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Bar Chat

03/07/2022

Amid the World's Destruction.....

Add-On…posted very early Wed. a.m.

College Basketball

--New AP Poll (records a/o Sunday)

1. Gonzaga (52) 24-3
2. Arizona (6) 28-3
3. Baylor (3) 26-5
4. Auburn 27-4
5. Kentucky 25-6
6. Kansas 25-6
7. Duke 26-5
8. Villanova 23-7
T-9. Purdue 25-6
T-9. Tennessee 23-7
11. Providence 24-4
12. Wisconsin 24-6
13. UCLA 23-6
14. Texas Tech 23-8
15. Arkansas 24-7
16. Illinois 22-8
17. Saint Mary’s 24-6
18. Houston 26-5
19. Murray State 30-2
20. UConn 22-8
21. USC 25-6
22. Texas 21-10
23. Colorado State 24-4
24. Iowa 22-9
25. North Carolina 23-8

Wake Forest didn’t have any votes, but Demon Deacon fans learned that coach Steve Forbes, who was in just the second year of a six-year deal, was given a long-term extension which no doubt locks him up through the decade.

Smart move…he was moving onto the radar of some big programs and no doubt would have had some substantial money tossed at him.

As of Monday a.m., ESPN’s bracketologist Joe Lunardi had Wake as one of his “last four byes.”

They must beat the winner of Tuesday’s Boston College-Pitt first-round ACC game.  Must.

[And it was B.C., whom the Deacs beat by an 87-57 margin earlier in the season.]

Lunardi had Rutgers as a “last four in.”

--I can’t care about all the minor, mid-major conference tournaments, but I couldn’t help but note that Chattanooga was trailing Furman at the half of Monday’s Southern Conference final, 26-16, the Mocs just 1 of 12 from three.

But Chattanooga began to make some shots in the second half, took the game into overtime, and then road the heroics of David Jean-Baptiste, who hit a spectacular three, three Paladins draped over him, for the buzzer-beating winner, 64-63, the Mocs 27-7.

--No. 1 Gonzaga got its revenge over 17 Saint Mary’s in the WCC final, 82-69, after the Gaels upset the Zags about ten days earlier.

NFL

--Star wide receiver Calvin Ridley was going to be a highly-sought target this offseason, the Falcons reportedly receptive to a trade, after he left the team last season to focus on his mental health, Jets fans among those thinking they might grab him.

But now he’s been suspended for at least the 2022 season for betting on NFL games while away from the Falcons.

According to the NFL, Ridley placed bets during a five-day period in November, during which he was not at team facilities.

“I bet 1500 total I don’t have a gambling problem,” Ridley wrote on Twitter soon after the news broke.  “I couldn’t even watch football at that point.

“I know I was wrong But I’m getting 1 year lol.”

Ridley vowed to return in top shape.

“Just gone be more healthy when I come back,” he tweeted.

NFL Network reported that Ridley bet on Falcons games, as well as other sports. According to multiple outlets, he placed multiple parlay bets that included picking the Falcons to win, using his cell phone while in Florida.  The service Ridley used was monitored by Genius Sports Group, which handles the NFL’s data and monitoring and reported the bets to the league.

A league investigation uncovered no evidence inside information was used or that any game was compromised by Ridley’s betting, nor was there evidence suggesting Falcons coaches, players or staff were aware of Ridley’s betting activity.

He may petition for reinstatement after Feb. 23, 2023.

This is a big story, especially in terms of how it highlights the amazing hypocrisy of the sports leagues and their alliances with the gambling industry.

Nancy Armour / USA TODAY

“What on earth would have made Calvin Ridley think it was OK for him to bet on NFL games?

“A peek at the Atlanta Falcons’ 2022 away games, one of which will be played at the Caesars Superdome? A glance at the NFL’s website, where there is a tab that takes you to an entire website devoted to fantasy football? Or was it seeing those ads for sports books that have become ubiquitous during games and every other NFL-related program?

“The aforementioned Caesars – which runs ads featuring the entire Manning family, the NFL’s equivalent of a papal benediction.  Fan Duel. DraftKings. PointsBet.  The NFL and individual teams have partnered with so many sports books and casinos over the past few years, adding millions to their already robust bottom lines, that it’s hard to keep them all straight.

“ ‘There is nothing more fundamental to the NFL’s success – and to the reputation of everyone associated with our league – than upholding the integrity of the game,’ commissioner Roger Goodell told Ridley sternly in a letter notifying the Falcons wide receiver of his minimum one-year suspension, which the NFL announced Monday afternoon.

“ ‘Your actions put the integrity of the game at risk, threatened to damage public confidence in professional football and potentially undermined the reputation of your fellow players throughout the NFL.’

“No different than the league did when it dismantled the firewall against the gaming industry that it had so staunchly defended for decades because there was lots of money to be had.  Not that the NFL will ever acknowledge exactly how much those deals are worth, of course.

“This is not meant to excuse Ridley, particularly if he bet on the Falcons – and the NFL was quick to share that he had.  Nor is this a call to remove the remaining guardrails that ensure the NFL continues to be a legitimate sport rather than the gridiron version of the WWE.

“But the indignation from Goodell, and the NFL’s willingness to spill the details of Ridley’s misdeeds, are just a wee bit sanctimonious given the league has no problem cozying up to the gaming industry when it suits it.  The NFL wants to claim it’s not directly involved in anything unsavory – like gambling on NFL games, say – but will happily take the cash that unsavory business generates from ‘other people.’

