Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Like all the other early adapters (schmucks), I have my new fancy iPhone 6

by Kent Sterling

Apple employees arrive at the Fashion Mall this morning just before 8a. They cheered and shrieked at weary line standers before telling us the iPhone 6+ units were gone.

Always trying to be the clever guy who doesn’t have the wait in line, I ran over to the AT&T Store this morning to pick up a new iPhone 6. Why not the Apple Store at the Fashion Mall? Because I thought the rabble would head there, and who would think to take the road less traveled to the AT&T Store.

I felt pretty damn smart when I saw a half dozen people outside the AT&T Store at 7:00 a.m., when I knew there would be many more at the Apple Store.

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The check-in guy said immediately upon my arrival, “We have committed all of our six-plus phones.” The iPhone 6 Plus has a larger screen by a full inch over the smaller model, and I thought that would make my life better somehow, so I hopped back in the car for the quick drive to the Apple Store.

Surely, they would have enough of the Plusses to accommodate everyone with the same idiotic compulsion to use a brand new phone that does almost exactly the same stuff as the previous model – just a little faster. After waiting in a line of at least 1,200 for an hour that only moved because of attrition, an Apple guy yelled, “Six Plusses are gone.”

I had the choice of driving back to the AT&T Store to waiting behind six people, or stay put toward the rear of 1,200. Adios Fashion Mall.

Why Apple decided it was good business to turn people away disenchanted is anyone’s guess. Usually they are smarter than that. I doubt many of those who bolted from the Fashion Mall store were as diligent as I was in seeking satisfaction elsewhere. They might have decided that their attraction to Apple products was as silly as I know mine to be.

But I was undaunted in returning to the AT&T Store happy with my new and pseudo-mature decision to buy the smaller iPhone because this one will fit easily in my pocket. The Six Plus is phablet – half phone and half tablet. What I once coveted I now rejected because I am just that willing to talk myself into convenience.

Wait for what I want? Hell, no. Not this boob.

My feeling of intellectual superiority among the iPhone devotees grew as I found that almost no movement had been made in the line at the AT&T Store. This should have been troubling, but I am easily self-duped. I had no idea how long it would take the line of six to move, but I had to be a hell of a lot faster to the front than at the Apple Store.

My calculation was that for every 200 people served by Apple, only one needed to move at AT&T. That might have been the only piece of sound logic I used all day. And the line did move at a reasonably quick pace.

I stood with a guy named Andrew who was wearing an Indianapolis Indians hat. He graduated from Lawrence North High School in 2008 and played college baseball (who says I can’t talk to strangers?). We talked baseball for the hour we stood in the brisk morning air, and then our names were called.

I asked for a gold unit (it made me laugh to say it) with 64G of memory. I doubt I use 25% of it, and frankly don’t know what I would do with it, but it’s four times more memory than my old iPhone 4, of which I only used 25%, so again I felt pretty damn bright despite knowing that I will never have any use for enough memory to hold thousands of songs, videos, and photos.

Todd helped me with my purchase, and was nice enough not to scoff visibly when I told him I had not backed up anything on my old iPhone. He was cheerful and good-natured – just the kind of guy AT&T Stores need on a day when the morons come out to play.

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And now, less than five hours of embarking upon this journey toward technological excellence, I am the proud owner of a machine very similar to the machine I used to own, and I feel very smart for having done that.

That appears to be the key to Apple’s success – making idiots feel smart for making a poor business decision. I’m not sure Apple understands technology, but I’m damn certain they understand Americans.

Florida State QB Jameis Winston knows exactly who he is and where he’s headed as he is suspended

by Kent Sterling

Jameis Winston has enough talent to be forgiven for occasional bouts with misbehavior.

Bad news for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell rolled in again yesterday as Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Jameis Winston was suspended by Florida State for the first half of Saturday’s game against Clemson for jumping on a table and screaming “F**k her right in the p***y!”

Goodell is hiding under his desk while praying the din over Greg Hardy, Adrain Peterson, Ray McDonald, and Ray Rice dies down, and has no culpability in Winston’s latest trip down Knucklehead Road. That’s Florida State’s problem, and is syphoning time from sportstalk radio and ESPN that might otherwise be spent outing the NFL as the most hypocritical and woefully led organization since the League of Nations.

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How is that a problem for Goodell?

Because Winston is less than nine months from being a headache of mammoth proportions for the NFL. His predictable random acts of immaturity will bring another series of unwanted weirdness and media coverage for the NFL, and Goodell should see it coming like a tsunami on the horizon.

Those who say Winston doesn’t know who he is miss the point. He knows exactly what and who he is. Sure he keeps getting caught doing stupid things – an accusation of sexual assault, shoplifting crab legs, shrieking obscene phrases – but he is the best player on the best team in college football.

Winston can play football at an elite level at the position most coveted by NFL teams. He is projected to be taken anywhere from fourth to seventh overall in the 2015 mock drafts I track. If Hardy was allowed to play during week one by the Carolina Panthers after being convicted for two counts of assault on a female and communicating threats, Winston is going to be welcomed into the NFL with a parade.

The reason the NFL is in trouble is because Goodell has tried to brand it as the league that refuses to allow idiots to sully the shield when the truth is that any level of societal degeneration is tolerated among the elite because the NFL is about winning. Coaches and general managers are paid to win, not lead a choir of well-groomed schoolboys.

