Scott Pitoniak

New Nike Syracuse hoops uniforms aren't true to my school

2012-01-25T21:27:00.004-05:00

Memo to Nike and to the powers that be at Syracuse University: The official colors of my alma mater are ORANGE and BLUE.

That's ORANGE and BLUE.

Not Georgetown Hoya gray.

Yes, I'm seeing red about the Cuse's decision to allow Nike to do as they pleased when it came to designing these ugly, futuristic basketball uniforms that reportedly will be worn during SU's game against South Florida in the Carrier Dome on Feb. 22.

Unfortunately, this marketing ploy is all about another color: Green, as in the color of the mucho dollar bills Syracuse and eight other programs, including Duke, North Carolina and UConn, will be raking in by selling school tradition down the river.

What's next?

Ohio State wearing Michigan maize and blue? Or Notre Dame donning the maroon and yellow of Southern Cal?

I guess fans at the South Florida game will have to support the Orange by chanting, "Let's Go Gray!" or, more appropriately, "Let's Go Nike!"

Sheesh!

Or, in this case, Swoosh!

***

NFL Commish Roger Goodell received a deserved contract extension and raise that will see him make $11 million a year through 2018. Now could somebody please explain to me why Goodell makes $11 mil for overseeing an ever-expanding $30 billion entity, while his baseball counterpart Bud Selig rakes in $25 mil for overseeing a $16 billion sports league that is treading water.

***

Beth and I have seen about 80 percent of the Oscar-nominated movies and I firmly believe Leonardo DiCaprio got hosed big-time. His portrayal of former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover was superior to that of George Clooney as far as I'm concerned. I admit that Descendents was a better movie than J. Edgar, but DiCaprio shouldn't be punished for that.

***

You can rip the Yankees for many things, but when it comes to bidding their heroes adieu, nobody does it better. That was a classy sendoff they gave Jorge Posada.

Syracuse faces an ill-timed Fab Melo-drama

2012-01-22T10:42:00.003-05:00

They were bound to lose eventually, and that it happened in South Bend, where there’s a history of win streaks being snapped and No. 1’s being toppled, is not shocking.

What was shocking was the news that center Fab Melo was back in Syracuse, reportedly attending to academic matters.

The big concern is this: If the Orange men continue to be “Fab-u-less” they no longer will be fabulous. If this Melo drama persists well beyond Monday night’s game in Cincinnati, they can kiss good-bye their hopes of a national championship run.

It’s been well-documented that this SU roster was deeper in talent than any other in Jim Boeheim’s 36 seasons at the ‘Cuse. But that doesn’t mean it was so deep that it could afford the loss of its 7-foot center from Brazil. The anchor of the Orange men’s 2-3 zone swatted away and altered a multitude of shots this season, enabling SU to fast-break to a 20-0 record, the best start in school history.

But as we saw in Notre Dame’s 67-58 victory last night, SU can be manhandled inside without Melo. The Orange men were not a great rebounding team with him; without him they are terrible. While Melo clearly isn’t the most talented Orangeman, he just might be the most indispensible.

If he can get his academic house in order and return to the lineup soon, SU will be OK. But if Melo is done for the year, I can’t see Syracuse compensating enough to make a serious run.

Sadly, this is reminiscent of two seasons ago when center Arinze Onuaku went down with a leg injury just before the NCAA tournament. AO’s absence cost SU a shot at a national title. The same sad scenario will unfold here if Fab’s long gone. A special team and a special season will be sabotaged by a big loss.

***
Still sticking with my early week picks of the Giants and Patriots in today’s conference championship games.

***
My thanks to the folks at the Lyons Public Library for hosting my talk and booksigning yesterday. The people there were great, welcoming me with a warm embrace. We sold a lot of books and raised several hundred dollars for the library in Jim Boeheim’s home town. Enjoyed myself immensely.

Recalling my encounters with Ali

2012-01-18T08:56:00.004-05:00

In my nearly four decades as a sports scribe, I’ve been privileged to have met and interviewed the biggest names in sports. Icons such as Mantle and Mays, Unitas and Montana, Chamberlain and Jordan, Howe and Gretzky. But I can honestly say that I’ve never met anyone as charismatic as Muhammad Ali. Whether it was the streets of Sydney, Australia or a packed locker room at Aquinas Institute in Rochester, N.Y., people gravitated to him like paper clips to a magnet.

And during each of my encounters with him, I witnessed his kindness first-hand, particularly here in RahChaCha. It’s difficult to see the way Parkinson’s has ravaged him and it’s hard to fathom that Ali is now – egads – 70 years old.
But his magnetic hold on people endures. As do his acts of kindness.

In honor of his birthday yesterday, I offer an essay I wrote to mark a previous milestone day for him five years ago.

ALI ALWAYS SHOWED A GRACIOUS HEART DURING HIS VISITS TO ROCHESTER

Muhammad Ali motioned for me to join him in the middle of the room. I did so reluctantly, knowing full well he was a prankster and I might be fodder for one of his trademark practical jokes.

The former boxing great had me make a fist with my right hand and place my knuckles against his left cheek as if I had just connected with a knockout punch.

As a photographer was about to snap our picture, Ali feigned fear, acting as if I was Smokin' Joe Frazier. We all started laughing. With that one little gesture, Ali had made me feel like I was the greatest. I discovered that was a feeling Ali engenders in almost everyone he meets.

During that unforgettable night eight years ago in Sydney, Australia, Ali entertained us with magic tricks, levitation acts, poetry and a discussion about religion. Parkinson's syndrome from too many punches to the noggin had quieted his once bombastic voice. But he hadn't lost his ability to communicate. His mind remained sharp, his smile was still infectious, his spirit still playful.

Today, as Ali celebrates his 65th birthday, I can't help but think back to that special night at the 2000 Summer Olympics, as well as the several other nights I was in his presence. I continue to be amazed by the magnetic pull he has on people. It has been fascinating to witness his transformation from pugilist to humanitarian. A quarter century after his last fight, he continues to KO people with kindness.

Rochester is among the places worldwide that have been touched by his big heart.

Who can forget how he saved the Rochester Press-Radio Club's Day of Champions children's charity dinner eight years ago? Remember how then-Yankees pitcher David Wells was supposed to be the headliner, but begged out at the last minute for mysterious personal reasons?

With the dinner ready to thud against the canvas, a la one of Ali's knocked-out opponents, the boxer's longtime friend and photographer, Howard Bingham, put in a call. Ali boarded Kodak's private jet and flew to Rochester to save the day.
His surprise appearance evoked chants of "Ali! Ali! Ali!" from the throng of nearly 1,300 dinner-goers. He donated two autographed boxing gloves that fetched $11,000.

Most headliners charge an arm and a leg to attend the dinner. Not Ali. Not only did he come on extremely short notice, he appeared for free, meaning local charities benefited much more than they would have had Wells shown up.

I saw similar kindness from Ali a few years earlier when he attended the Rochester Boxing Hall of Fame Dinner to raise money for former Canadian heavyweight George Chuvalo, who had lost his wife and son to drug overdoses and had fallen on hard emotional and financial times.

And Ali was just as gracious when he came here back in 1994 for the annual Aquinas Institute Mission Bouts.

Though his movements were affected by his condition, the boxing icon still managed to dazzle the kids with his fancy footwork, performing the "Ali Shuffle" in the locker room before the opening bell.

Whether it was Rochester, Australia or Atlanta for the lighting of the 1996 Olympic caldron, he drew crowds and elicited smiles. His charisma was undeniable. He walked into a room and became it. People gravitated to him. The love was palpable and two-way.

I know there are those who don't like him, those who think he was a draft dodger and created a culture of trash talking and disrespect.

But the Ali I've witnessed has been incredibly kind-hearted and giving.

He may no longer float like a butterfly or sting like a bee, but he still knows how to lift spirits. It's been a privilege to experience his kindness first-hand. Happy birthday, Champ.

Defenses still make a difference in the point-crazy NFL

2012-01-16T10:26:00.002-05:00

Yes, the NFL, with its rules ridiculously skewed toward the offense, is a quarterback-driven league.

But as we learned this past weekend, defenses still can win – or lose – championships.

Look at the number the Giants and 49ers defenses did against the high-flying Packers and Saints. The G-Men battered league-MVP Aaron Rodgers, sacking the Green Bay QB four times and forcing him to turn it over twice (fumble and interception.) The Niners, meanwhile, derailed Saints record-setter Drew Brees, delivering a number of crunching blows to him and his running backs and receivers while taking the ball away five times.

And the Packers’ and Saints’ defensive deficiencies were dramatically exposed by Eli Manning and the up-and-coming Alex Smith. It really underscored just what great seasons Rodgers and Brees had to have in order to compensate for their respective "D's."

***

I have to keep reminding myself that Tom Brady – who’s playing quarterback as well as anyone ever has – lasted till the sixth round of the draft. And let’s not forget that for all his football genius, Patriots coach Bill Belichick also passed on Tom Terrific for five rounds.

***

What Jim Harbaugh has done this season with the 49ers is one of THE best coaching jobs I’ve ever seen. His development of the beleaguered Smith into a serviceable quarterback has been astonishing. The former No. 1 overall pick looked like Joe Montana during those final minutes of Saturday’s stunning upset of New Orleans.

***

My early picks for this week: Giants 23, Niners 16 and Patriots 27, Ravens 13. That, of course, would set up a rematch of the Super Bowl from four years ago.

***

I think another Super Bowl title would guarantee Giants coach Tom Coughlin a bust in Canton. You can already make a case for him, when you combine the success he’s had with the Giants with the job he did in building the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars into an AFC powerhouse in just two years. His 142 victories put him among the Top 20 winningest coaches in NFL history, and he has five divisional titles to go along with four conference championship appearances.

***

Shifting gears, I’ll be covering tonight’s SU-Pitt basketball game at the Carrier Dome for WROC TV-8 (you can read more about it tomorrow on their website at www.rochesterhomepage.net). Although the Panthers have won five straight in the series, I believe the deep and talented Orange will prevail against a Pitt team that has been hurt by injury and has badly underachieved. The win would give the Cuse a school-best 20-0 start and enable Jim Boeheim to tie Kentucky legend Adolph Rupp for the fourth-most victories among men’s Division I college basketball coaches.

Ruminating on Jorge Posada's legacy, Penn State's new coach & the quest to own the Dodgers

2012-01-10T09:36:00.003-05:00

Hip, hip Jorge! to Jorge Posada for his decision to retire as a New York Yankee and not prolong his fading career as a bench-warmer for some other club.

Posada is a fiercely proud man and this had to be incredibly difficult, knowing how much he loves playing the game. But it was the right decision because injuries and age (40) had reduced him to a shell of his former self in recent years.

He leaves the game as the fourth best catcher in Pinstripes history in my book, trailing only Yogi Berra, Bill Dickey and Thurman Munson. Posada finished with 275 home runs, 1,065 runs batted in and a respectable .273 average. I don’t believe he is a Hall-of-Famer, but I do believe his legacy is much better than some are giving him credit for. Consider this: Posada’s combined on-base percentage (.374) and slugging percentage (.474) is exceeded by only three catchers in baseball history – Cooperstown enshrines Mickey Cochrane and Dickey and future inductee Mike Piazza.

Posada also scores well with intangibles. He was the most underrated of the Yankees “Core Four,” playing Ringo to the Bronx Bombers version of John, Paul and George – Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte. But while Jeter gets credit for being the Captain and leader of those Yankees teams that won five World Series titles, it was Posada who got in teammates’ faces or doled out encouragement, depending on the situation.

Here’s hoping that the Yankees convince Posada to coach or manage in their minor-league system because the guy is a winner.

***

I think Bill O’Brien said all the right things at the press conference announcing his hiring as the new Penn State football coach and I think former Nittany Lions were wrong in trashing him the way they did. I also think O’Brien has a monstrous challenge ahead of him, following in Joe Pa’s legendary footsteps and attempting to navigate through the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky mess. I don’t know who could really succeed in this situation. I harken back to the old adage that it’s better to be the guy who follows the guy who follows the legend. To me, O’Brien will wind up being a place-holder. His successor will be the coach who has a legitimate shot at getting the train back on the tracks.

***

Hopefully, that boring “Rematch of the Century” championship game between ‘Bama and LSU last night, along with the proliferation of mediocre bowl matchups preceding it, will finally convince the NCAA and Bowl Championship Series muckety mucks to take a serious look at a playoff system.

***

So the various groups in the bidding for the Los Angeles Dodgers now includes Disney, Magic Johnson, Larry King, Joe Torre, Steve Garvey and Mark Cuban. Personally, just to shake things up a bit, I’d like to see the bombastic Cuban become the new owner. His antics might be tough to take at times, but he’s never boring. And, as his ownership of the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks has proven, he’s thoroughly committed to winning. Won’t happen though because MLB Commish Bud Selig doesn’t want anything to do with Cuban, whom he rejected from buying the Chicago Cubs.

***

Happy Birthday to my Dad - Andrew Edward Pitoniak - who sacrificed so much for me in the 15 years I had with him before his premature death. It's hard for me to fathom, but he would have been 99 years old yesterday.

I believe this Syracuse team has a shot at the big prize

2012-01-08T11:28:00.003-05:00

Had a chance to get my second in-person look at the Syracuse basketball team yesterday and I continue to be convinced that this team is a serious contender for the national championship. Yes, the Orange men squandered much of a 23-point lead in the second half against a pugnacious Marquette team, but they answered with a knockout punch when they were on the ropes to remain unbeaten (17-0) and top-ranked.

The play of the game – both for impact and entertainment value – was Dion Waiters’ shot block and fast-break score with just under five minutes remaining and SU nursing a four-point lead. Darius Johnson-Odom had just released a three-point shot from the left of the key, but it didn’t get far as Waiters elevated quickly and very high to reject it. What made the play even more memorable was that Waiters not only blocked the shot, but blocked it in such a way that he was able to retrieve the ball on the fly and swoop in for the layup that took the momentum out of the Marquette surge.

The Orange men wound up winning by seven against a Golden Eagles team that had beaten them twice last year, including that knock-out blow in the NCAA tournament.

This was a very good test for SU, which needed a close contest after beating its first 16 opponents by an average of more than 20 points.

This team reminds me of a deeper version of the squad two years ago that would have won a national championship had center Arinze Onuaku not suffered that leg injury before the NCAA tournament.

I like the way the current Orange play defense. (There was an 11-minute stretch yesterday when Marquette was held without a basket.)

I like their unselfishness. (On at least two occasions, an Orangeman could have driven in for a bucket on a fast break, but instead dished off to a teammate for the score.)

I like their senior leadership. Props to Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph, who have set a good example for the younger players. Even during those times when things aren't going well for them individually and they are on the bench next to Boeheim for long stretches, they continue to exhort on their teammates rather than pout. That's mature leadership and rubs off on the younger players.

I like their 10-deep rotation. The bench crew, led by Waiters and C.J. Fair, is as good as if not better than the starting five, chipping in with 46 percent of the points scored by SU so far.

And I like the way these young men have been able to keep their focus, especially amid the media circus surrounding the Bernie Fine allegations.

The next stretch of the schedule finds SU on the road at Villanova, back home against Providence and Pitt and on the road against Notre Dame and Cincinnati. Those are all winnable games and should SU take care of business in those contests, it will establish a school record for most wins to start a season. (The current mark is 19-0.)

Winning at South Bend and Cincy won’t be easy, but if the Orange men get by those challenges, they could be taking their No. 1 ranking and unbeaten streak into February, where the toughest part of their schedule (Connecticut and Louisville) awaits.

This is not to say this is a team without flaws. As we saw Saturday, Scoop Jardine remains erractic and Fab Melo sometimes allows himself to be goaded into a foolish foul. Plus, the Orange men grew complacent for a stretch at the start of the second half and became lackadaisical at both ends of the floor.

But they have the depth to overcome off-nights by their front-line people.

They have a lot of go-to guys.

And for the first time in Jim Boeheim’s 36 seasons, he’s been willing to go very deep into his lineup.

Speaking of Boeheim, he is now just four wins from supplanting Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp (876) and just seven wins shy of surpassing North Carolina’s Dean Smith (879) on the all-time win list. Those milestone victories will put him in third place, behind only Bobby Knight (902) and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, who continues to be the pace-setter with 912 wins and counting. Unless Coach K abruptly decides to call it quits, Boeheim is going to have to be content with No. 2 (as long as Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun doesn’t catch him from behind.)

When Boeheim passes Smith, he’ll be able to claim the crown as the winningest men’s coach at a single school, and given Jim’s loyalty to SU that’s going to be a pretty significant milestone for him personally.

Bills' ''Comeback for the Ages" remains one of my all-time favorite sports moments

2012-01-04T09:26:00.003-05:00

Yesterday marked the 19th anniversary of one of the most extraordinary sporting events I’ve covered – the Bills Wildcard playoff victory against the Houston Oilers in a game known simply as “The Comeback.”

Everybody remembers where they were when JFK was shot and when man first landed on the moon.

Same goes for western New Yorkers who were at the stadium formerly known as Rich that overcast January day nearly two decades ago.

It was one of those indelible, transcendent moments.

Do you believe in miracles?

Yes!

The funny thing is that roughly half the crowd departed by halftime.

And I couldn’t blame them. I would have left, too, had I not been working.

With Buffalo trailing by 25 at intermission, we ink-stained wretches began writing obituaries for the 1992 season. And when Houston’s Bubba McDowell returned that interception for a touchdown early in the third quarter to make the deficit 32 points, we figured our stories were safer than the President of the United States in the underground White House bunker.

Well, you know what happened next.

Quarterback Frank Reich, who had authored the greatest comeback in major college football history while at the University of Maryland, marched the Bills to a score to cut it back to 25.

Then, they scored again.

And again.

And again.

And, faster than you could say “Fandemonium,” we stopped typing and started paying attention.

Steve Christie put the finishing touches on the most dramatic comeback in NFL history with his overtime field goal to give the Bills a 41-38 victory that helped propel them to a third consecutive Super Bowl.

After the field goal sailed through the uprights, I hit the delete key on my story.

I had plenty of company along press row.

In the post-game presser, coach Marv Levy was asked about the odds of his team coming back from 32 points down in the second half. “About the same as winning the New York State Lottery,” he answered. More than a million-to-one.

A few years ago, when I collaborated on a book with Steve Tasker about those glory years, the Bills special teams demon reflected on what Marv told his players at halftime.

“All he said was, “Don’t ever let ’em say you gave up,” Tasker recounted. “There was brilliance in his simplicity. He didn’t berate us for crappy play, and he didn’t try to give us some rah-rah speech, which would have come across as disingenuous and phony. We had been to two straight Super Bowls, and he appealed to our pride. It wound up working. We chipped away and kept playing hard, and a miracle occurred.”

Aware of Reich’s heroics at Maryland, injured Bills starting quarterback Jim Kelly told Frank that “Maybe lightning will strike twice” as Buffalo prepared to receive the second-half kickoff.

Reich never stopped believing and neither did receiver Andre Reed, who had several huge catches as Buffalo climbed out of the crater it had dug itself.

I remember what a madhouse the Bills locker room was afterward. Guys were singing and jumping up and down. It was surreal.

And I also remember the funereal atmosphere of the Oilers locker room.

“Everywhere I go, I run into people who claim they were there that day,’’ Tasker told me. “If they are all telling the truth, our attendance should have been about a quarter of a million (rather than 75,141) for that game.”

I’m happy to report that I was there that day. And have my press pass and newspaper clips to prove it.

It was one of the most remarkable sporting events I’ve ever witnessed.

A day in which a journeyman backup and all-around good guy named Frank Reich won the football lottery and made us believe in miracles.

Yes, it's a pipedream, but I'd hire Polian as Bills GM in a New York minute

2012-01-03T11:01:00.005-05:00

If I were Ralph Wilson, I’d be on the phone today to Bill Polian. I’d do everything in my power to convince the 68-year-old architect of Super Bowl-contending teams in Buffalo, Carolina and Indianapolis to return to the Bills for one last rebuilding job.

It’s not going to happen, of course.

The volatile Polian left here in 1993, after the Bills third Super Bowl loss, on not so good terms. And although Buffalo went to an unprecedented fourth consecutive NFL championship game the following season, the franchise has never really been the same.

The decline after Polian’s departure wasn’t precipitous – a solid corps of star players remained, along with coach Marv Levy and top-notch personnel men, John Butler and A.J. Smith. But from a historical standpoint, that was the beginning of the end, or, at least the beginning of the events that have led to the 12-year playoff-less malaise the Bills find themselves in.

Polian, of course, went on to build the Carolina Panthers, an expansion franchise, into an immediate powerhouse; they made it to the NFC championship game in just their second year of existence.

And, after that, he became the president of the Colts, where he guided them on a fabulous run that included a Super Bowl championship.

Polian was the best judge of football talent I ever encountered. People take for granted his selection of quarterback Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf in the 1998 draft. What they forget is that it was hardly a clear-cut decision at the time. In fact, in a poll of NFL general managers that April, Leaf was the choice of the majority.

Polian’s fingerprints are all over the Bills’ glory run. He was responsible for signing Bruce Smith and Jim Kelly. He helped draft Andre Reed, a fourth-round unknown from Kutztown State, and Thurman Thomas, after every team had passed him over in the first round because of injury concerns. His free agent signings included all-time Bills center Kent Hull. And, let us not forget, Polian was the man who hired Levy.

Polian was a fiery guy from the Bronx, who introduced himself as “Bill Who?” at the press conference announcing his promotion to Bills general manager in 1985.

He definitely could rub people the wrong way, and his feisty temperament often was at odds with Wilson and other Bills executives, ultimately resulting in his unceremonious departure.

Polian wound up being named the NFL Executive of the Year six times (with three different teams.) Although his teams won just one Super Bowl, I believe he belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

I also believe he belongs back in the general manager’s chair at One Bills Drive.

But that’s never going to happen.

At the very least, I hope Ralph lets bygones be bygones and does the right thing by affixing Polian’s name on the stadium Wall of Fame.

It’s something that should have been done for Lou Saban and Cookie Gilchrist while they were alive.

***

Please check out my wrapup column on the Bills 2011 at WROC's website - www.rochesterhomepage.net

Bills need Spiller to be a Thriller and a workhorse in order to upset the Pats

2011-12-29T20:35:00.002-05:00

It clearly wouldn’t remove the bitter taste of the seven-game free-fall that ruined their season, but an upset of the Patriots in New England Sunday would enable the Bills to finish on a high note. A victory would give Buffalo a season sweep of the AFC East kingpins for the first time since the final year of the Clinton Administration (1999) – not to mention a two-game win streak and a 7-9 record.

In order to beat the odds against a Patriots team that still has a shot at securing the top seed and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, the Bills will need to play flawlessly and go for broke. No reason at all to be passive in this one. Heck, what do you have to lose?

Chan Gailey must stop pampering C.J. Spiller and ride him for all he’s worth. The second-year running back will have an entire off-season to recuperate. Spiller, who’s accounted for 463 yards from scrimmage in the past four games, needs to get at least 25 touches against a New England defense that ranks dead last against the run. Ryan Fitzpatrick will have to be a good game manager, not turn the ball over and hit a few big-plays to Stevie Johnson. And the defense will have to take some chances and put some pressure on Tom Brady the way it did while picking him off four times in the first meeting.

***

Not using it as an excuse, but I can’t help but wonder how much different this Bills season would have been if they hadn’t lost 17 players to the injured reserve list. They probably still wouldn’t have ended their post-season drought, but I don’t believe they would have suffered the long losing streak and would have remained in serious playoff contention into December.

***

Bills line coach Joe D’Alessandris and his assistant Bobby Johnson get my votes as NFL Assistant Coaches of the Year. Despite the loss of potential Pro Bowl center Eric Wood and other starters to season-ending injuries, Buffalo has managed to cobble together a mish-mash line that has yielded a league-low 21 sacks while opening holes for a robust ground game that’s seen its two leading rushers average more than five yards a carry.

Unless they allow the floodgates to open Sunday, the Bills O-line will finish the season with the fewest number of sacks in 30 years. Very impressive.

Jim Boeheim needs to choose his words more carefully

2011-11-29T15:27:00.003-05:00

The instant the words left his mouth, I cringed. I knew Jim Boeheim would rue the day he made those asinine comments.

The Syracuse University basketball coach’s decision to lash out at the men who accused his long-time friend and assistant of sexual molestation is consistent with whom Boeheim is and has always been – a fiercely loyal, competitive, thin-skinned man ruled by emotion who occasionally speaks before he thinks.

As a reporter who’s covered him for 36 years and recently published an unauthorized biography about him, I’ve experienced his kindness and his wrath.

Sometimes, his genuine, unvarnished, shoot-from-the-lip comments have been refreshing and made for great copy and sound bites in an era of phony, sanitized coach-speak.

This was not one of those times.

And now the competitive fire that helped Boeheim become a Hall-of-Fame coach and build Syracuse University into a national college basketball power may ultimately lead to his crash-and-burn.

I understood his initial reaction to a point. He was angry that Bernie Fine, the trusted friend who had been at his side for nearly four decades, was under attack. He wanted to come strongly to his defense. But by labeling Fine’s accusers “liars” and opportunists, he went way too far. His bully behavior embarrassed himself and our alma mater, and, more importantly, showed a total lack of sensitivity to anyone who has been victimized by a pedophile. These types of forceful, public pronouncements inhibit victims from coming forward. They make a horrible problem even worse.

Boeheim’s statement of apology and total acceptance of Fine’s firing by the university Sunday night was a step in the right direction. But with some national columnists and victims’ rights groups calling for his firing, I’m wondering if his act of contrition was a case of too little, too late.

Interestingly, during his initial verbal barrage, Boeheim showed an additional lack of class by telling people he was not Joe Paterno. The reference, of course, was to the deposed Penn State football coach, whose failure to do the right thing in the sexual molestation scandal involving his friend and long-time assistant Jerry Sandusky ultimately led to more boys being victimized. Again, I know what Boeheim was saying. He was attempting to make a point that, unlike Paterno, he had no prior knowledge of Fine’s alleged acts of sexual abuse against former SU ballboys.

But, by attempting to distance himself from Paterno, Boeheim ironically wound up making the connection between the two closer. And, in a cruel twist, he could wind up meeting the same fate as Paterno by having his legacy tarnished by a child abuse scandal brought on by a long-time friend whom he didn’t really know.

While I’m not ready to call for Boeheim’s firing, I do think a suspension might be in order. And, in an effort to show that he truly is sorry for his remarks, I would like to see his charitable foundation throw further support to organizations that deal with the horrors of pedophilia. Shed a light on a problem that for too long has been hidden in the dark. Use lessons learned from a tragedy to avoid future tragedies.

Sadly, we live in an instant information age in which the tendency to rush to judgment has never been greater. There are way too many questions still to be answered in this bizarre scandal. Hard as it may be for some who want instant justice, we should allow this investigation to run its course. We must avoid engaging in witch hunts.

Again, unlike the Penn State case, no one has made any statements or provided evidence that Boeheim had prior knowledge of Fine’s alleged improprieties. If the investigation determines otherwise, then, yes, fire Boeheim immediately and punish him to the full extent of the law.

As I try to sort through this mess, I think about the biography I just wrote about Boeheim. (Yeah, I know. Great timing, huh?) In my attempt to find out what made him tick and how he made this incredible journey from little, Lyons, N.Y. to the upper echelon of college basketball, I discovered a very complex man, who, in many respects, is like his domineering father. Theirs was a complicated relationship – at times more a competition than a relationship, really.

But beneath the harsh veneer I also found a caring man, whose charitable acts – both publically and behind the scenes – have been extraordinary. And there is something admirable about the loyalty Boeheim has shown his players, his school, his community and his friends – though, at times, he has been guilty of being loyal to a fault.

This is not, by any means, to excuse Boeheim’s stupid and insensitive comments. But merely to point out that there are many layers to the man – some good, some bad.

As I watch this tragic tale unfold at a place where I received a world-class education and grew immensely as a person, I realize another chapter of the Jim Boeheim story remains to be written.

Opining on Bills, SU hoops and Golisano's interest in the Dodgers

2011-11-15T09:27:00.004-05:00

Spraying opinions to all fields:

• To me, Eric Wood was the third most indispensible Buffalo Bill behind only running back Fred Jackson and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (though, Fitzie, certainly has looked quite dispensable these past two games.) Wood was having a Pro Bowl-caliber year, anchoring a constantly-in-flux offensive line with great efficiency. The Bills have managed to weather several injuries this season, but I don’t know if they will be able to endure this loss.

• Wood’s absence means yet another challenge for the versatile Andy Levitre. The unsung hero of this Bills season has been up to the task at left guard and then left tackle this fall. But center is a whole new ballgame, requiring you to be responsible for putting not only yourself, but your four linemates in proper blocking formations. I guess, though, if anybody can do it, Levitre can.

• Went to homecoming at Syracuse University over the weekend and took in a football and basketball doubleheader within the span of about 22 hours. And after witnessing a lackluster effort in a football loss to South Florida Friday night and a decisive basketball victory vs. Fordham Saturday afternoon, I’m reminded that my alma mater continues to be a hoops powerhouse and a grid-iron pretender. The 2011 Orange football season mirrors the current Bills campaign. After promising starts, both teams are in a downward spiral. It appears that there won’t be a post-season in either club’s near future.

• Rochester billionaire Tom Golisano apparently is bidding to become the Mariano Rivera of sports franchises. He saved the Buffalo Sabres and now wants to do the same with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Just about everything he touches turns to gold, so if I’m a Dodgers fan who’s suffered through the Frank McCourt divorce debacle, I’d be rooting for Tom to spearhead a revival. I do wonder what this means for the future of the Bills in Buffalo, since Golisano has said he would be willing to looking into ownership if it was a case of keeping the team in western New York.

• Jim Boeheim has no choice but to ditch that seven-man rotation in favor of a 9- or 10-man rotation. The Orange men are that deep. "We're like Noah's Ark,'' said forward Kris Joseph. "We've got two of everything."

* Some are wondering who will be the go-to guy with a tight game on the line. I think sophomore guard Dion Waiters might be emerging as that guy.

• Hey Bills fans, it could be worse. You could be an Eagles fan. The dream team that too many had winning the Super Bowl is now a nightmarish 3-6 and going nowhere fast.

• Bill Belichick is a superb coach, but when it comes time for his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame he’d be wise to choose Tom Brady as his presenter. Belichick’s record with Brady is 117-35. Without Tom Terrific, it’s 66-68.

• Shameless plug: I’ll be signing copies of my new book, Color Him Orange: The Jim Boeheim Story, Friday night at 7 at the Greece Barnes & Noble. The signing will be preceded by a talk and Q-and-A, so please stop by and get an early holiday gift for yourself or that SU hoops fan in your life.

Penn State's next steps and catching up with Scott Norwood

2011-11-11T11:17:00.002-05:00

So, if I’m running Penn State University in the aftermath of this unfathomable scandal, here’s what I would do.

I would take all the profits realized from Saturday’s home game against Nebraska and create a fund for those boys who were allegedly molested by Jerry Sandusky.
Furthermore, I would endow a child abuse studies program at the university. I also would hold seminars on campus to discuss the failures of Joe Paterno, Mike McQueary and other officials to do the right and moral thing.

Students need to get over their shock and anger and they need to realize that JoePa isn’t coming back, nor does he deserve to.

There has been enough deception and obfuscation in this sordid mess. It’s time for the school to be at the forefront of addressing the issue and to be honest and truthful. This is what institutions of higher education are supposed to do. These steps would certainly aid the healing process.

***

It was heart-warming to see Scott Norwood finally return to Ralph Wilson Stadium and receive a rousing ovation. The kicker who will forever bear the burden of Wide Right has handled his link to sports infamy with remarkable class and grace. I did a column for Bills Digest about Scott this week, and he appears to have come to grips with the missed kick that sadly has defined his career. He says he has accepted ownership of Wide Right and has put it into perspective. It is part of his legacy, just as all those game-winning kicks are. And that miss, though the most visible play in that Super Bowl XXV loss to the Giants, was merely one of numerous blown opportunities by the Bills that memorable evening in Tampa. Had they tackled better and executed better on offense, it never would have come down to a last-second 47-yard field goal.

***

If you are going to be on the Syracuse University campus tomorrow from 2-3:30, please stop by the bookstore and say “hello.” I’ll be signing copies of my newly published biography, Color Him Orange: The Jim Boeheim Story. I’ll have more about the book next week in this cyberspace. I have several other signings scheduled in the Syracuse and Rochester areas that I’ll let you know about.

Nittany Lions were right to jettison Paterno

2011-11-10T11:11:00.003-05:00

Penn State’s board of trustees finally got it right. They finally did the right thing by firing Joe Paterno and the school’s president. There was no other choice.

JoePa’s inaction, along the inaction of other school officials during this sordid episode in which innocent children were allegedly violated by a monster named Jerry Sandusky, was inexcusable.

I still can’t fathom why Mike McQueary, then a grad assistant and now a full-time Penn State coach, didn’t come to the rescue of that 10-year-old boy and immediately call the police.

I still can’t fathom how Paterno and other school officials didn’t do the right and moral thing after this incident.

Even more incomprehensible is how these “molders of young men” allowed Sandusky to remain on campus and continue to be in situations where he interacted with children.

As recently as two years ago he was still running overnight football camps. Hello!!!! Anybody home, here!!!!! You have an alleged pedophile and you are pairing him with kids.

Some have bemoaned how sad it is to see JoePa’s laudatory 46-year coaching career come to such an ignominious end. Yes, it is sad – sad that this football coach who had graduated the vast majority of his players and who attempted to instill in them a solid moral compass failed to follow his own moral compass and do the right thing.

Had the pontificating Paterno practiced what he preached, at least eight other boys might not have had their lives ruined.

That is saddest thing of all, the true tragedy in Happy Valley.

***

Having been a foolish and immature college student many, many years ago, I’m trying to cut the protesting Penn State students some slack. I understand how raw their emotions must be because this scandal cuts to the marrow of an institution they love. I get that completely. They want to be true to their school and the coach who was the face of it.

But riotous behavior never solved anything. Ironically, these destructive shows of support are only making Paterno feel worse.

Fitz's new contract, Bills stadium renovations and Syracuse in BCS bowl game

2011-10-25T07:49:00.003-04:00

For those of you who think $10 million per year is too much to spend on Ryan Fitzpatrick, please consider the contracts of Kansas City’s Matt Cassel ($9.67 mil), Arizona’s Kevin Kolb ($12.4 mil) and Oakland’s Carson Palmer ($11.7 mil).

