The Sports Curmudgeon

Take yourself back to February 2020; COVID-19 was just getting started.  The annual shuffling season for college football coaches was over; the music had stopped and coaches on the move had found their new seats.  And then Michigan State coach, Mark Dantonio resigned his position.  He did not quit to take a job in the NFL or at another school; he just resigned after 13 seasons with the Spartans.

Dantonio was a good coach; his overall record at Michigan St. was 114-57; in his 13 seasons on the sidelines, Sparty went to bowl games 12 times.  I don’t want to overstate this; the Spartans were not “national champion contenders” on a regular basis, but they were a team that had to be taken seriously lest they rise up and bite a team who might aspire to “national championship consideration”.

Sparty was in a bind; they needed a coach and open season for coaching candidates was over.  In short order, Michigan State poached Mel Tucker convincing him to resign as the head coach at Colorado to take the job in East Lansing.  As noted above, COVID-19 was just getting started and that made the 2020 football season a truncated one; Michigan St. went 2-5 in the first year under Tucker.

In 2021, the Spartans came out of the gate quickly winning their first 8 games in a row; they would finish the 2021 season at 11-2 and Mel Tucker was the Big Ten Coach of the Year.  All was well in East Lansing…  In the euphoria of this season, Michigan St. and Tucker tore up his existing contract and replaced it with a 10-year extension reportedly worth $95M.

The 2022 season began with two cupcake wins followed by a bunch of double-digit losses and a final record of 5-7.  The 2023 season once again began with two cupcake wins – – and then things spun out of control.  In September 2023, Michigan State fired Mel Tucker based on sexual harassment charges leveled against him by a woman described as an “anti-sexual violence advocate” who had been invited to speak to the team several times on that topic.  She accused Tucker of inappropriate behavior and specifically she accused Tucker of masturbating while on a phone call with her.  Surprisingly, Tucker did not deny the allegation; he said the activity was consensual; the school suspended him pending an investigation and then fired him for cause soon after the suspension was in place.

It is the “for cause” part of this story that is important because that meant the school was not on the hook for the $95M in that 10-year contract that existed.  Not surprisingly, Tucker has sued Michigan St. claiming that he was wrongfully terminated.  Some of the points made in Tucker’s suit are:

• The school instituted an “improper, sham investigation” that violated Tucker’s due process rights, equal protection rights and his contract itself.  [Aside:  The investigation allegedly began on September 18^th and Tucker was fired on September 27^th; that is indeed a “quick turn-around”.]
• The school was motivated by fear.  Michigan St. had just gone through the “Larry Nassar Debacle” where it seemingly stood by and looked the other way as Nassar physically violated young women athletes for a long time.  The lawsuit attributes that motivation as the basis for the firing making it a wrongful termination.
• Here is how the lawsuit characterizes the environment in the time leading up to Tucker’s firing:

  • • “The dysfunction at the highest level of the University’s leadership resulted in a siege mentality among the individual Board members and members of the administration with each member concerned primarily with protecting themselves and preserving their positions and their careers.”

• And …

  • • “[Administrators at Michigan State] manipulated and misused those processes to advance their own interests in preserving their positions and reputations while engaging in a course of bad faith conduct designed to decimate the career and reputation of [Tucker]. In this, the [Administrators at Michigan State] were wildly successful.”

• The lawsuit also contends that the school conspired with the accuser to file the complaint against Tucker ignoring evidence that his actions were consensual.

Obviously, I am not going to take sides here.  But there are a few elements here that seem a bit off-key:

• I have no difficulty in believing that the folks running the university did not want or need another sexual harassment/sexual violence situation to deal with in the wake of the “Larry Nassar Debacle”.  What Tucker was alleged to have done is clearly “low-rent”, but it is nowhere near the transgressions involving Nassar.
• I also have no difficulty in believing that the folks in the Athletic Department may have been suffering some “buyer’s remorse” after looking at that $95M contract and the mediocre-at-best season in Year One of the contract.
• I have some difficulty believing that the university and the accuser actively conspired to concoct the complaint.  Should that ever be shown to be true, that would make the university look as bad – if not worse – than it would if it had ignored the complaint and just kept on keeping on with Tucker as their coach.
• I have some difficulty with the fact that the lawsuit seeks “unspecified damages”.  I doubt that Tucker wants the job back; this suit is about the uncollected remnants of that $95M deal that was voided.  So, my sense is that this action is merely a forcing function to cause negotiations about how much of that contract Mel Tucker will get to enjoy.

[Aside:  Mark Dantonio’s surprise resignation had a secondary effect on college football.  When Mel Tucker left Colorado in the lurch, the Buffaloes turned the football program over to Karl Dorrell who was not successful and was fired in the middle of the 2022 season.  That left the door open for Colorado to bring in “Coach Prime” and his band of merry-men…]

So, what might be the final settlement number here – – not that it will ever be made public?  I’ll set the OVER/UNDER at $35M…

Finally, this from Kellyanne Conway:

“Sexual harassment is as difficult to prove as it is to disprove.”

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

Sports evolve.  Let me use professional football as an example.  Football started out as one team’s running game matched against the other team’s running game.  If you watch even a couple of NFL games on TV this season and do nothing else, you will see that is not the case in 2024.

When the game opened up into sort of a balance between running the ball and throwing the ball, the idealized QB of the time was big, tall, huge arm and strong enough to take hits in the pocket because he just stood in there and threw the ball at the last microsecond before being clobbered by a defensive lineman.  Yes, I know there were a few “different” QBs around in the time of that evolution like “little guy”, Eddie LeBaron and “scrambling” Fran Tarkenton and “freakishly athletic” Randall Cuningham; but the ideal was the statuesque QB who could throw a football through an engine block.

