No, the Tigers aren't "on the block", but in a way they're going to be "gone" shortly -- at least in the minds of many sports fans -- at least for a while. That's because they're about to run into superior competition.
Ironically, it has nothing to do with the Tigers slugging it out with the Chisox for the American League central division championship in the last month of the regular season, nor even potentially making the playoffs as a wild card team. Actually, it's totally unrelated to baseball altogether.
It's not just the Tigers -- all of major league baseball is about to take a serious popularity hit due to two other very powerful forces that will shortly come on the sports scene.
In another week, NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series, those loveable boys (and occasional girl) that keep the sheet metal recycling business humming, burn up more bucks in tires, per racer, per event, than the average citizen will in their entire lifetimes, and turn left a lot, will start their own playoffs, commonly known as the "chase". This is a big deal. NASCAR has become infinitely more popular amongst the American public than major league baseball. Baseball will get shunted aside by their legions of fans. The Chase has begun. Boogety, boogety, boogety.
And of course, there's the Godzilla, T-Rex, King Kong, and even Chris Christie of professional sports, all rolled into one, about to once again come out of it's slumber to totally dominate North America. Once the NFL tees it up, all but the baseball purists start paying attention. (Hank Williams Jr. Are you ready for some football?)
Even in Detroit, sports fans face a paradox. The Tigers will likely be in a dogfight for the last month of their season to hopefully make the playoffs. But the Lions, so bad for so long, have suddenly not only become competitive, but appear to be legitimate contenders for glory unheard of in the last half century. (Paul Simon. We turn our lonely eyes to you.)
Yes, the Detroit Red Wings have won a few Stanley Cups in the last 15 years or so, and the Pistons were world champs less than a decade ago. There were parades and many kudos to them for what they accomplished. The Tigers haven't won since 1984, almost three decades, but if they did this year, the celebration would likely dwarf what the skaters and hoopsters ever experienced. In the Detroit area, baseball seems to trump basketball and hockey for whatever reasons.
While giving all due respect to NASCAR, their fans, and how that sport has exploded in popularity over the last couple decades or so, there can be little doubt the NFL still rules -- by a wide margin.
Walk into any sports bar on a Sunday, and look around at what's showing on all those big screen TVs. It could be a Lions game, a Chase race, and a Tigers game are all happening at the same time. Chances are, one would be able to view whichever they preferred.
The litmus test? Look around at the crowd, what sports gear they're wearing, and who are the most fanatical fans. One will likely see a lot of Honolulu blue and silver paraphernalia making a bunch of noise over every play.
The really true litmus test? If the bartender clicked off the Tigers, even a playoff game, some would likely quietly complain. If he/she clicked off a NASCAR chase race with only a few laps to go, a few might very well loudly raise their voices in protest. But if a Lions game got zapped -- well -- I don't know what might happen, but hopefully the owner of the bar was current on his/her insurance premiums -- because that could get ugly in a hurry.
Down deep yours truly thinks it's always been that way. Though Lions' fans have witnessed so much failure, incompetence, and seeing their team being the butt of jokes for so many years, in their heart of hearts they've always remained loyal. While the Lions have never even played a game for the opportunity to get INTO the Super Bowl, let alone go on and win it, as Ernie Harwell used to say, hope springs eternal.
But Ernie, God bless his soul, was a baseball guy. At that, I suspect he would have begrudgingly admitted that if the Tigers were playing a World Series game at the same time the Lions were playing even a regular season Monday night game, both on national TV of course, that many more folks in the Detroit area would have tuned into the football game.
And this is where I came in. Here's wishing the Tigers well, but c'mon. As I write this, the US Tennis Open is getting down to the nitty gritty, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are slugging it out again atop the leader board in another golf tournament, and believe it or not, there's other things in life that warrant one's attention besides sports.
The Tigers aren't all that anyway. Two good pitchers, two good hitters, a grouchy manager, and the rest is a crap shoot. As I write this, they're just a little bit better than average when it comes to the entire major leagues. Nothing special. It's easy to tune them out.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Ichiro. Wrong places and times
Ichiro Suzuki, currently of the New York Yankees, has an amazing history. In several ways, he's one of the most gifted athletes to ever play professional baseball, yet in another, he almost seems cursed.
In 1992, Suzuki broke into pro ball in his native Japan when he was only 18 years old. Despite it quickly becoming evident his multi-dimensional skills were off the charts, it would take him nine years before he ever got a crack at the "big leagues" in America. That was certainly due in large part to how the Japanese professional baseball hierarchy all but squashed "free agency" amongst their own teams, let alone players being allowed to defect abroad for greener pastures. However, it should also be noted that Major League Baseball, for the most part back then, still thought of Japanese players as being inferior. While MLB had come to acknowledge the talents of black and latino players several decades before, welcoming them with open arms -- the bias against Asians seemed to persist. Finally, despite certain attitudes and ways on both sides of the Pacific Ocean -- Ichiro Suzuki was given a chance to see how he would fare in the Major Leagues. The Seattle Mariners took a chance on what would then be a 27 year old rookie.
It might be fairly said that most Americans have never heard of the Orix Blue Wave of the Japanese Pacific League, where Ichiro spent all those early years. Of course, it's also likely many Americans think Arsenal has something to do with a rifle rack, Ronaldo is the clown at Mickey D's franchises in Italy, and isn't Orix where those handy-dandy lightweight vacuum cleaners come from?
Nevertheless, while being blessed with phenomenal skills, Ichiro would never be recognized as a world champion while still in Japan. Wrong place at the wrong time. On to the big leagues.
It didn't ake him long in Seattle to pick up right where he left off in Japan. In his rookie year, he led the American League in batting average (.350), hits (242), stolen bases (56), and was not only a no-brainer for AL Rookie of the Year, but also was named the MVP of the league. For the decade playing for the Mariners, Ichiro would post ridiculous hitting numbers. Ten years in a row of over 200 hits, an all-time MLB record, including 262 in 2004, also an all-time MLB record. His defensive abilities were no less spectacular. Over those same 10 seasons, he won a Gold Glove -- every year. No, he wasn't Ruthian or Aaronesque with power hitting stats, but during that time he had something else going for him as well. Though only 5' 11'' and a scant 170 lbs., it was generally acknowledged Ichiro had the best "arm" in the major leagues. Not only incredibly strong, but deadly accurate with his throws. Opposing baserunners quickly learned that trying to take an "extra base" was a bad idea, and when tagging up on fly balls hit to Suzuki, those balls better be plenty deep, or else they could get gunned down as well.
Yet, while he was making millions of dollars playing for the Mariners, it was, after all, still Seattle, a beautiful city with much to offer, and definitely a major step up from the Japanese Pacific League, but still a small market team in the major leagues. The Mariners have never been to a World Series in their entire history, let alone won it. They've certainly featured some major talents over the years, (see Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr., A-Rod, etc.) but couldn't hold on to them when other teams with big bucks and a chance for glory came-a-calling.
Ichiro saw some come, and some go, but remained loyal to the Mariners for 12 seasons. He also likely knew he would never become a world champion while there either. Wrong place and, so far, there hasn't been a right time for the Mariners.
