Fullback Fallback

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By GORDON GLANTZ

In a move that was approved at the highest level of the organization – that being Eagles’ team owner Jeffrey Lurie – former linebacker/special teamer Ben VanSumeren is now a fulltime fullback.

Just to make it officially official, the third-year man out of Michigan State (by way of Michigan) saw his jersey number switched from 57 to 43 (meaning his doesn’t have to declare himself eligible as a receiver).

VanSumeren (6-2, 231) will surely still be a core special teamer, but he is caucusing with the other running backs.

The move isn’t random. There is some offensive pedigree here, as VanSumeren – aka BVM – was a top-notch receiver in high school.

He was initially recruited to play running back at Michigan, where he gained 20 yards and scored a touchdown on five carries as a true freshman. VanSumeren was then moved to fullback and then linebacker before transferring to Michigan State, where he started 10 games as a senior linebacker and recorded 81 tackles and two sacks before being signed by the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2023.

It was last season, before going down a knee injury, that VanSumeren was inserted into the lineup as a fullback and laid down some key lead blocks, primarily for Saquon Barkley (while catching a pass for a gain of one yard).

While VanSumeren will not likely play more than a handful of offensive snaps per game, the commitment to resurrect the fullback in Philly allows us to look back at the top fullbacks in franchise history, which also sadly reveals the sheer brutality of the position.

Honorable Mention (alphabetical order):

Cecil Martin (1999-2002): A 6th round pick out of Wisconsin, Martin – a 6-0, 235 pounder – Martin was the first of many fullbacks in the Andy Reid, starting 38 games in four seasons, running for 103 yards and catching 81 passes with 2 touchdowns. Martin also caught a 13-yard touchdown pass in a 33-19 playoff win at Chicago, where he was born and spent time in homeless shelters.

Jon Ritchie (2002-03): While the Stanford product’s best years were with the Raiders, then of Oakland, Ritchie was the fullback on a 2002 Eagles’ team than gained more than 2,000 yards on the ground. He also caught 3 touchdown passes.

The native of Mechanicsburg, Pa. Ritchie became a broadcaster on TV and radio, and has the ignominious distinction of repeatedly calling for Howie Roseman to be replaced.

Owen Schmitt (2010-11): In two seasons with the Eagles, Schmitt never did a whole lot with the ball in his hands.

While he had 19 catches and a touchdown on a 10-6 team in 2010 and turned three catches on an 8-8 2011 team into two more TDs, his main contribution was as a lead blocker for LeSean McCoy, who ran for 2,367 yards combined in those two seasons.

At 6-2 and 251 pounds, Schmitt fit the part of a vintage fullback, as a surgery for a cleft palate when he was younger left a menacing scar under his nose to his upper lip.

And now, the Top 10 …

No. 10) Thomas Tapeh (2004-07): When Brad Childress went from being the Eagles’ offensive coordinator to the head coach of the Vikings, Tapeh was signed on the first day of free agency. That was a sign of his value.

It was no secret that Tapeh, who had battled hip and knee issues just to get back onto the field, played a key part in Brian Westbrook having his best two statistical seasons (2006 and 2007) with Tapeh as his fullback.

No. 9) Earl Gros: After two years backing up Jim Taylor in Green Bay, the former first-round pick was swapped to the Eagles in the 1963-64 offseason.

The 6-3, 220-pounder led the Eagles in rushing in the year of Beatlemania by gaining 748 yards and scoring twice while catching 29 passes.

Gros ran for less yardage in 1965 and 1966, but had 7 rushing TDs each of those seasons while catching 29 passes again in 1965 and 18, with two scores, in 1966 (the team’s last winning campaign, at 9-5, until 1978).

No. 8) Mike Hogan (1976-78, 1980): In the mid-70s, with guys like Larry Csonka and John Riggins, it was not uncommon for fullbacks to be the primary rusher on their teams.

Even the teams that were not so good, like the Eagles.

Hogan – at 6-2, 213 pounds – was the Eagles’ fullback from 1976-78, starting 32 games in that time frame.

He led the Eagles in rushing in 1976 and 1977, with 561 and 546 yards, respectively. In 1978, when Wilbert Montgomery emerged as the main threat at halfback, Hogan still posted a career-bests in rushing yards (607) and rushing touchdowns (4). He also caught 55 total passes as an Eagle.

No. 7) LeRoy Harris (1979-82): At 5-9 and 226 pounds, Harris made the most out of his low center of gravity when he usurped Hogan as Montgomery’s escort in 1979, and had his best season that first year, gaining 504 yards on 107 carries (4.7) with two touchdowns and 22 receptions.

While his numbers dipped in the 1980 season to 341 yards on 104 carries and 15 receptions, Harris had his shining moment as an Eagle in the NFC championship game against Dallas.

While Montgomery ran for 194 yards and a memorable early touchdown, it was Harris leading the way with some devastating blocking. Harris also added 60 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries in the storied 20-7 win.

In the fourth quarter, when the Eagles were trying to run out the clock and Montgomery exhausted, Harris picked up some key first downs on sheer determination.

The scoreboard at Veterans Stadium flashed “Leroy Wants It” as the crowd roared.

Harris missed the 1981 season with an injury and retired after playing sparingly in the strike-shortened 1982 season.

No. 6) Norm Bulaich (1973-74): Bulaich was a first-round pick of Don Shula and the Baltimore Colts and helped them win Super Bowl V as a rookie in 1970. He then made the Pro Bowl at fullback in 1971.

After an injury-riddled third season, the 218-pounder was traded to the Eagles and was a key part of the potent Roman Gabriel-led offense of 1973 that saw wide receiver and rookie tight end Charle Young join Gabriel in the Pro Bowl while halfback Tom “Silky” Sullivan ran for 968 yards (in 13 games).

Bulaich, played a key supporting role in the “Fire High Gang.” He supplied key blocking and gained 436 yards (4.1 average) on the ground and a caught a career-best 42 passes for another 403 yards (9.6 average) and 3 TDs.

Nicknamed “Paper Head” because he suffered multiple concussions that were called “dings” at the time, Bulaich had bouts with memory loss but still started all 14 games in the 5-8-1 season.

Bulaich was not as effective in 1974, his final year here, before being reunited with Shula in Miami.

Subsequent tests on Bulaich, in terms of CTE effects, were officially inconclusive and he worked as an executive for a waste management company in his native Texas.

No. 5) Anthony Toney (1986-90)/Keith Byars (1986-92): In the mixed-up confusion that was the Eagles offense during the Buddy Ryan era, it was never 100 percent clear whether Toney or Byars was the halfback or the fullback.

What is known that, when Ryan drafted Byars 10th overall in 1986, it was to be “the next Jim Brown.”

Even though he was more than 240 pounds, that would seem to indicate Byars was meant to be the halfback while Toney was nabbed in the second round to be Byars’ running mate at fullback.

Byars struggled to regain his college form because of the same right foot injury that kept him out most of his senior year (he gained a whopping 1,764 yards as a junior). Consequently, Toney (54 starts over 5 seasons) received more of the workload as the primary runner.

Byars, to his credit, became a stellar receiver, using his gigantic mitts to make one-handed grabs out of the backfield. He also became such a strong blocker that he was more or less considered a motion tight end at the end of his stint in Eagleville before moving on to the Miami Dolphins as a true pure fullback, earning him a Pro Bowl nod.

Toney, for his Eagles’ five-year career that was cut short by hamstring issues, gained 2,229 yards to along with 14 touchdowns. He also and had 122 catches.

No. 4) Kevin Turner (1995-99): An Alabama product, Turner came to the Eagles from the New England Patriots and was a traditional fullback in front of the one-two punch of Ricky Watters and Charlie Garner in the Ray Rhodes era.

He missed all but two games of the 1995 season with a knee injury but bounced back in 1996, when Watters and Garner combined for more than 1,700 yards rushing and Watters led the NFL in all-purpose yards.

Turner, who caught 43 passes for 409 yards (9.5 average), received the Ed Block Courage Award at the end of that season.

His courageous battle had only yet begun, however.

Turner had two more solid years with the Eagles in 1997 and 1998 but was limited to 8 games in 1999 by what were called “stingers.”

In 2010, Turner was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and died in 2018. Turner donated his brain and spine for further study and it was determined that CTE likely caused the ALS.

