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Bar Chat

10/21/2024

Yankees are in....

Add-on posted early Tuesday a.m.

It was an awful Sunday night for Mets and Jets fans, such as yours truly.

First, the Mets’ exciting, magical season ended in disappointing fashion in Los Angeles, falling 10-5.  We left 13 men on base, 2-of-9 with runners in scoring position, and missing a ton of opportunities when the game was still in doubt, plus Sean Manaea had his worst performance in months.

But Manaea threw a career-high 181 2/3 in the regular season, and another 19 in the playoffs, and that’s a hefty load.

All in all, the bottom line for Mets fans is that after an 0-5, and 24-35 start, it ended up being a pretty special season.  At the start of each year, baseball fans just hope their team is playing meaningful games in September, and we stretched it well into October.  Good job, manager Carlos Mendoza and GM/President of Baseball Operations David Stearns.

Now, Stearns, and owner Steve Cohen, have to decide what to do with Pete Alonso, who hits the free agency market.

“Honestly, I haven’t really thought of anything that far (ahead),” Alonso said after the game. “I love this team, I love this organization. This fanbase has treated not just myself, by my family so, so well. Right now, I’m just thinking of the group.

“Obviously, we’ll see what happens.”

Personally, unless it is a team-friendly deal, I think the Mets and Pete should move on.  Our future first baseman is in the minors, Ryan Clifford, and I’m sure Stearns is thinking he’ll be ready by mid-2026.  Clifford is only 21 and has major pop.  You can move Vientos to first for 2025, and hope Brett Baty is finally ready to play every day at third.

The Mets have $90 million in “dead money” coming off the books this offseason, and there is no reason to believe Cohen and Stearns won’t be aggressive, and re-signing Manaea (who will exercise his ‘opt-out’ clause) and Luis Severino should be a priority.

As for the Dodgers, their amazing postseason run continues...12 straight postseasons, though only the one World Series title in the Covid year.

That said, Dodgers-Yankees is a dream matchup...Ohtani and Betts, Soto and Judge, both league MVPs (for the first time in a WS since 1980).  As Mookie Betts said Sunday night, “It’s going to be special. The world kind of wants this.”

Game 1 Friday in Los Angeles.

NFL

--Since I posted early Sunday evening, among the late games, the Chiefs are 6-0, even though they have been totally unimpressive, this time 28-18 over the 49ers (3-4), Patrick Mahomes with another grossly subpar effort, 16/27, 154, 0-2, 44.4.  He has six touchdown passes this season vs. eight interceptions, and the worst passer rating of his career, by far, 82.5. 

But, again, they are 6-0, the only undefeated team remaining.

As for San Francisco, they are badly missing Christian McCaffrey, who could return next week.  But now stud receiver Brandon Aiyuk is out with a torn ACL.  And Brock Purdy, a la Mahomes, has not been Brock Purdy-like, throwing three interceptions against the Chiefs.

--Jayden Daniels left early in the Commanders’ game against the Panthers with a rib injury, but Washington has a quality backup in Marcus Mariota, 18/23, 205, 2-0, 132.8, and the team didn’t miss a beat, a 40-7 win, the Commanders 5-2, the Panthers 1-6.

--And then we had Sunday night, and after taking a 15-6 lead in Pittsburgh, the Jets (2-5) were blitzed, 37-15, the Steelers (5-2) scoring 31 straight points.

The debut of receiver Davante Adams meant nothing for New York, Adams with three early catches for 30 yards and then he disappeared, while Aaron Rodgers was not good...24/39, 276, 1-2, 70.0...Rodgers with six interceptions in his last three games, though one of his two last night careened off the hands of receiver Garrett Wilson, right into the hands of Beanie Bishop, his second INT of the game.

For Pittsburgh, Russell Wilson made his first start of the 2024 campaign, replacing Justin Fields, and Wilson was solid, 16/29, 264, 2-0, 109.0, plus a touchdown rushing, while Najee Harris picked up 102 yards and a score on the ground.

--Monday night, Lamar Jackson was almost perfect, leading the Ravens to their fifth straight victory after an 0-2 start, 41-31 over Tampa Bay (4-3).

Jackson was 17/22, 281, 5-0, 158.1, plus 52 yards on the ground, while Derrick Henry had 169 yards rushing on just 15 carries, plus a TD receiving.

Baker Mayfield threw for 370 yards and three touchdowns for the Bucs, but it wasn’t enough, and he lost receiver Chris Godwin to a serious left ankle injury, while Mike Evans went out with a hamstring issue.

--The Cardinals (3-4) defeated the Chargers (3-3) 17-15.

--Meanwhile, the New York Giants’ starting quarterback Daniel Jones was all bent out of shape for being benched when the team was down 28-3 vs. the Eagles at home.  Coach Brian Daboll put in Drew Lock to try to shake things up and Lock did poorly too.

