Month: December 2024

Back in the very early days of network television, there was an evening news telecast sponsored by Camel cigarettes.  The host – – now called the anchor – – was John Cameron Swayze and the program was The Camel News Caravan.  After dealing with the “big news of the day”, Swayze would proclaim that he would be “hopscotching the world for headlines”.  Looking at my compendium of items for today, I think I will be hopscotching the sports world for topics.  Nevertheless, I shall not be sponsored by Camel cigarettes…

Also in the early days of network television, the afternoon soap operas were mainline programming.  From 1956 through 2010, CBS aired a “soap” called As the World Turns; in its TV run, the show put on 13,858 episodes.  Here in 2024, the sports world has an informal program that might be called As the Jets and Aaron Rodgers Turn.  It does not deliver daily episodes, but it does make the wire copy more than on game days.  In the latest episode, the Jets’ interim head coach, Jeff Ulbrich, “squelched” rumors that the Jets might bench Rodgers this season because of the disappointing showing of the team; the coach affirmed that he still believes that Rodgers gives the Jets (now 3-9-0) the “best chance to win.”

Here is the Jets’ QB depth chart:

• Aaron Rodgers:  41 years old and having his worst season ever
• Tyrod Taylor:  A career backup
• Jordan Travis:  A rookie who is out for the year due to injury
• Adrian Martinez:  On the practice squad for the second year

So, I agree with Coach Ulbrich; Rodgers gives the team the best chance of winning – – and according to a report I read yesterday, the Jets are not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs even with their 3-9 record.  Stay tuned.  You never know if the next installment of As the Jets and Aaron Rodgers Turn will come before next weekend’s game against the Dolphins in Miami (Jets are currently a 6.5-point underdog) or maybe in the press conference following that game…

Sticking with items related to television, the suits at ESPN have announced that Around the Horn will go dark sometime in 2025.  The show began in 2002; so, it has had a good run.  It ran 5 days a week as the lead-in program to Pardon the Interruption and in its “glory days”, Around the Horn could command audiences more than 750,000 viewers which was a sizeable audience for daytime sports on cable TV back in the “aughts”.  Max Kellerman was the original host/facilitator for the program but left during one of his multiple divorces with ESPN and Tony Reali took over that slot on a permanent basis.

The audience for Around the Horn has eroded significantly; these days, an audience of 400,000 is a pleasant surprise.  I was a regular viewer of the program for years – – probably averaging 4 days a week; now, I catch a show about every 10 days.  I don’t know what happened to cause the audience for the show to collapse but I know why I am no longer a regular viewer.

When the show began, the panel that “debated” the sports topics offered up by Kellerman/Reali were notable sports columnists from around the country whose observations and assertions were such that I wanted to hear them and to evaluate them against my personal position on the topics at hand.  Back in the day, I heard from people like:

1. JA. Adande – – Washington Post
2. Jim Armstrong – – Denver Post
3. Tim Cowlishaw – – Dallas Morning News
4. Frank Isola – – NY Daily News
5. Jackie MacMullan – – Boston Globe
6. Jay Mariotti – – Chicago Sun Times
7. Woody Paige – – Denver Post
8. Bill Plaschke – – LA Times
9. Bob Ryan – – Boston Globe
10.  TJ Simers – – LA Times

Folks, those were ten “heavy hitters”; their stature was such that you puffed up your chest when they agreed with your thoughts on the matter, and you furled your brow and started to rethink your position when they disagreed with your opinion.  And in recent years, most of that is gone – – and I don’t mean those specific individuals.

The panels today are mostly made up of ESPN and ESPN Radio personalities.  They lack gravitas and when I realized that it made no difference to me what Joe Flabeetz and/or Suzie Glotz thought about a subject, Around the Horn was no longer worth my time and attention.  The show had a great run, but its time has come – – and gone…

There is a superstition that bad things happen in threes; I don’t know the origin of that belief but for those folks in New Jersey who might believe in it:

• The Tampa Bay Bucs just waived Trenton Gill – – punter
• The Cincinnati Bengals just waived Trenton Irwin – – WR
• If you are a first responder in Trenton, NJ, I would stay close to the phones…

Finally, let me close today with three random quotes from Will Rogers:

“Diplomacy is the art of saying ‘Nice doggie’ until you can find a rock.”

