I have been away for a week, and so I have not been able to comment on the Notre Dame situation where 4 players have been suspended under investigation of academic fraud. It made local and national headlines when it was announced that cornerback KeiVarae Russell, wide receiver DaVaris Daniels, linebacker Kendall Moore and defensive end Ishaq Williams had been suspended from the football team, and, based on the ongoing investigation, the players may be kicked out of the school. Of course, ND quarterback Marquis Golston was suspended from the team last season under an academic cloud as well, but he is back on the team this season and starting at QB.
I’m sure that long time readers who know of my EXTREME dislike for Notre Dame are expecting me to jump on the school and the players with both feet, but I am going to disappoint some of you. What is happening at ND is certainly happening at many other schools. Stories of illiterate athletes coming into colleges and universities, and more alarming, leave college the same way have been written for decades, the most recent stories that tutors wrote papers for and helped cover up for North Carolina athletes who could not read.
So, ND is no different from many other colleges and universities, they just have a higher reputation, one that we should review to see that the school actually deserves. Notre Dame has a sterling reputation for the education provided, and, for most students, that is true. One has to wonder if the same can be said for athletes.
That is a bigger issue than just Notre Dame also. I can’t help but thinking that the extended 12 game season, not including conference championship games, bowls games, and the upcoming college football championship, does not allow athletes the time to devote to their studies? As the Northwestern case to the NLRB showed, football is a full time job, and perhaps expecting athletes to undergo grueling classes is too much to ask. Of course, many schools make it much easier, giving the athletes easy classes that they don’t even have to show up to in order to pass. Writing papers for athletes and cheating on test taking are other ways to “keep the players eligible.”
I am not saying that the players, if guilty, do not deserve the punishment they receive. Cheating is cheating, and personal responsibility is a very important lesson to learn. I also have no proof that ND encourages academic dishonesty by professors, teaching assistants, and tutors. However, what is the message that the colleges and universities send to their athletes? “It’s OK for us to exploit you and help you stay eligible, but if you do it on your own, you’re in trouble.”
Judging from the names, I am going to guess that these are young black players, and apparently, two of them were legitimate All-American/high NFL prospects. What would make them jeopardize the possible rewards? They would take drastic measures if they were worried about flunking out.
Again, they made a mistake and I’m sure they will pay for it. However, perhaps it is about time to have another vehicle for young men with talent to have a chance to make the NFL other than college? Considering the number of NCAA athletes who don’t make it to the pros, and the high percentage of those that do play professionally that end up bankrupt, maybe college doesn’t add that much to the men that play football?

While I was away, we’ve had one horrible story and another free good story about young African-American men. Of course, the murder of Michael Brown and the resultant demonstrations, rioting and violence in Ferguson, Missouri has been well documented. Here in Chicago, everyone has been celebrating the Jackie Robinson West Little League team, the first from Chicago to go to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA in decades.
The kids of Jackie Robinson West won their first game by slaughter rule, only to get slaughtered themselves by a team from Las Vegas. The Chicago kids are still alive, but they are now one loss away from elimination.
The attention the team has received around Chicago has been like a smaller version of the support the Blackhawks and Bulls get. A public viewing location was set up on the South Side (and will be out again for the team’s next game), Mayor Rahm Emmanuel showed up (in hopes of bolstering dismal approval ratings from African-Americans). My old friend Rick Telander in the Sun-Times questioned whether it was too much attention on such young kids. (Perhaps.)
The team is from one of the more impoverished areas of the city, known more for crime and violence and senseless killing of young men and women like those playing in Williamsport. ESPN has focused their attention on the team, All in all, I think it is a feel good story in general.
However, I just wonder if this splintered country is going back to some really terrible times/days. Growing up, I don’t remember being worried about being shot by a police officer (although I did get “the talk” – be respectful to police, keep your hands in sight, don’t make sudden moves, etc.). With “stand your ground” laws in Florida and elsewhere, it is almost open season on young black men, those young black men who aren’t already caught in the country’s “war on drugs.” I don’t remember a time when I thought I’d be justifiably shot by a police officer, but perhaps those days are here.

As you know, I’m not “into” golf at all. I don’t play the game, nor do I follow it. I do know that there are some strange rules in golf, many of which can turn simple mistakes into a player getting suspended.
This week, a PGA player admitted to a possible mistake and returned over $50,000 in prize money. Cameron Tringale, currently ranked 105th in the world, called the PGA Tour office and requesting to be disqualified from the 2014 PGA Championship due to a incorrect scorecard.
Tringale, 26, claims to have missed a stroke when attempting to tap in on the 11th hole this past Sunday.. Tringale himself claims to be unsure about whether he actually addressed the ball, which, since it didn’t go in, would have added a stoke to his score. It he hit it, the rules of golf would require the penalty. The young mane claims to have been guilt-ridden over the past week.
Under PGA rules, a player is disqualified if he signs an incorrect scorecard. The mishit would have added an extra stroke to his round, taking him from a tie for 33rd place (four under par) to a tie for 36th. By virtue of his disqualification, Tringale will forfeit his $53,000 in prize money.
Some people in golf are questioning Tringale giving up all of that money, his best finish ever in a major tournament. It was “a tap in,” they say, a “gimme.” Who cares if he hit it? Apparently, Mr. Tringale did, and he should be applauded for coming forward.
Like I said, I don’t follow golf, but I admit that I Mr. Tringale has a very long, successful career.

One would think that an sports television personality would learn from another talking head from the same network who gets in trouble for too much free speech. One week after ESPN suspended Stephen A. Smith for commenting that women should try not to antagonize men so tat they don’t get beaten, fellow ESPN commentator Dan Le Batard got in trouble, not for as ignorant and asinine comment as Smith’s but to tweak the best player in the NBA when you work for a network that is a major broadcaster of that league is dumb.
Every since LeBron James opted out of his contract with the Miami Heat to go home to Cleveland, Ohio, some Heat fans haven’t been too happy. Yes, James brought two championships to South Beach, he also brought a lot of dislike as a result of “the Decision,” the television special that announced he was leaving his home state. James’ decision/announcement that he was going back home provided a psychological boost to Ohio, a state that has been hard hit by the recession, and a long history of bad teams, or coming just short of titles when they did have good teams.
This week, a billboard appeared in Akron, Ohio that showed the two Miami championship rings and said “You’re Welcome LeBron. Love, Miami.” Of course, James’ Cavaliers were unable to win any championships along with the Browns, and Indians. (Of course, things may be looking up with James and now Kevin Love getting traded to the Cavaliers from Minnesota).
Shortly thereafter, it was discovered that Le Batard was behind the billboard and had attempted to put the same ad on full pages in two Ohio newspapers with no success. Le Batard said that the ad was “just fun anarchy,” and “all meant in fun,” but ESPN wasn’t laughing and suspended him for two days.
Le Batard is a buffoon on television, not particularly smart, not particularly funny and not at all insightful. I have long wondered what naked pictures he has of important people to get him a regular gig on ESPN. Like too many of the “reporters” on ESPN, Smith, Le Batard, and Smith’s co-host and fellow idiot Skip Bayless, they have forgotten one of the first rules of journalism – don’t become part of the story. Smith and Bayless are only on to stir up controversy, and they do so. LeBatard is the extremely poor man’s version of Smith and Bayless (which isn’t saying much at all.
If ESPN “suspended” Le Batard permanently, I don’t think anyone would miss him.

As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors met this week to vote on a new governance structure for the “Power 5” conferences. Those conferences, the Big Ten, ACC, SEC, Pac-12 and Big 12 have felt hamstrung by the smaller schools that make up the 351 member NCAA. They would like to have provisions for stipends for players, and have a better approach to medical benefits for players injured while playing; benefits that the smaller schools cannot afford.
With administrators from the Power 5 threatening to withdraw from the NCAA if the measure was defeated, the Board voted Thursday to approve the structure granting more rule-making autonomy to the nation’s five wealthiest conferences. The story is not over: individual schools will have the opportunity to veto the new structure over the next 60 days. If 75 of 351 D-I schools vote in opposition of the new structure, it would be reconsidered by the board.
It will be interesting to see what happens here: I think as long as the money sharing stays the same, the smaller schools should go along. But if the big schools get even more of an advantage over the smaller conferences, will the small schools be able to field competitive teams?
The cracks in the NCAA’s business model have been showing for some time, and they continue to grow. How much longer will it be before it collapses altogether?

