Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Big Ten Tournament – Game-by-Game Preview Puts Indiana and Michigan State in Final

by Kent Sterling

What kind of boob picks the eighth seeded Indiana Hoosiers to advance to the championship game of this weekend’s Big Ten Tourney? This kind of boob!

These picks are for entertainment purposes only. ESPN and CBS have excellent previews as well. For non-entertainment sports insight and activation, visit Sports Betting Dime.

Indiana has been one of the worst teams in the history of the event – never winning it, and only advancing to the finals once. In 16 total events, Indiana is 10-16. That means they have averaged .625 wins per tournament, and an imperfect one loss – the maximum allowed by math in a single elimination format.

Surprisingly, there are five teams that have won less than Indiana’s ten. Not surprisingly, two of them are Northwestern and Nebraska. Given that this will only be the Cornhuskers third trip to the tournament, that makes sense, but their 1-2 record extends to 8-16. Purdue, Michigan, and Penn State are the other three who have won less than Indiana’s ten.

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Enough arcane statistics. Let’s get to the results of the 11 games that will be contested in Indianapolis this weekend, and who will win each of them.

FIRST ROUND

Indiana vs. Illinois – 12p Thursday

Through February 18th, the Illini had beaten only Indiana and Penn State (2x) among its first 13 Big Ten opponents, and then they awakened to win four of their final five, and those five were not patsies. All are at least being discussed as potential bubble teams, and three of the wins were on the road against Minnesota, Michigan State, and Iowa. The other win was at home against an improving Nebraska team.

Minus wins against Northwestern and Penn State, Indiana has not won a game not played at Assembly Hall since November 21st against Washington, but won three of its final six, including games against #22 Ohio State and #20 Iowa.

Both teams finished with 7-11 Big Ten records, and Illinois finished ranked #65 in BPI while Indiana was #66. Illinois is a comparatively old team with juniors (Rayvonte Rice, Tracy Abrams, Nnanna Egwu) and seniors (Joseph Bertrand, Jon Ekey) as its five leading scorers. Indiana is very young as three freshman (Noah Vonleh, Troy Williams, Stanford Robinson) are among the top five scorers, and the leading scorer is sophomore Yogi Ferrell.

Illinois placed zero players on the All-Big Ten teams announced yesterday, while Ferrell (2nd team) and Vonleh (3rd) placed for the Hoosiers. Vonleh was also named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

I like the way neither the Hoosiers nor Illinois folded as a weak team might have late in the season when it became clear they were playing only for pride, but I’m picking Indiana because I live in Indiana, know the team better, and have an affinity for some of the people associated with the program. Indiana’s lack of quality depth might be problematic if they win Thursday as the tournament moves forward, but for Thursday they should be fine.

The key will be scoring. If the game is played in the 60s or higher, advantage Hoosiers. In a defensive game, Illinois has the better chance. Everything points to a low scoring game, but that’s not enough to push me off IU.

The pick: Indiana 64-63.

Ohio State vs. Purdue – 2:30p Thursday

The Boilermakers finished last in the Big Ten, and after the final regular season game, coach Matt Painter claimed responsibility for their lack of execution and guts. That’s the appropriate thing to do because either Painter made errors in who he invited to play for him, or failed to unlock the trait that attracted him in the first place to the recruits. Will Painter’s mea culpa bring out the best in the Johnson, Rapheal Davis, A.J. Hammons, and Errick Peck, or will they shut down?

Ohio State has been very successful in the Big Ten Tournament under Thad Matta. Since 2006, Ohio State has failed to advance to the finals only once, and have won three of the last four. Some teams just know how to play in tournaments, and Ohio State appears to be one of them. It’s helped that the Buckeyes have had Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Evan Turner, Jared Sullinger, DeAndre Thomas, and Aaron Craft during that era of excellence, but they seem to be very well prepared day after day.

The Buckeyes beat the Boilermakers twice in the regular season – by nine and 18 points. In order to upset Ohio State, Purdue would need to get best of season efforts from everyone on the floor.

Pick – Ohio State ends the season for Purdue 72-56.

Minnesota vs. Penn State – 6:30p Thursday

Sadly, this game has no more meaning to me than let’s say Cal vs. Utah or Boston College vs. Wyoming, but I can read a schedule to see that Minnesota beat Penn State twice. Despite Minnesota finishing the last 15 games of their Big Ten schedule 6-9, I think they move through Penn State without struggle.

Whoever wins this game is likely nothing more than chum for Wisconsin.

Of the 11 games in the tournament, this is the one game I can’t find a narrative compelling enough to generate any interest – at least for me. Because of that, I’m picking Penn State. That pick for a significant underdog, while being impossible to substantiate intellectually, will allow me to watch with mild interest.

Pick – Penn State wins 65-62.