“That distinction only exists in the minds of the NFL, though. To everyone else, the league is an active and enthusiastic partner of the entire betting industry.  As sports betting becomes increasingly legal, and even more widely accepted, across the United States, it might be a surprise that an active player would cross that once-bright line to bet on games but it hardly comes as a shock.

“ ‘When we as a league encourage everyone to bet on our games, advertise betting on our players’ game stats, take in big money from gambling sites & do everything we can to get our young people to embrace gambling – we can’t be surprised when this happens,’ Tony Dungy, the Hall of Fame coach who is now an analyst for NBC Sports, said on Twitter….

“The NFL says its use of Genius Sports, which monitors betting activity, ensures that the league will stay above reproach.  It was Genius Sports that tipped off the league about Ridley’s bets.

“But the league hasn’t said how much its deals with betting companies are worth.  Is it $10 million a year?  $1 billion?  It’s a relevant question. The more zeroes involved, the harder it’s going to be to maintain integrity.

“The NFL thought it could take the betting industry’s money and somehow not get tainted by it. That was always going to be a gamble.”

--Tues. a.m. …Aaron Rodgers has reportedly received a significant long-term contract offer from the Packers, and Rodgers has said he’d like to make his decision soon, depending on whether the Packers tagged star wide receiver Davante Adams.

Rodgers has one year left on his deal and would count $46.1 million against the salary cap, a number that would be lowered by an extension should he decide to return.

Tues. p.m. …And it’s done…Rodgers is staying with Green Bay, the sides working on a new contract that would lower his salary-cap figure for this year, while giving him clarity into his 40s.

Well, the guy did the right thing in not prolonging the decision-making process.

And the Packers did tag Adams, for $20 million, which for cap reasons means they need to sign him to an extension to reduce the cap hit.  All in all, Rodgers is a happy camper.

--The Rodgers news was followed by the report that the Seahawks traded Russell Wilson to the Broncos, who had been interested in Rodgers; Wilson the potential target of the Panthers, Saints, and possibly the Giants and Eagles.

In return for Wilson, the Broncos reportedly are sending quarterback Drew Lock, two first-round selections, two second-rounders, additional players and whatever is behind the box where Carol Merrill is standing.  The deal can’t be announced until the free agent market opens next week.

So the Russell Wilson era in Seattle is over…ten years, one Super Bowl, and one Super Bowl choke job.

Actually, Wilson and Rodgers (also one Super Bowl win) match up remarkably similar in some categories.

Rodgers…regular season…139-66-1, 104.5 passer rating

Wilson…regular season…104-53-1, 101.8

Rogers…postseason…12-10, 100.1

Wilson…postseason…9-7, 95.3

MLB

--Late news…MLB and the Players Association had another 16-hour marathon negotiating session on Tuesday and talks resume this morning.  As Jesse Jackson said, “Keep Hope Alive!”

But in a Los Angeles Times/Survey Monkey poll of 3,768 Americans online, 6 in 10 said they were not baseball fans.  Of those that described themselves as fans, 6 in 10 said the lockout has caused them to lose interest in the baseball season this year.

--Dave Sheinin / Washington Post

“You can feel it in your bones: spring. The ancient signal that baseball is coming. This weekend, there should be games going on in Arizona and Florida. The airwaves should be full of the familiar, comforting sounds of balls smacking into gloves. There should be wide-angle shots of flyballs soaring over palm trees under thin, wispy clouds.  There should be pitchers doing wind-sprints in the outfield and packs of kids with Sharpies surrounding six-figure sports cars exiting the players’ lot….

“ ‘Especially coming out of Covid, where now you have an opportunity to enjoy spring baseball the way it’s supposed to be enjoyed, with summer around the corner – it’s just so disillusioning that baseball can’t get its act together and get back on the field,’ said CNN commentator David Gregory, a Washington Nationals season ticket holder and lifelong baseball fan.

“ ‘Lifelong baseball fan’: How many of those are even left as the 2021-22 Major League Baseball lockout zooms past the three-month mark, with no end in sight?  Think of what the sport has asked those hardy souls to endure….

“If April comes and goes without baseball, as now seems possible if not likely, it will have been 2 ½ long years since the last normal, pre-pandemic season, during which time the consensus best player in the game, Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout, will have played exactly 89 meaningful games and the consensus best pitcher in the game, Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets, will have made 27 starts.

“ ‘This is just devastating.  Opening Day is a holiday in my house. I’ve flown home – left the studio and flown home – for Opening Day,’ said Josh Eppard, drummer for progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria and a lifelong Mets fan.  ‘This was the year baseball was back.  My Mets are making huge moves – I mean, [they signed] Max f---ing Scherzer!  And now it’s just – kerplunk.  I just can’t imagine they’re going to do this to us after Covid.

“ ‘It’s the perfect time for baseball to capture America after we’ve lifted the veil of Covid, and they’re shooting themselves in the foot.  I’m gutted that now we’re going to a shortened season for the second time in three years.  I can’t help but feel as a fan that we’re at the bottom of the pole here, that no one is thinking of the fans.’”

Aaron Elstein / Crain’s New York Business

“You know who gets paid even if there’s no baseball in 2022?  The New York Yankees and Mets, that’s who.  Also the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, even the godawful Baltimore Orioles.  Every Major League Baseball team will get paid by the national TV networks – even if zero baseball is played this year.

“ ‘The league’s national media contracts…are structured to allow the league to continue to receive payment in 2022 even if no games are played due to the lockout,’ Fitch Ratings said in a report last week.  Baseball Prospectus reports that each team gets paid $60 million annually from WarnerMedia’s Turner Sports and Walt Disney’s ESPN.

“Like Mel Allen used to say, how about that?”

