Boy this Lane Kiffin thing is a mess. Anytime a coach leaves a big-time job with big-time expectations after one season it is going to cause havoc. I’ve been to football games at Tennessee and I know how seriously they take it. Of course that’s true of the entire Southeastern Conference. It’s sort of like what football would be like if it had existed in the wild-west years ago.
Back then, Kiffin and Urban Meyer probably would have met up at the OK Corral one night at sundown. Meyer probably would have shot Kiffin cleanly through the heart and he would have jumped up and said, ‘nice shot Urban, guess I’ll just mosey on down the road to a better deal than I’ve got here.”
Actually, I don’t blame Kiffin for taking the job. It isn’t his fault that Pete Carroll decided to beat the NCAA posse out of town—and anyone who thinks that wasn’t a major factor believes in Santa Claus and the BCS—to take the job in Seattle. Kiffin has coached at USC and I’m betting his wife wasn’t exactly upset about moving from Knoxville to Los Angeles. She may be on The View before 2010 is over. (or is that taped in New York, I have no idea. So maybe she’ll play Elin Woods in a TV movie.)
I DO blame Mike Garrett although he technically did nothing wrong since Kiffin had an out clause in his contract. What I blame him for his hiring a guy who was 5-15 as a head coach in the NFL and 7-6 in one season at Tennessee. Putting aside The Look that Kiffin (and his wife) have, exactly what did Kiffin have on his resume that leads Garrett to believe he’s just hired the next Joe Paterno? Or, for that matter, the next Pete Carroll?
People talk about Kiffin’s coaching pedigree but let me make two points: Monte Kiffin made his reputation as a defensive coordinator. As a head coach at North Carolina State he pretty much washed out. My second point is this: Does the name David Shula ring a bell? One’s last name is not a reason to make a hire.
Maybe Kiffin DOES turn out to be Pete Carroll. It is difficult to judge anyone yay or nay based on two years of working for Al Davis and one year in a college job—any college job. Clearly though, Garrett was looking for some kind of a big hit, someone who would win the press conference That sounds a lot like Dan Snyder and we all know how THOSE press conferences have worked out the last 11 years once they were over.
There’s also the issue of recruiting. We all know how cutthroat it is and that coaches who change jobs routinely try to take players who have made commitments to play for them to their new school. (See Calipari, John et al). That said, for Kiffin to stand up at his press conference in LA and say he would only recruit kids who had committed to Tennessee if they contacted him is about as disingenuous as you can get. EVERY kid who made a commitment to Kiffin is going to contact him at some point. This isn’t even taking into account the fact that Ed Orgeron, the recruiting coordinator at Tennessee until Tuesday who now has the same job at USC said he DID contact kids (which technically means Kiffin did not) although he (and Garrett) refused to go into any detail about what was said.
The whole thing FEELS so smarmy. One coach fleeing because an NCAA investigation is about to conclude, another bolting from a job after one year and then trying to recruit kids away from the school he pledged body and soul to a little more than a year ago.
I’m really sorry to see Carroll leave USC because I always thought he was a breath of fresh air in the college game. His practices were open, his players were accessible and he didn’t act as if winning football games was more important than world peace. (Remember Nick Saban once mentioned 9-11 when discussing a loss to Louisiana-Monroe so I’m not exaggerating). It seems clear though that his program had gotten too big in LA and had run amok and now there will be a price to be paid. It isn’t anything that’s going to kill the program because the NCAA never really brings the hammer down on the glamour programs in either football or basketball. But it will probably make Lane Kiffin’s new job a little bit tougher for a while.
I doubt if many people will lose much sleep worrying about him. Maybe he can hire Ari Fleisher to put together a PR campaign for him.
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As I mentioned yesterday I went to Charlottesville last night to see Virginia play Georgia Tech.
It was pretty close to a perfect afternoon and evening. The drive down Rte. 29 has changed very little (except that it now bypasses Warrenton) since I first made it when I was in college and when I was a young Washington Post reporter frequently sent to cover Virginia since it was a secondary beat and I more or less volunteered to go down to football and basketball games.
The last 50 miles, on a sunny winter afternoon, is about as pretty as any you’ll find, the mountains rising up to the south of you as the sun sets almost directly in front of you. (Bring sunglasses).
I had dinner at The Aberdeen Barn, another place that hasn’t changed since I first went there. Same breadsticks, same menu, same great steaks. (Please don’t tell my cardiologist). My old pal Doug Doughty, who I first met when he was a hot-shot young reporter covering his alma mater (he was, as he likes to point out Phi Beta Kappa at UVA. I KNEW some people who were Phi Beta Kappa at Duke) and I was an undergraduate doing stringing work for papers in North Carolina, met me for dinner as did Gene and Lena Corrigan—one of my all-time favorite couples.
I first met Corrigan when he was the AD at Virginia and I was the kid reporter, as I mentioned, at The Post. On one of my first trips to Virginia I had spent some time with football coach Dick Bestwick and came back down the hall to the office of the late, great Barney Cooke, who was Virginia’s SID back then. (Barney was the first SID to ever offer me a drink while I was writing a game story. He did this when I was still working for The Duke Chronicle and not old enough to buy hard liquor. I had gin. I don’t know if it helped me write but it really was cool.)
When I walked into Barney’s office, Corrigan was sitting there. I was about to introduce myself when Corrigan said, “young man I’m sure Barney’s got a lot for you to do but would you mind getting me a cup of coffee? (I was about to go get the coffee when Barney said, “Um, Gene, this is John Feinstein from The Washington Post. He’s down here working on a football story.”)
Gene was horrified. He jumped up from his chair and said, “John, I’m so sorry, I didn’t recognize you.” (That would have been tough since we’d never met). I was 21 at the time and no doubt looked like the student assistant he initially thought I was. We still joke about that to this day.
Corrigan of course went on to be the AD at Notre Dame and then the commissioner of the ACC. He was always one of the class acts in college athletics: he might disagree with you but he always told you just how he felt; he never tried to hide anything and if you called him you could bet he’d call you back.
He was the AD at Notre Dame during the ill-fated tenure of Gerry Faust as football coach. (He didn’t hire Faust but he had to fire him. Then he hired Lou Holtz). In 1984 I was out there doing a story on how badly things were going for Faust and I talked to Digger Phelps who shook his head and said sadly, “it’s gotten so bad we can’t even bring our recruits to football games anymore.”
When I repeated that line from Corrigan—who wasn’t Digger’s biggest fan—he said (through clenched teeth) “we’ve had years when we couldn’t bring football recruits to basketball games!”
I liked UVA’s new arena but I miss old University Hall. I like the intimate old gyms without all the bells and whistles and screaming scoreboards and PA guys. The good news is the parking is still very good and my seat—since there was no TV—was right at midcourt. It was nice seeing a lot of UVA people I hadn’t seen for a while.
Seeing them all still there after all these years reminded me (as so many things do) of a Dean Smith story. When I was doing my ACC book, “A March to Madness,” back in 1997 I was standing with Dean outside his locker room about an hour before tipoff. That was always a good time to talk to him (as with many coaches) because he was just killing time.
One of the old ushers who worked in the building walked up to say hello to Dean. “John, you need to meet this gentleman,” Dean said. “He’s been working here at Virginia forever.” He turned to the usher and said, “How many years have you worked here now?”
The man puffed out his chest and said, “Coach, I’ve been in charge of this hallway for 21 years.”
Dean looked at me and said, “He’s been here 21 years. Isn’t that something?”
“Yes Dean,” I said. “That’s really something. Do you realize you’ve been coming here for THIRTY SIX years?”
Dean somehow didn’t think that was as impressive. I saw the man last night, still patrolling the hallway in the new building. He’s now been there for THIRTY FOUR years.
Which is still two years short of Dean.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Updated -- This week's radio segments (Sports Reporters, The Gas Man, Tony Kornheiser Show):
I made my regular appearance on The Sports Reporters with Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin in the normal timeslot (5:25 ET on Wednesday's) this evening. Click the permalink, then the link below, to listen to the segment on a variety of topics, including the Mark McGwire confession and the story lines of the college basketball season.
Click here to listen to Wednesday afternoon's segment: The Sports Reporters
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I also made my regular appearance on The Gas Man at 5:25 PT on Wednesday. In this segment, we spoke about the college basketball season and the greatness of conference games and rivalries, preferences of doing analysis of games on radio vs. tv, and the Pete Carroll and Lane Kiffin moves.
