Return to Glory for a Team, Redemption for a Coach

I’ll always have a special fondness for Morgan State University.   Morgan State was one of the few schools that considered giving me a football scholarship when I was in high school.   Later that same school year I watched Morgan State win the NCAA Division Two basketball championship on national TV.   Morgan State was then led by a skinny, 7-foot center named Marvin Webster.  That guy could really fill the middle and block some shots.  He was appropriately nick-named the Human Eraser.  It seemed inevitable that Morgan State would win.  The Eraser and his team were exciting to watch.

That was 1974.  And for all practical purposes the high point for Morgan State basketball.

These days Morgan State is a Division I school.   Part of the historically black MEAC.  Sadly there have been lots of losing seasons and no conference championships since then.  Until now.

Indeed this has been quite a season for the Morgan State Golden Bears.  The biggest highlight until winning the MEAC tournament was Morgan’s stunning upset of the University of Maryland on January 7.   Morgan State traveled 35 miles up the road to College Park and beat the Terrapins at home 66 – 65.   By traditional big versus little standards, it was an embarrassing loss for Maryland but an affirmation of progress for up and coming Morgan State. 

But as big as that victory was, Morgan State had never gone to the NCAA’s Big Dance.  But that drought ended last week when Morgan State knocked off Norfolk State 83-69 in the finals of the MEAC tournament to gain an automatic berth into March Madness.   On Thursday Morgan State will take its 23 and 11 record to Kansas City where they will face one of the nation’s top teams in the University of Oklahoma.   Morgan State is a 15 seed.  Oklahoma in the top ten all year is a number 2 seed.  Morgan State will be huge underdogs.  But so what.   Morgan State is finally in and for now with so many losing campaigns this is a return to that glorious time 35 years ago when Morgan State basketball was on top.

This is also a redemption of sorts for Golden Bears coach Todd Bozeman.

Bozeman in his third season leading Morgan State has completely turned the program around.  When he arrived the team just finished a 4 and 26 season.    Bozeman came to Morgan State after serving what is often called the “death penalty” sentence for coaches in NCAA basketball for a recruiting violation while he was the head coach of the University of California.  Bozeman was charged with paying a recruit’s parents $30,000.  At the time of the violation Bozeman was considered a rising star in big time college basketball coaching ranks.   During his four seasons as coach at California, Bozeman even led them to the Sweet Sixteen.   But the recruiting disaster ended Bozeman’s time at Cal and very nearly his career.  But thanks to second chances and Morgan State, Bozeman’s coaching career has new life.  

No one is giving Morgan State much of a chance against Oklahoma.  The Sooners have been in the top ten all year, and are led by the nation’s best player and probable national player of the year, Blake Griffin.  But not many gave Morgan State or its coach much of a chance to get this far.   So I say good luck to Morgan State and happy returns for Todd Bozeman.

No Love In Philly for Facebook Comments

Philadelphia is one heck of a tough place.  Few people ever get cut a break there.  Even Santa Claus in an infamous incident at an Eagles game years ago was once pelted with snowballs.  Not a lot of love sometimes in the City of Brotherly Love.   So how would you expect a Philadelphia Eagles employee to be treated for speaking out against an unpopular decision made by the team?   If you said fired you would be right.   It is Philadelphia.   

The termination of 32 year old Dan Leone is now national news. An Internet sensation.  Why?  Because the story is related to another Internet sensation – Facebook, the social networking site that millions of people have come to depend on to share their lives and express their joys and frustrations. Leone who works one of the gates at the stadium during Eagles home games expressed on his Facebook page what most Eagles fans felt with the release of longtime popular player Brian Dawkins.  Leone posted on Facebook that  he was  “[expletive] .. devastated about Dawkins signing with Denver…..  Dam Eagles R retarted…”    Those words were apparently too much for the Eagles officials who thought that Leone had stepped over the line by talking.  It is being reported that Leone said he was told that he couldn’t be trusted and he made the team look bad.

