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[thesportsplanet]

The Marathon

This stream of thoughts started from a conversation I watched on YouTube about Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” song being removed from the Country genre by Billboard. The ‘show’ Dead End Hip Hop features a collective of people that typically discuss matters related to, well, hip hop. Chiming in on the topic was another YouTube personality to essentially provide the country perspective. Making it about halfway through the video everyone involved made some great points on both sides of the discussion as to whether the song was country or not, if the song should’ve been removed and if there were other examples of this type of situation either in country or hip hop.

The conversation turned to Post Malone and the idea that here is someone ‘putting on a costume’ and imitating/mocking this genre of music that the artist has no real intention of being part of while making money off the songs that have been deemed as being belonging to this genre (basically White Iverson being a hip hop song and Old Town Road being country).

I paused the show to think about something. To me I wasn’t ready to fully ‘cancel’ or bash Lil Nas X or Post Malone. I questioned if these artist were simply inspired. Maybe Lil Nas X was a gamer and after spending a weekend binging Red Dead Redemption, found cowboys cool and decided to intertwine elements of that in his artistry. Maybe Post Malone was a guitarist or drummer or whatever but really liked Juvenile too. Of course both artists were being charged with mocking these genres and a case could be made for sure but I didn’t kn...

Then the light bulb went off. Or rather the issue with all of this hit me.

We live in this era of trolling. We don’t know if anyone is serious or not. The more I got to thinking about this the more I asked myself if that was the fault of the people doing the trolling, especially musically artists “just trying to make it”.

Nowadays everything is on our phones and there’s so much to see. This leads ‘some types’ to do whatever they can to draw your eyes to them. To try to pull a reaction out of you. Good or bad, they got your attention for 15 seconds and that’s another view, stream, like, retweet or comment. As someone very partial to Twitter, I see everyday someone have a funny tweet or GIF that gets thousands of likes and retweets and when you go to the comments the first thing is that person trying to direct you to their SoundCloud link now that they have your attention. And you can’t blame them because the currency these days is attention. You could be listening to a podcast, a song, a YouTube video, shopping online, watching Netflix, texting, reading the news, playing a game, FaceTiming, surfing Instagram...but they were able to get your attention for a few seconds and now that you’re here how do I continue to keep you here.

People who can’t name three Jay-Z album titles know who Lil Nas X is. People that’ve never listened to The Cranberries know who Post Malone is. If Lil Nas X was just another rapper, if Post Malone was just another guy in a rock band would they have reached the notoriety they currently have? And do these artists have the right to utilize these genres to their advantage. Does Post Malone have to pay respect to hip-hop and prove himself as a student of the culture? Does Lil Nas X have to have listened to country and genuinely been a fan to make his song? Or are these music styles up for grabs, open to interpretation and able to be molded into any and everything to make, well, art?

I don’t know what my answer is. What I do know is there’s a respectability to authenticity though. Outside of the music itself, growing with this person and understanding them through their art and how their art has grown. Go through Jay-Z’s catalog and hear how he grew and matured from someone talking about drug dealing escapades to instructing about financial literacy. Look at someone like Nipsey Hussle that utilized his platform to build up his community. 

Compare that to someone like Kanye West. Mal from the Joe Budden Podcast--not to put words in his mouth--made a “suggestion” that Kanye’s entire career has been a troll. Maybe performance art is the better terminology. Mal spoke of the alleged theory that Kanye’s car crash didn’t truly happen--or at least didn’t leave him in the condition we had come to believe it did. That he had his jaw wired shut from another incident and used that narrative to provide authenticity to his Through The Wire single. While I don’t wish to speak to something that may not be true, when you look at a lot of how Kanye has moved throughout his career it does make one think. The George Bush doesn’t care about black people line on TV during the Hurricane Katrina telethon, the MAGA support and slavery line uttered on TMZ, the tour rants and walkouts. 

Do we actually know who Kanye West is? His music infamously changes frequently going from The College Dropout to 808s and Heartbreak to Yeezus. But if his antics have all been shams, publicity stunts and trolls then what can we gleam from his art that tells us who he is?

I guess for some that doesn’t matter. It’s all about getting to the bag and hey I can’t fault you for that, do you! At the same time, I actually care about the art. Do the art for the love, be one with it. Trolls feel like such the opposite. Someone just here for the sale, someone here selfishly. Maybe that adjective is too harsh. But it just feels like if you’re going to go out of your way to get our (collective our) attention, at least do something of quality with it.

I dunno, maybe I’m just 27 going on 63. But I can’t also help but think of Nipsey and his passing and how so many more people truly mourned the man way more than the musical artist. So many people resonated with the truth he spoke, the genuine nature of his essence, the intentional strategy behind his music and how that blended into everything he did. And here is a person 90 some odd percent of people know from his persona as a musician and not the man, Ermias, personally.

For whatever my opinion counts: the troll job may pay off in the short term. And take advantage of any and all loopholes you can find to ‘blow up’ and make it big. But Nipsey was right on the money, it’s a marathon. Better to be yourself and be authentic than to chase the instant gratification.

[thesportsplanet]

The Unraveling of the NFL

If you’ve been following the news at any point in 2017, you are aware that the NFL hasn’t had a great season: the frequent diagnosis of CTE amongst former players, a decline in TV ratings and the ongoing national anthem protest debate are areas the league’s hasn’t performed well in.

Player safety is ultimately the largest threat to the sustainability and future of the sport. When asked to choose between a future of degenerative brain disease, ACL reconstruction, or Tommy John surgery, parents will sign their children up for the sports with higher life expectancy ages attached to them. While efforts are made to try to make the game safer, a Bengal can’t change its stripes. Fans may not care as much about this, but as a business always looking to its 5-year and 10-year projections; this is definitely an area of concern for the NFL. What appears to be at the forefront are the TV ratings and player protests. This is where I believe the NFL has found itself in a bit of a jam, as the narrative has been that the former is occurring due to the latter. Football is the most popular professional sport in the country and a product based on a team’s proclivity for winning. In theory something so unrelated to the “X’s and O’s” of football should not be able to turn fans away, especially given how matters of domestic abuse and rampant drug use haven’t done so already.

A breakdown of the relationship between NFL fans and the players warrants an entire post by itself.  In short, the dynamic serves as a microcosm of American society. Professional sports provide a bit more leash in the realm of race relations compared to America as a whole but a closer look reveals this leash is still tied to a fence. Case in point was Houston Texans owner Bob McNair using the analogy of preventing the inmates from “running the asylum prison” to explain some owners’ desire to curb player protests.

From the social media wide discussion of this incident, I came across a tweet from sports radio host and NFL analyst Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) that struck a chord with me, it said: “The owners need the players. The players don’t need the owners, a new league would be up and running in 6 months.”

The notion of this tweet goes against the foundational fabric of the NFL. Part of consuming sports at any level is to understand the values that they exude. Football teaches the importance of the collective. One system aids another and together the unit is able to succeed. As fans we like the team and generally frown upon any player whom would dare to put his own benefit above the team. If the player is hurt, we expect him to play through the pain, as it would be seen as a sacrifice for the team. What are the owner’s providing the players for their sacrifice? Most will point to the millions of dollars NFL players make, but fail to point out that the league trails its peers in average career length and is the only major American sports entity without guaranteed contracts. I would imagine one of the first things you’d look to establish control over the players would be to continually glorify the notion of the team and the player’s duty to the fans and the local community. Throw in a collectively bargained agreement, make a few concessions, and create the illusion that the owners are the handlers of the deck.

Ben is correct. The NFL enjoys a monopoly as not only the premier organization for high-ranking football but also as one of the few that exists. American football isn’t a worldwide phenomenon like soccer or basketball. Rival leagues would simply not be able to compete with the NFL for top talent or sponsors. The best shot any competitor has at the moment is to offer a slightly different product that would provide solutions to the issues the NFL currently faces. If leagues have attempted to operate with the NFL in town, imagine the flood to the market that would occur if the NFL ceased to exist. Ben’s tweet is so poignant as it drives home the precarious situation NFL owners are in. They are not the ones with the talent, they are the ones with the money.  If all it takes to put on a show like the NFL is people with money, then the owners should recognize how replaceable they truly are.

The catalyst is and has always been the players. This is a key moment in the history of the NFL because this era features the players coming together to understand and utilize their power. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones stated that any player of his, not in full acknowledgement of the flag and the national anthem, would not play. The response from many immediately questioned the validity of that vow as it would have related to star players such as Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliot or Dez Bryant. If the name of the game is wins and losses, how could you answer to essentially forfeiting a game by sitting your three best players?

In response to McNair’s “inmate” comments, Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins did not participate in practice and would have been joined by teammates had coaches not persuaded them to take part. The NFL is between a rock and a hard place, in the middle of a battle with its players and its consumers over an issue that isn’t football related. While football has historically always been able to serve as a distraction for many world problems, this issue remains—with players opting to use their platform to enact societal change. The league’s neutrality is still making a decision against the players in a issue that demands a side be taken. Not one based on politics but one based on humanity and respecting your players as such.

Maybe instead of attempting to prevent the players from running the league, you work with the players to create not only a better league and but a better society as well.

(Photo Credit: NY Daily News)

[thesportsplanet]

An Unexpected Blitz

I consider myself first and foremost to be a sociologist. That is to say I am observant of society, particularly in the “greatest country in the world”. For how great the United States of America is in many respects--like the humans who are responsible for it--it’s not perfect. As a sociologist I think it is key to note these observations in hopes that we can work to recognize our faults and try to fix them. You would do this for anything you loved and cared for, right? Ideally, you wouldn’t watch a younger sibling or a child ruin their lives, you’d provide them with constructive criticism. What they chose to do with that is their decision, but you’d call out issues you noticed out of necessity.

As my preferred medium for affecting change in society, I’ve selected sports. Sports is a teacher of norms, values and life lessons. Sports can produce some of the greatest joys and some of the greatest heartbreaks. Quite the prep course for life, a true microcosm. Sports--like the society it stems from--is also not perfect. Lauded and championed as the ultimate meritocracy, sports is littered by politics and bias. Desired as a means to bring together groups of people that may otherwise have never associated with one another, sports carefully maintains the status quo regarding issues between races and classes.

For it’s shortcomings, I believe it’s the best we’ve got. Better to have some progress than none, yet a la my previous analogy as someone who loves sports I cannot be complacent with where we are now. And while it has not been perfect, I am proud that athletes today are connecting the bridge of the athletic arena and the status of American society.

Let’s attempt to dissect the NFL. It is a physical, literally bone-crushing activity that has the talent to truly sell the notion of a team and the act of “buying in” while simultaneously continuing vintage expectations of masculinity. You are to lay everything on the gridiron, digging deep within against the better judgment of your own health and well-being to ensure victory. You’re expected to play despite a sprained ankle and concussion-like symptoms. But these are people who make millions of dollars. The bed of thousands they receive per game should suffice to ease the CTE symptoms that show up. The idea is that these people have it good, you get to play a fun activity for a living. No thought is made to the diminished role these people are subjected to in society. They’re viewed as football players. Your life is reduced to get in the weight room, study your playbook, run the ball/catch the ball and shut up. Do all of this and be thankful that this multi-millionaire benefactor is providing you these riches.

