Gopher forward Rodney Williams, a junior jumping jack, takes off with a leap from the free throw line, palms the basketball high over his head as he's suspended in mid-air, squirts between two taller defenders, apexes when his elbow is rim high, and slams the ball through the hoop. Two points! I turn to my wife, Mary (Momma Cuandito), and proclaim, "Rodney must have been watching film of me shooting layups at St. Joe's." She rolls her eyes and subtlety shakes her head from side to side. She's heard that joke before, maybe a hundred times. Getting no verbal response from her, I laugh at my own joke, as I am wont to do.
Actually, I did in fact play basketball for St. Joe's, my grade school in Libertyville, Illinois. In honor of Final Four Weekend which starts tomorrow, I thought I'd regale you with some memories of my one-year playing career.
St. Joseph School was housed in a large old two-story brick building, with no cafeteria or gymnasium. The Sisters of Mercy ran the school with the proverbial iron fist. The students were there to learn. Period. Extra curricular athletic activities for the youngsters (and by "youngsters" I mean boys) were left to the town's Little League and the Boys Club. Neither organization offered basketball, only softball, baseball and football. Things changed a little when a large addition was built for our school, just in time for the beginning of my eighth grade in the fall of 1960. We still didn't have a cafeteria, but at least now we had a gym. If you build it, they will come - - a basketball team, that is. The incarnation of the mighty St. Joe basketball squad occurred that winter.
There were twelve guys, all eighth graders, on our team, and our schedule included home and road games against many of the Catholic grade schools in northern Lake County. Our coach was a rotund middle aged fellow named Tom Pierce, who stood about five foot nine. He started the same five guys every game, and his rotation most of the time was ten deep, meaning that one other poor soul and I were riding the pines. This would not have been quite so ignominious were it not for the fact that St. Joe's did not win a single game all year. True, we were playing schools that had gymnasiums (probably) long before we did, and therefore fielded teams reaching back to fifth or sixth grade. But, you'd think that the law of averages would have enabled St. Joe's to come out on top at least once. Nope, it never happened.
I don't remember having too many practices in our shiny new gym, but I do recall, with clarity as if it were yesterday, two incidents that occurred at practice under the tutelage of the great Coach Pierce. During one of our first gatherings, I was dribbling the ball near center court in a four-on-four drill, when he loudly blew the whistle and yelled, "Double dribble!" He grabbed the ball from my hands, awarded it to the other side, and play resumed. A minute or two later, it was deja vu all over again. As I was dribbling he blew the whistle, this time even louder, and cried out with disdain, "Double dribble! Double dribble!!" The other side took possession and we carried on. I never knew what double dribble meant until after practice when I sheepishly asked one of my teammates. I guess Coach Pierce was too busy strategizing for the next opponent to take ten seconds to explain the rule to a kid who'd never played on a basketball team before.
The second practice incident left me feeling even lower. Around mid-season, the entire team was running around the perimeter of the court to warm up. The great molder of men, Coach Pierce, blew his whistle and called everyone over to the side to huddle up, except he instructed my teammate Tom S (I don't want to use his last name, although I can assure you I know what it was - - in fact, I saw him back in Libertyville about six years ago) to keep running. In the huddle he said to the eleven players (paraphrasing), "Even though Tom is not very good, I want you guys to remember that he is a member of our team. He is trying as hard as he can." This struck me as both odd and ironic. Keep in mind that Coach Pierce was not talking to the Dream Team. He was addressing a bunch of guys who had not come within fifteen points of winning a game. Tom S was no worse than at least eight or nine other guys on the team, but how would Pierce know? He had his unswerving rotation for the games. As you might have guessed by now, Tom S was the "other poor soul" to whom I referred two paragraphs above. I always wondered if the coach said the same thing to the team about me when I wasn't nearby.
As for my "blink of an eye" participation in actual games, I remember three things from that season fifty-one years ago. When we played Santa Maria on the road in Mundelein, we were getting stomped by over twenty-five points, and as the clock was winding down I had not yet been called to offer my valuable services. Up to that point I had usually played maybe two to three minutes a game. I figured Pierce was afraid if I went in, the margin would climb to thirty-five points in quick order. Then, with exactly four seconds left in the game (that is not a typo), he had me go in. Despite my absolutely heroic efforts during those four seconds, I could not snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
The second game action memory was also on the road, this time against St. Gilbert's up in Grayslake. Toward the end (when else?) of another lopsided game, I found myself with the ball, wide open at the top of the key. This was a shot I had been practicing forever on the playground, usually in a game of horse. I stroked the shot, it looked right on target with good rotation, but it hit the heel of the rim, bounced a foot in the air, and fell off to the side. Why, you might ask, do I remember that shot, especially when it didn't go in? The answer is very simple: in my basketball career, that was the only shot I ever took! Yep, I scored exactly zero points in the only year I played on a basketball team.
At the end of January, 1961, my family moved from Libertyville to Bettendorf, Iowa. That leads me to my third and final game memory. In my last game for St. Joe's before I left for Iowa, we had a home game, and Coach Pierce had me start. I did not ask for the honor; maybe my dad slipped him a sawbuck, I don't know. Anyway, before every game the five cheerleaders would go on the court to do a cheer which included the girls taking turns to name the five starters. "Mike, Mike, he's our man, if he can't do it, Billy can! Billy, Billy, he's our man, if he can't do it..." I can't recall who our opponent was that day, but I do remember the cheerleader who called out my name. It was Linda Donino. When you are a thirteen year old eighth grader, you notice things like that.
By the time we arrived in Bettendorf it was too late in the season for me to join my new school's team. Nine months later, I tried out for the freshman team at Assumption High School in Davenport, hoping that somehow I could go from an eighth grade benchwarmer to a regular player. Instead, I was cut from the first round of tryouts. My illustrious basketball career was over.
