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Are we still talking about Aaron Rodgers?

And what’s my opinion about the ‘tush push’? Boy, do I dislike that term.

Let’s start with Rodgers the Ridiculous.

The guy still hasn’t made up his mind whether he wants to hang ‘em up and retire or still play football. Methinks he still wants to toss the ball and if it’s for anyone, it’ll be with the Pittsburgh Steelers which rubs me the wrong way. I know he’s said that there are serious health issues with some of those close to him and we all have to commiserate on that score, but how long does it really take to make a DECISION.

Of course, it may be that he knows and the Steelers know he’s headed their way.

Maybe both sides have known this for quite some time.

Maybe it’ll all be revealed very soon, like before these words hit the newsstand.

I don’t know the man. I only see and hear what he says and see him play.

He was the wrong man at the wrong time for the Jets two years ago, who were looking to create a buzz. They sure did, but not where it counted, on the playing field.

The Jets gambled on a 39-year old quarterback who had seen his best days trying to lead a team that was not ready for prime time.

It failed miserably. Rodgers was injured on the fourth play of his first game and missed the season. He came back admirably, had some flashes, but there was never a thought the Jets would thrive.

They let him go, and now with a new head coach, Aaron Glenn, and a new plan, they finally appear to have some hope, and maybe more than that.

The likely, and really only spot left is in Pittsburgh and I personally don’t feel comfortable with that.

Here’s why:

I’ve had an affinity for the Steelers organization dating back to the late 60’s.

My first major job in the business was in that city as sports director of KDKA-TV.

It was there that I got to know the patriarch of the franchise, Art Rooney, who founded the team. His son, Dan was closer to my age and we struck up a relationship that lasted decades.

Dan was the General Manager of the Steelers and I was there when Chuck Noll was hired as head coach. The team was mired in years of failure and subpar management, and finally, Dan Rooney was on a mission to reverse the trend and build a reputable organization. He started by hiring Noll, who in turn drafted Hall of Famers Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, and the many other greats that ultimately produced four Super Bowl championships under Noll.

What was once a futile franchise became of the league’s perennial powerhouses that continued under head coaches Bill Cowher and the current head man, Mike Tomlin.

Since 1969, the Steelers have had only three head coaches and five General Managers.

Ownership of the club went from Art Rooney, to his son Dan, who passed away in 2017, and now Art Rooney II, Dan’s son, who has been president since 2003.

The Steelers are no longer the dynasty they once were, but they are always difficult opponent for any team they face. They are always a division contender with the threat of being more.

The Steelers have never had a losing season in Tomlin’s 18 years as head coach, but they have not won a playoff game in the last 8 seasons.

They have struggled at quarterback since the days of Ben Roethlisberger, and after not ending their playoff victory drought last year with veteran Russell Wilson at the helm, they are likely to go with Aaron Rodgers to clear that hurdle and perhaps hold the fort till another young QB prospect is ready to get the job done.

They drafted Will Howard of Ohio State in the 5th round in April after several other more highly rated hopefuls were chosen. No one knows if Howard will ever be the answer, but I feel Rodgers, who is a quirky individual to say the least is now 41, not getting better, and is not cut from what I consider the Steelers mold.

The Steelers have been the poster child for toughness and grit.

I’m not saying Aaron Rodgers isn’t tough. He’s had to be to achieve the career he’s enjoyed. But he doesn’t act tough. His words and beliefs are often puzzling and not easy to understand. He doesn’t fit.

Why do the Steelers feel Rodgers at his stage will be capable of challenging the Baltimore Ravens and even the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Central?

What is the upside the Steelers any more than the same question asked of the Jets two years ago.

Aaron Rodgers marches to his own drummer. I know the fans in Pittsburgh are not overjoyed with the probability of his leading their team.

Granted, the quarterback is a sure-fire Hall of Famer, but time has taken its toll on his ability to vault the team to playoff success.

On another football topic, I will use the term, ‘tush push’ for the last time.

That’s the maneuver the Philadelphia Eagles have used to extreme success on short yardage plays and goal line situations. It’s a play where only a few yards, from one to three are needed to gain a first down or score a touchdown.

It’s looks like a rugby scrum, and it is the most unattractive play in the sport.

Several huge linemen get behind the quarterback who is squatting low and on the snap they push and shove the QB with the ball forward until he makes the yards they need.

The Eagles are the only team to employ this maneuver. The Buffalo Bills, with a big, strong quarterback in Josh Allen have tried it with mixed success.

For the Eagles it is an automatic winning play.

So, many teams in the NFL called for its removal from the game, with most citing safety reasons. The league held a vote and it was rejected.

The play will remain.

It isn’t pretty and its success has been a foregone conclusion.  The Eagles, with their personnel know how to make it work. It won’t be that easy for others to follow suit.

You have to have the right technique, timing, and size of the players, including a quarterback who is not especially tall, but strong.

Jalen Hurts, the Eagles quarterback is 6’1”, not as tall as you’d like, but 223 lbs. He’s got strength.

He can squat 600 lbs they say, so he can get down and move with the push.

I’m not surprised teams tried to eliminate it from the game. I’m delighted they couldn’t do it. The play has not been a safety problem.

My advice to them? Learn to execute it. Learn to stop it.

And stay out of goal line and short yardage situations on defense.

People may enjoy the two-word description for the play.

But I used the term sparingly. To me, it’s a short-yardage play with a lot of big folks involved, and leave it at that.

The post Aaron Rodgers / The Most Unattractive Play In The Sport appeared first on Dick Stockton.

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They say the cream rises to the top.

