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Jeff Brucculeri

Jeff Brucculeri is a freelance writer and broadcaster. You can contact him at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter @JeffBSports.

Legendary Harlem Globetrotter Curly Neal passes away at 77

Tulsa Beacon

I had only met Fred “Curly” Neal twice, but like so many people around the world, I loved him and was a huge fan. The former dribbler with the Harlem Globetrotters died last week (March 26) at the age of 77, at his home outside Houston. Neal’s ballhandling skills were legendary, and he learned from…

Thanks to Alyssa, I’m writing about the Shootout in Chicago

Tulsa Beacon

As I wrote last week, the COVID-19 coronavirus has had a huge impact on our world, and more specifically the world of sports, and personally, my bank account. This week, it became evident that even the sports networks are scrambling to find programming to fill their hours. However, with the lack of live games to…

Coronavirus has a wide sports impact

Tulsa Beacon

COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, is having a huge impact on businesses and communities all around the world, but this column will focus only on the impact of this virus on the world of sports. You may want to wash your hands and use some sanitizer before reading this column. I can assure you,…

It’s Barry Sanders, not Bernie Sanders, stupid

Tulsa Beacon

This is a national election year, with the Presidential election coming up in November, and regardless of party affiliation, it seems everyone is hyper-sensitive about the messages their receiving from the media, the candidates, and celebrities. Case in point – Garth Brooks. For several years now, awards shows have become one political speech after another….

A hockey miracle happened 40 years ago

Tulsa Beacon

Friday evening, February 22, 1980, I had just finished eating dinner and had tuned our black-and-white RCA console television to WKBW-Channel 7, the ABC affiliate in Buffalo. I was 15 years old, and already a huge hockey fan, but more than that, I loved watching the Winter Olympics, and this evening the USA hockey team…

The Brooklyn Dodgers and The Natural

Tulsa Beacon

It was Roger Kahn who introduced me to the Brooklyn Dodgers, through his book, The Boys of Summer. This book became an instant hit with baseball fans when it was published in 1972, and has remained one of the all-time baseball classics. Kahn died on February 6; he was 92. Sometime around 1981, when I…

4 sports movies you should watch on an international trip

Tulsa Beacon

Spending time on an international airline flight presents an opportunity to watch many movies, and on a recent trip to Europe and back, that’s exactly what I did. I returned last week from a nine-day mission trip to Romania. While there, our group of six men worked on putting up wall board at two separate…

Rick Monday talks about ‘Blue Monday’

Tulsa Beacon

Former two-time Major League Baseball All-Star Rick Monday was the guest speaker recently at the Claremore Diamond Dinner. I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with him about his stellar 19-year career. Monday, an outfielder at Arizona State, was named college baseball player of the year in 1965, and became the first player…

Larry Walker, a friend, headed to the Hall of Fame

Tulsa Beacon

It was with great anticipation and excitement that I watched the announcement of the 2020 Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, last week. It wasn’t because I was hoping Derek Jeter would be a unanimous choice, but because I was hoping Larry Walker would finally be selected. Jeter fell one ballot shy of being voted unanimously…

Did the Houston Astros need to cheat?

Tulsa Beacon

Major League Baseball has been in the news a lot lately, and it hasn’t been for a good reason. Normally, MLB wouldn’t get this much press in January, not even with big free-agent signings, but for a cheating scandal, that’s another subject. The Houston Astros have been accused of using video equipment to steal signs…