Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Maybe Jameis Winston shouldn’t play against Notre Dame, but not because he signed stuff for cash

by Kent Sterling

Jameis Winston and Jimbo Fisher are both all in as they claim absolute innocence.

NCAA rules prohibit athletes from monetizing their own image, whether it be for video game use, jersey sales, or autograph signings. There is no rule preventing schools from profiting from those images.

That’s a bad rule, and bad rules should be ignored. Civil disobedience is a moral imperative – and an American philosophy that was established simultaneous to the founding of our unique nation.

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For selfish reasons, college administrators argue that the status quo is fair because the value of a college education can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the earnings resulting from a college education can net a former student-athlete millions. That’s all very true, but still does not justify the restriction of financial gain in place while athletes are bound to a university.

There are no such restrictions on any of group of students or individuals, and for a group that often claims its goal is to expose athletes to as similar an experience to normal students as possible, administrators sure do enjoy inserting exceptions whenever it serves their financial purpose.

Running back Todd Gurley remains suspended at Georgia for signing memorabilia for between $8-$25 per piece, and Florida State is examining items authenticated as signed by Winston that are currently for sale online. Winston says he did not receive money for signing anything, according to his coach, Jimbo Fisher.

Fisher has been strident in his defense of the occasionally self-indulgent and reckless Winston, “He’s never taken a dime from anything. He’s signed thousands of things. An hour and a half before a baseball game he signs, an hour and a half after the game. There’s thousands of things out there with his name. He’s very accommodating.”

That doesn’t explain how the authentication of many jerseys and mini-helmets occurred simultaneously. The items were submitted for authentication together, and that would indicate a dealer was involved. Dealers generally pay cash for signatures as famous people are rarely moved to sit and sign for hours without compensation as a profiteer looks on.

Winston is doing the smart thing by denying everything to everyone whether he took cash or not. Neither Florida State University nor the NCAA has subpoena power, and as a result can’t compel anyone to tell the truth. Deny everything and hope the boat carrying the secrets doesn’t leak. That’s the code of the criminal, but if the rule is unjust, where is the crime?

There would be a sack full of unintended consequences for allowing college athletes to sign for cash, but at least that would allow athletes to profit from their own image in the way everyone else in America can. That fairness makes the abolition of this self-serving rule a just act, regardless of the potential abuse that may ensue.

Sure, boosters might line up to hand a player like Winston $500 for signing his name to white panel footballs, and that would make college football a virtual semiprofessional league. You know what though? It already is.

Coaches earn millions, even assistant coaches earn millions. Schools and conferences sign gigantic media partnerships that allow for a lot of others to earn an income far more significant than those of the professors who do the real work at universities.

When the teat is dispensing milk to one sect of calves while others are being excluded only for the purpose of allowing those with access to enjoy more, something must be done. Given the NCAA’s decision to appeal the ruling in the O’Bannon Lawsuit, civil disobedience seems to be a solid alternative.

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Winston may be blissfully unaware of the cultural impact of disobedience throughout history, but if enough iconic college athletes sign their names for cash, the universities that comprise the membership of the NCAA will have no choice but to allow athletes to reap rewards for the brands they create with Saturday excellence.

Most of Winston’s idiocy is worthy of the punishment many college football fans – including me – would like to see enacted, but not for signing swag for cash.

Monday Night Football’s 700th game evokes memories of a more fun generation

by Kent Sterling

From left to right, Don Meredith, Howard Cosell, and Frank Gifford were TV stars in a way that can’t be compared to what exists today.

Before we started to take sports so damn seriously, there was a Monday Night Football broadcast that was more TV party than typical play-by-play.

Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, and Frank Gifford brought swagger and celebrity to the NFL, and their performance was more important to the success of the show than the game they described.

Regardless of the teams competing, millions tuned in to Monday Night Football because it was an event unto itself. Nothing against current ESPN broadcasters Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden. They are wonderful at what they do as they execute consistently excellent game descriptions – but Cosell and Meredith were outrageous, funny, cantankerous, and alternately haughty and silly.

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Cosell was an odd looking and thoroughly repugnant human being by all accounts who took pride above all else in his ability to bloviate. But when he was on top of his game, Cosell was one of the five most famous people in America, and simultaneously our most beloved and hated sports figure.

