The Sports Curmudgeon

At the end of every college football season since 1935, the Heisman Trophy has been awarded to the “top player in college football”.  So, how is that “top player” identified?  It is an election of sorts; there are three categories of voters:

1. Sports journalists who are presumed to be “informed” and “impartial” in the process.  You can now take a moment for a hearty laugh at that presumption.  Currently there are 870 sports journalists who are Heisman voters;
2. Previous Heisman Trophy winners each have a single vote.  That makes sense to me and since there are only about 50 previous winners still alive, this is usually an unimportant voting bloc.
3. Fans get a vote using the Internet.  After all the fans put in all their votes for all their favorites – – “impartiality” anyone? – – the fans get a total of 1 vote in the process.  Maybe this makes fans feel good, but it is really nothing but a corporate promotion having nothing to do with the ultimate honoree.

I mention all this because what will appear below – – and then again in a later rant this week – – is a list of all the Heisman winners going back to 1935 with a note as to how those “top players in college football” fared in professional football after they graduated.  Here is a bit of foreshadowing:

• It is not a particularly pretty picture.

Today, I will cover the period from 1935 to 1999.  I choose that break point because I call that the Heisman Era of the Running Back.  In those 64 years, the top player in college football was identified as a Running Back 41 times (64% of the time).

Here are the Heisman Trophy winners by year:

• 1935 Jay Berwanger – – RB:  Never played pro football
• 1936 Larry Kelley – – TE:  Never played pro football
• 1937 Clinton Frank – – RB:  Never played pro football
• 1938 Davey O’Brien – – QB:  Two seasons in the NFL – led NFL in passing yards in 1939
• 1939 Nile Kinnick – – RB:  Never played pro football
• 1940 Tom Harmon – – RB:  Two mediocre seasons in the NFL
• 1941 Bruce Smith – – RB:  Four mediocre seasons in the NFL.
• 1942 Frank Sinkwich – – RB:  Two mediocre seasons in NFL and two more in AAFC
• 1943 Angelo Bertelli – –  QB:  Three underwhelming seasons in AAFC
• 1944 Les Horvath – – RB:  Two underwhelming seasons in in NFL and one more in AAFC
• 1945 Doc Blanchard – – RB:  Never played pro football
• 1946 Glenn Davis – – RB:  Two underwhelming seasons in the NFL
• 1947 Johnny Lujack – – QB:  Four seasons in NFL; made All-Pro team once.
• 1948 Doak Walker – – RB:  Six excellent seasons in NFL; All-Pro six times; Hall of Fame
• 1949 Leon Hart – – TE:  Eight years in NFL: made All Pro team once
• 1950 Vic Janowicz – – RB:  Two mediocre seasons in NFL
• 1951 Dick Kazmaier – – RB:  Never played pro football
• 1952 Billy Vessels – – RB:  One undistinguished season in NFL
• 1953 John Lattner – – RB:  One undistinguished season in NFL
• 1954 Alan Ameche – – RB:  Six years in NFL; Pro Bowl 4 times; All-Pro once.
• 1955 Howard Cassady – – RB:  Eight mediocre seasons in the NFL
• 1956 Paul Hornung – – QB:  Nine NFL seasons; twice All-Pro; once MVP; Hall of Fame
• 1957 John David Crow – – RB:  Ten solid seasons in NFL’ four times in Pro Bowl
• 1958 Pete Dawkins – – RB:  Never played pro football
• 1959 Billy Cannon – – RB:  Ten seasons in AFL/NFL; twice in Pro Bowl and twice All-Pro
• 1960 Joe Bellino – – RB:  Three less-than-effective seasons in AFL
• 1961 Ernie Davis – – RB:  Died of leukemia before he could play in the NFL
• 1962 Terry Baker – – QB:  Three undistinguished seasons in the NFL
• 1963 Roger Staubach – – QB:  Eleven seasons in NFL; six times Pro Bowl; Hall of Fame
• 1964 John Huarte – – QB:   Six undistinguished season in NFL
• 1965 Mike Garrett – – RB:  Eight seasons in AFL/NFL; twice in Pro Bowl; once All-Pro
• 1966 Steve Spurrier – – QB:  Ten mediocre seasons in NFL
• 1967 Gary Beban – – QB:  Two seasons in NFL
• 1968 OJ Simpson – – RB:  Hall of Fame
• 1969 Steve Owens – – RB:  Five seasons in the NFL; Pro Bowl once
• 1970 Jim Plunkett – – QB:  Fifteen “good-not-great” seasons in NFL; Pro Bowl once
• 1971 Pat Sullivan – – QB:  Four less than effective seasons in NFL
• 1972 Johnny Rodgers – – WR:  Four excellent seasons in CFL; NFL career ended in injury
• 1973 John Cappelletti – – RB:  Nine “good-not-great” seasons in NFL
• 1974 Archie Griffin – – RB:  Seven ordinary seasons in NFL
• 1975 Archie Griffin – – RB:  Only two-time winner of the Heisman Trophy
• 1976 Tony Dorsett – – RB:  Twelve NFL seasons; All-Pro once; five Pro Bowls; Hall of Fame
• 1977 Earl Campbell – – RB:  Eight NFL seasons; All-Pro thrice; five Pro Bowls; Hall of Fame
• 1978 Billy Simms – – RB:  Five productive NFL seasons; Pro Bowl three times
• 1979 Charles White – – RB:  Eight NFL seasons; one great season; All-Pro and Pro Bowl once
• 1980 George Rogers – – RB:  Seven NFL seasons; All-Pro once and Pro Bowl twice
• 1981 Marcus Allen – – RB:  Sixteen seasons in NFL; Hall of Fame
• 1982 Herschel Walker – – RB:  Twelve solid season in NFL; Pro Bowl twice
• 1983 Mike Rozier – – RB:  Seven solid NFL seasons; Pro-Bowl twice
• 1984 Doug Flutie – – QB:  Eight years in CFL; twelve “good-not-great” years in NFL
• 1985 Bo Jackson – – RB:  Four very good NFL seasons; injury ended his career early
• 1986 Vinny Testaverde – – QB:  Twenty-one solid  years in the NFL
• 1987 Tim Brown – – WR:  Seventeen years in the NFL; Pro-Bowl nine times; Hall of Fame
• 1988 Barry Sanders – – RB:  Ten years NFL; ten Pro Bowls; five times All-Pro; Hall of Fame
• 1989 Andre Ware – – QB:  Four non-descript  years in the NFL
• 1990 Ty Detmer – – QB:  Eight mediocre NFL seasons
• 1991 Desmond Howard – – WR:  Eleven ordinary-at-best seasons in NFL
• 1992 Gino Torretta – – QB:  Two useless seasons in the NFL
• 1993 Charlie Ward – – QB:  Chose to play in the NBA rather than the NFL
• 1994 Rashaan Salaam – – RB:  Four NFL seasons inflicted with injuries
• 1995 Eddie George – – RB:  Nine years in the NFL; four times Pro Bowl; once All-Pro
• 1996 Danny Weurffel – – QB:  Six undistinguished seasons in the NFL
• 1997 Charles Woodson – – DB:  Eighteen NFL seasons; 9 Pro Bowls; 4 All-Pros; Hall of Fame
• 1998 Ricky Williams – – RB:  Eleven solid NFL seasons; one Pro Bowl; one All-Pro
• 1999 Ron Dayne – – RB:  Seven ordinary NFL seasons

The “top player in college football” did not always pan out as a professional football player even accounting for those grads who chose not to play pro football at all.  In fact, of the 41 running backs identified as the “top player in college football” only 7 of them made it to the pro football Hall of Fame; that is only 17% of those running backs who were the best player in college for at least one season.

I will offer an explanation for this puzzling statistic in the rant that covers the period 2000 – 2025 later this week.

Finally, until then, here are words from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr,:

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

Claude Lemieux died yesterday at the age of 60 in an apparent suicide.  He was part of four Stanley Cup Champion teams; he also won the Conn Smythe Trophy – – the Stanley Cup MVP award – – in 1995.  His style of play might have been described as “aggressive”, but that may have been an understatement.

Rest in peace, Claude Lemieux.

In a small note in what is left of the Washington Post sports section this morning, it says that the NBA draft lottery will undergo “major changes”.  The Post seems to be catching up with others in the sports world here; the “major change” is one reported as the leading contender to further the NBA’s objective of canceling out tanking for draft picks.  Here is the new draft lottery system that will go into effect at the end of next year’s regular season:

• The Draft will now encompass 16 teams – – the ten that miss the playoffs entirely plus the teams that lose out in the play-in round.
• The three worst teams will have a 5.4% chance of getting the top pick
• The fourth through tenth teams will have an 8.1% chance at the top pick
• The eleventh through sixteenth teams will have a 4.5% chance at the top pick.

The NBA Board of Governors voted 29-1 to adopt this system; the lone negative vote came from the Memphis Grizzlies.

There are wrinkles in what seems to be a simple – – and perhaps simple-minded – – change here.  According to SI.com such as this one:

“The league will have expanded disciplinary authority to address tanking, including the ability to reduce teams’ lottery odds, modify teams’ draft positions and impose significant fines on offending teams.”

If I read that correctly that translates to Commissioner Adam Silver now having the authority to mete out punishments to teams when he sees situations that he defines as “tanking”.  If that is the case, there could be some interesting fallout down the line.  There are also provisions disallowing a team from drafting in the Top 5 three years in a row.  So, the randomness of the ping pong balls is considered insufficient to determine draft order?  My head hurts …

Moving on …  In the English Premier League, they do not have a draft to assist the bottom three teams; in the EPL, they relegate those teams down to a lower-level league – – called the Championship.  This year, the final relegation team was determined on the final day of the season.  Burnley and Wolves were both sure to be relegated but it took a win by the Tottenham Hotspurs in the final game to keep them in the EPL and send West Ham down to the Championship.

The EPL has an interesting way of determining which three teams will replace the relegated squads in the EPL.  The top two finishers in the Championship are automatically promoted but the third slot is given to the winner of a mini-tournament involving the third place through sixth place finishers in the Championship.  This year, Coventry City and Ipswich Town were automatic promotees; Hull City finished sixth in the Championship but won that mini-playoff and will be in the EPL starting in the Fall.

Switching gears …  I just learned that AJ Bown and DK Metcalf were teammates at Ole Miss.  Both WRs were there for three years from 2016-2018.  The Rebels’ record in those three seasons was a cumulative 16-20 with no bowl appearances.  The two questions floating around in my mind now is:

1. How did those teams not score 40+ points per game?
2. How did college defenders cover both of those WRs at the same time?

Finally, words of wisdom from Warren Buffet:

“When a management with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics, it is the reputation of the business that remains intact.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

There are two pieces of good news regarding college football this morning.  I know; I was shocked to see that too.

First, the SEC’s Athletic directors voted to have all conference members play conference games on the next-to-last weekend of the regular season starting in 2027.  That simple act gets rid of what had come to be known as “Cupcake Weekend”.  To give you a flavor of what will not happen, here are just a couple of the matchups scheduled by SEC Schools for “Cupcake Weekend” last year:

• Eastern Illinois 0         Alabama 56
• UNC-Charlotte 3         Georgia 35
• Samford 0                   Texas A&M 48
• Mercer 17                    Auburn 62

I for one will not miss these mismatches which are nothing but glorified scrimmages for SEC schools.  Yes, I know that SEC teams face big-time rivals in the final weekend of the season, but these “breathers” leading into the season ending games had become embarrassing at best.  Naturally, there are always folks who will find fault with any change.  Some argue that the season is long and arduous and these cupcake games are better than a BYE Week.  Others say – correctly – that the big schools pay the little guys at least six figures to come and take a shellacking.  Those “paydays” are important for the little guys to be able to fund their meager football programs and now those payday opportunities will become harder to find.

Forget the naysayers; this is beneficial to college football and to college football fans.

The second piece of good news comes from a surprising source – – the Congress of the United States.  According to reports, a bill has been introduced in Congress to provide a partial shield for college football and the NCAA from anti-trust litigation.  Congress has been urged to legislate on this issue for several  years now but never got anything introduced; that fact alone makes this announcement a surprise.  Moreover, the two sponsors of the bill – – Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) – – probably would not agree that Tuesday came after Monday earlier this week let alone on a new piece of legislation.  And yet, here we are …

As introduced, the bill would allow college football as an “industry” to write rules involving college eligibility and transfer rules without being subject to litigation by players.  Those rules – plus the ability to enforce them without a court intervention – is something that the schools and the NCAA have wanted and needed in recent times.  Some possible rules could now limit players to one transfer per college career and there could be age-based rules related to eligibility as well.

According to reports, the Cruz-Cantwell bill also puts a hard cap on player compensation.  It seems to me that this will be highly controversial and hugely difficult to enforce.  But if a “level playing field” is worth pursuing, then some sort of leveling needs to happen regarding the amount of money to be spent on amassing a roster.

Also in the recently introduced bill is something that has been named the “Lane Kiffin Rule”.  It would put limits on what a school might do related to poaching a coach whose team is still playing.  Once again, this is a good rule and a noble undertaking, but I don’t see how it might be enforced.

Here are a couple of other provisions of this bill:

• Federal oversight and transparency standards for all NIL deals
• Standardization of activities of boosters, booster collectives and player agents
• Making NIL deals represent “fair market value”

Can the Congress deal with this sort of a matter?  Well, the bill has been endorsed by schools and conferences in lots of states meaning there could be some grassroots pressure applied here.  However, there is still at least one fly in the ointment:

• Neither the SEC Commissioner nor the Big-10 Commissioner has formally endorsed the bill.

Finally, an interesting perspective from comedian Ron White:

“I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade… And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka and have a party.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

The NY Knicks just swept the Cleveland Cavaliers out of the Eastern Conference playoffs last night by winning their eleventh consecutive playoff game.  They closed out the Atlanta Hawks with three straight wins; then they swept the Philly 76ers and now the Cavs.  The Knicks will be in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999 and if they can win it all, it will be the first championship for the Knicks since the days of Willis Reed in 1973.  Karl-Anthony Towns led the way last night with 19 points and 14 rebounds as the outcome was never in doubt; the Knicks won on cruise control by 37 points.

That sweep gives the Knicks about a week to rest and recuperate before the NBA Finals begin June 3rd; they will take on the winner of the Thunder/Spurs series ongoing out West.  As of this morning, that series is tied two games apiece; that Western Conference winner will have home court advantage in the Finals based on regular season records.

Landry Shamet comes off the bench for the Knicks; his NBA career has had him in that role for the last 7 seasons.  His contributions in these playoffs have been highly productive to say the least; Shamet has tried 12 three-point shots and has made 11 of them.  Not shabby at all …

However, the player who makes most of this happen for the Knicks is Jalen Brunson.  When they need him to score; he scores.  When they need him to control the game; he controls the game.  The only thing he does not do is play “lights-out defense” which is something the Knicks can adjust to with other solid defenders like Josh Hart and OG Anunoby.  The Knicks will be underdogs in the Finals but unless they use this week off to go on a six-day bender, they should make the Finals more than just interesting.

Moving on …  While the Knicks provide a positive note to sports news this morning, there is also an ongoing saga that is less than rosy.  Brendan Sorsby is a college football QB who played at Indiana and Cincinnati before transferring to Texas Tech for the upcoming season.  However, after signing on with the Red Raiders, Sorsby took an “indefinite leave of absence” to undergo a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction.  He has had his eligibility suspended by the NCAA because he allegedly bet on his own Indiana team back when he was in Bloomington.

Sorsby is suing the NCAA in a Texas court to regain his eligibility.  From what I have read about this, a key element in his pleading is that his bets on Indiana football happened in 2022 and the NCAA rules on gambling did not go into effect until 2023.  Please do not take that statement above to be irrefutably accurate; that is an amateurish conclusion drawn from a variety of reports on the situation.  The hearing on this matter is scheduled for June 1^st.

I understand the concept of people not being subject to ex post facto laws and regulations and I think that is an important conceptual basis for much of American justice.  At the same time, I also think that a sentient and intelligent player has known from a very early age that you do not bet on game in which you will participate – – even if from the sidelines.  I do not envy the judge in this matter.

If Brendan Sorsby regains his eligibility, he is expected to be a highly ranked starting QB next year in college football.  He was ranked as one of the top four or five transfers in all of college football this season and with Texas Tech coming off an appearance in the CFP last year, he should get plenty of visibility by pro scouts.  That is the upside for him.

If Sorsby fails to regain eligibility, he could declare for the NFL Supplemental Draft.  That process is not like the Draft that you may have seen on TV last month; here is a thumbnail sketch of how it works:

• First, he would have to apply to the NFL who would then review the circumstances that led to his loss of college eligibility.
• The NFL’s acceptance of his application is not a certainty and given that the issue here is “gambling”, the NFL might be very conservative in its ruling.
• Assuming the NFL accepts his worthiness for a Supplemental Draft, the league then holds a weighted lottery to determine a “draft order” for the Supplemental.
• Each team would then enter a silent auction for Brendan Sorsby – – and/or any other players accepted into a year’s Supplemental Draft.
• Each team bids what round they might offer up to get Brandan Sorsty.  The highest bid gets him and forfeits that round’s draft pick next year.
• If two teams bid the same round, then the team with the higher pick in the Supplemental Draft gets Branden Sorsby.

Even assuming he is accepted by the league and then drafted by a team betting on the come, this set of events could wind up costing Brendan Sorsby millions of dollars having nothing to do with losing bets.  If teams are wary of a young QB who has already been involved in “off-field issues”, they might only take him with a 6^th or 7^th round pick where he might be a 1^st or 2^nd round pick if he plays out the next season and comes to the NFL with a clean “rep sheet”.  The difference in the worth of the first four-year contract between a high round pick and a 7^th round pick is millions of dollars.

Finally, here is comment from Tim Donaghy that seems appropriate today:

“I got caught up with gambling at the golf course, the backroom card games at the casinos with buddies there, and eventually betting on sporting events. I think it became a situation where I got consumed by it and loved every minute of it.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

Last week, the MLB owners and the MLBPA representatives met formally for the first time to kick off negotiations for a new CBA; the current CBA ceases to exist after 11:59PM on December 1, 2026.  I doubt that this was a serious bargaining session; rather, I suspect it was time for all the parties involved to introduce themselves to all the other participants and for both sides to set forth the rectitude of their bargaining position(s).

Everyone agrees that the owners’ push for a salary cap will be THE issue in all these talks, and I agree it will be the centerpiece until it is either included in the new agreement, or it is shelved as unattainable.  On this one issue, I am firmly associated with the owners; I believe a salary cap – – AND a salary floor – – will increase parity in MLB and will force some of the parsimonious owners to open up their wallets a bit.

I suspect that the owners would love a cap without a floor, and I suspect that such a structure is not going to happen.  I believe it was Don Imus who described some unlikely political outcome in this way:

• I’ll see Tupac Shakur riding a unicorn down Fifth Avenue before I see – – whatever it was.

Regarding the next CBA containing a salary cap with no salary floor, I suspect that Tupac and his mount would be joined by Cleopatra paying her respects to Lady Godiva riding naked on a mastodon in this unlikely promenade.   At first blush, one might think that the push for a salary cap is simply a means to control team salary costs and that would certainly be the case.  However, I think there is a more subtle reason at work here:

• A salary cap – – with or without a salary floor – – allows for the major expenditure of the ball club to be projected accurately and that would make each franchise more valuable at the time of a sale.
• After all, this is all about money and very little else.

Another reason for the owners to want to have the ability to project costs well is that MLB’s national TV rights deals expire after the 2028 season.  So, I expect the owners to push hard for a cap just as I expect the union to tell them to stick that in their ear(s).

Whenever there are CBA negotiations in sports, I like to point out that at some point the two sides need to recognize that they are partners in an enterprise that brings in a ton of money.  Neither side would be arguing over how to share billions of dollars of revenue without the other side doing its part.

In the past couple of seasons, MLB and the union came together to implement several rule changes that have made baseball a more enjoyable fan product.  When they did that cooperatively, it increased the revenue streams for MLB and added to the monies that now need to be shared by the two sides.  Many pessimists believe there will be no new CBA by December 1^st and that there could well be a “work stoppage” – – either a lockout or a strike – – that could eat into the 2027 regular season.  The fringe element of the pessimists has opined that the entire 2027 season might be sacrificed to the acrimony of the negotiations.  Do not count me as a “fringe pessimist”; I agree that a new CBA may not be signed, sealed and delivered by December 1^st, but I believe there will be MLB in 2027.

At some point, cooler heads on both sides will likely emerge to point out that the last time there was a “work stoppage” and the 1994 season was halted in August, fans were unhappy with both sides, and it took several years to regain fan interest. These folks cannot be dumb enough to do that again … right?

Moving on …  Earlier this week, I said that the Knicks and Cavaliers would need to spark interest in their Eastern Conference Finals given the great start the Spurs and Thunder presented in their first game of the Western Conference Finals.  And perfectly on cue, the Knicks/Cavs Game 1 provided an abundance of interest.  Here is the deal:

• The Cavs were up by 22 points late in the third quarter; the crowd was dead and the Knicks looked lifeless.
• Jalen Brunson has always been “streaky”, and he proceeded to go on a tear in the fourth quarter.
• The Knicks tied the game; sent it to OT and proceeded to win by 11 points.

Frankly, I think this was a coaching blunder by the Cavs staff.  When Brunson is on one of his streaks, he is a difficult matchup for the best defenders in the league.  The Cavs had James Harden guarding Brunson for the fourth quarter and Harden is not an elite defender by any measure.  The Cavs did not need Harden’s offense in the fourth quarter up by 22 points; they needed someone to slow down Jalen Brunson – – and they did not do that.

Finally, this from Jerry Seinfeld:

“I am so busy doing nothing… that the idea of doing anything – which as you know, always leads to something – cuts into the nothing and then forces me to have to drop everything.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

I and many others have invoked the Aesop’s Fable about the goose that laid the golden eggs when commenting on the expansion of playoff fields in college football and basketball.  [Aside: Unlike many others, I do not think the king was necessarily greedy in killing that goose; I think he demonstrated impatience more than greed.  But that is for another rant on another day…]  However, over the past several days, I seem to have mellowed in my sentiments on such expansions.  Perhaps the explanation for that mellowing comes from an illustrative answer to a simple question:

• Question: What is the difference between an optimist and a pessimist?
• Answer:  Put a pessimistic child in a room full of horse shit neck high and the child will just stand their and bemoan his fate.  Put an optimistic child in the same room and he will furiously dig around in the muck because he is sure there must be a pony somewhere in the mess.

            So, might there be “a pony” somewhere in the rush to expand college football and basketball playoffs?  Let me look at the CFP first.  In 2025, there were twelve teams in the playoff field and two of them were from “lesser conferences”.  Those “lesser conference” slots are sort of like legacy pledges at a college fraternity like Flounder in Animal House.  Everyone knows you really don’t want them in the group, but you have to accept that they are going to be there.

The other ten teams were strong ones; in fact, the team seeded 10^th in the field (Miami) made it to the championship game and acquitted themselves even while losing that final game.  There were no “pretenders” in the CFP field save for those “legacy pledges”.

So, what might have been the case if the CFP field had been expanded to 24 teams as has been suggested by various folks including the college coaches themselves?  Here are the final rankings of the CFP Selection Committee from last year listed from #11 through #24

• Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-2)
• BYU Cougars (11-2)
• Texas Longhorns (9-3)
• Vanderbilt Commodores (10-2)
• Utah Utes (10-2)
• USC Trojans (9-3)
• Arizona Wildcats (9-3)
• Michigan Wolverines (9-3)
• Virginia Cavaliers (10-3)
• Tulane Green Wave (11-2)
• Houston Cougars (9-3)
• Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-3)
• Iowa Hawkeyes (8-4)
• James Madison Dukes (12-1)

The two “legacies” are still in the field (Tulane and James Madison) but look at the records of the other teams that would have been part of the CFP.  The tournament has pretty much exhausted all the teams from the Power Conferences that won 9 or more games.  And what does that leave for the myriad bowl games to pick and choose from.  Some of the matches in minor bowl games are uninteresting even when those teams ranked from #11 through #24 might be available for an invitation, but what might be left for games such as:

• Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
• Bush’s Boca Raton Bowl of Beans
• Salute to Veterans Bowl

The answer is that some minor bowl games – – the three above are not the only examples I could cite here – – might not be able to put together a match that would draw a crowd of more than 8-10 thousand fans or a TV audience twice the size of a 3:00 AM infomercial for the Flex-Seal Family of products.  And if that is the case, maybe some minor bowl games will cease to exist – – and that might be “a pony”.

In college basketball, they have already decided to expand the March Madness field from 68 to 76 teams.  That is already too many, but deal with it as a fact.  I believe that the toothpaste is out of the tube and won’t be going back in on expansion; so, one of these years, to avert criticism about elitism and chasing a few more TV dollars, March Madness will expand to 96 teams.  It would only require one more week of tournament play for that to happen; teams seeded #`1 through #32 would get a bye and the other 64 teams would engage in “play-in games”.  Those 32 play-in games could be done as one more extended weekend of Thursday-thru-Sunday scheduling with 8 games per day.

So, where would that leave the NIT and the College Basketball Crown (CBC) if the “best 96 teams” were otherwise engaged in March Madness?  [Aside: Without Googling, which team won the College Basketball Crown Tournament last year?]  Now imagine if all the teams invited to the CBC last year were unavailable and the organizers had to dig deeper.  Or maybe the NIT and the CBC would fade into memory like the passenger pigeon.  There’s another “pony” …

Finally, comedienne, Rita Rudner, closes out today’s rant

“I had the worst birthday party ever when I was a child because my parents hired a pony to give rides. And these ponies are never in good health. But this one dropped dead. It just wasn’t much fun after that. One kid would sit on him and the rest of us would drag him around.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

The NBA semi-finals are set and last night the Western Conference series opened.  It was a double overtime game that saw the Spurs take the lead over the defending champion Thunder.  Wemby dominated; there aren’t a lot of alternative descriptions that apply there.  Here are some of his stats from last night; remember, he is only 22 years old:

• 41 points, 24 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and 3 assists

Notwithstanding that performance, it still took double OT to beat the Thunder.  This should be a great series, and it sort of demands that the Knicks and Cavs in the East provide some drama in their games lest they become an afterthought here.

Moving on …  In 2020, Tom Brady left the Pats and signed with the Bucs.  He spent 3 seasons in Tampa amassing 37 wins there including 5 wins in the NFL playoffs.  He retired after the 2022 season and did not make any dramatic returns to the field on Sundays – or any other day of the week for that matter.

Brady’s career intertwined with the NY Jets.  Remember, the injury to Drew Bledsoe that put Brady on the field for the first time was inflicted by a Jets’ linebacker.  Over the course of his career, Brady’s record as a starting QB against the Jets was 31-8 (including playoff games).

The Jets have played 6 full seasons since 2020 when Brady decamped for Tampa.  While Brady started and won 37 games, the Jets total wins for the 6 seasons stands at 28 games.  In a sense, Tom Brady continued to dominate the NY Jets even after he left the AFC East.

Switching gears …  Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens are two of the greatest pitchers in MLB history; I don’t anticipate any serious pushback there.  Their careers overlapped for 10 seasons in the 1980s and early 90s.  Both Ryan and Clemens were strikeout pitchers.

• Ryan played for 27 years in MLB and averaged 246 strikeouts per 162 games
• Clemens played for 24 years in MLB and averaged 224 strikeouts per 162 games
• Ryan had the most career strikeouts in MLB history at 5714
• Clemens ranks third in career strikeouts in MLB history at 4672

Interestingly, there is a great asymmetry in their career statistics:

• Ryan: He threw SEVEN no-hitters and won ZERO Cy Young Awards
• Clemens: He threw ZERO no-hitters and won SEVEN Cy Young Awards.

Next up …  I want to take a synoptic view of Ted Williams’ accomplishments over the period 1939 – 1953.

• 1939: Williams is 20 years old in his rookie season and hits .347 with an OPS of 1.045
• 1941: Williams hits .406 with an OPS of 1.287
• 1942: Williams hits .356 with an OPS of 1.147
• 1943 – 1945:  Williams is in the US Marine Corps as a pilot instructor
• 1946: Williams hits .342 with an OPS of 1.164 and wins the MVP Award
• 1947: Williams hits .342 with an OPS of 1.133 and wins the Triple Crown
• 1948 – 1951:  Williams’ WORST year saw him hit .317 with an OPS of 1.099
• 1952-1953: Williams is a combat pilot in the Korean War flying 39 combat missions

 Finally, I’ll leave you today with these words from Groucho Marx:

“Well, Art is Art, isn’t it? Still, on the other hand, water is water. And east is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now you tell me what you know.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

Taking a cue from President Gerald Ford’s Inaugural Address:

“Our long national nightmare is over.”

President Ford was referring to the Watergate scandal that had stained the presidency; today I am referring to the fact that we now know that Aaron Rodgers signed his deal with the  Steelers and we don’t have to tolerate any more speculation about his plans for the Fall and Winter of 2026.

Moving on …  About a week ago, I noted that the Washington Wizards had won the NBA Draft Lottery and had the first pick.  In a conversation with a friend late last week, he asked if I thought the Wizards could screw it all up as has been their wont for the last several decades.  My answer to him was that there were at least four and maybe six future quality players at the top of the Draft, so it would be difficult to screw it up badly.  And then, over the weekend, I recalled the drafting fiasco of the Sixers when they were in their infamous “Process” to tank a few seasons and accumulate a team of young star players that would dominate for a long time.  As is evident, that did not quite work out as planned.

So, over the weekend, I went back 30 years and looked at the players taken #1 overall in the NBA Draft and how they fared in the pros.

I have 5 categories for the 30 players taken in the Draft slot as defined by me here:

1. Hall of Fame: Players who are already in the HoF or who will be when they are sufficiently retired.  (6 players in this category)
2. Stars: Players who stand out in the NBA, but it is still way too soon to consider them for the HoF. (5 players in this category)
3. Good not Great: Players who are just that – – good but not great. (9 players in this category)
4. Meh!: Players who bounced around for a while spreading mediocrity wherever they went. (4 players in this category)
5. Bust: Players who never came close to living up to this Draft status. (6 players in this category)

Here are the results:

• 1996 – Allen Iverson – Hall of Fame
• 1997 – Tim Duncan – Hall of Fame
• 1998 – Michael Olowokandi – Meh!
• 1999 – Elton Brand – Good not great
• 2000 – Kenyon Martin – Good not great
• 2001 – Kwame Brown – Bust
• 2002 – Yao Ming – Hall of Fame
• 2003 – LeBron James – Hall of Fame when eligible
• 2004 – Dwight Howard – Hall of Fame
• 2005 – Andrew Bogut – Good not great
• 2006 – Andrea Bargnani – Meh!
• 2007 – Greg Oden – Bust (Injuries)
• 2008 – Derrick Rose – Good not great (Injuries)
• 2009 – Blake Griffin – Good not great
• 2010 – John Wall – Good not great
• 2011 – Kyrie Irving – Hall of Fame when eligible
• 2012 – Anthony Davis – Good not great
• 2013 – Anthony Bennett – Bust
• 2014 – Andrew Wiggins – Meh!
• 2015 – Karl-Anthony Towns – Good not great
• 2016 – Ben Simmons – Bust
• 2017 – Markelle Fultz – Bust
• 2018 – Deandre Ayton – Bust
• 2019 – Zion Williamson – Good not great (Injuries)
• 2020 – Anthony Edwards – Star
• 2021 – Cade Cunningham – Star
• 2022 – Paolo Banchero – Star
• 2023 – Wemby – Star
• 2024 – Zaccharie Risacher – Meh!
• 2025 – Cooper Flagg – Star

So, maybe I need to revise my thinking a bit.  Over the last 30 years, the folks orchestrating the NBA Draft took 9 players who were mediocre to a bust; that is almost one in three such selections.  So, maybe the Wizards can find a way to “screw this up” on Draft Day …

Finally, this from author and entrepreneur, Jason Fried:

“Hiring people is like making friends. Pick good ones, and they’ll enrich your life. Make bad choices, and they’ll bring you down.”

But don’t get me wrong,, I love sports………