JUST GIVE THE BALL TO BARKLEY ... AND GET OUT OF THE WAY

 Of All Things ...

After last Sunday’s playoff victory over the Rams, in 

which he was sacked seven times and spent a few 

anxious moments in the medical tent to check an ailing 

left knee, QB JALEN HURTS gives the two-point

favored Eagles a ready-made excuse should the red-hot 

Washington Football Club prevail in Sunday’s Eastern 

Conference championship matchup. Asked how he felt, 

Hurt said, “Well, I finished the game.” … Actually, 

given what Detroit’s JAHMYR GIBBS did to the 

Commanders (14 carries, 105 yards, 2 touchdowns), all 

Hurts has to do is remain upright, long enough to give 

the ball to SAQUON BARKLEY … who ran for 360 

yards (four TDs) in two games against LA and surely 

would have set a one-season record had he not been 

withheld from the last regular-season game with woeful 

New York Football Giants … Barkley thus finished 100 

yards shy of the standard (2,105) set 41 years ago by

 ERIC DICKERSON, 54, who said he hoped his 

record would not be broken … Nice guy, Dickerson, 

still refusing to admit he took money in the scandal tha 

rocked Southern Methodist and led to the first – and

only – NCAA-designated “death penalty.” … “Even if I

did take something, I never would tell,” Dickerson said.

How funny would it be ... if COOPER FLAGG

 decides to stay at Duke … and not be the (guaranteed) 

first selection in the 2025 NBA draft? Given his 

potential choices, like perennial loser Washington, 

Charlotte and dysfunctional Brooklyn, maybe it would 

be wise to stay in Durham … where he could continue 

to make big bucks without the big headaches of pro 

hoops. Thank you, NIL.

So, Virginia (quietly) gave athletic director CARLA 

WILLIAMS a contract extention … which took a 

Freedom of Information request to uncover. Not good 

… Cavalier officials apparently knew it would not be a 

popular decision … but, obviously, didn’t care.

On ESPN Saturday, while Louisville was making 

U.Va., look like a money-game, DIII opponent, network 

analyst CHRIS SPATOLA said, “Part of Virginia’s 

problem is that they don’t have enough competitors. 

They have a lot of guys out there just going through the 

motions … playing in spurts.”

With 4:53 remaining, Louisville ahead 70-52, and 

players lined up for a free throw following a multi-

player scramble for the ball … that resulted in a foul 

called against Virginia, the game officials suddenly 

decided to check the replay …”I have a rule: when it’s 

an 18-point game, no reviews,” said Spatola, former 

guard for the U.S. Military Academy and two-time 

Patriot League leading scorer (2001-02) who was Duke 

assistant (2007-2012) for MIKE KRZYZEWSKI … 

before embarking on a career in TV. He’s been with 

ESPN since 2015 … After a short delay, the whistle-

tooters determined they had gotten it right … unlike 

earlier when a common foul was changed to Flagrant 

One – which seemed a bit ridiculous although Spatola 

insisted we shouldn’t blame the officials because they 

have been ordered to crack down ...“There is [validity] 

in wanting to get the call right … but it loses its 

mobility when the ends no longer justify the means … 

and that common-foul call was obvious.” he said. 

Amen, brother, amen.

If you can … check the replay of something you don’t 

see very often (to say the least) … when NHL 

Penguins’ goaltender ALEX NEDELJKOVIC scored 

a goal Friday night in a 5-2 victory over homestanding 

Buffalo … into an empty net, of course, with 2:42 

remaining … Living a goalie’s dream, Nedeljkovic 

collected the puck behind his goal, wound up and lofted 

a perfect shot between Sabres’ defenders from an 

estimated 184 feet away … before celebrating by racing 

to the team bench and accepting congratulations… 

Nedeljkovic, 29, is the 16^th goalie in NHL history to 

score a goal … and, with an assist earlier, became the 

first to do both in one game … By now you couldn’t 

blame the Parma, Ohio, native if he shrugged the whole 

thing off as no big deal. He also had two goals in the 

AHL (2018 with Charlotte; 2023 with Scranton/Wilkes-

Barre) and one in the ECHL (Florida Everblades).

Speaking of unusual … the New York Rangers and 

Columbus Blue Jackets did their best to put the usually-

rabid fans at Madison Square Garden to sleep. In a 

game that could have been mistaken for a light, 

morning skate, “You don’t hit me … and I won’t hit 

you,” there was a total of three penalties … and no 

goals. The Rangers finally won when VINCENT 

TROCHECK beat goaltender DANIIL TARASOV, 

25, with the only shot that went in the best-of-three 

shootout ...“One of the more unique outcomes,” said 

Blue Jackets TV’s STEVE MEARS. “Tarasov was 

outstanding … Now, the trivia question is: How many 

can say they lost their first NHL shutout?” … The 

answer is … one.

Until next time ...