I know that this site is best known for griping – about athletes, about agents, and especially about leagues and owners, but I have to give the leagues some credit, in the midst of the pandemic, the NBA, has done a great job in playing through. Major League Baseball has done a good job overall with some issues, but the biggest surprise has to be how well the NHL has fared.
Many readers will be surprised reading that last sentence. Gary “The Count from Sesame Street” has been the most hated man in hockey to the fans. Beholden only to the owners, he has done very well for them, growing the league from a sport nearly dying into a multibillion dollar enterprise. Fans will never forgive him for the numerous labor stoppages especially the cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season, and the loss of 510 games (approximately the first half) of the 2012-13 season. Nor should hockey fans forget in my opinion. I know I won’t. I have to give credit where it’s due – this may have been the finest six months in Bettman’s tenure, and deserving of his being entered into the Hockey Hall of Fame someday. I have openly stated that Bettman’s NHL could screw-up a one car funeral, but I’m serious – let me explain…
Following the NBA, the NHL adopted the “bubble” concept – sequestering the participating players from all others, even family members in Toronto or Edmonton and held their play-in games and playoffs. We are four games into the Stanley Cup Finals. The level of play has been as high as ever, given lots of people something to break through the monotony of the pandemic, but most important, there has not been one positive Covid-19 test among the players, referees, staff, announcers, coaches, anybody. The NBA has the same track record I believe, but it’s amazing that the NHL actually got everyone to play by the rules. The fact that there hasn’t been one positive test among the thousands of tests taken during the tournament stretching over months is remarkable.
Where Bettman really shines (yes, it feel a bit sickening to type that) is that the league and the NHLPA announced the extension of the collective bargaining agreement that was scheduled to expire at the end of the 2021-22 season. Fans, players, agents, and many others were nervous about the new CBA. The expiring CBA was crafted in 2013 after the end of the lockout that cost the first half of that season, and every time a labor agreement is due to expire, both sides – the players and owners hunker down for a long, ugly negotiation. Everyone girded for another drawn out battle; instead the two sides negotiated an extension through the 2025-26 season.
With the league’s present and future taken care of, all that’s left is what form the 2020-2021 season takes. The pandemic has pushed everything back by months, but it looks like the NHL is preparing to start the new season around December and go from there. With a shortened offseason following an excellent playoffs, fans should remain excited about the sport and the league.
The positive state of the league is in no small part the work of the commissioner. Yeah, I’m shocked too…

I was asked by my friend Steve Bynum from WBEZ to speak about the passing of Hall of Fame Chicago Bear great Gale Sayers, and I felt it was important to follow up on that here.
It has been heartrending to see Mr. Sayers wheelchair bound, unable to speak, suffering from dementia. Visits to Soldier Field and the NFL 100th Anniversary celebrations were hard on those of us who remember watching the “Kansas Comet” shred opposing defenses and special team units. Even if you only saw him of grainy black and white television, you were riveted by his exploits. It seemed that he could change directions in mid-air; his legs appearing to separate from his upper body as defenders flew around him grasping only the air and some mud. No story can fail to mention that he was the youngest player even inducted to the Football Hall of Fame; that he only played 68 games before knee injuries ended his magical career.
In reading about his historic 6 touchdown performance against San Francisco in 1965 in which he scored 4 rushing TDs, 1 receiving and 1 returning, I was amazed by another stat. For his 4TDs on the ground, he only had 8 carries all day. As football fans are used to, we imagine a rusher getting a record after 25-30 carries in a game. He scored on 50% of his rushing attempts. Amazing.
What young people cannot imagine was the power of the ABC film “Brian’s Song.” In those days there were three major networks – CBS, NBC and ABC. The fact that ABC showed a film about two football players: one Black and one white, men who should have been rivals since they played the same position, became roommates, unheard of in the 1960s. The friendship in light of Sayers’ injuries and of Brian Piccolo’s cancer was heartwarming and fairly true. (One comedian said years ago that Brian’s Song and Old Yeller were the only films at which men were allowed to cry.) Sayers became a reluctant media figure, considering his noted shyness. Of course, having Billy Dee Williams and James Caan playing the men didn’t hurt.
In addition, he was a major force in his hometowns. He returned to the University of Kansas as Associate Athletic Director after retiring from the Bears. He was Athletic Director of Southern Illinois for many years, then returned to Chicago as a successful entrepreneur.
