Good morning, all! I hope your week is off to a terrific start.
Scripture has it that Satan took Jesus to the mountaintop and promised him the entire world. All Jesus had to do was bow to Satan. Essentially, Jesus told Satan to go pound sand, or words to that effect. Well, I am not about to compare the Los Angeles Lakers to Satan - I’ll leave that to Celtics fans - or Dan Hurley to Jesus, but last week, the Lakers took Hurley to the basketball mountaintop, Hollywood sign and all, and promised him the world or at least $70 million. Having already carved out a piece of basketball history with back-to-back national championships and a handsome paycheck to go with it, on Monday the UConn men’s basketball coach chose not to bow down to Hollywood and the professional basketball world.
Repeat! The goal is not to compare Hurley to Jesus, but in Connecticut college basketball is a religion and if Hurley isn’t the state’s basketball messiah, he will certainly be elevated to saintly status, after choosing to tell the Lakers to go pound sand or words to that effect.
Mediocrity is just fine with baseball
We have passed the one-third mark of the major league baseball season and it is obvious why the sport expanded its playoff format to include three wild card teams: money and interest. A look at the standings should serve as evidence.
Before the start of play on Monday, 19 of the 30 teams had losing records (many of those records way below the .500 mark) and one club, the Red Sox, stood at .500. Fourteen of those clubs are within three games of a playoff spot. The lowly Mets might be the greatest example of why these days, a season is never over, even it it appears to be.
The Mets, buried in the NL East 16.5 games behind first place Philadelphia with a 28-36 record, would have been waiting for next season with that mark, prior to the wild card format. Now they are very much in the race.
During the weekend London Series, where the Mets split with the Phillies, the broadcasters predicted the Mets were very much in the race. Who could blame them? Didn’t the Arizona Diamondbacks get hot late last season and make it all the way to the World Series, upending the 100-win Dodgers in the playoffs?
Under the current system, the best team does not always win. These days it is usually the hottest team that wins.
Baseball’s goal is to maintain interest and bring in more revenue. If the owners had their way, 14 clubs would qualify for the playoffs rather than the current 12. There may be many teams with losing records but there are no more lopsided seasons. A four-team battle like the historic 1967 American League pennant race is a thing of the past. Every year is now 1967, even if your club does not have a winning record more than one-third through the season.
Golf is at a crossroads
Scottie Scheffler, the world’s number one ranked golfer, captured his fifth tournament in eight starts this season, after winning Jack Nicklaus’s Memorial Tournament on Sunday. Scheffler is to be applauded for a historic start to his career, but sadly few are paying attention. Interest in professional golf is tumbling because of the war between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. Some might ask is Scheffler that good of a golfer or is he benefitting by the heavyweights who have signed on with LIV? It is a legitimate question, although Scheffler deserves none of the blame. He is playing the field that has been dealt him.
We will be reminded this week, when LIV golfers and PGA Tour golfers compete together in the U.S. Open, how fractured the sport has become. Heightened interest will remind us a certain peace between the two factions must be negotiated, if golf is to once again be part of the conversation. According to golfer Rory McElroy, who is part of the PGA’s negotiating committee, the Tour and LIV had a productive meeting in New York last Friday. Here is hoping that they can reach an accommodation.
And now this word
I hope you are enjoying this newsletter. I have been writing it on various platforms the last 10 years, including Substack these last two years. Thanks to you, I have been able to develop a loyal following. Some of you have asked why I do not take advantage of Substack’s paid subscribers plan? I have tried to keep the newsletter free and my goal is to continue with that format.
However, it requires a good deal of time to compile this newsletter, which is why I am now including a financial “support button.” Already, some of you have been generous enough to make a contribution for which I say thank you. The newsletter will remain free, but your financial support is welcome. As always, thank you for being such loyal readers. Have a terrific week!
DAN LOVALLO