Linda Donino? I haven't seen her since I headed west in 1961. To borrow some words from "Signs" by the Five Man Electrical Band, I hope she's alive and doin' fine. I wonder if she realizes that when the history of basketball is written for the ages and the sport's greatest moments are relived, her name will be right there, along with Wilt, Magic, Bird, Michael and Kobe.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Album Review: "Wrecking Ball" - Bruce Springsteen
"Wrecking Ball": A-. In the summer of 1967, the Beatles released their eighth studio album, "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." It was immediately hailed as their best ever, and even today it is on most old-timers' lists as one of the band's two or three best. One reason why "Sergeant Pepper" drew such high acclaim is that, unlike the Beatles' previous albums and unlike just about any album released by other popular recording artists of the day, it was considered a "concept album." There are several opinions and definitions as to what constitutes a concept album. In my humble view, a concept album has two characteristics which distinguish it from other releases. First, and very importantly, each of the songs on a concept album ties into one another thematically. You might say that each song is a chapter in a story, and the album taken as a whole is the story. Consequently, it is not unusual for such an album, in its totality, to be greater than the sum of its parts. The second distinguishing characteristic naturally follows the first, viz., the sequence of the tracks is carefully plotted. To use the book analogy once more, a reader does not read chapter four before she reads chapter two. In a concept album, the writers, artists and producers are careful to present the tracks in the order which they feel best relates the concept or story they're seeking to reveal.
In 2002, Bruce Springsteen released "The Rising," a concept album inspired by the tragedy of the events which transpired on nine-eleven. Earlier this month he released "Wrecking Ball," his fifth release following "The Rising," but the first since "The Rising" to be looked upon as another concept album. The pervading theme in "Wrecking Ball" is a tragedy of a different sort, the causes and consequences of the economic recession which has gripped our country since 2008. The Boss generally hits the mark here, although there are a couple of swings and misses.
The album starts off with "We Take Care Of Our Own," the anthem Bruce and the E Street Band played to open the Grammy Awards telecast last month, and the perfect choice to set the tone. In a time when there appears to be more divisive rhetoric (especially in Washington, DC) and a deeper separation between the "haves" and "have nots," the song is especially timely. We are in a moment in history when, arguably, politics has trumped compassion. "Where're the hearts that run over with mercy?"
For the next six songs, Springsteen carries on his theme of the hopelessness and the feeling of helplessness brought on by hard economic times. The second track, "Easy Money," is a mind-boggler. First, the melody is, ironically, rather jaunty, with a fiddle, hand-clapping and a background chorus, but the lyrics are dark. The song, which is addressed to the singer's wife or girlfriend, is about going into town "looking for easy money," and then he references possession of a hand gun. Putting two and two together, I conclude that the "easy money" in question is a robbery.
Keeping in mind that song sequence is a key element in a concept album, the third track ("Shackled And Drawn") can be interpreted as a message from prison, perhaps for commission of the crime anticipated in "Easy Money." Or, maybe the title is merely a metaphor for a feeling of lost hope. The singer laments his unemployment: "Let a man work, is that so wrong?" It is the working man who is free: "Freedom [is] a dirty shirt, the sun on my face and my shovel in the dirt, a shovel in the dirt keeps the devil gone."
In an album full of thought-provoking songs, the one that chills the spine is "Jack Of All Trades," the fourth track. It is sung from the point of view of a man literally willing to work for food, and assuring his wife that things will be all right. No manner of labor is unacceptable to him, including handyman work on the lawn or on the roof, auto mechanics, laboring in the fields, etc. Despair sets in at the end, singing that if he a had a gun he'd "find the [unidentified] bastards and shoot 'em on sight."
Springsteen wrote the music and the words to all eleven songs. A few threads run through many of them, most notably blaming bankers and fat cats either directly (in "Easy Money," "Shackled And Drawnand" and "Jack Of All Trades") or indirectly ("Death To My Hometown" and "Wrecking Ball") for the sorry state of affairs. Other threads which appear more than once are the last resort decision to turn to crime ("Easy Money" and "Jack Of All Trades"), and a sort of spiritual revivalist call for action ("Rocky Ground" and "Land Of Hope And Dreams").
The one song on the album which is a misfit, "You've Got It," is also one of my favorites. It is a mid-tempo rocker with a structure that brings back memories of "Never Been To Spain" by Three Dog Night and "Southern Voice" by Tim McGraw.
As we have come to expect on E Street Band offerings, the musicianship here is top drawer. Springsteen incorporates many different kinds of instruments to come up with suitable backings to match his lyrics. That ability reminded me of some of John Mellencamp's albums during the most recent stages of his career. The three songs on "Wrecking Ball" where the musicianship was particularly noteworthy were the weeping guitar on "This Depression"," incredible saxophone play by the late, great Big Man, Clarence Clemons on "Land Of Hope And Dreams," and the bluegrass and brass combo on the final song, "We Are Alive."
I feel that Springsteen's desire to pick on bankers is a little too simplistic. When you cast a wide net of criticism, you're going to ensnare more than those culprits deserving of the blame. But, my complaint in that regard is probably best left for another post.
In 2002, Bruce Springsteen released "The Rising," a concept album inspired by the tragedy of the events which transpired on nine-eleven. Earlier this month he released "Wrecking Ball," his fifth release following "The Rising," but the first since "The Rising" to be looked upon as another concept album. The pervading theme in "Wrecking Ball" is a tragedy of a different sort, the causes and consequences of the economic recession which has gripped our country since 2008. The Boss generally hits the mark here, although there are a couple of swings and misses.
The album starts off with "We Take Care Of Our Own," the anthem Bruce and the E Street Band played to open the Grammy Awards telecast last month, and the perfect choice to set the tone. In a time when there appears to be more divisive rhetoric (especially in Washington, DC) and a deeper separation between the "haves" and "have nots," the song is especially timely. We are in a moment in history when, arguably, politics has trumped compassion. "Where're the hearts that run over with mercy?"
