Real March Madness for me is the NCAA college wrestling tournament. It's held about the same time each year as the NCAA basketball tournament. But for some people like me it's much better. Just a matter of preference of course.
Ever since I was a student at Penn State from 1958 through 1962 I was fascinated by their varsity wrestling teams. Our main stud on the Penn State wrestling teams was a guy by the name of Ron Pifer. Pifer was a flashy wrestler who was a good pinner. He was to win All American honors at the hallowed NCAA wrestling tournament which seemed to always be conducted "out west somewhere". "Out west somehwere" was usually in wrestling country; that being Oklahoma or Iowa or someplace nearby. While I was growing up in Pittsburgh, Pitt was coached by three time NCAA titleist Rex Peery, from Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) and up until the time he retired he had a number of champions who hailed from the Pittsburgh area, but the Nittany Lions never had an NCAA champ when I was attendng there.
I always wondered why, Pifer, our big star, could only finish fourth, second and third in his three trips to the Nationals, when Ron was so darned good, and became fascinated with the whole concept of the NCAA Wrestling Tournament. And why eastern wrestlers never did as well as western wrestlers.
Actually, as the internet became such a useful information tool I found out that in reality, as opposed to my late 1950's impressions, that the NCAA tournament was actually held as much back east as it was out west. But western wrestlers always seemed to do much better than eastern wrestlers.
This fascination with the NCAA Wrestling Tournament went into abeyance for a while after I graduated from Penn State and started working and met my lovely wife and started a family.
Of course everyone had heard just a bit about the fabulous Dan Hodge, from Oklahoma University, who never lost a match in college in his three years of varsity competition and furthermore was never even taken down from a standing position in his entire college career. And of course all wrestling fans knew that Oklahoma State had won many more tournaments than any other team up to the time when I was at Penn State.
Adding to the mystique of the NCAA wrestling tournment was the fact that Penn State, Pitt, Lehigh or any of the good eastern wrestling teams never, at least in the late 1950's, wrestled the Oklahomas, Oklahoma States or Iowa States back then. Probably because of travel difficulties and expenses that more severe, on a relative basis, than they are now.
But then Dan Gable came along, with his incredible work ethic and his great pinning ability, to really start putting college and later free style wrestling on the map of national sports consciousness and soon everyone who knows wrestling became aware of what Dan did at Iowa State and later in the 1972 Olympic Games.
At that point in time I really began to want to see what the national wrestling scene was all about. It took a few years, but in 1978 the NCAA Wrestling championship came to Cole Field House at the University of Maryland, a distance of 30 miles from my house in the western Baltimore, MD suburbs. So off I went to get tickets to the big event. I got tickets for the big event's semi finals and finals. The semis had too much action for a tyro like myself to keep track of what was was going on but I did learn later that a match that was wrestled during the semifinals was one one in which the great Dave Scultz, then a true freshman at Oklahoma State, almost pinned, in what would have been the upset of the tournament, the great junior wrestler from Michigan, Mark Churella, who would go on to become a three time NCAA champ. Churella beat Shultz that night 13-11 but was in danger of being pinned at the conclusion of the second period of their match and was in trouble again just at the conclusion of the exciting match.
The finals though, occurred on Saturday night, and as each pair of wrestlers at the ten weight classes squared off, there was palpable electricity in the air. Especially when Churella flattened a very good Iowa wrestler, Bruce Kinseth with a spectacular split scissors move. (Kinseth would pin his way through the following years tournament and become that tournament's outstanding wrestler while Churella moved up two weight classes to win his third national championship). This was followed by the great Lee Kemp winning his third straight national championship against a real good Iowa State wrestler, Kelly Ward. (Kemp came close to being the first four time NCAA champion losing only to Iowa's Chuck Yagla in Kemp's freshman year in overtime by referee's criteria).
But what really mad this night so great for a sports fan enjoying his first NCAA Wrestling Championship was the fact that Dan Gable won the first of his NCAA team championships as the Iowa Hawkeyes edged out the Iowa State Cyclones by 1/2 a point. This was the start of nine straight NCAA team wrestling titles for Gable's Hawkeyes.
Great fare indeed for a wrestling fan to witness on his first trip to collegiate sports Real March Madness. :)
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
The Big E
I just saw the video of my favorite hockey player of all time announcing his retirement. And it's time for Eric Lindros to move on to other things, I think. His effectiveness as a dominating offensive force had finally diminished to a mere shadow of its former "self".
But I remember the early part of his career so well. First was the buildup leading to him playing for someone other than the Quebec Nordiques. Everyone wondered whether he was crazy for sitting out a year after he was drafted and whether or not he'd be picked again the next year by the Nords. When would his NHL career begin.
