The Sports Curmudgeon

Julian Edelman is facing a 4-game suspension from the NFL for failing a drug test.  I was not the least bit surprised to hear that Edelman proclaimed that he had no idea how this happened; that is the “go-to response” for every athlete who “lights up the lab” with one of his samples.  Here is the thing that did surprise me:

• The NFL said that his failed test was due to the detection of an “unrecognizable substance”.

The natural question here is:

• If the substance is “unrecognizable” – – translation: the guys in the lab have no idea what it is – – how can the NFL be sure that it is a performance enhancer or one of its banned substances or some sort of illicit drug?

Just suppose that after months of painstaking analysis, they find that the “unrecognizable substance” is in fact – – mule snot.  I doubt there is evidence that mule snot is a PED; I am pretty sure that ingesting mule snot is not illegal; I am certain that mule snot is not on the NFL list of banned substances.  So, while the test can only conclude that there is some “unrecognizable substance” in Julian Edelman’s sample, how can the NFL assume that it is one that merits a suspension?

Another NFL-related story got far too much attention over the past several weeks.  Terrell Owens said that he would not attend the Hall of Fame ceremony that would induct him into the Hall of Fame.  Analysts have concluded that T.O. is miffed that it took him a couple of years to be voted into the HoF and that is why he will not show up for the event.   Talk about a tempest in a spittoon…

Look, if Terrell Owens wants to make his mark as the guy who snubbed the HoF ceremony because he thinks the HoF snubbed him for a couple of years, so be it.  By turning that decision on Owens’ part into something worthy of discussion/debate, the media journalists played directly into his hand.  I think it is fair to say that more than a few events in Terrell Owens’ life/career point to the fact that he loves to be the center of attention; discussing this magnificently unimportant decision on Owens’ part only serves to make him the center of attention.

Jason Whitlock of FS1 had this Tweet about this matter:

“The worst teammate in the history of professional football is now going to be the worst teammate in the history of the Hall of Fame.”

Somewhere T.O. is smiling while doing sit-ups in his driveway and thinking of how he just got his name in the public eye yet one more time…

Here is an alternate explanation:

• Owens will skip the ceremony because he could not find anyone who was sufficiently egoistic to write the acceptance speech for him.
• Of course, if that is indeed the case, I think it would be safe to conclude that Terrell Owens and LaVar Ball are not on the best of terms.

The US Congress – Motto: Taking fecklessness to new depths daily! – – has held hearings as it contemplates a piece of legislation known as the Horseracing Integrity Act.   Sports fans with a memory span greater than that of a rutabaga should recall the last time the Congress waded into the sports world with legislation to preserve the integrity of sports.  That previous incursion was the late – but hardly lamented – passage of PASPA which was to protect and preserve college and professional sports from the evil influences of gambling.  There were only two flaws in the PASPA legislation:

1. It was declared to be unconstitutional 26 years after its enactment.
2. It failed to stop gambling on collegiate or pro sports thereby failing in its stated duty to protect those athletic endeavors.

Other than that, …

These days the Congress is contemplating how to “save horseracing” and to protect its integrity; moreover, the Congressthings are actually able to do this with a straight face.  Clearly, this means that all of the important problems facing the nation are already resolved if the geniuses on the Hill can take time to work on this nit-not-worth-picking.  The Horseracing Integrity Act would ban Lasix on race day and would put drug testing for horses under the auspices of the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency).  Those are the same efficient and effective folks who assure that Olympic athletes and cyclists are not using banned substances.  What could possibly go wrong?  I know; they might find horse blood and urine samples that have “unrecognizable substances” in them and use that information to draw a conclusion other than the most obvious one:

• Your “drug testing regimens” are woefully insufficient.

Recently there was a hearing on this matter and the opposing sides of the debate came loaded for bear.  Here is a link to a report that will give you more details on this subject that the law allows…

Finally, here is a comment from Brad Rock in the Deseret News.  I completely agree…

“ESPN and Netflix plan to air a 10-part documentary on Michael Jordan.

