Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Hockey media legend Don Cherry goes out on his sword – unapologetically – as 85-year-olds often do

Don Cherry dressed like he didn’t care what people thought, and he continues to speak like that too.

Don Cherry spent many years hosting Coaches Corner on Hockey Night in Canada in his own unique way.  Today, he responded in a unique way to being fired for comments interpreted by Canada Sportsnet as racist and intolerant.

“I have just learned I’ve been fired by Sportsnet for comments made on Coach’s Corner Nov. 9, no problem.  I know what I said and I meant it. Everybody in Canada should wear a poppy to honour our fallen soldiers.

“I speak the truth and I walk the walk.  I have visited the bases of the troops, been to Afghanistan with our brave soldiers at Christmas, been to cemeteries of our fallen around the world and honoured our fallen troops on Coach’s Corner.

“To keep my job, I cannot be turned into a tamed robot.  I would have liked to continue to do Coach’s Corner.  The problem is if I have to watch everything I say, it isn’t Coach’s Corner.

“I want to thank everyone who has watched Coach’s Corner over the last 35 years.

“Remember to wear your poppy to honour our fallen soldiers … Thumbs up.”

Cherry’s firing came two days after he made comments about how tired he is of seeing recent immigrants to Canada (“you people”) not wear a poppy to commemorate soldiers who died in the pursuit of freedom.

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As you read, there was no apology, and the inference that can be drawn from Cherry’s comments is that he could have kept his job had he issued one and then promised to talk about hockey and nothing but hockey.

Cherry is 85-years-old and was far closer to the end of his broadcasting career than its beginning when he veered from his job as a hockey analyst to opine about whether immigrants should or shouldn’t wear a poppy.  Deciding that consequences don’t mean a hell of a lot is what most wealthy 85-year-olds do.  That’s the fun of being a wealthy 85-year-old.  It’s also why they are fun to be around.

What Cherry fails to recognize is that his version of the truth is not the only one.  There are as many philosophies about issues affecting Canadians (and Americans) – as there are Canadians (and Americans).

Many people here in the United States are adamant that the American Flag should be saluted, , and that standing for the National Anthem is mandatory.  There are others who insist freedom means the flag can be burned and staying seated (or kneeling) during the Anthem is emblematic of our freedom to express dissent.

Who’s right and what is true depends upon who you ask.  Cherry voiced his truth and was fired. He felt sharing his opinion was more important than keeping his job, and he backed it up with his post-firing comment.

Cherry is a hero to Canadians who wear a poppy and a pariah to those who don’t.  That’s the world we live in today, and Cherry appears to be just fine with that.

Top seven fascinating facts about tonight’s opponent for IU – the University of North Alabama

Indiana Basketball’s November march of paid opponents continues tonight at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall as the University of North Alabama comes to town.

For many of us, these games are the only moments we consider the existence of schools like North Alabama, and we wonder things like, I wonder if North Alabama is actually to the north of the University of South Alabama?  (It is!)

During yesterday’s Indiana Basketball Weekly podcast, Mike Goodpaster asked me what I knew about North Alabama.  I gave my stock answer when I have nothing substantial to offer, “When North Alabama comes to Assembly Hall, you can throw out the record book!”  The Lions deserve more than a flippant and dismissive answer.

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In order to be good hosts, just as you should know enough about a dinner party guest to ask them a couple of questions, we need to learn a little about the schools that visit IU during this November parade of tomato cans.

Toward that end, here are some fascinating factoids about the Lions:

7 – It is truly North Alabama – only 14 miles south of the Tennessee State Line, and 334 miles north of the University of South Alabama!

6 – Was called Florence State College until six days after Richard Nixon resigned.  Nixon’s resignation had nothing to do with the name change, but the proximity between the two events is the only interesting part of the event – to me.

5 – The Union Army burned down the original campus in 1863.

4 – The Lions are 1-1 with a loss to South Carolina and a win against the Carver Bible College Cougars.  In that win, UNA had six players score between 12-14 points.  ESPN’s Matchup Predictor shows the likelihood of a Hoosiers win is 94.3%.

