Some very interesting stories to follow over these last couple of week. 

This coming week I am excited about the Sports Philanthropy Network holiday events in DC (December 17th) and Chicago (December 19th), as well as the Aspen Institute’s event on the State of College Sports which is being held in DC on December 17th. Should be a a very interesting week ahead with lots to report next week.

NFL CELEBRATIONS—for so many years the NFL fought against allowing players to celebrate.  The moniker of the “No Fun League” seemed to fit very well.  I think one of the best things to come along in sports in a long time is the permission the NFL has given players to have fun planning, executing and enjoying the pleasure that comes along with a TD or a turnover.  Though the games are long enough, I would much rather watch the players celebrating than seeing a commercial for the 100^th time, 500^th time.  Let’s hope that they find other ways to encourage these positive spirited enhancements of the game!

CHRIS PETERSON—His retirement highlights the enormous pressure cooker college coaches are under.  NFL coaches are no different, except that very few of them are able to make it past a few years in the league.  Virtually no coach has an open ended contract, unless your name is Belichick or Tomlin.  We have seen Urban Meyer retire multiple times and there are reports he will be back. Bill Cowher took a step back and there does not appear to be much chatter connecting him to any job openings this year.   Jon Gruden stepped away for a long time before he was lured back.  Though it gets in the coach’s blood, people often underestimate the mental, physical and psychological damage it can do to the coach and his family.

49ERS ANNOUNCER—This was a very disturbing incident in which the 49ers announcer Tim Ryan stated that one of the main reasons Lamar Jackson succeeded was due to his dark skin (and uniform) being able to hide the ball on play-action and read-option plays.  The absurdity was highlighted by Jackson wearing white sleeves and white gloves and continuing to put up huge numbers.  Anyone watching his performance will tell you that his running and passing abilities have nothing to do with “hiding” the ball due to his skin color.  The announcer got the appropriate flack and hopefully this issue is put behind everyone. 

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME—I had the privilege to get press credentials to cover the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis last Saturday night.  Indianapolis has the well-earned reputation for putting on a phenomenal show.  It was doing so for many years of NCAA tournaments, Big Ten Tournaments and other events, before the Super Bowl showcased its capabilities to a much wider audience.  The fan set up in Indy is tough to beat with the hotels and restaurants so close to the action.  The Indiana Convention Center hosted a terrific Fan Fest and pep rallies letting fans get opportunities to kick field goals, run the 40 yard dash and much more.  Some parents even let their kids get in front of them in line.   The staff at Lucas Oil Stadium does a great job hosting the media and ensuring first-class access to the field and all of the necessary resources. 

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF— Returning from the Big Ten Championship game and watching the playoff field unfold was completely anti-climactic given that there were really no strong arguments for any of the other teams, highlighting the need for an 8 team playoff to keep things interesting for more of the country and putting home field at stake!  Personally, I still hate having these games in advance of January 1^st so that the losers of the semi-finals are out of the college football talk before about half of the bowl games have even been played. 

PATRIOTS VIDEOTAPES—It is hard to believe that the Patriots are embroiled in another scandal.  You would think that they would have learned their lesson and that the specifications of working on a Patriots project would clearly articulate the need to be careful about videotaping improper areas of the field.  While it is hard to see how this would give the Patriots a competitive advantage (because anyone in the stands can videotape anything these days), there are certainly multiple troubling aspects of this issue.  First, the lack of “institutional control” in this case is surprising given the past history.  Second, the videographer’s lack of ability to articulate his purpose is somewhat troubling.  If you are filming for a particular feature, it would seem that you should be able to tell the “story” about why that film was needed.  At minimum, it is just a bad look for the Patriots, but it is also the type of incident that has seemed to galvanize the team in the past.

PRESIDENTS CUP FIGHT—Golf is typically perceived to be a game of honor and sportsmanship.  Patrick Reed’s failure to report his violation in the sand waste area created quite a storm leading into the Presidents Cup and the opposing fans at Royal Melbourne gave him an earful.  Reed’s caddy was apparently tired of it at the end of one of his rounds and got in a fans face and shoved him after the fan’s explicative filled tirade.  No matter the fan’s comments, physical assault by the caddie was unacceptable and the PGA rightfully suspended him immediately. Reed accepted that penalty.  He also responded as you would expect and came back with a dominating performance early in the singles session to help set the tone for the USA’s comeback victory.

BEARS-PACKERS—As one of the oldest rivalries in sports, this game always means a lot.  There were some very interesting plays and a finish which might have ranked up there with the famous Cal-Stanford rugby laterals (even if this one was shorter).  The Packers seemingly had no idea how to defense the play and only the failure to make the last lateral properly kept the Bears out of the end zone. It has been a difficult year for the Bears franchise and it will be interesting to watch to see how they react in the off-season.  Trubisky made a lot of very good throws in the game but still makes the critical mistakes that can turns wins into losses.

