Category: Daily Rants

Claude Lemieux died yesterday at the age of 60 in an apparent suicide.  He was part of four Stanley Cup Champion teams; he also won the Conn Smythe Trophy – – the Stanley Cup MVP award – – in 1995.  His style of play might have been described as “aggressive”, but that may have been an understatement.

Rest in peace, Claude Lemieux.

In a small note in what is left of the Washington Post sports section this morning, it says that the NBA draft lottery will undergo “major changes”.  The Post seems to be catching up with others in the sports world here; the “major change” is one reported as the leading contender to further the NBA’s objective of canceling out tanking for draft picks.  Here is the new draft lottery system that will go into effect at the end of next year’s regular season:

• The Draft will now encompass 16 teams – – the ten that miss the playoffs entirely plus the teams that lose out in the play-in round.
• The three worst teams will have a 5.4% chance of getting the top pick
• The fourth through tenth teams will have an 8.1% chance at the top pick
• The eleventh through sixteenth teams will have a 4.5% chance at the top pick.

The NBA Board of Governors voted 29-1 to adopt this system; the lone negative vote came from the Memphis Grizzlies.

There are wrinkles in what seems to be a simple – – and perhaps simple-minded – – change here.  According to SI.com such as this one:

“The league will have expanded disciplinary authority to address tanking, including the ability to reduce teams’ lottery odds, modify teams’ draft positions and impose significant fines on offending teams.”

If I read that correctly that translates to Commissioner Adam Silver now having the authority to mete out punishments to teams when he sees situations that he defines as “tanking”.  If that is the case, there could be some interesting fallout down the line.  There are also provisions disallowing a team from drafting in the Top 5 three years in a row.  So, the randomness of the ping pong balls is considered insufficient to determine draft order?  My head hurts …

Moving on …  In the English Premier League, they do not have a draft to assist the bottom three teams; in the EPL, they relegate those teams down to a lower-level league – – called the Championship.  This year, the final relegation team was determined on the final day of the season.  Burnley and Wolves were both sure to be relegated but it took a win by the Tottenham Hotspurs in the final game to keep them in the EPL and send West Ham down to the Championship.

The EPL has an interesting way of determining which three teams will replace the relegated squads in the EPL.  The top two finishers in the Championship are automatically promoted but the third slot is given to the winner of a mini-tournament involving the third place through sixth place finishers in the Championship.  This year, Coventry City and Ipswich Town were automatic promotees; Hull City finished sixth in the Championship but won that mini-playoff and will be in the EPL starting in the Fall.

Switching gears …  I just learned that AJ Bown and DK Metcalf were teammates at Ole Miss.  Both WRs were there for three years from 2016-2018.  The Rebels’ record in those three seasons was a cumulative 16-20 with no bowl appearances.  The two questions floating around in my mind now is:

1. How did those teams not score 40+ points per game?
2. How did college defenders cover both of those WRs at the same time?

Finally, words of wisdom from Warren Buffet:

“When a management with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics, it is the reputation of the business that remains intact.”

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

 

 

There are two pieces of good news regarding college football this morning.  I know; I was shocked to see that too.

First, the SEC’s Athletic directors voted to have all conference members play conference games on the next-to-last weekend of the regular season starting in 2027.  That simple act gets rid of what had come to be known as “Cupcake Weekend”.  To give you a flavor of what will not happen, here are just a couple of the matchups scheduled by SEC Schools for “Cupcake Weekend” last year:

• Eastern Illinois 0         Alabama 56
• UNC-Charlotte 3         Georgia 35
• Samford 0                   Texas A&M 48
• Mercer 17                    Auburn 62

I for one will not miss these mismatches which are nothing but glorified scrimmages for SEC schools.  Yes, I know that SEC teams face big-time rivals in the final weekend of the season, but these “breathers” leading into the season ending games had become embarrassing at best.  Naturally, there are always folks who will find fault with any change.  Some argue that the season is long and arduous and these cupcake games are better than a BYE Week.  Others say – correctly – that the big schools pay the little guys at least six figures to come and take a shellacking.  Those “paydays” are important for the little guys to be able to fund their meager football programs and now those payday opportunities will become harder to find.

