Week one of the "best regular season in sports" is complete and it was hard, while watching, to not think about the impact of teams' performances on the College Football Playoff selection process. Yes, "that" playoff starts this season and already we've got story lines developing for consideration by the 13-person selection committee.
Here are some initial observations.
Nick and Lane: Okay, there was just something a little unsettling about seeing Lane Kiffin and Nick Saban roaming the same sideline, wondering whether the two could co-exist under the pressure cooker of all that is Crimson Tide football and inflated expectations. Saban lauded Kiffin after the game with his handling of new QB, Blake Sims, and the offensive game plan. Bama's coach was less pleased with his defense who he called out as "soft" at halftime.
Jameis being Jameis: When a big play needed to be made, last year's Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston made it for Florida State, running in from 28 yards for a touchdown when Oklahoma State was threatening to upset the preseason number one team.
Don't schedule NDSU: North Dakota State continued its dominance of FBS teams in week one action, knocking off Iowa State on the road and notching its fifth such FBS victory since 2010. Former Kansas head coach Mark Mangino's debut as ISU's offensive coordinator netted only 14 points against the Bison's defense, all in the first half.
Under the dome: Notre Dame opened in impressive fashion by dominating Rice, in South Bend, 48-17. The headline for the Irish was the return of QB Everett Golson who looked good--14 of 22 for 295 yards passing and 41 yards rushing on 12 carries.
Sign that kid: In case you missed it, here's the YouTube link to the Auburn ball boy who displayed his wheels in going stride for stride with wide receiver Melvin Ray on a touchdown catch.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2181821-auburn-ball-boy-shows-off-blazing-speed-vs-arkansas?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=web-des-art-top-23
Impressive: Oklahoma State's youngsters, Kansas State's Jake Waters, Winston, Nebraska's 29 straight season opener wins, Kenny "don't call me 'Kenny Football'" Hill, the lightning in Gainesville, FL.
Not so much...: Ohio State, South Carolina, Paul Rhoads, Iowa, ESPN's studio crew of Rece Davis, Lou Holtz and Mark May.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Reporting in from Jerry World
It's Jerry's world and we're all just livin' in it--all 79,444 of us. Here's my report from yesterday's NCAA Tournament semi-finals at AT&T Stadium and some thoughts on this Final Four from Dallas...er, uh, "north Texas."
- The Westboro Baptist Church, Topeka, KS, was in force outside of the stadium promoting their homophobic hate-mongering. Plenty of police were nearby.
- The north Texas weather was anything but welcoming as cool temps and rain kept fans away from the pre-game tailgate and the block party, featuring Tim McGraw, in downtown Dallas. Only 10,000 or so hearty souls showed up for McGraw's set which was opened by none other than LL Cool J. (Interesting mix of artists, huh?) Cool J later showed up courtside at AT&T Stadium--he was one of probably 5,000 or so who could actually see the game from their vantage point without reliance upon one of the four "small" video screens or the two mega-deluxe "big" screens.
- Kansas did have a presence at this event--photographer Rich Clarkson was in the house with his credential, covering yet another Final Four. The KU alum first covered the 1952 Final Four--an event that issued six photographer credentials. This year, there are 129 photo credentials and 1,829 media credentials.
- Let's talk about sight lines, shall we? AT&T Stadium is Texas-sized excess and is jaw-dropping upon first seeing and then entering the building. And, that's what the ticket the 79,000 plus held got them--into the building. For all but a few thousand, the viewing experience stunk with heads constantly turned upward (or down, if one sat in the 300 sections or higher) to see the mega-screen. It's an expensive way for the common fan to be able to say "I was there."
- Celebrities in the crowd includes Johnny Manziel (suite), Dwight Howard (sitting among the Florida students), Danica Patrick (in a suite along with beau and fellow NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., who was not identified alongside Patrick on the big screen), Drake (sitting among Kentucky fans), Troy Aikman (suite), Jerry Jones (his suite, of course), LL Cool J (court side), and CBS' Les Moonves, who sat next to Jones and was not identified on the big screen when the camera showed Jerry in his suite.
- Tubby Smith received a big round of applause from Kentucky fans when he was introduced along with fellow Final Four Coaches Club members Jim Calhoun, Roy Williams and Jim Larranga.
