Lee Lowenfish

I must admit that I was one of those Knicks fans that gave up on the NBA Final Game 4 (W Jun 10) when they trailed the youthful Spurs by 27 at the half.  Even when the rally started in the second half, I was switching to baseball games.  Lucked into seeing Pirates outfielder Tyler Callihan in his first MLB game hit the game-changing 3-run HR in bottom of 8th against the Dodgers. I missed his first HR against none other than Shohei Ohtani.  Quite a debut for a Cincinnati Reds castoff. Just hope that Buccos brilliant rookie shortstop Conner Griffin recovers quickly from injury because Pirates are hovering too close to .500 line right now. 

I have to also admit that I even fell asleep in the fourth quarter of the Knicks' stirring comeback but was awake for the miraculous tipin by OG Anunody of Jalen Brunson's desperation shot that gave the New Yorkers a 107-106 victory and a 3-1 lead in games.  Kudos to Brunson who used a baseball analogy after

the game to explain the comeback. He said they needed "a lot of singles" to get back into the game.  The modest Anunoby - born in London but grew up in Jefferson City, Missouri and played college ball at Indiana U - said that he was just trying to help the team win.

Like Charles Barkley and I think many others, I'm having a hard time mastering OG's last name.  It is "an-uh-NOH-bee". As a baseball fanatic, I kept putting in a "d" near the end to make it resemble Larry Doby, the American League's Jackie Robinson, the future Hall of Famer that broke the color line in mid-1947 and didn't flourish until 1948, Cleveland's last World Series-winning season. Happily, there is a clear baseball connection on the Knicks.  Josh Hart, one of the three Villanova Wildcats on the team with Brunson and Mikal Bridges, is the grand-nephew of Elston Howard, who broke the color line for the Yankees in 1955. Howard died in 1980 so Hart never him but he is very proud of the family connection.

Before the series began, I hoped for Knicks in 6 so we could clinch at home.  Now I believe it is time to strike when the iron is hot.  Let's finish it off in San Antonio this Sat June 13 at 835P on ABC, channel 7 in NYC area.   If not, then Game 6 at MSG Tu Jun 16 and Game 7 in San Antonio F Jun 19. It won't be easy but getting off to a good start certainly will help.  Have not watched the finals closely in recent years. One oddity to me is that Knicks are wearing white unis and Spurs dark ones in every game. 

Turning to baseball, the Orioles continue to confound with their inconsistency. I tried to tell myself that I won't get emotionally involved with the team until they are at .500 and showing signs of staying above it.  I didn't succeed LOL.  As I post Fri morning Jun 12, they are still 4 under .500. Just when you think that their starting rotation is serviceable, would-be ace Kyle Bradish comes up with two straight clunkers of only 4 innings each. Then I have to read that he thought he pitched well mentally (if not physically). You don't know what you are getting from either Shane Baz - bestowed a 5-year contract before even throwing a pitch for Orioles - or Trevor Rogers from game to game.  Had to read Rogers saying after he gave up a game-losing 3-run HR that it was a good pitch but the batter was sitting on it (how can you call that a "good pitch"?!). Thank God for unheralded Brandon Young, who was the organization's Pitcher of Year in 2024 but was shaky last season. On the position player front, Gunnar Henderson remains in the worst offensive funk of his career and as a shortstop he often makes the great play but his overall mechanics and defensive game awareness are not elite. 

Every team has problems I know so enough of my whining.  It has been a weird MLB year in general with only a handful of teams with double-digit records over .500 - the Rays and the Yankees in the AL East, Atlanta in the NL East, Milwaukee in the NL Central, and of course the Dodgers in the NL West (even they have some eyebrow-raising issues with Mookie Betts hitting well below .200). The best news for fans of genuine competitive balance are the surprise St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central, the currently first-place White Sox in the AL Central, and a little less impressively the Washington Nationals in the NL East.   

The College World Series begins today at 2P EDT in Omaha with an entirely different group of eight teams from last season. Good for collegiate competitive balance.   Format is double-elimination in two four-team brackets winding up with best-of-3 series ending on June 21 or 22.   Today June 12 is Troy v West Virginia followed at 7P by Ole Miss vs UNC-Chapel Hill.  Sat matchups are highest seed standing Georgia vs Texas & Alabama vs Oklahoma.

