Jason Collins died earlier this week at the age of 47; the cause of death was reported as glioblastoma (brain cancer). He played in the NBA for 13 seasons with the Nets (twice), Grizzlies, Wolves, Hawks, Celtics and Wizards. He was not a “star”; teams were not built around him. His fame and legacy in the NBA are that he was the first active player to openly declare that he was gay. Notwithstanding anyone’s personal view on homosexuality, Jason Collins’ declaration in 2013 was a courageous act.
Rest in peace, Jason Collins.
The winner of the Kentucky Derby will skip the Preakness; there will be no Triple Crown winner in 2026. The trend seems to be that Derby winners are not highly motivated to come back in two weeks to race again in the Preakness. Since 2019, there have been 7 Derby winners and 5 of those 7 winners skipped the Preakness. [Aside: To be fair, one of those Derby winners, Country House, never raced again anywhere after winning the Derby.]
I think the Triple Crown has lost its luster and is on life support and the basis for that lies in thoroughbred breeding practices:
- For the last 40-50 years, breeding has been basked on speed not stamina. It used to be that breeders tried to mix those traits in offspring but now the aim is to breed speed with speed. The result is that horses are not able to race as often as in the past and are not nearly as capable of distance racing.
- Also, simply winning the Derby – or any other Triple Crown race – by itself guarantees the owners at least a decade of elevated stud fees that can only be diminished by an injury or repeated bad performances. So, the bird in hand …
In fact, there were 18 horses running in the Kentucky Derby this year and only three of them have been entered in the Preakness. Those three are:
- Ocelli – – Post Position #2 – – Morning Line Odds 6 to 1
- Robusta – – Post Position # 4 – – Morning Line Odds 30-to 1
- Incredibolt – – Post Position # 12 – – Morning Line Odds 5 to 1
Moving on … The unpleasant thought of seeing “Replacement Refs” in NFL games this year need not reside in your head anymore. The NFL and the NFLRA have agreed to a new CBA with a 7-year duration. I have not seen a full breakdown of the terms anywhere but one of the things that the league was pushing for was greater participation by the officials in the offseason for the purposes of some experience/training during team minicamps and formal Training Camps. The thinking there is that it would improve officiating in real games.
It would be difficult to take a position that “improved officiating in real games” is an unworthy goal; in fact, it is exactly the desire for top-shelf officiating that makes the idea of “Replacement Refs” less than palatable to most NFL fans. So, even though I thoroughly endorse striving to meet that objective, I have to think that the league may be approaching the limits of marginal returns. Consider:
- Even with super-slow replay analysis that goes frame by frame in video coverage from multiple angles, the vast majority of the calls on the field are upheld. The point is that even without replay to confirm it, the calls by NFL officials are usually right.
- Such is clearly NOT the case with other major sports. MLB has a challenge system for balls and strikes and a replay challenge system for other calls. More than a few baseball calls are overturned on review.
- In the NBA – – and college basketball – – there are lots of reviews that are overturned and particularly in the final minutes of games where reviews seemingly take precedence over action on the court, the reviews are endless and often are either modified or overturned.
The Bottom Line is that the NFL officials – – while not nearly perfect – – are already more efficient and effective than their counterparts in the other major sports in the US. Good for the NFL in trying to elevate even those already high levels of officiating, but it must be recognized that there is not a lot of room for improvement.
The new CBA will increase pay for the officials as is always the case with a new CBA. One of the other negotiating points was the duration of the probationary period for new officials. The current CBA had that set at three years; the league wanted to extend that to four years; according to reports it will stay at three years.
Finally, let me close today with this from Jason Collins:
“As all professional athletes know, Father Time is undefeated, and when I wake up in the morning, my back especially lets me know that it’s about time to bow out gracefully, let the young guys in and move to being a full-time fan of the sport.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………