DARK WATERS—I don’t usually put much in here in terms of movie recommendations but I saw “Dark Waters” Saturday night and highly recommend it.  It depicts the highly disturbing story of DuPont and the pollution it wreaked around the disposal of the chemical compound used to make Teflon.  The compound cannot be broken down by the human body (or by most animals) and it causes all types of cancer and birth defects.  The movie traces the lawyer who fought the battle for 15 years to the detriment of his own legal career and family.  The heartbreaking elements of the story highlight the ongoing failures of the EPA, the inability of government (federal and local) to regulate chemical compounds for our food and water supplies and the challenges inherent in our legal system which allows a large well funded corporation to “bully” its own employees, cancer victims, the town hosting its plant, opposing counsel and everyone else involved in the legal process.

If you didn’t have a chance to see some of the other things I have been involved with or written recently, take a look here:

• Sports Philanthropy Newsstand, December 13, 2019
• PODCAST: Fred Mitchell, Chicago Blackhawks
• Sports Philanthropy Newsstand, December 6, 2019
• Roy’s Ramble, December 1, 2019
• PODCAST: Tony Giarla, AVP First
• Why an 8 Team Playoff Will Save College Football
• Plenty of Blame to Go Around in NFL/Kaepernick Fiasco
• PODCAST: Danya Rosen, Chicago Run
• FIRE SABAN!! Be Careful What You Wish For ‘Bama Fans
• Why Second Guessing Playcalling is Like Second Guessing Rock, Paper, Scissors
• Sports Philanthropy Newsstand, November 29, 2019
• Roy’s Ramble, November 22, 2019

HUMOR FOR THE WEEK

MOTIVATION FOR THE WEEK

Thanksgiving—I was very appreciative of being able to spend the day with my parents, my sister Sharon and Kayla Bradham and her children.  It was great to host them all and be able to share a full evening together.  It was also great to have some time with my kids over the weekend and hear about my daughter’s first semester in college at Madison. We were also able to share in the celebration of the Badgers clinching a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game against Ohio State and we will be looking for a much better performance than the game in Columbus in October. 

Most importantly, I am thankful for all of the good things in my life.  A place to live, plenty of food, plenty of clothes and many friends and family to share happy occasions with.  I hope to continue to do a lot of work with the Sports Philanthropy Network to help many organizations make positive impact in their communities.

Dean Smith Letters—These are some amazing letters that I found online.  They were written from legendary North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith to a young basketball player named Michael Jordan.  You can see the attention to detail Smith has and the eye for the game.  What I also found interesting in these letters is the fact that you can see how they impacted Michael’s game at the NBA level.  It would be very interesting to see other letters from Dean Smith or other coaches in terms of how they want to see their players improving in the off-season (and then looking back on these letters after a player becomes a star).

Nick Saban—Alabama losing 2 regular season games is almost unheard of.  The loss yesterday really had to sting because Alabama mostly controlled the game.   The first pick-6 was relatively normal, but the second one was a horrendous throw and an enormous turning point in the game.  Instead of an 8-point Alabama lead it turned into a 100 yard INT return for Auburn.  But the lasting image of the game will Nick Saban’s tirade at the extra time added at the end of the first half.  By all rights, Saban is 100% correct.  There is no way that the clock should have been stopped or that Auburn should have been given time to kick that FG (which was ultimately the difference in the game).  The second dispute at the end of the game seems different to me. Auburn pulled off a good trick play and Alabama got caught with too many players on the field allowing Auburn to run out the clock. As in any close game, there are so many individual plays that can make the difference.  Besides the two big disputes, you have a relatively short missed FG and a defense that was clearly not up to Alabama’s recent standards. Still, it is hard to see how so many Tide fans are calling for Saban’s head.  As I wrote recently, be careful what you wish for Alabama Fans.  You might not make the playoff this year, but I would not bet against Saban next season (and if I were one of his assistant coaches, I would not plan on much sleep).

The Hedges—There were some very funny images of people trying to get through the hedges at Auburn after the win.  It would seem that if you were a fan at Auburn you might have a better game plan of how to get on the field after a big win.  Surprisingly, Alabama is 0-7 at Auburn when both teams are ranked. 

