Is the Story of Sports the Story of Injuries?

 A lot has happened to the teams I follow in just a few weeks. The Pittsburgh Steelers were ignominiously defeated by the Houston Oilers in their wild card playoff game, and after 16 years at the helm, their Coach Mike Tomlin retired.  The subsequent hiring of veteran Mike McCarthy as head coach was controversial, as is the prospect of Aaron Rodgers returning as quarterback. Not exactly a youth movement.

The San Francisco 49ers won their wild card game by defeating the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, but were blown out in the divisional round by this year's eventual Super Bowl winner, the Seattle Seahawks. Another season of injuries, for one thing, finally caught up to them.

In the NBA, the Golden State Warriors were winning again when a season-ending injury to key player Jimmy Butler threw the season into disarray.  Steph Curry didn't play either for the last several games before the All-Star Game break due to lingering knee pain. 

 As the trade deadline loomed ahead, anticipation was high for a trade of unknown proportion to get Giannis from Milwaukee.  But he stayed put, and instead the Warriors traded Jonathan Kuminga (currently injured) and Buddy Hield to Atlanta for big man Porzingas, who is also dealing with illness and injury but is expected to play after the break.  It seems that these days the story of sports is the story of injuries.

The Dubs also sent Trayce Jackson-Davis to Toronto, where he immediately had the most productive game of his career. Two-way player Pat Spencer was hired for the full time Warriors roster, just after the most productive game he's had so far in his career.

With these changes the Warriors didn't exactly get younger, but they did free up rotation spots for their younger players, like Spencer and Santos.  Even without Curry and Butler, this team played some spirited games, and even scored the biggest fourth quarter comeback for a victory this season.

All of this change for the Warriors was accompanied by a public reappraisal of this season's possibilities--just get in the playoffs and maybe make some noise.  Nobody is saying it's a championship team, especially without Butler (he may miss the first half of next season as well.)  More change may be in the offing after the season, but the rest of the season will likely have an effect on what those changes are, including whether Coach Kerr will come back.  If Porzingas and Steph can stay healthy--a big if--how this new dynamic works or doesn't will probably say a lot about what happens.  

I'm not likely to follow the Steelers and 9ers all that closely through the off-season or even when their season begins,  but I like this Warriors team and how they play, so I'm going to savor the remaining games this spring.  I'm especially looking forward to something nobody talks about--the Golden State Warriors debut of Seth Curry. 

The Steelers Crap Game Win, and Anthony Davis, Seriously?

 Before the Pittsburgh Steelers host Houston in their first home playoff game in six years at whatever they are calling Heinz Field these days (and nobody in Pittsburgh will ever call it anything but Heinz Field), that Steelers-Ravens game--essentially a winner take all playoff game-- merits some comment before it fades into history.  

Some playoff games, like the Rams-Panthers Wild Card game, are contests of skillful big plays.  But the Steelers-Ravens game was a contest of decisive mishaps.  Despite subsequent praise, the game announcers didn't think Lamar Jackson had a very good game, and Aaron Rodgers was adequate, especially given a nearly non-existent pass rush. 

But the game was decided by goofs.  Jackson's two big touchdown throws were to receivers that were so wide open there was nobody else in the TV picture, especially between them and the goal line.  If they weren't nearly identical blown coverages, then they were defensive design malpractice.  Meanwhile, Rodgers threw what turned out to be the deciding touchdown pass to a receiver wide open because his defender slipped on the field.

Then after that touchdown, the kicker who hasn't missed an extra point for years, missed one.  That miss meant that Baltimore could win the game with a field goal.  Back on the bench, that kicker had to be contemplating the humiliation of spending the whole off-season as the villain.  

But even though the Ravens got great field position on the ensuing kick-off and marched fairly easily down the field to within pretty easy range for today's kickers, their rookie kicker missed it.  That unlikely miss made the Steelers the division champs and sent the Ravens home, probably contributing to the firing of Baltimore's long-time head coach days later.  Now the missed extra point is utterly forgotten, and that kid in Baltimore is going to have a long off-season. 

