The Confluence at Jollybengali.net - Page 11 of 15 - Exploring Pursuits of a Not-So Trivial Nature... and why Larry would've caught that

The Real Longhorn Blockbuster

Feb 162010

So we’re all reading tons and tons about the Big Ten candidacies of Pitt, RU, Syracuse, Mizzou, Nebraska, Texas and its little lonestar sisters. And then there’s the PAC-10 possibly poaching from a list that includes Texas, Colorado or Utah. And then the Big XII turning around and choosing from a list that includes Utah, BYU, TCU and Houston. And the Big East fighting for survival with a list that includes UCF, Memphis & Temple or dream-gets like UMD or BC.

That’s five of the six BcS conferences looking to shake up the college sports landscape with resultant repercussions for Conference USA, the WAC and MWC.

In all this discussion, why do we not mention the reigning behemoth – the SEC? What’s to prevent the SEC from going after … TEXAS? And why not? 12 is only the minimum for a conf title game. Adding Texas and either OU, Texas A&M or Texas Tech would be beyond blockbuster. It would shatter everything in college sports.

I recognize that the Big Ten makes more money than even the SEC and the SEC is probably pretty content at 12 teams, which makes the Big Ten and PAC-10 far more likely moves for the Longhorns. Still, it’s worth pondering though in the final analysis, I can’t see Texas moving; the Texas legislature just wouldn’t allow a move that could harm its Lonestar little sisters.

Photo Credit: burntorangenation.com

Pitt vs Pennstate in the new decade

College Football, Football No Responses »

Feb 042010

In honor of NLI Day, let us speculate.

In the fall of 2010, sophomore Kevin Newsome and mega-recruit Paul Jones will lose the PSU starting QB competition to true freshman Robert Bolden. Not willing to ride the pine for three years, Jones transfers to Pitt and Newsome follows in the footsteps of Jeff Hostetler by transferring to WVU. Three years later, Paul Jones starts for Pitt at Panther Hollow Field as they welcome Pennstate back to their eastern roots as a member of the re-formed Eastern Elite Conference (along with new/old members BC, ND, UVA, VT & UMD) in Greg Schiano’s first year at the helm of the State Penn. Mr. Schiano leads Pennstate out of the tunnel in true Jersey fashion – doing the fist pump.

Former PSU coach Joe Paterno is given a rousing chorus of “@$$h0le” by the Pitt faithful. Pennstaters at the game respond by throwing their beverages high up in the air but are surprised when said concoctions come straight down and hit them in the head. Former DC Tom Bradley weeps in a corner, alone and forgotten.

Schiano’s personal guests include the newly elected Governor of New Jersey, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and first lady Snooki. Inspired by Schiano’s Jersey pride, The Situation subsequently passes a bill requiring all New Jersey/Staten Island/guido athletes to do the Fist Pump during pre-game ceremonies and changes the state song to Kernkfraft 400’s Zombie Nation. Mr. Schiano’s controversial replacement of White with Orange as PSU’s secondary color to more closely mirror the color of all his NJ players’ skin pays huge dividends as Pennstate’s new Orange-Glo Nights (sponsored by Fanta) will come to be devastating to opponents who can’t handle the burst of color from the students’ section. (Incidentally, PSU loses its first Orange-Glo against Mr. Schiano’s old team Rutgers because the PSU players can’t pick out the Rutgers’ players amidst the sea of orange).

Pitt avenges the memories of 48-14 by blasting Bolden into the ground in Dave Wannstedt’s swan song as Pitt coach before turning over the reins to OC Frankie Cignetti. Wannstedt’s first act as new Athletic Director is to bring back the script PITT as a third jersey. On the Pitt sideline that day are former greats Mike DITKA, who commands that all Pitt men must grow mustaches, goatees or beards, POTUS Larry Fitzgerald, Governor of Florida Danny Marino and the man responsible for finally destroying the BCS and instituting a college football playoff, NCAA Commissioner Tony Dorsett (pronounced DOR-sett, not dor-SETT).