Thankfully for his fans it began the next fall after he'd been traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. My son and I travelled to the Spectrum, in Philly, from Baltimore, to sit in the worst nosebleed seats in the place to watch him play in what I think was his first home game. He scored a goal that night in a 7-6 donnybrook againt Le Habs but we didn't get much of a look at it, being seated where we were. But Matt and I had a great time in Philly and on the drive home. We had a Philly Cheese Steak on Broad Street before the game and mingled with the Philadelphia faithful before the Spectrum doors opened since we got to Philadelphia about 2and 1/2 hours before game time.
But that was just the beginning. For the first four or five years of his career I went to see Eric play at the Cap Center in Landover as many times as I could. I was lucky enough to see him score his first hat trick one night in his rookie year. The third goal came on a penalty shot and I can still see him skating in on goal somewhat to the right of the goalie and deftly snapping the puck past the Cap's goalie with that wonderful wrist shot of his. He scored a lot when I saw him play in the early years. I tried to see him play as much as I could back then, either when he came to play the Caps or when the Flyers were on TV.
There was just something about his style of play and his demeanor that made me say to myself, "This is the Man. He's not Gretzky or Lemieux but he's the future of hockey."
And for five or six years he was. Gretzky and Super Mario were winding down and the Big E was right there at the top of the NHL with Jagr, Bure and several others. At one point, after he'd been playing for four or five years he was third all time in points scored per game at just below 1.5 ppg. Only Gretzky and Lemieux were ahead of him. And Bossy was sitting there waitng for him to drop just a bit.
He was marvelous to watch, but it was not fun to see him injure his knee, as he did in his first two years, limiting him to playing 61 and 64 games out of 80 for those seasons. And you knew he was asking for trouble with his incredibly rough style of play. The issue of payback was looming in the background as he served as his own enforcer. I'm not sure Bob Clarke could have convinced him to back off on the rough stlyle of play. Eric was probably too macho to accept that, to prolong his career, he needed a Dave Scultz to protect him. But since the Big E was 6'5" tall and weighed 235 pounds he probably felt embarrassed to accept help when it came to the rough stuff. I can still see, in my mind's eye, Lindros' epic battles with Scott Stevens during Eric's first trip to the playoffs. In particular, it was one night when he'd been giving more than he'd gotten from Stevens, that after Stevens had gone in low on John LeClair along the boards and caused LeClair to somersault and land very painfully on the ice, that just a moment later, Eric spotted Stevens near the boards and drew a bead on him. Lindros went after Stevens with the intent to drive him right through the glass with a 235 pound body check. Stevens saw him coming andand and the last second grabbed the top of the glass and swung himself out of Lindros' way while Eric shook the arena with his crash into the boards. It seemed to be the start of a long rivalry between the two big men, one that Lindros would eventually pay for in his final game with the Flyers when Stevens caught him looking down as he brought the puck into Stevens' territory. Scott let Eric have it right in the side of the head with a shoulder check that gave Eric one of his worst concussions just after he'd returned from a lengthy recovery from another concussion. Eric was in this respect his worst enemy. He'd roughed up a lot of people and some of them got him back. If only he'd accepted an enforcer, as Gretzky did, when he ruled the ice. No one ever whacked Wayne because there was always a Dave Semenko to crush him if they even thought about it.
But while he was with the Flyers and in his first year with the Rangers he was wonderful to root for. I just had to know how how many points he had scored in every game he played. I'd check the Baltimore Sun every day after the Flyer schedule that I had on my dresser indicated that the Flyers had played the night before. Or if I was on vacation I'd pick up the local paper as soon as I could to see how the Big Kid had done.
On business trips I'd grab the Seattle paper or USA today to get the "Lindros update". I'll never forget, while on one business trip to Seattle walking in to my motel room, turning on the television, and seeing highlights of Lindros getting a a hat trick against the Habs and then the very next night seeing that he'd gotten a second second hat trick against Montreal, the second in two days. Six goals and several assists in two days. Wow.
This "fanatical" following of the exploits of number 88 were taken to real extremes when I had a business trip to Bavaria in 1995. I'd call the Philadelphia Inquirer sports desk from m hotel room in southern Germany at 5:00 AM and ask for the stats on Lindros. It was about midnight back in the states and I'd explain that I was calling because I was out of the country and didn't have easy access to hockey box scores. I always got the same writer who didn't share my enthusiasm for Lindros, but he always gave me what I asked for even if it was a snide, "And guess what. Lindros didn't get any points last night." I'll always wonder who he was and be thankful for the time this newspaper man took to give me the rundown on Eric's scoring when I called across five time zones to get them.
Eric, you are gone but not forgotten. I still have about 30 of your rookie cards that I have to figure out who to leave to when I pass on. :)
But I remember the early part of his career so well. First was the buildup leading to him playing for someone other than the Quebec Nordiques. Everyone wondered whether he was crazy for sitting out a year after he was drafted and whether or not he'd be picked again the next year by the Nords. When would his NHL career begin.
