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The Freedom to Love One’s Sport

College Football, Football, Futbol/Soccer, The Bigger Picture No Responses »

Jul 312013

The Economist’s Democracy in America blog did a pretty good job recently of refuting Malcolm Gladwell’s analogy betwixt dog-fighting and college football. It centers largely around the idea that by the time a boy has reached an age where concussions and micro-concussions really start to take a toll, he has enough agency to make the cost-benefit analysis concerning future glories/money vs health concerns.

fitzgerald-pitt-vs-vt

However, for me, DiA essentially buried the lede with a rather inane and insecure diatribe about its dislike for the sport of American Football in general:

Then there’s also the fact that American football is a stupid, tiresome sport. I will freely admit that it has taken me many decades to free my mind from the thrilling propaganda of NFL Films and see football for what it really is: hours of tedious milling-about punctuated occasionally by a few seconds of largely incoherent shoving and scrambling. When Canadians feel the need to change your game to make it less boring, there’s a problem with the game. American football is relatively unpopular internationally because it is inane, and slowly but surely doggedly provincial Americans are coming around to the superior form of football enjoyed passionately by billions around the globe.

I’m getting pretty tired that we seemingly can’t get past the point of trying to say that one sport is better than another. This is sport. American football, futbol, baseball, basketball – there are modern-day spectacles where we gather in our coliseums to watch our versions of gladiators. But it’s just sport! It’s entertainment. The need to praise one sport to the detriment of another strikes me as a very insecure and immature pursuit. It’s apples to footballs. Each sport defines prowess in different ways. The most honest attempt to rank one sport vs another will always be subjective.

Also, note to all those who love futbol and want to see it grow in the USA: don’t trash American football! Or baseball. Or basketball. Or even ice hockey. You’ll only come off as elitist and snobby. You won’t get football fans to see the beauty and grace of futbol. You won’t get them to care about outcomes concerning Liverpool or Manchester United or FC Barcelona or even the LA Galaxy.

Photo Credit: AP

For-Profit Universities are not the (Sun) Devil

College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture No Responses »

Jul 292013

Apparently, the PAC-12 and Arizona State, in particular, have a problem with the idea of admitting for-profit universities to Division 1 athletics. The case surrounds Grand Canyons University’s soon-to-be entrance into the WAC. From ESPN:

“As a Conference — together with our Presidents — we believe that a broader level of discussion is needed before the final decision on whether to grant for-profit institutions membership in NCAA Division I,” the league’s statement read. “We have asked the NCAA Executive Committee to include it on the agenda of their August meeting. Our major concern is how athletics fit within the academic missions of for-profit universities.”

And this from noted party school, Arizona State University:

“We do not believe for-profit schools provide a good foundation to support student-athletes, who work so hard to balance significant time commitments to sports and their academic work,” the school’s statement read. “We cannot play teams that exist for profit and have them use their games against us to advance their stock prices, as was discussed by Grand Canyon University during a recent telephone call with investors.”

Now I tend to believe that student-athletes in the money sports (football, men’s basketball and at some universities, baseball and women’s basketball) get type-cast a lot. They may not be the most rigorous students but eventually most of them straighten-up, get through college and move into the real world. I knew a few at Pitt; these were good kids who knew their role in college. They loved their sports but knew they wouldn’t be making it big-time in the pro’s. So they did their best to balance academics and athletics and got their degrees.

Their universities, however, don’t make things easier. Tutoring and student services notwithstanding, there’s a whole laundry list of evils associated with the commercialization of major university athletics, most of it driven not by the athletes but the the arms races started by the universities themselves. Yet, college presidents and athletic directors go on and on with paeans to amateurism and scholarship, while making it even harder on the athletes. If high-major universities cared less about money and more about their football and basketball players, they wouldn’t deny their four year scholarships. They wouldn’t have added a 12th game to the schedule, with allowances that occasionally allow teams to play upwards of 14 games including their bowl game. They wouldn’t have allowed ESPN and CBS Sports and Fox and other networks to dictate more and more useless bowl games. I could go on and on.

For-Profit status actually saved Grand Canyon University from going-under. The athletics department’s budget went from $3 million to $10 million. It is building a $200 million arena. It has over 44,000 students, 9,000 of whom live on-campus. A school nearly goes bankrupt, gets saved and turned around and yet, the nation’s venerable institutions of ~~hypocrisy~~ higher learning don’t want to let it play at the big boy’s table.

