If I were a bettin' man...

When I was in the 7th or 8th grade I entered into two friendly wagers on the Superbowl. I chose the Buffalo Bills and my friends took the Dallas Cowboys (owned by Jerry Jones). The next Monday I had to borrow $15.00 from my Mom to pay $10.00 to Jerry McCauley and $5.00 to Jerry Bisom, lest I end up like Layne Meyers from the movie "Better Off Dead."

If I would have put the pieces together then I might have realized that guys named Jerry had my number. The bills played in both Superbowl's the years I was in Jr. High. They lost the first to the Washington Redskins and the second to the Dallas Cowboys. Here's the problem; I didn't have any business betting on sports. We didn't watch much football growing up. I knew the players and teams mostly through conversations at school and what little football I did watch. For example, I once created a football player Easter Bunny as a grade school art project. I wrote the name "Jim Montana" on the sweat band across his forehead in a botched attempt to honor Jim McMahon. My parents, teachers, and classmates who watched sports thought it was cool how I combined the names of two popular quarterbacks (Joe Montana and Jim McMahon). That was a relief because I had actually forgotten Jim McMahon's last name and realized my mistake only after the darned thing was already on the wall. I liked watching sports on TV it just didn't happen all that much in our house in the sticks of Northern Idaho.

Since that time I have had very little confidence in my ability to predict the outcomes of individual games, tournaments (March Madness), or seasons. Sports gambling does not increase my enjoyment of real sports. I work with several individuals who claim that interoffice pools and friendly wagers make sporting events much more exciting. Not so for me or for this kid named Andy, for us it creates anxiety. If I put money on sports I lose it. I don't like putting money in the garbage. I have a hard enough time holding onto money in the first place. It might be different if I had more time to devote to studying athletes, teams, and probabilities but I am not a big enough fan of anything to spend time breaking it down to it's minutiae like this blog post about the odds for this years World Cup Final. Las Vegas odds-makers make a ton of money because they take the time to understand the ins and outs of sports. That makes it easy for them to take money from flubs like me who don't know what they're talking about. I wonder how many odds-makers  are named Jerry? 

Third Party Communication

Back on June 19th Pat Riley, team president of the Miami Heat, issued a challenge through the media to his three star players. It seemed a shot across the bow if you will excuse the naval term. He got a little Heat-ed (see what I did there) and called on the big three to stick with the team and see things through. He compared this years set back, at adding to the Miami trophy case, to the L.A. Lakers of the 1980's with their five championships in twelve years. That is seven years with no trophies. Currently with LeBron at the helm the heat have had two championships in four years. That seems like a pretty decent average to me, so maybe Pat has a point when he says everyone from media to players need to get a grip.

That has been the most interesting thing about this situation, how everyone involved seems to be using the media to communicate. Pat Riley tells the press that they and his stable of thoroughbreds need to be patient. LeBron on the 24th announced through his agent that he will be opting out of his contract. On the surface it would seem that the two are not getting along but I have a hunch that there is more than meets the eye here. Maybe LeBron is giving Pat Riley a chance to show his hand. In essence he is saying "show me what you are going to do to make it worth my time to stay." Opting out of his contract could be beneficial to the heat as well. This way they can make some room for additional help on the team by asking LeBron, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to take a little less money. (Wade and Bosh are expected to opt out as well.)

Doesn't it seem a little bizarre that we have to watch this all unfold as if the concerned parties aren't talking to each other without the help of the press. But then it occurs to me that we wouldn't be spending nearly the amount of time on this that we are unless we could stir up some drama. What else is there to talk about right now. World Cup soccer?

Klinnsman's Kommunication

The current manager for the U.S. Men's National soccer team (USMNT) Jurgen Klinsmann , made a pretty inflammatory statement prior to any team stepping onto a pitch in the hot and humid, loud and lurid República Federativa do Brasil. Well...inflammatory to anyone who didn't agree with him but the trouble was most Americans did agree with him. At least those who care about soccer or at the very least don't hate it. 

“...for us talking about winning a World Cup, it’s just not realistic...Today, even before the World Cup starts, to say we should win? It's just not realistic." Washington Post

American sports enthusiasts aren't used to the coach laying down the honest truth as he sees it. We are used to the coach speak that is supposed to insulate from being wrong while implying the potential to be right. "if we give it our all and everything falls into place it should be a competitive game." No duh, coach! I don't have to be a sports expert to know that if both teams show up one of them is likely to win. It is a little irritating to hear sports interviews and feel like you just wasted 5 minutes becasue you recieved no new information.

That is why I like Mr. Klinsmann's style. The USMNT escaped the group of death with a win, a loss, a tie, and a bit of help from Ghana. Now that the team has actually proven something he is voicing a little more confidence in their abilities.

 "No one expected us to get out of the group, they said we had no chance, but we took that chance and we move on and now we want to prove a point." Fox Sports

Now, I know winning the World Cup and escaping group play are two very different things but to listen to a coach who has realistic expectations and provides encouragement and optimism based on results is rather refreshing.