Click here to listen to the segment: The Gas Man
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Once again, I was on Tony Kornheiser's newest radio show this morning (Thursday) at 11:05am. It was as fun as always as we talked Gilbert Arenas, Mark McGwire, the college basketball season and the football coaching mess.
Click here to listen to the segment: The Tony Kornheiser Show
Click here to listen to Wednesday afternoon's segment: The Sports Reporters
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I also made my regular appearance on The Gas Man at 5:25 PT on Wednesday. In this segment, we spoke about the college basketball season and the greatness of conference games and rivalries, preferences of doing analysis of games on radio vs. tv, and the Pete Carroll and Lane Kiffin moves.
Click here to listen to the segment: The Gas Man
------------
Once again, I was on Tony Kornheiser's newest radio show this morning (Thursday) at 11:05am. It was as fun as always as we talked Gilbert Arenas, Mark McGwire, the college basketball season and the football coaching mess.
Click here to listen to the segment: The Tony Kornheiser Show
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Tuesday night was a good college basketball night – storylines for Purdue, NC State, Kentucky and many others
Last night was one to put the remote to heavy use. There was all sorts of college basketball going on, not to mention the Islanders absolutely smoking the once-vaunted Detroit Red Wings. I can’t wait to talk to Matt Rennie (aka Mr. Detroit who is my editor at The Post) this morning. Rennie is apt to duck my call after that performance.
The college hoops I saw had a myriad of story lines. Purdue lost for a second straight game—at home no less—blowing a late 13-point lead to Ohio State. What does this prove? Nothing we don’t already know: once you get in to conference play no one is going to win every night. Texas is going to lose at some point and so is Kentucky although it is impossible not to be impressed with the Wildcats. I made my first trip ever to Florida’s O’Connell Center last year and it is a VERY tough place to play. Kentucky made it look easy, taking the lead midway in the first half and looking to be in control from that point on.
The other game that caught my eye was North Carolina State winning at Florida State. It’s the road wins you notice this time of year. Wake Forest escaping Maryland in overtime only means the Deacons held serve and Maryland missed a chance for a bonus victory. Baylor losing at Colorado is the same thing. Teams lose on the road. When you win on the road, especially against a ranked team or even a good unranked team, that’s something to hang your hat on.
There may not have been a team or a coach more in need of a win than N.C. State and Sidney Lowe. Two Sundays ago, the Wolfpack had Florida beaten until a 70-foot shot at the buzzer went in and the Gators won by one. Because I always connect Billy Donovan in my mind to Rick Pitino (since he played for him at Providence and coached under him at Kentucky) I remembered a game years ago in Hawaii when a Kentucky player grabbed a rebound in the final seconds, went the length of the court and scored to beat Arizona at the buzzer.
“We call that play explosion,” Pitino said after the game. Back then Rick always had to take a bow. Now I think he would just say, “the kid made a hell of a play.” Donovan simply said his kid hit an amazing shot and left it at that.
After that brutal loss, State beat Holy Cross (yawn) but then blew a nine point lead last Saturday AT HOME to Virginia, which is still learning how to play Tony Bennett slow-ball. So to go TO Florida State and win was a very big deal.
Lowe will always be a hero at N.C. State for his role in the 1983 national championship. He was a superb point guard on that team. One of my favorite (among many) Jim Valvano stories is about Lowe dribbling the clock down late in a game (there was no shot clock). He came over near the bench and said, “Coach, I need a blow.”
Valvano nodded and said, “You’ll get one Sidney—just as soon as your eligibility is used up.”
This is Lowe’s fourth year at State and he hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament yet. He had an unlikely run to the ACC Tournament final his first season but that’s been about it for excitement. State fans more or less ran Herb Sendek out of town even though he had gotten State into the tournament five years in a row and reached the sweet sixteen. Sendek didn’t beat Duke or North Carolina enough and his dry personality wasn’t enough to overcome that defect. Lowe has plenty of personality and that State pedigree but he hasn’t beaten State or Carolina very much and hasn’t won nearly as much as Sendek did. It seems unlikely he’d get run off after four years but we live in an era where Ivy League coaches are getting jettisoned (two of them now—Glenn Miller at Penn, Terry Dunn at Dartmouth) in midseason. So nothing is a certain in coaching.
Ask the Tennessee fans who spent the last year learning to love Lane Kiffin.
Kentucky’s continuing success is going to continue to raise the issue of John Calipari’s move to UK from Memphis; the players he ran off and his history at Memphis and Massachusetts. Everyone knows the Kentucky people could care less about Calipari’s past, they care only about his present and future. They may already be erecting a statue to him by now.
In a very real sense they are no different than other fans—only there are more of them and they do tend to go a little bit nuts in both directions. I still remember being in a car during Tubby Smith’s first season at the school (which ended in a national title) and hearing a fan call into his show. “Coach,” he said, “I just want you to know I haven’t given up on this team yet.”
Kentucky was 25-4 at that moment.
One coach I know who knows Calipari well and has recruited against him for years said this about him: “He’s the most dangerous guy in the game right now. Why? Because he’s a good coach and a good guy and people like him. But he’s going to do whatever it takes to win—whatever it takes. You think it’s a coincidence he’s had two Final Fours vacated? Sure and Mark McGwire took steroids because of injuries.”
That sums up the way a lot of coaches feel about Calipari. Some of that is jealousy but some of that IS his past. I fall into the category of people who like John. I first met him in 1984 when he was a 25-year-old assistant coach at Kansas and was working at The Five Star camp. We were close in age and hit it off right away. John liked to talk. My job is to listen.
Ten years later, when John had taken U-Mass from nowhere to a No. 1 ranking, Peter Teeley—who had been Bush 1’s speechwriter when he was vice president—came to me and asked if I could help him put together a charity basketball tournament in Washington. Gary Williams said yes right away on behalf of Maryland; John Thompson said no right away on behalf of Georgetown. We needed a glamour team to come in and play Maryland the first year. I called John. “Let me see if I can move some things on my schedule,” he said. He did and the U-Mass-Maryland game gave the event credibility that has helped carry it through 15 successful years.
(Note to Georgetown fans who keep asking me why we have “kept Georgetown out,” of the event. Nothing could be further from the truth. We’ve negotiated with Craig Esherick, with John Thompson III and with Bernie Muir and Adam Brick when they were AD’s and gotten nowhere. I still believe Big John Thompson is pulling that string).
So it is hard for me to not like Calipari for a number of reasons. But there’s no doubt the more his team, built in large part around two kids he brought with him when he left Memphis who are likely to be one-and-outs, will continue to be a source of controversy as it continues to win.
Tonight, I’ll be I Charlottesville for my first in-person look at both Georgia Tech and Virginia, with new coach Tony Bennett. UVA had a good win on Saturday when it won at N.C. State but tonight will be a much bigger test against a Tech team with one of the better young frontcourts in the country.
Remarkably, this will be my first game at The John Paul Jones Arena. I’ve seen it because Craig Littlepage gave me a tour a couple years ago when I went down to speak to some UVA students, but haven’t been there for a game. I know it is a marked upgrade for Virginia over creaky old University Hall, but I for one will miss the old place. Not only did it have excellent press seating it had the best media parking—like 10 yards from the back door to the building—in the country. If you think that’s not a big deal to someone like me you’re wrong. Parking, especially in winter, is always key for me. My guess is I’ll spend a lot of time moaning tonight about the good old days. But getting to have dinner at The Aberdeen Barn with a bunch of my old friends in the UVA media will make it worth the trip. Oh, and the game should be good too.
--------------------
I have to admit I was surprised yesterday that some posters and e-mailers seemed to think I let Mark McGwire off the hook. I admitted up front that I liked him. Then I went on to say he clearly hadn’t told the entire truth when he claimed he only used steroids to deal with injuries and to stay on the field. I also said he did not belong in the Hall of Fame and that I wouldn’t vote for him if I had a vote. I don’t think that’s letting him off the hook. I would have said the exact same thing about Barry Bonds—who I can’t stand.
Oh well, can’t please everyone.
