LSU QB Joe Burrow is the 2019 Heisman Trophy winner.
WHO CARES!
For years, I have felt that the college football Heisman Trophy award is the most overhyped award in sports for many reasons, to include the following:
IT ISN’T REALLY FOR THE BEST PLAYER IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL.
It’s the best quarterback or running back in college football. Tim Brown and Desmond Howard won as primarily receivers. Charles Woodson, who also was a return man, is the only primary defensive player to ever win the award. How can we take any award seriously that espouses that the best player in college football has never been an offensive or defensive lineman, or a linebacker? I realize that there are various awards for various positions. The others are appropriately named. The Bednarik award goes to the best defensive player. The Outland award goes to the best lineman. They are what they purport to be. The only one of these awards that purports to be something it clearly is not on all too many occasions is the Heisman. This is a serious insult to defensive players, and especially lineman on either side of the ball. If games are won and loss in the trenches, why aren’t the players in those trenches considered to be the best?
HOW CAN THE BEST COLLEGE PLAYER AWARD BE SUCH AN UNPREDICTABLE GAUGE OF NFL SUCCESS?
Over 95% of NFL players come from the American College ranks. And yet, since the first Black Heisman winner in 1961, only 56% of its winners have been able to produce an NFL career of any note. That 56% does not include the only 2-time winner, which is Archie Griffin. That is to say that they either were a Pro-Bowl selection or won Rookie of the Year…something to say that the award was warranted as a predictor of NFL success. This is not mere hindsight analysis. At the time of many awards, clear superior players have been omitted in favor of the winner. In 1992, anyone with the slightest football acumen knew that Miami QB Gino Torretta was not better than Nebraska offensive lineman Will Shields. History barred that out as Torretta was a mere footnote in NFL history while Shields was recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Florida QB Danny Wuerffel wins in 1996 instead of the great Ohio State Tackle Orlando Pace. Pace is a Hall of Famer while Wuerffel was a hood ornament on the Steve Spurrier (another Heisman winner that amounted to nothing in the NFL) football Cadillac. Finally, Ohio State QB Troy Smith wins in 2006 instead of the great Wisconsin offensive tackle Joe Thomas. Thomas will be in the Hall of Fame soon. Smith will not, nor ever had a case to be. Maybe history will validate that Burrow is better than Defensive End Chase Young, his former teammate at Ohio State. But who among us can say you are convinced of that today?
This is not to say that the award has always been a wild card for NFL success. Its golden era in this regard were the winners from 1977 (Tony Dorsett) through 1988 (Barry Sanders). Others in this group included Marcus Allen, Billy Sims, Earl Campbell, Herschel Walker, Bo Jackson, and Tim Brown. To show that white winners did not have the market cornered on being flops, it was Andre Ware in 1989 that stopped the streak of greatness.
GATH 1/88: Football player Paul Hornung poses with the Heisman Trophy, December 1956. GNEG Heisman notebook (no number)
Speaking of race, THE 3RD PROBLEMATIC ASPECT OF THE HEISMAN IS ITS HISTORY ROOTED IN JIM CROW SEGREGATION. The late great sports writer Dick Schapp gave up his Heisman vote in protest of the committee refusing to recognize the obvious best player in the country in 1956. The winner was Notre Dame QB Paul Hornung.
It was not because of how good Notre Dame was that year. They were 2-8.
It wasn’t because of his individual stats: He threw 3 TD passes against 13 interceptions.
It was because Schapp’s all white colleagues refused to vote for the “other guy”, who was a running back at Syracuse named Jim Brown.
In this case, Hornung would go on to be a Hall of Famer with the Packers and league MVP in 1960. The issue is that the racist attitudes of the times gave him a public relations head start, via winning a Heisman that he never should have won.
Why is any of this important? Within the context of sports, if independent thinking is not relevant to you, perhaps it is not. Both within and beyond sports, the “prestige” of the Heisman Trophy is yet another example of how all too often, folks in America are told what to think and value rather than engaging in the process of coming to conclusions for themselves. There is an intellectual herd mentality that too many follow for one of two reasons: either they are too lazy to actually do the work to vet the ideas being promoted as “gospel”, or they actually know that they are being fed BS, but simply don’t care to pay the price for calling it what it is.
I do not subscribe to the notion that the enjoyment of sports requires blind acceptance of traditional ideas. After all, tradition merely for the sake of tradition is often propaganda. To that end, I cannot think of a better place to intertwine the critical second guessing of traditions in sports than the prestige of the Heisman Trophy.
By now, most of you are aware of SB 206, the California bill which allows college athletes in that state to profit off THEIR image without risking losing their scholarships or eligibility. Foreseeably, the entire NCAA industrial complex opposed this and insist a protracted fight, likely to the Supreme Court. The defenders of the current NCAA model always go into their Chicken Little act when anything is remotely suggested to bring about a more just system. I call them Chicken Little because their response is very similar to those who resist raising the minimum wage with baseless scare tactics.
The following are their most common fear-mongering tropes and why they are ridiculous:
THEY GET PAID IN THE FORM OF A SCHOLARSHIP
First of all, the data has been clear for years and indicates that a college degree is declining in value. More college graduates are unemployed than at any other time in American history. It just is not what it once was, but even if it were, this response implies as if it is largess on the part of the college. Let’s be clear; be it community college, division 2 or 3, or the big-time revenue-generating programs, being a college athlete is a job that requires, between practice, games, and travel, in excess of 40 hours per week. As college athletic advisers, I can tell you that we would NEVER advise a full-time student to work that much and yet the defenders pat themselves on the back as if the scholarship is a handout for which the athletes should be grateful. They earned their scholarship and more.
IT WOULD BE UNFAIR TO OTHER COLLEGE STUDENTS
Why? Does the college marching band generate millions for the college? How about the gaming team? If they do and have commercial appeal, they should not be hindered either. But the honest truth is that neither gaming, though growing very fast, nor the marching band are generating the kind of revenue that big-time football and basketball generate. In fact, the revenues generated by football and basketball routinely fund the entire athletic department.
