Steve Sabol and my APSE Award

The news struck with the impact of a hit Dick Butkus or Ray Nitschke would have put on some unfortunate ballcarrier back in the day in a film clip that likely would have been produced by Steve Sabol (above), the president of NFL Films.

Sabol, 68, was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor, discovered after he suffered a seizure earlier this month. He is undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatment.

Upon hearing about this, I was immediately taken back to my days as a young sportswriter with the assignment of spending a day at NFL Films headquarters in Mount Laurel, N.J., minutes outside Philadelphia.

The point man and central figure during my visit was Sabol, who gave me a personal guided tour of the facility (there were no PR people, assistants or interns involved), regaled me with a bottomless pit of stories and patiently answered every one of my questions.

He took me around to meet many of the high-ranking producers and filmmakers, who contributed their own stories, mostly about how NFL Films rose from a small family business -- started by Steve's father, Ed, a recent inductee in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, where Steve will surely follow -- to the league-licensed giant it became, whose material is the backbone of the NFL Network and its never-ending supply of highlight footage.

Sabol proudly took me into "The Wine Cellar," a huge warehouse that was the home of rows upon rows of shelves upon shelves of reel-to-reel tapes of every play of every NFL game going back to the 1950s, and some games as far back as the 1930s.

It was shortly after the death of the legendary John Facenda, the original voice of NFL Films. Back in Sabol's office, he reached into a huge box of cassette tapes sent to him from everywhere from people hoping to be the next Facenda. Sabol mentioned one tape sent from a priest, who said, "John Facenda is said to be 'The voice of God.' Well, I AM the voice of God, and I'd be the perfect voice for your films." "He wasn't bad," Sabol laughed.

The hours flew by, and gave a twenty-something sportswriter an unforgettable treat. To this day, it's one of the best memories of my journalism career.

Inspired by Sabol's infectious personality, enthusiasm and energy, and having grown up glued to the TV anytime one of NFL Films' shows aired, I wrote an in-depth feature in the Morristown (N.J.) Daily Record, titled "The Men Who Film The Game." It was well-received -- so much so it was honored for an Associated Press Sports Editors Award in the category of best feature story for a medium-sized newspaper.

I sent Sabol a note, thanking him for the experience and time spent with me, and sharing the exciting news of the award. A couple of weeks later, I received a post card -- on the front, a melange of NFL images and Emmy Awards, and on the back, in red flair markings, "CONGRATULATIONS! -- Steve"

In an e-mail sent to the NFL Films staff this week, published in part in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Sabol sounded as resilient as he could possibly be, despite the seriousness of his condition.

"The doctors told me to make progress," he wrote. "I just have to 'move the chains' and keep making first downs. Thank you all for your support and encouragement. It means a great deal to me. I am calm and collected but very determined.

"Don't give away my parking space!"

The NFL Films staff would do well to listen.

Best wishes, Steve.

***

From the Inquirer:

Well wishes can be e-mailed to Sabol at:

Sabol.NFLFilms@nfl.com

My interview with Lawrence Taylor

The year was 1981. I was studying communications at William Paterson University, and we were producing a news show that was broadcast on local access. We were all huge sports fans, and wrote to the Giants, asking if we could come to practice one day at Giants Stadium to interview some players for our show (I had already starting working as a part-time sportswriter at my first newspaper, the Morristown (N.J.) Daily Record, and had the correct contact info). To our mild surprise, they said yes.

I remember walking into what seemed like a cavernous locker room. I'm sure three college students with a huge honking video camera sort of stood out. We wandered around the center of the room for a few moments, not even realizing we weren't supposed to be there until someone came over and let us know that.

Not just anyone, but Giants head coach Ray Perkins, who walked purposely up to us and in his Alabama drawl said, "Can I help you?" He directed us to the "waiting area," which had a leather sofa and a couple of chairs, where we waited for our interview subjects. We asked for quarterback Scott Brunner (Phil Simms was battling one of his many injuries), kicker Joe Danelo and rookie linebacker and top draft pick Lawrence Taylor.

I don't really remember the questions and answers, and I'm sure the tape no longer exists, but what I do remember was how shy and unassuming Taylor was during our interview. He was very quiet and soft-spoken, and had not yet assumed his "LT" alter ego.