Fitz definitely is in their league. So if I’m the Bills I would give him a three-year contract in that neighborhood and load it with incentives for team (playoffs) and individual (Pro Bowl invitation) achievements.

The Bills are far enough under the salary cap where they can afford it, and it would free them up to concentrate on procuring pass rushers in upcoming drafts.

I hope this deal gets done soon and I hope Buffalo also rewards running back Fred Jackson with a fair contract extension, too.

It’s not only the right thing to do, but also would send a positive message to their teammates and prospective free agents that the Bills are truly committed to winning.

***

Speaking of contract negotiations, you may have seen reports that it could cost in excess of $100 million to renovate Ralph Wilson Stadium, and that Erie County and the Bills are ready to talk about a lease extension. My feeling is that any lease extension and stadium refurbishment funds from county and state taxpayers should be tied to a commitment from Ralph and the NFL that the Bills will stay put for at least 10 years.

I don’t think that’s too much to ask.

***

Sports Illustrated is projecting that Syracuse will win the Big East football title and play Atlantic Coast Conference champion Clemson in the Orange Bowl. That’s definitely doable, given the way SU is playing and given the lack of a powerhouse team in the Big East. But it won’t be easy because the Orange men also are eminently capable of losing to remaining opponents Pitt, South Florida and Louisville.

Syracuse is now 17-15 under Coach Doug Marrone and has won 13 of its last 19 games. Contrast that with a 26-57 record in the seven seasons prior to Marrone’s return to his alma mater, and you can understand why people on the Hill are excited about their football program’s revival.

A 'gorgeous" respite from football during the Bills bye week

2011-10-23T22:21:00.002-04:00

No Bills game meant a rare Sunday off for moi, so my beautiful bride and I decided to take a ride down Rt. 390 to Letchworth State Park.

It is billed as “the Grand Canyon of the East,” and that’s not an exaggeration. The glacial gorges that the Genesee River snakes through are spectacular and enormous – the cliffs several hundred feet high in many places. And the vista was made all the more exquisite by the radiant sunshine and colorful leaves that were just a tad shy of peak.

We saw numerous out-of-state license plates in the lots throughout the park, and as we were leaving we came across an artist who was painting a water-color landscape from his vantage point near a stone wall just down the river from the upper and middle waterfalls.

I don’t mean to sound like a shill for the “I Love New York” tourist campaign, but I was once again reminded what a beautiful and diverse state in which we live. There are hundreds of breathtaking places to behold here – from the Big Apple’s skyscrapers to Niagara Falls to numerous points in between. We harried New Yorkers sometimes take our state for granted as we struggle with high taxes and a broken economy.

I can’t think of a better way to spend an autumn day. It was a welcome respite from the rat race, an opportunity to savor one of the most beautiful places on earth and replenish our souls.

Syracuse makes a statement in its biggest win in a decade

2011-10-22T10:23:00.002-04:00

I journeyed to the Carrier Dome Friday night with my good friend, Max Robertson, in anticipation of a blowout.

And that’s just what occurred.

A blowout unfolded, but the team I expected to get routed (Syracuse) wound up routing the team (West Virginia) I expected to do the routing.

By crushing the 11th-ranked Mountaineers, 49-23, before a national television audience and more than 45,000 vociferous fans beneath the Dome’s Teflon-coated roof, the Orange men took another huge step on the road to national relevance.

No, I’m not saying SU is a top-25 club yet – heck, when you barely beat Rhode Island and Tulane, you obviously have much to prove. But the Orange men continue to move in the right direction under head coach Doug Marrone.

They still need to recruit more talented players in order to return to the prominence they enjoyed in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. But this impressive win, in front of an ESPN audience, might convince some prospects to jump aboard the Syracuse football revival train.

Although it’s seating capacity is just under 50,000, the Dome can be a terrific college football venue when it’s full. I was reminded of that last night as the Loud House truly was that.

SU quarterback Ryan Nassib was superb, accounting for five touchdowns – four passing, one on a run. With pass-rusher Chandler Jones healthy and back in the lineup, the defense harassed West Virginia’s vaunted quarterback Geno Smith all night long, sacking him four times and forcing two interceptions. There are few plays that quicken the pulse more than a kickoff return for touchdown, which SU’s Dorian Graham provided, going 98 yards to put the Orange on top, 21-9, in the second quarter. It was a game-changer for sure. As was Jeremi Wilkes interception of a Smith pass at the SU goal line just before the half, denying a score that would have reduced the Orange men’s lead to either four or five points.

And the icing on the cake was that this all occurred on a night when the university was commemorating the 50th anniversary of Ernie Davis’ Heisman Trophy season.

Again, I’m not going crazy here and telling you that 5-2 Syracuse is back with the big boys. But this was a statement win and it gives the ‘Cuse a legitimate shot at the wide-open Big East Champsionship and a major bowl berth in January.

And that’s great progress for a program that had experienced two 10-loss seasons in the years before Marrone returned to his alma mater to pick up the pieces.

He definitely has proven himself to be one of the most innovative coaches in America. And he appears to be the perfect guy to lead the renaissance of Syracuse football.

It was a privilege to have known Kent Hull

2011-10-19T13:16:00.003-04:00

Kent Hull was, without a doubt, the greatest center in Buffalo Bills history.

The three-time Pro Bowler anchored the line that gave Jim Kelly the time to complete all those passes to Andre Reed and opened the holes for Thurman Thomas to run from Orchard Park to Canton.

As Thomas eloquently said today: “I owe a lot of that stitching in my Hall of Fame jacket to Kent Hull.”

So do Kelly and former Bills coach Marv Levy.

Without Hull’s instant analysis of defensive alignments and blocking calls, the Bills pedal-to-the-metal, no-huddle offense would have been stuck in neutral. He quarterbacked Buffalo’s O-line as adroitly as Kelly quarterbacked the entire offense. And he was one tough hombre in the trenches. Just ask any of the condo-sized nose tackles or snarling linebackers who were on the receiving end of Kent’s crunching blocks.

Equally impressive was the work he did in the locker room. He and Darryl Talley helped keep in check a roster filled with massive egos. Everybody – and I mean everybody – on those Bills teams looked up to and respected Kent. They took heed when he offered advice.

Kent was one of the wisest and most accommodating guys I and my fellow ink-stained wretches ever dealt with. In a drawl as thick as Mississippi mud, he would provide folksy insight and perspective. And the thing we admired most about him is that he was a stand-up guy. Win or lose, Kent would face the music, and tell the unvarnished truth. He was our go-to-guy.

To be honest, a lot of people we cover in big-time sports are phonies. But not Kent Hull. The cattle-rancher was as genuine as they come.

Those of us who chronicled the Bills back in the glory days thought so much of him that when he retired following the 1996 season we took him out to lunch at Illio DiPaolo’s restaurant and presented him with a newspaper page containing tributes from each of us and the corny headline reading: A Hull of a guy. I’ve never heard of this sort of thing occurring before or since. It was a clear indication of just how much we thought of him. I remember him being touched by the gesture.

In the commemorative paper we gave him, I wrote the following blurb:

“Our copy editors used to razz us about quoting you so much, but we told them we couldn’t help ourselves. You always told the truth, always lent perspective, often in a humorous, entertaining manner. In 19 years of covering sports for a living, I’ve never encountered a classier, more up-front, down-to-earth athlete. I wish you nothing but the best in your retirement. We’ll miss you.
“By the way, would you mind if we call you for a quote or two after games next year?”

I remember how choked up Marv was at the press conference announcing Kent’s retirement. He said he was honored to be able to tell people he once coached Kent Hull.

Well, as I reflect on Kent’s passing yesterday at age 50, I’d like to say that I was honored to be able to say that I once covered Kent Hull.

RIP, my friend.

***

Here is a feature I wrote about Kent that appeared in the Jan. 18, 1991 edition of USA Today:

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - The story was buried deep in the sports section in 1986, the headline rather small.

On any other day, news of Kent Hull's signing with the Buffalo Bills might have received better play. But not on this day.

Not with Jim Kelly finally coming to town. Bills fans had waited three years for the flamboyant quarterback to leave the USFL. And when he agreed to terms, the city greeted him with a welcome normally reserved for heads of state.

''I guess my timing was kind of bad,'' Hull joked. ''I guess you could say I followed Jim's limo and police escort into town. Buffalo was shut down by the time I got there. Everybody was at Jim's press conference.''

Five years later, Kelly remains headline king, but you no longer have to go deep into the sports section to find stories about Hull. He's headed to his third consecutive Pro Bowl and in a Sports Illustrated midseason poll of personnel directors, Hull was named the NFL's best center.

Not bad for a lanky farm boy from Pontotoc, Miss., who grew up thinking he'd make a living blocking basketballs instead of linebackers.

''My dad had been an All-American basketball player at Mississippi State, and I took to the sport right away,'' the 6-4 Hull said Wednesday. ''But there came a point where the game got too tall for me.''

Hull didn't draw much interest from the NFL scouts because he had spent four seasons playing for a wishbone offense.

Another hurdle awaited him when he arrived at the Bills' training camp complex in August 1986. During his first pass-blocking drill, Hull found himself face-to-face with a snarling 300-pounder by the name of Fred Smerlas.

''I looked at him and his mustache was twitching and smoke was coming out of his earholes,'' Hull recalled. ''I could tell that he was thinking he was going to absolutely rip this 260-pound guy apart. I hung in there and fought pretty good for a while. When we were done, he patted me on the butt and said, 'You are going to be all right, little boy.' ''

Although he is a country boy from the South, Hull has developed an affinity for hockey. He attended his first game at Buffalo Auditorium five years ago, and grew to love the sport after watching the Sabres and Boston Bruins go at each other. He now owns season tickets.

Hull also retains his love for basketball. He enjoys playing for the Bills' barnstorming team in the offseason and still wonders what might have been if only he were a few inches taller.

Here's how the Bills can still make the playoffs

2011-10-17T08:00:00.003-04:00

Although the Bills head into the bye week nursing a long list of injuries and two disappointing losses in the past three weeks, I still believe they can make the playoffs. But it’s not going to be easy.

I think 10 wins earns them a berth, which means they will have to go 6-4 the rest of the way. Looking at the remaining schedule, here’s who they are going to have to beat: Washington in Toronto; the Jets at home; the Dolphins in Orchard Park and Miami; Tennessee at home and Denver at home. That’s daunting, but not impossible.

In order to do that, the Bills are going to need to get healthy. Football is a game of attrition and the injuries have been adding up. They need to get Kyle Williams, Shawne Merriman and Donald Jones back ASAP. The bye week obviously came at a good time.

Buffalo’s defense, which is still relatively young, has to become stouter and find a way to get more pressure on the quarterback. The Bills yielded several long drives against the Giants and were unable to force a turnover, at times giving Eli Manning enough time in the pocket to read his stock portfolio.

As the season progresses and the weather becomes more challenging, the ability to run and stop the run become more important.

As far as running the ball, I’m not worried, because Fred Jackson – with four, 100-yard rushing performances already this season – has proven he is ready to carry the load. Versatile Freddie is putting up numbers the likes of which we haven’t seen since Thurman Thomas during the Super Bowl years.

The Bills have proven they can play with – and beat – anybody, but they remain a work-in-progress. Which is a lot better than being a work-in-regress, which they’ve been for much of the past decade.

Two late field goals are all that separates them from a 6-0 record. Which leads to another thing they have to do a better job of down the stretch – close out games.

***

Further proof these Bills are legit: Their two close losses have come against teams that are now 4-2, the Giants and Cincinnati.

***

Some are grumbling that Chan Gailey should have played it closer to the vest, and worked to get into position for the go-ahead field goal instead of trying for a touchdown pass that resulted in an interception. Baloney! Gailey make a great call, Stevie Johnson got separation from the defensive back and Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a bad pass. The decision to go for the touchdown was on target. Unfortunately, Fitz’s pass was not.

As someone who covered the ultra-conservative Bills of Dick Jauron, I applaud Gailey’s willingness to take calculated risks. You play it safe the way Jauron always did and you’ll finish 7-9 every season. Again, good, aggressive call. Poor execution.

These Bills deserve to be where they are - 4-1 and tied for the divisional lead

2011-10-10T09:43:00.005-04:00

Bill Parcells, the two-time Super Bowl-champion coach, liked to say, “You are what your record says you are.”

Well, right now the Buffalo Bills are 4-1 and tied for first in the AFC East.

And that’s what they are.

A good football team, not a mirage.

A playoff contender, not a pretender.

And it’s about time we all start acknowledging that.

And for those who still want to claim that the Bills are lucky and could easily be 1-4, I offer another sage quote, this one from Branch Rickey, the innovative general manager best known for signing Jackie Robinson to break baseball’s color barrier: “Luck is the residue of design.”

Coach Chan Gailey and his players have worked hard and smart to make this good luck happen.

And, in the process, have proven skeptics like me dead wrong.

I predicted a 7-9 record and thought I was being optimistic. Well, the bar has risen. Ten wins and a playoff berth are not out of the question as long as they are able to avoid injuries to key players.

There’s so much to like about this team and this story. To see all these guys who were overlooked and underappreciated for so long contribute to this revival has been truly heart-warming.

There isn’t a better story in the NFL than Fred Jackson, the unwanted running back from tiny Coe College (Marv Levy’s alma mater). He led the charge once more in the Bills’ 31-24 victory against the Michael Vick-led Philadelphia Eagles Sunday at the sunny, soldout Ralph. Twenty-six carries produced 111 yards and a touchdown. Six receptions produced an additional 85 yards. The scintillating, all-purpose performance prompted serenades of “Freddie! Freddie! Freddie!” from the appreciative throng of nearly 70,000 – a hardy bunch who have remained loyal and hopeful despite so many false starts by this franchise during the past decade.

With all due respect to quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who’s been marvelous this season, the true MVP of this team – and perhaps the league – has been Fred Jackson, who’s on pace to rush for more than 1,500 yards and catch more than 60 passes. We talk a lot about this being a quarterback-driven league – and it is. But running backs are still important cogs, especially versatile, gritty ones like Jackson.

Another guy who’s been under the radar for so long has been safety George Wilson. Like Freddie, he was undrafted and unloved and picked up off the scrapheap by the Bills. Yesterday, he was a man possessed, setting the tone immediately for a defense that intercepted Vick four times.

Wilson finished with 11 tackles, an interception, three pass deflections and one quarterback pressure. Not bad for someone who supposedly was going to be exploited by the Eagles speedy, game-breaking receivers.

The Bills defense is more generous, yardage-wise, than last year’s bottom-ranked unit. But this year’s “D” also is more opportunistic, as evidenced by its 12 interceptions – one more than it managed in 16 games last season.

Interestingly, despite all their success, they haven’t gotten overly giddy. They remain a grounded bunch, still motivated by the memory of last season when they stumbled to an 0-8 start on the way to a 4-12 record.

And that’s a good thing because they have a tough schedule remaining, with just two games at the Ralph over the next seven weeks.

But it’s foolhardy to look at that schedule, beginning with Sunday’s road game against the New York Giants, and think that the Bills can’t manage it.

Heck, who, before the season started, expected this team to beat both New England and Philly.

As Parcells says, “You are what your record says you are.”

And what the Bills are right now is a first-place team that’s won 80 percent of its games.

***

You can read and watch more of my commentary about the Bills at Channel 8's website, www.rochesterhomepage.net. Or listen to me on the Bob Matthews Show on WHAM AM-1180 Monday nights from 7-8 or on The Bills Brothers Show on WHTK AM 1280 & FM 107.3 on Thursday afternoons from 3-4.

Fifty years ago today, Roger Maris homered to cap the most special baseball season of my life

2011-10-01T04:38:00.004-04:00

Baseball didn’t appeal to him until the summer of ’61. Then, one day that June, the peach-fuzzed, 6-year-old from Rome, N.Y. saw these two guys named Mantle and Maris hitting balls into the stands. Looked like fun. So the boy and his friends got a wiffle ball and a bat and headed for a nearby playground. They used their bikes as outfield fences. The 6-year-old would pretend he was in Yankee Stadium. He even provided play-by-play when he stepped up to the plate. He would play ball from morning ’til night, breaking only for lunch and dinner. After he went to bed, he would pull out the transistor radio that he had hidden beneath his pillow and listen to see if the M&M Boys had hit any Ballentine Blasts. He would never make it past the sixth inning. Rizzuto’s voice would drone on, and the 6-year-old would be fast asleep, playing baseball in his dreams.

***

The wiffle ball and bat and the innocence are long gone. And so, too, is Roger Maris, a victim of cancer 26 years ago at age 51. The memories of that glorious summer, though, remain vivid despite the ravages of time – ’61 was quite a year.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Maris’ historic home run – the one that landed in the right-field seats at Yankee Stadium before taking up permanent residence in Cooperstown. Only 23,154 people showed up that crisp, autumn day to see Maris hit his 61st and surpass Babe Ruth, who hit 60 in 1927. The radio call from Phil Rizzuto was filled with enough “Holy Cows” to stock a barn. The Scooter never talked about the torment Maris had been under. He never mentioned the tale of two seasons, how ’61 had been the best of times and worst of times for Roger Maris.

“People don’t understand the pressure Roger was under,” late Yankees third baseman and Maris teammate Clete Boyer told me in a 1991 interview. “Every day the press hounded him, and some of it was just plain vicious. I don’t think many athletes have ever faced the kind of pressure he did.”

Maris never wanted to be a Yankee in the first place. It didn’t matter to him that they were perennial World Series participants or that the stadium in the Bronx included a short right-field porch tailor-made for his home-run swing. Fargo, N.D. has been the home base of his youth, and the introverted slugger with the Midwestern values was quite content to remain in Kansas City, playing for the A’s.

But the Yankees needed a left-handed power-hitter to add the finishing touches to what would become one of the greatest teams of all-time. So, at the end of the 1959 season they traded a busload of players including World Series perfecto pitcher Don Larsen to the Athletics in exchange for Maris. These were the days before free agency, leaving Maris with only two options: play in New York or don’t play at all.

Reluctantly, he signed with the Yankees and wound up winning the MVP award after batting .283 with 39 homers and 112 RBI in 1960.

On his way to St. Petersburg, Fla., the following spring, his car broke down and there was some concern that his wife, Pat, had suffered a miscarriage. Those fears were allayed, but the strain of the ordeal may have contributed to Maris’ slow start in ’61. In mid-May Yankees General Manager Dan Topping called him into his office. Maris was batting only .210 at the time with just four home runs and the Yankees were only two games above .500, already trailing Detroit by five games. Maris figured the Yankees were going to trade him, but that wasn’t the case. Topping told him to settle down, to swing for the fences and not worry about his average.

Relieved to learn that he wouldn’t be sent packing for the third time in four years, Maris went on a tear, clubbing seven more homers in May and 15 more in June to raise his total to 27. That put him slightly ahead of Ruth’s pace and two in front of teammate Mickey Mantle.

“Watching those two was like watching two thoroughbreds go neck-and-neck,’’ Boyer said. “Roger would hit one, then Mickey would hit two. Then Roger would hit two and Mickey would hit one. It was unbelievable. I couldn’t wait to get to the ballpark to watch those guys play their own game of home run derby.”

In the book, Roger Maris at Bat, Maris alluded to the friendly rivalry between the M&M Boys. “It was becoming pretty obvious that Mickey and I were helping each other to hit home runs . . . It was like having someone pace you as you tried to break a record.”

There was no question that Mantle’s presence in the order helped Maris. Incredibly, with Mickey batting behind him, Roger didn’t receive an intentional walk all season.

Maris and Mantle shared an apartment in Queens, and became good friends. But the rapacious New York tabloids (more than a dozen papers covered the Yankees in those days) kept writing that the two didn’t like each other.

“Nothing could have been farther from the truth,” Boyer said. “Why would they share an apartment if they didn’t like each other? I mean, come on.”

By the All-Star break in July, Maris had increased his homer total to 33, four ahead of Mantle. The questions about whether the Babe’s record was in danger increased and it became obvious who the majority of the fans were backing.

“A lot of people didn’t want to see the record broken, period, but if it was going to be broken they wanted if done by Mickey because he was Mr. Yankee and Roger was considered somewhat of an outsider,’’ Boyer said. “The guys on the team were pulling for Mickey, too. But it wasn’t that we didn’t like Roger. Heck, the guy was like a brother to me. We had just seen all the injuries that Mick had endured through the years. He had carried our team so many times. We thought he deserved it more.”

Many of the writers covering the team agreed. They thought it sacrilegious that Maris, a lifetime .270 hitter, was challenging Ruth. Their bias was reflected in their coverage.

“The deeper we got into the summer, the tougher it got for Roger,” Boyer recalled. “More and more writers were jumping on the story, and Roger grew irritated answering the same questions over and over and over. And some of these writers acted like they didn’t have a brain. I remember one guy asking Roger if he fooled around on the road. Roger looked at him in disbelief and said, ‘No.’ The guy said, ‘Well, I do.’ And Roger said, “That’s your business. I’m happily married.’ “

The heat grew more intense in late July when Commissioner Ford Frick, a close friend of the Babe’s, decreed that Maris or Mantle would have to break Ruth’s mark in 154 games, otherwise an asterisk would be placed next to his name in the record books. Most columnists thought the ruling was fair because the schedule had been expanded that season from 154 to 162 games.

Many of Ruth’s contemporaries jumped on the anti-Maris bandwagon, the most hurtful comments coming from Hall-of-Famer Rogers Hornsby, who said: “Maris couldn’t carry the Babe’s jockstrap.”

It got to the point where Maris couldn’t please anybody. If he went homerless, they would boo him, and one drunken fan in Detroit went so far as to fling a beer bottle at Roger from the third deck of Tiger Stadium, striking the Yankee rightfielder on the arm.

“Who wouldn’t start to get surly after all that stuff,” Boyer said. “You could see Roger becoming more and more tense. He was smoking three, four packs of cigarettes a day. And down the stretch, patches of hair the size of half dollars started falling out of the back of his head. It was the damndest thing.”

Which makes what he accomplished all the more remarkable.

“I feel sorry for Roger because he never really was given an opportunity to fully enjoy it,’’ Boyer said. “He wasn’t a guy who liked the limelight. I think he sometimes wished he’d never done it.”

Although his record was surpassed by Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, many of us believe that Maris remains the true single-season record-holder because those three sluggers benefitted from the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Regardless what the record books say, Maris’ feat remains remarkable and ’61 will always be one of the most special seasons in baseball history. That was the year the M&M Boys launched baseballs into the seats at an unprecedented pace and got a 6-year-old from Rome, N.Y. hooked on baseball.

***

The photo above is from my book Jewel of the Sports World: The Story of the Hickok Belt Award and shows Roger Maris with 12-year-old Ray Hickok Jr., who presented the Yankee slugger with the award, which recognized the top professional athlete of the year.

It's safe, Bills fans, to board the bandwagon again

2011-09-29T08:54:00.003-04:00

Some skeptics remain, their disbelief understandably hardened by an 11-year playoff drought and the tease of 2008 when the Bills started 4-0 and finished with nine losses in their final 12 games.

But the legions of doubters are dwindling dramatically each week as this motley crew of overachievers pile up the points and rewrite history with comebacks that defy logic.

After watching Ryan Fitzpatrick & Co. emerge from the crater they dug themselves against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots last Sunday to improve to 3-0, I left the ranks of the skeptical and climbed aboard the bandwagon.

And unlike three years ago I don’t believe I’m going to be nursing sprained ankles from having to jump off of it.

Yeah, I know what some of you are thinking. Remember ’08, remember ’08. But the comparisons with that season just aren’t valid.

That was a team coached by Dick Jauron, quarterbacked by Trent Edwards and riding the runs of Marshawn Lynch.

This is a team coached by Chan Gailey, quarterbacked by Fitzpatrick and riding the runs and receptions of Fred Jackson.

Need I say more?

When I look back at that team and that start and how I, like so many others, was duped into thinking the corner had been turned, I realize that torrid start was merely a mirage. Jauron clearly didn’t have what it took to be a successful NFL head coach. Edwards was never the same quarterback after being KO’d by the Arizona Cardinals, and Lynch lacked the intelligence, grit, versatility and consistency of Steady Freddie.

In other words, those Bills were counterfeit. These Bills are real.

Gailey is as fine a play-caller as there is in the game. But beyond that, he is a respected leader who has convinced his players to believe in him, the game plan, and most importantly, themselves.

It was nice to see the past embrace the present at last Sunday’s riveting win at the Ralph.

There was Jim Kelly, waving the big Bills flag before the game and singing the praises of Fitz afterwards.

There was Thurman Thomas interrupting Jackson’s presser to give him a big bear hug at the podium.

There was Van Miller, the retired Voice of the Bills providing some unexpected play-by-play for all to hear in the press box. When Rian Lindell’s game-winning field goal sailed through the uprights as time expired, Van the Man boomed, “Take that New England,’’ undoubtedly echoing the sentiments of all the Bills fans and players who had endured 15 straight losses to the Patriots.

Yes, it’s still very early. The Bills have many flaws and injuries, and bad bounces can change fortunes in a hurry. But I really believe the corner has been turned. I think this bandwagon is bound for the playoffs, not the junk yard.

Fasten your seat belts, and enjoy the ride.

***

Sunday’s game in Cincinnati has been called a trap game. The feeling is the Bills will be overlooking the 1-2 Bengals and instead be looking ahead to next week’s heavily anticipated matchup with the Michael Vick-led Philadelphia Eagles in Orchard Park. I really don’t think that will be the case. Yes, the Bills have enjoyed some long overdue prosperity this season, and are receiving love from near and far, but they haven’t forgotten last year’s 0-8 start. Guys like Jackson, Fitz and Chris Kelsay will help keep them grounded. Call it Buffalo 30, Cincy 13.

***

Through three games, Fitzpatrick has followed the trend of slow start, fast finish. His pass efficiency rating from the first-through-fourth-quarter reads: 75.3; 82.3; 120.7 and 131.1. His completion percentage in the final quarter is 12 percent higher than it is in the other three quarters.

***

I think it’s great that Bills cornerback Drayton Florence graces the cover of Sports Illustrated this week. There are still some who subscribe to the SI cover jinx theory. Yes, there have been a number of subjects who have experienced bad luck following their cover appearances. But the reality is that the vast majority of cover subjects experience continued success after receiving the national exposure.

***

Wicked week for Boston fans, huh? First, they watch Brady blow a 21-point lead for the first time in his magnificent career. Then, they witness their Red Sox miss the playoffs, completing the biggest collapse in baseball history.

I love what Fitzpatrick has done, but I need to see he and the Bills beat an elite team before becoming euphoric about them

2011-09-22T14:46:00.001-04:00

Euphoric, victory-starved Bills fans have begun asking, “Who needs Luck when you have Fitzmagic?”

The references, of course, are to current Buffalo quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and Andrew Luck, the Stanford University senior signal-caller who is destined to be the Heisman Trophy winner this December and the No. 1 NFL draft pick next April.

Believe me, as someone who has covered this lost decade of Bills football, I understand the fans’ giddiness. They’ve been famished for something, anything positive. And Fitzpatrick, the Harvard graduate who could easily be plying his trade on Wall Street instead of One Bills Drive, has given them reason for hope.

He and his surprising 2-0 Bills are one of the feel-good stories in the early going of this NFL season. His Brady-like numbers – 7 touchdown passes, just one interception, 40 points-per-game – have people in these parts and beyond thinking, maybe, just maybe, the quarterback roulette that’s been playing in Buffalo since Jim Kelly’s retirement 14 years ago is about to stop.

I hope that is indeed the case.

I hope the seventh-round draft pick who went to Harvard after failing to receive a single Division I scholarship offer is about to become the next Kurt Warner – a journeyman who came out of no-where to become an NFL star.

But I still need to see more from Fitz before I start clamoring for a cereal to be named for him.

Fitz, an eminently likeable chap, has guided the Bills to wins in six of his last 10 starts. But he has yet to produce a signature victory against an upper echelon team.

That opportunity presents itself Sunday when unbeaten Buffalo (man, I haven’t written that in awhile) faces the New England Bradys, er, Patriots at the soldout and sure to be rockin’ Ralph.

Tom Brady amazingly has taken his Hall of Fame game to an even higher level with close to 1,000 passing yards through two games. He is completing a mind-boggling 71 percent of his passes.

Of course, we are used to seeing such magnificence from the quarterback with the three Super Bowl rings.

Brady has helped the Pats dominate the Bills, who have lost 15 straight in the series.

The wizards of odds in Vegas have installed New England as touchdown favorites.
Interestingly, as good as the Brady Bunch has been, this is not a team without its flaws. The quarterback’s heavenly play has masked some serious defensive deficiencies. You can definitely throw and run and score on the Pats.

Fitz’s performances against New England last season were a mixed bag. In his first start against them, he was 20-of-28 for 247 yards, two scores and two picks in a 38-30 loss. When he met the Pats again later in the season, he struggled mightily – throwing three picks while compiling a paltry 37.1 quarterback rating in a 34-3 loss.

Credit Bill Belichick, who has a reputation for confusing even the brightest of quarterbacks, for making significant adjustments the second time around.

The best way for the Bills to win will be to control the clock, win the time-of-possession battle, keep Brady off the field. Engaging in a shootout might be entertaining for awhile, but Brady very well could wind up with 600 passing yards against a Bills “D” that still isn’t getting enough pressure on quarterbacks and was burned badly when its defensive backs didn’t compete strongly enough for balls in the air.

Fitz and the Bills have been impressive so far. They bludgeoned a bad football team in the opener the way good football teams are supposed to. And they kept their cool and made a stirring comeback against the Raiders.

New England, though, will be a much sterner test. Should Fitz & Co. pull off an upset, we’ll see giddiness in Bills Nation the likes of which we haven’t seen since Doug Flutie was performing his magic act a decade ago.

Opining on Bills riveting comeback and Syracuse's move to the ACC

2011-09-19T08:54:00.003-04:00

There have been many positive developments during the first two games of the season for the Bills, but the one I'm most impressed with is the play of the offensive line.

Consider this: Buffalo's much-maligned line has yielded just one sack in 71 passing attempts and has helped Fred Jackson and Co. rush for 380 yards.

The combo of center Eric Wood, guards Andy Levitre, Kraig Urbik and Chad Rinehart and tackles Demetrius Bell and Erik Pears didn't back down against Oakland's physical front seven, even after falling behind 21-3 in the first half. Buffalo's front line gave Ryan Fitzpatrick time to stage one of the most thrilling comebacks I've witnessed in more than four decades of following the Bills and opened the door for them to rush for 217 yards.

***

It's foolhardy, but fun nonetheless to project stats. With that in mind, Fitz is on pace to throw 56 touchdown passes and Action Jackson is on pace to rush for 1,832 yards. Again, you can't expect those things to happen in a physical sport where attrition is high, but it is fun to play with the numbers.

***

Tight end Scott Chandler continues to make a big difference. He only had two catches for 10 yards and a score vs. the Raiders, but the numbers don't measure the impact he's having even when he isn't targeted. The winning touchdown pass from Fitz to David Nelson was the direct result of Oakland paying extra attention to Chandler in the red zone, which is understandable, considering Chandler had beaten the Raiders for a touchdown earlier and had scored twice in the opener against Kansas City.

Nelson was so open on his six-yard game-winning reception over the middle that he was afraid he might drop the ball. The 6-foot-7 Chandler clearly played a role in causing the blown coverage.

***

It was too bad that Ralph Wilson had to miss his first home opener in his 52 years as Bills owner. The soon-to-be 93-year-old missed one of the most riveting comebacks in franchise history because he was home in Detroit recuperating from a broken hip. Classy move on the part of Chan Gailey and the team to award a game ball to Ralph.

***

Nothing, of course, will ever top the comeback from 32 points in the 1993 playoff game against Houston at the stadium then known as Rich. But yesterday's ending was among the best I've ever seen. And what made the game even more thrilling was the way the Raiders kept responding. There were five lead changes in the second half. Extremely entertaining.

***

I think the big negative from yesterday's game was the Bills pass defense. Despite missing his top four receivers because of injuries, Jason Campbell was able to throw for 323 yards. Buffalo didn't get much pressure on him and the defensive backs lost too many battles for jump balls. The Bills need to shore that up in a hurry or Tom Brady might put 600 yards up on them this Sunday.

***

I understand why Syracuse had to take the preemptive move and join the Atlantic Coast Conference, but I still don't like the seismic shift going on in the big-money world of big-time college sports.

I'll always have a soft spot for the Big East Conference. SU basketball and the Carrier Dome benefited greatly from its formation and, likewise, the conference benefited greatly from Syracuse's presence.

The ACC membership makes geographic sense, particularly if West Virginia and either UConn or Rutgers are added to the mix. They'll be able to form a northern division that includes Boston College, Syracuse, Pitt, Maryland, West Virginia, Connecticut and possibly, Rutgers.

It certainly will be fun watching Duke and North Carolina make basketball visits to the Dome and Syracuse play regular games on Tobacco Road.

It's pretty obvious where this avaricious world of big-time sports is headed: Four super conferences (Pac 16, Big Ten, ACC and SEC).

As this unfolds, I would like to see hypocritical university presidents refrain from telling us that this is all about aligning their schools with colleges that share similar academic goals. That might be partially true, but the main reason you're doing this is for money.

***

(For more on yesterday's Bills game, please go to www.rochesterhomepage.net and check out my column and interview with Channel 8's John Kucko from the Ralph.)

Opinions on Bills season-ticket sale decline, Syracuse vs. USC and Sabres great promotion

2011-09-15T10:22:00.003-04:00

No one should be surprised that Bills season ticket sales have dropped dramatically – from 55,000 two seasons ago to 37,000 this season.

Clearly, the economy is a huge factor – Western New York has been harder hit than most areas of the country. And the Buffalo Sabres – rejuvenated by new owner Terry Pegula and the possibility of a Stanley Cup march – also have taken some business away.

But the biggest reason for the decline has been the cumulative effects of a decade of mediocrity by the Bills. You can’t go 11 seasons without a playoff berth and have just one winning record in that span and expect people to keep coming back for more misery.

The good news is that the Bills could still have a strong season at the gate this year. The keister-whipping performance in the opener at Kansas City last Sunday has fans stoked again. This week’s home opener vs. Oakland is a sell-out and next week’s home game against AFC East kingpin New England is close to being one.

A victory against the Raiders will get Bills fans and ticket-buyers even more fired up. It’s conceivable Buffalo could be 3-1 after the game against the Bengals in Cincy. And that certainly will ensure more sellouts.

Bills CEO Russ Brandon, though, is going to have his work cut out for him in December. The NFL schedule-makers didn’t do the marketing whiz any favors by saddling Buffalo with three home games in a month that traditionally is a difficult sell for fans strapped for cash because of the holiday season.

