Thinking out loud…while wondering whatever happened to the art of shooting free throws?
- Shouldn't Rocco Baldelli's winning American League Manager of the Year say at least a little something about the caliber of play – and instruction – of the sport in Rhode Island?
- Especially when you consider how RI teams have dominated the New England region of Little League play lately (enough to be banished into the Metro region with New York!), and travel teams from LL to AAU have always competed and fared well across the country.
- Several years ago when coaching an AAU team, a coach from Florida stopped me to say how he was impressed with our team's "pluck," being from Rhode Island and Southeastern Mass. As in "we thought you guys would be an easy win because you're from Rhode Island. And where is that exactly? New York?"
- I told the coach thanks, after beating them…but my thought was our kids could compete partly because they appreciated the opportunity so much more than others growing up and playing in warmer climates.
- And partly because they simply executed better. You know. Threw strikes, hit the ball, didn't make mistakes. Florida players can screw up, too. I left that last part out, though.
- Congrats to Rocco and to the Hendricken community in Warwick and Baldelli's home territory of Cumberland. But congrats also go to Rhode Island baseball. Get the plows and shovels ready – it's almost time to get out there again. Just sayin'.
- Dustin Pedroia says he's playing next year. Think that came as a surprise to Chaim Bloom? Or a surprise to most of Red Sox Nation, ready to put him out to pasture?
- Have the Houston Astros been outted? Seems to me Major League Baseball shouldn't expect much from the team in their 'self-examination' of spying accusations. I mean, team management at the highest level had to know something was going on – otherwise, the word oblivious has a new meaning, amiright?
- Alex Cora should prepare for the worst. If this escalates, Red Sox fans should also.
- And if the Astros are guilty of all that is being alleged in using technology to gain a competitive advantage in sign-stealing, I don't know about you, but I sense another four-game suspension is coming Tom Brady's way.
- Tweet of the Week, from @chatham58: "Spygate was 100% horse**** as a cheating scandal, 99% of the American public seemed misinformed on the facts of what did and didn't happen. But this Astros thing is the real deal – monitors and live in-game coordination & on and on – and will ultimately get 1/100th the attention."
- Not for nuthin', but Brendan McGair in the Pawtucket Times this week had a sobering story on the future of minor league baseball for the city. Seems there's a roadblock in place thanks to MiLB's decision to reduce the number of MLB-affiliated minor league teams from single season Class A.
- Which was the target plan for repopulating McCoy Stadium in 2021, from the existing short-season NY-Penn League.
- But then, there's always soccer. If you haven't noticed, it continues to BOOM with popularity. The Revolution are starting a 2nd team, Revolution II, to play in USL's League One (that's 3rd in the minor league pecking order, keep up with me), and rumors have persisted about Pawtucket being a possible home for a USL Championship Soccer team (that's #2, behind MLS).
- Got all that? There will be a quiz later.
- The Valley Breeze reported a new complex could even be constructed on the banks of the Seekonk River. The potential project, however, has few concrete or legit details.
- What is that saying…things that appear too good to be true, usually are?
- These guys have been good this year, however. Brown's women's team has been nationally ranked, six players made all-Ivy and the coach (Kia McNeill) is Coach of the Year in the Ivies as the Bears hit the NCAA pitch Saturday at home against Monmouth – where they've outscored teams 23-2 this season.
- PC's men beat 2-seed St. John's on the road Wednesday night to reach the Big East championship match Sunday at Georgetown…URI's 23rd-ranked men's team has reached the A-10 semis going into the weekend, too.
- Oh, and one more from the pitch…a potential Friar-to-be from Cranston, Damian Rivera, signed a futures contract with the Revs this week. Rivera is the 7th Revolution Academy product to sign with the team, and he's expected to join US U-17 National Team for camp this month in Florida.
- Did the Friars play a basketball game Wednesday night? 'Cuz all I saw was a train wreck in Evanston, Illinois.
- A bad loss to a young Northwestern team does not mean the season is over, so stop with the "Chicken Little" over-thinking on this one. But it was definitely a surprise for a team expected to exhibit a veteran presence on the floor this season. The Wildcats – with four new starters after winning just 13 games a year ago – played with poise.
- PC did not. #Ouch.
- Don't have a problem (too much of one, anyway) with the threes. Have a problem with missed free throws and turnovers. This team simply does not value possession of the ball like they should.
