Patriots are going to the Super Bowl
Remembering Wilbur Wood. Yankees set the bar
Good morning, all! I hope your Monday is off to a terrific start!
Congratulations to the New England Patriots and their coach Mike Vrabel. They are going to the Super Bowl. I know. I know. They have to get by the Denver Broncos first in the AFC Championship game on Sunday. But is there any doubt? The Patriots totally dismantled the best defensive team in the NFL on Sunday, upending the Houston Texans, 28-16.
Yes, the Broncos are the number one seed! Yes, the Broncos are playing at home! Yes, they have one of the best coaches in Sean Payton! But do you honestly think the Broncos, with a backup quarterback now that Bo Nix is out for he season with a broken ankle, is going to derail the Patriots juggernaut? I didn’t think so.
So enjoy the ride, Patriots fans. We are witnessing one of the most remarkable turnarounds, if not the most remarkable turnaround, by a remarkable NFL franchise. After winning Super Bowl after Super Bowl, and then plummeting into the depths of oblivion, the Patriots are back. They have engineered an unfathomable accomplishment, converting back-to-back 4-13 seasons into a trip to the AFC title game. And they are not going to stop there. Amazing!
Remembering Wilbur Wood
Wilbur Wood died over the weekend. He was 84. The name may not mean much to you, but it meant plenty to me. Wood was a left hander, whose claim to fame was a knuckleball. The Red Sox signed him, then sold him to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who eventually traded him to the Chicago White Sox for a player-to-be-named. Turned out that player would be another southpaw, Juan Pizzaro.
Wood was a deft pitcher with a rubber arm, but on occasion that knuckleball would betray him. Such was the case on July 20, 1973 at Yankee Stadium, when he started both games of a Friday twi-night doubleheader and lost both games to the Yankees. I know. I was there and a look at the record books verifies that my memory did not fail me.
In the first game, Wood failed to get out of the first inning. The Yankees torched him for six runs in an eight-run frame. Leave it to White Sox manager Chuck Tanner to start him in the second game. The Yankees won that game too, in a rain-shortened six innings. What I also remember about that doubleheader, in addition to Wood starting and losing both games, was the contribution Yankees first baseman Felipe Alou. He collected four big hits in the double dip.
Fast forward to either 2018 or 2019 - I would have to look it up - and I am in Binghamton, NY, broadcasting games for the Hartford Yard Goats, as they were playing the Mets affiliate, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. They were managed by Luis Rojas, the son of Felipe Alou. We got to talking, during batting practice, and I told him about how Wilbur Wood started both games of a doubleheader. He could not believe it. Furthermore, I told him his dad contributed to the Yankees sweep.
Rojas told me he called his dad, after batting practice each night. I told him, when you talk to your dad, ask him about that doubleheader. I’ll bet he remembers it. (Ballplayers have memories like elephants) Sure enough, Rojas sought me out the next night before the game and told me he talked to his dad and he remembered the game. How could you not? Rojas, by the way, would go on to manage the New York Mets and is now the third base coach of the New York Yankees.
Wilbur Wood, R.I.P.
Some other thoughts, as the snow falls in my neck of the woods:
I do not like to blame officials, but Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott was on the mark, when he expressed his frustration, after the officials did not review a play involving wide receiver Brandin Cook in the overtime of Saturday night’s NFL Divisional playoff game. It looked as if Cook was down and the play ended, when the ball was ripped from his grasp by cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian deep in Denver territory. The officials ruled it an interception and moments later, the Broncos won in OT on a 23-yard field goal. I thought McDermott was very controlled in his postgame comments but you cannot fault him for making his case. The play did not receive a fair review from the officials. (As an aside. When a game goes into OT, coaches are not permitted to challenge an official’s call.)
Word is MLB owners are not happy with how the filthy-rich Dodgers and their multibillionaire owner is buying up one player after another. First, the owners did approve his buying the Dodgers. But let that go. The fact is, owners are peeved and are ready to go the mats to institute a salary cap. Good luck with that. The MLBPA will never agree to a salary cap. However, if the owners are insistent on one, enjoy your baseball in 2026, because there is a good chance there will not be MLB in 2027.
Indiana plays Miami tonight for the college football championship. If it is a close game in the third quarter, I will be surprised. The Hoosiers should win in a romp.
The New York Giants landed their man in John Harbaugh as their next head coach. But everything I read suggests the hiring was not as cut-and-dried as portrayed by the media. Remember, there was a delay between when the story broke on Wednesday and Harbaugh signing on the dotted line on Saturday. Apparently the issue was the power structure of the franchise. Would it be Harbaugh or GM Joe Schoen? From what I am reading, Harbaugh will not have to answer to Schoen but only to co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch. Where that leaves Schoen in the pecking order, who knows? But expect some questions at Harbaugh’s introductory news conference on Tuesday.
The Yankees have apparently reached the point with free agent OF Clay Bellinger of saying take it or leave it. New York has offered him a five-year deal and are willing to throw in some opt-outs. If Bellinger is looking for a contract beyond five years, he is apparently barking up the wrong franchise, as the Yankees are prepared to move on. It should be an interesting week on the baseball front.
That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. As always, thank you for your support.
DAN