Hopefully, Aaron Judge Hasn't Abandoned New York

It’s Thanksgiving. Time for turkey and overloading with food. 

It also is time for some NFL football. Three games. Pretty good ones, too. Resurgent Detroit takes on Buffalo at Ford Field. Because of the snowstorm which buried Orchard Park and the Bills’ home stadium, Buffalo actually played in Ford Field more recently than the home team, which went to the Meadowlands and walloped the Giants. 

This is no gimme for the Bills. Blessed with good field conditions inside the arena, the Bills pasted the Cleveland Browns. And with the New York Jets doing the unbelievable in losing to New England for the 14th straight time, there is a logjam in the AFC East. Idle Miami sits atop the division. Buffalo is second because it lost to the Dolphins. Suddenly, New England is in third because of the Jets’ ineptitude. New York slid from potentially being in first with a win over the Patriots, to now residing in fourth place.  

Buffalo can stake its claim to first place with a win. On Sunday, Miami hosts the lowly Houston Texans in a game the Fish should win. New England, fresh off of its gift win via the Jets stupidity, is in Minnesota on Thursday night. The Vikings had their heads handed to them at home by the Dallas Cowboys. Minnesota should be smarting from that embarrassment and would be expected to give the visiting Patriots a very rough time. 

The other game for Turkey Day is the Giants and Cowboys in the annual Dallas Thanksgiving Day game. Dallas is on the rise. The Giants looked challenged against Detroit, which isn’t as bad a team as their 4-6 record might suggest. Dallas is maybe the best or second best team in the NFC. New York has suffered some key injuries, and perhaps has played over its head thus far. A loss here imperils the G-Men’s chances to make the playoffs. A win puts them back into the NFC East title chase. This is a very important game for both squads. How many times will I be nauseated by shots of Cowboys owner Jimmy Jones happily cheering his team from his suite at AT&T Stadium? Answer: too many. 

Let me get to the Jets. A once promising season is now in tatters. Zach Wilson, drafted second overall just a few short years ago, played horribly again when facing Bill Belichick’s team. 

The defense was outstanding. Once more a play which could have changed the game went against the Jets. Unlike the interception touchdown at Met Life Stadium which was negated by a penalty, this near TD fumble recovery was ruled an incomplete pass. Two questionable calls. Both going against the Jets. Naturally. 

There was 00:20 left on the clock before the 3-3 tie could head to overtime. Jets punter Braden Mann needed to merely kick the ball away from the New England returner, and the clock would have run out and the teams could have resumed the battle in the OT. 

With the windy conditions, Mann was having difficulties. Instead of booting the ball away, it went right to Marcus Jones. In 15 seconds, Jones had eluded all of the Jets on the field and scored the winning TD with five seconds left. 

A mere observer would say that play was incredible. Except that the Jets are tied to the butt fumble by Mark Sanchez when he ran into his own teammate, allowing the Patriots to win a game they shouldn’t have. 

We just marked the tenth anniversary of that disaster with a new one. Which shouldn’t be surprising given the recent history with New England—the Jets snatching defeat from the arms of victory, has now lost 14 straight to its nemesis. And NYJ has sunk into last place in the AFC East, where almost all pundits had placed them at the beginning of the season. 

Wilson looked so lost out there. His post-game press conference, like the previous one versus New England, was bizarre. Head Coach Robert Saleh had seen enough with Wilson and is sitting him down this week when the Chicago Bears visit Met Life Stadium. 

Second-stringer Mike White, who has performed okay in limited action over the last couple of years, is now the number one QB. To me, this is a panic move. I may not like how Wilson has been playing or acting lately, but he has dealt with injuries and his growth has been slowed as a result. 

Nevertheless, if the franchise is to succeed, that success is tied to the maturity of Wilson. Yanking him from the starter’s role will do nothing for the team or Wilson. 

I have heard the rumbling that the team was not happy with Wilson’s putrid performance—he only threw for 77 yards and was a shambles in the pocket as he went through his progressions, never getting the ball to receivers accurately or timely. I get it. 

Maybe Saleh thought he would lose the team if he didn’t make this move. But just like the Giants, this team has way overachieved and the fact that both teams are still in the playoff hunt is way beyond expectations of both fan bases. 

Saleh and Brian Daboll the Giants’ first year coach, have been mentioned in the Coach of the Year conversation. Then again, Nick Siriani of Philadelphia, Mike Zimmer in Minnesota, and Mike McDaniel, the Yalie who is the head man in Miami, have all been discussed as possible winners. With seven games still remaining in the season, this will change. 

But the fortunes of the Jets took a tremendous hit on Sunday in Foxborough, a place of horrors for them. Chicago comes to New Jersey wounded—literally. QB Justin Fields, having a tremendous year, suffered a left shoulder injury late in the loss at Atlanta last week. He has been diagnosed with ligament damage in that shoulder. 

While Fields is optimistic about playing versus the Jets, this could turn out to be a battle of backups, as Trevor Simien could well start for the Bears opposite White. Doesn’t that sound delicious?

Whatever reasons went into Saleh’s decision to bench Wilson—maybe he didn’t want the QB to face the wrath of perpetually disappointed Jets fans when they take out their long term frustration encompassed in this latest disaster—it changes the dynamic greatly. Chicago is very weak on defense. Wilson could have had a good comeback game. The Jets could have vaulted themselves back into playoff contention with a win. 

With White leading the offense, things are much murkier. The future of the team and Zach Wilson is in limbo.

Yet in my 47 year tenure as a Jets season ticket holder, this is not uncommon. Somehow, the Jets have not had that leader to take them to the promised land like the great Joe Wille Namath did in 1969. Which is why he is revered whenever he appears at Met Life. 