No. 3) Leonard Weaver (2009-10): In 2009, after coming over the Seattle Seahawks, Weaver picked up 323 rushing yards (4.6 average) and 2 touchdowns while adding 15 catches for 140 yards and another pair of touchdowns. A strong blocker, Weaver was named to the Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro at fullback.

This earned him a three-year deal, but it was all short-lived.

After the 2009 season, Weaver went from being considered the best fullback in football to being out of the game entirely when he sustained a gruesome ACL injury on his first carry of the 2010 season.

No. 2) Clarence Peaks (1957-63): Pedigree? Peaks was drafted 7th overall in 1957 out the Michigan State, one pick after Jim Brown and in the same draft where the Eagles also plucked Tommy McDonald and Sonny Jurgensen.

The 218-pounder immediately established himself as a power runner, gaining 405 yards as a rookie and 386 and 451 the next two years.

In 1960, Peaks was having a career year before going down with a broken leg. In 7 games, he gained 465 yards (5.4 average) and scored 3 touchdowns.

While he lost some burst after the injury, Peaks ran for 471 and 447 yards the following two seasons before seeing his numbers dip in 1963 to 212 yards in only 6 starts.

Peaks later became a color commentator for Eagles’ game on WIP.

As an Eagle, in seven seasons, he ran for 19 total touchdowns and caught 2 more on 175 catches.

No. 1) Tom Woodeshick (1963-71): In 2007, a sportswriter poll by the Philadelphia Inquirer placed the Wilkes-Barre native 47th all-time on the list of Greatest Eagles.

Sports llustrated named Woodeshick, an 8th round pick out of West Virginia in 1963, the best Eagle ever to wear jersey No. 37.

Fast enough to beat teammate Timmy Brown in a foot race but also powerful at 6-feet and 225 pounds, Woodeshick played sparingly for three seasons but became the starting fullback in 1967. He then embarked on an almost apocalyptic journey of being a really good player on some of the worst teams in modern franchise history.

In the next three seasons, 1967-69, Woodeshick ran for 2,448 yards and 13 touchdowns.

His best season was 1968, when he gained 947 yards and had to exit the final game early with a gash that was so harsh that opposing players initially thought he lost an eye.

It was in the same game that exasperated fans threw snowballs at Santa Claus, and then at head coach Joe Kucharich.

Woodeshick was second-team All-Pro in 1968 again in 1969, when he gained 831 yards and ran for 4 TDs despite missing the last two games with a knee injury that proved to be the beginning of the end for him.

After knee surgery, the Eagles released him before the 1972 season.

Woodeshick, whose post-career included column in the Inquirer along with providing commentary for the infamous Philadelphia Bell of the short-lived WFL and did some coaching at Moravian College, was disappointed about how his career ended (despite 3,577 yards and 21 touchdowns as an Eagle).

“I’m extremely bitter,” he was quoted as saying. “There’s no avoiding it. I wanted to go out like a pro. Not so much for myself, but for the fans here. They deserve a winner.”

Post-Mortem Message: Go Lower

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By GORDON GLANTZ

GORDONVILLE – Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this national nightmare of another Donald Trump presidency.

As I struggle to understand how an individual who never worked a hard day in his life and who ducked out of Vietnam five times with phantom bone spurs can emerge a working class hero, this eulogy is about the Democratic party that is only expert at repeatedly shooting itself in the foot.

It’s the same Democratic Party that absorbed a lopsided loss in the 1972 presidential election, with Tricky Dick Nixon carrying 49 states to George McGovern’s one (Minnesota) but rose from those ashes — exemplified by having to endure the ignominy of a television telethons to raise money for itself — to elect Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Even though the pendulum swung back to the right with Ronald Reagan in 1980 and back to the left again with Bill Clinton in 1992, it shows you can reinvent yourself. Remember, before the scourge of Nixon in 1968, the Democrats owned the 60s with JFK and LBJ and important advancements in social issues like civil rights.

Trump was not only reelected, but is now positioned for complete control with all branches of government (Senate, House and Supreme Court) tucked his obnoxious overcoat designed to hide his beer gut.

There is now a steep hill to climb to again become the party of FDR and Obama, but history has shown that it is possible,

America loves a good comeback story, which is probably why a 34-time felon and serial abuser of women was just absolved in the court of common misconception.

Before Barack Obama burst onto the scene in 2008, there was the disheartening election of 2004. George W. Bush had ignored warnings prior to 9/11 and displaced his aggression by making the response more about Iraq and less about the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, as poor kids were fighting the rich man’s war on two fronts, tax cuts were dulled out to the wealthy, screwing up the economy.

The Democrats seemed to have the ideal cure to this scourge in a Vietnam War hero, John Kerry, but that was turned around fast by a disinformation campaign.

While Bush had a soft military record (although a Red Beret, compared to Trump), Kerry commanded a Swift boat during a tour in Vietnam, a rarity for a Yale graduate. He earned thee Purple Heart Medals, a Sliver Star Medal and the Bronze Star Medal.

Gotcha now, right?

Wrong.

By the GOP Convention of 2004, he was openly mocked about his service and about a few issues he had dared to change his mind about, and we all know that nuanced thinking is viewed as weakness by the right.

The crowd had props as well: Flip-flops with Kerry’s face on them. Whenever he was lambasted by a speaker, they chanted “”Flip Flop” and waived these flip flops in the air.

Sounds juvenile, but in he kangaroo court of common opinion, he was doomed to ultimate defeat (even with Bruce Springsteen and R.E.M. on his side).

Fast forward to the current election, where vice president Kamala Harris had to take over the candidate for aging Joe Biden, I remembered these antics and wondered why Democrats couldn’t rip a page from that playbook of lowdown trick plays.

While there were inspiring speeches from the stage, there was not enough sheer hostility.

I know all about Michelle Obama’s “when they go low, we go high” message, but the messaging needed some updating.

Remember when Trump grudgingly visited Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria and proceeded to throw paper towels at people as if they were dog fetching a bone?

How about organizing games of Paper Towel Dodge Ball or Basketball, or both, on the Convention floor?

Remember hearing how we thew ketchup against the wall in a temper tantrum after realizing that he couldn’t overturn a free an fair election?

How about ketchup throwing contests.

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We all know about him getting out of Vietnam altogether — five times — with phantom bone spurs.

There are veterans groups out there who are vehemently against Trump, They should have been front and center, perhaps with shirts saying “Look, Ma, No Bone Spurs.”

It sounds silly, especially to come from the more educated left, but we need to take the temperature of the country better and let it know if it is suffering from a fever (you know, like COVID, which he flat-out bungled and destroyed the robust economy he inherited from Obama).

How about telling the truth about immigration, in lieu of echoing the venom in a lesser form)?

The reality is that undocumented workers commit crimes at a lesser rate than citizens. Without them, agriculture is going to suffer.

Say that. You’re allowed.

Trump lied so much in both debates that independent fact checkers could barely keep up. Those lies should have and could have been deployed in commercials and social media almost in real time.

Were they? No, not really.

I really don’t know who was running the Harris campaign, but they should never be in national politics again.

I could go on, but you get the point. The Democratic party, my party, needs what they call a Come to Jesus Moment. And, really, it needs to stop being all things to all people. Define a simple message and stick to it. Find an ideal candidate now, send him to the tailor and make sure he fits the suit. Send him to the barbershop and make sure he looks the part.

Going back to JFK, he looked better than a sweaty Nixon in a 1960 televised debate, the first of its kind. Those listening on radio had it scored evenly, those watching were enthralled by Kennedy’s looks and charisma.

I know a lot of women near and dear to me felt the sting of Hillary Clinton losing in 2016 and then of Harris falling this time.

While neither helped themselves with their choice of running mates. it was clear the country wasn’t ready for a woman when Clinton ran (even though she did win the popular vote, much to Trump’s chagrin) and wasn’t ready for a woman of color his time around.

The Democrats need to be a bit less PC, sorry to say. No female candidate. No gay candidate, no matter how qualified. No extremely progressive candidate talking about issues that really don’t affect the whole.

The top of the ticket needs someone like California governor or Beto O’Rourke of Texas. Although Maryland governor Wes Moore and New Jersey senator Corey Booker are beyond qualified, the Democrats might want to step away from anyone of color, even at the bottom of the ticket. for 2028.

