Deadspin had this weeks ago, but SBB seems to confirm: Jay Mariotti is going to the Chicago Tribune.
Jay, what happened to all that talk about AOL being the future? About newspapers being in trouble?
In the end, I suspect that Jay didn't believe any of it, that his move to AOL was as cynical as it was self-serving and that he was lured back by the dwindling (but still very much perceived) cachet of the newspaper brand.
I have no doubt that the Trib will put Mariotti to work on its ChicagoNow.com product -- online, the Trib has been getting beat by ESPNChicago.com.
But I suspect they will find out what AOL found out: In the relative meritocracy of online media, Mariotti simply wasn't worth the money. I wonder what kind of page views he will drive.
I also suspect that Mariotti will keep his daily TV gig with Around the Horn -- you know, the one job that Mariotti REALLY cares about.
I'll bet the Tribune even thinks that Mariotti's focus on TV will even help their newspaper brand. (Let's ask ESPNChicago, which can deploy Mariotti TV clips on their site.)
-- D.S.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Monday 08/10 Quickie: Red Sox, Yanks,
Titans, T.O., LeBron, Vick, Hamilton
Is it time for Red Sox fans to panic? Not in the least.
Today's SN column tries to soothe what will undoubtedly be a media-driven hysteria about the state of the Red Sox.
For starters, the Red Sox are still leading for the AL Wild Card. (Yes, they are now tied with Texas, but still.)
And all that matters is making the playoffs -- winning the division has been marginalized by the Wild Card, at least in the AL East.
There are 52 games left in the season for Boston -- more than enough to stay ahead of the Rangers and Rays.
Look ahead to the last 7 games of the season: The Sox play the Jays and Indians -- both hopelessly out of playoff contention -- at Fenway.
The sweep was humiliating, but -- really -- who cares about humiliation? Stay focused on the next 52 games -- and the Wild Card.
Meanwhile, more you'll find in today's column:
*TO's solid debut for the Bills.
*VY's iffy game for the Titans.
*David Ortiz's explanation: I really don't care, one way or the other.
*Josh Hamilton's humiliation: More pity than schadenfreude this time.
*LeBron: Wake up, Cavs fans!
*Vick: Tony Dungy and "the children" vs. Young Jeezy
*John Wall posterizes Jerry Stackhouse
It's a packed day. Here's the full column. More later.
-- D.S.
Today's SN column tries to soothe what will undoubtedly be a media-driven hysteria about the state of the Red Sox.
For starters, the Red Sox are still leading for the AL Wild Card. (Yes, they are now tied with Texas, but still.)
And all that matters is making the playoffs -- winning the division has been marginalized by the Wild Card, at least in the AL East.
There are 52 games left in the season for Boston -- more than enough to stay ahead of the Rangers and Rays.
Look ahead to the last 7 games of the season: The Sox play the Jays and Indians -- both hopelessly out of playoff contention -- at Fenway.
The sweep was humiliating, but -- really -- who cares about humiliation? Stay focused on the next 52 games -- and the Wild Card.
Meanwhile, more you'll find in today's column:
*TO's solid debut for the Bills.
*VY's iffy game for the Titans.
*David Ortiz's explanation: I really don't care, one way or the other.
*Josh Hamilton's humiliation: More pity than schadenfreude this time.
*LeBron: Wake up, Cavs fans!
*Vick: Tony Dungy and "the children" vs. Young Jeezy
*John Wall posterizes Jerry Stackhouse
It's a packed day. Here's the full column. More later.
-- D.S.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Sunday 08/09 (Very) Quickie
Aha, so THAT'S why the Yankees paid Sabathia so much. (Still: Doesn't mean anything until the playoffs.)
Josh Hamilton: I really want to shout "sanctimonious hypocrite!" but he really gets nothing but my pity. It's a hell of a disease he's battling.
David Ortiz leans on the "I was careless" excuse. "I was careless" is the new "I don't want to talk about the past."
Michael Vick does the single-most important thing he can possibly do to rehabilitate his reputation: Talk with kids about dog-fighting.
No, Ricky Rubio really won't be coming to play in the NBA next season.
Is Tim Tebow the greatest college football player ever? Is there ever a bad time to talk about it?
What was Patrick Kane thinking?
-- D.S.
Josh Hamilton: I really want to shout "sanctimonious hypocrite!" but he really gets nothing but my pity. It's a hell of a disease he's battling.
David Ortiz leans on the "I was careless" excuse. "I was careless" is the new "I don't want to talk about the past."
Michael Vick does the single-most important thing he can possibly do to rehabilitate his reputation: Talk with kids about dog-fighting.
No, Ricky Rubio really won't be coming to play in the NBA next season.
Is Tim Tebow the greatest college football player ever? Is there ever a bad time to talk about it?
What was Patrick Kane thinking?
-- D.S.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Saturday 08/08 (Very) Quickie
Last night's finish will be the single-best highlight of A-Rod's season.
Cavs fans: Can LeBron make it any more clear how little he cares about you? Salvage your self-respect and abandon him before he abandons you.
If this is it for John Smoltz, it's better for him to go out with the tank on empty than to have always wondered if he retired too early.
The Nats have won 6 straight, in the biggest "WTF" of the season so far.
Now that Knowshon Moreno has been signed, it only remains to be seen how absurdly early I draft him in my fantasy leagues.
Wow, has it really been a year since the Olympics started?
-- D.S.
Cavs fans: Can LeBron make it any more clear how little he cares about you? Salvage your self-respect and abandon him before he abandons you.
If this is it for John Smoltz, it's better for him to go out with the tank on empty than to have always wondered if he retired too early.
The Nats have won 6 straight, in the biggest "WTF" of the season so far.
Now that Knowshon Moreno has been signed, it only remains to be seen how absurdly early I draft him in my fantasy leagues.
Wow, has it really been a year since the Olympics started?
-- D.S.
Friday, August 07, 2009
Today on Teblog: Tebow vs. Leinart
Today on TimTeblog.com: Yeah, expectations are high for Florida this season, but remember the lesson of USC 2005. What were we saying about them back in August 2005? "Best team ever?" How about Matt Leinart? "Best QB ever?" You bet.
Then look what happened five months later. That USC team and Leinart are both better known for being losers than being a champions the year before. It is a cautionary tale for Gator fans and Tebow fans.
(I also become the first to coin the description of Matt Leinart as "Bizarro Tebow": In a nice symbol for the inflated times we were living in back in 2005, Leinart was actually celebrated for his shallow Hollywood party-boy lifestyle. Hm: Can you be "Bizarro" yet come first?)
-- D.S.
Then look what happened five months later. That USC team and Leinart are both better known for being losers than being a champions the year before. It is a cautionary tale for Gator fans and Tebow fans.
(I also become the first to coin the description of Matt Leinart as "Bizarro Tebow": In a nice symbol for the inflated times we were living in back in 2005, Leinart was actually celebrated for his shallow Hollywood party-boy lifestyle. Hm: Can you be "Bizarro" yet come first?)
-- D.S.
Coaches Top 25 Comes Out: Florida No. 1
Couple of thoughts on the first Coaches Top 25 poll:
*When we look back after the final Coaches' poll in December -- the one that informs 33 percent of the BCS title-game pairing -- how much will it matter that Florida and Texas start at No. 1 and 2? Meaning, if both keep winning, they will be VERY difficult to dislodge -- even if USC or another program (like VA Tech or Penn State) runs the table, too.
*How many SIDs were used to fill out this poll?
*How many coaches (or SIDs) ranked teams in an inflated way in order to boost their own perceived strength of schedule?
*How many quality unranked (or low-ranked) teams (especially non-BCS teams) will suffer because the preseason Top 25 sets them back for BCS jockeying, right from the start?
*Is this supposed to be how the coaches think the season will finish? Or how good they think the teams are before any games have been played? Either way, it's kind of ludicrous. (If Boise State goes 12-0, I doubt voters will still have them at No. 16.)
*Do a handful of coaches really think that Texas, Oklahoma and USC are better than Florida? Or is it just the Big 12 coaches, pumping themselves up?
*Who voted Notre Dame in their Top 25? (And we will look back and mock the voters for putting Georgia Tech at No. 15.)
*Why have sports-media pundits not asked USA Today how they can continue to journalistically justify attaching their name and credibility to such an opaque (and cynical) poll?
-- D.S.
*When we look back after the final Coaches' poll in December -- the one that informs 33 percent of the BCS title-game pairing -- how much will it matter that Florida and Texas start at No. 1 and 2? Meaning, if both keep winning, they will be VERY difficult to dislodge -- even if USC or another program (like VA Tech or Penn State) runs the table, too.
*How many SIDs were used to fill out this poll?
*How many coaches (or SIDs) ranked teams in an inflated way in order to boost their own perceived strength of schedule?
*How many quality unranked (or low-ranked) teams (especially non-BCS teams) will suffer because the preseason Top 25 sets them back for BCS jockeying, right from the start?
*Is this supposed to be how the coaches think the season will finish? Or how good they think the teams are before any games have been played? Either way, it's kind of ludicrous. (If Boise State goes 12-0, I doubt voters will still have them at No. 16.)
*Do a handful of coaches really think that Texas, Oklahoma and USC are better than Florida? Or is it just the Big 12 coaches, pumping themselves up?
*Who voted Notre Dame in their Top 25? (And we will look back and mock the voters for putting Georgia Tech at No. 15.)
*Why have sports-media pundits not asked USA Today how they can continue to journalistically justify attaching their name and credibility to such an opaque (and cynical) poll?
-- D.S.
Friday 08/07 Quickie: Hughes, Bueller,
Yankees, Lewis, Crabtree, Nike, More
I really wanted to find a way to tie John Hughes into sports and today's SN column. He made it easy:
The Wrigley scene of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" is the greatest sports scene of a non-sports film in movie history.
Here's why: It wasn't about sports -- the players, the athletes, the action on the field. It was about the FAN experience.
*Sneaking away from school/work for a day game.
*Ferris catching a ball. (And it hurts!)
*Ferris and Cameron heckling batters.
*The Rooney exchange at the pizza parlor.
*The "Save Ferris" on the Wrigley exterior sign.
If at least one theme of Ferris was the notion of wish-fulfillment -- in real life you can't, but what if you took a day all to yourself, to take in all of life's pleasures.
And Hughes felt that going to a baseball game was an integral part of that.
(Upon further reflection, I will say that there is one other scene that is comparable, but not nearly as well-known: The "Colts quiz" in "Diner." Again: It's about fandom.)
More you'll find in today's column:
*Yankees finally beat Red Sox? (And...?)
*PEDs in the NBA? (And...?)
*Michael Crabtree's p.r. nightmare
*The best Nike ad ever?
The whole thing is here. More later.
-- D.S.
The Wrigley scene of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" is the greatest sports scene of a non-sports film in movie history.
Here's why: It wasn't about sports -- the players, the athletes, the action on the field. It was about the FAN experience.
*Sneaking away from school/work for a day game.
*Ferris catching a ball. (And it hurts!)
*Ferris and Cameron heckling batters.
*The Rooney exchange at the pizza parlor.
*The "Save Ferris" on the Wrigley exterior sign.
If at least one theme of Ferris was the notion of wish-fulfillment -- in real life you can't, but what if you took a day all to yourself, to take in all of life's pleasures.
And Hughes felt that going to a baseball game was an integral part of that.
(Upon further reflection, I will say that there is one other scene that is comparable, but not nearly as well-known: The "Colts quiz" in "Diner." Again: It's about fandom.)
More you'll find in today's column:
*Yankees finally beat Red Sox? (And...?)
*PEDs in the NBA? (And...?)
*Michael Crabtree's p.r. nightmare
*The best Nike ad ever?
The whole thing is here. More later.
-- D.S.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
And Knowing Is Half The Battle
OK: This is not about sports. Given today's SN column lead connecting John Hughes to sports, I was caught with a wave of nostalgia for the formative moments of my youth. Today's big movie release offers a segue...
Let me make a confession: When I was growing up -- 9, 10, 11 years old -- I was crazy for G.I. Joe.
Had all the toys (PRE-"swivel-arm battle grip" aka Eddie Murphy's "kung-fu grip"). Had the plane with the retractable wings. Had the helicopter. Had the jeep. Had the base. (Had Zartan, the figure who changed color in sunlight!)
But more than anything, I was into GI Joe comics.
I was a comic-book collector as a kid, and for whatever reason, I thought GI Joe was amazing. I started with issue No. 1 (remember, on special "Baxter" paper?) and kept it up at least into the issues numbered in the 80s.
I still have them in a storage unit, complete with bags and boards. I cannot bring myself to get rid of them. (I asked a comic store last year what they'd pay for the collection: He said "$20." I left.)
I'm not sure what it was about GI Joe that had me so hooked. The toy tie-in? The cartoon? The cool weaponry? The neat outfits? Snake Eyes? (I mean: Who DIDN'T like Snake Eyes?)
Destro and his pimp outfit? (There had to have been dissertations written that deconstructed Destro's pimp symbolism -- his job, "arms dealer," his mask, his chain, the "Baroness?")
I'm torn about the movie. I've heard it is a debacle. On the one hand, it brings back all of these fun childhood memories. On the other, it is a bit of a desecration of them.
The "fanboy" contingents for Start Trek or Star Wars or X-Men or Spider-Man or Fantastic Four were so much more active, and I felt like the filmmakers wanted to cater to them.
Will the GI Joe filmmakers do anything to nod slyly to us kids in the early- and mid-80s who bought all the toys and waiting diligently every month for the new comic issue to arrive?
For example: In looking over the GI Joe character list on Wikipedia, it appears that Clutch -- the swarthy jeep driver -- was Jewish. (Lance Steinberg... who knew?)
-- D.S.
Let me make a confession: When I was growing up -- 9, 10, 11 years old -- I was crazy for G.I. Joe.
Had all the toys (PRE-"swivel-arm battle grip" aka Eddie Murphy's "kung-fu grip"). Had the plane with the retractable wings. Had the helicopter. Had the jeep. Had the base. (Had Zartan, the figure who changed color in sunlight!)
But more than anything, I was into GI Joe comics.
I was a comic-book collector as a kid, and for whatever reason, I thought GI Joe was amazing. I started with issue No. 1 (remember, on special "Baxter" paper?) and kept it up at least into the issues numbered in the 80s.
I still have them in a storage unit, complete with bags and boards. I cannot bring myself to get rid of them. (I asked a comic store last year what they'd pay for the collection: He said "$20." I left.)
I'm not sure what it was about GI Joe that had me so hooked. The toy tie-in? The cartoon? The cool weaponry? The neat outfits? Snake Eyes? (I mean: Who DIDN'T like Snake Eyes?)
Destro and his pimp outfit? (There had to have been dissertations written that deconstructed Destro's pimp symbolism -- his job, "arms dealer," his mask, his chain, the "Baroness?")
I'm torn about the movie. I've heard it is a debacle. On the one hand, it brings back all of these fun childhood memories. On the other, it is a bit of a desecration of them.
The "fanboy" contingents for Start Trek or Star Wars or X-Men or Spider-Man or Fantastic Four were so much more active, and I felt like the filmmakers wanted to cater to them.
Will the GI Joe filmmakers do anything to nod slyly to us kids in the early- and mid-80s who bought all the toys and waiting diligently every month for the new comic issue to arrive?
For example: In looking over the GI Joe character list on Wikipedia, it appears that Clutch -- the swarthy jeep driver -- was Jewish. (Lance Steinberg... who knew?)
-- D.S.
Traditions: KSK's Fantasy Team Names
The sports analogue for John Hodgman's brilliant list of hobo names is Big Daddy Drew's annual list of fantasy team names at Kissing Suzy Kolber, published yesterday. I look forward to this every year. (Not precisely NSFW, but more like "Don't read out loud at work.")
Teblog Today: Legacy, Cynicism, Beards
Today on TimTeblog.com:
*Tebow's greatest legacy: "The Promise" vs. 14-0 in 2009
*Tebow's greatest accomplishment: Your lack of cynicism.
*Yes, Tebow is rocking a beard. (The posts can't all be profound.)
*Tebow's greatest legacy: "The Promise" vs. 14-0 in 2009
*Tebow's greatest accomplishment: Your lack of cynicism.