But what about who these people are? Their stories. We love it when they’re being inducted into the Hall of Fame and we hear about how they made it from humble beginnings to “eternal greatness”. Yet we don’t want to hear it now? What about the thousands of people who don’t cut it? Last time I checked the average NFL career is only 3 seasons long. 3 seasons is long enough to develop CTE (see Aaron Hernandez). For this person’s sacrifice--your entertainment--do they really not get anything in return from you? Do they not have the ability to have a legacy that extends beyond the gridiron? A greater end, a greater purpose?

I ask this as we look at the case of Colin Kaepernick. A person who dedicated his life to ascending to the highest level of his craft. Someone who got there from a very unlikely situation attending the University of Nevada Reno. A man who made it to the pinnacle of his league with a Super Bowl appearance. And now we are questioning his desire to continue something he has spent probably 20 years doing. All because he had the gall to comment on society not being at it’s best. Hilariously, he’s punished for loving his country. He’s punished for having depth. He stepped outside of see football, throw football, First Down! and now he’s a pariah. Oh, you disagree with his protest method? THAT IS THE ENTIRE POINT! Why? Because since he’s just a football player if he simply said what he said when asked about why he didn’t acknowledge the anthem it would have been here today and gone tomorrow. The anthem got your attention. And for the most part it has worked. The Detroit Lions owner has stated she would donate money to Lions’ players causes in exchange that they stand for the flag. That’s a win. Players donating their own time and money to these causes that may not have done so prior to this controversy is a win. Even in it’s lack of sincerity, the NFL possibly dedicating a month to it or developing a platform of some sort addressing social injustice is a win.

These are wins because you as fans don’t care. You care about winning. Because that’s why you’re here. That’s why you’re a fan. Rhetorical question, which would you take: a Super Bowl win where players on your team kneel/sit for the anthem or a winless season where everyone stood? Which of those do you believe alienates the greatest amount of people? As much as you make fan of these people for being just football players, you’re just a fan. You’ll boo a player that kneels for the anthem and cheer for his pick-six 20 minutes later.

More so than being a fan, you’re thankful. Given where these athletes hail from. Given the communities and neighborhoods they come from. A lack of resources, crime, drugs. Places that you don’t go to, places where you make sure to lock your car doors, roll up your windows. These players aren’t criminals and drug dealers showing up on your nightly news programming. They pay taxes, their kids have access to a significantly better life than they had to endure. They’re giving from their cut of each game check after the agent, lawyer, trainer, etc receive their piece of the pie to various family members and friends. These acts also keeping some of those people from turning to more drastic measures to survive.

All this being done and you can’t allow these people the ability to try to affect change in the communities they made it out of? Is the body and brains of an 80 year old when retiring just so you could be proud to have supported this team not price enough? All to belittle a life experience you did not go through because of the discomfort you have? I thought real discomfort was being incapacitated from a dangerous game with the requirement of taking “legal heroin” just to be able to do it again in a week. I thought real discomfort was surgery being a guarantee for basically every NFL player and the idea that unless you returned healthy and productive from said surgery your livelihood was in jeopardy. I thought real discomfort was playing through broken bones and torn ligaments.

I was wrong though. The real uncomfortable ideology is one that working class Americans allowed the rich to do their bidding. To treat these players as mere labor. Flesh and bones simply put to run and jump. The true discomfort these players face has to be the notion that they’re viewed no differently than their ancestors were.

[thesportsplanet]

The Greatest Pewter Pillager? We Shall Sea

Arguably no position in American sports comes with more spotlight than the quarterback of an NFL franchise. Despite the importance of stability in the organization, the talent in the trenches and at the skill positions; the focus will always be on how good a team’s signal caller is and how many wins he will ‘lead’ his team to.

Regardless of knowing better, I continue to engage in the conversations that take place about quarterbacks and how each mean help their respective team get to the Promise Land. The quarterback most important to me in that quest is third-year signal caller Jameis Winston.

As a Buccaneers fan, I am a member of a few fan groups on Facebook. Before Winston even declared for the draft there was discussion about him and what he could potentially do as the team’s passer given his feats at Florida State University as a Heisman Trophy winner and National Champion. Fast forward two full seasons and five weeks into Year 3 and it is a time to pause to ask where the controversial leader of the Pewter Pirates is and where he might project to go as it relates to being a ‘Franchise QB’.

For starters, I felt it was most important to compare Jameis to the quarterbacks the Bucs have envisioned to be the face of the franchise. Quarterbacks like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are easily the best at their position in their team’s history. Yet it is the passers from the past and the shadows they cast, that make quarterbacking in places like in Dallas and Pittsburgh so difficult. Dak is not only compared to his predecessor, Tony Romo, but also to Cowboys legends of old such as Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach. Ben Roethlisberger’s lore comes in delivering Super Bowl rings like Steelers great Terry Bradshaw did, whomever succeeds the 2004 first round draft pick will be expected to deliver a Vince Lombardi Trophy to the Steel City as well. With that logic, it is only fair to view Jameis as he holds up to the four former first round picks at the QB position in Tampa: 1978 17th overall selection Doug Williams, 1987 1st overall selection Vinny Testaverde, 1994 6th overall selection Trent Dilfer and 2009 17th overall selection Josh Freeman. As the team’s second quarterback taken 1st overall and the fifth first round quarterback in franchise history, Bucs brass is hopeful Jameis will finally be the ‘franchise’ player to lead the team back to a Super Bowl.

Thus far, Winston has played and started in 36 games since his debut in Week 1 of the 2015 NFL season. His stat line looks like so:

751 completion 1256 attempts (59.8%)

9,330 yards

57 touchdowns 36 interceptions

17 wins 19 losses

Former Miami Hurricane, Vinny Testaverde, is the only quarterback to share the distinction as the team’s first overall selection. Through his first 36 starts spanning the 1987, 1988, 1989 and three games into the 1990 season the New York native threw for the following:

584 completions 1162 attempts (50.2%)

7,952 yards

41 touchdowns 64 interceptions

12 wins 24 losses

Before Doug Williams became the first African-American to win a Super Bowl for Washington’s football team, he was a first round pick out of Grambling State for the Buccaneers in their third season as an expansion franchise in the NFL. Doug’s first 36 starts consisted of 10 games in his rookie season, the entire 1979 season and 10 games into his third year in the league:

382 completions 889 attempts (42.9%)

5,359 yards

36 touchdowns 41 interceptions

18 wins 17 losses 1 tie

The second of the Buccaneer first round picks to win a Super Bowl for another team (Steve Young signed with the team as a free agent out of the USFL), Trent Dilfer is the winningest quarterback in Buccaneer history over his 6 seasons in Tampa. His first 36 games were a far cry from the second half of his career with the team:

555 completions 1029 attempts (53.9%)

6,346 yards

19 touchdowns 44 interceptions

15 wins 21 losses

Lastly is Josh Freeman, the quarterback most recently with the distinction as a potential franchise player for the Bucs. Known primarily for his spectacular sophomore season, the talented Kansas State alum had a controversial end to his career in Tampa and in the NFL during Greg Schiano’s tenure as head coach, his first 36 games totaled:

701 completions 1171 attempts (59.8%)

8,005 yards

47 touchdowns 40 interceptions

17 wins 19 losses

As you can see, Freeman’s numbers are the closest to Winston’s here sharing a completion percentage, win-loss record and being the only QB to come near Jameis’ yardage total. Freeman is also the only one on the list to finish his first 36 games with more touchdowns than interceptions. A glaring result of this research was the passes attempted to interception total. Winston is berated by fans and analysts alike for his gunslinger mentality and many have pointed to the young quarterback’s interception total, averaging 1 interception per game. While significantly out-attempting every quarterback on this list, he manages to be tied for the highest completion percentage and still has the least amount of interceptions. Although the yards gained and attempts clearly show a greater commitment to the pass, Jameis has also amassed more touchdowns than his elders. It is fairly clear that through 36 starts, Jameis is the best quarterback of the group.

Part of the idea of looking to compare the Bucs’ five first round passers was to see not only how these quarterbacks compared with one another at the same career start total, but to project where the former Heisman Trophy winner would fare in game 37 and beyond. What I found was that the 36th start was essentially at or past the half point mark for all of former quarterbacks. Dilfer went on to start 40 more games, Vinny 36, Doug 31 and Freeman was nearing the end of his tenure with only 19 more starts. The results were a mixed bag:

Vinny totaled a 54.3 completion percentage and threw significantly fewer interceptions (46) but also threw for fewer yards and touchdowns. His second half record was 11-26.

Trent would also increase his completion percentage with a 55.6 clip in 40 starts. He would also go on to flip his abysmal touchdown to interception rate throwing 51 touchdowns to 36 interceptions. His win-loss record improved to 23-17 and the QB led the Buccaneers to a playoff appearance as well.

Doug’s 31 games saw a better completion percentage at 51.2%. His touchdowns per game increased and interceptions thrown decreased. Another feat for Williams was his 7,289 yards leading the group after their first 36 games. Doug’s second half would yield a 15-16 record.

Josh Freeman’s 10-6 second-season would be his only winning campaign as he would go on to win only 7 more contests after the 36 game mark. Unlike his constituents, his numbers went down as he registered only 18 touchdowns to 26 interceptions for 4,353 yards.

It can be summarized that the remaining games of these quarterbacks in a Bucs uniform in some ways resembled their first 36. They appeared to increase their accuracy and reduce turnovers but ultimately was unable to make a case to be a the QB for the team beyond a 5th-6th season. This is probably due to the fact the winningest players for the franchise–Dilfer and Williams–ended with .500 records at 38-38 and 33-33-1 respectively.

Adding to the comparison of where Winston stands is his proximity to a number of Buccaneer all-time records. Barring injury, at his current rate, Winston is on pace to surpass the career touchdown mark of 80 set by Freeman by his third game next season and would eclipse Testaverde’s career yards record of 14,820 by Week 10 of next season. Standing in his way would be the 22 wins needed to overtake Dilfer as the team’s winningest passer. While holding these records and being compared to the aforementioned players may not be the greatest of standards, what it does show is that Jameis is making great progress especially by increasing wins in each season: six in 2015 and nine–barely missing the playoffs–last season. If Jameis can get to the 32 game average his predecessors had after their 36 start mark, he’d already statistically be the greatest Buccaneer QB of all-time. Bucs fans also hope he will have checked off some of the other criteria of a franchise QB: playoff appearances, playoff wins and the grand prize of them all, a Super Bowl.

