Paul's Articles: December 2016

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Christmas cards are great in any form

One if by Land. Two if by Sea. Three if by Drone. Four if by Email. Nobody will remember how it got here, only that it did.

It all started so innocently. My sister Helen was in Las Vegas for a conference in February of 2012. In the lobby were a few men at a table talking baseball and signing autographs. The two former major leaguers were trying to generate some interest. They asked for questions from the relatively small audience. My sister called me and asked for some baseball trivia. Talking about baseball never goes out of season. The guy at the table closest to my sister asked for her phone. First, a question to me followed by a few jokes, and the two hours flew right by.

I knew the ending, but I had to look up the career for left handed pitcher, Dave Dravecky. 64 wins with 57 losses. Lifetime Earned Run Average - 3.13. Fewer hits than innings pitched. 0.60 postseason ERA. One National League Championship Series shutout. One lifetime home run. Spending eight years in the big leagues(The Show). We shared the same birthday (Valentine's Day). I was mesmerized as we spoke.

Dave Dravecky underwent his first operation Oct. 7, 1988, after a cancerous tumor was diagnosed in the primary throwing muscle of his left arm. Doctors conducted an eight-hour operation to remove a malignant tumor and nearly half the deltoid muscle, and told him he never would pitch again.

Ten months later, on Aug. 10, 1989, Dravecky pitched seven shutout innings for the San Francisco Giants in a 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

But five days later, while pitching against the Montreal Expos, his left arm snapped and he collapsed on the mound in agony.

The bone healed and Dravecky was considering another comeback when the arm was broken again, this time during a freak on-field celebration with his teammates when the Giants clinched the 1989 National League pennant with a victory over the Chicago Cubs.

"As soon as the doctor told me the cancer had returned , I knew the score. He was my friend and it wasn't easy on him. I trusted him. I had faith in him. He did what was best for me and my family and I am grateful."

"In as much as there is a certain amount of fear involved in losing my arm, it is a sense of almost relief that I feel," Dravecky said. "The pain and discomfort of that time is now about to end and I look forward to once again doing the things I enjoy."

After recovering from the surgery, Dravecky went on to begin a new career as a motivational speaker. He has written two books about his battles with cancer and his comeback attempt: Comeback, published in 1990 and When You Can't Come Back, coauthored with wife Jan and Ken Gire in 1992.

Those are my stocking stuffers. Merry Christmas to all.

Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

Friday, December 23, 2016

J-E-T-S are not even close to rockbottom

Imagine the reception awaiting the head coach of the New York Jets, a four-time champ for a franchise that, until he took over, hadn't won it all since LBJ was in the oval office. Imagine how Belichick would be celebrated in the big city after serving as an invaluable defensive coordinator for Bill Parcells' two title teams with the Giants and then taking the Jets places Parcells could not take them.

Bill poetically penned that he was quitting as “HC of the NYJ. "I resigned because I wasn't comfortable with the situation with the Jets."

On Thanksgiving Day November 22, 2012, QB Mark Sanchez had his infamous Jet moment, running into the backside of offensive lineman Brandon Moore and fumbling the football on national TV.

To add insult to injury, New England Patriots' safety Steve Gregory scooped up the fumble for a touchdown en route to a 49-19 rout over Gang Green.

"I want to kiss you."

The words spoken by Hall of Fame QB Joe Namath on the sidelines on December 20, 2003 to Suzy Kolber were taken from the single hit All the Young Dudes by Mott the Hoople. The song, written by David Bowie, was given to the struggling rockgroup. Bowie gave them the record in May of 1972 because he thought they were great, and didn't want them to breakup. Joe Namath was dealing with the breakup of his struggling marriage. "I couldn't care less about the team strug-gle-ling."

All the young dudes
Carry the news

The stars were aligned on January 12, 1969 when Joe Namath led the New York Jets to a 16-7 guaranteed victory over the Baltimore Colts. “That Super Bowl Game III, which we lost by nine points, was the critical year (for the AFL),” Colts defensive end Bubba Smith famously told Playboy. “The game just seemed odd to me. Everything was out of place. I tried to rationalize that our coach, Don Shula, got out-coached, but that wasn’t the case. I don’t know if any of my teammates were in on the fix.”

The lead guitarist for Mott the Hoople, Mick Ralphs left the group in 1974 to form the band Bad Company. He must be a J-E-T-S fan.

How poetic.

Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Mike Zimmer becomes the first head coach to behave like normal

Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was back at practice on Tuesday, after two operations last week on a detached retina in his right eye. While the coach said doctors "haven't told me I can't do anything," he added he'll be smart about his eye going forward. I understand the seriousness of the issue. Zimmer will be able to travel on the team flight to Florida this weekend, and Zimmer said there is no gas bubble on his eye to push his retina back into place.

This is a completely different approach than the original one for the Vikings' head coach. Zimmer had his first eye surgery in early November. The issue came about after he had trouble with his vision, and scratched his eye during an Oct. 31 game at the Chicago Bears. That’s when he was diagnosed with a torn retina. The Associated Press report said he was at risk for blindness if he didn’t get treatment right away. Zimmer wanted to put off the operation until after the Dallas Cowboys' game last Thursday, but doctors won the battle and emergency surgery was performed.

On January 10, 1983, Dick Vermeil, describing himself as ''emotionally burned out'' after seven years of self-imposed workdays of 18 and 20 hours, resigned today as coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. "I'm my own worst enemy," said Vermeil, who made a practice of sleeping on a cot in his office at least three nights a week during the season. "I'm far too intense, far too emotional."