Pitt Defensive Coordinator Tony Siragusa, one of the holdovers from Wannstedt’s staff, threatens to eat anyone who goes against DITKA’s commandment or doesn’t believe that Larry would’ve have caught that. Mr. Siragusa does end up eating Bob Nutting on orders from Pirates, Penguins and city of Pittsburgh owner/Wizard of Oz Mario Lemieux. Mr. Lemieux’s Man-Behind-The-Curtains, Ron Burkle slides into the all-concealing shadow as he seeks to find the Jade Monkey, road maps and ice scraper before the next full moon.

From up on high, the Four Horsemen of Pittsburgh Football – Art Rooney Sr, Pop Warner, Jock Sutherland and Myron Cope look down on all that they have wrought and smile. For behold, it is very good.

Photo Credits: Joe Hermitt/The Patriot News, Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

Thoughts on Mike Vick (from someone who dislikes like PETA)

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

Sep 142009

Now that Mike Vick may take a larger role in Philadelphia after Donovan McNabb fractured his ribs, it’s worth re-examining the outrage against Vick and backlash against the anti-Mike Vick outrage.

I’m ok with Vick getting another chance in the NFL. But his incarceration does not mean he necessarily deserved a second chance to play in the NFL. The only thing that 2 years in jail earned for Mike Vick is the opportunity to live a life in which he doesn’t commit more crimes. That’s all that “paying one’s debt to society” means. He didn’t earn the right to resume the life of a popular millionaire superstar. He earned the right to become a law-abiding citizen again. Nothing more, nothing less.

Some folks pose an equivalency argument that questions why Vick was treated so harshly by the law or the NFL when murderers, adulters, domestic abusers and others seem to get off so much more easily. Donte Stallworth pled out to 30 days for killing a person while driving drunk. Plaxico Burress is getting 2 years for shooting himself in the thigh. Steve McNair and countless others stepped out on their wives. Warren Moon was reported for domestic battery. Countless players use illegal drugs, performance-enhancing and other.

The relatively light ‘punishment’ incurred by other players shouldn’t mean that Vick’s punishment was too much. Stallworth should have gotten a harsher sentence. Moon should have been dealt with harshly for battery. Vick got hit pretty hard and he deserved that punishment. Others should get an even harder hit. Continue reading »

College Football’s Institutional Advantages and Disadvantages

College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture 2 Responses »

Sep 092009

One of my main interests in college football is watching the rise and fall of programs that don’t belong to the normal big dawgs’ club. Occasionally one of the top tier programs will fall on hard times but you can’t keep a Texas or an Oklahoma or a PennState or a Southern Cal down for too long. You can see the downturn today at Notre Dame and Michigan but don’t count those programs out for long. (If you’re short-sighted enough to point out that ND hasn’t been factor since the early 90’s, please keep in mind that college football has been played for over a hundred years. A decade is a blip on the radar).

The pursuit of consistent excellence at schools below the high historical threshold is a fascinatingly excruciating exercise. What combination of coaching, recruiting, facilities and plain old luck would it take to engender year-in, year-out contention. Can these schools really dare to dream of being consistent top-10 programs.

The big dawgs have institutional advantages that continually pull down their lesser cousins. Michigan steals Rich Rodriguez from West Virginia, his own alma mater. Alabama lures Nick Saban from the pro’s after a short trip thru the wilderness of coaching mediocrity. Once upon a time, Johnny Majors left Pitt after winning a National Title in order to go home to Tennessee.

Other times, it is the lure of extended history that lays waste to a school’s attempts to climb up the ladder. On signing day 2003, Pitt lost the jewels of a top-25 class when its top QB recruit de-committed to sign with Pennstate and its top RB recruit de-committed to sign with Miami instead. That neither player lived up to his reputation is not the point. The recruiting losses so gravely affected Walt Harris’ faith in his own program that his agent publicly downplayed Pitt’s absolute ability to ever rise to the top. One year later, Harris was pushed out after leading Pitt to the Fiesta Bowl.

You can almost hear the nervous chattering at Cincinnati, a school with less history than Pitt or Cal or Wisconsin. Here you have a program newly arrived on the big stage with a dynamic young coach, Brian Kelly, who could very well give Ohio recruits a second legitimate in-state destination. But like Mark Dantonio before him, most pundits feel it’s only a matter of time before Kelly jumps to a “big” program, leaving the Bearcats to hope they can strike gold with a third coaching hire. Yeah sure. Tell that to Louisville which weathered the departure of John L. Smith by hiring Bobby Petrino but have so far failed with Petrino’s replacement, Steve Kragthorpe.