*Yes, Tebow is rocking a beard. (The posts can't all be profound.)
Tonight in NYC: Varsity Letters!
Wahl! Thompson! Weber! Free!
Tonight in NYC, a must-attend event for sports fans: Varsity Letters is featuring three astounding good writers:
Wright Thompson, who I have long argued was the single-best long-form sportswriter working today.
Grant Wahl, a former colleague of mine when I was at SI, whose work is consistently remarkable and whose new book "Beckham Experiment" is a must-read for your fan literacy about soccer.
Bruce Weber, whose phenomenal book about umpiring is the definitive one about the job and, if you care about baseball, a must-have.
That's three heavyweights in one room, tonight. And it's FREE. Get out to Brooklyn!
Wright Thompson, who I have long argued was the single-best long-form sportswriter working today.
Grant Wahl, a former colleague of mine when I was at SI, whose work is consistently remarkable and whose new book "Beckham Experiment" is a must-read for your fan literacy about soccer.
Bruce Weber, whose phenomenal book about umpiring is the definitive one about the job and, if you care about baseball, a must-have.
That's three heavyweights in one room, tonight. And it's FREE. Get out to Brooklyn!
So What's YOUR Dream Job?
Don't know if you saw yesterday's post about Joe Posnanski leaving the KC Star for his "dream job" at Sports Illustrated and my take on What It All Means (caps = sarcastic).
Got a lot of responses to it, and the question about what defines a "dream job" -- specifically across generations, particularly in sports media -- turned out to be pretty fascinating.
So here's the question for Comments: What is YOUR "dream job?" Does it have anything to do with sports? Let's qualify it: It has to be your nominally attainable dream job.
(Example: I'd love to be the commissioner of a sports league or the host of PTI. Ain't happening. I did also, however, dream to write a daily sports column for a national audience. Done!)
-- D.S.
Got a lot of responses to it, and the question about what defines a "dream job" -- specifically across generations, particularly in sports media -- turned out to be pretty fascinating.
So here's the question for Comments: What is YOUR "dream job?" Does it have anything to do with sports? Let's qualify it: It has to be your nominally attainable dream job.
(Example: I'd love to be the commissioner of a sports league or the host of PTI. Ain't happening. I did also, however, dream to write a daily sports column for a national audience. Done!)
-- D.S.
Thursday 08/06 Quickie: Vince Young,
Eli Manning, Brandon Roy, Best of 00s
Great little gimmick by Sporting News this week: Pick the top player of the decade in all the major sports. OK, I'll bite: It led today's SN column.
But I'm unhappy with their choices, and don't mind saying so. The problem stems from limiting the "best" to two choices -- except, cryptically, NASCAR, where there are 3. Not sure why they couldn't/wouldn't do 3 for the other sports. Especially because I'm not sure their Top 2 is right:
CFB: Leinart vs. Tebow. I'll take Vince Young, for now. (At least until Tebow finishes this season and we see where he stands.)
NBA: Kobe vs. Duncan. I'll take LeBron, who is not only the best player in the league -- for about the last 4 years -- but he has redefined excellence and ability.
College hoops: Hansbrough vs. Jason Williams. Really? Because I'll take Carmelo over either -- yes, Melo only played 1 year, but pound-for-pound (or minute-for-minute), Melo was the best.
(And I even feebly attempt to argue that Joakim Noah is more worthy than Jason Williams. Let's just count the rings on the fingers.)
NFL: Brady vs. (Peyton) Manning. Yeah, these are the top two, but it seems hard not to at least give Ben Roethlisberger the "nice just to be nominated" nod in a 3rd spot.
MLB seemed right -- Pujols vs. A-Rod -- but I'd love to get a SABRmatrician's evaluation of whether there was a glaring omission here, even as a 3rd candidate. Pujols obviously wins.
(I still go with Pujols, but the Commenter below is dead on: Bonds is in the discussion.)
VY has been on my mind -- this Esquire quote about making it to the Hall of Fame is top of the news today -- but I did a post on Teblog yesterday comparing Tebow and Young for NFL potential.
And, not to spoil the surprise, but in EDSBS's Gators book that came out this month, I wrote the cover story about Tebow's place in CFB history. For now, I still think VY rules. Eh: For now.
The SN column has a lot more today:
*Is Eli Manning worth being the NFL's highest paid? (Yes.)
*Are the Rays the team to beat in the AL? (Yes.)
*Is Brandon Roy worth the 5-year extension? (Yes.)
*Is the CFB Coaches Top 25 an abomination? (Yes.)
*Is Delaware going to go sports-betting crazy? (Yes.)
Complete column here. More later. BTW, if you care about this ESPN/Twitter thing, check out ESPN.com EIC Rob King's thoughtful and insightful post about it.
-- D.S.
But I'm unhappy with their choices, and don't mind saying so. The problem stems from limiting the "best" to two choices -- except, cryptically, NASCAR, where there are 3. Not sure why they couldn't/wouldn't do 3 for the other sports. Especially because I'm not sure their Top 2 is right:
CFB: Leinart vs. Tebow. I'll take Vince Young, for now. (At least until Tebow finishes this season and we see where he stands.)
NBA: Kobe vs. Duncan. I'll take LeBron, who is not only the best player in the league -- for about the last 4 years -- but he has redefined excellence and ability.
College hoops: Hansbrough vs. Jason Williams. Really? Because I'll take Carmelo over either -- yes, Melo only played 1 year, but pound-for-pound (or minute-for-minute), Melo was the best.
(And I even feebly attempt to argue that Joakim Noah is more worthy than Jason Williams. Let's just count the rings on the fingers.)
NFL: Brady vs. (Peyton) Manning. Yeah, these are the top two, but it seems hard not to at least give Ben Roethlisberger the "nice just to be nominated" nod in a 3rd spot.
MLB seemed right -- Pujols vs. A-Rod -- but I'd love to get a SABRmatrician's evaluation of whether there was a glaring omission here, even as a 3rd candidate. Pujols obviously wins.
(I still go with Pujols, but the Commenter below is dead on: Bonds is in the discussion.)
VY has been on my mind -- this Esquire quote about making it to the Hall of Fame is top of the news today -- but I did a post on Teblog yesterday comparing Tebow and Young for NFL potential.
And, not to spoil the surprise, but in EDSBS's Gators book that came out this month, I wrote the cover story about Tebow's place in CFB history. For now, I still think VY rules. Eh: For now.
The SN column has a lot more today:
*Is Eli Manning worth being the NFL's highest paid? (Yes.)
*Are the Rays the team to beat in the AL? (Yes.)
*Is Brandon Roy worth the 5-year extension? (Yes.)
*Is the CFB Coaches Top 25 an abomination? (Yes.)
*Is Delaware going to go sports-betting crazy? (Yes.)
Complete column here. More later. BTW, if you care about this ESPN/Twitter thing, check out ESPN.com EIC Rob King's thoughtful and insightful post about it.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Joe Posnanski Moves To Sports Illustrated
You could see this coming when Joe Posnanski started writing for SI and SI.com as a "contributor" -- he is far too talented not to be scooped up by SI on a full-time basis. And so he was.
We could talk about how it is yet another supremely talented sports journalist (arguably the best newspaper sports columnist in the country, actually) abandoning* newspapers.
But I was actually struck by something Joe wrote about the move, which he called his "dream job":
My question is this: What is the "dream job" for the 30-something sportswriter, who grew up on SI but also spent college and post-college with the Web as their primary source of reading.
What is the "dream job" for the 20-something sportswriter, who probably considers SI to be his father's (or grandfather's) magazine (or a Web site where Hot Clicks' Jimmy Traina is more influential than Rick Reilly ever was) and spent their entire life as a fan/consumer online.
I appreciate the impact of nostalgia on Joe's decision-making. (Economic realities of the newspaper industry probably contributed a bit, too). And this isn't a pure magazine play: To his credit, few newspaper writers have embraced online media and blogging like Joe.
(And it is a pretty cushy job: You write what you want to write about, basically when you want to write them. That doesn't seem to exist in media -- sports or otherwise -- anymore. Although Joe seems a bit too compulsive -- in a good way -- to not continue his furious pace of filing for SI.com and blogging at JoePosnanski.com.)
Back to my question: What does the 20-something or 30-something sportswriter consider the "dream job?"
I suspect that if we took a poll, the plurality (perhaps majority) would say a columnist gig with ESPN -- but hardly a "magazine" job: It would be "cross-platform," with a presence on ESPN.com, in ESPN The Magazine, on ESPN Radio, in ESPN Books, on ESPN social media platforms, and -- of course -- on TV.
(I guess one "ideal" is to get a "Simmons" or "Reilly" deal where you get to basically do whatever you want -- Reilly is on the hook for, what, like 30 700-word columns a year? -- and get paid extraordinary sums to do it. That's not fair to Bill, who to his credit has picked up his stake in the Mag and put his energy into his podcast and being a TV producer -- "30 for 30" -- in addition to being a public-facing "talent," with his ESPN.com writing as the centerpiece.)
But more generically, it seems like the "dream job" for a generation of 20- and 30-somethings is national exposure that allows for a combination of freedom to write about any topic and the freedom to express that on any number of platforms where fans want to be reached. And getting paid just enough that you don't have to worry about getting paid.
(Cynically, you could say that a "dream job" for a sportswriter right now is "having a job, period" or "still having a job in sports media when I'm Joe Posnanski's age." But let's not be cynical.)
A "dream job" is a pretty awesome thing. You can tell that Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon recognize they are in "dream jobs" with PTI, even though it has meant that they necessarily had to walk away from the newspaper industry where they honed their talent. (Similarly, you get the sense that guys like Jason Whitlock and Mike Lupica carry the inferiority complex that comes with missing out on their "dream" of a daily national TV superstardom -- that they can never watch PTI without going "What if...?")
One reason I am having this reaction to Joe's news is that I think I can relate:
The year I turned 30 -- having spent the first 20 years of my life consumed with "traditional" sports media (like Joe) and my 20s consumed with "new" sports media -- I created and sold my own "dream job": A national daily sports column writing about virtually whatever I wanted on sports media's biggest platform.
I did it every day for nearly four years. And it was enormously satisfying. However, I recognized and appreciated not just the job or the opportunity or the audience (or, yes, the money) but the mere feeling of having a job I dreamed about. It was ambient -- everpresent.
We can have a larger debate of "What does it all mean?" about the state of newspaper sports journalism.
But for me, Joe's earnest enthusiasm for this new chapter of his tremendous career is what is worth cheering about. In this economy or any other, who doesn't want their "dream job?"
Given the shifting media landscape, I wonder what a young 20-something writer would consider their "dream job." Like Joe when he was an impressionable 13-year-old turning the pages of SI, where will today's 13-year-old future sportswriter get their inspiration?
-- D.S.
(* - Joe will still write for the KC Star, but probably out of a sense of pity -- sorry, loyalty -- more than anything.)
We could talk about how it is yet another supremely talented sports journalist (arguably the best newspaper sports columnist in the country, actually) abandoning* newspapers.
But I was actually struck by something Joe wrote about the move, which he called his "dream job":
I have been offered what I honestly believe is the best job in American sports writing. I’ve been offered the role of Senior Writer at Sports Illustrated.... I’ve been offered the job, the chance at Carnegie Hall, the opportunity to write at the magazine I grew up reading, the place where my heroes worked.A mid-40s career newspaper sportswriter considers SI to be a "dream job... the best job in American sports writing." Given his age and generation, that sounds about right.
My question is this: What is the "dream job" for the 30-something sportswriter, who grew up on SI but also spent college and post-college with the Web as their primary source of reading.
What is the "dream job" for the 20-something sportswriter, who probably considers SI to be his father's (or grandfather's) magazine (or a Web site where Hot Clicks' Jimmy Traina is more influential than Rick Reilly ever was) and spent their entire life as a fan/consumer online.
I appreciate the impact of nostalgia on Joe's decision-making. (Economic realities of the newspaper industry probably contributed a bit, too). And this isn't a pure magazine play: To his credit, few newspaper writers have embraced online media and blogging like Joe.
(And it is a pretty cushy job: You write what you want to write about, basically when you want to write them. That doesn't seem to exist in media -- sports or otherwise -- anymore. Although Joe seems a bit too compulsive -- in a good way -- to not continue his furious pace of filing for SI.com and blogging at JoePosnanski.com.)
Back to my question: What does the 20-something or 30-something sportswriter consider the "dream job?"
I suspect that if we took a poll, the plurality (perhaps majority) would say a columnist gig with ESPN -- but hardly a "magazine" job: It would be "cross-platform," with a presence on ESPN.com, in ESPN The Magazine, on ESPN Radio, in ESPN Books, on ESPN social media platforms, and -- of course -- on TV.
(I guess one "ideal" is to get a "Simmons" or "Reilly" deal where you get to basically do whatever you want -- Reilly is on the hook for, what, like 30 700-word columns a year? -- and get paid extraordinary sums to do it. That's not fair to Bill, who to his credit has picked up his stake in the Mag and put his energy into his podcast and being a TV producer -- "30 for 30" -- in addition to being a public-facing "talent," with his ESPN.com writing as the centerpiece.)
But more generically, it seems like the "dream job" for a generation of 20- and 30-somethings is national exposure that allows for a combination of freedom to write about any topic and the freedom to express that on any number of platforms where fans want to be reached. And getting paid just enough that you don't have to worry about getting paid.
(Cynically, you could say that a "dream job" for a sportswriter right now is "having a job, period" or "still having a job in sports media when I'm Joe Posnanski's age." But let's not be cynical.)
A "dream job" is a pretty awesome thing. You can tell that Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon recognize they are in "dream jobs" with PTI, even though it has meant that they necessarily had to walk away from the newspaper industry where they honed their talent. (Similarly, you get the sense that guys like Jason Whitlock and Mike Lupica carry the inferiority complex that comes with missing out on their "dream" of a daily national TV superstardom -- that they can never watch PTI without going "What if...?")
One reason I am having this reaction to Joe's news is that I think I can relate:
The year I turned 30 -- having spent the first 20 years of my life consumed with "traditional" sports media (like Joe) and my 20s consumed with "new" sports media -- I created and sold my own "dream job": A national daily sports column writing about virtually whatever I wanted on sports media's biggest platform.
I did it every day for nearly four years. And it was enormously satisfying. However, I recognized and appreciated not just the job or the opportunity or the audience (or, yes, the money) but the mere feeling of having a job I dreamed about. It was ambient -- everpresent.
We can have a larger debate of "What does it all mean?" about the state of newspaper sports journalism.
But for me, Joe's earnest enthusiasm for this new chapter of his tremendous career is what is worth cheering about. In this economy or any other, who doesn't want their "dream job?"
Given the shifting media landscape, I wonder what a young 20-something writer would consider their "dream job." Like Joe when he was an impressionable 13-year-old turning the pages of SI, where will today's 13-year-old future sportswriter get their inspiration?
-- D.S.
(* - Joe will still write for the KC Star, but probably out of a sense of pity -- sorry, loyalty -- more than anything.)
Wednesday 08/05 Quickie: Twitter
Clinton, Prince, Packers, More
I'll direct you to last night's post about ESPN's Twitter policy (directly below). Otherwise, today's SN column leads with what would have made a pretty funny Page 2 conceit back in 2002: If Bill Clinton can successfully negotiate with North Korea, what kind of sports issues can he solve? Coming at 10:30: What we learned from Joe Posnanski's move to Sports Illustrated.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
ESPN Twitter Policy: A Brief Analysis
We can -- and should* -- have a discussion about the value of Twitter in bringing a company's talent closer to its audience, wherever that audience may want to connect with them.
However, there is one detail within ESPN's memo of its Twitter policy (h/t: Deadspin) that bears repeating, because it is less a directive than a guiding principle for ESPN folks:
"The first and only priority is to serve ESPN sanctioned efforts, including sports news, information and content."
I agree 100 percent.
****
I will say that of the ESPN folks I follow, I enjoy their non-sports tweets way more than their sports tweets. (Thinking of folks like @ron_wechsler and @rfking.)
