Last night, SU had its choice between the Yankees – Rays game, Miami vs. Milwaukee in the 2nd round of the NBA playoffs, and Djokovic’s first round match at the US Open.  Good times.  It was almost shocking to have choices for live sports viewing.

SU watched a fair share of the tennis last week for the Southern and Western Open held at the NTC in NY.  OK, no crowd noise so that’s weird.  But the electronic line calling is great and it comes with a voice to call the ball out – they rotate between a man and a woman’s voice.  The funniest thing was the players using their challenges if they disagreed with a line call when the ruling would be based on the same technology used to make the original call.  Uh, duh.  Not winning those.  No reason to ever use lines people again with this technology – even if it’s only 99% accurate or whatever it is.  I mean is a lines person going to make the right call on a 140 mph serve down to a millimeter?

So, last night, because the players aren’t allowed to have the ball kids handle their towels, they have to go over the corner to towel off.  They are using a clock now for the servers in between points and it starts when the umpire calls the score.  At the Open, they are calling the score earlier than they did last week in that tournament, and with only 20 seconds, it’s hard to get to your corner to towel off and then hustle back to serve.  Odd that they are using different rules from last week to this week.  SU says baseball should take note: keep the hitters in the box, the pitchers on the mound and get the catchers to just call the pitches faster.  The players will adapt.

The Yankees broke out number 89 for the first time ever last night for their latest pitching call-up.  And how about the Rays?  They have had about 9 pitchers go on the IL and are still in 1st place.  They are the team to beat in the AL I think.  The Yankees will limp in to the playoffs.  Truth be told on the Yankees: even if they get healthy by October, their all or nothing hitters won’t play well in the post-season.  They must be in last place with RISP (of course, the YES Network never shows those stats or even on base percentage).  And Kay and company never talk about it.  This team is terrible in the clutch but you have to go to MLB.com to figure that out on your own.  The Yankee announcers are very uncritical.  SU assumes they are under orders to tone it down.

The NHL continues its perfect record with COVID tests.  MLB should do the playoffs in a bubble.  With no fans in the stands, what’s the difference?

SU agreed with Cashman not making any moves at the trade deadline.  This season is too uncertain – not worth mortgaging the future for this year.  Devi Garcia was electric in his debut on Sunday.  Put him in the rotation.  SU is convinced that Gerret Cole is tipping his pitches.  The Rays were not missing his fastball last night and he has given up a lot of home runs this year.  No one is talking about it but his stuff is too good to be belted around like this.

SU knows that many of you have written off the NBA and no longer tune in.  You are making a big mistake – especially in a COVID-19 world.   Look, I am the first person to say that I can’t stand watching James Harden play.  It physically pains me.  But there is a whole crop of young players who are lighting it up now in the playoffs.  Consider:

• Luka Doncic, playing on a sprained ankle, had a triple double yesterday and the game winning 3-pointer at the buzzer in OT for Dallas.  SU faves Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway, Jr. also had great games and the action was up and down the court all game long.  The 4th quarter and OT were great.
• If you stayed up last night, Utah outlasted Denver with Donovan Mitchell netting 51 and Jamal Murray 50 for the Nuggets.   SU caught the 4th quarter – really great stuff.
• The NBA has done an amazing job of piping in the crowd noise which makes it feel like the stands are full – it’s just that you never see them.  SU says the crowd noise is key as the announcers get excited to be heard over the crowd.
• Now, not all of the series have been close.  But for the series that are now tied at 2-2, in a normal playoff year, the home team has the advantage as 2 of the next 3 games are in their arena.  Not this year.  It makes for a whole new dynamic as there is no true home court – at least not that I can make out as I can’t tell if the home team crowd is louder than the opposing team’s.
• The games are in the 120s and the 130s – so much better than the 1990s Knick-Heat games in the 70s.  The Pat Riley of the 1990s would not be happy coaching now I don’t think.  Sure, there is little defense and no big men in the post anymore.  But when you have 7-footers like Doncic operating, who cares?
• Btw, Jeff Van Gundy made an excellent point yesterday that SU was thinking about also.  There is no reason that every kid cannot learn  how to use his or her feet the same way that Doncic does.  American born players can also learn and use the Euro step and it’s a huge advantage.  He finishes at the hoop with those long strides and it’s legal.  Dunking gets you on the highlight shows but learning the footwork will separate you from the pack.

