The Sports Curmudgeon

There have been reports this week that the Seattle Seahawks have signed/are in the process of signing “free agent” Terrion Arnold.  I put quotation marks there because Terrion Arnold is facing criminal charges such that if convicted, he might be spending life in prison.  That could change the meaning of “free” in the sentence above.  Let me do a reset here:

• Terrion Arnold is a highly regarded CB from Alabama; he was a first-round pick by the Detroit Lions in 2024.
• Arnold was arrested and charged with eight felony counts including kidnapping and robbery in June of this year.
• The Lions released him soon after the arrest.  Dan Campbell said Arnold was a “cool dude” and was sorry that the Lions had to do what they did.
• A judge released Arnold on $1M bail and allowed him to visit other NFL teams for workouts.
• Character witnesses including Nick Saban who coached Arnold at Alabama say he is a model citizen, and he carried a 3.8 GPA in high school.  Arnold’s attorney – naturally – says there is no evidence that Arnold is guilty of these charges.

There is no serious question about Terrion Arnold’s ability to play in the NFL; there are serious questions about his availability to play in the NFL over and above the charges pending in court; the NFL has yet to weigh in with any action related to putting Arnold on the “Commissioner’s Exempt List” which means a player can be signed by a team but cannot practice or play for that team until whatever landed him on that list is sufficiently resolved to convince The Commish to remove him from the list.  This situation bears watching not only because of the extraordinary charges in the case but also because several NFL teams have shown interest in signing him despite the charges and the potential suspension.  Stay tuned …

Moving on …  The CFL season is half over; the East Division is a runaway; the West Division is tightly contested.  In the East, the Montreal Alouettes are 9-1-0 and their nearest rival would be Toronto Argonauts at 4-5-0.  At the bottom of the East are the Ottawa Redblacks who are winless at 0-10-0.

The West is much more tightly bunched.  The Edmonton Elks lead the West at 7-3-0 while the fifth-place – – last place – – Calgary Stampeders are 4-6-0.  I will be paying a lot more attention to those western teams from here until Halloween when the CFL playoffs begin.

Switching gears … NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was speaking with some folks in Germany, and he said he was certain there would be NFL teams (plural) in international cities one of these days.  In 2026, the NFL will have 9 regular season games in 6 different countries and usually NFL games draw significant attendance in overseas venues.  So where might they be?

• London has hosted more NFL regular season games than any other international city and has two stadium venues that have hosted NFL games.
• Munich and/or Frankfurt in Germany have hosted successful NFL games in the past.
• Mexico City has the advantage of being in the same time zone as other NFL teams mitigating some of the travel scheduling quirks for teams playing in international games.
• I do not think any Canadian cities would be strong candidates because the NFL has 4 teams up against the Canadian border (Seahawks, Vikes, Lions and Bills) and the Canadian cities in the “gaps” between those existing teams seem smaller than optimal for a new NFL franchise.

Next up …  ESPN is going to add Pat McAfee to the cast of Monday Night Countdown.  I am not a Pat McAfee fan; I think his bombast is overdone and is distracting from what is the purpose of a “countdown show”.  But McAfee draws a loyal audience and that is more important to ESPN than content.  There is also a rumor that ESPN will try a Pat McAfee version of the Manningcast on those weeks where the Manning brothers are off doing other things.  For now, there are supposed to be 10 Manningcasts meaning there are at least a half-dozen open weeks for the “McAfee-fests”.  Given his daily show on ESPN and his time on College Game Day, the addition of him to “countdown” and potentially to have him do an alternate telecast of MNF, will certainly have me in an overload situation.

Finally, this from George Burns:

“When I was a boy, the Dead Sea was  only sick.”

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

The WNBA finds itself in the middle of a societal scuffle over trans athletes and their rights.  This is a self-inflicted wound; the league did not have to chime in; but it has.  Now with former NBA males saying they will declare for the WNBA Draft if all they have to do is proclaim their womanhood, the league is conferring to see what to do next.  That “conferring” has been ongoing for a week or more.

My position here is unchanged.  Post-pubescent males are on average much bigger, stronger and faster than post-pubescent women; to allow most post-pubescent women to stand a chance in competitive sports involving strength and speed, society has created “women’s leagues” in baseball, football, basketball, soccer and ice hockey.  That the women’s leagues would be severely damaged if transgendered males were allowed to play seems as self-evident to me as were the truths that Thomas Jefferson identified in the Declaration of Independence.