I liked Chad Pennington. His career was shortened by injury. Sanchez was never the same after the fumble, and his fortunes plummeted, as did those of Head Coach Rex Ryan.  

This same spiraling appears on the horizon. Just when I thought there might be a glimmer of hope, a beacon of light which could free Jets fans from the playoff exile in which we have been entrenched, this time it is a bad punt which has once more doomed us. 

Evidently Zach Wilson, the next savior, isn’t that in the eyes of the team and the coaches. And probably Jets fans too. Not surprisingly.

Enjoy the football. Enjoy your turkey and the trimmings. Hopefully, Aaron Judge hasn’t abandoned New York. That could totally ruin the holiday. 

Football

  I didn’t watch a ton of football this past weekend. But what I did watch was beyond surreal in parts, and exciting for sure. And I am talking about both the collegiate and professional ranks. 

Sure, when the dust cleared for the colleges, the top four unbeaten squads remained that—unbeaten. Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and TCU. Ohio State and Michigan, square off next week, likely ending any playoff hopes for the loser, barring some miracles regarding Georgia and TCU, as well as the teams directly below them. In essence, the loser requires big time help to make the Final Four. 

Ditto for TCU. The Horned Frogs cleared a big hurdle when they downed Texas in Austin. Are they a championship caliber team? Hard to tell, because I believe this is a down year for the Big 12. The boys from Fort Worth still have to down Baylor and last-place Iowa State, then beat the team which finished second in the conference for the 2022 title. That group includes the aforementioned Baylor Bears, Kansas State, Texas and Oklahoma State. Not exactly world beaters, but nonetheless very capable of pulling off an upset. 

Returning to the Big Ten, the winner of the Buckeyes and Wolverines wins the East, and faces the winner of the West. That is somewhat complicated, as four teams sit with 4-3 conference marks and Wisconsin is 3-4. It is conceivable that Iowa, Illinois, Purdue and Minnesota along with Wisconsin could all end up with identical 5-4 records. I would love to see that tiebreaker system. 

I did see the conclusion of the Oregon-Washington game from Eugene. The Huskies handled the Ducks, jeopardizing the once-promising chances Oregon had to possibly invade the Final Four. In a scheduler’s delight, which will have the folks at FOX and ESPN very happy, the top four teams in the conference square off this weekend. Utah heads to Oregon, while USC travels to Pasadena to play UCLA in the Rose Bowl.

With this weekend’s game, USC has completed its conference schedule. Notre Dame comes to Southern California for the two teams’ regular season finale. Then there is the conference title match in Las Vegas, which could include the Utes, Ducks, Bruins, Washington or Oregon State if the sky falls. It still would take a lot to happen before the Pac-12 to reach the playoffs, with the four unbeaten ahead of them and a bevy of SEC teams still ready to pounce. 

What is certain is that Georgia plays LSU in the SEC Championship battle. LSU is surging, but they have a formidable final game at Texas A&M, no matter how poorly Jimbo Fisher’s team has fared this season. The Bulldogs travel to Lexington to take on Kentucky, then host Georgia Tech. Georgia should handily win the games, yet each is a trap for the Bulldogs as they set their sights on the Tigers and winning the National Championship.

So while we are in the next-to-last weekend of college football’s regular season, very little is decided and a whole lot can happen to change the current rankings and final pairings. With losses by Georgia or TCU, the whole fabric of the four teams in the playoffs changes. If you are a true college football fan, this is your time. 

And maybe I am a bit prejudiced here. I think the most underrated team is Alabama. I know that the Crimson Tide has two road losses this year—both on game-winning plays at Tennessee and LSU. By the margin of four points, Alabama could be 10-0 and potentially headed for a showdown with next door neighbor Georgia. Instead, Nick Sabin and his troops should get a nice New Year’s Day bowl game as a consolation prize. A down year in Tuscaloosa, which could at least be partially salvaged by whomping on Auburn in two weeks. 

I watched a bit of the Tide’s game at Oxford, where they came from behind and prevailed over a rough Mississippi team. Remember, Alabama still has the Heisman Trophy winner from last year leading the team at QB—his name is Bryce Young and he is one heck of a football player, one who is destined to make a lot of money in his future playing on Sundays. 

While I don’t have a vote in the Heisman balloting, I have my own clear favorite. He is Stetson Fleming Bennett IV, currently the quarterback for the undefeated and defending champion Georgia Bulldogs. 

His stats may not be gaudy. And he is undersized, listed at 5’11”. What he is is tough and talented. For without his leadership and play-making ability, Georgia wouldn’t have won the crown last season and wouldn’t be in position to win it all again. I watched him make a move last week versus Mississippi State where he faked the defender out of his socks en route to an easy touchdown. 

Nothing would make me happier than for this kid to win the championship and the Heisman Trophy to end his college career. Looking at him, he doesn’t possess the physique of a prototypical NFL QB-see the Mannings, Dan Marino, John Elway, all who would have towered over the diminutive Bennett. In fact, Bennett looks like he would be a great college offensive coordinator right now, with a future of becoming a very successful collegiate head coach some day. 

Yet I am reminded that while it was in a different era, another Georgia QB who was not tall, managed to make a Pro and College Football Hall of Fame career. Francis Asbury Tarkenton, a home boy living in Athens, matriculated at his hometown college and was a third round draft choice of the Minnesota Vikings. He was listed at 6’0” and he ran for his life and could throw the ball with tremendous accuracy. I am going to guess that Bennett and Tarkenton have talked about the things they have in common now and might in the future. 