SU stumbled across the Shut Up and Dribble series on Showtime last night.  Very interesting and well done.  It traces social activism and racism in sports going back 60 years.  Worth a look.

Tennis has started at the Western & Southern tournament at the National Tennis Center in NY and ESPN should pipe in the same crowd noise that they do for basketball but for tennis matches.  The quiet is not good.  SU says it’s easy enough to make some noise on a great shot.  We need to think outside of the box now.  The low TV camera angles are bad enough on some of the courts.

Finally, SU is happy to report that the Yankees have not placed any more players on the IL this morning as they had no games over the weekend.  Gleyber Torres, Paxton and one of the relievers all joined on Saturday.  As long-time SU subscriber, Jeff, commented over the weekend, it may be good to get the injuries out of the way now, but we all know the preliminary time estimates are always wrong.  Tight hamstrings and calf muscles are always susceptible for re-injury.  Not a good situation.

SU is back in the saddle after some enjoyable convention viewing.  I will buckle up now for American Carnage starting next week.  What is going on with the Yankees’ injuries?  They cleaned house last off-season with the training and conditioning staff but this season, as short as it is, has almost been worse than past years.  They lost Severino for the year in spring training, and then in the span of just a few weeks, down goes Kahnle, Stanton, Judge and LeMahieu.  Zach Britten goes on the IL with a hamstring issue and now Gleyber Torres has a tight hammy and Paxton has forearm tightness.

We know some of these guys are just injury-prone.  Clearly, the Generational One is although he tried to slim down this off-season but to no avail.  Judge also can’t stay healthy – injuries every year.  All of a sudden, the Yankees are in 2nd place and can’t beat the Rays who are a no-star, make contact team.  What a concept.  As a long-time Yankee fan, my reaction is that they roll out a lot of players with numbers in the 60s, 70s and 80s.  This is not a playoff contender.  You can easily absorb a sweep early in the season in a 162-game schedule but we are in a sprint this year and this counts for a lot more.  If the starters can’t go more than 6 innings, and you are down Kahnle, Britten and maybe Green (not available yesterday after 4 off days??) in your bullpen, this does not look good.  They are not winning games by a lot of runs so they need to pitch the top guys a lot.

The Yankees actually caught a break by having the Mets with some positive tests and at least one game canceled this weekend.  The reality is that a .500 record probably gets you into the playoffs this year so it’s no time to panic.  But for $250 million, you know Hal Steinbrenner must be scratching his head.

As always, it’s a great time for Tyler Wade to step up and take advantage of the opportunity but he just never does.  Clint Frazier has done that.

Four NBA playoff games yesterday.  The winning teams scored 111, 111, 111 and 109 points.  Just caught my attention.  NBA playoff games are outstanding.  They are really fun to watch and the networks have done a great job with the sound, lights and Zoom pictures of fans on the sidelines.  I will be interested to see how the NFL does this starting in September.

SU is sure that you all recognize that line from the move, Gladiator, where Russell Crowe asked the fans just that after carving up a bunch of opponents.  I have been asking myself this question after watching a few Yankee games this weekend.  The answer is “No!”  Not even close.  Let me tell you why:

• Sports is more than wins and losses.  As a fan, I want to be entertained and inspired, and I want to enjoy how the game is played.  Rolling out a bunch of big dudes who are only thinking about hitting home runs no matter what the situation is not fun or inspiring.  Guys on base, have a plan.   Watch where the shift is.  Make contact.  Move a runner over.  Some on this blog are happy with the record and if you extrapolate out, you have 100 wins in a full season.  Maybe.  But now the Yankees are 10-6 and face the truth: Tampa Bay is not a good match-up for the Yankees.  They roll out reliever after reliever who is over 6 ft. 7 inches tall and throws 97 mph.  And of course, they are all right-handed.  They can’t hit at all but aside from home runs, neither can the Yankees.
• SU will not get on Stanton.  He tried to lose weight and some muscle mass.  But clearly playing 7-inning games as the DH in a doubleheader was too much.  He pulled his hamstring running to 2nd base on a wild pitch.  The solution is to only hit home runs.  And take your time walking around the bases.  But they can slot in plenty of guys (Frazier, Ford) who might actually hit the other way.
• I don’t mind no fans – I have become used to it.  Michael Kay, Cone and O’Neill keep me entertained enough.  But every game must have 25 strikeouts and a ton of foul balls.  Just not interesting.
• The season just passed the quarter mark.  Judge, Urshela and LeMahieu are carrying the team.  But they can’t do it forever.  As the standings tighten up, we will see who rises to the occasion.

