Sports

If You Think Bigger They Will Come

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

“If you build it, they will come!”  That is the way the actual line, “If you build it, he will come!” uttered by Kevin Costner to his character in the movie Field of Dreams is often misquoted.

But, we think “they will come” is apropos for Major League Baseball.  They’ve done a nice job turning an otherwise ho-hum mid-August evening into a spectacle. Fan attendance is sold out strong and the TV ratings, unknown at this point, will likely point to success in year two of this showcase.

It feels very baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet.  America needs way more red and white feelings to go along with the blue ones.  Thanks, MLB.

But, could you do so much more with the Field of Dreams?

How?  We’re glad you asked.

Did you know that an investment group bought the field (now two fields) and the surrounding acreage for $7 mil last year?  They plan on turning some of it into a training facility for youth baseball and girls’ softball.

That’s nice, but not groundbreaking when breaking the ground for that purpose.  And, the construction will scratch any MLB games there in 2023.

Maybe MLB should offer them $14 million and take ownership of it and even more land that surrounds it?  $21 million?  Why not?

How about playing the All Star Game there once?  Twice?  All-star games in the NFL (Pro Bowl), NBA, and MLB are stale.  Take the lead.

If you keep it as is, how about dumping the Geico and all other real and virtual ads in the stadium?

Sure, money talks.  But so does the sacred non-commercial look that the original field in the movie had.  Take us back to our past, please.

Augusta National limits ads to roughly 4 minutes an hour on The Masters broadcast.   And you won’t see a billboard/ad of any type on the hallowed grounds.

How about playing seven games in seven days with fourteen different teams?  Turn it into a bucket list item.  Make it a vacation destination for baseball purists in late summer.   A hotel off in the distance owned by MLB, maybe?  Augusta has bought any and all land adjacent to its property.  Big plans will be realized soon.

Sure scarcity creates demand.  But demand also creates demand.

It’s a venue and a mindset that is unique to America’s National Pastime.   And, it’s past time that they got out in front of the other sports marketing-wise just once.

Doesn’t everyone yearn for one more game of catch with their dad?

Build it and he and they will come.

 

Swarmy

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The NFL received the punishment recommendation for DeShaun Watson yesterday.  It suspends him for six games and imposes no financial fine for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

Former federal judge Sue L. Robinson, who was named the independent disciplinary officer in the case, handed down the ruling Monday.

The NFL and The NFL Players Association have about 48 hours left to appeal the decision.

Watson evidently attempted at least 24 passes to 24 different massage therapists. That’s how many came forward as the sordid tale wound through the criminal and civil proceedings.   That’s about how many he settled in civil suits with nondisclosure agreements attached.

Predictably the sports and social media world lit up.  The suspension is too much for some and not enough for others.

Comparisons to previous actions were fast and furious.

How can Calvin Ridley get a full season suspension for betting $1500 on NFL games?  What about Patriots owner Robert Kraft getting off (so to speak) without even a slap on the wrist for a few trips to the local massage parlor himself?  What about Ben Rothlisberger?  This means Alvin Kamara’s on-tape beat down in the Vegas elevator will only be two or three games, won’t it?

On and on it went, and on and on it will continue for a bit.

There are harsh realities to all of this hubbub.

One is that the NFL can do what it wants.  Its only obligation is to its conscious and to its checkbook, not in that order usually.

Make no mistake about it, their number one goal in matters like this is to protect their brand.  That’s why even the appearance of insider gambling is viewed as more grievous, and likely always will be.

In protecting the brand and its ever-increasing franchise values and gushing revenue stream, its fans (read as paying customers) must feel satisfied. That’s why Commish Goodell arranged not only for a female independent officer but a former judge.  Women worldwide are where the next leg up in viewer eyeballs lives.

Expect the NFL to appeal the ruling.  It looks good and has no downside.  The NFLPA has already asked to let the punishment stand.

But, what is Watson guilty of anyway?

Houston PD, its DA, and a grand jury went down the criminal investigation road and declined to file any charges.  Speculate all that you wish, but it’s “he said/she said” in the civil cases and bound by NDA’s.

Usually, where there is smoke there is fire.  And, the NFL’s own investigation found a four-alarm one.

We submit he’s guilty of not feeling guilty.  Denial and/or lying repeatedly isn’t a good look.

He’s maintained all along that he’s done nothing wrong.  And, that unto itself is wrong.  Man up.