The level of hypocrisy needed in order to call into question a for-profit university’s commitment to its student-athletes while continuing to make a mockery of those same student-athletes simply boggles the mind. Especially coming from Arizona State University, one of the biggest party schools in the country. Pitchforks down.

David Volek, Twenty Years Later

Basketball, College Basketball, College Football, Football, Hockey, Pro-Football, The Bigger Picture 1 Response »

Jan 292013

Every time the Penguins play the Islanders, as they’re doing tonight, I can’t help but remember David Volek. Oh the name conjures memories of infamy, it does. It was Volek’s slapshot in Game 7 of the 1993 NHL playoff series between the Pens and Islanders that denied Mario Lemieux and company the chance at a three-peat.

It pains us, it does. It burnsss. It freezessss. Volek’s goal places him among the top sports villains of my life.

David Volek Continue reading »

The ACC is a Better Fit for Pitt

Basketball, College Basketball, College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture No Responses »

Nov 202012

For years after the ACC first raided the Big East for Miami and Virginia Tech, Pitt partisans dreamed of a move to the Big Ten. TV markets, however, dictated that Pitt would/will never get an invite. The Big Ten Network is already in the Pittsburgh area because of Pennstate. Ratings themselves don’t necessarily matter. If you have expanded cable, you get the BTN whether you watch it or not. So you’re paying for it no matter what. The B1G gets paid, period. I still prefer the ACC.

In football, we can still maintain a strong northeastern and mid-atlantic presence against former Big East schools Syracuse, BC and VT. We get a better toehold in Florida with the additions of games against FSU and resumption of games against Miami-FL. We can expand our recruiting south to places like the Carolinas. And historically, Pitt hasn’t needed a rivalry presence to recruit Ohio; the River City Rivalry with Cincinnati stretches back less than a decade. Moving to the B1G would open up the midwest more but that’s about it.

You Never Should Have Been

College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture No Responses »

Jul 242012

Yesterday when the NCAA announced its sanctions on the Pennstate football program, I watched Facebook, Twitter, ESPN.com article comments and other sources to gauge the reactions of Pennstaters to this apparently devastating hit to their once-proud football program.

I’m not sure I read anything from a Pennstater agreeing with the penalties. Not a one. Many said that the full story hadn’t been written, that the NCAA should have waited until the trials of Spanier, Curley & Schultz had laid out more evidence. A few continued to stress that the NCAA had no jurisdiction to sanction the football program. Some concentrated their wrath on the media for its supposed feeding frenzy. Others lashed out at the current administration for copping out to the NCAA. And so many many others simply screamed into the void, “We are [still] Pennstate!”

I have to ask, what penalties, if any, would they have accepted as fair? 2-year bowl bans, 5 scholarship reductions/year, no monetary fine? Only a monetary fine? More NCAA oversight? Or perhaps, nothing.

Surely, nothing better is going to come to light after the verdicts for Messrs Curley, Spanier and Schultz. Joe Paterno is not going to be magically exonerated. The culture of Pennstate’s all-power, all-encompassing football institution, whose power engendered this cover-up, won’t be seen in a softer light. And make no mistake about it, Pennstate football was and is an institution, not just a program.

I don’t think the public can be expected to believe Pennstate’s own proclamations that it’s reforming its culture and so should be left alone. Oh so, Curley, Spanier and Schultz are gone or placed on leave. Paterno was fired. Maybe the Board of Trustees will be the next to go. Well bully for yinz gahz.

Every measure taken that even tangentially touched the football program or the culture that Paterno fostered has been fought. Fire Paterno – riots. Take down the Paterno statue and people go nuts. Rename Paternoville to Nittanyville and Facebook explodes. The Freeh report itself was commissioned by PSU’s own administration and many Nitters still don’t believe it, whether about Paterno or the football institution.

We (myself included) trusted Pennstate for decades that their “success with honor” motto was real and tangible; that the sanctimony, however annoying, might be earned. No more. Welcome to the club of ordinary universities, Pennstate. You don’t get the benefit of the doubt anymore.

