Back To The Past

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH 

When I was covering the Detroit Lions back in the 1980’s and 1990’s, one of my favorite  rivalries was when they faced the Chicago Bears.

Whether it was at home or on the road, it was great seeing the history of this rivalry.

There were times when these two teams would clash in The Windy City during Christmas and I stayed at the Westin Hotel off Michigan Avenue. When they went to Chicago, I would go a couple days earlier to hang out at the bars, night clubs and see comedy clubs. The Christmas lights in Chicago were awesome.

When the Lions played Chicago at Soldier Field around Christmas, I would wear warm hiking boots, three pairs of socks, gloves and thermal underwear. When you’re standing on The Soldier Field Turf with the winds swirling off of Lake Michigan, it was brutal. 

Anytime I covered a game at Soldier Field was great because it was hard-nosed football outdoors.

I have to admit that I miss seeing the Bears having lived in Florida for 18 years. 

But on December 27, 2020, the Bears traveled to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars. Chicago comes to this area every eight years. The next time they’ll be here is 2028. 

By then, I’ll be collecting social security.

Going into the game, the Bears led the all-time series 4-3, although Jacksonville won the last meeting in 2016, 17-16.

There were no shortage of Bears fans in the stands. 

The Jacksonville fans were cheering for the Bears. There were chants, Let’s Go Bears. You could hear these chants for every sack and interception on Jaguars QB Mike Glennon as well as points scored. Glennon is a former Bear.

Jacksonville (1-13) was facing Chicago (7-7) and there were a three interesting storylines.

Former Jaguars wide receiver Allen Robinson faced his old squad for the first time and caught 10 passes for 103 yards.

When the New York Jets defeated the LA Rams on December, 20, 2020, 23-20, Jacksonville had the rights to the No.1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. 

It seems likely they’ll take standout Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence.

What made this game more interesting is that on Saturday Night, The San Francisco 49’ers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 20-12 and now the Bears controlled their own destiny to get in the Playoffs.

Would this 49’ers gift propel the Bears to a win?

You bet. The Bears cruised to a 41-17 victory on a cool sunny day where there were no shortage of jackets. The temperature was 55 degrees at kickoff. 

My attire was a golf shirt, pair of slacks, one pair of socks and sneakers.

The Jaguars hung with the Bears trailing 13-10 at halftime.

After that, the wheels came off as Jacksonville was out scored 28-7 in the second half.

Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky led the way by going 24-35, 265 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 10 yards and a touchdown.

Running back David Montgomery had 23 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown. TE Jimmy Graham had four receptions for 69 yards and two touchdowns.

During the post game media availability, Coach Doug Marrone and Glennon weren’t bothered by the cheering the Bears were getting since Chicago Fans travel well. This game gave Bears Fans an opportunity to travel during the holidays. 

Although the Jaguars lost this game, they did get some good news as the New York Jets (2-13) defeated the Cleveland Browns 23-16, this enabled Jacksonville to secure the top pick in 2021. 

Jacksonville (1-15) went on to lose to the Indianapolis Colts 28-14 in Week 17. 

The Jaguars fired Coach Doug Marrone the following day then weeks later hired former Florida Gators Coach Urban Meyer to be his successor.

The Bears (8-8) lost their final game at home to the Green Bay Packers 35-16, but managed to get in the playoffs with help by the LA Rams, who defeated the Arizona Cardinals 18-7. 

The announced crowd was 17,445 fans and I felt this game was being played at Soldier Field South. For me it was Back To The Past and during The Holiday Season.

Going to see the Bears vs Jags turned out to be the same 4.5 hour drive. The route from Detroit to Chicago  is the same time, but it was I-94 West. To go to Jacksonville, it was I-95 North.

There is nothing wrong with going Back To The Past especially when the memories are great! 

Indeed that was the case, two days before my 58th Birthday on December 29th.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter @TribuneSouth. 

Lots Of Distance Between Jaguars And Titans

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The distance from Jacksonville, FL to Nashville, TN by car is 8:21 and 595.2 miles.

The distance between the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-11) and Tennessee Titans (8-4) is longer when you consider that one team is tied for first place while the other is locked into last place.

Going into the game, these teams played 51 contests and Tennessee held a 31-21-0 advantage that includes a post season victory.

There were some interesting storylines entering into the contest.

During the week, Jaguars QB Gardner Minshew was begging for playing time. With the Jaguars trailing 31-3, Coach Doug Marrone benched starter Mike Glennon, who went 13-23 for 85 yards and one interception. 

Minshew took advantage of this opportunity. He provided a spark by going 18-31 for 178 yards and a touchdown. 

Will the locals be talking about Minshew Mania all week? 

I doubt it. 

He also demonstrated mobility by rushing for 22 yards on two carries.

The battle of two of the leagues best running backs featured Jaguars un-drafted stud James Robinson and Tennessee’s thoroughbred Derrick Henry. Going into the game, Robinson amassed 968 yards while his counterpart Henry had 1,317.

Robinson became the third rookie runner in franchise history to eclipse the 1,000 yard plateau by compiling 67 yards. The run which put him over the mark was a 47-yard carry. He also had 16 receiving yards.

As for Henry, he put on a clinic gaining 215 yards with 26 carries, two touchdowns for an 8.3 average. Henry had 15 carries for 122 yards at halftime. He also had seven yards receiving.

After the win against Jacksonville, Henry is the NFL’s leading rusher with 1,532 yards and with three games to go has an outside shot at 2,000 yards, which his extremely impressive in a Covid-19 Season.

Balance was the key for the Titans as QB Ryan Tannehill was solid by going 19-24 for 212 yards and two touchdowns. One of his touchdowns came on a flea-flicker where he hit A.J Brown for a 37-yard score.

Tannehill continues to thrive in Coach Mike Vrabel’s offense as he now has now thrown for 28 touchdowns and only five interceptions.

When it was all said and done, the Titans cruised to a 31-10 win. The game seemed like an organized scrimmage with teams going in totally different directions. 

Tennessee out gained Jacksonville in total yards 454-354. The Titans out rushed Jacksonville 249–91 thanks to Henry’s performance. Tennessee led in first downs 25-20.

The Titans (9-4) appear to be headed to the playoffs while the Jaguars are closer two a top-two selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. There is a lot of distance between these two teams in many ways.

Things won’t get any easier for the Jaguars next week as they travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens (7-5).

The Jaguars regular season home finale is on Sunday, December 27, 2020 against the Chicago Bears.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter @TribuneSouth and subscribe for free to SouthFloridaTribune You Tube Channel.

Tribute To Shila Morganroth

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH 

Thanksgiving weekends will never be the same.

On November 28, 2020 I lost My Mother Shila Morganroth as she died peacefully with My Father and I holding each hand. She passed away nine days before her 79th birthday. I have to admit, she lasted longer than I thought since she’s been battling with COPD for over a year. 

Unfortunately, COVID-19 prevented my wife and I from getting to Michigan earlier this year, but thankfully, we had five quality days with her at the end of her life.

Here are some of the best ways to describe Shila Morganroth. She possessed a good sense of humor, loving, generous, had a huge heart, was a warrior, resilient, determined, polarizing, creative, innovative, strong minded, colorful, courageous and a family oriented person.

During the course of this tribute, I’m going to list my top 15 memories during my 58 years knowing this “One Of A Kind” Woman!

But before I do this, I want to go down memory lane for all the wrong reasons!

Smoking will kill you! 

My Grandfather Sidney Morganroth died of lung cancer at the age of 55 while I was 10 years old. My father proceeded to take his cigarettes and flushed them down the toilet. I vowed to never start this disgusting, expensive habit. Forty eight years later, I’m still a non-smoker and I married a non-smoker.

You don’t see commercials on television featuring tobacco products. NASCAR’s premier series used to be called the Winston Cup. It isn’t anymore.

Unfortunately, my mother was a smoker for many years. Being a resident of Florida, I’m thankful that the state has a law called “The Clean Air Act” which has now been adopted by many states. My father and I wouldn’t be subjected to second hand smoke while eating.

My mother would ultimately quit smoking. But the damage was done. She had a tremendous fighting spirit and beat cancer a couple of times.

Now that I’ve made a great case that smoking will kill you, now I want to go over the top 15 Memories with Shila Morganroth.

1. She was with me for the majority of my operations. But the ones that stood out was when I had one at the Mayo Clinic In Rochester, Minnesota., flew to take care of me while I was living in Tampa, Fla., and numerous surgeries in South Florida.

2. She closed down the family home improvement company by locking the front door, and gave an ultimatum to my father and brother demanding they give me an opportunity to sell for the company! They proceeded to get my sales supplies together and off I went. She said, “Scott will be one of the best salesmen you have.” I sold for many years and was determined to prove her right, then moved into administration.

3. When you’re in college, it’s hard for a college student to live in a large place. My first apartment was a 100 square foot efficiency in Hollywood, Fla. Eventually, I rented a 250 square foot room also in Hollywood, FL. My father never saw the first one and when he saw the second one, he didn’t like it. My mother said, “Mickey, this was a much better place than what he was in before. Trust me, this was an upgrade.” He accepted that explanation.

4. During that first apartment in Hollywood, Fla., the paint was peeling in the shower. My mother decided to paint the shower black. The landlord never gave me my $200 deposit back. I told my mother this but I said, your heart was in the right place. No worries, I love you.

5. As I mentioned, she believed I could be a productive salesperson. I was but when she saw me work in my passion as a broadcaster, she loved seeing me in my element. She would share my broadcasts in Social Media to her friends and family even if she didn’t know what she was watching.

6. On January 1, 2017, My wife and I got married at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My mother and father were skeptical about a wedding in a baseball stadium in the middle of the winter. We held the event at a restaurant in the ballpark called Fridays and what they learned was ballparks have more amenities and can be used year round. They left Miller Park with a lot of positive comments about our wedding and a new daughter-in-law that they love tremendously! My wife and I have been together for eight years and she’s at peace with this. 

