New York Post, Friday, March 13, 2020nypost.comT
HIS is alltoo weird.
Tuesday, the sports
column Iplannedto
writefor today seemedto
hold some significance.
Wednesday, theWorld
Health Organization
announced thecoronavi-
rus has become
pandemic.
Andyesterday,
what I expect-
ed to writefor
today, couldn’t
possibly contain
a flakeof signifi-
cance.
Still, I sup-
pose, thatwhile
the Luftwaffe
bombed London,
a fellow on the
radio was reporting crick-
et scores.He was fulfilling
his assignment, histerms
of engagement.
I feel foolish, small, in
my assignment,yet it’smy
assignment. So onwe go:
Apparently, fewin the
thoroughbredracing busi-
nesswere surprisedto learn
Jersey -basedJason Servis,
trainerof cash-cow Maxi-
mum Security, was among
the 27 indicted for a wide-
spread conspiracyto dope
horses then, intoo many
cases, leave their dropped-
dead carcassesto rot.
Servis’ sudden, stunning
success es against the most
accomplished stables and
trainers in thegame havefor se veral years invited
suspicions that hewas
playing with a marked
deck.
Last month, Maximum
Securitywon theworld’s
richestrace, the$20 mil-
lionSaudi Cup, in Saudi
Arabia. Pros-
ecutors now
claim Servis
administered
PEDs “to vir-
tually allrace-
horses in his
control.”
As for others,
the prosecution
revealed atext
message from
trainerNicholas
Surick’s cell-
phone aboutco-defendant
Jorge Navarro, a well-
known trainerwho has
done business with Servis:
“You know how many
[expletive] horses he
[expletive] killed and
broke down and thatI
made disappear? ...You
know how much trouble
he couldget in if they
found out ... the six horses
we killed?”
And aswe’ve seen with
most bilk-the-system con-
spiracies, oncetwo people,
then three, thenfour, then
27 are in the know, the
conspiracy’s lid is pried
looser until it hits thecon-
spirators right between
the eyes.EQUAL TIME
Phil Mushnick
THEpass ing ofEd Ingles, last
week at 87, brought asweet stream
of memories andgratitudefor
a man,first as the sports direc-
tor at WCBS-AM then as the chief
mentor-in-residenceat Hofstra’ s
radio station, WRHU,where hewas
always generous with his time and
wisdom.
Ingleswas thegreatest common
denominator in launching dozens
of internships and careers in media.➤Common sense andcollegebas-
ketballtelecastsremain strangers.
DuringSaturday’s Kansas-Texas
Tech, CBS sidelinereporterKris
Buddin, ac companiedby a graphic
that read. “All Roads LeadTo Lub-
bock,”was delightedto state that
five of TT’splayers are fromfar-
flungplaces:Cameroon,Italy, Rus-
sia, theCongo andFrance.She then cheerfullyadded that in
the lockerroom, “four differe nt lan-
guages are spoken.”
OK, but give us more.
Having beenrecruitedto play
basketball inNorthwest Texas, ho w
manyof the five speak enough Eng-
lish to take classes, succeed in them
and then matriculate? Don’t leave us
to guess.
EarlierSaturday, duringKen-
tucky-Florida, CBS’sIan Eagl esaid
that UF’s 6- 10 Kerry Blackshear
“is agraduate transfer fromVa.
Tech.” He left itat that.
But that means that Blackshear
is enrolledat UF as agrad stu-
dent, ostensibly in pursuitof his
Masters degree. Why nottell us in
what?
Or is it that he, and so many other
“grad transfers” have basketball or
football eligibilityto exhaust, andthe academic angle is just another
loophole, anothercon?➤Greed Kills,Case, 2,940: As did
many lastweek, readerRichLeary
received a missive from theJets car-
rying their latest special “Limited
Time” ticketsoffer:
A $100 gift card with the purchase
of season tickets.
Leary’sreply: “Really? Andyou
once triedto charge me $50 annu-
ally for the privilegeof being on
your ticketswaiting list.My, how
the tabl es have turned.
“I’m sorry but a $100 gift card is
not going to cover your PSLs, ticket
prices, outrageousparking fees,
overpricedconcessions and must-
buy preseasongame tickets.You’re
donegouging this sucker.
“Take a hike!”
The Jets no doubtplaced hisresponse in the “undecided” bin.
But here’s hoping Learycc’d
Roger“PSLs Are Good Invest-
ments”Goodell.➤As Creighton beat Seton Hallto
a looseball on the floorSaturday,
Fox analystDonny Marshallgave
solidadvice in threewords: “Low
man wins.”➤Seems thecoronavirus pulled
the plug on this timeof season, nor-
mallywhen NBAplayers let every-
one know how unhappy they are
playing for theirteam.➤Sick worl d in so manyways. My
email inbox has been pervaded by
come-ons pitching immunologists
and other medicalexperts seeking
to exploit thecoronavirusfor some
shameless ink, some publicity.NY radio icon Ingles was one of the greats
DON’T know ifJeff Van
Gundy, Sunday on ABC/
ESPN, was experiencing
a selective memory, if he
doesn’t embarrass easily or if
he was in the moodfor mind-
less pandering.
But, without knowingwhat
went on, hegot all over a ref
for doing his job and clearly
doing itwell.
Early against theClippers,
the Lakers’Avery Bradley
followed an inside shotby
getting right into defender
Patrick Beverley’s face,
taunting and hollering. If he
was lookingto start trou-
ble, refereeTre Maddox
wouldn’tplay along.
Maddox, unlikeVan Gun-
dy, was right thereto hear it
and see it, thus hit Bradley
with aT.
Van Gundy jumped in with
protests, stating Bradley did
nothing wrong, claiming, “we
need more like that because
thatwas about intensity.”
MarkJacksonagreed.
We hear similartoo often
during MLBtelecasts,when
the announcers trash an ump
for ejecting aplayer or man-
ager without knowingwhat
happened and/or what was
said.
And perhapsVan Gundy,
as the 5-foot-9 coach of the
1998 Knicks,forgot where
such intensityplaced him in
a playoff game against the
Heat:
Sprawled on thecourt and
clutchingAlonzo Mourn-
ing’s leg to prevent being
trampled in a brawl caused
by such “intensity.”
JVG’s
intense
situation
BUSINESS
AS UNUSUAL
In trying times,
thoroughbred
scandal sadly
not surprising
JASON SERVISGRIFT HORSE:Maximum Security won the Saudi Arabia Cup, the richest
horse race in the world, but his trainer, Jason Servis, is under indictment for
conspiracy to dope horses. AP (2)TAKE IT EASY:JeffVan
Gundy seemed to forget
the trouble he could get
into for the intensity he
used to show as the
Knicks coach.Jason Szenes