[thesportsplanet]

The Hypocrisy of the Anti-Kaepernick Crowd

After watching a video with former Baltimore Ravens’ Shannon Sharpe and Ray Lewis, my initial goal of this post was to chronicle QB Colin Kaepernick’s summer as a free agent. A quick summary of the University of Nevada product’s career shows a dynamic, dual-threat signal caller that went 25-14 in his first 3 seasons of play--including a trip to Super Bowl XLVII against the team that is currently deciding whether they ought to bring the free agent on board. The last two seasons have been filled with injury and poor play, posting a 3-16 record as the team has had two one-and-done coaches since QB guru Jim Harbaugh departed the Bay Area franchise. There are many opinions about Kaepernick’s abilities moving forward. The QB will turn 30 this upcoming season, yet fans and NFL personnel continue to wonder if Kaepernick is more like the QB that lead his team to its first Super Bowl since 1994 or the seventh year pro still struggling to master the fundamentals of ‘proper quarterbacking’.

The facts: Kaepernick has a Super Bowl appearance, a 28-30 record as a starter, 72 touchdowns, 30 interceptions and a 4-2 playoff record. 

My personal ‘football’ opinion states that Kaepernick would be a QB whisperer’s dream project with his strong arm and scrambling talent. San Francisco became a stale situation the minute Harbaugh left and Jim Tomsula was named as his successor. If placed in the right environment, Kaepernick could possibly ‘put it all together’. To label his career dead based on the past two seasons (without factoring in the mess with the Niners front office and head coach) is premature and short-sighted.

What became the focus of the 2016 season instead was Colin’s protests. Frustrated by the pattern of unjust murders of African-Americans followed by no repercussions, the Niners QB announced he would not stand for the National Anthem until he saw changes in the trend. While the team went on to win only 2 games, landing the #2 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, reports from the 49ers’ locker room did not show the chaos many critics of Kaepernick’s protest perceived there would be. In fact, much of Kaepernick’s backlash came from sports fans and analysts nationwide. Fans who disagreed with Kaepernick’s cause and/or method of protest threatened to boycott the NFL to showcase their disapproval. 

Despite Kaepernick’s philanthropic and volunteering efforts since his announcement and his pledge to cease his National Anthem protesting method; Kaepernick, now a free agent, is having a difficult time finding employment. The most prevailing assumptions for Kaepernick’s long summer are: 1) that owners are either fearful of the response from their respective fanbases and/or 2) that owners are in disagreement with the QB over his protests, keeping the QB out of the league to make a point to other players considering following suit. 

Whichever is the case in this situation, the largest problem I see is the hypocrisy of either reason. That more than anything requires our discussion and focus.

One of the draws of sports as a societal institution is the idea that athletics, at all levels, serve as a functioning example of a meritocracy. We boast that on the field of play, everything is earned. While we know this is not always true--with a coach’s kid getting preferential treatment or a high draft pick being coddled by a franchise based on upside and investment--we believe it nevertheless and continue to use it to market the good of sports. The problem I see is that as a society we don’t call things the way they really are. The truth is that rules are not for everyone. There are ‘perks’ that talented athletes--and celebrities--have that do not apply to others. If you are a fan of a NFL/NBA/MLB/NHL team you could probably name at least one player from your team that was involved with an issue of any kind and received a lessened punishment (or no punishment at all) most likely based on their skill level. In just as much time, you could also come up with the name of a celebrity that skirted the law in some capacity as well. Instead of coming out and acknowledging that this is the case in our society, we try to push the opposite. We say “this” is the punishment for “that” event and then when it occurs with someone we don’t want it to, we push it under the proverbial rug. In the same breath, we’ll be quick the throw the ‘kitchen sink’ at someone to make an example of them for breaking a law/rule. We then go on to profess that rules are important and must be followed yet we are not consistent in their application. Professional sports owners repeatedly (again repeatedly) sign and draft players who come with ‘baggage’ or ‘off the field concerns’ in the name of winning. These players may have a history with domestic abuse, driving while intoxicated or a pattern of poor judgment and decision making yet owners are able to face criticism of those signings because of the athlete’s skill/marketability means more income. 

This issue with Kaepernick does not solely lie on the shoulders of NFL owners. Fans are fickle. I am a fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team. Two years ago, my favorite team made the controversial decision to draft Jameis Winston with the number one overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft. There were questions about his maturity with many tales of childish behavior throughout his three years in Tallahassee. Being accused of sexual assault at Florida State turned the narrative from a young guy who needed to grow up to a story of the epidemic of spoiled athletes in a patriarchal society that believe the world is their oyster. My belief is that something happened between Winston and Erica Kinsman. I was against the team drafting Winston for obvious reasons. I did understand his talent but could not empathize with taking the risk he posed especially when Marcus Mariota was also available and the complete opposite of controversial (also a really good QB prospect who I am still a fan of to this day). I admit that I still struggle with the dichotomy of how to go about my fandom as it relates to the Bucs and Jameis. On one end I am a fan of this team, want the team to win and Jameis is the quarterback of the team. One the other end it does not feel appropriate to cheer for someone who may have been accused of rape. 

I am not alone, though. While other teams and fans may not have the exact situation as this (except the Steelers which I’ll get to in a bit) every team has a story where the team--and by extension its fanbase--put an controversial issue aside on Sundays. The reality of the situation is that if the person is good, more times than not we’ll get over it. Ask Pittsburgh Steeler fans about how they feel about Ben Roethlisberger who was accused of sexual assault, twice! The QB has gone on to win two Super Bowl trophies in his 13 seasons in the league and is considered to be a lock for the Hall of Fame. Philadelphia Eagles fans cheered as Michael Vick led the team to a playoff appearance in 2010, only two years removed from being released from prison on felony dogfighting charges. Peyton Manning even had a story of sexual assault come to light recently. 

Right now, Kaepernick is being linked to the Baltimore Ravens. The team has attempted to put ‘feelers’ out there, gauging fan reaction to their potential interest in signing him. The Kansas City Chiefs did something similar as their owner stated the team would have no reservations signing the free agent although the team does not appear to have a pressing need at the position. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh McCown have gone on to sign with teams this off-season. Both had a  worse 2016 season statistically than Kaepernick and possess lower upside. Allegedly many Ravens fans have expressed disapproval in the team’s consideration of Kaepernick but would be the same fans cheering every week if Kaepernick returned to his 2012-14 form in a Baltimore jersey. Owners also deserve criticism for showing little hesitation in signing athletes with a track record of abuse toward women and other criminal acts but showing near refusal to sign an athlete using his position to enact societal change, breaking no law whatsoever. As a consumer of the National Football League, I question the priorities of its decision makers and urge fans who believe they are enraged with Kaepernick to recognize the wool being pulled over their heads. You deserve just as much of the Game of Thrones style “Shame” chant as the owners who show that violence against women is less important than civil rights/”politics”. Speaking of politics, Patriots QB Tom Brady publicly endorsed Donald Trump--a man that drew the ire of many for his statements/actions in his past as a real estate professional and during his Presidential campaign--yet his fans remained loyal cheering him on to a fifth Super Bowl win a few months ago. More evidence that we pick and choose and aren’t nearly the perfect moralists we attempt to show ourselves to be. I wish people would be more upfront with the fact that they are picking and choosing instead of trying to hide this action. Of QBs with at least 300 pass attempts last season, only two had just as many or fewer interceptions as Kaepernick: Cowboys sensation Dak Prescott and Super Bowl winner Tom Brady. Kaepernick had more touchdowns than Chiefs starter Alex Smith and a better completion percentage than Cam Newton. If football is a meritocracy, could someone tell me how he doesn’t have a job?

Before you go pointing the finger at Kaepernick, maybe you should check yourself. Fans and sports owners, alike.

[thesportsplanet]

From Out of the Shadows

There’s a great amount of irony to note about a sport that’s more entertaining in its off-season than its regular season. With many casual fans lamenting over the predictability of the NBA each season, the season’s end--MVP award winner revelation, NBA draft selections and new faces in different places--certainly does a sufficient job getting fans geared up for the upcoming campaign.

One of the biggest story lines in this off-season is the state of the 2017 NBA Finals runner-ups, the Cleveland Cavaliers. After losing to the Golden State Warriors in 5 games, the story of Cleveland’s off-season was supposed to be how the organization was going to re-tool. Golden State countered their 2016 NBA Finals loss to Cleveland by signing then free agent forward Kevin Durant. Cavaliers star Zeus LeBron James spent much of the 2017 season inquiring about obtaining more pieces in the arms race with the Warriors to keep up with the Western Conference powerhouse. At the time pundits mocked this request, seeing a team loaded with the likes of point guard Kyrie Irving and power forward Kevin Love. Ultimately, LeBron would end up being correct as Golden State looked straight out of NBA 2K in the playoffs, with their only loss coming to Cleveland in Game 4.

Late June was a circus for Cleveland and the rest of the NBA. With the NBA draft fast approaching, Indiana Pacers forward Paul George stated he would not be re-signing with the Hoosier franchise --prompting the team to scramble to find a trade suitor in a hurry as George was entering the last season of his deal. Seen as a one-year rental with reports surfacing that George will look to join the Lakers for the 2018-19 season, this was the perfect scenario for Cleveland. With LeBron set to become a free agent at the end of the 2017-18 season, possibly swapping Kevin Love for Paul George would put them as close to even with Golden State as they could hope to be. Allegedly a three team trade with the Pacers, Cavaliers and Nuggets was done before Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard had a change of heart, reneging on a trade that would have brought the Indiana swingman to Cleveland. Right before all this occurred Dan Gilbert pulled a ‘Dan Gilbert’ by choosing not to re-sign the team’s GM, David Griffin. Dan Gilbert would follow this up by failing to strike a deal with NBA legend Chauncey Billups to take over as the team’s new general manager. While Chauncey Billups did not have any front office experience, his reputation as well-respected player would have surely bode well in managing the personalities on the roster and could have potentially served to be an attractive piece to potential free agents. According to multiple sources, Gilbert offered a contract way below market value for the GM position--one of many reasons that led to Billups withdrawing his name from consideration.

2 strikes for Cleveland.

The final out of the inning would come from LeBron James himself. As free agency for the franchise’s best player is only a season away, LeBron has been understandably been paying close attention to the off-season moves of the teams he may be interested in. He has given no inclination that he will seek to re-sign with his hometown team and rightfully so. With the off-season the Cavs have had, he cannot be blamed for flirting with greener pastures. This flirting--most blatantly with the Los Angeles Lakers--is obvious to all with information about LeBron’s California home and James’ attendance at one of the Lakers’ Summer League contests. While Cleveland may have their hands tied, a certain Cavalier is making sure his hands are not.

Enter Kyrie Irving and his recent request to be traded from the Cavs.

