Every now and then, a blog post doesn't need much of an introduction. In this case, I'd like to just thank the people at AND1 apparel for their good deed and its future impact on the community of Belle Harbor (Rockaway peninsula in New York City). It's a place that all basketball-lovin' NYers hold close to their hearts and from the story below, you'll see why and what that means to Terence Mullin, a former St. John's guard, member of NYCs #1 basketball family, and Lenn Robbins, a NY Post columnist for college basketball.
Enjoy ... and try to drop a $20
See this:
By Lenn Robbins (New York Post college basketball columnist).
Basketball...The City Game
MARCH 9 - Basketball, the city game, has always struck me as being a cathartic
sport. The drumming beat of a basketball being dribbled. The calming
swish of a basketball licking the nets. A player can lose himself for hours in a school yard — just him, his ball and his dreams.
Sometimes dreams get wrecked and there’s nothing we can do about it. A
knee gets blown out. A 6-foot-3 high school power forward doesn’t have
another growth spurt. Only the good Lord determines who among us will be
blessed with talent and drive to make a dream come true.
A lot
of people’s faith were shaken in late October when Hurricane Sandy tore
through the metropolitan area. There were deaths. There was destruction.
But never did I see the death of hope.
I saw hope at places such as Saint Francis de Sales in Belle Harbor,
one of the hardest hit areas. The parish and school became the
epicenter of relief efforts on the Rockaway Peninsula.
Food, clothing and flashlights poured in, love, compassion and support flowed out.
Monsignor John Brown slept in a classroom on several nights with
displaced families. The word, “No,” was never uttered at the
neighborhood school on Beach 129th Street.
As the days and weeks
went by, as debris was cleared, as homes were either torn down or
attempts to rebuild began, St. Francis de Sales tried to return to some
semblance of normalcy. The basketball court in the gym, which was
badly damaged after being used as a supply center/shelter was covered
by insurance and restored. But the outdoor courts, the uniforms, the
socks were a total loss.
Those losses might sound trivial
compared to the loss of life and home, but you have to understand what
basketball means in Belle Harbor and Breezy Point. Every summer for the
past 25 years, the St. Francis de Sales Summer Classic has become the
Rockaway Peninsula’s focal point for residents.
On any given
night hundreds of families gather to talk about their kids, their
community, their jobs, their heartbreaks and their celebrations. The
Summer Classic, which runs from mid-June to mid-August and provides
organized ball for second-graders to greybeards, is the city version of
summer camp.
“It’s kind of the focus and backbone of the
community,’’ former St. John’s player Terence Mullin told The Post.
“Every player down here either plays hoops and/or surfs. That’s what
Rockaway is. I mean you look around the neighborhood, there’s four
hoops, five hoops on every single street.’’
Players from
Brooklyn, The Bronx, Westchester and other neighborhoods in Queens flock
to St. Francis de Sales during the summer. Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson,
Armond Hill, Kenny Anderson, Ernie Grunfeld are among the hundreds of
NBA players that made this their summer home.
There might not be a
home this summer. The four outdoor courts were torn up by the storm and
the triage center it was used for. The rims hang sideways. The fence is
Swiss cheese.
But there is hope. Terence bumped into Terry
Lyons, another St. John’s grad and former NBA media relations guru
during a 12-12-12 benefit at a local watering hole, and the two chatted
about the storm’s devastation. Lyons thought Mullin still lived in Brooklyn. He was blown away by Mullin’s story of what had happened at St. Francis de Sales. (Blog Editor Note: Lyons works with the good people at AND1 and is helping them re-launch their brand after company was purchased by a longtime NYC basketball loving family).
“I told him we’d been hit pretty bad and he said, ‘We’re going to get
the courts fixed,’ ’’ said Mullin. “The next day he calls me and says ‘AND1’ is on board. It was amazing.’’
It’s a generous
start but Terence Mullin, who coaches and runs a camp at St. Francis de
Sales, said it will take about $100,000 to finish the job and replace
the uniforms, socks, headbands. It also will tell a community that felt
somewhat abandoned after Hurricane Sandy that it has not been forgotten.
It certainly would nice to hear the sound of basketballs being dribbled
and the swish of a ball going through the net at St. Francis de Sale
this summer. If charity isn’t cathartic, what is?
