A Number of Thoughts On The Day After...

I'm moving a link to my first-round NBA playoff statistical post here so that it's length doesn't tie up the continuing posts here.  As of this writing, it is not updated for the games of April 30, but will be sometime tonight.

Well, about 32 hours after the banishment, and a lot of thoughts in the head right now...

• Brian Tuohy made a point on his Twitter today:

"Just so I have it straight: Sterling + no proven crime = banned for life. Irsay + drugs/crime/(potential) death = no action from the NFL."

You have it straight...  Most of the way...

And it's the rest of the way that's the problem.  As I said in my response on my Twitter:

"@TheFixIsInTuohy NFL = drugs/crime/potential death An anti-black racist as an owner in a league where most players are black??"

I get what you're saying, but there's three problems with it.

First, the NFL IS drugs, crime, death, potential death, etc.

What you have put next to Irsay's name is part and parcel to the National Religion, and the National Football League in particular.  This is one of the reasons that a growing number of ex-NFL fans are actually (like my contributing friend) calling for the sport's abolition at all levels.

Regrettably, the NFL can continue to function under these clouds.  In fact, it has been hypothesized that, should a player be killed on the field, ratings might well skyrocket in the weeks to follow.

Knowing how sick this country has become, I cannot argue that point.

The second problem dovetails off the first.  The NFL can continue to function under the clouds Irsay provides.

The NBA CANNOT function under the cloud Sterling provides.

In fact, one has to wonder if we, now, have the answer for the 30-odd years of abject incompetence which made Donald Sterling the least-winningest owner in any major American professional sport with 15+ years in the position.

You have all but a member of the KKK, and the league is largely made up of black players.

That's not going to work.  It's not.

The third problem is basically akin to what I said to Jason Whitlock's point in his blog post on the subject yesterday.  (Near the bottom of a very long post...)

I said, in response to his otherwise-correct concern of that TMZ-level discoveries of pillow-talk may be the future level of statements needed for similar action, and that might sting many black athletes, et. al.:

"Perhaps that needs to happen, though.  Perhaps this kind of "parade" [of expelled athletes by these statements] needs to occur, in all sports (consider what NFL players have probably been allowed to get away with for decades now with "fixers" and schools protecting their backs and all that crap)."

and

"Jason, I understand that you support Sterling in no way, shape, nor form.  That said, this needed to happen, and it needs to happen more in the entire sphere of sports.  We are far too corrupt, far too criminal, and far too thug-friendly in sports (at all levels!) not to force a mass house-cleaning.  We are almost certainly to the point that, on the "owner's box" end, we have enough chicanery and stupidity which has allowed a once-"sport" (if you believe football was ever one) to be turned into a player-safety farce which probably now needs to be abolished.
And, as for the players, perhaps it's time we make everybody (no matter how "economically important" you are) toe the damn line."

The fact of the matter is that it may be time for that degree of a "Scorched Earth" house-cleaning, where real examinations are made of the type of people we are allowing to entertain us (and not just in sports!) and of the type of people who control the entities they perform within.

So that's why I can't completely agree with your stand there.  On surface, Brian, you are most correct.  But it's the reality that the sport could not have proceeded a day further (a player's strike was being called if Silver didn't ban Sterling) with Sterling, whereas the Irsay situation appears part and parcel with it's sport.

• The prospective list of potential new owners for the Clippers (or a successor franchise in Los Angeles) appears to be growing.

Magic Johnson was the first, and he was mentioned in the Silver press conference that he would always be welcome as an owner.

(And, please, dear God, to the stupid Laker fans who are probably going to burn jerseys and whatnot...  Stop.  Please, just...  STOP.   The Lakers are not for sale -- Magic has been told this repeatedly.  And the fact that he's buying the Clippers (should he and Guggenheim succeed) under these circumstances will be a massive statement by him and by the National Basketball Association Board of Governors/Owners.)

But there are others.  Perhaps ominously for Los Angeles:  In town for a supposed "fight" of his on Saturday (his opponent is a 12-1 underdog!!), Floyd Mayweather has made it clear he wants to use his many millions and The Money Team to buy (at least a substantial portion of) the Clippers.

The reason I see this ominous:  Could Floyd want to move the team to Vegas?  Yes, he attends LA basketball games all the time, according to the article.  Also, he has a serious racist rant against Manny Pacquiao on his record as well.  But The Money Team is a Vegas operation...

He's not the only boxer wanting a piece.  Oscar de la Hoya, according to the ESPN report, also wants in.

