Carroll’s Column: A Celebration at MSG for St. John’s

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Sports Carroll’s Column: A Celebration at MSG for St. John’s by Lloyd Carroll March 3, 2025 Image Credit: Robert Rizzo/Latino Sports NEW YORK, NY — There was a celebration at Madison Square Garden this past Saturday as the St. John’s Red Storm clinched the outright Big East Conference regular season title in front of their loyal fan base and all of New York City. St. John’s University Red Storm men’s basketball fans have not had as much reason to be excited about the arrival of March since Chris Mullin and Walter Berry were leading the then Redman to the Final Four in 1985. Forty years later, head coach Rick Pitino will be coaching the Big East regular season champs, and he hopes there will be more celebrations coming. Image Credit: St. John’s Men’s Basketball The first postseason test for the Red Storm will be next week’s Big East Tournament which begins Wednesday and runs through Saturday night’s championship game. The Red Storm have proven to be Madison Square Garden’s best home team. Unlike the Knicks, they beat the tough competition in their conference such as the Creighton Blue Jays, the Marquette Golden Eagles, and the University of Connecticut Wolfpack. If the Red Storm are not one of the two teams playing for the Big East title next Saturday night, it will be a big disappointment. Teams contending for NBA titles have at least three major stars on their roster. I am not a college hoops expert, but I have a feeling the same can be said for NCAA teams. Nevertheless, the Red Storm trio of guards RJ Luis Jr. and Kadary Richmond, and forward Zuby Ejiofor are a very solid trio. Image Credit: Tomasso DeRosa/Latino Sports All Rick Pitino coached teams are known for playing tenacious defense, and this year’s Red Storm team is not an exception. If they have an area of weakness, it is their offense which can often go stone cold. Their awful free throw shooting has caused fans to reach for antacids. It was poor shooting which led to a loss to a mediocre Villanova team last month. No matter what happens at next week’s Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament, the Red Storm will be participating in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, better known to most as “March Madness.” Last year, the NCAA selection committee opted to exclude the Red Storm from their pageant. Image Credit: Tomasso DeRosa/Latino Sports That controversial omission angered everyone at St. John’s, and it did not make the tournament’s broadcasting partners, CBS and Warner Media, happy either since a New York team is ratings gold for them. “Rick Pitino: Red Storm Rising” on VICE TV The 2023 hiring of Rick Pitino finally made the Red Storm relevant after all too many years. Vice TV is the quirky cable television network owned by Vice Media which went through a recent period of financial turbulence. It sees sports documentaries as a profitable path, and the network has made a big bet on Queens’ college basketball team with a Tuesday night documentary series titled “Rick Pitino: Red Storm Rising.” Image Credit: Vice TV In one episode, Pitino discusses growing up in Cambria Heights and revisits the neighborhood. He returns to Cabbell Park where he says he played basketball every day until sunset regardless of the weather. “For the Win: NWSL” on Prime Video Prime Video is launching a four-part documentary on women’s professional soccer titled “For the Win: NWSL.” The National Women’s Soccer League has benefitted from the rich legacy of women’s soccer in this country over the last 25 years thanks to stars as Mia Hamm, Carli Lloyd, and the recently retired Alex Morgan who serves as an executive producer of “For the Win.” The NWSL should also be thanking the WNBA’s Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and the recently retired Diana Taurasi, and her friend, Christ the King HS alum Sue Bird, who all have made male sports fans take a sincere interest in women’s athletics. Image Credit: Prime Video “For the Win” gives significant airtime to Marta, who is Brazil’s distaff answer to the late Pele, and to up and coming Washington Spirits star Tracy Rodman, who is the daughter of flamboyant NBA legend Dennis Rodman. Former Giants QB Eli Manning serves as an executive producer as well. He became interested in the NWSL because his kids are huge fans of the league’s New York franchise, Gotham FC. Eli and his family are seen chatting with the Gotham FC coaching staff and players before the start of a 2024 playoff game. Mets’ Injury Update The Mets will be without one of their heroes from last season when the 2025 campaign begins. Starting pitcher Sean Manaea’s spring training ended when it was revealed he has a strained right oblique. Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports Initial reports are he will be ready to return in May, but I remain skeptical. Injuries to Mets pitchers always seem to keep them out of action far longer than the initial return projection date. Emmanuel Berbari to host WFAN’s Yankees’ postgame show in 2025 The Yankees have announced that Emmanuel Berbari will be handling their postgame shows on WFAN. Berbari did a tremendous job filling in for John Sterling when he abruptly decided to retire last May. Dave Sims will be handling the radio play-by-play this season. Image Credit: Maz Adams/Latino Sports The Yankees also announced they will no longer play Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” after home losses. Sinatra fans need not fret, however. The team will play other songs from the Sinatra catalog such as “That’s Life.” Remembering and Paying Tribute to Al Trautwig Al Trautwig was a local television sports fixture for years. He is best remembered for hosting a knicks and Rangers pre and postgame shows on the MSG Network. He took some heat from local newspaper sports media beat reporters as Phil Mushnick and Bob Raissman for never criticizing the home teams. While there was some merit to that, my take is Trautwig saw himself as an avuncular figure who wanted his viewers to feel upbeat about their teams. Trautwig did a lot of work with the United States Tennis Association and was quite visible during the US Open. I remember him hosting a Q&A session in front of Louis Armstrong Stadium with recently retired American men’s player Taylor Dent. After I asked Dent a question about the state of American tennis, Trautwig quickly piped in with a smile, “Be careful answering that question, Taylor. He is a sportswriter!” Image Credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images Al Trautwig lost his valiant battle against cancer and other illnesses last week. He was 68. Frank E. Campbell’s Rededication The mortuary to the stars, the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel on the Upper East Side, commemorated its 125 th anniversary, and recent remodeling, with a rededication ceremony last Thursday. The keynote speaker was Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Dolan was the Archbishop of Milwaukee before relocating to New York, and he is a huge fan of the Milwaukee Brewers. When I told him we met a few years ago before a Brewers-Mets game at Citi Field, he joked, “The Brewers need a prayer! I hope I did not have mustard on my collar!” You cannot enjoy a baseball game without a hot dog no matter who you are. While the Campbell Funeral Chapel is famous for hosting farewell services for many entertainers, politicians, and media figures, it has also served those in the sports world. According to Wikipedia, the funerals for Arthur Ashe and Billy Martin were held there. Gene Hackman (1930-2025) Gene Hackman had many great roles, but the one most baby boomers will remember him for is that of New York City detective Eddie Doyle in the 1972 Academy Award-winner, “The French Connection.” Image Credit: IMDb The film was legendary for its car chase scenes under a Brooklyn elevated subway line. Hackman did most of the stunt driving in that lengthy scene. RIP Roberta Flack The first time I remember hearing the voice of the late Roberta Flack was also in 1972 when her hit single, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” was played all over Top 40 radio stations. I was not a fun of the slow and moody ballad until I saw its context in the terrific Clint Eastwood film, “Play Misty for Me.” Eastwood, who directed the film, smartly used it for a lengthy scene in which he was along a central California Pacific coast beach with his love interest in the film, Donna Mills. Starz and Prime Video set to Team Up In a further sign of how cable television networks are worried about cord cutters who prefer streaming services, BET, which is celebrating its 45 th anniversary, and the premium film network, Starz, are teaming up with Prime Video to offer a subscription bundle to consumers. You can read more of Lloyd Carroll’s columns posted weekly on The Queens Chronicle. Related Topics Al Trautwig BET Big East Big East Conference Campbell Funeral Chapel College Basketball College Hoops Emmanuel Berbari For the Win: NWSL Gene Hackman Madison Square Garden Major League Baseball Mets MLB MSG NCAA New York Mets New York Yankees Prime Video Red Storm Rick Pitino Roberta Flack Sean Manaea St. Johns St. Johns Red Storm St. Johns University Starz The French Connection Vice TV WFAN Yankees Click to comment Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. 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