Jones needs to get over it.  The Giants (2-5) have scored 31 points in their four home games.

--Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson is out for the season with a torn Achilles injury.  Browns fans, like Jets and Giants fans, are in a state of depression.

--San Francisco receiver Brandon Aiyuk is out for the season with a torn ACL and MCL.

--Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels is ‘week to week’ with his rib injury.

WNBA

Because I was focused on the Mets and Jets Sunday, I did not see the New York Liberty’s stirring, and controversial, 67-62 overtime win against the Minnesota Lynx, New York picking up its first title.

What I did see when I read the box score was horrendous shooting on both sides.  Minnesota was 26 of 70, 3 of 19 from three; while New York was 22 of 72, 2 of 23 from downtown.  The Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna were a combined 5-34, 1-13 from three, Ionescu 1-19.  Yikes.

But the Liberty won...and that’s all that matters now.

The Lynx were bitching up a storm after, blaming the officials for a missed call at the end of regulation.

This is actually New York’s first basketball title since 1973 when the Knicks won their second NBA championship.  I’d say that’s a lengthy drought.

Golf Balls

--J.T. Posted closed the deal at the Shriner’s Children’s Open in Las Vegas Sunday evening by one shot over Doug Ghim, Poston’s third PGA Tour win.  Among the other players I mentioned in terms of needing a good performance to get into the top 125 on the points list, Gary Woodland and Alejandro Tosti were T9, Woodland moving from 148 to 137, Tosti from 136 to 127.

Ryan McCormick fell back to T16 and only moved up to 163 from 176.  He faces an almost impossible task with four Fall events left.

NBA

Opening Day tonight in the NBA...Knicks at Celtics, Timberwolves at Lakers.

Go Knicks!

For the Lakers, LeBron and Bronny make their father/son debut.

College Basketball

The college edition gets going Monday, Nov. 4.

The AP released its preseason All-America team, led by Alabama’s Mark Sears and North Carolina’s RJ Davis, who both decided to return for another college season.

They are joined by Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson, Auburn forward Johni Broome, Arizona guard Caleb Love and Duke freshman Cooper Flagg...Love and Flagg tying for the final spot.

Formula One

--As I noted, Charles Leclerc won the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin Sunday.  It’s been a fascinating F1 season.  Max Verstappen won seven of the first ten races, as he chases his fourth consecutive season championshnip, but has now gone winless in the last nine, and with five races left on the calendar....

1. Verstappen 354 points
2. Landon Norris 297
3. Charles Leclerc 275

It is possible for Norris to catch Verstappen, the way the points system works, though not likely and some feel Norris was screwed when he was assessed a penalty for the way in which he passed Verstappen late in the race, and that allowed Verstappen to pick up more points than he would have received otherwise.

Next Bar Chat, Sunday p.m.

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[Posted Sunday p.m., prior to late sports action.

Another Sunday night of excitement, and channel-flipping, for Mets and Jets fans, plus there is a WNBA deciding Game 5.]

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tues.

College Basketball Quiz: With the retirement of Virginia coach Tony Bennett (covered below), name the only six remaining active coaches who have won a national title.  Answer below.

MLB Playoffs

--Heading into Game 5 of the ALCS in Cleveland, the Yankees seemed to have everything under control after a spectacular stretch in Game 3. Down 3-1 heading to the top of the eighth, Aaron Judge tied the game with a 2-run homer off Cleveland’s closer, Emmanuel Clase, and then Giancarlo Stanton did it again, a solo shot, and the Yanks were up 4-3.

New York added a run in the top of the ninth, 5-3, and they had their new stud closer, Luke Weaver, on for the bottom of the inning.

But with two outs, Jhonkensy Noel smashed a game-tying home run for the Guardians, and one inning later, David Fry walked things off with a two-run blast of his own in the bottom of the tenth off Clay Holmes, a stunning 7-5 win to bring Cleveland back into the series, Yanks up 2-1.  It was an amazing, emotional three innings of baseball.

Friday night, though, the Yanks won 8-6, scoring two runs off Clase, again, in the top of the ninth, to take a 3-1 series lead, New York aided by a Brayan Rocchio error on an Alex Verdugo RBI grounder.

Clase had an unbelievable regular season...4-2, 47 saves, just three blown saves, and a stupendous 0.61 ERA.

But he entered Saturday having given up 8 earned runs in his last six innings over five appearances.  A stunning choke job.

Saturday night then, Game 5, Cleveland had a 2-0 lead going to the top of the sixth when Giancarlo Stanton did it again, playoff home run No. 5, a 446-foot missile to left center, game tied 2-2.

And it stayed that way heading to the tenth, when Juan Soto headed to the plate with two outs, runners on first and second,  and blasted a 3-run homer that was the decider, Luke Weaver closing it out for New York.

