Continue To Be Outraged

In the last few days, I have been following the story of Jamiel Andre Shaw, II.

If you haven't heard, Shaw was a promising young running back whose life was cut short last week when he didn't respond after being confronted by a gang member right outside his home. His mom was serving over in Iraq, and his dad was inside the house trying to warn his son about the gunshots he heard outside. But those gunshots were the ones that killed his son.

This story got even more attention because Shaw was being recruited by Stanford University and Arizona State University.

The story only got worse after I read Bill Simmons' article on the situation, where Simmons detailed how Shaw's dad had an "18-year plan" for his son. The plan entailed getting his son to his 18th birthday, after which he believed his son would have made it out of the treacherous years of life on the streets of L.A. He almost made it.

Apparently Shaw was not only talented but also a nice kid, which will prompt people to ask why something like this happened to such a good person.

I can't say that I know for sure, but I will say that sometimes we only pay attention to things when it happens to the best and brightest among us. How many more have to die before we really start doing something to make a difference?

It's not much in the scheme of things, but I'm taking my mentee to an NBA game tomorrow. Every little bit counts.

Offensive Lineman

Every day, I hear some unbelievable story that really makes me think the end of the world must be quickly approaching. And then I can't help but wonder if this kid isn't just mentally ill because what you're about to read is just downright bizarre.

Yesterday was "National Signing Day" in college football - the day when high school seniors can seniors officially sign with their school of choice. So on this particular Wednesday, high school football linebacker Kevin Hart announced during his school assembly in a small town in Nevada that he would be attending the University of California.

Apparently someone didn't believe him, and they did a little snooping. Well, it turns out that not only would he not be attending the school, but he was never recruited. Today, he admitted that he made the whole thing up.

But not before he told the police that he was duped by a man into believing that he had a scholarship.

Well, there is not much to say about this because the more I think about it, the more I realize that this is clearly a sick child calling out for attention. Either that or he thought his town was small enough that no one would find out. I hope he does find a school eventually . . . and some help.

Ouch.

On Tuesday night, the Smith Center high school football team in (what do ya know) Smith Center, Kansas defeated Plainville, scoring 72 points in the first quarter, ultimately winning the game 83-0.

Wow.

The first thing people will say is why did they run up the score like that? I understand some people are upset with the New England Patriots for "running up the score" on the Washington Red Skins last week, winning 52-0. Basically, this means that because the Patriots were winning by so much, they should have just folded and stopped trying to score.

This is hogwash. In professional sports, there are so many things that factor into every single play in the game, including contracts that might ride on particular stats. Player goals. Fantasy football numbers. But who cares? It's a professional sport, and these are professionals. If you don't want to have the score "run up," then stop them from scoring or get a new job.

However, I don't think this same rule should apply to high school sports. This are teenagers who are not professionals and shouldn't be treated as such. There are plenty of kids who are just playing to be involved on a team, not to mention that we're dealing with young egos here that are still being shaped. I would put the responsibility on the coaching staff to say "give it a rest."

But I wasn't at the game, so perhaps Plainville was just playing so poorly that it would have seemed like Smith Center was going easy on them if they didn't take the opportunities to score when they had them. From this article, I'd say that is about accurate. The Smith Center coach seems almost embarrassed by the lopsided win. And this the second time this year that Plainville lost to Smith Center, having lost 69-0 in a previous meeting.

Smith Center hasn't given up a single point the entire season.

Well, Plainville, keep your heads up. And listen to your coach:

"Right now, for a lot of our kids, things look pretty dim," Petrie said. "But it's our job to put this in perspective. I told them after the game -- this is probably the worst thing that's ever happened to many of them. But you know what? If that's the worst thing they ever have to go through, they're going to be in pretty good shape. It's going to take time, but they'll soon realize the sun is going to come up again."

A lesson for us all.

