted to a big, positive step in the right direction.

     Athletic Director Patrick Hobbs came to Rutgers with a mandate. To make the school competitive in the Big 10. Hobbs had a sterling resume and reputation, last being the Dean of the Seton Hall University School of Law. He may have singularly been one of Governor Chris Christie's best appointments as an independent ethics ombudsman in a tenure that has been dismal at best. Dr. Robert Barchi found him on a strong recommendation and Dr. Barchi tasked Hobbs with the rebuilding of Rutgers athletic fortunes which had been decimated by former AD Julie Hermann and Head Football Coach Kyle Flood and may ultimately lead to NCAA sanctions for lack of institutional control.

     Very few Rutgers teams have been successful in recent years, most notably the failures of its flagship teams--football and men's and women's basketball. The only teams which have encountered some modicum of success have been the women's soccer team and wrestling. While that is good that these teams have won with distinction, it is not merely enough to overcome the drought created by the major sports at Rutgers.

     Evidently the way to compete is to have gleaming new facilities for the top tier sports. The mantra of being able to compete with the big boys--Ohio State, Michigan and the other conference brethren--is to have stadiums and arenas which are modern and with all of the bells and whistles. Moreover, the practice facilities must be top notch too. No more practicing in the RAC for basketball--they need a separate building for their endeavors. Head Coach Chris Ash, recruited from Ohio State, determined that almost every aspect of the football program required an upgrade. To be able to recruit big time athletes and become competitive, thereby sating the fans thirst for winners, necessitated a change in the culture of how these teams comported themselves.

     Armed with a vision and the understanding of President Barchi that he needed to do what would be optimal to engender RU as a winner, AD Hobbs had to do what most athletic directors do--become a fund raiser. Which led to the start of the R Big10 Build program. Designed to raise $100 million dedicated principally to athletic facility improvement, this is an ambitious undertaking by the school where it was duly noted that thee had not been a new building built for athletics in 22 years. This, in the estimation of Hobbs and Barchi, would allow RU to level the playing fields against its more entrenched Big 10 rivals and the money they currently receive from the conference, a piece of the pie RU is not entitled to in full until the 2020-21 season due to an integration program which was agreed upon as a condition of entry into the Big 10. So while a new agreement with FOX Sports will permit the existing members of the Big 10 to garner more than $50 million a year starting in 2017, Rutgers will have to continue its gradual increase in Big 10 revenues until 2020-21. While $11 million in the next 2 years is significant and the over $19 million which RU stands to receive in 2019-20 is even better, it is paltry compared to what the others will make. This will leave RU in a vicious cycle of trying to catch up with a slingshot while the conference foes with the exception of Maryland are armed with bazookas.

     Make no mistake here. The concept of being competitive in big time college athletics is tied to financial well-being. Whatever academic laurels Rutgers attains as a prestigious member of the Big 10 is certainly not to be scoffed at. But RU did not court and finally enter the Big 10 for academic reasons. The Big 10 is an athletic conference and RU sought to be with the big boys, while the Big 10 saw the New York market via Rutgers to enrich its coffers. Rutgers understood the finances surrounding this pivotal move and they eagerly agreed to be ransomed in exchange for a deferred piece of the action. Which is why the teams are at such a disadvantage now and will continue to be as the full partners will benefit at the tune of $50 million plus for the next 3 years while Rutgers adheres to its entry agreement.

     Whether this alignment was worth the money which Rutgers must raise to offset the lack of full Big 10 money until 2020-21 is debatable. The landscape of college athletics is so out of control and driven by huge television rights packages. Or the ungodly number of bowl games now sanctioned by the NCAA so that teams can justify barely winning records in order to share some more revenue. Or that the NCAA is thinking of further expanding its Division I Men's basketball tournament to permit more power conference teams to get some more money from the networks. This mindset exists notwithstanding that the vast majority of the programs are in the red and have to obtain alumni, outside benefactor or state government relief; Rutgers is definitely among those schools.

     Rutgers went into this venture with their eyes wide open. They knew that programs of begging like the RU Big10 Build were a requirement. The payoff would be in 2020-21 and beyond. It was a bold opportunity which Rutgers felt it had to be involved with--no matter how outrageous the price tag was.

