[Posted Sunday PM]
Baseball Quiz: Mike Trout is one of four players in baseball history to bat .320 with 50 home runs and 200 runs scored in his first two full seasons. Name the other three. Answer below.
March Madness
Final Four
1 Florida
7 UConn
2 Wisconsin
8 Kentucky
–What a tournament. UConn got off to a 12-2 lead after about five minutes of play against Michigan State on Sunday, only to score just nine points the rest of the way in the first half with the Spartans leading 25-21 at intermission.
UConn then trailed 32-26 in the second, but took a 46-39 lead at the 7:30 mark and went on to win 60-54 behind Shabazz Napier’s 25 points and the team’s 21 of 22 performance from the free throw line.
So the Huskies move on to face Florida. It was Dec. 2 that UConn defeated them 65-64 on a last second Napier bucket.
–In Sunday’s nightcap, Kentucky edged Michigan in yet another classic, 75-72, as Aaron Harrison sank a 3-point shot with 2.3 seconds left. Seven of the eight players in Kentucky’s rotation were freshmen, including the starting five. To state the obvious, the Wildcats are getting better and better with each game. Now coach John Calipari has a chance to guide his team to a second title in three years, starting off with Wisconsin next Saturday.
–Saturday night we were all entertained by 2-seed Wisconsin’s 64-63 overtime win against 1-seed Arizona in the West Region final, as Wisconsin’s 7-foot center Frank Kaminsky scored 28 points, including six in overtime, while hauling down 11 rebounds. For the Badgers, it’s their first Final Four appearance since 2000, and first for coach Bo Ryan.
Wisconsin is fortunate Kaminsky chose Saturday to have a career night, seeing as everyone else on the team disappeared, like 10 for 34 shooting from the field for the other key players. Neither team led by more than three points over the final 12:09 of regulation.
But the game will be remembered for some questionable calls, and for Arizona’s Nick Johnson failing to get off a shot that could have won it for the Wildcats.
With the score at 64-63 and the clock running, “(Arizona’s) T.J. McConnell’s jumper missed, but Arizona got the offensive rebound and found Johnson, who missed and got called for the push-off on (Josh) Gasser with 3 seconds left.
“ ‘I thought it was a really, really tough call,’ (Arizona coach Sean) Miller said. ‘I’m going to stop there. I’ve already been fined.’
“Wisconsin inbounded on the baseline, and a scramble ensued in front of Arizona’s bench with 2 seconds left [2.3]. The initial call gave the ball to the Badgers. The referees viewed replays for several minutes [over 5] before deciding Wisconsin touched the ball last.” [AP]
So the final play was set up and then Johnson didn’t get a shot off before time expired.
“They were two teams too close for comfort. Each other’s.
“The width of a slip of paper separated Arizona and Wisconsin in Saturday night’s NCAA West Regional final. And in the end, when Wisconsin won an overtime thriller of thrillers, it was the kind of game they will remember in NCAA basketball tournament lore forever….
“Those who were there, or were watching on TV, will remember it as the kind of game where every screen was contested, every shot, even every referee’s call….
“Forty-five minutes of basketball, under the brightest of lights with the stakes indescribably high, had come down to one officials’ call (or guess) and 2.3 seconds of good defense and good luck.
“These two teams could play each other 15 times and they’d go to nine overtimes to break the 7-7 tie.
–In earlier games, the only Sweet 16 game on Thursday worth a damn, Arizona-San Diego State, resulted in a hard fought 70-64 Wildcat win as Nick Johnson, held without a basket for 37 minutes, scored all 15 of his points in the final three, going 10 for 10 from the line in the process. But the Aztecs showed the basketball world they do have an authentic program, as coach Steve Fisher proudly proclaimed afterwards. While they lose guard Xavier Thames, they have a solid nucleus returning.
–Friday, all four contests, as advertised (by moi among others), were terrific.
Michigan 73 Tennessee 71
UConn 81 Iowa State 76
Kentucky 74 Louisville 69
Michigan State 61 Virginia 59
Those last two ended within seconds of each other well after midnight. Like the rest of you I was frantic with the clicker. Luckily there were some key timeouts that allowed you to catch up with the action in the other game.
As was the case with San Diego State the night before, all four losers Friday more than proved they were among the best in the country. No flukes among ‘em.
–In Kentucky’s 74-69 win over Louisville, the Wildcats were 22-27 from the foul line, the Cardinals just 13-23, with Russ Smith going a pathetic 4 of 10. Does Louisville win if they make a few more? Maybe, maybe not. What it does is totally change the complexion of the final minute and then it’s, who knows?