Record mogul David Geffen, Patrick Soon-Shiong (who bought Magic's stake in the Lakers four years ago), Larry Ellison, Rick Caruso also are included in the ESPN report as potential billionaire suitors for the Clippers.

If you include other reports, put Oprah Winfrey (who's denied interest, only slamming Sterling) and Sean "Diddy" Combs in the discussion.

• Unfortunately, as I look at this situation, the craziness of this first round, and the potential for ugliness, chalk this thought up to "What Happens When So Much Goes On In Sports That You Have To Consider A Conspiracy For Everything"...

Let's consider the following scenario...

A number of days/weeks pass between the press conference and actually charging Sterling under the NBA Constitution, to start the timeline toward the Board of Governors meeting where, at least as of now almost-certainly, Sterling will be forced to sell the Clippers.

"But wait a minute!", says Donald Sterling.  "The Commissioner said he will petition the Board of Governors to remove me.  I hereby declare that he has charged me with a sufficient offense under the NBA Constitution to remove my interest as Owner.  If he has not served me with papers to remove me as Owner under the NBA Constitution by 11 AM PDT on May 2 (72 hours after the press conference), he cannot use this to remove me under the Constitution and By-Laws."

So it gets rather interesting, especially given last night's complete lop-sided differential which can be interpreted nothing more than a massive "Kumbaya Moment" for the league after Sterling's banishment.

With San Antonio only struggling to be up 3-2 on Dallas (as of this writing, Game 5 had taken place and San Antonio won it), and with Oklahoma City down 3-2 to Memphis and Indiana 3-2 down to Atlanta going on the road for critical must-win game 6's...

Consider the very real possibility that you would have the following line up of teams as a possibility for the second round:

Miami (already qualified)
Washington (already qualified)
Atlanta
Toronto (who also won their Game 5 at home tonight as of this writing over Brooklyn)

Dallas
Memphis
Houston/Portland (kind of irrelevant, for this argument, which way that 4-5 goes)
and the Clippers (who are 3-2 up on Golden State after last night)

Would that not lead to the very real possibility (especially if, technically, the NBA now controls the legal business interests of the Clippers now, those that Donald Sterling can take no part in because of his banishment) of a Miami/Clippers final?

Let's say Sterling digs in his heels, and forces Silver to push The Big Red Button of Zot and attempt to fold the Clippers instead!

You could end up that, say, Adam Silver would give a June 30 deadline for another Board of Governors meeting to fold the LA Clippers (even if they were to become NBA champions in the interim!!!) and put a new team (with an arrangement in place -- which, under the circumstances, I am almost-certain the other 29 owners would agree to -- that the new team would have the same under-contract players and employees as the current Clippers) in Los Angeles with one of these mega-million/billionaires in the ownership?

Could making the LA Clippers the NBA Champions for 2014 add $500 million to a potential sale price...  that could all go in the pockets of the NBA if Sterling decides to get litigious and the Clippers are force-folded instead of force-sold?

I still, as of right this moment, think Miami is getting a clearer road by the moment to a three-peat.

But if the Clippers were to make a run under THESE circumstances...

Oh boy...

Seven Hours Down The Road..

It's about six in the evening now here in suburbs of LA.

Seven hours ago, Adam Silver, the commissioner of a major sports league, showed a set of fucking balls.

Take notes, Selig.

Get a clue, Goodell.

Adam Silver threw Donald Sterling, one of the precious preferred group known as "owners", out of his league.

I think we need to take a look at the last seven hours, since what I last typed:

• Several things from the Yahoo! Sports "Ball Don't Lie" blog.  The first is something that surprises even me, much less surprised the blog's Dan Devine.  I made a joke in the post this morning about the NBA being a secret handshake society, and in that the NBA constitution and by-laws are secret documents.

They are secret no more.  The NBA published them, in full, this afternoon.

A rather large .PDF document was posted today by the National Basketball Association, as part of Adam Silver's commitment to transparency as Commissioner.

• The relevant question appears to fall under Article 13 of the NBA Constitution, on page 26 by the count of the brochure.  

"The Membership of a Member [that would be a team in the NBA] or the interest of any Owner may be terminated by a vote of three fourths (3/4) of the Board of Governors if the Member or Owner shall do or suffer any of the following:"

"(a) Willfully violate any of the provisions of the Constitution and By-Laws, resolutions, or agreements of the Association."

It would appear as if this gives the power to call a meeting of the Board of Governors to expel Sterling as an Owner.

Because the Board of Governors is consisted of Owners (or designees) with the power to bind teams to their votes (one per team/Member -- Article 18), this would mean that the Commissioner could call upon the owners to force Sterling to sell, and a 3/4 vote, 22 of the other 29, would be required.

