With the resignation of Big East commissioner John Marinatto setting off yet one more round of discussion about college athletic conference realignment, here is a simple statement to keep in mind on the topic.
Football and television are the sources powering this train.
Football is king of the campus. Since the beginnings of American intercollegiate athletics in 1852, a crew (rowing) race between Harvard and Yale, no sport has reigned supreme like football does today. The campus game generates more interest, more money, and exerts more influence than any college sport has at any time since those rowers paddled on Lake Winniepesaukee a century and three score years ago.
Conference Realignment
Television is the locomotive to college football's coal. With an ever-increasing number of networks seeking to fill programming hours with college sports - especially football - rights fees have exploded in the past five years. Schools in the SEC, Big Ten, Pac-12 and others collect in the neighborhood of $15-20 million annually from TV contracts. That's a nice neighborhood.
Television money also comes into play for post-season games. The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was only devised to determine which two teams should play for the national title, but - due to conference tie-ins among the big six conferences and the major bowls, access to the so-called BCS bowls (much like membership in lucrative conferences) has become a common crusade for college athletic directors. For the past year, institutions across the nation have been trying to maneuver their football programs into conferences that assure huge television revenues and access to big-money BCS post-season football games.
Because of that scramble, we end up with geographically strange partners ... Missouri in the SEC East, West Virginia in the Texas-centric Big 12, Boise State in the Big East. The scrambling has mostly settled for the time being, but the Big East may be a tenuous group.
Future of Big East and Notre Dame
So, what does the future hold for the Big East Conference and its semi-member Notre Dame (the Irish compete in all Big East sports except football)?
The Big East has two problems and one nice hole card. Pitt, Syracuse, and West Virginia bolted the conference last year, the first two schools going to the ACC and WVU to the Big 12. To counter, Marinatto and the Big East added a mishmash of schools in an effort to maintain BCS automatic qualifying (AQ) status. In the next few years Boise State, San Diego State, and Navy are slated to join in football only, while SMU, Houston, Memphis, and Central Florida are joining in all sports. Temple is coming aboard from the MAC to give the conference eight teams this season. That wild grab for teams with little in common aggravated the Big East schools more known for basketball (Louisville, Georgetown, Villanova, Marquette, etc). Those schools could leave and go back to the conference roots (the league started as a basketball conference).
The other problem comes in the recently announced plan to alter the BCS and start a four-team playoff. The AQ designation will be eliminated for all conferences, so access to the big BCS bowls is no longer assured for the new members (especially pertinent for Boise). That could mean the league splintering from two sources - basketball and football.
What is the potential trump card? Television rights.
Fortuitously, the Big East is set to negotiate a new television agreement in September. Reports are that last year the league turned down an offer similar to what the ACC landed ($155 million annually). If the Big East can score that type deal again, the grass might look a whole lot greener to schools considering jumping ship.
Where does Notre Dame come into play?
Notre Dame treasures its independent status in football and hopes for a healthy Big East to house Irish sports other than football. Supposing the Big East survives, only two factors could change ND's status. First, if the Irish television contract with NBC ever falls through, Notre Dame would need to find another network or (as a last resort) join a conference. If NBC ponies up, expect the Irish to stay situated as they are ... unless ... The other sticking point with Notre Dame involves the new BCS playoff format. Should the format be limited to conference champions only, ND would nearly be forced to move into a BCS conference. Most who have studied the issue suggest the ACC might be the landing spot, although the Big Ten makes most geographic sense. If the playoffs are open to any team ranked in the top four, the Irish would again stay independent.
Playoff
Consider me against any playoff. Period.
I know it's going to happen, but when do any of the power brokers ... from commissioners like Mike Slive, Larry Scott, and Jim Delaney, to media members who dislike the BCS (Dan Wetzel for example) think of the players? Alabama played fourteen games last year; under the new format the Tide would need to come back for one more.
So, we are going to take away a bowl trip from the four most deserving teams (think squads in the playoff will be visiting the French Quarter at the Sugar Bowl or the beach at the Rose?) and make them play one more game. Count my vote as a NAY.
When the playoff commences, the remaining questions are: which teams will be eligible to play, who will select them, and when and where will the teams play?
The best estimates seem to be:
Who ... either the top four teams (the Mike Slive model), or some combination of conference champions that have a minimum ranking (the Jim Delaney) model. Only choosing the top four teams makes sense. Limiting the field of potential teams would simply be a ploy to keep one conference (SEC anyone?) from landing two spots in the semifinals.
Who will choose ... this is a tough one. I like a committee model like the basketball selection panel, but we may just use polls.
When and where ... again, best guesses seem to be using a rotating pair of the existing BCS bowls (Fiesta, Orange, Rose, Sugar) as semifinals and playing the games on or near New Year's, then bidding out the championship to a host site and playing it a week later. A proposed revision of this model called for the semifinal host to be the bowl linked to the higher seed's conference. So, if a Big 12 team was seeded #1 and an SEC team #2, the Fiesta and Sugar Bowls would host semifinal games.
With a few long summer months between now and opening kickoff, we college football fans have to amuse ourselves with discussions like these.
Just keep in mind ... football and television ... they power the train.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Hogs (not Jeff Long) take High Road
The University of Arkansas fired head football coach Bobby Petrino yesterday.