The show was perfectly cast with the opinionated egomaniac (Cosell), the laid-back counter puncher who could deflate Cosell and amuse fans, and the steady eddie (Gifford) who could describe the game while chaos from Cosell and Meredith reigned.

It was a TV show hosted by rock stars that took place while a live football game was played. Americans needed a diversion from real life during the Vietnam War, Watergate, assassinations, rampant protests, and a general chaotic state of affairs in America. Today, real life serves as a diversion from our frivolity.

It was reality TV before each of us became stars of our own reality show broadcast via Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

In the 1970s, there were no social media and only three or four TV channels. Everyone watched the same thing, and if a guy missed Monday Night Football, he was left out of the Tuesday morning conversation.

When I was a kid, the older generations would explain how quaint life was back in the day, and I thought it must have been incredibly dull. When I think about the 1970s, my memories are of a time of borderline bedlam. It was an invigorating and crazy time. There were constant threats to our safety, corruption was rampant, and stupidity in the form of racism, sexism, and anti-any sect rhetoric was sadly a dominant theme.

Americans behaved much closer to the edges of societal mores then, and Monday Night Football reflected those times.

Just as the professionalism and ultra serious work of Tirico and Gruden define this decade, the wild mayhem of Cosell and Meredith reflected American life in the 1970s. It’s not that Tirico and Gruden aren’t capable of good-humored banter, but the overall theme of MNF in the 2010s makes the game the star of the show. In the 1970s, the dog still wagged the tail instead of the other way around.

I’m sure people in their teens and 20s find the stories about the 1970s exactly as boring as those I heard about the 1930s. Life without smart phones, 500+ channels, 4K TVs, Xbox, Playstation, and immediate access to every piece of information ever learned is unthinkable. Government officials honestly representing their own idiocy, and newspeople endeavoring to tell the truth are so far from what has become acceptable discourse today that we might be tempted to see our society as being in the midst of unprecedented progress.

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The truth is that our behavior is safer, but not necessarily better. Mistakes are fewer, but moments of genuine engagement, horror, and wonder have been almost entirely removed from our lives.

If TV shows like Monday Night Football reflect our society, the 1970s were a hell of a lot more fun than the 2010s. I might not choose to go back there, but on the day after the 700th Monday Night Football show, those days bear remembering.

Indiana Basketball – Tom Crean hosts media chalk talk and practice today

by Kent Sterling

It’s impossible to have any clear notion of what Indiana University’s immediate basketball future holds, but the media will get a quick preview of what the Hoosiers will look like in 2014-2015 today as coach Tom Crean allows a peak behind the curtain.

Late signees unwanted by others, a transfer from Illinois State, James Blackmon, three returnees who were arrested last season for alcohol related crimes, and two highly touted freshman will try to restart the program that wobbled to a 17-15 record last season.

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The good news is that no one is scheduled to graduate or leave after this season, and the bad news might be exactly the same thing. Mediocrity returning to Bloomington is not how Crean rebuilt the program, and it’s tough to assess the quality of talent in Bloomington as anything but average without seeing them on the floor.

After back-to-back trips to the Sweet Sixteen in 2012 and 2013, it seemed that maybe Indiana Basketball was back, but a 17-15 2013-2014 record took fans right back to the place they had hoped they had escaped.

The average play and results of the last several years of the Bob Knight era followed by the perceived erosion of all that Indiana stood for so long dragged the program into a thick mire so deep, the road back seemed difficult to navigate.

The recruitment of unheralded freak athlete Victor Oladipo and Hoosier hero Cody Zeller bolstered a roster already filled with smart role players like Derek Elston and Jordan Hulls allowed the Hoosiers to earn a #1 seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament and a Big Ten Championship. From that point forward, it seems the Hoosiers have regressed to what has been the mean over the past 20 years.

While NBA player mills like Kentucky and Kansas continue to dominate college basketball nationally, Indiana does what it can from the middle of the conference it used to dominate.

Now, the Big Ten is led by the consistent excellence of Wisconsin and Michigan State, the rebuilt and rolling Michigan Wolverines, and the relentless optimism of Ohio State head coach Thad Matta.

Indiana talks the talk and tries to walk the walk, but an inability to reach expectations has put Crean’s position at risk. While the players continue to excel in the classroom, the arrests and 15 losses (not necessarily in that order) have made 2014-2015 a key year in Crean’s anticipated continued tenure.