It was a cold, quiet Sunday in Newton, Massachusetts and the alarm clocks were not set this morning, because the kids needed some sleep. Despite that fact, and the fact I was sleeping soundly, my beautiful wife awoke on-time and she nudged me at about 8:25 am eastern standard time. At Midnight or so, she had been summoned by a different kind of alarm, a bad dream call to arms for "Mommy," from our littlest one.
My wife performed her motherly duties, thankfully, while I slept and all was good and peaceful in a warm household in bucolic New England. It is Sunday morning, and Clare knew I wanted to be out the door at 8:50am. I had to stop by and see an old friend who I hadn't seen in a while and the eta was 9:00am. Since the kids needed some sleep, they would make their own visit to see this friend on Sunday evening. I needed to go visit today and as soon as possible. In fact, I had hoped to head over for a quick 'hello' on Friday evening. That didn't work out.
This summer, I had stopped by to see this old friend a few times, unannounced of course. The door was always open, said he. It was.
Funny, I've known this friend on a first name basis since first grade. I was so proud to be a Kindergarten graduate from Genevieve Gallow School, but I set off, across the tracks, as they say, to Grammar School in my friend's blacktop backyard. Back then, the school was packed with kids - Grades 1-8, but in recent years, my buddy had to close the doors on my grammar school as the finances no longer added up.
I was lucky, though, as my timing allowed me to graduate from my friend's school-yard at 30 East Cherry Street and head off to the big time, a school run by my buddy's friends and he has friends all over my native Long Island and all the rest of the world, too. After the first encounters as a little one myself, I really got to know this guy when I was lucky enough to keep the kinship flowing while I attended Holy Trinity HS, then later at St. John's University.
My buddy was always there at the big events. From graduations, to weddings, to terrible days where he guided us through prayer vigils and, eventually, funerals, my guy was always right there. In fact, looking back to my days as a newborn, my bud even threw me my first pool party, but he called it something else.
Two days stand out from the years gone by, and on both those days, my buddy came out of nowhere to be there for me and for Clare. One day, came upon the day my wife learned of her grandfather's death. She was so sad, and she needed some solace. It came naturally, at a little West Village sublet that my guy had established.
Later, on 9-11-01, I sought my buddy's advice, too. Clare stated it clearly and decisively, "Let's Go."
The atmosphere provided is calm and simple. Sometimes, it's totally quiet and empty while other times, like this morning, it was packed.
I wondered why I tend to drift and allow so much time between visits, because, like good family members, my buddy throws a nice brunch and after events refreshments every week he holds forth. And, that's not to mention the "supper" he provides every Sunday, just like my older brother does with his friends and their immediate families each weekend.
The truth of the matter, is the site of the meeting never really matters, as my buddy is fortunate enough to have places all over. The fact is - when I need him, he's there and he gathers the right (small) group so we can be together.
To be together is times of joy and in times of sorrow. And, to find some peace of mind through the experience of being together, although my guy throws a serious party with some simple dishes of bread and wine.
My only trouble today, was when one of my guy's frontman, right in the middle of the gathering, stated the term, "Thy Will Be Done." That line has always bothered me and it bothered me again today. But, as I understand it, my guy likes to read some mysteries and those mysteries aren't your garden-variety 10pm network drama mysteries nor are they the P.D. James or Michael Connelly type. They are true mysteries of faith. And, we'll never have the answers or the spine-tingling ending to read.
I found some peace of mind this morning and it prepared me for a better day, a better day that came today. My buddy helped me find strength and he helped me gather that strength so I could step up to guide my family. And funny, my guy encouraged me to "Get Ready for some Football," too, stating that is wasn't just okay to try to get back to life, but, it was mandatory.
He was right.
I took that advice, stopped at DD in Wellesley and headed home to start a little fire in the fireplace and to rejoin my family.
My buddy helped a lot. I think I'll be sure to visit him much more regularly, as he helped me gather my strength, re-affirm my faith in God and in mankind, all in one fell swoop. My guy said, "the doors are always open," as he shook my hand and sent me off on my way home, down the steps, past the manger and out to the streets of Massachusetts.