Such is not the case today and I think there may be more to the evolutionary pressures than just greater mobility among QBs.  I think there may be an activation of a “survival gene” in lots of people who have taken up the challenge of playing QB at various levels of football, and that “survival gene activation” is caused by the lack of effective play by offensive lines as a whole.  If a QB like Lamar Jackson had to try to play QB the way it was played in the 1970s and 1980s, he might not have survived to cash in on his long-term nine-figure contract extension.

Offensive line play is choreographed.  Virtually every play that is designed by the creative genius of an offensive coordinator starts with at least 5 and sometimes as many as 8 behemoths moving as if they were a single entity.  Choreography in football – – as with choreography on stage – – takes talent PLUS practice time and repetition.  Choreography on stage is difficult to master whether it is formal ballet or the Radio City Rockettes; those performances occur only after hours of rehearsal and repetition.  In the NFL, there is the added challenge of defensive players doing everything in their power to destroy the choreography; at least the Rockettes do not have to worry about someone blind-siding them as they go into their high-kick routine.

The NFL has offensive linemen who are certainly sufficiently big and strong and agile enough to effect the results sought by the play designers.  And yet, in passing situations, it is not uncommon for the QB to be swallowed up by defenders or for the QB to “run for his life”.  And for this situation, I put the blame on the players and not the coaches for this reason:

• In the last couple of CBA negotiations, one of the points sought by the players via their union was to limit the amount of time teams could require practices in the off-season, in Training Camp and during the season.
• Moreover, less practice time was permitted for players to be “in pads” and involved in “hitting”.
• Reduced practice time means fewer repetitions.
• Fewer repetitions mean less precision in the choreography.

In addition, the main feeder element for NFL offensive linemen – – college football – – has also had practice times limited by NCAA and Conference edicts.  And that means many physically talented linemen come to the NFL with an insufficient number of choreographic repetitions under their belt to make them “NFL-Ready”.  Vince Lombardi famously said:

“The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

I wonder how Coach Lombardi – – who cut his teeth coaching offensive linemen – – would assess the current state of play by those units?

Moving on …  Brett Favre has been under investigation for flim-flammery in dealings involving Federal money sent to Mississippi as aid to poor families.  He denies any criminal activities and says he has returned any monies he may have inadvertently received to the proper authorities.  The validity of all that remains up in the air; as of this morning, all of that is alleged.

Yesterday, Favre was testifying in front of the House Ways and Means Committee about a matter that is related to the alleged misallocation of those Federal funds.  Those details are not important here.

In the process of his testimony, Favre revealed that he has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s.  And that has set up two divergent narratives related to that announcement:

• Narrative #1:  Studies have shown that concussions increase the likelihood of contracting Parkinson’s significantly.  Favre surely had more than a handful of concussions in his 20-year NFL career which involved 302 game appearances.  Football is a dangerous profession and more needs to be done to protect against concussions.
• Narrative #2:  No one should wish a debilitating condition like Parkinson’s on anyone else – – but the timing and the venue of this announcement is ever so convenient, and it deflects attention from the allegations.

I lean more toward “Narrative #1” but feel free to join the forces supporting “Narrative #2”; only time will provide an answer here.

Finally, I’ll close today with this bit of reflection by Brett Favre:

“I think my stubbornness, hardheadedness and stupidity is what has allowed me to play for 20 years.”

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

Yesterday, I looked at the AL wildcard possibilities; so, today I want to take a peek at the NL race.  The Phillies and the Brewers have won their divisions meaning they are in the playoffs.  The Dodgers lead the Padres by 3 games with 6 games left; these two teams have a 3-game series in LA starting tomorrow.  For the sake of argument, I will make the Dodgers the NL West champions and put the Padres in the wildcard race recognizing that the Dodgers have guaranteed themselves a position in the playoffs no matter what but have not clinched the NL West.  With that stipulation, here are the four teams that will contend for three playoff slots; everyone else in the NL is eliminated from wildcard contention:

1. Padres record = 90-66
2. Mets record = 87-69
3. D-Backs record = 87-70
4. Braves record = 85-71

In addition to the Padres/Dodgers series starting this week, there is another series that will be pivotal.  Starting tomorrow, the Mets will travel to Atlanta to begin a 3-game series with the Braves.  Obviously, a sweep by the Braves would put them ahead of the Mets but then the Braves would need to take on the Royals in the final 3 games of the season and the Royals will be fighting for their own playoff slot in the AL.  Meanwhile, the Mets will close out 2024 with 3 games on the road against the Brewers who have already clinched their playoff slot by winning the NL Central.

• Conclusion:  There will be interesting times in NL baseball this week.

Whilst on the subject of NL baseball, let me turn to a story that has generated plenty of local attention but not nearly as much national attention.  The Washington Nationals sent their All-Star shortstop, CJ Abrams, to their minor league team after the minor league team finished its season.  Essentially, Abrams was banished to the Nats’ Florida Training Facility and manager Dave Martinez said that the decision to send Abrams down had nothing to do with his performance.  Well, if that is even half true, that would mean there is a significant element of “disciplinary action” involved here.

