As I was born in ’79, that means my lifetime has been spent without an NBA team here in Charm City.

Despite that, I’ve always enjoyed the NBA.

The Lakers and Celtics 80’s rivalry isn’t something I personally recall, but I do have faint memories of discussions of Magic and Bird in school.

I remember having Jordan vs. Bird on a Commodore 64. 

I do recall watching the ’88 and ’89 Finals between the Lakers and Pistons; and those Bad Boy Pistons beating Jordan’s Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals.

’91 was the first of Jordan’s 6 Championships, and he dominated the sports world, living in the most rarified air.

’92 was the Barcelona Olympics, and the Dream Team.  I recall being on vacation with family, and taking the time to watch any snippets NBC provided – because it seemed unfathomable there could be that collection of talent on one team.

I’m pretty sure it was earlier in ’92, that I saw the Bullets vs. the 76ers (with Manute Bol) at the Baltimore Arena (now CFG Bank Arena).
I know that in the ’92-’93 season, I saw a rookie Shaquille O’Neil vs. the Bullets in Landover at the old Cap Center.

Jordan’s first title came against the LA, at the end of that Laker dynasty.
It was followed by wins over quality teams – Portland with Drexler, and Phoenix with Barkley.
Then Jordan steps away, and people my age will forever debate how those Bulls teams would have done against the back-to-back Houston championship teams*.

*(Jordan returned to action in late March ’95, and he was excellent… but he wasn’t completely sharp / dialed in after 21 months away. Yes, that Magic team with Shaq, and Penny beat the Bulls, and yes the Rockets dismantled the Magic…  but if Jordan hadn’t been away, I’m not sure he doesn’t go ahead and win 8 straight titles. Yes, he needed Rodman for the second 3 peat after having lost Grant. Yes, the Bulls would have had no answer for Olajuwon.)

The second Jordan 3 peat was more difficult than people seem to remember now.
The Supersonics with Payton and Kemp pushed Chicago.
The Jazz with Stockton and Malone were tough, demanding series.
Those were all better teams than remembered now, but Jordan took every challenge.

The early 2000s were the Lakers with their 3 peat – Shaq, Kobe, and Phil Jackson.
In the middle of that LA run, you have 17 year old LeBron James (a Junior in HS) appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated. 

Some great teams, with extended runs.
The Spurs won 3 titles from ’02-’03 to ’06-’07.
The Lakers and Kobe follow with 2 more titles, as he was now paired with Paul Gasol.
LeBron makes his decision, and joins Miami – going to 4 straight Finals with the Heat.
The last two series of that Finals run for Miami being against the Spurs.

Between the ’10-’11 season, and the ’17-’18 season, LeBron goes to 8 Finals in a row!
A remarkable achievement.

He faced off against Stephen Curry and the Warriors four successive years.
Golden State is in the Finals for 5 straight years, and wins their 4th championship since ’14-’15 in the ’21-’22 season.

3x MVP Nikola Jokic and Denver won their title in ’22-’23.

Last year we saw a terrific young Oklahoma City Thunder win their first title. Shai Gilchrist-Alexander has just won his 2nd straight MVP.

This year, we’re seeing the Knicks attempt to win their first title since ’73, facing off against Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs, who seem poised to battle back-and-forth with OKC for league supremacy for years.

An American born player has not won MVP since James Harden in 2018.
That is a pretty strong reminder that basketball is truly a global game at this point.
I’ll always be of the opinion that the Dream Team helped grow the game in global consciousness.

The US had a disappointing Bronze performance in Athens in 2004, but has won the last 5 Gold Medal’s in Men’s Olympic Basketball (Beijing, London, Rio, Tokyo, Paris).
Because of that run of Gold, some have suggested the US shouldn’t continue to send our best.
I think that would be a mistake. One, it’s become more difficult each cycle, as the overall world talent expands, and two – the Olympics are about the best of the best.
No reason to hold back.
Build your best team, and make someone beat you.

The NBA has further global aspirations, as it anticipates a 2027 launch of NBA Europe.
Remains to be seen what that will look like exactly, and for the existing EuroLeague.

All of that to say, I’m an NBA / Basketball fan.

Last night San Antonio won Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks will take a 2-1 series advantage into Game 4 tomorrow night, and I’ll be watching.

But as I watched last night, and I digested the latest talk about NBA Europe – I wondered if there was an opportunity for a group of owners to fairly instantly create the world’s 2nd best basketball league; and maybe an eventual challenger to the NBA?

I understand the ABA’s run from ’67 to ’76 was a different era, and that the NBA is in a completely different stratosphere today.

In that sense, building a new league with a goal of eventually maybe challenging the NBA sounds preposterous.

But building the world’s 2nd best league?
That seems potentially plausible to me for two main reasons.

Firstly, just like I’ve grown up without a team of my own, there are countless others in other markets who have had the same experience.
Secondly, the growth of the game globally means there is an abundance of available professional talent.

Could this work?

This was fun to think through, but I realize it’s not happening tomorrow, or likely ever.

But if I’m a billionaire in the aforementioned markets and I’m looking at that news about NBA Europe; I’d be interested in building an alternative.

The post Thought Exercise; Create The 2nd Best Basketball League appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

Yes, the season ended with a predictable dud. Though for once it was actually preceded by the most exciting pair of semifinal games we have seen in the CFP era. As usual, the regular season did not disappoint either. 

With that, I turn the page.

