Venting

     I am trying to sort out this weekend in sports and put some orderliness to it. Yet I can’t. Not for lack of trying. So I will forge ahead, with the lack of support for my grammatical faux pas from my editor who is ensconced in her South Carolina villa, for at least one week oblivious to my sportswriting.

     Let’s start with the good news. Rutgers did not and will not play a football game again until late Summer 2019. This didn’t stop Athletic Director Pat Hobbs from drafting a mea culpa/rah rah letter to the dwindling and angry Rutgers faithful. Laden with promises about the future and declaring the state of RU athletics is on the rise, Hobbs has aligned himself, at least for now, with Head Coach Chris Ash. 

     Look, I want Ash and Rutgers to succeed. This is the Birthplace of College Football. While they are relative newcomers to big time college football, there is no reason why RU cannot be competitive. The talent is within the high schools in New Jersey. Give them reason to stay home. Greg Schiano did. Then scoop up some players who feel aggrieved or who want to transfer to get playing time, and that is a start to the winning RU fans crave. 

     That is, if the coaching is capable of teaching these youngsters and developing a winning attitude. Which, given the current assemblage of RU coaches, is questionable.

     Giving Ash another shot at turning things around is perhaps by economic necessity. RU can’t afford to buy him out and they aren’t near the Big Ten funds they so desperately covet. I can only hope that they do some better things on the field next season. Or else Hobbs gets to start all over again with a search for a new head coach.

     On the hardwood, the RU men’s basketball team has already done something that some of the past few teams hadn’t done much of. Win on the road against a quality opponent. The win at Miami on Wednesday is a good stepping stone for the confidence of this young team. It came against a tired Hurricanes squad who had played a number of games away from campus in a short span, and they were down a valuable player. 

     It is probable that if they played again, Miami might clearly be the winner. But RU prevailed in a low scoring defensive battle. Less than 48 hours later, they were back at the RAC facing a ranked opponent in Michigan State. For the first twenty plus minutes, RU kept the Spartans close, behind by only two at the half. Weariness and the Spartans superior talent led to second half dominance and a MSU victory. 

     The Knights head to Wisconsin for a game against another ranked opponent on Monday night. This game might not be so pretty, with three games in five nights, and two of them on the road. But Head Coach Steve Pikiell is full of enthusiasm, and I think he can really coach. For the RU Men’s Basketball team, they are showing that they can compete with the good teams. Unfortunately, the Big Ten is loaded with good teams, so the results may not be much improved over last season. Nonetheless, with an upset or two, there is genuine hope with this group.

     I have watched very little TV over the course of the weekend. I did see the excellent movie Green Book, with Mahershala Ali. Did you know that Mahershala, who grew up in Oakland, attended St. Mary’s College in California, a school with a top tier basketball program. He went there on a basketball scholarship, but walked away from the team because he did not like the way the scholarship athletes were treated. Ali got the acting bug while at St. Mary’s, which led to a master’s degree at N.Y.U. and stardom.

     What I did see has been compelling. I saw the end of the Alabama-Georgia SEC title game. What I came away with is that the Crimson Tide is the best team in the country. Whether it is Tua Tagovailoa orJalen Hurts coming to the rescue, this team is loaded. I am not saying they can’t be beaten, but against Georgia, they once more ruined the dreams of the Bulldog fans. 

     I also saw an entertaining contest between Ohio State and Northwestern—for three quarters. Then the talent and depth of the Buckeyes caused the Wildcats to unravel. Making Ohio State the Big Ten champs. 

     Clemson steamrolled Pitt for the ACC title. Notre Dame was idle, ending their regular season at 12-0. 

     What I missed was the barn burner between the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas. Earlier in the season, at the Red River Shootout in Dallas, Texas ambushed the Sooners, giving OU their only loss. In a seesaw contest, OU prevailed and won the Big 12 crown. 

     Which gave the College Football Panel a dilemma as to the fourth and final participant in the four team playoff. They selected Oklahoma, relegating OSU to the Rose Bowl. 

     Arguments could be made for both OU and OSU as the final team in. Somewhere, people will be unhappy with this subjectiveness. Alas, this is the system driven by big money and the bowls. Which, in my opinion, stinks. 

     I feel for the OSU team. I feel for the Georgia kids, who played their hearts out. I feel most of all for the Central Florida team, once more undefeated and uninvited. I hope they trounce a good LSU team in the Fiesta Bowl.

     Once the college football season was extended to 12 games, the chances for a real tournament ended. In Division III, the regular season concludes at 10 games. There aren’t any phony conference championships. The regular season is what counts. 32 teams participate, with 25 conference winners and seven wild card teams. Both the FCS and Division II playoffs consist of 20 teams. All three groups crown a champion.

     In Division III, they are down to the Final Four. Mount Union defeated Centennial Conference runner-up Muhlenberg this past Saturday and they play another CC team, conference champion Johns Hopkins. (Kudos to the Mules and the Blue Jays) The winner of Mary Hardin-Hardin-Baylor and Wisconsin-Whitewater will take on the winner of the aforementioned game for the title.

     If the worry in the FBS was about school work and the strain of the games, the four teams left in the tournament are playing game number 14. The FBS teams will each be playing their 15th game in the finals, matching their counterparts in D III. 

     But in the Power 5 conferences, it is all about the money. That is why an interloper like UCF, who may really have a meritorious claim to be included in a playoff, doesn’t get a chance. They can’t even schedule good Power 5 schools, largely because the top football teams will not be willing to tarnish their chances to reach the playoff by being knocked off by a non-Power 5 school. 