Looking like college football will be canceled without even trying to play any games.  SU says at least give it a shot.  The NFL is full steam ahead.  I get that once students return, there is no enforceable bubble.  It just seems like they should have tried.  But the major conferences are going to announce tomorrow apparently.  Bummer.

SU did watch the final round of the PGA in almost its entirety.  That was great.  So many players in contention.  Older guys, younger guys.  Brooks Koepka made the mistake of dissing Dustin Johnson on Saturday and came up very small Sunday.  Not a good move – and hey, this is golf.  You guys don’t talk smack like that.  He didn’t back it up.

Greetings from the wasteland of Westchester County, NY – home of thousands of people without power in the wake of Tropical Storm Isaias.  As they like to say in HBO’s Game of Thrones, we are all ready to “bend the knee” to Con Edison if they will please, please, please fix the down power lines and restore power.  Not their best moment this week.

Anyway, I digress.  Now that SU is in a hotel, lots of time to watch Yankee games.  SU has to agree with long-time subscriber (and prolific commenter) S. Goldman, that it is incredibly frustrating to watch hitters mindlessly step up to the plate and try to hit into the shifts.  It is just stupid when 2/3 of the infield is open every at bat.  And it’s especially frustrating when you are Gary Sanchez, Gleyber Torres or Aaron Hicks and hitting about .100.  They are daring you to go the other way and the way the ball flies in these smaller ballparks in the hot weather, well, there is absolutely no excuse.  SU no longer even knows who the batting coach is for the Yankees but please, get them to try it.

SU is thrilled that SU fave, Mike Tauchman, is finally getting regular at bats.  He does go the other way and can actually get a clutch hit here and there.  Andujar was sent down – too bad – but he was given a shot and in a 60-game sprint, you don’t have the luxury or the track record to be given more rope.  Sanchez and Torres do, and Hicks is a Cashman favorite and he doesn’t have to perform to get his at bats.  Just needs to show up and stay healthy.

SU did not comment on Giancarlo Stanton when he was hot (for the first 4 games) and now that he’s gone cold for the last 8 games I won’t comment either.  SU wishes the Generational One well and he can fly under the radar with Judge slamming home runs all over the place.  He will settle in at .252 at some point.

The Yankees’ record is deceptive with Paxton and Happ not pitching well at all.  You have to hope that Paxton’s arm strength will rebound to his historic level and that someone other than Happ can claim the 5th spot in the rotation.

The Cespedes Era is officially over for the Mets.  What a knucklehead.  SU still believes the Mets will get untracked this season and make a move but the clock is ticking.

I miss Didi Gregorius.  Should have been re-signed.

SU is enjoying the NBA games.  Love watching Duncan Robinson on the Heat and Trey Burke on the Mavs as they are both getting some minutes.  The playoffs will be entertaining.  Plenty of room on the bandwagon so get on board.

Nadal out at the US Open and Federer will miss as he is hurt.  Djokovic has not officially committed as of yet.  The issue seems to be traveling from Europe and getting some clarification if players will need to quarantine once they return to Europe after the Open is completed.  The schedule is very condensed and the French Open comes up quickly.  The USTA should pipe in the crowd noise the same way other sports have been doing that.  Makes a difference for the telecasts.

We have the PGA Tournament in SF this weekend and more baseball.  Enjoy the live sports action while you can as you never know when a few failed COVID-19 tests shut things down.

