Lee Lowenfish

It was a thrilling Super Bowl. Only the most rabid and irrational New England Patriot-hater could not tip a cap to the brilliance of Tom Brady.

I was rooting for Atlanta but as a fan of the Wisconsin Badgers I was thrilled to see former Wisconsin running back James White have a great game and score the winning touchdown in overtime.

However, I do think the rule should be changed that both teams have a chance to score in overtime. I know it was with great reluctance a few years ago that NFL honchos made a change that if the first team with the ball doesn't score a touchdown, the opponent does get a chance.

But tell me any sport where the climactic game of the season is influenced so powerfully by a coin flip. Another reason why baseball and basketball are superior sports. And not as violent and injury-laden.

Speaking of basketball, I saw something at the start of the Columbia-Brown game on Saturday night that I never saw before. The five starters for Brown were listed on the scoreboard with numbers 1-2-3-4-5.

Hadn't seen such symmetry on a scoreboard since a baseball game in Minnesota over 20 years ago when the Indians were a dominant team and scored 1 run in the 1st, 2 in the 2nd, 3 in the 3rd, 4 in the 4th and 5 in the 5th (innings).

Columbia held on to beat Brown 83-78 and stay in the hunt for one of the four playoff spots in the first-ever Ivy League post-season tournament coming up second weekend in March. Brown's number 3, by the way, is senior Steven Spieth, brother of champion golfer Jordan Spieth.

Steven has been a solid contributor for the Brown Bears. But on Saturday, Columbia's smooth-shooting and defensively-improving senior forward Luke Petrasek and company were too much.

And a tip of my alumnus cap to seven-foot senior center Conor Voss. Coming off the bench he has become a reliable defender and an effective pivot in the offense.

AND NOW SOME CLOSING THOUGHTS ON BASEBALL:
By Valentine's Day all major league teams will have opened camps. It's a little early this year because the World Baseball Classic will take many players away from their teams for more than two weeks.

Many managers like Baltimore's Buck Showalter and Cleveland's Terry Francona have not been subtle about their opposition to the lost time for their minions. But the WBC is probably here to stay as an effort "to grow the game" internationally.

One last baseball note - I think the cumulative stats of Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines make their Hall of Fame election acceptable. I still believe that the H of F should be for the great and not just the very good.

I also question whether catcher Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez merited election during his first year of eligibility.

I don't have a ballot but I needed to see pictures of how different Pudge looked during the age of undetected PED use and after. I remember seeing him running sprints before a Tigers-Yankees playoff game a few years ago. He was so fast and slim. I doubt if he looked that way a few years earlier but I have not seen the pictures.

Well,that's all for now. It is still a wonderful time of year with increasing daylight and spring training and spring itself on the horizon. So always: Take it easy but take it!
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The annual Hot Stove League dinner sponsored by the New York-area baseball scouts has always provided many memorable moments. Last Friday's 52nd annual gathering at Leonard's of Great Neck maintained the fine tradition.

Several ovations were deservedly bestowed upon dinner organizer Billy Blitzer whose 35 consecutive years with the Cubs were finally rewarded in November. But emcee Ed Randall, who joined Billy in donning a Cubs World Series shirt, couldn't resist telling some jokes that no longer apply.

My favorite: "What would Jesus tell the Chicago Cubs?" Answer: "Don't do anything until I come back."

Guest speaker Art Shamsky called his experience on the 1969 Mets the highlight of his career. He said the team's success permanently inscribed his name in the book of New York heroes. He added that he didn't mind having a dog named for him in the "Everybody Loves Raymond" TV show.

Shamsky shared some tales of earlier Mets teams. After beginning their first two seasons losing 9 and then 8 games in a row, the Mets were rained out the following year in their first series in Cincinnati. Before their home opener, announcer Ralph Kiner quipped, "The Mets are off to the best start in their history."

Cincinnati scout John Ceprini, the winner of the group's prestigious Turk Karam award as Scout of the Year, was moved by Shamsky's appreciation of his career. Ceprini paid homage to the mentors who had encouraged him on his path towards scouting.

San Francisco Giants scouting honcho John Barr, who was awarded the Jim Quigley award for service to baseball, concluded the evening with some indelible insights into the scouting profession.

"Listen to the sound off the bat," George Digby, who signed Wade Boggs, told him.

"Who can help us win?" asked Joe McIlvaine, who was with the Mets when Barr started in his career in the 1980s. (Barr went on to work with the Orioles where he signed number one draft picks in Ben McDonald and Mike Mussina.)

"Sit on a guy . . . See him when he fails . . . See him in another sport where he is not so dominant. . . . How comfortable does he look?"

No need to attribute these quotations to anybody. They are eternal truths - if only the number-crunchers and "advanced metrics" people would understand.

I do take solace in the great saying - "It's amazing what you can accomplish if you don't care about who gets the credit."

Before I close, I must kvell a bit about my dream basketball Saturday. All three teams that I follow closely won games and I saw two of them in person.

My girl friend's alma mater Davidson, avenging a loss at home earlier in January, walloped Fordham at the marvelous oldest-in-country Rose Hill gym in the Bronx.

My alma mater Columbia held on to beat Harvard on Morningside Heights and improve to 3-1 tied with Yale and Harvard and 1/2 game behind Princeton.

And my graduate alma mater Wisconsin rallied to beat Rutgers in overtime at Madison Square Garden. The Badgers are living on the edge in recent games but they sure know how to win.

Redshirt sophomore center Ethan Happ, first cousin of Blue Jays LHP J. Happ, scored 32 of Wisconsin's 61 points. He only went 8-16 on the foul line and that shortcoming remains a major problem. Yet all other aspects of his game - footwork, quickness, willingness to learn, and will to win - Happ inspires hope!

To make Saturday January 28 a day to live long in Wisconsin annals, the hockey team also won an overtime game at the Garden over Ohio State in the evening.

And here's one more overtime story - the Columbia women's basketball team, picked for last in the Ivy League, beat Dartmouth in FOUR overtimes on Friday night. They lost by only 2 at Harvard the following night. As an unrepentant puller for underdogs, these developments are most promising. (I attended Columbia's other 4-overtime win about a quarter century ago.)

I wish the Knicks well but I cannot lose sleep over THEIR four-overtime loss on Sunday to the Atlanta Hawks. Until there are changes in ownership at the Garden,
I fear the Knicks will be spinning their wheels.

Well, that's all for now. Pitchers and catchers report in two weeks, tournament time nears in basketball, and the days are getting longer. A really exciting time of year in spite of all the political uncertainties.

So always remember: Take it easy but take it!  Read More