Michigan Just Got Reminded How Hard it is to Win Football Games WIthout Cheating

 

I guess it's not so easy when you don't have spies on the other team's sideline.  @CoachJim4UM @UMichFootball

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R.I.P. College Football: How Corporate Interests, Greed and Defiance Killed the Game We Loved -- Part II

Steph Curry and the Ugliness of a Long Distance Shooter

...Turning to news from the Olympic games, in heroic fashion, Stephen Curry hit five 3-pointers in the final eight minutes of play to secure a win in the gold medal basketball game against France. 

Curry, as he often does during his NBA play, then proceeded to skip down the court, pop his jersey and scream at the crowd, all while posing, taunting, and otherwise embodying the stereotype of the "ugly American."

If that wasn’t enough, Steph also treated everyone to his signature (and rather corny) two-hands-on-the-side-of-his-face "Nite-Nite" gesture which was backed up post-game when he donned a t-shirt reading "Nuit Nuit" ("Nite-Nite" in French) and celebrated with cigars and champagne.

All of this underscores the sad truth about Steph Curry:  the fact that since he entered the NBA in 2009, he's gone from being the elite-shooting skinny underdog that everyone was rooting for, to an obnoxious, unsportsmanlike, cocky little showboat who enjoys embarrassing his opponents... 

#whatajerk

R.I.P. College Football: How Corporate Interests, Greed and Defiance Killed the Game We Loved -- Part II

Below is Part II of an examination of the decades-long series of events, decisions, compromises and money-grabs that led to the end of college football as we know it. I strongly recommend reading Part I before continuing.

Obsession to Crown a Champion 

Certainly, the aim of practically every college athletic squad is a championship but for college football that quest required the glorious winning of your bowl game. With the new system, bowl games seemed like they would be getting in the way of the new aim -- chasing an undisputed title and gaining the biggest payday along the way. 

By 1990 there were nineteen bowl games and both schools and coaches considered it an honor to play in them. For players, your collegiate career simply wasn't complete unless you played in and won a bowl game. But as the nineties moved forward, with realignment taking place and big corporate dollars entering the game, the NCAA and college football's power brokers began to wonder if the bowl system had run its course. Football had long been the only college sport where the champion was not determined by some form of tournament or playoff. In addition, since 1968 (when the Associated Press began crowning a national champion) the two top-ranked teams had faced one other in a bowl game only six times. For a time, United Press International also crowned a champion -- sometimes a different one than the AP. In 1978, for example, USC and Alabama each won their bowl game and both finished with one loss. The result was a split national championship -- UPI selected USC and AP chose Alabama (despite the head-scratching fact that Alabama's lone loss was to USC.) Further complicating matters was that many conferences had contractual agreements with bowl committees that bound the conference champion to play in a specific bowl, regardless of any other circumstance. Thus, it was common for the two top-ranked teams at the end of the regular season to never have the opportunity to meet and decide a unanimous national champion. This obviously created lively debate in years where there was no consensus single best team in the land. The situation went on for decades until the early nineties when, after two straight years of controversy (1990 and 1991) the call for a #1 vs. #2 national championship game could, in the eyes of some, no longer be ignored.

College football began experimenting, first with a "Bowl Coalition" and then the "Bowl Alliance", whose rules and structure mandated a meeting between #1 and #2 to be contested in one of the major bowls. The Bowl Championship Series combined polls with computer rankings to determine the two best teams so they could be pitted against one another; the NCAA secured big dollars from sponsors and broadcasters for these games; and all of the top football schools in the country had dollar signs in their eyes more than ever. Unfortunately, there were two major problems with BCS. First, the computer rankings were both convoluted and often called into question. Second, because the goal now was to have a definitive determination after the end of the season rankings, it meant that bowl games would have to defer and forgo years of tradition so that teams that previously had been playing for berths in specific major bowls would now be free to play in others. For example, if the PAC 12 champion was one of the top two teams, it wouldn't necessarily be playing the Big 10 champion in the Rose Bowl, as had always been the case. Similarly, the SEC winner was no longer bound to the Sugar Bowl. Other traditional tie-ins were also affected and the free for all that resulted became yet another indicator of how unmanageable college football was becoming. Certainly, the aim of practically every athletic squad is a championship but for college football that quest required the glorious winning of your bowl game. With the new system, bowl games seemed like they would be getting in the way of the new aim -- chasing an undisputed title and gaining the biggest payday along the way. 

A series of selection controversies ensued and itsoon became apparent that the BCS was fundamentally flawed. 

• In 2001, Oregon, ranked second in the AP poll, was bypassed for the championship game in favor of Nebraska -- despite Nebraska's 62-36 blowout loss to Colorado in its final regular season game. 

• In 2003, three BCS Automatic Qualifying (AQ) conference teams (LSU, Oklahoma and USC) finished the regular season with one loss. Three (Non-AQ) conference teams also finished with one loss (TCU, Boise State and Miami of Ohio) sparking the argument that the BCS was unfair to Non-AQ conference teams. LSU beat Oklahoma in the BCS Championship game and USC beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl and ended up No. 1 in the final AP poll, resulting in yet another split national championship.

•  In 2008, Utah was excluded from the BCS championship (despite being the only undefeated Division 1 team) and finished second in the final AP poll behind Florida. 

• In 2009, five schools finished the regular season undefeated: Alabama, Texas, Cincinnati, TCU, and Boise State. The BCS formula selected traditional powers Alabama and Texas as the top two teams, which again fueled cries of bias toward the traditional powers.

• In 2010, three teams -- Oregon, Auburn, and TCU -- all finished the year with undefeated records. While TCU statistically led the other two teams in all three major phases of the game (1st in defense, 14th in offense and 13th in special teams) Oregon and Auburn were selected for the national title game. 

Clearly the BCS was just as controversial and no better than the polls previously used to determine a champion. The call for some sort of playoff format grew increasingly louder. But a playoff wouldn't be easy to execute. Football wouldn't be able to mimic the NCAA basketball tournament where teams play every other day. Football players needed recovery time, so unless teams were willing to play into late January and February, anything other than a four team playoff would be unfeasible. So that's where things landed. Today we essentially have a four team football championship tournament with (presumably) the four highest ranked teams in the final regular season poll as the participants. 

I say "presumably" because the selection committee, as it did this past season, is free to choose whomever they deem to be the four best teams, regardless of their record, if they won their conference championship, or any other factors. So this entire system solves nothing. The four teams selected continue to be second guessed the same way they were when the national champion was subjectively named subsequent to the bowl games. We witnessed this just this past season when Florida State was left out of the top four despite being undefeated and winning its conference. This type of controversy led the NCAA to expand the playoff to 12 teams beginning with the 2024 season. But of course this won't solve anything either, as the teams that finish 13th, 14th, 15th, etc., will almost always have a case for why they should have been chosen over another program. The expansion also serves to further diminish the prestige and tradition of the bowl games, essentially making them simply the venues or "containers" for the series of playoff games. 

Moreover, with the bowl games so devalued, players have begun sitting out. Many of them no doubt question why they should play in something like the Duke's Mayo Bowl when it means risking injury and jeopardizing a fat pro contract. Not long ago, passing on your bowl game would have been unheard of but in the 2003, University of Miami running back Willis McGahee took a brutal hit in the Fiesta Bowl that destroyed his left knee. McGahee was a Heisman finalist and top pro prospect expected to go in the top five of the NFL draft -- but after the injury his stock fell and he wasn't selected until the 23rd pick. 

Jaylon Smith's story is similar. The former Notre Dame linebacker was projected as a top pick in the 2016 draft before tearing ligaments in his knee and sustaining nerve damage during the Fiesta Bowl. This led to a steep fall in Smith's draft stock -- one that cost him an estimated $10-$20 million. 

Smith's and McGahee's stories became cautionary tales for players. With bowl games now having no real significance unless they are part of the college football playoff, top players today often opt out of their bowl games and begin preparing for the draft. (Christian McCaffrey, Bradley Chubb, Anthony Richardson, Kenny Pickett, Breece Hall and this year's number one pick Caleb Williams are good examples,)

Defiance and Concessions

The tide of public sentiment, pushback, criticism from every direction, and now lawsuits have become too much for the NCAA to navigate and still operate as an effective governing body.

Over the last few decades, America has become increasingly (dare I say excessively) litigious. Didn't get into the college of your choice?.. File a lawsuit claiming discrimination... Don't like the state telling you to close your business during the pandemic?... Take it to court... Madonna concert started two hours late?... Sue her. 

It's emblematic of what our nation has become -- unwilling to do the hard things and unaccepting of circumstances and judgments that don't go in our favor. It's famously said the the U.S. is a nation of laws... but that only works when its citizenry recognizes and submits to some type of authority. This doesn't mean we should all swallow whatever the powers that be hand out. Certainly there are injustices we suffer and manifestations of idiocracy that are foisted upon us. It's right to challenge things like this. But the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction and we've lost our sense of being members of a society. Every single thing that goes against us is now falsely labeled as being an infringement on our civil rights.