And I think that as a device to engage and connect with audience -- to humanize themselves -- the non-sports tweets do more than the sports tweets.
Will it be too bad that we won't get their instant take on certain sports news? Who says we won't? If the talent puts it on ESPN.com and it is made easy for me to access, I will still get it.
Once ESPN has a system set up to link talent tweets to ESPN's various native platforms, I think we will see a lot more use of short-form programming by folks who can add value.
When it comes to serving ESPN -- which, true to the core brand value, really means "serving fans" -- I think ESPN is best-served when its folks use, test and embrace all platforms to reach fans, especially the emerging ones. For the moment, that might not include discussion of sports on that platform; I will guarantee you that it will inevitably -- perhaps quickly -- include sports.
I hope that all the ESPN folks who enjoy Twitter will continue to use the platform. The platform isn't going away. (More platforms will emerge.) The audience isn't going away.
And we still want to hear from the ESPN folks we follow -- whether it is about sports, not about sports or about sports, eventually.
Why? Because the back-half of ESPN's guiding vision "to serve fans..." is "...wherever and however they want to be served."
-- D.S.
* -- Think Don Ohlmeyer has a Twitter account? Think he has ever used Twitter? Consumed Twitter? Heard of Twitter? I volunteer to be the new ESPN Ombudsman's sherpa in digital media.
UPDATE: CNBC's Darren Rovell has a very good take on this. Middle of the column.
UPDATE: ESPN.com Editor-in-Chief Rob King has a must-read (even last word) on all of this. His points are dead on: ESPN has already been a leader among media companies in integrating Twitter. That will only grow, helped by a framework that every media company needs.
However, there is one detail within ESPN's memo of its Twitter policy (h/t: Deadspin) that bears repeating, because it is less a directive than a guiding principle for ESPN folks:
"The first and only priority is to serve ESPN sanctioned efforts, including sports news, information and content."
I agree 100 percent.
****
I will say that of the ESPN folks I follow, I enjoy their non-sports tweets way more than their sports tweets. (Thinking of folks like @ron_wechsler and @rfking.)
And I think that as a device to engage and connect with audience -- to humanize themselves -- the non-sports tweets do more than the sports tweets.
Will it be too bad that we won't get their instant take on certain sports news? Who says we won't? If the talent puts it on ESPN.com and it is made easy for me to access, I will still get it.
Once ESPN has a system set up to link talent tweets to ESPN's various native platforms, I think we will see a lot more use of short-form programming by folks who can add value.
When it comes to serving ESPN -- which, true to the core brand value, really means "serving fans" -- I think ESPN is best-served when its folks use, test and embrace all platforms to reach fans, especially the emerging ones. For the moment, that might not include discussion of sports on that platform; I will guarantee you that it will inevitably -- perhaps quickly -- include sports.
I hope that all the ESPN folks who enjoy Twitter will continue to use the platform. The platform isn't going away. (More platforms will emerge.) The audience isn't going away.
And we still want to hear from the ESPN folks we follow -- whether it is about sports, not about sports or about sports, eventually.
Why? Because the back-half of ESPN's guiding vision "to serve fans..." is "...wherever and however they want to be served."
-- D.S.
* -- Think Don Ohlmeyer has a Twitter account? Think he has ever used Twitter? Consumed Twitter? Heard of Twitter? I volunteer to be the new ESPN Ombudsman's sherpa in digital media.
UPDATE: CNBC's Darren Rovell has a very good take on this. Middle of the column.
UPDATE: ESPN.com Editor-in-Chief Rob King has a must-read (even last word) on all of this. His points are dead on: ESPN has already been a leader among media companies in integrating Twitter. That will only grow, helped by a framework that every media company needs.
My Jaguars Fandom: A Primer
Drew Magary had a pretty good time -- as did we all! -- with my Jaguars fandom in his "Why Your Team Sucks" Jaguars post on Deadspin this morning.
It's probably worth a brief review of how all this happened:
September 2006: I have just left ESPN.com and started DanShanoff.com. Will Leitch was collecting NFL team previews written by their fans for Deadspin, then a year old. I did not have a favorite NFL team. I grew up a huge -- huge -- Bears fan, but things atrophied when I got to college (ironically, in Chicago). A job stint with the NFL didn't help my passion for the NFL. But I felt like the time was right to find an NFL team to call my own. I wanted a team to call my own.
Anyway, Will helpfully mentioned that the Jaguars were unaccounted for, one of maybe two teams not claimed to be written by a "real" fan. (I think the other one might have been the Ravens, which might have worked, given my suburban Maryland roots.)
I thought becoming a Jaguars fan made a lot of sense -- it was right in line with my new-ish (5-year-old) fandom of all things North-Central Florida; the Jaguars were the closest NFL team to Gainesville, and -- unlike many, apparently -- I had experienced some nice moments in Jacksonville. I also liked the fact that not a lot of people were Jaguars fans. But let's be honest here: I'm rationalizing. The selection was mostly serendipity -- the whim of an editor and a heaping plate of whatever leftovers I could find in the fridge.
And so I filed my 2006 Deadspin Jaguars preview. I enjoyed having an NFL rooting interest, although geography and my nominal ambivalence toward the NFL (beyond fantasy) probably didn't make me the most obsessive fan. However, I liked the taste and signed back up for 2007, both a Deadspin preview and fandom.
Last season, I felt my Jags interest begin to wane. I *wanted* to like the Jaguars -- I wanted to love the Jaguars. But I really was investing all of my energy into my Gators fandom. I think a lot of huge college football fans have the same experience; the NFL is a distant second.
In fact, while I root for Jaguars success, I think it is offensive for me to describe myself as a fan -- based on my casual attitude and behavior about the team. I wasn't checking Jags blogs obsessively or reading newspaper coverage. I couldn't tell you who they were playing. I didn't watch games beyond the ones available on national TV.
At this point, my being a fan of the Jags wasn't fair to me, wasn't fair to the team and especially wasn't fair to *real* Jags fans -- Drew's playful insults this morning were hilarious; I found myself much more self-conscious about being labeled the Jags' most notable fan.
I'm not worthy. Check out the Jags blogs for folks who are worthy of the title. Hey, maybe Tim Tebow -- who is from Jacksonville -- is a Jaguars fan. Which is a nice segue...
At some point midway through the 2006 season -- my first with the Jaguars -- I recognized that Tim Tebow was my favorite athlete of all time. Don't need to get into that; it's exhaustively covered elsewhere.
And I recognized, for better or worse, that given my overall lack of organic passion for any NFL team that I would undoubtedly find my rooting interest based on where Tebow was drafted. It will be an easy -- if completely absurd -- transition.
This is why I am so certain that Tebow will be drafted by the Patriots. In addition to actually having some pretty good circumstantial evidence, I am simply convinced that the karmic payback for my lack of soul-gripping faith in one NFL team -- perhaps my earnest but shallow fandom of the Jaguars -- is that Tebow end up on my least-favorite NFL team.
Because while I'm not sure if there is an NFL team I love (yet), there are plenty that I dislike intensely -- led by the Patriots.
There is a happy ending available here: If Tebow is drafted by the Jaguars -- and that would be the team's absolute best play, regardless of need -- then my nominal recent NFL fandom and my most sincere college fandom converge.
Until then, I tip my cap to the *real* Jaguars fans out there.
-- D.S.
It's probably worth a brief review of how all this happened:
September 2006: I have just left ESPN.com and started DanShanoff.com. Will Leitch was collecting NFL team previews written by their fans for Deadspin, then a year old. I did not have a favorite NFL team. I grew up a huge -- huge -- Bears fan, but things atrophied when I got to college (ironically, in Chicago). A job stint with the NFL didn't help my passion for the NFL. But I felt like the time was right to find an NFL team to call my own. I wanted a team to call my own.
Anyway, Will helpfully mentioned that the Jaguars were unaccounted for, one of maybe two teams not claimed to be written by a "real" fan. (I think the other one might have been the Ravens, which might have worked, given my suburban Maryland roots.)
I thought becoming a Jaguars fan made a lot of sense -- it was right in line with my new-ish (5-year-old) fandom of all things North-Central Florida; the Jaguars were the closest NFL team to Gainesville, and -- unlike many, apparently -- I had experienced some nice moments in Jacksonville. I also liked the fact that not a lot of people were Jaguars fans. But let's be honest here: I'm rationalizing. The selection was mostly serendipity -- the whim of an editor and a heaping plate of whatever leftovers I could find in the fridge.
And so I filed my 2006 Deadspin Jaguars preview. I enjoyed having an NFL rooting interest, although geography and my nominal ambivalence toward the NFL (beyond fantasy) probably didn't make me the most obsessive fan. However, I liked the taste and signed back up for 2007, both a Deadspin preview and fandom.
Last season, I felt my Jags interest begin to wane. I *wanted* to like the Jaguars -- I wanted to love the Jaguars. But I really was investing all of my energy into my Gators fandom. I think a lot of huge college football fans have the same experience; the NFL is a distant second.
In fact, while I root for Jaguars success, I think it is offensive for me to describe myself as a fan -- based on my casual attitude and behavior about the team. I wasn't checking Jags blogs obsessively or reading newspaper coverage. I couldn't tell you who they were playing. I didn't watch games beyond the ones available on national TV.
At this point, my being a fan of the Jags wasn't fair to me, wasn't fair to the team and especially wasn't fair to *real* Jags fans -- Drew's playful insults this morning were hilarious; I found myself much more self-conscious about being labeled the Jags' most notable fan.
I'm not worthy. Check out the Jags blogs for folks who are worthy of the title. Hey, maybe Tim Tebow -- who is from Jacksonville -- is a Jaguars fan. Which is a nice segue...
At some point midway through the 2006 season -- my first with the Jaguars -- I recognized that Tim Tebow was my favorite athlete of all time. Don't need to get into that; it's exhaustively covered elsewhere.
And I recognized, for better or worse, that given my overall lack of organic passion for any NFL team that I would undoubtedly find my rooting interest based on where Tebow was drafted. It will be an easy -- if completely absurd -- transition.
This is why I am so certain that Tebow will be drafted by the Patriots. In addition to actually having some pretty good circumstantial evidence, I am simply convinced that the karmic payback for my lack of soul-gripping faith in one NFL team -- perhaps my earnest but shallow fandom of the Jaguars -- is that Tebow end up on my least-favorite NFL team.
Because while I'm not sure if there is an NFL team I love (yet), there are plenty that I dislike intensely -- led by the Patriots.
There is a happy ending available here: If Tebow is drafted by the Jaguars -- and that would be the team's absolute best play, regardless of need -- then my nominal recent NFL fandom and my most sincere college fandom converge.
Until then, I tip my cap to the *real* Jaguars fans out there.
-- D.S.
RIP, AFL
I wasn't much of an Arena Football League fan, but I did love the IDEA of Arena.
When I was getting my MBA, if I ever had "one shining moment," it was "cracking" the case study of the failure of the XFL -- using Arena League as a contrast of what COULD work.
Why did Arena work? The product wasn't a watered-down NFL (see XFL, UFL) but had well-defined differentiation, with an emphasis on video-game like scoring.
They had a serious commitment to customer service; they saw taking care of the fans -- especially at games -- as a top priority.
They went into markets that were underserved by the NFL. They got a nice distribution deal (and investment) from ESPN. They had celebrity owners like Jon Bon Jovi.
So what happened? Why did Arena fail? I think you can see at least one core reason in the detail that Arena's MINOR-league ("a2") continues to succeed.
The game rules remain interesting, and the scores eye-popping. The commitment to serving fans is there. They were in much smaller markets -- sort of like low-level minor-league baseball.
Ironically, Arena probably failed -- among other reasons, like the overall economy -- because they tried to be too big and collapsed under their own weight.
What a lesson, and you see it with "niche" sports all the time: Just do what you do best and make a tidy little business for yourself. You ain't gonna be a "big" sport and don't even try.
Related: My problem with the set-up of the UFL is that they are following the XFL's path to irrelevancy through mediocrity. Who wants to watch players who can't make the NFL cut?
My idea for the UFL is simple: If they really want to be pro football's (read: the NFL's) "development league," then allow underclassmen ineligible for the NFL Draft into the league.
Give them better preparation for a pro career than college will give them and the NFL, UFL and fans are all best-served. College football will be fine with the 97 percent of players that remain.
I appreciate that the UFL is starting small, with contained costs and locations in underserved NFL markets. But the product differentiation isn't there. That's where the AFL was the best.
-- D.S.
When I was getting my MBA, if I ever had "one shining moment," it was "cracking" the case study of the failure of the XFL -- using Arena League as a contrast of what COULD work.
Why did Arena work? The product wasn't a watered-down NFL (see XFL, UFL) but had well-defined differentiation, with an emphasis on video-game like scoring.
They had a serious commitment to customer service; they saw taking care of the fans -- especially at games -- as a top priority.
They went into markets that were underserved by the NFL. They got a nice distribution deal (and investment) from ESPN. They had celebrity owners like Jon Bon Jovi.
So what happened? Why did Arena fail? I think you can see at least one core reason in the detail that Arena's MINOR-league ("a2") continues to succeed.
The game rules remain interesting, and the scores eye-popping. The commitment to serving fans is there. They were in much smaller markets -- sort of like low-level minor-league baseball.
Ironically, Arena probably failed -- among other reasons, like the overall economy -- because they tried to be too big and collapsed under their own weight.
What a lesson, and you see it with "niche" sports all the time: Just do what you do best and make a tidy little business for yourself. You ain't gonna be a "big" sport and don't even try.
Related: My problem with the set-up of the UFL is that they are following the XFL's path to irrelevancy through mediocrity. Who wants to watch players who can't make the NFL cut?
My idea for the UFL is simple: If they really want to be pro football's (read: the NFL's) "development league," then allow underclassmen ineligible for the NFL Draft into the league.
Give them better preparation for a pro career than college will give them and the NFL, UFL and fans are all best-served. College football will be fine with the 97 percent of players that remain.
I appreciate that the UFL is starting small, with contained costs and locations in underserved NFL markets. But the product differentiation isn't there. That's where the AFL was the best.
-- D.S.
Drew Magary KOs My Jaguars Fandom
I think your measure as a person can be gauged by the level of ass-kicking criticism you receive from Deadspin's Drew Magary.
If that's the case, then based on this withering post from Drew about the Jaguars -- leading with my Jags fandom -- I am a very very VERY quality person.
I will be the first to admit my Jaguars fandom was tenuously achieved -- it had actually eroded, pending my inevitable conversion to whatever team drafts Tim Tebow. (Come on: What else would you expect?)
Mostly, I offer my apologies to all REAL Jaguars fans out there -- and I have heard from many of you over the years, especially the top-notch Jaguars bloggers. I salute your fandom.
Even if you cringe at mine.
-- D.S.
PS: Bethesda Bagels ARE superior.
If that's the case, then based on this withering post from Drew about the Jaguars -- leading with my Jags fandom -- I am a very very VERY quality person.
I will be the first to admit my Jaguars fandom was tenuously achieved -- it had actually eroded, pending my inevitable conversion to whatever team drafts Tim Tebow. (Come on: What else would you expect?)
Mostly, I offer my apologies to all REAL Jaguars fans out there -- and I have heard from many of you over the years, especially the top-notch Jaguars bloggers. I salute your fandom.
Even if you cringe at mine.
-- D.S.
PS: Bethesda Bagels ARE superior.
Tuesday 08/04 Quickie: Urban, Plax,
Sox-Rays, Maclin, Tiger, Walk-Offs, More
This was a weirdly slow morning in sports. I feel like today's brief Red Sox-Rays series in Tampa is the most interesting thing going on.
I led today's SN column with Urban Meyer -- for lots of reasons, but mainly because in college football (and perhaps college basketball), the elite coach is worth the money.
$4 million a year is nothing. Nothing compared to the revenue the program will bring in. Compared to the difference between 2 national titles in 3 years and bowl-eligibility. Compared to the scalable impact a great coach can have on their program.
Is there a number where the college coach's salary becomes ludicrous? I'm not sure there is. When Saban was hired at Alabama, the prudes kind of freaked. His impact on the program was undeniable (and fast). Now, he's not even the highest-paid coach in the SEC.
