The Show Must Go On: Where the Economic Realities of Sport Run Headlong Into Common Sense

There's several things I could post about that I've read in the last couple of days.  I'll start, however, with this one, a conglomeration of four separate incidents over the last two weeks which have, in my mind, a common thread.

The first three come from NA$CAR, and both involve inspection incidents.

• Three drivers were disciplined for illegal cars in the race at the Texas Motor Speedway on April 13.  The two most severely punished were Brad Keselowski (the defending Sprint Cup champion) and Penske teammate Joey Logano.  Both failed pre-race inspections, so much so that Logano almost missed the race, having to start in the back when he failed the inspection on his back end of the car TWICE.  Martin Truex Jr. failed his post-race inspection on his front end.  He finished second at the race. 

As a result:

1.  Keselowski and Logano had the book thrown at them (at least until this week!).  Both crew chiefs were tossed for six races, including the upcoming All-Star Week, for which Keselowski is permanently qualified as a Cup champion.  Logano is also qualified for a win in the last year.
2. The crew chiefs were fined $100,000 each.
3. The same suspensions are levied at the teams' competition directors, engineers, and car chiefs.
4. The teams are docked 25 championship points each.
5. Truex's crew chief was put on probation, and the team and owner were docked six championship points.

• The next day, Ron Hornaday drew a $25,000 fine and 25 points in the Truck series for wrecking another truck under caution.
• And, now, today, an even bigger penalty:  Matt Kenseth, who won last week's race in Kansas on the track, has had basically everything taken away from him for that race except the direct recognition that he won it.  Kenseth failed a post-race inspection because of an illegal part from a European vendor.

As a result:

1. Kenseth has lost 50 points in the Championship.  (The maximum one can gain in a race is 48 -- 43 for winning, 3 for the win, 1 for leading a lap, 1 for most laps led.)
2. Kenseth also loses the three points he would get in the Chase, should he qualify.  (A qualifying driver for the Chase has his/her points equaled with all other Chase drivers.  Then, three points are added to any driver who has won one of the 26 preceding races.)
3. Kenseth also loses the recognition of having the Kansas win for purposes of wildcard qualification.  (Kenseth is now 14th in the points, but because he has another win (Las Vegas), and is the only driver outside the top 10 (applies 11-20, but he's the only one outside the Top 10), he wildcards into the Chase in 11th place.)
4. Crew chief fined $200,000 and banned for six races, similarly to Logano's and Keselowski's.

You realize there's an answer to all this.  It's a simple rule, and needs to be put in place for this week's race and permanently forward:

• If you fail a pre-race inspection, you are parked for the week (additional penalties to the crew chief, etc. apply).  (I've believed this since Knauss' and the 48's misadventures at the likes of Daytona.)
• If you fail a post-race inspection without cause such as Bristol can provide, etc:  You are parked for the next race, you lose all points, awards, honors, and money from the race you failed inspection at, and additional penalties to the crew chief, etc.

One of the things that drives me up the freaking wall is that it is clear that, above and beyond all else, the billboards on the track -- the 43 cars with sponsorships galore -- trump all semblance of common sense.

If you basically make it a disqualification offense to fail inspection, it will happen the grand sum total of MAYBE once more.  Because, then, you're not only going to get people on the car end involved, but the sponsors too.

You've now nailed, in two weeks:  The defending Cup champion, one of the most popular drivers on the circuit, and a former Cup champion who swept pole and race (in dominant fashion) with an illegal car.

Stop catering to the damn sponsors.  Stop thinking the money is the end-all of it.  Park some of these guys.  You start parking them, and the bullshit stops.

But that's nothing compared to this ditty from across the pond, where, once again, the almighty Football Assocation (of English soccer) shows it has no bite to it (pun intended!) at all:

• Luis Suarez has been suspended for a total of ten first-team matches (meaning the last four matches of this season for Liverpool and presumably the first six of next season) for biting Chelsea opponent Branislav Ivanovic in a game Saturday.

I want to indicate how farcical this whole situation was:

1. No official on the pitch saw the bite, even though it was clear on television replays he had done so.
2. Suarez was admitted, by the FA, that he should've been sent off, and immediately "charged" with the Violent Conduct, to indicate the three-match ban for such a straight-red card was insufficient.
3. Suarez was allowed to remain in the game, and scored an at-the-end injury-time (we're talking seventh minute of a six-minute injury time) goal to draw Chelsea 2-2.
4. This is Suarez's THIRD major affront to football in three years.  He was banned for eight matches for ANOTHER biting incident in the Netherlands on November 20, 2010 (which precipitated his removal from the Dutch league to the EPL), and was banned seven matches less than a year later for a racial incident against Patrice Evra.

I asked this question after the Joey Barton incident:

WHAT THE HELL IS IT GOING TO TAKE TO THROW SOMEBODY OUT OF SOCCER?

At minimum, I'd have done the following:

• The match is given to Chelsea, two goals to one.  Two additional points are awarded to Chelsea, the one point unjustly given for the draw is taken away.
• Suarez is banned indefinitely, and the case sent to FIFA for a worldwide ban.

The only reason this guy is allowed on a football pitch in any capacity is, when his head's on straight, he's recognized as one of the ten best players in the world.

Again, it's money.  And the fact of the matter is, it needs to fucking stop.  Joey Barton has no business on a football pitch anywhere for his situation in Manchester last season, which has now basically been accepted as his last match at Queens' Park Rangers.  (He, IMODO, should still be investigated for actions directly resulting in the relegation of his team, even though it turns out that relegation is one year delayed.)

But if we are going to have anything approaching credible sport in this country, we need to stop the bullshit of letting sponsors and money dictate discipline.  They should do that, but in the OTHER direction...

EDIT TO ADD, on the Suarez matter:  Brian Tuohy is at it again, showing people reality, through his soccer reporter Matt Agosta:  Suarez was, until Monday, the leading scorer in the English Premier League (probably one of the main reasons he's going to remain on the pitch.

Manchester United, with four games to spare, has already won the League championship, and won it with a 3-0 win Monday over Aston Villa at Old Trafford.

Agosta and Tuohy point out that the three goals were a natural hat-trick, all scored in the first half, by Robin van Persie -- who now has the leading scorer title at 24 goals.  Suarez finishes his season with 23.

As C&C Music Factory would say:  Things That Make You Go Hmmmmmm....