Today’s event at Assembly Hall will be the first look at a team that will be relied upon to answer a good many questions about whether the Sweet Sixteen visits were the the level of play that defines IU hoops for the immediate future or an aberration caused by the amazing development of Oladipo and the recruitment of Zeller.

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Fans and media have questions that can only be answered by the on-court performance of the Hoosiers. Can Yogi Ferrell lead this team effectively if he is shepherding a freshman into a bar during Little 500 weekend? Is Hanner Perea ready to pursue the potential that excited people when he declared for Indiana, or was the DUI in February indicative of his level of maturity and responsibility? Are James Blackmon Jr. and Robert Johnson ready to contribute immediately? Is it possible to win with an abundance of quickness and dearth of size.

Crean will try to convince the media this week that all of that is possible, but whether he is right or wrong won’t be known until Indiana puts its skill and willingness to sacrifice for the good of the whole to the test on the court.

Florida State QB Jameis Winston has no business playing college football for team that should be disbanded by NCAA

by Kent Sterling

Jameis Winston is playing college football today, and that defines the shame that surrounds a great game.

Go ahead and read the New York Times report on collusion and corruption in the legal process that is so obviously employed by law enforcement in Tallahassee, and tell me that football program shouldn’t be subject to the death penalty.

Forget Jameis Winston, an apparent poster boy for entitlement and enabling so vile that Johnny Manziel looks like a choir boy by comparison. That he is playing today against Syracuse while Georgia’s Todd Gurley sits suspended for signing some footballs and mini helmets for between $8 and $25 per unit defines the level of inequity and illogic in college sports rule structure that has fans so perplexed and frustrated.

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Accused of rape, disciplined for engaging in BB gun fights that caused thousands of dollars worth of damage, caught shoplifting seafood, and suspended for one game for jumping up on a table and yelling something so misogynistic and vile it cannot be written here, Winston is not only a pox on college football, but on higher education as a concept.

Those are the allegations that are known about Winston. There are so many other Florida State players with records of misbehavior swept under a rug that the only logical conclusion – one shared by the piece in the New York Times – is that football players are allowed the run of campus without fear of any consequence for bad acts.

The primary reason cited by the Times for the cops looking the other way is that the Seminole football program is integral to the economy of the area, and that many local police officers are compensated by the university as members of the football game day security detail.

That Florida State University is complicit in allowing police malfeasance to steer student-athletes away from adequate penalty must be addressed by the NCAA, or why does the enforcement arm of the organization even exist?

Nearly two years after the rape allegation was made in December of 2012, Winston will reportedly face a disciplinary hearing. That has a lot more to do with a potential Title IX violation and media scrutiny than a sense of justice and empathy for the alleged victim. Yet, Winston continues to play this afternoon.

When the Seminole Boosters pay the majority of coach Jimbo Fisher’s salary and bonuses, it becomes easy to see why Fisher might be enticed to look the other way when his best player steps out of line. His bonus structure (according to the NY Times) also shows that the moral compass governing football in Tallahassee has been stowed safely in a drawer and is rarely, if ever, consulted.

$100,000 for winning the Atlantic Coast Conference Division Championship
$100,000 for winning the A.C.C. Championship
$75,000 for participating in the college football playoffs
$200,000 for participating in the national championship game
$200,000 for winning the national championship
$100,000 for participating in a Bowl Championship Series bowl game other than the national championship
$50,000 for participating in a non-B.C.S. bowl game
$200,000 for finishing with a final ranking in the A.P. Poll within the top 5
$100,000 for finishing with a final ranking in the A.P. Poll within the top 10
$200,000 for an undefeated season
$75,000 for being named national coach of the year
$50,000 for being named A.C.C. coach of the year
$25,000 for having a graduation rate between 65 and 84 percent; $50,000 for having a graduation rate higher than 84 percent
$25,000 for having a .930 academic performance rating or higher for the school year

The mandate to Fisher is clear – WIN! Damn the female student population at Florida State. Screw the safety of those near the BB gun fights and the damage done to windows and cars. To hell with trying to educate students about right and wrong. Win football games, and even the most egregious and repulsive antisocial acts are buried for the benefit of the Seminole glory.