At last week’s PGA Golf Championship, the second major this season’s Grand Slam, the wait lasted until the third round. Then, the world’s #1, lurking three shots back at the halfway mark, did what he has done so often, turn on the jets.

Scottie Scheffler carded a sensational 65 at tricky Quail Hollow in Charlotte, vaulted into the lead and it seemed that the ultimate result was a foregone conclusion.

An eagle and three birdies in the last five holes gave Scheffler a three-stroke advantage and it appeared victory was inevitable for him.

But a combination of a 2-over-par front nine and the on-charging performances of Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau instilled a semblance of drama in the championship that had
been missing, and in reality never materialized.

The two challengers failed to make any kind of a run and the world’s best went about his business and won going away by five shots, capturing his third major title.

It was fitting Scheffler came out on top when 12 months ago at the PGA Championship he was in a jail cell after he was arrested the morning before the second round outside the Valhalla golf course grounds for disobeying a police officer’s instructions during a traffic snarl.

What a difference a year makes, for sure.

There was also heightened interest going in for Rory McIlroy, fresh from his ultra-dramatic Masters triumph, but the Irishman never could get it going and wound up tied for 47th. Their biggest noise from McIlroy came when a horn indicating suspension of play due to weather in the third round blared creating displeasure from the golfer.

The news that Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, along with other deceased players, were now eligible to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, revived a story and a question that amazingly has never gone away.

Should Pete Rose be in the Hall of Fame?

Rose is the all-time leader in base hits, and Jackson was involved in the 1919 Black Sox betting scandal. Rose was banned from the Hall in 1989 after an investigation revealed that as manager of the Cincinnati Reds he had bet on MLB games.

Rose at first denied he made a single bet, then admitted he bet on games but never placed one against his team.

No one knows whether he did or not, but the fiery Rose never helped his cause by continuing to make gambling and casino appearances. I don’t believe any one doubts that Pete Rose had a penchant for gambling on sporting events, but I don’t believe it’s a cut and dried matter.

On the field, Rose had a career for the ages. He competed in every game as if it were his last and left the sport as the major league career leader in base hits with 4,256.

He played in the most games, had the most at-bats, and singles. Three times he was on teams that won the World Series. But these are merely statistics, impressive as they are, to his style when he stepped onto a baseball field.

He was brutally competitive, exciting to watch, and performed to the ultimate every single day.

Charlie Hustle was his nickname and that was an understatement to the way he played.

He was the symbol of the way the game should be.

So in returning to the question. “Should Pete Rose be inducted into the Hall of Fame?”  I always felt he should. Here’s why.

If a father took a young boy to Cooperstown, NY and asked his dad who had the most base hits in baseball history, the man who had that honor should be recognized.

He should be saluted with all the mementos, including a plaque telling his story.

But the plaque should indicate that Rose was involved in a gambling scandal as a manager. As a player he was something else. And he should be recognized for his playing achievements.

The same story goes for those who were banned for using performance enhancing drugs during that time. Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Roger Clemens and others did amazing things as players. Yes, they broke the rules, but does anyone really think taking PED’s were the REASON they were great players? I don’t.

And I still wonder why those who didn’t need any help to boost their play, like cyclist Lance Armstrong, went in that direction. Perhaps others, but not the superstars.

Puzzling.

By the way, Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Jose Alvarado was suspended just last week for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.

Do we think that era is gone forever?

Great players should be recognized for being distinguished.

But it should be done with the up-front and honest revelation of the “dark side” of their careers. And it should be reflected on their placques that all Hall of Famers have.

On the gambling issue that kept Pete Rose out of the Hall of Fame, I have to point to the great hypocrisy that exists. We turn thumbs down on athletes who have been guilty of gambling, but we promote betting now at every turn in every sport.

It is encouraged by teams, leagues and television networks.

Do we not think we are on the precipice of a possible major gambling scandal with the open practice to bet that now is the rule, not the exception?

In wrapping up, we know that Pete Rose passed away last September at the age of 83.

He will now be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in December 2027 when the Hall’s Classic Baseball Era Committee will vote on his candidacy.

To me, honoring deceased players in the Hall of Fame is a good thing for those who failed to garner enough votes earlier but had distinguished careers.

In Pete Rose’s case, this decision to open the doors for him is a hollow triumph.

He won’t be around to see it, and as one of the truly great PLAYERS in baseball history, he should have been inducted long before this.

Just one man’s opinion.

The post PGA Golf Championship / Pete Rose appeared first on Dick Stockton.

Hear it here!

In the never ending cauldron of sports activity ranging from the playing of games to the off-field stories that grab our attention, there is always time for reflection.

This is one of those times.

It’s been four years since my retirement and after over 50 years of being in the center of things, I’m going to pull back and tell the story of how I got my very first on-air job.

Everyone has to start somewhere and it wasn’t a slam dunk when it happened for me.

The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, or Group W as it was known, owned various radio and TV stations throughout the country. The television outlets were affiliated with one of the three networks at the time: CBS, NBC and ABC.  In many of the cities, Group W owned both radio and TV stations. For example, they ran a radio outlet in New York, WINS, Chicago WIND, Los Angeles, KFWB, and radio and television stations in Boston, WBZ and WBZ-TV, Pittsburgh, KDKA and KDKA-TV , and Philadelphia, KYW and KYW-TV.

They had recruited me to be trained for an eventual management post, which was nice, but not what I really wanted.

When WINS became only the second all-news radio station in the country, I was working as a copy boy which was terrific for learning the news business. I learned how the wire services worked, meaning the Associated Press and United Press International, and how they sent out the stories from the US and around the world.