Razorback Athletic Director Jeff Long made the announcement during an emotional press conference. Long was admirably straightforward in his remarks, clearly (and occasionally bluntly) stating the various reasons for the dismissal. Even with all Petrino's baggage and flaws (both past and immediate), the move was mildly surprising because of the coach's success in Fayetteville and a very promising 2012 season on the horizon. In the end, Petrino's sleaziness, moral corruption, and inappropriate personnel management (hiring his mistress from a pool of 150+ applicants) left the university little choice but to send the ex-Louisville, ex-Atlanta Falcon coach packing. The school may lose a few more games the next year or two, but is better off without the little man with the outsized ego.
Jeff Long handled the press conference with aplomb and is receiving quite a few accolades among college football media and fans for pulling the plug on Petrino. That acclaim makes me a bit uneasy for a couple of reasons.
First, Long was among the decision-makers that brought Petrino to Fayetteville in the first place. He had to know the risks involved. Keep in mind that Petrino, already earning an annual salary in the multi-millions as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, abandoned the NFL team in mid-season after only thirteen games. The manner in which he left was as bad as the timing ... coaching a Monday night game, secretly scampering out of town without facing his team or owner Arthur Blank, leaving a brief copied note in player lockers, showing up the next night at Arkansas doing the Wooo-Pig-Sooie chant. The lack of class and common professionalism in that departure, along with all the other underhanded behavior in Petrino's past, should have been quite a red flag for Long and the search committee at Arkansas. They knew the kind of man they were hiring and should not be shocked now to find out that Petrino is still the same sorry guy.
Second, while the firing was merited and certainly deserves applause, the bulk of the praise for that decision should be aimed far above Long's administrative level. I've been a college professor for nearly two decades (at institutions large and small) and for many of those years worked closely with the schools' athletic departments as either Faculty Athletic Representative or Athletic Council chair. Believe me, virtually no decision - and certainly not one as significant as firing the head football coach at a BCS level university - is made solely by the Athletic Director. At the very least, the university president or chancellor would be deeply involved, and (more significantly) the power brokers of the institution's trustees would need to approve a move of this magnitude.
So, while Jeff Long deserves his share of pats on the back for firing Bobby P (or his share of blame if you support the coach) ... Arkansas Chancellor David Gearhart and the university's Board of Trustees made the decision. Without question. Good for them.
Razorback Athletic Director Jeff Long made the announcement during an emotional press conference. Long was admirably straightforward in his remarks, clearly (and occasionally bluntly) stating the various reasons for the dismissal. Even with all Petrino's baggage and flaws (both past and immediate), the move was mildly surprising because of the coach's success in Fayetteville and a very promising 2012 season on the horizon. In the end, Petrino's sleaziness, moral corruption, and inappropriate personnel management (hiring his mistress from a pool of 150+ applicants) left the university little choice but to send the ex-Louisville, ex-Atlanta Falcon coach packing. The school may lose a few more games the next year or two, but is better off without the little man with the outsized ego.
Jeff Long handled the press conference with aplomb and is receiving quite a few accolades among college football media and fans for pulling the plug on Petrino. That acclaim makes me a bit uneasy for a couple of reasons.
First, Long was among the decision-makers that brought Petrino to Fayetteville in the first place. He had to know the risks involved. Keep in mind that Petrino, already earning an annual salary in the multi-millions as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, abandoned the NFL team in mid-season after only thirteen games. The manner in which he left was as bad as the timing ... coaching a Monday night game, secretly scampering out of town without facing his team or owner Arthur Blank, leaving a brief copied note in player lockers, showing up the next night at Arkansas doing the Wooo-Pig-Sooie chant. The lack of class and common professionalism in that departure, along with all the other underhanded behavior in Petrino's past, should have been quite a red flag for Long and the search committee at Arkansas. They knew the kind of man they were hiring and should not be shocked now to find out that Petrino is still the same sorry guy.
Second, while the firing was merited and certainly deserves applause, the bulk of the praise for that decision should be aimed far above Long's administrative level. I've been a college professor for nearly two decades (at institutions large and small) and for many of those years worked closely with the schools' athletic departments as either Faculty Athletic Representative or Athletic Council chair. Believe me, virtually no decision - and certainly not one as significant as firing the head football coach at a BCS level university - is made solely by the Athletic Director. At the very least, the university president or chancellor would be deeply involved, and (more significantly) the power brokers of the institution's trustees would need to approve a move of this magnitude.
So, while Jeff Long deserves his share of pats on the back for firing Bobby P (or his share of blame if you support the coach) ... Arkansas Chancellor David Gearhart and the university's Board of Trustees made the decision. Without question. Good for them.
Monday, April 9, 2012
The Games People Play
Cause you've given up your sanity,
for your pride and your vanity
turned your back on humanity ...
oh, the games people play ...
The Games People Play
Joe South 1968
Will the University of Arkansas give up its sanity for the pride and vanity of winning football games?
Apparently, Bobby Petrino is intent on finding out.
Petrino, Razorback head football coach and serial scoundrel with the great offensive mind and even more offensive personality, skidded into his latest ethical lapse when he wrecked a motorcycle last week. Petrino emerged from the crash looking like he'd gone twelve rounds with the truth, but the real pain for him - and Arkansas fans - arrived when the police report of the accident noted that a young lady had been a passenger on the bike. That woman, a twenty-something former Hog volleyball player, was also an Athletic Department employee, hired by and reporting directly to Petrino. Following personal form, Petrino initally lied to Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long about the details of the crash until just before the police report went public.