I will just point out a few things more in the collegiate ranks. Check out the story of the Gallaudet University Bison football team. A school primarily for deaf students, the Bison has cowed its way into the Division III play-offs this season. While they have drawn Delaware Valley, ranked #8, this is a winning season. Gallaudet is know for the creation of the huddle due to the players impairments.  (The origin of the ball and stake calls in baseball is attributed to Gallaudet, too). Seeing them overcome so many obstacles, I am especially enthralled with the Bison—their long-snapper is 5’ 4”—I am taller than him!! Count me as a fan of the kids from DC this weekend and going forth. 

A couple of more college football notes. The Centennial Conference only sent one team to the Division III Playoffs. Perennial power Mt. Union remained undefeated with a desperation heave that bounced off a Baldwin-Wallace defenders helmet, resulting in a game-winning score. 

Ithaca defeated Cortland in a battle of the unbeaten for Cortaca Jug 2022, held at Yankee Stadium. An eye-popping 40,232 witnessed this event. Both teams made the NCAA’s. 

Williams beat Amherst in a battle of the under .500 NESCAC schools. The Colby White Mules ended a 4-5 season with a loss to Bowdoin College in the 133rd renewal of their ancient rivalry. Such a promising start ended in a dud. 

Yale’s win at Princeton gave the Tigers their first loss. The Bulldogs square off with Harvard in The Game, with the Ivy League title on the line with a Yale win; should they lose, Princeton can still be Ivy champs. So much to report. 

I know a lot happened with pro football, most notably the wild ending of the Minnesota-Buffalo game, the loss by Philadelphia to Washington on Monday night, and the surprise comeback by the Packers over the Cowboys. I could write a book on this wagon and the past weekend. 

Plus the World Cup begins in Qatar next week. The United States is not expected to get very far. My soccer fan friends says the USMNT uniforms are “disappointing.” Nonetheless, its players have the support of that noted English soccer coach from Kansas, Ted Lasso; there are billboards and full page ads in local papers for each player who made the squad. I bet that isn’t the case with Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese super star embroiled in a fight with his club team, Manchester United. (You should see the Peyton Manning Frito-Lay commercial regarding football/soccer-it’s hilarious)

Yeah, I know that Aaron Judge deservedly won the American League M.V.P. That’s great and I hope that the Anthony Rizzo re-signing is an omen for Judge’s return to New York.

However, this blog was about something else. Football.

There Is Always Yale

  I’m back from Atlanta. Not a minute too soon. I like the comfort of my home. 

On Friday, when we were in Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the amount of Tennessee fans resplendent in Orange and White was great. But the number of Georgia Bulldogs fans far exceeded the Volunteer faithful en route to Athens for Saturday’s game. 

Based on a very non-scientific algorithm, I had great faith in third-ranked Georgia prevailing at home over the visitors, then top-ranked in the polls. Moreover, given how the disparity was tilted heavily in favor of the ‘Dawgs, I believed that this would be not much of a contest. 

It really was not a very close game. The Bulldogs are vastly superior to Tennessee, and probably the rest of the SEC, as well as Ohio State, Michigan and TCU, the teams which followed them in this week’s BCS rankings. I expect Georgia to win out in the remainder of the schedule—the next two contests are on the road at Mississippi State and Kentucky, with the latter being the more formidable foe, before ending the season at home in the traditional match with Georgia Tech. 

TCU may not be number four for very long. While the Horned Frogs are 9-0, they have to play at #18 Texas this Saturday, with a road trip to ever-dangerous Baylor on November 19th, before concluding the regular season at home with the Iowa State Cyclones coming to Fort Worth. 

Tennessee, which dropped to the fifth slot this week, finishes up the home schedule this week with Missouri before traveling to South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Winnable games for the Vols as they seek to vault back into playoff contention. 

Second-ranked Ohio State meets Indiana in Columbus this weekend, then takes a trip to College Park to take on Maryland before the big game with Michigan in the horseshoe. The Wolverines, coming off a second half pasting of Rutgers after trailing at the half, are home to Nebraska on Saturday then host West leading Illinois on November 19 before going to Ohio State.

Alabama lost a close match to LSU on the road on Saturday night. I caught the end of the game, and it was a gutsy call by Tigers’ head coach Brian Kelly to go for the two point conversion and the win in overtime. LSU now has five wins over the Crimson Tide since Nick Saban, a former national championship winning coach in Baton Rouge, has been in Tuscaloosa. 

For now, LSU leads the SEC West. The Tigers have to play at Arkansas this weekend, which is going to be a tough test. Left on the schedule is a home game versus UAB before a clash with Texas A&M in College Station to close the regular season. 

For Alabama to reach the SEC playoff game versus Georgia, the Tide has to down Ole Miss in Oxford on Saturday afternoon then take care of business at home versus Austin Peay and arch rival Auburn and hope that LSU stumbles. It is a down year for Saban’s team in losses—two—but they have lost those games by a total of four points. 

I feel that Alabama would give Georgia a stiffer test in the SEC Championship game than LSU. If the Tide can get there. The winner of OSU and Michigan will prevail in the Big Ten Championship game and make the playoffs. The loser will go to a nice bowl game.

So Georgia and the Big Ten champ will be one and two in the rankings. A lot depends on who does what in the next three to four weeks to fill out the remaining two playoff slots. A wild card to this might be Clemson, but after their disastrous drubbing by Notre Dame in South Bend, I don’t see them making the Final Four. Ditto anyone from the Pac-12, where Oregon, USC and UCLA all sport 8-1 records overall, with the Ducks having the only unblemished conference record. 

It ought to be a real interesting time as college football winds down. As it should be. Of course, there will be a lot less speculation when the playoffs are expanded to include 12 teams in 2026. 

I liked that on our flight to Atlanta, with mostly clear skies, I could see the football stadiums of James Madison University, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and Georgia State (formerly known as Turner Field, the home of the Atlanta Braves and the 1996 Summer Olympics). I also saw Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the home of the Atlanta Falcons, both from the air and while driving on I-75 & 85 in downtown Atlanta. 