IT WOULD UNDERMINE TITLE 9
Title 9 is the 1972 amendment that requires gender equity on college campuses and is often used as a scapegoat by reactionary defenders of the status quo, to pit the genders against one another. Payment would come from what athletes can independently negotiate. College-based budgets would not be affected at all. In fact, female athletes with commercial appeal could profit off their likeness, just as the males could. The great WNBA star and former UConn Huskie, Diana Taurasi, talks about how her alma mater still makes money off her and she has been gone for 15 years now.
IF THEY ARE PAID, THEY WON’T BE MOTIVATED TO STUDY AND ARE MORE LIKELY TO DROP OUT OF COLLEGE
BS! The data is clear. The number one reason students drop out of school is not a lack of motivation and it is certainly not having too much money. To the contrary, the number one reason students drop out is cost. So, how is paying them going to dull their interests? The student athlete who only came to make it to the pros is unlikely to graduate whether he/she is paid or not. And still yet, he/she will be enhanced by merely being exposed to the college environment.
Of course the ultimate issue is the non-profit industrial complex of college athletics. Like big time organized religion, it is structured in such a way that allows it to have the protection of being tax exempt while raking in millions of dollars. It is a thinly veiled derivative of the capitalist model and thus inherently prone to such exploitation. Until that is replaced, college athletes ought to be able to do what those who endorse the “free market” system say they believe in, which is to profit off their talents. College sports in America generates revenues in excess of $1 billion annually. The charade of amateurism will no longer be allowed to keep a portion of those revenues away from the primary generators of them, which are the athletic labor.
The cries of the status quo defenders are falling on deaf ears. The reality will soon be that the 5-star football recruit pondering Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, or USC will likely go to sunny Southern Cal, but not just for the sun. That basketball recruit pondering Kentucky, Duke, Carolina, or UCLA will do the same. They won’t be able to beat them so they will have to join them. If they need a nudge, it may come in the way of federal legislation, which is already being crafted by former Ohio State and NFL receiver Anthony Gonzales, who is now an Ohio Congressmen.
This victory did not happen in a vacuum. It is a result of a movement all around the country from graduate students to Walmart and fast food employees to unite against an increasingly oppressive work place. The sleeping giant of exploited labor is waking up. For college athletics as well as other aspects of the the dying capitalist model, the message is clear: the gig is up!
Once upon a time, there was an NBA player named Chuck Person. He was a very good NBA player. He was the 1987 NBA Rookie of the Year and averaged over 14 points per game over a 13-year career. They called him the “Rifleman” because he could flat out shoot. He was one of the great 3-point shooters of his era. Many remember the classic duel between Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins in the 1988 playoffs. Person had his own, less celebrated, showdown with Bird during the 1991 playoffs, during which Person averaged over 26 points per game, clearing 30 in 3 of the 5 games.
Chuck Person had a very good career.
Chuck Person is going to jail!
The “crime” is that he received over $91 thousand to steer players with NBA potential to a Pittsburgh financial advisor without revealing his relationship with the business to the recruits. Part of his plea deal will require him to forfeit that amount. While he has not actually been sentenced…that comes in July…it will be a mere formality. The sentencing guideline recommendation is for 2-2.5 years in federal prison. One typically does at least 90% of his/her federal time. He has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery in a Manhattan federal court. Person is one of four former college basketball assistant coaches to plead guilty to similar charges. They all most certainly will go to jail!
More recently, yet another college sport scandal has been exposed, which alleges that some very wealthy parents have been paying bribes to coaches, admissions employees, and even to imposter test-takers to ensure that their kids get into such elite colleges as the University of
Southern California (USC), Stanford, Georgetown, and Yale. The parents apparently paid $200 thousand and up to $6.5 million to have, their children admitted. In the case of Yale, the allegation is that the soccer coach accepted a $400 thousand bribe to accept an applicant who did not even play soccer.
According to court documents, over 50 have been implicated, among those are the following:
Current Stanford sailing coach John Vandemoer
• Former Yale women’s soccer coach Rudy Meredith
• Former Georgetown tennis coach Gordie Ernst, now at Rhode Island
• Current UCLA men’s soccer coach Jorge Salcedo
• Current Texas men’s tennis coach Michael Center
• Current Wake Forest women’s volleyball coach William “Bill” Ferguson
• Former USC women’s soccer head coach Ali Khosroshahin
• Former USC women’s soccer assistant coach Laura Janke
• Current USC Senior Associate Athletic Director Donna Heinel
• Current USC water polo head coach Jovan Vavic
Other implicated individuals of note include:
Mark Riddell, the Director of College Entrance Exam Preparation at IMG Academy, a private college preparatory school and sports academy in Bradenton, Fla.
• Igor Dvorskiy, the Director of West Hollywood College Prep School
• Actress Lori Loughlin, of Full House fame
• Desperate Housewives actress Felicity Huffman, and…
William “Rick” Singer, CEO of the Edge College and Career Network
The charges could add up to 20 years’ incarceration and a fine of up to $239 thousand, although federal prosecutors have said they will recommend punishment “at the low end of the scale!”
Other than Singer, the alleged mastermind, who has already pleaded guilty to a number of charges to include racketeering, conspiracy, and money laundering, very few of these folks will go to jail.
There are several distinctions to take away from comparing and contrasting these two scandals.
One is more evidence to debunk the myth that merit is the primary ingredient in upward mobility in America. There is a largely false narrative in America that says the haves achieved due to hard work and sacrifice. Subsequently, those who do not achieve have no one to blame but themselves and their own lack of initiative and work ethic. This scandal shows that even those who promote this narrative do not believe it themselves or are acknowledging through their wallet that their kid is a slacker. Or maybe they just feel that all in life should go their way by both birthright and bank account. Their children are born with all the advantages necessary for them to build an academic and life resume that would get them into the schools they want to attend. That was not good enough for their parents. They want it guaranteed or as the political right in America often call an ENTITLEMENT!
Simply put, to use a baseball analogy, even though they have been “born on third base”, they still want to cheat to get home.
Some of these same parents will rail against race-based affirmative action in college admissions, even though it has NEVER been a guarantee.
On the contrary, the student athletes from the first scandal are overwhelmingly from poor backgrounds and participate in the largest revenue generating college sports: football and men’s basketball. Football and basketball athletes, overwhelmingly Black, generate the revenue, which funds the tennis, golf, crew, and lacrosse athletic scholarships, which overwhelmingly go to white students. What that means is that this completely sorry episode is a form of income redistribution.