- Is it just me or does everyone in Dallas own a BMW or a truck?
- North Texas is putting its best foot forward for this event but the unfortunate reality is that this metropolitan area is just too spread out to be considered one of the best Final Four cities. Unlike San Antonio, Indianapolis or Atlanta, events are spread out enough that driving is a necessity and the stadium is stuck in Arlington. ESPN has its set in Fort Worth, the NABC convention is at the Sheraton downtown, and the concerts are at Reunion Park, which is also downtown. Traffic has been manageable but it's still been a pain to navigate the area for this weekend.
- The Texas NASCAR race switched from its usual time slot of Saturday night to this afternoon. Unfortunately, the weather is not cooperating as it's rainy, cool and cloudy.
- Fans were warned not to leave AT&T Stadium between games last night due to severe weather in the area.
- Back on the fan experience, parking costs a cool $75 if you want to get near the stadium. If you're willing to walk about three-quarters of a mile, then your freight drops to $40.
- And, finally, what do we make of this match-up? Monday night's championship game will feature a seven seed and an eight seed, and two teams who did not win their regular season conference championships or their conference post-season tournaments. What we do have is an intriguing match-up of UConn quickness and lockdown perimeter defense against a Kentucky team that has obviously figured it out and is using superior athleticism coupled with guys making plays down the stretch. Let's also credit both coaches for getting their teams to this place--Kevin Ollie kept his guys' heads in the game when they got behind to Florida early and everyone in the building thought the Gators were headed to the championship, and John Calipari's early second half timeout fueled a Kentucky run that was key to their victory over Wisconsin.
- The Westboro Baptist Church, Topeka, KS, was in force outside of the stadium promoting their homophobic hate-mongering. Plenty of police were nearby.
- The north Texas weather was anything but welcoming as cool temps and rain kept fans away from the pre-game tailgate and the block party, featuring Tim McGraw, in downtown Dallas. Only 10,000 or so hearty souls showed up for McGraw's set which was opened by none other than LL Cool J. (Interesting mix of artists, huh?) Cool J later showed up courtside at AT&T Stadium--he was one of probably 5,000 or so who could actually see the game from their vantage point without reliance upon one of the four "small" video screens or the two mega-deluxe "big" screens.
- Kansas did have a presence at this event--photographer Rich Clarkson was in the house with his credential, covering yet another Final Four. The KU alum first covered the 1952 Final Four--an event that issued six photographer credentials. This year, there are 129 photo credentials and 1,829 media credentials.
- Let's talk about sight lines, shall we? AT&T Stadium is Texas-sized excess and is jaw-dropping upon first seeing and then entering the building. And, that's what the ticket the 79,000 plus held got them--into the building. For all but a few thousand, the viewing experience stunk with heads constantly turned upward (or down, if one sat in the 300 sections or higher) to see the mega-screen. It's an expensive way for the common fan to be able to say "I was there."
- Celebrities in the crowd includes Johnny Manziel (suite), Dwight Howard (sitting among the Florida students), Danica Patrick (in a suite along with beau and fellow NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., who was not identified alongside Patrick on the big screen), Drake (sitting among Kentucky fans), Troy Aikman (suite), Jerry Jones (his suite, of course), LL Cool J (court side), and CBS' Les Moonves, who sat next to Jones and was not identified on the big screen when the camera showed Jerry in his suite.
- Tubby Smith received a big round of applause from Kentucky fans when he was introduced along with fellow Final Four Coaches Club members Jim Calhoun, Roy Williams and Jim Larranga.
- Is it just me or does everyone in Dallas own a BMW or a truck?
- North Texas is putting its best foot forward for this event but the unfortunate reality is that this metropolitan area is just too spread out to be considered one of the best Final Four cities. Unlike San Antonio, Indianapolis or Atlanta, events are spread out enough that driving is a necessity and the stadium is stuck in Arlington. ESPN has its set in Fort Worth, the NABC convention is at the Sheraton downtown, and the concerts are at Reunion Park, which is also downtown. Traffic has been manageable but it's still been a pain to navigate the area for this weekend.
