Odds And Ends …

The recent kerfuffle in the Washington Commanders’ training camp regarding some offensive players not taking kindly to Eric Bienemy’s tough love coaching style seems to have faded into the background.  Just as a reset, several players went over Bienemy’s head to coach Ron Rivera and complained about his coaching style/method.  At first, it seemed as if Rivera sided with the players a bit but then he clarified his position that everyone needs to focus on team objectives and not personalities.  Amid the confusion, several of Bienemy’s former players rose to his defense saying his coaching tactics had made them better at what they do.  Local media here who cover the team in training camp have characterized Bienemy and his coaching style as “intense” and “direct”.

This is probably a tempest in a teapot, but I think there might be a nugget of information here to explain a seemingly unrelated matter:

• Eric Bienemy has been the media darling among NFL coordinators who are candidates for head coaching jobs – – but he never seems to get one of the open jobs.
• The narrative that results from that situation is that race is the reason for Bienemy’s rejections.

Not being privy to any of the interviews or hiring deliberations involved there, let me say that racism may indeed be front and center here.  But maybe there are other factors too.  The average NFL owner who is going to make the final call in most circumstances regarding who will be the team’s head coach is a billionaire who has spent a lot of his life giving direction and not taking direction.  So, if Eric Bienemy approaches his coaching interviews with a style that might be described as “intense” or “direct”, might that be off-putting to the billionaire owner who is used to being on the delivery end of such discussions and not the receiving end.

I said I don’t know why Bienemy has never gotten the nod as a head coach, but this little training camp kerfuffle makes me wonder if the cries of “racism” might be overly simplistic.

One other element comes to my mind when I think about this supposed unrest among offensive players on the Commanders:

• If players think Bienemy is “too tough” on them in camp, what does that say about the previous Offensive Coordinator(s) for the Commanders given that the team averaged less than 19 points per game last year?

Switching gears …  Losing CFL football games continues to haunt the Edmonton Elks.  As of this morning the Elks record in 2023 is 0-9 and the average margin of defeat has been 12.9 points.  Stretching back to last season, the Elks have lost 13 games in a row and their losing streak in home games is a staggering 22 consecutive losses at home.  The last home victory for the Elks was on October 12, 2019.  That losing streak at home is worse than any comparable streak in the NFL.

However, the Edmonton Elks have a long way to go if they are to challenge the NFL record for consecutive games lost.  Remember, the Elks’ current losing streak stands at 13 games which does not begin to match either of these examples of futility:

1. The expansion Tampa Bay Bucs lost their first 26 games in a row in 1976-77.  That is the longest NFL losing streak since the NFL/AFL merger.
2. The Chicago Cardinals lost 29 consecutive regular season games between 1942 and 1945.

This might be a difficult stretch for Elks’ fans, but they have a long way to go to challenge the two levels of ignominy that the NFL can put forth.  And changes are already happening in Edmonton.  News this week is that the team’s Board of Directors fired the team president and CEO who had been on the job since January 2022.  The spin is that this action was taken because the team wanted to move in a different direction and the outgoing CEO says he wants time to focus on his family.  Elks’ fans would like the team to focus on winning a few games …

Next up …  The Baltimore Orioles are a great on-field story in 2023.  On Opening Day, they had the 29^th highest payroll in MLB; remember, there are only 30 teams in MLB.  Notwithstanding that frugality, as of this morning, the O’s have the best record in the American League (74-46) and are second only to the Atlanta Braves in all of MLB.  The team is young, it is very good, the players are enthusiastic; it is fun to watch the Orioles.

Off the field, the Orioles are a strange entity.  We saw the business of play-by-play announcer, Kevin Brown, disappearing for two weeks only to return as if he never missed a beat.  And then I read a report that was even stranger:

“The Baltimore Orioles’ lease that would allow them to stay at Camden Yards is set to expire at the end of the year. Despite optimism, negotiations to renew the lease aren’t moving as swiftly as some hoped, causing some concern for state officials and frustration for fans.”

Camden Yards was built by the State of Maryland and has been the home of the Orioles since 1992. Camden Yards represented the change in baseball venues away from the multi-sports stadiums like Shea and the Vet and Three Rivers; I doubt that too many folks lament those losses.  Yes, Camden Yards can use some upgrades and the Governor has said that is in the cards, but somehow all this business has come down to some brinksmanship with the expiration date looming.

If there is another baseball facility anywhere near Baltimore where a MLB team might consider playing its home schedule in 2024, I do not know where that facility is hiding.

Finally, let me close with this observation by the Israeli statesman, Abba Eban, and hope it applies to the Orioles/Camden Yards situation:

“Men and women do behave wisely, once all other alternatives have been exhausted.”

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