Coach J.J., Jerry Orbach and other thoughts
Duke guards have a pretty decent track record when it comes to getting into the coaching profession. Tommy Amaker, Quinn Snyder (big win last night, still can't figure Mizzou out), Johnny Dawkins, Chris Collins, Wojo - it's a pretty extensive list.
Just don't expect to add J.J. Redick to it. I've always said you can tell a lot about a man based on how he plays his PlayStation 2, and Redick revealed this tidbit on Thursday.
After three weeks without his PS2 - how he survived, I'll never know - he hooked it up on Wednesday night and returned to playing his NCAA college football game in dynasty mode (that lets you keep using the same school, year after year, to build up a dynasty). His Oregon Ducks won handily, something like 52-14.
But ... and here's the key fact ... Oregon wasn't the first team he'd played with. Turns out that Redick had been at another school before, one he'd created. Why did he leave?
"I got put on probation,'' Redick said. "I kept losing scholarships every year. I wasn't disciplining my players."
Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but if, 20 years from now, Coach Redick is involved in some tutors taking tests for players scandal, you got the first warning here.
... In totally unrelated news, I had one of those Ticker Shock moments last night. I'm watching the Holiday Bowl, getting angry at Cal for justifying Texas' berth in the Rose Bowl, when a score comes across the screen that simply must be wrong ... St. Johns 36, N.C. State 12 ...
What? And it was in the SECOND HALF!!! Surely someone in Bristol was having a little fun. Right? Right?
Sadly for the Wolfies, no. They really did lose to a bad St. John's team by 18. They really did shoot 20 percent for the game. They really did have 19 turnovers and 2 assists.
Which raises the question, is State really any good? For now, I'm inclined to believe this was one of those once in a blue moon god-awful performanes that just happens. But if State throws up another dud soon, questions will arise. Remember, the Wolfpack hasn't exactly played a stiff schedule so far.
.... Finally, a moment of silence for Jerry Orbach please, who died yesterday at age 69. You may not recognize the name, but if you happened to stumble upon one of the 25 Law & Order episodes shown on 10 channels daily, you'd know him as the wisecracking sardonic detective who's been on the show forever. You wouldn't believe how hard the sports department took the news yesterday. We'll miss you Lenny Briscoe.
A little Orbach trivia. Did you know that he was the voice of Lumiere, the talking candlestick, in Beauty and the Beast? And he was the father, the guy who dared to "Put Baby in a Corner" in Dirty Dancing. Just two more reasons why Internet Movie Database, imdb.com, is an essential part of life.
Comments (5)
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Jim comes off vacation with a prolific post. Clearly, he's missed writing the past 8 or 10 days.
Posted on December 31, 2004 2:38 PM
Make that two prolific posts.
And the news on Jerry Orbach's demise is most disturbing for this longtime Law & Order watcher. Speaking of "Dirty Dancing," I attended a wedding four years ago at the lake where the movie exteriors were shot, just west of Blacksburg, Va. No Jennifer Grey sightings, sadly.
Posted on December 31, 2004 2:42 PM
My wife and I have been in mourning over Jerry Orbach's death. His scene-ending one-liners never failed to make us groan and roll our eyes, but we love him for them. Law & Order just hasn't been the same since he left, and I was really looking forward to his own show that had already begun taping. We'll miss you, Lenny.
Posted on January 3, 2005 9:43 AM
Agreed on the one-liners, Jason. I really liked it when Law & Order went into syndication on TNT, and they've a mid-episode breakdown called "The Case So Far." They'd have the crime, the suspect, and the wisecrack. Invariably, one of Orbach's sardonic remarks was the featured line. Ahh, well. At least Dennis Farina is a solid stand-in. By the way, Farina's body double works here at the News & Record.
Posted on January 3, 2005 2:45 PM
Mmmmmm. Jennifer Grey.
Posted on January 4, 2005 12:43 PM