Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Indianapolis sports media – sane perspective from reasonable people sets Indy apart

by Kent Sterling

There aren’t many groups of sports journalists to which I would be proud to belong, but the sanity of the people who cover Indianapolis sports is incredibly unique from top to bottom.

In most cities, columnists and radio hosts routinely monitor each other to see what plot of intellectual territory goes unclaimed, and they plant their flag there. If one guy says the local NFL team had a great draft, another will say it was atrocious.

Journalism isn’t a matter of honest and heartfelt discussion in those cities, but of market research and ensuring a unique position among peers.

In Indianapolis, things are different. I’ve listened to or read virtually every voice in this city discuss the recent NFL Draft, and how Colts general manager executed his team’s plan last weekend. They are all singing from the same hymnal – grading a draft within days is a ridiculous exercise that plays consumers for saps, but what the Colts did makes sense.

I was both proud and disappointed. Proud because it’s great to hear purveyors of supposed wisdom speak and write honestly, and disappointed because after the draft of speedy wide receiver Phillip Dorsett, I was eventually thrilled with the pick. it would have been nice to be the only guy in town who saw the logic.

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National media have been unkind to Grigson and the Dorsett pick – calling it wasteful because Dorsett is a slightly faster version of current Colt T.Y. Hilton. USA Today’s Nate Davis said this about the Colts draft when he ranked it 31st out of 32, “At pick 29, they obviously acquired an excellent football player in speedster WR Phillip Dorsett. But with fleet wideouts T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief already on board (not to mention vet Andre Johnson), will GM Ryan Grigson regret waiting until the middle rounds to find run defenders while passing on some decent offensive line prospects in Rounds 1 and 2?”

If Dorsett is a clone of T.Y. Hilton, what the hell could possibly be wrong with that? If the Colts didn’t have any of the offensive line prospects graded higher than what they currently have, why would they draft one of them? One T.Y. is good – two could be special.

You want to protect quarterback Andrew Luck, put so many weapons on the field that opposing defenses can’t afford to blitz, and trust your five offensive lineman to block their four pass rushers. When blitzed, Luck was one of the best in the NFL in 2014, completing 60.2% of his passes with 18 TDs and three picks. His passer rating was 110.2. With Dorsett on the field instead of the declining Reggie Wayne, those numbers will either improve or evaporate because teams will stop blitzing.

But I disgress. This post is about Indianapolis sports media, not the beauty of selecting the best player available regardless of need.

The Indianapolis Star’s Stephen Holder, Zak Keefer, and Gregg Doyel, Fox 59’s Mike Chappell, scout.com’s Phillip B. Wilson, ESPN’s Mike Wells, wthr.com’s Bob Kravitz, 1070 the Fan’s Conrad Brunner and Dan Dakich among others, and Indy bloggers have been uniquely reasonable and circumspect.

When Dorsett’s name was read by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, each local expert to whom I have spoken furrowed his brow and tried to make sense of the surprise pick, and each did. I would have loved to see the Colts take defensive tackle Malcom Brown, but tried to figure the logic before responding emotionally. Naively, I thought maybe I would be alone in my understanding of this quirky pick.

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I should have known better. Media people here are too smart to try to build a brand by levying cheap and uneducated shots. Drafts are weird beasts that can’t accurately be assessed before people see the players in pads as they learn and adapt to the NFL game.

Maybe Brown winds up being a player Grigson regrets passing on in favor of Dorsett, but the logic and reason of the pick is undeniable, and Indianapolis sports media consumers are better for the media being resolute enough to think – and think hard – before they write or speak.

Indianapolis is a different kind of city served by a different kind of sports media, and that is one of the many things that makes it great – and a hometown of which I’m proud.

Indiana Basketball – Jeremiah April transfer shows coaches should be punished for transfer levels

by Kent Sterling

Jeremiah April is the latest transfer from Indiana.

As Indiana had again oversigned recruits for the incoming freshman class, it was clear that a few Hoosiers would need to either transfer or declare for the NBA Draft. Jeremiah April seemed a logical choice, and he cooperated by announcing last week that he would jump ship.

April joins freshman Max Hoetzel and sophomore Stanford Robinson as former Hoosiers.

After speculating that he might have been “Creaned” (a term used to describe a coach forcing a player from the program in order to recoup a scholarship needed for a player who might be able to help the team achieve an improved result the following season), I was told by someone who would know at Indiana that April chose to leave on his own.

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While that’s better than Indiana coach Tom Crean shoving April out the door, the question of why April was recruited at all remains.

Last Spring, Indiana had three scholarships to give because of the transfers of Austin Etherington and Peter Jerkin, and Noah Vonleh declaring for the NBA, and the resulting search produced the 6’10” April and 6’9″ Tim Priller, along with graduate transfer Nick Zeisloft from Illinois State.

According to Rivals, Priller had one D-1 offer (from Illinois-Chicago) and April’s page shows none. Nothing against either of these young men, but who on Indiana’s staff thought that either would contribute at a level expected of a big man at Indiana?