Yanks win 5-2 and take the series 4-1, heading to their first World Series since 2009...a long wait for otherwise spoiled Yankees fans.

But Soto wouldn’t have had the chance to hit the homer off Hunter Gaddis if, once again, Cleveland shortstop Brayan Rocchio hadn’t muffed an easy play at second, a soft toss from Andres Gimenez for a force out that Rocchio totally muffed.

Back to Stanton, Mr. October now has five homers in his last seven playoff games, going back to the Kansas City, ALDS series, and a 1.179 OPS for this postseason; 1.019 for his postseason career, with 16 home runs in 130 at-bats.

--As for Mets-Dodgers, talk about an awful series from a competitive standpoint.

Game 1...Dodgers 9-0
Game 2...Mets 7-3
Game 3...Dodgers 8-0
Game 4...Dodgers 10-2
Game 5...Mets 12-6

But New York did win Game 5 to avoid starting their vacations early, much to the delight of a packed Citi Field early Friday evening, after us fans had to watch the horror show of Games 3 and 4.

Friday, the Mets did what they needed to do, get off to a good start, and Pete Alonso provided another big moment, a 3-run bomb to center field in the bottom of the first, the Mets going on to take a 10-2 lead after five innings, and then it was survival from there.

Starling Marte had four hits, including three doubles, for the Metsies, and even slumping catcher Francisco Alvarez had three hits.

This team has indeed been resilient, and the Dodgers are going with a bullpen game Sunday night, while the Mets send out ace Sean Manaea.  Ya never know.  Game 2 was a bullpen game as well for L.A., and the Mets won it 7-3.

For the record, in Game 4, Mookie Betts was his usual future Hall of Fame self, four hits, four RBIs, three runs scored, while Max Muncy reached base a 12th straight time, a postseason record, before he struck out in the eighth.  Shohei Ohtani homered and scored four runs.

All seemed lost for Mets fans after the 10-2 drubbing.  Until it wasn’t.

--The Tampa Bay Rays may be looking for a temporary home stadium, at least for the start of the 2025 MLB season.  The Rays are facing such uncertainties because of the extensive damage caused to Tropicana Field by Hurricane Milton.

Aside from the visible damage we all saw on television, the almost complete shredding of the six-acre roof, a full engineering audit of the structure must be completed before repairs can begin, and then there’s the matter of a hefty insurance claim that will pay for the repairs.

As in, there is no way they will be ready for the planned March 27 opener.

They can attempt to share LoanDepot Park with the Miami Marlins, but that’s a huge logistical challenge.

College Football

Comments written prior to the release of new AP poll.

With No. 3 Ohio State and 4 Penn State idle this week...we had some good matchups.

But first, on Friday night, 2 Oregon (7-0) whipped Purdue (1-6) 35-0, the line 29.5 on this one.  The Boilermakers actually didn’t play that poorly on defense, and they had 208 yards rushing.  I thought it would have been 56-0.

And also Friday, in a thriller in Provo, Utah, 13 BYU stayed undefeated at 7-0 with a 38-35 win over Oklahoma State (3-4), the Cougars winning it on a 35-yard pass play from Jake Retzlaff to Darius Lassiter with just ten seconds left. Go BYU!

Saturday....

The eyes of the college football world turned to Austin, as No. 1 Texas took on 5 Georgia and except for a brief moment in the third quarter it really wasn’t close, the Bulldogs taking down the Longhorns 30-15.

Georgia raced to a 23-0 lead at the half, Texas’ Quinn Ewers (25/43, 211, 2-1, plus a fumble) even getting benched for Arch Manning with five minutes left in the second quarter, Manning not doing much himself, 3/6, 19, and a fumble as well, before Ewers came back for the second half.

It was a game filled with turnovers, 4 by the Longhorns, 3 by Georgia, all three on interceptions from quarterback Carson Beck (23/41, 175, 0-3).

The only thing Georgia (6-1) had was running back Trevor Etienne, who rushed for 87 yards and scored three touchdowns.

Otherwise, it was the Georgia defense, holding Texas (6-1) to 29 yards rushing.

Texas did cut the lead to 23-15, following the reversal of a pass interference call that had both coaches fuming, and the Texas fans throwing bottles onto the field, which wasn’t very cool. [But great cleanup job by the cheerleaders and staff.]

So in the end, both teams are both probably still playoff bound, though Ewers ineffectiveness is an issue for Texas, and Oregon is your new No. 1.

6 Miami (7-0) survived a scare at Louisville (4-3), 52-45, the Hurricanes (they might want to change their name after this year) up 52-38 with 4:00 to play, but it was 31-31 in the third quarter.

Cam Ward continued to keep his name in the top three of the Heisman Trophy race, 21/32, 319, 4-0.

