Where Does The Buck Stop?

With the inordinate amount of arrests occurring during the NFL off season, you have to ask why are these numbers up? To possibly understand why, you need to look at how we treat our elite athletes.   From the time they show an ability to excel at athletic feats, they are treated differently than the average Joe.   Early on they learn that their physical abilities will earn them free passes where others are paying full admission.   You may try to muster an argument here, but you really can't in full conscience think that everyone gets the same fair shake.   We foster this invincible attitude among the upper crust of sport and then we gasp when they publicly screw up.  Is there a fix, yes, but not a quick one.   The right attitude has to be instilled at an early age by the right people.   Who?    Coaches who understand that winning at all costs is really losing.   Coaches that put the overall development of the athlete to the forefront and not just emphasize the W's and the L's.  

While the great Vince Lombardi had many truly inspiring quotes, his statement paraphrasing Red Sanders of UCLA that "Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing!" shows a flaw in the effort to develop the proper mechanisms to cope with a defeat.  Defeats happen, they happen to all of us and learning to deal with them rather than dwell on them helps us learn to adjust and move on.  Lessons are learned from both winning and losing, and we know that more often than not, lessons from a loss are the best lessons learned.  What am I getting at here?   We need to educate our coaches and parents that the areas of hard work, team work and good attitude are just as important as the W-L column in the season's standings. Definitely a hard task, but not impossible.  A coach I worked for had a great statement, "All setbacks are temporary", in this, he told his athletes that you learn from mistakes, move on, and get better.  Now I don't want you to think I am a anti-Lombardi kinda guy, I used one of his quotes through out my coaching career, “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”  

Whoa, this is pretty heavy stuff from a fluff "writer" like me, but that is what happens when you have too much time on your hands and you watch ESPN talk shows.  I hope you will come back when I have regained my usual sarcastic wit and charm....

The Smell of Mown Grass

They say smell is one of the most powerful triggers to memory.   I have to agree, when I pass a baseball field that has just been clipped, my mind immediately returns to the baseball talks my Dad and I shared. 

He grew up in Detroit in an era that saw such icons as Babe Ruth visit Navin Field to battle with Mickey Cochrane's Tigers.






My first memory of the Tigers was Dad and his brothers taking me to a game vs the dreaded Yankees in 1961 at Tiger Stadium.    Uncle Doc, Uncle Jeep, and Uncle Al The Kiddie's Pal loaded us in to the Chrysler and away we went to "the corner" of Michigan and Trumball Avenues. To tell the truth, all I was interested in was the concessions - hot dogs, sodas, pennants.  Far too many distractions from the game for this little boy from Eastern Oregon to hoot and holler when Kaline, Cash, and Freehan came to bat or boo when Mantle, Maris, and Berra walked to the plate. By the way, food choices were limited to popcorn, peanuts, Cracker Jacks, and hot dogs.   The biggest choice you had was "with or without", meaning do you want mustard on your red hot or not?

My favorite memories were from games in 1968 when the Tiger won it all.  We took the 2 day - 3 night train trip to Detroit that year and saw 3 games during our visit.  To this day I can tell you the starting line up for that team.  






My best buddy was a St. Louis fan and we didn't talk for a week after Portland native, Mickey Lolich, beat the Cards in game 7 to claim the title.  Sour grapes on his part, I would have been a gracious winner and would have been sensitive to his pain.........

OK, maybe not - I would have rubbed it in.  Sorry Craig.
 

Sanc U Very Much

     After waiting for what seemed an eternity, the NCAA finally handed down penalties to the U of O football program after 27 months of investigation.   Not too bad, loss of 3 scholarships, 3 years probation, fewer paid visits, fewer evaluatation days - mostly a slap on the wrist.   I have to ask why so little punishment?   The Willie Lyles debacle reads like a bad made-for-tv movie.   It was a little over the top and seemingly worthy of some stiff penance.   But now we are thinking, the violations must not have been that bad.   Hmm, well, we probably will never know the real extent to the Duck misdeeds.  Especially since the documents released by the NCAA had the 3rd violation so heavily redacted that no one can decipher its nature, other than it was a major violation.  Sorta makes you wonder....has the U of O become a darling of the NCAA due to its national stature or are we still a small bird in a big birdbath not worthy of being slammed.   Borrowing a line from C & C Music Factory, "The things that make you go hmmm..."

Decisions, Decisions

     The sole purpose of the Eugene school district should be to enhance the education and lives of our kids.   It seems that holding on to the Civic Stadium property is a big question for many locals.  It just sits there and wastes away.  The local YMCA has offered $3.5 million to build a recreation and community center, Fred Meyer has offered $4.75 million to build a shopping center.   The school board is on break until Aug. 14th, but when they re-convene the message needs to be sent, families over fortune, make the decision and stop wasting more time.


Changed your mind have you?