Facebook was made for personal comments.  It is an ideal place to express oneself.   But when does personal expression lapse into bad taste or in Leone’s case bad judgement?   Did the Eagles go too far by firing an employee for simply saying what he thought?  What’s private and what’s public?  Those are questions made for a new generation.  A time when so much of what we do sits primed for long-term examination and review.

I could see discipline or termination if the statement had been made by one of the team’s executives.  But terminating a guy who works at the stadium I feel is going too far.   But that is where we are today.  Years ago Dan Leone could have made that comment to friends, family or even a few co-workers without any risk of losing his job or offending the powers that be.  He could have done it then because his words would not have carried the same weight or lived so long.   But not so with the Internet.   Say something on the Internet today and it can live there forever – offending or amusing anyone who reads it now or ten years from now.  What it also says is that for all of the convenience and technology advances that we now have, many aspects of our lives can be a virtual open book.  Anything we say or do in cyberspace is potentially subject to eternal examination and scrutiny.

I’m pretty sure Dan Leone gave little thought to what his words might mean to those who are easily offended in the Eagles front office.   If he didn’t, he certainly knows now.  And you can be sure he will think twice about being publicly critical of a future employer.   He’ll also likely think twice about saying anything of consequence again because the formerly anonymous stadium employee is now famous.  Thanks to the Internet – he is forever linked to his public frustration with the Eagles and the loss of one of his favorite players.   He’ll be quiet unless of course – thanks to the very same Internet – he can turn his newfound fame into money.  Because from now on Dan Leone is just a Google click away.

Cult of Babe Ruth Warps Steroids Debate

The steroids/performance enhancing drugs (PED) debate in baseball lost me a long time ago when I became convinced that it really is all about statistics, particularly home runs.  And more specifically I believe, the debate has been fueled by the Cult of Babe Ruth.  The steroids/PED issue is often discussed by baseball purists, crusading sportswriters, and shortsighted fans with the use of the code phrase: the integrity of the game.   But the fact is concerns about the so-called integrity of the game do not appear to extend to any other facet of baseball other than home runs.  The concern over the integrity of the game never seems to address other hits or pitching, or wins and loses.  Many of those outraged over PEDs have suggested as a remedy: stripping the record book of home run totals – particularly those of Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa or now Alex Rodriguez.  It seems to me that this obsessive focus on home run hitters in and of itself seems to invalidate any real efforts to rid the game of steroids and PEDs or realistically deal with the problem.

Let’s start with records.  How I ask might we alter the record book without dealing with the far reaching impact of the overturned records?  How would this actually work?  Do you also take away the victories that came with the additional home runs hit?  Do you strip away World Series games or championships that may have been won based on the alleged artificial power added by steroid use? Do we name new champions for suspect years?   Do we refund ticket buyers who were “deceived” by steroid/PED fueled hitters?  Someone please answer those questions first before we go on any further discussing altering the record book.

On the other side of it, where is the equal outrage over the pitchers who now throw fastballs over 100 mph?  Pitchers whose throwing speed may have been artificially increased because of steroids or other PEDs.   Based on what we now know about the results of steroids/PED tests since official testing began five years ago, a disproportionate number of the players who have failed tests and have been suspended have been pitchers. But where is the equivalent public outcry over those pitchers and their violations of the integrity of the game?  Even the finger pointing at alleged steroids cheater Roger Clemens rarely suggests we should take away his strikeouts, or his wins.  Roger Clemens’ violation of the so-called integrity of the game doesn’t appear to carry the same weight as the home run hitters.   Why is that?   I believe the answer is simply that the steroids/PED debate is at its heart dishonest, laced with hypocrisy and is ultimately fueled by the Cult of Babe Ruth.

The sport of baseball remade itself from the deadball era (The deadball era which ended nearly 90 years ago was a time when baseballs weren’t nearly as hard as today’s baseball and couldn’t be hit as far) by literally changing the composition of the ball, which as a result made home runs easier to hit because the ball was much harder.   The first player to really take advantage of the end of the deadball era was the mighty Babe Ruth, who remains baseball’s all-time icon. The Babe’s prodigious feats not only built Yankee Stadium, but also built a cult of personality which still has millions of adherents to this day.

