OBSERVATIONS: ‘Great Trip. . .And Trip From Hell’

By Hal McCoy

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, finally home after a 19-day trip to Greece and Italy that was a combination of great and the trip from hell.

Athens and Naples you can have. Santorini and Mykonos in Greece are great. Rome and the Amalfi Coast are fabulous. The Amalfi Coast has to be the most gorgeous place on Mother Earth.

But. . .

On the night we were scheduled to return home, my wife, Nadine, couldn’t breathe and was taken to a Rome hospital. They wouldn’t let me ride in the ambulance, a city law, they said. And they didn’t tell me what hospital they were transporting her to.

So I sat in the hotel lobby from 9 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. sobbing — Where is my wife and what is wrong? I foolishly did’t have a European plan for my cell phone so she couldn’t calle me.

We were scheduled to leave for the airport at 3 a.m. At 2:30, she texted our friend and co-traveler Mike Snyder, that she would be released in 20 minutes, despite severe bronchitis. She made it to the hotal at 3:03 and the van waited.

Me? I fell twice, both times in Rome. The second time was on a narrow sidewalk in front of a cafe. The owner was on the ground tending to some flower pots. his leg protruding.

I trippe over his leg and fell backwards, taking Nadine down with me. I broke two flower pots and a rib, which shoots pain through my body every time I sneeze or cough, which I’ve done often since our return.

We offered to pay for the flower pots. but the guy refused, although I’m certain he said something about Ugly Americans in Italian, which the only things I know are pasta, pizza, croissants, buongiorno and Sophia Loren.

—What I missed while I was gone:

—THE WORLD ‘SERIOUS’: I missed the first three World Series games during which the New York Yankees couldn’t stop LA’s Freddie Freeman with two silver bullets and a wooden stake.

I like the fact that two division winners made it to the World Series. . .no wild card teams that didn’t earn it during the season. I don’t like the fact that two of the three richest franchises made it and the richest, the New York Mets, nearly made it.

As long as there is no salary cap — and the players’ union won’t permit one — there will never be parity in major league baseball. And it is inflicting deep injuiry to the game’s popularity and fan interest.

—WINSTON FOR WATSON: Nobody wants to see anybody hurt and Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson was lost for the season while I was gone.

During his five-game losing streak, he threw nothing but short lateral flair passes and spent more time on the seat of his pants than a sitting judge. I kept writing, “Bench him. Don’t play him just because he is guaranteed $256 million,” It is one of the worst contracts since the Philadelphia Eagles donated $128 million over four years to quarterback Carson Wentz. That deal was a wince.

Jamies Winston stepped in for Watson last Sunday, a Winston for a Watson, and passed for 331 yards on 27 for 41 and three touchdowns with no interceptions during Cleveland’s 25-21 upset of the Baltimore Ravens.

And he actually completed some down-the-field passes instead of thoses perplexing flair heaves in the flat.

Unforunately for the Browns, it was too late. They are 2-6 and still last in the AFC North.

—DO THE BUCKS STOP HERE? I did get to listen on Nadine’s iPhone to Ohio State’s slim as a whisper late-game 21-17 win over Nebraska. Nebraska? The same team that lost the week before to Indiana, 56-7.

If they play like that Saturday it won’t be a happy day in Happy Valley for the Buckeyes against Penn State. But there is a report that Penn State quarterback Drew Allar might not play.

Allar injured a knee in the first half of Penn State’s 28-13 win over Wisconson. Cagey coach James Franklin said it will be a game-time decision.

Maybe the Buckeyes would prefer Allar. Back-up quarterback Beau Pribula stepped in for Allar in the second half and was 11 of 13 for 98 yards. And he led the Nittany Lions to a fourth-quarter game-clinching touchdown.

Be careful what you wish for.

—FLYERS FLY LOW: I missed the University of Dayton’s two exhibition games, a loss to Xavier and a limping pedestrian win over D-II Ashland, 65-58.

Those UD exhibtions against D-II and D-IIl teams usually are side-splitting laughers. In the previous four the Flyers won each by 30 or more points. There was no laughter against Ashland.

Coach Anthony Grant was deadly honest about it and said, “We didn’t do the things we worked on over the last 24 practices. It was an opportunity for our team to look in the mirror to where we need to continue to grow.

“We have to do some things better, like shot selection and we didn’t have a flow from an offensive standpoint.We gotta get better,” he added.

In short, the second half resembled a summer pick-up game on a schoolyard during which each player rejected team play in favor of doing their own thing and playing too much one-on-one.

The Flyers open the regular season Monday in UD Arena against St. Francis (Pa.), a team that finished 8-22 last year and lost its last five games.

—ROSE SALUTE: Who can ever get enough of Pete Rose?

On the day he broke Stan Musial’s National League career hits record, Rose faced Nolan Ryan.

Let Ryan take it from here:

“First pitch of the game, a fastball, bam, line drive hit to left field,” said Ryan. “The naxt three times I struck him out, the last time on three straight curveballs.

“I looked in the Reds dugout and bats were flying and helmets were bouncing. Rose was angry and frustrated. Then he looked at me and gave me a salute.

“It was the greatest compliment I ever received from a hitter.”

—YOGI ON DEATH: Who can ever get enough of Yogi Berra?

At an Old-Timers game in Yankee Stadium, Berra was sitting next to Reggie Jackson.

Let Jackson take it from here.

“Every year they scroll on the scoreborad the names of all the players who passed away that year. As the names scrolled, Yogi looked at me and said, ‘I hope I never see my name up there.’”

Yes, Yogi is a comedian without realizing it, but there is nothing funny about his incredible accomplishments as a player.

Berra and Roy Campanella are the only catchers to win MVP three times. He was the first player to hit a World Series pinch-hit home run. He is the only catcher to catch a World Series perfect game (Don Larsen, 1956). He led the New York Yankees in RBIs from 1949 through 1955. He led all major-league catchers in home runs and RBIs for nine straight seasons. In 1950, he struck out 12 times in 597 at bats.

Defensively? He led the American League in assists five times and threw out 49 per cent of would-be base stealers, He once went 148 games without an error.

Berra did all this with a face only his mother or a moose could love and he once said, “So I’m ugly. I never saw anyone hit with his face.”

—PLAYLIST NUMBER 102: And the hits keep on coming after a three-week hiatus:

Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd), Fire And Rain (James Taylor), Me And You And A Dog Named Boo (Lobo), Waterloo (Abba), Drive (The Cars), She’s Somebody’s Babe (Jackson Browne), Margaritaville (Jimmy Buffet), When Will I See You Again (The Three Degrees).

Baby Come Back (Player), Baker Street (Gerry Rafferty), Being With You (Smokey Robinson), Take It On The Run (REO Speedwagon), Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car (Billy Ocean), Kokomo (Beach Boys), I’m Not In Love (10cc), That’s What Friends Are For (Dione Warwick), Higher Love (Steve Winwood), Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel).

One thought on “OBSERVATIONS: ‘Great Trip. . .And Trip From Hell’”

  1. That is one rough trip. Great to make it safely back to home comforts. Love Yogi-isms. Boy – there must be a Yogi quote that fits the horrible flip to failure of Yanks in 5th inning of Game 5.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *