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O huzzah! On Sunday, the Northwestern women's field hockey team won the National Championship, beating #1-seeded Princeton 2-1. This was no fluke. Northwestern was the defending NCAA champion, and has been to the NCAA finals five straight years!!! And has now won three of those times. The beloved Northwestern was losing 1-0 with only 10 minutes left in the 60-minute game. They got the tying goal, and then won the championship about a minute into the second overtime period. This is the game-winning goal.  And here are the champs.  It's actually been a tremendous year for Northwestern women's athletics. Earlier in the year, they also won the NCAA championship in golf. And finished second in lacrosse -- another sport they've been dominating lately. (This is not hyperbole. In the past 20 years, they've won the National Championship eight times! Including five years in a row at one point. And won most recently two years ago, in 2023.) And not to leave NU men's athletics out, the football team won on Saturday, for the sixth victory of the year, which makes them eligible for a bowl game. But this is about the Northwestern women's field hockey. Winning the NCAA National Championship for the second year in a row. Here are the championship game's highlights in 4-1/2 minutes. If you don't want to watch the whole thing (and I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't...), then those who jump to the 3:50 mark will see the winning goal. And celebration! To repeat -- o huzzah!
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On this week’s ‘Not My Job’ segment of the NPR quiz show Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, the guest contestant is open water swimmer Becca Mann, who became the first person to swim through the 40-mile channel crossing three Hawaiian islands. Her conversation with guest-host Negin Farsad (who, alas, is overly giggly and overly enthusiastic whenever she sits in – though it at least actually fits more appropriately in this interview) is light-hearted and interesting, including when talking about what, if anything, makes her scared on her swims. And no, it’s not sharks. Along with the challenges of swimming for so long in salt water. And a fun question about hotel pools. This is the full Wait, Wait… broadcast, but you can jump directly to the “Not My Job” segment, it starts at the 20:30 mark. On Friday, the beloved Northwestern football team was in town to play USC. Going to the L.A. Memorial Coliseum to see a USC game is always a lousy experience. (Too many reasons to go into, but near the top is that their band plays the school's ponderous, pretentious Roman Marching Theme throughout the entire game, and Really Loudly which is pretty much their brand. Volumen super qualitas. Volume Over Quality.) But that's not the point here. What I learned after the fact is that I was there for history! Northwestern was defeated 38-17, and it was the school's 716th football loss – the most ever by any team in college football history! Now, mind you, it is, of course, conceivable that they could have that record reversed as soon as this year if the team whose record they beat loses more games than NU the rest of the year. But that improbable, since that other team is Indiana, which has 715 loses, is currently ranked the #2 best team in the country… I should note that this record does not come as a total shock. That's because Northwestern currently holds the FBS Division 1 record for "longest losing streak" of 34 consecutive loses, which occurred from 1979 to 1982. And note, as well, that my dad -- who loved football, especially college football, and also taught in the Medical School at Northwestern -- has season tickets for Northwestern football for 51 years. Including during this 34 games losing streak. That's the definition of a true football fan. Two of my favorite sports quotes from from the team's coach during that losing streak, Rick Venturi (who had played at Northwestern, and also in the pros). The first quote is --- "The only difference between me and Custer is that Custer didn't have to look at game films on Monday." And the other quote came after the game when Northwestern finally won. They had had a solid lead during the game, and played very defensively at that point -- and little by little their opponents chipped away at the lead...and were driving for a game-winning touchdown when the clock ran out. And so, Northwestern won, breaking the losing streak. After the game, coach Venturi was asked if he thinks he used the right strategy at the end. His reply was: "You have to understand -- I never had a lead before." In fairness, Northwestern football has been pretty respectable in more recent years. They are 5-4 this season. Their head coach was named Big Ten Coach of the Year two years ago. And they even went to the Rose Bowl in 1996. (And yes, I was there, with my Mom and Dad who flew out for it.) But history is no small thing. And happily, it's what the present has built upon. Go! U Northwestern! Break right through that line. With our colors flying, We will cheer you all the time. U! Rah! Rah! Go! U Northwestern! Fight for victory. Spread far the fame of our fair name. Go! Northwestern Go! Go! Northwestern Go! Hit 'em hard! Hit 'em low! Go, Northwestern Go! Go! U Northwestern! Break right through that line. With our colors flying, We will cheer you all the time. U! Rah! Rah! Go! U Northwestern! Fight for victory. Spread far the fame of our fair name. Coming from St. Louis this week, on this week’s ‘Not My Job’ segment of the NPR quiz show Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, the guest contestant is sportscaster Chip Caray – son of the late sportscaster Skip Caray and grandson of Hall of Fame sportscasting legend Harry Caray. (The “other city” that Harry Caray broadcast in, which host Peter Sagal doesn’t name since it and St. Louis are sports rivals, is of course Chicago – where he announced for both the White Sox and more famously, the Cubs.). Left out, too, is that, although Chip currently does play-by-play for the St. Louis Cardinals, he was previously the announcer for the Chicago Cubs for seven years. He had been hired to be in the booth alongside his grandfather, but Harry sadly passed away during the off-season. So, Chip took over the job. When he left to go to Atlanta, it was to work in the book with his father. His conversation with Sagal is fun of fun stories, told with the verve you would expect from a sportscaster – including doing a sort-of Harry Caray impression as he tells one “pure Harry” true story about his grandfather when announcing for the Cubs. (No, I didn’t hear the event when it happened live, but I’ve heard it told, as a part of Chicago sports lore.) This is the full Wait, Wait… broadcast, but you can jump directly to the “Not My Job” segment, it starts around the 20:15 mark Since tonight is the first game of the World Series, I thought it was only proper to have a baseball video this evening. But even if you don't like baseball, this is still joyous. A bit of background. Stephen Vogt is currently the manager of the Cleveland Indians, but before that he had a 10-year career playing -- mostly as a catcher, though he also occasionally played first base and the outfield. He played on six teams, though most of his career was with the Oakland Athletics, where he was extremely popular and for whom he returned to close out his playing days in 2022. This video is of his last game. And to honor him, as a surprise, the team had his three little children announce him when he came to the plate for the first time. And that's charming enough -- but it's his last at bat that is the topper. Because in his very final plate appearance in the major leagues...on the very first pitch...he hit a home run! (This is no small matter because he only hit 82 in his full career, with the most in any season being 18. By the way, his first at bat in the majors? It was a home run!) It's fine to stop watching after he excitedly leaps around the bases and his teammates celebrate with him, though it's fun to keep watching since the broadcast replays the home run from a bunch of different angles, including a camera isolated on Vogt during the entire play, another on his father, and one on his teammates -- who seem almost happier than Vogt, as much as that seems improbable. By the way, when he comes to the plate for his final at bat, note that at the 2:20 mark, as he's announced, the camera cuts to the stands. And if you look closely, you'll see three little kids jumping up and down. On this week’s ‘Not My Job’ segment of the NPR quiz show Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, the guest contestant is multi-Emmy-winning sportscaster and journalist Bob Costas. His interview with host Peter Sagal is a lot fun, very interesting and great story-telling because…well, because this is Bob Costas. In fairness, I’m a big Bob Costas fan – I worked with him on a movie, and he was a total joy. But I’m right. This is the full Wait, Wait… broadcast, but you can jump directly to the “Not My Job” segment, it starts around the 20:00 mark |
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. 
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