7. Make no bones about it that my mother knew she had a bad sense of direction. We joked around about this a lot. As a son, I had to protect her and when we lived together in South Florida, I gave her an ultimatum that she better call me if she gets lost! I made this loud and clear! I told her make sure my number was in her speed dial. She would call me a lot and I kept her on the phone and made sure that she told me where she was until I was comfortable to hang up. I knew she appreciated it and I was at peace that she was safe. I enjoyed being her personal GPS!

8. One of the most comical moments we ever experienced together was when she had to renew her drivers  license at the Michigan Secretary of State. She had to take a written test and asked me to sit nearby. I obliged and she echoed to me about helping her on a couple of questions. She got caught and they asked me to move away. She passed the exam anyways and I told her don’t sell yourself short. We shared a great laugh and off we went.

9. My mother knew that I was a professional writer and when she needed help composing or editing her stories, I was glad to help her out as she was working on a project.

10. When it came to branding herself, she was tremendous and that rubbed off on me. She branded her name with a trademark in the hair industry. I followed suit by trademarking the “Motor City Mad Mouth” for broadcasting. Like mother, like son. Mother knows best in this case!

11. Shaded Hair Is Living Art (Shila) led me to come up with a slogan of my own, Sports Can Offer Tough Tasks (Scott). My mother couldn’t wait to get to the printer to make these business cards!

12. My Mother always loved seeing me interview and take pictures with the likes of iconic sports celebrities such as Tom Lasorda, Muhammad Ali and Tigers Hall of Fame Broadcaster Ernie Harwell.

13. We always joked around about her birthday being on December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor Day. She felt bad that so many people died on her first official day on the planet. But always took it in stride that nobody would ever forget her birthday. Indeed, it was easy to remember. Ironically, the last time the Detroit Lions won their last championship on December 29, 1957, five years before I was born. Yes, date association does work.

14. During the past year her declining health, Shila Morganroth was able to see the birth of another great grandson and made it to her 60th anniversary. My wife and I wanted to come numerous times during the pandemic, but my mothers protective personality persuaded us to stay home and not put ourselves at risk. I reluctantly went a long with this. Her warrior type spirit held out long enough so my wife and I could make the trek up I-75 North to be here for her final days.

15. One of my favorite phrases was every time she got sick, I would put on a straight poker face that said, “God Doesn’t Want You And The Devil Won’t Take You” and she was insulted by this initially. I laughed at her and told her to chill out and said, “That’s a problem we should all have, meaning that God wants you to live.” When I broke this down in this manner, she laughed and appreciated the humor.

When you sum up the life of Shila Morganroth, she is a “One Of A Kind Person” and everyone that met her is better because of it. I’m very proud that I am her son and am grateful to my father for allowing me to do her eulogy. I’m also thankful that my younger brother Lonny spared no expense making sure my parents had what they needed, whether it was top notch medical care, supplies, food, etc.

Finally, I’m very thankful to Lonny for finding a way to create a FaceTime Call so I could be a part of their 60th Wedding Anniversary!

When I come back home to Metro Detroit, I always make it a point to stop by Clover Hill Park Cemetery in Royal Oak, MI. My mother will be the latest stop on the cemetery victory tour as I pay respects to all the family members and friends who impacted my life.

RIP Mom! There is no more suffering and there is no doubt we will meet again! I love you very much and you’ll be heavily missed, however, your life lessons will be engraved in my brain!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter @TribuneSouth plus subscribe for free to his You Tube Channel/ South Florida Tribune.

No Ordinary Football Game

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH 

If you looked at the FAU schedule earlier in the year, there was no U-Mass Minutemen sighting. 

This game was announced less than two weeks ago to give FAU another home game otherwise their contest with Western Kentucky University on November 7 would have been the last of 2020.

As I came to the game with My wife, I told her this contest would have a different feel to it. There is a strong possibility it will be the last one I attend with my mother alive. 

This game featured an opponent that’s nickname is called the Minutemen.

At around Midnight, we’ll be driving to Detroit as we look forward to seeing my mother.

She is currently in Hospice and has COPD where she’s on oxygen 24 hours a day. 

Unfortunately, smoking is about to take the life of an immediate family member. 

On May 11, 1973, My Grandfather Sidney Morganroth died at the age of 55 of lung cancer. After my grandfather’s passing, my father quit smoking cold turkey and I never started.

My mother is a very polarizing individual. 

Since I last saw her in August of 2019, her health has deteriorated badly. But she’s battled COPD like a warrior. I have to admit that I’m surprised she’s still alive. Thanks to periodic Face Time Calls, I’ve been able to see her. There were times I wanted to see her this year, but COVID-19 made that impossible.

I’m thankful that she was alive to be around for her 60th Wedding Anniversary. She also saw the birth of another great grandchild along with the announcement that another one is on the way.

My hope right now is she’ll be alive when we get there, and make it through Thanksgiving. 

She does have a birthday on December 7 and she’s supposed to turn 79.

On April 18, 1775, the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere took place.

On November 21, 2020, the Midnight Ride of Scott Morganroth will take place.

What makes this 20 hour plus trip to Metro Detroit more difficult is I won’t be able to see any of my other family members or close friends as Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer has paused restaurants for three weeks. 

We’ll be staying at an Extended Stay and making our own meals to minimize the risks of being diagnosed with COVID-19.

There is twice as much pressure to avoid the virus as it would put my mother and father at risk. They’re definitely high risks in their late 70’s. I couldn’t live with the thought of my parents passing away with us coming to town.

So this FAU Game was very therapeutic for me.

The Owls went into the contest 4-1, while their counterpart was 0-2. 

Initially, the Minuteman cancelled their season but as the year progressed, they decided to schedule four contests all on the road. 

Their first two games were lopsided losses. 

On October 17, Georgia Southern trounced U-Mass 41-0 in Statesboro, GA. 

On November 7, Marshall hammered the Minuteman 51-10 in Huntington, WV.

FAU came off an impressive 38-19 win over FIU on Friday, November 13 to win the Shula Bowl.

How would the Owls respond vs U-Mass?

FAU took a 7-0 lead in the first half and rolled to a 24-2 win.

Owls QB Javion Posey was 13-27-203 yards with 0 TD’s and 0 interceptions. 

Posey did his damage on the ground with 19 carries for 90 yards and one touchdown. He had a run of 70 yards. 

Running back BJ Emmons had eight carries for 25 yards and one touchdown.

FAU doubled up U-Mass with 16 first downs to eight and led in time of possession 34:50–25:10. FAU dominated offensively as the Owls out gained U-Mass in total yards 368-147.

Another defensive gem for FAU as the Minutemen’s only points occurred on block punt that resulted in a safety.

Taggart remained undefeated at FAU Stadium as he is 5-0. 

More importantly, FAU completes its home schedule going 4-0.

Taggart was pleased that his team went undefeated at home.

“I love playing in this stadium and I haven’t lost here,” Taggart said. “I wish I could play them all here. Our goal was to go undefeated at home and we accomplished that.”

I asked Taggart about adding U-Mass to the schedule on short notice. He said, “this was brought up a month ago and we had an open week and wanted an extra home game. U-Mass wanted to play this game and we just had to sign the contract.”

Taggart was once again pleased at the performance of the defense.

“The defense played great and we held them to two points,” he said. “The coaching staff did a good job as we forced two turnovers. This was the first time our guys got two turnovers since the first game. We still have lots of work to do offensively.”

With the win, FAU improved to 5-1 while U-Mass fell to 0-3. This is the third game that the Minutemen have lost by more than 22 points.

Ironically, FAU will play Georgia Southern on December 5 at Statesboro, GA. 

The Owls hit the road for a contest at Middle Tennessee at Murfreesboro on November 28 at 3:30 pm.

For us the journey up I-75 North begins.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter @TribuneSouth.

Sebring, A Bucket List Item!

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH 

If you could turn back time, what would you like to do for a living?

This is a No-Brainer for me!

I would like to be a race car driver. 

Yes, it’s expensive to get in the sport and it’s tough to get involved. 

But remember, I asked the question, what would you like to do for a living? There is nothing better in life than an adrenaline rush!

Sometimes I often think the thing which is close to a race track is when I drive on all kinds of highways. I don’t mind two lane roads, but I prefer the major ones. Needless to see, my wife has to use her tablet when I drive on the highways because I love speed and passing drivers. 

During the years, I’ve covered auto racing, attended races as a fan, have driven around tracks and have taken ride alongs.

I’ve covered races at Michigan International Speedway, Miami-Homestead Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway, Sebring International Raceway, Detroit’s Belle Isle Road Course while I’ve taken laps at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Daytona International Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. I also took them at Phoenix.

But there is one constant to all of this! 

Not only do I enjoy getting to the track early to prepare for these races, but it’s neat to walk around these venues.

There are plenty more tracks on my bucket list! There are plenty of ride alongs to be had! 

In 2019, I started covering events at Sebring. My former colleague, Herb Branham at the Tampa Tribune introduced me to Sebring Track Historian Ken Breslauer. Branham knew Breslauer as Herb held the same position at the Daytona International Speedway.

After working this last year, this event is addictive!

Sebring International Raceway is a 3.74 Mile Course with 17 turns. It’s open seating without capacity limitation. If there is ever a track where you need an RV and Motor Home, this one is it! It’s extremely fan friendly and there is no way to conduct this event without fans. There is plenty of room for social distancing. It’s a very spacious environment.

It occupies the site of Hendricks Army Airfield, a training base for B17 pilots in operation from 1941 to 1946.

The first 12 Hours of Sebring was held on March 15, 1952. 

Can you imagine a Corvette, Cadillac, Lamborghini, Lexus, Porsche, BMW, Audi, Ferrari, and Mercedes driving at an average speed of 120 MPH and 180 MPH on straightaways on an Asphalt/Concrete Surface? They do and the amount of money spent on these vehicles is incredible.

What makes Sebring Special is we’re talking about Endurance Racing. 

