Zumaya Vs Fidrych

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

On February 25, 2012, former Detroit Tigers right-handed reliever Joel Zumaya experienced pain in his elbow after throwing 13 pitches in live batting practice for the Minnesota Twins.

He tore the Ulnar Collateral Ligament in his elbow likely requiring Tommy John Surgery, therefore, ending his 2012 season before it started.

On January 15, 2012, he agreed to a one-year contract worth $800,000--1.7 Million based on possible incentives. Now he is guaranteed to earn $400,000.

After hearing this news, it's sad because he'll always be known for his 100 plus miles-per-hour fast balls. He was a major part of the Tigers run to reach the 2006 World Series appearing in 62 games, 83.1 innings, 97 strikeouts, a 6-3 record with a 1.94 ERA.

In five years, Zumaya has a 13-12 record with a 3.05 ERA in 209.2 innings with 210 strikeouts in 171 games.

I really hope we haven't seen the last of the 27-year old. Careers have been revitalized because of Tommy John Surgery.

Although former Tigers pitcher Frank Tanana never had Tommy John Surgery, he was a left-handed flame-thrower, who re-invented himself by becoming a crafty finesse pitcher that had a 21-year career record of 240-236.

Thirty-years before Zumaya was thrilling fans with his power, Mark "The Bird" Fidrych captured the national spotlight by packing Tiger Stadium in 1976. The Baseball World gravitated to watching him talk to the ball, in addition to his numerous mound antics.

Fidrych was selected to the American League All-Star Team and started the game. He finished the season with a 19-9 record with a 2.34 ERA with 24 complete games in 250.1 innings. He won the American League Rookie of the Year.

He was a two-time All-Star and finished his five-year career with a 29-19 record, 3.10 ERA and 170 strikeouts all with the Tigers.

Fidrych's injury problems began in 1977 when he tore the cartilage in his knee fooling around in the outfield during spring training. He would later hurt his arm against the Baltimore Orioles, that would ultimately be diagnosed as a torn rotator cuff.

If there is a tale of two pitchers that were so different but so similar, then this is it. One was a 100 mph fire-baller while the other was an inning eater.

Nowadays, pitchers would be lucky to complete 24-games in a career, yet these days, it's common to see 100 mph hurlers.

In either case, these two had "Dead Arms" which shortened their careers. Each started and ended their five-year careers sporting the "Old English D" in the Motor City.

Fidrych died April 13, 2009 at the age of 54 which is 27 or half of Zumaya's age. Fidrych was killed working on his truck outside his home in Northborough, Massachusetts. It's hard to believe that it's been nearly three years since Fidrych passed away.

Zumaya can only hope his career does resume. Hopefully, he won't die at a young age.

It's so sad to see a pair of young hurlers with so much potential fail to reach and sustain superstar status. Yet, they both experienced the big stage with Zumaya in the 2006 World Series and Fidrych in the 1976 All-Star Game.

What a difference 30-years makes and hopefully there is a continuation of the Zumaya Story.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.

A Super Lesson

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The New York Giants 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots sent shock waves to the rest
of the NFL.

Just get in the playoffs and play your best football in December and January, as they became the first team in NFL history to lose seven games and win a Super Bowl.

The Giants were 7-7 in December and made it to the playoffs by defeating the Dallas Cowboys 31-14 to win the NFC East Title in the final week of the season, finishing 9-7.

By winning the division title, New York earned a home game and dispatched the Atlanta Falcons 24-2 in the opening round. Atlanta's only points came off a safety.

The Giants took their act on the road as they defeated 15-1 Green Bay 37-20 in the second game of the tournament in frigid Lambeau Field. They prevented Packers MVP QB Aaron Rogers from leading Green Bay to its second straight Super Bowl Championship.

The NFC Championship Game would be hosted by the 13-3 San Francisco 49'ers. But the Giants wouldn't be affected by the three hour time difference as they earned a 20-17 overtime victory.

