Never Freaking Learn

The NFL just doesn't get it, and they don't care. Today I heard the exciting news that the NFL would finally switch the way in which it does overtime. This was exciting. The rules are simple: Team A wins toss, elects offense. If they score a touchdown the game is over, if they kick a field goal then Team B gets a chance at offense. If Team B scores a touchdown, game is over, if they kick a field goal, then we start all over under the previous season sudden death rules (first to score anything wins). Now, there are all sorts of things such as giving up a safety, which renders a loss that I simply do not care to discuss I'll explain why.

This isn't something you'll see in week one, week two, or week seventeen. It's something you'll see only in the playoffs, that is, if any playoff game goes into overtime. Now, most people have rationalized this and stated "oh! Well those are the games that matter most, that's where it should be implemented". No. That's fucking stupid. The NHL doesn't go from normal OT rules in the regular season to the 4 on 4 / shootout system in the playoffs, so what the hell is the NFL thinking?

The league has a proposed system in which teams vie for playoff spots for 17 weeks by having overly controlled Tiger Woods-esque game plans derived by psychotic obsessive-compulsive coaches, so to suddenly change the rules in which you're playing is entirely dumb. Period! Now, I like this overtime plan, don't get me wrong, but the NFL has to either propose it, first, for the regular season games and not playoffs (which in my opinion would also be dumb, but would be far more sensical than this plan) or adopt it entirely for every single game. To me, that's what should be done. But no, it's the NFL. The league that can be described as one thing: boring. You can sit there and pretend you get excited by it, but you don't. You fall asleep watching it on your couch on Sunday afternoons so you can relax before Monday starts all over again. Every time you think you see something exciting, the ref throws the flag and puts you back in your seat. That's all that is being done here.

If the NFL was ballsy enough, they'd just adopt the proven system used in college football and be done with it. This isn't going to happen in the league where Joe Buck (the guy who can't even make game winning drives in the freaking Super Bowl against undefeated teams exciting) is the premier announcer.

You don't change the rules of the game when you get to a new stage of the season. And before someone comments about the NHL doing so, I will remind you this: the rules are the same as the regulation for 82 games, plus the regulation periods of playoff hockey, so there isn't any new rules in place in playoff hockey at all, only in regular season overtime. They continue the manner in which they just played for 3 separate 20 minute periods until somebody scores.

So in typical NFL fashion, I got all excited thinking they did something "edgy", "progressive", or for the betterment of the game, only to find out that I'll have to wait (which is boring) and it'll wind up causing more controversy over some conservative decision that some coach will inevitably make during the next post season. Nice try guys, but you still don't get it. And judging your bank accounts, why would you care?

Spread Thin

What does it take to become the head coach at Texas Tech? Well, thankfully, not very much. Mike Leach was just some guy who ran Oklahoma's offense. He was some guy who slept in his car over night for the interview for his first chance at big time head coaching. The guy from Wyoming with no more playing experience than your washed up high school football friend and had traveled the globe so much in his career that you'd think he was looking for the fountain of youth wound up getting the job. Over the past four days while everyone anticipated what teams were going to make the NCAA tournament, a small fan base waited eagerly to hear the depositions of the four major people involved in the termination of Mike Leach.

Kent Hance went first. He outlined (under oath) exactly what went down including a memorandum sent by school president Guy Bailey stating that the matter of December 17th (when Adam James had been accused of being mistreated) be resolved in reprimand and the matter be closed on December 27th without termination. Well, apparently that didn't sit well with the face of our university, Craig James. Yep, the father of a below average, untalented, waste of a scholarship and former University ruiner himself was back to his old ways that ruined the SMU program: manipulation. Quite perfect that he's going into politics if you ask me. Kent Hance said under oath that Craig James was not satisfied with this matter and ordered Mike Leach be terminated. Hance then presented Craig James' concern to the Board of Regents who also shared the desire to terminate such a coach. Under oath Hance stated that the Board of Regents is not to have any responsibility in making decisions on personal matters such as a player's father being upset with the head coach, at least when his university president stated nothing to occur.

We all heard the lies spewed on ESPN and the poor little innocent voice of a "concerned father". Give me a break. Up next was Mike Leach. After being questioned for several hours he then spent a few moments to speak about being back in Lubbock, the place that mike lived and mutually loved one another equally. Through tears in his eyes and several heart breaking pauses, he fought back emotion as he said "It was a great 10 years. What can I say? It was 10 years." Hardly the coach that had the fan base divided questioning his intentions of leaving the university to pursue another job nearly every off season. He maintained his story and nothing had changed.

