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“Super Bowl Week-Superceded”

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This should be a spectacular game on Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs big play offense against the San Francisco’s 49ers big boy defense.

Patrick Mahomes and his partners, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Mecole Hardman and Travis Kelce.

The 49ers fierce pass rush, led by Nick Boss, a linebacking corps led by Fred Warner. and Richard Sherman and his secondary.

But this Sunday has been overwhelmed by other stories, other places.

The tragic death of Kobe Bryant in the horrific helicopter crash that claimed nine lives.  The questions every minute of every day, how could the pilot take off and try to fly thru the fog, the mist, and around all those mountains.

Even the NFL has sub-plot stories that are everywhere.

As soon as the game is over, we head to NFL free agency, in what may be the wildest spring ever.  It’s called the Quarterback Quandry.

Where does Philip Rivers, the Chargers icon land?  Does Drew Brees retire from the Saints?  Is Tom Brady staying in New England?  Does Carolina pick up the 18M option in the contract of oft-injured Cam Newton?  Does Tampa Bay give up on big play-big turnover Jameis Winston?  What becomes of Marcus Mariota? Who wants Teddy Bridgewater?

And if that is not enough, we have all the impending rule changes in the NFL, notably the instant replay experiment that has blown up in the face of those who want a solution to pass interference calls and non-calls.

Across the street in baseball, here comes spring training and we await sanctions against the Red Sox, for doing what the Houston Astros did.  Do we get apologies from Houston players?  Will they become Public Enemy #1?

Never in all my years as a sports-talk show host, have I seen so many storylines blot out what was always storyline #1…Super Bowl Sunday.

A strange week for sure.

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“Dealing with Avalanche of Sports Stories”

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It’s overwhelming to think and to talk about, but as a long time sports-talkshow host, you pick the topic and take a stand.

KOBE BRYANT…The sadness that has enveloped Southern California, the NBA and sports staggering.  For all who crossed paths with him, all had different stories about dedication, intelligence, philosophies.  Shame on some aspects of social media for dredging up the rape trial details in Colorado and throwing that salt on the open wound of sadness.

NTSB…Fragments of information surface and the lingering question, why did an experienced pilot fly in suffocating fog?  Why was he on VFR when you could not see?  Did he mistake a mistake and get lost in the fog?  How come he turned into the mountain area near Calabasas then hovered for 15-minutes? What caused the pilot to try a steep climb towards the mountain that he plowed into at 160mph trying to avoid hitting the land below?

LAKERS-CLIPPERS…The Tuesday game was cancelled.  Sources told me the Lakers franchise front office is devastated by the Bryant tragedy.  Was told the Clippers were going to all wear #8…the Lakers were all going to wear #24 to honor Bryant.

ROCKY LONG…He always marched to the beat of a very different drum, and that is okay, so his taking the New Mexico Lobo’s Defensive Coordinator’s job did not stun me.  He takes a payout from 878,000 to 250,000, but he wanted to go back to Albuquerque to be with longtime friends at a university he loves.  He will look good in ‘Cherry & Gray’.  We should say thank you for all he has done at San Diego State.

CHARGERS…They are not talking but maybe the network report they have decided to move on from Philip Rivers is true, though that is not what GM-Tom Telesco told me two weeks ago.  Coach Anthony Lynn did not make a definitive comment in his season ending press conference.  And Rivers sold his Rancho Santa Fe home and moved a week ago.  If the Chargers let him leave, shame on them.  If Rivers elects to leave as a free agent, we should say thank you to him too.

PADRES RUMORS…The Red Sox trade talks with the Padres and Dodgers mean they are serious about moving the 4X-All Star, but I ask how the Padres can rationalize renting a player for 1-year before he heads to free agency, if it costs you Will Myers, some 30M in cash, plus young players Cal Quantrill and Manny Margot?  Why do I get a sense ‘panic’ is setting in at Petco Park?  You had this glorious game plan to spend on prospects, then spend on free agents, and now you are going to move more young players for a one year rental?  Hasn’t GM-AJ Preller burned thru too much Padres money already to be allowed to do this deal next?

AZTECS…A (29-0) record seems very possible after surviving challenges from Nevada and UNLV this past week.  Collectively a good team with lots of key role players, who have stepped up to win games.  There is one tough road game left, at Nevada, the final regular game of the season, before the Mountain West Tourney begins.  They do get Utah State here this coming weekend but the Aggies have self-destructed despite the talent at hand.  Whether SDSU can move beyond the 4th spot in the rankings won’t depend on them, but rather if the top three teams above them get beat in the next couple of weeks in regular season.  Who could have thought this team, this school, would be where they are today?

