Posted on January 9th, 2017
By DERON SNYDER
The winner of Monday night’s battle between Alabama and Clemson is the national champion, a simple enough formula. That’s much tidier and more efficient than previous processes, which left space for split titlists but left out worthy contenders.
The clamor for a definitive champ grew slowly and steadily until the Bowl Coalition was formed in 1992. But it wasn’t good enough and lasted just three seasons.
Up next was the equally maligned Bowl Alliance, also put down after three years. Like the preceding solution, it failed to assuage the masses who demanded a clean verdict.
The Bowl Championship Series enjoyed relatively long life after debuting in 1998, but remained a less-than-ideal substitute for true bracketology. Mid-majors were excluded, too many computers were included and teams were rewarded for running up scores.
Like all the other pretenders, the BC-Mess was terminated. It was replaced in 2014 by the College Football Playoff.
But even before the four-game format was announced, outcries for an eight-game model were prevalent. The drumbeat has grown loud enough to echo in the halls of power. Last month, NCAA president Mark Emmert indicated his desire to double the entrants so that all Power Five champions are represented.
“I’m kind of old school about that, I guess,” Emmert reportedly said at the Learfield Sports Intercollegiate Athletics Forum. “It would be really fun to have a model where those five champions all got a crack at moving forward. I don’t know what that looks like.”
Here’s the view from here:
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Posted on January 4th, 2017
By DERON SNYDER
Did you go to a New Year’s party Sunday night?
Monday was a holiday and many people had the day off. No matter what awaited at work this week, you were free to dance, imbibe and socialize until the wee hours – if so desired – before tackling your plate starting Tuesday.
Unless, of course, you’re a star wide receiver on a playoff-bound NFL team.
In that case, you’re obligated to go straight home and rest in a hyperbaric chamber for 24 consecutive hours, taking breaks only for nutritious meals, nature calls and film study. Every waking moment must be dedicated to football and the pursuit of victory, to your mental preparation and physical restoration. Doing anything else mean you’re unfocused and undisciplined, immature and irresponsible, a selfish player who doesn’t understand the concept of personal sacrifice for team goals.
The New York Giants’ Odell Beckham and three fellow receivers were pilloried in some quarters for dashing to Miami after dashing Washington’s playoff hopes. The foursome were pictured at a celebrity-encrusted party that drew stars such as Justin Bieber, Jamie Foxx, Lil Wayne and Johnny Manziel, who has morphed into sports’ most irrelevant serial reveler.
Social media was flooded with pictures of the players out and about, including a shot of shirtless group members sunning on a boat the next day. Lots of commentators were hot after seeing the images, including a New York columnist who said the junket was “a bad look. He said every player should “be all-in and concentrate all their effort on winning in Green Bay and not posing with Bieber or being inside the same club on the same night when Johnny Manziel reportedly made and appearance and taking two extra flights when players crave getting rest this time of the year when they are fortunate enough to still be playing.”
Players also should not do anything to upset geezers who can’t imagine doing their job if they stay up past midnight or jet to Miami or hang out at a nightclub seven whole days before a game.
And, shudder, what if EVERY player did what Beckham & Co. did? The entire paradigm on appropriate behavior for 24-year-old stars would be irrevocably altered, setting up the next generation for utter failure. How could Beckham be such a poor example?
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Posted on January 3rd, 2017
By DERON SNYDER
With the New Year underway, it’s time to check off some items on my “TIDU List” – Things I Don’t Understand:
*How Kirk Cousins can be elsewhere next season.
We’ll forget that his final pass of 2016 was a completion to Jordan Reed (whose lateral was returned for a touchdown). It’s Cousins’ next-to-last pass – a defeat-clinching interception – that will be remembered and used as evidence against his case for a long-term contract. He played poorly in a couple of must-win games and posted slight decreases in several categories compared to 2015.
Looks like he’ll have to scrape by with $24 million from a second franchise tag.
*Why Chip Kelly would stay in the pros.
His NFL experiment began with back-to-back 10-6 records in Philadelphia, suggesting he might be headed the sort of success enjoyed in four seasons at Oregon (46-7). But Kelly didn’t survive a power-grab and nosedive to 6-9. Worse, he jumped at a four-year offer from one of the league’s most dysfunctional franchises, San Francisco, which dumped Sunday him after a 2-14 season.
Here’s true genius, though: Being owed money from two teams that fired you 367 days apart.
*Why anyone blamed Otto Porter for anything.
Players selected third overall – even in drafts as thin as 2013 – are expected to quickly evolve into star performers. Porter’s development was slowed by injuries and Randy Wittman, but the Georgetown product has become a versatile threat for the Wizards. He wasn’t at fault as a first-year starter when the team regressed last year and he’s a key to success this season, averaging career-highs in points, assists and rebounds.
It took a while, but Porter’s game is on Otto-Pilot.
