Miami Scandal Aftermath: What's real in sports anymore?

Ohio State, USC, Miami, Oregon, Boise State…it’s a list of college football’s most lauded- and now most wanted- of the past decade. Today, it’s not just the U or those involved that will be suffering (though they surely will). It’s fans that want something in which to believe who are the real losers.
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When we were kids, we believed in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy. We looked forward to Christmas morning like no other and forced those loose teeth out in hopes of some fairy mysteriously putting money on our pillow. I mean, these other-worldly figures who could not be seen at risk of their elimination were showering us with gifts and money- who wouldn’t want to believe in them?

It’s a willing suspension of disbelief.  Not really looking beneath the surface and enjoying it for what it is. No introspection or investigation into what really makes the wheels turn.

That’s what sports used to be. We grow up as kids watching athletes who we think are superheroes, marvels who perform incredible feats with what seems like great ease. We watch heart stopping games between teams playing their hearts out, become invested in results that we have no control over, besides of course what color jersey or pair of underwear we don on a given gameday. But we don’t really think about it.

We believe in our teams and players and coaches, take great pleasure in their triumph and disappointment in their defeat. Thousands of us gather in arenas and stadiums like they’re cathedrals for catharsis earned by yelling the loudest, rooting the most passionately. “It can’t be my team that’s breaking the rules.”

But no major sport entity is remotely clean. NBA conference finals games being fixed, Super Bowl champions cheating, record-breaking sluggers juicing and college programs breaking the rules- where does it stop?

What’s real in sports anymore? Or was it ever real to begin with?

Cheating has been prevalent in sports for ages. There have been the 1919 Black Sox, doctored balls, corked bats and point shaving. Maybe it was never real to begin with and we just didn’t know any better, like with Santa and the tooth fairy.

Unlike wins or records, however, the memories legends create when we don’t know the truth can’t be taken away. There’s no erasing the rollercoaster of emotions felt through the Ohio St/Miami Fiesta Bowl title game. You can’t strip me of the joy and pure, unadulterated excitement that flowed through my 10-year-old veins watching Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa bash balls further than should be humanly possible in the summer of ’98.

But you can make it difficult to ever have those feelings again, at least as intensely. It’s hard not to get hooked in again by sports. It’s like an ex you know is an idiot, who screwed you over but you still love.

We won’t stop watching. We won’t stop caring. But at some point, we might stop caring quite as much. And if that means less money in the pockets of owners and stakeholders then there may finally be some cause for concern.

Trust me, I’m not jumping off the bandwagon. I’m already in too deep. But do others have this same tolerance level? Will the future generation of sports fans ever truly believe what they’re seeing on the field or court is authentic?

I really do wonder.

And it’s sad really. For many, sports represent an escape from the stresses and hardships of everyday life. Yet really, time and time again, they reflect the most negative aspects of society- lying, cheating, greed- to a tee. What at face value takes us away from our problems has an underbelly seedier than the whole boardwalk empire.

Pushing the boundaries to get ahead has always been part of competitive games. It just seems like it has spread further, with higher stakes lately.

Will it change?

Probably not anytime soon.  But then again Santa’s not coming down the chimney nor is the tooth fairy fluttering into my bedroom anytime soon either.

Five players to watch: Jets Preseason Week 1

The Jets kickoff the preseason tonight in Houston (8 PM, ESPN). Here are five players to keep an eye on.

1. Wayne Hunter

The veteran steps in as a full-time starter for the first time. He’ll take the place of the retired Damien Woody. The Jets have built one of the strongest offensive lines in the NFL around Nick Mangold and D’Brickashaw Ferguson.  Matt Slauson seamlessly transitioned into the left guard spot vacated by Alan Fancea last season. Hunter’s a good pass protector but will need to hold up well in the run game, as the Jets love running right.

2. Muhammad Wilkerson

Another spot vacated by a veteran is along the defensive line, with Shaun Ellis now a member of the hated Patriots. It’s rookie 6-4, 315 lb. Muhammad Wilkerson out of Temple who has been anointed the starter from day one by Rex Ryan. Wilkerson was a dominant lineman in the MAC , recording 9.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss in his senior season. The Jets will need him to adjust to being a NFL DE quickly, as Ellis, their longest tenured player, still had dynamic moments at that spot (see Jets/Patriots Divisional playoffs).

3. Jeremy Kerley

Not a top pick, like Muhammad, the fifth-round selection out of TCU has impressed as a jack of all trades in Florham Park. Brad Smith’s gone but the Jets would like Kerley to fill his role. He’s already atop the depth chart as kick and punt returner and has been taking snaps from the Wildcat. Smith was a valuable gamechanger but never really developed as a receiving threat. Kerley can out-do Smith if he can become that in the slot.  With Plaxico Burress out, he should see even more time tonight.