GULLS…It looks as if this could be a non playoff season, which would be a disappointment considering all the good AHL hockey this team has brought to this town.  But rumors persist that a major rebuild is about to begin with the parent Anaheim Ducks, and that means virtually all the best young players the Gulls have had, will be in Anaheim, playing-learning under coach Dallas Eakins for the second half of the NHL season.  Rumors everywhere that the Ducks are going to move veterans off their roster for prospects in the next couple of weeks leading up to the trading deadline.  And speaking of Eakins, the highly regarded Gulls coach starts the second half of the NHL season with his team on skids, having won just 3-of-its last 15-games.  Look closely at Eakins, he looks terrible, as if he is working 20-hours a day trying to find a way for his young players to score goals.

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“The NBA’s Saddest Day”

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How do you put into words this news that came at 12-noon on Sunday.

Kobe Bryant-dead at age 41-helicopter crash.

It took my breath away as I was working at my computer writing another column.  I ached with the thought of what could have happened.  It overwhelmed me with a sadness of enormous proportion.

Bryant’s death came hours after Lakers icon LeBron James passed him for third place on the NBA’s all time scoring list.  Hours after Kobe’s well wishes were sent to LeBron after the record night outing in Philadelphia.

It came days after Kobe was photographed at a Lakers game with his oldest daughter, talking basketball.

It came just as his second career, a Hollywood entrepreneur, was taking off on the business side of life.

Can you imagine the sadness within the Lakers offices where all those NBA trophies he helped secure sit in a spotlight.

Think of the enormous sadness for the guys he played for, Jerry West, Mitch Kupchack and those coaches.

Think of is zen master confidant, coach Phil Jackson, and what they taught each other over the years.

Think about the ache Magic Johnson must feel for the Mamba’s passing.

Think about the inner feelings of Shaquille O’Neal and all those great Lakers who wore Purple & Gold as his teammate.

The Buss family, from the iconic owner Jerry, to the daughter who rebuilt the team Jeannie, and all the brothers, are deep in sorrow.

Bryant was brilliant right from the start, after the Lakers got his rights in a trade for Vlade Divac from the Charlotte Hornets decades ago.

Scoring titles, NBA rings, MVP honors and Hall of Fame honors soon to come.

He was not perfect, as witnessed by the sexual assault allegations in Colorado at the height of his career.

His ego and drive were on display on the court and in locker-room clashes with coaches and teammates, something all stars are driven by.  The clashes with Shaq over ‘who’s team is it’.  The battles with Dwight Howard and Karl Malone.

But he grew thru all those exchanges and walking thru NBA life late in his career with Phil Jackson, made him a complete player and possibly a better person.

He was not Superman, as his body broke down, knee and Achilles issues at the end.

But the legendary star leaves us with so many great moments.  The rings, the celebrations, the 81-point night, and the 60-point farewell game.

Life can be so fragile, whether it’s you-me-or someone like Kobe Bryant.

I write with sadness in my heart and a tear from my eye.

I walked the hillsides in West Virginia, the night the Marshall football team plan crashed, killing everyone.

I covered the funeral of Yankees icon Thurman Munson, a friend, who died doing touches and goes in his private plane at Akron-Canton airport on an off day.

 

This was as shocking as the day Magic Johnson announced he had tested  positive for HIV.

You just never forget these moments.

At this moment inside his arena, all the championship banners and jerseys are covered in purple.  The light shined brightly however on his two retired jerseys hanging in the rafters, in a solemn salute, inside a quiet-dark arena.

And at the plaza outside the Staple Center thruout Sunday afternoon, the outpouring of affection, of grief, of respect.  They wore everything, from Lakers hats, to Kobe jerseys, his NBA model shoes.  They left pictures, signs, jerseys, hat, jackets and flowers, lots of flowers.  They brought candles, said prayers, sang rap songs and chanted Kobe-MVP-MVP as they had for so many years inside that building.

And now this story.  Kobe killed in a crash.  As sad a day as our sports world must ever work thru.

RIP #8-#24.  No one will ever forget you.

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PGA Tour–Sights & Sounds at Torrey Pines”

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Observations from Day 1-at Farmers Insurance Open.

It’s not about the leaderboard alone, it’s about the players, the f fans, the golf course.

An interesting day walking the course with the stars and the hangers on.