- The Texas NASCAR race switched from its usual time slot of Saturday night to this afternoon. Unfortunately, the weather is not cooperating as it's rainy, cool and cloudy.
- Fans were warned not to leave AT&T Stadium between games last night due to severe weather in the area.
- Back on the fan experience, parking costs a cool $75 if you want to get near the stadium. If you're willing to walk about three-quarters of a mile, then your freight drops to $40.
- And, finally, what do we make of this match-up? Monday night's championship game will feature a seven seed and an eight seed, and two teams who did not win their regular season conference championships or their conference post-season tournaments. What we do have is an intriguing match-up of UConn quickness and lockdown perimeter defense against a Kentucky team that has obviously figured it out and is using superior athleticism coupled with guys making plays down the stretch. Let's also credit both coaches for getting their teams to this place--Kevin Ollie kept his guys' heads in the game when they got behind to Florida early and everyone in the building thought the Gators were headed to the championship, and John Calipari's early second half timeout fueled a Kentucky run that was key to their victory over Wisconsin.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
It's Madness...!
What have we learned after the first--ahem, second--round of the NCAA Tournament, a k a March Madness? Well, we know why Warren Buffett is not only smart but shrewd--who's surprised that no brackets, anywhere, are still in play for Buffett's $1 billion carrot for those hoping to pick a perfect bracket? We also know that, as a friend tweeted, "what the tourney giveth, the tourney taketh away" (see VCU, Duke, and Ohio State.)
Let's do some grades, shall we, on early round action...
Pass: 12 seeds. This is a tournament that, at least initially, will be known for the 12 seeds' dominance over five seeds--North Dakota State, Harvard and Stephen F. Austin all showed why the five seed is, annually, susceptible to the upset.
Fail: Not only did five seed VCU fall to Stephen F. Austin but they did it by giving up a four point play with less than a second left in regulation.
Pass: Thank you, NCAA and CBS, for expanding this tournament to Turner such that all games are televised and available for easy switching, to and fro throughout the day.
Fail: Albany's unis. Did you see those two-toned shorts? Talk about a Glamour don't...
Pass: Wichita State did what one seeds are supposed to do--they took care of business and easily demolished Cal Poly.
Fail: Quick service burger restaurants. What's with McDonald's cursory use of Johnny Manziel in the LeBron James commercial? And, it's two days in and I'm already tired of the Burger King spot with Chris Webber and the obnoxious screaming fan.
Pass: Bill Raftery and Verne Lundquist. Raftery is the most engaging, fun color guy of the tournament and Lundquist makes the perfect foil and sidekick. Yeah, these guys are long in the tooth but their voices just scream "March Madness."
Fail: Gus Johnson, where are you? We want you back...
Pass: Kansas' freshman. We all expected 19 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks from Andrew Wiggins but it was the two least heralded Jayhawk frosh--Conner Frankamp and Frank Mason--who provided significant minutes and production off the bench. Frankamp steadied a ship that was taking on water in the first half with his steady play and ended up with 10 points, four assists and no turnovers in 25 minutes of action.
Fail: Duke--it was the Blue Devils second opening round flameout in three years.
Let's do some grades, shall we, on early round action...
Pass: 12 seeds. This is a tournament that, at least initially, will be known for the 12 seeds' dominance over five seeds--North Dakota State, Harvard and Stephen F. Austin all showed why the five seed is, annually, susceptible to the upset.
Fail: Not only did five seed VCU fall to Stephen F. Austin but they did it by giving up a four point play with less than a second left in regulation.
Pass: Thank you, NCAA and CBS, for expanding this tournament to Turner such that all games are televised and available for easy switching, to and fro throughout the day.
Fail: Albany's unis. Did you see those two-toned shorts? Talk about a Glamour don't...
Pass: Wichita State did what one seeds are supposed to do--they took care of business and easily demolished Cal Poly.
Fail: Quick service burger restaurants. What's with McDonald's cursory use of Johnny Manziel in the LeBron James commercial? And, it's two days in and I'm already tired of the Burger King spot with Chris Webber and the obnoxious screaming fan.
Pass: Bill Raftery and Verne Lundquist. Raftery is the most engaging, fun color guy of the tournament and Lundquist makes the perfect foil and sidekick. Yeah, these guys are long in the tooth but their voices just scream "March Madness."
Fail: Gus Johnson, where are you? We want you back...
Pass: Kansas' freshman. We all expected 19 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks from Andrew Wiggins but it was the two least heralded Jayhawk frosh--Conner Frankamp and Frank Mason--who provided significant minutes and production off the bench. Frankamp steadied a ship that was taking on water in the first half with his steady play and ended up with 10 points, four assists and no turnovers in 25 minutes of action.
Fail: Duke--it was the Blue Devils second opening round flameout in three years.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Reflections from the Big 12 Tournament
Greetings from downtown KCMO--home to the Big 12 tournament and the headquarters for fans of March Madness. Let's kick it around as we observe the comings-and-goings here in the Power & Light District.
Bruise brothers team: The Big 12 could field quite a bruise brothers team--I'm going with Tarick Black of Kansas, Cameron Ridley of Texas, Thomas Gipson of Kansas State, Jamari Traylor of Kansas, and Rico Gathers of Baylor.
Worst mascot: It's a tie between the horse of Oklahoma and the Phillips gas pump guy. I know, I know--the Phillips "thing" is a sponsor mascot but, seriously, that is a freaky looking life form. The OU horse is just flat out weird and only makes sense if you like mullets.
KCMO: Could the city have picked a worse time to seemingly have construction happening on every street and major artery into and in downtown? The roadways were packed yesterday and, once downtown, parking was at a premium given all of the office parking spaces that were already in use.
Best game: With deference to KU-OSU and those teams' overtime thriller, the best game award goes to Iowa State beating Kansas State. There were numerous lead changes, opposing crowds going crazy, and NCAA Tournament seedings on the line. For Kansas State, the loss puts them at 3-5 over their last eight games--not a good way to enter the Big Dance.
Creepiest promotion: The Motel 6 Kiss-Cam is just downright awkward. "We'll leave a light on for ya" indeed...
Best player: Andrew Wiggins of KU put on a show yesterday. While everyone is marveling at his 30 points, let's consider that he held Oklahoma State's Markel Brown to five of 13 from the field and one of four from three, with the one make an incredible fall-back jumper by Brown over Wiggins' outstretched arm. Wiggins grabbed seemingly every rebound in the overtime and was simply the best player in any game yesterday in Sprint Center.
Nice touch: The public address announcer thanked the ESPN Regional/Big 12 Network crew yesterday as this is the last year for that group's involvement with the tournament.
Bruise brothers team: The Big 12 could field quite a bruise brothers team--I'm going with Tarick Black of Kansas, Cameron Ridley of Texas, Thomas Gipson of Kansas State, Jamari Traylor of Kansas, and Rico Gathers of Baylor.
Worst mascot: It's a tie between the horse of Oklahoma and the Phillips gas pump guy. I know, I know--the Phillips "thing" is a sponsor mascot but, seriously, that is a freaky looking life form. The OU horse is just flat out weird and only makes sense if you like mullets.
KCMO: Could the city have picked a worse time to seemingly have construction happening on every street and major artery into and in downtown? The roadways were packed yesterday and, once downtown, parking was at a premium given all of the office parking spaces that were already in use.
Best game: With deference to KU-OSU and those teams' overtime thriller, the best game award goes to Iowa State beating Kansas State. There were numerous lead changes, opposing crowds going crazy, and NCAA Tournament seedings on the line. For Kansas State, the loss puts them at 3-5 over their last eight games--not a good way to enter the Big Dance.
Creepiest promotion: The Motel 6 Kiss-Cam is just downright awkward. "We'll leave a light on for ya" indeed...
Best player: Andrew Wiggins of KU put on a show yesterday. While everyone is marveling at his 30 points, let's consider that he held Oklahoma State's Markel Brown to five of 13 from the field and one of four from three, with the one make an incredible fall-back jumper by Brown over Wiggins' outstretched arm. Wiggins grabbed seemingly every rebound in the overtime and was simply the best player in any game yesterday in Sprint Center.