“Because what the world seriously needs is more stories on Michael Jordan.”

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

 

 

Back in the days of Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio, the hosts would come back from breaks and say they were “back and better than ever”.  Well, I have been on an extended break and the best I can say is:

• I’m back – – and I promise to be as crabby as ever.

When I went off the air, the Caps and Lightening were tied 2-2 in the NHL semi-finals while the Golden Knights led the Jets 2-1.  Congratulations to the Caps on their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.

In the NBA, both Conference Championship rounds were tied at 2-2.  The Cavaliers prevailed in the East and then were swept by the Warriors in the Finals.  Over in the Balkans where I was for much of my hiatus, the NBA is a big deal and lots of people were watching various NBA games at bars and outdoor restaurants.  There were also lots of people wearing NBA “gear” and just about every school we saw had basketball hoops installed on the grounds for kids to use.

The NBA presence and awareness in Europe is significant.  Taking a cue form the NFL, the NBA will play another regular season game in Europe again next season.  In January 2019, the Knicks and the Wizards will face each other in London.   I wonder if the NBA selected those teams because of the diverse presence of European players on both teams:

1. Wizards’ Center Marcin Gortat is from Poland
2. Wizards’ Center Ian Mahinimi is from France
3. Wizards’ Forward Thomas Satoransky is from the Czech Republic
4. Knicks’ Forward Kristaps Porzingas is from Latvia
5. Knicks’ Guard Frank Ntilikina is from France
6. Knicks’ Center Enes Kanter is from Turkey

And as icing on the cake, Knicks’ Guard Emmanuel Mudiay is from the Congo.

In the NFL, Tom Brady and Odell Beckham, Jr. were not attending OTAs.  For some reason, that was considered newsworthy.  Somehow, I believe both of these guys will still be on NFL rosters come September…

The NFL is simply not a big deal in the Balkans.  In that part of the world “football” is a totally different game…

In MLB, the Phillies and the Braves were tied for first place in the NL East.  This morning the Braves are still in first place.   Last year, I said that I thought the Braves were back as contenders; that was premature.  However, the Braves’ team in 2018 looks pretty good to me.

The Yankees and Red Sox were running off with the AL East.  They continue to do so.  The surprise in the AL East is not that the Orioles are out of contention but that the Orioles have the worst record in MLB and the team is not trying to tank for a rebuilding process.

The Indians were sitting at .500 and still led the AL Central.  They now lead the division by 5 games partly because every other team in the division is still below .500.

The Astros led the Mariners by 2 games when I left.  Back then the Astros had only allowed 125 runs in 49 games.  The Astros lead is now 3.5 games and they are still very stingy with runs allowed.  In 76 games, they have allowed 233 runs; the next best team in terms of runs allowed is the Cubs giving up 253 runs in 73 games.

The NL Central race was a 4-way affair when I left.  Today, it appears to be sorting itself out into a race between the Brewers and the Cubs.

The NL WEst had the Rockies, D-Backs and Giants setting the pace.  Today the Dodgers have inserted themselves in the race and trail the D-Backs by only 2.5 games.

MLB is not much of a deal in the Balkans.  I saw a few folks wearing Yankees’ caps and a young man and a young woman decked out in KC Royals hats and shirts.  Other than that, …

Back when I left, the US Supreme Court had just declared PASPA unconstitutional.  Lots of folks were opining on what this might mean in the future.  Former Senator Bill Bradley – who was one of the proponents of PASPA back in 1992 when it was passed into law – obviously thought that the Court’s decision was wrong-headed.  I have a great deal of respect for Senator Bradley – not because he was an excellent basketball player but because he is generally thoughtful and reasonable and pragmatic.  Nonetheless on this issue, he and I fundamentally disagree.