When KYW in Philadelphia also made the decision to become all-news I saw an opening.

I asked my bosses if I could seek an announcing opportunity there and they thankfully agreed.

So, I took off one morning on an Amtrak ride from Penn Station to the station in Center City of my hometown, Philadelphia. I was 22 at the time, fresh from less than a year out of serving my Army Reserve basic training and post training at Fort Dix, New Jersey.

It was a train trip to the unknown for a young hopeful.  Was I nervous?  What do you think?

I took a cab to the station and checked in with the receptionist. Soon I was led to the News Director’s office. His name was Ron Mires, and I couldn’t believe this man, with a world of news experience in broadcasting would take the time to see whether this kid with no commercial on-air experience was worthy of being hired for a new format that was set to be launched in a couple of months.

Philadelphia was the fourth largest market in the nation at the time, and usually someone in my shoes would be starting in a very small market and put in the years to earn a spot in a major city.

So I was fortunate to get my first chance in a major market.

For my audition, I was asked to go into the newsroom and write a 30-minute newscast involving local, national, and world news off the same AP and UPI wires I worked with in New York which I delivered to the various newscasters preparing their own broadcasts.

Only now I was the one going to read it in a private recording. The kicker was, I only had 45 minutes to prepare my script and they told me that off-duty announcers would be talking to me asking questions to distract me in an effort to emulate the noise and atmosphere of a working newsroom. Not easy.

When the 45 minutes elapsed, I went into a studio and recorded what I had written.

When it was over, I thought that was it. But there was more.

I was then instructed to take a tape recorder and visit the iconic Liberty Bell in the city and do a report on why visitors all over flocked to Philadelphia to see this historic landmark.  I returned to the station and prepared what is known as a wrap-around: a report I voiced around voice clips of the best of those describing their impressions of seeing the famed Liberty Bell in person.

When it was all over, having my audition heard by the man who ran the department, I finally met with Ron Mires in his office. It was early evening and I’ll never forget his telling me that he liked what I had done and offered me one of the two all-night newscasting positions. That meant I would work from 10:30pm until 6:30am six nights a week. I would be paid $215 per week. Would I accept?

I couldn’t wait to say yes. Later in my career I would recite those conditions to would-be hopefuls and you would be amazed at how many would have rejected them, saying “no way I would work those hours at that salary”. Keep in mind we’re talking 1965, so the pay was not that terrible, but not that great either. But who cares if you’re getting a foot in the door in a prominent city?  The pay wasn’t important in the least bit.

That’s how I got my first on-air job. It was radio news, reading a 30-minute newscast during the night, six nights a week. I would sleep most of the day, get to work after a late dinner, and finish at dawn, have breakfast on my walk home. I loved it.

My television break was more bizarre.

One night sitting in the newsroom at around 9:30pm, getting ready to prepare my first newscast at midnight, there was a call from the television newsroom downstairs. KYW-TV was launching a new format called Eyewitness News which many readers may remember from years past. They were in the midst of rehearsals for the presentation still weeks away which formed their 6pm and 11pm nightly news shows from the actual newsroom with all the activity and buzz in the background instead of the more traditional studio look with the anchor people sitting behind a desk.

The regular weathercaster was out of town on this particular night and they needed a ‘body” to do a make-believe weather report as part of the show.

Someone asked me to go and fill in.

I did a made-up weather report for three minutes using a map and basically using the terms weathermen use without knowing anything I was talking about.

They thanked me and that was that.

However a year later, the program manager called the radio newsroom and asked who that guy was filling in doing the weather for that long ago rehearsal.

It seems they were now looking for a sportscaster for weekend news . Former football star Irv Cross, who had the role, was traded from the Eagles to the Rams and there was an opening. The program manager, Win Baker remembered what I had done and asked me to audition. Imagine… an entire year later.

I did, won the job, and had a new career.

I followed Win to Pittsburgh and then Boston and the rest, including a move to play-by-play is, as they say, history.

It was 60 years ago when all these events took place.

I am, and always have been grateful for the way it all turned out.

But the many twists and turns still amazes me.

I no longer think about how and why it came to be.

All I do is look skyward and say thank you.

The post A Time For Reflection appeared first on Dick Stockton.

Hear it here!

Raise your hand if you think Bill Belichick’s image has changed?
Okay, you can put them down now.
Wow! Every hand went up!

Once upon a time, not that long ago, the former Patriots head football coaching great, winner of six Super Bowls, was a no nonsense, stern, serious leader whose mantra was, ‘do your job’, nothing more nothing less.

Of course away from the eyes and ears of the media he had no use for, he was much looser, even with a sense of humor most never knew he possessed.

But since his departure from the Patriots he has gone the full 180, perhaps minus the sense of humor. He’s a different guy in so many respects, even alarmingly, that folks are outright shocked at the new Bill Belichick.

It started with his going from a media hater to a media darling, working on as many as four TV football shows last season.

But that was nothing compared to what we see now.

The surprises started when it was revealed he was in a relationship with a woman named Jordon Hudson, who he met on a flight from Boston to Florida.

Belichick is 73, Hudson is 24.  Okay, that’s a 49-year age gap and that got tongues wagging.

People love gossip and they really loved this one.

But everyone has a right to conduct their lives the way they want and be left alone.

Except, it appears BB and Jordon didn’t want to be left alone.

They have relentlessly been public about everything . Bill became the head coach at North Carolina, a college job few thought he would ever accept. He then asked the University to include his girlfriend on all emails sent to him.

Now it’s become apparent that Jordon Hudson is more than the coach’s girl.