Approaching 39 years old, and with his future contract status in doubt for the Mariners, Ichiro asked to be traded. The Mariners obliged and sent him to the NY Yankees for a couple minor league pitchers. Finally, Suzuki had a chance at the glory that eluded him for so many years. It was the Bronx Bombers. They're always in the hunt for yet another title, money be damned. To boot, the Yankees were cruising along with about a 10 game lead in the AL East division at the time. The playoffs were a given and maybe, just maybe, Ichiro could finally become a champion.
Fast forward a month and a half later, and that 10 game lead is gone. The Baltimore Orioles, who were supposed to eventually fade, but stubbornly refuse to, are staring the Yanks in the eyes for the division championship, with the pesky Tampa Bay Rays nipping at both their heels. If the Yankees don't right their ship fairly soon, it's entirely possible they could miss the playoffs altogether. If that were to happen, no doubt somewhere the ghost of George Steinbrenner would fire a few of his suboordinate spooks, but once again, Ichiro would find himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Ichiro Suzuki has been a magnificent baseball player for 20+ years. Good grief, the man has over 2500 hits in the major leagues and he wasn't even given a chance until he was 27 years old. Theoretically throw in those 9 missed seasons while still in Japan at 200 hits a year, if anything likely a conservative estimate, and he'd be approaching Ty Cobb or Pete Rose numbers. He's been that good with the bat. Still, American baseball fans are home-run happy. For some reason, they'd rather worship big brutes that can hit the ball into the bleachers, even though many have Roberto Duran's "hands of stone" defensively, weak and inaccurate throwing arms, can be timed with a sun dial running the bases, and obviously spend more time working on fancy handshakes and/or on-field celebrations than practicing other facets of the game.
Ichiro was never into all that nonsense. Besides God-given talent, the man worked his butt off learning how to do the small things in baseball to near perfection. Here's an example of an American player's egotistical tunnel vision -- consider a power-hitting left-handed batter that is known to be a "pull" hitter, but also a slow runner. The opposing infielders put the "shift" on, where the second baseman plays a shallow right field, the shortstop moves over to the right field side of second base, and the third baseman basically becomes a shortstop. It's like Abbott and Costello's famous routine. "I don't know" is covering third base -- as in nobody home. If the brute at bat would ever take the time to learn how to bunt, he could push one down the third base line and hop on one foot down to first base with a single. But they won't do that, because they're too power hungry. In their minds, and amazingly in the minds of their managers as well, it's OK to sacrifice a few automatic singles, as long as they blast one 450 feet every 5 or 6 games or so. It's incredibly counterproductive in the long run, but nobody seems to care.
Ichiro did. Put that same shift on him, and he'd bat 1.000. And it's not like he didn't have some major pop in his bat if he chose to use it. Consider the following assessment from a very knowledgable baseball person ---
Sportswriter Bruce Jenkins, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, described Ichiro's distinctive style of play:
Indeed, Ichiro has come a long way from Orix in Japan, to arguably the pinnacle of baseball in the Bronx. But Suzuki's closing in fast on 40 years old, and if the Yankees keep slip-sliding away this year, perhaps once again Ichiro will have found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Sometimes it's just not meant to be. Alas.
In 1992, Suzuki broke into pro ball in his native Japan when he was only 18 years old. Despite it quickly becoming evident his multi-dimensional skills were off the charts, it would take him nine years before he ever got a crack at the "big leagues" in America. That was certainly due in large part to how the Japanese professional baseball hierarchy all but squashed "free agency" amongst their own teams, let alone players being allowed to defect abroad for greener pastures. However, it should also be noted that Major League Baseball, for the most part back then, still thought of Japanese players as being inferior. While MLB had come to acknowledge the talents of black and latino players several decades before, welcoming them with open arms -- the bias against Asians seemed to persist. Finally, despite certain attitudes and ways on both sides of the Pacific Ocean -- Ichiro Suzuki was given a chance to see how he would fare in the Major Leagues. The Seattle Mariners took a chance on what would then be a 27 year old rookie.
It might be fairly said that most Americans have never heard of the Orix Blue Wave of the Japanese Pacific League, where Ichiro spent all those early years. Of course, it's also likely many Americans think Arsenal has something to do with a rifle rack, Ronaldo is the clown at Mickey D's franchises in Italy, and isn't Orix where those handy-dandy lightweight vacuum cleaners come from?
Nevertheless, while being blessed with phenomenal skills, Ichiro would never be recognized as a world champion while still in Japan. Wrong place at the wrong time. On to the big leagues.
It didn't ake him long in Seattle to pick up right where he left off in Japan. In his rookie year, he led the American League in batting average (.350), hits (242), stolen bases (56), and was not only a no-brainer for AL Rookie of the Year, but also was named the MVP of the league. For the decade playing for the Mariners, Ichiro would post ridiculous hitting numbers. Ten years in a row of over 200 hits, an all-time MLB record, including 262 in 2004, also an all-time MLB record. His defensive abilities were no less spectacular. Over those same 10 seasons, he won a Gold Glove -- every year. No, he wasn't Ruthian or Aaronesque with power hitting stats, but during that time he had something else going for him as well. Though only 5' 11'' and a scant 170 lbs., it was generally acknowledged Ichiro had the best "arm" in the major leagues. Not only incredibly strong, but deadly accurate with his throws. Opposing baserunners quickly learned that trying to take an "extra base" was a bad idea, and when tagging up on fly balls hit to Suzuki, those balls better be plenty deep, or else they could get gunned down as well.
Yet, while he was making millions of dollars playing for the Mariners, it was, after all, still Seattle, a beautiful city with much to offer, and definitely a major step up from the Japanese Pacific League, but still a small market team in the major leagues. The Mariners have never been to a World Series in their entire history, let alone won it. They've certainly featured some major talents over the years, (see Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr., A-Rod, etc.) but couldn't hold on to them when other teams with big bucks and a chance for glory came-a-calling.
Ichiro saw some come, and some go, but remained loyal to the Mariners for 12 seasons. He also likely knew he would never become a world champion while there either. Wrong place and, so far, there hasn't been a right time for the Mariners.
Approaching 39 years old, and with his future contract status in doubt for the Mariners, Ichiro asked to be traded. The Mariners obliged and sent him to the NY Yankees for a couple minor league pitchers. Finally, Suzuki had a chance at the glory that eluded him for so many years. It was the Bronx Bombers. They're always in the hunt for yet another title, money be damned. To boot, the Yankees were cruising along with about a 10 game lead in the AL East division at the time. The playoffs were a given and maybe, just maybe, Ichiro could finally become a champion.
Fast forward a month and a half later, and that 10 game lead is gone. The Baltimore Orioles, who were supposed to eventually fade, but stubbornly refuse to, are staring the Yanks in the eyes for the division championship, with the pesky Tampa Bay Rays nipping at both their heels. If the Yankees don't right their ship fairly soon, it's entirely possible they could miss the playoffs altogether. If that were to happen, no doubt somewhere the ghost of George Steinbrenner would fire a few of his suboordinate spooks, but once again, Ichiro would find himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Ichiro Suzuki has been a magnificent baseball player for 20+ years. Good grief, the man has over 2500 hits in the major leagues and he wasn't even given a chance until he was 27 years old. Theoretically throw in those 9 missed seasons while still in Japan at 200 hits a year, if anything likely a conservative estimate, and he'd be approaching Ty Cobb or Pete Rose numbers. He's been that good with the bat. Still, American baseball fans are home-run happy. For some reason, they'd rather worship big brutes that can hit the ball into the bleachers, even though many have Roberto Duran's "hands of stone" defensively, weak and inaccurate throwing arms, can be timed with a sun dial running the bases, and obviously spend more time working on fancy handshakes and/or on-field celebrations than practicing other facets of the game.