(If I was involved in today's ESPN.com gimmick of picking the Top 40 college football programs and putting themselves in their own elite conference, I would make "coach" a big factor -- or, alternatively, you'll see a correlation between coach and making the cut. It's a big reason I would urge Forde et al to put Northwestern -- and Pat Fitzgerald -- into the 40, even if Northwestern isn't a perennial Top 40 team... yet. I suspect Forde will have NU in his 40.)
$4 million for Urban Meyer is a bargain.
More you'll find in today's column:
*Plax: Shoulda copped a plea.
*Maclin good; Crabtree bad.
*The Pats get a backup QB!
*Sox-Rays: Series of the Week
*Big East football: Cincy-tastic!
Lots more where that came from. Check it out here. More later.
-- D.S.
I led today's SN column with Urban Meyer -- for lots of reasons, but mainly because in college football (and perhaps college basketball), the elite coach is worth the money.
$4 million a year is nothing. Nothing compared to the revenue the program will bring in. Compared to the difference between 2 national titles in 3 years and bowl-eligibility. Compared to the scalable impact a great coach can have on their program.
Is there a number where the college coach's salary becomes ludicrous? I'm not sure there is. When Saban was hired at Alabama, the prudes kind of freaked. His impact on the program was undeniable (and fast). Now, he's not even the highest-paid coach in the SEC.
(If I was involved in today's ESPN.com gimmick of picking the Top 40 college football programs and putting themselves in their own elite conference, I would make "coach" a big factor -- or, alternatively, you'll see a correlation between coach and making the cut. It's a big reason I would urge Forde et al to put Northwestern -- and Pat Fitzgerald -- into the 40, even if Northwestern isn't a perennial Top 40 team... yet. I suspect Forde will have NU in his 40.)
$4 million for Urban Meyer is a bargain.
More you'll find in today's column:
*Plax: Shoulda copped a plea.
*Maclin good; Crabtree bad.
*The Pats get a backup QB!
*Sox-Rays: Series of the Week
*Big East football: Cincy-tastic!
Lots more where that came from. Check it out here. More later.
-- D.S.
Monday, August 03, 2009
Urban Meyer Gets Paid
That's a new 6-year deal at $4 mil per, making him the highest-paid coach in the SEC (and, notably, the highest paid coach of any public university in the country). As it should be.
This deal does a couple of things. No. 1: It should end all the claptrap about Meyer leaving for Notre Dame -- at least in the next six years.
No. 2: Does nothing to derail my conspiracy theory that Meyer will end up as the coach of the New England Patriots.
Six years is plenty of time for Meyer to finish proving he rules college football (I'll go with a Beano/Paulus-style prediction of 4 national titles in the next six years), plus get his son Nate out of the stable Meyer house in Gainesville and into college.
It is also enough time for Bill Belichick to be ready to retire from coaching -- at least actively. Belichick's tight relationship with Meyer is well-documented -- both coaches lean on the other for inspiration for their "programs." Further, Pats owner Bob Kraft is a huge Meyer fan.
And so in 2014 -- coming off another national title -- Urban Meyer will be hired to succeed Bill Belichick as the head coach of the Patriots. (Tim Tebow's place on the Pats roster is optional.)
In the meantime, what's $4 million a year when you are paying for the best college football coach in the country?
-- D.S.
This deal does a couple of things. No. 1: It should end all the claptrap about Meyer leaving for Notre Dame -- at least in the next six years.
No. 2: Does nothing to derail my conspiracy theory that Meyer will end up as the coach of the New England Patriots.
Six years is plenty of time for Meyer to finish proving he rules college football (I'll go with a Beano/Paulus-style prediction of 4 national titles in the next six years), plus get his son Nate out of the stable Meyer house in Gainesville and into college.
It is also enough time for Bill Belichick to be ready to retire from coaching -- at least actively. Belichick's tight relationship with Meyer is well-documented -- both coaches lean on the other for inspiration for their "programs." Further, Pats owner Bob Kraft is a huge Meyer fan.
And so in 2014 -- coming off another national title -- Urban Meyer will be hired to succeed Bill Belichick as the head coach of the Patriots. (Tim Tebow's place on the Pats roster is optional.)
In the meantime, what's $4 million a year when you are paying for the best college football coach in the country?
-- D.S.
Behold the Power of Google Trends: Tiger Woods Fart Is Your Sports Meme of the Day
It appears we have our sports meme of the day: "Tiger Woods Fart."
SO much better -- and less windy! -- than "Brett Favre Decision."
-- D.S.
SO much better -- and less windy! -- than "Brett Favre Decision."
-- D.S.
Mountain West Commish Craig Thompson:
Banish Harris, Coaches Polls from BCS
I've been hard on Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson. I mocked his playoff proposal because his big idea seemed to be "Let the MWC into the BCS." I mocked that he ripped the BCS cabal yet subordinated playoff to payoff to remain on the outside looking in.
But, in the face of new evidence, I am going to flip-flop my opinion of Thompson: Good man!
Why? Because he is the first commissioner to point out that both the Harris Poll and Coaches Poll are TERRIBLE ways to pick a BCS title-game pairing, let alone account for 60 percent of the vote. Per the Palm Beach Post's Ben Volin:
(That said: The computer polls need to be WAY more transparent. Every computer-poll administrator should be forced to lay out -- and even defend -- his system. If they don't want to do that, they don't have to be part of the BCS equation.)
But kudos to you, Commissioner Thompson.
-- D.S.
But, in the face of new evidence, I am going to flip-flop my opinion of Thompson: Good man!
Why? Because he is the first commissioner to point out that both the Harris Poll and Coaches Poll are TERRIBLE ways to pick a BCS title-game pairing, let alone account for 60 percent of the vote. Per the Palm Beach Post's Ben Volin:
In our conversation, Thompson said he would like to see the Harris and Coaches polls removed from the BCS equation, because they amount to little more than opinion polls, he said. And most of the voters only know about college football what they see on ESPN at the end of their Saturday night.For Thompson, the system would best be left up to the computers. I agree 100 percent. Perhaps you have a small selection committee to reality-check the computer data -- like the NCAA Tournament selection committee basically does -- but I like the computers more than the BCS' human components.
...
"I’ve never been a great fan of the opinion polls. That's all they are" Thompson said. "Just the Tim Tebow story from last week is the perfect example. Coaches aren't filling those (ballots) out, and those that do, aren’t they kind of busy on Saturdays?"
(That said: The computer polls need to be WAY more transparent. Every computer-poll administrator should be forced to lay out -- and even defend -- his system. If they don't want to do that, they don't have to be part of the BCS equation.)
But kudos to you, Commissioner Thompson.
-- D.S.
Monday 08/03 Quickie: Phelps, Tiger,
Lee, V-Mart, Rachel, Carr, More
You know it's a weird weekend in sports when the lead stories are about a swim race, a non-major golf tournament and a horse race.
Yes, there was Victor Martinez's terrific 2nd-day with the Red Sox. Yes, there was the widespread opening of every NFL training camp (except the Giants, who start today).
But I remain pretty blown away by Phelps' race on Saturday. That said, does he win my "Weekend's Biggest Winner" award? NO HE DOES NOT. See the winner in today's SN column.
More in today's column:
*OK, so the Patriots AREN'T interested in Vick.
*I make Lloyd Carr sound like a complete fool.
*Do you think Obama will wear Peavy's No. 44 Sox jersey?
There's a lot more beyond that. Check out the column here. More later.
-- D.S.
Yes, there was Victor Martinez's terrific 2nd-day with the Red Sox. Yes, there was the widespread opening of every NFL training camp (except the Giants, who start today).
But I remain pretty blown away by Phelps' race on Saturday. That said, does he win my "Weekend's Biggest Winner" award? NO HE DOES NOT. See the winner in today's SN column.
More in today's column:
*OK, so the Patriots AREN'T interested in Vick.
*I make Lloyd Carr sound like a complete fool.
*Do you think Obama will wear Peavy's No. 44 Sox jersey?
There's a lot more beyond that. Check out the column here. More later.
-- D.S.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Sunday 08/02 (Very) Quickie
Phelps edges Cavic in 100 fly: I'm a big fan of NBC Olympics reporter Alan Abrahamson, and if he says that this was the best non-Olympic race in the history of swimming, I believe it -- and not just because I love that kind of superlative. Check out the race video here.
(What a great visual: Phelps popping his jersey -- or, um, swimsuit -- and he wasn't repping "USA" -- he was repping "Speedo," as in: "I don't need your silly super-suit." I didn't see a whole lot of joy from Phelps in winning this race -- just the most intense look of pure competitiveness I think I've ever seen.)
Vick to the...Steelers? I love the "Vick seen in [Fill-in-training-camp-region-here]!!!" The latest: Latrobe, PA -- home of the defending champs?
There is a reason that the Steelers and the Patriots are among the best fits for Vick: On the defending champs, the team culture is strong enough to give Vick the support system he needs. And on the defending champs, it is a mark of legitimacy that will make it hard for the media to rip him -- or the team.
MLB Studs: Andrew McCutchen is kind of awesome -- 3 HRs yesterday vs. the Nats... Matt Holliday: 2 HR in Cards W vs. Astros... Damn, is Tim Lincecum good (just utterly shut down the defending champs last night)...
Tiger's 65 at the Buick: Wow, was I really talking Friday about Tiger being at the edge of the cut. He's playing with that old killer instinct now.
-- D.S.
(What a great visual: Phelps popping his jersey -- or, um, swimsuit -- and he wasn't repping "USA" -- he was repping "Speedo," as in: "I don't need your silly super-suit." I didn't see a whole lot of joy from Phelps in winning this race -- just the most intense look of pure competitiveness I think I've ever seen.)
Vick to the...Steelers? I love the "Vick seen in [Fill-in-training-camp-region-here]!!!" The latest: Latrobe, PA -- home of the defending champs?
There is a reason that the Steelers and the Patriots are among the best fits for Vick: On the defending champs, the team culture is strong enough to give Vick the support system he needs. And on the defending champs, it is a mark of legitimacy that will make it hard for the media to rip him -- or the team.
MLB Studs: Andrew McCutchen is kind of awesome -- 3 HRs yesterday vs. the Nats... Matt Holliday: 2 HR in Cards W vs. Astros... Damn, is Tim Lincecum good (just utterly shut down the defending champs last night)...
Tiger's 65 at the Buick: Wow, was I really talking Friday about Tiger being at the edge of the cut. He's playing with that old killer instinct now.
-- D.S.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Worlds Collide: Shanoff, Tebow, Deadspin
- "A George divided against itself cannot stand!"
Because there is Deadspin Dan: Who wrote the weekly 2007 college football column; who guest-edited Deadspin for a weekend in June 2007; who Zerkle mocked when I offered to let Tim Tebow perform the circumcision on my newborn son last October; who posts on this site you're on now.
And, now, there is Teblog Dan: Who launched a blog exclusively dedicated to coverage of Tim Tebow -- yes, out of fanboy appreciation, but also because it was an interesting business concept; who throws out theories that the Pats will sign Mike Vick (likely correct!) because they want to test the single-wing before they draft Tim Tebow next April (likely crackpot!)
And last night, those two Dans met in the hallowed ground of Deadspin's DUAN, partly at the mercy of Dash Bennett and the Commenters (what else is new?) but partly in some kind of unholy union when my worlds finally collided.
The sun still came up today -- but am I the same Dan?
-- D.S.
Full Seinfeld dialogue, referenced above:
George: "You have no idea of the magnitude of this thing. If she is allowed to infiltrate this world then George Costanza as you know him ceases to exist.
- You see, right now I have Relationship George. But there is also Independent George. That's the George you know, the George you grew up with... Movie George, Coffee Shop George, Liar George, Bawdy George."
- Jerry: "I love that George."
- George: "Me too, and he's dying. If Relationship George walks through this door, he will kill Independent George.
- "A George divided against itself cannot stand!"
Cliff Lee for NL Cy Young: Why Can't Cliff?
Is it too early to start a Cliff Lee for NL Cy Young bandwagon?
Considering I tried the same thing with CC Sabathia when he came over to the Brewers a year ago, I think not.
It is based on Rick Sutcliffe's successful '84 Cy campaign when he went from the Indians to the Cubs.
Last night, Lee got off to a pretty good start: Complete-game 4-hitter with 6 Ks (to only 2 BBs) and 1 earned run, on only 109 pitches (79 for strikes).
Lee for NL Cy. (Yes, yes: Tim Lincecum. Save it. If the Giants make the playoffs, OK. Otherwise, if Lee keeps pitching like this for the Phillies, "Why can't Cliff?")
-- D.S.
Considering I tried the same thing with CC Sabathia when he came over to the Brewers a year ago, I think not.
It is based on Rick Sutcliffe's successful '84 Cy campaign when he went from the Indians to the Cubs.
Last night, Lee got off to a pretty good start: Complete-game 4-hitter with 6 Ks (to only 2 BBs) and 1 earned run, on only 109 pitches (79 for strikes).
Lee for NL Cy. (Yes, yes: Tim Lincecum. Save it. If the Giants make the playoffs, OK. Otherwise, if Lee keeps pitching like this for the Phillies, "Why can't Cliff?")
-- D.S.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Michael Vick to the Patriots, Updated
So there's this rumor -- I guess it's nearly an urban legend, at this point -- that Michael Vick was spotted at Logan Airport, which -- combined with his brief assertion that he's close to signing a deal with an NFL team -- MUST mean that he is signing with the Patriots. (Sarcasm, but still...)
Let's review why this makes sense for all involved:
Mike Vick: "Moss Theory" (instant credibility, stable environment)
Bill Belichick: Itching to experiment with the single-wing (w/o risking Brady)
Tom Brady: Can get 6-10 single-wing plays off per game (those add up)
Pats fans: You know that Vick is going to succeed wildly. (See Moss.)
Pats haters: One more reason to hate the Patriots.
Fantasy GMs: Scared to be the douche who DOESN'T draft him.
Tim Tebow: Single-wing test with Vick sets stage for Pats drafting Tebow.
"Dual-threat" college QBs: Instantly improve NFL draft value.
There is no NFL situation that Vick could land in better than the Patriots. There is no move more brilliant for the Patriots to make than to bring in Vick. This is the ultimate no-brainer.
-- D.S.
Let's review why this makes sense for all involved:
Mike Vick: "Moss Theory" (instant credibility, stable environment)
Bill Belichick: Itching to experiment with the single-wing (w/o risking Brady)
Tom Brady: Can get 6-10 single-wing plays off per game (those add up)
Pats fans: You know that Vick is going to succeed wildly. (See Moss.)
Pats haters: One more reason to hate the Patriots.
Fantasy GMs: Scared to be the douche who DOESN'T draft him.
Tim Tebow: Single-wing test with Vick sets stage for Pats drafting Tebow.
"Dual-threat" college QBs: Instantly improve NFL draft value.
There is no NFL situation that Vick could land in better than the Patriots. There is no move more brilliant for the Patriots to make than to bring in Vick. This is the ultimate no-brainer.
-- D.S.
Friday 07/31 Quickie: MLB Trades, Papi,
Brady, NFL Camps, USC, Canseco, More
I feel like I said my piece about David Ortiz in yesterday's post (below). You also get the sense that fans -- as always -- REALLY don't care (aside from schadenfreude value) and would much rather talk about the MLB Trade Deadline. I agree.
So let me summarize this morning's lead argument from today's SN column:
Remember when I presented my "Two NBAs" theory? The gist: Like 10 total NBA teams seem to truly be playing to win a championship right now -- this season.
OK, compare that to MLB: There are 10 teams NOT taking the season seriously enough to compete for the 2009 playoffs. (8 teams for the NL Wild Card, alone!)
2/3 of the NBA is either tanking, faking, hiding or evading payroll; in MLB, 2/3 of the league is in playoff contention -- and it shows.
Consider the conventional wisdom about the Giants or Rangers or Mariners before the season started. Now consider that they are BUYERS, not sellers at the trade deadline. Amazing.
Maybe it is the lucky vagaries of baseball's anything-can-happen playoff system that has teams at the periphery of contention saying, "Why not us?" Whatever it is: It works.
