The Sports Curmudgeon

The baseball season is upon us; in fact, there have already been two regular season games played in Japan.  And so, it is time for some predictions about how all of this will turn out come the end of September 2025. Let me begin in the American League:

• AL East:  The loss of Gerrit Cole for the Yankees’ rotation is a huge blow; I think it will cost the Yankees the division title.  Added to the loss of Cole is the loss of Juan Soto to free agency and the loss of Giancarlo Stanton to nagging injuries for at least the start of the season.  The Orioles and the Red Sox are poised to pass the Yankees here; it is almost a coin flip for me, so I’ll take the Red Sox to win the division with the Orioles finishing second.  The Blue Jays are not going to contend for the division for long this season, but the Jays might hold the wild card for another team to win the World Series this year if they decide to trade Vlad Guererro Jr. after failing to get him signed to a long-term deal.
• AL Central:  This is the most difficult division to unwrap.  Other than picking the White Sox to finish last, I can talk myself into just about any order you want to propose for the four teams above the White Sox.  So, let me stare into my cloudy crystal ball to foresee this outcome:

1. 1. 1. Tigers
      2. Twins
      3. Guardians
      4. Royals
      5. White Sox

• AL West:  I like the Mariners and the Rangers to fight it out in the AL West; I think the Astros’ hegemony in the division is waning significantly.  The Astros will not finish last because the Angels and the A’s will outstrip the Astros in the race to the bottom.  Give me the Rangers to win the division…
• AL Wildcard Teams:  I like the Orioles, the Mariners and the Astros to fill out the AL Playoff slots.

Crossing over to the National League:

• NL East:  The Mets made the biggest splash in this offseason acquiring the services of Juan Soto for a significant fraction of a billion dollars.  Nevertheless, I don’t think that is enough to make the Mets the best team in the division because I think both the Braves and the Phillies are better.  If the adage that “good pitching will stifle good hitting” holds true this year, the Phillies should win the division so long as their bullpen does not implode.  The Braves and Phillies should take this down to the wire and I’ll take the Phillies to win the division.  The Nationals will probably finish fourth even though they may be the most improved team in the division simply because it is crowded in the top three slots.  Remember the name, James Wood; he may not be an All-Star this year, but he is going to be the foundation piece of the Nats starting very soon.  The Marlins will be last in the division.
• NL Central:  The Cubs and the Brewers are the best teams here.  It has been a while since the Cubs won the division, so let me pick the Cubs here by a nose over the Brewers.  When that comes to pass, credit the Cubbies’ braintrust for acquiring Kyle Tucker in the offseason as the basis for their division win.  The Pirates will be interesting every five days or so when Paul Skenes gets the start.  On the other four days, the Pirates will be less than interesting.  What to make of the Reds and the Cardinals?  Good question; I can see both teams finishing third in the division and I can see both teams finishing last.  You make the call…
• NL West:  My most confident pick for the season is for the White Sox to finish last in the AL Central; only a hair’s width behind that prediction in terms of confidence is that the Dodgers will win the NL West, and the Rockies will finish last in the NL West.  The D-Backs addition of Corbin Burnes gives them the edge for finishing second in the division.  Toss a coin between the Giants and the Padres for third place here.
• NL Wildcard Teams:  Give me the Braves, the D-Backs and the Mets as the rest of the NL Playoffs this year.

In terms of betting win totals for MLB this year, here are five selections:

1. Red Sox OVER 86.5 wins
2. Yankees UNDER 90.5 wins
3. Mariners OVER 84.5 wins
4. Cubs OVER 85.5 wins
5. Rangers OVER 85.5 wins

And here is an odd line that looks as if it is set to lure folks in.

• White Sox win total = 53.5 wins

To play this as an UNDER bet, you are saying that the White Sox will finish 2025 with a record of 53-109 – – or worse.  Your first glance says that is a horrendous record; how likely is it for a team to lose that many games?  Then, you take a look at the 2024 final standings and note that the White Sox lost 121 games meaning that the putative record of 53-109 would represent an improvement of 12 wins year-over-year.  That is a big difference for a team that projects to be slightly better than putrid for 2025.  My suggestion is to take note of this win total wager and track it for the season – – but keep your money in your pocket.

Finally, this from Henry Aaron:

“It took me seventeen years to get three thousand hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

George Foreman died over the weekend at the age of 76.          His career arc of Olympic heavyweight champion to professional heavyweight champion (more than once) to loveable pitchman for products ranging from portable electric grills to Meineke Mufflers to Invent Help (and probably a half-dozen more that do not come to mind now) is not matched by many other athletes or celebrities.

Rest in peace, George Foreman.

Let me present five notes I took from watching tournament games over the weekend:

1. When did the rule makers erase the traveling violation?  I would estimate a half-dozen violations were not called per game.
2. Similarly, when did the rule makers change the “three-second rule” to the “three-minute rule”?  As a former official, I sometimes look off the ball for play under the basket.  Twice this weekend, (once in Baylor/Mississippi St. and once in UConn/Oklahoma) I counted a player in the lane for 7 seconds without a whistle to be heard.
3. The best game of the weekend was Florida/UConn.
4. St. John’s/Arkansas would have been a much better game if either/both teams shot the ball well.
5. Based on the first two rounds, I think I want to see Florida/Duke in the finals because it would be a great game.

According to an AP report, there are no perfect brackets left as of Sundy night.  Here are some data:

• When Duke beat Baylor, one perfect bracket was left according to ESPN’s tracking.  That perfect bracket went under when Kentucky beat Illinois.  ESPN tracks 24.6 million brackets.
• The NCAA platform tracks 34 million brackets.  Those 34 million brackets went belly-up with the same Kentucky win over Illinois.
• The last perfect bracket submitted to Yahoo! before the tournament was busted by Michigan’s win over Texas A&M.
• CBSSports.com had a perfect bracket working until Saturday night when that bracket lost two games – – BYU/Wisconsin and Drake/Texas A&M.

While all of that is interesting, here is a paragraph from the AP report that brings a smile here in Curmudgeon Central:

“On the other end of the spectrum, ESPN reported that every pick was wrong on 30 of its brackets — a nearly impossible feat in its own right even if a contestant were trying to pick all losers.”  [Aside: Recall that ESPN tracks 24.6 million brackets.]