Elstein notes that he and his son, with no baseball to watch, are reading “Ball Four,” and gems such as “an extremely hungover Mickey Mantle hitting a pinch-hit homer, squinting into the stands and saying, ‘Those people don’t know how tough that really was.’”

Golf Balls

--Jin Young Ko has been on a rather historic roll on the LPGA Tour.  Last weekend at the HSBC Women’s World Championship she collected her sixth LPGA victory in 10 starts.  Ko also became the first player in tour history to record 15 consecutive rounds in the 60s, breaking a mark she shared with Annika Sorenstam and So Yeon Ryu.  And she became the first player to record 30 consecutive rounds under par, eclipsing a mark set by Annika Sorenstam in 2004 and Lydia Ko in 2014-15.

In her last ten starts on tour, Ko’s a combined 154 under with a scoring average of 67.4.  She has been ranked No. 1 for 116 overall weeks.

--In an alternate field event last weekend, the Puerto Rico Open, Ryan Brehm needed to win or finish solo second to retain his PGA Tour status, and with his wife on the bag, the 35-year-old Brehm ran away with it, beating Max McGreevy by six strokes.

Brehm was in the make-or-break final start of a minor medical extension, granted to him after he had to withdraw from the Zurich Classic last year because of Covid.

Brehm won in his 68th start on the PGA Tour, the former Michigan State player becoming the first Spartan to ever win on tour.  He was ranked 773rd in the world coming in.

But now he has a two-year exemption on the big circuit, spots in this week’s Players Championship and the PGA Championship, as well as a trip to Hawaii in January for the 2023 Tournament of Champions.

--In his first meeting with reporters since Phil Mickelson’s controversial remarks concerning an upstart Saudi-backed golf league on Tuesday, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said Mickelson had yet to contact him, with Monahan reiterating, “We don’t comment on disciplinary matters, potential matters or actual matters.  But every player is accountable for their actions out here.”

On to the Players Championship, which is always great fun.

Stuff

--Tuesday, the Brooklyn Nets got back to .500 (33-33) with a 132-121 win over Charlotte (32-34), Kyrie Irving with a season-high 50 points.

Irving got his 50 on just 19 shots (15-of-19, including 9-of-12 from three).  Only Adrian Dantley has ever scored 50+ on fewer shots, doing it in 1980 on 17 attempts with the Utah Jazz.

This was a biggie, the Nets in eighth in the East, a game ahead of Charlotte and Atlanta.

--Tottenham needed a win on Monday to stay in touch in the Champions League hunt and whipped Everton 5-0, Harry Kane with two goals.

But Everton, which has never been relegated since the start of the Premier League in 1992, lies in 17th place, barely holding on.  I have a soft spot for this franchise, ever since I saw an Everton scarf at Buddy Holly’s crash site, outside Clear Lake, Iowa.

--After I posted Sunday, Alex Bowman beat NASCAR champion, and teammate, Kyle Larson in a battle in overtime at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Bowman’s seventh career victory.  Ross Chastain finished an impressive third.

--I missed that last weekend in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, Mikaela Shiffrin made her return to the World Cup circuit after skipping two downhills in Crans Montana, Switz., the week before.

And Shiffrin had a second-place finish in a super-G, with a fourth in a giant slalom.  She still holds the overall WC points lead, ahead of Petra Vlhova.

Just six more races to go in the season, with two slaloms and two giant slaloms, Shiffrin’s best events.  It would be great if Shiffrin could go into the offseason winning one of these races.  No doubt she would feel a lot better about herself and next season’s quest to break Lindsey Vonn’s win total.

--At Monday’s Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas, a year after he was removed from the ACM’s ballot after saying a racial slur on camera, Morgan Wallen won album of the year for “Dangerous: The Double Album.”

Entertainer of the Year was Miranda Lambert, for the first time.

Female Artist of the Year: Carly Pearce

Male Artist of the Year: Chris Stapleton

Single of the Year: “If I Didn’t Love You” – Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood

My current favorite song is Sam Hunt’s “23”…better win next year.

Next Bar Chat, Sunday p.m.

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[Posted Sun. p.m., prior to finish of NASCAR]

Add-On up top by noon, Wed.

Note: Friends, the news these days is depressing as hell, and sports really takes a backseat in my life at times like this.

But aside from the catastrophic war in Ukraine, Putin’s War, this morning I woke up to the awful news out of Iowa.  A tornado hit an area I am very familiar with, Madison County (which is as beautiful as the movie portrayed it).  Long-time readers know that I’ve been to the Iowa State Fair multiple times during presidential election season, and while headquartered in Des Moines, I spend an afternoon traveling west on I-80 to go to the Bob Feller Museum in Van Meter, and then down into Madison County to Winterset, birthplace of John Wayne.

The tornado did not appear to hit the downtown area of Winterset, where the Wayne Museum is, but rather the outskirts.  Nonetheless, six died, including two children.  Another person died in neighboring Lucas County, last I saw.  The video of the tornado is terrifying.

So while I pray for Ukraine, and the assassination of Vlad the Impaler, I also pray for Winterset and the good people there.

Ironically, when I woke up this morning I reached into a pile of t-shirts for one to wear under a sweatshirt…it was “Iowa”…Iowa University, that I picked up along the way there.

NCAA Basketball Championship Quiz: The following won the Most Outstanding Player award for each of the following championships.  You get the school and initials.  Give me the name.  [Hint: one of the players was not on the national championship team.] Answers below.

1966: J.C. (Utah)…1986: P.E. (Louisville)…1987: K.S. (Indiana)…1990: A.H. (UNLV)…1993: D.W. (UNC)…1996: T.D. (Kentucky)…2000: M.C. (Mich. St.)…2007: C.B. (Florida).