We have dug ourselves a steep hole here, and time to start digging out starts now — and with clear heads and minds.

With an Ear to the Street …

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By GORDON GLANTZ

Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.

You know the old saying.

With the currently complicated mess between Israelis and the so-called Palestinians, it is hard to keep Hamas or its human shields closer, but we can endeavor to put an ear to the street and listen to what they have to say.

This comes with a warning: We may not like it.

This is not being filtered through the sympathetic lenses of the likes of the BCC and CNN, which seem wired to tell a one-sided story.

We will listen to the pre-war words of women, children, clergy and “elected” leaders of the so-called Palestinians.

While some fellow self-hating Jews try to tell me that our enemy is not unified in its pure hatred of all things Zionist (code for Jewish, via the birth of Israel), the reality is that 99.99 percent believe in the “from the river to the sea” ideology, with the only wiggle room being that a few may not mean it literally.

Very few.

Don’t believe me?

Let’s take a deep into quotes from Palestinian TV (yes, the oppressed somehow had that). These are the same civilians/human shields who gleefully celebrated in the streets of Gaza — and the West Bank — as if they won the World Cup on Oct. 7.

The women hostages, while being raped, likely heard the celebration.

And, for context, remember these words from Golda Meir: Peace will come when they love their children more than they hate us” as you take all this in.

The women interviewed — from mothers to grandmothers to Kindergarten teachers — all strike a general theme that they are on earth to urge their sons toward Jihad, And it begins from infancy, as Jihad is the direct path to being next to Allah. Martydom is a badge of honor for a family

“Death is inevitable, so why not die as martyrs?” said one woman.

Another said it is why they give birth to such large numbers of children. They are not doing so to make society a better place, but so there are more martyrs.

With the clergy, we again need context. While we all tend to coexist and respect one another’s beliefs — or lack thereof — the more radical Islamic clerics are still fighting the crusades.

What the West, with rose-colored glasses, doesn’t grasp, is that they are coming at it not as a private matter but as a public one. It is a political worldview, and one with little variance.

I saw one Imam with a long white beard (I suppose to create an aura of wisdom) talk about the need to leave no Jews on the earth.

And, if they don’t mention the Christians directly, they hint at it.

While we see clips of starving children, I saw clips of children barely potty trained training in terror methods (albeit with toy guns).

“We asked Hitler why he left some of you alive,” said one who can apparently communicate with the great beyond. “He did so in order to show how wicked you are.”

The words of the political leaders pretty much close the door on a realistic two-state solution any time in out lifetimes.

Examples?

Sure.

–“The existence of Israel is illogical.”

–“Everything we do is justified.”

–“We shall never recognize Israel.”

In a fight described as “eternal,” they openly preach about killing Jews .

–This is our principle, or ideology, and it’s not up for compromise.”

It is curious that the antisemitism mostly comes from the left when 20 percent of Generation Z identifies as nonbinary or LGBTQ, something that will get you a short flight of a tall building in Gaza or the West Bank.

While there Israelis on the far right who are not accepting of an alternative lifestyle, they are not for the death penalty.

As a point of a note, the conservative party in Israel has an openly gay member in parliament.

The world can have its opinions but we Jews know the facts.

We know what our friends think — at least we think we did — but the thoughts of our enemies seem to make a dream of a lasting peace akin to a LSD trip.

Have any of us heard our mothers, grandmothers, rabbis, elected leaders — even those on the far right — call for the outright genocide of Arab Muslims?

Not Golda Meir.

The Abandoning of Gaza by its Brethren

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By GORDON GLANTZ

Do you find it odd the worldwide protests
against Israel, the target of the Oct. 7
atrocities, were almost simultaneous with
the terrorist attack?
It was almost as if it was coordinated.
And these protests have quickly devolved
from the nonsensical comments about
being “anti-Zionist but not anti-Semitic” to
calls for Israel (and Jews) to be completely
obliterated from the map for the crime of
ever existing in the first place.
That is another discussion for another time,
however.
The ire directly just at Israel – and Jews in
general — is particularly curious when one
considers the cold shoulder the vast

majority of the Arab world has given to its
alleged brethren.
It is not new.
There is a long and bitter history there, and
seemingly remains swept under the rug.
Let us not lose sight of what was about to
occur before since Oct. 7, as a peace treaty
between Israel and Saudi Arabia seemed
imminent.
Saudi Arabia still has not slammed the door
on the mutually convenient concept.
Meanwhile, other countries — UAE,
Morocco and Bahrain — didn’t even
withdraw their ambassadors from Israel
(Jordan only did because it has a sizeable
Palestinian population).

Back in 1982, at the time of the Israeli
invasion of Lebanon, there was a massacre
at a Palestine refugee camp (Shatila).
Carried about by Israelis? Nope.
Lebanese forces killed as many as 3,500
civilians.
And just three years after the Shatila
massacre, in 1985, something started called
the “War of the Camps” took place. That
was Lebanese Shia, backed by Syria and
Iran, laying siege to the Shatila and Bourj el-
Barajneh camps for close to three years
with untold numbers of dead and wounded
among the Palestinians.
Back in 1975, in the early days of the
Lebanese Civil War, a Palestinian refugee
camp in East Beirut was leveled.

Why don’t we hear about this sordid
history?
Because it doesn’t fit the anti-Israel and
anti-Semitic narrative, that’s why.
While supporters of Israel tend to paint Iran
as an ardent backer of Hamas, it is a more
complicated marriage of convenience.
Experts actually don’t think the Iranians
planned the Oct. 7 attack, with Hamas
doing the dirty work, but they do agree they
weren’t too bothered by it, either.
Iran had to know, though, that Israel would
strike back, and strike hard, and really
hasn’t gotten too directly involved.
With friends like that, who needs enemies?
Lip service aside, the Arab world has left
Gaza hanging out to dry.

This disturbing history of the Palestinians
being the black sheep of their own family
can be traced back even further.
The 1967 war — and emergence of the PLO
as the representative of the Palestinian
people — was a key turning point, as the
Palestinians had effectively been a function
of other Arab states and Arab militaries
The 1967 war forced hundreds of thousands
of Palestinians into exile, following their
brethren from the 1948 war with Israel.
Many wound up in Lebanon and Jordan,
and were given enough autonomy to run
the camps.
Still, the Arab states, particularly those
around Palestine and Israel, never wanted
to see an independent Palestinian
movement, let alone a state.

Why? The Arab states didn’t really want a
war with Israel after getting taken out to
the woodshed by the neophyte Jewish state
in the 1947-48.
The 1967 war – a.k.a. the Six Day War — put
an end to dreams of the conquest of Israel,
and it gave rise to the PLO as a somewhat
independent force.
That is what led to Black September, a
militant wing of the PLO, and its 1970 aim
to overthrow the Jordanian monarchy.
It should be noted that the Syrians withheld
the air support for the Palestinians they had
promised. The air force was under
command of a general named Hafez al-
Assad (later ruler of Syria), who reportedly
loathed the Palestinians.

While street rhetoric in the Arab world was
pro-Palestinian, the Arab governments
basically turned their backs.
In Syria – and also Jordan and Egypt – there
were open campaigns against the PLO.
There is no Palestinian population – at all –
in Egypt, which bristled at Secretary of State
Anthony Blinken’s suggestion that the
Egyptians absorb refugees from Gaza (even
temporarily).

Displaced Palestinians walk next to the border fence between Gaza and Egypt, on February 16, 2024 in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. – Nearly 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are trapped in Rafah — more than half of Gaza’s populations — seeking shelter in a sprawling makeshift encampment near the Egyptian border. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)

They have a wall, in fact, that would put Donald’s Trump’s wet dreams to shame (see above).

And, yet, you see no Egyptian flags being
burned at protests. There are no chants and
signs about recalling aid, of which it
receives plenty, from the U.S.
Then again, Egypt, saw the threat in 1970
when the Jordanian prime minister, Wasfi
Tal, was assassinated in Cairo by Palestinian
activists who were literally so literally bloodthirsty that one reportedly knelt down
and drank the blood of the victim (you can’t
make this up).
Yasser Arafat, who later reneged on peace
accords with Israel that would have led to a
two-state solution well before all of this
current loss of life, claimed responsibility.
Arafat, who died in 2004, reportedly
diverted nearly $1 billion in public funds to
himself, under the guise of his “political
survival,” but reports are that much more
was left unaccounted for to this day.
Consider all that – and the bad blood (pun
intended) between Arabs and Palestinians —
while watching the starvation on TV.