If you're not making moves today -- or at least this week -- you're falling behind. Or you're that majority part of the NBA that doesn't seem to think competing THIS season matters.
Meanwhile, if you do want more Papi analysis, it's in the column -- including what I think is a pretty good approximation of how Papi's "fact-finding" mission will end up:
"That milkshake my 'friend' handed me was laced with PEDs? I'm shocked! I always thought my ballooning home run totals in 2003 were a result of my emerging talents!"
Oh, and file that Canseco quote away. He's a world-class d'bag, but more than anyone -- players, media, owners, MLB execs, politicians -- he has been right about all this stuff.
Complete column here. More later.
-- D.S.
So let me summarize this morning's lead argument from today's SN column:
Remember when I presented my "Two NBAs" theory? The gist: Like 10 total NBA teams seem to truly be playing to win a championship right now -- this season.
OK, compare that to MLB: There are 10 teams NOT taking the season seriously enough to compete for the 2009 playoffs. (8 teams for the NL Wild Card, alone!)
2/3 of the NBA is either tanking, faking, hiding or evading payroll; in MLB, 2/3 of the league is in playoff contention -- and it shows.
Consider the conventional wisdom about the Giants or Rangers or Mariners before the season started. Now consider that they are BUYERS, not sellers at the trade deadline. Amazing.
Maybe it is the lucky vagaries of baseball's anything-can-happen playoff system that has teams at the periphery of contention saying, "Why not us?" Whatever it is: It works.
If you're not making moves today -- or at least this week -- you're falling behind. Or you're that majority part of the NBA that doesn't seem to think competing THIS season matters.
Meanwhile, if you do want more Papi analysis, it's in the column -- including what I think is a pretty good approximation of how Papi's "fact-finding" mission will end up:
"That milkshake my 'friend' handed me was laced with PEDs? I'm shocked! I always thought my ballooning home run totals in 2003 were a result of my emerging talents!"
Oh, and file that Canseco quote away. He's a world-class d'bag, but more than anyone -- players, media, owners, MLB execs, politicians -- he has been right about all this stuff.
Complete column here. More later.
-- D.S.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Today on TimTeblog
What slow offseason?
*OK, so maybe it's the Jags and not the Pats testing Vick before drafting Tebow.
*QB recruit Trey Burton is like Tim Tebow in at least ONE way.
*Don't hand Tebow the 2009 Heisman yet. (No, really.)
*OK, so maybe it's the Jags and not the Pats testing Vick before drafting Tebow.
*QB recruit Trey Burton is like Tim Tebow in at least ONE way.
*Don't hand Tebow the 2009 Heisman yet. (No, really.)
Why Leach's 64-Team Playoff is the Health Care "Public Option" of College Football
Mike Leach frames the college football playoff debate correctly: Playoffs are "mainstream." To not have a playoff is not mainstream.
But I think everyone agrees that college football needs a playoff. Where Leach proves himself even smarter is when he advocates a 64-team playoff. This is the bold innovative thinking needed to reform the system.
A widespread playoff is the college football equivalent of a "public option" in health care, the transformative step that would break the chokehold that the special interests have on something so necessary to us: College football.
Folks who propose a 4-team, 8-team or 16-team option are mere incrementalists who don't really want to see a playoff, because in all those scenarios, they end up with as many problems as they claim to solve. "It's better than nothing" is, in this case, not better than nothing.
Let's start with this: The "Plus-One" idea -- a title game after the bowls are over, re-ranking the teams -- is ridiculous, unless you can match 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 in a "semifinal" bowl pairing. That would be, I suppose, the "4-team" playoff option.
So let's look at the 4-team option: Even assuming you could match 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3, let's take an easy example: What would happen last year? Let's say Florida is 1. I guess that makes Oklahoma No. 2. Who's No. 3: Texas? So we get a rematch. OK. And who's 4? Alabama, you say? We saw that game a week earlier. Maybe USC has a claim. Or, oh right, there's unbeaten Utah, which proved itself to be a Top-4 team when it was all said and done. So Plus-One and/or the 4-team option doesn't really help.
How about the 8-team playoff? More teams involved? Great. Let's be naive and think that we would be able to select the 8 best teams, rather than the champs of 6 conferences, plus two "at-large" teams -- maybe from the power conferences, maybe from the non-power conferences. So that's one issue: Good luck when 4 of the Top 8 are from the SEC or Big 12 and a bunch of conferences are shut out. Even if you could pick your Top 8, it's easy to know that Florida, Oklahoma and Texas should have been part of an 8-team playoff field a year ago; once you get past those obvious choices, the decision-making is a LOT murkier, even if you have your choice of any team, regardless of conference.
(If we were going to do an 8-team playoff, it would need way more innovative thinking, such as the plan I proposed here, to "open source" the playoff. I actually loved this idea.)
How about the 16-team playoff? First, every power conference would insist on being given an automatic bid -- and the not-so-power conferences would probably demand the same treatment, which would be insane in a 16-team field -- too many great teams left out. (Try this thought experiment: Eliminate the 31 at-large bids of the NCAA basketball tournament and see how enjoyable it is to have the "small school" factor.) Meanwhile, if you thought picking between teams 4th-12th was hard for 8 spots, try picking between teams 12th-30th for 16 spots.
Which is where Leach comes in: The 64-team playoff makes sense. Every conference can have an automatic bid, but we can include enough at-large teams that it would be very hard to claim you were "snubbed" (and, like the NCAA Tournament, most folks would have no sympathy for you). Reduce the regular-season and put the games at neutral sites -- let cities bid for them and let local fans join die-hard travelers the stands for a playoff game, like they do at NCAA sub-regionals.
But I'd even be willing to walk it back: How about 32 teams? You can play the first three rounds in between conference-championship weekend and New Year's Day, then the semis and finals in the two weeks after New Year's Day. Every conference can have a slot, with plenty of room left for great at-large teams. Because every non-power-conference has a guaranteed spot, there will be no griping when every at-large bid goes to a power-conference team. And no guarantees for Notre Dame; join a conference or earn your way as an at-large.
The fact is: 4-, 8- and even 16-team playoff scenarios just won't solve the problem -- worthy teams being left out, the debate continuing to rage.
In the end, I would still stick with my old "everyone-in-the-pool" concept that proposes we let EVERY team into the Tournament -- like Indiana high school basketball used to be.
But the truth is that Leach is closer to being right than other playoff proponents, who just don't go far enough.
College football needs its "public option."
-- D.S.
But I think everyone agrees that college football needs a playoff. Where Leach proves himself even smarter is when he advocates a 64-team playoff. This is the bold innovative thinking needed to reform the system.
A widespread playoff is the college football equivalent of a "public option" in health care, the transformative step that would break the chokehold that the special interests have on something so necessary to us: College football.
Folks who propose a 4-team, 8-team or 16-team option are mere incrementalists who don't really want to see a playoff, because in all those scenarios, they end up with as many problems as they claim to solve. "It's better than nothing" is, in this case, not better than nothing.
Let's start with this: The "Plus-One" idea -- a title game after the bowls are over, re-ranking the teams -- is ridiculous, unless you can match 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 in a "semifinal" bowl pairing. That would be, I suppose, the "4-team" playoff option.
So let's look at the 4-team option: Even assuming you could match 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3, let's take an easy example: What would happen last year? Let's say Florida is 1. I guess that makes Oklahoma No. 2. Who's No. 3: Texas? So we get a rematch. OK. And who's 4? Alabama, you say? We saw that game a week earlier. Maybe USC has a claim. Or, oh right, there's unbeaten Utah, which proved itself to be a Top-4 team when it was all said and done. So Plus-One and/or the 4-team option doesn't really help.
How about the 8-team playoff? More teams involved? Great. Let's be naive and think that we would be able to select the 8 best teams, rather than the champs of 6 conferences, plus two "at-large" teams -- maybe from the power conferences, maybe from the non-power conferences. So that's one issue: Good luck when 4 of the Top 8 are from the SEC or Big 12 and a bunch of conferences are shut out. Even if you could pick your Top 8, it's easy to know that Florida, Oklahoma and Texas should have been part of an 8-team playoff field a year ago; once you get past those obvious choices, the decision-making is a LOT murkier, even if you have your choice of any team, regardless of conference.
(If we were going to do an 8-team playoff, it would need way more innovative thinking, such as the plan I proposed here, to "open source" the playoff. I actually loved this idea.)
How about the 16-team playoff? First, every power conference would insist on being given an automatic bid -- and the not-so-power conferences would probably demand the same treatment, which would be insane in a 16-team field -- too many great teams left out. (Try this thought experiment: Eliminate the 31 at-large bids of the NCAA basketball tournament and see how enjoyable it is to have the "small school" factor.) Meanwhile, if you thought picking between teams 4th-12th was hard for 8 spots, try picking between teams 12th-30th for 16 spots.
Which is where Leach comes in: The 64-team playoff makes sense. Every conference can have an automatic bid, but we can include enough at-large teams that it would be very hard to claim you were "snubbed" (and, like the NCAA Tournament, most folks would have no sympathy for you). Reduce the regular-season and put the games at neutral sites -- let cities bid for them and let local fans join die-hard travelers the stands for a playoff game, like they do at NCAA sub-regionals.
But I'd even be willing to walk it back: How about 32 teams? You can play the first three rounds in between conference-championship weekend and New Year's Day, then the semis and finals in the two weeks after New Year's Day. Every conference can have a slot, with plenty of room left for great at-large teams. Because every non-power-conference has a guaranteed spot, there will be no griping when every at-large bid goes to a power-conference team. And no guarantees for Notre Dame; join a conference or earn your way as an at-large.
The fact is: 4-, 8- and even 16-team playoff scenarios just won't solve the problem -- worthy teams being left out, the debate continuing to rage.
In the end, I would still stick with my old "everyone-in-the-pool" concept that proposes we let EVERY team into the Tournament -- like Indiana high school basketball used to be.
But the truth is that Leach is closer to being right than other playoff proponents, who just don't go far enough.
College football needs its "public option."
-- D.S.
David Ortiz Used Steroids Back in 2003: Come On, Are You Really Surprised?
Please -- PLEASE -- tell me that you're not shocked to find out that David Ortiz used PEDs back in 2003. (Obviously, to find out Manny was is hardly a shock at this point.)
I have never been much of a PED hysteric -- I'm more of a realist: Everyone was using PEDs in some way, either steroids or amphetamines, so it is what it is.
But you can bet that a hot meme will quickly become: "Well just how delegitimized is Boston's 2004 title now?" We're not taking the banner away, obviously. But it's certainly tainted.
And that's the point: Everything is tainted. Therefore: In a twisted way, nothing is tainted.
I think what should offend fans more than the cheating is Big Papi's lying. He has consistently denied using steroids. Which makes him a Hall of Fame hypocrite.
It's always the cover-up, never the actual crime. I don't blame Ortiz for the cheating; I blame him for lying about the cheating.
-- D.S.
UPDATE: Because I am more concerned about the lying than the cheating, can we please agree to have a one-day window where anyone who ever used PEDs can admit to it without punishment (aside from taint, I guess). After that, if it came out you used, we would know you were a liar and in the best interests of baseball, you'd be banned. So clean! And when we figure out that EVERYONE did it, it wouldn't be a big deal anymore.
I have never been much of a PED hysteric -- I'm more of a realist: Everyone was using PEDs in some way, either steroids or amphetamines, so it is what it is.
But you can bet that a hot meme will quickly become: "Well just how delegitimized is Boston's 2004 title now?" We're not taking the banner away, obviously. But it's certainly tainted.
And that's the point: Everything is tainted. Therefore: In a twisted way, nothing is tainted.
I think what should offend fans more than the cheating is Big Papi's lying. He has consistently denied using steroids. Which makes him a Hall of Fame hypocrite.
It's always the cover-up, never the actual crime. I don't blame Ortiz for the cheating; I blame him for lying about the cheating.
-- D.S.
UPDATE: Because I am more concerned about the lying than the cheating, can we please agree to have a one-day window where anyone who ever used PEDs can admit to it without punishment (aside from taint, I guess). After that, if it came out you used, we would know you were a liar and in the best interests of baseball, you'd be banned. So clean! And when we figure out that EVERYONE did it, it wouldn't be a big deal anymore.
Books: Beckham Experiment by Grant Wahl
Apparently, it's Summer Reading Week here! Today: "The Beckham Experiment," by Grant Wahl.
Deadspin beat me to the punch yesterday with its excerpt (and chat!) with Grant Wahl, who wrote the recently published "Beckham Experiment," which is exactly what it sounds like: In-depth reporting and analysis of David Beckham's attempt to turn soccer in America into a "major" sport.
Beckham's goal was that audacious and both Wahl's book premise and execution match it -- even if the goal itself has fallen short. (Perhaps way short, if last week's Beckham Revolt was any indication.) But, for me, that makes the book all the more interesting. Success is never as interesting as failure.
Like my post about "Cooperstown Confessional" yesterday, I am still mid-way through Wahl's Beckham book, but it is already one of my favorite sports books of the past few years. I am constantly looking for the "If you read only ONE book about this sport, make it X." ("Sunday Money" is my gold standard.)
I hesitate to compare "Beckham Experiment" to "Fever Pitch" (memoir of fandom) or even "Among the Thugs" (sociology of fandom). As a book purely about the sport -- the business, the inner-workings, really -- of soccer, Wahl's book is a must-read, if just to be soccer literate as a sports fan (as you should be).
I even got Wahl to give me my own "exclusive" Q&A -- literally, one question of mine, via email, for which he was gracious enough to answer:
Q: Youth soccer participation is huge -- and feels like it has been for at least 30 years, since I was a kid. And there's a strong argument to be made that you develop fan affinity by actually playing a sport as a kid. (That is certainly an argument that MLS has made for at least 15 years, if not longer.) At what point -- if ever -- will this youth participation translate to widespread, "mainstream" (ie, up there with MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR) fan interest in soccer within the U.S.? Star-wattage apparently won't do it. What will? Wahl's reply:
He and I were both assigned to cover the 1999 Final Four -- he wrote the magazine's cover story, I did stuff like this (which, frankly, helped crystallize my thinking for the Daily Quickie, so it sort of worked out) -- and he couldn't have been nicer to me, despite being under a ton of pressure himself. I have always appreciated that -- even as I have marveled at his writing and reporting talents, which are among the best not just at SI, but in all of sports media. I had sort of been waiting for him to write his Book -- "Beckham Experiment" is probably the purest representation of Wahl's abilities fulfilled.
You can get the book here. Your summer reading diet -- and sports-book library -- will be better for it.
-- D.S.
Deadspin beat me to the punch yesterday with its excerpt (and chat!) with Grant Wahl, who wrote the recently published "Beckham Experiment," which is exactly what it sounds like: In-depth reporting and analysis of David Beckham's attempt to turn soccer in America into a "major" sport.
Beckham's goal was that audacious and both Wahl's book premise and execution match it -- even if the goal itself has fallen short. (Perhaps way short, if last week's Beckham Revolt was any indication.) But, for me, that makes the book all the more interesting. Success is never as interesting as failure.
Like my post about "Cooperstown Confessional" yesterday, I am still mid-way through Wahl's Beckham book, but it is already one of my favorite sports books of the past few years. I am constantly looking for the "If you read only ONE book about this sport, make it X." ("Sunday Money" is my gold standard.)
I hesitate to compare "Beckham Experiment" to "Fever Pitch" (memoir of fandom) or even "Among the Thugs" (sociology of fandom). As a book purely about the sport -- the business, the inner-workings, really -- of soccer, Wahl's book is a must-read, if just to be soccer literate as a sports fan (as you should be).