Bad boys toward the bottom of NFL rosters are jettisoned for bad acts with great self-righteousness, but starters who can change games – like Hardy, Peterson, Rice, and McDonald – are tolerated and in most cases praised as “good guys” while the public scratches its collective head.

And so it will be for Winston.

“Just win, baby!” is a phrase made famous by late Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, and it means exactly what is says. Whatever the hell you do off the field is cool as long as when you show up on Sunday, you are in condition to win the damn game. That’s an easily understood and honest mission statement!

The current trouble with the NFL is the obvious chasm between the actual goal of NFL franchises and the politically correct high character message contrived by the league. No one with a brain bought it in the first place, but now the writing is in big bold letters even for the average doofus, “If you are really good, you can beat the hell out of a woman or kid – unless sponsors threaten to pull their cash.”

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That isn’t to say there aren’t good guys in the NFL. The majority of players are law abiding citizens who would never prey upon women and children, but to portray the NFL shield as chaste and representative of incessant good will and harmony is ludicrous.

Winston knows it, and while his behavior might cause him to slip a couple of spots in the draft and cost him a few hundred thousand bucks, he will be a multi-millionaire star that Goodell will be quizzed about from the day the two are photographed together on Draft Day.

So he jumps on tables, screams obscenities, shoplifts, and maybe even rapes a student. His talents grant him that latitude, and it will continue to.

Fans need to accept it, just as Winston has.

NFL misery continues – and commissioner Roger Goodell needs a pep talk, which I fail in providing

Dear Roger –

Roger Goodell is likely enjoying a Costanza-esque under desk wonderland this morning as his world crumbles.

Hey, it could be worse! At least you didn’t knock your wife unconscious or make your son’s scrotum bleed. Feel better?

You seemed like a good guy in the beginning – someone willing to hold people accountable for their behavior because it was the right thing to do.

Sadly, you have been revealed as a self-important and reactive commissioner unwilling to take a stand and lead the NFL toward wisdom, reason, and responsibility. That doesn’t make you a bad guy, just a typical bureaucrat motivated by your own professional survival and wealth than doing the right thing.

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This morning, you are hiding under your desk hoping that ill winds stop blowing, but fail to realize that you caused the winds to blow this hard and long yourself by the stance you took in 2007 by enacting the player conduct policy. Instead of encouraging teams to draft talented men unlikely to commit felonies, you became the prosecutor, judge, and jury. Instead of mandating the teams take responsibility for their own employees, you took charge. That move made the last two weeks impossible to avoid.

The wobbling in assessing penalties for Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson would be funny if they weren’t so pathetic. No punishment announced for Rice five until late July, then the universally reviled two-game rip for knocking his soon-to-be wife unconscious in February. Then, a policy of domestic violence that requires a six-game suspension for first time violators and lifetime ban for the second. That was almost immediately followed by the release to TMZ of the video you claim you never saw of Rice’s two punches from inside the elevator is released, and you ignore your own policy to suspend Rice indefinitely.

The Peterson saga took another step toward Rice-like inconsistency this morning as Peterson was put on the exempt list – which will keep him off the field until his felony case of child abuse is adjudicated. This was less than two days after Peterson was reinstated after his suspension for last weekend’s game.

Excuse me if I’m dizzy as I try to keep track of what discipline your office recommends to teams or metes out.

Of course, the Peterson recalibration was prompted by money. Sponsors threatened to pull cash because being aligned with the NFL Shield is not seen as a positive anymore, and it’s not because of the Rice video or the welts on Adrian Peterson’s scrotum. It’s because you have appeared weak and incapable of leading the NFL in a way that inspires trust in the consumers of your product.

The NFL has appeared to be guided by polling, rather than a man of conviction dedicated to following a predictable ideology. Either you should rely upon the legal system to determine guilt or innocence and then issue consequences, or you should do it yourself. But if you do it yourself, you need to stand for something, and stick to your decisions.

Instead of thinking and writing about a must win for the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday, my head aches as I try to figure out what the hell is going on with Peterson, Rice, Greg Hardy, Ray McDonald, Josh Gordon, LaVon Brazill, and Wes Welker. What was wrong yesterday is no longer wrong, and while sliding the acceptable level of marijuana presence in a player’s bloodstream to allow for second hand smoke is a positive, I have no confidence that it won’t change tomorrow.

I get that when Budweiser, Nike, Radisson, and other clients start issuing public statements that might foretell each either reducing or ending their investments in the NFL and its franchises, you need to respond. Your first responsibility is to the owners’ wallets, and not to be the moral leader of the free world. But when your personal conduct policy allows you to so grotesquely miscalculate the appropriate punishment for punching a woman in an elevator that he is asked to sit for one eighth the time as another guy who tests positive for pot, corporations are going to issue those statements.

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You look weak and helpless – like a boxer without an answer while being beaten silly. You have been in a clinch, trying to wait out the rest of the round, since the disastrous interview with Norah O’Donnell, but the damn bell to end the round just won’t ring. It is only a matter of time before the cumulative damage brings you to your knees.

Those who have said the NFL may implode and fade from our society sounded like kooks to me until the last six weeks. It now seems very likely that the recession of the NFL has begun, and that it is only a matter of time until fans are so tired of the moral equivocations and head injuries that they turn elsewhere with their attention and gambling dollar.

I’m usually a guy with answers for those in need, but I have no idea how you survive as commissioner. Blood is in the water, and the sharks are circling. The media like to think of themselves as sharks, but they are actually the chum. The sharks are the corporations who write giant checks to your owners. If they decide to invest elsewhere, as appears inevitable (because what company doesn’t love claiming the moral high ground?), the support you enjoy from owners will vaporize in an instant.

Hard to feel sorry for a guy making $42,000,000 a year, but I can’t help it. Massive wealth can’t make your failures any easier to admit and accept. That probably doesn’t help you feel better, but time will heal your wounds – just like those of Peterson’s children and Rice’s wife.

Kent

Indianapolis Colts loss not just because of officiating errors, but they didn’t help

by Kent Sterling

Referee Terry McAuley didn’t win the game for the Philadelphia Eagles, but his ridiculous horse-collar call sure didn’t help.

A swing and a miss on a pass interference non-call, and a bizarre horse-collar penalty two plays later didn’t directly lead to the Indianapolis Colts losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 30-27, but they sure didn’t help.

The Colts led 20-6 after an Adam Vinatieri field goal with 6:43 remaining in the third quarter, and the game appeared to be over. Football games are almost always won by the more physical team, and the Colts were winning the battle at the line of scrimmage on both sides.

And then the Eagles awakened. Less than four minutes later, the Eagles had tied the game after a LeSean McCoy run, Trent Richardson fumble, and Darren Sproles run for another touchdown.

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Still the Colts answered that reversal with another touchdown, defensive stop, and subsequent drive that appeared to put them in a position to – at the minimum – to generate another Vinatieri field goal and take the lead to 10 points with five minutes left.

The officials had other ideas. Obvious contact between receiver T.Y. Hilton and a defender resulted in Hilton on the turf and the football in Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins’ hands. Two plays later McCoy ran right and was tackled from behind by Colts safety LaRon Landry, who clearly grabbed the “M” on the back of McCoy’s jersey.

Referee Terry McAuley threw his flag for a horse-collar penalty, and the run that would have resulted in a third and six at the Eagles 28 became a first and 10 at the 43. Terrible call, and potential game-changing result.

Even after the game tying touchdown, the Colts had the ball with 3:25 left, and a guy under center who has led them to 10 4th quarter come from behind scores in 33 previous games. The Colts decided to attack with their heads instead of their talent, and tried to manage their way to a game winning score. Two runs and a short incomplete pass later, the Colts punted to the Eagles and never touched the ball again.

The Eagles used two minutes to move the ball 42 yards, and former Colt Cody Parkey knocked a 36-yard field goal as time expired to steal this game that the Colts should have won.

If pass interference is called on the Hilton play, the Colts have a first down at the Eagles 16 with 5:15 left. Even if stoned after three runs, Vinatieri likely punches a field goal through with just over three minutes left. Game over.

If McAuley isn’t momentarily incompetent, the Eagles face a tough third and six. Probably a 50/50 shot at forcing fourth down and a punt. Likely game over.

Sure, McCoy and perennial Colts killer Darren Sproles raised 310 yards full of hell at the expense of a Colts defense that had difficulty corralling them despite the Eagles relying on a third string right tackle and backup guard to clear space. Truth be told, McCoy and Sproles don’t need a lot of blocking to render defenders inert.

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The most difficult portion of the schedule is behind the Colts with Jacksonville and Tennessee offering the chance to even their record in the next two games. Only 11% of teams starting the season 0-2 have earned a spot in the postseason since 1990, but none of them played in the 2014 AFC South.

There were bright spots last night – just not enough to walk out of Lucas Oil Stadium with a win. Trent Richardson ran for 79 yards on 22 carries. Sadly, that was his biggest day since Thanksgiving weekend in 2012 for the Cleveland Browns. Ahmad Bradshaw ran like Ahmad Bradshaw with 70 yards in 13 attempts. If both can run like they did last night, the Colts might become the time of possession kings the Colts coaching staff dreams they can be.

The season isn’t close to over, but that has a lot more to do with the division in which the Colts play, rather than the quality of their play.

It’s a long season. Fourteen games to go, but to finish 11-5 as they did in 2012 and 2013, the Colts need to go 11-3 beginning this Sunday.

Carmel High School football 4-0 with three special young men finding their way after losing their dads

by Kent Sterling

Carmel’s football team acted like a team during adversity, and win or lose they have won wisdom as a result.

Friday nights across America in the fall means high school football, and my wife and I took in the Homecoming game at Carmel High School against Pike. We love high school sports, but need a context to make the competition meaningful. I got all the context I needed the previous Tuesday.

That was the day I met Shakir Paschall, Stephen Watts, and Jesse Clifford – three Carmel players who have lost their fathers over the past two years. These three young men aren’t just teammates, but brothers in loss. Each has helped the other two mourn, learn, and overcome.

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I interviewed all three, along with their coach Kevin Wright, and the results aired on CBS Sports 1430 throughout last week’s shows.

Shakir, Stephen, and Jesse were already sitting in the Carmel football office waiting for me when Kevin ushered me in and made our introductions. I had never met these young men before, and knowing what I was there to talk to them about, I was more than a little nervous.

