Category: Daily Rants

Earlier this week, I said that I did not understand how the settlement of the lawsuit against the NCAA squared with Title IX and that I needed to hear from a legal commentator on that point.  Well, maybe the news this morning will clarify that issue.  Here is the headline over an article in today’s Washington Post:

“Female athletes appeal NCAA settlement”

So, instead of hearing from a “legal commentator”, it appears that I will hear from an appellate court on that question.  The women who have appealed the settlement decision are ones who have competed in women’s soccer, volleyball and track.  According to the report here, they have standing in the case allowing them to appeal the settlement because they filed objections to parts of the settlement when it was proposed and prior to the decision of the judge in the matter.

It seems that the crux of the settlement appeal is this:

• The payout from the NCAA and the major conferences is set at $2.2B.  The appellants argue here that Title IX demands that $1.1B of that amount go to participants in women’s sports.

As the settlement terms were reported, the money for athletes who competed in collegiate sports before and the terms of the agreement going forward favor participants in the “revenue sports” which are predominantly male athletic endeavors.  The appeal will be heard by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco but no schedule for any events related to that appeal were in the report.  It ain’t over, folks …

Switching gears …  The field is set for the College World Series, and several things make the field itself interesting:

• Coastal Carolina is not a baseball program that leaps to mind as a perennial powerhouse in college baseball.  Nonetheless, Coastal Carolina arrives in Omaha for the start of the College World Series on a 23-game winning streak.   The Chanticleers are no strangers to this event; they won it all in 2016.
• Murray State is this year’s Cinderella team.  To give you an idea of the stature of the baseball program there, the team coach, Dan Skirka, also mows the grass at the Racers’ home stadium as part of his job description.
• None of the eight teams from last year’s College World Series tournament are back in the field this year.  The last time that happened was in 1957.
• Arkansas is the betting favorite to win it all at +200; LSU is the second choice at +230.
• Murray State is the longest shot on the board at +3500.

Moving on, but sticking with college sports …  Deion Sanders has been absent from the public spotlight for more than 6 weeks and then he missed a speaking engagement last week with no explanation given.  Sanders has had some serious health issues in the past that led to speculation that he was not well; he suffers from blood clots in his legs, and he also had to have at least one toe amputated about 5  years ago.  Since Deion Sanders is not one to avoid public events, that “medical history” was the basis of the concern.

Earlier this week, Sanders was a guest on a podcast run by Asante Samuel.  Sanders used that appearance to thank the people who had wished him well based on the “health concerns” and to say that everything is OK and:

“I’m excited to get back to Colorado to be at home with my staff, team & all associated to our program. When we arrive back to Boulder you will be updated on everything.”

One last note related to college sports today …  It is not exactly shocking to learn that a college football player or some other athlete has been arrested and charged with some sort of misdemeanor or felony.  However, a report from a couple days ago said that Angela Suggs – – the Vice President and Director of Athletics at Florida A&M – – was arrested and charged with various counts of fraud and theft.  The charges do not involve actions in her current position with the school; the charges stem from activities in her previous job as the CEO of the Florida Sports Foundation.  According to the charges, Suggs used a business credit card to pay for personal expenses and then falsified travel accountings; the alleged fraud totaled $24K.

Florida A&M took the only rational position available to them at this point; here is what the interim President of the school had to say:

“While the matter is unrelated to her duties as an employee at FAMU, we are monitoring the situation and will respond in the future as appropriate.”

Finally, this from Marcus Aurelius:

“The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.”

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

 

 

Every year about this time, NFL teams hold their “mandatory minicamps” and every year there are a few quality players who do not show up because they are in the midst of a contract squabble.  This year I count three such holdout situations:

1. Trey Hendrickson – – Bengals:  The pass-rushing defensive end has one more year on his contract worth $15.8M.  Given his performance (17.5 sacks last season), he is underpaid as compared to other defensive ends and he wants a contract extension.  The Bengals have given the nod to Hendrickson’s agent to go and set up a trade with a team willing to extend the player, but so far, that has not borne fruit.  The fact that he has an existing contract with a year to go complicates things.
2. Terry McLaurin – – Commanders:  He too has a year to go on a 3-year deal he signed in 2022; he would earn around $16.5M for this year.  He wants an extension and the team has said they want to retain his services “for a long time”.  The Commanders signed Deebo Samuel in the offseason to team with McLaurin, but McLaurin is still the #1 WR in DC.  I expect this one to be resolved amicably and quickly.
3. TJ Watt – – Steelers:  Once again, there is a contract in place for 2025 and the price tag here is $21M.  Reports say that Watt wants a “substantial offer” from the team; it seems to me that $21M for a season of NFL football is pretty substantial all by itself.  According to Spotrac.com, the cap mavens there say that Watt’s salary plus cap deferments means that Watt accounts for almost 11% of the total salary cap allotted to NFL teams in 2025.  This one might become acrimonious.

