Lee Lowenfish

My last post introduced a new nickname for yours truly, The Prince of Paranoia, courtesy of eminent Baltimore sportswriter Jim Henneman whose name will be affixed permanently upon the Oriole Park at Camden Yards press box. 

 

When word came last Thursday on the first day of pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training that two key Oriole pitchers, Kyle Bradish and John Means, will start the season on the injured list, my gulp could be heard most of the way to Sarasota. 

 

Bradish had a breakout 2023 and would likely be the number two starter behind newly-acquired Corbin Burnes. Kyle has now been diagnosed with an UCL sprain (ulnar collateral ligament) that often leads to Tommy John surgery.  Means has still not recovered fully from his TJ surgery two years ago.

 

There is also news of the stress fracture in throwing elbow of Samuel Basallo, the Dominican catcher-first baseman who is not yet 20 years old. He is not expected to make the team this year, but he won't be playing in the field until later in the season.  Throw in a fourth, supposedly minor injury, the aching oblique of Gunnar Henderson the 2023 AL Rookie of the Year, and all those "experts" picking the Orioles for the World Series should be taking a step back.

 

It helps me to recall a great adage, "Every season is different". Last year's record means next to nothing in a new season. Nothing really counts for the Birds until March 28 when their regular season begins against the Ohtani-less LA Angels.  The Padres and Dodgers start 8 days earlier in Korea as part of the international "grow the game" philosophy that the owners and Players Association seemingly agree is a good idea.   

 

I still pledge that the Prince of Paranoia won't really get rolling until the games actually count.  And now I'm introducing a more benign nickname,

Captain Culture. This was bestowed upon me decades ago by a colleague at UMBC (University of Maryland Baltimore County), the late philosophy professor and world educator Thomas Luther "Tom" Benson.  

 

There is nothing like the arts opportunities in my overpopulated but very stimulating home town. About a week ago, Captain Culture was enthralled by a delightful NY City Ballet rehearsal of Jerome Robbins 1956 satirical ballet, "The Concert."   

 

It takes great talent to deliberately make mistakes in any art and this piece spoofs the inability of certain dancers to make the correct hand gestures and leg kicks. Adding to the hilarity is a dancing role for the pianist who plays wonderful Chopin throughout the piece but is hardly agile chasing with a net the dancers costumed as butterflies in the last scene.

 

There are two more chances to see "The Concert," aka "The Perils of Everybody," as part of the ballet program at the Koch Theatre in Lincoln Center:

Th Feb 22 at 730p

Th Feb 29 at 730p     Info on tickets at nycb.com  

 

I've always felt great athletes are like dancers in their grace, stamina, and technical prowess.  Yesterday Su Feb 18, I saw on ESPNU one of the most intense basketball games I ever saw.  The Columbia women's basketball team improved to 9-1 in the Ivy League with a grueling 71-63 victory at third-place Harvard (7-3). 

 

I had never seen a game where no team led by more than 4 points until midway in the fourth quarter when Columbia finally got some breathing room.  Outstanding team defense and balanced scoring were the keys to the victory with junior Cecelia Collins leading the Lions with 20 points, including six vital free throws in the last minutes.  (Collins, a Scranton PA native, is one of the best advertisements for a wise use of the transfer portal - she previously played two seasons at Bucknell in Lewisburg PA.)  

 

Columbia hosts the much-anticipated rematch with Princeton (10-0 in league, #25 in the nation) on Sat Feb 24 at 2p.  It's the last regular season home game for the Lions but the Ivy League four-team post-season tournament will be held in the same Levien Gym from Mar 15-17.  If you haven't seen Abbey Hsu, the senior sharpshooting guard who is in the running for Naismith Player of the year, don't miss these last chances.  Ticket info at

gocolumbialions.com.   

 

Establishing a "winning culture" - the phrase du jour throughout all sports these days -  is not easy, but Megan Griffith the youthful Columbia coach now in her 7th year, and her staff have done it. Everyone associated with the team contributes to a winning culture. 

 

One of the nice touches this year was earlier this month when Noah Dayon, one of the team managers, sang an excellent no-frills acapella National Anthem before one of the games. 

 

I was a manager of men's basketball for three years and never was asked to sing. Mercifully.  But I did hit a 30-foot jump shot in coaches-managers game in the old University Gymasium and 30 years later a jump shot in a media game at Madison Square Garden.   

 

One last word on Columbia sports - Brett Boretti's Columbia Lions open the home season very early this year because of unexpected cancellations.