Senator Bradley dipped into a line of argumentation that was once labeled “the parade of improbable horribles”.  He said that legalized sports betting could lead to gambling on high school games and even into in-game betting on those events.  Indeed, that could happen, and I agree that it would not be a boon to high school sports to have lines posted for the games.  HOW-EVAH …  [/Stephen A. Smith]:

• Sports wagering has been ongoing in Nevada for decades and in all my visits to sportsbooks there have never been any high school sporting events available for wagering.
• What the Supreme Court said is that the Congress could act to regulate sports wagering but PASPA was not a permissible way to do it.  If the several States and/or the Congress wish to assure that there are no legal wagers placed on high school sports, the door is open for those entities to do so.
• Please note that I said “legal wagers” above.  If a local bookmaker wants to take action on a game between Rocky Mountain High and Secondhand Smoke High, there are already laws on the books to prevent such action – – but the local bookie can probably still do that with impunity.

Finally, the College World Series started whilst I was gone and here is a comment from Brad Dickson, formerly with the Omaha World-Herald about the weather in Omaha at this time of the year:

“Torrential downpour, dangerous lightning strikes, flooding, 60 mph winds. And still, this is pretty nice weather considering it’s College World Series time.  CWS visitors are learning that ‘Omaha’ is an old Indian word meaning ‘rain delay’.”

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

For years, I have referred to José Canseco as the gift that keeps on giving.  Canseco says or does something outrageous sufficiently often that he provides regular grist for commentary here.  There may be a potential challenger to Canseco on the horizon.  Terrell Owens has gotten to the point where he says/does things that are apart from the center of gravity of normal behavior.  His latest is a comment made to a Dallas Sports Radio station saying that he cannot figure out why or how Jason Garrett has a job in the NFL let alone as the head coach of the Cowboys.

Owens’ rationale for that assertion is that the Cowboys – as a franchise – are at a “standstill” and whenever there are shortcomings in Cowboys’ performance, it is always the players who are the focus of the blame.  According to Owens’ it is Garrett who fails to lead the team.

For the record, I could not possibly defend the argument that Jason Garrett is a great NFL head coach.  His overall record in Dallas is 67-53 in 7.5 seasons at the helm; that normalizes to 9-7 each year and that is neither great nor horrible.  Adding to the stats that suggest that Garrett is a mediocre coach is the fact that the Cowboys have finished 8-8 or 9-7 in 4 of his 7 full seasons there.

The great irony of all this is the source of this commentary.  There is at least some reason to question Owens as a source of information on the subject of team leadership.  Owens put up some prodigious receiving stats over his career but wore out his welcome with 5 teams; his departures from both Philly and Dallas were operatic in their grandeur.  Moreover, in the majority of cases, team shortcomings are more properly assessed against the GMs who built the rosters and against the players on the field failing to perform sufficiently well to win games.  Coaching prowess is vastly overrated except for those very few “truly great coaches” at the top of the pile and those very few “truly incompetent coaches” at the bottom.

Speaking of football coaches, Chip Kelly will return to college football at UCLA after a hiatus in the NFL and as a TV analyst.  Kelly’s teams had lots of success during his time at Oregon and the Eagles won 10 games in each of his first two seasons there.  Things fell apart in his 3^rd year in Philly and then he had the impossible task of trying to win with the Niners’ roster in 2016.  It will be interesting to see how he does with UCLA.

Chip Kelly is a “system guy”; he has a way of attacking a football game and he sticks to it.  He is a true-believer in “sports science” and is convinced that understating sports science gives him and his teams an edge in every game.  The reason I think it will be interesting to see how things go at UCLA this year and in the following couple of years is this:

• If Chip Kelly is a “one-trick-pony” who was ahead of the crowd with his devotion to sports science and his constant hurry-up offensive attack when he was at Oregon, is he still ahead of the crowd?
• Have defenses caught up to his offense?  Have other coaches found ways to counter his team’s style of play?
• Can Chip Kelly adapt – if data begin to show that he should adapt?

A few weeks ago, I said that I had watched a little of ESPN’s new morning show, Get Up! Featuring Mike Greenberg, Michelle Beadle and Jalen Rose.  I have not been a devoted regular viewer since that last comment, but I have tuned in frequently to see various segments while the coffee is brewing in the morning or while thumbing through the morning paper.  I have watched enough of it to know that I am not going to watch much more of it because:

1. It is not sufficiently informative to draw my attention.
2. It is not nearly humorous.
3. None of the three hosts approach “must-see TV” status.