7 Alabama (5-2) lost its second in the Kalen DeBoer era, falling 24-17 to 11 Tennessee (6-1) in Knoxville, 24-17, as Bama’s Jalen Milroe was just 25/45, 239, 1-2, while for the Vols, Dylan Sampson rushed for 139 yards and two scores.  Otherwise, this game kind of sucked, the placekickers converting on only 2 of 5 field goals.  I wasn’t impressed by either team.

Brian Kelly’s No. 8 LSU (6-1) will continue to climb up the rankings with a 34-10 win at solid Arkansas (4-3).

9 Iowa State (7-0) is off to its best start since 1938, a thrilling 38-35 win over UCF (3-4) in Ames.

Cyclones QB Rocco Becht, who otherwise had a crappy game (20/46, 274, 1-2), nonetheless led Iowa State to victory on an 80-yard touchdown drive, with UCF up 35-30.

For their part, the Knights rushed for 354 yards in defeat.

10 Clemson (6-1) defeated Virginia (4-3) 48-31, Cade Klubnick with 308 yards passing and three touchdowns, Phil Mafah 18-78-2 on the ground.  That’s their one-two punch.

Clemson, by the way, doesn’t play Miami until, it’s presumed, the ACC title game.

But, boys and girls, they have a game at Pitt, Nov. 16, the undefeated and No. 20 Panthers idle this week.

And there is 21 SMU, which is 6-1, 3-0 ACC, after a 40-10 win at Stanford.  The Mustangs play Pitt in two weeks, but don’t play Clemson or Miami, their only loss by three points to BYU.

12 Notre Dame is 6-1, 31-13 over Georgia Tech (5-3).

14 Texas A&M (6-1) beat Mississippi State (1-6) on the road, 34-24.

16 Indiana is 7-0, blasting Nebraska (5-2) 56-7, in a game where IU was favored by 6 ½.

This was a reunion of sorts for former Wake Forest players, Justice Ellison and Ke’Shawn Williams, now IU, and Jahmal Banks, Nebraska.  But only Ellison was a factor, rushing for 105 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries.

All three (the other two, receivers) of course got NIL money to transfer, but in terms of building up a potential NFL resume, it has only been beneficial to Ellison, and in his case in a big way.

All three would have been major factors for the Demon Deacons this season.

17 Kansas State is 6-1 after a 45-18 win at West Virginia (3-4).

19 Missouri (6-1) got a stirring performance from quarterback Brady Cook in a 21-17 win over Auburn (2-5).

Cook, hobbled by an ankle injury, went to the hospital after the opening series to get an MRI on his ankle, and then he returned to the game, leading Mizzou to two fourth-quarter touchdowns to rally the Tigers back from a 17-6 deficit.  A truly heroic performance.

22 Illinois (6-1) will send 24 Michigan (4-3) spiraling out of the top 25 with its 21-7 win in Champagne.

Meanwhile, there is no easier action for a good sports fan to take, one who follows all sports, than to root for both Army and Navy.  And this year, man, the story is getting better and better. 

23 Army is 7-0 after a 45-28 win over East Carolina (3-4) at Michie Stadium.  This one wasn’t even as close as the score would have you believe, it being 38-7 after three. 

Quarterback Bryson Daily was 31-171-5 rushing, and 7/10, 147, 1-0 passing, for the Black Knights. 

Navy is 6-0, following a 51-17 wipeout of Charlotte (3-4).  Quarterback Blake Horvath was 7/13, 117, 3-0, plus 56 yards rushing, but the Midshipmen only had 288 yards of offense.  Instead, they took advantage of five 49ers turnovers, including two pick-sixes.  It was 38-0 in the second quarter.

In other games....

Thursday, Virginia Tech (4-3) beat Boston College (4-3) 42-21 and it was the Bhayshul Tuten Show.  The Hokie running back had a school-record 266 yards on just 18 carries, three touchdowns, and a touchdown receiving.  That’s a pretty strong performance, I think you’d agree.

Friday night, Duke improved to 6-1 with a 23-16 win over Florida State, which is now 1-6!

This one must have been hideous to watch because the Seminoles outgained the Blue Devils 291-180, FSU with four turnovers, including a pick-six.

Rutgers’ dream season is going up in flames, now 4-3, after a 35-32 home loss to UCLA (2-5), snapping the Bruins’ 5-game losing streak.  Ethan Garbers was a rather magnificent 32/38, 383, 4-0, at QB for UCLA, plus a touchdown rushing.

Kyle Monangai, RU’s excellent, NFL bound running back, was 19-106-3.

But the Scarlet Knights have now lost three straight after their hopeful 4-0 start.

USC is 3-4, after falling to Maryland (4-3) in College Park, 29-28, the Terps scoring the winning touchdown with 53 seconds to play.