As Giants fans, we were all thrilled by the experience, and as Taylor developed into perhaps the most feared defensive player in the history of the game, we got a kick out of saying "we knew him when."

Trouble away from football would find Taylor plenty of times throughout his career. I know that most of us had tended to wink and forgive him for many of those past transgressions. Even an NFL Films piece on Taylor, produced after his retirement in 1993, referred to his "off-the-field problems," and included a quote from him on life as a retired NFL legend:

"As time goes by," he said, behind a shot of a happy-looking Taylor with his wife and three children, "it's made it easier to transition away from LT and back to Lawrence Taylor. I don't want it to get to a point where I start to get a big head about myself."

We still revered him. Several of my friends and I piled into a car and drove from New Jersey to Canton, Ohio for his induction into the Hall of Fame. We enjoyed watching him on "The Sopranos," playing himself and hearing Tony call him "Lawrence of the Meadowlands," and his appearance at Giants Stadium on Phil Simms night, wearing No. 56 and catching a long pass from Simms to a standing ovation. His stature as one of the greatest Giants ever swept most of the unsavory stuff under the rug, and we were more than happy to hold the brooms, and sincerely hoped he could get his personal life figured out -- maybe as much for our sake as his.

This week, Taylor received six years probation for a sex crime with a minor, and is now a registered sex offender. He said a prostitute visiting him in a hotel room told him she was 19, when she was in fact 16. Instead of being contrite and apologetic, he was combative and clueless during an interview with Fox News. Two quotes stand out:

"It's the world of prostitution. You never know what you're going to get. Is is going to be a pretty girl or an ugly girl or whatever it's going to be."

And ...

"I don't card 'em. I don't ask for a birth certificate."

Apparently, the transition from LT to Lawrence Taylor hasn't gone so well. Or perhaps they're one and the same. Hard to believe this is the same guy who once spoke so quietly I could barely hear him.

I can't speak for all Giants fans, but to me, this is the tipping point. Sex offender. Bad guy. I don't know if I can ever think of him any other way again.

Seeding is believing

If this is the year of final-second brainlock, head-scratching officiating and Gus Johnson earplugs in the NCAA Basketball Tournament, it's also the year of the double-digit seed, as no less than four teams seeded 10th or higher have danced their way into the Sweet 16.

Marquette (above, 10th), Florida State (10th) VCU (11th) and Richmond (12th) are all still alive, marking the second-most double-digit seeds to have gone this far since the 64-team format was introduced in 1985.

This is about the time you should be asking, "When was the most?" Funny you should ask, as this is also about the time for us to tell you the record is five double-digit teams in the Sweet 16, accomplished during March Madness in 1999.

Gonzaga (10th), Miami, Ohio (10th), Purdue (10th), Southwest Missouri State (12th) and Oklahoma (13th) were among the final 16 teams that year. Unfortunately for the underdogs, only Gonzaga made it to the Elite Eight, and subsequently lost to Richard Hamilton and eventual NCAA champion UConn -- a little something for this year's upstarts to chew on this weekend.

We do know that at least one double-digit seed is guaranteed a spot in the Elite Eight, as Florida State and VCU will face each other in the Southwest Region semifinals. The other two survivors will have the cards stacked against them: Marquette has No. 2-seed North Carolina, while Richmond squares off with No. 1-seed Kansas.

There have been 12 times since 1985 that at least three double-digit teams made it to the Sweet 16. Here's a closer look:

1985 / 3 / Kentucky (12), Auburn (11), Boston College (11)

1986 / 3 / LSU (11), Cleveland State (14), DePaul (12)

1988 / 3 / Washington (11), Valparaiso (13), West Virginia (10)

1991 / 3 / Connecticut (11), Temple (10), Eastern Michigan (12)

1997 / 3 / Providence (10), Tennessee-Chattanooga (14), Texas (10)

1998 / 3 / Washington (11), West Virginia (10), Valparaiso (13)

1999 / 5 / Southwest Missouri State (12), Purdue (10), Oklahoma (13), Miami, Ohio (10), Gonzaga (10)

2001 / 3 / Gonzaga (12), Temple (11), Georgetown (10)

2002 / 3 / Kent State (10), Missouri (12), Southern Illinois (11)

2008 / 3 / Villanova (12), Davidson (10), Western Kentucky (12)

2010 / 3 / St. Mary's (10), Washington (11), Cornell (12)

2011 / 4 / Marquette (11), Florida State (10), VCU (11), Richmond (12).

