Mike Lupica, Jimmy Roberts Talk Sports at Harvey School Event

The following recap of the Sunday event is from The Harvey School:

Fans of Mike Lupica, the nationally-syndicated sports columnist, ESPN radio talk show host and acclaimed writer of novels for adolescents, certainly got their money’s worth Sunday, Nov. 16, when they came to see him at Harvey Presents in The Walker Center for the Arts on The Harvey School campus in Katonah.

Famous for his no holds barred style in his syndicated NY Sunday Daily News column “Shooting from the Lip,” Lupica covered a wide-range of topics during an interview with Emmy Award-winning broadcaster Jimmy Roberts of NBC Sports and the Golf Channel. A question and answer session with the audience following the interview gave the New York Times bestseller opportunities to expound on some of the hot topics regarding sports both on and off the field.

On the new college playoff system, Lupica said, “I love it. It has clearly captured the imagination of the sporting public.” About pro football’s Personal Seat Licensing (PSLs), Lupica said, “I hate it. It’s shakedown money.” Asked about Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder’s refusal to change the team’s name despite how many people are offended by it, Lupica predicted he will change it. “It’s not a matter of if but when.” He said he would also like to see the end of the tomahawk chop war chant that fans of the baseball’s Atlanta Braves and the Florida State Seminoles employ at their home games.

Lupica was in full stride when the topic came to Alex Rodriguez, the New York Yankees third baseman who returns this spring after a year’s suspension for his ties to the Biogenesis case involving illegal use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). Asked who the worst person was that he has come across in his time, without hesitation Lupica said Rodriguez. He called him “a big phony and a liar.” It was recently learned that Rodriguez had admitted using PEDs to federal investigators last January when he testified about his supplier, fake doctor Anthony Bosch, and Bosch’s Miami-based clinic, Biogenesis. A-Rod had gone on national radio and television shows denying he had used the drugs. Lupica said he is not looking forward to seeing Rodriguez return this spring to the Yankees. He said that if George Steinbrenner, the late owner of the Yankees, were still alive, “The old man wouldn’t let A-Rod highjack the season.”

Continuing on the topic of baseball, Lupica predicted Pete Rose would finally be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. As for those Hall of Fame eligible players who have used performance enhancing drugs, Lupica said, “I won’t vote for any who did drugs, especially if they did so willfully.”

The sports figure Lupica rated as the greatest person he has covered in his career was the late great tennis star Arthur Ashe. “He was one of the finest human beings I have ever met,” said Lupica.

In response to a question from an aspiring sports writer, Lupica told the college student not to be intimidated by the style of other writers, but instead, “Find your own voice and always be ready for the moment because it might mean everything. If you have talent and a passion, then write. Somebody will find you. You never know who might read what you wrote.”

The evening ended with a book signing as fans lined up to have the writer personally autograph copies of his newest book, Fantasy League.

Photo: NBS Sports broadcaster Jimmy Roberts (left) interviews Mike Lupica during Harvey Presents, Sunday, Nov. 16, in a program designed to offer the local community opportunities to see special guests from the world of sports and entertainment. Photo credit: Contributed