Micah Parsons – – Cowboys’ DE/OLB – – will also play in the final year of his rookie contract.  The talks about an extension seem to exist in a “kick the can down the road” mode ever since Parsons let it be known that he wanted an extension and thought he had earned a lucrative one.  The big difference here is that Parsons has been participating in OTAs and has reported to minicamp.  At some point Parsons and the team will reach an agreement; the Cowboys’ braintrust cannot be dumb enough to let him play out this year’s deal and then become a free agent.  Parsons has been in the NFL for four seasons and has been an All-Pro twice.

In other NFL news involving a quality player, the Packers announced that they have released CB, Jaire Alexander.  I shook my head when I first read about this move but the Packers’ GM, Mark Murphy, put it in perspective.  He said that Alexander was an “elite talent” and that is clear; and then he added:

“The reality is, for the last four years, it’s about half of the games [Jaire] has been able to play, so we’ve kind of been used to it.”

Alexander has been in the NFL for 7 seasons and has only played in every game once (2019).  Over the last two seasons he has played in 14 out of 34 regular season games; I had not noticed that level of “absenteeism”, but it does provide some context surrounding Murphy’s statement above.

It will be interesting to see which teams seek to acquire him as a free agent and how much they are willing to commit to him.  When he was healthy enough to play in 15 or more games (2020 and 2022), he was a Pro Bowl selection and was named to the second All-Pro team.

Alexander’s search for a new team might be complicated by events in Miami.  The Dolphins have made it clear that they are seeking to trade Jalen Ramsey and Ramsey has made it clear that he wants out of Miami.  So, there are now two “elite talent” cornerbacks there for the taking if you are a “cornerback shopper”.  With the release of Alexander, the supply of good and available cornerbacks just increased; if demand for cornerbacks remains the same, that could depress the offers that the two players receive.  Keep an eye on these players and who goes after them.

Moving on …  The semi-finals of the UFL Playoffs happened last week; the Finals this weekend will pair the DC Defenders and the Michigan Panthers.  The TV numbers were not good.

• The “early game” started at 3:00  PM ET and drew an average audience of 1.1M viewers (peak audience was reported as 1.6M).   It was telecast on ABC, ESPN+ and Disney+
• The “late game” started at 6:00 PM ET and drew an average audience of only 873K viewers (peak audience was reported as 1.05M).  It was telecast on FOX.

The UFL has media deals with ABC and FOX in place.  However, those are not audience numbers that the networks are going to like for very long.  I mentioned about a week ago that regular season audiences for UFL games were down significantly in 2025 as compared to 2024.  This is not a good vector heading.

Finally, something from P. J. O’Rourke:

“There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.”

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

 

 

Benjamin Franklin supposedly said:

“There are two things you can count on: death and taxes.”

I have no intention of upstaging one of our Founding Fathers, but those are but two of the certainties of life.  Others might include:

• Next year, there will be a new “fad diet”
• Politicians prevaricate
• Every posting on the Internet is subject to “debate”.

In the world of sports, it seems that there are two ongoing examples of what appears to be “certainty”.  The first one comes from Buffalo where the Bills announced that Joey Bosa is injured – – already and again.  Bosa was working out with the Bills prior to mandatory mini-camp and pulled a calf muscle in those workouts.  He is scheduled to miss minicamp entirely, but the prognosis is that he will be ready for Training Camp in mid-July.

Bosa was a significant signing by the Bills in the off-season despite his injury history with the Chargers.  He has been in the NFL for 9 seasons but has missed at least 1 game in 7 of those seasons.  Over the last 3 seasons, Bosa has appeared in only 28 of 51 regular season games.  Standing in opposition to that injury history, he was the Defensive Rookie of the Year and has been selected to the Pro Bowl 5 times.  When healthy, he is valuable.

Basically, the Bills decided to go with Bosa as a replacement for Von Miller and that move makes sense so long as Bosa is on the field.  An injury this early in the cycle is not an encouraging sign – – but it is not exactly something out of left field if you will pardon the mixed metaphor.

A second sports example of what seems to be “sports certainty” is another injury report out of Indy.  Colts’ QB, Anthony Richardson has an injury to the “AC joint” in his throwing shoulder and is out “indefinitely”.  Richardson has been in the NFL for only two seasons; he has appeared in 15 out of a possible 34 games over that time span.  Making this news potentially dire is the fact that the reason he missed 13 games in 2023 was an injury to that same AC joint and that required surgery in the offseason.

Colts’ coach, Shane Steichen said that Richardson will miss mini-camp and that he will not begin throwing until Training Camp and then “we’ll ease him into throwing and then we’ll go from there.”  During the off-season, the Colts signed former Giants’ QB, Daniel Jones as a free agent and declared that there would be an open competition for the starting job between Jones and Richardson.  In addition, the Colts took QB Riley Leonard (out of Notre Dame) in the late rounds of this year’s NFL Draft.  Once again, not good news for the Colts or their fans – – but not exactly surprising.