I asked Shakir to tell his story, and for eight minutes he opened up to share his premonition of his father’s passing the morning of the semi-state game against Penn where he did indeed die of a heart attack. Shakir spoke of the last words the two shared, the last touch prior to the game, and the feeling of dread when he looked into the stands during the fourth quarter after his dad was stricken. He quietly recalled all of it, and as has been the case since that night, he was supported by his teammates.

Stephen and Jesse followed with their memories of the moment their dads passed, and the outpouring of love and guidance from friends, teammates, and coaches that helped them understand that from terrible can come wonderful. The three teammates have become friends, brothers really.

As Jesse told of his dad’s battle with ALS, and the final moments of his life, his hands were tightly clasped. Stephen reached across the table and sweetly patted Jesse’s hands in the way only family is comfortable. It was the kind of lovely gesture most teens are reluctant to share, but was exceptionally natural for Stephen and Jesse.

Again and again, Shakir, Stephen, and Jesse talked about the need to be men and not show their emotions at any point during the process of dealing with their father’s passing, and I kept thinking they were way too young to carry that burden, that 18-year-olds should be concerned with the frivolous – not the consideration of how their behaviors might affect others so deep in their mourning.

When the three young men finished, they rose to leave, and I shook all their hands. My impulse was to indulge my empathy and compassion f and hug each, but my role wasn’t to be a friend. I was just a conduit trusted to share stories with listeners who might find strength and value in hearing them. My job was to ask questions, record the answers, and leave Shakir, Stephen, and Jesse to comfort each other and play football.

The game was dominated by top-ranked Carmel as it beat #6 Pike 48-21 in front of a crowd that would have made a MAC school proud. Regardless of the score, Carmel’s players are winners because through the travails of Shakir, Stephen, and Jess, they have learned about the gift of giving and receiving friendship during a challenging time.

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If you didn’t have the chance to hear these three fine young men share themselves on CBS Sports 1430, take a few minutes to click on the links below to listen to what wisdom gathered too young and painfully sounds like:

https://soundcloud.com/nick-bosak/jesse-clifford

https://soundcloud.com/nick-bosak/ltephen-watts?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=twitter …

https://soundcloud.com/nick-bosak/lhakir-final

Indiana Basketball – New hall of famer A.J. Guyton asks Bob Knight to show up for induction

by Kent Sterling

Bob Knight and A.J. Guyton were close as coach and player. Let’s see if they are close enough to bring Knight back to Bloomington.

When two powerful and confident men lock horns, the victims are everywhere, and the latest unfortunate episode of the Bob Knight/Myles Brand zero tolerance standoff is former Indiana point guard A.J. Guyton pleading with his mentor to be on hand for his induction into the Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame.

It was inevitable that Knight would be thrust into a position where he would be forced to choose between his estimable hubris and the respect he enjoys from a dwindling number of former players. Guyton pushed his chips into the middle of the table with an open letter on Facebook (reprinted in its entirety below).

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Predicting Knight’s behavior is as silly an exercise as trying to manipulate it, so whether Knight decides to show is anyone’s guess. Given the fact that everyone who had a role in his dismissal is now gone from the university, it would seem to be a good time to allow his legacy to be embraced in Bloomington and to become a more visible presence in Assembly Hall.

IU athletic director Fred Glass has worked behind the scenes to rebuild trust with the jilted former coach, but Knight hasn’t yet accepted the olive branch. He may never. Hatred and bitterness are fuel for some men, and as silly as that is, to expect Knight to change supposes he has more to gain from hugging IU than shunning it.

Much like Pete Rose’s ban from baseball enhancing his unique branding, Knight being an outcast is good for the business of being Bob Knight. Because he continues to tell whatever authority is running Indiana University to shove it, he’s seen as a rebel worthy of a few bucks to watch speak or a few cents for a tie or golf shirt from one of his inexplicable auctions of sub-yard sale quality personal crap.

We’ll see if the love of a former player who has issued a public plea via Facebook can sway Knight back to the university for which he did so much – and vice versa.

If I were Guyton, I would invest my time November 7th (the day of the induction ceremony) on enjoying the honor regardless of who is there. Keeping an eye on the seat reserved for Knight will likely be a fruitless distraction.

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Here is the emotional letter from Guyton, who decided that appealing to the warm spot of a guy who keeps that part of himself well hidden was worth the effort.

Open letter to you Coach Knight:

I want to thank everyone who’s taken the time to send a message congratulating me on my most recent accomplishment. If you don’t know by now, I was recently nominated for induction into the Indiana University sports HOF along with 4 other worthy members. Honestly I initially heard about the news a couple months ago while vacationing in Texas so it didn’t come as a major surprise when it was announced yesterday. One thing I remember is having a feeling of shock, joy and disappointment. What could be disappointing you ask?

Upon hearing the news from Dr. Fred Glass, I was saddened. I started thinking about the bad games I had and how my career at Indiana ended. How could they still want me in the HOF after that? I felt a feeling of “undeserved” because I didn’t win any big ten titles nor did I lead any teams past the second round of the NCAA tournament. Being etched into the history of IU basketball means you lead, won & conquered right? I know Isiah Thomas wouldn’t approve. I’ve always been aware of that & I make sure my utmost respect goes to the real winners at Indiana University, the champions. After getting reassurance from family members & former competitors (Mateen Cleaves being one of them) that I was deserved, I still felt there’s something missing. As I was riding home from the store, I saw a facebook post from a friend who lives in Texas. It said, “at Bob Knight field house, about to take the court”. That was the “Ah HA” moment!

What’s missing is the man who personifies Indiana basketball. The man who’s the bridge between the past & the present. The negative feeling I had was knowing he wouldn’t be a part of this celebration. I realized at that moment how much his approval meant to me, mainly because he’s the sole reason I’m considered for this honor.

I feel the Indiana basketball community is torn. My loyalty is & has always been with Bob Knight. I attended IU because there was an opportunity to play & people said I couldn’t make it under Coach Knight. He didn’t overly recruit me, there was no press conference. He simply asked after my visit “so are you coming to Indiana or not” as he gripped my shoulder tightly. “Yes sir” I replied. That was it! The turning point from deciding to go to Michigan State was Coach Knight’s one simple statement to me & my parents. “I can’t guarantee you’re going to play right away but you will have a fair opportunity to earn minutes, you will graduate in 4 years, you will leave here a better person, & there’s nothing I won’t do for you once you graduate”. I’ve called Coach on 4 different occasions since i’ve graduated without any prior contact with him & each time he did what I asked. This is why my loyalty has always been with Bob Knight.

On the flip side, I am Indiana basketball. I couldn’t abandon the few fans, supporters & memories I still have. I made multiple efforts to ingratiate myself back into the IU basketball family. Once I did, I realize how different it is, how separated we are. There’s only one trace of Knight’s time and that’s old reliable Tim Garl. I believe there will be & has been a black cloud hanging over Indiana University because of the severed relationship. Indiana has just as much or more history as Duke, UNC, Kentucky, UCONN & UCLA, the “storied” programs. The one common denominator is the relationship the school has with the coaching legends (Dean Smith, Jim Calhoun etc) & former players. The break up was bad, it was awful, it ruined my Senior season of basketball. We couldn’t prepare for Pepperdine the way we normally could & on top of that Kirk Haston was injured. It was a perfect storm of issues to destroy my senior season at IU. I truly believe Indiana would have won a national championships with the team who finished 2nd in 2002 if Coach Knight was coaching those kids. Those were his recruits & even though we didn’t win a title, our work ethic showed in Tom Coverdale, Kyle Hornsby, Dane Fife & Jarod Odle. I personally think IU would have won 2 more titles. All these things factors into why the relationships seems to be forever damaged, the relationship between Coach Knight & Indiana University.

I’m saying this to say, without you Coach Knight, the relationships are strange at IU. We are accepted and appreciated but there’s a mission to “move on” from us. You’re the only person who can make everything right & bridge this gap. It’s not about the former administration, it’s about the players you created. Where are in limbo, stuck in between. We are all experiencing various successes but not knowing how to include IU basketball. Receiving this induction without being able to look you in the eye and thank you for creating me makes it “less authentic”. I remember you couldn’t attend the Wooden Awards because of all the things going on at IU during that time. I didn’t go without you. Coach Knight, you taught each and every one of us how to over achieve by being the best AT being prepared. To believe it’s not about talent, it’s about outsmarting talented players. To be there for one another on & off the basketball court, for life. To have a short memory when it comes to mistakes, but also train yourself to make as little mistakes as possible. To make up for those mistakes by making the right plays. I don’t know what happened during that time & I’m certainly not asking anyone to apologize for anything. I’m simply extending a public invitation for you to do ME a favor, attend the induction ceremony on November 7th, it would mean the world to me as a former player and supporter. For you to come see the young professional you’ve helped create. I believe it’s time, i believe the time is now. We think that forgiveness is weakness, but it’s absolutely not; it takes a very strong person to forgive. It’s a long shot, but if we share this letter enough, it might end up in the right hands. I’ll never speak of this again, I also believe in moving on.

Indiana University, what ever charity you have to donate to on Coach Knight’s behalf, lets get it done. Time’s ticking & we all deserve a homecoming. I’m asking you Coach Bob Knight, you said you’d do anything for me once I graduated, can you please attend my induction ceremony, which is coming back home to Indiana University?

Former WIBC morning news host Steve Simpson leaving Indy for WCCO is Minnesota’s gain

by Kent Sterling

First, the good news – veteran broadcaster Steve Simpson has been hired to inform and inspire Minnesotans at heritage news/talk WCCO in the Twin Cities. The bad news for Indianapolis radio listeners is that Simpson will be doing the thing in Minnesota that he has done so well here for the last 20 years.

I understand the reason he was replaced on WIBC by right wing talker Tony Katz. The strategy makes sense on paper – if conservative radio listeners are listening to Greg Garrison and Rush Limbaugh from 9a-3p, why not hire to ideology throughout the schedule?

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The reason I understand it is that I worked at WIBC when we made a similar mistake in 1993 & 1994. WIBC decided then that Limbaugh was such a dynamic personality that hiring more hosts who mimic his conservatism was a stroke of brilliance, and hosts like Bruce Stevens were replaced by ill-informed ideologues like Bob Kwesell and Stan Solomon.

At the time, Emmis owner Jeff Smulyan was so outraged by what happened to WIBC that he bought the station and hired management that reversed course back toward the trusted news format that had been so closely linked to the station back to Jim Shelton and Bouncin’ Bill Baker.