The college hoops I saw had a myriad of story lines. Purdue lost for a second straight game—at home no less—blowing a late 13-point lead to Ohio State. What does this prove? Nothing we don’t already know: once you get in to conference play no one is going to win every night. Texas is going to lose at some point and so is Kentucky although it is impossible not to be impressed with the Wildcats. I made my first trip ever to Florida’s O’Connell Center last year and it is a VERY tough place to play. Kentucky made it look easy, taking the lead midway in the first half and looking to be in control from that point on.
The other game that caught my eye was North Carolina State winning at Florida State. It’s the road wins you notice this time of year. Wake Forest escaping Maryland in overtime only means the Deacons held serve and Maryland missed a chance for a bonus victory. Baylor losing at Colorado is the same thing. Teams lose on the road. When you win on the road, especially against a ranked team or even a good unranked team, that’s something to hang your hat on.
There may not have been a team or a coach more in need of a win than N.C. State and Sidney Lowe. Two Sundays ago, the Wolfpack had Florida beaten until a 70-foot shot at the buzzer went in and the Gators won by one. Because I always connect Billy Donovan in my mind to Rick Pitino (since he played for him at Providence and coached under him at Kentucky) I remembered a game years ago in Hawaii when a Kentucky player grabbed a rebound in the final seconds, went the length of the court and scored to beat Arizona at the buzzer.
“We call that play explosion,” Pitino said after the game. Back then Rick always had to take a bow. Now I think he would just say, “the kid made a hell of a play.” Donovan simply said his kid hit an amazing shot and left it at that.
After that brutal loss, State beat Holy Cross (yawn) but then blew a nine point lead last Saturday AT HOME to Virginia, which is still learning how to play Tony Bennett slow-ball. So to go TO Florida State and win was a very big deal.
Lowe will always be a hero at N.C. State for his role in the 1983 national championship. He was a superb point guard on that team. One of my favorite (among many) Jim Valvano stories is about Lowe dribbling the clock down late in a game (there was no shot clock). He came over near the bench and said, “Coach, I need a blow.”
Valvano nodded and said, “You’ll get one Sidney—just as soon as your eligibility is used up.”
This is Lowe’s fourth year at State and he hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament yet. He had an unlikely run to the ACC Tournament final his first season but that’s been about it for excitement. State fans more or less ran Herb Sendek out of town even though he had gotten State into the tournament five years in a row and reached the sweet sixteen. Sendek didn’t beat Duke or North Carolina enough and his dry personality wasn’t enough to overcome that defect. Lowe has plenty of personality and that State pedigree but he hasn’t beaten State or Carolina very much and hasn’t won nearly as much as Sendek did. It seems unlikely he’d get run off after four years but we live in an era where Ivy League coaches are getting jettisoned (two of them now—Glenn Miller at Penn, Terry Dunn at Dartmouth) in midseason. So nothing is a certain in coaching.
Ask the Tennessee fans who spent the last year learning to love Lane Kiffin.
Kentucky’s continuing success is going to continue to raise the issue of John Calipari’s move to UK from Memphis; the players he ran off and his history at Memphis and Massachusetts. Everyone knows the Kentucky people could care less about Calipari’s past, they care only about his present and future. They may already be erecting a statue to him by now.
In a very real sense they are no different than other fans—only there are more of them and they do tend to go a little bit nuts in both directions. I still remember being in a car during Tubby Smith’s first season at the school (which ended in a national title) and hearing a fan call into his show. “Coach,” he said, “I just want you to know I haven’t given up on this team yet.”
Kentucky was 25-4 at that moment.
One coach I know who knows Calipari well and has recruited against him for years said this about him: “He’s the most dangerous guy in the game right now. Why? Because he’s a good coach and a good guy and people like him. But he’s going to do whatever it takes to win—whatever it takes. You think it’s a coincidence he’s had two Final Fours vacated? Sure and Mark McGwire took steroids because of injuries.”
That sums up the way a lot of coaches feel about Calipari. Some of that is jealousy but some of that IS his past. I fall into the category of people who like John. I first met him in 1984 when he was a 25-year-old assistant coach at Kansas and was working at The Five Star camp. We were close in age and hit it off right away. John liked to talk. My job is to listen.
Ten years later, when John had taken U-Mass from nowhere to a No. 1 ranking, Peter Teeley—who had been Bush 1’s speechwriter when he was vice president—came to me and asked if I could help him put together a charity basketball tournament in Washington. Gary Williams said yes right away on behalf of Maryland; John Thompson said no right away on behalf of Georgetown. We needed a glamour team to come in and play Maryland the first year. I called John. “Let me see if I can move some things on my schedule,” he said. He did and the U-Mass-Maryland game gave the event credibility that has helped carry it through 15 successful years.
(Note to Georgetown fans who keep asking me why we have “kept Georgetown out,” of the event. Nothing could be further from the truth. We’ve negotiated with Craig Esherick, with John Thompson III and with Bernie Muir and Adam Brick when they were AD’s and gotten nowhere. I still believe Big John Thompson is pulling that string).
So it is hard for me to not like Calipari for a number of reasons. But there’s no doubt the more his team, built in large part around two kids he brought with him when he left Memphis who are likely to be one-and-outs, will continue to be a source of controversy as it continues to win.
Tonight, I’ll be I Charlottesville for my first in-person look at both Georgia Tech and Virginia, with new coach Tony Bennett. UVA had a good win on Saturday when it won at N.C. State but tonight will be a much bigger test against a Tech team with one of the better young frontcourts in the country.
Remarkably, this will be my first game at The John Paul Jones Arena. I’ve seen it because Craig Littlepage gave me a tour a couple years ago when I went down to speak to some UVA students, but haven’t been there for a game. I know it is a marked upgrade for Virginia over creaky old University Hall, but I for one will miss the old place. Not only did it have excellent press seating it had the best media parking—like 10 yards from the back door to the building—in the country. If you think that’s not a big deal to someone like me you’re wrong. Parking, especially in winter, is always key for me. My guess is I’ll spend a lot of time moaning tonight about the good old days. But getting to have dinner at The Aberdeen Barn with a bunch of my old friends in the UVA media will make it worth the trip. Oh, and the game should be good too.
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I have to admit I was surprised yesterday that some posters and e-mailers seemed to think I let Mark McGwire off the hook. I admitted up front that I liked him. Then I went on to say he clearly hadn’t told the entire truth when he claimed he only used steroids to deal with injuries and to stay on the field. I also said he did not belong in the Hall of Fame and that I wouldn’t vote for him if I had a vote. I don’t think that’s letting him off the hook. I would have said the exact same thing about Barry Bonds—who I can’t stand.
Oh well, can’t please everyone.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
For now, let’s give Mark McGwire credit for finally making an admission
I always liked Mark McGwire. I can’t claim to know him well but I did interview him and talk to him on a number of occasions during the 1990s, beginning in 1992 when I wrote, “Play Ball.” He was still in Oakland then and while he would never be described as outgoing he was smart, thoughtful and—unlike his then-teammate Jose Canseco—when he said he was going to talk to you at 3:30 on Tuesday he showed up at 3:30 on Tuesday.
(Not that no-showing for a scheduled interview, even on multiple occasions, made Canseco unique by any means. The all-timer was Kevin Mitchell who told me to meet him in the clubhouse at 2 o’clock one afternoon. I asked him if he really planned to get there that early for a 7:30 game. Absolutely, he said, 2 o’clock. I was there at 2 o’clock and had to sit outside the clubhouse in a drafty hallway because there was no one inside at that hour. Mitchell showed up at 5 o’clock—ten minutes before he had to be on the field to stretch before batting practice. No apology, no explanation. “I can give you five minutes,” he said. I told him not to bother).
I wrote about McGwire—with no discussion of steroids because it really hadn’t become an issue at that time—in ‘Play Ball.’ In 1995, after the players strike ended, I walked into the A’s clubhouse in Baltimore one afternoon and heard McGwire calling my name across the room. I went over to say hello and, as we shook hands, he said, “Why are you just about the only guy who understood what the strike was about?”
Needless to say I REALLY liked him at that point. We talked at length about the strike and about my testimony before Congress when I had more or less gone head-to-head with Bud Selig, testifying at the same time he did.