Nick Saban responded to a question about the 2016 presidential election by saying that he "didn't even know yesterday was Election Day." Alabama coach Nick Saban says he forgot about Election Day, not about voting. He says Tuesdays are the busiest day of the week for the coaches.

Former Providence College head basketball coach Pete Gillen always preached teamwork and togetherness. "This isn't open-heart surgery. We want to win, but we also want to have fun and enjoy playing together. The hard work is always there. The stress, the anxiety and the sacrifice ... that's all part of it. But if the journey is all pain and misery, then, to me, you're missing a big ingredient to life."

Gillen may not have always practiced what he preached. When the elementary school called Providence Athletics one day to inform the coach that his young son was injured on the playground, Gillen did not know his son's social security number, date of birth or teacher's name. Fortunately, somebody at the college was able to look up the vital information. Gillen's wife was out of town.

Oakland Raiders' head coach John Madden retired as a Super Bowl winning head coach at 42. He was the youngest coach ever to reach 100 career regular season victories, a record he compiled in only ten full seasons of coaching. The Raiders did not make the playoffs in his final season. When informed by his wife Virginia that their oldest son needed a car for college, Madden replied" I didn't know he had his license." The kid had been driving for two years.

Barry Switzer coached the Dallas Cowboys for four seasons, winning one Super Bowl in his tenure. His motto was " Tail-lights at Two O'Clock." His interest had waned significantly following his 16 years at the University of Oklahoma. Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones tolerated Switzer's behavior because the team was successful.

In August 1997, Switzer was arrested after a loaded .38-caliber revolver was found in his luggage at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Switzer said there were children at his Dallas home and he put the gun in his bag to hide it from them. He said he accidentally forgot to remove the gun from the bag before heading to the airport.

I wonder if Nick Saban knows that Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November or that February has only 28 days. No chance of teaching him about Leap Year. We won't touch it.

Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

Thursday, December 1, 2016

It never gets old listening to the Greatest Generation

Who says the sequel is never as good as the original? Tell that to the standing room only crowd at the Smyth Public Library that attended the Wednesday night speaker's program featuring UNH Professor Gerry Smith. The gifted storyteller detailed his exploits during World War II as a POW.

Gerry Smith was a UNH freshman when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. His first reaction was to join the military. The University President called an All Men's Convocation, which was held at the student union. There was a $5.00 fine for those who were absent. All heads were accounted for. It took almost two years for the armed services to reach their allotments. Those who enlisted were assigned a particular branch. Volunteers were able to choose their own so Gerry joined the Army Air Corps.

Following a stint in Atlantic City for training, Rochester, NY was the stop for flight school. Additional two month assignments in Nashville, TN and Bennettsville, SC meant flying wings for the Second Lieutenant. Shaw Field in South Carolina, Barksdale Field in LA, and Freeman Airfield in Seymour, IN were all training sites used in preparation for duty overseas. The final US assignment was Morrison Field in Palm Beach, FL. Next stop was Sardinia - a large Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea.

One flight mishap on August 14, 1944 had Gerry's plane engulfed in flames. The entire flight crew was able to get out safely, but the plane was a complete loss. The Germans had sabotaged the aircraft. In September, Gerry's outfit was moved to Corsica. The location was ideal for it allowed aircraft the ability to travel long distances to key bombing locations, but have sufficient fuel available to return to base.

With 25 missions under his belt, Gerry was the co-pilot in a six man crew that took off on November 5, 1944.

Brenner Pass is a mountain pass through the Alps which forms the border between Italy and Austria. It is one of the principal passes of the Eastern Alpine range and has the lowest altitude among Alpine passes of the area.

The prime target was the railroad station that could paralyze the inbound supply chain for the Germans. It would also prevent the outbound traffic of soldiers.

Before the B-26 could reach its designated target, the plane was hit by German aircraft and shot down over Italy. He was forced to parachute to safety from his Martin B-26 Marauder bomber. His left arm, which was resting on the console to control the two fuel valves, was mangled and in need of medical treatment. He was captured by the Germans, and was on the operating table in 20 minutes. The body cast was removed in mid-February when he was moved to a POW hospital in Merano.

The interrogation took place in early March. " I knew the drill. I gave them details about the plane crash, but nothing else. They knew more than I did."

It seems as though the group I was in moved every 10 days to a different camp. We were walking in a war zone all the time, but managed to take cover when necessary. From Nuremberg to Moosburg, many times it was American planes that were strafing the areas. The only saving grace on the journey were the American Red Cross parcels that we received. (Items- chocolate, crackers, canned milk, toilet paper, matches, jam and five cigarettes). All of these treasures could be used for trade.

Liberation Day is a national holiday in Italy that is annually celebrated on April 25. For Gerry, it was April 29, 1945 that General Patton rolled into camp and the real liberation for the kid from Durham, NH began. It was on to Paris for a May 5th flight to America and the first communication with the family since his capture to let them know that he had survived.

The 18 months at Cushing Hospital in Framingham, MA was the final stop for Gerry in the military. The hospital specialized in treating patients with nerve damage. In his own words, " he is a survivor and proud of it."

After returning to the crash site in 2012, Gerry met one of the villagers who was playing soccer in the field when his plane hit the ground on November 5, 1944. He was a 12 year old boy who tried to help, but was shooed away by the Germans. He lifted the left sleeve of Gerry's shirt to confirm that his friend had returned.

"We hated the Nazis more than you."

Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy