While the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments in full force, it is tempting to enjoy the festivities and forget about the bigger problems the NCAA has. An ongoing FBI investigation has discovered that players from more than 20 Division I men’s basketball programs have possibly broken NCAA rules. Schools identified by Yahoo! as having players who possibly violated NCAA rules include Duke, North Carolina, Texas, Kentucky, Michigan State, USC and Kansas. At least 25 players are linked to impermissible benefits, including Michigan State’s Miles Bridges, Alabama’s Collin Sexton and Duke’s Wendell Carter.
Documents obtained by Yahoo! Sports report that former NBA agent Andy Miller and his agency, ASM Sports between 2015 through 2017 — show cash advances as well as entertainment and travel expenses paid for college prospects and their families. ESPN previously reported that as many as three dozen Division I programs, including many of the sport’s traditional powers, might be facing NCAA sanctions once the FBI releases information it acquired during its investigation. A source familiar with the investigation — which includes more than 4,000 conversations intercepted through wiretaps and financial records, emails and other records seized from Miller’s office — had told ESPN’s Mark Schlabach that many of the sport’s top coaches and players might be implicated, calling Miller’s records “the NCAA’s worst nightmare.”
It already looks as though the NCAA has tried to distance themselves from some of the schools that couold be named in the investigation. Last week, ESPN’s Hall of fame analyst Dick Vitale was among the pundits who complained that Oklahoma and its star Trae Young made the tournament despite Oklahoma not winning a road game in 2018, and losing most of their home games over that time as well. Who didn’t make it? Oklahoma State, who had a better record, defeated Oklahoma twice, but didn’t make the tournament because they are reportedly one of the schools that the FBI is investigating.
College sports have been dirty since the 1880s (yes, I wrote the 1880s). The latest scandal may finally rock the NCAA to its knees. The organization has always been an anachronism: dedicated to making the schools money by keeping the status quo/unpaid student athletes but at the same time investigating and punishing those same schools, their coaches, athletes and entire programs. It is an institution that needs to be destroyed and rebuilt.
Perhaps this will be the beginning of true change. We can only hope this is the time.

There are sometimes stories that make one shakes one’s head in disbelief. No, this is not a political diatribe; there are enough of those already. Because it’s Winter Olympics time, we get to join in the pageantry and artistry of sport. Since it’s the Winter Olympics, not the Summer ones, the U.S. ends up doing respectably well in the Games, but not the top country, and that’s OK. Men’s hockey isn’t the same without the NHL players there, but that’s ok too, the NHL season is nearing its end, when things really start to get interesting (but not for my Blackhawks, alas).
One thing that is never far away from one’s mind at any Olympiad is the spectre of cheating: performance enhancing drugs, urine tests, scandal. Before the current South Korean Games even began, Russia was thrown out of the Olympics for a program of systemic doping that was last seen during the Cold War. The IOC backed away a little bit, allowing Russian athletes who had passed drug tests to appeal to the body to allow them to compete. Many of them have petitioned and won and are participating as “Athletes from Russia” or some such moniker, and when they win, the Olympic anthem is played.
Back when I wrote for The Sportswriters, there was a poll of Olympic level athletes asking if they would take a drug to magically make them the world’s best in their sport, but it would trim 10 years from their lifespans, and approximately 90% of the 1990s athletes said that they would take the drug. Athletes from all over the world doped, but it seemed like the Eastern Bloc countries: Russia and East German were pumping out steroidal supermen and superwomen. (I’ll never forget the cover of National Lampoon that had a very butch looking woman on the cover wearing an East German track suit but the woman had a very distinct male bulge in the crotch.) For Russia, it was the opportunity to prove superiority in all things – athletics, government, ideology. Of course, the Cold War is over, but not for Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, who longs for those days when Russia was the very best, and used every chemical advantage to get there. This is a major reason that Russia was ousted from the current Games.
Still, it seems that people are willing to try and get an advantage and a Russian is at the center of the current controversy. Last week, Alexander Krushelnytsky won a bronze medal in the mixed doubles competition with his wife. With the positive test, his medal could be forfeited. Moreover, the IOC was apparently considering allowing the Russian athletes to enter the Closing Ceremonies under the Russian flag and anthem, but that chance seems to be over with the latest failed test.
In curling! Shuffleboard on ice with a large stone with a handle drilled into it. And with the most frantic domestic people in the world sweeping in front of the sliding rock to try and reduce resistance. It is the wackiest “sport” in the world; a big hit in Canada, but overall, quite silly. So silly I’ve wondered if it really is a sport, much less deserving of Olympic attention. Not to insult curlers out there (writing that I couldn’t help but see a woman with curlers in her hair), but it is kind of a silly game. But then again hitting a little white ball with a stick in order to walk behind it and try to knock it into a small hole hundreds of yards away is also rather absurd.
But who cheats at curling? Something that even networks with millions of hours of programming to fill don’t show, or when they do, its late at night on tape delay. While I am not for doping, to do so as a figure skater, or hockey player, or skier, or even luger or bobsledder has potential financial upside. A few endorsements; a couple of commercials, and you can have a very decent living. I just can’t see a curling team on the front of a box of Wheaties.
It’s unbelievable. It’s too silly.

