Year: 2019

After gracing this website with periodic contributions since its launch in 2018, Hal Bock — who previously spent 30-plus years as a sports reporter for the Associated Press — has decided to retire his Bock’s Score column. The arrival of a milestone birthday, he says, has convinced him to step back from writing. We thank…Continue Reading Bidding Farewell to Bock’s Score

By Hal Bock.    Football’s favorite soap opera, “As the Jets World Turns,’’ spun again the other day when ownership decided it had enough of general manager Mike Maccagnan and fired him. This was three weeks after Maccagnan presided over the Jets’ draft choices and reconstructed the roster. Wait. What? It was another example of an…Continue Reading Bock’s Score — Leave Jets’ Chaos Behind with New Account of Glory Days

By Hal Bock.  Equipped with an army of attorneys, the National Concussion League relishes defending itself in the various litigations filed against the richest entity in sports. The attitude when interlopers choose to challenge the Concussion League is often “Bring it on!’’ You could fill a legal textbook with the winning arguments that left litigants…Continue Reading Bock’s Score — Kaepernick Brings League to Its Knees

By Hal Bock. Baseball’s gremlins, the tinkerers who hide in corners waiting for their moment, are back messing with the world’s greatest game, determined to change it to their own whims. The first target was the designated hitter and an effort to unify the rule so that the two leagues agree. That is a worthwhile…Continue Reading Bock’s Score — Tinkering Threatens the National Pastime

By Hal Bock. What if some day, the National Concussion League gave a Super Bowl and the most exciting part were the television ads that carried a price tag of $5.25 million per 30 seconds? Welcome to Super Bowl LIII, the lowest scoring game in the history of the overblown affair that sells tickets at…Continue Reading Bock’s Score — Super Bowl LIII? Good Grief

By Hal Bock. It’s not like we have to run a benefit for major league baseball players anytime soon. Not with a minimum salary of $555,000 for the 25th man on the roster. The fact of the matter, however, is that major league payrolls dropped last season. Heavens to Marvin Miller. There was an $18…Continue Reading Bock’s Score — Time to Pass the Hat for MLB Players?

By Hal Bock Mariano Rivera’s election to the Hall of Fame was like so many of his 652 saves. Perfect. Rivera was a no-brain choice and swept all 425 ballots, becoming the first unanimous choice to reach Cooperstown. Nobody deserved it more. He was an almost automatic closer, armed with a killer cutter that left…Continue Reading Bock’s Score 2/1/19 — Unlike Rivera, Many HOF Cases ‘Mo’ Murky

By Hal Bock. Now that Harold Baines has been elected to the Hall of Fame (Harold Baines? Really?) it might be a good time for the committee voters who slipped him in Cooperstown’s back door to consider the credentials of Gil Hodges. After serving with the Marines in the Pacific during World War II and…Continue Reading Bock’s Score 1/28/19 — Gil Hodges Deserves HOF Call

By Hal Bock. Why does Bill Belichick always look like he has a stomach ache? Get this man a bottle of Pepto-Bismol. Make it extra strength. No matter what is happening on the field with his New England Patriots, Belichick’s face is set in a permanent grimace. Win regular season games, win playoff games, win…Continue Reading Bock’s Score 1/16/19 – Hey, Coach Belichick, Why the Face?

By Hal Bock. If only Babe Ruth could look down on baseball today and listen to the observations of some modern players about the game he dominated, the Babe would enjoy a huge belly laugh. Ruth, of course, is baseball royalty, a slugger of legendary proportions who hit 714 home runs, the third most in…Continue Reading Bock’s Score 12/26/18 – Ruth’s Prowess Can’t Be ‘Diss’missed