The Art of Knowing Something

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By GORDON GLANTZ

GORDONVILLE — Ready for some time travel?

In the middle of the 19th century, there was a political party born out of xenophobia/anti-Catholic feelings of protestants who saw themselves as the real Americans from real America.

When asked for specifics of their stances, members were instructed to say “I know nothing.”

History remembers them as the “Know Nothing” party. While it didn’t officially last, it still exists, does it not?

Ironically, it was officially known as the Native American Party or the American party.

Sound familiar?

It should.

Eerily.

After all, they wanted their country back.

Xenophobia – fears of strangers – is as American as not acknowledging the Native Americans were actually here first and that black people were forced immigrants.

You know, like baseball and Apple Pie and all that baloney.

I would say that the Know Nothing Party swam back to the surface from its cesspool when Donald Trump became a politician – while claiming to be the anti-politician – and was then somehow selected president (despite not winning the popular vote) in 2016.

While implying that “Make America Great Again” was code for “Make America White Again” after two terms of Barack Obama, he built what we now know as his base.

Trump would also sow the seeds of xenophobia by talking about who did and didn’t come here “legally,” which was code for Hispanics seeking refuge in the supposed land of the free and home of the brave.

The base bought it like fake gold watches tucked under the overcoat of a hustler on a city street corner.

They failed to realized that there really wasn’t anything resembling “legal” immigration (at least for all but the Chinese) until a nuanced law on quotas (curiously focused more on certain countries of origin than others) was put in place in 1924.

Instead, there were Italians, Jews, Poles, Germans, Irish, etc. … all following trails blazed by family members already here who sponsored them by paying for their passage.

But let us not let facts get in the way of a good hate parade.

It’s much easier to stay deaf, dumb and blind.

It’s much easier to … know nothing.

What’s past is prologue.

I have really tried to engage base dwellers in some form of intelligent discourse, but I have realized that they are impossible to move off of lame slogans and laughable talking points.

They argue on social media — in ALL CAPS, a 21st century form of yelling — but it doesn’t make their arguments any more coherent.

Oftentimes – not always, but too many to count – I’ll be accused of being a keyboard tough guy who wouldn’t say what I’m saying to their faces.

Inevitably, I’m invited to meet them in public.

The fact that they are challenging me to a dual in the town square makes them the “keyboard tough guy” never occurs to them.

Why should it?

They are charter members of the resurrected Know Nothing party.

They were brought in the political fold, after really not knowing the details of how government and politics work, and believed the steady diet of high-fiber lies they were fed.

Inevitably, they will play their “Trump card” (pun intended) and proclaim, with all the knowledge from the School of Hard Knocks and their advanced degrees from Trump U, that Abraham Lincoln was a Democrat.

Hold on there, Hoss, not so fast in that pickup truck with the oversized American flag.

The Republicans of that time – a time when all men were not created equal — were the liberals and progressives, the same type of people you detest now (think Bernie Sanders, AOC, etc.).

Lincoln was what we know now as left wing. He was either loved or hated, and he was particularly loathed in the South (in what are now known as Red states) because the idea of ending slavery was a threat to their way of life and, specifically, their economy (although plenty of Yankees benefitted, too).

In those days, his haters and baiters were the Democrats – or “Dixiecrats” (Southern Democrats) – who said no to the time of day, let alone any notion of compromise (think Mitch McConnell).

While slavery was the major specific issue, it was under the umbrella of big government vs. small government and how about states’ rights.

Lincoln and the “Republicans” of yesteryear were then the party of big government and less about individual states running themselves, which the slave states obviously wanted.

That is the polar opposite of now, by the way.

Theodore Roosevelt – a self-proclaimed proud progressive — was also a Republican, and he had an ego and hubris that would even put Trump to shame, but his list of accomplishments in two terms shows bipartisanship and liberal leanings.

Examples: Booker T. Washington was the first black person invited by a president to dine as a guest in the White House and first to have a Jewish-American, Oscar Straus, hold a cabinet post.

Among his lasting accomplishments was system of conservation and siding with coal miners in a major strike.

Free of the scourge of contrived bone spurs, he was a heralded frontiersman and soldier.

Teddy Roosevelt ran as a third-party candidate, after failing to recapture the Republican nomination, and went even more into the left lane with a progressive platform (supporting workers’ rights and the suffrage movement) while doubling down on environmental issues.

I can hear the Koch Bros, cringe from here.

It wasn’t until his distant cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, became president in 1932 — and used innovative social programs to lead the country out of the depression — that the party names officially changed as the New Deal took hold.

FDR was a liberal. He was a progressive.

Just like Teddy Roosevelt.

Just like Lincoln.

It was the same mindset, except he was a Democrat, as are the Democrats ever since.

In terms of the superficial labels for the parties, that was a game changer that was further cemented when a Catholic, John F. Kennedy, ran for and became president in 1960.

When the Deep South become firmly Republican? Richard M. Nixon, 1968, adopted what he called his “Southern Strategy” to appeal to those still fighting the Civil War in their minds to switch parties.

They were the same conservatives who believed in states’ “rats” (rights) in the time of Lincoln were, except they were now Republicans.

And that’s when we have been ever since.

You are not the party of Lincoln.

Not in any way, shape or form.

You dishonor his memory by even using his name to defend your nonsense.

Sorry.

Must be a tough life as a Know Nothing.

Abraham Lincoln statue at Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Free public domain CC0 photo.
Abraham Lincoln statue at Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Free public domain CC0 photo.

The Stench of a Gale Force Wind

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I’m not alone in being blocked!

By GORDON GLANTZ

There is a long-running joke in Montgomery County, Pa.

The butt (pun intended) of this joke is County Commissioner Joe Gale.

“Joe Gale, he has it made,” a jokester will say.

“Why?” one will ask.

“He has a job for life,” the jokester responds.

And it is true, Gale does seemingly have a job for life as the lone Republican among the three serving as our county commissioners.

Sure, he had a temporary delusion of grandeur in May, as his hat as thrown into the ring in his party’s gubernatorial primary. He suffered the ignominy of a distant sixth-place finish, coming away with a paltry 2.1 percent of the vote. By contrast, “winner” Doug Mastriano – lunatic that he is — placed first with a 43.8 plurality.

So, the running joke that is Joe Gale continues.

As the song by The Smiths goes: “That joke isn’t funny anymore.”

And the joke is on us.

While rendered insignificant, Gale seems to be on a mission to earn enough brownie points with the far right that he seemingly thinks Donald Trump might even cut him a check or something,

Yes, Gale’s social media posts are that frightening.

And while the rules call for at least one Republican to be consistently out-voted by Chair Val Arkoosh and Vice Chair Ken Lawrence, perhaps the county would be better served by a less extreme dissenting voice.

Believe it or not, there are still plenty of Republicans, especially locally, that I have respect for in these times of Civil War. And I would respect them more if they raised the bar a bit on who speaks in their name at the county level.

Unlike Facebook, I pretty much steer clear of politics on Instagram, instead using it as a Sofia photo album. However, I admittedly chide Gale’s absurdities posted under “Vote Joe Gale,” which seems like a stupid title considering how few Republicans voted for him around the state in the primary and how he pretty much has a free skate in the county.

That has come to an end, it seems, since I am now blocked from posting comments there anymore.

Seems odd, though, He is an elected official. Last time I checked, I was a resident of the county. I’m a constituent, whether he likes it or not.

Should I be blocked at will because he doesn’t like my constructive criticism or polite protestations?

I guess he just wants to hear what he wants to hear from the small band of bible-thumping Karens whole tell him how great he is for being mean-spirited in the name of Jesus.

Or maybe, well, he’s just a snowflake.

It’s always a bit interesting to see a good portions Republicans wrap themselves up in their peculiar interpretations of the Constitution when they are simultaneously violating it themselves by blocking freedom of speech.

Gale’s whole play – as the good Catholic boy – blows a lot of smoke.