That means Lincoln Riley’s team has blown late leads in all four losses to Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State and now Maryland.  And he is getting paid a $gazillion to do what?  [In 2022, he signed a 10-year, $110 million contract.  He was 11-3 his first year, 8-5 last year, and now 3-4, 1-4 Big Ten, this season.]

Finally, Wake Forest (3-4) had a nice road win Saturday at UConn (4-3), 23-20.  This is a much-improved Huskies team, and they have some terrific athletes on defense, but Wake held a running game averaging 220 yards per contest coming in to just 40!  Kind of shocking.  Go Deacs!

--And now the new AP Poll!

1. Oregon 7-0 (59...almost unanimous)
2. Georgia 6-1 (2)
3. Penn State 6-0
4. Ohio State 5-1
5. Texas 6-1
6. Miami 7-0
7. Tennessee 6-1
8. LSU 6-1
9. Clemson 6-1
10. Iowa State 7-0
11. BYU 7-0
12. Notre Dame 6-1
13. Indiana 7-0...wow*
14. Texas A&M 6-1
15. Alabama 5-2...down 8
16. Kansas State 6-1
17. Boise State 5-1
18. Ole Miss 5-1
19. Pitt 6-0
20. Illinois 6-1
21. Missouri 6-1
22. SMU 6-1
23. Army 7-0
24. Navy 6-0
25. Vanderbilt 5-2...first time in poll since 2013

*IU’s quarterback, Kurtis Rourke, hurt his thumb and was taken out of the Nebraska game after a strong start, but his coach said after it’s not a problem.

Next weekend, to me the biggie is Notre Dame vs. Navy in the Meadowlands.  Illinois travels to Oregon, where the Illini will likely be exposed as pretenders, and Texas goes to Vandy, where Nashville will be rockin’!  I’d expect Country royalty to be on the sidelines of the Commodores.

By the way, the Selection Committee rankings begin to be revealed Tues., Nov. 5.

--Hawaii will become a full member of the Mountain West conference in 2026, giving the league the eight members required to remain an FBS conference, the league announced Tuesday.

Hawaii has been a football-only member of the Mountain West since 2012 and in the Big West with most of its other sports.

NFL

--Thursday night, Denver (4-3) won its fourth in five games, 33-10 at New Orleans (2-5), as Bo Nix was OK, not spectacular, at QB for the Broncos, 16/26, 164, 0-0, but he had 75 of Denver’s 225 yards rushing, while for the Saints, quarterback Spencer Rattler fumbled it twice, one returned for a touchdown.

--Sunday morning in London, in a game only the players’ mothers and a few friends and fans cared about, like 86 people in all, the Jags (2-5) beat the Patriots (1-6) 32-16.  Actually, for the Pats, Drake Maye, in his second start, played well...26/37, 276, 2-0, 109.7.

--The Giants received some bad news earlier in the week when it was announced star offensive tackle Andrew Thomas was out for the rest of the season, undergoing surgery on Wednesday to repair a Lisfranc injury in his foot.  He suffered it during last week’s loss to the Bengals.

But for today’s game against the Eagles at MetLife Stadium, the return of Saquon Barkley, the Giants at least got Malik Nabers back, though Barkley stole the show in the first half, nine carries for 95 yards and a touchdown, including a 55-yard scamper...Philly leading 14-3 at the half.

Saquon finished 17-176-1...what a return.  Daniel Jones was benched for Drew Lock, Giants falling dismally 28-3.

The Giants are 2-5, Eagles 4-2.

--The big early game was Detroit at Minnesota, the Lions (5-1) offense cooking on all cylinders in the first half, 21-10, before the Vikings (5-1) roared back to take a 29-28 lead.  But Jake Bates, the kicker given a big contract to compete with Summit’s Michael Badgley, who then tore his hamstring in training camp, kicked a 44-yarder for the win.

The Lions’ Jared Goff with his third straight incredible performance, 22/25, 280, 2-0, 140.0.

Goff’s last three, his passer ratings are 140.0, 155.8, and 153.9...this has to be a record.

--The Packers are 5-2 following a 24-22 win over the Texans (5-2), Green Bay winning as time expired on a Brandon McManus 45-yard field goal.

Not a lot of offense in this one, the Packers with 277 yards, the Texans 197, CJ Stroud a miserable 10 of 21 for 86 yards...yuck.

--The Colts are 4-3, following a 16-10 win over the Dolphins (2-4).  Tua is apparently coming back soon...he shouldn’t...but he’s got a lot money and it’s his own life, as we say in the ‘burbs.

--Seattle (4-3) had an important 34-14 win over Atlanta (4-3) on the road.

--The Titans (1-5) took a 10-0 lead at the Bills (4-2) behind quarterback Mason Rudolph, who got the start, 18/23, 156, 1-0, at the half, but then Josh Allen took over.  Allen, after a very slow start of his own, ended up 21/33, 323, 2-0, 116.1, the Bills rolling 34-10. 