This brings us to compare.  Remember Tiger Woods and a dozen or so dalliances he confessed to not long after his nine iron became a hood ornament on his Mercedes?

Tiger knew better.  Tiger confessed.  Tiger suspended himself.  Tiger asked for time. Tiger entered sexual addiction rehab.  Tiger came out the other side a better person for it.  Tiger today is adored by millions.

This has been a terrible look for Watson and by extension the NFL.  And, if nothing else, that’s why the NFL will hand down a six-game suspension at a minimum.

But, by mid-October Watson will be back throwing as many passes on the field as he attempted while on his back off of the field.

Above all, America loves a winner.  Cleveland craves one.

This too shall pass, like it or not.

It just feels swarmy.  Because it is.

 

 

 

 

Over Eight Easily in the Big Easy

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The average gambler is always amazed at how close Vegas comes to getting betting lines so close to real outcomes. But, the reality is that they get them  wrong as well.

The smart money, as they say, recognizes the miss before the game/season.  The rest of us bet either side, mostly on emotion, and Vegas gets the juice. Lines are made to evoke that collective response.  Vegas always gets the juice.

This brings us to season-long NFL wins bets.  We’ll have three (maybe four) for you in the next month or so.  Today is our first.

The New Orleans Saints’ win total in Vegas is 8.  It was 7 1/2 when it rolled out in March.

In the last five seasons only the Kansas City Chiefs have more wins than NOLA by a count of 55-53.

So, what’s changed?  Drew Brees (in 2021) and Sean Payton(now) are no longer.  Those are two BIG changes.

But another thing changed last year.  The NFL went to a 17-game schedule.  Therefore, Vegas thinks that the Saints will have a losing record in 2022.

BBR feels strongly otherwise.  Below are a litany of reasons.

  1.  Dennis Allen is now head coach.  He’ll call the in-game defense just as he has for the last six seasons.  He’s a steady and heady guy.
  2.  And the defense was very good the last two seasons.  We expect it to be even better. Two first-round picks (Payton Turner and Marcus Davenport) missed all or a big portion of the season.
  3. The defense has a chance to be elite this year.  Cam Jordan and DeMario Davis are true leaders.  The secondary might be the deepest in the NFL.  It added Tyrann Matthieu as well.
  4. Jameus Winston must 1) stay healthy, and 2) have a strong season as one expects of a former first pick of the first-round guy.  The constant change of personnel and coordinators in his NFL life combined with his immaturity has held him back.He’s saying and doing all of the right things this offseason.  He was 5-2 as the starter last year with only two picks before the season-ending injury.
  5. He’ll have weapons.  The team has positively transformed its weak wide receiver group.  In this one off-season, Marquez Calloway drops from the #1 wideout, which he never was, to a #4 which he’s more than capable of succeeding as.   Michael Thomas returns.  They drafted Chris Olave in round one.  They signed FA Javis Landry for the slot.  A weakness became a strength.
  6. Laugh all that you want, but N.O. signed a very capable backup should Winston face plant.  Andy Dalton became a punching bag in Cincinnati.  But, he’s a nine-year starter and an 11-year veteran in this league for a reason.  Quick, name two legit weapons he had while a Bengal.  He’s thrown for over 35k NFL yards.  If he wasn’t good he’d be long gone by now.
  7. The Saints’ special teams rank in the top 10 in most categories.  They put an emphasis on it.  Will Lutz is back to health and kicking this fall.  The team missed seven extra points and eight field goals in his absence.
  8. The law of averages says that this team will be healthier than last year.  Four QB’s started and 66 players started one game or more in all.  Sixty-six!  66!  The injury bug landed in The Crescent City and stayed there all of the fall.  Covid visited too.
  9. The division should provide 4 wins at a minimum.  Stated simply, Carolina is weak.  Atlanta is awful.  And the Saints have the Buccaneers’ number.  They’ve beaten them in the last four regular-season (Brady-led) games.
  10. Take those four and you need five more to cash.  So, can the black and gold go 5-6 against the rest of the schedule?  We think so and then some.  Watch for Alvin Kamara’s pending suspension though.  Courts move slowly.  He might not be suspended until late in the season, or even 2023.   When announced, how many and when the games are played is key.

Take the Saints over eight wins.  We see their record as 10-7 or better at the finish line.

