Sports Bard

…for the sports writer inside.

It’s been joked that the best team in the country is Syracuse, and the second best is their bench. But if the games of last week are any gauge, it may not be a stretch at all to assert that the Orange’s top five reserves could play tough or beat the rest of the Big East and many of the top 25.

Admittedly, it’s shaping up that there are few exceptional teams. In the past several days, top teams have been dropping like flies to lesser foes. North Carolina was pounded by Florida State 90-57. Ohio State lost to Illinois. Duke was upended by Temple, Michigan State by Northwestern. In the Big East, Villanova stinks, UConn has lost to Seton Hall, Rutgers, and Cincinnati; and most surprisingly, perennial power Pitt lost its sixth straight Big East game Monday to Syracuse, which marched to 20-0 for the first time in its celebrated hoops history.

Syracuse has previously suffered from early departures, but not this year. They return four starters and four experienced reserves from last year’s 27-victory squad. Add freshmen Rakeem Christmas and Michael Carter-Williams, and you’ve got a 10-man rotation, ten players averaging ten minutes or more. Check it out folks – no other team in the top 25 plays nine.

They are not just deep and talented – they are balanced, with several interchangeable parts. Scoop Jardine, Howard Triche and Dion Waiters can all play the point or shooting guard. 7 footer Fab Melo ( Fabricio De Melo), after re-structuring his body, has emerged as a dominating shot-blocker; and his replacement, Baye Moussa Keita, is easily the best back-up center in the country. Kris Joseph and C.J. Fair fill the lane with gusto. Fair can also play the power forward. G-F James Southerland, in limited playing time, has scored 14 pts or more five times this season Freshman Christmas adds bulk up front. It’s been speculated that Syracuse has nine potential NBA players on its roster.

And almost everybody got in the act against Pitt. Five players scored between 10 and 16 points in the 71-63 triumph. Coach Jim Boeheim has so much depth that he could afford to yank Christmas after one minute of the second half for failing to prevent an offensive rebound. The youngster did not return.

In winning, the Orange cemented their hold on the No. 1 ranking for the sixth straight week. Their strength of schedule is 2nd in the country; but of the eleven games left, only road affairs at Louisville and UConn loom as threats to the first undefeated regular season in Division One play since St Joseph’s ran the table in 2004.

Unlike their counterparts at Penn State, the Orange have not been derailed by the sexual abuse allegations hurled at a member of their staff, long-time assistant Bernie Fine. When Fine was named as a youth predator, fresh on the heels of the Penn State situation, it was feared that Syracuse would suffer comparably to Penn State; but Boeheim’s keeping his job, no administrative heads have rolled, and Fine himself will probably avoid indictment.

There is no such calm at Penn State. The Board of Trustees has come under attack for its heartless dismissal of Paterno by late evening phone call. The selection of Pats assistant Bill O’Brien as Paterno’s successor has been widely derided. And administration officials, with knowledge of the pending grand jury investigation of Jerry Sandusky, allowed him to watch Joe Pa’s 409th victory from the presidential box just one week before Sandusky’s indictment on 50 counts of sexual assault.

Sally Jenkins’ interview of Joe Paterno for the Washington Post published this week did little to alter the negative view of Penn State or the dismay over Paterno’s inaction. It provided a sensitive portrait of the ailing ex-coach but little in the way of new facts or explanations for his decade-long failure to stop Sandusky.

Joe said that he was unaware of the 1998 police investigation of Sandusky, and had no suspicion prior to 2002 that Sandusky was a sexual deviant. He did not follow-up, he said, because he did not want to “exert influence for or against Sandusky.” Though the interview did not provide much new information, it did muddle the government’s pending perjury case against Penn State administrators Tim Curley and Gary Schultz.

Curley and Schultz were indicted for telling the Grand Jury last year that Assistant Coach Mike McQueary in 2002 did not tell them that he saw Sandusky committing sex in the shower on a 10-year old, but rather described “inappropriate behavior or fondling” in the shower. That is substantially the same as what Paterno says McQueary told him. But McQueary told the grand jury that he described Sandusky’s behavior to Curley and Schultz in more graphic detail than he did to Paterno, specifically describing sodomy on a 10 year old in the shower.

The case against Curley and Schultz will rely almost exclusively on the testimony of McQueary, who admits giving two different versions of what he saw. Curley and Schultz will certainly be consistent in their accounts of what McQueary told them. That’s two against one, and the one has already been trapped in an inconsistency. It looks like an uphill climb for the government.