Being true sports and weather geeks, we drove to see Truist Field, the new suburban home of the Atlanta Braves. Very nice. And not far from the site of the stadium was the home of The Weather Channel. A huge monument in my life. 

It made me think of what arenas I have seen in Atlanta. First off, we have seen the Peach Bowl in the former Georgia Dome. I attended a baseball game at Turner Field when the Braves played there. We have been to the Omni, the former home for the Atlanta Hawks and  the NHL Flames before they skipped town to Calgary. I have driven by the Hawks current home, State Farm Arena, as well as have been inside McCamish Pavilion, the Georgia Tech basketball coliseum, where the Hawks began their tenure in Georgia. Then there are the venues on the Georgia State and Georgia Tech campuses which remain from the Olympics. Not to mention Emory University, which hosted some practices in 1996. 

Atlanta is a strong sports mecca for the South. The SEC likes to hold its major championships there. The PGA and NASCAR make stops there. The WNBA has a team in town. The Peach Bowl is now a major bowl game. The Super Bowl periodically makes visits to the Peach State. Heck, there is a highway named after Braves’ Hall of Fame pitcher and 

FOX broadcaster John Smoltz. Plus there were girls’ softball and lacrosse tournaments in the area. 

No wonder I a number of Los Angeles Chargers fans returning after the team’s victory over the Falcons on Sunday afternoon as I awaited our return trip to New Jersey on Sunday night. There were a lot less college football fans in the airport on Sunday evening, and the line at the Avis desk for a car was a trickle compared to the 2 and 1/2 hour wait we endured on Friday, which forced us to skip lunch in order to secure our vehicle for the weekend journey to Alpharetta. 

Just a few other things to touch on. The Houston Astros won the World Series, dominating Philadelphia in the final three games, one of which was a combined no-hitter, the second in Series history. This was the best team in baseball. 

Now we can all turn to baseball free agency and sweat out what happens with 

Aaron Judge. It was nice to see that his wife ran the New York Marathon, rooted on by teammates Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo, who opted out of his contract and whom the Yankees hope to resign. 

The Jets came back from the New England debacle and shocked the Bills, one of the NFL’s premier teams. Buffalo QB Josh Allen has suffered an elbow injury which places his season and the hopes of the team to win the Super Bowl in jeopardy. 

Don’t get too carried away, Jets fans. The road ahead is littered with difficulty. Away games at New England, Miami, Buffalo, Seattle and Minnesota are as tough a schedule as can be. Home games are a bit easier with Chicago, Detroit and Jacksonville at Met Life Stadium. The question is this: are this season’s successes true growth or merely a mirage?

We watched the Chiefs come back against Tennessee while on the plane and then in the comfort of our den. So much fun to watch the Chiefs, year after year. Andy Reid’s team is definitely in the Super Bowl hunt. 

        Kudos to the LA Galaxy for an exciting MLS Cup victory over the Philadelphia Union. Not such a great week for securing titles in Philly.

One last mention. Shockingly, Columbia defeated Harvard 21-20 in Cambridge on Saturday. With two blocked field goals, one of which caught the fingertips of a Lions player and  struck the left upright, Columbia secured its first victory in Harvard Stadium since 1995. A big win for a historically victory-starved program. 

The loss did not sit well with the followers of the Crimson. Oh well, there is always Yale. 

Pre-Bat Mitzvah Thoughts

  Early blog this week. That’s because  most of our family is headed to Georgia, my birth state, for a family bat mitzvah. 

That’s the place which seems to be the epicenter of the political and collegiate football worlds. And by the way, don’t look now, but the Atlanta Falcons, led by the suddenly rehabilitated Marcus Mariota at quarterback, are in first place in the NFC West with a 4-4 record. They are actually favored to win on Sunday, when Atlanta hosts the Los Angeles Chargers, a disappointing team which many had picked to be in the Super Bowl. Matt Ryan, it seems like Falcons fans hardly knew you—and now you are a casualty of a generous contract which would pay you handsomely for 2023, which Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has made clear he doesn’t want to pay up on. 

Yes, I will be many miles away from Albany, where I last visited in February. By and large I will be in Alpharetta, a northern suburb of Atlanta, provided my escape isn’t too traumatic from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, merely one of the busiest airports in the world. Georgia traffic can be very unkind on any day, but especially on Friday afternoon. 

But the focus will be on a game on Saturday about 50 miles east of downtown Atlanta. The suddenly resurgent Tennessee Volunteers head to Athens, Georgia to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. 

In the first BCS poll, Tennessee, largely based on its monumental win at home over the Alabama Crimson Tide, sits in first place. Most polls had Georgia and Ohio State at one and two, Not so, says the BCS, as Georgia has tumbled to the third slot.

While initial polls are hardly going to reflect the final one, it is noteworthy that Georgia, at home and defending between the hedges, has even more motivation to put Tennessee in its rightful place—behind the Bulldogs. Almost everything will come to a stop on Saturday around 3:30 EST when the two SEC powerhouses clash. 

As you may know, a former Georgia student running for U.S. Senator has been in the news. Republican nominee Herschel Walker, football royalty in the Peach State, is trying to take the seat currently held by Reverend Raphael Warnock. ‘Dawg Nation is very proud of their adopted son, Walker, a Heisman Trophy winner, as he attempts to unseat his Democratic opponent. I am sure that if I watch the game on Saturday, the CBS broadcast will be saturated with commercials for the two candidates and for Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp as they once more vie for the governorship, held by Republican Kemp. I wouldn’t be surprised if I see former President Donald Trump on the screen, touting his former New Jersey Generals star running back. Ditto for the probably smaller audience checking out the Falcons-Chargers game. 

The bigger question for this trip is something which arose at my 50th college reunion at Franklin and Marshall two short weekends ago. Will there be pigs in blankets or am I going to see more grits than I want to?

Before the big game on Saturday, we might have a World Series champion. With a rainout forcing the game schedule to be compressed, either team could be in position to walk away with the trophy. 

Many are surprised at how the Philadelphia Phillies, the team which virtually snuck into the NL playoffs, seem to be dominating the Houston Astros with home runs. That appears to be out of the New York Yankees playbook—crush your opposition with the long ball. Some have called them the South Philly Bombers, which is a little sarcasm thrown at the Bronx Bombers, who could not compete with the Astros and weakly went out in four games in the American League Championship Series. 

Could it be that the Astros, even while winning their previous series handily, might be a bit deflated? Or could it be that the Phils have a could-care-less attitude and nothing seems to faze them?

Whatever moves them, the Phils became a very formidable opponent for the vaunted Houston team, an offensive juggernaut with some pretty fair pitching. The two best-known bats in the Phillies lineup, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, are big boppers and they are leading the attack. With the rain delay, the Phillies were able to even more favorably align their pitching rotation, which seems to throttle the hard outs in the Houston batting order. 

Then there are the fans. Rowdy, loud and mean. So much so that two eateries refused to serve the Astros when they tried to order food. As one of my favorite comedians, Rodney Dangerfield, used to say on The Tonight Show, “Tough crowd!” I would think he would say that even the girls in Philly hit like guys. 

Which might not be far from the truth. We had a woman at the Public Defender’s office, a daughter of a Philadelphia cop, who was an All-American defender at Johns Hopkins in women’s lacrosse. While I liked to joke with her, may she rest in peace, I was always careful to not offend her lest she level me. Based on that sort of mentality, I bet Houston cannot wait to leave for the safe confines of South Texas.

Philadelphia fans face a major dilemma on Thursday night. Game 5 of the World Series is on at 8:00 pm. Airing directly opposite is the Eagles-Texans contest on Amazon Prime. What a rarity—teams from two sports clashing on the same night and it’s a Thursday. Can you imagine the fights which could break out in area bars as to which game should be shown? 

Thankfully, the Sixers and Flyers are both off—the proximity of their arena to the Phillies ballpark would have been a nightmare. And the NFL fortunately scheduled the Eagles to be away, although I seriously doubt that anybody on Park Avenue in NFL HQ really believed that the Phillies might be hosting the Astros in the World Series. 

It is bad enough that the baseball season is ending in November. Luckily, the nights have been mild thus far in the Northeast. I don’t like it, and I don’t know if the schedule will be different next season, unaffected by the strike which caused the 2022 season to start late—and added a couple of playoff berths, to the great benefit of the the Philadelphia Phillies. 

A lot of noise has been generated about Daniel Snyder, the embattled owner of the Washington Commanders, enlisting Bank of America to solicit offers for the team. Then there is Kyrie Irving, the Nets’ guard who has squarely placed himself in the line of fire for his support of an anti-Semitic film. Two boorish individuals who deserve all of the criticism which heads their way. 

The debacle in the tunnel last Saturday at Michigan Stadium which both Michigan State and Michigan used was ugly. Eight Spartans have been suspended for their role in this horrific scene. Previously, trouble was brewing in the same tunnel when Penn State and Michigan players congregated. 

Something like this should never have happened. Staggering the use of the tunnel could have avoided this unseemly mess. Certainly the Michigan State players were wrong. So, too, is the University of Michigan to blame for not better policing the area and to not let the teams meet in such a confined space. The Wolverines come to Piscataway, where the same kind of situation exists at SHI Stadium. Let’s hope all have learned a sad lesson from this mess. 

Such are my pre-bat mitzvah thoughts. 

It's Halloween

A sigh of relief. That’s what originated from Yankee Stadium on October 18th around 7:30 in the evening. That was when the Yankees survived the best of five series with the Cleveland Guardians. 

A chorus of groans and boos emanated form that same ballpark one week later, when the Houston Astros eliminated the not-so-vaunted Bronx Bombers. In four games. 

Manager Aaron Boone was said to be gone, the scapegoat for everything wrong with the team. Except that owner Hal Steinbrenner said not so fast and is keeping Boone on for another year.  Having supporters like Derek Jeter and C.C. Sabathia didn’t hurt him.    

The Yankee faithful also want GM Brian Cashman gone. They blame him for everything which went wrong. While that is partially true in relation to players like Josh Donaldson and Aaron Hicks who looked old, he did bring in blossoming star Harrison Bader, perhaps the shiniest light for the Yankees in the ALCS. Expect Cashman to sign a new contract to continue to strive towards that elusive 28th World Championship. 

Those same fans may have gotten too carried away when they booed Aaron Judge for underperforming in the playoffs. He gave it his all to break Roger Maris’ record in a gargantuan regular season likely to result in his winning the American League Most Valuable Player Award. They liked him aplenty for how he literally carried the team into the playoffs. 

But their fickle nature may have been the last straw in whether the soon-to-be free agent leaves New York. His displeasure with the Yankees front office with their public airing of his spring contract offer, coupled with his enormous dislike of how the fans treated underperforming Joey Gallo—forcing to remain inside his apartment as a refuge from vitriol until he was mercifully trade to the Dodgers— or how they castigated Hicks, did not sit well with the big man. 

This drama will play itself out once the World Series is over. My wife asked me if I would be mad at Judge if he left. The answer is no—should he decide to play for the San Francisco Giants, the team he rooted for in his childhood, who am I to question how he reached his decision? 

However, I sure will be angry at the Yankees management and the fans for ruining what could have been a lifetime of love. For which none of the above will accept any responsibility.