For the next six songs, Springsteen carries on his theme of the hopelessness and the feeling of helplessness brought on by hard economic times. The second track, "Easy Money," is a mind-boggler. First, the melody is, ironically, rather jaunty, with a fiddle, hand-clapping and a background chorus, but the lyrics are dark. The song, which is addressed to the singer's wife or girlfriend, is about going into town "looking for easy money," and then he references possession of a hand gun. Putting two and two together, I conclude that the "easy money" in question is a robbery.
Keeping in mind that song sequence is a key element in a concept album, the third track ("Shackled And Drawn") can be interpreted as a message from prison, perhaps for commission of the crime anticipated in "Easy Money." Or, maybe the title is merely a metaphor for a feeling of lost hope. The singer laments his unemployment: "Let a man work, is that so wrong?" It is the working man who is free: "Freedom [is] a dirty shirt, the sun on my face and my shovel in the dirt, a shovel in the dirt keeps the devil gone."
In an album full of thought-provoking songs, the one that chills the spine is "Jack Of All Trades," the fourth track. It is sung from the point of view of a man literally willing to work for food, and assuring his wife that things will be all right. No manner of labor is unacceptable to him, including handyman work on the lawn or on the roof, auto mechanics, laboring in the fields, etc. Despair sets in at the end, singing that if he a had a gun he'd "find the [unidentified] bastards and shoot 'em on sight."
Springsteen wrote the music and the words to all eleven songs. A few threads run through many of them, most notably blaming bankers and fat cats either directly (in "Easy Money," "Shackled And Drawnand" and "Jack Of All Trades") or indirectly ("Death To My Hometown" and "Wrecking Ball") for the sorry state of affairs. Other threads which appear more than once are the last resort decision to turn to crime ("Easy Money" and "Jack Of All Trades"), and a sort of spiritual revivalist call for action ("Rocky Ground" and "Land Of Hope And Dreams").
The one song on the album which is a misfit, "You've Got It," is also one of my favorites. It is a mid-tempo rocker with a structure that brings back memories of "Never Been To Spain" by Three Dog Night and "Southern Voice" by Tim McGraw.
As we have come to expect on E Street Band offerings, the musicianship here is top drawer. Springsteen incorporates many different kinds of instruments to come up with suitable backings to match his lyrics. That ability reminded me of some of John Mellencamp's albums during the most recent stages of his career. The three songs on "Wrecking Ball" where the musicianship was particularly noteworthy were the weeping guitar on "This Depression"," incredible saxophone play by the late, great Big Man, Clarence Clemons on "Land Of Hope And Dreams," and the bluegrass and brass combo on the final song, "We Are Alive."
I feel that Springsteen's desire to pick on bankers is a little too simplistic. When you cast a wide net of criticism, you're going to ensnare more than those culprits deserving of the blame. But, my complaint in that regard is probably best left for another post.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Movie Review: "Thin Ice"
"Thin Ice": B. My father, The Marquis, used to tell my sister and me, "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." The plot of "Thin Ice" is a case in point. We learn quickly that insurance agent Mickey Prohaska is a con man and a schemer, notwithstanding his affable front. This comes as a surprise, because Mickey is played by Greg Kinnear, cast against his usual type (e.g., comedies like "Little Miss Sunshine" and "As Good As It Gets"). Mickey has a one-nighter with a bar fly at a convention, he hires an associate who just accepted a job with Mickey's competitor, only to stiff the new guy out of commissions, and he tries to sell unneeded insurance coverage to unsophisticated customers, one of whom is the near-senile Gorvy Hauer, masterfully played by Alan Arkin. Mickey's agency business is falling apart, he is maxed out on his credit cards, he lies to his secretary, he has tapped into his son's college fund without telling his estranged wife or his son, he is a check kiter, and he uses business funds to cover personal expenses.
Things go from bad to worse when he learns that an old violin owned by Gorvy might be worth $25,000. Mickey immediately concocts a plan to steal it by switching it with an instrument made cheaply in China, but an ex-con named Randy (Billy Crudup) gets in the way. Randy arrives at Gorvy's ramshackle house to install a security system. Mickey catches on that Randy is a crook, just like himself, but he can't execute his plot without Randy's knowledge. The scheme might have worked, were it not for the unexpected arrival of an old neighbor who comes to pay a visit to the absent Gorvy. Things rapidly take off in a downward spiral from this point.
Mickey is in a very tight squeeze, with major problems coming at him from all directions. His biggest problem is Randy, who is unstable at best and a psychopath at worst. Crudup's portrayal of Randy reminded me a little bit of Samuel L. Jackson in "Pulp Fiction" - - a keg of dynamite which could explode at any time. Mickey runs the emotional gamut, from initially believing he was in for an easy score with the violin to eventually being faced with the prospect of facing capital punishment if he isn't bumped off first. Kinnear is masterful showing this range.
"Thin Ice" is one of those types of movies that I've praised before, the kind where the viewer senses that she is close to the end and yet there are so many ways the story could go. I was all ready to sing (er, write!) the praises of this movie when it did a "one eighty" and ended with a long flashback that attempted to explain to the viewer how things really happened with scenes not shown before during the course of the film. Unfortunately, this denouement was for the most part preposterous, and my grade for "Thin Ice" went southbound as a result. (Please note, I do not object to the device of using end-of-movie flashbacks for explanatory purposes. In fact, I rather enjoyed the look-back explanations in last year's "Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows.") Perhaps the filmmakers want to entice the viewers to see their movie again, now that we know how the story ends. That is what I did for a couple of films with surprise endings; "The Sixth Sense" (1999) and "The Usual Suspects" (1994) come to mind. I am sad to report that I was so disappointed in the surprise ending for "Thin Ice" that I doubt I'll view it again. It was, however, highly entertaining for the first ninety percent. Too bad they had to spoil it with the final ten.
Things go from bad to worse when he learns that an old violin owned by Gorvy might be worth $25,000. Mickey immediately concocts a plan to steal it by switching it with an instrument made cheaply in China, but an ex-con named Randy (Billy Crudup) gets in the way. Randy arrives at Gorvy's ramshackle house to install a security system. Mickey catches on that Randy is a crook, just like himself, but he can't execute his plot without Randy's knowledge. The scheme might have worked, were it not for the unexpected arrival of an old neighbor who comes to pay a visit to the absent Gorvy. Things rapidly take off in a downward spiral from this point.
