I’ve devoted a significant amount of my posts on this blog criticizing the NCAA. Admittedly, the organization is an easy target, and its hypocritical policies strike a sensitive chord for me as it does anyone else who loves college sports more than they probably should.
But after this most recent revelation in the ongoing case against Miami and NCAA President Mark Emmert’s “pass the buck” attitude, I’m beginning to wonder what would happen if member schools finally said enough and started ignoring the NCAA.
Seriously. Think about it for a sec ........................ What would happen if Miami President Donna Shalala called up Emmert’s office in Indy and said, “Screw you guys,” and removed themselves from the NCAA completely? What would happen if they convinced the Florida schools or ACC schools to join them? Or if Penn State, USC, UCLA, and Ohio State all joined in after they went through their own garbage investigations? With mega-conferences an inevitability, is it really that far fetched?
Schools are NCAA members by choice. I don’t understand the legality of the agreement between the two entities (and I don’t pretend to), but I do understand no one is forcing any of these member institutions to go along with NCAA by-laws. The organization exists because universities allow it to exist, which makes all this uproar about the Miami case all the more ironic.
P.S. In the mood for more frustrating, hypocritical irony? Check out this little gem on the NCAA attacking academic freedom.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
What it Means to be Great in College Basketball
LeBron James and Dwayne Wade were at the Miami-UNC game.
Think about that. @KingJames and Wade (who would have never considered playing for the Hurricanes as 18 year-olds) were sitting court side wearing glasses they don’t actually need to see the U play an unranked UNC. It was an incredible show of validation for the hottest thing going in college basketball.
Miami has two bad losses, one against Florida Gulf Coast in just the second game of the season and the other in overtime against Indiana State on Christmas Day in Hawaii in a game I’m sure no one wanted to play or watch. But since, the Canes have been on an absolute tear, winning on average by nearly 14 in conference play. They are 10-0 in the ACC. They’ve routed both UNC and Duke. They're currently the favorite to earn the number one overall seed in the tournament.
So why is it, with a team playing as well as anyone in any season, are sports writers, analysts, and fans (myself included) continuing to lament the end of great, legendary teams in college basketball?
It's time we all changed what it means to be great.
In my generation, the sport has been dominated by four programs: Duke, UNC, Kentucky, and UConn. Combined, they’ve won 13 titles since 1991. Florida, Kansas, and Michigan State have had great, Final Four teams during this time as well, and they’ve all produced top level, pro talent. Just off the top of my head, I can think of ten NBA All-Stars and two sure-fire Hall of Famers (Grant Hill and Antwan Jamison).
As a fan of one of the 200 or so other D-1 schools, this is very, very boring.
In sports, parity can be an incredible asset and the lack thereof can be a debilitating weakness. (The contrasting trends in popularity between the NFL and MLB is a perfect example.) When more teams have a shot, more fans watch. March Madness is the biggest “any team can win” tournament in American sports, and its television ratings were at an 18 year high in 2012 (even with Duke and UConn losing in the first round). Even when VCU and Butler made the Final Four in 2011, ratings were tied for the highest since 2005. That period includes the 2008 tourney when all four top seeds made it to the final weekend
Miami doesn’t look the part of a traditional powerhouse program, but, ironically, it has so much that basketball romantics romanticize. The team is mostly upperclassmen, the best player is a senior (Durand Scott), and all five starters average nine points or more. If the Hurricanes can win at Cameron on March second, this team has a legit shot to go undefeated in conference play. (Something the ’05 and ’08 Tar Heels couldn’t do.) The only difference between this team and the “great” teams before is Miami is winning without consensus All-Americans or lottery picks. And isn’t that more exciting? And more impressive?
College basketball has problems, but problems shouldn’t be confused with change. The game is different than it was in 1973, ‘83’, ’93, and ’03, so why would it not continue progressing in 2013? Rather than singing dirges of what’s been lost, why not embrace that the sport has become wide open with can’t miss excitement every night? Baseball would kill for something like that. Especially in Miami.
