Darvish Not Your Ordinary Import

I’ve got to admit to not being very excited about the Texas Rangers signing Japanese pitching star Yu Darvish. It has nothing to do with the $51.7 million it spent to get negotiating rights to the 6-foot, 5-inch prodigy. Nor is it the $60 million contract, competitive balance in the American League or an entire season of Chris Berman-inspired name play (The Whirling Darvish, Yu the man!, Yu can’t touch this, Show Yu the money!) that inspires trepidation.

The biggest downfall of Darvish’s signing is not what it does to the Nippon Professional Baseball league, but to my own enjoyment of the game. Watching him pitch live was always a treat. The three-day motorcycle trips and the onsen baths afterward weren’t bad either.

Japanese baseball is built on pitching and defense, and with Darvish on the mound, the game became an event. He wasn’t just the face of the franchise but the face of the entire sport. His hero status in his native country was solidified after his outstanding play in the National High School Baseball Tournament and his refusal of MLB offers out of high school.

Side Bar: For the record, his former team was not the Ham Fighters. The team is not named for aggressive pork products but for NipponHam, the corporation that owns the team. They are the Fighters, or more correct, the Hokkaido NipponHam Fighters. If you go, try the takoyaki sold outside of the Sapporo Dome, the Fighters’ home stadium. Awesome.

Back to the action.

Like many Japanese pitchers, Darvish throws a variety of pitches. Unlike most, they are all pretty nasty. He hits 95-97 mph with his fastball, has a curve that former Fighters and Kansas City Royals manager Trey Hilman called unfair, and an impressive forkball and slider. Count Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine as another fan who got to see Darvish up close during his years managing the Chiba Lotte Marines. Now it’s Nolan Ryan’s turn to sing the praises of his new Japanese-Iranian import.

But the question remains: Can he match his previous success?

In seven professional seasons (he pitched his first NPB game at 18), Darvish went 93-38 with 55 complete games, 18 shutouts, 1,250 strikeouts, 333 walks and a 1.99 era. If he can do it, carve the bust, rename him Walter Johnson and start cruising Japanese high schools. But he won’t. Major league hitters are stronger, the season longer and the move from a six-man to fiveman starting rotation will test his stamina, especially in the summer heat of Texas. But he can be No. 1 on a team boasting a solid but not spectacular core of young, starting pitchers.

Daisuke Matsuzaka didn’t kick open the door for Japanese pitchers, nor did his struggles since his impressive second season hurt the marketability of his fellow countrymen. But he will be the measure against which Darvish will be compared.

Both pitchers made their professional debut shortly after finishing impressive high school careers and have logged a lot of innings in respect to their youth. Darvish is a year younger but pitched 105 more innings than Matsuzaka (1,266.7 to 1,161.4) upon entering Major League Baseball, and that’s going to be a concern. The popular opinion is that the Japanese training system burns out young arms, and that sure seems to be what happened to Matsuzaka.

But Darvish may just have the body to overcome the early stress. He is 5 inches taller and 25 pounds heavier than Matsuzaka, and throws with a looseness the more muscular Matsuzaka never had. Perhaps most important, Darvish’s international upbringing should help him handle the culture shock that impacts every athlete when they play in foreign lands. We’ll see.

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No Tiger, No Problem. Golf’s Safe In Hawaii

The Hyundai Tournament of Champions and the Sony Open, the PGA Tour’s season-opening salvo, again raise the annual concern over the lack of top players venturing beyond the cozy confines of home.

World No. 1 Luke Donald wasn’t at the Sony, neither were Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy or eight of the top 10 golfers. With Europeans making up the bulk of the rankings’ leader board, that is not likely to change. And it will be at least a few more years before Asia starts producing a similar level of male golfers to fill the void. The question is will the ax fall on the state’s only full-field PGA event before players begin to figure out $990,000 is reason enough to make the trip?

The concern is that the lack of headliners will eventually lead to a lack of interest, TV ratings and eventually the title sponsor that makes it all possible.

Not to worry, says Golf Channel commentator Frank Nobilo, pointing out that Hawaii isn’t alone in its concern over the perceived slight.

“I think that argument is made 12 months a year at just about every venue,” says Nobilo. “Anytime you start something (a tour schedule) then you risk getting weaker fields, if you want to use that terminology, purely because golf being 12 months a year now, people need to take a break. Historically the easiest time to take a break is Christmas, especially if you have kids. It’s very easy to turn a couple of weeks off into a month, and that is what happens, even though Hawaii is a brilliant place to start the year. That argument is levied at every event. You’ll see that at Honda, which will have a better field this year but suffered for a decade. Colonial has the same issue, Tiger Woods doesn’t go there, and I can’t remember the last time Phil has played there.”

To combat this concern, the LPGA has instituted a 1-in-4 rule that requires members to play each tournament at least once in a four-year period. The idea has been treated with the warmth of a Scottish evening by the PGA and its players, without anyone offering much of a reason beyond the “independent contractor” cliché.

“If you had the best field in the business here, would the winner be that different?” asked Nobilo. “The golf course itself, to a certain degree, is going to determine who wins. Sony is quite restrictive ... If you bring a guy who hits it 300 yards and he is going to shoot 72, 72 and won’t play on the weekend, what you’ve done is brought out a name to help promote the event and you know this guy doesn’t fit the golf course. It’s better to bring in someone who has a good all-around game.”

I still think the 1-in-4 rule has benefits, but Nobilo does make sense.

Strength of field is an economic concern for every tour stop, but the status of professional golf in Hawaii looks solid. At Hyundai, PGA commissioner Tim Finchem, looking surprisingly relaxed in an aloha shirt and slacks, stressed the Tour’s commitment to Maui and its sponsor. A Golf Digest survey ranked Waialae Country Club as the 23rd most favorite courses on tour (although Kapalua’s Plantation Course was ranked the 10th worst). The Champions Tour Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai continues to attract top talent, and the LPGA, which left the state in 2010, is returning in April for the Lotte Championship.

Raiola’s Long Wait Is Finally Over

Moments before the Lions played the Saints, Detroit center Dominic Raiola took a few moments to enjoy the atmosphere.

He should. After 11 steady seasons in the NFL, the former Saint Louis Crusader was standing on virgin ground on the cusp of a playoff game.

There are no moral victories in sports, but one would hope that win or lose you’ll know before reading this that the veteran lineman could at least enjoy the greatest success of his professional career.

Coming off an AllAmerican career at the University of Nebraska, and high school where losses were even less common than, well, Lions’ victories, Raiola couldn’t have imagined what lay ahead.

Raiola has lost 134 games (perhaps 135 with a Saturday loss to New Orleans) in his NFL career. That works out to a winning percentage just over 30 percent. It could be worse. His teammate, kicker Jason Hanson, holds the NFL mark with 201 (202?) losses. Surprisingly, his winning percentage is just a bit higher than his 300-pound teammate.

Raiola has never made the Pro Bowl and has only one professional playing award, the Chuck Hughes Most Improved Player Award in his second season. He did, however, however,, win the Rimington Trophy for the nation’s best center as a college senior. He’s never been flashy, just a tough and consistent performer which in Lions terms makes him a near Hall of Famer. He’s also been the barometer of team success and frustration.

Following their loss to the Saints on Dec. 4, in which the immature team gained 102 yards in penalties, including three offensive pass interference calls by wide receiver Nate Burleson, he went off. The complete text of the message cannot be printed in a family newspaper, but his answer to a reporter’s question began with “We’re undisciplined,” before moving to “People just need to grow the (expletive) up!” It got worse from there as Raiola walked away from the reporter and continued his verbal assault on teammates. During the game he grabbed rookie wide receiver Titus Young, who just got flagged for unnecessary roughness, and gave him a loud verbal reminder about not picking up needless penalties. The locker room reminder wasn’t the first time Raiola made his opinions known.

He made a sexual suggestion to a taunting fan in Miami, flashed a middle finger at Lions’ supporters during the team’s 0-16 season and even said he’d like to give out his home address should anyone care to make such comments in person. He didn’t and no one did.

Following the team’s 3810 win over San Diego, which put the Lions into the playoffs for the first time since 1999, Raiola, beaming like a proud father, thanked his teammates who had just congratulated him for achieving something many take for granted. Finally, after years of being part of the problem Raiola was part of the solution, and he rightfully basked in the glow of accomplishment. But to think those few minutes of pre-game appreciation will last beyond the final whistle should the Lions lose in the first round, would be a mistake. There seems to be a certain commonality among Hawaii-born centers (Olin Kreutz): they don’t like losing, can be quite vocal when they do and it’s best to stay clear when things go bad. That goes for opponents, fans and even teammates.

Basketball Fun Is Back In Manoa

The Rainbow Warriors found themselves down 11 to a school whose coach said would have to play a perfect game to win.

South Carolina State wasn’t without fault, but hit its open jumpers and took advantage of holes in the UH defense on drives to the basket.

For those first 15 minutes, UH looked nothing like the team that won two out of three at the Diamond Head Classic the weekend before. It looked like the team that played at the Stan Sheriff Center a month ago, confused and playing down to the level of the competition. Toward the end of that early season run at mediocrity, a conversation with a colleague brought up the suggestion the team was worse than the year before. His wasn’t the only voice of disproval. It was easy to see that on paper this team should have been much better, but wasn’t playing to its collective ability.

In hindsight, perhaps it shouldn’t have been so surprising a team featuring new players while waiting for a key ingredient to return from an earlier commitment would struggle early.

Against SCS, just as it had during the Diamond Head Classic, UH flipped the switch in the second half as the Rainbow Warriors went on a 44-11 run on their way to an eventual 27-point victory.

One would be foolhardy to think it’s going to be this easy for Manoa once WAC play begins, but there is good reason to believe the No. 4 preseason conference ranking may have underestimated the team’s ability, if not its focus.

Since his first day on campus, head coach Gib Arnold said success would be determined on how well the players executed their roles. While some understood this from the start, others took longer to adjust.

No player better exemplifies the changeover than forward Joston Thomas. Always blessed with physical talent, the D.C. native struggled to find his place on the team and how to adapt his style of play to the bigger and quicker college game. He’s figured it out, and has bounced from important cog to minor contributor to an impact player. Where he once played with just aggression, he has now brought intelligence into the mix. His decision-making is better, as are his outside shooting and effectiveness around the basket.

Perhaps as important is that the joy is back. A year ago, Thomas was the guy who roared after a dunk then danced with the cheerleaders after the game. He lost that after his minutes fell. That attitude is back, and UH needs that influx of aggressive playfulness to counteract his more introverted teammates.

Miah Ostrowski’s return from football exile, Zane Johnson’s shooting and Hauns Brereton’s sudden explosion all have helped in Hawaii’s sudden turnaround, but had it not been for solid post play by Vander Joaquim, the team would be minus .500 and looking up. Joaquim still waits too long before passing out of double teams, but his development has been remarkable.

A year ago the Angola native had little touch around the basket, was frequently out of position and was a black hole once receiving a pass. Fast forward 12 months and the guy can work the baseline in both directions. He is a good rebounder, is the team’s best post defender, shoots better than 70 percent from the line, and is playing with an attitude all big men need.

Perhaps best of all is that the turnaround has energized a disinterested fan base that is starting to come out in greater numbers and to show enthusiasm at levels not heard in years.

This does more than inspire hometown players and disrupt visitor communication, it helps the department’s bottom line. And that may be the greatest benefit of all.

A Tough Job Ahead For Chow

A familiar refrain was heard at Washington Place a week ago welcome home. Two hours earlier at the press conference on campus, Norm Chow gave everyone in attendance what they were hoping for, gratitude, bold predictions and perhaps most important, a humbleness that always will play well to local audiences.

As Gov. Neil Abercrombie said at the reception, no day will be better than the first.

He’s right. Chow has a difficult job ahead, and even a fortunate son has a limited time before the political whims, even those that helped to usher in his hiring, start looking in other directions.

Chow doesn’t have the rebuilding job June Jones did more than a decade ago, but in some ways the road back will be tougher. For all the bad fortune that befouled the program during the reign of Fred VonAppen, he left his successor with some serious talent, including six who earned all-WAC first-team honors in that famed turnaround season.

Chow takes over a team with a serious lack of talent, a changed conference landscape and a fan base that has for all intents and purposes abandoned the program.

The schedule is, for the most part, out of his hands and it will be a few years before we know the success of his recruiting philosophy, but his efforts to re-energize the fan base are off to a roaring start.

The announcement of his presence at the UH/Auburn basketball game that same night produced an uproar that would have drowned out the crowd response from any game up to that point. Fan message boards, by their nature a fickle forum of varied opinions and temperaments and whose contributors debated every rumored candidate ad nausea, seem to agree on Chow’s qualifications and the appropriateness of the hire. A colleague at the Washington Place reception said Chow had Jones’ presence without his slickness. The latter wasn’t a compliment. His refusal to discuss money issues was seen by another as a further sign of local humility, and his ability to communicate his message a vast improvement over Greg McMackin, whose lack of communication skills was a constant area of frustration.

Age remains a concern, as it was in this very space a few weeks ago, but the thoroughness of his press conference and sheer volume of his accomplishments make it hard to find fault and makes age concerns seem as ridiculous and ill-informed as those who questioned whether an Asian-American could coach a D-1 football team.

Before becoming jealous of the attention his former assistant received for USC’s success, current Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll called Chow “arguably the best offensive coordinator in the history of college football, certainly in terms of championships and wins and people he has coached.”

Since then Chow has done nothing to damage that reputation and arrives on campus as perhaps the most accomplished coach in university history.

Welcome home? Indeed.

 

A Bill Of Rights For Sports Fans

In the days leading up to and following the end of Greg McMackin’s tenure at UH, message boards, talk shows and countless Facebook postings discussed the role of the paying public and their expected duty when it comes to athletics.

Fans were challenged, students called out and boosters both lambasted and celebrated.

To answer some of these questions and for your pleasure, we present the Fans Bill of Rights.

1) Fans Are Customers First.

The idea that fans must, without fail, shell out good money for a bad product is laughable. Regardless of good or service, consumers have the right to expect value for their investment.

To whine that someone isn’t a true fan if they don’t blindly throw cash at college athletes earning $200,000 in educational benefits or a millionaire professional identifies not the faults of those who exhibit free choice, but the physiological assistance required for those pointing fingers.

2) Students Have Freedom of Choice.

Just because a person pays tuition, and perhaps an athletic fee they may not want or cannot use, does not require them to attend games or restrict them from having input into the actions of the athletic department.

To suggest they have no input just because, as a recent letter to the editor at the Star-Advertiser said, their athletic fees only add a minuscule amount to the budget, is simply ignorant.

3) Right to Fair Pricing. While we accept the ever-increasing cost of tickets, fans don’t deserve to get fleeced while parking, or purchasing food, beverages and cheaply made paraphernalia. The Masters charges patrons $1 for soda, $2 for domestic beer, and the traditional pimento cheese sandwich is $1.50. A Master Club or chicken breast sandwich will set you back $1 more.

If Augusta National can feed its customers for a reasonable cost during one of the world’s most iconic sporting events, there is no reason why a .500 ball club can’t do the same.

4) Right of Real Competition.

With the price of a ticket comes the expectation of an honest effort. Teams that tank games or bench key players in an effort to improve draft status are perpetrating fraud on the buying public. This also applies to teams that rest players in the hope of greater post-season success.

5) Right to Boo, aka the New York Rule.

Outside of high school athletics, booing is a right even when the target is the home team. Fans have few avenues to express their opinions, and the verbal drone from several thousand unhappy customers sends a message. If you have the right to cheer, you have the right to boo.

Can it be crass and misplaced at times?

Yes. But that’s what the First Amendment guarantees, and no thin-skinned coach, self-entitled athlete or panicky athletic director can take that away.

6) Right to a Safe Environment.

Customers are free to express themselves in any number of ways, but that right ends when it endangers others or when the behavior becomes inappropriate for those sitting in the vicinity of the madness. Stadiums need more and better security, and a zero tolerance policy on inappropriate behavior.

Plus, banning alcohol at all public county/state areas but allowing it at a state-owned stadium just because it brings in revenue is hypocritical and, as we are too often reminded, dangerous.

7) Right to Stand, Shout, Jump or Wave Your Hands in the Air Like You Just Don’t Care.

Even though you’ve had season tickets since Moses sailed the Nile, it doesn’t give you the right to tell other fans not to have a good time.

Athletics is entertainment, and sometimes having fun means showing emotion. If you consider enthusiasm a sin, stay at home.

8) Right to a Safe Playing Surface. (Not a fan issue)

The kids are cute, but 8-year-olds shouldn’t be in charge of wiping the floors at Stan Sheriff Center. Officials and visiting coaches are constantly reminding the kids to pay attention, and the job they do is spotty at best. It looks bush league and could lead to injuries. Dump the towels, get real equipment and responsible staff members to do the job.

And by the way, Happy Holidays.

 

Miano’s Media Blitz Is Paying Off

A day after the announcement that Greg McMackin was fired/retired/resigned, a colleague expressed concern that interim head coach Rich Miano hadn’t taken the opportunity to sell himself as a candidate during his rounds of morning news programs.

That is no longer the case. Miano is campaigning heavily for the job, and with each interview is further securing himself a spot on the leader board.

He’s not a shoo-in, but while other candidates must wait to be interviewed, Miano is taking his campaign to the public and is succeeding.

What happens during the private interviews could be another matter.

Miano needs to answer the Watergate question: What did he know and how long did he know it?

McMackin was let go because he didn’t win enough, didn’t recruit well enough, and according to quarterback David Graves, couldn’t communicate effectively with the players.

As the associate head coach, some of the blame rests on Miano’s shoulders. The search advisory committee would be derelict in its duties if it didn’t ask that most critical question.

Beyond that, the process is pretty standard, including how do you get students to once again take interest in the program?

To his credit, Miano has answered some of those difficult questions at least in a measured way, starting with the walk-on program, which he headed under McMackin.

“When your walk-on program has four captains and I think probably our best players, (and) the previous (year) we had seven of the 22 starters as walk-ons if that’s the best part of your program, there is something wrong with your scholarship program,” he said on Leahey and Leahey last week.

Tipping his hand that current offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich would remain in that position, Miano said he has spoken to Rolo about playing a more physical style of football than the one that has been the team’s signature over the past few years. He also singled out defensive tackle coach Tony Tuioti for praise.

“I think the evolution of this offense has to continue to evolve, and it hasn’t evolved. I think using a tight end is a strong possibility, using two backs is a possibility, play action just to have some degree of variety. I think that’s where he (Rolovich) wants to go and, if that’s the case, then we are philosophically on the same page.”

That’s as specific a generality as you’re going to publicly hear from any candidate, even from one who took a flyby commenting on the hiring process saying, “If it’s a fair and transparent process, I have no problem with it. As Kanoa (Leahey) stated last time, maybe there was a hasty decision made last time in the previous administration. We need to get this process done.”

He also discussed an apparent lack of focus among certain players.

“We need to make sure these young men are disciplined ... I think discipline has been somewhat missing, and they will be disciplined if I am the guy.”

I won’t count that as a swipe against his former boss, but it does suggest that Miano doesn’t feel bound to the status quo, which dragged down his predecessor’s program.

“The staff I am going to hire is young and wants to compete,” he said. If he sticks to his word, that could mean the end for graybeards such as Cal Lee, Dick Tomey and George Lumpkin.

Just as the current White House office holder will have an advantage come November, the interim tag is a huge benefit for Miano. But it’s no guarantee. Miano has never been a head coach and his breadth of experience as an assistant has been limited to one school and one offensive system. That puts him at a disadvantage to some of the other candidates who are rumored or reported to have applied for the job.

Baylor associate head coach and former UH defensive back Brian Norwood (Navy, Texas Tech, Penn State), Dino Babers (Purdue, Arizona, Texas A&M, Pittsburgh, UCLA), Duane Akina (UH, CFL’s Calgary Stampede, Arizona, Texas) and Buzz Preston (UH, Stanford, Notre Dame) all have more diverse coaching backgrounds than Miano.

Plus, none is older than 55. Norwood is 48 and Miano 49. The cutoff age should be 60.

I know age discrimination is against the law, but UH needs to add life to the weary program, not add to its AARP membership roles.

Taking The Sacrament That Is Tebow

I learned something about myself recently. I hate Tim Tebow because he is a Christian. It’s much the same reason why LeBron James makes me so angry. I loved how he turned an otherwise boring free agent period into a self-aggrandizing media event as much as seeing Jim Gray and ESPN spread the love butter over the king’s regal thighs. I just couldn’t handle him not being a Cavalier.

Thanks for the lesson. I’ve never said anything bad about Tebow other than he’s overrated, is another example of Denver’s bizarre draft history and that he started for no better reason than to maintain fan interest in a floundering franchise. But that’s enough. I am evil. I have sinned. But along the way I’ve discovered something: that the key to his success is not about work ethic or a stingy defense, but something more divine.

It should come as no surprise that God is in Tebow’s corner. For decades the big guy with the extended reach has been determining the outcome of sporting contests. It’s a likely reason why HPD didn’t pursue an investigation into the alleged points-shaving at UH. Heaven is out of the department’s jurisdiction.

Jesus told his followers to love their enemies, and Tebow prayed with the Chargers. It’s nearly the same thing except the NFL is tougher. The Ten Commandments give a little leeway, NFL merchandising rules do not.

Even with all this heavenly help, the pressure on Tebow is immense. Being God’s ambassador to the NFL isn’t easy. Temptation is all around, and evil in the guise of Bill Belichick is just waiting to pounce.

But doubters repent. Tebow is getting it done. Since being named the starter, the patron saint of Gainesville has gone 5-1 (at press time). He may not come within a stone’s throw of Goliath’s eye, but he’s winning and that’s all that matters. Plus, he’s helping redefine what it means to be an NFL quarterback.

The gospel according to Curly Lambeau is explicit: A running quarterback can’t win in the NFL. Some have tried, only to come close and fail. An option quarterback would just get killed. It’s why no one has ever tried it, and why Denver’s attempt to win games with a 100-yearold offense is so interesting it’s like watching an old Mustang go down the track. You know modern engine design makes the trusty fastback a big underdog, but you just hope it can make it to the finish line before the engine blows. Even if it doesn’t win, it can upset many along the way. And that’s almost as much fun.

In the Nov. 28 issue of Sports Illustrated, Raiders defensive tackle Tommy Kelly said about facing Tebow and the Broncos, “They (are) running that college sh—, that zone sh-, quarterback’s gonna hold it sh—. Man, we practiced that sh-all week.”

And they lost. Any victory over the Raiders is worth celebrating for Bronco faithful, but to do so while causing so much aggravation is just icing on the cake. Or as Denver running back said in the same article, “Everybody always says you win football games by playing defense and running the ball, and that’s what we are doing now. I don’t see why people want to make it into a negative.”

I can think of one person cue Dana Carvey’s church lady Satan!

On a different note.

In the years I’ve worked at MidWeek, I’ve had the opportunity to interview more than my share of interesting people Bill Cosby, Little Richard, Adm. Timothy Keating who as in the Pentagon during 9/11. But spending time with the veterans of the 442, 100 and Military Intelligence Service was truly special and gave me a new appreciation for the term “hero.” If you’ve made it this far without reading the cover story, I urge you to turn back. Not because I wrote it, but because these men deserve the recognition, and the convictions they speak of, and what drove them to secure the freedom of others while their own was being trampled, are as necessary today as they were then. In this Dec. 7 issue of MidWeek, you’ll read several appreciative reflections of those lost at Pearl Harbor, our nation’s veterans and those currently in service. Better yet, you can attend the parade in their honor or stop by the 442 Veterans Club on Wiliwili Street just to say thanks. You will be glad you did.

Suh’s Antics Hide Lower Results

I’ve been saying Ndamukong Suh isn’t a dirty player, that he’s one of those rare breeds who possess a level of rage that sometimes kills drives, but also makes for legends that NFL Films is quick to promote. Watching Suh stomp on Packer guard Evan Dietrich-Smith during the Lions’ traditional Thanksgiving Day loss did nothing to change that opinion. The former Cornhusker isn’t a dirty player he’s a petulant child, unable to handle disappointment or take responsibility for his actions.

Suh, with pumpkin pie crumbs on his shirt and a drumstick in his hand, is trying to convince everyone he wasn’t snacking before the guests arrived. He was just helping to arrange the table so everyone would be more comfortable, got dirty in the process and apologized for putting himself in a position to be misinterpreted.

“What I did was remove myself from the situation in the best way I felt, me being held down in the situation I was in. And further, my intentions were not to kick anybody, as I did not, removing myself as you see,” he told reporters in a rambling set of excuses after the game.

If you missed the game or one of the thousands of replays, after being pancaked by Dietrich-Smith, Suh proceeded to push the lineman’s head into the turf three or four times before Packer guard T.J. Lang arrived to help his teammate. Suh responded by turning his back to his victim before stomping on his arm.

After the game Suh, still unwilling to accept any blame said, “I have no intention to hurt somebody. If I want to hurt him, I’m going to hit his quarterback, as I did throughout that game.”

This was a telling statement since Aaron Rogers remained nearly untouched for most of the game in which Suh had a grand total of one tackle.

Perhaps that is part of the trouble. Suh has been a shell of his former self, and he’s having a hard time not being the center of attention. So he’s decided to throw a tantrum now and then just to make sure everyone is watching.

A year ago Suh was Defensive Rookie of the Year, made the Pro Bowl and had Lions fans looking for a sculptor to begin the work on his Hall of Fame bust. What a difference a year makes. Suh hasn’t hit the quarterback for a loss since Oct. 23, and has only 22 tackles and three sacks for the season. The guy who caused havoc a year ago is now just a mild annoyance that is, when he isn’t stomping on opponents or keeping opponents’ drives with penalties. Such bad behavior was easy for coaches and teammates to defend when he was getting the job done, but when you’re not performing and start becoming more of a hindrance than a help, that support erodes quickly.

By the time you read this you’ll likely know the severity of Suh’s punishment. Anything less than two games will be a joke, especially coming just weeks after Suh had a meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about what is acceptable on-field behavior. Perhaps he can use the downtime wisely. Instead of logging more highway miles in his 300, he’d be better off trying to figure out how he went from being a superhero in Lincoln to an uber villain in Detroit.

Tough Choice Ahead On McMackin

Some months back in a conversation with UH athletics director Jim Donovan, I commented that he has a job I would love/hate to have. He continued the comedic routine by handing over a stack of folders as if getting ready to clean out his desk.

No matter how serious or silly the discussion was on that occasion, this is not a time I would want to be in charge. Donovan has a big decision to make.

The 2011 UH Football season began with high, if not misplaced, hopes of a second consecutive WAC championship. Needless to say, that isn’t going to happen. The goal now is to qualify for the Hawaii Bowl and find a way for head coach Greg McMackin to keep his job.

The latter may be more difficult than the former.

With every offensive starter but quarterback Bryant Moniz having finished up their eligibility, a return to prominence was going to be difficult. But with a deep and experienced defense and an offense designed to get even the most moderately quick receiver open, a return to the hometown bowl seemed a no-brainer. But it just never clicked. Outside of the season opening victory over Colorado, which in hindsight wasn’t much of an accomplishment, the Warriors have struggled to put together 60 minutes of quality football. The road win at Louisiana Tech was impressive, but beyond that feel-good moment, the reasons to cheer have been slim.

The defense, which was supposed to be a strength, has given up an average of 29 points per game and is 53rd in the country, allowing an average 373.1 yards per game against competition that is, let’s be honest, not exactly SEC caliber.

The offense has struggled at times, scoring just 20 points against UNLV, while fumbling away the ball four times, and a paltry 16 at Idaho, where they fumbled five times, losing two.

As for the special teams, well, the less said the better.

From that list the answer seems simple: It’s time for a new coach.

But it’s not that easy. If fired, McMackin would be owed the full amount of his $1.15 million yearly salary. And if you haven’t noticed, UH doesn’t exactly boast a Texas-sized endowment. That, however, isn’t the most problematic issue.

The biggest concern with this year’s team hasn’t been the shaky offense or woeful special teams, but injuries that forced UH to go three deep in areas where it just doesn’t have the talent.

The only thing any of us can ask for is a fair chance to exhibit our abilities, and because of injuries, it’s hard to say the staff has gotten that fair chance this year. Now, this is not to say they are without guilt. Many times this season the team has seemed unprepared. Recruiting also has fallen off, and they can’t seem to escape the boom-andbust cycle of player eligibility that has hamstrung the team in recent years.

So what’s an AD to do? McMackin has one year left on his contract, and a lame duck season would be disastrous.

Perhaps there is a solution. Offer him a oneyear extension at, say, $500,000 with incentives that would allow him to earn upward of $800,000. If 2012 is a success, then it will be money wellspent. If not, the buyout becomes affordable, and you’ll have known whether McMackin is a 10-4 coach with bad luck or a defensive specialist who needs to stay in that role.

 

Cult Of Personality The Real Problem

Let’s cut to the chase. Joe Paterno, assistant coach and former graduate assistant Mike McQueary and university president Graham Spanier are accessories to a crime. They, along with athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz, who have been charged with lying to a grand jury, by their inaction and outright cover up, enabled a sexual predator to further satisfy his sickening desires.

Tragically they aren’t alone.

The grand jury presentation outlines a history of culpability that stretches from a local high school to a charitable organization and the university.

The report, and subsequent actions by those at or around Penn State, confirm that the alleged spree of criminal perversion didn’t happen because Paterno failed to call police. It happened because the university put money and the glory of athletic achievement over the safety of children.

Quite simply Penn State played the role of a pimp, selling the innocence and future mental health of an untold number of victims to the highest bidder. It’s not much more complicated than that.

Unfortunately, the lack of accountability that brought down one of sport’s greatest icons and most successful programs continues to plague our most-cherished universities.

These schools have not just lost control of their athletic departments but have been willful participants in making a mockery of their educational mission.

In basketball, schools have accepted the two-semester athlete whose only interest in being on campus is to bide his time until the NBA draft.

In football, an arms race of facilities and coach’s salaries has led to an economic imbalance that is pushing schools deep into the red.

According to the NCAA Revenues and Expenses of Division I Intercollegiate Athletics Programs Report Fiscal Years 2004, 2005 and 2006, only 19 Football Bowl Subdivision (D-1) schools generated revenue that exceeded expenses for fiscal year 2006. Which means that 90 percent of the largest universities are losing an average of $8.9 million a year on athletic expenditures.

Where does the extra money come from to balance the books?

The schools’ general fund.

In February, Texas Tech re-signed football coach Tommy Tuberville to a new $2 million-per-year contract. The deal included a $500,000 pay raise at the same time the school froze faculty members’ pay raises. Faculty members complained, but no one listened because, as we are always reminded, when was the last time 100,000 people paid to watch the debate club?

The win-at-all-costs plague has given rise to the most dangerous aspect of power and privilege the cult of personality.

Paterno isn’t just the biggest man on campus, he is one of the most powerful people in the state. Like his colleague at Ohio State, where president E. Gordon Gee joked about hoping not to be fired by his employee, then coach Jim Tressell, Paterno has plenty of people willing to offer up excuses for their idol’s behavior.

The Joe Pa character was a creation of the school, fans and the media to preserve the myth that Paterno was a Jesus in thick glasses and the greatest football mind in history.

It was necessary to hide the ego that made his salary a state secret for years, and the fact that he’s been a glorified assistant for at least a decade.

Even if a university president wanted to embrace a radical plan and attempt to slow the runaway train, the cult of personality wouldn’t allow it. No president making $400,000 can control a coach making $4,000,000. Presidents come and go, but a winning football coach is hard to find.

The natural question to ask is what good can come from the worst scandal in U.S. sports history?

None. Unless sick people stop walking the Earth and universities stop looking toward teenage athletes for salvation, nothing will change.

Retiring Is A Smart Move By Penn

B.J. Penn says he is retired. Then again maybe he isn’t.

Here’s hoping he is.

For reasons physical or otherwise, Penn is not the same fighter he was just a few years ago. The Hilo native has won just one of his last five fights, and often has looked disinterested about his job in the ring.

That’s a big drop off for a guy who was one of the best fighters in the sport’s short history and one who almost single-handedly saved the promotion’s lightweight division.

Penn’s challenges appear to be more mental than physical. He admitted as much to Star-Advertiser reporter Billy Hull in an Oct. 26 preview of his fight with Nick Diaz.

“It’s definitely a total love and hate relationship with mixed martial arts, and maybe even the UFC at times,” he said in the article. “It’s crazy. I want to fight 100 more fights in the next year, and the next day I’m like I don’t want to do this anymore.”

Penn always seemed to love fighting but hated the UFC and all the B.S. and egos that come with it. The UFC is not a partnership of athletes and promoters, but a dictatorship run by a single individual who is determined to make himself the sport’s biggest star.

To be fair, no one person is more responsible for the UFC’s success and the popularity of MMA in general than Dana White. But that doesn’t make him an easy guy to work for. Just ask Penn, who went so far as to sue the UFC after being stripped of his lightweight title for competing in another organization.

Hull, who covers the sport for the Star-Advertiser and whose opinion I trust on this topic, believes Penn still has the physical tools to reclaim his place in the sport, but questions whether he has the commitment to make it happen. Penn, like all fighters, cannot be less than his best when he enters the octagon. If he isn’t, he can get hurt. Not past-hisprime baseball injured but physically damaged with long-lasting effects. We’ve seen far too many examples.

Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammed Ali and, more recently, Evander Holyfield have all returned to the ring in a final effort to reclaim lost glory or shrunken bank accounts. The results haven’t always been pretty and have sometimes been tragic. Penn isn’t there yet, but he could be if he presses on without the right preparation.

The Penn name still carries weight in the sport, as it should. Hull says that regardless of Penn’s recent record, he remains a top five draw. However, each loss runs the risk of causing further physical damage and negatively impacting B.J. Penn the brand.

Penn’s been more than a fighter for years. His name and likeness adorns hats and T-shirts at arenas and gyms across the country. He has become so associated with RVCA clothing that the two seem inseparable. He has partnered with the UFC to open a gym and MMA training facility on Oahu, and more could be on the way. Retirement would allow him more time to advance those interests.

Penn is charismatic, goodlooking and has an outgoing personality that at times needs some coaxing to come out. All these skills would serve him well as an analyst. If he can successfully train his brother Reagan to UFC title contention, it would further his business interests and begin to put the Penn name alongside the Gracies when it comes to MMA family dominance.

When at the top of his game, Penn was a master. Possessing a ground attack that made his impressive stand-up work appear almost amateurish.

Opponents would speak of his lowerbody skill, saying his legs were like an extra pair of arms.

He was great, no question about it.

The Prodigy?

Damn right he was. Hull says Penn has talked about returning to his jiujitsu roots at the end of his career.

That would complete the circle nicely and further engrain him in the sport in which he became the first non-Brazilian to win the black-belt division at the Mundial World Championships in Rio de Janeiro.

A Bad Idea To Pay College Athletes

One step forward and two steps back is fine for Paula Abdul or when doing the Electric Slide, but it can create potential disaster for the NCAA.

I take that back. It could lead to a national catastrophe. Regardless of reference, it is never OK to do the Electric Slide. Sliding eventually leads to the Macarena, the Bump, the Twist, the Mashed Potato, the Watusi, the Loco-Motion and finally, and most disappointing, the Lambada, which was never as nasty as we were led to believe.

The NCAA has increased its Academic Progress Rate and eligibility GPA to 2.3 for incoming freshman and 2.5 for junior college transfers. This is the step forward.

The two-paced retreat is the plan to allow schools, at the direction of individual conferences, to pay scholarship athletes up to $2,000 to cover the full cost of attendance. The exact number is tied to the area’s cost of living. At the Big Ten’s basketball media day, commissioner Jim Delany said scholarship athletes spend $2,000$3,000 of their own money on expenses. Under current rules, schools are allowed to cover room, board, tuition and fees. Notice that I didn’t say ONLY room, board, tuition and fees.

According to the Oct. 28 Star-Advertiser, the value of the base package is $19,254 for residents and $34,086 for non-residents. Those are pretty good annual salaries for young adults who, generally speaking, have very few living expenses. For those 20-year-olds with children to raise, well, that’s another topic. At large continental schools, the benefits can push the value of the five-to-playfour plan towards $250,000. For some, that’s not enough.

Supporters of the plan, mostly major college progams and former athletes, say it is not fair the NCAA, the schools and coaches get millions while the players get just a free education. As a person soon to be some $10,000 to $15,000 in debt for educational costs Go EMBA 18! it’s hard not to take exception to such misguided beliefs. But this isn’t about the real-world impact of education which only a moron would argue against but that the plan further slides the competitive advantage to the larger schools while ignoring the student-athletes who truly need the bump.

I’ve said it before. In the near future Div-1A, FBS or the whatever-youwant-to-call-them schools, will split from the ranks and create an upper tier organization either inside the NCAA or under an entity of their own creation. The NCAA doesn’t have to help.

The full cost of attendance plan is simply another BCS-style arrangement to further separate college athletics upper crust from the rabble of the lower classes. Providing such a stipend would cost the University of Hawaii about $500,000 a year. That’s a drop in the bucket for anyone plugging into Big Ten Network, but for hundreds of other schools, that huge. Or to paraphrase former Sen. Everett McKinley Dirksen, “A million here and a million there, and soon we are talking about real money.”

The stipends aren’t just about budgeting, they’re also about competitive balance. Schools with the benefit of a max stipend will have an inherent recruiting advantage of those who don’t. This seems to play right into Hawaii’s hands because of the high cost of living. But $500,000 to UH is $5,000,000 to SEC members. And what about the split conferences?

The Big West Conference made up of primarily small west coast schools is far less likely to adopt the plan than the Mountain West which is built upon football. If both OK the idea, it’s also quite likely the numbers won’t match. Title IX dictates equal opportunity so the Wahine of the Big West must be paid the same amount as the Warriors of the Mountain West.

What’s an athletic director to do? Right now, no one has the answer.

Then there is the large number of athletes about 50 percent at UH who play in sports that are not fully funded? Where is their economic bail out?

UH baseball is a money maker yet must split 11.7 scholarships among 35 players. If each one got a half ride that would make their full cost of attendance about $9,000.

Talk about exploitation.

 

Gumbel’s Grumblings Reveal A Lot

If Bryant Gumbel’s rant against NBA commissioner David Stern had come from some typical Hollywood nut job, the diatribe would have been quickly discarded. After all, ignorance abounds in a country of 308 million people. It’s simple math. Quite likely you’re sitting in the vicinity of some yahoo as you read this.

But Gumbel did say it. And he’s not just some gas bag. Then again, maybe he is.