The 2025 tournament has not been gentle with the so-called mid-major teams.  If you count the five “power conferences” as ACC, Big-East, Big-Ten, Big-Twelve and SEC, then there are no mid-majors in the Sweet 16.  Moreover, a lot of those mid-majors exited the tournament with a double-digit loss.  This is a trend to watch because it is possible – – not nearly a certainty but certainly possible – – that the combination of NIL money plus the universal transfer portal might make the mid-major Cinderella story of past tournaments just that – – a thing of the past.

Switching gears …  While college basketball is front and center at the moment as it tries to crown a national champion and where all the games are hotly contested, the NBA finds itself in a bimodal situation.  About half the teams and players are seriously trying to get into the playoffs or to improve their seedings within the playoffs.  About a quarter of the teams are not trying as hard as they might because losing games now could get them a much better draft slot in June.  It’s not outright “tanking”, but for some teams the level of effort and focus on winning is “diminished”.

There is a fundamental difference between a team losing a lot of games because it has a deficient roster and another team that may not be playing its best players as much as they could in order to lose games and move up in the Draft.  Since I live in the DC area, the NBA team I see most frequently is the Washington Wizards; the Wiz are a bad team; they earned their 15-56 record because they are talent deficient.  If you watch the Wizards play, they play hard; they are simply not good enough to beat their opponents “on any given night”.

That is far less the case with the Sixers.  Yes, the team has had debilitating injuries this year to its best players, but watching the Sixers play recently does not give the impression that they are “going full tilt”.  Moreover, there is a double incentive for the Sixers to improve their draft position.  Not only would that give the Sixers a better shot at a good player addition but in 2025 the Sixers will lose their first-round pick to the Thunder if they draft 7^th or higher in the draft.  They can only keep their pick if they are in the “Top 6”.  Given that circumstance, the phrase “integrity of the game” looms on the horizon …

Finally, since today was about basketball, let me close with these words from James Naismith who invented the game:

“The invention of basketball was not an accident. It was developed to meet a need. Those boys simply would not play ‘Drop the Handkerchief.’”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Let me begin today with some notes taken during yesterday’s orgy of college basketball on four different networks.  These are personal observations and questions and nothing more than that.

• Louisville loves to run up and down the court but hates to play defense.
• This SIU-Edwardsville/Houston game is in the books with 12:00 to play in the first half.  Not worth watching any more of this.  Cougars’ defense is smothering.
• Does the Alabama St. team even practice boxing out for rebounds?
• McNeese St. almost squandered a 20-point lead in the final 8 minutes because they don’t seem to know how to play from ahead.
• People who go to Yale and who are associated with Yale are presumed to be intelligent.  So, why did Yale try to run and gun against Texas A&M’s better athletes?
• Arkansas/Kansas might be the best game of the day.  [Aside: After the last game ended, this was indeed the best game of the day.]
• Drake showed how to play against a team that is bigger and more athletic – – and win the game.
• Gonzaga has a 20-point lead on Georgia and knows how to play from ahead.  Zags will win going away.  [Aside:  Final score is Gonzaga 89  Georgia 68.]
• St. John’s plays exactly the way Rick Pitino’s old Louisville teams used to play.  Not much of a surprise there.

And here are some notes on some ads shown during the games:

• Geico brought back the little pig who cried wee-wee-wee all the way home.  That is not another “giant step for humanity”.
• AT&T sidelined “Lily” to give us “Blake and Joe”.  Give me “Lily”.
• Capital One ads with Charles Barkley and Samuel L. Jackson are back with the additions of “Capital One Guy” and Jennifer Garner.  Best ads of the day.

Moving on …  Yesterday, there were reports that the Boston Celtics were sold for $6.1B.  I have read that report in a half-dozen places and I still have to go back and look at that number to be sure I have not produced a typographical error.  That price is higher than the one that the Washington Commanders commanded about a year ago – – and the Commanders are an NFL franchise not an NBA franchise.  I am stunned.  The previous high-water mark for an NBA franchise was the Brooklyn Nets for $3.3B back in 2018.

Moreover, the sale price does not include the TD Garden – – nee the Boston Garden – – because that facility is owned by the Boston Bruins.  So, technically, this $6.1B acquisition is a renter and not a landlord.  Wow.

The sellers here made a tidy profit on the deal.  The Grousbeck family bought the Celtics in 2002 for what is today chump change; they paid $360M for the team.  The sale yesterday did not quite bring back a twenty-fold increase – – but it was close.  If standard capital gains taxes apply here – – and I will not be surprised to learn that they do not – – then the tax on the gain here would amount to $1.148B.  Twenty years ago, that tax amount would have purchased a franchise in either the NFL, MLB or the NBA.  Time marches on.

This transaction will have a ripple effect.  Naturally, it sets a negotiating starting point for any other NBA franchise that goes up for sale in the near future. But it also has a more immediate beneficial effect for current NBA owners.  The league is going to expand one of these days – – probably adding 2 new teams.  Up until yesterday, the league could only point to the sale of the Nets as a way to evaluate what a current franchise might be worth; now they have the precedent of a $6.1B arms-length transaction to use as the asking price for an expansion franchise.

I am not going to pretend to be an economic guru or anything of the sort, but is it possible that sports franchises are in a state related to an “economic bubble” however one defines that state?  Just asking…

Finally, let me close with this statement from comedian Steve Martin:

“I love money. I love everything about it. I bought some pretty good stuff. Got me a $300 pair of socks. Got a fur sink. An electric dog polisher. A gasoline powered turtleneck sweater. And, of course, I bought some dumb stuff, too.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Even a cursory reading of previous rants here would make it clear that I hold the NCAA as an institution in low regard.  Nevertheless, I have also said that the fact that the NCAA stages the best sporting event of the year mitigates the fecklessness of the organization to the point that I cannot call for its complete disbanding.  Today starts the meaty portion of that great sporting event; today and tomorrow are an orgy of college basketball; by the time the final game on Sunday is in the books, there will have been 48 games in 4 days.  Bring it on …

Here are a couple of observations about four first round games:

