A terrible week for the NFL comes to an end with one of the ugliest incidents anyone has ever seen in the league. They can only hope that Sunday’s games do something to take the spotlight off of the the Browns-Steelers debacle.

Browns-Steelers—This is obviously the headline story of the week.  One of the most vicious incidents ever seen in an NFL game overshadowed an otherwise boring football game.  Probably the only person happy about the ending was Browns DB Demarious Randall.   Randall was ejected—something hard to accomplish in the NFL—for a helmet to helmet hit which was really not even close to being a reasonable football play.  His hit would be the talk of the NFL world if not for Myles Garrett and his helmet swing.  Roger Goodell and the NFL came out with a strong and prompt message.  The prompt part might have been the most surprising given how slow the NFL usually moves, but the league could not let last night’s incident go unpunished into a full slate of games this weekend.  The quick suspensions are just the easy ones and you can anticipate that there will be a lot more fallout as the NFL fully looks into the incident.  Mason Rudolph is unlikely to go without punishment either.

Houston Astros—The Astros were also beneficiaries of Myles Garrett’s actions. Their electronic sign stealing will still be a huge story as it is unlikely that they are the only team using technology to steal signs.  As the analytics craze hits everything else, it is almost funny that the teams do not want anyone stealing signs.  The process of stealing signs has been going on for over 100 years, but the “spirit” of the game apparently draws the line here.

Project Play Western New York—I am excited to be presenting Saturday for a group of sports organizations funded by Project Play of Western New York.  We are expecting over 75 leaders representing 50+ organizations to participate in the workshop and break out sessions aimed at building the capacity of their organizations.  As with many organizations, the challenge is how to balance all of the requirements of running a youth sports organization.   Typically the Founder takes on an enormous burden both financially and in time.   As we sit with organizations we try to help them identify the best way to make their organization sustainable so that if they get hit by that bus, the organization will be able to carry on its important mission and all of the hard-work from the Founder will not go to waste. One of my favorite parts of this process is the smaller group sessions which allow the participants to ask the questions with which they need the most help.

Colin Kaepernick—In another of the NFL’s struggles, the workout set up for Colin Kaepernick on Saturday has received wide-spread criticism.  The reason is that it does not fit in the NFL’s usual timeframe for working out players (Tuesday).  The league did not give Kaepernick much advance notice and many sources have reported that they gave the teams no notice at all prior to the media announcement.  The bottom line is many feel this is a CYA move by the league.  Kaepernick feels he has been blackballed by the league and a victim of systematic discrimination.  However, some former players close to the league have told me that Kaepernick was not even trying to get workouts, was not in shape, and was not training and practicing in any fashion which would make the NFL teams take him seriously. Remember, this is a small community and people know what is going on.  If Kaepernick was training and preparing for workouts, word would easily have gotten back to the NFL teams.  It will be interesting to follow what happens at Saturday’s workout.  Maybe the NFL should give a compensatory to pick to the team who dares to sign him.  It will be interesting to follow what happens on Saturday and it will probably merit its own article early next week so check back here. UPDATE: 11-18-19 Plenty of Blame To Go Around in Kaepernick and NFL Fiasco

Fiserv Forum/Giannis—I had my first chance to see Fiserv Forum and watch Giannis live.  His athleticism is even more impressive in person than in HDTV.   For my personal taste, there are still too many side shows at NBA games because I like the focus on the game and the competition but the crowd for the most part seemed much more engaged by the entertainment during the timeouts.  Fiserv lived up to its billing with an impressive array of food selections and nicely redeveloped area though somewhat inexplicably, several of the bar/restaurants would not serve food or have anything other than bar service. Really? You didn’t see the game schedule? Or you didn’t expect people to come by after the game when you are 200 feet from the exit?  Puzzling.