And as the WNBA continues to discuss and debate its future position(s) here, the league has become a laughingstock on social media.  Someone who identifies himself as “@matteubanksonline” posted something that sums up where the WNBA is about now:

“The WNBA:  Women, running a women’s only sports league, are meeting with other women to make a decision on what a woman is, so that they can then decide whether to let fake women compete in a league specifically created for women.”

There is no need for pejorative or stigmatizing language there; so, other than the words “fake women”, I think that posting sums up the situation very well.  Bonne chance to the league officials and other conferees in coming up with something that will appease everyone in this matter so that the league can get on with doing its primary function – – entertaining an audience.

Moving on …  Back in 2017, Charles Oakley was “escorted out” of Madison Square Garden allegedly at the instruction of Knicks’ owner James Dolan and Oakley filed a suit against Madison Square Garden and Dolan over the matter.  The charges against James Dolan were dismissed by a judge in 2020, but the action against MSG continued until earlier this week when a judge issued a summary judgement and said the case was over.  Not so, say Oakley’s attorneys who will appeal that judgment and seek an “immediate jury trial”.

This matter has been “backing and forthing” for nine years now; how could either side assert the need for anything labeled as “immediate”?  Oakley claims he was assaulted by the security guards that escorted him out of the venue back then and he was barred from entering the Garden for a short time at the instruction of James Dolan.  That ban on his entering the Garden was reversed in 2017, but Oakley has chosen not to attend Knicks’ games ever since because he demands an apology from Dolan.

Frankly, this sounds like a schoolyard clash of personalities carried out by two chronological adults and not by two teenagers…

Finally, author Margo Jefferson provides a fitting epilogue to today’s topics:

“We Americans are childish about our celebrities and icons. We worship, then we denounce; we identify passionately with them and then, if they do something – anything – we dislike, we cast them off.”

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

There have been many temptresses – real and imaginary – over time including:

• Cleopatra
• The Sirens
• Madame du Barry
• Theda Bara

Well, the NFL and the NBA might be vying for a place on lists such as the one above when you look at their schedules.  Christmas Day is a “family day”; kids get presents; adults come together in celebration often from remote locales; Christmas dinner is an event.  Well, the NFL and the NBA are hellbent to tempt people this year to abandon the traditional family aspects of Christmas and to plop themselves down in front of their TV sets with fresh batteries in their remotes.  Here is what they have planned; times are Eastern Time:

• Noon … NBA … Spurs/Knicks
• 1:00 PM … NFL … Packers/Bears
• 2:30 PM  … NBA … Heat/Celtics
• 4:30 PM … NFL … Bills/Broncos
• 5:00 PM … NBA … Sixers/Lakers
• 8:00 PM … NBA … Thunder/T-Wolves
• 8:15 PM … NFL … Rams/Seahawks
• 10:30 PM … NBA … Nuggets/Warriors

Or, if you prefer, you can watch the 627^th rerun of Miracle on 34^th Street … it’s your choice.

And speaking of sports on TV, let me go back to the Tony Romo arrest and his subsequent “indefinite suspension” by CBS.  Previously, CBS announced that JJ Watt would move up from the #2 announcing team to join Jim Nantz as the color analyst in the “top slot”.  This week, they announced that Ross Tucker would replace JJ Watt on the #2 announcing team paired with Ian Eagle.  Neither of those two assignments were portrayed as temporary or as a “fill-in”.

From the time of Romo’s arrest, there were people speculating that CBS would use the arrest as a way to separate from Tony Romo because he has a huge contract ($18M per year according to reports) and because his favorability had been declining in recent years.  After this week’s announcement regarding Ross Tucker, I am now inclined to agree with those who think Tony Romo’s days at CBS are numbered.  Obviously, the parties here will keep any employment decisions separate from the adjudication of the charges arising from that arrest; but here is my guess as to what is going on now – – based on gut feel alone and zero direct information:

• I think the CBS lawyers are pointing to a clause in the contract that says it can be terminated if the talent commits a crime or withholds services or brings ill-repute upon the network.  [Aside: I don’t KNOW there is such a clause, but it seems to me there must be something like that in all such contracts.]
• Romo’s lawyers are saying that his actions are not criminal offenses in Wisconsin and that he faces no jail time and is at the ready to show up at work and do his thing.  Ergo, if CBS wants to separate him, they can cough up the $18M per year for the four years left on Tony Romo’s contract – a cool $72M.