Even more important, as great an athlete as he was, he was a very nice human being. He supported and did lots of speaking engagements to young people. He was a tremendous I met him a few times including when he taped a couple of Back Table with Chet Coppock shows. He was an incredible person. As a runner, only Barry Sanders could compare; as a person, he was even better.
RIP

The weather is changing. The leaves are starting to change color and fall. It’s much cooler with just a touch of briskness in the air. In 2020, that is the only thing that is the same from previous years. Covid-19, racial strife and unrest, economic issues make this the most unusual early Fall in memory. The Major League Baseball season is coming to an end, but after a 60 game season, not 162. The NHL and NBA are playing out their playoffs three months later than usual. In the U.S., over 180,000 people are dead from the virus; people that can are working from home. Masks are prevalent almost everywhere (except among the naysayers and fools).
Usually, on this coming Friday, I would be heading up to Toronto for the Toronto International Film Festival. I went up and Friday and stayed until Wednesday with some very good friends and watch from 12-15 films over the weekend. I hung out with friends, saw movies that hadn’t been released yet, say directors and stars. For a film fan, it is great. Last year on Friday, I saw The Private Life of David Copperfield with Dev Patel directed by Antonio Ianucci (“In The Loop,” “The Death of Stalin,” “Veep”). I started coming up for the Festival when I was dating my wife in 1998. This year was going to mark my 20th Festival (I missed 2001 and 2002). Not this year.
However, 2020 is no normal year; yes TIFF is happening, but with approximately 50 films compared with the 330 films that were shown last year. Instead of using 10 different theater locations, this year’s festival will require masks, social distancing so no packed theaters. In fact only a couple of actual theaters are being used, the rest of the films will be streaming (only in Canada however) or drive-in style which would have been impossible since I don’t have a car up there (although I guess I could have rented one). Of course, the biggest problem would be the fact that I can’t enter Canada because this incompetent president and administration’s weak and feeble response to the Coronavirus outbreak. As a result, even if I wanted to, I cannot enter Canada.
There will be some interesting films in Toronto this year as usual, although the big Hollywood pictures that usually bring the star power to TIFF will not be there. The only film that has an inkling of star power is “American Utopia” a film of former Talking Head David Byrne’s Broadway show directed by Spike Lee. Still, no long walks in the Fall air walking from film to film, meeting people new and old in movie lines, at films. Seeing some interesting, sometimes outlandish cinema. I already miss my trip. I sincerely hope the world can get itself together in time for TIFF 2021.

Twenty-five years is a long time. A quarter century; longer than the lives of both my children. Longer than I’ve lived in this house. So much has happened in 25 years, and most of the time, unless it was a personal event, a birth, a death, an accident, you don’t remember where you were on a specific day. I remember where I was 25 years ago, September 2, 1995…
I was living in the South Loop of Chicago; I had a 10th floor apartment at 2 East 8th Street. I was ½ block from the old Buddy Guy’s Legends, and from the Hilton Chicago. I was awakened one night by helicopters flying over the hotel – one was a police helicopter, the other looked like it was filming. It was the night they filmed the end of The Fugitive (I never spotted Harrison Ford, but neighbors said that they saw him).
It was the beginning of college football season, and 9th Street had been cut off on the Friday night to celebrate the next day’s Northwestern/Notre Dame football game. The game was being held in South Bend, but there was a party happening less than a block from my front door. Looks like I had to attend, right? Ah… no! It was a party for the ND Alumni Club. Long time readers know that there is no team on the face of this earth: not the Red Wings, not Blues, not even the Green Bay Packers that I despise more than Notre Dame. At that time however, Northwestern was still hampered with a bad reputation. We hadn’t had a winning record since Alex Agase was coach in the early 1970s. We held the distinction for having the longest losing streak in Division I football history (later broken). There was no way I was going in there, especially to give money to the enemy.
Meanwhile ND was Notre Dame, ranking in the top 10, had not lost an opening game since 1986. ABC college football analyst Beano Cook predicted that ND quarterback Ron Pawlus would win three Heisman Trophies. Northwestern hadn’t won a season opener in 20 years, and came into the game 27 point underdogs. I admit that I didn’t give us much chance; I didn’t plan on watching the game; I was going to run my usual Saturday errands and check the radio periodically. Then, after Steve Schnur threw his second touchdown pass to bring the lead to 17-9 NU, I had to see this. I sped home, and turned on the television.