Congrats to the PSAL NYC high school champions Tottenville from Staten Island that beat John Jay HS from Brooklyn, 4-2 in last weekend's title game. 

And program note for Su Jun 14 at 1P on MLB Network -  "Grass Routes" visits the storied minor league franchise, Rochester Red Wings.

That's all for now but always remember - Stay Positive, Test Negative, and Take It Easy But Take It.  

If there is one team that unites perpetually argumentative New Yorkers, it is the New York Knickerbockers. Pretty amazing given that the franchise has won only two NBA titles in a frustrating history dating back to the 1940s.  The first was in 1970 over the LA Lakers - in the dramatic Game 7, injured Willis Reed limped out of the locker room to give a morale boost to the team and after scoring a few points, Walt Frazier took over and contributed 37 points to the team's victory.

With essentially the same team except for the addition of sharp-shooting forward (and telephone book memorizer) Jerry Lucas and former Baltimore Bullet adversary Earl Monroe aka Earl the Pearl and Magic, the Knicks prevailed in 5 games. 

The 2026 Knicks have gotten hot at the right time.  They have won 11 in a row in the playoffs, the last two were sweeps of Philly and Cleveland. and the last 10 games set a NBA record for playoff point differential.  Their rebounding, fast break artistry and overall passing has been breathtaking to watch. Southpaw point guard Jalen Brunson - barely six feet tall - has done whatever is needed in any game - assisting, driving to the basket, or taking outside shots. Their domination has reminded me of Columbia's women's basketball 5-game streak just a few weeks ago to win the consolation WBIT tournament. (Here's a shoutout to other outstanding Lion women performances this spring season including women's golf. crew, national title-winning archery, and softball.)  

The Spurs will be a formidable opponent and I'm not surprised that they are slight favorites to win the title. They dethroned the Oklahoma City Thunder winning decisively the 7th game on the road.  How 7-footer Karl-Anthony Towns matches up against the wunderkind 7' 5" Victor Wembanyama might be a big key to the outcome. Also important will be the availability of backup center Mitchell Robinson who will be playing with a broken pinky on his right shooting hand.  The joke that immediately comes to mind is that the injury might help his absolutely dreadful foul shooting. 

I hope it is a competitive series and certainly it will help the Knicks if they at least split the first games in San Antonio. Here's the TV schedule with all games at 830P EDT on ABC:  Wed June 3, Fri Jun 5 in San Antonio; at NYC M Jun 8, W Jun 10. (Rumors have President Trump wanting to come to one of the Knick home games - sure hope someone can talk our petulant faux leader out of that bad idea but he and Knicks owner James Dolan share the same imperious temperament that too often comes with inherited wealth.) Game 5 goes back to San Antonio on Sat Jun 13 (if necessary). I AM SO GLAD THAT THE NBA HAS RE-INSTITUTED THE 2-2-1-1-1 format instead of the 2-3-2 setuip that put enormous pressure on the team with the supposed home court advantage because of best record.  Interestingly, though, the record in Game 7's lately favors the visitors 12-9.  Maybe travel is so luxurious these days that the road is not the obstacle it once was. If there is a game 6, it is at MSG on Tu 6//16 and Game 7 will be in San Antonio F 6/19. 

I hope it is a memorable series and that the Knicks win, maybe ideally in Game 6 at home. But San Antonio has plenty of feel-good stories, including Dylan Harper who emerged as a star against Ok C only a year removed from Rutgers where he only played one season.  (Dylan is the son of former Knick Ron Harper whose other son Ron Jr. stayed for a full career at Rutgers.) Former coach Greg Popovich remains a palpable presence in San Antonio. He presided over the 5-time NBA champion Spurs led by Tim Duncan-Manu Ginobili-Tony Parker. Slowly recovering from a stroke that forced his retirement from coaching, Popovich has been cheered by the presence of Duncan who attends some of his rehab sessions. 

Turning now to baseball, the college game rarely gets much coverage in the NYC area.  As readers of this blog know, I am an ardent Columbia baseball fan and we did make the Ivy League tourney this year as the #4 seed. The Lions beat Penn in an elimination tourney game after losing to eventual winner Yale.  A close loss to Brown ended their sub-.500 overall season but a lot of talent remains with undoubtedly reinforcements on the way. The Ivy League may have had a down year - Yale lost soundly to Oregon and Oregon State in the Eugene regionals - but league parity is becoming the rule which is fine with me and Lions coach Brett Boretti. Brown was a surprise second place regular season finisher and also finished second to Yale in the tournament.      