Iowa vs. Northwestern – 9p Thursday

Both of these teams bring something I like. Iowa has the fiery Fran McCaffrey as their leader, and who knows what might set him off. Northwestern hangs its hat on tenacious defense under first year coach Chris Collins. Both are fun to watch.

Before winning the regular season finale at Purdue, Northwestern had lost its previous seven games. The Wildcats rank 349th out of 351 D-1 teams in points per game, so they are going to have to out defend Iowa to win. But Iowa hasn’t exactly been a juggernaut since the game that was postponed at Assembly Hall on February 18th.

Iowa has lost five of its last six, but they will have the best player on the floor – by far – in senior Roy Devyn Marble. When in doubt, go with the best player, and the most volatile coach.

My Pick – Iowa wins 64-46

SECOND ROUND

Michigan vs. Indiana – Friday, 12p

I love Indiana in this game. Michigan has looked very uncomfortable against the Hoosiers in the two previous games they have played which means either they are due to hammer Indiana, or that Indiana is just a bad matchup for them.

The problem for Indiana is that they have very limited depth, and playing a second game in two days after a very tough first game. Michigan has everything Indiana lacks – experience, ability to create offense, and Big Ten Player of the Year Nik Stauskas – but I think Indiana is due for a little success in this event.

My Pick – Indiana 71-67

Ohio State vs. Nebraska – Friday, 2:30p

The Cornhuskers emergence as a decent Big Ten team has been a great story. Tim Miles is a hell of a good coach, and Nebraska was always a bit of a sleeping giant, so their 11-7 record was hardly unforeseeable. They are a bubble team, so a loss here could send Nebraska to the NIT. That will either serve as inspiration, or cause the Huskers to tighten.

Ohio State is firmly in the NCAA tournament, and while I’m never a big fan of picking a game solely because of one player, I think Craft is such an effective leader and defender that the Buckeyes will win this game because of his presence.

I would love to see Miles and Nebraska move forward, and frankly I’ve had about enough of Ohio State winning games in this tournament, but Craft is going to get this done.

My Pick – Ohio State 67-59

Penn State vs. Wisconsin – Friday, 6:30p

Wisconsin’s season has been defined by streaks of good and bad play. They started the season with 14 wins, and then lost five-of-six. Then they ran off another eight straight wins before losing at Nebraska in the regular season finale. There will not be a second consecutive loss this time, as the experienced lineup of Ben Brust (senior), Frank Kaminsky (junior), Traevon Jackson (junior), Josh Gasser (junior), and Sam Dekker (sophomore) will beat the Nittany Lions badly.

My Pick – Wisconsin 81- 59

Iowa vs. Michigan State – Friday, 9p

Since Michigan State beat Indiana in East Lansing on January 21st, the Spartans have been unable to win consecutive games. The inconsistency of the roster has a lot to do with that. Not only is it disruptive to lose a player, but it can be difficult getting one back too. Only Denzel Valentine and Gavin Schilling have played in every game.

The Spartans are always only one game away from getting it together and going on a long run, and that may start Friday against Iowa. Then again, it might not. Tom Izzo has a nice balance of experience and youth, but the past two months have been tough for Sparty.

Michigan State won the two regular season games, with an overtime thriller in Iowa City. Gary Harris scored a combined 21 points in the two games, and the Spartans had some foul trouble in both. Marble got it rolling in both, scoring 24 and 21 points.

Harris will be coming home, although that can be good or bad. This game could bend either way, so I’m going to go with the better rested Spartan team.

My Pick – Michigan State 74-67

SEMIFINALS

Indiana vs. Ohio State – Saturday, 1:40p

Indiana won their only matchup against Ohio State 72-64, and the depth disadvantage is mitigated a bit because both teams will be playing their third game in three days. How much will Ferrell and Craft have in the tank? That’s the fun of this tournament – it’s a battle of attrition.

I like the Hoosiers in this matchup because Ohio State has had enough success in this event over the past eight years. The odds have to favor an opponent eventually.

My Pick – Indiana 61-57

Michigan State vs. Wisconsin – Saturday, 4p

Both of these teams were dominant during stretches, and both have sputtered. Both finished the conference season 12-6, have elite coaches, and upperclassmen leadership. This is a crapshoot, but Wisconsin is a tough matchup for Michigan State to use to win a second straight game for the first time in nearly two months.

Games like these are what makes the Big Ten interesting. Top to bottom, the Big Ten has the best coaches in college basketball, and Izzo vs. Bo Ryan is one of the great duels that CBS can use to build promos.

This is a coin flip, but I’ll take Michigan State because I think Gary Harris is the type of player who can elevate his game to a level Traevon Jackson can’t. I saw him do it in the Hinkle Regional in 2011, and he will find a way to help Sparty win this game.