• And another note on "Ball Don't Lie" today indicates that might be a fait accompli:  Adam Wojnarowski put together a list of comments from all 29 other teams' owners, indicating either support of Silver's decision or condemnation of the remarks.  True, as Woj notes, it doesn't necessarily mean they would vote for an Article 13 Termination should it come up, but it seems they have the support to do so.
• Sterling, in response, has ominously stated that the Clippers are not for sale.

Oh, really, Donald?

First off, you've already had your business interest as an Owner terminated.  This gives the Commissioner broad powers to actually reassign those interests to whomever he so chooses (Article 14A(b) (which covers termination of all such interests, including that of ownership) seems to indicate that material control of the Clippers, right now, rests with the NBA, who can then sell/give that control to anyone they choose.  It was not completely out of the question to see Magic Johnson with material control of the Clippers in time for their Game 5 showdown with Golden State tonight!), at least with respect to the business decisions thereto.

Second, I would have to think, with the decision to ban you for life, that the process to terminate your ownership completely has been started.

1. Any owner, or the Commissioner, can file a written charge for Termination under Article 13.
2. The Commissioner has three days to deliver that charge to Sterling.
3. Sterling would have five days, from that point, to respond.
4. Within ten days of that response, Sterling would effectively be "tried" by the NBA Board of Governors, with the aforementioned 3/4 vote needed for expulsion.
5. Should he remain belligerent, there is always the opportunity for the NBA to change the Article 13 Termination from that of an Owner to that of the Member -- the full dissolution of the Los Angeles Clippers, according to ESPN's Lester Munson.  Munson says the step would be drastic, but if it's the only way to get Sterling to listen...

And the timing of this could be a very itchy propostion.  Obviously, Silver would like to try to get the other owners and business interests of the league to lean on Sterling to voluntarily sell.  Also, letting some time pass might keep this from completely blowing up the 2014 NBA Playoffs, which Sterling has done a fine job of doing in the first round.

But if the NBA waits too long, or if Sterling actually can get 8 votes to keep him owner of the Clippers, there, in fact, IS the ominous possibility of a player strike:

• Roger Mason Jr., vice-president of the NBA Players Association, stated that, had Silver not come down with this type of punishment, a player strike was on the table as a very real possibility.

In fact, Mason noted that a condition for the continuance of play of these playoffs by the remaining 15 teams (though Charlotte's reps were probably also involved in the discussion, they have been eliminated) was a demand for an Article 13 Termination.

Doubly scary, they were considering starting the strike with tonight's three games.  Commissioner Silver was notified of the consideration.  It appears, according to the ESPN article on the subject, Silver either announced the ban today (and didn't appear to go far enough, but seemed to convince the NBAPA he was going to), or there were no games tonight!!

So, as much as it appears it would behoove the NBA to try to allow some back-door leaning on Sterling to get him to sell voluntarily, it appears that NBA Constitution charges will probably have to be filed against Sterling all but immediately, forcing this story into the forefront over the next three weeks.

(For the record, and continuing-ly ominous:  The reason the NBAPA vice-president has had to take the forefront of this issue is that the President of the NBAPA is Chris Paul...  of the Los Angeles Clippers!)

Most all of the reaction has been positive, but there are some exceptions:

• Jason Whitlock, ESPN:  "Removing Donald Sterling from the NBA solves nothing. It sets a precedent that will likely boomerang and harm the black players and coaches who are shocked and outraged that an 80-year-old man with a documented history of bigoted actions also has bigoted private thoughts.  Let's be careful here. From the owner's box to the locker room, professional sports are overrun with wealthy men in complicated, volatile sexual relationships. If TMZ plans to make "pillow talk" public and the standard is set that "pillow talk" is actionable, it won't be long before a parade of athletes joins Sterling on Ignorance Island."

Perhaps that needs to happen, though.  Perhaps this kind of "parade" needs to occur, in all sports (consider what NFL players have probably been allowed to get away with for decades now with "fixers" and schools protecting their backs and all that crap).

And also consider what a friend of mine responded with: This isn't just one incident of "Ignorance".  This is years and years of problems with racial tensions with this scumbag.  Not only that, but that raises the question as to why this took this, and not the housing lawsuit or the lawsuits by former Clippers employees to get it done.

(And that raises the situation of Sterling deciding to "Scorched Earth" the league with the skeletons he knows about...)