Sometimes, geographical disadvantages contribute to a program’s uneven performance. Clemson and South Carolina come to mind. Both have had or presently have fine coaches. Neither have really sniffed extended 1st-tier success. The biggest and best of the Palmetto State probably aren’t numerous enough to construct a powerhouse program given that two large programs exist in the state and many of the top prep stars may long to play at Rocky Top or Between the Hedges instead of Death Valley or Williams-Bryce stadium. Is it too much of a coincidence to note that Cal’s rise and Oregon’s steady success has coincided with Washington’s fall from grace?

The upshot of all these considerations is not to excuse Pitt or Louisville or South Carolina from failing to consistently reach the big time. In the end, these programs have only themselves to blame. If a shizzle hole like Norman, OK can become a destination for the best prep stars, the Steel City or even Corvallis shouldn’t be too far behind.

Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated

How Else Could the Pittsburgh Pirates be Resurrected?

Baseball 1 Response »

Aug 022009

I have a question for all the Pittsburgh Pirates fans who have gone apoplectic during this most recent roster purge – what else do you want? What alternative are you looking for?

Even with the most productive outfield in baseball last season including a surprising campaign from Nate McLouth, even with a recent batting champion in Freddy Sanchez and a rock solid defensive shortstop in Jack Wilson, the Pirates went 67-95. Prior to the start of this fire sale, there were two possible courses of action – keep the batting lineup intact and try to build the pitching up quickly through free agency. Or tear it all down. Completely.

I don’t understand how we as fans can get attached to any players on a team that pretty much stunk anyway. I do have my doubts as to owner Bob Nutting’s commitment to winning but I think that critique is separate from a critique of the plan, which is the same as any small-market franchise must undertake. Build up the farm system, draft solid, develop prospects. Sure we’ve heard this song and dance before but what’s the alternative?

OF Lastings Milledge

Barring abandoning the team, a Pirates fan has no choice but to stomach another rebuilding job. It’s sickening that we have to endure another one; that all the others have been so unsuccessful. However, I don’t believe that voting disapproval with one’s wallet is an effective strategy. With a decrease in ticket sales and thus less revenue, ownership would simply lower payroll even further and still pocket profits from revenue sharing.

I’m not willing to declare any belief that this particular rebuilding plan will work when all the others haven’t worked. But it’s still the right way to go about business. Tear down the half-assed incarnation of the last rebuilding job, build organizational depth, develop players. And with all the recent criticism (however deserved) and declarations from fans that the franchise doesn’t deserve our support, I find myself becoming somewhat defiant.

Someday, we will all bear witness to the rebirth of one of the great franchises in Major League Baseball. Remember where you were and what attitude you took during this trying time. LET’S GO BUCS!

Photo Credit: AP

Another Pirates Rebuilding Plan

Baseball No Responses »

Jul 312009

The Pittsburgh Pirates have completed a huge purge of the vast majority of their roster since Neal Huntington took over leadership of the franchise a few years ago. They’ve traded a large number of serviceable major leaguers including the likes of Jason Bay, Nate McLouth and Jack Wilson.

All these trades have provoked a huge amount of outrage among the Pirates’ fanbase. (Yes, there still is a fanbase). I think most fans would have preferred to keep that lineup largely intact and then perhaps raise the bar on the pitching staff by going after some free agents. Wishful thinking. Free agents wouldn’t want to come to the Pirates right now.

Andrew McCutcheon (pic)

The alternative is to develop great pitching. But by the time the pitching could catch up, the offense would have started to go down. It’s a half-assed approach. You either spend more to bring the pitching staff up to par quickly, which won’t happen, or you tear it all down. In almost all the recent trades, Pirates GM Neal Huntington has gone after pitching, pitching and more pitching.

The Pirates went 67-95 playing a large part of the last season with the most productive outfield in baseball. There was solid, if unspectacular play, from the likes of Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez. But whither the pitching.

