AH, MONDAY MORNING – isn’t it great

AH, MONDAY MORNING – isn’t it great!!! Sure it is… no matter what a lot of other pundits (look it up) might say – including this corner. But, that’s all in the past. Right now – it’s a great Monday morning. And maybe some day I just might tell you why. Anyway, a lot of happenings occurred in The Wonderful World of Sports over the past weekend – plus on that took place some time ago but should be rectified as quickly as possible. And that one is local… right down Route 99 to General McLane High School. This concerns the Lancers former head basketball couch – Brian Schultz. Now, I don’t even know how many are on that board. However, a couple of months ago this board voted 6-3 (ah, so there is nine people on the board) not to renew Schultz contract. I don’t remember any reason for the board’s vote. But, I do know that this was the coach’s first year as head man (after a ton of experience as an assistant coach) and that his charges ended 15-8 with a post-season playoff berth. People… that’s all anyone can really hope for… a winning season and a playoff spot. Schultz’ contract should have been renewed in a heartbeat. Now, again from what I read, the board will have an opportunity to review their initial vote and quite possibly set things right. That could happen “as early as this Wednesday” (August 6th). Hey people… this is high school sports – not some bunch of professionals who don’t know what they are doing most of the time. Schultz, reportedly wants to continue as the head boys basketball coach at General McLane. He has certainly earned it… so do the right thing, give it to him, Okay???

OF ALL THE baseball trades that happened before the July 31st deadline, the main one was the one that sent Tampa Bay’s David Price to the Detroit Tigers. This deal completes the Tigers’ bid for David Price to the Detroit Tigers. This deal completes the Tigers’ bid for a fourth straight American League Central Division crown. With Price in the hold – and despite his somewhat misleading 11-8 record – the Bengals should have no trouble in breezing to another title… and quite possibly a World Series crown. Price, who is only 28, is expected to start Tuesday (August 5th) night against the struggling New York Yankees. I was somewhat surprised the Cleveland shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera ended up in Washington instead of in New York. Of course, the Yankees – needing a replacement for the retiring Derek Jeter – did get a shortstop  in a deal with Boston, grabbing Stephen Drew. The trouble with that is Drew is 31 and hitting a paltry .174. I expect the Yankees will find someone else next year to man the position… maybe even some unknown rookie.

GETTING AWAY  FROM sports for just a bit, I noticed in Sunday’s Times-News that Erie Redevelopment Authority is looking for a new developer to get things moving on the Union Square project. Well, I’m not a developer but I am a retired renter… and if the rents are in my affordable range – I’m interested in becoming one of your proposed renters. Just call me…

ONE QUESTION ON most Cleveland Browns’ fans’ minds is the status of wide receiver Josh Gordon. Since the guy who nailed 87 passes for 1,646 yards (this despite missing two games last year) was hit with another suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, no one knew how long he would be on the bench at this time. As of this writing no one still knows. It seems to me that the NFL brass would be a bit quicker in moving on this, simply so the team (and fans) would be informed as to what’s what. The meeting between Gordon and the NFL started last Friday and, after 10 hours still was not resolved. The appeal hearing was scheduled to be resumed this morning (August 4th). I imagine some kind of decision will come down soon.

THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, the next major event which is set to begin Thursday (August 7th) at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, is always interesting. I’ll be shown on TNT the first two days, then switch to WSEE the final two days. Tiger Woods, with another back injury (no one seems to know if it’s serious), may or may not play. However, it has been six years Woods has won a major event.

THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL camps are in full swing right now. I think I mentioned this to you before… but, it’s worth repeating. Penn State will open against UCF in Dublin, Ireland – at 8:30 a.m. Erie UCF is no patsy. The Knights posted a 12-1 record a year ago and return 15 starters (only six on offense). Penn State will have 12 lettermen starters on the field… seven on offense – including highly-rated sophomore quarterback Christian Hackenberg. The Beaver Stadium (106,572 seating capacity) home opener will be September 6 versus the Akron Zips, a 5-7 team a year ago.

THE KEY TO winning baseball has always been pitching. This has once again proven out by the latest stats. Colorado, for instance, leads the  National League in hitting at .279 but the Rockies are last in NL hurling with a 4.88 ERA… and dead last in the NL’s West Division. It’s a bit different in the American League. Detroit leads in hitting (.277) and is tenth in pitching with a 4.03 ERA… and is breezing to the AL Central crown. They’ll breeze even better now that Price is with them. Another reason for the Tigers’ big lead is that the other teams in the Division haven’t put up much of a fight.

THE PRE-SEASON COLLEGE football ratings came out the other day. I was a bit surprised to see Florida State on top with Alabama second. I figured it to be the other way around. I was even more surprised that Oklahoma was ranked third. I thought both Oregon (rated No. 4) and Auburn (No. 5) were better. Ohio State is a good bet for No. 6 and UCLA might shock everyone by being No. 7. However, LSU is better than No. 13 and North Carolina will stun me if it gets to No. 23 (as it is currently ranked). Tell you something else… because of its fairly weak schedule I expect Iowa to end up somewhere in the top 20. Also, Northwestern has 17 starters back – which should help the Wildcats be given some thought in the regular – season ratings.

I HOPE NOT TOO MANY of you NFL fans stayed up to watch the first pre-season game Sunday night. Remember… all pre-season contests are practice games. They don’t count ANYWHERE. But, in case you missed it… the Giants nipped the Bills 17-13 in the first pre-season affair.

THE PIRATES DIDN’T MAKE any moves in the trade market…. and they should have. However, just because the trading deadline is past doesn’t mean the teams can’t trade. It just a bit more complicated… but it can be done. The Bucs desperately need another steady hitter (Pedro Alvarez strikes out too often, especially in key situations) and another starters (Francisco Liriano is much too inconsistent) I still have hopes that the Pirate braintrust (which does move very slowly at times) can get it together for the final push.

