I am in Auburn Alabama on this football Sunday. I have some business tomorrow at Auburn University. It is my first time here.
I've been in town for only half a day but thus far the town is very impressive. I am staying on a street called, appropriately, College Street. Across the way from my hotel is a beautiful looking library. Down a little bit beyond that is what I imagine was the very first building on campus. It is majestic and it is in front of this building where the sign for the university is displayed. I took a stroll to a CVS and saw in the distance the football stadium which looks as professional as NFL facilities.
What readers of this blog might be most interested in is my experience in an establishment called Halftime. It may seem like frivolous to some, but as anyone who read the Madness of March knows, I have written about sports fans and am one myself. I arrived early enough today to watch the games and scouted out a place that had "the ticket" before I left Boston. The ticket is the NFL television package that allows establishments to broadcast all the NFL games on football Sundays. Halftime has the ticket. So there I went. Above the bar, five televisions were broadcasting five different contests.
What was interesting to me was that here in Auburn Alabama I sat next to a man wearing a Tom Brady jersey who knew more about the Patriots than I do. To his left were a couple swearing their allegiance to the Green Bay Packers. To my right was a man whose knowledge about all teams seemed encyclopedic and he was parked at noon central awaiting the 3 pm Detroit Lions game. And to his right was a fellow bursting alternatively joyously and with frustration as the fortunes of the Carolina Panthers ebbed and flowed. Behind me was a very sad fellow who was from Erie Pennsylvania and watched unhappily as so called Johnny Football (aka Johnny Manziel) played like a pop warner substitute in the Browns-Bengals game.
Within twenty feet there were reps from many places east of the Mississippi. What's more the conversation throughout the game could have taken place in hundreds of taverns that had the Ticket across America. There was no difference about anything in Halftime than there is in places I have been to in Boston or Chicago or Buffalo or New York or New Jersey or Maine or anywhere.
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Tiers
I had, at one point, become a decent competitive tennis player. At my level I had won a number of consecutive tournaments, and had a string of victories against strong USTA players rated at my level.
I saw an advertisement for a tournament for those 45 years and older. I was 48 or 49, in good shape, and had had the successes referred to above. So, I signed up and figured this would be a whole lot easier than beating the 20 somethings and 30 somethings who typically played in my league.
Very wrong. These tournaments were populated by former high school and college players. Very strong players who, as time went on, kept their competitive energies active by traveling to these age-level tournaments. I did not know this when I signed up.
As I warmed up with my first round opponent I saw that I was in for trouble. This guy looked good. My tennis game was about getting the ball back. I was a retriever who could find a way to stay in points and then when the opponent was tired from a long rally see him deposit the ball in the net, or get out of position so I could hit a winner. I figured that I would have to be at my retrieving best to have a chance against this guy. And I was. The first point itself took twenty or so shots. And for each point I chased down the balls and retrieved as many as I could. It was as good as I can play.
And he killed me. Destroyed. 6-0, 6-1. He must have fallen asleep in the game I won. The guy was just in another league.
In these tournaments, you have only an hour between matches if you are victorious. As the loser I had all weekend. So I went into the locker room and took a long shower. Sat in the steam room. Dawdled. I came back outside to the courts to see how the guy who had pummeled me was doing in his second match. I figured this guy would win the tournament. He just was great.
When I got to the courts, I saw his match was over. He had been shellacked 6-0, 6-0. So the guy who destroyed me 6-0, 6-1, had been clobbered by someone else. And I had had a winning streak going against very competitive players for quite a stretch.
So, the point is that in sports there are levels. And the amateur folks like me, have no real sense of how good the really good players are. When we yell at our tv screen at someone who we think is underperforming, the likelihood is that this underperforming object of our wrath--is great. He or she is just playing against someone who is a level up.
Annually, I find myself following the Division 3 football championship tournament. Division 3 does it right. They have a tournament at the end of the year which involves the top 32 teams in the country. And then each weekend beginning around Thanksgiving they play a one and done tournament.