College Basketball

--This weekend it was all about Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s last regular season game, fittingly at Cameron Indoor Stadium vs. the archrival Tar Heels.

To honor Coach K’s historic legacy, 82-year-old Dick Vitale wrote an open letter to the winningest coach in the sport.

Dear Mike,

It seems like yesterday, back in my second year at ESPN, your first at Duke when I wanted to find out what this young guy from West Point was all about.  Even though you had a rough first few years – it was struggle city to put it mildly – after meeting you, I was so impressed and felt that you were going to get Duke back to the elite of the ACC.

As I reflect upon your achievements, I am completely in awe.  Your coaching record is proof of the solid gold hall of famer you are. But I know Mike the man as well.  And man, are you special. It’s been an honor to be teammates on the board of the V Foundation – where we do our best to keep Jimmy V’s dream alive.  Now, as I have endured a six-month fight with several cancers, I have felt your caring ways.  Your countless messages have lifted my spirits like you can’t even imagine.  Yes, my friend, you are the GOAT as a coach.  But you are also one of the best people I have ever met.

Like millions of other fans, I feel it’s been a privilege to watch you in action all these years.  Every coach dreams of just one trip to the Final Four.  You’ve been to 12 of them.  In an era of fierce competition, you’ve collected more Ws than anyone. On top of that, you cut down the national championship nets five times.  And, let’s not forget about gold medals, too.  Even with different players each season, the common thread was you.  Whether at Duke or at the Olympics, you had some of the game’s greatest superstars. And you always found a way to get them to buy in to your team-first approach.  You’ve blended teams better than anyone who has ever graced the sidelines – according to my VBDI.

I’m lucky to have been in the building for so many of your biggest moments.  I am praying that the journey that you and your general manager Mickie will now take includes health and happiness.  You are a true legend.  Yes, I’d simply say, coach, you have been Awesome, baby, with a Capital A!

God bless,

Dick

But then they played the game, and with 96 former Duke players in the stands to honor their old coach, Duke held a slim 41-39 lead at the half, only to be totally blown out in the second, giving up 55 points, North Carolina with a big 94-81 win over the No. 4 Blue Devils.

Four Carolina players scored 20 or more points, and the Tar Heels secured their spot in the NCAA tournament.

In fact, with the results of their last regular-season conference game, all top five in the conference should now be into the Big Dance; Miami, Notre Dame, and, earlier, Wake Forest, also securing needed victories this week heading into the ACC Championship in Brooklyn.

Final ACC standings

Duke 16-4, 26-5
UNC 15-5, 23-8
Notre Dame 15-5, 22-9
Miami 14-6, 22-9
Wake Forest 13-7, 23-8

If one team sits on the bubble, it would be the Deacs, who definitely need to have a positive attitude against their ACC tournament opponent in that first game…just to eliminate any uncertainty among the NCAA selection committee.  Wake took care of business in its ACC finale, Wednesday, with a 101-76 domination of N.C. State.

But back to Coach K, he was furious, and before the rather bizarre postgame farewell ceremonies took place (why not before the game?!), he took the mic and said, “I’m sorry about this afternoon.  Today was unacceptable, but the season has been very acceptable. And the season isn’t over.”

It was an embarrassing effort…a total choke job on the part of the Dookies, unable to handle the pressure of the big night.

On the other hand, Hubert Davis deserves a ton of credit.  I was among the tens of thousands of good, intense ACC fans who were questioning the selection of Davis to replace Roy Williams.  But just look at the record.

One last thing on Coach K’s Cameron farewell, if you paid $3,450 for a ticket, as some seats were going for prior to game time, you are truly an idiot.  Actually, there were reports that the best seats were going for as much as $50,000!

On the other hand, part deux, if you were a student with a free ticket and sold it for vast sums, you are brilliant!  [Except for one small detail…they can’t scalp the tickets because they receive customized wrist bands, not actual tickets….]

--In other games of note….

No. 22 Murray State took the Ohio Valley Conference championship with a 71-67 win over Morehead State (23-11, 13-5), despite an off night from star K.J. Williams, who was held to just 8 points.  Other Racers stepped up, as Murray State secured a 30-win season, 30-2, 18-0.

Their seeding will be interesting.  I’m not sure they deserve a 5, but it would kind of suck if they’re given a 7.

--The Longwood Lancers of Farmville, Virginia, are going Dancing for the first time, following a resounding 79-58 win over Winthrop in the Big South final.  Good for them.  They’re 26-6, 15-1…not an upset at all.

[Psst…don’t tell anyone, but I had to look up where Longwood was…no offense to the Longwood alum in my area.]

--Sister Jean’s Loyola of Chicago is dancing again, 64-58 winners over Drake in the Missouri Valley Conference final, the Ramblers 25-7, 13-5.

Sister is 102 years old!  That gives new meaning to the phrase, “Good Lord!”

--Rutgers stayed in the NCAA hunt, barely, with a 59-58 home win over lowly Penn State (12-16, 7-13) this afternoon, the Scarlet Knights surviving a late turnover and last-second 3-point attempt by the Nittany Lions that would have sent RU careening into the NIT.

Rutgers must win its Big Ten tournament opening game to stay in the conversation, RU 18-12, 12-8.  Wednesday, they needed a last-second Ron Harper Jr. three to survive at Indiana, 66-63, which would have guaranteed the NIT earlier; Harper with more than a few late heroics for the Scarlet Knights this season.