I’ve listened to countless takes on Kyrie’s trade request in the past few days. Some see the request as a slight to LeBron. Others see the request as a graduation of sorts for the 25 year old star. Per the leak of the trade--most likely from LeBron’s camp-- it was said that Kyrie expressed a desire to be traded as he no longer wished to play second fiddle to LeBron. For him, the ideal situation would be one where he is able to be the ‘man’ and “focal point” for either the San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves or Miami Heat. While much emphasis is being put on Kyrie’s assertion of wishing to be the focal point for his next team, I believe this claim is more so about stepping out of LeBron’s shadow and influence than it is about going to a team where he is immediately seen as the team’s best player (a la Kawhi with the Spurs or Karl-Anthony with the Wolves).

It is understandable how some can perceive this request as ungratefulness towards LeBron. Kyrie played on a Cavaliers team that landed top of the lottery picks in his first three seasons in the NBA--two consecutive picks landing at #1 overall. LeBron’s arrival saw three consecutive NBA Finals appearances, the middle resulting in Cleveland’s first championship.

BUT....

One should try to view this from the lens of Kyrie Irving. As a young star equipped with the magical essence of “Mamba Mentality”, Kyrie wants to prove that his success is not simply the result of being the most dominant player in the league’s sidekick. Very much akin to the situation The Black Mamba was in with Shaquille O’Neal just over 13 years ago, reports surfaced that Kyrie reached out to Kobe to get advice on how Irving should tread in the situation. In hindsight the move worked out for Kobe and Shaq. Both won a championship--Kobe won two--without the other. Having three-peat’d together from 2000-2002, their run had clearly met its end with public friction that ranged from issues on and off the court. As the accusation of leaking the trade has been placed on LeBron’s ‘clique’ it is best to make this move before the bad blood spills into the public forum even further.

While we may look at the duo’s time together as Kyrie’s best years in the future he deserves the opportunity to forge his own path. His years in Cleveland before LeBron were filled with injury (51 and 59 games played, respectively) and a bare cupboard of a roster. There is no doubt that LeBron’s presence on and off the court have provided a boost to Kyrie’s maturation and skills--the same can be said about Kobe from the Shaq years. The difference here is that the Cavaliers franchise is and has been a dysfunctional mess that starts at the top. Kyrie simply waiting out LeBron would do nothing good for Kyrie’s career. If LeBron isn’t going to commit to staying to continue to chase multiple titles with Irving, its best to plan ahead than to wait for impending doom.

A move would also benefit the Cavaliers. LeBron’s refusal to waive his no trade clause makes Kyrie the team’s biggest asset in trade talks. Given that LeBron left the team as a free agent in 2011 and figures to do so again, Cleveland should celebrate being able to receive compensation for a star player before he departs. Although Kyrie is without leverage in who Cleveland decides to trade the point guard to, he would have the option to sign an extension with his new team or depart for a preferred destination at the end of the 2018-19 season. As for LeBron, his possible exit from Cleveland, a second time, will return the Cavaliers to its former status of perennial lottery ball watchers. Good to know one person involved has enough sense to not sit around and wait for the storm to hit.

[thesportsplanet]

Sports: Society’s Trail Blazer

It’s been a year and 7 months since my last post. Wow. Hopefully, I don’t have another hiatus of that length but I am excited that recent events have led me back here.

I am a sociologist first and foremost. It’s simply convenient that sports happened to coincide with what I perceived to be solutions to many societal issues that this marriage between sociology and sports commenced. I noticed early on that sports provided a relief to many societal issues and essentially I decided that whatever career I would embark on would study these initiatives and find a way to broadcast them beyond the realm sports occupied. While the sports world is no where near perfect and there are still many issues in various sports leagues and settings (obviously societal issues that have surfaced into sports) it does appear that sports has led the way in regards to social change.

In light of recent events in Baltimore, MD and Ferguson, MO I’ve been disappointed that the only headlines or topics of conversation have been regarding the surface issues. Many Facebook statuses and tweets only have touched on the issues of race, police brutality and the immorality of rioting and looting. I see no way whatsoever for change to take place if these are the only conversations that take place. Because these are not conversations. They are one-sided and obvious. A rational human being can agree that a protest should not turn into a violent event where innocent police officers and others are harmed. A rational human being can understand that the true message intended in the protest immediately is lost when violence occurs. Discussing this does nothing to come to a solution whatsoever.

I believe a detailed analysis of the recent Baltimore riot should lead one to focus on the act itself as this became the main focal point once the protest turned violent. A question that is fair should be: how is it that a community of human beings can bring themselves to abandon logic, self-control, decency for others and overall common sense? What factors are present in this type of environment that would allow this to occur? What is it about these “inner-cities” that induces riots? There was Watts, Detroit, Newark, Ferguson and now Baltimore (I may be missing others). Surely these continental geographic locations were not innately predestined to breed this type of behavior. 

My opinion is that these riots, particularly the most recent ones, are a result of a complete and utter lack of investment and resources. Cities that once contained such promise have been poster children for the term “American Wasteland”. Resources are what qualified these locations to be cities. And the extraction of resources are what led to their decay. And yet here comes sports to save the day.

Professional sport franchises are businesses. There is a very good reason that all sport franchises are located, headquartered or in very close proximity to major U.S. (and Canadian) cities. These areas offer the most exposure and provide a conducive, logistically sound environment for thousands of people to gather for a specific event. However, I like to believe there is another reason for this phenomenon. This reason I believe is one where both sides are able to maximize their desires. The owner of the team is able to place their business in an area that will lead to the greatest ability to produce revenue and the city has the opportunity to draw visitors to their home. The hope is that when you go to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey that you initially come to see a New Jersey Devils game, a Seton Hall University basketball game, a concert or any other event the facility hosts. But the long term goal is to get you to walk around. To check out Dinosaur BBQ right next to Devils Den, check out the Joe’s Crab Shack on Broad Street, walk down the street past City Hall and check out Chateau of Spain. Maybe you start by going to these restaurants one day after a game. You decide you like it. As you come to the Prudential Center more often for events, maybe you decide to show up before the game to dine in these establishments. When the city has really reached its goal is when you come to Newark to go to these restaurants without having an event to attend at the Prudential Center. Maybe your point of view about this city changes as you become accustomed to this area, as you begin to associate these restaurants as something you like and maybe the city can start to also see change in the way you view it. Perhaps you begin to expand past this area, you visit NJPAC, you make a point to attend the annual Portuguese Festival on Ferry Street, slowly but surely you begin to invest in the city again. 

And so far these sporting events are the only true reason most of these cities see visitors. This narrative of exploring the city is the idea, is the hope and it certainly does happen in spurts but it doesn't advance to the next level. And this is where sports need the help of society. These cities became dangerous because there’s nothing there. For all the amenities Downtown Newark has to offer, a quick drive up Springfield Ave results in locked doors and rolled up windows as the nearest highway is quickly identified. Yet the story does not need to end when the National Hockey League contest ends, when the Big East basketball game ends, when the concert ends. This is not a grand solution. There is no grand solution. The problem these cities face are multi-layered with old scabs waiting to be exposed again. These rioters have been waiting for an excuse to do this. This wouldn't have happened without the Freddie Gray incident. And the sad thing is these incidents aren't flammable enough to lead to rioting anyway. Yet, it’s something that is believed to be able to justify the releasing of the anger of being forgotten. That the life that should be lived is right next door. Think of any inner city you know and I’m willing to bet a good sum of money that an affluent suburb is no more than 10 miles away from its city proper. Furthermore, these residents of these forgotten municipalities don’t have the same access to a better existence. And when all you know is squalor and there’s no hope, no break, no golden opportunity that knocks at your door; you simply adjust. You’re frustrated because you know a better life is a possibility. It’s not far from you geographically and it’s plastered all over the media. Yet, you don’t have the resources that would have properly armed you with the ability to appropriately combat the injustice you've lived through. You react blindly. And reacting blindly is not the answer but how can you be upset that the perspective you have isn't shared, when the perspective that was present in these cities was the very jewel that was taken away?

If these people who hail from different walks of life can all come together on this sports team to galvanize a community, particularly one you identify with and cheer on, then why are you incapable of following suit?

{Tyrone L. Foster}

April 28, 2015

[thesportsplanet]

Together Everyone Achieves More

I must say, I don't know why I haven't done this post years ago. It's actually a line of thinking that's basically my way of thinking regarding almost everything but I guess today I'm feeling especially chatty and believe I can put into words how I think these two things are comparable. 

There is a reason sports is so beloved in the world. Not just in the United States, but all over the world. The only difference really is the sport but the obsession over professional athletics and the concept of a team is truly universal. 

For me, it's life. Sports isn't just a hobby but it's life. I overanalyze, I'm very irrational (look at all the teams I'm a fan of) and most importantly a loss by my favorite team on Saturdays (UCLA) and Sundays (Tampa Bay Bucs) will literally ruin my mood for the weekend, unless I get a win in fantasy football that is. Anyone who knows me though knows that I recognize sports isn't everything, at least I'd hope so. I also enjoy music, philosophy, food, dogs, maps, New Jersey, the beach, etc. But the point of this post isn't to talk about sports as it is how the idea of sports and the dynamic of a team is basically the biggest key to being a human being.

Okay, so human beings are social creatures. I have a duty to state that because 1) it's the truth and 2) I was a Sociology major. Despite how much narcissism, arrogance and hubris a person may display, without human interaction they're nothing. Someone who is qualified to explain how social interaction is an innate need can go into further detail about the necessity of social interaction but just know it's as important as oxygen--if not more.

What interests me about sports more so than anything else is the clever way sports seems to solve some of the biggest conundrums we have in society. The sporting world is no where near perfect but I'd say it's a few steps ahead of 'regular society'. Example: Tom Brady doesn't care if he's throwing to a Muslim or a gay guy. A basketball owner doesn't care about the race, creed, socioeconomic environment or sexual orientation of his head coach. If that coach is great at what he or she does, produces wins and isn't showing up all over news and tabloids for a DUI then they're good to go. I'm not saying all sports are like that. All basketball owners think that way or even Tom Brady thinks that way (I'm confident he really doesn't care who he's throwing to though) but it's more common in athletics than in 'real life'.

I appreciate the concept of a team in sports. United by a common goal and brought together by their desire to reach success in their sport. A collective of individuals who partially put aside their own for the betterment of the group--and in turn their own good. Somewhere in the midst of all this comes the part where these people from all different walks of life realize they have a lot more in common than they probably would've expected. Maybe two guys who would've never met, let alone probably never even talked to each other if they did meet, find out they like the same band, the same food, the same movies, TV shoes, their mothers have the same birthday. 

The greatest aspect of a team is their response to adversity. The way they are able to pull each other up when things aren't going well. The way they are able to communicate. How they can go from screaming at each other about a play going wrong in one second to hugging and celebrating the next moment. They're so competitive and get so caught up in the moment that they expect near perfection and are upset when a plan, a drawn up and practiced play doesn't go how it was supposed to. But they go back to the sideline, figure out what went wrong and how to improve it. Maybe they run the same play later and execute it the way it should be done and score the winning goal, the winning touchdown, make the game winning basket.