Ergo…

The other sports network morning show that is relatively new is on FS-1.  First Things First features Cris Carter, Nick Wright and Jenna Wolfe.  This program has improved from the very rough edges that it exhibited when it started on the air.  It is still formulaic; Cris Carter is pedantic far too often for my taste; I have gotten to the point where I can take Nick Wright in small doses.  First Things First is not great television and I will not watch it more than once a week in the future, but it is now better than Get Up!

Finally, here is a comment from Brad Dickson, formerly with the Omaha World-Herald:

“A kayaker in Japan was banned for eight years for spiking his rival’s drink. I’m pretty sure that’s legal at the Tour de France.”

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

 

 

There seems to be a low background drumbeat building among the baseball writers and baseball poets advocating for MLB to expand to 32 teams.  While I must admit that there is one immediately beneficial aspect to that idea, I think it is a bad idea overall.  Here is what would be the good news:

• Each league would have 16 teams and “16” is an even number.  That means MLB could eliminate the mandatory interleague game every week of the season and return interleague play to a short window in the middle of the season. 

The bloom is off the rose for interleague play.  It was a good idea when it was implemented; it created heightened fan interest.  Now, it has been hugely overdone, and it is no longer anywhere near “exciting”.  In today’s environment, fans look forward to an interleague series about as much as a guy heading for his senior prom looks forward to a honking pimple on his nose.  Ka-beesh…?

My biggest problem with expansion is that there is not nearly enough pitching to go around in MLB as it is.  Adding two more teams – each of which would carry 12 or 13 pitchers on the roster – would add 25 more pitchers to the leagues and that would not be a plus in any part of the known universe.  How many teams are stashing “The Next Clayton Kershaw” in some AA league because the parent club has so much pitching that it cannot find a place for the prodigy?  Obviously, the answer is ZERO.

Baseball faces the fact that some its gone-but-hardly lamented stars of old might want to try a comeback.  Rafael Palmiero, Sammy Sosa and José Canseco would jump at the chance for another big-league gig.  If there were two expansion teams out there looking for ways to draw fans to see the expansion team get lit up four times a week, some exec might think that was a good way goose attendance.  Really, do you want to see that?

Look at some of this year’s attendance figures for some of the bad teams in MLB – and a couple of the pretty good ones too:

• Miami Marlins average 10,676 per game.  That projects to 864,756 fans for the season.
• Tampa Bay Rays average 14,711 per game.  That projects to 1.19M fans for the season.
• Pittsburgh Pirates average 15,287 per game.  That projects to 1.24M for the season.
• Chicago White Sox average 15,486 per game.  That projects to 1.25M for the season.

In fact, 11 MLB teams – more than one-third of MLB – projects to draw fewer than 2 million fans for the season.  Expansion is not going to shrink that number…

I mentioned Rafael Palmiero above as a former star player in MLB who would be interested in a comeback.  I did not make that up; Palmiero actively sought a slot in Spring Training with an MLB team; none of the MLB teams took him up on the offer.  Rather than go quietly into the night, Palmiero signed on with an independent team in the American Association – – the Cleburne Railroaders.  And to be sure that this was not much more than a giant goat rodeo, that same team signed Palmiero’s son, Patrick, to play for the same team.  Raffy will play first base; Patrick will play third base.  A good time will be had by all … unless this kind of nonsense gets anywhere near MLB.

Just to be clear:

• On balance, MLB does not need to expand.  [Aside: If it does expand, the places to put the two new teams would be Montreal and either Las Vegas or Portland – – flip a coin on those two western venues.]
• I do not want to see a 53-year old Rafael Palmiero in MLB this year nor do I want to see an antiquated version of him anytime down the road.