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Posted on January 1st, 2017
By DERON SNYDER
LANDOVER, Md. – Sunday at FedEx Field was about resignation, about coming to grips with reality regarding the state of Washington’s NFL team.
A victory would’ve virtually guaranteed a playoff berth pending the late result from Green Bay at Detroit. But the evidence throughout the afternoon and into the evening clearly proved that Washington wasn’t a contender, even if it reached the postseason.
There’s no shame in that fact, except the team should’ve beat a Giants squad that couldn’t improve its seeding and therefore had absolutely nothing to play for.
New York dominated in a manner that the 19-10 final score doesn’t reflect. The margin was aided by a touchdown on the final play from scrimmage, when the Skins’ desperation lateral was picked up and returned 11 yards with no time on the clock.
Washington wasn’t going anywhere this year in the long run, but it had a chance to extend the season moments earlier, driving for a potential game-tying field goal or go-ahead touchdown. But Kirk Cousins gave his critics ammunition for the offseason when he threw an ugly, double-pump interception, late and into tight coverage.
That sealed the outcome of the game and the 2016 season. But folks had been coming to peace with the likelihood all day. It’s shocking and disappointing and unbelievable that Washington couldn’t pull out one more victory to reach the playoffs. However, a postseason berth wouldn’t make the Skins better defensively or better at clock management or better at converting third downs or better in the red zone.
We could’ve forgotten those deficiencies momentarily if Washington came out and routed New York, sending Eli Manning to the sidelines early instead of watching him play the entire game. We could’ve put the necessary improvements on the shelf if Cousins led the offense downfield for a crucial score.
Winning is a great deodorant and a playoff berth is like cologne.
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Posted on December 28th, 2016
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh are among the athletes and coaches who said the following in a public service announcement for a nonprofit organization:
“I pledge to treat everyone with respect and dignity. I will not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind. I will speak up whenever I know discrimination is happening and I will stand up for victims.”
Speaking up and standing up – or in Colin Kaepernick’s case, taking a knee – are entry-level forms of activism, defined by dictionary.com as “the doctrine or practice of vigorous action or involvement as a means of achieving political or other goals, sometimes by demonstrations, protests, etc.”
High-profile sports figures like Brady and Harbaugh often are reluctant to join activists in the area of race, the battleground for the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE). Founded in 2015 by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, the organization’s goal is to improve race relations and drive social progress by harnessing the power of sports.
The mission is taboo to many fans, who believe race and sports are like oil and water – they don’t mix. Such fans want games to serve as an escape from real-life issues, not a reminder. They believe that athletes/coaches should refrain from unrelated comments and keep societal observations to themselves.
Or is that only when the topic is race?
I don’t recall any grumbling when nearly two dozen current and former NFL players took part in PSAs decrying domestic violence and sexual assault. Why is it OK for Eli Manning and John Lynch to take a stance against that issue, but not the issue of unarmed black men murdered by police?
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Posted on December 26th, 2016
By DERON SNYDER
Judging by ballots released by Hall of Fame voters, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens eventually will take their rightful place in Cooperstown.
How appropriate. Only Pete Rose’s exclusion makes less sense.
I don’t have a vote, but my ballot would’ve included Bonds and Clemens from their first year of eligibility until they no longer appeared. The argument against their enshrinement was always too simplistic and naïve for my liking, not to mention too arbitrary and illogical.
In other words, the stance was based too much on the Hall of Fame’s philosophy in deciding who belongs and who doesn’t.
The Hall’s unilateral decision in 2014 to curtail a player’s time on the ballot (to 10 years instead of 15) was an obvious attempt to avoid induction ceremonies for Bonds, Clemens and other stars from the Steroids Era. But the Class of 2016 included former catcher Mike Piazza (a rumored but never-proven user) and former commissioner Bud Selig (whose empire benefitted from steroid use in baseball).
Their inclusion apparently eased the conscience of otherwise reasonable voters who have opposed Bonds and Clemens. The electorate – members of the Baseball Writers Association of America – must be concluding that admitting Selig while barring two of the sport’s all-time greats is hypocritical.
The voters are only half-right, though.
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Posted on December 20th, 2016
By DERON SNYDER
The righteous indignation erupting across segments of the college football landscape is laughable.
How dare Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey and LSU’s Leonard Fournette decide to skip the Sun Bowl and Citrus Bowl, respectively. What gall that these halfbacks put their preparation for professional careers ahead of their “amateur” pursuits. How can they be so selfish? Where is the commitment to their schools and teammates?
Perhaps the biggest laugher is potential damage to bowl games if stars begin opting out regularly. Cities count on those glorified exhibitions! According to a study commissioned by the College Football Association, the economic impact of bowl games was nearly $1.5 billion in 2015. Individual regions netted between $12 million and $93 million per game – not including revenue from local residents.
