Author Archives: Kent Sterling

NBA Finals Is Over – Spurs Seal the Deal with the Game One Win

by Kent Sterling

One of these guys plays basketball like a champion.

There are series where a game one road win is fool’s gold, and then there are those that foretell things to come. The last two champions lost game one in the Finals, righted the ship, one won the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Last night was not like the last two game ones.

The San Antonio Spurs sliced and diced the Miami Heat defense, executing so well that the 20+ turnovers by the Indiana Pacers in game seven three nights earlier were trimmed to four.

Kawhi Leonard was also a huge factor in limiting LeBron James effectiveness and efficiency. With Leonard matched up on James, he shot 2-8 from an average distance of 16 feet. When defended by someone else, James made 5-8 from an average of nine feet.

Anyone who watched “Sports Science” on ESPN will remember that despite being only 6’7″, Leonard’s wing span is over 7’4″, and that he can cover 240 cubic feet of space with his mammoth hands without leaning or moving his feet. Leonard’s hand is 11 1/2 inches from the tip of his thumb to the tip of his pinky.

What’s that mean? It means he is genetically predisposed toward being an amazing defensive player. If you have average sized hands, you would need to add pinky to your other pinky to have hands that damn big. It also means that LeBron James is not going to be able to be counted upon for 30+ points every night.

With Chris Bosh relegated to the role of a 6’11” wing, and Dwyane Wade playing on one leg, the Heat are in big trouble.

Long layoffs don’t usually help a team opening on the road, so it’s likely the Spurs weren’t at their best last night either, and that’s trouble for the Heat.

The Spurs averaged 25.1 assists per game during the regular season, and 23.1 for the postseason. Last night, they cashed only 16 and shot 48.1% in the regular season and 46.5% in the postseason. They shot a slightly lower 41.7% last night.

All that spells trouble, as does the lack of production for the Heat in the fourth quarter. James scored six points on 2-4 shooting, and two free throws. Ray Allen had four free throws. Bosh made a 19-footer (a shock only in that he made it), and Chris Anderson knocked down his only two shots. Wade chipped in two misses.

Only six players in NBA history have ever scored at least 18 points, notched 18 boards, and dished 10 assists in a Finals game. LeBron is the only player to do it twice, and he’s also the only guy to lose while doing it – and he lost both times.

The Spurs have won game one in each of their trips to the NBA Finals, and they have won the series each time.

The Spurs are now 13-2 in the playoffs, while the Heat are 3-4 in their last seven.

Gregg Popovich is 20-3 in seven-game series when winning the first game.

But it’s not the wacky statistics that will seal the Heat’s doom – it’s the excellent brand of basketball that Popovich teaches and the Spurs play. They do it the Indiana way with crisp ball movement, fundamentally sound defense, and their ability to hit open shots.

If the Pacers couldn’t beat the Heat, it will be fun to watch them be vanquished by a team that plays basketball the right way.

Former Miami of Ohio Hoops Coach Charlie Coles Dies at 71

by Kent Sterling

Charlie Coles died today, and that’s a sad thing for college basketball. Having retired 15 months ago, Coles barely had any time at all to enjoy being away from the game. The game sure didn’t enjoy having him away from it.

I spent a single day with Coles seven years ago when he hosted my son on an unofficial visit. We spent most of the time with assistant coaches Frankie Smith and Ryan Pedon, but the couple of hours with Charlie gave us a unique chance to understand why people either loved him or were baffled by him.

Frankie and Ryan spent a considerable amount of time telling us stories about Charlie. One in specific that I remember well was about Charlie’s lack of desire to learn how to access or use the internet. In 2006, Charlie didn’t use email. Even then, everyone I knew had a minimum of one email address, but Charlie didn’t.

When he needed to complete an online questionnaire on compliance for the NCAA, Charlie treated clicking on the selections as a video game. “Here I come, I’m honing on it,” he would say as he brought the arrow closer to the correct circle.

His stories over lunch were bizarre, and for awhile I felt my forehead furrow in confusion. Some had a point, and others didn’t. I remembered feeling the same way when I saw Al McGuire speak at Indiana University in the early 1980s. Until I gave in to the odd joy of puzzlement, I felt like there was something wrong with me. After understanding that stories didn’t need a tidy conclusion, I enjoyed Charlie’s company thoroughly.