Mickey is in a very tight squeeze, with major problems coming at him from all directions. His biggest problem is Randy, who is unstable at best and a psychopath at worst. Crudup's portrayal of Randy reminded me a little bit of Samuel L. Jackson in "Pulp Fiction" - - a keg of dynamite which could explode at any time. Mickey runs the emotional gamut, from initially believing he was in for an easy score with the violin to eventually being faced with the prospect of facing capital punishment if he isn't bumped off first. Kinnear is masterful showing this range.
"Thin Ice" is one of those types of movies that I've praised before, the kind where the viewer senses that she is close to the end and yet there are so many ways the story could go. I was all ready to sing (er, write!) the praises of this movie when it did a "one eighty" and ended with a long flashback that attempted to explain to the viewer how things really happened with scenes not shown before during the course of the film. Unfortunately, this denouement was for the most part preposterous, and my grade for "Thin Ice" went southbound as a result. (Please note, I do not object to the device of using end-of-movie flashbacks for explanatory purposes. In fact, I rather enjoyed the look-back explanations in last year's "Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows.") Perhaps the filmmakers want to entice the viewers to see their movie again, now that we know how the story ends. That is what I did for a couple of films with surprise endings; "The Sixth Sense" (1999) and "The Usual Suspects" (1994) come to mind. I am sad to report that I was so disappointed in the surprise ending for "Thin Ice" that I doubt I'll view it again. It was, however, highly entertaining for the first ninety percent. Too bad they had to spoil it with the final ten.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Scuffle, Spear, Solitary, Salvation
I finally had a chance to watch the 2012 Class AA Minnesota Boys Hockey State Championship game on DVR. The March 10 game featured Benilde-St. Margaret's, looking for their first Class AA boys hockey title, against state tourney regular Hill-Murray. Both teams were unseeded coming into the tournament. The major story surrounding the Red Knights' presence was the terrible on-ice accident suffered by Jack Jablonski during a December 30 junior varsity game against Wayzata. Jabs and his family were at the X-cel center to watch the title tilt from a suite above the BSM student section.
The pace of the game during the first period was furious, and it appeared to me that the Pioneers had a slight advantage, managing to keep the puck in the Benilde end more often than the Red Knights could dominate at the other end of the rink. Stellar goaltending by BSM's Justin Quale kept the game scoreless. Then Red Knight forward Grant Busse scored, and once that happened HM couldn't stop him, even when the Pioneers went on the power play. Busse ended up with all five BSM goals (three short-handed), leading his team to a 5-1 victory.
Every time the Red Knights scored, the cameras would pan into the Jablonski suite, where Jack managed to celebrate by raising his arms. The smile across his face was heart-warming to say the least. This was a story the whole state of Minnesota, if not hockey fans worldwide, was following. As the game progressed it became apparent that a second major story line would be the exploits of Busse, who kept putting the biscuit in the basket. The announcers heaped obviously well-deserved praise on Besse for his once-in-a-lifetime feat.
Other than the Jablonski and Besse focus, there was a third, albeit relatively minor, human interest story going on which I found fascinating. With 9:13 left in the final period and the Red Knights leading 3 to 1, BSM defenseman Jake Horton, one of BSM's two senior captains, was called for spearing Hill Murray's Andy Faust. The play started out innocently enough when Horton was chasing down a long pass into the corner of his defensive end. Faust was hot on his tail, but Horton reached the puck first and swept it up ice. A second later, both Horton and Faust came face to face, and Faust delivered a legal check up against the boards. At the instant of the collision, both players had their sticks and gloves chest high, Faust to administer the check, and Horton to defend himself. It looked like words were exchanged, and as they skated out of the corner, Horton speared Faust in the stomach with a quick jab, causing Faust to double over momentarily and fall. Unfortunately for Horton, the referee was close by, and Horton was not only assessed "five for fighting" but was disqualified from the game (hockey talk for "kicked out"). Thirteen seconds of playing time later, Besse scored his second short-handed goal of the night to make it 4 to 1, and play-by-play announcer Clay Matvik guessed that the happiest guy in the arena was probably Horton, banished to solitary confinement in his locker room. At least, thanks to that Besse goal, Horton's stupid spearing penalty was not going to cost Benilde a state championship. If HM had scored after the Horton penalty, it might have been the turning point leading to a Pioneer comeback.
When the final horn sounded, the victorious Red Knights leaped on their goalie, Quale, in celebration, the teams shook hands, and the all-tournament team was announced. Finally, each Pioneer and Red Knight was called up individually to receive their silver and gold medals. Only one thing was missing: Horton. Apparently, State High School League Rules (or its policies) prohibit a disqualified player from taking part in the awards ceremony on the ice. This became obvious first when Horton did not line up on the blue line for the medals ceremony, and again when the team captains were called forward to receive the championship trophy. Captain Christian Horn, together with alternate captains Besse and TJ Moore, skated up to the trophy table, but there was no sign of Horton. As I was watching this, my heart bled for Horton. Sure, he deserved the major penalty and the disqualification, but come on! Did the punishment fit the crime? High school is about making memories. Horton served his time, viz., the five minute major and the game disqualification, but was being deprived of a once-in-a-lifetime moment in the sun because of an impulsive mistake made in the heat of battle. By the way, Faust was not seriously injured by Horton's spearing. In fact, Faust played several more shifts thereafter.
Apparently Horton's fellow captains felt the same way as I. Horn, Besse and Moore accepted the trophy, but did not raise it. They had something else in mind. Instead, they skated over to the BSM bench where Horton had reappeared and presented him the golden prize over the boards. Horton held it high above his head. Now, when he shows the DVD of the game someday to his kids, he will have his theretofore deprived seconds of glory. After a few moments, Horton returned the trophy to his teammates, who then skated over to the student section to give their schoolmates an up-close look at the award. Incredibly, the announcers did not say anything about this chain of events. Louie Nannie was preoccupied with repeating, for seemingly the hundredth time, that Hill Murray should have shot more and passed less. Yes, the two main story lines were Jablonski and Busse. But the mini-drama involving Horton was a study in human nature, and what it means to be a teammate.