4. Kyle Wilson

There were high expectations for corner Kyle Wilson going into his rookie season. Thrown into the fire fast, the first round pick struggled and never really got going. Year two is a new opportunity for Wilson to become the strong cover corner the Jets are hoping he’ll be. It doesn’t hurt that Wilson gets to learn from Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, two of the game’s best.

5. Jamaal Westerman

We all know one of the Jets’ biggest defensive deficiencies last season was the lack of a pass rush. For Rex Ryan’s defense to reach its maximum potential, there needs to be edge rushers who get to the quarterback. Vernon Gholston was anything but that and he’s now gone. Calvin Pace has not proven to be effective enough at doing it. Westerman has been a contributor predominantly on special teams in his two seasons but Rex Ryan is talking him up, so take notice if he can perform starting tonight.

Yankees: Make up your mind!

It’s the bottom of the 10th, tense, rubber game against arch-rival Boston. Joe Girardi still has relievers at his disposal in the pen and a day off to follow. Not quite the dire situation necessitating the use of weekend emergency reliever Phil Hughes.

That’s a guy who’s just back from a three-month absence due to a dead arm, who was starting to gain some consistency as a starter. Hughes’ season ERA is 7.11 but he has given up two or less runs in four of his five starts since returning from the DL.

The Yankees’ problem is they have too many cooks in the kitchen, too many arms they want to put in the rotation. So it’s Hughes and rookie Ivan Nova who are being yanked around, unable to gain rhythm or confidence.

Nova earned the fifth spot in the rotation in spring training and became a solid option, continually improving. In eight starts since June 3, he has six quality ones and six wins, raising his record to 10-4. But the Hughes injury ultimately proved costly to the rookie Nova, as Freddy Garcia moved from pen to penciled in every fifth day and returned to the form of a decade earlier that made him a Cy Young candidate.

With the revivals of Garcia and Bartolo Colon, the Yankees are now in a pickle that has been met with a month of indecision. From the outside, it seems that they just do not know what to do with the options they have. Nova was sent down to allow for the return of Hughes but returned last Saturday when the Yankees needed another starter for the doubleheader with the Orioles.

He pitched well in that start and then had his best big league outing yet, striking out ten in 7.2 innings against the White Sox.

So now, the Yankees are waffling. Nova was good before the decision to demote him was made and he’s pitching even better since his return. Colon and Garcia both have low ERAs in the threes. You can’t move either of them. AJ Burnett is struggling but he’s making $16.5 million this season. He’s not going anywhere either.

That means it comes down to Hughes and Nova, a decision the Yankees already made, right or wrong, a little more than a month ago when Hughes took Nova’s spot in the rotation.

What has changed?

Nothing. Hughes has not pitched poorly, especially for a guy coming back from injury. Nova is still dealing well.

The Yankees need to make up their mind and stick to it. The indecision with Hughes has been an issue that has plagued his career since its start. He’s been a starter, a reliever, then a starter again. Now this weekend, he’s suddenly available as an emergency relief option. What are the Yankees doing?

Hughes is being pulled around like a piece of putty and eventually when you mess with it too much, it’s gonna rip in half. It has already proven detrimental in the career of Joba Chamberlain, a dominant reliever who the team tried to turn into a starter and ended up rendering less effective than what they began with.

There have been plenty of guys who have been moved from relief to starting and been successful. Alexi Ogando of the Rangers is the latest example. David Price with the 2009 Rays was a future starter who was used as a valuable postseason reliever but then rightly put in the rotation and allowed to carve his niche there.

The Yankees waffle with their young pitchers and in turn have to be killing their confidence. Hughes was just beginning to look solid again, set to make another start Tuesday against Los Angeles but for some reason he becomes an emergency long relief option from the bullpen. That turned into him being throw into the fire of an extra inning, tied game at Fenway when he hasn’t pitched as a reliever since the 2009 postseason.

Hughes won 18 games and finished with a 4.19 ERA last season. That’s pretty good for a guy in his first full season as a starter. The Rays wouldn’t throw Price in the bullpen as an “emergency reliever” if he was coming back from injury. The Yankees shouldn’t be doing the same with Hughes.

Whether it’s going to a six-man rotation or sending Nova or Hughes down, a decision needs to be made once and for all. With other talented young arms like Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances waiting in the wings, the Yankees need to learn from their mistakes and properly develop them. Mismanagement is not an option in bringing more championships to the Bronx in the coming years.

Why NCAA coaches banning Twitter is dumb

 When scrolling through Twitter, you read a good amount of dumb tweets. They may be insensitive, grammatically abhorrent or just completely unfounded in reason. Some college athletes are among that group. That said, for all the dumb statements they could make, it’s even dumber for college coaches to ban them from using Twitter.