Forget the naysayers; this is beneficial to college football and to college football fans.

The second piece of good news comes from a surprising source – – the Congress of the United States.  According to reports, a bill has been introduced in Congress to provide a partial shield for college football and the NCAA from anti-trust litigation.  Congress has been urged to legislate on this issue for several  years now but never got anything introduced; that fact alone makes this announcement a surprise.  Moreover, the two sponsors of the bill – – Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) – – probably would not agree that Tuesday came after Monday earlier this week let alone on a new piece of legislation.  And yet, here we are …

As introduced, the bill would allow college football as an “industry” to write rules involving college eligibility and transfer rules without being subject to litigation by players.  Those rules – plus the ability to enforce them without a court intervention – is something that the schools and the NCAA have wanted and needed in recent times.  Some possible rules could now limit players to one transfer per college career and there could be age-based rules related to eligibility as well.

According to reports, the Cruz-Cantwell bill also puts a hard cap on player compensation.  It seems to me that this will be highly controversial and hugely difficult to enforce.  But if a “level playing field” is worth pursuing, then some sort of leveling needs to happen regarding the amount of money to be spent on amassing a roster.

Also in the recently introduced bill is something that has been named the “Lane Kiffin Rule”.  It would put limits on what a school might do related to poaching a coach whose team is still playing.  Once again, this is a good rule and a noble undertaking, but I don’t see how it might be enforced.

Here are a couple of other provisions of this bill:

• Federal oversight and transparency standards for all NIL deals
• Standardization of activities of boosters, booster collectives and player agents
• Making NIL deals represent “fair market value”

Can the Congress deal with this sort of a matter?  Well, the bill has been endorsed by schools and conferences in lots of states meaning there could be some grassroots pressure applied here.  However, there is still at least one fly in the ointment:

• Neither the SEC Commissioner nor the Big-10 Commissioner has formally endorsed the bill.

Finally, an interesting perspective from comedian Ron White:

“I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade… And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka and have a party.”

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

 

 

The NY Knicks just swept the Cleveland Cavaliers out of the Eastern Conference playoffs last night by winning their eleventh consecutive playoff game.  They closed out the Atlanta Hawks with three straight wins; then they swept the Philly 76ers and now the Cavs.  The Knicks will be in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999 and if they can win it all, it will be the first championship for the Knicks since the days of Willis Reed in 1973.  Karl-Anthony Towns led the way last night with 19 points and 14 rebounds as the outcome was never in doubt; the Knicks won on cruise control by 37 points.

That sweep gives the Knicks about a week to rest and recuperate before the NBA Finals begin June 3rd; they will take on the winner of the Thunder/Spurs series ongoing out West.  As of this morning, that series is tied two games apiece; that Western Conference winner will have home court advantage in the Finals based on regular season records.

Landry Shamet comes off the bench for the Knicks; his NBA career has had him in that role for the last 7 seasons.  His contributions in these playoffs have been highly productive to say the least; Shamet has tried 12 three-point shots and has made 11 of them.  Not shabby at all …

However, the player who makes most of this happen for the Knicks is Jalen Brunson.  When they need him to score; he scores.  When they need him to control the game; he controls the game.  The only thing he does not do is play “lights-out defense” which is something the Knicks can adjust to with other solid defenders like Josh Hart and OG Anunoby.  The Knicks will be underdogs in the Finals but unless they use this week off to go on a six-day bender, they should make the Finals more than just interesting.

Moving on …  While the Knicks provide a positive note to sports news this morning, there is also an ongoing saga that is less than rosy.  Brendan Sorsby is a college football QB who played at Indiana and Cincinnati before transferring to Texas Tech for the upcoming season.  However, after signing on with the Red Raiders, Sorsby took an “indefinite leave of absence” to undergo a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction.  He has had his eligibility suspended by the NCAA because he allegedly bet on his own Indiana team back when he was in Bloomington.