Three years later when McGwire and Sammy Sosa lit up the summer with their home run duel I was as enthralled as anybody else. By then though there were whispers—about BOTH of them, more Sosa than McGwire to be honest because McGwire had always been a big guy and had hit 49 home runs as a rookie in Oakland. Sosa had gone from flat out skinny to flat out muscular. McGwire was huge. I remember thinking one day when I was in the Cardinals clubhouse, that his arms were about as big as any I’d seen on anyone who wasn’t a bodybuilder.
Still, like a lot of others, I didn’t get it. Maybe I didn’t want to get it. As time went by and more and more evidence came out there wasn’t much doubt that a lot of guys had been using steroids.
Then came Canseco’s book—which has thus far proven to be almost completely accurate—and the embarrassing Congressional hearing when McGwire took the fifth; Rafael Palmeiro lied and Sosa forgot how to speak English. There was never much doubt after that about what steroids were doing to baseball.
When I wrote, “Living on the Black,” in 2007 I talked at length with both Tom Glavine and Mike Mussina about steroid use. Their educated guesses were that at least 25 percent of Major Leaguers had used on a regular basis before steroid testing finally came into play in 2003 and that at least 50 percent had at least experimented at some time. On the day the Mitchell report came out I was wrapping up the research on the book and called them both. The most telling comment came from Glavine: “I’m more surprised by the names NOT in the report than by the names that are in it.”
No one was surprised on Monday when McGwire finally admitted he had used steroids. Most people I know reacted with the famous line from Inspector Renaud in ‘Casablanca,’: “I’m shocked, SHOCKED that McGwire used steroids.’ Once McGwire signed on with the St. Louis Cardinals to be their hitting coach everyone knew he was going to have to address the issue because if he didn’t spring training would become a circus and Tony LaRussa didn’t want that.
So, McGwire made his confession in a day carefully orchestrated by former Bush (2) White House press secretary Ari Fleisher, who is making a very good living these days based on his reputation for defending indefensible positions. (He’s also on the BCS payroll).
I don’t think there was anything fake about McGwire’s emotions in his interviews with Bob Costas and others. What’s more, I think he truly believes that the steroids he took weren’t a factor in the 70 home runs he hit in 1998 or the remarkable numbers he put up during the last eight years of his career. Athletes often rationalize their actions to the point where they actually believe they didn’t do anything wrong if only because that’s how they live with the deed. I think McGwire is a good enough guy that knowing, deep down, what he did, really bothers him now. I’m sure the phone call he made to Pat Maris (Roger’s widow) to confess was probably the toughest thing in this whole process.
That said, he’d be a lot better off if he said simply, “I have no idea how much my steroid use affected my power,”—because he doesn’t know. None of us do. Most of us believe it did have an affect and it certainly gave him an advantage over home run hitters of past eras even if you totally believe McGwire’s version of events because it allowed his body to recover from both injuries AND fatigue much faster. There’s also a chicken-and-egg thing going on here: steroids often make players susceptible to injuries. So, how much did McGwire’s early steroid use break his body down and “force,” him (at least in his mind) to continue taking them? Again, we’ll never know.
What we do know is this: he cheated. Steroids, remember WERE banned by Fay Vincent in 1991 when they were declared illegal by the government. There was just no testing because the union stonewalled and the owners liked all the home runs being hit. He also lied in spite of LaRussa’s claim that by not answering questions to Congress he didn’t lie. It’s what’s called a lie of omission, whether talking to Congress or hiding out for most of the last eight years. LaRussa should also stop acting as if McGwire is Mother Theresa: loyalty is an admirable trait but it can go too far. Just say, ‘yeah, Mark screwed up and I’m glad he finally admitted it so he can move on,’ and leave it at that.
Finally, there is the omnipresent Hall of Fame question. I don’t think there’s any doubt that confessing—even though it wasn’t a full confession—will make McGwire’s case much stronger for the Hall in future years. A number of baseball writers, including smart guys like The Washington Post’s Dave Sheinin and ESPN’s Buster Olney have said that they think voters should go ahead and vote for ALL the steroid-era players because no doubt there are some who cheated who simply haven’t been caught or have flown under the radar enough to not be accused.
Personally, I think that’s a cop out. The damage all these guys have done to baseball is incalculable. This isn’t a court of law where one is innocent until proven guilty. This is the court of public opinion. Did anyone think before Monday that McGwire was clean? Does anyone think Barry Bonds is clean? Roger Clemens? Sosa? I don’t think anyone should vote for them.
Olney also raised the very legitimate question this morning about whether writers should be deciding who goes into the Hall of Fame—in any sport. I’m not sure he’s wrong about that and, in fact, The Post doesn’t let any of us vote for any Hall of Fame. That said, the most corrupt and worst Hall of Fame process is The Basketball Hall of Fame, which doesn’t even allow the public to know WHO the voters are which makes the process far more political than others Halls of Fame.
For now, let’s give McGwire credit for finally making an admission—I’m not going to go so far as to say he came clean—and let him move on with his life. No doubt he will be embraced in St. Louis and that’s fine. But if I still had a vote for the Hall of Fame, even though I like the guy, I couldn’t vote for him.
(Not that no-showing for a scheduled interview, even on multiple occasions, made Canseco unique by any means. The all-timer was Kevin Mitchell who told me to meet him in the clubhouse at 2 o’clock one afternoon. I asked him if he really planned to get there that early for a 7:30 game. Absolutely, he said, 2 o’clock. I was there at 2 o’clock and had to sit outside the clubhouse in a drafty hallway because there was no one inside at that hour. Mitchell showed up at 5 o’clock—ten minutes before he had to be on the field to stretch before batting practice. No apology, no explanation. “I can give you five minutes,” he said. I told him not to bother).
I wrote about McGwire—with no discussion of steroids because it really hadn’t become an issue at that time—in ‘Play Ball.’ In 1995, after the players strike ended, I walked into the A’s clubhouse in Baltimore one afternoon and heard McGwire calling my name across the room. I went over to say hello and, as we shook hands, he said, “Why are you just about the only guy who understood what the strike was about?”
Needless to say I REALLY liked him at that point. We talked at length about the strike and about my testimony before Congress when I had more or less gone head-to-head with Bud Selig, testifying at the same time he did.
Three years later when McGwire and Sammy Sosa lit up the summer with their home run duel I was as enthralled as anybody else. By then though there were whispers—about BOTH of them, more Sosa than McGwire to be honest because McGwire had always been a big guy and had hit 49 home runs as a rookie in Oakland. Sosa had gone from flat out skinny to flat out muscular. McGwire was huge. I remember thinking one day when I was in the Cardinals clubhouse, that his arms were about as big as any I’d seen on anyone who wasn’t a bodybuilder.
Still, like a lot of others, I didn’t get it. Maybe I didn’t want to get it. As time went by and more and more evidence came out there wasn’t much doubt that a lot of guys had been using steroids.
Then came Canseco’s book—which has thus far proven to be almost completely accurate—and the embarrassing Congressional hearing when McGwire took the fifth; Rafael Palmeiro lied and Sosa forgot how to speak English. There was never much doubt after that about what steroids were doing to baseball.
When I wrote, “Living on the Black,” in 2007 I talked at length with both Tom Glavine and Mike Mussina about steroid use. Their educated guesses were that at least 25 percent of Major Leaguers had used on a regular basis before steroid testing finally came into play in 2003 and that at least 50 percent had at least experimented at some time. On the day the Mitchell report came out I was wrapping up the research on the book and called them both. The most telling comment came from Glavine: “I’m more surprised by the names NOT in the report than by the names that are in it.”
No one was surprised on Monday when McGwire finally admitted he had used steroids. Most people I know reacted with the famous line from Inspector Renaud in ‘Casablanca,’: “I’m shocked, SHOCKED that McGwire used steroids.’ Once McGwire signed on with the St. Louis Cardinals to be their hitting coach everyone knew he was going to have to address the issue because if he didn’t spring training would become a circus and Tony LaRussa didn’t want that.
So, McGwire made his confession in a day carefully orchestrated by former Bush (2) White House press secretary Ari Fleisher, who is making a very good living these days based on his reputation for defending indefensible positions. (He’s also on the BCS payroll).
