New York Post Headline Captures Nation's Grief

... although we may be taking it a bit better than the English...

France Faces World Cup Dilemma: Are We Cheaters or Are We Quitters

The French have taken decisive action. The labor unions have called for a nationwide strike while the four people who still work for private industry have gone on a summer-long break.

In other news, the French sports federation has accused Lance Armstrong of doping.

Soccer Primer

If you need a primer on soccer- and you just know that you do -  it doesn't get any better than going to the world wide leader, the Onion Sports Network.

World Cup Fever: US Routs England, 1-1

I know how much you love soccer, American Sports Fan. So, Bud, this goal's for you.

Roy Hobbs Lives: Daniel Nava Stars as the Natural

There aren't so many parallels between Roy Hobbs and Daniel Nava. Nava was cut from his university baseball team and Hobbs was cut down by a psychpath's bullet. Hobbs is fictional and Nava is real. But there are a few broad parallels. And that's where it gets interesting.

In this age of cradle-to-athletic-grave data driven analysis, it is highly unusual for an athlete who has been reviewed, labeled and rejected to later emerge in the major leagues. Daniel Nava did just that. Like Hobbs, his appearance created a "who's that and where did he come from?" reaction.

Nava recovered from being cut and staying on to be the manager of the University of Santa Clara baseball team. From there, he got a short-lived minor league tryout (after having been passed over in the baseball draft) before eventually making a name for himself in the Independent League.

From there, the King of Baseball Database Analysis - Theo Epstein - found him and took a flyer. A $1 flyer. That's all it took to purchase Nava's rights. On Saturday, Nava completed his ascent through the minors and joined the Red Sox to help fill the gaps that Andre Beltre has created in their outfield.

Nava stepped to the plate with the bases loaded against the Phillies who have been to the previous two World Series. The first pitch to Nava resulted in a grand slam, only the fourth such occurrence in baseball history. He's had 4 hits in his first 8 at bats, with 5 RBIs. 

Of course it will be interesting to see where this all goes, For the moment, it's a great feel-good story that even Bernard Malamud - were he still with us - might consider writing. Let's hope there are a lot more major league hits left in Wonderboy redux.

Lookout "W" - "O" Wants (needs) to Kick Ass

Barrack Hussein Obama went on the Today Show the other day and in an amazing interview with Matt Lauer said he was looking for some "ass" to kick over the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. I guess that's what you get with a Harvard education...a potty mouth. Coming out of the mouth of the most powerful man on the planet it surely would scare the heck out of someone like maybe the CEO of British Petroleum. But then again, the Messiah hasn't placed that call. He's way too busy with vacation plans or his pickup b-ball games.
So lookout George.

Hartford Dodges a Bullet: Bring Back the Whalers

For years, the ever-so-ahead-of-the-game civic leaders in Hartford have coveted ESPN Zone. If only an ESPN Zone opened in Hartford, the thinking went, the city would come to life. Alas, the dream is dead.

To Hartford's leaders, bringing ESPN into downtown Hartford made all the sense in the world. After all, the WWL's headquarters is just around the corner in stylish Bristol. And Charlie Steiner once worked in radio in the Insurance City.

So if ESPN would just, please, maybe open one of their health-food outlets greasy spoons downtown, the whole world would see what a wonderful place Hartford really is. And if the crowds of people going the restaurant managed to find parking and avoid being mugged, all the better.

But now that Disney has pulled the plug on the ESPN Zones, Hartford can turn its attention to a more realistic goal - bringing back the Whalers.

A Man for All Seasons

John Wooden was one on my quiet heroes ever since I started watching UCLA basketball beginning in 1964-1965. I shed a few tears over his passing last week.

My first impressions of Coach Wooden were all basketball related. What a coach. They won championships on a yearly basis. He started his run with a line-up of no player over 6'5 and then coached what may be the two best college centers of all time in Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton. But the winning continued even after they left. He was the "Wizard of Westwood". 1975 was his last championship year. He retired, walked away from what no man could ever think to duplicate. The daily grind proved too much. He wanted time to spend with his family, his wife Nell, the love of his life.