Sorsby is suing the NCAA in a Texas court to regain his eligibility.  From what I have read about this, a key element in his pleading is that his bets on Indiana football happened in 2022 and the NCAA rules on gambling did not go into effect until 2023.  Please do not take that statement above to be irrefutably accurate; that is an amateurish conclusion drawn from a variety of reports on the situation.  The hearing on this matter is scheduled for June 1^st.

I understand the concept of people not being subject to ex post facto laws and regulations and I think that is an important conceptual basis for much of American justice.  At the same time, I also think that a sentient and intelligent player has known from a very early age that you do not bet on game in which you will participate – – even if from the sidelines.  I do not envy the judge in this matter.

If Brendan Sorsby regains his eligibility, he is expected to be a highly ranked starting QB next year in college football.  He was ranked as one of the top four or five transfers in all of college football this season and with Texas Tech coming off an appearance in the CFP last year, he should get plenty of visibility by pro scouts.  That is the upside for him.

If Sorsby fails to regain eligibility, he could declare for the NFL Supplemental Draft.  That process is not like the Draft that you may have seen on TV last month; here is a thumbnail sketch of how it works:

• First, he would have to apply to the NFL who would then review the circumstances that led to his loss of college eligibility.
• The NFL’s acceptance of his application is not a certainty and given that the issue here is “gambling”, the NFL might be very conservative in its ruling.
• Assuming the NFL accepts his worthiness for a Supplemental Draft, the league then holds a weighted lottery to determine a “draft order” for the Supplemental.
• Each team would then enter a silent auction for Brendan Sorsby – – and/or any other players accepted into a year’s Supplemental Draft.
• Each team bids what round they might offer up to get Brandan Sorsty.  The highest bid gets him and forfeits that round’s draft pick next year.
• If two teams bid the same round, then the team with the higher pick in the Supplemental Draft gets Branden Sorsby.

Even assuming he is accepted by the league and then drafted by a team betting on the come, this set of events could wind up costing Brendan Sorsby millions of dollars having nothing to do with losing bets.  If teams are wary of a young QB who has already been involved in “off-field issues”, they might only take him with a 6^th or 7^th round pick where he might be a 1^st or 2^nd round pick if he plays out the next season and comes to the NFL with a clean “rep sheet”.  The difference in the worth of the first four-year contract between a high round pick and a 7^th round pick is millions of dollars.

Finally, here is comment from Tim Donaghy that seems appropriate today:

“I got caught up with gambling at the golf course, the backroom card games at the casinos with buddies there, and eventually betting on sporting events. I think it became a situation where I got consumed by it and loved every minute of it.”

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

 

 

Last week, the MLB owners and the MLBPA representatives met formally for the first time to kick off negotiations for a new CBA; the current CBA ceases to exist after 11:59PM on December 1, 2026.  I doubt that this was a serious bargaining session; rather, I suspect it was time for all the parties involved to introduce themselves to all the other participants and for both sides to set forth the rectitude of their bargaining position(s).

Everyone agrees that the owners’ push for a salary cap will be THE issue in all these talks, and I agree it will be the centerpiece until it is either included in the new agreement, or it is shelved as unattainable.  On this one issue, I am firmly associated with the owners; I believe a salary cap – – AND a salary floor – – will increase parity in MLB and will force some of the parsimonious owners to open up their wallets a bit.

I suspect that the owners would love a cap without a floor, and I suspect that such a structure is not going to happen.  I believe it was Don Imus who described some unlikely political outcome in this way:

• I’ll see Tupac Shakur riding a unicorn down Fifth Avenue before I see – – whatever it was.

Regarding the next CBA containing a salary cap with no salary floor, I suspect that Tupac and his mount would be joined by Cleopatra paying her respects to Lady Godiva riding naked on a mastodon in this unlikely promenade.   At first blush, one might think that the push for a salary cap is simply a means to control team salary costs and that would certainly be the case.  However, I think there is a more subtle reason at work here:

• A salary cap – – with or without a salary floor – – allows for the major expenditure of the ball club to be projected accurately and that would make each franchise more valuable at the time of a sale.
• After all, this is all about money and very little else.