--Seton Hall improved to 20-9, 11-8, with its fifth straight Big East win to finish the regular season, 65-60 at Creighton (20-10, 12-7).  But none of the five wins were over a ranked team and The Hall must win two games in the Big East tourney to have a shot at the NCAAs.

--Pete M.’s Colgate Red Raiders defeated Jimbo’s and David P.’s Lehigh Mountain Hawks 81-61 in the Patriot League semis, the upstate New York Indians now facing the winner of Boston University-Navy, the Midshipmen the alma mater of Bobby C., hard-throwing lefty back at Summit High School (though politically he’s from the right, I hasten to add).

*I was just fined $22,000 by the International Web Site Association for calling Colgate the Red Raiders.  “Marguerite, take it out of petty cash.”

--St. Bonaventure finished its regular season 20-8, 12-5, with a 72-65 win over Richmond (19-12, 10-8) Friday night in Olean, N.Y.  But now the Bonnies have to win the A-10 tournament to get to the Big Dance…a rather tall order.

What’s fascinating, though, about this team is all five seniors I’ve been talking about all season have a year of eligibility left!  None of them are NBA draft picks, though one or two could eventually play in the NBA, maybe three (Lofton, Adaway, and Osunniyi), but what if they all decided to come back together?  It’s possible.  It would only help their NBA prospects if that’s the personal goal.  The Bonnies would then be a consensus preseason top 15, especially if they could add a grad transfer or two of note.

But on the other hand, all five would be valuable pieces taking that final year of eligibility elsewhere.  Osunniyi, for one, would be a great addition at Wake Forest (where we are losing our top two big men).  Lofton could go to any top 20 program that needs a quality point guard.  So this is really going to be interesting to see what happens with this group.  They all stay together, or at least 4 of 5, or they all go their separate ways is my guess.

Back to Wake, I’m hoping we get Colorado State’s David Roddy in the transfer portal, Roddy being an Alondes Williams clone, in my book.  And Roddy, a junior, should take advantage of the portal to improve his NBA prospects.

Granted, I am the only person in the country who has come up with this idea, but my people are secretly in touch with Roddy’s people and we’re getting him hooked on Carolina barbecue sandwiches.  I admit we are breaking NCAA rules, but I’m old….throw me in jail, as long as I have cable and Wi-Fi.  [Veal cutlet and spaetzle would also be nice, say, three nights a week.]

--I’ll say the Pac-12 surprises again in the NCAA Championship.  Yesterday, 17 UCLA (23-6, 15-5) beat 16 USC (25-6, 14-6) 75-68, both capable of big runs, UCLA with the experience of a Final Four last year; USC making it to the Elite Eight.

--In an otherwise meaningless Southland Conference game, Houston Baptist beat McNeese State 149-144 in four overtimes!  I mention it because when you play that long you can get some big stats and Darius Lee pumped in 52 points for HBU, going 20 for 27 from the free throw line.

--Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim is trying to convince everyone he is coming back for one more season, saying it would be wrong for him not to do so given those he has recruited for 2022-23.  He says he feels great, but he is 77.

At the same time, his poor wife, Julie, was the victim of an armed robbery. She was sitting in her car near a local Cheesecake Factory entrance when she was approached by a youth.  He talked with her before pointing a gun at her, reaching into her car and grabbing her purse, according to police.  The youth and two others drove away in a nearby car.  The car had been reported stolen, according to Onondaga County reports.

Jim Boeheim said his wife was “a little shook” but otherwise OK.

The world really sucks…to state the obvious.

NBA

--The Nets went to Boston today, 32-32, struggling to stay in the play-in bracket, but with Kyrie Irving joining Kevin Durant for the first time in quite a while.  It didn’t matter.  The white-hot Celtics, now winners of 16 of 19, 39-27 (imagine, they were 23-24 and everyone in Beantown was rightfully ripping them), after a 126-120 win, Jayson Tatum with 54 points, 8 of 15 from three, 14-17 from the free throw line.  Wow.

Durant was terrific with 37, but Kyrie was so-so.  Incredibly, the Brooklyn Nets, two years ago seemingly built for a big 3-4 year run, two NBA titles, now below .500.

--The NBA is better if the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers are serious playoff teams, and regarding the former, that hasn’t been the case in a long time (last season’s success a little blip on an otherwise grim past nine seasons).

The Lakers franchise came back to its former glory when LeBron James came to L.A. after the 2017-18 season, and they won a title two years later.

But LeBron and Co., hurt bigly by the injury to Anthony Davis, are 28-35, barely holding onto a play-in spot.

Last night, though, LeBron turned back the clock and dumped 56 on the Warriors (43-21), the most points he has scored since joining the Lakers, and tied for third-most in his 19-year career.

“Right now, I don’t give a damn about the 56,” James said. “I’m just happy we got a win. That was the first thing that came to my mind.  We needed pretty much all of them.”

--The Knicks have gone 3-17 in their last 20 games, including Friday’s crushing 115-114 loss at Phoenix on Friday night to fall to 25-38, again, after a 5-1 start.

But the story has become all about Julius Randle, who was stupidly ejected in the third quarter Friday night for getting into a pushing match with the Suns’ Cam Johnson.  As folks around the team know, as Randle’s play has deteriorated he has become “erratic,” and as one scribe described today, Randle has been “angry” all season.

And as I’ve written, his play has just sucked compared with last year.

2020-21…24.1 ppg., 45.6% FG, 41.1% from three
2021-22…19.8 ppg., 41.7% FG, 30.1% from three

He’s just a moody pain in the ass, who clearly wants out of New York, after he totally embraced the City last season and was rewarded with a massive contract extension.

Trade him in the offseason. 