Here is a baseball comment from Greg Cote in the Miami Herald:

“The scourge of a trend — American teams exporting meaningful games abroad — crossed a line this week when MLB announced the Yankees and Red Sox would play two regular season games in London in 2019. The crown-jewel rivalry of America’s Pastime should be played in Boston or Da Bronx. Period. Am I alone on that?”

Professor Cote in spot-on with that remark.  Notice that the NFL does not schedule Packers/Bears games in London nor do they export Atlanta/New Orleans games.  By analogy, MLB should not be taking a Yankees/Red Sox series from the local fans.  This is a bad idea that MLB may have difficulty “walking- back”.

Finally, Brad Rock had this observation in the Deseret News several weeks ago:

“A 106-year-old competitive cyclist in France has been cautioned by his doctor to limit his exercise to a stationary bike.

“So far his only concession to age has been habitually driving down the road signaling left.”

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

 

 

I just know that this rant is going to meander around a wide swath of the sporting cosmos today …  Yesterday, I – and much of the sports commentary – was consumed by the Supreme Court decision to get rid of PASPA.  I read lots of stuff about who were the “winners” from this decision and who were the “losers”; I read lots of stuff tracking the history of the decision; I read lots of stuff about what the decision might mean in the far future with respect to sports in the US.  If you were interested in that sort of stuff, you too were able to find it.

I did enjoy reading a thoughtful and analytical piece in the LA Times written by Sam Farmer et. al.  Sam Farmer’s claim to fame has been his league-wide coverage of the NFL – a beat that he covered like a blanket even before there were two LA teams.  Here is a link to his analytical piece from yesterday; I found it insightful.

At the other end of the commentary spectrum, I found several Tweets from Brad Dickson formerly with the Omaha World-Herald on the decision handed down by “The Supremes”:

“The states can now legalize sports gambling. Don’t count on it in Nebraska where the legislature is scheduled to vote on a bill requiring zoo animals to wear pants.”

And …

“Now the states are going to decide whether sports gambling is legal. Don’t hold your breath on the Nebraska Legislature which is this close to banning dancing in public.”

And …

“Sports gambling may soon be legal. Millions of Americans will abandon playing the Powerball Lottery to bet against the Cleveland Browns.”

Bob Molinaro had this comment in the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot last week regarding LeBron James and the playoffs this year:

“Futurewatch: His most faithful devotees have to decide whether they want LeBron James to advance to another – his ninth – NBA Finals. That, after all, would likely lead to the sixth Finals loss of his career. In my mind, it wouldn’t tarnish LeBron’s legacy if, at 33, he carried another underdog Cavaliers team to a runner-up finish. Others looking to diminish this era’s greatest talent, though, would relish any opportunity to toss brickbats.”

I really hate arguments that take the form of “Who is the greatest [fill in the blank here] of all time?”  In basketball terms, the modern form of that question is LeBron James versus Michael Jordan.  In a previous era, it was Wilt Chamberlain versus Bill Russel.  Today’s arguments omit consideration of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan and Akeem Olajuwon.  In the 60s and 70s, the “Wilt vs. Bill” argument wrote off Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West.  Moreover, in order for me to take a position in favor of Michael Jordan as the greatest of all time as opposed to LeBron James, I have to say relatively negative things about LeBron James and that makes no damned sense at all.

It “matters” who is the fastest 100-meter sprinter in a year because those folks race against one another and the winner is clear.  In team sports – and particularly in team sports over different eras – the comparisons are foggy at best.  Why not simply accept this fact that virtually no basketball fan would consider challenging?

• Michael Jordan and LeBron James are both extraordinary basketball talents.  It was a pleasure – and a privilege – to be able to watch them play basketball over the arcs of their careers.