This year I had an added interest because the Massachusetts Institute of Technology--the school that makes Harvard look like a third tier community college--had had an undefeated season. There is a quip that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to play football. Well, (and this is not original, I read it in Sports Illustrated a while back) the MIT guys ARE rocket scientists--or at least rocket scientists in training. Yet they were undefeated and were invited to participate in the Division 3 tournament.
The Engineers won their first game of the tournament with a thrilling overtime victory. Then they went to play Wesley College in their second round. Wesley won by over 50 points.
Fifty points! The MIT Engineers had had an undefeated season and won a playoff game and in the second round lost by fifty points to Wesley.
Today Wesley is playing in the semi finals. The last time I looked they were losing 42-0 in the first half.
This phenomenon of significantly different levels of skill is likely a reality in all fields: Teaching, Medicine, Lawyering. You think you are a great lawyer. Well, you may be. But someone else makes your ability to make sense of the law seem primitive.
Yet in sports it has seemed to me to be more glaring.
I saw an advertisement for a tournament for those 45 years and older. I was 48 or 49, in good shape, and had had the successes referred to above. So, I signed up and figured this would be a whole lot easier than beating the 20 somethings and 30 somethings who typically played in my league.
Very wrong. These tournaments were populated by former high school and college players. Very strong players who, as time went on, kept their competitive energies active by traveling to these age-level tournaments. I did not know this when I signed up.
As I warmed up with my first round opponent I saw that I was in for trouble. This guy looked good. My tennis game was about getting the ball back. I was a retriever who could find a way to stay in points and then when the opponent was tired from a long rally see him deposit the ball in the net, or get out of position so I could hit a winner. I figured that I would have to be at my retrieving best to have a chance against this guy. And I was. The first point itself took twenty or so shots. And for each point I chased down the balls and retrieved as many as I could. It was as good as I can play.
And he killed me. Destroyed. 6-0, 6-1. He must have fallen asleep in the game I won. The guy was just in another league.
In these tournaments, you have only an hour between matches if you are victorious. As the loser I had all weekend. So I went into the locker room and took a long shower. Sat in the steam room. Dawdled. I came back outside to the courts to see how the guy who had pummeled me was doing in his second match. I figured this guy would win the tournament. He just was great.
When I got to the courts, I saw his match was over. He had been shellacked 6-0, 6-0. So the guy who destroyed me 6-0, 6-1, had been clobbered by someone else. And I had had a winning streak going against very competitive players for quite a stretch.
So, the point is that in sports there are levels. And the amateur folks like me, have no real sense of how good the really good players are. When we yell at our tv screen at someone who we think is underperforming, the likelihood is that this underperforming object of our wrath--is great. He or she is just playing against someone who is a level up.
Annually, I find myself following the Division 3 football championship tournament. Division 3 does it right. They have a tournament at the end of the year which involves the top 32 teams in the country. And then each weekend beginning around Thanksgiving they play a one and done tournament.
This year I had an added interest because the Massachusetts Institute of Technology--the school that makes Harvard look like a third tier community college--had had an undefeated season. There is a quip that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to play football. Well, (and this is not original, I read it in Sports Illustrated a while back) the MIT guys ARE rocket scientists--or at least rocket scientists in training. Yet they were undefeated and were invited to participate in the Division 3 tournament.
The Engineers won their first game of the tournament with a thrilling overtime victory. Then they went to play Wesley College in their second round. Wesley won by over 50 points.
Fifty points! The MIT Engineers had had an undefeated season and won a playoff game and in the second round lost by fifty points to Wesley.
Today Wesley is playing in the semi finals. The last time I looked they were losing 42-0 in the first half.
This phenomenon of significantly different levels of skill is likely a reality in all fields: Teaching, Medicine, Lawyering. You think you are a great lawyer. Well, you may be. But someone else makes your ability to make sense of the law seem primitive.
Yet in sports it has seemed to me to be more glaring.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
eppur si muove
Eppur si muove
Sixty five laps around the track, a memory that is better than decent, and a tendency to read more than the average bear. How is it that I had never come across eppur si muove.