AND A FINAL NOTE… You forget about the Erie SeaWolves making the post-season playoffs in the Eastern League. They are having a ton of trouble just getting to the .500 mark let alone win enough to grab an after-season berth. But, they are still interesting team to watch.

 

-Jack Polancy

In case you’re interested…

MAN, WHAT A SLOW WEEKEND that was. I mean, as far as The Wonderful World of Sports was concerned. Oh, there were two happenings that I have to comment on. One – I’m not all that gung ho about. It’s the one where Jeff Gordon won a record (that’s a NASCAR record) fifth Brickyard 400 on Sunday at the big Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Now, as you regular reader’s of this space are painfully aware – I am not a big auto racing fan. However, I am a big Jeff Gordon fan. He won his first Brickyard 400 when he was 23 years old. Gordon, who is only days away from his 43rd birthday, showed that he can still handle the pressure that goes with big time auto racing. Now, the “old man” – who has led the Sprint Cup Series for 13 of the past 14 weeks – drove this past Sunday like he used to when he was 20 years younger. That this victory came on “Jeff Gordon Day” (this according to the Indianapolis Mayor) was that much more satisfying.

The other happening was in baseball, at Cooperstown, N.Y., where the Baseball Hall of Fame is located. There, before some 50,000 fans, the largest crowd of living beings, were enshrined. There were six names added to the growing list of the best of baseball. Former Atlanta Braves’ hurlers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine as well as Chicago White Sox standout Frank Thomas plus ex-managers Bobby (Atlanta), Joe Torre (mainly a NewYork Yankee leader) and Tony LaRusso (mainly St. Louis Cardinal headman)… all were placed in the Hall. All six had outstanding credentials. The three players were all voted in on their first time on the ballot (you have to be retired for five years before you get on the ballot). I’ve been to Baseball’s Hall of Fame just twice. The first time was a little over 20 years ago. I went there when some kind of celebration was going on… meaning that we had no motel reservations. After driving what seemed to be an endless distance the manager of a Holiday Inn took pity on us. He said he didn’t have any rooms, but we could park in his parking lot and use the Inn’s facilities in the morning to “freshen up.” Well, I was driving a Mazda 6 at the time (an extremely small sports car). A vehicle not really designed for two people sleeping. We certainly needed that morning “freshen up” stint. The next time I visited the Hall (about ten years ago) I did make reservations ahead of time.

I HAD TO CHUCKLE over the headline in a national publication which read (on Friday, July 25th morning) “Newcomers carry surging Yankees.” Since then the once-known “Bronx Bombers” have lost successive games to Toronto by 6-4 and 5-4 scores. The Yankees, my hope for a playoff berth, are now in third place in the American League East Division and fading fast. Just thought you’d like to know that… especially on a Monday.

DESPITE THE FACT that both the Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates won Sunday, neither one is taking advantage of their division leaders losing ways. The Tribe is still under .500 (at 52-53) and 6 ½ games behind Detriot. The Bucs are a bit better at 55-49 and only 3 games in back of Milwaukee. Josh Harrison, considered as a part-timer in Pittsburgh, continues to be the best Pirate on the field as he never quits hustling. If the other Pittsburgh players would emulate him, I actually believe the Bucs would have at least a good chance of overhauling whichever teams are ahead of them. As for the Indians, they lead the American League in errors committed. That alone should tell you what their chances for a division title are.

HEY, WHILE PRACTICALLY no one was looking the Erie SeaWolves have begun to become relevant in the Eastern League’s Western Division. The Howlers, after a three-game winning string, are now 53-55 and closing in on third place. A few more wins (without any losses) and a second place (and a playoff spot) could be theirs.

I WENT TO the movies over the weekend and saw “And, So It Goes.” I noticed the flick wasn’t in the top three as far as ticket sales were concerned. Hmmmm…..

IN CASE YOU’RE interested… Cleveland’s LeBron James has picked the number he will wear while playing with the Cavaliers. It will be 23… the same number he had when with the Cavs earlier. That means his No. 6 with the Miami Heat will now be a collectors’ item. I know, I know… who really cares…

THE FOOTBALL CAMPS, both college and pros, are going full blast right now (yeah, so are the high schools). And, naturally, Johnny Manziel is dominating the news out of the NFL. The latest word says that Brian Hoyer – after two days – is heads and shoulders above Manziel. New head coach Mike Pettine said he wanted to be able to name a starter before the third pre-season… which is set for August 23rd. Bet that will be Hoyer. However, when the real campaign begins – look for Manziel to get the call. Speaking of quarterbacks, many so-called experts in this area say that Michael Vick has a good chance of replacing Geno Smith as the No. 1 signal-caller for the New York Jets. Vick, by the way, is now 34 – somewhat long in the tooth. Still, who knows… As for colleges, they (some) now have quarterback experts teaching the passers how and what to do. There is a certain amount of pros and cons as to how effective are these experts… we’ll know in a few years.

I DON’T KNOW how Jake Peavy made out in his first start for the San Francisco Giants (after getting him from the Boston Red Sox) – however, this is the start of some big dealing in baseball over the next three days. A lot of teams will be searching for someone (anyone) who will be a key in their stretch drives. Baseball always gets very interesting at this time of the year – just before the trading deadline expires.

AND A FINAL NOTE… I don’t have the stats in front of me, but Derek Jeter should be getting awfully close to moving into seventh place on the all-time hit list – replacing Boston’s Carl Yazstremski.

 

-Jack Polancy