She is his representative, PR person, advisor, ‘muse’ as he himself puts it, and authentic co-partner in all his activities.

It all hit the fan when Belichick was interviewed on CBS, presumably to promote his new book about football and his coaching philosophy. But when the host asked him how he met Jordon, she vocally halted the interview calling the question off limits.

The interview was supposed to be strictly about the book. At least that’s what BB and J claimed.

But CBS insisted nothing was off limits.

As an aside, I can say from experience that the audience watching or hearing a book promo interview, even the book’s publishers, relish the sensational more than the subject matter of the actual book. That’s the bread and butter. The draw for people to buy. The rest is superfluous.

The one question I have is why she allowed him to wear a battered Navy sweatshirt with a hole for everyone to see for the interview?

What looked good about that?

Belichick has made it clear he doesn’t care what people think. That’s obvious considering what we’ve seen.

A high school friend of Jordon’s revealed she is acting in the same forceful, hands-on manner she’s always done.

BB’s girl is no shrinking violet and the reality is that the legendary coach has shown he has no problem with any of it.

There are also reports that his family is concerned with the turns the relationship has taken. Who knows if those reports are accurate? However, the worst case scenario would be if the ‘old man’ is being taken for a ride by the ‘young lady’.

So what now?

There’s no question that the image and perception of the iconic coaching legend is not the same as it was.

Okay. Who cares. If Belichick is good with it, nothing else matters.

Rest assured, any new, even dramatic developments be it a departure from North Carolina, a break up of the pair, or more of the same with added fireworks, the story will be revisited with vigor.

In the meantime, what we have are two people living their lives the way they prefer.

Raise your hand if you find anything wrong with that.

The post Who Expected This? appeared first on Dick Stockton.

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No one really had an idea.

No one had an answer.

No one could figure out why.

Everyone had opinions. Some of them could have made sense.

One was so absurd it made you shake your head.

I reached out to some professionals who might know, but no one could put their finger on it.

Why was Shedeur Sanders, one of the very top quarterback prospects ignored until the fifth round of the NFL draft when he easily could have been one of the first three players chosen in the very first round?

What Sanders went through, waiting painfully so long before he was finally picked, created a bizarre story that dominated the annual draft of college players.

Added to the mix were a couple of prank phone calls including one coming from the son of another team’s assistant coach.

Sanders had been the quarterback at Colorado under his father and head coach Deion Sanders, an NFL legend.  The Buffaloes experienced a revival the past few years and Shedeur was one of the major factors.

Now, he was slated to be drafted early by one of the many teams seeking young quarterbacks who would lead them out of the wilderness to victories, triumphs in the playoffs, and even a Super Bowl or two, making his team relevant for years ahead.

There have been many cases of highly-touted prospects who fell dramatically from where they figured to be selected. But no one has ever seen such a precipitous drop as we witnessed with Shedeur Sanders.

The big question became….why?

Not a soul really knew for sure, but they covered considerable territory.

On the eve of the draft there was a report by a team’s assistant coach describing a bad in-person interview with Sanders that put him in a negative light.

The coach accused the player of acting entitled, pointing fingers at his offensive line when the team lost, and generally presenting himself as anything but what teams want in their starter at that critical position, a leader.

Others fell back on his pure ability, insisting he was overrated and not up to the level of a potential quarterback to lead a franchise. Although one expert of note, ex-Alabama head coach Nick Saban says he has all the skills, and actually did have to perform with a sub-par offensive line in front of him.

Then there were those who pointed to his father, who has been a controversial figure wherever he’s been. Deion Sanders, a brilliant player with the Dallas Cowboys and the Atlanta Falcons in his day, nicknamed Prime Time, has also been a polarizing individual known for his brash, sometimes outrageous comments.

Shedeur seemed to carry some of his father’s traits, notably a level of confidence expressed in grandiose ways.

But the young QB also appeared to be strong in his faith, and as the disappointment grew with each empty moment of the draft, Shedeur kept calm, reserved, and in control.

Perhaps teams felt they would rather avoid the circus of choosing him and going through the possibility of dealing with a father and son who might not accept decisions that would prove negative, say, not becoming a starter, or worse, being benched for poor performances.

One outrageous charge, echoed by the loud, look-at-me commentator Stephen A. Smith, brought racism into the picture claiming owners colluded not to draft Sanders because he was black, similar to the failure of Colin Kaepernick, years ago, who would not find a team when he was available. He was deemed not good enough at that point of his career despite good success early on.

Smith has been around long enough, I would suspect, to know that owners do not collude. In the cut-throat business of the NFL, owners would do almost anything to get an edge over their rivals. And to bring up the tired old racism label is a joke considering a black quarterback was the #1 choice in each of the last three drafts, and teams traded up to add top African-American players to their roster.

All 32 NFL teams want to win. End of story.

By the way, the top pick in this year’s draft was Cam Ward, from Miami, by the Tennessee Titans. But no one’s talking about him.

Ultimately, the Cleveland Browns rose up and selected Sanders in the fifth round.

He was the seventh quarterback taken and the 144th player overall.

In fact, the Browns had already gone for another QB, Dillon Gabriel of Oregon in the third round.

Throughout the Shedeur Sanders drama there was an unsettling moment when he received a call earlier in the draft from someone who said he was Mickey Loomis, the General Manager of the New Orleans Saints. The voice indicated that Sanders would be drafted on the next pick, only to hang up. It was a prank. The one who called was the 21-year old son of the Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator. A cruel move considering the ongoing shock of what was unfolding for three days.

The NFL launched an investigation and discovered who made the unfortunate call.