My Pick – Michigan State 72-68

FINAL

Indiana vs. Michigan State – Sunday, 3:30p

There just won’t be any gas left in the tank for the suddenly improved Indiana team playing its fourth game in four days against a very deep Michigan State team playing their third game in three days. Tom Crean will claim victory for getting this far, and who can blame him as the Hoosiers fall just short of pulling off the miracle upset to earn the Big Ten’s automatic berth.

My Pick – Michigan State 82-64

Of course, some very odd things would have to happen for more than half of these games to actually roll the way I have predicted, but the fun of these tournaments is that no one is wrong about either the results or the rationale until Thursday at about 2p.

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IUPUI Fires Basketball Coach Todd Howard – Tough Day for a Good Man

by Kent Sterling

Todd Howard had a bad day yesterday, but tomorrow will be better.

For 19 years, Todd Howard knew his purpose – to lead an ever-evolving group of young men toward adulthood by instilling the lessons that basketball teaches so well.

For the past three years, Howard served as the men’s basketball coach for IUPUI in Indianapolis. The team that punched a single ticket in its history to the NCAA D-1 Tournament in 2003 when he served as an assistant had not flourished recently. In each of the last two seasons, IUPUI won six games.

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It doesn’t make Howard’s removal any less difficult for him that the decision was justifiable – at least on paper. Getting fired is tough, especially after 19 years at the same place.

Change usually brings change, and when IUPUI announced that they would become tenants at the newly renovated Indiana State Fairgrounds Pepsi Coliseum beginning next season, the writing was on the wall for Howard’s dismissal.

Schools don’t stick with the status quo when bouncing from a 1,215 seat gymnasium to an 8,200 arena – not when the coach in question has a 26-70 record.

Nice guys don’t always finish last, but they get fired when they need to fill 6,985 additional without a track record of winning.

Most people, even fans of IUPUI basketball, probably read the news and said, “Well, of course they fired him.” That didn’t make it any easier for Howard to get up this morning without any kids to coach, and there should be a portion of our hearts carved out for that kind of well-reasoned empathy.

Adversity makes us stronger, and Howard will wake up one morning soon with his sense of purpose renewed. It might have been this morning, but more likely it will come in a few weeks. He will be wiser for the experience.

In the meantime, he can think about the positive effect he had on so many young men. In the end, it’s our relationships that matter – the lessons that stick with some of those we lead. Those thoughts will help distract Howard from the disappointment of being told that the university to which he gave so much had enough of what he offered.

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So IUPUI will search for a new coach, who will be the next one to be fired. That’s the lifecycle of a coach. Get hired, win some, lose some, teach all, and get fired. It’s true for icons and grinders and winners and losers alike. Few escape.

That doesn’t make any of it less pailful today for Todd Howard.

Indiana Pacers – Four-Game Losing Streak Will Be Meaningless in Two Months

by Kent Sterling

How soon fans forget. Sure this four game losing streak is the first in two years, but how many of you remember the end of the regular season in 2013? It was the last time the Pacers lost five-of-six.

Nothing more was wrong then than is wrong today, and they took the Miami Heat to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.

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Remember last year’s first round playoff series against Atlanta? After winning the first two games by a total of 32 points, the Pacers went to Atlanta, and gakked up those games by – guess how many combined points – yes, exactly 32 points. Best of seven turned into best of three, and the City of Indianapolis went on emotional lockdown. The Pacers won in six.

In the second round of the playoffs against the Knicks, the Pacers looked terrible in the two losses – scoring an average of 77 points per game. If the Pacers hadn’t won Game Six (by only six), a trip back to Madison Square Garden for a clinching Game Seven would have been their penance. The Pacers did win, and both the Hawks and Knicks now suck.

That’s the thin line between success and failure in today’s NBA.

The Pacers are in the midst of a headache inducing stretch of the season that has fans moaning about the signing of Andrew Bynum, the Danny Granger for Evan Turner trade, and Eddie White’s selection of pocket hankies.

It’s all going to be okay. The Pacers are fine. Turner knows how to fit in with a group. Bynum is going to play at a high level because if he doesn’t, chances of his cashing giant checks as the result of another mega-deal are zero. The legs that are tired tired and balky will comeback. And the only question that will remain will focus on Eddie’s choice of fashion accessories.

This is what happens to good teams during an 82-game season, and the Pacers are a good team. No one in his right mind believed that the Pacers were going to double up on their first half record of 33-8.

Sometimes the schedule works for a team, and sometimes it doesn’t, and it’s going to start playing in their favor tomorrow night against Boston at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. That game will be followed by a trip to Philadelphia to play the truly awful 76ers, a trip to Detroit, a home game against the 76ers, and finally a trip to dreary old Manhattan to play the Knicks. Those five opponents are a combined 114 games under .500, and none are less than 15 games under.