What would it take for New York to win the Super Bowl over the 13-3 New England Patriots? It would take an MVP Performance by Giants QB Eli Manning as he threw for 296 yards and one touchdown. Manning became the fifth player in Super Bowl History to win two MVP Awards and he accomplished that twice against the New England Patriots.

This MVP came in the stadium that his brother Peyton built---Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The Giants played good defense. They sacked Patriots QB Tom Brady twice and forced him to throw one interception. Brady had a safety on the Patriots first possession of the game.

Ironically, my good friend Eddy Alvarez, who is my AT&T Dealer in Deerfield Beach, Florida, asked me an hour before kickoff as I was buying my new tablet, if there was going to be interesting play to watch out for.

I told him that there would be a two-point play of some sort. When Brady had that safety, Alvarez sent me a complimentary e-mail after it happened.

In the end, this Super Bowl rematch of four years ago would be decided in the final minute as the Giants got a late touchdown by Ahmad Bradshaw, a play designed to set up a field goal. However, he inadvertently backed in and scored. This play will go down as one of the classic endings in Super Bowl History.

Eli Manning's legacy has now been cemented as a two-time Super Bowl Champion. With two Super Bowl rings, he owns family bragging rights over Peyton and his father Archie.

Following the Super Bowl, the Giants have defeated the Patriots three consecutive times---including two Super Bowl triumphs and a 24-20 regular season win in New England on Sunday, November 6, 2011.

More importantly, the Giants Super Bowl victory sends a message to the entire "Sports World."

"Don't worry about the win-loss regular season record. Just qualify for the post-season."

As long as a team peaks in the playoffs, that's all that matters. You can bet every coach in every sport on all levels will use the Giants improbable underdog ride as motivation to inspire players to win a championship.

That's what will make Super Bowl XLVI stand out for years to come.

Finally, the Green Bay Packers won last years title with a 10-6 record and add the Giants 9-7 mark, and the combined record for both squads is 19-13.

That's incredible.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

UFC VS BOXING

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

On Saturday Night, I was channel surfing and stumbled onto FOX's presentation of the UFC.

There was a familiar voice from the past as former Detroit Red Wings Play-By-Play Announcer Mike Goldberg was calling the action. Up to this point, my only familiarity with the UFC was meeting legendary fighter Chuck Liddell at the Super Bowl in Miami a few years ago. Otherwise, I knew nothing about this sport.

After watching three matches Saturday Night, I probably still know very little but came away totally impressed with these athletes. To get kicked in the head, choked, head butted and punched in the face, I can understand why the fights were limited from 3-5 rounds and last five minutes.

The punishment these fighters take is amazing. After what I saw Saturday Night, if a boxer were to enter the octagon, I wouldn't give them much of a chance because of the quicker pace and additional skill level of mixed martial arts, boxing and wrestling all rolled into one.

But as impressed as I am about the sport, which is here to stay, the only thing the UFC does lack is the History Of Boxing.

The UFC realizes that as it lacks the tradition and name recognition that boxing has.

Fighters like Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Robinson,  Mike Tyson, Roberto Duran, Sonny Liston, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, etc... gave the ring plenty of proud moments. I remember when boxing matches lasted 15 rounds before they changed to 12 because of the brain injuries.

I'm amazed how the UFC generates large audiences for their pay-per-view events. Boxing can thank Tyson for his pay-per-view revenues. After watching the excitement Saturday Night in front of a packed United Center in Chicago, I can see how they generate the revenue through pay-per-view.

I would never order a pay-per-view UFC event because I would rather use the $50 for gas to take a trip to Clearwater Beach, Key West, Sarasota, Orlando and Daytona, Florida.

But this weekend, the UFC did earn my respect as a fan and thanks to their relationship with FOX, a free event gave them much needed exposure.

Boxing built it's audience this way for years with ABC, NBC and CBS broadcasting weekly fights on the weekend.

The reason for boxing's demise is there are too many champions in too many weight divisions. Fighters are not as hungry as they used to be because of the large payouts and rarely fight. There aren't many good American fighters for the public to follow. There are not enough major fights to keep the sport in the news plus, the public is looking for the next heavyweight which it would recognize and dominate.