The parties will threaten and cajole; it will be analogous to Kabuki Theater – – minus the musical accompaniment and the kumadori makeup that are key elements of Kabuki.  CBS wants to pay Romo nothing; just have him go away.  Romo – through his lawyers – wants the $72M that has not been paid to him yet on the contract he signed.

I think the parties here will agree on a payment somewhere between zero and $72M and once that agreement is in place, all other issues will magically disappear, and the parties will sign a non-disclosure agreement and fade to black.

That is what my crystal ball says today; we do know, however, that my crystal ball is often foggy; so, we shall see.

Finally, since I mentioned Christmas Day above, let me close with this thought from humorist, Andy Borowitz:

“Christmas sweaters are only acceptable as a cry for help.”

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

Don Nelson died last weekend.  Most basketball fans recall him for his highly successful coaching career in the NBA; his teams won over 1300 games, and he was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame as a coach.  Some of  us are old enough to recall that he also had an 11-year career as an NBA player in the 1960s and 70s and was on five of the Celtics’ championship teams of that era.

Rest in peace, Don Nelson.

Sticking with basketball for a moment, the WNBA needs to find its way out of a sticky situation of its own making.  In its attempts to welcome all flavors of fans and participants, the league has become embroiled in the controversy of “trans women playing in women’s sports”.  As I have argued before, allowing post-pubescent males who have transitioned to female status to compete against women in sports that involve strength and speed is to put ciswomen at a disadvantage.  What makes this issue dicey is that some folks believe that a simple declaration by a male that he sees himself as a woman and wants to project himself as a woman is sufficient for him to “qualify” as a woman.

Well, two former NBA players have said they are going to declare for the WNBA Draft next year and assert their womanhood as the basis for them being drafted.  Their NBA days are well in the past, but they are larger than WNBA  players (6’8” – 6’10”) and about 260 lbs.  Ignoring any ideas about dominating play in WNBA games, their size and strength would raise the possibility of injury to women players significantly; these men are double the weight of some WNBA players.

The league is holding meetings and consultations to decide what it should do.  I think the end result ought to recognize the physical realities of men’s basketball and women’s basketball as the same sport but different games.  The CBA under which the WNBA exists states that the league is for women; what the league now needs to do is to define what it believes a woman is and that plays against a backdrop of high emotion when considering the issue.

Given that the league has not been able to make it clear that intentional fouling and dangerous fouling during games is inappropriate behavior – – something that is ingrained in men’s basketball at multiple levels – – this decision making must be causing mass agita among the league’s movers and shakers.

And one more item today about basketball …  The LA Lakers have been sold.  Yes, you remember correctly, it was only a year ago that the Buss family sold a majority stake in the Lakers to Mark Walter for $10B.  Well, Walter has now decided to sell that stake to a group led by Bob Iger (former CEO of Disney) and Joshua Kushner (Jared’s brother), and the sale price now values the Lakers at $12.5B.  That is a tidy 25% capital gain in just over a  year for Mr. Walter.

According to reports, this deal came together over a weekend of negotiation; there was no “auction bidding” to drive up the price.  Some folks believe that a Federal investigation into some of Mark Walter’s other financial dealings may have been a motivation for his selling his stake in the Lakers; only time will reveal if those speculations have any basis in reality.  And of course, the NBA governors – – not owners, please – – will have to approve the sale.

This purchase by Iger and Kushner might have a small deleterious effect on the NBA expansion franchise expected to be in Las Vegas because Iger and Kushner were reported to be seriously involved in the planning for that team.  There are some deep pockets involved in the pursuit of that new franchise and some “blue ribbon” individuals.  An heiress to the Walton money is supposedly involved and another group is fronted by Magic Johnson.  And there are at least a couple of other potential bidders.  About a month ago, I read a report saying that the two new franchises in the NBA would cost $7B to $9B; with the Lakers going for $12.5B, I suspect the expansion cost just went up.

Obviously, I don’t have tens of billions of dollars lying around doing nothing important; but if I did, I am not sure I would be looking to buy into the NBA as opposed to taking a piece of an NFL team or a club in the English Premier League.  Having said that, the investment in the Lakers just a year ago turned into a tidy profit for Mark Walter – – so what do I know?