Hail to the Red Faced Commanders

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Once upon a time, they were the Washington Redskins.  No more.  Once upon a time, they were the Washington Football Team.  No more.  Now they are known as the Washington Commanders.

Free speech was previously known as free speech.  No more.  Now it is known as either disinformation or expensive or both.

Commander’s defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio likely had no idea the dust-up he would cause when Del Rio called the 1/6/21 Capitol assault a “dust-up” at the team’s minicamp last Wednesday.

Head Coach Ron Rivera released a statement through the team’s official Twitter account. He called the events of Jan. 6, 2021 “an act of domestic terrorism.” Rivera said Del Rio’s comments were “extremely hurtful to our great community here in the DC area.”  Calling DC a great community might be disinformation unto itself, but we digress.

Del Rio also compared the Capitol insurrection to the sometimes violent protests (but labeled mostly peaceful by the left) of systemic and racial injustice in 2020.  “Our organization will not tolerate any equivalency between those who demanded justice in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the actions of those on January 6 who sought to topple our government,” Rivera continued.

Those “who demanded justice” could also be read as “those who murdered, rioted, stole, assaulted, and set fires.”  Well, actually that was way back when free speech was free.

Del Rio was fined 100k and later apologized for his “transgression.”

Rivera said Del Rio has a right to voice his opinion, but added, “Words have consequences and his words hurt a lot of people in our community.”  In other words, free speech is expensive.

And, if some had their way, it would be even more expensive.

Those comments resulted in NAACP president Derrick Johnson calling for Del Rio to resign or be terminated. “You can’t coach a majority Black team while turning your back on the Black community. It’s time for you to pack up and step off the field,” said Johnson.  Could you coach a majority white team and turn your back?

Oh, the irony.

All of this stench emanates from a franchise that staunchly refused to change its “racist” Redskins nickname for decades on end.  The smart money will tell you that the name change only happened after the NFL launched an investigation into front office boy’s club multiple sexual harassment allegations, claims, and lawsuits.

Owner Daniel Snyder was and is front and center.  It was time to give a little to get a little so to speak.

Heck, as a further sign of goodwill, they even hired the first non-pale face in Redskins history in Rivera in 2020.

And, then late last year news broke that Snyder and company were possibly skimming(under-reporting) some local revenue before sharing it with the other 31 team owners and franchises.  A former VP publicly claims the practice has been in place for over a decade.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee in the “great community” of DC is investigating.

Or, should we say, “oh, the hypocrisy?”

Blame it on (Del) Rio!

The Swamp and its football team are made for one another.

 

 

 

 

Making History This Month

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

One day after Whoppi Goldberg said that the Nazi Concentration Camps were not about race, Brian Flores filed a suit saying that the NFL is all about race.

So yesterday, 2/1/22, the first day of Black History Month, history was made all over again.

The NFL and its playoffs were flying high with the Super Bowl two weeks away.  The class-action lawsuit that Flores filed against the NFL sucked the air right out of that.  Its timing, the first day of Black History Month is purposeful.

Brian Flores was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019-to 2021.  Philosophical differences were cited by owner Stephen Ross and team management for his unexpected and abrupt firing two weeks ago.  Since then Flores has interviewed for the Denver Broncos, New York Giants, and Houston Texans HC jobs.

His class-action lawsuit against the NFL, the Giants, the Broncos, the Dolphins, and the other 29 teams alleges racial discriminatory hiring practices and abject prejudice against persons of color seeking or serving as coordinators and head coaches.

The suit goes in many directions, but the two loudest claims made by Flores are 1) that the NY Giants interviewed Flores for the HC position to be compliant with the Rooney Rule after the team had already decided to hire Brian Daboll, and 2) Dolphins owner S. Ross treated Flores with “disdain” and portrayed him as “someone who was non-compliant and difficult to work with” after Flores refused to purposely lose games to enhance their 2019 draft position.

Expectedly, the NFL and the three teams deny any wrongdoing.

A now published copy of the text exchange Flores had with Bill Belichick is the impetus for claim #1 above.  In it, Belichick texts “Sounds like you have landed-congrats!!”  Flores texts, “I interview on Thursday.”  Belichick back, ” Got it- I hear from Buffalo and NYG that you are their guy.”  Belichick thinks he’s texting Daboll (same first name Brian and same spelling).  Belichick, “Sorry I f’ed this up.  I think they are naming Daboll.  I’m sorry about that. BB”

The NY Giants claim that Flores was considered until the 11th hour.  They will also claim that what Belichick wrote is pure hearsay.  A court of law might decide on both.