It will be interesting to hear what the same hysterics think about the Pacers after they win those five games. They are like the crazies who run out to the grocery store to stock up on milk, bread, and eggs every time the weatherman forecasts snow. When the tide comes in, these people scream “FLOOD!”

A month ago, the Chicago Bulls were 24-25, and looked dead in the water. Minus injured Derrick Rose and traded Luol Deng, the experts thought a tailspin was imminent. Since than, they are 11-3, and those same experts believe the Bull could now disrupt the Pacers and Miami Heat inexorable march to the Eastern Conference Finals.

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Five of the Bulls next eight opponents are San Antonio, Houston, OKC, and a home and away set with the Pacers. Let’s see what people say about the Bulls after they finish those eight games 4-4.

The Pacers don’t have a player who can be called great right now. Can Paul George become great? Personally, I think he’s too sane. Can Lance Stephenson be great? Maybe. David West and Roy Hibbert are who they are, and George Hill is a nice complimentary piece for a good team. One word that does not describe the Pacers is great.

There is a whole lot of good on the Pacers roster, maybe enough to win a championship if they get rolling in May and June, but they are not a 72 win team like the 1996 Bulls.

Pacers fans should stop expecting wins every time Paul George laces up his bedazzled shoes. That’s not who they are or what they will be, but what they are might be good enough to hang a banner.

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Indiana State Bubble Watch – NIT, Here Come the Sycamores

by Kent Sterling

Jake Odum and Greg Lansing are like A/V club members hoping the hottest cheerleader calls to invite them to the Big Dance, but it’s not likely to happen.

Sadly, Indiana State will be on the outside looking in once the brackets are announced in six days. Greg Lansing’s Sycamores have had a nice year, but 12-6 in the Missouri Valley is not going to get it done.

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Let’s compare the Sycamores in a few of the categories that the NCAA Selection Committee uses to determine which guests receive an invite to the Big Dance.

Indiana State

RPI Ranking – #71
Record against top 50 teams – 0-4 (three losses against Wichita State; one vs. St. Louis)
Record against top 51-100 teams – 2-3 (split vs. Belmont and Missouri State; loss to Tulsa)
Worst loss – Southern Illinois (#198)

Nebraska

RPI Ranking – #41
Record against top 50 teams – 3-7 (wins against Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Michigan State)
Record against top 51-100 teams – 5-1 (split vs. Illinois, sweep vs. Indiana; wins vs. Georgia and Minnesota)
Worst loss – UAB (#143)

Minnesota 19-12 (8-10)

RPI Ranking – #51
Record against top 50 teams – 3-8 (wins against Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Iowa)
Record against top 51-100 teams – 3-2 (wins against Florida State, Richmond, and Indiana)
Worst loss – Purdue (#139)

Providence 20-11 (10-8)

RPI Ranking – #54
Record against top 50 teams – 2-6 (wins against Creighton and Xavier)
Record against top 51-100 teams – 4-4 (splits vs. Georgetown, St. John’s, Marquette; win against La Salle)
Worst loss – Seton Hall (#148)

UWGB 24-6 (14-2)

RPI Ranking – #63
Record against top 50 teams – 1-2 (win against Virginia)
Record against top 51-100 teams – 3-1 (two wins vs. Cleveland State; win vs. Tulsa)
Worst loss – Valpo (#187)

The comparative teams were selected because they are the most relevant to basketball fans in the midwest. UWGB is not projected as an at-large team by anyone, while Nebraska is in and Minnesota and Providence as among the first four out on ESPN. Providence is among the last four in, and Minnesota is on the first four out list on cbssportsline.com.

Clearly, Indiana State is likely to be viewed by the selection committee as part of a different league. The win over Notre Dame appeared to be a big win when it happened on November 17, but the Irish finished the regular season with an RPI ranked #124.

Lansing is an excellent coach who should get some serious looks for bigger jobs after the season ends, and Jake Odum has been a terrific player in Terre Haute for what seems 17 years, but there is not a compelling case to be made in favor of their inclusion in the NCAA Tournament.

Big Ten Tournament – Does Indiana Have a Chance to Punch Ticket by Going Four for Four?

by Kent Sterling

Indiana will wear these alternate jerseys during the Big Ten Tournament. Hopefully, they bring some luck through the weekend.

The Big Ten Tournament is going to be won by one of the eight teams that will play into the quarterfinals on Thursday. That’s bold talk given that four of the eight will be on a bus or plane home by the time play starts Friday.

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Indiana will play Illinois Thursday at 12p for the right to play top-seeded Michigan on Friday, and given that the Hoosiers have won consecutive Big Ten games only one time in 2014, the odds would appear stacked against them to make it to Saturday.

But the Illinois game is a coin flip, and the Hoosiers were efficient when they shot the ball Saturday in Ann Arbor in a four-point loss. The 15 turnovers Indiana committed are a big concern, and the low total of six they forced Michigan to cough up are equally problematic.