That he decided against pursuing my son was disappointing because I knew there was a lot about life that he could teach my son.

Sad that he’s gone too soon at the age of 71. There are a lot of people who will enjoy life less because they won’t be exposed to Charlie’s wisdom. We should celebrate, though, that so many were.

Polka Boy Tonight at the Rathskeller – Accordionist Jeff Russell Tells Story of Singing “Back in Black” as Ethel Merman

by Kent Sterling

Accordionist Jeff Russell is looking forward to performing tonight at the Rathskeller.

My enjoyment of Polka Boy on a beautiful Friday night as the Rathskeller in Indianapolis is well-documented. That tradition is one that I honor every single time it happens.

I wrote a little bit about Polka Boy opening the biergarten earlier in the spring, and accordionist Jeff Russell was nice enough to correct some of the apocryphal stories that had circulated about the band -= like that all went to the IU School of Music.

Jeff was generous enough to sit down over a beer at Patrick’s in Zionsville to set me straight. It was great to meet the guy who sings “Back in Black” as Ethel Merman – always a highlight of the evening – although frightening to kids, as I found out.

Tonight, you can see Indy’s best party band live at the Rathskeller.

To give you some perspective on what you will see and hear tonight, here’s Jeff telling the story of how he came to don a wig to sing the AC/DC classic as one of the great entertainers in Broadway history.

Chicago Cubs – 3B Kris Bryant May Solidify Infield for a Generation

by Kent Sterling

Hurry to Chicago, Kris Bryant! Hurry!

The Chicago Cubs may be totally bereft of quality pitching in the minor leagues, but if second overall pick in last night’s MLB Draft is as good as most believe, they are going to to be set across the infield for a long time to come.

The infield third to first, as broadcaster Jack Brickhouse used to give it, will be Bryant, Starlin Castro, Darwin Barney, and Anthony Rizzo. The are currently aged 21, 23, 27, and 23. If top prospect Javier Baez, 20, supplants Barney at second, that infield could play together for 15 years.

There remains one problem with the construct of the organization – they don’t have anyone to pitch.

Only six of the Cubs top 20 prospects are pitchers, and none are among baseball’s top 100.

This is only the second draft that current geniuses Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have presided over, so the vacuum of talent in the system is not their responsibility. The former genius that assembled the majority of the players on the Cubs farm was Jim Hendry, whose already ravaged reputation gets worse with each passing season the Cubs have no answers for the holes that continue to develop at the major league level.

Bryant is a third baseman with a simple swing and fast bat. His 31 home runs in 62 games project to 81 over a 162 game season (who says I can’t multiply by two!). More striking was his OPS of 1.313. That number is stratospheric.

College aluminum bats used to be spring loaded, but due to safety concerns the bounce has been reduced, and power at that level is a much better predictor for professional baseball.

One tough aspect of the selection is that Bryant is represented by prickly agent Scott Boras, and that may mean a protracted period of negotiation prior to signing.

With the 41st overall selection, the Cubs took LHP Rob Zastryzny, who posted a 2-9 record with a 3.38 ERA as Missouri scored only 2.5 runs per game in his starts. He struck out 82 and walked only 24 batters on 90 2/3 innings.

Time will tell whether Bryant and Zastryzny will live up to expectations as the Cubs take the long road to rebuild.

The Cubs have had a pick in the top five 13 times since the current system was enacted in 1965. That incredibly sad list of hopefuls reads like a list of war dead – Dean Burk, Terry Hughes, Brian Rosinski, Joe Carter, Shawon Dunston, Drew Hall, Mike Harkey, Kerry Wood, Corey Patterson, Luis Montanez, Mark Prior, Josh Vitters, and now Kris Bryant.

Those players have combined to play in five all-star games while a member of the Cubs.

Before anyone accuses me of piling on, I could have lowered the threshold to top ten picks and included names like Earl Cunningham, Derrick May, Ty Griffin, Jackie Davidson, Ryan Harvey, Herman Segelke, Scot Thompson, and Rick “Superfreak” James, and Brooks Kieschnick.

Now, I’m piling on.