This Can't Be Life

Interesting Top News stories on ESPN.com. Witness:

1. Delhomme to have season-ending elbow surgery.
2. Green suffered most severe type of concussion.
3. Ankle to sideline Bucs RB Pittman for 6-8 weeks.
4. Texas' Sweed out for year.
5. USC's Booty hurting. (Headline guy has been waiting for this all year)
6. Spinal cord injury ends career for Hawks' Strong

The first headline on the page is about the NY Yankees' Roger Clemens' injury. That means 7 of the top 11 stories are about injuries, and 6 of them are football injuries.

We need to do better. Especially in a sport like football, where the careers are short and there's a higher-than-it-should-be chance that any play could make that even shorter, where they push the players through school and put virtually no emphasis on any other life skills, I really think we should take a step back. I know it's fun to watch guys tackle each other and body slam each other, but something has to give.

I'd say maybe the guys need to be in better shape, but I'm not sure you can ever be strong enough to bear having a 300 lb man dive head first into your knee. Instead, it might be worthwhile for the NFL to consider changing the tackles that are allowed. I know I said Travis Johnson was being insensitive yesterday, and he was, but I see his point. These guys just don't have other viable options if their careers end tomorrow. And it's because of the high likelihood of injury that their pay is tied to the games actually played and to the few number of years that they will probably be on top of their sport (less so for QB's and WR's).

I know the NFL is working to improve post-career options, but it needs to start when they are in school. Even college is too late. It should start all the way back in elementary school. This may be falling on deaf ears, but if you're an educator and you have an opportunity to intervene in the life of a young football player and make him well-rounded, please take it.

Kornheiser's Other "Pumpkin"

I know I'm not the only one who watched Monday Night Football and was heartbroken by Carson Palmer and the Cincinnati Bengals' performance. While we got to see Carson get scolded for arguing with his, uh, interesting wide receiver, Chad Johnson, all we heard about Tom Brady is that he's the second coming of Jesus Christ Himself.

Seriously, Tom Brady has a lot of great assets (who wouldn't be jealous of three Super Bowl rings before the age of 30? Hate on this man!) but we don't need to hear how great he is for an entire football game. I'll take one quarter, maybe two, but an entire game of butt-kissing is just outrageous.

Tony Kornheiser, who co-commentated last night's game and delivered the vast majority of the besos to Brady's behind, is responsible for the brown-nosing. Even more than Brady's on field accomplishments, Tony gushed over Brady's movie star looks, dating supermodels (Giselle), and his new baby daddy status, and his penchant for being gossip column fodder as a result of all of the above. It got worse when he started talking about the New England Patriots going 16-0. Not so far-fetched if we're at, say, game 10 or higher in a season of 16 games. But this is game 4. That means there are 12 more games to go, and that is beyond way too early for anyone to be talking about an undefeated season.

Not only that, Tony went on and on about the genius of Bill Belichick, completely ignoring that just a few short weeks ago, his beloved Belichick was coughing up $250 G's for cheating. But never mind the cheating, this guy is amazing!

Even his fellow commentators took him to task for going too far. I'm not sure how long he's going to last on Monday Night Football after this. It's OK to do on Pardon the Interruption, but an entire game is entirely too long to hear about your crush on a football player and his team - from a man or woman. But while Tony is certainly responsible for the unending gushing, I think the men or women who cued up his ridiculous comparisons and scenarios by adding graphics and doing fact-checking should also be taking the heat. I blame you all, too.

But I don't know if I can totally blame you for being a fan.

Felony Burglar or Impatient at the Cracker Barrel? You Decide

I was perusing the front page of ESPN.com when I came across this story entitled "Florida Safety Joiner Charged with Felony Burglary." Of course, I clicked on the link to the article, expecting to be disappointed by yet another incidence of crime by a football player. Except this time, I was disappointed by all those involved, from the police officers to the journalists who reported this "story."