Moving along …  When the Steelers finally signed Aaron Rodgers, it set up a story line that is almost like a screenplay plot element.  The Steelers (and Aaron Rodgers unless he is injured) will open the regular season on the road in NY to play the Jets (and Justin Fields who was in Pittsburgh last year).  Please do not be surprised when you hear about that coincidence 3 bazillion times between now and Week 1.

And since I am in the mode of looking ahead at football scheduling, let me point out the “Football Orgy” that awaits fans over the Christmas/New Years season.  Buckle your seat belts:

• Thurs Dec 18:  Rams at Seahawks
• Sat. Dec 20:  Packers at Bears and Eagles at Commanders
• Sun Dec 21:  Normal 12-game slate of NFL games
• Mon Dec 22:  Niners at Colts
• Thurs Dec 25:  Cowboys at Commanders and Lions at Vikes and Broncos at Chiefs
• Sat Dec 27:  5-games from the normal 12-game slate of NFL games
• Sun Dec 28:  Remaining 7-games from the normal 12-game slate of NFL games
• Mon Dec 29:  Rams at Falcons

Intermixed with those NFL games from December 18 through December 29 will be 17 minor college bowl games along with the 4 first round games of the CFP.  If I counted correctly, that means there will be 53 football games available somehow for fans to watch or wager on in 11 days.  And if that is not enough, the second round of the CFP games will take place on December 31 and January 1.  You can exhale now …

Finally, this from former Steelers’ coach, Chuck Noll:

“A life of frustration is inevitable for any coach whose main enjoyment is winning.”

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

 

 

Today’s rant is going to be different.  I want to lead off discussing something that is only tangential to sports; I only came across the topic because it was written about by a sportswriter and it has to do with sports only because tennis was the subject of the interaction described.

Please take about 7 or 8 minutes and follow this link to read Sally Jenkins’ column yesterday in the Washington Post.  I think this is an important exposition.

It is not surprising to me to learn that Artificial Intelligence has not yet perfected the ability to be cross-examined as Jenkins did in her interaction with ChatGPT; it is, however,  surprising to me that the AI agent has learned to lie as a way to cover up being uninformed.  Frankly, I find that status to be a bit chilling.

Before someone asks, I have never submitted one of these rants to AI for “polishing” and I would not know how to set one of them up for analysis/review as Jenkins did.  So, I have no experience that is parallel to hers.  What I use AI for routinely is as a tool for quick searches – faster than a Google search.  [Aside:  I prefer to use Microsoft Copilot because it is a shortcut on my computer toolbar but that is beside the point.]  In the times I have  used AI for such tasks, I have never had occasion to doubt the results or to be suspicious of the included footnotes I received as part of the answer to my question(s).

For example, I might want to know the naming sponsors over time for the Oakland Coliseum because it has had a slew of them.  According to Copilot, the stadium is simply the Oakland Alameda County Stadium since 2023; the history of naming sponsors for the facility includes 5 different sponsoring entities dating back to 1966 with periods of no sponsorship intermingled.  That history sort of jogs my memory to the point that I believe it to be factual.

The lesson I take from Jenkins’ column and her experience with AI is that one must be ever-so-slightly wary of glib answers and perhaps it would be worthwhile ever so often to ask it a question to which you are certain you know the exact answer.  As they used to say in the arms control treaty negotiations, you need to:

“Trust … but verify.”

And now let me do a 180-degree course reversal and discuss a topic much earlier than I should.  It is the story du jour related to college sports; the NCAA will now start paying its players as the result of a settlement agreement attached to a lawsuit that was approved by the presiding judge in the matter.  This settlement will alter – not eliminate – the NIL dominated situation that exists in the collegiate revenue sports today and I believe that the potential avenues for the final course are so varied that no one knows what the equilibrium state is going to be.

Nonetheless it is widely reported and discussed, so I feel the need to offer up some comments.  Let me begin with some things I simply do not understand about the settlement:

• Some NCAA Conferences have said they will “opt in” to the settlement and others will “opt out.”    Why someone or something that was not involved in the lawsuit would opt in and agree to pay out $20M or so annually to its athletes is not clear to me this morning.  Also, if a conference “opts out” – – as the Ivy League has said it would do – – does that mean that the Ivy League would no longer be part of the NCAA?
• The money schools must pay to players is capped at about $20M per year and most of that money – – one report I read said 94% of that money – – will go to athletes in the “revenue sports”.  As of today, the collegiate revenue sports are:
  • • College football
    • Men’s college basketball/Women’s college basketball
    • Men’s college baseball/Women’s college softball
• It is not clear to me how that portion of the money can be allocated in a way that complies with Title IX nor is it clear to me what restrictions might exist for schools as they decide how to allocate that “other 6%” of the funding.
• By the way, if schools offer academic scholarships to athletes, are the values of those scholarships part of the $20M payments or are they add-ons?