No team could run through the entire Big Ten schedule without a loss, but all that has to happen for a team to win this tournament is to put together four good wins in a building that is strange to most. Why not Indiana?

The semifinal game in the top half of the bracket would be against the survivor of the Nebraska vs. Ohio State/Purdue game. I wouldn’t bet against Purdue as the team to come out of that quadrant. Nebraska has won eight of their last nine games behind second year coach Tim Miles who has the Cornhuskers in a spot for the school’s seventh berth in the NCAA Tournament (without a single win).

And while it would be really weird to see Nebraska succeed in the Big Ten Tournament, anyone who has watched wing Terran Petteway play knows that betting against the Cornhuskers is a fool’s errand. Petteway defends well and scores 18 points per game in his first season in Lincoln after transferring from Texas Tech.

The good news for Indiana fans is that all but one of the teams on the other side of the bracket (Michigan State, Minnesota, Iowa, Northwestern, Penn State, and/or Wisconsin) will be sent home before they could possibly play the Hoosiers.

No one in his right mind would believe for a second that Indiana should be favored to win this tournament from the #8 seed, but until they lose, there’s a chance, and a chance leads to hope, and every once in awhile hope in the face of logic is validated.

That’s not a compelling case, but there is no team in the Big Ten has been immunized from the potential for an upset by one of the second division teams. The Hoosiers just need to move past the Illini, and then pull a rabbit out of big red hat three straight times.

One thing fans can count on from Indiana is that they will fight. There have been many opportunities for the Hoosiers players to fold their tent, but have battled through adversity repeatedly – granted, a good portion was self-inflicted.

Indiana has a chance to save the season and change the narrative, and it’s a longshot that fans have every right to attach themselves to. Once the season ends – and let’s face it, an invitation to the NIT is not an extension to the season for anyone but the players, coaches, administration, and parents of the players – we can sit in judgment of this team and be more declarative about its direction and legacy.

The future can wait, but the Big Ten Tournament starts Thursday, and a small chance to win four in a row is still a chance. Somebody has to run the table, and the team that will do it plays on that first day.

Trip to Jamaica Clears Slate; Provides Focus; Rum Soaked Wisdom Accepted

by Kent Sterling

This isn’t a conference room, but I had a series of meetings in this pool that beat the hell out of anything I have had under fluorescent lights.

At some point, people just need to take a fire hose to the dry erase board. It doesn’t take many lists to turn clarity into clutter, and what was once a reasonable thought process morphs into a cacophony of clutter John Nash – the Russell Crowe character from “A Beautiful Mind” – would be proud of.

My process is to pull up stakes and head out on a long weekend trip to someplace warm with people who enjoy laughing as much as I do. The laughs bleach my mind, and then ideas come that replace the mess. The best part is that the process is about as much fun as I can have.

The destination this time was Lucea, Jamaica – about 20 miles west of Montego Bay, but the place has nothing at all to do with the level of fun. This was the third time in five years we have roamed south during the winter, and the only difference between Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, and Jamaica is the level of convenience in travel.

I’m not a demanding traveller, so as long as the amenities are within a reasonable range of decency, there is no reason to complain.

We always head for an all-inclusive place because vacations are supposed to be times of relaxation, and making sure I have enough cash in my pocket to enjoy the day is a worry. Worry doesn’t work for me.

As much as I enjoy the routine of my life, it’s key to occasionally jettison it in favor of something different. Given spouses, kids, business, and other responsibilities, it’s tough to find a few days to gather with friends, but the results are always so positive that it stuns me we don’t do it more often.

The conversations with Paulie Balst and Jim Priebe are always the same. Lots of laughs and messages of empowerment for people who stumble into us, and they aren’t always communicated with patience.

When you are going to be somewhere for a couple of days, there is no time to consider feelings, and why the hell would you anyway? There are thousands of people in a resort like the Grand Palladium, and if what we are going to tell people is to believe in themselves, there usually isn’t much chance of being punched.

The payoff is what we are told. Sure, people are drunk, and they blather on a bit about the minutia of their lives, but there are nuggets of wisdom that resonate and find a place in our databanks.

What was most engaging on this trip was the number of people we met who are facing a major decision. They can continue on a worker bees – making money for an employer while drawing a salary – or strike out on their own by making a bold decision that will test themselves.

Our message was always the same – bet on yourself. Two things happen when you push your chips into the middle of the table. Either you win or you learn what would have caused you to win. That is called a no-lose scenario. Failure only exists in our imaginations.

That’s a pretty good lesson to hear reaffirmed while relaxing on vacation – as long as you aren’t so filled with rum that you can’t remember it.