Not only did he compare Stern to a plantation overseer, but Gumbel suggested the commissioner wants players to know he’s the one who lives up on the hill and their job is to satisfy his cravings. “Stern’s version of what has been going on behind closed doors has, of course, been disputed, but his efforts were typical of a commissioner who has always seemed eager to be viewed as some kind of modern plantation overseer, treating NBA men as if they were his boys,” said the former Today Show host.

The damning issue isn’t that Gumbel is calling Stern a racist which is, in itself, a hateful charge for which he offers no proof. What’s disturbing is that Gumbel, in his eagerness to disparage yet another sports league official, saddled his foe with a disgusting label that only the most truly ignorant and by this I mean stupid, not uneducated would dare to suggest. On which side of this we put Hank Williams Jr. is still unclear.

Let’s get this straight. Comparing pro athletes to enslaved Americans is ignorant and denigrates the tragedy that was American slavery, the memory of those held in bondage and the centuries of oppression the practice created. So whether it is Gumbel, William Rhoden, Adrian Peterson or Eric Cartman, knock it off!

This is not the first time Gumbel has found discrimination where none existed. In another example of oral manure he once said, “Try not to laugh when someone says these are the world’s greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like the GOP convention.”

No one argues that Stern can be egomaniacal. All power in the NBA rests in his hands, but arrogance is a long way from racism. Those who have covered Stern for years, and who have been the subject of his wrath, acknowledge he can be a very difficult man with whom to deal. The very same people also say it is ridiculous to suggest Stern has purposely played the role of “The Man.”

Under Stern, the NBA has provided more opportunities for minority owners, coaches and administrators than any other league. He embraced the individualism that made the league popular and embraced the hip-hop culture that became the soundtrack to the league. And no, inserting a dress code was not racist. Stern has even kept the WNBA afloat when many others would have let it die from disinterest years ago.

In the face of calls for his termination and the unwanted attention he brought to the network, Gumbel would be well advised to discuss the controversy and to clarify his remarks. But, so far, he has refused, cowering behind an HBO spokesman who released the ineffective statement that Gumbel “feels there isn’t anything to elaborate on.” That’s the coward’s way out.

In a previous commentary about the double standard in reporting on women’s athletics, Gumbel closed a show by saying “If the definition of true equality is treating folks honestly without regard for race or gender, then it is time we start critiquing women athletes the same way we do the men ... blind praise is meaningless with the absence of fair criticism.” Fair criticism also is meaningless without context or the courage to back up the charges.

Perhaps it isn’t the athletes who compete in sports with small black populations that pisses him off.

Maybe Negrodomis was wrong. Maybe white people don’t like Wayne Brady just because he makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X.

And perhaps Gumbel’s just mad because after years of being one of the nation’s most watched and respected journalists, he’s been reduced to little more than a figurehead on a cable TV sports program that, while staffed with considerable talent, has very little reach except when its host decides to make himself the center of attention.

Francona Is Not To Blame For Sox Loss

Terry Francona must be the luckiest guy since Ringo Starr was asked to sit in for recording purposes. How else do you explain two titles, a .574 winning percentage and five postseason appearances for a virtual drug addict with marital problems and the leadership skills of George Custer? No doubt we are just days from hearing how he hates puppies and once walked right past a Brownie without once even glancing at her cookies.

That seems to be the story emanating from Yawkey Way. On a team that went 7-20 in the last month of the season and whose big three starters (Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and John Lackey) posted a combined 2-7 record with a 6.45 earned run average during that time, it was the manager who let everyone down.

All silliness aside, Francona had to go. No matter his level of responsibility, when a team implodes this badly the manager gets the ax. Everyone knows that going in. So it’s no surprise that Francona was quit/fired. What is shocking are the stories surrounding the end of the season, and why no player has stood up to take responsibility for the fall.

Francona’s loss of locker room control had little to do with failed philosophy and nearly everything to do with time. Francona lasted eight years, and that’s pretty good. The expiration date for coaches and managers is less than that of a McClain Stevenson sitcom. (I went old school for this reference, but I could have easily gone the reality TV route or referenced the collective memory of the American voting public.)

Boston succumbed to a culture of entitlement that was allowed to grow unabated until the inevitable happened: The team collapsed because the weight of irresponsibility became too great for the leaderless structure to support.

In an interview on ESPY, David Ortiz, who hit .287 in September with one home run and eight RABI, blew off the suggestion that Beckett, Lester and Lackey failed to support their team, instead drinking beer, ordering takeout and playing video games in the locker room while the team struggled, saying starting pitchers are pretty much on their own between starts, and that the behavior was a nonfactor during their title years in 2004 and 2007. Ortiz then joked that he may have joined them if he wasn’t watching his weight. That’s leadership Red Sox-style play off any responsibility and, when necessary, find a scapegoat. This time they didn’t have the Yankees to blame, so they pounced on the manager, even though no one dared or cared enough to declare all hands on deck.

Not content to take a bullet for the team that had abandoned him, Francona said he didn’t have the support from ownership necessary to effectively control the ball club. Owner John Henry hardly proved otherwise when he gave the team $300 headsets and invited them to have a players-only party on his yacht following complaints about playing a double header after a road trip. The fact that a hurricane was expected in the area seemed of little concern.

So it ends. Francona is out and will likely manage another team next season. General manager Theo Epstein will try to bring a second group of historic chokers an MLB title. Meanwhile, the Sox will be the Sox. The team is overpaid, arrogant and rudderless. It tried to be everything the Yankees aren’t. They succeeded. The Yankees are winners. The Red Sox are done.

Handing Out Baseball Hardware

It’s time for Major League Baseball to get the “V” out. We go through this every year. What does valuable mean? Is it a playerof-the-year contest or are voters actually trying to determine if a New York center fielder is worth more than a Tampa first baseman or a Canadian right fielder? So helpful is the Baseball Writers Association of America that each MVP ballot begins with the instructions: “There is no clearcut definition of what most valuable means. It is up to the individual voter to decide who was the most valuable player in each league to his team.” There ya go. Clear as mud.

So let’s dive in. MVP, Cy Young and more.

First, the no-brainers. Managers of the Year and AL Cy Young

Joe Madden and Kirk Gibson. No contest. The Diamondbacks went from worst to first and Madden took a Tampa Bay team that lost most of its athletic value and somehow got the Rays to push the rapidly falling Red Sox out of the playoffs. Some pretty impressive leadership on a team that finished 25th in batting average and 15th in runs scored.

If Justin Verlander doesn’t win the AL Cy Young award in a landslide, the league should call in UN election monitors. Verlander leads the league in wins, innings pitched, strikeouts, era, WHIP, batting average against, and throws harder in the seventh inning than he does the first. ‘Nuff said.

AL Rookie of the Year

This is a four-person race with starting pitchers Ivan Nova and Jeremy Hellickson with the lead over Angels’ first baseman Mark Trumbo and reliever Jordan Walden. Walden and Trumbo made a nice one-two rookie punch for Los Angeles, with Walden leading the team with 32 saves and Trumbo pacing the club with 29 home runs and 87 RBI. Nova didn’t exactly blow hitters away, recording just 98 strikeouts in 165 innings of work, but no matter, the rookie won his last 13 starts, including one against Detroit in the ALCS when he gave up two runs in 6.1 innings work. Hellickson led all rookie starters in innings pitched and era while throwing a shutout and recording two complete games. His 2.95 ERA and .210 batting average against likely make him the best rookie pitcher in the league. However, 16 wins in New York is 16 wins, and Nova takes this in a close one.

NL Rookie of the Year

The only question is, will anyone other than an Atlanta Brave win this award? No. First baseman Freddie Freeman led the team in batting and kicked in 21 home runs, 76 RBI and 67 runs scored. Brandon Beachy went 7-3, 3.68 ERA, 169 strikeouts and only 46 walks in 141.2 innings pitched. Nice numbers, but both will be buying beers for Craig Kimbrel, who tied for the league lead with 46 saved games, a 2.10 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP and a .167 BAA.

NL Cy Young

Who is Clayton Kershaw and what is he doing leading the NL Cy race? The Dodger left-hander is tied for the NL lead in wins (21), is first in era (2.28), WHIP (0.98), batting average against (.207) strikeouts (248), and third in innings pitched (233.1). He’s a bad team’s version of Verlander.

AL MVP

Verlander: See above. Curtis Granderson was a monster all season and finished with a .262 batting average, 41 home runs (No. 2 in the league), 119 RBI (No. 1), 136 runs (No. 1), 25 stolen bases. His 32 more runs scored and better on-base percentage gives him the edge over his teammate Robinson Cano, whose batting average is 40 points higher.

Miguel Cabrera is Granderson’s biggest nonpitching threat. The Tiger first baseman led the league in batting average (.344), on-base percentage (.448), doubles (48), was second in walks (108) and slugging (.586).

Jacoby Elsbury finished with a .321 batting average, 32 home runs, 105 RBI, 119 runs scored, and if the award just went to the best player he could be well into the mix. So could/should Toronto’s Jose Bautista (.302, 42 HR, 103 RBI) but, as mentioned earlier, “V” matters and because Bautista played for a middling Blue Jays team and Elsbury was surrounded by talent, neither has much chance.

Given his location, position and familiarity, Granderson is most likely to win, but Verlander is best qualified.

National League MVP

Matt Kemp had the best statistical season in the National League. But the Dodgers stink so he has no shot. Ignoring good players on bad teams takes out Jose Reyes, Lance Birkman and Joey Votto. That leaves the Phillies Hunter Pence and the Brewers’ Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. Hunter’s .314, 22 home runs, 97 RBI and 84 runs are impressive, but he falls just short of overtaking Milwaukee’s duo for bragging rights.

This isn’t really much of a contest between the two. Braun has a better batting average, more home runs, runs and has even stolen 33 bases. Plus, with Fielder already having his bags packed for free agency, the two local votes go to Braun.

There it is. How did we do?

NHL Getting Tough On Penalties

Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, get on up, it’s hockey time!

My apologies for referencing a basically cheesy movie with the great game of hockey, but it’s all I could think of.

Or to be more correct, the sentence represents the length of time I was willing to spend on an opening. As they say, close enough for government work. Let’s get it on!

That’s leadership.

Accountability has never been easy to find in professional sports. Excuses abound, and most screwups are referenced with either a lawyer-written nonadmittal apology from players or politically correct non-answers from management.

That’s why it’s refreshing to hear Brendan Shanahan, the NHL’s vice president, player safety and hockey operations, and head of player punishment the latter is not an official title but an accurate description make it clear that, to steal a phrase from Harry Truman, the buck stops with him.

Give the NHL and Shanahan credit. Instead of burying decisions behind a wall of secrecy, the league has created an authoritative position and manned it with someone who is not afraid to act or speak honestly about why he makes decisions. The NHL produced a video explaining rule changes and paired the recently retired winger with NHLPA’s

Mathieu Schneider. The partnership makes sense beyond the duo being former Red Wings teammates. The NHL needed to keep the lines of communication open between players and owners, and did so by pairing Schneider and Shanahan together. The plan worked. The video is clear, represents both sides and leaves no question about who is in charge.

Shanahan showed no preferential treatment slapping Red Wings’ defenseman Brendan Smith with a five game suspension and $23,648.65 in lost salary for hitting Blackhawks’ forward Ben Smith in the head with his shoulder. Smith’s suspension was the eighth of the NHL preseason. The longest was on Philadelphia’s Jody Shelley, who got a 10-day vacation for his boarding of Toronto’s Darryl Boyce. The league has posted videos on its website that shows the plays in question, the rule the new VP is interpreting, his decision and how it was made. That’s pretty cut and dried.

Shanahan can get away with such pronouncements because he has credibility and respect. After 22 seasons in the NHL, 1,524 games, 1,354 points and 2,489 penalty minutes, he understands the difference between necessary aggression and dangerous behavior.

Plus, by having a former player make such decisions, the league removes past complaints of businessmen making rulings on a game they may have never played.

Can’t say that about Shanny.

Have you seen Syd?

Penguins captain Sydney Crosby doesn’t seem any closer to playing than he was in January when he suffered the second of two concussions. Crosby has taken part in team skatearounds but hasn’t yet been cleared to play. Signs point to an eventual return, but when and at what capacity is anyone’s guess.

League officials don’t need to read Brett Hart’s biography to understand how dangerous and debilitating head injuries can be. Eric Lindros and Pat LaFontaine had their careers cut short by concussions, and who would be surprised if the recent deaths of Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak were, at least in some way, related to the shots they had taken in their career?

So where does that leave Pittsburgh?

The Pens still have talent with defender Kris Letang, center Tyler Kennedy, a hopefully rejuvenated Evgeni Malkin and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, but any hope of making a run at the Stanley Cup rests with Crosby and his stillevolving game.

What in the name of Guy Lafleur was I thinking?

One of the best things about setting up your own fantasy hockey league is you get to pick names and passwords that tend to promote your own interests while taking slight jabs at your opponents.

It’s all about the trashtalking anyway. But after a second-place finish and more Meeha League (don’t ask me what the heck that means) titles than I can count, I got cocky and let a French Canadian into the group.

Sacré bleu!

He probably has Scotty Bowman on speed dial and knows what a fleur-de lys is!

I know he knows what poutine is, but that’s not much help unless he wines and dines the entire league with the starchy, gooey and cheesy comfort food until we all go into cardiac arrest.

But would Jean Guy do such a thing? No sense taking a chance.

Vive le Quebec!

That is, until the Canadiens enter hockey’s holy city. And no! I don’t mean Toronto!

This thing is going to kill me.

Rivera: Stud With Misleading Stats

Would I be thrown under the bus if I said Mariano Rivera was the best ever at his position? I think not. Would I be cast down with the wicked and unwashed, or worse yet forced to spend a summer as a Dodgers intern, if I said Rivera was No. 2 or No. 3? Perhaps. Them Yankee fans can be quite a boisterous bunch. But would I be wrong? Who knows. Who cares.

Because whatever one may think about the Yankee game-finisher, two things are clear. No. 1: He is unquestionably one of the best to ever ply the trade. No. 2: His save totals reflect current managerial philosophy rather than any true record of his ability. Rivera is a stud. His cutter has turned more Louisville ash into kindling than an other pitcher in history. But his record is a joke.

The fault doesn’t lie with Rivera or any pitcher who makes his living one inning at a time. The blame goes to coaches, managers and front office personnel who have changed the position from one of daring importance to overpaid cleanup duty where challenges are rarely faced.

Until the 1990s saves were earned. A team’s best reliever was not just its closer but the one person management trusted to put out fires, hence the fireman label. These were the guys who came into the game with the bases loaded and no outs in the seventh inning. To enter a game with a three run lead in the ninth inning was a waste of skill. That job was left up to what today would be the set up man or the set up man’s set up man. Today, a closer will be inserted into a game only if there is a save opportunity. This is akin to scheduling your highest paid starter only against teams at the bottom of the division. It’s ridiculous. And it’s only getting worse.

According to Baseball Between the Numbers; Why Everything You Know About the Game is Wrong, in 1980 only 13.4 percent of relief appearances began in the ninth inning with no one on and no outs. By 2004, that number had climbed to 65 percent.

Goose Gossage, Rivera’s pinstripe and game-closing predecessor, averaged 4.6 innings per save in his career as a full time reliever. Rivera: 1.89. Gossage won 124 games in relief, and, yes, lost 107. But that was the nature of the business when relievers earned their salaries.

One can even debate if the position, as it is used now is effective or even necessary.

Dave Smith, a biologist at the University of Delaware and founder of retrosheet.org, a website devoted to the unwielding world of baseball data, found that the winning percentage for teams with leads after eight innings have remained almost unchanged. That is to say they’ve won the great majority. He even found that some very bad teams were more than average after eight. The 1978 Mariners won just 56 games with 80.4 percent of those coming after an eighth inning lead. They were the worst of the bunch from 1901 to 2003.

I’m not going to tell you Gossage, Rollie Fingers or Bruce Sutter was better than Rivera. But each was put into more bad situations and with more on the line than any modern reliever, even Rivera.

What the closer of closers did was remarkable, but some perspective is in order. No stat has been more watered down than the save. Even the home run which had devolved into chemically inflated parlor trick has more credibility.

So just relax.

Like many great players before him, Rivera’s success is one part perspiration and one part evaluation.

Bud Bumbles; Verlander Rules

It’s fall, when a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of MVPs, pitching standouts and the continuing bad decisions of Bud Selig.

Let’s start with the commish. For the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the New York Mets wanted to reintroduce the NYPD and FDNY hats they donned following the terrorist attacks.

Selig’s answer? No.

He didn’t want to set a precedent. It was the same response Selig gave a decade earlier but was overruled by the players, who basically told the commissioner he could have the hats if he was man enough to take them. He wasn’t. Neither was he this time, so he sent out his personal blast deflector, Joe Torre. This time, with the Mets on the dole to Major League Baseball for $25 million, they didn’t put up much of a fuss. They should have.

With this move the leadership of America’s pastime admitted it cannot distinguish between honoring heroism and senseless promotion.

You screwed up, Bud. Unlike the steroids era or instant replay, there is no correcting mechanism for this lack of responsibility. It was a one-time deal and you blew it. Hopefully your replacement will have more common sense.

Not so valuable?

If we can agree that pitching is the most important part of the game, then how can baseball’s best pitcher not be recognized as its best player? Justin Verlander is the Tigers’ immovable object and its unquestioned best player. That should be enough. But it’s not.

Baseball’s keepers of the holy grail, the Baseball Writer’s Association of America, has determined pitchers aren’t worthy even though voting rules do not disqualify any position.

Since 1931, when the award was created, only 23 pitchers have been honored, and no one since Dennis Eckersley in 1992. Not even Pedro Martinez, who in 1999 went 23-4 with a 2.07 ERA, 313 strikeouts to just 37 walks was deemed good enough. The BWAA has, with no authority, determined that since pitchers have the Cy Young (an award they vote on), the MVP is reserved for the hitters. But here’s the thing. Even if Verlander pitches only once every five days, he has a greater impact than any other player.

As of Sept. 23, the Tigers’ right-hander was 23-5, pitched 236 innings, struck out 238, had a .192 BAA, while facing 910 hitters. If he averaged just four pitches per batter, he will already have had 3,640 chances to impact his team. If that’s not value, what is?

More Verlander: The art of pitching is dead.

For the first 110 years of its history, major league pitchers were expected to finish what they started. The game has now been taken over by short-game specialists. Pitchers enter, throw everything they have at the greatest effect and leave at the slightest bit of trouble. The days of Bert Blyleven fixing his own mistakes are gone. That’s where Verlander comes in. He’s so old school he’s groundbreaking.

Verlander enters the game throwing a 93-94 mph fastball, a knee-breaking curve and a change. By the sixth inning his fastball is hitting 97-98 mph and he has introduced his slider to spot duty. If necessary, he can hit triple digits, or slow it down.

Why the odd approach? By not throwing as hard as he can for as long as he can, Verlander is able to pitch deeper into games while maintaining the ability to raise or lower the velocity of his pitches. This also makes his off-speed pitches more effective. Going big from the beginning leaves pitchers with only one speed option, going slower.

Big league hitters destroy repetitive pitching patterns. There’s no reason to make it easier.

Mountain West Must Look East

Idaho Statesman is reporting that Mountain West Conference executives have met to discuss, among other things, conference realignment.

The article, written by Brian Murphy, quotes conference commissioner Craig Thompson saying, “There’s just so much innuendo and rumor and hearsay and you read the ticker on all the sports things about this guy is talking to that guy and this president is talking ... There’s just so much out there. We’re doing our diligence.”

That’s good news for UH.

Not following? Be patient. The only way to ensure the middling Mountain West maintains any level of respectability is to be proactive. To just sit, do nothing and become the WAC would be disastrous.

Until recently, the conference was in a position to press for BCS inclusion. That opportunity passed after Utah left for the Pac12, TCU bolted for the Big East’s BCS slot and easier competition, and BYU went solo in football hoping to become the next Notre Dame it’s not, never will be, and may soon be wooed by whatever remains of the Big XII.

With survival on the agenda, it would make sense for the Mountain West to pick the carcass of the dying Big XII and, as opposition to 19th century call for western expansion, go east, young man.

Oklahoma and Texas are out of the question. They are simply too big and will soon find each other in either the Pac-12 or SEC. Oklahoma State has T. Boone Pickens, which guarantees big market inclusion.

Missouri is on the Big Ten’s short list with its AAU (Association of American Universities) membership and geographic rivals with Nebraska and Iowa.

The SEC could also give Missouri a look.

Baylor and Texas Tech will try to follow Texas wherever it goes, and if the Longhorns make the move west, all will be fine with the soon-to-be Pac16. That pretty much leaves the Mountain West with a shopping list of Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Memphis (from Conference USA), Utah State (from the WAC) and BYU. Yes, keeping the option open for the Cougars’ return makes sense. To quote Bob Sugar, this isn’t show friendship, it’s show business. Conference invites are about cash, not about myths of collegiality.

So how does all this help UH?

The Mountain West cannot market itself as a football conference like the SEC or boast the basketball depth of the Big East. But by adding Kansas, Memphis, Utah State, BYU and, yes, the University of Hawaii, should Gib Arnold deliver on his first-year promise, the conference suddenly becomes a solid two-sport contender. The added benefit for UH bringing in its full complement of athletic programs is that it would no longer have to give lip service to the ridiculous notion that the current dual-conference alignment was anything more than a stop gap measure to save the program from the WAC death spiral.

In 2012, the Mountain West will have 10 football teams and nine basketball squads. Adding the aforementioned teams would leave the conference with 14 teams in both football and basketball allowing for two divisions and conference tournaments.

Expansion is the only way to save the conference, but selling the notion to teams with bigger market dreams is going to be tough.

But if the Big 12 fails and how can it not with its finances split so unfairly to one team, the Mountain West has to be proactive and not reactive.

The future of UH athletics could depend on it.

Don’t be naive. The top division is going to split and those caught below the demarcation line will suddenly find themselves struggling for relevance and the financial ability to simply field teams.

Don’t Expect Suh To Tone It Down

Violence plays an important role in our imagination and entertainment. Gruesome images wake us from our restful sleep, create thrilling moments of disgust in horror classics and make up the breadth of NFL promotions.

Ed Sabol reached the Hall of Fame chronicling the fast, the famous and the fierce, mostly the fierce. Nastiness is an NFL byproduct. The greatest excelled at it. Huff, Lambert, Tatum, Nitschke, Jones, Greene are known for their aggression. Dick Butkus was a great player violence turned him into a legend.

Now its Suh’s turn.

Ndamukong Suh is the most disruptive lineman since Reggie White and perhaps the nastiest since Gino Marchetti practiced willful vengeance on opposing ball carriers in the 1950s and ‘60s. If you want to know just how ornery Marchetti was, read Art Donovan’s Fatso. In fact, just read the book for its own sake. It’s both hilarious and frightening.

Like those who caused havoc before him, Suh toes the not always visible line between aggression and criminal behavior. As a then 25-year-old, Sam Huff told Time magazine, “We try to hurt everybody. We hit each other as hard as we can. This is a man’s game.” Or in the CBS documentary, The Violent World of Sam Huff, the linebacker said, “There is no place for nice guys.”

But Suh is a nice guy off the field, anyway. On the field things change quickly.

Hall of Fame tackle Dan Dierdoff said Suh is in danger of developing a reputation that will make him a target of officials. Too late. A year ago his twohand shove to the back of a scrambling Jay Cutler was mistakenly ruled a forearm to the head. For the false transgression, which was clear on replay, he was fined $15,000. Cutler left the pocket and got abused. A YouTube commentator had it correct. If Suh had done as the official believed, Cutler would have been decapitated. Instead, he got up quickly to once again stare into the face of the beast. Credit Cutler for bravery and a bit of acting. Earlier in that season, Suh was hit with a $7,500 penalty for planting Jake Delhomme in a manner he is not accustomed to. He drew a flag for pulling Marion Barber down by the hair in a game against Dallas. The take down was ruled a horse collar tackle. It was another bad call. His latest was $20,000 slap on his $68 million wrists this preseason for slamming Andy Dalton to the ground after a pass was thrown.

Such aggression will no doubt extend drives during the season and make Suh a slightly less wealthy man, but coach Jim Schwartz isn’t going to ask him to change. Chuck Noll didn’t ask Jack Lambert to tone it down and neither will Schwartz. Why should he? His second-year tackle is just doing what he was designed to do.

While still a student at Nebraska, Suh, whose first name means House of Spears, was measured by the folks at Sports Science for ESPN. The results were scary. His reaction time off the ball was found to be a mere .26 seconds after the go signal was given. It was the fastest they have ever measured. Further testing found that he reached a top speed of 13.5 mph in 1.3 seconds at the six-yard mark. Suh finally crashed into the crash test dummy with a measured 3,200 pounds of force. It was another all-time best. In this case, Mass x Acceleration = Fear.

Suh channeled Huff when he said he wants to hit his opponents as hard as he can. Physics and video tape show that’s pretty darn hard. And with a line that is expected to go eight deep, a refreshed Suh is an even more dangerous Suh. That’s good for the Lions and the NFL, bad news for the rest of the NFC Central.

Sure, he’ll get flagged, fined and draw the ire of some. But he sells tickets. In the end, that’s all the league, and the team that wears Honolulu Blue, care about.

And really, what do we want, a non-aggressive defensive lineman?

We’ve already got Albert Haynesworth. Isn’t that enough?

Take UH Beach Volleyball To Waikiki

The plan to add a sand volleyball team to the list of women’s athletic programs at UH is a no-brainer.

The Wahine is an established brand and the location, level of coaching and the steady supply of local talent could quickly vault the program to national prominence.

Wahine associate coach and former pro beach volleyball player Scott Wong has been chosen to lead the new program.

Last week he met with Kelly Hupp, Hale Koa Hotel’s director of parks and recreation, about using the outdoor courts as practice space for the Wahine. HPU has used the courts as a practice site in the past. Neither Marilyn MonizKaho’ohanohano, UH’s associate athletic director and senior woman administrator, nor Wong could be reached for comment prior to MidWeek‘s deadline.

Under the current plan, the university will compete at a yet-to-be-determined site while the construction of two on-campus courts at the T.C. Ching Athletic Complex are completed.

Putting the team behind the fences at UH is a predictable and likely costeffective move, but it also could deny the school an excellent opportunity to market the program.

In Manoa, sand volleyball is just another athletic contest. In Waikiki it can be an event.

The Hale Koa has proven itself to be a good neighbor to both residents and visitors by maintaining the parks and beachfront that surround the property.

So coming to an agreement that makes the hotel the permanent home of Wahine sand volleyball wouldn’t be a difficult task, nor would it take a lot of effort to craft an agreement that is mutually beneficial to both parties.

The hotel’s Barefoot Bar, Happy’s Snack Bar and Koa Oasis are open to the public and could see increased business from those attending the matches. Parking isn’t a problem with the hotel’s two lots, and its central location means visiting teams could walk to the site, which would provide instant advertisement and more excitement for the event. UH, for its part, could pay to improve facilities and for collapsible bleacher seating.

The hotel could help maintain the site and rent out the courts for military and club league tournaments, with the revenue being split by both the hotel and the university. Concession sales of UH logo wear also would help offset costs.

Having world class collegiate volleyball on its doorstep also would be great entertainment for hotel guests.

UH could create the “Wahine Walk” from the Hale Koa parking lot to the courts. Before each contest, student-athletes, cheerleaders and a pep band could lead friends, family and visitors to the courts.

Flags and banners at the site would draw spectators from the thousands of people who daily transit the area, of which just a fraction may be enough to create the greatest home court advantage in the country.

The site also could become one heck of a recruiting tool as every young girl who walks past the courts during a family vacation immediately receives the message that the University of Hawaii is the spot to launch their collegiate and Olympic dreams.

It is unlikely another university can match the combination of location, support and the ability to jump in the warm Pacific after a grueling match.

 

NBA Players Should Heed NHL

NBA Players Association executive director Billy Hunter isn’t putting his money on the under for the number of games likely to be missed this season.

Hunter is a pragmatic man. Unlike the NFL lockout, where unimaginable revenue and the league’s overall financial strength virtually guaranteed a pre-season settlement, the NBA is in a much different situation. To weakly paraphrase former Texas Sen. Lloyd Benson, I know the NFL, and you, sirs, are no NFL.

The two sides have made the usual moves. The Players Association has discussed decertification while the NBA has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, charging the union with unfair labor practices arguing the players have refused to negotiate in good faith and that the decertification talk is an illegal attempt to bring an antitrust lawsuit against the league.

If all this sounds familiar, it should, they are the same steps taken by the NFLPA and the NFL. But that’s where the similarities end.

The league that James Naismith gave birth to is a second-tier member of the U.S. Big Four. Football obviously rules the roost and Major League Baseball still pulls in 50 million in attendance in tough economic times. The NBA is now on par with the National Hockey League in terms of attendance, and owners are looking at that league, and not the NFL, as a source of economic inspiration.

In 2005 the NHL adopted a scorched earth policy that cost the struggling league an entire season and forced it from its cozy ESPN contract and onto Versus, more commonly known as the what-channel-is-that-on? network. It was a desperate move for a league that was too big and whose Third World distribution of wealth put the NHL on the verge of economic collapse. Ratings and attendance suffered upon its return, but what emerged was a league finally able to operate within its means. The players are still handsomely rewarded, though not as much as before, and the salary cap created competitive parity, which generated greater fan interest and a firmer financial footing for the owners.

Six of those NHL owners own NBA teams, and their experience is pushing the current negotiations.

The league claims 22 of the 30 teams lost money. Faced with similar inequalities, the NHL managed to overcome the disparity by establishing a more equitable split of revenue between players and owners, and by instituting a salary cap. The NBA’s “flex cap” has been a disaster and has only created more wealth for the already wealthy. It needs to be hardened. The current 57-43 revenue split between players and owners has not kept up with rising player salaries and a more equal split is necessary.

Both sides have dug in and each is waiting for the other to blink. That is not going to happen anytime soon, but with a successful example at the ready, the question is will the NBA follow the NHL over the cliff before it realizes Gary Bettman actually got this one right.

So What Did We Miss? Uh, Nothing

It was supposed to be one of the darkest periods in U.S. history. Cut off from our cultural anchor and Sunday excuses for sofa-induced lethargy, the battle reports between owners and players ignited heated public debate not seen since Lyndon Johnson decided to increase U.S. Forces in Vietnam.

At least that’s what we were led to believe.

It seemed like not a day went by without some dire warning about the future of the NFL, and therefore the nation as a whole. We were threatened with a loss of a season, millions squandered from the loss of early season ticket sales, devastated small business owners who depend on fan foot traffic, shifty owners, greedy players and, of course, the complete disregard of the most impacted and least represented group, the fans.

But a funny thing happened on the way from limbo to treachery nothing changed. After months of “what if” scenarios and doomsday prophecies, the only thing the lockout has proven is that the off season is just that, the off-season, a time when nothing of real importance happens. Guys get drafted and signed, a few recognizable free agents find different places of employment and players head off to practices they would give anything to miss. Which is what we have now. As it turns out, we didn’t miss a thing. Now I feel ripped off.

In preparation of football Armageddon, I followed the advice of Ray Lewis and started stockpiling weapons of limited destruction. Lewis predicted the lack of NFL football would mean a rise in crime rates as people searched for ways to expend energy. His reasons were quite solid. “There’s nothing else to do,” he told ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio. Who am I to argue?

Now what am I supposed to do with my Glock and ergonomically correct lead pipes? Convert them into New Year’s party favors? Actually, that might work now that I’ve been told I’m too immature to handle sparklers.

Whatever.

Had the work stoppage not occurred, the Patriots still would have signed Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ochocinco. Mike Brown’s sanctimonious rebuttal of Carson Palmer would have continued even to the detriment of his own team, and Nnamdi Asomugha would still be the best-looking belle at the ball even in the eyes of teams who don’t need him I’m talking to you, New York!

The point is that for all the commotion, the NFL has not missed a thing, minus a worthless preseason game that does little to honor the newly inducted Hall of Fame members.

In fact, the labor disagreement saved the reading and viewing public the nausea of June and July scouting reports and player speculation that do little more than provide free publicity for an organization that can afford its own PR.

On the plus side, the rush of player movement has condensed what is normally a tedious employment process into an efficient period of negotiation that has been far more interesting and easier to follow.

Not everyone will agree with this summation. The laborious labor discussion has left many fans angry over the lack of consideration shown toward them and the effect it will have on their fantasy teams. But those folks need therapy anyway, so who cares.

The NFL is back, so enjoy the games for what they are entertainment, and a worthy excuse for further delaying the honeydo list you’ve been ignoring since February.

Thou Shalt Not Break Tiger’s Rules

Steve Williams broke the first commandment. Thou shall not speak of Tiger Woods in anything but the most glowing terms.

Stevie didn’t fare much better with the second: Thou shalt have no golfer before me.

For those sins, Williams was summarily fired.

Jesus forgives, Tiger doesn’t.

The not-so-sudden move should have been anticipated. No one in Tiger’s inner circle has ever survived a public release of information, and while Williams was closer than all others, the rules still apply.

Where such action fits into the Four Noble Truths of Tiger’s preferred method of worship remains to be explained.

We are told suffering is caused by craving, and his need for total obedience and his inability to view reality as it is, not just as it appears to be, can surely lead to suffering.

And that’s the biggest problem with Woods dumping his one-time close friend. He now has no one who cares enough to tell him what he needs to hear that, in fact, sometimes he does act like the north end of a south-bound mule. Williams did that. He was more than a caddy, he was a real friend. The last thing Tiger needs is another lap dog. He already has Mark O’Meara and John Cook to fill that role.

Though not a common occurrence, Williams, when needed, had no problem defending himself to his employer and at decibels similar to the dirt track race cars that occupy a good portion of his time away from the golf course. The honesty between the two created one of the most equal golfer/caddy combinations in history, and definitely the most successful.

But for no better reason than ego, entitlement and jealousy, Woods has cast off yet another confidant, further alienating himself from reality.

And don’t think Tiger haters aren’t relishing the irony of Woods punishing his caddy for stepping out on their monogomous relationship.

In Buddhism, Samadhi is the mental discipline required to achieve mastery over one’s own mind, and therefore one’s life. This is done by making an effort to improve and being able to see things for what they are with a clear conscience.

Clearly, Woods is a long way from enlightenment.

Steve Williams doesn’t need anyone to defend him. He’s generally considered the best caddy on tour, and after carrying bags for Ian Baker Finch, Greg Norman and Raymond Floyd, a comfortable retirement had been assured. But with Woods it was different. In the uber competitive Woods, Williams found his competitive soul mate. Someone who craved victory as much as he did.

It was the perfect relationship until Tiger’s insecurities and Nixon-style paranoia once again overtook his ability to think clearly.

Now his former best friend and employee is sharing those 12 years of championship experience with a competitor who has the talent to win majors and to push Tiger further down the road of irrelevancy.

ESPN: A Really Complete History

For those between the ages of 45 and 55, the history of ESPN is like the history of video games. It’s as unique to our generation as the Internet is to younger ones, TV to our parents and radio to the generation before them. One can argue whose is best or which is more frivolous, but each is unique and has changed how we have been informed and entertained.

ESPN: Those Guys Have All the Fun, Inside the World of ESPN chronicles that history in all its groundbreaking glory and its self-induced infamy. Unique to this historical record, authors James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales keep the story in the hands of current and former ESPN employees, whose quotes make up perhaps 98 percent of the text. The authors’ comments are left to introducing new topics, establishing timelines or attempting to explain moves and thought processes like the rampant sexual harassment in its early years which led to a policy that seems to have eliminated any professional standard of dress for women, while making any comment against such clothing choices a punishable offense.

Because of the completeness of the reporting and the unique history of the network, the book will inherently disappoint large pockets of readers whose interests go no further than Chris Berman talking about how NFL Primetime “made football famous” or how Mike Tirico helped sabotage Tony Kornheiser on Monday Night Football. Which is a shame, because the financiers and managers who dominate the first 130 pages and who took the crazy idea of a 24-hour sports network from concept to completion, are as interesting, talented, flawed and selfpromoting as any who have sat behind the SportsCenter desk.

The concept of ESPN was created by fatherand-son team Bill and Scott Rasmussen, who had produced local sports programing in Connecticut, and when not creating networks were fighting each other like two dogs over a bone. Stuart Evey, vice president of Getty Oil, came up with the cash for 80 percent ownership of the network. He used his position as a Getty family confidant, whose part-time job was to cover up for George Getty’s erratic behavior, to finance his life of wine, women, song and sports. Of course, Rush Limbaugh makes an appearance, as does billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who while never interviewed, makes several appearances as a major behind-the-scene decider and consultant.

The editorial decision to let quotes tell the story in the 745-page book brings decidedly good and bad results. This literary form at its best allows for uncompromised insight into the thought processes of those involved. At its worst, the method allows individuals to use the book as a vehicle to publish their resume while presenting themselves as levelheaded, wart-free saints. A high point is Jeremy Schaap recalling his interview with former world chess champion Bobby Fischer. In 1972, at the age of 29, Fischer did the nearly unthinkable beating Russian Boris Spassky for the title. The Cold War implications made the contest the most famed chess matchup in history. By the time Schaap caught up with him in 2004, Fischer was a recluse whose only public statements were anti-Semitic and anti-U.S. rants strange comments for someone who was himself a Jew. Schaap’s recollection of sitting across Fischer as he called his late father, Dick Schaap, “a typical Jewish snake” and ESPN’s coverage of the story was a network milestone.

The downsides were many: Berman feeling ESPN never had his back when it came to criticism or how “Several people changed their vote because they said McCain was nicer to me than Obama was.” Stephen A. Smith complaining how his contract (“Not many people are talented enough to have five jobs but I did.”) wasn’t renewed for reasons he hints at but never devulges. Or Jim Gray’s Pollyannaish recollection of “The Decision” and how his critics are just jealous of his career: “There isn’t a track record like this in sports.”

ESPN’s blurring of the line between news and entertainment and its monopolistic tendencies have been rightly criticized.

But one must acknowledge the network got to its position of influence by making tremendous hires who dared to take chances.

The network has had its share of duds. The ESPN phone, of which Steve Jobs said to ESPN president George Bodenheimer, “Your phone is the dumbest f***ing idea I ever heard of,” is just one example. But to its credit, ESPN has used these failures to create new products and programs or improve existing ones.

ESPN: Those Guys Have All the Fun is not a light weekend read, but a thorough look at a network that has not just reflected the current culture, but changed it in ways both good and bad.

Yani Tseng’s Taking Over For Tiger

It’s been the modern day version of the search for the Great White Hope.

