Posted on November 22nd, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
A fixture on Syracuse’s bench for 36 years, Bernie Fine will be absent again Wednesday night when the men’s basketball team plays its second game since he was placed on administrative leave for sexual abuse allegations.
Following so quickly on the heels of Penn State’s scandal, the Syracuse case has upped the levels of indignation everywhere.
Penn State fans are resentful because Syracuse escaped the broad-brush tarnish that’s been applied to their school. Syracuse fans are angry that the two schools have been lumped together at all on such a despicable topic.
Child advocates are furious with Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim for declaring that Fine’s accusers are lying and merely looking for a financial reward. Journalists are upset with ESPN for airing such a damaging story without more corroborating evidence.
And, I suppose, Jerry Sandusky has supporters who are mad that he’s already been convicted in the court of public opinion, while commentators are warning against a rush to judgment on Fine.
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Posted on November 22nd, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
Too much praise and too much blame is a fact of life for quarterbacks, exemplified by none more than the pair that dueled Sunday at FedEx Field.
Both have been probed and poked, dissected and inspected. Both have enjoying varying levels of success in their career, with Washington’s Rex Grossman having started for a Super Bowl team and Dallas’ Tony Romo being considered (by some) among the game’s best at his position.
No one would dare put Grossman in that conversation. Yet he was nearly Romo’s equal for 70 minutes in the Cowboys’ 27-24 overtime victory. He was nearly everything you’d want in a quarterback. He was nearly victorious.
That’s a whole lot of “nearly,” which is what you get with Grossman. But he avoided the catastrophic turnovers that plague him and drilled passes that his backup would never attempt, let alone complete.
We might always experience the cringe factor when Grossman drops back to pass, the involuntary reflex that causes us to hunch our shoulders and tense up as he scans the field. Sunday marked his 10th start with the Redskins, and he had thrown at least one interception in nine of them.
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Posted on November 18th, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
If only it was that simple, shaking hands to erase a centuries-old superiority complex and wipe out perceptions passed from generation to generation.
Maybe that possibility truly exists in the pollyanna mind of FIFA president Sepp Blatter, but it’s hard to believe he could be so naïve. Yet, that’s what he said recently, responding to a racial abuse claim that arose in a match between Manchester United and Liverpool.
Manchester United defender Patrice Evra, a black Frenchman, accused Liverpool’s Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez of saying “a certain word to me at least 10 times. No place for that in 2011. The referee is aware of what was said.”
Suarez responded by saying the term he used isn’t a slur in South America and he shouldn’t be punished.
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Posted on November 17th, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
If you have a young son or daughter, or a young niece or nephew, or another young person you care about regardless of relation, the past week led to some reflection.
Is there anybody who might be abusing them? Would they tell someone if it’s happening? What can be done to prevent the former and ensure the latter?
There’s been a lot of disturbing news lately regarding coaches and other authoritative figures accused of heinous acts with children. I had forgotten about the need to be vigilant in sports before the Penn State scandal. A ton of stories about abuse in the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts lulled me into viewing sports in a different light.
But sports are the perfect hunting ground for perverts, pedophiles and other assorted monsters. They gain positions of influence and use them against insecure, impressionable youngsters, who love the access and ignore the agony that follows.
Three revolting cases have caught my attention since Jerry Sandusky’s alleged offenses shook the nation. Each one illustrates the need for accountable adults, whose abhorrence of children being compromised outweighs the threat of bad publicity and damaged brands.
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Posted on November 16th, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
Members of Maryland’s commission on intercollegiate athletics faced an unenviable task when president Wallace D. Loh brought them together four months ago. They were asked to review the athletic department’s finances and operations and then recommend measures to increase revenues and decrease costs.
But we all knew where this was heading. It’s as if Loh was the patriarch of a family that had grown too large and too costly, and he wanted other relatives to suggest which kids should stay and which should go.
Maryland has 27 “kids,” (i.e. teams) in its athletic department. There’s no way the school can keep all of them without going broke, as it faces a $4 million deficit this fiscal year and more than $17 million by 2017. So regardless of other suggested remedies for fundraising and lowering spending, the committee was destined to recommend the elimination of some sports.
It’s a painful conclusion for those who are affected and those who hate the idea of losing sports — even sports they never follow or support. It forces us to put each sport on a scale and see how it measures up, though each has intrinsic value that makes it the equal of any other.
Women’s acrobatics and tumbling provides as much satisfaction for its participants and fans as football generates for its participants and fans (maybe more this year).
But only six Division I programs have acrobatics and tumbling teams compared to about 250 that have football teams. Throw in the fact that football is a so-called “revenue” sport (though not at Maryland) and, well … the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association likely will be down to five members next year.
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Posted on November 16th, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
NBA players seem to be operating under a few delusions.
Their league isn’t beloved like the NFL, which attracts hordes of devout fans who follow each season with religious zeal. NBA players don’t have a favorable image among many who otherwise might buy season tickets or luxury suites. And the guaranteed money that NBA players are rejecting in labor negotiations isn’t guaranteed to be recouped.