Most commentators have praised the settlement terms and have labeled this as a great leap forward for college athletics.  Just as Sally Jenkins’ column yesterday made it clear to me that a pinch of skepticism never hurts when something seems too good to be true, let me apply that lesson here.  Recall how most commentators said the allowance of NIL payments would be a boon to college athletics.  And didn’t that evolve into a monstrosity?

I am not going to be a cheerleader for this brave new world of college athletics just yet nor am I going to be the old codger who can only pine for a return to the calm and quiet days of the 1950s.  [Aside:  Nevertheless, I do plead guilty to being an “old codger”.]

Nothing I have read says to me that the settlement agreement would address what I consider to be the most negative thing about college athletics today – – the dreaded Transfer Portal.  Here is my solution to that problem – – if the presiding judge would agree that it be part of the approved agreement:

• Make the agreements between the athletes and the schools into binding contracts.  If a school signs a player to a deal, that deal should have a starting date and a termination date.  If a deal is for 3 years, then there is no portal for the athlete until that time passes – – and there is no way for the school to rescind the payments to the athlete.

Finally, let me end today’s rant with this from Aristotle no less:

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”

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

 

 

With mandatory minicamp about to happen in the NFL, Aaron Rodgers reached the conclusion that he would – – indeed – – play one more season at QB in the league and decided that Pittsburgh would be his chosen venue.  In human history, only Hamlet ever had such a momentous choice to make; and yet, Hamlet made it in something less than 3 months of anguishing.  Perhaps you may think that this is the time to step back and consider Gerald Ford’s remark as he assumed the Presidency when Richard Nixon resigned:

“Our long national nightmare is over.”

Hopefully, that is the case – – but Rodgers and the team are reportedly still working on “details” for the contract.  Supposedly, the deal is for one year and $20M; there must be more to it than that; how long might it take to iron out all the other wrinkles?  So let the speculation begin; here are what seem to be three pluses for Rodgers and the Steelers:

1. Even at age 41, Aaron Rodgers is probably a better option as a starting QB than Mason Rudolph.  The Steelers seem to be better at QB today than they were yesterday.
2. Rodgers is not expected to resuscitate a moribund franchise.  The Steelers under Mike Tomlin have not had a losing season in 18 years.
3. The Steelers’ defense is a formidable unit; whatever “magic” Rodgers has left in his game, need not put 30 points on the board every week to be competitive.

With those pluses come three burdens:

1. Who will get the blame should the Steelers go 8-9-0 this year and post a losing record?  I suspect it will not be “team culture”.
2. What does the Steelers’ schedule portend?  Well, in addition to 4 challenging games against AFC North opponents, the Steelers will face all the teams in the NFC North this  year and three of those four teams made the playoffs last year.
3. How good is the Steelers’ OL?  Rodgers had to deal with a substandard OL last year with the Jets and the results were not awesome.  The Steelers’ OL is young and still in developmental mode.  Rodgers will be 42 during this year’s regular season; he and the rest of the team needs that unit to “reach its potential” now and not three years from now.

Moving on …  I mentioned recently that the UFL was not doing as well in its second year of existence.  Well, the UFL regular season is now over, and the playoffs are set to begin this weekend.  Here are the semi-final games on tap for Sunday:

• Michigan Panthers (6-4) vs Birmingham Stallions (7-3)   Game is on ABC
• DC Defenders (6-4) vs St. Louis Battlehawks (8-2)  Game is on FOX

The league must be hoping for some good news involving ratings this weekend because other data are not encouraging.

• Viewership for regular season games decreased by almost 20%.
• “Fannies in the seats” for regular season games decreased by 5%.
• As mentioned before,  attendance for the Memphis Showboats was a disaster; it was down more than 40% from 2024.
• Only the Michigan Panthers increased attendance in Year 2 as compared to Year 1.  However, the Panthers “improved attendance” only saw an average of 11,681 fans per game.

Naturally, there is no hint of gloom and doom from league officials as the second set of playoffs is about to kick off.  All the pronouncements from the league carry the message that the league is in it for the long haul and that the UFL will persevere.  I doubt that the numbers from 2025 represent a fatal blow for the league; I expect it to be back in 2026 – – but those TV numbers in particular need to reverse the trend from this year or the UFL will join the half-dozen other profession spring football leagues that went extinct over the last 40 years or so.

Switching gears …  Tyreese Haliburton hit another game-winning shot in the final seconds of Game 1 of the NBA Finals last night.  As a fan, it would be hard to ask for much more than the Pacers’ comeback and the final moments of that game.  And yet, I was underwhelmed.  I’m sorry, but the announcing team is just not up to the mark there.  Mike Breen was outstanding as usual last night on play-by-play, but let me venture into dangerous territory and suggest that:

• Doris Burke is the wrong person for that announcing team.  She may be a “glass-ceiling breaker” and a “role model for female sports broadcasters everywhere”, but she is just not that good.
• Richard Jefferson seems to have chosen the wrong character for the job.  The position does not need someone with comedic skills; this is a basketball game and not a comedy club; use your basketball expertise (which should be on display) and lose the stand-up comic manifestation.