Not the racist effort to reclaim Caucasian dominance in boxing, but the quest to identify someone capable of taking the mantle from Tiger Woods as the world’s most dominant golfer or at least someone good enough to provide him with some much needed competition.

Injuries have taken their toll on Woods, who has plummeted to No. 17 on the World Golf Rankings, and all the young guns who were thought capable of taking his place have failed to live up to the hype imposed on them.

Until now.

The world’s most dominate slayer of greenside competitors is not the jovial Phil Mickelson or the mature beyond his years Rory McIlroy.

It’s a small Taiwanese woman with little of the flair but every bit of Woods’ single-minded dominance.

Yani Tseng is Tiger Woods of the early aughts. In fact, she’s even better.

At just 22, the Orlando resident already owns Annika Sorenstam’s house and four of the last six majors. She has 19 wins worldwide, including eight on the LPGA Tour. In 10 starts on the LPGA Tour this year, she has eight top 10 finishes, including three wins. She has three other wins internationally. Tseng is the youngest player, man or woman, to accomplish as much since Young Tom Morris took home his fourth Open Championship in 1872 at the age of 21. One can’t speak of her “tender age” because as she has shown as much compassion for her counterparts as Joey Chestnut does a Coney Island brat.

That fact was never more obvious than at the Wegmans LPGA Championship. On the 71st hole and sitting at 18 under par, Tseng took all of her allotted time to line up a birdie putt on 17. The reason? She wanted to get to 20 under just to challenge herself on the back nine of a tournament she ran away with by 10 strokes. That’s Tigeresque.

Need more numbers?

She is currently first in rounds under par, birdies, scoring average and greens in regulation. In her last 10 rounds of golf before the U.S. Women’s Open, her stroke average was 66.9.

A win at the Open, played this past weekend and completed after MidWeek went to press, would give her the career grand slam two years earlier than Woods and a decade before Sorenstam.

A victory would also give her 15 Hall of Fame points, putting her more than halfway to the LPGA minimum of 27 for enshrinement. Even more than a few new title sponsors, the LPGA needs a superstar it can sell.

Sadly, Tseng is not that person. She’s got the game, just not personality or U.S. citizenship. To those who know her well, Tseng is a personable young athlete with a sharp sense of humor who has worked on her English skills with as much determination as she does her golf game. But without Paula Creamer’s sparkle or Michelle Wie’s PR machine, LPGA commissioner Michael Wan will be hard-pressed to market such a dominating talent.

To put it honestly, Tseng lacks the sexuality that still goes a long way in determining the marketability of female athletes. See Danica Patrick and Natalie Gulbis.

If she were a few inches taller and little bit blonder, the job would be easier. Unfortunately, there is no place in product endorsement for a female athlete without runway good looks. Even on the LPGA Tour.

Following Tseng’s victory at the LPGA Championship in Rochester, Sorenstam, in a phone interview with The Golf Channel, called Tseng “amazing” and “the new face of the LPGA.”

Sadly, that face is just not cute enough to entice advertisers.

But that’s society’s problem, not hers. She just has to keep doing what she does, and that’s being the most dominate force in golf.

Selig Responsible For Dodger Mess

Last week while flipping through the channels, I happened upon celebrity chef and noted man of anger Gordon Ramsey as he revisited a New York City restaurant to check on those he counseled. The establishment failed after one of the angry owners turned his back on the restructuring plan, and in the great tradition of mismanagers everywhere, let his ego get in the way of smart business practices. At least that’s what was shown.

This got me thinking about Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, who did everything but fly to Sicily for risotto as he squandered millions. Don’t we all have the God-given right to fail miserably while maintaining a ego that prevents us from accepting blame?

It would seem so. Unless, of course, your business is part of an organization whose charter allows for an outside agent to make financial decisions that would warrant a phone call from the Justice Department had it been in any other industry.

By now you know the story. McCourt purchased the team with money he didn’t have, and turned the franchise that gave us Jackie Robinson and the most over-hyped and worst-tasting hot dogs into a blue-and-white checkbook from which to he went on a Bernie Madoff-style spending spree. McCourt figured that if he could borrow money to purchase the team, he could do the same to bail himself out of financial difficulty. It’s a time-tested process. Spend your way into bankruptcy, then spend even more to buy your way back into solvency.

And why shouldn’t he go that route?

If the financial crisis has taught us anything, it is that increased debt burden, incorrect pricing of risk and liquidity shortfalls aren’t death sentences and can, in fact, be used to generate even more revenue to misspend.

But where the financial industry had a compliant and nearly complicit federal government willing to spend whatever was necessary to prevent a global financial meltdown, baseball has only Bud Selig. And that’s pretty much the same thing.

Much of the nation’s financial woes were created by lack of government oversight and an everyone-qualifies-for-a-mortgage philosophy. With the Dodgers, it was Selig’s need to pacify a broadcast network and to find an owner who would submit to Selig’s head-in-thesand philosophy.

Fox Entertainment Group convinced the commissioner that McCourt was a standup guy, and even loaned the parking lot baron the money to purchase the team. If allowing a person to borrow money from the very company he is purchasing isn’t bad enough, Selig conveniently ignored baseball’s 60/40 rule that limits a team’s debts to 40 percent of its value.

McCourt borrowed nearly the entire $430 million sale price from Fox, making the team’s debt to revenue balance more than slightly skewed to the negative. But that didn’t matter.

Now it does.

Why?

Because the Selig style of management is to ignore problems until they blow up, and then do as little as possible to correct the errors.

The Dodgers are no different than instant replay. After years of bad calls, Selig allowed for the inclusion of the review system, but only on a limited bases and concentrated on only those that got the worst press. He is doing the same with the Dodgers.

The commissioner has made it clear that McCourt is bad for the game and that he must be forever banned from the league. Selig’s right. McCourt is an embarrassment and needs to be shown the door.

But McCourt is not the cause of all the Dodgers’ problems. He’s a symptom of failed leadership.

Selig handed over the team to a guy who didn’t have the money to pay for his purchase.

He did much the same in San Diego when he allowed a group of unnamed partners to buy the team on credit. Selig didn’t do any better in Texas, where he allowed the sale of the team through a bankruptcy court, even though baseball rules allow the league to take over a team should it file for bankruptcy. Evidently he figured it was safer to let someone else handle the sale than letting it fall into the hands of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who has the cash and experience to be what baseball lacks an effective and free-thinking owner.

One has to wonder. What would Ramsey do?

Forcier Not Close To Being Colt 2

It seems former Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier has now added UH to the seemingly never-ending list of schools where he one day may take his talents.

And yes, South Beach, aka the University of Miami, is on that list. In fact, he did agree to join the Hurricanes but changed his mind two months later, further keeping alive a family tradition of carpetbagging quarterbacks. His brother Jason played for Michigan before transferring to Stanford. Chris, the second oldest, began his career at UCLA and moved to Furhman after coach Rick Neuheisel recruited Kevin Craft to play the position. Now it’s Little Man Tate’s turn. That’s not a slam, but the film that gave the smallest male family member his nickname.

Considering his academic issues and his journey into self-pity after being benched at Ann Arbor, UH would be best to stand clear of this talented but troubled athlete.

Some have come to call the San Diego native a Colt Brennan part II - meaning an athlete with a troubled past who later finds redemption in a new environment. This comparison makes little sense both athletically and personally.

Forcier has an average arm and enough speed to make him a threat in any offense that doesn’t require him to be a run-first option. Brennan was an extremely accurate pocket passer who ran on occasion with decent success.

But it’s not athletic ability that separates the two as much as their differences away from the field. Forcier’s history of self-interest and academic disinterest are of major concern and why, likely, after being rated one of the top five all-purpose quarterbacks coming out of high school, he remains a player without a team.

The smartest thing Brennan did upon entering the program was to not make himself the center of attention. In a 2006 interview, former UH and now Oakland Raiders center Samson Satele said Brennan was quickly embraced because he remained in the background and allowed his teammates to get used to him. Even after reaching the national stage, he often deferred to his senior classmates. It’s hard seeing Forcier acting in the same manner. Athletic teams are a contradiction in that, by necessity, they are quick to welcome new talent but can also be very insular groups. This is especially true at UH, where the majority of players enter the program with a shared cultural identity. So far, Forcier has shown little ability to simply be one of the boys. That just isn’t their MO.

This is the family that created QBforce.com, a website extolling the virtues and athletic prowess of Tate and his two ball-tossing brothers, complete with philosophical sayings, some attributed to the site itself, and from the likes of Dan Marino and Joe Paterno to go along with the requisite biblical references.

Forcier’s time at Michigan was finished once the offense was handed to Denard Robinson. Forcier stewed on the sidelines, often reacting very little with his team-mates. His final act was to become academically ineligible for the Gator Bowl.

After a couple of years in the lead post, Greg McMackin has put his stamp on the team, and the future looks bright with two young and talented coordinators. He doesn’t need a reclamation project whose expressed interest is based on having no place else to go.

Plenty Of Blame In Ohio State Case

Terrelle Pryor is now the face of Ohio State athletics and the scapegoat for all that went wrong in Columbus. According to reports, he drove cars on the Ohio State campus that did not belong to him, traded jerseys for tats and took part in autograph signings that netted him $20,000-$40,000 between 2009 and 2010. Maurice Clarrett, who himself was a talented bad boy under Jim Tressel’s watch, placed all blame on the athletes, saying no coach or booster had ever staked out an athlete. Meanwhile, the head of the asylum, still wearing crimson and silver is serenaded on his front lawn by fans and flunkies while LeBron James and Jack Nicklaus continue to pay homage to the coach.

But before we cast Pryor down to the lowest level of Dante’s toasty holding pen, let’s recognize that while he is guilty of collegiate crimes, the quarterback with questionable NFL skills is just a symptom and not the cause of all that ails the NCAA.

Us:Americans love sports. So much so that it blinds us from reality. No sooner does a child show a hint of athletic flair then he or she is placed on a pedestal. Passing grades become easier as does the ability to attract the opposite sex. Free pizzas turn into head-of-the-line privileges. Commoners wait, not celebrities. They are flown across the country and greeted with bands, five-star meals and the loving embrace of middle-aged coaches hoping this will be the person to help them maintain their $3 million salaries and their own world of celebrity entitlement.

Academics are secondary. Peak performance is everything. Assault someone or get caught driving drunk and these young adults, old enough to walk a beat in Afghanistan but too self-centered to put anyone’s life into their hands, are suddenly kids whose crimes are just mistakes that will become valuable learning experiences once the minor punishment has been served.

Meanwhile, just outside the gates of privilege, another young man, whose only examples of success are the pimps and drug dealers of his neighborhood, is arrested for selling $10 worth of stimulant to an undercover officer. His crime too heinous for forgiveness by a nation of hypocrites.

The NCAA: The governing body of university athletics lost all credibility when it caved to pressure from the BCS, the Big Ten and Sugar Bowl to allow Prior and the other members of the Furious Five to play in the New Year’s Day game after being found to have taken improper benefits. By delaying punishment, the NCAA set a precedent that will allow other players to skirt the rules as long as they are draft eligible. Before the organization can portray itself as the keeper of moral gate keeper, it must end its system that reaps favor on football and men’s basketball. According to the NCAA, “An individual loses amateur status in a particular sport when the individual asks to be placed on the draft list or supplemental draft list of a professional league in that sport.” The rule doesn’t apply to those playing NCAA basketball.

University Presidents:

More than anyone else, these select individuals are in a position to make real change in the way college athletics are handled. Yet, with the exception of Robert Maynard Hutchins, who as president of the University of Chicago in 1939 dropped varsity football, feeling it overshadowed the academic work of the institution, few have had the guts to do what is needed. Presidents have the power to eliminate the biggest threat to academic credibility - the one-and-done rule. They allow coaches to be hired even after having previous problems with rules compliance. They can approve a football tournament that will bring in millions, eliminating general fund subsidies that are necessary to keep the great majority of athletic departments afloat.

Ohio state: One has to look no further than university president E. Gordon Gee for reasons why Pryor felt so safe driving borrowed cars on campus. So beyond approach was Tressel that Gee joked about hoping the head coach wouldn’t fire him. AD Gene Smith didn’t fare any better by rushing through a sham investigation that could find none of the wrongdoing Sports Illustrated did with relative ease.

Ohio state compliance Office: Sadly, not to blame. If it hasn’t been made very clear, athletics is the first and foremost concern at any number of institutions of higher learning. Compliance officers are largely overworked and easily replaced assistants who must know the letter of the NCAA law and even more importantly how not to embrace a sanctimonious coach and, according to former Buckeye Chris Spielman, a star athlete who was allowed to play by his own rules.

The Athletes: Guilty with an asterisk. In the end, compliance falls on the athletes themselves. Regardless of the gifts dangled before them, it is their choice to follow the rules or not. But after years of being put on a pedestal, can we really be surprised when they act in a manner we have allowed?

It Won’t Be The Same Without Shaq

Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t Kareem, Wilt, Hakeem or Russell. Take away the differences in eras and he may not have been as good as George Mikan, whose dominance led to a widened lane to lessen his impact.

Arguments also can be made for comparable players such as Moses Malone and Elvin Hayes. But Shaq-Fu was unlike any who came before and likely any who will follow. Shaq wasn’t just a basketball player, he was an event.

Had he been less concerned with entertainment he would likely have been a better player, but a less memorable athlete. To see Shaq up close was to see someone almost too big to be human. To sit across from him at a press conference was to see a show - equal parts intimidation, hilarity, thought-provoking commentary, but always entertaining. He was Chamberlin in body and Magic Johnson in personality - just more of both. With expert comedic timing and the ability to provide the punchline or take on the role of straight man, O’Neal was the game’s court jester reminding us sport, even at the highest level, is supposed to be fun.

Of course, sometimes even a clown’s act can wear thin. Shaq could never seem to leave a city without burning a few bridges. He called Orlando a dried up little pond after he left for Los Angeles. And he said he never respected coach Brian Hill. Of course he had run-ins with Penny Hardaway just like he would with Kobe Bryant a few years later. Problems with Phil Jackson and Pat Riley would follow, along with his one-sided disgust of Dwight Howard copying his comic book persona.

While it sounds strange to say the 15-time All Star underachieved on the court, O’Neal could have - and probably should have - accomplished even more. He led the league in scoring just twice and never in rebounds or blocked shots, even though he had a physical advantage over everyone he played against.

To be fair, part of that was due to playing with capable supporting casts and being the most difficult player to officiate. Post play is all about position, and advantages are gained with a nudge here and an elbow there, but because of his size Shaq often couldn’t get away with such devices while such efforts by smaller big men went uncalled.

Shaq’s conditioning and his inability to control his weight also cost him the chance to achieve his ultimate goal: to be the best center in NBA history.

Much like another comical and competitive force of nature, Babe Ruth, O’Neal is known as the jolly fat man and it is forgotten that as a younger man he was an incredibly versatile athlete. Nearly as quick as he was big, O’Neal was the best ball-handling big man in history. Never had Kareem or Russell dreamed of going solo coast-to-coast or even leading a fast break. For a time, Shaq did it with ease. But as his weight crept up to nearly 400 pounds, his game suffered and his body eventually broke down.

O’Neal was bigger, stronger, funnier and more quotable than any of the aforementioned 5s, but what separates him from his athletic peers is his open appreciation for and work with law enforcement, and his commitment to education. While too many athletes and their supporters see academics as just a necessary evil on their way to athletic glory, Shaq has always been quick to discuss the importance of education. The Big Aristotle is currently working on his Ph.D. in human resource development at Berry University in Miami.

He said he will spend the next few months working on his dissertation, and from then on ... who knows?

During an interview with Ahmad Rashad at the beginning of the season, O’Neal said he hoped to play two more seasons then retire without regrets.

He left on his own terms, saying goodbye with a laugh-filled press conference.

Shaq said he will miss the competition, the media, teammates and free throws. He’s retiring his nicknames and will now just be known as The Big AARP.

Solid Brown Enters A Solid Mess

It seems strange to say a coach with a .663 winning percentage, an NBA finals appearance and a Coach of the Year award is unqualified for any job, but Mike Brown to the Lakers just doesn’t seem like the right fit.

According to a Lakers’ press release, Brown came in and simply blew away VP Jim Buss. That really shouldn’t be a surprise. At just 41, Brown has a resume few can match. He’s an acknowledged defensive whiz, worked in San Antonio during the David Robinson and Tim Duncan era (which should help him figure out the Pau Gasol/Andrew Bynum issue) and he already has experience dealing with Ron Artest when he was an assistant with the Pacers.

But for all his talents, Brown just isn’t L.A. Nor has he proven he can deal with a prima donna, let alone two or three — including those in the executive offices.

While in Cleveland, Brown may have had the title but as in most NBA cities, the real power was in the hands of his best player, LeBron James. While the dynamic worked for a time, the lack of success in the playoffs caused a rift between Brown and his generational player that eventually cost the coach his job.

Don’t be confused. Brown wasn’t fired because he won 127 regular season games in his last two seasons. He got canned because Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert needed to appease James in an effort to retain the most important athlete in the city of nearly 400,000. And even though Cleveland hired the type of coach James was asking for, he decided to take his talents to South Beach, and the city was left with the second worst team in the NBA. Will things be any easier in L.A?

Had James stayed in Cleveland, his input in the hiring process of a new coach would have been carefully cultivated. In fact Byron Scott, the man who replaced the Brown, is the type of coach James said he wanted to play for. That wasn’t the case in L.A.

Kobe Bryant wanted to see former assistant Brian Shaw get the job, but the Lakers’ most recent standard bearer wasn’t even given a courtesy call about the search or decision. Bryant isn’t as petulant as James but the idea that he’ll subjugate himself to whomever is brought in and to whatever style of play they prefer, just doesn’t jibe with modern day athletics.

Unfortunately for Brown, his troubles don’t just involve an ignored superstar or an aging roster. He also will have to deal with Buss. And not the one who brought the city 10 titles nor the one universally regarded as an astute business person with talent and moxie to spare, his sister Jeanie.

The junior Buss isn’t content just to be Jerry’s son and run the team in a manner his father would approve — successfully. He is looking to create his own legacy. Perhaps behind the questionable skills of Bynum, whom he deemed untradeable in the face of a possible deal to acquire Carmelo Anthony from Denver.

Buss rarely saw eye-to-eye with Phil Jackson and bristled at having to deal with an employee who demanded as much attention as any star athlete and whose relationship with his sister, and perceived rival, made him that much more difficult to deal with. (For a good explanation of the family dynamic, check out Sports Illustrated’s 1998 article on Jeanie Buss.) This is the dysfunctional mess in which Brown now finds himself.

FoxSports.com columnist Jason Whitlock has written that Brown was hired to do one thing, show the Lakers how to beat James. He may be partly correct. But Brown is also not Jackson, and that’s key. Jim Buss wants to be his own man, and he will never get out from under his father’s massive shadow unless he can win with a team stocked with his own players and led by his handpicked coach. That’s a scary proposition for an executive who, in that SI article, disregarded the importance of scouting saying, “If you grabbed 10 fans out of a bar and asked them to rate prospects, their opinions would be pretty much identical to those of the pro scouts.”

By all accounts, Brown is a nice guy. And you know what they say about nice guys.

Aloha, Leahey And Maybe NCAA

If Oceanic Cable is planning to use Jim Leahey in its coverage of UH athletics, no one is saying anything. OK, no one is saying anything to me. But if the Rainbow’s thrilling May 15 victory over San Jose was, in fact, his last, and what a way to go out, it will further signal the continued erosion of a career field that was once more craft that commercialism, more melodious than manic.

Whether as Jim Leahey or his wisecracking alter ego Kimo Leahi, he brought an intelligence to his broadcasts and commentary that have sadly grown out of favor in the modern world of sports broadcasting. It seems that everyone has to be either a complete homer or a seething bottle of rage just waiting to expose the indefensible weakness of the next pitcher who dares surrender a four-pitch walk.

Leahey proved there is more to calling a game than regurgitating stats and spouting cliches. A voracious reader, he brought a command of the English language and storytelling that are hallmarks of announcers who have now, sadly, mostly passed.

Consultants may argue otherwise. I’ve sat in some of those meetings. It’s 9:15 and never quarter after the hour of nine o’clock. Always use active voice even if a passive voice is able to create more emotion. Never speak above the supposed intelligence of your listeners, dumb it down.

To some, Leahey is Hawaii’s Harry Carry or Jack Buck. Perhaps a better comparison is to Chick Hearn, the Lakers’ cheerleader and critic. Leahey has never hidden his passion for all things UH nor have the name changes, uniforms, coaching moves or the dis-repair of upper campus escaped his wrath.

This is not to say Oceanic will have suffered upon Leahey a great injustice if they don’t decide to lengthen his distinguished career. Change is always difficult and always necessary. Most seem to agree that his son Kanoa is most likely to take over at least some of the broadcasting. Regardless of family succession, Kanoa has proven his talent and the ability to handle the added responsibility.

What the senior Leahey may do if not hired by OC-16 is anyone’s guess. Perhaps he’ll finally train that nasty little mutt he and Kanoa keep chained outside their PBS set. Vicious little bugger he is. But if we may ask one request before he goes, write it down.

Perhaps no one has had a better view of UH athletics over the years than he, and it would be a disservice not to share his insight into sports, politics and perhaps a little poetry thrown in for amusement.

While this is hardly a eulogy, if he broadcasts no more, we can easily say congratulations on a job well done. To quote another wordsmith of note:

For when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name, He writes - not that you won or lost - but how you played the Game.

Kimo has played it well.

Call it the first nail in the FBS coffin.

Last week Big Ten members discussed an idea that would take a portion of their TV money and put it toward paying athletes a stipend to cover incidental costs such as travel, clothes and laundry. Current scholarships cover room, board and tuition which, according to studies, is between $2,000 to $5,000 a year less than the entire cost of attending college. The cost of such a program could add up to $500,000 to an athletic department’s budget for just football and men’s basketball, which are likely the only athletes to benefit from such a plan. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany has thrown the gauntlet down on smaller schools, basically saying keep up or get out.

“How do we get back more toward the collegiate model and a regulatory system that is based more on student-athlete welfare than it is on a level playing field, where everything is about a cost issue and whether or not everybody can afford to do everything everybody else can do?” questioned the commish.

In 1973 the NCAA split its ranks into three divisions and five years later the top tier was further divided into 1 and 1A. The time for another split is coming, and the NCAA can do nothing about it.

The BCS was created for the sole purpose of maintaining a level of power and exclusion.

Faced with possible lawsuits and congressional inquiry, the Big Six conferences and Notre Dame are searching for ways to protect their monopoly.

They may have just found it.

Implementing such a spending plan would require a majority vote of D-1 members, and the big boys just don’t have the votes, which is to their benefit. Without the support of the other D-1 members, the Six can claim unfair practices of their own as the reason for either exiting the NCAA or forcing it to create a top tier division made up of just the biggest and best.

Of course, they will have some Title IX issues to work out, but there are enough lawyers and accountants in Ann Arbor, Chicago and Columbus to find a way around that problem and to further reduce the importance of a college education.

Seve’s Gone, But Impact Remains

The Spanish flag at the World Golf Hall of Fame is being flown at half-staff. Just as the scarlet and gold ensigns were at the Spanish Open, the Players Championship and no doubt at golf courses through out Europe.

When the news was announced that Seve Ballesteros had taken an unexpected turn for the worse, shock ran through the tournament at the Real Club de Golf El Prat in Barcelona, changing the event from a celebration to a memorial. Jose Maria Olazabal, who paired with Ballesteros to make the most dominant pairing in Ryder Cup history, and Miguel Angel Jimenez were beside themselves with grief. Their hearts too broken to do anything but weep, the pair refused all efforts to speak of their rounds or their suddenly ill friend. Hours later the most important person in European golf was gone. Dead at the age of 54 after a long battle with brain cancer.

As Lee Westwood said, golf has “lost an inspiration, genius, role model, hero and friend.” Olazabal cried on the practice range the next day.

It’s hard to over-emphasize the Spaniard’s impact on the game. Besides Arnold Palmer, no one had a bigger impact on the sport than Ballesteros. While Gary Player brought top flight golf to nearly every corner and Tiger Woods brought excitement to a sport many thought too boring to warrant attention, Ballesteros inspired an entire continent to reach sports’ greatest heights.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Ballesteros was the nation’s most visible person as it emerged from the dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco. “He was a symbol of the new, democratic Spain,” said Zapatero to reporters in Madrid. “Open to the world, without complexes, and capable of being up there with the best in any discipline, including those we had hardly any tradition of, like golf.”

Seve’s success came not just from his immense talent, but also pride and a fierce competitive spirit rarely seen in his sport. As he once famously said of his prematch routine: “I would look my opponent in the eye, shake his hand, pat him on the back and wish him luck all the while thinking, “I’m going to bury you.”

He willed not only himself to victory but forced the best out of those around him.

Ballesteros had to be talked into playing in the Ryder Cup but once he accepted he became Europe’s driving force. He scolded his teammates for hanging their heads after losing to the U.S. by a point in 1983. “That was the spark, said Nick Faldo years later. “By 1985, we knew we could do it, we could win the Ryder Cup.”

That burning desire to win didn’t always sit well with opponents or even the European Tour, which he once referred to as the PGA Mafia after refusing to accept a penalty for slow play.

In 1991 Ballesteros referred to the American team as “11 nice guys and Paul Azinger.”

Azinger responded, saying, “The king of games-manship doesn’t like me? Good. A feather in my cap.”

Ballesteros would do anything to win. That same year he made chocking sounds as he ate a piece of cake while competitor and good friend Nick Price was in the middle of his back-swing. So often did Seve seem to have a throat ailment during the Ryder Cup that some opponents carried cough drops in mock support. As European captain for the 1997 Ryder Cup at Valderrama Golf Club in Spain, he had certain greens mowed during the rounds without telling the Americans.

But for all his nastiness at times, his talent was such that even those he upset could not help but admire his game. Ballesteros was the greatest scrambler in the history of the sport. He routinely turned bad drives into remarkable scoring opportunities. It didn’t matter if he was behind a bush, under a tree, in a parking lot, on a thin lie or in the deepest U.S. Open rough, everyone knew he would find a way to get up and down.

He was Palmer with a tan and Mickelson with a washboard stomach.

Ballesteros won 87 times worldwide and five majors.

If not for a bad back and his willingness to carry European golf on his shoulders, he surely would have won more. As Faldo has said, “Even the mightiest can only go so often to the well for inspiration, and the Ryder Cup took plenty from Seve’s life battery.”

For nearly three years Ballesteros fought cancer with as much determination and class as anyone can. In the process he reminded everyone of the fire that made him a champion.

“I’ve had a very good life. I’m sure that some people will feel sorry for me or maybe cry when they see this,” he said in a BBC interview in October.

“But I feel very happy and a very lucky person because throughout my life I have had so many great moments and I feel that I lived two or three more lives than the average person.

“This thing that happened to me is a very little thing compared to other people who have tougher times. They didn’t have the opportunity to live life so intensely and as well as I did.”

Hockey, Trump And bin Laden

If Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman had any idea who I am or resided on Oahu so he could enjoy the free weekly mailing of this fine product - a shameless plug, I admit - then he may be rightly concerned about getting any level of support in this space.

After all, it was just a week ago that the crack Hot Air editorial team declared the Red Wings a serious Cup contender. Detroit repaid this confidence by nearly pulling the inglorious quadruple double, sweeping one team before being swept by the next. But that’s a risk the Hall of Famer is forced to take.

The Lightning’s four game destruction of Washington says as much about Tampa’s progression in the playoffs as it does about the Capitals’ annual post-season collapse. With six-time all-star Martin St. Louis, center Vincent Lecavalier and sophomore Steven Stamkos, Yzerman’s guys can light the lamp. But it is the improved play of goalie Dwayne Roloson that has led the team to seven straight wins. That, and Washington’s annual April choke job. The veteran net minder, who has a 214-241-42 career mark with six teams, leads full-time playoff goalies with a 2.01 goals against average and .941 save percentage, which are big improvements over his regular season numbers of 2.59 and .914 respectively. That he has faced a playoff high 389 shots is even more impressive.

Tampa will face either Boston or Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference finals, and Roloson is going to need more help on the defensive end as the pair of possible opponents (as of May 5) have put a combined 722 shots on goal.

* At last, some good news.

Egoestate developer Donald Trump has declined, after accepting, the offer to be the celebrity pace car driver at the Indianapolis 500. Thank God for the 18,130 people who “liked” the We Don’t Want Donald Trump to Drive the Indy 500 Pace Car Facebook page, or whoever is responsible. Trump said he made the decision because of scheduling problems and because he thought it was inappropriate for him to do so while continuing the farce that he is considering a run for president. Whatever. At least he is gone.

The idea of Trump filling this unimportant position was a bad one from the start. The so-called Greatest Spectacle in Racing has seen its popularity tank over the last decade and is looking for anyone or anything to generate interest. How an overhyped media whore is going to reverse this trend is anyone’s guess.

Celebrities are nothing new at Indy. For years the pace car driver (on the starting lap and not during cautions) has been made up of celebrities and former drivers. In recent years the job has gone to Gen. Colin Powell, Lance Armstrong, Emerson Fittipaldi and, for some unexplainable reasons, Josh Duhamel, Robin Roberts and Patrick Dempsy. What the ... ??!!

No one they put in the 2011 Camaro is, by himor herself, going to suddenly rescue the race from the abysmal plain of ratings, but the iconic race is celebrating its 100th anniversary and this is not the time for cheap gimmicks. A. J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears have each won a record four races at Indy and their inclusion would properly honor the race’s history. Plus, at a combined age of 268, the trio may not be around much longer to take part in such an event.

* One last note: Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall has largely been treated as a pariah following his Twitter posting questioning people’s reactions to Osama bin Laden’s death and the attack on the World Trade Center. While the ire of his critics is understandable, it would be wrong to paint Mendenhall a complete nut job or totally un-American. In fact, remove his “We’ve only heard one side ...” and his comments pose a thoughtful, ethical and spiritual argument: Is it proper to celebrate the death of another human even if that person is evil?

There was something unsettling about seeing thousands of Americans take to the streets in actions that were eerily similar to the anti-U.S. demonstrations we’ve seen in other countries. Don’t get me wrong - bin Laden is dead and that’s a good, perhaps a great thing. But dancing on the grave of one’s enemy is hardly a display of morality. We should be better than that.

Mendenhall also tweeted, “I believe in God. I believe we are all his children. And I believe he is the one and only judge. Those who judge others will also be judged themselves.” If that is a true expression of his religious beliefs, then it would be hypocritical had he followed the masses and celebrated the terrorist’s death. Then again, hypocrisy thrives in the dogma of the masses.

As far as him not believing what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, well, that club has a few million members.

Jimmer: New Flavor Of Reality Love

It seems like a story ripped from Signs of the Apocalypse. By that I mean the Sports Illustrated feature and not any biblical reference or Coast to Coast conspiracy theory.

Jimmer Fredette, the Naismith Award-winner who has never been known to go third person, has signed to star in a reality TV show joining Snookie, The Situation, Tila Tequila, the gals from Flavor of Love, Rock of Love, random skanks (did I just repeat myself four times?) and other assorted has beens, wannabes and “please pay attention to mes.”

The former Cougar sharp shooter said the show will allow him to share the excitement he’s feeling about his soon-to-begin NBA career with his fans. No comment has yet been released by BYU’s Honor Code office. Fredette is no longer a student, and a quick glance at the rules mentions nothing specific about triple kissing in a Vegas hot tub. So he should be good to go. That is unless Trishelle Cannatella makes a showing. Either way, he is going to get paid.

According to the Daily Beast, Kim Kardashian, the top-grossing reality performer, pulls down $6 mil a year for doing little more than ... well, I have no idea what she does except show off her big assets on TV and magazine covers. That wasn’t a criticism, by the way. Keep doing what you do, girl. Whatever that is.

The project is being produced by Van Morrison ripoffs Tupelo-Honey Productions, which will follow Fredette and his family as they get involved in all sorts of typically outrageous and wacky reality show situations like going to church, eating well-balanced meals and working out for NBA execs. Man, it’s going to get crazy up in there!

Tupelo-Honey president Cary Glotzer said in a statement, “It is not often you see a player with such talent, integrity and inspiration.” Oh crap! There go the ratings.

Fredette is from New York but is hardly New York. Heck, he isn’t even Vanilla Ice. It seems they are banking on viewers actually caring about someone with intelligence and character, but that hasn’t been seen in this format since Pedro Zamora allowed the world to watch as he slowly succumbed to AIDS 17 years ago.

Reality TV works because it’s cheap and it allows the viewer to feel superior to the wealthy and morally handicapped pseudo celebs who play characters based upon themselves. That’s going to be hard with one of the most normal athletes to come around in some time. But fame has a way of turning even the most level-headed individuals into ego obsessed divas who squander millions in their search for even more notoriety. So there is hope. more bizarre than reality.

Let’s put the questions to rest right now. Ohio State will not fire Jim Tressel. The university will let the NCAA go through its dog and buck-eye show and when the timing is appropriate - meaning when it becomes obvious the school and its once untouchable coach is set to get hammered - Tressel will resign. With the negotiated settlement check in his back pocket, he’ll claim he is stepping down to spare the school and his players any further suffering. He won’t admit to any wrong-doing, and university president E. Gordon Gee and athletic director Gene Smith will glowingly recall how Tressel, even though he made mistakes which won’t be addressed, brought honor and success to the program. Then they will make a run at Urban Myer. The old coach will lie low for a season, no more than two, before signing a broadcasting deal, likely with ESPN, which may pair him with Matt Millen to reinforce the notion that integrity is nice but knowledge and good pipes are critical.

Sweep Makes Wings A Cup Favorite

One series does not a champion make. But the Detroit Red Wings’ beat-down of Phoenix does add a bit more uncertainty in the Western Conference - and thus the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The veteran team that refuses to get old and eventually slide out of Cup contention leads all playoff teams in scoring and scoring differential. They did so without leading scorer Henrik Zetterberg, who missed the entire series because of an injured left knee. Johan Franzen, who led Detroit with 28 regular season goals, missed the series clincher with an injured left ankle. Both are expected back for the second round of the playoffs.

To be sure, Phoenix isn’t a world beater. Ilya Brygalov was leaky in goal and the Coyotes simply lacked the Wings’ depth. Plus, Phoenix is a team without an owner - and perhaps even a city - and that has to weigh heavily on a organization desperate for success. Coyote’s coach Dave Tippett called the team’s ownership issues “a competitive disadvantage.” The league and would-be owner Matthew Hulsizer are negotiating with Goldwater Institute, a conservative watchdog organization that has threatened a lawsuit against the city, believing the bond initiative the city has created to fulfill its lease agreement with Hulsizer violates Arizona’s anti-subsidy law.

Detroit’s domination means that what seemed to be a twoor three-team race is suddenly more wide open.

And what makes the Wings challenging going forward is depth and experience. Against Phoenix, 13 different players scored a goal for the Wings and 16 registered at least a point. Detroit’s skaters also have a combined 1,710 playoff games under their belts, which is going to be beneficial as any march to the Cup is going to come on the road. Although first-round sweeps have led to long playoff runs for the Wings in recent years, in 2008 they won the Cup and the next year lost in the finals, Detroit’s regular season defensive woes are a strong reminder that even experience is no guarantee against mental lapses.

The Red Wings finished second in scoring during the regular season, but were a pedestrian eighth in goals allowed and 19th in scoring differential. Even worse was their 17th place finish in penalty killing. Jimmy Howard did improve his goals against average from 2.79 in the regular season to 2.50 in the playoffs, but remains a streaky netminder capable of being both brilliant and thoughtless. But shoddy goalkeeping has been a trend so far with several teams.

After going up 3-0 against Chicago, Vancouver (No. 1 seed in the West) got worked in its next two games by a combined score 12-2. San Jose (No. 2) gave up an average of 3.50 goals and needed two overtimes to take a 2-1 lead over the seventh-seeded Kings. Washington and Philadelphia, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the East respectively, have played good defense (1.75 and 2.0 goals against) but have struggled offensively (2.50 and 2.25) against two underwhelming opponents.

Over the overly long NHL playoffs, talent is usually the great equalizer, and unless a goalie gets hot, surprise winners are not that common.

President Trophy-winning Vancouver, with the league’s best scoring duo in Daniel and Henrik Sedin and Venzina finalist Roberto Luongo in net, were a clear favorite, as was Washington with its defense and the takeover talent of Alexander Ovechkin. But after Detroit’s first round sweep and the return of its two high-scoring forwards, the power may just have shifted.

A Fascination With Men Wilting

In golf, frustration is part of the attraction. The sport that was apparently invented by mad Scotsmen to confound the enemy by forcing upon them an addiction that would take their cash and sanity while they helplessly begged for more, is truly an unholy evil. But for all its glorious destruction, even a demolition derby can at times be hard to watch.

That was the case during the Masters. After leading the tournament for 63 holes, 21-year-old Rory McIlroy wilted under the same pressure that has made journeymen legends, turned legends into losers and resulted in more broken clubs and bad language than any other four hours in sports.

McIlroy was trying to become the second youngest person ever to win the Masters, following only Tiger Woods. And as Jason Day said of Woods following the Australian’s final round, that guy’s a freak. So he doesn’t count.

While it was easy to watch with compassionate pain for the young Northern Irishman, very few can understand the pressure he was under. Leading a major through 72 holes is the toughest mental task in sport. The Super Bowl, World Series, even World Cup pale in comparison.

Every participant in a golf tournament is alone. The caddy is there, and in some rare pairings the bag toter can be as much friend as employee - see Tiger and Steve Williams, Phil Mickelson and Jim “Bones” MacKay. But those aren’t the norm. And even the caddies who do have a close relationship with their boss can do little more than watch while the meltdown occurs. Sure, other sports are played as solo events - tennis, boxing, various Olympic sports - but those contests leave little time for thought. Golf provides nothing but time to relive failure.

Quarterbacks are the focus of attention during the Super Bowl and every Stanley Cup loss is largely blamed on the goalie, but each, no matter their skill, toughness or impact, are just one piece of a larger whole. McIlroy has no blockers for protection, no 98 mph heater to bail him out, no big-bodied blue-liner to keep opponents out of his face.

An additional challenge McIlroy faced that is completely foreign to his non-golf colleagues is the constant changing of the field of play. Every football field is the same. The soccer pitch doesn’t change as teams climb the World Cup ladder and the distance between bases throughout the Major Leagues will always be 90 feet. Every day is different at the Masters. Tee and hole positions change, forcing contestants to alter their swing and targets. Wind is also a factor, as is heat, rain and as was seen at the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship in February, even hail and snow.