On the plus side, this is only the third time the Cubs have chosen second. Bryant follows Prior and Hughes. Let’s just say the Cubs are due.

If Bryant is the real deal, he’s going to need to generate a lot of runs as who will get keep opponents for scoring is a great question.

Here is the prospect video for Bryant. I don’t want to gush, but his swing reminds me of an amalgam of former Cubs Jim Hickman and Dave Kingman. He’s wide and simple, and the ball leaps off the bat.

College Football – Wisconsin vs. LSU at Reliant Stadium and then Lambeau Field Should Be Copied Everywhere

by Kent Sterling

The deal isn’t done yet, but it appears LSU will open their 2014 season against Wisconsin in Reliant Stadium. The quid pro quo is likely to bring LSU to Lambeau Field as the season opener in 2017. And I like it.

LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva told the media at the SEC spring meeting that the deal is 95% done, “The contract is not signed, but it’s very, very close. I like starting the year with a quality opponent. There is a real possibility we will play in Lambeau Field some time in the future. That year hasn’t been determined yet. I’ve talked to a lot of our fans and our fans will go to Lambeau Field. And it will be a great experience for our players.”

The non-conference season has become so tedious with cupcake after cupcake playing the top programs in pay for play events. This year, the Badgers open against UMass and Tennessee Tech. Michigan plays Central Michigan and Akron (along with Notre Dame and UConn). Ohio State plays Buffalo and Florida A&M. LSU will play Kent State and UAB, and Bama hosts Colorado State and Georgia State.

The endless string of 66-7 games make September a long month. There are exceptions, like Bama vs. Texas A&M on September 14, but the majority of these contests are not only hard to watch, but meaningless.

The Big Ten should be applauded for voting to prohibit scheduling FCS opponents after the 2016 season, an evolutionary step that other conferences should immediately mimic and expand to include the have-not who are a part of the FBS.

I get that 80,321 will march into Camp Randall Stadium to watch the Badgers play Tennessee Tech, just like they will for Ohio State, but taking two programs to neutral sites for made-for-TV classics should be the blue print for the future of college football.

Physics will continue to separate the haves of college athletics from the have nots, and that’s a good thing. Watching an offensive line filled with future NFL players pancake defensive lineman from schools soon-to-be-ex Ohio State University President Gordon Gee describes as the Little Sisters of the Poor is like standing idly by as bullies torment members of the chess club.

The conferences will continue to realign and the major conferences will continue to leverage cash through their TV deals and monetization of their conference networks – as the Big Ten has – that conferences like the Mountain West, MAC, and Sunbelt won’t be able to play the same game.

At the point when the haves completely divorce themselves from the NCAA, there will be competitive games played by every team every weekend. That time might be a decade away, but the two-game series between LSU and Wisconsin is a step in the right direction.

The deal, like I said, isn’t done yet, but all college football fans hope for is a logical outcome and a signed contract. With every great game on the schedule, one less terrible game can be scheduled.

The battle of the delicious smells of the andouille sausage and bratwurst will make the game anticlimactic – all the more reason to make the drive to Green Bay in four years.

Indianapolis Colts – RB Ahmad Bradshaw Is Not the Answer for Colts

by Kent Sterling

Ahmad Bradshaw’s signing would not help the Colts in 2013.

Running backs don’t get healthier with age. Even Ahmad Bradshaw – a 27-year-old coming off a 1,015 yard season for the New York Giants has seen his best days.

The Colts need a little help at running back returning Vick Ballard, Donald Brown, and Delone Carter, none of whom is especially dynamic or likely capable of being the long term answer in the backfield for a team trying to diversify its attack.

The Colts threw a lot last year, ranking sixth in the NFL with 628 pass attempts, but only 17th in yards per attempt. The rushing offense ranked 22nd in yards, and 26th in yards per attempt.

The rushing firm of Ballard, Brown, and Carter distinguished itself only in spurts, but the signing of running backs who have surgery to replace a foot screw in February do not pay quick dividends in September.

The Colts are forced into a position where signing Bradshaw is a consideration because this free agent class intersected with a draft class bereft of great talent at running back. A flawed Eddie Lacy was the best of the draftees, and Bradshaw has been the #1 free agent.

