Of all the issues in sports, perhaps the most disgusting are the institutions that have been established to “rule” over their various sports. Setting rules, running tournaments, and most important – negotiating and collect they millions of dollars in TV revenues, rights fees, and ticket money. While the international organizations like the International Olympic Committee and FIFA are scandal plagued and well on the way to dissolution and people going to jail, there is probably no organization that is more hypocritical, greedier, more willing to use the players as pawns for money as the NCAA, and even they may be reaching a new low.
Over the past few years, scandals have come and gone (see the next blog) and the NCAA has been losing in the real court and the court of public opinion as to the players not being able to earn money in student jobs or in less upfront ways. Finally, in many states, athletes have been given the ability to earn money from the sale of jerseys and retain the right to their likenesses, rights that are worth millions of dollars and has gained the NCAA and the schools billions.
Perhaps it is the need for even more money, and the loss of some control, that has spurred the NCAA to try and generate money to replace it. The easiest way would be to milk the sports cow yet again. For decades, there was no formal college football title game, when the “national champion” was a matter of the court of public opinion and the source of sometimes bitter bar arguments. Then came the Bowl Championship – where a group, decided first, which two teams would meet in the Championship Game; to the current four team playoff, with 2 semi-finals and a final game. Still, there wee teams who felt got ignored in the process. Small schools and non “Power” conferences were also left out. The past three years, Clemson, Alabama and Ohio State have been three of the final four teams, leaving 127 teams vying for the final spot (if all things go as they have). Something needed to be done.
So, a committee of the NCAA has come up with a proposal for a 12-team playoff, with six spots reserved for the highest-ranked conference champions and the other six going to at-large selections. A selection committee would still be involved, and the proposed 12-team playoff would not limit how many teams can come from any one conference. The four highest-ranked conference champions would receive first-round byes and teams 5-12 would face each other in four games played on campus sometime during the two-week period following conference championship weekend, typically early December. Quarterfinals would be hosted by bowl games on New Year’s Day unless that is a Sunday, in which case those games will be played Jan. 2 The semifinals would also be hosted by bowl games, as is the case now. The plan calls for no re-seeding of the bracket as teams advance.
Of course, this means more games, which has always been a stain on a reputation of an organization that is supposed to be looking out for the good of the “student-athletes.” You can’t talk about student-athletes while they play so many games, they cannot attend classes or study. In this proposal, the best teams would play 16 games, like an NFL team. There is no reduction in games, the nonconference games remain and the horrid cash grabs that are the conference championship games.
I believe that an expanded playoff is inevitable, but in the end, I don’t think 12 teams will prevail even if it takes effect in 2023 or later. I think that the field will expand to 8 with no byes. They will remain bowl games. However, if the NCAA would like to come up with a plan that allowed players to be students and also reduced the stress, strain and risk of injury to the players, cut the number of nonconference games. Now at 3, cut them to 1 game; give the teams a chance to get in game shape. Or cancel them altogether.
The other idea, that will never happen but should be done is to get rid of the conference championship games. They do nothing more than give the conferences money that they don’t need and devalue the regular season.
I wish that would happen but it won’t unfortunately.

For as long as I’ve been writing sports, I have agreed with Charles Barkley that professional athletes should not be role models. Just because someone can hit or pitch amazingly, or dunk a basketball, or skate doesn’t make them people that kids should emulate. Other than the riches and fame, athletes are like everyone else (and the riches and fame lead to their own problems).
I thought that until now.
With the onset of vaccines to combat the Coronavirus, the world is coming out from under the pandemic restrictions. The State of Illinois is supposed to fully reopen tomorrow, with vaccinated people allowed to no longer wear masks. Unvaccinated people are strongly suggested to continue to wear masks in large crowds or other places where 6’ distance cannot be assured. Baseball has set new protocols for players: teams – players, coaches having reached the 85% level of having received final doses and will be able to relax protocols. These relaxed protocols include dropping the requirements for facemasks in dugouts and bullpens, and loosening restrictions on mobility during road trips.
As of now, 20 teams have reached that threshold – the Chicago Cubs are not among them, making the front office angry, and leading to a guessing game among fans and the media as to who has not been vaccinated. While it’s all speculation, it’s easy to look for clues on social media and in players’ comments as to who is holding out.
Cubs manager David Ross told a group of Chicago reporters this week that it isn’t fair to judge individuals for their personal beliefs. “The hard part in society in general is just negative judgment on people on any level and not knowing the person and where their stance comes from,” Ross said. “It’s something that’s hard for me to get on board with from a thousand-foot view.” Ross continued: “I was in the media up there (in the ESPN booth) judging people and it was my job to talk about what they’re doing. But the personal stuff, until you know someone and have heard their stories, I try to hold back judgment. I just feel like it’s such a bad characteristic.”
Ok, Ross of course is a former player and teammate to most of these guys, so he’s not going to throw them under the bus, but the reporters asked if Ross has any hope the Cubs will reach the threshold before the end of the season, allowing him and his coaches to stop wearing masks in the dugout and players to return to normal gatherings on the road? “I definitely have hope,” Ross said. “The way I look at that is every organization is their own group of people. I don’t know how the Braves do things. We have our group and their decisions and their stances and their personalities, and I respect every one of these guys and go to battle with these guys every single day, no matter their choice of what they do on or off the field. Maybe it’s a problem in some people’s eyes if we don’t get (to the 85% threshold). … But this is the group we have. These are the choices these guys made, and I’m here to win baseball games with these guys. That’s all I have control over.”
Just like the GOPers who are promoting conspiracy theories that the vaccine allows Bill Gates to track you, or the latest one that says that vaccines make people magnetic, some players apparently are just as dumb and gullible. One would think that having had more experience in the world than the average person would make athletes more knowledgeable and want to 1) assure that their teammates and loved ones are less likely to contract the virus, and 2) at least be able to mingle with teammates and opponents on and off the field (but then again, Steve Carlton and Curt Schilling are certifiably right wing nutjobs). One would think that in jobs that require optimum health and for men who are in top condition, they would have at least a financial incentive to remain that way. I guess that many athletes who never got past high school never learned things like science?
So yes, athletes are private citizens who have the right to do with their bodies as they wish, but as the rest of the population moves forward and teams and other businesses refuse to serve the non-vaccinated, how long before the conservative voices shout out “discrimination?” (They are already trotted out the yellow stars that Jews were forced to wear during World War II.)
Don’t athletes have an obligation to the world at large?

I meant to get to this story weeks ago, right after the first day of the 2021 NFL Draft but it fell through the cracks until now. I have always wondered and I know other people have too because they have told me – why does it take so long for NFL teams to make a draft selection, especially when they’re on the clock and know exactly who they are going to select? One would think that teams might be listening to offers from other teams to trade the pick, but what if that’s not the case?
One team finally broke the NFL’s code of silence this year – the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags of course, had the number one pick in the whole draft, and for weeks, it was no secret that Jacksonville and new Head Coach Urban Meyer were going to pick Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence. Despite some April Fools’ type stories in the media, Lawrence was the guy.
Unfortunately, ESPN and the NFL Network have time to kill and each team has up to 15 minutes in the first round to make their pick. Of course, if a team takes too long, the team following can make a pick and run it up to the Commissioner first, but that never really happens. Anyway, the Jaguars were ready from the start to make their pick, but according to people in the Jacksonville camp, the league forced them to wait seven minutes before they made their selection. Of course, this is far from being the first issue that the league has had with Meyer, beginning with hiring and then resignation of former University of Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle.
We know that there needs to be time for Mel Kiper, Jr. and the other talking heads to opine on the players and the possibilities of players that may be chosen, but for a program that is going to run for 4 hours the first 2 nights and 6+ hours on Saturday, don’t you think you could trim the show by 30-45 minutes if teams just made their choices expeditiously?
Just askin’…

With so many franchises in the major sports, it would seem that it is almost as hard to be horrible for a long time as it is to win. Lightning strikes all over the place and broken clocks are right twice a day no matter what.
OK – enough clichés. It really doesn’t take much to be the owner or a franchise that sucks for decades. All it takes is excessive penny-pinching, indifference, shortsightedness, hubris, stupidity, mismanagement or some combination of all of the above. Long championship draughts were common place, especially in baseball: the White Sox went 88 years between World Series Championships, the Red Sox went 86 years; and the all time holder is the Chicago Cubs at 108. The current title holder in this dubious category in baseball are the Cleveland Indians who haven’t won in 73 years. Expansion has led to quite a few franchises who have never won in the shorter histories: the Texas Rangers come to mind and there are others.
The NHL is older than the NBA or even the NFL, so one would expect the holder of “The Futility Award” would reside with one of the Original Six teams. My Blackhawks went 49 years between Cups (in great part due to the cheap, inept owner “Dollar” Bill Wirtz); the Bruins took a “measly” 39 years. Despite their 24 titles, the Montreal Canadiens have now gone 28 seasons without a Stanley Cup. The all-time record had been 54 years between titles for the New York Rangers who finally won in 1994 (and has been 27 years since they won the one time). Now however, there’s a team that had broken the Rangers’ record – the Toronto Maple Leafs (who’s one time owner Harold Ballard made Wirtz look like George Steinbrenner), and no team has done so in such a disheartening fashion.
The Leafs were the number 1 seed in the Canadian division of the NHL this year which was caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and barriers between people traveling between the U.S. and Canada. Toronto had the leading goal scorer in all of the league – Austin Matthews with 41 goals. Unfortunately, the Leafs also brought with them a record not just of failure to win Cups, but failure to win the first round of the playoffs. The Leafs had not won a first round series since 2004 against Ottawa. It had been believed that the Leafs greatest first round choke was game 7 against the Bruins in 2013. Behind by three goals late in the third period, Boston pulled goalie Tuuka Rask and scored two goals in 31 seconds sending the game to overtime, where Patrice Bergeron scored at 6:05 of OT to send the blue shirts to the golf course.
This loss is as bad. Facing their “arch-nemesis” Montreal Canadiens, the Maple Leafs took a 3 games to 1 lead. Most people thought it was over. Then former Vezina Cup and MVP winner Carey Price once again showed what he can do in a short series. Two consecutive OT victories to tie the series and suddenly the pressure was on the home team Maple Leafs.
Toronto dropped a 3-1 decision in Game 7 of the North Division semifinals to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night on home ice, in the first playoff meeting between the rivals in 42 years. The Leafs played a tentative, nervous Game 7. Montreal had scored the game-winning goal in two straight overtimes off of Leaf turnovers. Last night Toronto looked determined not to make another costly mistake, but that can last for only so long. The first two Montreal goals in Game 7 were the result of two Toronto errors. Leafs winger Mitch Marner’s turnover led to a Brendan Gallagher chance the other way, and the Canadiens forward beat goalie Jack Campbell to open the scoring and basically end the game with Price playing so well.
The history is amazing. They have eight straight losses in series-clinching games. And they’ve lost a winner-take-all game in four straight postseasons: three Game 7s and a Game 5 in the qualifying round last summer against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Now, the streak stands at 54 years and counting. The Leafs cannot win a Stanley Cup until 2022, 55 years since their 1967 championship. (The memes have been brutal, and pretty funny.)
It’s wait ‘til next year again for Toronto but at least they have 53 years before they catch the Cubs…

Over the past few years, more and more attention has been given to mental health issues, among people and also among athletes. Just living in the 21st Century has stresses and add pandemics, delusional people and politicians, and simple decency and compassion, and it’s a wonder we’re not all taking anti-depressants. (For the record, I have been in therapy and taking medication for over 20 years now. I live a better internal life than I ever did before.)
Over the past few years, more athletes have come forward with mental issues from depression to bipolar syndrome and more. Former Chicago Bear wide receiver Brandon Marshall has been outspoken since his diagnosis. Vegas goalie Robin Lenher has been very open with his issues. Even Bruce Springsteen goes to therapy. One would think that this is more commonplace and less newsworthy than ever before. Unfortunately, the stigma of needing help remains.
That said, maybe we should have seen the problems that the number two ranked women’s tennis player in the world, Naomi Osaka, has been having. Ms. Osaka at first stated that she would not participate in press conferences at the French Open, a move that outraged the tennis power structure. She was fined $15,000 for her refusal. Of course, when you have earned millions in prize money at the tender age of 23, $15.000 is a pittance, but the story that she was upset by the press’ questions especially the same questions over and over at first caused comments that other athletes sit at press conferences. It was plain to see that there was a deeper issue here.
This week, Ms. Osaka withdrew from the French Open, announcing Monday on social media that she will “take some time away from the court” one day after she was fined and threatened with harsher sanctions for skipping her mandatory media obligations. Osaka, in a statement, said she “never wanted to be a distraction” and that her withdrawal is “the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being.”
Ms. Osaka, 23, also revealed that she has experienced depression and anxiety since winning her first major at the 2018 US Open and explained that speaking to the media often makes her nervous. She apologized to any media members she had impacted with her decision. “I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world’s media,” she said. “I get really nervous and find it stressful to always try and engage and give [the media] the best answers I can.”