My guy has hailed from St. Ignatius Loyola in Hicksville, Holy Trinity HS, also in Hicksville, then at St. John's University in Jamaica, NY, then at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan, the Church of the Blessed Sacrament on W71st in NYC, then St. Joseph's of Yorkville on E87th, to Sacred Heart in Newton Centre to St. Ignatius Loyola in Chestnut Hill to St. John the Evangelist in nearby Wellesley.
My guy. He helped me a lot today. I know I won't be a stranger anymore.
Good news for St. John's University and their very deserving Sports Info Dept. Also, I can say this. The St. John's 100 Year Anniversary Book is the very best coffee table sized book that I have ever seen in my life. Period. My official award in that genre/category is a bronzed bottle of Michelob to be split for two -- hell, make it two bronzed bottles - one for each) and presented to Jim O'Connell and to Paul Montella, the authors and researchers for the great read and wonderful coffee table book:
The official news release on the awards: St. John's Athletic Communications Among National Leaders
Web Release: http://redstormsports.cstv.com/genrel/063009aaa.html
QUEENS, N.Y. (June 29, 2009) – For the second-consecutive year, the St. John's Athletic Communications department ranked among the nation's most honored sports information offices, as the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) recognized the Red Storm with six citations for excellence in publications at its annual conference last week. The number of accolades bestowed upon St. John's media guides placed the Athletic Communications staff as one of the Top 20 most-decorated offices among the country's 330 NCAA Division I institutions.
Red Storm fans can order any of these award-winning publications online in the Publications Store on RedStormSports.com.
The women’s basketball media guide was honored with a pair of citations, placing “Eighth in the Nation” and “Second in the District” for CoSIDA District I. The University of Connecticut’s media guide, representing the 39-0 national champion Huskies, was the only BIG EAST women’s basketball book to top the Red Storm’s efforts, both nationally and in the Northeast.
The 208-page men's basketball media guide earned "First in the District" honors for CoSIDA District I, which is comprised of all NCAA Division I colleges and universities located in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. The top honor in the Northeast followed up a "Second in the District" accolade a year ago.
The women’s soccer media guide placed “First in the District” in the Northeast region after two-straight “Second in the District” citations, while the volleyball media guide earned it’s first-ever citation for excellence with a “First in the District” nod. The baseball guide rounded out the awards in the Spring, garnering a “Second in the District” mention.
Also of note, the St. John's “100 Years of Basketball” coffee table book finished just out of the running for a certificate in the Special Event Programs category, tying for fifth in the nation. Finishing seventh nationally was the men's and women's basketball "GameDay" yearbook, which had earned "Second in the Nation" citations in 2007 and 2008, after being judged "Fourth in the Nation" in 2006. In addition, the men's soccer media guide did not earn an all-district certificate, but still finished 14th in the nation in that highly-competitive field.
In other Athletic Communications news, graduate assistant Joe Guster, a 2007 St. John’s sport management grad currently pursuing a M.B.A. in marketing management, was named the NCAA SID Northeast Region Honoree for the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Grand Burger Media Award. The honor is named for Grant Burger, former Associate Director of AVCA (1988-92), whose hard work, innovative mind, knowledge and enthusiasm took the areas of media relations and publications at the AVCA to a higher level and increased awareness of the sport of volleyball nationwide.
(I was surprised and quite amused to read this column on CNN/SI today. I can't say I had too many PBRs but did enjoy a Shaeffer or Schmidtties now and then. Check it out and let me know your St.J memories.)
A lady never reveals her age. But since I've been known to drink Pabst Blue Ribbon straight out of the can while watching NASCAR with a horde of foul-mouthed dudes, the classification has been understandably questioned from time to time. So here you go: I'm turning 30 this year. And yes, it's a bit of a problem.
I've enjoyed my 20s, despite working incredibly hard, and would very much like to remain here. It's been quite a nice place to live. Successes in one's 20s are seen as laudably premature, and mistakes are lovingly forgiven. But I've been assured by dozens of famous actresses and countless self-help gurus that my 30s and 40s will be even better, and I think they're all lying. Right to my still un-botoxed face.
Getting older is a clumsy and disheartening process. I no longer have the energy for all-night benders, and everyone around me is suddenly procreating. Increased fiscal responsibilities and a whole new set of medical exams I'll now need annually are constant reminders that I am, in fact, mortal.