April’s highlight tape begins with two made free throws and is peppered with blocks against players sometimes a full head shorter, and Priller’s uses a won jump ball in the first :12. Not exactly eye popping stuff.

I understand a coach who is fighting for his job refusing to allow scholarships to remain dormant throughout a season. No one ever won a game because of a shorter bench. As far as April and Priller deciding to accept Indiana’s offer, I can’t blame them. If someone offered to overpay me by several times my value, I would take their money.

If Crean explained to both that their scholarships would be evaluated after their freshman year, I’m good with that too. But if during this era when Indiana is guaranteeing scholarships for a full four years, they were brought to Bloomington only to be churned out the next Spring, that’s a miserable way to run a program or business.

April decided last week that he would leave, and Priller is still in Bloomington after logging 23 total minutes of game action to go along with April’s 17. If April wasn’t pushed, that’s great, but how could anyone expect a kid with a ticking eligibility clock to respond to that level of non-use by staying put.

I hope Priller sticks it out. He’s an enthusiastic kid, and remaining a Hoosier – if it’s in his control to do so – will pay professional dividends down the road. And maybe it brings a level of consequence for Crean that his offer deserves.

When coaches and pundits grouse about the high percentage of transfers in men’s college basketball, they need to take into account the number of players who either opt out or are pushed out by coaches who make mistakes as they over sign and over offer a wide array of players so scholarships are all utilized.

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It’s not the system’s fault that April was recruited at a level far above his capabilities, and if Priller goes, the same assessment applies.

There are a lot of reasons for players jumping programs, and quite a few begin and end with irresponsible and occasional duplicitous choices that are made by coaches. If you want to reduce the number of transfers, penalize the players AND the coaches – not just the players.

As long as transfer rules are influenced heavily by the coaches who then exploit them for their own selfish purposes, it will be the student-athletes who bear the brunt of coaches irresponsibly extending offers that are impossible to resist.

Indianapolis Colts draft – Assessing talent tough; focus on evaluating GM Ryan Grigson’s guts

by Kent Sterling

Colts GM was either really smart, really dumb, or somewhere in between over the weekend. Time will tell.

Minus historically great or terrible drafts, it takes years to figure out exactly how good or bad a pro football draft is, but the Colts look to have spackled a couple of holes and welcomed a game changer to a team hoping to win another Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The Colts addressed some needs late in the draft, and invested heavily in defense after grabbing burner WR/returner Phillip Wheeler in the first round.

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There are still rumbles from critics about the Colts investing a first round pick at a position where they were strong. “They already have one T.Y. Hilton, why do the Colts need a second?” is a familiar comment. The flip side is that if one T.Y. is good, two will be even more difficult to defend. Go ahead and single cover one of them, and watch Andrew Luck tally yardage and TD totals that redefine NFL offensive explosiveness.

Henry Anderson, a defensive end from Stanford, was taken with the 93rd overall pick and experts were unanimous in their admiration for that pick. Anderson is versatile, and has a mean streak.

The rest of the picks are guys who are mostly unknown to the average fan, and even experts are unsure at what level they will contribute immediately to the success of a team that wants to win Super Bowl L.

Unless a player explodes into massive productivity – like several members of the 2012 Colts draft class, or get hurt, it’s impossible to accurately assess exactly how productive a draft may have been until a few seasons pass, so calling the Colts draft class as either an A or an F is a matter of guess work.

Even the 2013 class with outside linebacker Bjoern Werner as its first rounder is a tough grade. So far, Werner has not been very good through his first two seasons, but that’s not unusual for a pass rusher. Rams fans thought Robert Quinn was a bust until year three when he exploded for 20 sacks in 2013.

No one is saying that Werner will be another Quinn in his third year – just that the third year is where a pass rusher sometimes shows his true value.

Anderson is the latest effort by the Colts to find someone who can both get to the quarterback and be a solid run stopper. Being impatient with him won’t do you any good either.

It takes time to figure out who and what there players are, and instead of dealing in the process of projecting productivity – a futile exercise for most – evaluate Colts general manager Ryan Grigson based upon his willingness to do something to acquire players who can win a championship.

There are a lot of GMs who make noise about drafting the best player available, but get tight cheeks when the time comes to pull the trigger. Grigson bolstered a position of serious strength when he made Dorsett his first pick (#29 overall).

After that, the Colts became conventional, but if Dorsett is as dynamic as a receiver a return man for the Colts as he looked on tape, the Colts are going to be a nightmare to defend for many years.

Grigson has shown himself to be unafraid of risk and judgement. I like a leader whose cheeks stay nice and loose.

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Future hall of famer and University of Miami alum Reggie Wayne leaves, and is replaced by another future hall of famer Andre Johnson and Dorsett – both from The U. There aren’t many teams who are able to improve at a position of strength the year following the probable retirement of a legend.

The Colts got better over the weekend – possibly a lot better, maybe only a little better. Time will tell – regardless of how good we think with are at figuring out whether Clayton Geathers will be the starting strong safety in 2015.