Of course, if the Bills were still in the playoff hunt in December Brandon’s job would be a lot easier.

***
I think the Raiders are going to be a much more formidable opponent than the confused Chiefs were. Buffalo is going to face a more serious challenge attempting to bottle-up running back Darren McFadden, and the Bills are going to need to establish the run and control the ball the way they did in Kansas City.

Two things are working in Buffalo’s favor. The Raiders played on Monday night, meaning they have less time to heal and prepare for the Bills. And teams going coast-to-coast are historically at a distinct disadvantage, a trend borne out by the fact Oakland is just 2-7 in East coast games the past three years.

***
Speaking of going coast-to-coast, Syracuse is a 17-point underdog on the road this Saturday night against the University of Southern California. And that might be a conservative spread. I think we could be seeing a lot of connections between NFL-bound quarterback Matt Barkley and NFL-bound wide receiver Robert Woods.

If you are looking for silver linings, the Orange men were 5-1 on the road last season, and won in Morgantown, W.V., one of the tougher places to visit because of the fans’ hostility.

SU hasn’t won a game on the West Coast since crushing Heisman Trophy-winner Gary Beban and UCLA, 32-14. Larry Csonka ran rough-shod over the Bruins that day.

***
What a great idea having Pegula and his star players serve as couriers and deliver season-tickets to Sabres fans yesterday. Other NHL teams have done this in the past. I wish all sports owners and their teams would follow suit.

Ruminating on Bills win, baseball's foolish decision and Syracuse football

2011-09-13T09:40:00.004-04:00

The more I see and hear from Fred Jackson the more I’m impressed. Following the Bills annihilation of the Chiefs in Kansas City Sunday in which the veteran running back rushed for more than 100 yards, he lent some perspective. “It was just one game,’’ he said. “We didn’t win the Super Bowl.”

Given the abyss the Bills have been in for more than a decade, it’s understandable to become giddy and maybe overreact a bit when things go well. I do believe they are a much improved football team from a year ago, and I can see them beating Oakland at home this week and Cincinnati in two weeks (after losing to the New England Bradys in Week III.)

Hey, 3-1 would be a great start. But even if that happens, Buffalo isn’t going to the playoffs this year. I think most rational fans understand that. But a 7-9 or 8-8 record isn’t out of the realm of possibility, and that would be a significant improvement from last year and an indication that the Chan Gailey/Ryan Fitzpatrick/Buddy Nix trio has the ship headed in the right direction.

The big thing I would like to see is for the Bills to remain relevant until late in the season for a change.

***

(By the way, you can read my Bills blog and watch my television interview with Thad Brown about the opening-game victory at www.rochesterhomepage.net. Once on the website, just click on the icon bearing my ugly mug and it should take you to the column and interview. Like last year, I’ll be doing blogs and interviews with sportscasters/friends John Kucko, Cory Hepola and Thad after each Bills game. Please check it out on the web or catch us on the Sunday 10 o’clock news on WUHF-TV 31 or the 11 o’clock news on WROC-TV 8.)

***

Watching Brady torch the Miami Dolphins for 517 yards and four touchdowns last night was a sobering reminder that the Patriots domination of Buffalo probably will continue.

***

Major League Baseball just doesn’t get it. The New York Mets players wanted to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11 Sunday night by wearing hats representing first responders (NYPD, NYFD) during the game, but the commissioner’s office threatened heavy fines.

You’ve got to be freaking kidding me. For one night, you couldn’t put away your stodgy rules to allow a New York City team to pay a fitting tribute to the men and women who sacrificed their lives that tragic day.

Unbelieveable.

Oh well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised given who’s running the show.

***

Congratulations to Ryan Callahan for being named captain of the New York Rangers. He and fellow Rochesterian Brian Gionta (Montreal Canadiens) will be wearing the traditional “C” on their hockey jerseys this season. That speaks legions about them as individuals, but also reflects positively on the type of hockey players our proud burg produces. Bravo.

***

Syracuse football is off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 1999. The Orange men have looked shaky, but would you rather be 2-0 against two relatively weak opponents or have suffered two heart-breaking losses to strong teams, a la Notre Dame?

SU is a long ways away from being a football power and is looking at a huge challenge Saturday night in the L.A. Coliseum against a USC offense that has the potential of putting up 40-to-50 points on a defense that puts scant pressure on the quarterback.

And the following week back at the Carrier Dome doesn’t figure to be a cakewalk either. Toldeo comes to town and before you snicker, realize this: Toledo almost beat Ohio State last week.

I still like the direction that Doug Marrone has the program headed, but Syracuse remains very much a work in progress.

***

I was absolutely mesmerized watching yesterday’s U.S. Open men’s tennis championships between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. You talk about two incredible athletes. The shots they were hitting at times defied logic.

***

Don’t look now, but the Tampa Bay Rays are only three games behind Boston for the Wild Card berth. And the Rays have several games remaining with the Red Sox and the Yankees. We might have a pennant – or at least a Wild Card - race after all.

My search for sports meaning in the aftermath of 9/11

2011-09-11T12:02:00.005-04:00

In the days and weeks following that horrific September day 10 years ago, I spent a lot of time soul-searching.

I began questioning whether I should continue to devote my life to writing about sports. The atrocities of 9/11 had made the games people play seem so insignificant, so irrelevant. I felt it might be time to do something more meaningful.

I remember bumping into David Hunke, the kind-hearted publisher of my former newspaper, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, in the cafeteria a few days after the terrorist attacks changed our world forever. A kind-hearted man who actually cared about his newsroom, Hunke could see that I was stressed and asked me to come up to his office and chat. I told him I was having a difficult time writing about such inane matters as who should start at left tackle for the Buffalo Bills in the aftermath of 9/11.

I said that I didn’t believe sports mattered to me anymore. Hunke said he understood completely, telling me that he and many others were involved in similar introspection, wondering if what they were doing was relevant. He advised me to give it a little time before making the decision to bag a career that I had devoted my heart and soul to since I was a teenager.

Over the next several weeks, I continued to struggle. I sought out human-interest stories that had always been my niche in hopes they would help me get back on track.

I wrote a column about former Rochester Red Wings player and current Rochester firefighter named Rey Palacios, who grew up in Brooklyn not far from the World Trade Center and who knew several of the first-responders killed that fateful day. I wrote about Bills-offensive-lineman-turned-commercial-airlines-pilot Jim Ritcher, who wanted to return to the cockpit as quickly as he could to show the terrorists they hadn’t won. And I spoke to fans at the first Bills home game following 9/11 to gage the meaning of sports in time of tragedy.

Ultimately, though, it took an 11-year-old boy, a baseball team in pinstripes and a wounded but resilient city of millions to convince me that sports could be relevant, even in the worst of times.

That 11-year-old – now a 21-year-old – was my son, Christopher, who convinced me over the protestations of his mother to take him to Game Three of the 2011 World Series at Yankee Stadium, a scant 10 miles north of the ruins of Ground Zero.

Below, I’ve reprinted the column I wrote off that experience that appeared on Nov. 1, 2001.

It was a trip we’ll obviously never forget.

One that convinced me that sports could have a powerful galvinizing impact, and that somehow, some way we’d all get back on our feet after the atrocities of one of the worst days in American history.

A NIGHT AT THE SERIES WON'T BE FORGOTTEN

NEW YORK - My son Christopher greeted the purchase of two World Series tickets with a gleeful leap that would have made Derek Jeter proud.

My wife wasn't nearly as gung-ho.

With the warning that a new wave of terrorist attacks might occur at any time, she was deeply concerned, as I was, that Tuesday's World Series game at packed Yankee Stadium before a national television audience would be a prime target.

It was only after Christopher, a sometimes wise-beyond-his-years 11-year-old, convinced us not to give into fear that she reluctantly agreed to let us go.

As we drove from Rochester to the south Bronx on Tuesday, I felt many emotions. A part of me was euphoric because I realized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience - one of those unforgettable moments between a father and a son. I wanted so much for it to be like one of those MasterCard commercials: priceless.

But a part of me also was a tad apprehensive. Was I doing the right thing? Or was I jeopardizing the welfare of my child and myself?

The longer I drove, the better I felt. I knew that with President Bush throwing out the ceremonial first pitch, and with security at the stadium and above it beefed up, the old ballpark at the corner of 161st and River Avenue might just be the safest place in America.

Crossing the George Washington Bridge from New Jersey into New York, I pointed to the Empire State Building in midtown, then to the tip of Manhattan where the Twin Towers once stood. Christopher's eyes were transfixed. After parking in the Yankee Stadium garage, we took the No. 4 train to Wall Street, just blocks from Ground Zero.

The subway cars were stuffed with workers and students, and that was good to see, because it told Christopher and me that, despite the atrocities of Sept. 11, New Yorkers were forging on as best they could.

Emerging from the subway tunnel, we were greeted by an indescribable odor and a dusty haze that seared our nostrils and made our eyes watery and red. The area within four blocks of the crumpled skyscrapers was cordoned off, but we could hear the roar of cranes, dump trucks and bulldozers.

After walking the streets for about 30 minutes, we boarded the No. 4 uptown to Yankee Stadium. I doubt either of us will ever forget that pungent odor.

The atmosphere at the Stadium was slightly more subdued than for previous World Series I had attended. There seemed to be as many cops as fans, but that was OK with me.

I bought my son a sweatshirt and a program, and we tailgated at our car, before walking through metal detectors and heading for our seats near the top row of the upper deck on the first-base side.

The game was tightly contested and quite entertaining. To my son's delight, Roger Clemens pitched brilliantly and the slumping Scott Brosius delivered a clutch hit to lead the Yankees to a 2-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

But those won't be the lasting memories.

Years from now, I'll remember seeing the president throw out the first pitch to thundering chants of "U.S.A. ! U.S.A. !"

Years from now, I'll remember joining 56,000 others in the singing of God Bless America during the seventh inning stretch. My eyes welled as Yankee Stadium became the world's biggest choir. The tears were not caused by the frigid wind.

Driving across the GW Bridge on the way home, I stole a glance at the Empire State Building, which had been lighted in Yankees blue, and at my son, who was asleep in the back seat. I thanked God for keeping us safe and for giving us the opportunity to share this special time.

I recalled a sign I had seen at the Stadium. It read: THE USA WILL NOT GIVE INTO FEAR - PLAY BALL!

It sounded like something my occasionally wise-beyond-his-years son would have told me.

We of little faith bailed out on SU's comeback

2011-09-02T11:39:00.003-04:00

When we were students at Syracuse University in the 1970s, my good friend, Ed Shaw, and I would dutifully attend every SU home football game at the antiquated concrete monstrosity known as Archbold Stadium.

We fancied ourselves as diehard fans (though others viewed us as somewhat deranged and masochistic) because we would sit, kickoff to final gun, through the losses that usually transpired, often in raw, inclement weather.

There was one game in particular during our senior year when we and about 10,000 other fools sat through a chilly, game-long, torrential downpour. Fortunately, our loyalty/stupidity was rewarded when Dave Jacobs somehow managed to kick a field goal in the quagmire for a 3-0 victory against “football powerhouse” Tulane. We thought for sure that ugly, muddy game was destined to end in a scoreless tie.

Ed and I often boasted about our dedication to a floundering football program that was making the painful transition from Ben Schwartzwalder to Frank Maloney and from old Archie to the Carrier Dome. Heck, we joked, anybody can follow Penn State or Ohio State or USC. But it takes real character to keep coming back for more punishment when your team is wallowing in mediocrity. It got to the point where Ed and I would razz fellow students for leaving games early or not showing up at all. "Hey, where’s your school spirit?" we’d ask.

During the autumns that have ensued, my former college roommate and I have continued this tradition of reuniting for at least one SU home football game per season. It just so happened that our schedules were open for last night’s 2011 season-opener against Wake Forest in the Dome.

The reason I bring all of this up is that we were among the 15,000 to 20,000 fans who gave up on the Orange men a quarter and an overtime too soon.

Yes, the same guys who endured so much bad football and crappy Syracuse weather through the years wound up being momentarily un-true to their school. We bolted with SU trailing by 15 late in the third, the lure of some more tailgating and two mighty fine cigars obviously stronger than our belief that Doug Marrone’s charges would somehow muster a comeback.

As we smoked our stogies – a stinky, bonding ritual we childishly partake of once or twice a year – we stood near my car listening to the play-by-play of the game blasting from the radio. As Matt Park described the cardiac ‘Cuse comeback that was unfolding, we were half tempted to snuff out our cigars and hike back up the Hill to see if we could re-enter the sauna-like Dome for the dramatic finish.

But we didn’t want to risk altering the good karma, so we stayed put and listened excitedly as the Orange men put the finishing touches on a 36-29 overtime victory against Wake Forest.

Not long after the victory, we watched hundreds of loud, orange-clad students fill the streets near M Street, the campus hotbed. The SU marching band soon joined in the festivities, playing the fight song. Cars were honking horns. The school spirit was nice to see.

We made sure we told people passing by that we were smoking victory cigars, a la legendary Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach, in honor of the SU win.

We conveniently, however, forgot to mention that we bailed out on one of the great comebacks in recent SU history.

Some signs of life from the Bills offense

2011-08-28T09:54:00.003-04:00

Nearly three decades of covering the NFL have taught me not to read too much into preseason performances. That said, I was encouraged by several things I witnessed from my press box perch at the Ralph last night during the Bills 35-32 overtime victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Game Three of the preseason is usually the most telling because that’s the game you usually play your starters the longest, and the contest in which you might even do some game-planning.

Chan Gailey had his first-teamers in there for an entire half and the offense, in particular, looked very sharp. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was at the top of his game, completing 11-of-12 passes for 165 yards and two scores – an 11-yarder to Marcus Easley and a 52-yard bomb to Stevie Johnson.

The pass to Easley was one of those trademark Fitz gunslinger passes, where he took a chance and zipped it in there against tight coverage. Easley made a nice grab.

The TD hook-up with Johnson was the result of Fitz recognizing one-on-one coverage before the snap and banking on Johnson beating his man. Fitz’s arm strength and accuracy aren’t his strong suits, but he lofted a perfect ball to Johnson on the fly pattern and No. 13 hauled it in for six.

Easley, playing in place of the injured Donald Jones, seized his opportunity by catching five passes for 51 yards. The second-year player from Connecticut who spent all of last season on injured reserve has emerged as the likely candidate to be the No. 2 receiver in the Bills offense.

Another positive development from the game was the overall performance of the offensive line. This much-maligned, always-in-flux unit did a decent job of protecting Fitz and opening holes for Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller. Gailey opened with Andy Levitre at left guard and Demetreus Bell at left tackle, though Levitre did see some time later at left tackle. Both appeared to perform well, so maybe there will be some stability there after all.

Again, I try not to get too excited about preseason contests because everything is pretty vanilla and Jacksonville was without its primary weapon, running back Maurice Jones-Drew. Still, there were some positives to be taken from this game as the Bills prep for their season opener two weeks from today in Kansas City.

***

I think it's a travesty that NFL teams that play in taxpayer-funded stadiums are allowed to black-out games. And when they don't show home exhibition games they take the absurdity to a new level. I wish some politician with some guts would take the NFL to task about this, but the league and its army of corporate attorneys and Washington lobbyists apparently are too powerful a foe. Once again, the fans (who just so happen to be taxpayers and consumers) get shafted. Ridiculous.

'A Talk in the Park' is a wonderful read

2011-08-19T11:00:00.004-04:00

Late President Gerald Ford once told a reporter, “I watch a lot of baseball games on the radio.”

Now, that might sound like a malapropism of Yogi Berra-proportions, but I knew exactly what the President meant because I, too, have “watched” a lot of baseball games on the radio through the years.

The really good baseball announcers – the likes of Ernie Harwell, Mel Allen, Red Barber, Vin Scully, Curt Gowdy, Jon Miller and Bob Costas, just to name a few – have always painted exquisite word pictures that have brought the game to life for me and millions of other listeners.

The really good ones also have had the ability to make us laugh – occasionally unintentionally, with malapropisms that would make Berra and Ford (the Prez, not Whitey) approve.

In his marvelous new book, A Talk in the Park: Nine Decades of Baseball Tales from the Broadcast Booth, friend and former presidential speech writer Curt Smith has gathered scores of great stories and perspectives from baseball announcers past and present.

Here’s a sampling:

• “I was honored (to make it to Cooperstown as an announcer), but I think I should have gone in as a player. After all, anyone with ability can make the majors. To trick people year in and year out is, I think, a much greater feat. I only wish the forty-four Hall of Famers there that day agreed. A lot of them were my teammates, but won’t admit it. – Bob Uecker

• “One day the camera spotted a teenage girl. Phil (Rizzuto) said: “She reminds me of that old song, ‘A Pretty Girl is Like a Memory.’ I said, “Scooter, I think that’s Melody.” Phil: “Really? How do you know her name is Melody?” ” Bill White

• “Baseball can be wonderful, but a little parochial. Early in 2009, a Mariners backup catcher read that there was a big deal being made about an important person due to visit Seattle. The catcher said to no one in particular: ‘Hey, who’s this Dailai Lama chick?’ ” – Dave Sims

• “Phil Rizzuto and I are doing the Yankees, we’re in a rain delay, and somebody calls us: Name the all-time Yankee team. We can’t choose between Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra at catcher. First base, Lou Gehrig, best guy there in baseball history. Second, Joe Gordon; Till he made Cooperstown in 2009, I’d bitch to the Hall each year. Shortstop, the Scooter. Third base, Red Rolfe. Outfield, we put Mantle in left, Joe D. in center and Roger Maris in right. Great team. We’re feeling good till the phones light up. “Hey fellas, did you forget somebody? Where the hell is Babe Ruth?” Oops. A time like that you want to curl up in a fetal position and find yourself a closet.” – Jerry Coleman

There are hundreds of more anecdotes like those in A Talk in the Park. I highly recommend the book, which is now available in stores and on the web. And, if you’d like an autographed copy, you can get one at Frontier Field before Saturday night’s Red Wings game, where Curt will be doing a signing.

Jeter proving his critics wrong. Plus some thoughts on the Bills O-Line and Scoop Jardine

2011-08-17T08:41:00.002-04:00

I admit it.

I was one of the skeptics who thought Derek Jeter was done back in June when he was hitting dribblers seemingly every other at-bat.

Well, as Tom Brokaw said after the networks kept wrongly calling the winner of the 2000 presidential race, I don’t just have egg all over my face; I have the entire omelet.

Since his return from the DL two months ago, Jeets is batting .326 and has a major-league leading 13 multiple-hit games in that span. The surge by the 37-year-old shortstop has boosted his average 25 points to .285.

I know it can’t go on forever, so I’m savoring these moments of seeing Derek Jeter playing as he did in his prime.

***

Bills fans better hope this benching, rotation or whatever you want to call it of right guard Andy Levitre is just a message being sent by Coach Chan Gailey and not a permanent thing. As of today’s practice, Buffalo’s offensive line is Eric Woods at center, Chad Rinehart and Kraig Urbik at guards and Demetrius Bell and Erik Pears at tackles.

Not exactly the Great Wall of China.

I was concerned about the O-line heading into the season. This shuffle just 25 days before the regular-season opener hasn’t done anything to boost my confidence in who will protect Ryan Fitzpatrick and open holes for Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller.

***

Guard Scoop Jardine has been playing lights out for Team USA this off-season. If that trend continues this winter, Syracuse University will wind up justifying those lofty, high pre-season basketball rankings.

***

Yesterday marked the anniversary of the day drummer Pete Best was given his walking papers by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, opening the door for Ringo Starr to join the Beatles.

***

Here’s wishing a belated Happy Birthday to one of my early sports editors, Phil Spartano, who recently turned 91 years young. Phil was one of my early mentors and was instrumental in my development as a sportswriter.

And all the best to my long-time friend and former newspaper colleague Vic Carucci on his new gig – a nightly radio show devoted entirely to the Cleveland Browns. Vic was a superb football writer at the Buffalo News and for NFL.com. Browns fans are fortunate to be able to listen to his expertise each evening on the ESPN radio affiliate in Cleveland.

Putting the Maybin draft bust into historical perspective

2011-08-16T10:57:00.002-04:00

So Aaron Maybin now joins the scrapheap of Bills first-round busts, a crowded, lamentable junk yard littered with the likes of Mike Williams, Walt Patulski, Al Cowlings, Perry Tuttle, J.P. Losman, Erik Flowers and John McCargo.

Taken 11th overall two years ago – the personal pick of ex-Bills head coach Dick Jauron – Maybin finishes his Buffalo career with zero sacks and zero starts in 27 games. The only surprising thing about the news of his release is that it didn’t happen sooner. Say like last season.

As far as his place in Bills lore, you can make a strong case for him being the biggest draft day bust in franchise history. Not only couldn’t he start for a 4-12 team that opened last season with eight consecutive losses, he couldn’t even dress for five of the games despite being healthy. The aforementioned draft day blunders at least started for a few seasons before being jettisoned.

When I saw Maybin for the first time at the Rochester Press-Radio Club’s Children’s Charities Dinner three years ago, I couldn’t get over how slender he was. That night Maybin actually dozed off for a minute or two at the head table. Little did we know that would be the only sack time we would witness from him.

It wasn’t that Maybin didn’t try. The Penn State linebacker appeared to work hard. He just didn’t have the size or the talent necessary to make it in the NFL, which is why several in the Bills front office argued vehemently against drafting him but were overruled by Jauron.

So another page is turned on why the Bills have gone 11 seasons without a playoff appearance.

Consistently poor draft picks, especially in the first few rounds, have been the biggest reason for this prolonged wallow in mediocrity.

***
Interestingly, despite the whiff on Maybin, the 2009 draft still might be judged as one of the better ones in recent Bills history if center Eric Wood, Jairus Byrd and guard Andy Levitre continue being productive players for several more years.

***
The apathy shown by the sports world to Minnesota Twins slugger Jim Thome reaching the 600 home run milestone is a reflection of just how much damage the steroid era did to our appreciation of the game’s history and record books. It’s too bad, because Thome, unlike Bonds/Sosa/McGwire, has never been accused of using the stuff. Sadly, everybody’s reputation is impugned by this mess thanks to Bud Selig and Donald Fehr, who as baseball’s commissioner and union chief, respectively, did great impersonations of ostriches.

Some finals words on the departed Lee Evans, the dramatic drop in scoring in baseball and cool names

2011-08-15T10:15:00.004-04:00

Lee Evans’ numbers (37 receptions, 578 yards, 4 touchdowns) may have been down significantly last fall from his average the previous six seasons (57, 892, 6.5). But he was still a dynamic part of the Bills offense and had a big impact on the success Stevie Johnson enjoyed during his breakout year.

It’s going to be interesting to see how Johnson responds now that he’s the top dog and Lee’s not around to take the pressure off him.

The NFL record books are filled with receivers who were one-hit wonders.

I’m not saying that Stevie is going to fall into that category, but it’s a whole different ballgame when you are the marked man.

***

Evans is one of the classiest guys I’ve dealt with in my 27 years covering the Bills. Win or lose, he was there to face the music – a real honest, stand-up guy. So, I’m not surprised he would issue a statement thanking the fans and the organization for his experiences in Buffalo. The guy always takes the high road.

It was his misfortune to be with the Bills during the longest stretch of futility in franchise history. That he put up the numbers he did despite the constant flux of quarterbacks, head coaches, coordinators, teammates and offensive schemes speaks volumes. I believe fans will come to appreciate his Bills career more down the road.

***

I recently wrote a column for Bills Digest saying that I believed Lee will have a bounce-back season this year, and I’m sticking to that prediction. Sadly, it will be with the Baltimore Ravens and not the Bills, who got fleeced by only getting a fourth-round draft pick in exchange for Evans.

***

It was only preseason and they were going against a sieve-like offensive line that is sure to keep Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler running for his life all year, but I was impressed with the quickness and moves displayed by both rookie defensive lineman Marcell Dareus and veteran linebacker Shawne Merriman. If those two play anywhere close to expectations this season, the Bills defense no longer will be a pushover.

***

Scoring in baseball is at a 19-year low and I couldn’t be happier. The testing for performance-enhancing drugs and perhaps, more importantly, the negative reaction to the fraudulent slugging of the past two decades by fans and sportswriters apparently has helped the game regain its bearings somewhat.

***

Each year, MiLB.com (Minor League Baseball’s website) holds a best name contest. Among my favorites in this year’s competition: Shooter Hunt, Forrest Snow, Zelous Wheeler and Deik Scram. But the best name, in my opinion, is Seth Schwindenhammer. He’s a 6-foot-2, 205-pound, left-handed hitting outfielder for the Lowell (Mass.) Spinners of the New York-Penn League. Through 48 games, Schwindenhammer has been struggling somewhat to live up to his slugger’s name, batting just .215, but he does have 9 dingers and 28 RBI.

***

In a blog from a few weeks ago, I speculated that Queen Elizabeth probably would light the Olympic cauldron in Wemblay Stadium next summer. But, as my bride and resident Anglophile correctly pointed out, heads of state are in viewing boxes during the Opening Ceremonies. They’ve never ignited the flame. Lady Beth also astutely noticed that the queen never goes anywhere or does anything without clinging to her purse. So, it would be kind of humorous to see her up there, torch in one hand, royal pocket book in the other, trying to get that blasted flame lit.

I would still like to see Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the two surviving members of the Beatles, receive the honor. A more likely, and certainly deserving candidate, is Roger Bannister, the first man to break the four-minute barrier in the mile.

Opining on the NFL going to LA, Lee Evans trade rumors and the great Mariano Rivera

2011-08-10T12:40:00.003-04:00

I know it doesn’t do any good to fret about things you can’t control, but I feel a little queasy each time I hear a report about Los Angeles taking steps to get another NFL franchise.

Yesterday’s news that the L.A. City Council has backed a private investor’s plan for a new downtown stadium made me wonder again about the precarious, long-term future of the Bills in Buffalo.

The NFL, of course, wants in the worst way to get at least one and possibly two teams back in the nation’s second-largest city and television market.

Oh, well. Nothing we can do about it, except enjoy the NFL while we have it in western New York.

***

The rumors are flying hot and heavy that teams are interested in trading for Bills wide receiver Lee Evans, the Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals being the most aggressive suitors.

I know I’m in the minority, but I believe Evans, who just turned 30, is going to have a bounce-back season after declining numbers and an ankle injury that cost him three games in 2010.

I know Stevie Johnson has emerged as Ryan Fitzpatrick’s favorite target, but I believe Evans received too little credit for Stevie’s breakout campaign that saw him catch 81 passes and score 11 touchdowns. Not only did Evans take coverage away from Johnson, he also served as an astute mentor and coach.

Now, I’m not totally opposed to dealing Evans, giving the potential of this young Bills receiving corps and the fact Buffalo isn’t going to the playoffs any time soon. I just hope Buffalo gets a good return on its investment – at least a third-round draft pick.

Regardless what happens, I wouldn’t be surprised if Evans puts up some big numbers this fall while Stevie’s numbers drop off a bit, especially if Lee winds up playing alongside Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona.

***

Yes, he's blown two straight saves and will turn 42 in November, but it’s way, way too early to panic about Mariano Rivera. He has failed to preserve the lead in two consecutive games, giving him five failures in 46 appearances. He isn't as dominating as he once was, but he's still pretty darn good, as his 29 saves and 2.23 earned run average attests. I believe this is just a temporary blip for the man who is just 12 saves shy of becoming only the second reliever to record 600 in a career.

***

I’m happy to see that the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is considering inducting Yao Ming as a contributor next year. The 7-foot-4 center sparked a hoops revolution in his native China. While covering the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, I witnessed just how crazed the Chinese are about basketball. And much of that is due to Ming’s success there and in the NBA. As I wrote back then, "Yao’s become more popular than Mao." And that's not hyperbole.

***

Congratulations to Leigh Ann Carlson (Brattain) for scoring the first hole-in-one of her golfing career. Leigh Ann, who many of you will remember as an anchor for R-News (now YNN), merely is continuing a family tradition. The Cleveland resident's parents have six holes-in-one between them.

***

By the way, the only holes-in-one I've scored have been at miniature golf courses.

Opining about the Bills, Yankees, Tiger's ex-caddie and SU football

2011-08-08T09:09:00.004-04:00

Some sporting thoughts as I pop the Ibuprofen after subjecting my fiftysomething, occasionally uncooperative bones and muscles to four 19th century base ball games in the span of 26 hours:

• As part of the celebration of Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday, the Jamestown Jammers donned uniforms bearing pictures of Lucy and Desi Arnez last Thursday night. Good thing the Jammers won that New York-Penn League baseball contest for their native daughter or there would have been a lot of “’splaining to do.” The Jammers scored six runs in the victory against the Tri-City ValleyCats. I wonder if the Jamestown players shouted, “Ricky, I’m home” as they crossed home plate on their way to the dugout.

• Here’s Bills coach Chan Gailey assessment of 2009 first-round draft pick Aaron Maybin: “Aaron tries hard every time he walks on the field. The key for him is being productive on the field. He has to become a consistent player against the run and a consistent pass-rusher. He has a lot of work to do. He’s not there yet. So we will see how he continues to develop.”

Interpretation: Barring a miracle transformation, the much-bally-hooed linebacker from Penn State with the zero-sack total and a paltry 26 tackles in 27 NFL games won’t be a Bill this season. That means Maybin will go down in Bills lore as arguably the worst draft pick in franchise history, surpassing Mike Williams, Perry Tuttle and Walt Patulski for that dubious distinction.

I feel badly for Maybin because he does, as Gailey says, appear to work hard. I just think it’s a case where he doesn’t have the talent to play linebacker at this level.

• Speaking of Gailey, he is one of the most honest, up-front NFL coaches I’ve ever dealt with. Unlike so many of his paranoid peers, he usually tells it like it is.

• So which athletic diva do you find most annoying? A-Rod or Brett Favre?

• There are bad matchups in sports, and for the 2011 Yankees the worst matchup just happens to be against their cursed AL East rival. Boston is 11-2 in the series this season, meaning the only way the Bronx Bombers will get to the World Series is by having someone upset the Red Sox in the first round of the playoffs.

• I’m going to go out on a limb here early and predict a bounce-back season for classy Bills wideout Lee Evans. I just think teams are going to be paying a lot more attention to Stevie Johnson this fall, creating more single-coverage opportunities for Lee. Although his numbers dropped off significantly last year and he just turned 30, Evans remains a dynamic deep threat. I think he still has some good seasons left and I’m glad Buffalo didn’t deal him.

• Another Bill I’m expecting a lot more from this season is C.J. Spiller. Gailey is a very creative offensive mind. I believe he is going to find a lot more ways to get the second-year running back in space.

• It was good seeing Darryl Talley at St. John Fisher, and I hope the former Bills linebacking legend does pursue coaching because he has a great feel for the game and for people. He was a coach on the field during the Bills Super Bowl run, and played a huge role in helping Bruce Smith learn the pro game and realize his Hall-of-Fame potential.

• Syracuse University’s hopes of contending for a Big East football title in Doug Marrone’s third season as his alma mater’s head coach suffered a serious blow last week when promising wide receiver Marcus Sales was arrested for drug possession. It’s sad to see young people squander golden opportunities. Sales was finally beginning to live up to his potential during the second half of last season and had a monster game in the Pinstripe Bowl with 5 receptions for 172 yards and 3 touchdowns.

• There are few fraternities in sports more close-knit and caring than the hockey fraternity. This was underscored again yesterday when local NHLers Brian Gionta and Ryan Callahan came back to play in the Craig Charron memorial charity hockey game at the ESL Center.

• I wish someone would stuff a Big Bertha into caddie Steve Williams’ big mouth. The blow-hard continues to over-value his role in helping golfers win tournaments.

Listening to Williams you'd think Tiger Woods wouldn't have won a single major without him lugging his clubs. If I'm not mistaken, Williams didn’t pinch-swing for Tiger during that remarkable run and he did become a multi-millionaire working for Woods.

Williams’ fairway-sized ego continued to be out-of-control Sunday after he caddied for Adam Scott, who won the World Golf Championship in Akron, Ohio. Williams took another shot at Tiger when he called this the “greatest week of caddying” he’s ever experienced.

Hmmm, bigger than those 13 majors? Yeah, right, Steve.

Just.

Shut.

Up.

Please.

Our pastime without TV, megadeals and egos

2011-08-05T08:37:00.003-04:00

If you want to see base ball played for the sheer love of the game, may I suggest a trip to the Genesee Country Village & Museum this weekend in Mumford to watch the National Silver Ball Tournament. It’s the ninth time we local 19th century base ballists have staged the three-day event, which will feature vintage teams from the Northeast, Midwest and Canada.

We wear funny uniforms and don’t use gloves (yes, I know that sounds crazy; see more below). And some of our rules might be foreign to the 21st century baseball fan. But I think you’ll get a kick out of it, and I guarantee you, you’ll see players giving it their all.

There are a few games this afternoon around 4, and tomorrow there will be matches from 9 in the morning till 5 in the afternoon at the only 19th century ballpark in the country.

As a primer, I offer below, an essay I wrote in my previous life as a newspaper scribe. Hope to see you this weekend – and if you go, be sure to say “hi” to this hurler from the Flower City Base Ball Club.

***

When I told one of my son's Little League baseball teammates that I play in a 19th century league where they don't use gloves, he looked at me as if I had three eyes. He wondered if I also played football without a helmet and drove my car blind-folded.

"You mean you catch the ball with your bare hands?" he asked. "Geez, that must hurt like hell."

At times, it does.

Jammed and broken fingers occasionally are the price we pay to transport ourselves and visitors to the Genesee Country Village & Museum back in time. But any vintage baseballist worth his salt will tell you that the price is right. We are having too good a time to be stopped by minor inconveniences such as bruised hands or bloody knees.

In many respects, we are like those folks who reenact Civil War skirmishes. We enjoy interpreting history. We believe the past helps us understand the present and the future.

Plus, we are hams. The thespian and the little kid in us often comes out during these matches. The diamond is our stage and our playpen. This is one of those places where men will be boys.

There are some obvious differences between us and our Civil War brethren. For starters, we interpret the 1800s on a ballfield rather than a battlefield. We wield double-knobbed, bottle-shaped bats rather than rifles with bayonets. And the ball, while capable of hurting you, isn't nearly as hard as a bullet or a modern-day hardball. It is made of a leather cover wrapped around yarn and an India rubber core. (For that, we are thankful.)