The timing of the trip couldn’t have been better for me. Writing is a celebratory pursuit for me, but it’s also executed in isolation. Being surrounded by friends and happy strangers for four days was re-energizing.

Four days laughing is not only good for the soul, but also good for business development. You will see that development on this website and on all media over the coming weeks and months. Hopefully, our conversations with others in Jamaica were just as productive.

Dallas Cowboys Continue to Paint Themselves into a Corner with Tony Romo Restructured Deal

by Kent Sterling

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has smiled and frowned after games since 1997 exactly 136 times each. His prize possession embodies mediocrity.

Some guys get it, some guys don’t, and then there is Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who today announced the restructuring of quarterback Tony Romo’s deal to shave $10 million off the Cowboys 2014 salary cap number.

That will serve the Cowboys well in 2014, but it 2015 Romo’s new deal will carry a $27 million cap load. At the 2014 cap level of $133M, $27M represents over 20% of the team’s salary. Given the 53 roster slots, that makes for some easy math to calculate the average salary for everyone else – $133M-$27M = $106M/52 = just over $2 million.

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Cowboys fans who don’t understand why their favorite team is so relentlessly mediocre need no further evidence that Jones is the problem, and as long as he’s running things, they have no hope to succeed.

The past three seasons, the Cowboys have finished 8-8, and from 1997-2013 they sport a perfectly mediocre record of 136-136.

In those seasons, Cowboys fans have enjoyed watching seven quarterbacks lead the team in passing yards, five running backs lead the team in rushing, ten wideouts lead in receiving yards, six head coaches, and one owner who refuses to get the financial ledger in order so they are able to build for the future.

No quarterback in NFL history has been worth $27 million for a season, but the guy to whom Jones is allocating a nearly two-mile tall stack of dollar bills (3,225 yards) has played in a total of four playoff games in eight seasons, and has won one of them. ONE.

Romo, who will be 35 for the 2015 season, has led the NFL in four statistical categories during a season in his career – interceptions in 2012 (19), fumbles recovered in 2011 (6), comebacks in 2012 (5), and passing yards per attempt in 2006 (8.6), and he will count more toward the cap than any other quarterback in history.

The problems with the Cowboys aren’t caused by Romo’s mediocrity, which is simply a symptom, but by the win now idiocy that has been the hall mark of Jones management since he bought the team. It worked before the financial rules governing player salaries were adjusted to promote parity.

While other teams have learned to live within the means mandated by the NFL, the Cowboys have always tried to game the system to maximize their chances to win now. The results have never measured up to Jones ego or hubris.

For people who love to root against the Cowboys, today’s announcement of the restructuring of Romo’s contract was great news because now they have no chance at all to win in 2014 or 2015.

Jones built a beautiful stadium, has become the poster boy for the Cowboys, and has figured out how to monetize the Cowboys brand like no owner in America ever has, but in building a winner, he has been a failure for the aggregate of the past 17 seasons.

Jones is nowhere near dumb, but he has shown an abject inability not to jump for the quick validation, and as fans in Indianapolis, New England, and Green Bay have discovered, the long play is the smart play. He’s like one of those nuts in Texas Hold ’em that goes all-in with a pair of eights. One in every four hands he feels like a genius. In 30 minutes, he’s busted no matter what cards he pulls.

Patience, planning, and persistence wins in the NFL, and Jones embraces none of them.

The worst part for fans of a team where the owner is also the GM is when he gives himself a performance appraisal, he tends to get very good grades.

As long as Jones owns the Cowboys, he will be continually confound by why he can’t catch a break. He’s too close to the trees to see the forest, but fans know, Dallas media knows, and you know. The answer is staring back at Jones in the mirror every morning.

Now, if only the national media would stop covering the Cowboys like they are Super Bowl Champions.

Baseball’s Replay System – Antiquated and Plodding, Much Like the Game Itself

by Kent Sterling

Close calls have been a part of baseball for over a century, but now those calls will result in a two-plus minute delay, if yesterday’s test is any indication.

The first test of the new replay system for Major League Baseball was a disaster. An already slow game was halted for more than 4 1/2 minutes as two plays at first base were challenged – and upheld.

Whoever designed this system has no interest in efficiency, which is not surprising as baseball has retained all of its quaint ploddingness while taking itself much more seriously each decade. The result of batters stepping out between every pitch and other game slowing strategies has been games that routinely last more than three hours.

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Here is how the replay system works – umpires are alerted to a challenge by the manager. Two umpires saunter over to an area outside one of the dugouts, put on headset mics to explain the challenge and wait for the review. When the review is completed, the result is communicated via the headphones to the two umpires.

Yesterday, that process took 2:34 and 2:04. At home, I knew the correct call in 20 seconds.