Indianapolis Colts stun fans by drafting WR Phillip Dorsett while defense awaits help

by Kent Sterling

Phillip Dorsett takes the top off defenses with unique speed. He makes the Colts harder to defend, but the Colts need to protect Andrew Luck so he can deliver the ball to Dorsett.

When Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson told the media last week that he would draft the best player available with the 29th pick, everyone assumed he meant the best player on the defensive side of the ball.

Pundits thought a safety like Landon Collins might address a need AND be the best player on the board. I thought there was a chance that Texas defensive tackle Malcom Brown would fill a need AND be the best available if he slipped to past the first 28 picks.

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Nope and nope. Grigson and the Colts brain trust decided to take Phillip Dorsett, wide receiver from Miami who is very similar in almost every way to T.Y. Hilton. I love Hilton, but the Colts already have one of him.

One thing that we absolutely know about Grigson is that being second guessed is not a concern of his. Since drafting quarterback Andrew Luck, Grigson he blown past the obvious to embrace the unique. There is nothing wrong with that at all. If Grigson went chalk with every pick, he would be exactly as good a GM as the so-called experts in the media, and the Colts would finish 4-12 every season.

There are two pretty simple ways to win football games, score touchdowns and cause turnovers, so finding a guy at 29 like Dorsett who averaged better than 24 yards per catch for Miami last season and runs a sub 4.3 40 is a pretty solid weapon for scoring touchdowns. Grigson also said last night that Dorsett will likely be a dynamic punt returner.

That’s the good. The bad is that the Colts defense still needs an elite pass rusher (unless Robert Mathis comes back full speed from his torn achilles), at least one safety, and a run stuffing tackle. I’m fine with Grigson passing on Collins because safeties and the first round just don’t go together in my schematic, but Brown sure looks like a guy who can be a playmaker in the middle of a defensive line.

Maybe the offensive line is going to be okay in 2015 as is, but without knowing whether right tackle Gosder Cherilous is healthy enough to return to near elite status at right tackle, Andrew Luck is in an uncomfortable amount of peril. Without Luck, Dorsett – and the rest of the receivers – are useless.

What makes passing on Brown even worse is that Bill Belichick was lurking in the weeds at 32 to take him when the first 31 teams in the first round chose someone else. With Vince Wilfork gone, the Patriots needs an immovable object in the middle of its defensive line, and that means that the Colts are likely to see Brown again and again as they try to advance past the Pats to Super Bowls for the rest of this decade.

Grading a draft while it’s still ongoing is a ridiculous exercise. We know one pick – one new Colt. There are going to be eight more, and before we know who they are going to be, Grigson gets a pass. Hell, it’s impossible to grade a draft before a couple of seasons pass where the development and productivity of players can be assessed.

Right now, we are guessing without having a full raft of data to process, but one pick in, it appears the Colts are deeper at wide receiver, but not necessarily better unless Dorsett can play Hilton, Andre Johnson, or Donte Moncrief onto to the bench. Interesting though to imagine defenses trying to figure out how to take away Hilton, Johnson, and Dorsett with Luck delivering the ball.

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Today’s less heralded selections will be equally important to the future of the Colts, and if Grigson can find a couple of diamonds in the rough tomorrow, this could still be a draft that puts the Colts over the top.

I can’t help but think the Colts will look at Malcom Brown across the line of scrimmage and wish he had a horseshoe on his helmet. But maybe Belichick will wind up watching Dorsett run past him to score touchdowns that send his Patriots home in January.

I’m not paying attention nor cash to Floyd Maywether Jr. – I’ll save mine for people more deserving

by Kent Sterling

You want to fill women beater Floyd Maywether’s pockets with your cash, go ahead. I’m keeping my $100 bill in my pocket.

I have a rule about business. Never give money or praise to people or businesses unworthy of respect.

WalMart may be less expensive, but their clothes are made by children held in virtual slavery. They claim ignorance because they have suppliers who subcontract work to sweat shops. I will never work for Cumulus – a media company that treats employees like livestock. Conversely, I always buy Apple because it feels like its products were designed for me and employees at the Apple Store always treat me like I matter to them.

Dr. Mike O’Neil has been my dentist for 22 years, and I believe people’s lives are better for going to him.

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I endorse products and services on my radio show because I use and believe in them. When a company shows themselves to be unworthy of my passion, I resign the account. My recommendation means something to me, so I hope that translates to those who listen.

Floyd Maywether Jr. will never have one dime in his pocket that used to belong to me. Ever. For those who have avoided the hype, Maywether is a boxer who will fight Manny Pacquiao Saturday night in Las Vegas in what is being described as a mega-fight. This might be the final mega-fight in the history of the dying sport.

Maywether is also someone who has bettered women on many occasions. Convicted five times for a variety of violent crimes against women, and accused many more times, Maywether has revealed himself to be a truly awful and unrepentant human being who is routinely excused from answering for his behavior because his fights mean a huge influx of cash in Vegas.

He did serve two months of a 90-day sentence after his most recent conviction, but that hardly squares the balance sheet.

I’m powerless to exact the level of consequence the legal system of Las Vegas, Clark County, and the state of Nevada have willfully neglected to enforce on behalf of his victims, but what I can do is refuse to invest cash or passion in the very activity that has allowed Maywether to elude meaningful consequence.