This is not only what I draw most from sports into my life but essentially how I am in my closest relationships with friends and family. I consider my relationship with each individual person to be our own team. Me and my mom are a team. Me and my girlfriend are a team. Me and my sisters are a team. Me and my boys from Seton Halll are a team. Me and my boys from Framingham are a team; and my female friends too. Each team dynamic is different. Bill Belichick coaching the Cleveland Browns is different from Bill Belichick coaching the New England Patriots. Pete Carroll was different coaching the Patriots to how he was as the coach at the University of Southern California. 

Me and my girlfriend have that yell one minute, hug the next dynamic that many teams have. We get to that point because we care about one another so much that sometimes when we're frustrated at something we may take it out on each other. Or sometimes it's simply a lapse in communication. The same way a veteran receiver may run the wrong route or not see the same thing in a defense that a QB sees. You don't spend forever dwelling on one issue, or else you won't be able to overcome it and get to a good place. If a QB focuses too much on the interception he threw on the first play of the game, he's not going to be able to mentally be ready to throw the game winning touchdown. So he can go up to that receiver that he had a communication lapse with earlier and congratulate him on the game winning catch, and tell his receiver how proud he is of him and the fact they were able to shake off the slow start. Even if the game ended in a loss, with a few interceptions, the QB and WR couldn't get any chemistry going in the game. You go back to the drawing board and get ready for the next game. You have a lengthy season ahead of you and one game does not make a season.

And so it is this type of thinking that I employ with my friends and family. How I can look at a rough time and be able to realize that we still have many games left in the season. That I'm going to need to person to come through for me at another point against another 'opponent'. Some teams don't work and usually a lot of effort has been put into making it work. This goes for friends, family members, significant others. And it is never an easy decision especially if you've invested a lot. You just used a first round pick and don't want to put your franchise back a few years. But you learn from that. You learn what you did wrong, maybe you did a poor job of developing that player to work for your team. You didn't utilize that player's strengths enough. Maybe the player as much as they loved the game didn't have the internal desire to actually sustain it and the thought of being on the team was the real goal for them. Then there's timing. If Mark Sanchez had spent another year in college and waited maybe he would've had a better stint in the NFL. If Drew Bledsoe hadn't gotten injured would Tom Brady have eventually been a starter? Sometimes time doesn't work in our favor and sometimes it does. That doesn't change the perspective of the team. The goal is still the same. 

A SuperBowl. Or in 'society', happiness.

{Tyrone L. Foster}

September 27, 2013

[thesportsplanet]

Greg Schiano's Quest to Overcome Mutiny in Tampa

It was not my plan to create a post regarding this event but as I was digging through and compiling some stats I came across something very interesting. Stats don't always tell the full story but as the popular saying goes "Numbers never lie" and I do think stats can be used to be able to make a point--although sometimes people cling to one particular stat line to back up their claim. A good example being Tim Tebow's stat line in the playoff game against Pittsburgh while he was in Denver. His fans will say he threw for 316 yards and got the win versus a Dick LeBeau defense and use that to proclaim why he should be a starting QB, yet that's just one game.

What I've done covers this athlete's career thus far and I've managed to be able to conclude some things looking at his stats as a whole as opposed to just one or two games. And with this information I believe I can speak on this player's overall development and try to gauge how he might fare on another team.

This player is Josh Freeman.

Today, news broke that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have benched the fifth year pro in favor of 3rd round draft pick Mike Glennon out of North Carolina State. Freeman had been the starter in Tampa since week 9 of his rookie season in 2009 but has fallen out of favor with Head Coach Greg Schiano after posting a 1-8 record in his last 9 starts.

I understand the benching on a number of fronts. Schiano, a new hire by Tampa for the 2012 season, wants his own guy at QB and does not want Freeman to be the or a reason he gets fired like it did his predecessor, Raheem Morris--who handpicked Freeman as Tampa Bay's 'franchise QB' with the 17th overall selection in the 2009 NFL Draft. However, I wanted to understand Josh's career, not just how he looked in the past 19 games. So I took it year by year and then put it together and see what, if anything, stood out.

All information obtained via NFL.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

'09 Rookie Year. Record as starter: 3-6. 

In Wins: 51-88 (58%) 5TD 4INT

In Losses: 105-198 (53%) 5TD 14INT

'10 First Full Season as Starter. Record: 10-6.

In Wins: 178-271 (66%) 19TD 2INT

In Losses: 113-203 (56%) 6TD 4INT

'11 Missed Week 13 game, a loss to Carolina, to injury. Record as starter: 4-11.

In Wins: 92-143 (64%) 4TD 3INT

In Losses: 254-408 (62%) 12TD 19INT

'12 Last Year (First Season with Greg Schiano as HC). Record: 7-9.

In Wins: 126-217 (58%) 15TD 4INT

In Losses: 180-341 (53%) 12TD 13INT

'13 Started First 3 Games Before Being Benched. Record as starter: 0-3

In Losses: 43-94 (46%) 2TD 3INT

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

As I posted on my Twitter, which eventually led me to post this, a few things immediately grabbed my attention. The most important one is this. In Josh Freeman's 59 games as a starter he has a record of 24-35. In his 24 victories he has thrown 43 touchdowns compared to only 13 interceptions. While in his 35 losses he has thrown only 37 touchdowns but has a whopping 53 interceptions. Now understandly, in wins one in more likely to produce touchdowns and in losses one is more likely to produce interceptions, but to throw 40 more interceptions in only 9 more games is INSANE! 

To add to this, Freeman's two best years as a starter (2010 and 2012) saw that he combined to throw 34 touchdowns to only 6 interceptions despite only 2 more wins overall with a record of 17-15. In my opinion, if you told me a QB had 34 touchdowns and 6 interceptions over the course of 2 seasons I wouldn't guess he only managed 2 more wins than losses. I'd have a hard time believing those losses are all the QBs fault when he's doing his job and completing a 62% of his passes (combining his completions and attempts from '10 & '12). Who is to blame? I'm not sure, you could go a few routes with that.

BUT, Josh isn't completely off the hook. While that's an amazing stat line over the course of two seasons, his other seasons are very 'bleh'. In 2009, he only had 4TDs in wins to 3INTs as was the case in 2011 (even though he completed 64% of his passes that year). And he hadn't been able to register a win in 2013 losing two games by a combined deficit of 3 to the New York Jets and New Orleans Saints. 

Inconsistency is the best word to describe Freeman's career in Tampa especially when you start the 2011 season at 4-2 and finish the season losing 9 straight--team lost 10 straight but Freeman missed a game due to injury. Or how you start 2012 at 6-4 and finish the season 1-5 throwing 1 touchdown and 8 interceptions in 2 games of the 5 losses.

Freeman had analysts, coaches and fans alike drooling over his potential after his sophomore year, first year as a starter, in 2010. Leading a cast of unknowns to a 10-6 record after a rookie year that showed flashes of talent. Yet, the 4-12 season of 2011 slowed down Freeman's anointment as the next great thing. Tampa even fired popular head coach Raheem Morris because of it, in hopes that the next coach could get the Bucs back to relevancy--and the playoffs. Things started off hot with the South Florida ball club a 6-4 record and Freeman had a 2010-like start throwing 22 touchdowns to only 7 interceptions. But a 5 game losing streak, which included a 41-0 drumming by NFC South rival New Orleans and a combined 8 interception performance vs the Saints and Rams took the sails out of the Buccaneers ship. A 5 point squeaker over NFC South Champion Atlanta Falcons in Week 17 (who had already clinched home field advantage) stopped the bleeding and provided the team with a bit of optimism for next season. 

All offseason, Schiano seemed non-committal to Josh as the future of the team. This was further evidenced by the team using a 3rd round pick on Mike Glennon, whom was rumored to potentially be a first-round pick in many mock drafts. A bit of background into Schiano and Glennon started to reveal some writing on the wall for Freeman. Apparently, Schiano--formerly the head coach at Rutgers--tried to recruit Glennon when the Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year and 4 star signal caller came out of high school. Now, Schiano finally got his guy. Then Schiano appeared to endorse Freeman as the team's starter, making no indication to when or if Glennon would replace the incumbent. After two heartbreaking and sloppy, penalty ridden losses by a revamped Bucs team that signed CB Darrelle Revis and SS Dashon Goldson in free agency; rumors began to surface regarding tension between Freeman and Schiano. Many reports became to come to light regarding Freeman missing a team photo due to oversleeping and the big headline of the 2013 season, Freeman's captaincy not being renewed for another season. Everything seemed too right. Soon, more rumors began to come about that Freeman was expected to ask for a trade prior to the deadline and everyone around the league wondered when Schiano would finally pull Freeman from the starting linuep. Much hoopla was made over backup QB Mike Glennon warming up on the sideline during New England's 23-3 routing of Tampa Bay. Despite the buzz, Schiano did not insert the rookie in the game. In another surprising twist, Schiano appeared to emphatically endorse Freeman as the team's starter amidst the 0-3 start and questions of Schiano's "seat" getting hot. 

And finally early this morning, news broke that the Schiano, GM Mark Dominic and the Glazers (the owners) came to an agreement end the Josh Freeman era and see if the rookie could right the ship.

As a Buccaneers fan, I don't know how Glennon will fare against the 1-2 Arizona Cardinals. With last year's Coach of the Year Bruce Arians in town giving new life to the career of Carson Palmer and the loaded secondary that features Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu, Tampa could get blown out or shut down the high powered birds of the desert.

Regardless of how anyone feels about the situation it was bound to happen. After watching Freeman's collapse, Schiano wouldn't want his fate connected with an inconsistent QB (especially not being much of an offense type of coach). Now that this move has been made, hopefully the Bucs can get to winning and find a way to trade Freeman. There have already been reports that other players in Tampa are unhappy with Schiano and with Freeman still lurking around and losing still continuing, things can get even more awkward and tense in that locker room and both men will be looking for jobs come next season.

{Tyrone L. Foster}

September 25, 2013

[thesportsplanet]

The Answer

This post is a lot more personal and I only came up with the idea of it after watching a fan made collage of the career of Hall of Fame bound guard Allen Iverson on the infamous WorldStarHipHop.com. Watching the video, which I'll post the link to at the end of the post made me think about not only my fandom (not sure if that is the correct term) of "The Answer" Allen Iverson but my own experiences with athletics.

For starters, I've never been more of a fan of an athlete than I have been--and still am--of AI. Iverson's career flamed out well before it should have. And it was entirely his own doing, yet, I look at it as a good thing. In fact, I think I'm the only person who can look at AI's downward spiral (at least in regards to his playing career) and still find a semblance of a role model.

I'll explain.

Iverson was fearless. Fearless doesn't even do him enough justice. I can't explain it properly. It's hard to put into words for someone who hadn't witnessed it, how a 165lb guard--which for a NBA player is beyond rare to put that in perspective--could throw his body at guys who were almost twice his size and not only get back up but make the shot! While some judged Iverson due to the 'laundry list' of infractions and controversies that surrounded him (some well before his NBA days), it was nearly impossible not to fall in love with his game, his fervor, and his absolute determination. When I think of the phrase "leaving it all out on the court/field" I think of Iverson. It was this characteristic that no one could doubt regardless of one's opinion of Iverson as a person. 