2023 is going to be a historical season, in that it will serve as the end of several eras. It will be the last season that concludes with a four-team playoff. It will be the last season Oklahoma and Texas play in the Big XII, and that USC and UCLA play in the Pac-12.

2023 will also make history with some new beginnings. BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF will have a seat at the Power Five table as new members of the Big 12. The Big Ten will debut a new TV package that features its best games on FOX, NBC and CBS, but for the first time since 1982, not on ESPN. We’ll see new rules implemented to (hopefully) shorten the time it takes to complete a game. Those rules include:

• The game clock will continue to run after first downs, except for inside the final two minutes of each half
• Teams will be prohibited from calling consecutive timeouts
• Penalties on the final play of the 1st and 3rd quarters will be enforced on the first play of the next quarter, rather than an untimed down

We’ll see how those new rules speed up the games. I think they could have, and will likely need to go farther to have a significant impact, but I welcome it as a starting point.

Now that spring practices have wrapped up, and the spring transfer portal window has closed, where do teams stand with their rosters? Over the next couple months we’ll still have a trickle of transfer news. April 30th was the deadline for players to get their name in the portal. To play this fall the players currently in the portal need only be enrolled at a new school in time to be considered eligible. The exact deadline varies by school, but in most cases to assure a landing spot and eligibility, players will need to make their choice in the next month or so.

Of course we cannot talk about the transfer portal without discussing Colorado. Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and the Buffaloes have become Exhibit A for those who think the transfer portal has ushered in an era of college football that will spell the sport’s doom. Let me address the latter part before we dive into the situation at Colorado.

I would ask those who believe this is ruining the sport what it was they liked about it in the first place. We always hear the mantra that what matters is the name on the front of the jersey and not the name on the back. That was typically directed at players, the stipulation being that their focus should be on the team, and not themselves as individuals. So what about us as fans? Should we be upset that the names on the back of the jersey change more frequently now, even though the name on the front will always be constant? When we root for our favorite team on Saturdays, is the end product we see really any different? Is learning a few extra names before the season that much of an imposition? I do not begrudge anyone their feelings and opinions on the matter. I would simply ask them to just think about those questions, and whether it’s really freedom of player movement that bothers them, or whether it’s just the inevitability of change that’s hard to process.

Okay, I’m done. On to Boulder.

Prior to the 2022 season, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin crowned himself the Portal King when he added 17 transfers. Kiffin would soon cede that crown, voluntarily, to then-new USC head coach Lincoln Riley, who flipped 21 players on his roster via portal departures and arrivals. Forward to 2023, and Coach Prime would outdo both of them, combined.

There were 84 scholarship players on Colorado’s roster at the start of the 2022 season. Only 13 of them remain as of this writing. 17 graduated. The other 54 exited via the portal. Many left of their own volition, but some were forced out in the days after spring practice ended. That last part is the dark side of college football no one likes to acknowledge. But before everyone piles on Sanders, that has been going on for a long time, even before new transfer rules allowed players forced out to not lose a year of eligibility before playing at their landing spot. Prime is simply shining a bright light on something most coaches would likely prefer we not see.

On the incoming side, 45 players have announced their intent to transfer to Colorado. Coach Prime believes the new players will be an upgrade. While that’s not a particularly high bar for a team that went 1-11 last season, one has to wonder whether there really is enough talent in the portal to flip nearly two-thirds of an entire roster and be a better team. Sanders has been able to land some players who will provide immediate upgrades; QB, and son, Shedeur Sanders, and DB/WR Travis Hunter, who was the #1 overall recruit in 2022, among them. I don’t think they are getting the quality and depth of players in the trenches they will need to be competitive. Despite all the attention surrounding the program since Sanders’ hire, Vegas has set the Buffs win total at 3 games. With a tough schedule both in and out of conference, I’m not confident in taking the over.

How about a post-spring practice Top 10?

1. Georgia – The Bulldogs lost a couple stars on defense, but should return a more experienced unit overall. Big question is the offense; can QB Carson Beck replace Stetson Bennett, and can OC Mike Bobo replace Todd Monken?

2. Michigan – The two-time Big Ten champions return most of their key pieces on offense, including QB JJ McCarthey and RB Blake Corum. There are a couple holes to fill defensively, but they should be a solid unit. Another favorable schedule would appear to have them in line for a third straight CFP appearance.

3. Ohio State – Replacing QB CJ Stroud won’t be easy, but Kyle McCord should benefit from a loaded backfield and receiver corps. The offensive line could be a concern though. Defensively they may have their best front since the era of the Bosa Brothers and Chase Young.

4. LSU – The Tigers got a nice present when QB Jayden Daniels returned for another season. He’ll have a bunch of receivers back and all five starters on the OL too. The defense is just as loaded. If they can just improve the special teams.

5. USC – Lincoln Riley once again loaded up in the portal. They needed to, in order to replenish an offensive line that saw a lot of turnover and a defense that was mostly just bad last year. Caleb Williams can cover for a shaky OL, but as we saw last year, he can’t overcome a lousy D by himself.

6. Alabama – A lot of eyebrows raised when Nick Saban hit the portal immediately after spring for former Notre Dame QB Tyler Buchner. He made it clear in his comments none of the others in the room seized the opportunity to replace Bryce Young. The defense is still loaded with studs, and new DC Kevin Steele should get the most out of them.

7. Washington – I’m not sure the Huskies are getting enough respect for as many players as they return from an 11-win team. QB Michael Penix Jr finally enjoyed a season of good health, and led the nation in passing yards. His two top receivers, Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillen will be back. The defense should be solid too.