But, you know what they say about smoke, right? Eventually, there will be fire – fire and brimstone.

I guess the stuff about separation of church and state eluded him in school.

He can selectively bounce around the county, taking selfies with law enforcement and attractive women at fairs and carnivals – while throwing in a perfunctory shot of himself with black people – but it doesn’t wash away the more troubling posts on both Instagram and Facebook (also called “Vote For Joe Gale”).

The facts are these (according to betterliving.com): 64.3 percent of county residents identify as being religious, meaning that close to 36 percent (myself included) do not actively practice any specific form of organized religion (whether or not we believe in a higher power or not).

Catholics, based on historical immigration of Irish and Italians (and more recently of Mexicans), are the plurality (at 38.5 percent) but not the majority (that would mean more than 50 percent). And I wonder how may say they are Catholic when polled when they are really just perfunctory Easter-Christmas Catholics.

Someone should tell Gale that, as he seems to be a bit confused about the difference. When you add in the various other Christian denominations, as well as the county’s robust Jewish community (mostly in the Eastern part of the county and the Main Line) – along with the 33.7 percent of us “others” who live, work and pay taxes here – he needs to be made to realize, maybe through official censure or something by peers, that he was elected to represent everyone and not just church ladies with rosary beads who give him feedback of daily affirmations.

I personally know church-going Catholics who are flat-out not impressed with Gale. Those jokes about him? They are often the source, these people.

But he has ripped a page out Trump’s playbook, seeing himself as just governing those – the smaller vocal minority — who think like he does.

The only difference, from my view, is that Trump doesn’t even really believe half of what he says (he was for gun control before he was against it, for example) but feeds off the whims of his followers because it boosts his enormous ego.

For Gale, I’m assuming it is some sort of pathetic cry for attention.

Don’t believe me? Think I’m being hyperbolic?

Let’s look at tone of some of these posts, which seem to be increasing as the proverbial noose tightens around Trump’s neck on the national stage:

-After President Joe Biden came to Philadelphia recently to say some of the types of things that wishy-washy Democrats have been afraid to say for way too long, Gale posted: “This fake Catholic, baby killer has some nerve coming to the great state of Pennsylvania and assassinating the character of God-fearing Americans that rightfully resist the Democrat Party’s reckless, left-wing agenda.”

Whoa! Who is he to call someone a “fake Catholic?” Who is he to call someone a “baby killer?” Does he know what Biden feels, spiritually, in his heart– especially after experiencing a lot of personal family tragedy and a near-death experience? Does he have proof he has personally “killed babies?” And, the usual theme of dividing Americans between being heathens and God-fearing, just because they are for a women’s right to choose what to do with her own body, is so unoriginal that it hurts.

-In response to an article from Fox News (his favorite source, despite its history of playing fast and loose with facts) that said more parents are enrolling kids in Catholic schools to avoid “wokeness” (yes, that’s a word), he responded: “Better yet, consider enrolling your children in the Regina Academies who offer a Catholic classical curriculum that forms both the mind and the soul.” That was followed with an actual web link for the private academies that come with tuitions.

Since when does an elected official serve as an official spokesperson for one school over the other?

And what about non-Catholics, Joe?

There was acknowledgement of some Catholic holidays that seemed innocent enough until you read between the lines.

-For example, there was this: “Happy Feast Day of Saint Raymond Nonnatus, the patron saint of unborn babies, expectant mothers and Christian families. Experience has shown his intercession to be powerful for fertility.”

-And another: “Today is the Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist. Be fearless in preaching the Good News of the Gospel, no matter the earthly consequences.”

-In response to news that actor Shia LeBeuof converting to Catholicism, he said: “Proof that miracles are real! Saint Padre Pio, pray for us and the conversion of more souls on earth and in purgatory.”

So now we get down to the nitty gritty here. To Gale, all of the rest of us are ticketed for purgatory.

He is allowed to think and say what he wants behind closed doors – or wherever he goes to hide from the hard harsh world he sees (parents’ basement, perhaps) – but not on an official page called “Vote For Joe Gale.”

Before he blocked me on Instagram, I playfully asked if he was going to wish his Jewish constituents a Happy New Year. Certainly no violation of any Internet rules about violence or language, especially at a threshold for an elected leader, but I know the answer.

Crickets.

After all, his page also included a cartoon evoking old anti-Semitic tropes and the following comment: “Like many big city District Attorneys, Philly DA Larry Krasner is bankrolled by globalist billionaire George Soros. The chaos and destruction that’s ensued is no coincidence.”

In case you didn’t know, Krasner and Soros are both Jewish. I guess our pious commissioner couldn’t resist.

Henry Ford would be so proud.

If Gale can’t get an audience with the pope, maybe he can go hang out with Mel Gibson and Van Morrison.

While he doesn’t mention Trump by name much, which is probably by design, Gale is running a lot of the same fullback dives from Page 1 of the playbook.

-On Anthony Fauci stepping down: “Good riddance to this swamp creature who contributed to the needless suffering of many families, students and small-businesses across Pennsylvania and the country.”

Mature, huh? Not sounding real, uh, religious to me. The immaturity, though, does wreak of Trump.

Abortion is Gales repeated theme. While I admit that “pro-abortion” is a stupid and destructive term, as no one is really “pro-abortion” as much as they are “pro-choice,” he cherry-picked a post that Arkoosh “liked” as being “sick.”

He said funding for Planned Parent was “Blood money.” No word on the NRA, in terms of blood money, although he did provide some skewed stats about where guns are sold and where crimes happen, which was following by more conveniently religious psychobabble: “Statistics prove the problem is not law abiding gun ownership, but hearts without God.”

And – unfortunately — there is more:

-He also had another post of a Rosary in a hand, and added that he was “feeling kind of ‘extremist’ today, think I’ll pray my Rosary.” Yes, not a misprint, that’s an elected official openly referring to himself as an “extremist.”

-While Philadelphia is just a tad bit out of his jurisdiction, Gale couldn’t help but pounce on a School District of Philadelphia mask mandate for the returning to school: “Pre-Kindergarteners will suffer another year of indignity and fear-mongering at the hands of the radical leftists who run the Philadelphia School District. Families and children across the city deserve better.”

So does Montgomery County.

When it comes to Joe Gale, we deserve a lot better.

The All-Time All-Jewish Basketball Team

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By GORDON GLANTZ

GORDONVILLE – It’s hard to believe now, but basketball – yes, basketball – was once considered “the Jewish man’s game.”

So much so that, the years between the World Wars, when quotas against Jews at colleges were commonplace, alumni at Ivy League schools lobbied for lenience when it came to Jewish basketball players so that they could gain an edge.

A newspaper of the time once opined that it was the “perfect sport” for Jews because it didn’t require much height or athleticism and was a game based on deception, where players could connive their way to victory.

Nice, huh.

They actually meant it as a compliment, too!

At least it was accurate … not!

In reality, since most Jews lived in cities – and since baseball and football were considered rural sports – the confines of gymnasium allowed for excelling at both basketball and boxing.

This included basketball Hall of Famers Marty Freidman, Nat Holman and Barney Sedran.

In the days long before the NBA, or any real organized professional leagues, All-Jewish teams would barnstorm, particularly after the stock market crash of 1929. The most famous is the Philadelphia SPHAS (South Philadelphia Hebrew Association). They would often win the game (and the winner’s share) and were then summarily chased to the one car they used to travel around in until they safely reach their next destination.

Some of those notables were: Petey Rosenberg, Leo Gottleib, Howard Rosan, Si Boardman, Moe Goldman, Inky Lautman, Fishy Rabin and Louis Spindell.

The SHAS/Sphas (also known as The Hebrews and The Wandering Jews) played until 1949, primarily as a exhibition team, but were disbanded in part because they defeated the Harlem Globetrotters on multiple occasions.

The SPHAS/Sphas (pictured above in their early years) also won seven championships between 1933-1934 and 1944-45 in one of the several pro leagues, this one being the ABL, as well as several title in other smaller leagues.

After World War II, the fly-by-night professional leagues coalesced into what we now as the NBA, with Jews well-represented. As matter of fact, SPHAS alum Ossie Schectman is credited with having scored the first basket in the BBA (Basketball Association of America in 1946. This league was the direct forerunner of NBA.