1. Oregon/Liberty:  The last time these schools met in an athletic contest of some notoriety, the sport was football, and the result was a complete mismatch.  Will history repeat?
2. Louisville/Creighton:  The game is in Lexington, KY which is – geographically – almost a home game for Louisville.  Usually such a privilege is given to a team seeded #1 or #2 in a bracket, but Louisville is seeded #8.  Interesting.  And by the way, the Cardinals’ fans may not feel totally welcome in Lexington before and after the game.
3. Gonzaga/Georgia:  Call this one the “Battle of the Bulldogs”.
4. UConn/Oklahoma:  I think I counted correctly; I believe the Sooners lost 13 conference games this season.  And back in the early days of the season, the Huskies lost 3 games in 3 days in one of those Hawaiian extravaganzas.  Nonetheless, here they are …

I want to identify my “Sleeper Team” for the tournament.  That would be the Maryland Terrapins.  The Terps open tomorrow against Grand Canyon in the Seattle cluster and they are the #4 seed in the West bracket.  The Terps can hang with just about anyone so long as their starting five can all play for more than 32 minutes each.  Any injury or foul trouble that forces the team to “go to the bench” for extended minutes would be most problematic, but when the starting five can stay on the floor, Maryland is a tough out.

Switching gears …  I spoke on the phone with an old friend yesterday who said that I should use the start of March Madness to produce my personal All-Time College Basketball Team.  I said I would give that a go overnight and here is my list.  I restricted the list to players I have seen meaning the start of my observation window was the mid-1950s.  I have selected my Top Ten players and then “filled out the roster” with another five players and then the tough choice to be made on the final slot.  These are listed alphabetically not in any rank ordering:

1. Bill Bradley – Princeton
2. Wilt Chamberlain – Kansas
3. Patrick Ewing – Georgetown
4. Kareem Abdul Jabbar – UCLA
5. Michael Jordan – UNC
6. Christian Laettner – Duke
7. Oscar Robertson – Cincy
8. Bill Russell – University of San Francisco
9. David Thompon – NC State
10. Bill Walton – UCLA

The next five names “fill out the roster” to 15 players:

1. Elgin Baylor – Seattle
2. Larry Bird – Indiana State
3. Magic Johnson – Michigan State
4. Pete Maravich – LSU
5. Jerry West – West Virginia

The big debate I had was selecting two players from a list that had Elgin Baylor, Pete Maravich and Jerry Lucas on it.  It was a very close call for me, but I called Lucas as the guy on the outside.

Finally, as the Tournament kicks off, here is an observation from Hunter S. Thompson:

“I have warned many times about the guaranteed dangers of betting with your heart instead of your head – big darkness, soon come – but every once in a while you get a fair chance to have it both ways, and the annual NCAA basketball Tournament is one of them.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

I am aware that two NCAA Tournament games happened last night and that two more are on tap for this evening.  However, my credentials as a Certified Codger allow me to consider that those so-called “First Four” games are the sporting equivalent of an amuse-bouche at a 3-star Michelin restaurant in the south of France.  As far as I am concerned, the real Tournament begins tomorrow.  So, let me offer some thoughts on the real Tournament here.

Normally, the huffing and puffing over which teams should be in versus which teams got in instead lasts about 36 hours.  This year, the folks in West Virginia seem to want to keep that debate alive for a long time.  According to reports, the State government will investigate how/why the Mountaineers were left out of the Tournament and how/why UNC got in.   And there have even been threats of litigation around all this.  Two thoughts here:

1. If you ever need to cite an example of “bad optics”, the fact that the Selection Committee was chaired by the Athletic Director of UNC would serve your purpose well.  If you think some sort of hanky-panky took place in the Committee Room, that obvious living and breathing conflict of interest will keep those thoughts alive for quite a while.
2. I am not a lawyer; nevertheless, I do not understand how litigation would work here.  I know that people file frivolous lawsuits periodically; but try as I may, I cannot come up with a basis for a real legal action.  If “West Virginia” sues the NCAA over this “atrocity”, the defense is that the Selection Committee method was agreed to by NCAA members as the definitive way to fill out the Tournament field.  If “West Virginia” sues the Selection Committee, that would turn into a “he said/she said situation” almost immediately.

The makeup of the field this year is dramatically different from years past.  Here is the conference breakdown:

• SEC:  14 teams made the tournament.  Usually, people think of the SEC as a “football conference”; not this year …
• Big-10:  8 teams made the tournament.  Given the expansion of the conference to include far western schools, perhaps this is not all that surprising
• Big-12:  7 teams made the tournament.  The big surprise here is that Kansas is seeded #7 in the West bracket.  I read somewhere that Bill Self has been the coach at Kansas since 2003; his teams have made the Tournament every season since then and none had ever been seeded lower than #4.
• Big East:  5 teams made the tournament.  There was a year when the Big East had three of the four teams in the Final Four.
•  ACC:  4 teams made the tournament.  There were years when four ACC teams would have all been seeded #4 or higher.  Now this …
• Mountain West:  4 teams made the tournament.
• West Coast: 2 teams made the tournament.

Please do not take the following as any sort of complaint about the Selection Committee’s work; this is just an observation:

• The SEC and the Big-10 got 22 teams in the tournament; 20 of them are at-large bids decided by the Selection Committee.
• All the other conferences combined to receive 17 at-large bids from the Selection Committee.
• Is college basketball really that unbalanced this year?

More specifically, if the Big-10 Conference Tournament final game between Michigan and Wisconsin represented the two best teams from that conference, how did 6 others find their way into the brackets this year?

If the brackets cooperate, we might see some themes in the Final Four this year.  For example, we might have a Canine Final Four:

1. Mississippi St. Bulldogs
2. Yale Bulldogs
3. UConn Huskies
4. Wofford Terriers

Additionally, the possibility exists for a Feline Final Four:

1. Auburn Tigers
2. Arizona Wildcats
3. Houston Cougars
4. Missouri Tigers

Finally, these words from John Wooden whose UCLA teams dominated the NCAA tournament in the 1960s and 70s:

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Out there in the sports world, this is a day where sports radio takes a sharp pivot.  Yesterday was a day of spleen venting about which teams were snubbed by the March Madness Selection Committee and which teams did not deserve their placement in the tournament field.  However, today the focus is on bracket analysis and finding this year’s “bracket buster”.