New trade acquisition Amari Cooper had four catches for 66.

--In what had to be a godawful game, Cincinnati (3-4) beat Cleveland (1-6) 21-14, though the Browns outgained the Bengals 336-223.

Deshaun Watson went down after a solid start, 15-of-17, with an Achilles injury, carted off, and that $230 million contract is looking more and more like the worst of its kind in world history.  [I admit to not knowing a lot about contracts back in the time of the Medici family.]

--Sunday night, the Jets (2-4) take on the Steelers (4-2) in a must-win for New York. Davante Adams will suit up, old teammate Aaron Rodgers no doubt thrilled, having been acquired in a trade this week with Las Vegas.  And when the Jets get back to the home base Monday, edge rusher Haason Reddick will be in the house...finally.

Reddick ended his holdout Sunday, agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed, as the Jets agreed to a reworked contract for the rest of the season that includes waiving some of the nearly $12 million in fines he had accrued.  The two sides will also start working on an extension.

College Basketball

--The college sports world was rocked by the sudden resignation of Virginia men’s coach Tony Bennett, who formally announced he was stepping down Friday morning, after the story broke Thursday.

During an emotional news conference at John Paul Jones Arena, Bennett said he isn’t built for what managing a program entails in the era of name, image and likeness (NIL), the transfer portal and potential revenue sharing among student-athletes.

Bennett informed Athletic Director Carla Williams of his decision Wednesday before meeting with his staff and players Thursday afternoon, in part to alert them a public announcement would be forthcoming.

But the timing is atrocious!  Virginia’s regular season commences Nov. 6.

“Probably the thing that’s choked me up the most and the hardest to weigh is when I looked at myself and realized I’m no longer the...” Bennett said, holding back tears and needing time to gather himself before continuing, “no longer the best coach to lead this program in this current environment, and if you’re going to do it, you’ve got to be all-in.  You have to give everything.  If you do it halfhearted, then it’s not fair to the university and those young men.”

Again, but what about the timing?

“So, you know, I’m looking at it, and that’s what made me step down.  There’s still a way in this environment.  There’s a way to do it and hold to our values, but it’s complicated, and to admit I’m not equipped to do this is humbling.”

Whatever.  Bennett manipulated the timing to ensure his top assistant, Ron Sanchez, would take over on an interim basis.  Had he announced at the end of last season, there would have been a national search.  The AD said such a search will begin on a date to be determined.

The 55-year-old ends his career not just as Virginia’s all-time wins leader, possessing a 364-136 record over 15 seasons in Charlottesville, but as one of the most storied coaches in ACC and college basketball history.  He was a three-time National Coach of the Year – once at Washington State, and twice with the Cavaliers – and was just the third coach in ACC history to lead his team to 10 consecutive seasons with a winning record in conference play, joining only Hall of Famers Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski.

From 2014 through 2023, UVA won the ACC outright or tied for first place six different times, a stretch that included earning four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.  Virginia also won the ACC championship in 2014 and 2018, the first two times it had in the modern era.

But what Bennett is most famous – or infamous – for is the fact that his Cavaliers became the first No. 1 seed to ever lose to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament, when his top-ranked Cavaliers fell 74-54 to UMBC in 2018.  [No. 1 Purdue, which lost to No. 16 Saint Peters in the 2022 NCA Tournament, is the only other such instance.]

The following season, however, with the core of the 2018 roster back, Bennett led Virginia on one of the most storied comebacks in the history of sports, when the Cavaliers overcame the memory of that loss to win the program’s first national title, an 85-77 overtime win over Texas Tech.

That title sealed Bennett as an all-time coaching legend.

Dan Wolken / USA TODAY...on the new environment coaches have to navigate.

“What’s changed are the relationships. Coaches at the lower levels know any good player they recruit will likely leave at the first opportunity.  And at the higher levels, the threat of any player picking up and leaving hangs over nearly every interaction like a guillotine.

“Nobody is arguing that the problem is players making money. The issue is that the current system of free-market mayhem has turned college coaching into a profession where authenticity in any interaction with a player is no longer possible.

“It may be unfashionable to say these days, but 18- to 22-year-olds still need to be coached, developed and disciplined in order to fulfill their individual potential and that of the team. It’s where a program like Virginia, being run the way Bennett knew how to run it, was inevitably bumping up against the current reality.

“De’Andre Hunter, the best player on Virginia’s 2019 national championship team, redshirted his first year on campus because he wasn’t likely going to get a lot of playing time. He ended up becoming the No. 4 pick in the NBA draft.  Malcolm Brogdon was a five-year college project who has made more than $110 million as a pro.  Joe Harris bought into Bennett’s system before Virginia had won anything and won an ACC title as a senior.