The story starts out that Tony Joiner, a safety for the University of Florida Gators, is the 8th player on the team to be arrested in the last 9 months. Then, it goes on to say what Joiner did. Apparently, Joiner's girlfriend's car was towed away, and he went to the towing company to pick it up, having arranged to come in advance. He waited for the tow company owner to arrive, and when he did not after some time, Joiner got impatient and tried to take the car off the lot. After a witness confronted him while he was closing the gate, he returned to the lot and waited for the police to arrive.

Now, Joiner was definitely impatient, at worst, guilty of making a dumb mistake, but is he deserving of a felony burglary charge? Well, here is the burglary statute in Florida, if you are interested:

1. Entering a dwelling, a structure, or a conveyance with the intent to commit an offense therein, unless the premises are at the time open to the public or the defendant is licensed or invited to enter; or

2. Notwithstanding a licensed or invited entry, remaining in a dwelling, structure, or conveyance:

a. Surreptitiously, with the intent to commit an offense therein;
b. After permission to remain therein has been withdrawn, with the intent to commit an offense
therein; or
c. To commit or attempt to commit a forcible felony, as defined in s. 776.08.

(Don't worry about S. 776.08 since it's not relevant here).

And burglary is a felony in Florida, which means if you're found guilty, there goes your right to vote (surprise, surprise). Technically, this might be deemed burglary because at that time, the car could not be retrieved since it had become the property of the towing company once it was lawfully in their lot. That would mean if he took the car without paying, he had the intent to enter the lot and commit an offense ("stealing" his girlfriend's car). But as the property owner states below, the gate was left open - does that mean it was open to the public? And where was the person who had arranged with Joiner for him to pay and pick up the car? If you have ever had your car towed (and I have, several times), then you know those places are guarded like Fort Knox, land mines and all.

More importantly, once the police officers realized what had happened, and that the owner of the property that leases to the towing company was not taking issue with what happened, I think they should have worked it out so Joiner wouldn't get charged. This is what would normally happen, anyway. I mean, the owner had his info, so Joiner wasn't going to get very far. I like what the property owner had to say in defense of this being a misunderstanding:

"I don't know if he was late or early or what," said [Stan] Forron, who plans to urge the state attorney's office to drop the charges. "I don't understand why he was arrested. Is it a crime? Yes and no. It's kind of my fault because I left the gate open.

"It's like going to breakfast at Cracker Barrel and when you go to leave there's no one there to take your money. How long are you going to wait?"

Well, I recommend Joiner pass on the Cracker Barrel visits, too, if he can help it,m but if no ones is around to take my money, and I don't have change, I'd leave, too. I wish they would tackle me in the parking lot to pay my bill and then try to press charges against me.

But instead of explaining any of this, this first thing we see on ESPN.com that Joiner's being charged with felony burglary, and half of their readers probably never clicked on the link to see the rest of the story.

Now, I'm not saying what Joiner did was OK, but I am saying that we're dealing with a college kid here and, even putting aside the racial undertones of the situation with those who brought the charges, I think the media needs to be a little bit more responsible with the power of the pen that they possess. Truthfully, I think that people of all ages would have probably done the exact same thing in Joiner's situation if they needed their car at 5 a.m. And let's keep in mind that this was his girlfriend's car. Give this man a gold medal for taking a felony in honor of his girl!

But seriously, from the officers who charged him with felony burglary, to the writers who led their stories on this situation with the "felony burglary" tag and lumped Joiner in with the number of arrests of other players on the team, I think everyone involved was a little hard on this college kid. Particularly the media who are notorious for making something out of nothing. Now with all this attention, it's unclear if or when Joiner will be rejoining the team.

Coach Gundy's rant is starting to make more sense every day.

Shocker: Duke Has A Football Team

I heard about this and then it went out the other ear. I suppose if I write a blog I should care about every piece of sports news I hear (that means I don't care about NASCAR). It should have stuck me because I knew a guy who played football at Duke and I don't think they won a game the entire time he played.