3 – The UNA Pride of Dixie Marching Band has 210 members – which means that one in every 21 undergraduate students are members.

2 – Three most famous alums of North Alabama are George “Goober” Lindsey of The Andy Griffith Show, NY Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins, and former University of Alabama basketball coach Wimp Sanderson.

1 – The Lions actually have two live lions on campus that serve as mascots.  As of this morning, there have been no injuries or deaths as a result of housing feared predators on university property – at least according to a Google search of “North Alabama lion attack”.  Humans in a lion costume attend athletic events rather than the live lions, which seems to be prudent.

Will you enjoy tonight’s IU vs. North Alabama game tonight.  Unlikely, but damn it, these schools exist, and now we know just a little bit more about them.

Hopefully, what we learn about North Alabama’s basketball team tonight is that they are not nearly as good as Indiana.

Continuing with Adam Vinatieri as kicker would be managerial malpractice for Colts Ballard and Reich

Vinatieri’s announcement should come today, and if it doesn’t the next miss is on Chris Ballard and Frank Reich.

Adam Vinatieri was the best in NFL history to kick a football through uprights, but he isn’t that today.

As with all athletes, skills erode and the ability to compete at the highest level wanes.  That Vinatieri is still as good as he is at almost 47 years of age is remarkable, but that doesn’t make him the right guy to give the Colts their best chance to win games.

Through nine games of this brutal season for Vinatieri, he has missed 11 kicks and failed to provide game-winning accuracy in three losses for the 5-4 Colts.  Those 11 misses are tied for the most Vinatieri has missed in a full season, and lead the NFL by two.

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The truth is that Vinatieri, despite his extraordinary career, is no longer a reliable option.  And if Colts GM Chris Ballard and coach Frank Reich make the decision to keep him for the game this Sunday against the Jaguars, the misses no longer belong to Vinatieri.

Ballard and Reich will own them.

I had a general manager who was fond of saying, “When those you manage make a mistake the first time, it belongs to them.  If they make that mistake again, it belongs to you because you didn’t correct it properly.  If they make it a third time, I own it.”  That’s as true in the NFL as it is in radio.

The statistics say that Vinatieri’s ability to convert field goals and extra points has regressed to where he is now the least reliable kicker in the NFL.  Ballard and Reich love the man and his legacy – as do fans – but they must acknowledge an immediate upgrade at kicker is required.  If they don’t, future losses because of missed kicks will belong to them.

That’s how the NFL works.  It’s a meritocracy where missing only one kick in 2014 is a nice memory but utterly meaningless five years later.  All that matters today is Vinatieri’s 11 misses, as well as the misses to come if the Colts fail to do what needs to be done to give the team its best chance to win on Sunday and the following six weeks.

Vinatieri limping to the end of his usefulness as a professional athlete is sad, sure, but that’s the way it works for the lucky ones who are allowed to stick around earning millions just a little bit too long.

Brett Favre, Walter Payton, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, and countless others tried and failed to overcome age.  Vinatieri is in good company as the best who ever did something but can’t anymore.  Ballard and Reich recognizing it doesn’t make them villains – it makes them effective leaders.

Today should be the day that Vinatieri makes his announcement.  Time has come.  Everyone sees it.  Hopefully, Ballard and Reich have the intestinal fortitude to do what’s right for the Colts before the misses and losses stack too high to be overcome.

Don Cherry fired – a cautionary tale for broadcasters who veer away from sports

Don Cherry is the latest sports broadcaster to swerve away from talking about the game he covers into trouble – career-ending trouble.

Sports media person voices polarizing opinion about something other than sports; people are outraged and complain; sports media person is fired.

Bing, bang, bong.

That’s how it ended for Don Cherry, the guy who has worn outrageous suits on Canada Sportsnet’s “Hockey Night in Canada” for the past 40 years.

He veered from his lane, and like I-465 on weekends in Indianapolis, all lanes were then closed – in Cherry’s case permanently.