Yanks Shuffle the Deck ….The Yankees’ recent trade of top prospect Jesus Montero for young stud pitcher Michael Pineda and their signing of free agent pitcher Hiroki Kuroda on the same day signal changes to come throughout the Yankee roster.

Montero, a powerful hitter but a defensive liability at catcher, was projected to catch 30-40 games and serve as the right-handed DH. But Yank GM Brian Cashman must have recognized that DH was no place for a developing player and that he could not trust Montero behind the plate. By trading Montero for a top of the rotation pitcher, the Yankees undid a logjam at catcher and DH, strengthened their staff, and opened up a number of intriguing lineup possibilities.

First, the right-handed DH slot is freed up for more than occasional occupancy by Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. Eduardo Nunez started over eighty games last year at third and can be counted on to spell Jeter and A-Rod in the field when these aging veterans need rest. When Nunez starts and A-Rod DH’s, the Yankees can come at you with speed (Granderson, Gardner, Nunez) and power (A-Rod, Teixeira, Cano, Swisher). Look for a change in the batting order with Cano batting third and Teixeira fifth. Jorge Posada’s retirement leaves an opening for a left-handed DH. Ex-Yank Hideki Matsui, a free agent, would be perfect.

But the trade may have its most dramatic impact on the pitching staff. The arrival of Pineda and Kuroda marks the downgrading of AJ Burnett and Phil Hughes. Pineda and Kuroda will be slotted second and fourth in the rotation, respectively. Ivan Nova should be number three. That leaves Burnett, Hughes and Garcia to duke it for fifth starter. Expect Burnett as a number 5 to equal or exceed reduced expectations, Hughes to go to the bullpen or be traded, and Garcia to spot start and do long relief.

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, teams will be more sharply penalized for exceeding the luxury tax threshold. In anticipation of the new rules, and with exception for the 1-year deal to Kuroda, the Yankees steered clear of this year’s free agent pitcher class and have instead chosen to stockpile young hurlers under contract by trade (Penada) and through their farm system (Dellin Betances, Manny Banuelo)

These are not the free-spending Yankees of the George Steinbrenner era, who wasted tens of millions on multi-year contracts to free agent pitchers Kevin Brown, Jared Wright, Kei Igawa, and yes, Burnett. Mistakes on pitchers may be made in the future; but if so, they will be made one year at a time.

Giants….. In an NFL season filled with more story lines than a Dickens novel, the late-season run of the Giants continues to be a page-turner

There’s been no shortage of heroes during the Giants’ four-game march to Sunday’s NFC Conference title game against San Francisco: Eli, the defensive line, the resurgent backfields, offensive and defensive, the wide receiver corps. Improvement in each of these areas has contributed to consecutive victories against the Jets, Dallas, Atlanta, and Green Bay altering the course of a season which just a few weeks ago was heading south.

Now, as Giant fans evoke parallels to the 2007 Super Bowl run, they are poised to win it all.

But ask yourself what if Victor Cruz does not make that 99 yard catch and run against the Jets in week 16. Here’s the scenario – Fresh off an abysmal defeat to the Redskins, the Giants were 7-7 and on the brink of a lost season. They needed to win out to make the playoffs. The Jets, at 8-6, had been modestly successful, but had the inside track to a playoff berth. Before the game, Jets coach Rex Ryan stoked the fires by claiming that the Jets were the better team.

The Jets dominated the early going, and led 7-3 with 2:12 left in the half and the Giants pinned back on their own one yard line with a 3rd and 10. If the Jets stopped the Giants and got the ball back at midfield, they had a good chance to take a potentially crippling 14-3 lead into halftime.

Instead, Eli completed a short toss to Cruz over the middle. Cruz eluded one tackler, dashed to the sideline, leaped over another defender and cruised 99 yards for the score. It was the play that sent the Giants soaring, and the Jets reeling.

Since Cruz’ touchdown, the Giants have out-scored their opponents by 118-43, and have registered four touchdowns of sixty five yards or more in four blow-out victories. Since Cruz’ touchdown, the Jets lost their last game of the season to miss the playoffs, fired coaches, and have been riddled with dissension. The franchises have been heading in opposite direction at warp speed.

On the Giants’ march to a Super Bowl victory, there may be many more big plays, perhaps even a game-winning one. But of all the plays in all the games, the one that changed the course of the season, the one Giant fans will most cherish will be Victor Cruz’ gift of a 99-yard catch and run against the Jets on Christmas Eve.