The cost to receive a live broadcast of the fight is $99.95, and the lion’s share of that money will go to the fighters. The sheer lunacy that causes people to lay out a Franklin for 47 minutes of pseudo-violence between men who are in it only for the cash and not glory has infected me in the past. I have paid for fights before, but never at this level.

And never involving a fighter I find as repellant as Maywether.

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Not only do I not want to watch the fight, I don’t even like talking or writing about it. Maywether is sickening. His existence – other than as a wonderful example of how not to live a life – is a pox on humanity, and endorsing it with my cash or interest is not a behavior I’m comfortable exhibiting.

The only reason Maywether is not incarcerated today is because of his ability to draw a crowd, and a crowd requires people. And there will be millions of misguided boxing fans watching this fight. It might be the biggest crowd to watch a boxing match in history, but I am going to be responsible for that crowd being one fewer and $100 lighter than it would have been with me.

Maywether can take the $180 million he will reportedly pocket Saturday, buy another garage filled with cars he doesn’t drive, keep lawyers on stand-by just in case he feels the need to teach another woman a lesson, and make seven figure bets on whatever moves him.

But it won’t be $180,000,100 because I’m keeping that hunge for a business or person worthy of it.

Here is a quick look at Maywether’s record of arrests/convictions from his wikipedia page.

In 2002, Mayweather was charged with two counts of domestic violence and one count of misdemeanor battery. He received a six-month suspended sentence, two days of house arrest and was ordered to perform 48 hours of community service.

In 2004 Mayweather was given a one-year suspended jail sentence, ordered to undergo counseling for “impulse control” and pay a $1,000 fine (or perform 100 hours of community service) after being convicted of two counts of misdemeanor battery against two women.

In 2005 Mayweather pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge after hitting and kicking a bouncer, receiving a 90-day suspended jail sentence.

On September 9, 2010 it was reported that Mayweather was being sought by police for questioning after his former girlfriend, Josie Harris, filed a domestic battery report against him. Harris accused Mayweather of battery in the past, but those charges were dropped in July 2005 after Harris testified that she had lied and that Mayweather had not battered her. Mayweather was taken into custody September 10, 2010, but was released after posting $3,000 bail. Mayweather was initially charged with felony theft (stemming from the disappearance of Harris’s mobile phone); on September 16 two felony coercion charges, one felony robbery charge, one misdemeanor domestic-battery charge and three misdemeanor harassment charges were added.

On December 21, 2011, a judge sentenced Mayweather to serve 90 days in the county jail for battery upon Harris in September 2010. Mayweather reached a deal with prosecutors in which he pled guilty to misdemeanor battery in exchange for prosecutors dropping the felony battery charge. Mayweather also pled no contest to two counts of misdemeanor harassment, stemming from threats to his children. In addition to the 90-day sentence Mayweather was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service, a 12-month domestic-violence program and to pay a fine of $2,500. On June 1 Mayweather began serving his county jail sentence, and was released in August 2012.

That’s a guy to whom you want to hand a $100 bill?

2015 NFL Mock Draft – Surprises abound in first round; Colts to take Malcom Brown!

by Kent Sterling

Tomorrow night, 32 dreams will come true in Chicago, and hundreds will be crushed. That’s drama.

I don’t spend my life studying film on hundreds of college football players, so this is not the spot to learn about the lateral quickness of Landon Collins or pad level of Malcom Brown, but there are reasonable assumptions that can be made about the NFL Draft that can inform selections.

A draft board I would put together would be expressly constructed to address the quality of the player, not the need I might have on my roster. Now and again, a glaring roster gap intersects with the right positional player to make a selection a simple call. Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck for the Colts are two great examples.

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This mock draft is the board I would assemble regardless of what I think the team making the selection will do. I would not take James Winston #1, so despite everyone believing that Tampa will do exactly that, my pick will reflect what I would do.

Tampa – Like I said, I think James Winston is going to be an ordinary to good QB, so I’m going to try to pick the player who can do the most for the longest period for my franchise. That’s Leonard Williams, defensive tackle from USC. He’s a beast.

Tennessee – If I’m Tennessee, I deal this pick south to someone who covets either Winston or Marcus Mariota. I love trading down because it exploits the emotional and covetous nature of GMs and coaches. More guys gives my team a better chance to gather quality players. The draft is a numbers game. More players – more good players.

Jacksonville – The Jags are still paying for the poor appraisal and selection of Justin Blackmon in the 2012 draft, and Amari Cooper brings all of the talent and none of the baggage (we assume of Blackmon). The Jags need a target for Blake Bortles, and Cooper is the best receiver in the draft.

Oakland – Toward the end of iconic owner Al Davis’ life, it was a given that the Raiders would produce a head scratcher. We’ll see over time whether the ability to pull the trigger on nutty picks is genetic. If I’m the Raiders, I take Vic Beasley, OLB of Clemson. He’s explosive, and can get to the quarterback.