Here in Curmudgeon Central, every day is a pivot-point; that is a phenomenon of no great consequence here.  So, today I will present a recurring theme for this time of the year.  I call it “The Name Game” after the song by Shirley Ellis from back in the 1960s.  I have scanned the rosters of the 68 NCAA men’s tournament teams and sorted player names into imaginary categories.  There is nothing serious here; it is a mindless exercise.

I’ll begin with several players whose names are Complete Sentences:

• Ian Burns – – Michigan
• Trent Burns – – Missouri
• Kael Combs – – Drake
• Jeremiah Fears – – Oklahoma
• Jeremy Fears, Jr. – – Michigan St.
• Chase Henderson – – Montana
• Chase Johnston – – High Point
• Chase McCarty – – Houston
• Will Richard – – Florida
• Chase Ross – – Marquette
• Lance Waddles – – Omaha

As I scan the rosters, I like to imagine that some players’ names portend what they will do for their careers once their college athletic endeavors come to an end.  I call this the Career Omens List:

• Blaze Angelloti – – St. Francis – – Firefighter
• Darrion Baker – – SIU Edwardsville – – Obviously …
• Tavion Banks – – Drake – – Hedge Fund Operator
• D’Ante Bass – – Alabama St. – – Fishing Guide
• Tamar Bates – – Missouri – – Hotel Owner
• Bowen Born – – Colorado St. – – OBGYN
• Jason Brooks – – UC-San Diego – – Hydrologist
• Skyy Clark – – UCLA – – Astronaut
• Jeremy Clayville – – St. Francis – – Sculptor
• Jackson Cook – – Arizona – – Celebrity Chef
• Kahmani Cooper – – Omaha – – Barrell Maker
• Omar Cooper – – McNeese St. – – Kahmani Cooper’s Partner
• Shawn Cotton, Jr. – – Grand Canyon – – Horticulturist
• Kayden Fish – – Iowa St. – – Marine Biologist
• Chris Ford – – Robert Morris – – Auto Dealership Owner
• Riley Fox – – Yale – – Network News Anchor
• Boogie Fland – – Arkansas – – Dancer
• Jo Jo Fullwood – – UNC-Wilmington – – Carpenter
• Ben Gold – – Marquette – – Mining Engineer
• Caleb Grill – – Missouri – – BBQ-Pit Master
• Jazz Henderson – – Texas Tech – – Clearly …
• Arlandus Keyes – – Mount St. Mary’s – – Locksmith
• Jaxon Kohler – – Michigan St. – – Plumber
• Chase Hunter – – Clemson – – Safari Guide
• Dillon Hunter – – Clemson – – Chase’s Partner
• Gestin Liberis – – St. Francis – – Librarian
• Sebastian Mack – – UCLA – – Trucker
• Dante Maddox, Jr. – – Xavier – – Epic Poet
• Ring Malith – — SIU Edwardsville – – Marriage Counsellor
• Cam Manyawu – – Drake – – Penske Pit Crew Member
• Chance McMillian – – Texas Tech – – Professional Gambler
• Luke Northweather – – Oklahoma – – Meteorologist
• Micah Octave – – Alabama St. – – Musician
• Reuben Prey – – St. John’s – – Big Game Hunter
• Colin Porter – – Liberty – – Longshoreman
• Cannon Richards – – Wofford – – US Army Artillery Officer
• JT Rock – – Iowa St. – – Geologist
• Te’Jon Sawyer – – Montana – – Another Carpenter
• Emanuel Sharp – – Houston – – Musician
• DJ Smith – – Robert Morris – – Too easy …
• Bryson Spell – – Liberty – – Elementary School Teacher
• Ace Talbert – – St. Francis – – Poker Player
• Mason Whittaker – – American – – Bricklayer
• Justice Williams – – Robert Morris – – Supreme Court Member
• Money Williams – – Montana – – Banker
• Trey Weiand – – St. Francis – – Poker Player
• Michael Wolf – – Xavier – – Leader of the pack
• Kam Woods – – Robert Morris – – Forester

Next, I found lots of players with alliterative names.  Several players on this list have an alliterative trifecta; there are usually several names of that type every year.  However, I continue to seek an alliterative superfecta such as:

• Billy Bob Baker – – Brown
• Thomas Tool – – Texas Tech
• The hunt goes on …

Here is this year’s list of Alliterative Names:

• Andrew Aliya – – Drake
• Atiki Ally Atike – – New Mexico – – Trifecta.  If only he played for Auburn …
• Ansley Almonor – – Kentucky
• Al Amadou – – Marquette
• Addison Arnold – – Arizona – – Trifecta
• Anthony Arrington, Jr, – – Wofford
• Coby Campbell – – Troy
• Cooper Campbell – – Troy
• Cameron Carr – – Baylor
• Coen Carr – – Michigan St.
• Collin Chandler – – Kentucky
• Carson Cooper – – Michigan St.
• Dre Davis – – Ole Miss
• Dain Dainja – – Memphis
• Donovan Dent – – New Mexico
• Declan Dillon – – SIU Edwardsville
• Don Douglass – – Wofford
• Darlinstone Dubar – – Tennessee
• Elijah Espinosa – – Mount St. Mary’s
• Frankie Fidler – – Michigan St.
• Jason Jakstys – – Illinois
• Jack Janicki – – Wisconsin
• Jadon Jones – – Oklahoma
• Keba Keita – – BYU
• Kerrington Kiel – – Troy
• Karter Knox – – Arkansas
• Kon Knueppel – – Duke
• Kerr Kriisa – – Kentucky – – Trifecta
• Kajus Kublickas – – Florida
• Keaton Kutcher – – Illinois
• Jaelyn Lee – – Texas A&M
• Liam Lloyd – – Arizona
• Langston Love – – Baylor
• Makoi Mabor – – UNC-Wilmington
• Mawot Mag – – BYU
• Mitch Mascari – – Drake
• Mason Miller – – Creighton
• Matt Mayock – – American
• Mavrick Miller – – High Point
• Mercy Miller – – Houston
• Maximo Milovich – – UC-San Diego
• Mark Mitchell – – Missouri – – Trifecta
• Milan Momcilovic – – Iowa St.
• Malik Moore – – Montana – – Trifecta
• Matthew Murrell – – Ole Miss
• Otega Oweh – – Kentucky
• Presley Patterson – – Auburn
• Pharrel Payne – – Texas A&M
• Rodney Rice – Maryland
• Shammah Scott – – Akron
• Tyler Tanner – – Vandy
• Tyler Thompson – – Montana
• Trey Townsend – – Arizona
• Townsend Triple – – BYU
• Víctor Valdez – – Troy
• Zakai Zeigler – – Tennessee