For purposes of this drill, selecting the All-time All-Jewish Basketball Team, we will focus on professional basketball (NBA, ABA and maybe an overseas guy or two).

Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Red Auerbach

Notes: I may never get served a cheese steak here in Philly again, but the evidence in overwhelming for the cigar-smoking pioneer who made the Boston Celtics a dominant force. Auerbach may not only be the best Jewish coach of all time, but the best coach of all time, period.

As a coach, which included stints with the Washington Capitols and Tri-Cities Blackhawks, Auerbach set NBA records with 938 wins and nine titles. After his coaching retirement in 1966, he served as president and front office executive of the Celtics until his death. As general manager and team president of the Celtics, he won an additional seven NBA titles for a grand total of 16 in a span of 29 years and making him one of the most successful team officials in the history of North American professional sports.

Auerbach also played college basketball at George Washington University and was credited with breaking the color barrier in the NBA in 1950 by drafting Chuck Cooper in 1950 and have all-black starting five in 1964. In 1966, he made Bill Russell the first black head coach in North American sports.

Assistant Coach: Red Holzman. Auerbach was voted the best coach in NBA history and Holzman was not too far behind at No. 4. He is best known as the head coach of the Knicks from 1967-82. They won championships in 1970 and 1973.

While Auerbach was also a solid college player in his own right at George Washington, Holzman was an outstanding player who might’ve warranted consideration on the roster below if not for his coaching prowess. He was a star in the old NBL, winning two titles (1946, 1951). He was Rookie of the Year in 1946. That same year, he was first-team All-NBL (also in 1948, while being voted to the second team in 1947).

The Starting Five

Center: Neal Walk

Notes: In addition to being the only human being on earth hairier than myself, the 6-10 Walk (pictured above) had a decent NBA career after being drafted second overall in 1969 by the Phoenix (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then known as Lew Alcindor, went first to the Milwaukee Bucks). He hit his peak in the 1972-73 season, averaging 20.2 points and 12.4 rebounds per game (Charles Barkley is the only other player in Suns’ franchise history to average a double-double). The second half of his 8-year NBA career saw a significant drop in production, after which he finished up his playing days with three seasons in Israel and one Italy. His NBA career averages were 12.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2,1 assists per game.

Forwards: Dolph Schayes, Amare Stoudemire

Notes: This is clearly the strength of the team. Schayes (he went by Dolph because his birth name was Adolph), is universally considered the best Jewish basketball player. Stoudemire, who had an outstanding NBA career before moving on to player overseas (including Israel). There is no real DNA proof that he is ethnically Jewish, but he is fully convinced that he is and is certainly a better religious Jew than I am.

While both Schayes (pictured above) and Stoudemire are power forwards, they are head and shoulders above the other forwards on the roster and deserve starting nods. We’ll put Schayes at power forward and Stoudemire at small forward.

A native of the Bronx, the 6-8 Schayes played his college hoops at NYU and then embarked on a pro career in which he was a 12-time NBA All-Star. Selected to the Hall of Fame in 1973, he was chosen for the following NBA anniversary teams – 25th, 50th and 75th.  He won a league title in 1955 with the Syracuse Nationals, the team for the majority of a 15-year career (ended with the 76ers) that saw him post career averages of 18.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He led the league in various categories multiple times, including pacing the circuit scoring in 1957-58 and 24.9 points per game and rebounding in 1950-51 (16.4 per game). Not to be confused with Ben Simmons, he led the league in free throw percentage three times.

The 6-10 Stoudemire, who lists dual citizenship with the U.S.A. and Israel, was a six-time NBA All-Star and was Rookie of the Year in 2003. For his 15-year NBA career, which was followed up with more accolades while playing in Israel, he averaged 18.9 points per game to go along with 7.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks.

With all due respect to Walk, Stoudemire will be jumping center to start games.

Guards: Larry Brown, Tal Brody

Notes: We all know Brown for his Hall of Fame coaching exploits, and those will earn him a role here as a player-assistant on Auerbach’s staff, but he was also one of the best point guards in the early days of the ABA, leading the league in assists three of the five years he played while averaging 11.1 points per game. He also quarterbacked the 1964 Olympic team to gold after a stellar college career wooing the Southern Belles at North Carolina (Dean Smith was also the Olympic coach).

The 6-1 Brody (pictured above) is a more controversial pick here as the shooting guard. Like Brown, he never played in the NBA, even though he was drafted 11th overall out of Illinois (second-team All-American) by the Baltimore Bullets (now Washington Wizards). He instead became the founding father of basketball in Israel.

In 1977, after returning to stateside to fulfill his military service and play for the U.S, National Team, he led Maccabi Tel Aviv to the European Championship. Much like the famed Miracle On Ice U.S. Olympic ice hockey team of 1980, Brody spearheaded a win over the heavily favored Soviet Red Army tea, (CSKA Moscow).

Records show him averaging 19.2 points per game in the Israeli League, where he won 10 championships. He averaged 17.0 per game in EuroLeague play and 15.6 in FIBA International Competitions.

Although the Soviet Union refused to play Israel again after their humbling loss, Soviet great Sergei Belov called Brody one of the best players he ever competed against.

In The Rotation:

Rudy LaRusso: If not for Stoudemire’s ethnic awakening, this 6-8 1959 Dartmouth grad would easily be in the lineup next to Schayes. As it is, we have ourselves a forceful forward-center off the pine. Don’t let the last name fool you. LaRusso (pictured above) was the vintage Brooklyn mutt. He had an Italian dad and a Jewish mother. LaRusso was raised in the faith (and her chicken soup). “Roughhouse Rudy,” as he was called, played most of his career in the 1960s on some talented Lakers’ teams. A five-time all-star, he saved his best for last, at least statistically, while finishing with the Warriors. In his second to last season, 1967-68, he averaged a career-high 21.8 points per game. The following year, while being named to the All-Defensive team, he averaged 20.7 points per game. For his career, he averaged 15.6 points and 9.4 rebounds.

Danny Schayes: The son of Dolph was never quite the player his dad was but, to be fair, the 6-11 Syracuse product (and 11th overall pick in 1981) played in a different era. In 1987-88, he averaged 13.9 points and 8.2 rebounds for Denver. However, what would have been solid career numbers diminished to 7.7 points and 5.0 rebounds when he hung on as a deep reserve from the early 90s until the of the decade. Part of his motivation, he said, was knowing retirement would have left a league was once loaded with Jewish players with none. Talk about a mensch, huh?

Art Heyman: The 6-5 Duke product, gives us flexibility as a swingman. Yet another New York product who went to the ACC, where he battled it out with Brown’s Tar Heels, Heyman was so stellar on the college hardwood that he was drafted first overall in 1963 after being named Player of the Year by AP, UPI, Sporting News and others. Given the hype, it would be fair to call him at least half a bust. Heyman, known for his temper tantrums, saw a decrease in playing time after making the NBA All-Rookie Team for the hometown Knicks (averaged 15.4 points per game). Heyman left the Knicks for cups of coffee with the Cincinati Royals and our 76ers before moving on to the Eastern League. He then caught on with the ABA and won the league crown with the Pittsburgh Pipers in 1968, averaging more than 20 points per game. We could call him … “The Jew who saved Pittsburgh.” … All told, his professional averages were 13.0 points, 4.7 board and 2.8 assists.

Steve Chubin: This 6-3 New York native went North to play his college hoops at Rhode Island. He was selected by the Warriors in the third round of the 1966 draft, which was far from a guaranteed job. After playing a year in Italy (scoring 34 points in the EuroLeague finals), he came back to stateside to join the Anaheim Amigos of the ABA. In addition to averaging 18.2 points per game in 1967-68, the crowd favorite (known as “Chube”) was second in the circuit behind Brown in assists per game (4.7). He went on to play 226 games in the ABA (career averages of 12.8 points and 3.9 assists) for multiple teams before finishing up his career in Israel and winning several championships.

Rounding Out The Roster

Max “Slats” Zaslofsky: Unique in that the 6-2 Brooklyn native (pictured above) played at St. John’s, a Catholic school, he was a standout in the early days of the NBA (all-league four times). Before the NBA, he was just 21 when he paced the BBA in scoring in 1947-48 (21.0) and led the NBA in free throw percentage (.843) in 1949-50. For his 12-year career, he averaged 14.8 points and 2.0 assists per game.