The NCAA serves as a organization that regulates student athletics for over a thousand member schools and close to half a million student athletes. But the NCAA can only accomplish this when its constituents operate under -- and yes, submit -- to the NCAA's rulings. Somewhere along the way, it became the norm to not only criticize the NCAA but also question its authority to prescribe the guidelines and regulations to which its member schools must adhere. 

 

As a result, we've seen an abundance of federal (and even Supreme Court) cases targeting the NCAA -- challenges to rulings on player eligibility, appeals for reversal of sanctions levied for recruiting violations, and more. This past season was a great example. The University of Michigan, after preliminary investigation by the Big Ten conference, was deemed to have violated an NCAA rule that prohibits off-campus, in-person scouting of future opponents. Allegedly, this was part of an elaborate scheme to steal opponents' signs. As a penalty, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh (who had run afoul of the NCAA more than once prior) was suspended for three games. What was Michigan's response? After penning a letter that first contested Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti's jurisdiction in punishing the program, the school issued a lengthy statement that condemned the conference (and the NCAA) for rushing to judgment before a full investigation could be completed. Significantly, no where along the line did Harbaugh or anyone else connected with the school expressly deny that cheating had taken place -- the video evidence of Wolverines off-field analyst Connor Stallions clearly visible on the sideline at a Central Michigan game was too damning for that. Yet that didn't stop Michigan heading further down the legal path and securing a temporary restraining order against Harbaugh's suspension.

Again, governing bodies -- in any sector of society but particularly sports leagues --- can only operate effectively when those governed willingly abide. This is how societies and other entities are able to function. We all agree to pull our cars to the side of the road to let an ambulance go by. We all stand in line and wait our turn at the post office. We all accept the determinations of our teachers as they dole out grades on our math tests. In each of these instances, there's agreement to stipulate to the judgement a higher authority. But the grievance and litigiousness that now permeates American society in general has made its way into college football: 

Coach got suspended for stealing signs?... Find a judge to issue a stay... NCAA penalized your school for recruiting violations?... File a lawsuit... Star wide out got ruled ineligible?... Rip the NCAA in the media and conduct a public relations war until they cave.

What makes this even worse is the indignance that often accompanies it. ESPN commentator (and Michigan alumnus) Desmond Howard came to Harbaugh's defense. Eleven members of the Michigan House of Representatives penned a letter to the Big Ten expressing outrage. Still, what we didn't hear from either of those parties was a flat out denial or even a plausible explanation for the preponderance of video and other evidence against Stallions and the Michigan program. At no point was anyone at Michigan willing to own up to what most deemed obvious. Instead, the conference and the NCAA got slammed for supposedly denying due process. It was a very Trumpian response, in that the perpetrator of wrongdoings turns to legal challenges, injunctions, claims of unfair treatment and delay tactics. In Michigan's case, it seems to have worked. The NCAA agreed to drop its investigation of Harbaugh; he served his three game wrist slap suspension and the team went on to make the college playoff and win the national title. Now, with Harbaugh having left the university for the greener pastures of the NFL, the entire matter will likely be forgotten, even though its entirely likely that what transpired is grounds for Michigan's championship to be vacated.

It's all because the tide of public sentiment, pushback, criticism from every direction, and now lawsuits have become too much for the NCAA to navigate and still serve as an effective body. The association has lost significant portions of its respect and its power in recent year and has acquiesced to this pressure by changing many of its most longstanding and necessary rules... even those critical to maintaining fairness, parity, and competitive balance in the sport. Which brings me to the final factor that has led to the degradation of college football.

The transfer portal

Prior to the NCAA's rule change, very few transfers would have been permissible without the player having to sit out a year. Today these kinds of ridiculous musical chairs scenarios are happening en masse across the NCAA each and every season.

Facing a tidal wave of negative press, rebellion in the ranks and what seemed like an endless string of lawsuits, the NCAA's capitulation continued. Cries of hypocrisy were launched, this time against the rules surrounding the eligibility of transfer athletes. 

 

The transfer portal launched in the fall of 2018, so it's not as new as many believe. It was implemented to bring more order and process to the mechanics of student athletes seeking to change schools. Windows were established where players could formally enter the portal, schools and coaches could view statuses, and player compliance to all requirements needed to transfer could be tracked. But in 2021, due to the disintegrating power of the NCAA, it once again made concessions to longstanding policies and ratified a new rule that allowed athletes in all sports to transfer without sitting out a year. (Previously, with regard to the five traditional “revenue sports”, upon transferring, players were required to sit out for a season before they were eligible -- except in instances where the athlete was moving from FBS to FCS, or unless they were granted a special waiver.) This concession pleased players and most of the NCAA's critics who were failing to understand (or didn't care) that the "sit out a year" rule was one of the last tools the NCAA had to prevent under the table payments that could entice players to leave one program in favor of another. It also was one of the only ways to dissuade them from leaving a school just to chase bigger and better NIL money. 

The rule change effectively turned the transfer portal into, in the words of one NCAA official from the SEC, "chaos." Players today  are transferring schools at an alarming rate simply because they believe they're not getting enough playing time... or because their position coach left... or because the team underperformed or isn't on TV enough. Take the case below.

In 2018, JT Daniels was the starting quarterback for USC. He played a year and then in the opening game of the 2019 season, tore his ACL Kedon Slovis became the new starter and played so well that rather than staying and trying to win his job back, Daniels decided to transfer Georgia. He was granted immediate eligibility to play and in 2020 he started four games and shared the position with Stetson Bennett that season. Then, in 2021 spotty play and injuries saw Daniels lose his job to Bennett so Daniels took advantage of the new NCAA transfer rule and switched schools again, this time moving to West Virginia for the 2022 season. Halfway through the year, he was benched and on Dec 5 of that year (you guessed it) Daniels entered the transfer portal a third time and wound up at Rice. 

Meanwhile, back at USC, Jaxson Dart replaced Slovis who wasn't playing well. Slovis, having lost his starting job, transferred to Pitt. But the next off season USC hired Lincoln Riley as head coach and it was rumored that QB Caleb Williams, who played for Riley at Oklahoma, would follow Riley to LA so Dart entered the portal and transferred to Ole Miss. Williams departure from Oklahoma left the starting job there vacant and it could have been filled by Spencer Rattler, who was the starter prior to Williams... except as soon as Williams took Rattler's job the previous season, Rattler transferred to South Carolina... Chaos indeed.

Prior to the NCAA's rule change, very few transfers would have been permissible without the player having to sit out a year. Today these kinds of ridiculous musical chairs scenarios are happening en masse across the NCAA each and every season. A year ago, 456 scholarship players appeared in the portal on Day 1 and 780 total players from FBS, FCS and Division II went in. This non-stop program hopping severely injures the competitive balance of the sport, as high caliber players at every position now transfer at the mere hint of losing their starter status, to follow a coach, or for potentially larger NIL payments. The latter two almost certainly had a lot to do with the University of Colorado's 2023 season. New coach Deion Sanders brought in an astonishing 53 transfers --  that's close to half of the team's total roster. Sanders' celebrity, relatability to the modern athlete and the type of culture he fosters had a lot to do with this -- but so did NIL. Sanders had numerous endorsement deals in place long before he made it to in Colorado and upon his arrival his celebrity and star personality shined a spotlight on the program among sponsors and advertisers looking to attach their brand to a team that was increasingly gaining national attention. And as we know, more advertisers equal more NIL opportunity for players.

Illustration of the very first college football game -- Princeton vs Rutgers, 1869

Thus we can all say goodbye to the game we once loved. America's second oldest team sport in fact, played since 1869. College football is more of a "showcase" now than a sport. It used to be the name on the front of the jersey that mattered -- now it's the name on the back. Players used to play for the honor of winning the PAC 12 championship, or Bedlam, or making the All-America team and being introduced on a Bob Hope Special. Now all of those things are extinct and players aspire to star in the next Dr. Pepper "Fansville"  commercial. The NCAA, once a steadfast authority that oversaw all aspects of the game, is accused of being out of touch with the modern athlete and is now ridiculed by coaches and university presidents at every turn. No longer is there any allegiance to conference or to school. Those things are mere niceties best left to us simple, naive and wistfully nostalgic fans.

So long college football. We'll miss you.

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R.I.P. College Football: How Corporate Interests, Greed and Defiance Killed the Game We Loved -- Part I

R.I.P. College Football: How Corporate Interests, Greed and Defiance Killed the Game We Loved -- Part I

The Michigan Wolverines just defeated the Washington Huskies to win the college football national championship. The victory put a cap on the 2023 college football season but in many ways it also marks the end of 155 years of the country's second oldest organized sport. The events of the last several years, the choices of  university officials, rulings by judges, and other factors have finally brought college football to a tipping point where it seems the sport's most defining rules, guidelines and provisions have been compromised (or altogether eliminated) to the point where college football no longer resembles the sport it once was. NCAA football has become the wild west -- complete with rustlers, guns for hire, and more opportunists and villains than it can handle it seems. Here are all the things that slowly killed the college game.