I figure I have seen it, I must have--in one class or book or another--but it never stuck before. And that is remarkable only because it stuck to my consciousness like the mother of all glue when I saw it, in all places, on an espn blog a few days ago.
Didn't know what it meant of course, so I looked it up.
It seems as if Galileo was forced by those open minded folks who brought us the Inquisition (descendants of those who brought us the Crusades), to take back his claim that the earth revolved around the sun. They insisted that the opposite was true.
Eppur si muove. And yet it moves, Galileo, allegedly said.
There are truths. Whether we can explain them or not. There are truths and when we try and suppress these truths the long term, if not the short term, damage is inevitable.
Go ahead and claim that the sun revolves around the earth. Tell yourself that 2 and 2 is 5. Try and suppress the truth.
Eppur si muove.
Sixty five laps around the track, a memory that is better than decent, and a tendency to read more than the average bear. How is it that I had never come across eppur si muove.
I figure I have seen it, I must have--in one class or book or another--but it never stuck before. And that is remarkable only because it stuck to my consciousness like the mother of all glue when I saw it, in all places, on an espn blog a few days ago.
Didn't know what it meant of course, so I looked it up.
It seems as if Galileo was forced by those open minded folks who brought us the Inquisition (descendants of those who brought us the Crusades), to take back his claim that the earth revolved around the sun. They insisted that the opposite was true.
Eppur si muove. And yet it moves, Galileo, allegedly said.
There are truths. Whether we can explain them or not. There are truths and when we try and suppress these truths the long term, if not the short term, damage is inevitable.
Go ahead and claim that the sun revolves around the earth. Tell yourself that 2 and 2 is 5. Try and suppress the truth.
Eppur si muove.
Monday, December 8, 2014
What About Never
What About Never, Is Never Good for You? My Life in Cartoons is, as one might expect, a funny book. It is authored by Bob Mankoff who is a cartoonist for, and cartoon editor of, the New Yorker magazine.
The book is about half memoir and half examples of cartoons. The cartoons are the better part, but the writing is witty as well. He talks about his parents, start as a cartoonist, creation of the Cartoon Bank, and how to compete for the New Yorker cartoon contest.
I have a New Yorker cartoon-a day-calendar and every one in ten makes (or could make if there was enough room) the refrigerator. One of my favorites is a picture of the grim reaper at a cocktail party speaking to an attractive woman. The woman says to the reaper, "I must introduce you to my husband." Another favorite is the cartoon from which the book derives its title. A man is on the phone looking at his calendar and speaks into the receiver. "Thursday is out." he says, "How about Never. does never work for you." Apparently, the quip has been appropriated by various vendors. The author illustrates this by including a reprint of an advertisement for a thong, with the "how about never, is never good for you" part written on it.
The author is appropriately self-effacing and I like that. And he really is funny as he describes the various stages of his professional, and sometimes, personal, life. I recommend the book, but not if what you want is a conventional memoir. This is as much a collection of cartoons as anything else. The book will probably be fun even if all you do is read through the cartoons.
The book is about half memoir and half examples of cartoons. The cartoons are the better part, but the writing is witty as well. He talks about his parents, start as a cartoonist, creation of the Cartoon Bank, and how to compete for the New Yorker cartoon contest.
I have a New Yorker cartoon-a day-calendar and every one in ten makes (or could make if there was enough room) the refrigerator. One of my favorites is a picture of the grim reaper at a cocktail party speaking to an attractive woman. The woman says to the reaper, "I must introduce you to my husband." Another favorite is the cartoon from which the book derives its title. A man is on the phone looking at his calendar and speaks into the receiver. "Thursday is out." he says, "How about Never. does never work for you." Apparently, the quip has been appropriated by various vendors. The author illustrates this by including a reprint of an advertisement for a thong, with the "how about never, is never good for you" part written on it.
