NEW YORK, NY — Throughout Vince Carter’s legendary 22-year NBA career from 1998-2020, paving iconic moments still discussed and looked back on to this day, he called New Jersey home for five of those seasons (2004-2009).
There have not been too many joyous days at Barclays Center this season. The Nets are in rebuild/tank mode which means wins are few. This Saturday evening, however, the mood should be brighter in Brooklyn as the Nets will be honoring one of the greatest players in their history, Vince Carter, by retiring his #15 uniform number. It will now hang from the Barclays Center rafters.
Carter played an incredible 22 seasons in the NBA and did not retire until he was 43. He was an eight-time All-Star. Despite these lofty credentials, Carter remains overlooked when lists of NBA greats are compiled. Fans and pundits understandably obsess over championship rings a player has, and unfortunately Carter was never on a title-winner.
Image Credit: NBA
When Vince was playing for the Nets, it was when they called the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, NJ home. There is no argument that more attention would have been paid to his accomplishments had “Vinsanity” (Yes, that term preceded Jeremy Lin’s “Linsanity”) taken place in Brooklyn.
The Nets have wisely brought Vince Carter back into their fold in recent years by having him as a color analyst on their YES Network telecasts when Sarah Kustok is away. Carter has a nice rapport with Nets play-by-play voice, and Forest Hills High School alum Ian Eagle.
Image Credit: NBA
Speaking of the Nets, they recently added small forward and Princeton University alum, Tosan Evbuomwan, to their roster. He becomes their first player from Princeton since Brian Taylor played for them during their ABA Long Island heyday.
Remembering and Paying Tribute to George Kalinsky
I was saddened to learn of the passing of former Mets and Madison Square Garden official photographer George Kalinsky last week at the age of 88. His photographs of Willis Reed coming out of the runway for the deciding Game 7 of the 1970 NBA championship series against the Los Angeles Lakers despite serious knee issues, and the March 8, 1971, heavyweight championship bout between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
He was also famous in the entertainment world for his photographs of Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones when they played the Garden, as well as those of the artists who performed at the Concert for Bangladesh on August 1, 1971. That remains the most famous rock concert in MSG history.
Image Credit: Madison Square Garden
Frank Sinatra and Muhammad Ali were not only subjects of George Kalinsky’s work, but they were also longtime friends of his. George’s Rolodex of boldfaced names from all walks of life could have gotten him into the Guinness Book of World Records.
Despite all the well-known folks in George’s orbit, he never tried to big-league anyone. He was always gracious to me as he frequently told me how much he enjoyed reading my columns. George embodied the “it’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice” philosophy of New York television icon Joe Franklin.
You will be missed, George.
Sports World mourns the loss of Bob Uecker
The sports world lost another giant with the passing of Bob Uecker last week. Uecker used his quick wit to parlay a mediocre six-year Major League Baseball career into over 100 appearances with Johnny Carson, a series of memorable Miller Lite television commercials, film, and TV roles, including the popular ABC Friday night comedy series, “Mr. Belvedere,” and an over fifty-year career broadcasting Milwaukee Brewers games.
Image Credit: MLB
I had the pleasure of chatting with Uecker when the Brewers would come to Queens to play the Mets. I told him I wrote quite a bit on the television industry, and I was curious if he would consider a reboot of “Mr. Belvedere.” He told me he enjoyed doing the show, but it was a grind.
As much as he joked about his less than stellar baseball playing career, the truth is to even get into one Major League Baseball game required incredible athletic talent. Uecker smiled when I brought that up. He concurred although he was hesitant to shatter the illusion which made him rich and famous.
Bob Uecker was 90.
Dick Vitale receives uplifting news, and is now cancer-free!
On a more upbeat note, 84-year-old Dick Vitale, who underwent numerous grueling treatments and procedures for various cancers over the last four years, is now cancer-free. He will resume calling college basketball games on ESPN shortly.