Let me set the stage for those of you who are not in the DC area and may not care enough about the Nats to pay attention to CJ Abrams.  He was part of the deal between the Padres and the Nats that sent Juan Soto to San Diego.  Abrams is only 23 years old, and he has established that he is indeed a major league talent; this year he hit 20 home runs and stole 31 bases.  I am not saying that he is the next coming of Derek Jeter or Cal Ripken, Jr. or Ernie Banks at shortstop, but he has the talent to play at the MLB level.  So, what’s up here?

There was a social media post last week saying that Abrams spent the night after a Nats/Cubs game at a Chicago casino until 8:00 AM and then showed up to play an afternoon game the next day.  After that game, there was a meeting between Abrams, Dave Martinez and Nats’ GM, Mike Rizzo.  Following that meeting, Abrams was sent down to the Florida Training Facility.

Here is the thing about this matter that makes me wonder:

• That punishment seems to be a bit on the draconian side – – unless there have been other behaviors that have resulted in meetings with “management” because said behaviors were deemed to be inappropriate.

Let me say very clearly that I have NO information that would support such a hypothesis.  However, if this were a “first offense” for a 23-year-old All-Star player, I would think that benching him for the final 6 games of a season where the Nats are nowhere near the playoffs would be sufficient as a punishment.  Moreover, if this were a “first offense’, why would Nats’ management risk alienating the mindset of a player who could be a foundation piece for the team’s rebuilding process?

This is a story that will require investigative journalism to unravel because there will not be any candor coming from management or – – probably – – from Abrams any time soon.  It will be a story that provides an overhang for this year’s offseason for the Nats.

One other baseball note today …  Later this week, the Oakland A’s will play their final game in Oakland, CA.  The team will move to Las Vegas – – eventually – – and will play in an updated minor league facility in Sacramento until the new playpen is ready for habitation.  The A’s have been in Oakland since 1968.  This situation has no heroes.

• There is plenty of “evidence” that the A’s owners have wanted to leave Oakland for greener pastures for a while now.
• There is plenty of “evidence” that the city fathers in Oakland held out the possibility of a renovated stadium but not a new one and that the city offers were never going to be close to offers made by alternate venues.
• There is plenty of “evidence” that Oakland fans were not hugely supportive of the team even as sham negotiations between the team and the city ricocheted from point to point.  The A’s were always in the bottom 10% of MLB in home attendance.  [Aside: Since visiting teams get a slice of the home attendance gate, other teams can easily see a move away from a “low support venue” as an issue of self-interest.]
• There is plenty of evidence – – note the lack of quotation marks here – – that the Oakland Coliseum is and has been a substandard facility for more than a few years now.  Forget any other “problems”; the fact that there have been sewage backups (plural) in locker rooms and in dugouts might be sufficient evidence to convince anyone that the stadium could not continue to be the home of the A’s team.

Finally, I’ll close today with these words from Connie Mack – – the former owner of the A’s franchise:

“You’re born with two strikes against you, so don’t take a third one on your own.”

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

They did it!  The Chicago White Sox have lost their 120^th game of the MLB season with six games left on their schedule.  The 1962 NY Mets are no longer the standard bearers for “quantity of losses in a single season”.  Barring an intervention by the baseball gods, the Sox will set a new standard of baseball futility in the modern era.

Actually, those 1962 Mets do not hold the record for lowest winning percentage in a season since MLB used to play seasons of 154 games.  The lowest winning percentage for a single season belongs – – at least for the moment – – to the 1916 Philadelphia A’s who posted a record of 36-117 (win percentage of .235).  Check this morning’s MLB standings to see the White Sox record of 36-120 PLUS a winning percentage of only .231.  This White Sox team might just take the lead in the race to the bottom in both categories in 2024.  These are sad times for baseball fans on the South Side in Chicago …

By comparison to the White Sox, the Cincinnati Reds have had a decent season despite posting a mediocre record of 76-81 as of this morning.  Nonetheless, the Reds fired manager David Bell over the weekend and turned the team over to bench coach, Fred Benevides for the team’s five remaining games.  Maybe that makes sense, but if it does, you will have to explain to me what damage to the team next year would accrue by letting David Bell finish out the final 5 games in 2024 and then being fired the day after the final game takes place.

I am not suggesting that Bell should not be terminated.  He has been the Reds’ manager since 2019 and other than the truncated 2020 “COVID-season”, his teams have been below .500 every year.  In fact, he was given a 2-year contract extension in 2021 after that “successful” 2020 season; his contract runs through the end of the 2026 season.  However, there is no obvious reason to dismiss him with 5 games left in the season.

The expansion of the MLB playoffs has certainly made the final week of this year’s regular season interesting to AL fans.  While it is not a mathematical certainty, the Yankees, Guardians and Astros appear to be the three division winners today.  The Orioles have a 4-game lead in the wild card race, so it would take a significant collapse on their part to miss the playoffs.  Then comes the fun:

• Royals record = 82-74
• Tigers record = 82-74
• Twins record = 81-75
• Mariners record = 80-76.

All four teams have 6 games to play, and the playoffs only have room for two of the four teams.  But there is an “edge” for the Tigers in this race.

• The Tigers’ final three games of the regular season are at home against – – wait for it – – the Chicago White Sox.
• Let the games begin …

Moving on …  An injury to Texas QB, Quinn Ewers made room for the Longhorns to showcase their prize recruit, Arch Manning in a starting role.  Texas’ opponent over the weekend was La-Monroe – – a team not likely to deserve mention alongside Texas in the 2024 college football discussion.  Manning posted these stats for the game:

• 15 of 29 for 257 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs

For a QB not named “Manning” that would be a perfectly fine way to begin a college career.  When asked about his performance after the game, Manning said he would probably give himself a C+ particularly because Texas won the game 51-3.