Finally, these words from my favorite curmudgeon, H. L. Mencken:

“Puritanism. The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.”

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

 

 

I got an email yesterday from Gregg Drinnan, the former sports editor of the Kamloops Daily News, reminding me that the CFL regular season kicks off tonight when the Ottawa Redblacks hit the road to play the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Regina.  Both teams finished the 2024 regular season with records of 9-8-1; the Redblacks were unimpressive as a road team last year posting a road record of 2-7-0.

Here in the US, some CFL games will be shown on CBSSports Network, and all games can be livestreamed for free at CFL+.  If someone is a football junkie and if the UFL does not satisfy your cravings, the CFL offers an alternative football experience.  I have watched some CFL football for decades now and I still have to reset my thinking in the first possession or two as an adjustment to the rules about backs in motion on offense and about down and distance differences.

The defending Gray Cup Champions – – Toronto Argonauts – – will open on the road tomorrow night when they visit the Montreal Alouettes.  Last year, the Alouettes had the best regular season record in the CFL but were eliminated in the playoffs by the Argonauts.

Readers here know that I like to have fun with player names, and I have a favorite player name in the CFL.  BoLevi Mitchell is the starting QB for the Hamilton TigerCats; I always hoped he would get a shot in the NFL so fans could hold up signs that said:

• “I’m A BoLevier”  or “I BoLieve In BoLevi”

Too bad …  Thanks to Gregg Drinnan for the reminder.

Moving on …  The NHL Stanley Cup Finals began last night, and Game 1 merely provided an overtime game for fans.  The Edmonton Oilers came from behind to tie the game in regulation forcing the overtime and then won the game with a goal in the overtime period.  In the playoffs, the NHL uses a sudden death format unlike the OT rules that obtain during the regular season.  This overtime period almost went through the full 20 minutes before the Oilers scored the deciding goal on a power play.  It was a very entertaining contest.

Switching gears …  Taking a glance at the MLB standings in early June shows that several teams appear to be significantly improved in 2025 as compared to recent seasons:

• The Tigers lead the AL Central Division with a record of 41-22 (win percentage – .651).  For the record, the last time the Tigers had a win percentage this high for a full season was in 1934 when the team lost in the World Series to the Cards.  Last year, the Tigers finished with 86 wins and that was the first time the team was above .500 since 2016.
• The Cubs are on the upswing too.  As of this morning, the Cubs are 38-23 (win percentage = .623) and that puts the Cubs on pace to win 101 games in 2025.  If the Cubs manage to hit triple figures in wins, it would only be the fourth time the team accomplished that feat since 1900.
• The Giants have a record of 34-28 today (win percentage = .548).  That projects to 89 wins and if the Giants reach that level, it would be only the second time the team has won that many games in a season since 2012.

Of course, looking at the MLB standings also allows me to check on teams having disastrous seasons.

• The White Sox have the worst record in the American League at 19-43 (win percentage = .306).  The White Sox are on track to win only 50 games in 2025, which is an awful season.  Nonetheless it represents a significant improvement over the team record in 2024 which was 41-121.
• The A’s have a miserable 23-40 record (win percentage = .365).  In addition, the A’s have far and away the worst run differential in the AL at minus-128 runs.  The White Sox have a worse record than the A’s, yet, the Sox have “only” been outscored by 58 runs.
• The Pirates are a disappointing 23-39 today (win percentage = .371).  That puts the team on track to lose 102 games in 2025.  For the last two years, the Pirates had only lost 86 games in a season and the last time they lost more than 102 games was back in 2010 when they lost 105 games.
• The Rockies continue to be a hapless bunch; their record this morning is 12-50 (win percentage = .194).  If that continues to be the team “success rate”, their final record in 2025 will be 31-131 which would be 10 games worse than last year’s White Sox embarrassment.

            I commented recently that I was surprised at the home attendance for the Rockies given their miserable state on the field.  Well, it must be the fans and/or the stadium in Denver that is the attraction because the Rockies are not a huge draw on the road.  Granted this week the Rockies were in Miami to play the less-than-sterling Marlins. But consider these data:

• June 4^:  Rockies 3 Marlins 2  Attendance = 6,251
• June 3:  Rockies 3 Marlins2  Attendance =  5,894
• June 2:  Rockies 6 Marlins 4  Attendance = 5,922

Yes, the Rockies swept the series in Miami and still post the record reported above.  Yes, those are the reported attendance figures and teams suffering at the gate have been known to inflate those embarrassing totals. And here is the kicker:

• The Marlins play in a stadium that seats 37,442 souls.
• If you add up the reported attendance for the three games between the Rockies and the Marlins, that combined attendance would represent one event at the stadium where the stands were only at 48% of capacity.