So when books started to be written about who John Wooden really was, I was intrigued. I learned about his simple Midwestern roots, deeply influenced by his parents who instilled in him a sense of true character. Honesty, integrity along with deep religious beliefs helped carve the man he would become.

I loved his passion for success and how he would attain it first as an All American player at Purdue and later when his coaching legacy began. He always viewed himself as a teacher first and foremost. He merely used the hardcourt as his chalkboard to bring his philosophy for a lifetime to those he cared most for. And it didn't matter if you were the star player or the last man on the bench. He was all about his team.

In all my readings of people who have either played for or come into contact with John Wooden in some way, I have yet to hear of one you hasn't walked away truly marveling at the man that he was. He was loved by so many. I only wish at some point in my life I could have at the very least have shaken this mans hand. There are long lists of great Americans and I would offer that John Wooden for his complete body of work over his lifetime be considered as one our greatest.

In closing, I've included a poem that he wrote about himself. He wrote poetry in his spare time.

The years have left their imprint on my hands and on my face

Erect no longer is my walk and slower is my pace

But there is no fear within my heart because I'm growing old

I only wish I had more time to better serve my Lord

But I've gone to human prayer, he has brought me inner peace

And soon my cares and problems and other worries cease

He's helped me in so many ways, he's never let me down

Why should I fear the future when soon I could be near his crown?

Though I know down here my time is short, there's endless time up there

That he will forgive and keep me in his ever loving care

British Petroleum Should Close and MMS Heads Should Roll

If a nation or group of terrorists had perpetrated a similar crime, the full weight of the US government would justifiably be focused on revenge.

The spill in the Gulf may be the worst of all time before it's over. The public relations spin machines are in over-drive. BP Chairman Tony Hayward has lurched from minimizing the spill, to making it all about him ('I want my life back') to coming up with cute headlines to describe BPs succession of failed attempts to cap the gaping hole gushing oil.

Now there are ads in which Hayward looks soulfully into a camera to express his sorrow about the spill. All that's missing is a voiceover with Tiger Woods' father. It would all be semi-comical except it's not. It's absolutely real, with real consequences.

Eleven people are already dead. Tens of thousands will have their lives altered permanently.  Untold numbers of people will get sick. An ecological dead zone expanding in the Gulf. And no real end is in sight. 

This should be the end for British Petroleum and for the bureacrats who were supposed to oversee them. The measured response of President Obama is in stark contrast to the consequences that millions of innocent Americans are feeling. It's way too nuanced and rational.  It's time to tell BP to close up shop in the US, never to return.  It's time to clean house at MMS. Tony Hayward and his senior team should be facing criminal charges for their depraved indifference to safety.

If this doesn't reinforce the idea that government oversight has to be at arm's length from the industry it's supposed to be monitoring, nothing will.

Missed Call: Aren't Baseball Games on TV Boring Enough?

Armando Galarraga threw a perfect game. And then he didn't. It's a shame that Galarraga won't get official credit for what he did.

But the calls for instant replay are off base. Jim Joyce missed the call that cost the pitcher his place in history. And yes, having instant replay would have resulted in the 'right' call. But really, does baseball need another reason to slow down? As it is, it's almost as ponderous as football. And it's closing in on cricket. Last night's game lasted 1:44, the shortest game in 5 years. We need more of those.

There is nothing 'instant' about instant replay. Look at the experience of pro football. It takes minutes to resolve the most meaningless situations and drains any athletic drama from the event. Any momentum mustered by either team to that point is lost while officials review, confer and generally look silly in the process.

Instant replay is not the solution. Baseball is moving towards a situation - already faced and unresolved by basketball -  in which the arbiters want 'face time'. As a result, too many calls are becoming situational (such as the "neighborhood" tag at second), personal (the moving strike zone) and arbitrary (balk calls). All ways for umpires to generate controversy and become central to the outcome of the game.

Baseball needs to reinforce the idea that the best umps are the ones no one notices.  Adding instant replay only reinforces the rising visibility of umpires, at the expense of the game.