The Longhorns are ranked #1 in the country in the Coaches’ Poll and #2 in the country in the AP Poll.  The blowout win here was certainly expected but interest in the game focused on the first start for the “third generation” of the Manning family to play QB at the collegiate level.

Finally, words of wisdom from George Carlin:

“When you’re born you get a ticket to the freak show. When you’re born in America, you get a front row seat.”

And …

“Just because you got the monkey off your back doesn’t mean the circus has left town.”

And …

“If you can’t beat them, arrange to have them beaten.”

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

Dan Daly used to be a sports columnist for the Washington Times; he describes himself on his Twitter page this way:

“Unrestricted free agent sportswriter, NFL Films talking head, author of The National Forgotten League.”

[Aside:  I recommend his book, The National Forgotten League, for anyone who is interested in the origins, evolution and development of what we call the NFL these days.]

One of his recent Tweets sparked some thinking here in Curmudgeon Central:

“Some NFL numbers for ya (total for both teams):

“1948 6.48 TDs per game (all-time high) 0.76 FGs per game

“2024 4.28 TDs per game 4.4 FGs per game

“And yet, how much time do we spend talking about kickers? Analyzing kickers? Trying to understand how they’ve gotten to be so good?”

About 10 minutes after seeing that Tweet, I ran across this stat:

“A record was set in Week 2 for most field goals in a slate of NFL games, with 73.”

Those two items combined with a self-evident fact – – field goal attempts on average are far less exciting that plays from scrimmage – – led me to think that there might need to be some rule changes to disincentivize field goal tries thereby encouraging more potential fourth down tries from scrimmage or punt returns.  Naturally, I have come up with some ideas to do so.  Fortunately for all, no one involved with NFL rulemaking pays attention to these rants.

Let me begin with a simple rule change:

• Raise the crossbar from 10 feet off the ground to 20 feet – – or even 25 feet – – off the ground.
• And narrow the width of the goal post from 18 feet 6 inches to 15 feet.

Either or both of those alterations would discourage lots of 60 or 70-yard attempts.  In the case of a 60-yard attempt, that means the ball was on the “plus-43 yardline” leaving it to the offensive mavens to decide to go for it or punt it away.

If you want a far more radical rule change, modify the goal post structure itself.

• Make the width 15 feet and set the crossbar height at 15 feet.  Then add a second crossbar at 30 feet.  A successful field goal has to pass over the lower crossbar AND under the upper crossbar to be successful.  That change will also make PAT tries more interesting.

And if you think there needs to be an even greater risk associated with ultra-long field goal tries, consider changes to the scoring system.

• For the sake of argument, assume that you want to add more risk to any field goal try over 55 yards.  Then make a field goal from 55 yards or longer worth only 2 points instead of 3 points for shorter tries.

Since there were 73 field goals made last weekend (4.5 per game) that means there were even more attempts since there had to be a couple of missed tries.  [Aside:  I remember that Justin Tucker missed one in the Ravens/Raiders game…]  So, in addition to Professor Daly’s suggestion that we spend time analyzing kickers and trying to figure out how they got so proficient, perhaps a rule change or two might be in order?

Switching gears – – sort of – – I’ll take a moment here to suggest an NFL restructuring of its divisions.  Obviously, what exists today works just fine, but I believe that there is a principle that is not sufficiently recognized in the current structure.

• Proximity enhances rivalry.

So, in order to increase “proximity” among division teams and therefore enhancing rivalries, consider this realignment:

• Left Coast Division:  Seattle, SF. LA Rams, LA Chargers
• Flyover División:  KC, Denver, Arizona, Las Vegas
• Deep South Division:  Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Tennessee
• Midwest Division:  Minnesota, Green Bay, Chicago, Indy
• Rust Belt Division:  Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit
• Megalopolis Division:  New England, NY Jets, NY Giants, Philly
• Mid-Atlantic Division:  Washington, Baltimore, Carolina, Cincy
• South Division:  Atlanta, Jax, Tampa Bay, Miami

OK, I admit that the “Flyover Division” is a bit of a stretch as is adding Cincy to the “Mid-Atlantic Division”, but look at all the close packed geography in the rest of the divisions for developing rivalries…

Finally, since today’s rant has been about change, let me close with Charles Darwin:

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

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

The NFL season is only two weeks old – – and I have only seen one weekend of action.  Nonetheless, there is turmoil in the league already.  Let me start in Charlotte, NC where the 2024 Carolina Panthers have looked as bad as the 2023 Carolina Panthers looked while going 2-15-0.  Just watching bits of last week’s loss to the Chargers made me think that there is no part of the Panthers’ team that appears to be competitive or even interested.  Yesterday, the team announced that it will bench Bryce Young and turn the offense over to Andy Dalton.

Just last year, Young was the overall #1 pick in the draft; he struggled more than a little bit in 2023, and the team brought in a new coach with the idea that the new system might spur development in the QB.  That has not happened in the first two games; calling the Panthers’ offense “anemic” would exaggerate its performance level.  And the benching brings back to the headlines what the Panthers paid in order to draft Bryce Young.