Washington – Owner Dan Snyder is a younger version of Davis, and is a great target for trades. If they are amenable to moving up, and I hold a pick they want, the trigger would be pulled. The Redskins have a lot of needs on both sides of the ball, and I like the versatility of Dante Fowler of Florida. He’s listed as an OLB, but can slide all over.

NY Jets – If I’m the Jets, I think very seriously about drafting James Winston from Florida State. Throwing him into the media fishbowl of the Big Apple might be asinine, but short of moving the team, I can’t fix that. The Jets need a quarterback.

Chicago – Aye, yi, yi. The Bears need skill players almost everywhere, and are unlikely to regain competence as a team in the short term. Given that, I grab the best offensive lineman available – and that appears to be Brandon Scherff from Iowa, who may project better on the interior of the line, rather than tackle, but that’s fine.

Atlanta – When all else is equal, take someone who can get to the quarterback or score touchdowns. The guys who can get to the quarterback at this point are tainted (Shane Ray and Randy Gregory) so who can score? Kevin White of West Virginia is a refined receiving prospect, and will give Matty Ice a target other than Julio Jones to occupy defensive backfields.

NY Giants – The Giants defense has eroded through attrition over the last few years, and they need to find another anchor for the middle. Danny Shelton – DT from Washington is the kind of immovable object in the middle that can make everyone else a little bit better.

St. Louis – All the smart guys point to the Rams taking either an offensive tackle or wide receiver. How many times has this franchise blown early round picks on those positions? Plenty. That’s why I’m going elsewhere. I think the Rams go running back with Todd Gurley. Sure Tre Mason and Zac Stacy are already there, but this is an explosive back that can score. If Gurley’s knee bothers Jeff Fisher and Les Snead, take Melvin Gordon, a big back who should wind up being a winning version of Stephen Jackson.

Minnesota – Like most of the teams in the top half of the draft, needs are many. Good cornerbacks tend to be rare, so taking one with the 11th pick seems prudent for a team in need of an upgrade. Trae Waynes was outstanding at Michigan State, so He’ll be my guy.

Cleveland – If the Browns aren’t the team that trades up into the #2 spot to select its third 1st round QB in four years, they need a replacement for Josh Gordon at wideout, and this is a very good WR draft. DeVante Parker of Louisville is big, long, and fast enough.

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New Orleans – Not sure DE Alvin Dupree from Kentucky is ready to impact the Saints pass rush immediately, but in time he’s capable of being a game wrecker.

Miami – I sure am spending a lot of time talking about needs for someone who extolls the virtue of plugging holes, but with the suspension of Dion Jordan, they may be motivated to go after a guy who can knock QBs down. They showed a couple of years ago they weren’t shy about taking a chance on a red flag guy, so let’s guess they didn’t learn from Jordan’s travails and will take Randy Gregory of Hamilton Southeastern High School and Nebraska – after leaving Purdue.

San Francisco – One of the best franchises has devolved into chaos. They need a running back after Frank Gore left for Indy, so the Niners take Melvin Gordon.

Houston – The Texans need to build a defense that can stop Andrew Luck and the Colts, so I think they go cornerback with Kevin Johnson of Wake Forest. He has nice size and okay speed. Aggressive, but I would rather have to pull a guy back than urge him to attack the ball. This is a nice draft for receivers, but I think they will wait until the second round to grab one.

San Diego – I don’t like Philip Rivers and the Chargers, and find their draft needs irrelevant.

Kansas City – The Chiefs take OT Andrus Peat because he is the best player available, and truth be told, he’s likely to be gone at this point if NFL GMs are thinking clearly.

Cleveland (from Buffalo) – The Browns should trade down with this pick because their needs are too many to be addressed with first rounders.

Philadelphia – The Eagles are still a decent bet to move up to the #2 pick to grab Mariota.

Cincinnati – If you have noticed my mind wandering at this point, you have a keen eye for appraising my writing. I think OT Ereck Flowers of Miami is the best on the board, and keeping Andy Dalton upright long enough to get the ball to A.J. Green seems a righteous goal.

Pittsburgh – Too easy to make this about the Steelers need to replace Troy Palamalu not to have them take Landon Collins of Bama.

Detroit – With Suh gone, the Lions need someone to pressure the QB, and DE Shane Ray is the best pass rusher in the draft despite his getting popped for weed 48 hours ago.

Arizona – Larry Fitzgerald is getting long in the tooth, so let’s have the Cardinals pick up Breshad Perriman from Central Florida. His 40 time was a truly sick 4.26 and his frame is long and tall. Might have the best chance to be an elite WR among a very good stock of WRs. He needs work on the finer points of being a receiver, but who better to learn from than Uncle Larry.

Carolina – Cam Newton needs to get hit much less or his career will quickly erode. Go OT with Jake Fisher of Oregon. By the way, how many OTs in the last five drafts have been named Jake or Fisher? Seems like half.

Baltimore – The city is burning, so maybe the Ravens should draft a fireman. If they focus on football, I like them getting greedy at WR with Phillip Dorsett. Small but fast. The Ravens will NOT draft Dorial Green-Beckham as he would be exactly the kind of screwball they are trying to distance themselves from.