The big NYC college baseball story is Cinderella St John's who are heading to the Super-Regional in Tuscaloosa to start a best-of-three series Sat night with U of Alabama. The Red Storm swept the Tallahassee regional beating host Florida State twice. In the final game, redshirt sophomore catcher Adam Agresti's 5th inning grand-slam was the big blow. The Yorktown NY native was joined by four teammates on the tourney's All-Star team.  Quite an accomplishment for coach Mike Hampton (NOT the former Met reliever who bolted Gotham for the supposed better school system in Denver) but a man who served for 18 years as a hitting coach and recruiter for former head coach Ed Blankmeyer.    

For some reason, the St. John's-Alabama best-of-three series is the last game on ESPN's Super-Regional card. The Crimson Tide hosts the Red Storm on

Sa Jun 6 9P EDT, ESPN 2.  The second game will be on Sun aft Jun 7 game will be on at either 2 or 3p. The order of the other Sat games are Mississippi State at Georgia at 12N on ESPN; then the revival of a Big 12 rivalry, Oklahoma at Kansas 6P on ESPN2, Oregon at Texas 8P ESPN, and St John's at Alabama 9P ESPN.  But again better check your listings.

Here are the PSAL high school championship schedules with all games at the Staten Island Hospital Stadium, home ot the independent league Ferry Hawks just a short walk from the SI side of the SI Ferry:  Sat Jun 6 5P HS title game from the highest division, 3A, pits John Jay of Bklyn vs perennial contender Tottenville from SI. Preceded at 2P by the smaller school game between Port Richmond & East Side Community.

Su Jun 7 Noon A Division title game pits Kingsbridge Academy against Baruch HS 3P is the annual Exceptional Players All-Star Game 

Next blog will have more detailed thoughts on the MLB season.  The Orioles' improved starting pitching and some timely hitting have given this ardent Bird watcher some cautious hope that there will be a summer ahead of agonized pleasure watching games, after all.  But they are still 3 games under .500 before the Wed night game Jun 3 game against the currently cellar-dwelling Red Sox.  We'll see where things look later in the month of June which has been known for baseball swoons as well as lyrical moons. I'm happy that chronic recent losers like the White Sox, Pirates, and Nationals are above .500 and I hope that doesn't change drastically in the days and weeks ahead.   

Here's a TV note:  The MLBTV network on Su June 14 at 1P EDT: "Grass Routes" highlights the Rochester Red Wings. This show may only be on intermittently during the summer but I've enjoyed earlier shows on the Portland Sea Dogs and the Asheville Tourists. The Red Wings were home to the Cardinals for decades and then the Orioles came in for a long time.  Currently it is a Twins farm team.

And now it's time for TCM tips that doesn't include many sports movies but if you never tire of the classic Noir "Double Indemnity", on Fri Jun 5 at 10P, listen closely to what bored housewife Barbara Stanwyck is complaining about her husband during one of her early fateful meetings with insurance agent Fred MacMurray.  At 8p "The Maltese Falcon" (1941) is on and at midnight "Detour" (1945) which might be worth seeing once but I wouldn't make it a favorite.

Muller's roster on Fri Jun 12 is more appealing to me:  8P "Scarlet Street" (1945) Edward G. Robinson is played for a sap by Joan Bennett & Dan Duryea helps her out.  I got so annoyed by Eddie G's victimization but I guess it is a tribute to his depiction of what an unhappy husband is capable of feeling & doing.

10P "The Killers" (1946) the film that made Ava Gardner and Burt Lancaster stars and Hemingway said that the opening scenes were the best Hollywood ever

did with his original stories.

Midnight "Nightmare Alley" (1947) A grueling film set in a circus with Tyrone Power and Joan Blondell.  This one I must see again.

Eddie Muller's regular Noir Alley on Su June 7 at 12M, repeated at 10A, is the classic "Blue Dahlia" (1946) with Alan Ladd as a WW2 veteran returning home to find his wife dead.  On June 14 it's "Blackout" (1954) which I've never seen.

That's all for now.  Take it easy but take it, and Stay Positive Test Negative.