Oversight organizations are needed to correct exactly the kind of corruption that reportedly rules behavior at Florida State, and every additional crime committed in Tallahassee is the responsibility of all those with the ability to correct the “win at all costs” mindset governing law enforcement there.

That requires Winston be expelled permanently from college football, and that the school suffers the sanction reserved for those who most egregiously lose their way.

Georgia Football – RB Todd Gurley’s suspension requires mass revolt by all football and basketball players

by Kent Sterling

Todd Gurley’s is currently being stiffarmed from playing by a ridiculous rule banning a player from profiting from his image.

If a piano playing prodigy on scholarship at Slippery Rock University plays Carnegie Hall and takes a check for $45,000 as compensation, he or she is applauded and welcomed back to school. If a computer genius on scholarship at Hillsdale College creates a social media platform that drive millions into his or her bank account, the school proudly crows about the accomplishment. If a chemistry major on scholarship and Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo perfects an ointment that eradicates acne on contact, he or she pockets major cash and continues life as a student.

When Todd Gurley, running back for the University of Georgia Bulldogs, sold autographs for between $8-$25, he was suspended indefinitely pending an investigation. The NCAA has rules preventing players (both on scholarship and not) from profiting from his or her image.

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If you have heard or read about the Ed O’Bannon lawsuit, that is the paradigm it challenges. O’Bannon and his legal team argued that the NCAA banning kids from being paid for the use of their likeness in video games and jersey sales constitutes restraint of trade. The judge ruled in O’Bannon’s favor, but that ruling is currently under appeal.

So guys like Gurley continue to be held accountable when they act on their objections to the obvious incongruity of the self-serving rule by stepping over the line to sign for a little spending money.

Former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Johnny Manziel was suspended for one half of a game last season because of the suspicion that he took a sack of cash in exchange for signing a bunch of memorabilia while in Miami on a trip with friends. That group kept their mouths shut, and the storm blew past soon enough.

Those who respect obedience over reason will say that Gurley should have adhered to the rules, regardless of whether they make sense because the consequence is too severe not to.

I would suggest the opposite by recommending that every student-athlete whose autograph has value to collectors stage public signings where cash is paid for their trouble. Let the NCAA or its member schools suspend every uniquely talented player in football and basketball, and let’s see how long this arcane and silly rule stands.

Respecting arrogant authority is a decidedly un-American concept. This country was founded and built by a sect of people dissatisfied with the status quo who believe a little organized rebellion is good for the soul.

Universities profit from the images, and the motivation for continuing to restrict the earnings of its players is to enhance their ability to profit. Every dollar pocketed by athletes is a dollar the school cannot control. When trying to discern motivation for virtually any activity or the enact ion of the rule, always zero in on cash.

Moral outrage from an authority figure? Dig a little and find the financial concern driving policy.

Instead of making great efforts to avoid detection for those hundreds of football and basketball players who accept money for signing things – or just for being who they are – players should do it in the light of day – preferably as part of a ceremony televised live. They should accept the cash, wave it over their heads, and do a little dance as they stuff the dinero in their pockets.

Dare the NCAA and its schools to act against hundreds of the most important players in college sports. Universities still teach Gandhi’s tactics of passive resistance and civil disobedience, don’t they? At the time, Gandhi was seen as a rabble-rouser. How about Muhammad Ali? He refused to serve in the Army during the Vietnam War, and was vilified as a traitor by those who forgot that speaking your mind is a very American thing to do.

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The ends justify the means for the power structure of collegiate athletics, and anytime that is the case, action must be taken. The courts take too long, as O’Bannon and his co-plaintiffs have discovered. Time to organize a healthy revolt to quickly recalibrate the moral compass of college sports is long overdue.

Are there going to be unintended consequences for opening a market based economic model for compensating athletes for the use of their images? Of course, but they will by definition be an improvement of the corrupt system currently in place.

In the meantime, Gurley will cool his heels as the Bulldogs prepare for Mizzou this Saturday.

Great hires in Indianapolis! Gregg Doyel joins Indy Star; Frank Vogel signs extension with Pacers

by Kent Sterling

If you live in central Indiana and aren’t familiar with Gregg Doyel, you will be soon.

Not quite sure which I enjoy writing about more – bad hires made by the arrogant or great hires made by those passionate about making a positive difference.