Maybe not so dumb, after all

After watching sports all my life, it's amazing enough to see something you've never seen before. But to see something you've never seen before twice within moments of each other, especially with one incident more inexplicable than the one before, well, that's something else again. A perfect storm.

It's even more amazing, inspiring, even, when the perpetrator of said most inexplicable act might even be able to turn it into a life lesson.

You may not know the name Nasir Robinson (above, left), and hopefully for his sake, the junior from the University of Pittsburgh won't find himself rubbing elbows in perpetuity with the likes of Bill Buckner, Chris Webber, Steve Bartman and Fred Merkle when it comes to being in the wrong place at the wrong time in sport annals. But this morning, Robinson's definitely in the same room.

With 1.4 seconds left in Pitt's NCAA tournament game against giant-killer Butler Saturday night, Robinson was standing as a defender while Pitt teammate Gilbert Brown hit the first of two free throws to tie the game 70-70. Seconds earlier, Brown had been the victim of a mind-boggling foul by Butler's Shelvin Mack, who bumped Brown at midcourt with Butler holding a one-point lead.

Now, it looked like Butler would pay the price for such a mindless act with Pitt at the line with a chance to somehow steal the game. And after Brown sunk the first free throw, at least this would be decided in overtime.

That is, until Brown missed the second shot, which put Robinson in the spotlight. The rebound came down to Butler's Matt Howard (above, right), who only had to hoist a full-court prayer, and make it, and do it all in 0.8 seconds for the game NOT to go into OT.

Which is what should have happened, until Robinson's left arm, for some reason, came down on Howard's right arm. Foul. Butler's Howard to the line, and one free throw later, it was over, as the Bulldogs escaped with a 71-7o win.

That all brings us back to my earlier point, which is why Robinson might be able to sneak out the back door before Bartman offers to buy a round for the house.

"I take the blame, man. I take the blame for the loss," Robinson told the Associated Press afterward. "I've been playing basketball my whole life and I know I shouldn't have done that. It was a stupid play. It wasn't the ref's fault. It was my fault."

The fact Robinson was able to face the criticism and spotlight he never wanted speaks volumes for his maturity and accountability. It's hard to fathom now, but one day he may be able to look back and say the experience helped him.

He's only a junior, so he'll get another chance next season on the basketball court, and then for the rest of his life off it.

I'm rooting for him. And you should too.

Goal scored by ... Methuselah!

I'm not here to go into the ins and outs of the NHL's decision Wednesday to reject the 17-year, $102 contract that Ilya Kovalchuk signed with the New Jersey Devils. To make a long story very short, the league's stance is that the pact is a blatant attempt to circumvent the salary cap because its front-loaded nature would be less of a cap hit in the latter seasons of the deal, and that nobody actually expects Kovalchuk to still be playing by the time the pact was to expire after the 2026-27 season, when he'll be 44 years old.

Nobody except Kovalchuk, apparently.

"I've played with guys who played at a pretty good level at that age," Kovalchuk told the Newark Star-Ledger during the Devils' press conference Tuesday to announce the deal. "I hope I keep myself in shape and can still play."

Kovalchuk wasn't lying. As a member of the Atlanta Thrashers before being traded to the Devils, he was a teammate of 44-year-old Chris Chelios, who played seven games with the Thrashers in what was likely the final act of Chelios' 27-year career, which began in Montreal in 1983, when Chelios was 21.

According to QuantHockey.com, there have been only TWO players in NHL history who played at the age of 44; Chelios is one, and the other is Hall of Famer Doug Harvey, who played in 70 games with the St. Louis Blues in 1968-69. Harvey, however, played in only two seasons after the age of 39. He retired for two seasons before coming back to play two games with Detroit in 1966-67 at the age of 42, and took the next year off before finishing his career with the Blues.