A palindrome is a series of words that read the same forward and backward such as:

“Madam, I’m Adam”

By extension you can think of numerical palindromes where a number would have the same value if you reversed the digits such as “5225”.  I take that extension one step further and notice players’ names that could also be the name of a different person if the words were reversed.  I call these Back-and-Forth Names:

• Harrison Alexander – – Mississippi St.
• Drake Allen – – Utah St.
• Jack Allen – – Grand Canyon
• Marcus Allen – – Missouri
• Tucker Anderson – – Utah St.
• Xavier Amos – – Wisconsin
• Shane Anthony – – UNC-Wilmington
• Lawson Blake – – Arkansas
• Joe Charles – – McNeese St.
• Preston Clark – – Texas
• Connor Dick – – Montana
• Campbell Duncan – – Tennessee
• Jack Francis – – Texas Tech
• Ja’Vier Francis – – Houston
• Jackson Francois – – Arizona
• Ben Gregg – – Gonzaga
• Jordan Hamilton – – SIU Edwardsville
• Isaia Howard – – Drake
• Jace Howard – – Michigan
• Birgir Irving – – High Point
• Julian Larry – – Texas
• Jordon Marshall – – Alabama St.
• Tramon Mark – – Texas
• Grant Nelson – – Alabama
• Travis Perry – – Kentucky
• Taelon Peter – – Liberty
• Cole Sherman – – Louisville
• Valentino Simon – – Omaha
• Emmanuel Stephen – – Arizona
• Daniel Thomas – – New Mexico
• Kamryn Thomas – – Omaha
• Kyle Thomas – – SIU Edwardsville
• Shane Thomas – – Creighton

In these name searches, I always come across some folks whose names remind me of someone else.  Here is this year’s list of names that make me wonder Are you related to …

• Jack Anderson – – Marquette – – The Investigative Journalist?
• Kanon Catchings – – BYU – – He really is Harvey’s grandson.
• Jordan Geronimo – – Maryland – – He’s a warrior.
• Jack Clark – – VCU – – Didn’t you retire from the Red Sox 30 years ago?
• Robert Cowherd – – Ole Miss – – Colin only has nice things to say about you.
• Kobe Elvis – – Oklahoma – – Who is your relative?  Kobe or Elvis?
• Kimo Ferrari – – San Diego St. – – Do you drive a red sports car?
• Hayden Hefner – – Texas A&M – – Got keys to the Playboy Mansion?
• Chucky Hepburn – – Louisville – – Audrey’s grandson?
• Gehrig Normand – – Michigan St. – – Related to Lou?
• AB Oladipo – – St. Mary’s – – Victor’s nephew?
• Tony Perkins – – Missouri – – Say you are not a “Psycho” …
• Justin Pippin – – Michigan – – Yes, he really is Scottie’s son
• Malik Presley – – Texas – – No, he is not Elvis’ son
• Jack Robison – – Wisconsin – – So close …
• Jakai Robinson – – Bryant – – Even closer …
• Jaxon Robinson – – Kentucky – – Another close call …
• Kobe Rodgers – – Louisville – – Bryant or Aaron?
• Brennan Walton – – Michigan St. – – Bill’s nephew?
• Colin Walton – – Michigan St. – – Brennan’s twin brother – – Really!
• Quinton Webb – – New Mexico – – Just the facts, Ma’am

Next consider these players whose names relate to things from The Bible:

• Isaiah Abraham – – UConn – – A Biblical Exacta
• Samson Aletan – – Yale
• Christian Anderson – – Texas Tech
• Bandon Angel – – Oregon
• Bishop Boswell – – Tennessee
• Joshua Corbin – – UNC-Wilmington
• Elijah Crawford – – BYU
• Justin Cross – – Kansas
• Jeremiah Dargan – – Montana
• Aaron Davis – – Bryant
• Elijah Davis – – UNC
• Isaiah Evans – – Duke
• Luke Flynn – – Wofford
• Isaac Gard – – Wisconsin
• Noah Haaland – – Gonzaga
• Micah Handlogten – – Florida
• Elijah Hawkins – – Texas Tech
• Adam Holod – – American
• Christian Ings – – Norfolk St.
• Isaiah Jackson – – Drake
• Samson Johnson – – UConn
• Noah Jones – – American
• Jacob Ognacevic – – Lipscomb
• Isaac Ondekane – – Omaha
• Malachi Palmer – Maryland
• Jordan Pickett – – SIU Edwardsville
• Jordan Pope – – Texas
• Christian Reeves – – Clemson
• Noah Ross – – UNC-Wilmington
• Micah Simpson – – Alabama St.
• Adam Shoff – – Montana
• Christian Shumate – – McNeese St.
• Elijah Stevens – – American
• Uriah Stokes – – Grand Canyon
• Joshua Streit – – Omaha

To date, we have had 47 President’s of the United States.  This year, I found 25 player names that recall names from that list.  Here are this year’s player names related to US Presidents:

• KJ Adams – – Kansas
• Grant Asman – – Lipscomb
• Lincoln Ball – – American
• Jace Carter – – Texas A&M
• Luke Carter – – Lipscomb
• Jackson Fields – – Troy
• Carter Gilmore – – Wisconsin
• Harrison Hochberg – – Michigan
• Grant Hurst – – Tennessee
• Graham Ike – – Gonzaga
• Dishon Jackson – – Iowa St.
• Kordelius Jefferson – – Houston
• Chaney Johnson – – Auburn
• Kai Johnson – – Montana
• Zachary Jones – – St. Francis
• Jackson McAndrew – – Creighton – – So close to an actual President’s name
• Tyler McGhie – – UC-San Diego
• Tyler Nickel – – Vandy
• Lincoln Palbicki – – Omaha
• Desmond Polk – – SIU-Edwardsville
• Jackson Porch – – Troy
• Jackson Sivills – – Wofford
• Grant Stubblefield – – Omaha
• Solomon Washington – – Texas A&M – – Could also be on The Bible list
• Tru Washington – – New Mexico