Sunday was the day, however. The day that the two noted liars (Craig and Adam James) were to be questioned. Under oath Craig James admitted that he hired a public relations firm to give manipulated information to the media in order to smear the head coach he wanted terminated (and that the PR firm created pseudonyms to litter the internet with the lies through blogs and message boards). Previously, during Kent Hance's deposition, it was noted that Craig James would not be satisfied with any other fate than termination. Then walks in Adam. Adam then finally admitted what we knew all along. The truth came out that the electrical closet videos were filmed under guidance of the PR firm (not during practice hours) and that at no time was he ever locked in, present in, or requested to go into the electrical closet. In fact, he even stated that the treatment caused no physical harm and that he felt the coach should not be terminated for the actions that took place on December 17th.

So there you have it. The smoking gun, if you will. Not earth shattering, but certainly something to knock you off balance. Texas Tech still claims the termination was due to Mike Leach not cooperating with the university when they unlawfully (and not contractually obligated) requested him to sign a letter that would essentially have him admit wrong doing with Adam and that no action similar would ever happen again. Why would he sign that? Well, not signing it was what got him fired, allegedly. The perfect situation. "Insubordination". Release the coach that the Board didn't want, that potentially future politician and ever so connected Craig James didn't want, but turn your back on the true identity of the university. Texas Tech had identity with Leach, something they craved as they often are turned aside as the school desperately searching for a rival, relevance, and respect in a conference packed with power and tradition. Mike Leach created tradition at Texas Tech, something that Craig James, Kent Hance, Gerald Myers, the Board of Regents, and every west texan couldn't. A lie that spiraled out of control caused confrontational meetings with the administration and beloved coach. A lie that led to his termination, for freaking nothing.

What does it take to get fired from Texas Tech? Well, unfortunately, not very much.

The Answer to hype

Man, we talkin' bout overrated. Not a good player, not a great player,.... we're talking about over hyped. Man, what we talkin' bout? over hyped? overrated?

Yes, we're talking about Allen Iverson. The highlight reel of garbage isolation basketball in the Post-Jordan era of the NBA with the perfect thug image of tattoos, braided hair, and "all me" image attitude that seems to be shaping a large majority of the country. Allen Iverson was a good player for a while, feasted on inflated statistics like it was a calorie count of a Big Mac cheese burger, but never a great player. That's right suburban white boy, take your Eminem mixed playlist driven iPod out of your ears and listen to what I am saying: he was/is overrated.

The moment he stepped into the game of basketball he was a punk with a lot of talent. Nobody will ever question the amount of talent the guy had, but you can always question his drive, his attitude, and his work ethic. This is a guy who was lucky enough to go to the ever so beloved basketball driven traditional power Georgetown, an even better academic institution... for free. This was a guy lucky enough to get drafted # 1 overall, play for a great city with basketball tradition, and play for one of the games greatest coaches. Problem is: he never reached his hype or potential. Was this because he was over hyped unfairly? No. He was talented, but he was the me-first generational problem in the NBA that haunted the league until the new wave of millenials took control. He played for riches, for image, and because it came easy to him.

The NBA lacked identity when Jordan began to fade. The next mega marketing scheme for the league was to get every wannabe thug suburban middle class jump shooting fundamentally driven basketball fan to bizarrely worship the very athlete they could never be. He stormed into the league with endless cross overs and consistent bricks (he never shot over 46% in a season), but man did he ever look "street" doing it. The image that had taken over middle class america (aka the economic growth of every NBA product) was all about image, not content. Who cares if the ball went in, at least you looked good shooting it, right? This was the attitude of Allen Iverson.

He was never a good shooter, but that never inspired him. Practice is the only way you get better, and no more telling of his attitude than the always famous "practice" rant the year after he won "MVP". Most "Valuable" Player... I guess so. Was he valuable because he was the games greatest? Not in my opinion. One can argue the fact that he was (by definition) "valuable" because he was on such a poorly talented team, but others can argue the reverse, which is that he made his players worse like a disease, the antithesis of Michael Jordan. He was a cold, a virus. Shot after shot, miss after miss, he would ask for the ball on the inbounds, dribble out the clock, and throw up an unconscious effort. For someone who appreciates the game of basketball, this always disgusted me. Thank god for the LeBron James effect that hopefully will bring the artistry back to the NBA because the "Michael Jordan Effect" sure gave kids across the country that thought that they could throw up every shot in the book. Problem is, Jordan shot 50% for a career. Iverson did not.

We all thought he "carried" the sixers to the NBA finals in 2001, but what did he go through? The Vince Carter led Toronto Raptors? Give me a break. Back then, it was more of the (L)eastern conference than a competitive NBA conference. No matter who came out of the east, it was nothing more than a sacrificial lamb to whichever Western Conference team made the finals. The most memorable image of the series? Iverson stepping over Tyron Lou. Exactly. A nobody. Big deal, just like Iverson's career. He shot horrendously from the floor and was an even bigger head case off it.