The greatest thing of me about Iverson is that he's consistent. He wore his identity on his sleeve, literally. His signature tattoo, on his left arm reads, "Only The Strong Survive" and that had just as much to do with his past as it did his game. He was confident in his abilities no matter the opponent. He knew the expectations of him, he knew he would be asked to be 'The Show' and he delivered day in and day out. He was the Philadelphia 76ers and while he was the main attraction, he never complained about the lack of support he had in the City of Brotherly Love. He just went out and did his thing, gave his all. His consistency comes in with his iconic press conference about practice, his absolute refusal to be anything but a starter in the NBA, his carelessness regarding his critics. A little bit of research into his upbringing and everything makes sense. Making it out of a rough inner city in Newport News, Virginia as well as the controversy involving the bowling alley brawl that almost cost him his chance at an athletic career; it takes a strong person. A person willing to dance to the beat of their own drum. 

Now look where that's gotten him.

One of the 76ers all-time greatest players, one of the best guards in the history of the NBA, arguably the best scoring guard in the history of the NBA, a definite first ballot Hall of Famer and the influence he's had on the NBA of today.

Now, you have to think hard to find one NBA player whose body isn't covered in tattoos. You now have to think about a point guard who is primarily pass first, and even then if he can't score he's almost looked at as useless. And you can't forget about the popularity of the shooting sleeve and the NBA's Iverson Rule where players are now held to a standard of dress--if they aren't playing.

Basically, Iverson taught me to put your all into sports. If there is anything to question about you the one thing that couldn't be debated was your effort. Similar to Iverson, there are some aspects of my own history with sports that I may not agree with today. However, I've always given my all and held the belief that it's all or nothing. And also like Iverson, my past experiences have all been learning lessons and make me the person I am today. For Iverson, sports was his ticket out. For me, sports helped me to understand my inner city, to understand myself and what I offered to the world and to understand--once again similar to Iverson--that I have a gift that this inner city can't hold back. I've always looked at the bigger picture in sports. And that's why I've always appreciated Allen Iverson. Because while you can name all the 'bad things' in Iverson's career, I can come back with all his accomplishments, his influence on the game and how his character was the true positive that he brought to the game. 

Many consider me to be a leader. I believe the first things I learned about leadership came from Iverson. The good and bad. Today, I was accepted into a Master's program in Sports Leadership. Although I'm not completely certain where that road will leave me, I bring my past with me, my accomplishments as well as some of the things I give a few thoughts about. I hesitate to use the word 'regret' because I've always believed you don't know where you'd be if you made the opposite decision in a situation. I'm sure there's ton of things Iverson may have a few thoughts about regarding his career, but for better or worse he was who he was. It made his career and story as interesting as it is and most importantly than anything to me, it proved he was human.

Video: http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhzQ9QtZuWMM4R71gD

P.S. For anyone who may doubt that Iverson is truly a first ballot Hall of Famer read this: 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1748165-6-reasons-allen-iverson-is-a-no-brainer-first-ballot-hall-of-famer

{Tyrone L. Foster}

September 22, 2013

[thesportsplanet]

Pay For Play

I haven't figured out which is more confusing, politics or the NCAA.

I could go on for days as to how politics can be confusing as there are so many different layers to the government between decision makers, lobbyists, citizens, etc. Luckily the NCAA isn't this complex. I'll break it down.

So the latest dilemma in the land of college athletics (more so, football and basketball to be honest) is the notion of amateurism and what that entails. 

You have your decision makers: Athletic Directors, Presidents, Commissioners (of conferences), NCAA senior executives. And you have your citizens (or laborers), the players themselves. The amateurism deal works on the agreement that the decision makers and the citizens are in a win-win scenario. The higher ups rake in all the profits from the laborers and in return, the laborers operate on a platform that allows them greater exposure to professional scouts. And for the most part this is true. 

But there's a few different issues that plague this relationship. 

1) This model does not follow any other type of relationship in which labor is being applied. In any other setting, when you are working you are compensated for that labor. When you get your car fixed for example, the parts are relatively inexpensive. What you're paying for is the mechanic/technician's time and effort to install the part. You can buy the part on your own but that doesn't mean you know how to put it in. Or else you'd do it yourself. 

2) The belief that collegiate athletics in the U.S. is the only option athletes in high school have to progress to the pro ranks is incorrect. Maybe not so much for football since the only true market is the United States but look at Brandon Jennings and Jeremy Tyler. Two of the most popular examples of high school athletes to go overseas to play professionally instead of going to college. Both were drafted in the NBA.

3) Not only does the relationship not follow any other type of company/worker relationship but the exploitation is perhaps the most severe of any of those relationships. Unions exist for all those relationships except for in the NCAA (because they're "amateurs"). Yet, the amount of money being made by the NCAA off these laborers is ridiculous because they don't see a penny of it. Also included in this is the fact that collegiate athletes cannot work outside jobs. Between practice, games, classes, sleeping and eating there isn't even any time to dedicate to outside work. 

4) Lastly, you have the video games. Where players likeness is duplicated in every facet but name. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks just like ducks do, it's a duck. A New York Times article (which I'll post the link below) chronicles the battle the NCAA is in with Ed O'Bannon and company to contest the NCAA's profiting from players likeness in video games. Thing is, that quickly turned into the NCAA profiting off players in general. The outcome of this suit will surely be a game changer in the environment of college athletics. But what I was getting at with this article is that it stated how Roy Hibbert's doppelganger in NCAA '08 March Madness had the same height, jersey number and handedness as his "completely unrelated" counterpart. The article continued on to state if Eli Manning was injured in a real game (back when he was in college), his injury would translate to the starting QB who wears #10 for the Ole Miss Rebels--that's not Eli Manning--also being out. Chalk it up to a weird coincidence I suppose.

It's sad because as an institution that should be based on the development of young men and women into positive, contributing members of society--at least in theory; these schools see "student-athletes" as nothing more than currency. Especially with the nature of the NCAA where players are usually at a school for 1-3 years, the turnout of the next cash cow is very frequent. I'm also at a loss for how courts have sided with the NCAA for this long. Allowing the injustice to continue off what is in my opinion a very thin argument citing amateurism. Saying athletes shouldn't be paid because they're amateurs is wrong on a few levels. One, because i'm sure talent wise they aren't amateurs. Two, because in regards to the service they are providing for the institution is they are employees. You mean to tell me, I can get paid to sit at a desk and do my homework and answer questions but I can't get paid for bringing the school to a BCS Bowl game or a Final Four where I'm making millions of dollars for my school?!

Crazy world we live in.

New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/20/sports/high-stakes-games-critical-step-for-suit-seeking-payment-for-college-athletes.html?hp&pagewanted=all&_r=0

{Tyrone L. Foster}

June 21, 2013

[thesportsplanet]

Team Camaraderie and The Gay Athlete

Hello. It's been a few months since my last post and this one here doesn't really have that much of a topic but follow me.

Being a fan of football and basketball and hockey and baseball and soccer and just sports in general, I find myself comparing and contrasting the true team element of each sport.

I've always found team camaraderie and chemistry to be one of the greatest phenomenons in life. How you and another person can bond over a sport, learn each other's playing styles, tendencies, etc and also bond outside of the field of play. Beyond talent, this is what separates championship teams from those playoffs teams that never get 'over the hump'. At least in my opinion.

Allen Iverson is my favorite basketball player. I love MJ and everything he meant to the NBA, he's the G.O.A.T and the ideal NBA superstar but I don't see how you couldn't become enamored with Iverson's drive and passion while he was in his prime. With all that said, the one knock on Iverson I have is that he wasn't a team player. I'm not saying his teammates hated him, he was a locker room cancer and he was the most selfish athlete to ever play an American professional sport; but his playing career would've been longer--better--if he was about his teammates more so than himself. But I can't knock him for that because he had a tough upbringing and I'm sure him being about him is what allowed him to survive and make it out of Newport News, Virginia. 

It's been an interesting couple of months for sports, where the essence of camaraderie will be tested. Jason Collins, a veteran journeyman in the NBA--who is currently a free agent--revealed that he is gay. Brittney Griner, Baylor superstar and #1 overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft also came out as gay. According to former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, a champion of gay rights, four current NFL players were supposedly going to come out together. 

I've always said that people think they care about a gay athlete when they really don't. Here's what I mean: imagine you are Tom Brady (just a hypothetical situation, you can insert any QB you wish) and it's the SuperBowl. You're in the process of executing the game winning drive. You're in the red zone and there's 10 seconds left. You have 3 receivers and two are covered and the only one that's open has come out to the team and public as being gay. You really mean to tell me that you think Tom Brady or Peyton Manning or RG3 or Josh Freeman or anyone isn't going to throw that game winning touchdown to the open receiver. You really think they're thinking, hey that guy is gay and I don't agree with his sexual orientation so I'm just going to throw the ball away and lose the SuperBowl. If that didn't do it for you, imagine you're a fan watching the game on TV. Your team is 10 seconds away from winning the SuperBowl! Are you going to yell at your TV screen for your QB not to throw to that guy because he's gay? I didn't think so.

Another aspect of sports I've always loved was its ability to solve social conundrums before the rest of society. That scenario I just said is the reason why I don't believe gay athletes will be a problem in American sports. While yes, that's still very much a hypothetical situation because that chronicles an active player on a team and every athlete thus far that has come out as either been a free agent or retired (minus Griner and maybe some athletes in less popular pro sports). 

But what I'm getting at with the whole camaraderie and how it relates to the latest social revolution sports is going through is that its through bonding on the field and off that will educate players who appear to be most against homosexuality. When players share one unanimous voice, the fans will join in line right behind them. Some misconceptions that players and fans have could possibly be shattered by just getting to know these ostracized members of sports as what they are, people. 

Or who knows. Maybe it'll take a major superstar to come out to change the way the public thinks. Maybe if LeBron James or Tiger Woods was gay there'd be no way around it, you'd have to accept it. Regardless, this battle is playing out on the field as well as off. And when the notion of a homosexual athlete is finally an accepted one, the rest of society will follow suit. 

Tyrone L. Foster

5/22/13

[thesportsplanet]

Black Quarterbacks in the NFL

It's been quite a while since my last post, this semester's been very busy for me but it's finally over. Part of my New Year's Resolution and a goal for next semester, is to try to make time for this blog in light of my other responsibilities; we'll see how good I do in that department. 

Of all the possible topics I could tackle, one of the more recent topics--in which I have a strong opinion of--is the incident involving ESPN analyst Rob Parker and Washington Redskins QB Robert Griffin III.

