Lee Lowenfish

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. 

 

 

First, here is the continuing good news about my two alma maters.  Columbia men's basketball continues undefeated before Ivy League play begins in early January. [Update: Columbia lost its first game of season at U of Albany, 88-73, after starting season with 8 straight wins. Before Ivy League season begins against Cornell at home on Sa Jan 11 at 2P, the Lions host Fairfield Sa Dec 28 at 4p and then visit Rutgers on M Dec 30 at 5P. It should be far more competitive than a 50-point loss that opened a Lion season a couple of years ago.]  

 

The Columbia women's basketball team is 7-3 playing a tough schedule that included a hard-fought but double-digit loss on Sunday Dec 1 to nationally-ranked Duke at fabled Cameron Indoor Arena. They hosted U of San Francisco at 11AM W Dec 4 in their last home game of 2024.

[Update: The Lions came away with a 81-79 victory before over 2750 fans on Education Day for city area school kids.  A 13-point halftime lead vanished in

less than 4 minutes of the 2nd half, but they regained their poise to come away with the nail-biting win over the never-say-die Dons from the Bay area.]

 

It took 63 years but unheralded Columbia football under rookie head coach Jon Poppe can call itself champions again.   The Lions finished strong with solid victories over Brown and Cornell to share the title with Harvard and Dartmouth.  They were a rare team that enjoyed wins led by three different quarterbacks.  

 

Injury ended Chase Goodwin's season during a Homecoming loss to Dartmouth. Cole Freeman took over for the next few games before first-year Caleb Martinez from the football HS powerhouse of St. John Bosco in southern California was at the helm for the last two victories. He could well be the QB of the future but the 2024 Lions will be remembered as a TEAM that came together at the right time.  14 Lions received recognition in the All-Ivy voting. 

 

The less said about Wisconsin football the better.  For the first time in over 20 years, the Badgers will not be going to a bowl game. After two seasons, head coach Luke Fickell is under fire and deservedly so although his lucrative contract has several more seasons to run. Fickell was always wearing a T.E.A.M. jacket on the sidelines but the obvious symbolism on the jacket was not put into practice in the locker room or on the practice and playing fields. 

 

Wisconsin basketball, on the other hand, both the proud men's program and the resurgent women under former UConn star Marisa Mosely, are exuding hope [and just announced that next year the squad will be augmented by two young Spanish players.]  Athletic director Chirs McIntosh wisely did not blow up the men's program the way he did football. Although the Badgers lost three key players from last year's team to the transfer portal - Connor Essegian to Nebraska, Chucky Hepburn to Louisville and peripatetic A. J. Storr to Kansas (Storr's 7th team in his last 7 years going back to HS!).

 

But veteran coach Greg Gard has utilized a key transfer of his own, John Tonge (pronounced like former MLB reliever Sid Monge) who hails from Hepburn's home area of Omaha, NE.   Holdovers John Blackwell, Steven Crowl, Max Klesmit, and Kamari McGee have provided continuity.  And lo and behold, the Badgers are scoring more than ever while handling the ball well. 

 

We'll find out soon how real the Badgers' improvement has been. In their Big Ten opener last night (Tu Dec 3), the Badgers couldn't hold a six-point halftime lead to one-loss Michigan and fell 67-64 at home. It's been a heady few days for the Wolverines who upset Ohio State in football at Columbus last Saturday, thoroughly shutting down the Buckeye offense in a 13-10 win. 

 

When Michigan players tried to plant a M flag at midfield after the game, the Buckeye gridders ripped it out, leading to quite a skirmish between many players on both teams. The Big Ten has fined each school $100,000, but it say here that the action is only a wrist slap that is unlikely to stop future ruckuses in the aftermath of emotionally draining rivalry games.  Similar incidents occurred after games this past weekend between North Carolina-NC State, Arizona-Arizona State, and Florida-Florida State. Winning and losing with grace is increasingly a lost art. 

 

I hope Wisconsin cagers bounce back soon from the disappointing loss because another three road challenges loom: Sa aft Dec 7 at 130P in an nationally televised afternoon game at fierce local rival Marquette in Milwaukee. Perennial Big Ten power Illinois follows Tu Dec 10 at 9P. Always plucky Butler in Indy comes on Sa Dec 14 at 230P. 

 

Consult your TV listings and beware that many games might be on the extra pay networks like Peacock. For Badger fans in NYC area, on M Jan 6 at 7P, the Badgers will visit Big Ten rival Rutgers which is also off to a promising start. Last season the Badgers were routed in Piscataway but avenged the loss later in the year in Madison. 

 

Led by coach Steve Pikiell and with first year Dylan Harper, another basketball prodigy from the family that produced Ron Harper Sr. and Jr., already drawing raves, Rutgers this month hosts Big Ten rival Penn State on Tu Dec 10 at 7P.  On Sat Dec 14 at 3P longtime Big East rival Seton Hall is the opposition. 

The Winter Village will open three hours before each game outside Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway.  (It will always be known to longtime Scarlet Knight fans as the RAC, the Rutgers Athletic Center). 

 

I've found that fandom of pro sports doesn't necessarily spill over into college sports in the NYC area, but this season could be a little different. Our two pro football teams, the Giants and the Jets, are mired in sub-mediocrity, always finding new ways to lose.So there are good reasons to follow the cagers at Columbia, Rutgers and Big East member St. John's which is also off to a promising start under controversial but usually successful head coach Rick Pitino.  The Red Storm will be mourning all season the death of former coach Lou Carnesecca who passed away last weekend at the age of 99. 