Jim Harbaugh Press Conference—After becoming the first Michigan coach to be 0-5 against Ohio State, Harbaugh was obviously quite testy at his press conference.  It might not have risen to the level of contentiousness as Mike Leach does at Washington State, Harbaugh was clearly irritated by questions of what Ohio State did better.  It is going to be very interesting to see where Michigan is slotted for a bowl game and how the sentiment around Ann Arbor in the off-season will impact the Harbaugh era.  Many Michigan alums were unhappy going in to the season and Michigan lost to the three best teams they played (Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State).  They were not even close against Ohio State or Wisconsin and needed a huge comeback against Penn State to get within striking range, a comeback which appeared to be the turning point for Michigan to play well for the second half of the season.  While Harbaugh has made Michigan more competitive than the last two coaches (Hoke, Rodriguez), he hasn’t been able to get over the hump in the way that many expected.  This will be an interesting story to watch in the off-season.

8-Team Playoff—I recently wrote why I think the 8-team playoff will save college football.   The enormous pressure on coaches is just another reason.  With only 4 teams making that playoff, there is virtually no margin for error for any team not named Alabama, Clemson or Ohio State.  You look at Championship Weekend and there are very few teams that can really improve their spot and only a couple (Georgia, Utah, Oklahoma and maybe Baylor) that can likely play their way in.  By contrast, an 8-team playoff would still have a lot of room for movement not only into the field but also into the matchups and into the home-field advantage.  What would be better than seeing and SEC team travel to the Midwest for a game in a snowstorm?

Coaching changes—One of the things that I hate most about this time of year (and also Black Monday after the NFL season), is seeing all of the coaches who lose their jobs. These guys gave their hearts and souls to the programs that they are working for.  Clearly it is a business and they all understand that it is part of the profession, but too many of us fans fail to recognize the impact these decisions have on all of the family members, especially the children uprooted to new schools or faced with abusive attacks on their parent in the media and on social media.   It was refreshing to see the positive press release Northwestern put out after the decision to move on from Mick McCall as offensive coordinator after a truly dreadful offensive season, one which ironically ended up with their best offensive performance of the year.

Josh Shaw betting—The NFL doesn’t play games when it finds out that one of its players has been gambling on NFL games.  Josh Shaw was a backup player on injured reserve who laid some action at a Vegas casino, supposedly due to his misinterpretation of the rules. Though he did cooperate fully, he is suspended through 2020.   According to the NFL’s own language it would appear to prohibit fantasy football but you frequently hear players referencing their fantasy teams.  Maybe they are all just playing for fun. Here are six other things you might not know about Shaw, including the fact that he fabricated a story while at USC about leaping off a balcony to save his drowning nephew.

Medical Independence—One disturbing story this past week was about the lack of medical independence on many college campuses.  According to NCAA regulations, the sport coaches are not supposed to be in charge of the hiring and firing of medical personnel for their programs.   Unfortunately, it has become apparent that there are still way too many coaches who control this aspect of their programs leading to enormous conflicts of interest and unreasonable pressure on the athletic trainers and other medical personnel. The NCAA itself has provisions for dealing with this situation but it appears that they are rarely enforced or even investigated.

Arena Football Bankruptcy—The Arena Football League filed for bankruptcy this week.  The league has had many lives and there is no reason to believe that it is gone for good.  There is always a huge appetite for football, but one important element of the league may be replaced by the XFL.  The development aspect of arena football is limited because too many NFL positions really do not have equivalent positions in arena.  The XFL will be a better developmental mode but the desire to see football is likely to create another desire to resurrect this league.  Its biggest obstacle is likely to be the concussion crisis since players are going to be increasingly reluctant to sacrifice their brains and bodies for the meager financial rewards of arena football, especially if it is not a true developmental option for the NFL.

If you didn’t have a chance to see some of the other things I have been involved with or written recently, take a look here:

• Sports Philanthropy Newsstand, November 29, 2019
• Why an 8 Team Playoff Will Save College Football
• Plenty of Blame to Go Around in NFL/Kaepernick Fiasco
• FIRE SABAN!! Be Careful What You Wish For ‘Bama Fans
• Why Second Guessing Playcalling is Like Second Guessing Rock, Paper, Scissors
• Roy’s Ramble, November 22, 2019
• Roy’s Ramble, November 15, 2019
• Roy’s Ramble, November 8, 2019

HUMOR FOR THE WEEK

MOTIVATION FOR THE WEEK

It has been an interesting week. Last weekend I was out in Buffalo for Project Play Western New York.  This week I have been out in California for meetings with more sports youth organizations, promoting Sports Philanthropy WORLD 2020 and meeting with speakers and sponsors for that event coming up June 25-26, 2020. If you would like to register, you can get our SUPER EARLY BIRD rate through December 31, 2019.

For much of the week I have been attending MEGASUCCESS, a conference run by JT Foxx. It has been an amazing experience.  I have also had an opportunity to reconnect with some good friends and have a chance to sit down for meaningful conversations with people who are trying to change the world.