Teams do not let a productive running back hit the open market, and the Giants didn’t just allow it, they forced it by cutting Bradshaw to save roughly $2.5 million against the cap.

Bradshaw’s per carry production receded every year of his career following his rookie season until 2012, when he reverted to his average yards per carry of 4.6.

Franchises in panic work free agency as hard as the Colts are, and the signing of Bradshaw would be a move born of hysteria to try to find a way to prove that the 11-5 record in 2012 was not an aberration, which of course it was.

Math would suggest that the Colts should have won 7.2 games last year, according to pro-football-reference.com. That means the Colts outpaced math by 3.8 wins, which is almost unprecedented for an 11-win team.

A signing like Bradshaw is not unprecedented. In 2011, the St. Louis Rams signed two veteran running backs – Cadillac Williams and Jerious Norwood. Both were in their late 20s, and both crapped out.

Is Bradshaw worth a flyer as a veteran minimum guy? I don’t think so. His signing will reek of desperation, and I’ll bet that if signed by anyone this offseason, Bradshaw does not open the season on an active roster.

Buying a pretty car with a racy motor but also a history of mechanical failures is a risky business. Nothing wrong with taking a peek under the hood, but evaluate it based on what it is today, not what it was four years ago.

NBA Finals – Five Reasons to Watch Even Though You Don’t Care Who Wins

by Kent Sterling

Rarely has a coach and player existed in as much successful harmony as Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan.

Let’s face it, without a rooting interest the NBA Finals are terrible television. The last 90-seconds of a close game can take almost a half-hour, and there is so much physical contact the referees can justifiably call fouls on every possession.

The Miami heat host the San Antonio Spurs tonight in Game One of a best-of-seven series with the Larry O’Brien Trophy on the line. Game time is 9p, so only the unemployed can watch to the end without being groggy tomorrow.

The people in the Eastern Time Zone are used to this indifference from the TV networks, but still need a damn good reason to corrupt a good night sleep to watch the finale of a sporting event.

I’m hear to help. Hear are the five reasons I’m going to watch despite having zero interest in who reigns supreme as the 2013 NBA Champion:

5 – Spurs play Indiana basketball. If any team in the NBA embodies what Hoosiers like to feel defines the style of play developed here, it’s the Spurs.

They move the ball quickly and with precision – averaging an incredible 23.6 assists per game.

Coach Gregg Popovich is a native of East Chicago, Indiana, and has brought an Indiana style of play to the NBA that does not reward the selfishness that is pervasive among most other outfits.

The Spurs seem not to care at all who scores, while the Heat players clearly do value scoring opportunities being distributed their way.

4 – Fun to see Chris Bosh fail. Bosh has always appeared to be the third wheel of the Big Three. He’s like the guy the cool kids invite along out of pity. Dwyane Wade and LeBron James are the real deal, even if Wade is showing serious wear and tear. Bosh who yells and gesticulates wildly during the rare moments of success has become the poster child for overrated huge contract guys in the NBA.

Even in the seventh game against the Pacers when the Heat triumphed and Wade rebounded, Bosh was 3-13 shooting, and scored a measly nine points.

Americans celebrate the fall of celebrities with greater enthusiasm than they do the successes, so watching Bosh in this finals should be a thrill.

If the Heat lose this series, it could very well mark the last time Bosh wears a Heat uniform.

3 – Tim Duncan is one of the best winners to ever play basketball, and because he draws so little attention to himself while playing in San Antonio, few have watched him play enough to understand the beauty of his game.

Duncan is the grim reaper in a tank top who smiles about as often as he loses.

In Duncan’s 15 seasons with the Spurs, San Antonio has gone 4-0 in trips to the NBA Finals, have never won less than 53 games (minus the strike shortened 1999 season when the Spurs won 37 of 50), and have never missed the playoffs – all for the same coach – Gregg Popovich. During the Duncan/Popovich Era, the Spurs record is 905-423 for a winning percentage of 68.1.

2 – LeBron James is a singular talent, and while he possesses none of the charisma of many of the NBA greats who preceded him, watching him do things on the court at a level that have rarely been attempted.

He is at his physical peak, and it is very likely that by the time James wraps up his career, he will be known as one of the five best players to ever lace up a pair of Chucks.