The yearly spectacle normally occurs in March, but this year, The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Presented By Advance Auto Parts occurred on Saturday, November 14th.

What’s great about Endurance Racing is that it’s very relatable to me. 

When I travel, I prefer to drive instead of fly. 

For me, I like to drive straight through to get to my destination and in many cases, going over 10 hours at a time is a piece of cake. Furthermore, I get stronger as the drive continues especially when I travel during the middle of the night. 

I’m a meditation junky and often make my best decisions behind the wheel listening to music! 

My wife Candy calls me a “Crazy Man” because she’s never seen anyone that has my tenacity to get stronger as the drive gets longer. 

Before My Mother-In-Law died, she always worried about my outrageous road trips. 

Many years ago, I couldn’t call my grandmother because she always worried about me so what I did was called her when I would get in my hotel room.

When you work a race at Sebring in the Press Box, there is no shortage of caffeine, energy drinks, and sweets because you need to get that sugar buzz to get through the day.

But Breslauer has been great to work with. I’ve had him on my broadcasts numerous times. Last year, he spent time educating me on Endurance Racing. The South Florida Tribune is on the Media Distribution List for IMSA therefore, I have a better understanding of the sport. 

Breslauer told me that COVID-19 has presented some challenges this year as the 12 Hours of Sebring, which is held in the third week of March was moved to the fall and will decide the IMSA Championship. 

To deal with Covid-19, they held a race in July to make sure that the event would run smoothly. 

One thing that didn’t factor was time of the race. 

During the Spring, the beginning of the race starts 40 minutes later because of Daylight Savings Time. This year’s race started at 10:10 AM and ended at 10:10 PM.

Breslauer said that he enjoys having his event in the spring.

“There is no reason to change it, the tradition is the third Saturday in March, “ he said. “People plan their vacations around this and it’s Spring Break. The Championship Weekend is held at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. We’re more than happy to give it back to them. We’re the second race of the year behind Daytona (Rolex 24 Hours) which is the Florida Doubleheader. It’s like the PGA Tour where they have all of their Florida Golf Events together during the Winter.”

NASCAR Legend Jimmie Johnson recently retired and will race in Indy Cars in 2021. He’s looking for a new challenge with a less demanding schedule. 

Breslauer doesn’t think it’s far fetched to believe that the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion could appear in this historical venue.

“I think so,” Breslauer said. “It’s always good to have NASCAR Stars race here. We’ve had them in the past. There is a good chance we could see that down the road.”

Sebring has no trouble landing big name drivers.

There were six former Indianapolis 500 winners competing in the Twelve Hours of Sebring. 

They include Juan Pablo Montoya, Simon Pagenaud, Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay.

Breslauer wrote a book called “SEBRING” and it’s The Record Book of America’s Legendary 12 Hour Sports Endurance Race. 

It’s loaded with photos and is a must buy if you’re a Motor Sports Fan. It can be purchased on E-Bay.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. 

Winning Ugly In Paradise

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

Prior to the FAU vs Western Kentucky Football Game, I had an opportunity to spend time with my niece Bria outside her dorm room.

She’s a freshman and is enjoying life in Boca Raton, FL.

One of the things that I told her that when I reflect back on my college experience back in the 1980’s that I won ugly to get my degree. Working full-time made it tough to reach the highest grades, but my priority was not having to pay back student loans.

By the end of the evening, winning ugly would come into play as the FAU Owls defeated the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 10-6. The win improved FAU’s record to 3-1 while the visitors dropped to 2-6.

Why was this game ugly?

The score was 0-0 at the half and 3-3 at the end of the third quarter.

There were 10 punts, five on each side. 

The one punt that stood out was a 70-yarder with no return by Matt Hayball. 

Coach Willie Taggart challenged him all week to make a difference and Hayball did just that as his kick changed field position for WKU and had them deep into their own territory.

If you were looking for offense, this would not be the game. 

FAU out gained WKU 273-257.

Time of possession favored the visitors 33:49-26:11. 

Taggart made a gutty call and decided to not kick a field goal on fourth down and one late in the game. FAU converted and the game winning touchdown was an 11-yard TD run by QB Javion Posey with 2:27 left in the game. 

Posey took the place of Nick Tronti, who was benched. Posey provided a spark as he had nine carries for 60 yards. His lone pass was intercepted.

Taggart has now coached four games at FAU Stadium and has won all of them.

When he was coaching at Western Kentucky in 2011, he beat the Owls 20-0 to open the new on-campus stadium. 

He’s 4-0 at FAU Stadium and will face U-Mass on Friday November 20 at 8 pm.

When I asked Taggart about Winning Ugly In Paradise, he had a fun time answering this question.

“This was a great win for the Owls,” he said. “It was a tough, hard fought game and we hung in there for four quarters. We found a way to win a tough ball game. I don’t believe in ugly wins (smiling). This is gorgeous, have to embrace it, celebrate it and get excited about it. It’s tough to win games and this was pretty.”

FAU’s win over the Hilltoppers gave the Owls a 9-3 advantage in this series. It is one of the longest series in Owls history.

FAU returns to action on Friday, November 13 as the Owls travel to FIU and face the Golden Panthers in Miami for the Shula Bowl at 7 pm.

Like FAU, FIU has been facing COVID-19 issues and has been idle the past two weeks. This contest is scheduled for 7 pm. FIU is 0-3.

 Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. 

Trick Or Treat

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH 

I’ve been covering sports for 40 years and today I discovered a first.

This can only happen in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The FAU Owls (1-1) played host to the UTSA Roadrunners (4-3) and considering the contest is being played on Halloween, the famous words, “Trick or Treat” brought on an entirely new meaning.

UTSA has played five more games than FAU at this stage of the 2020 Season. This is totally unheard of. But as I mentioned welcome to 2020.

Because of COVID-19 the only question I wondered was what to expect out of the Owls?

FAU won its season opener with a 21-17 triumph over Charlotte on October 3rd.

The Owls played again on October 24 as they lost to Marshall 20-9 in Huntington, WV.

Judging by the first quarter, FAU looked good as the Owls jumped out to a 10-0 lead. 

QB Nick Tronti was 6-9 for 63 yards and had a touchdown pass. 

RB Malcolm Davidson had eight carries for 65 yards, one of those was a 28-yard run. FAU dominated time of possession 10:16-4:44.

FAU put together a late first half drive that was highlighted by a 36-yard pass from Tronti to TJ Chase where the receiver went high and hauled in the reception. Tronti proceeded to score from two yards out. FAU led 17-3. 

UTSA’s lone points came from a 49-yard field goal by Hunter Duplessis.

There would be some rain in the second half as the field started to get slippery.

The Owls added a late score with 2:35 left in the game and came away with a 24-3 win.

FAU’s defense recorded seven sacks and limited UTSA to 230 total yards. FAU improved it’s overall record to 2-1 while UTSA dropped to 4-4. 

The Owls offense was balanced. The running game produced 196 yards while they gained 136 in the air leading to 332 total yards. Davidson finished with 115 yards on the ground. His longest gain of the afternoon was 30 yards.

When the contest was over, Coach Willie Taggart was pleased that his defense did an excellent job keeping UTSA out of the end zone.

“This was a great win for us and I’m excited about the way our defense played,” he said. Our defense played lights out. Our offense just has to catch up. This was a much needed win for us.”

I asked Taggart about the game differential between his squad and his opponent. He said, “They knew more about their team than we did. It was great to play back to back games. For us, it’s important to learn about our team and we made improvement from the Marshall game.

“We have to be smart, mask-up and continue to play well. We’ll continue to get better as the season goes on getting the kinks out. What we learned today was we have a good defense, we’re not consistent on offense and we can run the football. We have a chance to be real good, but there is a lot of work has to be done.”

Taggart was extremely pleased with the performance of Davidson.

“He was running hard and did a great job,” Taggart said. “He showed what he’s capable of doing. I was hoping that he would get 20 carries. He’s a quiet guy and we need him to be the back that we know he can be.”

It’s hard to believe that this weird, wondrous and whatever season will have FAU play their home Finale, on Saturday, November 7 at 6 ET. It’s still crazy to think that this will be FAU’s fourth game of the season. 

But on this Halloween Day, FAU didn’t get tricked by losing another football game as a result of a postponement.

Instead, it was a treat to play a winning football game and learn a little more about the squad.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com.

Tale Of Two Coaches

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH 

JACKSONVILLE, FL

The Detroit Lions vs Jacksonville Jaguars game was a contest that was slated to be played in London, England., but COVID-19 prevented that from occurring.

Another thing that could have stopped this game was Jacksonville placed 12 players on the Practice Squad/Covid List and one player on the Reserve/Covid-19 List.

But on Game Day, there were zero positive tests on the active roster since Saturday and the players received multiple tests therefore, they were eligible to play.

My wife and I stayed at the Downtown Jacksonville Hyatt Regency and there were some Lions jerseys on Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. There were flags on motor vehicles. The Lions only play in Northern Florida once every eight years.

This was a matchup of two of the four teams that have never played in the Super Bowl.

On Sunday, those fans wouldn’t be disappointed as Detroit cruised to a 34-16 win. 

There would be no double-digit blown leads and QB Matthew Stafford checked another box in his fine career. Going into the game, he hadn’t thrown a TD pass vs the Jaguars. In the second quarter, the Lions converted on a fourth and goal and tight-end T.J Hockensen was the recipient of a one-yard TD pass.

RB DeAndre Swift is no stranger to TIAA Bank field as he, like Stafford played in this venue for the Georgia Bulldogs. 

Swift made the most of his return with 14 carries-116 yards and two touchdowns. One run went for 54 yards. He also caught three passes for seven yards. 

Swift’s performance reminded me of the stellar outing by then rookie Kerryon Johnson, who on October 21, 2018 led the Lions to a road 32-21 win at the Miami Dolphins, five hours south on I-95. Johnson rushed for 158 yards and added 21 yards in the air.

Stafford completed 19-31-223 yards and a touchdown. 

Kenny Golladay caught four passes for 105 yards. 