Another reason for the owners to want to have the ability to project costs well is that MLB’s national TV rights deals expire after the 2028 season.  So, I expect the owners to push hard for a cap just as I expect the union to tell them to stick that in their ear(s).

Whenever there are CBA negotiations in sports, I like to point out that at some point the two sides need to recognize that they are partners in an enterprise that brings in a ton of money.  Neither side would be arguing over how to share billions of dollars of revenue without the other side doing its part.

In the past couple of seasons, MLB and the union came together to implement several rule changes that have made baseball a more enjoyable fan product.  When they did that cooperatively, it increased the revenue streams for MLB and added to the monies that now need to be shared by the two sides.  Many pessimists believe there will be no new CBA by December 1^st and that there could well be a “work stoppage” – – either a lockout or a strike – – that could eat into the 2027 regular season.  The fringe element of the pessimists has opined that the entire 2027 season might be sacrificed to the acrimony of the negotiations.  Do not count me as a “fringe pessimist”; I agree that a new CBA may not be signed, sealed and delivered by December 1^st, but I believe there will be MLB in 2027.

At some point, cooler heads on both sides will likely emerge to point out that the last time there was a “work stoppage” and the 1994 season was halted in August, fans were unhappy with both sides, and it took several years to regain fan interest. These folks cannot be dumb enough to do that again … right?

Moving on …  Earlier this week, I said that the Knicks and Cavaliers would need to spark interest in their Eastern Conference Finals given the great start the Spurs and Thunder presented in their first game of the Western Conference Finals.  And perfectly on cue, the Knicks/Cavs Game 1 provided an abundance of interest.  Here is the deal:

• The Cavs were up by 22 points late in the third quarter; the crowd was dead and the Knicks looked lifeless.
• Jalen Brunson has always been “streaky”, and he proceeded to go on a tear in the fourth quarter.
• The Knicks tied the game; sent it to OT and proceeded to win by 11 points.

Frankly, I think this was a coaching blunder by the Cavs staff.  When Brunson is on one of his streaks, he is a difficult matchup for the best defenders in the league.  The Cavs had James Harden guarding Brunson for the fourth quarter and Harden is not an elite defender by any measure.  The Cavs did not need Harden’s offense in the fourth quarter up by 22 points; they needed someone to slow down Jalen Brunson – – and they did not do that.

Finally, this from Jerry Seinfeld:

“I am so busy doing nothing… that the idea of doing anything – which as you know, always leads to something – cuts into the nothing and then forces me to have to drop everything.”

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

 

 

I and many others have invoked the Aesop’s Fable about the goose that laid the golden eggs when commenting on the expansion of playoff fields in college football and basketball.  [Aside: Unlike many others, I do not think the king was necessarily greedy in killing that goose; I think he demonstrated impatience more than greed.  But that is for another rant on another day…]  However, over the past several days, I seem to have mellowed in my sentiments on such expansions.  Perhaps the explanation for that mellowing comes from an illustrative answer to a simple question:

• Question: What is the difference between an optimist and a pessimist?
• Answer:  Put a pessimistic child in a room full of horse shit neck high and the child will just stand their and bemoan his fate.  Put an optimistic child in the same room and he will furiously dig around in the muck because he is sure there must be a pony somewhere in the mess.

            So, might there be “a pony” somewhere in the rush to expand college football and basketball playoffs?  Let me look at the CFP first.  In 2025, there were twelve teams in the playoff field and two of them were from “lesser conferences”.  Those “lesser conference” slots are sort of like legacy pledges at a college fraternity like Flounder in Animal House.  Everyone knows you really don’t want them in the group, but you have to accept that they are going to be there.

The other ten teams were strong ones; in fact, the team seeded 10^th in the field (Miami) made it to the championship game and acquitted themselves even while losing that final game.  There were no “pretenders” in the CFP field save for those “legacy pledges”.