I don’t think there was anything fake about McGwire’s emotions in his interviews with Bob Costas and others. What’s more, I think he truly believes that the steroids he took weren’t a factor in the 70 home runs he hit in 1998 or the remarkable numbers he put up during the last eight years of his career. Athletes often rationalize their actions to the point where they actually believe they didn’t do anything wrong if only because that’s how they live with the deed. I think McGwire is a good enough guy that knowing, deep down, what he did, really bothers him now. I’m sure the phone call he made to Pat Maris (Roger’s widow) to confess was probably the toughest thing in this whole process.
That said, he’d be a lot better off if he said simply, “I have no idea how much my steroid use affected my power,”—because he doesn’t know. None of us do. Most of us believe it did have an affect and it certainly gave him an advantage over home run hitters of past eras even if you totally believe McGwire’s version of events because it allowed his body to recover from both injuries AND fatigue much faster. There’s also a chicken-and-egg thing going on here: steroids often make players susceptible to injuries. So, how much did McGwire’s early steroid use break his body down and “force,” him (at least in his mind) to continue taking them? Again, we’ll never know.
What we do know is this: he cheated. Steroids, remember WERE banned by Fay Vincent in 1991 when they were declared illegal by the government. There was just no testing because the union stonewalled and the owners liked all the home runs being hit. He also lied in spite of LaRussa’s claim that by not answering questions to Congress he didn’t lie. It’s what’s called a lie of omission, whether talking to Congress or hiding out for most of the last eight years. LaRussa should also stop acting as if McGwire is Mother Theresa: loyalty is an admirable trait but it can go too far. Just say, ‘yeah, Mark screwed up and I’m glad he finally admitted it so he can move on,’ and leave it at that.
Finally, there is the omnipresent Hall of Fame question. I don’t think there’s any doubt that confessing—even though it wasn’t a full confession—will make McGwire’s case much stronger for the Hall in future years. A number of baseball writers, including smart guys like The Washington Post’s Dave Sheinin and ESPN’s Buster Olney have said that they think voters should go ahead and vote for ALL the steroid-era players because no doubt there are some who cheated who simply haven’t been caught or have flown under the radar enough to not be accused.
Personally, I think that’s a cop out. The damage all these guys have done to baseball is incalculable. This isn’t a court of law where one is innocent until proven guilty. This is the court of public opinion. Did anyone think before Monday that McGwire was clean? Does anyone think Barry Bonds is clean? Roger Clemens? Sosa? I don’t think anyone should vote for them.
Olney also raised the very legitimate question this morning about whether writers should be deciding who goes into the Hall of Fame—in any sport. I’m not sure he’s wrong about that and, in fact, The Post doesn’t let any of us vote for any Hall of Fame. That said, the most corrupt and worst Hall of Fame process is The Basketball Hall of Fame, which doesn’t even allow the public to know WHO the voters are which makes the process far more political than others Halls of Fame.
For now, let’s give McGwire credit for finally making an admission—I’m not going to go so far as to say he came clean—and let him move on with his life. No doubt he will be embraced in St. Louis and that’s fine. But if I still had a vote for the Hall of Fame, even though I like the guy, I couldn’t vote for him.
Monday, January 11, 2010
This week in The Washington Post
Here are this week's articles The Washington Post, both focused on college basketball. Today's column was on George Washington, and over the weekend I wrote about Connecticut's Jim Calhoun.
The following is today's article --------
With 8 minutes 24 seconds left in the game Sunday at Smith Center, George Washington's Hermann Opoku had just made two free throws to give the Colonials a 60-50 lead over Xavier. GW had finished the first half strong to take a 41-30 lead and the margin had stayed between seven and 11 points throughout the second half.
That's not enough, Colonials Coach Karl Hobbs thought as he glanced at the scoreboard.
"I knew at some point in the second half we had to get the lead to 14," he said after the game. "I knew Xavier was too good and too experienced a team for us to keep stopping their offense the whole day. After we got to 60, I kept looking up and we were still on 60. It felt like we were there a long time."
They were there for more than five minutes. By the time Aaron Ware made a free throw with 3:04 left, Xavier had the lead and the Musketeers never looked back, cruising to a 76-69 win. In all, Xavier outscored GW 20-1 over a stretch that last nearly eight minutes.
Click here for the rest of the column: GW has spice, needs seasoning
-----------------------
Some losses are tougher to take than others. As the celebration began Saturday afternoon at Verizon Center in the seconds after Georgetown's stunning 72-69 victory over Connecticut, Jim Calhoun walked through the handshake line, a blank look on his face, probably not even seeing any of the players or coaches he was congratulating.
"I've just never gotten to the point where a loss doesn't tear me up," he said. "I still feel as if I've failed whenever we lose. My friends will say to me, 'Don't you know how much you've done?' My answer is, no I don't. Not when I've got Georgetown to play at noon today. I stay in the present."
Calhoun actually said those words about three hours before Saturday's tip-off. As he spoke, he easily might have passed for just another visitor to the nation's capital, someone looking to stay inside on a frigid morning. He already had worked out and was sipping a cup of coffee while his players sat quietly around him eating their pregame meal.
Click here for the rest of the column: Connecticut's Jim Calhoun still loves coaching
The following is today's article --------
With 8 minutes 24 seconds left in the game Sunday at Smith Center, George Washington's Hermann Opoku had just made two free throws to give the Colonials a 60-50 lead over Xavier. GW had finished the first half strong to take a 41-30 lead and the margin had stayed between seven and 11 points throughout the second half.
That's not enough, Colonials Coach Karl Hobbs thought as he glanced at the scoreboard.
"I knew at some point in the second half we had to get the lead to 14," he said after the game. "I knew Xavier was too good and too experienced a team for us to keep stopping their offense the whole day. After we got to 60, I kept looking up and we were still on 60. It felt like we were there a long time."
They were there for more than five minutes. By the time Aaron Ware made a free throw with 3:04 left, Xavier had the lead and the Musketeers never looked back, cruising to a 76-69 win. In all, Xavier outscored GW 20-1 over a stretch that last nearly eight minutes.
Click here for the rest of the column: GW has spice, needs seasoning
-----------------------
Some losses are tougher to take than others. As the celebration began Saturday afternoon at Verizon Center in the seconds after Georgetown's stunning 72-69 victory over Connecticut, Jim Calhoun walked through the handshake line, a blank look on his face, probably not even seeing any of the players or coaches he was congratulating.
"I've just never gotten to the point where a loss doesn't tear me up," he said. "I still feel as if I've failed whenever we lose. My friends will say to me, 'Don't you know how much you've done?' My answer is, no I don't. Not when I've got Georgetown to play at noon today. I stay in the present."
Calhoun actually said those words about three hours before Saturday's tip-off. As he spoke, he easily might have passed for just another visitor to the nation's capital, someone looking to stay inside on a frigid morning. He already had worked out and was sipping a cup of coffee while his players sat quietly around him eating their pregame meal.
Click here for the rest of the column: Connecticut's Jim Calhoun still loves coaching
Another rendition of Athletes Not Getting It; NFL weekend not what they were looking for
So here we go again with Athletes Not Getting It.
This could be a nightly reality show if truth be told because it’s an epidemic. Sunday, when the Washington Wizards played The New Orleans Hornets, DeShaun Stevenson of the Wizards arrived on court with the words “Agent,” and “Zero,” written on the tape he had around his shins. He said later he wanted people to know that Gilbert Arenas—aka Agent Zero—was still a part of the Wizards and is not forgotten even though he is currently suspended indefinitely by the NBA for bringing guns into the locker room and then making light of his actions.
I have asked this question before and so have others: Is Flip Saunders coaching this team or has team president Ernie Grunfeld just provided him with a very good set to watch the 11-23 Wizards in action? Last Tuesday when Arenas did his fake shooting bit with his fingers during introductions in Philadelphia, Saunders claimed he didn’t see it so he took no action. He can’t use that excuse this time since Stevenson was out there the entire game with the Agent Zero on his shins.
Look, I know some people will say what’s the big deal and, to be honest, in the grand scheme of things it isn’t a big deal. But what this says is that Stevenson and the Wizards still haven’t figured out that this isn’t a suspension for leaving the bench during a fight. Once upon a time putting someone’s number or name on a uniform was done on rare occasions to honor someone who had died or, in rarer instances, someone whose career was suddenly cut short by an injury.
