Unless you’re Colin Kaepernick, players can do almost anything on or off the field and get away with it. It’s like Trump said during the campaign – I could shoot someone on the street and people would still vote for me (echoed in racists winning seats, most recently in Mississippi, Nazis and white supremacists running and some winning). In the NFL, if you could possible help win games, we want you.
Linebacker Ruben Foster, who had been arrested earlier this year for domestic violence, was arrested at the 49ers’ hotel in Tampa Sunday morning before their game against the Buccaneers in a second domestic violence incident. GM John Lynch said that morning that Foster had been making progress in dealing with the issues that led to the first incident, but that Foster had to take responsibility for his actions, and the 49ers did the right thing – they cut Foster.
Less than 48 hours after he was cut, the Washington Redskins claimed Foster off waivers. The team send out the only member of the front office staff that has any affection from the fans, SVP and Head of Player Development, Doug Williams to say all of the usual rhetoric –”The Redskins fully understand the severity of the recent allegations made against Reuben. If true, you can be sure these allegations are nothing our organization would ever condone,” said Williams quoted by USA Today.
CBS Sports reported this afternoon that only one team called Tampa Police about the Foster, the Philadelphia Eagles, who had a higher choice in the waiver order, must have heard something they didn’t like, so they passed. Daniel Snyder, owner of the Redskins, never averse to doing whatever he wants – damn the consequences, claimed Foster.
For a sport that has handled public relations issues very poorly – CTE and claims by ex-players; Kaepernick and national anthem kneeling; and of course, players’ committing domestic abuse, a sore point since the Ray Rice incident, one would think that Commissioner Roger “$40 million per year” Goodell would have “strongly suggested” that the Redskins think long and hard about Foster. At least find out what the next steps will be in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union.
The message here is – go on, beat your spouse/significant other – as long as you can still perform on the field, and as a former number one draft pick from Alabama, who was coveted by Washington in the last draft, the Redskins swooped right in.
It is awfully hard for a woman to be a Redskins fan today.

If there is one fault that Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald has, it’s stubbornness. He is single-minded in his beliefs, even when they don’t go well. Fitzgerald is among the worst coaches in the nation at clock management late in the first half of games (for some reason, he seems to do better at the ends of games). As I have written ad nauseum, his loyalty to his coaching staff, especially inept Offensive Coordinator Mick McCall had bordered on obsession. Now that Fitz has won his first Big Ten Coach of the Year Award, his already gigantic head (literally and figuratively) will grow at least to the size of Ryan Field.
That is not to say that Fitzgerald doesn’t deserve the Award. It probably would have gone to Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, but the thorough drubbing that Ohio State pasted on Michigan last week to jump into the Big Ten Championship Game against Northwestern, ended those hopes. It would have been too much of a P.R. disaster for the coaches and writer to have given the award to Ohio State’s Urban Meyer (who, like Fitzgerald, had never won the award) because of the controversy in his support for the former coach who committed domestic abuse several times to his ex-wife. Fitzgerald did a good job not allowing the Wildcats to get down when they had a 1-3 record including losses to Duke and Akron and then suffering a tough loss to Michigan at home 20-17 after leading 17-0 at halftime. The Cats went 7-1 the rest of the way (the only loss, a 10-point loss to number 3 ranked Notre Dame) and road wins at Michigan State, Iowa and Minnesota. He kept them focused on each game, and got them to win the conference games, which are more important.
However, the last thing Fitzgerald needs is vindication. Despite ranking in the depths of nearly all offensive categories over the past 5 seasons, the Cats won more games than ever including two bowl victories. Winning meant keeping McCall despite a loud chorus of fans, writers and alumni. The most valuable player at Northwestern has been Defensive Coordinator Mike Hankwitz, whose squad has kept NU in games allowing for the offense to score just enough to win. For another year, the offense ranks near the bottom among FBS schools: 110th out of 129 schools in total offense; 61st in passing offense (McCall is also QB Coach); 118th in yards per completion; 107th in scoring offense. Yet, Fitzgerald, who prides himself on teaching players accountability, doesn’t hold McCall accountable and fire him.
Now, the colossal ego will do what seems to be his tendency – success means that there’s nothing to improve on. Offense terrible? But we won more than we lost. Generally outcoached in games? But we won a very weak Big Ten West Championship. Do a better job in time management? But we went 8-1 in conference. Smart leaders realize that there are ways of getting better and they should look for ways to improve. Standing pat (no pun intended) means that other coaches will eventually catch up and surpass you. Smart people learn from their mistakes; they don’t make them more intractable.
