The Sports Curmudgeon®

S I have said repeatedly that hosting the Olympic Games is almost assuredly going to be a losing proposition from an economic standpoint for the host city/country. The 2008 Games in Beijing reportedly cost $40B and the stadiums built to house Olympic events have not been booked solid with outside events in the intervening years. Cost reports for the London Olympics in 2012 range from $14.3B to something nudging up against $20B and there is no credible accounting to show that the Olympic Games drew that kind of additional revenue external to England last year. Nonetheless, the economic numbers for those events are about to look GREAT… [/Tony the Tiger].

According to a recent report on CBSSports.com, it appears as if the price tag for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games to be held in Sochi on the coast of the Black Sea will rise to $51B. That number is staggering for two reasons:

1. There is no way the Games will draw $51B in revenue; they will be lucky to generate 15% of that number.

2. By comparison to the Summer Games, the Winter Games should cost less to stage because there are fewer events and fewer venues needed.

According to the report at CBSSports.com:

“State-controlled companies and tycoons have underwritten more than half the cost. In some cases the tycoons are taking big losses to stay on President Vladimir Putin’s good side…”

Gazprom is the largest natural gas producing company in the world; it is spending $3B on a gas pipeline to deliver gas to Sochi in time for the games. It may be critically important to have plenty of energy on hand next February because the average high temperature in Sochi in February is 49 degrees and the average low is 38 degrees. Indeed, many events will occur in the mountains outside “metropolitan Sochi”, but the potential need for cooling on a massive scale has to be considered.

For perspective here, please consider the words of Dan Jenkins regarding the Winter Olympics:

“Part of the charm of the Winter Olympics is that ice skating and all the rest of those Olympic sports disappear for four years at a time.”

Juxtapose that nugget of truth with $51B and … Oh well!

If you find that news disturbing in the sense that you have the feeling that some smarmy folks are making a lot of money on the Sochi venture that has nothing to do with staging an international sporting event, there is some counter-balancing good news to report today. Diogenes might have found his completely honest man if he had lived long enough to be around today and to shine his lantern into the eyes of Jeremy Affeldt. Let me explain.

Yahoo!Sports reports that Affeldt (relief pitcher, San Francisco Giants) found that he was getting paid $500K more than he was supposed to be paid. The basis for the extra pay was a clerical error by the Giants’ front office staff. After discussions with both the MLBPA and the Giants, Affeldt learned that the contract was ironclad; it was the Giants’ error and they signed it; he was entitled to $500K more than what he and his agent had agreed to sign on for. Sit down for the next chapter…

Affeldt told the Giants he wanted to re-do the contract and to put it back to the salary level that both sides agreed to in previous negotiations. Here is the link to the story in case you just want to feel that there are some good folks still left out there.

Five years ago, I would have said that the following item could only have happened to the Cincinnati Bengals but the Bengals seem to have cleaned up their act significantly and it would be surprising to see something like this happen to the team. Today, I have to say that I am not shocked even a little bit that this happened to the NY Jets.

The Jets signed Mike Goodson (RB) to a free agent deal about 6 weeks ago; the contract is worth $7M over three years and indeed the Jets do need running backs. I did not read any reports – even in the NY tabloids – hinting that Goodson put the Jets over-the-top and made them serious contenders for the Super Bowl that will happen in their home stadium next February. Nevertheless, most folks saw this as a solid move by the Jets.

Then at about 3:00 AM, a truck driver spotted a vehicle stopped in the center lane of a highway in New Jersey and called “911”. When the gendarmes arrived, they found Goodson – not the driver of the vehicle – in such a condition that they transported him by ambulance to a nearby hospital. In the process of doing that, police found a “small amount of marijuana” on his person. The police found the driver to be intoxicated (allegedly of course at this time) and searched the vehicle wherein things got worse. They found:

More marijuana (not shocking but certainly not good)

A loaded .45 semi-automatic handgun (makes things worse) – and –

Hollow point bullets (banned by the Geneva Convention in warfare)

I suspect that Mike Goodson will have a hearing with the NFL authorities in addition to a hearing in a judicial setting before all of this is resolved.

Finally, since I started today with news on the intersection of sports and economics, let me close with an item from Brad Rock in the Deseret News:

“Apparently the recession has even reached the University of Oregon.

“Despite receiving millions in support from Nike founder Phil Knight, the school is still finding ways to nickel and dime people. An Internet report last month said the cheer squad charged $5 to watch its tryouts.