The last chapter of the story was not televised: the hockey team hooked up with Jabs after the game in the locker room, and he had the privilege of taking the trophy home for a night.
The pace of the game during the first period was furious, and it appeared to me that the Pioneers had a slight advantage, managing to keep the puck in the Benilde end more often than the Red Knights could dominate at the other end of the rink. Stellar goaltending by BSM's Justin Quale kept the game scoreless. Then Red Knight forward Grant Busse scored, and once that happened HM couldn't stop him, even when the Pioneers went on the power play. Busse ended up with all five BSM goals (three short-handed), leading his team to a 5-1 victory.
Every time the Red Knights scored, the cameras would pan into the Jablonski suite, where Jack managed to celebrate by raising his arms. The smile across his face was heart-warming to say the least. This was a story the whole state of Minnesota, if not hockey fans worldwide, was following. As the game progressed it became apparent that a second major story line would be the exploits of Busse, who kept putting the biscuit in the basket. The announcers heaped obviously well-deserved praise on Besse for his once-in-a-lifetime feat.
Other than the Jablonski and Besse focus, there was a third, albeit relatively minor, human interest story going on which I found fascinating. With 9:13 left in the final period and the Red Knights leading 3 to 1, BSM defenseman Jake Horton, one of BSM's two senior captains, was called for spearing Hill Murray's Andy Faust. The play started out innocently enough when Horton was chasing down a long pass into the corner of his defensive end. Faust was hot on his tail, but Horton reached the puck first and swept it up ice. A second later, both Horton and Faust came face to face, and Faust delivered a legal check up against the boards. At the instant of the collision, both players had their sticks and gloves chest high, Faust to administer the check, and Horton to defend himself. It looked like words were exchanged, and as they skated out of the corner, Horton speared Faust in the stomach with a quick jab, causing Faust to double over momentarily and fall. Unfortunately for Horton, the referee was close by, and Horton was not only assessed "five for fighting" but was disqualified from the game (hockey talk for "kicked out"). Thirteen seconds of playing time later, Besse scored his second short-handed goal of the night to make it 4 to 1, and play-by-play announcer Clay Matvik guessed that the happiest guy in the arena was probably Horton, banished to solitary confinement in his locker room. At least, thanks to that Besse goal, Horton's stupid spearing penalty was not going to cost Benilde a state championship. If HM had scored after the Horton penalty, it might have been the turning point leading to a Pioneer comeback.
When the final horn sounded, the victorious Red Knights leaped on their goalie, Quale, in celebration, the teams shook hands, and the all-tournament team was announced. Finally, each Pioneer and Red Knight was called up individually to receive their silver and gold medals. Only one thing was missing: Horton. Apparently, State High School League Rules (or its policies) prohibit a disqualified player from taking part in the awards ceremony on the ice. This became obvious first when Horton did not line up on the blue line for the medals ceremony, and again when the team captains were called forward to receive the championship trophy. Captain Christian Horn, together with alternate captains Besse and TJ Moore, skated up to the trophy table, but there was no sign of Horton. As I was watching this, my heart bled for Horton. Sure, he deserved the major penalty and the disqualification, but come on! Did the punishment fit the crime? High school is about making memories. Horton served his time, viz., the five minute major and the game disqualification, but was being deprived of a once-in-a-lifetime moment in the sun because of an impulsive mistake made in the heat of battle. By the way, Faust was not seriously injured by Horton's spearing. In fact, Faust played several more shifts thereafter.
Apparently Horton's fellow captains felt the same way as I. Horn, Besse and Moore accepted the trophy, but did not raise it. They had something else in mind. Instead, they skated over to the BSM bench where Horton had reappeared and presented him the golden prize over the boards. Horton held it high above his head. Now, when he shows the DVD of the game someday to his kids, he will have his theretofore deprived seconds of glory. After a few moments, Horton returned the trophy to his teammates, who then skated over to the student section to give their schoolmates an up-close look at the award. Incredibly, the announcers did not say anything about this chain of events. Louie Nannie was preoccupied with repeating, for seemingly the hundredth time, that Hill Murray should have shot more and passed less. Yes, the two main story lines were Jablonski and Busse. But the mini-drama involving Horton was a study in human nature, and what it means to be a teammate.
The last chapter of the story was not televised: the hockey team hooked up with Jabs after the game in the locker room, and he had the privilege of taking the trophy home for a night.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
My Personal Final Four
Just about every hoops fan in America has filled out brackets for the NCAA tournament, which got underway Tuesday night. One of the beauties of participating in an office or on-line pool is that you don't have to know anything at all about basketball to join in the fun. Most folks just go with "the chalk," i.e., they bet on the higher seeded team for each game. I have already seen a number of "experts'" predictions in which they simply bet on the # 1 seed in each region (Syracuse in the East, Kentucky in the South, North Carolina in the Midwest and Michigan State in the West) to make it to the Final Four. But, beware! Last year that strategy did not come close to working, as the Final Four featured Virginia Commonwealth (an "11 seed"), Butler (8), Kentucky (4) and eventual champion UConn (3). It was the first Final Four not to include at least one of the top two seeds from any of the four regions.