Long now finds himself in the unenviable position of either firing a talented head coach, or retaining an untrustworthy employee.
Petrino's record the past two seasons is 21-5 and includes a BCS appearance (Sugar Bowl). The Hogs return a strong nucleus from last year's squad (including quarterback Tyler Wilson), host SEC West Division rivals Alabama and LSU this fall, and are likely to enter the 2012 campaign as a pre-season top ten team. Should Long fire Petrino and the team falter, the Athletic Director's head may be the next to roll. Still, Jeff Long and the Arkansas administration must measure those factors with others.
Petrino leaves a trail of stench like a skunk. You can follow the smell from Louisville to Auburn to Atlanta, and now to Fayetteville.
Since I want readers of all ages to be able to enjoy The Campus Game, we will avoid a full review of all Bobby P's moral lapses (those interested can read Pat Forde's litany), and cut to the crux of the matter.
Jeff Long, along with the Arkansas administration and trustees, has every right to fire Petrino. At the least, his head coach broke the morals clause of his contract. Petrino also abused power by hiring someone with whom he had a personal relationship. He then blatantly misled Long by omitting details of his accident (thus causing the university to issue an inaccurate media release).
So ... yes, the University of Arkansas should fire Petrino. But, the school probably will not because he's winning football games.
Oh, the games people play.
for your pride and your vanity
turned your back on humanity ...
oh, the games people play ...
The Games People Play
Joe South 1968
Will the University of Arkansas give up its sanity for the pride and vanity of winning football games?
Apparently, Bobby Petrino is intent on finding out.
Petrino, Razorback head football coach and serial scoundrel with the great offensive mind and even more offensive personality, skidded into his latest ethical lapse when he wrecked a motorcycle last week. Petrino emerged from the crash looking like he'd gone twelve rounds with the truth, but the real pain for him - and Arkansas fans - arrived when the police report of the accident noted that a young lady had been a passenger on the bike. That woman, a twenty-something former Hog volleyball player, was also an Athletic Department employee, hired by and reporting directly to Petrino. Following personal form, Petrino initally lied to Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long about the details of the crash until just before the police report went public.
Long now finds himself in the unenviable position of either firing a talented head coach, or retaining an untrustworthy employee.
Petrino's record the past two seasons is 21-5 and includes a BCS appearance (Sugar Bowl). The Hogs return a strong nucleus from last year's squad (including quarterback Tyler Wilson), host SEC West Division rivals Alabama and LSU this fall, and are likely to enter the 2012 campaign as a pre-season top ten team. Should Long fire Petrino and the team falter, the Athletic Director's head may be the next to roll. Still, Jeff Long and the Arkansas administration must measure those factors with others.
Petrino leaves a trail of stench like a skunk. You can follow the smell from Louisville to Auburn to Atlanta, and now to Fayetteville.
Since I want readers of all ages to be able to enjoy The Campus Game, we will avoid a full review of all Bobby P's moral lapses (those interested can read Pat Forde's litany), and cut to the crux of the matter.
Jeff Long, along with the Arkansas administration and trustees, has every right to fire Petrino. At the least, his head coach broke the morals clause of his contract. Petrino also abused power by hiring someone with whom he had a personal relationship. He then blatantly misled Long by omitting details of his accident (thus causing the university to issue an inaccurate media release).
So ... yes, the University of Arkansas should fire Petrino. But, the school probably will not because he's winning football games.
Oh, the games people play.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Sports Fan's Paradise
Perhaps there is a better time to be a sports fan in America than these first days of April, but one doesn't come to mind immediately.
How's this for an Easter week sports celebration?
College basketball offers championship games tonight (men) and tomorrow (women). Major League Baseball openers announce the arrival of another season. College football spring practices and spring games keep the gridiron game on the front burner. And, golf's most scenic major - the Masters - wraps up on Easter Sunday.
March Madness
Two of the most storied programs in NCAA history meet tonight when Kentucky and Kansas vie for the men's championship. The Wildcats from the Bluegrass State have won more games than any other college basketball program and the Jayhawks rank second. Kentucky features the wonderfully talented freshmen trio of big man Anthony Davis, quick and smooth point guard Marquis Teague, and do-it-all swing man Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Cats' coach John Calipari has fully embraced the one-and-done mentality of bringing in NBA-bound players and trying to win a title in the few months they are on campus.
Kansas is a more veteran squad. The Jayhawks feature a strong inside game with stellar junior forward Thomas Robinson and 7'0 classmate Jeff Withey. KU won the Big 12 conference regular season title for a mind-boggling eigth consecutive time.
Like most, I'll go with the Wildcats in this one. The team has terrific speed and tenacity, and are a really fun group to watch. The Jayhawks have started slowly in most games during the tournament run and cannot afford to do so tonight.
The women's bracket also features a premier matchup with Notre Dame playing Baylor. The Irish earned a second straight trip to the title game by knocking off Connecticut in the semifinals (ND did the same last year); the team is led by popular senior guard Skylar Diggins and clutch classmate Brittany Mallory.
The Irish will literally face a tall test against unbeaten Baylor. Center Brittney Griner leads the Bears and earned fame as the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game. Griner's impact reminds me much of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) at UCLA ... most teams have no answer and the psychological impact of facing the "giant" is almost as significant as the physical presence.
Although an Irish fan, Goliath typically wins these battles. I'll go with Baylor.