The UFC expects its best fighters to perform regularly and is taking advantage of boxing's decline. More power to the UFC.

Boxing's promoter's let politics and money get in the way of creating the mega fights the public wants to see. That's why the UFC is knocking out boxing and will continue to in the future unless things drastically change.

However, my heart still belongs to boxing since that's what I grew up following my whole life.

My photo portfolio includes Ali, Leonard, James Toney and legendary trainer Angelo Dundee. There are a lot of championships with this group.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

Get It Accurate!

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

It's hard to believe that a week has passed since the death of legendary Penn State Coach Joe Paterno.

During that entire weekend, I felt extremely connected to this story because of the significant people that I saw throughout.

It began on Saturday January 21, at FAU Stadium during a College Football All-Star Game "The Battle Of Florida" which was an opportunity for players to showcase their skills for Pro Scouts. The contest featured legendary coaches Bobby Bowden and FAU's recently retired Howard Schnellenberger, who was making his final appearance on the Owls Sidelines.

During the post-game joint press conference with the two coaches Bowden and Schnellenberger, they  wondered if Paterno had passed away earlier as earlier reports pre-maturely indicated.

Throughout the evening, writers kept checking with the media outlets on their computers, cell phones, Twitter as CBS Sports and the Penn State Newspaper had to retract their stories. An editor and writer lost their jobs.

Schnellenberger was 2-1 versus Paterno when he was at the University of Miami. Meanwhile, Bowden and Paterno battled for the all-time Division I FBS wins total.

Paterno owns the record with 409 while Bowden finished second with 377. Bowden's total would have been 389, but FSU had to vacate 12 victories due to a March 6, 2009 NCAA ruling requiring Florida State to forfeit the wins "for any games in which an ineligible player participated."

Nevertheless, "The Battle Of Florida" was overshadowed by Paterno's pre-mature death.

Both Schnellenberger and Bowden weren't concerned about Paterno's handling of the Jerry Sandusky Sex Scandal. In the end, they knew college football was far better with Paterno than it would be without him. On this night, positive comments were all you were going to hear from these two legendary coaches.

To this day, I still believe Paterno should have coached Penn State the entire season. There were mistakes made with the university's administrators because he informed them of what transpired and the incident was pushed aside. Seemed like a cover-up that nobody thought would ever explode like it has. Paterno was being punished for something that happened years ago.

Hours later, I drove up I-75 North and saw My former colleague at WXYZ Radio in Detroit, Dick Vitale at The Broken Egg Restaurant in Sarasota (Lakewood Ranch) Florida. The Hall Of Fame ESPN Announcer arrived home during the early morning hours after covering a college game in Pittsburgh and sat in his usual spot at 10:30 am.

Vitale felt Paterno received a "Raw Deal" and his longstanding relationship with Penn State ended poorly. Dick Vitale's facial expressions and body language said it all.

Vitale is currently working diligently to raise $1 Million for the seventh straight year on behalf of the Jimmy V Foundation For Cancer Research in honor of his late close friend Jim Valvano.

When I told Dick about My Grandfather Sidney Morganroth, who passed away at 55 because of Lung Cancer in 1973, we shared a somber moment. I told Dick that I've kept my promise 40-years later to honor My grandfather's memory to not smoke and he smiled. I also told Dick that from this point on that I will promote the Jimmy V Foundation anytime I can.

Like my grandfather, Paterno died of Lung Cancer but at the age of 85. Vitale and I were just hoping that this Sandusky situation doesn't overshadow Paterno's legacy.

But I came away from that weekend proud to be with Bowden, Schnellenberger and Vitale. Yet, I wish the subject matter would have been more pleasant.

The Battle Of Florida saw Bowden's North team crush Schnellenberger's South squad 51-3. During the course of the weeks events, there were 140 scouts, 29 NFL teams, four Canadian Football League representatives and one from the Arena Football League.

Yet, in the end, once again it was overshadowed by Joe Paterno's declining health that resulted in his death Sunday Morning.

Former ABC News Anchor, the late Frank Reynolds was a guy that I idolized growing up. Just because my specialty is sports doesn't mean that you don't learn from those doing the news.