I don't mean to demean the efforts of players on either side.  Steelers-Ravens games are always hard fought. But some games look like battles of skill.  That one looked like it was settled by rolling the dice.

Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors are being told over and over that they aren't going anywhere this year.   Nevertheless, with two of their veterans back from injury, they are winning a lot more than losing.   And Seth Curry's injury is to be reevaluated this month--they could use his shooting. 

But winter trade season is coming up fast, and Jonathan Kuminga is superglued to the bench.  He's said not to be pouting and playing hard in practices, but it does seem odd that the two times he was most likely to be in the lineup, he came up with a new injury. Could be coincidence.  

Still, it's a big mystery whether the Warriors can get a trade they like.  The sports savants suggest the trade market may not be advantageous until after the season.  So while some clamor for a big trade--and commentators like Bill Simmons hold forth from apparent ignorance--the Warriors may not make major moves.  Though I'd expect them to do something to make room on their roster for Pat Spencer full time. 

The trade rumor that puzzled me the most was the repeated suggestion that the Warriors wanted Anthony Davis.  Somehow I have more respect for the intelligence of the Warriors front office than to believe they seriously considered trading for another older and frequently injured player as Anthony "Street Clothes" Davis.  One recent story however said that Davis' latest injury, which ends his season, would kill that trade, if it had ever been a real possibility.  Really--as if Dallas wasn't a clear cautionary tale, especially if you want to keep your job.  Of course I don't know, but I'd be very surprised if the Dubs trading for him was anything but another Internet viral delusion.

Back to the NFL: in their playoff game, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the defending Super Bowl champs, the Philadelphia Eagles, despite losing yet another key player to injury, tight end George Kittle.  Unfortunately, their next game is against the favorite to win it all, the Seattle Seahawks.  But even if they lose that one, they'd come farther than most believed they could, which makes Kyle Shanahan a coach of the year candidate.

The Steelers play at home, but they face Houston's pass rush, and that is expected to be the key to the game.  But of course it will be something else.

Mid-December with the Warriors, Niners, Steelers, Etc.

The Golden State Warriors managed to survive the worst part of their schedule, the first 24 games or so, with numerous back-to-backs and road games.  But barely.  They had two shocking and brilliant wins over San Antonio on the road--in the same week.  And they ended this phase with two remarkable wins, on the road against Cleveland and Chicago, both without injured Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Al Horford and (for one game) Jimmy Butler.  But they came out of it having won just one more game than they lost.

After their first real break of a few days (thanks to their failure to move on in the in-season tournament), they started what some observers are calling the most crucial part of their season--a long stretch of mostly home games.  They need to do well during this stretch to become competitive with the best teams in a loaded conference, they say.

The first two games did not go well.  Steph Curry returned and scored 39 points against Minnesota and 48 in Portland--and the Dubs lost both games, falling behind in closely fought games with cold shooting and defensive lapses in the fourth quarters. 

After the Minnesota game Coach Kerr questioned the defense, and after the Portland game he questioned the effectiveness of his own coaching.  The You Tube and podcast coaches came out in droves to tell him what he was doing wrong. Many probably pointed to moving away from Pat Spencer, the sudden star of those last road wins.

Meanwhile Jonathan Kuminga has disappeared from the rotation, and the sense that come trade time in mid-January he will no longer be on the team is becoming for many a near certainty.  That was easy to defend after wins.

The Warriors are a puzzle.  They can look brilliant and surprising, and they can look bad and overmatched.  The league has become more athletic than they are, and sometimes their smarts and skills are good enough to win.  But so far, only about half the time.

Meanwhile OKC is flying high in an historic season, and it seemed no one could defeat them until San Antonio did, to deny them the in-season tournament championship.  But they seem built for this moment the way the Dubs were in 2015.  Still, injuries to key players continue to be an almost absurdly regular feature of the NBA, to the point that it is useless to even speculate how teams will end up.

