Lee Lowenfish

The late NBA commissioner David Stern dreamed of his league's championship being decided on the Fourth of July.  Well, they came close yesterday (Su June 22) when the upstart Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted at home the even more upstart Indiana Pacers to win their first title with a 104-91 Game 7 victory. (Technically, the lineal descendant of the Thunder, the Seattle Supersonics, won an NBA title back in 1979).  

 

It is too bad that the Pacers breakout star guard Tyrese Haliburton was injured in the last games of the series, but I want to begin this blog with a salute to Tyrese's backup,

T.J. McConnell, who played valiantly through the playoffs.  McConnell was undrafted out of the University of Arizona after playing two years at Duquesne University near Pittsburgh.  Whatta grass roots story is McConnell!  He played for his father Tim McConnell at Chartiers Valley HS in Bridgeville PA, 10 miles SW of Pittsburgh. Tim was a vocal presence rooting for his son at many Pacer playoffs game.  Before one of them, T.J. entered the arena wearing the uniform top of his sister Megan McConnell who plays for the WNBA Phoenix Mercury. Last but not least, TJ's aunt Susie McConnell captained Penn State's women's cagers and was a member of the Olympic team.  

 

Turning to grinders in baseball, here's a salute to Jake Mangum, the switch-hitting outfielder for the sizzling Tampa Bay Rays who have roared into second place in the AL East only 2 1/2 games behind the Yankees before games of Mon Jun 23.  I don't consider myself a great judge of talent - I paid homage to those unheralded men and women who work at scouting for a living in my most recent book, BASEBALL'S ENDANGERED SPECIES (U of Nebraska Press, 2023).   But in Sept 2019, Mangum caught my eye in what turned out to be the last championship game of the venerable New York-Penn League. 

 

A 4th round draft pick of the Mets from Mississippi State, Mangum singled for the Brooklyn Cyclones driving in the first run of the game against the Lowell Spinners, a Red Sox farm club. Then with his team trailing by one run in the 7th, Mangum singled again to spark a two-run rally that were the deciding runs to bring the Cyclones its only title. 

 

After the game, Mangum explained that all he wanted to do in that 7th inning at-bat was "to play baseball".  He wasn't worried about his hand placement on the bat or the sequence of pitches the analytics crew told him to expect.  He simply was determined to get on base and start a rally which indeed he did.

 

At 29, Mangum is old for a rookie but he has persisted through a lost 2020 covid season that wiped out all of minor league baseball, a back injury, and a trade to the Marlins in 2022.  His big break came after the 2024 season when the astute Rays organization traded for him, giving up RH reliever Calvin Faucher and utilityman Vidal Brujan.  Since returning from rehabbing an injury, Mangum has put up impressive numbers in 148 ABs: 1 HR, 23 RBI, 10 R(uns scored), 10 SBs in 10 attempts.   

 

There are no guarantees in scouting and player development but Jake Mangum's athlete genes are off the charts and they often are significant.  His grandfather John played offensive tackle for the Boston Patriots in the old AFL before they took on the New England name; his father also named John played at the University of Alabama and for 9 years was a defensive back for the Chicago Bears; and his uncle Kris for 10 years played tight end for the Carolina Panthers. 

 

Jake is now opening a baseball branch on the Mangum athletic tree after carving out quite a career at Mississippi State. He was nicknamed The Mayor for His passion for the game and school loyalty. I recently happily learned that as a senior, Mangum mentored freshman infielder Jordan Westburg who has been aptly dubbed by Baltimore's interim manager Tony Mansolino the glue of the Orioles.   

 

Here's one more tip of the cap to another grinder worthy of recognition, Athletics centerfielder Denzel Clarke.  The native of Toronto pulled off two sensational catches earlier this month, one robbing the Orioles' weak hitting utilityman Jorge Mateo of extra bases on a backhanded catch in left center while averting at the last moment a crash into the wall.  The second one at Anaheim against the Angels has to rank as Catch of the Decade if not the Century.   Clarke raced back to the center field fence, leaped high in the air, braced himself on the wall, and stretched over the wall to bring the ball into his glove. 

 

"That fella must be a gymnast!" I said to myself.  Sure enough, his mother, Donna Smellie-Clarke, used to be a gymnast and then became a renowned track and field star at one point holding the Canadian national record in the long jump.  In 1984 she was on the Canadian Olympic heptathalon team. She has since become a highly regarded coach and Denzel gives full props to her coaching and inspiration.  

 

Before it is TCM movie listing time, I want to send best wishes to Ron Washington, 73, for a speedy recovery from the circulatory issues that forced his temporary removal as

Angels manager.   He has kept the LAA near .500 through his intense managing and here's hoping that he is back at the helm real soon.  In the meantime, Ray Montgomery is at the helm, the first Fordham University Ram to manage in the big leagues since Frank Frisch the Fordham Flash skippered he Cardinals, Pirates, and Cubs.. 