     An 8 team playoff would be reasonable if the big boys would agree that 11 games is sufficient. Even if UCF is the 8th-rated team and is one of three wild card teams, then they would have earned their shot at immortality. Taking the five champions from the Power 5 conferences, Washington and Ohio State would be in. Notre Dame and UCF would be wild cards. And maybe Georgia would get into the mix after all.

     Sounds great? Spoiler alert—it’s not going to happen very soon. First, the major bowls won’t allow for this. As long as the Power 5 controls the scene, it is all about them and no one else. The only way that this will fail is if the Ohio States yearly are passed over as the fifth team looking in. Then something will happen to shake the landscape of college football. And only if their is a financial incentive to sweeten the pot.

     I watched the end of the Winnipeg Jets-New Jersey Devils game on Saturday evening. Towards the end of the third period, the two teams skated in a frenzy. The Jets went up 3-1, but the Devils managed to score to tie the score. The game went to a 3 on 3 overtime. The helter skelter pace continued with some brilliant opportunities for each squad. One of the Devils young stars, Nico Hischier coughed up the puck in his own zone and Winnipeg scored the game winner with 16 ticks left in the OT. A fun game, which has epitomized the Devils start to this season.

     As to the NFL, this was not the prettiest week in league history.  The Washington Redskins claimed Reuben Foster, charged with domestic battery and released by the 49’ers. This from a team who would not go near Colin Kapernick, the poster boy for evil based on his stance against abuse of black people by the police through his taking a knee on the sidelines during the National Anthem. Even when they needed another QB after starter Alex Smith went down. Such hypocrisy. Thankfully, he league stepped in and Foster was placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List.

     Then there was the case of the Kansas City Chiefs star running back Kareem Hunt. A video went viral from an ugly incident in February at a Cleveland hotel which showed Hunt pushing and kicking a woman. Evidently the Chiefs knew about there incident, but did nothing to act on it until the video surfaced. Hunt was released and he joins Foster on the Commissioner’s list.

     The competitiveness within the NFL is so bad that they hide domestic assault. This is awful. But not surprising. Deflategate became a major thing because of who was involved—Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. That pales in comparison with domestic abuse.

     Too many incidents of a lack of moral turpitude are occurring with the NFL and its teams. There must be transparency and accountability. I fear that there are more heinous acts that are undisclosed or waiting to happen. What is it going to take to stop the fake politics, lying, cheating and abuse that is the sick culture of the NFL?

     Earlier this week, I dreamt that I saw New Orleans QB Drew Brees on the sidelines in an animated yet civil chat. Dallas stalled the Saints dream season, stopping the New Orleans offense on Thursday night. Meanwhile, the Rams are closing in on home field advantage for the entirety of the NFC playoffs.

     I saw a small portion of the first half of the Bears—Giants game. Once I saw that Bears QB Mitchell Trubinsky wan’t playing I knew that the Giants, playing at home, had a chance. According to my scout, Fan X, I missed a great game. I am happy for the Giants. Maybe a Dallas loss might still keep the Giants alive in the NFC East. However, as the sage Yogi Berra has said: “It’s getting late early.” That, sadly for Giants fans, has applicability to this season.

     The end to my football day was watching the Jets disintegrate and lose to the Tennessee Titans in the last minute of play. Too many penalties, blown coverages and bad plays doomed the Jets. The passing game was invisible until the end of the game. Josh McCown’s final pass, resulting in an interception by former Patriot Malcolm Butler, was predictable. 

     If the Green Bay Packers mercifully fired Head Coach Mike Mc Carthy after the home loss to Arizona earlier today, then, as Fan X has been screaming, it is time for the Jets to fire Todd Bowles. There are plenty of experienced or eager guys who can come in, with a bare cupboard, a young and struggling QB, high draft choices, plenty of cap space and the need to re-work the culture of the locker room. The picture of DL stalwart Leonard Williams on the sidelines said it all. Anger and frustration were etched on his face. That is the sad fact of the New York Jets for the 2018 season.

     As to my football night, I witnessed an epic meltdown by the Pittsburgh Steelers. At home, when ahead by 16 points, the Steelers were an amazing 174-0-1. Until the Los Angeles Chargers came roaring back, ending the Steelers dominance at home. The Chargers seemingly are a better road team this year; temporarily playing in a soccer stadium until the big stadium they will share with the Rams in Inglewood is completed evidently does not suit them as well.

     Three other things of note—UConn went to Notre Dame and defeated the No. 1 Irish. Geno Auriemma wanted this game and so did his kids. UConn will rightfully be back at the familiar top spot in the next poll. Geno takes additional satisfaction in beating Muffet McGraw, the highly successful Notre Dame coach.

     I think the Mets are making a big mistake in trading for Robinson Cano and star reliever Edwin Diaz. They are not going to become a contender because of this move. Especially if the Phillies land Bryce Harper and/or Manny Machado and possibly pitching ace Patrick Corbin, whose family is urging the Syracuse native to play for the Yankees.

     And, finally, the F&M men’s basketball team knocked off No. 8 Swarthmore on the road, the winning shot was a three point heave. Now 5-2, Glenn Robinson’s crew scored a major win for the first time in a long while, which counts heavily in conference play. Go Dips!!

     I feel that after venting for so long, I needed to end this piece with a personal, positive vibe. Until next week.