A silver lining to this all may be a class action suit filed by several students seeking over $5 million in damages and accusing the schools of negligence in guaranteeing the fairness in their admissions processes.
I hope that the Asian students who have joined white student grievances about race-based affirmative action in admissions now realize that Black and Brown folks are not getting the spot at Yale to which they feel entitled.
While I was away, two things happened that hopefully finally put to rest a narrative that never had any credence to begin with: the utterly ridiculous notion that a great college football or basketball team could beat the worst pro teams.
Clemson took the big bad Alabama Crimson Tide to the woodshed.
An unranked Syracuse team went on the road into Cameron Indoor to beat Duke.
This is not to take anything away from Alabama or Duke. The high-level performance of both programs is the gold standard for greatness….at the college level. Leave what is already great alone and stop trying to make it something that it fundamentally is not.
I confess that this is a fun bar room discussion. However, you will have to have been in the bar too long if you actually believe a team of college athletes, even the most talented, at 18-22 years of age, are going to beat a team of GROWN ASS MEN, who play the game for a living.
2001 Miami Hurricanes
Nevertheless, for entertainment purposes only, let us go with the bar room vibe for a minute. The 2001 Miami Hurricanes is the greatest college football team of my lifetime. Consider their depth at running back alone: Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, and Frank Gore. Other future NFL stars included Johnathan Vilma, DJ Williams (his father and uncle were teammates of mine), Ed Reed, Vince Wilfork, Bryant McKinnie, Jeremy Shockey, and Kellen Winslow Jr. So, with that talent, how can I be so sure that it would not have stood a chance against the Carolina Panthers or Detroit Lions, who won a combined three games between them that year? Two words: Ken Dorsey. He was their QB and very good at the COLLEGE LEVEL. However, he was a total dud at the pro level. In other words, he could not beat anyone once he did become a pro. Why on Earth would you believe that he could beat pro teams while he was still in college?
On even the greatest and most talent-rich college team, maybe a 3rd of the starters become NFL players of any note. Simply put, most college starters, even at the highest level, simply are not good enough to play professionally. But you believe that they would beat the pros?
GTFOOHWTBS!
Let us consider basketball. The gold standard historically is without question the Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar) era UCLA Bruins. He was there from 1966-69 and I am positive that we will never see another team dominate college basketball as it did. The worst team in the NBA during the 1968-69 season was the Phoenix Suns, winning only 16 games. Yet that team had seven players average double-figures, led by a future Hall of Famer named Gail Goodrich. UCLA would not have stood a chance. Jabbar was going to be Jabbar. Pros could not have stopped him as a freshman. However, they would not beat pro teams.
The only exception to this rule…and it would only be for one game, would be baseball. A college baseball team with a young stud like Roger Clemons from Texas or Sandy Koufax out of Cincinnati, on the rare days he had his control at that stage of his development, could shut down a professional batting lineup. However, no college team will have more than one.
I guess what baffles me most of all is why do we even care? Why this obsession with forcing apples to compete with oranges? Can’t we just appreciate the greatness of Serena Williams and the Lady UConn Huskies basketball team without asking could they beat men?
Greatness is too rare to be subjected to steroid-laced hypotheticals for our unquenchable amusement. Alabama is the the greatest college football dynasty ever. Duke has been the most high performing college basketball program for 30 years. That is good enough for me.
As college football goes, this is rivalry week. Alabama vs. Auburn is among many that rarely disappoint.
However, some of these matchups that folks have been convinced are rivalries are overhyped frauds. I am going to list the biggest four, but to get where I am coming from, you have to know what makes up a rivalry. There are six primary elements: history; familiarity; regional proximity; greatness of the players; fan passion; and competitive balance. Now a good rivalry need not necessarily have all of these elements. For example, the Steelers and Raiders, 49ers and Cowboys have history, but familiarity has dropped because they do not necessarily play every year, as opposed to Dallas and Washington. Regional proximity makes them compelling, but USC and Notre Dame, as well as the Celtics and Lakers have proven that regional proximity is not a necessity. In fact, it can be overplayed, as was the case in Northern Cal when I was growing up. Cal-Berkeley vs. Stanford was considered “the big game”. I could never understand what was so big about a game between two teams with a combined record of 4-14.
The one of these six elements that is necessary for a full-fledge, hype-deserving rivalry is competitive balance.
That is the factor missing from the four biggest frauds on the rivalry Mt. Rushmore.
FRAUD RIVALRY 1) Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson:
Photo Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
I know they have the $9 million match play on Friday and the $200K side bet that “Phil Appeal” would birdie the first hole. Far be it for me to deny an interest in an ill action, so I may tune in for that alone. However, to call it a rivalry is an insult to rivalries. It has been reasonably close when they have been paired, with Woods holding an 18-15-2 edge. That is the end of the statistical balance. Though they have both played in nearly all four majors since 1997, they have finished first and second in only one major (the 2002 U.S. Open, won by Woods, by three strokes over Michelson). Their careers for wins has Tiger with 14 majors to Phil’s 5, and 80 tour wins to Phil’s 43.
What rivalry?
When Tiger and Phil are paired together atop the leader board on a Sunday of a major, then give me a call.
FRAUD RIVALRY 2) Serena vs. Maria:
Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
It should have been great. When 17-year-old Maria Sharapova took two of her first three matches from the undisputed number 1 Serena Williams in 2004, it included an absolute beat down of the Queen at the Wimbledon finals. There was every reason to believe that it would be a great rivalry for years to come. Since that year, Serena has beaten Maria like a drum, to the tune of 18 matches in a row, 15 of them in straight sets. The only reason Maria broke the streak is that Serena retired due to injury in this year’s French Open. Serena has twice as many tour wins (72-36) and over four times as many majors (23-5). Rivalry? GTFOOHWTBS.
FRAUD RIVALRY 3) Patriots and the Steelers:
Photo courtesy of Inside the Pylon
It pains me to point this out, and I may be risking sedition charges at the hands of the council of Steeler Nation. But the record is what the record is. During the Belichick/Brady era, my Steelers are 3-10 against the Patriots, including 0-3 in playoffs. Their only win in New England was when Brady was hurt. Five of the losses have been in Pittsburgh. Stevie Wonder could see that this is not much of a rivalry.