My own Personal Final Four has a little bit of a different spin to it. It is comprised of the four teams whose coaches I could not possibly bring myself to support. In other words, they would be the last, final four I'd cheer for. Regardless of how I complete my brackets in the pool organized by my son, Michael (an investment of $10 which I could have otherwise used to buy two pints of my favorite adult beverage), I will be pulling for the opponents of these teams:
1. Kentucky, coached by John Calipari. "Coach Cal," as the media likes to call him, reminds me of Pete Carroll, the guy who was the head football coach at Southern Cal for nine years before escaping to the Seattle Seahawks in 2010 when the NCAA was about to lower the boom on his program's unethical and prohibited practices. The Trojans were handed harsh penalties, including bowl game banishment and scholarship limitations. Similarly, Calipari took two teams, UMass (in 1996) and Memphis (in 2008) to the Final Four, but those schools' appearances were vacated from the record books due to NCAA violations under Calipari's watch. That did not prevent Calipari from signing a lucrative deal (like Carroll) with Kentucky, a school obviously more obsessed with basketball than with its reputation. Calipari and his employer also have no problem recruiting high school kids to play for the Wildcats when they know those players will jump to the NBA after their freshman year. They are unaffectionately called "rent-a-year players." A recent USA Today headline labeled Calipari the "One And Done King." I thought the players were supposed to be student athletes, on a path toward graduation. Silly me.
2. Syracuse, coached by Jim Boeheim. Syracuse is currently under NCAA investigation (again!) because of rumors and reports that, for the last ten years, the Orange have had several players who tested positive for drugs. Somehow, the test results never surfaced until a few months ago. Boeheim brushes it off as if nothing happened, apparently never having heard of the saying that where there's smoke there's fire. He told the press that it would be business as usual, a double entendre if there ever was one. The alleged drug problems aren't the first scandal to hit the 'Cuse, nor is it the only time Boeheim was accused of hiding things from the NCAA. For example, after the Tournament Selection Committee gave Syracuse the relatively easy path of a # 1 seeding for this year's tournament, Syracuse declared that its starting seven foot center, Fab Melo, was ineligible. If you think Boeheim and his employer just happened to find that fact out after the seedings by the Selection Committee, you are naive. Boeheim is being sued for defamation by two former ball boys who alleged that long-time assistant Bernie Fine molested them when they were part of Boeheim's program. Boeheim called the accusers liars, then shortly thereafter threw Fine under the bus when things got hot, even though as of this writing no charges have been filed against Fine. On the Notre Dame fan website, ND Nation, basketball fans hold Boeheim in such low regard that they have instituted a principle known as "The Boeheim Exception." According to that axiom, an Irish fan is permitted to cheer for a team playing Syracuse even if a win by the Orange would benefit the Irish in the rankings. Check out this post by Kayo on ND Nation:
http://ndnation.com/boards/showpost.php?b=faq;pid=3;d=this
3. Connecticut, coached by Jim Calhoun. UConn is yet another team which has recently run afoul of NCAA rules. Calhoun was actually suspended earlier this year for ignoring the ban on contacting high school recruits during the NCAA dead period. If you look up the word "arrogant" in the dictionary, you will see a picture of Calhoun right there. He has been disgruntled with Notre Dame for participating in the Big East Conference in all sports except football, even though ND's arrangement with that conference requires them to play a set number of football games (usually three) against Big East teams. Calhoun would have been better off complaining about Boston College, Virginia Tech and Miami, all of which defected from the Big East to the ACC, plus Pitt, West Virginia and Syracuse, which are lame duck Big East members prior to their scheduled defection.
4. Duke, coached by Mike Krzyzewski. I almost chose not to include Duke on this list for the simple reason that it is nearly a cliche to write disparagingly about the Blue Devils. They are low hanging fruit when it comes to reasons to root against them: the flopping by its players after mild - - or in some cases, no - - contact, the punk attitude of several of its players like Christian Laettner and JJ Riddick, the constant and definitely unwarranted complaining to the refs by Coach K about the lack of calls the Blue Devils get from the zebras, the love affair the media (especially Dukie Vitale) has with Duke, the inordinate number of times Duke has been assigned to play tournament games in nearby Greensboro against opponents who had to travel cross-country to get there, and the atmosphere in which Krzyzewski allows the seniors to torment the underclassmen, almost in some years to the point of hazing. The topper for me, though, was the decision by Coach K not to count the last two-thirds of the disastrous 1994-95 season on his record, even though the players were recruited by him, coached by him for the first third of that season, and in the program created and overseen by him. His reason? He was recuperating from off-season back surgery and was counting on his assistant, Pete Gaudet, to run the team. Do you think Krzyzewski would have counted the last two-thirds of that season on his record if the team had made it to the Final Four? There is no doubt in my mind that the answer is yes. For a good laugh, check out this post which originally appeared on RamblingBeachCat:
http://www.1500espn.com/link/want_to_know_how_to_hate_duke_here_is_a_stepbystep_guide
Having teams not only to root for (such as your alma mater, a favorite conference representative, your bracket picks, or a decisive underdog), but also to root against, adds a whole new dimension to one's tournament watching experience. With a few exceptions, I'll be pulling for the lower seeds, you know, the teams in the dark jerseys. Everyone loves a Cinderella story. And, I will always root for the opponents of my Personal Final Four.
My own Personal Final Four has a little bit of a different spin to it. It is comprised of the four teams whose coaches I could not possibly bring myself to support. In other words, they would be the last, final four I'd cheer for. Regardless of how I complete my brackets in the pool organized by my son, Michael (an investment of $10 which I could have otherwise used to buy two pints of my favorite adult beverage), I will be pulling for the opponents of these teams:
1. Kentucky, coached by John Calipari. "Coach Cal," as the media likes to call him, reminds me of Pete Carroll, the guy who was the head football coach at Southern Cal for nine years before escaping to the Seattle Seahawks in 2010 when the NCAA was about to lower the boom on his program's unethical and prohibited practices. The Trojans were handed harsh penalties, including bowl game banishment and scholarship limitations. Similarly, Calipari took two teams, UMass (in 1996) and Memphis (in 2008) to the Final Four, but those schools' appearances were vacated from the record books due to NCAA violations under Calipari's watch. That did not prevent Calipari from signing a lucrative deal (like Carroll) with Kentucky, a school obviously more obsessed with basketball than with its reputation. Calipari and his employer also have no problem recruiting high school kids to play for the Wildcats when they know those players will jump to the NBA after their freshman year. They are unaffectionately called "rent-a-year players." A recent USA Today headline labeled Calipari the "One And Done King." I thought the players were supposed to be student athletes, on a path toward graduation. Silly me.
