Category: Sports

* While much is still being made of the deflated footballs used by the New England Patriots against the Indianapolis Colts, largely overlooked was a more important issue in the Seattle Seahawks’ overtime win against the Green Bay Packers. How, in a playoff that will determine one of the participants in the Super Bowl, does a game get decided in overtime where one team doesn’t get the ball?  “Sudden death” makes sense in hockey–not football.

* Athletes, no matter how prominent, are not bigger than the game they play. From LeBron James to Tom Brady. But nobody came closer than the recently deceased Baseball Hall of Famer,  Ernie Banks. Incredible talent, consummate gentleman, racial pioneer. Fitting that he lived long enough to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in November 2013.

Imagine the contract he would be signing if he were in his prime today.

* We live in a high school football hotbed of talent. In fact, ESPN has named Armwood High defensive end Byron Cowart as the No. 1 prospect in the country. With recruiting in the news as national signing day approaches, it would be an excellent sign to see USF, in a downward spiral despite tons of potential, in the hunt for the best local talent. Alas, it won’t be this year unless there are some surprising, last-minute changes.

* Nothing makes less sense in the parallel universe of Las Vegas betting than quoting odds and point spreads for the NHL All-Star game and the NFL’s Pro Bowl game. Rules and style of play are altered to accommodate minimally-practiced players and limit their chances of injury.

And, BTW, who the hell bets on such punch-pulling exhibitions?

* Keith Olbermann, whose mien reminds us that he’s convinced he’s entirely too smart to be trafficking in sports, made headlines the other day with an auto racing comment. He said it really wasn’t a sport. NASCAR types sped to the defense.

As much as I hate to agree with Olbermann about much of anything, I do on this one, although he should have differentiated athletic sports and “sports.” But I know what he meant. The latter, demanding eclectic skill sets shy of athleticism, could include everything from road racing and skeet-shooting to billiards and shuffleboard.

* “Football is not a contact sport. It’s a collision sport. Dancing is a contact sport.” That was a vintage Vince Lombardi line that underscored the physicality of football. We all got it. Hard-core fans loved it.

Here’s another quote that is reflective of more enlightened times when it comes to the incidence and ultimate impact caused by collision-sport concussions. “Nope. I wouldn’t. … I think the risk is worse than the reward.”

That’s Mike Ditka’s response to Bryant Gumbel’s question as to whether he would want his own kid to play football. Yeah, THAT Mike Ditka.

* Are there any other shoes dropping over at the Tampa Bay Rays? The exit of GM Andrew Friedman was a quintessential, greener-pastures marketplace move for an acknowledged, front-office star.  The trade of David Price, the team’s Cy Young Award winner, was not unexpected–but it was deflating. The departure of Joe Madden was blind-siding and will haunt for a while. But Ben Zobrist, the last of the Devil Rays? On paper, we get it–but everybody’s favorite person off to Oakland? Say it ain’t Zo.

Too bad Tampa’s ownGary Sheffielddidn’t make the recent Cooperstown cut for the baseball Hall of Fame. The former Belmont Heights Little Leaguer deserves membership. More on him in a bit.

There’s certainly no quibble with the four who did make it: Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez,  John Smoltz and Craig Biggio. Johnson and Martinez had imposing numbers, while Smoltz and Biggio had impressive numbers–and something else that should resonate in a game increasingly driven to specialization and role-playing. They had uncommon versatility.

Smoltz was both an All-Star starting pitcher as well as an All-Star closer. We’ll not likely see that again. Biggio was an All-Star as a catcher and as a second baseman. We’ll definitely not see that combo again.

Now back to Sheffield.

He was downright menacing and intimidating as a hitter. And he hit for both average and power, the latter to the tune of 509 home runs.

But his versatility was also manifested on the base paths. He is one of only four Major Leaguers to have more than 500 home runs and more than 250 stolen bases. We may never see a fifth accomplish that.

At a time when Hall of Fame voters wring their hands over variables such as the role of performance-enhancing drugs, here is one variable that often gets short-shrifted.

But not this year. And, hopefully, not next year for Gary Sheffield.

* Post game wasn’t much better for Florida State after that embarrassing 59-20 loss to Oregon in the national semi-finals on New Year’s Day. ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit criticized the many Seminoles who didn’t deign to even shake hands after the game.

But what drew much more attention was the conduct of at least three Oregon players who chanted “No means no” to the cadence of FSU’s war chant while doing the tomahawk chop. Ouch.

They were consequently criticized for the mockery–obviously aimed at FSU’s Jameis Winston, who’s been accused of rape. Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said action will be taken internally over his players’ “inappropriate behavior.”

To the University of Oregon and the players involved: That was a classless, cheap shot.

To Florida State and everybody involved: Deal with it. Somebody has to.

*And in an ironic postscript, a new state law, commonly referred to as the “yes means yes” standard for sex between college students, took effect that day in California. In other words, silence or a lack of resistance can no longer be deemed consent.

* While I rarely watch an entire Outback Bowl game, I always try to look in to see how this area is playing on those network establishing and cut-away shots of beaches and waterfront skylines. Inevitably, it’s a feeling of pride and, yes, some schadenfreudean satisfaction that I’m one of those who have relocated from the Northeast polar vortex.