“Rumored to be coming: a $7.50 fee to watch the marching band practice playing ‘Louie, Louie’ for next year’s halftime.”

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

There is a new sport out there attempting to compete for our attention. It is called FootGolf because it is a hybrid sport between soccer and golf. The object is to kick a soccer ball on a course and into a hole in the fewest number of kicks. The first shot for a hole comes from a designated area – analogous to a golf tee area – and the player has to navigate the ball around trees, hills, streams and the like to reach the equivalent of the greens. FootGolf has an international footprint; there are a dozen countries with FootGolf associations.

In the US, FootGolf is played on some golf courses where the holes are in the rough and away from the golf greens; obviously, its proponents think that FootGolf is the next big thing.

Before getting overly excited about the emergence of FootGolf as a major player in the US sporting cosmos, consider this comment from Brad Dickson of the Omaha World Herald:

“A new hybrid sport called FootGolf combines soccer and golf. The basic goal is to combine the elements of soccer with the elements of golf to create a TV viewing experience that functions as a cure for insomnia.”

I read a report that Donovan McNabb wants to retire as a Philadelphia Eagle and hopes to sign a one-day ceremonial contract with the team. While McNabb had a fruitful and productive career in Philly, I think it is fair to say that his tenure with the Eagles was not one focused solely on happy times. Let me review the bidding here:

A host on the local sports radio station, Angelo Cataldi, wanted the Eagles to draft Ricky Williams. He “organized” a delegation of fans to go to NYC for the NFL Draft with the specific intention of booing any selection other than Ricky Williams.

The then-Mayor of Philadelphia and future Governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell, was on board with this and lent his support to that kind of welcome to the city.

Rush Limbaugh’s mercifully brief tenure on FOX Sports came to an end when he opined that the only reason McNabb was seen as a top-shelf QB was because he was Black. Since the mainstream media desperately wanted a great Black QB, they over-valued everything McNabb did.

Of course, there were those tranquil and idyllic times with Terrell Owens as a teammate…

A local NAACP official in Philly said that the reason McNabb did not run with the ball as much as the official thought he should was because McNabb did not want to be stereotyped as a “Black QB” and so he made himself into a pocket passer to play more like a “White QB”.

Given that brief summary of his time with the Eagles, I have to wonder why he would want to revisit them. There is at least a 50/50 chance that some fans will boo him at the podium as he announces his retirement – if the Eagles allow any fans to be within shouting distance. However, if that is what he wants to do to put a punctuation mark on his NFL career …

Speaking of Donovan McNabb reminds me of Eagles’ QBs and that brings me to Michael Vick who seems to be the guy who will keep the job as the starting QB in Philly despite the change in coaches and offensive systems. For those fans in Philly who continue to harbor some kind of animus toward McNabb – the ones that would boo him at his retirement ceremony if allowed in the audience – they might want to keep this tidbit in mind:

The last time Michael Vick was on a team that won a playoff game was in 2004.

Moving on … A few years ago, Brett Favre became a hugely annoying figure when he played Hamlet and dragged out any decision as to his retirement from the NFL vis ã vis a comeback. Fortunately, we have had none of that for a while – but I am beginning to pick up0 vibrations from a “Brett Favre wannabe” out there with two characteristics whose purpose is only to keep his name in the news:

1. He is sort-of retired and in his happy place, BUT

2. He might really want to come back.

I am talking about Phil Jackson.

Memo to Phil Jackson: Make a decision dammit. More importantly, make the decision privately and then act on your decision. We can deal with either status without any news leaks or intrigues. You are on the verge of becoming a pain-in-the-ass.

After the Toronto Maple Leafs blew a 4-1 lead in the third period against the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup playoffs forcing overtime where the Bruins won the game, the Toronto Sun had this great headline:

“The choke’s on us.”

Finally, here is an item from Brad Rock in the Deseret News:

“A few hundred Jacksonville Jaguars fans have petitioned President Barack Obama to ask the team to sign Tim Tebow.

“… if that works, the next step will be to get the President, by executive order, to force Tebow to throw spirals.”

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

For those of you who did not read the Washington Post from about 1980 until 2005, you probably only know Tony Kornheiser as the host of Pardon the Interruption or as one-third of the MNF announcing team for a couple of years. In addition to those credits, Tony Kornheiser was an accomplished columnist at the Post; and if he was still writing sports columns today, he would be on the list on the left side of this website under the heading “Columnists I Read”. I mention this because in his sports columns, he frequently referred to the Washington Capitals as “choking dogs” due to their tendency to get nice leads in Stanley Cup playoff series only to lose that lead and the series.