8. Florida State – This might be the most talented FSU roster since Jimbo Fisher made the CFP in 2014. QB Jordan Travis, RB Trey Benson and WR Johnny Wilson form the core of an explosive offense, and the OL is no longer the Achilles heel it was for so long in Tallahassee. DE Jared Verse could have been a 1st Round pick in this year’s NFL draft, but he’s back instead.

9. Texas – Well, it finally happened. I got sucked in by the Texas hype vortex. But honestly, this Longhorn roster is loaded. QB Quinn Ewers looked more consistent in spring practice, and he has a plethora of weapons. The defense could use some more juice in its pass rush. There’s no reason they shouldn’t win the Big XII as they head out the door…though we’ve said this before.

10. Penn State – For the first time since the Todd Blackledge era, someone other than Sean Clifford will be quarterbacking Penn State. (Not really, but it does kinda seem that way, doesn’t it?) Drew Allar takes over, and he will have the benefit of an excellent backfield, led by Nate Singleton, and a pretty good line in front of him. The defense should be stingy as always, led by LB Abdul Carter.

Enjoy the rest of spring, and I’ll see you this summer with my conference previews.

The post College Football 2023 – Catching Up appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

Fast forward forty years, players represent Baltimore basketball on high levels worldwide; one in particular, Malcolm Delaney. 

The Malcolm Delaney Story is set to be released November 1 exclusively on the Fan-I Network.   Through Delaney’s perspective, the audience will get a chance to see what it is like to be a high-level European basketball star as he plays his final season with Italy professional basketball powerhouse, AX Olimipia Milano.

Delaney’s basketball career has earned him a reputation as one of the best to come out of Baltimore in recent memory. He was a part of a Towson Catholic squad that put the former Baltimore Catholic League school on the map, playing alongside McDonald’s All-American, Donte Greene.

In the documentary, Delaney travels through the life, times, and tragedies that led him to becoming one of the best players in Europe. He assures fans this is not a retirement tale but it could be his final season in Europe. 

Delaney career has come with injuries and with his businesses flourishing and a new sports bar opening in Baltimore, life after basketball seems more relaxing for the 11-year veteran compared to the grind of European basketball and its 10-month season.

I spent two weeks in Europe producing this documentary. A true once in a lifetime experience that didn’t take a lot of planning. A simple conversation with Delaney led to the Euro trip back in March. While this isn’t my first documentary, The Malcolm Delaney Story marks the brand’s first project on international grounds. It is also the first project where we have a theatrical release and world premiere.

Visit Fan-I.com for more details and release dates for the highly anticipated documentary.

The post Fan-I Sports Documentary On Malcolm Delaney appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

A total of six different outlets will broadcast Big Ten sporting events: Fox (their primary rights holder), CBS, NBC, Fox Sports 1 (FS1), Big Ten Network (BTN) and Peacock (the Big Ten’s first exclusive relationship with a streaming service). Notably missing from the list of broadcasters is ESPN, who announced they backed out of the bidding a week ago. It will be the first time since 1982 that ESPN has not held any rights to Big Ten sports.

For those wondering where and when they will see Big Ten football and men’s basketball once the new deal begins, here are the details as they have been announced so far. Keep in mind that the increase in the number of broadcasts after the first season is because of the additional inventory of games available once USC and UCLA join for the 2024 season.

Football

• Three over-the-air broadcast networks, Fox, CBS and NBC, will each have an exclusive window in which they will air Big Ten football games, consuming nearly 11 hours of Big Ten football on a major network. This closely mirrors the NFL’s weekly Sunday lineup. It is estimated that CBS and NBC are each paying $350 million per season for their package of games.

• Fox will air 10-14 games primarily in its favored noon ET window, immediately after its Big Noon Kickoff pregame show.

• CBS will air 7 games in 2023, then up to 15 games per season beginning in 2024, at 3:30pm ET. The reason for fewer games in ’23 is due to their pre-existing contract to air SEC games at 3:30 that ends with the 2023 season.

• NBC will air 14-16 games per season, most at 7:30pm ET, to be billed as Big Ten Saturday Night. Many weeks this game will follow NBC’s broadcast of Notre Dame home games.

• The three networks will spilt the Big Ten Championship Game, with Fox airing it in 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029, CBS in 2024 and 2028, and NBC in 2026.

• It is expected Fox will run a “draft” where the networks select all of the available inventory. As the primary rights-holder, Fox likely gets top pick each year, so expect Michigan vs Ohio State will always be on Fox at noon ET. That also means there will be weeks where CBS and NBC come away with the best game. There also could be weeks where broadcast windows are swapped. For instance, in 2023 and (presumably) 2024 Fox will probably want the Red River Rivalry game between Oklahoma and Texas, which it currently shares rights to with ESPN through ’24, in its prime noon window. To compensate, CBS could end up taking a Big Ten game in that noon spot, especially in 2023 when they would have an SEC game to show at 3:30. For NBC, they usually like to have one or two Notre Dame games in the prime time window, so they may switch windows with CBS occasionally as well.

• Fox Sports 1 will continue to air at least one game each week. What time slot is not yet known, though I think it unlikely they want to overlap with CBS and NBC’s windows, given what the conference was able to extract from them in money. I would wager most FS1 games will be in the noon ET window, but once USC and UCLA join FS1 could have several games a season in the late night window (10:30pm ET) as well.