The Wizards are wearing the word, “Abe,” on their uniforms to honor Abe Pollin, the man who owned the team for 45 years until his death in November. That’s exactly as it should be. I think it’s neat that Marquette’s uniforms still include the name “Al,” in honor of Al McGuire because he was responsible for taking Marquette into the big time during his coaching tenure there. The “HK,” on the Phillies uniforms last season for Harry Kalas was entirely appropriate.
But Terrelle Pryor putting Michael Vick’s name on his eye-black when Ohio State played Navy wasn’t just dumb it was insulting. Vick was hardly a martyr. Coach Jim Tressel claimed after the game that he didn’t see it. Other athletes have done similar things on sneakers or socks for players who have been suspended for drug use or doing something stupid. Arenas is about as far from being a martyr as you can get. No one—including Stevenson—is saying his suspension is unfair on any level. So why in the world did Saunders not say something to him before the game on Sunday?
Something like, “Look DeShaun, we’re all upset about this but this didn’t happen TO Gilbert, he caused it to happen. We sent Antawn Jamison, our most respected player, to talk to the crowd pre-game on Friday to basically apologize for what’s been going on. Let’s just go play and not give people more reason to think we still don’t get it.”
Nope, Saunders did nothing. Stevenson played with the Agent Zero wrapped around his shins, the Wizards lost and the ship continues to sink. Sadly, given the behavior of just about everyone connected to the franchise, the ship deserves its spot at the bottom of the NBA ocean.
--------------
Meanwhile….The first round of the NFL playoffs produced exactly one game worth watching in the fourth quarter. You might have stuck with Jets-Bengals because of the Jets past history but no one who doesn’t bleed Dallas blue was still up for the fourth quarter—or for that matter the third quarter—of the Cowboys blow-out of the Eagles. The Patriots season was over before the end of the first quarter against the Ravens. Joe Flacco threw for a total of 34 yards and his team was never in trouble. I don’t think that’s how the NFL draws it up on the playoff bulletin board.
Arizona-Green Bay didn’t save the weekend but it at least provided people with a game worth watching and worth talking about. It’s funny isn’t it how the Cardinals have become the franchise that has been the most fun to watch in the last two postseasons? They weren’t supposed to beat the rising young Falcons in their playoff opener last year and they beat them. Then they pretty much destroyed Jake Delhomme’s career and stunned the Carolina Panthers. They whipped the Eagles and then engaged the Steelers in one of the most dramatic Super Bowls every played before losing in the last minute.
This year, they’ve blown a huge lead, missed what should have been a chip shot game-winning field goal at the end of regulation and then advanced on a defensive touchdown. Do you think the Saints won’t be a little bit nervous—given the way they’ve played in recent weeks—facing Kurt Warner on Saturday? Does anyone think that game is a lock for New Orleans? I don’t.
Speaking of Warner, I wonder where people stand on the issue of his Hall of Fame credentials Personally, I think he has to be in. He took the Rams from nowhere to two Super Bowls—winning one. His career appeared over when the Giants dumped him and everyone figured the Cardinals signed him to back up Matt Leinart. Instead, he came this close to winning The Super Bowl a year ago and now has the Cardinals back in the conference semifinals with 11 victories under their belt.
I think you put all that together and he’s a Hall of Famer. I’ve never been a fan of Warner’s tendency to give all the glory to God after wins. I just don’t think God should be invoked as playing a role in the outcome of any sporting event. If you want to thank God for giving you the ability to play, that’s fine. Just don’t imply he cared if you won the game. People point out to me all the time that President Obama has more important things to do than fix the BCS. If that’s the case God CERTAINLY has more important things to deal with than the NFL playoffs.
The all-timer in this area was Michael Chang insisting after he won the 1989 French Open that his victory was the result of having a closer relationship to Jesus Christ than Stefan Edberg did. When he was asked how he could possibly know that one way or the other, he insisted that he did in fact know it as a certainty.
When I was working on my book on the Baltimore Ravens I asked Ray Lewis, who has six kids, if he thought he would get married anytime soon. “God and I are working on that,” Ray replied. Who knows? Maybe God secretly runs e-harmony.
(Note to readers: If my bringing any of this up bothers you, sorry. I’m not trying to be blasphemous or question anyone’s beliefs. I just think people should keep their beliefs private, especially when it comes to implying that God has anything to do with the outcome of a game).
One other completely un-related note: The PGA Tour began its 2010 season this past weekend. I couldn’t help but notice the number of people who said or wrote the words, “without Tiger Woods.” For the record: Woods hasn’t played in The Tournament of Champions (that’s what I still call it regardless of what corporate name is slapped on it) the last five years. Phil Mickelson hasn’t played in eight years. We’re Tiger-centric enough as it is without implying his “indefinite absence,” somehow means he’s going from playing 40 weeks a year to zero. There’s still a good chance that the absence will mean he ends up skipping exactly two tournaments he normally plays—San Diego and The Match Play.
Thank God they’re playing golf again. (yes, that’s a joke). It’s nice knowing there’s some place on earth where it isn’t freezing cold outside.
This could be a nightly reality show if truth be told because it’s an epidemic. Sunday, when the Washington Wizards played The New Orleans Hornets, DeShaun Stevenson of the Wizards arrived on court with the words “Agent,” and “Zero,” written on the tape he had around his shins. He said later he wanted people to know that Gilbert Arenas—aka Agent Zero—was still a part of the Wizards and is not forgotten even though he is currently suspended indefinitely by the NBA for bringing guns into the locker room and then making light of his actions.
I have asked this question before and so have others: Is Flip Saunders coaching this team or has team president Ernie Grunfeld just provided him with a very good set to watch the 11-23 Wizards in action? Last Tuesday when Arenas did his fake shooting bit with his fingers during introductions in Philadelphia, Saunders claimed he didn’t see it so he took no action. He can’t use that excuse this time since Stevenson was out there the entire game with the Agent Zero on his shins.
Look, I know some people will say what’s the big deal and, to be honest, in the grand scheme of things it isn’t a big deal. But what this says is that Stevenson and the Wizards still haven’t figured out that this isn’t a suspension for leaving the bench during a fight. Once upon a time putting someone’s number or name on a uniform was done on rare occasions to honor someone who had died or, in rarer instances, someone whose career was suddenly cut short by an injury.
The Wizards are wearing the word, “Abe,” on their uniforms to honor Abe Pollin, the man who owned the team for 45 years until his death in November. That’s exactly as it should be. I think it’s neat that Marquette’s uniforms still include the name “Al,” in honor of Al McGuire because he was responsible for taking Marquette into the big time during his coaching tenure there. The “HK,” on the Phillies uniforms last season for Harry Kalas was entirely appropriate.
But Terrelle Pryor putting Michael Vick’s name on his eye-black when Ohio State played Navy wasn’t just dumb it was insulting. Vick was hardly a martyr. Coach Jim Tressel claimed after the game that he didn’t see it. Other athletes have done similar things on sneakers or socks for players who have been suspended for drug use or doing something stupid. Arenas is about as far from being a martyr as you can get. No one—including Stevenson—is saying his suspension is unfair on any level. So why in the world did Saunders not say something to him before the game on Sunday?
Something like, “Look DeShaun, we’re all upset about this but this didn’t happen TO Gilbert, he caused it to happen. We sent Antawn Jamison, our most respected player, to talk to the crowd pre-game on Friday to basically apologize for what’s been going on. Let’s just go play and not give people more reason to think we still don’t get it.”
Nope, Saunders did nothing. Stevenson played with the Agent Zero wrapped around his shins, the Wizards lost and the ship continues to sink. Sadly, given the behavior of just about everyone connected to the franchise, the ship deserves its spot at the bottom of the NBA ocean.
--------------
Meanwhile….The first round of the NFL playoffs produced exactly one game worth watching in the fourth quarter. You might have stuck with Jets-Bengals because of the Jets past history but no one who doesn’t bleed Dallas blue was still up for the fourth quarter—or for that matter the third quarter—of the Cowboys blow-out of the Eagles. The Patriots season was over before the end of the first quarter against the Ravens. Joe Flacco threw for a total of 34 yards and his team was never in trouble. I don’t think that’s how the NFL draws it up on the playoff bulletin board.