Ichiro was never into all that nonsense. Besides God-given talent, the man worked his butt off learning how to do the small things in baseball to near perfection. Here's an example of an American player's egotistical tunnel vision -- consider a power-hitting left-handed batter that is known to be a "pull" hitter, but also a slow runner. The opposing infielders put the "shift" on, where the second baseman plays a shallow right field, the shortstop moves over to the right field side of second base, and the third baseman basically becomes a shortstop. It's like Abbott and Costello's famous routine. "I don't know" is covering third base -- as in nobody home. If the brute at bat would ever take the time to learn how to bunt, he could push one down the third base line and hop on one foot down to first base with a single. But they won't do that, because they're too power hungry. In their minds, and amazingly in the minds of their managers as well, it's OK to sacrifice a few automatic singles, as long as they blast one 450 feet every 5 or 6 games or so. It's incredibly counterproductive in the long run, but nobody seems to care.
Ichiro did. Put that same shift on him, and he'd bat 1.000. And it's not like he didn't have some major pop in his bat if he chose to use it. Consider the following assessment from a very knowledgable baseball person ---
Sportswriter Bruce Jenkins, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, described Ichiro's distinctive style of play:
- "There's nobody like Ichiro in either league—now or ever. He exists strictly within his own world, playing a game 100 percent unfamiliar to everyone else. The game has known plenty of 'slap' hitters, but none who sacrifice so much natural ability for the sake of the art... Ichiro, a man of wondrous strength, puts on impressive power-hitting displays almost nightly in batting practice. And he'll go deep occasionally in games, looking very much like someone who could do it again, often... [but] the man lives for hits, little tiny ones, and the glory of standing atop the world in that category. Every spring, scouts or media types write him off, swearing that opposing pitchers have found the key, and they are embarrassingly wrong."
Indeed, Ichiro has come a long way from Orix in Japan, to arguably the pinnacle of baseball in the Bronx. But Suzuki's closing in fast on 40 years old, and if the Yankees keep slip-sliding away this year, perhaps once again Ichiro will have found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Sometimes it's just not meant to be. Alas.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Sprechen Sie Tiger?
On the first day of the Deutsche Bank Championship, Tiger Woods went out and tore it up with a 64. He followed that up with a second round 68 to check in at 10 under par. But wait a minute, though most will only speak of it in hushed tones, Tiger's had this nasty habit of late where he self-destructs on the weekends. Would it happen yet again?
Nope. Woods carded another 68 in the third round, and closed with a semi-blistering 66, for a grand total of 18 under par. Very impressive stuff.
Problem was, it still wasn't good enough to win. Louis Oosthuizen, the South African who seems to have a perpetual smile on his face, had totally blistered the same course with a 63 in the 3rd round and Woods trailed him by 6 shots going into the finale. Oosthuizen is one of those streaky golfers. There's times when he might not even make the "cut", but when he's hot, he can shoot the lights out. Still, while 6 strokes is a lot to make up in one round, if Oosthuizen faltered and Woods got on a roll, who knows?
But as golf fans well know, there was another dog in this hunt as well. That pesky Irish kid, Rory McIlroy. He'd posted 65, 65, 67 in the first 3 rounds to lead Tiger by 3 heading into the final round, while being 3 strokes behind the South African himself.
With all due respect to Louis Oosthuizen, I suspect most golf fans wanted to see Tiger and Rory dual down the stretch of a tournament. The old pro with all the hardware in his trophy case against the upcoming dashing young lad.
Despite some of his weekend play, particularly in the last few "majors", nobody wants to believe that Tiger has become a choker when the pressure is on. Up until his personal life took a nosedive a while back, his entire golf history suggests quite the opposite. On the other hand, McIlroy is a bit of an enigma. He had the 2011 Masters Tournament seemingly well in hand until a disastrous 3 hole stretch over the back nine in the final round tumbled him off the leader board on the way to shooting 80. It might fairly be said he choked. As a young man just shy of his 22nd birthday in the most prestigious golf event in the world, that could have been devastating. But it wasn't. Just two short months later, he'd be back to win the U.S. Open by a whopping 8 strokes. Sure, lots of folks have been "one-hit wonders", even the ever-entertaining John Daly won TWO majors, but the people that know best -- McIlroy's pro golf peers -- generally acknowledge him as being a supremely gifted young player. Indeed, not long ago, Rory blew away the field at the PGA Championship for his 2nd major, by another 8 strokes, eclipsing Jack Nicklaus' 32 year old record. Your truly suspects Rory learned a very valuable lesson at the 2011 Masters -- especially between his ears. Nobody knows what he may or may not go on to accomplish in golf, but anybody expecting him to choke when the pressure is on is in for a long wait. It ain't gonna happen. This dude's the real deal. He now knows if he just plays up to his abilities, he can stare down the best -- and beat them.
On a related note -- how did the Deutsche Bank Championship wind up in a suburb of Boston anyway? I thought Boston was Irish Catholic territory. The Kennedy clan must be slipping. Next thing you know, Martha's Vineyard will be called Marta's Biergarten. Careful of the ethnic stuff? Hey, forget that. I'm a full blooded kraut on my mom's side, and half on my dad's, and proud of it, so I've got a right.
Nevertheless, hurray for the Irish kid that swooped in and scooped up all those deutschmarks, excuse me, euros.
I suspect he's going to last longer than the gaskets on a Mercedes. Verstehen?
Ja. Sehr gut.
Nope. Woods carded another 68 in the third round, and closed with a semi-blistering 66, for a grand total of 18 under par. Very impressive stuff.
Problem was, it still wasn't good enough to win. Louis Oosthuizen, the South African who seems to have a perpetual smile on his face, had totally blistered the same course with a 63 in the 3rd round and Woods trailed him by 6 shots going into the finale. Oosthuizen is one of those streaky golfers. There's times when he might not even make the "cut", but when he's hot, he can shoot the lights out. Still, while 6 strokes is a lot to make up in one round, if Oosthuizen faltered and Woods got on a roll, who knows?
But as golf fans well know, there was another dog in this hunt as well. That pesky Irish kid, Rory McIlroy. He'd posted 65, 65, 67 in the first 3 rounds to lead Tiger by 3 heading into the final round, while being 3 strokes behind the South African himself.
With all due respect to Louis Oosthuizen, I suspect most golf fans wanted to see Tiger and Rory dual down the stretch of a tournament. The old pro with all the hardware in his trophy case against the upcoming dashing young lad.