 

More on Frisch and his undying passion for the game in future blogs. Actually, there is a nice tie-in to TCM's Fourth of July programming with Frisch.

At 8P "Yankeee Doodle Dandy" (1943) airs with James Cagney as George M. Cohan who once flirted with buying the NY Giants shortly before Frisch joined John McGraw's

powerful team.  Frisch was once asked how he relaxed before a big moment at the plate.  "I just whistle 'Yankee Doodle Dandy'," he said.

Also on July 4 at 4p is the musical "Take Me Out To the Ball Game" with Esther Williams as a turn-of-20th-century owner and Gene Kelly/Frank Sinatra as two of her players.

 

For those who read this blog straight through immediately, Tu Jun 24 145P brings you "Alibi Ike" (1935), the final film in Joe E Brown's baseball trilogy.  The story is based on Ring Lardner's story of the same name.  It features actual footage from the 1932 World Series between the Yankees and Cubs, Bill Frawley the huge baseball fan (and later immortalized as Lucy/Desi's neighbor Fred Mertz) as Joe E's manager, and young Olivia DeHavilland as Joe E's love interest.

 

Sa June 28 4P "Field of Dreams" (1989) the modern classic based on WP Kinsella's novel "Shoeless Joe" with Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones.  To me the biggest fantasy in the film is Costner & Jones go to the concession stand at Fenway Park, three people wait on them, and there is no line. 

Also on June 28 are an impressive array of Noir classics:

145P "The Killers" (1946) the one film based on a Hemingway story that the writer liked with Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner emerging as stars

8P "Double Indemnity" (1944) Billy Wilder directs Barbara Stanwyck out of her comfort zone and Fred MacMurray "helps" with Edward G Robinson figuring it out

10P "Chinatown" (1974) Director Roman Polanski gets memorable performances from Jack Nicholson & Faye Dunaway despite off-screen drama 

 

And Su June 29 1230A repeated 10A the last Noir Alley of June is a classic:  "Sorry, Wrong Number" (1948) Stanwyck playing a memorable victim.

 

That's all for now - always remember:  Take it easy but take it, and as long as we can, Stay Positive Test Negative.   

         

 

 

"Creating a winning culture" is one of the most popular phrases these days in the world of sports - so easy to say and so hard to achieve. This past Sunday May 18, Columbia won its 6th Ivy League baseball title in the last 10 seasons with a convincing 14-6 victory over surprise finalist Harvard at Yale's George W. Bush Field.

 

I took MetroNorth to New Haven and then a cab to see my Lions roar undefeated through the double elimination tourney.  Wiping away the memories of being winless at home in the first two Ivy post-season tournaments in this format, the Lions won two extra-inning nail-biters - over defending champion Penn and surprise entrant Harvard - and then beat Harvard a second time, leaving no doubt after they built an early 10-0 lead. 

 

Senior southpaw co-captain Jagger Edwards, a reliever last season, pitched into the sixth inning and sophomore Will Harrigan got the 3 2/3 inning save, his fifth of the season.  The Cantabs had eliminated host team Yale earlier on Sunday with a come-from-behind 8-6 victory.  The Lions blasted 7 homers, including two each by senior right fielder Anton Lazits, the MVP of the tourney, and sophomore catcher Owen Estabrook.  

 

Columbia coach Brett Boretti always schedules the toughest pre-Ivy League competition and it pays off in the crunch time of the season. I am not sure how much was learned by a March 1 loss at perennial power Oregon 35-1, but it sure helps to understand how much improvement you need before you become a real contender. Columbia will learn on Memorial Day May 26 what regional they will play in - the news will be broadcast on ESPNU at 12N EDT. The goal as always is to make the 8-team College World Series in Omaha starting in mid-June.

 

When I visited the Oregon campus in Eugene 14 years ago (speaking about my Branch Rickey biography), there was a sign on the stadium outfield wall that read:

Opportunity

Makeup

Attitude

Hustle

Always Put The Team First

 

No Ivy League team has ever made a Super Regional that is played the weekend before the College World Series starts, but Boretti and other Ivy League coaches believe that one year it will happen.   As I've mentioned before in this blog, the topnotch Columbia women's basketball team led by coach Megan Griffith won its first ever March Madness game this season and also its first outright Ivy League regular season title.

 

The last chance to see this very special edition of the Columbia baseball Lions will be this Saturday May 24 when Holy Cross, winners of the Patriot League, comes down from Worcester MA to play a doubleheader at Satow Stadium just north of W 218th Street and Broadway. First game starts at 1230P. 

 

Here's also a shoutout to Howard Endelman's men's tennis team that made the NCAA quarter-finals for the second year in a row.  They lost to eventual national champion Wake Forest in a highly competitive watch in Waco, Texas.  The Lions won three matches in the new Milstein Bubble in the Baker Field complex. Attendance is free at the tennis matches (and at the regular season baseball games), and I've heard that the atmosphere is very lively.  No shushing for "silence!" from judges as in the pro matches. 