Steve Spurrier is the latest, and most prominent, NCAA coach to ban his players from using Twitter. PR-wise it’s absolutely detrimental to a program. 

Let’s say I’m an 18-year-old prospective student athlete trying to choose a school. My friends and me have been using Twitter for more than a year, since it started to really catch on. We tweet at each other to share funny stuff and keep in touch. So I’m choosing between Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.

Suddenly, coach Spurrier has told me, potential recruit, that I cannot use Twitter, which I have responsibly used since getting an account. I’m gonna start to think twice about coach Spurrier’s program. Am I really gonna be able to relate to him?

Now, it’s an overstatement to say a Twitter policy is going to make or break a recruit’s decision. But banning it is not sending a good message to these high school kids. I’d start to think in the back of my mind, if he’s not gonna let us use Twitter, what else won’t be allowed? How tight of a ship is it gonna be? Will we have any freedom? You have to think similar thoughts go through recruits’ heads. 

These are 18-22 year olds. Going to college is supposed to be a step toward independence and becoming your own person. But your coach is telling you that you can’t use Twitter.

Spurrier and other coaches like Mississippi State basketball head coach Rick Stansbury are telling you they trust you to win games in front of thousands of fans but not to use Twitter. It’s like a dad giving his son the keys to a brand new Mercedes but then telling him he doesn’t trust him to use the blender in the kitchen because he’s afraid he’ll break it. 

These are young adults that you’re entrusting with your jobs yet somehow they are not responsible enough to express themselves through Twitter. Yes, they sometimes say things they shouldn’t like in the case of Mississippi State guard Ravern Johnson. He tweeted after a game:

"Starting to see why people Transfer you can play the minutes but not getting your talents shown because u watching someone else wit the ball the whole game shooters need to move not watch why other coaches get that do not make sense to me"

Forward Renardo Sidney retweeted that and coach Stansbury apparently had enough, putting in place the ban. Now, you can understand his frustration but instead of using this as a learning experience it instead just elicits punishment.

The right thing to do is teach players when and when not to tweet, how to properly conduct themselves through social media. If you’re going to take away Twitter, are you also going to ban Facebook, Tumblr, Google+ and the scores of other social media out there? College athletes are young adults and most of them will be going into the working world in just a few years. It would be a valuable lesson to learn that Twitter can be used professionally. Instead, the guys who are capable of tweeting responsibly are punished for not doing anything wrong.

Yes, these guys are the representing the Division I institution. But if you’re willing to pay them the cost of tuition in a scholarship then you should be confident enough that they will be a solid representation of your university. Coaches need to stop treating these guys like kids who can’t have the training wheels taken off.  Give them a chance to be adults, let them be like every other college kid who can have a Twitter and if they mess up, take it away then. Just putting down an outright ban on it is a very poor direction in which to go in this social media saturated world.

 

The Best Team You're Not Watching (or even getting a chance to)

There are 8 teams in baseball right now with 60 wins. Seven of those are prominently covered, preseason contender picks. Then, there's the eighth. 

They're 60-49, hosted the All-Star Game in July and have even won a World Series in their franchise's short history. They're the Arizona Diamondbacks- and there's a good chance they're the best baseball team we haven't gotten a chance to see this season.


Going into play today, the Diamondbacks are one game out in the NL West behind the defending champion San Francisco Giants. Surprised? Probably, if you don't pull up the MLB standings on a daily basis. Arizona's 7-3 in their last 10 and beat the Giants in the first game of a big series last night. It's a place no expert expected them to be, a young club under manager Kirk Gibson. 


But as a fan of not just my own team but also baseball as a whole, I'm disappointed. I have not seen much of these upstart Diamondbacks and I'm betting you haven't either. While surprise teams like the Pirates and Indians have been seen on ESPN, the Diamondbacks have not been once. The very makeup of MLB's national broadcast package puts west coast teams at a severe exposure disadvantage.


Take for example ESPN's Monday and Wednesday night baseball packages. Each are weekly 7 PM ET starts. There has yet to be a 9 or 10 PM ET start, which makes it impossible for a west coast team to host one of these. TBS' Sunday afternoon package suffers from the same fault. Each of its games have started between 1 and 2:15 PM ET. 


The FOX "national" game of the week is actually three regional broadcasts, which means if you live on the east coast you'll almost certainly see either one of the NY teams, Philadelphia or Boston. Last week's Tampa Bay vs. Seattle FOX game shown in NY seemed like a mistake.


Your best bet for seeing a variety of teams is actually the refreshing MLB Network,which has its national Thursday Night Baseball telecast (8 PM ET and usually east coast teams) but also broadcasts local feeds on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and some Thursday afternoons.