Amidst all of the travel and activity, I am feeling very thankful for the people that I have in my life and recognize how fortunate I am to have many supportive people in my life.  While I am involved with sports philanthropy all year round, especially at this holiday time, I encourage people to think about their good fortune and donate to causes that help with food insecurity.  Blessing in a Backpack is great organization my daughter Julia is raising money for through her sorority. Blessings helps feed children in need and is something that runs across all races and geographic locations.

What I was following this week:

• Colin Kaepernick—This situation got out of control quick.  You can see what I wrote about “Plenty of Blame to Go Around in NFL/Kaepernick Fiasco.”  Ultimately, even many of those who have spoken out in support of Kaepernick’s right to protest, like Stephen A. Smith, have come down harshly on him agreeing with what I wrote about him trying to dictate terms of a job interview.  Stephen A’s comments this morning focused on the fact that the NFL was even allowing him an opportunity after he sued them, took a huge settlement and more. I will be surprised if he ends up on an NFL roster this season.

• Tua Tagovailoa injury—People heaped blame on Saban, but the injury occurred in the first half so that is clearly absurd. No team sits starters in the first half, regardless of the score.  The bigger concern might be the issue raised when it became apparent that Tua did not have the proper insurance to protect him in the event of an injury.  That is a place where they are rightfully angry at the school because he should have had coverage to protect a drop in value, not just the total permanent disability. This is why athletes need representation to help them negotiate and ensure the proper steps are taken.

• Athlete violence—In the wake of the Myles Garrett fiasco, there were many calls for the NFL to take a stronger stance against domestic violence or other violence against women. Some expressed disappointment that there was more outrage from Garrett’s conduct than some of the recent examples of violence directed to women.  It becomes interesting to watch some of the double standards that exist where players and many members of the media seem to be more willing to give players a second chance or benefit of the doubt for a domestic violence incident than they do for Myles Garrett’s helmet swing, with some calling for a permanent ban.

• The NCPA (National College Players Association) held an event at UCLA which was primarily focused on two issues:  1) health and safety of college athletes; 2) whether players should be paid or allowed to capitalize on their name image and likeness.   The stories from the women on the first panel were heartbreaking.  Listening to the abuse they suffered and hearing about the number of failures in the administration, you have to wonder how so many people could turn a blind eye to their pleas.  Yet it has happened frequently.  (You can read my more detailed summary of each panel coming soon if you check back on this site). The second panel focused on the issue of payments to players, either in the form of direct payments from the schools or allowing athletes to capitalize on their name image and likeness.  Here are a few articles that I have previously written about the topic.
  • NCAA Statement on Name, Image, Likeness Leaves Gaping Holes
  • Only Two Choices Left for College Sports: Level Playing Field or Free Market

• MEGASUCCESS by JT Foxx—Each year JT Foxx puts together an incredible lineup of celebrities for his MegaSuccess event.  So far, the event has featured: Hugh Hilton, Steadman Graham, Gabriel Macht (Harvey Spector from Suits), Omarosa, Dr. Phil, Vince Vaughn, Dolph Lundgren, Jillian Michaels and many others.  The celebrity aspect is truly just one part of the environment because the event draws over 2500 entrepreneurs from over 80 countries around the world.  It is an incredible opportunity to engage with business leaders from around the world, learn about different cultures and network with successful business people trying to help each other improve their businesses.

• California Organizations—Great trip out to California to have the chance to meet with several organizations.  Met with LA Scores (Spotlight), AVP First (Spotlight) and GOALS (Spotlight coming soon).  Each of them perform incredible work in their community and I especially enjoy the opportunity to take a site visit and see the way each group works. If you want to support our efforts to help organization’s like these, you can become a member of the Sports Philanthropy Network by joining here!

• Project Play Western New York— Last weekend I had the honor to present to Project Play of Western New York in Buffalo.  There were over 75 people leading youth sports organizations about how to improve their organizations and build their capacity. There was amazing energy in the room and people that are very passionate about helping kids in their community remain active, learn through sports and develop needed life skills and relationship building through their sports activities. A special treat to end the trip was the hospitality of the Buffalo Sabres who gave me my peek into the Key Bank Center as they hosted “Hockey Fights Cancer” night. I managed to be a good luck charm to help the Sabres end their 7-game losing streak (with a 4-goal game from Jack Eichel).

If you didn’t have a chance to see some of the other things I have been involved with or written recently, take a look here:

• Sports Philanthropy Newsstand, November 22, 2019
• Why an 8 Team Playoff Will Save College Football
• Plenty of Blame to Go Around in NFL/Kaepernick Fiasco
• FIRE SABAN!! Be Careful What You Wish For ‘Bama Fans
• Why Second Guessing Playcalling is Like Second Guessing Rock, Paper, Scissors
• Roy’s Ramble November 15, 2019
• Roy’s Ramble November 8, 2019

Wishing you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving!

