Hoops Heaven

My Losing Season, Renaud's, Batdorf & Rodney, Sensational Scorers, Parking Paradox

Mar 26, 2024

Welcome to my weekly newsletter. This week’s issue includes famous people born on my birthday, a basketball memoir, a bakery with sweets and sandwiches, an acoustic duo who performed in our living room, hoops heroes, and a Parking Paradox. I hope you like the picks and pics.

The tournament has begun, and with it, the usual array of upsets, blowouts, and thrillers. All four of my dream Final Four teams won their first games, but Northwestern, Michigan State, and Oakland lost in the second round. Northwestern was torched by top overall seed UConn. Against North Carolina, MSU got off to an early 12-point lead, which had Tracy and me talking about a possible trip to LA for the West Regional. But the Spartans fell apart and lost to the Tar Heels, who improved to 6-0 against State in tournament history. Oakland took NC State to overtime but couldn’t pull off a second upset. Only Creighton advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, so that is the team I will continue rooting for. The Fighting Illini of Illinois are my pick to win the championship, and if they do, my friends Jeri and Kyle Johnson, both of whom went to school there, will be very happy.

One small consolation is that after the first three days of the tournament, I sat all alone in first place in Roger’s bracket group. I was able to savor my lofty perch for half a day before falling into a tie for fifth place at the end of the first two rounds. It took a miraculous double-overtime win by the Creighton Bluejays on Saturday to secure my ephemeral first-place spot. That was one of five overtime games in this year’s tournament so far. Here is the full list, featuring three of my four teams:

Wednesday (First Four): Grambling 88, Montana State 81 (OT)
Friday: Northwestern 77, Florida Atlantic 65 (OT)
Saturday: Creighton 86, Oregon 73 (2 OT)
Saturday: NC State 79, Oakland 73 (OT)
Sunday: Houston 100, Texas A&M 95 (OT)

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Fave Five 78: Hoops Heaven

Citadel’s Conroy (My Losing Season), Sweet & Savory (Renaud’s Patisserie & Bistro), Batdorf & Rodney, Sensational Scorers (Jermaine Couisnard, Jaedon LeDee, Mark Sears, Terrence Shannon, Jr., Jack Gohlke), and a Parking Paradox.

Fave Five Lists: Born on My Birthday

Today is National Spinach Day, and it is also my 71st birthday. Here are four lists of others born on March 26, including the years they were born and the groups the musicians were part of.

Marvelous Musicians

Diana Ross 1944 (The Supremes)
John Batdorf 1952 (Batdorf & Rodney - this week’s featured musicians)
Steven Tyler 1948 (Aerosmith)
the late Alan Arkin 1934 (The Tarriers, The Baby Sitters)
the late Fred Parris 1936 (The Five Satins)

Sports Stars

Actors

the late Leonard Nimoy 1931
the late James Caan 1940
Martin Short 1950
Keira Knightley 1985
Michael Imperioli 1966

Writers and Public Servants

the late Robert Frost 1874
the late Tennessee Williams 1911
Bob Woodward 1943
Nancy Pelosi 1940
the late Sandra Day O'Connor 1930

Honorable Mention: Eli Savit 1983 (clerked for Sandra Day O’Connor; played basketball with Roger for Kalamazoo College)

Book Best Bet

My Losing Season by Pat Conroy

I have read six of Pat Conroy’s books and seen the movie adaptations of four of them. They are all great.

The combination of a favorite author writing about my favorite sport was irresistible, and I devoured the book when it was published 22 years ago. It was sad to read about what he had to endure from his father and his coach, but his story is inspiring.

From Amazon: A deeply affecting coming-of-age memoir about family, love, loss, basketball—and life itself—by the beloved author of The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini.

During one unforgettable season as a Citadel cadet, Pat Conroy becomes part of a basketball team that is ultimately destined to fail. And yet for a military kid who grew up on the move, the Bulldogs provide a sanctuary from the cold, abrasive father who dominates his life—and a crucible for becoming his own man.

With all the drama and incandescence of his bestselling fiction, Conroy re-creates his pivotal senior year as captain of the Citadel Bulldogs. He chronicles the highs and lows of that fateful 1966–67 season, his tough disciplinarian coach, the joys of winning, and the hard-won lessons of losing. Most of all, he recounts how a group of boys came together as a team, playing a sport that would become a metaphor for a man whose spirit could never be defeated.

“A superb accomplishment, maybe the finest book Pat Conroy has written.”—The Washington Post Book World
“A wonderfully rich memoir that you don’t have to be a sports fan to love.”—Houston Chronicle
“A memoir with all the Conroy trademarks . . . Here’s ample proof that losers always tell the best stories.”—Newsweek
“In My Losing Season, Conroy opens his arms wide to embrace his difficult past and almost everyone in it.”—New York Daily News
“Haunting, bittersweet and as compelling as his bestselling fiction.”—Boston Herald

the late Pat Conroy

From Wikipedia: Donald Patrick Conroy (born October 26, 1945 in Atlanta; died March 4, 2016 in Beaufort, South Carolina) was an American author who wrote several acclaimed novels and memoirs; his books The Water is Wide, The Lords of Discipline, The Prince of Tides, and The Great Santini were made into films, the last two being nominated for Oscars. He is recognized as a leading figure of late-20th-century Southern literature.