The demise of college football began with the creeping hand of corporate influence and the money grabbing that ensued. Beginning in the early 1990's, the sports world was seduced by the lure of the big dollars of Fortune 500 and other large companies. The 80's had seen Nike, Adidas, Gatorade and other brands strike deals with college and pro-level teams to provide shoes, apparel and more. These, plus endorsement deals with the decade's individual superstars, including Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and Bo Jackson, had proved tremendously lucrative. As the US economy began roaring under the Clinton administration, and the birth of the internet led to the rise of wealthy tech companies like AOL, Yahoo and Cisco, these companies began looking for ways to elevate their brands and increase public awareness. The tens of millions of viewers watching sporting events each week provided the huge audiences they were looking to reach. 

From the earliest days of baseball -- America's oldest professional sport -- billboards for beer and cigarette brands were a regular site at ballparks and stadiums. Soon after, play-by-play announcers for baseball, football, basketball and boxing began interrupting their calls to offer a word from the sponsor, whether it was a breakfast cereal, shaving cream, or clothing brand. Later, with the advent of television, games were brought to you by local and national companies in industries including hardware, automobiles, hair care and insurance. But this advertising was always in the background -- fairly innocuous and far from anything one would consider obnoxious. But as time changed, businesses of the new economy wanted a bigger bang for the their buck than billboards or live reads could offer. No longer would companies be satisfied with signage inside the stadium. Instead they sought a much higher profile by acquiring naming rights for the stadiums and arenas where teams played. So it was that by the mid-90's corporate sponsorship in sports reached new heights as American sports stadiums and ballparks quickly sold out (no pun intended.) In 1995, Candlestick Park became 3 Com Park, after the manufacturer of networking equipment. In 1996, the newly opening Pac Bell Park would debut. The following year, Jack Murphy Stadium, home of the NFL's San Diego Chargers became Qualcomm Stadium. We also got Coors Field, Invesco Stadium and several others. From coast to coast, our most famous sports venues were unceremoniously rebranded as big corps shelled out millions to have their names attached to sports franchises.

The Death of the Bowl Games

Around the same time this was taking place, there was also a major disruption in the college bowl system. Bowl games had been played since since 1902 and more were gradually added each decade beginning in the 1930's. By the eighties, the corporate giants (with their footprint now clearly established in the NFL) turned to the college game. Thanks to its new, deep pocketed sponsor, the Sugar Bowl became known officially as the "USF&G Sugar Bowl" in 1988. The next year, the Orange Bowl became the "Fedex Orange Bowl." All of the other bowls followed suit and this soon led to an unwieldy increase in the number of bowl games. To this point, bowl games were events rich in tradition and history. (The Sugar Bowl, for example, has been played since 1935 and came about because Louisiana was once the nation's leading producer of sugar. The game's solid silver trophy was made in London in 1830 during the reign of King George IV and was gifted to the bowl's organizers for the inaugural game.) After corporate sponsorship creeped in, history and tradition were swept aside and bowl names were shamelessly bastardized to afford the sponsor top billing in all press materials and during the TV broadcast.

The final step in this grand sell out was to create all new bowl games -- because after all, more bowls meant more money for everyone. It didn't take long for things to get completely out of hand in this regard evidenced by the fact that several of the newer bowl games have no other name other than that of the sponsor itself. Thus we've seen the likes of the Meineke Car Care Bowl, Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl, GoDaddy.com Bowl, and (God help us) the Pop Tarts Bowl, just to name a few.

Compensation and NIL Concerns

While big businesses were scrambling to stake claim of sports venues, and Nike was profiting and building its brand through partnerships with the professional athletes, new opinions began to form regarding compensation for college athletes. For instance, while practically every other nation on the globe sent players from their professional leagues to compete in the Olympics in sports like basketball, and volleyball, the U.S. had long maintained that only amateur athletes should be eligible for the Olympic Games. This was in spite of the fact that track, cycling and other American sports clubs had long been subsidizing its athletes training costs and even paying them stipends -- something that for all intents and purposes amounted to professionalism. But during the late 80's, the International and United States Olympic Committees began relaxing its rules and by 1992 professionals (including the famous "Dream Team") were ruled eligible in practically every Olympic sport. The line between professionals and amateurs became further blurred. 

For decades, the goal for top high school football players was to gain a scholarship to a top university,  excel there, graduate, get drafted and then make all your money in the NFL. Sure, there were unscrupulous backroom deals being made. Various NCAA investigations would reveal that money, cars and other enticements were offered to recruits to sign with a certain school and boosters or "friends of the program" provided cash payments and bonuses for outstanding play. Still, the fundamental tenet remained intact -- paying college players was illegal. Yet there was a growing sentiment that athletes were somehow being exploited. Many reasoned that the hundreds of millions the NCAA's member schools were making from TV rights were gained off of the backs of poor student-athletes. Others pointed to the fat multi-year contracts top coaches were signing. And while it was true that most top players were being paid in the form of full scholarships (a single year's tuition, room and board at major universities like Stanford, Michigan or Duke costs around $60,000 for example) such arguments held little sway. Figures like these seemed a mere pittance compared to the millions the schools were making, Thus, the opinion that college athletes should be paid continued into the 2000's.

Then in 2009, former basketball star Ed O'Bannon, who had led the UCLA Bruins to a national title in 1995, filed a class action against the NCAA to challenge its rules regarding the use of players' likenesses. Among other things, the O'Bannon case argued that the restrictions on compensation for the use of athletes' names, images and likenesses (NIL) for video games, live game telecasts, and other purposes violated antitrust laws. O'Bannon brought the suit after learning that his (and scores of other former players') likenesses were being used in EA Sports NCAA Basketball video games without the players' consent. EA Sports had established a licensing agreement with the NCAA but the individuals players were all left out, making the hypocrisy clear -- others could profit off of the performance and fame of college athletes but not the the athletes themselves. 

O'Bannon eventually won the case and EA soon abandoned both its NCAA football and basketball games. Similar lawsuits followed and the courts continued to side against the NCAA. Now, not only was public sentiment seemingly in favor of rewriting compensation rules for college players but so was the legal system. The NCAA was clearly losing its grip as judges (who previously considered college athletics completely subject to NCAA regulations) now felt compelled to step in and overrule longstanding policies.

So the NCAA read the writing on the wall and finally began to seriously consider ways in which players might be compensated. Unfortunately, paying players is a lot easier said than done. Initially, ideas revolved around only paying athletes in the "revenue generating sports" ((baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, football and men’s ice hockey.) It's easy to see how this idea might have quickly been dismissed. First there was the matter of equity. Should the third string safety be paid the same as a Heisman candidate running back?... You can also imagine it wouldn't have been long before someone brought a lawsuit claiming only paying the revenue generating sports teams was discriminatory. And then of course there was Title 9. If you're paying the men's teams and not the women's it was a super safe bet there'd be all kinds of additional lawsuits quickly filed. 

It's possible though that the NCAA never even seriously considered all this because the decision was more or less taken out of the their hands. In 2019, California passed the “Fair Pay to Play Act” -- which was the first state NIL law enacted. The legislation basically set the bar for how college athletes could be compensated moving forward. Players could now to be paid based on their value as an individual. More simply, any player could accept any endorsement deal, appearance fee or other payment available to them in the free market (provided it didn't create a conflict of interest with a deal already signed by the player's school.) The NCAA called the legislation harmful and "an existential threat to college sports" and even toyed with the idea of declaring all NCAA players in states who allowed payments ineligible. But threats don't get much emptier than that. It didn't take long for the association to capitulate to the new paradigm.

 

Conference realignment

Further disruption came to the NCAA's status quo with regard to its member conferences. Since their inception, conference affiliations had been both voluntary and fluid. Technically, institutions were free to switch conferences whenever they wished, so long as they gave notice and paid any agreed upon exit or entrance fees. Despite this, more often than not, a sense of logic prevailed and teams by and large remained in conferences that corresponded with their location on the map. That all changed in the nineties when football powerhouses Penn State and Florida State joined the Big 10 and ACC respectively. Meanwhile, the Big East looked to replicate its success as a basketball conference by adding five football schools. Notre Dame, which had always been staunchly independent, began flirting with the idea of joining the Big 10 and the Southwest Conference disintegrated altogether, its member teams joining the WAC, Conference USA and the Big 8 (which subsequently became the Big 12.) Tradition was once again pushed aside and nonsensical realignments (like Miami joining the Big East) proved that what mattered most now were the financials and what a conference could offer its member schools in terms of TV revenue.

To be continued...