Golf Balls

--This week we had the Arnold Palmer Invitational (presented by Mastercard, which has pulled out of Russia, along with Visa, but I digress) at Arnie’s Bay Hill in Orlando, Fla., and after three rounds, the leaderboard looked like this.

Billy Horschel -7
Talor Gooch -7
Viktor Hovland -6
Scottie Scheffler -5…after a sterling third-round 68 in very tough conditions
Gary Woodland -4

Rory McIlroy was among those at -3 after a rough 76 yesterday.

Bay Hill, particularly if the winds are up, is a tough course, with lightning-fast greens and 4-inch rough. 

And boy was it tough again in the fourth round.  A little after midway we had this….

Hovland -5…thru 10
Scheffler -4…10
Woodland -4…11
Tyrrell Hatton -3…15
Chris Kirk -3…11

Yup, par was going to be a great round.

And then…..

Scheffler -5…15
Hovland -4…15
Horschel -4…15
Hatton -4…F…after a superb 69, coming back from yesterday’s 78!
Woodland -4…15

And then Gary Woodland, whose game is suddenly back, eagled 16 to take the lead at -6!

But then he put it in the sand on the tough par-3 17th, and left it there on his second shot!

Scheffler made a great par on 16 after being in major trouble after his drive, and awful second…

Woodland ends up with double-bogey!…back to -4, Scheffler and Hovland tied for the lead at -5 heading to 17.  Good gawd.

Meanwhile, Tyrrell Hatton is liking where he is in the clubhouse.

Hovland -5…16
Scheffler -5…16
Woodland -4…17
Horschel -4…16
Hatton -4…F

Hovland puts it in the bunker on 17…hits an awful sand shot, but a terrific lag putt, nonetheless bogey.

Scheffler, though, with a terrific two-putt for par.

Scheffler -5…17
Hovland -4…17
Horschel -4…16
Woodland -4…17
Hatton -4…F

Woodland bogeys 18…devastating finish after the fireworks on 16.

Horschel with a huge par putt on 17 to stay -4!

Scheffler with like a 70-foot two-putt on the par-4 18th to win it…maybe….

But Hovland hits a terrific, incredibly gutsy, second on 18 to leave him a very makeable birdie putt to tie Scheffler at -5.

Scheffler hits a phenomenal putt for a tap-in par!

Hovland’s birdie woefully short considering the distance….he finishes a stroke behind.

It’s up to Billy Horschel, with a solid drive on 18.  His approach shot is good as well, leaving him a 30-footer for the tying birdie.

Just a little wide….

And Scottie Scheffler, who won his first PGA Tour event just three weeks ago in Phoenix, bags his second.  Very, very deserving.  This Ryder Cupper is a factor the next decade for sure.

Hovland, Horschel, Hatton a stroke behind.

On to the Players Championship….

--Speaking of which, Phil Mickelson will not be there, the PGA Tour releasing the official field for its flagship event on Friday and he was not listed.

Mickelson won the 2007 Players, but does not have a top-20 finish in his last 13 starts at TPC Sawgrass.

By not commenting directly on his absence, as yet, you can’t help but wonder if he’s been suspended by the Tour…which, again, keeps such matters secret.

The Players will feature each of the top 25 players in the World Ranking…as strong a field as you’ll see all year.

--It being the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the memories of Arnie and his thoughtfulness come back, as many players recall receiving a letter from the King after they won their first PGA Tour event, or a big one.

Bernhard Langer:

“When I won a tournament, I was always wondering, do I get another letter from Arnie?  And sure enough, it arrived,” Langer said.  “I was surprised when I got the first one because not everybody did that.  I was very, very surprised, and very grateful and thankful.

“And they kept coming.”

Arnie wrote letters of congratulations to winners on the LPGA and Korn Ferry tours as well, and even victors of overseas events and certain amateur and collegiate tournaments.

“Anytime you see that umbrella on some padded notepaper is always special, especially because you know where it’s come from,” Lee Westwood said.  “He was the King.  That’s the kind of respect he commanded.

“I enjoyed chatting with him. Whenever I did, it was valuable time spent with him.  He had time for everybody.  It was like sitting and talking to your granddad.  He made you feel like part of his family.”

Daniel Berger won his first PGA Tour tile at the 2016 FedEx St. Jude classic three months before Palmer passed. He still got a letter.

“I framed it.  It’s in my office.  I look at it occasionally just to kind of bring back good memories,” Berger said.  “I had some good experiences with Mr. Palmer. I played in the Palmer Cup when I was in college, so I got to know him a little bit better there.

“He was such a cool guy.  If you had any questions you could ask him, and he would go on for hours talking about whatever you wanted to talk about.”

Among the many letters Rory McIlroy received was one when he won his first major.

“You are now in a position where you have the opportunity to give back to the game that is making you famous, and I hope, and certainly feel sure, that you will live up to that obligation in the months and years ahead.  Just continue to be yourself.  Don’t change.  Sincerely, Arnold Palmer.”

“Those were good words of wisdom and words to live by,” McIlroy said.

Then there is this extraordinary story from Dottie Pepper.

In 2003, Pepper was incorrectly diagnosed with Lyme disease and the medication made her feel worse.  Former LPGA commissioner Charlie Mechem called Pepper one day and discovered she was not doing well.

“I was on the couch and I could barely move,” Pepper said.  “Charlie said he was going to make a phone call.”

Within the hour, Mechem called back.

“Arnold is telling you to get on a plane, get yourself to Rochester, Minnesota, the rest of it will be taken care of because you’re going to the Mayo Clinic,” Pepper said.  “So I flew to Minnesota. Head-to-toe testing.  I was misdiagnosed, and they got things corrected and I was off and running.