Despite some of his weekend play, particularly in the last few "majors", nobody wants to believe that Tiger has become a choker when the pressure is on. Up until his personal life took a nosedive a while back, his entire golf history suggests quite the opposite. On the other hand, McIlroy is a bit of an enigma. He had the 2011 Masters Tournament seemingly well in hand until a disastrous 3 hole stretch over the back nine in the final round tumbled him off the leader board on the way to shooting 80. It might fairly be said he choked. As a young man just shy of his 22nd birthday in the most prestigious golf event in the world, that could have been devastating. But it wasn't. Just two short months later, he'd be back to win the U.S. Open by a whopping 8 strokes. Sure, lots of folks have been "one-hit wonders", even the ever-entertaining John Daly won TWO majors, but the people that know best -- McIlroy's pro golf peers -- generally acknowledge him as being a supremely gifted young player. Indeed, not long ago, Rory blew away the field at the PGA Championship for his 2nd major, by another 8 strokes, eclipsing Jack Nicklaus' 32 year old record. Your truly suspects Rory learned a very valuable lesson at the 2011 Masters -- especially between his ears. Nobody knows what he may or may not go on to accomplish in golf, but anybody expecting him to choke when the pressure is on is in for a long wait. It ain't gonna happen. This dude's the real deal. He now knows if he just plays up to his abilities, he can stare down the best -- and beat them.
On a related note -- how did the Deutsche Bank Championship wind up in a suburb of Boston anyway? I thought Boston was Irish Catholic territory. The Kennedy clan must be slipping. Next thing you know, Martha's Vineyard will be called Marta's Biergarten. Careful of the ethnic stuff? Hey, forget that. I'm a full blooded kraut on my mom's side, and half on my dad's, and proud of it, so I've got a right.
Nevertheless, hurray for the Irish kid that swooped in and scooped up all those deutschmarks, excuse me, euros.
I suspect he's going to last longer than the gaskets on a Mercedes. Verstehen?
Ja. Sehr gut.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
It's time to get naked
Might as well. The politicians have taken everything else from us, so chances are they'll be coming for our clothes pretty soon anyway. And did you hear what that nitwit.... Wait a sec...What's that?
"STICK TO SPORTS, STUPID".
Oh. Right. Got it. Sorry.
Where was I? Oh yeah. The NHL and the owners want to drastically reduce the percentage of money the players get, make it all but impossible for them to ever become free agents, and strip them of any arbitration rights. All this despite a few years back the owners cutting their salary caps in half, and this last year posting profits of over $3 billion dollars -- a record. What's next? Making the players buy tickets to play in the games? Might as well take away their uniforms and have them all play naked while they're at it. That would cut down on their overhead. Skates and sticks only. Regular pull toys on ice. (Wow, the holding calls could get a little personal, and I don't even want to think about slashing). As fans, there would be only one thing to do. Everybody show up naked as well. No wallets, no purses, no money, no nothing except a ticket in their hands. The concession stands sit totally idle. If they want to play the skin(flint) game, then so should we. And don't forget to flush the toilets -- a lot.
The NFL is doing the same thing with their regular on-field officials. While the league and the owners continue to rake in Pentagon bucks, they seem to have developed what a teenaged boy usually gets when he sees his first porno movie during contract negotiations with the experienced refs. In the meantime, the officiating has become a bad joke with the cut-rate clowns overseeing the games. A player returning a punt getting called for holding? Please.
It's been reported they even recruited one of the replacement refs from the Lingerie League. I had no idea what that even was, so a little fact checking was in order. Turns out, it's a 7 on 7 tackle football league, and the players wear helmets, shoulder, elbow, and knee pads. But guess what? Like the NHL scenario above -- they don't get any uniforms either. To boot, standard equipment includes bras, panties and garter belts. I've never seen them play, but I sure hope this is a girls only thing. If there's guys involved with THAT sort of dress code -- I don't EVER want to see it. Brrr.
The point is -- they're wearing next to nothing anyway, so why not just go naked and get it over with? Couldn't hurt their ratings, seeing as they don't appear to have any right now. And why would a ref working for table scraps leave that league to jump into the NFL for peanuts? As least in the Lingerie League he would never get exposed as an incompetent boob on national TV.
Yep, if they finally take our clothes away, we'll have to get used to being naked anyway. But it could have it's up sides. Think of the money we could save. Got kids that want new clothes every time you blink? Not any more. Women showing up at a social event wearing the same outfit? Poof. Problem solved. And no more of those uppity fashion shows where stick girls model outfits nobody can afford to buy anyway. The Wal-Mart controversy about Chinese clothes on their shelves and hangars? Gone.
And hey, let's not forget about the athletes. If they're in their birthday suits too, EVERY night would be ladies' night at the games. I'd wager the girls would pay double the face value of a ticket to see a hunky boy like Justin Verlander take the mound naked. Talk about throwing some heat. If Calvin Johnson is as well-endowed elsewhere as he is with his pass catching skills -- he might give the name Megatron a whole new meaning. He runs the fly pattern and goes deep once in a while, right? If Matthew Stafford ran a naked reverse, he really WOULD be. The possibilities are endless.
Of course, for every positive there has to be a negative. If this naked thing catches on, by popular demand, Tigers' manager Jim Leyland would have to be banned into the clubhouse beneath the stadium -- forever. Nobody wants to see that.
And a Lions' game? Seriously darken the tint, or maybe just paint over the window on the owner's suite -- just in case William Clay Ford shows up, especially on the Thanksgiving day game. He probably wouldn't notice the difference anyway, and you never know where the prying eyes of the TV cameras will be trained. Why take a chance on spoiling millions of appetites across the nation on that special day?
This whole thing about getting naked is ludicrous, you say? Probably. But Augusta National just admitted women members, and once upon a time Dan Quayle was a heartbeat away from being President of the United States, as is Joe Biden now. Anything's possible.
But I'm not supposed to talk about that stuff. Right.
"STICK TO SPORTS, STUPID".
Oh. Right. Got it. Sorry.
Where was I? Oh yeah. The NHL and the owners want to drastically reduce the percentage of money the players get, make it all but impossible for them to ever become free agents, and strip them of any arbitration rights. All this despite a few years back the owners cutting their salary caps in half, and this last year posting profits of over $3 billion dollars -- a record. What's next? Making the players buy tickets to play in the games? Might as well take away their uniforms and have them all play naked while they're at it. That would cut down on their overhead. Skates and sticks only. Regular pull toys on ice. (Wow, the holding calls could get a little personal, and I don't even want to think about slashing). As fans, there would be only one thing to do. Everybody show up naked as well. No wallets, no purses, no money, no nothing except a ticket in their hands. The concession stands sit totally idle. If they want to play the skin(flint) game, then so should we. And don't forget to flush the toilets -- a lot.
The NFL is doing the same thing with their regular on-field officials. While the league and the owners continue to rake in Pentagon bucks, they seem to have developed what a teenaged boy usually gets when he sees his first porno movie during contract negotiations with the experienced refs. In the meantime, the officiating has become a bad joke with the cut-rate clowns overseeing the games. A player returning a punt getting called for holding? Please.
