One of the main problems of football and basketball coaches in unbelievable hubris. They believe their own hype; they believe that they are infallible, above the law, above reproach. College coaches are even worse than their counterparts in the professional leagues. College coaches make more money than college presidents; athletic directors wield much more influence than professors. It is only under the investigation of the NCAA, understaffed, outgunned, and itself in a position of significant conflicts of interest profiting off the efforts of “student-athletes” while trying to manage its member institutions and maintain that the big money continues to flow to the university coffers.
Many coaches have been considered bigger than the universities, bigger than the NCAA. For years, Bob Knight was the king at Indiana University until violations and abuse of players came to light. Still, Mike Kryzewski is Duke; while no significant penalties have been found on his watch. Until the recent violations have been brought to light, Rick Pitino was much bigger than Louisville. Pitino left a money trail however (it was reported this week that Pitino had full knowledge of the money being distributed to his players and recruits, which only makes sense since college coaches are noted control freaks).
Some coaches learn that lesson; sometimes on their own, but most times it has to be forced upon them. In light of the Pitino investigation, the entire sport is holding its breath, waiting to see who will be indicted next. Auburn basketball has been ensnared in the investigation. Assistant Head Coach Chuck Person was arrested as part of the investigation. Person, former college and NBA star, has been fired by the university.
It was reported this week that Head Men’s Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl has refused to cooperate with the school’s internal investigation. (Of course, allowing an institution under suspicion is ridiculous, but that’s the NCAA). ESPN reported that university officials told Pearl that he could lose his job if he doesn’t cooperate.
It appears obvious that Auburn has a big problem, and Bruce Pearl faces being fired by the school. The bigger question is: will he have to defend himself against prison?

If it were anywhere else except Texas, we wouldn’t be having this issue. Ezekiel Elliott is going before the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York in an attempt to grant him an injunction that allows him to keep playing while his case against the NFL progresses.
For those with short memories, the Dallas Cowboy star running back was suspended due to allegations that Elliot physically abused a woman. On February 12, 2016, a woman called the Aventura Police Department saying that Elliott pushed her against a wall, hurting her shoulder. In July, the woman made more allegations against Elliott, however, Elliott wasn’t criminally charged in the case and has repeatedly denied the accusations. It has been reported that the woman gave a false statement to police about one allegation she made against Elliott, but that the NFL’s investigation concluded she was telling the truth about three other claims of physical violence. The Columbus, Ohio, prosecutor who did not bring charges against Elliott also believed his alleged victim but suggested he did not have the evidence to pursue charges.
Elliott is only the third player to receive the baseline six-game suspension for domestic violence since the personal conduct policy was enacted in December 2014, and of course, the league is very sensitive to the case due to the light punishment given Ray Rice after beating his fiancée in an elevator. Ever since, much like Tom Brady in the Deflategate affair, Elliott has sued the league, saying that the punishment is above the power of Commissioner Roger Goodell’s to issue.
First of all, Elliott played all of last season with this pending, the league took all of this time to investigate the incident. The Cowboys went 13-3 last season before losing to the Packers in the Divisional Playoffs. Finally, over last summer, Roger Goodell handed down the penalty. Ever since then, courts have ruled both for and then against Elliott. Meanwhile, the Cowboys have been a good team, but not a great one, going 5-2, but second to the surprising Philadelphia Eagles. Most believe that the Cowboys wouldn’t be this good without Elliott, but the charges and the potential suspension has been on his mind and his performance this season has not been the same as the last.
Elliott’s case goes before another court today. The ruling may come today or tomorrow. If he wins, he will no doubt play, at least until the NFL appeals (if the league wins, of course). If he loses, he is probably going to start serving the suspension.
I was outspoken in saying that Tom Brady should take his medicine and serve the 4-game suspension. It appears that he was certainly knowledgeable of, if not directly approving the doctoring of the footballs. Still, the Brady case is insignificant compared to the charges against Elliott. While it appears that he has escaped prosecution for which nothing can be done, he should be a man and take the penalty. Already, Cowboy owner Jerry Jones has shown that a football season is more important to him than the abuse of a young woman (see the next story).
It is said that a true man does not inflict violence against women and children. I also think that a real man takes responsibility for his actions. Ezekiel Elliott seems to fail on both counts.

For the past few months, it was considered a fait accompli that the NFL would renew the contract of Commissioner Roger Goodell. He has brought untold billions of dollars to the league, which is the main job criteria of any commissioner to his bosses, the owners. But the Ray Rice incident, Deflategate, the Ezekiel Elliott suspension, and of course, the Colin Kaepernick protest, which has led to his banishment and the subsequent protests and backlash has caused at least one owner to question whether there should be new leadership – the Cowboys Jerry Jones.
Television ratings are down; the game is politicized by Donald Trump and of course, the spectre of CTE and long term brain injury from football makes the potential of football in the future questionable. Goodell has been criticized for his “sheriff in the wild west” approach to dealing with the players, especially involving punishment. Goodell’s PR acumen, which has never been his strongest suit, has disappeared. Now he is considered ineffectual.
Any of these reasons would be sufficient to at least review Goodell’s continued employment, but Jones has come out against extending Goodell’s contract; first in a meeting of 16 other owners a couple of weeks ago. Not all of the owners are on board with Jones, but it has been reported that Jones plans to sue the other owners if they don’t come around to his way of thinking, and since the Cowboys are the most valuable franchise with the billion dollar stadium completely owned by Jones, I believe that Jones thinks that he will get his way, like more billionaires.
However, is it business reasons or as punishment for Goodell’s suspension of Elliott that is fueling Jones’ pursuit of Goodell’s job? Is it fair to make business decisions based on spite? I know that it happens all of the time, even though it shouldn’t. Billionaires are used to getting their own way; no one wants to say no to power.
I’m in no way a fan of Roger Goodell, but if his time as NFL Commissioner is indeed up, I only hope it is for the right reasons.