MLB Season
Much as I would love for the Braves to reach a World Series, it looks tough.
In the National League, the Phillies appear the team to beat but watch the Marlins and Nationals out of the East as well.
The junior circuit (hey, the American League has only been around since 1901 ... a full quarter century later than the National - or "senior" circuit started) provides old (Yankees and Rangers) and new (Angels with Albert Pujols and Tigers with Prince Fielder) contenders.
The Masters
Can Tiger Woods win a fifteenth major championship in his quest to surpass the eighteen of Jack Nicklaus? Of course he can, but he'll need to beat a host of challengers, of both the experienced and novice variety.
Phil Mickelson has won three green jackets and if his putting holds up should be in contention. Young Americans Keegan Bradley, Billy Haas, Webb Simpson, Nick Watney, Hunter Mahan, and Jason Duffner could be threats. Luke Donald (England), Adam Scott (Australia), and defending champ Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) lead an always strong international contingent.
Perhaps the biggest threat to Tiger, Phil, or anybody else is Rory McIlroy. The young Irishmen took a four-stroke lead into the final round in 2011 only to falter badly. He rebounded to win the U.S. Open and is one of the pre-tournament favorites.
Just a hunch but I'll go with Billy Haas to win.
How's this for an Easter week sports celebration?
College basketball offers championship games tonight (men) and tomorrow (women). Major League Baseball openers announce the arrival of another season. College football spring practices and spring games keep the gridiron game on the front burner. And, golf's most scenic major - the Masters - wraps up on Easter Sunday.
March Madness
Two of the most storied programs in NCAA history meet tonight when Kentucky and Kansas vie for the men's championship. The Wildcats from the Bluegrass State have won more games than any other college basketball program and the Jayhawks rank second. Kentucky features the wonderfully talented freshmen trio of big man Anthony Davis, quick and smooth point guard Marquis Teague, and do-it-all swing man Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Cats' coach John Calipari has fully embraced the one-and-done mentality of bringing in NBA-bound players and trying to win a title in the few months they are on campus.
Kansas is a more veteran squad. The Jayhawks feature a strong inside game with stellar junior forward Thomas Robinson and 7'0 classmate Jeff Withey. KU won the Big 12 conference regular season title for a mind-boggling eigth consecutive time.
Like most, I'll go with the Wildcats in this one. The team has terrific speed and tenacity, and are a really fun group to watch. The Jayhawks have started slowly in most games during the tournament run and cannot afford to do so tonight.
The women's bracket also features a premier matchup with Notre Dame playing Baylor. The Irish earned a second straight trip to the title game by knocking off Connecticut in the semifinals (ND did the same last year); the team is led by popular senior guard Skylar Diggins and clutch classmate Brittany Mallory.
The Irish will literally face a tall test against unbeaten Baylor. Center Brittney Griner leads the Bears and earned fame as the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game. Griner's impact reminds me much of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) at UCLA ... most teams have no answer and the psychological impact of facing the "giant" is almost as significant as the physical presence.
Although an Irish fan, Goliath typically wins these battles. I'll go with Baylor.
MLB Season
Much as I would love for the Braves to reach a World Series, it looks tough.
In the National League, the Phillies appear the team to beat but watch the Marlins and Nationals out of the East as well.
The junior circuit (hey, the American League has only been around since 1901 ... a full quarter century later than the National - or "senior" circuit started) provides old (Yankees and Rangers) and new (Angels with Albert Pujols and Tigers with Prince Fielder) contenders.
The Masters
Can Tiger Woods win a fifteenth major championship in his quest to surpass the eighteen of Jack Nicklaus? Of course he can, but he'll need to beat a host of challengers, of both the experienced and novice variety.
Phil Mickelson has won three green jackets and if his putting holds up should be in contention. Young Americans Keegan Bradley, Billy Haas, Webb Simpson, Nick Watney, Hunter Mahan, and Jason Duffner could be threats. Luke Donald (England), Adam Scott (Australia), and defending champ Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) lead an always strong international contingent.
Perhaps the biggest threat to Tiger, Phil, or anybody else is Rory McIlroy. The young Irishmen took a four-stroke lead into the final round in 2011 only to falter badly. He rebounded to win the U.S. Open and is one of the pre-tournament favorites.
Just a hunch but I'll go with Billy Haas to win.
Monday, February 13, 2012
The Joy of Sport
Welcome back to campus. Please enjoy a few notes on the passing scene ...
The Joy of Sport
The late winter months are rather slow ones on the sports calendar, at least until March Madness percolates and wakes us up like a hot cup of coffee (or an iced-cold Coca Cola for us non-java types). College basketball offers some nice conference blockbusters (the Duke-North Carolina game comes to mind), the NBA is more interesting than usual due to the shortened season, golf just offered a nice Phil-Tiger pairing at Pebble but really starts at Augusta National, baseball is barely slumbering out of hibernation, and much of this sports-crazed nation is recovering from a sort of post-football hangover.
The calendar makes this a nice time to reflect on sports heroes.
Every spring in my Sport in Society course, students learn about real sport stars. Most everybody recognizes names like Kobe, LeBron, Peyton, Tom Brady, Tiger, Derek Jeter, A-Rod, and the like. But ... do you know Lou Zamperini? How about Maggie Maloy or Darryl Williams? Maybe Sam Paneno?
Didn't think so.