Chelios and Harvey were both defensemen; should Kovalchuk actually hit the ice as a 44-year-old, he would be the first forward in NHL history to do so. Igor Larionov and Claude Lemieux were both 43 in their final NHL seasons; Larionov played 49 games with the Devils in 2003-04, and Lemieux appeared in 18 games with the San Jose Sharks in 2008-09, but that was a comeback attempt after a five-year retirement.

Of course, none of this even approaches what the immortal Gordie Howe accomplished in 1979-80, when he ended a nine-year retirement in order to play alongside his sons, Mark and Marty, with the Hartford Whalers. Howe the elder played 80 games that season, with 15 goals and 41 points.

***

I didn't post anything following the death of George Steinbrenner because although I've heard plenty of stories about him from "insiders" over the years, I never had any interactions with him myself. I do, however, have a good story about Bob Sheppard, the Yankees' legendary PA announcer who passed two days before Steinbrenner (those of you who are my Facebook friends got a preview of this).

I played football at William Paterson College as a freshman back in 1978, but injured my ankle early in the season. Because I knew all the players and numbers instantly without having to look them up, I became the PA announcer at our home games, and sat in the press box at road games as the spotter for the opposing teams' PA man.

Our final game of the season was at St. John's. I trudged up the bleachers to the press box, and was stunned to see Sheppard sitting behind the microphone. Turns out he was a professor of English at St. John's and doubled as the football PA announcer. He was so nice to me, going over our roster before the game and after each play, he waited for me to give him the name of the William Paterson player who carried the ball or made the tackle. I sat right next to him the entire game.

I don't remember who won that day, but my two-plus hours with Bob Sheppard are something I'll never forget.

His disloyal highness

Here's a few things we learned now that LeBron James has finally announced his long-awaited "Decision," which now returns us to our regularly-scheduled lives.

DAN GILBERT ISN'T HAPPY.

The Cavaliers owner dragged out the heavy artillery in a letter to Cleveland fans on the Cavs' web site, referring to James as "our former hero," who's guilty of "cowardly betrayal" and perpetuated "this shocking act of disloyalty." But the best part was this paragraph, written all in caps:

"I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER 'KING' WINS ONE."

Gilbert even went on to bestow a "curse" on LeBron, saying that "until he does 'right' by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma."

Geez, Dan. Tell us what you really think.

SOME PEOPLE REALLY DO LIVE IN CAVES.

I happened to watch the spectacle unfold at a restaurant bar, with most of the TVs tuned to ESPN, but one set on CNN. Judging from CNN's coverage, you'd think you were watching the Oscars. They had split screens of live crowd shots from Miami, Cleveland and New York while their "experts" prattled on about the "big decision" that was coming in just a few moments.

To ESPN's credit, they had been reporting for some time that "all indications" had LeBron heading to South Beach, which obviously threw a wet rag on their one-hour televised "exclusive." But that didn't stop the competition from turning the James informercial into "breaking news."

As soon as James uttered the word "Miami," CNN flashed "IT'S MIAMI!" on the bottom of the screen with somewhat predictable crowd reactions. The folks in South Beach started dancing and preening. The people in New York silently left the screen and went back to watching the Yankees.

But the feed from Cleveland was puzzling. One woman could only stare at the screen, mouth agape like a wax statue. And what was with the guy who reacted as if he were punched in the stomach and screamed, "NO!" Could he have possibly been that shocked? Or even mildly surprised? Really?

MIAMI'S NICER THAN CLEVELAND.

This may be the biggest deciding factor. Sure, the thought of playing with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh had a lot to do with it, but if you were a single, 25-year-old professional sports superstar with the ability and opportunity to make such a choice, where would you rather be? Clubbing it up in the sand and surf or shoveling snow? Ice in your cocktail or under your feet? When you're cold, putting on a sweater or a parka?

Makes it a lot simpler, doesn't it? Now, let's put this dog and pony show behind us, crack open a cold one and watch some baseball.

Seventh heaven ... or hell

There's a legend that somewhere underneath the floor of the old Boston Garden, there were "dead spots" under the parquet that only seemed to affect the opposing team, that invisible leprechauns cavorted and connived to make sure their Celtics would emerge victorious.