• BTN will have 38-41 games per season in Year 1, and up to 50 games per season in the remaining years. They will likely continue to air their games in several windows throughout the day.

• Peacock will have 8 exclusive games per season, meaning they will not be available for viewing anywhere else. Peacock will also simulcast all games shown on NBC. Likewise all games on CBS will be simulcast on its streaming subsidiary, Paramount+.

• I have not yet seen confirmed reporting on Friday night games. I have good reason to believe that the Friday night games will at least continue as currently scheduled: one on each of the first six weeks of the season, and the Iowa-Nebraska afternoon game on Black Friday. I would not be at all surprised if there are 1-2 more games on Black Friday. That’s an opportunity for exclusivity that the Big Ten would probably like to jump on, even with Amazon having an NFL game on Prime that day. (EDIT: per The Athletic, there will be two games on Black Friday; an afternoon game on CBS and a prime time game on NBC)

Basketball

• Fox and FS1 will combine to broadcast 45-47 men’s basketball games in the 2023-24 season, and at least that many in subsequent seasons (again, there will be more games to show with USC/UCLA added). However, neither will be airing any Big Ten Tournament games, likely due to conflict with the Big East tournament which they hold rights to.

• BTN will have a minimum of 126 men’s basketball games annually, including eight Big Ten tournament games prior to the semifinals and championship.

• Peacock will show 32 men’s basketball games in 2023–24 (20 of them conference matchups) and 47 per season thereafter (32 conference games). They will also have an opening-night doubleheader of Big Ten tournament games.

• Both BTN and Peacock will have a heavy slate of women’s basketball games and Olympic sports.

• CBS will continue its long-standing relationship with Big Ten Basketball, showing 9–11 games in ’23–’24, increasing to 15 per season thereafter. Thirteen of those games from ’24 to ’30 will be conference games. CBS will also get the semifinals and championship game of the Big Ten tournament, as well as the women’s tournament title game.

In summary, this is a groundbreaking deal for a college conference. For all the criticism Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren has received since taking over – some justified, some not – he hit a home run with this deal. I mentioned above how this deal resembles the NFL’s broadcast structure, and it is no coincidence Warren came to the Big Ten after 21 years in the NFL.

The money will eclipse the SEC’s deal with ESPN that is set to begin in 2024, and the Big Ten will be able to go back to the market to renew their deal four years before the SEC’s next deal expires. It was estimated that the SEC’s new deal would distribute $40 million per year in TV revenue to each member; though that was before it was announced Oklahoma and Texas would join, so that number will certainly tick a little higher once they join in 2025, though nothing has been announced money-wise with regard to that. Meanwhile, the Big Ten will distribute an average of about $75 million in TV money to its member schools, which includes USC and UCLA once they join.

If you are a fan of a Big Ten school, today was a great day for the financial well-being of your school’s athletic programs.

The post The Big Ten’s New Media Rights Deal Has Been Announced appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

Tom Matte grew up in northeast Ohio (where he was a high school classmate with John Harbaugh’s mother), so it was natural for him to attend Ohio State. He was Woody Hayes’ starting QB for part of 1959 and the entire 1960 season, when Matte led the Big Ten in total yards and was second in rushing. That led the Colts to make him their #1 draft pick, #7 overall.

Matte became a regular starter in 1963 when Lenny Moore was moved out to WR, but when Moore came back to the backfield in 1964, Matte was again relegated to spot duty. In 1967, Matte began a streak of 42 consecutive regular season starts. Perhaps the highlight of his playing career was the 1968 playoffs, where he scored three touchdowns against Cleveland in the NFL Championship game and ran for 116 yards vs. the Jets in Super Bowl III, a performance often buried beneath the shocking result. Matte’s finest season was in 1969, when he led the NFL in total yards and rushing touchdowns.

Matte missed most of the 1970 season with a knee injury. He started every game in 1971, but was not the same, although he still contributed as a blocking back for Norm Bulaich. He was benched along with Johnny Unitas and several other veterans as part of GM Joe Thomas’ purge in 1972 and retired after being traded to San Diego following the season.

If the story stopped here, it would represent a solid playing career. He made two Pro Bowls, and although he never made the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the wristband he wore quarterbacking the 1965 playoff game (with the plays written on it by his wife) did. That does not explain, though, how he became such a beloved figure and a fixture of the Baltimore community.

That came after Matte had established a successful career in business. When the Colts snuck off to Indianapolis, Matte was one of the most outspoken former players decrying the move and disavowing any connection to the relocated team. He was one of the former Colts that helped make connections for the USFL Philadelphia Stars to move to Baltimore in 1985. Although they played at the University of Maryland instead of Memorial Stadium, Matte and other former players help promote the team to the Baltimore fans, and he was the color commentator on the radio broadcasts (a recurring theme as you will see shortly).

After the USFL folded in 1986, Matte spent time doing color commentary for Maryland football games, then was a driving force in Baltimore obtaining a Canadian Football League franchise in 1994. He wound up as a 10% owner of the team first named “CFL Colts,” then renamed Stallions after the NFL sued. Of course, he was also on the radio broadcast team.

Interestingly, he had family ties to Canada-his grandparents and father were born there, and his father played hockey in the NHL. Matte was drafted by the Toronto Argonauts, where his brother Bruce later played. In part due to his influence, the Colts Band and the Council of Colt Corrals pledged their support to the fledgling CFL team, which was a success both on and off the field in Baltimore.