It's been reported they even recruited one of the replacement refs from the Lingerie League. I had no idea what that even was, so a little fact checking was in order. Turns out, it's a 7 on 7 tackle football league, and the players wear helmets, shoulder, elbow, and knee pads. But guess what? Like the NHL scenario above -- they don't get any uniforms either. To boot, standard equipment includes bras, panties and garter belts. I've never seen them play, but I sure hope this is a girls only thing. If there's guys involved with THAT sort of dress code -- I don't EVER want to see it. Brrr.
The point is -- they're wearing next to nothing anyway, so why not just go naked and get it over with? Couldn't hurt their ratings, seeing as they don't appear to have any right now. And why would a ref working for table scraps leave that league to jump into the NFL for peanuts? As least in the Lingerie League he would never get exposed as an incompetent boob on national TV.
Yep, if they finally take our clothes away, we'll have to get used to being naked anyway. But it could have it's up sides. Think of the money we could save. Got kids that want new clothes every time you blink? Not any more. Women showing up at a social event wearing the same outfit? Poof. Problem solved. And no more of those uppity fashion shows where stick girls model outfits nobody can afford to buy anyway. The Wal-Mart controversy about Chinese clothes on their shelves and hangars? Gone.
And hey, let's not forget about the athletes. If they're in their birthday suits too, EVERY night would be ladies' night at the games. I'd wager the girls would pay double the face value of a ticket to see a hunky boy like Justin Verlander take the mound naked. Talk about throwing some heat. If Calvin Johnson is as well-endowed elsewhere as he is with his pass catching skills -- he might give the name Megatron a whole new meaning. He runs the fly pattern and goes deep once in a while, right? If Matthew Stafford ran a naked reverse, he really WOULD be. The possibilities are endless.
Of course, for every positive there has to be a negative. If this naked thing catches on, by popular demand, Tigers' manager Jim Leyland would have to be banned into the clubhouse beneath the stadium -- forever. Nobody wants to see that.
And a Lions' game? Seriously darken the tint, or maybe just paint over the window on the owner's suite -- just in case William Clay Ford shows up, especially on the Thanksgiving day game. He probably wouldn't notice the difference anyway, and you never know where the prying eyes of the TV cameras will be trained. Why take a chance on spoiling millions of appetites across the nation on that special day?
This whole thing about getting naked is ludicrous, you say? Probably. But Augusta National just admitted women members, and once upon a time Dan Quayle was a heartbeat away from being President of the United States, as is Joe Biden now. Anything's possible.
But I'm not supposed to talk about that stuff. Right.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Going old school on U of M
See Michigan in their pretty white and blue uniforms with bright yellow pants, shiny new winged helmets, and long locks flowing from beneath them. Pretty, pretty, pretty.
See Alabama in their drab red outfits, with equally unstylish helmets, and good ole boy boot camp haircuts. Drab, drab, drab.
See Alabama head coach Nick Saban scream at a player when he came off the field after making a mistake. Saban won't tolerate it. He's a hard man.
See Michigan head coach Brady Hoke gently comfort one of his players after making a similar mistake. Hoke wants to be a father figure, and has said these are his sons. He's a nice guy.
See Alabama beat Michigan like a pit bull would a toy poodle in a cage match. It seems speed and flat out toughness have a way of trumping being pretty and overrated. And in the real world, sorry to say, being a nice guy is a good thing, but it has it's limitations. See business -- or politics.
Michigan's faithful will no doubt find a way to put a positive spin on the game, but this was a blow-out. Men against boys. Tanks against the cavalry. The Alamo, the Little Big Horn -- like that.
Alabama trotted out a true freshman running back that would gain more rushing yardage than the entire vaunted Michigan ground game -- combined. Michigan's coaching staff didn't even bother trying to run QB Denard Robinson because they thought Alabama would take that away with their defensive schemes. Thing is, Alabama looked like they were prepared to take everything else away as well. By getting away from what they do best, perhaps Michigan lost the mind game going in by trying to be cute.
What yardage Michigan did manage to get is deceiving. Robinson threw up 2 basically "Hail Mary" passes, and his prayers were answered both times. Minus those, they couldn't accomplish anything in the red sea that was engulfing them.
Alabama 41, Michigan 14, and it was nowhere near that close. Alabama covered the 14 point spread like paper covers rock. Having a comfortable lead and knowing they were vastly superior to Michigan, it looked like Bama eased up shortly after the second half began. Had they kept the pedal to the metal, this game might have become REALLY ugly for the Maize and Blue.
I don't know how far in advance college football schedules are made out, but if this game was pencilled in during the last year or so, and Michigan's new head coach had anything to do with it -- then just as things were looking promising for Michigan, Brady hokey-poked his team into a buzz saw.
He's a nice guy, but when it comes to a big time game, he doesn't get to put his right hand, left hand, right foot, left foot, etc., in -- then take them back out, then put them back in and shake them all about -- it's all in from the opening kickoff, and let's see what happens.
In this case, Michigan was all out before the game even began. It was a mismatch. A 14 point spread?
Well, one can give a fart 14 points too, but I still don't like it's chances in a tornado.
See Alabama in their drab red outfits, with equally unstylish helmets, and good ole boy boot camp haircuts. Drab, drab, drab.
See Alabama head coach Nick Saban scream at a player when he came off the field after making a mistake. Saban won't tolerate it. He's a hard man.
See Michigan head coach Brady Hoke gently comfort one of his players after making a similar mistake. Hoke wants to be a father figure, and has said these are his sons. He's a nice guy.
See Alabama beat Michigan like a pit bull would a toy poodle in a cage match. It seems speed and flat out toughness have a way of trumping being pretty and overrated. And in the real world, sorry to say, being a nice guy is a good thing, but it has it's limitations. See business -- or politics.
Michigan's faithful will no doubt find a way to put a positive spin on the game, but this was a blow-out. Men against boys. Tanks against the cavalry. The Alamo, the Little Big Horn -- like that.
Alabama trotted out a true freshman running back that would gain more rushing yardage than the entire vaunted Michigan ground game -- combined. Michigan's coaching staff didn't even bother trying to run QB Denard Robinson because they thought Alabama would take that away with their defensive schemes. Thing is, Alabama looked like they were prepared to take everything else away as well. By getting away from what they do best, perhaps Michigan lost the mind game going in by trying to be cute.
What yardage Michigan did manage to get is deceiving. Robinson threw up 2 basically "Hail Mary" passes, and his prayers were answered both times. Minus those, they couldn't accomplish anything in the red sea that was engulfing them.
Alabama 41, Michigan 14, and it was nowhere near that close. Alabama covered the 14 point spread like paper covers rock. Having a comfortable lead and knowing they were vastly superior to Michigan, it looked like Bama eased up shortly after the second half began. Had they kept the pedal to the metal, this game might have become REALLY ugly for the Maize and Blue.
I don't know how far in advance college football schedules are made out, but if this game was pencilled in during the last year or so, and Michigan's new head coach had anything to do with it -- then just as things were looking promising for Michigan, Brady hokey-poked his team into a buzz saw.
He's a nice guy, but when it comes to a big time game, he doesn't get to put his right hand, left hand, right foot, left foot, etc., in -- then take them back out, then put them back in and shake them all about -- it's all in from the opening kickoff, and let's see what happens.
