Tag: sports

Back to 14

After watching parts of two nearly unwatchable wildcard games yesterday, I feel more strongly than ever that it is time to go back to the 14-game regular season and eight playoff teams.

I understand there is, for the time being, more money to be made from 16 games and 12 teams. But once something peaks, it either contracts sensibly in a cyclical manner or it collapses. The NFL should be thinking long term, as the demographic trends are against it, the quarterback-development breakdown in the NCAA is against it, and everything points to contraction eventually being the order of the day.

Not every move the Goodell-era NFL has been made is bad. The concussion protocol is sensible, the eight four-team divisions are great, and the emphasis on the divisional rivalries has helped maintain interest beyond the largely meaningless scramble for the last two playoff spots. Does it really matter who the two sacrificial lambs are when they only have a chance if the other team is starting its untested third-string quarterback?

If Goodell wants to really put his stamp on the game in a positive manner, he’ll focus on making the game stronger rather than mindlessly chasing dollars until the entire edifice collapses. The problem is that the NFL is still thinking in terms of expansion when the situation has changed and they should be thinking in terms of maintaining what they have.

This will serve as today’s wildcard-round post. One hopes the games will be better than yesterday’s.

Told ya

Remember when Ronda Rousey claimed she was good enough to not only fight Floyd Mayweather, but beat him? That was every bit as dumb as everyone who knows anything about women’s martial arts capabilities said it was at the time:

Ronda Rousey was once again pummeled by a striker and lost her second consecutive bout. The former women’s bantamweight champion was completely outclassed in the striking game by Amanda Nunes, who stopped Rousey at 48 seconds of the first round to retain her women’s bantamweight championship in the main event of UFC 207 at T-Mobile Arena.

Nunes landed a big right just seconds into the fight that clearly hurt Rousey, who was fighting for the first time since a stunning defeat at the hands of Holly Holm on Nov. 14, 2015.

Rousey tried to throw punches with Nunes, but she had nothing to offer. Nunes was blistering her with combinations, hitting her with virtually everything she threw.

As I said at the time, Rousey not only couldn’t last a round with Floyd, she couldn’t last a round with me. Even trained women are weaker than 13 year-old-boys, they’re much slower than 13-year-old boys, and they don’t take punches as well.

Remember that. Every time you talk about how the latest female fighter du jour can take on a champion boxer or whoever, you’re essentially claiming that a really tough 11-year-old can beat the man. It’s not merely wrong to do so, it’s stupid and dangerous.

And notice that Nunes landed 23 of 35 strikes on a largely defenseless Rousey, but still didn’t put her down.

NFL Week 15

Word is that AD is back. Frankly, I’d prefer he’d stay out for the rest of the season and get completely healthy, but as this might be his last one in purple, it will be nice to see him play.

Fighting for due process

The Minnesota Golden Gophers take a strong stand for due process for college men:

Minnesota football players announced Thursday night that they were boycotting all football activities in the wake of the suspensions this week of 10 teammates. The school did not specify the reasons for the suspensions in Tuesday’s announcement. Ray Buford Sr., the father of defensive back Ray Buford Jr., one of the suspended players, said Wednesday the suspensions resulted from a Title IX investigation conducted by the university into an alleged sexual assault, which was separate from a police investigation into the alleged assault in the early hours of Sept. 2.

The other suspended players are sophomore running back Carlton Djam; freshman quarterback Seth Green; sophomore defensive back KiAnte Hardin; redshirt freshman defensive back Dior Johnson; freshman defensive lineman Tamarion Johnson; junior running back Kobe McCrary; sophomore defensive back Antonio Shenault; freshman quarterback Mark Williams; and freshman defensive back Antoine Winfield Jr.

In a statement read by senior wide receiver Drew Wolitarsky, the players said: “The boycott will remain effective until due process is followed and suspensions for all 10 players involved are lifted.”

The statement said the players were forced to take action after an unsatisfactory meeting with athletic director Mark Coyle in which they “wanted answers but received misleading statements.”