Northwestern’s defense, soon to be known as one of the best ever to play in Evanston (including an All-America linebacker who would one day be head coach of NU) kept ND scoreless until late in the 4th quarter. Through this time, I paced back and forth in my living room, screaming at every play (fortunately, it was an afternoon game and I don’t think my neighbors were at home). It was the Notre Dame “way” to wait until the other team made a mistake, and every team except the very best always choked and made the bid mistake and ND would be able to win. That scenario seemed to be following the script as ND cut the lead to 17-15 late in the 4th quarter. The offense lined up for a 2-point conversion that would tie the game. At this point, I am almost apoplectic. Both sides called a time out, upping the suspense for me; it didn’t seem like the ND fans were too nervous – this is what happened for them. I’ll never forget as long as I live Pawlus slipped/tripped over a lineman’s foot and fell down. Play over. The game wasn’t over yet though. Notre Dame got the ball back with 5 minutes left but the defense stopped a run play on 4th down and 2, and the offense ran out the clock.
I was exhausted, but so happy. I called NU friends on the phone (no cells or texts back then). We were all excited. I usually went to my favorite bar on Saturday nights, but I left earlier, walking past the remnants of the ND party. I was wearing more NU regalia than I ever had before – cap, shirt, baseball jersey over the shirt. I was loaded doe bear. Whenever I saw someone in Notre Dame gear, I smiled smugly and enjoyed the moment. Later at my bar, everyone was congratulating me. It ws a wonderful time.
The rest of the season was just as magical – losing only once to Miami of Ohio (and a QB named Ben Rothlesburger), with especially enjoyable wins over Wisconsin 35-0, Michigan 19-13 in Ann Arbor, Penn State 21-10 and Iowa 31-20. A Big Ten Championship – I never thought I’d see it and a trip to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 47 years. Immediately, we started working on getting tickets. We were trying to get 12-14 if I remember and they got snapped up quickly. Eventually, as the furor settled, we were able to get tickets for the 10 people who still wanted to go. Tickets were so plentiful that we were turning down tickets the week of the game. A friend was able to get me lodging that had originally been for Ohio State when they thought they were going to the game (I called my room the Eddie George Suite after the Ohio State running back on that team). The whole trip, going out on New Year’s Eve (after meeting the legendary Keith Jackson – too nice, and Bob Griese – an ass); some went to the parade (I was too tired), and the game. My tickets came from a coworker from Penn State who got some of their administration’s tickets – 10th row on the 40 yard line.
Northwestern gave Southern Cal all it could handle in a 41-32 loss. Receiver Keyshawn Johnson was a man among boys (and linebacker Pat Fitzgerald was out with an injury). Turns out, Johnson was ineligible and we could have won the game on forfeit, but to coach Gary Barnett’s credit, we declined. About 60-70% of the 109,000 seat Rose Bowl that day was wearing Purple (the Rose Bowl was old hat to USC) and one of the best moments was when all of the remaining NU fans stood and gave the team a standing ovation as they ran off the field.
A lot has happened in Evanston in 25 years. NU is no longer a laughingstock; having even won a couple more Big Ten titles. In 1996, tickets became harder to come by, so my friend and I got season tickets that we still have to this day. Defeating Michigan 54-51 in overtime in 2002 was and still is the best football game I‘ve ever seen – I was as exhausted as after the ND win in 1995. We’ve even seen NU beat ND again in South Bend and losing a tough one at home a couple of years ago. The 2020 season is up in the air due to the pandemic, but my tickets are paid for – either I’ll see football, or get some money back.
My girls are 15 and 11; they have seen their Dad go crazy in the stands. I still have my posse of season ticket holders who live and die with me with their wins and losses and laugh when I get a good joke off. We all though remember when it started, on a sunny day in South Bend, when the football world changed and being a Northwestern alum/football fan would never, ever be the same.

With all of the unrest that is going on in the world, and with sports significantly curtailed as least as a live spectator event, one would think that maybe that’s the reason that I haven’t been posting as much here. The truth is simpler – more work, more duties, less time. However, there was a story that was published last week that had to be addressed.
After a small, selfish group of Big Ten football parents gathered at Conference headquarters a couple of weeks ago, not getting a meeting with Commissioner Kevin Warren much less getting the conference to decide to play football this Fall, now, some players are trying to use the courts. Eight players from the University of Nebraska football team are suing the Big Ten Conference, requesting an order to invalidate the Big Ten’s decision to not play football this fall. The 13-page lawsuit was filed Thursday in Lancaster County District Court in Nebraska.
While Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren has previously said that the vote by the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors was “overwhelmingly in support of postponing fall sports and will not be revisited,” the lawsuit says that the council did not vote on whether to cancel the fall football season. The lawsuit references University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel and Michigan State University President Samuel Stanley, Jr. as being quoted that the council did not vote on the decision to cancel or postpone the 2020 fall football season.
Now is when this story starts to get funny – the lawsuit says this is “a case in which a powerful collegiate athletic conference contends that its student athletes have no rights.” Guess what, student athletes have had no real rights for decades, and while that tide is turning for the better, the days of full student athlete emancipation are not yet here. Besides, adults make decisions for kids all the time, otherwise we’d have toddlers trying to drive cars.
I took this one step further. The CNN article that I used for facts listed the plaintiffs. I looked up the Nebraska roster to look at the plaintiffs and I don’t think extra time will do them much harm. Garrett Snodgrass is a redshirt freshman linebacker from in state York, Neb; Garrett Nelson is a sophomore linebacker from Scottsbluff, Neb.; Ethan Piper, is another redshirt freshman offensive lineman from Norfork, Neb.; Noa Pola-Gates, another redshirt freshman, a safety from Gilbert, Ariz.; Alante Brown, a true freshman wide receiver from Chicago; Brant Banks, yet another redshirt freshman offensive lineman from Houston, Tx.; Brig Banks – the only one who does have a point – he’s a junior, but he’s a long snapper also from Houston; and Jackson Hannah another redshirt freshman from Nashville, Tenn. Five of the eight plaintiffs are redshirt freshmen, one a true freshman, one sophomore and one junior. Only two are people of color (Pola-Gates and Alante Brown) which is just here for curiosity.
Who says that any of these kids would have been on the field for any significant time? (Maybe the junior, perhaps.) Would it be a bad thing if they had the fall to work on their studies? Do any of these freshmen realistically think they are going to have a stellar season and go to the NFL next Spring? These kids have time to maximize their NFL potential. Besides, do you want to increase your possible exposure to a deadly disease, which, if it doesn’t kill you, could have long term health problems including issues that would make football impossible?
Fruitless lawsuits clog the legal system to no good effect. One thing we can say is that these men will be getting an education in the hard, cruel reality of life.

The pandemic has exposed many things, good and bad about the country, the world, and the sports world. The NHL and NBA play on in their bubbles (the hockey players apparently doing a much better job that the NBA who had a few players sneak out to break the quarantine, got caught and in trouble with the league and their teammates).
As a Big Ten alum and fan and a Northwestern football season ticket holder, I was disappointed when the Conference announced that the 2020 football season would be postponed, perhaps into the Spring of 2021. It makes sense; we don’t know what close contact of college athletes could be controlled on a football field. Of course, the SEC and a few other conferences mainly in the South plan to play. The SEC and its fans would rather hack off body parts than cancel football. SEC teams are professional sports franchises that have classes; not the Big Ten, who like to graduate students, although the big money from the tickets, parking, concessions, and most important, television revenues is nice to have. We won’t go back on our words, would we? Or was the decision guided by the attorneys, who don’t want the conference to kill the Golden Goose with lawsuits.
As one would expect, there are some people unhappy with the Big Ten’s decision. Ohio State QB Justin Fields started a petition compelling the Big Ten to reconsider and reportedly the petition has some 270,000 signatures. The Conference has not responded to the petition. Some parents are angry, since there is wide diversity in what schools are doing. High schools in Ohio for example are getting ready to play. The Ohio High School Athletic Association’s plan for football calls for a six game schedule with every team making the playoffs. Every player has his own water bottle and they can spread out on the sidelines by watching from the 15-yard line. Practices will have less physical contact. And games essentially have eight quarters because there’s a two-minute mini-break built in, the idea being linemen should not breathe on each other for such extended periods.
In college, Notre Dame is practicing (although is this still the case with the outbreak among the general populace?). Still, no one, high school or college is proposing that all players be tested for COVID-19 because that is deemed too expensive. But what is too expensive to the Big Ten Conference, a true Power 5 financial behemoth where Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin combined to produce $427 million in football revenues in 2018-19?
Parents at Iowa, Penn State, Ohio State and Nebraska are demanding answers and a reply from new Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren. Teddy Greenstein’s column in today’s Chicago Tribune quoted Tim Ford, father of Illinois tight end Luke Ford. “I think the way this was handled was atrocious,” he said.
