My Take On The Manti Te’O Story
Late yesterday afternoon, a story broke from Deadspin indicating that the death of Manti Te'o's girl friend was a hoax. Deadspin reported that the girl never existed and that a source was 80% sure that Te'o was involved in perpetrating the fake story. The once most celebrated defensive college player was now being viewed as a self-promoting disgrace. Along with Te'o's reputation taking a hit, Notre Dame was getting slammed as it was being speculated as to whether or not the university was involved in the trumped up story or a cover-up.
The university held a press conference last night where Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick stated that Te'o informed the university on December 26th about a phone call that he received early in the month where he was told that the whole thing was a joke. Subsequently, Notre Dame hired private investigators to look into the situation and it was determined that Te'o was duped. Swarbrick also indicated that he believed that Te'o and his family will address the media possibly today or Friday.
To further complicate this story, a report from the Business Insider indicates that Reagan Maui'a knew Teo's girl friend and in fact she did exist. Maui'a is a fullback for the Arizona Cardinals and he indicated that he met the girl while doing charity work in American Samoa and that allegedly Pittsburgh Steelers star defensive back Troy Polamalu was also there.
As this story was being continually reported, as if it was a national emergency, the overriding question in my mind is if Te'o was involved in the hoax what did he have to gain?? The easy answer, as was being spewed by many in the media, was that it was a way to garner publicity which would advance the senior linebacker's chances for the Heisman Trophy, other awards and possible endorsements. I don't buy it.
Manti Te'o was the middle linebacker for the University of Notre Dame. He made a conscious decision to return for his senior year because he loved Notre Dame and wanted to be a part of bringing the football program back to national prominence. It has been verified that his grandmother did die before the Michigan game. Te'o was close to his grandmother and was deeply effected by her death. If the notion that he played despite personal grief was part of the so-called story, then was it really necessary on his part to supersize the grief by adding on a dead girl friend?? Te'o didn't need to create this story in order to get publicity.
Now many have said that Te'o must be pretty naive to fall for such a hoax but could he also be that naive to believe that if he was involved in the hoax that it wouldn't eventually come out?? Would he also be that naive to believe that if it did come out that his reputation would not take a major hit and possibly effect his status in the upcoming NFL Draft?? There is nothing that makes sense to me as to why Te'o would be a part of the commission of this joke. Moreover, the implication that the University of Notre Dame was somehow involved in this is completely ridiculous.
As the evening wore on and everyone was having their say on Twitter, talk radio and the television, it struck me that there are two reasons why this was such a big story: 1.) Te'o was the middle linebacker of Notre Dame and 2.) the media was duped. If Manti Te'o played for New Mexico State or Missouri, this would be a blip on the sports radar screen and certainly would not have made Anderson Cooper. In case you don't know it, there are many in the media who have an anti-Notre Dame bias. The haters are thriving on this and no matter what Te'o or Notre Dame says it will not be enough.
If Te'o was naive to fall for this, so was the media and I'm not just talking about the South Bend Tribune. ESPN, Sports Illustrated, NBC and the New York Times all bought into it. Now doesn't this make all of these bastions of media intelligensia look foolish that they got punked or I guess the new term is catfished?? And you see the only thing worse than a woman scorned is that of a media type who has been made to be a fool.
In the end, whether Te'o was duped or not really makes no difference to me. The only person who gets hurt here is Manti Te'o. If he was involved in the hoax, then he has some serious character flaws that could impact his draft status. If he was duped, then he is viewed as a naive dope who will be the butt of jokes throughout his career. As a Notre Dame fan, I felt bad for his personal loss, but his performance on the field throughout the season is what I was interested in. But you can chalk this up to another a media generated news item that will be beaten to death until the NFL Draft and the ND haters will have a field day.
Tuesday’s Thoughts
While wondering if Phil Simms has ever admitted that he is wrong, here is what's on my mind this morning:
* There were some very good NFL games over the weekend, much better than the wild card games. You just have to love the play of Russell Wilson. This kid is exciting to watch. A third round draft pick out of Wisconsin who is undersized according to all of the draft gurus. That's why you have to wonder how much is luck involved when drafting a quarterback.
* Too bad Wilson has Pete Carroll for a head coach. What was Carroll thinking with a 3rd and 1 in the red zone and you leave Marshawn Lynch on the bench?? To make matters worse, down 13-0 with five minutes left in the second quarter, Carroll decides to go for it on fourth down and runs the same play and is stopped!! If he gets the field goal, the Seahawks are up 31-27 at the end of the game and Atlanta must score a touchdown. Instead they get a field goal to win the game. A field goal after Matt Bryant missed his first try but the play was dead because Carroll was cute and called time out. Nice job, Pete. You cost your team the game twice.