McIlroy is far from being the only talented ball striker to succumb to his own frailties. Jean Vandevelde went from obscurity to infamy after choking away the Open Championship in 1999. PGA Hall of Famer Greg Norman, who spent 331 weeks at No.1, is forever remembered for blowing a six-shot lead on the final day of the 1996 Masters. Both achievements were notable enough to be ranked third and fourth on ESPN’s worst chokes in 2004. They are hardly the only two. There was Mickelson at the 2006 U.S. Open. Just mention Winged Foot and any golf fan will recall his inability to find the fairway on the closing holes. Arnold Palmer, who overcame a seven-stroke deficit to win the 1960 U.S. Open., gave away as many strokes on the back nine to lose the 1966 U.S. Open to Billy Casper.

Golf doesn’t require the physical skills necessary to play in the NBA, NFL or the English Premier League, but it is unparalleled in its requirement for mental strength.

The one who wins is the person who can most often pair the physical skills with mental stability. Do both and you get the green jacket. Do just the mental and you may still edge out enough space to claim victory. Do only the physical and you have no chance.

UH Sports A Losing Proposition

Gary Cunningham’s review of the University of Hawaii athletic department finances was both a blessing and a curse.

Cunningham, a former athletic director at Fresno State, UC Santa Barbara and Wyoming, came to the conclusion the department is well-run - that’s the good news.

He also said its financial problems are unlikely to go away anytime soon - that’s the bad news.

Cunningham, who was paid $10,000 for his report, recommended the school forgive the $9.5 million athletic department debt plus create new revenue streams that range from the obvious (getting a portion of parking and eliminating the Blaisdell’s first refusal, which would allow Stan Sheriff Center to host concerts) to the never-likely-to-happen (adding luxury suites to the SSC).

As reported in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser last week, the report stated “there is no way for the athletics department to be competitive in Division IA athletics in the future unless budgeted expenses are increased and the university accepts the fact that to be competitive there will be an annual generated net loss.”

That’s a terrifying sentence for a university bogged down with a couple hundred million-dollar maintenance backlog, reduced class availability and an academic staff exhausted from budget cuts. With an expected cut in funding to the university from the state, adding yet another bill would be a tough sell for all interested parties.

“If someone wants to donate $10 million to the athletic department that would be great, but otherwise where would it (the money) come from?” asked David Duffy, a professor of botany at UH. “We have one building closed. We have a couple others, if one more elevator breaks the building can’t be used for classes because of American with Disabilities Act issues.”

Duffy said solving the athletic department’s financial woes will depend on finding a balance that satisfies not only coaches and professors, but elected officials and the general public.

“Some people would say getting rid of athletics is like getting rid of Latin. Both are character-building, and there are a lot of people who have no use for Latin. But for those who take it, it is really useful, just like sailing is to others.”

Cunningham’s recommendations should come as no surprise. Few athletic departments are able to operate without some assistance from the university. According to the NCAA Revenues and Expenses of Division I Intercollegiate Athletics Programs Report Fiscal Years 2004, 2005 and 2006, only 19 Football Bowl Subdivision (D-1) schools generated revenue that exceeded expenses for fiscal year 2006. What is missing in self-generating revenue is often made up for by contributions from the school’s general fund. This amount of athletic budget assistance represents, on average, approximately 5 percent of total institutional expenses, says the NCAA.

Even if the university is able to generate the needed funds, it wouldn’t guarantee future financial stability. College athletics is a poorly run business. Like the many of teenagers who make up a large part of college rosters, athletic administrations spend with little concern for the future. Again, going back to the NCAA report, the median generated revenues for FBS school increased 9 percent from 2005 to 2006 and 16 percent from 2004 to 2006, but expenses over that time increased 15 percent from 2005 to 2006 and 23 percent for the two years from 2004 to 2006.

To be fair, not all the budgetary problems are because of the self-imposed arms race that has led to the uncontrolled spending. Unlike most businesses that can simply dump unprofitable subsidiaries, universities are saddled with many financially draining athletic programs because of federal and NCAA mandates. This is the point where Title IX opponents begin to flame with anger. But the ire is misplaced. Title IX did add to the department’s economic burden, but it is necessary and fair, so get over it.

If there is one thing the report clearly points out, it is that the athletic department is in a tough position. Expenses will continue to grow, and those charged with generating revenue will be hard-pressed to make up the difference. Cunningham said athletics director Jim Donovan is doing a better job than most of his WAC and Mountain West counterparts when it comes to generating income.

This isn’t an issue for one person. Maintaining a viable athletic and academic institution requires a statewide effort.

There’s A Right Way To Negotiate

With the NFL lockout now in its fourth week and with talks frozen until sometime after Judge Susan Nelson rules on the union’s injunction to block the lockout, the odds of any negotiation taking place before May is quite remote. Then again, it seems that very little meaningful discussion has occurred at all.

I can’t say whether the two sides were paying attention in December when the idea of mediation was raised in this very space, but they did the unthinkable and tried something new. Then they did the thinkable, barely putting in any real effort to make progress, which brings the two sides to where they are now - nowhere closer to solving their differences than they were six months ago.

The critical problem with the negotiations thus far has been that both sides seem intent on sticking to power positions instead of looking for ways to create added value for both parties. This is a big no-no according to Roger Fisher and William Ury in their influential guide to negotiation, Getting to Yes, Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In.

The two members of the Harvard Negotiation Project lay out four steps to get past conflicts that delay or prevent settlements; separate people from the problem; focus on interests, not positions; invent options for mutual gain and insist on using objective criteria.

It’s clear the warring parties don’t think very highly of each other. Both sides have for months used the media in an attempt to sway public opinion.

This can be an effective strategy if an employer is very protective of its public image or if employees are in a situation like the HECO workers who took a hit after going on strike the same day thousands of Oahu residents lost their power. Neither the NFL nor the players have this concern since the public is pretty much sick of both.

Being able to separate people from the problem isn’t easy. Regardless of experience or intent, each participant in a negotiation brings with them particular prejudices. Even if both sides are committed to finding a solution that moves them away from fixed sums to a position of increased mutual gain, cultural, professional and ethical differences can get in the way. And when things get contentious, as they have between the owners and the union, finding common ground is even more difficult. Called “reactive devaluation,” the mutual distrust means that any concession from one side is automatically devalued just because it comes from the other side. As Fisher and Ury write, “Ultimately ... conflict lies not in objective reality, but in people’s heads.”

And make no mistake about it, there is a lot of conflict in the heads of union chief DeMaurice Smith and NFL negotiator Jeff Pash. We saw this last week when Smith chided the league after the league made a $177 million deposit to complete its payment to a player benefit program. “NFL players would like to thank the NFL for issuing a press release touting their contractual and legal obligations,” he said.

Fisher and Ury write that when parties negotiate over positions, they lock themselves into those positions and that leads to a new interest in saving face. One way to get past the conflict is to quit attacking the other side’s position and instead look for the interests behind it. That is key, because as of yet both sides have been committed to advancing their position instead of exploring their interests.

Which fits with Fisher and Ury’s second point to focus on interests and not positions. The difference between the two is simple enough; a position is what you want and interest is why you want it. For example, the NFLPA does not want an 18-game season. That is their position. The reason they don’t want it, at least publicly, is health concerns. That is their interest.

No doubt the biggest mistake the NFL is making in reference to Getting to Yes is the failure to use objective criteria. Fisher and Ury say parties must “insist” on this type of cooperation. For more months than anyone can remember, the union has been asking the league to fully disclose its financial information. The league has refused until recently when it offered to submit an audited profitability data of the combined 32 teams to the union. The NFLPA rejected the offer saying it wanted audited information from each individual team. This information is critical. Without equal access to information, it will be very difficult for either side to move from its bottom-line positions to one that will expand economic opportunities for both parties. Which is what a negotiation is supposed to do.

One of the strongest weapons anyone has during a negotiation is the ability to simply walk away. Known as a BATNA (Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement) this sets a minimum for what either side will agree to. Much like shopping for a new car, if the dealer cannot meet your target price, the best alternative could be going to another dealer or keeping the car you have. The only alternative to a negotiated agreement for the owners and the players is no NFL football.

With such a BATNA, the only option is to talk. How long that will take remains a mystery.

Victory’s Just One Arnold Challenge

In the post-game news conference following UH’s loss to San Francisco in the CollegeInsider.com tournament, a somber and reflective Gib Arnold evaluated the season saying the team met every goal in its effort to create a foundation for further success.

While it has only been one season and their success was against teams far removed from the Top 25, Arnold made progress. For the first time in years the Rainbow Warriors were exciting to watch and their commitment to defense paid off as the team finished eighth in the nation in field goal percentage allowed.

With an intense style of play and a staff constructed to take advantage of international relationships, the expectation of greater success no longer seems a far-fetched idea.

Despite the challenges of geography, a near nonexistent local talent base and budgeting concerns that make upper campus anything but attractive, bringing in consistently better talent won’t be as difficult as building a culture of fan support from among the current crop of attendees who vacillate between disinterest and slight amusement.

The challenges facing Arnold in this phase of his building plan were never more evident than in that final contest. Though leading for most of the game, the crowd of 6,200-plus only occasionally found the inspiration to offer any real vocal support, nor the time to stretch their legs in any real physical sign of emotion - that is, until the loss was determined and the exodus began. With 0.5 seconds left and UH’s hopes of a comeback against USF dashed, fans streamed en mass out of the arena, rushing to save whatever few minutes they could in their effort to exit the parking structure in a timely manner.

Meanwhile, a stunned Bill Amis looked toward the rafters, seeing his college career come to a disappointing end. No doubt the talented big man was just gazing off in disbelief and not focusing on the mass migration that was occurring before him and his teammates, but he had to have seen it.

The departures didn’t present a nice visual from court level, and must have looked - and felt - worse after suffering a final-second loss after a season exceeding expectations. In total, there couldn’t have been more than a few dozen who bothered to stay, stand and recognize the achievement.

And that’s the real challenge Arnold faces in creating a successful program.

The Stan Sheriff Center is a damn fine place to watch a sporting event, but it has long had a problem with fans who treat the arena seats as an extension of their living room.

While everyone has the right to sit quietly if they so wish, doing so does nothing to create a true home-court advantage or inspire recruits to make a 3,000-mile move.

The basketball staff is up against a hard fight. Student turnout, which is key to creating an exciting environment, is not high enough to warrant moving them closer to the action. Many in the lower bowl seem content to be merely spectators, and the general public hasn’t been interested enough to regularly push attendance over the 50 percent mark in years.

Plus, Oahu’s military has yet to embrace UH as their home team, and that’s a market waiting to be tapped. Trust me, I’ve lived in the barracks at Pearl Harbor and it certainly ain’t a place for quiet reflection on game night.

* A quick, slick side note on the NHL:

Winning the President’s Cup (given to the team with the best record, i.e., most points) has been a death sentence for many Stanley Cup hopefuls. Chasing the honor can leave a team weary and beaten. In the 24 years the award has been given out, only seven clubs have turned such regular season success into a Stanley Cup title.

Though history is against them, it is hard not to make Vancouver the favorite. The Canucks are crazy-good at home (25-8-5), have the two top scorers in the league in twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin, and goalie Roberto Luongo is third in goals against average and save percentage. If that isn’t enough, Vancouver is first in power play percentage and third in penalty killing - both of which are critical in the playoffs.

An Incomplete ‘Fab Five’ Film

At it’s best, ESPN’s documentary on Michigan’s Fab Five reminds viewers of the most talented starting unit in NCAA history and the unquestioned excitement it brought to college basketball.

At its worst, it fails to connect the dots in a series of events that turned an under-dog national champion into a rogue program where boosters felt little need to cover up their actions.

At its most inflammatory, the film’s executive producer and his teammates, recalling the ignorance of youth, disparage a program and its athletes.

Lacking the cultural perspective to accurately assess the issue, it would be ignorant for me to comment on the appropriateness of Jalen Rose’s “Uncle Tom” comment. What is clear is that the term, even if it expresses the opinion made by a teenager some 20 years ago, still carries considerable weight, and its ability to hurt and offend remains effective. We were reminded of this fact in the wonderfully articulate rebuttal by Grant Hill, who was the main subject of the attack. Rose’s comments may have been ignorant, but taken in context it is easy to understand why he felt the way he did.

Regardless of race, looking negatively at those who have more than us is a common American and perhaps international reaction. It’s easy to hide behind the wall of our own ignorance and find solace among those more like ourselves whose distrust of outsiders further feeds resentment.

“I was jealous of Grant Hill,” said Rose in the film. “He came from a great black family. Congratu-lations. Your mom went to college and was roommates with Hillary Clinton. Your dad played in the NFL and was a very well-spoken and successful man. I was upset and bitter that my mom had to bust her hump for 20-plus years. I was bitter that I had a professional athlete that was my father that I didn’t know. I resented that more so than I resented him. I looked at it as they are who the world accepts and we are who the world hates.”

Rose said basketball - and life - were very different in west Detroit, where guns were common at games as were spectators threatening violence should the favored team lose. Video evidence of the rough nature of Detroit public school basketball became evident when a young Rose was nearly decapitated while trying to drive to the basket. His opponent never looked back, and no one seemed particularly surprised even as Rose was placed on a stretcher and taken off the court.

So, in that context, Rose’s beliefs were understandable even if his comments were inappropriate. Was Hill’s disgust with the comment fair? Sure. He felt the need to defend his family and the idea that a successful home life is something to be celebrated and not disparaged.

With all the discussion over those few short moments of the film, another key part of the story has been ignored: the disintegration of institutional control and the string of curious decisions and opinions that provided a road map to trouble.

* Coach Steve Fisher was in the hot seat after getting knocked out in the second round of the NCAA tournament one year after winning the title in 1989. The following year, the Wolverines bowed out in the first round of the NIT. Facing criticism whether he could recruit players good enough to win another championship, he lands four of the top 11 high school players in the country. The fifth recruit, Ray Jackson, was ranked the 46th best player in the country.

* Shortly after Rose signed his letter of intent, his high school coach, Perry Watson, was hired by Fisher to be an assistant coach.

* Days after losing to Duke in the NCAA title game, the team flew to Europe to play against professional teams. The trip left a mark. “It made us feel like pros,” says Rose in the film. ” And it made us start paying attention to the business aspects of the game. We’re in Europe playing pro teams, the stands are full. Somebody is getting paid this summer and it ain’t us.”

* In 1992, the group of five sophomores staged a protest. They began their warmups at a game wearing plain blue T-shirts. “They didn’t say Michigan. They didn’t say Nike. They didn’t say anything. That was our silent protest,” said Rose.

We learn the guys felt exploited after going into a Nike outlet in Chicago and seeing Fab Five shoes, hats and shirts in the store.

“That’s when you start realizing that having your own shoes doesn’t necessarily put money in your pocket,” said Rose.

Is it too much to assume that after seeing their image sold for millions, and in the wake of their protest, that some began to look elsewhere for compensation? The film tells us merchandising sales rose from $1.6 million following their 1989 championship to more than $10 million during the two years the five remained a unit. After all, this was a group of players used to special treatment.

Center Juwan Howard said they didn’t enjoy their trip to Europe because, “We were spoiled.” Eric Riley, the starting center before the five arrived, said, “Anyone is going to have resentment if your boss brings in some other people above you and treats them so much better than they treated you.”

The film doesn’t attempt to connect these facts with the program’s eventual fall from grace. An investigation, which involved the U.S. Attorney’s Office, later found that Chris Webber, Maurice Taylor, Robert Traylor and Louis Bullock borrowed a total of $616,000 from booster Ed Martin, whom Rose said was known as “Big Money” Ed.

It’s the most glaring omission from the thought-provoking and entertaining documentary.

Tressel’s Case Is Now Up To NCAA

Jim Tressel is full of crap. Then again so is major college athletics.

After more than 10 years of doing so, Stanford, according to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle, finally decided to discontinue its “Courses of Interest” handout that highlighted easy classes. The list, available only at the Athletic Academic Resource Center, was halted after reporters started asking questions.

So no one should be surprised that Tressel withheld information about six of his players, who sold or traded memorabilia for cash and other considerations, even if said actions are in clear violation of NCAA rules.

Five of the athletes, including starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor, will be suspended for the first five games of the season. Tressel, for his efforts in trying to cover up the misdeeds, was hit with a two-game suspension by the university and fined $250,000 - which amounts to less than one month’s pay. The suspension will mean the Buckeyes coach will miss traditional tomato cans Akron and Toledo.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith did say he considered even more drastic measures, but decided to let Tressel participate in spring practice and the lucrative summer camps. Good thing, too. The last thing OSU needs is a band of angry 11-year-olds writing angry Facebook notes about their ruined summer.

Tressel’s excuse for not reporting the violations to Smith or the NCAA would be laughable if it weren’t so sad. Not that his “I felt at the time I was doing the right thing for the safety of the young people and the situation” wasn’t moving. I mean, the guy does wear a WWJD bracelet on the sidelines.

Sidebar: What would Jesus do? I am no expert in ecclesiastic studies, but I’d bet a man so profound that he helped inspire such fashionable and ethical wrist wear wouldn’t purposely withhold information regarding possible illegal activities. Then again Jesus was never asked to do anything as critical as win football games.

Back to the subject at hand.

Tressel’s flaunting of the rules shows not a lack of personal accountability but the systematic disregard for the very terms of employment the school and NCAA require. Why should Tressel apologize and admit to any wrongdoing when university leadership remains willing participants?

Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee defended his coach, saying, “The integrity of this program and the integrity of this coach is absolutely superb.” This about the coach who supervised two other recent rules violators, Troy Smith and Maurice Clarett. And Ray Isaac. The Youngstown State QB entered campus with empty pockets and was quickly introduced to businessman Michael Monus, who was on the search committee that hired Tressel. Monus also was a regular on the sidelines at Penguins games. In a 2004 ESPN story, citing sources and court documents, the network reported Tressel put the pair together to find a job for the freshman. The NCAA was not able to prove the coach had knowledge of the reported $10,000 in payments and for the Columbus-based university, that was good enough.

So why should Tressel accept blame when the university won’t? So unconcerned over the issue was Ohio State leadership that Gee said, when asked if he considered firing Tressel, “No, are you kidding me? Let me be very clear. I’m just hoping the coach doesn’t dismiss me.”

Gee said he was joking. Was he? University presidents are easier to find than football coaches who win 106 games in 10 years while taking home seven conference titles and, most importantly, beat their rival in nine of those 10 contest. Even if he isn’t fearful for his employment, this was hardly the time to be cavalier.

Tressel still faces an NCAA investigation. But why should he worry? The organization has already proven pliable to powerful influences. The Ohio six was outed long before last year’s Sugar Bowl but the players were allowed to compete following phone calls from bowl officials and Big Ten offices. So why should he worry about future repercussions even if he knowingly played ineligible players for an entire season?

Give BYU Credit For Enforcing Code

In a community where nearly anything related to BYU conjures up images of original sin, it may seem risky to heap praise on the Provo school that, for decades, abused Hawaii’s favorite athletic program.

But fair is fair. While BYU’s honor code may seem unenforceable and outdated, the school’s adherence to the policy that directs its students to follow a strict code of conduct based on the university’s religious foundation, even if it costs them athletically, is admirable.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported last week forward Brandon Davies was dismissed from the basketball team after admitting to having sex with his girlfriend. At nearly every other school in the nation, such a revelation would be greeted with complete disinterest. After all, sex in college is as common as Sunday night cram sessions. But BYU views such conduct in a much different light. Its honor code requires students to “live a chaste and virtuous life,” in addition to other social requirements that secular institutions would be wise to adopt: being honest, obey the law, use clean language, respect others, observe grooming standards.

The school’s actions become even more noteworthy in the face of a Sports Illustrated/CBS News study that found 7 percent

of college football players on teams in SI‘s top 25 have been charged or cited for a crime. Of the 277 incidents uncovered, 40 percent involved violent crimes: assault, domestic violence, robbery and sexual offenses. The numbers would be higher, but many states do not release juvenile criminal records. According to the report, 80 percent of the student-athletes investigated fell under such laws. SI.com writer B.J. Schecter called the 7 percent figure a “very conservative baseline” since both Texas and California, two major football recruiting areas, carefully guard juvenile records. He and fellow writer Andy Staples estimated the number could be doubled if all records were available or if they had included minor crimes.

BYU’s concern over maintaining strict adherence clearly separates it from the lack of accountability at most universities. Just last week Washington State guard Klay Thompson was suspended for one game after being cited for possessing 1.95 grams of marijuana. In January, teammate Reggie Moore was suspended for one game after being arrested on similar charges.

The talented post player is not the only BYU student to run afoul of the strict behavioral policies. Last year running back Harvey Unga, the team’s all-time leading rusher, voluntarily left school and missed his entire senior season because of an honor code violation.

Davies’ future with the team does not appear to be over. He remains in school as the Honor Code Office finishes its investigation. Coach Dave Rose told the Tribune he believes the sophomore will eventually be allowed to rejoin the team, but didn’t speculate on when that would be. The 19-year-old is not listed on the Cougars’ current roster, but remains on their historical roster. So it seems the school is leaving the door open for his return. Which is a good thing.

Davies’ crime was being human. He gave into the desire and emotional fulfillment that sex can offer. Teenage hormones can do that. That doesn’t make what he did right in the eyes of the school and the behavioral contract into which he voluntarily entered.

BYU needs to be tough, but it must also show compassion. After all, discipline means little if not paired with forgiveness.

Katz And Carter Come Full Circle

It was fitting that Anthony Carter and Yuval Katz entered the University of Hawaii Circle of Honor together. While playing different sports, coming from wildly different backgrounds, and going on very dissimilar post-college careers, the pair continues to share a cult of personality that has long outlasted their athletic achievements.

Anyone who had seen Carter play witnessed a man of incredible skill, equal humility and unfailing generosity. While the first brought fans by the thousands to Stan Sheriff Center, it is the latter upon which his legacy revolves. The Atlanta native, who was raised by his grandmother in a home with 13 children, took over games without being selfish. His career averages of 18.9 points and 6.9 assists attest to that. He also had a flair for the dramatic. Most point guards don’t finish with alley oop dunks, but the high-wire act was a Carter specialty, often begun by back court mate Alika Smith, with whom Carter created one of the most accomplished and popular duos in UH history.

Showing his talk was anything but cheap, Carter returned to the university in 2004 to donate $100,000 to begin the AC Carter Scholarship Fund, becoming one of the very few former student-athletes to truly express appreciation for the university that gave life to their dreams. Even after a decade-long NBA career, stories abound of his generosity to fans, especially if they happen to be visiting from Hawaii. To many, he remains the greatest basketball player to ever don the UH jersey.

Without the video, still images and the collective memories of thousands, the truth would seem too strange for fiction. A community so enamored with its volleyball team, fans camped out for tickets, and players had to be sneaked out of the arena in laundry carts. Yuval Katz was the comet in the universe of stars. His presence inspired awe. The outside hitter was the AVCA

Newcomer of the Year in 1995 and player of the year the very next season. In just two years, Katz scored 1,444 kills, a school record 7.81 kills per set, 100 service aces and .394 hitting percentage.

Fifteen years after he finished his UH career, it’s hard now to imagine the big Israeli’s impact. Had you been at the induction ceremony Feb. 24 at the Stan Sheriff Center, you would have gotten a feeling of what it was like. Katz was greeted with a standing ovation and the loudest response of the night - which is pretty impressive considering the home basketball team had just finished putting a first half whoopin’ on the visiting competition. His thick-accented English didn’t carry well in the arena but that hardly mattered. The king had returned after a 30-hour flight, wife and daughter in tow, and his subjects were there to one last time perhaps, witness the man who became legend. No one was likely more surprised by the out-pouring of support than mother and daughter who for the first time got to witness a small amount of the madness that was once a regular part of their husband and father’s life.

 

Cam Newton wants to be an entertainer and an icon. The statement to Sports Illustrated writer Peter King caused quite a stir, and the former Auburn signal caller has already backed off his statement. But to those upset over his “brash” statement, one must ask, What else would you want to hear? That he hopes to one day be mediocre? Or that he always aspired to build on the legacy of Joey Harrington? Let’s give some credit for confidence and the honesty that we all beg for but cringe when we hear it.

What modern athlete doesn’t want to be an icon? Who doesn’t want to be stalked by TMZ camera operators while wasting an entire day hoping for 15 minutes of background fame? Had he said he already was a star of the first magnitude or that he would make the world forget the names Brady and Manning, then a bit of psychological questioning may be in order. Until that happens, let him fantasize about cultural significance. Who does it hurt?

Quit Tinkering, Tiger, And Just Play

The lead story for every golf publication, website and Golf Channel program heading into the Farmers Insurance Open was that Tiger Woods was going to begin his season. After the tournament, in which he finished tied for 44th, and the subsequent roller-coaster performance in Dubai, the biggest story was that former world’s No. 1 had gone 15 months without a victory - an eternity for Woods. One has to wonder when each event will no longer become newsworthy.

The Tiger Woods who has been on display for the last year is a shallow image of the dominant figure he once was. His game is scattered with no consistent area to build on.

Arnold Palmer has gone on record saying the constant tinkering has ruined Woods’natural ability to swing a golf club. Palmer’s opinion is generationally related. Palmer never had a coach, minus his father. Like most golfers of his day, players learned from a relative or friendly course employee and then went and played. But his comment is valid. While there is an argument to be made that if one isn’t getting better one is getting worse, sometimes the best way to improve is to leave alone what is not broken. Others may agree.

Brian Mogg, the swing guru for PGA champion Y.E. Yang and AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am winner D.A. Points, has built a thriving business on ignoring “theory” and embracing solid swing fundamentals. It’s much like hitters in baseball. Sometimes it’s better just to see the pitch and hit it. Perhaps Woods needs to be more Vlad Guerrero than Cal Ripken.

For the last decade, Woods has hidden behind swing and coaching changes whenever his performance doesn’t match his lofty standards. In his mind, it seems, his problems have never been internal but the result of faulty theory. Woods does need to make changes, but not to his swing. He just needs to play more.

He admitted as much himself during a press conference at Torrey Pines: “It’s easy to do it at home on the range. Then you have to do it on the golf course at home, and then once you’re able do it there, now you have to do it out here.”

Woods can no longer afford the luxury of playing a part-time schedule revolving around the majors. He needs to be out there week in and week out making the most of his decreased practice time.

He also needs to get his head in order. At his post-therapy new conference, Woods said he needed to become a new man. One can’t say what that means in a private sense, but in public not much has changed. He is still cussing, slamming clubs and now spitting on greens.

Tiger is a long way from recovering his game and won’t until he begins to take responsibility for his failures both on the course and off.

Violence For The Sake Of Safety

Perhaps it’s time for the NHL to drop the gloves - that is, to once again allow fighting to become an integral part of the game.

The move to evolve the game from its original roots and bring it into the mainstream of American sports has failed as players are finding new and more dangerous ways to exact revenge on opponents.

At one time payback was swift. If someone had taken a cheap shot, or was perceived to have done so, the matter was settled face to face on the ice. Referees stood back, punches were thrown, a bit of bloodshed and the game went on minus the combatants for a few minutes.

Now, a shot to the jaw has been replaced by a knee to a knee or an elbow to the head, which has left some of the game’s most talented players with torn knees, severe concussions and careers in jeopardy.

Sidney Crosby took a shot to the head during the Winter Classic and four days later against Tampa, and he hasn’t played since Jan. 5. Washington Senators’ star Alexander Ovechkin was added to the list of broken players after getting hit by Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke. Cooke also took out Boston forward Marc Savard with a cheap shot that resulted in a season-ending concussion. Some would argue Ovechkin’s injury was a simple act of karmic retribution against the Russian, who even had the audacity to take out good friend Sergei Gonchar and many others with a similar move.

While the natural forces that balance justice and had guided Earl Hickey’s road to redemption may have been at work, the league is without one of its premier talents.

And don’t forget Raymond Sawada, who was nearly decapitated with a shoulder to the head by Daniel Paille. Members of the Bruins and the Stars paired off, but nothing happened. Not a single shot to the noggin. Barely a naughty word uttered.

The call for more fisticuffs may seem strange following last week’s Canadiens/Bruins debacle that resulted in 182 penalty minutes and offered a number of brawls not seen since Detroit and Colorado regularly went at it a decade ago. But it’s time for a change.

Now, before anyone suggests sending your humble scribe for antisocial behavior testing, I’m not talking about a return to the days of the Broad Street Bullies, who fought at the drop of a puck and perhaps did more to ruin the flow and retard the popularity of a wonderfully athletic sport.

For those of you who have been paying attention, this is a reversal of an earlier opinion. At least in part.

It was just a year ago, and in this very space, where I discussed Montreal parting ways with 273-pound George Laraque saying, “Fighting, for all its excitement and the great memories it recalls, is a gimmick the game no longer needs.”

While admitting I still enjoy a good on-ice scrap, I stand by the statement that the NHL doesn’t need fighting. But until the league makes it too financially risky to cheap-shot the competition, referees need to step aside and let players protect their own.

And the players need to step up. It is inexcusable to stand by and watch reckless blueliners take out a team’s best player.

Lord help anyone who got frisky with Gretzky, Lemieux or Yzerman.

Modern-day economics don’t provide the cap space to sign players whose only marketable skill is punching another person while standing erect on ice skates. The days of Dave Schultz (200 points and 2,294 penalty minutes) or the aforementioned Laraque (153 points, 1,126 penalty minutes) are over. And they should be.

But that doesn’t mean copying the European game is going to make things better.

Hockey is a fast and physical sport in which players are only getting bigger and faster, and with the league battling to stay relevant it cannot afford the loss of its most marketable players.

It seems strange, but the way to lessen violent hits could be to increase violent hits.

Just a thought.

 

Wanted: PGA Tour Personalities

Moments before UH’s Jan. 29 men’s basketball game against Utah State, where 5-foot-9-inch mighty mite Miah Ostrowski turned in one of the most-inspiring performances in Stan Sheriff Center history, a conversation with UH baseball announcer Don Robbs produced an interesting comment:

Today’s golfers lack the personality of the ball strikers of old.

Robbs acknowledged his opinion may have some generational bias, and came after watching Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson defend their Champions Skins Game title at Kaanapali — but that doesn’t make his observation incorrect.

The radio veteran is not alone in his wish to see more personality from modern touring pros.

Yes, we have the Tiger fist pump, though not as common as it once was. There’s Camilo Villegas’prone putting alignment and the various WAGs who are typically highlighted in online Maxim features. But real personality is a rare commodity, and commentary — well, forget it. PGA interviews make comments from the NFL sound like Wikileaks revelations. There is no place for a Lee Trevino or Chi Chi Rodriguez in the drab world that is now the PGA Tour.

Trevino’s gift for on-course gab would be labeled as phony as Phil Mickelson’s smile, and Chi Chi would be a showoff, his sword act and hat on the hole simply ways to one-up the competition. He might even get called to Tim Finchem’s wood shed.

Sadly, this sort of enthusiasm is exactly what the tour needs.

Networks have done well adopting technology like AimPoint and ShotLink to help highlight the abilities of the contestants, but as impressive as it is to see someone bend a shot to take advantage of a hidden pin position, it does nothing to help the viewer get an inside look at one of the most-secret relationships in sports: that between a golfer and his caddy.

Except for the occasional conversation picked up by boom mikes over the years, golf has been a mostly silent sport. The Golf Channel has begun wiring willing golfers for sound on a limited basis, and the walls have started to come down.

That has some golfers worried.

Justin Rose recently wrote on golf.com that he does not support the idea because he doesn’t want to feel self-conscious or, even worse, perhaps give away something the competition could use against him.

This isn’t the NFL where a pilfered playbook can alter the outcome of games.

Announcers know which club a player will use from what distance because almost everyone in the field hits it the same length.

The only real secret that could get out is the true colorful nature of conversation that goes on between golfers, and between a golfer and his caddy. Going blue is a real problem. It makes TV execs nervous, and is such a part of Tiger’s repertoire that things could get even more vanilla.

But this is a quick fix. Don’t swear. It’s not that hard. Playing winning golf is about controlling your emotions. Don’t tell me someone steady enough to stand over and sink a $400,000 putt cannot purposely trade a frick for a, well, you get the idea.

Miking players will be a tough sell regardless of how much it could do to market the sport. And it would do wonders for a game in which its most bankable star just finished in a tie for 44th on a course on which he grew up and has won eight tournaments.

So why not mike the cad-dies? This would allow for recorded conversations while giving the player a good measure of control over what is being heard.

And we want to listen. We want to hear Tiger’s aggression, Ian Poulter’s trash talking and Boo Weekly’s booisms.

The PGA cannot market outlandish flashes of violence, blistering slap shots and gravity-defying dunks, but it’s got personalities. Imagine the marketing possibilities of customized tele-casts to international audiences so Europeans can hear Lee Westwood and Martin Kymer work their way around a course, and South Americans can listen in as Angel Cabrera, Camillo Villegas and newcomer Jhonattan Vegas go about making their continent proud. Not to mention the strange silence when Tiger and Phil walk the fairways together.

 

Just Give The Darn Ball To Amis

At the 10:30 mark in the first half of UH’s game against San Jose State, a fan sitting in or near the student section offered some sound advice: “Give Amis the ball.” The statement was made not with the lathering ridiculousness of fandom, but in a calm manner as if getting the ball to the 6-foot-9-inch senior was the only common sense thing to do.

The anonymous observer was rather akamai. Amis was insane. By that point he had five points, three rebounds, three blocks and had altered a few more shots. He got nastier from there.

Amis scored every way imaginable in and around the paint. At 2:46 he used his shoulder to clear some space then stepped back for a fall away jumper from 8 feet.

It’s a shot teammate Joston Thomas said he had grown tired of in practice.

“He killed me all summer doing that. I told him I hate that shot,” joked the spirited sophomore, who kicked in 14 points and an equal number of rebounds on a night coach Gib Arnold called the best of his college career.

At 1:28, again near the baseline, Amis spun left, then right and softly laid it in for two more as the suddenly out-of-position defender could do nothing but watch. By the time they got to the locker room, the Rainbow Warrior captain (one of three) had 11 points and added another rebound to lead his team to a 31-24 halftime lead.

It didn’t get much better for the competition after the break. At 13:21 of the second half he hit a 15-footer coming off a screen, picked up a foul and completed the three-point play. Aminute later he got San Jose’s Brylle Kamen to bite on an up fake, drove past him for a dunk and his 16th point of the night. His fourth block came just 23 seconds later. He even hacky sacked the ball to a fan in the second row with a look so nonchalant one would think he was bored of such repetition.

Since coming back from his 10-game layoff after suffering a foot injury and a three-game reconditioning period, Amis has been sick. He scored 22 points and 10 boards against Louisiana Tech, and went 11 and 10 against Fresno before his 20 points, on nine of 11 shooting, nine rebounds and four blocks against the Spartans.

While Hiram Thompson sets the table and Zane Johnson stretches the defense, Amis is the figurative center around which the team’s success will be determined.

Amis has excelled in his senior season, showing an array of weapons that haven’t been seen by a UH big man in quite some time. He’s always had a soft touch from around 10 feet, and has been a good rebounder and shot blocker, but this year there has been something different, he’s a bit meaner, tougher. He’s developed a drop step, a two-directional spin move and has learned to use his shoulder and hips to clear space to free himself for layups and dunks from the paint.

“I need him to be mean. He’s such a nice guy, which is great except for Thursday and Saturday nights when I want him to be kind of nasty,” said Arnold.

At the end of the San Jose State game, Amis was tied with Johnson for the team lead in scoring, led in rebounding average and was second in blocks (19) while playing in half the number of games as co-leaders Thomas and center Vander Joaquim.

Amis is once again the guy his teammates look for when a defensive stand is needed or a scoring drought ended. More important, he is the calm leader of a team that can lose its focus at times and one, he says, is closer than any he has played on.

Yet another positive impact for the Oklahoma native.

Prince Golf School Targets Asia

When Y. E. Yang sank his putt on 18 to win the 2009 PGA Championship over Tiger Woods, it did more than cap a bad year by the world’s best golfer and make Yang a hero in his home-land. It gave birth to an idea that has been a long time coming - a golf academy in Hawaii targeting Asian visitors.

Golf is experiencing meteoric growth in Asia where the success of Korean and Japanese golfers have spawned near fanatical support for the game and its stars. That dedication, and the increased quality of competition, has led Augusta National Golf Club and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club to invest in the now two-year-old Asian Amateur Championship. The winners of this event join their counterparts from the U.S. Amateur, British Amateur, U.S. Amateur Public Links and the U.S. Mid-Amateur as participants in The Masters.

It is these players who Abe Mariano, a longtime instructor at Hawaii Kai Golf Course, had in mind when he watched Yang pull off one of golf’s greatest upsets. He called Brian Mogg, who is Yang’s coach and who has academies in Florida, Canada and Seoul, got some friends to kick in $400,000 to finance the project and a year later, the Brian Mogg Performance Center of Hawaii is open for business at the Hawaii Prince Golf Course. Mogg says Hawaii’s location is a perfect venue for Asian golfers who often must leave home to work on their games during the winter months.

“Seoul can have some horrible weather. From early November to early April, almost all Korean professionals, whether they are on the Korea Tour or the PGA, they get out of Korea. And that is one of our strategies. To have them come to Hawaii,” says Mogg, who also has worked with eight-time LPGA winner Mi Hyun Kim.

Whether or not Mogg and his partners will succeed depends on many factors, including ones outside their control. But this is a positive boost for the state’s billion-dollar golf industry.

Hal Okita Jr., executive director of the Aloha Section PGA, says the academy’s students will generate revenue far beyond the Prince’s 27 holes.

“Whenever you get people coming over here, you are benefiting all of us in the industry,” says Okita. “It helps the people who sell merchandise, golf course owners get more revenue coming in, food and beverage people sell more food at the golf sites.”

The academy has created partnerships with Tachibana Golf Tours in Japan and Hana tours in Korea to help market the plan. All of which has the folks at the Hawaii Tourism Agency and Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau excited.

“China and Korea, I think, are going to take off with the available flights out of Korea right now,” says David Uchiyama, vice president, brand management at the Hawaii Tourism Agency. “That should be huge with the popularity of the Korean golfers, especially in the LPGA. I think China follows along the same lines. We are going to see the first direct flight from China later this month that coincides with Chinese New Year’s, and hopefully that will evolve.”

A lot of people are hoping he’s right.

A Little Hate Makes Sports Better

It’s the best feud since the kin of Randolph “Ole Ran’l” McCoy and William Anderson “Devil Anse” Hatfield started shooting at each near the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River in the late 1800s.