Everyone thought it would work in Philadelphia, and then Denver, and then Detroit, and then Memphis,... and then Philadelphia.... again. I never did. I laughed at the notion that the sixers did him a "favor" by sending him to a contender. They ridden themselves of baggage. There was a certain jealousy he expressed on Denver, for it was the first time he wasn't "the man" (even though it was his best chance at winning a title), then (in the single dumbest trade in NBA history) he wound up on a Detroit team willing to put up with his nonsense until he began to fake injury. This was a playoff team. I thought Allen "played his heart out for the game, for glory"? Nope. Just a selfish player who collected paychecks and always "kept it real". He wants his shots, his touches, his glory (even if the gym is empty). What a sad sight this off season it was to see this once cocky thug have to entertain ideas of playing in Europe and only have 1 team offer him an NBA contract (Memphis). Pathetic. Collected checks once again and moved on to Philadelphia. Now he's lying about his daughters health in order to get out of the one thing that would have made him great: work ethic.

It's really a shame. Practice. That is what made Jordan the player he was after being cut from his Varsity team in high school. Practice. That's what has made LeBron James a great shooter after his first season in the NBA. Practice. That's what keeps Kobe Bryant motivated to be the best, and to earn it. Practice. That's all it really would have taken. Practice. Get better, improve on your inflated statistics and finally choose quality over quantity. Practice. Being a good teammate, listening to your hall of fame legendary coach and learn the team aspect of basketball. Practice. Not a game, not a game, not a game..... Practice. But what are we talkin' about man? Oh that's right.... a waste of talent.

Happy "retirement"

The NFL combine nonsense

It's that time of year again where we wait to watch a bunch of ex college players walk around flexing in tights and have grown straight men drool over their bodies. It's almost like the strangely odd erotic tension between characters in Top Gun, but nevertheless it's here. Don't be confused, I love the NFL combine, I have watched some of it and followed some of the players to get a feel of how they measure up, but some of the stuff is just absurd. Scouts go nearly as far as measuring a players bulge in order to see if they'll make a fantastic 3-4 outside linebacker or lick their skin to see if they'll react anymore than Sarah Connor does in the jail scene in Terminator II: Judgement Day.

So grown men sit around watching this, some sleep (See: Mike Sherman), and some are Todd McShay. This guy is a riot. Everything with him is "explosive", and why the hell does he always have to act like he's pleading with the cops trying to justify his drugs and under-aged hooker in his car when selling us the "upside" of some meaningless division II player? We get it, Todd, you like to convince us all with your crazy measurements of players hands, vertical leaps, and meaningless measurements. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing guys like Colt (LETS GET THIS STRAIGHT: IT'S DANIEL MCCOY, NOT COLT... DANIEL MCCOY) not quite living up to the consistent lies told on a weekly basis about their height and weight on the roster, guys who coaches claim ran a -0.96 forty yard dash wind up running a 4.91, and the up and down swings of irrational draft bloggers and "experts" as they debate over what some drill means for a players draft status, which effects millions on that players first contract.

So what is the NFL combine, really? Is it football? No. Is it a try out? Kinda. Is there anything else on? No. This year was different because of the olympics, but usually there is absolutely nothing else on so people crowd around to see what a future offensive lineman runs in a 40 yard dash (as if he's EVER going to move more than 40 feet on a single play of his life). I agree with some of the scouting but not all of it. I understand the significance of certain drills but I don't need to be sold a Ford F-150, Todd. Let's break down the single most annoying event:

40 yard dash.

This is essentially the only event anyone knows about. It's actually one of the only times in any of these players entire careers where they're going to be in a 3 point stance and bolt straight down the field for 40 yards without anything else being concentrated on besides running form. Fantastic. I'm sure this is what separates the talent... It doesn't. Who cares what any of these guys run, really, besides Usain Bolt? This is a track event which means nothing to the game of football, but that said, there is so much hype around it. There is only so much science and physics one can grasp to understand the abilities of the human body, but this apparently is never taught to any NFL scout. We hear of these magical 4.15 40 yard dashes that sound like they're impossible... mainly because they are. In 2008 a Jamaican sprinter became the fastest human ever to set foot on the planet and even he (at top end speed, not starting from speed 0mph) didn't crack a 4.2 time in the 40 yard dash (estimated). Nobody runs faster than that unless its exaggerated, which it usually is. Case closed on that.

I admit it, I watch this type of meaningless crap because of my sports obsession, but I am not willing to take it as seriously as most people do. A guys bench pressing, running ability, vertical leap, and what he looks without a shirt on don't peak my interests. For some reason football fans (scouts and coaches included) will forever be fascinated with how powerful another man looks. I cannot figure it out, it's a cross between envy and attraction.