The Bears had the overall #1 pick, and they already had a young QB on the roster, so the Bears “allowed” the Panthers to pay an exorbitant price to move up in the draft to the #1 slot.  Here is what Carolina gave up:

• 2023 Draft – – Overall #9 pick plus a second-round pick
• 2024 Draft – – First-round pick
• 2025 Draft – – Second-round pick
• WR, DJ Moore

Panthers’ owner, David Tepper is notoriously impatient; when the Panthers stunk out the joint last year, he fired first year coach, Frank Reich after only 11 games.  Tepper has owned the Panthers since May 2018 and in the 6 years since his arrival, the Panthers have had the following head coaches (including interims):

• Ron Rivera  5-7-0
• Perry Fewell  0-4-0
• Matt Rhule  11-27-0
• Steve Wilks  6-6-0
• Frank Reich  1-10-0
• Chris Tabor  1-5-0
• Dave Canales  0-2-0
• Cumulative:  24-61-0

If past behavior is an indicator of future behavior, owner Tepper might be looking to fire someone pretty soon.  Let me suggest here that in addition to coaches, he might dig deeper to find out:

• Who in the scouting department valued Bryce Young so highly that such a trade offer was put together?
• Who made the ultimate decision to pay that price?
• Who has constructed the rest of the current roster that is only marginally competitive?

Meanwhile, another center of unrest in the NFL is in Philly.  The Eagles blew a win last night at home against the Falcons; some have called it an “epic collapse” and it comes on the heels of last year’s equally epic collapse of the season that started out 10-0.  Here is what happened last night:

• Eagles led 18-15 with under two minutes to play in the game.  They had the ball third down and 3 yards to go at the Falcons’ 9 yardline.
• The Falcons had no timeouts left.
• Obviously, a running play that does not go out of bounds to stop the clock is going to be the call.  If you make the first down, you kneel out the game; if you don’t make it, the clock will run down to about 1:10 whereby you kick a field goal and go up 6 points.
• However, the always edgy and creative Eagles’ coaching staff/analytics gurus decide on a roll out pass play that falls incomplete stopping the clock.  The Eagles get the field goal but now leave about 1:50 on the clock for the Falcons.
• The defense goes AWOL, and the Eagles choke away the game.

I am almost never in favor of firing coaches when players play badly or when someone hands the coach a flawed roster.  In last night’s case, I would make an exception.  Forget about where the buck stops, why was there no adult in the huddle on the sidelines as the Eagles decided what play to call on third-and-three?  Not to put too fine a point on it but that bit of play calling was done by someone with echoes between his ears.

Finally, the Eagles’ decision making last night reminded me of a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

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

Joe Schmidt died last week at the age of 92.  He was a great middle linebacker for the Detroit Lions in the 1950s and early 60s; he was the starter on the Lions’ NFL championship team in 1957.  Later, he was the Lions’ head coach from 1967 to 1972 and despite taking over a ramshackle team to start, he compiled a winning record over his 5 seasons in Detroit.

Rest in peace, Joe Schmidt.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to watch my first NFL games of this year.  [Aside:  I do not count Exhibition Games in that statement because the players on the screen in Exhibition Games are not the ones who will play in the regular season.]  And so, it was my first time to hear Tom Brady as a color analyst on the Cowboys/Saints game.  My comments necessarily come from a very limited sample size and that sample is from the earliest stages of Brady’s development as a broadcaster.  Having said that, I think he was awful.

• A color analyst can adopt the position of an instructor.  In that role, he needs to be precise with his words and he must be sure to point out important things that the viewer might have missed due to the inexperience/naivete of the viewer.  Brady did virtually none of this.
• A color analyst can adopt the position of a cheerleader.  In that role, he needs to be enthusiastically over-the-top on just about any play that results in a loss of yardage, a gain of more than 10 yards, a turnover or a TD.  Brady evinced no enthusiasm at all during the telecast and needed his partners to try to draw comments out of him as the program went along.
• A color analyst can adopt the position of “Captain Obvious”.  This is not a performance to seek; but when one does adopt the role, it requires constant explanation of the same sorts of obvious things over and over again.  The only thing Brady did over and over again was to remain silent when there was room for a comment of any kind.

I am on record that I do not think this is Tom Brady’s calling in life simply because – – during his long playing career – – he never appeared to me to be comfortable standing behind a microphone and addressing folks present in person and present over the air.  Maybe that sentiment prejudiced my reaction to his performance yesterday; it is never easy to assign a measure to one’s prejudices, so I have to acknowledge my preconceived position as it relates to my assessment.  As they used to say in the car commercials, “Your mileage may vary …”

And speaking of the Saints/Cowboys game yesterday, did someone slip some Quaaludes into the Gatorade that the Cowboys’ defensive players were using?  The Saints scored a TD on their first 6 possessions in the game rolling up a total of 380 yards and 41 points in those 6 drives covering the first three quarters of the game.  Hidden by the horrible defensive performance might be another deficiency for the Cowboys:

• They do not run the ball well at all and they are not deep in the pass catching positions.
• Yesterday the Cowboys ran the ball 21 times for a total of 68 yards and 12 of those yards came on scrambles by Dak Prescott.  The basic running game produced 56 yards on 19 carries and – – as they say – – that won’t feed the bulldog.

I also got my first look at the trimmed down studio panel at CBS; gone are Boomer Esiason and Phil Simms; in their place is Matt Ryan.  I was always lukewarm about Esiason and Simms; I doubt that I will miss them very much.  Ryan was bright and perky on the program to the point that he appeared to be tense as opposed to relaxed.  Doing studio commentary is not like trying to cobble together an 80-yard game winning drive in the final minutes of a game; when Ryan gets comfortable and exhales regularly, I think he will be pretty good.