Fans have been clamoring for a college football playoff for years.  The BCS did a poor job of giving teams a chance at a true national championship.  The 4-team playoff has not done much better.  It has routinely excluded conference champions, excluded many really good football teams, and ultimately has become system that employs beauty pagent criteria to get access.  If you are not a blue-blood program without any flaws, you have no chance to win it on the field.  Lose an early game…you are out.  Suffer a critical injury at a core position, you might be left out even if you are playing amazing football by the end of the season.

Ultimately, in the current system, teams outside of Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State are routinely left out despite an incredible season.  The effects of this can be seen around the country as teams with a realistic playoff aspiration are seeing significant drop offs in fan interest after they suffer a first loss, and recognize they have zero chance with two losses.

Look at these five reasons to expand to 8 teams, you will see how important this move will be for college football.

1. Schedules are set too far in advance.
2. Conference Championships really only thing a team controls year-to-year.
3. Injuries can keep out deserving teams.
4. Flukely plays and/or bad officiating could keep a team out.
5. Home Field is an enormous benefit.
6. More teams in the running in November.
7. Criteria are inconsistently applied

1. Schedules are set too far in advance.

Non-Conference games played in 2019 were likely scheduled sometime between 2006 and 2012.  Are the power programs today the same as they were in those years?  Can you predict how good a Power 5 team will be 7 to 13 years (or more) in advance.  Judging a program’s success by the strength of that Non-Conference schedule makes little logical sense, because it is not like the school could predict the “strength” at the time it was schedule.

• Conference Championships really only thing a team controls year-to-year.

The only item in the control of a team each year is to win its games.  Ultimately, for every team, in every conference, one of their main goals each season is to win their conference.  That accomplishment alone should be sufficient to get a Power 5 team into the CFP.  The beauty pagent conversations of the CPF Committee (which we discuss further below) should not be allowed to override a conference championship.

• Injuries can keep out deserving teams.

Take a look at Tua’s recent injury.  If Alabama had lost a close game which was missed by their star QB, shouldn’t they still have an opportunity to be considered if he was healthy come playoff time? Under the current format, there would be little chance to that to occur.

• Flukey plays and/or bad officiating could keep a team out.

Do we really want a team left out of the CFP with a bad call or a flukey play?  Yes, I recognize that this could occur at any level, no matter how many teams we put into the CFP.  However, an expansion to 8 teams would give an aggrieved team the opportunity to overcome a hiccup, something that does not exist in the current format.

• Home Field is an enormous benefit.

A common complaint against expanding the playoff, is that it would make games less meaningful.  To the contrary, I think it would make the games MORE meaningful.  Teams would be battling for home field in the Quarterfinals all the way through the conference championship games.  We have seen situations where it has been clear that a team may be in the CFP, even with a loss in the championship (or conversely, eliminated even with a close loss).  The distinction between playing at home or traveling across the country to another power school would keep the stakes high.

• More teams in the running in November.

A team with two losses currently has no chance to get into the CFP.  For some of the reasons set forth above, you can see that could unfairly penalize a team.  If you look at the Top 25 right now, there are probably a dozen teams who could reasonably have a chance to make an 8 team playoff that would have zero chance to make a 4 team playoff.  As currently situated today, there are really only about 8 teams with a chance:  Ohio State, Clemson, LSU, Georgia, Alabama, Oregon, Utah and Oklahoma.  You might be able to make arguments for a few others, but it would take a lot of upsets. In an 8 team playoff, you would still see a path to the playoff for: Baylor, Penn State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, Notre Dame and Auburn.  This basically doubles the pool of candidates and sets up critical games down the stretch as we head to rivalry week.  The importance of this breadth and diversity cannot be overstated since it will allow many programs to see a viable route to the program even when they understand that likelihood of finishing in the Top 4 is not a realistic goal.

• Conference Championship games frequently lack energy

So now let’s look at the actual selection process.  My proposal is for 8 teams, rewarding all 5 Power Conference Champions with a bid.  This ensures that all Conference Championships mean something.  On the rare occasion that a truly “undeserving” team wins the championship, so what? They become an underdog and a darling and maybe they make a run!  The Group of 5 teams would have a spot reserved for them as long as the highest ranked team in that group is in the Top 12 (or Top 15).  I don’t think anyone minds seeing a Central Florida take a spot in the tournament, but nobody wants to see a three loss Group of 5 team ranked 20^th or worse taking up a valuable spot.

• Criteria are inconsistently applied.

When you look at the way the committee approaches the conversation, you essentially see three distinct conversations:

• Body of Work—Your body of work can only be as good as your schedule.  So these all relate to each other, but sometimes a school just wins and wins and wins, but may not look as impressive.  Does that team deserved to be excluded because they do not blow out every opponent?  Put them on the field and they will just win games…and they should get that chance.

