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 627th rerun of Miracle on 34th 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………