Month: August 2026

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………