Adrian Peterson rushed four times for 40 yards and one touchdown. He also had one catch for 18 yards.

Minshew was 24-44-243 with a touchdown and one interception. RB James Robinson rushed for 29 yards and also caught a TD pass. Keenan Cole Sr had six receptions for 143 yards while DJ Chark had seven receptions for 45 yards.

What propelled the Lions to the win was they led in Time of Possession 35:57-24:03 and they out rushed Jacksonville 180-44 and controlled the tempo of the game.

Jacksonville has been outscored 161-98 and has lost five straight. In those five losses the Jaguars have given up 30 points. The Jaguars have set a new NFL record by employing five kickers in five consecutive weeks.

Detroit improved its record to 2-3 while Jacksonville dropped to 1-5. Detroit leads to all-time series 4-3 and the next time these squads face each other will be at Ford Field in 2024. 

During the next week, Lions Coach Matt Patricia and General Manager Bob Quinn won’t have to answer questions about their job status. This easy win will somewhat silence the media.

Detroit faces the Atlanta Falcons next Sunday in Georgia, another homecoming for Swift, who played in nearby Athens. Another win against an opponent that they’re expected to beat will continue to silence the Media.

Meanwhile, Jacksonville Jaguars Coach Doug Marrone still continues to search for answers with his young team and will face the Los Angeles Chargers in Southern California.

Since Jacksonville’s 2017 AFC Title year, with two playoff wins, Marrone has a 12-27 record including the title game loss to Tom Brady, who played for the New England Patriots.

Going into the game, I was slightly on edge as to what it would be like to cover an NFL Game during Covid-19. No problem! I was impressed with the pre-screening and the protocols worked well with me.

We all know that Covid-19 is every disruptive and will continue to cause tension during the week as we see games cancelled and postponed. So this is something that everyone has to live with. 

As far as this game is concerned, going into the contest, this is the Tale of Two Coaches with Matt Patricia and Doug Marrone. It will be interesting to see what they’re fates will be when Black Monday occurs at the end of the season. 

Marrone has one year left on his contract so the question is will Jacksonville fire him and move on or allow him to continue the rebuilding process?

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. 

Back In My Element

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH 

There is no place better for me than being in a press box.

Thanks to Covid-19, games that I would ordinarily cover turned out to be credential requests denied. This has been mostly the case in the NFL as seating capacity has drastically been reduced.

Remote broadcasting has been the theme in the Sports World in 2020. 

Announcers are calling games from their homes and studios. 

Pre-game access is limited to Media Availability on Zoom, Webex and other forms of video conferencing outlets.

Of all the press boxes that I’ve been working, there is no better view than FAU Stadium, the home of the Owls, here in Boca Raton, Florida. It’s the only stadium where you can see the ocean, as the Atlantic Ocean is 1.8 miles east.

During the past two weeks, the Owls were scheduled to hit the road to face Georgia Southern and than host the University of South Florida last week. Those games never came to fruition as COVID-19 reared it’s ugly head.

FAU finally got on the field and the Owls were glad that they could finally hit someone other than themselves. At long last, the long awaited debut of Head Coach Willie Taggart arrived as he faced the Charlotte 49’ers.

The Owls looked like a team that were trying to find their footing as they fell behind 10-0 at the half.

But things changed drastically in the third quarter as Tronti led the Owls to 21 unanswered points. He ran for a 49-yard touchdown. He followed that up throwing two touchdown passes. Other key third quarter efforts came from Larry McCammon III who had a key 35-yard run which set up a TD. FAU’s defense caused UNCC to lose a fumble that led to another TD.

UNCC wasn’t going away. The 49’ers put together a drive that was 10 plays for 75-yards which took 3:57 to cut the lead to 21-17 with 13:00 in the fourth quarter.

Both teams had their opportunities to score in the final quarter, but the Owls hung on to a 21-17 win, in what would turn out to be a rainy ending. FAU recorded two key sacks inside of the final 26 seconds, as UNCC was driving in the red zone.

Tronti was 11-22-98 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 10 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown. He accounted for all of FAU’s TD’s.

During halftime, Taggart had words of wisdom for his QB.

“I told him to calm down, you know how to do this and in the second half, he was starting to make some good reads.”

Taggart earned his first triumph as FAU Coach and was relieved to not only play this first game but win it as well.

I asked Taggart what was like to finally hit some other players and not your own? 

“It was like Christmas,” he said. “I had my fingers crossed and when we were able to play and Charlotte was able too, I said yes!”

Taggart summed up the opening week and said, “it was good to see our football team play a game. In the first half nothing went right. But it was good seeing them come back and multiple players made plays.

“I told these guys that adversity is going to hit. The guys took these words and ran with it. They responded to it. All the adversity we went through paid off. This is a group of young  people that play for one another.

“I’m excited about the football team we have and where we can go. It’s great to win In Paradise.”

The 1-0 Owls hit the road and face Southern Mississippi. They now lead their overall series with Charlotte 4-2.

While Taggart was pleased to win In Paradise, it was great being Back In My Element In Paradise.

Barring any COVID-19 issues, I look forward to returning in my serene spot in paradise as FAU faces the University of Texas-San Antonio on October 31, at Noon ET.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com.

Last Sporting Event

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

If there was ever an irony, this is it!

By now, we know that COVID-19 has turned 2020 upside down.

As a media outlet, our job is to cover events in person. 

For a few months, there were no events to cover. 

But, we’re not in the business to make excuses for not having content on and off the air. 

We have to be creative and ethical. This is when you find out what you’re made of.

The Last Sporting Event that Candy Ebling and I covered was on March 11, 2020 in Glendale, AZ as the Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the Milwaukee Brewers in a Cactus League Spring Training Game at Camelback Ranch.

It was neat attending a pre-game press conference with Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts and I spent time with Alanna Rizzo, who covers the Dodgers. I met Alanna at the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Awards Luncheon in early January.

For the past 41 years, I’ve always viewed the Press Box as my mobile office regardless of what event I cover. Nothing like firing up the computer, reviewing, highlighting my pre-game notes, writing my own notes then writing my story. It’s always great catching up with old friends, colleagues and meeting new ones. 

As my wife always says, there is nothing better for me than being in my element.

I’m not going to get into too much detail of all the events that I’ve missed in 2020. I don’t want to bore you because everyone in this industry is in the same predicament.

Times have changed so much that Zoom has taken over and we all do our work through this new medium.

Because of COVID-19, there is a new trend called Remote Reporting where broadcasters call the games from their homes, studios and make the best of the interaction with the newsmakers. 

Who knows how much traveling will be done for visiting media in an effort to cut down on expenses in the future. 

Thanks to the Miami Marlins, the best addition of the year for us as a media outlet, I’ve learned quickly how to adjust to the new norm and ask questions when you can. You have to be considerate of others and take the best notes possible or go to the link later.

On Saturday, September 26, 2020, I was hoping to cover the Florida Atlantic University Owls vs University of South Florida Bulls Football Game in Boca Raton, FL. 

But Covid-19 put an end to those plans as USF had to postpone the game when it traveled to Notre Dame the week before and The Fighting Irish had virus issues. 

I was looking forward to this game because it was an opportunity to see my AlmaMater USF play in my backyard. Oh well, it wasn’t meant to be. At least for now. 

Tonight at 10 pm ET, The Milwaukee Brewers will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in Southern California. I have every intention of trying to watch this game.

I’ve always had a tremendous amount of admiration for the Dodgers because of the way they’ve always cooperated with me through out the years covering their games. Former Manager Tom Lasorda was my first big interview and we had a lot of great memories through the years especially during Spring Training. 

I have special feelings for the Milwaukee Brewers. My wife is from the area. We got married at Miller Park on January 1, 2017 and my dealings with the Brewers organization have always been pretty good. I feel like I have adopted Wisconsin as another home area especially since I have family.

But what makes this game so neat is it’s the Last Sporting Event that we covered in 2020.

It doesn’t matter that the Dodgers (43-17) are the heavy favorites to beat the Brewers (29-31) and win the World Series title. 

We saw this game when Dodgers pitcher David Price and Brewers outfielder Lorenzo Cain were planning to play in 2020. 

What I do know is, I’m not sure when we’ll cover another game. 

Until I’m comfortable going out in public, the word caution would be the best way to go and take 2020 off until we get a handle on this virus with a vaccine in place. 

But we’ll see when the drought ends. You can rest assure when it does, I’ll be writing on this topic.

But tonight will be neat with this matchup as the Brewers face the Dodgers on the West Coast.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. 

Read Anything Before You Sign It!

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

Every week, we have a show of the week. 

I put a tremendous amount of though into these broadcasts. 

Part of my thinking is what can the average individual get out of them.

We’ve had a lot of excellent sports broadcasts and there are some non sports subjects that stand out.

Last week, on the South Florida Tribune Podcast, Coral Springs based attorney Ron Renzy talked about something everybody should take seriously.

The title of this story is what the broadcast was about. 

“Read Anything Before You Sign It.”

Here are the examples of things we discussed.

1. Non-compete clauses. These will haunt you all the time because if you don’t read them from the first letter to the final punctuation mark, they could prevent you from making a living.

2. Employment Agreement is if you don’t adhere to what the employer is specifying, you could either not be hired or get terminated. Many of these agreements consist of a credit and background check. 

3. Purchase of Sale of Home is something all homeowners should read in order to avoid issues later. Home inspections are things that come up in this case.

4. Purchase of Sale of Car is another situation that could be problematic and costly.

5. Purchase of Sale of Valuables Such as Gold Coins and Art.

6. Contract for Sale of Any Goods.

7. Contract for Services.

8. Copyright of Trademark License which is what I’ve been dealing first hand as I’ve gone through the extensive process of obtaining one for “The Motor City Mad Mouth.”

9. Sports Memorabilia is an interesting one as there are items that should be authenticated to make sure they’re real and worth the value being asked. 