The Big East Was Doomed Years Ago

College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture No Responses »

May 092012

Or… Why Joe Paterno is Laughing Himself Silly Down in Heaven

In the wake of Big East Commissioner John Marinatto’s (forced) resignation, there’s been a lot of revisionist history about what should have been done to strengthen the league. I don’t think anything substantive could have been done post-2004; certainly nothing that would have prevented further defections.

It’s been written that the conference dithered too much in the wake of the 2004 ACC defections. The additions of Louisville, Cincinnati and USF stabilized the league but that was it. UCF or Memphis might have been decent additions at the time but no available school would have radically shifted the balance of power nor provided the anchoring presence that the University of Miami once did.

A league needs an anchor tenant (or two) around which to build its brand. The ACC already had a high mid-level brand in Clemson and got an anchor tenant when they admitted Florida State in 1992. Prior to 2004, the Big East wasn’t the clear-cut worst BCS conference; it was relatively on par with the ACC in football and could have even tried to poach FSU and maybe UMD and UVA, two decent mid-level brands. But instead, the ACC acted boldly and snagged the Big East’s anchor tenant (Miami), a high mid-level brand (Virginia Tech) and a large market (Boston College).

So I would contend that the Big East as a major football league has been doomed to die a slow death since losing the Hurricanes. I, for one, am very relieved that Pitt is off that sinking ship.

Is Ice Hockey the “Best” Sport?

Baseball, Basketball, Football, Futbol/Soccer, Hockey, Misc, The Bigger Picture 4 Responses »

Apr 252012

Despite the pain and humiliation of watching my Pittsburgh Penguins lose their third consecutive post-season series, this time to the despicable Philadelphia Flyers, I am as convinced as ever that Ice Hockey is the best team sport out there.

I don’t necessarily mean most enjoyable, surely a subjective measure. Nor is the NHL the best sports league across all sports. I’ve come to the conclusion over the years that Ice Hockey calls for the greatest total abundance of every sports characteristic and skill. List out all the skills you want and Ice Hockey will score higher in aggregate.

Ahhh, happier times.

Speed, physical toughness, endurance, coordination/reflexes, mental toughness, etc. etc. etc. The game even calls for moving backwards in a fundamental way that no other sport duplicates.

Here’s a rough chart ranking the major team sports:

	Baseball	Basketball	Am. FB	Rugby	Futbol	Cricket	Ice Hky
Speed	3	7	4	1	6	2	5
Physical Toughness	1	4	6	7	3	2	5
Mental Toughness	4	2	7	5	1	3	6
Endurance	1	3	4	6	5	2	7
Reflexes/Coordination	3	6	1	2	5	4	7
Intelligence/Creativity	1	5	4	3	7	2	6
Versatility (!=specialization)	1	6	2	5	4	3	7
Total Score	14	33	28	29	31	18	43

Before you get in a huff about these rankings, it should be noted that I have no animus against any particular sport. If I were to rate my enjoyment of each of these sports, it would be different from the rankings above. Just some food for thought.

MST: Duke and Coach K say yes to Pitt/’Cuse. Rest of ACC says NO!

Basketball, College Basketball, College Football, Football, MST, The Bigger Picture No Responses »

Sep 182011

The college sports world was thrown into turmoil this weekend when it was revealed Pitt and Syracuse had applied for and been accepted for membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Speaking to Andy Katz of ESPN, Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski said that adding the Panthers and Orangemen would be a coup for the ACC.

“It’s actually pretty exciting,” Krzyzewski said. “I think it’s great for our conference football-wise, even better basketball-wise. Wherever this is going to end up, four big-time conferences or five, whatever it is, you want to be perceived as No. 1 in football and basketball.”

It is widely known that Duke and Coach K opposed the ACC’s previous expansion plans, a position that solidified the other universities’ resolve to add Miami-FL, Virginia Tech and Boston College. So even though Pitt and Syracuse bring top-notch basketball programs to the ACC, Krzyzewski’s remarks still caught ACC administration off guard.

MST has since learned that the ACC’s Presidents and Athletic Directors have had a sudden change of heart upon hearing of Coach K’s welcoming words. Using a little known by-law known as the We Hate Duke Corollary, they have since re-voted to reject Pitt’s and Syracuse’s applications to the conference. The ACC’s expansion focus will now shift to schools that will most definitely piss off the Blue Devils.

“It’s actually pretty exciting,” Krzyzewski said. “I think it’s great for our conference football-wise, even better basketball-wise. Wherever this is going to end up, four big-time conferences or five, whatever it is, you want to be perceived as No. 1 in football and basketball.