    I wish Rutgers well in this quest. I do my part in having a partial season plan for men's basketball. This is the level of my financial commitment for a school I did not attend. This is my investment in the future of RU athletics.

    I just wish they had not sought to squeeze every cent form the fans as evidenced by the new policy that no outside food is permitted in the RAC or High Point Solutions Stadium despite no update to the policy on the web site. Either you eat early for a 12 noon start for a basketball game or afterwards at 2:00; unless you buy the lacklustre food sold in the arena. I can, for the moment, bring food to Yankee Stadium, where making money has always been number one, and despite some of the most diverse food vendors in professional sports. If the Yankees can permit food and drink to enter its cathedral, it boggles the mind to believe that Rutgers will not allow it.

     Sadly, this is the cost of going to a game at Rutgers these days. When will the powers that be decide that alcohol will be sold at RU sporting events inside the stadium or arena is only a matter of time; that is a steady, significant cash cow. I worry that they will soon charge for parking or even bringing a chair to sit beyond the outfield fence on a sunny spring day for a RU baseball game. For it is sure that Rutgers needs the money. Seemingly without regard to tradition and an absence of compassion for its loyal fan base.

     After all, with astronomical figures on the table like it is in college sports, business is business.

                                                         This Past MLK Weekend

     For the sports junkies like me, this weekend proved to be exactly what the doctor ordered. Restricted to home with an ear that had been cleaned out of wax and dried blood but which continued to ooze, throb and be clogged, the past weekend afforded me the optimal time to stay in and watch games.

     My slate included 1Division III basketball game on Saturday and 2 NFL playoff games. Sunday provided 2 more NFL playoff contests, another college hoops matchup. MLK Day left me with a rematch between the last 2 NBA champions, the defending champs, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors.

     Between watching the Seattle Seahawks visit the Georgia Dome for what proved to be the next to last football game to be held there, I went to the computer to see my Franklin and Marshall Diplomats travel to Swarthmore to play the #16 ranked squad. While the Garnet Sports Network certainly was not the highest caliber webcast, it provided me with enough video and commentary to more than adequately follow the Dips as they trounced an undermanned Swarthmore squad in a reprise of last year's Centennial Conference Tournament final won by F&M at home in Lancaster. It has been my pleasure to watch the Glenn Robinson-coached teams for over 40 years--Robinson is the coach with the most wins on the Division III level, now nearing 920. His kids scrap and play the game in a representative manner--unlike Coach Mike Krzyzewski and his most recent bad boy, Grayson Allen.

     As to Seattle-Atlanta, the Falcons ripped apart and exposed the Seahawk defense repeatedly as MVP candidate Matt Ryan exploited the passing lanes with this trio of excellent wideouts which includes Mohammed Sanu Sr, formerly a Rutgers Scarlet Knight, who came to Atlanta from the Cincinnati Bengals as a free agent. Moreover, the Falcons' defense repeatedly stopped Russell Wilson and kept the game slanted in the Falcons favor. They seem to be a formidable foe and appear hungry to reach the Super Bowl.

     The night cap to the trio of games I watched on Saturday was a matchup between the Houston Texans, who had defeated the deflated Oakland Raiders the previous week, visiting the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots. Houston's defense, the key to their success despite missing their superstar, J.J. Watt, was supposed to give Brady, coming off a regular season where he had tossed only 2 interceptions in the 12 games he played due to his Deflategate suspension. The Texans managed to pick off 2 Brady throws from deflections, but in the end, the superiority of the Pats' offensive juggernaut and their stellar defense which included interceptions by the their 3 Rutgers defensive backs, proved to be too much. Most impressive to me was the running game the Patriots displayed and the quickness of Dion Lewis both running and passing. Given that the AFC Championship will be held on Sunday in Foxborough, absent a practice catastrophe, New England is the prohibitive favorite.

