SURPRISE!! UVA WILL PLAY ODU; KENT'S HALL SPEECH 'WELL RECEIVED'

 

CATCHING UP IS HARD TO DO (but, we’re gonna try) … so here 

goes ...

A TIP OF THE “It’s Weird Being the Same Age as Old People” cap … 

to Virginia, University of, basketball coach RYAN ODOM whose 

Cavaliers will play Old Dominion U., Nov. 17 at John Paul Jones.

Guess he didn’t get the memo ... “Under no circumstance will a team 

from a power conference schedule a mid-major … what, and give it a 

chance for a big upset … that possibly will keep one of our own from 

being selected for the post-season tournament?”

The teams haven’t met since 2012 when the Monarchs upset the

the Cavaliers 63-61 in Richmond.

SPEAKING OF hard to believe … JEFF KENT’s Hall of Fame 

speech was described as “warm, emotional and well-received” by our 

AI source. Come on!

That couldn’t possibly be the same J. Kent, who played for the Blue 

Jays, Mets, Indians, SF Giants, Astros and Dodgers during a 17-season 

MLB career, set a home-run record for second basemen (351) and, 

despite numerous injuries, was considered a good teammate because 

he produced timely hits year after year … yet was invariably tied to 

such unflattering descriptions as “jerk” and “jackass” by teammates, 

who liked him (well, sort of), and the media, which clearly didn’t.

Kent was always at war with the writers. As one who KNEW him well 

put it … “The consensus on Jeff Kent seems to be ‘That jerk sure 

could hit’ and maybe the powers that be will find space for sch 

sentiment on Kent’s Cooperstown tablet.”

So, why did the writers, who vote for Hall of Fame candidates, find 

him permanent residence in upstate New York? The answer is simple 

… they didn’t. The Old-Timers Committee did.

Guess they probably didn’t know good old JK, while playing for the 

Dodgers, trashed franchise broadcast icon VIN SCULLY. “He talks 

too much,” said Kent after Scully credited the presence of MANNY 

RAMIREZ in the lineup had a great deal to with Kent’s late-in-the-

season offensive surge.

Anyhow, the veteran’s committee took pity on Kent, who never got 

more than 46.5 percent of the Baseball Writer’s Association of 

America for his original 10 years (2014-23) of eligibility.

Of course, Kent hasn’t been the only major leaguer who didn’t have a 

love affair with the media. JERRY GROTE, a catcher with the 

1969 Amazin’ Mets, had an abiding dislike for the writers as well … 

even though, apparently, it was not THAT well-known.

Nevertheless, a 30-something scribe from Richmond, Va., decided to 

find out for himself … in the clubhouse after the Mets had completed a 

best-of-three, first-round sweep of the Braves. How hard would it be 

for him to be nice on such a happy, upbeat occasion?

He was just sitting there, by himself in front of his locker, watching 

teammates being grilled by reporters, a smile on his face, taking it all 

in while occasionally shaking his head. If you didn’t know better, you 

could almost feel sorry for him … being ignored. Almost.

So, I introduced myself and, before I could complete an innocent 

question, Grote said, “GET AWAY FROM ME, A-HOLE,” turning 

away to notice teammates laughing at the predictably-brief exchange.

I can only assume Mets’ fans didn’t care or were unaware. When 

Grote, 81, died in April of 2024 quite a few expressed not only their 

sorrow at his passing but also their admiration for one of the game’s 

all-time defensive best at his position. Some even said they thought the 

team should have retired the No. 15 honoring Grote rather than

 CARLOS BELTRAN who got the nod.

Among the 100 or so comments only a couple mentioned Grote in a 

negative way … like one referred to him refusing “to stop and give my 

son his autograph.” 

BY THE WAY … Beltran joined Kent and former Richmond Brave

 ANDRUW JONES plus Ford Frick winner JOE BUCK as the Hall’s 

class of 2026. At the induction ceremony, before a crowd of 12,000, 

good-guy Jones undoubtedly set a record for most people thanked … 

which took up his entire speech … among them manager BOBBY 

COX, HANK AARON and former Atlanta supervisor of 

scouting/assistant farm director PAUL SNYDER (like Cox a personal 

favorite here).