In this case, Michigan was all out before the game even began. It was a mismatch. A 14 point spread?
Well, one can give a fart 14 points too, but I still don't like it's chances in a tornado.
Lance Armstrong. They done him wrong
Recently, the sports editor of this paper, Jeff Kuehn, who also just happens to be my boss, penned an article about Lance Armstrong and his alleged doping while competing in the Tour de France years ago.
Kuehn made no bones about it. His opening words were, "Lance Armstrong cheated". While he is certainly entitled to his opinion, at the risk of incurring his wrath, I must respectfully disagree with his conclusion.
Why? Because we just don't know for sure. Like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and others that have been accused of similar things during recent years, after all the ballyhoo there was never a definitive answer. People will think what they think, but they don't really know. Not me, not you, and not even sports editors.
Kuehn said Armstrong as much as admitted cheating by accepting the penalty handed down by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which included a lifetime ban from professional cycling and being stripped of his 7 Tour de France titles. I see it quite differently. Armstrong said no such thing -- in fact he once again adamantly denied ever having used performance enhancing drugs, which he has steadfastly maintained all along.
Further, Armstrong didn't exactly accept the penalty. He didn't have any choice. His last recourse offered by the USADA was to go before an arbitration panel, which is overseen by -- guess who -- the USADA. That would likely be akin to going to tax court in a dispute with the IRS, where all the judges are former IRS agents. Chances are they've already decided you're guilty before you even get there, so the only thing left for them to do is to make it official in a written judgement. One is between a rock and a hard place. Damned if you do, and damned if you don't. Such is the nature of what are commonly referred to as "show trials", which are held in "kangaroo courts".
The article said, "the USADA decided Armstrong used performance enhancing drugs". That may be good enough for some folks, but it's not even close for me. Prosecutors decide people committed crimes every day, and charge them accordingly, but that doesn't mean they're all guilty. Some of them turn out to be totally innocent after having been run through the grinding wheels of justice, but at least that's done in a "real" court, which is most times impartial. Armstrong didn't get that chance.
Kuehn said Armstrong got caught. Really? By what? Accusations? Here's a novel idea.... How about the prosecutors (USADA) showing some evidence of his guilt? They haven't done that. The evidence that has never been heard yet would supposedly come from more than a dozen witnesses who "agreed to testify and provide evidence about their firsthand experience and/or knowledge of the doping activity...". Guess who said that? Yep, the same USADA. In the real world, Armstrong's attorney(s) would be able to depose these witnesses before all the parties actually wound up in a courtroom. They get to find out who these witnesses are, and ask them what they will be prepared to testify to under oath in a trial. The prosecutor(s) gets the same privilege with any potential witnesses for the defense. That's the way it works.
In Armstrong's case, these "unidentified" witnesses for the USADA were supposedly prepared to say Armstrong himself told them he had not only used a vast array of PED's over the years, but encouraged others to do the same while providing them with the goodies. Evidently, they not only think he was a user, but a drug dealer (pusher) as well.
Kuehn asked why Armstrong would give up the fight. Well, we don't know that either because we haven't walked all those miles in Armstrong's shoes. Besides looking at a kangaroo court where he has no chance to win anyway, how much money has it cost him over the years to pay atttorneys, and how much mental strain does a scenario like this put on an individual and/or his family? Probably a lot. The USADA has no such worries. As yet another faceless government entity, they've made their unsubstantiated conclusions and have an infinite budget to back them up, also known as taxpayer dollars. I don't blame Armstrong one bit for finally saying "no mas" to a fight he could never win, but that certainly doesn't amount to an admission of guilt. Far from it.
Yes, some people have come to Armstrong's defense, saying that after beating testicular cancer, he created a foundation which has raised over $500 million to help others with similar problems. This is a very noteworthy and admirable achievement -- but it's also totally irrelevant as to whether Lance once took PED's. Apples and oranges. The "everybody else did it" thing doesn't hold water either. Either Armstrong did it or he didn't, and we don't know. What sticks out to me are the over 500 drug tests that were administered to Armstrong and him never failing a single one. As he was winning Tour after Tour, he was likely tested constantly. If he was so "dirty", how can that be? Years ago, it was rumored Armstrong slept in an oxygen deprived tent at night during the course of the Tour. This would deplete his red blood cells. When he awoke and got out into the regular atmosphere, his body would compensate by recharging his red blood cells with oxygen in a large way. If so, was it illegal as to what sort of air he breathed?
What irks me to no end is people having already jumped to conclusions, without having any hard IMPARTIAL and OBJECTIVE evidence to base them on. They've already moved on to asking questions like -- were all Lance's Tour de France titles worth the cheating? They've not only rendered a verdict, but passed sentence, and some even go on to lecture about doing things the right way in sports.
These people have locked up Armstrong and thrown away the key in their minds. But wait a minute.... Lance never got his day in court where all the evidence, or lack thereof, would come to light. Last time I looked in this country, a person was still presumed innocent until being found guilty. The only venues Lance Armstrong has been found guilty in is in the minds of some people that either ARE the prosecutors, or those that automatically agree with them as soon as a charge has been made. To which I say -- if it was happening to them or a member of their family -- they'd get a whole new perspective on things, and change their tune in a heartbeat. It's always easy to play armchair judge, juror, and executioner when it's somebody else going through the meat grinder.
Did Armstrong really cheat? Personally, I don't think he did, because given the scrutiny he was no doubt under while he dominated the Tour de France for 7 years, including the over 500 drug tests that came back clean -- I just can't see how he could have pulled it off if he was cheating for that long. It doesn't make sense.
The kangaroo court can ban him and strip him of his titles on some piece of paper somewhere, but until they come up with something even remotely resembling credible evidence, I'm not buying it.
The latest issue of Sports Illustrated has a feature article about this very thing. In it, they showed the results of a poll they conducted asking people whether they thought Armstrong had used PED's. It came back 60% said no.
Guess I'm not the only one.
Kuehn made no bones about it. His opening words were, "Lance Armstrong cheated". While he is certainly entitled to his opinion, at the risk of incurring his wrath, I must respectfully disagree with his conclusion.
Why? Because we just don't know for sure. Like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and others that have been accused of similar things during recent years, after all the ballyhoo there was never a definitive answer. People will think what they think, but they don't really know. Not me, not you, and not even sports editors.
Kuehn said Armstrong as much as admitted cheating by accepting the penalty handed down by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which included a lifetime ban from professional cycling and being stripped of his 7 Tour de France titles. I see it quite differently. Armstrong said no such thing -- in fact he once again adamantly denied ever having used performance enhancing drugs, which he has steadfastly maintained all along.
Further, Armstrong didn't exactly accept the penalty. He didn't have any choice. His last recourse offered by the USADA was to go before an arbitration panel, which is overseen by -- guess who -- the USADA. That would likely be akin to going to tax court in a dispute with the IRS, where all the judges are former IRS agents. Chances are they've already decided you're guilty before you even get there, so the only thing left for them to do is to make it official in a written judgement. One is between a rock and a hard place. Damned if you do, and damned if you don't. Such is the nature of what are commonly referred to as "show trials", which are held in "kangaroo courts".