Everywhere you turn, there are coaches, administrators, bowl officials, TV executives and corporate sponsors lamenting the decision by McCaffrey and Fournette. Funny how that works, how choruses from the sidelines and luxury suites insist kids should take the field and accept the risks.
Folks with interests based solely on principal (financial gain), want players to base actions solely on principle (fundamental values).
Extolling the virtues of big-time college sports to the unpaid laborers grows harder and harder as the stacks grow taller and taller. One of my favorite examples this week was the Ohio sports columnist who said McCaffrey disrespected the “gift” of a scholarship to a university that costs $62,801 to attend.
I’m going out on a limb to suggest the gift has been paid back 100 times over.
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Posted on December 20th, 2016
By DERON SNYDER
LANDOVER – The late Dennis Green went on a famous rant after a 2006 Monday Night Football game in which his Arizona team blew a lead against Chicago.
Ten years later, Washington fans can utter the same words with disgust and passion in analyzing the home team following a soul-crushing MNF loss against Charlotte: The Skins are you thought they were. If you want to crown them, crown them. But they are who you thought they were.
Despite the depressing, 26-15 result, everything that was true about Washington entering the game remained true afterward.
The chain-moving offense never got in gear, but still flashed its weapons on occasion. The squishy defense was gouged for more than 400 yards, but continued to stiffen its back at key moments. Washington would’ve controlled its own destiny with a victory, but it’s still alive for the playoffs, albeit barely.
With a record of 7-6-1, the Skins are a half-game better than .500. They have a thin margin for error and unfortunately exceeded the boundaries on national TV. It was their first loss at FedEx Field since starting the season 0-2 with defeats against Pittsburgh and Dallas.
They had a bad night. It happens to the best of teams and Washington isn’t one of them. They’re too inconsistent with too little depth and not enough discipline to qualify as an upper echelon squad. But they’re the same resilient bunch that earlier won six of eight games – with the blasted tie included in that stretch – before losing three of their last four.
The Skins were ready for their close-up last month when the Green Bay Packers came to town for Sunday Night Football. Washington had lost 20 of its last 25 night games but came through with arguably their best performance this season. They reverted to primetime form Monday and produced one of their worst efforts from the start.
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Posted on December 19th, 2016
By DERON SNYDER
We’re well familiar with “Bowl Week” – closer to a month – when college football concludes its season with more than three dozen nondescript matchups like the Advocare V100 Texas Bowl, plus old favorites like the Orange, Sugar and Rose.
This year the sport added a putrid precursor, Bowel Week, as schools in three Power 5 conferences smeared us with excrement.
Marvin Gaye had a song entitled “Makes Me Wanna Holler.” A remix version based on news about Oklahoma, Minnesota and Wake Forest would be called “Makes Me Wanna Shower.”
The worst case has to be Oklahoma, which features a star tailback who broke a woman’s jaw. The incident is two-years old and Joe Mixon paid his penalty (a one-year suspension, deferred sentence and 100 hours of community service).
But video of the vicious punch is new, released Friday for the world to see and reflexively gag.
“It was made clear to Mr. Mixon at the time of his suspension that violence against women will not go unpunished at the university,” Oklahoma said in a statement following the release. “Coach (Bob) Stoops has been proactive in presenting training for his team aimed at preventing such behavior in the future. Sensitivity training in the area of violence has been intensified and best practices will continue to be implemented.”
Well, Mixon’s punishment from the school was the equivalent of being redshirted as a freshman. He returned to help the Sooners reach the College Football Playoff last season and the Orange Bowl this season. After that, he’s off to the NFL.
Granted, there was a level of outrage when the incident came to light in 2014. But there’s something about seeing the brutal assault. It leaves nothing to the imagination … except imagining what Stoops and OU administrators were thinking when they welcoming the incoming player.
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Posted on December 15th, 2016
By DERON SNYDER
There’s no comparison between the Alabama offensive coordinator job and the Florida Atlantic head coach job in many respects.
The former has more of everything – salary, exposure, resources, glamour, probable success – except responsibility. The latter is a stepping stone to bigger and better opportunities – like running a Power 5 program.
Lane Kiffin has run two Power 5 programs, head coach stints at USC and Tennessee. He also has run an NFL team (though the Oakland Raiders didn’t always act the part), becoming the youngest head coach in the modern era when Al Davis signed the 31-year-old in 2007.
Coaches with those stops on their resume don’t land at FAU at this stage of their career. Maybe when they’re 61 and returning to the game after an absence, or looking for a cozy spot to downshift toward retirement. Likewise, even without the prior experience, coaches who spend three years as the Crimson Tide’s OC and help Nick Saban win a national title typically stay within the Power 5 upon snaring a top job.
But there’s nothing typical about Kiffin. Which makes his hiring at FAU seem odd and natural at the same time.
This is case of taking a step backward to move ahead after reaching the pinnacle the wrong way.
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