I mentioned Bob Iger as the Disney CEO above; Disney owns ABC and ESPN and ESPN has continued its purge of on-air talent this week.  Yesterday, Damien Woody was let go by the network after 15 years there.  One report said that Woody’s contract was worth “almost 7 figures” and if that is accurate it seems as if ESPN is trimming pretty close to the bone here.    I liked Damien Woody when he appeared on Get Up!; I thought that his comments and contributions were always measured and thoughtful.  If this separation had happened a year ago, I would have suggested that Woody could find a home at NFL Network; but today, ESPN owns NFL Network so that seems an unlikely landing spot for Woody.  Nonetheless, I hope to see him on the air again somewhere down the road.

Finally, this anecdote from Jim Valvano:

“I asked a ref if he could give me a technical foul for thinking bad things about him. He said, of course not. I said, well, I think you stink. And he gave me a technical. You can’t trust em.“

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

I know that NFL teams are still early on in Training Camps, and I also know that mid to late August could become “hectic” here in Curmudgeon Central.  As I discovered last season, it is advantageous for me – – and for you as a reader – – to break down my pre-season rants about the NFL into smaller chunks.  And that is why I will start today with NFL Coaches on a Hot Seat in 2026.  Last season, 8 teams – – 25% of the league – – fired their head coaches and “went in a different direction”.

I will not be surprised to see 7 to 10 teams take that opportunity starting in January 2027, so my listing today has some speculative names on there.  Those seats will only heat up based on underachieving expectations in 2026 – – and I don’t only mean fan expectations; I mean owner expectations.  I will list my Hot Seat denizens alphabetically so there is no suggestion of a prioritization here.

• Todd Bowles – Bucs:  His is one of the harder coaching résumés to explain.  He has been with the Bucs for 4 seasons; the Bucs won the division and went to the playoffs in the first three of those seasons.  They missed the playoffs last year and even with those three division championships, Bowles’ total record with the Bucs is a mediocre 35-33-0.  I think he will need the Bucs to make the playoffs either as division champions again or as a wildcard entry for him to keep his job.  Bowles is signed through the 2028 NFL season; his salary is not disclosed but reports say it is around $5M per year.  So, if the owners want to get rid of him, the buyout would not be much of an obstacle for them.
• Dave Canales – Panthers:  They won their division last year with a record of 8-9-0.  The Panthers’ owner can be described generously as “impulsive”.  Another playoff appearance would be nice – – but I think a double-digit win season would be even better.  He is signed through the 2029 season but if reports are correct that he makes only $4M per year, that would not be much of a deterrent for a twitchy owner.
• Aaron Glenn – Jets:  I know that he is only starting his second season with the Jets but last year was well beyond frustrating and lapped over into the realm of embarrassing.  He has already purged his subordinates – the ones he hired just a  year ago – meaning there is little cover to be found there.  The Jets open on the road against the Titans; that could be an important game for Aaron Glenn because the next three games are against the Packers, Lions and Bears.  Starting the season at 0-4 will not go down well with the fans or the less-than-forgiving NYC media.  The schedule is not a killer overall, but I think Aaron Glenn needs to win 6 games or more to keep his job.  His contract runs through the 2029 NFL season.
• Dan Quinn – Commanders:  You can write off last year’s debacle to injuries, and you would have a point in doing so.  However, another major contributor to the debacle was an atrocious defense that gave up 26.5 points per game and 384 yards per game.  Why is that important?  Dan Quinn made his way in the NFL as a “defense guy” and his two years in DC should be embarrassing even to the local fanboys.  His contract runs through the end of the 2028 season with a salary reportedly at $4.5M per year.
• Brian Schottenheimer – Cowboys:  Jerry Jones does not have a hair trigger when it comes to firing coaches; but if the Cowboys miss the playoffs with a team that Jones has publicly labeled as Super Bowl contenders, he might be forced to make a grand gesture to preserve his assessment that this was a Super Bowl level roster that he compiled.  Schottenheimer’s contract runs through the 2028 season, and I have not been able to find any reports about salary figures in that deal.
• Nick Siriani – Eagles:  Stay with me here …  There were too many rumblings about locker room disharmony last year for this to be purely a wins and losses situation.  The Eagles suffered a “Super Bowl letdown” to be sure but that excuse won’t play again in 2026.  In addition, the Eagles’ ownership has shown no compunctions about firing successful coaches in the past.  Siriani has been on the job for 8 seasons with 7 playoff appearances, 2 Super Bowl appearances and 1 Super Bowl win.  Nonetheless, the Eagles fired Andy Reid and also fired Doug Pedersen only two years removed from a Lombardi Trophy.  Nick Siriani needs to be sure there is no “locker-room nonsense” this year; and a playoff win would be helpful too.
• Shane Steichen – Colts:  He was the Eagles’ offensive coordinator when they won the Super Bowl in 2022; that is the credential that got him this job with the Colts.  In his three seasons with the Colts, they have  yet to go to the playoffs and the combined record for the three seasons is 25-26-0.  Meh!  His contract runs through the end of the NFL 2028 season and even though the salary structure in that deal is not disclosed, various reports place it in the neighborhood of $6M per season.  I think it will take a playoff appearance for Shane Steichen to keep his job.
• Zac Taylor – Bengals:  He has been on the job in Cincy for 7 seasons now; in that time, he has been to the playoffs twice and to the Super Bowl once; the Bengals have missed the playoff is the other five seasons including the last three in a row.  On one hand, I am surprised that Taylor is still in Cincy because with a QB of Joe Burrow’s caliber, one should expect more playoff appearances.  On the other hand, ownership in Cincy does not like to pay coaches not to coach the Bengals.  Taylor’s contract reportedly runs through the 2027 season so this year may just be a “warm seat” for him that has the potential to get “seriously hot” in 2027.

