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Pitt-Penn State: The Hatreds We Keep and Cherish

Basketball, College Basketball, College Football, Football Comments Off

Dec 042013

The Post-Gazette’s Paul Zeise wrote the following in his build-up to the recent Pitt-Penn State college basketball game:

It used to be Pitt-Penn State in anything got people riled up no matter what the sport but to be honest, this is just another game. In fact, the athletic department issued a note today that tickets for the game still remained, which is amazing.

But that is the anatomy of how to kill a rivalry — join different conferences, don’t play each other for more than a decade in football and stop playing in basketball and eventually the fans will stop caring.

I hear people say that in 2016 when the two schools meet again in football it will be like old times but I don’t buy that. This young generation of fans has no reference point for the rivalry, they, unlike us, didn’t grow up with it, didn’t grow up with classic games and families split down the middle and rooting against each other one day per year.

Zeise may be right that it won’t be exactly like the old times but I doubt it’ll be all that tame either. I can guarantee there will be tons of fans like myself – in their mid-30’s (shit, I’ll be in my mid-30’s?!) and 40’s – who will remember it. Lots of people who did grow up with the rivalry who still remember it.

RenewingtheRivalry-PittPennState

Race & Soccer – Racial Composition of Liverpool FC’s players

Futbol/Soccer, The Bigger Picture Comments Off

Nov 252013

Early last Saturday morning, I made my way down to Piper’s Pub on the Southside to watch Liverpool vs Everton, the famed Merseyside Derby.

Out of the 13 players who played for Liverpool (11 + 2 substitutes), 3 were black – Glen Johnson, Daniel Sturridge and Victor Moses. That’s 23%.

Glen Johnson, LFC Defender

All told, Liverpool’s matchday lineup included 18 players, 6 of whom are black. That’s 33%.

Breaking it down even further, 6 of Liverpool’s full matchday lineup are British including the Welshman Joe Allen. 3 of those 6 are British black players. That’s 50%.

Going to the full squad, Liverpool carry 25 players. 8 are black. That’s 32%. There are 9 British players. 4 are black. That’s 44%. Here are the full squad breakdowns:

Race	Count	Percentage
White	9	36%
Black	8	32%
Latin	8	32%

British	9	36%
British White	5	56%
British Black	4	44%

I’ve read that roughly 25% of the players in the British Premier League are black. Certainly not all of them, nor probably even a majority, are British blacks.

Blacks make up about 3% of the UK’s 55 million residents. If you factor in people of mixed race, that number goes up to 5%.

Make of these percentages what you will. I leave them to stand on their own.

A Pitt Football Story Concerning JFK’s Assassination

College Football, Football Comments Off

Nov 222013

Fifty years ago, Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy, Jr. The nation grieved, people openly wept, sports events were cancelled. Conspiracy theories were hatched.

At the time, Pitt football was 8-1 and slated to play their season-ending game vs Pennstate. The game was postponed for two weeks. Ranked 5th in the polls at the time (with only a loss to Roger Staubach’s #2 Navy), Pitt was in line for a major bowl berth, possibly the Orange Bowl.

However, due to the postponement of the PSU game, the major bowls feared inviting Pitt before that last game. Plans and invites had to be made, I suppose. What if Pitt lost? After all, who in their right mind would invite a 2-loss team to a major bowl. <cough cough sputter sputter> So Pitt didn’t get an invite. The #5 team in the nation didn’t get a bowl invite.

Golden Panther on the prowl with tail up

Will Muschamp’s Florida Sets Offensive Football Back Several Years

College Football, Football Comments Off

Nov 192013

This was such an unbelievable sequence from last weekend’s Florida vs Vanderbilt game that I just have to share it:

In a morbidly emblematic sequence late in the fourth quarter, Florida had possession at the Commodores’ 41-yard line, trailing 31-17. On third-and-10, Vanderbilt safety Javon Marshall sacked Murphy for a 13-yard loss and officials flagged Murphy for intentional grounding. Going for it on fourth-and-23, Murphy lost 26 yards on a Caleb Azubukie sack and the Gators committed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Vandy took over with a first-and-goal at the Florida 10-yard line.

The mind simply boggles. And yes, a Pitt fan is allowed to marvel at such things because we know what we’re talking about.

Condoleeza Rice on the College Football Playoff Committee

College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture Comments Off

Oct 092013

Secretary_Rice_With_Afghan_President_Hamid_Karzai

There’s been some mild controversy regarding former NSA Advisor Condoleeza Rice’s appointment to the college football playoff selection committee. Some of that is sexist. Some legitimately calls into question her experience and therefore standing to be on the committee. Here’s one I hadn’t considered from SBNation’s weekly Alphabetical column:

Zubaydah. As in Abu Zubaydah, waterboarded 83 times in the month of August 2002 with the consent of the Secretary of State National Security Advisor at the time, Condoleezza Rice.

Here is a non-sexist case to be made against the selection of Condoleezza Rice as a member of the new College Football Playoff committee: she endorsed the use of torture. Note: not “enhanced interrogation techniques,” or “extreme cuddling,” but torture, a practice whose ultimate end is simply more torture.

This is a sport of unpaid labor working under sketchy contracts beneath the auspices of coaches and athletic directors taking an insane chunk of available wages. This is a sport in the throes of denial over a number of health and safety issues, including the idea that your brain might not work properly after even a limited amount of time spent playing it.

But even this filthy marketplace of confidence men and shell non-profits running profitable black market businesses has lines it won’t cross. There are some who will even laugh at you for mentioning the committee candidacy of a rogue’s choice like Barry Switzer, someone who giddily trampled the rules of amateurism during his tenure at Oklahoma. (That feels weak. Switzer ran a monster truck over them, then hit reverse, and then ran them over one more time before pouring gasoline on them while yelling “WORLDSTAAAAARRRRR” and pointing at the camera.)

