College football started last night and I was happy to see things finally kick off. Mostly, I was just happy to see regular, normal football. I spent the summer watching football from Canada or being playing inside of a basketball gym. Believe me, I was ready for some normal football.
What I was really surprised with, pleasantly so I must say, were the high number of games between competitive teams. Normally the first game of the year is between some powerhouse and some school like Western Mississippi Sewing College. Certainly its been a nice early treat to see bowl-type match-ups like LSU and Wisconsin or Georgia and Clemson, but it's also nice to see good teams take on teams that can at least provide some sort of push back, like Ohio State facing Navy or Alabama against West Virginia. Surely the Buckeyes or the Tide will win but the games won't be an utter joke as if they were playing Southwestern Oregon Bible College (which, FYI, is a real school and not one I made up).
These games generate much more interest early in the season and help better frame the late discussion over who deserves a shot at a national championship when the season draws to a close.
Of course, the games between national powerhouses and the Cleveland State College for Chronically Bad Spellers (a potential Alma Mater for many of us, surely), do serve a purpose...I guess. CSCCBS earns a large sum of money for playing a school like Oklahoma and the Sooners get a chance to see how well their hot dog vendors can operate the two-minute offense.
OK, fine. The games between a powerhouse and a schlub serve a purpose of some sort.That function is anything besides generating interest in college football. I'll watch football. Like I said, I watched football from Canada. I'll turn on Madden and watch the demo mode for crying out loud. But even I can't get excited for a game between Florida State and the Poly Tech University of Sod Farming. I guess some major programs play these games because there are rules against them playing high school JV teams.
The alternative doesn't have to be the exact opposite. Nobody is saying Auburn or Oregon should play the 49ers or Seahawks. Just be like UCLA or USC and play a team like Virginia or Fresno State, play a team that could beat you but probably won't. It's better for the game all the way around.
But an encouraging pep talk isn't enough to change the scheduling habits of some teams. That's fine. And maybe it doesn't matter for most fans in certain situations. Whether or not North Carolina plays Liberty probably isn't a big deal for most fans. The Tarheels aren't ranked high enough right now and likely won't be at any point this season to move fully into the national debate. But when Florida State is playing Oklahoma State and Alabama is playing West Virginia, it seems like that's the hallmark of a strong program much more than Oregon playing South Dakota is. If FSU and Alabama lose their opening games (which probably won't happen) would it even begin to feel right that Oregon would be #1 after a certain week one win? Oregon, as it stands right now, has games scheduled against four ranked opponents. If they remained in their current #3 position, they would certainly be part of the four national semi-finalists to play for a national title. Is that really what college football fans want? A national contender that wins four tough games? Is a fifth tough game that much to ask?
Still, maybe the coach at South Dakota has had a lifelong dream of playing Oregon in the opening week. What jerks the Ducks would be to deny that dream. Fair point. So schedule the game. I just don't want to see a team like that end up in the semi finals. A championship isn't a journey on the path of least resistance. It's an achievement of overcoming obstacles, no matter how many or how frequently they line your path.
So I have a solution. Any team wanting to be considered for the national semi-finals will need to build a schedule comprised of FBS teams only. So Cal can still play Sac State if they want to, having no real aspirations for the national championship. But if Georgia wants a crack at the final game, no fair taking it easy on yourself with a game against Furman. There are well over 100 FBS teams in the country and most teams only need 2-3 non-conference games to fill. It shouldn't be that hard for the Florida States and LSUs of the world to find a couple of teams to play that aren't FCS schools. And for teams like Penn State or Virginia Tech, teams that aren't aspiring national champions this season, Youngstown State is fair game. The little guys can get their payday, the big guys can evaluate their hot dog vendor and fans can rest easy knowing the national champion, whoever it might be, will have deserved their spot in the playoffs. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch the game between Nevada University of Furniture Refinishing and the Montana College for Advanced Salad Making. It's a bitter rivalry. Very obscure...but very, very bitter.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Jackie joiner
The Little League team from Chicago's Jackie Robinson West has advanced to the US Championship game of the Little League World Series and I'm glad to see it. The team they beat to earn their spot in the championship game, Taney Little League, had gotten a lot of attention because of Mo'Ne Davis, the first girl to record a win as a pitcher in LLWS history.
As much as the hoopla surrounding Davis was well-deserved, I'm glad people are going to be forced to talk more about the kids from Jackie Robinson. The JRW team is comprised entirely of African American kids and it's the first time in more than three decades an all-black team has made it to Williamsport.
As a sports writer who has covered high school and youth sports for many years, I have to say this is quite an accomplishment. When I was in Little League, black athletes made up 1 of every 4 Major League Baseball players, whereas blacks made up 1 of every 8 people in the country. That figure in baseball declined steadily over the years. When I began my career as a sports writer, there were strikingly few black players in MLB. Six teams had no black players at all and only three had two or more. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have actively recruited white players over the past decade or so because there simply aren't enough black high school players to recruit.