Think about that. @KingJames and Wade (who would have never considered playing for the Hurricanes as 18 year-olds) were sitting court side wearing glasses they don’t actually need to see the U play an unranked UNC. It was an incredible show of validation for the hottest thing going in college basketball.
Miami has two bad losses, one against Florida Gulf Coast in just the second game of the season and the other in overtime against Indiana State on Christmas Day in Hawaii in a game I’m sure no one wanted to play or watch. But since, the Canes have been on an absolute tear, winning on average by nearly 14 in conference play. They are 10-0 in the ACC. They’ve routed both UNC and Duke. They're currently the favorite to earn the number one overall seed in the tournament.
So why is it, with a team playing as well as anyone in any season, are sports writers, analysts, and fans (myself included) continuing to lament the end of great, legendary teams in college basketball?
It's time we all changed what it means to be great.
In my generation, the sport has been dominated by four programs: Duke, UNC, Kentucky, and UConn. Combined, they’ve won 13 titles since 1991. Florida, Kansas, and Michigan State have had great, Final Four teams during this time as well, and they’ve all produced top level, pro talent. Just off the top of my head, I can think of ten NBA All-Stars and two sure-fire Hall of Famers (Grant Hill and Antwan Jamison).
As a fan of one of the 200 or so other D-1 schools, this is very, very boring.
In sports, parity can be an incredible asset and the lack thereof can be a debilitating weakness. (The contrasting trends in popularity between the NFL and MLB is a perfect example.) When more teams have a shot, more fans watch. March Madness is the biggest “any team can win” tournament in American sports, and its television ratings were at an 18 year high in 2012 (even with Duke and UConn losing in the first round). Even when VCU and Butler made the Final Four in 2011, ratings were tied for the highest since 2005. That period includes the 2008 tourney when all four top seeds made it to the final weekend
Miami doesn’t look the part of a traditional powerhouse program, but, ironically, it has so much that basketball romantics romanticize. The team is mostly upperclassmen, the best player is a senior (Durand Scott), and all five starters average nine points or more. If the Hurricanes can win at Cameron on March second, this team has a legit shot to go undefeated in conference play. (Something the ’05 and ’08 Tar Heels couldn’t do.) The only difference between this team and the “great” teams before is Miami is winning without consensus All-Americans or lottery picks. And isn’t that more exciting? And more impressive?
College basketball has problems, but problems shouldn’t be confused with change. The game is different than it was in 1973, ‘83’, ’93, and ’03, so why would it not continue progressing in 2013? Rather than singing dirges of what’s been lost, why not embrace that the sport has become wide open with can’t miss excitement every night? Baseball would kill for something like that. Especially in Miami.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Thoughts on Ray Lewis and Why God Probably Won't Help You Pass a Drug Test
I’ve wanted to write a post on Ray Lewis since the win over the Broncos. Partly out of spite since watching Peyton Manning lose was a little devastating for me, but mostly because I find his misuse of scripture so infuriating. Claiming “No weapon formed against me shall prosper” as God’s promise to make your blitzes against Denver’s O-line more effective takes disrespect to another level.
But I admit, I set my sensibilities aside Sunday. I cheered for the Ravens because I like the elder Harbaugh, I think Flacco and Rice are criminally underrated, and I can’t stand the egotistical attitude of the 49ers (“Kapernicking”, Jim Harbaugh’s tantrums, everything about Michael Crabtree, etc.). I chose to forget about Lewis and enjoy the game in blissful ignorance.
And I did enjoy it. It was an amazing game, and I had as much fun as I’ve had in weeks with friends I too often fail to spend time with. It was everything you could want from a sporting event, which is both its beauty and downfall. We want so badly to see athletes do something amazing and transcendent that we’ll set aside our personal and moral beefs long enough to get what we want. My brother-in-law jokes he has to check his brain at the door before watching college football because of the rampant corruption and blatant BS going on in recruiting and in the NCAA, and I know I did the same thing on Sunday evening. It’s incredibly easy to do, but incredibly difficult to defend.
But after reading Bill Simmons’s article on PEDs, defending my blind eye just got a lot harder.