Georgia vs. Alabama—Does someone want to explain to me how Georgia is ranked ahead of Alabama?  As you can read in my post about “Why an 8-team Playoff Will Save College Football”, the criteria are so questionable that nobody knows the real requirements.  Georgia lost at home to South Carolina.  South Carolina is currently 4-5.   Alabama lost at home to #1 LSU.  LSU is undefeated.   Granted Georgia has a couple good wins (Notre Dame and Florida).  However, you can only play who is on your schedule.  I hate the concept of punishing teams for schedules which are either set a decade in advance (for non-conference games) or are out of their control (set by the conference).  Alabama is still likely to get into the playoff if LSU beat Georgia.  So the Tide will now have to cheer for their rivals because there is almost no way Bama gets in if LSU loses to Georgia because you are hard pressed to see how Bama would be picked ahead of the team that beat them.

HUMOR FOR THE WEEK

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TOP STORIES THAT I WAS WATCHING THIS WEEK

NCAA statement on compensation for Name, Image and Likeness–The NCAA came out this week and said that they were going to start to examine how to allow athletes to receive compensation for their Name, Image and Likeness.  However, if you read the NCAA’s actual statement about the situation, you will see that it is truly full of gaping holes.  Take a read here as I outline some of the problems with the way that NCAA is going about this process.

LEVEL FIELD OR FREE MARKET—After you read the article above, take a read through this analysis about the only two options that are really left for college sports: 1) A level playing field; or 2) A free market system.  Are you ready for these changes? Well, it doesn’t matter because you will have to choose a side! You will see the arguments for each side and then we would love to see you vote which side you would take.

ARENA FOOTBALL—The news that the Arena Football League was going out of business indicates the second professional football league to fold this year, after the AAFL.  The trouble is that the minor league sports are a very difficult business model and if they cannot get secure financial backing as well as solid TV contracts, they are going struggle.  The XFL is picking up momentum as it heads towards its kickoff and it is getting more coverage in the mainstream media and talk radio circuits.

IHSA REFUSAL TO ALLOW CPS SCHOOLS TO PARTICIPATE IN STATE PLAYOFFS—The lengthy Chicago Public Schools teachers strike had many unintended consequences, not the least of which was the fact that the Illinois High School Association decided that it would not allow the CPS schools to compete in state playoffs for the fall sports.  I am still really not clear what the rationale was for that position, but it seems to me that the kids who have worked so hard in their sports all season long should not be forced to miss the playoffs.  I am not weighing in on the right decision regarding the now settled strike, but punishing the kids seems to be in nobody’s best interest.  Kudos the judge that finally allowed the students to compete.

WORLD SERIES—Truly an amazing series. It is unbelievable that the road team won all 7 games.   The Nationals managed to pull it out and won an amazing number of games with clutch hits.  Brewers fans are probably still lamenting the one game playoff they lost when they appeared to have the game in hand and the Nationals rallied with clutch hits.  To me, one of the most disturbing calls was the interference at first base, but thankfully it was made little difference in the game so it can just be relegated to a footnote.

AXIOS—They hosted an event on Wednesday related to criminal justice reform.  A star-studded lineup came through including governor JB Pritzker.  A lot of interesting issues were addressed and you can read more of the details here.  The criminal justice reform issues continue to lag and the slow pace of change is detrimentally impacting a lot of families.

Chicago Sports Commission—Billed at “Telling Chicago’s Story”, the panel included longtime Chicago media members Dave Revsine (Big Ten Network), Peggy Kusinski, Dave Eanet (Northwestern Sports) and Lou Canellis. The panel was moderated Tarah Cooper Wright who is currently in the role of CEO and Partner of the Rise Strategy Group.  She put some very interesting questions and each panelist got the opportunity to tell some of their favorite stories.

AXELSON—The Axelson Center for Non-Profit Management put together a nice event on Tuesday.  They host periodic events around the Chicago area aimed at improving the work of non-profit organizations.  Take a full read here for more details about Tuesday’s event.

