The Sports Culture Problem

I am a sports fan, but it should not take precedence over life and death. Not ever.


I wrote these words back in January pertaining to both Joe Paterno and the Kyle Williams situation. I looked back at some of my words and I'm a little dumbfounded at how naive I was to think Paterno had merely been a guy who "wished he could have done more" considering what has come to light in the past 6 months. I revisit it now because these words really resonate today following Penn State's punishment for failing to do anything about Jerry Sandusky.

Many of us place sports as a very high priority in our lives. We carve out time in our schedules to watch our teams play all the big games. Many are not afraid to drop big bucks to go see their teams in person or buy memorabilia. Sports have become big business, even in the so-called "amateur" ranks like intercollegiate athletics. The big schools lose tons of money just for the "honor and prestige" of playing in a meaningless bowl game. We have March Madness that takes offices and sports bars by storm with bracketology. You have sports blogs everywhere like this one, or Geoffy's about the Bulls, or my friend Nathaniel starting up an NFL blog within the past couple days. Eventually we have to weigh the importance of sports against everything else in life.

And that's where the Penn State scandal comes into play. We had an assistant coach who retired after one incident of child sexual abuse, then saw it come to the attention of the school again a few years later, only for the most powerful men at the institution to do nothing about it. Once they were caught, a legendary head coach gets fired and many students are upset about it. As more facts get released, many people realize how duped they were by the bad leaders at Penn State. And yet there are some people that continue to defend the institution, despite all the evidence for why the school deserves condemnation.

Reading through the message board in the ESPN article I linked to above, I was dumbfounded reading many fans (a large chunk of which are Penn State students, alums, or fans, though not all) claiming that the punishment is unfair or too harsh, or even targets the wrong people since this supposedly "wasn't a football issue". This highlights the problem with the football culture at Penn State. To this day, some people are still more concerned with what happened to the program than what happened to the unfortunate victims whose lives will never be the same after their time in State College, PA.


Regarding the punishments, I think they are fair. Funds need to be sent out to deal with child abuse and preferably at programs that teach people what to watch out for in a potential abuser or signs that a child might have been abused as well as support for victims. But the sanctions on the football program are also entirely justified. A pedophile who was a coach for some time and later a major face of a "charity" used the Penn State football program to lure in potential victims, groom them, and take advantage of them. The program was not only the bait, but the willing co-conspirator in that Joe Paterno reportedly talked 3 other head honchos out of turning Sandusky over to the proper authorities in 2001, after there had already been a report of sexual abuse. Once is one thing. If you hear 2 different reports about 2 different incidents from 2 different people, odds are there is some truth there.

Penn State apologists still continue to defend their school and late coach, saying that with Paterno passed on, Sandusky behind bars, Spanier fired, and Schultz and Curley facing jail time as well, the perpetrators are gone and no punishment is needed as the legal system is taking care of it. While this is true to an extent, the program needs punishment. The NCAA needed an example of what could happen when an institution treats an athletic program with more care and concern than the welfare of children, and said culture at Penn State was obvious and needed to be rooted out. Many called for the death penalty, though I think that would have been a little overkill. This will still be a painful lesson for Happy Valley. You cannot treat a football program with more care and concern than children who are being raped. Period.

This wrongful prioritizing is rampant in people quick to say this unfairly punishes the student athletes who will no longer get the experience of a bowl game, though players are free to transfer and coaches from other schools are already circling the big time guys. Penn State is lucky they still even have a football team and didn't get the death penalty. The businesses in the area can still get their game day traffic and hopefully we can see some of the proceeds from PSU football go to the victims or a child abuse charity. This punishment is intended to change the culture at Penn State from a "win-at-all-costs"

But the most important thing to take away from this incident is a warning for all of us, not just Penn Staters. We are human. We all make mistakes, some worlds bigger than others. But to an extent we are part of the sports culture problem. Some fans have a win at all costs mentality, and while it's not necessarily a bad thing, Penn State proved it can be dangerous. We all need to remember that regardless of the sport and the team, sports and winning are not the most important thing. It's connecting with other people, having respect for your fellow human beings, and spending time with the people we love. No amount of championships can ever compete with the love you get from friends and family.

And if you do decide that the program and wins are all that matters, what price are you willing to pay?

Welcoming an Old Cub

In my bedroom above where my TV sits is a large shelf that holds a ton of medals and trophies. Many of these are scholarly in nature; the old BookIt! program from Pizza Hut gave out medals if you completed your goal every month in a given school year, and I have several trophies from the reading program at St. Paul's Lutheran School in Aurora where I went from preschool through 8th grade. I also have several sports items, including a lot of medals and trophies from my park district T-Ball and soccer days, as well as letters from St. Paul's for my 4 years in both soccer and basketball.

I also have a few baseballs up there, some I got at various baseball games, other souvenir, non-game balls from different locales. Some are autographed by various Major League players like Jhonny Peralta, Scot Shields, or Shawn Estes, to name 3. My dad gave me a ball signed by the members of one or both of the Twins World Series teams. But there's one ball that sits front and center that means a lot more than all the rest put together.

MLB At the Break

At the unofficial halfway point of the Major League season, it's been something of a fun season, but nothing too out of the ordinary has happened. Some teams have surprised in both directions, and we will probably see some fun races in the last 2 1/2 months. I've been able to make it to 3 games in 3 different cities so far this year (and would have made it to Wrigley a second time but unfortunately had to work on Memorial Day.) So with the break in full swing, here are my thoughts on the first half so far.

My Cubbies

I knew this year was going to be bad. I had prepared for it when we hired Theo and company to overhaul the roster. And this year has seen 2 feelings: one of optimism of overachieving to 90 losses and the other of despair from knowing the team was bad, but not realizing how bad until watching them. As per the usual Cub team, the starting pitching is decent (other than Chris Volstad) if not solid, the bullpen sucks, and the team tends to leave guys in scoring position. But there have been bright spots in the form of Starlin Castro continuing to do his thing (hit well, make mental as well as fielding errors), Bryan Lahair getting off to a hot start, and the Cub debut of Anthony Rizzo who has been excellent so far. This team could still lose 100 games but they're providing some hope for the future.

Biggest Surprise: Chicago White Sox

I put the South Siders in the basement of the AL Central before the season began. Many Sox fans didn't expect much from this team either, but they have been excellent this season. I had expected the pitching to not be that great, but guys like Chris Sale and Jake Peavy have given the team a chance to win every time out. Paul Konerko continues to be an excellent hitter, and Adam Dunn (as I figured) isn't as horrible as last year even though he's still on pace to break the record for most strikeouts in a season. Regardless, this team could very well be playing a little ways into October. This doesn't have the same feel as that 2005 squad, but they are still a dangerous squad.

Biggest Disappointment: Philadelphia Phillies
I fell for the Phillies this year, and it seems foolishly so. Granted, Ryan Howard just came back, but I figured they would have the arms to tread water. The offense hasn't been able to support Cliff Lee, with him finally winning a game here recently. With the talent in the rest of the division, I have a feeling they won't climb out of the cellar by the time all is said and done.

1st Half Awards

• AL MVP: Josh Hamilton (TEX)- .306/27/75 is nothing to sneeze at, especially on a division leading team. He also leads the AL in OPS at 1.016, one of only 2 guys over 1.000 (David Ortiz is the other). The 2010 AL MVP would have to seriously cool off or see someone get red hot the last 2 months to challenge his numbers.
• NL MVP: Andrew McCutchen (PIT)- Maybe I'm insane, but this kid has made the leap the last couple years. He's up to .362/18/60 splits with 14 steals and 17 doubles and a 1.039 OPS. This one was harder to decide on since cases can be made for David Wright (.353/8/44), Joey Votto (.348/14/48) and Ryan Braun (.306/24/61) with Votto's probably being strongest with Cincy contending as of right now. But McCutchen's all around excellence is a solid pick, and one I will stand by at this stage.
• AL Cy Young: Chris Sale (CHW)- Tough call between him and Jered Weaver of the Angels. Looking at their numbers they are very comparable in ERA (Weaver 1.96, Sale 2.19),WHIP (0.90 for Weaver, 0.95 for Sale), BAA (.188 for Weaver, .198 for Sale)and record (Weaver is 10-1, Sale 10-2). While Weaver leads these 3 categories by small margins, Sale has pitched more innings and has a higher strikeout rate. He wins by a hair.
• NL Cy Young: R.A. Dickey (NYM)- Who would have guessed a knuckleballer would be 12-1 at the break, lead the NL in WHIP (0.93), and be among the leaders in innings (120) and strikeouts (123)? I certainly didn't. It's a bit of a snub that he didn't start the All-Star Game but he's earned this first half award.

Best Moment of the 2012 Season
Probably would have to be Arnie the Alpaca getting into Wrigley to see the Cubs beat the Dodgers as well as making it to Rangers Ballpark at Arlington. Josh Hamilton's power binge in Baltimore back in May is second.  I think third place would be Kerry Wood's final Major League appearance striking out the only batter he faced and leaving to a standing ovation at Wrigley, and getting a snarky tweet from Ian Stewart is 4th (for the record- thought his reaction was pretty funny. Wish him well on his recovery.)

Playoff Forecast

I ate crow a little bit already, but I'm going to open myself up to that again with predictions for the second half. In the American League, the Rangers and Yankees, respectively, will probably end up taking their respective divisions. The Central is tougher to forecast, with the Tigers and Indians looming close to the White Sox. I think the Tigers will come back and win the division though behind guys like Verlander, but the Sox will be in it till the end. As for wild cards, I think Tampa will sneak past Baltimore for one and the White Sox can pilfer the other from the Angels.

In the National League, I think Washington can hold off Atlanta and the Mets for their first East division crown since they moved to the nation's capital. The way the Giants have come on lately, I think they top the Dodgers for tops in the West. The Central is not that good, but has several contenders. I don't know that I trust Pittsburgh yet despite their presence in first place right now. I think the Reds overtake them at the end. For the wild cards, Pittsburgh can probably still grab one while the Dodgers swipe the other.

Here's to more fun baseball the rest of the way!

A Legend Tarnished

Growing up I never watched college football and really had no idea who Joe Paterno was, other than a guy who had been around Penn State forever. That's why I didn't really have a whole lot of insight when he passed away in January. But his legacy was definitely being overshadowed by the whole Sandusky case, a blight on college football and that little corner of Pennsylvania. But in light of the CNN reports that have recently come out, the damage is much greater than we feared.

I was in the camp before this came to light that Paterno had to have known something and was, to an extent, responsible for the atrocities in Happy Valley. None of us realized how right we were. In listening to John Kincade talk about it, he encouraged people (myself included) to read the article. It was eye-opening to say the least. But it also made me think back to a little over a year ago as I was finishing up my bachelor's degree.

Mission [Not Yet] Accomplished

The poor saps who wrote Death to the BCS said their book is bound for the clearance bin. Yes, the Cartel and Presidential Oversight Committee have finally agreed to a playoff, but we still have a long way to go. I celebrate the initial victory by looking at this new system that has yet to see all the wrinkles ironed out.

Other than the fact that they expanded to some sort of playoff, I'm not a huge fan of this new system in terms of how it's implemented. With the system as is currently envisioned I think it is a decent Band-Aid. With 4 teams I can live with the semifinals being played within the context of the current BCS bowls but for the future plan I still want the higher seeded teams in the playoffs to host the games up through the title game.

I'm for a selection committee as well, at least in theory. The scenario I fear has several big conference big wigs on the committee and their potential to be biased towards the power conference schools as opposed to the mid majors who have long threatened the money grab. Everyone deserves an equal shot at these playoffs and the committee needs to take this into account. By design strength of schedule will (unfortunately) tilt towards the bigger schools, but we can't see unbeaten schools get left out without a VERY GOOD reason.

The reason I critique this proposed revamp is because there are still too many holes. I have long been and continue to be for a 16 team playoff. I agree that of those 16, probably only 4 a year would have a realistic shot at a title.

That argument from people in favor of the status quo or the revamp continues to be a big thorn in the side of playoff pundits like me, but their continued argument about the "sanctity "of the regular season baffles me. This past season already ruined the "sanctity" of the regular season. Regardless of whether or not LSU and Alabama were the best two teams (in a vacuum, makes sense), Bama got a shot in the regular season and couldn't take advantage... and because they were so close (plus a tough road double overtime loss by Oklahoma State) they got a rematch.

And that's part of why a playoff is so important. I don't mind a rematch for a national title... as long as the participants earn their way there by playing some of the best teams that season. Take the 11 conference champions and fill the bracket with other deserving teams. Every undefeated team will automatically get in by virtue of the conference champions provision except the Notre Dame's of the FBS, but would get in on my watch regardless for running the table. Most, if not all the at large bids will likely be big conference teams anyway, though not always.

There will be debate and bitterness, sure. But primarily using conference champions means the regular season matters- for everyone. Right now a mid major could go 11-1 and they'd get left out for not beating anyone of significance and for their one loss. In the current system, "Every game counts", except it really doesn't. Even out of conference games will retain importance as they can really help with seeding. And since my ideal system rewards the best teams with home field for one or two or even three weeks, what incentive would teams have for not running the table? Say Ohio State is 11-0 going into its last game against Michigan and no other team has fewer than 2 losses. OSU is pretty much assured of a berth in the B1G title game, but they're playing Michigan. Why throw that game? Why would LSU or Alabama rest guys against each other? Or Texas and Oklahoma? I don't see the NFL pattern of resting guys happening. If you can leave no doubt that you're a #1 seed, take advantage of that opening and guarantee games at your campus for as long as you're in the playoffs until the title game, not to mention likely facing the Sun Belt (or similar conference) champion right away, all but a guaranteed early win.

The revolution is not yet done. We have a rough concept of what we want, but it will take time before it fully takes shape. Support your teams, but yearn for a day when we finally have a fair system to determine a battle tested champion.

Raging Heat

I'm on vacation, but this is unfortunately a big deal. I couldn't even watch the end of this game. I had to listen to it on my phone, but I can't watch Miami celebrate.

Two years ago the NBA got its villain in the Heat and a team for the country to hate. Last year they couldn't handle that constant bullseye. This year many continued to say that they couldn't handle the pressure. But this year's incarnation is different.

The theme with every NBA champion in terms of the layout of their team is simple. You have one definitive alpha dog superstar, one or two wingmen and several role players. Miami got it figured out this postseason. LeBron made the leap starting in Game 4 of the Indiana series and Wade moved into the second banana role. Having Bosh back helped, and he played the role they needed him to. But it was also the role guys that stepped up. Haslem played good defense. Shane Battier played out of his mind in the Finals. Mike Miller got hot in this finale. Mario Chalmers was great, and Norris Cole was good off the bench. That's 8 guys, that's what's needed to win.

Fairly or not, this series will be overshadowed by the poor officiating throughout the playoffs. I didn't see much of Game 5 tonight, but I found myself screaming at my TV on Tuesday about missed calls. I saw on Facebook more complaints tonight. It had its impact on this series, but at the end of the day Miami won the Finals and Oklahoma City lost. The Thunder couldn't play a complete game all series long, and Miami knew how to close out games.

As I type this, the Heat just officially closed it out. I'm upset, but they earned the title. LeBron showed all postseason long that he had developed the heart of a champion and he absolutely deserves to be the Finals MVP.

As angry as this makes me, congratulations to the Miami Heat. They made a nice run this spring. The next question: Can they defend the title?

Happy Father's Day

To a Dad who, from an early age, tried to instill in me a love of sports.

To a Dad who tried (but failed... ha ha Dad) to get me to root for his team by dressing me in Minnesota Vikings clothes as a baby, only to see me pick not only a division rival (as well as skip over the hometown team), but to pick both teams' archrival. (And be rewarded with 2 Super Bowls and counting in my lifetime).

To a Dad who got me active in sports from a young age, playing Park District soccer and being a coach for my first 2 seasons, while being a supportive parent at games for years afterward.

To a Dad who loved playing basketball, football, or whiffleball in the driveway or the yard with a young, energetic me and tried to teach me love for the game.

To a Dad who got me to and from countless basketball practices in junior high and high school, and made it to games watching me evolve from a kid version of Brian Scalabrine, to a destitute homeless man's Moses Malone, back to Brian Scalabrine (2009 Boston version), to a poor man's Omer Asik, back to Brian Scalabrine again after I nearly walked away from a game I loved. And it's largely thanks to him that I came back to basketball.

To a Dad who took me to the Metrodome in the early 90's to see Kirby Puckett and the Twins play, only to have me want to leave near the end of the game. To a Dad who since then has taken me to Wrigley Field countless times and added in fun road trips, including several treks to Milwaukee, a few more to Minnesota, and long road trips to Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati as well as St. Louis and Kansas City. To a Dad who taught me the art of scorekeeping, something I've continued to do at nearly every Major League game I've been to, occasionally amazing some older fans that a young kid was continuing a dying art.

To a Dad who supported me wearing holy colors in an unholy land and living to tell the tale.

To a Dad who made an effort to listen to games I called when my playing career ended and I got involved at WONC, then later on at WROK and at iHigh.com for a Christmas tournament. To a Dad who also takes time to read my work on here and offer occasional advice and criticism, as well as flat out enjoying the occasional story I tell.

But most importantly, to a Dad who, together with my wonderful Mom tried their hardest to raise me and my brother and guide us along the straight and narrow, and who, after all life has thrown at him, does everything he can to continue to raise us and be a shining example of what a man, husband, and father should aspire to be.

I hope in a few years, when I'm married and have kids of my own, I can be in the same ballpark of the kind of father he has been to me.

Happy Father's Day, Dad, and to all dads out there.