Big Threes, Brady, and other thoughts

Just thought I’d empty out my reporter’s notebook while celebrating The Spinners' nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ...

*Kudos to St. Thomas More Prep boys basketball coach Jere Quinn and his staff for raising over $1,000 for the Tom Konchalski Foundation at Tuesday’s doubleheader. The games between St. Thomas More, Putnam Science Academy, and the NBA Academy Africa and Global teams before a standing-room-only crowd at the old barn on Cottage Road in Oakdale were entertaining and energetic and featured a number of future collegiate and perhaps even NBA stars.

Konchalski, a New York City native and legendary high school basketball scout, passed away in February of 2021 at the age of 74.

“I knew Tom when I was in high school at Archbishop Malloy (Queens, NY),” Quinn said. “He was older and always someone you kind of knew but didn’t really know. Over the years, we became great friends.”

Konchalski, a fellow Fordham grad, is a nominee for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and Quinn wrote a moving recommendation letter on behalf of Tom to the Hall of Fame committee.

“My involvement in this sport has offered me the opportunity to meet and befriend many fine individuals. Tom Konchalski was the finest,” Quinn wrote. “He was humble, brilliant, creative, knowledgeable, respected, trusted, and revered. He was simply the greatest evaluator of talent the basketball world has ever produced while remaining a humble person. Tom was the stimulus and role model for today’s growing world of player evaluations, and he did it simply for the player without ever requesting fiscal rewards. In this field, Tom is simply the GOAT.”

*Another GOAT named Tom … I was a little surprised by Tom Brady’s retirement announcement. Why? Because at the ripe old age of 45, he’s still one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. Let that sink in. At age 45, playing one of the toughest positions in sports, Brady had a season in which he passed for 4,694 yards, tossed 25 touchdowns with only nine interceptions, and led the league in both pass completions (490) and pass attempts (733). Oh, and his team won a division title.

The only question left now is this: Is Tom Brady the No. 1 sports GOAT of all time?

*SCENE OF THE CRIME …  The Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles is being played on Feb. 12 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Yup, the same venue where on Feb. 3, 2008, the undefeated New England Patriots lost their chance to become the greatest football team of all time by losing the Super Bowl to Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning, and the New York Football Giants. I was all ready to order the 19-0 Patriot coffee mugs and T-shirts. (State Farm is also where Taylor Swift is opening her blockbuster Eras Tour on March 17).

*TRIVIA: What do Hank Aaron, Roger Staubach, Don Cherry, Darrell Waltrip, Craig Morton and Cristiano Ronaldo have in common? (Answer below).

*When Breanna Stewart signed with the New York Liberty this week, WNBA fans were quick to point out that with the former UConn and Seattle Storm legend joining former league MVP Jonquel Jones, who the Liberty recently acquired in a trade from the Connecticut Sun, and All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu, the basketball world has a brand new “Big Three.”

We all know the greatest basketball ‘Big Three’ resided in Boston for 12 seasons. Yup, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish were unstoppable almost every night. In fact, there’s much debate on whether the 1986 Boston Celtics were the greatest team of all time.

Anyway, Stewart, Jones, and Ionescu got me thinking about my favorite Big Threes. They are, in no particular order:

John Miller, Gerry Corcoran, Brian Reale: Boston College High School trio gave Patrick Ewing and Cambridge Rindge and Latin all they could handle in the 1981 Massachusetts state basketball final.

Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge, Wayne Cashman: The Boston Bruins top line in the early 1970s. One of the highest scoring lines in NHL history. Popular bumper sticker in Boston: Jesus saves, Esposito scores on the rebound!

Mo, Larry, Curly: The Three Stooges. Pure comedic genius.

Jimmy Fox, Dale Peters, Joe Walsh: Funk #49. Walk Away. Rock and Roll power trios don’t come any better than the James Gang.

Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford, Don Meredith: The greatest Monday Night Football broadcast crew ever assembled. And the only one that mattered. Turn out the lights, the party’s over.

Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett: Charlie’s Angels. Gave new meaning to the term “Must See TV.”

*How about the Fordham men’s basketball team? After spending the past two decades toiling near the Atlantic 10 basement, Rose Hill’s new “Wonder Five” are 18-4 overall and 6-3 in league play following their 75-65 victory over Saint Louis last Tuesday night before a sold-out crowd in the Bronx.

The resurgent Rams have won five straight A-10 games for the first time since 2007.

I love the Rose Hill Gymnasium. It was built when the inventor of basketball James Naismith was still alive. But with only 3,200 seats, tickets to a Fordham hoop game are suddenly the hottest ducats in the Big Apple.

*TRIVIA ANSWER: Aaron, Staubach, Cherry, Waltrip, Morton, and Ronaldo were born on Feb. 5. I’m also celebrating a birthday today and it was always kind of fun growing up knowing I shared a birthday with the Home Run King and Roger the Dodger.

*STUCK IN THE ‘70s: On Feb. 5, 1975, the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, 92-90, before a capacity crowd of 10,938 at the UW-Milwaukee’s Panther Pavilion. Dave Cowens had a triple-double with 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Jo Jo White added 18 points as the Celts improved to 37-14. The Bucks were led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had 29 points and 22 rebounds. Four months later, Jabbar was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Elmore Smith, Junior Bridgeman, Brian Winters and David Meyers.

Jimmy Zanor can be reached at jzanor@norwichbulletin.com.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Big Threes, Brady, and other thoughts