By choosing to change their union to a trade association and file an antitrust lawsuit against the owners — putting the 2011-12 season in severe jeopardy — NBA players illustrate their disconnect with reality. They insist they want a “fair deal” but say a 50-50 split of revenue doesn’t qualify. They’re squabbling over the difference between $5.4 million for the average player or $5 million.
In this economy, where so many ordinary folks have gone from making $54,000 to the unemployment line, homeless shelter and soup kitchen, no one wants to hear NBA players whine that they’re underpaid.
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Posted on November 16th, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
Muhammad Ali was there, his body frail and trembling in the throes of Parkinson’s disease. Fellow boxers Bernard Hopkins, Larry Holmes and Michael Spinks were there, too, among others, including promoter Don King, paying their respects to Joe Frazier at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia.
The tributes poured out last week immediately following Frazier’s death from liver cancer at age 67. And they continued at his funeral, with videotaped messages from Mike Tyson, Donald Trump and Mickey Rourke.
But the most stirring came from the Rev. Jesse Jackson, delivering the eulogy and comparing Frazier’s legend to that of Sylvester Stallone’s Philadelphia-based movie character, Rocky, who has a statue at the base of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Jackson wondered why city leaders embraced Rocky so much, but not Frazier.
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Posted on November 13th, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
The grunt came from the back as a question was posed after Georgetown’s season-opening victory against Savannah State. Big John Thompson took umbrage at a reporter’s choice of words to describe Monday’s game, the last contest before Georgetown heads to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational.
“Tune-up?” former coach Thompson harrumphed, as the Hoyas’ current coach, John Thompson III, smirked in agreement. Guard Jason Clark was standing on the podium, and he gently corrected the reporter: “We have another game.”
That’s the proper approach, and it’s obviously been passed down with care, from Thompson the Elder to JT3 to the Hoyas’ senior captain. Still, unless UNC Greensboro unexpectedly offers more resistance than Savannah State provided in an 83-54 rout, Monday’s game indeed will be tantamount to a workout. Kansas next week will give us a better indication of where the young Hoyas stand.
Although first impressions aren’t always reliable for making long-term prognoses, there were several encouraging signs.
The most unexpected was senior center Henry Sims, who scored a career-high 19 points and tied career-highs with five assists and three blocks. That outburst caught Tigers coach Horace Broadnax off-guard, as Sims entered the season averaging 2.4 points and wasn’t part of Savannah State’s defensive game plan.
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Posted on November 12th, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
North Carolina coach Roy Williams, Kentucky coach John Calipari and Ohio State coach Thad Matta owe a debt a gratitude to the NBA. Because without the ongoing labor dispute, the coaches likely would have less star power on their teams, currently ranked first, second and third, respectively.
Carolina sophomore Harrison Barnes was projected to be a top three pick, had he entered the draft last summer. Teammates John Henson, a junior, and Tyler Zeller, a senior, would have been first-round selections. The same is true for Kentucky sophomore Terrence Jones and Ohio State sophomore Jared Sullinger.
Barnes, Jones and Sullinger joined UConn’s Jeremy Lamb on the Associated Press preseason All-America team, marking the first time that four sophomores were selected. They’re among other prime-time players who decided that another season on campus was better than gambling on the NBA’s uncertainy.
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Posted on November 10th, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
We’ll never forget that line last March, as the Ohio State football program was unraveling, when president E. Gordon Gee was asked about possibly firing Jim Tressel. “Are you kidding?” he said. “I’m just hopeful that the coach doesn’t dismiss me.”
Tressel was getting reverential treatment after a mere 10 years at Ohio State. But he would’ve been a peon at Penn State compared to the great and mighty Joe Paterno, who became the Nittany Lions’ coach when Lyndon B. Johnson was in the White House. JoePa acquired so much sovereignty over the ensuing four decades, he was nearly impossible to get rid of until the current child-abuse scandal swept him out.
Hero worship of virtually mythic coaches is a valid criticism of big-time college sports. It’s an example of the skewed priorities that help create the problems plaguing schools and athletic departments.
The reaction from some Paterno supporters and Penn State sycophants was disturbing, whether you call it a riot or unrest. Protesters flipped over a news van, tore down lampposts and threw rocks and cans, prompting police to respond with riot gear and tear gas.
Students at Indiana University were just as angry in 2000, but not quite as violent, when Bobby Knight was (finally) fired for boorish behavior during a 29-year run. Protesters knocked over light poles and burned effigies, including one of president Myles Brand near his on-campus home.
This isn’t to suggest that longtime, larger-than-life coaches are destined to go down in scandal-laced flames like Woody Hayes (23 years at Ohio State) or Lefty Driesell (17 years at Maryland). Dean Smith was known for running a clean program during his 36 years as men’s basketball coach at North Carolina and then left on his own accord. Frank Beamer has spent 25 seasons at the helm of Virginia Tech’s football program with nary a hint of trouble.
Like Beamer, Paterno also had steered clear of controversy, which is fairly remarkable for national powerhouse programs. But if the right combination of wrong circumstances comes up, no coach is bigger than his program or school.
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