Sadly, those names do not garner much attention, even though they are every bit the heroes as the media darlings.
Zamperini, who turned 95 in late January, is a former American Olympic distance runner. He is better known for being a World War II prisoner of war, where his stature as an American athlete brought down the wrath of his sadistic Japanese capturers (the wrath of one in particular - the notorious Mutsuhiro "Bird" Watanabe). Zamp is the subject of Laura Hillenbrand's terrific book Unbroken (the best book I've read in the past few years).
Maloy and Paneno were the initial recipients of the NCAA's Inspiration Award for student-athletes who overcame life altering events to succeed and inspire. Maloy endured a violent attack as a high school runner, and a severe auto accident while at Defiance College that broke her pelvis, but in both instances she came back to compete. Paneno was a star running back at UC-Davis before suffering a knee injury in 1999. Complications arose that led to his lower right leg being amputated. Paneno survived and continued to thrive as an athlete, using four different prosthetic devices for various activities.
Darryl Williams (whom I had the pleasure of hearing speak at conferences) died nearly a year ago, but his courage will remain inspirational for a long, long time. As a high school sophomore football player in the Boston area, Williams was shot during a game in a racially motivated crime. He survived, but spent the remainder of his life as a quadriplegic confined to a wheelchair. Rather than falling victim to bitterness and racism himself, Williams became a motivational speaker teaching others about tolerance. Quite a man.
During this slow sports season, we should spend some time reflecting on true sports heroes ... not those named Kobe, LeBron, Peyton, or Tiger ... instead think of Zamp, Maggie Maloy, Sam Paneno, and Darryl Williams.
They truly reflect the joy and power of sport.
Until next time.
The Joy of Sport
The late winter months are rather slow ones on the sports calendar, at least until March Madness percolates and wakes us up like a hot cup of coffee (or an iced-cold Coca Cola for us non-java types). College basketball offers some nice conference blockbusters (the Duke-North Carolina game comes to mind), the NBA is more interesting than usual due to the shortened season, golf just offered a nice Phil-Tiger pairing at Pebble but really starts at Augusta National, baseball is barely slumbering out of hibernation, and much of this sports-crazed nation is recovering from a sort of post-football hangover.
The calendar makes this a nice time to reflect on sports heroes.
Every spring in my Sport in Society course, students learn about real sport stars. Most everybody recognizes names like Kobe, LeBron, Peyton, Tom Brady, Tiger, Derek Jeter, A-Rod, and the like. But ... do you know Lou Zamperini? How about Maggie Maloy or Darryl Williams? Maybe Sam Paneno?
Didn't think so.
Sadly, those names do not garner much attention, even though they are every bit the heroes as the media darlings.
Zamperini, who turned 95 in late January, is a former American Olympic distance runner. He is better known for being a World War II prisoner of war, where his stature as an American athlete brought down the wrath of his sadistic Japanese capturers (the wrath of one in particular - the notorious Mutsuhiro "Bird" Watanabe). Zamp is the subject of Laura Hillenbrand's terrific book Unbroken (the best book I've read in the past few years).
Maloy and Paneno were the initial recipients of the NCAA's Inspiration Award for student-athletes who overcame life altering events to succeed and inspire. Maloy endured a violent attack as a high school runner, and a severe auto accident while at Defiance College that broke her pelvis, but in both instances she came back to compete. Paneno was a star running back at UC-Davis before suffering a knee injury in 1999. Complications arose that led to his lower right leg being amputated. Paneno survived and continued to thrive as an athlete, using four different prosthetic devices for various activities.
Darryl Williams (whom I had the pleasure of hearing speak at conferences) died nearly a year ago, but his courage will remain inspirational for a long, long time. As a high school sophomore football player in the Boston area, Williams was shot during a game in a racially motivated crime. He survived, but spent the remainder of his life as a quadriplegic confined to a wheelchair. Rather than falling victim to bitterness and racism himself, Williams became a motivational speaker teaching others about tolerance. Quite a man.
During this slow sports season, we should spend some time reflecting on true sports heroes ... not those named Kobe, LeBron, Peyton, or Tiger ... instead think of Zamp, Maggie Maloy, Sam Paneno, and Darryl Williams.
They truly reflect the joy and power of sport.
Until next time.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
The Fightin' Side of Me
"If you're runnin' down my country, man,
you're walkin' on the fightin' side of me."
The Fightin' Side of Me
Merle Haggard 1968
My fighting side is boiling today and there are a number of reasons why.
Papa
Joe Paterno died this morning.
"Joe Pa" all the Yankee sportswriters and fans called him, but down South my buddies and I knew him simply as Papa. In SEC country, we loved him just about as much as Bear, Archie, Bo, and Herschel. We're college football fans see, not fairweather cowards. If he'd have coached at Alabama, or Tennessee, or Georgia, or LSU ... I doubt we'd have run him off and humiliated him because a weirdo had been on his staff fifteen years earlier.
Lung cancer gets cast as the culprit in Papa's demise, but you, me, and everybody with sense enough to come in out of the rain (which excludes Penn State Trustees and much of the school's administration) knows he died from a broken heart. The chemo and radiation Joe fought through these past few months couldn't have been nearly so painful as the shameful, hurtful treatment the gallant old lion suffered at the hands of those ungrateful "leaders" at Penn State. A trustee phone call in November saying simply "you're through" (let that cold-blooded statement sink in) ended more than sixty years of service for a man who'd lifted a rinky-dink cow college into international prominence. I won't name that squirrelly trustee, but man he's walking on the fightin' side of me. Let's also save a bit of vitriol for the sheep-herd mentality of the shoot first-find out facts later media that pressured the spineless Penn Staters. What a miserable group - the whole lot of them.