–What an impressive performance by UConn’s DeAndre Daniels, 27 points on 10 of 15 from the field, along with 10 rebounds in the Huskies’ 81-76 win over Iowa State, whose star DeAndre Kane was a disastrous 2 of 9 from the free throw line.
–Regarding the Tennessee-Michigan game on Friday, the Volunteers were down 72-64 with less than two minutes left but stormed back, helped by four consecutive Michigan turnovers.
But then Tennessee inbounded under their own basket with a chance to go ahead, only to see the Vols’ Jarnell Stokes called for a controversial charge with six seconds left and Tennessee down 72-71.
Yes, as all of us watching knew, it was a tough call, but I get a kick out of those who say the referees should have let them play. C’mon, there was more contact on the play than the Russians faced in taking Crimea, for cryin’ out loud. You had to make a call, one way or another. I personally thought it was a block, not a charge, but, frankly, I didn’t know what Doug Gottlieb was talking about afterwards and the college interpretation of the rules vs. the pros. As in I had no idea on some of the nuances and I’ve only been watching a ton of college games for, oh, decades.
[Tennessee did also get a break on an earlier call so Vols fans really shouldn’t lose too much sleep over this contest. They finished the year strong…more than can be said for about 330 other Div. I schools. Plus students and alums can proudly wear a Sweet 16 shirt. No one wears “Round of 32” or “Play-In Game” garb. But you get to the Sweet 16, the shirt is big. Heck, I still wear a Wake one from way back.]
–In the Michigan State-Virginia contest, the Cavaliers had a 40-36 lead with 11:40 to go, but over the next 5:30, the Spartans went on a 13-2 run to take it to 49-42, Virginia came back to tie it at 51, and then Michigan State went on a final run.
–Among those already announcing they are coming out early for the NBA draft… Kansas center Joel Embiid and guard Andrew Wiggins; UCLA’s Kyle Anderson and Zach LaVine; Syracuse point guard Tyler Ennis; North Carolina State’s T.J. Warren. Far more in coming weeks, like a slew from Kentucky.
–Manhattan basketball coach Steve Masiello thought he had a new position at South Florida, but then a background check revealed he was not a college graduate. As of this posting, it is not known what Manhattan will do, whether they will take him back or not.
Juliet Macur of the New York Times best summed up this mess.
“Steve Masiello sat across a table from me before Manhattan’s opening game in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in Orlando, Fla., and preached the importance of accountability.
“Masiello, the Jaspers’ coach, said he had learned that from his mentor, Rick Pitino, for whom he played at Kentucky and worked as an assistant at Louisville.
“ ‘It’s not about the win; it’s about the process,’ he said, describing Pitino’s way, which quickly became his way, too. ‘A lot of people get caught up with the results, but for us, it was ‘Did we go about it the way we were supposed to?’’
“He went on to say that Pitino also taught him to focus on details. He said Pitino would be ‘borderline mad’ with his team if it won a game by 20 points. Pitino would think, Why not 40?
“ ‘Who wants to be good?’ Masiello said Pitino had told him. ‘He’d say: ‘When someone tells you you’re good, it’s almost an insult. We want to be best. We want to be great. We want to be perfect.’’
“As I look back at our conversation, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile Masiello’s words with his actions regarding a major discrepancy on his resume: He claimed to have earned a bachelor’s degree from Kentucky in 2000 when, in fact, he did not. Last week, he was denied a job as the coach of South Florida after a background check revealed that he was not a college graduate, a requirement for the position.
“That dumb move might cost him job at Manhattan, too. He was placed on leave, and his future remains unclear.”
So as we all wonder, what kind of background checks did Manhattan do when they hired Masiello? Did they just assume since he had worked with Pitino, he was clean? Even Pitino said this week he assumed Masiello had a degree.
“What is inexplicable is that Masiello probably knew about previous coaching scandals regarding flawed resumes [Ed. see George O’Leary, for one] and was still ambitious enough, or felt invincible enough, to continue living his lie. How can he encourage his players to study, stay in college and earn their degrees when he failed to do so himself?”
–You know, I don’t watch the NIT but I respect the tournament. As a kid it was tremendous. We’d always go for the semifinals doubleheader at the Garden and of course back then you only had 32 teams in the NCAA tournament, with just one representative from most of the conferences, so you’d have some loaded NIT fields.
Anyway, just wanted to note the matchups for Tuesday, with the title game Thursday:
Minnesota (23-13) vs. Florida State (22-13)
Clemson (23-13) vs. SMU (26-9)
Opening Day…Play Ball!!!
Charlie Brown to Lucy, as he sees she’s holding a baseball card: You have a Joe Shlabotnik? You have a Joe Shlabotnik bubble gum card? He’s my favorite player! I’ve been trying to get him on a bubble gum card for five years! You wanna trade? Here…[producing a pile of cards] I’ll give you Whitey Ford, Mickey Mantle, Robin Roberts, Luis Aparicio, Bill Monbouquette, Dick Stuart and Juan Pizarro!
Charlie Brown: How about Nellie Fox, Dick Donovan, Willie Kirkland, Frank Lary, Al Kaline, Orlando Pena, Jerry Lumpe, Camilo Pascual, Harmon Killebrew, Bob Turley and Albie Pearson?
Lucy: No, I don’t want to trade…I think Joe Shlabotnik is kind of cute…
Charlie Brown [increasingly exasperated]: I’ll give you Tom Cheney, Chuck Cottier, Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, Maury Wills, Sandy Koufax, Frank Robinson, Bob Purkey, Bill Mazeroski, Harvey Haddix, Warren Spahn, Hank Aaron, Tony Gonzalez, Art Mahaffey, Roger Craig, Duke Snider, Don Nottebart, Al Spangler, Curt Simmons, Stan Musial, Ernie Banks and Larry Jackson!
Charlie Brown [dejected, head down, starts to walk away]: For five years I’ve been trying to get a Joe Shlabotnik! My favorite baseball player, and I can’t get him on a bubble gum card…Five years! My favorite player…
Lucy [walks in the opposite direction, sees a trash can and throws the card in it]: He’s not as cute as I thought he was.
Ball Bits
“By now, tales of Billy Hamilton’s feats of feet are told around baseball clubhouses like those Chuck Norris legends that swept the Internet a few years back. There’s the one where the then 21-year-old stole second base without taking a lead off first. Or the time he scored a game-winning run off an infield fly. Then there’s the diving catch near the left-field warning track. It would have been a highlight grab for an outfielder – but Hamilton was playing shortstop.”
A few stats of note from the Sean Gregory piece. Homers per game have fallen 18% since 2000, the steroid peak. Strikeouts in 2013 tied the previous season for the highest whiffing rate in history, 7.6 times per nine innings.
So there has to be room for someone like Hamilton, who set the professional record for steals in a season, 155, while in the Reds’ farm system.
But can he get on base enough? I hope so. Hamilton would indeed be a needed shot in the arm. And it doesn’t hurt he’s African-American in terms of his promotional value. Only 7.7% of players on opening-day rosters last season were black. In 1975 it was 27%. Hamilton, who was a three-sport star in high school (football, basketball, baseball) is hoping he can help reverse the trend.
What’s funny is that his mother begged him to turn to baseball when Mississippi State offered him a football scholarship. He listened. “A real nice ticket for us to get to the big leagues,” he told Sean Gregory, “is our wheels.”
Like I’ve been saying, football’s injury issues will definitely accrue to baseball. It will just take a few years before you begin to see the change. It shouldn’t hurt when some of our inner city youth (channeling Paul Ryan) see contracts like Mike Trout’s.
So here’s hoping Billy Hamilton is a huge success and gets a ton of national attention.
–But speaking of Mike Trout….nice contract, eh? The 22-year-old superstar just signed a six-year, $145 million contract extension! Yup, that ought to catch a few athletes’ attention, the kind who have the luxury of choosing between a college football scholarship and being drafted by a major league baseball team out of high school.
As in, if you’re a great athlete but, say, in ninth grade and really haven’t played baseball, perhaps because the nearest ballfield is used as a central exchange for dealing drugs, you might ask around to see if there is anywhere you can learn this sport. Just sayin’.
So Trout agreed to stay with the Angels through 2020, or the next seven years (recall he signed a $1 million deal for this season). He cannot opt out of the deal.
Trout would have become a free-agent after the 2017 season, but with the extension through 2020, he also preserves his right to land the biggest contract in the history of the Free World when he becomes a free agent at 29.
Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers just signed an outrageous 8-year contract extension for $248 million on Friday that means he is under contract to Detroit for the next 10 seasons at $292 million. And Cabrera turns 31 next month. More on him in a bit.
LeBron James told reporters on Friday when informed of the Trout deal, “I wish we didn’t have a salary cap.”
According to Spotrac, Alex Rodriguez holds the current North American sports record for $450 million in career earnings. By comparison, Kobe Bryant will have earned $328 million when his Lakers contract extension expires in 2016.
And not for nothing, but Angels owner Arte Moreno has not only now committed a hefty sum for Trout, but he had agreed to deals of $240 million for Pujols and $125 million for Josh Hamilton.
–Back to Miguel Cabrera……the following is from Matt Snyder of CBSSports.com:
“If you’re gonna sign a player to a monster contract extension like this, you make sure he’s the best hitter in baseball.
“You make sure he’s still in the thick of his prime. And coming off his age-30 season, he is. He’s won two of the last three MVPs and finished in the top five in the third season.
“We’re talking about a player whose average season the past three years was a .331/.439/.635 line…. He also averaged 42 home runs, 123 RBI, 43 doubles and 113 runs.
“I am, of course, talking about Albert Pujols’ career and how it stood after his age-30 season, which is exactly the same age season Miguel Cabrera just concluded.
“Pujols would have a slight down year in 2011, though he finished fifth in NL MVP voting and won a World Series, before signing a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Angels.
“Cabrera just agreed to an extension that means he now has a 10-year deal worth $292 million.”
Now Snyder quickly points out he’s not saying Pujols and Cabrera are the same and that they’ll age the same. But it is pretty amazing that Cabrera’s age 28-30 season averages are virtually the same as Pujols’. 39 HR, 127 RBI, 38 2B, 108 R, .340.
But you all know how Pujols has done in his age 31-33 seasons. Solid, but not worthy of the $dollars. Snyder does add Pujols looks good this spring but he has eight years and $212 million left on his deal.
The issue with Cabrera is he wouldn’t have become a free agent for another two seasons. This is what Detroit management will be judged on. How good will his contract look following 2015?
Well, the Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell has some thoughts on the out years, ages 33 through 40 for Cabrera. Using Baseball-Reference.com to find the 10 players whose careers are the closest to Miguel, “Cabrera’s 10 closest comparables through age 30 are the greatest of the great, such as Hank Aaron, Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Robinson, Mickey Mantle and Mel Ott. That’s the problem: even the greatest of the great almost always deteriorate at exactly the ages the Tigers decided to extend Cabrera. Is every computer in Detroit busted?
“The most likely scenario, based on the average of the careers of the nine comparables who have already retired, is that Cabrera will hit about 116 homers over the eight years of his extension, which will cost the Tigers nearly $250 million. How stupid do you have to be to pay $30 million a year for 15 homers a season from an aging slugger who is already slow and will end up permanently at first base or designated hitter?….
“The 240-pound Cabrera is not a health nut, or hasn’t been so far. He’s fought extra weight, and in recent years nagging injuries, much of his career. Maybe he’s Aaron [Ed. who in ages 33 through 40 hit 313 home runs, drove in 865, and hit .286].
“If he’s not, the Tigers’ only hope may be that Cabrera just retires when his productivity declines and leaves his last $100 million to $150 million guaranteed on the table. It’s possible. But would you want to bet on it?
Regarding the other players’ performances ages 33 through 40 – in the Triple Crown categories – home runs, RBI and batting average, you have some of the following (divide by eight!)
Ken Griffey, Jr. …162, 478, .257
Mel Ott…96, 305, .276
Mickey Mantle…82, 211, .254
Frank Robinson…168, 535, .275
Duke Snider…53, 184, .254
–Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association said the penalty will increase from 50 games to 80 for a first drug testing violation and from 100 games to a season-long 162 for a second. A third violation remains a lifetime ban. Players will also not be allowed to play in the playoffs even if their suspensions have been fully served by that point.
–The Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his career and will miss at least one start. He has a bad back. Another stud pitcher, Philadelphia’s Cole Hamels, was also placed on the 15-day DL with left biceps tendinitis. He has pitched all of two innings this spring.
—Pity the Braves…they probably lost a third pitcher for the season, Cory Gearrin, joining Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy.
Yankees 61%
Mets 27%
Others 12% (it’s safe to say almost all of these are Red Sox fans)
Cutting to the chase…I’m not going out on a limb at all… Washington over Baltimore in the World Series. Actually, Baltimore isn’t being picked by many, but Washington is. Sports Illustrated has the Nationals over the A’s.
Baseball fans will be carefully following Mike Trout, of course. The Chicago White Sox’ newcomer Jose Abreu should prove to be an exciting slugger as well.
There are others as a fan I’m curious to see how they perform…like the aforementioned Billy Hamilton and Jose Reyes up in Toronto, plus you have the great comeback story of Grady Sizemore in Boston, Sizemore not having played since Sept. 2011, seven operations since 2009, after a nice run from 2005-08 with Cleveland.