When Art Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore for the 1996 season, there was Matte in his familiar place in the radio broadcast booth with Scott Garceau (also his partner for the Stallions) and as one of the ambassadors/cheerleaders helping the fans overcome the guilt of doing unto Cleveland what had been done unto Baltimore and connect with the new team. He was an early fixture with the Ravens franchise, staying in the booth for 10 years until the radio contract changed hands.

Overall, that’s a very impressive resume. Tom Matte was clearly the thread that connected all eras of Baltimore football. That still does not do him justice, though. Here are a few brief testimonials posted after his passing from people who knew him well.

• “I remember being so excited to meet him at Colts training camp when I was a kid. The way he embraced us was truly special.”-Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti
• “So when we came to town, one of the first people to welcome us were Tom and Judy Matte. We went out to dinner, and he was just a larger-than-life personality, and he’s the best.”-Ravens head coach John Harbaugh
• “You couldn’t be within five feet of Tom Matte and not smile…Everywhere he went, there were hundreds of fans in his wake. He was just that guy.” Channel 45 sports anchor Bruce Cunningham
• “We will remember Tom Matte for his ever-present smile & laugh. A friend to all & a Baltimore Colt for all time.”-Mark Viviano, Channel 13 sports anchor
• “A good running back who played with determination but a better man who lived with joy. You always smiled in his presence.”-Channel 11 sports anchor and Ravens play-by-play broadcaster Gerry Sandusky

I think this Maya Angelou quote sums it up, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Tom Matte left behind many unforgettable memories throughout the Baltimore community. May he rest in peace.

Fascinating Factoid(s) of the Week

Most of the pieces about Matte mentioned his passing statistics from the 1965 Western Conference playoff game at Green Bay-5 completions in 12 attempts for 40 yards in the 13-10 OT loss to the Packers. What often gets overlooked is his performance in the Colts’ subsequent game against the Dallas Cowboys.

From 1960-69, the NFL had something called “The Playoff Bowl.” It was actually a consolation game between the runners up in each conference, played in Miami the week after the Championship Game. Consolation games were very much in the sports culture of the time, and it gave the NFL another game to broadcast nationally.

Baltimore and Dallas were matched up on January 9, 1966. This was the first post-season activity of any type for the Cowboys, while it had to be a tremendous let down for the Colts. So, of course, Baltimore wiped the field up with Dallas, handing them a 35-3 before over 65,000 fans at the Orange Bowl, the largest crowd that game ever drew.

By default, Matte was still manning the QB position. Colts coach Don Shula reportedly said to his team before the game “I’m going to turn Matte loose, and I don’t know what’s going to happen.” Good things, as it turned out; he completed 7 of 17 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns, both to Jimmy Orr.

One would think that his QB experience would have made Matte more dangerous running the halfback option in later years. Not so much-he completed only 2 of 13 passes with one interception over the remainder of his career.

I bumped my piece on the Ravens’ prime time history to honor Tom Matte this week, but I will share that with you next week. Until then, you can follow me on Twitter @jimjfootball and remember; it’s okay to look back as long as you live forward!

The post Tom Matte: Mr. Baltimore Football appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

Since we’re all primetime now, seems like a good time to look back (that’s what I do) at Baltimore’s history of football after dark. This week I’ll focus on the Colts, and later in the season I’ll review highlights of the Ravens’ nighttime contests.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

The Colts were reborn in 1953, and back in those days Saturday night games were a thing. The Colts played four of them in each of their first three seasons, then settled into hosting a Saturday night game in week 2 of the 1956-59 seasons. Baltimore then hosted the Cardinals on a Monday night in 1964 when their game was bumped from St. Louis due to the World Series. The Colts were actually the visiting team in their 47-27 win. Both of Baltimore’s games with Green Bay in 1966 were played on Saturday night, and their game with Philadelphia in 1969 was bumped to Monday night due to the 1969 World Series (the less said about that here the better).

Did you know that Baltimore hosted the second ever ABC Monday Night Football game? It was, to put it politely, a disaster even before the game was played. First, there was a contract dispute with the Orioles about using the stadium on that night. Back in those days, most NFL teams shared stadiums with their city’s MLB team, with the baseball team usually either the landlord or prime tenant.

In Baltimore, the Orioles had a clause that prohibited any other team from using the field within 36 hours of a scheduled baseball game. The Colts ran afoul of that clause with this Monday night game coming less than 24 hours before a scheduled doubleheader with the Washington Senators. However, the same agreement contained a clause that guaranteed the Colts use of Memorial Stadium any day after the last Sunday of September, which fell on the day before this scheduled game. Unable to find common ground, the two sides wound up in court on September 11th and the Colts received a favorable ruling on September 17th, but with conditions.

The Colts were required to leave the backstop and foul poles up, and the field was pushed out about 30 yards further from the closed end. It was a bad time to have lower deck end zone seats. This also placed the back of the end zone beyond where the pitchers’ mound was, allowing the ground crew to keep it intact. The end zone at the open end of the stadium was extended well out beyond the warning track and was kinda dark.

Turns out, the Colts would have been better off losing in court because they proceeded to get hammered on the field.

This was billed as a glamour matchup, the defending Super Bowl Champion Chiefs vs. Johnny U and the Colts. There was one key number that night-11. Yes, 11 turnovers, with Baltimore contributing 7! Unitas had one of the worst games of his career, working to a passer rating of 6.4, 5-15 and 2 picks. Earl Morrall came in to finish it off with three more interceptions. The Colts trailed 31-7 at halftime and lost 44-24. Baltimore shook it off though, only losing once more that season on their way to winning the turnover infested Super Bowl V and never hosted a Monday Night game in September or October again.