But nothing has been more of a downer than a recent trip to watch a college basketball game at Madison Square Garden.
When I was in high school I'd watch Marcus Camby at UMass, Tim Duncan at Wake Forest, and Elton Brand and Shane Battier at Duke and think, these are men. They were massive and lumbering, and carried their bulging muscles up and down the court with the weight of grown-ups who had far greater responsibilities than I. And even though Battier and I were the same age (and we went to middle school together) on television he looked 40 to me.
But as I sat courtside the Garden on Sunday to watch St John's play Louisville, I was the one who felt 40. Coming face to face (and at one frightening point, ball-to-face) with these elfin collegians, who seemed to flaunt their uncanny agility and boyish swagger, felt unnecessarily mean. Kudos on the boundless energy, and enjoy the frivolity of 14 tattoos. And thanks very much, adorable, pint-sized Red Storm cheerleaders who don't look old enough to babysit, for piling on. Is it too much to ask that my front-row seats don't come with a big gulp-sized ration of depression?
Thus in order to refrain from walking out of the Garden and throwing myself in front of an oncoming cab (driven by someone who's also probably younger than I am), I decided a change of seat was imperative. I needed to immediately recreate the comforting distance of watching these infants on television. So I hauled my aging betrayal of a body up a few flights to sit with Nick and DanMarino, a father-son team who are diehard, lifelong fans of St John's basketball.
Nick, a Long Island attorney, inherited season tickets from his father, a St John's alumnus who started taking his son to games back in 1962, just three years before the great Lou Carnesecca would descend on the Queens campus. Dan, a 23-year-old Albany graduate who works for the government, has been going to games for the past 20 years. And Dan's friend George Layer, a 24-year-old high school math teacher, has been their constant companion.
At the onset, meeting up with two twentysomethings may not have been the best plan. As I sat down next to them, I worried that Dan and George could see in me the fragile mania of a woman on the verge. But as they began to wax poetic about their favorite team like grandfathers ushering their offspring's offspring into the storied corners of their world, I knew I had found just the right fans to turn this day around for me.
They spoke with the gravitas and well-worn fandom of loyalists who had been through a war. There had been serious carnage in the two decades that Dan and George had been going to St John's games, and, as a New York Mets fan, I could relate.
"I've been through the scandals, all the troubles," said Dan.
In 1983, St John's established the Red-White Club to help support the basketball team, and Nick's seats were moved a dozen rows back to accommodate club donors.
But through it all, they have remained devout. "I just hope they get better," said Dan. "We're not fair-weather fans. We have loyalty. We're rooting for them for the name across the jersey."
As the game wore on, and Rick Pitino's boys held St John's to a fractional lead that would become a growing deficit, Nick, Dan and George alternated tales of regret and disappointment with ones of awe and pride.
"I was here in 1999 for the best college basketball game I've ever seen," said Dan. "It was the overtime game against Duke when Ron Artest had a three-pointer at the buzzer to put it into overtime."
They talked about old traditions that made games great. "They used to have 'flag boy' in the 90s," said Dan. "He would run back and forth down the court and the fans would count how many times he could go. All those rituals are gone now."
They recalled games against UConn, which is still a great rivalry no matter what their records.
They discussed the successes of Norm Roberts -- "Well, he's better than Mike Jarvis," George said. And they sunk into a nostalgic reverence for the legend that is Carnesecca.
"There was a time, a long time, that New York was St John's basketball," said Nick. And of course he's right. In 101 years of basketball, St John's is the seventh-winningest team in college basketball history, and has sent 59 players to the NBA draft. The school has two Wooden Award winners and six players in the Basketball Hall of Fame. And this team that plays in the greatest arena on earth, they hope, can be great again some day.
"The coaching staff really cares," George said. "They're honestly trying to turn the team around." But he's not a kid anymore, and George has seen it all, so he adds a careful and cautious caveat for good measure. "Next year they should be better, but not where they used to be. They'll be rebuilding for a while."
In the end, St John's lost, 60-47, but I knew that the score didn't tell the whole story for Nick, Dan and George, who would be back for the next home game to watch their team fight the good fight. And I remembered that there's something about the experience and wisdom that comes with age, and that the accumulation of memories only makes a fan better, less naive, more passionate.