Pat Conroy's Weekend | PDF — Pat Conroy is number 22 at the far right

Restaurant Recommendation

Renaud’s Patisserie & Bistro 3315 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105

We first ate at Renaud’s at their downtown location during our first visit to Santa Barbara in 2015. Barb’s brother Buzz and sister-in-law Lauren sent us a gift certificate to use during our Christmas trip. When we presented the piece of paper containing the gift info, Renaud’s didn’t recognize it. But they honored it anyway, which is how customer service should always work.

Last year I returned there to buy Julian a croissant. This was his choice to tide him over while waiting for our lunch to arrive at nearby Carlitos Café y Cantina, where my family and my brother David were dining outside.

This year we have been to the location near us on Upper State three times. Barb and I had lunch there, we took our friends Bill and Cora Sterling there on a mini sweet roll crawl, and we met our friends Barbara and Ben Eisley there on Saturday for coffee and pastries. Both the sandwiches and the pastries were delectable.

Sweet

While waiting for our sandwiches, Barb and I split the Cinnamon Hazelnut Maple Roll: Buttery croissant dough swirled with cinnamon, chopped hazelnuts, and lightly brushed with a maple glaze. It is so good that I ordered it again on Saturday.

Barb went with an Almond Croissant: According to Renaud’s, “This is it! This is what everybody's talking about!” A butter croissant filled with almond cream and toasted sliced almonds on top with a sweet icing.

Savory

I had the “Au Jus” Pork Sandwich: Roasted pork sandwich topped with Gruyere cheese, cabbage, pepperoncini, Fresno chiles, pickled red onion, and chives. Served á la carte on a toasted baguette with a side of au jus.

Barb had the Oven Roasted Chicken Sandwich: Bacon, caramelized onions, aged Gruyère, and fresh spinach on Renaud’s soft roll. Served with an organic mixed green salad.

Marvelous Musicians

Batdorf & Rodney

Today is John Batdorf’s 72nd birthday. He is exactly one year older than me.

The History Of Batdorf and Rodney (The Batdorf Version) — John Batdorf and Mark Rodney

In my recent lists of favorite acoustic guitarists, I could have included Mark Rodney. When I was a freshman at Northwestern University in 1972, I was browsing in a record store in Evanston, Illinois. I saw the album shown below with two long-haired guys and an acoustic guitar on the cover, so I bought their 1971 debut Off The Shelf. When I listened to the record in my dorm room, it reminded me of America, a new band with the hit song "A Horse With No Name." I loved the guitar jams and harmonies on Off The Shelf and became a fan of Batdorf & Rodney.

After I transferred to Washington University in St. Louis in 1972, I found their second album Batdorf & Rodney in the KFUR library. KFUR was a carrier-current radio station broadcasting only to the dorms. Their third album, 1975's Life is You, was softer and less jam-based, but great in its own way. I love all three of these records.

On October 4, 2007, Batdorf & Rodney performed in our home. This was one of their rare performances together after they had broken up in 1975. One of our guests brought his LP copy of Off The Shelf for them to sign. It was a memorable concert.

I saw John perform solo at The Kent Stage in Kent, Ohio on April 9, 2010 on a triple bill with Jon Pousette-Dart and Aztec Two-Step.

From Wikipedia: Batdorf & Rodney were an early-1970s folk rock duo consisting of John Batdorf and Mark Rodney. The two began performing in the summer of 1970 in Las Vegas. They toured extensively with many of the most famous acts of the 1970s. Their tours included playing at Carnegie Hall. They issued three albums on three different labels between 1971 and 1975, logging two chart hits during their final year after signing with Arista Records. Their self-titled second album featured the track "Home Again," an FM radio staple that at 6:30 was perhaps too long to be a hit single. A track from their third album, "You Are a Song," written by Jim Weatherly, was released as a single and reached number 87 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 during the summer of 1975. It also reached #19 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart.

Their other hit, a non-album single, was an early version of "Somewhere in the Night," which reached number 69 in December of that year. Issued concurrently with Helen Reddy's version, the song became a Top 40 hit for her in 1976 and a Top 10 hit for Barry Manilow in 1979. Another song, "All I Need," reached the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart in 1973, peaking at #79.

Batdorf & Rodney disbanded in 1975. Remaining with Arista, Batdorf soon formed the group Silver then released "Wham Bam" in 1976, the most successful single of his career, which reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2008, the duo reunited to record an album titled Still Burnin'.

John Batdorf

John Batdorf (born March 26, 1952) is an American singer and songwriter from Yellow Springs, Ohio. Nephew of Earl Batdorf, aka Earl Scott, a Country singer who charted several hits during the mid-1960s.

Batdorf came from a musical family, he had originally aspired to play professional baseball. However, these dreams were crushed following his being stricken with osteomyelitis (OM), an infection of the bones, at age 11. It was necessary for him to be in a full-body cast for a year, and he was told that he would never be able to play competitive sports again. Out of boredom he picked up a guitar and began to learn, and then the piano, giving him a new set of musical aspirations.

Mark Rodney

Mark Rodney grew up in a show business family and was a child actor with many credits. The son of famous jazz trumpeter, Red Rodney (who was a featured character in Clint Eastwood's Bird (1988), the story of Charlie Parker). A musician himself, he signed a record contract in 1970, at age 19, with the folk/rock duo Batdorf and Rodney, and recorded 3 albums. In 1980, he resumed acting in bit-parts, and had a jazz radio show in Las Vegas.

Somewhere In The Night

Life Is You

Can You See Him?

Live at Kent Stage Part 1

Live at Kent Stage Part 2

My Playlist

Sports Stars

Sensational Scorers

There were some outstanding offensive performers in the first two rounds of the men’s NCAA tournament. Here are the top five players in scoring average so far.