2. Syracuse, coached by Jim Boeheim. Syracuse is currently under NCAA investigation (again!) because of rumors and reports that, for the last ten years, the Orange have had several players who tested positive for drugs. Somehow, the test results never surfaced until a few months ago. Boeheim brushes it off as if nothing happened, apparently never having heard of the saying that where there's smoke there's fire. He told the press that it would be business as usual, a double entendre if there ever was one. The alleged drug problems aren't the first scandal to hit the 'Cuse, nor is it the only time Boeheim was accused of hiding things from the NCAA. For example, after the Tournament Selection Committee gave Syracuse the relatively easy path of a # 1 seeding for this year's tournament, Syracuse declared that its starting seven foot center, Fab Melo, was ineligible. If you think Boeheim and his employer just happened to find that fact out after the seedings by the Selection Committee, you are naive. Boeheim is being sued for defamation by two former ball boys who alleged that long-time assistant Bernie Fine molested them when they were part of Boeheim's program. Boeheim called the accusers liars, then shortly thereafter threw Fine under the bus when things got hot, even though as of this writing no charges have been filed against Fine. On the Notre Dame fan website, ND Nation, basketball fans hold Boeheim in such low regard that they have instituted a principle known as "The Boeheim Exception." According to that axiom, an Irish fan is permitted to cheer for a team playing Syracuse even if a win by the Orange would benefit the Irish in the rankings. Check out this post by Kayo on ND Nation:
http://ndnation.com/boards/showpost.php?b=faq;pid=3;d=this
3. Connecticut, coached by Jim Calhoun. UConn is yet another team which has recently run afoul of NCAA rules. Calhoun was actually suspended earlier this year for ignoring the ban on contacting high school recruits during the NCAA dead period. If you look up the word "arrogant" in the dictionary, you will see a picture of Calhoun right there. He has been disgruntled with Notre Dame for participating in the Big East Conference in all sports except football, even though ND's arrangement with that conference requires them to play a set number of football games (usually three) against Big East teams. Calhoun would have been better off complaining about Boston College, Virginia Tech and Miami, all of which defected from the Big East to the ACC, plus Pitt, West Virginia and Syracuse, which are lame duck Big East members prior to their scheduled defection.
4. Duke, coached by Mike Krzyzewski. I almost chose not to include Duke on this list for the simple reason that it is nearly a cliche to write disparagingly about the Blue Devils. They are low hanging fruit when it comes to reasons to root against them: the flopping by its players after mild - - or in some cases, no - - contact, the punk attitude of several of its players like Christian Laettner and JJ Riddick, the constant and definitely unwarranted complaining to the refs by Coach K about the lack of calls the Blue Devils get from the zebras, the love affair the media (especially Dukie Vitale) has with Duke, the inordinate number of times Duke has been assigned to play tournament games in nearby Greensboro against opponents who had to travel cross-country to get there, and the atmosphere in which Krzyzewski allows the seniors to torment the underclassmen, almost in some years to the point of hazing. The topper for me, though, was the decision by Coach K not to count the last two-thirds of the disastrous 1994-95 season on his record, even though the players were recruited by him, coached by him for the first third of that season, and in the program created and overseen by him. His reason? He was recuperating from off-season back surgery and was counting on his assistant, Pete Gaudet, to run the team. Do you think Krzyzewski would have counted the last two-thirds of that season on his record if the team had made it to the Final Four? There is no doubt in my mind that the answer is yes. For a good laugh, check out this post which originally appeared on RamblingBeachCat:
http://www.1500espn.com/link/want_to_know_how_to_hate_duke_here_is_a_stepbystep_guide
Having teams not only to root for (such as your alma mater, a favorite conference representative, your bracket picks, or a decisive underdog), but also to root against, adds a whole new dimension to one's tournament watching experience. With a few exceptions, I'll be pulling for the lower seeds, you know, the teams in the dark jerseys. Everyone loves a Cinderella story. And, I will always root for the opponents of my Personal Final Four.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Baseball Expands Its Playoff Format
Greetings from Phoenix, Arizona, home of the Cactus League where fifteen MLB teams have their spring training. It seems fitting to write a baseball post from this location, so that is what follows.
There is little question that, of the four major professional sports, the NFL is the most popular league in the country. There are several reasons for this, such as the time of the year in which football games are played, the popularity of fantasy football, the ability of the league to keep fan interest up even during the off-season with things such as the February combine and the April draft, the ease of following teams which play only once a week, and the omni-present television cameras. One very important feature of the NFL is that, unlike the NBA and the NHL which both admit sixteen out of their respective thirty teams into the post-season playoffs (53%), the NFL's playoff structure makes room for only twelve of its thirty-two teams (38%). One quite obvious upshot of this arrangement is that it makes the regular season games much more important. You have to have a fairly decent record during the sixteen game regular season to qualify for the playoffs. There have been times when even a team with a regular season record of ten wins and six losses does not qualify for post-season play. Any team which encounters a three game losing streak really has an uphill climb.
Major league baseball, once (still?) our "National Passtime," announced last week that it is expanding the number of its playoff participants from eight to ten out of its thirty teams. For all you "numbers" peeps out there, that's a jump from 27% to 33%, still the lowest percentage among the pros. Starting this season, the baseball qualifiers will be the three division champs plus the two best non-champs (i.e., wild card teams) from each of the American League and the National League. Each league's wild card teams can come from within the same division (e.g., the American League East Division), so it's quite possible that a team which finishes third in its division can still make the playoffs. Is this good for the game of baseball?