During a segment this weekend, Cherry said, “You people… you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy or something like that…  These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada, these guys paid the biggest price.”

Poppies are a symbol of remembrance for casualties of war, but some see them as a divisive nationalistic symbol.  Evidently, Cherry’s use of the term “you people” referred to immigrants.

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Cherry was fired as a result of his comments after thousands complained.  There will undoubtedly be a backlash from those who support Cherry’s position.  That’s the way these things work.

Social media arguments will ensue.  A lack of civility will quickly be established, and people who hide behind handles will call each other angry names.  That’s the difference between broadcasters and the social media rabble – broadcasters use their own name when they voice opinions.

When people disagree with a comment on TV or radio, they demand a severe consequence.  There is no accommodation for a disparate viewpoint – only shrill howling in the echo chamber of habituated disagreement.

This is a lesson to broadcasters – say what you believe about something other than sports at your own peril.

If an icon like Cherry is vulnerable, everyone is.

Stay in your lane, or those who dissent will tailgate and honk until you pull over and confront them.  Then they will take your keys and chase you into the woods until someone else who has the temerity to say something they oppose distracts them.

Adam Vinatieri’s 11 misses have him teetering on the cliff of the end of a hall of fame career

Our top story tonight, Adam Vinatieri is still the kicker for the Indianapolis Colts.

Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri is the best in the history of the game, and his career is about to end.

That’s the way it goes for everyone in professional sports – either you die a hero or live long enough to become a villain.  Vinatieri spent a lot of years flirting with perfection as he enjoyed a career immune from the critiques of media twits and fans.

Not anymore.

Not after missing 11 kicks in nine weeks – tied for the most Vinatieri has ever missed in a season.  Five years ago, Vinatieri made an amazing 80-of-81 kicks – including a perfect 50-of-50 on extra points.

How times have changed.

The confidence coach Frank Reich has often pledged this season to Vinatieri has changed too.  Reich has gone from saying, “Adam is not a concern.  I am 100% confident in him,” to “I’ll give the same answer as far as yeah, it is all being evaluated every week – specifically this week.”  That’s not the “same answer” either in verbiage or tone – at all.

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The Colts aren’t good enough to dominate opponents, but are good enough to not be dominated.  That means mistakes must be minimized and kicks must sail through the uprights or the season spins the wrong way.

After putting themselves in a position to earn an AFC South championship and first round bye, two straight losses have the Colts on the outside of the playoff seeding with seven games remaining in the season.

While Vinatieri is hardly the chief reason the Colts have lost the last two games, (that honor belongs to Brian Hoyer), his missed kicks have contributed directly to three losses.

  • In the season opening OT loss to the Chargers, Vinatieri missed two field goals and an extra point.  If any of those kicks is made, Colts likely win in regulation.
  • Last week, Vinatieri missed a 43-yard field goal in Pittsburgh that would have given the Colts a one-point lead over the Steelers with 1:14 left.
  • Yesterday’s extra point miss theoretically cost the Colts a chance to tie the game against the Dolphins with a field goal at the end of regulation.

If the Colts make a change to a kicker not thought by anyone in the NFL to currently be one of the best 32 in the world, there is no guarantee the results will be better than Vinatieri’s, even in his comparatively awful final season.

The NFL is a meritocracy and despite his previous glory, Vinatieri may be hours, days, or weeks from acknowledging what everyone else seems to know – that age has robbed him of his gift for kicking a football with consistent accuracy.

Vinatieri has often said he would give up kicking if he felt he was no longer helping his team.  That point has come, and as is the case with most aging athletes – Vinatieri is the last to realize it.

Memphis challenge of James Wiseman’s ineligibility could be very costly

Memphis coach won’t be laughing long if the NCAA’s Restitution Rule is deployed against the Tigers.

The NCAA does not like being dragged into court by member universities or their athletes, so in 1975 it enacted the Restitution Rule that may be used to punish schools and programs who parade attorneys into a courtroom to seek relief from a finding that an athlete is ineligible.

This is exactly what happened when the NCAA declared ineligible Memphis freshman and likely #1 2020 NBA pick James Wiseman.  Attorneys asked for a temporary restraining order that allows Wiseman to play.  It was granted, Wiseman played against UIC Friday night, and the NCAA is not happy about it.

The reason for the NCAA’s ruling is that back in 2017, Wiseman’s mom accepted an $11,500 loan from Penny Hardaway to cover the expenses of the family’s move from Nashville to Memphis.  At that point, Hardaway was the basketball coach at Memphis East High School (where Wiseman would play), and six months from becoming the head coach at the University of Memphis (where Wiseman committed in November, 2018).

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While Hardaway was not Memphis’s coach at the time of the loan, he was a booster for the school, according to the NCAA.  That makes the loan an impermissible benefit.

None of those facts are in dispute, although why $11,500 was needed for a move is anyone’s guess.  I’ve never spent anywhere near that much to move my family – not close – but that’s beside the point.

The issue is that the NCAA does not want to send attorneys to a courtroom every time they issue a ruling that a school or athlete disagrees with.  The members agree to abide by NCAA findings because the alternative is expensive courtroom chaos.

If athletes like Wiseman can kick the can down the road while playing through March after receiving an impermissible benefit, there is no available penalty for the NCAA to assess for cheating – at least not against athletes.

The Restitution Rule (shown below) gives the NCAA attention-getting consequences it can levy against a school.  Among the available penalties are postseason ineligibility, forfeiture of TV revenue, and vacated wins.

It may seem unfair to deprive athletes of access to the judicial system, but competitive balance in college sports depends upon trust that the NCAA will behave in the best interests of its members.  The nuclear option represented by the Restitution Rule provides a significant disincentive for those who game the system by demanding their day in court.

I’m usually opposed to the level of autocracy employed by the NCAA, but it’s hard to imagine a lot of good coming from schools and athletes forcing the NCAA to argue in court the merits of every single ruling of ineligibility.

Without the Restitution Rule, schools could ignore the NCAA, request TROs, and enjoy the fruits of a superior talent like Wiseman without fear of meaningful consequence.

As with most NCAA issues, the behavior of greedy schools and athletes demand an equal and opposite response that paints the NCAA as jackbooted thugs.

The Restitution Rule, as with all NCAA rules, was written and voted on by its members.  It was made necessary by those who operate on (or far beyond) the fringes of fairness.

The NCAA might not be a perfect oversight association, but it’s all that stands between college sports and anarchy.

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Here is the text of the rule:

 

If a student-athlete who is ineligible under the terms of the constitution, bylaws or other legislation of the Association is permitted to participate in intercollegiate competition contrary to such NCAA legislation but in accordance with the terms of a court restraining order or injunction operative against the institution attended by such student-athlete or against the Association, or both, and said injunction is voluntarily vacated, stayed or reversed or it is finally determined by the courts that injunctive relief is not or was not justified, the Board of Directors may take any one or more of the following actions against such institution in the interest of restitution and fairness to competing institutions:

(a) Require that [the athlete’s] individual records and performances achieved during participation by such ineligible student-athlete shall be vacated or stricken;

(b) Require that team records and performances achieved during participation by such ineligible student-athlete shall be vacated or stricken;

(c) Require that team victories achieved during participation by such ineligible student-athlete shall be abrogated and the games or events forfeited to the opposing institutions;

(d) Require that individual awards earned during participation by such ineligible student-athlete shall be returned to the Association, the sponsor or the competing institution supplying same;

(e) Require that team awards earned during participation by such ineligible student-athlete shall be returned to the Association, the sponsor or the competing institution supplying same;

(f) Determine that the institution is ineligible for one or more NCAA championships in the sports and in the seasons in which such ineligible student- athlete participated;

(g) Determine that the institution is ineligible for invitational and postseason meets and tournaments in the sports and in the seasons in which such ineligible student-athlete participated;

(h) Require that the institution shall remit to the NCAA the institution’s share of television receipts (other than the portion shared with other conference members) for appearing on any live television series or program if such ineligible student-athlete participates in the contest(s) selected for such telecast, or if the Board of Directors concludes that the institution would not have been selected for such telecast but for the participation of such ineligible student-athlete during the season of the telecast; any such funds thus remitted shall be devoted to the NCAA postgraduate scholarship program; and

(i) Require that the institution that has been represented in an NCAA championship by such a student-athlete shall be assessed a financial penalty as determined by the Committee on Infractions.

Like it or not, specialization for most high school basketball players is a necessity

Joe Burrow is a bad example of the benefits of playing multiple sports for a variety of reasons.

[None of the below applies to freak athletes who can walk onto a almost any field or court and be the best player on it.  They are special and rules most of us need to respect do not apply to them.]

Specialization in youth sports is a topic that crops up now and then on social media, and everyone has an opinion.  Most are wrong.

Many believe specialization is the evil product of selfish parents and coaches who crave wins and scholarships.  In reality, for many in sports like basketball, specialization is the only choice for those who want to succeed – however they define success.

Great athletes are shown as magnificent examples of the benefits of experiencing a wide array of sports.  The latest is LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, who led the Tigers to a big win Saturday  afternoon at Alabama.

Damien Woody is a smart guy and an analyst for ESPN.  He tweeted about Burrow and specialization yesterday:

Almost 3,000 likes and 400 retweets for Woody as I write this.  That’s a lot of people judging an important decision a kid and family share.  Comments to the tweet deride parents and coaches as selfish money-grubbers pushing kids toward an individual sport.

Burrow was Mr. Football and a first team all-state basketball player in Ohio during his senior year at Athens High School.  His versatility is seen by Woody and others as proof playing two or three sports can lead to success just as easily as specializing in one.

We hear the same refrain when people discuss Mo-Alie Cox, Antonio Gates, Anthony Gonzalez , Deion Sanders, and others who played multiple sports in college and the pros.

The truth is that Burrow is an incredible athlete, much like Ben Roethlisberger, who could have been a 20-point per game scorer had he played college basketball in addition to football at Miami of Ohio.

Yes, for elite athletes with great speed, strength, length, health and height, there are multiple paths to success in many sports.

For football players, basketball offers an outstanding cross-training program for four months during the offseason. They can also run track during the spring.  Football is a unique sport in that the offseason is mostly a true offseason.

Basketball is a different animal.  The opportunities to play are almost endless, and games run from the beginning of high school practice right through the end of July.  For those who want to play basketball In college, spring sports are out because of the importance of summer basketball.  For basketball players who want to play football, practice begins hours after summer hoops schedule ends.

Not only are there insurmountable logistical problems for basketball players who would love to play a second sport, but the skills required for the next level of basketball require almost constant training.  It may not have been that way 30 years ago, but it is now.

The point is that making a blanket statement about the evils of specialization is ill-informed.

Most parents are not selfish, and neither are coaches.  With few exceptions, they are utterly selfless – only invested in seeing the dreams of children come true.  And many times the best path toward the realization of that dream is 365 days a year of basketball.

Football is different.

 

Bears QB Mitch Trubisky wants TVs off in Halas Hall because media is too mean and distracting

If Mitch Trubisky wants to lurk in the shadows, maybe being the Bears quarterback is not for him.

Members of the 1985 Bears would not have gathered around a TV quivering about what Dave Kaplan, Mike Greenberg, David Haugh and Hub Arkush might say.  They were too busy trying to kick the hell out of opponents and win a Super Bowl.

Chicago Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky watches, listens, and is not kicking the hell out of anyone but himself. And he wants the TVs at Halas Hall turned off so he and his teammates aren’t distracted by media negativity.

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People in the media are mostly decent folks who try to engage the passion of fans with their insights or hot takes.  Some know quite a bit about the sports they cover.  Some don’t know a damn thing.  None are worth the time and attention of those who actually play or coach.

Most understand that.  They correctly dismiss the media as lightly informed twits.  Not Trubisky:

“Trying to get some of these TVs in the building turned off because you’ve got too many people talking on TV about us and what they think about us – what we should do, what we are and what we’re not.  But they don’t really know who we are, or what we’re capable of as people, or what we’re going through, or what we’re thinking. It’s just the outside viewers looking in.”

Hard to argue with the content of Trubisky’s message, but that he feels the explain it to the media provides additional ammunition to those who believe the Bears need to move on to yet another starting QB.  Confident people just don’t talk to the media that way.  Hell, they don’t think that way in their most private moments.

Sports media types don’t always understand the games they cover, but they can smell a weak and prickly Bear all the way from Waukegan.  Trubisky’s comments reek of weakness – to the media and his teammates.

This isn’t all Trubisky’s fault.

Not only did the Bears draft Trubisky #2 overall in the 2017 draft, they swapped a third and fourth round pick to move up a single spot to guarantee they would get him.  That move brought expectations Trubisky cannot fulfill.  Trubisky didn’t do that to himself.

Bears GM Ryan Pace made that deal and chose Trubisky over superior QBs Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, who went #10 and #12 respectively.  Never mind that potential MVP Christian McCaffrey was selected eighth by the Carolina Panthers.

The Bears could have Mahomes, Watson, or McCaffrey, and would also have the players they could have selected in the third and fourth round if Pace had not dealt them to move up.

That doesn’t absolve Trubisky for babbling like a scared six-year old about TVs and the mean ol’ media that he wants to avoid, but blame for his hypersensitivity should be shared.

if Trubisky was completely transparent, he would have said, “I’m a hypersensitive and easily distracted person incapable of leading a team or functioning well under a spotlight.  That disqualifies me as a NFL quarterback, especially in the city of Butkus, Jordan, Magnuson, Maddux, Santo, and Singletary.  I’m going home until people promise to be nicer to me”

Some guys are just not meant to lead.  Chicagoans are angry Trubisky isn’t capable and confident.

They should be pissed off because it’s also true about Pace.

Roger Penske buys Indianapolis Motor Speedway – here are six predictions for changes to property & Indy 500

Changes are coming to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway because Roger Penske is not a quirky businessman.

Roger Penske was introduced yesterday as the next steward for the holdings of Hulman & Company, and fans immediately wondered whether the quirks and traditions of the Indy 500 and Indianapolis Motor Speedway would be sacrificed to help The Captain recoup his investment.

Not much was shared during yesterday’s press conference about the cost of the sale or plans for the future.  This all came together very quickly with the Hulman George family deciding to authorize the sale on Sunday.  Penske is walking the property today as he begins the process of evaluating his new business.

There are a few things we need to understand about Penske – he is a brilliant businessman because he has a unique ability to focus of what’s important and ignore what isn’t.  He is a pragmatist who evaluates and invests in facilities and employees as assets.  There is a love for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that Penske indulges, but his business is about making money not owning it as an expensive hobby.

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All assets, policies and procedures will be evaluated by Penske through the prism of profit and loss.

Given those truths, here are six predictions for the future of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the upcoming Penske Era:

  1. Cooler policy with change – When I first moved to Indianapolis, I was stunned that fans were (and are) allowed to bring coolers stuffed with beer and food from home.  That means the IMS is forfeiting an river of money from concessions.  Maybe the infrastructure required to provide food and drink for 300,000 people would be complicated to design and build, but let’s say that 200,000 adults are drinking beer and that they average six each.  If beers cost $10, that’s $12-million!  Add sandwiches or hotdogs, and the take increases.  Penske is not in the business of forfeiting cash.  One option that makes sense as a middle ground is to grant permits for coolers – or sell IMS licensed coolers.
  2. A 24-hour race will come to Indy – One of the first possibilities mentioned by Penske yesterday was the addition of a 24-hour race like Le Mans or Daytona – or 12 hours at Sebring.  He wants to utilize the facility more often, and a 24-hour race doesn’t require a huge crowd to make financial sense.
  3. Indy will become the center of the racing universe – Penske spoke with reverence about the facility and its place in racing and entertainment.  He wants the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to be the racing and entertainment capitol of the world, so it will.  Penske is ambitious enough to dream, smart enough to execute, and has the resources to realize his vision.
  4. Full time IndyCar entries will be guaranteed a spot in the Indy 500 – Bump Day is fun because of the drama that occasionally leaves a full time IndyCar outside the fastest 33 cars.  That means the visibility sponsors invest in cannot be delivered.  That’s bad for business.  Penske will change this policy because the potential for frustrating investors is not worth the fun for fans.
  5. Lights will not come to IMS – Penske was asked about lights yesterday and shared that there might be more productive ways to invest money to improve the fan experience.  That means lights won’t come to IMS.  A NASCAR night race would likely provide a short-term surge in ticket sales.  But if the race is still a dog, the novelty wears off, and fans learn to ignore the lights as a contrivance.
  6. Acreage will be monetized – A big question Penske undoubtedly asked during negotiations – or during today’s walk-through – was about the revenue being generated by the golf course.  The Pete Dye designed course is one of the wonderful quirks of the property.  Four holes are actually in the infield of the Speedway.  Does Penske want to be in the golf business?  Is there a better way to monetize that property?  Penske doesn’t own a golf course now, and there is likely a good reason for that.

Penske is a very decisive business owner, so expect some of these very logical changes to be implemented shortly after the deal closes in January.

 

Madness in Bloomington – Tom Allen a candidate for the Florida State job? What in the name of Sam Wyche is going on here? #iufb

Whether it’s in Bloomington or Tallahassee, Tom Allen has earned a substantial raise.

Indiana has not been a launching pad for football coaches in a long time, unless launching them into career graves counts.

Many of the coaches at Indiana over the last half century ended their careers as a head coach after being unable to build success in Bloomington.

When athletic director Fred Glass mentioned his next major investment would be an extension for current coach Tom Allen, fans weren’t sure they heard him correctly.

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Even after beginning this season with a 7-2 record, it was still a tough sell.  Fans who watched IU slog through a mostly forgettable if not regrettable quarter century of football found the concept of paying Allen like a competitive Big 10 coach wacky.

Not anymore.  Not after the reports Allen might be the target of a college football blue blood.

Florida State coach Willie Taggert was fired yesterday, and one of the first names mentioned as a potential replacement was Tom Allen.  So the coach many alums felt was the wrong guy until a month ago might be the first IU coach launched into a better position since Sam Wyche.

Wyche replaced Lee Corso for only one season in 1983.  The results (3-8) were mediocre, but Wyche caught the eye of the Cincinnati Bengals with his innovative offense.  They hired him and went to a Super Bowl after the 1988 season.

Indiana fans just got used to not thinking of Allen as a high school coach, so the notion he might bounce to Florida State for $5-million or more per year is difficult to fathom.  If you saw people in IU gear repeatedly pinching themselves today and wincing, Allen’s new found status as a coveted coach was the reason.

Purdue had a similar problem during the past two offseasons as Jeff Brohm was pursued by Tennessee and Louisville.  Those negotiations forced Purdue to crack open their check books twice.  In the first extension, the Boilermakers ponied up to the tune of seven-years, $29M.  When Brohm considered Louisville a little less than one year ago, the ante was raised to $36.8M over seven years.

It’s unlikely Brohm goes to that well again as the Boilermakers are 3-6 this season and unlikely to go to a bowl.

Allen is going to get paid handsomely if Indiana doesn’t win any of their remaining three games.  Banking seven wins shows growth – the kind of growth that’s as rare as tiger sharks in the Jordan River, the kind of growth that smart ADs reward.

If Indiana wins one more regular season game and adds a bowl win, they will post nine wins for the third time in program history.  The other two were in 1945 and 1967.  If they win two of their remaining three regular season games and a bowl, the Hoosiers will win 10 for the first time ever.

That’s life with Indiana Football.  A couple of wins and fans go from wondering who might be the next coach after Allen is fired to pondering what Indiana Football can be if Glass finds a way to keep him from running to Florida State.