So, what might have been the case if the CFP field had been expanded to 24 teams as has been suggested by various folks including the college coaches themselves?  Here are the final rankings of the CFP Selection Committee from last year listed from #11 through #24

• Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-2)
• BYU Cougars (11-2)
• Texas Longhorns (9-3)
• Vanderbilt Commodores (10-2)
• Utah Utes (10-2)
• USC Trojans (9-3)
• Arizona Wildcats (9-3)
• Michigan Wolverines (9-3)
• Virginia Cavaliers (10-3)
• Tulane Green Wave (11-2)
• Houston Cougars (9-3)
• Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-3)
• Iowa Hawkeyes (8-4)
• James Madison Dukes (12-1)

The two “legacies” are still in the field (Tulane and James Madison) but look at the records of the other teams that would have been part of the CFP.  The tournament has pretty much exhausted all the teams from the Power Conferences that won 9 or more games.  And what does that leave for the myriad bowl games to pick and choose from.  Some of the matches in minor bowl games are uninteresting even when those teams ranked from #11 through #24 might be available for an invitation, but what might be left for games such as:

• Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
• Bush’s Boca Raton Bowl of Beans
• Salute to Veterans Bowl

The answer is that some minor bowl games – – the three above are not the only examples I could cite here – – might not be able to put together a match that would draw a crowd of more than 8-10 thousand fans or a TV audience twice the size of a 3:00 AM infomercial for the Flex-Seal Family of products.  And if that is the case, maybe some minor bowl games will cease to exist – – and that might be “a pony”.

In college basketball, they have already decided to expand the March Madness field from 68 to 76 teams.  That is already too many, but deal with it as a fact.  I believe that the toothpaste is out of the tube and won’t be going back in on expansion; so, one of these years, to avert criticism about elitism and chasing a few more TV dollars, March Madness will expand to 96 teams.  It would only require one more week of tournament play for that to happen; teams seeded #`1 through #32 would get a bye and the other 64 teams would engage in “play-in games”.  Those 32 play-in games could be done as one more extended weekend of Thursday-thru-Sunday scheduling with 8 games per day.

So, where would that leave the NIT and the College Basketball Crown (CBC) if the “best 96 teams” were otherwise engaged in March Madness?  [Aside: Without Googling, which team won the College Basketball Crown Tournament last year?]  Now imagine if all the teams invited to the CBC last year were unavailable and the organizers had to dig deeper.  Or maybe the NIT and the CBC would fade into memory like the passenger pigeon.  There’s another “pony” …

Finally, comedienne, Rita Rudner, closes out today’s rant

“I had the worst birthday party ever when I was a child because my parents hired a pony to give rides. And these ponies are never in good health. But this one dropped dead. It just wasn’t much fun after that. One kid would sit on him and the rest of us would drag him around.”

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

 

 

The NBA semi-finals are set and last night the Western Conference series opened.  It was a double overtime game that saw the Spurs take the lead over the defending champion Thunder.  Wemby dominated; there aren’t a lot of alternative descriptions that apply there.  Here are some of his stats from last night; remember, he is only 22 years old:

• 41 points, 24 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and 3 assists

Notwithstanding that performance, it still took double OT to beat the Thunder.  This should be a great series, and it sort of demands that the Knicks and Cavs in the East provide some drama in their games lest they become an afterthought here.

Moving on …  In 2020, Tom Brady left the Pats and signed with the Bucs.  He spent 3 seasons in Tampa amassing 37 wins there including 5 wins in the NFL playoffs.  He retired after the 2022 season and did not make any dramatic returns to the field on Sundays – or any other day of the week for that matter.

Brady’s career intertwined with the NY Jets.  Remember, the injury to Drew Bledsoe that put Brady on the field for the first time was inflicted by a Jets’ linebacker.  Over the course of his career, Brady’s record as a starting QB against the Jets was 31-8 (including playoff games).

The Jets have played 6 full seasons since 2020 when Brady decamped for Tampa.  While Brady started and won 37 games, the Jets total wins for the 6 seasons stands at 28 games.  In a sense, Tom Brady continued to dominate the NY Jets even after he left the AFC East.

Switching gears …  Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens are two of the greatest pitchers in MLB history; I don’t anticipate any serious pushback there.  Their careers overlapped for 10 seasons in the 1980s and early 90s.  Both Ryan and Clemens were strikeout pitchers.