Marist from Poughkeepsie NY visits for a four game series over the weekend of Mar 1 - with single games Mar 1 & 3 at 3P and twinbill Mar 2 at Noon.

Big Ivy League matchups come early this year - SaSu Mar 23 with Harvard and SaSu Mar 30 defending league champion Penn.  

 

The news is not as good for my other favorite team the Wisconsin men's Badgers.  They have lost 5 of their last 6 games and their seeding in both the post-season Big Ten tournament and the national tournament is plummeting.

 

It is hard to put a finger on one particular reason for the slide.  I always think back to former coach Bo Ryan, who is on the ballot again for enshrinement in the Springfield (MA) Basketball Hall of Fame, who once said, "We judge our players by what it takes to discourage them."   

 

It seems too many of the current Badgers can't put together consistent games. It will be up to current coach Greg Gard, Ryan's longtime assistant, to find the key to re-ignite a talented squad that looked so good and so deep in the first half of the season.

 

Although Gard's contract reportedly runs for three more years, Ohio State fired once-heralded coach Chris Holtmann after a loss last week to the Badgers in Madison.  The Buckeyes responded with a win at home yesterday over national title contender Purdue. 

 

I still am wary of quick fixes. But in this age of NIL funds for top talent at one end and the wide-open transfer portal for all players, it will take wise

leadership from administrators to navigate these new currents that were overdue but seem to border now on the chaotic.   

 

In closing sad notes - RIP basketball coach Lefty Driesell, 92, died Feb 17. Brought top-notch basketball to the University of Maryland and earlier Davidson and later James Madison and Georgia State. His Basketball Hall of Fame acceptance speech was a classic.   

 

RIP Don Gullett, 73, died Feb 14, outstanding southpaw with 109-50 career record.  Only pitcher in MLB history to win four World Series in a row, two with one team (Reds 1975-76, Yankees 77-78).  Injuries and illnesses curtailed career at age 31. Remained lifelong friend of Gene Bennett, the scout who signed him and projected his greatness from 7th grade on. I tell story of their heartwarming relationship in the Bennett chapter in my recent book BASEBALL'S ENDANGERED SPECIES (University of Nebraska Press).   

 

That's all for now.  Take it easy but take it, and stay positive, test negative.

There is so much negativity in today's world that this blog tries to accentuate the positive. Fun Galore In 24 is my new motto (while being aware that there is an election in November in the USA that we should participate in.) 

 

As I await the arrival of pitchers and catchers to spring training in just a little over a month, I can report that my two favorite college basketball teams, Columbia women's basketball and Wisconsin's men's basketball, are on winning streaks. They offer genuine hope that league championships and post-season appearances are absolutely achievable goals. 

 

Both teams played tough non-league schedules which is always a good idea. "To be the best you have to beat the best" and Christy Mathewson's adage, "I've learned nothing from winning and everything from losing," may be cliches, but they are truer than most. 

 

In the fascinating landscape of rapidly growing women's basketball, Columbia is starting five guards, led by nationally acclaimed senior Abby Hsu from Parkland, Florida. In high school, she was in an adjoining building when the horrible Feb 2018 school massacre occurred.  The following year her father was the first medical professional in the state of Florida to die from covid. 

 

The resilient Hsu has overcome these tragedies to become a co-captain and all-around contributor to Columbia's hard-driving, good-passing team. Her rebounding, assist-making, and all-around court awareness make her a complete player. 

 

Youthful Lions coach Megan Griffith, a 1000-point scorer in her years at Columbia, has recruited far and wide in building the program. Joining Hsu in the starting lineup are two athletic Australians, junior co-captain Kitty Henderson and her first-year sister Fliss Henderson.  With Kitty and Abby, Cece Collins, a junior transfer from Bucknell, has become another consistent scoring threat.

 

And let's not forget senior Nicole Stephens, finally healthy who is often playing key moments at the end of the game.  Only 5' 7", the Pickering, Ohio (near Columbus) sparkplug always seems to get key rebounds and even blocks at crunch time. 

 

As a lifelong sports fan, there is a special joy in watching players develop over their college careers. l know that the stubborness of the NCAA - it stood for Never Compromise Anything Anytime - has led to NIL opportunities (Name, Image, Likeness) for the most promising players.  There is also the transfer portal available for every player after every season, but there is something to be said for players and teams growing patiently. 

 

"The grass is not always greener on the other side" is another old cliche that still should be considered.  