Little Jimmy is gonna support me in my bitter old age.

(slate.com)

 

I love participating in sports. When I was young I enjoyed playing soccer, and little league baseball. Later in Jr. High I participated in football, basketball, wrestling and  threw shot put and discus on the track team. In high school I ran cross country and excelled as a wrestler. In all that time my parents never once yelled at me or my coaches or the refs, at least not that I can remember. They tried to be present at most of my games, meets, and matches and when they weren't they expressed remorse for not being able to come. I never felt pressure from them to succeed, in fact I broke my leg playing JV football as a freshman but my parents waited three weeks to take me to the doctor because they thought I just didn't want to play anymore. I had a very supportive environment to be able to learn to enjoy sport and the only pressure I felt was what I put on myself. I never saw my parents or my friends parents fly off the handle when things didn't go our way like these parents in Colorado.

I can, however, vividly remember the wrestling coach from another school screaming at a wrestler on his own team during a match. After the match was over he continued to berate him for what he did wrong. I want to say that the poor kid had actually won but I cant remember for sure. The thing that stood out to me the most was my Mom's comment later. "If he was your coach you wouldn't be wrestling." Even though I loved wrestling we were in complete agreement. I respond well to constructive criticism and the occasional butt-chewing but constantly yell and scream at me and I'll shut down. Besides, I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to be an athlete in college (much like the other 98% of high school athletes) so I was there mostly to do my best and have fun, and my parents adopted the role of cheering me on. 

My dad was very athletic growing up too. He was an outstanding pitcher, played on the basketball and football teams at Bingham High in the Salt Lake Valley and even placed at the BYU invitational track meet in shot put as a 9th grader. The one story he told that has stuck with me since I heard it had to do with an abusive coach. He was pitching and his coach was apparently not to happy with my dads performance. My dad seemed to think that the criticism was unjustified because at the point where he'd had enough he walked from the mound to the backstop, climbed the chain link, and plopped himself down in the stands. It was the end of his time on the team. The point I took from this experience was that when you stop having fun playing sports its time to hang up the cleats.

One of the things I appreciated the most was my parents attitude about my participation. I can't recall a single time they corrected me after a game or match. There was no film review or criticism of any kind. They just supported me. They never came out and said "I love watching you play" but I could tell they were enjoying my enjoyment and sharing my frustration. In fact my most poingnant moment in my sports career happened with my dad. I had just walked off the mat after losing in the championship match of the State wrestling tournament. I found a place to be alone, punched a table, and started crying.  Six months of anticipation erupted from my eyes and nose in recognition of a goal left unaccomplished. Within seconds my dad was hugging me and not saying a word. I greatly appreciate now the way my parents helped me to interpret sports and their role in life. I only hope I can do the same for my kids.

Hey brother, can you spare a dime?

The amount of money that trades hands in any commercially viable sport enterprise is staggering.The NFL is the most lucrative league in the world with a revenue for 2013 at just over 9 billion dollars. Each NFL team is worth, on average, 1.7 billion dollars. That is close to twice as much as the average worth of the top 20 soccer teams around the world (968 Million). The big money college sports aren't doing to bad themselves. When the University of Utah and the University of Colorado joined the then Pac-10 to create the Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott inked a television deal with Fox Sports that was to pay the new conference 3 Billion dollars over 12 years. In essence each team would be paid roughly 21 million a year just for being in the conference. Compare that to the U of U's 1.2 million dollar piece of the Mountain West Conference pie and you can see that they have done quite well for themselves.

In the past few years there has been an increase in the calls for NCAA athletes to be able to "get paid" while participating in their sports as "amateurs". In fairness it mainly comes from the Football and mens basketball players because they are the ones largely responsible for the large television deals, bowl game prize money, March Madness bonuses, and University endorsement deals with Nike, Reebok, Under Armour, Etc. Whenever I hear about college athletes asking to get paid I get annoyed to the point of anger. They don't have to pay for school, room and board are provided, as is world class training and medical care, AND they want to be paid too. Give me a Break. I work two jobs, go to school full time and raise a family and nobody is offering me any of the perks these athletes are given. Of course I am also not a highly talented athlete either but that is besides the point. Or is that the point

It occurs to me that I may be misunderstanding the intent of the argument. Would it be less offensive to term the plea for money differently? What if athletes were allowed to make money on themselves, like the university is doing, instead of the University paying a salary or stipend? This creates a fair market system that pays the players who are recognizable (and more profitable) and keeps the football revenue where it belongs; supporting the other sports on campus who aren't making any money like cross country skiing, swimming, and women's soccer. I would have less of a problem if the athletes were making money signing autographs and making paid public appearances than if their University had to give them yet another means of compensation. Texas A&M makes a profit on the sale of a Johnny Manzeil jersey in the bookstore so why shouldn't "Johnny Football" be able to enjoy some of the money from something like that. The jersey wouldn't be as valuable without the attachment to him. Or be allowed to spend some time signing autographs and selling those.


 
(tigerboard.com)

Another option would be to allow individual athletes to accept endorsement deals. Yes it violates "amateurism" but lets be honest, unfair advantage is a term the NCAA compliance office uses to say "they broke the rules." If they honestly think that there is an even playing field between a quarterback at the University of Alabama and the quarterback at New Mexico State they may not be sports fans or else they are delusional. While I consider the benefits enjoyed by collegiate  athletes to be excessive (as well as the benefits afforded to professional athletes, actors, and politicians) I can see the argument for allowing the top name collegiate athletes to be paid, but not by the school. 

A rose by any other name...unless its derogatory.

The past few years has seen an increase in the calls to replace the mascots of  professional sports teams and colleges who may carry racial stereotypes or promote cultural insensitivity. This is predominantly occurring where Native American tribes, nicknames, and likenesses are being used. The United States Congress and most recently the U.S. Senate have sent letters to the Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to change the name of his franchise. Several Universities have changed their mascots due to NCAA pressure on post season appearances and revenue after their mascots were deemed "hostile and offensive". USA today compiled a list in September 2013. Four schools successfully appealed and were allowed to keep their Native American nicknames. I know in the case of University of Utah that they have taken extra efforts to honor the Ute tradition and cultivate a positive relationship with the Ute Tribe. They have been very active at encouraging fans to be respectful of the Ute culture by not dressing in costumes or donning face paint meant to represent native warriors. They kept the Utes as a school nickname but the official mascot of the university is actually the red tailed hawk.

If you want to blow up the internet in Utah just suggest that the University of Utah change its nickname and drum and feather logo. Fans (and we are talking fanatics) start name calling, speculating and disparaging the Ute tribe, the university, BYU (which confuses me), the LDS church (also confusing), and anyone else who could be behind such a preposterous idea. I am going to do some speculating and generalization here but it would seem that the fans who are most upset by the idea of changing the team in anyway are not college educated and are also the same fans who pour beer on Max Halls family. These fans seem to think that by changing the University of Utah nickname and logo that a part of them is being changed as well. Their identity seems to be tied very closely to their team. It appears that they feel entitled to the cultural heritage attached to the University without actually knowing what that heritage is. 

I am a Mormon (a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and as such I do many things that are sacred to me as part of my heritage and beliefs that many people not familiar with the church wouldn't understand. It would be very uncomfortable for me to see people using any of these practices out of context and without any real understanding of their purpose and meaning. I think that is exactly what is happening with Native Americans and our sports mascots. The drum and feather, feather head-dresses, bead patterns, dances, war cries, songs and other aspects of Native American culture that the Utes and other tribes hold as sacred ought not to be flaunted and displayed carelessly. I think there is a way to celebrate Native American qualities that are respected (why would sports teams use those likenesses unless out of a form of respect) without demeaning or trivializing aspects of that culture.   

And the Oscar goes too.....

In many sports there is an element that has emerged that lends itself to much criticism. Depending on who you are pulling for in the game or match. It is present in soccer, basketball, football, I am talking about the "flop", the "sell, " hamming it up, diving, or whatever else you want to call it (faking is probably the most accurate). This is an attempt by a player to draw a penalty on his opponent by exaggerating a reaction to real or perceived contact.  The media spend a fair amount of time on flopping in basketball. I remember seeing contact exaggerated as far back as 1993 by the Pacers Reggie Miller in the NBA finals against the New York Nicks John Starks. In the NBA playoffs this year there has been some mention of even "King" James Lebron selling the foul. If you go to YouTube you can find numerous videos dedicated to the "flop." Like this one.

But nowhere is the flop more apart of the game than in soccer. It would seem that soccer players are either  super fragile and possess incredible recovery abilities or very calculating actors. In one moment a kick in the shins leaves the player writhing in agony as if his leg is broken, the next he is smiling and chasing after the ball as if nothing has happened. It creates an interesting dynamic to say the least. Professional athletes are supposed to be strong and tough. They spend hours everyday working out and have the drive and determination to be among the best in their sport. I would think that these men would be above acting as though they have been mortally wounded every time someone from the opposing team bumps into them. You hear players say that it is about gamesmanship. There is an element of gamesmanship though. In an attempt to take every advantage available the ghost foul has become apart of every basketball game and certainly every soccer game. It communicates the athletes desire to win at all costs but may come across to the fans at home, with their large flat-screen TVs and crystal clear HD programming, a willingness to cheat to gain an advantage.

Growing up and participating in sports I remember seeing several videos about good sportsmanship. One involved a player on a basketball team correcting a referee when the ball went out of bounds and the ref mistakenly gave the ball to this players team. The player knew he had been the last person to touch the ball so he let the ref know even though it may have cost his team the game. If this player had used the current flopping mentality he wouldn't have said anything and let the ref make the wrong call. I know a youth league basketball game has very little riding on it. There are no million dollar contracts or advertising deals on the line but maybe something even more valuable is on the line. If it is acceptable for top level athletes to lie about a foul at the top level of competition (which does affect million dollar contracts and advertising deals) what message is that sending our kids about little league games and life. Hopefully not what Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill are implying here.