BOWLING

Cohen understood the fans’ desire to see some folks get fired, but he figured it would be like putting a new captain on the Titanic after it hit the iceberg and was sinking. Cohen was worried about attracting top-tier talent to the Mets if he were to pink slip people at the first sign of trouble. He also expressed his desire to hire a president of baseball operations which certainly was not a vote of confidence for current general manager Billy Eppler. He also bashed the Mets previous ownership group, the Wilpon family, for failing to invest in the Mets minor league system, particularly in technology and scouting. “The Mets were always known for developing great pitching through their farm system. Why has that stopped?” he asked rhetorically.

The National League won its first All-Star Game since 2012 as they defeated the American League by a score of 3-2, thanks to a pinch-hit two-run homer by Colorado Rockies catcher Elias Diaz. While it is easy to poke fun at the MLB All-Star Game, it is still the best of any of the major sports. FOX Sports claims the game attracted over 7 million viewers.

For years, the NBA Summer League attracted the interest of only the most passionate hoops fans. After all, the games were played by rookies and castoffs hoping to attract the attention of NBA scouts. This year was a different story as ESPN and TNT drew record numbers because of the arrival of 7’5” French player Victor Wembanyama. There was certainly more interest in the NBA Draft, held at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, because of him. The

Get Out And Watch The Pros

Most fans enjoy Professional Bowling Association (PBA) tournaments on television, but as with other sports, there’s nothing like getting out and watching the action live and in person. Coming up are several PBA East regional tournaments.

If you feel like venturing upstate, there’s a popular one returning on September 22 through 24 at Kingpins Family Fun Center in South Glens Falls, located about an hour north of Albany.

The Kingpins Alley Family Fun Center RPI Open will featuretop pros from throughout the Eastern United States, as the name of the segment suggests. Other regional PBA East events include The PBA Bowlers Supply/Storm Open on August 4 through 6 in York, Pennsylvania, and The PBA 50 (formerly known as the seniors tour) Strike Zone open on September 1 through 3 in Pottsville, Pennsylvania.

Recent PBA East action has seen such popular PBA pros as Alex Cavagnaro of Massapequa win the PBA Yankee Lanes Open on June 4 in Manchester, New Hampshire. The East tour has also seen legends such as Ryan Shafer and Walter Ray Williams Jr. take part, as well as area stars such as Ray Edwards and Timothy Regan take part.

For a complete list of PBA events, log on to PBA.com

NBA also got tons of unexpected free publicity for its Summer League when Britney Spears claimed a security guard on Wembanyama’s security detail hit her when she was trying to approach him in a Las Vegas hotel.

Kudos to Showtime for its three-part documentary, “Goliath,” which told the life story of the late Wilt Chamberlain. There is little doubt Chamberlain was the biggest star of the NBA’s first 25 years.

By Bob Smith

‘NATURAL’ BOWLING BALL CLEANING?

For years, we’ve asked the question: What exactly is in your favorite bowling ball cleaner or polish? Now, at least one brand fesses up: New to the market is Hammer Black Magic Bowling Ball Polish, which the company is touting as the first “natural” bowling ball polish.

From Hammer: “This revolutionary product polishes all performance-level balls and will not alter the peaks and valleys that make up the surface of the ball. Retains energy for increased down-lane motion.

Formula is Ultimate Black Magic reverse engineered using plant-based products.” In that light, consider: This polish is actually a USDA-certified biobased product (92 percent).

This new Black Magic Polish comes in an eight-ounce bottle and should be hitting area pro shops any moment now – as well as a new “clean” ball cleaner, Hammer Clear Magic. This marks the first and only bowling ball cleaner available in a convenient disolvable sheet. This plant-based cleaner, according to Hammer, provides “amazing cleaning power without harming the environment.” must be envious of the success Amazon Prime is having streaming. “Thursday Night Football” will be showcasing those who play pro football’s most glamorous position, “Quarterback.” The lives of Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins, and Marcus Mariota on and off the field will be profiled.

Clear Magic reduces plastic waste by using refill sheets to eliminate single-use bottles. Bowlers can now quickly replenish this cleaner anywhere with a refill sheet and water. Refills are sold separately in three-sheet resealable packs.

Our verdict: For years, this column has asked “What exactly IS in bowling ball cleaner” to many companies, only to get no response. If these products are truly environmentally friendly, they’ll be our first choice in ball cleaning from this point on. Oh – and you should clean your ball after competition. Every time. Seriously.

By Lloyd Carroll

He was a household name in an era when few sporting figures were pop culture figures the way movie, TV, and rock stars were. Chamberlain was a Republican who was friendly with Richard Nixon but was also active in the civil rights movement. And yes, he will always be remembered for his claim of bedding more than 20,000 women. To be fair, Wilt did everything big.

The New York Jets will be featured on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” for the first time since 2010. The scuttlebutt was no NFL team wanted the distraction of having HBO camera crews filming their every move during training camp. Interestingly, former Jets head coach, and current ESPN NFL analyst, Rex Ryan loved the national attention “Hard Knocks” gave him. He relished dropping F-bombs and other curses as a way of driving home a point to players. I doubt the current Jets head coach, Robert Saleh, will be nearly as entertaining.

The NFL has two new electronic media partners. The CW, which has gotten its sports feet wet broadcasting LIV Golf tournaments, will be the new home for “Inside The NFL” which moves from Showtime. It originally aired on HBO. Netflix

ESPN’s annual awards show, the ESPYs, got a three-hour airing on ABC last month. The strike by the Writers Guild of America forced ESPN to use a variety of presenters instead of a unifying master of ceremonies. ESPN’s most recent, and controversial talent acquisition, Pat McAfee handled the opening monolog deftly and displayed a quick ad-lib wit. ESPN CEO Jimmy Pitaro had to breathe a huge sigh of relief, especially coming off the recent well-publicized layoffs at the Worldwide Leader of Sports.

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who suffered cardiac arrest during a January playoff games with the Cincinnati Bengals, teared up when presenting the Pat Tillman Award for Service ESPY.

ESPN also paid tribute to the late Jim Valvano who was a star athlete at Seaford High School, on the

30th anniversary of his passionate “Never give up!” speech at the 1993 ESPYs. Valvano was battling terminal cancer. His speech that night ranks just behind Lou Gehrig’s July 4, 1939 “Luckiest man in the world” speech at Yankee Stadium, as the most memorable by a sports figure in my opinion.

A rain delay did not stop America’s greatest athlete, Joey Chestnut, from winning the July 4th Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. Chestnut claimed his 16th Nathan’s Yellow Mustard Belt, which is the most prestigious championship in all of sports.