Jason, I understand that you support Sterling in no way, shape, nor form.  That said, this needed to happen, and it needs to happen more in the entire sphere of sports.  We are far too corrupt, far too criminal, and far too thug-friendly in sports (at all levels!) not to force a mass house-cleaning.  We are almost certainly to the point that, on the "owner's box" end, we have enough chicanery and stupidity which has allowed a once-"sport" (if you believe football was ever one) to be turned into a player-safety farce which probably now needs to be abolished.

And, as for the players, perhaps it's time we make everybody (no matter how "economically important" you are) toe the damn line.

• ESPN New York's Ian O'Connor with a piece blasting David Stern for how long this was allowed to go on.

This is one of the major concerns I have with such a bombastic fuck like Sterling (who I just saw on the video with this article has the worst winning percentage of any owner in any major sport in this country with 15+ years as owner).

Donald Sterling, as I've said before, knows where the skeletons are.

And I think part of what you blast, Ian, could be attributed to Sterling making that known.  He was around for "The Jordan Rules", the '85 draft, the work stoppages, etc.

Sterling Banned From NBA, Fined $2.5M

Sounds like we found out this morning (the press conference is either still in progress or wrapped, as I type this) exactly what the maximum penalty under the current NBA constitution is.

Donald Sterling is, at least on an official level, banned from the National Basketball Association for life and fined $2.5 million for his comments, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has confirmed the voice on the recording is Sterling's.

OK.

But now here's the rub:  What does "banned for life" actually mean?

As of the moment, Donald Sterling is still the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers.  However, Silver says he will go to the remaining members of the NBA Board of Governors and he WILL be trying to force Sterling out of his position as owner -- a position which may or may not be allowed, according to various people who have read NBA documents on the subject.

The exact words from the press conference were as follows:
"Effective immediately, I am banning Mr. Sterling -- for life -- from any association with the Clippers organization, or the NBA."

He IS banned from attending games and practices, et. al.  That basically takes away Clippers games as opportunities to kiss his foot/ring/ass, OK...  Banned from all league business.

But it appears to me that this penalty is already removal as the owner of the Clippers.

Because, as much as social media is lauding the decision (and it well should, as a function of necessity for the league to proceed, even in this year's playoffs!!), doesn't this decision already create a de facto seizure of the team by the NBA?

Maybe I'm missing something here, but wouldn't still being the putative owner of the team be an association with the team and the NBA?

Wouldn't still profiting from being the putative owner of the Clippers (even banned from the NBA as persona non grata) still be a formal association with the team and with the NBA?

Who gets control of the Clippers?  I've read one report that posits his wife gets control of the team. 

He technically has no legal voice on the team and with the league, and I get all that.  But, as much of a history as he has racked up and as much as kicking this vindictive bitch out of the league has been coming for decades, do you not think he didn't prepare for the day that it would attempt to be taken down?

Do you think that, as much of a fraud and a sham that Donald Sterling has been over the course of a good 30 years or so, that he isn't prepared to subvert this somehow?

And what, short of arrest, is going to stop him?

Silver actually did need to go further, frankly.  He needed the NBA to seize the team and take it under the league's operations on an indefinite basis, leaving all assets in material escrow until the courts can determine how they can be legally distributed, sans ongoing expenses such as salaries and what have you.

The league is getting sued over this.  The stark language given indicates that Sterling can no longer own the team, as of now.  How this gets around the current by-laws, etc., I don't know.

You know what? Before you get to my thoughts on Sterling...

Time to play fair again...

We've had a repeat incident of one of the most heart-warming sports moments of the last decade.

Maybe not as much attention as the one six years ago (and it turned out to be exactly six years ago), but, especially after all the Donald Sterling bullshit in the last few days, we need this:

ESPNW, the womens' sports division of the ESPN.com website, reported that the situation took place in Florida, in a Division II game between Florida Southern College and Eckard College.

It would end both teams' seasons, since neither was heading to the playoffs.

However, the first game was marred with a significant injury to the knee of Kara Oberer of Eckard (diving for a grounder, she jammed her knee into the area between infield and outfield, locking it).

Softball does allow for re-entry after being removed from the game, so, Oberer being the best hitter Eckard has, the coach asked her to face a very good Florida Southern pitcher in the last inning, down a run with two on.

Oberer jacked a three-run home run to not only win the game, but also to clinch the first winning season in Eckard's history -- 30 years of it.

There was only one problem.  Oberer couldn't move much at all, and someone (the rule was changed after the original incident six years ago, to allow a substitute to touch all awarded bases in such situations -- but the players in Florida never thought of that rule) had to touch them all.