The age-old argument for more minorities in the OC, DC, HC, and GM positions is “look at how many minorities are on the field and how few are in the front office.”  If one buys into “because one has plenty the other should as well,” then the question becomes “why would the same people who fill rosters with the most qualified to win, and are 70% plus minorities, not want the most qualified to coach or manage them regardless of color as well?”

In other words, is the NFL prejudiced off of the field but not on it?  And, if so, why would Ross hire Flores in the first place?

Flores interviewed for the still vacant Texans HC position last week.  The Texans fired David Culley, who is black, after one season.  Culley is 66 years old and was never an OC or DC prior to being named HC a year ago.  If they had hired a white HC who had never been an OC or DC prior would the outrage from the minority coaching community have been palpable?

Culley was terminated for multiple shortcomings (clock management, strategic management, etc.) and was paid his full buyout of $22 million for one year of work.  If you are a racist, do you hire a black guy to fire him a year later and cough up $22,000,000?

So, what is the appropriate amount or percentage of minorities that should occupy the aforementioned positions?  Is it the same as the overall population?  That would be 13% black.  Is it the same as on the field?  That would be north of 60% black.

Or should it be whoever is the most qualified?  Seventy-three percent of polled Americans would prefer Joe Biden pick whom he feels is the most qualified next SCOTUS Justice, not corner himself with a campaign promise of selecting a black female.  Even 54% of polled Democrats agree with this thinking.

Give Flores credit.  He chose principle over a lucrative livelihood in all likelihood while still considered a finalist for the Texans’ job and while meeting with the Saints’ brain trust LAST NIGHT for their vacant HC position.  Timing is everything.

He calls the Rooney Rule(teams must interview at least two minorities with every opening) a sham. And, it is.  And, it has been.  It’s kowtowing to a cause.  But, teams following the rule as it was intended prove nothing about racial discrimination.

Throw it away and just interview who you think is the most qualified for your team’s leadership needs.  The Steelers and Dan Rooney did just that when they hired Mike Tomlin 15 years ago and counting.

It is odd though that a 60-page class-action suit could be discussed, written, and filed in such a short period of time.  It’s almost like a 1k page House Bill that Nancy Pelosi pulls out of her top drawer.

Still, if he has an agenda that he believes in it’s his right to go forward with it whenever chooses.

Will Brian Flores ever work again in the NFL?  Doubtful.

Fifty percent of Americans think America is racist.  Fifty-plus percent of Americans is tired of 50% thinking it’s racist.

Will America ever work again?  Hopeful.

Will Flores’ action be looked back upon as historic?  For better, for worse, and for sure.

 

 

Football Is a Joke.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s time to lighten it up a bit.

One of our faithful readers forwarded the quotes and jokes about the game of football below.  We blatantly copied nearly all of them for you.  Enjoy as the season is but three games from being over.

First, here are the quotes.

“I make my practices real hard because if a player is a quitter, I want him to quit in practice, not in a game.”
– Bear Bryant / Alabama

“It isn’t necessary to see a good tackle, you can hear it!”
– Knute Rockne / Notre Dame

“At Georgia Southern, we don’t cheat.
That costs money, and we don’t have any.”
– Erik Russell / Georgia Southern

“The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely to be the one who dropped it.”
– Lou Holtz / Arkansas – Notre Dame

“When you win, nothing hurts.”
– Joe Namath / Alabama

“A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall.”
– Frank Leahy / Notre Dame

“There’s nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you.”
– Woody Hayes / Ohio State

“I don’t expect to win enough games to be put on NCAA probation I just want to win enough to warrant an investigation.”
– Bob Devaney / Nebraska

“In Alabama, an atheist is someone who doesn’t believe in Bear Bryant.”
– Wally Butts / Georgia

“I never graduated from Iowa. But I was only there for two terms – Truman’s and Eisenhower’s.”
– Alex Karras / Iowa

“My advice to defensive players is to take the shortest route to the ball, and arrive in a bad humor.”
– Bowden Wyatt / Tennessee

“I could have been a Rhodes Scholar except for my grades.”
– Duffy Daugherty / Michigan State

“ Always remember Goliath was a 40-point favorite over David.”
– Shug Jordan / Auburn

