Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Colts offensive line is filled with five big bodies, 10 quick feet, and one beautiful and selfless spirit

The Colts offensive line a five-man collective that wins succeeds of fails as a group to give the team a chance to win.

“Whatever the team needs,” is a refrain often heard from members of the Indianapolis Colts offensive line when they speak to the media. When they are asked by the media to indulge in a little egomaniacal self-praise, they defer with a disdainful smirk.

Quenton Nelson was asked Monday to comment on his potential legacy as the best left guard to play in the NFL, and he was clearly annoyed. When baited yesterday to whine about not being named to the Pro Bowl, right tackle Braden Smith was similarly curt and perturbed.

If you asked NFL fans not in Indianapolis who plays right guard for the Colts, very few would know his name is Mark Glowinski, and that is the way Glowinski likes it. All the cash and camaraderie with none of the fame is not a terrible recipe for a happy life.

Team sports is fascinating because there can be a great temptation to behave with selfishness, but the greatest team rewards are reserved for those who subvert egotism for the collective good. Lombardi Trophies are usually won by teams of talented men willing to put what is good for the team ahead of personal glory.

The Colts o-line appears filled with selfless behemoths dedicated to each other more than individual accolades.

They remind me of the scene in the film A Beautiful Mind where four geniuses are in a bar trying to figure out how to approach a gorgeous woman surrounded by four average looking girlfriends. It occurs to the head genius, John Nash played by Russell Crowe, that if the four guys all pursue the hottie, none will earn a date. But if the four geniuses ignore the beauty and offer to pair up with the remaining average looking woman, all can succeed.

That is an example of Nash equilibrium, a concept that won him a variety of prizes and awards given to people with giant brains. It also won Crowe an Oscar.

The key to Nash equilibrium being successful is that all parties must be trusted not to abandon the collective to chase their selfish desires. It appears the Colts o-line subscribes to Nash equilibrium. The result is not dates, but opening holes for running backs and creating a pocket to protect that quarterback that lead to wins against less selfless NFL teams.

Offensive linemen are helped toward this holistic vein of behavior because they are compensated for collective success rather than individual statistics. The stats for offensive linemen are collective – as in sacks allowed and yards rushing. There are methods for rating blocking effectiveness, but they are not as simply applied or understood as yards and touchdowns.

Ryan Kelly is among the NFL’s highest paid centers in part because of the play of his four line mates. The same will be true for Quenton Nelson and Braden Smith when they sign their extensions. Linemen tend to sink or swim together, and so they are the most likely position group to embrace group excellence as their driving motivation.

For wide receivers, compensatory calculus is data driven. Lots of catches and yards equals lots of cash. Salary level is not victory contingent for receivers, so divas are either created or nurtured. Quarterbacks are in the same boat. Rams QB Matthew Stafford has yet to win a playoff game, and yet he has earned $226M in his 12-year career. How about “Always Angry Andy” Dalton? No reason for him to be angry about making $86M for his zero playoff wins. And he’ll get another $10M this year for not making the playoffs with the Bears.

The Colts offensive line collective spirit wins plays, games, and may one day be responsible for a championship. They can’t do it without the individual greatness of receivers, quarterbacks, and defensive ends, but the divas can’t win without the group up front that makes all those passes, catches, and runs possible.

That’s the genius of football.

Colts Campbell cleared; Smith & o-line all-business! Pacers playing in or out tonight! Dixon fast at IMS

Colts WR Parris Campbell – is he healthy? We ask him! Bjorkgren says Pacers ready! Kwame Brown is profane but interesting

Former Louisville assistant Dino Gaudio’s final play may cost him two years in federal prison

Dino Gaudio’s last play as a coach might cost him more than a basketball game!

“I’ll sue ’em! That’s what I’ll do!” mutters almost everyone fired from a job they enjoyed.

When Louisville assistant basketball coach Dino Gaudio was told to pack a box after a disappointing season season ended in March, he did more than mutter.

Gaudio met with Louisville officials and allegedly told them he would release information to the media detailing NCAA violations that included hype videos for recruits produced by the university if he was not paid at full salary for an additional 17 months. Later, Gaudio allegedly sent a text message that crossed state lines containing one of the videos to Louisville personnel.

Not only did Louisville possess the damning text message, they recorded the exit interview with Gaudio.

Oops!

The crossing state lines part of the equation turned this into sordid error in judgment into a federal extortion charge, and so Gaudio is facing up to two years in federal prison.

Thinking about the punitive measures that can be taken against a former employer is common. Executing a hastily planned deal to extort money from an employer that runs its own lawyer farm is a different issue.

According to comments from Gaudio’s attorney Brian Butler, it appears he has learned his lesson:

“When he was not renewed, he was hurt, he became angry, and in the course of that he made statements he regrets.”

“Unfortunately, those statements were taped, and he was not given an opportunity to walk them back. They were turned over to law enforcement. Coach Gaudio takes full responsibility for his actions and lack of judgment and the statements he made in a very heated situation. He apologies to his family and friends for his actions and hopes that everyone will consider his 40 years of good and all the contributions he has made.”

Hopefully, contrition keeps Gaudio out of the pokey. Federal prison is no place for a former coach to spend the first two years of his retirement.

Kwame Brown goes on the attack and turns his formerly modest IG and YT feeds into click farms!

Kwame Brown has figured out how sports media works – insanity plays, for a while.

There is nothing quite like untethered lunacy on social media, and Kwame Brown – the #1 pick of the 2001 NBA Draft – is giving us a bunch of it this week on his Instagram and YouTube feeds.

Brown evidently has had enough of being belittled as the poster boy for draft busts in the media, and is engaging with those who have the temerity to diss him publicly.

If you are offended by anger and profanity, I would stay away from the videos. Hell, even I was offended by his language, and I am rarely offended by anything. Because of his temperament and extreme profanity, I won’t post a link here. You can find it easily elsewhere if you choose to.

Despite a relatively lackluster 12-year career, Brown was able to cobble together $64 million in income. Responsibly managed, that kind of cabbage buys a lot of things – cars, homes, free time, and a life without oversight.

Minus a boss, there is no immediate consequence for profane vitriol, so Brown can go on his various feeds at his leisure to scream the n-word and threaten media personalities and former players with violence. No one has given Brown a moment’s thought in the eight years since his basketball career ended – until this week when he went off the rails.

While there is no question his choice of words is suspect, there is a raw honesty to his societal critiques that rings a significant bell. That ringing is drawing eyes, ears, and clicks. I just finished watching Kwame live on YouTube along with 4,000 others. Be the end of the day, that number will likely top 100K – roughly 40% of the viewers for a good day on ESPN’s Get UP!

That’s the way our media society works these days. Outrage is fun to watch. Kwame going haywire and threatening to slap ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is very tasty eye candy.

But here is what will happen. Because Brown is suddenly being watched, someone is going to offer him money to work for their company. Then he will have a boss who doesn’t want to be held responsible for aberrant behavior and potentially actionable rants. There will be a meeting where Brown is told to back off the threats and habitual n-word use. People will stop watching because he will evolve into a clone of every other non-offensive former player who wants fat media cash.

That’s the sports media cycle of life, and Brown is about to take a short spin on that merry-go-round.

Indianapolis Colts five keys to get to the playoffs! Pacers destroy Hornets to set up play-in vs. Wiz!

Indianapolis 500 three-time winner Bobby Unser remembered by Talk of Gasoline Alley’s Donald Davidson

Indianapolis Colts Big Q, Maniac, & Reich talk about Wentz, taking next step, and putting team first! #Pacers LeVert out tonight!

Carson Wentz, Frank Reich, Darius Leonard, Quenton Nelson

Hope has come to Bloomington with Mike Woodson, and I can’t help but buy in!

Mike Woodson is the answer to IU fans’ dreams. He is an Indiana player coming back to Indiana to coach

Indiana Basketball fans are living in a dream world where everything is just the way it should be, and none of us wants to wake up.

At least once a week there is great news about the direction of the program. First, the firing of Archie Miller was celebrated because he was clearly a bad fit and had the lack of NCAA Tournament invitations to prove it. Some wonderful donor coughed up the cash to buyout Miller’s contract, and the boil was finally lanced.

Next came word that athletic director Scott Dolson was preparing a monster offer to lure Brad Stevens away from the Boston Celtics. Brad was able to lead Butler to back-to-back national championship games, grew up an IU fan, and played at Zionsville High School and DePauw University. He was the perfect fit, except for the fact he did not want the job. That was fine because the next piece of news was that IU legend Mike Woodson was Plan B.

Woodson scored more than 2,000 points for Bob Knight, maintained a great relationship with his mentor, and is an Indiana native who attended Broad Ripple High School. He also played and coached in the NBA for most of the past 40 years. He understands the modern player while also demanding consistent effort. he was seen immediately as the perfect hire because that belief was a lot more fun than assuming the opposite – again.

Shortly after Woodson unpacked, All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis announced he would remain in Bloomington for his junior season. Teammates followed suit, although Armaan Franklin, Al Durham, and Joey Brunk decided to transfer. Woodson locked down five-star recruit Tamar Bates, who was recently released from his National Letter of Intent to attend Texas. Pitt transfer Xavier Johnson pledged, and was followed yesterday by Michael Durr – a seven-footer who had a cup of coffee at Virginia Tech after transferring from South Florida.

Shortly after Woodson was hired, Indiana alum and fan favorite Dane Fife was hired away from Tom Izzo and Michigan State. Fife has long been viewed as a very acceptable head coach candidate with a strong tether to the Knight era.

Last week, junior Jerome Hunter was asked to vacate the premises. IU fans used to call that “Creaning,” and when namesake Tom ran the program, it was frowned upon. Now that Woodson is the coach, fans see it as a return to Indiana-level discipline. “Set expectations, enforce expectations, issue meaningful consequences,” is the Indiana way!

We don’t know exactly what happened with Hunter, who was briefly suspended in early February for what at the time was described by Miller as a lack of focus. Fans see Hunter’s ouster as a sign that the dog is again wagging the tail in Bloomington, rather than the other way around.

Of course, we don’t know if any of these changes will result in a single additional win, and while no one weeps for Miller, he is likely not the wretched leader he is painted to be compared to Woodson, who has yet to lead a college team to a single win. We should also remember he has yet to lose a single game either.

Hey, I’m as over the moon as anyone as we discuss IU Basketball’s future under Woodson. Johnson and Bates are going to be All-Americans, Jackson-Davis will be the Big 10 Player of the Year, and Woodson will remind everyone of all the good Knight brought to IU without any of the self-indulgent baggage.

Indiana fans are so starved for a reason to hope that every single change over the past two months, including Miller being told to pack a box has been viewed as a reason to place a bulk order for banner fabric.

I keep trying to tell myself to slow my roll, take a deep breath, and allow Woodson to take the time needed to rebuild a program dormant for the majority of the past 20 seasons, but I refuse to listen.

Like thousands of other Indiana fans, I am having way too much fun. Reality will assert itself soon enough. Why hurry it along?