Thinking about Michael Jordan and LeBron James naturally makes me think about the NBA as an entity.  Bob Molinaro – whose comment above got me on the track of the “MJ vs. Lebron” controversy – has opined for years that NBA basketball is significantly superior to college basketball simply based on the huge gap in player talent.  He and I have debated that point off-line several times.  The current status of the NBA playoffs supports one of my arguments that college basketball is the more interesting sports spectacle:

• Take yourself back to October 2017 as the NBA regular season was about to begin.  Who did you think would be in the NBA’s version of the “Final Four”?
• Most folks thought it would be the Warriors/Rockets in the West – – with a few folks touting the Spurs and even fewer pointing to the Thunder.
• Just about everyone on the planet thought it would be the Celtics and the Cavaliers in the East.
• The “Final Four” are indeed Warriors/Rockets and Celtics/Cavaliers.  The issue is that it took more than 7 months and 1230 regular season games – plus two playoff series – to get to what most everyone knew was going to happen.

The NBA regular season is getting close to the status of “pointless”.  Notwithstanding that fact, it goes on forever and presents to fans a ton of games that almost no one gives a fig about.  Indeed, there are early season college basketball games that are cupcake games and mean nothing.  However, once conference play begins, there are far fewer meaningless games put before the sports fans of the country.

The prosecution rests, Your Honor…

Finally, here is a comment from Dwight Perry in the Seattle Times that is the opposite of the argument over “Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James” discussed above:

“The film ‘Never on Sunday’ is:

a) a 1960 Greek black-and-white romantic comedy

b) a mythical showdown between the 0-16 Lions and the 0-16 Browns.”

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

 

 

Chuck Knox passed away over the weekend.  He had very successful stints as the head coach of the Rams, Seahawks and Bills; in fact, he was named Coach of the Year while coaching each of those three teams and he is the only coach in NFL history to achieve that honor with three different franchises.  His “conservative”/ “smash-mouth” offensive philosophy earned him the nickname “Ground Chuck”.

Rest in peace, Chuck Knox…

The Stanley Cup playoffs and the NBA playoffs are in full swing.  Meanwhile, the MLB season is gathering momentum and there are some interesting things to note about MLB so far this year.

On the negative side:

• The Cleveland Indians were 20-19 as of yesterday; that record put them in first place in the AL Central.  If the Indians were in the AL East, they would be in 4^th place; if the Indians were in the AL West, they would be in 4^th place.  The deal here is that everyone else in the AL Central is below .500 – – going all the way down to the Royals and White Sox whose winning percentages are bordering on embarrassing.
• The LA Dodgers were 16-24 as of yesterday; that put them squarely in 4^th place in the NL West.  Yes, I know that the Dodgers have been wracked by a tsunami of injuries to their starting position players and to there starting pitchers.  Nevertheless, playing on a pace that would win only 65 games for the entire season is a shock for that franchise; and being swept in a series by the Reds – – probably the worst team in MLB in 2018 – – is embarrassing.  I fully expect the team to far surpass a 65-win total for 2018, but their record so far is both putrid and unexpected.

Sounding a nostalgic baseball moment:

• Rafael Palmiero is 53 years old and he said earlier this year that he wanted to come back from retirement and play in the majors.  That did not happen but Palmiero did achieve something interesting last week.  He signed on with the Cleburne Railroaders – an independent team in the American Association – and the team also signed Palmiero’s son, Patrick.  Raffy will play first base; Patrick will play third-base.  Having a father/son tandem on a single team does not happen every year.  Here is a link to more on this situation.

Bob Molinaro had this comment in the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot last week.  I have wondered about this topic since the time as a kid when I saw the “Ted Williams Shift”:

“It’s disappointing – and should frustrate fans – that so few big-league hitters attempt to beat infield over-shifts by going the other way with the pitch. Is this stubbornness some sort of macho thing? I suspect so. But are managers strictly prohibited from instructing batters to take what the defense gives them? Whatever’s happening, the game isn’t the same.”

What ever happened to the simplistic – – but obviously effective – – hitting philosophy attributed to Wee Willie Keeler who managed to bat .341 over a 19-year career:

“I hit ‘em where they ain’t.”

Could it be that the success of modern analytics in baseball is dependent to some extent on player and managerial stubbornness?