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R.I.P. College Football: How Corporate Interests, Greed and Defiance Killed the Game We Loved -- Part II

Introducing the NBA's "Somehow Still Underrated" Team

The NBA playoffs are here and the bright lights are on the league's biggest stars. But let's take a moment to give love to some players who are every bit the equal of those aforementioned "stars but never seem to receive their due accolades. To wit, here is the NBA's "Somehow Still Underrated" team comprised of guys who have been flat out balling for a minimum of five seasons but haven't gotten nearly enough headlines, press or All-Star consideration.

The Starters

Karl Anthony Towns - Minnesota Timberwolves - 7 seasons

True centers that are legitimate three-level scorers are a rarity. Towns is one of the few and also gets it done on the boards, averaging  more than 11 per game over his seven seasons. And get this, when it comes to their career numbers, Towns has outperformed 2-time MVP Nikola Jokic in scoring, rebounding, three point shooting AND free throw percentage, and also bests Joel Embiid in all of those categories, with the exception of rebounding where he barely trails (11.4 to 11.3.) Towns also averages more rebounds and assists and has higher field goal, free throw and three point percentages than Anthony Davis. Plus Towns is the only center to win the NBA All-Star Game 3-point contest AND skills challenge. Yet with all that, the guy has only made All-NBA one time (and that was third team selection way back in 2018.) 

Nicolas Batum (14 seasons)

His numbers aren't super impressive but it's the Frenchman's ability to fit in and contribute no matter the team (he's been a Blazer, Hornet, and a Clipper) or how many minutes he gets. "Three & D" players have become a necessity in the NBA and Batum is one of the best. He's been a double figure scorer eight times and is also a great passer -- averaging more than five assists per game in four different seasons. A true "glue guy" Batum never fails to crack the rotation regardless of changes to his team's roster and he always seems to be on the floor during those critical last five minutes of the game. If that's not enough, he's regularly called upon to defend the opponent's best wing and has emerged as a feared shot blocker.

Jaylen Brown - Boston Celtics - 6 seasons

Though he plays Robin to Jayson Tatum's Batman, Brown is as skilled a swingman as there is in the league -- on par with the likes of the much more heralded Paul George and Jimmy Butler. He has averaged 22.8 points and 6-plus rebounds over the last three seasons on a very efficient 47.9 FG%. Over that span, those numbers are better in all three categories than most of the league's other top second options, including Khris Middleton (20.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 47.2 FG%) and Fred Van Vleet (19.1, 4.1, 40.1) Brown is such a pure and versatile scorer and so adept at creating his own shot (whether it's off dribble penetration or pull up jumpers) he'd be averaging 30 points a game if he didn't have Tatum as a teammate.

Reggie Jackson - Los Angeles Clippers - 13 seasons

The Clippers combo guard has spent most of his career playing second fiddle to guys like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Kawhi Leonard. Jackson finally broke out during last season's playoffs when he upped his scoring average to 18 a game as the Clippers bounced top-seeded Utah in the conference semis. Jackson then topped that by scoring over 20 a game and giving the Phoenix backcourt all they could handle in the conference finals. This year, with Leonard out for the season and George missing 51 games, Jackson filled in as the team's number one option by averaging 16.8 and doling out close to five assists. Jackson also routinely closed games for the Clips and led them to wins where they came back from 20+ point deficits an astounding five different times. 

Dejounte Murray - San Antonio Spurs - 6 seasons

21 points... 8 rebounds... 9 assists... That's what Murray averaged this year. The young (25-year-old) star has improved his stats in each of these categories every (full) season he's played and oh by the way, he also led the league in steals this year. Murray only made his first All-Star Game appearance in 2022 as a replacement selection for an injured Draymond Green -- which was a travesty because Murray's points, assists and rebounds were all better than All-Stars Fred Van Vleet and Jimmy Butler, who were both voted in.

The Bench

CJ McCollum - New Orleans Pelicans - 9 seasons

It's no surprise McCollum makes this list; he's been overlooked since his college days at Lehigh, where he finished his career as the all-time leading scorer in the Patriot League and was a 2-time conference player of the year. Despite playing in the same Portland backcourt as Damian Lillard, McCollum developed into a midrange assassin offensively and averaged 19.2 on 45.5% shooting and nearly 40% on threes) while providing leadership and great on-court decision-making. Since moving on to New Orleans, McCollum has upped his game to 24.3 and 5.8 assists over 26 games and led the team to the playoffs for the first time in four years.

Steven Adams - Memphis Grizzlies - 9 seasons

Adams is the epitome of a lunch pail guy and good for a minimum 10 points and 10 rebounds every single night he's out there. He's also one of the strongest big men in the league, which helps make him a force down low on both ends of the court. A perennial top five offensive rebounder and superior passer from the post, Adams has been selfless player in OKC, New Orleans and now Memphis, where he reliably rebounds, fires outlets to initiate the offense, sets great screens, and facilitates for superstar Ja Morant.

Brandon Ingram - New Orleans - 6 seasons

Coming to the Pelicans in the Anthony Davis trade is the best thing that ever happened to this former L.A. Laker. Since that deal, Ingram has won most improved player and become one of the league's most versatile scorers, pouring in 23.4 a game this season -- nearly ten more than he was averaging in Los Angeles. Ingram also length, which makes it difficult for opponents to get good looks against him. Though he did make the All-Star game last year, Ingram's skill and production has been too often ignored since Zion Williamson became his teammate, but make no mistake, right now Ingram is the overall better player.

Spencer Dinwiddie - Dallas Mavericks - 8 seasons

Maybe it's the fact that his name makes him sound less like an NBA player and more like a social studies teacher but Dinwiddie is the perfect third guard. With the exception of 2020-21, when he only played three games for Brooklyn, Dinwiddie has been a double figure scorer for six straight seasons. He's also proven he can carry a team offensively. In 2019-20, he averaged 20 points, 7 assists and was the Nets leading scorer before Kyrie Irving came to the squad late in the season. Dinwiddie plays in Dallas now and when Luka Doncic is off the court, Dinwiddie is the team's clear go-to guy, in  part because he's unafraid to take big shots late in games.

Most Memorable Sports Moments of the 2000s

This started out as just fun reminiscing between me and my son, but it quickly evolved into a half hour long exercise. It's important to know that in the course of compiling this list, neither of us searched YouTube, checked any Reddit threads, or Googled things like “Greatest sports moments”. It wasn’t intentional; it's just that neither of us thought to do it. And that's a good thing because in retrospect, if you have to use the internet to find more moments, then by definition those moments weren’t actually all that memorable... Makes sense, right?... Oh, and if you're wondering why the list only includes football and basketball... well I guess it's just more proof that those are in fact the two greatest sports God ever invented : )

Kawhi's buzzer beater - 2019

Like something out of the cheesiest sports movie ever, the 2019 NBA Eastern Conference semifinals ended at the horn with the ball bouncing around the rim (seemingly in slow motion) while everyone in the arena and watching at home held their breath.

Boise State's trick plays stun Oklahoma - 2007

Trailing powerhouse Oklahoma by seven with :18 left and faced with a 4th and 18, heavy underdog Boise State used a backyard football favorite -- the hook and lateral -- to score and take the the game to overtime. Moments later, the Broncos gambled big again and called on another gadget play (the "Statue of Liberty") to complete a 2-pt conversion and end the game. The cherry on the sundae was watching running back Ian Johnson (after scoring) race over to celebrate with the Boise State fans and then propose to his cheerleader girlfriend.

Ray Allen's clutch three - 2013

In Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs were on the precipice of sending the Miami Heat superteam home, when unsung hero Chris Bosh rebounded a LeBron miss and got the ball to the corner for this series saving three-pointer by the always unflappable Ray Allen.

Lebron's chase down - 2016

Speaking of King James, this was perhaps the greatest play of his career, executed at the biggest moment because this layup by Golden State's Andre Iguodala would have likely clinched them the championship.

"The Bush Push" - 2005

Another epic match-up between Notre Dame and USC ended with the defending national champion Trojans (who came into the game on a 27 game winning streak) trailing but sitting at the ND goal line with fifteen seconds left. In a crazy sequence, quarterback Matt Leinart tried an end run but was crushed by the Irish defense and driven out of bounds as the ball was knocked loose. The clock continued to run down to 00:00 but the refs (correctly) put time back on for one more play. Leinart then tried a QB sneak and was initially stuffed, only to have teammate Reggie Bush plow him into the end zone for the win. After this game, the NCAA outlawed this type of runner assistance, but then later reversed that rule so these "push the pile" plays are actually legal once again.

Chiefs vs. Rams on Monday night - 2018

Two 9-1 teams, both with super-charged offenses, collided on Monday Night Football and slugged it out touchdown-for-touchdown for sixty minutes. Highlights included four lead changes in the fourth quarter, 50+ points scored by each team, and the highest cumulative score in the history of MNF.

The "Beast Mode" run - 2010

This one might have made the list even if it wasn't a playoff game. Never has there been a more fitting nickname for a professional sports highlight. 

Syracuse vs. UConn, 6 overtimes - 2009

Over the years, the Big East Tournament has been a showcase for tons of great players -- Pearl Washington, Patrick Ewing, Carmelo Anthony and Kemba Walker, just to name a few. But what this game lacked in star power, it more than made up for in edge-of-your-seat excitement. Remarkably, this was only a quarterfinal game and the winning team (Syracuse) had to play again the very next night.

Odell's impossible grab - 2014

With all eyes watching in a Sunday night game against "America's team" the Dallas Cowboys, Odell Beckham Jr.'s jaw-dropping catch was a cultural shift that naturally broke the internet.

Chris Davis' "Kick Six" - 2013

A great call by the Auburn announcers ("There goes Davis!... Auburn's gonna win the football game!") only added another layer of memorability to this frenzy of a finish in the 2013 Iron Bowl.

The helmet catch - 2008

There's no bigger stage than one minute to go and trailing in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl. David Tyree's name would be forgotten today except for this amazingly clutch catch in what was at the time, the most-watched Super Bowl ever.

Honorable Mentions

#16 Seed UMBC smashes #1 Virginia

Kobe's last game

Kobe scores 81

"The Decision"

Jalen Suggs' heave from half court defeats UCLA in the Final 4

Villanova wins NCAA Championship at the buzzer

Rachel Nichols Should Have Known: At ESPN/Disney You Don't Cross the Boss

Today marks the debut of ESPN’s new daily (M-F) show, NBA Today (real creative titling, I know.)

This “new” show is hosted by Malika Andrews (above right) but for all intents and purposes NBA Today is pretty much just a reworking of ESPN’s long running but recently canceled, The Jump.

The Jump featured Rachel Nichols (above left), Kendrick Perkins, Richard Jefferson and others and was noteworthy for having fresh NBA news and reporting, as well as for its entertaining bickering sessions between the inarticulate but lovable country bumpkin Perkins, and the sarcastic and condescending Jefferson. Nichols was the host and referee and would begin each show with a thoughtful monologue on whatever NBA-related topic happened to be at the forefront that day.

But The Jump was abruptly canceled back in August after audio recordings of Nichols commenting on ESPN colleague Maria Taylor surfaced.

 

An audio of ESPN reporter and host, Rachel Nichols, has surfaced, in a conversation with LeBron James’ spokesman, Adam Mendelsohn, where Rachel says Mariah Taylor was tabbed to cover last year’s NBA Finals because the company was feeling the pressure of last summer’s BLM movement pic.twitter.com/iXdUINf1W6

July 4, 2021

In a conversation with LeBron James associate Adam Mendelsohn (and by the way, why can LeBron always be found — either by happenstance or because he purposely inserted himself — at the epicenter of anything controversial happening in the NBA?) Nichols openly complained about being passed over (in favor of Taylor) to host the NBA Finals pregame and halftime shows. Nichols also strongly implied that Taylor was the choice largely because she was black.

Now Nichols is well-respected in NBA circles. She’s well-connected, bright and she built a reputation on being a spunky, solid interviewer. But Taylor was a continuously rising star at ESPN for years — charismatic, intelligent and, let’s face it, younger and more attractive than Nichols. A former two sport athlete at Georgia who (unlike Nichols) can bring a player’s perspective to her commentary, Taylor climbed the ranks at ESPN quickly, beginning with her early days as a college football sideline reporter. So when Nichols' comments came to light she was quickly branded on social media as jealous and petty. Moreover, her allegations of reverse racism no doubt didn’t sit well with many of ESPN’s African-American personalities, who aligned themselves with Taylor and were likely insulted by the insinuation that Taylor was getting opportunities not based on merit but due to skin color.

But this wasn’t even the worst part of the leaked recordings -- at least in terms of the damage it did to Nichols’ career. It was the pot shot she took at her ESPN bosses when expressing her dissatisfaction with their decision:

“... I wish Maria Taylor all the success in the world — she covers football, she covers basketball… If you need to give her more things to do because you are feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity — which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it — like, go for it. Just find it somewhere else. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away.”

Okay, wait a minute… Your thing?… Sweet Rachel my dear, I hate to break it to you, but you don’t have a “thing.”

But I’ll get back to that...

Despite all of this taking place at the worst possible time for everyone involved -- just days before the NBA finals were set to begin -- ESPN didn't immediately discipline Nichols for her words. On the first episode of The Jump after the recordings effectively blew up the Twitterverse, Nichols began the show with a convoluted apology that referenced learning in journalism school the importance of “not being the story.” That was followed by reassurances that she respected Taylor and her work, and a declaration of gratitude for being a part of the ESPN team. Meanwhile, Perkins and Jefferson (who if you didn’t know, are both of black) spent their time looking mostly uncomfortable with the entire situation and trying to figure out what to say in support of Taylor without piling on and embarrassing Nichols. Perkins for his part came up with this fence-riding gem when addressing Nichols directly:

“I know your heart -- great person, great individual. My only hope is that we have a commitment overall to support each other through this process and continue to support each other through our journey.” 

Process?... Journey?... Thanks Perk for the corporate-speak and vague, meaningless, platitudes.

But back to our story...

A few days later, it was Andrews who took over the sideline reporting role during the 2021 Finals (the gig that Nichols never wanted in the first place.) Andrews crushed it and in the process garnered herself some prime time exposure, ultimately parlaying the opportunity into the host role on NBA Today.

Taylor, who had been in contract negotiations around this time, wound up leaving ESPN. She’s at NBC now where she’s hosted very late night Olympics coverage and is now part of the Sunday Night Football studio crew with Tony Dungy and Drew Brees.

Nichols fate was sealed almost from the minute the recordings were first leaked. She failed to learn from the mistakes of so many ESPN colleagues that came before her. If she had, she would have known that at ESPN the rules are keep your mouth shut and don't be controversial. ESPN is a Disney property  after all (one of the conservative company's many holdings) and it pays to be able to say (as ESPN fantasy football analyst Matthew Berry often jokes) “I'm a company man.”

But the thing is, it’s not a joke. History shows that at ESPN you either tow the company line or you're out.

Nichols should ask Bill Simmons what happens to you at ESPN when you butt heads with the bosses. Specifically, ask how it worked out when he was feuding with the network over the content of his B.S. Report podcast, editorial control of ESPN's sports and pop culture blog Grantland, critical comments he made about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and other issues. Because Simmons got his start with his home-grown Boston Sports Guy website he was likely used to a certain amount of independence and editorial freedom. So when ESPN disrupted that with concerns over what Simmons was saying on his podcast, as well as what he was tweeting and writing in his columns, it caused enough friction that the network chose not to renew his contract in 2015.

Similarly, Nichols should ask Jason Whitlock how ESPN handles on-air talent who disparage their colleagues. In 2006, Whitlock accused ESPN's Scoop Jackson of “ghetto posturing” and called his work “an insult to black intelligence.” It was not the first, nor would it be the last insensitive, overtly racist, or downright asinine comment that Whitlock would make. Indeed, he continues to spew trash opinions, even as recently as last week. But more to the point, ESPN correctly read that Whitlock (as a writer and commentator) was a sensationalistic (and calculated) contrarian and a purveyor of radical thought designed to draw attention to himself, and the result of his rant against Jackson was Whitlock's dismissal from ESPN.

If Nichols didn’t learn from Whitlock to steer clear of the hot button in this country that is race, she should have learned it from Jemele Hill. Hill co-hosted Numbers Never Lie, His & Hers, and SportsCenter 6 on ESPN -- but not without controversy. 

Jemele Hill

Hill had a history of inflammatory comments and wasn’t shy about speaking her mind. She once equating rooting for the Boston Celtics to claiming Hitler was a victim -- a remark for which ESPN suspended her. On the His & Hers show, she (and partner Michael Smith) would routinely opinionate on social issues and also sometimes go out of their way to inject and debate racial components of ostensibly benign sports stories (such as whether Serena Williams was the greatest women’s tennis player of all time.)

ESPN was no doubt aware of the tack Hill was fond of taking and tried to ignore it. But things began to unravel when she tweeted that Donald Trump was a white supremacist. The White House took exception and demanded an apology and the story made national headlines. Just a short time later -- in the middle of Colin Kaepernick’s movement encouraging NFL players to kneel during the national anthem as a call for social justice -- Hill spoke out against Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Jones had threatened to bench any player who “disrespected” the flag, to which Hill responded by urging fans to boycott Cowboys advertisers, should Jones follow through on his threat. For this, ESPN suspended Hill again and a short time later moved her off of the network to The Undefeated, an ESPN web property similar to Grantland. By the end of that year, Hill was gone from ESPN entirely.

It’s understandable that Nichols might have been unhappy with how ESPN was using her and that she believed she should have been given the NBA Finals hosting gig over Taylor based on having superior credentials and longer tenure. But do you know who else was unhappy with the way ESPN was using them?… Michelle Beadle. 