There’s also the bottom-line realization that priceless national publicity is part of the economic impact for hosting a major New Year’s Day bowl game. And how about a shout-out to Visit Tampa Bay for the impressive debut of its 30-second commercial highlighting Tampa’s active lifestyle–from Falcon’s Fury at Busch Gardens and paddleboarding along the Hillsborough River to Ybor City night life and movie-watching at Tampa Theatre.

* Tanks for the memories. No, the Bucs did not intentionally lose last Sunday’s finale to New Orleans, thus assuring themselves of the No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft. But by wholesale substitutions and ultra-conservative play-calling in the second half, they intentionally put themselves in a position to play less competitively. It was a de facto tank job and an ironically fitting way to end a thoroughly frustrating and disappointing 2014 season.

* Not that we needed reminding of the differences between the National Hockey League and the National Basketball Association, but here’s a noteworthy one: The NHL takes the Christmas holiday off. No games, no practices on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or the following day. It’s family time.

By contrast, there were five NBA games nationally televised on December 25. FIVE. Nothing says “Merry Christmas” quite like a prime-time Los Angeles Lakers-Chicago Bulls game.

* Not that we don’t wish him well–because he’s a nice guy–but it was a tad bittersweet to see that wire photo of a celebrating Skip Holtz after his Louisiana Tech team defeated Illinois to win the Heart of Dallas Bowl.

* It’s not exactly a major priority for Vladimir Putin, but among those getting hammered by a free-falling ruble is the Russian-based Kontinental Hockey League. An extension of national pride, the KHL had been marketing itself as the oil-rich alternative to the NHL. But the KHL stipulates ruble-only contracts, which is not going over well with all those Americans, Canadians and Europeans that the KHL notably wooed.

In the same week that Tampa took a major step in controlling and advancing its own destiny, St. Petersburg took a minor-league misstep in undermining the future of the Rays in Tampa Bay.

Mayor Rick Kriseman looked weak, and St. Pete City Council looked short-sighted. The latter felt like a rubber stamp, the former looked like a detail-challenged, rookie leader.

Now, inexplicably, the council is scheduling a workshop to build a new stadium in St. Pete.

* It was well noted how prominent Green Bay fans were at Sunday’s Bucs-Packers game at Raymond James Stadium.  A veritable home-away-from-home game for the Packers.

If this is what it takes for a sell-out, so be it. As the 2-win season wanes, so have the RayJay crowds.

Moreover, we’re talking Packer fans. They’re from Wisconsin. It’s the winter. It’s awful. They’re here to stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants and root for their Packers.

Frankly, welcome.

They behave like balm-appreciating, December guests, albeit of the loud, Cheese Head variety. They’re not obnoxious. They come from a town that is less than half the size of St. Petersburg, so they’re not slumming from the big city. They know that they’re not bigger and better than some Sun Belt wannabe, so they show up sans attitude. In short, they’re not from the Northeast.

* The University of Oregon, FSU’s semi-final opponent in the football final four, ran a large color ad in the New York Times after the Heisman Trophy was awarded to Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. He had the iconic pose. Under it: “Fits The Mold.”

Then his statistics: “Passed for over 10,000 yards. Rushed over 2,000 more. Graduated in under 4 years. With a GPA of 3.22.”

No, he’s no Jameis Winston.

BTW, according to Las Vegas, FSU is an 8-1 underdog to win it all. Oregon odds are 8-5.

* Congrats to the University of Tampa’s Chris Catanach, who was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II coach of the year. His Spartans won the national championship this year.

* Wisconsin plays Auburn in this year’s Outback Bowl. The Badgers will do so with Barry Alvarez, the Wisconsin Athletic Director and former coach, filling in for departed head coach Gary Andersen, who surprisingly left to take the job at Oregon State. One of the reasons, according to Alvarez: Wisconsin’s admission standards. Not all prized recruits get in.

It’s a reminder that it’s not a level playing field. Nobody, of course, is squeaky clean in the big business of major college football and basketball, but Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Stanford, Northwestern, Virginia, Vanderbilt and a few more are like the Tampa Bay Rays of NCAA Power Five schools.

*Speaking of Power Five (SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and PAC-12) schools, here’s one key difference when compared to non-Power Five schools (such as the American Athletic Conference that USF belongs to). The Power Fives earn about $23 million annually in media-rights deals. AAC schools get approximately $8 million.

* Wisconsin plays Auburn in this year’s Outback Bowl. The Badgers will do so with Barry Alvarez, the Wisconsin Athletic Director and former coach, filling in for departed head coach Gary Andersen, who surprisingly left to take the job at Oregon State. One of the reasons, according to Alvarez: Wisconsin’s admission standards.

It’s a reminder that it’s not a level playing field. Nobody’s squeaky clean in the big business of major college football and basketball, but Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Stanford, Northwestern, Virginia, Vanderbilt and a few more are like the Tampa Bay Rays of NCAA Power Five schools.

*Speaking of Power Five (SEC, ACC, Big 10, Big 12 and PAC) schools, here’s one key difference when compared to non-Power Five schools (such as the American Athletic Conference that USF belongs to). The Power Fives earn about $23 million annually in media-rights deals. AAC schools get approximately $8 million.