The old Gahden is gone, and the game that will decide the 2010 NBA championship will be played 3,000 miles away. But that doesn't stop the talk of tradition, legend and history, a chapter of which will be added to tonight when those two bitter and storied rivals, the Lakers and Celtics, meet in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

"Personally, I've never seen a leprechaun growing up in Little Rock or any of the years I've been here in L.A.," said the Lakers' Derek Fisher. "I've only seen them on T-shirts and commercials. I don't want to see one (tonight), that's for sure."

After all the ups and downs of the first six games, the season has come down to a final 48 minutes. The intensity will be palpable on both sides by tipoff, and the emotions were evident on both sides as the teams held off-day practices for the last time this season.

"I don't want to be sitting around in July having to ask myself, 'Did I do everything that I could have done? Have any regrets?' " said the Celtics' Ray Allen. "I don't want to be that person. I want to do everything I can to leave it all on the floor.

"When it comes to Game 7, it's like this is what we were born to do. It's like if we were born, our mothers said we would be in Game 7 of the NBA Finals someday and nobody would blink an eye because we would say that's where we're supposed to be."

Said the Lakers' Lamar Odom, "(It's) historic, when you're talking about these organizations and these teams, what they stand for, the pride. This is what you envisioned when you were a kid playing in your backyard. This was what it was all about."

Clearly, there are issues on both sides. Both starting centers are battling knee injuries; the Celtics' Kendrick Perkins is out for Game 7, with the Lakers' Andrew Bynum hobbled at best. Boston will turn to either Rasheed Wallace or Glen "Big Baby" Davis to start in Perkins' place -- look for the experienced and battle-tested Wallace to get the nod -- while the Lakers will look to build momentum after the stellar performance of their bench in Game 6, which outscored their Celtics counterparts 25-13 and 24-0 through the first three quarters.

Perkins' absence underscores one significant factor -- rebounding. Throughout this series (and most NBA games in general), the team with the edge on the boards has won the game. As Pat Riley used to say, "No rebounds, no rings."

L.A. will also look for another strong offensive effort from Ron Artest, who scored 15 points in Game 6 after averaging 7.8 points in Games 1 through 5.

But if we've learned anything from this series, you can't build on momentum. In reality, it all comes down to who brings the best effort, works the hardest, is more efficient -- plainly, just plays better -- in Game 7.

"It's basketball," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who has won a record 10 NBA titles as a coach, but who has never coached in Game 7 of the Finals. "You may be moving at a faster rate, you may be playing at a quicker elevation, spirit, but if you're not going to be able to do the most basic things, if you come out of your skin, if you're out of character, things are going to happen awry. So you have to stay in character."

Said Celtics coach Doc Rivers, "Before the year, I'm sure if you had asked the Lakers, 'Would they take a Game 7 at home?' They would have taken a Game 7 anywhere for the championship. And we would have said 'yeah,' as well. We would have obviously loved it at home more, but we're not there.

"So we're both probably in a game that we'd like to be in. If you told the teams that that's where you had to be, I think we'd both take it."

This will be the fifth time the Lakers and Celtics will meet in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Boston has won the previous four times (including once on L.A.'s home floor in 1969). In all four cases, the game's high scorer wore Lakers' purple and gold.

The Celtics, don't forget, are 11-0 all-time in the Finals when they hold a 3-2 series lead. But the all-important home court is pivotal: In NBA history, the home team is 13-3 in Game 7 of the Finals.

ALL-TIME LAKERS-CELTICS GAME 7s
Year / Result / Venue / High scorer
1962 / Celtics 110, Lakers 107 (OT) / Boston Garden / Elgin Baylor, 41 pts.
1966 / Celtics 95, Lakers 93 / Boston Garden / Jerry West, 36 pts.
1969 / Celtics 108, Lakers 106 / The Forum / Jerry West, 42 pts.
1984 / Celtics 111, Lakers 102 / Boston Garden / Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 29 pts.

In the end, you can analyze all you want, but the bottom line is quite simple.

"This is why the 82 games in the regular season matter," Fisher said. "Now it's just about going out and playing the game."