And can Bryce Harper stay healthy and bust out? Many player polls say he is the most overrated in the game. I beg to differ.
As for the Mets and Yankees, I’m guessing it is going to be a rough one for both. As in both around 77-85.
I do hope Derek Jeter is in better shape than the scouts say he is, especially after hitting .137 in spring training. We all want Derek to go out in fine fashion. I’m also very curious to see how Mark Teixeira does after his serious wrist injury. He says he feels fine. And New York fans will have their eyes on Masahiro Tanaka, he of the $175 million contract. I hope he kicks ass…would be good for the game.
As for my Metsies, I’m already looking towards next year and a hoped for strong return of pitcher Matt Harvey after his Tommy John surgery. I like what the Mets did in the offseason, including not spending outrageous sums (most Mets fans feel differently than I do…they just want to spend, spend, spend…), but there are still far too many question marks.
–Finally, the Orioles announced a new menu item for Oriole Park. Stuggy’s Early Bird Dog – a hot dog topped with a fried egg, shredded cheese and crispy bacon. Mmm mmm. Where’s my bib…I’m drooling.
NFL
–For weeks there were stories that Philadelphia Eagles star wide receiver DeSean Jackson had had a falling out with Coach Chip Kelly and that the Eagles were looking to dump him. But then with so many teams expressing interest, my Jets among them, the Eagles thought, might as well get something for him.
In the end, however, the Eagles ended up releasing him on Friday – with a story emerging from NJ.com that Jackson had ties to two alleged gang members who are linked to two homicides in Los Angeles. It seems that within an hour of the story being released, Philly made its move.
One of the gang members was acquitted in one murder and never charged in the second case, while the other was convicted and is serving 15 years to life.
“With former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez facing murder charges and being investigated in another double homicide, the climate in the NFL with regard to the off-the-field association of players is one of high alert…
“But with the Eagles’ heightened level of concern comes the question of profiling.
“Jackson, 27, has largely avoided legal issues throughout his career, and there is no record that he’s been involved in any sort of violent crime. The published insinuations about links to gangs seems like a rush to dump a player without due process – unless something else is revealed….
“No, he hasn’t always been the model of low-maintenance impact. He has missed meetings, stormed off the practice field and blew up on the sideline.
“Yet Jackson had some of those issues in the past, and it didn’t stop the Eagles from signing him to a five-year, $48.5 million contract extension two years ago.”
Obviously, there’s more to the story. After being released, Jackson told ESPN’s Adam Schefter in a statement Schefter posted on Facebook that reads in part:
“I would like to address the misleading and unfounded reports that my release has anything to do with any affiliation that has been speculated surrounding the company I keep off the field. I would like to make it very clear that I am not and never have been part of any gang. I am not a gang member and to speculate and assume that I am involved in such activity off the field is reckless and irresponsible. I work very hard on and off the field and I am a good person with good values.”
But the evidence seems more than circumstantial. The NJ.com report notes that Jackson’s name surfaced in the shooting death of a 14-year-old, who police in Los Angeles said was executed on Dec. 29, 2010, allegedly by two members of the Crips gang. One of the two is a rapper known as ‘T-Ron,” and has recorded under Jackson’s record label. The two appear together in social media photos.
While there is no evidence linking Jackson in this murder or another one in 2012 that occurred outside a building that was owned or leased to a member of Jackson’s family, a search of the building uncovered numerous documents belonging to him.
Last season, Jackson appeared to flash gang signs during a game against the Redskins and also on photos he posted on social media.
Yes, it all seems to add up. Maybe not an actual gang member, but the associations with members seem clear. Why would you want to deal with this kind of baggage?
As of this post, the Jets have not reached out to DeSean, while a number of other teams have, so it’s kind of safe to say the Jets aren’t really that interested, and perhaps believe where’s there’s smoke there’s fire.
–Meanwhile, Baltimore Ravens and former Rutgers running back Ray Rice was indicted by a grand jury on third-degree aggravated assault charges for allegedly striking his girlfriend in a domestic dispute going back to February at the Revel Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City. It was a big story in these parts at the time, given Rice’s hero treatment for his Rutgers connection.
So what does Rice do? He married the same woman! I forgot she was also charged with simple assault.
Baltimore hasn’t said what it will do with Rice, who is a popular, and key, player, but how long do you think this marriage will last, sports fans? 9 months? Less?
–Iit would appear that Johnny Manziel wowed the scouts and NFL coaches at his pro day Thursday. What was funny is that he wore shoulder pads and a helmet, which as former NFL executive Gil Brandt said he’d never seen done. So that had folks buzzing Manziel was trying to cover up his small frame (by NFL standards).