Meanwhile, there has been an underdog in the National League that has come from the final playoff spot in the expanded format to reach the World Series. Those Philadelphia Phillies have exactly what the Yankees don’t have—a team which can hit, field, run the bases and is resilient. 

The fact that the Astros, a big favorite to win it all, and the Phillies are tied at one apiece when the Series resumes at Citizens Bank Park in South Philadelphia on Monday night, should not be a surprise the day the Phillies have dominated their opponents. Ask the Cardinals, Braves and Padres what happened and they will say they were swallowed up by a hot team. 

Moreover, the denizens of Broad Street will be very vocal, looking to rattle the Astros and bring a championship to the City of Brotherly Love by displaying anything but that. I am in sync with them—I loathe the Astros for their cheating, even if many of the perpetrators are gone. 

It’s kind of like my dislike for the New England Patriots from their multiple attempts at tilting the competitive advantage. Hey, Tom Brady isn’t in Foxborough any more, with his career  in the toilet at the moment as he shows his age, and his personal life apparently in shambles. 

Might I add that the Eagles are a legitimate Super Bowl contender and the Philadelphia Union is in the MLS Final Four. The Flyers are playing quite well and the Sixers are destined to get better. This is a great time to be a Philadelphia sports fan. I can just imagine how sports talk radio is afire. 

Somehow, I have managed to attend football games on three of the last four weekends. I saw the New York Jets beat the Miami Dolphins. I watched Franklin and Marshall retain the Conestoga Wagon Trophy with a True Blue Weekend victory over arch rival Dickinson. And the this Sunday I painfully watched the Jets unravel in handing a win to the New England Patriots. Again. 

When the Jets beat a below par Green Bay team with an ailing Aaron Rodgers, I thought there was some hope for the Jets. With a win over Denver, I said, maybe this team has a chance to make the playoffs. 

Until the team can get quarterback Zach Wilson to not throw balls into the hands of enemy defenders and the team can make up for the loss of RB Breece Hall, they aren’t going to win many more games. And perhaps, those prior wins were mere illusions, blips on other teams’ radar which could have had a different result. 

I was warmed by Rutgers finally winning a Big Ten contest, outlasting Indiana at home. As soon as they headed out on the road, Minnesota, a so-so Big Ten power, shut the Scarlet Knights out 31-0. #4 Michigan comes to Piscataway next. Oh boy. 

So, too, was I hopeful that F&M might travel to Allentown and upset Muhlenberg. Into the third quarter, it was a nip and tuck battle. Then the Mules asserted their superiority. 

Alabama is no longer undefeated, thanks to a trip to Knoxville where Tennessee downed the Crimson Tide in front of over 100,000 and football alum Peyton Manning, better known as the brother of Eli, the great Giants QB. Ohio State is second to Georgia in the polls. I still don’t see a Big Ten team winning the national title. 

I have seen some NBA games, mostly the one involving the Golden State Warriors. The Nets, with the unhappy duo of Kevin Durant and the foot-in-mouth Kyrie Irving, are floundering. I couldn’t be happier. Ditto the Lakers, who have yet to win a game. Lebron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook are not to be confused with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. The latter trio has won four rings.

Plus, the New Jersey Devils are leading their division. Let me let that sink in. The Devils are on top. Who would have thunk it!!

There is a lot of zany stuff going on right now in the sports world. I have a theory. It’s Halloween. 

A Tossed Paper Cup

  Where do I begin? How about Sunday morning at around 10:20 a.m.? 

That’s when my wife and I got into our 2016 Rav 4, the cute shocking blue SUV we had to help our daughter purchase when her vehicle had been flooded out in New Orleans a couple of years ago. For a simple trip to the Meadowlands for the Dolphins-Jets game. 

By my standards, we left a little late. I like to leave for the game around 10:00, as the zealots fill up the parking lots fairly quickly, monopolizing the good spots near the exits which might allow a quick escape after another desultory Jets loss. 

Part of the problem is entering the complex from Route 3 East, perhaps the easiest to access because it places my car near two large lots which I can access once inside the gates and still get me headed towards Route 3 West when I want to leave for home. Many times, the traffic merging onto Route 3 from Route 17 gets caught in the right lane headed to the stadium. That, in turn creates a major bottleneck involving vehicles not going to the game along with those out for a Sunday morning excursion. 

That’s exactly what’s happened. Route 3 was an absolute mess. The line exiting to the stadium was enormous. And it moved at a snail’s pace. 

Time was starting to become a small factor, as we like to begin our walk to the stadium just under an hour before game time, which allows us to get through security, play with my phone to access the mobile tickets, ascend the escalators to the top tier and hit the rest rooms before settling into our seats. This experience wasn’t making me all that happy, and I was getting hungry, perhaps because we made our own turkey sandwiches and I wanted to devour mine before the anointed time to pack up our belongings and trek to the ballpark. 

In watching the line snake slowly to the exit, I noted an oddity. There was an 18 wheeler stuck in our line. I thought that there was no way he was heading to the parking lots or the stadium on a Sunday morning. Yet he was barely moving and a large number of cars decided to move past him and cut in front of the truck to get closer to the exit. He was creating a mini-bottleneck. 

After having watched this unfold, I made a quick move to get into the next lane to my left and pass the truck, like so many others had, thereby moving us up in the queue. It proved to be a good move that went bad. 

At that moment, the truck driver decided to exit the line where he didn’t belong. I beeped at him and skirted past his vehicle. His loud horn sounded in an angry response. 

I found a spot further up and secreted the Rav 4 into a better position. Or so I thought. That was the good move. 

It was a beautiful day and I had rolled down the windows to have the fresh air enter our car. Which proved to be the bad move, for as the truck burst past me on my left, the horn sounded loudly and the driver threw a paper cup with a top and a straw protruding from it into my open window with a loud ricochet off of the door frame. 