They had stories to tell, and the stories made me want to be a part of their Red Storm experience. And thanks to some twentysomethings who seem to be far more mature than I am, for one day, I was. So I can forgive the basketball team for their rude awakening -- really, I'm just jealous. But next time, I'll remember to sit a few rows back.
TL Comments ... Wow. Did I relate to this column. I realized this week that the 2008-09 basketball season was churning along and I hadn't seen my beloved St. John's University Redmen play a game. I caught a few minutes of Redmen basketball against Seton Hall and a glimpse or two of some other games on TV, but nothing in person.
The streak of watching at least one St. John's game LIVE began in 1968-69.
I plan to attend the St. John's vs Duke game at MSG next week, although I can not say I am optimistic about the outcome.
For some good St. John's memories, search my blog for 100 Years of St. John's basketball.
Maybe I root for the wrong sport at St. John's? Read on froma story earlier this week: For St. John’s, Home Is Where the Talent Is
By ZACHARY BRAZILLER In a sport dominated by teams based in warmer climates, the St. John’s baseball program is an anomaly. The Red Storm has become a consistent winner in the Northeast by relying largely on local players from what is considered by many scouts to be a shallow talent pool.
At No. 18 in Baseball America’s latest top-25 poll, St. John’s is the lone East Coast team north of the Carolinas that is nationally ranked.
Led by Coach Ed Blankmeyer, who has compiled a winning percentage above .600 since taking over in 1996, the Red Storm has won all eight of its three-game series against Big East opponents this season. Entering its final regular-season series on Thursday at Villanova, St. John’s (39-11, 18-6) is on the verge of its fourth N.C.A.A. Division I baseball tournament berth in five years. One more victory would give the Red Storm a program-record fourth consecutive 40-win season.
The team does not typically attract blue-chip prospects. What the underclassmen lack in natural talent upon arrival, Blankmeyer said, they make up for with hard work. Two senior starters — the power-hitting Chris Anninos, who has 11 home runs, and Jeff Grantham, who leads the team with a .366 batting average — went from walk-ons to cornerstones.
“That’s one of the strengths of our program,” Blankmeyer said.
He has built the program with pitching and defense. Three years ago, six of his players were drafted, including Craig Hansen, the university’s career saves leader with 26. He was a first-round selection by the Boston Red Sox and is now on their active roster, one of 40 professional players Blankmeyer has developed at St. John’s.
Several of this season’s top pitchers for the Red Storm could be selected in the June draft. Among them is the staff ace, Scott Barnes, a hard-throwing junior left-hander who is considered the Red Storm’s top prospect. Others include the senior George Brown, who leads the Big East with nine wins and has walked only eight batters in 79 2/3 innings; the 6-foot-6 right-hander Jared Yecker; the junior closer Colin Lynch, who has 24 career saves; and the junior reliever Justin Gutsie.
“They have as much pitching as any team in the top 25,” said Aaron Fitt, a college analyst for Baseball America.
The Red Storm’s lineup is strong, if not as lethal as its pitching staff. Six players have compiled hitting streaks of at least 10 games. The offense started slowly but has averaged 7.5 runs a game since April 12. In that stretch, the team has won 16 of 19 games.
All of the winning in recent seasons has made St. John’s a destination for local prospects. Of the 33 players on the roster, 18 are from New York, Connecticut or New Jersey.
“We want the best kids in the area to stay home,” Blankmeyer said. “They know the area, and they have pride in New York.”
Among the offensive leaders are the freshman cleanup hitter Paul Karmas, who played at St. Francis Prep in Queens and has produced a team-high 36 runs batted in, and the sophomore outfielder Brian Kemp, who played at Chaminade on Long Island and is batting .364. The incoming freshman class is headed by four promising pitchers from Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.
The Division I baseball committee is considering a bid by St. John’s to host a regional. Depending on how the St. John’s fares in the Big East tournament, it could be chosen as the first Northeast program to host a regional since Rutgers in 2000.
“They’ve got a great case,” said Larry Templeton, Mississippi State’s athletic director and the baseball committee chairman.