The theology of the Cult of Babe Ruth has warped and bastardized the debate over performance enhancing drugs and steroids.  There can be no rational discussion of the issue I believe until we deal with the real culprit – the Cult of Babe Ruth.   Ruthites like to hide behind their token affection for Hank Aaron.  But it seems to me that the Ruthites’ affection for Hank Aaron is really just a smokescreen.  Ironically it was Aaron who learned first hand just how powerful the Cult of Babe Ruth was when he was taunted with death threats and racial slurs 35 years ago as he began encroaching on the Babe’s hallowed home run total of 714.

Lastly, many steroid debaters talk about the impact ballplayers’ use of steroids has on “the kids”.   The kids, the kids, the kids.  The refrain is nearly deafening.  This is the most spurious claim of all.   If this witch hunt was really about the kids, or even the serious health risks posed by the use of steroids, then the hypocritical disgust of so-called fans and sports writers would be equally applied to all ballplayers and all sports.  Most of the disgust is saved for baseball players who allegedly cheated the game by using PEDs to hit home runs.  The same outrage is not directed at football players like Shawne Merriman of the San Diego Chargers, who three years ago tested positive for a PED, was suspended, and returned to his sport with little harm done to his reputation, and relatively little outrage over his PED use.

Clearly, the evidence suggests to me that the PED/steroids debate is not about the kids, or health risks at all, and the sanctimonious claims that the integrity of the game of baseball has been harmed by PEDs is at best dishonest and hypocritical.

Wilbon Conditionally Accepts Pro Bowler Challenge

UPDATED POST

Michael Wilbon has accepted the challenge of top PBA bowler Wes Malott – sort of.  On his ESPN show Monday, Wilbon and  TV partner Tony Kornheiser joked about the dispute which started a couple of weeks ago when Wilbon questioned Malott’s manhood for failing to show for a special “plastic ball” tournament.  An “angry” Malott after winning another tournament on Sunday dared Wilbon to take him on.  Wilbon now says he will play Malott – but only if  he gets at least 57 pins as a handicap.

Who do think will win?  

A Big Moment for Bowling

Bowling used to be something I thought up for a first date, or something I would do with my kids to get out of the house.  But as my kids have grown up and I’ve gotten older, surprisingly, bowling has more meaning to me now than ever.  And today was one of the most special bowling moments I’ve ever had, if not the funniest.

Let me explain.  I’ve been bowling “seriously” for one year now.  “Seriously” means that after all these years I finally bought a ball and some bowling shoes and joined a couple of leagues.    And now that I’m a “serious” bowler, watching professional bowling on TV has become essential Sunday viewing for me.  But today will be memorable.  The star of the Lumber Liquidators  Pro Bowlers Tour, gargantuan bowler, Wes Malott, in whose hands the ball looks like a grapefruit, called out sports columnist and TV show host Michael Wilbon.  Malott called Wilbon out not just once but several times.

A couple of weeks ago on his daily ESPN show, Pardon the Interruption, Wilbon said he is a “serious” bowler, at least by my definition,  and was critical of Malott for not showing up at a tournament which mandated that bowlers could only use basic “plastic” balls.   The PBA tour for one week only outlawed the high tech, super surface balls that most serious bowlers use these days.  Some old school purists believe that the new high tech balls have artificially increased scoring, and have taken away some of the skill and consistency that good bowling requires.  And in pointing out Malott’s absence at the tournament, it could be inferred that Wilbon was basically calling Malott a coward, suggesting the big guy was too scared to show what he could do without using bowling’s dangerous weapons.

Malott, who is leading the PBA tour in wins and TV appearances this season won again on Sunday with his high tech ball.  But even in victory he couldn’t stop directing one of his huge fingers at Wilbon.  At one point during the title game, even in mid-roll,  Malott muttered Wilbon’s name under his breath.  And in an interview he even dared Wilbon to take him on.  Malott said he would use the plastic ball and Wilbon could use whatever he wanted.