The car was splattered with whatever carbonated beverage was in the cup. I was struck  in my face with the lid. I immediately threw the cup out of our car. I was stunned and shaken. 

The truck had sped off, so I could not obtain the license plate. No one seemed to care very much, for nobody asked if we were okay. But we weren’t okay. Not at all. 

We made it to the gate. Part of the holdup was that of the four gates at that point, one was manned by an attendant who made me look young. 

With the traffic so bad inside the complex, we entered Lot K, the one furthest from Met Life Stadium. We were a stone’s throw away from the New York Football Giants facility. 

Then we assessed the damage. There was plenty of liquid on the rubber floor mat beneath the steering wheel. There were large stains on the window and the dashboard. Wiping them didn’t make it any better and in fact made the window in front of the wheel more than a bit blurry.

We tried to enjoy our time in the lot amongst the other tailgaters. We tossed the whiffle football we took from LBI in the summer of 1982. We did finish our sandwiches. Entering the stadium in a timely manner proved to be no problem. 

As for the game, it was over with the first play from scrimmage. “Sauce” Gardner, the Jets first round pick for 2022, blitzed Miami QB Teddy Bridgewater, knocking him out of the game and resulting in an intentional grounding in the end zone safety. 2-0 Jets. 

While the Dolphins waged a good battle, the Jets had the answers. In the fourth quarter, New York put an end to any Miami comeback. Final score was 40-17, and the Jets really deserved to win. 

They played like a team on the rise. QB Zach Wilson was excellent. Offensive tackle Alijah Tuck-Vera was outstanding. Running back Breece Hall played like a beast, in one play dragging two Miami defenders nearly ten yards before being stopped just short of the goal line. 

Despite the stadium being half filled with Dolphins fans, the atmosphere was much better than when we went to see the Jets lose to Cincinnati two weeks earlier. We left happy with the result and perhaps a little bit giddy for the future. 

Until we returned to the car. Once more did I see the mischief that cretan trucker had created. Which angered me.

We had to wait an eternity for the lot to empty before we could easily access Route 3 and head home. It was then I realized what really had happened. I had escaped certain injury and possible death had the cup hit me in the face. 

Although it was a little precarious driving home with a half-blurred windshield with the sun at a low angle, the car will get cleaned and look like new. I’ll be out a couple of hundred dollars.

Yet within my anger I felt lucky. Exceptionally so. For this was the third time that I escaped from a predicament to live another day unscathed.

While at Franklin and Marshall, my senior year roommates decided to head to Beaver College for a mixer, since women weren’t very plentiful yet on campus. The driver drank way too much whiskey and drove his Buick at over 100 m.p.h. on the three lane highway known as Route 30. He wanted to die and he was going to take us with him. Somehow we didn’t and he is a doctor in Illinois. 

The second time was coming from my then-finance, who lived on Long Island. I had just passed through the toll plaza on Staten Island after driving across the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. A car pulls up to me and forces me onto a sidewalk. He reaches down as if the had a gun. I screamed and took off. We reached speeds of over 90 m.p.h. as he chased me on the Staten Island Expressway. 

I was sure my life was over. There is a narrow turn before the Goethals Bridge and a concrete barrier. I felt my destiny was to hit it. Except that the other car exited the highway at the last exit before the bridge. 

Three times I lucked out. While I am still a bit shaken, this incident gave me greater perspective. Any morbid thoughts I have had have disappeared. I reached a goal—with all of the injuries I have had to my lower extremities in the past five to six years, I decided to run a cumulative mile out of the three miles I normally walk on Tuesday and run no more. 

I look forward to my 50th class reunion at F&M next week, for I feel fortunate to even be in position to attend. I have perused the 2023 MLB schedule and have mapped out games to see in June in St. Louis, Kansas City, Milwaukee and ending in Chicago with a White Sox game. If I want to watch a game on TV, I’m going to watch it. 

Trips which have been put off are back on the table. My son and I are on for an early April jaunt to see the Devils in Winnipeg.

Seeing friends is a priority. Ditto with family. Getting down over injuries or losses by my teams, at least for now, is in second place. 

We never know how much time we have on this Earth. In this precarious nuclear age a second crisis like we faced 60 years ago in October is upon us. 

I turn 72 on October 25th. I may be a bit heavier than I like and my clothes are a bit more snug—some of it is muscle from all of the upper body weightlifting. I survived COVID and recently received my newest booster. 

I have a lot to look forward to. J-E-T-S cheers make me happy. I love my Yankees. Steph Curry enthralls me. I enjoy sports. So much so. I love writing this blog.

All because a paper cup tossed wantonly from a moving vehicle reminded me about all I have to live for. 

Did I Say That The NHL Starts on Friday?

  What a week! It began with an intrepid reader on the sidelines in Lancaster offering subjective color commentary from the Johns Hopkins stands while wearing his newly-purchased F&M hat in honor of our alma mater. With Hopkins picking on a particular cornerback, the #8 Blue Jays outlasted a comeback by the Diplomats to remain undefeated along with Susquehanna, as Centennial Conference play is in a bye week for all teams. 

Then a friend from the Public Defender’s office who now lives in the Charlotte area provided a history of the kickoff celebration for the Charlotte FC team. It has a grecque origin, done to a fusion song by Farruko. If that wasn’t enough, he shared that fans of Deportivo Alaves, a Spanish team, do the Ponzan to the 1969 or so Pippi Longstocking TV series theme. Really. 

Even more interesting was that the Adelaide 36’ers, a low level Australian professional team, landed in Arizona and bombarded the Phoenix Suns in the opening 2022-23 exhibition game. While the Suns were belted out of the NBA Playoffs last season, they are considered to be in the hunt for the title once more. Unless last season’s drubbing and this beat down were not flukes. Who knows?