Promise and Failed Promise

Football, Pro-Football, The Bigger Picture 1 Response »

Aug 112011

My dad has never been that big on celebrating his own birthday. Perhaps it’s because he has two birthdays – one on his passport, the other that his mother swore he was born on. Actually, he felt that the birthdays of the the greats should be celebrated. Though he never failed to celebrate our birthdays, his refusal to acknowledge his own was, I think, his way of trying to inspire us to greatness. “You should want to be so memorable that others will remember your birth.”

I think we all know someone from high school who was always the smartest person in the room as well as the laziest. It’s not a stretch to see that this person never reached his potential, never became great. He may be delivering pizzas or working at a convenience store or just muddling through life. It’s not my place to judge another life but that ain’t greatness.

The recently retired NFL wide receiver Randy Moss will be remembered as one of the top 5 or top 10 WRs of all time. Maybe even #2. But he won’t even touch #1 even though he had more talent than Jerry Rice. He could have worked harder, tried harder, been a better teammate, been less of a malcontent. But he didn’t. It’s a testament to the immense size of Moss’s talent that he had such a productive career despite his malfeasance.

Collegiate Expectations

Basketball, College Basketball, College Football, Football, Pro-Basketball, Pro-Football, The Bigger Picture No Responses »

Mar 072011

Being a fan means that we have expectations of the teams we follow, be it a professional or college team. There was once a time when we held different expectations of even our major college teams than of our professional teams.

A professional athlete, at least by definition if not by attribution, plays the game for a wage; he has on-field metrics to attain, the loftiest of which is to win a championship. I think it’s fair to hold most professional athletes to this standard. Though we may praise them for noteworthy efforts in defeat, ultimately, such outcomes are a failure.

A major college athlete, however, is still an amateur. I know that in today’s cynical world, we like to deride the corruption and avarice of major college athletics. I’ll not demure from such characterizations but I’ve known a few who played college football and I can vouch that they saw the importance of getting on with their “life’s work” (as Chuck Noll called it) faster than we, the jaded public, may give them credit. No, such individuals didn’t morph into Rhodes Scholars or lead perfect lives but they took their courses of study no less seriously than the non-athlete students who have always known they were destined for the cubicle farms of modern workaday America.

So, if we allow that the vast, vast, vast majority of college athletes are truly amateurs, then the expectations we place on them must be reasonably commensurate with that amateur status, even for major athletics programs. The lofty olden goal of the college athlete has always been to grow as a person, to use athletics as a past-time and as a means to earn a college degree and prepare for a non-football future. Winning is important, as it is in the real-world, but there were different levels of winning.

The stated goal of Michigan’s legendary head coach Bo Schembechler was to win the Big Ten title and anything that happened in the bowl game afterwards was gravy. Schembechler was 5-12 in bowl games, 2-8 in the Rose Bowl and never won a National Title. Such an absymal bowl record would probably have gotten him fired at Big Blue these days. In 1963, Pitt football compiled a 9-1 regular season record and earned the #3 poll ranking. When they were shut out of the so-called National Title game and offered to play in a lesser bowl game, the athletes declined. Because that bowl game interfered with Finals week.

As I survey major college basketball around this time every year, I hear talk about the “next level” and what type of results in the NCAA Tournament would make for a successful year. For the minnows, it’s just getting into the NCAA Tournament. But for most high-major programs, the goal is to win the National Championship and less is often considered something of a failure. There’s nothing wrong with expecting to win a National Championship. I would hardly call Duke’s program corrupt for holding to such a standard.

Coaches today will talk the same game. No less than Pitt’s Jamie Dixon has stated that winning a National Title, not just breaking in to the Final Four, is Pitt’s true goal. As a Pitt sports fan, I do love that statement. But even though the Final Four and the Elite Eight and even the Sweet Sixteen are largely ESPN-marketing driven creations, they still serve as reasonable levies against what is otherwise our just-win-baby culture. Yet coaches successively come under fire when their programs somehow can’t get thru the Sweet Sixteen, then the Elite Eight, then the Final Four, then the National Championship. If it took the greatest college basketball coach of all-time, John Wooden, 15 years to get UCLA to a Final Four and 16 years to win a National Title, I’m ok with keeping my college sports expectations in check.

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