I didn’t write on the Super Bowl because most of what I could have written has already been covered. Needless to say, it was one of the best Super Bowls in recent memory – offenses marching down the field, like two heavyweights throwing haymakers at each other, each landing, until the game ended.
When the game was over, it appeared that two of New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick would be losing two coordinators: defensive coordinator Matt Patricia had long been rumored to be the next Head Coach of the Detroit Lions. Once the Super Bowl was over, his hiring was officially announced. The other coordinator, offensive guru Josh McDaniels was expected to take over the top job in Indianapolis. The Colts were a team with one major cloud overhead – the health of quarterback Andrew Luck. If he was healthy, the Colts’ franchise quarterback made the team a potential contender almost from Day 1.
McDaniels was expected to follow in Belichick’s footsteps: Belichick was a failure in his first head coaching job in Cleveland, and McDaniels, then a youthful 33 years of age, was given the head coaching job and also head of player personnel with the Broncos. He spent two years in Denver, during which time, people said he was immature. He also made blunders like taking Tim Tebow on the first round and trading Jay Cutler to the Bears (a not as bad move as it turned out). He also antagonized several players in Denver before getting fired the second year. It was believed at 41, McDaniels would learn from his previous experience and be a great offensive mind especially if Luck become healthy and available.
So, the game was over, Patricia was announced as the head man in Detroit; meanwhile, preparations were being made in Indianapolis. Colts headquarters was deemed too small so Lucas Oil Stadium was prepared to make the big announcement, scheduled for Wednesday (today). However, McDaniels told the Colts that he would be remaining with the Patriots as offensive coordinator. Reportedly, McDaniels met with Patriots owner Bob Kraft and a financial increase was agreed to, and McDaniels says the usual BS about not wanting to move his family.
The repercussions and rumors began almost immediately. The Colts were completely in shock – they have to move quickly among whoever’s left but the NFC Scouting Combine starts in less than three weeks on February 27th. Unlike the Bears and the other teams who hired coaches and staffs, the Colts have to work quickly. Also, the assistant coaches who had been tentatively hired to go with McDaniels were caught completely off guard.
Now is where the conjecture begins. There was a story that Bob Kraft refused to allow any of his people to join the Colts, the opposing team in the Deflategate scandal. According to this story, Kraft holds a grudge against the Irsays and the Colts. My first reaction was that Bill Belichick’s successor replacement had been decided upon. Whenever Belichick decides to hang it up, McDaniels can take over. This is probably a very good thing since The Sporting News has opined that McDaniels has just ended any chance he may have had in coaching the other 30 teams in the league. I do believe that, in the short term; but if he continued to put a top offense on the field, some owner would open an even bigger bank for McDaniels’ services. Another story said that McDaniels was showing his immaturity; that he had learned nothing from his Denver stint.
Only time will tell what the coaching future of Josh McDaniels is, but for right now, he may be the most blacklisted coach behind Lane Kiffin (who has found a home at Florida Atlantic University but may not see a bit time job for the foreseeable future.

Einstein is attributed with the quote that insanity is “doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting different results.” When he said it or not, it does make a lot of sense, whether it is about people or companies.
Usually, this is alright when people decide to do the same things, often, they are compelled by life or background. In those cases, it impacts the person or the family or friends or lovers. Seldom do companies and CEOs make the same mistake twice, especially multimillion dollar mistakes. Which brings us to Vince McMahon, the head of WWE Wrestling. Back in the 1970s, McMahon and other investors including Donald Trump created the XFL, rival league to the NFL. It was a spring league and in order to get anyone to notice, they started signing superstars to huge contracts. Hall of Famers like Hershel Walker and Jim Kelly made big bucks before making their way to the NFL.
McMahon announced that he was bringing back the XFL. The old league was linked to McMahon’s World Wrestling Foundation (the old name of the WWE) and was partnered with NBC which had just lost the NFL to FOX and CBS. While there are no real network channels left to mine for football, there are plenty of streaming services that need programming.
The problem in this formula is that ratings for the NFL are down 17%. People are not watching and so, not seeing the advertising, not buying as much stuff. The dark cloud of CTE hangs over the sport, making people decide whether they want their boys playing the sport (see the other blog for today). Having more young men risking their lives and long term mental health cannot be seen as positive. McMahon says that there needs to be a return to tough football, more violence, more than likely more CTE.
In addition, many people say that they are turned off by the players kneeling for the national anthem to protest police brutality against minorities. McMahon has already handled that one, he says – players will be required to stand for the national anthem. In addition, the old XFL had lots of ex-convicts in the game; McMahon says that they will not be allowed in the new league.
The question remains – is there an audience for more football? As I mentioned earlier, ratings for the NFL were down 17% and many believe that there was just too much of it – all day Sunday, Monday night, and Thursday nights. This doesn’t even count the college and even high school games
So, what’s the end game? The USFL was trying to get into the “old boys’ club” that is the NFL. Since there weren’t enough franchises on sale for them all, so they wanted to do like the AFL, get the leagues to merge. Is that McMahon’s game? The billionaires that own franchises like power and one of their main powers is deciding who gets to join the club.
I never much watched the old XFL; I certainly won’t be watching the new iteration. Will anyone be watching?