Were he still writing, the Caps would be “choking dogs” again this year. They led the Rangers 2-0 in the playoffs and then they led 3-2. The series went to a Game 7 and in typical “choking dog” fashion; the Caps lost Game 7 by the blowout score of 5-0. That win by the Rangers was the first time in franchise history that the Rangers had won a Game 7 on the road – and recall that the Rangers have been around since 1926. Let me put that game in perspective for you:

A. Losing any hockey game 5-0 is bad.

B. Losing a hockey game 5-0 on your home ice is shameful.

C. Losing a hockey game 5-0 on your home ice in the 7th game of a Stanley Cup playoff series ought to be sufficiently embarrassing so as to send everyone in the organization into hiding for at least 6 weeks.

D. The first question someone should have asked the Caps at the obligatory news conference after that game is, “Who let the dogs out?”

The Washington front-running fans behaved in their typical fashion. They left the building early in the third period when the Rangers scored their third goal. It is fashionable for Caps fans to wear the red Capitals jerseys to home games and the marketing slogan is:

“Rock the Red”

If truth in advertising principles were to apply here, that would need modification to:

“Rock the Red – - So Long As We Are Ahead”

Alex Ovechkin disappeared in the series scoring all of 1 goal in 7 games. Here is how Charles P. Pierce described Ovechkin’s performance in Game 7 at Grantland.com:

“Alex Ovechkin, for example, skated all over the ice, hitting everything except the net. (Ovechkin finished the series with one goal, but he was credited with 13 hits Monday night, and 13 hits is great if you happen to be the Supremes, but not so hot if you’re one of the most gifted offensive hockey players on the planet.)”

In other hockey news, Iron Mike Keenan has another coaching gig – this time in Russia in the Kontinental Hockey League. To say that Keenan can be abrasive at times is sort of like saying that Sally Struthers may have gone back to the buffet table for seconds once in a while. The announcement of his hiring prompted Mark Whicker of the Orange County Register to Tweet:

“Mike Keenan hired by Mettalurg Magnitogorosk of KHL. And they thought Putin was a tough guy.”

Switching gears, the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League are assembling an amazing roster for this season – providing they can find a way to turn the clock back to about 2005. According to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times, the Ducks recently signed Carlos Zambrano to pitch for them adding to previous signings that include Josh Barfield (no longer on the roster), Ben Broussard, Ramon Castro, Vladimir Guerrero (no longer on the roster), Ian Snell and Dontrelle Willis. The Ducks are in third place this morning in the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League (there are only 4 teams in the division) with a record of 8-16. Nonetheless, they stand only 2.5 games out of first place in that division because the Bridgeport Bluefish lead the division at 11-14.

In the Atlantic League, it would appear as if the “powerhouse team” is in the Freedom Division. The Sugar Land Skeeters lead that division with a current record of 22-3. The Skeeters have 6 players hitting .295 or higher as of this morning and 11 pitchers with an ERA less than 3.00 – including three relievers who have yet to give up a run this year.

The West Michigan Whitecaps play in the Midwest League as the A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. The Whitecaps play their home games at Fifth Third Field where you can – if you dare – obtain a Fifth Third Burger. Here are the makings of the Fifth Third Burger:

5 burger patties each at 1/3 of a pound each with a slice of cheese on it.
Chili.
Chips with nacho cheese, sour cream and salsa.
Tomato and lettuce – and –
A hamburger bun that weighs 1 pound.

This “snack” packs 4,890 calories. If you can finish it by yourself, you get a T-shirt and you get your picture hung in a “Hall of Fame” among other gourmands.

Finally, I sent an e-mail to Dwight Perry (Seattle Times) making sure that he had seen an item in Time Magazine reporting that 78,000 folks had “signed up” to be considered for a one-way trip to Mars. I suggested to him that I had a long list of folks that I would be happy to see on that trip – with the guarantee that it was indeed a one-way trip. Here is the response I got back from Dwight Perry:

“Actually, it’s 77,999. Dennis Rodman’s application is considered a return flight.”

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

For those of you who believe that bad things happen in threes, here is corroborating “evidence”. A week ago, Titus Young found himself under arrest in California twice on the same day on two different charges. On Friday, Titus Young was in the hoosegow for the third time in a week. Here is the summary of the charges:

First arrest: DUI

Second arrest: Burglary for trying to steal the car he was driving at the time of the DUI from the impound lot where it had been taken.

Third arrest: Burglary for breaking into a house in San Clemente CA and then adding resisting arrest and assault of a police officer to his tab when he fought with deputies in the process of his arrest.