Bob Gross: The 6-6 small forward should be well-known to us 76ers fans, as he was a starter on the Bill Walton-led Portland Trailblazers’ team that beat the Sixers in the 1977 finals, 4-2, after the Sixers rolled in the first two games. With the series knotted, 2-2, the scene shifted back to The Spectrum and Gross had the night of his life, scoring a team-high 25 points on 10-for-13 shooting from the floor. The Blazers won that game, and the next at home, to take the title. He was nowhere near that much of a scorer in his career but had a strong overall floor game (voted second-team All-Defense the following year). He retired in 1983 with career averages of 8.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.12 steals a game. His No. 30 was retired by the Trailblazers.

Jordan Farmar: A former high school Player of the Year, the biracial Farmar was raised by his Jewish mother and Israeli stepfather. He was a standout at UCLA who was drafted in the late first round by the hometown Lakers. A point guard, the 6-2 Farmar was a rotational reserve on two championship teams with the Lakers. He then played two seasons with the Nets (then in New Jersey) and posted respectable averages of 9.6 points and 5.0 assists (2010-2011) and 10.4 points and 3.3 assists in 2011-12. He played a year in Turkey, averaging just under 14 points a game, before returning stateside and rejoining the Lakers in 2013-14 (10.1 points, 4.9 assist, 2.1 rebounds). He finished his NBA journey with stints with the crosstown Clippers, Memphis and Sacramento. As a dual citizen, he also represented Israel in world play.

Just Missing The Cut

Omri Casspi: The 6-9 swing forward was drafted 23rd overall in 2009 and was the first Israeli to play in the NBA. However, in 12 seasons he never really rose above being more than a rotational player and went back to his homeland with career averages of 7.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Highlights included playing in the Rookie Game on All-Star weekend and receiving a championship ring as a member of the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors (5 starts).

Ernie Grunfeld: His play before entering the league – and after as a longtime GM/front office type for 20 years after retiring in 1999 – earned him a known name that was bigger than his actual play as a pro. In college, at Tennessee, he became the school’s all-time leading scorer. He won gold medals with the USA in the 1975 Pan American Games and 1976 Olympics. However, his NBA career was fairly middling – 17 starts in 9 seasons with career averages of 7.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists.

Miki Berkovich: A teammate of the aforementioned Brody in the miracle win over the Soviets, he – not Brody – is often considered to be Israel’s best ever basketball player. However, unlike Brody at Illinois, Berkovich was nothing more than a deep bench player in college (UNLV). The 6-4 Berkovich joined Maccabi Tel-Aviv basketball club’s junior team in 1965, and the adult team in 1971. With Maccabi, he won 19 national championship titles and 17 national cups and averaged just under 18 points per game.

WAITING IN THE WINGS:

It was hard to include players whose stories are just being written. A pair of Israelis – Deni Avdija and Yam Madar– come to mind. Both were drafted into the NBA in 2020, with the 6-9 Avdij going 9th overall to Washington. A point guard, the 6-3 Madar is still playing overseas after going in the second round to Boston. Through two NBA seasons, the 21-year-old Avdija has made 40 starts (32 as a rookie) and is posting moderate numbers – 7.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists – in just under 24 minutes per game. He and Madar combined to lead Israel to a pair of U20 gold medals in world competition, which surely caught the eye of scouts.

Special Mention: Jon Scheyer

This one is a projection on what could have been. The next coach at Duke, Scheyer (pictured above) was one of the most celebrated – and heavily recruited – high school players in the country before he chose to become a Blue Devil. He did not disappoint there, enjoying a stellar four-career that was capped off by a national title. Despite scoring 2,007 points over his stellar career, Scheyer was not drafted. His chances suffered another blow with a severe eye injury in a summer league game. He played in Israel, and tried it again stateside the following summer (with the Sixers), but he was not the same player and retired. Oy vey. He could have been an all-timer – at least for this team. As it is – and assuming he does well at Duke – he can join the coaching staff.

I Got A lot, But I Got Nothing

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By GORDON GLANTZ

GORDONVILLE — As of today, there have been 233 mass shootings in this so-called land of the free and home of the brave.

Not all told. Just in 2022.

As of tonight, the president, Joe Biden, will make a national address on the issue that seems to have gotten worse once people have crawled out of their post-COVID holes with shorter fuses.

As of tomorrow, and the next day and night, the numbers will rise. And, sadly, Biden’s words will ring hollow.

And be debunked as mocked by the far right.

He will be scoffed at by politicians who have it in their power to start us on a path to change by taking baby steps to keeping our babies — and all of us — more safe.

The most tragic aspect of all this is that they refuse to budge despite the fact that 80-90 percent of Americans — Americans from both sides of the aisle — support some form of gun control legislation beyond the flawed laws that already exist.

It is tragically ironic that these same politicians (mostly Republican, but not all) are vehemently pro-life on the divisive abortion issue, even when the majority of Americans (right, left and center) support a woman’s right to choose.

It would help if Democrats, the world’s worst at self-labeling, didn’t allow the “pro-abortion” tag to stick (it’s pro-choice, period).

But that’s another argument for another time, other than that the irony is that the same politicians who are vehement about protecting the rights of a fetus are just as firm about allowing all sorts of loopholes for our children’s lives, among others, to be easy targets in places like Uvelde, Texas and Newtown, Conn.

They square dance and two-step around the core issue that even the smallest changes could net big results.

Some resort to saying it wouldn’t matter.

Hey, maybe not, but why not try?

And where is the American “can-do” spirit?

These are the people who claim they want to Make America Great Again, which is impossible with this American crisis.

We put a man on the friggin’ moon, right?

We can’t do this? Really?

This American nightmare points to ultimate attempts at solutions that shape the new American Dream.

The problem within the problem is that these NRA errand boys (and girls) like to parse out then double down on quick fixes that are rhetorical and proven to be nonsensical.

They will bring up mental health, when Republicans are the ones who consistently vote against mental health funding (statistics show that most with mental health issues are not violent).

Beyond that, is there really a way to police against someone who has stopped taking his medication? Can you spot this person? They are all not walking around with tin foil on their heads.

And what about those who go temporarily insane, meaning they woke up not intending to go on a shooting spree but snapped and immediately regretted it (probably to the point of taking their own life).

With major holes in those arguments, they turn to the old fallback about armed security.

They say that “a good guy with a good stops a bad guy with a gun.”

To quote Uncle Junior from The Sopranos: “What, are we making a Western here?”

The reality is that John Wayne with a Colt-45 doesn’t stand a chance against a well-armed kid on a mission with a military-style rifle, extra artillery and body armor.

And, I’m constrained to point out that the supermarket in Buffalo had an armed ex-guard.

He shot the assailant, but it didn’t penetrate the body armor. The assailant shot the security guard, a former police officer, and the security guard died.

I’m fine with armed guards at schools. I’m fine with metal detectors.

A lot of schools, especially in inner cities, already have them,

But where does it stop?

Are we putting security guards at every preschool? Every private school? Every alternative school? Every tech school? Every beauty academy? Every community college?

What about at after-school facilities?

That’s a whole lot of armed guards, and it raises serious issues about the ability — and sanity — of those being entrusted to protect the schools.

Example: Now we are into summer, which means summer camp season.

Now what?

Let me spin you a little yarn from my overnight camp days.

Back when I was a lad at Camp Arthur, they staged a test case at the teen camp (Beker), when some actors were paid to enter dressed as Neo-Nazis (armed with were not loaded weapons).

It was Jewish camp, of which they are still many, making them prime targets.

There was some rock-throwing and cursing before staffers quickly settled it down and it was then turned into a teachable moment, with the actors still in character.

The point is that these pretend Neo-Nazis pretty much walked onto the wooded Jewish camp and into the teen village.

There are camps all across America that will be hosting children, our children, all summer.

Bible camps. Dance Camps. Sports Camps. Camps for underprivileged kids. Camps for kids with physical and mental challenges.

And there are more day camps to count.

Are we arming the counselors, many of which are teens themselves?

The whole thought sends chills down my spine.

The scenes of carnage run from coast to coast, up and down. The motivations are out of racial hate (most recently Buffalo) and from generally troubled teens (Uvalde), etc.