Beadle was a fixture on ESPN for years. She co-hosted SportsNation, NBA Countdown, and in her second stint with the network, Get Up with Mike Greenberg. But Beadle wasn’t shy about hiding her frustration with the show or her opinions on delicate issues (such as the Ray Rice domestic abuse case.) On top of that, she was sometimes condescending towards those with opinions she felt lacked validity. Watching her on Get Up was sometimes uncomfortable; you could actually feel the tension and see how frustrated she was with the show’s format and lack of seriousness. She seemingly wanted the show to be something that it wasn't (similar to the way Hill and Smith aspired to make their shows more pop culture oriented.) Beadle unceremoniously left Get Up and ultimately moved on from the network altogether.

In the end you could say that Nichols fatal mistake was that she got too cocky. “You’re not going to do it by taking away my thing,” was her quote.

Nichols should ask some of the other talent at ESPN how protective they are of their “thing.” They’ll probably (correctly) respond by saying they don’t have a “thing.” Their “thing” is whatever the network and bosses decide their "thing” is. Personalities like Marcus Spears, Cassidy Hubbarth, Elle Duncan, Dan Orlovsky, Mina Kimes, Jorge Sedano, Anita Marks, and Katie Nolan have all learned this. All of them are Swiss Army knives, handling everything from sideline reporting, to in studio hosting work, remote reporting from home, and guesting on Max Kellerman's This Just In as well as the God-awful Around the Horn show. (Heck, the latter is pretty much the only on-camera work that Sarah Spain even does anymore.) It’s because all of these individuals understand that their "thing" varies from week to week depending on how ESPN decides to use them. Laura Rutledge understood this too. She bounced around the network handling varying roles before landing comfortably as the host of NFL Live. And who at ESPN could have a bigger beef about the way she's being used than Molly Querim, who sits in the dummy seat every day on First Take, where all she essentially does is throw out a topic and then sit on her hands quietly for ten minutes while Kellerman and Steven A. Smith do all the talking.

Look, discussing the lack of diversity in sports broadcasting, race, social inequity, domestic abuse, and all the rest is necessary and can be incredibly productive. And certainly all of the columnists, reporters, analysts, et. al. at ESPN are entitled to their opinions. But the history at that network is clear -- you don’t get to have it both ways. You don’t get to enjoy the healthy paycheck and massive reach that ESPN provides -- and then get to say, write or tweet whatever you want. Nichols forgot that above almost all else, Disney wants to remain family-friendly and aims to produce content and promote talent that is non-controversial and advertiser friendly. Those who want to radically opinionate, stir the pot, or call out the company publicly are invariably shown the door. It’s why Lucasfilm (another Disney property) dismissed Gina Carano from The Mandalorian after tweets claiming voter fraud in the 2020 Presidential election, mocking the wearing of face masks to prevent Covid 19, and comparing conservatives who are criticized for their beliefs to Jews being persecuted by the Nazis. It’s not that Carano (or anyone else) can’t think, or say or do things that go against the grain -- it's simply that the cultures at the companies under the Disney umbrella just won't tolerate it.

What's the Deal with the Serena-Wonder Woman Commercial?

Not sure what the recent fascination with Serena Williams is all about. She's 40, well past her prime athletically, is constantly injured these days, and hasn't won a Grand Slam since the 2017 Australian Open (which began in January of that year -- when Barack Obama was still in the White House!) 

There wasn't this much coverage or interest in Serena fifteen or so years ago when she was at the top of her game, dominating women's tennis and winning tournaments on a regular basis. So why do we now seemingly see her everywhere, including this commercial for Direct TV? Click here to see see what I mean.

If you're like me, you probably noticed that somehow, the Amazonian powers that Serena gains not only transform her into Wonder Woman, they also enable the moles on her face to travel back and forth indiscriminately from the right side (0:14) to the left side (0:18). This phenomenon is evident no matter which cut of the commercial you're watching (albeit with different timestamps.)

So did someone somehow inadvertently flip the image and no one noticed until it was too late?... Was the image flipped purposely in order to solve some larger production dilemma, thereby leaving no choice but to have Serena's moles appear to bounce back and forth?... I guess we'll never know. But this happenstance (however it came to be) deserves to examined. 

I seriously doubt this blunder wasn't caught in time. You're telling me, the agency's creative leads, the commercial's director, the video editors and production people involved, the account execs, and the client (i.e., all of the big-wigs at AT&T) -- they all missed this and only realized the error after the spot began airing?... Doubtful.

So the question is, how could the company choose to let the spot go to market like this? I mean, wasn't there a meeting where they weighed the pros and cons of such a decision? 

I can honestly say that I have been in those meetings -- where the advertising agency, after days, weeks or months of production, presents finished creative to the client company. "Last look"-type meetings where the client signs off on said creative, and I can state unequivocally that there is absolutely no acceptable explanation for why something like this shouldn't be fixed... None. 

You spend all of that money producing this commercial; you pay Serena; you pay John McEnroe; you pay the costumer (likely the same one used for Gal Gadot for the WW movies) and have a custom-fitted duplicate outfit made for Serena; and you don't want to spend the cash or take the time and effort to make the spot right by fixing the moles issue?

The result of not doing so is that we're left with a commercial that's something that AT&T and its ad agency should be ashamed of. Even moreso after so many like me have called them out on Twitter. 

Look, replacing TV ads and similar creative already trafficked into market can be tricky and expensive, but AT&T can certainly afford it. So the only explanation is that decision makers there believed the public wouldn't notice or care -- and/or that the mistake (as obvious and amateurish as it is) for whatever reason wasn't worth correcting.

But if AT&T doesn't have enough respect for its brand, for its customers, and for the simple notion of owning up to your own sloppy (or otherwise corner-cutting created) mistakes, then the company really don't deserve your business. 

And as for the advertising and marketing agencies involved in creating the spot -- which include Hearts & Science, a division of Omnicom Group -- they should all be rightfully mocked for their negligence and for being complicit.

Just an NBA YouTube Channel Intro Video

Created this short video as an intro for Kaleb Conti's YouTube channel -- which is dedicated to discussing the NBA. Started with the opening of the old Kurtis Blow jam "Basketball", added a drum beat and just took it from there.

 

USC-UCLA "I Love L.A." Music Video

With college football season starting to wind down, this weekend features a full slate of games between the sports' biggest rivals -- Alabama/Auburn, Pittsburgh/West Virgina, Georgia/Georgia Tech, Ohio State/Michigan, Florida/Florida St., and one my personal favorites, USC/UCLA.

In honor of the occasion, I dug into the Pop Culture Fiend Archives and tried to find something relevant. What'd I come up with?...

Two things. An old "Beat UCLA" button I got at the USC bookstore, and this VERY old video of an ABC-TV produced promo for the game.

There was no date on the tape I culled this from but I'm pretty sure it's circa 1989. I was able to deduce this based on clues in the video -- shots of Larry Smith (USC head coach from 1987 to 1992), USC 1989 All-American defensive back Mark Carrier (#7 in the group of players you see at the very beginning), and a cameo from Richard Lewis and Jamie Lee Curtis from the ABC comedy Anything But Love, which premiered in 1989.

I have to say, no matter who you root for in this rivalry, you gotta love this video's highly apropos use of Randy Newman's "I Love L.A." Also, if anyone sees this and can identify the blonde majorette grooving in front of the UCLA band, please hit me up on email cause I've had a crush on her for 20+ years!

Oh, and in case you're wondering, this game ended in a 10-10 tie -- the seventh and final tie in the 82 year old rivalry.

Related Links:

USC-UCLA Football Rivalry on Wikipedia

Defending Isiah

Sportswriter Jackie MacMullen has co-authored a new book with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird focused on their relationship and rivalry, which began when the two faced off in the 1979 NCAA Championship game and continued as the pair became (arguably) the greatest NBA players of the 1980's.

Thus far, the most compelling thing about this book (and what everyone’s talking about) are Magic’s comments about his “friend” and fellow NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas. Before I get into that, however, I’ll provide the backstory (word of warning, there’s a lot of it), do my best to identify all the different players (no pun intended) in this drama, and determine what could have possibly led to Magic’s very curious claims and allegations against Thomas.

Magic and Isiah traveled many of the same roads. Just two years apart in age, the two grew up in the midwest -- Magic’s roots are in Lansing, Michigan, Isiah’s in Chicago. Both are point guards that led their college teams to NCAA titles as sophomores, and each turned pro immediately after. The future superstars signed with the same sneaker company (Converse) and shot TV commercials together. But even as the two struck up a friendship and rose to become the best point guards in their conferences, their professional careers, personalities and reputations were quite different. Isiah wound up drafted by the lowly Detroit Pistons and endured several miserable seasons on losing teams. Detroit was then, as it is now, a blue collar town -- harsh, gritty, tough. Beginning with Isiah, Pistons owner Bill Davidson, GM Jack McCloskey, and head coach Chuck Daly slowly set about building a winning franchise by assembling parts (Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn, Joe Dumars, etc.) and developing an extremely physical style of play the rest of the teams in the league would come to hate but wouldn't be able to match.

