Good morning, all. I hope your week has gone well. It’s Frrrriiiiddddaaayyyy!
The New York Yankees sure could have used Aaron Judge in their extra inning loss to the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday night. The Yankees outfielder couldn’t even make it to the season’s sixth game, before being sidelined by an injury. Is it time to trade him?
Judge has become the face of the Yankees franchise but outside of his rookie season in 2017, his career has been injury-riddled, frustrating Yankees brass and fans alike. It has reached the stage where manager Aaron Boone is offering more excuses than a fifth-grader who did not hand in his homework, when explaining Judge’s injuries.
No need to worry, we were told. Before the 2020 season the Yankees brought in a new conditioning regime to cut down on injuries. New programs, new workouts, a new approach, it was felt, would change the culture. How’s that worked out?
His numerous injuries have made Judge self conscious. While sitting in the dugout over the weekend, applying some contraption to his right side, (Wasn’t it his left side that was injured?) he insisted that the TV camera operator at the end of the dugout take the lens off him and focus on the field of play.
The clock is ticking on Judge, two years away from free agency. He is no longer a promising player with a huge upside. The oft-injured OF/DH is now 29. Rather than insist the camera operator focus on the field of play, it might not be a bad idea if Judge do the same.
Geno is sure UConn will return to Final Four
UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma is sure his team will return to its 14th straight Final Four next season. You cannot fault the Hall of Fame coach for his confidence, and you have to like the Huskies chances. But is sports that certain? If only so.
After Connecticut was upset in this year’s semifinal by Arizona, Auriemma predicted
“And I would say, at least on my end, I’m going to be coaching in the Final Four again next year on April 2 or whatever that date is. What my team is going to look like, I don’t know, because we’ve got a whole bunch of new guys coming in and how that goes.
“I believe that what we learned this year through all the ups and downs is going to really benefit us for the next couple years, for sure. I remember saying that in 2008. We played and we lost to Stanford in the semifinal. It was Maya Moore’s freshman year. I said, ‘We’ll be back.’ We went back and we were undefeated the next two seasons. I don’t think that’s going to happen but we’ll be back here sooner rather than later.”
There are no guarantees and Auriemma would be the first to tell you this. UConn was a 13.5 point favorite against Arizona. The website fivethirtyeight gave the Huskies an 82% of winning and they lost by 10. Will UConn return to the Final Four next season? I’ll leave the predictions to the Hall of Fame coach.
Lundquist at the mic
The Masters golf tournament is underway at Augusta National and once again CBS is the over-the-air TV network covering this prestigious event. (ESPN has the cable coverage) CBS has televised the tournament since 1956.
And all is well with the coverage, I might add, thanks to the venerable Verne Lundquist calling the action at the 16th hole. At the age of 80, Lundquist is semi-retired. His dulcet tones on college football and basketball are missed, but hearing him as part of The Masters coverage is a welcome sound.
And how about Phil Mickelson? Five hours before his tee time, he attended the ceremonial start of the tournament to watch Lee Elder, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. Now that’s class.
And speaking of sportscasters
Finally, I uncovered a gem in my broadcast selection, Jerry Coleman’s farewell as a member of the New York Yankees broadcast crew in 1969. Coleman, who served in both World War II and the Korean War, is in the broadcaster’s wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame. I posted the sound and information about the clip on one of my You Tube channels. You can listen below. Enjoy!
That is it for this week. Have a terrific weekend and if you would be so inclined to share this newsletter, I would be most appreciative.
SPORTSCASTER DAN