In the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers are seemingly overcoming their continued bad luck injuries with a series of wins.  They looked particularly strong on both sides of the ball against the Titans to win their 10th game.  The Pittsburgh Steelers are almost as mystifying as the Warriors.  They seemed pretty much done until they came up with a fairly dominant win against their closest rivals, the Baltimore Ravens.  But a bizarre injury to their key defensive player again puts their season in doubt.

The story that interested me in college football was Notre Dame, having been denied a chance to compete for a championship in a highly controversial decision, pulled the plug on a Bowl game.  Too many of their star players would sit it out for fear of injuries before the NFL draft.  I watched several Notre Dame games during their 10 game winning streak, and much of the time they looked like an NFL team competing against college boys.  

That it's becoming all about money is understandable to me from the players' point of view--it's their chance for financial security they could probably never attain in any other way.  But the role of money in the big time colleges is something else again, and it would not surprise me that this has something to do with why Notre Dame got locked out.  

Injuries because of greedy NBA owners, the violence, brutality and devastating injuries of NFL and now college football, and the greed associated with them all, really requires enough denial to further inhibit my enjoyment of these sports. 

Starting the Long Season

 The Golden State Warriors have a hellish schedule to start the season: several back to backs, several three games in four nights, and now a dozen road games more or less in a row.

They were up to the challenge of the first two back to backs, winning four games against competitive Western Conference teams.  Coach Kerr refused to cite fatigue in their first road loss in Portland, but the fatigue was evident in Milwaukee and among the veterans in Indiana.  In Tuesday's home game they righted things against Phoenix, but now the road and Kerr's more careful load management is ahead.  

The early games showed the continuing power of the "uncles," named Steph, Draymond and Jimmy.  The big story was the improved play of Quinton Post and especially Jonathan Kuminga. The new "uncle", former Celtics star Al Horford, showed how quickly he fit in this team's offensive and defensive structures. 

 Moses Moody returned from injury to play well, Brandon Podziemski and Buddy Hield had shining moments, and rookie Pat Spencer was a eye-opening surprise.  Even the sometimes forgotten big, Trace-Jackson Davis, had a strong game against Phoenix, with the returning Gary Payton II always able to affect games.

It's a strong roster, with the injured De Anthony Melton (apparently the linchpin of last season's sizzling start) and sharpshooter Seth Curry still to come.  But it's a long season, and injuries are all but inevitable (in fact, Jimmy Butler had to leave the Phoenix game with a back problem.)  

Meanwhile, defending champs OKC and the San Antonio Spurs, with the blossoming of Wembayama as a dominant superstar, were off to a blistering start, with OKC still undefeated after 8 games. I doubt that the Warriors are even going to try to keep pace early in the season--they will likely prioritize the long run, and the health and energy of their veterans for the late season and the playoffs.

In baseball, the just concluded World Series was judged a classic.  In pure baseball terms I suppose it was, but I came to admire the Blue Jays so much that I couldn't work up much enthusiasm for Goliath winning.  Still it took the mighty wealthy and therefore mighty Dodgers seven games, including a 16 inning contest, and a 7th game that went 11 innings.  The Toronto Blue Jays gave them a run for their money.

 

Ohtani Inflation

 I'm not a Dodgers fan.  When the Pittsburgh Pirates beat them three straight games, shutting them out twice, I was elated.  I made sure to watch the replay of the last inning when Baltimore came back from several runs down to beat them in the ninth.

But there was no way to ignore the magic place they were in for the National League championship series.  Suddenly healthy and focused, with all of their expensive plans and strategies for winning postseason series working like clockwork, they were something to see.  

The Dodgers beat the Brewers, with the most regular season wins, in four games.  They did it mostly with their starting pitching.  And they needed to, because they weren't hitting so much.  In particular, their spark plug Shohei Ohtani was in a conspicuous slump, seemingly flailing away at pitches all over the place.  

