Hockey is a male oriented, macho sport, but there are a couple of items this week that shows the sport’s softer side, and I’m glad.
• I must admit that even I’m getting tired of seeing the Stanley Cup around Chicago, but I must admit that it will be making a special appearance this weekend that is very cool. The Blackhawks confirmed that a member of the team and the Cup will be at this weekend’s Gay Pride Parade.
• Also this week, the Hockey Hall of Fame announced that it will be inducting its first female members, Cammi Granato and Angela James. Ms. Granato, a Chicago area native, was, according to the Hall announcement “a founding member of the United States Women’s National Team, and helped lead the team to a silver medal at the inaugural Women’s World Championships in 1990. Cammi moved to Montreal to earn her masters degree in sports administration at Concordia University. In 123 games, Granato scored 178 goals and 148 assists for 326 points, and was instrumental in Concordia capturing three consecutive provincial championships. In 1996, she was named USA Women’s Player of the Year. Women’s hockey became an official Olympic Sport at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. Cammi was then able to devote herself to the U.S. Women’s National Team. Named team captain, Cammi and her American teammates earned an upset gold medal victory over the favored Canadians. Cammi was honored with the opportunity to be the flag bearer at the closing ceremonies.” Ms. James, known as “the Wayne Gretzky of women’s hockey , was selected in 1990 to Canada’s team at the inaugural Women’s Championship, held in Ottawa, where she led the team to the gold medal with 11 goals in 5 games. She also led the Women’s Team to gold medals in 1992 in Tampere, Finland, 1994 in Lake Placid, United States and 1997 in Kitchener, Ontario.
As a Blackhawk fan, however, it is bittersweet to see them entering the Hall with one of the most reprehensible players in hockey history – former NHL All-Star Dino Ciccarelli. Yes, Ciccarelli has over 500 goals, but he was the Lawrence Olivier of taking dives, hiding behind teammates to start, but never finish, fights and scraps. Here in Chicago, when he was playing for the Minnesota North Stars, fans would hang Dino the Dinosaur dolls off the 2nd Balcony and there would inevitably be the chant “Dino sucks.” In the Hall of Fame or not, he always will.

More on the Blackhawks trades tomorrow…

I know that it’s been almost 2 weeks since the NCAA announced its ruling to punish USC for recruiting violations, made them forfeit some games from 2004 and almost forfeit the 2004 national championship. The school will not be allowed to participate in post-season football for the next 2 years.
But, nowhere to be found (at least on the Southern Cal campus) was the architect of the winning program and the penalties, Coach Pete Carroll. I admitted my surprise when he jumped from USC, where he could have coached forever, to the pros, where Carroll had been a bust, but then again, he probably saw the NCAA storming the university like villagers in a Frankenstein movie. It was a no-brainer: stay at USC and face sanctions, blame, no postseason games for two years, perhaps the loss of the national championship, and at least some calls for oversight from the university. Instead, he gets a pay raise, doesn’t have to recruit, just coach football. Perfect, right?
I remember a piece that was on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” that followed Carroll into an impoverished neighborhood in L.A. where the coach was bringing his uplifting message to young people, some just out of jail. Carroll supposedly never looked for attention, according to the piece, but here he was, bringing a film crew with him. I wonder who is working with those guys now?
I bring up the story because where Carroll had been trying to show that he was different from other college coaches, he is actually a pea in a pod. The mantra is: win at all costs, cut a few corners, pull a few strings in doing so, and then, if the NCAA finds out about it, find a new place to land. The old school takes the heat, but the coach moves on to greener pastures, more money, and has a few years to repeat the pattern before moving on when “the law” gets too close.
Current Kentucky men’s basketball head coach John Calipari is the John Dillinger of coaches, staying one step ahead of the law at every point. Calipari left the University of Massachusettes for the NBA New Jersey Nets job before the NCAA vacated the school’s 4-1 record in the 1996 NCAA Tournament when it was discovered that star forward Marcus Camby took money and gifts from an agent. Calipari’s Nets didn’t do very well, so Calipari returned to the college game at the University of Memphis. Where, in 2001 he was able to recruit Dajuan Wagner, the Naismith Prep Player of the Year. Somehow, Dajuan’s father Milt Wagner was hired as Coordinator of Basketball Operations. Calipari also hired McDonalds’ All-American game MVP and Memphis recruit Tyreke Evans’ personal strength coach as his administrative assistant.
The net grew tighter when the NCAA investigated allegations that a player on Memphis’ 2007-08 team committed “knowing fraudulence or misconduct in connection with his entrance examination” and had an unknown individual complete his SAT examination. The NCAA informed Calipari in a letter that he was not considered “at risk” in this investigation. The player was subsequently identified as Derrick Rose, who had already let Memphis for the NBA and the Chicago Bulls.
Subsequently, allegations surfaced that Rose’s brother, Reggie, had been allowed to travel to Tiger road games for free. Eventually, the NCAA ruled that Rose was ineligible and forced Memphis to vacate the entire 2007-08 season, including the NCAA Tournament and its standing as runner-up. But, by then, Calipari was the new coach at the University of Kentucky. Memphis is on probation, forgotten in Calipari’s rear view mirror.
I think (and have felt for a long time now) that coaches should feel the pain of NCAA punishment like the schools. I know that the NCAA cannot bar coaches from getting hired elsewhere (and the NCAA overreached it’s authority in its vendetta against UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian), but if a coach’s program is punished and he moves on to another school, the new school should lose one half of the scholarships lost by the original school. Or perhaps the coach and all assistants are prohibited from making any recruiting visits for their new school for the length of the probation of their old school.
I know that the schools and highly paid coaches would never stand for this, but shouldn’t NCAA compliance be part of the job description? Most universities wouldn’t hire professors with questionable backgrounds from their former employers; why are coaches? With the vast money being lobbied around for schools to change conferences, do universities have any morals and scruples at all? How can we expect our kids to get reinforcement of the morals and sense of fair play from our colleges and universities when their chief job appears to be a money grab and play shell games with the NCAA?