Young Sanders handled the incident impressively. He never exhibited anger, instead he leaned on his faith. He even joked that sometimes childish things occur.

Perhaps Sanders matured and grew throughout the ordeal in a way no on anticipated.

Who knows how his father, Deion will handle his son’s new chapter with the Browns?

Will he make demands? Will he interfere in any way? Will it turn into a circus?

It’s now up to the Cleveland Browns to run their team. I know Shedeur will be playing for a good and respected head coach, Kevin Stefanski.

The young man expressed his desire to become a member of the team and work to get to where he wants to go.

If there ever was a case of a high-level player on a mission to prove people wrong, this is the one.

I have a hunch he gained a following, the support and maybe a rooting interest of people he didn’t have before.

I know one person who’s now pulling for him.

The post Shedeur Sanders appeared first on Dick Stockton.

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Have you ever played musical chairs?

That’s when there are a bunch of chairs and one more person than the number of chairs.

The music starts to play and everyone keeps moving until the music stops.

Then the people stop and have to find a chair quickly and sit down.

But for one person there is no chair. That person is out of luck.

The NFL draft of collegians is this week, but the game of musical chairs involving quarterbacks, the most critical position on any football team, has been going on for a couple of months.
I have a feeling the one left standing is named Aaron Rodgers, but I’ll get back to that.

There already have been a ton of blockbuster moves and plenty of cash being thrown around to players of all positions during this free agent season.

But in football, it’s all about the quarterback. If you don’t have a good one, a real good one, you have little chance of success.

Musical chairs.

Sam Darnold, a journeyman who had a fantastic year for the Vikings before he turned into a pumpkin when it counted at the end is now with the Seahawks. He’s 27.

The guy they had, Geno Smith, who didn’t do a bad job with Seattle, but is 34, is now with the Las Vegas Raiders, rejoining head coach Pete Carroll. The Raiders were desperate for a QB and I guess he’s good enough for minority owner Tom Brady.

The Jets, who once had both Darnold and Smith, signed Justin Fields who had yet to prove himself with the Bears and Steelers.

New York’s other team, the Giants, went for Russell Wilson, the diminishing veteran who had his moments in Pittsburgh. But not enough of them, and not enough of them in the playoffs where they went out in the first round which has been their habit.

Those were basically the teams playing the musical chairs game for starting quarterbacks. Actually there have been 10 more NFL clubs who played the same tune for backups.  When you think of the injuries during the long, grueling season, the teams that have someone dependable coming off the bench are the smart ones.

It’s been said that the most important position on a team is the quarterback.

The second most important is the backup quarterback.

So there has been more than the usual movement in that department during this off-season.

The truth is, every one of those moves is a question mark.

There’s a lot of hope. A lot of fingers crossed.

Lately, I’ve seen teams make deals with veterans that are really fooling themselves.

Let’s zero in on the most prominent.

A couple of years ago the New York Jets thought signing 39-year old Aaron Rodgers, unquestionably a future Hall of Famer would bring them to the promised land.

I wrote at the time that Rodgers’ success was starting to wane in Green Bay, and at his age, leading a team that was in no way ready to seriously challenge for the playoffs, was pure folly. Well, we know the history. Rodgers was injured on the first series of the first game and was lost for the year. He came back at 40 last year, had some flashes, but the plan basically fizzled.

What was the upside for the Jets when they brought Rodgers in?

Oh, they got plenty of buzz, but how does that pay off in wins and riding the wave into the post season?

Now, as we return to the game of musical chairs, it appears that Mr. Rodgers is the one left standing as the music comes to a halt.

It appears he has had little interest around the league.  The Vikings, Giants, Raiders, 49ers, the leading possibilities all passed.

However, the Steelers have not. Yet.

Having rid themselves of their two signal callers of a year ago, it looked like the Black and Gold were clearing the decks for King Aaron. But now everything has been frozen in time. Is Rodgers holding the Steelers hostage, by his contract demands?

Are the Steelers not sold on him? We know their hard-core fans, among the greatest in the league, are dead set against his signing. They know.

If there was little upside for the Jets two years ago, what is the upside for any team now?

Then there is the problem of Rodgers himself. The things he says. The way he says them. Space prevents an enumeration, but take my word for it, this is a strange dude.

You can look it up. In his latest public declarations which he does on ESPN, he railed at the Jets for having him fly coast-to-coast just to tell him they were going in another direction (that’s been the easy way to say, “bye bye”).

If they had called, Rodgers would have complained the Jets didn’t have the decency to axe him in person.

To be fair, I’ve never met the man.  But everything I’ve heard from him and seeing everything played out on the field and off, makes me confident in my view.

The last time he spoke, Rodgers talked of personal issues with those close to him as one of the reasons he hasn’t made a decision. Will he retire? It’s a good possibility. But he shouldn’t if he still feels he can play and win. But with whom? And win what?

A Super Bowl?  Doubtful.

So, the Aaron Rodgers saga goes on.

Every team prays for a chance at the brass ring when it comes to quarterbacks.

The best way is usually through the draft. Select the right one who becomes a franchise QB who can lead you to years of winning and Super Bowl opportunities.

The Washington Commanders got it right when all the pieces came together when they snagged Jayden Daniels in last year’s draft. Now they’re just putting the pieces together around him and on the other side of the ball. They have a future, for sure, if Daniels stays healthy.

In this year’s draft, the blue chip quarterbacks were Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders.

Ward was set to go to the Tennessee Titans. Sanders? Who knows.

Of course, by Thursday night everyone has.

Don’t forget there are always those long-shots who come out of nowhere after being chosen in say, the sixth round. Sometimes those long-shots win seven Super Bowls, but that doesn’t happen very much.