A simple start would be to raise the age from buying a gun from 18 to 21.

I think of myself at 18 and at 21, and I was like two different people.

All you have to do is see the songs I was writing, and books I was reading, at each age.

And, at 18, I liked bimbos. By 21, I went for smart girls.

But, looking back, I really didn’t know much at 21, either. The brain doesn’t fully develop until between the ages of 24 and 30.

If you are a politician doing the NRA’s bidding, your brain still hasn’t developed.

Sooner or later, with national opinion swelling on this, their days are eventually numbered.

Unfortunately, we still have to live with them and their rhetoric and fatally flawed logic.

They will tell you that “guns don’t kill.”

They are right.

They will say it’s “people” who kill, and that they need to be stopped by the “good guys” with guns in some sort of Modern Day shootouts in the Town Square.

That would be nice, at least in a Ted Cruz wet dream,

The fact — and we all know it (even them) — is that is people with guns who kill.

Work to take away the guns from those who shouldn’t have them, and there are laundry lists of methods to try, and I like our chances to move the needle out of the danger zone.

And, no, I don’t mean doing door to door to and collecting guns from “responsible gun owners.”

I’d like to peel away at the onion and redefine what a “responsible gun owner” really is, given that the number of suicides by firearm and other shootings in the home (heat of the moment domestic disputes and “accidental” shootings between, say, a 7-year-old and a 3-year-old sibling) dwarfs the number of phantom bogeymen picking out your house for a home invasion (most are “inside jobs’ and not random).

But, to quote the band Foreigner, this is an “urgent emergency,” so the onion can wait.

What destroys me here is that none of this is new. At all. I have been a broken record on it for years. I still remember dropping Sofia at school after Newtown. She was in Kindergarten. Those victims were in first grade.

I told her I loved her that day. And I still do every morning.

I would’ve expected substantive change after what was the worst schooling shooting in our sordid history.

After our second worst, nothing has changed.

What angers me is that, during the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, this issue was swept under the rug. Whole debates, whether within the primary season or the presidential battles, would come and go without gun violence as a topic.

It was like it was mutually agreed upon not to talk about it. It was like it was taboo.

We heard a lot about other stuff — like what type of people can use which bathrooms in public places and about school prayer and some contrived war on Christmas — but not every single one of us being moving targets every single day on the streets.

I could on forever here, but I’m weary over my somethings on the topic equally nothing.

Disco Duck Revisited

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By GORDON GLANTZ

GORDONVILLE — I know it’s hard to believe, given that I’m the handsome-but-aging devil I am today, that there was once a time when I was the the ugly kid at the Junior High — or Bar/Bat Mitzvah or overnight camp — dance (record hops, as they were called).

There was no moment more sad than hearing Donna Summer’s “Last Dance,” signaling the end of the night, and me and the other dorks still standing by the punch bowl.

After scoring big in fifth grade with the ladies, the steady decline began in sixth and only got worse from there with buck and crooked death and Brillo pad hair. By the end of high school, I suppose I was sneaky cute and it was fifth grade all over again by college (girls not being into messed-up older guys helped).

What does this memory of my Disco Duck years have to do with my latest NFL Mock Draft? Everything, actually.

My latest public Eagles-only 7-round mock, unlike others, included trades. The computer offered me some, and I offered it some.

And, like those dances of yore, I met with a lot of rejections in my offers.

Example: In the first round, I offered the Houston Texans — not exactly beauty queens themselves — the 18th overall pick and a third for the 13th overall pick (Cincinnati corner Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner was still on the board) and a sixth. The answer? A flat no.

And so it went.

Here it goes the Mock Draft, with trades, hot off the presses:

Round 1

Pick 15: George Karlaftis, DE, Purdue (6-4, 270)

Notes: A lot was made of Michigan’s David Ojabo not having a ton of football experience and his ultimate upside, even before his injury. Karlaftis was born in Greece and grew up playing water polo before moving to he US and taking up football in high school. Translation: He is already good, and is still going to get better. I really didn’t like him at first, but he has grown on me.

Then came a trade offer from the Detroit Lions, who were asking for the 18th and 101st picks in exchange for No. 32 and 34. I accepted.

Pick 32: Kenyon Green, OG, Texas A&M (6-4, 325)

Notes: Brandon Brooks is gone, and I’m just not sold on Isaac Seumalo right now being the guy, especially at his salary. Green, at worst, could either start by next season or could be ready by midseason if and when Seumalo gets hurt again.

Round 2

Pick 34: Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State 6-4, 210)

Notes: Passed on the chance to get some wideouts in the first round, instead settling on more sexy picks, and Watson may end up being the best receiver in the draft when it is all said and done. He began the draft process as a Day 3 dark horse and has raised his own stock at every turn. He checks all the boxes for the Birds, in terms of size and his ability to also double as a return man.

Pick 51: Troy Andersen, LB, Montana State (6-4, 240)

Notes: If you like Leighton Vander Esch, despite the uniform he wears, you will love this Swiss Army Knife. Andersen may just be limited to special teams early on while being phased into the defense, but it will be worth the wait. And don’t be shocked, in the interim, if he gets in some snaps on offense on gadget plays.

Round 3

Pick 83: Trey McBride, TE, Colorado State (6-3, 250)

Notes: I have a long list of Day 3 tight ends that I was going to refer to when the time was right, but I was pleasantly surprised to still see my No. 1 tight end still on the board. With all due disrespect to J.J. Arecega-Whiteside, who allegedly converting from receiver to tight end, it was a no-brainer.

Round 4

Pick 134: J.T. Woods, S, Baylor (6-2, 190)

Notes: Like the McBride selection, the value here was too good to pass up, even with some corners on the board. I’m just not sold on the current safeties as anything more than flotation devices. He has improved his stock slightly — from, say, the latter part of Day 3 — by allaying some fears about man coverage in postseason poking and prodding. He is one of the faster safeties in the draft.

Round 5

Pick 154: Dameon Pierce, RB, Florida (5-9, 215)

Notes: I’m still not sure why Jordan Howard was so quickly jettisoned, and I mourn his loss from the roster. Pierce, though, brings some of the same qualities with his compact frame. I’m reminded of the “Weeble Wobble But They Don’t Fall Down” toys of the 1970s.

Pick 166: Tyquan Thornton, WR, Baylor (6-2, 180)

Notes: The kid is 6-2 with 33-inch arms and runs a 4.2 40. He is only 180 pounds and is raw and doesn’t always catch the ball, or double catches it, meaning we could be looking at another John Hightower. Or not. Worth the pick here.

Pick 173: Aqeel Glass, QB, Alabama A&M (6-4, 235)

Notes: Nowhere near ready to play meaningful regular season snaps for a year or two, but the raw tools make him an upgrade at the No. 3 spot on the depth chart.

Round 6

The Eagles currently don’t have a 6th having the swap of picks with the Saints, but I was able to fix that by actually asking a girl to dance and getting a “yes.”

The Patriots accepted a fifth next year for a sixth this year. Seems a steep price, but this draft is deep and the Eagles are awash in picks next year.

Pick 200: Dawson Deaton, C, Texas Tech (6-5, 305)

Notes: He is a former defensive lineman and will bring an attack mentality to Jeff Stoutland’s classroom.

UPDATE: Nate Herbig just resigned with the Eagles, so Deaton is not needed.

NEW PICK 200: Tayland Humphrey, DT, Louisiana (6-5, 350)

Notes: “Big Saucy” will need some refinement, but you can’t teach size, and he has it.

Round 7

Pick 237: Velus Jones, WR, Tennessee (5-11, 200)

Notes: A third receiver seems a bit much, but we just need to trust the board here and go value. Jones lacks some size/speed stuff but plays the right way, grading out as an excellent blocker, and brings needed return skills (as a Plan B for Watson).

Summary: I left the dance with only admiring San Diego State punter Matt Araiza from afar. This means either an undrafted punter (Penn State’s Jordan Stout), or a veteran journeymen fringe guy, to battle it out with incumbent Arryn Siposs,who tailed off horribly last year. I took no corners in a year loaded with them, meaning either a return of someone Steve Nelson (now with Texans) or the younger guys – Zech McPherson, Tay Gowan, Kary Vincent, etc. — battling it out. But fear not, this is not the last dance. I shall return,