That was the first three games.  Being up 3 games to none with Ohtani in a slump is saying something.  What would happen when he broke out of it?

That turned out to be the fourth game, which some are already saying was the best baseball game ever played, and Ohtani the best to ever play the game.

He was amazing.  First of all, because he was the Dodgers' starting pitcher.  Yeah, Ohtani was their fourth starter.  The Dodgers are loaded.

He walked a batter in the first, but he also struck out the side.  After his third strikeout he didn't even sit down for a second--he just exchanged equipment and got in the batter's box.  I've questioned the strategy of having him hit lead-off, but to do it when he is also pitching seemed like managerial madness.

This time it worked.  He hit a long home run and the Dodgers were up a run, and they went on from there.  Ohtani would go on to strike out 10, and give up no runs in 6 plus innings.  He would also hit two more home runs, including one to center that left Dodger stadium completely.

It was an historic performance. Ohtani has been unique in both pitching and hitting at a high level, and in this, the game Friday was a culmination.  But the best to ever play the game?  It's too soon and too easy to make that determination.

He is a hell of a pitcher, but unlike most starters, he had a lot of time off, and hasn't beat himself up pitching much over the past two seasons.  He is a hell of a hitter, and he did hit those three home runs off three different pitches by three different pitchers, to three fields.  That's extraordinarily impressive. 

But he hit all three on pitches thrown exactly into his wheelhouse, low in the strike zone.  He hit at least two of them on a 3-2 count.  And none of them were in crucial situations--there was no pressure.  Except for the first one in the first inning, the Dodgers were ahead and never really threatened (thanks largely of course to Ohtani's pitching).  All three homers came with no one on base.  

Those may be quibbles but baseball is full of subtle differences.  He may be the best contemporary player and may turn out to be the best all time.  But has he truly been tested, as others have been?  Has he repeatedly made the crucial difference?

As for the game--no, it was not the greatest ever played.  There was never any drama, and the stakes were only moderate.  The Dodgers were up 3 games to none, they could have lost this game and still easily won the series.  Compare this to say, the 7th game of the 1960 World Series in Pittsburgh, and there's really no contest.

Heroic Fever, Curry Brothers United and Other News

 

First the Indiana Fever lost their generational star Caitlin Clark to injuries, eventually ruled out for the rest of the season.  But they didn't fold.  Then they lost two starters to injuries in the same game.  But they didn't fold.  Then they lost Sophie Cunningham for the season to an injury.

And others stepped up.  Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston were already stars, but they took on more responsibilities--and Mitchell was certainly a legitimate candidate for the league MVP.  Natasha Howard, Lexie Hull and others expanded their roles.  With so many injuries, the team brought on new players midstream, with retired star Odyssey Sims a standout.

With at least five major injuries, the Fever wasn't supposed to make the playoffs.  But they did.  They weren't supposed to win the first round, but they did.  Then in the semi-finals they took the defending champion Las Vegas Aces to game 5 in the 5 game series on Tuesday night.  In the third quarter, their scoring star Kelsey Mitchell was lost for the rest of the game with a leg cramp and possibly more.

But the Fever did not fold.  In the final seconds, Odyssey Sims (who led the Fever with 27 points) hit a crucial free throw and a bucket to tie the game.  It took overtime before the Aces could defeat them.  The Fever is one heroic team.

With the heavily favored Minnesota Lynx knocked out of the playoffs, the Aces are probably the favorites now.  But next year?  With Caitlin Clark back, Sophie Cunningham back, with eye-openers like the indomitable Lexie Hull and the resurgent Odyssey Sims (if they can sign her), and with playoff seasoned Mitchell, Boston and Howard--things look very good for the Fever to be dominant.

The Golden State Valkyries are likely to be improved as well, though their historic run to the playoffs in their first year of existence ended quickly in the first round.  They start out with a ton of money, a huge fan base and the league's Coach of the Year.  