SU watched the Yankee game last night – even saw the end after the rain delay and dozing off.  Luckily, I coordinated my nap with the rain delay almost exactly.  Takes skill to do that.  A few thoughts:

• JA Happ must be happy about the shortened season so he doesn’t have to worry about giving up 50 home runs this year.  He is not to be trusted.
• There is something about the Yankees this year that makes them unexciting.  I think it’s a combination of pitchers taking too much time between pitches, catchers giving 127 signs for every pitch and guys striking out at a high rate.  Actually, if you scan many box scores so far, not a lot of scoring or base hits in most games.  Has the sport become waiting for the home run?
• So, managers now have a 30-man roster to play with.  SU likes that.  And with COVID, you know you are going to have games canceled all over the place.  It’s like playing outside in Miami or Seattle with the rain and no roof – not every game will be played if you didn’t have a roof.  Boone brings in Loaiziga after the rain delay in the 6th inning and makes him pitch 3 full innings.  He has a rested bullpen as the Yankees hardly ever play, and he has extra relievers as well.  I know there is the 3-batter minimum but why bring him out for a 3rd inning in the 8th protecting a 1-run lead?  Sure enough, he gives up a 2-run home run and if not for the heroics of Judge in the 9th inning, that’s a loss.  In a 162-game season, no big deal but in a 60-game season, big deal.  And no comments from Kay, Cone or O’Neil.
• Commissioner Rob Manfred has just ruled that Gary Sanchez’s at bats will no longer be televised.  Just too painful to watch and he doesn’t want to scare children watching him swing at low and away sliders over and over again.  Now, I know now that I have ragged on him, he will hit 2 home runs tonight against Boston.  He is red hot or ice cold.  But SU has tired of the act.

SU likes the SNY Met broadcasts showing fans in the bleachers and they have the cut outs behind home plate.  When you combine that with piped in crowd noise, a much better viewing experience.

MLB has announced that doubleheaders will start tomorrow with only 7 inning games.  SU says go for it!  This actually makes managing a lot more interesting with the challenge of when to take out your starter and how to manage relievers with 3-batter minimums.  Great idea.  Think about how Boone will manage JA Happ in that situation?  Boone will be limited to 7 innings to make up for any early deficit.  SU says late 1st inning is not too soon to take him out.

It’s annoying that the Astros have escaped the booing for their cheating the last 2 years.  Opposing teams need to be more creative with piped in booing.

SU watched some of the NBA game last night between the Lakers and the Clippers.  Good stuff.  Very up tempo and the viewing experience is good.  Ready to ramp up my NBA interest as they near the start of the playoffs.

It will be interesting to see what MLB does with the Miami Marlins.  SU does not know the full story but players need to be smarter with what they do and where they go away from the stadium.

Still hoping for college football this Fall.  But not feeling it.

SU is back from some R&R up in Cape Cod and has been checking out the baseball action.  Some early observations:

• SU likes the FOX broadcast where they (at least in Wrigley Field) show a fake crowd for any foul balls hit down the lines.  It’s a computer produced crowd of real people.  I suppose that they could also do this for home runs.
• The home ballparks are piping in crowd noise at the appropriate times.  Another good move.
• Too much A-Rod.  Ready to move on to the local broadcasters.
• SU hates the Yankee all right-handed line up.  Enough chatter of how big they are although Voit and Stanton clearly stayed out of the weight room for a number of months now.  Especially Voit who must have lost 50 pounds.  I can’t believe I am even saying this but they should start Tyler Wade at 2nd base and play LeMahieu at 1st base.  They have too many hitters that are clones of one another: Judge; Stanton; Sanchez; Voit; Hicks.  SU says it’s hard to win with only 2 left-handed bats in the line up (Hicks, Gardner).
• The Generational One is off to a great start.  The trick will be to keep him healthy now.  Paxton’s velocity on his fastball was down 5 mph from last year – not a good sign as he is still recovering from surgery on his back.  With Severino out for the year, one of the youngsters needs to step up.
• The Mets already had their first blown save from Diaz.  Glad to see him get that out of the way quickly.  SU says in a 60-game season, you cannot afford those nor the early exits like Paxton gave them last night.  You have to try and win every game.  Sure, the number of teams in the playoffs is expanded (which is great) but you also want to have home field for that first round 3-game series.
• Greg Bird was so bad in preseason that he did not make the Texas Rangers’ roster.  And to top it off, they have moved Todd Frazier from 3rd base to play 1st base.  Disappointing for SU but Bird earned it in his career.  No one to blame but himself or perhaps as some on this blog say he was never that good.