Magic, meanwhile, joined the Lakers, already a winning franchise with All-Star players Jamaal Wilkes, Norm Nixon, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Johnson flourished in glamorous Los Angeles and enjoyed immediate success as an NBA champion and Finals MVP and quickly became L.A.'s media darling with the brilliant smile.

But on a deeper level, what was taking place with Magic and Isiah would prove to be at the root of all the animosity and bad feelings that have now developed between the two. Magic, because he was in L.A., was schmoozing, ingratiating himself to others, and playing to the media. It was Hollywood after all, and image was everything. Isiah, meanwhile, didn’t care about his image or how he was perceived by others. He was more focused on trying to turn his team into a contender and orchestrating the on-court and front office moves that would make his team as good as it needed to be to become winners. Magic and the Lakers were already winners. They were beating everyone and looking good doing it. Thomas and the Pistons aspired to beat everyone... while beating them up. This is how it all began -- Magic becoming “Showtime” and Isiah a “Bad Boy”.

Throughout the early 80's, Magic and his Lakers versus Bird and the Celtics was the premiere rivalry in the NBA. But by 1987, the Pistons were also a legitimate power, losing the conference championship to the Celtics in seven games. The following year, Detroit made it to the championship against the Lakers and a good part of the story revolved around the two good friends and All-Stars (Magic and Isiah) finally facing each other for the crown. In a move that seemed strange to most, the pair actually kissed (European style) before every game. The Lakers wound up winning the series in seven and it looked like a new rivalry was born.

By this time, Magic and Isiah were like brothers. Johnson often let Thomas stay at his home and drive his cars whenever the Pistons came to town. Once, after the NBA Finals, the two took a suite at the Helmsley Palace and spent the weekend in New York.

But things started to unravel after Magic’s announcement in November 1991 that he was HIV positive. Magic’s startling revelation and subsequent departure from the game stunned the sports world and the speculation soon began as to how Magic got HIV, as well as who might have given it him. (One popular rumor identified porn star Heather Hunter as the source.) In any case, Magic was barely gone two months, when he was given special permission to play in the 1992 All-Star Game. Isiah, then president of the NBA Players’ Association, played a major part in getting this done when he petitioned Commissioner David Stern’s office for Magic’s inclusion even though sponsors were skittish and many players had concerns about playing with Magic. (Karl Malone, for instance, then one of the league’s biggest stars, expressed his inner paranoia publicly when he questioned the idea of Magic’s full-time return to NBA and worried what would happen if Magic suffered an on-court cut and started bleeding.) Thomas’ recollections of defending Magic during this time are crystal clear:

"They weren't going to let Magic play in the All-Star Game; all the players were coming out [against him]. You know how that all got turned around? I had a meeting with all of the players -- and I told them not only was he going to play, but we were going to shake his hand and give him a hug. And I was the first to shake his hand and hug him and give him a kiss, to let people know that's not how the virus is spread. Call Charlie Grantham [the former union executive director and COO] and ask him how Magic got to play in the All-Star Game. Ask him who called the meeting."

That game wound up being a celebration of Magic. Johnson and Thomas repeated their famous kiss ritual and Isiah led the rest of the eastern All-Stars in laying off Magic (to an almost embarrassing degree) and letting him score at will so he could claim MVP honors in what we thought at the time would be his farewell to the league.

It was immediately after these events that another rumor about Magic’s HIV began circulating, albeit in a much less public fashion than the speculation about Heather Hunter. This rumor claimed that Magic had gotten HIV because he was gay or bisexual. Few then (or now) believed it, particularly not Magic’s teammates or his other close friends.

Which brings us to Magic’s assertions in MacMullan’s book. He claims that it was Thomas who spread this rumor, that he (Magic) was tremendously hurt by this, that it led to the complete dissolution of his and Thomas’ friendship, and that this failed relationship has been, “the biggest personal disappointment of his life.”

Isiah, for his part, says, "Magic acted and responded off some really bad information that he got… I think Magic has been misled on a lot of things, and unfortunately this has been another one of them. I am hurt and disappointed that he has chosen to believe others as opposed to his closest friends.”

Thomas doesn't stop there. In his own defense, he's called Magic out and questioned his character and forthrightness by claiming, “There is this public person and then there is this b.s. person. There's Earvin and then there's Magic.”

Magic’s thoughts about Isiah seem less than credible for several reasons. For starters, why has Magic waited until now, eighteen years after the original events took place, to make all this known? Has he secretly hated Thomas all these years? Isiah says that whenever he’s seen Magic over the years, “he has always been friendly.”

Second, as Thomas himself has pointed out, he was Magic’s closest friend and the two men had engaged in very unusual public displays of affection. This being the case, Thomas is 100% right when he says, “if I was questioning [Magic’s] sexuality, then I was questioning mine too. That's how idiotic this is.”

Then there's the idea of motive. Why would Thomas want to spread such a damaging rumor about his closest friend? It seems unlikely given Thomas’ history. In his dealings with Stern and his fellow players, he had just stood up for Magic in this regard. Also, Isiah’s brother Gregory had AIDS, so it's likely Thomas must have had some understanding and sensitivity towards those with HIV. Wouldn’t a more likely source of the defamatory rumor about Magic be someone like Malone, who was very vocal about his concerns over Magic coming back and having to play against him? Or someone like the Miami Heat's Tim Hardaway, the poster boy for homophobia who was quoted as saying, “I hate gay people and I don't like to be around gay people” and “I wouldn't want [a gay teammate] on my team.”

Hardaway made those comments in 2007 but was an NBA All-Star (and was being considered for the Dream Team) at the time the Magic rumor started. Make no mistake, back then, there was still a great deal of ignorance regarding HIV and AIDS -- enough that the Magic rumor could have been started by literally anyone, and not necessarily out of malice, but through a lack of knowledge about how HIV is contracted. Truthfully, how could Magic, or anyone else for that matter, definitively know the origins of this rumor? Magic says that his agent at the time, Lon Rosen, is the one who told him it was Isiah. This “he said, she said” looks to be the extent of Magic’s proof and it seems (either immediately or after contemplating things all these years) he's convinced himself that Rosen is telling the truth.

And why not? Isiah’s an easy target -- someone the public is willing to believe the worst about. But Isiah also happens to be someone people (including Magic’s inner circle of old NBA buddies and associates) might want to lay this rumor-starting thing off on. Could Magic’s allegation be part of a larger conspiracy against Isiah that’s been going on for years?... It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. Isiah’s track record during his playing career certainly made him more than his share of enemies. Among other things:

• After the Pistons were eliminated in the ’87 conference finals, Isiah (in what was perceived by white America as nothing short of blasphemy) disparaged Larry Bird when he said that “if he weren’t white, he’d be just another good guy.”
  
  
• When Detroit was on the verge of a championship, Thomas ran Adrian Dantley out of town by getting management to trade him for Dallas’ Mark Aguirre, Thomas’ old friend from back in Chicago.
  
  
• At the end of the Game 4 of the ‘91 Eastern Conference Finals, just as the Chicago Bulls were about to complete a sweep, Thomas led his teammates off the floor and right past the Bulls bench with time still left on the clock.
  
  
• And perhaps most famously, Thomas allegedly masterminded a “freeze-out” of Jordan during the 1985 All-Star Game.

Certainly these aren’t the only reasons why Thomas seems to be so intensely disliked now. He did, after all, run the CBA, the NBA’s beloved farm system, into the ground. He also dreadfully mismanaged the New York Knicks, one of the league’s crown jewel franchises, setting the team back for years to come. But does any of this mean Isiah is a false friend who did Magic dirty? (If being a bad front office exec means you're a bad person, than Elgin Baylor is Lex Luthor, Hannibal Lechter and Vlad the Impaler all rolled into one.)

Many of Isiah's other actions are at least somewhat defensible. Consider:

His comments about Bird were in support of ones made by Dennis Rodman. Lost in the crush of anti-Isiah sentiment that exists today, is the fact that it was Rodman who originally made derogatory remarks about Bird, claiming that he was overrated and that he had only won multiple MVPs because he was white. Isiah chimed in in defense of his younger teammate. Also, remember that these comments were made only minutes after the Pistons were eliminated from the playoffs and that Isiah knew he had given away the series in game five when his lazy pass was stolen by Bird. Under those circumstances, you’d think Thomas’ comments about Larry Legend could be brushed off as sour grapes…They weren’t. Race is always a hot button for reporters, and the media (fresh off the feeding frenzy that ensued after Al Campanis' controvesial statements) blasted Thomas.