For details, go to this site: 

http://www.sbnation.com/2012/12/13/3763450/espn-rob-parker-rg3-race

& there's a video here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Uw-8l234yY&feature=youtube_gdata

Neither the video nor the site has the entire conversation on the topic, but to summarize what was said beforehand basically Rob Parker took issue with Robert Griffin III, better known to the football world as RG3, wanting to 'separate' himself from black quarterbacks. While Parker mainly looked at this as a personal slight, my belief and interpretation of RG3's sentiments were of the 'stigma' or reputation or 'box' of being labeled as nothing more than an African-American quarterback in the National Football League. To further clarify my comments, I'm going to put together some statistics of some of the most prominent African-American QBs and then some prominent Caucasian QBs and you tell me which 'box' you would want to be labeled in if you had the choice.

So without further ado

Warren Moon (Hall of Famer)

102 wins in 17 seasons

291 passing TDs; 22 rushing TDs

233 INTs

9x Pro Bowler

26 4th Q comebacks (4QC) , 37 game winning drives (GWD) 

3-7 playoff record (2 GWD)

  Michael Vick

56 wins in 11 seasons

122 passing TDs; 34 rushing TDs

81 INTs

4x Pro Bowler

10 4QC, 1 GWD

0-0 playoff record

  Donovan McNabb

98 wins in 13 seasons

234 passing TDs; 29 rushing TDs

117 INTs 

6x Pro Bowler

17 4QC; 25 GWD

9-7 playoff record (1 4QC, 1 GWD)

Steve McNair

91 wins in 13 seasons

174 passing TDs; 37 rushing TDs

119 INTs

3x ProBowler

17 4QC, 23 GWD

5-5 playoff record (2 4QC, 2 GWD)

1x NFL MVP 

Randall Cunningham

82 wins in 16 seasons

207 passing TDs; 35 rushing TDs

134 INTs 

4x Pro Bowler, 1x 1st Team All Pro

21 4QC, 26 GWD 

3-6 playoff record (2 4QC, 2 GWD)

  Doug Williams

38 wins in 9 seasons

100 passing TDs; 15 rushing TDs

93 INTs

17 4QC; 21 GWD

4-3 playoff record (1 GWD)

1 SuperBowl Win (1 SB MVP) 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Tom Brady

134 wins in 13 seasons

330 pass TDs; 14 rush TDs

121 INT

25 4QC, 35 GWD

7 x Pro Bowler; 2x 1st Team All Pro

16-6 playoff record (3 4QC, 6 GWD)

3 Super Bowl wins (2x SB MVP)

2x NFL MVP

  Peyton Manning

152 wins in 15 seasons

430 pass TDs; 17 rush TDs

230 INT

35 4QC, 46 GWD

11x Pro Bowler; 5x 1st Team All Pro

9-10 playoff record (1 4QC; 1 GWD)

1 Super Bowl win (1x SB MVP)

4x NFL MVP

  Joe Montana

117 wins in 16 seasons

273 pass TDs; 20 rush TDs

139 INT

31 4QC, 33 GWD

8x Pro Bowler; 3x 1st Team All Pro

16-7 playoff record (5 4QC; 5 GWD)

4 Super Bowl wins (3x SB MVP)

2x NFL MVP

  Steve Young

94 wins in 15 seasons

232 pass TDs; 43 rush TDs

107 INT

14 4QC, 17 GWD

7x Pro Bowler; 3x 1st Team All Pro

8-6 playoff record (1 4QC, 1 GWD)

3 Super Bowl wins (1x SB MVP)

2x NFL MVP

   Caucasian QBs VS African-American QBs

497 wins in 59 seasons VS 467 wins in 79 seasons

1265 pass TDs; 94 rush TDs (1359 total) VS 1128 pass TDs; 172 rush TDs (1300 total)

597 INT VS 777 INT

105 4QC, 131 GWD VS 108 4QC, 133 GWD

49-29 playoff record VS 24-28 playoff record

 11 Super Bowl wins (7x SB MVP) VS 1 Super Bowl win (1x SB MVP)

 10x NFL MVP VS 1x NFL MVP

 33 Pro Bowls; 13x 1st Team All Pro VS 26 Pro Bowls; 1x 1st Team All Pro

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

As you can see, with one fewer QB, Caucasian QBs (two of whom are still playing at high levels) have the edge in the majority of the statistics, the better playoff record, more SuperBowls, more MVPs, more ProBowls.

This is not an analysis about the ability of Caucasian QBs as opposed to African-American QBs! In fact, just the opposite! As one can see above, African-American QBs have a lot more rushing TDs than Caucasian QBs and although there is one more QB (and 20 more seasons) have 3 more 4th quarter comebacks and 2 more game winning drives. The rushing TD conundrum is part of the African-American QB stereotype, yet, it is not a bad thing if anything it makes a more dangerous QB to game plan against. I'm sure with the careers of the likes of RG3, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, and Josh Freeman these numbers will soon be a lot closer in the passing department while still being able to be a dual-threat QB if needed.

This analysis was intended to show that when an African-American QB comes along and shows promise, he more than likely will look at a Caucasian QB as an idol as opposed to one of the prominent African-American QBs. While the African-American QBs will serve as motivation and as a trail blazer, of sorts, the athlete is going to pursue a career that mimics the accolades of a Peyton Manning or Tom Brady.

And in my opinion that is what I believe RG3 was truly getting at in his comments. Obviously, he would not be able to do what he is doing had it not been for Warren Moon's Hall of Fame career, Doug Williams' Super Bowl win or Steve McNair's MVP season. What's next is taking it a step further and earning multiple Super Bowl wins, multiple MVPs and joining Moon in the NFL Hall of Fame.

{Tyrone L. Foster}

12/27/12

[thesportsplanet]

Superman to Disneyland

FINALLY! Easily the most annoying, dragged out saga probably in NBA offseason history is over! Regardless of your sentiments about the trade, we can at least all agree we don't have to hear about Dwight's indecision anymore!

...But I believe this Dwight Howard saga is far from over. It is my belief that he will not be a member of the Los Angeles Lakers past this year. Now obviously I could be wrong but hear me out.

For anyone who has been under a rock for most of today, here's the big news: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8252042/sources-dwight-howard-los-angeles-lakers-four-team-deal-complete

For those too lazy to click the link.

Orlando receives: Nuggets guard Arron Afflalo, Nuggets forward Al Harrington, Sixers center Nikola Vucevic, Sixers '12 first round pick Moe Harkless, and a first round pick from Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles

Philadelphia receives: Los Angeles center Andrew Bynum and Orlando guard Jason Richardson

Los Angeles receives: Orlando center Dwight Howard

Denver receives: Philadelphia guard/forward Andre Iguodala 

Now surely we've learned our lesson from the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers that just because the teams agree to the trade doesn't mean the NBA will. The trade will seek approval some time tomorrow, until then we'll just continue on under the assumption it will be upheld. 

Many basketball fans are absolutely livid with Rob Hennigan, the 30 year old general manager of the Orlando Magic, for not getting more out of the deal. Yet, it's been Orlando's plan all along (hence them not pursuing the Brooklyn Nets offer) to shed cap and acquire draft picks. Hennigan hails from the Oklahoma City and San Antonio franchises whom have both used the draft to reach success. 

In the move, Orlando shaves a grand total of over $107 million dollars (a little over $24 million for this upcoming season) and takes on a little under $17 million this season in the players they've acquired in the deal.

But not to be forgotten in the move is the future of Dwight Howard. While this doesn't necessarily concern Orlando anymore, this gamble puts the spotlight more so on Los Angeles than it does Orlando. Many are quick to herald the Lakers for their offseason moves. Keeping Pau Gasol, who originally was part of the mega deal, acquiring 2x MVP point guard Steve Nash, as well as snagging Dwight Howard; but this would all be futile if Dwight Howard choose to go elsewhere as a free agent in 2013--especially if the Lakers do not get Kobe his 6th ring in the '12-'13 season.

Brooklyn may still be in play to land Dwight after all. The Nets' owner, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, is not afraid to pay the penalty of exceeding the cap meaning the team could add a significant Dwight Howard contract if need be. The Nets just gave their starting power forward Brook Lopez the max contract on his extension so it is unknown as to if they'd still be interested but I'm sure something could get done if they wanted him bad enough, still. 

Meanwhile, Philadelphia gets significantly better adding a young big man just entering his prime in Bynum (assuming he resigns with the 76ers) and Denver can somewhat make up for the loss of their former All Star wing by adding another. Both hinge on the play of others as to how much of an impact the acquisitions prove to be. For Philly, the 2nd overall pick of the '10 Draft, Evan Turner must step up and prove his worth as well as the play of point guard Jrue Holiday. For Denver, Ty Lawson and the frontcourt duo of Faried and McGee need to be reliable to plant the team a firm spot in the Western Conference playoff scene for years to come.

All in all, could Hennigan and the Magic have gotten much better and more out of Dwight Howard? Yeah. But as we've seen with the trading of elite players, it's hard to really get what one would think is enough compensation. Making blockbuster trades on NBA 2K games clouds our judgment in terms of trading stars goes. It's not easy. Kobe didn't get another ring until the Lakers got him Pau Gasol after Shaq left the team. And Orlando was in the same situation they are now after they lost the first dominant big man they drafted. 

Personally, I think the best move for Dwight is to play this season with the Lakers out and think about what will be best for his career in the long run. Staying with the Lakers may not be the best move with Pau, Kobe and Nash being towards the end of their playing careers. Howard might find himself being the team again. And with Western Conference powerhouse Oklahoma City being as young as they are and just getting started with their playoff reign, it's safe to assume that this year may be L.A's last real chance at even getting to the Finals let alone winning it all. 

Brooklyn turned a lot of heads with their offseason moves after their move from my beloved homestate New Jersey was completed. Bringing in All Star guard Joe Johnson from the Atlanta Hawks, resigning workhorse forward Gerald Wallace, bringing back their frontcourt tandem of Lopez and Humphries as well as their most important move convincing franchise centerpiece Deron Williams to stay with the team. For some reason, of all the teams in the land, Dwight has had his dreams set on the Nets. And while, he was the one who ruined that from already happening by opting in with Orlando last year; he may still be able to join New York City's new basketball team. 

There will be a lot of storylines to look forward to in the 2012-13 NBA next season. Will LeBron and the Heat repeat as NBA champions? How will the new look Lakers and their new toys fare out West? Will the Nets outdo their NYC rivals in their first season in the Big Apple? Can the Thunder redeem their Finals loss from last season?

P.S. Am I the only person that thinks Dwight should pull a Kobe and make his number one more than Shaq's?! (for those who didn't get the reference, Kobe changed his number from 8 to 24, one more than MJ's iconic 23)

{Tyrone L. Foster}

August 10, 2012

[thesportsplanet]

My Future With The Browns Also Up In The Air With Team's Sale

Never thought I would see the day me and my beloved Cleveland Browns may have to part ways. In my beginning phase of being a football fan, I started out a fan of Peyton Manning and the Colts before turning my allegiance to the Browns. They had the same colors as my local high school (the Weequahic Indians) and they weren't a team everyone else liked so I jumped on the wagon. It's been quite a roller coaster ride during my tenure as a Browns fan. (Seriously this post can go on for like a year with me just rambling off all the memories and the heartbreaks). I'm a very loyal person, especially with sports. My Browns have been the laughing stock of the NFL for years and I've stuck by them through and through. But the reason why I may have to leave, after all I've been through with the Dawg Pound is after what just unfolded today.