The Colts’ most memorable season of Monday Night games came in 1978, when they made three appearances with three wildly different outcomes. Baltimore drew the opening Monday Night game that year, travelling to Dallas to take on the defending champion Cowboys. Unfortunately, QB Bert Jones, only two years removed from an MVP season, had separated his throwing shoulder in the final preseason game. That gave precious little time for backup Mike Kirkland to prepare for not only his first start but his first game experience in the NFL.

Kirkland at least broke double figures with a 24.2 QB rating (still abysmal). He got precious little help from anyone, really. The Colts were outgained 583-181 and fell 38-0 in a truly non-competitive effort. A Cowboy rookie enjoyed much better success in his debut that night-Tony Dorsett. He turned one of the first touches of his career into a 91-yard touchdown pass and had 254 combined yards from scrimmage. Kirkland would make only one more start that season and was out of football at the end of the year. Dorsett, of course, would wind up in the Hall of Fame.

Imagine the horror ABC executives must have felt afterwards when they glanced at their upcoming schedule and saw Baltimore coming up again in only two weeks in New England. The Patriots would supplant the Colts atop the AFC East in 1978 after losing out to them on the final week in 1977, and there was little reason for anyone to expect a much better game there than the opener, especially after Miami whipped Baltimore 42-0 in week 2.

They overlooked one thing-the Colts had Joe Washington. He had only recently joined the team, coming from San Diego in the Lydell Mitchell trade, and was ready to bust loose big time.

Head Coach Ted Marchibroda had quickly moved on from Kirkland to QB Bill Troup, who was in his fourth year with Baltimore but had only thrown a total of 20 passes in the first three. Troup had started the debacle against Miami, so there was no where to go but up. He did, at least on that night.

The teams slugged it out in the first half, with the Patriots leading 13-7 at the break. As the weather deteriorated from steady into driving rain, the game took a wild turn in the fourth quarter, the Patriots still holding on to their 13-7 lead.

The teams combined for six touchdowns in the final quarter, with Joe Washington having a hand (or legs) in three of them. He gave the Colts the lead with a 54-yard touchdown pass to Roger Carr, then scored on a 23-yard pass from Troup, who then connected with Carr for a 67-yard score. Touchdowns on three consecutive possessions was pretty heady stuff for a team that had only scored one in its first eleven quarters.

This staked the Colts to a shocking 27-13 lead, but the Patriots stormed back in the storm to even the score at 27-27 with less than two minutes to go. Washington saved his best for last, returning the ensuing kickoff 91 yards, splashing as he want, to put the Colts back in front 34-27. Baltimore held on to secure the win with an interception in the end zone with :15 left in the game.

The Colts’ final Monday Night appearance in 1978 didn’t have the action of that fourth quarter in Foxboro, but it made up for it with melodrama, a game the Baltimore Sun referred to the next day “as tense and thrilling a game as the …fans…will see.”

Bert Jones made only his second start of the season at QB that night, having not even been able to finish the first quarter in his previous attempt three weeks earlier before reinjuring his shoulder. The Redskins came in battling for first in the NFC East, having won their first six games but eventually ending up 8-8 and missing the playoffs.

Washington moved out to a 10-0 lead before Jones got the Colts moving. A 19-yard touchdown pass to Reese McCall cut the deficit to 10-7 at halftime, then the magical connection of Jones to Roger Carr started working. Carr caught a 78-yard touchdown pass from Jones to put the Colts ahead 14-10. Later in the third quarter, Jones took a hit and came off the field with his right arm hanging limp. Washington seized the momentum with a touchdown march that put them back up 17-14.

Amazingly, Jones returned to the field and threw the game winning 27-yard touchdown pass to Carr, a feat that the Sun said marked Jones “as one of the guttiest players to play on the Stadium turf.” Given that was where Unitas had demonstrated many acts of valor in days past, that was high praise indeed. Jones would play the next week in a win at Seattle but would yet again reinjure his throwing shoulder and sit out the rest of the 1978 season.

That Redskin game marked two milestones, unknown at the time. First, it was the last game Washington quarterback Billy Kilmer would ever start, and it was the last time the Baltimore Colts would appear on Monday Night Football, somewhat merciful considering how those last five seasons played out.

The Colts would wind up with an 8-4 record on Monday Night Football, and certainly finished with a flourish.

Fascinating Factoid of the Week:

Joe Washington’s heroics in the 1978 Monday night win at New England made him still the only player in NFL history to rush for a touchdown, catch a touchdown pass, and return a kick for a touchdown in the same game.

The Ravens have a game coming up next week with the Chargers. While there is not really a rivalry between the teams, they have played two games with memorable finishes, Darren Sproles being stuffed on 4th down in 2009, and “Hey Diddle Diddle, Ray Rice Up the Middle,” in 2012. I’ll take a look back at both games next week.

Until then, you can keep up with me on Twitter @jimjfootball and remember, it’s good to look back as long as you live forward.

The post A Look Back: Baltimore Football in Prime Time – The Colts appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

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Let’s go back to the start. In another life, I enjoyed my job as a TV sports producer. Walking into the control room one evening, I felt this sensation that zapped up my spine and produced seemingly more electricity in my body than my monthly bill. It shook me. I played it off as a joke. I went to my primary doctor a few days later. Not once did anyone say the word “cancer.” There wasn’t a playful “c-word” or anything. I never thought about it because it wasn’t in my orbit. On a brilliantly bright Saturday morning, I received a call from my doctor on my way back home after spin class. Words like “oncologist” and “lymphoma” came off his tongue effortlessly. He kindly said he was sorry. I spent the rest of the day on the phone with family and friends. I tried not to cry on every call. I failed each time.