TIGER WOODS….He is back as a fans favorite.  Not the long bomber he used to be, but rather as someone who has reinvented himself.  It’s a mob scene walking up the fairway with him.  The are 5-deep around the green, cheering, hoping he can be what he used to be.  He admits he is no longer the mad bomber he used to be off the tee.  He now knows what his body is capable of day-to-day, and what he has to do before he plays each day.  But his re-emergence is amazing, not just from the four surgeries he had in 14-months on his back, not just from the knee surgery, but also from his decline as a human being, the whole mistress thing.  His win last year at the Masters, validates how he has reinvented his game.  He is humble, it is a different kind of fire he now has.  He has streamlined his physique, and no longer looks like Barry Bonds in the upper body.  And the fans still follow, and he recognizes them for the decades of support he still gets at age 44.

PHIL MICKELSON…You wonder how hard this must be for the fans man.  It would be unfair to say Lefty is just holding on, but his ability to position himself at the top of the leaderboard no longer seems relevant.  Hard to believe he has just 1-win since 2013, but then last year’s win at the ATT-Pebble Beach did prove there are still merits to his game.  He is fit and trim, and can still bomb it 300-yards off the tee.  But you also sense he knows, our at least sees the twilight just ahead, with his comments about playing on the Champions Tour.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE….The ex-Aztecs has arrived and been successful a lot quicker than most imagined.  Rock solid consistent tee to green, you can always find his name in the top 10-on leaderboards most weekends.  He is consistent, does not get rattled, and is building a following.  So much infront of him from a career standpoint, he looks poised as the next local golfer about to elevate himself to being something special on the tour.

CHARLEY HOFFMAN….Local hero does good, but not good enough to stay up with the money winners.  It takes grit to want to keep playing when things get rocky, but he soldiers on.  We all remember big tourneys, and the players who wins those tourneys.  One of my fun times as a TV anchor was watching Hoffman win his first tourney a couple of years back, jumping for joy like a kid who got his forever want Christmas gift.  It is what fuels him, and so when you see him 3-under par early in the open round out here, you ;privately root there will be more good days for him this year.

PAT PEREZ….Local guy part of the next tier of veteran players you follow.  Wins have been few and far between.  Maybe there is disappointment his growth has stalled, but being middle of the pack allows you to cash checks, keep your Tour card, and playing the sport you love.

TORREY PINES….All the conversation this opening day was not just about the stars, but the course, the newly designed South Course.  They changed it and did they ever, stretching it to over 7,700 yards.  The repositioned bunkers.  The rough is different.  The undulations around the pins is something to see.  All this as the lead in to hosting the 2021-US Open here.  The fans say you used to get your birdies on the North Course, and you knew how tough the South would be.  But they re-designed the North a couple of years back, and that is no easy day at the beach.  And now the South Course could ruin a ‘Good Days Walk’ as the great author John Feinstein would say.

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“NFL–Changing of the Guard”

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The most important position in the NFL, the quarterback, is about to begin the passing of the baton after all these years of watching these guys passing for lots of touchdowns.

In what might be the most unique year of NFL free agency, a record number of star quarterbacks are going on the open market.

Philip Rivers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees headline a list of eight veteran QBs who will be on the free agent open market come March 1st.

One who will not is Eli Manning.  In a somewhat surprise move, he has just retired, electing not to change teams, but to go out with 2-Super Bowl rings and a host of memories, most of them favorable with the New York Giants.

A career that began with him refusing to play for the San Diego Chargers, forcing a trade, that turned out to be win-win for both teams, he went to the Giants, in the deal that sent Philip Rivers to the Bolts.

Both reached superstar status, Manning’s capped by the wild Super Bowl wins he engineered twice, both come from behind victories over the Patriots.

He finishes up a career with a strange (117-117) record, though he was (8-4) in postseason games, an amazing mark.  He concluded th career in Giant colors with (366TD-244Int).

He was tough, competitive, fiery, resilient, and classy, even in the wake of getting benched this year when the Giants decided they had to play rookie QB-Daniel Jones in a learning curve season.

Manning could be headed to retirement, alongside his brother Peyton, the legendary Colt-Bronco, or he could be headed to a front office job as an Assistant GM.

Now we wait to see who is the next to leave, though retirement does not seem to be the sentiment of Chargers QB-Philip Rivers, the Saints-Drew Brees, the iconic Patriots QB-Tom Brady. or the Steelers-Ben Roethlisberger.

All but Rivers have Super Bowl rings, and it is doubtful Rivers will ever have that opportunity considering the state of the LA Chargers.

The first one, Manning, stepped off the merry-go-round.  Now we we wait to see who is next.

He was very good.  And as much hatred as there is in San Diego for the Manning Family, the Eli-Rivers trade turned out to be ‘win-win’ for both, even if the Giants traded away a lot of talent in the twilight years of his New York career, and the the fact the Chargers front office failed to put enough good people around Rivers, who never go to a Super Bowl.

Superstars are not forever.  Giants fans should remember the great days they had, for they would never have happened had it not been for Eli Manning.

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