Jones waited nine years before getting the nod, based on exemplary 

defense in centerfield. His .254 batting average is the second lowest of 

all HofF position players while his 1,933 are the fewest for those 

enshrined since 1970. However, he did average 33 home runs and 

more than 100 RBI a season while winning 10 Gold Gloves over 12 

seasons with the A-Braves (1996-2007).

“Hitting home runs was great,” Jones said, “but I took a lot of pride in 

my defense … because that was wining games.”

He became the eighth member of Atlanta’s NL East dynasty to be 

inducted … including Cox as well as former teammates CHIPPER 

JONES, GREG MADDUX, TOMMY GLAVINE and JOHN 

Smoltz, all of whom played here.

Yes, Cox called Parker Field home as a third baseman in the … New 

York Yankees’ organization.

FORGET IT … NFL Washington fans. Your Commanders don’t have 

a prayer of making the playoffs much less contending for a Super 

Bowl champonship

\

How do I know? Glad you asked.

… because Wake Up Barstool Sports says so … and if …

But, seriously, folks … their guess can be as good as anyone’s ,,, that

 JAYDEN DANIELS and friends are in for a very long 2026 

campaign … with only the Giants, Panthers, Saints and Falcons rated 

lower in the NFC. Yuch!

The Rams are No. l in the NFC, a slight choice to beat the … 

Baltimore Ravens (????), seen best in the AFC.in the Super Bowl.

While he was at it, Barstool chief honcho DAVE P0RTNOY said 

there were only five teams in each conference capable of reaching the 

Super Bowl … to wit: In the NFC, in addition to the Rams, Seattle 

(ranked No. 2), Eagles (3), Lions (5) and Bears (7) … in the AFC: 

Bills (2), Patriots (3), Broncos (6), (8) and Jaguars (9).

LET’S HEAR IT for RYAN FOX, surprise winner of the British Open 

... who doesn’t mess around when it comes time to putt. None of that 

excruciating stop-and-go stuff for the 39 year old from ??? Sunday, 

faced with a -footer on the 18^thhole ,,, sink it and win your first major 

(second overall on the PGA Tour), miss and settle for no better than a 

playoff … when his turn came, Fox needed fewer than 20 seconds to 

knock it in … and become a hero to those of us who can’t stand the 

usual delaying histrionics.

“My routine is quick, and everything in my head works fast,” he 

explained later. “When I started playing golf, I just wanted to get out 

of the way … and not hold anyone up.”

BEFORE HE OPTED to sign with the Utah Mammoth, ZAC JONES 

heard from several other NHL teams … including – believe it or not – 

your New York Rangers for whom he played off and on (mostly off) 

for five years before joining the Buffalo Sabres’ organization a year 

ago.

“Yeah, the Rangers called,” said Rob Jones, father of Zachary, “but I 

don’t think they really thought he would be interested.”

The Broadway Blueshirts got that right, for a change, when it came to 

the first player born AND raised in Virginia to suit up for a regular-

season game in the NHL. From Richmond, the left-hand-shooting 

defenseman played well in limited opportunities but never could 

convince them he belonged among the top six.

Signing with Buffalo as a free agent, the 5-11, 195 pounder spent all of 

2025-26 with the Sabres’ top farm affiliate in Rochester, N. Y., where 

he led all American Hockey League defensemen in scoring and assists 

… and was named recipient of the EDDIE SHORE Award as the 

AHL’s best at his position.

STOP THE PRESSES … Prime Video signed what was called “a 

landmark streaming deal to carry NHL games on Wednesday nights in 

Canada for 12 years starting with the 2026-27 season … in both 

French and English.

For how much? Sorry, what each team will get was noticeably absent 

from the announcement.

Until next time (to be continued) ...