 

On the pro basketball scene, the Knicks are likely contenders and the unheralded Nets are staying above water.  It is a testmony though to the long NBA 84-game season that the current NBA Cup games are drawing a lot of attention.  To me, it just shows how ridiculously long the NBA season really is.  But nobdy is seriously talking about shortening it.  And ditto the virtually-as-long NHL hockey season and the twice-as-long MLB season.    

 

There is not much hard news to report on the MLB scene.  By the time you absorb this post, dear readers, there should be news of signings at baseball's winter meetings starting Dec 8 and running through Th Dec 12.  Oriole fans are intrigued at the possibility, howevelr unlikely, that new owner David Rubenstein may shell out big bucks to keep ace righthander Corbin Burnes and slugging switch-hitting right fielder Anthony Santander.

 

It may not mean anything but I don't recall ever seeing a baseball owner having three of his books plugged in a full-page ad as Rubenstein's were in this past Sunday's New York Times Book Review (Dec 1). (Two history books and one financial book befitting a man who won at auction a rare copy of the Magna Carta.) We will find out soon whether Rubenstein's literary and TV celebrity on Bloomberg News leads him towards a place at the high roller table with the Dodgers, Red Sox, Yankees, and perhaps the Blue Jays and the Giants.   

 

There are conflicting reports about when the biggest free agent on the market, Yankee outfielder Juan Soto, makes his decision. Agent Scott Boras loves to draw out the process to get phantom bidders involved.  Gullible owners and equally gullible media people play along with this ploy. So to repeat, we might not hear about Soto's decision for some time about where he wants to "take his talents" - to use LeBron James' phrase after he left Cleveland for the tax-free charms of Miami.    

 

During the winter meetings, a veterans committee will announce its latest selecctions for the Hall of Fame.  It's possible that the recently deceased Luis Tiant gets in as well as Dick Allen.  Speaking of recent passings, Fernando Valenzuela's passing at the age of 63 on Oct 22 was extremely bittersweet happening a little over a week before the Dodgers won the World Series.  Another notable left-handed pitcher, Rudy May, passed away just a few days earlier on Oct 19 at the age of 80. 

 

May pitched for a lot of bad teams but when he played for good teams like the 1980 Yankees he led the AL in ERA.  His overall record was 152-156 but his career ERA of 3.46 was actually slightly lower than Valenzuela's who finished his illustrious career with a 173-153 record and career ERA of 3.54. 

 

On the TCM front, there are not many flms to list with sports themes, but every Thursday in December will be Mickey Rooney day.  

Th Dec 5 at noon "Death on The Diamond" (1934) will be shown with Rooney having a small part in a film about a murderer loose in the St. Louis major league ballpark. Young Robert Young is a star pitcher trying to solve the mystery, Madge Evans is the team secretary who Young has the hots for, and Ted Healy, who once employed Moe, Curly, and Larry before they became the Three Stooges, plays a key supporting role as does Nat Pendleton.  Edward Sedgwick, known for his work in comedy, directs.  And Ernie Orsatti, who later in 1934 will win a World Series ring as the St. Louis Cardinals Gashouse Gang center fielder, has a cameo as a base runner who is shot trying to score between third and home.

 

At 115P "Diamond" is followed by the 15-minute short, "Diamond Demon" (1947). featuring the acrobatic trickery of Johnny Price, a minor league pitcher.

Going backwards to 1030A on Dec 5, there is a boxing-themed film "The Life of Eddie Dolan" (1933) with Douglas Fairbanks in the title role and Loretta Young and Aline MacMahon as the women who support him as he escapes to a rural hideaway to avoid a murder charge.   

 

The high brow highlight on Th Dec 5 comes at 8P: Mickey Rooney returns as Puck in the lavish "Midsummer Night's Dream" (1935) with Joe E Brown as Flute the bellows maker and Dick Powell and Olivia DeHavilland (in her debut year) as the lovers Lysander and Hermia. And many others in this long extravaganza with James Cagney and Victor Jory in featured roles. 

 

Late Th Dec 12/morning Dec 13, 12:15A:  Rooney returns opposite Spencer Tracy as Father Flanagan in "Boys' Town" (1938-39).  

 

Every Sun night in December, Carol Burnett guests, bringing her satirical interpretation of a movie.

On Dec 8 after 8P's airing of the Noir "Born To Be Bad" (1950) Nicholas Ray directing Joan Fontaine, Robert Ryan, Zachary Scott, Carol will introduce and show her satire, "Raised To Be Rotten". 

 

After some lackluster recent Noir Alleys, Eddie Muller hosts a real classic earlier on Su Dec 8 at 12M, repeated at 10A.

Fred Zinnemann directs "Act of Violence" (1948) starring Robert Ryan and Van Heflin as onetime POW's in Germany whose post-war lives go in different

directions and Ryan is out to wreak vengeance upon Heflin.  Janet Leigh and Mary Astor have important supporting roles. 

 

That's all for now.  Next post I'll talk more about my off-season baseball reading which has featured a lot of Ring Lardner's baseball stories as well as reading Ring Lardner Jr.'s family history, THE LARDNERS: MY FAMILY REMEMBERED (1976).  Ring Sr has been too often belittled as a bitter and cynical writer who "only" wrote short stories and never a novel. In truth, there is a lasting quality to his wry humor and his austere personalty among strangers masked a deeply caring heart. "How can you write if you can't cry?" Ring Jr. remembers his father's defense of the writings of Charles Dickens.  

 

In this age of bullying and power running rampant and seemingly unchecked all over the world, I am finding solace in reading the works of great writers of all kinds, using the dead as allies until more hopeful days arise. I recommend finding some riches in our past culture and not allow ourselves to get tortured by the dreck of the daily news cycle. 

 

Stay positive, Test negative, is still my mantra, and always remember: Take it easy but take it!