Finally, having begun today with comments on Canadian sports, let me close with this observation by actor Ryan Reynolds:

“I’m not a hockey fan, which is probably why I had to leave Canada in the first place.”

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

 

 

Yesterday’s rant was posted at 12:08 PM EDT.  In that rant, I said that lots of folks were suggesting that the Knicks should fire Tom Thibodeau despite making it to the Eastern Conference Finals this year.

Later yesterday afternoon at about 3:00 PM, I was running an errand and turned on the car radio to see what the local sports radio folks were discussing.  Turns out they were dealing with “Breaking News” that indeed the Knicks had fired Tom Thibodeau.  I did not get it at 12:08 PM yesterday; I did not get it at about 3:00 PM yesterday; I still don’t get it.

The Knicks won 51 regular season games this year and won two playoff series.  Somehow, that performance has been deemed sufficiently below standard(s) that it deserves separation from the organization.  Really?  If that is the case, there should be about 25 NBA Head Coaches looking for work this week.

Thibodeau has been criticized for his very short bench in the playoffs this year.  Kenny Smith had the best line dealing with that issue when he said:

“Tom Thibodeau would not play nine players in a baseball game.”

Maybe that short bench led to fatigue which led to the losses?  If so, Thibodeau deserves blame.  However, that same team with his short bench proclivities did pretty well in the 82-game regular season and in the two playoff series that went before its elimination by the Pacers.

The statement by the team regarding the firing emphasized that the goal for the organization is to “win a championship for our fans”.  If there is even a shred of truth in those words, the higher-ups must be convinced that the Knicks team as constituted was indeed the best team in the NBA and should be in the Finals against the Thunder where the Knicks would emerge victorious.  I find that sort of thinking delusional; the Knicks are a very good team, but they are not nearly the best team in the NBA right now.

As is always the case, speculation about Thibodeau’s successor began about 10 nanoseconds after the announcement of the firing.  If you cruise around the Internet commentary this morning, the two names in the lead are Mike Malone – NBA Championship with the Nuggets in 2023 – and Jeff Van Gundy – a nostalgic rehiring situation.  We shall see …

As I said yesterday, the Knicks are a sub-standard defensive team not because of coaching but because of the roster construction.  Moreover, in the process of amassing this defensively-challenged roster, the team traded away three players and two draft picks to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns; that represents a lot of assets for a player whose only defensive credential is his height of 7-feet.  That roster needs a major tweak if in fact the idea of a “championship” is anything more than a fantasy in the minds of the Knicks’ braintrust.

Mentioning Jeff Van Gundy brings to mind a bone I want to pick with fans of the NY Knicks.  During the Eastern Conference Finals, far too many Knicks’ fans bitched and moaned about having Reggie Miller doing color commentating having been a star for the Pacers in his NBA career.  The assertion was that Miller was biased and intentionally derogatory in his comments about the Knicks and their performance.  As H. L. Mencken would proclaim at this point:

“Buncombe!”

First, I am not the least bit surprised that Reggie Miller would be inclined to favor the Pacers in any NBA game.  Having said that, I found none of his commentary to be wildly biased or derogatory in the least.  Reggie Miller is not the best color analyst in the basketball business, but he pretty much played it down the middle for that series.

Second, Knicks fans need to take a deep breath and think about what they are complaining about.

• Jeff Van Gundy coached the Knicks for 5 years; then he became an excellent color commentator for NBA games for more than a decade.  Van Gundy was never accused of being “biased for the Knicks” and Knicks’ fans never worried about that possibility.
• Mike Breen does NBA games with the Knicks on the court for the national telecasts and has done that for years.  Mike Breen also does the Knicks’ home games that are not nationally telecast.  Mike Breen is – in my opinion – the best NBA play-by-play guy on the air.  Knicks’ fans never suggest that he might be biased toward their team.

Finally, I shall close today with this advice from Judith Martin a/k/a “Miss Manners”:

“If you can’t be kind, at least be vague.”

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

 

 

The sports landscape has two significant events on tap for this week.  The Stanley Cup Finals begin tomorrow night in Edmonton where the Oilers host the defending champs – – Florida Panthers – – in a rematch of last year’s Stanley Cup Finals.  Both teams finished third in their division during the regular season.

• The Oilers eliminated the two teams that finished above them in the Pacific Division; the Panthers did the same in the Atlantic Division.
• The Oilers won 48 games in the regular season; the Panthers won 47 games in the regular season.
• Last year, these teams took 7 games to award the Stanley Cup to the Panthers.

You can find these games on TNT and/or truTV here in the US; if you need time to go looking for either network on your cable system, those are the same ones that do March Madness games in the early rounds.

And then, on Thursday night, the NBA Finals begin.  It will be the Pacers and the Thunder in this matchup.  The Pacers eliminated the Knicks in Indy over the weekend.  The Knicks were done in by a lack of defense; the Knicks have a very good offensive team but 50% of a basketball game is played on defense and the Knicks’ defense can only be labeled “inadequate”.

Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are quality offensive players; they are not always the most compatible assets on the court at the same time, but they present the opposing defense with plenty of agita.  I would say that Brunson is “average-at-best” as a defender; Towns is only one small step above AWOL in that category.  So, when the Knicks are threatening on offense with both players out there, they are also ripe for the picking on defense.

One other observation about the Knicks’ defense …  I wonder if Mikal Bridges has some sort of nagging injury that has not been trumpeted.  The reason I say that is that Bridges was a top-shelf defensive player just a couple of years ago and he was no more than an ordinary defensive presence when I saw him in this Eastern Conference Final series.

No sooner had the final whistle blown in Madison Square Garden but speculation started about the future of Head Coach Tom Thibideau in NY.  It seems that the NBA has taken up the chant of “What have you done for me lately?”  The Knicks went to the Conference Finals and some folks want Thibideeau axed; recall that the Nuggets fired Mike Malone just before the playoffs and all Malone did was win the NBA Championship with the Nuggets in 2023.

Much has been made of the “small town” nature of these NBA Finals.  Forget about stats on how many TV households there are in either Indy or OKC or both, here is a datum to ponder:

• I checked Expedia.com – – a wide-ranging website for finding plane tickets worldwide – – wanting to see how much a fan in either city would need to pay in order to fly to the site of their team’s “away games”.
• More interesting than the cost information, I found that Expedia.com could not find a direct flight between the two cities.  A fan of either team would have his/her choice of places to experience a layover, but for a non-stop experience, someone would have to invent Uber-Air Service between now and Thursday night.
• Oh, and in case you care, the one-way airfare from Indy to OKC with the layovers starts at $419 …

Switching gears …  The Houston Astros have a new culinary option available at the stadium this year; it is called The Daddy Mac Dog.  Here is what it contains:

• A footlong hot dog garnished with:
  • • BBQ beef brisket
    • Mac-and-cheese
    • Fried pickles

And for dessert, a roll of Tums …

Finally, an observation by comedian, Mitch Hedberg:

“My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them.”

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

 

 

Last week, my mind meandered – fancifully – as I pondered ways to make the NBA a better TV entertainment product.  That prompted an email from “the reader in Houston” to this effect:

“I have to hand it to you that you always come up with some real good ideas/suggestions to make sports more entertaining whether for TV purposes or not (even if some may seem almost ludicrous), but as in most cases, money talks and the longer the NBA games and timeouts, the greater the advertising revenue, though I have to hand it to baseball, the pitch clock has done wonders to speed up the games.

“As far as your ideas for limits on three-point shots, I will be elected Pope before that ever comes to fruition, but keep on coming up with ideas. I love them, even if just for entertainment purposes.”

What more encouragement could I possibly ask for?  I dealt with the NBA last week, so my mind wandered to MLB over the weekend.  And so, today, you will get to read some more fanciful thoughts about how to make baseball more of an entertainment product.

At the outset, I must agree with “the reader in Houston” that MLB came a long way forward with the insertion of the pitch clock and the slightly larger bases to encourage base stealing.  There is a significant increase in the density of action on the field in MLB in 2025 than there was in 2019; the MLB mavens deserve kudos for those actions.  However, as  tribute to the concept of constant incremental improvements, let me offer the following.

• MLB needs to bite the bullet and expand by two teams to make MLB a 32-team league that can organize itself better than it is organized today.  Here are six potential expansion sites; my favorite two are in bold here:
  • • Montreal, Que
    • Nashville, TN
    • Portland, OR
    • Raleigh-Durham, NC
    • Salt Lake City, UT
    • Tidewater, VA
• Once the two new franchises are sold – – wherever they may be – – MLB needs to reorganize into 8 divisions with 4 teams in each division.  Moreover, those divisions need to be as geographically close-packed as possible; MLB needs more ”rivalry games” than it has today.  I am neither a Yankees’ fan nor a Red Sox fan; but I enjoy the rivalry; I am not a Cubs’ fan nor a Cardinals’ fan; but I enjoy the rivalry.  Importantly, proximity breeds rivalry …

So, here is a first cut at my 8 new divisions:

1. Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Blue Jays
2. Phillies, Orioles, Nats, Pirates
3. Tigers, Guardians, Reds, Twins
4. Brewers, Cubs, White Sox, Cards
5. Braves, Rays, Marlins, Raleigh-Durham
6. Astros, Rangers, Royals, Rockies
7. Mariners, A’s, D-Backs, Salt Lake City
8. Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Angels

As if all of the above is not sufficiently offbeat, now I want to suggest the highly improbable action of MLB contracting its regular season schedule.  My idea is to make the regular season 144 games for each team and for the playoffs to have no wild cards – – only the 8 division winners.  Cutting the regular season schedule allows for some if not all of the following:

• Start the season later when “winter” is less likely in various cities.
• End the season earlier when “winter” is less likely in various cities
• Make all playoff series – – in all three levels of the brackets – – 7 games in duration.