Now, WIBC is conservative around the clock. Providing information without agenda to Hoosiers in a compelling way has taken a backseat to consistency in ideology. Fox News, Limbaugh, Garrison, Katz, the Chicks on the Right, Abdul at Large, and The Dana Show keep the needles bouncing with similarly themed diatribes against same sex marriage, Barack Obama, and the supposedly liberal media.

There is nothing wrong with entertaining listeners with politically pointed performance. Garrison in particular is capable of absolutely great radio. But asking a broadcaster like Steve Simpson to leave the building shows either a lack of cognition in what a news/talk radio station is supposed to do or an indifference to the public trust built over 75 years as the Voice of News in Indiana.

Simpson was a trusted voice who was invaluable as a host during breaking news, severe weather, and election coverage. One of the very best in radio history at producing and performing simultaneously, Simpson could always – ALWAYS – be counted on to bring listeners the information they needed when news broke.

He made management easy. When news broke, calling Simpson to process it, make sense of it, and dispense it generously to listeners made those potentially difficult days easy. He was Batman to a variety of WIBC’s Commissioner Gordons who filled the seat of program director.

His uncanny knack for producing with one part of his brain while performing with the other was called upon often as others around the country struggled to be timely, informational, and responsible.

Strategy I get. Being unable to utilize the skills of a brilliant broadcaster who was always willing to make himself available around the clock to inform and enlighten is something I just cannot fathom. It’s inconceivable there was no role within WIBC or Emmis that Simpson couldn’t fill better than someone who works there now.

If Emmis wanted to make the same mistake that Sconnix did in the mid-1990s, that’s their prerogative, but to jettison a respected voice and mind that was responsible for bringing so much critical information to listeners who learned over two decades to trust they were getting the straight truth is unconscionable.

Simpson has always been an easy guy to underestimate. Never calling attention to himself, he deferred to the needs of the listeners by always allowing the story to be the star. That kept Steve from being as polarizing and talked about as Garrison and Limbaugh, but there are times when ratings and revenue aren’t the only two metrics that matter for a supposed conveyor of information.

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Trust and reason count, and are the foundation upon which WIBC was built. Fred Heckman was the most trusted voice in Indianapolis for generations, and Simpson worked tirelessly to justify that continued trust even as the rest of the station wobbled and wavered with occasional wild political posturing.

And now when the sky turns dark, planes are flown into buildings, corruption visits the state house, and elections change the city, state, and world, Steve Simpson will no longer be here to tell us about it.

He’ll be in Minneapolis doing it for another trusted voice. Good for the Twin Cities; not so good for Hoosiers.

[Steve Simpson is a friend of mine with whom I worked for 17 years. Of course, I’m personally disappointed that Steve was shown the door, but happy that he will have another chapter in his career at a great radio station. I tried to keep this as close to down the middle as possible because that’s what responsible conduits of information do. If you don’t believe me, just ask Stever.]

Indiana Pacers forward Paul George apologizes for ridiculous and dangerous tweets about domestic violence

by Kent Sterling

What in the hell goes on in the minds of young men with 895,000 twitter followers when they decide to tweet whatever idiocy pops into their minds early in the morning.

Indiana Pacers forward Paul George decided to weigh in on the Ray Rice issue this morning, has pulled the offensive tweets, and now has apologized. Whether people remember the initial tweets that reflected an unfathomable lack of wisdom about the plague of domestic violence or the apology he just posted depends upon what they thought of George in the first place.

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Fans will forgive. Others will see him as just another purveyor of thuggery willing to look the other way as women are physically punished.

In my very limited exposure to George, he has always been available, cordial, and careful with his words. For that reason, I was stunned at his tweets, and even more shocked that those thoughts could enter what I have always believed to be a very reasonable if naive mind.

There are a variety of perspectives about domestic violence. One correctly assesses it as a hideous blight on our society, and the other finds a way to justify the arcane notion that most women deserve an occasional smack – or worse – to keep them in line.

Here are the three tweets that Paul George authored, “Keep it 100 lets act on this police violence like we actin on this Ray Rice case! Stay strong homie !” “If you in a relationship and a woman hit you first and attacking YOU.. Then you obviously ain’t beatin HER. Homie made A bad choice! #StayUp” and “I don’t condone hitting women or think its coo BUT if SHE ain’t trippin then I ain’t trippin.. Lets keep movin lol let that man play!”

I’m virtually unoffendable, but the sheer stupidity required to embrace the philosophies reflected in those tweets is jarring – especially from a guy like George. LOL? Let that man play? A bad choice?

As I’m writing, the George tweets are being discussed on ESPN. George tweeted ESPN’s Mike Wells this morning, “It’s not cool to hit women I KNOW that.. And that’s not what I’m saying I would never condone that.. I was just trying to say if we gone come down hard on ray rice come down on all crime”

This is why Twitter should be either shunned or used only to parrot motivational phrases because when George says he is trying to draw a link between the coverage of Ray Rice and what happened in Ferguson, Missouri, he misses the point by so far GPS couldn’t lead him back to rationality.

Rice got a virtual pass for knocking his girlfriend (now wife) out cold, and then posing with indifference. The media coverage is no longer about Rice, but focus upon NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s mishandling of the situation. If anything, the media responded to what happened in Ferguson exactly as George would hope. Night after night, the national networks shined a bright light on the repellent racism that is so pervasive in St. Louis.