Finally, here are comments from two different sources regarding college football recruits who are “large of size”:

“The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team got a commitment from 6-8, 395-pound Australian lineman Daniel Faalele. Minnesota has lakes that are smaller.”  [Brad Dickson, formerly of the Omaha World Herald]

And …

“Kiyaunta Goodwin of Louisville, KY. Is 6 feet seven, weighs 370 pounds, wears size-18 shoes, leg presses 1000 pounds, bench presses 315, displays uncanny agility, likes art music and robotics, and has a football offer from Georgia in his pocket according to Bleacher Report.

“Oh and did we mention that he’s only 14 years old and an eighth-grader?”  [Dwight Perry, Seattle Times]

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

 

 

Twenty-two years ago, Lions’ head coach, Matt Patricia, was still in college; he and a friend were on Spring Break in Texas.  Out of that excursion came an indictment against Patricia for sexual assault; he was never tried, and the charges were dropped.  Patricia has been in the coaching business since his college days at Rensselaer and this is seemingly the first time this fact has been brought to light.  In the current environment of the MeToo movement, this allegation cannot be ignored as something from the dim, dark past that has no relevance today.  At the same time, it is important to ask the right questions here and to focus on what to do now.

The Detroit Lions – and the New England Patriots before them – assert that they knew nothing of this indictment until this week.  If those assertions are truthful, it is difficult to assign any blame to either team for having Patricia as part of their organization.  I think it is more appropriate to ask at this time a different set of questions:

• Who does the background checks as part of the vetting process for the Lions and the Patriots?  Do other NFL teams also use the same folks to do background checks for them?
• How did these investigators miss this indictment – which is a matter of public record?  Or, did they find it and choose not to report it to the teams in question here?  If that is the case, why did they do that?

In 2018, there is no chance that this sort of situation will be ignored.  For that reason, I think it is important to figure out first if the Lions – and the Pats before them – were ever aware of this accusation. Here is why:

• If either – or both – knew about this and hired Patricia anyway, it is fair to ask the teams about their “personnel evaluation processes”.  What factors led the team(s) to believe that this blemish on Patricia’s record could be overlooked?
• If, however, neither team was made aware of the indictment, the focus of the questioning must be in the vetting processes themselves and the people/organizations that provide the vetting data to the Lions, Patriots and potentially to other NFL franchises.
• If Joe Flabeetz was the person responsible for doing the background investigation on Matt Patricia when he was up for the Lions’ head coaching job, it would be appropriate and important to find out what Joe Flabeetz did and did not do in that investigation.  For example, it may be standard practice for Joe Flabeetz and his organization to ignore arrests/indictments that never go to trial even when they find them.  That practice would resonate with the concept of “innocent until proven guilty” but it would not play so well with the idea of probing the true character of the potential employee.

I am not an attorney, so I have no idea if the alleged victim in this matter can re-activate these charges 22 years after the fact.  There are statutes of limitations in American jurisprudence, but I have no idea how “aggravated sexual assault” charges are covered by such statutes in the State of Texas.  I mention this not because I think breathing life back into this matter is a good idea; rather, I bring it up because without a trial, it will be next to impossible to ascertain the facts of the situation.  And without the facts, it will be difficult to figure out what questions need to be answered and by whom.

There is another NFL-related situation that could well wind up in the legal world.  Last week, the NFL issued a 4-game suspension to Saints’ RB, Mark Ingram, for violation of the league’s PED policy.  Ingram has categorically denied the situation saying that what he tested positive for is something that is permissible in the NFL with an exemption.  I do not know what the substance involved here is nor am I aware of the NFL’s “exemption rules” here.  I presume what Ingram is talking about here is that there are medical conditions that require as treatment the administration of a drug/medicine that will trigger a reaction in the standardized NFL drug test.  With prior notification from the doctor – and probably concurrence by someone in the league offices – a “failed test” for this player and that substance can be waived.