Coyle and university president Eric W. Kaler released a joint statement after the players’ announcement that read: “We understand that a lot of confusion and frustration exists as a result of this week’s suspension of 10 Gopher Football players from all team activities. The reality is that not everyone can have all of the facts, and unfortunately the University cannot share more information due to federal laws regarding student privacy.

“We fully support our Gopher football players and all of our student-athletes. Situations like this are always difficult, and the decision was made in consultation with and has the full support of President Eric Kaler. The decision was based on facts and is reflective of the University’s values. We want to continue an open dialogue with our players and will work to do that over the coming days. It’s important that we continue to work together as we move through this difficult time.”

There has been some confusion about whether or not Gophers coach Tracy Claeys backed the decision to suspend the players. Coyle and Kaler said Claeys was consulted, but the players said Thursday night they did not believe their coach had a say in the matter.

Claeys spoke out in support of his players on Twitter after their decision to boycott. Former Minnesota Vikings star cornerback Antoine Winfield Sr. said his son did nothing wrong and blistered university leadership for what he said was a lack of communication.

“If the president and athletic director keep their jobs, my son, Antoine Winfield Jr., will not attend the University of Minnesota,” Winfield Sr. said.

The players are demanding a closed-door meeting with members of the board of regents without the presence of Coyle or Kaler.

If other bowl-bound football teams join the Gopher protest against the complete lack of due process afforded young men in college who are accused of sexual misconduct, I suspect the extralegal nonsense of the last 30 years will be undone rather quickly.

No one is saying that football players, particularly black football players, don’t behave badly from time to time around women and break the law. I know a woman who was raped by a black football player at the University of Minnesota, and it wasn’t one of those next-day-regret “rapes” either. But that’s clearly not the situation here since the police have already investigated and the players were not even arrested, let alone charged with any crime. Moreover, only three players were investigated by the police, but ten are now suspended by the university at the behest of the Title IX investigation.

It would certainly make for an intriguing dilemma if the universities were forced to choose between their SJW-converged internal justice system-substitutes and the football-generated revenue produced by the players.

NFL Week 14

Jax should help the Vikes get back on track. If anything can… but this season does appear to be as lost as it did right after Teddy Bridgewater’s injury.

NFL Week 13

Not a bad showing by the Vikes, but this season is demonstrating, yet again, that 6-0 starts don’t tend to end well for them.

Tragedy in Brazilian soccer

In the aftermath of the plane crash in Colombia that wiped out an entire professional soccer team, there is nothing that can be done except for the families and the nation to grieve. But the various gestures being made by their rivals are touching nevertheless.

The plane was carrying Brazilian club side Chapecoense Real to the first of two games to decide the Copa Sudamericana, South America’s second-biggest club tournament. Based in the city of Chapeco, in southern Brazil, the unsung team was having a Cinderella season after defying the odds to reach the finals. The team’s goalkeeper Marcos Danilo Padilha, 31, whose heroic last minute save assured their progression, died on the way to hospital after the crash.

Soccer-mad Brazil declared three days of mourning while their opponents Atletico Nacional, of Medellin, asked for the winning trophy to be awarded to the Brazilians in honour of the dead.

Fellow top division Brazilian sides also showed solidarity by offering loan players to Chapecoense and urging the national federation to give it a three-year stay against relegation while the club gets back on its feet.

Meanwhile the legends of the sport – from Lionel Messi to Pele – sent condolences.

These gestures may seem empty and pointless, but keep in mind that they are gestures worth literally millions of dollars. It’s the equivalent of one team foregoing a Lombardi trophy and Super Bowl championship, and three other teams voluntarily giving up their chance at the big leagues and the subsequent TV revenue shares and advertising revenue that involves.

It won’t bring the Chapecoense players back, but it will ensure they are not quickly forgotten. And it is always inspiring to see basic human decency persevere in the face of tragedy.