Ali …… Muhammad Ali, nee Cassius Clay, turned 70 Tuesday. Incredibly to men of a certain age, it’s more than 50 years since The Mouth that Roared won a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics; and it’s just under 48 years since he toppled Sonny Liston in the sixth round in Miami Beach in February, 1964 in what many consider to be the greatest sports upset ever.

Clay entered the fray as a 7-1 underdog. An examining doctor, shocked at Clay’s heart rate, expressed concern for his safety against ex-mob enforcer Liston, who had destroyed Floyd Patterson twice with his savage right hand and was considered unbeatable.

After achieving Olympic Gold, Clay plowed through a slew of pretenders and contenders, boldly predicting the final round by rhyme. When he narrowly edged Doug Jones in an elimination bout at the Garden in 1963, he became 18-0 and in line to fight Liston for the title.

The fight was much anticipated, but by today’s standards, it was conducted in secret. There was no home TV and only limited closed circuit availability. Some early cable systems carried the fight, and this writer drove 75 miles to Ithaca, New York to watch the bout in grainy black and white.

Clay surprised the world by dashing and slashing and jabbing Liston for six rounds, so befuddling the Big Ugly Bear that he didn’t come out for the seventh. Clay bounced hysterically around the ring shouting “I am the Greatest.”

Shortly thereafter, Clay announced his conversion to the Muslim faith and his new name, Muhammad Ali. Three years later, he was stripped of his crown for resisting induction to the armed forces. While in exile, he embarked on a speaking tour of liberal-leaning colleges, including the University of Michigan, where he conducted an hilarious monologue of black-white jokes. He was handsome, witty, and gracious.

Ali was the most polarizing athlete of his generation, but he transcended sports. He had a world championship game and a world championship personality. That is a package we may never see again.

The look on John Elway’s face said it all.

As his quarterback, Tim Tebow, led his team, the Denver Broncos, to the most improbable of touchdown drives to defeat the Jets Thursday night, the camera panned in on team president John Elway. Elway did not demonstrate unbridled joy.

Instead, he wore a worrisome look, as if to say, “Now what do I do?” Then upon realizing that his Broncos were now 5-5 and in the thick of the AFC West race, he broke into a broad smile.

Elway’s quandary was understandable. Elway inherited Tebow. He didn’t select him. That was the work of former coach Josh McDaniel, who selected Tebow with the Bronco’s first pick in the 2010 draft before being bounced summarily 12 games into the 2010 season. Elway, a legendary quarterback for Denver from 1983 to 1998, came on board as President and part owner of the Broncos during the summer of 2011.

Word was that neither Elway nor new Denver coach John Fox was enamored of Tebow. In a view that was shared by most NFL pundits, they felt, and may still feel, that Tebow’s unorthodox run-first style of quarterbacking did not translate well to the NFL. They began the season by installing Kyle Orton, a traditional drop back passer, as the starting quarterback.

Orton played poorly, and with the Broncos at 1-4, the fans clamored for Tebow. Fox relented and announced that Tebow would start Sunday October 23rd against Miami. Tebow proceeded to stink up the joint, and Denver trailed Miami 15-0 with 2:44 on the clock. But Tebow spirited Denver to two touchdowns and a two-point conversion to tie it in regulation, and a field goal to win it in overtime.

Following a trouncing by Detroit in which he was awful, and victories over Oakland and Kansas City where his combined passing numbers were 12 -28 for 193 yards, it was not clear where the Tebow experiment was going. He was described by one analyst as “the worst passing quarterback for a starter ever.”

For the first fifty five minutes Thursday night, Tebow played the part. He compiled a statistical nightmare, going one for eight on third downs in the third quarter with seven straight three and outs. He missed open receivers repeatedly while under no pass rush. If not for a pick six, Denver wouldn’t have been in the game. In the words of Mike Francesa, Denver did not move the ball “one inch” before then. The Jets defense hadn’t give up a point.

But it all changed with that final drive, which will be known henceforth as The Drive II. Taking over at his own five yard line, Tebow called twelve straight plays out of the shotgun often going with an empty backfield. It was like a two-minute drill without the passing. Systematically, and with incredible poise, he picked and slashed and bulled his way around and through the Jets defense, concluding with a 23-yard touchdown run where he ran over Darrell Revis.