Reynolds would have had a field day with this pre-mature death of Paterno's fiasco.

On March 31, 1981, during the coverage of the Ronald Reagan Assassination Attempt, White House Press Secretary James Brady was erroneously reported by all three networks as having died from a head wound. Another report arrived that Reagan had died.

Reynolds looked at his staffers and angrily told them to get the information straight and accurate.

I know that if Reynolds was on the air, if he lost his composure again that Paterno had pre-maturely been announced as dead, I'd hide for cover if I were his staffers. Frank defines professionalism in every sense of the word.

I've learned a lot of lessons from Frank in 33-years of Journalism and when I visited his grave site at the Arlington National Cemetery, in Virginia, I made sure Reynolds heard my words loud and clear.

All I can say is God Bless to Howard Schnellenberger, Bobby Bowden and Dick Vitale!

Rest in Peace to Joe Paterno, Frank Reynolds, Sidney Morganroth and Jim Valvano!


Scott Morganroth's blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com and he can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.

Holiday Sports Traditions

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

There are just a few hours left in 2011 as we get ready for another calender year.

So what better time to break down the Top Holiday Sports Traditions than now.

Which sports own what particular holidays?

1) New Years Eve in Detroit is big for Red Wings fans that began at the Old Olympia Stadium and carried over to the Joe Louis Arena. When I'm back in Detroit, I make it a point to cover the New Years Eve event but when I'm not at home, then I usually stay inside to avoid the crazy drunk drivers.

One New Years Eve I'll never forget was on December 31, 1990. The Michigan State Spartans defeated the USC Trojans 17-16 and I really enjoyed covering this game. I was in the midst of a cross country drive and it worked out where I could fit this in on the schedule. The Sun Bowl in El Paso Texas has been a New Year's Eve tradition on CBS for many years.

2) When there is no conflict with the NFL on Sunday, New Years Day or January 1 has always been a day to watch College Bowl Games. There used to be several bowl games played including the major ones, The Rose, Orange, Sugar, Fiesta and Cotton, in addition to the Outback, Gator and Capital One. This year the Rose Bowl and Fiesta are on the same night while the Sugar, Orange and Cotton will be played in prime time on other evenings. Nevertheless, if you're a college football junkie, this is a great day to stay home and have multiple TV's running.

I've had the good fortune to cover a Rose, Capital One and Orange Bowl. I enjoyed covering the Rose Bowl Parade and Game in one day. It was a long day but a lot of fun.

3) A new tradition that is on NBC is the NHL Winter Classic on January 1 or 2 depending on the NFL schedule. These outdoor contests, which features snow falling on the players thus forcing them to make adjustments in their games, are played in baseball or football stadiums. I'm looking forward to the day that the Detroit Red Wings get to host one and hopefully they'll play the game at Michigan Stadium (The Big House) before 100,000 fans to set new attendance records.

4) Christmas Day belongs to the NBA and this year there were five games played on three networks. If a new labor agreement wasn't reached and the Christmas games were canceled then there would have been no regular season because of the amount of money and exposure lost.

5) The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys own Thanksgiving Day. I am glad that the NFL added a prime-time contest to complete the holiday.

6) Sunday, Memorial Day Eve, goes to Auto Racing as fans can enjoy the Indianapolis 500 followed by NASCAR's Coca Cola 600, the longest race of the season. If there is a rain out then the races are run on Memorial Day.

7) Memorial Day Weekend also features the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Finals match-ups, Pro Basketball's version of the Final Four.

8) NASCAR usually has a race at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, MI., in the Beautiful Irish Hills on Fathers Day. There are also a full slate of Major League Baseball Action.

9) July 4 belongs to Major League Baseball as fireworks shows follow after games. Tennis and Wimbledon usually play around this time, in addition to the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island in New York.

10) Labor Day is predominantly for Major League Baseball as the pennant races begin to reach their final stages. Fans also turn their attention to the start of the NFL Season with fall just weeks ahead.