Nice touch: The public address announcer thanked the ESPN Regional/Big 12 Network crew yesterday as this is the last year for that group's involvement with the tournament.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
It's March...it's (soon to be) Madness!
Let's throw it around a bit, shall we, as we enter the best college hoops month of the year.
Kudos: Let's give it up for Wichita State. The quest for an undefeated regular season has been well-documented--the thing that makes this team a delight to watch is that word "team." The Shockers are unselfish, play hard, trust each other, and know their roles. Yes, they've only played a couple of teams in the top 100 RPI but going undefeated, against anyone, is an unprecedented accomplishment. All eyes are now on how WSU will fare once they have to play a team, likely in the second round, that will be better than any they've faced thus far this season.
Out of control: Yesterday's out-of-control award goes to head coach Mick Cronin of Cincinnati followed by John Calipari's ejection in the Kentucky-South Carolina game. This has not been a season of laudable coaching behavior and Cronin's antics yesterday were over the top. Calipari, by comparison, simply looks like a guy who's about to blow given the frustration of coaching this year's Kentucky squad. (By the way, remember when the preseason talk of an undefeated season was linked to Kentucky? Yeah, what happened...?)
Can you see me?: Just as Cronin's "I get no respect" sideline histrionics were embarrassing, let's not forget "TV Teddy" Valentine's role in this whole sideline drama. Valentine is widely known as the one college hoops ref who adores the spotlight--his confrontation with Cronin was partially avoidable had TV Teddy not gone after the Cincinnati coach after the first verbal barrage.
Marcus, Marcus, Marcus: Marcus Smart, sadly, is his own worst enemy. A scintillating talent that can take over a game, as witnessed by the final minutes last night against Kansas, his flopping continues to detract from his NBA-ready talent. Smart also used the national TV stage to mug and flex in front of KU coach Bill Self in the waning second of last night's win over the Jayhawks.
Court storming: The announcement out of Austin, TX that the University of Texas is likely to begin selling beer at its athletics contests flew under the radar a bit this past week. Can you imagine the combination of over-served fans with the current rash of court-storming behavior? The court-storming needs to be stopped before the inevitable happens. (And, shame on Digger Phelps suggesting that court-storming is simply the sharing of a celebratory victory by students with their fellow "student athletes." Digger, while making that proclamation on ESPN GameDay yesterday, of course worked in the seven upsets of number one teams he had during his coaching career.)
No. 1 seeds: Do you want to make the regular season more relevant? Then, only schools that win their conference's regular season should be considered for number one seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
Kudos: Let's give it up for Wichita State. The quest for an undefeated regular season has been well-documented--the thing that makes this team a delight to watch is that word "team." The Shockers are unselfish, play hard, trust each other, and know their roles. Yes, they've only played a couple of teams in the top 100 RPI but going undefeated, against anyone, is an unprecedented accomplishment. All eyes are now on how WSU will fare once they have to play a team, likely in the second round, that will be better than any they've faced thus far this season.
Out of control: Yesterday's out-of-control award goes to head coach Mick Cronin of Cincinnati followed by John Calipari's ejection in the Kentucky-South Carolina game. This has not been a season of laudable coaching behavior and Cronin's antics yesterday were over the top. Calipari, by comparison, simply looks like a guy who's about to blow given the frustration of coaching this year's Kentucky squad. (By the way, remember when the preseason talk of an undefeated season was linked to Kentucky? Yeah, what happened...?)
Can you see me?: Just as Cronin's "I get no respect" sideline histrionics were embarrassing, let's not forget "TV Teddy" Valentine's role in this whole sideline drama. Valentine is widely known as the one college hoops ref who adores the spotlight--his confrontation with Cronin was partially avoidable had TV Teddy not gone after the Cincinnati coach after the first verbal barrage.
Marcus, Marcus, Marcus: Marcus Smart, sadly, is his own worst enemy. A scintillating talent that can take over a game, as witnessed by the final minutes last night against Kansas, his flopping continues to detract from his NBA-ready talent. Smart also used the national TV stage to mug and flex in front of KU coach Bill Self in the waning second of last night's win over the Jayhawks.