Unnecessary delays are nothing new in professional sports. The NFL’s replay protocol is, if anything, goofier than baseball’s. The referee toddles to a replay booth located on one of the 20 yard lines to watch the replay himself. This occurs despite a booth filled with official types in a press box suite who review each and every play during the game themselves. Many times, they know the result before the ref gets to the booth, but the ref needs to look at the same footage again and again to confirm what everyone in the press box and at home has already known for at least a minute.

Why these officials can’t be fitted with IFBs earpieces that use bluetooth technology to send and receive audio is a mystery. At arenas all over the country, team employees wear IFBs to give and receive instructions. The Secret Service uses them to protect the president. Umpires and refs can’t? Thousands of fans wear bluetooth activated phones as they watch NFL or MLB games. When there is a bad call, they call a friend and ask whether it was a good or bad call. That system works better than football or baseball’s.

That’s right, some fan is section 306 knows what’s going on long before the people paid to adjudicate game action.

Here is the way replay reviews should be conducted everywhere –

Call is made
Call is disputed
Call is challenged
Official says into mic, “Call at first challenged in Cubs vs. Brewers game.”
Pause while replay official housed in a monitor filled bunker reviews play
Replay official communicates result of review
Umpire signals call

From steps 3-7, the time elapsed should never exceed 30 seconds.

I tried on a pair of Google Glasses at the NFL Combine, and I could view a high def video of anything I could imagine in mere seconds. The gadget costs $1,500. NFL referees need to walk 80 yards to a booth to watch a TV under a hood?

This all assumes that replay is necessary or desired. Whether a team wins or loses is one of the least important elements of our lives. Even if we love a team, life goes on. As a Cubs fan, my heart still sinks when I see a replay of Moises Alou being prevented from catching a fly ball in foul territory with one out in the eighth inning of Game Six of the 2003 NLCS by the green turtleneck clad fan whose name I will not utter, but did my life change in any substantial way.

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Making a correct call is not brain surgery. Mistakes are not punished by the death of victims. For decades, human beings made the best calls they could, and fans loved the games. But if replay to confirm the work of humans must exist, the very least that could be done is to speed up an accurate review. I could convene a blue ribbon panel of fans from my neighborhood and come up with a much better protocol in an hour over a couple of beers, and guys with advanced degrees in $4,000 suits came up with “walk over to two pairs of headphones and wait for two minutes.”

Adding an additional two-plus minutes every time a call is close enough to be challenged is not just wasteful, it reflects a laziness in design that is worse than the problem it’s designed to solve.

Indiana Basketball – Hope for Meaningful Postseason Lives in Bloomington after Win Over Ohio State

by Kent Sterling

How hard is Tom Crean willing to work? Thiiiiiiis much!

Cynics among Indiana Basketball fans have called for the curtain to come down on the 2013-2014 Hoosiers season for weeks, but with two games left Indiana is still playing for a chance to get to 9-9 and lay claim to an at-large bid to the Big Dance.

This team was left for dead after home losses to Big Ten cellar dwellers Northwestern and Penn State. Another loss to the third leg on the last place stool in West Lafayette didn’t help, but home wins against #3 Wisconsin, #10 Michigan, # 20 Iowa, and #22 Ohio State have kept the Hoosiers heart beating.

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At 7-9, Indiana is one-half game ahead of Minnesota, a game-and-a-half in back of Ohio State and two behind Iowa and Nebraska. If Indiana beats Nebraska Wednesday night, and can find a way to win what might very well be a meaningless game for Michigan in Ann Arbor, they have a chance to finish in a tie for fourth in the Big Ten.

Sure, Nebraska will need to lose to #14 Wisconsin in Lincoln on Sunday, Ohio State will have to lose to #18 Michigan State Sunday, and Iowa will have to lose to Michigan State Thursday and at home to Illinois Saturday, but it could happen.

The odds aren’t great for all those dominos to fall right, but four days ago the chances of Indiana leapfrogging six teams in the conference to reach a tie for fourth were equal to my chances of presenting an Oscar next year.

This is by far the weirdest Indiana basketball season in my memory. Every time the Hoosiers earn enough equity to be seen as favorites, they stumble badly; every time they look dead in the water, they pop to their feet and fight.

Teams reflect the personalities of their coaches, and the Hoosiers mirror Tom Crean. Some fans like to point to Crean’s quirks as though they define him, but the trait that is most obvious and valuable to Crean is his ability to work through adversity. That is what Indiana has done throughout Crean’s era at Indiana. He finds a way to compete and succeed when not gifted with the easiest of roads, and while most of the adversity Indiana has faced has been of its own creation, they have passed on every opportunity to fade.

There have been injuries, and arrest, suspensions, games filled with uninspired off the ball movement, and confusion on the defensive end, but what there has never been is resignation. That’s Tom Crean.