The league itself is likely to be in flux.  Coaches and players are now in open rebellion against the league leadership, especially on the issue of the officiating.  Plus players across the league will be negotiating for major upgrades in their contracts.  It's likely to be a very consequential off-season, with major changes likely.

Meanwhile, NBA pre-season camps have started.  The Golden State Warriors finally came to terms with off-season-long holdout Jonathan Kuminga, sweetening their two-year offer but retaining the team option.  During the summer it became obvious that Kuminga doesn't want to be a Warrior, and the Warriors won't want the drama.  Everyone expects the contract is a preliminary to a trade, though there will be a lot of basketball played before that's possible in January, and Coach Kerr seems committed to giving Kuminga his opportunities early in the season.

The Warriors were finally able to round out their roster.  They added veteran center Al Horford and shooting guard De Anthony Melton, re-signed Gary Payton II, and brought on the other Curry brother, sharpshooter Seth Curry.  This could be a fun team, at the very least.

Meanwhile also, the MLB playoffs have begun.  Everyone will be watching the classic Red Sox-Yankees matchup, with the Dodgers well positioned to represented the NL in the World Series.  But there's a lot of baseball before that.  The SF Giants started the second half of the season with a long losing streak, followed by a long winning streak, and alternated the two until losing out on a playoff berth in September.  The Pittsburgh Pirates were an entertaining spoiler in the last several months, but there's no predicting what the team will look like next year.

The Women of September

 The first expansion team I remember was the New York Mets.  I turned 16 the summer they started playing in 1962.  They were terrible. They went 40-120, setting the record for the worst losing season that stood for decades.  Their manager was the famous Yankee skipper, Casey Stengel.  Yogi Berra signed on as a coach.  The great Duke Snyder was on the team.  But their glory days were over. The Mets stayed terrible for most of the 60s.

What I remember most about them was not their losing but their basic incompetence.  Casey Stengel's most famous quote of the time was, "Can't anybody here play this game?"

The WNBA added an expansion team this year, the Golden State Valkyries. They were very much not terrible. They very much could play this game. Now they are the first expansion team in league history--and in many other leagues--to make the playoffs their first year of play.

This was supposed to be the year of Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.  But Clark has been out with injuries most of the season, and the team announced she wasn't coming back this year.  Minneapolis dominated and Las Vegas has a long winning streak to end the season.  But this was the year of the Valkyries, who sold out every home game at the huge Chase Center in San Francisco, where the Golden State Warriors play.  With a roster of mostly unknowns, they've developed a style--like the Warriors, a lot of defense and a lot of three pointers.  In monetary terms they are already the most valuable franchise in the league.

As for the Fever, despite a series of devastating injuries, they've made the playoffs anyway.  They've still got at least two stars on the floor, and they are an heroically cohesive group.  Neither the Fever nor the Valkyries are expected to go very far in the upcoming playoffs, but to me they are the two teams that are the most fun to watch.

Meanwhile, the MLB teams I watch and root for, my old hometown Pittsburgh Pirates and my "new" home team the San Francisco Giants, have had some very entertaining moments the second half of the season.  

After a terrible post-All Star break losing streak that plummeted them out of contention, the Giants came alive, especially in August.  They had the longest streak of the year in consecutive games with at least one home run.  They surprised a lot of teams that thought they'd be an easy victim.

So did the Pirates, in streaks.  For example, the LA Dodgers went into Pittsburgh hoping to get well from a rough patch--playing a weaker team would be just the ticket.  Instead the Pirates beat them three games in a row, blanking them in the middle game--which was one of those pitching by committee games yet.  They had a couple of streaks like this, confounding teams actually in contention, some when they really needed the wins.

But of course by now the Pirates and the Giants have started losing again (though the Giants just won another high scoring game against Arizona.)  But they both certainly had some fun moments to watch this summer.