Good morning!
A few weeks ago in this space, it was mentioned that Tom Wolfe’s first love was baseball. The 88-year-old best selling author died in Manhattan last spring, and Time Magazine reported that in 1952 he’d had a pitching tryout with the New York Giants. “If somebody had offered me a Class D professional contract, I would have gladly put off writing for a couple of decades,” he told Time.
The item got the attention of longtime sportswriter Garry Brown, whose “Hitting to All Fields” is the gold standard for sports columnists throughout New England. “Never knew Tom Wolfe loved baseball,” he wrote in an email. “He worked at The Springfield Union as a reporter, wearing a white suit, when I was a rookie in the early ’50s. The city editor despised him because he ‘spent too much time’ on a story. Geez…”
Wolfe landed at the New York Herald Tribune, which in its heyday was considered a “writer’s newspaper.” In HBO’s splendid documentary “Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists,” Wolfe recalled the frenetic, noisy energy of a 1950s newsroom when typewriters clattered, tobacco smoke clouded the ceiling and reporters shouted over each other.
“There’s nothing like it today,” smiled Wolfe. “City rooms have no sound. People are sitting at their computers and they’re sending messages to people six feet away.”
The Herald Tribune editor recognized Wolfe’s talent and patiently awaited his copy. “He’d come over to my desk and say, Pour it on! Don’t care about length!’
“Because I would always say, ‘How long should this be?’ and he would look at me incredulously and say, ‘Until it’s boring!’”
“Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists” is a fascinating profile of two columnists and the city they covered. It’s a must-see for anyone with ink in their veins.
Regarding a comment made earlier this week by yours truly that Fille Lindberg should be the starting goaltender over Matt Murray, UMass hockey coach Greg Carvel emailed: “There won’t be any blowouts the rest of the way. Every game will be a grind, playoff style. My biggest problem is having to decide which awesome goalie gets to play. They are both excellent.”
Duly noted. After last night’s game at BU, the second-ranked Minutemen will begin a stretch of nine games in 23 days. They’ll need all hands on deck to keep the legs fresh, and that will indeed include both goaltenders.
After Edgar Martinez was elected to the Hall of fame, his former manager Lou Pinella was a guest on Sirius-XM’s Power Alley. “Edgar had sort of a lazy eye,” said Pinella. “He had to hit ping pong balls in the batting cages before the game to get his hitting eyes totally synchronized.”
Curt Schilling moved up nearly ten percent in the balloting, and analyst Eduardo Perez said this year’s attrition will help him next year: “Having four guys being taken off the ballot that were taking votes helps Curt Schilling,” said Perez, whose father Tony hit a ball into orbit off Bill Lee in the 1975 World Series. “I see him getting to 80 percent next year for what he did in the postseason. This guy was a bulldog.”
Roger Clemens inched up in the balloting, and CJ Nitkowski said it’s time to focus on the Rocket’s 354 wins and 4,672 strikeouts. “I can do without the holier-than-thou attitude of some of these voters.”
Sirius-XM’s Chris Russo said that after former Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek moved to the broadcast booth he kept an index card that said, “Shup up.”
“That’s something that Tony Romo should read,” said Russo. “Instead, he’s gonna predict the next draw play.”
Russo’s drawing heat for criticizing the popular Romo, but Mad Dog’s refusal to go with flow is what makes him the best in the business.
The Colorado Avalanche are pushing as hard as UMass to get the vote out for Cale Makar to be the Hobey Baker winner. Makar is an Avalanche No. 1 pick, and last weekend against Maine he scored his 50th collegiate point.
According to milehighhockey.com, as of Jan. 30 the top five vote getters were Makar (6,855 votes), Corey Mackin of Ferris State ( 4,411), Chase Priskie of Quinnipiac (3,785), Jimmy Schuldt of St. Cloud State (3,237) and Mason Morelli of Nebraska-Omaha (2,377).
To vote for Makar, go to hobeybaker.com and follow the prompts.
The UMass football team will be back where it belongs on the west sideline next season. The last several years they’d been on the bench facing the setting sun presumably for the warmth. It posed a problem for the marching band, which turned its back on the home team in order to appease the bigwigs in the sky boxes.
The Cleveland Browns are raising their ticket prices for about half their seats. According to gobankingrates.com, last season the Bills had the lowest average price ($107), followed by the Browns ($109). The Patriots averaged $530, more than double the runner-up Seahawks.
SAND HAZARD: On a warm day in January, an alligator rested below the green of the Par 3 17th hole at Dye Preserve in Jupiter, Florida. “It’s a real professional hole, 185 yards from the blues,” texted caddie Paul White. “When you get to the green there’s a bulkhead so we were standing above him. That wasn’t our ball, it might’ve cost someone an arm and a leg.” Or maybe Wally Gator’s taken up golf.
SQUIBBERS: Tickets for the Red Sox spring training opener against the Yankees start at $73.95 on StubHub. … Manny Machado’s foolhardy “I’m not Johnny Hustle” comment and his .213 career batting average with 24 strikeouts in 99 postseason at-bats might land him in San Diego or Chicago (White Sox) with a one-year contract, like a recalcitrant football player who has to spend a year at community college. … Faces in the crowd at UMass hockey: Greenfield police chief Robert Haigh. … Somewhere tomorrow, Jonathan Schwartz will be hosting a radio show and ignoring the Super Bowl by playing Vin Scully and Mel Allen soundbites. … “Tom Brady’s gone against the Chargers and Chiefs and has been touched twice. Not sacked, touched,” said Ross Tucker. … Gotta love it when Tucker gets technical about blocking schemes: “You can do a B Gap Insert, full slide or turn protection. …” On Sirius-XM’s NFL Channel this week, Vance Johnson recalled his wild and crazy days as a Denver wideout. “In Las Vegas, I was down $100,000, and they wouldn’t let me leave until the Broncos wired them the money.” … Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are 5-3 in the Super Bowl, which is best-versus-best. Seven of the games were decided by four points or less and the aggregate eight game total is 202-198, or 25.25 points to 24.75. … Ticketmaster is charging $17.85 in fees for a balcony seat to the Hockey East championship game at TD Garden. A reasonably priced $25 ticket thus becomes a $42.85 ripoff. … Brock Hines is scheduled to be NESN’s color analyst for games against UConn on Feb. 21 and Maine on March 2. Josh Maurer and Tim Neverett will do the play-by-play. …ESPNU’s Mark Packer ripped Penn State for scheduling a football game (in 2022) against the Minutemen. “Don’t play Pitt, instead play UMass. If I’m a Penn State season ticket holder, can’t wait.” … TicketIQ.com reported that by midweek, the average cost for a Super Bowl ticket had dropped from $8,000 to $5,653. … An Orlando kid is the NHL’s No. 1 prospect. Mohawk Online lists Jack Hughes as the overwheming choice (wager $645 to make $100) that he’ll be taken first overall in the NHL Draft. According to hockeydb.com, the 5-10, 157-pound Hughes has stats that are comparable to the Great One. In 71 games for U.S. National development teams, Hughes has 42 goal and 91 assists (137 points). … Westwood One’s Tony Boselli on Rams vs. Pats: “Brady’s the greatest of all time. If you don’t move those 41-year-old feet, you’re going to lose the game.” … Final score: New England 29, Los Angeles 25. Patriots cover! Pats cover!
Chip Ainsworth is an award-winning columnist who has penned his observations about sports for four decades in the Pioneer Valley. He can be reached by email at sports@recorder.com.