We all go by nicknames. Yours truly is "Scribe," after what I do for a living. We have a University of Rochester med student known as "Doc," a quick-footed leprechaun of an outfielder known as "Irish," a wily hurler we call "Perfessor," and a long-ball stroking first baseman known as "Country Mile."

In character, we often resort to language that sounds foreign to the 21st century fan. When we want a teammate to hustle, we implore that he show a little ginger. Our bats are willows, our ball an apple, pill, horsehide or onion. The catcher is a behind, infielders are basetenders, and outfielders scouts. A daisy cutter is a well-hit grounder, while a dew drop is a slow pitch. Batters are strikers and fans are cranks.

The rules sound foreign, too. Pitches are delivered underhand with a locked elbow - slow-pitch softball style without the arc. A striker can ask the umpire to tell the hurler exactly where to place the pitch. Foul balls don't count as strikes, but if you catch one on the first bounce, the striker is out. The one-bounce rule also is in effect for fair balls.

Hitters are required to bat flat-footed. There is no striding into the ball, meaning your power must be generated by your arms and torso. (Our game is a chiropractor's dream.)

The umpire has final say in all matters, though on occasion he'll seek the help of the fans or the tallykeeper.

Matches are truly social events. There are pre-game parades through the village, featuring military bands and horse-drawn wagons. Players court single women at the park (that hasn't changed) and reporters (that has). Positive publicity occasionally can be garnered by bribing a base ball scribe with a bottle of his favorite whiskey. (Sportswriters clearly had lower standards in those days.)

Playing surfaces are rocky and uneven. True hops are the exception rather than the rule, even at lush, green Silver Base Ball Park, the only 19th century replica diamond in the United States.

Our uniforms are somewhat odd looking. We wear wool-blend long-sleeve jerseys with bow ties and caps that remind you of a railroad conductor. Metal spikes aren't allowed. Neither are Nike swooshes or adidas stripes.

The emphasis is on hitting 'em where they ain't rather than over the fence. Sorry, Mr. Bonds, but home runs are looked down upon. Singles hitters are the rage in vintage base ball, particularly those who can direct the ball to the opposite field. There is no stealing or leading off, and bunting is frowned upon, though some attempt to cloud the issue with what is known as a slow hit.

The game we interpret stresses sportsmanship and gentlemanly behavior. Players blurting profanity are usually hit with a fine by the umpire.

We interpret a purely amateur game. We are a century removed from the era of whiny millionaires. When we say we play for the love of the game, our words are as solid as one of our northern white ash willows.

Although I've competed in the 19th century game for three years, I'm still learning that I have to unlearn so many 20th and 21st century rules. This is not your father's game. Or your grandfather's game, for that matter.

But it is a lot of fun. An opportunity to take ourselves and others back, back, back in time.

For additional information, go to gcv.org

P.S. That photo is of the Excelsiors team that won the Silver Ball championship seven years ago. The Excelsiors are now the Flower City BBC.

A thank you for your condolences, plus musings on Hideki Irabu, the Buffalo Bills and which Brit should light the Olympic cauldron

2011-07-29T10:37:00.005-04:00

Let me start by saying how much your words of concern and encouragement meant to me and my family following the death of my brother last week. The anecdotes from several people about Wayne’s acts of kindness were quite uplifting. We are grateful to all of you and thankful that my brother no longer is suffering.

***
I was saddened by the news of the apparent suicide of former Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu. Though the man billed as the Nolan Ryan of Japanese baseball never lived up to the enormous hype or $12.8-million contract he received, he did provide me and many other Rochesterians with the most exciting night of baseball we’ve ever witnessed at Frontier Field.

On June 30, 1997, Irabumania swept through town as the foreign import made one of his final minor-league starts before joining the Yankees. It was an absolutely electric evening as 13,485 fans and 150 reporters (including 60 from Japan) stuffed the ballpark. The Red Wings weren’t gracious hosts, scoring four runs off Irabu in five innings. The much ballyhooed pitcher did, however, wow the spectators with his 95 mph fastballs and left with a two-run lead that the Columbus Clippers couldn’t sustain. The Wings' come-from-behind win wound up being the catalyst for their Governors’ Cup championship run.

While Irabu would go on to have some success – he was solid during the Yankees 1998 World Series-winning season – he never lived up to his advanced billing, finishing with a 34-35 won-lost record and a 5.15 earned run average over six seasons with three different clubs. Sadly, he will be best remembered for incurring the wrath of George Steinbrenner, who bombastically labeled him “a fat toad” after he failed to cover first one night.

Although Irabu didn’t fulfill expectations, I’ll always be grateful to him for providing me and thousands of other Rochesterians with an indelible memory.

***
The Bills could have used Paul Posluszny, but it would have been foolish for them to have tried to match the six-year deal he received from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Poz was a decent, but not great player for Buffalo. He never became the game-changer many thought he would become when he was drafted out of Penn State. He clearly was not the second-coming of Shane Conlan.

***
Speaking of Nittany Lions, I can’t believe that 2009 first-round draft bust Aaron Maybin is long for the Bills roster. Two seasons have taught us that he flat-out can not play at this level. It’s time to move on.

***
I’m wondering who will be the first one to mistakenly call Bills free agent quarterback Tyler Thigpen Tyler “Pigpen” on the air.

***
With the Summer Olympics in London just a year away, speculation has begun about who will light the cauldron during the Opening Ceremonies. I’m sure it will be Queen Elizabeth, but I think it would be cool, instead, to see Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr share the honors. Many Brits have been clamoring for William and Kate. One member of the British empire who WON’T be lighting it: Rupert Murdoch.

Musings on the heat, Abbymania, Johnny Antonelli, Marcell Dareus's summer job and other topics

2011-07-22T10:41:00.006-04:00

Any time I’m tempted to complain about this heat wave I just look at the snow shovel in my garage or the ice scraper in my car trunk and I’m reminded that it won’t be long before I’m bitching about how I’ve lost feeling in my fingers, toes and cheeks while clearing winter's white stuff from my walk and driveway.

***
Yesterday’s 98-degree day reminded me of my time covering the Olympics in Athens, Greece back in 2004. It was above 90 and humid every day for three weeks straight. I’ll never forget how, on the final day of competition, the poor marathoners had to run a course that was mostly uphill with the mercury topping out at 104. I was dying just walking the streets of Athens that day. I can’t imagine what it must have been like running in that oven.

***
I’ve been interviewing former major-league All-Star Johnny Antonelli for an autobiography I’m writing with him, and he mentioned a time in the 1950s when he pitched a complete game in Cincinnati when it was 110 degrees. In those days, you weren’t encouraged to pump the fluids and Johnny became severely dehydrated. It was so bad that they wrapped him in cold towels and he still couldn’t get his temperature down. “My eyes were about two inches back into my head and I thought I was going to die,’’ he said. “We had a flight to Pittsburgh after the game and I didn’t feel like myself again until the next day. It was scary.”

***
Speaking of Antonelli, the recent wave of Abbymania surrounding Rochester-born soccer star Abby Wambach reminds me a lot of the Johnnymania surrounding Antonelli back in the day. Antonelli was a big hometown hero who signed a "bonus-baby" contract with the Boston Braves two days after graduating from Jefferson High School in 1948 for the then-princely sum of $53,000.

Johnny’s career took off in 1954, when he was the top pitcher in major-league baseball while playing for the New York Giants. Following a season that saw him win 21 games and pitch the Giants to a World Series sweep of the Cleveland Indians, Antonelli returned home to a hero’s welcome, reminiscent of the one Abby just received. There was a parade along with an assembly at Jefferson during the day, and an evening banquet at the Seneca Hotel, attended by more than 1,000 people.

The dinner featured all of Rochester's movers-and-shakers, including Frank Gannett, the founder of the newspaper empire. In addition to the key to the city, Johnny was given a brand-new car. Both the Democrat & Chronicle and Times-Union devoted several pages to coverage of the event. It was a big, big celebration, befitting a young man who had become a national sports figure.
***
By the way, Antonelli’s autobiography will be published by RIT Press next April. They also published my book about the prestigious Hickok Belt Award last fall. Great people to work with. They do high-quality work.

***
I’m not surprised that the magicJack has named Wambach as player-coach for the rest of the season. The way Abby carried herself throughout the World Cup and inspired her teammates had me thinking that coaching would be in her future. I definitely can see her coaching the U.S. national team some day.

***
Wambach, who has mastered the art of scoring goals with her noggin, gives new meaning to the term "head coach."

***
I think it’s cool that Bills top draft pick, Marcell Dareus, has spent the lockout working in the landscaping business of the family that looked after him and his siblings a few years ago when his mom became ill. There’s nothing like mowing and weed-whacking to keep one grounded.

***
I'm pleased to see that this tentative collective bargaining agreement addresses the needs of NFL players from the distant past who have fallen upon hard times. For too long, the league and the players association have not taken care of these pioneers who helped make the NFL into a $9 billion dollar industry, and that’s deplorable.

***
Every sports fan should, at least once in his or her life, experience induction weekend at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. There are tons of activities planned tomorrow and Sunday at the cradle of the sport’s soul, including, of course, the enshrinement of new members Bert Blyleven, Robbie Alomar and Pat Gillick Sunday afternoon.

Saturday’s events include a 2 p.m. talk and signing by Rochester author and friend, Curt Smith, in the Hall’s Bullpen Theater. Curt’s latest book is: A Talk in the Park: Nine Decades of Tales from the Broadcast Booth.

***
Loved the line from Paul McCartney during his concert at Yankee Stadium last weekend: "Who is this Derek Jeter? I heard he has more hits than me."

Bills fans hope their team takes a huge plummet in these standings

2011-07-19T13:03:00.004-04:00

Bills fans can take heart. It could be worse. They could be fans of the Washington Nationals or Detroit Lions or Chicago Cubs. According to On Numbers, a group that measures fan loyalty and lunacy, those franchises rank as the three most difficult teams to root for in all of sports.

That’s not to say Bills followers have it easy. Buffalo’s football franchise ranks 10th on the list that includes the 122 professional sports teams in North America (MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL.) The Bills “earned” their spot based largely on the past 11 seasons, which have seen them post just one winning record and zero playoff appearances. The fact Buffalo has never won a Super Bowl also factors into the equation.

I guess if you pledge your allegiance to one of these underachieving clubs you could wear this like a badge of honor. You could argue that anyone can root for a perennial winner, but that it takes true character to pull for a team stuck eye-deep in mediocrity season after painful season. So a case can be made that fans of these clubs are vastly more loyal than say the fans of the Los Angeles Lakers, New England Patriots, San Antonio Spurs, Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Yankees, who can be found at the bottom of the rankings.

Either that, or they are masochists or in a serious state of denial.

By the way, the Sabres can be found near the middle of the pack at 59th. Of course, Buffalo’s hockey fans have had many more reasons in the past decade to feel happier than their football brethren. And that chasm likely has widened in the past several months, thanks to the arrival of deep-pocketed new Sabres owner Terry Pegula.

***

Speaking of fans whose patience has been severely tested but now see signs of hope, how about those Pittsburgh Pirates? The Bucs haven’t experienced a winning season since 1992 – the longest drought in the history of North American sports. But today – and, no, folks, this is not a misprint – they find themselves in first place in the National League Central. Keep playing like that and they will be relinquishing their No. 7 spot when On Numbers produces its next list a year from now.

***
Fifteen years ago tonight I was in Atlanta’s Olympic stadium (now the Braves ballpark) watching Muhammad Ali stun the world by lighting the cauldron. There had been heavy speculation that famous Georgians Jimmy Carter or Hank Aaron would ignite the big flame. But the Olympic organizers did a masterful job keeping the identity of the cauldron lighter a secret. I remember the 80,000-seat stadium trembling with applause when Ali was shown on the big screen. It truly was an indelible moment.

Cano gives his dad - and all dads - a special gift

2011-07-12T08:12:00.005-04:00

I’m sure I wasn’t the only dad feeling a little misty-eyed watching Jose Cano pitch to his son, Robinson, in the MLB Home Run Derby last night. I couldn’t help but think back to simpler times in my life, grabbing a bucket of balls and tossing batting practice to my son, Christopher, for hours on empty diamonds. Those were incredible bonding moments that I’ll always treasure.

So, yes, I was pulling hard for Robbie “Don’t Ya Know” Cano to win it all, which he did with a remarkable 12 homers in the final round to edge Adrian Gonzalez. My exhortations had nothing to do with the fact I’m a long-time Yankee fan, and everything to do with the fact I’m a fan of dedicated dads, like Jose Cano. This was a special moment for baseball and for any parent who has spent time bonding in an activity with his or her kids.

There clearly have been other good sporting moments in recent days – moments that have taken our minds off the avaricious lunacy of lockouts and reminded us of why we follow these silly games in the first place.

That header goal in the waning seconds of overtime by Rochester’s own Abby Wambach vs. Brazil in the Women’s World Cup Sunday was every bit as dramatic as a game-winning shot in the NBA Finals or a walk-off World Series homer. As I discovered while covering her during the United States’ march to Olympic soccer gold in Athens in 2004, Abby is one of those rare athletes who has a flair for the dramatic. And it’s also become obvious that literally and figuratively, her head is always in the game.

And while we’re on the subject of cerebral and clutch athletes, how about Derek Jeter, who entered the 3,000 Hit Club Saturday afternoon with a home run and a five-for-five batting line, which included the game-winning hit?

Perhaps the cherry on the topping of this historic day was the decision by fan Christian Lopez not to keep the milestone ball Jeter drilled into the left-field stands. Lopez could have pocketed more than $200,000 had he put the spheroid up for auction, but instead graciously turned it over to the Yankees icon. I know many people will say he was crazy, but I believe he did the right thing.

***

Jeter has been a model athlete with a rare knack for doing the appropriate thing on and off the diamond. But I disagree with his decision to beg out of tonight’s All-Star game. There were reports that he was emotionally drained from his pursuit of 3,000. And I can understand that. But it would have been good for baseball had he shown up tonight and was introduced with the rest of the stars. He wouldn’t even have had to play an inning. Just soak up the adulation and savor a special moment in the twilight of your career.

***

PERSONAL MATTERS: Congratulations to my niece-in-law, Laura O’Brien, and her new hubby, Donnie Smith, who were married Friday in Buffalo. Yes, there is a sports connection here. Donnie played briefly for the Rochester Americans several years ago, but was forced to cut short his professional hockey career because of concussions . . . Here’s wishing a speedy recovery to my fellow Bills (Radio) Brother John DiTullio, who is recuperating after having his appendix removed Friday . . . And, lastly, please keep my friend and former newspaper colleague, Allen Wilson, in your thoughts and prayers. Many of you might remember Allen from his days covering sports for the Democrat and Chronicle and Times-Union before he left to write sports for the Buffalo News. He’s a good, kind-hearted man. Get well, my friend.

Remembering the legendary John Mackey and his remarkable wife, Sylvia

2011-07-07T12:51:00.006-04:00

I was saddened to hear about the passing of John Mackey today at age 69. I had the opportunity to interview the former Syracuse University and Baltimore Colts legendary tight end on several occasions through the years, and always found him to be thoughtful and jovial. He had a great sense of humor and was especially helpful when I was writing features about Ernie Davis, his former SU teammate and friend who went on to win the Heisman Trophy in 1961.

Sadly, I could not interview John for the last story I wrote about him for Central New York Sports Magazine this spring. By that time, the man who revolutionized the tight end position was deep in the throes of frontal temporal dimentia and could not speak. But his heroic wife, Sylvia, spoke for him and for other old-time football players who found themselves in dire straits as a result of the concussive effects of their football careers. She is a courageous woman, and my heart goes out to her and her children on this sad day.

The magazine piece about John and Sylvia is reprinted below. I hope it gives you some insight into John's impact on the game and Sylvia's remarkable devotion to him.

THE PRICE

The passes he catches in the spacious room at Baltimore’s Keswick Memory Care Center might not be the precise spirals John Mackey was accustomed to receiving from the legendary Johnny Unitas back in the day. But that doesn’t matter. And it also doesn’t matter that the man who began redefining the tight end position while playing for Syracuse University in the early 1960s needs a walker to get around and plays catch while seated in a chair.

The footballs flung by his wife, Sylvia, still elicit the same coast-to-coast smile and the same reflexive response they did when Mackey was running routes for the Orangemen and the Baltimore Colts. His eyes grow as big as silver dollars and his bear-paw hands pluck the ball out of the air with ease. And after making each reception, he instinctively wraps the long fingers of his right hand around the laces and passes the ball back to his college sweetheart and bride of 47 years.

“He still enjoys grabbing those footballs,’’ Sylvia says. “It’s one of the few things he hasn’t forgotten how to do.”

A simple game of catch is able to jog what’s left of his memory and connect him to a past largely erased by Frontal Temporal Dementia, a hideous and progressive mind-robbing disease. The 69-year-old Mackey no longer talks, no longer can feed himself, no longer remembers the name of the guy wearing the No. 88 Colts jersey in the huge photograph hanging in his room.

Like many of his contemporaries who helped build the National Football League into a multi-billion dollar enterprise and America’s most popular pastime, Mackey paid a huge price for his glory. Though the league doesn’t acknowledge a correlation between football’s concussive collisions and early onset dementia, it finally recognized four years ago the moral obligation to take care of these brain-damaged men and their families, many of whom were on the verge of bankruptcy. Thanks to the tireless efforts of courageous women such as Sylvia Mackey, the 88 Plan – in honor of John’s jersey number – was instituted, providing players with post-career dementia up to $88,000 per year for institutional care.

“I told John he has become the poster child for a solution to this problem,’’ Sylvia says. “His greatness on the football field is always going to be his biggest legacy. But this is No. 2.”
***
Sylvia Cole met John Mackey the first day she arrived on the SU campus during the summer of 1959. She was immediately smitten, but Mackey played hard-to-get. He only had time for football and classes for the better part of a semester.

“He didn’t ask me out on a date until after the season ended, and even then, it was more like I had to ask him out,’’ she recalls, chuckling. “He actually was going to stand me up on our first date, but Ernie Davis intervened. He told Ernie that he was thinking of not going out with me because he didn’t have anything to wear, didn’t have any money and didn’t have a car. Ernie told him, ‘You can’t do that.’ So Ernie gave him something to wear, a five-dollar bill and the keys to his car, and pushed him out the door.”

The couple saw a movie – Where the Boys Are, starring Connie Stevens – and went to a club afterward.

“We had a wonderful time,’’ she says. “John was so much fun, very outgoing. And, man, how he loved to sing and dance.”

Despite being a mountainous man at 6-foot-2 and a rock-hard 250 pounds, John was so light on his feet that Sylvia and her friends dubbed him “Twinkle Toes Mackey.”

There were dance parties where overflow crowds would pack the Mount Olympus dormitory dining hall to listen to the band, Felix and the Escorts, who would go on to become national recording artists under a new name – The Young Rascals.

“At the end of their gig, they would ask John to come up on stage and perform a solo,” Sylvia says. “My girlfriends and I would swoon because John had such a soulful voice.”

Mackey’s strength, speed and nimbleness would enable him to hit high notes of a different kind on autumn afternoons. In the early 1960s, tight ends were used more like third offensive tackles, their primary assignment calling for them to open holes for running backs. But on those rare occasions when SU coach Ben Schwartzwalder did send Mackey out for a pass, the big guy delivered like no receiver ever had in the run-oriented history of the program. In a 51-8 thumping of Colgate during his junior season in 1961, Mackey hauled in a halfback option pass from Davis, that year’s Heisman Trophy winner, and sprinted 74 yards for a touchdown. The following season against George Washington University, Mackey touched the football 10 times, going deep for 161 yards. Thanks in part to Mackey’s punishing blocks and occasional long-distance catches, the Orangemen went 20-10 and won the Liberty Bowl in his three varsity seasons.

Though his career stats – 27 receptions, 481 yards, six touchdowns – seem modest by today’s standards, NFL scouts envisioned a gifted athlete used in ways a tight end hadn’t been before. The Colts already had a dangerous wide receiver tandem in Raymond Berry and Jimmy Orr. But they believed Mackey would give Unitas a potent third target. So they chose the Orangeman in the second round of 1963 draft.

They would not regret their selection. Mackey averaged 20.7 yards per catch and scored seven touchdowns during his rookie season, earning an invitation to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii. By his fourth season, he had revolutionized the position, catching 50 passes and scoring nine touchdowns – including six of 50 yards or longer. He would finish his 10-year NFL career with a 15.8-yards-per-catch average. That’s a full yard better than wide receiver Jerry Rice, widely regarded as the best receiver in football history.

Mackey also helped the Colts win Super Bowl V with a 75-yard touchdown reception. His achievements earned him induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992 and paved the way for athletic tight ends to follow in his footsteps.

Off the field, Mackey also helped revolutionize the game by negotiating free agency during his four-year term as president of the NFL Players’ Association – a position for which he was groomed by former Buffalo Bills quarterback and western New York Congressman, Jack Kemp.

After retiring following the 1972 season with the San Diego Chargers, the personable Mackey ran a number of successful businesses. Sylvia, meanwhile, pursued a modeling and acting career that saw her walk fashion show runways in Paris and Rome and film numerous television commercials. The couple wound up having three children – John Jr., Laura and Lisa.

"We truly were living a dream life,’’ Sylvia says.

But in the years following his induction into the hall, Mackey’s behavior began to grow increasingly bizarre. He started forgetting the names of close relatives, including his sister. He grew easily agitated. His paranoia made him suspicious of others and highly protective of his possessions.

“He had this man purse that he wouldn’t let anyone touch,’’ Sylvia recalls. “I remember we were at Bobby Mitchell’s golf tournament and they wanted to take a picture of all the guys and they asked John to put the purse down for the photograph and he refused. One of the wives said, ‘Here, John, I’ll hold it for you.’ And he gave her this look like ‘Don’t you dare touch this, or I’ll kill you.’ We were never invited back to that tournament.”

As his mind became more muddled, people began taking advantage of him and he lost his businesses and his life savings, prompting Sylvia to seek employment as a flight attendant at age 57.

“We needed the money and the health insurance and I figured if I went back to work that would shame him into seeking employment, too,’’ she says. “But he just continued to sit around and hang out with his friends at this bar where they sang karaoke. One night, he badgered me into going to the tavern and watch him perform. When he finished singing, he came back to our table and told me that he was going to take the act on the road. Now, my husband had a good voice, but his voice wasn’t that good. I didn’t know what was wrong with John. I just knew this wasn’t the man I had fallen in love with.”

Mackey’s reaction to the tragedy of 9/11 proved to be the final straw. “He just sat there all day, looking at the TV,’’ Sylvia recalls. “When he asked me ‘Did the terrorists do that on purpose?’ I knew I had to get him to a doctor.”

The dementia diagnosis by a neurologist at the UCLA Medical Center was both painful and a relief.

“We finally had an explanation for the odd behavior and I realized it was something John had no control over,’’ she says. “I now had something I could begin reading up on and carry the ball from there.”

Sylvia decided it would be in John’s best interest to move from San Diego back to the more familiar surroundings of Baltimore, a place where he was still revered and where people would be able to help her look out for him. For several years, John was still sharp enough to attend football games and card shows. The Ravens honored him and several other former Baltimore Colts at halftime of one of their games a few years ago, and when Mackey received his commemorative football, he sprinted from midfield to the goal line, eliciting a lusty roar from the crowd. During the 2007 season, he returned to the Carrier Dome to have his SU football jersey retired. After his No. 88 was raised to the rafters, he headed to the sidelines, where he exchanged high-fives with hundreds of fans leaning over the railing.

“Those were great, great moments for him,’’ Sylvia says. “I’m glad he got a chance to enjoy them when he did.”

Slowly, his dementia worsened. One time the couple was going to fly to St. Louis for a card show, but John refused to remove his Super Bowl and Hall of Fame rings upon reaching the metal detectors at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Thinking the security guards were trying to steal his prized baubles, Mackey bolted through the checkpoint. It took four guards to bring him down. “I’m just so thankful they didn’t shoot him because they had no idea about his mental condition,’’ she says. “They easily could have mistaken him for being a bomb-toting terrorist.”

A few years ago, Sylvia made the difficult decision to place John into Keswick, a 24/7 facility.

She continues to be an advocate for her husband and the more than 100 former NFL players and their wives who are participating in the 88 Plan program. The dramatic upgrade in their benefits is a direct result of an impassioned, three-page letter she wrote to then-NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue five years ago. In it, she told him that he had been a very good commissioner, but there was one more great act he needed to perform before leaving office – and that was to take care of the pioneers like John. Tagliabue and his successor, Roger Goodell, have followed through on Sylvia’s request.

In the past year alone, she has testified before Congress and has spoken at nine seminars sponsored by the NFL and the Atlanta-based Morehouse School of Medicine.

“I don’t know where she finds the time or the energy to do everything she does,’’ says Morehouse program director Sharon Rachel. “She truly is a remarkable woman and has done an incredible job looking out not only for John but for so many other football players and their families who are dealing with these tragic circumstances.”

Sylvia’s work with United Airlines keeps her on call for 19 days a month. Every day she is home, she spends much of her time at Keswick, helping feed John, taking him for walks, poring over scrapbooks and photo albums, and, of course, playing catch.

She may not deliver a Johnny U. spiral. But that doesn’t matter. Sylvia Mackey enjoys playing quarterback because her passes elicit smiles and connect her husband to a storied past that’s largely been erased from his mind. A simple game of catch makes a painful present and an uncertain future a little easier to handle.

Ruminating on Bills uniforms, Boeheim's fantasy camp and Detective Columbo

2011-06-25T09:58:00.005-04:00

I'm old school when it comes to the Buffalo Bills uniforms. I've long advocated a return to the 1960s uni's with the royal blue jerseys and the classic red, grazing buffalo on the white helmet.

But I must admit, at first glance, I like the new Bills threads, even with the return of the charging buffalo. There is a retro feel, especially with the return to the white helmets, and the color scheme of the jerseys and pants.

They're a marked improvement over the uniform changes Tom Donahoe instituted back in 2002. Maybe the Bills can hold a ceremony where they burn a jersey from that era. It would be a symbolic gesture to divorce themselves from the worst stretch in franchise history.

***

Kudos to CEO Russ Brandon and the Bills front office for having members of the military model the uniforms last night at the Ralph. Classy move.

***

The announcement that the Jets will not be staging their training camp at Cortland State this summer doesn't bode well for the Bills coming back to St. John Fisher late next month. The lockout is forcing NFL teams to stage their camps at home, and I fear that the Bills will be making a similar announcement if a new labor agreement isn't ironed out by the Fourth of July.

***

Jim Boeheim has come up with another creative way to raise money for his charitable foundation. This August, he's staging a three-day fantasy camp for adults 35-and-older in which participants will get to play with and be coached by SU basketball legends, including Pearl Washington, Roosevelt Bouie, Billy Owens and John Wallace. The price is steep ($5,500 per camper), but it sounds like a cool experience for those who really, really bleed orange. Thirty of the 35 openings have been filled. For more information, you can check out Boeheim's website.

Now, to make the camp even more realistic, I think Coach Jim should have a sportswriter on hand to grill the campers after practices and games. For the right price, I would be happy to play the role.

***

Looking forward to seeing the inaugural class of the Section V Baseball Hall of Fame honored before tomorrow's Red Wings game at Frontier Field. It's a very impressive group of inductees, featuring a number of Rochester-area ballplayers who went on to enjoy big-league success.

Among them are George "Twinkle Toes" Selkirk, who had the uneviable task of playing right field for the Yankees immediately after they got rid of a guy by the name of Babe Ruth. Selkirk wound up having a nice major-league career, but the bleacher creatures in the Bronx were brutal toward him.

Another one of tomorrow's honorees will be Johnny Antonelli, the former Jefferson High ace pitcher who won 125 games in the majors and was a five-time All-Star and a World Series champion. He's also one of the nicest and most humble men you'll ever meet.

Johnny and I have sat down for several interview sessions. We're collaborating on his autobiography, which will be published by RIT Press next spring. He has some fabulous stories of playing for the New York Giants in the 1950s, when the Big Apple featured three big-league clubs and was the capital of baseball.

***

It's a marvelous day for western New York hockey fans, now that the Buffalo Sabres and Rochester Americans have reconciled after a three-year separation. I think it's great that Sabres owner Terry Pegula purchased the Amerks, but let's also give credit to the man he bought the team from - Curt Styres. Styres inherited a minor-league hockey franchise heavily in debt, and lost millions of dollars attempting to revive it. Without his efforts, the team very well might have left town.

***

Ah, just one more thing. I was saddenned to hear of Peter Falk's death yesterday. His portrayal of Lt. Columbo, the dis-jointed, cigar-chomping detective in the rumpled trench coat was one of my all-time favorite television characters.

Falk earned his master's degree from Syracuse University in 1953 and applied to work for the CIA, but was rejected. The CIA's loss was our gain, as Falk embarked on a successful acting career that saw him earn two Oscar nominations before his immensely popular 1970s tv series.

Falk lost his eye to cancer at age 3 and early in his acting career a producer told him he would never make it because of his glass eye. Fortunately, Falk didn't listen to that negative nabob.

Falk reveled in telling the story of disputing an umpire's call during a Little League Baseball game as an 11-year-old. At one point, Falk became so infuriated that he actually removed his glass eye and said to the arbiter, "Here, maybe you can use this."

Clarence Clemons taught me about the Joy of Sax

2011-06-20T09:29:00.006-04:00

I had the pleasure of seeing Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform four times in the past 30 years and one of the highlights of each concert was watching The Big Man – Clarence Clemons – wail away on his saxophone.

Springsteen has a lyric from his classic song Thunder Road that says, “I’ve got this guitar and I’ve learned how to make it talk.” Well, Clemons, a gentle giant of a man at 6-foot-4, 270 pounds, made his sax talk, too, and, by doing so, took the band to another level.

Now, this primarily is a sports blog, so I’m going to give you the sports connection with Clemons. The Big Man went to Maryland State College on football and music scholarships, and was good enough on the gridiron to earn tryouts with the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns as a defensive lineman. Bad knees conspired against him ever making an NFL roster, but football’s loss was music’s gain.

Those balky knees forced Clemons to concentrate on the sax rather than sacks.

And, as a result, Springsteen and rock ‘n roll were forever changed.

***

Happy Birthday to Henry Louis Gehrig. The luckiest man on the face of the earth would have turned 108 today.

***

Kind of apropos isn’t it that Rory McIlroy hails from a Northern Ireland town called Hollywood because the story of a 22-year-old from a humble working-class family winning the U.S. Open golf championship in record-setting fashion has all the makings of story that one day could make it to the silver screen.

***

I’m one of those people who definitely believe that interleague play has run its course, but I must admit it was kind of cool seeing the Yankees play the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

***

And speaking of Wrigley, it’s one of the few sports venues that I haven’t crossed off my bucket list. Beth and I both love the city of Chicago, so I think I can convince her to make a trip to the Second City and sit in the bleachers – as long as I lather on the sunscreen and keep my shirt on.

***

Thanks to Amy and Chris for making their dad feel special yesterday.

Remembering a Dad's Love

2011-06-19T10:16:00.008-04:00

I lost my dad 41 years ago when I was 15.

With each passing year, my appreciation for his love and sacrifice grows deeper.

Here's a tribute to him that I penned a few years ago.

I hope you enjoy it and make sure to give your pops a hug on this day even if he is gone from this realm and is only with you in spirit.

***

He grew up during the Great Depression and dropped out of school in the eighth grade.

It wasn't something he wanted to do, but rather something he had to do. See, his father had just died, and, as the oldest in the family, it became his responsibility to put food on the table for his mother and his younger siblings.

So, he found work at a local service station and became an auto mechanic. The hours were long, the work was backbreaking and the money wasn't great. But he never complained about his lot in life. He just did what he had to do.

Not long after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, he was drafted into the Army, and fought in the European Theater.

Like many from the Greatest Generation, he rarely talked about the war. But there was a Saturday morning years later when he told his barber about how traumatized he was when he and his fellow soldiers stumbled upon a Nazi concentration camp and saw scores of dead bodies strewn about. There were tears in his eyes as he recounted the moment. You wondered how many years he had suppressed those horrible memories.

He wound up falling in love with a British woman while stationed in England. The two were married, and headed to this side of the Atlantic in those pre-airliner days aboard the Queen Mary.

They wound up having three boys, and they did their best to raise them right and teach them about the importance of hard work and the limitless possibilities of the American dream. They were flawed parents and they raised flawed kids, but their hearts were in the right place.

He wasn't much of a sports fan, but his youngest son was, so even though money was tight, the father somehow always found a way to scrape together enough nickels and dimes to buy his boy that new football or baseball glove.

He knew how much his youngest loved the Yankees, and one mid-September day he suggested to the 11-year-old that they take a Sunday drive to The House That Ruth Built.

Four hours later, they were walking into Yankee Stadium, and the greenness and vastness of the ballpark proved overwhelming. As the boy watched Mickey Mantle launch batting practice pitches into the upper deck, he couldn't help but feel as if he had died and gone to heaven. In his mind, Disney had nothing on this place.

During the next four summers, the father and son would make pilgrimages to the big ballpark in the South Bronx. And although the dad never really understood his son's fascination with the game, he loved seeing the joy it brought him.

One of their most memorable trips occurred in August of 1970 when they attended an Oldtimers' Day in which former manager Casey Stengel's jersey was retired.
As they drove north up the Major Deegan Expressway toward the Tappan Zee Bridge and the New York State Thruway, the boy gazed out the window and day-dreamed about their next father-son excursion to Yankee Stadium.

But, sadly, there would be no more shared journeys after this one because five months later the father's heart beat a final time at age 58.

Eight years would pass before the youngest son mustered enough gumption to attend another game there.

On July 4, 1998 more than three decades after the boy's first visit to the stadium he would take his daughter and son to the famous ballpark.

They didn't appear to be as enthralled as he had been, but that didn't bother him in the least. For this trip was as much about him connecting with his dad as it was about them falling in love with the place he fell in love with back in the summer of '66.

Each time he returns to the soon-to-be extinct stadium, he feels his dad's presence. He wishes his pops had lived long enough for him to repay the favor and take him out to the ballgame.

But he's thankful for the memories they did share. And on this Father's Day, he'll be sure to reflect on the many sacrifices Andrew Pitoniak made for him, and tell his late dad how much he loves him.

For the Love of the Game

2011-06-17T12:42:00.004-04:00

May I offer two baseball events this weekend that prove there is Joy in Mudville.

The first will be held tomorrow morning at 8 at Frontier Field. The brainchild of Brendan O’Riordan and Tony Wells, it is called the Challenger Baseball World Series and will feature close to 300 kids, ages 6-18, from the Rochester area and beyond.

