Today is the day for me to spruce up my clipboard and get a bunch of “small stuff” off of there. I’ll start with what I think is a somber note.
Bob Costas is leaving NBC after 40 years with the network. Over the past year or so, his on-air assignments at NBC had been reduced significantly. During his 40-year tenure at NBC, Costas had been a mainstay in their coverage of MLB, the NFL, college basketball, the Olympics – you get the idea. He was not assigned to be the anchor for the Winter Games in Korea last year and he was not involved in the post-game commentary for Sunday Night Football in the season that just ended for NBC. I have exactly no inside information here, but it surely appears to me from afar that this parting of the ways is less than fully amicable. Would that it were not so…
Bob Costas was and remains an outstanding broadcaster at the game and in the studio. According to reports, he will continue to do MLB games on MLB Network – and I hope those reports are correct. Bob Costas teamed with John Smoltz in the booth for a baseball game is an enjoyable experience.
Bonne chance, Bob Costas…
There is a lot of sturm und drang out there today regarding the optimal choice for Kyler Murray’s athletic future. Should he stick with baseball where he is drafted and signed to a minor league deal with the Oakland A’s that is reportedly worth $5M? Or, should he parlay his Heisman Trophy season at Oklahoma into a career in the NFL? This topic is pure gold for sports radio and for the “debate shows” on networks like ESPN and/or FS1; the capacity for emoting on the air is most generous. I will try to “weigh in” here in a more measured way:
- Yes, Kyler Murray is shorter than the “prototype NFL QB”; he is listed at 5” 11” and 194 lbs. And my reaction to that is,” So what?” Consider that Russell Wilson, Drew Brees and Michael Vick are all “short guys” while Brock Osweiler is 6’ 8” and Blake Bortles is 6’ 5”. Size does not matter here – – so long as the other skills are present. Would anyone prefer Osweiler or Bortles over any of the “short guys” here?
- The only reason this is even an interesting topic for discussion is that Murray is a QB that could be taken early in the first round of the NFL Draft. If he were a cornerback or an offensive tackle, there is no discussion. If he were a QB who looked to be drafted in the 5th round as a developmental project, there is no discussion.
- The economic issue here is simple. MLB players – on average – have much longer careers than do NFL players. However, it might take a baseball players 3-5 years riding buses in the Eastern League to make it to the major leagues where the real earning power begins. For an NFL QB taken early in the draft, the near-term money is much greater. Consider Carson Wentz’ contract with the Eagles. His signing bonus was $17.6M; the total value in the first 4 years is $26.7M; there is a 5th year option held by the Eagles that would pay Wentz north of $20M in his 5th season.
Kyler Murray needs an agent who has the contacts in the NFL to get a realistic assessment of where Murray will be taken in the April draft if he stays in that draft. If he is a Top 5 or even a Top 15 pick, I think he should play football. If he is going to be a 3rd round pick, he should bank his $5M from the Oakland A’s and work on his baseball skills. I don’t think there is a lot to emote about here.
In social news related to the sports world, reports say that Tim Tebow is engaged to the woman who won the Miss Universe pageant in 2017. If a date has been set, I have not seen it. However, I do think that the engagement itself is a milestone:
- Tim Tebow actually completed a pass here.
Do you realize that the NBA regular season is half-over? The league has staged about 750 games this year; how many did you really care about enough to make them “appointment viewing”? Forget that criterion, how many did you really care about? Sometime in early March, the NBA will become interesting as teams bunched around the cut line for the playoffs take every game seriously trying to get into the playoffs while teams comfortably there, jockey for seeding in the playoffs. Until then … carry on.
There are some interesting things to see in the NBA standings – not interesting enough to get me to follow things closely, mind you – but interesting. Some teams this year have taken “home court advantage” very seriously:
- Sixers are 19-4 at home and only 10-12 on the road.
- Celtics are 15-5 at home and only 10-13 on the road.
- Hornets are 14-8 at home and only 6-15 on the road.
- Wizards are 13-8 at home and only 5-18 on the road.
- Nuggets are 18-4 at home and only 11-10 on the road.
- Thunder are `14-6 at home and only 12-11 on the road.
- Blazers are 18-7 at home and only 8-12 on the road.
- Spurs are 18-6 at home and only 7-14 on the road.
- T-Wolves are 15-7 at home and only 6-16 on the road.
- Pelicans are 15-6 at home and 6-17 on the road.
- Mavs are 16-5 at home and 4-18 on the road.
There you have 11 teams – – 37% of the league – – with highly unbalanced home and away records. Considering that, there is one team that has a slightly better road record than a home record as of this morning. You will probably not be gobsmacked to learn that team is the New York Knickerbockers. They are 4-14 at home and 6-19 on the road. The Knicks stink no matter where they play – – but they are slightly more odiferous in Madison Square Garden.
Finally, Dwight Perry had this item in the Seattle Times about another wedding proposal related to the sports world:
“A man proposed to his girlfriend when she hit the 16-mile mark while running her first New York City Marathon.
“He would’ve done it at 15, but he wanted her to go the extra mile.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………
Let’d not forget that if Murray plays baseball he will be able to remember his mother’s name at age 40. If football, maybe not.
david:
That is certainly a consideration too. However, Murray grew up as a two-sport athlete in Texas – where football is a really big deal. Darrell Royal once said that the biggest sport in Texas is football and the second biggest is Spring football. That too may enter into his decision making process.