• Best Win—another function of the schedule. Not only your schedule, but the schedule of an opponent.  Beat a really good team who has beaten nobody else and you will get little credit, no matter how good that team is.  Beat a mediocre team that has a win over another mediocre team  (i.e. overrated in preseason polls) and you will jump up the charts.

• Worst Loss—If multiple teams have one loss, is the primary consideration who they lost to?  Or who else they have beaten?  This year, Georgia has a terrible, home loss to South Carolina.   Alabama has a close home loss to LSU.  Georgia’s loss is clearly worse, but they are rated higher due to wins over Florida, Notre Dame and Auburn.  The committee flip flops every year on how they apply this criteria.

• Strength of Schedule—Subject to the same problem noted above based on how far the games are scheduled in advance.

Ultimately, the expansion to 8 will be great for college football.  What used to be the best college sports season out there, has now largely been reduced to watching which team between Alabama, Ohio State or Clemson can run up the score the highest.  That is not a sustainable model.

Most fans think they are smarter than the football coaches of the team that they cheer for.  They curse, stomp their feet, throw things at the wall (or the TV) and tweet up a storm.  Coaches are in a no win situation.  If a play fails (regardless of reason), the talking heads on TV and sports talk radio will join in the cacophony and support the fans who were outraged by the decision to run/pass.  Perhaps no play in NFL history symbolizes this phenomenon better than Pete Carroll’s decision to allow Russell Wilson to throw from the 2 yard line with the game on the line.  Malcolm Butler makes a play for the ages and forces his way inside to pick off the pass and the Patriots are the ones that are raising the Lombardi Trophy.

“What are you thinking?” was the theme of the outrage.  “How can you not hand off the ball to Marshawn Lynch?”  Lynch was certainly having a great game.  But would that play have worked?  None of us know that answer.  Wilson’s pass could easily have resulted in a TD and the masses would have jumped on board and said “Great decision to fool them and NOT hand the ball off to Marshawn!”  On the flip side, had they handed the ball off to Lynch and he was stopped by the Patriots defense, the critics would have howled “How could you call such a predictable play?” 

Though I am certainly guilty of that at times as well, when you truly think about it, we do not watch as much tape as the coaches. We do not know the health of the players. We do not know the feel of the game in terms of what is working.  That doesn’t mean we can’t express our frustrations and that we cannot believe a different decision would not have created a better result.

Each time I find myself going down that rabbit hole, I try to come back to this theme—Second guessing play calls is like second guessing decisions in a game of rock, paper, scissors (RPS).   Actually, it is probably worse.  Nobody spends 50+ hours a week studying rock, paper, scissors film (at least I hope not).  Therefore, you really cannot tell someone’s tendencies.  In addition, unlike RPS, which has only three options, a football play has hundreds of options on each the offensive and defensive side of the ball.  No call is inherently good or bad.  It only becomes so based on the combination of several factors:

• Offensive play call
• Defensive play call
• Offensive execution
• Defensive execution
• Player mistakes (beyond fundamental execution, things like slipping on a pass route or dropping a well thrown ball)
• Officiating mistakes

We have all seen plenty of well blocked screens where a RB drops a ball, or a WR slips.   Or a well defended pass that deflects up in the air and gets caught for a first down.  When a play works, it looks artful. When it doesn’t work, it looks pathetic.  As frustrated as we might get, try to remember this next time you are tempted to attack your favorite team’s coaching staff. 

Instead, go track down your friends and ask them why they threw Scissors when they clearly should have known that your other buddy was going to throw a Rock.  See their reaction when you throw a tantrum at their decision and you will get the sense of what coaches think when you do the same thing.

As every week goes by, there are a variety of new issues that hit the sports landscape.  Some merit detailed examination and others get only short-term focus from the mainstream media.   What I find interesting is how some of the most significant issues get only quick sound-bytes and almost no properly follow up.  Here are a few of the items that I found interesting from this week.

• Baker Mayfield—his alleged refusal to shake hands with Richard Sherman became a headline item for 2 days until people pulled up the actual footage and showed Sherman that Baker had in fact greeted him before the toss, though Baker is clearly seen running off immediately after the toss.  To his credit, Sherman acknowledged that the reality was his degree of “hurt” was overblown, but it shows us once again the danger of making immediate reactions and judgments when a player (or eye-witness or victim) provide their initial impressions.  No matter how certain or how loud they are, there is likely to be some discrepancy between the video footage and the “reality” that was initially blasted across the screens.  In the sports world it is easy for us to laugh and brush it off.  In the world of the criminal justice system, those initial soundbytes can dramatically alter a person’s life and devastate their future.