FRAUD RIVALRY 4) LeBron vs MJ:
Photo courtesy of Type One
I suppose if we include social media and/or a bar to be qualifiers, this would be a real rivalry. We cannot. Cyberspace is no more of a venue for a rivalry than porn is for one’s Walter Mitty sexual exploits; NEITHER IS REAL! How on Earth could there be a rivalry when the two never competed against one another? Their careers have literally never even overlapped. Jordan’s last year was the year before LeBron’s debut. They do not even play the same position.
It is easy to understand how these four have come to be presented as something their records clearly show that they are not; ratings! All are marquee within their sports and even beyond, and all move the marketing meter. I get it. But let’s not get carried away, least we take away from real rivalries such as Duke and North Carolina, or my Giants and the Dodgers, etc. The good news is that an overhyped rivalry can get an upgrade. Until 1985, the Lakers and Celtics was overhyped. Then the mighty Purple and Gold put that work in on the lil green bas##@$&. Until 2004 the Yankees and Red Sox was overhyped, until the Red Sox gave the pin stripes the business and have been doing so ever since. Until last year, the Penguins and Capitals was overhyped. You know it is not a real rivalry when only one side of fans is obsessed with it, while the other side just takes winning for granted. That is how Penguins fans felt when they met the Caps in the playoffs……….until last year. Now it is a good rivalry. Nothing gets the attention of an arrogant fan base more than when your team unexpectedly beats them. So none of the above is eternally locked into fraud rivalry purgatory. However, one must change the narrative and the only way to do that is to start winning.
So, here’s to hoping that the Michigan Wolverines read this and finally beats the Ohio State Buckeyes this weekend. Otherwise, that rivalry may be soon on this list.
The investigation about the domestic abuse of Courtney Smith by her then husband, a receivers coach, institutional bystander behavior and attempts to cover up both at Ohio State is complete. As disturbing as the actual findings are, is the fact that the outcomes and “sanctions” or lack thereof, were so foreseeable?
The simple explanation for what did and did not happen is C.R.E.A.M., the acronym many of you know to mean, “Cash Rules Everything Around Me!”
To that end, the fact that there were 115 deaths statewide due to domestic violence in Ohio in 2017 played little to no role in the decisions about accountability. The fact that the football program generates about $90 million per year and is deemed by the Wall Street Journal to be worth about $1 billion if up for sale on the open market, is seemingly all that mattered. Simply put, short of Aaron Hernandez-like murder charges, there was NEVER a time when Coach Urban Meyer was in danger of losing his job. A 73-8 record with a National Title in College football is the equivalent of Teflon.
Speaking of the late convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez, Meyer actually coached him at Florida, where Hernandez was one of 31 different players arrested during Meyer’s tenure…a tenure that included two national titles. Therefore, it is safe to say that at two different venues, Urban Meyer has presided over a football culture that would seem to be relatively permissive at best.
It is hard to know where to start with this episode of ‘The Cesspool of CREAM called College Football’, but for contextual understanding, let us talk about Title 9. It was established in 1972 and largely deals with the issue of gender equity on college campuses. It has been instrumental in expanding athletic opportunities for women. Study after study has shown that women who participate in sports tend to have higher self-esteem and are less likely to find themselves in abusive relationships. It also charges a college to provide a safe and abuse-free environment by requiring any college employee to report instances of alleged abuse to the college’s compliance office. There are exceptions to this requirement called confidential reporters, which typically are counselors, health care professionals, attorneys, and their staff.
No coach or athletic director ever falls under that umbrella, and both Meyer and Athletic Director Gene Smith knew this.
As for the “punishment” of a three-game suspension for Meyer, think of it this way: when former Ohio State QB Terrell Pryor and several of his teammates traded memorabilia for tattoos, they were suspended for five games. But in a state where nearly 20 people a month die from domestic abuse, the University saw fit to sanction an enabler of such abuse with a three game suspension?
Let that sink in for a moment.
There are at least two things that Ohio State and other such programs can do about this issue immediately; 1) in the hiring process, never ignore the red flags of an abuser. Human behavior is relatively predictable IF we review the history and resist cherry picking or denying information. While there are exceptions to every rule, abusers largely do not change. Meyer knew more than enough about this assistant when he was with him at Florida, to know the risk, and even if he didn’t, a program with a $109 million budget can surely do a thorough background check…if it wants to; and 2) immediately began a college-wide ‘Bringing in the Bystander’ training sessions, which show bystanders how to effectively intervene in cases of intimate partner abuse. I am proud to say that my employer, Montgomery College, conducts these trainings for all incoming athletes and as many other students as our volunteer resources allow. But the reality is that Montgomery Community College is not generating $90 million a year through its athletics, which bring us back to the primary culprit: the Cesspool of CREAM.
In some ways, big-time college sports, like mega religious institutions, have the best of both worlds in that they can generate enormous amounts of money without being accountable in the ways commercial for-profit entities are. They pay no taxes. Short of a ‘death penalty’, such as what was endured by Southern Methodist University in the 1980’s, I do not see any deterrent or incentive for big-time college football programs that will counter the profit motive. This challenge is beyond sports and manifests itself on all levels of society, from Wall Street to Health Care. There are two kinds of verifiable power in America: organized money and organized people. Ohio State and other big college football programs are a part of organized money. It is our responsibility, be we sports fans or not, to organize as people to counter organized money interests by insuring, among other things, that the provisions of Title 9 are adhered to within the college setting. Otherwise, who will intervene on behalf of the Courtney Smiths of the world?
In the wake of learning more about the circumstances that led up to the tragic death of Maryland
offensive lineman Jordan McNair from heat stroke related exhaustion, I was ready to write a column
that defined exactly what toxic culture is and why it should be called out and resisted at every turn.
After all, a 19-year old young man is dead.
Not hurt: one assumes the risk of injuries when playing football. The game cannot be made safe.
Not paralysis: one assumes the risk of that as well, though it is tragic when it happens.
But surely no player or parents can reasonably be expected to accept death as a likely or probable
outcome from playing football, and for this to happened would seem to lend credence that only a
toxic culture would be permissible enough to allow.