“I asked Darrell Royal, the coach of the Texas Longhorns, why he didn’t recruit me “
He said, “Well, Walt, we took a look at you, and you weren’t any good.”
– Walt Garrison / Oklahoma State/Dallas Cowboys

“Football is NOT a contact sport, it is a collision sport.
Dancing IS a contact sport.” –
Duffy Daugherty / Michigan State

After USC lost 51-0 to Notre Dame, his post-game message to his team was;
“All those who need showers, take them.”
– John McKay / USC

“ If lessons are learned in defeat, our team is getting a great education.”
– Murray Warmath / Minnesota

“The only qualifications for a lineman are to be big and dumb.
To be a back, you only have to be dumb.”
– Knute Rockne / Notre Dame

“We didn’t tackle well today, but we made up for it by not blocking.”
– John McKay / USC

“I’ve found that prayers work best when you have big players.”
– Knute Rockne / Notre Dame

Ohio State’s Urban Meyer on one of his players:
“He doesn’t know the meaning of the word fear.
In fact, I just saw his grades and he doesn’t know the meaning of a lot of words.”

And, now a few jokes.

Why do Auburn fans wear orange?
So they can dress for the game on Saturday, go hunting on Sunday, and pick up trash on Monday.

What does the average Alabama player get on his SATs?
Drool.

How many Michigan State freshmen football players does it take to change a light bulb?
None. That’s a sophomore course.

How did the Auburn football player die from drinking milk?
The cow fell on him.

Two Texas A&M football players were walking in the woods.
One of them said, ” Look, a dead bird.”
The other looked up in the sky and said, “Where?”

What do you say to a Florida State University football player dressed in a three-piece suit?
“Will the defendant please rise?”

How can you tell if a Clemson football player has a girlfriend?
There’s tobacco juice on both sides of the pickup truck.

University of Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh is only going to dress half of his players for the game this week.

The other half will have to dress themselves.

How is the Kansas football team like an opossum?
They play dead at home and get killed on the road.

How do you get a former University of Miami football player off your porch? 

Pay him for the pizza.

 

Have another good one?  Drop it in the comments!

 

 

I Pray For You

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

In order to fully understand the story, you need to know the characters.

Brian Kevin Porter, Jr. is a 21-year-old third-year NBA player for the Houston Rockets.  He sunk a buzzer-beating game-winning three Wednesday evening at the Washington Wizards (as they are known now).

Kevin Porter (born April 17, 1950) is a former NBA player.

He played ten seasons with four different teams (the first was the Washington Bullets as they were known then) and led the league in assists in four of those seasons.

Brian Kevin Porter Sr., who is Kevin Porter, Jr’s father, pleaded guilty in 1993 for the killing of a 14-year-old girl, according to a case docket with the King County Superior Court and USA Today. Porter Sr. was shot and killed in Seattle in 2004 when Jr. was but four years old.

Glenn Consor is a former NBA player, turned scout, who finally turned to broadcasting.  Consor has more than 22 years of experience in the broadcast industry, including 20 years with the Washington Wizards (formerly the Bullets) organization in radio and television roles.

Did you get all of that?

So, as the buzzer-beater swished through the twine Wednesday night Consor assumed, incorrectly, that it was a chip off of the old block.

“You’ve got to give credit. Kevin Porter Jr., like his dad, pulled that trigger right at the right time,” Wizards broadcaster Consor said after Porter buried the jumper to give the Rockets a 114-111 victory.

It was a bad choice of words given who Sr. was, but Consor didn’t know what he didn’t know.  Consor assumed, and you know what they say about assuming.  The former NBA Porter is no relation to the current NBA Porter whatsoever.

Enter one more character.  Lebron James.  He’s The King.

“Oh, he thought this was cool huh!!?? Nah we ain’t going for this!” James tweeted. “Sorry but this ain’t going to fly! How insensitive can you be to say something like this? Beat it, man! I pray for you but there’s no place in our beautiful game for you!”

Cancel culture is an ugly game.

By yesterday morning Consor was told of the error of his ways.