ESPN will have a 10 PM ET game for the final four Wednesdays of the season, as well as either SD/SF or CWS/LAA on August 24th. But that's still just five of those windows for the entire six month season. The fact is that the windows limit the opportunity for fans on the east coast to see any west coast teams. As of games scheduled through 8/8 ESPN will have had 59 national broadcasts. 17 of those feature teams from either the AL or NL West. That's less than a third of ESPN's telecasts. Only four of the 59 pit two West division teams against each other. 


TBS has not broadcast one game west of Texas this season. As a Yankees fan, yes, I like to see the team when I'm not in NY and they are the biggest ratings draw. But while the defending champion Giants were not shown on ESPN at all from April 4th-May 31st, the Yankees made six appearances. For the week of 6/13 to 6/20, the Yankees were featured in all four of ESPN's national broadcasts. How's that for variety? 


As young talents like Justin Upton, Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson thrust themselves into the pennant race, they'll continue to stay under the radar. Good luck Arizona...keep it up and maybe you can get your showcase in October. 

Overreaction about '#1 Party School' unnecessary

Stop the presses…Ohio University’s a party school. Only this time, The Princeton Review has named our little haven by the Hocking the top one in the whole nation.

Ohio University administrators have again reacted with “disappointment.” There’s an email in my inbox from VP of Student Affairs Kent Smith telling me this is an unscientific study, quotes from Dean Lombardi saying, “there’s no validity to it.”   

So, my question is, why does it matter? 

Dr. Smith says there are party scenes on every campus, which is true. Ohio just happens to have some of the biggest ones, the Halloween festivities and the spring fests. Administrators have done a good job making these safer, instituting new policies with stricter consequences for irresponsible behavior. Athens is an Appalachian town with 20-something bars and not much else entertainment-wise around it. Does anyone really expect the majority of 18-22 year olds to sit around and play Scrabble or watch a movie every weekend? There’s no more weekly Friday night comedy act at Front Room and movies at Baker aren’t even free anymore. 

Dr. Smith’s email says there have been a 49% decrease in alcohol-related violations and an 8% decrease in self-reported high-risk drinking. Ohio University students that are drinking are doing it safer. Administrators will obviously never embrace the notion of being a party school nor should they. But what’s so wrong with college-aged students partying if they’re doing it safely and getting good grades? 

When you leave college you do it with a degree and four of the most whirlwind years of your life. A degree is what you seek to attain but along the way you learn so much more about yourself, about people, about the world. College helped me grow up, be more social and if it took going to a “party school” to do that, then I’m glad I went to one.

College is about memories and I can tell you I’ll have awesome memories from the nights spent hanging out with some of my best friends at a bar or fest but also of ones with friends in the study lounge writing papers well into the morning or doing hardcore studying for tests. Ohio’s such a great place because people know how to have fun but also know when to study. The ones that don’t understand that don’t usually make it to year two or even quarter two.

 

I know that from being an RA, where I had many different residents. I saw the ones who went out most nights, never studied and ended up on academic probation. I also saw the majority who did their work, partied on weekends and balanced their school lives very well with their social lives. In fact, I can’t help but think the ones who refused to go out and thumbed their noses at those who did are the ones who are really missing out. Honestly, goody two-shoes who sit and dismiss anyone who takes a sip of alcohol as “trouble” are just as disturbing as people who sometimes over-indulge. That’s coming from someone who used to be the former.

Dr. Smith says my degree is now “devalued.” Somehow, I disagree with that. I hope a prospective employer will be wise enough to realize that just because The Princeton Review’s “unscientific rankings,” as administrators call them, will not discount my experience or education from a top journalism school. And frankly, I probably wouldn’t want to work for someone if they were judging me based on that and not my qualifications and experience anyway. Maybe some more people will actually know that Ohio University is not Ohio State now, because, living in New York, I can tell you there are plenty of people that do not know that, let alone that fact that Ohio’s a big party school.

Administrators need to stop worrying about what a stupid list says. Yeah, it will work students into a fervor but are the parties gonna be any crazier now that we’re number one? Doubtful. Students didn’t even burn any furniture at Palmer Fest this year and the ranking went up.

Nowhere in the email from Dr. Smith was there made mention of the fact that Ohio University is also ranked: #11 most beautiful campus, #6 best athletic facilities, #12 best newspaper and #19 for most accessible professors. No focus on the positive rankings the university earned, only an overreaction to the #1 ranking, telling me “don’t be surprised when potential employers bring it up in a job interview.” Most potential employers have not even brought up my GPA, let alone a party school reputation in any interview I’ve done in my job search. 

Ohio University is an incredible place both to learn and have a good time. Administrators telling me that my degree is somehow now devalued is even more disheartening than these rankings that many probably laugh at and say “oh, those college kids.” I understand they need to send the right message to worried parents, most of whom probably have no idea what their children are really doing anyway. But in doing that they’re also sending a bad message to the students with whom they so badly want to relate.