Yesterday was a day with two of the latter as the Indianapolis Star announced that Gregg Doyel will fill the big shoes left behind by Bob Kravitz’s departure for WTHR.com, and the Pacers announcing that Frank Vogel agreed to an extension to coach beyond this season.

Doyel is a passionate writer who feels stories. When you read his work, you not only get his perspective but the emotions they elicit in him. He can be bring fury as he rails against injustice, eloquently express mourning as he deals with loss, and applaud subjects who show admirable selflessness.

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He is a real writer unafraid to expose his raw emotions. Honesty will never be a problem with Doyel. Making friends is not the name of the game for Doyel, as it is with many others in his business. Whenever you read what he writes, you can be sure Doyel believes it – and passionately feels it.

Indianapolis is a city filled with real people who want the unvarnished truth, and that is exactly what they should expect from Doyel.

How does he compare with Kravitz? While both are exceptionally smart and talented writers, I think the primary point of differentiation is that Bob writes with his brain and Doyel with his heart. Bob is very deliberate and circumspect. Doyel is more prone to express his emotions.

They are both great at their jobs, but attack from different flanks.

Can’t wait to begin reading Doyel’s work on October 20th.

As for Frank Vogel, this is the last year of his current contract, and either the Indiana Pacers were going to part with a coach whose career record is 167-100 as he comes off consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, or let him go and hope they could attract a better leader.

Not much of a choice. The Pacers could have asked some costumed rube in Area 55 to make that call, and he or she would have come to the same conclusion. Frank Vogel is a trusted leader for this group of Pacers, and sending him away would have been abject madness.

The great thing about evaluating a talent like leadership is that there is usually a practical measure that allows for different styles to be seen as successful. If someone asks the question – as Larry Bird obviously did – “Is Frank Vogel an effective coach?”, the correct answer is “167-100 and two trips to the ECFs!”

Sure, he rarely yells, and is relentlessly supportive of his players. That doesn’t equate to weakness. Because of the Pacers success, his behavior has come to define effective leadership.

Vogel acts less like a coach than anyone I’ve ever met. He is a “normal” guy, for lack of a better word. There is nothing intimidating about him.

In college at Indiana University, I believed that Bob Knight embodied all that is necessary to be a great coach. His presence was so intimidating that students avoided him on campus. His erratic bearing was seen as a tactic rather than psychological disorder, and I’m still not convinced it wasn’t. He bizarre actions equated to leadership because of 11 Big Ten Championships and three National Championship banners.

If he had lost, Knight would have been vilified as a psychotic, and if the Pacers had been 100-167 instead of 167-100 over the last three-plus years, Vogel would be viewed as weak and easily exploited by players.

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Solid leadership results in success, and success reveals solid leadership. The Pacers have been successful, so Vogel is an effective leader. Knight won championships, so he was an effective leader. Never have two coaches been less similar.

The Pacers made the right call by extending Vogel, and the Star decided to bring a game-changer into town as their columnist. Yesterday was a good day for justice in hiring.

St. Louis Cardinals – Four straight years to the NLCS while flipping roster

by Kent Sterling

Matt Adams did what a series of Cardinals have done before – hit the ball hard with the game on the line.

Either the San Francisco Giants or St. Louis Cardinals will represent the National League in the World Series as they have every season since 2010. That’s not surprise. It also seems as though the St. Louis Cardinals playing in the National League Championship Series is a birthright.

This is their fourth consecutive trip to the NLCS despite an almost complete roster turnover since the first of those appearances. And that is a unique accomplishment.

Most teams throughout baseball history that have routinely won have featured a core of elite players that set the culture and lead the team to excellence. The St. Louis Cardinals look nothing like the team that won the 2011 World Championship.

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It’s much easier to list the members of the 2011 team who remain than those who have gone. Yadier Molina, Matt Holliday, Jon Jay, Daniel Descalso, and Lance Lynn are the only players left from the 2011 roster who played a significant role throughout this four-year run. Matt Carpenter, Shane Robinson, and Pete Kosma notched a combined 39 at bats in 2011, so they don’t make the list.

The Cardinals starting rotation has completely flipped from Chris Carpenter, Kyle Lohse, Jaime Garcia, Kyle McClellan/Edwin Jackson, and Jake Westbrook in 2011 to Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn, Shelby Miller, Michael Wacha/John Lackey, and a variety of pitchers in the fifth spot.