The article said, "the USADA decided Armstrong used performance enhancing drugs". That may be good enough for some folks, but it's not even close for me. Prosecutors decide people committed crimes every day, and charge them accordingly, but that doesn't mean they're all guilty. Some of them turn out to be totally innocent after having been run through the grinding wheels of justice, but at least that's done in a "real" court, which is most times impartial. Armstrong didn't get that chance.
Kuehn said Armstrong got caught. Really? By what? Accusations? Here's a novel idea.... How about the prosecutors (USADA) showing some evidence of his guilt? They haven't done that. The evidence that has never been heard yet would supposedly come from more than a dozen witnesses who "agreed to testify and provide evidence about their firsthand experience and/or knowledge of the doping activity...". Guess who said that? Yep, the same USADA. In the real world, Armstrong's attorney(s) would be able to depose these witnesses before all the parties actually wound up in a courtroom. They get to find out who these witnesses are, and ask them what they will be prepared to testify to under oath in a trial. The prosecutor(s) gets the same privilege with any potential witnesses for the defense. That's the way it works.
In Armstrong's case, these "unidentified" witnesses for the USADA were supposedly prepared to say Armstrong himself told them he had not only used a vast array of PED's over the years, but encouraged others to do the same while providing them with the goodies. Evidently, they not only think he was a user, but a drug dealer (pusher) as well.
Kuehn asked why Armstrong would give up the fight. Well, we don't know that either because we haven't walked all those miles in Armstrong's shoes. Besides looking at a kangaroo court where he has no chance to win anyway, how much money has it cost him over the years to pay atttorneys, and how much mental strain does a scenario like this put on an individual and/or his family? Probably a lot. The USADA has no such worries. As yet another faceless government entity, they've made their unsubstantiated conclusions and have an infinite budget to back them up, also known as taxpayer dollars. I don't blame Armstrong one bit for finally saying "no mas" to a fight he could never win, but that certainly doesn't amount to an admission of guilt. Far from it.
Yes, some people have come to Armstrong's defense, saying that after beating testicular cancer, he created a foundation which has raised over $500 million to help others with similar problems. This is a very noteworthy and admirable achievement -- but it's also totally irrelevant as to whether Lance once took PED's. Apples and oranges. The "everybody else did it" thing doesn't hold water either. Either Armstrong did it or he didn't, and we don't know. What sticks out to me are the over 500 drug tests that were administered to Armstrong and him never failing a single one. As he was winning Tour after Tour, he was likely tested constantly. If he was so "dirty", how can that be? Years ago, it was rumored Armstrong slept in an oxygen deprived tent at night during the course of the Tour. This would deplete his red blood cells. When he awoke and got out into the regular atmosphere, his body would compensate by recharging his red blood cells with oxygen in a large way. If so, was it illegal as to what sort of air he breathed?
What irks me to no end is people having already jumped to conclusions, without having any hard IMPARTIAL and OBJECTIVE evidence to base them on. They've already moved on to asking questions like -- were all Lance's Tour de France titles worth the cheating? They've not only rendered a verdict, but passed sentence, and some even go on to lecture about doing things the right way in sports.
These people have locked up Armstrong and thrown away the key in their minds. But wait a minute.... Lance never got his day in court where all the evidence, or lack thereof, would come to light. Last time I looked in this country, a person was still presumed innocent until being found guilty. The only venues Lance Armstrong has been found guilty in is in the minds of some people that either ARE the prosecutors, or those that automatically agree with them as soon as a charge has been made. To which I say -- if it was happening to them or a member of their family -- they'd get a whole new perspective on things, and change their tune in a heartbeat. It's always easy to play armchair judge, juror, and executioner when it's somebody else going through the meat grinder.
Did Armstrong really cheat? Personally, I don't think he did, because given the scrutiny he was no doubt under while he dominated the Tour de France for 7 years, including the over 500 drug tests that came back clean -- I just can't see how he could have pulled it off if he was cheating for that long. It doesn't make sense.
The kangaroo court can ban him and strip him of his titles on some piece of paper somewhere, but until they come up with something even remotely resembling credible evidence, I'm not buying it.
The latest issue of Sports Illustrated has a feature article about this very thing. In it, they showed the results of a poll they conducted asking people whether they thought Armstrong had used PED's. It came back 60% said no.
Guess I'm not the only one.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
The NFL steps out of bounds
Few would doubt that in the world of American professional sports, the National Football League rules. From popularity, to merchandise, to TV, to just about any other measure one can think of -- the NFL is, and has been for many years, the T-Rex of the zoo. It's not even a close call. NASCAR? A very distant second, by about a 3 to 1 margin. As king, what the NFL wants -- they pretty much get.
History is chock full of examples, in sports and otherwise, of people with too much power having it go to their head, and thinking they can do just about anything to anybody. After all, who would dare challenge their authority? Yet there are times when the masses have to draw the line and say, "Hey, you're out of bounds. We'll tolerate a lot -- but this is too much". I'll get back to that.
It might be a fair comparison to think of the NFL as a parent corporation in name only that consists of 32 subsidiaries constantly competing against each other, but all the while sharing the total revenue that comes in between them. How's that for a weird business model? Like many corporations, the NFL has to deal with a union that represents the actual workers. The league is well known for changing the "shop rules" every year as to how the game is actually played. Different by-laws on kick-offs, helmet to helmet contact, horse-collar tackles, crack-back blocks, and hitting below the waist are a few recent examples, though I'm fairly SUHre stomping an opponent when he's down has always been frowned upon. Sometimes their rules are comical. Consider the dress code. Players have to keep their jerseys tucked in, their chins straps snapped during a live play, and are regulated all the way down to how high their socks can be. Obviously, players on any given team all wear the same uniform. Yet at the same time, the coaches, which are management representatives, are free to wear anything from suits to hoodies. Does that make sense?
Recently, the NFL quietly instituted a policy that flew under most radar screens. Any fan who is ejected from an NFL game will be required to take a 4-hour on-line course before they will be allowed to return to the facility. Supposedly the course has to do with anger management, drinking and bad behavior. This not only crosses the line -- it's hypocritical and even stupid.
The NFL itself does everything it can to get attending fans worked into a riotous mood. They'll hand out things at the gates to entering patrons to stoke them. See the terrible towels in Pittsburgh. They'll sell them beer and mixed drinks at inflated prices even the Pentagon would be ashamed of. They'll sell them terrible food at the same rates. The PA announcer will stoke the crowd even more, and the signs ringing the stadium will call for various chants. Often, after some of the above mentioned liquid refreshments and not so fine cuisine has made it's way into a fan's digestive system, they'll have to run like Usain Bolt for the restroom, which by then is likely to offer about the same degree of sanitary conditions as an outhouse in a refugee camp. Of course, while one is taking care of necessary business there, the crowd will erupt with a deafening roar. They just missed the best play of the game.
After all of that, is it any wonder some folks start hollering things they normally wouldn't, and get a little rowdy? Now the NFL wants to ban them from the stadium until they take a 4-hour course on being a more polite citizen? Did I forget to mention the very essence of the product the NFL has so successfully marketed is a bunch of guys running around at high speed trying to beat each other's brains out in the first place? The hypocrisy screams.