So you either are fortunate enough to pick high in the draft when the real good prospects are there for the taking.

Or you play the game of musical chairs.

And hope.

The post Quarterback Musical Chairs appeared first on Dick Stockton.

Hear it here!

I’ve never seen more raw emotion than when Rory McIlroy, 11 years chasing a dream and falling short, finally won the Masters golf championship.

It had built up for over a decade. Year after year something would happen so that it wouldn’t happen.

And then it did.

It did on a final round with more twists and turns than a tornado.

When it was over, after a birdie on the first playoff hole against Britain’s Justin Rose, the 35-year old from Northern Ireland became only the sixth golfer in history to win golf’s grand slam: The Open (British), the PGA, the US Open, and now the Masters.

The others are named Nicklaus, Woods, Player, Hogan, and Sarazen.

First it looked like it wasn’t in the cards once again for McIlroy, then it appeared he would break through, possibly in a runaway. Then things tightened up again, followed by a pair of heroic shots to the green. A short missed putt on 18 to win made you wonder if he just wasn’t destined to seal the deal.

It took an extra hole before Rory sunk his winning putt, collapsed on the green and sobbed uncontrollably.

The way it ended was a far cry from the anticipated scenario at the start of the final round. In the beginning it was all about a dream matchup between McIlroy and Bryce DeChambeau, who dueled to the finish of the 2024 US Open in Pinehurst, NC, when McIlroy lost to the American in heartbreaking fashion.

The final pairing of the two became a reality when DeChambeau sank a long birdie putt on the 18th to finish the third round.

You couldn’t have scripted a more enticing final round showdown, and it had to cross your mind that this might be McIlroy’s worst nightmare, going head to head with his conqueror at Pinehurst, even with a two stroke lead.

When Rory double-bogeyed the first hole and DeChambeau birdied the second to not only overcome the deficit but take the lead, it had the look of a movie you’d seen before.

Later, during his victorious post-match interview, McIlroy said that double on the first actually calmed him from his jitters at the start.

But it was DeChambeau who began to fall apart.

With the Irishman rallying with birdies on 3 and 4, the animated and outgoing DeChambeau three-putted both holes and lost his lead. Not only could you see McIlroy’s confidence rise, but DeChambeau slowly dropped out of contention, winding up with a 75, and a tie for fifth place.

The man who ended up as the real challenger was 44-year old Justin Rose, who had the early lead as he has so many times, before fading. Rose was in front after 36 holes put him seven strokes behind Rory.

So, while DeChambeau skied to that same 75 in the final round, the veteran Rose came back brilliantly and finished nine shots better than the previous day.

That’s golf.

Those of us who play it at the level we play are fully aware that it’s a day to day adventure, even a shot to shot game.

It’s really no different on the professional stage, only that the ability and skill are light years better.

That’s why it’s amazing how consistent Scotty Scheffler has been in recent years.

But in this Masters, Scheffler never made a serious run, in spite of a fourth place finish, trailing by only three shots.

When we talk about the team sports, we often cite what one side did to succeed or fail to do. That’s the way it is in football, basketball, baseball and hockey.

I’ve often mentioned what Red Auerbach, the legendary coach of the Boston Celtics once told me: “It’s not solitaire out there”, he’d say. He was on the money.

In team sports you go up against an opponent who has a lot to say about how you perform.

But golf is different. Yes, you’re playing the course. That’s your real opponent.

But you’re the one in control of your shots, the clubs you use, and your emotions.

Taking a big picture view of this year’s Masters, how refreshing it was to witness such an event with the drama building as it went along reaching a finish that took your breath away.

In your heart you could feel what McIlroy was feeling, although we all know we really had no idea.

It was live human drama unfolding the way it only does in sports. Most of what we see doesn’t go the distance emotionally the way this one did.

That’s a good thing.

It makes the ones that do special and truly memorable.

That’s what we got from the final round of the 2025 Masters, when Rory McIlroy finally reached the finish line in first place.

The post Mastering The Masters appeared first on Dick Stockton.

Hear it here!

March Madness was strictly ho-hum for the first two weeks.

The usual array of upsets and dramatic game-winning baskets at the buzzer were nowhere to be seen.

When the Final Four arrived, the four top-seeded teams representing each region were left standing. So, what kind of surprises could emerge?

That’s what makes March Madness so special. There’s always something lurking that no one expected and that proved to be the case when the top rated schools got together in San Antonio to fight it out for the national championship.

Of the quartet that remained, Duke was the odds-on favorite to win another title.

They had an amazing group of young stars, led by their big guy Cooper Flagg, an air-tight defense, and a swagger that reminded observers of the best of the Blue Devils championship teams of the past.

But it didn’t happen for them.

Instead, the Houston Cougars knocked off the Blue Devils in one of the memorable shockers that will stick in the minds of hoop followers for a long, long time, maybe longer.

In the other half of the draw, the Florida Gators beat the regular season SEC champion Auburn Tigers. Florida got to the final by beating four straight strong entries including defending champion UConn.

The lesson learned from the Final Four was clear: Don’t turn your TV off.

In both of the semifinal encounters one team took command for a half, even more, only to see sensational rallies by the trailing team that resulted in victory.

In the championship game, the same story.

In this case, Houston, seeking their first title after several near-misses, led Florida by as much as 12 points early in the second half, holding their star, Walter Clayton, Jr. scoreless for more than five minutes into the second half. This was the same Walter Clayton who had a career high 34 points in the semis against Auburn and was the leading scorer in the entire tournament.