I admit that I don’t watch much baseball anymore. Too much to do; don’t want to waste a summer day inside watching television or stream. Plus, the White Sox weren’t very good (although they are certainly improving), and watching Chicagoans got crazy over the Cubs isn’t my idea of fun.
The playoffs have been exciting however. The division and league championship series have been very exciting, and the World Series features 2 100 win teams for the first time since 1970 – the Los Angeles Dodgers who were easily the best team in baseball in August, running away with the NL West by a preposterous margin before a long losing streak brought them back to earth (but not back to the pack 0 the Dodgers still won the division going away.
The Dodgers’ opponents – the former National League Houston Astros, who moved to the AL, built the team on some young stars, and ran away with the AL West. After what happened to the city of Houston from the hurricane, the city deserves something good to happen, if just for the psyche of the inhabitants.
The series has been a doozy with two games decided in home run fests, back and forth contests that has many seasoned observers calling them some of the best, most exciting games in World Series history. But, what if Major League Baseball has does something to elevate the home runs and scores? Pitchers, especially sinker and curveball pitchers have said that the balls are unusually slick, making it hard for pitchers to get a good grip on the ball. And since sinkers and curveballs are off-speed pitches, intended to throw hitters off after fastballs, if they “hang” up in the strike zone, they are home runs more likely than not.
Already, this series has had more homers than any other series, and while it wouldn’t be cheating to doctor the balls, since both teams are playing with the same handicap, it does seem suspicious that there have been so many home runs. Homers are exciting to the casual fan, but it does ruin the game if the best pitchers are prevented from doing their best.
I’m not saying that I necessarily believe that baseball would try to artificially inflate scores for ratings, but remember, they turned a blind eye to performance enhancing drugs for years as home runs skyrocketed.

One of the worst things about sports is the constant recycling of managers and head coaches. Every sport rehabs coaches, some successful, many, not nearly as successful. This of course, helps perpetuate the overwhelming number of white men who get coaching jobs.
With three MLB playoff teams jettisoning their managers, along with teams like the Phillies also looking for a new bench boss, it appeared that the same old candidates would be hired. Again, some, like Joe Girardi who was surprisingly fired by the Yankees, are good managers who will get another chance and deserve it. Once again, it looked like minority candidates would be passed over again.
Fortunately, I was wrong. Dave Martinez was hired by one of the most talented teams in the sport, the Washington Nationals. Martinez is known as one of the best baseball minds around; he was just bench coach for with the Cubs who of course, won the Series last year after 108 years of futility. Martinez has interviewed for numerous jobs over the years, and has been passed over every time.
Not this time. Hurray for the Nationals and I wish Martinez well.

For the past couple of years, there has been speculation that New England should trade their backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo. Despite having only played in a handful of games, Garoppolo has been tempting to every team needing a quarterback, the Bears included. With Tom Brady hitting 40, but showing no signs of deterioration, Garopollo became expendable, as I’m also sure that Garopollo tired of wasting prime years on the bench, much like Aaron Rodgers did in Green Bay.
Usually, the Patriots build through free agents and low level draft picks. They have shown an incredible talent for identifying talent. They will get a chance at a much higher pick now – having traded Garoppolo to the 0-8 San Francisco 49ers for a second round draft pick. The 49ers have the second lowest quarterback ratings in the league, just ahead of the 0-8 Cleveland Browns, and unlike the Browns, they have not used a high draft choice on a QB.
For the Patriots, its like a first round draft choice. The 49ers will be either first or second in draft order, meaning that the Pats will have the first or second pick of the second round. For Bill Belichick, it will be like Christmas.

The 800 pound gorilla in the room of golf remains Tiger Woods. The best golfer of his generation has been known more for off the course bad behavior and health problems than winning golf over the past few years. In the meantime, many other golfers have taken his place at the top of the golf world, and the sport does suffer a bit due to Woods’ absence. Say what you will, but the presence of Woods, especially on a tournament’s final day drew viewers, sponsors, and more minorities to golf than ever before.
It appears that the long wait is over. Woods announced late yesterday that he will be returning to competition next month compete at the Hero World Challenge, which will make for his first official event since February’s Dubai Desert Classic. Woods withdrew from that tournament with back spasms, then underwent spinal fusion surgery in April, the fourth time he’s had a procedure for his back. He was then arrested for DUI in May, blaming the incident on multiple pain medications he was taking.
Of course, he made more headlines for his numerous affairs, his divorce, his relationship with skier Lindsay Vonn, which eventually ended, and his numerous failures to reclaim past glories. In fact, he has failed to reach the final cut in most of his tournaments over the past few years. Having the 14-time major winner return, especially if he can be competitive would be a boon to a sport that needs some good news.
Still, Woods is a flawed idol now. Many people, myself included once believed that Woods would eventually break the record for most major wins held by Jack Nicklaus. Even I would pay attention to golf tournaments if Woods was leading or in the hunt, and I have never been a golfer or a golf fan. Now, however, with all he’s done; all of the bad headlines; his injuries that make me doubt if he will ever win a major title again, it remains to be seen if I would follow him again.
Golf certainly hopes that enough people care as do the television networks. The point is moot if Woods does not play better.