History doesn’t record whether Devil Anse pointed to the McCoy bench after racking up another win against Ole Ran’l's bunch, nor does it provide evidence of the less successful McCoys referring to their instigator as an ansehole.

Current chroniclers of history don’t have that problem since Antonio “Who’s your daddy” Cromartie, and seemingly everyone with access to the Jets facilities, have not hidden their disdain for Tom “Big Brass” Brady. And thank God for that.

Cromartie’s comments leading up to the Jets-Pats playoff game this past Sunday go overboard, but if there is one thing the NFL doesn’t need it is more kumbaya-let’s-get-along bro-fests. The NFL, and sports in general, are always better when there is a little animosity.

Scheduling, roster size, salary caps and copy cat offensive and defensive schemes have turned a league that was black and blue into a universal beige, where the comments are as predictable as the game plans.

When Brady said he didn’t watch the HBO series Hard Knocks because he hates the Jets and refuses to show them any support, he rescued every one of us from the banality that has taken over the game. So while Cromartie’s response that Brady is an “a**hole” was a bit over the line, it generated more interest in a rivalry that the Patriots have dominated.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick has remained mostly silent, but Rex Ryan has been anything but quiet. He recently took a slight dig at Brady, saying he doesn’t study like Peyton Manning and that Brady gets more help from Belichick than Manning does from his coach.

Ryan has purposely separated Brady from his other antagonizer. Prior to playing the Colts, the Jets coach said the game was personal between Manning and himself. Against New England, the battle changed to one between him and Belichick, since the on-field talent, he felt, was equal. Say what you want about the intelligence of poking an angry bear, but Ryan and his players have turned a nice-tosee game into must-see TV.

Passion is what makes college athletics better than its professional counterparts. Michigan-Ohio State and Duke-North Carolina are circled in red every year because they don’t like each other. In 2007, Michigan tailback Mike Hart inflamed its in-state rival when he said Michigan State was the Wolverines’ little brother. The comment was historically accurate, but it provided a rallying point for the friends of Sparty. Three years later, Big Brother hasn’t won since, former Spartan linebacker Greg Jones hasn’t forgotten, and MSU fans penned a “little sisters” chant for men’s basketball games. Good for the green and white. This is what the NFL needs. Anger. Passion. Fun.

When Brady pointed to the Jets’ sideline after throwing a fourth-quarter touchdown pass in a blowout victory Dec. 6, he helped propel one of the few true rivalries left in professional sports. Retirement has taken the nastiness out of the Red Wings-Avalanche series. In the NBA, Boston-L.A. is more historical than inflammatory. And while the Red Sox still hate the Yankees, the rage is more one-sided.

To be clear, this call for more trash doesn’t come without warning.

There’s a fine line between confidence and cockiness. Back it up and you’re usually fine. Don’t, and that becomes problematic.

Keep it team-oriented. Don’t make it personal. Know when to strut and when to shut up.

Brady provides the example. Yes, he hates the team but he respects the players. At least publicly.

So keep on talking. Hatred makes for great TV, and ratings.

Luck Makes Hypocrites Of Many

We are all hypocrites.

I am speaking mostly about us in the media, but there is plenty of room for those in other professions who wish to speak ill of the well-balanced.

Andrew Luck, the unquestioned No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft, has decided to temporarily forgo his entry into the NFL and complete his degree in architectural design.

The response has been typical: Stupid! Ridiculous! Unthinkable!

Easy does it. His decision is surprising, but we can’t exactly skewer a guy for having the audacity to do exactly what we criticize others for not doing.

That being said, I agree it’s not the smartest move. If that makes me a hypocrite, then so be it. It’s good practice for my run at political office.

It was just two months ago that I railed against the comments of former agent Josh Luch, who said the only thing student-athletes got in return for their athletic talent was an education. I stand by it. It was an ignorant statement.

But Luck is in a very different situation from the vast majority of student-athletes. He’s a signature from financial security, and his market value will never be higher. And he’ll never be more healthy.

Luck is giving up a lot in uncertain times. The NFL’s collective bargaining agreement with the Players Association ends March 30, and if there is a time to make a cash grab, this is it. The new agreement is likely to include a rookie salary cap, which means a one-year delay could cost the Stanford quarterback an estimated $40 million. Sam Bradford, last year’s No. 1, signed a six year deal for $78 million, of which $50 million was guaranteed. The year before, Matthew Stafford got $72 million over six. An $80 million payday with as much as $60 million guaranteed is not out of the question for Luck, who has everyone convinced he’s the most pro-ready prospect since Payton Manning ditched Tennessee 13 years ago. Much like his coach Jim Harbaugh, who used their 12-1 record to get an NFL had job in San Francisco, Luck needs to strike while his stock remains high.

The decision whether to stay in college or pro has to be made as a business decision. Emotions have no role - as we saw four years ago.

Following the 2006 season, in which he passed 5,549 yards, 58 touchdowns, finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy balloting and was projected to go as high as late in the first round of the draft, Colt Brennan decided to return for his senior season at UH. The Warriors went 12-0 the next year, but Brennan wasn’t able to maintain his level of effectiveness, and after getting demolished 41-10 in the Sugar Bowl, his value plummeted. Brennan was taken in the sixth round and got the expected opportunity to win a starting job - which is to say very little. He is currently unemployed.

Luck’s situation is not as dire, but nothing is guaranteed in a sport where every play comes with the opportunity for a lost career. So why take the chance?

Enter the draft. Unlike football, there is no retirement age from education. And while the “you can always get your degree later” comment is predictably bogus for most who leave school early, the likely first pick in the 2012 draft proved he wasn’t Josh Luch material when he signed to play and study on Palo Alto campus.

Crosby Erases All Doubt About No. 1

Welcome to No. 1, Mr. Crosby.

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ center has been the focal point of National Hockey League marketing since he made his debut in 2005, but the talented 23-year-old could never be considered the game’s best. Until now.

From Nov. 3 to Dec. 29, Sidney Crosby did not play a game in which he did not score, finishing with 26 goals and 24 assists in those 25 contests to take over the unofficial title from Alexander Ovechkin.

Crosby’s elevation in the ranks is based on his off-season work and his in-season development that have seen the Halifax native improve his defense and, most important, his maturity.

Often labeled a whiner to those outside Pittsburgh, Crosby would complain frequently to officials at even the most mild of offenses. He also could be taken off his game by the better needlers in the league. That’s not the case any more. Crosby doesn’t gripe nearly as much nor does he allow players such as Ovechkin to get under his skin with the regularity of old. This has gone a long way in changing not just how he is perceived by fans and other players, but how effective he is while on the ice. One need look no further than Nicklas Lidstrom to see the value of on-ice professionalism.

Crosby is not likely to pick up the Selke Trophy (given to the best defensive forward), but his work in the defensive zone is much improved, and offensive numbers have a tendency to influence defensive voting, so becoming a finalist is not out of the question.

His growth is even more impressive when considering that he has upped his play at the very time his team is in need of more scoring. Evgeni Malkin remains a top-tier player, but is not scoring at the pace he did two years ago when he tallied 113 points. The Penguins also are without the services of center Jordan Staal, who was to move up to the second line with Malkin’s shift to the wing, but has missed the entire season with a broken hand.

Crosby was prevented from occupying the top spot because he lacked Ovechkin’s gift for scoring or Pavel Datsyuk’s ability to control the game on both ends of the ice. He has even been pressed by his team-mate Malkin, and could find himself on the outside looking in should Tampa’s Steven Stamkos continue his already scary-fast development.

The Penguins’ second-favorite son stalled long before he had a chance to assault Wayne Gretzky’s mark of scoring in 51 consecutive games. But while his streak is only the 11th-longest in league history, his is the longest since 1990 when the league entered the so-called dead puck era when the goal orgy days of the 1980s gave way to the defense-centered philosophies that dominated in the ‘90s and beyond. But the point isn’t to argue that Crosby is ready to supplant Gretzsky on the sport’s Mount Rushmore. He’ll never approach Gretzky’s scoring numbers, just as old No. 99 wasn’t ever going to be a three-way threat like Gordie Howe.

Crosby is the best player in the game today but no lock for Hart Trophy honors. The Lightning, though poor on defense, are contenders behind Stamkos, with the ageless Lidstrom playing like he’s 10 years younger. The voting should be close.

Why Harbaugh Should Not Go Pro

Life sure is good for Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh. The Cardinals are 11-1 (losing only to Oregon in Eugene), have the country’s eighth-ranked scoring average and a combined GPAbetter than most debate teams. Because of this and his two-year stint as the Oakland Raiders quarterback coach, Harbaugh can have his pick of college jobs and more than a few in the NFL.

Although the NFL is the obvious pinnacle, it is not a job that fits Harbaugh or any coach with an ounce of common sense.

The resurgent Dallas Cowboys are a prime example of the inherent benefits of the college game, namely that a coach can maintain control instead of biding his time until the players start looking for someone to blame for their own failings.

At the beginning, Wade Phillips seemed to be a curious choice for the Cowboys’ top job. After the tenures of undistinguished coaches such as Chan Gailey, Dave Campo and a disemboweled Bill Parcells, the team needed an infusion of enthusiasm but instead hired someone whose selection seemed based more on his ability to nod his head in agreement with his owner. But Phillips got it done.

His .607 winning percentage is second-best in team history, tying him with Tom Landry. Yet, because of their annual post-season flop and the players’ typical three-year attention span, Phillips was canned after his team quit.

Revolts don’t happen in college, and Harbaugh’s fuse is much too short to deal with the immaturity of athletically mature athletes.

Harbaugh is a tough coach. He’s a chip off the Bo Schembechler block who is the unquestioned leader of his program, and he has absolutely no patience for those who play with anything less than their absolute best. Bobby Knight once said he would make a lousy NBA head coach. Why? Because his dictatorial style of coaching and his demand for accountability in everyone but himself simply does-n’t work in the NFL. Harbaugh has much of the same personality without the outrageous ego.

If the Phillips’situation isn’t good enough motivation for Harbaugh to stay in college, then Mike Krzyzewski is. The Duke coach has had big league offers but wisely turned them down because a move to the NBA would cost him the control that he demands. Like Harbaugh, he is a disciplinarian secure in his knowledge of how to mold a group of individuals into a cohesive unit. Krzyzewski was smart enough to know that in college he enjoys something that no professional coach has: job security. So can Harbaugh.

The former Michigan QB and 15-year NFL veteran isn’t long for Stanford and its generally disinterested fan base. With the success of his brother John in Baltimore, everyone is curious to see if genetics plays a role in NFL success.

But that would be a big mistake. Harbaugh is a tough guy in a tough sport who needs a job that allows him to be boss and not kowtow to a smart businessman turned ignorant owner. The NFL doesn’t allow that, but college does.

Areturn to his alma mater, should that job open, just makes sense.

Big 10 Division Names Just Silly

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany is the smartest person in university athletics. We know this because we read it right here in September. But with last week’s announcement that the Big Ten has named its newly created divisions, and created a pool of post-season awards larger than the invite list to the NHL playoffs, one has to wonder if our earlier judgment was flawed or if there is another solution.

Perhaps it’s possible for genius to have an off day.

At one point Albert Einstein may have thought E=mc couldn’t be improved. Dante may have stopped at seven levels of Hell before getting the inspiration to add two more, just in case.

Thomas Edison knew the phonograph had no commercial value, and the president of Michigan Savings Bank knew an investment in the Ford Motor Company in 1903 was a bad investment. So perhaps Delany isn’t alone in this rare misstep.

Whereas the Big 12 has the North and South, and Conference USA East and West, the Big Ten has the Legends and Leaders. If the titles weren’t so darn laughable, they’d be arrogant.

To be fair to Delany, the naming was a bit more challenging since the conference was divided competitively, not geographically. There are no North and South or East and West schools, but a template exists for the geographically challenged. The Atlantic Coast Conference is made up of schools located on the Atlantic coast. Their solution? An Atlantic and a Coastal division. The Big Ten could have stolen the idea, announced the Great Lakes and MidWest divisions and be done with it. Now, everyone is laughing. And not just those watching the results of the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Legends and Leaders is not just silly, but misleading. The two labels are hardly equal.

Jean Van De Velde was a leader, for three rounds at the 1999 Open Championship, until his historic blow up. That hardly puts him in the class of Nicklaus, Jones, Hogan and Woods. Perhaps Delany had Yaz in mind.

Carl Yastrzemski won the 1968 American League batting title with a blistering .301. It was hardly an awe-inspiring performance, and though he never led Boston to a World Series, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and that is legendary, like Ohio State and Penn State, which are Leaders, but unlike Northwestern and Minnesota, which are supposedly Legends. Get the picture? No?

Suddenly neither does Delany. After spending a few days explaining the choice, he has backed down a bit saying a name change is possible in the near future. Perhaps his genius does come and go. Dumb enough to approve the name, too smart to be miopic. Now, if he can just do something about the logo.

A Lousy View From Every Seat

By the time you read this, some 109,901 people will have packed into Michigan Stadium to distantly observe a college hockey game for the express purpose of being able to tell their saner, warmer and less ocularly challenged friends that they were there to barely see it happen.

“The Big Chill at the Big House” is a counter to the “Cold War” that took place nine years ago at nearby Spartan’s Stadium that ended in a SALT-like 3-3 tie, when the same two teams went at it for Mitten State supremacy in a battle that made Kennedy/Khrushchev look like bunk mates. Seriously. Michigan-Michigan State hockey games aren’t for the timid. The crowds can become so ill-mannered and the language so vile that Oakland Raiders fans leave their Road Warriors-inspired costumes at home from fear of being picked on.

Now, I don’t want to be a stick in the slushy ice, which can happen at these outdoor venues if the conditions are not exactly right, but this play-them-where-they-ain’t brand of marketing is just getting ridiculous. Initially it was fun. Tap a couple hundred kegs, put 74,000 people into a football stadium and promote it like it’s a reasonable idea. Fans had fun and the players enjoyed skating outdoors for the first time since they were 6. That was then. Now it’s about cashing in on a craze before anyone realizes that sight lines in a baseball stadium only work for baseball, and that ticket-buyers could get a better view of the action if they stayed at home and watched the game on television looking backward through their binoculars.

So while the contests do nothing to advance the game, they do offer big paydays to the athletic departments and professional teams that put on these spectacles. The price tag to create the Olympic-sized rink between the 17 yard lines came to $450,000, which would seem rather lavish for a public university if a fair return on the investment wasn’t guaranteed.

According to USA Today, 60,000 fans committed to purchasing tickets even before they were made available, and more than 100,000 tickets were sold within 15 days of their release. And this was in April. The game sold out, but a few seats remained at prices up to $237 on stubhub.com.

With such success, it is highly unlikely we will see the end to this type of spectacle anytime soon.

Army/Navy continued their historic rivalry at the new Yankee stadium this past weekend, renewing what used to be commonplace before the days of dedicated stadiums. The NHL will hold its fourth Winter Classic at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh next year after making previous stops at Fenway, Wrigley and, yikes, Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo. Northwestern and Illinois even found a way to barely squeeze in a football game at Wrigley last month.

Nope, it ain’t going away. And, yes, I watched it. I get the Big Ten network, so why not?

Does that make me a hypocrite? Yes. No. Whatever.

Sure, it’s a gimmick, but gimmicks can wildly entertaining. Look at the shootout, NCAA football overtime rules, car crashes and reality TV. Yet until someone saves us from ourselves, we will watch. And complain from 5,106 miles away. You can get the flying/driving directions from Google maps, if you wish.

NFL Owners, Players Self-destructing

The NFL and Players Association are four months away from a lockout, and even farther from any deadline that would force the league to cancel games, but the outlook for labor peace seems less likely with each snide remark and finger pointed.

Even if a deal is reached soon enough to save the season, millions in revenue is likely to be lost.

According to an Oct. 13 article in The Wall Street Journal, the league could lose $1 billion even if an agreement is signed by mid-summer.

This number has been contested. Marc Ganis, a sports marketing consultant who was interviewed by USA Today in an article about NFL Players Association president Kevin Mawae, said $500 million in losses is a more accurate estimate.

Whatever the real figures are, the bite both sides will take is very real. Sponsors are already voicing concerns about the possibility of lost games.

EA Sports is in talks with the league to reduce its payment schedule to the NFL by $30 million.

Citing people familiar with a financial report circulated at the owners’ annual fall meeting, the Journal reports that existing corporate sponsors will demand discounts totaling $120 million if an agreement isn’t reached by March 1.

Of the two sides, the NFL is in a stronger financial position, since its agreement with the television networks guarantees payment whether or not games are played. But this is a short-term solution, since the money would have to be refunded at a later date. This complicates matters even more, since the league, according to the Journal article, and its teams are carrying about $8.5 billion in long-term debt - much of this because of the spate of new stadiums that have been built in recent years.

And while the financial losses are relatively easy to determine, the effects of a lockout on ticket sales are much harder to determine. What we do know is that regardless of sport, work stoppages are typically followed by reduced ticket sales.

It would be a big mistake to assume the league is too big to fail with fans. The NFL is the world’s wealthiest sports league, with each team ranking in Forbes.com’s list of the 50 most-valuable sports franchises, but just two decades ago things were much different.

In 1984, Sports Illustrated‘s William Taafe, in a side-bar to Paul Zimmerman’s piece on how to revive the NFL, reported that in just three years, television ratings took a nose dive by as much as 18.2 percent (on CBS) from an all-time high in 1981. Even the venerable Monday Night Football lost 25 percent of its viewers during the same period.

While the falling ratings were a disaster for the league, it was great news for advertisers who no longer had to pay whatever the networks demanded. Thirty-second spots on CBS were selling for as little as $75,000, even though its rate card called for twice that amount. Things had gotten so bad that Miller and Chevrolet, two staples of football advertising, even deserted the Super Bowl.

The NFL acknowledges the animosity will just make coming to an agreement more difficult.

“People think we can have a knock-down drag-out fight and settle on March 1, and everything will be fine, and it’s not true,” said Eric Grubman, the league’s executive vice president for finance in the Journal article. Yet the hostility is as open as the condescending remarks.

Speaking to the Bloomberg News Service in May, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the cost of building and running a modern stadium must be considered when determining the division of revenues as part of any new labor agreement. Jones makes a sound argument, but costs himself credibility by then talking down to the players. “I built a stadium and that stadium costs money,” he said. “We need to recognize that it’s good for the players, it’s good for the fans, it’s good for everybody ... Think, if you were a player, how neat it would be to run in there and compete in that stadium. Three-hundred feet tall, 3 million square feet. Well, guys, we’ve got to pay for that.”

It also may not help that Mawae put the blame on the owners and their individual greed.

“The bigger issue is that Jerry Jones doesn’t want to share his money with (the Buffalo Bills’ Ralph Wilson). (Washington Redskins owner) Daniel Snyder doesn’t want to float (the Cincinnati Bengals’) Mike Brown. Instead of them figuring out their revenue-sharing problem ... they throw it into the laps of the players.”

Perhaps it is time for both sides to look for a different solution to their problems.

Peter Kupelian, a lawyer with Kupelian Ormond & Magy, a Michigan-based law firm, says the fledgling business of sports mediation could be an effective alternative to the standard negotiations that have taken place. In a 2009 essay on the company’s website, Kupelian writes that mediation is specifically suited to professional sports since the use of a neutral third party can help both sides identify key issues, preserve working relationships and provide the flexibility to change negotiations styles as warranted. The American Arbitration Association reports an 80 percent settlement rate for all cases that participate in its mediation program.

It’s worth a shot. What do they have to lose but a billion dollars?

Tough And Smart: What A Concept!

Sitting at the Rainbow Classic a few weeks ago, a colleague made an interesting observation about the new-look UH mens basketball team.

“I haven’t seen anything like this since the Fab Five days,” said the individual who shall remain nameless to avoid any potential embarrassment. While I cannot comment on the accuracy of the statement, it is clear that something very different is going on at Stan Sheriff Center. This is not the team of the Wallace and Nash era. This team is aggressive, tough and most important, smart and talented.

Let’s be honest, that final combination has been lacking on campus for several years. What talent had arrived was often limited by repeated bone-headed plays and the inability to learn from past mistakes. Looking at the current cast of characters and what has happened so far in the young season, it seems unlikely problems of the past will be repeated.

Once again we go back into the time machine. During last year’s Diamond Head Classic I queried Gib Arnold, who at the time was an assistant at USC, about whether it is harder to find good or smart athletes. He confirmed that talent was easy, intellect is tough. It seems like he’s found both.

Here’s a quick breakdown, in case you haven’t yet had the chance to visit.

Bill Amis: The senior forward was having the best season of his UH career before being felled by yet another foot injury. Amis leads the team in points, rebounds and field-goal percentage. Before the season, Arnold said he heard good things about Amis but didn’t know for sure what he had. What he has is a talented baller determined to make the most out of what remains of his college career.

Hiram Thompson: Like Amis, Thompson is having the best season of his career. Unfortunately, he still turns the ball over too much, averaging 3.4 giveaways per game against his 3.8 assists. Still, his shooting has improved, as has his ability to break down the defense off the dribble.

Douglas Kurtz: The third tri-captain is a decent stationary defender who has even shown some improved offensive ability. He has hands of stone, so any feeds must be made softly and out of traffic. He moves better since his weight loss but lacks the vertical to be a real shot-blocking threat.

Joston Thomas: Thomas’ biggest attribute also is his biggest obstacle, for now. Thomas is a fountain of energy just looking for a release. Sometimes that inspires his teammates and the crowd and at other times it forces him to take bad shots. No matter. He’s infectious, dances with the cheerleaders, talks to the fans and outside of Amis has the most complete game.

Vander Joaquim: The 6-foot-10-inch sophomore had 16 rebounds against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and is third on the team in rebounding. He’s thin at 245 pounds, and will likely get pushed around a bit by bigger WAC teams, but he has good feet and has shown a variety of post moves. Expect his scoring to increase as the season progresses.

Bo Barnes: The freshman is streaky, fearless and already a proven scorer. His .515 mark from three is second on the team to Thompson, but the Arizona native has taken 22 more attempts. He’s enjoyed some success penetrating against defenses that play him tight, but lacks the foot speed to do it against elite guards on either end of the court.

Zane Johnson: The Arizona transfer is determined to show everyone he has more to his game than the deep jumpers that haven’t fallen at the rate expected. He’s getting to the line at regular intervals and is likely to rotate with Barnes as UH’s three-point specialists.

Bobby Miles: Miles has solidified his position as Thompson’s backup. A freshman prone to making freshman mistakes, he has a better assist-to-turnover ratio than Thompson but hasn’t showed the ability to score away from the free-throw line.

Trevor Wiseman: Wiseman may never develop into a statistical team leader, but he has a knack for getting the dirty jobs done, and those types are indispensable to a team’s success.

The Rainbow Warriors are young and make the mistakes that young teams do. Still, they are talented and deeper than they have been in years.

They’re worth the drive.

The Best That Could’ve Happened

Excuse UH fans for walking around in a stupor the past few days. Ever since Colorado State, Air Force, Brigham Young, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada-Las Vegas, San Diego State and Wyoming split from the Western Athletic Conference - following a clandestine meeting at Denver International Airport in 1998 - Hawaii fans have bristled at their former foes to the point of loathing and outright contempt. Things just got worse after the WAC’s biggest football cashbox, Boise State, jumped ship, and when Nevada and Fresno State bolted most recently, well, things just got medieval to the point where even players and coaches began spitting venom.

After victories over the Wolfpac and Bulldogs, head coach Greg McMackin and his players, angered over the feeling that they were once again being treated as less than worthy for Mountain West Conference inclusion, made it clear the goal was to send their soon-to-be ex-conference mates off with a loss. They did just that, with their heads held a little higher knowing their message of defiance had been sent. Now things are just weird. It’s like Mufi Hannemann suddenly giving Neil Abercrombie a bro-hug. Yes, it makes political sense but it just seems weird.

The University of Hawaii, twice spurned, is to be the newest football-only member of the MWC. After all the posturing and angry comments, UH is going back to, as KHON’s Kanoa Leahey said during a recent broadcast, “that significant other who cheated on you.”

And what do you do about Boise? Talk about a dysfunctional relationship. In a matter of a year it has gone from admired conference member to hated deserter. Is the love affair suddenly rekindled? Will UH show up with an 8-carat purple diamond ring on its suddenly supporting finger, or does absolution not occur until 2012, when UH will start to once again travel to Idaho’s most-famous artificial lake? If you feel your head doing a Linda Blair 360, hey, join the club.

Just as with athletes or actors who suddenly find their troubled marriages stronger with a reworking of their prenuptial agreements, this move had nothing to do with admiration and everything to do with financial maturation. Still, fans are naturally struggling with the news. Everyone agrees that getting out of the weakened and collapsing WAC is the smart thing to do, but even with the promise of a firmer financial future the hurt is hard to forget. To quote an unnamed Facebook friend, “I do admit to feeling sick that we’re associating ourselves with these defectors. I absolutely despised the Mountain West and still do.”

But even those for whom the pain of rejection is still all too fresh, it is a move that had to be made. Every year it has become harder for the administration to spin the tale of WAC viability. The conference that UH called home for 32 years has been slowly stripped of its assets and now stands on the brink of foreclosure. Forget the hurt and embrace the change.

This is the best thing that could have happened to UH. With the addition of Boise, Nevada, Fresno and Hawaii, the MWC now has the strength to petition for BCS inclusion, to press ESPN for a more equitable TV deal and cash in on a conference championship game. After months of over-cast skies, Hawaii’s athletic future suddenly seems bright, and athletics director Jim Donovan can finally answer the critics who said he was doing little more than just fiddling while Manoa burned.

PGA Tour Is Losing Out To Europe

Rory McIlroy’s announcement that he is relinquishing his PGA tour card was not the most shocking bit of news to hit Ponte Vedra Beach, home of the PGA Tour, in recent memory. But it has the potential to lead to something damaging.

The world’s ninth-ranked golfer will join No. 1 Lee Westwood and No. 3 Martin Kaymer among Europeans who have determined PGA membership is no longer a must-have. They are not the first. World Golf Hall of Famer Seve Ballesteros turned his back on the PGA mid-career, playing almost entirely in Europe, and Colin Montgomerie has never had a card, though no one outside of Europe has missed the eight-time Order of Merit winner.

McIlroy told British newspapers he became less interested in playing in the U.S., especially during the FedEx Cup playoffs this year. The travel, separation from his girlfriend and his lack of a U.S. base also were important factors.

His decision does not mean he’ll be a no-show on U.S. soil, but it does further the idea that life exists beyond the PGA Tour, and that’s unsettling for the tour that markets itself as the world’s best.

The Northern Irishman has qualified for all four majors and will appear in perhaps 12 PGAevents next year, but he won’t be eligible for the Fedex Cup.

For decades, the PGA’s European or Asian counterparts offered little in the way of competition. But the sport’s global growth has begun to slowly shift the game away from its American-centric focus to one that makes it a true international sport. Nowhere has this change been greater than in Asia and the Middle East, where the number of tournaments - and most importantly the purses - have exploded. The European Tour even oneupped the PGAwith its Race to Dubai, which, before the international economic melt-down, offered golf’s biggest purse and had lured big-name players such as Anthony Kim, Phil

Mickelson and Camilo Villegas. Tiger Woods remains the ultimate target of the financiers in many of these locations. With his course design work in Dubai, which is using golf as a way to spread its global brand as a place for business and luxury tourism, more Tiger appearances in the region are likely. And that rightly terrifies the PGA.

The PGA currently requires its members to play a minimum 15 events each year. Add to this the international events that allow appearance fees or that are tied to a golfer’s business interests, not to mention the President’s Cup and Ryder Cup, and tour stops that used to be major draws, such as the HP Byron Nelson Championship, are suddenly regulated to second-tier status that struggle with ticket sales and TV ratings. PGA commissioner Tim Finchem would like his players to open their schedules to include these events, but he’s not about to pressure the membership too much because of his fear that its top players will follow the European example. He’s got to play his cards carefully. The lower-tier players will stay because the money is good and prestige is high, but that’s not enough. The tour’s financial success depends almost entirely on a small handful of players who in recent years have grown more bold in controlling their own interests.

It benefits the future of the tour to have its big names play in as many U.S.-based tournaments as possible, but that is going to become more rare as the top guys press for ever more autonomy.

McIlroy didn’t break open the door to independence, but his decision further enhances the validity of looking out for No. 1. And it’s only going to get worse unless the PGA reduces its participation requirements.

 

They Don’t Make ’Em Like Sparky

For all his talents as a manager, Sparky Anderson wasn’t one of the game’s great prognosticators. Due greatly to his overall enthusiasm, Anderson’s promotion of young players could be almost comical. In 1985 with Detroit, Anderson called Chris Pittaro “the best infield prospect I’ve had come through camp in 15 years.” The plan was to shift All-Star second baseman Lou Whitaker to third to make room for the rookie. It never happened. Whitaker played 11 more seasons in a near Hall of Fame career, while Pittaro hit .221 over three seasons with no home runs and just seven RBI.

A few years later it was Torey Lovullo’s turn to benefit from Anderson’s vocal talents. “I’ll die before he comes out of the lineup,” he said. Lovullo did come out. He played a total of 41 games for the Tigers over two season.

Then there was Rico Brogna, whom Anderson called “The finest young player I’ve seen since Johnny Bench.” Brogna did hit 102 homeruns in nine seasons, but a Bench he was not.

That Anderson wasn’t endlessly ridiculed for his pronouncements shows how the former weak-hitting infielder related to people in and around the game. They loved him, and Sparky returned the feeling in kind. That’s why his passing has evoked such strong emotions. Baseball is quickly losing its great ambassadors and storytellers.

We now live in the era of corporate baseball and corporate managers. Every word, whether from the league or the teams, is carefully crafted to purposely be more boring than a 1-0 15-inning game. Sparky came from the wellspring of managers such as John McGraw, who cajoled and entertained players, fans and most importantly, the media.

Lou Pinella, Jim Leyland and Tony LaRussa all have been successful, but always seemed more ready to argue meaningless points and opinions than enjoy real conversations about the sport that has dominated their lives. Joe Torre is pure corporate PR. Bobby Cox is enjoyable but could never quite connect like Anderson and Earl Weaver, just seemed gruff. Really, only Tommy Lasorda remains as the smiling, back-slapping promoter of baseball.

While Anderson’s good humor and love of conversation helped him become a cultural icon in his sport, it was his skill as a manager that has had the greatest impact on the game.

His well-earned monicker “Captain Hook” wasn’t a compliment. At the time starting pitchers were expected to go eight or nine innings, but Anderson was impatient when it came to his pitchers. He wasn’t going to let them dig a hole for his offense. An older Anderson wasn’t so quick when he reached Detroit, perhaps because he had better pitchers or the fact that Jack Morris didn’t like coming out regardless of who was boss.

Either way, Anderson’s way is now the norm. Pitchers have become specialists and the white-domed manager is a big reason why.

Anderson also helped change the way players were handled. Perhaps before most others, Anderson realized that stars are not like other people.

Joe Posnanski in his book The Machine, which chronicles the world champion 1975 Cincinnati Reds, recounts a spring training meeting Sparky had with his players. “He announced that the Machine was made up of two different kinds of players,” wrote Posnanski. ” ... there were four super-stars ... ‘The rest of you,’ Sparky said, ‘are turds.’”

That’s quite a statement considering the “turds” included George Foster, César Gerónimo, Ken Griffey Sr. and Dave Concepción. Anderson felt future Hall of Famers earned special treatment and the others, if they wanted such freedom, had to play better. His message was honest and inspirational, and even somewhat confusing. Which, of course, was pure Sparky.

“I’ll be honest with you,” said relief pitcher Will McEnaney in the book. “None of us ever knew what the f—- Sparky was talking about.”

With the talent he had in Cincinnati and the 35-5 start in Detroit in 1984, it would be an easy mistake to say Anderson’s greatest skill was being smart enough to fill out the lineup card. But managers are just that, managers. They are paid to handle egos and attitudes, and no team had more of both than the Reds. Yet even with a player who once tried to argue his way out of a free pass after being hit with a pitch (Pete Rose, of course), Anderson was able to hold it together.

RIP, Sparky.

The Value Of Athletic Scholarships

Josh Luch’s admission of paying college athletes has some linking the former agent’s confession to Jose Canseco’s tell-all on steroid use in baseball. Whatever comes of his confession, it will not be nearly as disturbing as his rationale for breaking an NCAA rule that resulted in a one-year suspension by the NFL Players Association.

Luch tells Sports Illustrated he was able to justify his actions by “remembering that the schools and the NCAA were making money while the players, many of whom came from poor families, weren’t getting anything but an education, which many of them didn’t take seriously.”

This common complaint comes up all-too-frequently from those who believe student-athletes deserve some kind of additional financial compensation since, in their opinion, these young people give so much yet receive so little.

To say that all they get is an education is the height of ignorance, and the reiteration of such obtuseness just adds to the belief that college is just a weigh station on the way to professional excellence. Which, for 99 percent of college athletes, was never a realistic option.

Luch is right that many student-athletes don’t take their studies seriously, and that’s a tragedy. Because of their athletic talent, these young men and women are provided an opportunity that each year gets harder for millions of Americans to obtain.

A university education is no longer a given. The cost of tuition has skyrocketed, putting an education beyond the reach of thousands of high school graduates. According to The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education study Measuring Up 2008, the cost of tuition and fees has risen 439 percent since 1982 while median family income has increased only 147 percent. This increased financial burden puts the greatest pressure on low-income families, where the need to break the cycle of poverty is most crucial.

More troubling is that, according to Measuring Up 2008, students from middle- and upper-income families receive larger grants from colleges and universities than students from low-income families. The increased costs also mean students are carrying more debt. From 1998 to 2008, student borrowing has more than doubled, from $41 billion to $85 billion.

Another indisputable fact regarding the importance of education is that college graduates earn more and are less likely to be unemployed than those with just a high school diploma.

The United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that college graduates with a bachelor’s degree or higher earn an average of $26,572 more per year than those with just a high school diploma. Also, in 2009, the unemployment rate for this same group of college graduates was 4.6 percent, as compared to 9.7 percent for high school graduates with no college experience.

Luch spent most of his career wooing athletes on the West Coast, so it seems appropriate to use the tuition at Pac 10 schools as a base for further determining the actual level of compensation received by these players.

The average tuition at Pac 10 schools is $30,942 a year, and since student-athletes have five years to play four seasons, the entire package could be worth, on average, $154,710. If we take Benjamin Franklin at his word that a penny saved is a penny earned, one has to ask what 15,471,000 saved pennies is worth.

A college education isn’t just nice to have, it’s essential. The Bureau of Labor Statistics say that from 1992 to 2009, the number of college-educated workers increased from 27 million to 44 million, while those with only a high school diploma or those who didn’t finish high school decreased by 3 million workers.

Luch and his colleagues aren’t soley responsible for the devaluation of education.

The finger of blame also points at university presidents, athletic administrators and coaches who line up for one and done basketball players and troubled transfer students whose legal, academic or ethical problems are overlooked in favor of athletic talent.

Luch says he told his story for the benefit of his two daughters, so they would know the truth: that there is more to their father than a cheater who was suspended from his job and was sued.

But one wonders if, after his girls get their high school diplomas to the sounds of Pomp and Circumstance and surrounded by friends, he’ll tell them college will only offer them an education.

And what’s that worth?

A Look Inside The Warriors’ Defense

It’s a saying as old as the game itself: You have to stop the run if you have any hope of winning. UH has tried, and sometimes succeeded, to prove the maxim wrong by winning with superior offense and just enough defense.

That doesn’t always work. Sometimes the defense has to be more than just a complementary piece. Sometimes it has to take the lead, even on a team that considers 300-yard passing days routine.

The Warriors did just that against Nevada by employing a defensive scheme that is a fundamental in one area of the game, yet goes against the basic training of the guys tasked with carrying out the plan.

At its very basic element, defenders are taught to find the ball carrier and tackle him. While this is a simple and sometimes effective method of slowing an offense, it does little good against option or spread-option teams that look to exploit angles and cut back lanes to advance the ball. Fast and aggressive defenses tend to overrun plays, providing open spaces for running backs and mobile quarterbacks like Colin Kapernick to run for big gains. The counter for the defense is to treat every snap as if playing kickoff coverage.

Just like members of the coverage units have specific lanes they must fill while advancing on the ball carrier, playing defense against option teams means staying in your lane, even if the play is going away from you. It’s more complicated than it sounds. Option teams like to flip things around. They take what you would normally do and use it against you.

“You feel weird out there because you see one guy going right, but your job is to go left,” says linebacker Corey Paredes, the nation’s No. 7 tackler. “It messes with your mind. But that’s football. You have to play the scheme, and the only way to win is to execute the scheme. So even if it goes against your natural instincts, you have to do it to win.”

Coming up with a plan is one thing. Getting the players to buy into the system and carry it out is quite another. Against Nevada, the plan worked. The Wolf Pack walked into Aloha Stadium undefeated and averaging 314 yards rushing per game. They left with their first loss and lowest rushing totals (134 yards) since Dec. 30, 2008, when they gained just 114 yards rushing in a 42-35 loss to Maryland in the Humanitarian Bowl.

To UH defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, the reason was clear. Everyone played their role:

“You can have eight guys in the box, nine guys in the box, but if they are not fitting correctly, if they are not using their help (not signaling each other) and they are both in the same gap, it doesn’t matter how many guys we have there or how fast or aggressive we play, it ain’t going to work.”

But again, it’s not that simple.

Before filling any gap, a defender may have two or three reads before the ball is snapped. Is the running back slightly offset to one side? Are they setting up for a “horn play” (a leading fullback) or a “load block” (running back shifts sides)? Then there are the post snap reads, which can involve another two or three decisions. With all that going on, one could be excused if the brain gets in the way on occasion.

“That happens plenty of times during a game,” says Paredes. “There is no game I have played perfect and I don’t think there will ever be. Luckily the D-line has been swarming to the ball, so we cover up each other’s mistakes.”

And that is another benefit of playing strict assignment football. Help is always close by. It needs to be. Broken assignments leave defenders on an island that is easy for a good running team to exploit.

“The linebackers have to see it, the secondary has to see it. There were times when the linebackers and the secondary have to understand that, based upon this formation, we will have to see this particular guy. They (Nevada) would shift a wide receiver, a tight end would come in and now we have to see that guy. With all of the motions, the shifts and the trades, they want you to be confused, they want you to go to the wrong spot,” says Aranda.

We’ll know by the time you’re reading this whether or not Paredes and company could remain in their lanes for a third consecutive week, at Utah State.

Ochocinco’s Just Talking To Himself

Chad Ochocinco admits his game isn’t what it once was. He’s lost his confidence, he says, and has a plan to get it back: more trash talking.