Last week, when word surfaced that Michigan State Head Basketball Coach Tom Izzo had been approached by the Cleveland Cavaliers about their vacant head coaching position, I thought it was just the usual rumors that come every summer with some team/university’s wish list for a big name coach. After all, everyone knows that in Cleveland and elsewhere, this is the summer of LeBron James. The biggest free agent in recent NBA history faces a hard decision – stay in Cleveland where he has played his entire career, or go to New York or Chicago, bigger markets, and perhaps, better chances for an NBA title. (The wooing of James is becoming ridiculous. There was a story on ESPN yesterday about a group of famous New Yorkers like Spike Lee, Alec Baldwin, Donald Trump and others coming together to try and convince James to sign in New York.)
So I was surprised when Izzo listened and seriously considered the job (maybe less so when the story emerged that the Cavs were offering double Izzo’s $3 million per year salary from MSU). The Cavs built a team around James that included Shaquille O’Neal, and they still couldn’t get out of the Eastern Conference semi-finals, much less win a championship. James is going to get top dollar wherever he goes, including Cleveland, so money is not going to be an issue. But for Izzo to consider the job before the free agency period even begins on July 1 is foolish. The Cavs could be a 60 win, championship contending team with James, or a 20 win, rebuilding team without him, and with no idea what James is going to do (and James’ refusal to even meet with Izzo), I wouldn’t jump on a potentially sinking ship. Add to that the abysmal record that college coaches have amassed in the NBA along with the kingdom that Izzo has built in East Lansing, I wouldn’t exactly call the Cleveland job “A once in a lifetime opportunity.”
After much contemplation, Izzo must have come to the same conclusion. Last night, after a third meeting with his players, he turned down the Cleveland job. There is just too much uncertainty with the Cavaliers for a top line coach to take the job.

As I stated last week, I have wanted to comment on the movement of colleges following “the money.” We knew that the Big Ten was going to expand, and needed to because 11 teams are too unwieldy to schedule, but the simple addition of one school to balance the schedule soon turned into speculation that 3 to 5 schools would join and build the first “super-conference.” Of course, Notre Dame was the natural choice: they’re in Indiana; they already play three Big Ten schools every year in football already. But ND has the big NBC dollars and they don’t want to share that pot. But they may have to change their minds with all of the switching going on.
The Big Ten however, kept their cards close to their collective chests and could afford to be picky: the Big Ten Network has turned into an unexpected hit and another cash cow for the Conference schools; plus the conference has pretty much a stranglehold over the center of the nation.
Penn State Coach Joe Paterno has been one of the most outspoken voices for expansion, and he preferred moving east: Syracuse, or Rutgers. Missouri was a strong contender; lots of schools’ names were bandied around. The Big Ten said it would take 12-18 months. Then, suddenly last week, Nebraska bounded to the forefront – the school wanted in, and the Big Ten wanted them. On Friday, it was announced that Nebraska would join the Big Ten in 2011.
What was more interesting was what the move meant to the rest of the Big 12. At first, it was said that Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Colorado and one or two other schools would be moving to the Pac-10 as the second Super Conference. Colorado was the first school to jump to the Pac-10 and lots of people thought that Texas would follow. As it turns out, Texas held the future of the Big 12 Conference – if they jumped, the Big 12 would cease to exist. Meetings were held, discussions conducted, and it appears that the old Big 12 remains alive. Texas will stay, as will Oklahoma, and the rest of the schools, as the conference starts its own network, like the Big Ten. (And everyone is noting that the Big Ten now has twelve schools and the Big 12 has ten, but university presidents, boards and athletic directors never let simple mathematics stand in the way of more cash.)
My question is simple – why all this college juggling and why now? As I said, the Big Ten has needed a twelfth school ever since it added an 11th, Penn State over a decade ago and Commissioner Jim Delany (who never contacted me when I wrote him twice over the past two years) has done an excellent job at bringing more money in. Nebraska makes sense – its close; it’s Midwestern; it builds automatic rivalries with Iowa and Wisconsin. The school apparently has a solid academic reputation – it is a member of the AAU, not the Amateur Athletic Union which is commonly associated with youth boxing and basketball, but the Association of American Universities according to the Chicago Tribune, a group of 63 elite research universities in the U.S. and Canada. Membership is through invitation only, and the group’s primary focus is evaluating and developing the top graduate programs. Of course, this does not rank the undergraduate program, so Nebraska can still send out huge human behemoths onto the field that never saw a classroom. Every current Big Ten school is a member of the AAU.
In addition, it makes dollars and sense – Nebraska fans are rabid; travel well; spend money. And Nebraska needs the Big Ten – it hasn’t been a powerhouse in nearly a decade; it needs help in recruiting; and it needs to move into the 21st Century at least on offense. It seemed like Nebraska is still running the option, while everyone else is running NFL-ready offenses.
Personally, should colleges and universities be doing everything possible to make even more millions of dollars? I would say yes if: first, the athletes shared in the bounty, at least spending money, like a job; and, the millions were being used to make university educations more affordable for poor and middle class kids of all races. But they won’t do that: the schools will add more buildings; they will pay for the “non-revenue sports” (which is a very good thing). The players will get nothing except perhaps a way to play pro sports (an education, if they’re thinking) and nothing if they don’t play pro sports or get hurt.
It is rather sickening to see these colleges and universities jockeying for bucks. It’s not illegal, but these institutions are supposed to be “non-for-profits.”