Basic factors of the neglect such as not cooling the body down at the first signs of heat stroke or
waiting an entire hour after a seizure before calling the paramedics support the notion as well.
The family of McNair, with good reason, has hired superstar attorney Billy Murphy, in preparation for
a wrongful death suit against the University. Anyone that knows Maryland, will tell you that Murphy
is the closest thing in the area to Johnny Cochran. He is a mover and shaker and feared by both
police and corporate entities. Murphy has already called for Maryland coach DJ Durken to be shown
the door following the primary culprit, strength coach Rick Court.
So the stage is set for the typical corporate/organizational reaction, which goes about as described
thus far. Then denials of any wrong doing by the university, which then only attracts more external
scrutiny, that demands a pound of flesh…as it should.
You see the typical response to such happenings, be they of an institution or individual, is to go into
CYA mode, straight from the Scandal 101 playbook. It’s next to never about finding truth. It’s about
damage control over the damage itself. Because it is not about a finding of truth, what typically
happens is that a few mid-management folks are thrown under the bus, regardless of their culpability
(in this case, I can’t see a plausible defense for Durken). A few reforms of protocol will be put in
place, which usually do more to simply push the cultural toxicity underground than to uproot it, and
the institution proceeds over time to “just get past it”.
One of the best and yet pathetic examples of such institutional behavior is the Catholic Church.
Its latest is currently unfolding in Pennsylvania, where the behavioral pattern of abusing children and
then covering it up is on display. Insult to injury is the fact that if a priest abuses children, he is
transferred and unlikely to be held criminally accountable. But if a priest steals from the church, he
will go directly to jail! PROFIT OVER PEOPLE prevails yet again!
But a funny thing happened on the way to the standard script:
The University of Maryland refused to play its part.
In a press conference, University President Wallace D. Loh not only apologized to the family but took
moral and legal responsibility for McNair’s death. Of course this was the right thing to do, but it next
to never happens.
This was the equivalent of a vehicular manslaughter suspect admitting that he was driving the car
intoxicated. To do so is to make his own conviction a slam dunk and make himself liable for both criminal and civil
consequences. As a result, human nature being what it is, very rarely does an institution or
individual actually do this….even if they know full well that they are indeed responsible.
There are two primary reasons people and institutions are reluctant to admit when they are wrong;
one is ego, which is more prevalent among individuals. The other is liability, which is more common
among institutions.
Maryland’s actions will not save it from liability, nor should they. So why the change in script?
Some will contend that Maryland’s mea culpa was a desperate attempt by the president and athletic
director to save their jobs. Still others might say their admission was aimed at mitigating possible
NCAA sanctions, in the hopes of avoiding a Penn State-like fate.
As cynical as those reasons may sound, they are possible.
I would like to believe that this one time, a powerful American organizational entity is doing the right
thing, regardless of the price, simply because it is the right thing to do and in doing so, can possibly
reverse a sorry trend by its contemporaries, such as the Catholic Church.
Simply put, when such tragedies occur, you don’t need Olivia Pope to do the right thing. An honest
process of candid self-assessment, though difficult and expensive, will serve the aggrieved family,
the institution, and society in general, much better.
I missed a call the other day from my brother who is also a big sports fan. He left a 3-word message that said more than we could have said in an actual hour conversation.
The message was: “ALABAMA IS ALABAMA!”
He was of course referring to the Alabama Crimson Tide smothering the Clemson Tigers 24-6. The same Clemson Tigers that were the defending national champs could not even score a touchdown against Alabama.
Why is Alabama, Alabama? That answer is easy: head coach Nick Saban, who has 4 national titles there and will field a team to win a 5th on Monday against SEC rival Georgia.
His track record extends beyond Alabama, which is a card-carrying college football blue blood. Saban began his coaching career at Toledo in 1990 and went 9-2. In 1989, that same program won 6 games. In 1991, after Sabin left to be Bill Belichik’s defensive coordinator in Cleveland, it won 5 games.
After a stint at Michigan State with moderate success, Sabin went to LSU where he would lead them to essentially a co-national title, along with my USC Trojans in 2003.
Who knows how good of an NFL coach he would have been had he stuck it out or had the Miami Dolphins not passed on Drew Brees.
So, Saban’s resume is clear and even the most die-hard Auburn Tigers fan would not dare question his greatness. What fascinates me is, how does he do this?
Never trust the pundits or self-proclaimed coaching gurus to answer that question. If they knew, they would be doing the same or bottling the formula for sale.
Sure, there are other great coaches. “The” Ohio State’s Urban Meyer actually has a significantly better bowl record than Saban and isn’t far behind him in any other category. But every now and then, the Buckeyes will simply lay an egg, such as was the case this year when they gave up 55 points to an average Iowa team, or when they were shut out last year in the playoffs to eventual champion Clemson.
You can’t find those games in Saban’s time at Alabama. Search for yourself. It won’t take long, since under him the Mighty Tide is now 131-20 over 11 years. Let that sink in for just a moment. In the toughest conference in college football, even if some of you still resists acknowledging this, Nick Saban’s teams haven’t even lost 2 games a year. Sure, he loses games. Only non-participants are spared that fate. What his teams at Alabama don’t have are total throw away games. When they lose, they simply get beat. His teams are ready to play every week.
Having been in education for nearly 25 years and also having coached myself, I can tell you from actual experience that keeping a group of 18-19-20 something young men focused enough to avoid such let downs is not only short of a miracle, it’s a biological aberration. By that I mean that the last part of the brain to develop is the frontal lobe, which is responsible for impulse control, executive functioning, and appropriate social and emotional responses. It is essentially to the brain what brakes are to a car, and in males it typically is not fully developed until about 24-25 on average.
This explains why, based on biology alone, we can foresee much of the unpredictable behaviors in the pre-24 male age group. We often wonder, “What was he thinking?”. The answer often is that he wasn’t thinking. Thus, inconsistent behavior is the norm.
You simply don’t see this in Nick Saban coached teams.
In looking at Saban’s educational background, he earned a BA degree in Business and a Masters’ degree in Sports Administration, both from Kent State. That might explain his elite organizational competence and even his capacity as a salesman, which gets buy-in from the youth he recruits. But there is also a psychology necessary in that no sales pitch is cookie cutter. The ability to understand personality nuance from athlete to athlete or student to student is indeed rare among coaches and educators of all types.