For all of its success, St. John’s is still a prisoner of its locale. Poor weather often forces the team to stay inside or to play in less than ideal conditions, including snow and rain. On one bitter day, Anninos said, the baseball field was unavailable and work was being done on the other outdoor spaces. So the team practiced on a parking lot.
“Any skin exposed,” Anninos said, “you would probably get frostbite.”
The program has its doubters. Fitt said he had received hundreds of e-mail messages at Baseball America from fans of traditional powers who question the Red Storm’s legitimacy among the country’s elite. Some point to the program’s lack of postseason success. The Red Storm has won one Big East tournament title under Blankmeyer and has yet to win an N.C.A.A. regional.
Nonetheless, the team has a step-by-step guide of goals this spring: secure the top seed in the Big East tournament, win the tournament, advance through an N.C.A.A. regional and survive a super regional.
Is it too much to ask? Not according to Barnes, who has struck out 76 batters in 71 1/3 innings.
This week, Fordham University and WFUV paid tribute to the one and only Vin Scully.
I love Vin Scully. Adore his voice, his delivery, his insight. He is the dean of sports broadcasters. When MLB started the MLB Extra Innings pass, I bought it for two reasons. Clare and the kids could watch the Sox at 7pm and I could listen to Vin Scully at 10:30pm.
When Scully came to town, he was interviewed by many of the East Coast and NY-based reporters. They treated Scully as they should, with respect. ESPN's Mike Greenberg went so far as to call him, "Mr. Scully" on air and the veteran brodcaster brushed it off promptly by saying, "No one calls me Mr. Scully."
I am going to cut and paste a wonderful item that Phil Mushnick ran in this week's NY Post. Phil ran with the item in its simplest form. He wrote a simple answer to a simple question - not all of the "sky is falling bullsh&%" about black uniforms, too many graphics and the all too familiar nit-picking on the MSG Network, the starting times of games and the human mistakes made by sports commentators. (by the way, Phil, no matter what time you start a game in this wide-world of sports, you screw some little kid somewhere...i.e. the Parisien kids who would like to watch Tony Parker and the Spurs).
Mushnick should take a page from Scully and his class-act repertoire and write some more insightful columns on what makes some of the great broadcasters great. How did they get where they are today? Who gave them a break? Tell the story about that one moment in time that changed their life. Just like he did with this gem of a column:
By Phil Mushnick
FATE, kismet, the turn of a card, the turn in a road, a turn in the weather, 30 sec onds later or earlier in any direction. For all our plans, luck, good and bad, is still a power hitter.
For Vin Scully it was Marguerite Clark.
Scully, not merely the Voice of the Dodgers since 1950, but the voice of elegant and intelligent play-by-play since 1950, will be in town Tuesday when Ralph Branca will present to him the first Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award from Fordham's WFUV radio station. In 1947, Scully was a WFUV original.
When we asked him the other day whether there was a spin-of-the-wheel episode in his life, the kind that would allow us to hear Vin Scully for so many years, he thought a second, then said, "Marguerite Clark."
His voice coach? Academic adviser? Tarot-card reader?
"She was a secretary at Fordham, a friend of mine. Senior year I went to her with Broadcast magazine. It was time to hunt for a job, and she was going to help me send out letters to radio stations, from Massachusetts right on down.
"When we saw the listing for 'WTOP AM and FM, 50,000 watts, Washington D.C.', I dismissed it. 'That station's much too big; it would never hire me. I'm just a college kid,' I told her.
"But Marguerite said, 'Why not? It's only another three-cent stamp.' That's how long ago that was.
"I was a big spender in those days, so I went for another three cents. WTOP wrote back, 'Please send a sample of your work.' Back then you had to make sample recordings on these 331/3 discs.
"WTOP again writes back, 'We don't hire sight unseen. Come down for an audition.' Well, I was hired as a summer replacement, a station announcer.
"My first professional on-air words were a commercial for WTOP's FM station, one of the first in the country. FM was sold as an alternative to AM because you didn't get interference and weather static. I was supposed to say 'summer thunderstorms.' I said, 'thummer sunderstorms.'
"But being hired at WTOP was a huge break. That was a big CBS station; Arthur Godfrey and Edward R. Murrow worked there. That's where I met Red Barber [who would recruit Scully for Dodgers broadcasts].
"I later learned that I was the one hired among 54 candidates. If I'd known that the odds were so great, I never would have even bothered to travel to Washington for the audition.