Don’t even try to name the four pitchers who have led the Cardinals in saves over these four very unique seasons. In reverse order – from 2014 back to 2011, they are Trevor Rosenthal, Edward Mujica, Jason Motte, and Fernando Salas. Fernando Salas?

Lance Berman, David Freese, Colby Rasmus, Ryan Theriot, Skip Schumaker, and certain first ballot Hall of Famer Albert Pujols were starters in 2011 that have either been traded or left via free agency, and yet the Cardinals have kept rolling like an unstoppable force ordained as a success from on high. Allen Craig and Rafael Furcal are gone too.

Let’s not forget about the retirement of manager Tony LaRussa and the best pitching coach in the history of the game Dave Duncan. They left after 2011, replaced by Mike Matheny and Derek Lilliquist. People thought that change might spell doom for the Cardinals. Not so much.

And what about the front office? General manager John Mozeliak has remained a constant, but farm director John Vuch and farm director Jeff Luhnow are gone from 2011.

Over these magical four years, the Cardinals have won seven playoff series while losing only two. Not to rub in in the faces of Cubs fans (I’m one of those downtrodden mopes myself), but that is six more than the Cubs have notched in the last 106 years.

Since 2000, the Cardinals have qualified for the postseason 11 times, and made it to the NLCS an incredible nine times.

While other teams (hello Cubs and Theo Epstein!) sell the notion that failure must precede success and losing first is the only way to win, the Cardinals continue to roll over their roster and flourish.

There is no divine providence hanging over Busch Stadium. The wins come to the Cardinals because they continue to do things the right way. That starts at the top with the DeWitt Family ownership but continues through every level of the front office, minor league coaches and roving instructors, and scouting staff who continue to find players who can adapt to the Cardinal Way.

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Continued success and excellence is annoying to fans of teams other than the Cardinals and Giants, but it should be admired and emulated.

As Cubs fans forever hope that next year will finally bring the answer to their dreams, the challenge for owner Tom Ricketts, team president Theo Epstein, and general manager Jed Hoyer isn’t to build a roster to win games, but to develop a culture of relentless excellence that rivals the Cardinals. Good luck with that – and I mean it.

For the fifth straight year, it will be either the Cardinals or Giants as the NL team in the World Series. That’s not the result of luck, but of an keenly crafted organizational philosophy that drives the desired result.

That’s a hell of a lot tougher to build than a talented farm system.

Michigan State athletic director way out of line in haranguing cold and wet fans

by Kent Sterling

More often than not, Michigan State's student section is loud, but after over three hours in the cold rain, many bailed Saturday night.

Too dumb to come in out of the rain? Not Michigan State students.

If Michigan State University athletic director Mark Hollis ran a restaurant, he would likely be a candidate for a visit from chef Gordon Ramsay on “Kitchen Nightmares.”

On the show, the primary message that Ramsay dispenses to owners of nearly bankrupt eateries is that customers are always right. If they are given a great reason to show up and return, the business will flourish. If not, well, Ramsay is a last best hope.

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Hollis was chapped last weekend when the student section never filled, and became less full throughout the Spartans’ game against Nebraska. His tweets represent a point of view best shared privately.

“I spoke with many students & they share my disappointment and embarrassment of the support coming from the southeast corner on Saturday.”

“We will work together to build a student section that enhances our teams ability to win championships. From kickoff to the end of the game.”

“As a program, we are prepared to make the changes that will fill Spartan Stadium with Spartan fans that want to be there.”

Coach Mark Dantonio was even more pointed in his criticism of the fans, “I appreciate the fans that did stay, and the fans that left, that’s just not right.”

Evidently, neither Hollis nor Dantonio have ever heard the saying, “He’s too dumb to come in out of the rain.”

The weather during the nearly four hour Saturday night game was atrocious. Temperatures hovered around 40 with wind and swirling rain. The score of the game was 27-3 with 13 minutes to play.

If Sparty allows Nebraska to score 19 points late to make the game competitive, that’s hardly the fault of the fans soaked to the bone who made the prudent choice that three hours of standing in miserable weather was quite enough.

Hollis’s rant is a great example of the hubris among athletic department administrators who believe that a ticket represents a responsibility rather than a consumer choice. Just because you spend your professional life compelling students with total authority to act in a specific way doesn’t make them marionettes.