One could be excused for not realizing the wideout formerly known as Chad Johnson has been a quieter competitor of late. His lame reality TV show notwithstanding, he has been almost mute in comparison to the C.O. of old.

No proposals, no River Dancing and no more $2 payoffs to the officials. Just slowly degrading skills.

Why the silent treatment for so long? Indifference? Bad publicity? Newfound modesty? Maturity?

Don’t be silly.

“You know, you’re 32, you’re trying to be a little bit more mature and try a different approach,” he told the Associated Press. “That doesn’t work. It’s not working. Honestly, I’m going out there flat. Every game I’m going out there flat. I’m unsure of myself when the ball is coming.”

At least he tried.

And haven’t we heard this before?

It wasn’t too long ago that Stephon Marbury determined his lack of production was based not on diminishing skills but because his alter ego, Starbury, had been making fewer on-court appearances. More Starbury meant more points, more assists and more victories. His plan worked. In China.

Perhaps he was right all along. He just needed a bit more Xingbury.

But can Ochocinco’s turnaround be as complete?

Old No. 85 has the prerequisite ego that is essential to all good talkers. Last week he told AP, “That’s the way I am, and that’s what everybody feeds off as a city and as an organization, and I haven’t been that.”

OK. But can he play enough to warrant the added tongue exercises? For this is the basis of trash talking: being able to back it up. If you can’t, you just look like a fool.

Muhammad Ali was the greatest talker of all time. He didn’t just talk, he enraged opponents. Then he whupped them. At least for a while. Larry Bird talked trash at an All-Star game, then proceeded to win the three-point contest. Joe Namath did what at the time was unthinkable and guaranteed victory in Super

Bowl III. His prediction proved correct. Then, of course, there was Michael Jordan, whose verbal battles with John Starks provide the perfect test case of trash-talking propriety.

Starks gets credit for braggadocio, if not for brains. He refused to acknowledge the mistake that most only dared to make once. The Knicks guard could match Jordan adverb-for-adverb, but he couldn’t match him where it mattered most. MJ owned him and the Knicks. But Starks kept yapping.

That’s where Ochocinco finds himself.

The six-time Pro Bowler has been in a statistical decline for years. His yards receiving per game is the third lowest of his career, as is his yards per catch.

A season ago he got 128 looks, again the third lowest, even though the No. 2 receiver was running back Laveranues Coles. He hasn’t had a 90-catch season since the ‘07-‘08 season. Take away his 12-catch opening game performance against New England and he has averaged just 3.5 catches per game.

So how is talking gonna help?

Bird, Jordan and Ali were successful in the vocal part of the game because there was always an element of fear. It’s one thing to face the bear, it is quite another to poke him with a stick and not think there is a price to be paid.

Defensive backs no longer fear the Bengals’ receiver, and adding Terrell Owens to the mix hasn’t opened things up for the Oregon State alum. It’s just made him a secondary option.

He can talk all he wants, but will anyone listen?

Fantasy Hockey Lives In Hawaii

Yes, Virginia, there is fantasy hockey in Hawaii.

It’s probably safe to say the number of leagues pale in comparison when measured against those created to follow the NFL, but the 16-member MeeHa league possesses a fair number of seemingly misplaced rollerbladers who somehow know Darcy Hordichuk got traded to the Panthers. The league, which has been mismanaged for years by Star-Advertiser copy editor Jerry “Makakilo Moons” Campany, boasts an interesting collection of trash talkers - which, of course, is the bedrock of any worthwhile fantasy league.

The draft went as expected. Alexander Ovechkin and Syndey Crosby were the first two picks - Ovechkin because he is the best in the game and Crosby because he would have whined if he didn’t. I kid the HK Pucksmashers because I care.

Crosby is coming off the best season of his career. The 23-year-old “Kid” added defense to his myriad offensive talents and has matured to the point where the “C” on his sweater has begun to fit. The Pens will need his more developed game if they are going to reclaim what they lost in the second round of the playoffs earlier this year. Pittsburgh, which finished third in the East with 101 points, was the second highest-scoring team to get taken out by the eight-seeded Canadiens, who earlier had taken down the aforementioned Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

Speaking of the No. 1 pick, no one feels worse about their playoff exits than do the Caps. Washington entered game five of the playoffs with a 3-1 lead only to tank and get knocked out by a team that produced 33 fewer points during the regular season. To make matters worse for Washington, they lost leaky goal-tender Jose Theodore, and are hoping Dany Sabourin and 22-year-old Semyon Varlamov can effectively man the pipes. With Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and high-scoring defense-man Mike Green, the Caps will finish atop of the Southeast Division but won’t hold on to the President’s Trophy. Which is really a blessing, because the award for the best record has a tendency to go to a tired team that loses early in the playoffs.

Though not as well-known as the first two picks in the draft, HatTricksHighSticks’ Steven Stamkos will be the key factor in helping Tampa Bay push Washington in the Southeast. The 20-year-old Stamkos is going to need some help from veteran Vincent Lecavalier, whose production sank a year ago after being taken off the line with Martin St. Louis. Still, the biggest factor in Tampa making a move out of the No. 8 playoff spot will be the play of goalies Dan Ellis and Mike Smith. Both have save percentages near .900 and that’s just not going to get it done. If you’re wondering how the good guys, aka the Franzen Four, have done, well, it remains to be seen.

The first round offered Henrik Lundqvist, who could turn out to be a major buy at No. 16 overall if the Rangers can find some scoring to help out the three-time Vezina Trophy finalist. The good news about picking last in the first round means getting the first pick in the second and with that came L.A. defenseman Drew Doughty. The Kings were smart to avoid the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes and commit to five-year veteran Anze Kopitar. A year ago Kopitar scored a career-high 81 points and saw for the first time his +/- rating go to the positive side of the ledger. The Kings are solid in net with Jonathan Quick and Jonathan Bernier and should have no problem passing Phoenix for second place in the Pacific.

That’s the short of it.

Penalty minutes are a positive stat in this league, so get out there and hit someone.

Award More Than A Shoelace Away

For everyone jumping on the Shoelace bandwagon, may we suggest a bit of reality.

Shoelace is, of course, the already tired nickname of Michigan sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson, who hasn’t just burst upon the scene but has exploded with a shock wave of hype not felt since a bunch of tightly bound atoms gave birth to the cosmos.

And it’s not all PR. The young man can run.

Oh, my, can he run. Just ask Notre Dame.

On second and 10 on the Michigan 13, Robinson slipped through a hole and ran 87 yards through the Irish secondary, which was spotted the angle, a 10-yard cushion and ended up trailing the Deerfield native by five yards as he crossed the goal line.

It wasn’t his only impressive showing.

Through three and a quarter games (as of Oct. 1, remember, this is a weekly), Robinson leads the nation with 688 yards rushing and 172 per game. He also has completed 71.4 percent of his passes for 731 yards.

But before we anoint him as the most likely to pull an Archie Griffin and walk off with Reggie’s Bush’s recycled hardware, it may be prudent to let things play out a bit. Michigan’s offense, or at least Robinson, is explosive, but winning the Heisman on a 7-5 team is nearly impossible. The Wolverines’defense is lousy, the special teams are bad and the senior-laden Big Ten is not going to allow Michigan to win a series of shootouts even if the Wolverines hold to their No. 2 national ranking in offensive production.

A year ago Michigan gave up a school record 393 yards per game. This year they are seven yards a game worse and are counting on a secondary that features a walk on at safety and two corners who were wide receivers when the spring semester began.

Robinson has put up some eye-popping numbers, but he’s also played against some dogs.

OK, he’s played only dogs.

Michigan’s pre-conference schedule featured four schools that have given up a combined 1,655 yards of total offense, including one, U Mass, which is an FCS school.

Robinson’s production will go down, and not just because he will be playing against defenses that actually defend. The dread-locked kinesiology major has accounted for 62.9 percent of Michigan’s offense - that number would be higher if he hadn’t been knocked out with a bruised knee in the first quarter against Bowling Green.

In the first three games, he accounted for 80.4 percent of the offensive yards. Robinson is generously listed at 6 feet, 193 pounds, and that is far too little beef to stand up to a full season of conference pounding. Self-preservation necessitates a less totalitarian style of play, which looks to be less of a problem as coach Rich Rodriguez has found some complementary pieces in receiver Darryl Stonum and running back Michael Shaw.

But beyond the increased competition and physical burden he is being asked to carry, the biggest obstacle standing between Robinson and the Heisman is a conference bloated with quarterback talent, including the award favorite.

Terrelle Pryor is every-one’s top pick for the top award and the Buckeyes could be headed to the national title game, which will just help his chances of being the first Ohio State player to win the award since another scrambling quarterback, Troy Smith, did so in 2006. Pryor doesn’t have Robinson’s speed - who does? - but he is a better passer especially on over-thetop throws, a skill the former Florida high school sprint champion has yet to master. If that’s not enough competition, the Big Ten also boasts Indiana’s Ben Chappel (890 yards, 9 TDs, 0 INTs), Northwestern’s Dan Persa (80.2 percent pass completions and a 186.3 passer rating) and Iowa’s sometime thrilling, sometime frustrating Ricky Stanzi.

Robinson is a physical freak who should turn out even better than the player who spurned Rodriguez’s affection two years ago, the aforementioned Pryor. But the hype has been far too great. Weren’t we just as excited about Tate Forcier a year ago after he led Michigan to a 4-0 start before he started playing like a freshman and the Wolverines lost five straight?

A Heisman victory for Robinson won’t be a complete shock. The voters are as unpredictable as Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot-stuffers, but no matter how many time he makes Erin Andrews smile, he’s still just a first-year starter on a mediocre football team.

And The BCS Came Tumbling Down

Carthage was untouchable. After taking Sicily from the Greeks in 275 B.C.E. and having turned back the Romans for 118 years, the Carthaginians were secure in their power to control the entire Mediterranean Sea. Then something happened.

They lost.

After years of trying, Rome succeeded in sacking the famed city. More than 200,000 were killed, and the 50,000 survivors were sold into slavery. The fortress was leveled, a curse put on the site and one of the great cities of antiquity erased. Two thousand years later and 108 years after the first Rose Bowl, another dominant power is being hounded by its enemies.

It is not likely the BCS bowls will suffer such a dramatic end. But make no mistake about it, just like the North African city-state that once dominated everything within its reach, the BCS is under siege, and its nearly unfettered control of college athletics’ financial empire is in danger of falling.

Last week, a group called Playoff PAC announced its intent to file a complaint with the IRS claiming the Orange, Fiesta and Sugar bowls have violated tax laws involving nonprofit organizations. Playoff PAC is a political action committee that wants the NCAA to dump the BCS and institute a playoff system.

The claims by the PAC are interesting and, if proven true, could finally undo the entire system.

The bowls are tax-exempt 501(c)3 charities and by law they cannot be used for the benefit of private interests.

Playoff PAC believes the Fiesta Bowl violated U.S. tax law by extending noninterest loans to executives, by paying $1.2 million to a lobbying firm while indicating on its tax returns it did not engage in such activities and, perhaps most damaging, reimbursing employees who donate to friendly politicians, which is a violation of state and federal campaign finance laws.

Bowl officials have publicly dismissed the complaint, but privately the concern is certainly much greater. Not only is the complaint damaging, but the group is connected and it should find a willing partner in Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch.

According to the Associated Press, the signers of the complaint include Matthew Sanderson, who was a campaign finance lawyer for John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, and Joe Birkenstock, a one-time chief counsel for the Democratic National Party. The third signer, Marcus Owens, is a former director of the IRS exempt organizations division. Then, of course, there is Hatch, who has been beating the anti-BCS drum for years.

Hatch’s interest in the BCS goes back to, at least, 2003 when he chaired a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on possible antitrust violations. A year ago he testified in front of the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, saying in his opening statement, “Put simply, Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act prohibits contracts, combinations or conspiracies to limit competition.

I’ve said before that I don’t believe a plainer description of the BCS exists.”

The Salt Lake City Republican said an antitrust violation occurs when “... one is in possession of monopoly power and uses that power in a way not associated with growth or development as a consequence of having a superior product or business acumen.”

That’s a hard opinion to dismiss.

The complaint from the PAC, by itself, won’t be enough to bring down the BCS. Even if the bowls are found to have violated tax laws, it would be surprising if the IRS pulled their tax-exempt status. A fine may be a more likely reaction.

But with each volley from the cannonade, the walls surrounding the BCS citadel become weaker, and it may be just a matter of time before its defenses are breached. Hatch and his supporters will likely use any decision by the IRS as a way to press for full Senate inquiry.

This may not be The Punic Wars, but a football fortress may someday stand in ruin, its history plowed into the soil and its furrows salted to prevent regrowth.

Award Isn’t Worth Holding On To

We told you a week ago that Reggie Bush doesn’t care about college football’s biggest award. It’s not because he’s callous, which he appears to be, but because the Heisman, while it looks great on the mantel, has lost all meaning.

Beno Cook must be rolling in his grave.

The not-so-secret fact isn’t that Bush knew he was breaking the rules, but that the forebears to whom he says he is showing reverence by giving back the award want the former USC tailback to keep it.

Johnny Rogers, who won the award for Nebraska two decades before Lawrence Phillips made the idea of institutional control at Norman a joke, said giving it back doesn’t matter because Bush was the best player. Eric Crouch, another Husker Heisman alumnus, called it a “sad day” when Bush gave back his bronze-and-granite bookend. Eddie George, Heisman class of ‘95, told AP, “I think it’s a shame that it’s come to this for Reggie.”

See? Reggie is the victim. Bush confirmed this in his carefully crafted announcement by shifting the blame.

“Whatever the NCAA has, whatever programs they have, aren’t working and it needs to be changed ... You’re going to see great athletes missing their junior and senior year and seasons because the system doesn’t work.”

To help combat these dastardly destroyers of youthful innocence, Bush said he wants to start a program to educate high school athletes against the evildoing he wasn’t a part of.

If all this sounds familiar, it’s because Mark McGwire said the same thing. Mac was going to be a national spokesman but disappeared behind the walls of the gated community in which he lives. Time will tell if Bush will be as successful.

The days when a Heisman meant first-round draft status disappeared years ago. After decades of Heisman busts, NFL employers came to realize film trumps hardware every time. And the players know it. In fact, the most important part of the award is the year-round buildup that can bump a player’s Q ratings to a beneficial level from which he can cash in on once his eligibility ends. But beyond that it is meaningless to the players.

Bush rode the gravy train that sits outside of every major university and waited for the offers to come. Much like when Butch McRae’s mother was asked in Blue Chips what would become of her son if things were just given to him and she responded “a millionaire?,” the Bush family was looking to cash out and did just that. It’s why his fellow Heisman winners and current teammates don’t care.

Recognition is nice, but money spends.

“I know that he feels like this is a family - a close-knit family - and for him, just like the rest of us, it’s about winning championships,” said Bush’s coach Sean Payton in an AP article.

Exactly. Winning matters. Behavior does not.

Bush was wrong for taking the gifts and is wrong for not taking any responsibility for his actions. He left his alma mater to clean up the mess.

Maybe that’s fair.

Former athletic director Mike Garrett and head coach Pete Carroll exercised very little control over a program that turned every practice into a VIP keg party.

Bush gave back the award not because the committee was going to take it away, but because he doesn’t care. Why should we?

A Weird Week In Sports News

Just a random thought before we get started.

Who should be more upset that Sidney Crosby went yard while taking batting practice with the Pirates, hockey fans outside of the Steel City who long ago tired of the constant love butter spread on this guy, or Pittsburgh fans who realized the city’s best power hitter plays another sport?

Oh heck, let’s keep going.

* Kimbo Slice, who has gone 4-2 against MMA tomato cans, says he’s going to make his boxing debut this year - likely against yet another container of consume. The former street brawler told ESPN he’s “going to be a problem in the heavyweight division” and that he wants “to see what it’s like to break some ribs, break a jaw with one punch.”

One could question why anyone would care about this obvious publicity stunt, but a better topic of conversation would center on his plans to do something that Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Max Baer, Joe Lewis, Rocky Marciano, Sonny Liston, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Ernie Shavers and Mike Tyson could not.

* Just in case you’re confused: Reggie Bush doesn’t give a damn if his Heisman gets taken away.

* The Colts say their current contract talks with quarterback Payton Manning have nothing to do with Tom Brady’s recent four-year, $78 million deal. Good. It should-n’t. It should be based on Eli Manning’s $15.2 million deal. To paraphrase Lloyd Benson: “Eli, we know Payton Manning ... and you’re no Payton Manning.”

* Mike Tyson ruined pay per view boxing. It just didn’t make sense to spend $60 for a 10-minute fight. But after watching Floyd Mayweather’s racist and ridiculous verbal video assault on Manny Pacquiao and his subsequent half-baked apology, add one more to the list of former pay-per-view participants who will pony up whatever it takes to see the congressman from the province of Sarangani take about 147 pounds of revenge from Money’s ubet.

* This just in from the Nick Saban school of athletic honesty: Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl, famed for his shirtless dedication to Pat Summitt and improper Erin Andrews feel-up, has admitted lying to NCAA investigators. Pearl, recalling the lesson he learned in grade school, told Associated Press, “I learned that it’s not OK to tell the truth most of the time, but you’ve got to tell the truth all of the time.”

Nice words of advice from the guy who put the brakes on his head-coaching career in 1988 when he ratted out Illinois for recruiting violations. The NCAA ruled the allegations were not true but was able to find other rules infractions.

And, this from the Mike Garrett school of administrative control: Tennessee announced it will dock Pearl $1.5 million in pay over a five-year period, reducing the head guy’s annual haul to a paltry $2 million.

* Two things we’re certain about when it comes to Brett Favre. The first is that he likes real ... comfortable ... jeans. The other is that he loves to play that game. We know this because his official web-site is titled “For the Love of the Game,” and because it has been drilled into our heads for 19 years. Well, maybe 18 years, since he spent the first season more concerned with bars than Bears.

But consider this. Is it sacrilege to consider that the reason Favre has yet to retire is because he loves the attention more than the competition? We know he hates training camp and didn’t complain when Brad Childress did the Hattiesberg kowtow. If he were a past-his-prime fighter and not the namesake for John Madden’s lasagna, we would know the answer. Consider this. The Favre-O-Meter on his web-site tracks pass attempts, completions, touchdowns, wins and yards thrown, but not interceptions and his wasted year in Atlanta. For the record, he has 318 INTs - or 41 more than George Blanda, who is No. 2.

* The biggest battle facing Boise State’s attempt to play for a national title will not be between the Broncos and any opponent, but among the voters. New age voters are already giving Boise first-place nods while the old school still grumbles about strength of schedule.

Whoever wins the argument will decide Boise’s fate.

 

Big 10 (Plus 2) AD Is The Best

Can The Big Game get any bigger? We are about to find out.

The soon to be 12-team Big Ten will be split for the 2011 football season with Michigan and Ohio State leading the two yet unnamed divisions.

If things play out as hoped, the two schools with a historical disdain for each other could meet twice a season. It’s the rematch Wolverine fans have wanted since 2006 when No. 1 Ohio State beat No. 2 Michigan 42-39 leaving the Michigan Mafia without tickets to a national championship game rematch, which they believed was earned.

The idea at first worried conference bean counters, who feared a possible split would turn the once hard-fought and hugely profitable game into a bi-annual contest with little resemblance to the 10-Year War that brought the rivalry into the modern age and made everyone much wealthier.

Enter Jim Delany. The conference commissioner made sure Woody and Bo would remain at rest while adding even more money to the overflowing conference coffers. He kept the rivalries alive, created two balanced divisions and furthered the fact that their commissioner is better than your commissioner.

Love him or hate him, you have to respect the guy with stones of Van Wilder’s dog and the look and tricky brilliance of Robert Duval circa Days of Thunder.

Delany just out-works, out-thinks and out-maneuvers everyone. As commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference, he convinced the schools to pay ESPN for airtime. The midnight tipoffs and fans in pajamas brought unprecedented coverage to the conference. Now, he’s pro Big Ten, even to the detriment of others.

Dare to complain he is ruining college football and he’ll calmly tell you he doesn’t work for college football, just the Big Ten. A popular president pushes for a college football playoff and Delany is respectful, but says Obama doesn’t understand the complexities of the issue.

Delany understands. He helped create the Bowl Championship Series - the plan specifically designed to not only maintain but enhance college athletics caste system.

And if you’re wondering how the NCAA got the idea of delaying the start of the college baseball season, therefore pushing the College World Series to the summer months, it was Delany.

Delany gets his juice from his relationships with university presidents, whom he has wined, dined and cajoled until chain of command seems reversed, and the fact that his conference occupies nearly a quarter of all television households.

So clear is his power, Delany can move at his own pace. While everyone expected the Big Ten to raid the Big East and Big 12 for as many as five schools in a whirlwind of greed that would rip apart conferences and leave others to disintegrate under their own ineptitude, Delany moved slow, pulling in only Nebraska. As they say, when an average man hooks up with a hottie, nice pull.

The Cornhuskers not only added a nice geographic rival for Iowa, and Kansas or Missouri should Delany decide to offer an invitation, but an entire state of viewers, widespread alumni and, most important to the image of the conference, membership in the Association of American Universities - an organization of 63 elite research universities whose membership is by invite only. Kansas and Missouri also are members.

Delany’s conference realignment makes sense. One division will boast Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota and Northwestern, while the other Ohio State, Penn

State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana. If we assume Michigan will shortly resume its traditional spot in the conference, each side has a school to counterbalance the other. Michigan-Ohio State, check. Nebraska-Penn State, check. Iowa-Wisconsin, check. Michigan State-Illinois, check with the edge to Sparty. The other four hardly matter.

So, everyone is happy - minus Cornhusker fans who were hoping to avoid any first-year hazing. Nebraska begins year one in the conference with the opener at Wisconsin. They get Ohio State at home then go on the road to Minnesota. Michigan State and Northwestern come for a visit before the Huskers travel to Penn State and Michigan before ending the season at home against Iowa.

Delany didn’t do the new kid any favors, but $25 million in annual TV money should help heal any wounds in Lincoln.

Bowden’s Anger Is A Year Too Late

Now we know.

Bobby got jobbed. After 34 years, 377 wins, 12 ACC championships and two national titles, the former Florida State coach was shown the door.

He’s not angry.

He said so.

But he is.

Bowden wants everyone to know that he didn’t want to retire and that it will be a cold day in Tallahassee before he and former president T.K. Wetherell sit down for a cold beer and warm tales.

He’s moved on.

But he’s still talking. Bowden assumed that his body of work would buy him as many years as he deemed appropriate.

Well, tie me to a pig and roll me in the mud, has he not been paying attention? It would seem that during his six decades in college football he would have witnessed a coach or two getting shoved onto the ranks of the unemployed once victories became harder to come by.

He’s even taken to repeating the overused “what have you don’t for me lately?” to describe his shocking dismissal as if it is the first time he has heard the sentence. No doubt he has seen such unfair labor practices, but now he’s the victim and he’s fixin’ to do something about it.

Bowden has written a book and is using the promotional tour to set the record straight about being canned following the 2009 season. After all, a bit dog will holler, and Bobby is quite the talker.

Wetherell reneged on his promise of a lifetime contract and then dared to offer the best dad gum football coach in state history some ridiculous post called an ambassador coach. Now Wetherell is paying for having the audacity to do what was right for the program. But regardless of merit, you don’t insult the alligator before you cross the stream, and the former president and Seminole football player did just that. He insulted a legend who is now madder than a mashed cat and looking for some payback. But should he be?

No doubt Bowden was hurt by the move. Who wouldn’t be? You think Joe Paterno would have left humming The Best is Yet to Come had he got the boot after going a combined 26-33 in the first five years of the new millennium? After the decades he gave the university, Bowden earned the right to a fair amount of self pity. Had he done it a year ago after his contract wasn’t renewed, his criticism would have merit. Now he just sounds bitter. An old man looking back with unresolved bitterness.

Bowden says 2010 would have been his last season. But would it have been? Money and adulation are tough drugs to kick. So is the unstated fear of following in the footsteps of an idol who eerily predicted his own demise following the completion of his own long coaching career. Paul Bryant passed away four weeks after coaching his last college football game. As Bowden was fond of saying, “After you retire, there’s only one big event left. And I ain’t ready for that.”

Bowden is a good ol’ dog, but sometimes he craps too close to the porch. His team got hit with five years of probation after the NCAA found several of his players had received free shoes and sporting goods from a local store in 1993. At the time he dismissed the criticism saying he couldn’t watch everyone. The team was again placed on probation last year after an investigation uncovered academic rules violations for which Bowden has yet to take responsibility.

There was a time when Bowden was happier than a flea on a dog. He was one of the game’s biggest stars who won over players and parents with his gosh darn charm. Those who have spent time with the legendary coach say an hour with Bobby Bowden is 60 minutes of insight, history and unforgettable wit.

If that conversation begins to take on the feel of an old time revival, there is good reason. Bowden has been spreading his message of Christianity on pulpits and platforms for years. But his current tirade against Wetherell is uglier than homemade sin and doing so is just a dime holdin’ up a dollar at this point in his life.

NHL Wins Big In Contract Dispute

It’s not often that the NHL can work from a position of strength. Typically, the league with upper-division dreams and second-tier support must remain happy to maintain any level of relevance and solvency.

For proof of the league’s challenges, look no further than the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, which parted ways with goalie Antti Niemi because his $2.75 million contract was deemed too costly.

But the NHL has to be feeling its oats after its rejection of Ilya Kovalchuk’s deal with the Devils was confirmed by an arbitrator. Richard Bloch agreed with the league that the 17-year, $102 million contract was designed to circumvent the salary cap.

Kovalchuk was set to receive just 3 percent of the total value of the contract in its final six years. Bloch said the contract violates the collective bargaining agreement by artificially lowering the team’s salary cap hit by signing the player to a contract that extends beyond the normal length of an NHL career. Kovalchuk would be 44 at the end of the deal and, according to Bloch, in the past 20 years only six players have played to the age of 42. That’s not much precedence for an exaggerated career - Chris Chelios being the obvious exception playing until the age of 48.

The smoking gun was the no-move clause that shifted to a no-trade clause in year 11 when Kovalchuk’s pay would have ducked under $1 million, providing him with ample reason to retire, or the team to waive him or reassign him to the minors.

Bolstered by the decision, the league is now investigating the contracts of Marian Hossa, Chris Pronger, Roberto Luongo and Marc Savard to determine if their deals also violate the CBA. Penalties could include de-registration, fines, reduction of the teams’payroll, forfeiture of draft picks and suspensions of team officials, players and agents.

The NHL has made it clear: It is out to end long-term, front-loaded contracts. Smart move. Such deals could destroy the long-term health of the league.

Had Bloch come to the opposite conclusion, teams would be free to sign a player until he reaches Gordie Howe status, thereby under-cutting the salary cap and allowing teams to spend themselves into financial ruin.

The NHL is a penny-pinching league - not out of desire, but of necessity. It tried to copy the NBA and move into cities far from its traditional bases of interest but that has only weakened its once small, but stable, financial position. Prudence is now the name of the game.

In the last two years Nashville, Phoenix and Buffalo have filed for bankruptcy. In 2003, Ottawa had the best record in the league and heaps of debt. In ‘98 it was the Penguins’turn to dance with the reorganization devil.

The league will continue its investigation into the aforementioned players, but any real action against them is slight. Hossa, Luongo, Pronger and Savard are all playing under the contracts being looked at, and any effort to institute tough penalties will result in legal fights in which neither side wants to become involved.

The decision remains a nice win for the NHL. It’s not likely to have too many more.

Saban Teeters On His High Horse

It had never occurred to me what an equestrian Nick Saban is.

Perhaps his West Virginia upbringing should have been a clue. His days as a defensive back at Kent State don’t offer much of a hint. They are the Golden Flash after all, which according to their logo is some sort of deformed bird.

So if his appreciation for being in the saddle had been expressed over the years, most of us have missed it.

But now, the coach who has made a career of peddling his services to the highest bidder has climbed aboard his high horse and to show his disgust with agents who exploit players too young and too naive to know better.

Saban has likening them to pimps.

 

Yet he is the one who has enriched himself off the flesh of young men just to discard them once their usefulness no longer served his purpose for more control and more money.

So who’s the real pimp? Agents are a problem, no doubt. But the biggest problem with college athletics is not the vultures that lurk for prey safely beyond the protected borders of the athletic department. It is the coaches and administrators whose entire economic future is tied to sweet talking even younger players who, to borrow a phrase from Saban, are “at a very difficult time in their life.”

Saban feels agents are dishonest - this from the very coach who chastised journalists for reporting he was going to leave the Dolphins for Alabama, going so far as to make a definite statement that he wasn’t headed to Tuscaloosa. Of course, this was after he left Michigan State for LSU and LSU for Miami just a year after signing a $18.45 million contract.

While most coaches hide their hypocrisy through double-talk or silence, Saban let it fly at the annual SEC football media day while discussing defensive end Marcell Dareus, who was reported to have attended a party thrown by an agent in Miami.

Saban has a plan to clean up the mess in which he accepts no blame and puts the burden elsewhere.

“What should be done is the NFL Players Association says if you have anything to do with making a player ineligible by your illegal contact or breaking any rules relative to our profession, then you get your license removed, and you can’t collect fees unless you have a license,” he said during the press conference.

Saban continued his youa culpa by saying “If they don’t do something to clean up the agents then I am for college football and college coaches doing something because we treat the NFL better than anyone in the country.”

So what’s stopping him from getting started now?

Pimping ain’t easy, and it sure isn’t honest.

If a player suddenly has a fly ride or his parents go from modest means to being featured on Cribs, why raise a fuss and risk losing games and therefore jobs?

Pete Carroll coveted celebrity to help promote his program. He swam with Will Ferrell, hung with Snoop, and when his loose control of the program began to catch up with him, he bolted for the NFL.

But he wasn’t guilty. Just ask him.

“Reggie Bush wasn’t Reggie Bush when he was a sophomore (in 2004),” said Carroll to Sports Illustrated in reference to his former tailback who the NCAA says took some $300,000 in cash and prizes from agents.

“People ask, ‘Why wouldn’t you have known this or that; why didn’t you anticipate this or foresee that?’ He wasn’t Reggie Bush then.”

Carroll’s convenient bout with memory loss is amusing considering that in 2004 Bush was the team’s MVP and finished fifth in Heisman voting.

But why let facts get in the way of a good lie? Carroll got his. He, like Saban, is richer and now has greater control with which to feed his ego.

Yes, agents are pimps. So are coaches, Nick. Quit pointing a finger and just shut up.

 

Ethics Concerns Over Sports Fee

Now we know. Beginning in January, UHManoa students will have yet another fee added to their ever-growing tuition costs.

Love or hate it, the athletics fee was inevitable. One cannot stem the tide nor, seemingly, stop the out-of-control finances of big-time university athletics. Similar fees have been the norm for years across the landscape and UH, faced with annual deficits, had to either join the masses or figure out a way to live within its means. Since no one else in the nation has figured out a way to spend responsibly, it is probably too much to expect such discipline from a school saddled with a tradition of bloated bureaucracy and a head-in-the-sand mentality.

For 90 percent of the universities in this country, athletics is a financial drain. According to the NCAA Revenues and Expenses of Division I Intercollegiate Athletics Programs Report Fiscal Years 2004, 2005 and 2006, only 19 Football Bowl Subdivision (D-1) schools generated revenue that exceeded expenses for fiscal year 2006. The report also says the median negative net revenue was $8.9 million. In comparison, UH is doing quite well. But being best of the worst is hardly comforting.

 

Professors bristle over more money going to the athletic department while the school is burdened with a statewide $368 million maintenance backlog. Students are reluctant to add yet another bill to the cost of their education - which has nearly doubled since 2005.

Regardless of the concerns, after UH Regents voted 11-3 Friday to approve the fee, it is no longer a topic of debate. Focus must now shift toward keeping an eye on the program to make sure it doesn’t stray from its intended purpose. The first concern is making sure generated funds actually go toward balancing the budget and are not just an excuse for further spending. Second is ensuring the program doesn’t cut ethical corners.

Two million dollars cannot ensure financial accountability. Athletic departments run on deficits not because they cannot generate revenue but because every increase in funding is matched with an equal amount of spending. More is necessary - and never enough. UH cannot afford such debt spending. That will only result in more fees, general fund loans or bankruptcy.

ASUH and GSO, the undergrad and graduate student representative organizations, complained loudly about what they feel is a lack of transparency over the issue - pointing often to the timing of the issue which they feel was specifically scheduled to limit student participation. That point is debatable. What isn’t is the vague language in the proposal that leaves too much room for speculation, and, therefore, further distrust in the athletic department.

The proposal calls for “5 to 8 percent of the total student athletic fee collected to support a variety of activities for students.” What that really means is that 5 percent of the money will go to tailgating, transportation and prize give-aways with the remaining 3 percent, worth about $60,000, typically remaining with the athletic department.

Also worth watching is the membership of the Student Athletic Fee Committee, which will determine how the money is spent. The committee will be chaired by Vice Chancellor of Students Dr. Francisco J. Hernandez, and the athletic department will be represented. Beyond that there are no guarantees.

Page two of the proposal says the committee will be a “student-majority committee” but that is called into question four lines earlier on the same page where it says the committee “could be composed of members from the ASUH, GSO, Athletic Advisory Board, Residence Hall Association, the Student Activity and Program Fee Board and student life.”

Could and will may be the difference between trust and suspicion. That’s a fragile balance on a campus as badly split as UH.

The End Of The LeBron Ego Fest

It was the biggest story of the year. We know this because ESPN kept telling us so. Every day we were inundated with news about no news. After not too long, they didn’t even try to hide the fact that they had no information about LeBron James’ plans. Yet there they were, four days before the big announcement, Stuart Scott and J.A. Adande, talking about James just moments after Scott opened the segment saying there was no new information.

Thank God it’s over!

James is now a Heater, or whatever. He’s now part of the best team in the East, provided they have the cap space to fill the roster with anything more than dead weight.

Most important, “The Decision” is done. After a week of hype and about 75 minutes of coverage, perhaps the most self serving program in history is over, to live on in YouTube repeats and Bristol brainstorming sessions.

Everyone played their roles in promoting this atrocity. Radio man Colin Cowherd justified the programming saying it was great PR for the league, and that several high schoolers have held national press conferences to announce which school they are attending. Cowherd conveniently left out the fact that the sham was produced not by the league but from James’ business partners, and that the previously mention prepsters had done so on the very same network.

He also blasted Magic coach Stan Van Gundy who, during an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, called the one-hour program a joke and a waste of time.

“I mean, it’s almost like a parody of itself, this whole situation now,” said Van Gundy in the interview. “Come on, an hour long? OK, it takes 15 seconds to say, ‘I’ve decided to stay in Cleveland.’ But we’ve got another 59 minutes and 45 seconds to, what, promote LeBron James? As if we don’t do that enough.” Chalk one up for the Ron Jeremy of the NBA.

ESPN was correct in broadcasting the announcement. Even without the help of the marketing department, James’ decision was big news and had the potential to affect more than one NBAhot spot.

Fine. But this special blew past basic reporting and did nothing more mollycoddle James’massive ego and the network’s own impression of self-worth.

Much like the hours of speculation devoted to Brett Favre a year ago, the “Where’s LeBron” programming loop was just another example of a media outlet inventing drama for the sake of ratings. James’ business manager, Maverick Carter, said on lebronjames.com: “Due to the unprecedented attention and interest surrounding LeBron’s decision, we have decided to make this announcement on national television.” The “unprecedented attention” was almost entirely media-generated and was carefully planned out to have the biggest commercial impact for both James and the network.

So bizarre was the whole arrangement that ESPN used itself as an unnamed source. A week ago its Web site reported that, “Sources told ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard that representatives for James contacted the network, proposing the idea of a dedicated special.”

Jim Gray, who according to CNBC was paid by team LeBron, was hand picked to kick off the festivities. Gray says he was only given a small stipen. ESPN, after initially saying they didn’t know Gray was paid for his travel, recanted and later said they had paid for the travel.

Whatever.

Gray stuck to the script and spent 22 minutes peppering James - who went third person three times - with 15 softball questions. “Everybody (the NBAteams in consideration) is on pins and needles waiting your decision,” Gray said to James on two different occasions, even after LeBron said the winning team had been notified earlier that day.

Riveting.

The Gray interview was preceded by dark and emotional voiceovers calling James the biggest free agent prize in NBA history - even though Wilt Chamberlain and Moses Malone had both signed free-agent deals with new teams following MVP seasons - and Scott setting the stage, saying “... at stake is the NBA’s balance of power.

At last the time has come.”

Then there was the studio team who expressed their concern over pressure James had to face while making the difficult decision. “It’s got to be tough,” they all agreed.

All thanks be the World Wide Leader. We wouldn’t know what news was if ESPN didn’t create it.

 

Manly Tools; NASCAR’s Smart Move

Last Wednesday, June 30, at approximately 8:30 p.m. I became a man.

No, not that way, you perv. Remember this is a family publication, not Penthouse Forum.

After decades of getting by on half-stripped sockets and torqueless end wrenches and facing a brake repair and rotor replacement, I made the suddenly exciting journey to Sears, tossed the 94-piece Dual Marked Mechanics Tool Set upon the counter, grunted with Tim Taylor-like pride as I basked in the glow of the fatherly approval of the sales associates and walked out a more mature and confident man.

Before you start pointing your fingers and laughing, be warned that I’m no virgin in the seductive ways of forged steel flirtation. I’ve been turning these bad boy wrenches since I was old enough to steal them from my father’s ever-cluttered work bench. But until that fateful evening a week ago, I was a mere amateur, getting by with weaker sets while adding an occasional C-clamp, hammer, pliers, screw drivers, wrenches and various need-based sockets.

 

The next day I unwrapped the individual pieces and carefully placed them into the sturdy, hard-shell plastic home, the journey to manhood complete.

Which, of course, leads us to NASCAR.

NASCAR’s Nationwide Series is moving forward by taking a look back. It’s a decision the Sprint Series big boys would be wise to consider.

Unlike most other motor sports, brand matters as much as the driver in NASCAR. Before there was Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, there was Chevy, Ford and Dodge fighting for on-track supremacy and fan loyalty. It was not uncommon for NASCAR fans to abandon their favorite drivers simply because they traded brands. Indy has always had its stars, but nobody dumped a driver because the race team moved from Cosworth to the mandatory Honda power plant. A lot of that changed as NASCAR turned greater attention toward aerodynamics in an effort to increase performance. The result, along with the esthetics-challenged Car of Tomorrow - which former Penske Racing president Don Miller called “butt ugly” - has destroyed brand recognition as the cars have evolved into one-shape-fits-all racing platforms that make it nearly impossible to identify one manufacturer from another. Such technological changes haven’t affected other racing sports because none is so strictly tied to its manufacturing partners who used racing as a vehicle to sell their vehicles.