I'll choose to remember Joe Paterno for his greatness.
Papa was an Ivy-League educated football coach, a man who could've been a priest and considered practicing law. His teams were just that - teams ... players working together, the whole greater than the sum of its parts. This man coached Lydell Mitchell and Franco Harris in the same backfield, the great Curt Warner, a list of linebackers that reads like a Hall of Fame roster, yet always the individuals sacrified their personalities into the group. Happy Valley was not a place for prima donnas.
Paterno won two national titles (1982 and 1986), had a legitimate argument for four others (1968, 1969, 1973, 1994), led five unbeaten squads, won over 400 games (the only FBS coach to do so), coached (37) and won (24) more bowls than anybody, and is the only person to win all the majors bowls (Rose, Sugar, Orange, Cotton, Fiesta).
While different in demeanor and temperament, Paterno most reminds me of the great Vince Lombardi. Brooklyn boys, both considered the priesthood and law before settling on football - at the time still a rather minor distraction in the pantheon of American sports - as the profession where they'd make a mark. Unlike the whiners of contemporary society, where racism and bigotry are claimed at the slightest inconvenience (like having to work for instance), these two men overcame real prejudice against Americans of Italian descent ... Lombardi being passed over by schools and teams that were not ready for a coach with a last name that ended in a vowel, Paterno shunned by the WASPy elite at Brown. Neither man forgot those slights and went out of their way to champion fairness on their teams, regardless of skin color or ethnic background.
Penn State did not deserve him ... and he surely did not deserve the shameful treatment they gave him these past few months.
College football will not see another Paterno. RIP Papa.
Have We Lost Our Minds?
Let me continue my rant by asking whether this nation has collectively lost its mind.
President Obama seems an incompetent. If news articles and essays are accurate, he may also be condescending and arrogant. Even the first lady seems to be wearing so thin on many Americans that even the reliably liberal NY Times columnist Maureen Dowd recently took her to task.
But ... do you think Republicans have an answer?
Think again. The Grand Ole Party seriously could be about to nominate a caricature. Newt Gingrich and I have at least two similarities. We both taught at West Georgia College (he a couple of decades before me) and probably neither one of us should be elected President of the United States in 2012. Rumpled, bombastic, and undisciplined for most of his professional life, I predict the President (who is disciplined if nothing else) would defeat him handily in a general election.
This president deserves to lose, yet the nation seems too fearful to fire him. I think political correctness rears its ugly head as part of this equation ... too many Americans probably think someone will consider them racist for an unkind word against Obama. Well, it's not racist to call him disappointing and following unsound economic and foreign policies.
Is it too tough to understand that as a nation we spend too much?
We cannot raise taxes enough ... or cut spending enough for that matter ... to pay all the Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and Obamacare mandates we've promised. That's just at the federal level and does not include all the state pension systems for government workers. We cannot pay those IOUs without major changes. It cannot happen. Democrats are too often shameless partisans (quick to attribute any legitimate dissent against Obama as racism or to demagogue serious politicians like Paul Ryan). Republicans, on the other hand, can be hopeless dupes (buying into one snake oil salesman candidate after another, many of them seemingly in the public realm simply to sell more books or raise speaking fees).
As citizens we should storm the gates.
Social Media
On all the course syllabi distributed in my classes, a policy addresses the use of electronic devices during class (primarily smart phones). Without that policy and frequent subtle and not-so-subtle reminders, I'd recognize the tops of the heads of some students more than I would their faces. The same goes for most social venues, including highways, where Americans are busy tweeting, texting, talking, and pretty much paying attention to the palms of their hands more than the road or their lunch companion.
I like Twitter and following the news online, but I'm not sure young people understand the permanence and potential implications of using social media without a filter. Not every word or thought that comes to mind should be posted for the world to see ... and for future generations to access. Once it's online, those words or actions never go away.
The lewd behavior of an Alabama fan after the BCS national title game obviously comes to mind. I won't rehash the story, but the chicanery involves drunkenness, stupidity, vulgar (and potentially criminal) behavior ... and a viral video of the whole thing that future family members of all involved will be able to show at reunions. Yuck.
Big brother is officially watching ... and he is us.
America in 2012 ... as Brother Merle sang ... if you don't love it, leave it. Or change it.
Until next time.
you're walkin' on the fightin' side of me."
The Fightin' Side of Me
Merle Haggard 1968
My fighting side is boiling today and there are a number of reasons why.
Papa
Joe Paterno died this morning.
"Joe Pa" all the Yankee sportswriters and fans called him, but down South my buddies and I knew him simply as Papa. In SEC country, we loved him just about as much as Bear, Archie, Bo, and Herschel. We're college football fans see, not fairweather cowards. If he'd have coached at Alabama, or Tennessee, or Georgia, or LSU ... I doubt we'd have run him off and humiliated him because a weirdo had been on his staff fifteen years earlier.