“Arnold was bigger than golf.  Golf was the vehicle for Arnold to touch so many people. He was a people person. He loved people and loved helping people.

“He was the King.”  [Steve DiMeglio / Golfweek]

NFL

--We’re in the midst of the NFL Scouting Combine, with free agency, and the league season, commencing March 16, though teams can start contacting unrestricted free agents March 14.

So, once again the NFL is able to keep its sport out front in the offseason, while the idiots who run baseball let their sport bleed to death.

--Us local fans have a major interest in the NFL Draft, April 28-30, with the Jets having the Nos. 4 and 10 picks, and the Giants Nos. 5 and 7.  Of course either, or both, could trade out of these, but in the case of the Jets, they’ve expressed interest in LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., who is sitting out the Combine (though on site) due to a torn ligament in his left foot – the dreaded ‘L’ word – a Lisfranc injury.

Stingley revealed yesterday that he had surgery Sept. 26 and was given a recovery schedule of “four to six months.”  He said he was close to getting into running and said “none” of the teams expressed concern about his foot during interviews.

Lisfranc is not good…as in, note to my Jets, stay away!  We need everything. Don’t take a chance, especially with a top ten pick!

--Kenny Pickett has been gaining a lot of attention at the Combine, but for the wrong reason.  He has very small hands…as in his hands measured at 8 ½ inches, smaller than the combine measurement of any quarterback currently in the NFL.  If Pickett were to be selected in the first round, he would have the smallest hands of any quarterback taken on the first day since 2003.  Jared Goff and Joe Burrow measured in with 9-inch hands.

Some teams readily admit they factor hand size into their evaluations of quarterbacks. Pickett is the No. 1 quarterback on the board in some evaluations in what is called a very weak class for the position.

--We note the passing of Lionel James, the 5’6”, 170-lb. elusive running back who had the nickname Little Train, after sharing a backfield at Auburn with Bo Jackson.  James was 59, his family just saying his death came after a long illness.

James was drafted in the 5th round of the 1984 Draft by the San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers and he had one special season in a five-year career in San Diego, when he amassed 2,535 yards from scrimmage; 516 as a running back, 1,027 as a receiver (on 86 catches); 779 as a kick returner and 213 as a punt returner, surpassing the previous record set by Terry Metcalf in 1975 of the St. Louis (now Arizona) Cardinals.

In a game late that season against the Los Angeles (now Las Vegas) Raider, James piled up 345 all-purpose yards (the second most in a single game in league history until then), including a 34-yard touchdown reception from Dan Fouts and a 17-yard rushing touchdown that won the game, 40-34, in overtime.

--And this in the world of college football…Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde, and his very-early 2022 Top Ten.

1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Georgia
4. Clemson
5. Utah
6. Texas A&M
7. Michigan
8. Wake Forest
9. Notre Dame
10. Oklahoma State

Wait….what the heck did I just type?!  I keep staring at it….Wake at No. 8?!

“QB Sam Hartman is a Heisman candidate, leading what could be the nation’s most explosive offense outside of Bama and Ohio State.”

I’ve been guessing AP Top 15, which would be amazing.  Wow…this puts a ton of pressure on the lads….

Premier League

The games, this week, were secondary to the story of Russian businessman Roman Abramovich announcing he was going to sell Chelsea, after 19 years; promising to donate money from the sale to help victims of the war in Ukraine.

“I have always taken decisions with the club’s best interest at heart,” Abramovich said in a statement.

Abramovich said he would not ask for loans he has made to the club – reported to total $2 billion – to be repaid to him and the sale would not be fast-tracked.  He said he had told his aides to set up a charitable foundation which would receive all net proceeds from the sale.

A lot of Chelsea fans love Abramovich, under whose ownership the club has won all manner of championships.  He’s been a quiet owner who shelled out the bucks that are required in the Premier League to build a winner and keep a franchise at the top.

But the sources of his wealth have always been murky and he’s been a close ally of Vladimir Putin.  He denies the close ties but the damage has been done.  UK politicians have been calling for an investigation into why Abramovich’s assets weren’t immediately seized.

So, in the games this weekend, Liverpool edged West Ham 1-0, Chelsea blasted Burnley 4-0 (American Christian Pulisic with another goal), and streaking Newcastle beat Brighton 2-1 and essentially clinched a spot for next season, relegation no longer an issue.

Today, Arsenal took over the fourth spot with a 3-2 win over Watford, as Man City took charge after the half and beat Manchester United 4-1; my second favorite player in the sport (next to Harry Kane), Kevin De Bruyne, with a masterclass effort, two goals and an assist.

So with Tottenham playing Everton Monday, in a key match for both squads, Everton battling to avoid relegation, my Spurs looking to stay in the Champions League hunt, the standings….

Played (of 38) – Points

1. City…28 – 69
2. Liverpool…27 – 63
3. Chelsea…26 – 53
4. Arsenal…25 – 48 …quietly having a terrific season
5. Man U…28 – 47 …in trouble
6. West Ham…28 – 45 …dream season fading away…
7. Tottenham…25 – 42 …lots of games in hand, but so does Arsenal

MLB

Mike Trout, the quietest superstar in virtually all of sports, posted on Facebook Wednesday about how disappointed he is over the stalemate.

“I want to play,” Trout said.  “I love our game, but I know we need to get this CBA right.  Instead of bargaining in good faith – MLB locked us out.  Instead of negotiating a fair deal – Rob canceled games.  Players stand together.  For our game, for our fans, and for every player who comes after us.  We owe it to the next generation.”