The author is appropriately self-effacing and I like that. And he really is funny as he describes the various stages of his professional, and sometimes, personal, life. I recommend the book, but not if what you want is a conventional memoir. This is as much a collection of cartoons as anything else. The book will probably be fun even if all you do is read through the cartoons.
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Who's In.
It will be
- Florida State: Despite just eking out victories all year long, they showed something tonight beating Georgia Tech. It was only a two point win, but they had an ability to answer almost everything. And they are the only team in the FBS that is undefeated.
- Oregon: They had a second opportunity last night to beat the one team that beat them this year, Arizona. And they did. They did not play as well as the forty point spread would indicate--and often looked sloppy. But you can't leave out the champion of the PAC 12 when they beat the only team that defeated them this year. I do think they are the weakest of the four.
- Alabama. I am not an Alabama fan. But they win. Their one loss was to Mississippi at Oxford where they lost by only 6. True, their game against LSU was not impressive and it required overtime, but I don't see how you can leave out Alabama--though I sure would like to.
- Ohio State. I wrote earlier on Saturday that Ohio State would find a way to beat Wisconsin today. I did not think they would beat them by over 50 points. Urban Meyer is probably the best coach in college football. Ohio State should leap frog over TCU and Baylor and get into the playoffs. OSU obliterated a good Wisconsin team tonight using a third string quarterback. Don't be surprised if Ohio State wins the tournament.
TCU and Baylor will not be happy this afternoon, but FSU, Oregon, Alabama, and Ohio State are the best four. I would be surprised if the committee announces any variation on Sunday at 1230 eastern.
Howard Schnellenberger coached the Miami Hurricanes to the most exciting victory in college football history--a 31-30 upset of the University of Nebraska on New Year's Day 1984. The Hurricanes, ranked fourth going into the game, were declared the national champion afterwards. At a college all star game a few weeks later, Schnellenberger was asked if he thought a playoff system would be a more fair way to determine a champion. He said, it would, but it would not happen in our lifetimes. I, and all college football fans--even those from TCU and Baylor--are happy that Coach Schnellenberger, now 80, was wrong.
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Oregon at number 2.
Can a team be unimpressive winning 51-13?
I saw most of the first half and third quarter of the Oregon (ranked 2), Arizona (ranked 7) football game as I fought against sleep last night.
Oregon looked disorganized, committed several sloppy penalties, and the coaching staff made at least one mind boggling decision on a fourth and inches from the goal line. In that sequence, the Ducks committed one penalty to push the ball to the six. Then another penalty to push the ball to the 11. And then the kicker missed a short field goal. This, by you, is a team ranked two in the country?
While the Duck quarterback, Marcus Mariota, made some good throws--he is supposedly the leading candidate for the Heisman trophy--he also made some very bad decisions and only got away with them because Arizona dropped potential interceptions. Maybe last night was an aberration, but Mariota did not impress much.
Yet, Oregon clobbered their opponent 51-13--a team ranked 7th in the country. And the last Arizona touchdown came on a meaningless play as time expired. It was really more like 51-7.
For years I have been a critic of college football. This year with the playoff system in place the season has become worth following and the eventual champion will have earned the title. The one concern I have about the system is that winning is not the lone criterion in determining who will compete; how much you win by has become a criterion. It makes sense that this would have to be the case since all teams do not play a common schedule, but still in sports winning by one, or winning by forty, should not be a factor in determining champions.
Predictions for today. Alabama wins. Florida State finally loses after tempting fate all year. TCU wins, but maybe not all that impressively. Ohio State finds a way to beat Wisconsin. Predictions for the final four will have to wait until the final four is determined, tomorrow, but I don't think Oregon--guaranteed a spot in the final four--will advance beyond the first round.
On another note and sport, in college basketball, Yale University beat defending champ University of Connecticut last night. We are talking Yale now, not another major team. Yale, who plays in the Ivy League. Beat the NCAA division I defending champion. A Yalie hit a three at the buzzer. And the game was played on UConn's home court.