Dallas – I like them to take a CB instead of a running back because I could run for 1,200 yards behind that line. No need to blow an early pick on a running back. Take either Marcus Peters of Washington or Byron Jones of UConn.

Denver – Some like DE Arik Amsted going to the Broncos. I do not. Despite his upside, he’s too upright and slow. Denver needs to win now with 39 year old Peyton Manning nearing the end of his Hall of Fame career. CB Eric Rowe played at Utah, so the altitude won’t bug him. At this point, the picks are so scattershot, I have no idea what the Broncos will do.

Colts – I love DT Malcom Brown of Texas here. The Colts need a man in the middle of that 3-4, and he plays a lot like Arthur Jones. For a team with needs that can be addressed with later selections in the draft, a beast in the middle to provide depth would be prescient. If either Gurley or Gordon slips to this pick, grab him.

Packers – OLB Eli Harold from Virginia just looks like a Packer to me. I know he’s projected lower, but there is a lot of upside with Harlod.

Saints (from Seattle) – Trade down. Lots of work to be done in rebuilding. Getting more later makes more sense than investing here.

New England – Bill Belichick is going to take a guy that the first 31 teams selecting in the NFL Draft passed on, and at least half will be outsmarted by the usually right Belichick. I am smart enough to know that I do not know who that is.

Indiana High School Basketball – IHSAA needs to relax, not tighten transfer rules

by Kent Sterling

After transferring from North Central to Cathedral, Eron Gordon had to sit until a court said he could play. Who benefitted from his being ruled ineligible?

Should a kid be able to attend the high school he or she wishes regardless of the reason? That’s a question the Indiana High School Athletic Association has answered with a resounding “NO!”, and it’s getting ready to be even more emphatic.

According to a Kyle Neddenriep post on indystar.com, the IHSAA will vote before May 4th on whether to implement a “past-link” prohibition for athletes transferring high schools. That means if a coach at the school to which an athlete transfers employs someone who has previously trained or coached the athlete, he or she is ineligible to compete for 365 days.

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In a perfect world, transfer rules would be eliminated entirely, but I would settle for them not to be strengthened.

The rule is being considered because coaches don’t like losing athletes in whom they have invested time and effort to other schools who may or may not aggressively pursue his or her talents.

Coaches should understand they are employed to teach the kids in their charge how to play a game, keep them safe, and maybe – if the stars align correctly – impart some life lessons that will inform the behavior of the athletes for the rest of their lives. That’s it. That’s all.

Sadly, many coaches get into the business because they jones for competition. They covet victory, and anything that increases their chances to win is high on their agenda. For some, that means engaging in recruiting. For others, it means feeling shunned because they lost kids to a coach that recruits.

Public schools get pissed off at the private schools because they have no enrollment boundaries and can potentially offer scholarships to talented athletes. Private schools envy the public institutions because of the tax money and bond driven cash that can be spent lavishly on facilities.

At the nexus of the discussion should be the best interest of the athletes and their families, but as IHSAA commissioner Bobby Cox explained the past-link legislation in Neddenriep’s Indy Star piece, I didn’t read a single word about how it will benefit kids:

“I think the membership likes it. The concern that is being raised by the basketball coaches is that they are growing weary of having to fight and defend for their own kids. A kid is in my program and is developing into a nice player and somebody comes in and tries to sway that kid to go to a different school for whatever purpose.

“I think what we’re trying to get people to understand here is that you just don’t go around recruiting kids. If the parents choose they want to go somewhere because the situation is better and athletics don’t have anything to do with it, we allow that to occur. But I think the basketball coaches are making a pretty clear statement that they are pretty fed up with it.”

Why should athletics have nothing to do with choosing a high school or changing high schools? There are some kids whose only chance to afford to attend college is wrapped up in how their athletic gifts are developed and showcased. Athletes invest more time on athletics than in math class, so making an informed decision on where to attend high school should absolutely involve athletic considerations.

Coaches are miffed because their fiefdom is violated. Cox said it himself, “A kid is in my program and is developing into a nice player and somebody comes in and tries to sway that kid.” For whom is that bad? Not the kid.

So the IHSAA is going to legislate based upon what is right for the coaches?

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This reminds me of my summer as a camp counselor. I worked with kids and tried to make their experience great. A couple of weeks in, another counselor pulled me aside and said, “You don’t get it. We’re not here for them. They’re here for us.” He meant it to be funny, but I don’t believe Indiana high school coaches would be laughing.

Coaches need to get over themselves and stop viewing the world through their own lenses. Think about the kids. You do that, and the question of whether to tighten transfer rules for athletic reasons becomes easy.

The real question is why they exist at all.

College Basketball – Of course NCAA will change transfer rules because they benefit players

by Kent Sterling

Who was hurt by Nick Zeisloft playing at Indiana this season? Not Nick Zeisloft.

When the NCAA decided to allow a graduate to transfer without being forced to sit out a year, I wondered how long it would be before the rule was rescinded because it allowed a measure of freedom for players.