Those same people will smile and applaud the bold choice of Rice without an ounce of irony, because this sport has so warped their brains that one minute they will side with the rules of the NCAA and the next minute against those of human decency, the Geneva Convention, and every tenet of even the loosest definition of human rights. I hate it when the stink of politics wafts over into college football, but some stenches should follow you wherever you go for the rest of your life, if only to warn others.

In closing: I’d rather have Jackie Sherrill on this committee than Condoleeza Rice. At least Sherrill limited his torture to livestock, and apologized afterwards.

I wasn’t particularly excised about Rice’s inclusion in the CFB playoff committee when I heard about it. I don’t know about her level of knowledge about college football but I’ve always read that she’s bright and I figure she’ll do a diligent job. But if someone objects to her appointment based on the above reasoning, well, I can’t say that I find fault with that.

The Fallacy of East-Coast Bias

College Football, Football No Responses »

Sep 302013

A quick relatively unformed thought:

The idea of East Coast Bias is so full of shizzles that it befuddles me.

Pitt once had a team, go 9-1, ranked #3 in the country that wasn’t invited to a bowl game.

Pennstate once went 2 1/2 years without a loss. And did not win a national title.

(Incidentally, there’s a hint of irony to the fact that Joe Paterno compiled three undefeated seasons but it was a 1-loss team that was his first “National Title”).

Pitt vs Pennstate at Pitt stadium, 1958

The New & Improved Pittsburgh Football Club

College Football, Football, Pro-Football No Responses »

Sep 232013

A modest and hopefully uncontroversial proposal, if I may, concerning the coaching staffs which make the UPMC Sports Complex their home.

Fire Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Ok, so that’s probably not so controversial among Steelers fans. Next, transfer Haley’s play-calling and strategy duties to Pitt head coach, Paul Chryst, a man known for productive offenses and the ability to effectively utilize the talents of existing players rather than trying to shoehorn them into one particular system. Chryst will continue to advise offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph but Rudolph will take on added responsibilities, something that should benefit his career immensely.

Pitt HC & soon-to-be Steelers OC Paul Chryst

Chryst will still remain the head coach at Pitt. However, since he isn’t exactly comfortable in front of the media (though getting better), Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin will take over Chryst’s media duties. (That groan you hear is from Pittsburgh sportswriters being forced to deal with Tomlin on two fronts). Chryst may also need to grow a beard.

Apologies Work

College Football, Football No Responses »

Sep 192013

… if they’re sincere enough.

Todd Thomas, the junior linebacker for Pitt, threw a hissy fit in training camp after he put on second string for one practice. Thomas quit the team but soon realized he had made a mistake. After a week, Paul Chryst told Thomas he could come back to Pitt football if his teammates accepted him.

After he informed the coaches of his wishes to return, Thomas said he had to talk to his teammates, particularly the seniors, and convince them he would come back as a committed member of the program.

They told Thomas he could come back, but only if he returned with an improved attitude, as well.

“The way I carried myself wasn’t really appropriate,” Thomas said. “So I just came back, did what I had to do, showed them that I could change and now I’m back and I’m thankful for that.

“I’m thankful to all the players, the freshmen on up, to coach Chryst and the staff for letting me come back.”

A sincere apology, eh. I like that.

This is a piece of what I’ve written before that college athletes are kids. Thomas did a stupid thing by quitting. He has always seemed like a good kid and according to reports at the time, even his high school coach was surprised by the abrupt decision. Fortunately, he repented quickly and came back to the team. He put his head down, worked hard and eventually re-earned his spot in the starting lineup.

College Players are Kids

College Football, Football 3 Responses »

Sep 182013

One thing that always strikes me about college players – they’re kids. And more often than not, they look like kids. Tyler Boyd is only 18 years old. And he looks it. When players do fantastic things on the field, we shouldn’t forget that they’re 18-22 years old. When they do stupid things off the field, we shouldn’t forget that they’re 18-22 years old.

That’s what seems to be forgotten by the sanctimonious preachers who lay invective on guys like Johnny Manziel. He’s a kid. He’s a douche but he’s a kid. He’s shouldering the burden of being the most public face of Texas A&M while also seeking to be a college student.

It’s all good and well that college athletes should face real consequences when they break the law, as any of us would. But that doesn’t make them special cases. That doesn’t mean they’re malcontents to whom we’re allowed to condescend, as though non-athletes are above reproach and stupidity and sometimes even, criminality.

Do you remember yourself at 18-22 years old? Yes, you were a stupid kid. But you didn’t have a national spotlight on you.

What if the NCAA Started Punishing Universities for Any Legal Violation

College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture No Responses »

Sep 172013

Regarding the NCAA’s punishment of PSU, I recently wrote:

In PSU’s case, the NCAA jumped the gun on handing down sanctions and probably should have waited till after the trials are done. The individuals involved get punished. And then so too does the institution for creating an atmosphere that led to those actions.

Others have argued that the PSU scandal is primarily a legal matter and so the NCAA has/had no jurisdiction in the case. They should have stayed clear but they didn’t. Given the severity of the scandal, I don’t think the NCAA, corrupt or not, would have been able to withstand the public pressure to do something, anything.

Let me be clear, I think the PSU administration was corrupt. Criminally so. They covered up for a child molester. But let us separate our revulsion from the act for a minute. It was a criminal matter into which the NCAA stepped. If the NCAA sticks its nose into that criminal matter, however abhorrent, what’s to stop them from doing so in other criminal matters. I’ve made the argument that PSU’s administration did so out of self-preservation and that indicates a lack of institutional control. But I’m starting to see a very slippery slope.

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