Image Credit: ESPN
To paraphrase Dickie V, “That’s great news, bay-bee!’
FOX announces partnership with LIV Golf
Golf has quietly become a hot property for television networks. Last week, FOX announced it will be the broadcast home for the PGA Tour’s rival, LIV Golf. The CW had been the television home for the first two years of LIV’s existence. Although it has lost the rights to the LIV Tour, having it for a couple of years helped the CW get its foothold in sports. It currently shows many college football and basketball games, as well as the weekly pro football highlights and commentary show, “Inside the NFL.”
ESPN and Tiger Woods’ Tomorrow’s Golf League
ESPN has gotten good ratings partnering with Tiger Woods’ TGL Golf which is unofficially short for “Tomorrow’s Golf League.” The TGL uses golf simulators and an indoor green which many golfers, especially those who live in cold climates, can easily relate to.
Image Credit: TGL/ESPN
The competitors are comprised of teams of well-known golf pros. Mets CEO Steve Cohen is a minority investor in TGL.
Jim Nantz calls his 500th NFL game
Congratulations to CBS Sports’ lead anchor, Jim Nantz, on having called his 500th NFL game. He would have passed that mark far earlier had CBS not lost the rights to broadcast NFL games for three years in the mid-1990s.
Former Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich hired by Falcons for defensive coordinator vacancy
Jeff Ulbrich did not do a great job as the interim head coach of the New York Jets, but he never lost his composure with players or the media. Ulbrich applied for the Jets head coach job, but he knew the odds of him being retained were that of palm trees growing in Buffalo in January.
Image Credit: Latino Sports
Ulbrich was hired last week by the Atlanta Falcons to be their defensive coordinator.
Stop by the Yonkers Raceway!
Yonkers Raceway, now owned by the Empire City Casino, is the nation’s best-known harness racing track. It has just begun its 126th year of operations. The opening of the Meadowlands Raceway in 1976 helped do in Westbury’s Roosevelt Raceway, which closed in 1988, but Yonkers Raceway has kept on going.
Edge NYC creates three curling lanes – Operational through March
The ice sport curling gets attention during the Winter Olympics but is forgotten about by most at other times. The Hudson Yards observatory and entertainment center, Edge NYC, has created three curling lanes in its Sky Chalet located 100 floors above the Manhattan West Side streets.
Image Credit: Edge at Hudson Yards
It will be operational through March.
Nate Burleson hosts “The Hollywood Squares”
As if he were not busy enough being a co-host on “CBS Mornings,” “The NFL Today,” and Nickelodeon’s “NFL Slimetime,” Nate Burleson has added a new job to his resume, host of CBS’s Thursday night reboot of “The Hollywood Squares.” Burleson showed a deft ability to think on his feet and match the repartee from the nine celebrities on the large tic-tac-toe board, as well as a good ability to empathize with the contestants.
In a nice touch, “Hollywood Squares” paid tribute to Peter Marshall, who was the host of the show when it ran on NBC for years. Marshall died this past August at the age of 98. Drew Barrymore, who is an executive producer of the show, is in the center square. Barrymore would be wise to give that slot to a witty comic who can be a modern-day Paul Lynde.
“Will Trent” and “High Potential” available on Hulu
CBS is known for its procedurals such as “Tracker,” and its “FBI” and “NCIS” series, but it is getting competition on Tuesday nights from ABC. The alphabet network, to use Variety lingo, has brought back “Will Trent,” with the terrific Ramon Rodriguez as the titular Atlanta detective who is on the spectrum, and “High Potential,” which stars one of Hollywood’s deservedly busiest actors, Kaitlin Olson, as an LAPD crime consultant who has a genius IQ, but is hampered by attention deficit disorder. Both series are a bit off-kilter which makes for fun viewing. Both “Will Trent” and “High Potential” can be watched on demand on the Hulu streaming service.
You can read more of Lloyd Carroll’s columns posted weekly on The Queens Chronicle.