For the moment, Tebow is being hailed as a hero and winner by his supporters; but to his critics, one final drive does not obscure his deficiencies as a passer. When he performs erratically for 58 minutes but somehow finds a way to win at the end, he fans both sides of the controversy.

Elway remains unconvinced. He told a Denver reporter yesterday that he is “no closer” to deciding on Denver’s quarterback of the future, and “we can’t go 3 for 13 on third downs and win a world championship.” Clearly, Tebow does not fit Elways’s image of what a franchise quarterback should be.

But Elway has no choice but to play out the season with Tebow as his starter and see what develops. If the Broncos finish poorly, they may be tempted to draft a quarterback in the first round. If they finish strong, they may be tempted to draft a quarterback in the first round.

Tebow or not Tebow?

That is the question.

Preserving the Brand

“ If self preservation is an instinct you possess, you better fuck’n do it, and do it quick,” snapped Winston Wolf to the dilatory Jules and Vincent in “Pulp Fiction.”

In trying to figure out the motive behind Penn State’s and Joe Paterno’s unfathomable failure to take action against Jerry Sandusky when they first learned of the long-time assistant’s nefarious activities in 1998, and then again in 2002, look no further than their fanatical desire to preserve the Penn State brand, which includes a squeaky clean reputation for playing within the rules, Joe Pa’s burnished image, and its $70 million/year football program. “We are…. Penn State,” goes the slogan.

According to the Centre County Grand Jury Report, Sandusky’s activities reached back to 1994, but were first investigated by law enforcement in 1998, when the campus and local police responded to the complaint of Victim 6. The investigation was closed when District Attorney Ray Gricar, who disappeared mysteriously in 2005, decided there would be no criminal charges. In June, 1999, Sandusky, then 55, retired as defensive coordinator after thirty years on the staff with professor emeritus status and full use of campus facilities, including his own office and parking space, and a faculty benefits package.

Making full use of his privileges, Sandusky in 2000 was discovered by a janitor performing oral sex on an 11-year old in the showers of the football building. The incident went unreported. Then, in 2002, he was observed by graduate assistant Mike McQueary performing anal sex on a 10-year old in the locker room shower. McQueary reported the matter to Paterno, who passed on the information to the athletic director, Tim Curley. Curley and administrator Gary Schultz subsequently met with McQueary, who described to them what he saw.

No one from Penn State ever reported the incident to the University or local police. Sandusky’s only sanction was that he was instructed not to bring children into the locker room. McQueary remained on the football staff until Friday, when he was placed on indefinite leave.

The Grand Jury, conducting its investigation during 2010 and 2011, called McQueary, Paterno, Curley and Schultz as witnesses. Paterno, Curley and Schultz testified as to what McQueary told them. Curley and Schultz were indicted for falsely characterizing McQueary’s report. Curley testified that he was not told by McQueary that Sandusky was engaged in sexual conduct. Schultz testified that McQueary’s allegations were “not that serious.”

Since Paterno testified to the same subject matter and was not indicted, it can only be assumed that he accurately described to the Grand Jury what McQueary told him. In other words, he admitted being told by McQueary that Sandusky performed anal sex on a 10-year old and doing virtually nothing about it. Maybe this is what Joe had in mind when he admitted at his press conference Wednesday that he “could have done more.”

After the 2002 incident, Sandusky continued to enjoy preferred status and to entertain children at the Penn State facilities. As recently as the summer of 2011, he performed recruiting tasks for Penn State.

There can be little doubt that Sandusky’s ouster as assistant coach in 1999 was inspired by the criminal investigation of 1998. But why was it necessary to treat him like departing royalty? And then, in 2002, why did the administration fail to report the crime committed on its property and continue to treat Sandusky with kid gloves?

“To what do we owe such generosity?,” Don Corleone asked of Virgil Solozzo when he offered him a one-third interest for mere finance.

So now do we wonder why Penn State put itself on the line for a pedophile. The answer, as with the Don and Solozzo, is “for selfish reasons.” Jerry Sandusky was a Penn State lifer. He was the heir apparent to Joe. He knew where all of Penn State’s recruiting bones were buried. There was no one in better position to topple the Nittany Lions’ house of cards if he were crossed. Silence and inaction were in everyone’s interests.

