Many thanks to long-time intergalactic SU subscriber, M. Levine, for tipping SU off to MSG’s rebroadcasting this week of all of the Linsanity games this week on the MSG Network.  Of course, Linsanity refers to the days of Jeremy Lin when he first joined the Knicks and they went on a 7-game winning streak.

SU watched the first 2 games last night – wins over the Nets and the Jazz (uh oh, did I give away the ending?).  Some may not recall that Melo was banged up then – he had a bad wrist in the first game and then pulled a groin early in the Jazz game.  The Garden was absolutely rocking both games.  Lin played 45 minutes against the Jazz.  The team was horrible – truly bad.  The front line was Melo, Tyson Chandler and Amare Stoudemire.  Now, if you are the GM, who puts a front line together like that?  So immobile and how are they going to chase after smaller players?  Then, Melo gets hurt, Stoudemire’s brother is killed in a car accident and you are left with Billy Walker, Jeffries, Iman Shumpert, etc.

Watching that style of play with Lin was so uplifting – it reminded you what team basketball was all about.  It was funny in the first game as by the 4th quarter, when Melo got the ball on the wing and started doing the jab step move – once, twice, three times, etc., you could hear the fans shouting “Pass the Ball!!”  Tonight is the Laker game when Lin went off for 38 points I believe.  Must see TV.

And yet, and yet, what is new team President Leon Rose talking about doing for next season?  Bring back Lin from China?  Noooooope.  He may bring back Melo.  And there it is.  That’s why SU no longer pays attention to the Knicks.

If you google Youtube, there is an interesting recent conversation between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic weighing in on who the best players of their era are for serve, forehand, backhand, return, etc.  It’s about 11 minutes long and fun to hear some of their comments on their top competitors.  Here is the link if you are desperate for anything sports related:

OK, now to more important things.  SU has compiled a centralized listing for you of the top Netflix/Amazon/Hulu recommendations that have been showing up on the SU comments of late.  I can’t speak for many of these but I do trust the SU faithful – they would not steer you wrong.

• The Invisible Guest (movie – Spanish)
• Animal Kingdom
• Banshee
• Justified (recommended by a couple of people – but you have to watch through commercials so a little annoying but gets high marks)
• Godfather of Harlem
• Fauda (SU just finished season 3 – very exciting)
• Prisoners of War (Israeli; Homeland was based on this series – 2 seasons.  Season 1 was a little slow but things pick up in season 2 and SU is watching now)
• Yellowstone
• Man in the High Castle
• The Americans
• Peaky Blinders
• Jessica Jones
• Babylon Berlin
• Broadchurch
• Mind Hunters
• Money Heist (SU is watching now – comes highly recommended)
• Fringe
• PF
• Line of Duty
• Jack Ryan
• Goliath
• The Sinner
• Marcella
• Bodyguard (very good)
• Sex Education
• Fleabag
• Red Oaks

Never let it be said that SU was not worth the price of the subscription.

Finally, SU reads Sports Business Journal and the writer who has been providing evening updates was actually cautiously optimistic that college football would return in the Fall along with the opening of colleges.  Per John Ourand:

“During appearances on several radio shows last week, I expressed some skepticism over whether college football will be played this fall. As a parent of two college students who have been distance learning for the past six weeks, I felt there was a good chance they would be under my roof in the fall, too. And if students aren’t allowed on campus, it seems unlikely there will be football games. 

My view has changed. Not quite 180 degrees, but I am now more optimistic that students will be back on campus this year. Yesterday, the N.Y. Times printed a column from Brown University President Christina Paxson talking about how campuses “must” re-open in the fall. Earlier on Sunday, USA Today reported that Purdue President Mitch Daniels is pushing to have in-person classes. Today, CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd tweeted out a list of 11 schools that planned to have students on campus this fall. I still have a lot of questions about whether we’ll see even an abbreviated college football season in 2020. But I feel better about those prospects today than I did yesterday.”

Hope for the future?  Time will tell.  Stay safe everyone

Man, these are tough times for the sports fan.  We find ourselves appreciating the small things.  SU gave it some thought:

• Good news: if you live in Georgia, by Monday, you’ll be able to go out to dinner, go bowling and even get a tattoo.  What could go wrong?  You have to admire the governor there – clearly gave it some thought in terms of where might people be able to get infected at the highest rate?  SU says he came up with a good list then.
• The PGA Tour is re-opening with no fans in June in Texas.  SU feels that is the right move.  They will get huge ratings – even for the early rounds.  Plus they can then plan the next series of major tournaments – again likely with no fans – for the next few months.
• The USTA has to decide soon about the US Open in New York in late August.  SU says it’s hard to see this one happening as there are so many people who make these events happen, e.g., umpires, linesmen, drivers, cleaners, etc.  But here’s an idea: perhaps this is the time to go with no linespersons?  The technology is there and it’s apparently very accurate.  No need for them.  And, while you’re at it, get rid of the ball kids.  Let the players pick up their own balls and …. get their own towels to dry off between points!  SU makes this guarantee: if they had to chase down their own towels, that is going to stop right away.  The NCAA matches have no linesmen or ball kids.  Just an umpire.  Time to reimagine.
• SU believes that MLB will launch before the NBA and the NHL.   I think all three sports will move forward with some type of schedule with no fans.  What’s funny to think about is that you could pipe in the in-game entertainment music, clapping, crowd noise, booing, cheering.  Get creative.  And just think: no stupid camera shots of the crowd all the time.  Same thing for hockey and basketball.  Cheering for the home team and booing for the road team.