For the most part, people have been supportive of Ms. Osaka which is the right thing to do. I have to wonder how much her background has to do with the way she is treated and does not help her mental state. As the daughter of a Haitian father and a Japanese mother, she has been very outspoken in her support of the Black Lives Matter Movement, while also being officially Japanese, even though she has lived in the United States since she was 3 years old. Many members of the press have rightly commended Ms. Osaka for her stance, because it can’t be easy to be biracial on the tour. One thing that runs through many of the athletes is feeling alone, even in a team sport with lots of teammates. Of course, professional tennis is the ultimate individual sport. You are all alone out there. Add the ethnic and racial undertones, it cannot be easy for her. I am empathetic of course because my daughters and Chinese and African-American. Ms. Osaka has said that she feels more Japanese than American and I can understand that also.
Like most people, I wish nothing but the best for this young woman. Whether she picks up a tennis racket ever again or continues to be one of the top players in the world is irrelevant. I hope she takes all the time that she needs. I hope that if she does come back, compromise can be made to give the press what they need and provide some space for all players.

There are people with mental issues and you feel for them, and then, there are people with mental problems who foist their mental issues on others by throwing, harming, placing others in danger as a result of their actions. These people either don’t realize they have issues, are in denial, need to be the center of attention no matter what, or they just don’t care.
The past year has been very hard on the entire world, and now, with vaccines widely available, people are starting to be able to attend restaurants and sporting events again. Over 130,000 people were at the Indianapolis 500 yesterday. Much of the joy has obviously been returning to some sense of normalcy. Unfortunately, the revelry and fandom is getting out of hand, especially in the NBA. There have been 5 incidents of unruly fans and NBA players in just the past week. The most recent incident happened during the Philadelphia 76ers-Washington Wizards playoff game at Capital One Arena Monday night. A fan ran onto the court and jumped up and touched the backboard in the third quarter. The fan was at the Wizards’ basket as they came down on offense before referees noticed the man and stopped the game. The fan was quickly tackled by a security guard and pulled off the floor before being handcuffed by police. Video footage showed the fan ran full speed down from the main grandstand past several rows of courtside seats and onto the floor within a matter of seconds. Unlike the other incidents that I will be touching on below, this moron didn’t make contact or come close to any player as he headed straight for the basket.
Maybe it’s the playoffs that is ramping up the intensity of the fans along with the obvious joy to attend in person. Still, it is troubling that there are so many incidents in such a short time. In Philadelphia, a fan threw popcorn at Wizards superstar guard Russell Westbrook; the fan was banned from the arena. In New York, a fan spit on Trae Young and was also banned. In Utah, fans who made vulgar and racist remarks to the family of Ja Morant were banned. And in Boston, a fan was arrested after throwing a bottle of water apparently at Kyrie Irving’s head.
Of course, the lack of civility by people toward others is playing a huge part, and is simple narcissism. There is a lot of talk, books, television programs asking what should be done about this, and I don’t pretend to have any answers. It should be noted that other fans are helping authorities identify these unruly people, and yes, sometimes the fans are being arrested, but it seems that the main punishment is banishment from the arena forever. In most of these instances, the laws the perpetrators are breaking are misdemeanors like disorderly conduct, or trespassing or simple battery. It feels like there should be harsher punishment, but what within the span of American jurisprudence? Maybe laws such as those being used on the January 6th members of the insurrection, but not quite as harsh?
One thing is probably lucky – today’s players and their millions have a monetary incentive to not deck these morons. Players back in the day would have just slugged fans who ran on the court, and that simple awareness that there are some big, strong men who weren’t making huge money and would just consider you a trespasser in their place of business. Can you imagine what Bill Laimbeer or Maurice Lucas or Moses Malone or Artis Gilmore would do to a fan? Or the star with the worst reputation back in the day – Bob Lanier. As my old Northwestern roommate Levi Moore reminded me on Facebook this week, l used to say that about every January, Lanier had been beaten up just about enough since the beginning of the season and opponents weren’t giving him enough respect, so Lanier would slap the hell out of some center as a warning to the rest of the league.
Those were the days…

I believe that a sports franchise, no matter the sport, no matter whether professional, amateur, college or high school is marketing itself, and it does so on two things: wins, or the imminent promise of wins, which of course lead to potential championships. It is hard work unless you have a sustainable advantage (like Notre Dame football for decades), or enough money and drive to always get the best players (Steinbrenner in the 1970s and 1980s with the Yankees, or Mike Illych who owned the Detroit Red Wings in the days before a salary cap). Teams are often lauded when successful or held responsible for failure to build a winner. The public relations winds blow and shift directions based on the perceived success or failure of personnel choices and strategies.