I know, I know.  It’s bowling.  And today’s outburst could have been an orchestrated ploy by ESPN and Malott for attention or ratings.  But so what – everything is contrived anyway. I still think it was a big moment for the quintessential blue collar, beer drinking sport.   And I couldn’t stop laughing and smiling.  Because as funny as it was – a bowler talking tough – it occurred to me that if one of the stars of my new sport is calling out one of the biggest names in sports journalism, then bowling may have entered a new era.  And it was worth every dollar I spent on my ball and shoes to be part of this spectacle.

Marbury’s Second Chance

Just about all of us would like to get a second chance at something.  If life was fair do-overs would be a mandatory part of it.   But the reality is some of us get a another chance to fix a mistake, but most of us don’t, forcing us to live with the consequences.   Which brings me to a guy who is getting a second chance to redeem his reputation, re-connect with a long lost teammate and win a championship.  

Stephon Marbury, last of the New York Knicks, was finally released the other day.  He quickly signed with the NBA champion Boston Celtics.  Marbury now gets another chance to play with the Big Ticket aka Kevin Garnett.   More than a decade ago, both players were young, almost certain to be superstars, in Minnesota.   But Marbury who seemingly never played for a team he didn’t try to tear down, apparently felt that two superstars in the Twin Cities was one two many.   Never mind that a guy as talented as he was then, paired up with a phenom like Garnett, could have played for an NBA title years ago, and may have won it.

Marbury got his wish and left the Timberwolves, taking with him lots of talent but a burdensome me-first attitude.  And his reputation for selfishness has stuck with him over the years.   Meanwhile, Kevin Garnett, who stayed in Minnesota for for what seemed like way too long, only once advanced past the first round of the playoffs.  Nonetheless Garnett became a hard luck NBA icon, who won an MVP award once, but nothing else.  Known for unselfish play, great defense, leadership and losing in the playoffs, Garnett was mercifully allowed to leave the Timberwolves, traded last season to the Boston Celtics.   He was a hit right away.  And the rest as they say – is a championship.  Kevin Garnett, the great lovable loser, at long last was finally rewarded.

Now, Garnett is paired again with Marbury, who was forced to sit out the entire season in New York in a nasty contract dispute.  Marbury refused to settle for a buyout of his $21 million contract, and the Knicks in turn refused to play him.  Three quarters of the way into the season the two sides finally reach a settlement and Marbury becomes a Celtic.  In his debut with the Celtics against the Pacers last night, literally hours after joining the team, Marbury scored 13 points in a Celtics victory.

Marbury’s reunion with Garnett for now is only symbolic.   Garnett is out for a few more games with an injury.  He’s expected back soon, which will formally reunite the once star-crossed tandem.   Second chances are precious and Boston players and fans can only hope that an older, wiser and perhaps more charitable, Marbury buys into the team-first chemistry which was inspired by Garnett.   But if Marbury continues to play like he did last night in his return, no worries, his second chance will be good for everyone.

Tiger In Top Form

The sun is shining on golf again.  Tiger Woods is back swinging for real.  He is competing for the first time since his now legendary win in the US Open last summer.   That stunning victory, in America’s most important tournament came as he played with a torn ACL in his knee and fractured bones in his leg.  No one who watched him last June will likely forget how he literally limped around the golf course in obviously excruciating pain and still willed himself to win.

Golf fans like my buddy Alan who writes The Sporting Life from the nation’s bad news capital of Detroit, are celebrating Tiger’s return like they would a new infusion of cash at General Motors.   That kind of excitement is justified.  There is no bigger deal in golf than Tiger Woods.

Despite an eight-month recovery from his injuries, Tiger said yesterday that he “felt like nothing had changed.”  Adding that “it was business as usual.”   The results from day one of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship certainly bear that out.   Tiger easily tamed first-round opponent Brendan Jones three and two.  And it certainly looked like Tiger was no longer hurting.