I want to wish all of My Readers and Followers a Happy and Healthy New Year. Enjoy your sports and may all of your dreams come true.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.

Lions Meaningful Games

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The NFL Playoffs are now just a week away and there will die hard fans that will have their withdrawals when football season is over.

But one of those cities won't be Detroit.  For the first time since 1999, the Detroit Lions will be playing a meaningful football game after the ball drops in New York's Times Square signaling the day January 1, 2012.

In fact, the Lions will be playing a pair of meaningful games. On Sunday, January 1, 2012, the Lions are hoping to snap a 19-game road losing streak at Lambeau Field in Green Bay against the Packers. Will the Packers (14-1) rest QB Aaron Rodgers and some of their key players? The Lions need a win to keep the No.5 seed and avoid playing the surging New Orleans Saints in the first round.

We'll find out if the Lions break the Lambeau drought, but I don't put a lot of stock into this streak since many of these Lions losses have occurred earlier in this millennium during the Matt Millen era. During his eight year reign as President and CEO, the Lions had the worst eight year record (31-97) in the history of the modern NFL.

There is no way that Lions Coach Jim Schwartz could have worked with Millen. Schwartz has gone from two wins to six and now 10 in a three-year span. He's improved by four each year. At the rate he's going, he should reach 14 by the 2012 regular season. I can imagine what a 14-win season would mean to the Detroit fans. The Lions would likely have home field advantage throughout the playoffs and Ford Field (Capacity 65,000, expandable to 70,000) wouldn't be big enough but it would be deafening for the opponent. I know one thing. The Lions could easily pack 110,000 into Michigan Stadium if they were ever this good.

I'm glad Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones squashed any rumors that Coach Jason Garrett would lose his job if he lost to the New York Giants Sunday Night. Last year, Garrett posted a 5-3 record after replacing Wade Phillips and at 8-7, has his team fighting for a playoff berth going into the final week of the season. Thus far, Garrett is 13-10 and Jones isn't stupid because Garrett would easily land another job if he was dismissed. Garrett is one of the top coaching prospects in The NFL Today.

New York Giants Running Back Brandon Jacobs took exception to New York Jets Coach Rex Ryan's over confidence that his team would win their game on December 24, 2011 and saying his team were the Kings of New York. The Giants did their talking with a 29-14 win thus jolting the Jets playoff hopes. Jacobs and Ryan would exchange words after the game and he threatened to punch the coach in the face.

While Ryan's comments from time to time can be entertaining, and I'm sure that he's a hit with the New York Media, he needs to tone his act down very quickly and realize the Jets haven't been to a Super Bowl since 1969. The New York Media will eventually turn on Ryan and run him out of town.

I don't see the Jets getting to the Super Bowl with Mark Sanchez as their quarterback. The long term answer for the Jets could be former Alabama QB Greg McElroy (6-2, 225) who led the Crimson Tide to a National Championship and was 24-3 as a starting quarterback for an .889 winning percentage.  Despite being on injured reserve this season, I expect McElroy to compete with Sanchez for the starting in 2012.

Finally, I will be interested to see where Boise State QB Kellen Moore (6-0, 191) winds up in the 2012 Draft. If there is a sleeper in this draft, Moore is it. All he does is win. Moore holds the all-time record for wins by a starting quarterback NCAA Division I, FBS, concluding his career with a 50-3 record and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting. In four years, he finished with 14,667 yards, with 142 touchdowns and just 28 interceptions.  I love QB's that simply win.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be also seen at www.scottsports3.com.

College Hoops Observations

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I've always had the belief that nobody pays attention to college basketball until after January 1 because there are so many other sports going on.

The beginning of the college basketball season does show some marquee match-ups, but there are a lot of mismatches. This makes me wonder whether these elite head coaches over the years in the eyes of Hall of Fame Coach Dick Vitale play too many "cupcakes" easy contests, thus their win totals become inflated.

But as I follow college basketball through the fall, there are a some things that stood out which I definitely feel are worth mentioning.