Each of these kids faces physical, mental and/or emotional challenges, but you’d never know it while watching them experience the thrill of wearing uniforms and playing ball. I’ve been a volunteer for most of the 19 years it’s been staged, first at old Silver Stadium and now at Frontier. And each time I come away feeling as if I’ve received much more than I’ve given.

The event is free and open to the public, and will run until about 11:30. So please stop by and cheer on these young ballplayers. They’ll make you feel like a million dollars.

***
The second event in which you’ll observe the unbridled joy of sports is the Silver Base Ball Park League, which begins its 11th season at Genesee Country Village & Museum in Mumford, about 25 minutes southwest of Rochester, Sunday at noon.

We have a doubleheader involving our four teams and we’ll be playing games according to 1865 rules. We don’t wear gloves (yes, I know that sounds crazy) but we do wear funny-looking uniforms like the Flower City uni you see me wearing in the photo on this page. It’s a heck of a lot of fun, and you get to see a bunch of guys who – like those Challenger Baseball players – really do play for the love of the game.

There are plenty of other neat things you can do during your visit to the nation’s third-largest living history museum, which features more than 50 historic buildings and houses, including the boyhood home of Kodak founder, George Eastman.

I can’t think of a better way to spend Father’s Day than to play a little base ball, 19th century style.

If you do make it to the ballpark, please say hello and make sure you root for Flower City – we’ll be the guys in the red socks. (Believe me, wearing red isn’t always easy for a guy who’s been following the guys in the blue Yankee pinstripes since 1961.)

***
Finally, I’d like to give special shoutouts to Red Wings general manager Dan Mason and team organist Fred Costello.

Mase and the Wings have been kind enough to host the Challenger World Series all these years, but it appeared that this year’s event was in jeopardy after the Indianapolis-Rochester game was postponed last night because of travel problems. The cancellation meant the Wings have to play a day-night doubleheader on Saturday, starting at 1.

Rather than disappoint all those kids and their parents by canceling the World Series, Mase worked it out so that the Series would start at 8 rather than 9.

Classy move.

And congratulations to Fred, who will receive the International League’s Spirit Award in honor of his more than three decades of entertaining the fans. Fred has tickled the ivories at more than 2,500 Wings games through the years.

Some LeBron jokes, musings on Jeter and paying tribute to the Rapid Roman

2011-06-15T11:58:00.003-04:00

In honor of MeBron James’ smug and futile quest for an NBA Championship, I offer a couple of jokes making the rounds:

Why did James skip college?
He was afraid of the Finals!

James was asked for change for a dollar, but only gave 75 cents. He didn’t have a fourth quarter.

***
The Peoria Chiefs, a Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, are going to host “LeBron James 2011 NBA Championship Replica Ring Giveaway Night.” The jewelry will resemble the one James didn’t earn against the Dallas Mavericks the other night – meaning, fans showing up to the ballpark for the joke promotion will be receiving nothing but a handful of air.

Methinks it’s not-so-good to be King these days.

***
The unfortunate thing about Derek Jeter’s trip to the 15-day DL is that he probably won’t get his 3,000th hit at Yankee Stadium.

But he still might do it in New York.

Jeter is scheduled to return to action on June 29 for the second of a three-game home series vs. the Milwaukee Brewers. The Yankees legend would need to get six hits in two games in order to reach the milestone in the Bronx. Possible, but not likely.

Interestingly, the Yankees will then embark on a six-game road-stand, with the first three games of the trip being played against the Mets at Citi Field. So, it will be kind of a like a home-field atmosphere with nearly as many Yankees fans as Mets fans in attendance.

***
I can get pretty provincial when it comes to my hometown of Rome, N.Y., so please indulge me this burst of pride.

I was thrilled to hear that Richie Evans, a 9-time national driving champion known as the Rapid Roman, will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame along with modern-stars Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip this year.

I’ve never been a huge racing fan, but I fondly remember my dad taking me to watch Richie compete at various tracks in upstate New York and feeling a great sense of pride because Richie always won and always represented the Copper City well.

Evans was one of the true pioneers of the sport, but I wondered if he would ever receive his just-due nationally because pioneers tend to get forgotten and it didn't help that he was a Yankee in a sport dominated by southern bias.

And since I'm tooting my home town's horn, I'd like to mention that Betsy Ross' Old Glory first flew in battle during the Revolutionary War at Fort Stanwix; Pledge of Allegiance author Francis Bellamy is a graduate of Rome Free Academy and Basketball Hall of Famer Pat Riley is a Rome native. (We won't mention that Riley is the executive who signed MeBron to a Miami Heat contract.)

***
I have good vibes that common sense and decency will prevail and the NFL owners and players are going to get a new labor agreement ironed out in the next few weeks.

Opining on Rocky, Pete Rose, LeBron & the Yankees

2011-06-10T09:11:00.007-04:00

I know a lot of purists are in a snit about actor Sylvester Stallone being inducted this weekend into the Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, but I don’t have a problem with it. I believe there should be a place in such hallowed halls for people who helped promote their respective sports, and Stallone, through his series of Rocky movies, certainly did a lot more to champion boxing than a number of scallywags and reprobates already enshrined in the building just off Thruway exit 34.

In the same vein, I didn’t have an issue with Dick Vitale being inducted into the hoops hall in Springfield, Mass. Yes, I know his incessant yelling and tired nicknames during telecasts often has people scrambling to find the “mute” button on their remotes, but his enthusiasm and philanthropy and kindness away from the court contributed to college basketball’s burgeoning popularity in the 1980s and ‘90s.

***
Speaking of sporting hall issues, I read an interesting interview with Pete Rose recently in Sporting News magazine. As the years pass, I find myself willing to revisit the issue of Charlie Hustle’s eligibility for Cooperstown.
Clearly, his decision to gamble on games in which he managed was a mortal sin because it compromised baseball’s integrity. (We need to know the games are legit.) And Pete, who’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, hasn’t helped his cause by vehemently denying his transgressions, then coming clean only when he could make a buck off it by hawking a book.

I’m not saying I would necessarily make him eligible for the Hall, but I am softening my stance somewhat in my old age. One thing I would NOT do if I were Commissioner Bud is allow Pete to manage or coach again in the majors or minors.

Ever.

I know Pete continues to pine for that opportunity, but that ship has sailed. Because of his gambling past, every move he made would be scrutinized beyond belief, and there would be allegations after each game that he was betting again.

And since we’re on the topic, I think it’s time for Shoeless Joe Jackson to become eligible for the Hall. He faced a lifetime ban and has been dead for five decades.

***

A very revealing stat from the NBA Finals: In the fourth quarter of the five games, Dirk Nowitzki has scored 55 points; MeBron James 11.

***

Wanna bet they’ll be popping champagne bottles in Cleveland as well as Dallas if the Mavericks knock off King James and the Miami Heat in one of the next two games to win the NBA championship.

***

I think it’s possible, but unlikely that the Yankees are going to make the playoffs this season. But if they do, it isn’t going to matter because they’ll have to face Boston and the Red Sox own them this season.

***

It's clearly not Brian Cashman's fault that Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain suffered injuries, but to think the Yanks were going to be able to get by with a rotation that included retreads and the unreliable A.J. Burnett was ridiculous. Cashman's judgment on pitching talent has always been suspect. The GM will be history after this season, and the Yankees will be better off without him.

***

Syracuse is one of seven schools on the list of Jim Kelly’s nephew, Chad. The younger Kelly is a standout quarterback at Buffalo’s St. Joe’s Prep and will be entering his senior season this fall. Ranked as a Top 100 recruit by several scouting services, Chad has whittled his choices to SU, Penn State, Florida State, Alabama, Clemson, Michigan State and Buffalo.

***

Tomorrow, for the third time in the past 11 years, I'll will be playing base ball - 19th century style - at historic Doubleday Field in Cooperstown. We have about 25 guys from the Silver Base Ball Park League at the Genesee Country Village & Museum in Mumford, taking part. It's always a thrill to play on the same diamond where Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Ted Williams. Roberto Clemente and Stan Musial once played. And it's also a treat to be able to show people the way the game was played during the Civil War era. We are scheduled to play two games, starting at 1:30. Admission is free, so if you are in Cooperstown or looking for something different to do, please stop by and say hello.

We can't help but wonder what it would be like if Clay Matthews were a Bill

2011-05-26T12:15:00.005-04:00

Before I began my question-and-answer session with Clay Matthews at the Rochester Press-Radio Club Day of Champions dinner Tuesday night, I decided to have some fun with the Green Bay Packers All-Pro linebacker.

I told him and the audience of more than 1,100 that we were going to do a little play-acting. We were going to pretend that I was NFL commish Roger Goodell and that this was Draft Day 2009 at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The fantasy scene set, I then intoned into my wireless mic: “With the 11th pick of the 2009 draft, the Buffalo Bills choose Clay Matthews, linebacker, University of Southern California.”

Ah, what could have been.

The dinner-goers, the majority of whom were Bills fans, roared as I handed Clay a Bills baseball cap on the stage at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center. He played the good sport and held it in front of him. But he refused to put it on, saying he was quite content about the way things turned out. With good reason. Being snubbed by the Bills and 24 other teams enabled him to be chosen by the Packers, who won a Super Bowl in just his second season.

The 25-year-old with the deep football bloodlines proved to be one of the more genuine and personable headliners we’ve had at our annual dinner, which has raised well over a million dollars for local children’s charities in 62 years. I was especially impressed with the kindness Clay showed our honorary dinner chair, Conner Newcomb, an 11-year-old who’s valiantly battling cancer.

***
The Bills, of course, chose Aaron Maybin with the 11th pick of that draft three years ago, and he has wound up being one of the biggest busts in franchise history. I remember Maybin showing up for the Press-Radio Club dinner shortly after being drafted and actually dosing off briefly at the head table.

***
That was a great gesture by top Bills pick Marcell Dareus to show up at the workouts arranged by George Wilson and the other locked-out veteran players.

***
I guess I should have started this blog by saying how happy I was the world didn’t end Saturday as predicted. Our fearless prognosticator preacher from California is now saying that we have until the third week of October. That means you still have time to squander all of your life’s savings the way many people did after the pastor’s first prediction.

***
I would have liked to have seen Jeff Van Gundy get the Los Angeles Lakers job. But I knew it wasn’t going to happen because Phil Jackson and Jeff repeatedly exchanged verbal barbs when they were coaching against one another, and Jackson’s girl-friend just so happens to be the daughter of Lakers’ owner Jerry Buss.

***
My bride is feeling a little better knowing that ABC will be running Oprah re-runs for the next few months. It will help assuage the Oprah withdrawal symptoms she is dealing with now that the maven of TV talk shows has called it quits.

This is the end of the world as we know it

2011-05-19T11:27:00.003-04:00

A preacher in California says the world will end Saturday evening at 6 p.m.

I think that’s a pretty good excuse for not mowing the lawn or finishing other items on the honey-do list, don’t you?

My goodness, think of the implications this premature ending is going to have on sports.

If you like betting the ponies don’t bother with the Preakness because the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown isn’t scheduled to go off until about 6:15.

I wonder if Bud Selig will declare the World Series champion based on the team with the best record through games completed by 5:59?

And will his NFL counterpart, Roger Goodell, end the lockout just so we can all die happy knowing that there would have been a football season in 2011.

I guess this also means that MeBron James won’t ever get that elusive NBA championship ring he so covets. Geez, that would be a shame, wouldn’t it? But like MeBron told Cleveland: “Kharma’s a bitch.”

Hey, at least Bills fans will go to their graves knowing that their beloved team didn’t bolt for L.A.

***

I’m thrilled my prediction that new Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula would buy the Rochester Americans came true. I’m sure Pegula, whose wife is from Fairport and grew up attending Amerks games, will do everything he can to restore the franchise’s once plentiful fan base. Two suggestions: Move the Sabres training camp back to Rochester; play a Sabres exhibition and possibly a regular-season game at the Blue Cross Arena.

***

Was happy to see former West Virginia linebacker Darryl Talley named as one of the 2011 inductees to the College Football Hall of Fame. But he wasn’t the only former Buffalo Bill in the class. A lesser known Bill – Bill Enyart of Oregon State – also will be enshrined. Enyart, a brusing fullback, was Buffalo’s second-round pick in 1969 (O.J. was No. 1). He spent only two lackluster seasons with the Bills before being traded to the Oakland Raiders, where he was converted to a linebacker. Enyart is best known for having one of the catchiest football nicknames of all-time. He was called Earthquake Enyart for his rumbling running style at Oregon State.

***

Harmon Killebrew ranks 11th on baseball’s all-time home run list with 573. But if you remove the performance-enhancing drug era sluggers – Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Jim Thome and Mark McGwire – he stands fifth. Bonds, A-Rod, Sosa and McGwire all benefitted from PEDs. To the best of our knowledge, Griffey and Thome did not. So in my book, the Killer ranks seventh.

***

Congratulations to my good friend, Pat Grover, who will be honored tomorrow with a prestigious Jefferson Award for her extraordinary volunteer work in our community. For the past 10 years I’ve worked with her at Rochester Press-Radio Club Children’s Charities, Inc. and her devotion to that all-volunteer organization has been truly amazing.

***

Speaking of extraordinary Rochesterians, I was saddened by the recent passing of Stuart Bolger. A University of Rochester graduate, Stuart was responsible for building the Genesee Country Village & Museum in Mumford into the nation’s third-largest living history museum. There are 89 buildings from around the state on the grounds, including George Eastman’s boyhood home. I got to know Stuart through my work as a volunteer with the 19th century base ball program. Although in his early 80s at the time, I still remember Stuart suiting up in his Rochesters uniform and sitting on the bench, rooting on the members of all the teams. Wonderful man who left a wonderful legacy.

Killebrew knew how to connect with baseballs and the fans

2011-05-17T18:37:00.006-04:00

I was saddened to hear that Harmon Killebrew, one of baseball's greatest sluggers and amabassadors, passed away earlier today of esophageal cancer.

I had the pleasure - and it truly was that - of interviewing "The Killer" twice - the first time outside the Otesaga Hotel in Cooperstown the morning of his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984 and again nearly two years ago before a Rochester Red Wings game at Frontier Field. The thing that struck me on both occasions was how gracious Killebrew was.

It was more like a conversation with a favorite uncle than an interview between reporter and ballplayer as Harmon asked me where I was from and how I got into journalism.

And he was the same way with fans. Sincere and genuine to the core.

In honor of the man who clubbed 40 home runs eight times during his marvelous 22-year career, I'm re-running the cyberspace column I wrote about him following his last visit to Rochester on May 26, 2009.

CLASSY KILLEBREW STILL KNOWS HOW TO GO DEEP

Although everything wound up working out marvelously for Harmon Killebrew, the Baseball Hall of Famer occasionally wonders what might have happened had he accepted that football scholarship to the University of Oregon or signed with the Boston Red Sox rather than the Washington Senators after graduating from Payette (Idaho) High School back in the spring of 1954.

Though known even back then for his long-ball hitting prowess, young Harmon knew a thing or two about going deep on the football field, too. Like current Minnesota Twins slugger Joe Mauer, Killebrew was a high school All-America quarterback. So the lure of the Ducks football scholarship wasn’t easy to turn down.

“Four years later, they went to the Rose Bowl, and I always wondered if I’d been their quarterback if they’d have still gone to the Rose Bowl,’’ Killebrew was saying the other night before signing autographs at Frontier Field.

“It’s like Yogi Berra says, ‘If you come to a fork in the road, take it.’ I took this road, but wondered what would have happened if I had gone the other way. I guess everybody goes through life like that.’’

Not that he has any complaints choosing the direction he did. After all, he wound up smashing 573 home runs without the aid of performance-enhancing drugs during his 22-years in the big leagues.

The Senators (the forerunners to the Twins) signed him on the recommendation of Idaho Senator Herman Welker. Like many Washington politicians, Welker was a huge baseball fan who attended many games in D.C. One time, in the early 1950s, Welker ran into Senators owner Clark Griffith and casually mentioned this powerful Idaho high schooler by the name of Harmon Killebrew. Griffith had his farm director Ossie Bluege check out the kid, and he wound up signing him for $53,000.

Bluege got Killebrew’s signature on the dotted line just in the nick of time because a scout from the Red Sox had caught wind of Killebrew and Boston was ready to offer him a lucractive contract, too.

“I always loved hitting in Fenway Park,’’ Killebrew said. “Imagine if I had played for the Red Sox.’’

They would have had to resurface the Green Monster from all the dents he would have pounded into it.

As it turned out, Killebrew did just fine for himself with all his Bunyonesque Blasts in Minnesota.

At age 73, he continues to be a wonderful baseball ambassador. He and his wife, Nita, run the Harmon Killebrew Foundation. One of their main projects is building “Miracle Fields’’ for handicap baseball youth leagues throughout the country.

Killebrew still follows the game closely, and, like many of us, is saddened by the steroid scandal that has dogged baseball during this decade. He’s concerned not only about how it’s destroyed the integrity of the game’s records, but also worries about the future health of the players who used the performance enhancers and the message it sends to young athletes.

“I just hope that Manny Ramierez being suspended recently for 50 games (because of a failed drug test) sends a message to the other players that if you are using that stuff, you better stop because more than likely you are going to get caught,’’ he said.

Killebrew said the Twins organization has attempted to do things the right way when it comes to educating its players about the dangers and immorality of using performance-enhancers. He believes that the players on their roster are clean.
Not surprisingly, Killebrew is a big fan of Minnesota’s big boppers – first baseman Justin Morneau and catcher Joe Mauer.

Rochester Red Wings’ fans aren’t surprised by Morneau’s development. Or his power. Heck, anyone who saw the big-left-handed hitter park one almost to the railroad tracks beyond the right field wall at Frontier Field – a 500-foot blast – realized he was going to go deep often in the bigs.

But Mauer’s power surge this month has taken many by surprise. Including Killebrew.

“Joe liked to hit the ball all over the ballpark and not pull the ball so much, so I didn’t necessarily think he could hit a lot of home runs that way in the Metrodome,’’ Killebrew said. “But he’s been pulling it a little more this year. And if he continues to do that, with the power he does generate, he could hit a lot of home runs.’’

So far, Mauer – a two-time American League batting champion – has done so without compromising his high average.

“I think he’s capable of hitting 40 or more,’’ Killebrew said. “But will he decide to go in that direction if his average starts to suffer? It’s difficult to keep a high average if you pull the ball a lot. I know.’’

Killebrew admittedly cared more about going for the seats than for a batting title, as evidenced by his .256 batting average, among the lowest of any Hall of Fame member.

But that was OK with his fans who loved seeing him dial long distance.

There’s no question, he took the right fork in the road way back when.

Yankees showing their age

2011-05-15T13:18:00.004-04:00

I’ve followed the Yankees for – egads! – fifty years, and this edition of the Bronx Bombers is beginning to remind me of the 1965 club. That team’s roster was filled with a core of legendary players – Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford, Tony Kubek, Bobby Richardson and Elston Howard – that seemed to grow old and infirm at the same time.

As a result of the ravages of time and injury, those Yankees, who had made 12 World Series appearances in the previous 14 years, stumbled to an ignominious sixth-place finish and plummeted all the way to the basement of the 10-team American League in ’66. That decline, precipitated by a failure of management to replenish the farm system during those pre-free-agency days, took years to reverse.

Father Time is the one opponent no one can defeat, so you have to wonder if this current edition of graying Pinstripers is going to be able to squeeze another playoff berth out of a roster featuring a soon-to-be-37-year-old shortstop (Derek Jeter), a 41-year-old reliever (Mariano Rivera), a 36-year-old third baseman (A-Rod), a 39-year-old designated hitter (Jorge Posada) and four starting pitchers over the age of 33.

The age issue has been front and center all season as we’ve watched Jeter, Posada and A-Rod struggle mightily at the plate. And, now, thanks to the Yankees recent slump (a 3-7 record in the past 10 games) as well as Saturday night’s feud between Posada and GM Brian Cashman over the designated hitter’s decision to beg out of the lineup after being dropped to 9th in the batting order, the tabloids and talk shows are having a field day.

It’s sad to witness Posada’s demise because he’s been such a gamer and such an integral part of the Yankees five World Series-winning clubs during his 17 seasons in the Bronx. He’s already solidified a spot as one of the greatest catchers in team history, following in the legendary line of backstops that have included Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra, Ellie Howard and Thurman Munson.

But it is clear Posada has become merely a shell of his former self. Manager Joe Girardi, who was a mentor to and teammate of Posada, was right to drop the five-time All-Star and his .165 batting average to the ninth spot. And he also was right to realize that Posada no longer could cut it as a full-time catcher this season.

I understand Jorge’s frustration. And I can even understand him going into Girardi’s office before the game and saying he needed a mental health day. But you can’t then go and tell the press that you had been nursing a strained back when you haven’t sought treatment.

I’ve never been a big Cashman fan, and he certainly handled the situation about as poorly as Posada did when he called a press conference during last night’s game and essentially called Posada a liar.

Can you say Bronx Zoo?

Although this makes for a good soap opera, it obscures the bigger issue. Namely that, despite having $200 million at his disposal, Cashman put together a deeply flawed team. No, he couldn’t possibly have known that a young ace like Phil Hughes would come up with a mysteriously dead arm. But Cashman’s attempts to cobble together a pitching staff featuring a soon-to-be-39-year-old Bartolo Colon and 34-year-old Freddy Garcia, and his belief that Jeter was going to bounce back and become the player he used to be was fool-hardy.

Even if the brilliantly talented Robinson Cano and Mark Teixiera and Nick Swisher snap out of their slumps and put up robust numbers – definitely possible – and even if Curtis Granderson continues his march toward a home run title I believe there are too many miles on too many odometers of too many Bronx Bombers for this club to go very far.

Father Time is catching up with this team, just like he did in 1965.

Happy Birthday, Yogi!

2011-05-12T10:50:00.000-04:00

Roughly 11 years ago, I had the opportunity to interview that lovable baseball legend and word-smith Yogi Berra at his museum in Upper Montclair, N.J.

The man who wound up in both the Baseball Encyclopeida and Barlett’s Familiar Quotations graciously took me on a tour of his miniature Baseball Hall of Fame.

I remember stopping at the case housing the 10 World Series rings the Yogster won as a catcher with the New York Yankees.

“I have this running joke with Derek Jeter,’’ he told me. “He already has three rings in just four years, and he asks me how many more he needs to catch me. When I tell him seven, he says, ‘That’s ridiculous.’ He says he will keep plugging away because one day he wants to be like me. He calls me the ‘Liberace of Baseball’ because I have a ring for every finger.”

Jeter has since added two more pieces of World Series jewelry to his collection, but it’s doubtful the 37-year-old shortstop will ever supplant Berra as the Bronx Bombers’ Lord of the Rings.

I bring up Yogi on this fine, sunshiny, spring day because it is his 86th birthday.

In honor of this festive occasion, I offer a sampling of some of Lawrence Peter Berra’s more famous malapropisms:

• It ain’t over ’til it’s over.

• I really didn’t say everything I said.

• If you come to a fork in the road, take it.

• A nickel ain’t worth a dime any more.

• You can observe a lot by watching.

• Ninety percent of the game is half mental.

• Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.

• There’s a record that’ll stand until it’s broken.

• If people don’t want to come to the ballpark, how are you going to stop them?

• Let’s pair up in threes.

• We won even though we were overwhelming underdogs.

• You can’t think and hit at the same time.

• If I didn’t wake up, I’d still be sleeping.

• It gets late early out there.

• Kid, you ain’t in no slump. You just ain’t hitting.

• It’s deju-vu all over again.

By the way, that photo I took of Yogi is one of my favorites. He's standing in front of a photograph of Jackie Robinson stealing home against Whitey Ford in the World Series. The umpire called Jackie safe, but a half-century later, Yogi continues to insist otherwise.

I'm back after a much too long hiatus

2011-05-09T18:22:00.005-04:00

Sorry for the absence folks, but between writing the Jim Boeheim biography, working on two other books, churning out several magazine pieces, contributing to Channel 8’s NFL draft coverage, checking things off of my bride’s mile-long, honey-do list, mowing my daughter’s lawn weekly, doing plenty of charity work and surviving an unexpected kidney stone attack, there hasn’t been a whole lot of time for blogging.

And if you ran out of oxygen just reading that sentence, imagine how I felt writing it. ;-)

So let me play a little catch-up in the world of sports and other matters:

• I thought the Bills did a good job addressing needs in the draft. I especially like the selection of Marcell Dareus. He’ll instantly make Buffalo’s run defense stouter, and, as his 11 sacks with Alabama attest, he’s an underrated pass rusher.

• Regarding the jettisoning of Tom Modrak from the Bills front office, I’m just wondering why it took so long. When Tom Donahoe was sent packing several seasons ago, why was Modrak, his top lieutenant, retained?

• One last positive Bills item: I think Buddy Nix’s luring of Doug Whaley away from the Pittsburgh Steelers 15 months ago may wind up being the general manager’s best free agent signing ever. Whaley was known for his ability to discover great defensive talent in the draft (Troy Polamulu, LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons are just some of his finds.) And Whaley also did a superb job of scouting and game-planing upcoming opponents. The 38-year-old was part of seven playoff teams and two Super Bowl championships during his 12 seasons in the Steel City, and is the heir apparent to the Bills GM position when the 70-year-old Nix retires.

• A recent reader poll in The Buffalo News asked who should be the next person to go up on the Ralph Wilson Stadium Wall of Fame. Linebacker Cornelius Bennett topped the voting with 28 percent, followed by coach Lou Saban (24 percent) and running back Cookie Gilchrist (17 percent). Sadly, Wilson still holds a grudge against Saban, who quit on him twice, and Gilchrist isn’t eligible because he only played three seasons with the Bills and the rules stipulate you need to play at least five. As someone who has studied the team’s history thoroughly and written five books about the Bills, I think it’s a glaring omission not to have both Saban and Gilchrist on the Wall, given the impact each had on the franchise.

• The last two games of Phil Jackson’s illustrious NBA coaching career reminded me of an aged Willie Mays stumbling after a fly ball in a New York Mets uniform near the end of his career. Jackson’s Los Angeles Lakers didn’t even show up in Game 3, then compounded matters by resorting to thug-ball in Sunday’s loss to Dallas.

• So after Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers threw the second no-hitter of his career the other day, a sportswriter suggested that he has a shot at Nolan Ryan’s major-league record of seven no-no’s. Really?

* Kudos to Syracuse athletics director Daryl Gross for hiring former Orange football great Floyd Little to help with fund-raising and other matters. Floyd remains one of the classiest and most accomplished athletes ever to come out of Syracuse. In addition to his Pro Football Hall of Fame career with the Denver Broncos, Little earned a law degree and became immensely successful in the automobile business. At one point, he owned several dealerships in the Los Angeles and Seattle areas.
• Everybody talks about Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. But I believe Johnny Unitas’ record of throwing a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games is even more impressive.

• I think it’s pretty cool that my alma mater, Syracuse, has a basketball coaching staff filled with alums. There’s, of course, Jim Boeheim (1966), at head coach; Bernie Fine (’67) at assistant head coach; Mike Hopkins (’93) as the lead assistant and newly hired Adrian Autry (’94) as the third assistant. And don’t forget Gerry McNamara (’06), who’s a graduate assistant. SU is the only Division I school in the country with an all-alumni staff.

• Belated 90th birthday wishes to my friend and newspaper pioneer Jean Giambrone. She’s a remarkable lady who was among the first female sportswriters in America. And she did it for 41 years at the old Rochester Times-Union.

• One of the great things about being involved with the Rochester Press-Radio Club Children’s Charities group is the opportunity to give money away to deserving organizations and take part in their special events. We had just such an occasion the other day at the School of the Holy Childhood in Henrietta. The best part of the morning was seeing the excitement on the kids’ faces when they came up to receive their awards and the hugs they gave us after the assembly.

* I liked the idea of a commemorative bobble-head chosen by Rochester Red Wings fans to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Frontier Field. But if I had my choice, I would have led a write-in campaign for Zippy Chippy, the lovable thoroughbred loser who wound up winning two of the Man vs. Beast races at Frontier. It still remains one of the best minor-league baseball promotions.

• Still can’t believe that both my children are now over 21. The years really do zip by like a Nolan Ryan fastball.

• Speaking of flying time, I’m going to play in a Tuesday morning softball league for guys 55 and older. Better stock up on the Ibuprofen.

• Finally, my bride and I had the pleasure of attending the local New York State Athletic Administrators Association luncheon today. It was good catching up with Werner Kleeman, Jim Zumbo and Dennis Fries – each of whom has had profound influences on the lives of student-athletes in our area. And I was especially thrilled to see my good friend, Dr. Cynthia Devore, receive the Distinguished Service Award. It would take me several blogs to extol the virtues of her work on behalf of students, coaches and administrators in our area and beyond. Suffice it to say, her impact has been every bit as great if not greater than that of any coach or AD in our region. Congrats, my friend, on a job well-done.

Will Scoop (Jardine) deliver? That's the big question facing SU in NCAAs

2011-03-17T11:06:00.003-04:00

Two scoops might be desirable at your favorite ice cream stand, but two Scoops haven’t always set well in the stomachs of Syracuse basketball fans.

We’re talking, of course, about Orange point guard Scoop Jardine, a polarizing player who has been both good and bad this basketball season.

He has made clutch shots with games on the line and he has made bonehead decisions with games on the line. Continuing with the ice cream metaphor, his play been both palatable and ajada-inducing, often within the span of mere seconds.

Consistency has not been a hallmark of the fourth-year junior’s play, and that’s why I can’t agree with Jay Bilas’ assessment that the ‘Cuse will be headed to Houston and the Final Four. I just think that at some point Scoop is going to serve up one of those head-scratching turnovers or low-percentage shots that turns victory into defeat.

I do believe, though, that SU will make a run. On my bracket sheet I have them reaching the Elite Eight before getting bounced by Kentucky, who I have upsetting the East’s top seed, Ohio State. My other Final Four picks: Pitt, Kansas and Duke, with the Jayhawks winning it all.

I also believe there will be several early round upsets. I like 13th seed Belmont knocking off No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 12 Clemson beating No. 5 West Virginia and No. 11 Gonzaga over No. 6 St. John’s.

Interestingly, Bilas, a Dukie whom I think is the best college basketball analyst on television, has three Big East teams reaching the Final Four – SU, UConn & Pitt, with Kansas winning it all.

For Syracuse to go that far, they will need consistency and judicious decision-making by the aforementioned Jardine, take-charge play by Kris Joseph, hot-shooting by Brandon Triche and some contributions from freshmen bigs Fab Melo and Baye Moussa Keita.

Can’t wait to see what unfolds. Let the madness begin.
***
If they had a tournament for the all-name team, I believe SU would win hands down. Besides Scoop, Baye Moussa and Fab, you have Mookie Jones. Tough name line-up to beat.

Of course, the best of the interesting names in college basketball belongs to Jimmer Fredette of BYU. Other ‘name-players’ I would include from this year’s NCAAs: Shabazz Napier (Connecticut); Hippolyte Tsafarack (Memphis); Vander Blue (Marquette) and Dash Harris (Texas A&M).
***
COMING ATTRACTIONS: I’ll be on Bob Matthews’ radio talk show on WHAM 1180-AM tonight from 7-8, so give us a call to talk about the NCAAs and sports of all sorts at (585) 222-1180.

Will it be Miller Time for Bills on draft day?

2011-03-03T14:47:00.003-05:00

Von Miller (not to be confused with all-time “Voice of the Bills” Van Miller) is the latest player projected to be chosen by Buffalo.

A 6-foot-3, 246-pound linebacker from Texas A&M, Miller led the nation in sacks (17) as a junior and managed 10 ½ last fall, despite being hobbled by a recurring sprained ankle. He was a champion hurdler in high school and wowed everyone at last week’s Scouting Combine in Indianapolis with his speed, quickness, agility and strength.

Given Buffalo’s need for a pass-rushing, play-making defender, it appears that Miller might fit the Bills. (In other words, unlike first-round flop Aaron Maybin, he’s supposed to be the real deal.)

While Miller’s stock was ascending in Indy, quarterback Cam Newton’s was declining a tad. Not only was the Heisman Trophy-winning QB from Auburn off target on many of his throws, but his football knowledge was called into question during several of his individual meetings with NFL GMs and scouts.
***
I’m still having difficulty understanding a possible work stoppage by a $9 billion industry that’s never been more prosperous. Pretty tough to swallow at a time when so many Americans are losing their jobs and their homes.
***
What a delight it has been to listen to Terry Pegula’s fan-like enthusiasm for the Buffalo Sabres. The thing that strikes me is how sincere he sounds. Long-suffering Buffalo sports fans have been waiting for an owner like this for a long, long time.
***
You probably heard that Brigham Young basketball star Brandon Davies has been kicked off the team for having premarital sex with his girlfriend, which is a violation of the Mormon school’s honor code. BYU students also are forbidden to drink alcohol, coffee and tea; smoke or chew tobacco and spew profanity. In addition, they must attend church daily and adhere to dress and grooming codes.

Personally, I never would have lasted there. (I couldn't have done without my daily cup of tea ;-). That said, I respect the school for sticking to its principles, even though the decision may cost the Cougars a shot at the Final Four. Most institutions would have looked the other way, sacrificing values and standards for the truckloads of money a trip deep into the NCAAs would have produced.

I do feel badly for Davies, and his teammates, who include college player-of-the-year Jimmer Fredette. But Davies knew what the rules were before he arrived on campus.
***
While we’re on the subject of BYU’s honor code: How in the world did party animal/quarterback Jim McMahon not get suspended during his years at the Provo, Utah school?
***

UConn’s Kemba Walker and Notre Dame’s Ben Hansbrough appear to be the leading candidates for the Big East Conference Player-of-the-Year Award, which will be announced next week. But I think you can make a strong case that Rick Jackson is every bit as deserving. The senior Syracuse forward/center leads the league in rebounding, blocked shots, field goal percentage and double-doubles for a team that’s ranked 12th in the nation. Not too shabby. (You can read more about ‘Cuse basketball in my weekly Orange hoops column at www.rochesterhomepage.net)

Ruminating on Pujols' contract, Ralph Wilson's QB desires and Boeheim's eruption

2011-02-17T14:34:00.004-05:00

I remember asking Mickey Mantle about 20 years ago how much he’d be worth if he were in his baseball playing prime then, instead of the 1950s and ‘60s. And he joked that he would walk into George Steinbrenner’s office, shake the Yankee owner’s hand and say, ‘Hi partner.’

Well, it appears that Albert Pujols’ agent has proposed the same thing with the owners of the St. Louis Cardinals. Only, he isn’t joking.