I do appreciate Fitzgerald and congratulate him on his well-deserved award. I only wish it wouldn’t set his views into cement even deeper.

A very brief blog. I attended last night’s Blackhawks – Las Vegas game, one of the most embarrassing games I’ve ever attended, especially since Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane were drafts. An 8-3 debacle, and over the past three games, the Hawks have been outscored 11-1 in the first period. The record has not improved since the team surprisingly fired Coach Joel Quenneville, the man who led the team to 3 Stanley Cup Championships.
The story has been that there was friction between Quenneville and GM Stan Bowman and that both men were on the hot seat to be fired and that Bowman had won the power struggle. Many fans and pundits, myself included have generally not been very happy with Bowman’s draft picks; other than Alex DeBrincat and Artemi Panarin (who is now of course with Columbus), the other picks have not panned out. Firing Quenneville and installing Jeremy Colliton as the youngest coach in the league has not produced much in the way of sustained solid play, much less victories.
Hockey is a sport in which players will tank to get rid of coaches. It is always much easier to fire a coach than an entire team. However, there are a number of players in that locker room who were coached by Quenneville for 10 years, 3 Cups and nine playoff appearances. They may have nothing against Colliton, who seems to be a much better communicator than Quenneville, maybe they’re stinking up the joint to seal Bowman’s fate?
Stranger things have happened.

I posted on Facebook but never here about the Christian missionary who was killed by a remote tribe on India’s remote North Sentinal Island. John Allen Chau decided to break the law by going and trying to minister to the people there. It is against the law because these people have limited exposure to the outside world and any foreigners are probably a health risk since modern people have antibodies to diseases that these people have never encountered. When he arrived, the man was reportedly killed in a hail of arrows.
The response to this has been mostly predictable – religious groups have hailed him as a martyr, dying for Jesus, and some have suggested going to the island to “bring these people to justice.” (Whatever justice would be to a people whose sense of justice would be that they fired on an interloper – in many states, black people are shot and killed just for being around all the time, and there’s rarely any justice.) On the other side there are people like me – sad at anyone’s death, but to a certain extent, Chau’s death has a certain karmic justice to it. Like religious people of many faiths, they have gone out to convert people to their religion over the centuries; perhaps seeking to convert, but more often than not, to use religion to enslave people.
Technology, the Internet and mass communications has made the world a much smaller place. Words and images fly around the globe at the speed of light. There are very few people who cannot be reached somehow, and let’s admit it Christianity has been very successful – according to a 2013 study, there are an estimated 2.4 billion Christians in the world, approximately 33% of the world’s population. Back when Christianity was in its infancy, it needed converts to survive. It is natural that the followers want to do anything to allow the faith to survive. It has done so, very well over the past 2,000 odd years. In fact, 76.2% of the world’s population adhere to one of the main religions: Islam 1.8 billion – 24.1%; Hinduism – 1.15 billion – 15%; and Buddhism 521 million – 7%.This does not even count Judaism. (To the positive, nonreligious, secular, agnostic and atheists make up 1.2 billion, the third largest group and 16% of the world’s population.)
The problem with Chau and too many people is that everyone isn’t going to pray/live/love the way you do and even if they don’t, it won’t affect your belief system one bit. It isn’t a zero sum game where if we all aren’t “saved” no one will be. If there is a “god” wouldn’t he/she/it be smart enough to pick out the believers from the nonbelievers? If people are willing to bet on praying a different way or not at all then going to Hell, isn’t that our choice? Religious people, you’ve won, 84% of the world worships some religion, now go out and celebrate.
If you still must go out and look for more people (“suckers”), then let them come to you. There’s a group of religious people who have set up stands at many CTA train stations in Chicago and the suburbs, and they use to irritate me a little bit just being there, but, to their credit, they make little noise and they aren’t there preaching to the masses. If you’re interested, they’re there. If not, just ignore them. Which is where this Chau person crossed way over the line. To preach HIS form of Christianity, he was more than happy to risk killing them, which, to my memory, is one of the Ten Commandments – thou shalt not kill.
The wars, murders, sexual assaults and other misdeeds of the past are done – we cannot correct them, but isn’t it LONG past time for us to put religious texts into context and realize that the world is much different than the 1st Century, and maybe the teachings should evolve with it? And if people don’t agree with you or wish not to be bothered, leave them alone. I have a feeling that unfortunately, more of these bozos are going to be making their way down there to finish Chau’s mission. Some may die, but I have a feeling that this poor tribe will never be left alone.
At least until they catch something and die.