Thus it was no shock that the New York Jets found a way to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road this past Sunday. The Jets, with this win, went 2-2 against teams from the AFC North. And what that really means is that Baltimore and Cincinnati are pretty good while Cleveland and Pittsburgh, the teams the Jets beat, are not. 

Look, the Jets are trying to find their identity. There are a lot of moving parts, and at times they connect beautifully, like the way QB Zach Wilson masterfully led the offense to the winning score. 

But the defense and special teams can be exasperating at times. Moreover, the offensive line is in shambles at the tackle position, which has caused Wilson and Joe Flacco, who started the first three games under center, to constantly be running for their lives. 

Up next is Miami. Teddy Bridgewater has taken the helm in the absence of Tua Tagovailoa while the latter is in concussion protocol, a place he should have been before the start of the game with Cincinnati last week. He is a competent QB who, if given the chance, can work the field for the offense. 

With Tua leading the Dolphins, the team soared to a 2-0 start, including a win over the very formidable Buffalo Bills, a team many believe can win it all. I see the Dolphins as a very wounded animal. How wounded remains to be seen. 

Nonetheless, when I am in my seats at Met Life Stadium on what looks like it will be a cool Sunday afternoon, I don’t anticipate leaving at the half like we did when the Bengals shredded the Jets defense and the offense looked inept. 

I’m not necessarily predicting that the Jets will emerge as a 3-2 team. But I wouldn’t be as surprised to see them come out victorious, making the trip to Green Bay something to look forward to, given that the Packers are in London this weekend, facing a fairly good New York Giants team, albeit with their QB, Daniel Jones, iffy with an ankle sprain. 

I read some pundit who said that the Philadelphia Eagles could go undefeated this season. After four games this guru can see that clearly? Sure, the Eagles are playing great ball. Wins over Detroit, Minnesota, Washington and Jacksonville are nice. And the schedule isn’t full of tough AFC squads and only a few NFC contenders.

However, this is definitely not the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the last team to run the slate and attain perfection. Talk with me in five weeks, when the Eagles have played half their games. Then we might have a better idea how legitimate a contender this team is. 

It has taken a lot of time and mental torture for Aaron Judge and for those who intrepidly followed his quest to overtake Roger Maris as the American League home run champion, to reach that magic number. 

Thus, when he finally took a hanging slider and parked it in the seats at Globe Life Field on Tuesday evening, there was an exultant exhale around Yankees Nation and everywhere that was watching his exploits. It felt like the great toilet flush at the half of any Super Bowl. 

Questions abound about how legitimate Barry Bonds’ 73 home runs stands as the record. Judge definitively stated that he believes it is. As do I. 

It may stink that he purportedly cheated to get to 73 by taking steroids. Bonds has never admitted to that, and it is clear he thought that Sammy Sosa and Mark Mc Gwire, who exceeded Babe Ruth’s record of 60 homers in a season, were not his equal as a hitter. 

What Judge did this season did not diminish one iota what he accomplished. He almost won the Triple Crown, missing the batting title by .004. His leading the majors in so many offensive categories in this age of relief pitchers throwing absurd breaking balls and 100 m.p.h. fast balls is a season beyond what anybody has accomplished. 

This is not to demean the season Shohei Ohtani just completed. He is the first player to qualify for recognition in both hitting and pitching. Ohtani passed the 162 inning mark and compiled 219 strikeouts. He also hit .273 with 34 home runs, 30 doubles and 95 runs batted in in 157 games. Truly remarkable, as he is the first since Babe Ruth in 1913 to do this. 

Judge and Ohtani are the two greatest offensive forces in the game right now, and Ohtani offers a dimension that no one else can. It’s too bad that only one is going to be the A.L M.V.P. That should be Judge, who will land a contract surpassing the 1 year, $30 million deal Ohtani received on October 1. 

Baseball now heads into its post-season. With a new format that awards byes to the two winningest teams in each league. While the opening rounds start on Friday and are played on consecutive days in one park for each of the four series, it offers two more teams an opportunity to have a chance to continue their seasons, with the hope that they catch lightning in a bottle and make it to the World Series. 

Philadelphia and St. Louis start things off. While the Phillies are a pretty good hitting club, I just don’t see them getting past the Cardinals. N.L. M.V.P. candidates Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado anchor a deep team which has a distinct home field advantage. 

The Mets could not outlast the Braves, swept by their antagonists this past weekend in suburban Atlanta with the NL East title on the line. As a result, the San Diego Padres come to Citi Field for what might be the best pitching matchups in any series. Without Starling Marte in the lineup, the Mets have struggled a bit. This might be the difference between continuing or packing their bags for a long off season. 

Tumbling Tampa Bay, playing to a losing record in the last 25 games, heads to Cleveland where the youngest team in baseball awaits. I can easily see the Guardians emerging to meet the Yankees in the next round. 

Finally, troublesome Seattle travels to Canada to take on the Blue Jays. I see this as a toss up, with either team winning and then facing the very tough Houston Astros. 

Certainly a fun time of the year. Rutgers faces a make or break home game Friday night with Nebraska. The SEC continues to sort itself out; Georgia had to come from behind in the fourth quarter to beat Missouri on the road. Which cost the Bulldogs the top spot in this week’s poll. 

Pro football enters Week 5 with a crucial contest between Cincinnati and Buffalo, both harboring Super Bowl thoughts. And will Tom Brady be distracted by the divorce rumors swirling around when the Buccaneers take on the Falcons? Can the Rams come back and down the Cowboys after the 49’ers took them apart on Monday Night? 

So many questions. So much to watch. Did I say that the NHL starts on Friday?