10. Extended Warranties should not be taken lightly in order to determine what’s covered and what’s not covered. This is an area where you could easily be scammed especially by a telemarketer over the phone. If you purchase one for an automobile at the dealership, this could give you peace of mind, but they’re expensive.

The bottom line is be careful about pretty much by any agreement. If you make a mistake, hiring a lawyer to get you out of a situation could be quite costly especially for something that many of us view as common sense. We all fall into this trip because we don’t take the extra step to be cautious.

While all of these are important, I can’t emphasize enough that be careful of the Non-compete clause!

Ron Renzy is a regular on The South Florida Tribune Podcast and we’re colleagues at The Coral Springs Chamber of Commerce.

You can listen to this broadcast by clicking the link below.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. 

Where were you when?

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

On this week’s edition of No Limits, Candy Ebling and I had a broadcast that covered 15 events that were personal and historical.

We led off the show with one that occurred on this date, 19 years ago. 

It was a tragedy that rocked our nation.

In New York City, the Twin Towers came down as an airplane crashed into both. There was a fatal airplane crash in Pennsylvania field and another incident involving the Pentagon in Washington DC.

I’m not going into the details of what transpired because there is plenty of information on the World Wide Web.

What I will get into is where I was when these events took place, plus the aftermath of this historical infamous event.

Prior to September 11, 2001, I was visiting family in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Fortunately, I flew back home to Arizona on September 9, 2001. 

When the tragedy took place, I wasn’t aware of this because I was driving to my attorney Harry Cawood’s office, as I was in the early stages of filing for a divorce. 

My attorney asked me if I had heard what happened and I looked at him lost. He said don’t you follow current news events? 

I told him that I was driving to see you. At that time, he gave me an overview than we proceeded with our meeting.

But when it all sank in, the new reality sunk in that our nation would never be the same.

After leaving his office, I was working as a pizza delivery driver part time and I could see the stress on some of my customers faces. 

It wasn’t a good day to face the public nor would it be for the foreseeable future.

I’ll never forget that sports world would shut down for a period of time. 

I did a weekly auto racing show but there were no races to cover. 

I suggested to my co-hosts that I had a legendary Detroit Tigers Hall of Fame Broadcaster named Ernie Harwell that I wanted to bring on the show. 

Ernie was a friend, mentor and family member and was more than happy to come on. He went on and explained to our fans that he’d been through this before and mentioned sports taking a pause.

My co-hosts were in awe just talking to Ernie realizing his incredible history in baseball.

When we look at September 11, 2001, it was ironic that I was living in a metro area where there baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks would face the New York Yankees. 

In any other year, I would have rooted for the New York Yankees. 

But not this one! I was a Diamondback! It was us against the world.

Another Arizona sports figure Pat Tillman would give up his football career with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the military because of the events that occurred on September 11.He would ultimately get killed in Afghanistan.

Because of this day in history, traveling would never be the same. Airports would be updated with security check points therefore, it became essential to arrive at least two hours early. The days of seeing loved ones and friends when you got off the airplane were gone.

The Department of Homeland Security was created. 

Life would never be the same. But on this day, we honor and pay tribute to those innocent individuals who lost there lives because of this hideous act of terror. A lot of those responsible were ultimately killed but it doesn’t make the loss of life come back.

In 2001, I wasn’t as glued to the internet as I am now. A cell phone was just for making calls. I was just learning how to text message. The pricing plans were steep in cost but necessary since our society became more mobile.

Will we remember where we were when important events took place? In many cases, yes.

But on this date, 19 years ago, I would find out about this unfortunate event from the most unlikely of sources, an attorney in the midst of a rough period of my life.

I encourage you to listen to our broadcast as it will definitely bring back some memories.

Meanwhile, for those that passed away on September 11, 2001, Rest In Peace and you’re going to be missed, but not forgotten!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com.

Adjusting To The New Normal

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

It didn’t take long for me to find the third COVID-19 most recent trend.

Today, my wife and I decided to get an oil change on our Jeep and it was a unique experience that I could actually get used to. 

How would you like to sit in your vehicle rather than be in a waiting room to get work done? 

I actually enjoyed this as it only took 25 minutes from start to finish to get an oil change, along with other routine maintenance. This worked out so well that we were able to get some unexpected shopping done.

Things aren’t always going to be this easy because as we know, the work at an oil change facility is below ground and it’s very simple. They had a portable air conditioner in our vehicle as you’ll see in the photo so we didn’t get too hot.

We all know that there are germs in waiting rooms. 

There are more people to come in contact with, plus it’s more difficult to social distance. You don’t know who is touching the coffee machines. 

You don’t actually know how sanitized the establishment is. 

But at least there is the comfort of being in your own vehicle.

In the past three weeks, we’ve had tires replaced on two vehicles and plan on doing the same for a third as a smart entrepreneur decided to open a remote business. His prices are comparable to the other retail outlets as well as Costco. 

Simplicity is the name of the game these days during these unprecedented times. 

It doesn’t always work out that way especially if you have older vehicles as you have to endure long waits at repair shops and in dealerships.

Fortunately for us, all of our vehicles are newer and are under warranty. There is no way around the maintenance. 

Even a bicycle has to be maintained by lubricating the chain and taking care of the tires.

But if you can get into a situation that reduces risk, then you get resourceful and find ways to stay safe.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com.

Eating At Restaurants

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

COVID-19 has it’s way of changing the way people do things.

By now, I’ve established that I’m becoming much better with Zoom Calls and living life in the Virtual World. I’m embracing technology much more and not intimated by it.

I don’t miss the extra miles that I put on my vehicles. I don’t miss the gas I have to put in them. 

During a holiday weekend, I’m not dealing with the spike in gas prices because it’s too dangerous to go anywhere.

At a networking referral meeting on Wednesday with the Coral Springs Chamber of Commerce, I was in a small group that was talking about whether they’re going to restaurants. 

I couldn’t say anything because yours truly committed a gaffe and had his mute button on. 

That little gaffe gave me the desire to write about eating at restaurants.

After the meeting, I spoke to my attorney Ron Renzy and he told me he wasn’t going to restaurants yet and I certainly could appreciate where he was coming from. He wasn’t ready to eat out because he wasn’t comfortable.

During our conversation, I told him that my wife and I do eat at restaurants periodically. 

I wear my mask inside the restaurant and we go at low risk times as we do when we go shopping at the supermarket. We like to go to the supermarket when it opens up.

Depending on the state, restaurants are operating between 20-50% of it’s seating capacity. They do a great job social distancing keeping the tables farther apart.

My wife and I will go out to dinner two Friday’s a night when I’m not broadcasting. We try to go between 6-6:30 at a place where the crowds aren’t going to be too high.

Nowadays, our date nights don’t have to be later. 

They can be earlier.

For instance, we like to go to restaurants when they open up and we’re either the first people in the establishment or one of the first. 

We can hang out for approximately one hour at the most just before the others arrive. I echoed this to Ron and he seemed intrigued by this.

There was a time that I used to go to restaurants for lunch. 

One of my favorite lunch stops was at Subway. 

I would eat the meal and have free refills on my caffeinated cold beverages. That was my fuel as coffee is to other individuals and then I went to work.

There are times when an owner made such a big deal about the refills that I never went back. 

But for the most part, I went to a restaurant where the owner appreciated me coming back and never made a big deal.

Enter COVID-19 and I stopped going out for lunches. 

Instead, my wife and I would stock up on Diet Mountain Dew, Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi. This solved a couple of problems. 

I reduced my chances of getting the virus by staying away from people and social distanced.

I eliminated any potential conflicts with restaurant owners. No need for refills. 

Now when I go out to eat, I use it as a treat to spend time with my wife to appreciate a date night regardless of the time of day.

Now I don’t miss lunches on the road. When I do eat lunches on the road, it’s a novelty, not a necessity. 

As the year has progressed, I have changed my way of going to restaurants by not becoming too dependent on them and also appreciate home cooked meals. 

I find my meals more relaxing in many ways. 

It just took a little time to change my mindset. They compliment my life and not dominate it and as a result, times are much safer and less riskier.

It’s amazing what a global pandemic can do to you when this unprecedented situation has in some ways turned into a life changing permanent acclimation period.

I can only imagine how much more I’m going to learn for the duration of without question, a very tough 2020! 

While 2021 won’t come soon enough, at least we’ll be smarter getting through this together. 

They say that when the going gets tough, the tough get going! There is a reason why this is a cliche. It’s true! 

The moral of the story is you can turn a negative into a positive. 

In addition to the restaurant situation, I’ve enjoyed what I’ve learned from the Zoom and Virtual Calls. 

Two valuable lessons and I’m anxious to write about the third.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com.

The Mute Button

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I’ll never forget the joking comment my father-in-law made when I was studying for the Florida State Health and Life Test and going for my 215 license.

He said, the only way to shut you up was to lock yourself in a room and put duct tape on your mouth then you can concentrate. As drastic as that may have sounded, he wasn’t totally off base.

But that was before either of us knew anything about Zoom Calls.

Nowadays, as we depend on Zoom Calls. We do them in group and individual settings. There is that button called “Mute.”

I’m involved in lots of networking meetings and it’s commonly used. There is even a button to raise your hand. I’ve gotten familiar with that one.

I go on Miami Marlins Zoom Calls and have gained a lot of content for my broadcasts as I work with fellow media members. We all know that the hosts control “The Mute Button” to make sure everyone participates equally.

During a Wednesday networking event with The Coral Springs Chamber of Commerce, we were placed in individual groups. 

Everyone was talking about different subjects but I couldn’t get a word in.

It wasn’t until the end that Mike Del Pozo asked me to end the session if I had any positive things to say. 

It was then that I finally realized that I inadvertently had the mute button on and used my 40 seconds to say what normally would have taken me a few minutes.

I have to admit that this mute gaffe didn’t seem funny when it happened, but it was a light-hearted teaching moment.

After that session, we had another small group session during that meeting. I quipped about it. It was neat that a few other people could see the humor in a mistake that if we aren’t aware of what we’re doing, this could happen to anyone.

