Belichick makes a statement

Missing Summerall and Madden and don’t doubt Manfred

Good morning, all. I hope your week is off to a terrific start.

Wow! November 1. I cannot believe there are just two months left in the year. What did you think of the World Series? Wait! They are still playing the World Series. November 1 and the World Series isn’t over yet. Go figure.

Meanwhile, the football season goes full speed ahead, as it should in November. All those ready to consign Bill Belichick to the dustbin of over-the-hill coaches may have to rethink their mindset. Old Billy Boy’s Patriots delivered a big time statement on Sunday with a 22-17 victory over the Jets at the Meadowlands.

This was supposed to be the Jets’ statement game. Entering at 5-2, the Jets - along with the Giants - were the talk of the NFL. If they were going to demonstrate that this was a different year, they were going to have to prove they could beat the Pats in a home game. Instead, the “over-the-hill” Belichick and his staff marched into the Meadowlands and put a good ol’ fashioned hurtin’ on Gang Green. The final score is not indicative of how much New England dominated the game.

Patriots quarterback Mac Jones, recovering from an ankle injury, looked rusty but played well enough in spots to spark the offense. Meanwhile, New England’s defense made Jets QB Zack Wilson look very ordinary, which I believe he is. Wilson, in my humble opinion, is not a franchise quarterback.

So the Pats, once again in the hunt for a playoff berth, delivered a huge message. As for the Jets, who have now lost an ungodly thirteen straight games to New England, that four-game winning streak is but a distant memory. With Buffalo and New England their next two opponents, that “feel-good” 5-2 record could easily be 5-5 going into Thanksgiving.

Those who chose to discount the Patriots, do so at their own peril. Meanwhile, with the NFL trade deadline today, we could witness some interesting deals.

Missing Summerall and Madden
I miss Pat Summerall and John Madden. They were the best football broadcasting duo of all time. I particularly miss them now, when every broadcaster, it seems, decides he must broadcast at the top of his lungs in describing every play. That is every play, by the way, that we can watch unfolding before our very eyes on the TV screen or smartphone.

I don’t know, maybe it’s the producers or empty suits telling these people every play must sound as if the Super Bowl championship is on the line. Maybe they scream to shout down the trolls on social media. Whatever, they scream.

Sadly, many of the younger fans will never be able to appreciate the Summerall-Madden duo, as they were either too young or not even born when the two were at their zenith. Summerall and Madden last worked a game together in 2002, when they broadcast the Super Bowl.

The younger generation will believe the only way a game is broadcast is to have the announcers assault their ears in screeching tones. Those of us who remember Summerall and Madden know otherwise.

And speaking of broadcasters
It is said, with some degree of accuracy, that baseball is made to be broadcast on radio, while football is made for television. But as much as a good baseball announcer makes for an interesting radio broadcast, I believe the same can be said for other sports on radio.

I watched some of the Jets-Pats game on TV and listened to some of it on radio. The Pats radio crew of Bob Socci and Scott Zolak were an enjoyable listen. They did not scream on every play and Socci’s play-by-play was descriptive.

My point is, despite one medium being better than another when it comes to presenting a certain sport, a solid play-by-play man and color commentator can make any sport sparkle on radio, be it baseball, football, basketball or hockey.

Some of the greatest broadcasters never worked a baseball game on radio, but earned their fame describing other sports on that medium. Marty Glickman and Marv Albert are two who come to mind.

Remember what the late, great Vin Scully said. What attracted him to sports announcing was hearing the roar of the crowd, washing over his ears, while listening to the radio. He was tuned to a football game.

So to those who say, “there’s nothing like listening to a good baseball game on radio,” let me add there’s nothing like listening to any sporting event on radio, when the broadcasting team knows how to present the action.

So long Oakland?
I have written in this space before and commented on one of my You Tube channels that the Athletics days in Oakland may be numbered. On Saturday, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred set the baseball universe ablaze when he told Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo the A’s could be heading to Las Vegas, because of that franchise’s stadium issues.

The Bay Area sports intelligencia tried to either play up the report or downplay it, depending on who was delivering the message. NBC Sports announcer Brodie Brazil, who has skin in the game as the host of Oakland Athletics pre and post game shows, downplayed the story, claiming the commissioner did not say anything he hasn’t said before. Brazil also said his goal is to interview Manfred before 2022 is over. He better hurry up.

Believe me, when I tell you the commissioner wants this issue settled by the end of 2022. MLB is determined to add two more expansion clubs and cannot do so, until the Tampa Bay and Oakland stadium issues are resolved.

When the commissioner says he believes Tampa Bay is close to resolving its stadium problem but Oakland could end up moving to Las Vegas, that is more than just something he has stated in the past. That is a person, who is on the inside, knowing what is unfolding behind the scenes. What the commissioner is saying to Oakland is you better settle this stadium issue real soon, or the A’s are Vegas bound. Expansion means billions of dollars in entrance fees for the current owners and they want the Oakland situation settled pronto.

I like Brazil, so I am not trying to be critical here, but when he hinted that “Mad Dog” kept pressing the Oakland issue with the commissioner to get a “sound-bite” for his national radio audience, I think he let his love for the A’s interfere with his thinking. Christopher Russo was in search of a story not a sound-bite, and he may have gotten one. Some might even call it a scoop.

Well that is it for this week’s newsletter. I am not going to publish a newsletter next week but will return on Nov. 15. As always, thank you for your support and have a terrific week.

SPORTSCASTER DAN