Some will say Alabama gets the best talent. Yes and no. Alabama certainly gets the cream of the crop at every position…except the most important position, which is quarterback. Not one of Nick Saban’s QBs at Alabama has gone on to distinguish himself in the NFL. The best eventual professional QB he has ever had was Tony Banks at Michigan State. The same Tony Banks that could not hold off Trent Dilfer from taking his job with the 2000 eventual super bowl champion Ravens. Nick Saban even managed to make Matt Flynn and JaMarcus Russell look like viable NFL starting QBs. Either both the brass of the Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders were idiots or Nick Saban is a coaching magician.
Ok, in the Raiders case, it’s more likely the former. LOL
I don’t know if we will ever have a comprehensive answer to how Nick Saban does what he does. I do know that we are witnessing greatness on a high level that we may never see again in college football. Even those of us who are not fans of Alabama should appreciate it while we can.
For the most part, sports are the closest thing in American society to a genuine transparent meritocracy. Unlike other areas of American life where who you know, race, class etc. are as much or more relevant than ability, this is not the case in American sports. If you cannot play, none of the above noted factors will save you. Furthermore, from a team concept, if you accomplish predetermined goals, you are guaranteed via systemic triggers the opportunity to go further. This is reflected by winning your division or conference to qualify for a PLAYOFF.
The only team sport in America that has no such structural system is major college football.
Enter the University of Central Florida (UCF) Knights.
They completed an undefeated season in which they never scored less than 31 points in a game. Still yet, there was a better chance of Donald Trump showing humility than there was for UCF to make it to the college football “playoffs”. Even Ohio State, which was beaten handily in both of its TWO losses, was going ahead of undefeated UCF. Am I suggesting UCF was better than Ohio State? No! But then again, I did not believe that the 2010 7-9 Seattle Seahawks would beat the defending super bowl champion New Orleans Saints. They did and in doing so, treated us to one of the greatest runs in NFL history by Marshawn Lynch. We would have never seen that under the college football “system”. Likely outcomes are not the issue. Systemically guaranteed opportunity is, and college football does not allow for this in spite of how often we tout the feel-good underdog narrative.
Some will argue that UCF is in a weak conference and played a weak schedule. I agree…but that is a woefully incomplete analysis that assumes this reality was completely within their control. It isn’t. Colleges are contractually bound to their conferences and to leave for a more competitive conference, one must pay a costly exit fee. Even if the college decided to pay the fee, it would need another conference that wanted it…or should I say wanted the Orlando, Florida TV market, because that is the issue more so than the quality of the program. The SouthEastern Conference couldn’t care less about Texas A&M or Missouri as football programs. It did care about the Houston and St. Louis TV markets. That was even truer of the Big Ten’s courting of Maryland. It was all about the Washington DC TV market.
So, could UCF strengthen its non-conference schedule? Not likely…especially after a season like the one just completed. Think about it, if they call in-state powers Miami, Florida State, or Florida for a home and home two-year series, why would either of them accept? There is nothing for either of them to gain and everything to lose because they are supposed to win the game.
So, what it comes down to is no matter what UCF did, they NEVER had a remote chance of making it to the college football final four or playoffs. No amount of hard work on their part was going to change that reality because the system is structurally biased in favor of the “haves” in the form of the 5 power conferences, to which UCF does not belong.
So too is the larger American capitalistic economic system in favor of the “haves”.
The latest example was this week when CVS pharmacy bought Aetna Insurance for $69 billion. It’s the first time in American history that we have seen the merger of a retail pharmacy chain, an insurance company, and a pharmacy benefit manager. This acquisition will accelerate the extinction of the small family owned pharmacy and there is absolutely no amount of hard work alone on the part of that small family pharmacy that will stop this process.
That small pharmacy has about as much of a chance surviving as UCF did of making to the playoffs.
So, it’s clear both in big time college football and the larger American business world that hard work alone is not enough to maximize one’s potential. The question is: why do we keep promoting the myth that it is? Why aren’t we willing to be honest enough to say, be it to UCF in college football or that small pharmacy, that the system is structurally rigged and we must dedicate continuous energy to changing that system?
I am not suggesting that hard work is irrelevant. It is in fact a significant part of the formula for success, both individually and collectively. It just is not the only ingredient.
The good news is that the big-time college football system has actually improved. There was a time when tradition alone dictated the college football champion via bowl match-ups and the number 1 and 2 teams were not guaranteed to meet. Then, due to fan demand, they moved to a system that guaranteed the top two teams would meet. Today it’s determined, albeit subjectively, that the top 4 teams will play one another for the title. I suspect eventually that the current format will be extended to 8 teams. While it’s still very flawed, it is moving in the right direction because fans demanded it move.
If we want to transform American meritocracy from myth to reality we must demand it as much as college football fans have steadfastly demanded a playoff system.
As Frederick Douglas said, “Power Concedes Nothing without a Demand. It never did and it never will”.
Signing day and Spring Football have come to an end and the dog days of summer are here which means preseason ranking season has arrived as many of the top teams in the nation wrap up their spring semester and hit the practice field for summer workouts and practices. With no football until September there is a ton to talk about and we will gladly start here.
Alabama:
2016 record: 14-1, 8-0 SEC
Way-Too-Early Last ranking: 1
Returning starters: 6 offense, 5 defense, 1 special teams
The motivation behind this season is clear. The Crimson lost a heartbreaking national title to the arm and legs of one DeShaun Watson and now the Tide are hungrier than ever to reclaim their throne at the top of the college football world. Former New England Patriots assistant Brian Daboll is tasked with taking over the offense and taking Sophomore Quarterback Jalen Hurts to the next level as a passer. Bo Scarborough, Damien Harris and Josh Jacobs will share carries while 5-Star Freshman Najee Harris looks to find his place in the rotation. Junior Calvin Ridley should garner All-America honors, with seniors Cam Sims and Robert Foster and freshman Jerry Jeudy rounding out the key targets. Jonah Williams will move from Right to Left Tackle. The secondary will be the strength of the defense featuring versatile defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick will flip between safety and corner and will be accompanied by backfield mate Ronnie Harrison and seniors Anthony Averett and Tony Brown returning at cornerback.