They are customers, patrons, human beings exercising free will. Compelling students to stand in the cold rain for a far too long period of time is far beyond the authority of an AD or coach. Students don’t HAVE to go to class; how can Hollis command them to remain committed to their seats for the duration of the game?

He’s an athletic director, not a czar.

Disappointment in fans’ behavior should be addressed in the same way as that of disgruntled customers – give them a reason to stick around.

What Hollis and Dantonio should have said is “Thank God our students are smart enough to get out of the rain. We don’t need 13,000 kids running around campus with colds. I applaud their discretion in choosing to get warm.”

I don’t know where Hollis sits during games, but I’m reasonably sure that he is in a nice warm suite with food and beverages. Let him sit in the student section for four hours under adverse conditions, and see how long he sticks around.

If Hollis wants to keep fans around, instead of threatening to redistribute tickets to more committed fans, he should work with the rest of the Big Ten ADs to renegotiate TV contracts to mandate shorter timeouts and halftimes. These games are built for broadcast, not live consumption, and until the endless and long stoppages of play are addressed, fewer and fewer in-stadium guests will be satisfied with the product.

Hollis’s petulance is a nightmare of customer service comportment. He can’t control the weather, but he can control his response to it. Instead of whining via Twitter, he should begin the work to fix the in-stadium product.

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College football programs can’t have it both ways – TV money cedes power to the networks, and the networks will always want more inventory (time) to sell. Those timeouts cause dissatisfaction among those in the stands. When a great TV game is available in a nearby bar that is warm, offers multiple games simultaneously, and food and beer at reasonable prices, why in the hell would a reasonable person continue to stand in the rain to watch the end of a 27-3 game?

Hollis can either fix his own product or call Gordon Ramsay, I don’t care which, but he should definitely stop bitching about customers who pay to enjoy a night of football. And next time, listen to Herm Edwards when he says, “Don’t press send!”

Indianapolis Colts – Yesterday’s win could be the game that begins road to the Super Bowl

by Kent Sterling

Sergio Brown’s performance yesterday had a lot of Colts fans asking, “LaRon who?”

There were so many things wrong with the Indianapolis Colts yesterday in the 20-13 win over the Baltimore Ravens that predicting a trip to the Super Bowl as a season finale for them seems ludicrous.

Four turnovers are difficult to overcome for any NFL team, but an Ahmad Bradshaw fumble with 1:49 left in the game immediately prior to what would have been a game-sealing Adam Vinatieri field goal is not the kind of play championship teams make.

Throw in the bizarre miscalculation that led to a fumble recovered by the Ravens by Griff Whalen as he refused to fair catch a punt despite a defender being in his hip pocket as he received a punt, and you wonder exactly how the Colts managed a win.

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A master class in playing defense that was given by the Colts was the reason for the win. Minus a terrible finish to the first half that allowed a field goal, the Colts defense was stout.

The Ravens converted one third down (1-11) and one fourth down (1-3). After ringing up 454 yards and 38 points against a supposedly elite Carolina Panthers defense, the Ravens managed only 287 total yards and 13 points yesterday. And while the Colts handed the ball to the Ravens four times, the Colts defense snatched it back three times.

Offensively, the Colts were relatively good, minus the turnovers. The Ravens had not allowed any of its four previous opponents to total 100 or more rushing yards, but the supposedly anemic Colts running game created enough holes to net 117, while also posting the top total for passing yards for a Ravens opponent with 305.

The Colts weren’t great, but they were good enough to avoid beating themselves against a team that carried some swagger into Lucas Oil Stadium. Beginning the season 3-1 after playing each of its AFC North rivals plus Carolina gave the Ravens hope that they had a chance to be elite again for first time since the retirement of Ray Lewis.

Who would have thought a lesson at the hands of Bjoern Werner, Sergio Brown, and Jhonathan Harrison would bring them back down to earth?

The Colts are starting to hit a dangerous stride after three straight wins. When the defense looked good against Charlie “Clipboard Jesus” Whitehurst and the Tennessee Titans, that was expected. While Joe Flacco and the Ravens aren’t exactly Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos, they are still capable of very solid play. The Colts slamming the door again and again showed something that might allow them to contend for playoff advancement beyond what seemed reasonable when the season started.

