Sticky situation

Last Wednesday, umpire Phil Cuzzi ejected Mets pitcher Max Scherzer after the fourth inning of the Mets-Dodgers game in Los Angeles. Cuzzi suspected Scherzer was doctoring the baseball with a sticky substance in his glove. Scherzer was emphatic in his denial, claiming he was only using rosin, which is legal in baseball, and his own sweat on a warm April day in LA.

Cuzzi has been an umpire for a long time, and he has a good reputation around the league. Contrary to the reactions of some rabid Mets fans on Twitter, he was acting in what he thought was the best way to protect the integrity of the game. Only a chemist would know whether Scherzer was right in his protestations, or Cuzzi was in tossing him.

From an economics standpoint, fans pay good money to watch stars play, even those playing for the other team. Angering paying customers is not an effective way to grow a sport, especially in baseball, which has dropped behind the NFL and the NBA in terms of interest.

Scherzer philosophically accepted a 10-game suspension. His absence will have a deleterious effect on the Mets’ starting rotation, which is without Justin Verlander, Carlos Carrasco and Jose Quintana, who are all on the injured list.

Ironically, Scherzer was not supposed to pitch against the Dodgers last Wednesday, but rather against the Athletics in Oakland four days earlier. Back issues forced Scherzer to miss that start. His back did not seem to bother him in Los Angeles, but extra rest, especially at this early juncture in the season, may pay dividends for the Mets later.

“It Ain’t Over” is a documentary on the life of Yogi Berra from Sony Pictures Classics that hits theaters on May 12, which would have marked his 98th birthday. Even though Berra is no stranger to baseball fans, especially of a certain age, it is worth the time investment.

Yogi fought at Omaha Beach in Normandy on D-Day and was injured. He declined to apply for a Purple Heart because he did not want to frighten his mother back in St. Louis. That was a factor in helping Berra receive a posthumous Medal of Freedom from President Obama.

Berra was beloved for his everyman persona and for his Yogi-isms such as “Nobody goes to that restaurant anymore, because it’s too crowded,” and of course, the film title, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over!” Yogi’s oldest granddaughter, Lindsay Berra, who is the executive producer, believes the erroneous perception that her grandpa was not intelligent led to him being underestimated. She is particularly angry about how he was overlooked as one of baseball’s greatest living players at the 2015 All-Star Game.

See the extended version of Sports Beat every week at qchron.com.

One of the nuggets from “It Ain’t Over” was Lindsay Berra’s take on the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon “Yogi Bear.” Berra was not fond of the animated honor bestowed upon him. He couldn’t do anything about it because he had not copyrighted his name.

Life and style

Ray Romano, who grew up in Forest Hills, directed and co-wrote “Somewhere in Queens,” which opened in theaters nationally last Friday. “Somewhere in Queens” debuted last June at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Romano has called his film a love letter to his home borough. He plays Leo Russo, a nondescript nice guy who works in the family construction business, which is run by his overbearing father, Dominick (Tony Lo Bianco), and works under his bossy younger brother, Frank (Sebastian Maniscalco). He is happily married to his high school sweetheart, Angie (Laurie Metcalf), and his son Matthew (Jacob Ward), better known by his nickname, Sticks, is a star player at fictional Glendale High School.

Leo is ecstatic when Sticks is offered a shot at a basketball scholarship at Philadelphia’s Drexel University. Things are going swimmingly for Sticks until he is dumped by his girlfriend, Dani (Sadie Stanley). Sticks, who is sensitive and quiet, goes into a funk and loses interest in basketball. Leo understandably panics at the thought of Sticks losing his scholarship opportunity and reaches out to Dani for what will yield disastrous results.

“Somewhere in Queens,” though far from flawless, is worth seeing just for all the Queens landmarks, especially in the opening credits. Christ the King High School and Russo’s On The Bay are also featured. It is a tribute to Ray Romano’s clout and popularity that he was able to land such big names as Lo Bianco, Metcalf, Jennifer Esposito and one of the hottest standup comics today, Maniscalco, to take part in a film which clearly lacked a sizable budget.

Reps from Visit Williamsburg, that historic Virginia city’s tourist bureau, met with media at Chelsea Piers last Wednesday to promote the destination. While Williamsburg is best known for its Colonial restorations, as well as its Anheuser-Busch theme park, it is also known for its dozen top-notch golf courses. Williamsburg’s Kingmill Resort is renowned for its golf courses and tennis facilities. It is one of the few resorts in the US to earn the AAA’s Four Diamond Award.

When I asked a Williamsburg tourist official if they ever get any calls about the hipster Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg, she laughed. “Actually, we do. Then again, we are pretty hip ourselves!’

John Leguizamo, who grew up in Jackson Heights, is hosting a six-part Sunday 10 p.m. series on MSNBC titled “Leguizamo Does America.” He is traveling around the country to show the many contributions the Hispanic community has given to the United States.

In other cable network news, Howard Beach native, Queens College alum and conservative pundit Dan Bongino has left Fox News. Bongino said he could not reach an agreement on a contract extension. You must wonder if this is cost-cutting resulting from the $787.5 million settlement Fox News reached with Dominion Voting Systems to settle that libel suit.