• Increased Risk of CTE—Yet another study was released by Boston University that found an increased risk of CTE for those who have played years of football and found that there was a strong correlation between the number of years played and the the degree of risk..  It is clear that we still are not taking the risks of repetitive hits seriously enough and that there is sufficient data to confirm the importance of reducing the number of head impacts our children receive in ANY sport.  Soccer is eliminating headers at early ages, hockey is eliminating checking at young ages and football is attempting to convert the game to flag football at the youngest levels.  All of these efforts deserve applause, and yet we have to question why so much of the process is still being mis-managed at even the highest levels.  The study of 266 deceased athletes found a 30% increased risk for each year played, meaning that the risk of CTE more than doubled for every 3 years of football. Scary stuff.

• Improper use of subjects in concussion studies and ADHD diagnoses—Once again we see some suspect actions out of the University of North Carolina.  The Athletic found that there was a mysterious absence of critical data in UNCs renowned concussion research. (If you don’t have a subscription to Athletic, here are a couple other links to articles summarizing the coverage: 1) BusinessNC: Years of UNC Concussion Research Led by Guskiewicz May Be Unreliable; 2) The Key Play: OT: Investigation into UNC Concussion Research. Having been through the academic cheating scandals and more, the latest hit comes out as it appears that the athletic department has been diagnosing players with ADHD when they enter college at rates far above what would be expected for kids that had never received that diagnosis.  To make matters worse, the UNC students were then also included in some of the concussion research studies performed at UNC without properly disclosing the ADHD diagnosis.  The troubling aspect arises as people reviewing that study and relying on it for future purposes are potentially basing their new research studies on defective data. 

• High School Baseball—at a business event I happened to meet a mother who relayed the story to me from a local high school baseball team.  Her son loved baseball and played for many years and was the sole kid cut from this particular high school.  Despite having notified the school in advance that this child was coming over from a special program and despite having spoken to some of the coaches in advance to discuss potential accomodations, this particular coach took a hard line attitude.  I cannot imagine the justification for cutting one single kid from any sport (if you are only cutting one kid, then you could clearly keep them and allow them to practice and be part of the team).  But when you combine this issue with the special needs issue, this coach is likely in violation of an IEP, the ADA and many other regulations.  A stubborn attitude and refusal to have a proper conversation about it hardly seems like the type of role model that we want for our children.  Hopefully I will be able to intervene and will have some more positive information to report in the coming weeks.

• Dreadlocks—The letter to Penn State Football player Jonathan Sutherland was truly outrageous.  Calling him out for dreadlocks, tattoos and more, the letter reprimanded him for not holding up the Penn State image.  Leaving aside the simple idiocy of the comments in today’s society, the fact that the letter was so tone deaf to the racial issues in this country is astounding.  I commend Penn State for its prompt reaction to the letter and the fact that it quickly distanced itself from the lunacy.

HUMOR FOR THE WEEK

MOTIVATION FOR THE WEEK

Inadvertent Side-effect of NCAA Redshirting Rule.           People rarely feel that the NCAA has an athlete’s best interests in mind. Yet, when the 4 game participation rule was passed last year for football, it seemed like a good way to balance the interests of the players and the universities by allowing athletes to get a bit of experience without losing an entire year of eligibility.  Unfortunately, from what you are seeing this year, the inadvertent side effects appear to be reaching epidemic proportions.  In the past few weeks, we have had players at Houston and players at Rutgers decide to sit out starting in the middle of the season.  Players are deciding after a “poor” start to the season, a mid-season coaching change or a potential coaching change, that they should “stop” playing until the following year so as not to “waste” a year of eligibility.  This leaves the team and interim coaches in a really difficult situation where players they were relying on now have the ability to decide not to be part of the team.  I am sure that this problem will only grow and ultimately coaches and universities will have to figure out a reasonable (and legal) way to prevent this from happening in the future.  UPDATE OCTOBER 8, 2019: NOW EVEN SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS COVERING THIS SAME ISSUE!!

• California Name Image and Likeness Law.            While almost all of us agree that college athletes are exploited in many respects. However, you have to question whether the “solution” is the proposed Name, Image and Likeness law that was passed in California and is now being proposed in many other states.  You can see a more detailed look that I wrote in this article which takes a peek at some of the difficulties which would be involved with enforcing this law. Well intentioned–absolutely. But it is a going to be an enormous change in college sports, and not in the way that people are expecting!