Ironically enough, it was the success of a Chicago basketball star in the late 80s that helped the decline of players of color in baseball. A number of different initiatives have helped reverse that trend recently. Fittingly, a group of players from a league named after Jackie Robinson, are helping make a statement about the value these players of color add to the game. Thankfully, as the numbers of black kids has risen in youth baseball, so too have the numbers of players they can admire, like Matt Kemp, Andrew McCutchen, Brandon Phillips and more, increased at the pro level.
This greater inclusion, this broader diversity will not only impact the game in a positive way, the presence of the kids from JRW fits nicely into a bigger discussion that is happening in this country and, frankly, needs to happen.
Just as the Jackie Robinson team is living the highest of highs in Williamsport, protests have been happening nightly in Ferguson, Mo. centered around the lowest of lows for African Americans in this country. As the JRW kids have shown, in often neglected, forgotten about or unsupported communities throughout the country, a little effort, belief and opportunity can go a long way. There are new leagues in urban areas across the country now where there weren't as little as a decade ago. Further, Jackie Robinson West has proven that not only can the kids in these areas participate, they can excel if given enough support.
Still, the truth that cannot be ignored is that the effort is far short of what can be. Violence, crime, drugs and run-ins with law enforcement that end negatively are still far too common in the lives of too many young people in this nation. Homicide and incarcerations are still much more likely outcomes in the lives of a disturbingly high number of kids. Indeed, Chicago is nothing short of an utter battleground for many young people. Having made it to Williamsport is no guarantee that the players from JRW won't one day themselves be caught up in the negative forces that destroy lives and neighborhoods.
And that's the best thing that can come from Jackie Robinson West making it to the US Championship game. Perhaps it will force people to consider these realities while simultaneously understanding the impact support in these communities can have. True, the risk of dying in a gun-related incident is a very real proposition for the kids from JRW and for kids like them in places you don't know about. Yet, with a little faith, hope and effort, the Jackie Robinson kids can become national or even world champions. So too can kids from other struggling neighborhoods become champions in baseball...or science or medicine or engineering. But that will only happen when we start to collectively see the promise in all kids the way we see it in the kids from Jackie Robinson West and stop seeing kids as a source of menace, as happened in Ferguson and in communities across the country every day.
As much as the hoopla surrounding Davis was well-deserved, I'm glad people are going to be forced to talk more about the kids from Jackie Robinson. The JRW team is comprised entirely of African American kids and it's the first time in more than three decades an all-black team has made it to Williamsport.
As a sports writer who has covered high school and youth sports for many years, I have to say this is quite an accomplishment. When I was in Little League, black athletes made up 1 of every 4 Major League Baseball players, whereas blacks made up 1 of every 8 people in the country. That figure in baseball declined steadily over the years. When I began my career as a sports writer, there were strikingly few black players in MLB. Six teams had no black players at all and only three had two or more. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have actively recruited white players over the past decade or so because there simply aren't enough black high school players to recruit.
Ironically enough, it was the success of a Chicago basketball star in the late 80s that helped the decline of players of color in baseball. A number of different initiatives have helped reverse that trend recently. Fittingly, a group of players from a league named after Jackie Robinson, are helping make a statement about the value these players of color add to the game. Thankfully, as the numbers of black kids has risen in youth baseball, so too have the numbers of players they can admire, like Matt Kemp, Andrew McCutchen, Brandon Phillips and more, increased at the pro level.
This greater inclusion, this broader diversity will not only impact the game in a positive way, the presence of the kids from JRW fits nicely into a bigger discussion that is happening in this country and, frankly, needs to happen.
Just as the Jackie Robinson team is living the highest of highs in Williamsport, protests have been happening nightly in Ferguson, Mo. centered around the lowest of lows for African Americans in this country. As the JRW kids have shown, in often neglected, forgotten about or unsupported communities throughout the country, a little effort, belief and opportunity can go a long way. There are new leagues in urban areas across the country now where there weren't as little as a decade ago. Further, Jackie Robinson West has proven that not only can the kids in these areas participate, they can excel if given enough support.
Still, the truth that cannot be ignored is that the effort is far short of what can be. Violence, crime, drugs and run-ins with law enforcement that end negatively are still far too common in the lives of too many young people in this nation. Homicide and incarcerations are still much more likely outcomes in the lives of a disturbingly high number of kids. Indeed, Chicago is nothing short of an utter battleground for many young people. Having made it to Williamsport is no guarantee that the players from JRW won't one day themselves be caught up in the negative forces that destroy lives and neighborhoods.
And that's the best thing that can come from Jackie Robinson West making it to the US Championship game. Perhaps it will force people to consider these realities while simultaneously understanding the impact support in these communities can have. True, the risk of dying in a gun-related incident is a very real proposition for the kids from JRW and for kids like them in places you don't know about. Yet, with a little faith, hope and effort, the Jackie Robinson kids can become national or even world champions. So too can kids from other struggling neighborhoods become champions in baseball...or science or medicine or engineering. But that will only happen when we start to collectively see the promise in all kids the way we see it in the kids from Jackie Robinson West and stop seeing kids as a source of menace, as happened in Ferguson and in communities across the country every day.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Irish Aye Aye Ayes
Notre Dame announced this week that they've launched an investigation into academic fraud related to four players on Notre Dame's football team. While all of this is going on, every other school in the country should launch a similar investigation because this sort of thing happens on every campus in the nation.