This is a great opportunity to watch today’s version of Wilt and Michael do what he does best.

1 – Gregg Popovich in-game interview. At the end of the first and third quarters, the NBA mandates that head coaches make themselves available to answer two questions from the network’s sideline reporter. Popovich hates this, and his answers reflect that distaste.

His responses are hilarious. Popovich reveals nothing, and glares at the reporter or stares at the ground while offering monosyllabic responses that corrupt totally the intent of the mandate.

Instead of saying nothing with many words, as counterpart Eric Spoelstra does, Popovich says nothing with one word.

Anger is compelling, and that’s why Popovich’s interviews are both the best and worst in sports.

Five Really Nice Guys in Sports

by Kent Sterling

Yesterday, it was the top ten douchebags turn. Today, we turn to five damn good people who play sports. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but are people that I really like for a variety of reasons.

Jon Jay’s easy smile and generosity make him one of the truly good guys in sports.

5 – Jon Jay The St. Louis Cardinals is a slick fielding center fielder whose offensive productivity was solid before this season, but none of that has anything to do with why he’s a nice guy.

Jay lived in the same building that my wife and I called home for almost two years, and my wife chatted him up in the elevator in early-October of 2011. Julie had no idea who Jay was when he got on, and she asked, “Big plans for the weekend?”

He looked at her quizzically, and responded, “I’m going to Philadelphia.” Julie told Jay to have fun. He was on his way to play in Game Five of the NLDS.

The reason Jay makes the list is that every now and then Jay would go clubbing, and would call a person at the building for a ride back to the building. That person’s car died one night, and when Jay called for a ride, the guy told him that the car was dead.

Within a week, Jay brought the guy around to the front of the building to present him with a new car. He told the guy, “Can’t have my man without a ride.” Jay also included an envelope filled with cash to cover the license, registration, and a significant amount of gas.

Jay is no multimillionaire either. He’s never made more than $524,000 in any season.

Fred Glass does what we should all do – enjoy his work.

4 – Fred Glass Fred is the athletic director at Indiana University not because being an athletic director is his business, but because it sounded like a cool thing to do. While many ADs spend there time trying to impress everyone with what they know, Fred goes to work everyday trying to make the experience of being a student-athlete more rewarding for Hoosiers.

He does cool things without trying to outsmart the system. and he is the principal architect of the Excellence Academy at IU – a place where athletes have access to everything they need to achieve once they enter their professional lives.

Under Glass, Indiana athletics have progressed to the point where it is ranked third (tied with Michigan) in the country, just behind Duke and Alabama.

Good heart, good results, and a really nice guy.

You don’t realize the size of Roy Hibbert’s heart until you meet him.

3 – Roy Hibbert The Pacers center is as nice as he is tall. He has a big laugh, and I’ve never seen him anything but very friendly with fans.

Hibbert buys a block of tickets for fans in Area 55, who were nutty and loud when the Pacers product demanded neither.

The Indiana Children’s Wish Fund will be the beneficiary as Hibbert and Colts defensive end Robert Mathis host the Fifth Annual Celebrity Softball Challenge in memory of Caroline Symmes at Victory Field one week from today (June 13) from 5p-9p at Victory Field in downtown Indy.

Ryan Dempster devotes a lot of energy to helping families affected by St. George Syndrome and making people laugh by imitating Will Ferrell imitating Harry Caray.

2 – Ryan Dempster There was always a lot to like about Dempster when he was a Cubs pitcher. He lived in the neighborhood near Wrigley Field, and while many players drive tricked out and crazy expensive cars to the ballpark everyday, Dempster rode his bike.

He competed like hell, agreeing to transition from the starting rotation to closer, and always working hard to make fans smile.

Then in 2009, Dempster’s daughter was born with DeGeorge Syndrome. The insidious genetic affliction caused her to spend her first ten weeks in the hospital without the ability to swallow.

Dempster responded by founding the Dempster Family Foundation which raises awareness of DeGeorge, and supports research for its treatment.

His Harry Caray impression is really more an impression of Will Ferrell impersonating Harry Caray, but his enthusiasm in performing it is always top notch.

Reggie Wayne shows up at training camp ready to help build the Colts another winning team.