• Targeting, Helmet-to-helmet and Vontez Burfict.              Targeting is bad.  Taking cheap shots at players heads is bad.  Failing to control your aggression and causing potentially life-changing injuries is something both the NCAA and NFL need to prevent.  But the trouble comes about when they penalize a result or a repeat offender way beyond the actual offense.   You will be hard pressed to find someone to defend Vontez Burfict’s typical behavior and on-field aggression.  He has served multiple suspensions and most of them are well deserved. Suspending him for the remainder of the year for a hit that occurred within the scope of the play seems excessive even given the escaxlating punishments. But his reputation has a major impact here.  Here is a link to Burfict’s hit.   For comparison, take a look at this hit on Green Bay Packer Running Back Jamaal Williams by Eagles’ Derek Barnett.  The hit on Williams was FAR later in the play and completely unnecessary to bring Williams down.  It is hard to understand how the NFL can look at that play and not believe he should have been tossed from the game and suspended. To my eyes, the hit on Williams was much more of the hit you are trying to eliminate, especially since it is not really in the scope of the play.

• Inadvertent Side-effect of NCAA Redshirting Rule.           People rarely feel that the NCAA has an athlete’s best interests in mind. Yet, when the 4 game participation rule was passed last year for football, it seemed like a good way to balance the interests of the players and the universities by allowing athletes to get a bit of experience without losing an entire year of eligibility.  Unfortunately, from what you are seeing this year, the inadvertent side effects appear to be reaching epidemic proportions.  In the past few weeks, we have had players at Houston and players at Rutgers decide to sit out starting in the middle of the season.  Players are deciding after a “poor” start to the season, a mid-season coaching change or a potential coaching change, that they should “stop” playing until the following year so as not to “waste” a year of eligibility.  This leaves the team and interim coaches in a really difficult situation where players they were relying on now have the ability to decide not to be part of the team.  I am sure that this problem will only grow and ultimately coaches and universities will have to figure out a reasonable (and legal) way to prevent this from happening in the future.  UPDATE OCTOBER 8, 2019: NOW EVEN SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS COVERING THIS SAME ISSUE!!

HUMOR FOR THE WEEK

MOTIVATION FOR THE WEEK

It is always interesting to see the differing personalities of the players at the Senior Bowl.  At tonight’s opening event hosted by the Mobile Chamber of Commerce, these distinctions were easy to see. Some guys hopped up on the stage and danced with the band, while others stood in the back corner and spent most of their time on their phones.  Some walked thru the room talking to Mobile’s nobility, while other gathered with their new teammates and stood around in groups of players unless they were asked for a photo or an autograph.

But perhaps this picture best demonstrates the attitudes of the players.  Two guys sitting on their phones texting or playing games, while the other two are spending their time studying their new assignments for the upcoming week of practice.

For those that have never been here, it is hard to understand the pressure cooker environment that Mobile represents for the players.  While it may not be quite as bad as the NFL Combine, they are on display 24/7 and every move is being watched and scrutinized by someone.  The challenge for the players is that they often can’t tell who is watching them. In the frenzy that is the lobby of the Renaissance Hotel, they truly have no idea who most of the people are as they walk through, unless it is a coach, scout or media member that they have already dealt with.  

The practices the next three days go a long way to determining the rise and fall in their draft stocks.  As you get the chance to meet most of these kids, you can see that this represents a long-time dream of playing in the NFL.

Imagine a battle.  Back and forth. Two of the best QBs in the game today.  A dull first half turns into a wild second half, with both QBs making play after play to bring their team back into the lead.  This goes on an on over the course of the fourth quarter and as time runs out, Patrick Mahomes leads his team down the field to set up a tying FG.

So with neither defense able to stop the opposing team, how do we end up settling the game?  essentially, we settle it with a coin flip. Because whoever won the coin flip was likely to walk down the field and put up the winning TD.  

Sports talk radio today was filled with a plethora of ideas that could be used as a better alternative to the current overtime format.  Play a full quarter, use the college OT rules, give each team a chance to score. But there is no clear answer. The outrage was probably higher because it was the Patriots who won.  Again. Would the reaction have been as loud if Patrick Mahomes had first crack and was able to lead his team down the field? I doubt it. Patriot hate is loud and clear and most fans do not like artificial endings.  I think most true football fans would like to see it played out until there is a legitimate winner. What that means is unclear in the current context.

But at least it is better than soccer where you have a penalty kick shootout to decide World Cup matches, including the final.  Imagine if a Super Bowl was decided by having the kickers take turns and move progressively back a few yards at a time until one of the missed.  Or if they each took alternate kicks from 45 yards and see who made the most of in five kicks. And if still tied, then we would go to sudden death.  You can only imagine the pressure on a kicker on the 7th or 8th kick if they were all square. And how many kicks would they have to make before one of them really injured their leg on the kicks?

So football is already not THE worst process.  But it is certainly in need of great improvement.  

How do you suggest  OT is handled? Leave us your comments below and tell us what you think would be an equitable way to resolve the games.