Regardless of how this situation works, Mark Ingram is pressing his case that he did not fail a PED test and that this suspension is unwarranted.  His explanation/excuse for the failed test is a lot more satisfying to me than the much more standard explanation that the failed test was due to a tainted supplement that was taken innocently and ignorantly.  Here is a statement from one of Mark Ingram’s representatives on the matter:

“At the end of the 2017 season, as a result of an NFL mandated drug test, Mark Ingram tested positive for a substance that was not a performance-enhancing substance, but a substance in fact permissible with the proper use exemption with the NFL. He has vigorously challenged the test results through the arbitration process. The arbitrator’s Opinion is due on or before Wednesday, May 16. Upon having the opportunity to review the arbitrator’s opinion, we will explore what further options are needed.”

The outcome of this matter could be very interesting…

Finally, here is a comment from syndicated columnist, Norman Chad, on the rebirth of the XFL:

“I can’t wait for the XFL to return – that’s another three hours a week I can go to Walden Pond with a bag of Fritos.”

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

 

 

Yesterday, the NY Mets turned in a wrong batting order card to the umpires and batted out of turn leading to a player who actually hit a double in his “at-bat” being called out and sent to the dugout for batting out of order.  The MLB rules governing this sort of thing are explicit and clear; there was no misinterpretation by the umpires here.  I coached a Little League team for ONE season back when Dante’s Inferno was on the “New Releases List”.  Even then, I knew not to screw up that aspect of the game.  Here is a link to the CBSSports.com report on this matter.

As noted in that report, the Mets had started the season at a torrid 12-2 but have fallen on hard times since then.  After yesterday’s loss – the game involving the batting out of order incident – the Mets’ record stands at 18-16 which is a whole lot worse than 12-2.  The Mets have also lost Jacob deGrom to the IR list and have traded Matt Harvey after he refused a team decision to send him to the minor leagues.   Even for a team in NYC, the Mets have packed a season’s worth of drama into a single 5 week stretch of the season.

In other MLB news, Ichiro has left the active roster for the Mariners – presumably ending his MLB career as a player – and has taken up a job in the Mariners’ front office.  Ichiro is 44 years old and it appears as if Father Time has called him into a position off the field of play.

I have said several times in the past that Ichiro was one of the players in MLB that I would want to pay to see “live-and-in-person” when he came to my town to perform.  Here are a couple of his accomplishments:

• He amassed more than 3000 base hits in his MLB career and that feat is magnified because Ichiro did not play in MLB until age 27.
• He broke a long-standing record in MLB when he collected 262 hits in a single season.  Previously, the record was 256 hits by George Sisler.

In the last week, Albert Pujols collected his 3,000^th hit – and a $3M bonus for achieving that milestone.  In addition to being a member of the three-thousand-hit-club, here are some of Pujols’ other career achievements:

• He has hit 620 HRs in his career as of this morning.
• He has been on the All-Star team 10 times.
• He has been the MVP in 3 different seasons.

If you look at active players and ask who among them might be next to reach the 3000-hit club, the answer is Miguel Cabrera.  Here are Cabrera’s stats:

• He is 35 years old as of today.
• He has collected 2666 hits as of today.
• Last year was the worst year of his 16-year MLB career when he only managed to get 117 hits.
• If he were to continue at that slow pace at the plate, he would need less than three more years to reach 3000 hits.  It could happen in late 2019 if he returns to his earlier performance levels; barring major injury, it will happen sometime in the 2020 season.
• By the way, Cabrera is also likely to collect 500 HRs over his career.  AS of this morning he has hit 465 HRs.

In basketball news, I want you to juxtapose these two headlines from columns on the Internet yesterday:

“Dwayne Casey voted Coach of the Year by peers”

And…

“Report:  Raptors leaning toward head coaching change”

If that is not enough to cause you to shake your head in wonderment, consider that Brad Stevens did not get a single vote from among his peers in the NBA as the Coach of the Year.  Seriously…

Finally, here is an item from Dwight Perry in the Seattle Times:

“The Metropolitan King County Council approved a ban on vaping and chewing tobacco in sports facilities — particularly the Mariners’ Safeco Field — effective May 19.

“In other words, Skoal’s out for the summer.”

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