There was a very good story on HBO’s “Real Sports” talking about the decline in golf and some of the extreme measures that certain golf movers and shakers are willing to initiate to save the game.
A story on CNN Money highlights the problems and suggests reasons that this is happening. First, the evidence: Adidas, which owns the TaylorMade brand, reported that sales at its golf division dropped by nearly 20% in the second quarter, leading the sportswear company to slash earnings forecasts for the year. Callaway Golf reported a 7% decline in sales for the second quarter and predicted market conditions would remain “challenging” throughout the year. Even Nike is feeling the pinch: sales are flat from the last year while nearly every other division reported growth.
As I wrote, CNN lists three reasons that golf is on the decline:
1. The “Tiger” void: with Woods no longer a meaningful force on the scene, a lot of casual fans have jumped off golf’s bandwagon. Rory McIllroy is a great golfer, but he is not the celebrity that Woods is.
2. Golf is outdated: Golf used to be a critical part of business networking, but this isn’t needed by the Gen X-Y crowd. Golf continues to struggle to eliminate the perception that it is a game for old white men
3. Changing retail trends: The retail landscape has changing but golf brands haven’t reacted quickly enough. Consumers are increasingly moving online and doing more price comparisons, which is hurting traditional brick-and-mortar stores. For many retailers, there’s too much expensive gear in stores and too few buyers. Already, some retailers are reducing staff.
Now, I’m no golfer as you well know. I would much rather sleep in than have a 5:00 AM tee time. I can go to a bar to drink. I have had arguments with avid golfers about whether golf is a sport, or an avocation, and to a certain extent, I think of what could be done with all of the land that is now golf courses. The main reason that I am not a golfer is that with comics, movies, and books, I have enough big money hobbies, thank you.
So, you might probably believe that I am rooting for the demise of golf. You’d be wrong – I really don’t care all that much one way or the other.. If you want to play golf, go ahead. I have been able to go through life relatively happily ignoring golf for the most part. Unfortunately, for golfers, the world may be joining me.

I admit that I am getting tired of super rich white men trying to either hoist their deluded notions of the world on the rest of us, or, like I believe is the case with Ann Coulter, are using their insane comments to earn money from very dumb people. But, the press tour that Washington NFL team owner, billionaire Daniel Snyder has embarked on to try and defend the racist nickname “Redskins” is ludicrous, doomed to failure, and shows how Snyder and others seem to think people will drink their Kool-Aid.
In radio and television interviews, the usually media-shy Snyder disagrees with some Native American groups, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and even dictionaries. When asked “What is a Redskin?” Snyder said “A Redskin is a football player. A Redskin is our fans. The Washington Redskins fan base represents honor, represents respect, represents pride. Hopefully winning. And, and, it, it’s a positive. Taken out of context, you can take things out of context all over the place. But in this particular case, it is what it is. It’s very obvious.”
Snyder seems to think that he can refer to the term only regarding his own football team, not to the rest of the world. The Dictonary.com listing is: “red-skin: noun Slang: Often Disparaging and Offensive (bolding is mine) a North American Indian. “To Snyder’s obvious dismay, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office agrees with the reference guides, describing the term as “disparaging to Native Americans” in a recent decision that canceled six federal trademark registrations connected to the team’s name.
With training camps open and the preseason games starting in earnest this week, Snyder has obviously decided to go on the offensive (no pun intended) trying to justify his silly, “I’m going to hold my breath like a 3-year-old” defense of the nickname. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, already proving his feet of clay by suspending woman beating Ray Rice, has similarly taken no position on the nickname. Television broadcasters have been told that they can use or not use the nickname – it’s their call. The networks have taken no position either.
It’s not like professional sports franchises don’t change nicknames. In the exact same city, NBA owner Abe Pollin changed the name of his franchise which had been the Bullets, but with crime high and lots of Washington residents being gunned down, he changed a very long established to the Wizards.
Like too many people who are trying to belittle or ignore the feelings and opinions of minorities, especially darker-skinned ones, Snyder thinks that his billions make his opinions and attitudes more important than other people’s opinions. Like the GOP and the Tea Pertiers, and the Koch Brothers, Daniel Snyder is on the wrong side of history, just as Lester Maddox, and “bull” Conner were during the days of the Civil Rights movement. It is only a matter of time before he changes the name, he is just spending millions of dollars in a hissy fit.
Maybe he should change the nickname to the Washington Rich Spoiled Bastards?