Court storming: The announcement out of Austin, TX that the University of Texas is likely to begin selling beer at its athletics contests flew under the radar a bit this past week. Can you imagine the combination of over-served fans with the current rash of court-storming behavior? The court-storming needs to be stopped before the inevitable happens. (And, shame on Digger Phelps suggesting that court-storming is simply the sharing of a celebratory victory by students with their fellow "student athletes." Digger, while making that proclamation on ESPN GameDay yesterday, of course worked in the seven upsets of number one teams he had during his coaching career.)
No. 1 seeds: Do you want to make the regular season more relevant? Then, only schools that win their conference's regular season should be considered for number one seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Do the Shockers need to lose...and other buy/sell/hold
Hold: No mens college basketball team has run the table--the full table of regular season and NCAA Tournament--since Indiana in 1976. As Wichita State continues to chase perfection, one has to wonder if head coach Gregg Marshall feels like his team might be better off losing prior to entering postseason play, very likely as a number one tournament seed. The Shockers' remaining regular season games are against Loyola and Bradley on the road and versus Drake and Missouri State at home before the Missouri Valley postseason conference tournament, March 6-9. As the Shockers continue to win, the chances for an early-round NCAA exit seem to rise.
Buy: The two U.S. Olympic stars thus far who look poised to parlay their success into post-Olympic marketing dollars are T.J. Oshie and Sage Kotsenburg. Oshie's hockey shootout success against Russia will only grow in status should the U.S. survive the knockout rounds and play for the gold. Kotsenburg is full of wide-eyed, "hey dude" wonder that will be a natural for brands hoping to tap into the X-Games audience.
Sell: The alpine skiing events aren't over yet but the U.S. Ski Team misses the marquee power of Lindsey Vonn. Ted Ligety, used in advertising by a couple of Olympic sponsors, has been a disappointment and Bode Miller shockingly failed to medal in the downhill.
Sell: Just how long can Scott Drew continue to coach at Baylor without being considered on the hot seat? For sure, let's give Drew credit for rescuing the program and making it relevant. Let's also call him out for once again failing to deliver on high preseason expectations--his team stands at 4-8 in the conference and has only won three of its last 10 games. Saturday's double-overtime win over Kansas State provided a needed injection of hope but after tomorrow's Big Monday matchup versus Oklahoma State, the Bears must travel to West Virginia and Texas. Baylor will once again end up in the NIT.
Hold: NBC's coverage of the Olympics has been questionable, at best. The peacock's programming took a hit with Bob Costas' ill-timed eye infection and the lack of compelling U.S. storylines. Let's face it--Matt Lauer and Meredith Viera are not the approachable, warm hosts needed for a prime-time event of this magnitude. Further, it seems that NBC has not optimized its cable outlets to complement overall coverage. NBC over-indexes on figure skating coverage, which is made tough-to-handle given the sappy coverage provided by Scott Hamilton, Sandra Bezic and Tracy Wilson. Thankfully, Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinsky have been refreshing with their commentary.
Buy: I'm in the midst of reading Seth Davis' new biography about John Wooden and it's terrific. Davis does a terrific job at uncovering the little known and unknown facets of Wooden's life and coaching style. It's a great read for anyone interested in college hoops.
Buy: The two U.S. Olympic stars thus far who look poised to parlay their success into post-Olympic marketing dollars are T.J. Oshie and Sage Kotsenburg. Oshie's hockey shootout success against Russia will only grow in status should the U.S. survive the knockout rounds and play for the gold. Kotsenburg is full of wide-eyed, "hey dude" wonder that will be a natural for brands hoping to tap into the X-Games audience.
Sell: The alpine skiing events aren't over yet but the U.S. Ski Team misses the marquee power of Lindsey Vonn. Ted Ligety, used in advertising by a couple of Olympic sponsors, has been a disappointment and Bode Miller shockingly failed to medal in the downhill.
Sell: Just how long can Scott Drew continue to coach at Baylor without being considered on the hot seat? For sure, let's give Drew credit for rescuing the program and making it relevant. Let's also call him out for once again failing to deliver on high preseason expectations--his team stands at 4-8 in the conference and has only won three of its last 10 games. Saturday's double-overtime win over Kansas State provided a needed injection of hope but after tomorrow's Big Monday matchup versus Oklahoma State, the Bears must travel to West Virginia and Texas. Baylor will once again end up in the NIT.