Finally, if you are a junkie, there are a series of high school football games being played today on the New England Patriots home field. From 9 am until about 10 tonight the so called super bowls of high school football will be played. Somewhere in the crowd (and it will not be me) there will be someone or several who is/are parking their car right now and intends not to budge for 12 hours watching high school football championships.
I saw most of the first half and third quarter of the Oregon (ranked 2), Arizona (ranked 7) football game as I fought against sleep last night.
Oregon looked disorganized, committed several sloppy penalties, and the coaching staff made at least one mind boggling decision on a fourth and inches from the goal line. In that sequence, the Ducks committed one penalty to push the ball to the six. Then another penalty to push the ball to the 11. And then the kicker missed a short field goal. This, by you, is a team ranked two in the country?
While the Duck quarterback, Marcus Mariota, made some good throws--he is supposedly the leading candidate for the Heisman trophy--he also made some very bad decisions and only got away with them because Arizona dropped potential interceptions. Maybe last night was an aberration, but Mariota did not impress much.
Yet, Oregon clobbered their opponent 51-13--a team ranked 7th in the country. And the last Arizona touchdown came on a meaningless play as time expired. It was really more like 51-7.
For years I have been a critic of college football. This year with the playoff system in place the season has become worth following and the eventual champion will have earned the title. The one concern I have about the system is that winning is not the lone criterion in determining who will compete; how much you win by has become a criterion. It makes sense that this would have to be the case since all teams do not play a common schedule, but still in sports winning by one, or winning by forty, should not be a factor in determining champions.
Predictions for today. Alabama wins. Florida State finally loses after tempting fate all year. TCU wins, but maybe not all that impressively. Ohio State finds a way to beat Wisconsin. Predictions for the final four will have to wait until the final four is determined, tomorrow, but I don't think Oregon--guaranteed a spot in the final four--will advance beyond the first round.
On another note and sport, in college basketball, Yale University beat defending champ University of Connecticut last night. We are talking Yale now, not another major team. Yale, who plays in the Ivy League. Beat the NCAA division I defending champion. A Yalie hit a three at the buzzer. And the game was played on UConn's home court.
Finally, if you are a junkie, there are a series of high school football games being played today on the New England Patriots home field. From 9 am until about 10 tonight the so called super bowls of high school football will be played. Somewhere in the crowd (and it will not be me) there will be someone or several who is/are parking their car right now and intends not to budge for 12 hours watching high school football championships.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Warmer, Sweeter, Be.
Read last night that your former boss, Dr. Robert Savitt, the school superintendent died. My first impulse was to call you and let you know. As you used to quip, "That would be a long distance call."
Then last night I had a dream that I was in the hospital for something or other and you were there. Go figure. You being there for me.
You're missing some good football games. The Patriots lost to the Packers on Sunday but it was a great game. The Giants and Jets, however, are finding a way to lose in very interesting ways. Your Dolphins are in the playoff picture. Earlier this year they beat the Patriots on the day of your unveiling. Maybe you had a way to pull for them there.
Not much new in the education biz. We keep getting better and better. Our students are nearly as good as any students anywhere. The school is ranked 41st in the country now. Not even on the radar screen of USNews and World Report when I started. Not taking any credit for it. Just fortunate to have been here during the ride.
Missed seeing the mishbuchah on Thanksgiving. Hillel had the whole family down to Philadelphia, but it snowed on our route. And it would have been a white knuckle haul even for a guy who lived in Buffalo for eight years. Got a good picture of Sophie and Jack from the day. Wish you could have hung on to see Sophie. She would have brought you so much joy; it could have illuminated the darkness.
Listening to some classical music now. They are playing an orchestral version of Danny Boy. I remember when you told me about that song when I was a boy. I'll switch some pronouns with the last verse:
"And you shall hear, though soft I tread above you,
And your grave will warmer, sweeter be,
For I will bend and tell you that I love you,
And you will sleep in peace until I come to thee."
Regarding that last line, I am not getting there--wherever there is--any time soon. Trying to enjoy the days. Wish you were here to share them.
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