I even got Wahl to give me my own "exclusive" Q&A -- literally, one question of mine, via email, for which he was gracious enough to answer:
Q: Youth soccer participation is huge -- and feels like it has been for at least 30 years, since I was a kid. And there's a strong argument to be made that you develop fan affinity by actually playing a sport as a kid. (That is certainly an argument that MLS has made for at least 15 years, if not longer.) At what point -- if ever -- will this youth participation translate to widespread, "mainstream" (ie, up there with MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR) fan interest in soccer within the U.S.? Star-wattage apparently won't do it. What will? Wahl's reply:
I love soccer, and I've been covering it for 12 years for Sports Illustrated, but I still have no idea if it will ever be one of the top three spectator sports in America. I do find it fascinating, though, that so many wealthy businessmen--billionaires, in fact--continue investing so much money in trying to make pro soccer matter on a regular basis in this country. I don't think there's any magic bullet that will suddenly skyrocket pro soccer's popularity, but I do think that a combination of factors have already made soccer bigger here: the advent of MLS, the infrastructure that has come with it (read: soccer stadiums), the changing demographics in America (most notably the huge population increase of Hispanic-Americans, many of them soccer lovers) and the improvement of the U.S. men's national team (five straight World Cups after going 40 years without one). I hope the soccer failure (so far) of the Beckham Experiment doesn't prevent MLS owners from opening their wallets for future stars, because I do think that star power will help MLS, but MLS's slow-growth strategy has worked in some ways. The league isn't in any danger of folding, and new expansion cities like Seattle have seen soccer be a rousing success. The continued growth of pro soccer here is a slow process, one that might take decades, and it may never compete with the Top Three. But it is here to stay.It is here that I should add that during my brief tenure at SI from 1998-1999 (working on the SI.com side, then CNNSI.com), Wahl was probably my favorite person on the magazine side. As you can imagine back then, most SI magazine staff thought we dot-com staffers were second-class citizens. Not Grant -- he "got" the Web, as his terrific mailbags (mostly about college hoops, which I got to edit) were evidence. He was also a congenial person to work with.
He and I were both assigned to cover the 1999 Final Four -- he wrote the magazine's cover story, I did stuff like this (which, frankly, helped crystallize my thinking for the Daily Quickie, so it sort of worked out) -- and he couldn't have been nicer to me, despite being under a ton of pressure himself. I have always appreciated that -- even as I have marveled at his writing and reporting talents, which are among the best not just at SI, but in all of sports media. I had sort of been waiting for him to write his Book -- "Beckham Experiment" is probably the purest representation of Wahl's abilities fulfilled.
You can get the book here. Your summer reading diet -- and sports-book library -- will be better for it.
-- D.S.
Thursday 07/30 Quickie: Top Coach Ever?
Favre, Vick, Lee, Halladay, Urlacher, More
Who is the best team-sport coach ever? What a debate-starter. SN's panel picked John Wooden, and it's hard to argue. In today's SN column, I break down their Top 50, including:
*Pat Summitt was screwed. She's Top 3 all-time.
*Bill Belichick may end up in the Top 10.
*Of coaches not on the list, Urban Meyer is most likely to crack it one day.
There seemed to be a formula to being Top 50: Longevity. Consistent winning. Championships. Media myth-making (which tends to follow the first three things).
It's a fun list to argue over, particularly when you break it down by sport or think about snubs or think about who will eventually make the list a decade from now.
Meanwhile:
*I told you: Brett Favre isn't going to stay retired.
*Mike Leach is so awesome. More on that later today.
*The Phils win, the Jays lose.
*Look at the Mariners and Giants dealing like contenders!
*Vick to the Jaguars? (Makes sense.)
*Urlacher hates Cutler? (Makes sense, sort of)
*I have no problem with Marvin Williams.
*Who will USC unexpectedly lose to THIS year?
*I couldn't feel more awful for Erin Andrews.
Complete column here. More later.
-- D.S.
*Pat Summitt was screwed. She's Top 3 all-time.
*Bill Belichick may end up in the Top 10.
*Of coaches not on the list, Urban Meyer is most likely to crack it one day.
There seemed to be a formula to being Top 50: Longevity. Consistent winning. Championships. Media myth-making (which tends to follow the first three things).
It's a fun list to argue over, particularly when you break it down by sport or think about snubs or think about who will eventually make the list a decade from now.
Meanwhile:
*I told you: Brett Favre isn't going to stay retired.
*Mike Leach is so awesome. More on that later today.
*The Phils win, the Jays lose.
*Look at the Mariners and Giants dealing like contenders!
*Vick to the Jaguars? (Makes sense.)
*Urlacher hates Cutler? (Makes sense, sort of)
*I have no problem with Marvin Williams.
*Who will USC unexpectedly lose to THIS year?
*I couldn't feel more awful for Erin Andrews.
Complete column here. More later.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Book Club: "Cooperstown Confidential" by Zev Chafets
Longtime readers know my general disdain for the process related to entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame -- mostly for the overly clubby, overly opaque clique of arbiters of Hall-worthiness from the Baseball Writers Association of America. I think the selection process is inherently flawed, and that -- at a minimum -- the current voting system should be imploded. (The late Red Smith agrees with me, by the way.) I would even suggest fans would do a better job than the BBWAA.
Because of that, I was thrilled to get a review copy of "Cooperstown Confidential" by Zev Chafets, which I have been enjoying as a fun bit of myth-busting about the Hall. I was going to do a post about it later this summer, but there is a terrific review of the book in today's New York Times, so it seemed appropriate to bring it up now. (FWIW, I have a stack of books from this summer that I am trying to work through simultaneously to post about here. Bear with me.)
-- D.S.
Because of that, I was thrilled to get a review copy of "Cooperstown Confidential" by Zev Chafets, which I have been enjoying as a fun bit of myth-busting about the Hall. I was going to do a post about it later this summer, but there is a terrific review of the book in today's New York Times, so it seemed appropriate to bring it up now. (FWIW, I have a stack of books from this summer that I am trying to work through simultaneously to post about here. Bear with me.)
-- D.S.
Why Vick Will End Up With the Patriots
Michael Vick will end up with the Patriots. And not just because of the lazy "image-rehab" comparisons to Randy Moss. No, because it also fits neatly into my "Patriots draft Tebow" theory.
In the end, it would be a win for Vick, a win for Belichick, a win for Brady, a win for the Patriots, a win for Patriots-haters, a win for Tebow... and it is the theory behind today's big post at the Teblog.
(UPDATE: Fanhouse has a handy list of teams who have made some kind of remark on the record about Vick -- may be legit, may be standard NFL deception. Note who isn't on the list: Pats.)
In the end, it would be a win for Vick, a win for Belichick, a win for Brady, a win for the Patriots, a win for Patriots-haters, a win for Tebow... and it is the theory behind today's big post at the Teblog.
(UPDATE: Fanhouse has a handy list of teams who have made some kind of remark on the record about Vick -- may be legit, may be standard NFL deception. Note who isn't on the list: Pats.)
Wednesday 07/29 Quickie: Favre, Vick,
Buehrle, Halladay, Phelps, Pryor, ACC
I don't believe Brett Favre. And I'm a little surprised anyone would.
Oh, sure, I believe that he isn't unretiring TODAY. But per today's SN column, there's still time for him to do a U-turn on this season.
And even if he doesn't come back THIS season, who's to say he won't get the itch to return NEXT season? That's a full season away. Full season to get healthy. Full season to mutter to himself (and the various media folks he works with): "I'm still better than most starting NFL QBs."
More than anything, Favre craves the attention he gets from floating his comebacks. And so we might begin enjoying a blissful lull in Favrian theatrics today, but they -- and he -- will be back.
Meanwhile, what should the Vikings do? Sign Mike Vick, obviously. Like, today. Just do a sneak attack on the rest of the league. What do they have to lose? No, seriously? Just give him Favre's No. 4 and don't look back.
Buehrle Watch: I defy a starting pitcher over the next few decades to match Buehrle's new MLB record for consecutive batters retired. It's not quite "56," but it's pretty rough to top -- start with the notion you'd have to have a perfect game first, then throw nearly 2/3 of another. Then get that one more out.
MLB Trade Talk: The Yankees are talking about getting Jarrod Washburn. The Red Sox are talking about getting Roy Halladay. You be the judge. (The Jays would be insane to trade Halladay to a division rival, except that the Red Sox seem willing to offer up some prime prospects - and I think the Jays could uncynically say, "We're not competitive this year or next anyway, so why not?"
CFB Media Days: Terrelle Pryor is the talk of the Big Ten -- as he should be -- although I think Pat Fitzgerald did more to raise his stock with the media than any other coach. I tweeted this yesterday: He's the best coach in sports under the age of 40. Not just in football. All of sports. That includes Mike Tomlin. As for the ACC... eh... hey, I'm no hater: I think that Georgia Tech will end up in my preseason Top 5.
Phelps loses (Phelps loses?!): The whole "supersuit" thing is fine, as long as Phelps is the beneficiary in shattering world records and collecting Olympic gold medals. But as soon as a Speedo rival comes out with an even more buoyant suit -- and Phelps loses to an Arena swimmer -- it's "Nope, these suits have got to go." Here's an idea: One common suit for all competitors, who can put whatever logo they want on them. FINA can sell the worldwide production rights to the highest bidder.
Complete column here. More later.
-- D.S.
Oh, sure, I believe that he isn't unretiring TODAY. But per today's SN column, there's still time for him to do a U-turn on this season.
And even if he doesn't come back THIS season, who's to say he won't get the itch to return NEXT season? That's a full season away. Full season to get healthy. Full season to mutter to himself (and the various media folks he works with): "I'm still better than most starting NFL QBs."
More than anything, Favre craves the attention he gets from floating his comebacks. And so we might begin enjoying a blissful lull in Favrian theatrics today, but they -- and he -- will be back.
Meanwhile, what should the Vikings do? Sign Mike Vick, obviously. Like, today. Just do a sneak attack on the rest of the league. What do they have to lose? No, seriously? Just give him Favre's No. 4 and don't look back.
Buehrle Watch: I defy a starting pitcher over the next few decades to match Buehrle's new MLB record for consecutive batters retired. It's not quite "56," but it's pretty rough to top -- start with the notion you'd have to have a perfect game first, then throw nearly 2/3 of another. Then get that one more out.
MLB Trade Talk: The Yankees are talking about getting Jarrod Washburn. The Red Sox are talking about getting Roy Halladay. You be the judge. (The Jays would be insane to trade Halladay to a division rival, except that the Red Sox seem willing to offer up some prime prospects - and I think the Jays could uncynically say, "We're not competitive this year or next anyway, so why not?"
CFB Media Days: Terrelle Pryor is the talk of the Big Ten -- as he should be -- although I think Pat Fitzgerald did more to raise his stock with the media than any other coach. I tweeted this yesterday: He's the best coach in sports under the age of 40. Not just in football. All of sports. That includes Mike Tomlin. As for the ACC... eh... hey, I'm no hater: I think that Georgia Tech will end up in my preseason Top 5.
Phelps loses (Phelps loses?!): The whole "supersuit" thing is fine, as long as Phelps is the beneficiary in shattering world records and collecting Olympic gold medals. But as soon as a Speedo rival comes out with an even more buoyant suit -- and Phelps loses to an Arena swimmer -- it's "Nope, these suits have got to go." Here's an idea: One common suit for all competitors, who can put whatever logo they want on them. FINA can sell the worldwide production rights to the highest bidder.
Complete column here. More later.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Is The Coaches' Top 25 Poll Dead?
Great post by Matt Hinton synthesizing the discussion around Spurrier's all-SEC ballot and its impact on the Coaches' Top 25 poll ballots, which we all know are corrupt to the core -- either filled out by coaches with nothing but massive conflicts-of-interest that obliterate any credibility they may have... or simply not filled out by coaches at all, but rather by assistant SIDs.
Because the Coaches' poll is part of the BCS formula, it is important. (That's why maintaining its transparency was so important.)
But let's not let the media -- who are tap-dancing on the Coaches' poll grave -- off so easily.
The AP Top 25 is nearly as corrupt as the coaches' version, wracked by regional (certainly school-specific) biases; a lack of transparency; a lack of accountability; and at least one other thing that we kill the coaches for but rarely see pointed out about the AP voters: If they are doing their day job of following their specific team on a Saturday -- watching the game, getting quotes, filing their story, etc -- how do they possibly consume enough football to make an educated vote?
(There is another consideration: No matter what the "BCS" stands for, an AP national title still means something important. Just ask USC if they think they were "national champs" in 2003. And you get the sense that AP voters would like nothing more than to have an excuse to exercise their importance by splitting the title at the earliest available opportunity.)
That's one reason I am such a huge fan of the BlogPoll, of which I am a voting member: (1) While the roster of participants is large, there is some semblance of criteria by administrator Brian Cook (whose own rep is unimpeachable); (2) there is complete transparency -- not only can you see what a voter did on their ballot, but most voters encourage their readers to make an argument for changing the ballot; (3) I would argue that most BlogPollsters consume more college football on a Saturday than their AP counterparts.
Is it a BlogPoll fail that they/we ended up with Florida as our national champ, rather than Utah? If we, as a group, had sincerely picked the Utes, that would have been incredible. But as we all fill out our ballots with some semblance of integrity, it simply didn't register to "game" it by voting for Utah.
That was a couple of AP pollsters' jobs, apparently.
-- D.S.
Because the Coaches' poll is part of the BCS formula, it is important. (That's why maintaining its transparency was so important.)
But let's not let the media -- who are tap-dancing on the Coaches' poll grave -- off so easily.
The AP Top 25 is nearly as corrupt as the coaches' version, wracked by regional (certainly school-specific) biases; a lack of transparency; a lack of accountability; and at least one other thing that we kill the coaches for but rarely see pointed out about the AP voters: If they are doing their day job of following their specific team on a Saturday -- watching the game, getting quotes, filing their story, etc -- how do they possibly consume enough football to make an educated vote?
(There is another consideration: No matter what the "BCS" stands for, an AP national title still means something important. Just ask USC if they think they were "national champs" in 2003. And you get the sense that AP voters would like nothing more than to have an excuse to exercise their importance by splitting the title at the earliest available opportunity.)
That's one reason I am such a huge fan of the BlogPoll, of which I am a voting member: (1) While the roster of participants is large, there is some semblance of criteria by administrator Brian Cook (whose own rep is unimpeachable); (2) there is complete transparency -- not only can you see what a voter did on their ballot, but most voters encourage their readers to make an argument for changing the ballot; (3) I would argue that most BlogPollsters consume more college football on a Saturday than their AP counterparts.
Is it a BlogPoll fail that they/we ended up with Florida as our national champ, rather than Utah? If we, as a group, had sincerely picked the Utes, that would have been incredible. But as we all fill out our ballots with some semblance of integrity, it simply didn't register to "game" it by voting for Utah.
That was a couple of AP pollsters' jobs, apparently.
-- D.S.
Tuesday 07/28 Quickie: Vick, Goodell,
LeBron, Pryor, Bowden, Rose, Okafor, More
Michael Vick and Roger Goodell can spin all they want, because the only spinning that counts will be coming from the teams that will consider pursuing Vick.
"Are you thinking about Vick?" will be THE question at training camps, much like "Did you vote for Tebow?" was the question last week at SEC Media Day.
It's an easy storyline for reporters, the fans are certainly curious and -- let's face it -- Vick's return (even if it won't be until Week 6 or beyond, and in a limited role) will be the most prominent (though hardly most intriguing) story of the season.
If you were an owner or GM considering Vick, would you want to be first to announce it? You better have a p.r. plan ready for the vocal detractors -- I'm still pretty convinced that NFL fans, like NFL coaches and owners, just want to win. If Vick will help, they're sold.
(Make no mistake: For fans of the team that has Vick, they will cheer for him, much like Giants fans cheered without compromise -- OK, maybe a little compromise -- for Bonds.)
Or do you wait for the first team to say it, take the p.r. firestorm, then sidle up and quietly learn some lessons and figure out your own deal with Vick?
Anyway, for me, that's the big story about Vick: Who will be the first team to even float their interest, let alone sign him?
Meanwhile, the second most intriguing storyline of the day is this one about the NY Mets beat reporter, Adam Rubin, called out by GM Omar Minaya for asking the Mets GM about a job.
What media person WOULDN'T want to be running a front office? Rubin's cheeky answer should have been: "Have you seen the state of the media industry?" (He could also have added, "At least newspapers aren't the Mets.") (UPDATE: He sort of did, to reporters afterward.)
Learn a lesson from Simmons: Make your candidacy for a front-office job a talking point of your own -- an open campaign -- rather than being defensive about it.