This was long the draw of NASCAR - fans could purchase the very same cars they saw racing on Sundays at their local dealership. Minus the rules-bending alterations, of course. The cars had personality. No one could mistake a Torino for a Roadrunner or a Cutlass for a Monte Carlo. Everyone had their favorite and no one got confused. Today, the only identifying characteristic is the decal. Swap the Toyota looped “T” for the Chevy bow tie and no one is the wiser.

NASCAR began the experiment Friday, and early returns suggest they have a hit. Fan interest around the track has increased as has the drivers’ willingness to talk up their new rides. The plan is to have these vehicles running full time next season. The models also have reinvigorated the muscle car battles that have laid dormant for decades. Ford has brought back the Mustang and will battle the Dodge Challenger for supremacy. Chevy is happy to continue with the Impala but is in danger of losing yet another battle to its four-letter competitor if it doesn’t throw its new Camaro into the fight. But it wouldn’t be the first fight the bow tie brand has lost in recent years.

Golf Channel’s Limbaugh Experiment

When the Golf Channel went looking for a famous hacker to team up with a famous teacher in an effort to fill its ever-expanding need for programming, the network couldn’t have done any better than Charles Barkley. The former Round Mound of Rebound turned even rounder mound of sound, was the perfect foil for the straight-laced Hank Haney. Barkley worked his incredibly large butt off, filled air time with his natural comedic talent and possessed a reality TV swing that made every viewer feel better about their own game.

Season two saw a better golfer but less engaging Ray Romano exercising his swing and comedic chops on the channel that is always in need of some humor to break up the traditionally staid sport. Romano held his own, but his ability to carry the broadcast was dependent on the audience’s appreciation of his humor.

Year three will prove to be even more challenging.

The Golf Channel has announced that right-wing windbag Rush Limbaugh will be next to tackle Haney’s challenging practice routine while attempting to eliminate strokes - and not audience members.

And that will be the big challenge. Limbaugh loves the game, plays often and will be featured on Golf in America, which is fine. He’ll talk about the game, what it means to him, then move on. The Haney Project is different. While the show boasts the teacher’s name, it is the student who is the star and it is their job to carry the program. The jury is out on whether Limbaugh can handle that critical role. If he can’t, season three may be the beginning of the end.

“The Haney Project is a perfect example of how Golf Channel marries some of the biggest names in entertainment with golf to create fun, edgy programming,” said Tom Stathakes, Golf Channel senior vice president of programming, production and operations on golfchannel.com. “Rush Limbaugh is a major entertainer and personality, and he shares our passion for the game of golf, which is a great combination.”

Stathakes is correct about Limbaugh’s popularity. He’s big time. But Limbaugh is also a very polarizing figure whom many viewers will refuse to watch. And while Golf Channel may enjoy producing “fun, edgy programming” - which is actually hard to find on the network - it would be wise to remember ESPN’s attempt to shake things up and get edgy. The sports network hired “America’s anchor-man” to add some zest to its Monday Night Football broadcast and what it got was controversy gone amok after Limbaugh said the media was promoting Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb simply because of his race. He and an embarrassed ESPN soon parted company.

Limbaugh’s addition to the lineup is not the only strange programming decision made of late by the network Arnold Palmer helped create. Donald J. Trump’s Fabulous World of Golf,in which former athletes and celebrities compete for charity as popular culture’s greatest ego offers mind-numbing commentary all in the attempt to promote himself and his courses, is unwatchable. The program is based on Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf which began in 1962, and unlike the modern version, paired the likes of Sarazen, Snead, Nicklaus, Player, Nelson, Palmer and Hogan in head-to-head matchups on courses from Athens to Hong Kong and St. Andrews. Now it’s Jerry Rice versus drug addict and ho-bagger Lawrence Taylor, and Mark Wahlberg taking on Kevin Dillen. Or as the Web site says, “The competition is steep. The star-power is huge. And the host is Mr. Donald J. Trump himself.” Yikes!

It’s too early to say the Limbaugh/Haney pairing will be a bust. Limbaugh does have an impressive following, and PGA members are 95 percent Republican, support drilling in the Arctic, hate the inheritance tax, Obama’s health care plan and any putting surface that doesn’t roll as true as a pool table. So there may be some support. But he is also despised, and that’s something the network must be very aware of and monitor with care. Time will tell.

 

It’s Rondo’s Time; Cavs Searching

With nothing but baseball on the horizon, we’ve got to get our basketball licks in.

As far as a pre-emptive strikes goes, Boston’s signing of point guard Rajon Rondo a year before he had a chance to test the free-agent market was a move of pure genius or fantastic luck. The five-year, $55 million deal was a significant upgrade over his original three-year deal that paid him a mere $2.094 million in a year when he was the Celtics’ best player in the post-season. Had Boston refused to budge from its concerns over Rondo’s leadership qualities and ability to work well with the senior-laden squad, a worry that president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and owner Wyc Grousbeck openly admitted to Rondo’s agent, the engine to the Celtics’Eastern Conference winning steamroller may have left town as the anchor piece in a LeBron James signing coup.

Rondo, whose chest-thumpingly cool surname just cries for single-name celebrity recognition, carried the team as Boston’s big three went through various veteran shutdown modes as the playoffs wore on. While most of the post season conversation revolved around James’ future, Dwight Howard’s fall to sidekick status and Kobe Bryant’s climb up the all-time Lakers’ list, 2010 has been the year of Rondo. He may not have walked away with a ring, but no player took advantage of the sport’s biggest stage to have a coming-out party.

That rush of air wafting across the plains a week ago was the collective breath of Mitten State basketball fans upon hearing the news that the university’s greatest contribution to basketball since Magic Johnson punched out the Sycamores before revitalizing West Coast basketball has decided to remain in East Lansing. The courting of Tom Izzo by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert was a real threat - even with a loaded Spartans team that is a virtual Final Four lock and might have won a title in April if not for the loss of guard Kalin Lucas.

Had James been under contract, MSU would likely have been looking for its second head coach in 34 years, home state history be damned. No coach is going to turn down the package of King James and a massive pay increase while remaining close to home.

That Izzo was tempted to look elsewhere - and what coach doesn’t have the ego to entertain thoughts of NBA success - is irrelevant. The nine days of darkness left many fans angry and self-righteous media members miffed at the lack of information, but in the end, Izzo made the right choice for three reasons:

* The NBA is no place for a successful college coach, not even if James is part of the package. Had Izzo taken the job, he would have replaced a coach who had the highest winning percentage in team history, and who was the NBA coach of the year just one season ago. That’s not much job security for a coach who hasn’t had to send out a resume in 15 years. Plus, as was noted earlier, the Spartans are loaded.

* Lucas returns along with back court mate Durrell Summers and the forward tandem of Delvon Roe and Draymond Green. As a group, the two juniors and two seniors combined for 42.4 points, 25.3 rebounds and 3.8 steals per game. Add in returning shooters Chris Allen and Korie Lucious, and incoming shooting guard Keith Appling and center Adreian Payne, and even if James comes back, it is unlikely the Cavaliers will be able to match the Spartans’ level of success.

* Finally, and perhaps most important, had Izzo taken Gilbert’s offer, he would have had the difficult job of explaining his decision to Summers and Lucas, who returned for the sole reason of chasing a title. Not to mention those students who held a candlelight vigil outside Breslin Center in an attempt to convince the state’s most-beloved college coach since Bo Schembechler to stick around.

Manoa Cup Favors Young Golfers

After working your way around the 6,041 yards of roller-coaster fairways and table-top greens at Oahu Country Club, it becomes clear why the Manoa Cup is a young person’s event - it’s just too tough of a course played over too many days and too many rounds for most golfers in the middle-spread years to seriously compete.

Those who recall the history of the event will correctly point out that George Nahale Sr. set the record for middle-aged excellence with his victory in 1956 at the age of 51. But that was a rare feat, and Nahale wasn’t just another local golfer. He was good enough to win the state’s premiere amateur event the year before.

The same could be said for 42-year-old Jonathan Ota, who took the traditional leap into the pool four years ago and was the runner-up last year.

But outside of those examples, the 2010 winner will likely be someone too young to remember anything other than 460 cc drivers and shafts long enough to swing from the other side of the tee box.

Over the past decade, teenagers have dominated the field to such an extent that 2007 champion Kurt Nino (22) seems rather old in comparison. Last year it was 19-year-old University of Hawaii golfer T.J. Kua. The year before Alex Ching (18) took the honors. Travis Toyama became the youngest-ever champ by winning as a 15-year-old in 2002 and followed it up with another win in ‘05.

Andrew Feldman, the head professional at Oahu Country Club, which has hosted the tournament since 1933, said there is good reason why youth has replaced experience at the winner’s table.

“What changed is the number of junior golfers who are participating,” says Feldman. “When I started here in 1998 we had a spattering of junior golfers. Now I would say 70 percent of the players are college or junior golfers.

“The junior players also are so much better now. In the late ‘90s the kids were good, but maybe just the top three juniors could compete. But now all can compete.”

The format doesn’t favor the game’s elders, either.

Monday is the typical qualifier, where everyone but the previous year’s winner must compete for a seeding in this match-play event. This year, 104 individuals competed for those coveted 64 slots. Those good - and lucky - enough to qualify advance to single events on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Friday, it’s two 18-hole matches with a 36-hole final on Saturday.

If you don’t want to do the math, that’s eight rounds of golf in six days - or a possible 126 holes, or more. Fortunately, things have gotten easier.

Four years ago, Tuesday was a 36-hole day that Feldman says left the older amateurs already weary come Wednesday. Which just makes the accomplishments of Nahale and Dick Sieradzki, who flew at night for Hawaiian Airlines and then played in the morning on his way to the 1990 championship, even more impressive.

Picking a winner is nearly impossible. Kua, the No. 1 seed, has plenty of course knowledge, surprising distance for his 5-foot-9-inch frame and a deft touch on the greens. In March he won the Hawaii Amateur Stroke Play Championship by four strokes over 2009 Turtle Bay Amateur Champion Bradley Shigezawa. But that hardly makes him a shoo-in.

No matter who walks away wet and winded, the biggest star of the week will be the tournament itself.

The Manoa Cup is the fourth-oldest tournament in the United States behind only the U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur and Western Open, and it remains perhaps the toughest test of golf in the Islands. Also cool is that you can follow the frustration online at www.hawaiistategolf.org.

Tampa Calls On A Detroit Legend

Steve Yzerman was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in 1983 to help a once-proud franchise regain its past glory. In 2010, he is being asked to do the same thing - minus the once-proud franchise part.

Outside of its lone Stanley Cup, the Tampa Bay Lightning has had only five winning seasons in its 17 years of existence, including twice finishing last in the easier Eastern Conference and climbing no higher than seventh in any season since raising the cup in 2004. It’s a record of futility the new Lightning general manager knows well. Prior to his arrival, the Dead Wings, as they were not-so-lovingly called, reached the playoffs only twice in 16 years. Three years later, they were in the conference finals. Tampa could make a similar move.

The Lightning have some talent. They just couldn’t win or play defense, which meant that head coach Rick Tocchet and former GM Brian Lawton had to go.

Martin St. Louis, at 35, is still one of the league’s best scorers, and the team has a pair of youngsters around whom Yzerman will try to build a contender. Forward Steven Stamkos is just 20 and tied Sidney Crosby for the league lead in goals and finished fourth in points. Victor Hedman is 19, big (6-foot-6) and one of the best young defensemen in the game. Vincent Lecavalier, whose production has slid in the past couple years, is a bit of a mystery but will be key in Tampa’s success. And he’d better play well. The center is locked up for a decade-long cap hit, which the team may be forced to swallow if he doesn’t regain form and become too expensive to pay or trade.

Tampa also has the sixth pick in a deep draft that should bolster its defense two or three years down the road, and $17 million in cap room, which will allow for some off-season shopping - likely on goaltending if they can’t get help in a trade.

The Lightning’s two-headed goaltending monster - a very accurate label - of Mike Smith and Antero Niittymaki has been totally inadequate. Niittymaki was 17th in goals against average and 13th in save percentage, while Smith was even worse at 21 and 22, respectively. Montreal has to make a decision on netminders Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak, who split the duties during the regular season. Halak’s postseason performance cements him at No. 1 for the time being. Which means Price, who is a restricted free agent, could be expendable. But at just 22 years old, the former first-round pick may be worth keeping.

But before Yzerman starts spending cap cash, he has to find a coach and an assistant who can spot talent, manage the budget and implement a style of play that stresses chemistry and team defense. Don’t be surprised if he raids the Wings’ closet to fill the holes just as he did as executive director of Team Canada, which included Detroit head coach Mike Babcock and GM and executive vice president Ken Holland. He’s gotten permission to talk with Ryan Martin, whose creative use of cap space allowed Detroit to lock up Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen to long-term deals, and who will likely be promoted to assistant GM.

The head coach also may have a familiar feel - three names leading the pack are AHL coach and close pal Kevin Dineen, former team-mate and junior Canadian Hockey League’s coach of the year Gerard Gallant and Wings assistant Paul MacLean.

Whatever happens, one thing is clear: Yzerman is in charge. Tampa owner Jeff Vinik said he put off hiring a CEO once he found out Yzerman was available. The new GM handles all on-ice operations and reports directly to the owner. The CEO will handle the boring business details. That’s a lot of responsibility in a first-time GM, but confidence is high. And not just with Vinik.

The third-greatest player of his generation is highly regarded throughout the league and has been biding his time until an offer came. If it wasn’t Tampa, it would have been another NHL team.

Yzerman played under the greatest coach of all time, Scotty Bowman, who convinced his captain to swap scoring for better defense and, as a result, Stanley Cup trophies. Since retiring, he’s been part of professional sports’most consistent franchise and has learned from two of the best front-office people in the league, Holland and senior VP Jimmy Devellano.

Given time, Yzerman will succeed in Tampa. He may even last long enough for a return trip to Detroit.

Which may not make Bolts fans happy, but would send Hockeytown into delirium.

Let It Snow On New York’s Super Day

A funny thing happened on the way to awarding the Super Bowl to yet another warm-weather location: The NFL realized it had a very important market to appease that wasn’t located in one of its three favorite locations - New Orleans (10 times), Miami (9) and Pasadena (5). The league had little choice. The NFL set a precedent years ago by using its showpiece game to help instigate construction of new stadiums.

But even with this history the announcement has, for some reason, caused more than its fair share of consternation. Not because the game is to be held at a cold-weather site for just the fourth time in history, but because the 2014 game will be the first held outdoors at a cold-weather site.

The worry is that should a sudden winter chill blow through the greater New York/New Jersey area with a paralyzing magnitude that has not been seen since Dennis Quaid tried to free the Statue of Liberty from putting on the world’s biggest winter frock, the game could be adversely affected by blowing winds or extreme cold.

It’s a sound argument, but one that fails to take into account that even in the most perfect of playing conditions, a good portion of the games have been dreadful.

 

Take a look.

Super Bowl No. 1: The Packers blew out Kansas City by 25 points as the Chiefs converted on three of 13 third downs and were outgained on offense by 122 yards.

No. 2: The Packers make it two wins in two bad games beating the AFL’s Raiders, 33-14, even though both teams were a combined eight for 27 third downs. The Raiders’ three fumbles didn’t help either.

No. 3: A 16-7 snoozer with Baltimore not scoring until fourth quarter as Earl Morall throws three pics versus six completions.

No. 6: Miami scores the fewest points in Super Bowl history and loses to Dallas, 24-3.

No. 8: Miami gets some bad game payback by beating Minnesota, 24-7. Bob Griese goes 6-7 in passing for 73 yards and the Vikings still can’t win.

No. 9: Minnesota comes up with another poor performance with three interceptions, three fumbles and a Super Bowl low 119 yards of offense. The winning Steelers cough it up four times, losing two.

No. 12: Denver loses to the Cowboys, 27-10, as Broncos quarterback Craig Morton hands the game to the Dallas defense by completing four of 15 passing with four interceptions. The game featured 10 fumbles by both teams.

No. 15: Jim Plunkett makes his comeback complete against Ron Jawarski, who throws three interceptions in a 27-10 win over Philadelphia.

No. 17: Dolphins’ quarterback David Woodley completes four of 14 passes and Miami gets out-gained by 224 yards in total offense by Washington, who takes the surprisingly close game, 27-17.

No. 18: Marcus Allen runs for 191 yards and the Raiders dismantle the Redskins, 38-9. Washington does lead in time of possession however, 31:18 to 28:22.

No. 20: Steve Grogan is sacked seven times and New England gives up 256 yards passing on only 12 completions, and fumbles four times in a 36-point loss to the Bears.

No. 22: The Broncos get whipped once again, this time by Washington, 42-10. Elway gets picked off three times, Denver does-n’t score for the final three quarters, converts just two of 12 third downs and gives up an embarrassing 602 yards of total offense.

No. 24: It’s a Denver shellacking for the third time as the 49ers put up 55 and outgain the Broncos 461-167. Elway is the goat once again, getting picked off twice while completing just 10 of 26 passes.

No. 27: It’s a complete beat down in Pasadena as the Cowboys ring up Buffalo, 52-17. The Bills fumble eight times and lose five while their QB tandem of Frank Reich and Jim Kelly throw four interceptions.

No. 29: San Fran nearly doubles up San Diego, 49-26. Steve Young goes 24-36 for 325 yards and six touchdowns.

No. 35: The Baltimore Ravens - THE RAVENS! - score 34 points and beat the Giants by 10 behind a pedestrian effort from Trent Dilfer - TRENT DILFER! - who completed 12 of 25 passes.

No. 37: The Raiders get intercepted five times by Tampa as former Oakland coach John Gruden gets revenge on Al Davis, 48-21. Oakland gets just 11 first downs and rushes for just 19 yards.

No. 40: Before Big Ben Roethlisberger became a big embarrassment he turned in the worst performance by a Super Bowl-winning quarterback after completing just nine of 23 passes and two interceptions in a 21-10 win over Seattle - a game that included some of the worst officiating in Super Bowl history.

Get the picture?

For four decades the Super Bowl has been anything but super.

So how is a little snow gonna make things any worse?

Landis Confession Is Late, Lame

Let’s see a show of hands. Who was surprised when Floyd Landis admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs during his cycling career?

OK, now, who was surprised that he decided to take the entire sport - and its biggest star - down with him?

I’m guessing not too many hands were raised for either question.

Congratulations, you all passed.

For a time we may have wanted to believe that Landis wasn’t a cheat and that, like his former team-mate Lance Armstrong was just the victim in a huge plot to remove American athletes from competing in the most French of sporting events, all because the Pentagon renamed its fried potato snacks freedom fries.

But after years of increasingly wacky claims, actions and accusations, which were highlighted by his alleged involvement in a plan to hack into computers at a French testing lab, Landis had nothing left in his arsenal but to take down his entire sport.

 

Though he’d like us to believe he is coming out to chase away the night sweats caused by years of honorable dishonesty, the defrocked Tour de France winner is making the leap from angry victim to repentant abuser in a last, desperate effort to cash in.

Sound familiar?

Five years ago Pete Rose came to a similar opinion. After a decade of self-righteous indignation over base-ball’s refusal to take everything he said at face value even though he was opposed by a mountain of contrary evidence, he finally showed up, droopy faced and with enough practiced emotion to qualify for a Razzie, and made the most unsurprising admission in baseball history. His reason for doing so? My Prison Without Bars, his second book in which he admits to breaking the rules while discounting the evidence against him and putting others in positions of blame.

Sound familiar?

Landis still claims the 2006 test that caught him was inaccurate and that, while he takes full responsibility for using the drugs, other people played a big role. He then goes on to explain how the sport’s culture of doping opened the door for his use, and how Armstrong was a leader in the U.S. Postal Service team’s illegal drug program that included transfused blood stored in Armstrong’s Spanish apartment. Landis, the son of Quaker parents, has kept detailed records of his training going back to high school and said he would share the information with U.S. anti-doping officials, even though he admits to having no documentation supporting his claims that Armstrong and other team members used banned substances.

What makes Landis’confession interesting isn’t that he made it, but that it provides us with further examples of the amazing level of delusion that athletes employ.

After spending a lifetime being honored for the most mundane of accomplishments, athletes, along with their brothers in vice, i.e., actors, musicians and politicians, often lose the ability to recognize the hypocrisy of their actions. Landis spent an estimated $2 million defending his false claims of innocence. Rose chastised anyone who dared suggest he broke baseball’s biggest commandment. Rafael Palmeiro waved his finger of shame at members of Congress. And George Rekers claims he visited rentboy.com only to find a valet to help with his baggage.

International Cycling Union president Pat McQuaid told AP he was shocked. Sounding rather Pollyannish, he said, “If they’ve any love for the sport, they wouldn’t do it.”

If McQuaid really believes that, then he is a bigger fool than the person on whom he is commenting.

Big-money athletics has everything to do with money and nothing to do with athletics. Landis took the drugs to win races and get bigger paychecks. It’s that simple.

Now it’s time to cash in before the opportunities run out.

“Now we’ve come to the point where the statute of limitations on the things I know is going to run out or start to run out next month,” Landis told ESPN. “If I don’t say something now, then it’s pointless to ever say it.”

Enough said.

Big-time College Sports Get Bigger

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany can play as coy as he likes. While he publicly states that no offer has been made to any school - let alone two, four or more - his reported activities have forced other major conferences to look for fertile hunting grounds while lesser organizations scramble to create contingency plans should the prime of their membership get purged by the higher powers.

And while conferences like the Mountain West and the WAC step nervously toward the future, no organization is more panicked than the NCAA itself.

Make no mistake about it. The Big Ten is going to get bigger by as many as five schools, which will cause similar moves by the Pac-10, ACC and SEC. Such growth will do more than ruin the Mountain West’s climb toward respectability and make it even tougher for UH to schedule home games against quality opponents, it may also make the NCAA irrelevant.

The departure of college sports’ biggest schools has been the NCAA’s biggest fear for a number of years. The organization is well aware that the schools in the BCS conferences don’t need the overbearing organization getting in their way and siphoning even more money away from the lesser schools they are forced to support.

The only way for the NCAA to survive is to give in to the inevitable: offer these 50-some schools the autonomy of their own division and create a third tier of Division I athletics to further separate the gentry from the serfs.

Should the NCAA not agree to a new division, the elite conferences will form their own organization, forcing the NCAA into the role of the NIT of college athletics - the older and once-respected institution that has been relegated to second-class citizenship. Worse yet, should enough schools join the exodus, the NCAA may have no bigger impact on the national sporting scene than the NAIA.

There is precedent for such a move. College athletics was first fractured along financial lines in 1973 when member schools were broken into three divisions. Five years later the split happened again as the NCAA divided its upper tier into Divisions 1A and 1AA.

While such a move will devastate mid-major programs, division is a necessary protective measure as university presidents show no signs of or desire to halt the explosive arms race that has resulted in multi-millionaire celebrity coaches and facilities that are the envy of professional sports leagues.

The driving force behind the inevitable creation of the so-called super conferences and the likely destruction or at least lack of relevancy of the NCAA is the Big Ten Network. A year ago the network reaped a $66 million profit. Add that windfall to the money received from the conference’s other broadcast agreements and each Big Ten member walked away with $22 million in television revenue alone. By comparison, Notre Dame’s deal with NBC paid the school a relatively paltry $9 million per season prior to its extension in 2008. Hawaii’s income from both TV and radio was just $2.7 million.

Smaller schools, like UH, cannot keep up with skyrocketing costs of competition. The big universities know they have a huge financial advantage and, like any other large corporation, have used this position to squeeze out lesser competition. And unless the schools voluntarily agree to a spending cap, the only way to ensure fair competition is to group the smaller schools with other lower-income programs. The alternative is to suffer the indignity of UH-Hilo baseball, which is forced to play a Division 1 schedule without the corresponding funds for recruiting and facilities.

An official split will not likely happen for a decade. The announcement, however, could come within five years or sometime after the NCAA or the new athletic entity renegotiates its broadcast contracts. Last month the NCAA signed a 14-year, $11 billion deal with CBS/Turner for broadcasting rights to the NCAA basketball tournament, and two years ago, the SEC hooked up with ESPN for 15 years.

The only WAC schools with a chance of surviving such a breakup are Nevada and Boise State. Both schools will likely end up in the Mountain West, especially if TCU, Utah and BYU take off for the Big 12, which could lose the bulk of its best teams to the Big Ten, SEC or Pac-10.

Hawaii is screwed. The Warriors are stuck in an awful conference that will only get worse. No other conference will want to add the expense of traveling to Hawaii which means the Warriors have very little bargaining power to shop around for a better deal.

The Voice Of The Tigers Is Silenced

For followers of other sports, or those baseball fans who didn’t have a Red Barber, Vin Scully, Jack Buck, Mel Allen or Harry Carry, it’s hard to understand the relationship radio listeners in Michigan had with Ernie Harwell.

Harwell was the voice of summer when lawnmowers, the laughter of children and Detroit Tiger baseball battled for attention on long, warm days. He was a master storyteller from an age when the subtleties of the game were matched by the poetry of the call.

Hall of Fame outfielder Al Kaline said, “Ernie is probably the most beloved person who has ever been in Detroit with the Detroit Tigers.”

That’s saying a lot for a team with a history stretching back to 1901 and boasting a litany of players among the game’s greatest ever. But Kaline is right. Harwell was bigger than Cash, Horton, McClain, Trammell, Whitaker, Morris, Parrish and even Kaline himself. He was the embodiment of a team and the voice that brought the game alive for generations of fans who in his gentle, rhythmic style produced heroes to admire and good times to look back on as if listening to a Bob Seger song come to life 162 times a season.

 

Harwell was much more than just a soothing voice. The man who always described himself as a failed sportswriter was a gifted author who penned stories for, among others, The Sporting News as a 16-year-old, Saturday Evening Post, Esquire and Readers Digest. He wrote 46 songs that have been recorded and has collaborated with a range of musicians including famed Hollywood composer and lyricist Johnny Mercer, Latin and jazz guitarist Jose Feliciano and Detroit rocker Mitch Ryder. And as Lulu, his wife of 68 years, wrote in the forward to her husband’s book, Babe Ruth Signed My Shoe, Harwell “had a racehorse named after him, sang a duet with Pearl Bailey, gave his Christian testimony on a Billy Graham TV special and was baptized in the Jordan River.”

Harwell was born Jan. 25, 1918, in Washington, Ga. His family moved to Atlanta when the family furniture store went bust. He grew up with a speech impediment but overcame it with the help of a teacher and a poem that would become one of his signature calls, The House by the Side of the Road. He got his first broadcast job in 1940 while a student at Emory College. He met Lulu the same year. In 1942, he joined the Marines working in public relations and was transferred to the Pacific, where he wrote for the Marine publication Leatherneck. After completing his service, Harwell began calling games for the minor league Atlanta Crackers, and in 1948 he became the only broadcaster traded for a player when Branch Rickey swapped minor league catcher Cliff Dapper for the young broadcaster.

Harwell was a product of his generation, when broadcasters knew when to remain silent and let the sounds of the game take over. He also benefited from technology that put cheap radios - and baseball - into the hands of young boys, who in their minds got to see their idols on the bright green grass of Tiger Stadium, whether that child was living in the shadow of massive factories near Lake Huron or among the farms of the state’s interior.

No better farewell to the great broadcaster can be found than in the words he spoke following his last regular broadcast eight years ago.

“The Tigers have just finished their 2002 season. And I’ve just finished my baseball-broadcasting career, and it’s time to say goodbye. But I think goodbyes are sad, and I’d much rather say hello. Hello to a new adventure.

“I’m not leaving, folks. I’ll still be with you, living my life in Michigan, my home state, surrounded by family and friends.

“And rather than goodbye, please allow me to say thank you.

“Thank you for letting me be part of your family. Thank you for taking me with you to that cottage up north, to the beach, the picnic, your work place and your backyard.

“Thank you for sneaking your transistor under the pillow as you grew up loving the Tigers.

“Now I might have been a small part of your life. But you have been a very large part of mine. And it’s my privilege and honor to share with you the greatest game of all.

“Now God has a new adventure for me. And I’m ready to move on. So I leave you with a deep sense of appreciation for your longtime loyalty and support.

“I thank you very much, and God bless all of you.”

Thank you, Ernie, and everyone else who made it a career of keeping alive the young boy inside every grown man.

So Far, So Good For UH’s Arnold

A few random observation for some midweek - or is that MidWeek? - reading:

* New UH basketball coach Gib Arnold has been nothing if not busy. At the men’s basketball banquet he joked about having an entire wardrobe of two pairs of pants, four shirts and that even while he stood behind the dias offering praise to the staff he is replacing, his socks were drying on the lanai at his hotel. Actually, he said balcony, but he’ll learn.

But while his local lingo may still need some adjustment, everything else associated with his new regime seems to be humming along nicely.

True, he hasn’t filled out his coaching staff as he said he wanted upon taking over, but his success in recruiting has given hope to a fan base whose only rallying point came in the form of message board frustration. But with seven new players committing, including four incoming freshman - one a 6-foot-1 guard who averaged 27 points, 14 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game - things are looking promising for the first time in a number of years.

 

Whether the new additions will live up to their considerable hype remains to be seen. It was only a year ago when the latest group of AllWAC honorees were to be enrolled in classes at Manoa, just to disappoint with poor play and bad behavior. Arnold and associate coach Walter Roese have solid reputations as acute shoppers of athletic talent, but until games are won, the best he can hope for is cautious optimism by fans.

* No doubt Hale Irwin looks back at his athletic career with well-deserved pride. The former All-Big Eight defensive back at Colorado got his PGA tour card in 1968 and earned his first pay day ($457.41) a short time later. He would go on to 20 PGAwins, three U.S. Open titles, 45 Senior/Champions Tour victories, induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame, and most recently, he became just the fourth person to play in 1,000 PGA/Champions Tour events.

But even the most successful of men have times when the necessities of life force them to make painful, yet necessary decisions. For Irwin that day came when he traded his Chevelle 396 Super Sport for a Pontiac Bonneville. While the Pontiac boasted a much larger trunk, the Chevy got off the line a whole lot quicker. And with a get-‘er-done power plant that pulled up to 375 Motor City ponies controlled through either a three- or four-speed Muncie rock crusher, a two-speed “Powerglide” transmission and a 12-bolt rear, it was pure American muscle. You could also get one with a nasty 402 or a highway-dominating 454.

Conspiracy theorists may suggest the entire reason for invoking the name of Irwin was to offer the opportunity to wax semi-poetic about obsolete and gas-absorbing modes of transportation. Well, they’re right. But how often does one get to use “rock crusher” in a sentence without talking about a mining operation?

* The National Hockey League Players Association made a well-thought-out decision in renaming its MVP award after Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay. The award, which used to be called Lester B. Pearson Award, is different from the Hart Memorial Trophy in that it is voted on by the players. The easy thing for the NHLPA to do would have been to name it after Wayne Gretzky or some other name easily recognizable by fans and most media members. Left to the marketing people, it may have been called the Sidney Crosby Award.

Lindsay was more than a great player. The third member of the famed “Production Line” with fellow Hall of Famers Gordie Howe and Sid Abel was instrumental in the creation of the original Players Association and served as its first president. Congrats to Lindsay and the union.

* ESPN analyst Matt Millen added his two cents to the Dez Bryant question controversy last week, saying no questions are out of bounds during a rookie interview.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering Millen once used a homosexual slur toward former Lions’ wide receiver Johnny Morton.

What is surprising is that ESPN pays this guy for his opinions. Millen turned a once-mediocre Detroit franchise into an embarrassment. During his tenure as president and CEO of the Lions, he proved incapable of evaluating talent, hiring capable coaches, trading players and, of course, winning. He refused to accept any blame for the mess he created and even left his exit statement to his wife, who said, “I told him, ‘You’re out of football prison now.’” A prison he created.

Now, without a speck of credibility, he is back in the broadcasting booth and being asked about front-office decisions. Such a choice would be completely baffling if the network hadn’t already sold its soul by hiring a man who spent most of his professional career equating sports journalists to brainless idiots.

Maybe Bobby Knight was right.

Penn Pens An Entertaining Read

BJ Penn’s Why I Fight: The Belt Is Just An Accessory is a fair biography wanting to be great. It could have been, had the author done what seems most difficult for him to do: talk deeply about himself. Too often he pulls back when a bit more insight would open up the hidden world of what is still a largely misunderstood sport.

In the preface, Penn explains his trepidation about jumping into the world of publishing. He says starring in The Ultimate Fighter was easy enough, and that had he been asked to pen a short magazine piece or perhaps even an entire book about fighting, he could have done that with little difficulty. But when it comes to writing about himself, that’s where the discomfort appears.

While Penn is ultimately confident in his athletic abilities, a different person often arises when a microphone enters the picture. This contrast between the two sides of Penn was evident a year ago when he spent some time with Wounded Warriors at Hickam Air Force Base. Penn seemed nervous as he took his seat to answer questions from the gallery of specially invited fans. A smiling and relaxed BJ Penn immediately appeared once he moved beyond the formal setting and began shaking hands and posing for pictures with the airmen.

The author’s guarded nature may come from the belief that, as he says in the book, more than a few times he has been made out to be the bad guy in the media - not by reporters but by other fighters looking to make a name for themselves or, more often, by the very organization for which he worked. In fact, it is his retelling of his dealings with the UFC that make for the best reading and most open discussions.

Penn is openly critical of the organization and its leader throughout the book, at times saying UFC president Dana White was more eager to see his own star rise than that of his fighters. Penn says his first opinion of White - whom he met in a Las Vegas gym before White became involved with the UFC - was as an enthusiastic but not very talented student of jiujitsu. His opinion would change as his career and his disagreements with the organization grew.

On this subject, he is uniquely qualified to comment. Penn’s rise mirrored that of the UFC. He began when MMA was banned in more places than it was accepted, and continued as both he and the sport became regular features in the mainstream media.

“In those days, White was not the cocky and smiley guy he is today,” he writes. “He really didn’t know what he was doing, and everything seemed to overwhelm him.”

Penn’s first fight for the UFC paid him a whopping $3,000 if he won, $1,500 if he didn’t. His second fight was for “eight and eight,” meaning $8,000 for the fight and another $8,000 if he won.

The purses would continue to inch upward, always with White’s continuous promises of big paydays. Penn writes he eventually figured out that White’s word was as meaningless as his stated support of the lightweight champ. This became apparent as Penn found himself in a legal fight with the UFC over his right to the lightweight belt. That disagreement was highlighted by an offer from a UFC lawyer for Penn to publicly apologize to White in the center of the octagon at an upcoming event.

“There was no way in the world I was ever going to do it. At this point, if I did enter the cage with White standing inside of it, the only thing that’d be left on the floor would be him.”

The two would resolve their differences, but the relationship that started with a friendship devolved into a cautious situation of mistrust.

“The pressure to perform and safeguard other people’s money had changed him, even though he was constantly bragging to anyone willing to listen about how ‘big this thing was going to be.’

Things between us would never be the same,” writes Penn.

One of the most revealing sections of the book, where he discusses the trappings of fame, introduces a part of his life that requires more clarity: his 2005 arrest in Waikiki.

Penn describes himself as an innocent person who involuntarily got caught up in a bad scene after seeing his brother Reagen “being pounded by not one but several guys” outside of Zanzabar night club.

Published reports the following day said Penn was arrested for hitting a police officer with a blind-side punch.

The court accepted a deferred no-contest plea agreement, in which Penn’s record was wiped clean after abiding by the conditions set by the court. Penn’s attorney maintained that at no time did they ever agree that he assaulted the officer.

Though Penn’s retelling of the events may be exact, the author would have benefited had he allowed the reader deeper into his feelings about how fame can lead to dangerous situations and that, as a celebrity fighter, he may not have the freedom of movement he enjoyed when he was just a martial artist in Hilo.

Another section that needs greater explanation is a strange story involving a street fight, where the uncle of an opponent apparently found a few mercenaries to exact a little payback. Again, his memory may be correct, but writing the uncle “went out and found these three guys from around the world who could teach it. One of the guys was an Israeli Special Forces fighter trained in Krav Maga ... the second was a martial artist from somewhere in Africa, and the last guy was this older Indonesian guy who carried a big stick with him, literally,” warrants further explanation.

Fans of the fighter will enjoy this 304-page biography while those unfamiliar with his career will better understand why he is likely Hawaii’s most popular athlete.

The grammar and punctuation aren’t perfect, but that doesn’t ruin the experience of the easy-to-read book. The in-depth history of his bouts with Georges St-Pierre will fire up supporters, and his description of dojo justice will bring a smile to anyone’s face who has dealt with overly aggressive students.

Is Penn’s Career At A Crossroads?

It’s been a while, at least since the UFC decided to drop its lightweight division in 2004, that the question of BJ Penn’s future could be the subject of legitimate discussion.

But after his dismal showing April 17 against Frankie Edgar, the future is suddenly cloudy for the former champ and legitimate contender for sport’s unofficial title as best pound-for-pound fighter.

For a man who, when on his game, abused opponents with a combination of superb ground technique and fists good enough to impress legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach, it was a shocking performance. Penn seemed disinterested, content to stand at a distance and pepper Edgar with jabs while occasionally scoring with harder knocks when his opponent got closer.

The plan was effective enough to turn Edgar’s face into collage of cuts and scraps, but not enough to take home a victory over the 8-1 underdog.

 

The defeat was Penn’s first loss at 155 pounds since 2002.

On ESPN MMA Live, Penn refused to blame reports of a sinus infection and a knee injury affecting his training. Good for him. No one wants to hear excuses, and the Hilo native was not offering any, saying to do so would be disrespectful to his opponent. But Penn did look tired, and spent much of his corner time hanging on to the fence in an apparent effort to increase his oxygen flow.

He also was softer in the midsection than he had been in his recent victories.

Penn said he was satisfied with his training leading up to the fight, but when queried by host John Anik about why he didn’t take Edgar to the mat in the later rounds as his corner had instructed, Penn admitted to being a bit gassed.

“Fatigue may have been setting on,” he said. “I wasn’t as fresh ... I really didn’t feel like that was the time to take the fight to the ground and use the energy for that.”

Some have argued that Edgar didn’t pass Rick Flair’s “To be the man you’ve got to beat the man” qualification for title legitimacy. The opinion has support. Fightmetric, a system that ranks striking effectiveness, had Penn winning four of the rounds, three in convincing fashion.