  












     The U of O has decided to review the $500,000 royalty policy for use of their logo.   Currently 100 businesses are licensed to use the logo paying a minimum of $2000.  Businesses have until July 8th to submit "bids".   Just who do you think will win these bids?  UO's director of marketing and brand management Matthew Dyste  stated, “If we get a successful bidder, we will have fewer companies involved in our licensing business but generating additional revenue for the institution.”  I would not wish the U of O to break from their recent trend of powering up their revenue at the expense of the little guy, so forge ahead Oregon - no matter who you trample on your march to the big Duck bucks.

A Case of the Stupids

Here we go, another round of dumb stuff from the world of sports.

 

My alma Mater has decided the use of their logo is worth $500,000 a year.   Small printing businesses in the Eugene area have traditionally paid a considerable sum for the use of the logo, but half a mil?   Most of these businesses don't gross that much business in a year!   This looks like a push to cancel contracts with the Mom & Pop operations and go exclusively with Uncle Phil.  Head Ducks need to re-think this position and make the amount more reasonable.  Keep our small businesses afloat!

Oh crap, what do I owe you for the picture.....

New Razorback's coach Bret Bielema has proposed rule changes to slow down college football offenses, stating the need for defensive player safety be the reason.  Well now, Head Hog, maybe you should just get your Piggies in condition or figure out a substitution routine that accounts for the speedy offenses.   I know your old conference moved at a snail's pace, but step up son!   It's your job to adjust to the current trends and not try to change rules to suit your style.  It will be great having another SEC team to hate, Arkansas welcome to the list.

Thankfully, the Beavs knocked Louisville out of the college World Series.   Now, don't get me wrong, I have nothing  against the Cardinals.   I just couldn't take any more of Rick Pitino.   The game broadcast was secondary to having to listen to Rick and his take on, well, everything!  And here I thought they were there for the baseball, silly me.

 

Hooray, another Stoops-idity!   Kentucky football coach, Mark Stoops, has offered a scholarship to a 13 year old!   The kid hasn't even played one game of high school ball!  Next he plans to request the ultrasounds of a promising fetus he spotted in Florida.







Former Lion mistake, Titus Young, was arrested twice in one day.   After being arrested for driving under the influence, he was issued a citation and released.   Later that same day he was arrested for trying to steal his own car from the impound lot.   Is this guy a loon or what?

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity;

and I'm not sure about the universe.”

-Albert Einstein

A Little Advice

To Whatever You Are:




See your dermatologist regarding laser tattoo removal.  YIKES!








To Cliff Harris:

I believe Onterrio Smith is looking for a roommate, contact him and he can hook you up with a minimum wage job, just like the one he has.





To All D-1
Basketball Programs:

Keep your eyes open when Duck hoops coaches are in town, you never know who they will get to defect.







To Nick Fairley:

Hey Nick, wait until you play an entire season before you declare you and Suh are the best defensive tandem.

Knickers In A Knot

Know Thy Enemy...and then draft them!
The Eagles Coach Kelly drafted two former Pac 12 foes in the recent NFL draft.   Zach (you were too, out of bounds) Ertz and Matt (thought you could beat the Ducks if you came back) Barkley.   Much as I hate to do it, now I have to pull for these guys success.



Bookings Before Books
The recent furloughs of air traffic controllers caused some inconvenience for travelers over the past few days.   But the knight in shining armor, our federal government, came riding to the rescue.   Legislation has been passed to move $253 million to the FAA to keep the controllers on the job.   Can't find money to help fund our schools, but we can keep those planes in the air.  Wouldn't want our congressmen and senators left without air travel as they start their vacations (grinding my teeth here).

Not The Ansah
What did the Lions do with their first draft pick?   They selected Ziggy Ansah, a D lineman.   Ziggy started playing football just 3 years ago, but Coach Jim Schwartz emphatically insists he is not a project.   OK.....   My previous rants about the Lions lack of run game and pass defenders seemed to fall on deaf ears.   Sure, they drafted Darius Slay at corner, but there are concerns about a knee.   They picked up free agent Reggie Bush, but they had a chance at some quality young runners in the draft that could provide back up to the injury prone Bush.   Will 2013-2014 be another coulda, woulda, shoulda year for the Lions?  Kinda think so.

A Boy Named Anabal

Tiger pitcher Anabal Sanchez set a new team record with 17 strikeouts against the heavy hitting Atlanta Braves.   Looks like the $80 million contract the Tigers signed him to is paying off.  Didja notice this is the one non-rantable section - I needed one to keep me grounded! 

Question: whose record did he break?
Answer:  Portland, Oregon native Mickey Lolich, hero of the 1968 World Series, had 16 strike outs in a game twice!





Kicking A Dying Cat
Sorry, harkening back to the Lions' lack of leadership, let's do a comparison of other Detroit teams (note no mention here of the Detroit Pisstons).   The Tigers are currently among the baseball elite, predicted by many to return to the World Series this fall.   The Red Wings, although rebuilding after losing legends to retirement, show promise with their latest additions, specifically Danny DeKeyser and Damien Brunner.   They've also signed all-star goalie Jimmy Howard to a long term contract.   Once more, we see what great leadership can do for these franchises under their owner, Mike Ilitch.  The Lion's Ford family, on the other hand, just keep producing more Edsels.