But the Gators cut down on their turnovers, tightened their defense and captured their third national championship 65-63, despite holding the lead for only 64 seconds in the game. But they were in front when it counted the most. Head coach Todd Golden, at 39, became the youngest coach to win the NCAA crown since the late legend Jim Valvano at N.C. State in 1983.

It was a thrilling championship battle, but it might take a backseat to surprising turn of events that marked that semifinal matchup between Duke and Houston.

When you get to the final four teams, obviously, anyone is capable of winning.

But when the one regarded as the cream of the crop is in command, with a comfortable advantage, well into the second half, and then couldn’t do anything right, that’s a stunner.

The Blue Devils led by 14 with a little more than eight minutes to play.

Then Houston’s L.J. Cryer sparked a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to four points.

Even then, Duke managed raise their lead to 9 with three minutes left.

But the Cougars were relentless and the finish became frenetic.

Yes, there was a controversial loose ball foul on Flagg who couldn’t connect on a key shot, and Houston hung in there, forcing a turnover and making its free throws and wound up beating mighty Duke, 70-67.

There are countless fouls called in a game that are questionable. This one had a few.

The call on Flagg was certainly one of them in my opinion. But teams don’t lose because of one officials’ call. If you looked at some others down the stretch, including a 5-second violation for not getting the ball inbounds that might have cost Duke a possession, that one might have made a difference as well.

They can’t review 5-second violations and other close calls. I think there are too many instances of officials marching to a TV monitor to look at a replay.

Coaches are human, players are human and so are officials.

Let’s stop killing the momentum of a game with so many stoppages. Play on.

The fact is, Duke let Houston back into the game in the first place, they failed to protect their big lead.

It was surreal the way the Blue Devils, once in control, were ultimately upset.

Florida took down Auburn in the other semifinal when it appeared the Gators had played themselves out of it with a first half that saw the Tigers overpower Florida down low close to the basket. Auburn was the SEC conference champion and Florida won the SEC post-season tournament so it was a fitting collision. But Auburn’s big men dominated in the first half. That’s when Walter Clayton Jr. became the hero, on and off the court. At halftime, he lifted up the beleaguered big men in the locker room and encouraged them to turn the tables in the second half. They did just that. Clayton, meanwhile, scored his 34 points with acrobatic layups and timely 3-point baskets to put the Gators in the championship game.

Hats off to the new women’s national champion UConn.

Once upon a time it wasn’t anything new.

In the 16 year period starting in 2000, the Huskies dominated the sport with 10 national titles. Then followed a drought of 9 years before Geno Auriemma took them to another crown, beating South Carolina handily in this year’s final.

Auriemma’s greatness as a head coach is a given. However, it used to rub me the wrong way how the coach would leave his starters in the game with leads of 20 or more points.

But in this championship, Auriemma went to his bench to avoid embarrassing the Gamecocks who were the queens of the court three times in the previous eight seasons.

Watching all the action, it became more apparent to me Jeff Van Gundy’s philosophy of the game he coached so well at the pro level.

He once summed up basketball succinctly declaring, “it’s make or miss, that’s what it’s all about”.

Truer words were never uttered.

The post March Madness: April Edition appeared first on Dick Stockton.

Hear it here!

When we see it looking up we see a Final Four that features all the top-seeded teams.

Bettors call it “chalk”.  The favorites have ruled the roost in this year’s edition of March Madness. To be honest, this year’s tournament has lacked the excitement of unheralded upsets, and thrilling buzzer-beaters, meaning last second shots that decide games.

What we’ve seen are the best teams playing the best.

Every year is different, and this year is no exception. When was the last time we’ve seen this? It was in 2008, when Kansas, UCLA, North Carolina and Memphis, all #1 seeds, reached the final four with Kansas prevailing. That’s 17 years between this particular phenomenon.  That year, the Final Four was played in San Antonio. This year it is also in San Antonio, so there’s the coincidence.

Duke, Houston, Auburn and Florida will compete for the national championship and those reading this may already know the identity of the finalists and even the ultimate champion if you put your eyes to these words on the back burner.

The four finalists are all good teams. They are all worthy of cutting down the nets late Monday night. They say Duke was the obvious choice to take it all when March Madness started.

The only question centered around the health of their best player, Cooper Flagg the 6’9″ freshman who suffered an ankle sprain in the ACC Tournament and sat out the final games. But Flagg has been the kind of dominant force he was for the regular season and his young but talented supporting cast has stamped the Blue Devils as one of the finest teams they’ve ever had. That’s saying a lot.

But the other three can also win the title.

The lack of surprises and the minimum of close battles doesn’t take away from the annual show that always has impact because it’s “one and done”.  Anyone can get knocked out anytime.

So, that’s the scene when you gaze above the surface.

Then there’s the story of what’s below.

I saw a news conference with Tom Izzo, the 70-year old immensely successful coach for 29 years at Michigan State. Izzo is the winningest coach in Big Ten history. He has won a national championship, was runner up once, been to eight Final Fours, and has led the Spartans to the NCAA tournament 27 years in a row. He is much more than a head basketball coach. He is part of the fabric of Michigan State, with a style of communication with his players and fans that is unparalleled.

I attended the 2010 Final Four in Indianapolis, working with the late Bill Walton for a pharmaceutical company that brought its pharmacists in for a series of conferences and a basketball game between the invited guests on the Sunday between the semifinals on Saturday and the championship game Monday night.

Our particular hotel was also the headquarters for the Michigan State team and their fans. The Spartans lost their semifinal contest 52-50 to Butler. Following the game, the MSU fans took up every inch of the lobby soothing their disappointment with beverages of various kinds, and commiserating with each other after the defeat.