The “late game” yesterday afternoon in my viewing area was the Steelers/Broncos game.  The Steelers won 13-6 giving them a 2-0 record for the season despite the fact that they have scored only one TD in those two victories.  For the second week in a row, the Broncos leading rusher was QB, Bo Nix.  People like to talk about “sustainability” these days; that is not exactly “sustainable”.

Moving on …  Forget worrying about and trying to scope out the wildcard playoff races in MLB.  The results of those races will make themselves apparent very soon.  Instead focus your baseball attention on the Chicago White Sox and their potential record-setting in the area of futility and ineptitude.  As of this morning the team record is 35-115 with a dozen games left to play.  Here is the landscape for the White Sox should they achieve ineptitude immortality:

• Three teams in the modern era have lost 115 games in a season.  The White Sox are already at this level matching the 2018 Orioles and the 1935 Boston Braves.  [Aside:  The Braves did this in a season of 153 games; the White Sox have done it in 150 games – – and counting.]
• The Philadelphia A’s lost 117 games in 1916.  That team amassed all those losses in a total of 153 games; this year’s White Sox should surpass the total number of losses but might not do so in the next three games.
• The Tigers lost 119 games in 2003.  That team played a full 162 games in 2003.
• The Mets in 1962 (their expansion year) lost 120 games and did so in only 160 games.

To date in 2024, the White Sox are winning 23.3% of their games.  If they get hot for the final dozen games and break even in them, they will still eclipse the Mets level of ignominy by losing 121 games.  Here are the Sox opponents to come:

• Six games against the Angels – – three at home and three on the road
• Three games against the Padres – – on the road
• Three games against the Tigers – – on the road

Let the games begin …

Finally, having thought about the White Sox level of futility this year, let me close with this from George Carlin:

“Dusting is a good example of the futility of trying to put things right. As soon as you dust, the fact of your next dusting has already been established.”

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

On the old ESPN Radio program, Mike and Mike, they would often return from a commercial break by saying they were “back and better than ever”.  Well, I’m back – – and let’s leave it at that.  I survived the safari and was not eaten by a lion; the fact that I am pecking this out on a keyboard demonstrates that I survived the 15+ hour flight home that also changed 6 time zones.  [Aside:  I handle jetlag well; that flight experience was most trying; let that be a word to the wise…]

I have been completely isolated from US sports for more than two weeks; I have not seen any college football and only last night did I see part of the Thursday Night game before nodding off late in the first half with the Bills ahead 24-7.  I mention all that because I am going to try to turn this into a watered down Football Friday just because …

So let me begin with the traditional look at the football fortunes of the Wildcats of Linfield University; the school has not had a losing season in football since 1956.  Last weekend, Linfield opened the season by hosting Denison University and won that game 31-7.  This weekend, Linfield plays another non-conference game – – this time on the road against Wisconsin-Oshkosh.  Go Wildcats!

Back before these rants were on hiatus, I did a college football preview rant and identified Nebraska as a “sleeper team” for 2024 because they finished last season well and traditionally Matt Rhule’s teams tend to improve in his second year at the helm.  Nebraska beat Colorado last weekend to stretch their record to 2-0 at the start of this year.  Go Huskers!

College Football Commentary:

            As noted above, I have seen no college football with my own eyes to date in the 2024 season, so this commentary is – – at best – – a mile wide and an eighth of an inch deep.  Just this week, the remnants of the PAC-12 (Oregon State and Washington State) shanghaied 4 teams from the Mountain West Conference in an attempt to resurrect a new PAC-12.  As of now, there are 6 teams in the attempted reconstruction, and they are in alphabetical order:

1. Boise State
2. Colorado State
3. Fresno State
4. Oregon State (holdover)
5. San Diego State
6. Washington State (holdover)

Six teams do not a conference make; ergo I would expect to see the “Fledgling PAC-12” out and about seeking at least two more schools and maybe as many as six more schools to throw in with them such as …

• New Mexico State – – it fits the theme of every team being “Something State”
• UNLV – – geographically fitting
• Air Force – – right next door to Colorado State
• Idaho – – geographically fitting and right next door to Washington State
• Wyoming – – why not?
• UTEP – – if New Mexico State is in, UTEP is just down the road a piece.

And if any/all of that happens, what will become of the Mountain West Conference?

Going into the 2024 season, I thought Florida State was going to be a powerhouse to the point that they might have contended for a BYE in the first round of the expanded CFP.  Forget that.  The Seminoles opened the season with a loss to Georgia Tech in a game played in Dublin, Ireland.  OK, that might be forgiven since Georgia Tech was significantly improved last year and brought back most of their offensive players.  But Florida State came back to the States and lost again to BC leaving the Seminoles at 0-2.  [Aside:  Georgia Tech also lost their next game to Syracuse; so, the idea that Tech is some sort of nascent juggernaut seems to have gone out the window.]

With the CFP expanded to 12 teams this year, it is possible that there will be a team or two in the field with two losses on the record.  That means at a minimum. Florida State will need to win out impressively to make the selectors forget these two stinkeroos when December rolls around.

And speaking of a stinkeroo – – Notre Dame wet the bed last week at home in South Bend losing to Northern Illinois in what was supposed to be a cupcake game for the Irish.  For the record, Northern Illinois was paid $1.4M to come to South Bend to take their shellacking.  Ooops …

In case you forgot, Northern Illinois is in the MAC; a team aspiring to the CFP must not lose to a team in the MAC.  Take your mind back to 2007 when the BCS only had two teams playing off for the National Championship.  USC was a powerhouse that year but managed to lose a game to Stanford when the Trojans were 41-point favorites at kickoff.  It was Stanford’s only win of the year and it kept USC out of the playoff game.  The Irish were 28-point favorites here and similarly lost outright; fortunately for Notre Dame, there are 12 slots in the playoffs this year not only 2 …

In case you think this was some sort of flukey win by Northern Illinois, the Huskies ran the ball for 190 yards in the game and outgained the Irish 388 yards to 286 yards.  The Irish had a shot to win the game with a field goal in the final minute and had the attempt blocked.