I came up with a list of players’ names that make up an Artist’s Palette:

• David Black – – Grand Canyon
• John Blackwell – – Wisconsin
• Isaiah Brown — Florida
• Malik Brown – – Duke
• T’Johnn Brown – – McNeese St.
• JV Brown – – Missouri – – Are you on the Varsity or not?
• Blue Cain – — Georgia – – Could have been here or on the “Biblical Team”
• Hayden Gray – – UC-San Diego
• Isaiah Gray – – Akron
• Josh Gray – – Missouri
• Corbin Green – – Texas Tech
• Jasen Green – – Creighton
• AJ Redd – – Illinois
• JJ White – – Omaha
• Miles White – – Lipscomb
• Tre White – – Illinois

Next up is a short list of names that relate to Nobility/Peerage:

• Pharoah Compton – – San Diego St.
• Frederick King – – Creighton
• Sam King – – Purdue
• Duke Mills – – Oklahoma
• Derik Queen – – Maryland
• Earl Timberlake – – Bryant

Some names make me think of places.  Here are players’ names that have Geographic Overtones:

• Devon Arlington – – Yale
• Raleigh Burgess – – Purdue
• Zach Cleveland – – Liberty
• Gibraltar Coleman – – American
• Grant Darbyshire – – Kentucky
• Dayton Forsythe – – Oklahoma
• Camden Heide – – Purdue
• Dallas Hobbs – – Mount St. Mary’s
• Denver Jones – – Auburn
• David Joplin – – Marquette – – Maybe he’s Janis’ grandson ?
• Dakota Leffew – – Georgia
• Houston Mallette – – Alabama
• Camden McCormick – – UC-San Deigo
• Cameron Sheffield – – Duke
• Dallas Thomas – – Clemson

This next list shows my empathy for copy editors around the country.  If these players make a game winning shot, their names will be prominent in stories and headlines.  If these players’ names are prominent, they need to be spelled correctly – – and that may be a challenge.  In addition, if a copy editor has to produce a single column headline referring to some of these players’ names, it might be impossible.  I call this my Copy Editors’ Nightmare List:

• Joaquim ArauzMoore – – Gonzaga
• Filip Borovicanin – – New Mexico
• Mihailo Boskovic – – BYU
• Somtochukwu Cyril – – Georgia
• Souleymane Diaby – – UConn
• Mouhamed Dioubate – – Alabama
• Zuby Ejiofor – – St. John’s
• Tafara Gapare – – Maryland
• Aubin Gateretse – – Utah St.
• Motiejus Krivas – – Arizona
• Sadiku Ibine Ayo – – St John’s
• Josh Ibukunoluwa – – High Point
• Nojus Indrusaitis – – Iowa St.
• Zvonimir Ivisic – – Arkansas
• Vince Iwuchukwu – – St. John’s
• Kasparas Jakucionis – – Illinois
• Oleksandr Kobzystyi – – Oregon
• Lefteris Liotopoulos – – St. John’s
• Khadim Mboup – – BYU
• Yanis Ndjonga – – Baylor
• Josh Ojianwuna – – Baylor
• Ze’Rik Onyema – – Texas
• Vasilije Serafimoski – – Robert Morris
• Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones – – UC-San Diego
• Abdoulaye Thiam – – High Point
• Aboubacar Traore – – Louisville
• Fousseyni Traore – – BYU
• Szymon Zapala – – Michigan St.

Before putting this baby to bed for another  year, let me simply make note of a few notable names that did not fit comfortably on a larger list:

• Supreme Cook – – Oregon – – Sounds yummy to me
• Federiko Federiko – – Texas Tech – – Alliterative plus Repetitive
• Sincere Parker – – so much better than “Disingenuous Parker”
• Joshua Jefferson – – Iowa St. – – Biblical? Presidential? Alliterative?

Finally, here are two Kansas teammates whose names combine to remind me of something else:

• Rakease Passmore/Zeke Mayo – – Perfect for a BLT sandwich on toast, thank you

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Answering the prayers of no one, I am back at the keyboard …

While I was gone, John Feinstein died suddenly at the age of 69.  He was a reporter and a columnist of national prominence in addition to being a radio and TV contributor.  Feinstein also found time to write dozens – literally – of books many of which made it to the NY Times Best-Seller List.  My personal favorites are:

• A Season On The Brink
• A March To Madness
• A Civil War

I commend all three for your reading.  John Feinstein is in the Basketball Hall of Fame and in the Sportswriters Hall of Fame; his passing leaves a giant void in sports journalism.  John Feinstein seems to have found that sweet spot that exists wherein a person is opinionated and loveable at the same time.

Rest in peace, John Feinstein.

When I went on hiatus, things seemed under control in the Tampa/St. Pete area regarding the MLB Tampa Bay Rays.  A couple of hurricanes had rendered their stadium useless and damaged beyond the point of repair.  However, the Rays can play their home games in the Yankees’ Spring Training facility and its capacity is very close to the average fan draw for the Rays over the past couple of seasons.  Added to that short term solace, the team and the poohbahs in Tampa/St. Pete had reached an agreement for a new stadium there that could be available by 2027 or 2028.  What could possibly go wrong?

Well, it seems that the Rays are backing out of that Tampa/St. Pete deal.  There was a March 31 deadline for the Rays to commit to certain financial and developmental aspects of the deal.  Rather than wait and not meet the deadline, the Rays announced a couple of weeks prior to the deadline that the deal would be off.

Naturally, there can be further wheeling and dealing on this matter over the next several months; however, as of today the Rays’ situation is approaching a crisis for MLB.  As of today, the Rays’ ability to use the Yankee’s Steinbrenner Field as a home venue extends to the 2025 season and no further.  The idea of spending millions of dollars to try to “fix the roof” on Tropicana Field would be like taking several tens of millions of dollars and turning them into a bonfire; many folks think the stadium is a major cause of the Rays’ terrible attendance record.

There is a real and significant problem facing MLB; the Rays are part of that problem and the fact that the Rays may be in a precarious position regarding having a home field to play on could be a blessing in disguise.

• MLB has two franchises in the State of Florida and neither one draws flies.
• Rather than trying to cure this situation by “treating the symptoms” and building a gaudy new playpen, perhaps MLB should consider “treating the disease”.