We have only begun to scratch the surface of this story. It may wind up having more legs than a tarantula. Already, there are rumors that Sandusky’s Second Mile foundation was a front for a pimping operation. At a minimum, there was an embarrassing interlocking of interests between the foundation and Penn State. Paterno has retained a prominent defense lawyer. Though it is not clear that he will be charged with a crime, he is certain to be named as a defendant in civil suits.

Penn State’s possibly criminal cover-up is a fitting coda to a year where the college football landscape has been dominated by episodes of illegal benefits (North Carolina, Ohio State), pay- for- play recruitments (Auburn, Miami), and rampant conference-hopping. So long as college presidents and administrators place power and money above principle, the carnage will continue.

NBA Strife Gives College Game New Life

In 2008, eighteen freshmen and sophomores were chosen in the first round of the NBA draft, including six of the first seven. Last May, in anticipation of the NBA lockout, that number shrunk to five.

Premium stars Harrison Barnes, Jared Sullinger, Terrence Jones, Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones, all certain high first round picks, opted to return to college, where their teams will contend for the national championship in the 2011-2012 college basketball season, which tipped off last night.

Several mid-level stars projected to go late in the first round are also back on campus. Senior Kris Joseph is at number five ranked Syracuse. Seniors Jordan Taylor and Ashton Gibbs return to Wisconsin and Pitt, respectively. Projected number ones seniors Jeffery Taylor and Festus Ezeli, and junior John Jenkins are again taking courses at Vanderbilt. Senior Trevor Mbakwe is back at Minnesota. And there’s more.

For the past eight years, the lure of the NBA ravaged the college ranks of its best players. Not just the one-and-dones left early. Many late developing players who emerged as stars as sophomores or juniors jumped ship at the first opportunity, leaving their teams short. Think DuJuan Blair, Joe Alexander, and Wes Johnson. Could Pitt have used Blair in the paint last year instead of Gary McGee? What if Johnson had been filling the lane for Syracuse?

And how many marginal stars with raw talent, but undeveloped skills, left school after one year only to languish or be rendered obsolete in the backwaters of the NBA? Think Donte Green, Anthony Randolph, and Lance Stephenson.

But in a turnabout, because of the lockout, this year it became fashionable for stars that were on the fence to remove their names from the draft and return to college. Those who did leave early – including Kyrie Irving, Derrick Williams, Tristan Thompson, Brandon Knight, Tobias Harris, Darius Morris, and Jordan Williams – are probably regretting their decision to depart.

Because while they are embroiled in a dispute which threatens the NBA season, the college game they left behind is primed for its best season in a decade. Had these stars stayed in school, they might have polished their skills, enhanced their fame, and padded their resumes.

The primary beneficiaries of the new ground rules will be North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio State and Connecticut. Each returns a heralded star who was projected to leave early, a strong supporting cast, and an influx of talented freshmen. They will be great from the get-go and are certain number one seeds. Competing for the number two and three seeds will be Syracuse, Pitt, Memphis, Baylor, Vanderbilt, Duke, and Florida.

It remains to be seen how the new collective bargaining agreement affects the flow of talent from the colleges to the NBA. But for one year, and perhaps one year only, the talent has been flowing upstream.

The rains which ravaged the American League East and National League East schedules for the past two weeks continued in full force as I made my way on the Beltway last Thursday en route to Camden Yards for the 9/08 make up of the 8/27 makeup of what would have been the Yankees and Orioles’ first meeting of the season in Baltimore on April 22nd.

That April 22nd downpour was a harbinger of the drenchings to come. Hurricane Irene erased the Camden Yards doubleheader scheduled for August 27, and Tropical Storm Lee delayed the start of Tuesday night’s game at the Stadium for four hours. Other eastern teams had been unsettled by the recurrent rains, but none like the Yankees and the Orioles. The Nats had squeezed in Strasburg’s debut, and Philadelphia’s deep pitching staff had enabled it to seamlessly absorb a slew of doubleheaders.

But despite the steady whir of my wipers one-half hour before game time, I had no doubt this game would be played. If they’d waited four hours to start Tuesday’s encounter, they were certainly going to start and finish this one. And how much water was there left upstairs, anyway?

This four game series over two cities had already taken on surreal overtones. The Yanks won a Labor Day slugfest 11-10. Tuesday’s 5-3 Yankees win ended at 2:15 a.m. When the teams met Wednesday at 1:05 despite heavy winds, a steady drizzle, and a dangerously sloppy field, cautious Yankee skipper Joe Girardi rested several regulars. The Yanks’ starting lineup that day included Eduardo Nunez at shortstop, Brandon Laird at second base, Greg Golson in centerfield, and Ramiro Pena at second, a virtual Triple A roster.