Thankfully for his fans it began the next fall after he'd been traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. My son and I travelled to the Spectrum, in Philly, from Baltimore, to sit in the worst nosebleed seats in the place to watch him play in what I think was his first home game. He scored a goal that night in a 7-6 donnybrook againt Le Habs but we didn't get much of a look at it, being seated where we were. But Matt and I had a great time in Philly and on the drive home. We had a Philly Cheese Steak on Broad Street before the game and mingled with the Philadelphia faithful before the Spectrum doors opened since we got to Philadelphia about 2and 1/2 hours before game time.
But that was just the beginning. For the first four or five years of his career I went to see Eric play at the Cap Center in Landover as many times as I could. I was lucky enough to see him score his first hat trick one night in his rookie year. The third goal came on a penalty shot and I can still see him skating in on goal somewhat to the right of the goalie and deftly snapping the puck past the Cap's goalie with that wonderful wrist shot of his. He scored a lot when I saw him play in the early years. I tried to see him play as much as I could back then, either when he came to play the Caps or when the Flyers were on TV.
There was just something about his style of play and his demeanor that made me say to myself, "This is the Man. He's not Gretzky or Lemieux but he's the future of hockey."
And for five or six years he was. Gretzky and Super Mario were winding down and the Big E was right there at the top of the NHL with Jagr, Bure and several others. At one point, after he'd been playing for four or five years he was third all time in points scored per game at just below 1.5 ppg. Only Gretzky and Lemieux were ahead of him. And Bossy was sitting there waitng for him to drop just a bit.
He was marvelous to watch, but it was not fun to see him injure his knee, as he did in his first two years, limiting him to playing 61 and 64 games out of 80 for those seasons. And you knew he was asking for trouble with his incredibly rough style of play. The issue of payback was looming in the background as he served as his own enforcer. I'm not sure Bob Clarke could have convinced him to back off on the rough stlyle of play. Eric was probably too macho to accept that, to prolong his career, he needed a Dave Scultz to protect him. But since the Big E was 6'5" tall and weighed 235 pounds he probably felt embarrassed to accept help when it came to the rough stuff. I can still see, in my mind's eye, Lindros' epic battles with Scott Stevens during Eric's first trip to the playoffs. In particular, it was one night when he'd been giving more than he'd gotten from Stevens, that after Stevens had gone in low on John LeClair along the boards and caused LeClair to somersault and land very painfully on the ice, that just a moment later, Eric spotted Stevens near the boards and drew a bead on him. Lindros went after Stevens with the intent to drive him right through the glass with a 235 pound body check. Stevens saw him coming andand and the last second grabbed the top of the glass and swung himself out of Lindros' way while Eric shook the arena with his crash into the boards. It seemed to be the start of a long rivalry between the two big men, one that Lindros would eventually pay for in his final game with the Flyers when Stevens caught him looking down as he brought the puck into Stevens' territory. Scott let Eric have it right in the side of the head with a shoulder check that gave Eric one of his worst concussions just after he'd returned from a lengthy recovery from another concussion. Eric was in this respect his worst enemy. He'd roughed up a lot of people and some of them got him back. If only he'd accepted an enforcer, as Gretzky did, when he ruled the ice. No one ever whacked Wayne because there was always a Dave Semenko to crush him if they even thought about it.
But while he was with the Flyers and in his first year with the Rangers he was wonderful to root for. I just had to know how how many points he had scored in every game he played. I'd check the Baltimore Sun every day after the Flyer schedule that I had on my dresser indicated that the Flyers had played the night before. Or if I was on vacation I'd pick up the local paper as soon as I could to see how the Big Kid had done.
On business trips I'd grab the Seattle paper or USA today to get the "Lindros update". I'll never forget, while on one business trip to Seattle walking in to my motel room, turning on the television, and seeing highlights of Lindros getting a a hat trick against the Habs and then the very next night seeing that he'd gotten a second second hat trick against Montreal, the second in two days. Six goals and several assists in two days. Wow.
This "fanatical" following of the exploits of number 88 were taken to real extremes when I had a business trip to Bavaria in 1995. I'd call the Philadelphia Inquirer sports desk from m hotel room in southern Germany at 5:00 AM and ask for the stats on Lindros. It was about midnight back in the states and I'd explain that I was calling because I was out of the country and didn't have easy access to hockey box scores. I always got the same writer who didn't share my enthusiasm for Lindros, but he always gave me what I asked for even if it was a snide, "And guess what. Lindros didn't get any points last night." I'll always wonder who he was and be thankful for the time this newspaper man took to give me the rundown on Eric's scoring when I called across five time zones to get them.
Eric, you are gone but not forgotten. I still have about 30 of your rookie cards that I have to figure out who to leave to when I pass on. :)
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