There are  a couple of coaches whose seats should not be hot except for some abjectly unrealistic expectations by either fans or owners.  I will list them here even though there is no rational reason to consider firing them:

• Matt LaFleur – Packers:  His last playoff win was in the 2021 season but the thinking in Green Bay is that they should be in the NFC title game at least once every few years.
• Kevin O’Connell – Vikes:  He eked out a 9-8 record last year with the most substandard QB play for a team with a winning record.  The team fired the GM in the offseason and signed Kyler Murray as a free agent with an incentive loaded deal.  I suspect that the owners’ expectations are double digit wins and/or a division title in 2025.
• Mike Vrabel – Pats:  There is no “coaching reason” for him to be mentioned here but if by some twist of fate, the off-field scandal hanging over his head sends the ‘Sordid Meter” up to 10 …

            So, there is my assessment of coaches who might be in “job search mode” by the time the Super Bowl takes place.  As always, I will return to these prognostications to grade them after the season is over.

One last thing …  If a team seriously underperforms early this year, there may be an outside factor that owners may consider when it comes to a mid-season firing.  Mike Tomlin is out there without work; Mike Tomlin is a good football coach; getting the opportunity to start gauging his interest in a return to the sidelines could motivate an owner to fire a coach before Halloween.  Just a thought …

Finally, I’ll close with this from George “Papa Bear” Halas:

“Nothing is work, unless you’d rather be doing something else.”

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

The WNBA is a fiasco; it simply cannot be taken seriously.  Yes, the product on TV has improved over the past several seasons to the point where I can watch a half of a game without flipping channels.  However, the demands of the players and the league officials to be taken seriously as a key component of the US sporting landscape are preposterous.

There was a social media posting – – since taken down to be sure – – showing two of the more prominent WNBA players making a $400 bet on a game their two teams were going to play.  The league says that the video posting “missed the mark” but that that the two players would not be punished.  And I am supposed to take the WNBA seriously…?

Here is the statement from the WNBA about how this is handled:

“While the social media post was intended to be lighthearted, WNBA players are well aware of the league’s policies prohibiting betting on WNBA games and receive training every year reinforcing those policies.  We recognized tat the post missed the mark, removed it shortly after it was published and addressed the matter internally.

“We will use this as an opportunity to reemphasize with the players involved that conversations about wagering on WNBA games even when intended as a joke can have negative consequences.”

That’s it; the league will use this as a teachable moment.  Oh, by the way, this behavior by two of the league’s stars does not speak highly of the effectiveness of the training that players get “every year reinforcing [the league’s gambling] policies.

The Phillies play the Nats tonight in Philly; imagine if there were a video of the two starting pitchers making a bet on the outcome of tonight’s game before it began and that the video was posted on any of the myriad social media sites.  What might be the reaction of MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred?  Probably something a bit more stern than an assessment that the video “missed the mark”.