As I’ve written here many times before I have been fired/laid off. It isn’t fun; in fact, it sucks. Even for a job you don’t necessarily like, being ousted is upsetting. In sports, coaches, players, GMs and other front office people get fired all of the time. It’s the “win now at any cost” philosophy that is prevalent in college and professional sports. These teams generate big revenue and also have big payroll and other expenses. If fans start staying home, the bottom line can be a garrote line for people who are involved in the losing. That said, the money that these people make are many orders of magnitude higher than we make ladies and gentlemen, so we cannot feel too sorry for them.
What is very upsetting to fans is when people don’t win games but they remain on the payroll (and no, I’m not going to mention Mick McCall here – I promise). The poster boy for this was former Lions Coach Wayne Fontes. Despite having a Hall of Fame rusher in Barry Sanders, the Lions weren’t very good, and with the fans and media clamoring for Fontes’ job, late owner William Clay Ford was sign him to an extension.
This week’s winner of the Wayne Fontes “Can’t Lose for Winning” Award goes to University of Illinois Head Coach Lovie Smith. Yes, the Illini have been bad for a very long time, and while Smith was the last Bears Head Coach to take the team to the Super Bowl making him a big local name, Smith had never been a college head coach before and with his cool, almost laconic demeanor, it isn’t surprising that Smith has not set the recruiting world on fire, and the on field results have shown that, especially a 63-0 loss in Iowa City 9 days ago. Of course, Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald should be getting at least a holiday Christmas ham this year for resting many starters and pulling other starters out after 3 quarters in NU’s 24-16 win on Saturday. I thought coming into the game that Smith was guaranteed another season because Illinois would have had to pay him a $12 million buyout if he was fired now, but could pay him for one more season, then only have a $4 million buyout after next season. The only way I thought Smith would get fired would have been if NU pasted another 63-0 rout on Illinois. He’d get $3.5 million for next season, and if there wasn’t improvement, Illinois pays him $4 million and starts over.
Despite posting a 9-27 record and 4-23 in the Big Ten, surprisingly, Illinois didn’t just keep Smith, they signed him to a two-year extension, terms being finalized. Smith is signed through 2023!
But Lovie Smith isn’t the only coach who is lucky to have work. The Bengals’ Marvin Lewis has been head coach since 2003 and has amassed a 130-118-3 record over that time. In the 16 seasons, he has led Cincinnati to seven playoff appearances, unfortunately, he is 0-7 in those games. This season, the Bengals are 5-6 and lost yesterday to Cleveland AT HOME. The Browns had not won a game on the road in over 3 years, and the Bengals were decisively beaten. Last season when the Bengals went 7-9, it looked like the end had finally come. Reports circulated that Lewis was going to resign rather than being fired, but then reports surfaced that Lewis was asked to stay. I know that the Bengals are in the same division and constantly compared with the Steelers, who have had three head coaches in decades, but the Steelers have won many Super Bowls under those Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin, so they deserve(d) long tenures. Cincinnati has never won a Super Bowl, only been in two, lost them both and never got within smelling distance of the big game under Lewis.
One might be surprised at an African-American writer all but calling for the firing of two African-American head coaches, a fraternity that has never been that large to begin with. I say however, true equality is being hired and fired on one’s merits and if someone is not doing a good job, they should be fired, black or white, Asian or any other background, religion, sexual orientation, sex, whatever. I’m sure that there are plenty of hot assistants of many races and backgrounds salivating for a chance to turn Illinois or the Bengals around.
Maybe it’s time to give them a chance??

How should a fan feel when one’s team wins despite being flawed, or losing games that they probably should have won? I have felt this way for years about my beloved Northwestern University football team. They have done very well, having a couple of 10 win seasons, some bowl victories. This is despite having a woeful offensive scheme, but being saved by a good to great defense. (See the next blog for more.)
I root for Northwestern no matter what – I’ve had season tickets since the year after the 1996 Rose Bowl Game (current Head Coach was a player on that team, but was hurt for the bowl game). People who talk to me on a regular basis know that my favorite term for teams that I root for is that I have “cautious optimism.” The Blackhawks were in the playoffs, I had cautious optimism. I current have the same feeling for the Bears. For the White Sox, I claim dubious optimism up to now.
That is my standard comment for Northwestern. I want them to win every game, but I was in school when they had the longest losing streak in what was called “Division I” back in the day. My friends and I have watched some abhorrent football over the years. Winning however raises expectations, and mine are simple – we should always be competitive in the Big Ten and we should hardly ever beat ourselves. Some years, youth and injuries may cause losses, but some years, everything will fall into place and we will do well.