Now I have my doubts as to whether Pirates owner Bob Nutting will pony up the money to keep a developing team together if recent drafts and trades start to pan out as we all hope. But the plan itself is solid. Some fans may have been content for the team to make a run at .500 this year, which may have been doable with the collection of players that came out of spring training. But in the City of Champions, we cannot accept anything less than a team that wants to win titles. We don’t do Loveable Losers.

Whiny Li’l Clevelander

Basketball, Pro-Basketball No Responses »

Jul 232009

By now, almost everyone has seen the much-ballyhooed videotape of LeBron James getting dunked on by a prep star Jordan Crawford of Xavier. It’s a pretty weak posterization.

What is obviously even weaker is James’ and Nike’s reaction to the dunk. Trying to get it wiped because of some bullshizzle about videotaping rights? hah.

I like Lebron James, despite his Ohioan heritage. He’s a great player. But it’s evident that he has some growing up to do. He doesn’t have to abandon his love of his homeland (though that’s also advisable) but given the success of others before him such as George Steinbrenner and Bill Bellichick, he should probably abandon the state in order to seek his true fortunes.

Failures of the MLBPA

Baseball No Responses »

Jul 152009

As the Pittsburgh Pirates purge their roster for the umpteenth time in the past 16+ years, I’m reminded of the little-noted failure by the MLBPA of its membership. A trade union, by definition, is supposed to use collective bargaining with management for the overall betterment of its membership. The MLBPA has lost sight of the fact that this collective bargaining should not be strictly limited to wage increases.

In any given year, there are 4-6 teams with a realistic shot at winning a title. Minnows, through careful scouting and not a little bit of luck, will occasionally pop up in the ranks to disturb the big boys. But if you knew little of baseball, it wouldn’t be totally unreasonable to assume that in a given year, the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Cardinals, Mets and Braves will be the main contenders.

You can switch a name or two here and there but, in general, this leaves 24 out of 30 teams that, for all their fuss and bluster, don’t have a shot to contend. This is the nature of sports and I won’t dispute that. But it’s also partly a result of the revenue/salary structure of modern baseball.

In leagues with a tight salary cap/luxury tax, such as the NFL, NHL or NBA, well-managed teams can contend year-in, year-out regardless of market status. A small-market team in MLB can contend for maybe 2-3 years out of every 8 years. Build up, torn down by free agency, build up, torn down by free agency. Ask Billy Beane, one of the best GM’s in baseball, how MLB’s cost structure is working out for him.

Let’s look at it from a Union’s viewpoint. Is it better for a Union to seek the highest individual salaries regardless of how those left behind in middling teams fare? Or should a Union seek the greatest possible distribution of salaries among its membership. One player makes $20mil while four players make $3mil. The average is $6.4mil. The median is $3mil. The high outliers skew the average salary.

Furthermore, for every team that can pay $200mil+ for its roster, there will be more teams with salaries around $50-$80mil. The team that can pay $200mil+ will compete year-in, year-out. The teams with $50-$80mil can compete only for a short time before being raided by the $200mil team. And with roster size limits, not everyone can sign with the $200mil team so that money is allocated to only a few players.

In a more egalitarian system, such as the NFL’s, the overall number for salaries will stay the same. But the distribution becomes wider. Yes, it’s called spreading the wealth. But a Union that negotiates distribution in addition to overall number is doing its job. The NFLPA, by agreeing to a salary cap, ensures wider distribution of monies as well as giving a greater percentage of its membership a realistic chance of landing with a team that can build a contender.

Photo Credit: Details Magazine

All-Star Nada

Baseball No Responses »

Jul 142009

A few years ago, MLB designated that the winning team of the All-Star Game would clinch home-field advantage for its League in the World Series. The move is supposed to liven up the game and get the players to care about the outcome. The allegedly heightened circumstances are also supposed to get the fans to care a little more as well. This year, MLB is using the slogan, “this one counts.”

I fail to understand why World Series home-field advantage would matter to poor unlucky schlobs like Freddy Garcia or Zach Duke of the Pirates or whatever token schlomo got in from the Washington Nationals. Unless they’re expecting to be traded to a contender, perhaps. (In the case of Garcia, the answer is no because the Mets aren’t in contention this year).