 

Whether Columbia can finally beat Megan Griffith's former employer Princeton and win the outright title and automatic NCAA bid remains to be seen, of course.  As long as the Lions don't look too far ahead to the matchups with the Tigers - Sa Jan 20 at 4P at Princeton, Sa Feb 24 at 2P last regular season home game - there should be exciting times at Morningside Heights gym on Broadway and 120th Street. 

 

The Columbia men are showing improvement too and may have an outside chance of making the four-team post-season tournament that Columbia will host this year, over the Mar 15 thru Mar 17 weekend.   For more info on both teams, go to gocolumbialions.com

 

The Wisconsin Badgers and The Big Ten - becoming the Big 18 next season with the addition of four West Coast teams - are another story, of course. That is big time college sports these days and it is not likely you will watch teams grow patiently.  Gotta enjoy every season moment by moment because players can leave quickly. And not necessarily wisely. 

 

See under Davis, Johnny, who had one breakout 2021-22 season in Madison and left after his sophomore year.  The #10 first round pick of Washington Wizards has not established himself as a pro and may even be back in the G league.  The money obviously was too good to turn down, but there is something to be said for more experience in college ball before you enter the NBA which stands for No Boys Allowed.  

 

This year's Badgers are exuding hope. Veteran coach Greg Gard has brought back the entire starting lineup from last season's disappointing team that failed to make the Big Dance for first time in 20 years. They did show improvement in the NIT losing in the semis to eventual champion North Texas State. 

 

Seven foot center Steven Crowl and versatile forward Tyler Wahl are providing good front court work and even making more foul shots than last year.  Point guard Chucky Hepburn has improved his all around play and backup Kamari McGee has really stepped up his game.  And AJ Storr, a transfer from St. Johns, has done it all and is coach Gard's dream because he accepts the challenge to improve each day.  

 

The Big Ten is a 20-game mosh pit + a league tournament before the Big Dance.  This is the part of college basketball I've grown to loathe.  The extra games just for TV money.  To me, league titles should mean something.  No need to bay into the wind.  I must remember Fun Galore in 24. 

 

More next time about the arrival of the true hot stove season with the 57th Annual New York Pro Scouts Association banquet on F Jan 19 at Leonard's of Great Neck.  Tickets available through F Jan 12 via Billy Blitzer at BBSCOUT1@aol.com  

 

Can't resist this Memo to owners of LA Dodgers and their superficial supporters.  You can have too many All-Stars and you still have to win on the field.  

Staying positive, here's a tip of the cap to the classy retirement statement of Astros outfielder Mickey Brantley, 36, who applauded Larry Pardo, the area scout who originally signed him for Cleveland.

 

Kudos also to Adam Jones, now a podcaster in Baltimore, for his longtime tribute to area scout Tim Reynolds who signed him for Mariners with the

wise counsel, "You're only a number one draft choice for one day." 

 

Before I leave, here are some TCM tips for January. The sports themed films are few in January but here are a few:

Tu Jan 9 215P "Three Little Words" (1950) the story of the musical and personal friendship of Bert Kalmar and baseball-loving Harry Ruby

   with Fred Astaire and Red Skelton as Kalmar and Ruby and Keenan Wynn in a rare benign (and boring) role as their manager. 

 

Sa Jan 13 415P "Knute Rockne, All-American" (1940) with Pat O'Brien in title role and Ronald Reagan as the Gipper -

   dir. by workmanlike pro Lloyd Bacon

 

Tu Jan 23 1130A "You Said A Mouthful" (1932)  Joe E Brown as a swimmer with young Ginger Rogers/Preston Foster

 

Every Tuesday and sometimes spilling into Wednesday is Robert Mitchum Night. Check tcm.com/schedule although there are sometimes

    annoying gaps in the schedule and at times two films listed for virtually same time slot. 

Two classics are back to back on Tu Jan 23:  8P "Night of the Hunter" (1955) dir. by Charles Laughton

945p "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison" (1957) dir by John Huston with Deborah Kerr

 

Eddie Muller's Noir Alley is back Sa midnight or sometimes a little later and repeated at 10A Sundays. 

Jan 14 "I Died A Thousand Times" (1955) remake of "High Sierra with the interesting duo of Jack Palance and Shelley Winters

 

Jan 21 Hitchcock's "Stage Fright" (1950) with Jane Wyman/Marlene Dietrich/Michael Wilding

 

Jan 28 "Woman in Hiding" (1950) with Ida Lupino/Howard Duff (soon to be Ida's husband)/Stephen McNally who epitomized evil in "Johnny

     Belinda" 

 

That's all for now.  Remember to take it easy but take it, and stay positive and test negative.