Today, I had so much fun with my gaffe, I talked about it with another networking group and to see them smile was neat.

The moral of the story is that Zoom Calls are going to be a way of life thanks to COVID-19 and I’m fortunate that these networking events were small potatoes compared to what could happen if I were in a virtual classroom or an important seminar and not be able to ask important questions, thus costing me a learning opportunity.

The hosts usually tell you to us mute yourself, but thanks to Del Pozo, I was able to get a few words in.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com.

Power Of Meditation

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

If there is ever a person that believes in “The Power Of Meditation” it’s me.

One of my biggest passions is listening to music and taking long drives. 

Living in Florida is the ideal spot for me. 

I have the ability to take long drives up the ocean in South Florida whether it’s driving towards South Miami Beach or going as far north of Fort Pierce. 

There are times I like going around Lake Okeechobee seeing what views I can see since it’s surrounded by walls that prevent flooding during a hurricane or going to restaurants.

Since I don’t like flying, but will when I have to, I enjoy taking long drives to travel around the country. Whether it’s taking a ride to see family in Nashville, TN, Milwaukee, WI, or to My hometown of Detroit, MI.

My wife Candy gave me the nickname “Crazy Man” because I enjoy driving in the middle of the night as I get stronger to get to places. While there are times I miss some scenery in the middle of the night, what I don’t miss is extensive traffic. 

My late mother-in-law was worried about me when I did this but she acclimated to it as I made it look easy.

But there has been one constant through the years. 

I’ve been writing for 41 years. Covering sports has been great as I’ve met lots of people not only as a writer but a broadcaster.

During COVID-19, not only have I enjoyed the challenge of building the South Florida Tribune and the broadcasting side from scratch, I’m having a blast watching it develop.

Now, it’s time to get spend time with an old friend. 

That’s being a writer!

But this one will have more friends. 

I’m not limiting myself to sports anymore. I plan on telling more life stories both past and present. 

It’s time to talk about other subjects as I prepare for the big prize and writing a book which is on my bucket list.

Unless you’re out covering events, you don’t have to pay for gas or use miles on your vehicle to write. 

Being able to meditate can only lead to therapeutic relaxation. 

During these unprecedented times, we need to release our tensions a minimize the stress.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to stop driving because that’s been a part of me that I’ll always enjoy doing. 

One of my favorite drives of all time was taking the breathtaking Pacific Coast Drive from San Francisco to San Diego when I turned 30. It must have taken me about 15 hours, but with the scenery of looking at the mountains and ocean, I didn’t care. I would rent vehicles that had cassette players and listened to tapes and listen to radio or just have a quiet drive and embrace the scenery.

During a family Zoom Call, My brother-in-law Steve Ebling once asked me if I ever thought about being a truck driver. I told him, if there were do overs, I would go after My Commerical Drivers License.

But at 57-years old, I’m not physically able to do that anymore on a consistent basis. Any type of driving job with COVID-19 would be risky and that’s not a chance I would take. It’s also important to keep watch the expenses and wear and tear on a vehicle.

The moral of the story is “The Power Of Meditation” is important. My ways of doing it are through writing and driving.

But if you can find it through dancing, yoga, etc... more power to you.

Regardless of the times, it will always be therapeutic and that piece of mind is priceless!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com.

Seeing Sports In A Different Way

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH 

I have to admit that I never thought I’d see the day where sporting events would be played in front of no fans. 

In this industry, we often kid around about a team that plays in front of sparse crowds because of a losing record. There are cases where a stadium location also leads to smaller crowds.

There are fickle sports towns where if you win, they’ll support the team. If you don’t win, they won’t support. There are others where they’ll support no matter what.

Here in 2020, I remember when Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James scoffed at the idea of playing in front of no fans during the beginning of COVID-19. 

But as the virus kept cancelling and postponing events, each sport had to make a decision to permanently stop or hope to find a way to salvage a season.

Early in the process, I began to watch Korea Baseball Organization Games on ESPN. I enjoy baseball so much that it was interesting to watch it in another country with no fans. 

Then, it became more interesting to see remote announcers call the games and that has developed into a current trend. The KBO also had cheerleaders which I don’t see happening in MLB.

NASCAR started the remote announcers and no fans.

MLB used piped in noise at games and remote announcers. Teams got clever by selling cardboard cut outs of fans in the stands. 

What’s interesting in MLB was since there are no fans, players could be heard and as a result, there were some ejections as players would argue balls and strikes or questionable calls with the umpires. There was an instance where a player got tossed from the stands. 

Because it looked bad, empty seats were covered up with canvas advertising to create additional advertising revenues.

The NBA and NHL Bubbles were well thought out and planned as tarps covered arena seats and there were virtual fans in the stands.

As we enter football season, it appears that there won’t be fans in the stands for the first game or two. When fans are allowed in the stands, I wouldn’t expect stadiums to have crowds of over 25% due to social distancing.

When will stadiums have larger capacities to give a team home court, ice and field advantage? 

There wasn’t any in the NHL and NBA. Without fans, the team that should have had an advantage of fans was negated. 

The Indianapolis 500, The US Open Tennis Tournament in New York as well as other events certainly aren’t the same without fans. But for now, at least there are events going on and champions will be crowned, even if some of these titles are going to have an asterisk in the history books.

Will fans decide to stay away from sporting events because it’s more convenient and less expensive to stay home? 

Some of this will determine where they live. 

In colder climates, they’ll go back quicker since there is a lot less to do. In the warmer climates like Florida, California, Arizona and Southern Nevada, I’d see less urgency.

I predict that the crowds will never be the same after what we’ve seen this year. As a result, owners of these teams are going to have to get real creative with their marketing departments to entice fans to come back.

I know as a member of the media, the way we do things will be much different with remote reporting as Zoom Technology takes over our landscape. Will there ever be a press box that’s near it’s capacity? It will be interesting to find out in 2021.

For those media members that retired early, they’re probably glad that they got out at the right time.

But how things have changed in this unprecedented time we live in.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com.

Adjusting To New Times

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

Earlier in the day, I had a conversation with a young aspiring broadcaster Damon Knight as to how things were like when I broke into the Media Business back in 1979.

I told him when I did radio shows, the way we researched the broadcasts was by relying on our local newspapers, The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press.

We also utilized The Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI), along with the Sports Tickers. 

Back in the 1980’s, George Eichorn, Phil Guastella and I created the Sports Exchange and it aired on multiple stations. On one station, we would do a two hour broadcast while on another, we went from 6-12 Midnight on Saturdays.

Week in and week out, it was great meeting the challenge on making each show better.

Nowadays, the game is much different. 

There is still terrestrial radio which is viewed as local radio and is governed by The Federal Communication Communication that heavily regulates the industry. I have done terrestrial radio in numerous markets around the USA.

Two years ago, I was exposed to Internet Radio, working with Peter Wein of the WEI Network. I really enjoyed my time with Peter, who is a father figure and we launched the Sports Exchange. 

I had complete say of the guests and produced the show, while he operated the board. 

Unfortunately, that run ended with the passing of his wife then he went on to have a stroke shortly after her death. Perhaps, one day, I would welcome a reunion. 

The Sports Exchange on his network would get between 4-5000 listeners. Our best show was with my Detroit Tigers idol Mickey Lolich where we had 5,300 listeners. Lolich won three games in the1968 World Series leading the Detroit Tigers to a title.

When Peter’s health declined, it was time to get into podcasting and I met Jeff Adelman at a Coral Springs Chamber of Commerce Referral Group. We were planning to do a Hockey Show and he got me registered on Spreaker. Adelman is a personal injury attorney but because of his busy schedule, it was tough for him to commit to a regular schedule.

But thanks to Jeff, I got involved in the Podcast Movement. 

We started the South Florida Tribune Podcast and our first guest was Frank Lodato, who is a renowned sports psychologist with the Canadian Football League and the National Hockey League.

Adelman introducing me to this was the beginning of a new challenge to combine the broadcast side with the editorial as there are currently six shows. 

We have the Sports Exchange, No Limits, 108 Stitches, Baseball Talk, Real N’ Rare, A Fantasy Football Show with Myself and Ryan Skolrud (Skullking Sports) and the South Florida Tribune Podcast. There is a nice mixture of sports and non sports related broadcasts.

The main places you can subscribe to them is Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Spotify, I-Heart Radio and and Google Podcasts, plus wherever you get your podcasts.

When I talk about adjusting to the times, in this industry, I’d would be in trouble without LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, as these have been great a great source to get guests. 

As I continue to build my audio resume, I never know whether this would lead to another potential opportunity in addition to keeping The South Florida Tribune and Broadcast Division growing.

Social Media is a love and hate relationship.

One person who has not only been helpful on the broadcast, but social media is Rudy Reyes. We’ve done broadcasts together and he’s helped me adapt to the promotional side as well. Reyes social media prowess if off the charts!

When I put things in their proper context, these days, I hate dealing with e-mailing and text messaging when a phone call was all I needed to communicate with people. 

If there is anything that makes me stir crazy, it’s technology. 

But again, either you adapt or you don’t last in the business which I’ve reluctantly done.

If it were up to me, I would rather have a flip phone instead of a smart phone.

But thanks to the smart phone, I can access websites like The Score, ESPN.Com, FoxSports.Com, Sports Illustrated, etc... to get my information. This is what I explained to Damon and if he’s going to be successful in broadcasting, he’ll realize that he has more tools in his box than I ever had.

Being old school, I’ve participated on numerous Zoom Calls and have learned a lot by being a part of The Miami Marlins listening to other media members questions, in addition to slipping one in occasionally.

Because of COVID-19, I have to realize that meetings with sponsors will be virtual.

Sports coverage has seen remote broadcasting in many ways as announcers haven’t traveled to games. It’s a new experience plus it’s cut down the cost of the networks.

What will press boxes look like in the future? Will teams have a 50% capacity in the future? Time will tell but my prediction is yes until we get COVID-19 under control and a vaccine is created?