Consor, on Twitter, said Thursday he mistakenly thought Porter was the son of the former NBA player who played several seasons in Washington in the 1970s and early 80s.
“I have reached out to Kevin to personally apologize and hope to be able to talk to him soon,” Consor continued.
That should do it, shouldn’t it?
But the King isn’t backing down.  He doubled down after his shootaround (probably a bad choice of a word as well, but we digress) yesterday.  “What he said — no matter if he thought that was his dad or not — was so insensitive, and the words he used — we know the words that he used, I don’t want even want to repeat it — is not even something that should ever be said.”
Come on, doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance Lebron? Or a third?  Or a fourth?
For example, King Lebron lectured Darryl Morey on how insensitive he and by extension, we are towards China.  Calling that foolish is being nice.
He further lectured us on the social injustice of the shooting of Kenosha’s knife-wielding felon Jacob Blake, and the crocodile tears of fully exonerated Kyle Rittenhouse.  Wrong and wrong again.
Thankfully, Lebron is “praying” for Consor he told all.  Sounds good.
Really?  No, he isn’t.  It’s just more grandstand theatre.
Words mean something.  And, sometimes fewer is better.  Consor learned that the hard way two nights ago.
Lebron has a ways to go.

SoFi or So Long?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Way back in 1977, a fictitious movie titled Black Sunday hit the big screens.  But, before it hit the big screens one of the final scenes had to be shot.

That scene had the ever-present at Super Bowl games Goodyear Blimp hitting a packed Orange Bowl Stadium during Super Bowl X, and dropping a bomb that would turn lose a quarter-million steel flechettes(think mini bombs).  The terroristic plot was foiled at the last second, but not before it terrorized 80,000 fans who were actually movie stand-ins of course.  The film grossed $16 million.

Now, 45 years later, Super Bowl LVI will be the 56th Super Bowl and is scheduled to be played on February 13, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, a city two miles from LAX and not far from the movie-making capital of the world-Hollywood.

Note we said scheduled to be played.  There’s a terror of a different kind sweeping the nation as we write.  And, last night there it was scrolling across the ever-present ESPN updates.  “The NFL is looking into alternate sites to host SB LVI.”

What the scroll didn’t say was why.  Why move?  It’s because Omicron is the 2022 version of the bomb and the ease of its transmission is the quarter-million flechettes.

The real why of course is that the NFL show must go on as Hollywood might say even if it needs to move to another state and stadium.  Super Bowl “movies” gross way more than $16 million worldwide these days.

A determined virus should never get in the way of capitalism, our economy, our freedom, and our independence many say.  The “many” who say that are few when it comes to California governance, however.

You can never be “too safe,” and even level that might not be safe enough for Cali.  Could Cali opt out of SB LVI? Will Gavin Newsom make the call from the French Laundry Restaurant for the safety of the citizens he governs?

Could LA?  The Rose Bowl was played last Saturday in Pasadena.  But. But. But, new cases are geometrically increasing.

The world is waiting because the world will be watching regardless of what patch of grass it’s played on in five weeks.

It would take some game balls to call it off and make the NFL move the game and its footballs to another state.  It would be another huge defining moment of how divided our United States are on issues big and small.

Super Bowl LVI hits the big screens in your living room in five weeks and the Goodyear Blimp, sans flechettes, will have an eye in the sky to bring it to you.

Safety first?  Or hooray, hooray for Inglewood?

 

Opt out? Cop out?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Is opt out the new cop out?

Ben McDonald, former Baltimore Orioles pitcher turned SEC Network analyst, feels strongly that when it comes to a football bowl game that it is.

His Friday tweet read, “Hot topic again!  Players that opt out of bowl games!!  Can we please call it what it is?  Nobody opts out…they Quit! They quit on their teammates, coaches, and university!  That’s the bottom line.  Here’s the dirty little secret…they will do it at the net level too!  GM’s beware!”

Before the 2020 season started in year one of the coronavirus, the NCAA allowed a player to not play, not lose their scholarship, and not lose any eligibility if they felt like sitting beat possibly catching the dreaded illness.  Sounded reasonable then.

But, opting out now has spread like the Delta variant did in early 2021.  Running second team?  Opt out.  Coaches running you too hard?  Opt out.  Running from a girlfriend?  Opt out.  Running to a new coach at a new school?  Opt out.  NIL money better across the way?  Opt out.

Opting out and heading to the transfer portal is as easy as Alabama beating Rice.  Just say the word.  Heck, if you don’t like how your season is going, opt out.  If your coach gets fired, opt back in.

The counter to the complaint is that coaches leave for greener(read that as money) pastures all of the time. Players aren’t getting paid to play, so why shouldn’t they as well?

