MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports A very wise and dear old friend of our family named Woody told me almost five years ago as my mother was near death, “Remember, the biggest bunch of pure (b.s.) you will hear from this point on is, ‘I know what you’re going through …’ “‘No, you don’t know…
MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports As it pertains to conference hopping in college athletics, this much we know — absolutely nothing. Secret deals could be in the works even as we speak. Clandestine meetings could be taking place in a smoky back room of Rick’s (everybody goes to Rick’s). Who knows what the hell is…
MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports We knew it was coming. We just didn’t know what, who and where it would go. As it turns out, it was the University of Southern California and UCLA who wrote the headlines by announcing they would leave the Pac-12 Conference for the Big Ten Conference effective 2024. With it,…
MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports Watching the Baltimore Orioles and the Pittsburgh Pirates this season, one can experience many similar feelings about both clubs that at once can provide hope, but at once can temper any real enthusiasm because of the messed-up (a nice way of putting it) cases of ownership that exist for both…
MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports The first time I saw Buck Jankey was sometime around 1967 or ’68 and he was playing basketball at Johnson Heights playground. Those were the days of some great pick-up basketball at Johnson Heights and all of the playgrounds in the city, or at the Constitution Park or just about…
MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports Whether it’s during the daily constitutional that may take you by Greenway Avenue Stadium or a mere drive by the stadium, it’s easy to see the love, devotion and hunger the city of Cumberland continues to hold for high school football 12 months of the year. Oh, sure, there is…
MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports One thing we like to do around here is engage in unprovable and unwinnable arguments, particularly about local and area sports. We can argue about who the best high school football player was in area history, for instance, until we’re red or blue in the face and compelling and perfectly…
MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports In the beginning, when the Washington Nationals showed up in 2005, MASN Sports played up the interleague games between the Baltimore Orioles and the Nationals to be something more than they were close to being, but did so for obvious business purposes. Originally, each series was billed as the Battle…
MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports For two decades it’s been said to be simply a matter of time. From the moment he retired as a player following the 2001 season Orioles fans have clamored for the now-said-to-be iconic Cal Ripken Jr. to ride to the rescue of their beleaguered and woefully mismanaged baseball franchise on…
MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports The word “legend” is so overused, and most who throw it around (usually ESPN on-air talent) don’t even know what legend is. Here is the first and most basic definition of “legend” by Merriam-Webster: “an old story that is widely believed but cannot be proved to be true” The great…