Arizona-Green Bay didn’t save the weekend but it at least provided people with a game worth watching and worth talking about. It’s funny isn’t it how the Cardinals have become the franchise that has been the most fun to watch in the last two postseasons? They weren’t supposed to beat the rising young Falcons in their playoff opener last year and they beat them. Then they pretty much destroyed Jake Delhomme’s career and stunned the Carolina Panthers. They whipped the Eagles and then engaged the Steelers in one of the most dramatic Super Bowls every played before losing in the last minute.
This year, they’ve blown a huge lead, missed what should have been a chip shot game-winning field goal at the end of regulation and then advanced on a defensive touchdown. Do you think the Saints won’t be a little bit nervous—given the way they’ve played in recent weeks—facing Kurt Warner on Saturday? Does anyone think that game is a lock for New Orleans? I don’t.
Speaking of Warner, I wonder where people stand on the issue of his Hall of Fame credentials Personally, I think he has to be in. He took the Rams from nowhere to two Super Bowls—winning one. His career appeared over when the Giants dumped him and everyone figured the Cardinals signed him to back up Matt Leinart. Instead, he came this close to winning The Super Bowl a year ago and now has the Cardinals back in the conference semifinals with 11 victories under their belt.
I think you put all that together and he’s a Hall of Famer. I’ve never been a fan of Warner’s tendency to give all the glory to God after wins. I just don’t think God should be invoked as playing a role in the outcome of any sporting event. If you want to thank God for giving you the ability to play, that’s fine. Just don’t imply he cared if you won the game. People point out to me all the time that President Obama has more important things to do than fix the BCS. If that’s the case God CERTAINLY has more important things to deal with than the NFL playoffs.
The all-timer in this area was Michael Chang insisting after he won the 1989 French Open that his victory was the result of having a closer relationship to Jesus Christ than Stefan Edberg did. When he was asked how he could possibly know that one way or the other, he insisted that he did in fact know it as a certainty.
When I was working on my book on the Baltimore Ravens I asked Ray Lewis, who has six kids, if he thought he would get married anytime soon. “God and I are working on that,” Ray replied. Who knows? Maybe God secretly runs e-harmony.
(Note to readers: If my bringing any of this up bothers you, sorry. I’m not trying to be blasphemous or question anyone’s beliefs. I just think people should keep their beliefs private, especially when it comes to implying that God has anything to do with the outcome of a game).
One other completely un-related note: The PGA Tour began its 2010 season this past weekend. I couldn’t help but notice the number of people who said or wrote the words, “without Tiger Woods.” For the record: Woods hasn’t played in The Tournament of Champions (that’s what I still call it regardless of what corporate name is slapped on it) the last five years. Phil Mickelson hasn’t played in eight years. We’re Tiger-centric enough as it is without implying his “indefinite absence,” somehow means he’s going from playing 40 weeks a year to zero. There’s still a good chance that the absence will mean he ends up skipping exactly two tournaments he normally plays—San Diego and The Match Play.
Thank God they’re playing golf again. (yes, that’s a joke). It’s nice knowing there’s some place on earth where it isn’t freezing cold outside.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Looking at Bill Hancock’s claims in his 'State of the BCS Address'
At last, the college football season is over.
It ended with a thud, Alabama, after almost falling asleep at the wheel in the second half, pulling away to beat Texas, 37-21. Texas deserves credit for hanging in after being down 24-6 and after losing quarterback Colt McCoy on the first series. I have no doubt Texas fans will claim forever their team would have won if McCoy had played. In the end, we’ll never know. Maybe if McCoy had been hurt in a first round playoff game the Longhorns would have survived and advanced and McCoy could have come back and played. But, as we all know, that’s not the way college football is structured.
My pal Bill Hancock was at it again on Thursday, giving his “state of the BCS Address,” in his new role as executive director of America’s most corrupt organization. It was pretty clear that Bill had been prepped thoroughly by Ari Fleischer, who knows a thing or two about simply throwing out untruths from a pulpit of power and getting the public—or at least some of the public—to swallow them.
Bill made four claims Thursday that are, put simply, 100 percent untrue. Not 99 percent, 100 percent. Let’s review.
1. A college football playoff would lead to more injuries. This isn’t just wrong, it’s absolutely hypocritical. The BCS Presidents (Bill and Fleisher’s employers) are the ones who voted several years ago to add a 12th regular season game for one reason: more money. Three of the six BCS conferences play a conference championship game with the Big Ten soon to follow. That’s a 13th game followed by a bowl game. That’s 14 games—two fewer than an NFL regular season. If an eight team playoff existed with an 11 game regular season no one would play more than 14 games and only two teams would play that many. So claiming the BCS Presidents care at all about injuries is absolutely untrue.
2. A playoff would affect the exam schedules for players. Oh please Bill, don’t trot out that tired argument. Everyone knows that basketball players miss FAR more class during the NCAA Tournament in March and April than football players would miss if there was a playoff system. Let’s go through this one more time: You play quarterfinals on New Year’s Day, making it an absolutely spectacular college football day instead of making people watch The Outback Bowl or The Gator Bowl with five and six loss teams playing on New Year’s. You play the semifinals the next week. At that point six teams will have been eliminated without missing a day of class. Then you play the championship game two weeks later—the same weekend as the NFL conference championship games so there are no NFL games on Saturday. Depending on the school players from TWO schools might miss two or three days of classes at the very beginning of a semester. NO FINALS missed—none, zero.
3. The bowl system would be damaged. Not only is this wrong, the opposite is true—the bowl system would be enhanced. Instead of having one game that has meaning to everyone across the country you would have seven. The four bowls that are currently BCS hosts would be joined by three more bowls—let’s say The Cotton for tradition; The Citrus (or whatever it is called now) for location and The Gator (tradition and location). They rotate games each year although if I’m in charge the championship game is always at The Rose Bowl because it is still the best setting there is for a football game. The 29 other bowls (two more come on line next year) continue exactly as they are EXCEPT they are all played before New Year’s Day to clear the stage for the playoff. The 6-6 teams still get to go play a bowl game and the boys in the ugly jackets can still parade around in their ugly jackets. Nothing changes. Bowls can still take a 6-6 Iowa State team over an 8-4 Missouri team because Iowa State sells more tickets if that’s what they so desire.
4. The regular season has more meaning under the current system. Really? I’d love for Bill to walk into the locker rooms at Cincinnati, TCU and Boise State and explain how much meaning their undefeated regular seasons had. Only in the BCS can teams not lose a game and not have a chance to play for a championship. It’s absolutely ridiculous. Basically, those teams’ regular seasons had no meaning at all. If Boise State had beaten the Dallas Cowboys in their bowl game instead of TCU there are people out there who would say, ‘yeah but how would they do in the Big 12?’ Here’s the answer: who knows since no one from The Big 12 will play them and the criminals making the BCS matchups (thankfully that’s not Bill) put TCU against Boise State to make sure those two schools wouldn’t (again) embarrass BCS schools by beating them.
So Bill went four-for-four yesterday—aided by his new best friend Ari. He made four assertions and none of them was even close to true. My guess is he’ll get a bonus in his next paycheck for keeping a straight face while saying all this stuff.
A couple of other things are worth noting: NONE of the five BCS bowls provided a really dramatic finish. Perhaps it was coincidence, who knows? The best game was TCU-Boise State, which at least turned on a fake punt but the rest of the games were really duds. Here’s a stat for you: In five games there were three lead changes: Oregon briefly taking the lead on Ohio State before the Buckeyes took it back and pulled away and Alabama going ahead 7-6 in the championship game. Florida, Iowa and Boise State took the lead in their games and never trailed although TCU did tie Boise State at 10-10.
There were second tier bowl games that had that many lead changes in the last three minutes. In fact, the second tier bowls were great this year: Idaho’s 43-42 win over Bowling Green was spectacular; Arkansas’s overtime win over East Carolina was excruciating and so was Auburn thinking it had won three times after blowing a two touchdown lead before finally beating Northwestern in overtime. There were others: Central Michigan over Troy in overtime; Wyoming beating Fresno State, also in overtime.
Here’s one thing I guarantee: If you had a playoff, if every game played was a step towards a championship, you would have far fewer dud games and more great ones because there would be no doubt that everyone involved was playing for something.