An early season test vs Florida State in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta to kick off the season will tell us all we need to know about this iteration of the
Ohio State:
2016 record: 11-2, 8-1 Big Ten
Returning starters: 8 offense, 7 defense, 0 special teams
The Buckeyes were a year ahead last based on the returning talent and they still made another appearance in the CFP. This time around they are primed and ready with a more than stacked defense led by Tyquan Lewis, Sam Hubbard, Jalyn Holmes and Nick Bosa on the defensive line J.T. Barrett and the offense struggled in the passing game in 2016 but have shown some improvement under new offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson. Running back Demario McCall and receiver Johnnie Dixon showed big play ability in the spring game and should be involved heavily going forward
Key Early Season Matchup: vs Oklahoma, September 9th, 2017
Florida State:
2016 record: 10-3, 5-3 ACC
Returning starters: 7 offense, 9 defense, 2 special teams
Jimbo Fisher did a masterful job with the pieces or lack thereof that he had last year, notching his 5th straight double digit win season. Quarterback Deandre Francois was the toughest signal caller in the nation and all the hits and busted offensive line assignments will pay off because it’s time for him to break out. The offensive line is still a project but if they can protect Francois expect explosive plays all season long. Freshman running back Cam Akers went off for 102 yards in the spring game, which has to give the coaching staff some confidence. Derwin James who missed last season with a left meniscus tear and looks to be primed and ready to wreak havoc on the ACC will lead the defense. An early season test against #1 Alabama on September second in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta will tell us about the Noles early.
USC
2016 record: 10-3, 7-2 Pac-12
Returning starters: 6 offense, 8 defense, 2 special teams
The hype behind the Trojans is on a level not seen since the Pete Carrol/Reggie Bush/Matt Lienhart era. The Trojans started out slow last season until they made switch from Max Browne to Sam Darnald and their fortunes quickly changed. Darnold is receiving looks from the NFL but his focus has to stay with the Trojans for at least another year. This team is very young and inexperienced and can’t drop the injury bug. Toa Lobendahn, Viane Talamaivao and Steven Mitchell all missed spring practice, while Porter Gustin, Deontay Burnett, Chuma Edoga and Kenny Bigelow, among others, dealt with health issues. The Trojans might be the best team in the nation but we need to see more before we jump on the hype train.
Penn State
2016 record: 11-3, 8-1 Big Ten
Returning starters: 9 offense, 7 defense, 2 special teams
The Nittany Lions under James Franklin have resurrected quickly and after upsetting Ohio State last season they didn’t turn back. The Nittany Lions return all but one starter on the offensive line, Saquon Barkley will contend for a ton of hardware while Trace McSorley will be the heart and soul of this team. The Big Ten just might be for the taking if they can survive their midseason stretch of Michigan (Oct 21st), Ohio State (Oct 28th) and Michigan St (Nov 4th).
Clemson
2016 record: 14-1, 7-1 ACC
Returning starters: 5 offense, 7 defense, 1 special teams
Clemson climbed the mountain and slayed the evil Saban. Now the journey of being defending champions begins and unlike many defending champions, a large majority of the pieces aren’t returning so Dabo Swinney will have to rely on some new names and faces. Junior Kelly Bryant exited spring as the frontrunner to succeed Watson. A loaded front seven will take the pressure off until he is ready to lead this team.
Washington
2016 record: 12-2, 8-1 Pac-12
Returning starters: 7 offense, 7 defense, 1 special teams
The Huskies have tasted success under coach Christ Petersen en route to a birth in the CFP. Jake Browning returns under center and in case you missed it, this offense is loaded. John Ross ran his way into the NFL but Dante Pettis and Chico McClatcher return, as do RBs Myles Gaskin and Lavon Coleman. The defense was hit hard but a viable pass rush behind Vita Vea and Greg Gaines should be enough.
Oklahoma
2016 record: 11-2, 9-0 Big 12
Returning starters: 8 offense, 7 defense, 2 special teams
Every year Oklahoma comes in highly touted and every year they disappoint despite the talent on the roster. The offensive line is one of the best in the country but without Biletnikoff Award winner DeDe Westbrook and backfield tandem Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine the offense will take some time to gel early. With Ohio State looming early in September the Sooners will need to get things going quickly.
Oklahoma State
2016 record: 10-3, 7-2 Big 12
Returning starters: 7 offense, 6 defense, 1 special teams
QB Mason Rudolph turned the NFL and for a good reason. LSU transfer WR Tyron Johnson joins a stacked receiving corps led by James Washington should light up the scoreboard. Don’t expect much defense from the Cowboys so shootouts galore will be the storyline week to week. Fun times in Big 12 country.
Auburn
2016 record: 8-5, 5-3 SEC
Returning starters: 9 offense, 8 defense, 1 special teams
Auburn has had a ferocious defense for the last few years when healthy but the offense has been so pedestrian that we hardly notice. Baylor transfer Jarrett Stidham looks to change that and coach Gus Malzahn is in full support as he allowed him to sling it around the yard in the Tigers Spring Game. Kamryn Pettway is college football's leading returning rusher, pair him with Kerryon Johnson and you have one heck of a backfield.
Michigan
2016 record: 10-3, 7-2 Big Ten
Returning starters: 4 offense, 1 defense, 0 special teams
Jabrill Peppers and 10 other draftees are gone so now that the previous regimes hold overs are gone, it’s time to see if the Wolverines take a step back or take the Big Ten back from Ohio State. Former No. 1 recruit DE Rashan slides into a starting role. If incumbent starting QB Wilton Speight can improve as a passer, the Wolverines could be formidable.
Wisconsin
2016 record: 11-3, 7-2 Big Ten
Returning starters: 7 offense, 7 defense, 1 special teams
The Badgers had one of the toughest schedules last season. In 2017, they avoid Ohio State and Penn State but crossover match ups against Michigan and at Nebraska will be challenging. Sophomore QB Alex Hornibrook has to improve his timing and anticipation for him to be successful. All-America tight end Troy Fumagalli will be one of Hornibrooks favorite targets and the combination of Bradrick Shaw, Chris James and Taiwan Deal should be enough to compensate for the loss of running back Corey Clement.