Let me be clear; I am not a sociologist.  Having said that, I can observe data and discern trends.  In the case of the Rays, the team is generally a contender and has made the playoffs multiple times in the last decade by developing players and fielding a team on a shoestring budget.  And local fans seem to care not at all …

[Aside: The situation in Miami with the Marlins is different.  The Marlins also exist on a shoestring budget, but the Marlins usually wind up eliminated from contention by June 1^st and command the attention of almost no one in the Miami area.]

For underlying reasons that I cannot pretend to identify with certainty, baseball fans in Florida seem to have had “their fix” soon after the end of Spring Training.  Maybe that is when all the “snowbirds” go home and watch MLB games at higher latitudes; maybe that is the time of year when Floridians take up other activities that consume their spare time and discretionary income; maybe it is now time for MLB to consider picking up the Tampa franchise and relocating it.

And if that thought ever enters the cranial cavity of Commissioner Rob Manfred, there are several potential landing spots for the Rays:

• Nashville, TN: There is a history of successful minor league baseball there; there is an ownership group there who might acquire all or part of the transplanted Rays’ franchise.  There are rumors that the Nashville group might also be interested in buying the White Sox and moving them to Tennessee.  In terms of a TV market, Nashville is slightly larger than Pittsburgh, Baltimore and San Diego.
• Raleigh-Durham, NC: This is another place with a long history of minor league presence.  In terms of a TV market, Raleigh-Durham is larger than Nashville and even larger than St. Louis.
• Portland, OR:  There is an ownership group in waiting there and Portland is a TV market that ranks between Raleigh-Durham and St. Louis.  The drawback here is that Tampa is in the AL East and Portland is anything but “East” in the US meaning that there would likely need to be more geographical jockeying by the AL to make sense of travel arrangements for teams.

The folks who run MLB like to make major changes about as much as they like to undergo major abdominal surgery.  No one should expect there to be any serious consideration of these sorts of ideas just yet.  Last year, the Rays drew 16.5K fans per game; the seating capacity of Steinbrenner Field is 11,026.  Steinbrenner Field is “more conveniently located” than the now useless Tropicana Field; so, if there are significant numbers of empty seats for Rays’ home games, maybe that might convince the folks who run MLB that it is time to move on.

Another aspect of the situation here is that there is an ownership group in waiting in Orlando FL and one might suspect that moving the Rays to a point between Orlando and Tampa might produce a viable franchise.  Looking at a map, that makes a lot of sense; driving that part of the world on Interstate 4 makes little sense.  On that matter, there are my two cents…

Finally, let me close today with these words from John Feinstein:

“Never be proud of doing the right thing; just do the right thing.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

As the NFL approaches its “Free Agent Season” and the “Trading Time” leading up to the Draft in late April, there are legions of reports out there focused on what teams that contended last year need to do to “get over the hump” next year.  Here in Curmudgeon Central, we often look at the world through the other end of the telescope; so, I want to look at what I think was the Bottom Quarter of the league in 2024 and ask WTH³ where the acronym stands for:

• What The Hell Happened Here?

My list will be in alphabetical order; if anyone wants to make it a rank ordering, have at it:

1. Browns:  Two years ago, they were in the playoffs sporting an 11-6-0 record; last year they finished 3-14-0.  That is not a fall from grace; that is akin to trying a long jump over the Grand Canyon.  What happened here is pretty simple; the Browns scored the fewest points of any team in the NFL in 2024, and you can’t win if you don’t score points.  The Browns scored 258 points; even the lowly Giants – – about whom we will hear of next – – scored 273 points in 2024.  Moreover, the Browns’ defense did not shine last year either; the team’s point differential for the season was minus-177 points of a differential of more than 10 points per game.
2. Giants:  Last year at about this time, the Giants’ braintrust weighed their options and decided to let Saquon Barkley become a free agent.  The football gods did not look kindly on that stupefying choice and conspired to make everything go wrong for the Giants in 2024.  The icing on the cake for the football gods was when the Giants benched Daniel Jones and then released him.  It was because of Jones’ contract that the Giants felt they could not afford to keep Barkley; now the team has neither player.
3. Jags:  Their misfortune in 2024 can be summed up in two words – – Trevor Lawrence.  He only played in 10 games and when he played he regressed from previous performance levels instead of improving on them.  The team fired head coach, Doug Pederson because he obviously became much dumber and far less competent than he was when his team in Philly won a Super Bowl game not so long ago.
4. Jets:  It would be easy and glib to pin the Jets’ inability to meet expectations on an aging Aaron Rodgers; granted Rodgers was a shell of his former self in 2024 but at least part of that mediocrity has to be attributed to an aging/awful offensive line.  In addition, successful teams seem able to maintain a level of consistent behavior in the locker room throughout the season.  Such was not the case for the Jets who fired their coach in October and then fired their GM in November.
5. Pats:  One thing is sure for Pats’ fans; few if any of them will remember fondly “The Jared Mayo Era”.  The Pats’ offense was hardly a juggernaut; they scored 289 points for the season meaning they were one of only three teams to fail to score 300 points in 17 regular season games.  The team did find a guy who appears to be their franchise QB; however, Drake Maye did not have the same ultimate success as some of the other first-round QBs from last year’s Draft, but he showed that he belongs in the NFL and is a foundation piece for the team.  “Foundation piece” is an apt descriptor here because just about every other part of the structure needs to be rebuilt; the roster is deficient; new coach, Mike Vrabel, has plenty of work to do.
6. Raiders:  As is the case with Pats’ fans, I doubt that many Raiders’ fans will take kindly to future references involving “The Antonio Pierce Era”.  Early in the season, Davante Adams engineered a trade to get out of town; the football gods intervened again.  Adams left the Raiders who went 4-13 to ply his trade with the Jets who went 5-12.  The Raiders also paid a price for that trade because they quickly embarked on a 10-game losing streak after agreeing to ship Adams to the Jets.  The mishandling of Josh Jacobs’ contract from a couple of years ago saw the Raiders try to replace Jacobs with the likes of Ameeer Abdullah, Alexander Mattison and Sincere McCormick at running back.  The only good news for the Raiders in 2024 was the presence of rookie tight end Brock Bowers who set an NFL record for receiving yards by a rookie tight end despite having sub-standard QBs to throw the ball to him.
7. Saints:  Derek Carr was injured in Week 5 and then injured again in Week 10 and missed the rest of the season.  Spencer Rattler tried to step in and keep the ship on course, but in his 6 starts, the Saints went 0-6-0; he only completed 57% of his pass attempts, and he threw only 4 TDs with 5 INTs.  Hey, at least he got game experience…  The Saints also started Jake Haener once in 2024 meaning that there was no continuity at the QB position for the team.  I read that the Saints have a cap problem to resolve in this offseason meaning that their roster from last year was being paid handsomely.  That roster did not earn its lofty pay status in 2024.
8. Titans:  The Titans were more like Dwarves in 2024; they own the overall #1 pick in the Draft this April; they have a young QB who can be excellent at times and then dreadful a moment later.  If you want to describe Will Levis’ performance in 2024 you would probably resort to adjectives such as random or haphazard or maybe hit-or-miss.  And in the NFL, that is no way to run an offense.  The Titans’ defense did not distinguish itself either; it gave up 460 points in the 2024 season.