It was significant that Trout spoke up and called out Rob Manfred.

Baseball is dying.  We all know it.  Yes, when an agreement is reached and play starts up again, I’ll watch.  But I certainly won’t care as much as to the results.

Longtime journalist Bob Klapisch put it thusly on NJ.com the other day.

“I’m worried about baseball – not just today but all the tomorrows down the road.  Like my son [Ed. 19, and caring more about the new “Batman” movie], there are millions of teens who couldn’t care less that America’s once-beloved sport is becoming irrelevant.  I wonder who’ll still be in the stands 10 years from now.

“Baseball is doing a number on itself the likes of which the sport has never seen. The collapse of the labor talks on Tuesday was the culmination of months of war.  Not mere disagreement but mutual loathing. The two sides didn’t negotiate, they sought vengeance.

“Thanks to their scored-earth campaign, baseball is indeed left with nothing.  No Hot Stove this winter, no spring training this month, no Opening Day, no games in early April.  My hunch is the lockout will last deep into May.  It might just be Memorial Day before we see the bunting and the ceremonial first pitch.

“That is, if anyone still cares by then.

“I used to think America would never move on from baseball, but I’m beginning to wonder if its twilight is already here.”

Negotiations today were rather weak, from what I read…minor compromises on the part of the players.

Time to get a new hobby.

Stuff

--U.S. basketball officials said on Saturday they were closely monitoring the situation surrounding seven-time WNBA All-Star player Brittney Griner after Russia said it had detained a U.S. player last month for possession of vape cartridges containing hash oil.  Without identifying Griner, a center for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, the Russian Customs Service said a player was detained in February after arriving at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on a flight from New York.

Russian news agency TASS then identified the player as Griner, and the Phoenix Mercury acknowledged it was her.

A criminal case has been opened carrying a possible prison sentence of five to ten years.  Griner is still in custody.

WNBA players, especially its stars, play in Russia during the offseason to supplement their relatively meager pay in the WNBA.  Griner is reportedly making $1 million with her Russian team, or four times her salary in the U.S.

--University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas says she “belongs on the women’s team” after more than a dozen teammates said she shouldn’t be allowed to compete.

“The very simple answer is that I’m not a man. I’m a woman, so I belong on the women’s team,” Thomas, a 22-year-old transgender woman, told Sports Illustrated in an interview published Thursday.  “Trans people deserve that same respect every other athlete gets.”

Thomas, a senior, competed on the men’s team at Penn for three seasons.  After completing two years of hormone replacement therapy, Thomas competed on the women’s swim team in the 2021-22 season in dominant fashion.  At the Ivy League championships last month, Thomas won the 100-meter freestyle, 200 free and 500 free.

In February, 16 of Thomas’ teammates anonymously sent a letter to the school and the Ivy League stating that Thomas should not be allowed to compete because she could break “Penn, Ivy, and NCAA Women’s Swimming records; feats she could never have done as a male athlete.”

“We fully support Lia Thomas in her decision to affirm her gender identity and to transition from a man to a woman.  Lia has every right to live her life authentically,” read the letter, which was obtained by the Washington Post.  “However, we also recognize that when it comes to sports competition, that the biology of sex is a separate issue from someone’s gender identity.  Biologically, Lia holds an unfair advantage over competition in the women’s category, as evidenced by her rankings that have bounced from #462 as a male to #1 as a female.”

Thomas counters: “I’m a woman, just like anybody else on the team,” Thomas says.  “I’ve always viewed myself as just a swimmer.  It’s what I’ve done for so long; it’s what I love.”

But I said I’d hold off on my opinion until the NCAA championships in Atlanta, March 16-18.  The NCAA has cleared Thomas after ruling that a new policy for transgender athletes won’t go into effect until the 2023-24 season.  Thomas was in compliance with the previously approved NCAA testosterone threshold of 10 nanomoles per liter.

I’m sorry….Lia Weismuller, I mean Thomas, should not be allowed to compete.  The Penn letter says it all.  This is a travesty, and totally reminiscent of the 1976 Montreal Olympics, when the East German women showed up with otherworldly bodies, fueled by massive amounts of steroids, and dominated the swimming events (versus the men, where the Americans dominated the pool).  One of my Summit High School classmates, Kathy Heddy, was one of the best swimmers in the world prior to Montreal, yet didn’t stand a chance against the East German hulks.

Top 3 songs for the week 3/9/68: #1 “Love Is Blue” (Paul Mauriat)  #2 “(Theme From) Valley Of The Dolls” (Dionne Warwick)   #3 “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” (Otis Redding)…and…#4 “Simon Says” (1910 Fruitgum Co.)  #5 “I Wish It Would Rain” (The Temptations)  #6 “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)” (The First Edition)  #7 “Spooky” (Classics IV)  #8 “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonite” (Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart)  #9 “La–La–Means I Love You” (The Delfonics)  #10 “Everything That Touches You” (The Association…B+ week…)

NCAA Basketball Championship Quiz Answers: MOPs….

1966: Jerry Chambers* (Utah)
1986: Pervis Ellison (Louisville)
1987: Keith Smart (Indiana)
1990: Anderson Hunt (UNLV)
1993: Donald Williams (UNC)
1996: Tony Delk (Kentucky)
2000: Mateen Cleaves (Mich. St.)
2007: Corey Brewer (Florida)

*Chambers’ Utah team actually lost the consolation game, UTEP (Texas Western) under Don Haskins with the historic win in the Finals over Kentucky.  But Chambers had 38 and 32 points in his two contests, the fourth team being Duke.

Add-On up top by noon, Wed.

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