Once the mistakes are eliminated or minimized – and despite Andrew Luck’s two interceptions being the results of tipped balls, they were mistakes – this team could find a way to be the rare mixture of really good defense and really good offense that wins a championship. Given the salary cap, building both an elite offense and defense simultaneously is impossible.

There are few Colts players that cannot be easily replaced – as is the case with Sergio Brown filling in for the suspended LaRon Landry – and the total continues to outweigh the sum of the parts.

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A well-coached team filled with a bunch of guys who believe they are part of a special group can be dangerous, and just how dangerous will be determined during the next five games (@ Houston, vs. Cincinnati, @Pittsburgh, @ NY Giants, and vs. New England). If the Colts can go 3-2 in those games, the final six (vs. Jacksonville, vs. Washington, @Cleveland, vs. Houston, @Dallas, and @Tennessee) line up nicely for a 12-4 record and a chance to finish as the top seed in the AFC.

Those who want to bet against the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium for a playoff run to the Super Bowl, go ahead and line up. There will be plenty of takers for your wager.

As long as the most important Colts (Andrew Luck, Ahmad Bradshaw, Reggie Wayne, Vontae Davis, and Pat McAfee) stay healthy, yesterday’s defensive performance might be a harbinger of enough goodness to get the Colts to the promised land.

Butler Basketball – Brandon Miller’s leave of absence prompts concern, prayers, and hopefully a lack of curiosity

by Kent Sterling

Brandon Miller stepped away from the Butler program to get better. What he’s trying to get better from is none of our business.

Brandon Miller is 35 years old and has the job of his dreams, but has requested a leave of absence for medical reasons, Butler University athletics director Barry Collier announced yesterday in a statement.

The message from Collier is simple and vague, “Brandon Miller has requested a leave of absence for medical reasons, which the University has granted. We are not in a position to further elaborate and we ask that everyone respect Brandon’s privacy. Chris Holtmann has been appointed interim head coach.”

Because of HIPAA rules that prohibit the release of medical information, Collier can’t say more. So we wonder what might have gone so wrong with Miller that he needs a leave so long that an interim head coach needed to be named.

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Our imaginations search for logic and reason, but we feel guilty about that because as much as we like to know the answers to questions like “What’s wrong with Brandon Miller?” we also know that it’s none of our damn business.

Whatever battle Miller fights, whatever required him to marshal his resources away from the job at which prepared he entire life to excel, he needs to do it without the prying eyes of strangers, fans, and acquaintances.

It’s up to us, then, to pray and hope for Miller without specific knowledge. A good guy is struggling with something serious. We know that because we know Miller’s commitment to his team is complete, and if this wasn’t a serious challenge, Miller would try to find a way to split his focus.

By all accounts, Miller is a good guy and good family man. Even if many Butler fans haven’t had any personal interaction with him, we can assume that he’s a good guy because Collier trusts him to lead the Bulldogs. Those who preceded him are good men, and so Miller must be one too. The Butler Way that Collier demanded requires it.

I’ve spent a very little time with Miller, but I liked him. Sitting outside the Bob Kravitz Golf Outing for ALS a few months ago, Miller (who doesn’t play golf) stopped by to greet golfers as they arrived. I was there to record interviews with people for the radio show, and talked to Miller about family and finding balance in life. He was open and honest, and the kind of guy you enjoy killing a half hour with, which is what we did.

Miller struck me as unimpressed with himself – a guy more comfortable talking about his wife, kids, and players than his own exploits. He is an uncelebrity kind of celebrity.

None of that really matters because we should hope and pray for even the wretched refuse of society to gain the strength needed to fight and win their fights with illness, but when a guy like Miller decides to step away without explanation, our compassion is piqued.

There will be those in the media instructed by their employers to find out what the hell is happening with Miller, and it’s only a matter of time before somebody close to Miller pulls back the curtain enough to reveal what Miller and Butler want to keep quiet. That’s a shame.

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Media works way too hard to force celebrities to live without the privacy most of us take for granted. Some secrets deserve to be kept, and without the curiosity that drives the media’s zeal to shine a light into every corner of a man like Miller’s life, maybe this one can remain under wraps.

So pray for Miller and his family to find the strength they need to overcome whatever malady has confronted them, but resist the temptation to peek beyond the boundaries set by Miller, Butler, and HIPAA laws.

Maybe the media will take your lead.