The Browns were bequeathed to Randy Lerner after his father, Al, passed away. Al Lerner was the owner of the new Browns franchise that entered the league after a 3 year hiatus from '96-'99 due to Art Modell's relocation of the franchise to Baltimore, Maryland. 

Randy Lerner has just sold the team to truck stop magnate, Pilot Flying-J president and CEO Jimmy Haslam for just north of $1 billion dollars. This news is both good and bad. The good: the Browns inherit an owner who is passionate about football and will be more hands-on with the state of the franchise. The bad: This switch most likely means a cleaning house. After all the Browns have been through, all the changes; just when things started to look promising with Holmgren, Shurmur, Childress, Jauron and first round picks Richardson and Weeden; almost all may be shown the door as the new sheriff in town brings in his own GM, coach and tools. 

I can't. I just can't do it. How do you sell this? How do you sell waiting to see if this works out? 

Haslam is expected to bring in former Philadelphia Eagles president Joe Banner to the same position with the Browns (Banner was part of the management group Haslam led in attempting to purchase the franchise). Shurmur, Childress and Browns GM Tom Heckert all have ties to the Eagles having been with the club in the past but that's no promise the trio will be retained. 

This team has been through too many changes in the past couple seasons to just blow everything up. It's taken Holmgren and Heckert the past two seasons and three drafts to even put out a team that looks like it may get past the 5 win hump. Blowing that up is going to be even longer. I just can't. I'm perhaps the most optimistic person I know and even I am having a difficult time seeing the good in this.

I just don't know what to think about all this. I hope Haslam allows the current group to show the progression and the vision they've been trying to implement. It would be a complete waste of two first round picks to switch from Weeden and Richardson. Even if we got the first overall pick and got Barkeley it'd just be a complete waste of this past draft. So I don't know. For the time being I'm going to stick around, luckily the sale isn't official until the rest of the owners vote on it which could be sometime around October. So the new owner wouldn't really be able to make any changes when he gets into town. 

I guess I'll just have to play it by ear. I'll obviously be cheering for my Browns but the other 31 teams will be trying out for my affection, if I see any ounce of an overhaul starting in Cleveland.

-signed tired, heartbroken Browns fan

P.S. I don't really understand how you can be a "1000 percent Steelers fan" and be the owner of the Browns. Yeah we're gonna have to look into that.

{Tyrone L. Foster}

August 2, 2012

[thesportsplanet]

The Death Penalty: An Eye For An Eye Makes The Whole World Blind

So I thought after my last post that I was done talking about Penn State and Paterno but I'm not and hopefully this post will be the last. This is really on a whim and probably will have some grammatical errors that I'm too lazy to go through and fix but whatever. This post is more of a rant and is just free flowing from my brain to my fingertips so brace yourselves, here it is.

To start I'll outline every sanction Penn State has received thus far from the NCAA, the Big Ten and self-imposed.

NCAA

-$60 million fine over the course of 5 years ($12 million a year)

-4 year postseason ban

-all wins from 1998 to 2011 vacated

-PSU players are transfer eligible (with no one season waiting period)

-lose 10 initial and 20 total scholarships each year for 4 years

-5 year probation stint

Big Ten

-forfeit bowl revenue to charity

Self-Imposed

-removal of Paterno statue

I don't get it. I mean like I understand why the NCAA did what they did. I understand it, but I don't get it. I don't get why it's necessary. To my best knowledge, Penn State did not break any NCAA rules. There was no tipping the scales in terms of competition, this actually had nothing to do with football, with play on the field whatsoever. This is a moral issue, this is an ethical issue. And I think we all have been spending way too much time wagging the proverbial finger at Paterno and not on Sandusky. So Paterno may have covered it up? Are we that naive to think he may not have known about it? Did you really need a nearly 300 page report from a former FBI director to come to that conclusion? He's the defensive coordinator of the team and I'm sure prior to that they were good friends. Not to say that some people don't have skeletons in their closet and deep, dark secrets but the manner in which most of this was going on seems a lot more open than enclosed. But Paterno is not the issue. Penn State covering this up is not the issue. The issue is rape. The issue is sodomy. The issue is a man of power using his authority, taking advantage of less fortunate kids under the guise to an organization with the "goal" to provide and give these kids a better life. Oh, the irony! The issue here is the sick, twisted, demented mind of Jerry Sandusky. And we're sitting here talking about Joe Paterno's legacy and how it's all marred and 60 years of hard work is now gone down the tube because he covered it up from the public. It's bad yes, but it's not the crime. In no way, shape or form can one even feign that the two are even closely related. It's like watching a murder happen and not reporting it and someone trying to claim you are just as guilty for the person's death. You may be partly guilty for the assailant's punishment not being as swift but you did not pull the trigger. 

Part of my love for sports is that it has the ability to transcend a lot of social issues. Racism. Prejudice. A difference in political views. Religion. Background/way of life. No QB cares if his WR is the same race, religion or even like the same music as he does. All he cares is that they have a connection and understanding on the field and that translates into touchdowns and wins. Yet, football has even managed to transcend this social issue that has befallen upon Penn State. The culture and admiration of the success of Penn State's football program become so enlarged, that this moral issue of a pedophile sodomizing children was just a function of producing winning football. And that's the issue. That's the reasoning for the NCAA delivering this devastating blow to this program that now has no remnants of anyone (aside from the Board of Trustees) that was around during Sandusky's reign. 

And I understand that. I've said over and over again that Paterno stayed too long. And that more than anything was his biggest mistake. As I've pointed out, as much as we may like to think the opposite if Paterno left at his peak and passed away soon thereafter, and then all this stuff came to light it would be a different story. We'd probably have more sympathy and compassion for him. We'd look at him as the victim. We'd say he was so kind to a good friend and his friend put his legacy in jeopardy by his actions. But that wasn't how the cookie crumbled. Now it's the opposite, Paterno's taking the brunt of the damage. So much so that almost everyone has made a villain out of Paterno more so than Sandusky.

I think that about wraps it up for my rant on Penn State. I see both sides of the coin and it's just a sad situation. No death penalty could remedy the pain these victims and their families have went through and are going to continue to go through. That means no death penalty for Sandusky and no death penalty for Penn State. I know the NCAA wants to make a lesson out of Penn State for the alleged covering up of Sandusky's actions. But I'm sure the mere notion that 6 decades of triumph and hard work can mean literally nothing in the face of something this rancid is lesson enough.

{Tyrone L. Foster}

July 23, 2012

[thesportsplanet]

Joe Paterno & The Freeh Report

I am going to attempt to look at this report from both angles and by the end of this post,  you can make up your own mind in regards to which side of the fence you'd like to be on. I am only stating my opinion in this post, and any reader has a right to agree or disagree.

For starters, I'd like to address a very commonplace train of thought many sports fans have that I have an issue with. We have this odd notion that just because someone is an accomplished athlete (and this extends to many other famous Americans--i.e. actors, musicians, etc.) means they're morally a good person. 

Yet, time and time again with many examples this has proven to be false. And we still continue it as the next great player or coach comes along. 

Joe Paterno is no different. Just because he built a successful dynasty at Penn State University and became the face of a school, of a program, of success over 6 decades does not mean he's Superman, Spiderman, Batman or any other American hero with an excellent moral compass. It doesn't and I wish sports fans would put aside their adoration or rather check their adoration at the task their favorite player or coach does with that. And I think the case can be argued that we shouldn't ask for these people to be perfect citizens off the court, field, etc. It's enough that they were able to get to where they were in the first place. You adore them for their prowess and accomplishments. You do not know these people as human beings. You don't. I'll say it again:

You don't know these people as human beings.

Now back to the topic at hand, The Freeh Report. A former FBI director, Louis Freeh issued an investigative report based on the lack of actions of the highest most figures at Penn State during convicted pedophile and former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky's time at the school and even his time around the school post-retirement.

If you want to read the nearly 300 pages of the report be my guest! (it can be downloaded here: http://thefreehreportonpsu.com/) Assuming that everything in the Freeh Report is 100% fact (which I doubt, I actually believe it's an interpretation of facts; but I won't argue this because it's not the point), can one really say they are surprised? Penn State football is a dynasty, and for the figureheads at Penn State to be concerned with publicity and the negative publicity this issue would conjure up is not a surprising thing. It's really not hard to believe at all. Covering up details of Sandusky's abuse from the public or from police may be a moral issue. You may wag your finger or shake your head in disgust at Paterno and others. But he was not the person molesting these kids. I am not saying he is without blame for the duration of Sandusky's abuse or for the time it has taken for Sandusky to be punished for his heinous actions but let's not confuse who we are condemning.

I stated in a previous post that I believe Joe Paterno stayed at Penn State long enough to see himself become a villain. And I believe this "die and be a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain" thing is available for any hero, or great person. No one is perfect. Everyone has their flaws. And some of those flaws are very dark, and maybe disgusting matters. But what if Joe Paterno died before all of this came to light. I promise there would be a different view on the matter, on Paterno. Instead he didn't, he remained the head coach until he was forced out, until this scandal ate away at his public perception like wildfire. 

Do I believe Paterno knew about Sandusky? Yeah.

Do I think a lot more people with more power knew about Sandusky? Yeah.

Do I think people with punishing authority (such as police officers) knew about Sandusky? Yeah. 

Do I think any less of Paterno based on all of that? No. Why? Because we are not punishing everyone else who is culpable with the same weight that we are attacking Paterno. Are they not human beings as well? Hypothetically speaking, what if Freeh's report said a police officer in State College, PA who was a booster to the PSU football program knew about Sandusky? We'd be having a completely different view of this situation. 

I just believe we ought to look deeper into the matter than just the public figures of blame here. Sure, Paterno had blame. He knows this. Everyone knows this. You want to bash him for not being a perfect person outside of being a great college football coach? Go ahead. But make sure you bash every public figure, every athlete, every musician, every actor, every priest, your parents, your friends and the next person you come in contact with for not being a perfect person despite their accomplishments and accolades they achieve. 

Joe Paterno was a successful head coach before this scandal. Judge his legacy based on what he did as a coach. Because the only reason you know his name is because of that. If not, he'd just be another one of the billions of human beings on this Earth. Athletes and coaches are great at the sport they play or coach. That's it. They sign up to entertain the masses, and to win and achieve greatness in their respective sport. They don't sign up to be a public figure of morality and honesty. That's what pastors and priests are for. Oh, even they aren't perfect? Guess, we got an issue here.

{Tyrone L. Foster}

7/12/12