JEFFREY EPSTEIN–The story coming out this week about Jeffrey Epstein’s death potentially not being suicide could be the least surprising story of the year.  With all of the information that he had about a lot of powerful people, someone getting to him was a virtual guarantee. The complaints of the Federal Bureau of Prisons aside, you have to wonder how much help someone had to get to him.

ENTREPRENEURS—One of the things I really enjoy is sitting down with entrepreneurs and non-profits and seeing how I can help them improve their operations or take a new product/service to market. I had a chance to sit down with some very interesting organizations and companies this past week and look forward to sharing more details with you over the coming month.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• AMERICAN ISRAEL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE—LEADERSHIP AWARD DINNER, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2019.   Here is a link to the full information. I hope you can join us.  If you are interested in coming as my guest, please send me an email ASAP so that we can get you on the list.  This great organization builds relationships between businesses in Israel and the United States.
• PROJECT PLAY, WESTERN NEW YORK—I have been honored to be invited to present to a group of non-profits that are funding by Project Play of Western New York on November 16, 2019.  These organizations do a lot of interesting work in their respective communities and I am excited to share with them a variety of ways to help them build capacity and sustainability in their operations.

HUMOR FOR THE WEEK

MOTIVATION FOR THE WEEK

• The Aspen Institute Project Play Summit in Detroit.  Supported by the Ralph Wilson, Jr. Foundation, the Summit brought together community organizations from around the country to look at some of the major issues in youth sports.  Some of the most interesting points are listed below.   I have noted a few points here but there is so much more substance that goes into these issues and I will be writing more coverage over the next few weeks.

• Tim Shriver from Special Olympics had one of the best analogies of the conference.  He talked about the fact that sports is virtually the only subject where we discourage participation at a very early age if someone does not show immediate proficiency.  Many athletes are “retiring” or quitting at increasingly earlier ages because they are not selected for elite travel sports teams or because they feel they will not be successful at higher levels of that sport.   Shriver emphasized that we do not stop teaching kids math or English after 2^nd grade, just because they do not demonstrate proficiency at an early age. We continue to educate them and improve their skills.  Yet a lot of kids do not keep playing sports after 10 or 12 years old.  The problem arises in that they do not continue to develop a love for the sport which prevents them from getting the needed amount of activity, decreases the likelihood they will become passionate fans about sports and increases the likelihood that they will fail to develop all of the positive things which come out of participation sports such as a healthier lifestyle, decreased obesity and abilities to collaborate, lead and problem solve.

• Age of boys retiring, age of girls retiring.  These early retirement ages impact all of the issues listed above and have an enormous downstream cost through education, health care, obesity and criminal justice issues.  The challenges continue to overlap because as we see from this whole process, the lack of participation in sports has a detrimental impact on so many other parts of their lives.  The increased opportunities for leadership, improved self-image, healthier eating habits, life-long increases in activity levels and much more demonstrate how crucial it is that we keep kids engaged and active.  Some communities struggle not only to “keep” them involved in sports, but to get them involved in the first place.  It is challenging to see an easy path to increase these levels of engagement without substantial investment in the organizations that have their roots in the community and receive support from the community.

• The recommended level of activity for kids is no less than 60 minutes per day.  You have probably seen the NFL “Play 60” Commercials.   Unfortunately, in the USA, despite all of our resources, 75% of kids do not get that recommended level of activity.  As schools eliminate recess, gym classes and many intramural sports, many metro areas see that level of inactivity rises to over 85%.  What is hidden in these numbers, is the fact that the downstream costs to the community are enormous.  Estimates from the Buffalo and Detroit markets are that reducing the inactivity level “only” to the 75% level would save over $1 Billion.  Yes, billion with a capital “B”.  So if you break that number down it is approximately $100 Million per percentage point.  So the investment in activity and youth sports is clearly something that has benefits beyond those that most people observe solely in the competitive sports sphere.

HUMOR FOR THE WEEK

MOTIVATION FOR THE WEEK