Another result that jumped out at me was Texas 31 Michigan 12 with the game in Ann Arbor.  In the last couple of years, Michigan – – under Jim Harbaugh – – was a team that bullied opponents and ran the ball hard and often.  In this game, Texas was the bully:

• Longhorns outgained Wolverines by more than 100 yards
• Wolverines only gained 80 yards rushing
• Longhorns gained 143 yards rushing
• Longhorns were 10 for 16 on third-down conversions
• Wolverines were 3 for 12 on third-down conversions

Penn State won last weekend – – extending their record to 2-0- – but did not look good doing so.  The Nittany Lions trailed at halftime at home to Bowling Green (another MAC team) and had to rally in the second half to win by a TD.  For the record, Penn State went off as a 34.5-point favorite in the game.  That is not a good look for a CFP-aspirant…

I got an email from a reader who is an alum of Temple University.  He knew I would be out-of-touch and would probably not focus on Temple’s football fortunes as soon as I got back; so, he included this dismal stat about the Temple Owls and posed a question:

“In the first two games Temple has scored 1 TD and has turned the ball over 9 times.  Can any team match that?”

I have no idea if any team can match that – – but I do know that if that sort of performance persists in 2024, it will be a season to forget on campus in North Philly.

One other early season observation deals with Missouri.  Remember that the Tigers closed out the 2023 season by beating Ohio State in a Bowl Game.  Mizzou is 2-0 this year beating Murray State and Buffalo which is not such a big deal.  What just might be a big deal is that Missouri has not allowed a point in those two victories.  The 6^th ranked Tigers should get a sterner test this week when they host 24^th ranked Boston College.

Just before I left, there was a depressing story related to college football.  An assistant coach at Austin Peay was arrested and charged with ‘human trafficking”; he was charged with one count of “trafficking for sexual servitude”.  The assistant coach resigned from his position after the arrest and the school accepted that resignation.  There have been notable instances when lurid allegations turn out to be not much more than allegations, but these charges are such that the school had to find a way to distance itself from the situation as best it could.  The coach is innocent until proven guilty at trial; Austin Peay could not wait for that process to play itself out.

NCAA Games of Interest:

Alabama – 16 at Wisconsin (49.5):  Wisconsin is 2-0 on the season but the wins have come over Western Michigan and South Dakota.  Alabama is a “step up” in class for the Badgers…

Memphis at Florida St. – 6.5 (54):  Even though it is only Week 3, this is a “must-win” for Florida St.

LSU – 6.5 at S. Carolina (48):  The Gamecocks are 2-0 on the season and have a road win over Kentucky already.  Could be interesting…

Washington St. at Washington – 5 (55.5):  This is the Apple Bowl game usually played at the end of every season back in “PAC-12 days”.  At least the traditional rivalry game survived the implosion of the conference.

Oregon – 17 at Oregon St. (50):  This is the Civil War game usually played at the end of every season back in the “PAC-12 days”.  At least the traditional rivalry game survived the implosion of the conference.

Notre Dame – 9 at Purdue (47):  A “must-win” for the Irish…

Troy at Iowa – 23 (39):  Can you trust Iowa to score more than 23 points in a game?

Indiana – 3 at UCLA (46.5):  Indiana is 2-0 having outscored its opponents 108-10.  However, those opponents were Florida International and Western Illinois.  UCLA is 1-0 having eked out a win at Hawaii two weeks ago by a field goal.

NFL Commentary:

Before focusing on the NFL, let me insert a note here about the Canadian Football league.  This tidbit came to me in an email from Gregg Drinnan, the former sports editor of the Kamloops Daily News.  If you have never seen a CFL game, I need to tell you about a rule in CFL football that does not exist here in the “Lower 48”.  There is a scoring play called a rouge.  A rouge is worth one point when …

• … a punt or a missed field-goal attempt is kicked into the other team’s end zone and the opposing team does not catch the ball and run it out of its own end zone.

Professor Drinnan pointed out that a CFL game ended with a “Walk-off rouge” and that might be a first.  Here is the email I received:

“You won’t ever see this happen in the NFL. LOL!

“We had a walk-off rouge in the CFL on Thursday night as the host Toronto Argonauts beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders, 20-19. K Lirim Hajrullahu’s 40-yard field goal as time ran out in the fourth quarter was wide left but sailed through the end zone for a single point, breaking a 19-19 tie. . ..

“The game likely shouldn’t have been that close as the Argos (6-4) turned over the ball three times on downs when stopped on third-and-goal attempts from the one yard-line. . ..

“Toronto QB Chad Kelly, the most outstanding player in the CFL last season, was 24-of-39 for 322 yards and an interception. This game marked his return from what was a nine-game suspension for being in violation of the CFL’s gender-based violence policy. . ..

“Saskatchewan K Brett Lauther, who missed four of seven field goal attempts last week in a 27-24 loss to the visiting Montreal Alouettes, was 4-for-4 in this one. . .

“The Roughriders are 5-5-1.”