In came Tom Izzo with his wife, jacket over his shoulder, about a half hour after the 2-point loss, moving about the mob scene, milling with, and talking with individuals in the crowd.

I went up to him and said, “Tom, you transcend the game of basketball”. And he does.

Here was a man who was and is just a guy who coaches a sport and exudes the human touch, answering any questions, speaking honestly and in simple terms.

Rewinding to the news conference I saw prior to MSU’s elite 8 game against Auburn, which they lost, Izzo talked of the new world of college basketball, which also includes football, where money has become the name of the game. Players ask how much money they will be paid, choose schools based on a paycheck, they can transfer once, even twice, to another school which offers more cash, and in essence, they’re now professionals.

The day after this particular talk to the media, the transfer portal was opening. Players could put their name in at the same time they were preparing to advance to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA championship. How weird was that? Izzo said he had no idea if any of his players were going to leave, and had not thought of players on other schools he wanted to come to East Lansing. But he shook his head at the fact that while his team might be looking ahead to greener pastures, they were in the midst of competing for something that would be incredibly meaningful for them, their kids, even their grandkids for their entire lives.

I’ve pointed out that for us, the viewers of the games, nothing has changed.

We relish in the competition and are entertained by the wonderful performances of great athletes. We don’t think of how the major college sports are suffering because of the greed that now has taken hold of young people. You wonder if there will ever be a strike by lesser players demanding more money. You wonder what can be done to halt an ugly downward turn of what used to be kids choosing schools for the right reasons, including a degree for a possible career?

Can the genie be put back into the bottle?

I don’t know. And I doubt it.

But that’s the way it looks below the surface, as we get set to celebrate another national champion capping March Madness.

The post A View Of College Basketball Above And Below The Surface appeared first on Dick Stockton.

Hear it here!

When I was a kid I got to see the Giants play baseball because a family member had season tickets.

Now that’s I’m older, I can still see the Giants play baseball because an another family member has season tickets.

Let me explain.

Growing up, my father, Joe, had tickets for the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds.

So, I got to go.

Now, my wife Jamie has tickets to the San Francisco Giants for their spring Cactus League games at Scottsdale Stadium. And I get to go.

How’s that for completing the circle?

There’s a kind of throwback to a more innocent and joyful time when you attend an exhibition baseball game in the spring. It not only signals the end of what could have been a harsh winter to welcoming the start of a warmer, brighter, happier time, with the summer sport of baseball about to take center stage.

At the ballpark, boys and men wear shorts, team jerseys and baseball caps while girls and women do the same. Parents bring their children and spend a family day sitting and watching a game played on lush green grass under clear blue skies, with the unmistakable crackling sounds of a ball meeting a bat, with the crowd cheering when something exciting happens.

Concessionaires roam the park hawking whatever food or beverage there’re carrying.

Is there anyone in the stadium not having a grand time?  I don’t think so.

To say things are different than they used to be in practically every aspect of life is not only a gross understatement but now, almost a cliche.

But the atmosphere at a spring training ball game is pretty much exactly as it has always been. It’s one thing that is the same today as it was 100 years ago. Imagine.

I never really attended one of these games as a youngster. We lived in Queens outside of the city and waited for the real season to begin. My dad took me to Opening Day at the Polo Grounds every year.

But I had the radio broadcasts of the exhibition games to whet my appetite.

The Giants trained in Phoenix, a million miles from home, and I never missed listening to every spring game they played. Usually it was against the Cleveland Indians, who trained in Tucson. They played about 20 games each other since there were only four teams training in Arizona. All the rest were in Florida. Now 15 work out of Florida, and 15 in Arizona.

I would also listen to the games played by the NY Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers. The Yanks called St. Petersburg their spring home. The Dodgers were in Vero Beach.

It’s funny, I always wondered why it was getting dark when the Giants broadcasts began and when it was over it was pitch black outside.

I guess I was unaware of a three-hour time difference when I was eight years old.

But the sounds of the games, as I described earlier, was magic to me. That’s a big part of what I’ve always felt about baseball being far better on radio than television.

Why, I think books have the edge over film and TV.

That’s when your imagination takes over.

I have a feeling my younger audience would think I’m out of my mind.

Now we’re on the brink of another baseball season.

It was once considered our national pastime, but those days are long gone.

Baseball has been eclipsed by the NFL.

But it still has its legion of followers, especially in the cities where the teams play. Fans sit back and see their favorites at the ballpark and on television. And yes, they listen to the games on radio in their cars and anywhere else where a TV isn’t handy.

With a 162-game schedule, it is a long journey, a marathon, a day-by-day story that unfolds over time.

But it all starts with spring training. The Grapefruit League if you’re in Florida, or the Cactus League if you’re out west to set the stage for the season ahead. The exhibition games when the results don’t count.

However, the sights and sounds awakening a new time for the months ahead have all the meaning in the world.

A short note on the first two rounds of March Madness.

The buzzer beaters and the rise of a Cinderella team or two which spark the first week of the tournament basically didn’t materialize.

Oh, McNeese State scored a big upset in the first round but were dispatched in their next go. St.John’s, the #2 seed, was knocked off by Arkansas. John Calipari got the best of Rick Pitino, in the return of their personal rivalry. I still believe Pitino is the best coach out there, but when your team can’t buy any kind of a basket, whoever is coaching doesn’t matter.

Maybe things will change this week, when March Madness gets down to the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 phases of the tournament.

The post What Goes Around Comes Around appeared first on Dick Stockton.