 

I am especially glad to spread the good news about Columbia athletics under the direction of AD Peter Pilling because it is hard not to despair about the political polarization on campuses these days. It is part of the Trump administration's crusade to punish Columbia and other Ivy League schools and higher education in general.  Sports can be such a unifying force if we allow it to be. So once again a huge hurrah to the players, the coaches, the parents, and the loyal fans of alma mater who have brought joy and distinction in these troubled times. 

 

And now some concluding thoughts on What Has Happened To The Orioles? At 16-32 with a series at Boston starting tomorrow Fri May 23, it is unlikely that

the 2025 Orioles are a playoff team.  But there is still a lot of baseball left, and if they start playing decent defense and straighten out a woeful starting pitching rotation,

I don't think they will need to start another painful rebuild.  Certainly long-suffering Baltimore fans won't flock to see more non-competitive baseball.

 

In my last blog, I implored new Oriole owner David Rubenstein to try to re-sign Cedric Mullins, the outstanding center fielder who is the longest tenured Oriole and

lived through the difficult 100-loss seasons before the team broke out with the 101-win season in 2023.  Alas, there is no sign that Rubenstein is willing to do this.

It took too long for "President of Baseball Operations" Mike Elias to admit this week that the team had become mediocre and indeed under .500 since the middle of last summer. 

 

The firing of field manager Brandon Hyde who lived through bad times and led through the good times was inevitable. It wasn't that he "lost control of the team," a favorite cliche when a manager is fired, but he seemed stuck in the past, thinking that somehow the good times would magically return. It remains to be seen whether another young baseball lifer, third base coach Tony Mansolino, can lift the Birds at least to respectability. 

 

Despite the woes of the Orioles and the truly hapless franchises - the White Sox, the Rockies, and the Pirates - the season for most teams remains hopeful.  The Yankees and Tigers have leads of at least 5 games before games of May 22 and the double-digit winning streaks of the Twins and the Cardinals have brought both of them into contention.  Because of market size and congenital arrogance, I still hope for anything but another Yankee-Dodger World Series. But I don't always get what I want or

need.  So it goes.  Baseball remains the greatest game despite a century and a half of leadership issues. 

 

Oh yes that reminds me - what do I think of Pete Rose between taken off the ineligible list?  Yawn!  He was his own worst enemy though a great Hall of Fame worthy player.

But selling memorabilia in Cooperstown on Hall of Fame induction weekend and living the life of a gambler in Las Vegas didn't help his cause.  It remains for the writers to

decide his eligibility and there is plenty of doubt that he will ever get in. 

 

As for commissioner Rob Manfred caving in to Donald Trump's express wish in behalf of Pete Rose, Manfred is not the first executive in the USA to be very wary of what Trump wants to do. Baseball has been admirably in the forefront of the DEI programs which the new administration wants curtailed.  Manfred and the owners that pay him 

are hoping for a bonanza in streaming services.  They are not sure what policies the government will espouse in this area.  So Manfred played it cautiously.  I'm not going to get on a high horse to decry this.

 

That's all for now.  I'm heading to Cooperstown next week to talk on Frank Frisch the Fordham Flash at the Hall of Fame's annual Symposium on Baseball and American

Culture.  I'm calling my talk "Urbane Roughneck" because although Frisch was a fierce competitor on the field - known in his early years as "John McGraw's Boy" - he

was a genuine lover of classical music and good books and a devoted gardener.  His thoughts on baseball were mostly Old Guard but always delivered with intelligent passion.  

 

I have not run across any sports films on TCM but here is a list of some especially good ones being shown as part of Memorial Day programming:

Sat May 24 630P "The Steel Helmet" (1951) Director Sam Fuller's hard-hitting film set during the Korean War

Sun May 25 12M and 10A - Eddie Muller's Noir Alley presents "Cornered" (1945) Dick Powell, shedding again his bobby-soxer persona, searches for the Nazi killers of his wife

Sun May 25 8P "Bridge On the River Kwai" (1957) - the "Colonel Bogey March" will stay with you after seeing David Lean's direction of Allied prisoners of war in Japan

    during World War II with Alec Guinness/Jack Hawkins/William Holden

 

Tues May 27 1015P "Duel in the Sun" (1947) - Gregory Peck sheds his halo in a rare bad guy role with Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones

W May 28 215P "The Man Who Came To Dinner" (1942) - this film may be broadcast more often than any on TCM but it is hilarious with great performances by

Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, and Monty Woolley in the title role based on the writer Alexander Woollcott.  Jimmy Durante plays Banjo a role based on Harpo Marx.

 

That's all for now.  Always remember: Take It Easy But Take It, and even with RFK Jr raising havoc with our health systems, Stay Positive Test Negative!