Otherwise, his throwing was very solid. 30 of the 32 NFL teams had representatives at Texas A&M for the show. The Houston Texans, with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, had both GM Rick Smith and head coach Bill O’Brien in attendance. Manziel has been pleading his case through the press to be selected by Houston.
Manziel’s favorite target at A&M, Mike Evans, was also on display and looked equally good.
Heck, even George H.W. Bush and Barbara were there. It’s Texas, after all. Everything is bigger.
–Update: Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly is not immediately going to have further cancer surgery. Earlier his wife said he would but she amended that to say now “the complexity and aggressive nature of this cancer” requires it be treated with chemotherapy and radiation first. A doctor in New York involved in the case sounded fairly optimistic.
The Philadelphia 76ers tied an NBA record with their 26th consecutive loss on Thursday, a 120-98 drubbing at the hands of the Houston Rockets, thus matching the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers.
But then on Saturday, the Sixers blew past Detroit at home, 123-98. Streak over.
In the NFL, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 26 losses in a row, 1976-77.
In the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins, 18 in a row, 2004.
Meanwhile, Gregg Popovich continues to work his magic in San Antonio, with the Spurs on a 17-game winning streak.
And the Brooklyn Nets, my “Pick to Click,” won their 13th straight at home on Sunday, 114-99 over the T’Wolves, to advance to 39-33.
The NLRB Ruling
The National Labor Relations Board ruled that Northwestern University’s football team has the right to form the first labor union in college sports. Northwestern plans to appeal to the full NLRB in Washington.
The NLRB lords over private-sector employees, so public-school players seeking to unionize would have to go through their state-run labor boards.
Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter, who cofounded the players association, compared the NCAA system to a dictatorship, testifying that players spend 40 to 50 hours a week on football and put their health at risk. Colter bitched the time spent also didn’t allow him to pursue the school’s pre-med program.
As reported by Fred Barbash in the Washington Post, “Regular students generally don’t get recruited regardless of their grades. Football players do….
“Regular students don’t give the university control over their lives as a condition of admission. Football players do-as a condition of keeping their scholarships.
“Regular students are not told when to eat, where to live and even when and how long to sleep. Northwestern players are. They can’t rent an apartment, buy a car or even Tweet without the permission of the coach. If they go on Facebook, they are required to friend the coach….
“Sure, grad students who teach or do research get financial aid too, just like the players. But grad students spend most of their time being students. Football players spend most of their time playing football, 40 to 50 hours per week, ‘more hours than many undisputed full-time employees work at their jobs and many more hours than the players spend on their studies.’….
“ ‘We can debate when exactly the NCAA as it’s presently constructed will give up the ghost, but the organization that has spent our lives arguing that athletes are students engaged in amateur competitions is finished.’”
“Yes, college players are expected to practice and play hard in exchange for the privilege of attending a university without having to incur a quarter-million dollars in student loans. That’s the deal.
“And it’s not the stuff of revolution, despite the common-sense-defeating opinion this week from a regional director of the National Labor Relations Board named Peter Sung Ohr, who found that scholarship football players at Northwestern should be regarded as ‘employees’ simply because their sport produces revenue and because football takes work. His 24-page decision that they should be allowed to unionize was a lot of senseless knee-jerkism.
“Colter and his peers aren’t laborers due compensation; they are highly privileged scholarship winners who get a lot of valuable stuff for free. This includes first-rate training in the habits of high achievement, cool gear, unlimited academic tutoring for gratis and world-class medical care that no one else has access to. All of which was put into perspective by Michigan State basketball Coach Tom Izzo when he was asked about the ruling at the NCAA tournament East Region semifinals in New York.
“ ‘I think sometimes we take rights to a whole new level,’ Izzo said. ‘…I think there’s a process in rights. And you earn that. We always try to speed the process up. I said to my guys, ‘There’s a reason you have to be 35 to be president.’ That’s the way I look at it.’
“Izzo got at something that no other commentator has: College athletes enroll at their institutions to mature. Whatever their end goals, pro aspirations or workloads, they are no different from any other students in that respect. They are there to develop emotionally, intellectually and physically, and that’s all a school owes them, no matter how much revenue is generated by Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M.
“This isn’t to say that there aren’t injustices in the NCAA revenue system – of course there are. But those injustices aren’t redressed by wrongly giving scholarship athletes the right to unionize. It’s not true that defining them as labor would automatically be to their benefit – that’s an ideological assumption.