- These are controllable things, or at least they were on Wednesday. And the Friars didn't, so…
- And now for the upside to the Gavitt Games fiasco. It's only November. Much of what was witnessed is fixable, but the players need to dedicate themselves to fixing it. Or, we'll largely see a repeat of last season come to fruition.
- In today's "no matter how bad you have it, someone else always has it worse" category, meet 10th ranked Villanova. They went on the road and were pounded by Ohio State. Eerily reminiscent of a disaster against Michigan last season.
- Seton Hall's game with Michigan State was the first of seven this year on the Pirates' schedule – tied for most in the nation – against teams in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
- And while the Pirates battled the entire way, there wasn't enough in the end to win, even with Myles Powell dropping 37 on a bad ankle. Good Big East teams this year, sure. Great ones? Not yet.
- Marquette came from 18 down at home to beat Purdue. Providence nearly came back from 20 down in the second half on the road. It may seem gloomy now, but I'll wager we'll see some entertaining battles during conference play.
- St. John's got an unexpected holiday gift from the NCAA – redshirt junior guard Rasheem Dunn (a one-time HS teammate of Shamorie Ponds) is eligible to play for the Red Storm after initially being denied a waiver. Dunn started at St. Francis (Brooklyn) and transferred to Cleveland State after two years, where his coach then left the program.
- What college sports needs today – is a good, old-fashioned dose of Dave Gavitt reasoning and reality. And compromise. He'd be loathe to deal with it – just like he didn't want to mess with Big East football – but I'll wager he'd have an answer for the current NIL issues in the college game.
- Wait. Wut? DePaul is 4-0. The Blue Demons were the 2nd team in the country to reach four wins. They blasted Iowa on the road this week. And this is a last place team in the Big East?
- Did anyone besides me notice all the local standouts on the floor this past week – former Hendricken Hawk T.J. Weeks took A-10 Rookie of the Week honors for UMass, Bryant's Charles Pride likewise in the NEC; Brown's Brandon Anderson was named the Ivy League Player of the Week, and PC's Alpha Diallo was named to the Big East Honor Roll as was counterpart Kaela Webb for the women's team.
- And congrats to Cumberland's Tyler Kolek, last year's RI state Gatorade Player of the Year at St. George's – he signed a letter of intent this week to play at George Mason – and St. Andrews' Myles Wilmoth, who signed with Butler.
- Sheesh. No talent around here. Get out and catch some of it this winter while you can.
- What stands out from this point of view on URI's tussle with Alabama Friday night at the Ryan Center – when was the last time, if ever, an SEC team paid a visit to Kingston, RI?
- The answer is – never. Although Vanderbilt did play the Rams at the Providence Civic Center under Jim Harrick in 1998, and South Carolina made a Providence visit back in 1981. But never before has an SEC team played in Kingston.
- Several media outlets have reported Rhody will play in the Hall of Fame Tip Off at Mohegan Sun next year, along with Marquette, Minnesota and UCF. Might want to get that on your calendar.
- Brown had a nice win this week over Quinnipiac, while Bryant warmed St. Peter's up on the road Wednesday for the Friars Saturday by plucking the Peacocks.
- Congrats to PC women's hoop coach Jim Crowley for reaching his 300th career victory last week. He has that team moving in the right direction for the first time in a LONG time.
- Have you been keeping up with the latest in the James Wiseman & Memphis saga vs. the NCAA? The NCAA said Wiseman is likely ineligible. Memphis fired up a rather large middle finger to the NCAA in return, getting an injunction to allow him to play.
- Now, Wiseman has been declared ineligible after all by Memphis as they await a decision on a possible return to their lineup. Don't hold your breath, even if Wiseman has also withdrawn his lawsuit. The NCAA's middle finger is still more prominent than the Tigers'.
- Evansville's stunning win at #1 Kentucky this week elicited more than just one "I love Waltah!" once the upset was in the books. Ex-Celtic and Tommy Heinsohn favorite Walter McCarty is the head coach of the Aces, ICYMI.
- Speaking of the Celtics – no one, and I mean no one – saw a nine-game win streak coming, especially with Gordon Haywards' latest injury. But it speaks directly to how much of a mess that team chemistry was prior to this season.
- Kyrie Irving = gone from here like a fart in the wind.
- Myles Garrett = brainless. And, buh bye.
- Gronk rumors = yesterday's news.