• Ryan played for 27 years in MLB and averaged 246 strikeouts per 162 games
• Clemens played for 24 years in MLB and averaged 224 strikeouts per 162 games
• Ryan had the most career strikeouts in MLB history at 5714
• Clemens ranks third in career strikeouts in MLB history at 4672

Interestingly, there is a great asymmetry in their career statistics:

• Ryan: He threw SEVEN no-hitters and won ZERO Cy Young Awards
• Clemens: He threw ZERO no-hitters and won SEVEN Cy Young Awards.

Next up …  I want to take a synoptic view of Ted Williams’ accomplishments over the period 1939 – 1953.

• 1939: Williams is 20 years old in his rookie season and hits .347 with an OPS of 1.045
• 1941: Williams hits .406 with an OPS of 1.287
• 1942: Williams hits .356 with an OPS of 1.147
• 1943 – 1945:  Williams is in the US Marine Corps as a pilot instructor
• 1946: Williams hits .342 with an OPS of 1.164 and wins the MVP Award
• 1947: Williams hits .342 with an OPS of 1.133 and wins the Triple Crown
• 1948 – 1951:  Williams’ WORST year saw him hit .317 with an OPS of 1.099
• 1952-1953: Williams is a combat pilot in the Korean War flying 39 combat missions

 Finally, I’ll leave you today with these words from Groucho Marx:

“Well, Art is Art, isn’t it? Still, on the other hand, water is water. And east is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now you tell me what you know.”

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

 

 

Taking a cue from President Gerald Ford’s Inaugural Address:

“Our long national nightmare is over.”

President Ford was referring to the Watergate scandal that had stained the presidency; today I am referring to the fact that we now know that Aaron Rodgers signed his deal with the  Steelers and we don’t have to tolerate any more speculation about his plans for the Fall and Winter of 2026.

Moving on …  About a week ago, I noted that the Washington Wizards had won the NBA Draft Lottery and had the first pick.  In a conversation with a friend late last week, he asked if I thought the Wizards could screw it all up as has been their wont for the last several decades.  My answer to him was that there were at least four and maybe six future quality players at the top of the Draft, so it would be difficult to screw it up badly.  And then, over the weekend, I recalled the drafting fiasco of the Sixers when they were in their infamous “Process” to tank a few seasons and accumulate a team of young star players that would dominate for a long time.  As is evident, that did not quite work out as planned.

So, over the weekend, I went back 30 years and looked at the players taken #1 overall in the NBA Draft and how they fared in the pros.

I have 5 categories for the 30 players taken in the Draft slot as defined by me here:

1. Hall of Fame: Players who are already in the HoF or who will be when they are sufficiently retired.  (6 players in this category)
2. Stars: Players who stand out in the NBA, but it is still way too soon to consider them for the HoF. (5 players in this category)
3. Good not Great: Players who are just that – – good but not great. (9 players in this category)
4. Meh!: Players who bounced around for a while spreading mediocrity wherever they went. (4 players in this category)
5. Bust: Players who never came close to living up to this Draft status. (6 players in this category)

Here are the results:

• 1996 – Allen Iverson – Hall of Fame
• 1997 – Tim Duncan – Hall of Fame
• 1998 – Michael Olowokandi – Meh!
• 1999 – Elton Brand – Good not great
• 2000 – Kenyon Martin – Good not great
• 2001 – Kwame Brown – Bust
• 2002 – Yao Ming – Hall of Fame
• 2003 – LeBron James – Hall of Fame when eligible
• 2004 – Dwight Howard – Hall of Fame
• 2005 – Andrew Bogut – Good not great
• 2006 – Andrea Bargnani – Meh!
• 2007 – Greg Oden – Bust (Injuries)
• 2008 – Derrick Rose – Good not great (Injuries)
• 2009 – Blake Griffin – Good not great
• 2010 – John Wall – Good not great
• 2011 – Kyrie Irving – Hall of Fame when eligible
• 2012 – Anthony Davis – Good not great
• 2013 – Anthony Bennett – Bust
• 2014 – Andrew Wiggins – Meh!
• 2015 – Karl-Anthony Towns – Good not great
• 2016 – Ben Simmons – Bust
• 2017 – Markelle Fultz – Bust
• 2018 – Deandre Ayton – Bust
• 2019 – Zion Williamson – Good not great (Injuries)
• 2020 – Anthony Edwards – Star
• 2021 – Cade Cunningham – Star
• 2022 – Paolo Banchero – Star
• 2023 – Wemby – Star
• 2024 – Zaccharie Risacher – Meh!
• 2025 – Cooper Flagg – Star