The Duke University football team (no, seriously, they have a team) won its first football game in its last 22 times on the field, defeating former powerhouse Northwestern University, 20-14. Another awesome loss for the Big Ten. I'm frankly surprised that players continue to play here every year. Perhaps it's just a way to go to school for free and bide one's time while you're in college. It must be really hard when people wait in line for hours to touch the hem on the gym shorts of any Duke basketball player, but when your own classmates admit they were ashamed to wear Duke Football t-shirts on campus, that can't be good for the ego.

This article about the win captured much hilarity. Among my favorite bits:

"It was a great win, but it was one football game, and we have to put that in the proper perspective," [Coach Ted] Roof said.

Um, Coach Roof, I know you're a football coach and you have to keep your team motivated and all, but the perspective is your team stunk, and may continue to stink despite this one game, so you better live it up, my man. If the kids are going to let one win in two seasons go to their heads (the team is still 1-2), you have a lot more problems than improper perspective.

These kids actually removed a goal post, which has to be a first:

Team officials said replacing the goal post would cost about $5,000, but workers in the school's maintenance department said they were reassembling it after several pieces of the uprights and crossbar had been returned.

"It was really nice to see it missing when we came back," left tackle Cameron Goldberg said.

They actually brought back pieces of the goalpost? What kind of college kids are these? As if Duke couldn't afford to buy a new goalpost. That's it. They don't deserve to win any more games. But they did try to frame the chapel with them after they tore them down. Go Duke.

Movie review: Brian's Song

I'm not sure if I'm going to make a habit of writing on Sundays, but I just finished watching a movie called Brian's Song (the 1971 original, not the re-make from 2001). It received 4 stars on Comcast, stars Billy Dee Williams and James Caan, and it centered around football so I figured it had to be worth watching. The storyline centers around NFL Hall of Fame running back Gayle Sayers' (Williams) friendship with his Chicago Bears teammate, Brian Piccolo (Caan), and Sayers' support of Piccolo as he battles with terminal cancer. Once you get past the 1970's cinematography and acting (this was originally a made-for-TV movie that went to theaters), it is a pretty good movie. Some elements of their friendship might make the "manly men" feel a little uncomfortable, but their friendship is believable. More importantly, it contains a valuable message about the true meaning of teammate/friend that seems to be lacking in our society.

Another warning for the "manly men": this movie is infamous as a tearjerker for men and women alike (part of the reason I'm sure it received 4 stars), so I wouldn't watch it with anyone you don't want to see you cry!

It's fairly short, so if you have an hour and a half, check it out!

NFL means Not (Gone) For Long

In case you haven't heard, Mike Vick filed his written plea agreement today (for those of you with the time and the patience, or who just need to know everything, here is a copy of the actual plea). He pretty much admitted to everything with which he was charged, only in the vaguest way possible. After looking at it, I'd have to say his lawyers are worth every million that he paid them. He was careful not to admit to personally benefiting from any gambling on the dogfights, which would amount to giving the NFL the noose to officially hang him and his cleats (sorry, I couldn't help it) up forever.

Following his plea, both the NFL, led by Commissioner Roger Goodell, and the Atlanta Falcons, led by Arthur "I was betrayed" Blank, responded with their own open letters/statements. (Oh, Vick's estranged father also resurfaced with his own tales about Vick, but I'm not even linking to this one, so you'll have to Google it on your own.)

The bottom line of the events today is that Vick has been suspended indefinitely from the NFL.

Blank made the following statement following the plea and the commissioner's decision to suspend Vick:

“Today, Michael Vick admitted his guilt to very serious charges related to his earlier indictment. His admissions describe actions that are incomprehensible and unacceptable for a member of the National Football League and the Atlanta Falcons.”

“We respect and support the Commissioner’s decision today to place Michael Vick on an indefinite suspension. As with other actions he has taken this year, the Commissioner is making a strong statement that conduct which tarnishes the good reputation of the NFL will not be tolerated.”

“We hope that Michael will use this time, not only to further address his legal matters, but to take positive steps to improve his personal life.”

Did he really say "tarnishes the good reputation of the NFL"? Nothing better than a billionaire with a sense of humor in supposedly serious situations. They claim there is more coming next week, so that's all I have to say about this statement.

Moving right along. In his open letter to Vick, Goodell expressed his disappointment, stating that Vick lied to his team, and (more importantly) he lied to Goodell. Ultimately, he suspended Vick indefinitely without pay. Concerning Vick's possible reinstatement into the league, Goodell said:

I will review the status of your suspension following the conclusion of the legal proceedings. As part of that review, I will take into account a number of factors, including the resolution of any other charges that may be brought against you, whether in Surry County, Virginia, or other jurisdictions, your conduct going forward, the specifics of the sentence imposed by Judge Hudson and any related findings he might make, and the extent to which you are truthful and cooperative with law enforcement and league staff who are investigating these matters. I urge you to give these individuals your full cooperation.

Let's take a closer look at this. This letter is open, and Goodell knows it, so he had to be as stern as possible to appease the people calling for Vick's head in a doggie bag. But see that last part of the above quote where he tells Vick exactly what he has to do to return to the NFL? That was Goodell giving us the "wink wink" that we shouldn't lose hope because we will see Vick play in the NFL again. He could have just said that the suspension would be reviewed in a year or after he completes his sentence, or something along those lines, but instead, he decided to go into way too much detail. Because justice and atoning for your actions are one thing, but money rules the world. You might as well set your TiVo now for the most watched game in NFL history. Mark my words.

Broncos, Schmoncos. It's All About the "Creek"

Jack Elway, son of John Elway, the Super Bowl winning, likable former quarterback for the Denver Broncos, is going to have an interesting year. It turns out his famous pops will be his QB coach this upcoming season. Apparently the apple didn't fall far from the tree when it came to talent. This season can go one of two ways for young Jack: really fun or suck miserably.

I recall one time, among many, when my dad took an active interest in my sports. He took it upon himself to build an apparatus in the front yard for me to practice on at 6 in the morning. Now, I am not a morning person; never have been, not sure I ever will be. So that lasted about three days, and I think my mom got more use out of it than I did. We have since moved out of that house but that apparatus still lives on. At the same time, I was also receiving pages of barely legible legal pad scribbles which he slid under my door, detailing (and hyperbolizing) the status of my "game." Just recently, he has been telling a story about how he would take my TV out of my room if I lost, but it seems I'd remember if that ever happened (that goes for having my TV taken - and losing). If he had been my coach, too, I'm not sure we would be speaking today.

I don't know what kind of kid Jack is, but somehow, I think this could be way more cool to other kids than it will be for him.

Then again, how many people can say they were coached in high school by one of the best there ever was? Despite my comments above, I realize now that my dad was just teaching me the discipline and work ethic that enabled him to be successful at everything from Division I basketball to winning cases. He may not be John Elway, but in my eyes (and in his own eyes, if you know him), he was better. And let's be honest: if he didn't come to every match and write me a note afterward, I would have been looking for him to get his feedback. Hey, teenagers are complex people.

So the moral of the story is this: Just suck it up, Jack! Suck it up! It'll all be worth it when you get that Super Bowl ring . . . or pass the bar.

Rover Has Feelings, Too: The Michael Vick Saga

Ok, I'm going to jump in the ring with my two cents on this whole Michael Vick affair. If you haven't heard by now . . . you live under a rock, and frankly, I'm not sure how you found my blog but haven't head about Michael Vick. So, I'm going to assume you know the deal.

It seems everyone has an opinion, and that PETA is leading the charge to slay this man in the court of public opinion before (and if) he ever sees the inside of a courtroom (except when he was arraigned). Now I won't go as far as this comment did on a recent ESPN article:

toniokareem (8/18/2007 at 2:15 PM)
Gsmond...they're dogs....Matter of fact...they were his dogs, he paid for them. He raised them, and they were in his back yard. I could see if he attacked other people's dogs.