About 7000 people got ejected from NFL stadiums last year for various reasons. Sounds like a lot. It's not. Do the math. Not counting the post-season and ignoring bye-weeks, there's 16 games for 16 weeks. 256. Let's assume an average of 50,000 people per game. That's about 13 million fans. 7000 is about one half of 1%. Given everything that goes on, it's a miracle that figure isn't considerably higher.
To boot, the NFL mandate says if any fan that had been previously ejected didn't complete their mandated course, they could be arrested if found back on stadium property. This is where it goes beyond arrogance and gets stupid.
First, anger management courses are a bad joke. The only thing they seem to accomplish is further pissing off the people that have to attend them. Like the typical NFL "ejectee" from a game, a guy or gal might have got caught up the heat of the moment combined with alcohol, and did something they regret. No real harm done. Let them go home, sober up, sleep on it, and they'll return to being model citizens the next day. Forcing them to participate in a program which they neither want nor need, while being labeled as bad people, not to mention charging them some ridiculous fee for it, is a recipe for creating a bad attitude toward the "system" that was never there to begin with. It's counterproductive.
Second, how would the NFL identify a fan returning to a stadium that had refused the 4-hour course? No names are on the tickets, and I've never been asked to show ID going to a game. Though it may someday come to it, I'm pretty sure they don't have fingerprint or retinal scanners on the gates just yet. A general description? Well, good luck with that if they ban an innocent guy that looked like somebody else. Sam's phone will be ringing.
Third, though the NFL may have a lot of power within their own ranks, even to the absurd point of replacing their regular experienced officials with the Keystone Kops over pocket change in a multi-billion dollar industry, they don't have any authority to start arresting citizens over some rule they arbitrarily made up. I'm not even sure the typical security people at a game have a legal right to detain someone. Yes, they can escort a fan off the property, but arrest them? I don't think so. That might open the door to the wonderful world of false arrest and civil rights violations, criminal matters, and go a big step up from Sam to a guy named Jeff.
As the Commissioner, Roger Goodell certainly wields a lot of clout, but he might want to rethink this latest not so smart league mandate.
Even kings have no control over many things, like Mother Nature. It's not wise to taunt her.
Besides seriously disrespecting some of their fans, some of which may well be long time season ticket holders -- fooling with guys like Geoffrey Fieger isn't such a good idea either.
History is chock full of examples, in sports and otherwise, of people with too much power having it go to their head, and thinking they can do just about anything to anybody. After all, who would dare challenge their authority? Yet there are times when the masses have to draw the line and say, "Hey, you're out of bounds. We'll tolerate a lot -- but this is too much". I'll get back to that.
It might be a fair comparison to think of the NFL as a parent corporation in name only that consists of 32 subsidiaries constantly competing against each other, but all the while sharing the total revenue that comes in between them. How's that for a weird business model? Like many corporations, the NFL has to deal with a union that represents the actual workers. The league is well known for changing the "shop rules" every year as to how the game is actually played. Different by-laws on kick-offs, helmet to helmet contact, horse-collar tackles, crack-back blocks, and hitting below the waist are a few recent examples, though I'm fairly SUHre stomping an opponent when he's down has always been frowned upon. Sometimes their rules are comical. Consider the dress code. Players have to keep their jerseys tucked in, their chins straps snapped during a live play, and are regulated all the way down to how high their socks can be. Obviously, players on any given team all wear the same uniform. Yet at the same time, the coaches, which are management representatives, are free to wear anything from suits to hoodies. Does that make sense?
Recently, the NFL quietly instituted a policy that flew under most radar screens. Any fan who is ejected from an NFL game will be required to take a 4-hour on-line course before they will be allowed to return to the facility. Supposedly the course has to do with anger management, drinking and bad behavior. This not only crosses the line -- it's hypocritical and even stupid.
The NFL itself does everything it can to get attending fans worked into a riotous mood. They'll hand out things at the gates to entering patrons to stoke them. See the terrible towels in Pittsburgh. They'll sell them beer and mixed drinks at inflated prices even the Pentagon would be ashamed of. They'll sell them terrible food at the same rates. The PA announcer will stoke the crowd even more, and the signs ringing the stadium will call for various chants. Often, after some of the above mentioned liquid refreshments and not so fine cuisine has made it's way into a fan's digestive system, they'll have to run like Usain Bolt for the restroom, which by then is likely to offer about the same degree of sanitary conditions as an outhouse in a refugee camp. Of course, while one is taking care of necessary business there, the crowd will erupt with a deafening roar. They just missed the best play of the game.
After all of that, is it any wonder some folks start hollering things they normally wouldn't, and get a little rowdy? Now the NFL wants to ban them from the stadium until they take a 4-hour course on being a more polite citizen? Did I forget to mention the very essence of the product the NFL has so successfully marketed is a bunch of guys running around at high speed trying to beat each other's brains out in the first place? The hypocrisy screams.
About 7000 people got ejected from NFL stadiums last year for various reasons. Sounds like a lot. It's not. Do the math. Not counting the post-season and ignoring bye-weeks, there's 16 games for 16 weeks. 256. Let's assume an average of 50,000 people per game. That's about 13 million fans. 7000 is about one half of 1%. Given everything that goes on, it's a miracle that figure isn't considerably higher.
To boot, the NFL mandate says if any fan that had been previously ejected didn't complete their mandated course, they could be arrested if found back on stadium property. This is where it goes beyond arrogance and gets stupid.
First, anger management courses are a bad joke. The only thing they seem to accomplish is further pissing off the people that have to attend them. Like the typical NFL "ejectee" from a game, a guy or gal might have got caught up the heat of the moment combined with alcohol, and did something they regret. No real harm done. Let them go home, sober up, sleep on it, and they'll return to being model citizens the next day. Forcing them to participate in a program which they neither want nor need, while being labeled as bad people, not to mention charging them some ridiculous fee for it, is a recipe for creating a bad attitude toward the "system" that was never there to begin with. It's counterproductive.
Second, how would the NFL identify a fan returning to a stadium that had refused the 4-hour course? No names are on the tickets, and I've never been asked to show ID going to a game. Though it may someday come to it, I'm pretty sure they don't have fingerprint or retinal scanners on the gates just yet. A general description? Well, good luck with that if they ban an innocent guy that looked like somebody else. Sam's phone will be ringing.
Third, though the NFL may have a lot of power within their own ranks, even to the absurd point of replacing their regular experienced officials with the Keystone Kops over pocket change in a multi-billion dollar industry, they don't have any authority to start arresting citizens over some rule they arbitrarily made up. I'm not even sure the typical security people at a game have a legal right to detain someone. Yes, they can escort a fan off the property, but arrest them? I don't think so. That might open the door to the wonderful world of false arrest and civil rights violations, criminal matters, and go a big step up from Sam to a guy named Jeff.
As the Commissioner, Roger Goodell certainly wields a lot of clout, but he might want to rethink this latest not so smart league mandate.
Even kings have no control over many things, like Mother Nature. It's not wise to taunt her.
Besides seriously disrespecting some of their fans, some of which may well be long time season ticket holders -- fooling with guys like Geoffrey Fieger isn't such a good idea either.
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