In between the biopsies and my port placement, I took a number of field trips to the Emergency Department. That’s one of the ways you can tell the veteran patients from the rookies. It’s not called the ER officially. Pain followed from the cancer that grew inside me. During the 2018 Winter Olympics, I produced a nightly pre-game show. Who knew that a PETScan would ruin my pet project? On the final Friday of the games, I should’ve received a battery of tests. I didn’t get past the first one. The cancer decided to eat some of my bone to get my attention. Spoiler: it did. I ended up with a fractured hip and needed immediate surgery. Let’s review. I had a fracture for a period of time (at least a week) and kept on plugging at work. It’s the Olympics after all! It was also remarkably stupid. An opioid became the only thing that gave me some relief. I’m sure some interesting sentences came out of my anchors lips that week.

Meeting a gem of a doctor on the other side of town, we arranged for a Monday morning date in the operating room. I signed my life away for the first of many times, got a pair of crutches with instructions and received strict instructions to stay in my apartment that weekend. I didn’t follow them very well. I can’t bold or underline how much I love working in television. It’s the only place I’m extremely comfortable. It’s my house. Having recently diagnosed with “maybe cancer,” I took a risk and spent that Saturday at the TV station and even went out for dinner with a friend afterword. Is it dumb? Yes. Would I do the same thing again? Absolutely. I know that I excel in producing television and would risk something bad happening to do another show. It’s just something that gets in your blood and seeps down to your marrow. Call me crazy – but that’s my call and I’ll live with the results. In this case, the show turned out fine, dinner was delightful and on Monday morning I picked up a metal plate and two screws in my left leg that I can feel every now and again.

Time to jump back in the hospital. I spent a week under evaluation for pain, night sweats, fevers and overall fatigue. Classic symptoms of Hodgkins Lymphoma. My oncologist called it Hodgkins Lymphoma. Guess who didn’t? The person at the Mayo Clinic who reviews biopsies and other tests. I finally found out my ailment: Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis(LCH). I received my first dose of chemotherapy in April. The drug of choice? Cytarabine. A specialist in Texas – one of the best in the LCH field in the world – wrote many articles on this chemo drug and called it a jackpot to cure LCH. It turned out to be two bars and a cherry. One cycle of this drug is five infusions (usually Monday – Friday) followed by a rest period. After every two cycles, a PETScan shows improvement or otherwise. We took all of our cues from the doctor in Texas. His record speaks for itself and the flow chart would read “specialist suggests drug to local oncologist who goes over with patient.” It turned into a bumpy ride. I also want to say that the following wasn’t the fault of anybody. Cancer acts as an incredibly tough disease and the cures for it are educated guesses at best. That’s not belittling oncologists. I got very lucky that my onc not only read the cold facts, but came into every meeting with a warm heart. He’s seen me cry a dozen times. He saw me throw a first pitch at an Orioles game. He’s been with me the entire time. Sure, there were many times I wanted to yell at him (and a few times I actually did) but he was always there and still is. I got extremely lucky with Ari Elman as my oncologist.

Cytarabine didn’t work. The scan after two cycles showed some improvement, but not really enough to ring a bell. The train came off the track after four cycles. We went back to the bullpen and started on Cladribine. The end result mirrored Cytarabine, except for one side effect. The amount of vomiting seemed like a “Saturday Night Live” skit. Except this wasn’t delivered by Will Ferrell. The volume of trips to the bathroom did, at a certain point, make me laugh for how ridiculous the entire experience had become. Let’s get all the other pleasures of cancer some might find gross out of the way at this point. This includes any side effect from the flu, a couple of chipped teeth, a cavity, mouth sores, warped vision in my left eye for a short period of time and needles. Lots of needles. Conservatively, I’ve gone through one hundred needles. When you add up all the time my port became accessed, sticks in my arm for blood draws, triage in the Emergency Department and the unusual double needle for a CT test with contrast. I’ve probably missed some – and would rather not think about it.

Two chemotherapy agents down. Ari suggested I visit Houston and that LCH specialist I mentioned earlier. My brother Bob came along with me and we snuck in two Astros games in our two day trip to Texas. Bob, who just welcomed his first child into the world, is six years younger than me and my best friend. Even though he’s moved down south, we still keep in touch frequently. I vividly remember eating Chick-fil-A in the cafeteria before meeting the specialist and that period of about two hours seem like a week. It’s an absolute blessing Bob accompanied me on the trip. The specialist basically said I would be fine and to continue Cladribine and then start on Clofarabine. I’m purposely not putting the name of the specialist out there because of one tiny detail.

He was wrong. Technically, the blame probably goes on the Mayo Clinic. They read my biopsy as LCH. When the Clofarabine made me sicker and put me on the frequent hospital visit program, I knew something was going on and it wasn’t positive. It got worse. All summer long, I waited for an oral chemotherapy pill to arrive. It took three months. I used it for three days. I’ve never felt closer to death. Nothing felt comfortable. My side effects morphed into main effects and I couldn’t hold down any food. This was a particularly brutal stretch for me and my father.