“All coaches, especially in basketball, understand those stories are not likely to happen anymore. They’ll be unwound by playing time demands and outlandish financial expectations – and an entire generation of NIL agents who aren’t qualified to negotiate the price of a soda, much less a six-figure contract.”

--I watched some of Wake Forest’s exhibition game against No. 2 ranked Alabama in Birmingham, a fundraiser for a local children’s hospital, and the Deacs were only down 53-49 at one point in the second half before getting blown out 98-77.  But these games always give you a chance to see some players for the first time, our latest batch of transfers, so it was pretty entertaining, and a great opportunity for Wake to see firsthand what they need to do to step up, before it hits their permanent record.

--St. John’s coach Rick Pitino was certainly impressed with Rutgers’ two star freshmen, Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey.  Pitino’s Johnnies beat RU in their exhibition tussle, 91-85, but afterwards, Pitino was raving about Harper.

“For a freshman, [Harper] is so much under control, he plays like a senior,” Harper the 6-foot-6 son of former NBA guard Ron Harper Sr. and brother of former Rutgers forward Ron Harper Jr.  Harper had 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting with four rebounds.  “He’s so much under control, he’s got a lot of Clyde Frazier in him in the way he plays.  You’re too young for that but he was amazing.”

Well, I’m not too young to remember what a great player Clyde was.

“And Ace Bailey just has great talent,” Pitino said.  “Both of them are great.”

The 6-10 Bailey had 25 points, including 4-of-9 from deep.

NBA

--The Clippers are starting the season without Kawhi Leonard, out indefinitely with a knee issue.

Leonard, 33, has played in just 229 of 390 (59%) regular-season games since joining the Clippers in 2019, and he missed the entire 2021-22 season with a torn ACL.  He has played in just 28 of the Clippers’ 43 playoff games over that span, too.

Nevertheless, the Clippers gave Leonard a three-year, $153-million extension in January, during one of his rare healthy stretches.  A terrible decision.

--The NBA season starts Tuesday, highlighted by Knicks at Celtics, and the Knicks learned today that key backup forward/center Precious Achuwa will be out 2-4 weeks with a hamstring injury.

The problem with the Knicks, who are certainly capable of making a run this season, is they don’t have a lot of depth.

WNBA

It has been a transformational season for the WNBA, and the finals between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx haven’t disappointed. Three of the four games have been decided by a single bucket and they head to a Game 5 Sunday in New York, after Minnesota’s 82-80 nailbiter Friday night.

In Game 3, Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu hit a spectacular three at the buzzer for New York’s 80-77 win.

Golf Balls

--This week’s PGA Tour Fall Season event is the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas.  The tournament has been a bit of a mess, some golfers needing to play as many as 17 holes on Saturday before the cut was finalized.   The issue?  50-mph+ winds that delayed play for at least four hours on Friday, tournament officials not allowing spectators on the course the entire day out of an abundance of caution.

In the first round, Joel Dahmen was penalized two shots on each of his first two holes for having 15 clubs in his bag.  The infraction was discovered when he was on the fourth tee.

Rule 4.1b in the Rules of Golf states that a player must not start a round with more than 14 clubs or have more than 14 clubs at any point during the round.  The four strokes is the maximum penalty that can be added.

Dahmen said he travels with 15, 16 clubs and there were two four irons in the bag.  Dahmen said he didn’t blame his caddie.  They played Tuesday and Wednesday, and neither saw it.

It’s important because after withdrawing following an opening round 76, he fell from No. 124 to at least No. 127 on the points list, needing to finish the year in the top 125 to secure his full Tour status for 2025.

Well, Sunday morning they caught up with the play and after finishing the third round, we had some names on the leaderboard, and a good story or two.

Two-time winner and Top 50 J.T. Poston on top at -18
Doug Ghim -15
Kurt Kitiyama -14
Gary Woodland -14
Alejandro Tosti -14
Taylor Pendrith (Top 50) -14
Matti Schmid -14

This is massively important for Woodland, who as of the start of the fourth round would move from 148 to 129 with a T3.

Tosti would move from 136 to 119.

But...T9 at -13 we have the local Jersey boy, Ryan McCormick.  McCormick, son of an old friend, was playing on Tour for the first time this year but had limited opportunities and has been playing poorly...like try five missed cuts and a WD his last six events.  It was critical for him to pick up some top-5, top-3 finishes, the last few tournaments of the year.

And out of nowhere, briefly on Saturday, he was tied for the lead, which would have moved him from No. 176 to 83!  Alas, at T9, he’d only advance from 176 to 160, so major pressure on him Sunday.

As I go to post, it’s early in the fourth round, Poston with a 4-shot lead, McCormick T6.

NHL

--In a game Wednesday, Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby reached the 1,600-point plateau, fittingly assisting on longtime teammate Evgeni Malkin’s 500th goal against the Sabres, Pittsburgh winning it 6-5.