For those media members that have retired, I have a feeling that they’re relieved they got out at the right time. And for those of us still in this business, we can just wonder how much more difficult it will be to provide the coverage that we hope we can. 

If you’re a PR Guy in this business, it has to be extremely difficult as to what requests they’ll approve and which ones they deny.

In the meantime, we just have to roll with the mind boggling changes of “Adjusting To New Times.”

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com.

My New Best Friend, Zoom

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

When it comes to technology, I feel like I’m in the majority when it comes to the 55 and older club.

I’m tremendously challenged.

It’s no secret that COVID-19 has changed our lives forever.

Enter social distancing, wearing face masks in public, staying at home like a bunch of caged lions, cooking at home much to the dismay of going out to restaurants and not being able to have face-to-face meetings.

When will the time come when we’re comfortable enough to meet in person?

Who knows?

If I had the answers, My wife and I would be comfortably retired in Maui, Hawaii.

But there is perception and there is reality.

If you would have asked me what the word “Zoom” means, I would have told you since I’m an adrenaline rush junky that it’s driving fast.

Another life-time ago, I might have pursued a career in motor sports. I’ve taken rides at race tracks around the country. Every time we go on the interstate, we travel speeds of greater than 70 miles per hour.

Today, “Zoom” has a new meaning to me.

I belong to a few networking groups and since face-to-face has been eliminated, the only way I can stay in touch and grow my business is by attending these meetings remotely. I have to admit, it’s grown on me.

I broadcast an average of four to five days a week.

I don’t finish until around midnight.

It would be quite difficult to get to a meeting at 7:30 am at an office setting.

Warren Drucker, the head of one of our groups is seriously considering implementing them permanently and down the road setting up mixers because he’s pleased that his attendance is reaching between 30-40 people per-meeting. I told him that I would attend those gatherings if they’re on Friday nights or over the weekend.

He figures that these Zoom Meetings will lead to a one-one meeting.

The way things are going, it’s hard to debate with his thinking.

Zoom has been quite handy with spending time with family members around the country as we celebrate birthday parties, and get weekly updates with how things are going with my in-laws.

Face-time has been very helpful as my wife and I communicate with my terminally ill mother.

Covid-19 has made it impossible for me to visit her in Michigan and the way the virus is spreading especially living in a hotspot like Florida, there is no trip planned. But at least I can see her and I’m fine with that considering what the alternative would be without the technology.

But if you really want to get me psyched up about “Zoom” then the easiest way to do it is by me doing these calls with a team or perhaps teams that I cover.

These past couple of days have made me feel like a kid in a candy store.

I’ve been involved in two Zoom calls with the Miami Marlins.

I’m as old school as it gets.

I’ve been covering sports for 40 years and I’m used to interviewing the newsmakers in the arenas, stadiums, etc... and because of these unprecedented times, that’s not happening in 2020.

On Wednesday Night’s Edition of “No Limits,” I couldn’t stop talking about this to my Co-Hosts Candy Ebling and Ron Renzy.

To be able to do my job and get the same information with taking risks of getting COVID-19 and saving money on expenses was neat.

I’m fine with it until I’m able to return to the way that I cover events.

The Marlins Public Relations Staff is fantastic and I’m getting to know my fellow members of the media since this is our first year covering the team.

Manager Don Mattingly has been great to work with!

He was an excellent player and seems like an outstanding person!

The Marlins have told me that it appears that there will be very few people allowed in the stadium because they want to conform with large gatherings.

So for the foreseeable future the regular media will just work from the friendly confines.

Hopefully, we’ll go back to normal in 2021.

You can rest assure that around the country, announcers are doing games remotely in all sports. We don’t have the pre-game routine of talking to the newsmakers.

This season it looks like the teams announcers won’t be traveling to road games.

Therefore, MLB Clubs are doing what the Marlins are doing and we’re making Zoom our best friend.

So if you’re a retired writer and don’t like this, you got out just in time. Keep living off that retirement and chill out. This is what you’re missing or not missing.

I actually did a Zoom Broadcast with Rudy Reyes on our show Motor Man and RudeDog and it’s on the company You Tube Channel.

I really enjoyed because he’s living in California and I’m in Florida but it seemed like we were in the studio. A much smoother broadcast. That I can get used to.

I haven’t figured out how to utilize Zoom when doing broadcasts as Rudy supplied me with the feed. But I’m determined to figure it out.

I will not use Zoom to cut corners on local broadcasts because I will not wear a mask sitting across the microphone from another person so I have to do additional editing to get the sound right.

Thus, I’d rather keep doing these broadcasts by phone until someone is comfortable to come in the studio.

But in the end, I make no bones about it that while I’m technologically challenged with the way things are changing, I’m fine with it.

This is one old dog that will gladly learn some new tricks since I view technology as my new toy!

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with Social Media, but I’m smart enough to know these days, that’s the only way that will last in the crazy society.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com.

To Be Or Not To Be

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

Will we actually crown a real champion in 2020 with the Sports World in flux?

I have to really wonder as COVID-19 has reared it’s ugly head the past 90 days.

I have a feeling that the second wave is approaching.

As we speak, the worldwide death toll has exceeded 500,000.

You talk about luck.

How lucky was the NFL when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49’ers 31-20 on February 2, in Super Bowl LIV in Miami Gardens, FL.

It’s no secret that the COVID-19 casualties range from the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, March Madness, College World Series and the delay of MLB.

We’ve seen the the NBA and NHL get regular seasons delayed, while postseasons will start this summer, so we hope.

As we deal in the present, will MLB’s 60-game season come to fruition as the second Spring Training is about to begin tomorrow.

How many players will choose not to play and decide they have enough money to stay safe with their families?

Will the abbreviated season look more like a bunch of prospects auditioning for jobs in 2021, while they gain earlier service team to inch them closer to free agency?

How legitimate will the records be and will there be awards winners? Time will tell.

At what point will MLB pull the plug and how many games will be played?

Will there be fans at any point?

What new rule changes in 2020 could actually be incorporated in the future?  Will purists be disgusted that the grand old game isn’t the same?

Ah, the questions.

Will the NBA’s Bubble burst at Disney in Orlando, FL leading to no champion?

How many players will test positive for COVID-19?

Will a marquee matchup be compromised if a superstar player is sidelined while another is playing?

Will the NHL crown a champion?

Will there be college or professional football this fall?

Who would have imagined that on The PGA Tour that the golfers would pull out of events when on the surface, this sport should have the least amount of problems social distancing.

If I were a betting man, the only two sports that I could see crowning a champion is NASCAR and the NHL.

The drivers are heavily protected by their fire suits. They don’t have to worry about sweating with other drivers in their vehicles. NASCAR seems to be rolling along every week while other sports seek answers.

I’m intrigued that their television partners announcers are doing remote broadcasts which could provide a glimpse into the future as to whether other sports would follow suit.

NHL players have their uniforms and they play in colder arenas. They appear to be fully protected.

At what point will we finally say that “Sports Are Not Important” in 2020?

If I had to venture a guess, I would predict by Labor Day.

If you’re a media outlet like us, that’s when you find out what you’re made of trying to create presentable, meaningful content.

But I have to admit that on our broadcasts, I always enjoy the guests that we talk to because everyone has various opinions.

What have I gotten out sports in 2020?

I never knew anything about the Sport of Cornhole other than the fact that you can play it out at Cracker Barrel while you’re waiting to be seated.

I’ve learned a lot about the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and that if you love this sport, it doesn’t matter where it’s played.

I’ve been fortunate to enjoy baseball on many levels as a player in Little League and growing up as a Detroit Tigers fan.

I’ve enjoyed covering High School, College Minor and Major League Baseball, therefore, the KBO has been a pleasure seeing them play in front of no fans and with cheerleaders. Who could have imagined that?

I’ve enjoyed seeing the connections between the KBO and MLB.

You have a lot of good players that went on to play MLB from Korea.

Former MLB players have used this as an avenue to resurrect their careers. The one that stands out was former Milwaukee Brewers slugger Eric Thames.

Now former Washington Nationals Manager Matt Williams is managing in the KBO.

I’m quite pleased that ESPN as given the KBO some worldwide exposure. Then again, they’re desperate for programming. But we’ll take it.

But in the meantime, the only way to summarize the Sports World is “To Be Or Not To Be.”

Stay tuned.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com or on Twitter @TribuneSouth.

Changing With The Times

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

During my 41 years working in the Media, the majority of the work I’ve done is in Sports. I’ve covered four Super Bowl Games in addition to being at many championship contests.

I’ve also written about Muhammad Ali, Tom Lasorda, Sugar Ray Leonard, former Detroit Tigers Hall of Fame Broadcaster Ernie Harwell along with many others.

My writing mentor is Tony DeMarco, while George Eichorn and I have done lots of projects on and off the air.

In the past two years, I’ve had the great pleasure of being introduced to Internet Radio with Peter Wein. I’ve seen the numerous shows he’s had on the weinetwork.com as he possesses tremendous versatility to choose from.

In the past year, Wein’s wife Harriett passed away and he suffered a major stroke for which he’s still recovering from.

My career in the Media has given me the opportunity to work in both print and broadcasting.

Thanks to Jeff Adelman, who is a personal injury attorney that is in my Coral Springs Regional Chamber of Commerce Referral Group, with Wein’s departure, he introduced me to Podcasting.

It’s been quite a transition from my old radio days. Many years ago, all I had to do was line-up the guests, prepare the content and we had lots of call ins.

There is another individual that has helped me get through this learning curve! I met Rudy Reyes on LinkedIn and he’s guided me with equipment. He’s taught me a lot about Social Media.

Rudy and I have a show on the World Sports And News (WSAN) Network.

We have seven different shows on WSAN Network.

The main ones include The Sports Exchange, 108 Stitches...Baseball Talk, The South Florida Tribune Podcast and the newest one is ‘No Limits’.

While all of our main programming has focused on Sports, things are drastically changing.

The South Florida Tribune Podcast is designed for our local market. We’ve made great progress developing it the past few weeks.