Dad moved into my apartment that summer. This is still before the pandemic. Dad would get ice cream and we’d talk about life. These conversations will shape decisions I make in (hopefully) the next couple of decades. In a macabre way, these talks were blessings in disguise. The help I received from the rest of my family and friends was remarkable. Let me tell you how checking in with someone who has cancer goes. Everyone makes you feel good at the beginning and gives you a lot of things. Half of these people stop right there. I’m still unsure of the reason. Maybe it’s fear of potentially bothering me. Maybe it’s not accepting that I could die.

Oh, by the way, I didn’t have LCH. After another biopsy, Mayo Clinic reported back that I had Hodgkins Lymphoma. Whoopsie. The next two courses of chemo was so rough that they had to put me on a much lighter drug – but it worked. I’m officially no evidence of disease (NED). This technically means that I’m cured. It also means that the cancer can come back at any time.

I slowly phased out of my job as a sports producer. It’s a dream gig that I had for 15 years and would go back in a heartbeat. From covering the Super Bowl in 2013 to baseball playoffs and even a Stanley Cup Final during chemo, I’ve gotten a great seat to Baltimore’s biggest sports moments since the turn of the century. I even received an award along the way. The good folks at the Maryland Jockey Club gave me the Old Hilltop Award. It’s an honor given to those who cover horse racing. It’s a list I probably don’t belong on, but I’m thrilled to be a part of it. I’m also proud to become a part of Baltimore Sports and Life. Even though I’m just starting out, they’ve been nothing but welcoming on this website.

I’ve left out details from my mental status to my nurses (love you, Judy) to how many tubes of medicine hung around my bed. That’s enough for an entire other article. I will say that I’m down to just three prescriptions – and that’s a win for me. There were a lot of wins on this insane road I hope no one who reads this takes. As for me, I’m happy getting my port out and watching March Madness shortly. I think I’ll root for the Cinderella team.

The post I Just Wanted To Watch Golf appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

In anticipation of a potential playoff series clinching Game 5 against the Orlando Magic, the clock struck 4:00 P.M. with not a single Milwaukee Bucks’ player in sight. Then at 4:13 P.M. a Woj bomb like no other hit the Twitter sphere as esteemed ESPN NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski delivered the news that the Bucks would be boycotting the game in the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting in Wisconsin. This would be just the first of many dominoes to fall.

Later that day the NBA announced that all three games that were scheduled to be played Wednesday afternoon would all be postponed. Other leagues like the WNBA, MLB and NHL would follow suit, boycotting their games in favor of showing their support of the NBA players decision.

WNBA players lined up along the court spelling out “Jacob Blake” on their t-shirts with seven bullet holes in the back to represent the incident in question. The Seattle Mariners as a team unanimously decided not to play on Wednesday night against the San Diego Padres. Even young tennis star Naomi Osaka joined in, choosing not to play in the semifinals of the Western and Southern open going as far as to say, “Before I am an athlete, I am a black woman.” With players across a multitude of sports leagues, America’s pastime has now become the beacon of social change.

For those who may not be aware, we have never in American history had a turn of events like this in the sports world. We have seen the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 make history by coming back from being down 3-1 to the Golden State Warriors to end the 52-year pro-sports championship drought for the city of Cleveland. We have seen the New England Patriots complete the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history by overcoming a 25-point comeback against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51to secure quarterback Tom Brady’s sixth NFL championship. But this historical movement is bigger than some championship drought or some Lombardi trophy.

This movement would be the first time that a sporting event was canceled or postponed due to a boycott/protest against social injustice. The closest thing we have seen to this is came back in 1961 in Lexington, Kentucky when the Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell led a boycott against playing in a preseason exhibition game in response to him and some of his other African American teammates being denied service in a local coffee shop at their team hotel. Although they chose not to play, the game of course still continued. This movement brewing in 2020 reaches far deeper than that. The entire sports world on pause for 24-48 hours. The entire world watching as their favorite players of various sports chose not to play all in favor of the same goal: Racial Equality.

As a member of the African American community I can openly say that I am proud of these players for what they have done. Can you end racial inequality in a day? Of course not. Will Caucasian police officers stop hurting and killing unarmed African American men just because a couple of players stopped playing? I cannot say that that is true either. But what I do know is that these players have caught the attention of these professional team owners and they are the ones who truly can help lead the charge towards social reform.

These wealthy team owners are not just billionaires. They are heirs to historically renowned families. They are sponsors and even friends of particular political figures. The kind of power that they use to help put money in their pocket is the same power that could build a bridge between the African American/minority community and the politicians needed in order to develop the social reform this country needs.

I am no politics wiz and will not try to pretend that I know what needs to happen next. I am not even sure if the players  know exactly what the next steps need to be because being a professional activist was not what these men and women worked their whole lives to become. But the platform they have gained and are using has caught the eyes of many in route to what I hope will be our first move towards further social equality.

Earlier today on Fox Sports’ show “Undisputed” hosted by sports analysts Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson joined their show and made a strong point that I feel would be good for most to hear. He said, “They accumulated visible capital, the capital of attention. We live in a political economy of attention…They broke through this iron cage of media to deliver a message that ‘We are not going through with business as usual.’”

Today marks the 57^th anniversary of the March on Washington in which Martin Luther King jr. gave his famous “I Have A Dream Speech.” As we celebrate this glorious day that represents so much in the furthering of the country’s journey towards social equality we must all realize that this is only the beginning, but it is most definitely the beginning of the emergence of a sports atmosphere like we have never seen before. 

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