Among the crazy things to come out of their stalled contract negotiations is word that Pujols has talked about part ownership in the ballclub. As the only player in baseball history to have started his career averaging 30 homers and 100 RBI a season 10 years in a row, Albert clearly is deserving of a big contract. And I thought the Cardinals were more than fair in offering a reported $200 mil over 8 years. But Pujols wants more money and more years on the deal, so I don’t blame the Cardinals for saying they’ve gone as far as they can go.

Sadly, this probably isn’t going to end well. If he does leave the best baseball town in America for the riches of the Yankees or Red Sox it will be yet another blow for the sport.
***
Sorry Bills fans, but Ralph Wilson is sticking to his guns about it taking several more years to turn around the mess that is your franchise.

"I've made a lot of mistakes with my team in the last 10 years,'' the Bills owner admitted to AOL Fanhouse columnist Thomas George in a recent interview."I think I'm rectifying that. We'll see. We almost won some games last year against teams that were certainly more talented than us. Buddy (Nix), the scouts, the coaches, they are working. I know it's not going to be an instant turnaround. I think it will take two or three years to have a playoff team -- and that's if we get a quarterback.''

That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement for current QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and it further fuels speculation the Bills might select Auburn quarterback Cam Newton with the draft's No. 3 pick:

"Well, he's very athletic,’’ Wilson said of Newton. “But it's the intangibles. We've had a number of quarterbacks that could throw the ball 100 yards and right into your stomach. But then they got into games and threw it 100 yards into the other team's stomach. There's time. We'll learn more about him.''

Hmmm. Ralph couldn’t have been talking about Rob Johnson, J.P. Losman and Trent Edwards could he?
***
I’m OK with the Bills drafting a QB at No. 3. But, whether it’s Newton or Blaine Gabbert or Joe Schmoe from Kokomo, they better be right or it will be longer than two or three years before they become a playoff team again. And GM Buddy Nix had better hit home runs with his other picks, too, because there are so many holes to plug on this team, particularly on defense.
***
Here’s a sports inflation note to chew on: Nolan Ryan became baseball’s first million-dollar-a-year player in 1979 with the Texas Rangers and Albert Belle became the first $10-million-a-season player with the Chicago White Sox in 1996.
***
As far as press conference meltdowns go, Jim Boeheim’s class-less public excoriation of two respected Syracuse Post-Standard reporters the other day ranks among his most volcanic.

But two more volatile ones come immediately to mind. There was the time at the Big East Conference tourney a few years ago when he dropped enough F-bombs to make even Tommy Lasorda blush while defending Gerry McNamara. And there was the Big East presser years earlier when he smashed a chair after losing a game against Georgetown in which he felt his team got hosed by the officials.

I guess if you are looking for something positive about this latest outburst, perhaps it showed that Jim’s still very passionate about coaching after 35 years on the job.
***
Couldn’t help but notice that while Pujols was jeopardizing his standing as the face of the Cardinals franchise, the most beloved Cardinal of them all – Stan “The Man” Musial – was being feted by the President of the United States.
***
You can forget about Donald Trump coming to the rescue of the Bernie Madof-ravaged Mets unless The Donald wants to sell all of his casinos. It would have been interesting, though, if he did gain ownership. Imagine the ego wars between him and the Steinbrenner boys as they jockeyed for the attention of the Big Apple tabloids.
***
Hard to believe that after all the hype showered upon Joba Chamberlain when he arrived in New York a few years ago that he soon could be pitching for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the International League or in a mop-up role for another big-league team this summer.

Man, Jimmer would look mighty good in a Syracuse basketball uniform

2011-02-10T13:54:00.003-05:00

As I watched the offensively challenged Syracuse basketball team struggle to put the ball through the hoop Wednesday night against Georgetown, my thoughts drifted to Jimmer Fredette.

The Brigham Young guard with the catchy name has electrified fans like a modern-day Pete Maravich without the floppy socks. Able to drill 3-pointers from another area code and befuddle defenders with an array of elusive drives and unorthodox in-close shots, Fredette leads the nation in scoring with 27.6 points per game.

And the reason I was thinking about him last night while watching SU convert just 4-of-16 attempts from outside the arc and score just one point in the final four minutes is that Jimmer could have been an Orange man.

In fact, he wanted to be an Orange man.

And he might have become one had Syracuse not already had a busload of talented guards coming in. Fredette was in the same recruiting class as Jonny Flynn, Scoop Jardine and Tiki Mayben. Flynn, of course, played two stellar seasons for the Cuse before bolting for the NBA, where he now collects a paycheck from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Jardine is a red-shirt junior point guard for the Orange. And Mayben, sadly, failed to qualify academically and has struggled with drug problems.

SU assistant Mike Hopkins said he was well aware of Fredette, who played his high school ball in Glens Falls, a scant 2 1-2 hours east of the Carrier Dome in the Capital District. Jimmer wound up becoming one of New York’s all-time leading high school scorers (more than 2,400 points) while guiding his team to the state championship game. Hopkins firmly believed that Jimmer could play at SU, but the Orange men already had tendered scholarship offers to three guards.

Hopkins was friends with BYU assistant Dave Rice and recommended the Cougars take a look at Fredette because the kid was a Mormon and had relatives in Utah. Rice did, and the rest is history.

Hopkins refers to the recruiting whiff as “the Fredette headache.” It calls to mind another big missed opportunity. Many years ago during his senior year of high school in Canada, future Basketball Hall of Famer Steve Nash sent a tape of his stellar games to Syracuse because he wanted to play for the Orange men. But Jim Boeheim and his staff never responded.

To be fair, Boeheim and Co. are among the nation’s top recruiters. There have been many more home runs than strikeouts through the years. Many more.

Still, imagine how good this dysfunctional SU offense would be with a scoring machine like Fredette in the lineup.

I can guarantee you this: They would not go six minutes without a basket like they did down the final stretch last night against Georgetown.
***

You may have heard that the Bills are going to unveil new uniforms for the 2011 season (if there is one.) That’s good news because I hate the ones they’ve been wearing since 2002. If I had my druthers they’d wear the retro uniforms from the mid-1960s with the red, grazing buffalo on the white helmets. Of course, any uniform would look a lot better if they had more star players wearing them.
***

Good news for Yankees fans as we get ready for pitchers and catchers to report: Pitching ace C.C. Sabathia, who had off-season knee surgery, reportedly has shed 30 pounds. He was listed as carrying 309 pounds on his 6-foot-7 frame last season. Which means he was big enough to play left tackle for the Jets or Giants when he wasn’t pitching for the Bronx Bombers.
***

Perhaps the dumbest take I’ve heard about Christina Aguilera’s botched anthem is that she is unpatriotic. Come on, people, she screwed up the lyrics. It happens to a lot of talented singers and it has nothing to do with the singer’s patriotism. It has to do with being human and making a mistake. My goodness.

Opining on Aaron Rodgers, botched anthems and Syracuse hoops

2011-02-07T13:39:00.002-05:00

After completing one of the greatest post-season runs in NFL history and capturing his first Lombardi Trophy, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers now belongs among the handful of elite quarterbacks still active. My rankings would place him fourth behind Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. In this year’s three playoff games and Super Bowl, Rodgers completed 69 percent of his passes, threw 9 TD passes and only two interceptions and had a 110.7 passer rating. And what makes those numbers even more scintillating is that they were accomplished on the road.

***

I know this probably won’t make Christina Aguilera feel better, but she’s merely the latest in a long line of stars who goofed up the lyrics to the national anthem – a line that includes the late, great Frank Sinatra. The only difference is that her botched rendition was witnessed by more than 100 million Americans live and who knows how many more on YouTube down the road.

Aguilera’s faux pas called to mind a game I attended between the Yankees and Blue Jays at a sold-out Yankee Stadium in the mid-1980s in which the singer screwed up both the Star-Spangled Banner and Oh Canada! As she tearfully strolled off the field a chorus of boos cascaded down from the upper decks of the stadium. (For more on the Super Bowl, check out my columns at www.rochesterhomepage.net .)

***

As absurd as it sounds - and it sounds very absurd, given the remarkable prosperity the NFL currently enjoys - the chances are good there will be a lockout, and the 2011 season will wind up being delayed and shortened.

Commissioner Roger Goodell claims the owners are pushing for an 18-game schedule because that’s what the fans want. I don’t believe that for a second. The fans are astute enough to realize an expanded schedule would result in more injuries and water down the quality of play. What they are in favor of is a reduction of exhibition games from four to two.

***

If state and city officials don’t agree to build a new football stadium for the Minnesota Vikings, the team could be bound for Los Angeles. Interestingly, it wouldn’t be the first time the Twin Cities lost a pro team to L.A. The NBA’s Lakers trace their roots to Minneapolis, which explains why a city that isn’t near any lakes has that nickname.

***

Just call them Clockwork Orange. Saturday’s 23-point romp at South Florida gave Syracuse 20 wins for the 33rd time in Jim Boeheim’s 35 seasons – an ongoing NCAA record. SU hosts Georgetown Wednesday night at 7 in the Carrier Dome. The Hoyas come to town riding a six-game win streak.

***

While we’re on the subject of consistency, how about SU senior forward/center Rick Jackson. He had 22 points and 12 rebounds vs. South Florida, marking the 16th time this season he has put up a double-double. And for good measure, Rick also assisted on four scores.

***

The more I watch Syracuse freshman C.J. Fair, the more I think of Josh Pace, one of the unsung heroes of SU’s 2003 national championship team. Like Pace, Fair has a flair for filling up a score sheet, as evidenced by his 7-point, 9-rebound, 3-steal performance last Saturday.

Billionaire Tom deserves credit for saving the Sabres, not once but twice

2011-02-04T10:44:00.002-05:00

I was among those critics who believed Tom Golisano occasionally made decisions about the Buffalo Sabres based on the bottom line rather than the roster. I still believe he and his management team were wrong in allowing both Chris Drury and Daniel Briere to go the free-agency route at a time when the Sabres were a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

But I’ll always be grateful to the Rochester-born-and-bred billionaire for coming to the rescue of the team in 2003 when it appeared the bankrupt Sabres were about to skate out of town. Golisano brought financial stability to the franchise and fielded a competitive team during his eight years as owner.

And his stature in Sabres history rose even more yesterday after his revelation that he sold the team to Terry Pegula for $70 million less than he could have received from the founder of BlackBerry because Pegula agreed to the clause that said he never would move the franchise.

So credit Golisano with saves even more dramatic than any made by legendary Sabres goalies Ryan Miller and Dominick Hasek.

I think everybody wins in this sale. Golisano and his minority partners were able to deal the NHL franchise for $189 million, over $100 mil more than their original purchase price. Pegula, a diehard Sabres fan, acquires a team he hopes to lead to its first Stanley Cup. And the fans get an owner, who is a Western New York native committed to spending more than his predecessor on the on-ice product.

***

It also was encouraging to hear Golisano say that he would be interested in purchasing the Bills if it were a situation where they might leave Buffalo after Ralph Wilson’s passing and subsequent sale of the team to the highest bidder.

***

Wouldn’t it be great if Wilson had a clause in his succession plan that the Bills can’t be moved out of our region?

***

My Super Bowl prediction (with the warning that betting on my prognostications can be hazardous to your wallet): Pittsburgh 27, Green Bay 23.

***

Huge win by the slumping Syracuse basketball team in Connecticut the other night. The Orange men have eight games remaining in the regular season: road contests vs. South Florida, Louisville, Villanova and Georgetown, and home games against Georgetown, West Virginia, Rutgers and DePaul. If they split those Big East games, they would finish 23-8 overall and 10-8 in the conference, which should secure an NCAA berth regardless how they do in the league’s tournament.

***

SU coach Jim Boeheim was justifying ticked by Internet rumors alleging a point-shaving scandal involving three of his players. Even more disturbing was the fact that a member of a news organization reported it as fact.

How a reputable reporter could link to a sleezy website and report rumors as fact is very upsetting to those of us who have made a career as journalists. You can’t believe everything you read on blogs (except this one, of course. ;-)

The Internet can be a great resource of information. But it must be remembered that it is an unfiltered resource, and contains much misinformation. And at its worst can be a cesspool of rumor and innuendo.

***

The Yankees Core Four is now a Core Three with the announcement of Andy Pettitte's retirement. The lefty with the best pickoff move I've ever witnessed finishes hist career with a 240-138 record and a record 19 victories in the post-season.

Is he a Hall-of-Famer? I'm not sure.

It's going to be interesting to see if his image and his Cooperstown chances take a hit this year when the court case involving Roger Clemens' use of the human growth hormone is finally heard. You might remember that Pettitte testified that he used HGH briefly and said that his former teammate and workout partner, Clemens, did, too.

From the Yankees 2011 season perspective, Pettitte's retirement is a huge blow. They were hoping that he would at least be available for the second half of the season. They're still trying to determine who can be reliable starters behind C.C. Sabbathia and Phil Hughes.

***

I know Syracuse's recruiting class was highly-rated by the so-called recruiting experts, but there were three things I liked about it: a) every recruit was the captain of his high school, prep school and/or junior college team; b) the athleticism, speed and versatility of the incoming players, and c) the reestablishment of SU as a player in its home state.

***

Please check out my daily Super Bowl and weekly Syracuse basketball columns at Channel 8's website: www.rochesterhomepage.net

Opining on Bills draft, Scott Norwood's helmet, sports tweets and Syracuse hoops

2011-01-28T14:04:00.004-05:00

This kind of puts Jeff Fisher's longevity as Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans coach in perspective: Since Fisher became coach during the 1994 season, the Bills have had six different head coaches. (Marv Levy, Wade Phillips, Gregg Williams, Mike Mularkey, Dick Jauron and Chan Gailey) How's that for stability and instability?

***

I’ve been perusing a lot of different mock drafts lately and there doesn’t seem to be a consensus about whom the Bills will take with the third pick this April, if there is a draft.

Given their pathetic run defense, I would like to see Buffalo choose space-eating Auburn tackle Nick Fairley to clog up the middle. But some have Fairley going No. 1 overall to Carolina. However, if the Panthers decide to pick Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert, Fairley could drop into the Bills laps.

Interestingly, some mocks also have the Bills taking Gabbert, who gets the nod in most scouts’ eyes over Auburn’s Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton. Gabbert is 6-foot-5, 235 pounds with a howitzer arm and good mobility. But it will take time for him to make the transition from Missouri’s spread offense to the pro-style attack. The nice thing, of course, is that the Bills already have a stop-gap QB in Ryan Fitzpatrick, Gabbert won’t have to be rushed.

My only concern is that Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey have to be dead certain Gilbert is going to be a franchise quarterback. The Bills can ill afford another wasted first-round pick as was the case with rob Johnson and J.P. Losman. If they aren’t absolutely certain about Gabbert, they need to take a defensive stud like Fairley or Clemson DE Da’Quan Bowers or trade down a few spots and add picks.

***

Yesterday, of course, was the 20th anniversary of one of the most compelling events I’ve ever covered – Super Bowl XXV between the Bills and Giants in Tampa. I wrote a detailed remembrance of it for the Messenger-Post newspapers (Check out this Sunday’s Canandaigua Messenger sports section.)

The game got me to thinking about Greg Tranter, the Jim Kelly of Bills memorabilia collectors. Among his prized possessions is the helmet worn by Scott Norwood when he missed the potential game-winning field goal in the waning seconds of Super Bowl XXV. The red helmet includes the kicker’s autograph, career statistics and the two most painful words in Bills history – “Wide Right.” Tranter says it is the only time Norwood has inscribed that phrase on anything.

The Massachusetts resident paid $5,000 in an auction for the helmet. Most Bills fans would like to take a sledge hammer to it because they see it as a symbol of the most difficult moment in Buffalo sports history. Tranter understands those emotions, but the self-proclaimed history buff also realizes that the helmet is one of the most important artifacts in team annals.

His dream is to open a Buffalo sports history museum – a dream he’s actively pursuing with Michael Weekes. And that is why when Tranter learned that Norwood’s helmet was up for grabs this spring, he was compelled to aggressively pursue it.
“Yes, it represents a painful moment, but if you are to tell the true history of Buffalo sports, you just have to have it,’’ he says. “It represents not just one of the most significant moments in Bills history, but in the history of the NFL. (Adam) Vinatieri’s kicks were to win or tie – if he missed, the game goes into overtime. If Jim O’Brien misses his kick in Super Bowl V, the game goes into overtime. But Norwood’s kick was a win-or-lose situation. Unfortunately for us, it was a lose-situation.”

***

I can appreciate why Jim Boeheim would be upset with people saying his Orange men “quit” in their 22-point blowout loss to a mediocre Seton Hall club in the Dome the other night.

“Quit” like “choke” is one of those fighting words no competitor wants to hear. But regardless the description you choose, Syracuse certainly didn’t look very inspired and that was very disappointing considering it was coming off consecutive losses to Pitt and Nova and needed to get off the schneid.

Jimmy B’s going to need to do some serious coaching to get his team out of this mid-season funk or an NCAA tournament bid might wind up going down the drain after an 18-0 start. (For more on SU, check out my weekly column on www.rochesterhomepage.net.)

***

It’s going to be interesting to see how professional sports leagues handle the perils of Twitter down the road. Freedom of speech could be severely tested.

Two separate incidents this week showed how crazy the social networking device can be. First, there were the flurry of tweets from NFL players past and present questioning the manhood of Jay Cutler when the Chicago Bears quarterback didn’t play on in the NFC Championship Game after spraining the MCL of his left knee. Then, a few days later, Seattle Seahawks quarterback and union alternate Matt Hasselbeck wondered in a tweet if Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie even knew what CBA (collective bargaining agreement) stood for. An angered Cromartie fired back with a tweet informing Hasselbeck he “will smash ur face in.”

Many college programs prohibit their athletes from tweeting about anything relating to their team or sport. I’m sure as more of these bizarre incidents occur in the pros, you are going to see teams or the leagues respond with fines or suspensions.

Although I have a Twitter account, I only use it to plug things like newly posted columns or booksignings. I’ve never understood how people can waste so much time on Twitter. What’s really silly is when people spend an entire game tweeting. Whatever happened to just watching the freaking game?

I could care less that Joe Schmoe thinks John Doe is a jerk because he just threw an interception. Watch the game and then try something old school – you know, like having a conversation with somebody face-to-face. Sheesh!

***

While we’re on the topic of Twitter and tweets, can you imagine the implosion that would have occurred with the Bickering Bills of 1989 or the Bronx Zoo Yankees of the late-1970s had this stuff existed? Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner would have had serious Twitter battles.

JFK, SU hoops and my NFL Super Bowl picks

2011-01-20T14:38:00.003-05:00

I listened to it live in my first-grade class at Bell Road Elementary School in Rome, N.Y. on this day in 1961. And a half-century later, John F. Kennedy’s inauguration speech still resonates with me. The oratory was beautifully written and beautifully delivered. And I believe the messages, particularly the famous and oft-repeated “Ask not what your country can do for you’’ line continue to be relevant. If you get a chance, call it up on YouTube. It’s worth listening to again.
***
JFK’s speech got me to thinking about great sports speeches I’ve heard through the years. I guess it’s no different than politics in that I’ve heard a lot more long-winded, sleep-inducing bad ones than inspiring good ones. Here are a few of the more memorable ones I’ve was privileged to be on hand for:

Buck O’Neil, the former Negro League star who became famous for the tales he spun on Ken Burns’ Baseball series, was spell-binding and funny during a 20-minute speech he delivered during one of the Rochester Press-Radio Club dinners back in the 1990s. Despite being denied an opportunity to play in the segregated Major Leagues because of his skin color, he spoke about the gratitude he felt for all the opportunities he did have. He also spun wonderful yarns about fellow Negro Leaguers such as Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige. Great stuff.

Great, too, was the speech Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy delivered in Canton when he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He had us laughing and crying and feeling the gratitude he felt for a life well-lived.

One other sports speech that sticks out was given by boxer Ruben Hurricane Carter, who was unjustly imprisoned for nearly two decades for a double-murder he didn’t commit. Longtime boxing promoter and all-around good guy Jim Cassidy and I saw Carter speak to a high school assembly outside of Toronto. He talked about not allowing himself to feel bitter about the time he lost because to do so would be tantamount to still being jailed.

And, one I didn’t hear live (no, I’m not that old) was Lou Gehrig’s famous “Luckiest man on the face of the earth” speech. It’s been correctly called baseball’s “Gettysburg Address.”
***
A week after his head thumped against the hardwood, SU leading scorer Kris Joseph is hoping to return to action Saturday against Villanova in the Carrier Dome. The junior forward is anxious to get back because his absence clearly was felt in the Orange men’s first loss of the season, Monday night at Pitt. Plus, he wants to be on the floor Saturday because it appears the Orange faithful are going to break the on-campus basketball record established at the Dome last year when 34,616 fans showed up for these same two teams. The game tips off at noon, and Syracuse officials are urging fans to arrive early because there could be one, humdinger of a traffic jam. (For more on SU hoops, check out my weekly column at www.rochesterhomepage.net.) ***

Thanks to my friend, Erik Brady of USA Today, for the great print and web story and Q-and-A about my latest book, “Jewel of the Sports World: The Story of the Hickok Belt Award.” Here’s the link if you want to check it out:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2011/01/scott-pitoniak-jewel-of-the-sports-world-the-story-of-the-hickok-belt-award/1
***

There is no truth to the rumor that I have applied for the Mayor of Rochester vacancy. But after seeing three different people hold the office in the past three weeks, I seriously considered it. I heard it pays a lot more than freelance writing does, and the benefits can't be beat.
***

This tidbit, courtesy of one of the most respected journalists I know (my wife, Beth): Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will undergo therapy at the same Houston hospital where Kevin Everett rehabbed. Here’s praying she has as miraculous a recovery as the former Buffalo Bills tight end had after suffering temporary paralysis.
***
Now that the Russian owner of the New Jersey Nets has said nyet to the Carmelo Anthony trade will the Melo-drama finally see the former Syracuse star wind up with the New York Knicks? I think so, even though Knick management has played coy throughout this never-ending soap opera. Let’s just hope for everybody’s sake that this doesn’t drag on for the 35 days still remaining before the NBA trading deadline.
***
Good to see my friend and former colleague, Bob Matthews, back in the newspaper and on the air. He graciously asked me to be his guest tonight from 7-8 on WHAM 1180-AM. Give us a buzz at 585-222-1180 to talk sports of all sorts.
***
My picks for this week’s NFL Final Four (6-2 past two weeks, but I didn’t pick the Jets over New England): Pittsburgh over the Jets, 23-16 and Green Bay over Da Bears, 31-24.
***
One final shameless plug (hey, it’s my cyberspace ;-): Check out Sunday’s Canandaigua Messenger-Post for my second of three installments looking back on the 20th anniversary of the Bills first trip to the Super Bowl. It’s been fun, especially given the last 10 years of mediocrity, to relive those special times.

They say it ain’t bragging if you can back it up

2011-01-17T14:17:00.003-05:00

I guess it’s somewhat fitting that we celebrate Muhammad Ali’s 69th birthday around the same time the Jets ran off at the mouth and away with one of the biggest victories in franchise history.

After all, for better or worse, Ali invented the art of trash talking with boastful, poetic lines such as “they all must fall in the round I call.” The Jets, led by their bombastic coach, Rex Ryan, clearly followed the brash former heavyweight champion’s lead this past week dissing their opponent, the New England Patriots, with enough verbal rubbish to fill a stadium.

Fortunately for Ryan – whom the world recently learned has a foot fetish – his cocky players didn’t put their feet in their mouths. For all the babble, it still comes down to actions being louder than words, and in the end the outspoken J-E-T-S! Jets! Jets! Jets! out-played and out-coached Tom Brady’s bunch.

Brady, who was sacked five times, had serious problems finding an open man, thanks to the Jets two-coats-of-paint coverage. Interestingly, Ryan dressed 11 defensive backs for the game, and used every last one of them to take the Patriots’ receivers out of the game. Time after time, Brady went through all four of his progressions to no avail. In addition to coverage sacks, the result was a lot of incompletions and a lot of inconsequential completions. Interestingly, two of the sacks were made by Shaun Ellis, the man the Jets drafted in 2000 with the pick they received from the Patriots when Bill Belichick vacated the Jets head coaching position after just a few days to take a similar job in New England.

Ryan clearly is a character – nothing wrong with that in a league where few coaches have any personality and can’t give you an answer without reviewing the game film. But, in addition to being a wind bag, the guy also is proving to be a damn good football coach. He is 24-13 coaching the Jets and 4-1 in the postseason.

The Pats, meanwhile, are 0-3 in their last three playoffs games – two of the losses coming at home – and have averaged just 16.3 points in that winless stretch.

Should the Jets defeat Pittsburgh and its starting QB Ben Roethlisberger this Sunday and go on to win the Super Bowl, they will have completed one of the most remarkable post-season romps in NFL history. Imagine beating Peyton Manning, Brady and Big Ben – three future Hall-of-Famers – in a row on the road. Not saying that’s going to happen, but if it did . . .
***

Neither Brett Favre nor Bart Starr ever had a playoff performance the statistical equal of Aaron Rodgers’ showing in Saturday’s trouncing of the Seattle Seahawks. The Green Bay Packers emerging legend completed 31-of-36 passes (86 percent) for 366 yards and three scores for a rating of 136.8. Remember, it wasn’t that long ago when the Cheese Heads wanted to run coach Mike McCarthy out of town for deciding to bid Favre adieu and move forward with Rodgers. Imagine where the Pack would be right now had Favre stayed put?
***

New England has gone seven years without a Super Bowl championship. The Steelers meanwhile are in their fifth conference championship game in the past 10 years. Brady will be 34 by the start of next season – if there is a next season – and is coming off an MVP year. Still plenty of good football left. But the Patriots really need to get him a deep threat and some help on defense in order to get back to the big game.

***

Pitt clearly has had SU's number, winning 12 of the last 15 meetings in the series. And without Kris Joseph, who suffered a head injury Saturday, it’s going to be extremely difficult for the Orange men to buck that trend tonight. But I do like the depth of this year’s club, and if James Southerland, C.J. Fair, Dion Waiters and Fab Melo can step it up a tad, a win in Pittsburgh is not out of the question.

I’m baaaaaaaaaack!

2011-01-12T23:01:00.002-05:00

Please forgive the long hiatus. Between several freelance writing assignments, my Jim Boeheim biography manuscript being due, weekly WROC-TV blogs about the Bills and SU hoops, book signings up the wahzoo and holiday time with the family, it’s been a crazy few weeks. That said, it’s time to play some catch-up and look ahead:

• My NFL Elite Eight picks (and if you’re wise, you won’t wager any of your hard-earned money on these): Pittsburgh edging Baltimore in a true slugfest; the New England Bradys silencing a garrulous Jets team; red-hot Green Bay nipping Atlanta, and Da Bears smothering the Seahawks.

• That was indeed a beastly run by former Bill Marshawn Lynch, but it wouldn’t have been possible without some of the most pathetic tackling I’ve ever seen in an NFL game. No wonder the Saints won’t be defending their Super Bowl title.

• I love what Carmelo Anthony did for Syracuse University, both in helping the Orange men win the national championship and donating $3 million to build a state-of-the-art basketball practice facility on campus. But I’m growing tired of this never-ending Melo-drama regarding his potential trade to the Nets.

• Had a whale of a time with my son and friends watching Syracuse defeat Kansas State, 36-34, in the Pinstripe Bowl at the new Yankee Stadium a few weeks ago. Great back-and-forth action, with lots of big plays. It was strange, though, seeing all that snow piled up behind home plate and in the bullpens. And it was no fun being gouged $40 by the Steinbrenner clan to park your car in the safety of their garages.

• Glad to see Bills wide receiver Andre Reed make the cut to the final 15 nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I covered his entire career with the Bills and he definitely deserves a bust in Canton. Here’s hoping it’s this year.

• I have a funny feeling that SU’s unbeaten basketball run is going to end next Monday at Pitt.

• With all due respect to Jack Kemp and others associated with the Bills of the 1960s, the late Cookie Gilchrist was not as good as the incomparable Jim Brown. He was, however, the Bills first big star, and one of Buffalo’s most irrepressible characters. At 6-foot-2, 250-pounds with a 52-inch chest and a 34-inch waist, Gilchrist was a true freak of nature – a human bowling ball who earned AFL Most Valuable Player honors in 1963 and played a pivotal role in Bills first league title a year later. The thing about Cookie is that he always was looking for ways to supplement his income, and many of his get-rich-quick schemes backfired. Gilchrist, whose real first name was Carlton, ran a maid service called, “Lookie, Lookie, Here Comes Cookie.” He once purchased thousands of ear muffs he planned to have sold at the ’64 championship game, but the Toronto resident couldn’t get them through customs. He also reportedly once purchased a tract of land in Canada, only to discover that it was at the bottom of a lake. And he offered to play both running back and linebacker if Ralph Wilson doubled his salary – and offer the Bills owner refused.

• I still can’t believe that my dad would have been 98 years old this past Sunday.

• It’s got to be the genes rather than the shoes. Marcus Jordan, son of his Airness, is having a pretty good sophomore season for Central Florida, averaging 16.3 points and 3.1 assists per game.

• I’m still wondering why Gil Hodges and Buck O’Neill aren’t in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

• I’m no Jack Garner, but I believe The Social Network beats The King’s Speech for best picture at this year’s Academy Awards.

R.I.P. Rapid Robert Feller

2010-12-16T09:22:00.002-05:00

Like the rest of the baseball world, I was saddened by the news of Bob Feller’s passing yesterday at age 92. He truly was an American original, a one-of-a-kind character.

An Iowa farm boy blessed with a blazing fastball that made him a Hall of Fame pitcher, Feller also was a hero in a field much more significant. The day after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Rapid Robert became the first major league baseball player to enlist in the military. He spent four years in the Navy and earned several combat medals and commendations as a gun captain on the USS Alabama.

He was just 23 when he joined the Navy, about to enter the prime of his baseball career. Conservatively, the war years cost Feller at least 80 wins, but when I asked him about this in an interview in the early 1990s, the always opinionated pitcher quickly stopped me and reminded me how lucky he was to have returned from the war safe and sound. “There are thousands of young men who never came back,’’ he said. “They are the true heroes.”

He threw three no-hitters and won 20 games seven times, but when I inquired about his greatest victory, he replied without hesitation: “Beating Germany and Japan in World War II. None of the 261 games I won in baseball would have mattered without that one.”

Rapid Robert provided me with one of my favorite baseball-playing moments back in the summer of '77 (that's 1977, not 1877 for all you smart alecks out there. ;-)

I was a 22-year-old sportswriter covering the Mets' Class A, New York-Penn League affiliate in Little Falls, N.Y. for the Little Falls Evening Times, and Feller came to town to sign autographs at the ballpark.

Before the game, he took the mound, resplendent in his old Cleveland Indians uniform, and threw four pitches apiece to a handful of local 'celebrities.' I put that word in single quotes because yours truly was one of the designated celebs.

As a sold-out crowd of 3,000 looked on, I dug in. Feller went into his trademark, high-kicking windup and delivered a batting practice offering straight down the pike. I was so excited to be batting against one of the most dominant pitchers of all-time that I almost cork-screwed myself into the ground while fouling the pitch off my right foot.

The crowd roared with laughter.

"Now, we see why you write about sports rather than play them,'' bellowed one of the leather-lunged spectators, who sounded as if he had already imbibed a few too many Utica Clubs.

I turned as red as a St. Louis Cardinal.

Feller's second serving was every bit as good, and I lined a base hit to right field.

I stroked the third pitch to center and the final offering to left.

Three hits in four at-bats vs. the immortal Bob Feller.

I could now tell my children and grandchildren, and anyone else who would listen that I once had my way with a Hall-of-Fame hurler; that I owned Bob Feller. Well, sort of.

Years later, before interviewing him at an oldtimer's game in Buffalo, I mentioned that night in Little Falls to him.

Feller grew defensive.

"Geez,'' he said. "I was 58 at the time and I wasn't throwing hard because I didn't want to embarrass anyone.''

I told him I understood that and that I didn't bring it up to be disrespectful. I just wanted to thank him for taking it easy on me and giving me the thrill of a lifetime.

I wasn't bothered by his response. In a way, it was kind of cool, hearing that kind of fire from a guy in his 60s.

And I thought it was even cooler when I read that he had taken the mound as a 90-year-old a few years ago at the Hall of Fame game at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown.

Once a competitor, always a competitor.

That’s how I’ll remember Bob Feller.

A FINAL ROUND OF BOOK SIGNINGS

If you still haven't figured out what to get that sports fan in your life, may I suggest an autographed copy of one of the 13 books I've published. Here's my upcoming schedule:

* Friday, Dec. 17, 6-8 p.m. - Henrietta Borders (across from Marketplace Mall)

* Saturday, Dec. 18, 2-4 p.m. - Pittsford Barnes & Noble.

* Saturday, Dec. 18, 6-8 p.m. - Eastview Mall, The Bills Team Store, with special appearances by the Buffalo Jills and mascot Billy Buffalo.

On another positive note, we've received confirmation that Wegmans will be selling my latest release, Jewel of the Sports World: The Hickok Belt Award Story.

Today's menu: Syracuse hoops revival, Derek Jeter's anger, John Lennon's passing

2010-12-08T11:39:00.004-05:00

After eight lackluster performances in which the Syracuse Orange men barely survived the likes of basketball powerhouses Detroit and William & Mary and looked like the most suspect ranked-team in the land, they finally snapped out of it, crushing a very, very good Michigan State squad, 72-58, at their home-away-from Dome, Madison Square Garden. SU still has many flaws it must work on (perimeter shooting is concern No. 1), but this game showed that the Cuse is very talented and very tenacious on defense. (For more on Orange hoops, please check out my weekly Syracuse basketball column at Channel 8’s website: www.rochesterhomepage.net )

***

Derek Jeter said he was angry at being portrayed as greedy. Sorry, Derek but, with nearly 10 percent of the country unemployed and many others worried about joining those the ranks of the jobless, few people are going to feel your pain. Especially after the Yankees just rewarded you with a three-year extension for $51 million despite the fact that your work performance declined dramatically this past week. Take a moment to study your Yankees history, and you'll learn how shabbily they treated Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle during contract negotiations after seasons far superior to yours. Just be grateful and keep your trap shut.

***

I see where Sylvester Stallone is going to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota next summer for his portrayals of the fictional, rags-to-riches boxer, Rocky Balboa. Does that mean Robert Redford and Kevin Costner will soon be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame?