I have no objection to gambling on sporting events; I have been known to do so on more than one occasion.  I also have no objection to symbolic wagers of trivial value made by team owners or the mayors of competing cities.  I do have a serious objection to players betting on games in which they will participate.  And no; that serious objection is not mitigated by the fact that both players bet on their teams to win.

This is the same league where in the past a team had a serious flight delay and did not get into the city where they were scheduled to play until the early morning hours.  Not good; but not nearly fatal.  That team simply did a “no-show” for the game and left the fans who had gone to see that game high and dry.  No punishment there either.

• Memo to the WNBA:  If you want to be taken seriously – – as seriously as the NBA is taken in the sports universe – – you must behave seriously and you must punish improper behavior.
• Until then, you are consigned to the kiddies’ table.

And speaking of sports entities that might not be worthy of serious consideration, let me move on to a report about the Akron Zips football team which is part of the MAC.  Based on a random drawing of season ticket holders – – MAC teams have such people? – – one lucky fanboy will get to be the “Offensive Coordinator of the Game”.  Seriously …

The winner will get to work with the coaches, and he/she will script the opening drive in Akron’s home opening game on September 12^th against Robert Morris.  Here is part of the official announcement of this brainstorm:

“The selected fan will work directly with Zips’ football head coach Joe Moorhead to help design the plays that open the game — a first-of-its-kind experience for the Akron program.
‘We’re always looking for new ways to bring our fans closer to the program,’ said Dr. Andrew T. Goodrich, Director of Athletics. ‘This is about giving one of our most loyal supporters a seat at the table, right alongside our coaching staff, on the biggest night of the season.’”

And I am supposed to take MAC football seriously …?

Finally, this observation by Albert Camus seems apropos as a close for today:

“Basically, at the very bottom of life, which seduces us all, there is only absurdity, and more absurdity. And maybe that’s what gives us our joy for living, because the only thing that can defeat absurdity is lucidity.”

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

Today, I want to review two situations where someone grossly overplayed their hand.  I’ll start with Gianni Infantino, the President of FIFA.  The World Cup Tournament this year was a huge success; depending on which report you read, FIFA generated somewhere between $13B and $18B in revenue from the tournament,  Infantino had been rubbing elbows with the heads of state for Canada, Mexico and the US.  Good vibes in abundance …

Infantino is up for election/reelection to this position as FIFA president next Spring.  With that successful World Cup in the books, you would think he was a shoo-in for another term; who would want to change a winner?  And then came the overplayed hand…

Infantino floated the idea of creating a new entity that would have private investors and would stage FIFA events and dip into what is currently FIFA’s “profits”.    [Aside:  Remember that FIFA is technically a non-profit entity so maybe those “profits” need to be called “surpluses of funds”?]  That idea floated like an anvil; soccer associations around the world received the news about as happily as a wedgie; boycotts of FIFA events were pledged by Europe, North America. South America and Asia; declarations of “no confidence” rained down on Gianni Infantino.

According to reports, Infantino makes about $6M per year as FIFA president plus there is a generous expense account for his travels and representational activities.  You would think that would be sufficient, but according to some reporting, his “privatization plan” would have created a position for him where he would make about $30M per year.  International soccer has a ton of politics and intrigue associated with it; Infantino had rivals and jealousies to deal with under any circumstances; that possible five-fold increase in his compensation was sufficient for those rivals to coalesce against him.  Most reports now say that his re-election is in serious jeopardy.

Here is just one of more than a few statements made by Infantino opponents on this matter:

“A proposal of this magnitude [the privatization of the World Cup] does not reach that stage by accident.  It is a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first.  This recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behavior.  A full review of this leadership must now take place.”

And meanwhile, the Prince of Jordan has accused FIFA of withholding Jordan’s piece of the action as a FIFA member in addition to several US cities claiming that FIFA has stiffed them for expense reimbursements related to the World Cup staged in North America this year. Put those complaints together in juxtaposition with the “privatization plan” and you have a situation akin to a guy who ran a Ponzi scheme making millions off other people also being accused of being a deadbeat dad.  Not a good look at all …

The second entity to overplay its hand would be the State of Maryland.  About a month ago, Churchill Downs offered to buy the Preakness and the people who “own” the Preakness took them up on the offer.  However, the State of Maryland had a right of first refusal to match any such offer, and it did so.  OK, that isn’t such a horrible action…

Then the Maryland Governor went into rhetorical overdrive and declared that the State’s action there saved and preserved Maryland racing; this would make sure that the Preakness would be run in Maryland and overseen by Marylanders forever and a day.  Good triumphed over evil – – notwithstanding the fact that Churchill Downs also said they wanted to keep the Preakness event at the newly renovated Pimlico racetrack.