Lung cancer gets cast as the culprit in Papa's demise, but you, me, and everybody with sense enough to come in out of the rain (which excludes Penn State Trustees and much of the school's administration) knows he died from a broken heart. The chemo and radiation Joe fought through these past few months couldn't have been nearly so painful as the shameful, hurtful treatment the gallant old lion suffered at the hands of those ungrateful "leaders" at Penn State. A trustee phone call in November saying simply "you're through" (let that cold-blooded statement sink in) ended more than sixty years of service for a man who'd lifted a rinky-dink cow college into international prominence. I won't name that squirrelly trustee, but man he's walking on the fightin' side of me. Let's also save a bit of vitriol for the sheep-herd mentality of the shoot first-find out facts later media that pressured the spineless Penn Staters. What a miserable group - the whole lot of them.
I'll choose to remember Joe Paterno for his greatness.
Papa was an Ivy-League educated football coach, a man who could've been a priest and considered practicing law. His teams were just that - teams ... players working together, the whole greater than the sum of its parts. This man coached Lydell Mitchell and Franco Harris in the same backfield, the great Curt Warner, a list of linebackers that reads like a Hall of Fame roster, yet always the individuals sacrified their personalities into the group. Happy Valley was not a place for prima donnas.
Paterno won two national titles (1982 and 1986), had a legitimate argument for four others (1968, 1969, 1973, 1994), led five unbeaten squads, won over 400 games (the only FBS coach to do so), coached (37) and won (24) more bowls than anybody, and is the only person to win all the majors bowls (Rose, Sugar, Orange, Cotton, Fiesta).
While different in demeanor and temperament, Paterno most reminds me of the great Vince Lombardi. Brooklyn boys, both considered the priesthood and law before settling on football - at the time still a rather minor distraction in the pantheon of American sports - as the profession where they'd make a mark. Unlike the whiners of contemporary society, where racism and bigotry are claimed at the slightest inconvenience (like having to work for instance), these two men overcame real prejudice against Americans of Italian descent ... Lombardi being passed over by schools and teams that were not ready for a coach with a last name that ended in a vowel, Paterno shunned by the WASPy elite at Brown. Neither man forgot those slights and went out of their way to champion fairness on their teams, regardless of skin color or ethnic background.
Penn State did not deserve him ... and he surely did not deserve the shameful treatment they gave him these past few months.
College football will not see another Paterno. RIP Papa.
Have We Lost Our Minds?
Let me continue my rant by asking whether this nation has collectively lost its mind.
President Obama seems an incompetent. If news articles and essays are accurate, he may also be condescending and arrogant. Even the first lady seems to be wearing so thin on many Americans that even the reliably liberal NY Times columnist Maureen Dowd recently took her to task.
But ... do you think Republicans have an answer?
Think again. The Grand Ole Party seriously could be about to nominate a caricature. Newt Gingrich and I have at least two similarities. We both taught at West Georgia College (he a couple of decades before me) and probably neither one of us should be elected President of the United States in 2012. Rumpled, bombastic, and undisciplined for most of his professional life, I predict the President (who is disciplined if nothing else) would defeat him handily in a general election.
This president deserves to lose, yet the nation seems too fearful to fire him. I think political correctness rears its ugly head as part of this equation ... too many Americans probably think someone will consider them racist for an unkind word against Obama. Well, it's not racist to call him disappointing and following unsound economic and foreign policies.
Is it too tough to understand that as a nation we spend too much?
We cannot raise taxes enough ... or cut spending enough for that matter ... to pay all the Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and Obamacare mandates we've promised. That's just at the federal level and does not include all the state pension systems for government workers. We cannot pay those IOUs without major changes. It cannot happen. Democrats are too often shameless partisans (quick to attribute any legitimate dissent against Obama as racism or to demagogue serious politicians like Paul Ryan). Republicans, on the other hand, can be hopeless dupes (buying into one snake oil salesman candidate after another, many of them seemingly in the public realm simply to sell more books or raise speaking fees).
As citizens we should storm the gates.
Social Media
On all the course syllabi distributed in my classes, a policy addresses the use of electronic devices during class (primarily smart phones). Without that policy and frequent subtle and not-so-subtle reminders, I'd recognize the tops of the heads of some students more than I would their faces. The same goes for most social venues, including highways, where Americans are busy tweeting, texting, talking, and pretty much paying attention to the palms of their hands more than the road or their lunch companion.
I like Twitter and following the news online, but I'm not sure young people understand the permanence and potential implications of using social media without a filter. Not every word or thought that comes to mind should be posted for the world to see ... and for future generations to access. Once it's online, those words or actions never go away.
The lewd behavior of an Alabama fan after the BCS national title game obviously comes to mind. I won't rehash the story, but the chicanery involves drunkenness, stupidity, vulgar (and potentially criminal) behavior ... and a viral video of the whole thing that future family members of all involved will be able to show at reunions. Yuck.
Big brother is officially watching ... and he is us.
America in 2012 ... as Brother Merle sang ... if you don't love it, leave it. Or change it.
Until next time.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
SEC Post-Season Awards
Welcome back to campus!
The 2011 college football season heads for the history books, and congratulations to the Alabama Crimson Tide for winning a second national championship in three years.
Here are a few closing notes on the SEC season.
SEC Awards
Most Valuable Player: Trent Richardson (Alabama) ... the Tide defense actually carried this squad, but if you have to single out one player it would be the powerful junior tailback. Richardson rushed for nearly 1600 yards and scored 20 touchdowns. He also set a work ethic on and off the field that was a model of leadership.