Bottom line: great to have baseball back and SU will ease into it.  But  Boone needs to sprinkle in the contact hitters to the line up like Tauchman and Wade (ugh, still hard to even say that).  Balance is key.

SU has tried to watch the MLS games but to be honest, I can’t hang in there for a 1-0 game.  I have watched several games and still have not seen a goal.  Excited about the return of the NBA.  SU predicts that with no fans in the stands, it will feel like a scrimmage and the pace of play will be very fast and up tempo.  Defense will be secondary.

Are you ready for some live games?  Or too funky for your tastes?

OK, so there is no love lost between MLB and the MLBPA.  No doubt there will be worse days ahead next year as they start to negotiate the next CBA.  But at least on paper we can now look forward to a 60-game season plus the post-season assuming COVID-19 does not interfere come the Fall.  SU has a few questions for you:

• Clearly, 60 games vs. 162 games requires a whole different strategy for managers and GMs.  Also, an accelerated spring training means you don’t want to burn out your big gun starters in July and August.  SU says this favors the teams with the strong bullpens.  Guys like Gerret Cole will be huge in October but you don’t want to mess them up with too many innings in the regular season.
• While a 60-game season is very short, it also means that managers can’t just blow off games by having starters chew up innings in lost cause games.  You need to get off to a good start to the season and every game matters.  It really does.
• What is the over/under for the number of games that Giancarlo Stanton plays?  SU puts it at 15.  He will immediately get injured in spring training in early July and then come back in September for the playoffs.
• The big wild card is COVID-19 and what happens if key guys test positive at any point in the season.  Btw, as a public service announcement from SU for the President, the “19” stands for the year 2019.  Sluggers can easily be replaced but your top starting pitchers can’t and being out for 14 days in October is the difference between winning and losing.  SU says teams need to really quarantine these guys in October – as in not having them in the dugout for games they are not starting and locking them  in their apartments.  Seriously.  And no more home run hugs in the dugouts.
• Should there be a Cy Young or an MVP this year?  Does a starter who goes 8-1 deserve an award?  SU says not.

Meanwhile, as a follow-up to the tennis tournament played in the Baltics the last 2 weeks, now Djokovic, his trainer, his wife, and 2 other ATP players have all tested positive.  So did the the Denver Nuggets star, Nikola Jokic, who attended the tournament in Belgrade.  What a mess.

The Yankees and Dodgers are the favorites to win it all from the Vegas experts.  The challenge for the Yankees is how to squeeze in all of their injuries in a 60-game season.  It will be interesting to see how the ratings are.  MLB lost a lot of fan goodwill over the past several weeks.  But fans are desperate.

So, any thoughts on the upcoming season?  We know long-time subscriber, S. Long, thinks there won’t be a season, and he may be right.  Anyone excited?

While all of the major sports and pro sports leagues are actively planning for the launching/relaunching of their seasons and major tournaments, there is not smooth sailing ahead.  Consider:

• SU fave Novak Djokovic created a series of 4 exhibition events in the Adriatic region where most COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted.  His first event last weekend in Belgrade featured packed crowds, no masks and players embracing at the net and partying at night bare chested in night clubs.  I mean: what could go wrong?  On the 2nd leg of the tour this past weekend in Croatia, first Gregor Dimitrov tested positive and now Borna Coric has also although he only played this most recent weekend.  One of Djokovic’s trainers also tested positive and Dimitrov’s coach.  And everyone else got tested yesterday except Djokovic who returned to Monte Carlo as he had no symptoms.  Sigh.  If you watched on the Tennis Channel (as SU did along with 9 others globally) you saw that the press conferences featured all of the players side-by-side, basketball and soccer pick-up games with the top players and other events.  Not smart.  The only positive is that they will now have the antibody which hopefully provides some immunity from getting the virus again (still not confirmed that will happen but hopefully is the case).
• Will the US Open now allow these players who tested positive to come in August?  They need to self-quarantine for 14 days when they arrive and the calendar will be tight.  The US Open may end up being the really, really US Open with only American players.
• Meanwhile, MLB and the Players’ Union in addition to screwing around with the number of games is starting to have players test positive down in Florida which is having its own outbreaks in certain parts of the state.  They closed all of the practice facilities this weekend for cleaning.  SU says train in your home ballparks. around the country.  Not too many states are fairing worse than Florida now.  Why send all of your players down there for 3 weeks?
• Which leads us to the NBA and MLS which is having a tournament for all of its teams in Orlando in 2 weeks.  Now, Orlando, at least for the moment, is not a hot spot in Florida although Disney is re-opening next month.  No doubt the NBA is now questioning if Orlando was such a great idea for this.  Perhaps pick a couple of other cities that have much lower numbers?  Arizona, Florida and Texas are all spiking as we speak.    Not an easy call for Adam Silver who is the most capable of the Commissioners.  Keep your eye on this.
• The PGA TOUR is doing well as is NASCAR with their early events aside from the noose found in Bubba Wallace’s garage.  What a country.
• We are a month away from NFL training camps opening and we will likely know quickly how that is going to work.   SU says you are going to have to really do a lot more testing in the camps.