Not us, not here, not our campus, said the idiot.
Academic fraud is as much a part of college life as the keg party and the all-nighter. And forget about it being football players or basketball players. One need not be a Division I college athlete, or even an athlete of any kind, to engage in academic fraud. In the long run, I suppose there's little harm done by a little cheating here and there...unless it's your surgeon that passed by cheating. Or your lawyer. Or accountant. Or bridge engineer. Or elected official. Actually, scratch that last one. That's the only profession where practice in fraud comes in handy. That and banking.
I guess it's good that Notre Dame uncovered the potential fraud and is being proactive and corrective. The investigation promises to damage their football program this season, which is all the more reason their proactive steps are admirable.
In addition to investigating and correcting any problems in the present, Notre Dame also vowed to forfeit any previous wins wherein potentially ineligible players participated. This is my only issue in all of this. On the surface, it seems very stand-up and chivalrous to say, hey, we don't deserve these previous wins gained through unfair circumstances.
This happens a lot in situations like this in college football. Teams are involved in some wrong-doing and ultimately give up wins from previous seasons. To that I ask: who cares? Forfeit a whole season's-worth of games if it makes you feel better--and I know how Catholics are about redeeming themselves through repentance, so knock yourselves out. But who cares? What's the point?
A game in the past that Notre Dame won, they celebrated. Bettors won money based on that win. Notre Dame improved their bowl situation because of that win, maybe sold a few extra t-shirts and hats, maybe convinced a recruit to come to South Bend...whatever. What happens to all of that? Can you forfeit that? Can they forfeit the money the school earned from appearing in a BCS bowl as the result of the win? And what of the teams they beat? What if Rice or Air Force, for instance, finished the season with five wins instead of six and was, as a result, not eligible to play in a bowl? Can they go back and get invited to the Independence Bowl, New Orleans Bowl or something similar? No. They can't play in a retro-active bowl game, they don't get any of the recruiting benefits of playing in a bowl or the appearance fees for playing in a bowl or the simple life enrichment that comes with a late-December trip to El Paso or San Francisco.
So who cares? Forfeit the game. Or don't. It won't matter.
I went to the world's greatest party. Man, it was more fun than you can imagine and I partied until I dropped. Oh, the joy and the memories. My life wasn't the same after it. Later, I found out I wasn't invited so I feel badly for even going. That's what your forfeit is. The cow is gone. It's long gone. But, OK, close the barn door if it makes you feel better.
Not us, not here, not our campus, said the idiot.
Academic fraud is as much a part of college life as the keg party and the all-nighter. And forget about it being football players or basketball players. One need not be a Division I college athlete, or even an athlete of any kind, to engage in academic fraud. In the long run, I suppose there's little harm done by a little cheating here and there...unless it's your surgeon that passed by cheating. Or your lawyer. Or accountant. Or bridge engineer. Or elected official. Actually, scratch that last one. That's the only profession where practice in fraud comes in handy. That and banking.
I guess it's good that Notre Dame uncovered the potential fraud and is being proactive and corrective. The investigation promises to damage their football program this season, which is all the more reason their proactive steps are admirable.
In addition to investigating and correcting any problems in the present, Notre Dame also vowed to forfeit any previous wins wherein potentially ineligible players participated. This is my only issue in all of this. On the surface, it seems very stand-up and chivalrous to say, hey, we don't deserve these previous wins gained through unfair circumstances.
This happens a lot in situations like this in college football. Teams are involved in some wrong-doing and ultimately give up wins from previous seasons. To that I ask: who cares? Forfeit a whole season's-worth of games if it makes you feel better--and I know how Catholics are about redeeming themselves through repentance, so knock yourselves out. But who cares? What's the point?
A game in the past that Notre Dame won, they celebrated. Bettors won money based on that win. Notre Dame improved their bowl situation because of that win, maybe sold a few extra t-shirts and hats, maybe convinced a recruit to come to South Bend...whatever. What happens to all of that? Can you forfeit that? Can they forfeit the money the school earned from appearing in a BCS bowl as the result of the win? And what of the teams they beat? What if Rice or Air Force, for instance, finished the season with five wins instead of six and was, as a result, not eligible to play in a bowl? Can they go back and get invited to the Independence Bowl, New Orleans Bowl or something similar? No. They can't play in a retro-active bowl game, they don't get any of the recruiting benefits of playing in a bowl or the appearance fees for playing in a bowl or the simple life enrichment that comes with a late-December trip to El Paso or San Francisco.
So who cares? Forfeit the game. Or don't. It won't matter.
I went to the world's greatest party. Man, it was more fun than you can imagine and I partied until I dropped. Oh, the joy and the memories. My life wasn't the same after it. Later, I found out I wasn't invited so I feel badly for even going. That's what your forfeit is. The cow is gone. It's long gone. But, OK, close the barn door if it makes you feel better.
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