And with the always combustible AJ Burnett on the mound, Girardi got Triple A results. In the slush and the mush, the Yanks committed four errors, two by Nunez, threw four wild pitches, walked eight, and allowed five steals. And that doesn’t include Burnett’s failure to cover first twice, and a stretch of 0 for 13 with men on base. In desperation, with the score tied 4-4 in the late innings, Girardi substituted Teixeira, Granderson and Cano, but the die had been cast and the Orioles won in extras 5-4.

When the series moved the next day to Baltimore for game four, the skies parted just before game time and Derek Jeter faced off against the rotund Alfredo Simon precisely at 1:05 p.m. The sparse crowd and cool breezes gave the game a spring training-like quality. The announced crowd was 33,814, but this must have included the combined ticket sales for April 22nd and August 27th because there couldn’t have been more than 8,000 in the park, and 6,000 of them were Yankees fans. But despite the relaxed atmosphere, the Yank regulars were back on the field and rookie hotshot Ivan Nova was starting. This was a game the Yankees wanted.

After an uneventful first inning. Simon began to labor. Simon has the body of Bartolo Colon, but not the command. In the top of the second, after four walks, three runs, and 37 pitches, he’d expended the equivalent of a 40 hour work week. But the Yanks failed to capitalize; and when Simon left after four innings, the Orioles were within reach at 4-2, helped in part by Girardi’s decision, in the bottom of the fourth, to play the infield back with one out and slow Vlad Guerrerro on third. Vlad scored on the ensuing ground ball to second.

The lanky 6′4″, 215 lb Nova is the antithesis of Burnett. He works quickly, throws strikes, and gets out of trouble. While he has benefited from excellent run support in fashioning an 11-game win streak and a strong claim for rookie of the year, his success is no fluke. So it came as a surprise when Girardi yanked him with one out in the sixth after 96 pitches and a runner on second. Girardi loves to play the lefty vs. lefty card and he selected Boone Logan to face light-hitting Chris Davis, who promptly spanked a double to close the margin to 4-3.

In the next inning, things began to heat up on this peaceful afternoon. Again, Girardi selected a left-hander, Aaron Laffey, to start the seventh against lefty Nick Markakis. Markakis walked and Girardi brought in righty Cory Wade to face Adam Jones, who launched a high drive to right center which Nick Swisher hauled in with a great over-the-shoulder catch in front of the Oriole bullpen. Guerrero, who homered for the Orioles’ first run, then hit a liner to the gap in right center which Swisher did not reach.

While Markakis steamed around the basepaths, centerfielder Granderson hit cut-off man Cano who turned and fired in one motion a one-hop dart to catcher Cervelli. Markakis, Cervelli and the ball arrived simultaneously, resulting in a thunderous collision. But Cervelli channeled his inner Ray Fosse and held on for the put-out. Wade finally retired a batter in normal fashion and the Yanks’ lead held at 4-3.

After yet another bang-bang collision and out at the plate in the bottom of the eighth, Yankee luck wore out. Robert Andino slapped a two-out single to left off failed set-up man Rafael Soriano to tie the score; and reliever Scott Proctor, another questionable Girardi selection, relinquished three hits and two walks in an inning and a third as the Orioles scored in the bottom of the tenth to register their second consecutive 5-4 extra-inning victory over the Bombers.

These two Yankee defeats, and another last night to the Angels, can be chalked up to the bullpen, and to Girardi, who seems to pull too many strings in an effort to play the percentages and save his regulars from overwork. Aside from David Robertson and Mariano Rivera, there is no one in the Yanks’ populous bullpen who can be counted on to fashion a simple scoreless inning. And Girardi’s manic maneuverings reflect his lack of confidence in his pen.

But the disappointing outcome could not dim the luster of a great game. Four and a half months in the making, it had been well worth the wait.

The biggest man in sports and the biggest man in the history of prime time television both called it quits Friday.

At a formal retirement press conference at his home near Orlando, Florida Friday, Shaquille O’Neal, 7′1″ 340 lbs, made official what he tweeted to his millions of followers Wednesday – he was ending his 19 year career as the most dominant big man in the NBA since Wilt Chamberlain. He retires as the largest brand name personality in any sport.