Crosby became just the 10th player in NHL history with 1,600 points, while Malkin was the 48th  to hit the 500-goal mark.

Meanwhile, my New York Rangers, last season’s Presidents’ Trophy winners for most points, but conference finals losers to eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida, are off to a solid start, 4-0-1, following a nice 4-1 road win at Toronto Saturday night.

Artemi Panarin is off to a super start, 12 points in the first five games, after a career-best 120 points last season.

Premier League

--Saturday, Tottenham, which has been playing better, defeated West Ham 4-1, Manchester United beat Brentford 2-1, and Bournemouth upset Arsenal 2-0.

In this last one, the Gunners, in suffering their first loss of the season, were playing with just 10 men after an early red card for the final 60 minutes.  That’s an almost impossible task for that long without something bad happening and Bournemouth scored its two goals at the 70’ and 79’ marks.

Today, the Wolves hosted Manchester City, and City prevailed 2-1, John Stones with the dramatic winner in stoppage time for City.

And in a biggie, Liverpool beat Chelsea, 2-1.

So after eight of 38 matches played...points

1. Liverpool 21
2. City 20
3. Arsenal 17
4. Aston Villa 17
5. Brighton 15
6. Chelsea 14
7. Tottenham 13

11. Man U 11

For Liverpool, new manager Arne Slot has won 10 of 11, all competitions, since taking over for Jurgen Klopp.  As Ronald Reagan would have said to Nancy, while reading the Monday morning sports pages, ‘Not bad...not bad at all.’ 

Stuff

--At the Formula One race in Austin, Texas, a huge event, just concluded, Charles Leclerc with the win in his Ferrari. More in my Add-on.

--It’s bear hunting season in New Jersey and a hunter set a state record on Tuesday morning when he used a compound bow to kill a 770-pound black bear in Kinnelon.

Brian Melvin told NJ.com (Star-Ledger) he first saw the massive bear about three years ago and said he’s been actively hunting it during the past two bear hunts.  He hit the bruin from about 45 yards away.

“He never stayed in the same place for more than six months,” said Melvin.  “I spent weeks knocking on doors and getting permission for land that I thought he might be on or at least travel through.  Last year I had him on camera.  He vanished until May of this year.”

State fish and wildlife officials confirmed the 770 pounds is the largest dressed weight for a black bear recorded during the black bear hunt.

But...as you can imagine...Mr. Melvin, by his own admission, is facing a vicious backlash.  Saturday, he told the New York Post that the haters have tracked him down, gotten his phone number, and as he put it, “They hope the next bear kills me...or that another hunter mistakes me for a bear and shoots me.”

--I admit to not knowing one song that the group One Direction recorded, though when I heard some of their music following the death of former band member Liam Payne, I realize I had heard them before.

It was Simon Cowell who put the boy band together in 2010 – Payne, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson.

Cowell was devastated by the news of the tragedy in Buenos Aires, Payne plunging from his third-floor hotel balcony.

“You never really know how you feel about someone until a moment like this happens,” Cowell wrote on Instagram.  “Liam, I am devastated.  Heartbroken. And I feel empty. And I want you to know how much love and respect I have for you.  Every tear I have shed is a memory of you.

“I went outside today, and I thought about so many times we had together. I wanted to let you know what I would always say to the thousands of people who would always ask me.  What is Liam like?  And I would tell them you were kind, funny, sweet, thoughtful, talented, humble, focused. And how much you loved music.  And how much love you genuinely had for the fans.”

--We had the induction ceremony for the 2024 Rock and Hall of Fame class last night...

Performer Category: Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & The Gang, Ozzy Osbourne, A Tribe Called Quest

Musical Excellence Award: Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick, Norman Whitfield

I long soured on the HOF and its selection process, which kept the Dave Clark Five out until many of the members were dead, and then all the Rap acts, but glad to see Kool & The Gang finally get their due, though there is only one surviving member.

And eternally pissed Tommy James and the Shondells never got in.

Top 3 songs for the week 10/18/80:  #1 “Another One Bites The Dust” (Queen)  #2 “Woman In Love” (Barbra Streisand)  #3 “Upside Down” (Diana Ross)...and...#4 “All Out Of Love” (Air Supply)  #5 “He’s So Shy” (Pointer Sisters)  #6 “Real Love” (The Doobie Brothers)  #7 “I’m Alright” (Kenny Loggins)  #8 “Xanadu” (Olivia Newton-John/ELO)  #9 “Drivin’ My Life Away”  (Eddie Rabbitt)  #10 “Late In The Evening” (Paul Simon...C week...)

College Basketball Quiz Answer: Six remaining active coaches with a national title...Dan Hurley (2), Rick Pitino (2), Bill Self (2), Tom Izzo, Scott Drew, and John Calipari.

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.

 

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