1 – Reggie Wayne In an age when wide receivers appear to have a common behavior disorder, Wayne does his job with a smile and treats everyone he meets like an equal.

Wayne will turn 35 late in the 2013 NFL season, and shows no signs of slowing down having caught 106 balls (the second highest number in his career) in 2012. If he has a reasonably productive 2013 and 2014, Wayne will move into third place all-time in receptions, behind only Jerry Rice and Tony Gonzalez.

He is one of the best to ever play wide receiver, but he has managed to remain a completely normal human being.

Reggie was an attendee at one of Eddie White’s annual Christmas Extravaganzas, and while he was being fawned over by women at the party for having a superior posterior, Reggie was gracious and decent. The borderline creepy display by the broads did nothing to turn Reggie surly or creepy. He smiled and deflected the inappropriate liquor fueled praise.

He is always every bit as graceful with fans as he is on the field. Bill Polian drafted him 30th in the 2001 NFL Draft, and his work ethic lands him as the third most productive player in that draft, just behind Drew Brees and LaDainian Tomlinson. His work in the community makes him an even better citizen in Indianapolis.

Chicago Cubs GM Jed Hoyer Tries to Pass Nonsense as Insight

by Kent Sterling

Jed Hoyer is the GM of the Cubs, and I hope his actions make more sense than his words.

I’m not sure whether Chicago Cubs General Manager is an idiot, full of crap, or made an inept effort to cover for his team yesterday on Buster Olney’s podcast.

Below are quotes followed by unpleasant realities:

“Usually you draft starters in the draft, and a lot of the best relievers are failed starters and I think you have to really do that year after year after year. I think that’s how you end up with a good bullpen. Going out in the offseason and deciding, OK, we’re going to spend money on the bullpen, that’s a total fool’s errand.”

Except that the Cubs went out and spent $9-million to sign Kyuji Fujikawa for two years, who proved Hoyer’s point by requiring Tommy John surgery later in June. [Note for Tom Ricketts accountant – Hoyer’s inability to follow his own sage wisdom will require you to draw a line through that $9M as lost capital.] For the $9M, the Cubs enjoyed 12 innings of work from Fujikawa, and an ERA of 5.75.

“The culture of the Cubs was always, swing early in the count, walks were never something that was emphasized. It’s a really slippery slope, you don’t want to have a bunch of passive hitters on your team. At the same time, walks are indicative of a good approach at the plate, and we don’t have that. We’ve tried to bring in hitters…Rizzo has a good approach at the plate, DeJesus is excellent, Nate Schierholtz, Valbuena’s a good on-base guy. But a lot of the guys we inherited have struggled with that adjustment, and something we have to keep on pounding away at. We’ve said, if guys we inherited aren’t going to do that, we have to find other people because we’re just not going to win baseball games if we don’t get on base more.” Hoyer went on to say this about Castro, “He’ll figure out the on-base thing. He’s just in a slump right now.”

Where to start. If Castro is in a slump as far as walks, it’s been haunting him since birth. Castro has never shown any discipline in any part of baseball. His on base percentage has regressed in the past four seasons from .347, to .341 to .323 to .289 this year. He’s never walked more than 36 times, and is on pace to walk exactly 30 times this season. As for Schierholtz, his great approach at the plate has led to six walks in 154 at-bats.

Hoyer is right about Valbuena, whose OBP is .357, which leads the Cubs. His batting average is a non-robust .248. Good for Valbuena, not so good for the Cubs. In his three years as a semi-regular, Valbuena’s OBPs have been .298, .273, and .310.

Travis Wood, a pitcher, was not mentioned by Hoyer, but he sports an OBP higher than all but three of the Cubs starting eight.

The Cubs’ bench, of whom only Steve Clevenger and his nine ABs were inherited, is responsible for 28 walks in 406 plate appearances, and one of those walks are Clevenger’s.

Yes, Hoyer’s philosophy represents a tidal change.

I would have liked Onley to ask about the acquisition of Edwin Jackson. After signing for 2012 with the Washington Nations at a reasonable rate of $11 million for one year after helping the St. Louis Cardinals to a World Championship, the Cubs rolled up a Brink’s truck to Jackson’s house with $52-million for four years of work. Jackson finished last year for a very good National League East champion team with a pedestrian 10-11 record.