* It was so evident that Matt Ryan and Mike Smith were shaking big time. Smith's reactions on the sidelines were that of a panicked head coach. What I could not understand was why he decided to go with gimmick end arounds and flanker screens when Michael Turner was having a decent day. While you need to be aggressive in these playoff games, you don't need to be stupid.
* Heard an interesting stat on Peyton Manning yesterday: he is 0-4 in cold weather playoff games.
* I have to grudgingly give credit to Joe Flacco on his performance against the Broncos but what was Rahim Moore thinking.
* Isn't it funny how members of the sports media are railing away at Lance Armstrong, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire for using illegal substances yet they idolize Ray Lewis even though he was involved in a double homicide, took a plea and paid a cash settlement to the victims' families?
* Kudos for the USA Today for having a story in their weekend edition on how the families of the two victims feel when they here all of the praise given to Lewis.
* I wonder if Hal Steinbrenner has any clue as to the strength of his team's farm system?? In an interview last week, Hal said that the system's young talent will have to step up to ensure that the team will remain at the top while getting the payroll to $189 million. He further went on to say that the team will continue to vie for a championship. Really Hal??? And I fell off a turnip truck.
* Maybe Hal needs to read Bill Madden's column that was in Saturday's NY Daily News (below). It's the first time I've seen someone in print question the Yankees player development program.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/columnists?columnist=2.1058
* Is Andy Pettitte kidding me or what? The 40 year old lefty pitcher is playing for Team USA in the ridiculous World Baseball Classic. While I understand the desire to represent your country, Pettitte is 40 years old and any type of injury will throw the Yankee rotation in a downward spiral. The rotation needs to be relatively healthy all year in order for the Yanks to have a shot at making the playoffs, let alone winning the AL East.
* Just loved Brian Burke's press conference on Saturday. Burke was as forth right as always and didn't back down from anything. I agree with him that if James Reimer had not been injured with a concussion in October 2011, last season would have turned out differently. Loved when he told Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, " Steve, the best thing about today is that I won't have to speak to you anymore." Classic Burke.
* While the media continues to speculate what the reasons were for Burke's dismissal, my question is: why don't they get someone from Bell and/or Rogers to answer that question?? Probably the reason for that is that Bell and Rogers employ most of the media.
* Dave Nonis is in a no-win situation when it comes to trading for Roberto Luongo. Some will say he gave up to much and others will say he threw away the season. The best case scenario is that Reimer bounces back from the concussion and plays like he did in 2010-11 and in the four games prior to the concussion.
* David Stern should have his head examined for scheduling a game in London, England. He obviously took a page from Emperor Bettman and Roger Goodell. All three of them are morons.
* Can't wait to see Iman Shumpert back in the lineup for the Knicks.
* Niagara University's hockey team has climbed to 15th in the national rankings. Wonder if the gasbags at GR550 will notice.
* King Gasbag Howard Simon was admonishing fans for complaining about the hiring of Doug Marrone. The funny thing is that he and the rest of the gasbags at GR550 will be the first ones to jump on the new coach's back when the team loses its first game.
* And finally, best of luck to ESPN sportscaster Stuart Scott in his battle with cancer.
My Take On The Firing Of Brian Burke
Let me start out by saying that Rogers and Bell Communications, the new owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs, have the right to select who they want to run their hockey operations. It is true that the Maple Leafs under Burke's leadership has not made the playoffs. It is also true that the goaltending position has been unstable with Burke in charge along with the lack of a first-line center. If these were the reasons why Burke was fired then so be it. But by there actions and information as presented in this morning's Globe & Mail, hockey reasons were the lipstick that ownership put on this pig.
As reported in the Globe & Mail, the Bell Communications portion of the ownership group did not want Burke being the face of the franchise. You see Burke doesn't take any crap by the media and that obviously rubbed the media conglomerates the wrong way. In addition, according to the article, Bell wasn't happy with the way Burke conducted himself not only with the media but in general. I'm not sure what that meant as the article is very vague on this matter.
If this was about the hockey performance of the Maple Leafs, then why would Burke's entire management team be kept in place? Many speculated that Dave Nonis would be given the job on an interim basis. However, that is not the case. So Burke's right hand man is now the 14th general manager of the team with no interim tag attached. Clearly, the direction of the team was not the issue. This was about image.
The fact that the direction of the franchise appears not to be changing, in my opinion, is a good thing because this team is headed in the right direction. While Burke's free agent signings were not good, his trades have certainly improved a farm system that was barren when he came to Toronto and the team's contract obligations heading into next season will give them plenty of cap space to compete for free agents as some teams will have to drop players because of the salary cap.
As a result, as Nonis said yesterday, down the road people will realize that Burke set this team up for long term success. I'm convinced that if Burke coddled the members of the media then he would still be GM today. The other issue that no one wants to address is the fact that Brian Burke is an American. I remember when he was hired there being outrage on the part of some fans that the most storied franchise in English-speaking Canada was now being managed by an American. The defense of Ron Wilson (American citizen) by Burke and the acquisitions of Mike Komissarek & Phil Kessel (both Americans) added to the angst of some fans. The tipping point of course was Don Cherry's rant that Burke had something against Ontario boys and that was a reason why the Leafs were not making the playoffs. And of course, whatever Grapes says must be true.
Many times on this blog I have said that the young talent the Leafs have right now is the best it has ever had since the early 70's when the like of Darryl Sittler, Lanny McDonald, etc. came up through the ranks. The fact that the Toronto Marlies went to the Calder Cup Finals last season and are in first place this season bears this out. While fans and media alike have advocated patience and building through the draft, somehow they will not acknowledge the young talent that has been amassed and that patience is required for these kids to develop. Yes Burke got Kessel for Tyler Seguin and Doug Hamilton. But the question I have for everyone is this: would Tyler Seguin be the cornerstone of this franchise?? Who would have Seguin centered if he was selected by Toronto?? He is not the number one center in Boston and obviously did not have the pressure of being the saviour in Boston as he would in Toronto. The other thing that is constantly overlooked, Kessel today is only 25 years old. It's not like Burke acquired a 30 year old for that draft pick.
In the end, the Maple Leafs record on the ice certainly would justify Burke's firing and I can't argue with that even though I believe Burke had the team moving in the right direction. However, his dismissal had nothing to do with hockey and for that this whole thing is a joke. Good luck to Dave Nonis. Hopefully, he will be around for awhile provided he doesn't ruffle any feathers, particularly those in the media and Don Cherry.
Tuesday’s Thoughts
While wondering what happened to Notre Dame last night, here is what's on my mind this morning:
* I still can't believe how bad Notre Dame looked last night. Alabama completely dominated the game. I guess I was thinking with my heart as opposed to my head.
* In spite of the whipping they took last night, Notre Dame seems to be on the right track to remain a top team in college football.
* Isn't it amazing that the two home teams in the AFC Playoff Games (Denver & New England) are both favored by 10 points.
* Hopefully, we will only have one more week of the idolization of Ray Lewis.
* The Cleveland Browns coaching search has turned into a media circus. Not sure who was responsible for the news last Friday that Chip Kelly was going to be the Browns next head coach but when Kelly headed back to Oregon, whoever the Browns hire will be viewed as being chopped liver. The Dynamic Duo of Jimmy Haslam and Joe Banner have built up expectations that they may not be able to meet.
* Let me be clear, I was never sold on Chip Kelly. His style of offense would have resulted in a major upheaval of the Browns offensive roster. If Jon Gruden is not interested, there are only two names I would be interested in: Ken Whisenhunt or Lovie Smith.
* The NHL is back and the drumbeat for Brian Burke's head has already started in some quarters in Toronto. I will say it again: Burke has built this team's farm system up, made it younger and has it positioned very well for next season and the lower salary cap.
* Any Leaf fan who doesn't think the Leafs shouldn't get Roberto Luongo are out of their minds. Luongo could be the difference between making the playoffs or not.
* Last night's Knicks-Celtics game turned nasty and can only lead one to wonder what a playoff series between these two teams would be like.
* Western New York will have an alternative to the gasbags at WGR 550 with the new sports station 1270 The Fan, which was formerly WHLD. The Fan is affiliated with CBS Sports and will have one local show between 12noon and 3pm. Won't it be fun to have a sports talk station that will talk about baseball, basketball, and top sports stories as opposed to food drafts.
* The GR boys are already proclaiming that the Sabres are Stanley Cup bound. These guys are at it again. Build up the expectations and when there is no Cup, they will criticize Louie Lackawanna and Chester Cheektowaga for calling in and whining.
* And finally, good luck to new Bills coach Doug Marrone. You'll need it.
Yankee Fans Deserve Answers
Yankee fans typically know that their team is committed to getting better in the off season. The team's organizational goal is to win the World Series. This has been the Yankee mission statement since George Steinbrenner bought the team 40 years ago. But this winter has been different. While the Yankee brass mouth the mission statement, their actions give fans cause for concern. So my question to Hal Steinbrenner, Lonn Trost, Randy Levine and Brian Cashman is: what's the long-term plan for this franchise??
You see for the first time since the Steinbrenner family has owned the Yankees, the team will place its own salary cap on its payroll. As Joel Sherman reported first many months ago, the Yankees have stated that they will get their payroll down to $189 million by 2014. As a result, Brian Cashman has only signed free agents to one year deals (with exception of Ichiro) thus excluding them from many outfield and third base options. This has led to the Yankees being one of the oldest teams in baseball and still having questions at catcher and who will be their right-handed hitting outfielder. Not to mention who will be their everyday DH.
Would the Yankees under George Steinbrenner be content with either Francisco Cervelli or Chris Stewart as their starting catcher. Would Matt Diaz be their right-hand hitting outfielder?? Would Russ Canzler be the answer to replace Nick Swisher?? Would Eduardo Nunez be the everyday designated hitter?? My answer to all of those questions is probably not.
New York is the toughest media market in the world. That being the case, I am asking Mike Francesa, Joel Sherman, Jack Curry, Ken Davidoff, Anthony McCarron, Mark Feinsand, George King III or Bill Madden to begin asking the question: What is the long-term plan for this franchise?? If payroll reduction is the answer, what is the plan as far as re-signing Robinson Cano? Will Curtis Granderson be re-signed or will he be traded?? When the contracts of the following players expire who will replace Hiroki Kuroda, Mariano Rivera, Kevin Youkilis, and Andy Pettite. And finally, has the Yankee mission statement changed??
As Yankee fans who have supported this team, making it the richest professional sports organization in the world, we deserve answers. We deserve to know what the long-range plan is for this team. We deserve to know what the timetable is for Mike Montgomery, Austin Romine, Gary Sanchez, Manny Banuelos and whoever else Cashman & Company want to sell us as being the next young group to lead us to the Canyon of Heroes. In my mind, its the least they can do.
Kelly To Browns & Why I’m Concerned
There were reports throughout the evening that Chip Kelly was going to be the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Bills fans here in Western New York were disappointed as they were hoping that their team would get him. Then late last night, Chris Mortensen reported that Kelly was going to meet with the Bills and then on Saturday meet with the Eagles. This after meeting seven hours with the Browns, including dinner.
While Philadelphia and Buffalo were continuing to interview other candidates, the Browns still seem to be the favorites to get the offensive guru from Oregon. I have been trying to get excited about this move. I was thinking about how there would be an improvement in the red zone as the Browns wouldn't be settling for field goals anymore. I wanted to be excited because everyone else was telling me I should be excited but for some reason I couldn't.
Kelly has never coached in the NFL. There are restrictions on the number of players you can have on the roster. You can't go out and recruit players for a specific system or position, you need to be able to draft them. You need to be able to manage a salary cap. You have to deal with teams week in and week out who have as many talented players as you do. But what really makes me nervous is whether or not the current roster will fit Chip Kelly's offense. And the key to running an offense is at quarterback and I'm not sure if the Browns have the right one for the Quack Attack.
There are those that say that Kelly is smart enough to know that he is not going to carbon copy his Oregon offense in Cleveland. They point to the adaptation of the Oregon offense in New England with Bill Belichik. Brandon Weeden did operate out of a shotgun style spread offense at Oklahoma State. Could that be the direction Kelly takes?? None of us know. But my concern is that if there is the need for another quarterback we are at square one again and that's something I'm not sure any Browns fan can deal with. We've been dealing with it since 1999.
So, unless the Eagles or Bills can rock Chip Kelly's world, it looks like he's headed to Cleveland and I'll be holding my breathe. I've been excited before only to be let down and for some reason I just have a bad feeling about this hire. Here's hoping I'm wrong.
The Deification Of Ray Lewis
On Wednesday it was announced that Ray Lewis would be retiring at the end of the Baltimore Ravens playoff-run. Yesterday, it was reported that ESPN has worked out a deal with Lewis to be on "Monday Night Countdown" next season. The accolades have poured in since Wednesday, some making the claim that Lewis was the greatest middle linebacker of all time. I also saw an article which proclaimed that Ray Lewis was the greatest leader in pro football.
You can't deny Lewis' on-the-field accomplishments. He has been to 13 Pro Bowls, selected All-Pro 10 times, named NFL Defensive Player of the Year twice and he was the MVP of Super Bowl XXXV. Such a career warrants a first ballot selection to the Hall of Fame. However, when it's all said and done, give me Mike Singletary over Ray Lewis any day of the week. You see to me you need to be the whole package in order to be consider a great leader and the greatest middle linebacker of all-time and in my mind Ray Lewis doesn't cut it.
I have a problem with Ray Lewis for two reasons. The first one has to do with the ridiculous pre-game performance that the NFL has endorsed. Lewis' primal screaming as he runs on the field is more befitting a rank amateur than a professional. In my mind, it's contrived and nothing more than an attempt to be an attention grabber which has worked out well for Lewis. It represents a thug-like culture which has pervaded the NFL for the last 10 to 15 years. Somehow I can't imagine Singletary, Dick Butkus, Harry Carson, Ray Nitschke or Jack Lambert coming onto the field screaming like a wild animal. Lewis' act represents the self-promoting nonsense that runs throughout all sports but is particularly frustrating to watch in the NFL especially when you see someone on defense celebrating like a mad dog when they have made a tackle or sack and their team is down by 20 points. It irritates me to no end.
The second problem that I have with Ray Lewis has to do with the murder of Jacith Baker and Richard Lollar 13 years ago outside of a nightclub in Alanta. These two men were murdered as a result of a brawl with Ray Lewis and his friends. Lewis fled with his buddies in a stretch limo where he also disposed of his blood stained suit somewhere along the way. He was initially indicted on a murder charge, then plead down to an obstruction of justice charge after agreeing to testify against his two friends, Reginald Oakley and Joseph Sweeting. Neither of them were convicted and Lewis eventually reached an undisclosed cash settlement with the victims' families. I wonder if the rage that is shown when Lewis comes out on the field was also exhibited that night in Atlanta. Is it part of his personality or is it all contrived?
My question is this: how is Ray Lewis' situation different than that of OJ Simpson's with respect to the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. In fact, Simpson was found not guilty to those murders. He didn't take a plea. Like Lewis, there ended up being a cash settlement as a result of a civil lawsuit filed by the Brown and Goldman families. Simpson was persona non-grata. I didn't see OJ being offered a job by ESPN. In fact, Simpson was a pariah. Yet, Lewis takes a plea after he destroyed his blood stained clothes, is convicted of an obstruction of justice charge and is going to be given a job on ESPN. Baker and Lollar were allowed to bleed out and die outside that nightclub while Lewis and Company fled the scene. Some leader.
The NFL has a culture of violence. Commissioner Roger Goodell has tried to crackdown on some of it but his efforts have been no where near effective. Players carrying guns, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and committing violence against wives or girl friends have marked the NFL for the last 15 years. But the NFL has no one to blame but itself. The league and its television partners have deified one of the biggest thugs around: Ray Lewis. Whether contrived or real, Lewis' act represents a violent culture as was borne out on that fateful night in Atlanta 13 years ago. Should Ray Lewis be in the NFL Hall of Fame: yes. But should he be considered the greatest linebacker ever: no. And he should never be considered a great leader because a leader doesn't run from his mistakes. He owns them and moves on. That's not what happened when Jacith Baker and Richard Lollar were allowed to bleed to death on the street in Atlanta 13 years ago.
Tuesday’s Thoughts
While wondering how long it takes to clean up Times Square, here is what's on my mind this morning:
* Seven coaches and five general managers were fired in the National Football League which is evidence that there were plenty of bad teams. There could be more firings coming as Mike Mularkey could be gone as coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buddy Nix could be removed as GM of the Buffalo Bills.
* Watched Jimmy Haslam and Joe Banner at yesterday's press conference and it appears that they are looking to make a big splash with their head coaching hire. It would appear that they are going to make a big push for Nick Saban. Not sure how happy I am about that.
* Was not surprised with the firing of Lovie Smith in Chicago. Smith is a good coach but the fact that the Bears have not been able to get their offense right in the last six years is what has kept them from being a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Smith won't stay unemployed for too long but the Bears needed a change.
* It is rumored that the Bills are interested in Smith and it would be a good hire for their defense but not sure what it would mean for their offense though I'm sure he would better utilize C.J. Spiller than Chan Gailey did.
* I also think Ken Whisenhunt won't be unemployed for that long either. Just remember he had the Arizona Cardinals a James Harrison pick six away from winning the Super Bowl.
* It appears that the NHL & the NHLPA are inching closer to a deal that could end the lockout. Here's hoping egos are kept in check so that hockey will start this month.
* If the NHL season does begin, I wonder how long it will take for the Toronto news media to begin bashing Leafs GM Brian Burke.
* ESPN Analyst Pierre LeBrun had some ideas as to how the NHL could make up with their fans for this ridiculous lockout. One of his suggestions was for the NHL Center Ice package to be free for this season. Now I can buy into that!!!
* And finally, here's hoping that you all have a Happy and Healthy 2013!!
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