“Everything we do in life has risks and in football, there are known risks and unknown risks. To take away a season based on what could happen and not even give the kids that did opt in a chance, was wrong.”
Compounding the anger were comments through the rest of the conference. Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour said Monday: “It is unclear to me whether or not there was a vote. No one’s ever told me there was. I just don’t know whether there actually was a vote by the chancellors and presidents.” Meanwhile Nebraska President Ted Carter said on KLIN-AM 1400: “It’s been pretty obvious that we didn’t agree with the vote that occurred. That’s not a secret anymore.” ESPN Commentators, especially the ones from the Big Ten were outspoken in saying that Nebraska is welcome to leave the conference since it had been mentioned that Nebraska would be open to play in other conferences that are playing fall football. A Twitter statement from the university walked these stories back somewhat “at no point did Nebraska threaten to leave the Big Ten.”
As a parent, I am not surprised by the conferences who want to play – there’s a lot of money in playing sports. I am surprised however at the other parents. Do you really want to risk your kid’s life on football? Even if your kid is a real NFL hopeful, I don’t see what one more year will do? Maybe these kids could actually concentrate on academics instead of having sports interfere? What are the motivation of these parents? Are they willing to add an additional risk to their kid, or is the only thing important is the profit potential?
Legal liability making you do the right thing, or should the Big Ten listen to these parents who’s motivation may be as mercenary as the schools’ and NFL teams? I think the Big Ten is doing the right thing.

Just as the rest of the year, news stories happen even quicker in the pandemic environment. It seems like there are stories every few minutes that change the landscape, demand attention. Since I have not been keeping up like I should, let’s talk about sports in the time of Covid:

It is being written that the Power 5 College Football Conferences are going to postpone the 2020 season until at least Spring, 2021. This is the right thing to do because football, unlike other sports, cannot capture saliva and sweat and bodies are in close contact with one another. It is the right decision, however, before we congratulate the university presidents, remember that this is still all business. The concern that the schools have is about being sued by one or many athletes who may come down with the virus. Yes, this is a billion dollar industry, but the schools fear many multi-million dollar lawsuits.
Speaking of billions of dollars, will there be NFL football? Is this a really good idea to play?
That said, why am I not surprised that the only two school voting against postponing the Big Ten football season are Nebraska and Iowa. I even saw a headline saying that Nebraska will find teams to play even if the Big Ten doesn’t play. Well, first of all, there’s very little to do in Nebraska or Iowa, so the people need something to do. However, to risk the health of the players, coaches, fans and stadium workers just because, in Red states they don’t believe that the threat is real is deplorable.
With the spread of social media, many college players throughout the country are taking about a union for the players. Many remember 2014 when Northwestern QB, running back, receiver Kain Colter led a push for unionization. The request was denied by the National Labor Relations Board in 2015, but the Coronavirus has changed the world. Finally, people are looking at not restoring the old world, but looking at how the old world was flawed and what can be done to fix it. I admit to being one of those “thing’s will never change” types but looking at how quickly same-sex marriage and legal marijuana have become commonplace, perhaps we shouldn’t say never.
Maybe it’s time for baseball to either bubble up or give up. Yes, having ball games to watch has been great. It’s nice and comforting to see people playing. I have even gotten used to the empty stands, cardboard or computer generated people and the canned crowd noise. But baseball has a huge problem – the outbreaks of the virus running rampant through the Marlins and Cardinals have sent a shiver down the spines of Commissioner Rob Manfred and the owners. It appeared that baseball might have to shut down as early as yesterday, but so far, the games hang by a thread. It will only take another outbreak to stop the games.
Having spoken about baseball, one has to commend the NBA and NHL. Keeping the teams in a bubble, severely limiting contact with the outside world, while still giving the players things to do have saved the games. While I’m not an NBA follower, I have watched lots of hockey and the games have been good and compelling, and so far, there have been no positive cases encountered in the NHL. Who would have guessed that Commissioner Gary Bettman had the foresight and discipline to create this and make it work?
Hockey, Part 2: I am glad that the Blackhawks won their play in series against Edmonton. It has been reported often that the Oilers have no heart, and they showed it in not showing up for this series and then downplaying the Hawks’ play. Now comes the hard part, playing the Golden Knights. No question – the Hawks getting injured players back like Calvin de Haan on the blue line has certainly helped and kept them competitive against the Oilers. Let’s hope it holds.