Now that Tiger’s back in what appears to be top form, perhaps better than ever, how do you think his fellow golfers feel, knowing their chances of winning have diminished considerably?  Believe it or not actually I think they’re happy.  Not that they like losing of course.  But Tiger’s peers certainly understand that golf actually means something again.  The fact is when Tiger’s away most folks care less what happens each week.

Check it out for yourself.   No Tiger = lower ratings.  No Tiger = nervous sponsors.  No Tiger for too long = less money for everyone.  I can assure you that Tiger’s golf buddies know exactly who provides their bread and butter.

Will Tiger win the tournament? I’ll just say history suggests he has a better chance than anyone else.  The record book says he has 30 more career wins than his nearest rivals Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh.   And even if he doesn’t hold up the trophy on Sunday, yesterday’s return made it pretty obvious that it won’t be long before he does.

How Should Sports Answer the Question That Calhoun Dismissed?

The question touched a raw nerve.  Some argue that it was out of line and out of place at a basketball press conference.  Others are stunned that a non-journalist, activist, law school student did the asking.  How dare he?  Still more wonder why UConn basketball coach Jim Calhoun lost his cool and went ballistic.

The question was essentially: Should Calhoun take a pay cut from his multi-million dollar salary as Connecticut’s highest paid government worker, while the state faces a huge budget shortfall during the nation’s worst economic crisis?

Calhoun, doing his best Bob Knight impersonation, answered by telling the “reporter”,  Ken Krayeske, to shut up, and then called him stupid.

A lot of folks in the sports world – including sports journalists – are blaming the messenger.   They say Ken Krayeske didn’t have the proper credentials and shouldn’t have been there in the first place.   Personally, I think that some reporters are angry that Krayeske showed them up, by asking a question they would never dare ask.  Calhoun argued that he brings in millions of dollars in revenue to the University of Connecticut, and won’t give “a dime back” from his salary.  And he has many supporters of this rationale, including journalists who wear the proper credentials.

So no, I don’t think the question is out of line at all.  And now that we’ve had a few days to see Calhoun’s response for ourselves and ponder even more, the reality of a what an economic downturn really means, the tide may be turning.  Yesterday, Connecticut’s governor called Calhoun’s nasty response to the question an “embarrassing display”.

The fact is Calhoun could have answered in a civil manner and acknowledged the seriousness of the times with respect and compassion.  After all Jim Calhoun is not being hurt by the economy, but many who support his team and pay for tickets and tuition are.  As a result he came off as arrogant and out-of-touch.

One thing for certain – the question will be asked again.  Maybe not to Calhoun, but to others in the sports universe.  Maybe it will be phrased like this: What are you willing to sacrifice while millions lose their jobs and others struggle to pay their mortgages?  How will those sports figures respond?  The global economic crisis now has Greg Norman suggesting that golfers take a cut in prize money.

Yes, sports are important, and they offer much needed diversions, escapes from sometimes harsh realities. Sports stars play a significant role in improving the quality of our lives.  But now its time for them to consider how they can do even more.   Sometimes more means taking less.

Barkley Going to Jail – I Still Like Him

Its hard to dislike Charles Barkley.  He is refreshingly different from any other celebrity.  What makes him unique is that he never seems to be afraid to speak his mind.  He will say just about anything.  And say it usually without the typical PR/BS filter that most sports stars and entertainers employ.  Often what the man sometimes called Sir Charles says is powerfully insightful, with no worries about who he might offend or what endorsements he might lose.  Other times what he says can be foolish and stupid.  But I’ll take the occasional stupid stuff, because I’ve never gotten the impression that he was maliciously trying to hurt the targets of his barbs.  Most times Charles is funny and charming while speaking his truth.  Which is also unlike most celebrities. 

But not so funny is the fact that Charles will soon be serving time.  News outlets are reporting that Charles has now pleaded guilty to drunk-driving charges in Scottsdale, Arizona and will spend five days in jail, sometime next month.  Charles was driving drunk last December and had a blood alcohol level nearly double the legal limit.   Look, a DUI is no laughing matter.  The consequences of getting behind the wheel intoxicated can be deadly.  And while there was no accident and no one was injured, a man of Charles Barkley’s stature had to be taken down a peg, if only for the message that it sends.  The thing about Barkley is, he understands that.  When he was arrested and charged he immediately took responsibility for his mistake and agreed to a six week leave of absence from his TV job at TNT.   