Which brings me to a very unusual case: the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers will always be known for its great championship teams with Gretzky, Messier, Fuhr, Kurri, Paul Coffey and others. Now, it would be expected that no team can stay on top forever, or maybe it’s the curse of having traded Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles? Still, the passion remains; it’s Canada, so the people of Edmonton know, live and breathe hockey, and geographically, there are several natural rivals in the NHL – Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg and soon, Seattle.
Still, one wouldn’t think that a team would fall off a cliff for so long and not do a decent job replenishing the corps. Edmonton has been very lucky in terms of draft positions – since the 2001 NHL Draft, the Oilers have been bad enough to get the number 1 overall draft pick, usually the player with the highest potential, 4 times. In 2010, they drafted Taylor Hall, a headcase who may have finally found the right place for him in Boston, but that’s after being on the Oilers, Devils. Coyotes and Sabres. In 2011, they used the number 1 overall pick for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. He was touted as a can’t miss pick, and while he remains on the Oilers, he has never lived up to his draft pick/hype. The 2012 overall number 1 pick was Russian Nail Yakupov who was never a big factor for anyone.
The string of overall number ones ended after that. Darnell Nurse was the number 7 pick in 2013. The defenseman remains in Edmonton, but hasn’t created any waves. They struck gold twice: first with Leon Draisaitl with the number 3 pick in 2014, then grabbing the number1 overall pick in Conor McDavid in 2015. The two of them have played as expected: McDavid the fastest skater in the sport and big, with a marvelous scoring touch – the best player in the sport. Draisitl would be the main star on nearly every team except Edmonton. He can score in bunches.
In 2016, they drafted Jesse Puljujavari and the right wing has bounced back and forth between Edmonton and Finish teams. They took another right wing in 2017-Kailer Yamomoto with the 22nd pick;a defenseman Evan Bouchard with the 10th pick in 2018; another defenseman, Philip Broberg from Sweden with the 8th pick in 2019; and Wisconsin center Dylan Holloway with pick 14 in the last draft. Of course, it takes time for players to develop, so the players from 2016 on can still be considered to have a big upside.
Why all of the attention on Edmonton? Simply, when you have two of the brightest stars in the league, one would expect some playoff success. Last season, the Oilers lost to my Blackhawks in the play-in round, a big upset we thought at the time. This season, the Oilers had a fine season in the Northern/Canadian division forced by Covid-19. In the playoffs, they regressed again, getting swept by Winnipeg in the first round of this year’s playoffs. The straw that broke the camels back was in game 3, up 4-1 with nine minutes left in the game and the Jets skated around, through and over the Oilers, coming back to tie the game in regulation and win quickly in overtime. Last night, they lost the last game, in 3 OTs granted, but they looked as though they already lost.
What is it then? Is it lack of talent after the Big Two? Partly – see the draft history above and there were no lower round picks that standout either. I think we have to question the team’s heart. The Oilers brought in Stanley Cup winning coach Ken Hitchcock in 2019 who blamed the team for lack of effort and returned to retirement. There is a huge difference between regular season hockey and the playoffs. The wide-open style of play and tight refereeing allows the Big Two to run free and score lots of goals in the regular season. Defenses tighten significantly in the playoffs and referee whistles get put away at playoff time.
Where are the other front liners? Other than the Big Two and occasionally Nugent-Hopkins, does anyone outside of Edmonton even know who these guys are? Nurse remains on the team along with several of the high draft choices listed above including Yamamoto, and Bouchard, but none of them make a big splash. The Oilers are wasting the prime years of two of hockey’s biggest stars; how long will they want to play for a team with no grit? Even though there’s not much to do other than watch hockey in Edmonton, eventually the fans are going to get riled, especially the older fans who were around for the glory years.
Should the coach and GM get fired? That’s the easy way out but this team as constructed could probably be coached by Scotty Bowman and not win. Former Chicago White Sox owner Bill Veeck used to sit and watch the Cubs late in his life from the center field bleachers. He was asked one day by a reporter what would he do if he owned the Cubs? Veeck said, “I’d build a lot of driveways at Wrigley Field.” Seeing the perplexed look on the writer’s face, Veeck continued “so I can back up the truck.” I think that’s what it will take to turn the Oilers around – new coach? Probably. New GM? Definitely, but it can’t stop there. Players have to be held accountable for the lack of playoff success. Other than McDavid and Draisaitl, everyone is available (and even Draisaitl would be available for a huge return). Time to instill some toughness in Edmonton and one of the ways to do it is to identify the mentally weak players and start the rebuild process. Before it’s too late.