For sure, Thomas had the ear of both GM McCloskey and owner Davidson, and often pulled strings to get his way. And yes, Thomas engineered the Dantley for Aguirre trade. But how is this any different than Kobe Bryant running Shaq out of L.A.? ... Or his attempt to force an Andrew Bynum for Jason Kidd deal a few years later? Individual star players in the NBA (moreso than in any other professional sport) can have a great deal of influence on management decisions. The smart ones sometimes use this influence to make power moves or even hold their teams hostage. Look at what the Cavs have done over the last two years in efforts to appease LeBron. But no one holds this against King James. He just "wants to win." One can argue that if the Dantley/Aguirre deal doesn’t get done, the Pistons never get over the hump and claim their two titles. And at least Isiah was never responsible for getting his championship-winning head coach fired the way Magic did Paul Westhead. (It’s interesting how history seems to have forgotten this dirty little detail about the beloved Magic’s career.)

The Pistons walkout at the end of game four in ’91 was completely classless and maybe the worst display of bad sportsmanship ever (not counting that New Mexico soccer chick.) But you know what? The Pistons did it as a team, and it was completely in character. It was the end of a long and very fierce rivalry that took place back in the days when NBA rivals (particularly in the Eastern Conference) were often bitter enemies. There was animosity between the Sixers and Celtics (Bird and Dr. J threw punches during a playoff game) and Detroit HATED Boston because they had what the Pistons wanted -- conference titles and championships. The Celtics hated the Pistons right back (Robert Parrish clubbed Laimbeer in the face, for crying out loud.) Later in the decade, on their way to conference titles, Detroit eliminated the Bulls from the playoffs three straight seasons. The Bulls hated them for it and because the Pistons physical style made them a frustrating team to play. And while I’m not forgiving the ’91 walkout, for two teams that despised each other, hugs and warm handshakes at the end would have been disingenuous. At least give Isiah credit for not being two-faced.

And as for the infamous '85 All-Star Game freeze-out, the story goes this way:  some of the Eastern Conference All-Stars resented Michael Jordan’s rapid ascension into super-stardom and were jealous of his fat Nike contract and all his other endorsement deals. Jordan, it seems, was rising too high too fast and the East All-Stars, led by starting point guard Isiah, conspired to keep the ball out of Jordan’s hands and limit his scoring opportunities. Isiah, it’s said, had extra motivation to do this because the game was played in Indianapolis. This was Isiah’s territory, conspiracy theorists would have you believe, because Isiah played at Indiana. It was bad enough that Jordan was now the toast of Thomas’ home town of Chicago. He’d be damned if he was going to let Jordan grab any glory in Hoosier land. By game’s end, MJ was limited to 2 for 9 shooting and had only seven points.

But the reality is there was no freeze out. Jordan simply had an off night shooting and his playing time was limited by East coach K.C. Jones who gave Jordan’s backup, Sidney Moncrief, the same number of minutes as Michael (22).

Also consider that Isiah played less than half that game. This means that in order to effectively freeze out Jordan, he would have had to have the cooperation of backup point guard Dennis Johnson and others on the Eastern squad. It’s doubtful that Thomas, then just 24 years old could have persuaded DJ and veteran teammates like Erving, Moses Malone, and Robert Parish to participate in his alleged plot.

And yet the idea of a villainous Thomas screwing Jordan over has endured, even though Jordan himself (most recently, at his Hall of Fame Induction) has dispelled the idea. (Let’s see, a claim of alleged backstabbing by Isiah that turned out to be false… Interesting.) But even as the freeze-out has now been revealed to be little more than NBA folklore, at the time, Jordan and everyone else was more than willing to believe it was real. Indeed, in Jordan’s eyes, it was real enough for him to use as a reason to keep Isiah off the Dream Team. When the IOC ruled that U.S. pro athletes would be able to compete at the Barcelona Olympics, and USA Basketball set about building a team, Jordan kept everyone at bay with a host of non-committal remarks that he was "very interested" in playing. Jordan was at the absolute peak of his power during this time -- NBA champion, reigning MVP and the unquestioned face of the league. USA Basketball, the NBA, and Nike, among others, desperately wanted Michael to play, but Jordan couldn’t stand Isiah. Beyond the events of the ‘85 All Star Game, Jordan still resented Thomas for all that had taken place during their playoff battles, for the Pistons’ on-court thuggery, for the “Jordan Rules” that had frustrated him for years, and for other reasons that only Jordan himself could justify. (To be sure, if there’s one thing we’ve learned from Michael’s very bitter induction speech, it’s that the man can hold a grudge, and that he takes both real and imagined slights against him personally.)

So as it turns out, there was a plot involving Isiah and Jordan -- except Thomas was the one that got screwed. As a condition for Michael joining the Dream Team, Isiah would be left off. Magic, meanwhile, has his own take on this incident. “Isiah killed his own chances when it came to the Olympics,” he says. “Nobody on that team wanted to play with him... Michael didn't want to play with him. Scottie [Pippen] wanted no part of him. Bird wasn't pushing for him. Karl Malone didn't want him…”

Really Magic?... NOBODY?

Well we already know why Jordan and Magic were against him. Pippen was a Bull and Jordan’s wingman, so it’s no surprise that he’d also object to teaming with Isiah. And after years of Bad Boys-Celtics run-ins and the remarks from back in ’87, you can see where Bird would be opposed. But what could guys like Chris Mullin, David Robinson and Clyde Drexler (guys Isiah hardly knew and rarely played against) possibly have against him? Not that it really mattered. Jordan’s word was law and as soon as he made his feelings known, Isiah’s participation was no longer a consideration.

But it’s curious that in the MacMullan book, Magic would, on the one hand, accuse Thomas of stabbing him in the back by way of false innuendo, but then stop short of naming that as the reason he helped keep Thomas off the Dream Team. It’s as if one had nothing to do with the other. And maybe it didn’t. Maybe Thomas’ exclusion had more to do with the types of actions and behaviors Davidson was alluding to when he said:

"I was very, very close to Isiah, and there were times he was almost like a son. But, because of his background... I told him he had to change... I said, 'You've got it made now. Don't keep doing those things that you've been doing.'… But he couldn't change...We just come from different backgrounds. He had to fight his way up, and I didn't have the problems he had growing up. There's a lot of good things about Isiah, but when we had our parting, it was over something pretty substantial."

Those unnamed things were substantial enough for Davidson to renege on an offer he purportedly made to Isiah to join the Pistons front office after his playing career ended -- a position that later went to Thomas' backcourt mate Joe Dumars.

Perhaps those things are what Magic meant when he said, “Isiah killed his own chances…” and why he never stuck up for Thomas, the way Thomas stuck up for him with Stern prior to the ‘92 All-Star Game. Still, one wonders why Magic, like Davidson, doesn’t go into detail or offer any insight as to why Thomas was, is, or should be so reviled.

Even some of Thomas' former teammates, John Salley for instance, have mixed feelings about him. It’s puzzling given all the man’s positives. Over the years he has been heavily involved in charitable and humanitarian causes, including personal outreaches to curb gang activity, organizing “No Crime in Detroit Day” and donating both his time and money to numerous causes. Indeed, Thomas was once awarded the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award as the most charitable player in the NBA.

Thomas did a lot for his fellow NBAers as well. During his time heading the players’ union, he successfully negotiated to reduce the agents' cut of contracts from 10% to 4% -- a move that most assuredly drew the ire of many an agent... including one Lon Rosen.

Speaking of Rosen, Thomas had this to say about him:

“I think you can go back and look in that era and see who [Magic’s] closest friends were, and who his closest friends are now. At that time, I don't consider Lon Rosen to be one of his closest friends; he was one of his business advisers making money off him."

Maybe there are two sides to Isiah. But it seems this may be true of Magic as well. One thing about Magic’s issues with Isiah, however, seems fairly certain -- like everyone else, he isn’t really sure who started the rumor about him, particularly after so much time has passed. And in their rush to sell books via rash, reckless, headline-grabbing accusations, neither MacMullan nor Magic ever connect any dots or present any type of compelling evidence against Thomas. It's all thoughtless conjecture.

And once again, why are we just hearing about this now? This all started close to 20 years ago. If Magic has known it was Isiah all these years, why did he continue to be friendly towards the guy? Thomas says, “Whenever [Magic] came to a Knick game, he was standing in the tunnel with me. He and [Knicks assistant coach] Herb [Williams] and I, we would go out to dinner in New York.”

This all seems easy enough to confirm. Someone just needs to check with Williams. And if Isiah’s story is true, then the questions should shift back to Magic. Why would you be friendly and go out to dinner with someone that’s backstabbed you? Someone, according to MacMullan, “with whom your relationship was over many, many years ago.”

When you hold Magic’s version of events up to the light of day and consider what his reasons might be for calling out Isiah almost two decades after the fact, you come back to one incontrovertible fact -- Magic is hawking a book. He’s selling his story and every good story needs good guys and bad guys. When the Game Was Ours is supposed to be about Magic and Bird. But that’s old hat… Michigan State-Indiana State, Lakers-Celtics, series clinching sky hooks, we’ve heard it all before. What the story needed was a villain...

I guess Magic and MacMullan either found one or invented one.