1) I was glad to see the University of Detroit-Mercy honor Vitale on December 5, 2011, by renaming it's court "Dick Vitale Court at Calihan Hall." The Titans defeated St. Johns University 69-63 to cap off the occasion. When the NCAA Final Four was held in Detroit in 2009, the university allowed Vitale to use his old office for live ESPN Reports. As coach of the Titans, Vitale's tenure was short and sweet. From 1973-77, he posted a 78-30 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1977. During the 1977 season, the Titans had a 21-game winning streak and the tournament field was 32-teams. During that winning streak, the Titans defeated eventual National Champion the Marquette Warriors on the road in Milwaukee during the regular season.

Vitale left the Titans and accepted the head coaching job for the Detroit Pistons but this decision fizzled as he finished with a 34-60 record from 1978-1979. He was smart enough to get out of coaching and called ESPN's first NCAA Basketball Game on December 5, 1979, when DePaul defeated Wisconsin 90-77.

How ironic is it that exactly 32-years later from the day he started working for ESPN, that a court would be named after him on My Own Father's birthday. Another irony is that in 2008, Vitale was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame with his old boss, William Davidson, the man who fired him in 1979 from the Pistons.

2) I hope Indiana University does the right thing and eventually honors former Coach Bobby Knight. All Knight did was lead the Hoosiers to three national championships and ran a clean program. It's old news that Knight's temper led to his dismissal at Indiana. But lets not lose sight of the fact that the basketball program overshadowed football and put Indiana on the map. It's fallen on hard times since Knight's departure.

It was refreshing to see Knight honored at halftime on December 20, 2011 with an alumni award from Ohio State where he graduated in 1962 in a game against Lamar University, coached by his son Pat Knight. Ohio State won the game 70-50. Bobby Knight was a member of the 1960 Buckeyes team that won the school's only hoops national title.

3) I saw that UNLV named its court after former Coach Jerry Tarkanian. There is no question that this is well deserved because he put this program on the hoops basketball map. From 1973-1992, Tarkanian made the Thomas & Mack Center an intimidating place to play as it was referred to as the "Shark Tank." He was 509-105 for a winning percentage of .829. He led the Rebels to the program's lone National Championship in in 1990, in addition to 12 NCAA Tournament Appearances and Four Final Fours. The last Final Four UNLV appeared in was in 1991 and this the program hasn't been the same.

Tarkanian left UNLV for the NBA's San Antonio Spurs but his pro career lasted 20 games as he finished 9-11 with a .450 winning percentage during the 1992-93 season. I actually met Tarkanian during a Pistons game at the Palace of Auburn Hills and he admitted that he may have made a mistake leaving UNLV because he wasn't comfortable coaching the pros. He told me that he was tired of all the headaches he had to deal with pertaining to the politics of the NCAA governing body thus he went to the NBA.

4) Please tell me one thing that makes sense that Louisville Coach Rick Pitino has announced that he will leave the Cardinals when his contract runs out after the 2016-2017 season. Will this help recruiting? What will gas prices be? Will electric cars replace our conventional vehicles? Who will be the next president? This is the most meaningless piece of news that I've heard since the start of my journalism career in 1979. Frankly Rick, nobody gives a damn about 2017! The ball hasn't even dropped to welcome 2012. Go see the movie Rick "Back To The Future" and let us all know how you like it.

5) It will be interesting to see how Nebraska Mens Basketball Coach Doc Sadler fares in the Cornuskers inaugural season in The Big 10. On December 27, 2011, The Wisconsin Badgers whipped Nebraska 64-40  in the Cornhuskers first Big 10 Conference home game in Lincoln.

Ironically, Nebraska played Wisconsin in their conference opener on the road in Madison and got drilled 48-17.

Nebraska is 8-4 and 0-1 but I have a feeling this will be a long year on the hard court for a school which is known for it's success as an elite football program. Athletic Director Tom Osborne knew this when he departed The Big 12, but is willing to get hammered in other sports as long as he reaps the financial benefits of the gridiron along with the TV exposure on the Big 10 Network. Good luck Nebraska and see you next fall.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33.com and his blog can also be seen at www.scottsports33.com.