     At noon on Sunday BTN broadcast the Rutgers men's basketball team meeting the Indiana Hoosiers on the IU home court in Bloomington. IU has been inconsistent this season, beating some of the best opposition in the nation while losing to others who they never should have. They possess the talent and the coaching, which is why the 1-3 Big Ten record appeared to this observer to be an aberration. While RU started out well as they have lately in a number of conference games, their inconsistency plus a horrid day of foul shooting did them in. Had Rutgers had the talent to match up with the Hoosiers and made some more free throws, then the 76-57 score would have been a lot closer. No matter what the talent gap, Coach Steve Pikiell has made his kids believe that they can compete at the highest levels. Try some more zone defense, Coach along with some upcourt pressure and trapping. These Big 10 teams aren't invulnerable to turnovers when pressed.

     After the hoops appetizer, the game of the weekend was next. The Green Bay Packers, fresh off dismantling the New York Giants, invaded AT&T Stadium for a highly-anticipated contest with the Dallas Cowboys. Which did not disappoint at all. In fact, it was one of the best games ever. Not unusual for these two storied NFL franchises when they meet it the playoffs.

     Green Bay, behind all world quarterback Aaron Rodgers, leaped out to a sizeable lead. Only to have the Cowboys rookie tandem of Zak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott lead the Cowboys back to tie the game. It was a hard-hitting, offensive game with some real good defense thrown in.

     It was the fourth quarter, though which made this game memorable. Down 15 points at the start of the period, Prescott engineered a tremendous comeback, capped by a quarterback draw for a vital 2 point conversion. Then Rodgers took over for one final drive. Moving his team down the field with precious little time, he survived a jarring sack which would have led many other quarterbacks to fumble. And THEN he had the presence of mind to roll over and call a timeout. Rodgers' final pass of the evening went to Jared Cook, who managed to keep both feet barely in bounds as substantiated on replay, which then allowed Mason Crosby to eke a 51 yard field goal within the uprights as time expired. It was the 3rd field goal of over 50 yards in the last 1:33 of the game--Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey had one and Crosby had two, one negated by a last second Cowboys timeout. The "Half Mary," dubbed such in reference to Rodgers' ability to throw "Hail Mary" passes in to the end zone with some degree of success, will go down in the lore of the great Packers-Cowboys contests, akin to Bart Starr's sneak in the "Ice Bowl" so many years ago.

     The GB-ATL match promises to be exciting. The Packers have beaten the Falcons once in the Georgia Dome this year. It will be tough to pick a winner. Maybe the hot hand that Rodgers possesses is the difference maker.

     Almost immediately after the conclusion of the aforementioned game, Pittsburgh and Kansas City teed it up in frigid Arrowhead Stadium, delayed some 7 hours because of the terrible ice storm in the Midwest. While it did not reach the heights of the Packers-Cowboys game, the Steelers, behind rock solid defense and a playoff record 6 field goals, were much better than the Chiefs for much of the tilt. Nonetheless, KC behind the throwing of quarterback Alex Smith (I still don't understand how the 49'ers gave up on him), scored a touchdown and were poised to tie the game on a 2 point conversion. The pass was caught in the end zone, but so was the Chiefs' left tackle,  Eric Fisher, caught for holding Steelers 38 year old marvel at linebacker, James Harrison. The ensuing conversion pass from the 20 yard line as a result of the penalty, failed. Pittsburgh then ran out the clock. While the Steelers may be considered the other Cinderella team after Green Bay, I simply do not see them overcoming the Patriots to make it to the Super Bowl.

     The ratings were sky high for the NFL with these games, especially Green Bay and Dallas. It almost made me forget the greed that persists in the NFL embodied by the Chargers vacating San Diego for Los Angeles because they did not receive a favorable deal for a new stadium. Or the Raiders wanting to abandon Oakland for the paradise of Las Vegas. Almost.

     My final game on this loaded weekend was that rematch between the Cavaliers and Warriors. Golden State had lost 4 straight to Cleveland-all close games and the one on Christmas Day was an officiating blunder or two making a difference. This budding rivalry game was over in the first quarter. The Warriors were way too talented with Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Steph Curry and Draymond Green, who added a triple double; it exposed the flaws in the Cavs--they miss J.R. Smith and Matthew Dellavedova badly. While this was a beatdown, it means very little until and if they meet again in the NBA Finals.  

     I went to bed last night, sick from a head cold, but eminently satisfied. I love being a sports junkie.