Now, as I said, I'm not going to go as far as toniokareem. I think there is something wrong withthis picture. I thought it was wrong when I went on a camping trip in fifth grade and watched some boys play "baseball" with frogs and tree limbs.

But don't we also condone sport shooting and hunting, sport fishing? I don't see PETA trying to tie up fishermen with their own lines like they are doing to Vick. We don't even know if he ever actually participated in any of the abuse.

The bottom line, though, is that the current indictment against him comes with a maximum six-year penalty. If they add racketeering to the mix,as they are suspecting, then he's looking at a twenty-year maximum sentence for that offense alone.

This twenty years may or may not be added on top of the six years for the initial charges, depending on whether he would have to serve the terms consecutively or concurrently. Consecutively means that he'd be serving a maximum of 26 years; concurrently means that the sentence for racketeering would start running at the same time as the initial charges, so that he would be looking at a maximum of 20 years. If that doesn't make any sense, check this out.

But all that is just speculation. I read the entire indictment and it seems to me that they are going to need other people to connect Vick to the worst facts because the feds do not have an open and shut case against him personally.

If he chooses to plea, which he may given what he's up against, he's guaranteed to get less than maximum sentence (hence why it's called a plea "deal" because no one would enter one if they weren't getting something better than they thought they could get at trial).

There are some pretty heinous allegations out there, but I can't hang the man out to dry just yet without knowing the facts. Some things just smell a little funny: he didn't live there, did he really need the money, etc.

Plus, when:

(1) I bet PETA wasn't there when this musher was suspended from Iditarod* competitions for two years for allegedly beating his sled dogs during a race,

and (2) Prisoner Jonathan Lee "kick him while he's down" Riches© (yes, he has copyrighted his name) is suing Vick for $63 billion "backed by gold and silver" and delivered to the prison, claiming that, among other allegations, Vick "sold [his] dogs on Ebay, and used the proceeds to buy missles [sic.] from the Iran government," I start to wonder what this is really all about.

My question is this: If this were Peyton Manning, would this be as big of a deal?




*This mention does not make Iditarod a sport.

Race Car Driving is Not a Sport . . . yeah, I said it

So for my first official post, I thought I would give you a list of activities that I consider to be a sport. For a definition, I turned to the trusty Answer.com, which offered this among the many definitions:

"An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively."

Note the phrase "physical exertion." I know that some of you may disagree and that is fine. You may even go on Answers.com and see that the first definition says only "physical activity." Nevertheless, the following is my not-so-exhaustive list, in no particular order, of some activities that I consider to be sports:

Sports

1. Basketball
2. Jai alai
3. Baseball
4. Football
5. Tennis
6. Boxing
7. Soccer
8. Hockey (Yep, few cared when it was gone a year but it's still a sport)
9. Track & field
10. Golf* - ONLY thanks to Tiger Woo

* But as long as people like this are playing, too, it's always going to be fringe in my eyes.


Whether or not the above sports will appear on Pleats 'n Cleats (i.e., does anyone care who's the next Carl Lewis?) is another question, but suffice it to say they made the list. What did not make the list? These are activities that involve skill, but just because you get a winner and a loser doesn't make it a sport. They are:

NOT Sports

1. Race car driving (If something really eventful happens, I MAY mention it)
2. Bowling
3. Poker
4. Fishing
5. Iditarod (maybe for the dogs, not the people chillin' on those sleighs)
6. Hunting or shooting at anything, especially clay pigeons
7. Billiards
8. Bocce ball
9. Spelling bees
10. Eating competitions

I believe what all these non-sports have in common is that sweating - and therefore, physical exertion - is due to lighting, outside temperature and/or pressure/nervousness, and not in any way related to the activity itself. Let me know if you have any others to add to this list.

Someone has already taken me to task for race car driving, saying that NASCAR and that other league are popular. I said, "Well, so is the circus." Also not a sport.

Remember: Just because you see it on ESPN doesn't mean it's a sport!