LSU
2016 record: 8-4, 5-3 SEC
Returning starters: 7 offense, 5 defense, 1 special teams
The Ed Orgeron era begins with a bang as potential Heisman contender Derrius Guice runs behind a stout offensive line. It will be up to QB Danny Etling to take in new offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s offense. The defense should be stout if DL Arden Key gets going. While it may not be pretty in Baton Rouge, it should be effective.
Georgia
2016 record: 8-5, 4-4 SEC
Returning starters: 7 offense, 10 defense, 2 special teams
The first year under Kirby Smart went about as expected. Freshman Quarterback, injuries and inconsistences on defense due to youth and injuries will drive any coach mad. Jacob Eason is a year older and further in the system and should improve. Nick Chubb and Sony Michel are both healthy but the offensive line has to improve.
Stanford
2016 record: 10-3, 6-3 Pac-12
Returning starters: 7 offense, 9 defense, 1 special teams
The formula hasn’t changed in Palo Alto. Smash mouth football with a tough offensive line will be in full effect. The cast of characters will change as Christian McCaffrey has moved on and Bryce Love is now the guy. David Shaw has his work cut out for him.
Louisville
2016 record: 9-4, 7-1 ACC
Returning starters: 5 offense, 7 defense, 2 special teams
The Cardinals dropped their last three games including getting shellacked by LSU in the bowl game. Former Florida Gators assistant Mike Summers is back to help with the offensive line after Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson was sacked 46 times last season. Bobby Petrino has Jackson working more under center and going through more progressions as he reads routes down the field. The defense lost CB Shaq Wiggins to transfer and that is only the beginning of the issues that plague the Cardinals porous defense.
Kansas State
2016 record: 9-4, 6-3 Big 12
Returning starters: 8 offense, 6 defense, 2 special teams
Bill Snyder, who is coaching while undergoing treatment for throat cancer. Quarterback Jesse Ertz returns along with four offensive linemen, and Kansas State hosts West Virginia and Oklahoma. The schedule is set up to make a run at a Big 12 Championship
Florida
2016 record: 9-4, 6-2 SEC
Returning starters: 9 offense, 5 defense, 2 special teams
Former Miami Hurricanes Head Coach takes over as the Gators Defensive Coordinator which means the Gators should have a hyper aggressive defense which it will need to make a splash when they face Michigan at Jerry World. The Offensive line will be anchored by Martez Ivey. The quarterback position has been an issue since Tim Tebow walked the halls and as the QB battle ensues, Feleipe Franks seems to have the lead on Kyle Trask but only time will tell in a battle that could go to the wire.
South Florida
2016 record: 11-2, 7-1 AAC
Returning starters: 7 offense, 9 defense, 2 special teams
New Head Coach Charlie Strong inherits dynamic quarterback Quinton Flowers. As a junior in 2016, Flowers threw for 2,812 yards and 24 scores and accounted for 1,530 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground. The defense gave up 31.6 points per game last season but should improve with the arrival of Strong who is an expert on that side of the ball.
Miami, Fla.
2016 record: 9-4, 5-3 ACC
Returning starters: 6 offense, 8 defense, 1 special teams
The Canes showed some promise in 2016 under Mark Richt. Now Richt will be tasked with finding a new signal caller to replace Brad Kaaya who went on to the NFL. Malik Rozier is the only one with experience and once heralded recruit Jack Allison has transferred. Freshman N’Kosi Perry may put some pressure on Rozier in summer. Whoever the quarterback is they will inherit explosive perimeter players in budding receiver and freshman All-American Ahmmon Richard and Braxton Berrios with Mark Walton in the backfield. Nine starters return on defense that was young but productive late in the season. The baby Canes should blossom if they can get past Florida State on September 16th. Beware Canes fans, this is a work in progress.
West Virginia
2016 record: 10-3, 7-2 Big 12
Returning starters: 4 offense, 3 defense, 2 special teams
The hype surrounding former Florida quarterback Will Grier who transferred to WVU a year ago is uncanny. Completing 12 of 18 passes for 202 yards, and drawing praise from coach Dana Holgorsen for his command of the offense, expect huge numbers from the offense as this could be one of the best redemption stories of the year. One starter returns on
Texas
2016 record: 5-7, 3-6 Big 12
Returning starters: 8 offense, 10 defense, 1 special teams
Tom Herman is in year one looks to energize an offense that looked pedestrian at times. Shane Buchele isn’t in the clear yet with Sam Ehlinger coming in to challenge for the position. Texas has 10 returning starters and several other contributors back in the fold. Expect a slight turn around but this process could be slower than expected.
Mississippi State
2016 record: 6-7, 3-5 SEC
Returning starters: 6 offense, 4 defense, 1 special teams
Don’t let the record fool you. Dan Mullen’s Bulldogs are a solid team just waiting to jump on any team that is taking them too lightly. QB Nick Fitzgerald quietly led the SEC in total yards last season. He needs to improve as a passer but that will come in time. Redshirt freshman CB Cameron Dantzler emerged in the spring, joining JUCO S Brian Cole in a potentially ball-hawking secondary. JUCO DT Deion Pope could be another big addition for new coordinator Todd Grantham.
Washington State
2016 record: 8-5, 7-2 Pac-12
Returning starters: 7 offense, 9 defense, 2 special teams
Luke Falk is back for another season and so is All-American G Cody O’Connell. The Cougars offense should be high flying as any Mike Leach lead team is but the question is can the defense step up and hold teams to a respectable score so that the offense isn’t in a shootout every week. We don’t know that yet so for now the Cougs need to earn their way around these parts.
Boise State
2016 record: 10-3, 6-2 Mountain West
Returning starters: 5 offense, 6 defense, 0 special teams
Quarterback Brett Rypien entering his third season as a starter. Boise State has to replace star tailback Jeremy McNichols, who ran for 1,709 yards with 23 touchdowns last season, and his expected replacement, Alexander Mattison, missed the spring after undergoing shoulder surgery. The Broncos were looking for two new starting linebackers, and then senior Joe Martarano, the expected starter in the middle, left the team to pursue baseball. Junior college transfer Michael Young emerged as a potential starter at one of the cornerback spots.