A one of a kind blend of size, natural ability, and affability, Shaq’s standing is secure as a top five big man, the only question being whether he is ahead or behind of Akeem Olajuwon as number four behind Russell, Wilt and Kareem.

Akeem won their only playoff match-up, the 1995 Finals, but Shaq wins the statistical analysis. In his prime, from 1993 through 2003, Shaq averaged 27.9 ppg and 11.8 rpg. During Akeem’s core years, he averaged 24 and 12. Shaq won four titles to Akeem’s two, but he had a better supporting cast. Olajuwon was a much better foul shooter….71.2% to 52.8 %.

In a match-up that’s almost too close to call, we give the edge to Shaq by virtue of his massive physical presence and his outsized personality. By all accounts, Akeem was a perfect gentleman, but we never got to know him the way we know Shaq.

Shaq critics, including Kobe Bryant, have derided him for devoting more off-season time to extra -curricular activities than to conditioning, but his nineteen years in an NBA uniform is exceeded only by Kareem (20) among the ten greatest centers of all-time, which in our view includes: 6. Moses Malone; 7. Patrick Ewing; 8. Willis Reed; 9. Nate Thurmond; and 10. Wes Unseld.

It’s true that Shaq devoted a lot of time to cultivating his off-court image. And the contrast between the sinewy Shaq who played three years at LSU and the current behemoth is stark. But it’s not unnatural for a center to fill out during the course of his career. See Malone, Ewing, and Unseld.

We didn’t have to bestow nicknames on Shaq. He took care of that himself, referring to himself at various times as The Big Aristotle (for his sheer genius), Osama Bin Shaq (for the terror he inflicted under the boards), The Big IPO (because his stock continues to rise), the M.D.E. (Most Dominant Ever), and most recently, The Big Twitterer.

The step-son of an army sergeant, Shaq credited his stern upbringing and his respect for authority as the foundation for his career. In his off-seasons, Shaq has attended the police academy, been trained as a reserve officer with the L.A. and Miami police, and has expressed interest in “ being the sheriff or chief of police somewhere in Florida.”

At about the time that Shaq was meeting with the press, another large authority figure, 6′7″ James Arness, 88, Matt Dillon of “Gunsmoke” from 1955 -1975, died Friday at his home in Los Angeles. Taller than Cheyenne or the Rifleman, quick on the draw but virtuous and of sound judgment, Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshall of Dodge City, Kansas, was the dominant law enforcement man in the age of the TV western.

Premiering in September, 1955 on CBS, “Gunsmoke” was the first of the prime time television Westerns and the most enduring, ending a run of 635 episodes in 1975. Only the “Flintstones” has had a longer run in prime time television and it doesn’t use real actors. From 1957 to 1961, “Gunsmoke” was the highest rated show on television.

In addition to sensible scripts and believable characters, the heart of the show was Matt Dillon, whose great size and character elevated him above normal men. Unlike Maverick, who wore fancy clothes and gambled, or Paladin who dressed in black and had epicurean tastes, or Bat Masterson who sported a cane and top hat, Matt Dillon didn’t need any embellishment.

Dillon rode a horse without a name, dressed drably, carried a holster with only one gun, and seemed to have no interest in romance. Shaq would have referred to him as The Big Fundamental. But nobody dispensed justice more efficiently or displayed better judgment. Usually, the story was not about Dillon directly, but rather concerned a drifter, a town person, or one of the regulars, Chester, Kitty, or Doc. From 1962 to 1966, Burt Reynolds played Quint, the town blacksmith.

Laconic and shy in real life, Arness was a perfect fit for the Matt Dillon character, first popularized on radio. Arness was recommended for the TV role by John Wayne, who came to know Arness during the filming of “Big Jim McClain” and “Hondo.”

So embodied was Arness in the Matt Dillon role that he never got past it. Though relatively young at the end of Gunsmoke’s regular run in 1975, he returned to the role in five TV movies from 1987 through 1993 and his only other movie or television credits were variations of the Dillon persona, in TV re-makes of “Red River,” “The Alamo,” and “How the West Was Won.” After “Gunsmoke,” it was hard to imagine Arness doing light comedy or romance.

Unlike Arness, the media-savvy Shaq is poised to assume new roles. He already commands a world-wide audience for his every move. Sirius might give him his own channel. If Magic Johnson could host a late night talk show, why not Shaq?

But if Shaq does decide to go into law enforcement, he’d have no better role model than Matt Dillon, another big man who reached his expiration date last Friday.