Bottom line: time to really, really get into watching golf and become a NASCAR racing fan.  Hard to see how these other sports are going to pull this off in the coming months although we are all desperately rooting for them (with the exception of baseball fans who are no doubt getting annoyed with the delays).

Keep those Netflix/Amazon suggestions coming…

SU has been quiet of late but we have been monitoring the slow and uneven progress of major sports readying themselves for live action with no spectators.  The latest:

• MLB is playing a brinksmanship game with the players.  By delaying an agreement, it just continues to reduce the number of possible games for the regular season.  Assuming that teams need at least 3 weeks of spring training, we are now past July 4th for the start of a season.  At the moment, it feels like a 50 – 70 game regular season with the likelihood at the lower end of that range.  As a fan, is this satisfying?  SU says that baseball has lost some goodwill with the fan base and the sniping and arguing over player salaries will have an effect on fan interest.  Not a good look.  But SU predicts that they will make a deal at the last minute as there is some money to be made.
• The NBA will start which is great.  All games in Orlando with no spectators.  If you have ever watched the Summer League games in Las Vegas, it will look like that in small venues.
• Will there be a tennis US Open?  SU has been monitoring this one.  The USTA has proposed that all players will stay in hotels near LaGuardia Airport and must self-quarantine for 2 weeks when they arrive and only 1 coach can accompany a player.  Djokovic is already balking at coming and says most players will stay away and ready for the clay season in Europe in September.  I must say the prospect of staying 3 weeks at a LaGuardia Airport hotel would be enough to keep me at home!  Of course, the bigger reality is that New York City is viewed as the epicenter for COVID-19 and no one wants to come here.  Federer is now out for the rest of 2020 and Nadal is also saying he likely won’t come.  The lesser players need the money and they will come.  The USTA should be making a decision next week.
• Golf is coming!  SU predicts that they will move to having spectators fairly quickly at least down in Texas and Florida and there is talk of even in Ohio for the Memorial Tournament.
• MLS will have a tournament in Orlando and the NHL will  be launching in select cities that are being determined now.  NASCAR is already racing and will soon allow spectators in some venues.
• The NFL is still on schedule to open training camps in July and a lot is riding on that.  SU still does not understand how this will work but the experts are working hard at making this happen.
• Finally, SU is hoping that colleges and universities open and at least give it a shot this Fall.  You need the campuses to be open for games to be played.  Probably fewer spectators in the stands but it feels like the NCAA will go forward with a reduced schedule.

SU stopped reading the sports section weeks ago and would like to resume.

A few recent Netflix shows to recommend to you:

• Halt and Catch Fire: a 4-season AMC Network series on the launch of the computer industry in the 1980s and 1990s.  Excellent.
• Sex Education: very funny; British.
• Fleabag: a couple of seasons; also British.  Also funny.
• Red Oaks: takes place in a country club.  Very good.
• Bodyguard: good action
• The Wire: most of you probably already watched it.  Thank goodness for closed captions.  SU is only on season 1 but really enjoying it so far.

All for now.  Sorry for the delay and hope to be more active in the weeks ahead.