But such limited statistics ignore other aspects of the sport. We heard the same when Sugar Ray Leonard beat Marvin Hagler on points while doing little physical damage. But those are just excuses. Fighting sports have points systems and judges for a reason - without them the contests would resemble the human cockfights that MMA detractors suggest is the true nature of the sport.

No matter which side of the score card one chooses to support, questions remain about Penn’s status in a sport he helped to build and in a division he used to dominate. In his book, Why I Fight: The Belt is Just an Accessory, Penn talks about the burning desire to avenge losses. But what we saw April 17 was a guy seemingly resigned to accepting his fate.

If he has lost some of his desire to fight - and who could blame him with a young daughter and eyes on a post-fight MMA business empire (the man understands marketing) - then maybe now is the time to get out. The 31-year-old says he still wants to fight for as long as he can, but he’s a hard person to read. For all his charisma in the ring and the way he interacts with fans outside of the octagon, he appears very uneasy in interview settings.

Penn said his handlers have had preliminary talks with the UFC about a rematch. When or if the fight happens remains to be seen. He is currently touring to promote his book, which has come under attack from UFC president Dana White. White, who lords over the UFC like few others in the history of sports, doesn’t handle dissension lightly. In his book Penn describes White as vindictive and not above punishing a fighter for not bowing to his demands.

SI.com’s Josh Gross reported that upon hearing about the book, White questioned why Penn would ” put out a book that is 90 percent not true?”

The article also said the MMA president did not respond when questioned about reading the book, nor could he point out any inaccuracies. If Penn’s recall of history and character evaluation is correct, would it be a stretch to believe White may just allow his star to twist in the wind a bit before giving him a title shot?

To say Penn’s career is at a crossroads is perhaps reading too much into one fight. The man remains a talented athlete who can dominate at his weight class, but fighting isn’t a sport to be attempted without perfect preparation and the will to dominate.

That was lacking against Edgar. Hopefully there will be too much pride and nastiness to let it happen again. His safety depends on it.

Tiger’s Ad; Myth, Truth And Butler

One quick note before we get started on the main topic.

I find it hard to understand why some people are “outraged” by the Nike ad that shows a tired and somewhat bloated-looking Tiger Woods and features a voice over by his dead father. I also don’t understand those who see the ad as Woods being chastised by his father. What is most difficult to fathom is why we, the media, have made Earl Woods into some Yoda-like figure who hands out advanced words of wisdom. It’s as if Earl suggested the former Siddhartha Gautama not limit his plan to an easier-to-digest six-fold path.

Earl Woods became famous because we kept running to him for insight into his son years after the younger Woods was well able to not answer the questions himself. We should have stopped when he compared his son to Gandhi. But we didn’t and now he has been virtually canonized.

Everyone of late has asked Tiger what the sage would have said about his son’s transgressions. Depending on whom you believe, he may either lay the healing hands of forgiveness on his son or false crack him for not providing Daddy with some sugar.

 

Now we can begin.

The greatest thing about the beginning of the third month is the start of the biggest annual tournament on U.S. soil. The greatest thing about the beginning of the fourth month is the end of the biggest annual tournament on U.S. soil.

With the continuous oral stimulation concerning underdogs, overdogs, traditional powers and surprising upstarts, each visit to Sportscenter felt more like a trip to Tiger’s playpen than a simple news search. Suffice to say, the coverage went a bit overboard. Which makes March Madness, well, maddening.

The star of this invented docu-drama was, of course, Butler University - the microbial liberal arts college tucked among the corn and sorghum of bucolic Indiana. While enrollment at the school would fit inside most university baseball stadiums, not much else about the school some five miles from the epicenter of the nation’s 13th largest city fits into the neatly wrapped and totally bogus caricature fed to us.

ESPN tried to convince us the Bulldogs were the second coming of the Hickory High Huskers - an unproven squad of nobodies who defied convention to win the big game - even though Butler was hardly an unknown quantity as it entered the season ranked No. 10 by the very same network’s coaches poll. APhad them at 11. But why let facts get in the way of a good invented story. First Take even rolled out Bobby Plump for gosh sakes.

Plump played for Milan High School - the school that inspired the movie - and was Indiana’s Mr. Basketball circa 1954. Plump, aka Jimmy Chitwood, went on to become an All-American at Butler before moving on to the National Industrial Basketball League which paid better than the NBA. And while Plump played true to his annual role as the delightful historian of small-school basketball, he strayed off script declaring his alma mater was no underdog. After 25 consecutive wins, his argument had merit.

Perhaps it was fitting that Butler was cast in the role of the updated Huskers. Just as Hickory had little in common with the real-life Milan Indians, Butler was nothing like their overblown image.

Hickory was a tiny team from nowhere that had one magic season. Milan was small, but surprised no one after losing in the state semi-finals the year before. The Huskers barely squeaked by their post season opponents whereas the Indians thumped the competition by an average of 15.8 points before defeating Muncie Central 32-30 in the most boring game in basketball history.

Though we were led to believe otherwise, Butler didn’t need the blessings of imaginary brothers in arms or any other trickery to advance to the final game. They were just a good team. Throughout the season, the Bulldogs bested their counterparts in every positive statistical category except one - blocked shots. In the tournament they played defense, rebounded as a team and protected the ball. And to be accurate, their dream didn’t die at the hands of Goliath - at least in relation to campus size or closeness to metropolitan areas. In fact, the sporting media needs to look further than Duke for its next small-town-team-does-good story. The private research university is home to 6,247 students and is located in Durham, N.C. By comparison, Michigan State, which Butler defeated to advance to the final game, enrolls more than 47,000 students; West Virginia, the other Final Four team, nearly 29,000.

Tiger’s Back, But For How Long?

If there was one question that stood out during Kelly Tilghman’s five-minute interview with Tiger Woods two weeks ago, it was her inquiry about Woods going from respected athlete to a punchline. The question retains its relevance in the wake of the latest round of titillating expose. Salacious details about the world’s best golfer are nothing new, but the most recent reports possess something earlier accounts didn’t - a certain level of credibility.

In the May issue of Vanity Fair, “The Temptations of Tiger Woods” paints yet another unflattering picture of the golfer that could further diminish his 2010 playing schedule. The details - that Woods flew to his trysts by way of discount airlines and coach seating, that he didn’t let a little thing like menstruation get in the way of having a good time, and that Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley were his two mentors in madness, who helped fuel the expectations implanted by a playboy father.

Yikes!

Tiger’s return date to competitive golf was based on opportunity and damage control. Returning for The Masters offered the greatest amount of protection and enough down time for most of the details to wash out of regular news cycles.

Now, all that is over. Unlike the bevy of tabloids that have found gold mining the sordid details, Vanity Fair ranks slightly higher than most checkout stand staples. The magazine, since its re-creation in 1983, has done some fine reporting on everything from fashion to politics to popular culture, while, at least by American standards, pushing the envelope of taste and decency in its photography. The magazine isn’t changing its style for this story as alleged mistress and former Playboy model Loredana Jolie Ferriolo is photographed nude lying on a bed and surrounded by copies of the New York Post, while Perkin’s waitress Mindy Lawton was given a makeover and open blouse for her shoot.

Had the story remained mainly sequestered in publications solely dedicated to celebrity gossip, the topics at hand would be much easier to dismiss. When the information is backed up by traditionally strong reporting, the details tend to linger.

Woods has never been a person who welcomes criticism or cracks in the protective layer that is his support shield. This article brings the walls of defense crashing down and could once again force Woods into hiding.

The article drags two of his best friends through the mud and offers brutal commentary by a former insider who is none too happy about the direction his former client has taken.

John Merchant, a onetime adviser to Woods ,who says he was canned after criticizing Earl Woods for walking away with $1 million of his son’s original $40 million Nike deal instead of using the money to develop minority golf programs, blasts Jordan particularly in language unsuitable for this publication. The article also says Woods lied in his two March 21 interviews that his infidelities were secret affairs - pun intended - known only to himself and the women blessed with his company.

For the athlete who is seemingly phobic in his need for secrecy, such revelations cannot be easily digested -especially when it involves loyal minions who are nearly as private as he is.

Barkley is the exception. The former not-so-round-mound-of-rebound has been making an ass of himself in public for years, and since his current employer cares little about his off-air exploits, he’s not likely to fade from public view. Woods is another matter.

Woods is a grown man who is big enough to find his own trouble, but he needs plenty of help keeping the world out of his world. With the secret circle supposedly broken and a trusted member discredited, Woods may do what he does even better than score in coffee shops: hide. Especially if his reported $10 million in hush money to mistress No. 1 Rachel Uchitel proves true.

 

Odd OT Rules, Tiger’s Tired Tale

If one is just peering in from the periphery, the members of the NFL’s competition committee and owners could easily be mistaken for Honolulu City Council members or state representatives.

All three groups would rather pass meaningless measures than risk the ire of an ever-flappable constituency by making tough but obvious decisions.

For examples of failed political purpose, look almost anywhere. For the NFL, go no further than its new overtime rules.

Even though the league’s traditional sudden-death overtime situation has rarely affected a playoff game, the NFL decided to help eliminate any remaining controversy by finding a difficult solution to an easy problem. The NFL has decided that each team should be provided an equal chance at victory - as long as the loser of the coin flip doesn’t score a touch-down or a safety. Do either of those and, in the mind of the NFL, you deserve victory. Kicking a field goal is now the bastard child of league scoring, and the success of said practitioners is being saddled with enough blame to conjure images of hourly workers being held responsible for a troubled economy and a failed school system.

The sale by the league to its owners was simple enough. The once-appropriate overtime rules had become increasingly one-sided. What used to be an even money bet has shifted to a house advantage, with kickers moving closer to perfection with each advancing season and teams winning the coin toss taking home nearly 60 percent of the victories.

So a change was in order. Just not this change.

Like many of the challenges facing the NFL and the City and County of Honolulu, the answers to most major problems are quite simple. If there is too much traffic, invest in public transportation. Are too many teams being left without a chance at victory? Just divide the possessions and let them score any way they want. Turning a one-paragraph rule into a full-page amendment is just, well, politics. Plus, the NFL’s victory parity problem is not limited to the post season, so why is the rule change?

That being said, it is still way better than the Playstation-inspired rules governing college football.

Those expecting sudden revelations from Tiger Woods at his Masters press conference are fooling themselves. While he will field questions from reporters who will pepper him with inquiries about his treatment, addiction, text messages, marital status, traffic-calming palm plantings and assorted skanks, his answers will be no different than his obvious responses in his speed-interview luncheons with ESPN and the Golf Channel. He’ll talk of regret with very little explanation of what he is regretful for, will apologize a few dozen times, talk about his love of family and how his actions went against parental instruction, discuss faith, make a carefully worded statement of his chances for a fifth green jacket, and repeat what is sure to be the most often-heard sentence of 2010: “That is a private matter between Elin and myself.”

Many have made claims on the status of caddie Steve Williams - he’s staying - and how life has changed for the world’s most famous athlete now that he has been “humbled.”

Make no mistake about it - Woods was embarrassed, not humbled. To be humble means to be neither proud nor arrogant. Woods is plenty of both.

If one thing has been made clear during his 14 years on tour, it is that Woods will always control the message. It is arrogance and not the protection of loved ones that has kept Woods from describing the most mundane facts of his life or has left him totally unable to accept even the mildest criticism.

Embarrassment comes when the built walls of privacy and carefully crafted public image of perfection come crashing down to expose the wizard for what he really is.

It will be good to watch Woods play again, but to expect him to go through a Nick Faldo-type transformation is just unrealistic.

A Week Of Sex, Drugs And Jail

After four months of near daily tawdry Tiger tales, it seems a bit off that the latest announcement regarding the world’s best golfer would be the most sane news item of the week.

That Tiger Woods is returning to competition at the Masters is no surprise. What is remarkable is that he remains the lead story during a span when a major league manager admits to using cocaine, Michael Jordan becomes the first former player to become a majority owner of a team and Oregon is continuing along its path to claim the title as college football’s biggest cesspool.

But such is the strange power and unimaginable draw of the only golfer to ever become the world’s biggest sports star.

The only tournament besides the Masters that made sense was the Arnold Palmer Invitation. Woods has won the event six times, and he has played the course as his tradition tuneup for the Masters, which follows the King’s event by two weeks. Augusta, being one of the few remaining bastions of old world, exclusionary golf, is the ideal spot for Woods to hide in plain sight. Access is tightly controlled, behavior held to the highest standards, and should Tiger finish in the pack, which is most likely considering his layoff, he doesn’t have to spend one minute before the press.

Questions, however, still remain. Has therapy left him better able to control his emotional outbursts associated with errant shots or mistimed shutters from the ever present press corps? Will anyone daring enough to offer even the most minor criticism continue to be tossed into the eternal void of shunned existence, or will such commentary now be met with reasoned disinterest? And what happens the first time someone holds up an “I slept with Tiger Woods” sign? Will Steve Williams go bulldog in protecting his meal ticket? Will Tiger demand the person be removed, or will the former Stanford Cardinal just continue on?

The NBA’s board of governors did the prudent thing approving Jordan’s ownership bid for the Charlotte Bobcats. He’s got the cash and the backers to make the move on the second phase of his post-playing career, and his adherence to the corporate line guarantees he won’t suddenly go Mark Cuban on league officials. His qualifications for ownership and his ability to do the job are less clear.

The only thing an owner really needs is a checkbook. He can outsource everything else. The financial stability of the team depends on astute basketball-related business skills - of which Jordan has exhibited almost none.

Bob Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television who purchased the expansion Bobcats in 2004 and remains a minority investor, said in statements about the sale, “As the new majority owner of the Bobcats, his (Jordan’s) dedication will be stronger now more than ever.” It had better be. Jordan’s tenure as the absentee administrator for the Washington Wizards’ was a complete failure. While perhaps the greatest player ever, he showed little acumen in player evaluation, the ability to work a meaningful trade or any real dedication to the job. He can’t afford such luxuries as owner of a team that is worth less today than when it first opened for business.

No one should be shocked that Rangers’ president Nolan Ryan and owner Tom Hicks didn’t fire manager Ron Washington after he admitted to using cocaine.

Everyone in sports is a proponent of second chances so long as the person involved has talent.

Sports Illustrated broke the story that the 57-year-old manager failed a drug test in July 2009, and that he had told his employers about the transgression immediately after he found out he was to be randomly drug tested. While it is hard to believe that his first-time trip to nose candy factory began after he passed the half-century mark, it is even harder to believe that managers are held to a higher drug standard than players who are not tested for recreational drug use. But such is the way of Bud Selig’s baseball, where no problem is too big to sweep under the rug of ignorance.

Speaking of bad decisions, the once well-thought-of Ducks football program has continued its flush toward septic tank notoriety with two more criminal convictions in a series of events that has taken coach Chip Kelly from talented good guy to haphazard enabler of bad behavior. The second-year coach cannot be held accountable for all player transgressions, but as the head coach he is ultimately responsible for a program that has gone rogue. Athletic director Mike Bellotti also shares blame, as some of those punished were recruited by and played under the former head coach.

According to Oregonlive.com, eight Ducks players have run afoul of the law this year, while a ninth was kicked off the team for using vulgar language on his Facebook page questioning the suspension of Kiko Alonso, who was arrested for DUI, minor in possession and other traffic offenses. It appears that criticizing your coach is a sure way out, as is committing a crime as a non-impact player. Wide receiver Garrett Embry, a special teams player who was found guilty of the exact same crimes as quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, was dismissed from the team, while Masoli was suspended for the season. Walk-on defender Matt Sims was canned after being charged with harassment after a fight, while kicker Rob Beard got a one-game suspension for the same charge. The fact that Beard got knocked out during his mele and that Sims’ altercation was in response to Beard’s brawl may have played a role.

But the bigger question surrounding all this inappropriate behavior is the NCAA’s nonreaction. In the mind of the NCAA, getting a free pizza is a serious crime warranting a full-scale investigation, but stealing a computer, false cracking someone or being caught driving drunk is simply an internal matter better left to the schools. NCAA rules are nothing if not hypocritical, but prohibiting gifts while ignoring crime is inexcusable.

 

Who Can Turn Around UH Hoops?

Let the interviews begin. The hiring process for the University of Hawaii’s next men’s basketball coach is under way with the typical closed-door meetings that accompany million-dollar business deals - which this is, considering the salary requirements of the future coach and his staff.

The semi-secret group is in the process of pondering statements, checking resumes and discussing coaching philosophies and academic commitment while making sure the candidate understands and appreciates Hawaii’s unique challenges.

Outside of distance, budget restrictions and talent, the final question is the most discussed and worthless to consider. Whether or not the coach in question can spot the differences between a musubi and malasada is irrelevant. What matters is can this person coach and recruit while keeping an eye on academics as he ponies up to boosters for bigger endowments?

Hawaii is not alone in its love for the local guy. With every job opening comes the requisite questions about local connections, even if the favorite former player or assistant coach hasn’t hit the area high school recruiting trail in more than a decade.

But whereas most states consider such experience a tertiary condition for employment, in no place is having a common connection more imperative than in Hawaii. Within this island state, there is no greater title of acceptance than being called “local.” The often-heard criteria of 15 years in state residence necessary for the honorary title is an anniversary greeted with pride by continental imports. But while questions about a candidate’s ability to understand the culture is a relatively simple query, it comes with an inherent danger - it signals a demarcation of acceptance that could discount highly qualified applicants.

At least in public, such hiring criteria is nonexistent. During halftime of the Wahine basketball game against Fresno State March 10 on ESPN 1420, UH athletics director Jim Donovan said residence history has no bearing, and that the only requirement will be talent, hard work and a history of success. Good luck.

That said, those wanting some honest commitment to certain culture understandings cannot be dismissed out of hand. The university has a history of ill-suited hires who could-n’t and wouldn’t do things the local way. And make no mistake about it, culture matters. Anyone moving from New York to South Carolina would be well-advised to spend a few minutes getting acquainted with how things are done in the Gamecock State before making wholesale changes. And with memories of Evan Dobelle, Herman Frazier, Fred VonAppen, Jim Bolla and a certain applicant’s father fresh in everyone’s minds, a little caution is in order.

But let’s not forget that the school’s last best hire was a man constantly touted for his appreciation of the local way of doing things even though he quickly alienated the state’s biggest supplier of Division 1 talent. That June Jones’ local ties were based on two, one-year stints separated by a decade and propagated by self-interest is conveniently forgotten.

The men’s basketball coach is the toughest job on campus. The program is forever hampered by isolation, a lack of cash, virtually no in-state talent and a rather disinterested fan base. Any coach getting far enough to be interviewed will need to convince the committee and Donovan that his skill sets are enough to overcome these difficulties. (The implementation of a student activities fee could be part of the bargaining, though it won’t likely be implemented until fall.)

At this point, X’s and O’s take a back seat to sales-manship, especially since no one on the committee has any on-court experience, and whoever is chosen will have to get through a labyrinth of successful businesspeople before having the chance to sell the idea of mid-Pacific basketball to distant recruits. Who that person will be is anyone’s guess.

The most popular name is former Punahou standout Gib Arnold. Arnold is the son of the not-so-popular Frank Arnold, who spent two years at UH before leaving Manoa in a Nero-inspired blaze of destruction. The recently unemployed junior Arnold was an assistant at USC for five years, where he built a reputation as a fine recruiter with ties to Europe and Africa. Prior to joining USC’s staff, he was 57-14 as head coach at College of Southern Idaho. The other big name is St. Mary’s assistant coach Kyle Smith, who comes with a recommendation from former Rainbow assistant and current Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon.

How the reported Punahou mafia affects the search remains to be seen, but Arnold has been very open about his interest and is calling Hawaii a dream job - all of which is pleasant to the ears, but should

be taken with a grain of salt. Should he be hired and be successful, Arnold will begin looking elsewhere. And that’s not a bad thing. Any coach who comes here not interested in bigger opportunities is not someone you want running the program.

With booster commitment and intelligent hiring, the program could become a sought-after spot for coaches looking to build their resumes on March Madness invites. UH could be Butler.

Sad But True: It’s Time To Can Nash

UH needs to fire Bob Nash.

That is not an easy sentence to write. Nor is it one I make without trepidation or admitted sadness. I admire Bob Nash, especially Bob Nash the person. One could not make a better choice than sending their son to the man, to become a man.

But this is a decision that has to be made without emotion. What we want doesn’t matter.

The chances are good that by the time you read this, the difficult decision may have already been made. It will be a pink-slip press conference everyone dreads attending. But everyone will be there to record history, and to say thanks.

Tears will be honest and plentiful. Even those who have lost faith in the UH Circle of Honor inductee readily acknowledge that Nash is one of the most respected members of the community and the oft-heard label “Rainbow legend” is an accurate description.

In December, during the Diamond Head Classic, I had the distinct pleasure of sitting with former Hawaii guard Mark Campbell and his father. The elder Campbell, proud of his son’s accomplishments, was even more impressed with his son’s former coach. To him, no finer man has ever walked the sidelines of a college basketball game and no one is a better influence on young men than Nash. These were unsolicited comments - something he just needed to say.

Unfortunately, sometimes bad jobs happen to good people.

College athletics is a cut-and-dried business - win or get fired. And Nash hasn’t won enough. During his three seasons at the helm, the team’s conference winning percentage has fallen each year while attendance has continued to nose dive.

On the floor, the team hasn’t made the advances that a team boasting five seniors was expected to make.

The Rainbow Warriors have not been able to make effective halftime adjustments. They turn the ball over way too often, and defensive rotation has been lacking. Outside shooting has been poor, they can’t run the basic pick-and-roll, and to the obvious frustration of the head coach, the intensity needed to win at the Division I level has regularly gone missing. Recruiting also has been a problem.

While no one can fully predict the success of any athlete or whether they will embrace the inherent academic challenges, the responsibility falls on the coach. One can talk all they want about the effectiveness of the offensive and defensive game plans, but schemes mean nothing without talent.

The cruelest challenge Nash has had to face this year has been injuries. Almost no one has been unaffected, and in fairness to the coach it has been virtually impossible to accurately gauge his success with such a limited roster.

But athletics isn’t fair. So that’s the pressure facing athletic director Jim Donovan. Jerks are easy to fire. Dedicated family men who have been good ambassadors for their sport and university are much tougher fires.

And don’t think Donovan can move unilaterally.

Nothing happens at UH without passing through the political wringer, in which everyone has an opinion and an ego that needs massaging. Nash is not paid a whole heck of a lot, so eating the final year of his deal won’t be a major budget hit, but it also is not automatic in a department facing historic shortfalls.

UH has just two options: contract extension or dismissal.

An extension is not warranted according to the agreed-upon 18-win or a post-season birth mandate. Allowing Nash to serve out his remaining year in the hopes of a big turn around will just cripple recruiting and further retard the program’s development.

This is not an easy thing to say, but UH needs to move on for the good of the program. Thanks, Bob, for all you have done and for being a classy individual in a profession desperately in need of positive characters.

Mahalo and good luck. Whatever comes next, we know you’ll do well.

The Best Isle Football Camp Ever

It could very well be the coolest football camp in Hawaii - ever. OK, that may be stretching things a bit. No doubt someone more in tune to the history of such events could offer well-researched challenges to the claim. After all, Honolulu has played host to any number of camps, boasting untold numbers of players, many associated with the Pro Bowl.

In February, Chris and Ma’ake Kemoeatu and some 20 colleagues, to perhaps salve the wounds of local football fans forced to watch the Pro Bowl on TV for the first time in 30 years, shared their knowledge with local gridiron stars in the making.

So Jacky Budar, owner of Barefoot League Clothing Company, isn’t exactly breaking new ground with his Field of Legends Football Clinic, but the lineup he’s come up with is worthy of notice. And not just for the usual names that pop up at these camps.

 

The March 6 event at Aloha Stadium offers a historical time line of UH football. In addition to Colt Brennan, Davone Bess and Samson Satele, campers will get to rub skinned elbows with the likes of Leonard Peters (check out his cool tats), Eddie Klaneski (Peter’s heat-seeking missile fore-bear), Houston Ala, David Maeva and all-time passing leader Tim Chang. Others offering instruction will be Vince Manuwai, Aaron Francisco, Chris Naeole, former Bronco defensive lineman Maa Tanuvasa, who is still a beast and has avoided the post-playing days midline spread, four-time Super Bowl champ Jesse Sapolu and that “one bad Ma’afala,” as ESPN’s Chris Berman famously labled Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala.

“It’s for the kids. I want to see their smiles. Honestly, I don’t even know why I am doing this,” says Budar with a big laugh. “It’s very expensive and I am just praying I break even.”

In addition to the NFL and former UH players taking part, 20 young cancer patients have been invited.

“It’s to give back to the community. It is not just for the kids who can participte but it’s for the ones who want to be around local celebrities.”

Budar says the decision to invite the kids began with Bess, who hosted the children and their families at the Waikiki Aquarium Feb. 20. Each child will receive a limited-edition Davone Bess T-shirt. The same shirt was sold at an autograph-signing last week, and proceeds are being donated to the American Cancer Society.

For the former Warrior, who has become one of Miami’s most reliable receivers, the day of drills also is a chance to reconnect with former teammates.

“I’m excited,” said Bess. “It’s an opportunity for us to reunite and talk about old times, talk about our undefeated season and all of that - laugh and giggle, but most important sharing that joy with our fans and the kids in the camp.”

Bess extended his family vacation to take part in the camp. He, wife Rachel and 1-year-old daughter Kyrah were making their annual trip to visit family and friends in the Islands when Budar called.

Bess agreed to participate for reasons more than developing athletic skill. This is a chance for the campers to learn from the instructors’ examples, and to use that as a road map for their future. The message he says he will try to impart is that hard work and education are the basis for success, whether the camper’s future is in athletics or not:

“This is where it all starts. We were in their shoes and it’s taken a lot of hard work to get where we are now. It took a lot of dedication, listening to our parents, listening to our teachers, our coaches and our mentors. They want the most success for us, and without school and grades and being a good person and being productive, there is no way you can have a professional job, whether it’s football or becoming a doctor. One way or another you are going to have to go to school, you’re going to have to learn and appreciate what you’ve got and not take what you have for granted.”

It’s a message he knows well. Bess left UH after his junior year only to discover the league was hardly interested in a small receiver from a pass-happy program - even one with great hands and quickness who seemed a perfect fit as a slot receiver. He signed a free agent deal with Miami and worked his way from being an NFL afterthought to becoming the second-most prolific nondrafted rookie pass catcher in league history.

Bess followed up his 54-grab rookie year with a 76-catch sophomore season, while drawing comparisons from former Broncos coach Dan Reeves to All-Pro slot stud Wes Welker. Still, he wasn’t entirely happy.

“I was disappointed in the way I went about the season,” he says. “Sometimes I was inconsistent. I definitely could have done some things a lot better than I did. From a production standpoint, I actually had a better year, but in my rookie year I was more clean with it, more sharp.”

Maybe having a good friend in camp will change things. During the off season, the Dolphins signed his former receiving mate at UH, Ryan Grice-Mullen. Bess said he would help his former teammate in any way he can, but said things will be much different than when they were in college and dominating defenses.

“This is the NFL, it is not college anymore. You have to have a totally different mindset. This is a business.

This is no fun and games. It is a grind, and you have to take advantage of every opportunity you are given, because they are rare. The window of opportunity is very slim, so you have to make the most of what you get.”

Why The Winter Games Are Better

The Winter Olympics may never reach the lofty television numbers enjoyed by its warm-weather cousin. And that’s a shame. Admittedly, many of the contests are just too foreign for American viewers. But what also is undeniable is that the IOC’s cold-weather product has eclipsed the Summer Games in sheer excitement and drama. It has also done a better job attracting newer and, frankly, better sports.

The Winter Olympics, for at least the foreseeable future, will have the millstone of curling around its neck much like the summer games must contend with badminton, table tennis, sailing, equestrian and any number of paddling sports where the only difference is the size of the boat. This is not likely to change as too many nations favor these inexpensive sports that allow them to load up on the medal count with a minimum investment.

Let us now pause to allow for the ire of those whose nations dominate said sports or who want to argue the historical significance of each event.

Thank you.

 

The biggest challenge facing the Olympics, both summer and winter, is the stagnation of events.

One can wax poetic about honoring the history of athletics through the showmanship of highly trained horses, or the ability to ski and then shoot for that matter, but blind loyalty to events that are no longer relevant kills

interest and does absolutely nothing for ratings. No viewers means no Olympics, and the IOC must be weary of looking beyond new sports because of fear of upsetting traditionalists. The livelihood of the games depends on it.

The inclusion of the so-called extreme sports, though questioned at first by both sides, was a stroke of marketing genius. Viewers, tired of the same old events and turned on by the faster and more creative X-Games, now have a reason to watch. More importantly, the IOC has been able to lure younger audiences. In addition to downhill skiing and short-track speed skating, viewers got moguls, aerials, ski and snowboard cross, and the most creative and dangerous snowboard half pipe. The new additions even have their own matinee idol - something the Summer Games occasionally has and the Winter Olympics has never had.

Shaun White is more than just the world’s best in the half pipe. At just 23,

he is the most dominant athlete in sports. Whether it’s at the Winter X-Games, the Olympics or his Big in Japan video where he and friends snowboard off trees and ledges into powder so deep they disappear, White is simply better than everyone around him. And it isn’t even close. NBC’s superimposed image of White soaring five feet above Russia’s Iouri Podladtchikov just gave further evidence of his dominance. Funny thing, though, it wasn’t needed. White’s talent is so obvious one doesn’t need network technology to convince the brain what the eyes already know - that this guy is special and is someone the Olympics can, and should, build its campaign around.

What makes White such a perfect spokesman is that he succeeds in both sides of the business without threatening either. He is shrewd enough to exploit the marketing opportunities that have made him the wealthiest athlete in Vancouver while maintaining his credibility in a sport that still sees itself mostly as an anti-establishment refuge from corporate America.

One of the reasons White and the new events are such easy fits in the Winter Olympics is that they are natural growths of alpine events that have been around for ages. Though rarely marketed in such a way, alpine skiing has always been about speed and daring. This fact was well-evident in the women’s downhill, where six women crashed at speeds that would get you ticketed on the largest freeways. One competitor had to be airlifted off the course in a helicopter.

It remains to be seen if the general public will embrace winter sports as they have the Summer Games. The Winter Olympics will always be hampered by the fact its sports depend too heavily on sometimes-dubious scoring criteria and not on simply who crosses the finish line first. But progress is being made.

The Winter Olympics’ newest additions are light years ahead of summer’s newest entries, and it may be just a matter of time before viewers catch up with the changes. The Summer Olympics will be hard pressed to maintain its dominance if the best it can offer in the way of new blood is the importation of badminton (1992), beach volleyball (1996), mountain biking (1996), trampoline (2000) and BMX and triathlon (2008).

Odds For A Bettor Halftime Show

Super Bowl XLIV: Good game, stupid commercials and a terrible halftime show. Though the visuals were sweet.

Now before you get excited and begin offering musical homage to Tommy,allow me to explain. The Who was once a great rock band. The inventor of punk and teenage angst was a powerhouse that fused raw aggression with thoughtful lyrics. Now the guys are just old and missing teeth - both figuratively and no doubt literally. Roger Daltry’s scream in Won’t Get Fooled Again was once a primal, wild wail of defiance. Now it just assaults the ear drum. And not in a good way. Pete’s guitar retains some of its anger, but he clearly wasn’t in sync at times with the rest of the band.

The NFL will never admit an error, but those in charge have to know that for the second year in a row the half-time concert failed to deliver a proper performance. Tom Petty looked like a corpse two years ago, and it should come as no surprise that The Who was brought in to get people moving. And make no mistake about it, the staged excitement of young 20-somethings rocking out to Mary Jane’s Last Dance didn’t fool anyone.

So what’s a league to do? Scheduling someone with a pulse would help. But while the league is not apt to follow the suggestions of humble mid-Pacific scribes, at least we can offer an assist to those looking for early Super Bowl XLV prop bets on next year’s big break extravaganza. Two dollar minimum.

Kiss 18-1: Kiss will play the halftime show. It’s only a matter of time. They have all the requirements: They know how to put on a big show, they have a catalog of recognizable songs with easy choruses and they’re old. Payoff $38.

Kid Rock 10-1: Rock was one of the forgotten performers, along with Nelly and P. Diddy, at the infamous nipplegate show in 2004. The man is lightning in a big old can of Midwest redneck rock and rap whoop ass.

Payoff $22.

Country Music 5-2: No single performer would be considered big enough to handle the show alone. Make it an ensemble act, which the NFL absolutely adores, and you’ve got something to wager on. The game is being played in Texas, for gosh sakes. Begin with GOP heartthrob Toby Keith, add some Kenny Chesney, a little Tim McGraw and a dash of Faith Hill and you’ve got a show-stopper.

The game will mark, in calendar years, the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. A patriotic celebration featuring Keith’s Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American), American Soldier and American Ride, whose amusing comedic video would be spectacular on the Cowboys’big screen, is a natural. Payoff $7.

Green Day 20-1: Just a great American rock with attitude! The punk label could be scary, and there is no way they could play American Idiot, but they’ve got more than enough material to blow the roof off Jerry Jones’ new palace. Payoff $42.

Bon Jovi 25-1: Rumor has it they have already been on the NFL’s short list. A band with shocking staying power could get the nod even if their most famous songs are 1980s powder puff hair metal. Payoff $52.

Elton John 28-1: Sir Elton is another woulda, coulda, shoulda performer. The 2012 games should give him better odds. Payoff $58.

Black Eyed Peas 20-1: Perhaps the one band that offers the most crossover appeal. The NFL likes rock, and the rest of the world is downloading hip-hop at a crazy rate. Payoff $42.

Metallica 50-1: The black album alone could account for higher odds. No metal band has ever played the big game. Aerosmith is the closest, but has become a hard rock corporation instead of a band. Payoff $102.

Van Halen 35-1: The biggest knock on the ‘80s biggest band is that no one can be sure who will be on vocals or if Eddie Van Halen has any more kids looking for work. Payoff $72.

Eagles 15-1: Great songs. American. Safe. They won’t get the sweat flying but the league will get a good performance and no surprises. Payoff $32.

Led Zeppelin 45-1: It is not even a band anymore, but the exposure of 100 million people would be appealing to Jimmy Page’s wallet. Get them to say yes and the odds double. Payoff $92.

AC/DC 40-1: One of the few hard rock bands you can dance to. Brian Johnson’s voice is a bit blown, so that would be a problem. Payoff $82.

Jay-Z and friends 35-1:The league has already said Eminem is inappropriate, but the businessman rapper could make it happen. Going old school with a salute to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five could help. Bringing in Dr. Dre and Snoop to relight The Chronic would be awesome but not likely. Pay off $72.

The Wacky World Of Signing Day

Ah, national letter of intent day, when the fancy of middle-aged men turns toward well-built high school boys.

After months of courtship, the promise of unending devotion and the whispering of sweet nothings into the ears of impressionable youths, the hookups have been made and love is in the air. Had these connections occurred in the name of NAMBLA and not the NCAA, such relationships would be really disturbing. Seriously. Those dudes need counseling.

As it is, the recruiting of high school athletes is, at best, a strange world of hype, hope and unrealistic expectations with million-dollar careers hanging in the balance.

Former Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight compared recruiting to prostitution. Knight went overboard with this one, but no one can question the spirit of the comment.

Offering paid help to recruits is an age-old accusation, as are other sometimes-questionable enticements. Conferences and the NCAA itself were created to stop widespread cheating, and critics of Lane Kiffin would argue that nothing much has changed.

But those are concerns for another time. This is a time of celebration. Letter of intent day is the eternal spring of annual anticipation.

Each year highly paid “experts” break down film and rank thousands of athletes to let us know who is going to make our team an instant contender and who was an embarrassing waste of a scholarship.A high ranking means temporary job security for coaches, and failures to break the four-star barrier mean condemnation and the ire of angry message board traffic.

So who do you believe? Whoever ranks your team the highest, of course. USC fans know without uncertainty that Rivals.com has the best information, while Scout.com is completely clueless. Supporters in the Pacific Northwest would beg to differ. Scout says Washington had the 11th best recruiting class in the country. Rivals’ appreciation for the Huskies comes 17 spots lower. Notre Dame fans think both rankings are moronic, as the Irish can come no closer to the top rung than No. 14.

Hawaii fans will be nearly as miserable, but for different reasons. To too many, Scout’s No. 81 ranking and Rivals’ No. 65 is yet further proof of the program’s decline from the glory days of June Jones, when the team’s recruiting rankings were eerily similar. June’s final recruiting class came in at No. 85 for Scout and No. 73 for Rivals.

So how did UH really do? Wait three years.

Until then, it’s all guesswork. In 2005, Scout listed UH at No. 83 with John Fonoti getting one star, and Adam Leonard, Solomon Elimimian and John Estes two. The year before, Ryan Grice-Mullen was a one-star running-back and Keala Watson a single-star lineman. It’s safe to say the experts missed on a few of those. They also can go wrong in the other direction. In 2002, Chad Kilimoku was given five stars by Rivals. We may have to chalk that up to a typo.

To paraphrase UH baseball coach Mike Trapasso, I’ve never heard a coach rate his recruiting class poorly. As such, it is no surprise that Greg McMackin is singing the praises of his recruits, even if all the real big names in the state bolted for greener pastures.

And believe it or not, this class’s standing did not hinge on the decision of V.J. Fehoku.

In a few years we will know if experts were correct.

What we do know is that UH filled its needs on both sides of the line of scrimmage while adding depth at receiver and cornerback. Whether they got quality or quantity remains to be seen.

The Warriors signed five offensive linemen, none of whom made the Honolulu Star-Bulletin‘s three-deep All State team. David Lefotu is the highest rated, getting three stars by Scout.

UH brought in seven defensive linemen, of whom Beau Yap may have the biggest upside. At 6-feet 2-inches and 230 pounds, Yap is currently too small to be an every down contributor. But he has plenty of room to put on weight, and if he can add strength with his 4.7 speed, he could become part of a long line of talented UH defensive ends.

Moses Samia (6-2, 250) is an athletic lineman who was named third team all state for two years in baseball by the Star-Bulletin, and it will be interesting to see what the staff can do with 6-foot-7-inch Desmond Dean. The D-lineman had 12 tackles for loss, six sacks, 20 quarterback pressures as a senior and anchored the school’s 4x100-meter relay team. The hope is he’ll be closer to Ikaika Alama-Francis then Tony Akpan.

UH is set at receiver with seniors Greg Salas, Kealoha Pilares, Jovonte Taylor and Malcolm Lane, who returns after taking a year off to concentrate on academics. But the experience tails off quickly after those four, which explains the five newcomers at the position.