Here is something to look for that is peripheral to NFL on-field action this year.  In 2016 and again in 2020, the NFL’s TV ratings went down.  That news generated two narratives:

1. The NFL has peaked in popularity.  The game is too dangerous.  The bubble is about to burst.
2. This is a Presidential-election year and people are more focused on non-sports events in such years.  This too shall pass.

Deshaun Watson needs a bridge over troubled waters again.  [Hat tip to Simon and Garfunkel].  Having emerged bloodied from a series of sexual assault allegations, he now faces a new charge by a woman in Houston who says he exposed himself and sexually assaulted her in her apartment.  One report I read said that she had “video” of the incident which allegedly occurred back in 2020.  Watson denies the allegation; the NFL is “investigating” and will supposedly meet with the accuser.  As of now, Watson is not suspended nor is he on the Commissioner’s Exempt List meaning he can still play for the Browns.  But as a local disc-jockey used to say on a rock-and-roll station where I grew up, “the hits just keep on coming…” for Deshaun Watson.  Best thing to do now is to reserve judgment until lots more info is revealed.

The Jets are unfathomable.  Last year they won 7 games with incompetent QB play.  Their defense made them worthy opponents just about every week.  Now Rodgers is back and he played well – – if not spectacularly – – last week but the Jets’ defense was a no-show.  What is that all about?  At one point in the game, the 49ers scored on EIGHT consecutive drives.

No one should be surprised that Bengals lost their opener; they seem to start every season in the hole.  Since Zac Taylor took over in Cincy, the Bengals are 1-10 in the first two weeks of the season.  This one was really strange; Bengals were 7.5-point favorites over the Pats – – a team expected to contend for the overall #1 pick next year and they lost outright 16-10 at home.

Meanwhile, the Browns were dismantled by the Cowboys 33-17.  Maybe Deshaun Watson was “distracted” here?

The Steelers beat the Falcons 18-10.  The Steelers kicked 6 FGs in the game and won with their defense.  The Steelers are the only team in the AFC North to win the opener.

The Vikes beat Giants 28-6.  That was Sam Darnold back there for the Vikes completing his first 12 passes in a row.

The Panthers lost badly in Week 1 to Saints 47-10.  Moreover, they lost their best DL, Derrick Brown, for the season with a meniscus injury requiring surgery.  Could be another 2-15 season in the making?

The Bears scored 24 points in their win over the Titans so you might think that Caleb Williams led them to victory.  Not so fast, my friend …  [Hat tip to Lee Corso]  Caleb Williams only threw for 93 yards in this game, but he got the win thanks to the Bears’ special teams and defense. Those units produced a blocked punt resulting in a TD and a Pick-Six in the fourth quarter. But a win is a win for the overall #1 pick in last year’s draft…

The Bucs beat the Commanders 37-20 in Jayden Daniels’ debut game.  Here is an important question for Commanders’ coaches to ponder:

• Where was the Commanders defense? 

The Commanders’ pass coverage was not existent, and Bucs converted 9 of 13 third down situations.  Baker Mayfield was nearly perfect against the Commanders, throwing for 289 yards and four touchdowns; Jayden Daniels spent lots of time running for his life; the Commanders’ OL was awful last year and did not play much better than that last week.

Last night, the Bills rolled over the Dolphins 31-10.  For what it is worth, the Bills have now won 12 of their last 13 games against the Dolphins.  More importantly for the Dolphins, Tua Tagovailoa had to leave the game in the second half with a concussion and one report this morning said it could be 8-12 weeks until he is cleared to return.  As of this morning, the Dolphins depth chart shows Skylar Thompson as the only QB cleared to play.  That situation will not obtain for long…

Games This Week:

Raiders at Ravens – 9 (41):  Both teams lost their openers, but the Raiders looked bad against the Chargers while the Ravens played the Chiefs to the wire.

Chargers – 5 at Panthers (39):  Expect the Chargers to run the ball a lot in this game…

Saints at Cowboys – 6 (46.5):  Both teams were impressive last week; between the two of them, they scored a total of 80 points.  Call this the Game of the Week.

Bucs at Lions – 7.5 (51): Baker Mayfield torched the Commanders’ secondary last week; the Lions should be a much better adversary this week.

Colts – 2.5 at Packers (41):  Malik Willis will be the QB for the Packers in place of Jordan Love here.  Anthony Richardson is likely to be his erratic self in this game.  It could be fun to watch, or it could be cringe-worthy…

Browns at Jags – 3 (41):  Both teams lost their openers; the Jags kept it close against the Dolphins; the Browns were steamrollered.

Niners – 4.5 at Vikes (46.5):  Both teams won handily last week; several touts have picked the Vikes as their “Upset of the Week”.

Seahawks – 3 at Pats (38):  Can the Pats win another one here as the Seahawks face a body clock game?

Jets – 3.5 at Titans (41):  Could be the Dog-Breath Game of the Week…

Giants at Commanders – 2.5 (42):  Here is the REAL Dog-Breath Game of the Week…

Rams at Cards – 1 (47.5):  Cards looked good against the Bills in Week 1 despite losing.

Bengals at Chiefs – 6 (48):  Will the Bengals open yet another season at 0-2?

Steelers – 2.5 at Broncos (36.5):  Can the Steelers score a TD this week?  Bo Nix led the Broncos rushing in Week 1, that is not a recipe for success against the Steelers.

(Sun Nite) Bears at Texans – 6 (45.5):  Caleb Williams will need to produce a lot more offense this week than last week.

(Mon Nite) Falcons at Eagles – 6.5 (47):  This game was the runner-up as the Game of the Week.

Finally, words from Vince Lombardi:

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.

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