SPORTS FOLDEROL

  Some opinion, mostly fact: AFTER WASTING AWAY  as a healthy scratch for 33 of the  New York Rangers’ first 48 games, the forgotten man,  Libor  Hayek  II in waiting …  Zac Jones  finally got another chance  – if almost by default – and all he did was score the winning  goal and add an assist in a 7-2 victory over the Ottawa  Senators. What’s more, the 23 year old defenseman from Richmond  finished the game an impressive (to say the least) plus-4 in the  tell-tale plus-minus category. It was vindication, of sorts, for  Jones who – amazingly – hasn’t gone off the rails in  frustration and demanded to be traded. But then that isn’t his style … never has been, probably never  will be. Instead, when asked (which isn’t often) about his lack  of playing time, Jones can be counted on to say all the right  things like … all he can do is work hard in practice, control  what he can control, and be read...

 

 

  Baseball’s Hall of Fame voters got it wrong AGAIN when   Billy Wagner  fell short … this time by five votes. Check his numbers. The lefthand relief pitcher from Marion, Va., who went to Ferrum College, averaged 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings and limited batters to an overall average of .187 – best by 12 points of any HOF-worthy reliever … The rap against Wagner is that he ONLY appeared in 903 innings during a 16-year MLB career that ended in 2010 when, at age 38, he walked away after a personal-best 1.73 ERA for the Atlanta Braves to spend more time with his family … You could go on and on with his numbers … but easily one of the most intriguing things about Wagner was … he was born a natural right-hander. At age seven he twice broke that arm and became a southpaw whose fastball was measured at 100 mph-plus. IT COULD BE  that   Peter Laviolette  is doing  Zac Jones  a  favor … by making him a perpetual healthy scratch while the  New ...

  (Quick explanation: The following was written for the Richmond Times-Dispatch a year ago as part of our SPORTS MEMORIES series … but was rejected. Too negative, I recall, was the explanation. Come to think about it, that described Billy Packer more often than not. It happens in a business where your job is to tell people what is going on and not be concerned whether they like it or not.   Packer died Jan. 26, 2023 at age 82. Said broadcast partner Jim  Nantz, “He had the ability to make every fan base think he was  against them … and he relished the role. North Carolina thought he  favored Duke … and Duke thought he was in the bag for North  Carolina. He loved it. He LOVED it.”) . I know I’m old and out of touch with the modern games people play, but,  please, how to explain … …  CBS, in its infinite wisdom, could bump  Billy Packer  to a forced  retirement before his time. Now, the best there was – and probably ever will  be...

  Officiating in the NHL is so awful that players (and coaches) are getting used to it, so why bother complaining even when replay once again shows another bad decision? … Sunday, homestanding Anaheim was clinging to a 2-0 advantage against the New York Rangers when Ducks defenseman  Urho Vaakanainen  was sent off for hooking  Alexis Lafreniere . What really happened? Lafreniere was holding onto Vaakenainen’s stick and probably thought he would get the two minutes … “Terrible call,” said Ducks’ TV analyst  Brian Hayward , almost matter-of-factly … It took the Rangers one rush to cut the deficit to one in a game Anaheim had a goal disallowed for offsides. THAT was a good call … Ducks lost 5-2, befitting a terrible team. Riddle me this: Why am I losing interest in English Premier League  soccer? It’s still a great game to watch – when played by the world’s  best … but… can it be the VAR replay system that should be full  (fool?) proof and still does...

  Sooner or later  Zac Jones  will have to unload on the New York Rangers for, in effect, putting his career on hold. The defenseman from Richmond (Glen Allen) has been a healthy scratch for  30  of the team’s 44 games … which is no way to treat any player, much less a 23 year old with unlimited potential ...  The  Broadway Blueshirts  went 7-2-1 in November when Jones replaced injured  Adam Fox .  Since Dec. 15, he’s sat and watched for  15 of 16 games, his only appearance  Jan. 13 when he got on the ice for a few shifts as the seventh defenseman ...  With the NHL trade deadline March 8, the Rangers still have time to do the right thing. And here we thought  Tyler Burton  left the University of  Richmond for high-profile Villanova to better his NBA  draftability. Wrong again! It was strictly a matter of money.  Would you believe the 6-8 forward, who led the Spiders in  scoring a year ago, wil...