So I wasn’t surprised at all to read over the weekend that the NCAA is going to investigate changing the rules that have allowed players who have graduated prior to the expiration of eligibility a chance to relocate to another school without penalty.

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Kevin Lennon is the NCAA’s new VP for D-1 governance, and he expressed his desire to see rules regarding transfers change, “You have one line of thinking that says when a student has earned their undergraduate degree they’ve earned the right to go wherever they want without any kind of NCAA restrictions. I think, unfortunately, what the data has shown is that people are transferring and they are not completing their graduate degrees because the vast majority of those degrees are two years.”

The problem is that the NCAA only allows four years of eligibility, so squeezing the years necessary for a bachelor’s degree and a masters is damn tough – even with a red shirt year.

A bigger problem, according to Lennon is the sheer volume of players leaving in their first two years, “No one is happy with the transfer rate, particularly in the sport of men’s basketball. When 40 percent of your students are leaving after their second year, that’s a signal something’s wrong.”

When Lennon says that “no one is happy,” he means coaches and administrators, not players.

And so the correction is to impose more restrictions upon the “student-athletes” to tie them to their original school? How does that solve the problem of transfers at the root cause? That’s like answering the divorce rate with a mandate that couples stay together.

How does that answer the issue of coaches running kids out of their programs? That’s a cause of the transfer rate being inflated beyond reason too.

Maybe Lennon should consider a penalty for coaches and their programs for excessive transfers. Let’s see how coaches treat their livestock when their livelihood is adversely effected by their dissatisfaction.

This isn’t 100% about the player deciding the grass is greener. It’s about coaches deciding to assert control over their domain so they might continue to earn insane money for serving as an educator.

We know that the reality is different. Coaches are marketing liaisons more than educators and mentors. They are paid to win, not teach.

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But let’s be honest about what players are doing too. They go to college hoping to reach their potential playing a game they love in order to earn a ton of money. The decision is rarely about education. For some of the more resolute students, the quality of an institution’s academic standing in part of the equation, but no more.

How many of the top 100 players enroll at an Ivy League school? Zero back through 2010. It’s reasonable to assume that kids working hard enough on basketball that they develop skills worthy of being pursued by the best programs in college basketball would likely not have enough hours left to work hard enough at school to earn an invitation to Yale, but the point is that athletes work to live their dream – and that dream is much more likely to be an NBA roster spot than a partnership in a law firm.

The most relevant questions in explaining the volume of college basketball players transferring is why they decide to leave. Do they jump or are they pushed? Is it about basketball dreams, or that a coach is not exactly the man he portrayed himself to be during the recruiting process?

There are two additional pertinent questions that should drive the conversation about rule changes – Who is harmed by a player deciding to transfer? And most importantly, who benefits from a rule change that makes transferring more difficult? The answers – coaches and coaches.

Thus the most important question, does the NCAA exist for the benefit of the coaches or the “student-athletes”?

It’s unfortunate that the NCAA makes decisions that tilt the balance of power further toward the coaches, when they have so much already.

Rewarding a kid diligent enough to graduate prior to the expiration of his or her eligibility with the freedom to play immediately elsewhere seems a small concession to a group with so little latitude otherwise.

Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon leads like every advantage can be critical – like every manager should

by Kent Sterling

Cubs manager Joe Maddon is always looking for an advantage – even minute ones.

Fourteen games in the 2015 Chicago Cubs season, I am convinced Joe Maddon is exactly the right guy to lead them on last leg of a trek from a desert of misery and mediocrity that began in 1908 to a championship – a journey that makes Moses’ trek to the promised land look like a cake walk.

Last night, Maddon did something I’ve never seen before. It was a move that makes sense in a very specific scenario, so you would have to watch a lot of baseball to see another moment exactly like it pop up, but it was emblematic of the kind of energy and leadership Maddon brings to every moment of every game.

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With two outs in the top of the ninth inning in Pittsburgh, the Cubs were behind 4-3 with Anthony Rizzo representing their last hope. Rizzo singles, and rookie phenom Kris Bryant comes to the plate. Rizzo isn’t exactly fleet of foot, so maybe aggressive fans thought a pinch runner might be in order.

Maddon had liberally used his bench to try to create advantages throughout the game, plus center fielder Dexter Fowler had been removed due to injury, so the most likely candidate to run for Rizzo was pitcher Travis Wood.

If Wood had been inserted, he likely would have been used in left field in the bottom of the ninth with Bryant sliding over to first, and left fielder Chris Denorfia moving to center to replace Bryant – who had earlier moved there from third base. That’s not an ideal defensive lineup, but better to be playing defense in the bottom of the ninth than getting dressed after a loss.

Madden left Rizzo on first until Bryant worked a full count, at which point the runner on first would be able to leave with the pitch because there can be no consequence at that point for going. With a full count, the advantage slid slightly toward the Cubs if Wood was inserted as a pinch runner because he would be able to score on an extra base hit, and so at that point Maddon did it.

The result was a Bryant strike out and a Cubs loss, but the message sent by Maddon is that every advantage will exploited. When a leader is always searching for a way to help his team scratch and claw for an extra couple of percent chance to succeed, the effect is that the players will do exactly the same thing.