Now, George issues a mea culpa, “Let me apologize to the women and to the VICTIMS of domestic violence people my intent was not to downplay the situation..” I believe that he is genuinely sorry for the tweets, and not just because the Pacers called and asked/demanded that he make this right.

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But George needs to understand the power of language, and that words must be carefully chosen to reflect our thoughts. When in doubt, don’t press send. George should have felt significant doubt that his words would be assessed as he hoped – as a condemnation of Ferguson, not an endorsement of domestic violence.

The lesson is that as we vilify coach John Harbaugh, general manager Ozzie Newsome, and owner Steve Bisciotti of the Baltimore Ravens for their support of Rice through this turmoil, they know him in the same way Indianapolisans feel they know George. If we give George a pass for his poorly crafted and offensive tweets, we are hypocrites if we also condemn Harbaugh, Newsome, and Bisciotti.

Roger Goodell interview with CBS riddled with non-denial denials – someone needs to come clean

by Kent Sterling

Roger Goodell was predictably sanctimonious and saccharine while quizzed by Norah O’Donnell of CBS News.

When people are comfortable telling only part of the truth, trouble ensues. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell went seriously old school politician yesterday during an interview with CBS News Norah O’Donnell, who did a more than credible job in asking the right questions.

Goodell tried to appear earnest while dodging, dipping, and ducking. He admitted his office erred, but steered safely away from specifics that could cost him his job.

It again reaffirmed the very problem with Goodell’s handling of the entire Ray Rice affair. This whole “the truth is what we say it is” dynamic has been successful for presidents, CEOs, and the commissioners for generations, and the only surprise is when there is a meaningful penalty for wrongdoing is assessed against people in power who pulled back the curtain because of a still operational conscience.

Nixon was never repentant about Watergate – just disappointed that he got caught. Had he burned the tapes detailing the cover-up, he would be known as the president who went to China and ended the Vietnam War. The message taken by those in power from Nixon’s travails is to burn the tapes rather than do the right thing to begin with. Viewing Goodell through that prism allows for all of this to make a certain amount of unfortunate sense.

Sadly, decency and justice is at the bottom of the ladder of priorities for the powerful and wealthy. Retaining position is at the top. Expedience is always the goal. Find the public’s sweet spot for forgiveness, exploit it, and move on.

A great example is the ovation Rice received in Baltimore during the preseason. What? A standing ovation for a guy who knocked his soon-to-be wife unconscious in an elevator? That applause wasn’t so much an expression of love for Rice but a collective indictment of the repellent and self-important authority figures in our society.

Here is a transcript of the Goodell interview with parenthetical commentary for me:

O’Donnell: When did you first learn about this second tape?

Goodell: Yesterday morning. I got into the office and our staff had come in and said, “There’s new evidence, there’s a video that you need to see.” And we watched it then.

O’Donnell: Did you know that a second tape existed?

Goodell: Well, we had not seen any videotape of what occurred in the elevator. We assumed that there was a video. We asked for video. But we were never granted that opportunity.

[What Goodell doesn’t admit to is seeking access to that particular videotape. They asked “for video,” not “that video.” There is a difference, and it’s the kind of difference that is designed to provide cover down the road if this story keeps rolling far enough that his words are revisited by legal archaeologists. Goodell also says that “we were never granted that opportunity.” That language specifically defrays responsibility for them not getting the video to a third party.]

O’Donnell: So did anyone in the NFL see this second videotape before Monday?

Goodell: No.

[When a one word answer suffices, there is no point in offering two. Quick answers stump inexperienced interviewers, and they will sometimes move on without challenge. Good for O’Donnell for pushing through for a more complete response.]

O’Donnell: No one in the NFL?

Goodell: No one in the NFL to my knowledge, and I asked that same question. The answer to that is “no.”

[“To my knowledge” is the equivalent to the phrase made famous during the Watergate hearings – “to the best of my recollection” – to provide coverage should conflicting answers be given down the road. In court or a congressional hearing, witnesses try to dodge perjury charges. Here, Goodell just doesn’t want to be revealed as a bald-faced liar.]

O’Donnell: How is it that the NFL didn’t get their hands on the second tape but a website called TMZ could?

Goodell: Well, I don’t know how TMZ or any other website gets their information. We are particularly reliant on law enforcement. That’s the most reliable. It’s the most credible. And we don’t seek to get that information from sources that are not credible.

[This is Goodell’s worst constructed response of the interview. He claims not to seek information from sources that are not credible, but the source of the second video is credible – the casino itself. To avoid pursuing information like that contained in the damning video from the source of the video, and claim investigatory high ground is ridiculous. O’Donnell should have challenged this.

O’Donnell: The question becomes did the NFL drop the ball? Or was the NFL willfully ignorant about what was on this tape?

Goodell: Well, we certainly didn’t know what was on the tape. But we have been very open and honest. And I have also — from two weeks ago when I acknowledged it, we didn’t get this right. That’s my responsibility. And I’m accountable for that.

[This is O’Donnell’s best question, and it is correctly placed immediately after an intellectually lazy answer. Goodell rallies with self-righteous blather and a pseudo admission of accountability, but never answers the question. O’Donnell should have seized the moment with a follow up about specifics in how Goodell did not get this right and in what ways he should be held accountable.]

O’Donnell: But what changed? I mean, on the first tape she was lying unconscious on the ground, being dragged out. Did you really need to see a videotape of Ray Rice punching her in the face to make this decision?