So, first two, then three, and then it appears a fourth player aided in doing this...

Just like six years ago, when a stricken home-run hitter (a Western Oregon player named Sara Tucholsky who'd only never hit a home run in four years at the university) was aided around the bases by members of the Central Washington team, Oberer was aided around the bases because she hit the home run and deserved credit for it.

Especially on a day like today, when racism and bigotry run rampant in sports, maybe we need this every once in a while...

Could This Tape Be The Unravelling of the Entire NBA Tapestry?

Wow.  A Nothing-Burger this is NOT!!

We now have fifteen minutes of racist diatribe to go through here.  Apparently, the extra five and a half minutes, which most can find for themselves, make Sterling look even worse than the first nine.

This is rapidly becoming unhinged, with the following recent developments:

• In statements which will probably make no one happy except Sterling himself, unidentified parties who have perused the secret documents (what is the NBA, a freaking secret-handshake society??) which constitute the NBA's constitution and by-laws have stated to several media outlets that Adam Silver CANNOT expel Donald Sterling from the NBA for any reason other than a payroll miss.

To say this is going to piss off all right-thinking people is probably an understatement.  To anyone with two functioning brain cells (which, once again -- and this might merit it's own post!! -- dis-includes most of the Internet, according to the commenters I and people I've talked to have read), the only discernible way to get out of this without serious damage (and, given the superiority of the NFL, perhaps TERMINAL damage) to the National Basketball Association is to rid them of the virus that is Donald Sterling.

Let's get this out of the way right now:  He's suing, whatever the punishment is.  He's going to claim "illegal wiretap" this and "the bitch is out to get me" that, and all that.  Fact is, the Los Angeles Clippers, as a competitive going concern, are finished in the NBA as long as Donald Sterling remains the owner.  He's probably s the shaved many millions off the going price of the Clippers, at the rate he's going.

Worse yet, I don't think Donald Sterling would give a shit and a half (much less two) if he fielded a 5-77 team full of 12-15 D-League level white guys.  This guy does not give a shit about the competitive balance of the NBA, much less anything else, as long as he makes money and people kiss his ring/foot/ass.

• League protests have now reached Miami, who, before their series-clinching win over Charlotte, did the same thing the Clippers did before their game in Oakland yesterday:  threw down their T-shirts, revealing that they had also turned their warmup outfits inside-out so as not to show their team name.

On the surface, and correctly, this is a great move by the two-time defending champions to make a statement.  This is on top of the additional protests registered last night before the Portland-Houston game (thanks to my continuingly-contributing anonymous friend!).

Down deeper, it could present a very real problem for the league, and it could start the moment Adam Silver gives a punishment, even if it is the maximum punishment the aforementioned NBA by-laws and constitution allow him to.

Can we say "Playoffs players' strike"?

Obviously, as an occasional reader of Robert's Rules, and also with the understanding of what by-laws and constitutions actually are, there should be a way (yes, Mark Cuban, you are right that this can lead to a slippery slope if abused) to amend the by-laws to force out Sterling in the best interests of the NBA.

But there are times when there is no other option.  I believe you are on the cusp of a players' strike, during the playoffs, if Silver's hands are tied.  And that's nothing to say about what might happen at the top of next season when it's clear that not only might no one want to play FOR Sterling, there might be a significant number of African-American players who don't want to play AGAINST him either.

• A significant number of Clippers' sponsors are either gone permanently or until Sterling is replaced.

 As of yesterday, USA Today reports:

"In rapid succession, the mass exodus included used car seller CarMax, State Farm Insurance, Kia Motors America, airline Virgin America, P. Diddy's water brand, AQUAHydrate, Red Bull, Yokohama tires and Mercedes-Benz."

This is the kind of action which can force extra-constitutional action on the part of the NBA.  That, in very short order, is eight premium sponsors out the door.

Should the NBA not commit a sufficient action to this, that could well expand beyond the Clippers.

• The coach of the Golden State Warriors has called for a fan boycott of Game 5.

Both sides.

The problem, Mark Jackson, is, if you really feel that way as an African-American, why not call for the boycott of Game 4 in your own building?

Although it did lead to at least one memorable meme from Sunday's fans:

• The coach of the Clippers, Doc Rivers, refused to speak with Sterling about the tape and believes it's his voice thereon.

I'll say this:  One thing which will come of this is, if Sterling sues, there will be a new coach of the LA Clippers (if there is an LA Clippers by the end of all this -- if the by-laws can't get rid of Sterling, could the owners vote to remove the team and place a new one in LA, if that's the only way out?).