***

It’s hard to fathom that John Lennon’s been gone for 30 years. Seems like only yesterday, I was watching Monday Night Football when, in a truly surreal moment, Howard Cosell told us that the famous Beatle had been gunned down outside his New York City apartment. Mark David Chapman may have killed this genius, but, thankfully, Lennon’s music lives on. Sadly, though, Chapman did rob us of even more brilliant music by Lennon and the cataclysmic Beatles reunion that eventually would have taken place.

***

Speaking of Monday Night Football, I was saddened by the passing of Don Meredith the other day. Football broadcasts were never as entertaining as they were in the 1970s and ‘80s with Frank Gifford, Cosell and Dandy Don in the ABC booth. Meredith, of course, was famous for singing Willie Nelson’s “Turn Out the Lights, The Party’s Over” during the final quarters of routs and he was especially good at putting the megalomaniacal Cosell in his place. I’ll never forget watching the waning moments of a Monday night game when the camera zoomed in on a drunken fan who had passed out in the empty seats of the upper deck of a stadium during a lopsided contest. At the last second, the drunk regained consciousness and upon seeing the camera, stuck out his middle finger. Without missing a beat, Dandy Don told the viewers who had bothered to stick with the telecast: “Folks, he’s just telling us we are No. 1.”

***

Some personal business: My condolences to longtime friend and colleague Frank Bilovsky, who recently lost his mom a month shy of her 100th birthday. Imagine all the extraordinary events and changes she witnessed in her lifetime. On a happier note, my congratulations to my niece, Laura O’Brien, who just got engaged to Donnie Smith, a former Rochester Americans player and all-around good guy, and to my longtime friend Matt Michael, who was engaged during Thanksgiving. To Laura & Donnie and Matt and robin, may your marriages be filled with incredible happiness and love.

Author looks forward to busy signing season

2010-12-04T09:54:00.004-05:00

‘Tis the season to . . . do booksignings.

If you are looking for that perfect holiday book for that sports lover, please consider one of the 13 books I’ve published, including my three most recent offerings – Buffalo Bills Football Vault, Jewel of the Sports World: The Story of the Hickok Belt or Silver Seasons: The Story of the Rochester Red Wings.I have a bunch of signings scheduled, so please stop by at one of the following establishments if you are out and about and say ‘Hi.”:

Saturday, Dec. 4 – Greece Barnes & Noble, 2-4 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 10 – Victor Borders, 6-8 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 11 – Webster Barnes & Noble, 2-4 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 12 – Bills Store, Ralph Wilson Stadium, 10-noon

Tuesday, Dec. 14 – Bills Store, Ralph Wilson Stadium, 6-7 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 17 – Henrietta Borders, 6-8 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 18 – Pittsford Barnes & Noble, 2-4 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 18 – Bills Store, Eastview Mall, 6-8 p.m.

Opining on SU in the Bronx, Boeheim's deserved crankiness and the passing of two sports figures

2010-12-02T15:54:00.003-05:00

As hoped for in this cyberspace recently, the Syracuse University football team will be going bowling in the Bronx. The Orange men officially accepted the invitation to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at the new Yankee Stadium on Dec. 30 at 3:30 p.m. This will be a homecoming for coach Doug Marrone, who went to Herbert H. Lehman High School about 10 minutes from the old Yankee Stadium. And it’s even more meaningful because Marrone grew up a rabid Yankees fan – a family tradition begun by his grandfather who worked as an usher at The House That Ruth Built.

This is a good next step for the program that overachieved in going 7-5 this season. It will help SU reestablish its recruiting foothold in New York City, Long Island and New Jersey. And it will afford the thousands of Syracuse alumni in the metropolitan area an opportunity to see their alma mater play in the Big Apple. The Orange men clearly aren’t ready for a BCS bowl, which they were in the running for up until two weeks ago. They’ll have a much better shot against their likely opponent, Kansas State.

***
Everybody in the Big East sounds giddy about landing current college football powerhouse, TCU, but don’t look for any cartwheels from me. Yes, I understand that it’s all about money and protecting yourself against the carnivorous, money-grubbing conferences that are raiding one another. But it makes no sense geographically, just like it made no sense for Boston College to join the ACC. The Big Ten, which really was the Big Eleven, is now the Big Twelve, with the addition of Nebraska. And the Big East is now the Really Big East, adding a 17th school for basketball. Where does the lunacy end in the avaricious world of big-time college sports?

***
I’m sure God is happy to know that Stevie Johnson wasn’t really mad at him.

***
My Bills pick this week (I’m 8-3 for the season): Vikings 23, Bills 20. And Stevie will catch a touchdown pass.

***
I don’t recall ever seeing Jim Boeheim this cranky about one of his teams this early in the season. As Mike Waters, the superb basketball beat reporter for the Syracuse Post-Standard, wrote in his lead after SU’s victory against Cornell the other night: “Unbeaten and Unhappy.” But given the inconsistency of every Orange man but Rick Jackson, who’s been averaging a double-double so far, I can’t say as I blame Boeheim. They better play two halves of good basketball in upcoming games against North Carolina State and Michigan State or they won’t be unbeaten any more.

***
Speaking of SU hoops, please check out my column about my picks for an all-time Orange team at Channel 8’s web site, www.rochesterhomepage.net.

***
I’m saddened by the recent passing of my friend Dave Martens, the long-time Fairport High School athletic director. He was a true giant in his field, initiating several national programs, including his efforts to combat teenage alcohol and drug abuse. Dave liked to come across as gruff, but he was more Teddy Bear than grizzly, and he had a great, dry sense of humor.

***
I also was saddened by the death of Jim Kelley, a legendary hockey writer who spent most of his distinguished career with The Buffalo News. I’ll never forget Jim’s booming voice and laugh, his silver Kenny Rogers beard and hair, and, most of all, his kindness to fellow journalists, yours truly included. I got to know Jim back in 1991, when he spent a season covering the Bills. Great guy and great reporter.

Opining on Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jeter and Syracuse football & hoops

2010-11-26T13:24:00.003-05:00

I like what I’m seeing from Ryan Fitzpatrick, but I still would like to let these final six games play out before I make any decisions about his future and whether I should take a quarterback in next April’s draft. Should Fitz engineer an upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday at the Ralph, his stock clearly will take another huge jump. Let’s say the Bills win Sunday and wind up with six wins. I would consider going with Fitz as my starter the next few seasons and look at drafting a legitimate pass-rusher.
***
I’m the type of person who would rather root for my team instead of against someone else’s, but I must admit I’m enjoying the struggles of MeBron James and the Miami Frigid. The best team money couldn’t buy has lost three straight and is now 8-6. Project that over 82 games, and you get a 44-38 record, which would be a three-game decline from Miami’s record last year with the alleged King.
***
I said all along I would be satisfied to see the Syracuse football team play in the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl Game at the new Yankee Stadium on Dec. 30, and it appears it might play out that way. We’ll know more once the Big East teams finish their league schedules this weekend. This would give Doug Marrone an even stronger foothold in the New Jersey and Long Island recruiting hotbeds. A game there clearly would have special meaning for the Bron-born Marrone, whose grandfather was an usher at the House That Ruth Built.
***
I still believe this Syracuse basketball team will be very good, but they aren’t that good right now, despite a 4-0 record and a much-too-high No. 9 ranking in the national polls. They’re playing extremely uptight and shooting way too many bricks. As I wrote in my column for Channel 8 (www.rochesterhomepage.net), this weekend’s road trip might do them good.
***
As someone who’s covered his share of contract negotiations I’ve never liked it when it’s conducted in the media. Sadly, that’s the approach Derek Jeter’s agent decided to take and, with Brian Cashman firing back that Jeets is free to test the market, things have gotten ugly. I love the Yankees shortstop – he’s been a great clutch performer and a credit to the game – but his massive ego is getting in the way. The ridiculous long-term contract George Steinbrenner gave A-Rod is definitely coming into play here. Jeter wants something in the same ballpark and that has put the Bronx Bombers in a tough spot.
***
You can check out my lovely wife, Beth, in the latest issue of Rochester Woman Magazine. It deals with local morning radio and television show hosts. I know I’m biased, but I think the issue would have been better had my bride been included on the cover as she was in the past.
***
Tis the season to . . . sign books.
I have eight signings scheduled for this holiday season, so if you are looking for some great stocking gifts come on by and grab one of several sports books I have available.
Here’s my sked:
Saturday, November 26 – LiftBridge Book Store, Brockport, 2-4
Sunday, November 27 – Ralph Wilson Field House, 10-noon (before Steelers game)
Saturday, December 4 – Greece Barnes & Noble, 2-4
Saturday, December 11 – Webster Barnes & Noble, 2-4
Sunday, December 12 – Ralph Wilson Field House, 10-noon (before Browns game)
Tuesday, December 14 – Ralph Wilson Stadium gift shop, Orchard Park, 6-7
Saturday, December 18 – Pittsford Barnes & Noble, 2-4
Saturday, December 18 – Bills Store, Eastview Mall, 6-8

Opining on Jeter, T.O. and 'Cuse hoops

2010-11-18T10:03:00.003-05:00

The public posturing between the Yankees and Derek Jeter over his contract extension has heated up. But don’t worry. A deal will get done because this guy is the face of the Bronx Bombers – a modern-day Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio – and Hal and Hank Steinbrenner and crew wouldn’t want to face the public backlash that would ensue if they ushered him out of the Big Apple.
Still, it’s interesting to hear that Jetes reportedly turned down a three-year, $63-million offer because he wants a four-, five-, even six-year deal. There’s one opponent that no athlete can ever defeat, and that’s Father Time. And if last year’s dramatic dropoff in batting average (44 points below his career average) and fielding range (forget the Gold Glove; that’s an award based more on politics than fact) is any indication, the 37-year-old shortstop has begun the inevitable decline faced by most ballplayers his age. (Particularly ones who don’t use performance-enhancing drugs.)
I know Jeter is an incredibly prideful guy – it’s part of what has made him great for so long – but he can’t possibly think he will be able to continue playing shortstop for three more seasons without hurting his team. And I can’t see him hanging on the way Mantle did, and watch his career batting average plummet.
The other signing dilemma facing the Steinbrenner boys involves the other legend of the most recent Yankee dynasty – Mariano Rivera. Mo will be 42 next season, and he, too, began to show signs of mortality this year. I think the Yankees should structure contracts where both of these legends are given salary thank you’s for all they’ve done for the franchise – kind of like an Academy Award for lifetime achievement, if you will.
It would be terrible to see either end his career in anything but Yankee pinstripes. And I really don’t believe that’s going to happen – but this is a new regime. And the Steinbrenner boys, unlike their dad, can be penny-pinchers.

***

Terrell Owens clearly is having a very good season for the Cincinnati Bengals, with 59 receptions for 834 yards and 7 TDs.
But despite the gaudy stats, the Bengals have been major underachievers teams with a 2-7 record. Some Bills fans still think Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey should have re-signed T.O.
I disagree.
Had the 36-year-old returned to Buffalo, it would have retarded the growth of Stevie Johnson, a 24-year-old who has emerged quite nicely as the Bills No. 2 target with 44 receptions, 591 yards and 6 TDs. Yes, T.O. would have been entertaining, but the Bills needed to clean house and start rebuilding this leaky ship with young players who will be here for years to come.

***

I'm 7-2 in my Bills predictions this season. That said, I like the Bengals to win this week, 27-20 with Owens scoring at least once.

***

The biggest disappointment for the Syracuse basketball team so far has been the play of Kris Joseph. He emerged as the Sixth Man of the Year last season, and expectations were great for him to fill the sizeable role left by Wesley Johnson. I think Joseph is just pressing too much and will be fine once he learns to relax. For a more thorough take on the Orangemen, please check out my weekly ‘Cuse basketball column at www.rochesterhomepage.net

Pontificating on the NFL blackout rule, "MeBron" James and Syracuse hoops, among other things

2010-11-12T12:17:00.003-05:00

I’ve written this before and I’ll write it again, I don’t like the NFL blackout rule. We New York State taxpayers shelled out more than $70 mil to renovate Ralph Wilson Stadium through the years – can you say corporate welfare – and just because the Bills only sold 60,000 tickets for this week’s home game against the Detroit Lions instead of 70,000, the game is not going to be shown on local television. It’s time for some ambitious politician to stick up for the taxpayers and make Congress take a hard look at this rule.
***
Hey, did you hear the big news? Brett Favre announced that he is retiring after this season. What’s that? Oh, yeah, you’re right. He’s already done this about eight or nine times in the past three years.
***
I love the new nickname for LeBron James. Critics are now calling him “MeBron.”
***
Those folks in MeBron’s home state of Ohio got to be loving the Miami Heat’s 5-4 start. And, not surprisingly, MeBron has started questioning his coach’s strategy of playing him and Dwayne Wade too long. This keeps up and the Heat will become a bigger soap opera than the Minnesota Vikings.
***
Syracuse University basketball opens tonight in the Dome against Northern Iowa, which, like the Orange, was a Sweet 16 participate last season. I think this team is going to be tremendously good and entertaining. I’m really looking forward to center Fab Melo swatting away shots in the back line of that 2-3 zone.

Thanks to WROC-TV sports director John Kucko for asking me to write a weekly column on SU hoops to go along with my one on the Bills. You can check both out at www.rochesterhomepage.net
***
I was disappointed the Orange football team didn’t secure a bowl berth last week and if they don’t take care of business this week on the road at Rutgers, things could get dicey because their remaining two opponents – Connecticut and Boston College – have been playing better as of late.
***
I think it’s great news that RIT is going to build a new 4,000-6,000-seat hockey arena on campus. That’s the perfect size to maintain the great atmosphere they’ve had at Ritter Arena, which can hold about 2,100.
***
I read where Shawne Merriman has mentored Aaron Maybin in the past. Now, that Shawne hurt himself about 30 minutes into his first Bills practice, he’ll have the opportunity to spend even more time with the former first-round draft pick on Buffalo’s inactive list.
***
I know I shouldn’t do this after being burned twice already, but I’m going to pick the Bills to end their winless streak against the Lions in what is being hyped as “the Futility Bowl.” Buffalo 23, Detroit 16.
***
I’ve long maintained that baseball’s Gold Glove Awards are the most meaningless in sports, only slightly more politicized and irrelevant than making the NFL Pro Bowl. And that was underscored again this week when Derek Jeter – whom I respect tremendously – was awarded another Gold Glove for his play at shortstop. He’s certainly not the best fielding shortstop in the American League and he might not even be the best fielding shortstop on his own team.

Here's a change: Syracuse football team must guard against overconfidence

2010-11-04T10:55:00.002-04:00

I’ll be heading to the Carrier Dome Saturday to see if Syracuse can end its six-year bowl drought with a victory against Louisville. The situation is clear cut: Win and you’re in.

A victory obviously would be another huge step for coach Doug Marrone, who is resuscitating this moribund program much more quickly than anyone expected. The biggest opponent for the Orange men in this game might just be themselves. At 6-2 and with four games remaining, they need just one victory. They will have to guard against overconfidence because, quite frankly, despite the great strides they’ve taken, they’re still a team that isn’t talented enough to just show up and win. The final four games are all winnable and all losable.

***

Syracuse’s surprising start – which includes impressive road wins at South Florida, West Virginia and Cincinnati – apparently is having a positive impact on recruiting. Marrone is in the running for defensive end Ishaq Williams, the top high school prospect in New York State. Now, before you snicker about the poor caliber of play in the Empire State, consider this: The prospect from New York City is rated as the seventh best defensive end in the country by Scout.com and the major schools recruiting him are Alabama, USC, Penn State and Notre Dame.

SU has an in with Williams because both of his parents are Syracuse alums. But if the Orange men were still wallowing in mediocrity, they wouldn’t even be in the conversation.

This would be, by far, the biggest recruit Marrone will have landed. Williams is scheduled to make his visit to the SU campus on Dec. 11 and make a decision in early January. Stay tuned.

***

I’m all for the Bills taking a chance on released San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman. It’s a low-risk, high-reward deal and even if he is only 75 percent the player he was a few years ago before he suffered a spate of injuries, he’ll still be an improvement over the linebackers and pass-rushers the Bills currently have.

***

Kudos to the New York Mets for reducing their ticket prices by 14 percent for the 2011 season. As noted in a column a few weeks back, I called for the Buffalo Bills to reduce their prices as a show of good faith for their fans incredible patience. I hope the Mets become trend-setters in this area. Of course, this might require the players to take pay cuts and that’s about as likely to happen as elephants flying.

***

Today’s stupidity in sports award goes to Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics. One of the NBA’s most infamous trash talkers, Garnett reportedly called Detroit’s Charlie Villanueva “a cancer patient” during Tuesday night’s game.

Villanueva suffers from alopecia universalis, a medical condition that results in hair loss. He does not have any hair on his head.

Garnett denied the allegations before last night’s game, saying in a statement: “I am aware there was a major miscommunication regarding something I said on the court last night. My comment to Charlie Villanueva was in fact: You are cancerous to your team and our league. I would never be insensitive to the brave struggle that cancer patients endure. I have lost loved ones to this deadly disease and have a family member currently undergoing treatment. I would never say anything distasteful. The game of life is bigger than the game of basketball.”

The spin doctors who wrote that statement for him should realize that even saying someone is “cancerous to your team and out league” is quite insensitive and distasteful. But it’s a distasteful comment, sadly, that many in sports make without thinking twice about it.

***

Finally, if you’d like to meet two World Series champions and two of the classiest people in Rochester sports history, head to The Webster Columbus Center (a k a The Knights of Columbus) at 70 Barrett Dr. in Webster Sunday for the monthly CollectorFest hosted by Ernest Orlando. Former champs Johnny Antonelli (pitcher, 1954 New York Giants) and Joe Altobelli (manager, 1983 Baltimore Orioles) will be signing from 1-2:30.

The show, featuring several local sports memorabilia dealers, runs from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Admission is free, while autographs are $5 apiece, with all proceeds going to The Wilmot Cancer Center.

Orlando, a Rochester elementary school teacher, has been running these monthly shows for the past decade. He does a great job.

Syracuse now Top 25 candidate, and Marrone's deserving of coach-of-the-year honors

2010-10-31T10:54:00.003-04:00

I was optimistic that Doug Marrone would return Syracuse football to prominence. But I never expected him to resurrect the program this quickly.
With yesterday’s easy 31-7 victory against two-time defending Big East champ Cincinnati on the road, SU is now 6-2 and could crack the weekly Top 25 for the first time in a decade. The Orange men clearly deserve to be ranked, given their record, which includes four impressive road wins.
And Marrone, a former Syracuse player who spent his post-playing career preparing to land the head job at his alma mater, merits strong consideration for national coach-of-the-year honors.
Yes, I know, the Big East is extremely week this season, but the national experts knew that going in and they still didn’t predict any marked improvement by the Orange.
And don’t forget what Marrone inherited from Greg Robinson – a program in total dysfunction; a program that had posted two 10-loss seasons in four years. The first double-digit, loss seasons, we might add, in the 121-year history of SU football.
With one victory in their remaining four regular-season games, SU becomes bowl eligible. Three of the Orange men’s final four games are in the Carrier Dome and Rutgers is the only remaining opponent with a winning record (4-3). So, it’s not inconceivable that Syracuse could run the table against Louisville (4-4), Rutgers, Connecticut (4-4) and Boston College (3-5) to finish 10-2 as they did in 2001. If they do that and Pitt stumbles in a few Big East games (a distinct possibility given the Panthers history of inconsistency under coach Dave Wannstedt), SU could – I’m not making this up – play in a BCS bowl this January.
I’m not saying that Syracuse suddenly is a national football power. They’re still two solid recruiting classes away from that status. But they’ve made remarkable strides under Marrone in a short period of time.
I think it’s about time SU fans jump on the bandwagon. Fill the Dome this Saturday for the game aganst Louisville. You will be witness to the victory that will return SU to the post-season.

***
Although I think Ryan Fitztpatrick will again put up impressive numbers, I can’t see the Bills pulling one out against the Chiefs in Kansas City this afternoon. I believe Thomas Jones and the Chiefs will run roughshod against the league’s worst run defense. Call it KC 33, Buffalo 26, as the Bills drop to 0-7.
***
Happy Birthday to my older brother, Russ. I won't tell you how old he is, but it has something to do with the speed limit on the Thurway. ;-)

Surprsing Fitz scoring points with Bills

2010-10-25T10:27:00.001-04:00

If you want to win a few water cooler bets today, ask your colleagues to name the second highest-rated quarterback in the NFL this season.

Here’s a clue: The top-rated passer is future Hall-of-Famer Peyton Manning and the runner-up isn’t Tom Brady or Drew Brees or Philip Rivers or Eli Manning or Tony Romo or Donovan McNabb or Michael Vick.

Here’s another clue: The current No. 2 went to Harvard and claims that he isn’t even the best athlete in his household – those honors going to his wife, Liza, who was an All-American soccer player for the Crimson.

If you answered, “Ryan Fitzpatrick,” you deserve a huge pat on the back.

And you’re undoubtedly a die-hard Bills fan.

The man known as Fitz checks in this morning with a 102.0 rating, just 1.4 points behind the vaunted Manning. In his four starts since replacing the woeful Trent Edwards, Fitzpatrick has completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 969 yards and 11 touchdowns, and has thrown just four interceptions. He is averaging more yards per game than Brady and has more TD tosses in two fewer starts than Romo.

Although, he is win-less in those starts, Fitzpatrick has helped Buffalo score 34, 26, 14 and 30 points – meaning he has put his team in position to win three of those games. Sadly, he and the Bills have been undermined by a generous defense that has yielded 37, 36, 38 and 38 during that stretch.

At the very least, Fitz has made these 0-6 Bills entertaining. Despite possessing one of the weaker arms in the league, he hasn’t been afraid to take chances and throw downfield – a refreshing change from Edwards’ “Captain Checkdown’’ approach.

I just want to caution folks from getting too giddy. I still believe the Bills need to draft their quarterback of the future in April – “Andrew Luck, welcome to Buffalo” – but I would start Fitz until Luck is ready and would love having a situation where the 27-year-old veteran is my backup, emergency starter and mentor to the young guy.

He keeps playing like he did yesterday when he threw for 364 yards and four scores against a miserly Baltimore Ravens defense, and the Bills are sure to win a few games this season.

***
For more on the Bills, please check out my column and video report for Channel 8 and Fox at www.Rochesterhomepage.net.

***
If you aren’t doing anything tomorrow at noon, please stop by the Downtown library. I’m going to be doing a review of George Wills’ baseball book, “Men at Work” as part of the Books Sandwiched In program.

Big win means 'Cuse in good shape to go bowling

2010-10-24T10:04:00.004-04:00

After being bowled over last week by Pitt at the Carrier Dome, some people were griping that Syracuse University football under Doug Marrone wasn’t much better than Syracuse University football had been under his predecessor, Greg Robinson.
Well, I wonder what those negative nabobs have to say the day after the Orange men manhandled 20th-ranked West Virginia, 19-14, to spoil the Mountaineers’ homecoming.
Yes, the Big East is more like the Big Least this season, but this was the marquee win, in a hostile environment, that the rebounding SU program needed.
Does this mean the Orange men have officially turned the corner? No, but it does mean that with a 5-2 record for the first time in a decade the talk of a bowl game is no longer a pipe dream. And that was the goal in year two of the Marrone reconstruction program – seven wins and a bowl invitation.
There might be some more missteps along the way, but SU clearly is moving in the right direction and, we, might add, a lot more rapidly than most expected. The West Virginia win is further proof that Marrone’s plan is working.
After a road game in Cincinnati next Saturday, the Orange returns home to host Louisville. It’s about time fickle Syracuse fans pack the Carrier Dome and start backing Doug’s rebuilding efforts. Anything less than a fullhouse on Nov. 6 would be a disgrace.

***
I'd like to see Syracuse play in the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl game at Yankee Stadium. SU has been re-establishing itself as a presence in the Big Apple and that certainly would help with recruiting. And I'm sure it would be a pretty emotional moment for Marrone, who was born and bred in the Bronx and grew up a huge Yankees fan.

***
While Syracuse makes strides, the Bills continue to slide deeper into the abyss. And there’s no reason to believe Buffalo will snap out of it today in Baltimore against a Ravens team that’s sure to be ornery a week after squandering a double-digit lead in losing to the Patriots in New England. I think Ray Lewis & Co. will beat up on the punch-less Bills, 34-9. Please check out my post-game column at www.rochesterhomepage.net and watch my analysis on FOX Channel 7 at 10 and WROC TV-8 during the 11 o’clock news.

***
Few people are more knowledgeable about baseball - and a lot of other things, for that matter - than my good friend and former colleague Frank Bilovsky. While chatting with him a few weeks ago, he told me to keep an eye on the San Francisco Giants, and he was right.

***
With Cliff Lee pitching like Whitey Ford, I like the Texas Rangers to beat the Giants in seven games in the World Series.

A radical way of saying thank you to Bills fans for sticking with us

2010-10-12T09:05:00.004-04:00

From time to time, Beth and I like to play the hypothetical game. You know, “What if you inherited a million dollars out of the blue?” or “What if you had the ability to fly?” or “What if you could meet any person in history?”
Well, yesterday my better half asked me what would be the first thing I would do if Ralph Wilson decided to give me the Buffalo Bills. And I told her I immediately would announce to the fans that I was lowering ticket prices across the board as a thank you for enduring the rotten football of the past 11 years.
I bring this up because later in the day I saw that Ralph had spoken to The Associated Press and accepted blame for the general manager and coaching carousel and lousy drafting of the past 10 years. That was commendable. But I didn’t like his response when asked what message he had for the fans. “Two words,’’ he responded. “Pain and patience. P and P.”
Bills fans who have paid their hard-earned money for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in a decade and is off to an 0-5 start this season have been more than patient. And they know all about pain.
They are smart enough to realize that there is no quick fix, that it will take a few more years, at least, to climb out of the abyss.
I think as a show of good faith, Ralph should do something unprecedented. I believe he should take a hit in the wallet and buy up the unsold tickets for the remaining home games (Detroit, Cleveland, New England) and distribute them to fans in Buffalo, Rochester and southern Ontario. The first people I’d offer the freebies to are the 13,000 who decided not to renew their season tickets this season.
I know this is radical thinking and would be quite costly. But it would ensure that those games would not be blacked out and also send a message to the fan base that we’re sorry for having subjected you to this sub-standard product and we appreciate your loyalty and hope you stick with us.
I know it’s a pipe dream. But something dramatic needs to be done.

***
Speaking of dreamers, congratulations to my friend, Tony Liccione, for reviving the Hickok Belt award, which from 1950 through 1976 was the most prestigious individual honor in professional sports We have a press conference with Mayor Robert Duffy today at City Hall to announce the return of the award to Rochester after a 29-year hiatus. (The last five years of its existence, it was presented outside of Rochester.) It also will be an opportunity for me to plug my new book, Jewel of the Sports World: The Story of the Hickok Belt Award, which will be published by RIT Press on October 25.

Opining on Billy Crystal, Doc Halladay's no-no and the Buffalo Bills

2010-10-07T11:32:00.005-04:00

Beth and I had a chance to hobnob with Billy Crystal and Bob Costas last Friday night at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Crystal had donated a number of items from 61*, his wonderful film about the riveting home run duel between Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and the ghost of Babe Ruth in 1961, and was on hand for a talk and movie screening. Costas, a Syracuse classmate of mine, moderated a panel discussion that included Crystal, Thomas Jane ( the actor who played Mantle in the movie) and the producer and screenwriter who conceived the idea for HBO. It was a fabulous night in which I was reminded again of Crystal’s genius as a comedian and director and Costas’ brilliance as an interviewer.

One of the memorable stories told that evening was how Mantle hadn’t seen his plaque hanging in the Hall of Fame until Crystal brought him back to film a comedy skit in 1985, 11 years after Mickey’s induction. Crystal said that Mantle, haunted by feelings that he had not done everything he should have to fulfill his enormous potential, confided to the comedian that he felt he really didn’t belong in the Hall. Believe me, anybody who ever saw him play, will tell you he definitely belonged – near the front of the class. Still, it was a poignant revelation into the soul of a player who was a tortured genius.

As an aside, you’ll notice in that picture of Billy C and me, I’m holding a copy of my book, Memories of Yankee Stadium, which includes an essay I wrote about Crystal’s life-long love affair with Mantle and the Yankees. I had sent him a copy of the book two years ago when it first came out and he said he enjoyed it. We authors love those kind of endorsements. Thanks to my friend, Chris Sciria from Auburn, for snapping the shot.

***

There are few baseball dramas more compelling than the final outs of a no-hitter. I had no idea that Roy Halladay was working on one until I flipped the channel to TBS at the start of the top of the ninth last evening. I was nervous watching him work through those final hitters, and was rooting for him because even though I’m not a Phillies fan, I’m a fan of history-making events. Even Beth, who doesn’t follow baseball, was getting into it a little.

***

Interestingly, Doc Halladay’s no-hitter occurred just two days short of the anniversary of the only other post-season no-hitter – Don Larsen’s perfecto for the Yankees vs. the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1956 World Series. Think about that: Baseball’s playoffs now begin near the time World Series ended back in the day. If this year’s Fall Classic goes the distance, Game 7 will be played on Nov. 7. Way to go, Bud.
***

I told Beth the other day that I’m going to grow a beard and not shave it off until the Bills win a game, and she had a sarcastic two-word response: “Rip VanWinkle.”
Actually, I think I’d be able to pull out the razor Sunday because I believe these counterfeit Bills will upset the Jacksonville Jaguars in front of a two-thirds filled Ralph. Call it Buffalo 23, Jags 17, and look for a big game by running back Fred Jackson, who should have been playing all along but lost playing time during the four-game Marshawn Lynch trade audition.

***

The next best chance for a Buffalo victory will come on November 14 at home against the perennially weak Detroit Lions.
This Sunday’s game will be blacked out, and you can also expect the Lions, Browns (Dec. 12) and Patriots (Dec. 26) games won’t be televised either, as the Bills sink deeper into irrelevancy.

***

If you are going to Sunday’s game, stop by the field house, where I’ll be signing copies of my new book, Buffalo Bills Football Vault: The First 50 Seasons from 10-noon. Hey, the book takes you back in time, and isn’t the past a better place to be than the present as far as the Bills are concerned?

***

Saw the movie, Social Network, about the founding of Facebook last week. Highly recommend it. Great story, great acting. Can see why it is receiving Oscar buzz.

Opining on dysfunctional Bills, Yanks rotation, Tampa's apathy

2010-09-30T09:34:00.003-04:00

Baffling decisions, like the one yesterday to give mediocre outside linebacker Chris Kelsay a four-year, $24-million contract extension, just add to the perception that the Bills front office hasn’t a clue. Yes, Kelsay’s been a loyal soldier and was an OK defensive end before becoming moving to linebacker in Buffalo’s new 3-4 defense this season. But the 30-year-old’s play didn’t merit any sort of extension. Throwing that kind of money at a so-so player while you’re trying to rebuild makes no sense whatsoever.
***
A 20.5-percent drop in season-ticket sales indicates that many Bills fans have gone from being angry to apathetic, and that’s not a good thing. I’d rather have fans in the seats at the Ralph showing their displeasure by booing their team than deciding not to show up at all.
Sales for this season were 43,383, a sharp drop from 55,308 last year and 56,011 the year before. Sunday’s game against the Jets should sell out and the Nov. 28 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Ralph also is sold out, but the Bills are going to have a difficult time avoiding blackouts for upcoming home games vs. Jacksonville (Oct. 10), Detroit (Nov. 14), Cleveland (Dec. 12) and New England (Dec. 26).
***
Despite the decline in attendance, Bills fans remain remarkably loyal, considering their team’s 0-3 start and 10-year playoff drought. That’s in stark contrast to Tampa, which is proving it is not a very good sports town. The Rays, who have a chance to make it back to the World Series after a one-year hiatus, were forced to give away 20,000 free tickets in order to pack its ballpark last night. And the NFL’s Bucs are off to a 2-1 start and tied for first in the NFC South, but have been blacked out twice already.
***
The Yankees rotation is a mess heading into the post-season and unless they get some solid performances out of Phil Hughes and Andy Pettitte to go along with the always dependable CC Sabathia, I can see them being bounced in the first round. A.J. Burnett and Javier Vasquez are two talented pitchers who can’t seem to handle the pressure of pitching in New York. Pettitte is one of the great post-season pitchers of all-time, but he’s still very rusty after his injury and long layoff and may not be sharp enough in time.
***
Congratulations to Greece’s Brian Gionta for being named captain of the Montreal Canadiens. He is only the second American-born player to wear the “C’’ in the 101-year history of hockey’s most famous franchise. And they couldn’t have chosen a better guy for the honor.
***
Three-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador tested positive for a banned substance. Is this supposed to be news? The real shocker would be if a Tour de France champion DIDN’T test positive or wasn’t even suspected of using a banned substance or blood doping.
***
Philly fans have never been known for being classy. But I would hope that when former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb returns as a member of the Washington Redskins Sunday that he receives a rousing ovation. The guy was the best quarterback in Eagles history – a fact often forgotten by Philly fans because he didn’t bring the Lombardi Trophy to the City of Brother Love.
***
On a personal note, a Happy Birthday to my daughter, Amy, who turns 24 on Saturday. She’ll always be my little girl no matter how old she becomes.

Syracuse football is taking baby steps forward on rebuilding road

2010-09-24T10:15:00.004-04:00

I’ll be getting my first in-person look at the Syracuse University football team Saturday when I travel to the Carrier Dome to watch the Orange men renew their long upstate rivalry with Colgate. I’m looking forward to seeing sophomore quarterback Ryan Nassib, who last week set a school record with five TD tosses against overmatched Maine. The young man from Philly has looked pretty good so far and it appears that Coach Doug Marrone might have something around which can pin his rebuilding. SU remains a work in progress – they’re still several bricks shy of a load – but I like the strides that have been made under Marrone. I also like how he gives his team history lessons about the program every week. This week he’s taught them about the historical significance of the series with Colgate, whom the Orange men haven’t played since their 11-0-1 season in 1987.
***
I also like it that the school will be honoring the 1984 team’s 17-9 upset of No. 1 Nebraska in the Dome. I had the privilege of covering that shocker and it remains one of the top 25 events I chronicled during my 37 years in the business. The week before, SU had fumbled eight times in a 19-0 loss to Rutgers and the odds-makers had established the Cornhuskers as 24-point favorites – a spot that some thought was too modest. Todd Norley threw a touchdown pass to a leaping Mike Siano and the defense, led by All-American tackle Tim Green, wound up stifling Nebraska. I’ll never forget the sight of Ben Schwartzwalder, the legendary former SU coach, in the press box after the final gun sounded. There were tears in the old man’s eyes as he watched the jubilation on the field.