“To understand just how erroneous and ill-serving Ohr’s ruling is, ask yourself some simple questions. If Kain Colter is an exploited laborer, then is a female tennis player at Stanford an exploited laborer, too? Is a lacrosse player at Virginia an exploited laborer? Is a rower at Harvard?
“The NCAA is made up of 15,000 institutions and 20-odd sports. What’s the bargaining unit? Is it just football and basketball players who can unionize? Or all scholarship athletes? Can a freshman demand as much pay as a senior? Is there seniority? Can women demand equal pay – and if not, why not?….
“The full cost of tuition, room and board at Northwestern is around $63,000 a year, which means the four-year cost of a scholarship is $252,000. If players are employees, then that is taxable, right? And so is all of the other stuff they get of value, including their free food at training table, right?….
“College athletics sit extremely uneasily on our campuses; there’s no denying that. They’re an advanced course in legal, ethical problem solving. But this isn’t the remedy.”
“(The) athletes face a long appeals process. And once that’s done, they still have to deal with the challenges of building an organization out of members who by definition turn over heavily every year.
“Securing a stable and loyal membership for such a union over time won’t be easy, says Charles S. Plumb, an employment lawyer in Oklahoma who has followed the issue.
“ ‘You’re going to have constant change in the names and faces of the bargaining unit,’ he said.
“Key to stability, he said, would be to expand union membership beyond Northwestern by mounting successful organizing campaigns at other schools.
“(The) truth is that if colleges really wanted to, they could promote amateur competition that complements coursework instead of replacing it, or at least be fairer to the athletes. Divide television revenue evenly among schools and conferences. Expect students to study more than practice. Set aside money to compensate those who incur major injuries. Pay their coaches university wages. It’s on the colleges and universities and their enablers in the NCAA to do the right thing."
–Heading into a tradition unlike any other…The Masters…on CBS…Phil Mickelson isn’t exactly lighting it up. He had to make a clutch birdie out of the sand on No. 18, Friday, at the Texas Open just to make the cut, and we’re not talking a real strong field for this one.
Then on Saturday, Lefty withdrew after pulling a muscle in his right side teeing off on his 10th hole of the third round.
“I pulled a muscle on my downswing trying to hit it hard,” Mickelson said in a statement. “It just killed and it wouldn’t subside for 10 or 12 seconds. I’m going back to San Diego (for) a couple of days and have a doctor look at it, but there’s really not much you can do for a pulled muscle. I hope I’ll be OK to play the Shell in Houston, but I just don’t know.”
Phil always like to play the week before a major. Caddie Jim Mackay said it was definitely Mickelson’s right side, not his back.
It was the second time this year Phil has withdrawn in the middle of a round.
So between Phil and Tiger’s health issues, there is zero reason to expect anything out of these two at Augusta (assuming Tiger gives it a go).
Then again, The Masters is the one tournament where players can suddenly summon their game, with the familiarity of the course being a prime reason.
–Meanwhile, Australia’s Steven Bowditch won his first PGA Tour title at the Texas Open. He came into the event ranked 339th in the world.
–I didn’t realize when Adam Scott blew his 7-stroke, 36-hole lead at Bay Hill last week he matched Tom Weiskopf for blown halfway margins on the PGA Tour since 1970. They are the only two.
Weiskopf’s mess was authored at the 1975 Westchester Classic…66-63-72-71, to finish 3rd, 1 behind.
—Kurt Busch won his 25th Sprint Cup race on Sunday, besting Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville.
–Alexander Valov is a Russian blogger and he recently posted scenes from Sochi, weeks after the Winter Games and Paralympics. He claims the area has already become a ghost town, his photos showing empty streets, deserted residential complexes, untended trash and weeds growing in adjacent fields. He also asserts much of the Olympic-related construction remains unfinished.
No doubt he is telling the truth. This is exactly what many of us suspected. [David Wharton / Los Angeles Times]
–We note the passing of Cmdr. Jeremiah A. Denton Jr., former Vietnam prisoner of war, Navy admiral, and U.S. senator. He was 89.
Commander Denton was shot down over North Vietnam on July 18, 1965, and spent the next seven years and seven months in various prison camps, including the “Hanoi Hilton,” where he endured beatings, torture and four years of solitary. But he never gave what the Vietnamese wanted. And he’s forever known for one particular episode.
“The prisoner of war had been tortured for 10 months and beaten repeatedly by his North Vietnamese captors in recent days, and there were threats of more if he did not respond properly when the propaganda broadcast began. Haggard but gritty, Cmdr. Jeremiah A. Denton Jr. slumped in a chair before the television cameras.