Offensive Player of the Year: Tyler Wilson (Arkansas) ... excluding Richardson since he was MVP, this became a close race between underclass quarterbacks. Aaron Murray of Georgia threw for a remarkable 33 touchdowns, but Wilson gets the nod for leading the Razorbacks to an 11-2 record with the only losses coming to Alabama and LSU. He and Murray will be back.
Defensive Player of the Year: Tyrann Mathieu (LSU) ... who else - the Honey Badger! The little defensive back earned the nickname of the year award for his stellar defensive play and game-changing special teams contributions. He nearly single-handedly saved LSU in the SEC title game against Georgia with two long punt returns and a long interception run back.
Special Teams Player of the Year (tie): Joe Adams (Arkansas) and Brad Wing (LSU) ... Adams narrowly edges the Badger by taking three punts to the house and averaging over 16 yards a return. Wing was the only player in major college football to cost his team a touchdown under the new taunting rule, but that was about all that went wrong for the freshman from down under as he averaged 44 yards a punt and was an effective weapon in pinning teams down.
Newcomer of the Year: Jarvis Jones (Georgia) ... this USC transfer lead the SEC in sacks and tackles for loss by a large margin over any other defender. The future NFL first-round pick will return for his junior season in Athens.
Coach of the Year: Les Miles (LSU) ... yes he reverted to confounding form in the national title game where he was completely outclassed by Nick Saban but that cannot wash away a full season of excellence. Miles' Tigers whipped the champions of the Rose Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the Music City Bowl, the Gator Bowl, the Chick-fil-A Bowl, and the BCS Championship Game. Yes Saban is the best in the business, but Miles did the best job in 2011.
Professor's Picks
The old professor finished up the regular season at a pretty good 120-41 and then prognosticated a 23-12 bowl record. The blight on the record was missing the BCS title game pick for the first time in eight years (though I'm actually partially blaming a Crimson Tide-following cousin who claims I jinx the Tide whenever I pick them in a big game!).
On Deck
Unless you are a recruitnik, the end of the bowl season brings a bit of deflation to the college football fan.
After watching virtually every minute of all thirty-five bowls, I would watch another tonight if one was on television. Keep an eye on the BCS post-season formula ... I remain staunchly opposed to a playoff but it looks like there is some momentum for a four-team system of some sort (make it the week after the conference championships if it has to be done).
The professor will continue to post regularly so check back often and always feel free to send comments to bob@themcampusgame.com or thecampusgame@yahoo.com.
See you at kickoff!
The 2011 college football season heads for the history books, and congratulations to the Alabama Crimson Tide for winning a second national championship in three years.
Here are a few closing notes on the SEC season.
SEC Awards
Most Valuable Player: Trent Richardson (Alabama) ... the Tide defense actually carried this squad, but if you have to single out one player it would be the powerful junior tailback. Richardson rushed for nearly 1600 yards and scored 20 touchdowns. He also set a work ethic on and off the field that was a model of leadership.
Offensive Player of the Year: Tyler Wilson (Arkansas) ... excluding Richardson since he was MVP, this became a close race between underclass quarterbacks. Aaron Murray of Georgia threw for a remarkable 33 touchdowns, but Wilson gets the nod for leading the Razorbacks to an 11-2 record with the only losses coming to Alabama and LSU. He and Murray will be back.
Defensive Player of the Year: Tyrann Mathieu (LSU) ... who else - the Honey Badger! The little defensive back earned the nickname of the year award for his stellar defensive play and game-changing special teams contributions. He nearly single-handedly saved LSU in the SEC title game against Georgia with two long punt returns and a long interception run back.
Special Teams Player of the Year (tie): Joe Adams (Arkansas) and Brad Wing (LSU) ... Adams narrowly edges the Badger by taking three punts to the house and averaging over 16 yards a return. Wing was the only player in major college football to cost his team a touchdown under the new taunting rule, but that was about all that went wrong for the freshman from down under as he averaged 44 yards a punt and was an effective weapon in pinning teams down.
Newcomer of the Year: Jarvis Jones (Georgia) ... this USC transfer lead the SEC in sacks and tackles for loss by a large margin over any other defender. The future NFL first-round pick will return for his junior season in Athens.
Coach of the Year: Les Miles (LSU) ... yes he reverted to confounding form in the national title game where he was completely outclassed by Nick Saban but that cannot wash away a full season of excellence. Miles' Tigers whipped the champions of the Rose Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the Music City Bowl, the Gator Bowl, the Chick-fil-A Bowl, and the BCS Championship Game. Yes Saban is the best in the business, but Miles did the best job in 2011.
Professor's Picks
The old professor finished up the regular season at a pretty good 120-41 and then prognosticated a 23-12 bowl record. The blight on the record was missing the BCS title game pick for the first time in eight years (though I'm actually partially blaming a Crimson Tide-following cousin who claims I jinx the Tide whenever I pick them in a big game!).
On Deck
Unless you are a recruitnik, the end of the bowl season brings a bit of deflation to the college football fan.
After watching virtually every minute of all thirty-five bowls, I would watch another tonight if one was on television. Keep an eye on the BCS post-season formula ... I remain staunchly opposed to a playoff but it looks like there is some momentum for a four-team system of some sort (make it the week after the conference championships if it has to be done).
The professor will continue to post regularly so check back often and always feel free to send comments to bob@themcampusgame.com or thecampusgame@yahoo.com.
See you at kickoff!
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