In general, the Baseball Writers of America did a good job of choosing the new members. This week, four players were elected into the Hall of Fame – Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero and Trevor Hoffman. They’ll join electees Jack Morris and Alan Trammell from the Modern Era committee, producing the biggest Hall of Fame player class in history. The Baseball Writers Association of America, which from 2000-2013 never elected more than two players in a single year, has now elected a record 16 players in the last five years after 2003 when no one was elected.
Here in Chicago, the big story has been Thome, the Peoria native who went on to hit more than 600 home runs with six teams including the White Sox and most notably, the Cleveland Indians. There has never been a hint of PED use by the big third baseman turned first baseman, turned DH who hit more home runs than Frank Robinson and walked more than Stan Musial, and compiled a .402 on-base percentage. Thome is the fifth member of the 600-homer club to be elected, joining Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Ken Griffey, Jr. He is known as a class teammate and fan favorite.
Guerrero was an incredible outfielder with a huge arm in right field. No one took an extra base on him. Plus, he was from the Mannie Sanguillen school of at bats – swing at everything close to the strike zone, and since he is 6’3”, his large strike zone became enormous. He hit tremendous home runs on pitches that other layers would have fouled off or laid off. He has the fourth-highest career batting average, .318, in the last 55 years, and will either be the first to wear a Los Angeles Angels cap into the Hall of Fame or the fourth from the Montreal Expos.
Hoffman was the first pitcher to reach 600 saves, with 10 seasons of 60 or more appearances, and only the sixth primary reliever to reach the Hall of Fame and first since Goose Gossage in 2008. I admit that I was never a big fan of Chipper Jones. Yes, he was good and put up solid numbers, but he was never the best in the game to me, a power hitter, but not the big bopper like Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera. Still, Jones is one of the greatest switch-hitters in baseball history; the only switch-hitter to hit .300 from each side of the plate, and lone one to produce a .300 batting average, .400 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage. He’s the seventh third baseman to be elected into Cooperstown, the first since Wade Boggs in 2005, and the sixth member of the Atlanta Braves to be elected since 2014 – joining decades-long teammates Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.
So, with Jack Morris and Alan Trammell making up the rest, we will have six deserving new members of the Hall of Fame. Congratulations to them all.

For every one player that the Baseball Hall of Fame got right, there are also some players who should have gotten in and, there could be a very disturbing trend for future votes. First, there’s Edgar Martinez, the great DH who fell 20 votes shy of the bid. Martinez, who the best DH award is named, has a lifetime batting average of .312 with 309 home runs and 1,261 RBIs. He garnered 70% of the votes and most pundits believe that he will get in next year along with first time eligible players Mariano Rivera and Roy Halladay.
The trend is the growing percentage of the poster boys for baseball’s “Steroid Era,” Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Although both of them would have gone to the Hall on their performance before it is believed that they started taking PEDs. Both Bonds and Clemens have now progressed to over 50% of the vote with four more years on the open ballot. It appears that younger voters are willing to look past the stench of performance enhancing drugs.
It appears that no matter what Joe Morgan and the other Hall of Famers think or wish, there are some drug cheats who are either already in the Hall, or are coming and it doesn’t seem like anyone will be able to stop them. It might be time to admit that Bonds and Clemens are going in, the question is, what about the others? A Rod? Mark McGwire? Rafael Palmeiro? These guys, we know, cheated. One however, Sammy Sosa looks like he’s not going to make it, at least through the regular vote.
If I were Rob Manfred, the Commissioner of Baseball, I would allow the Steroid Players who have not admitted cheating to enter the Hall, but only if they admitted to cheating, AND this is most important, the fact that they took PEDs MUST be on their plaque. I don’t think any of them will agree to that, but it is better than having them voted in and see the firestorm from the press and the current Hall of Famers or waiting until they all die to let them in posthumously.

The specter of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE, hangs over many contact sports – hockey, boxing, and especially football. So many former players have died, either through actual illness or from suicide that many parents of young men are not allowing their sons to play football. Teams cannot be formed in many middle class suburbs. Parents as famous as LeBron James have said that they won’t let their kids play football.
Now, the Chicago City Council is considering an ordinance named after a local legend who suffered from CTE to prohibit kids younger than 12 from playing football. The Dave Duerson Act would prohibit anyone younger than 12 from playing organized football. I’m no libertarian, but I think that this would be better left to the judgement of parents and the kids themselves. Besides, what will prohibit “private leagues” from sprouting up, games where there are no doctors on call, no protocols for head trauma.
What I fear the CTE situation may turn into is another front in the class war. Affluent and middle class parents don’t allow their kids to play football, but kids from low income families, with less opportunity and fewer choices continue to play. Of course, the low income players are going to mostly be black and Hispanic kids; kids who many in the Trump brigade consider less than human, love to watch them play in the modern version of the gladiator games.
I have written many times that I am happy that I have two daughters and no sons, so that I don’t have to make that choice. Should the government force that choice on parents? I’m not at all sure, but I’m don’t think so.