Hold: NBC's coverage of the Olympics has been questionable, at best. The peacock's programming took a hit with Bob Costas' ill-timed eye infection and the lack of compelling U.S. storylines. Let's face it--Matt Lauer and Meredith Viera are not the approachable, warm hosts needed for a prime-time event of this magnitude. Further, it seems that NBC has not optimized its cable outlets to complement overall coverage. NBC over-indexes on figure skating coverage, which is made tough-to-handle given the sappy coverage provided by Scott Hamilton, Sandra Bezic and Tracy Wilson. Thankfully, Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinsky have been refreshing with their commentary.
Buy: I'm in the midst of reading Seth Davis' new biography about John Wooden and it's terrific. Davis does a terrific job at uncovering the little known and unknown facets of Wooden's life and coaching style. It's a great read for anyone interested in college hoops.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Texas Tech needs to act too
A college athlete pushes a fan in an opposing arena. That newsworthy encounter has dominated Twitter and college sports media over the past 18 hours. And, in this nothing-is-private social media world in which we live, the opposing fan has received his share of public scrutiny, including digging up a YouTube clip that shows his boorish behavior in a past game.
We'll hear from Marcus Smart and his coach, Travis Ford, in a couple of hours. Will we hear from Texas Tech and/or the fan combatant in this story? If so, there's little coming out of Lubbock that would indicate any rush to fair judgment on this so-called "super fan" who spends a lot of time trekking from home in Waco to Lubbock to other venues where his beloved Red Raiders play ball.
It will be a shame if Tech does not, at minimum, conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances of this incident and what, if anything, was actually said between the fan and Smart. In no way am I condoning Smart's physical contact with a fan as that has absolutely no place in sports at the college or pro level. Yet, we all have been witness to, and recipients of, fan behavior at games that runs from the boorish to the scary. I never cease to be amazed how some fans feel that their purchase of a game ticket provides them the freedom to say whatever they want, at whatever volume they want, to those seated around them and to the participants on the floor.
The word I keep coming back to for this incident is "sad." It's sad that we're witnessing, in national media, the meltdown of a 19-year old who came back to his school for laudable reasons. It began with the reputation as a flopper to the technical foul in Manhattan, KS to the kicked chair to the petulant behavior. Now, it's this--a push of a fan who didn't deserve the attention and the ensuing ill-advised decision to not escort Smart off the court immediately. Here's hoping that Oklahoma State doles out the appropriate punishment for Smart; that this becomes a time for Smart to accept the punishment, change his behavior and move on; and that Texas Tech quickly follows suit with their own announcement of what they plan to do with the fan, and improved security in their venues.
We'll hear from Marcus Smart and his coach, Travis Ford, in a couple of hours. Will we hear from Texas Tech and/or the fan combatant in this story? If so, there's little coming out of Lubbock that would indicate any rush to fair judgment on this so-called "super fan" who spends a lot of time trekking from home in Waco to Lubbock to other venues where his beloved Red Raiders play ball.
It will be a shame if Tech does not, at minimum, conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances of this incident and what, if anything, was actually said between the fan and Smart. In no way am I condoning Smart's physical contact with a fan as that has absolutely no place in sports at the college or pro level. Yet, we all have been witness to, and recipients of, fan behavior at games that runs from the boorish to the scary. I never cease to be amazed how some fans feel that their purchase of a game ticket provides them the freedom to say whatever they want, at whatever volume they want, to those seated around them and to the participants on the floor.
The word I keep coming back to for this incident is "sad." It's sad that we're witnessing, in national media, the meltdown of a 19-year old who came back to his school for laudable reasons. It began with the reputation as a flopper to the technical foul in Manhattan, KS to the kicked chair to the petulant behavior. Now, it's this--a push of a fan who didn't deserve the attention and the ensuing ill-advised decision to not escort Smart off the court immediately. Here's hoping that Oklahoma State doles out the appropriate punishment for Smart; that this becomes a time for Smart to accept the punishment, change his behavior and move on; and that Texas Tech quickly follows suit with their own announcement of what they plan to do with the fan, and improved security in their venues.
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