Goodell: No. We certainly didn’t and that — and I will tell you that what we saw on the first videotape was troubling to us in and of itself. But what we saw yesterday was extremely clear, it was extremely graphic and it was sickening. And that’s why we took the action yesterday.

[Another successful dodge from Goodell – expressing outrage and asserting that the action taken Monday was the correct and just reaction to the release of the second video. The truth is that the NFL didn’t need to see anything, but completely underestimated the public’s disdain for a running back knocking a woman unconscious in an elevator. The only difference between today and July 25th when Rice was suspended for two games is the public outrage that continues to demand satisfaction. The NFL rolled the dice that the tape would never see the light of day, but didn’t anticipate the closing of the casino, which left the video as a monetizable asset for a displaced employee.]

O’Donnell: What does that mean that he was suspended indefinitely? Does that mean Ray Rice will never play in the NFL again?

Goodell: I don’t rule that out. But he would have to make sure that we are fully confident that he is addressing this issue clearly, (that) he has paid the price for the actions that he’s already taken.

[Silly question and a layup of a response for Goodell. O’Donnell was never likely to rattle Goodell or get him off his game, but this was a silly question that placated Goodell and gave him a chance to regroup.]

There is a reason that a commissioner like Goodell is named to that position, and the relentless counsel and rehearsals that undoubtedly took place prior to the interview paid off, but the result is not going to satisfy a public’s hunger for justice. Goodell appears slick and evasive, leaving viewers to infer nefariousness and/or incompetence.

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Simply admitting a sloppy investigation is not enough. Those bones need meat, and the specifics of what drove the decision to not pursue the videotape from inside the elevator is what is needed to tie a bow around this thing and get people to move on to the supposed racism of Atlanta Hawks owner Bruce Levenson and general manager Danny Ferry.

It won’t be forthcoming because if the information weren’t damning enough to tarnish the shield and cause irreparable damage to Goodell’s position, it would already have been offered.

At the Goodell level, justice is only served when it’s expedient or profitable.

I’m sure he sleeps just fine – to his eternal discredit.

Ray Rice Video – Questions outnumber answers as NFL fails to show leadership

by Kent Sterling

Roger Goodell appears more adept at adapting to public opinion than providing leadership.

The video was horrifying. Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice throws a left cross, and Janay Palmer is knocked unconscious. Rice waits patiently for the elevator to open, drags her limp body into the lobby, and retrieves her shoe.

We have all seen it – or should, and those who saw the initial video from the outside of the elevator assumed the scene that led to Palmer being pulled from the elevator looked similar. But not the Baltimore Ravens and not the NFL.

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That lack of reasonable leadership provided by the NFL and Ravens has been stupefying, and it continues. The NFL has hidden behind a ludicrous statement released yesterday that they never saw the tape released yesterday on TMZ.com. They are either lying or were not interested in seeing it. Everyone knew it existed, and TMZ was able to obtain a copy while the NFL could not. Absurd.

The Baltimore Ravens management sent John Harbaugh to represent the franchise during a press conference and Harbaugh said the Ravens had not seen the video until yesterday. When asked why they had not seen it, he did not have a response. Where was Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti who is responsible for hiring to a specific culture? Where was general manager Ozzie Newsome?

More importantly, where is the leadership from the NFL? Where is Roger Goodell? In late July, Rice was suspended for two games by the NFL. Five weeks later, a policy on domestic violence was announced that would require a six week suspension for a first offense, and lifetime ban for the second (reinstatement could be sought after one year). Yesterday, the NFL suspended Rice indefinitely. What is the policy? Why has the policy changed three times since July 25?

Why did Goodell interview Rice and Palmer together, as has been reported. Anyone who has watched an episode of Law & Order SVU knows that a domestic violence victim and suspected perpetrator should never be interviewed together, and what in the hell is he doing as the interviewer. The NFL has a large team of former cops serving as its security force. Let the cops do the interviewing. Goodell should restrict his activity in the process to issuing edicts based upon the gathered facts.

No one expects the NFL to lead the world to morality and decency. No one expects perfect behavior from young men with too much money and virtually no meaningful consequences – unless they smoke pot. Everyone knows that winning is the most important thing to coaches and executives.

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What we hope to see is a backbone – a spine. Some measure of consistency should be advanced by the commissioner, not repeatedly edited statements and varying levels of consequences for the same incident based upon the current level of outrage from the media and public.

Without that, confidence in the league itself cannot be granted by fans. The NFL deserves better than the leadership Goodell has provided. The Ravens deserve better than Biscotti and Newsome. Harbaugh should have been accompanied by both. It’s not about the NFL being harsh, unyielding, draconian, invoking a zero tolerance policy, or showing a seriousness about the wretchedness of a man knocking a woman unconscious. It’s about a paradigm of logic being applied that brings consistency, and that consistency will bring confidence.

Domestic violence is a heinous crime that should be dealt with severely. Women are abused in frighteningly high numbers, and the lasting emotional scars for victims and their children last forever. That the Atlantic City prosecutor allowed Rice to opt for diversion in lieu of seeking a conviction, and the NFL had no idea how to respond time after time reflects an even more bizarre and unfathomable problem – greater empathy for attackers than victims, and a total void of leadership among those with more to lose than gain by providing it.

There is shame everywhere.