So, maybe I need to revise my thinking a bit.  Over the last 30 years, the folks orchestrating the NBA Draft took 9 players who were mediocre to a bust; that is almost one in three such selections.  So, maybe the Wizards can find a way to “screw this up” on Draft Day …

Finally, this from author and entrepreneur, Jason Fried:

“Hiring people is like making friends. Pick good ones, and they’ll enrich your life. Make bad choices, and they’ll bring you down.”

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

 

 

From the time of the NFL Draft at the end of April until OTAs in early June, there used to be a six-week “dark period” for the NFL; nothing was going on; the league was relegated to interior pages in the sports section.  Then, the NFL managed to take a trivial matter and turn it into a big deal news release; I am talking about the release of the schedule for next season.  Understand that the NFL schedule is formulaic; everyone who cared to know would have been able to know all the opponents for every team 24 hours after the conclusion of the Super Bowl in February.

You could have known all your favorite team’s opponents then; what you could not know until this week was the order in which they would play those opponents.  And yet, this has become an annual “event” as is everything related to the NFL.  There are 272 regular season games; the majority of them will take place on Sunday afternoons; for the purposes of making “schedule revelation” a big deal those games are for the most part ignored in favor of specially placed games either by time slot or by international location.

So, here are some overview comments about the NFL schedule for the 2026 regular season:

• Week 1 will be a big deal as it usually is.  The league will have an additional unique time game this year because it scheduled a Week 1 game in Australia.

Wed Nite: Pats/Seahawks (Super Bowl rematch)

Thurs Nite: Rams/Niners (Netflix from Australia)

Sun Nite: Cowboys/Giants

Mon Nite: Broncos/Chiefs

• Thanksgiving week has also expanded this year; there will be a game on “Thanksgiving Eve” so if you are stuck in traffic on that terrible travel day, there will be a game to listen to while you are crawling at 3 mph on the Interstate.

Wed Nite: Packers/Rams (Netflix)

Thurs Noon: Bears/Lions

Thurs Afternoon: Cowboys/Eagles

Thurs Nite: Bills/Chiefs

Fri Afternoon: Broncos/Steelers (Amazon Prime Video)

• Christmas falls on a Friday this year; that provides the NFL with another expanded weekend of games on TV – – and the NFL did not drop the ball.

Thurs Nite (Christmas Eve): Texans/Eagles (Amazon Prime Video)

Fri Early PM (Christmas Day): Packers/Bears (Netflix)

Fri Late PM (Christmas Day): Bills/Broncos (Netflix)

Fri Nite (Christmas Nite): Rams/Seahawks

Sat Nite: Jags/Cowboys

Mon Nite: Giants/Lions

            I have listed 15 of the 272 regular season games here as ones that will be in stand-alone time slots; the other 257 games will be more typically scheduled en masse.  And here are a couple of overview schedule observations:

• Both the Bills and the Bears will play on Thanksgiving Day and also on Christmas Day this year.  Happy Holidays, guys …
• There will be 9 international games this season.  Three will be in London and the other six will be in Australia, Brazil, France, Spain, Germany and Mexico.
• Sixteen of the thirty-two NFL teams will play at least one game overseas this season.
• The Steelers and Saints will play in Paris; that will be the first NFL regular season game in France.