As someone who attends many regular season games and watches way too many on TV, I am generally against any movement which dilutes the importance of those games. Attending a Twins game, for example, usually entails an expenditure in the neighborhood of $150 to $175, when you consider the cost of the tickets, parking, the requisite beers at the Bullfrog and inside Target Field, and of course a couple of Tony O's Cubano sandwiches. Although there's a lot to enjoy in connection with attending a game, including simply socializing in the great outdoors, I'd like to think that the primary reason for going is to see a baseball game which has some impact on the overall season. If that were not true, why would most teams' attendance figures sag when their success on the field diminishes? The fewer number of teams allowed to qualify for the playoffs, the more important each individual regular season game becomes, and accordingly, the more bang each paying fan is getting for her buck.
Notwithstanding all of the reasons why I should not favor the new expansion of the playoffs to include two (instead of one) playoff teams from each league, I hereby submit that the change is a good one. The new format will call for the two wildcard teams in each league to square off in a one (ONE!) game series (if, indeed, you can call it a "series") at the higher seed's home park. Whoever loses that game is one and done. The winner goes on to play the division champ with the best record in a five game series, while the other two division champs play each other in a five game set. The rest of the playoffs continue using the same format as in most recent years.
The one game wildcard series is fascinating. Does a manager start his # 1 pitching ace on the theory that there is no tomorrow if his team loses, or does the manager save his # 1 ace for the division series opponent because that team will be tougher to beat than the wild card opponent? The manager will look pretty silly saving his best pitcher for a game that may not ever happen. Some managers might choose not to manipulate their rotation at all; whoever's turn it is to pitch on the day of the wild card game gets the call.
I also like the fact that teams won't be able to semi-intentionally "tank" the last few weeks of the season, realizing that they will be in the playoffs anyway, so why not rest their regulars. Under the old format, the league's division champions had no real benefit over the wild card team, other than a home field advantage (which, of course, would be wiped out if the division champ lost the first game of the division series). If a playoff spot was assured, there was no compelling need to try to overtake the division leader. Under the new format, there is a tremendous difference between being one of the league's three division champs and being one of the two wild cards, because the wild cards have to win that one game series to stay alive, while the division champs are idle, better able to set up their rotations and rest their position players.
Already, some managers, such as the Twins' Ron Gardenhire, are complaining that a one game wild card series is too short and unfair to the team that loses. Although I like Gardy a lot, my response to his whine is this: You'd better go out and win your division; then you won't have to cope with the one game wild card series.
There is little question that, of the four major professional sports, the NFL is the most popular league in the country. There are several reasons for this, such as the time of the year in which football games are played, the popularity of fantasy football, the ability of the league to keep fan interest up even during the off-season with things such as the February combine and the April draft, the ease of following teams which play only once a week, and the omni-present television cameras. One very important feature of the NFL is that, unlike the NBA and the NHL which both admit sixteen out of their respective thirty teams into the post-season playoffs (53%), the NFL's playoff structure makes room for only twelve of its thirty-two teams (38%). One quite obvious upshot of this arrangement is that it makes the regular season games much more important. You have to have a fairly decent record during the sixteen game regular season to qualify for the playoffs. There have been times when even a team with a regular season record of ten wins and six losses does not qualify for post-season play. Any team which encounters a three game losing streak really has an uphill climb.
Major league baseball, once (still?) our "National Passtime," announced last week that it is expanding the number of its playoff participants from eight to ten out of its thirty teams. For all you "numbers" peeps out there, that's a jump from 27% to 33%, still the lowest percentage among the pros. Starting this season, the baseball qualifiers will be the three division champs plus the two best non-champs (i.e., wild card teams) from each of the American League and the National League. Each league's wild card teams can come from within the same division (e.g., the American League East Division), so it's quite possible that a team which finishes third in its division can still make the playoffs. Is this good for the game of baseball?
As someone who attends many regular season games and watches way too many on TV, I am generally against any movement which dilutes the importance of those games. Attending a Twins game, for example, usually entails an expenditure in the neighborhood of $150 to $175, when you consider the cost of the tickets, parking, the requisite beers at the Bullfrog and inside Target Field, and of course a couple of Tony O's Cubano sandwiches. Although there's a lot to enjoy in connection with attending a game, including simply socializing in the great outdoors, I'd like to think that the primary reason for going is to see a baseball game which has some impact on the overall season. If that were not true, why would most teams' attendance figures sag when their success on the field diminishes? The fewer number of teams allowed to qualify for the playoffs, the more important each individual regular season game becomes, and accordingly, the more bang each paying fan is getting for her buck.
Notwithstanding all of the reasons why I should not favor the new expansion of the playoffs to include two (instead of one) playoff teams from each league, I hereby submit that the change is a good one. The new format will call for the two wildcard teams in each league to square off in a one (ONE!) game series (if, indeed, you can call it a "series") at the higher seed's home park. Whoever loses that game is one and done. The winner goes on to play the division champ with the best record in a five game series, while the other two division champs play each other in a five game set. The rest of the playoffs continue using the same format as in most recent years.
The one game wildcard series is fascinating. Does a manager start his # 1 pitching ace on the theory that there is no tomorrow if his team loses, or does the manager save his # 1 ace for the division series opponent because that team will be tougher to beat than the wild card opponent? The manager will look pretty silly saving his best pitcher for a game that may not ever happen. Some managers might choose not to manipulate their rotation at all; whoever's turn it is to pitch on the day of the wild card game gets the call.
I also like the fact that teams won't be able to semi-intentionally "tank" the last few weeks of the season, realizing that they will be in the playoffs anyway, so why not rest their regulars. Under the old format, the league's division champions had no real benefit over the wild card team, other than a home field advantage (which, of course, would be wiped out if the division champ lost the first game of the division series). If a playoff spot was assured, there was no compelling need to try to overtake the division leader. Under the new format, there is a tremendous difference between being one of the league's three division champs and being one of the two wild cards, because the wild cards have to win that one game series to stay alive, while the division champs are idle, better able to set up their rotations and rest their position players.
Already, some managers, such as the Twins' Ron Gardenhire, are complaining that a one game wild card series is too short and unfair to the team that loses. Although I like Gardy a lot, my response to his whine is this: You'd better go out and win your division; then you won't have to cope with the one game wild card series.
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