The counter to the counter is that now players are getting paid to play in addition to a paid-for scholarship.  Note, scholarships are paid for, not free.

So what is their obligation?  Where does the NCAA(if it exists in three years) draw the line?

The genie is out of the bottle.  And, it has granted too many wishes.

The landscape of college sports is changed forever.  That is until the next change moves it in another direction.

But back to McDonald’s rant, we go.  If you’ve toiled for a team, why leave before a bowl game?

Well, if the star QB is likely to get drafted you say “why should he risk injury, curtailing, or hurting his chances of getting the big bucks?”  When then does playing make more sense than not?  Maybe quit three games into the season?  Six?  Nine?  Before the bowl?  Why play in all-star bowls?  Why play ever?

Matt Corral played.  He barely avoided serious injury.  It meant something to him.

Ah, but if you’re in the playoffs (Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, Cincinnatti) those are meaningful games says the current sentiment.  Opting out of those would be moronic and you’d be labeled a quitter.  Hmm.  Where to draw that pesky line?

Skip the meaningless Continental Tire Bowl last Tuesday in depressing downtown Detroit and who cares?  Maybe your teammates care that you don’t?  If they don’t maybe they shouldn’t be on the team either?

Since there are plenty of “I’s” now in “team,” where oh where do you draw the line?

The NCAA took Bob Barker’s advice years ago and got neutered.  But it could grow a pair and put stipulations into the scholarship offers and NIL restrictions/ opportunities going forward if it chose to.

You’d have to play to get paid.

You certainly do at the next level.

Old Ben McDonald once threw 159 pitches in an NCAA regional final in early June to get his baseball team to the College World Series. He was drafted two weeks later in round one.

He knows a thing or 159 about loyalty.  And, he didn’t get paid a dime to do so.

 

The Music Never Stops

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

In the game of musical chairs when the music stops there is always one chair too few.  In the college football coaching version where the music never stops there is always one chair too many.

When a school’s AD tosses a contestant out (coach) he opens his chair.

This year it started as it always does, with the first open chair.  That was USC.

Others followed.  Washington State.  LSU.  TCU.  Washington St.  Virginia Tech.  Washington.  Florida. Temple.  Connecticut.  Louisiana Tech.

A few filled quickly in season.  Many others remain open.

But a few things stand out to this year’s game within the game.  One, the team names on the chairs seem bigger and more plentiful than usual.  Two, the cost to throw a chair into the game got more expensive.  Three, some bigger coaching names suddenly have moved on from big-time, coveted programs to other big-time, coveted programs.

What’s driving all of this?  Remember the tried and true answer to most any question?  Money.

Conference realignment is here again, and the rich are getting richer.  It’s called capitalism even though some purists resist the conference changes that bring more pocket change.

Lincoln Riley got the keys to a Lincoln and then some so to speak.  USC is reported to be buying both his homes in Norman for $500,000 over asking, adding up to a $1 million bonus; buying a $6 million home for their new head coach in Los Angeles; and allowing unlimited use of the private jet 24/7 for him and his family.

Those are just the perks.  Toss in a roughly $10 million/year salary and it’s good work if you can get it.

We’ll soon know what LSU is going to pay Brian Kelly to leave the sacred grounds where Touchdown Jesus keeps his eyes on things.  Our guess is it more salary than Riley with fewer perks.

And the bands play on.  Now the Oklahoma and Notre Dame jobs are open.

Riley was sitting on the doorstep of the playoffs till Saturday came and went.  Kelly got closer because of the Saturday outcomes and might have gotten in depending on this Saturday’s outcomes.

Never mind that, mine gold.  You can’t spell team without me.

The purists also don’t like the recent NIL deal.  Your name, image, and likeness can pay you money while playing college sports these days if you “earn” it.  Coaches mentor kids don’t they?  What’s good for the goose……….

There seems to be no supply chain shortage of coaches.  The NCAA, like the Feds, is printing money.  And, wage inflation is rampant.  Do you think ticket prices might go up some?

In college coaching musical chairs, the music never stops.  And there seems to always be an open chair.

Who gets the last laugh all of the way to the bank? Nick Saban.  His Alabama contract calls for him to be perpetually the highest-paid coach in all the land.  He doesn’t have to leave to chase the gold, it chases him.

Besides, he’d never leave, would he?

“Coach, you’ve got the Notre Dame AD holding on line one.”