Steven Strasburg is just 21 years of age, but he has already been a star for years. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated; he was the subject of speculation when it appeared that the lowly Washington Nationals would have the overall first pick in the amateur draft a couple of years ago. Then came the negotiations, Steven Strasburg may not sign with the Nats; sit out a year and try to be drafted by someone else.
Well, the Nationals came up with the bucks, moving him cautiously through the minor leagues, and then planned his first game in the major leagues: last week at home, against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates. It worked – Strasburg struck out 14 in his major league debut; walked none, and won in front of a sellout crowd of nearly 45,000 (a rarity in DC). In addition, suddenly, Strasburg jerseys and other memorabilia are selling like hotcakes (another boon to the Nationals, who used to be the Montreal Expos and were unowned, unwanted and run by Major League Baseball). Perhaps more impressive, Strasberg won his second game in the majors, on the road in Cleveland, even though he pitched only 5? innings.
If may appear that I have doubts or problems with Strasberg and/or the way the Nationals have managed his career, you’re wrong. It appears that this young man is the real deal: throwing 95-100 mph fastballs and a curve ball that breaks like no ones since perhaps Bert Blyleven. Of course, the young man is going to lose some games, and occasionally, he may get shelled. Everyone does, but it looks like the Nationals have a keeper.

Some people have wondered why I haven’t mentioned the oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. Some say that I won’t criticize President Obama and his administration.
Well, I’m not afraid to do that – he left too many of former President George W. Bush and particularly Dick Cheney’s pro-oil guys in charge of regulating oil drilling, so it’s the fault of both administrations. And BP is turning out to be one of the most reprehensible corporations in history, but they aren’t much different from the other major oil companies.
But the simple reason I haven’t mentioned it, is that it is so sad, it makes me sad to even think about it, much less write about it. Its that simple.

I have gotten a couple of inquires asking where I’ve been in light of the Chicago Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup. Let me explain….
I have been working very hard and traveling. In fact, I was in a bar in downtown Boston for Game 6. I had to find a bar that didn’t have a musician playing, just the game. I finally found one during the first intermission, just in time for the start of the second period. I yelled, cheered, groaned to the mostly empty bar in my throwback Hawks jersey and my Hawks baseball cap. The few people in the bar expressed their support since they hate the Flyers (particularly after having come back from 3 games down to beat the Bruins).
Going into the third period with a one goal lead, I’m texting with a friend with season tickets – longest 20 minutes of my life coming up. Then the Hawks do what I hate – go into defensive mode. No offense; the hockey version of the “prevent defense” (the only thing it prevents is you winning). And, of course, they give up the tying goal with 3:50 left and we head to sudden death overtime. My friend texts me: “I can’t take it.”
The overtime plays – the Hawks are holding their own and then Patrick Kane slides the puck under Flyer goalie Michael Leighton (one of the softest big goals I’ve ever seen). I stand on the bar rail, yelling “I think it’s in; I think it’s over.” Then “it’s fu#%ing OVER!!!” As they bring out the Cup, your friend and humble narrator starts crying. I didn’t cry when my kids were born, or when my mother died, but I’m tearing like a child. It took me over an hour to calm down enough to go to bed – I got only 5 hours sleep Wednesday night, and still had a full day of work plus flying back last night.
Today is the parade – an estimated 2 million people on Michigan Avenue. I can’t attend or even watch from out window – I have a presentation for the exact same time as the parade. But I do get to watch the presentation on the television in the office. Started tearing up again – brushed it away, not professional to do that at work.
I had every intention of posting this week: Nebraska joining the Big Ten which may cause the dissolution of the Big 12 conference and a new huge Pac-10. A kid named Strasberg makes quite a splash in Washington this week. I had every good intention, but I’m sorry, I have just been too damn happy.