Sometimes, though, we have both. The Wildcats have already clinched the Big Ten West title, going 6-1 in the conference while other teams who were predicted to be the class of the division: Wisconsin, Purdue and Iowa have struggled. No one expected NU to win, much less clinch the division so early with division games against Minnesota and Illinois remaining. Especially after going 0-3 in non-conference play. A loss to number 3 ranked Notre Dame is no surprise, but losses to Duke 21-7, then a 39-34 loss to Akron after having a 21-0 lead, both games at home is no recipe for success. Surprise wins against Michigan State, Wisconsin and at Iowa have salvaged the season. (Their only Big Ten loss was a 20-17 come from ahead loss to Michigan, currently rated 4th in the country.)
People are asking whether I will be making the trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game, and I honestly say that the jury is out. As happy that I am that they are winning, I fear the prospects of playing an improved Michigan team that defeated us already, or playing an angry Ohio State team may not be very good. Plus, there are two more games left: Minnesota has a very powerful offence, especially at home. NU could put it on cruise control. Then comes Illinois, a bad team who don’t like us because of the “Chicago’s Big Ten Team” advertising. They have nothing to play for other than knocking us off. Illini Head Coach Lovey Smith may need this game to keep his job.
My opinion is that the defense is really good; the special teams are inconsistent (in great part due to injuries); and the offense alternates between fair and horrific.
Go Cats. But…

Long time readers here and on Facebook know all too well that I believe that Northwestern football’s Offensive Coordinator, Mick McCall is one of the worst in the nation. (I’m even tired of hearing my rants.) His play calling is unimaginative at best; he calls excessive plays for his running backs (formerly Justin Jackson, who had the most carries in the FBS for two seasons, and currently freshman battering ram Isaiah Bowser) risking injury; and while the players are ultimately responsible for what happens on the field, the quarterback play has been inefficient. McCall has been with NU coming up on 10 years, and he has distinguished himself by being the most hated coach on the North Shore.
As a season ticket holder, as the first down runs of 2 yards or losses of 2 yards set up our regular 2nd down and 8, or 2nd down and 12, frustrates me and most of my fellow season ticket holders that sit around me. When I can sit in the East stands, at the northern 40 yard line, and can call out the next run off the right tackle and be right most of the time, it’s ridiculous. I firmly believe that in McCall’s mind, all the players have to do is execute and eventually, the play will work. So, let’s run it numerous times as though this is practice. He never seems to get that you have to fool the defense to help succeed. If a defense knows what’s coming and your offense is always in 2nd and 3rd down and long situations, the line needs to block well and longer, the receivers need more than ever to get separation, and the quarterback needs to make the right read and throw.
Unfortunately, winning seasons and overblown loyalty seem to have blinded Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald and Athletic Director Jim Phillips to the job that McCall has done. He has had two NFL caliber quarterbacks (McCall is also the QB coach), and one of which was a surprise that he would end up in the NFL based on what McCall did with him (Trevor Siemen). The jury is still out on current signal caller Clayton Thorson. A couple of years ago, after a dismal offensive season, Fitzgerald announced that all of the coaches would stay, and I was so incensed that I call Fitzgerald’s office, and eventually sent him a letter saying that McCall had to go (and used one of Fitzgerald’s favorite comments – he is teaching his young men accountability, but not very well, because McCall is a disaster and he keeps his job).
Northwestern is still winning (see earlier blog), but sometimes, winning is not enough. In football, you have three squads: the offense, the defense and special teams. At NU, we’ve had decent to great defenses, average to excellent special teams, and woeful offenses. I have been ranting for years about firing this man, but it has mostly been anecdotal evidence. I don’t know why I never did this before, but today, I looked online for college offensive rankings and I found up-to-date team rankings for the top schools, and look at the data I’ve found.
Through last week’s games, Northwestern’s offense ranks 109th out of 129 schools. Need more? Yards per completion – 121st out of 129; Scoring offense – 102nd; red zone offense – 106th; passing efficiency – 114th. This is why I have been pushing for this man to get out of Evanston. As I also say, as one who’s been fired or laid off, I know how tough it is emotionally and often economically. However, coaches get paid one hell of a lot more than most of us, and sports coaches are hired to be fired (see Joel Quenneville and the Blackhawks).
It is LONG past time for this incompetent man to be fired. It’s time for new blood – younger blood. Complacency allows for underachieving. I know that Fitzgerald bleeds NU purple; I know that Phillips was just named AD of the Year by Sports Business magazine because of the new football training building and renovation of Welsh-Ryan Arena). But at a certain point, they have to be held accountable for this assistant’s poor performance, or their jobs are forfeit.