In the unbalanced world of Major League Baseball, few teams are in real contention by this point of the season, despite any protestations to the contrary. Why should their few representatives really care about handing home-field advantage to an opposing team. It seems to me that since they are already out of contention, Orioles, Athletics, Pirates, Padres or Diamondbacks players and fans wouldn’t be particularly in favor of handing home-field advantage to potentially the Yankees, Angels, Cardinals or Dodgers.

Oh, I’ve heard that the players are putting forth more of an effort since this scheme was adopted but Bug Selig can’t seriously think that it will bring back the level of competition that resulted in Pete Rose crashing into home plate so many years ago. Way to come up with another gem, Bud.

An Upset (Almost) for the Ages

Hockey No Responses »

Jun 152009

I think Penguins’ victory over the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals is one of the most underrated upsets in recent memory. For all the skills of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Marc-Andre Fleury (and apparently Max Talbot as well), the Red Wings were so much deeper and more experienced than the Penguins.

Let’s compare the players by position for Detroit to those of Pittsburgh.

Red Wings	Penguins

Centers
Pavel Datsyuk	Sidney Crosby
Henrik Zetterberg	Evgeni Malkin
Valtteri Filppula	Jordan Staal
Darren Helm	Tyler Kennedy
Kris Draper	Max Talbot

Left Wingers
Johan Franzen	Ruslan Fedotenko
Jiri Hudler	Chris Kunitz
Tomas Kopecky	Matt Cooke
Ville Leino	Pascal Dupuis

Right Wingers
Dan Cleary	Bill Guerin
Marian Hossa	Miroslav Satan
Mikael Samuelsson	Petr Sykora
Tomas Holmstrom	Craig Adams
Kirk Maltby	Eric Godard

Defensemen
Nicklas Lidstrom	Sergei Gonchar
Niklas Kronwall	Kris Letang
Brian Rafalaski	Brook Orpik
Brad Stuart	Rob Scuderi
Jonathan Ericcson	Mark Eaton
Brett Lebda	Hall Gill
Andreas Lilja	Philippe Boucher

Goalies
Chris Osgood	Marc-Andre Fleury

To me, it’s evident that the Red Wings are deeper and have greater overall skill than the Penguins. I don’t believe for a second that Pittsburgh wanted it more than Detroit. Perhaps age had to do with something to do with it but Detroit surely didn’t look old in winning 3 games at home.

I’m searching for some type of comparison to fully highly the magnitude of this upset. It’s not quite Giants over Patriots in the Superbowl but it’s not far off. While the Red Wings weren’t as dominant as that Patriots team, they have been the class of the NHL for the better part of the past decade. They have won in all aspects of the game – execution, timing, skill, talent, depth, money, coaching and scouting. And unlike New England – class as well.

pens_celebration

The Penguins chipped the puck in behind the goal continuously. They played possession as much as possible. They threw the puck at Chris Osgood at every chance. They stood toe-to-toe with one of the top 2-3 finest organizations in sports and didn’t back down.

Bottomline: The Penguins outworked a team with superior depth of talent.

Red Wings	Penguins

Pavel Datsyuk	Sidney Crosby
Henrik Zetterberg	Evgeni Malkin
Valtteri Filppula	Jordan Staal
Darren Helm	Tyler Kennedy
Kris Draper	Max Talbot

Johan Franzen	Ruslan Fedotenko
Jiri Hudler	Chris Kunitz
Tomas Kopecky	Matt Cooke
Ville Leino	Pascal Dupuis

Dan Cleary	Bill Guerin
Marian Hossa	Miroslav Satan
Mikael Samuelsson	Petr Sykora
Tomas Holmstrom	Craig Adams
Kirk Maltby	Eric Godard

Nicklas Lidstrom	Sergei Gonchar
Niklas Kronwall	Kris Letang
Brian Rafalaski	Brook Orpik
Brad Stuart	Rob Scuderi
Jonathan Ericcson	Mark Eaton
Brett Lebda	Hall Gill
Andreas Lilja	Philippe Boucher

Chris Osgood	Marc-Andre Fleury

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