"And none of it would have happened if not for that push from Marguerite Clark, the secretary at Fordham. Marguerite Clark."
***
By the way, I will add my "spin-of-the-wheel, turn-of-the-card, turn-in-the-road, one moment-in-time story and must tip my hat and credit the great Bernie Beglane as my "Marguerite Clark."
It was December of 1980 and I was seeking an internship for my final semester (Jan 1981-May 1981) at St. John's. It was a six-credit required course and I made an appointment or two with then-St. John's Dean of Athletic Administration Beglane. "Bernie" as he was known in the sports journalism world, was a longtime reporter and columnist for the old Long Island Press, the rival to Newsday. The Press went out of business in the '70s and Beglane, who I read religiously growing up out on the Island, went to work at St. John's as the school created one of the first undergraduate programs in "Athletic Administration," aka Sports Management.
My schedule called for classes on the Jamaica campus of St. John's on Monday-Wed-Friday and left time for the proposed internship on Tuesdays and Thursdays, all day. With Mr. B's connections and a subway token, I trekked into Manhattan to interview at the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Bowie Kuhn was presiding at the time, by the way. I interviewed well but was informed that they were seeking help for, at least, three days a week. I was out of luck and returned to see Mr. B, somewhat devastated.
He loved to tell this story to the many St. John's students who followed in my footsteps in the late '80s and '90s, and would elaborate on every fact: He said that I "came back to campus with my tail between my legs thinking that my life was over and that I would have no chance at a future in sports."
Of course, Mr. B. gave me a good, swift kick in the ass and sent me on my way the very next day to interview at the National Basketball Association where, on December 21, 1980 I met with Matt Winick. Matt and Bernie knew each other for years and years through the Mets. The NBA needed some help and I think Bernie had it arranged in stone with Matt before I even walked in the office. The rest, as they say, is H-I-S-T-O-R-Y.
***
My favorite Vin Scully line was about the injured Andre Dawson. "Andre Dawson has a bruised knee and is listed as day-to-day," he said with a silent pause. "Aren't we all."
***
Presidential candidate Senator John McCain of Arizona has proposed a health care plan that made Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former Senator and presidential candidate John Edwards, jump to the cameras. Senator Clinton also volleyed in from the campaign trail.
The healthcare plan falls short in the areas of covering pre-existing conditions and in providing employers incentive to provide health-care plans for their employees. Here is a piece of the story from CNN.com:
For individuals with pre-existing conditions, the costs of obtaining insurance could even be higher, critics said.
Critics also said encouraging individuals to buy health insurance could undermine the system of employee-based health insurance, with no guarantee a new system would emerge to replace it.
Hillary Clinton picked up that argument while criticizing McCain, saying in a statement, "John McCain is proposing a radical plan that would mean millions of Americans would lose their job-based coverage."
"So while people might have a 'choice' of getting such coverage, employers would have no incentive to provide it," she said.
I've always been amazed by bridges, ever since the Verrazano Narrows bridge went up linking Brooklyn and Staten Island. This week, China opened a new bridge to bring traffic from Ningbo to Jiaxing, near Shanghai. It is now the world's longest.
BEIJING (AFP) - China Thursday inaugurated one of the world's longest bridges, which will provide an important new route into Shanghai, state press said.
Presented as the "world's longest sea bridge", the 36-kilometre (22-mile) structure connects Jiaxing city near Shanghai to the port city of Ningbo in the eastern province of Zhejiang.
It is slightly shorter than the 38.4-kilometre Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge in the southern United States (New Orleans), which is often billed as the world's longest.
The 11.8 billion yuan (1.7 billion dollars) bridge cuts the length of the road trip from Shanghai to Ningbo by 120 kilometres, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Construction of the six-lane bridge started in November 2003 in an effort to reduce traffic congestion in the booming area, and hundreds of people attended an opening ceremony on Thursday afternoon, noted Xinhua News.
It is just amazing -- the things you can learn in The Blog @ terrylyons.com, huh?
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NESN.com launched a new version of their website. Previously, the site was a subsection of Boston.com with shared video elements. NESN is now doing the NESN.com content in-house. It looks much better.