Which reminds me of one more thing: Bill also made the claim that as exciting as the Division 1-AA championship was, the attendance at home sites (except Montana) wasn’t very good. Two things: December football in cold weather places isn’t usually much of a draw (including in the NFL where no-shows abound in December) and, did he check the attendance at a LOT of the second tier bowls? And that’s with virtually every bowl forcing the schools to buy thousands of tickets and then give them away if they can’t sell them. If there were a seven game, eight-team playoff as I suggested there would not be one unsold ticket. Not one.
Sorry Bill, I love you but, as you might put it, gee whiz are you kidding me?
And finally a note on the polls: My colleagues in the AP poll completely ignored me (and others) and not only didn’t vote Boise State first, they voted them FOURTH. Craig James of ESPN voted Boise SEVENTH and TCU 14th! Who does he think he’s kidding? His partners, Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit were a little less blatant in their BCS sellout, voting Boise fourth. Still. Those guys should not be allowed to vote.
At least the AP publishes the individual votes. The coaches poll, run by (surprise) ESPN and USA Today, keeps the individual votes secret except for the final regular season poll. I’m really disappointed that my friends at USA Today continue to participate in this farce. That said, the coaches did better by Navy (26th) than the AP boys and girls (28th). Here’s a shocker: none of the ESPN-three voted for Navy. Maybe that’s why Mark Jones thinks the future marines at Navy are going to Quan-TEE-co and Bob Davie keeps talking about “chop blocks.” God forbid anyone should do any homework over there it might interfere with their ability to read 10,000 promos per telecast.
Okay, I promise not to rant on the BCS for a while. As long as Bill and his pals promise not to say anything they know isn’t true. My guess is they won’t be able to do that.
It ended with a thud, Alabama, after almost falling asleep at the wheel in the second half, pulling away to beat Texas, 37-21. Texas deserves credit for hanging in after being down 24-6 and after losing quarterback Colt McCoy on the first series. I have no doubt Texas fans will claim forever their team would have won if McCoy had played. In the end, we’ll never know. Maybe if McCoy had been hurt in a first round playoff game the Longhorns would have survived and advanced and McCoy could have come back and played. But, as we all know, that’s not the way college football is structured.
My pal Bill Hancock was at it again on Thursday, giving his “state of the BCS Address,” in his new role as executive director of America’s most corrupt organization. It was pretty clear that Bill had been prepped thoroughly by Ari Fleischer, who knows a thing or two about simply throwing out untruths from a pulpit of power and getting the public—or at least some of the public—to swallow them.
Bill made four claims Thursday that are, put simply, 100 percent untrue. Not 99 percent, 100 percent. Let’s review.
1. A college football playoff would lead to more injuries. This isn’t just wrong, it’s absolutely hypocritical. The BCS Presidents (Bill and Fleisher’s employers) are the ones who voted several years ago to add a 12th regular season game for one reason: more money. Three of the six BCS conferences play a conference championship game with the Big Ten soon to follow. That’s a 13th game followed by a bowl game. That’s 14 games—two fewer than an NFL regular season. If an eight team playoff existed with an 11 game regular season no one would play more than 14 games and only two teams would play that many. So claiming the BCS Presidents care at all about injuries is absolutely untrue.
2. A playoff would affect the exam schedules for players. Oh please Bill, don’t trot out that tired argument. Everyone knows that basketball players miss FAR more class during the NCAA Tournament in March and April than football players would miss if there was a playoff system. Let’s go through this one more time: You play quarterfinals on New Year’s Day, making it an absolutely spectacular college football day instead of making people watch The Outback Bowl or The Gator Bowl with five and six loss teams playing on New Year’s. You play the semifinals the next week. At that point six teams will have been eliminated without missing a day of class. Then you play the championship game two weeks later—the same weekend as the NFL conference championship games so there are no NFL games on Saturday. Depending on the school players from TWO schools might miss two or three days of classes at the very beginning of a semester. NO FINALS missed—none, zero.
3. The bowl system would be damaged. Not only is this wrong, the opposite is true—the bowl system would be enhanced. Instead of having one game that has meaning to everyone across the country you would have seven. The four bowls that are currently BCS hosts would be joined by three more bowls—let’s say The Cotton for tradition; The Citrus (or whatever it is called now) for location and The Gator (tradition and location). They rotate games each year although if I’m in charge the championship game is always at The Rose Bowl because it is still the best setting there is for a football game. The 29 other bowls (two more come on line next year) continue exactly as they are EXCEPT they are all played before New Year’s Day to clear the stage for the playoff. The 6-6 teams still get to go play a bowl game and the boys in the ugly jackets can still parade around in their ugly jackets. Nothing changes. Bowls can still take a 6-6 Iowa State team over an 8-4 Missouri team because Iowa State sells more tickets if that’s what they so desire.
4. The regular season has more meaning under the current system. Really? I’d love for Bill to walk into the locker rooms at Cincinnati, TCU and Boise State and explain how much meaning their undefeated regular seasons had. Only in the BCS can teams not lose a game and not have a chance to play for a championship. It’s absolutely ridiculous. Basically, those teams’ regular seasons had no meaning at all. If Boise State had beaten the Dallas Cowboys in their bowl game instead of TCU there are people out there who would say, ‘yeah but how would they do in the Big 12?’ Here’s the answer: who knows since no one from The Big 12 will play them and the criminals making the BCS matchups (thankfully that’s not Bill) put TCU against Boise State to make sure those two schools wouldn’t (again) embarrass BCS schools by beating them.
So Bill went four-for-four yesterday—aided by his new best friend Ari. He made four assertions and none of them was even close to true. My guess is he’ll get a bonus in his next paycheck for keeping a straight face while saying all this stuff.
A couple of other things are worth noting: NONE of the five BCS bowls provided a really dramatic finish. Perhaps it was coincidence, who knows? The best game was TCU-Boise State, which at least turned on a fake punt but the rest of the games were really duds. Here’s a stat for you: In five games there were three lead changes: Oregon briefly taking the lead on Ohio State before the Buckeyes took it back and pulled away and Alabama going ahead 7-6 in the championship game. Florida, Iowa and Boise State took the lead in their games and never trailed although TCU did tie Boise State at 10-10.
There were second tier bowl games that had that many lead changes in the last three minutes. In fact, the second tier bowls were great this year: Idaho’s 43-42 win over Bowling Green was spectacular; Arkansas’s overtime win over East Carolina was excruciating and so was Auburn thinking it had won three times after blowing a two touchdown lead before finally beating Northwestern in overtime. There were others: Central Michigan over Troy in overtime; Wyoming beating Fresno State, also in overtime.
Here’s one thing I guarantee: If you had a playoff, if every game played was a step towards a championship, you would have far fewer dud games and more great ones because there would be no doubt that everyone involved was playing for something.
Which reminds me of one more thing: Bill also made the claim that as exciting as the Division 1-AA championship was, the attendance at home sites (except Montana) wasn’t very good. Two things: December football in cold weather places isn’t usually much of a draw (including in the NFL where no-shows abound in December) and, did he check the attendance at a LOT of the second tier bowls? And that’s with virtually every bowl forcing the schools to buy thousands of tickets and then give them away if they can’t sell them. If there were a seven game, eight-team playoff as I suggested there would not be one unsold ticket. Not one.
Sorry Bill, I love you but, as you might put it, gee whiz are you kidding me?
And finally a note on the polls: My colleagues in the AP poll completely ignored me (and others) and not only didn’t vote Boise State first, they voted them FOURTH. Craig James of ESPN voted Boise SEVENTH and TCU 14th! Who does he think he’s kidding? His partners, Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit were a little less blatant in their BCS sellout, voting Boise fourth. Still. Those guys should not be allowed to vote.
At least the AP publishes the individual votes. The coaches poll, run by (surprise) ESPN and USA Today, keeps the individual votes secret except for the final regular season poll. I’m really disappointed that my friends at USA Today continue to participate in this farce. That said, the coaches did better by Navy (26th) than the AP boys and girls (28th). Here’s a shocker: none of the ESPN-three voted for Navy. Maybe that’s why Mark Jones thinks the future marines at Navy are going to Quan-TEE-co and Bob Davie keeps talking about “chop blocks.” God forbid anyone should do any homework over there it might interfere with their ability to read 10,000 promos per telecast.
Okay, I promise not to rant on the BCS for a while. As long as Bill and his pals promise not to say anything they know isn’t true. My guess is they won’t be able to do that.
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