“Pretending to be blinded by the spotlights, he began blinking – seemingly random spasms and tics. He answered interrogators’ questions with a trace of defiance, knowing he would be beaten again and again, but hoping that America would detect his secret message in Morse code.
“To a question about American ‘war atrocities,’ the captured pilot said: ‘I don’t know what is happening in Vietnam because the only news sources I have are North Vietnamese. But whatever the position of my government is, I believe in it, I support it, and I will support it as long as I live.’
“The North Vietnamese, who lost face, were even more outraged when they learned that Commander Denton, in the Japanese-taped interview broadcast on American television on May 17, 1966, had blinked out ‘T-O-R-T-U-R-E.’ It was the first confirmation that American prisoners of war were being subjected to atrocities during the Vietnam War.
–Monday, March 31, is the 125th anniversary of the official opening of the Eiffel Tower…March 31, 1889.
—Jeopardy! marks 50 years on March 30, 30 seasons with Alex Trebek.
–So you know the problem with dog treats? As Brady Dennis of the Washington Post writes:
“Since 2007, when the FDA warned of an apparent link between jerky treats and sick and dying dogs, agency officials have spent countless hours trying to nail down what might be behind the illnesses, with little success….
“The FDA says it has tested more than 1,200 jerky treats in recent years, looking for salmonella, mold, pesticides, toxic metals, outlawed antibiotics, nephrotoxins and other contaminants. Federal officials have inspected factories in China that manufacture chicken jerky products for U.S. companies and sought input from academics, state and university research labs, foreign governments and the pet food industry. The agency even made its own jerky treats to try to duplicate the commercial process.
“Still, it hasn’t figured out the cause….
“The long-running investigation has paralleled a striking increase in the amount of pet food China exports to the United States. That volume increased from barely 1 million pounds in 2003 to an estimated 86 million pounds by 2011, according to the FDA.”
The FDA is convinced it’s getting closer. In the meantime you can read the label but I’m not sure that’s giving you the full truth. Your veterinarian is undoubtedly the best source for help in this matter.
–Update on that awful cat story I passed on the other day; the one that should prevent you from ever owning a cat again, let alone one you plan on letting run around outside because of all the nasty diseases and viruses it can pick up.
Thursday I saw a story from the Telegraph that read in part:
“Two people in England have developed tuberculosis after contact with pet cats in the first ever recorded cases of cat-to-human transmission, officials have said.”
“Veterinarians believe domestic cats could be catching the disease by venturing into badger setts (dens) or from rodents that have been in badger setts.”
I am hereby taking an emergency step and dropping “Domestic Cat” 12 more notches to No. 201 on the All-Species List.
–Designer L’Wren Scott’s ashes were divided between her family and longtime boyfriend Mick Jagger, who also received all of Scott’s possessions. [She blew off her two brothers.]
–Johnny Mac passed along the incredibly important news that “grilled meat marinated in your favorite brew is even better, thanks to science.”
Writing in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a group of European scientists found that beer marinades reduced the amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the carcinogens known to form on meat when cooked at very high temperatures.
Health experts have recommended limiting exposure to PAHs because of their link to cancer, tumors, birth defects, and ‘reproductive problems’ in lab animals.
Pilsner and black beer are said to be most effective. You should marinate the meat about four hours. I can do that.
Top 3 songs for the week 3/27/82: [As Jim D. wrote the other day, these were dark times in American music] #1 “I Love Rock ‘N Roll” (Joan Jett & The Blackhearts) #2 “Open Arms” (Journey) #3 “We Got The Beat” (Go-Go’s…ughh…blows…)…and…#4 “That Girl” (Stevie Wonder) #5 “Sweet Dreams” (Air Supply) #6 “Make A Move On Me” (Olivia Newton-John) #7 “Centerfold” (The J. Geils Band) #8 “Chariots Of Fire” (Vangelis…do do do do doooo doooo…do do do….) #9 “Pac-Man Fever” (Buckner & Garcia) #10 “Freeze-Frame” (The J. Geils Band….I was living in Hoboken at the time and this was actually when Oldies were making a big comeback, with CBS-FM at the forefront of the revival…so I didn’t give a damn about the current stuff….In fact, Hoboken had a great nightclub, “Mile Square City,” appropriately named because the city is a mile square, that featured oldies groups like the Duprees … Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a small place (long out of existence) which meant that between sets the group members almost always mingled with the audience…I remember having some pleasant conversations with the guys…very cool…)
Baseball Quiz Answer: Other three aside from Mike Trout with a .320 batting average, 50 home runs and 200 runs scored their first two full seasons are Albert Pujols, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams.