Why the Cubs would commit that kind of cash to a career .500 pitcher toiling for his eighth team despite being only 29 is a question for the ages.

Predictably, Jackson has struggled this year, posting a 1-8 record with a 6.29 ERA and 1.67 WHIP. Jackson is a much better pitcher than that, (hell, I’m a better pitcher than that), but not $13-million per year for the next four years.

The Cubs had zero pitching, but why pay Jackson for more than one year when mediocrity is a virtual certainty.

Hoyer sounds like he knows what he’s talking about with Olney, but a quick glance at the Cubs as they play or the stats they compile tells a different story.

Assessing Hoyer as a GM based upon interludes like this with the media is impossible, but whatever his track record with the Cubs reveals, his estimation of Cubs fans intellect is clear.

And who can blame him when fans continue to pay outrageous prices to watch a terrible team that has no chance of improving until 2015 at the earliest.

Ahh, the Cubs. Same old song. Different singers.

Embattled Incoming Rutgers AD Julie Hermann Speaks – Looking Forward to June 17

by Kent Sterling

What should have been a time of glee and excitement for incoming athletic director Julie Hermann became something else entirely when Rutgers University’s slapdash vetting work got a boost from the Neward Star-Ledger.

The perfect candidate became quite flawed as some rudimentary journalistic shaking of trees dislodged some fruit that landed on Hermann’s head, when it should have buried Rutgers President Robert Barchi.

That Rutgers didn’t find out about the chapter of Hermann’s career that caused her resignation as the volleyball coach at the University of Tennessee is on Barchi, and he should be the guy on the hot seat.

Hermann isn’t completely without culpability as she lied about her recollection of being in the wedding of a subordinate who successfully sued for wrongful termination based on Hermann’s aversion to pregnancy and babies in the workplace.

She was at the school today to meet with Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany and the coaches she will oversee when her tenure begins on June 17th.

Hermann explained her decision to pursue the opportunity at Rutgers has not changed due to the frenzied pursuit of an honest reckoning of her career, “The single reason I got into athletics is that I had a great experience being a volleyball player at Nebraska,” she said. “It was game-changing for me. If we can provide 500 or so opportunities to youth for kids to do that, I’ll go to the mat. I’ll deal with it. I’ll put up with it. I’ll deal with a national embarrassment.”

The media was invited to question Hermann for up to 15 minutes, and they asked her about how tough the last couple of weeks have been. She said it was “heartbreaking” to hear her former players recount their memories of the problems 16 years ago.

That heartbreak is on the hands of Barchi, whose attention to detail is clearly not a strong suit. His every move and non-move of the last three months has caused problems throughout the Rutgers athletic department.

When the outrageous video of men’s basketball coach Tim Rice throwing basketballs and gay slurs at players was circulated through offices at Rutgers, Barchi never requested to see it, and as a result athletic director Tim Pernetti was fired for accepting the recommended too-light-in-retrospect suspension and $75K fine imposed at the time.

Three months later, the tape was leaked to the media, who showed it to a horrified nation. Both Pernetti and Rice were fired, as was the university counsel who allegedly recommended the suspension and fine.

Barchi skated through unscathed.

Eddie Jordan was hired as the basketball coach, and was introduced as a graduate of the university, when he was not. There was no athletic director, so we might assume Barchi at least glanced at the resume’ for the candidates, and had some measure of input in the decision.

Again, a botched administrative effort.

Then, the search committee for the AD position was virtually ignored until the final stages of the process as Hermann was hired. The media significantly one-upped the company hired for $70,000 to conduct background checks on the candidates. And Hermann walked naively into the hornets nest of media when the announcement was made that she would be the person trusted to lead Rutgers into the Big Ten.

Twelve days until her first day in the office, Hermann looked and sounded like a different woman today as she admitted how difficult this has been.

I hope she remembers who caused that pain, and how good Barchi is at using subordinates as career shields when the inevitable problems arise within the department.

Two lessons she should have learned through this torment – lying to the media is done at your own peril, and Barchi is not going to leave himself vulnerable if you screw up. If coaches misbehave, get Barchi to make a recommendation – in writing, with witnesses.

Ahh, the joys of middle management.