And here are the basics of the scheduling format:

• Each team plays its three division rivals 24 times – – 8 each three-game series.  That accounts for 72 games.
• Each team plays home and home series with each team in three other divisions; the selection of which other divisions would rotate as the NFL does.   That accounts for 72 more games.
• Voilâ!  There you have a 144-game regular season schedule …

In terms of “rivalries”, look at Division #1 and Division #4.  Each one has existing rivalries baked in already.  Then look at Division #8; virtually every intra-divisional game would be a rivalry game there.

I know; “the reader in Houston” will be elected Pope before any of my ideas get serious attention from Rob Manfred and his band of merry men.  But it is fun to let my mind wander – – off the leash – – for a little bit occasionally.

Finally, it seems appropriate to conclude today with a series of observations from thinkers deeper than I:

“It is only afterward that a new idea seems reasonable. To begin with, it usually seems unreasonable.”  Isaac Azimov

And …

“Those who can’t change their minds can’t change anything.”  George Bernard Shaw

And …

“There is one path in the world that none can walk but you. Where does it lead? Don’t ask, walk!”  Friedrich Nietzsche

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

 

 

Today will be an homage to one of the classic “Spaghetti Westerns”:

• The Good, The Bad And The Ugly.

Starting with “The Good”, the Knicks/Pacers series is still ongoing.  It has been entertaining to date and looks to continue in that mode at least for tomorrow night when Game 6 will happen in Indy.  Last night, the Knicks dominated play and avoided elimination; now they face a second straight elimination game, but this one will be on the road.  The question here is:

• Which team faces more pressure tomorrow night?
• The Knicks who must win to remain in the playoffs?
• The Pacers who should not want to face a “Game7” in Madison Square Garden?
• You make the call…

Now on to “The Bad”.  Overall, things are not hunky-dory for the second season of the UFL; the TV results have not been encouraging.  Consider:

• Average TV audience in 2024 was 816K viewers per game.
• Average TV audience so far in 2025 is 615K viewers per game.
• That is a decline of 24.6% from a level that was not eye-popping in 2024.

If you are inclined to look at the “glass half-full”, there was a TV game on ABC that drew more than 1.2M viewers which is double the season average.  Perhaps  that means there is an audience out there for the UFL product but that the audience is selective in its viewing behavior.  The UFL is a minor league; the top-tier of minor league sports can be very interesting because it approximates the major league product sufficiently well as to be entertaining.  The lower levels of minor league sports are an acquired taste because sometimes those lower-level contests are far removed from the appreciated major league product.

The UFL may be in that situation.  The top teams in the UFL may be able to draw and retain fan interest to a reasonable degree; the bottom teams may have already been “abandoned” by their target audiences.  Let me use the Memphis Showboats as “evidence” that the team has been “abandoned”.

• In 2024, the Showboats were 2-8 with both wins coming over the same opponent.  Unimpressive.  In their 5 home games, the largest crowd was 8,791 fans.
•  In 2025, with one game left to play, the Showboats are 2-7.  They have played four home games; the largest crowd was 4,753 fans and last weekend, the attendance was 2,044.
• Average attendance in Memphis in 2025 is only 3,850 folks who seem to have nothing better to do with their time than showing up at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
• Average attendance for the UFL overall is relatively constant year over year.  Last  year, UFL games drew 13.3K fans and this year they are drawing 12.4K fans.

Perhaps, the UFL gurus need to consider finding a different home for that troubled franchise?  How about Baltimore – – or maybe Tidewater Virginia?

And now on to “The Ugly” – – as if that UFL situation in Memphis was not bad enough …  The so-called “Modern Era” of MLB is taken to begin in 1900.  In the 125 seasons in this “Modern Era” no team has ever had a worse record in the first 50 games than the Colorado Rockies posted in 2025.  Here is where the Rockies stand in terms of stench:

• Cincinnati Red Stockings were 6-44 in 1876
• Louisville Colonels were 7-43 in 1895
• Kansas City Unions were 7-43 in 1884
• Louisville Colonels were 8-42 in 1889  (a repeat offender here)
• Colorado Rockies were 8-42 in 2025.

Here is something one might not suspect given that information above.  The Rockies are nowhere near the bottom of MLB in home attendance; in fact, the Rockies average attendance is 27,621  in 2025.  By comparison the Rockies’ home attendance is:

• Almost triple the attendance for the Rays
• Two-and-a-half times the attendance for the A’s
• More than double the attendance for the Marlins
• Greater than the division-leading Tigers by about 2,500 fans per game.

The 2025 Colorado Rockies are an ugly team having an ugly season, but they have not been abandoned by their fans for reasons that are not clear to me.

Finally, let me close with this line from one of the movies in the so-called “Dollar Trilogy” that always made perfect sense to me:

“When a man with a 45 meets a man with a rifle, the man with a pistol will be a dead man.”

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