Upon his return to the air the other day Barkley apologized by saying, “I think that a DUI is unacceptable.  That can’t happen and I’ve got to challenge other people, not just celebrities or jocks. You have to really think before getting behind the wheel after you’ve been drinking.”  That is the straight, no chaser, Charles Barkley.  Right now you can believe, that he believes, he is telling the truth. 

So yes, even with a DUI now on his record, along with all the other ”mistakes“ he’s admitted to, like multi-million dollar gambling losses, I am going to cut Chuck yet another break.  I will not judge Charles Barkley because I like him and I feel like I know him.  No, I’ve never met him.  But he’s nonetheless been part of my life for a long time.  Which in fact he has for more than 20 years.  He was the one-time fat-boy who overcame his weight to become one of the greatest basketball players in history.  I root for a guy like that.  A guy once known as the Round Mound of Rebound. I feel that way because Charles has never employed a filter, which allows us to see Him – even if we are uncomfortable with what we see.

I know some of you may call Charles Barkley a fool.  A fool who doesn’t deserve second, third and fourth chances.  And you may be right.  And yes, I know he is 45 years old and should know better.  But the way I see it Charles is like a lot of folks we actually know and care about in our own lives who’ve slipped up. Slipped up big time.  People who have disappointed us terribly.  People we know who are trying but could slip up again any minute.  Still you root for them anyway and pray for them to finally get it together.  Because when they are okay, when they are on their game, as Charles Barkley often is, they are capable of saying and doing some really remarkable things.  That’s why I will continue to root for Charles Barkley, pinstripes and all.

Goodbye Marvin

Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison – touchdown.   Those words were said more times than any pitch and catch combination in NFL history.   The tandem of Manning and Harrison was largely responsible for the complete turnaround of the Indianapolis Colts franchise.   They moved the Colts from longtime losers to TV ratings darlings, helping the Colts become a team that would eventually win the Super Bowl.  But the end is near for the Harrison half of that combo.   There are reports that Harrison seeks release from the Colts after talks to restructure the $13 million remaining on his non-guaranteed contract broke down.  The NFL can be brutal to fading superstars.  Damaging to not only their bodies but to their egos.   

Right now Marvin Harrison feels like he can still play all-pro quality football.  And he feels he should be paid a superstar’s salary.  But his sagging productivity, his recent injuries, and his age just don’t support that, even though he now stands near the top of just about every career NFL pass receiving category.   

Further, the nearly reclusive Harrison was embroiled in a shooting incident last year in his hometown of Philadelphia.  And while authorities did not have the evidence to charge Harrison, the case is still unresolved.  Harrison has always denied that he fired the gun that injured another man.  But one piece of evidence is certain, Harrison is the owner of the gun. That incident further tarnished an image that had been largely built by relentless production on the football field.

If Harrison was younger, perhaps something could have been worked out. There might be a new signing bonus for the team’s all-time leading receiver, and maybe a reduced salary cap number for the Colts.  Then perhaps everyone is happy: the Colts get their man at a relatively bargain rate and Marvin’s pride stays intact. But Harrison turns 37 in August, which is very old for a wide receiver.  He’s also been hurt recently and the Colt’s know he’s not the same guy who has scored 128 touchdowns.   

What Harrison is though is an indelible part of the re-written history of the Indianapolis Colts.   And the Colts are trying to keep him around a few more years even at a reduced salary because of what he’s meant to the team for so many years.   But players who’ve accomplished as much as Marvin Harrison, usually don’t want the end to come on token terms, and often want all of the money they are owed or nothing at all.  For now it appears Marvin Harrison will likely leave the Colts with nothing.  That’s the way it is in the NFL.   Goodbye Marvin.