Moving on …  Undaunted by my embarrassment in picking a trifecta for the Kentucky Derby, I will press on and offer up the following trifecta ticket for the Preakness tomorrow:

• Numbers 2, 7 and 12 – – with
• Numbers 1,2,7,8,9,12 – – with
• Numbers 1,2,7,8,9,12   That is a $1 Trifecta ticket costing $60.

Finally, I will leave you with this from George F. Will;

“Politics in a democracy is transactional: Politicians seek votes by promising to do things for voters, who seek promises in exchange for their votes.”

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

 

 

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………

 

 

Well, tanking seems to have finally paid off for the Washington Wizards – – sort of.  After three years of mediocrity between the 2020/2021 regular season and the 2023/2024 regular season, the Wiz tore the team down to the studs for a total makeover.  So, in the last three regular seasons the Wizards have lost:

• 67 games in 2023/2024
• 64 games in 2024/2025 – – and – –
• 65 games in 2025/2026

The lottery ping pong balls have not fallen their way until this year and that is the reason I said that tanking paid off – – sort of.

Last year, there was a certified, bona fide, identified overall number 1 pick – – Cooper Flagg.  This year, the consensus is that this draft is deeper than previous years, but there is debate about who to take at the top of the draft.  There is more riding on this selection by the Wizards than normal; they have a whole new front office management team, and they present themselves as highly “analytics focused” with a “holistic view” of the team make-up and its contribution to the community of Washington DC.  Let me put the punctuation on that management posture:

• Don’t blow the #1 overall pick!

If you do not live in the DC area, I would be surprised if you have seen the Washington Wizards play more than 20 minutes of basketball over the past two years; they are more than just bad; they are unwatchable.  They did not tank the way some other teams did; I do not recall any games where the Wiz were leading or close in score after three quarters and then the team sat the starters for the entirety of the fourth quarter to assure defeat.  The Wizards achieved their bottom-feeding status the old-fashioned way; they earned it.  [Hat tip to an old ad-campaign for Smith Barney and John Houseman here.]

The best college player I saw last season was AJ Dybantsa (BYU) and as soon as I say that I must point out that college basketball and NBA basketball are not congruent games.  I think there should be two other players given serious consideration by the Wizards’ mavens over the coming weeks:

1. Darryn Peterson (Kansas): He showed flashes of brilliance, but he missed games with muscle cramps and a sore hamstring.  The NBA season is more than twice as long as the college season so there is one question mark.  Another is that he supposedly did his own load management last year and sat out games as a ‘healthy scratch”.  I have no idea if that last red flag is real or not, but the Wizards’ brass had better figure it out correctly.
2. Caleb Wilson (UNC): Here in the DC area, we get to see a lot of ACC basketball and what stood out for me about Caleb Wilson is that he plays at full speed all the time.  He is athletic and he is super-competitive.  He did not have the same stats as some other players who are mentioned as potential “top picks” but in the end, he may wind up being the best pro.

[Aside:  Recall that Michael Jordan was not an overall #1 draft pick and turned out a bit better than OK.]

While the Wizards’ braintrust are pondering whom to take at #1, there is another player who should go in the middle of the first round that I think is intriguing.  Koa Peat (Arizona) is a bruiser who will compete for every rebound and loose ball.  The reason he will be available in the middle of the first round is that he does not shoot well; he is OK with his jump shot but not a “deadeye”.  Nevertheless, I will offer two points in favor of Koa Peat going earlier than some folks think he will go:

1. Anthony Edwards was not a good shooter in college.  His field goal percentage was only 40.2% and he was 29.4% from the college three-point line.  That is sort of good and certainly not great.  Last season in the NBA, Edwards shot 48.9% from the field and 39.9% from three-pint range.  With work, shooting is a skill that can be improved significantly.
2. Charles Barkley was a bruiser and a ferocious rebounder in college but did not arrive in the NBA with an outside shot that worried any defender.  Charles Barkley learned to shoot and had a more than decent NBA career.

I am not saying that I think Koa Peat will turn out to be a hybrid of Anthony Edwards and Charles Barkley, but given Peat’s physical size and strength, he might just be worth a pick closer to the Top Five than is generally projected.

Finally, let me close here with this observation from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson:

“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.”

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