And …

“If you ever injected truth into politics, you have no politics.”

And …

“This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Lou Carnesecca died over the weekend at the ripe old age of 99.  He was the basketball coach at St. John’s from 1965 to 1992 save for a three-year gap when he coached the Nets in the NBA.  His college record at St. John’s was 526-200 earning him a spot in the Naismith Hall of Fame.  Back in the 1980s. the Big East was dominant in college basketball and populated with excellent – – and colorful – – coaches including:

• Jim Boeheim – – Syracuse
• Jim Calhoun – – UConn
• PJ Carlesimo – – Seton Hall
• Rollie Massimino – – Villanova
• John Thompson – – Georgetown

“Looie”, as he came to be known, was an equal in that coaching fraternity.

Rest in peace, Lou Carnesecca …

Remember about a month ago that the Chicago Bears lost to the Washington Commanders on a last second Hail Mary pass and there was video of one of the Bears’ defenders waving to the crowd as the play was unfolding.  Well, that act of “disrespect to the game” must have significantly angered the football gods to the point that the gods have chosen to frustrate the Bears in the intervening weeks.  Consider:

• First week later:  Bears lost to a middling Cardinals’ team by 20 points.
• Second week later:  Bears lost – – at home – – to a not-very-good Pats’ team by a score of 19-3.  [Aside:  That offensive somnambulance got the Offensive Coordinator fired.]
• Third week later:  Bears lost to the Packers 20-19 when the Packers blocked a chip shot field goal in the final seconds of the game.
• Fourth week later:  Bears rallied from 11 points down in the final two minutes to force overtime – – and then lost to the Vikes in OT.
• Fifth week later:  Bears lost to the Lions by a field goal on Thanksgiving in a situation where they failed to snap the ball – – or call a timeout – – in the final 32 seconds of the game.  [Aside:  That time management blunder got the Head Coach fired.]

The Chicago Bears have been a team in the NFL since 1920; Matt Eberflus is the first head coach to be fired in mid-season in the history of the Chicago Bears.  If you did not see the timing blunder or have not read about it, let that historical fact give you an idea of how bad it was.  Also, let that five week stretch of football misfortune be a case study for players and/or teams that might be tempted to “disrespect the game”; the football gods are watching, and they can exact serious punishment for such offenses.

Moving on …  Over the past several years, NFL teams have tended to devalue the position of running back to a degree; the common wisdom was that one did not need to pay running backs big bucks nor spend high draft picks on that position.  So, in last year’s free agency period, three running backs moved on from the team that drafted them to another team.  Those three RBs were:

• Saquon Barkley – – leading the NFL in rushing
• Derrick Henry – – second in the NFL in rushing
• Josh Jacobs – – third in the NFL in rushing.

However, there is a much more interesting statistic concerning those three players.  Let us look at the team records for the teams that jettisoned those backs:

• Giants had Barkley; Giants are 2-10 this year.
• Titans had Henry; Titans are 3-9 this year.
• Raiders had Jacobs; Raiders are 2-10 this year.
• Combined, the teams that tossed these running backs aside are 7-29.

Now, just for giggles, I want to show you the team records for the teams that acquired these running backs on the free agent market:

• Eagles signed Barkley; Eagles are 10-2 this year
• Ravens signed Henry; Ravens are 8-5 this year
• Packers signed Jacobs; Packers are 9-3 this year.
• Combined, the teams that signed these running backs are 27-10.

Finally, since the Bears “disrespected the game” and plenty of teams “disrespected running backs”, let me close today with this quote from P. J. O’Rourke:

“The First Amendment only says, ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.’ It can disrespect all it wants.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………