Netflix Update: 

• SU is almost done with season 3 of Fauda.  Very good although it has slowed down a bit from a great first half.  But SU definitely recommends.
• I have made it to the middle of season 2 of The Americans.  I have enjoyed it but too many of the episodes seem similar.  But SU will come back to it.
• Homeland is down to the final episode.  This has been an excellent last season.
• SU finished The Plot Against America.  I enjoyed it.  Going to read the book.
• The Last Dance: SU caught the first 1.5 episodes.  I know most people are loving it which is great.  I thought it was good but after the tension of Fauda and Homeland, it’s been a little too slow moving for me.  But I will certainly give it more time.
• Tiger King: made it to the last episode – I will get to it eventually but don’t feel the hype matches the actual show for me.

For those of you keeping score at home, there are some great recommendations in the Comments section of the last SU installment for video selections.  A treasure chest of choices!

As a long-time Novak Djokovic fan, SU got a chuckle out of this short video on Twitter.  Roger Federer had put something out showing him volleying a tennis ball against a wall for 100 times consecutively and then Andy Murray put out something keeping a ball in the air with his wife.  Djokovic and his wife have tried to best their record.  But check out his behind the back catch at the end of the video.

This is what entertains me at this point.

Did you see that the XFL announced that they would reimburse all of their sold tickets for games that were canceled and then laid off every employee the following day?  Another one bites the dust.  It’s hard to wonder if football will ever become a spring sport.

A health official in the Bay Area said he does not expect to see any live sports in that region until November at the earliest.  Ugh.

The YES Network finally broadcast the Yankees’ home opener from 2019 (always rewarding to see Greg Bird strike out 3 times).  Let’s see if they start showing games on a more regular basis now from 2019.  I mean how many times can you watch the 1979 game after Thurman Munson’s plane crashed?  Ridiculous.  You have the content – show the games.

SU is not feeling it for May baseball in Arizona with no fans.

Finally, if you haven’t looked yet, check out SU’s previous post in the Comments section for a slew of recommendations on what to watch on Netflix and Amazon.  Definitely several weeks worth of viewing are contained there.

The clock is ticking for 2020 sports schedules and events.  The Open Championship (aka as the British Open as in golf) just canceled for mid-July and the Masters was pushed back to November.  The US Open (as in tennis) is scheduled for late August and you have to figure the USTA has a month to decide on what they will do.

The NCAA has been discussing having college football play in the summer with no out-of-conference games (and no students for most of the games?).  Their concern is another outbreak of COVID-19 in the Fall as the weather turns colder.

MLB is now toying with the idea of starting the season in May with all games being played in Arizona presumably with no fans present.  Other than Tampa Bay which draws no crowds anyway, clearly not ideal.  The challenge for baseball is that there are a lot of people that are involved other than the players and the coaches.  You have athletic trainers, clubhouse attendants, the media, grounds crews, umpires, etc. that you will have to ensure don’t have the virus on a daily basis.  The games can be played in the various spring training facilities in Arizona which is now home to about half the teams.

SU says the issue is testing: you would have to test everyone constantly and get the anti-body testing up and running.  But wait: isn’t the US doing the most testing of any country in the world and don’t we have the best test?  Er, nope and nope.  SU trusts that MLB relies on its own experts rather than watching TV around 5:30 pm every day.

Now, if they can get the testing in place and if they can get the players to agree (which is not clear to SU), you might be able to start the season for a month or so with the hope of starting games in the regular cities by the end of June.  Possible?  Maybe.  Better than nothing?  Definitely.

SU still maintains that the PGA TOUR could do something similar with no spectators.  If MLB launches, we may see some action there.  For the NHL, MLS and NBA, it’s hard to see how they can move forward given the heavy player contact in those sports.  The NFL is plowing forward but training camps usually open in late July and hard to see how that happens on time.

The USTA has announced a pause on tennis nationwide.  The view is that players can pass the virus by touching the ball, net post, benches, etc.

Netflix/Amazon Update:

• SU watched Bodyguard in 2 nights – 6 episodes.  Very good and suspenseful.  Enjoyed that a lot.
• Started Goliath but struggling to get in the flow in season 1.
• Almost done with Tiger King.  Interesting documentary and I will finish it but again, having some issues getting to the end.
• Enjoying the Plot Against America.  May also read the book.
• Ozark Season 3 was excellent as mentioned before.
• Enjoyed the movie 1917 but not for everyone.
• Homeland continues to shine in its final season.
• Thinking of starting the Americans as I need a long series to occupy my time.

Check the SU Comments archives: some very good suggestions from the intergalactic subscriber base.  And of course, add your suggestions here.

The Tennis Channel is starting to show matches from past French Opens and there was a good finals last night with Djokovic losing to Nadal in 2012.  The clay matches are good as they take 4 hours and hey, we are all about filling time (and trying not to eat too much).

SU is always interested in your comments and this is a great time to hear from people who tend not to share.  The floor is open!