Spleen Venting …

I guess I am just a crochety old man after all.  I am a man and I am old; those two aspects of my being are not in doubt; and boy-oh-boy am I feeling crochety this morning.  I really wish I could revert to my previous status as a basketball official so that I might blow my whistle and hold my open palm over my head and declare violations on selected media members for perpetuating soap operas that have long-since become tedious.  I understand that it is one of the ”slow-times” in the sports calendar and there is space to fill in print and online, but some of the repetitive stuff has gotten older than the green mass of whatever that you might find in the way-back of the bottom shelf of your refrigerator.  It too was once interesting enough to put on the shelf; it has, however, expired.  Consider:

• Will Aaron Rodgers play football next season and if so, where?  The answer here is to wait and see because if there are continuing stories about the factors he may or may not be balancing in making the decision, that will probably delay the process because it allows Rodgers to “stay in the conversation” without doing anything.  Rodgers went into his sensory deprivation chamber for a 4-day meditation and chose to come out after 2 days.  Oooohhh …  What might that mean?  It means he decided after about 48 hours in the dark that he had had enough and he opened the door to the place and came out.  There is little if any news there and there is NO reason at all to use that non-event to rehash all the stories about his positions and his decision-making and all that nonsense.
• Will Jeff Bezos make a bid to buy the Washington Commanders?  When Danny Boy Snyder hired Bank of America to seek potential bidders for the Commanders back in November 2022, Jeff Bezos was identified as one of the possible bidders.  Since then, there have been far too many stories about Bezos and his options without there being any real action on his part or on the part of Bank of America to allow for the reporting of real news.  Just this morning, the Washington Post – – owned by Jeff Bezos – – has a story based on two unnamed sources that Bezos has hired Allen & Co. to “evaluate a possible bid for the Washington Commanders.”  Please hold any further stories until there are facts to report and not whispers from two folks who are “familiar with the situation.”
• Will Danny Boy Snyder actually sell the Commanders?  For about 20 of the last 25 years, the most dangerous spot on Planet Earth was that space between Danny Boy Snyder and a TV camera with a microphone connected to it.  Maybe this is all a ploy by him to stay in the news.  Maybe this is a sign that the other owners and the league office have nudged him to sell the team or face other consequences.  Maybe this is all being controlled by aliens from the Xygork Nebula for their entertainment.  Give this story a break until something factual and tangible happens.
• Will the NBA ever find a way to regulate “load management”?  Of course, it won’t.  This is a league where players dictate where they will play and when they will play and how hard they will play from day-to-day and week-to-week.  So long as that is the modus vivendi of the league, it will not – – because it cannot – – regulate “load management.”  The path toward regulation there will be blazed by fans who may – someday – become sufficiently annoyed and upset by the practice that they make some noises on their own about load management that could have economic impact on revenues and salaries in the league.  Until then …
• Will the new rule changes in MLB result in increased fan interest?  Please …  Just wait until the end of May to begin to try to ascertain what if any effect those rules may have had on the games and secondarily on fan interest.  Speculating on these sorts of subjects before Spring Training games implementing the new rules have even begun is less than useful.  If ever an adage ever applied to a situation, this one cries out for acknowledgement of:

“Patience is a virtue.”

• Will Eric Bieniemy ever get a head-coaching job in the NFL?  LeSean McCoy says Bieniemy was not such a great coach.  Jamal Charles says Bieniemy was very helpful to him.  Andy Reid says Bieniemy deserves a head-coaching job.  And overlaying it all is the fact that Eric Bieniemy is a Black man.  You know what?  This question may resolve itself just like the others as Bieniemy now has an OC position out of the shadow of Andy Reid where he might offer up some evidence as to his worthiness of such a job.
• Will “Coach Prime” change Colorado football?  Of course he will – – because he already has.  No one has cared about Colorado recruiting or Colorado media events for about 25 years and this year the attention has been white hot.  Last year, Colorado was the worst team in Division 1-A college football; that is not a high bar for “Coach Prime” to surmount in order to show improvement on the field, but the fact remains that he has already changed Colorado football significantly and it will likely continue in that spotlight mode so long as “Coach Prime” remains at Colorado.  Oooohhh …  If Colorado starts winning, where will be the next “landing spot” for “Coach Prime?”

Finally, let me close today with an appropriate definition from The Official Dictionary of Sarcasm:

“Patient:  The quality of being calm and tolerant during a maddingly frustrating time.  Hardly a surprise then, that this term is also used to describe people in society who are unfortunate enough to require medical attention.”

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