I don't know if Rubin is going to parlay this into 15 minutes of fame -- it likely won't be parlayed into a baseball exec job -- but his colleagues seem ready to jump all over Minaya for "outing" their teammate. And Minaya WAS a fool for bringing it up.
But let's agree that it was inappropriate for Rubin to talk about front-office jobs -- seemingly, how to GET a front-office job, not about front-office jobs as part of reporting -- with the folks he covers.
There's a ton more in today's SN column, including a ton on Big Ten and ACC Media Days, the latest on LeBron's re-signing in Cleveland (ha), the Okafor-Chandler trade, the grand-slam-off between the Cubs and Nats and more.
More later.
-- D.S.
"Are you thinking about Vick?" will be THE question at training camps, much like "Did you vote for Tebow?" was the question last week at SEC Media Day.
It's an easy storyline for reporters, the fans are certainly curious and -- let's face it -- Vick's return (even if it won't be until Week 6 or beyond, and in a limited role) will be the most prominent (though hardly most intriguing) story of the season.
If you were an owner or GM considering Vick, would you want to be first to announce it? You better have a p.r. plan ready for the vocal detractors -- I'm still pretty convinced that NFL fans, like NFL coaches and owners, just want to win. If Vick will help, they're sold.
(Make no mistake: For fans of the team that has Vick, they will cheer for him, much like Giants fans cheered without compromise -- OK, maybe a little compromise -- for Bonds.)
Or do you wait for the first team to say it, take the p.r. firestorm, then sidle up and quietly learn some lessons and figure out your own deal with Vick?
Anyway, for me, that's the big story about Vick: Who will be the first team to even float their interest, let alone sign him?
Meanwhile, the second most intriguing storyline of the day is this one about the NY Mets beat reporter, Adam Rubin, called out by GM Omar Minaya for asking the Mets GM about a job.
What media person WOULDN'T want to be running a front office? Rubin's cheeky answer should have been: "Have you seen the state of the media industry?" (He could also have added, "At least newspapers aren't the Mets.") (UPDATE: He sort of did, to reporters afterward.)
Learn a lesson from Simmons: Make your candidacy for a front-office job a talking point of your own -- an open campaign -- rather than being defensive about it.
I don't know if Rubin is going to parlay this into 15 minutes of fame -- it likely won't be parlayed into a baseball exec job -- but his colleagues seem ready to jump all over Minaya for "outing" their teammate. And Minaya WAS a fool for bringing it up.
But let's agree that it was inappropriate for Rubin to talk about front-office jobs -- seemingly, how to GET a front-office job, not about front-office jobs as part of reporting -- with the folks he covers.
There's a ton more in today's SN column, including a ton on Big Ten and ACC Media Days, the latest on LeBron's re-signing in Cleveland (ha), the Okafor-Chandler trade, the grand-slam-off between the Cubs and Nats and more.
More later.
-- D.S.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday 07/27 Quickie: Rickey, Lance,
Halladay, CFB Media Days, Swimsuits, More
So maybe it was filing unexpectedly from the road overnight, in between a plane flight that was cancelled at 10 pm and one I (plus wife and 2 kids) would have to get up at 3:30 am today to try to fix, but I'm feeling a little chippy in today's SN column:
*With one master stroke, Rickey Henderson undid a lifetime's worth of "bad selfish" to look like someone who appreciates something other than himself: "I am very very humbled." Now we can all remember him as the astonishingly talented player he was -- perhaps Top 10 all time?
*Lance Armstrong's 3rd-place finish was more impressive than any of his 7 Tour de France titles. And will be more impressive than when he finishes 1st next year.
*What the hell is the leading swimming governing body thinking in getting rid of the super-suits in January? In 8 Worlds races yesterday, we got 6 world records. Folks CARE about swimming -- and it's not just an Olympic off-year, but WAY off. And the suits help.
*Halladay Watch: I don't know why the Phillies wouldn't mortgage a small piece of their future to win right now. With Halladay they would be the favorites to win the World Series -- sorry, to repeat as World Series champs. You don't let windows like this pass you by.
*CFB Media Days: Needless to say, the Big Ten, ACC and everyone else won't be nearly as self-regarding (or exciting) as the SEC Media insanity last week. Nobody is asking who DIDN'T vote for Terrelle Pryor as 1st-team all-Big Ten QB.
There's actually a lot more. (Find it here.) You'd be surprised at how productive you can be between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m. when you are fueled with travel rage.
-- D.S.
*With one master stroke, Rickey Henderson undid a lifetime's worth of "bad selfish" to look like someone who appreciates something other than himself: "I am very very humbled." Now we can all remember him as the astonishingly talented player he was -- perhaps Top 10 all time?
*Lance Armstrong's 3rd-place finish was more impressive than any of his 7 Tour de France titles. And will be more impressive than when he finishes 1st next year.
*What the hell is the leading swimming governing body thinking in getting rid of the super-suits in January? In 8 Worlds races yesterday, we got 6 world records. Folks CARE about swimming -- and it's not just an Olympic off-year, but WAY off. And the suits help.
*Halladay Watch: I don't know why the Phillies wouldn't mortgage a small piece of their future to win right now. With Halladay they would be the favorites to win the World Series -- sorry, to repeat as World Series champs. You don't let windows like this pass you by.
*CFB Media Days: Needless to say, the Big Ten, ACC and everyone else won't be nearly as self-regarding (or exciting) as the SEC Media insanity last week. Nobody is asking who DIDN'T vote for Terrelle Pryor as 1st-team all-Big Ten QB.
There's actually a lot more. (Find it here.) You'd be surprised at how productive you can be between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m. when you are fueled with travel rage.
-- D.S.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Sunday 07/26 (Very) Quickie
Tour de France wrapping up: This may be a little TOO contrarian, but I think that Lance finishing 3rd in the 2009 TdF after 4 years off is more impressive than any of his 7 titles.
Re: Rickey in the Hall of Fame -- I *love* this take from USA Today (and perhaps other places that I just didn't see) that Rickey was the Greatest Fantasy Baseball Player Ever. (Is it strange that I think that should be a qualifying factor for Hall enshrinement? Two words: Tim Raines, who was probably a Top 5 fantasy player throughout his peak years.)
Hank Aaron is OK* with PED users in the Hall -- as long as their plaque gets an asterisk:
I have a follow up question for Aaron: Would Aaron suggest the same thing for players in the Hall who used amphetamines, like greenies or coke? That would put stars on every enshrinee...ever.
MLB: Rays flash that '08 magic, with their biggest comeback (8 runs) in franchise history and beating the Jays.
MLB Fantasy Stud: Luke Hochevar (13 Ks)
NBA: Is Lamar Odom going to end up on the Heat? That probably does more to hurt the Lakers' chances of repeating than it does help the Heat's chances of contending. (Unless the Heat combine that with trading for Boozer and getting Wade to re-sign now, not next summer.)
-- D.S.
Re: Rickey in the Hall of Fame -- I *love* this take from USA Today (and perhaps other places that I just didn't see) that Rickey was the Greatest Fantasy Baseball Player Ever. (Is it strange that I think that should be a qualifying factor for Hall enshrinement? Two words: Tim Raines, who was probably a Top 5 fantasy player throughout his peak years.)
Hank Aaron is OK* with PED users in the Hall -- as long as their plaque gets an asterisk:
I have a follow up question for Aaron: Would Aaron suggest the same thing for players in the Hall who used amphetamines, like greenies or coke? That would put stars on every enshrinee...ever.
MLB: Rays flash that '08 magic, with their biggest comeback (8 runs) in franchise history and beating the Jays.
MLB Fantasy Stud: Luke Hochevar (13 Ks)
NBA: Is Lamar Odom going to end up on the Heat? That probably does more to hurt the Lakers' chances of repeating than it does help the Heat's chances of contending. (Unless the Heat combine that with trading for Boozer and getting Wade to re-sign now, not next summer.)
-- D.S.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Saturday 07/25 (Very) Quickie
So I'm blogging from beachside in St. Augustine, Florida this weekend, and -- gloriously -- I'm having what can only be described as a fried-food hangover. Not in a gross way, btw.
Matt Holliday traded to Cards: 4/5 with an RBI in a Cards win over the Phillies. Pretty good start, you could say.
It was Steve Spurrier: That's what you get for delegating your all-conference ballots (and, don't fool yourself, Top 25 ballots) to administrative assistants. Vote has been changed.
Lane Kiffin at SEC Media Days: I actually think he won over some haters. At least he went a bit meta and acknowledged why he engages in the crazy-talk. And, let's face it: It worked.
Blazers sign Andre Miller: Did they really need him? With Brandon Roy, do you need a "traditional" PG? If so, didn't they already have the serviceable Steve Blake?
Leagues, NCAA sue Delaware to stop gambling: They can't stop it. It's inevitable. I don't buy the "it'll corrupt our sport!" argument. It's on the leagues, not the states, to stop cheaters.
Cripes, Roy Halladay is good (9 IP/4H/1ER/10 Ks, even in an ND): I don't know why a contender trying to make a move wouldn't spend whatever it needed to to get him.
Too early to start talking MLB Wild Card races? Giants-Rockies is going to be a good one. (Matt Cain: 12th win.)
Scott Feldman beating Zack Greinke may be the most notable moment in Jewish baseball history in years.
Swimming bans super-suits: Here's the problem -- the technology was accessible to everyone, so it's not like it was an unfair advantage. Meanwhile, what about the records set in the suits? (I guess it's like baseball records set during the Steroid Era, or the Amphetamine Era before that.)
Finally: Oh my god: Stephon Marbury, Live. That footage -- once properly edited by an enterprising blogger or fan -- will have an instant place in sports pop-culture forever.
TimTeblog: I sift through all the Tebow-related content that has been published in the last 18 hours to find the interesting stuff so you don't have to.
-- D.S.
Matt Holliday traded to Cards: 4/5 with an RBI in a Cards win over the Phillies. Pretty good start, you could say.
It was Steve Spurrier: That's what you get for delegating your all-conference ballots (and, don't fool yourself, Top 25 ballots) to administrative assistants. Vote has been changed.
Lane Kiffin at SEC Media Days: I actually think he won over some haters. At least he went a bit meta and acknowledged why he engages in the crazy-talk. And, let's face it: It worked.
Blazers sign Andre Miller: Did they really need him? With Brandon Roy, do you need a "traditional" PG? If so, didn't they already have the serviceable Steve Blake?
Leagues, NCAA sue Delaware to stop gambling: They can't stop it. It's inevitable. I don't buy the "it'll corrupt our sport!" argument. It's on the leagues, not the states, to stop cheaters.
Cripes, Roy Halladay is good (9 IP/4H/1ER/10 Ks, even in an ND): I don't know why a contender trying to make a move wouldn't spend whatever it needed to to get him.
Too early to start talking MLB Wild Card races? Giants-Rockies is going to be a good one. (Matt Cain: 12th win.)
Scott Feldman beating Zack Greinke may be the most notable moment in Jewish baseball history in years.
Swimming bans super-suits: Here's the problem -- the technology was accessible to everyone, so it's not like it was an unfair advantage. Meanwhile, what about the records set in the suits? (I guess it's like baseball records set during the Steroid Era, or the Amphetamine Era before that.)
Finally: Oh my god: Stephon Marbury, Live. That footage -- once properly edited by an enterprising blogger or fan -- will have an instant place in sports pop-culture forever.
TimTeblog: I sift through all the Tebow-related content that has been published in the last 18 hours to find the interesting stuff so you don't have to.
-- D.S.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Friday 07/24 Quickie: Tebow, Buehrle,
Vick, Favre, NFL Camping, LeBron
Cripes, I guess sports' annual summer vacation is over. There are about a half-dozen stories that could have led the sports day over the last two weeks -- packed into one morning:
Vick is back: When, not if. More like: Who (will sign him?)
Buehrle's perfect game: What a moment. What a catch by Wise. (Obama agrees!)
Is Brett Favre announcing his unretirement today? On a busy sports day? Yes!
Um, and NFL training camps open this weekend, usually a pretty big milestone.
And then, of course, there is the whole Tebow-is-virgin thing (video here!), spicing upSEC Tebow Media Days in Alabama.
(And, if you care about the whole "Who didn't vote for Tebow" thing, it looks like the culprit is either Steve Spurrier or Someone-Is-Lying, either of which are intriguing.)
Today's SN column couldn't be more loaded. It was a crazy day yesterday, with plenty of time to mull it over today and over the weekend. Enjoy it. This is one of the good mornings.
(You can be suffering from Tebow backlash -- really? -- or Vick fatigue or Favre please-no-not-again-itis, but at the very least you have to have loved the Buehrle-Wise thing.)
Again: Great day to be a sports fan.
-- D.S.
Vick is back: When, not if. More like: Who (will sign him?)
Buehrle's perfect game: What a moment. What a catch by Wise. (Obama agrees!)
Is Brett Favre announcing his unretirement today? On a busy sports day? Yes!
Um, and NFL training camps open this weekend, usually a pretty big milestone.
And then, of course, there is the whole Tebow-is-virgin thing (video here!), spicing up
(And, if you care about the whole "Who didn't vote for Tebow" thing, it looks like the culprit is either Steve Spurrier or Someone-Is-Lying, either of which are intriguing.)
Today's SN column couldn't be more loaded. It was a crazy day yesterday, with plenty of time to mull it over today and over the weekend. Enjoy it. This is one of the good mornings.
(You can be suffering from Tebow backlash -- really? -- or Vick fatigue or Favre please-no-not-again-itis, but at the very least you have to have loved the Buehrle-Wise thing.)
Again: Great day to be a sports fan.
-- D.S.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Why Tim Tebow's Virginity Matters
After a day of mania in Alabama at SEC Media Day -- it was one of the most frenzied, crazy days of Tim Tebow's college career -- there was plenty to talk about, but one meme emerged as the most controversial: Clay Travis asking Tebow if he was a virgin. Some thought it was out of bounds. Some thought it was classless. Some thought it was funny.
After sitting on a north Florida beach for an hour -- no knee-jerk analysis? what a rarity! -- I think I had some perspective on it. I posted it at the Tebow blog, but I thought it was worth republishing here for the DS.com audience. (FWIW, it's probably what I would have written here, had there been no Tebow blog.)
*****
Tim Tebow's virginity matters.
On its face, whether Tebow has been some sort of Greek god of studliness or saving himself for marriage seems like a ludicrous issue to be talking about at a football conference, even in the SEC.
But Tebow has always been about more than football -- necessarily been about more than football.
Tebow's career -- on and off the field -- has been about mythology. Not in the "Clash of the Titans" fictional way, but about myth-making. So as not to confuse people, I try to use the word "mythic," because it means "as if a myth...," the implication being "...but very much real."
The Tebow myth -- "mythic Tebow" -- is based on an ever-increasing number of mythic moments:
Football-related: The first "Jump-Pass"... the 5-TD game on national TV against South Carolina en route to "20/20" en route to becoming the first sophomore ever to win the Heisman... the 4th quarter against Alabama in the 2008 SEC title game... the clip of him "firing up" the College GameDay crew... the unsportsmanlike-conduct "Gator Chomp" against Oklahoma... the "Who didn't vote for Tebow" thing... and, of course, "The Promise" speech.
Off the field: The "miracle birth" story... the ESPN TV documentary as a high school senior... the ministering to prisoners... the medical procedures abroad, including the circumcisions... the singing with country-music stars... the eye-black, especially the John 3:16 moment during the national-title game that became the No. 1 most-searched term on Google (and helped convince him to return to Florida)... the "I'm Coming Back" speech... even this week's Sports Illustrated cover.
Everyone agrees Tebow is a great football player, maybe the greatest. Everyone agrees Tebow is a remarkable human being, even verging on the Messianic in tone. The point is that the Tebow myth is only truly created -- or fulfilled -- when these two things converge.
Tebow is unafraid to discuss his spirituality -- his religious beliefs and values -- in public. In fact, he relishes it, because it is precisely that "testimony" -- subtle and otherwise -- that allows him to live out what he feels is his mission. (But, to be clear, for all the outward displays of religious discussion, he is not someone who generally forces it on people -- just trust me on that.)