Before my wife and I left town for Memorial Day, we needed a strong national show.

With the help of my wife, two other guests which include Jacksonville Jaguars writer David Levin and former MLB pitcher Mark Littell, ‘No Limits’ was born.

In life, we have to adapt to it’s numerous changes.

The South Florida Tribune Podcast and No Limits will serve that purpose.

I will no longer be just a sports guy. I’ll be multi dimensional. We’ll have versatility on the local and national levels.

No Limits will live up to it’s name!

While we don’t talk about politics or religion on the South Florida Tribune and we won’t on the air, there will be no shortage of guests on these broadcasts!

The business model will be greatly enhanced because of the versatility.

There will be more ways to get involved as we create a Media Package.

First things first as this versatility will create more followers.

I’m excited about the direction, but there is a lot more work to do during these changing times. I’m very thankful for the people that have helped us grow and kudos to Rick Curti, Ron Renzy, David Levin, George Eichorn, and Mel Farr Jr. as they continue to help us on this growing journey.

The bottom line is that if we don’t accept todays changes then we’ll simply let the times pass us by. In other words, we’ll miss the bus.

That’s not going to happen with us.

For more updates, go to www.southfloridatribune.com. Also, please like the South Florida Tribune Page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @TribuneSouth.

If you want to reach me, then drop me an e-mail at southfloridatribune@gmail.com.

The Pandemic Challenge

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

What are you doing with your forced free time?

As the owner of an online publication and a broadcasting network, I find this to be a time to scout other networks as they try to find content.

Since we do a lot of sports shows on The South Florida Tribune Broadcasting Network, Golic & Wingo, Get Up and First Take have provided ideas how to proceed with how I approach things.

At www.southfloridatribune.com, we’re fortunate to have 29 Media Distribution Partners along with regular writers to provide content.

As we continue to increase numbers, the model for any business is to make sure that they’re active on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

The only way these Social Media outlets don’t work is if you don’t aggressively work them. For many of us old school guys, the transition has been quite the learning curve. I miss the newspaper, television and radio days when these outlets took care of the promotion and production.

Welcome to 2020.

Who would have thought that the NFL would hold a Virtual Draft?

Did anyone expect a record 55 Million people to watch it on ABC, ESPN and ESPN 2?

Will the NFL will adopt some sort of Virtual Draft format in the future?

Time will tell.

Before the Pandemic started, I’ve never heard of Zoom. Now it’s going to be a wave of the future. I’ve used them for networking meetings and now it’s neat to catch up with family.

During this time, it seems like in the sports world, you wonder what sport will be cancelled or postponed.

How much money will be lost due to the pandemic?

While everyone has taken a hit in the pocketbook, have lost love ones because of COVID-19, plus the sad stories we hear on Social Media, the only thing we have to do is stick together. I’m currently dealing with a very seriously ill mother in Michigan that I can’t see because of the Stay Home Orders. I have a feeling that I may never see her alive. But I’m sure many of this are in the same boat.

Nonetheless, we have to challenge ourselves to make the best out of a tough situation. I know it’s easier said than done.

But let us hope that we can get back to our regular routines in the near future.

We can only hope that we never face this type of situation again and if we do, we’re better prepared to handle this in the future.

Meanwhile, Stay Safe. Stay Home. Do Social Distancing and Kudos to our first responders. These first responders are our heroes.

COVID-19 Thoughts

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

There is one company that I know which is benefitting with the Corona name and that’s the beer as we see these commercials on the air. For those that like to drink, I’m sure that the beverage is relaxing. Although I doubt it will happen, for some reason I think the ads should be taken off the air temporarily because the name is an unpleasant reminder of the unprecedented world we live in.

Being the owner of an online publication, The South Florida Tribune, 90% of My Media Distribution Partners are unable to send content because their sports have been either postponed or cancelled. Thankfully, the Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars have picked up the slack during NFL Free Agency Frenzy.

One area that will be utilized more will be additional broadcasts with the South Florida Tribune Broadcasting Network. We have a good line-up of shows. The signature shows are The Sports Exchange and South Florida Tribune Podcast which is a non-sports show.

A week ago, we returned from Arizona as we spent time with family and finished our goal to see the two remaining stadiums in the Cactus League. We saw the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park in Mesa and the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium. It was great to cover another LA Dodgers game at Camelback Ranch vs The Milwaukee Brewers, in Glendale, AZ., in what turned out to be the last Spring Training Game before the everything would be canceled because of COVID-19. We went to Phoenix and saw the Milwaukee Brewers remodeled facility in Maryvale. I drove Candy to Phoenix Municipal Stadium which used to be the Spring Training Home of the Oakland A’s.

Thanks to my desire to take a red-eye flight, Candy and I came back on a less crowded flight from Phoenix to Fort Lauderdale, that reduced risk of obtaining risks of getting COVID-19.

We then proceeded to stock up on supplies and toilet paper, which nowadays seems impossible to get.

As reality sets in and every sporting event gets cancelled on the planet, in addition to many businesses closing such as restaurants, will this become the next Great Depression? We hope not.

Who would have thought about dealing with Social Distancing?

Working from home is something I’ve never dealt with, but now wearing a t-shirt and sweat pants is certainly a better option than being stuck in the hospital fighting for my life.

What is my new routine these days? Watching sports shows to find content for my network, being uplifted by the generosity of many people and companies in and out of sports that are giving back to help the less fortunate, in addition to watching News Shows to find updates on the Spreading of COVID-19. I Need to know the numbers as it could be influential of future travel plans.

Being a Florida Resident, we’re used to preparing for Hurricanes and loading up on supplies. COVID-19 brings out the analogies, We’re all in the same boat and this is a world wide dilemma. Also, misery loves company. Now with the power of prayer, we can only hope that COVID-19 comes up with some medications so we can hope to see normalcy at some point.

Unlike Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Tornados, you can rebuild areas in time. But COVID-19 is an enemy we can’t see and that’s the most frustrating aspect of this unprecedented pandemic crisis.

We can only hope the death toll is limited.

Meanwhile, I pray for everyone that they’re safe and healthy and follow all the warning in Regular and Social Media and don’t self destruct. In Fort Lauderdale during Spring Break, several students came down here and now have COVID-19.

For the time being, we just have to wait and aside from going to the stores to buy food, it’s imperative that we master Social Distancing!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. He’s the Owner of the South Florida Tribune and it’s Broadcasting Network. He’s also a writer for the Detroit Monitor.

The New Dodger Town

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

If there is ever a team in The Grapefruit League that I enjoyed covering, it was the Los Angeles Dodgers.

I enjoyed taking the two hour trek from Deerfield Beach to Vero Beach.

The Dodgers were always cooperative to us whether the Detroit Tigers played or some other team.

I had great memories speaking with the likes of Managers Tommy Lasorda, Grady Llittle and pitcher Jerry Reuss.

To this day, we like to drive up to Historic Dodger Town as the place looks fantastic.

There is nothing covering the fans should it rain at Holman Stadium which had a capacity of 6,500. There were no shortage of practice fields. Historic Dodger Town had dorm rooms for the players to stay.

Down the third base line the fans were very close to the players and there were no shortage of conversations. I can recall a conversation I once had with Derrel Thomas.

But as I sit in the Press Box here at Camelback Ranch which which holds 13,583, this is a different environment in The Cactus League. The seats are tan and the stadium is brown. It has that desert feeling.

There are no dorm rooms to house any players. There are lots of practice fields all over the complex.

The Dodgers share the stadium with the Chicago White Sox.  In 2009 both clubs began their first season.

Each team has State Of The Art, year round working facilities along the left and right-field lines which they use for rehabilitating players. They also have their executive offices.

The Dodgers use the facility for their low level rookie league, which is the Arizona League. They play in the back fields.

The Glendale Desert Dogs play in the Arizona Fall League where the best MLB prospects show their skills in the stadium.

In front of one of the entrances, there is a statue of Lasorda and another of White Sox Hall of Famer Frank Thomas.

On this day, there was a different feel as the Dodgers faced the Milwaukee Brewers.

The game was scheduled to start at 6:05 PT but due to rainy conditions in the area, it was pushed back to 6:35 PM PT.

What was great when I picked up My Credential was I had clubhouse access.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get in the clubhouse as well as my colleagues because today was the first day MLB banned the media because of the Coronavirus.

I talked to a Dodgers writer and he said it's inevitable that the regular season will get delayed because of the virus.

Dodgers Outfielder Mookie Betts, in the photo and President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman talked about all aspects of the inconveniences of the Coronavirus. They also told us that despite the virus, there is still a season to prepare for.

Earlier in the day, the NCAA Announced that March Madness will be played without fans in the stands. Also, all spectator sports are evaluating what steps will take place to avoid placing there fans in danger.

Before the end of this game, The NBA suspended the rest of the 2019 season when Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert was diagnosed with the coronavirus.

Tonight, the Brewers entered the game with a 10-6-2 mark while the Dodgers are 9-7-1.

These are two teams that made the 2019 Players. Milwaukee was 89-73 while the Dodgers had the second best record in baseball at 106-56.

Both were ousted by the World Series Champions Washington Nationals.

The Dodgers defeated the Brewers 4-1 in front of 8,364. The game was called because of rain in the bottom of the seventh inning.

But as I look at this venue, now that I've seen all of the stadiums in the Cactus League, this one ranks in my top two.

Having been to most of the Grapefruit League stadiums, Camelback Ranch is easily in my top five.

Was it tough seeing the Dodgers leave Vero Beach, FL?

You bet it was.

But the reality of the situation is it's just a four hour drive from Phoenix to Los Angeles and a 45 minute flight. The move was inevitable.

Aside from what I've written, the photos tell the story about the Dodgers new home.

Next stop, Dodger Stadium.

The last time I went there was during the 1984 Summer Olympics when I watched the US team play against South Korea.

Camelback Ranch is definitely a must see if you come to Arizona for Spring Training of the Arizona Fall League!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. He is the Founder of The South Florida Tribune and it's Broadcasting Network.