Before I close this out, I suspect someone will wonder how or why the Bears do not appear on this list.  The answer is rooted in mathematics; I set out to describe the “Bottom 25%” in 2024 meaning a list of 8 teams.  As I constructed my list, the final choice came down to the Bears or the Saints.  The two teams were both 5-12-0 for the season.  The two teams had identical point differentials of minus-60 points.  The deciding factor was this:

• The Bears won their final game of the season.
• The Saints lost their last 4 games of the season.
• Voila!

Finally, since today has been about failure for NFL teams, let me close with this perspective on failure by Thomas Edison:

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

According to recent reports, the powers that be in the Big-10 and the SEC want to expand the College Football Playoff field to either 14 teams or 16 teams depending on which report you read and when you read it.  I am already on record as opposed to expansion beyond 12 teams; and, in fact, I think the field should shrink to 8 teams.  I know that “shrinkage” is not going to happen and I know that the allure of added revenue from added games in the CFP tournament will rule the day.  Nevertheless, I think this is a bad idea.

But that is not the limit of the bad ideas related to that subject.  Additionally, the poohbahs in the Big-10 and the SEC want each of those conferences to get 4 guaranteed slots in the CFP.  Granted, it is a small data set but look at the recently completed CFP with 12 teams and ask yourself what might have happened with four teams each from the Big-10 and SEC in the field.

• The SEC sent 3 teams – – Georgia, Tennessee and Texas.  What worthy team was left out?  Alabama?  South Carolina? Ole Miss?
• The Big-10 sent 4 teams – – Indiana, Oregon, Ohio St. and Penn St.  Indiana played a patty-cake schedule and did not belong in the CFP field despite its record.  So, who should have replaced Indiana?  Illinois?  Iowa?

I don’t care how many teams are selected, they need to be the best teams available and not entered into the playoffs by any sort of quota system.  It is not a flattering image for college football if it embraces quotas and distances itself from being a meritocracy.

That situation is bad enough, but I think there may be an even more ominous movement afoot in college football.  Remember a couple of years ago when the feeding frenzy on the PAC-12 completely obliterated any semblance of regionally-based conferences in college sports; I said then that it might not be long before the elite schools in the Big-10 and the SEC with maybe a school or two from elsewhere broke off on their own and formed a Super Football Conference.  I also said at that time that I did not think that would be a good thing for college football or for college sports as a whole.  Well, the idea of putting quotas on CFP invitations is a step in the direction of creating that Super Conference.

Let me deal with reality here.  There already exists a hierarchy in college football.  Just as in medieval times when there were lords and serfs, so too is there a divide in college football.  Forget your allegiances and alumni memories for a moment and watch college football games.  Is it not blatantly obvious that an SEC showdown game involves better players than a MAC game on a random Tuesday night?  In today’s world, there are a couple dozen schools who routinely attract more top-shelf players than the rest of the Division 1-A schools.  The talent is not evenly dispersed; it never has been; it never should be.

However, if college football goes thorough another paroxysm of realignment where – – for example – – the following schools leave their current conference affiliation and form the “Super Football Conference” (SFC), the TV money will preferentially go to the SFC teams; less money will go to the remnant teams in the conferences abandoned by these teams and even less money will go to the minor conferences:

• Leaving the Big-10:  Iowa, Michigan, Michigan St., Penn St., Ohio St., Oregon, USC, Washington, Wisconsin
• Leaving the SEC:  Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M
• Leaving the ACC:  Clemson, Florida St., Miami
• Leaving Independent Status:  Notre Dame

Pretend for a moment those 24 teams formed the SFC.  Even allowing for each team to play a game outside the SFC, they could put together a schedule for TV network consumption where every weekend of the season there would be a menu of intra-conference games involving these teams.  Or … you could tune in to see games involving teams that are the remnants of the current conferences or games involving teams in the Sun Belt Conference or possibly Conference-USA.  Where do you think the TV money would flow in that situation?

There is a huge disparity in the amount of NIL money that schools can spread around to accumulate players for their teams; the sort of TV deal that the SFC could command would make the current disparity look like a level playing field.  And there is another potential motivating factor here:

• The NFL ought to love the idea of creating the SFC.

Scouting is a major undertaking and an expensive undertaking for NFL teams.  Concentrating the better players on a smaller number of teams will save NFL teams time and money – – always a plus for the owners – – and it will allow teams to observe potential draftees playing against the best competition that is available at the collegiate level just about every week – – scouts and GMs ought to love that.  Why is that important?  In the world of football, whatever the NFL thinks is a good idea has a leg up on success.

The NFL enjoys a situation wherein it has a “minor league system” that costs the NFL nothing.  Colleges provide training grounds and the exhibitions for the players who will be drafted into the NFL and perform there to grow the league.  College football has already moved away from any sort of idealized state where it pretends to be something other than a business; college football is minor league professional football; like it or not.

The SFC that I have imagined here would simply make it the Triple-A analog of football’s minor leagues and relegate the rest of the conferences to Double-A status.  How one might incorporate the UFL into that minor league structure is an exercise left to the student.

Finally, let me close today with these words from Hall of Fame linebacker, Dick Butkus:

“When I played pro football, I never set out to hurt anyone deliberately – unless it was, you know, important, like a league game or something.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………