I have no idea if the Governor’s rhetorical gas was the motivation for what was announced earlier this week; you make the call:

• Churchill Downs and the New York Racing Authority (NYRA) announced that they had created “a six-race series for 3-year-olds that will include the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes and award $5 million in bonus money based on a points structure for participation.”  The series would be known as the Thoroughbred Championship Series; it will begin in 2027; AND it does NOT include The Preakness.   Ooops …

The series will start with the Kentucky Derby then comes the Belmont Stakes followed by a stakes race at Churchill then two at Saratoga, and a final race at Churchill in the Fall.  If the Thoroughbred Championship Series catches on, that could well mean the demise of the Triple Crown, and it could leave Pimlico and the Preakness high and dry.  With $5M up for grabs based on “participation” more than a few owners and trainers will commit to some or all the 6 races in the series and just skip the Preakness leaving that race with junior varsity players.

Somehow, I don’t foresee the Maryland Governor standing up and waxing poetically about the running of “Preakness-Lite” anytime soon.

Finally, let me close here with an observation by Lawrence J. Peter that might be applicable to Gianni Infantino and the governor of Maryland:

“It two wrongs don’t make a right, try three.”

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

ESPN has announced Ryan Clark’s replacement on Monday Night Countdown; Jason McCourty will get that assignment along with Scott Van Pelt, Marcus Peters and Jason Kelce.  I have enjoyed McCourty’s work with NFL Network on Good Morning Football; this seems to be a promotion for him in his broadcasting career.  Do not be confused; Jason McCourty is on ESPN and his identical twin brother, Devin McCourty, is on NBC’s Football Night In America.  Get a scorecard to keep all that straight.

Much has been made leading up to the opening of NFL Training Camps about the QB competition in Cleveland.  From a historical perspective, the Browns re-entered the NFL in 1999 and if I have counted correctly, they have started 42 different quarterbacks in the 27 years of this incarnation of the franchise.  The battle for the starting job this year will likely not increase that number because the battle is between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders both of whom have started games for the Browns in previous seasons.  Even the “third guy” hovering around the fringes of that competition, Dillon Gabriel, was a starter for the Browns last year.

The only candidate in Browns’ camp who could be starter #43 would be Taylen Green who was drafted in the 6^th round back in April this year.  He played at Boise St. and Arkansas in his college days.  Green drew attention at the NFL Combine where he broke existing records in the broad jump and the vertical jump; he also was timed at 4.36 seconds in the 40-yard dash which is CB or WR speed.

And speaking of young QBs seeking NFL employment, the Baltimore Ravens released Diego Pavia before they opened their Training Camp.  Remember Pavia led Vanderbilt to football respectability last season and finished second in the Heisman voting to Fernando Mendoza in December.  Mendoza was the overall #1 pick; Pavia went undrafted and signed on with the Ravens at his choosing.  That simply did not work out.

It would seem to me that the NFL is an unlikely employer for Diego Pavia in 2026; whatever “negatives” allowed 32 teams to pass on drafting the Heisman runner-up 7 times each would only seem to be reinforced by the Ravens’ decision to release him before Training Camp began.   So, what options does he have?

• He could emulate Doug Flutie and Warren Moon and go play in the CFL with the idea of generating enough success there to get some interest from other NFL teams.   The current CFL season is almost half over; so, it is not likely that he would get a lot of work this year, but if he signed on now with a team, he might have a chance to be a player/starter there in 2027.
• He could certainly play in the UFL next spring and possibly use his showing there as a résumé builder that could get him an invitation to an NFL Training Camp or to a team in the CFL.