Rivers, who is also VP of player personnel, has said he can't be sure if he can continue to coach the team.

--

And that's just a SMALL LIST...

This is becoming the single-biggest "The Show Must Go On" moment since Penn State, Joe Paterno, and Jerry Sandusky.

Like that, though, there appears to be one major question:

How was it allowed to go on for so long?

And how do you get out of it, knowing he's going to sue everybody involved?

Hell, if he reads this, he'll probably try to sue me!  :)

And the final question would be:  If he's going to go down, he almost-certainly knows a lot of skeletons in the NBA closets.  Could he go scorched-earth and nail the NBA?

This Report Could Be A Nothing-Burger, Or It Could Send The Clippers Back To Obscurity

Just when it looked like the Clippers actually were going to get on a run of being the superior team in LA, a report has surfaced on Yahoo's basketball blog, Ball Don't Lie.

Donald Sterling has basically told his girlfriend (if you believe the report and that the exchange was caught on tape) not to bring African-Americans to "my games".

Oh, really, Sterling...  That's the kind of talk that could get you eliminated in six (and only because your team already has two wins in the series...).

TMZ is the source, and here are three gems from the article that show just how in tune Donald Sterling is...

-- "It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people. Do you have to?" (3:30) 

-- "You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want.  The little I ask you is not to promote it on that ... and not to bring them to my games." (5:15)

-- "...Don't put him [Magic] on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me.  And don't bring him to my games." (9:13)

Another case for football's abolition...

The truth is beginning to come out more rapidly now.

Today, all over the Net, we're getting the news on another blood sacrifice to football.

He's alive -- for now -- but the story is so incredible and is a testament to how blood-struck the culture of football has become.

One of my friends who commonly contributes material sent me the Sports Illustrated article on Russell Allen, formerly of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

They were playing Buffalo in a late-season game that basically no one was watching.

What occurred during the game was not only frightening, but something that doctors themselves said they had never really seen before.

As a result of this injury, Allen is done in the NFL, released outright by the Jaguars last Thursday.

The fact that he actually had a stroke during the game and now has a dead spot in his brain about the size of a dime (a significant portion of the brain, when you get right down to it) is almost-completely ignored until you hear Allen's side of the story in the article linked above.

It's on his cerebellum, the area below the cerebrum responsible for motor control.

This probably means Allen, at some point, will be almost-certainly disabled and rank-unemployable in general society (even though his current aim, incredibly, is to coach high school football) -- another casualty of the game and of the nature of how helmet hits (the hit/block which created the "flash" which started all this was face to face) have raised the demand for the abolition of the sport and society of football.

Third quarter, routine block, routine (helmet) hit, flash, no biggie to Allen.  He actually finished the drive with a quarterback sack to force a Buffalo punt.

It was on the sideline that things began to go crazy inside Allen's now-damaged brain.  He was seeing double, and asking around to see if he was OK.

Allen finished the game, went home, watched the Sunday-nighter that week -- all with a headache that was an indication that he had a stroke.

It was during the week, when he told team doctors that he was seeing double on the sideline during the game, that they blew the whistle and sent Allen in for an MRI.  The results of that sent Allen to the hospital -- Allen had had a stroke, during the game...

... and no one really cared.  As manhood and power-over was the norm and the expectation, he soldiered on, in a late-season game for two teams for which it meant nothing, and any further damage could've been an on-field fatality.

For doctors later told Allen he had suffered, according to the article:

"a carotid artery dissection, a tear in the layers of the artery wall that supplies oxygen to the brain—an injury that occurs in a small percentage of high-speed motor vehicle accidents."

Think of that a second.  Football players are getting so huge and so fast and powerful that the force that some of these players are taking helmet hits is akin to that of a high-speed car or motorcycle accident!

The article goes on to say:

"None of the doctors Allen consulted could find a precedent for a pro football player suffering this kind of stroke."

Well, that's an easy one.  Steroids, HGH, PEDs, and other manners to make the players bigger, faster, stronger, less human...

It's Newton's second law:  Force = mass X acceleration.  The bigger and faster you make these football machines, the more force they apply -- often, too much force for the body to take.

Football players today are now expected to be too big, too fast, too durable (one problem:  Allen had never missed a game since he started football at age 14!), too manly...

And, for all this, he's very fortunate he's alive.

Especially because he played an entire NFL half with a dead spot on his brain.

Lots of smoke and a growing fire: Sexual Assault by the Florida State Football Team Highlighted in Two Reports

Sounds like our National Champions have been busy off the field during their championship run.