Instead of playing baseball as a game where men hit, throw, catch, and run, the Cubs are becoming a team that thinks their way through a game from pitch to pitch. That is the most profound evolution for the Cubs caused by Maddon joining the franchise.

Over the course of a season, a manager might win four games with his brain, but a team with baseball players who are shown how to think their way around the diamond can win a championship.

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The Cubs, for all their physical warts over the past four seasons, have been an even worse team mentally. Madden has changed that through his own fearless intellect. Gaining a one percent advantage will only pay off once every 100 events, but being smart can be contagious and over the course of a 162-game season can mean the difference between going to the playoffs and enjoying some down time in October.

Managers in baseball and business owe their staff every chance to succeed, and Maddon is operating at a level for the Cubs that allow them the highest probability for prosperity.

Maddon is a change agent who showed an ability to pay rapt attention last night to a ballgame from pitch to pitch and a willingness to adjust his staff in a way that communicates a culture where scratching and clawing for wins is contagious and will flourish.

If you manage a department, watch the Cubs and learn from a guy who shows the difference between those who wait for success and those who make success.

Indianapolis Colts schedule looks like the stars are aligning for a run to Super Bowl L

by Kent Sterling

The stars appear to be in alignment for the Colts to enjoy a special season.

When everything looks great, take a peak around the corner to try to find the adversity that is always coming.

When the NFL schedule was released last night, I glanced at how the games aligned because I thought maybe that would bring the reason for a little pessimism as we look toward the coronation of the Indianapolis Colts as the favorites to represent the AFC in the first single letter Super Bowl in 40 years.

No such luck.

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Here are some highlights:

Bye Week placement – The closer the bye week is to the middle of the schedule, the better; the Colts will get a chance to rejuvenate their tired legs after nine games – Check! The Patriots have their bye only four weeks into the season on October 4th.

National TV games – The Colts will be featured as a stand alone night game four times in the first eight weeks, and five times overall (the most allowed by the NFL). That’s a lot of spotlight. Does that have any effect on the potential for the Colts to go to the playoffs, Super Bowl, etc… No, but it shows the marquee value of one of the NFL’s elite franchises. The Patriots only play four night games.

Road games against weak opponents – In 2014, the Colts road opponents for 2015 compiled a 55-72-1 record. Houston (9-7), Buffalo (9-7), and Pittsburgh (11-5) are the only opponents the Colts will travel to face who posted a winning record. The Patriots play road games against five teams that had winning records in 2014, and combined for a 71-57 record.

Home games against even weaker opponents – Not to be outdone by the poor records of the roadies, the teams that visit Indianapolis were a combined 51-77 in 2014. Remove the tough games against New England and Denver, and the Colts could hardly have an easier set of adversaries.

No three game trips – The travel – even on chartered flights and first class hotels NFL teams enjoy – can be exhausting over the course of a full season, especially when the travel weeks come back-to-back. Even worse, some teams are forced to travel three straight weeks on occasion. The Colts have a back-to-back travel opportunity one time, and the back end is against Jacksonville. The Patriots play back-to-backs twice, including the last two games of the season. The only trip the Colts take west of the Mississippi is to Houston. Nice!

No London – While this is something you would think might be detrimental because routine is precious for NFL teams, there is no deleterious effect through the small sample size of 11 games in London. Teams always have a bye week scheduled after their trip to London, and the combined record of the teams during the week after the London-mandated bye is 12-9-1.

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Coaches and front office people hate the media prognosticating easy wins in the NFL because winning a game against a supposedly weak opponent is still damn tough, but what the hell else do we have to do in April on the day after the schedule is released?

There is no reason on paper the Colts can’t enjoy outstanding results in 2015. After three straight 11-5 seasons under Chuck Pagano, Ryan Grigson, and Andrew Luck, the Colts appear poised to enjoy a breakthrough season. During each of those three years, the Colts have skipped to another level of the playoffs, and all that is left now is a trip to the Super Bowl.

While the Houston Texans may improve a bit in 2015, the Colts certainly are favored to beat them twice. The rest of the AFC South should provide the Colts with another four wins, so that is 6-0. No team in the NFC South (New Orleans, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Carolina) posted a winning record in 2014, so barring disaster for the Colts or wild draft related success for the opponents, that’s another four where the Colts will be favored.

The AFC East is also paired with the Colts, so the Dolphins, Jets, and Bills will join the Patriots as opponents. The Colts should be favored in three of those games.

Denver comes to Indy and the Steelers host the Colts in a pair of tougher games. There is your schedule.

Until the Colts beat New England, I won’t believe it should happen, and beating the Steelers in Pittsburgh is tough.

On paper, that gives the Colts a 14-2 record. Can they lose to Denver? Sure. Could someone else rise up on a weird night and smite the Colts? Sure. No one is going to lay down and allow the Colts to roll over the top of them.

Predicting 14-2 makes me feel like an idiot because winning that many games doesn’t happen very often for any team, much less a team that has been 11-5 the last three seasons.

But I can’t find fewer than two losses on this paper schedule.