***
Pitt’s thrashing as the hands of Miami is another indication that the Big East Conference is way down this season. And that’s good news for SU as it attempts to go 7-5 and become bowl eligible.
***
Can’t wait to watch Ken Burns’ 10th Inning next Tuesday and Wednesday at 8 on WXXI. Burns did a magnificent job documenting baseball’s history in the first nine segments back in 1994, and so much has happened to the game – much of it bad – since then. The two worst things were the strike that canceled the ’94 World Series and the steroids scandal that has ripped the game from its historical moorings. But there also have been several positives – namely the Yankees return to prominence, the Red Sox putting an end to the Curse of the Bambino, the construction of numerous retro ballparks, the influx of Latino and Asian players and inter-league play.
***
I don’t believe the Bills will upset the Patriots this Sunday in Foxboro. New England has to be angry about the way it played in last week’s loss to the Jets and I believe Tom Brady and Wes Welker could have a field day against Buffalo, which has a difficult time pressuring quarterbacks. However, I do believe new starter Ryan Fitzpatrick will give the Bills offense a little spark because he makes quicker decisions than predecessor Trent Edwards, is willing to take some risks downfield and is facing a Patriots defense that isn’t as good as Green Bay’s or Miami’s, Buffalo’s first two opponents. My prediction: Patriots 37, Bills 17.
***
It’s not too early to look ahead to the 2011 season, so if you aren’t doing anything Saturday afternoon, you can catch two top candidates for the Bills quarterback job – Stanford’s Andrew Luck vs. Notre Dame or Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett vs. top-ranked Alabama. Washington’s Jake Locker, the other potential Bills draft pick, has seen his stock plummet after a poor showing last week vs. Nebraska.

Opining on the Bills QB move, The Boss' ceremony and Torre's return to the Bronx

2010-09-21T11:12:00.005-04:00

I give Chan Gailey credit for pulling the plug on Trent Edwards after two pathetic performances. We’ve certainly seen enough of Trent over the past four seasons to tell us that he is not the guy to revive the moribund Bills. At the very least, Ryan Fitzpatrick will attempt to get the ball down the field to Lee Evans more and make quicker decisions. The bottom line, though, is that the Bills will continue their losing ways because there just aren’t enough talented players on their roster – and that includes quarterback. I said it back in May and I’ll say it again – the QB with the best chance of leading Buffalo out of the abyss isn’t on the current roster; he’s playing college football this fall. Either Andrew Luck of Stanford, Ryan Mallett of Arkansas or Jake Locker of Washington will be wearing a Bills uniform next season. (If there is a season and not a strike, of course.)

***
Late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner clearly was deserving of a monument at the new House That The Boss Built, but did it need to be so huge that it overshadowed the ones dedicated to Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle?
***
I thought the unveiling ceremony at the new Yankee Stadium last night was nicely done and I was especially happy to see Joe Torre and Don Mattingly there. It was classy of the Yankees to extend the olive branch to Torre, who ranks up there with Casey Stengel and Joe McCarthy as the best managers in team history. And it was classy of Joe and Donnie Baseball to make the cross-country trek on a Los Angeles Dodgers off-day.
***
I’m hearing all sorts of rumors about Torre becoming manager of the Mets or the Cardinals or Cubs. But how about this for a crazy scenario? Torre back to the Yankees if Joe Girardi decides to go to Chicago to skipper the team he grew up following. Sounds implausible, but stranger things have happened. And if The Boss was still running the team, I definitely could see something crazy like that occurring.
***
Torre might wind up retiring from managing for good. And if he does, I think the Yankees should retire his No. 6. That would leave only No. 2 (Derek Jeter) among the single digits not packed permanently in mothballs. Of course, at the pace the Yankees retire numbers, the next generation of players will be wearing triple-digits.
***
On a personal note, a belated Happy 30th Wedding Anniversary to Dave and Diane Smith, two of the kindest people I know.

Some advice for the Bills, Heisman trustees, Bud Selig & SU gridders

2010-09-15T19:40:00.006-04:00

Some things I'd like to see this Sunday from the Buffalo Bills, who have been installed as double-digit underdogs against the Packers at Lambeau Field:
* A commitment to the run game. A total of just 17 carries against Miami last week isn't going to cut it. I'm still trying to figure out why Chan Gailey decided to open with three straight pass plays when he knows the strength of this team is its trio of running backs.
* Along those same lines, many more touches for Fred Jackson, especially now that he has his cast off. He carried just four times for 19 yards and caught two passes for zero yards.
* Some more downfield throws by Trent Edwards. Yes, I know he was under duress much of the afternoon because of the Dolphins penetrating pass rush and the Bills poor pass protection, but you have to take more long shots if you want to stop defenses from ganging up against the run and hit an occasional home run.
* Some takeaways by Buffalo's defense. The Bills did a good job of bottling up the Dolphins, but they didn't induce any turnovers, which was their forte last year.
* A better job of play-calling by Gailey.
* A more relaxed C.J. Spiller.
* Replacement of Edwards with either Ryan Fitzpatrick or Brian Brohm if Trent continues playing like last week.

The thing is that even if each of the aforementioned desires are answered, the Bills still probably aren't going to win against Aaron Rodgers and Co. Call it the Packers, 31-16.

***

Hate to say it, but as a nearly five-decade follower of the Yankees, I think age is finally catching up to the Bronx Bombers. Derek Jeter is struggling through the worst year of his career, as are A-Rod and Jorge Posada. The only one of the core four who's managed to out-fox Father Time is Mariano Rivera. The Yankees need Andy Pettitte back in top form in the worst way in order to stabilize their shaky rotation. At this juncture, I think the Phillies are the favorties to win the World Series. I wouldn't want to face their top three pitchers in a seven-game series.

***

I like Mike Scioscia's idea of shortening the major league baseball schedule. Either reduce it to 154 games or re-institute scheduled doubleheaders so the season doesn't begin in March and end in November. I know some purists would grumble if the sked was reduced to 154 or 144 games because of the sanctity of baseball's numbers. Well, the integrity of the numbers has been ruined by a generation of steroid usage, so who cares any more?

***

I'm glad that Reggie Bush was shamed into giving back his Heisman Trophy, but why not award the trophy to the player who finished second to him that year - Vince Young.

***

If I'm a Jets fan I'm very, very concerned about my quarterback, Mark Sanchez. I know he was going against a hellacious Ravens defense the other night, but he looked about as uncertain as Trent Edwards out there.

***

Syracuse can't afford to take its next two opponents - Maine and Colgate - lightly just because they play in a division a level below the BCS. Just ask Virginia Tech and Mississippi, who were upset by teams in the division formerly known as I-AA.

Bills will upset Miami, but after that . . .

2010-09-10T11:07:00.003-04:00

Consider me not a purveyor of gloom-and-doom, but rather a realist. Like the meteorologist who forecasts the lake effect snow storm, I’m not the reason it’s snowing. I’m just trying to prepare you for what lies ahead for the 2010 Buffalo Bills so that you won’t feel compelled to jump into the Niagara River once the losses mount and optimism fades. (In other words, please don’t shoot the messenger for what he is about to write.)

I, too, have been encouraged by the progress the Bills have shown in the offseason and during practice games. Chan Gailey appears to be the no-nonsense coach the team needed after Dick Jauron’s kid gloves’ approach. Electric running back C.J. Spiller is a star-in-the-making. Quarterback Trent Edwards appears to have some of his confidence back. And the Bills have a top echelon secondary and a talented corps of running backs to go with two guards in Eric Wood and Andy LeVitre, who could be dependable performers for years to come.

All that said, the Bills won’t be ending their decade-long playoff drought this season. Nor will they be sniffing a .500 record. There still isn’t enough talent on this roster to turn the corner. Plus, their AFC East opponents have improved and Buffalo faces a brutal, front-loaded schedule featuring four of its first six games against playoff teams from last season. I believe the Bills are looking at a 5-11 record and another last-place finish.

But I also believe that new general manager Buddy Nix and Gailey – two football lifers with successful track records – are building a legitimate foundation for the future. With another successful draft and the continued development of the existing young talent, the Bills might be ready to blossom into contenders in 2011 (if the season isn’t wiped out by a strike).

If you’re a Bills fan, you need to hope that Spiller is indeed a thriller; Edwards develops into a legitimate and durable NFL quarterback; athletic, young left offensive tackle Demetrius Bell realizes his football potential; undrafted rookie wide receiver David Nelson becomes the tall receiving threat that the departed James Hardy never became; linebacker Aaron Maybin blossoms into a feared pass rusher; the Bills make a successful conversion to the 3-4 and stop being a sieve against the run, and punter Brian Moorman and kicker Rian Lindell continue to display the consistent excellence they’ve shown for nearly a decade.

Although I don’t see the Bills being upwardly mobile in the standings this season, I do see them opening with an upset of the Dolphins Sunday. I think they will be riding the wave of emotion and confidence built over the summer and I believe Miami’s defense is vulnerable without nose tackle Jason Ferguson (suspended for violation of the NFL drug policy) and defensive end Philip Merling (out for the season with an Achilles tendon injury).

Let’s call it, Buffalo 20, Miami 16.

After that, it will be downhill, with road losses to Green Bay and New England and at home to the New York Jets. That will be followed by a win at home against Jacksonville, losses on the road to Baltimore and Kansas City, a win in Toronto vs. the Chicago Bears, a win against Detroit at the Ralph, a loss on the road to Cincinnati, a loss at home to Pittsburgh (who will have Ben Roethlisberger back at QB), a loss at Minnesota, a victory at home vs. Cleveland (let’s hope these teams put on a better show than last year’s 6-3 yawner), a loss on the road to the Dolphins, a loss at home to the Patriots and loss to the Jets.

***

Speaking of teams in the rebuilding mode, I was impressed with Syracuse University’s workmanlike 29-3 win vs. Akron last week. I know a victory against a week team like the Zips isn’t cause to run out and make bowl reservations, but when you haven’t won a season-opener in six years, you take whatever progress you can get. Quarterback Ryan Nassib looked good, passing for 229 yards and running for 58 more, but will have to do a better job of protecting the football (interception and two fumbles) this week at Washington. The defense was impressive, limiting the Zips to 166 yards and just a field goal – the lowest point total yielded by the Orange in five seasons.

The Huskies game Saturday night will give us a better measure how far SU has come. Washington features Jake Locker, a strong-armed, mobile quarterback who’s projected to be taken No. 1 in next year’s draft. Second-year SU coach Doug Marrone is a student of football history and big on tradition, but here is one tradition he hopes to discontinue Saturday: Since 1964, the Orange men are just 1-10-1 in West Coast games.

I don’t see them beating a Huskies team that’s sure to be angry after dropping a close game at BYU last week. But if they can be competitive, I think it will be another baby step in the right direction.

***

Thanks to WROC TV-8 for adding me to their Bills coverage this season. I’m writing a weekly column for their web site - www.rochesterhomepage.net - and will be doing some on-air stuff after home games with my friend John Kucko.
Also, I’m continuing to do the Bills Brothers radio show with John DiTullio, Mike Catalana and Sal Maiorana on WHTK 1280-AM and 107.3-FM from 3-4 on Thursday afternoons.
Finally, I’ll be doing a talk and booksigning at the Barnes & Noble in Webster, Saturday from 1-3 p.m. My new book, Buffalo Bills Football Vault: The First 50 Seasons, continues to do well, ranking 11th on Amazon.com’s list of best-selling NFL books yesterday after rising as high as fourth on two previous occasions.

***

Congratulations to my good friend and 19th century base ball teammate, Max Robertson, who will be inducted into the Rochester Senior Slowpitch Softball Association Hall of Fame Saturday. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy. Tickets remain and can be purchased at the Diplomat Party House. Festivities begin at 6.

Altobelli clearly is no ordinary Joe

2010-09-05T11:23:00.004-04:00

I'm really looking forward to seeing the statue of Joe Altobelli unveiled at Frontier Field before tonight's Rochester Red Wings game because no one in our city's rich 100-plus years of professional baseball has worn more hats for the organization than Alto.

He's been a player, coach, manager, general manager and broadcaster in his many years with the Wings. But the greatest role he's played is the unofficial one as baseball ambassador.

I've been covering sports for 37 years and I'd be hard-pressed to come up with a nicer or classier man than Joe Altobelli. And I believe if you asked any of my local sports media peers they'd second that emotion. In addition to spinning wonderful yarns about his extraordinary baseball life, Alto has been great, too, about teaching me things about the game that I never knew.

And as my friend and fellow author, Jim Mandelaro, will tell you, Alto has always been extremely generous in helping us promote our book, Silver Seasons - both when it was originally published back during the closing of old Silver Stadium in 1996 and this year, when we released a revised edition.

In celebration of Alto's special night, I'm re-running the feature I wrote about him in the Democrat and Chronicle about a decade ago when he celebrated his 50th season in pro ball. I hope it gives you a feel for his remarkable journey. Enjoy. And congrats to Joe on an honor well-deserved.

A LIFE-LONG PASSION FOR THE GAME

Baseball is a game of numbers, and there are many digits that come to mind with Joe Altobelli.

Like the number six, which was how many cents it cost to take the trolley from his house in East Detroit to Tiger Stadium to watch his childhood hero, Hank Greenberg, in the late 1930s, early '40s.

Or 6,000, which is how many dollars Altobelli received back in 1951 to sign with the Cleveland Indians.

Or 383, the first jersey he was issued when he reported to the Indians minor-league camp in Daytona Beach, Fla., a half-century ago.

Or 1983, the year Altobelli managed the Baltimore Orioles to their last World Series championship.

But the number that will be foremost in his thoughts when he arrives at Frontier Field today to provide color commentary for the Red Wings home opener against Scranton is 50. That's how many years Altobelli has spent in professional baseball.
"You wonder where the time goes," said the man known to Rochesterians as “Mr. Baseball. “All I know is that baseball has been very, very good to me."

It has been his life.

The 67-year-old has been a player, coach and manager in both the minors and majors. He also has served as the Red Wings general manager and consultant, and, for the past three years, the sidekick of Wings play-by-play man Joe Castellano on radio broadcasts.

"About the only thing I haven't done that I still want to do," Altobelli said, chuckling, "is work on the grounds crew at Frontier Field."

He says he wants to drive the riding mower but hasn't persuaded grounds crew chief Gene Buonomo to hand over the keys.

"Hey, there are worse jobs in the world than being on a riding mower in the outfield of a ballpark on a warm, sunny day," Altobelli said.

Should he cruise the outfield at Frontier, he'll be reminded of yet another significant number - 26: his uniform number now displayed in his honor on the outfield wall.

What can't be quantified by numbers is Altobelli's passion for the game, whose roots stretch all the way back to the Great Depression, when he played sandlot ball from sunrise to sunset in the Motor City. This son of Italian immigrants excelled at all sports - he was such a talented receiver that Michigan and Purdue offered him football scholarships. But baseball was his first love and best sport.

The New York Yankees offered him a contract the night of his high school commencement, and he had tryouts with the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebetts Field and with the Tigers. He eventually accepted the Indians' offer of a $5,000 bonus and a $1,000 minor-league salary, in part, because Greenberg was the team's general manager.

Altobelli used part of his bonus to purchase a new Chevy, into which he loaded his belongings in March '51 for the two-day trip to Daytona Beach, Fla. When he arrived at the Indians' minor-league complex, he was given the triple-digit jersey, an indication of the vast number of players in camp.

"It was a little overwhelming at first," he said. "I was homesick. A lot of guys were. We all slept in barracks, and a coach would come in at 6:30 in the morning and fire off a blank gun to wake you up. You felt like you were in the military."

Altobelli survived that baseball boot camp and wound up having a sensational season for Daytona Beach, the Indians Class D team in the Florida State League. The first baseman hit safely in 37 consecutive games - a league record that still stands - and batted .341 with more than 100 runs batted in and 100 runs scored. An outstanding pitcher in high school, Altobelli persuaded his manager to let him take the mound in the regular-season finale. He pitched five innings to notch the win. Rocky Colavito, who would become an All-Star outfielder with the Indians and Tigers, picked up the save.

Altobelli progressed quickly through the minors, and, in 1955, he was promoted to the big leagues. The Indians used him primarily as a late-inning defensive replacement, but he received a rare start at first base that season and went 3-for-5 with a home run against the Tigers, in Detroit.

With only 16 major-league teams - 14 fewer than today - competition for roster spots was fierce. Altobelli was sent back down to Indianapolis after appearing in 42 games. He spent part of the 1957 season with the Indians and part of the '61 season with the Minnesota Twins. His big-league totals were mediocre: 166 games, 5 homers, 28 RBI, .210 batting average.

In 1963, the Los Angeles Dodgers loaned him to the Red Wings. Altobelli fell in love with the city and the fans fell in love with him. At the end of year, Red Wings general manager George Sisler Jr. purchased Altobelli's contract from the Dodgers for $500.

Altobelli was on the downside of his playing career, but he recalls his four seasons with the Wings as among his most enjoyable. He spent much of his time mentoring Oriole prospects such as Mike Epstein and Curt Blefary. Baltimore general manager Harry Dalton took notice, offering Altobelli a manager's job with the team's Class A affiliate in Bluefield, W.Va.

The summer of '66 was significant for another reason: Altobelli and his wife, Patsy, decided to buy a house in Gates.

"I'd been all around the country in my travels, and I never found a place where I felt more at home," he said. "A lot of baseball people settle in warm-climate places. They said you must be nuts living there with those kinds of winters. I said, "The weather may be cold, but the people are warm.' "

In 1971, he was promoted to manage the Wings, the Orioles' top farm team, and that club wound up winning the Governors' Cup and the Junior World Series.

"We had a great ballclub, but the thing people forget is that a couple of months into the season, we were a game below .500," Altobelli said. "The last two months, we sprinted to the finish line."

That team, led by future major-league all-stars Bobby Grich and Don Baylor, was recognized by Baseball America magazine as one of the best in minor-league history. One of the players on that team was Ron Shelton, a utility infielder who went on to become an Academy Award nominated screenwriter and producer. His critically acclaimed baseball comedy, Bull Durham, was inspired in part by Altobelli. Crash Davis, the journeyman catcher played by Kevin Costner, is based loosely on Altobelli.

The Wings experienced remarkable success with Alto as manager, winning two International League titles and 502 games in six seasons.

After the 1976 season, the San Francisco Giants hired him, and two years later he was named the National League Manager of the Year.

Managers are hired to be fired, and Altobelli was sent packing in 1979. He joined the Yankees organization, first as a manager at Columbus, then as a coach in New York. When Earl Weaver retired as Baltimore's manager in the autumn of '82, Orioles owner Edward Bennett Williams hired Altobelli.

In his first season there, he led the Orioles to a World Series championship, helped out by the surprising pitching of Mike Boddicker, who had toiled several seasons with the Red Wings.

"Mike spent the first month of the season in Rochester and still managed to win 16 games for us in Baltimore," Altobelli said.

In his two-plus seasons at the Orioles helm, Altobelli wrote Cal Ripken's name onto the lineup card 162 times a year.

"I remember after the first season calling Cal into my office, and saying, 'Cal, I just noticed that you played every single inning of every single game this year. That's not going to happen again,' " Altobelli recalled. "At the end, of the 1984 season, I called him in and gave him the exact same speech. Little did we know this guy wasn't going to take a break for the next 10 years."

After the team's poor start in '85, Williams became impatient and released Altobelli. The firing still bothers Altobelli, but the respected baseball man landed on his feet. He spent the next several years coaching for the Yankees and the Cubs. In Chicago, Altobelli had the opportunity to work for Don Zimmer, now the right-hand man of Yankees manager Joe Torre.

"The thing you notice about Alto is that he's always calm and collected," Zimmer says. "He reminds me a lot of Joe Torre. Things might seem like they are crumbling around you, but there's Joe acting like the Rock of Gibraltar. What the Orioles did to him was ridiculous. Look what happened when they got rid of him. They went down the tubes. You aren't going to find a better baseball man or a better person than Joe Altobelli."

Altobelli always sensed that he would wind down his career in Rochester. He enjoyed his years as the team's general manager, when he played an important role in getting the new stadium built. He also groomed his successor, current GM Dan Mason.
"No way would I have been ready to take on that job at 27 years old without Alto's help and guidance," Mason said. "He taught me about baseball and he taught me about managing people. I went to school for 16 years, and Joe's been by far the best professor I've ever had. I can't thank him enough."

And Altobelli can't thank the Wings enough for the opportunity to keep coming to the ballpark.

A half century later, there's no place he would rather be.

ALTO’S TRAVELS
Player
1951 - Daytona Beach, Fla.
1952-53 - Reading, Pa.
1954 - Indianapolis
1955 - Cleveland, Indianapolis
1956 - Indianapolis
1957 - Cleveland, Indianapolis
1958 - Indianapolis
1959 - Toronto
1960 - Montreal
1961 - Syracuse, Minnesota
1962 - Omaha, Neb.
1963-66 - Rochester
Manager
1966-67 - Bluefield, W.Va.
1968 - Stockton, Calif.
1969-70 - Dallas-Fort Worth
1971-76 - Rochester
1977-79 - San Francisco
1980 - Columbus, Ohio
1983-85 - Baltimore
Coach
1981-82 - New York Yankees
1986-87 - New York Yankees
1988-91 - Chicago Cubs
General Manager/Consultant
1992-97 - Rochester
Broadcaster1998-2008 - Rochester

Edwards making strides; C.J.'s looking like O.J.

2010-08-29T09:59:00.001-04:00

I like the way Trent Edwards has been playing the past two exhibition games. He seems more confident, more decisive. There’s no question that new Bills coach Chan Gailey has had a positive impact on him. That said, it would be foolhardy to rush to judgment and say Edwards has turned the corner and is ready to become the quarterback the Bills have been looking for since Jim Kelly retired 13 years ago. It’s difficult to assess the exhibition game performances of quarterbacks because the defenses they face tend to be quite vanilla and personnel is being shuffled in and out. And the other factor with Trent is his durability. Still, these appear to be steps in the right direction.
***
Here’s one assessment I’m not afraid to make based on preseason observations: C.J. Spiller is the real deal. He clearly has the speed and instincts to become a dynamic playmaker right away for this team. He might be the most electrifying running back the Bills have had since O.J. in the 1970s.
***
Speaking of electrifying performers, it’s great to see the Bills finally getting the ball into the hands of Roscoe Parrish. Gailey clearly has figured out something that his predecessors couldn’t. Roscoe in the slot creates mismatches because the guy’s too quick and shifty to cover. Look for a big year from him if the 5-foot-9, 175-pounder can stay in one piece.
***
Rookie wide receiver David Nelson continues to show a knack for getting open. Not only has he apparently secured a roster spot, but he could be pushing for that No. 2 wideout spot, behind Lee Evans, if he keeps progressing at this pace. While Nelson’s stock continues to rise, James Hardy’s continues to plummet. He had one nice catch, but also some costly drops. I wouldn’t be shocked if he doesn’t survive the cuts over the next eight days.

Opining on Strasburg, an 18-game NFL sked and advice from Pete Rose

2010-08-27T16:18:00.003-04:00

Spraying opinions to all fields . . .
• I was saddened to hear that Stephen Strasburg’s arm injury apparently is serious enough to warrant Tommy John surgery. This is a terrible blow for him and for baseball. The Washington Nationals pitching phenom had captivated even casual fans with his 100 mph heater, nasty curveball and fearlessness on the mound. Those of us privileged to have watched him pitch at Frontier Field in Rochester a few months back could tell that the kid was something special. Many pitchers have made successful comebacks from this type of elbow injury, but few have been as good as they were before their setbacks. Let’s hope this young man is one of the few who comes back even stronger.
• Speaking of injuries, I think the proposal to expand the NFL regular season to 18 games will wind up hurting the sport by shortening the careers of numerous players. As it is, few players – particularly at the star positions of quarterback and running back – make it through an entire season healthy. And given the size and speed of the modern athlete injuries are sure to mount with the addition of two more games-worth of car-like collisions. Hey, I, too, hate having to endure four- to five-exhibition games each summer, but this isn’t the solution. I say cut the preseason to two or three games and keep a 16-game slate. The human body wasn’t designed to play 18 regular-season NFL games, plus playoffs.
• Got a kick out of Pete Rose saying that Roger Clemens would have received more lenient treatment had he just fessed up in the beginning. Yeah, Pete, just like you did with your situation, right? If I recall correctly, you vehemently denied you bet on baseball for years, and only came clean so you could sell more copies of your book.
• So how is it that Clemens is indicted for perjury, but Rafael Palmiero isn’t? If I’m not mistaken, didn’t Raf test positive for performance-enhancing drugs after pointing his finger in defiance at that Congressional hearing?
• And, while we’re on the subject of cheaters, have you heard how Sammy Sosa is upset that the Chicago Cubs haven’t retired his number? Ah, Sammy, I think they’ll put your jersey in mothballs on the same day you get inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Which will be the day after never.
• I believe Carmelo Anthony would look pretty spiffy in a New York Knicks uniform.
• I could be wrong, but I think Chan Gailey has more important issues to worry about than some knucklehead twentysomethings heckling his quarterback at Bills training camp.
* Just when we New Yorkers think our state government can't be any more dysfunctional, we learn about a law on the books where there's a tax on sliced bagels.

A bonding experience at the new Yankee Stadium

2010-08-24T13:18:00.004-04:00

I greeted my son’s request to attend a game at the new Yankee Stadium with mixed emotions. Don’t get me wrong. I always enjoy going to ballgames with him because it’s an experience we’ve shared since he was a wee lad. And I knew the drive to and from New York would be a good bonding opportunity for father and son before he returned to the University at Buffalo this week for his junior year.

But I also knew that it meant I would have to see the old ballpark – the one where both he and I had witnessed our first major-league games – reduced to rubble.

A few weeks ago, I had attended a lecture by documentarian Ken Burns about sacred places. Well, for me the original Yankee Stadium was a sacred place, not merely because this was where the Babe, Joe D, Mickey and Jeter had performed their baseball heroics. But also because this was the place where I had spent memorable moments with my dad and later my son and daughter.

Pulling off the Major Deegan onto 161st Street last Thursday morning, I saw the blue, wooden construction boards surrounding the demolition site where the ballpark of my youth had once stood. After we parked, Chris and I walked around and were able to peek in at various spots and see bulldozers leveling ground and cranes loading huge chunks of concrete onto dump trucks. The sights and sounds of the heavy equipment were unnerving to me, but most fans heading across the street to the The House That George and The Taxpayers Built seemed oblivious. A painful reminder to this aging baby boomer that time marches on.

It still, though, bothers me that at least a section of the most famous ballpark in the world wasn’t retained as a historical landmark. Yes, it’s nice that they are going to build two youth baseball diamonds in a park-like setting on the old grounds, but why couldn’t they have preserved a small section of the bleachers and Gate 2 as a reminder that there used to be a ballpark here? I suppose they’ll erect a plaque denoting the old place, but there should have been a much bigger reminder of what a historical landmark the old Stadium was.

I had closed the old place and opened the new one, and I must grudgingly admit that the architects did a wonderful job of being true to the original Yankee Stadium design while building the new one. The outside walls and the return of the façade around the roof of the upper deck are nice, nostalgic touches, harkening back to the Stadium before the mid-1970 renovations. Nice, too, are the enromous pictures of legendary Yankee players in the massive Great Hall, which greets you as you enter the park. Another wonderful feature is the museum, which features World Series trophies, bats from Ruth, DiMag and The Mick, and Thurman Munson’s old locker, which was brought over from the old place.

As expected, the new park boasts all the modern conveniences – diverse concessions, palatial luxury suites, wide concourses and clean bathrooms. But progress comes with a steep price. Tickets for ordinary seats at the new stadium are ridiculously high – I mean, 90 freaking dollars to sit several rows up behind the leftfield wall is absurd. As is $9 a beer. No wonder the Yankees have only sold out three or four times this season, despite a seating capacity of about 50,000 – roughly 8,000 fewer seats than the old place.

Despite the exorbitant prices, father and son managed to have a great time. The Yankees rallied for 9 runs in the sixth as Derek Jeter tripled and Robbie Cano homered to beat the visiting Detroit Tigers handily. The experience cost an arm and a leg, but the bonding experience was once again priceless.

Ken Burns, Batavia's baseball future and the Bills exhibition opener

2010-08-13T14:03:00.004-04:00

I've always been in awe of Ken Burns' work because the famed documentarian has a way of putting a human face on history.

I was reminded of his brilliance the other night when Beth and I heard him speak at the Chautauqua Institution, an idyllic setting in the Southern Tier. Burns showed excerpts from his documentaries on the Civil War and World War II, then spoke passionately about battlefields as sacred places.

Those who will see him and writer Geoffrey Ward tonight at the George Eastman House in Rochester are in for a real treat.

And I can't wait to see Burns' addendum to his critically acclaimed documentary series about baseball next month. I'm particularly interested to see how he will treat the impact of performance-enhancing drugs on the game.

***

I was saddenned to hear that the Red Wings are severing ties with the Batavia Muckdogs of the New York-Penn League. But I understand the reasons. Rochester's minor-league ballclub had given its all in attempting to revive and save professional baseball in that tired Genesee County city, but the community and corporate support just wasn't there.

Sadly, this is probably the death knell for professional baseball in Batavia. And, on a personal level, that pains me because I always loved the fact that pro ball was still being played in small communities like Batavia.

I began my journalism career covering NY-P baseball in Little Falls way back in 1977, riding the Mets team bus across the state to places such as Newark, Oneonta, Niagara Falls and Jamestown. There is something more intimate - not to mention much more affordable - about the game at that low rung of the pro ladder. But things change. Little Falls, Utica, Oneonta, Newark, Niagara Falls no longer have teams. And, I'm afraid, Batavia will soon be joining that list of the dearly departed.

***

It's sure going to be strange tonight seeing Donovan McNabb wearing that Washington Redskins uniform after more than a decade in Philadelphia Eagles' garb.

***

I don't know how much we'll really learn about the Bills from tonight's preseason opener because three of their projected starters along the offensive line won't be playing. I'll still be keeping an eye on Trent Edwards to see if he's more decisive than the QB who completely lost his confidence last season. I'm also interested to see how new coach Chan Gailey utilizes Roscoe Parrish and rookie running back C.J. Spiller. Defensively, keep an eye on Aaron Maybin. He needs to show that he can put some pressure on the quarterback.

***

SHAMELESS PLUG DEPARTMENT: I'll be giving a talk and signing copies of my new book, Buffalo Bills Football Vault: The First 50 Seasons, at the Pittsford Barnes & Noble, Saturday night from 7-9. So please stop by. And remember, it's never too soon to stock up on those holiday gifts. ;-)

Take a trip back to 19th century "base ball'' this weekend

2010-08-06T16:49:00.004-04:00

Yes, that goofy-looking guy in the old-style “base ball’’ card is yours truly. And I’m running it in hopes that I’ve piqued your interest enough that you’ll want to check out what the 1865 game was like this weekend at the Genesee Country Village & Museum in Mumford, N.Y., about 20 miles southwest of Rochester.

Four vintage base ball (yes, it was two words back then) teams from Rochester will be hosting clubs from the Northeast, Midwest and Canada. We’ll be interpreting a brand of baseball that was very similar and very different from the 2010 version when we host the 8th National Silver Ball Tournament Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The biggest difference (besides the lack of performance-enhancing drugs and multi-million dollar salaries) is that we don’t use gloves and that we truly play for nothing more than the love of the game.

Though the lemon-peel ball we use isn’t as hard as a modern baseball, it is hard enough to hurt. I can attest to that, having broken two fingers in my 10 years in the Silver Base Ball League. The bases are 90-feet apart, but the pitcher’s box (no mound in those days) is only about 45 feet from homeplate and pitches are delivered underhand.

Our uniforms, too, are different, and so is our terminology. We try to hit “daisy cutters” and pitch “dew drops” and we expect all the players to “show a little ginger,’’ which was the 19th century phrase for making sure you hustled. We express our gratitude and approval by shouting “Huzzah.’’

All of us have nicknames. Some of the monikers are based on what we do for a living, which is why I’m known as “Scribe’’ and Ryan Brecker, a real-life MD, is called “Doc.’’ Others have nicknames based on their baseball prowess. For example, Max Robertson is “Country Mile,’’ because that’s how far he hits the ball, and Todd Draper is “Dangerous’’ because he is a dangerous striker, and Jose Pagan is “All Day’’ because he can run all day long and track down every fly ball from here to the next county. Others are pegged according to their ethnicity (Andy Cardot Sr. is “Frenchy”), size (Andy Cardot Jr. is “House.’’) or hair-style (Curt Kirchmaier is “the Barber” because of his long locks.)

The four Rochester-area teams in the tournament are the Flower City Base Ball Club (that’s my squad), the Rochesters, the Live Oak and the Knickerbockers. We also feature two women’s teams who will play an exhibition game Saturday. They are called the Brooks Grove Belles and the Miss Porters Ladies BBC. The out-of-town teams are the Cleveland Blues, Flemington (N.J.) Neshanock, Meddowe (Springfield, Mass.), Kent (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Melrose Pondfielders (Melrose, Mass.), Talbot Fair Play (Talbot, Md.) and the Woodstock Actives (Woodstock, Ontario.)

In addition to the Silver Ball tournament, the museum will be hosting plenty of other events this weekend, including the Laura Ingalls Wilder Festival, commemorating “The Little House on the Prairie’’ era of American history.

So, if you are looking for a trip back in time take a trip out to Mumford this weekend. You won’t be disappointed.

(And if you take in the ballgames, please root for Flower City and that goofy hurler pictured on that old-style base ball card. ;-)

***

I was happy to see that C.J. Spiller has ended his holdout and come to terms on a contract with the Buffalo Bills. The first-round pick was in danger of becoming a non-factor if he held out much longer. I’m interested in seeing all the different ways new coach Chan Gailey plans to utilize him in the offense and on the return teams.

***
My lovely bride and radio news show co-host Beth interviewed documentarian Ken Burns this morning and talked to him about his comments about Pete Rose. Burns has an interesting take on the “Hit King,” who was banned for life for betting on games. He says Charlie Hustle should be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame after he dies. I assume then, that Burns would agree with me that it is time to induct Shoeless Joe Jackson, who also was banned for gambling and who has been dead for a good half century. By the way, I didn’t know until Beth’s interview on WHAM this morning that Burns’ father and grandfather hailed from Rochester. You can listen to a podcast of the interview at www.wham1180.com.