Two recent stories have surfaced to support a theory that the Florida State Seminoles are getting quite a reputation for running roughshod over everything in their path, and any woman at least some of the Seminoles want, they TAKE...

Worse yet, if these two stories are any indication, the Seminole football team has had this history for, pushing, a quarter-century now.

First, in what seems to be the worst-kept secret in college football, a report last week indicates that Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston's investigation that he raped a woman in December of 2012.

USA Today reports that two teammates were investigated for violations of student conduct rules in January of 2014.

The victim in the case has retained a powerful Title IX lawyer, and, because of Winston's belligerence on the matter, the lawyer wants Winston charged and possibly expelled from Florida State.

But USA Today also reported two weeks ago that the Federal government is now involved.  I think it not without evidence that an epidemic of sexual assaults by the football team is at least being asserted.

Deadspin, in the second recent story, gave an indication to this end when they published a very alarming statement by a Florida State woman.

Ashley Witherspoon was raped and shot with intention of murder in December of 1993 by Michael Gibson, a running-back for the Seminoles.  Miraculously, the perpetrator was caught, convicted, and is now serving five life sentences in a Florida State Prison.  A sixth life sentence was overturned on the basis that there was no crime on the Florida statutes for which he was charged, even though Bobby Bowden actually wrote letters supporting the son of a bitch.

Florida State has been referred to the Department of Education and it's Office of Civil Rights, calling under fire their handling of sexual assaults (and it would be small wonder that the implication here is that it's sexual assaults by the football team).

Witherspoon, in the article, makes other claims which would corroborate various practices alleged at a number of schools toward prospective star players:

"When I was at Florida State there were these "Bat Girls"—maybe they're still there—and they were used for recruiting purposes for the baseball team. Why do high school seniors and college freshmen need beautiful girls to show them around and take them out? What's really going on? What are we teaching them? What are we offering them? I'm not making excuses for offenders, but sex, drugs, and rock and roll is a big part of it."

Though she still supports Florida State, she's not cool with the current direction of college sports at all:

"I almost got into a fistfight with a soccer coach friend of mine who believes athletes should get paid. It offends me. I love sports, but it's ridiculous that we idolize athletes. I don't care if football raises money for other college sports. If college football is just a mini-NFL training ground, then put them in the goddamn NFL. I just wish athletics in college were clean and pure. But they're not. We're not stupid. You can't tell me these programs aren't crooked as hell. I hope there's an overhaul. If Florida State covered something up, shut them down."

Deadspin, last year, gave other indications as to how far the Florida State football program was running roughshod over everything in it's path, including actions toward instructors and other students. The link to that article is included in the quote above.

--

Let's get a couple of very uncomfortable facts straight here:

Anyone who wants to come out and say that "Rape is unacceptable in this country." needs to answer the question as to how athletes across this nation are basically given free reign to rape, pillage, and plunder, as long as they give the only value anyone in their school seems to have (especially in high school, but still exists very well at the college level):  Athletic victory to be converted to school and community fame, and, often, money in the form of advertising and contributions.

Anyone who wants to come out and still support the sport of football in this day and age (on top of dealing with all the headhunting and brain injuries and player safety issues) also has to answer the question of how the game is not a microcosm and a representation of rape unto itself.  Players attempt to power each other over, with the only apparent place for women in the equation (in most cases, not all) is to psuedo-exotic-dance on the sidelines and at halftime, exhibiting to the community that, if they were or had been "real men", this is what they were entitled to.

Anyone who wants to come out and defend a lot of this as "Boys will be boys and they will grow out of it." has to stand basically in support of rape and a culture which appears to state that school spirit and sexual arousal are, in many cases, equivalent concepts.

... but only for the "real men" who are the only reason the school realistically exists.

I made no secret then, I make less now:  ESPN, Florida State University, and Jameis Winston acted in concert to cover this up because Winston and FSU were the chosen team to be the champions last year.  And ESPN had to market Winston (especially as Johnny Manziel's reputation and stock took serious hits with off-field monetary allegations of his own) as this "Aw shucks." next Michael Vick/Cam Newton/etc. type.

A Short Message to Bubba Watson

Romans 3:23.

Just shut up.

The Newest Case For Banishment of the Sport of Football

I used to write this blog thinking that, if we could just expose and ridicule into the ground the corruption and thuggery of football in general and specific players/owners/administrators/referees as the situation warranted, that I might be able to "save football".

And then, as my ex-football-fan friends point out, we get the case of Aldon Smith.

Aldon Smith has been arrested for the third time since the start of last season.