That does not sound like an NFL WR who is a free agent and looking for a new job. That sounds more like a guy who wanted to catch the attention of Jerry Tarkanian for a slot on one of Tark’s squads not overly burdened with scholar-athletes.

According to a report in the Las Vegas Review Journal by Matt Youmanns, there are now lines for every NFL game for the 2013 regular season courtesy of Cantor Gaming in Las Vegas. If you just cannot wait to get down on an NFL game, you now have 256 options available to you. If you just cannot wait to get down on an NFL game, you also have the option of getting yourself to a rehab clinic near you… Here are three interesting observations in Youmanns’ report:

1. The Pats are never an underdog; they are favored 12 times and are “pick ‘em” the other four games.

2. The Broncos, Niners and Seahawks are favored in 13 of their games but each of them is an underdog one time.

3. The Jaguars have 2 “pick ‘em” games and are underdogs in the other 14.

Sticking with the topic of sports wagering in Nevada, a bill passed in the Nevada State Senate recently that would allow sports books to take bets from “private equity groups”. At the moment, a sportsbook in Nevada may only accept wagers from individuals. Proponents say that this bill will attract some of the money wagered illegally in states other than Nevada to the sportsbooks in Nevada.

I presume that means that under the proposed new law, I and my friends who journey to Las Vegas every Fall could form a “private equity group” and engage a resident of Las Vegas to join our group as the person who would go to the sportsbooks and make wagers on behalf of our “Putative Private Equity Sports Wagering Cooperative Ltd”. If my interpretation is correct – and I am more than willing to be corrected here – it seems that there are a couple of logical conclusions:

1. A new cottage industry could spring up in Nevada in terms of “private equity group representation”. Pretty soon, you might expect these Nevada legislators to claim that the bill is a “jobs creator”.

2. The handle in the Nevada sportsbooks should grow. One report I read said the sportsbook handle could triple in five years if the bill became law. I do not know if the growth potential is that great, but surely, the sportsbooks’ handle will grow – and Nevada will collect more state tax revenue on that growth.

3. If this bill became law, the potential for using this mechanism to launder money is not insignificant. Regulators and law enforcement folks will need to pay attention.

Receiving much less attention than this bill, the Nevada Senate also passed a measure that would permit sportsbooks to take wagers on Presidential and Congressional elections. While that might be a significant sociological change for the country, I just do not see that measure attracting a large handle for the books…

Here is an item tangentially related to gambling… Jerry Jones recently signed QB, Tony Romo, to a 6-year contract extension worth $108M and with more than $50M of that money guaranteed to Romo. When I first read about the deal, my reaction went along the lines that Jerry Jones like to do things in a big way and he has always been a believer in Romo’s talents, so in his mind, this deal probably makes sense. Later, I read this quote from Jerry Jones in the Dallas Morning News:

“If Tony, for instance, would be here Monday through Saturday … from seven in the morning to six o’clock at night all over this place then that’s better than the way it’s been. We’ll have more success, and Jason [Garrett] believes that [also].

Excuse me… Tony Romo has been with the Dallas Cowboys since 2003; he has been the starting QB for the Cowboys – interrupted only by injuries – since the middle of the 2006 season. Tony Romo should not be a “mystery” to anyone who had been associated with the Cowboys for any length of time – such as Jerry Jones. If you have noticed that Tony Romo has not done enough time-on-the-job to achieve as much success as you believe he has in him, then why would you agree to give him such a lucrative contract?

If you find yourself in Minneapolis/St. Paul and have the time to go and see the Twins play, you might find this culinary option at Target Field interesting:

One of the wraps offered at some concession stands consists of a stuffing of spaghetti and meatballs.

Everyone who is on the Atkins Diet just shuddered after reading that sentence…

Finally, here is a comment from Greg Cote in the Miami Herald that harkens back to some of the gambling related items above:

“Parting thought: The Redskins’ nickname is under fire again. Am trying to think of a suitable replacement that would reflect the great heritage and legacy of the American Indian, but Washington Casino Operators seems a bit unwieldy.”

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

I know that it is only the first week of May and that the baseball season has barely begun; but still, I have to wonder what is wrong with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. As of yesterday, the Angels were 11-21 for the season; that projects to a season with 106 losses. Can they really be THAT bad? As of yesterday, they were only 2.5 games ahead of the Houston Astros – a team that is “major league” only in terms of the competition that it plays.