Bud...Time to Do the Right Thing

First, I consider myself a baseball purist. I don't like messing with the game. I don't particularly like the DH. Pitchers should have to stand in the batters box. If a team wishes to employ a big fat old hitter, then he has to play in the field.

I'm not fond of inter-league play. I hate how MLB has destroyed the All-Star Game for the purpose of home field advantage in the World Series. Best record always wins.

Last night a Detroit Tiger pitcher, Armando Gallarraga, incredibly pitched the third Perfect Game of the year. But on the last out of the game, the first base umpire missed the call. It wasn't close. He blew it and after seeing the replay after the game confirmed as much. He felt horrible and for good reason. A Perfect Game, at least up to this year is a very rare event. Maybe one every 5 or 10 years. It's baseball immortality.

So this is what I want you to do. I want you to evoke the "best interest in Baseball" clause that you alone have power over and reverse the last out and restore this man's accomplishment. All of America has seen and agrees he was robbed. Think of all the good will you can finally gain. But lastly, it's the right thing to do.

Roger Federer: The Streak is Over, Long Live the Streak

The Streak has ended at 23.  Roger Federer lost to Robin Soderling in the quarterfinals of the French Open, snapping his beyond-imagination streak of playing in 23 straight Grand Slam semifinals.  Only Chris Evert, who played in - get this - 34 consecutive semi-finals, has ever had such a long streak of sustained excellence.

It is without question the second most remarkable achievement in the career of the greatest tennis player of all time. The most remarkable? He's played in 20 of the previous 23 major FINALS and 18 of the last 19. He has 16 majors, all since 2003.  Think about it. His first victory was just 7 years ago.

The last time Federer failed to make it to the semifinal at a Slam was six years ago at the French Open. Since then, Federer advanced to every semifinals, a run of almost six years. The Streak led to 139 Grand Slam victories and 14 Grand Slam titles.

Calhoun and UConn: Failing to Promote an Atmosphere of Compliance

The University of Connecticut announced that it had received notice from the N.C.A.A. that its men’s basketball program committed eight major rules violations.

Most of the charges involved Nate Miles in 2006, a recruit who never played for the Huskies.  The charges identified former student manager Josh Nochimson as an agent of the university which was first reported by Yahoo Sports last year. The impending charges led to the resignations of two UConn assistants in the week leading up to Friday's news conference.

Calhoun specifically was cited for “failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance.” This charge is just one step removed from the dreaded (and death-penalty eligible) charge of "lack of institutional control."

The money quote from Jim Calhoun,

“I’m going to be educated by certain matters if indeed we did make mistakes, and we’ll finalize that over the next 90 days and we’ll move forward. No one wants this to happen. Did I see it happening? No. But we’re going to handle it like we always handle things, up front, transparently, and do it the best way we can.” 

As evidenced by his quote, Calhoun is still testing the waters to see if denial will work. It's too late for that. Something did happen. Rules violations occurred. It amounts to cheating. Moreover, I think there may be additional relevant data points, places where the story could take unexpected turns:

• The sudden resignation of the University President who is now President of the University of Illinois (itself a paragon of college sports' virtue).
• The ticket scalping scheme at Kansas, whose AD - Lew Perkins - originally hired Calhoun and the current AD Jeff Hathaway. It's possible that the 'atmosphere' of selective compliance was baked into the organization.
• The cars-for-tickets scheme run by Hathaway a few years ago at UConn.
• Lack of audits for the tickets Calhoun controls and the basketball camp he runs.
• The new contract Calhoun signed just prior to the NCAA charges being made public, a contract that could never have been signed after the charges were revealed.
• The looming shake up in conference affiliations.

There is no doubt that men's basketball encourages cutting corners. Its genesis at UConn is unclear. But it extends far beyond the scope of the NCAA's charges and possibly far beyond current - and recently current - employees. The demands of big-time athletics force many people to make highly nuanced ethical decisions. It's unlikely, though, that anyone at UCONN or at the NCAA cares enough or has the willingness to connect all the dots.