Rejection is not something new to Diego Pavia.  Coming out of high school, he got zero scholarship offers from Division 1 schools and began his college career with 2 years at the New Mexico Military Institute.  From there, he went to New Mexico State for another two seasons – – hardly a perennial powerhouse in collegiate football and then on to two more years at Vandy which is in a Power 4 conference, but it had not been highly competitive there on a consistent basis.  In his two years at Vandy, the Commodores went 17-9.  To put that in perspective, in the five years before Pavia showed up at Vandy, the cumulative team record was 12-45.

Obviously, he can be an effective QB; what he seems to need is a place to showcase his talents on the field against pro level competition.  I am certainly not one of his advisors, but I think the best thing he can do is to sign on now with a CFL team and try to adjust to that game as preparation for a serious campaign for a starting job there in 2027.

Finally, this from Jerry Seinfeld:

“It’s amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper.”

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

In physical chemistry courses, I learned about entropy.  A simple explanation of entropy is that things tend toward chaos/disorder unless energy is added to the system.  That leads to a conclusion that the universe will die an “entropy death” once all its energy is expended; it is a long way off, but it is inevitable.

Over the weekend, there was an occurrence that was about as inevitable – – the LA Dodgers acquired the services of Tarik Skubal in a trade with the Detroit Tigers.  One school of thought on that exchange might be:

• The owners are happy to see the rich get richer because it bolsters their argument that MLB needs a salary cap and floor as its economic system.

On second thought however, I wonder if the owners are capable of executing such an extended time plan.  Normally, I think of MLB owners as people who consider “long range planning” to include such items as to where to have lunch next Tuesday.

Moving on …  The Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL) had its inaugural games over the weekend.  The league has a TV deal with ESPN to stream 30 games plus the league’s playoff games; I do not get ESPN streaming – and this set of games is not sufficient to get me to subscribe – but the connection between ESPN and a new league has to be beneficial to the new league.

Take your mind back about 10 years and recall Mo’ne Davis who is the first girl to pitch a shut out in the Little League World Series.  Well, she is an adult now and she is a member of the LA Queens – – one of four teams in the new WPBL.  The last time there was a women’s pro baseball league in the US was back in 1954; Dwight Eisenhower was in his first term as President then.  To put a baseball timeline on that, the Sacramento/Oakland/Kansas City A’s were still in Philadelphia in 1954.

The new league has 4 teams – – NY Boston, LA and SF – – but it will play all its games this season in Springfield, IL.  That arrangement will save the league a ton of transportation money and give it a chance to build some brand recognition and interest in those home areas.  According to a report I read, Springfield, IL has some historical significance in relation to the WPBL.  Springfield, IL was the home of the first women’s baseball game where fans paid money to get in and see the game; that was in 1875 when Ulysses S. Grant was President and General George Custer was still alive.

Switching gears …  The “Tony Romo OWI Incident” took a turn over the weekend.  Recall last week when I said it would be “AWKWARD” for him and the network to have him doing NFL games in Week 1 and Week 2 when his mandatory court appearance is the day after the Week 2 games.  Well, the folks at CBS must have decided that they could not contort themselves to that degree; so, they have suspended Romo “indefinitely” and have announced that JJ Watt will replace him as the color analyst alongside Jim Nantz at least for now.

Since a first offense for OWI in Wisconsin is a civil matter and can be remedied with a fine and a suspension of a driver’s license, I find the term “indefinitely” a bit strange.  There were no injuries or fatalities involved; it is unlikely that a sordid/steamy civil lawsuit will come out of this incident.  It certainly appears as if everyone will close the book on this matter by the end of September – – so why is the suspension “indefinitely”?

Some folks have concluded that CBS wants to get out from under Romo’s contract which pays him $18M per year over the next 4 years and some folks hint at friction between Jim Nantz and Romo.  I know nothing about any of that stuff, but if the CBS poohbahs have soured on Romo, then that $72M contractual overhang could well be a motivation for them to think about how to wiggle out of it.  If this turns out to be the case, perhaps this story will stretch out well beyond the end of September.

Before anyone asks, I have not seen any announcement of who will step in for JJ Watt on the CBS #2 NFL broadcast team with Ian Eagle.  Charles Davis and Trent Green are the most experienced color analysts in the CBS bullpen and moving either of them would create a vacancy down the line.  I think Davis is the best choice there – – unless CBS can find a way to poach Greg Olsen away from FOX.

Finally, Benjamin Franklin famously said “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes” which seems appropriate for the “Skubal to the Dodgers” item above.  Franklin also said:

“Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”

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