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NBA TV took the EuroLeague Basketball feed from Madrid and aired a doubleheader on Friday afternoon. The league tv station usually had voice over commentary from Secaucus by Rick Kamla, Simone Sandri and Tim Capshaw. The European-based commentary scored high marks on the unintentional comedy richter scale, according to ESPN.com Page 2's Bill Simmons, the Sugar Hill Gang of bloggers.
Heard frequently were comments like "Aye-yeye-yeye."-"can you believe it"-"i tell you"-"miss"-"rebound."
Ziri Zidek made me long for my fave five of Mike Breen, Marv Albert, Doug Collins, Mike Tirico and the one and only Hubie Brown.
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Although you have to give credit where credit is due with the David Bowie music, any list of an all-time great or century team that includes Anthony Parker sort of worries me. See HERE.
The St. John's University Redmen (I still refuse to acknowledge the change to Red Storm) will open the basketball season tonight against the vaunted Molloy Lions. Molloy is a Div II school based in Rockville Centre, Long Island. Each year, St. John's opens up with a game that is actually more of a scrimmage.
While I'm at it, the whole Red Storm vs. Redmen thing still bothers me. St. John's wore red uniforms, so their school nickname, penned by writers from the old Brooklyn Eagle, was the Redmen of St. John's. It had nothing to do with native Americans.
And, while so many of the NCAA teams changed their nicknames, I've noticed the logos and nicknames of the MLB teams in Cleveland and Atlanta remain the same, as well as NFL teams in Washington DC and KC. That Cleveland MLB logo might need some attention from the PC police, but that is a story for another day.
So, to just be sure I've got it straight, the University of Notre Dame can call its teams the "Fighting Irish" and depict itself with a little Irishmen with his fists up and that is fine? But, a school in New York cannot be the Redmen?
Anyway, that is old news.
With the prelude above, I will just note that today's notes are on the team that I will forever call, "The Johnnies."
My Johnnies will suit up eight freshmen when they tip it off. In the month of December, that usually spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Then, when the BIG EAST schedule tips-off, it spells D-E-A-T-H. The press releases and quotes from Coach Norm Roberts call this team, 'the future of St. John's basketball.' I just hope the future remains academically eligible for the season, or stays at St. John's for a few years. The latter, going pro early, is less of an issue for the Johnnies of recent years, as the talent level of the players just isn't there. St. John's has been recruiting on the "B" or even "C" level of recruits, after Mike Jarvis took the program so, so low, that any "A" level recruit would say 'thanks but no thanks.'
Roberts has been clawing and scratching his way out of that deep hole. He has re-established St. John's among the NYC high school and AAU levels but that has yet to produce any returns.
I am predicting only four or five BIG EAST wins and no berth in the post season tourney. I would love to be wrong and watch this team play hard and gel.
According to wiki answers on the internet - as of the beginning of the 2007-2008 season, Kentucky is the all-time winningest team in NCAA Division I Men's Basketball with 1,948 victories. The top 5 programs are: 1 - Kentucky - 1,948 2 - North Carolina - 1,914 3 - Kansas - 1,906 4 - Duke - 1,818 5 - St. John's - 1,705
Can you believe it?
I doubled checked the NCAA record book which wasn't updated from the 2006 season and they listed: (with my own addition of adding the 2006-07 wins)
I could not find the discrepancy so I chose to list both 'records.' But, the main point is the fact St. John's is still among the all-time top college basketball programs despite the ax-job that former Coach Mike Jarvis did on the storied program.
UCLA with a 30-win season last year and a #1 ranking this year deserve special mention, if it is only to pay tribute to the great John Wooden, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) and the one and only Bill Walton, among many others.
UCLA, according to my unofficial W & L's will head into the '07-08 campaign with 1,616 wins but they are undoubtedly the greatest college basketball program in history.
Back to the Johnnie's. The school recently announced that they will pay tribute to their 100 years of men's college basketball history with special symposiums, pictorial tribute books and a special web site to be launched this fall.
I hope they pay tribute by winning more than five games in the BIG EAST on the way to a 20-win season, but that is wishful thinking for a fan that grew up with St. John's basketball in NYC from the 1960s to 70's and 80's (when I graduated) and Big East championships and Final 4 appearances were a realistic goal set each October.