The Angels have spent big money in the last two free agent markets. Last winter they signed Josh Hamilton for 5 years and $125M. They gave him a $10M signing bonus and $15M for this year. In 2016 and in 2017, Hamilton will make $30M each season. A year and a half ago, the Angels dipped into the till to sign albert Pujols to a 10-year contract worth $242M. Pujols makes $16M this year but his deal goes through the 2021 season and the Angels are on the hook to pay him a total of $87M between 2019 and 2021. Here is how those investments look as of the moment:

Josh Hamilton: In 126 at bats, he has 26 hits (hitting .202) and has struck out 40 times. He has hit 2 homeruns and has grounded into 3 double plays. He has driven in 9 runs.

Albert Pujols: In 121 at bats, he has 28 hits (hitting .231) and has struck out 18 times. He has hit 5 homeruns and has grounded into 7 double plays. He has driven in 19 runs.

When you consider that the Angels are committed to paying both of these guys a total of $367M, the most polite way to evaluate that investment would be to say it is “underperforming expectations”. Both players had career batting averages of .300 or better at the start of this year and both have been MVP winners in recent times. This is just a slump and both of them will pull out of it, right?

Not to put all the blame on those guys, consider the Angels pitching staff this year. Through 32 games, the Angels team ERA is 4.68 and they have issued 132 walks (4.1 walks per game). Currently, their #3 starter is Joe Blanton who is 0-5 with an ERA ever so slightly below 6.00.

I cannot think about what is wrong with the Angels without also wondering what is wrong with the Toronto Blue Jays. After they acquired most of the bona fide major league players on the Marlins’ roster from last year in a trade, they signed Melky Cabrera and got R.A. Dickey from the Mets. Yes, José Reyes is hurt and out for a couple of months but that does not explain why the Blue Jays have a 13-21 record – one that projects to 100 losses for the season.

As a team, the Blue Jays are batting .238. The team has 270 hits and 271 strikeouts. Combine that with a team ERA of 4.71 and you can see why the Jays have had trouble winning games. Looking at the “big off-season acquisitions” for the Jays:

R.A. Dickey: Record is 2-5 with an ERA of 5.36.

Josh Johnson: Record is 0-1 with an ERA of 6.86 (four starts)

Mark Buehrle: Record is 1-2 with an ERA of 7.02.

Emilio Bonafacio: Hitting .160 with 12 hits and 25 strikeouts.

José Reyes: On the DL.

Melky Cabrera: Hitting .270 – the highest of any regular starting player.

While I am at it, let me ask how the LA Dodgers – who spent money more frivolously than the US Congress over the winter – can possibly sport a 13-19 record and trail the San Diego Padres? One reason might be that in a recent game, this team that has the highest payroll in MLB started an infield of Luis Cruz, Dee Gordon, Nick Punto and Juan Uribe. Wow! The Dodgers’ preferred outfield lineup would be Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp. This trio will make $53.5M between them this year. Now take a look at their production so far:

Carl Crawford: Hitting .304 with 5 homeruns but only 8 RBIs. He has stolen 6 bases. So far, he is the best of the lot…

Andre Ethier: Hitting .243 with 3 homeruns and 10 RBIs.

Matt Kemp: Hitting .273 with 1 homerun and 14 RBIs. Not exactly the stats you would expect from someone billed as “All-World” by the fawning LA press corps.

Clayton Kershaw has pitched 48.2 innings with an ERA of 1.66 and his record is only 3-2. He should sue the rest of the team for non-support or nonfeasance. Kershaw’s contract is up at the end of this season…

At the other end of the expectation spectrum, no one expected the Miami Marlins to do anything but stink this year. The team is living down to those expectations sporting a 10-24 record, which projects to 114 losses for the season. Giancarlo Stanton was obviously the best player on this wretched team – one who could start for just about every other club in MLB – and then he pulled a hamstring, which should keep him on the shelf for about a month. The Marlins went to their minor league system and called up Marcel Ozuna who – so far – is hitting .419 in his first 8 games.

Ozuna started the year in AA ball and this is his first year at that level. Up until now, he has been in a rookie league, a short-season A league and a full-season A league. So far, he is having no problems with major-league pitching. Is he a phenom or a flash-in-the-pan? We will probably figure out that he is a phenom if the Marlins trade him sometime this summer.

Finally, Greg Cote had this item recently in the Miami Herald:

“Racing has returned to Calder, which advertises itself as ‘20 minutes from anywhere.’ Believing it, a man from Buffalo, N.Y., left his home Saturday for the track and missed the first post by three and a half days.”

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