Fans can question whether the offense is too complicated or the freshmen (or sophomores, juniors, or seniors) have learned enough about basketball under Crean to be able to win by using their wits, but what can’t be questioned is whether they have learned to fight and claw regardless of the improbability of success.

Indiana is in a position to redeem itself over the next five days, and that is due to the example set by Crean and his staff.

Alive is alive, and dead is dead. The dead aren’t alive, and the living aren’t dead. Until Indiana loses that 10th Big Ten game, they live, and they played like it Thursday and yesterday.

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If Indiana wins Wednesday at home, then Saturday is the key. If they win Saturday, they will get a reasonable seed in the Big Ten Tournament. A couple of wins in Indianapolis, and IU goes into selection Sunday 21-13 overall, with an 11-10 conference record. That gets the Hoosiers in – despite a ridiculously weak non-conference schedule.

Today, the Hoosiers are on the outside looking in at 17-12 overall, 7-9 in conference, an RPI ranking of 76, and a BPI ranking of 62. But the field isn’t going to be selected today. They is still plenty of heavy lifting to do, but Crean and the Hooisers seem to relish the opportunity to prove others wrong through hard work.

Many will say what I have said in the past – that the 2013-2014 Hoosier defies explanation, but that’s not true. I was wrong The explanation for this second season on the brink is the same as that of Tom Crean’s career success – hard work yields a positive result.

Unlikely isn’t impossible unless you make it so. The odds of a high school basketball player from Michigan who rarely saw the court finding a way to be the head coach at Indiana are impossible to calculate, but it happened, and makes the Hoosiers road to the NCAA Tournament look like a walk in the park.

Mark Cuban Tells ESPN, “There’s no reason for the NCAA to exist – none”

by Kent Sterling

Mark Cuban is smart and honest, and that makes him the enemy of the NCAA establishment.

Mark Cuban is really smart and really blunt. That makes him a headache for the people and systems about whom he talks, and the reason Major League Baseball approved the shoddy offer of Tom Ricketts rather than his, but that’s a different story.

Tonight, ESPNDallas.com posted some comments by Cuban about the lack of need for college basketball as a preparatory service for the NBA that are as controversial as they as logical.

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NBA commissioner Adam Silver has recently made news by recommending that the one-and-done rule be amended to a two-and-done scheme, but Cuban has no interest in stopping there, “The NCAA rules are so hypocritical, there’s absolutely no reason for a kid to go [to college], because he’s not going to class [and] he’s actually not even able to take advantage of all the fun because the first semester he starts playing basketball. So if the goal is just to graduate to the NBA or be an NBA player, go to the D-League.”

For a league with roughly 450 players earning over two-billion each year and another 200 or so in the NBDL, subsidizing a college education as part of playing in the pros would cost owners no more than tip money, and the result would likely be a more salable NBDL product plus an abandonment of the NCAA’s hypocrisy in referring to collegiate short-timers as student-athletes, “You don’t have to pretend. We don’t have to pretend. A major college has to pretend that they’re treating them like a student-athlete, and it’s a big lie and we all know it’s a big lie,” Cuban said.

“At least at most schools, not all. … But we can put more of an emphasis on their education. We can plan it out, have tutors. We can do all kinds of things that the NCAA doesn’t allow schools to do that would really put the individual first.”

No one should be naive enough to believe that Cuban wants to operate the NBDL as a charitable wing of the NBA that is altruistically dedicated to the betterment of very tall and athletic men who would prefer a direct line toward earning money rather than taking classes that are as absolutely meaningless to the betterment of their lives and S100 Sociology was for me at Indiana University.

But if it takes some chump change to placate the parents of 18-year-olds in order to start the process of slurping up some of the vast cash that falls to the NCAA from media deals and major college ticket sales, what the hell.

The question is whether it would be better for kids bound for the NBA to learn some life skills under the tutelage of some mentors, or stuffed into a lecture hall with 300 other bleary eyed adolescents who’ve yet to figure out what they want out of life.

Is it better for everyone to have pros be pros and student-athletes be student-athletes? As always, Cuban makes a lot of sense. He admits he hasn’t thought the whole thing through, but as usual his partial effort is a lot more lucid and to the point than anything else being offered by the self-serving wonks who currently determine policy in a complicated world where no one speaks or acts on behalf of those kids who toil for scholarships that pay for their year in study table purgatory.

“Then you wouldn’t be under the stupidity of the NCAA,” Cuban said. “There’s no reason for the NCAA to exist. None.”

Welcome to the shark tank, Tom Emmert.

[Ed. Note: When Cuban talks about college basketball, it’s not from a place of hate. Much of the money he made from the development and sale of audio.com was driven by his love for Indiana Basketball. He wanted to hear Don Fischer call Indiana games while living in Texas, outside the range of the radio stations carrying the Hoosiers broadcasts. Cuban assumed there were others like him. He was right, and became insanely rich as a result.]