It is Tebow's clarity of living -- god, family, school/community, football...in that order -- that appears to provide him with the seemingly superhuman ability to at once be relentless on the football field (or even in the weight room or film room or practice sessions) and supremely confident off the football field, whether flying to the Phillippines to work with orphans or driving to the local prison to minister to convicts or handle the media like few in sports have ever handled the media (especially, as Forde pointed out today, for a college student).
Mythic Tebow puts his religious values first, and if that is how he finds success in life, more power to him. We should all be so fortunate to have something -- religion, secular humanism, family, fan allegiance, I-don't-care-what -- that provides a framework for a life well-lived, however you might define that.
It is those religious values that fuel his football success, that are on display in the cover story of Sports Illustrated this week -- and that made Clay Travis' extremely personal question to Tebow of whether or not he was a virgin something relevant.
In fact, his answer shouldn't have surprised anyone. It is entirely consistent with his core values and -- in line with supporting "mythic Tebow" -- the rest of the episodes, events and moments that have come to define him publicly.
When the rest of us get finished tittering (and Twittering) about the virgin question, what is left is -- as usual -- profound (or perhaps begrudging) respect, which couldn't be a more rare commodity among sports fans, let alone for a star as prominent (even over-exposed) as Tebow.
I think Tebow will ultimately feel glad for having been able to share that piece of personal information -- he certainly didn't seem particularly thrown by the question when it was asked. But I can see him understanding that there are evangelical Christians out there who will find their strength in his values. Those who don't share those values? Live and let live.
When it first happened, I -- as a would-be expert in Tebow mythology -- was quick to put it at the top of the list of mythic Tebow moments. It doesn't have anything to do with football, but that it came up at a football conference... those two things intertwined seem to make sense to me, given the on-field/off-field duality of Tebow's mythic mix.
Talking about his virginity doesn't faze Tebow. And it shouldn't faze the rest of us. We should all have the kind of equanimity that comes with the clarity of living Tebow enjoys.
-- D.S.
After sitting on a north Florida beach for an hour -- no knee-jerk analysis? what a rarity! -- I think I had some perspective on it. I posted it at the Tebow blog, but I thought it was worth republishing here for the DS.com audience. (FWIW, it's probably what I would have written here, had there been no Tebow blog.)
*****
Tim Tebow's virginity matters.
On its face, whether Tebow has been some sort of Greek god of studliness or saving himself for marriage seems like a ludicrous issue to be talking about at a football conference, even in the SEC.
But Tebow has always been about more than football -- necessarily been about more than football.
Tebow's career -- on and off the field -- has been about mythology. Not in the "Clash of the Titans" fictional way, but about myth-making. So as not to confuse people, I try to use the word "mythic," because it means "as if a myth...," the implication being "...but very much real."
The Tebow myth -- "mythic Tebow" -- is based on an ever-increasing number of mythic moments:
Football-related: The first "Jump-Pass"... the 5-TD game on national TV against South Carolina en route to "20/20" en route to becoming the first sophomore ever to win the Heisman... the 4th quarter against Alabama in the 2008 SEC title game... the clip of him "firing up" the College GameDay crew... the unsportsmanlike-conduct "Gator Chomp" against Oklahoma... the "Who didn't vote for Tebow" thing... and, of course, "The Promise" speech.
Off the field: The "miracle birth" story... the ESPN TV documentary as a high school senior... the ministering to prisoners... the medical procedures abroad, including the circumcisions... the singing with country-music stars... the eye-black, especially the John 3:16 moment during the national-title game that became the No. 1 most-searched term on Google (and helped convince him to return to Florida)... the "I'm Coming Back" speech... even this week's Sports Illustrated cover.
Everyone agrees Tebow is a great football player, maybe the greatest. Everyone agrees Tebow is a remarkable human being, even verging on the Messianic in tone. The point is that the Tebow myth is only truly created -- or fulfilled -- when these two things converge.
Tebow is unafraid to discuss his spirituality -- his religious beliefs and values -- in public. In fact, he relishes it, because it is precisely that "testimony" -- subtle and otherwise -- that allows him to live out what he feels is his mission. (But, to be clear, for all the outward displays of religious discussion, he is not someone who generally forces it on people -- just trust me on that.)
It is Tebow's clarity of living -- god, family, school/community, football...in that order -- that appears to provide him with the seemingly superhuman ability to at once be relentless on the football field (or even in the weight room or film room or practice sessions) and supremely confident off the football field, whether flying to the Phillippines to work with orphans or driving to the local prison to minister to convicts or handle the media like few in sports have ever handled the media (especially, as Forde pointed out today, for a college student).
Mythic Tebow puts his religious values first, and if that is how he finds success in life, more power to him. We should all be so fortunate to have something -- religion, secular humanism, family, fan allegiance, I-don't-care-what -- that provides a framework for a life well-lived, however you might define that.
It is those religious values that fuel his football success, that are on display in the cover story of Sports Illustrated this week -- and that made Clay Travis' extremely personal question to Tebow of whether or not he was a virgin something relevant.
In fact, his answer shouldn't have surprised anyone. It is entirely consistent with his core values and -- in line with supporting "mythic Tebow" -- the rest of the episodes, events and moments that have come to define him publicly.
When the rest of us get finished tittering (and Twittering) about the virgin question, what is left is -- as usual -- profound (or perhaps begrudging) respect, which couldn't be a more rare commodity among sports fans, let alone for a star as prominent (even over-exposed) as Tebow.
I think Tebow will ultimately feel glad for having been able to share that piece of personal information -- he certainly didn't seem particularly thrown by the question when it was asked. But I can see him understanding that there are evangelical Christians out there who will find their strength in his values. Those who don't share those values? Live and let live.
When it first happened, I -- as a would-be expert in Tebow mythology -- was quick to put it at the top of the list of mythic Tebow moments. It doesn't have anything to do with football, but that it came up at a football conference... those two things intertwined seem to make sense to me, given the on-field/off-field duality of Tebow's mythic mix.
Talking about his virginity doesn't faze Tebow. And it shouldn't faze the rest of us. We should all have the kind of equanimity that comes with the clarity of living Tebow enjoys.
-- D.S.
Tebow at SEC Media Day: Teblog Coverage
I won't assault the non-Tebow/non-Florida/non-SEC fans with Tebow coverage here. There's a dedicated place for that, and if you're interested, I have done a half-dozen posts on SEC Media Day today, including:
*Tebow's virginity is the new LeBron being dunked on.
*Tebow on the (not real) "Tebow Backlash": "Oh, well."
*Tebow on the John 3:16 Google explosion as incentive to return.
*Tebow, much like you, not really caring which coach didn't vote him all-SEC.
*Best of the Tweets from his media session (EDSBS FTW)
More where that came from. Check out TimTeblog.com.
-- D.S.
*Tebow's virginity is the new LeBron being dunked on.
*Tebow on the (not real) "Tebow Backlash": "Oh, well."
*Tebow on the John 3:16 Google explosion as incentive to return.
*Tebow, much like you, not really caring which coach didn't vote him all-SEC.
*Best of the Tweets from his media session (EDSBS FTW)
More where that came from. Check out TimTeblog.com.
-- D.S.
Thursday 07/23 Quickie: Tebow,
SEC, Ben, Vick, Red Sox, MMA
SEC Media Days turned into Tebow Media Days, if the media's interest was any indication.
Dan Mullen? Sure. He used to coach Tebow. But what do Bobby Johnson or Bobby Petrino or Rich Brooks -- or their teams -- have to do with Tebow? Who cares? It's TEBOW.
(I'm being sarcastic -- but, in all seriousness, there has been no greater proof-of-concept of TimTeblog.com than yesterday's SEC Media Day Tebowfest and this week's SI, which rejected Tom Watson as a cover lead for a 2-year-old story about Tebow's faith that 99 percent of college football fans already knew pretty well. Why did Tebow make the cover? Because it's Tebow.)
So it's no wonder I led today's SN column with Tebow Media Day -- today actually IS Tebow Media Day. He takes the podium in the next few hours, and it will be an Event. (I will be curious to see if ESPN does a live cut-in. If they were smart, they would. At the very least, they would do a "cut-in" on ESPN.com via ESPN360.)
More you'll find in today's column:
*Bill Plaschke was the only one not cheering Manny last night.
*The Red Sox might be losing, but they're not panicking.
*The Magic not the top contenders in the East? Really?
*Steroids in MMA? YOU DON'T SAY?!?!
*LeBron Dunk: Not just the biggest let-down ever, but it turns out there was a better video of it that came out on another site. The clip still kind of sucks.
Complete SN column here. More later. Lots on TimTeblog today (for obvious reasons) and some Varsity Dad updates, too.
-- D.S.
Dan Mullen? Sure. He used to coach Tebow. But what do Bobby Johnson or Bobby Petrino or Rich Brooks -- or their teams -- have to do with Tebow? Who cares? It's TEBOW.
(I'm being sarcastic -- but, in all seriousness, there has been no greater proof-of-concept of TimTeblog.com than yesterday's SEC Media Day Tebowfest and this week's SI, which rejected Tom Watson as a cover lead for a 2-year-old story about Tebow's faith that 99 percent of college football fans already knew pretty well. Why did Tebow make the cover? Because it's Tebow.)
So it's no wonder I led today's SN column with Tebow Media Day -- today actually IS Tebow Media Day. He takes the podium in the next few hours, and it will be an Event. (I will be curious to see if ESPN does a live cut-in. If they were smart, they would. At the very least, they would do a "cut-in" on ESPN.com via ESPN360.)
More you'll find in today's column:
*Bill Plaschke was the only one not cheering Manny last night.
*The Red Sox might be losing, but they're not panicking.
*The Magic not the top contenders in the East? Really?
*Steroids in MMA? YOU DON'T SAY?!?!
*LeBron Dunk: Not just the biggest let-down ever, but it turns out there was a better video of it that came out on another site. The clip still kind of sucks.
Complete SN column here. More later. Lots on TimTeblog today (for obvious reasons) and some Varsity Dad updates, too.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Wednesday 07/22 Quickie: SEC
Ben, Vick, Red Sox, Coach K, More
Quickie Vocab: "Nar-SEC-cism" -- SEC football fans who think the world revolves around them. Great example: The lead of today's SN column.
There are few events in the sports year as unique as SEC Media Days: Part triumphalist revival tent, part freak-show carnival, part clinic on football passion. Why NOT get excited?
You could argue that the headliner comes tomorrow, when Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow take the podium, but there's plenty of intrigue to keep things interesting, such as "Who will break the mystery of which coach didn't vote for Tebow as preseason all-SEC?"
Most fans probably don't care about such stuff. Some do. And Tebow can't be THAT uninteresting of a topic, if - say - a leading national sports magazine has him on their cover just days after Tom Watson pulled off one of the most dramatic stunts of the sports year.
Anyway, will the rest of the country hate this SEC circle-joink -- or does that question, in and of itself, suggest a nar-SEC-cism.
More you'll find in today's column:
*The Big Ben clusterf---.
*Mike Vick: Training at Disney? Um...no.
*Just can't get worried about the Red Sox. (Yet.)
*Coach K: 4 more years! (Of no Duke NCAA hoops titles!)
*Is TMZ publishing the LeBron dunk video today?
There's a lot more here. More later. New posts at Varsity Dad and TimTeblog, if that's of interest to you.
-- D.S.
There are few events in the sports year as unique as SEC Media Days: Part triumphalist revival tent, part freak-show carnival, part clinic on football passion. Why NOT get excited?
You could argue that the headliner comes tomorrow, when Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow take the podium, but there's plenty of intrigue to keep things interesting, such as "Who will break the mystery of which coach didn't vote for Tebow as preseason all-SEC?"
Most fans probably don't care about such stuff. Some do. And Tebow can't be THAT uninteresting of a topic, if - say - a leading national sports magazine has him on their cover just days after Tom Watson pulled off one of the most dramatic stunts of the sports year.
Anyway, will the rest of the country hate this SEC circle-joink -- or does that question, in and of itself, suggest a nar-SEC-cism.
More you'll find in today's column:
*The Big Ben clusterf---.
*Mike Vick: Training at Disney? Um...no.
*Just can't get worried about the Red Sox. (Yet.)
*Coach K: 4 more years! (Of no Duke NCAA hoops titles!)
*Is TMZ publishing the LeBron dunk video today?
There's a lot more here. More later. New posts at Varsity Dad and TimTeblog, if that's of interest to you.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Anniversary of My Gator Fandom
Today is the anniversary of the first date I had with my future wife. For the purposes of this blog -- and my fandom -- it is all the more of a notable annual event for me because it really serves as the anniversary of the conception of my Gator fandom.
Everyone knows the basics: I became a Gator fan through my wife. (Get the background here.) The Gators are her team (or "HER team," when she says it aloud to people who assume that she adopted my favorite team), and -- at the most shallow level -- it was the first thing about her that I fell in love with, right there, on our first date:
I related a snippet of it in a Valentine's Day post about love on Free Darko a couple years back, titled "He's Just Not That Into U-donis":
Uniquely, to have it happen in the exact same moment is something I will appreciate for the rest of my life -- and something for which I can't thank my wife enough for letting me be a part of it: Her life AND her fandom.
-- D.S.
Everyone knows the basics: I became a Gator fan through my wife. (Get the background here.) The Gators are her team (or "HER team," when she says it aloud to people who assume that she adopted my favorite team), and -- at the most shallow level -- it was the first thing about her that I fell in love with, right there, on our first date:
That was the initial attraction to this woman across the table from me on our first date. I have heard stories of people on dates with successful professionals and fantasizing themselves as spouses of a doctor or hedge-fund manager; I sat across from my date and imagined how happy I would be married to a fan of a great sports team.I fell in love with her. I fell in love with her team. It is a bit hazy to conclude which came first.
I related a snippet of it in a Valentine's Day post about love on Free Darko a couple years back, titled "He's Just Not That Into U-donis":
I'm not quite sure I can pinpoint exactly when I knew I WOULD marry my wife, but I'm quite sure I can pinpoint exactly when I knew I COULD:To discover your spouse/mother of your kids AND to recognize your die-hard fan allegiance are each fundamentally pivotal moments in a person's life, certainly a sports fan's life.
The year: 2001
The setting: Our first date.
The place: West Village Italian restaurant
The context: 1.2 bottles of wine into dinner.
The topic on the table: The preeminent value of offensive rebounds in relation to (1) a basketball team's chances of success and (2) a basketball forward's worth as a player.
Let me clarify: My wife (then, the random woman I was on a first date with) was making that argument. I was pretending to engage in the discussion. I was nodding. I may have even been responding.
All I know is that her voice was drowned out by the one in the back of my head:
Li'l Danny: "Are you listening to this? Are you listening?!"
Me: "Pipe down. She's trying to make a point about the pro potential of Udonis Haslem."
Li'l Danny: "The fat Florida center? He'll never make it!"
Me: "Shh!"
Li'l Danny: "But here is a woman who not only loves basketball, but appreciates it for its subtle pleasures!"
Me: "Which *I'm* trying to appreciate, save for your yammering!"
Li'l Danny: "I think I'm in love. Go on: Say something smart that will make her respect you for your basketball knowledge!"
Me: "OK...wait: I'm blanking! I'm blanking!! It's all too much pressure! I'm smitten!"
Li'l Danny: "Plus-minus! Plus-minus!"
Me: "What the hell is 'plus-minus?'" (Remember: It was 2001.)
Li'l Danny: "Nooooo! Damn your ignorance! You better switch topics to something more your speed... like pop culture."
Me: "So, uh, how about those...um...'Sex and the City' women?" (D'oh!)
Fast-forward nearly six years, one marriage and one kid later: Her enthusiastic argument on behalf of offensive rebounds remains THE most -- if not only -- vivid detail of our entire first date.
And as we sit in our NYC apartment today watching her favorite NBA player -- David Lee (yeah, she's a Gators fan) -- she's still talking about offensive rebounds. And knowing Lee's NBA-best offensive-rebounding numbers, I couldn't love her more for it.
-FIN-
Uniquely, to have it happen in the exact same moment is something I will appreciate for the rest of my life -- and something for which I can't thank my wife enough for letting me be a part of it: Her life AND her fandom.
-- D.S.
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