The article goes into the utter absurdity of Lewis coming back from a torn tricep in just two months when it typically takes at least six months to recover. The fact that he did it at 37, and had two of his best games in frigid temperatures (Denver and New England) make it even more inconceivable, giving validity to the claims he used PEDs (deer antler spray) to speed up his recovery. He goes on to say how frustrating to watch the sports media skate around this possibility (himself included) because of the damning ramifications of even remotely hinting at a player’s PED use without solid proof (i.e. a friggin’ syringe or something).
It was a bold and passionate article, and it made me remember why I can’t stand Ray Lewis.
Sports fans, like anyone else, want something incredible. Something unbelievable. It’s what made Lewis’s story so amazing at first and seem so fake now. It’s like Lance Armstrong; overcoming incredible adversity to become a champion, only to be outed as a fraud. Lewis, however, brought God into his deception, manipulating the faiths and beliefs of his audience. As my friend Matt put it, “it demonstrates at best an incredibly immature faith and at worst an understanding that playing the God card is a pretty good way to end any particular line of questioning.”
If guilty of taking PEDs, Ray Lewis using God as his source of superhuman strength to conceal his drug use is along the lines of fake pastors who claim healing powers while preying on those desperate to believe in something. It’s calculating. It’s scheming. It’s despicable.
Simmons concluded his article by saying, if given the choice, he’d rather see Lewis pee in a cup than watch Beyonce at halftime. While I understand the sentiment, maybe it’s time to look elsewhere for our sports heros. I’m starting with this guy.
But I admit, I set my sensibilities aside Sunday. I cheered for the Ravens because I like the elder Harbaugh, I think Flacco and Rice are criminally underrated, and I can’t stand the egotistical attitude of the 49ers (“Kapernicking”, Jim Harbaugh’s tantrums, everything about Michael Crabtree, etc.). I chose to forget about Lewis and enjoy the game in blissful ignorance.
And I did enjoy it. It was an amazing game, and I had as much fun as I’ve had in weeks with friends I too often fail to spend time with. It was everything you could want from a sporting event, which is both its beauty and downfall. We want so badly to see athletes do something amazing and transcendent that we’ll set aside our personal and moral beefs long enough to get what we want. My brother-in-law jokes he has to check his brain at the door before watching college football because of the rampant corruption and blatant BS going on in recruiting and in the NCAA, and I know I did the same thing on Sunday evening. It’s incredibly easy to do, but incredibly difficult to defend.
But after reading Bill Simmons’s article on PEDs, defending my blind eye just got a lot harder.
The article goes into the utter absurdity of Lewis coming back from a torn tricep in just two months when it typically takes at least six months to recover. The fact that he did it at 37, and had two of his best games in frigid temperatures (Denver and New England) make it even more inconceivable, giving validity to the claims he used PEDs (deer antler spray) to speed up his recovery. He goes on to say how frustrating to watch the sports media skate around this possibility (himself included) because of the damning ramifications of even remotely hinting at a player’s PED use without solid proof (i.e. a friggin’ syringe or something).
It was a bold and passionate article, and it made me remember why I can’t stand Ray Lewis.
Sports fans, like anyone else, want something incredible. Something unbelievable. It’s what made Lewis’s story so amazing at first and seem so fake now. It’s like Lance Armstrong; overcoming incredible adversity to become a champion, only to be outed as a fraud. Lewis, however, brought God into his deception, manipulating the faiths and beliefs of his audience. As my friend Matt put it, “it demonstrates at best an incredibly immature faith and at worst an understanding that playing the God card is a pretty good way to end any particular line of questioning.”
If guilty of taking PEDs, Ray Lewis using God as his source of superhuman strength to conceal his drug use is along the lines of fake pastors who claim healing powers while preying on those desperate to believe in something. It’s calculating. It’s scheming. It’s despicable.
Simmons concluded his article by saying, if given the choice, he’d rather see Lewis pee in a cup than watch Beyonce at halftime. While I understand the sentiment, maybe it’s time to look elsewhere for our sports heros. I’m starting with this guy.
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