- TB12 playing past 45? = still today's news. Or at least, his business partner and health guru Alex Guerrero said on WEEI this week 46 or 47 might not be out of the question. For someone.
- That noise you hear? It's a collective groan from every other team, player and fan in the NFL on that one. Mixed in with a cheer or two, perhaps, from some team needing a QB. Will the Patriots need one?
- Who else has noticed things not going too well for a couple of ex-Pats, Adam Vinatieri and Michael Bennett? It may simply be the end of an extraordinary line for Vinatieri, who should go down as the greatest kicker the game has seen.
- As for Bennett, he was quoted this week as saying, "I just came from the place with the most defenses in the league, so any other defense is pretty much easy to learn."
- Is this good for the Patriots and bad for the Cowboys in a back-handed compliment kinda way?
- Did you know one-time Patriot defensive end Jake Bequette is an actual Patriot? Bequette appeared on WEEI's OMF on Veterans' Day, and he's currently serving as a 2nd lieutenant in the US Army, called to serve after the Patriots released him in 2015.
- In case you're wondering what a gauntlet looks like, take a good look at New England's schedule for the next month.
- 'Grapes' is gone? One-time Bruins' coach and long-time Canadian hockey TV personality Don Cherry may have stepped over a politically-correct line with some of his recent comments, leading to his dismissal this week from Canada's SportsNet.
- But since when is a muted, de-fanged Don Cherry any fun to watch or listen to? The man is who he is, which is what made him watchable in the first place.
- It's our loss. But it may also be the upholstery industry's gain.
- File this under "things that p*ss me off" – coffee that smells better than it tastes.
- My buddy "Big E" sez his grandson was at it again this week in school. Seems the teacher asked him what his favorite animal was, and he answered, "fried chicken." The class laughed, but the teacher didn't. He went off to the principal's office, where he told the principal what had happened. The principal laughed but told him not to do that again.
- Sure enough, upon return to the classroom, the teacher asked him what his favorite LIVE animal was. He answered, "a chicken, because you can make it into fried chicken." Laughs from the class, and he was off to see the principal. The principal laughed, again, but told him not to do that anymore.
- The teacher thought she'd get him when he returned to class again. She asked, "what famous person do you admire the most?" He answered, "Colonel Sanders." E's grandkid and the school principal are really close now.
- We know ESPN promotes from within like few other entities on the planet. But ESPN personalities shilling for the new Disney+ streaming service?
- I've always said Mickey Mouse is one mean rat. He will exterminate his employees when they fail to drink his poison.
- If you've listened, you know. But my radio broadcast partner Joe Hassett audibly cringes when the Friars miss crucial free throws. Or any free throws. That's largely because he was a career 86.5 % shooter from the line. Today, anything over 70% is accepted as 'good.'
- The answer to many of the misses you've seen in the recent past is simple – s-l-o-w d-o-w-n. Too many times, players will approach a free throw like a jump shot without a 'refresher,' a breath or a step back. They're too amped.
- And, they simply don't value the opportunity to score with no time running off the clock. Joe loved the line – because he just knew he would score. Too many players these days don't love the line. They'd prefer a dunk, or a three, or some sort of twisting, stretching, acrobatic thing that makes us go 'ooh!' and 'ahhh!'
- The game – and the current Friars – would be better off appreciating the simplicity of making a free throw or two. 'Cuz the other team can't guard you. And, they're free.
- @RebeccaRybczyk tweeted at me this week, on Colin Kaepernick's NFL workout and alleged Patriot interest: "Belichick is very calculated with the media and was very intentional in keeping the Patriots out of Kaepernick's controversy."
- Rebecca: It's what he does best, calculate. If anyone, or any team, can overcome a media circus, it is Bill Belichick and the Patriots. Which makes me think that if the guy can show he can still add value to a team – like New England – they would take him on.
- Interested in having your questions on local Rhode Island sports (and yes, that includes the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics) answered in a somewhat timely fashion? Send 'em to me! It's your chance to "think out loud," so send your questions, comments and local stories to jrooke@weei.com. We'll share mailbag comments/Facebook posts/Tweets right here! Follow me on Twitter, @JRbroadcaster…and on Facebook, www.facebook.com/john.rooke ...
Don't forget to tune into Providence's 103.7 FM, every Saturday from 7:00-9:00 am for Cordischi and Coit! Call in at 401-737-1287 or text at 37937.