This one may be far more serious than either a DUI with marijuana involved (September 2013) or 3 felony counts of illegal possession of an assault rifle (October 2013)...

Now he's arrested at LAX.

In what now appears to be his end as a 49er (at barest of minimum), Smith was arrested at LAX for yelling "Bomb!" at the airport terminal.  TMZ stated at the time that several cops said he was drunk.

I'm going to say something that is probably no surprise to anybody:  Aldon Smith needs to be locked up.

He makes me and my history look sane.

I'm not even talking a factor of prison time, etc., though if he weren't a starting football player with $9,000,000 on his head for next year (if San Francisco wants to make a mistake of epic proportions), he probably heads straight to prison right now...

He's mentally ill and has no business on the outside.

(And there are many who would say the same about me, to which I say:  If that were true, would I not know of what I speak?)

And here's why I say the title of this blog post:

There are many dozens/hundreds/more such people who are only propped up by the sport of football and all the trappings thereof.

The blows to the head are making it worse.

Mr. Goodell, start by getting Smith deep into the mental health system before he's killed or kills somebody else.

May The South Never Rise Again

... or at least this version of it.

We just passed the 40-year anniversary of the night, in Atlanta, when Henry Aaron broke not only the home run record, but a winter of racial hate toward himself, when he lifted his 715th major-league home run into the night.

The clip is audio-only, but a very intelligent man had this to say when Aaron did it, after the moment that two white kids (doing something they said later was "very stupid", and for which they were fined $200) made a statement they probably still don't realize they made today when they congratulated Aaron as he rounded second base...

After letting the moment speak for itself for almost two minutes, Vin Scully spoke:

"What a marvelous moment for baseball.
 What a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia.
What a marvelous moment for the country and the world.

A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol.

And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron, who was meant at home plate not only by every member of the Braves, but by his father and mother."

We need Vin Scully to speak again.  We know he still works for the Dodgers, but a lot of what has happened to Aaron during this retrospective of the 40th anniversary of that night needs Vin's perspective again, and a lot of people to JUST SHUT UP!!

It all started when Aaron talked to USA Today last week.

And he said something that only a man with his perspective would truly be able to understand...

You see, he still has all the hate mail from that vitriolic winter of 1973-74.  He reads it, to keep perspective all these years later.

Why does he do it, when most other people wouldn't?  Aaron answers that himself in the article:

"To remind myself that we are not that far removed from when I was chasing the record. If you think that, you are fooling yourself. A lot of things have happened in this country, but we have so far to go. There's not a whole lot that has changed.

We can talk about baseball. Talk about politics. Sure, this country has a black president, but when you look at a black president, President Obama is left with his foot stuck in the mud from all of the Republicans with the way he's treated.

We have moved in the right direction, and there have been improvements, but we still have a long ways to go in the country.

The bigger difference is that back then they had hoods. Now they have neckties and starched shirts."

And you know what?  He's RIGHT.

And how does he get treated for this?  Deadspin aids USA Today in chronicling the shit...

""Hank Aaron is a scumbag piece of (expletive) (racial slur)'' a ["]man["] named Edward says in an e-mail to the Braves front office and obtained by USA TODAY Sports.  Edward invokes the epithet five times in four sentences, closing with, "My old man instilled in my mind from a young age, the only good (racial slur) is a dead (racial slur).""

Three others are quickly noted:  "Marion calls Aaron a "racist scumbag.'' Ronald won't attend another Braves' game until Aaron is fired. Mark calls Aaron a "classless,racist.'' David says that he will burn Aaron's I Had A Hammer autobiography."

Sorry, boys, the shoe fits.

And, once again, Hank Aaron is vilified for the color of his skin, and his wish to be above the fray.

Unlike another jackass who needs to Just Shut Up -- if not have it done to him forcibly, as someone with the propensity to open his mouth and vacuum up the entire rest of his body had this to say to someone who had a lot of words for him when he last famously opened his fat trap in 1999...

"Well, after reading what Aaron recently had to say about Republicans and  those who disagree with President Obama, allow me to take the home run king’s  words and put them in my own mouth:

“To be honest with you, I’m very sick and disgusted with the whole situation.  For someone in the situation of Mr. Aaron to make those statements is  ridiculous. I have no place in my heart for that.”

What was it Aaron said? That’s right, he compared Republicans that oppose  President Barack Obama’s ruinous policies and agenda to Ku Klux Klan members. He  blamed Republicans for hindering Obama’s job performance, telling  USA Today:

“Sure, this country has a black president, but when you look at a black  president, President Obama is left with his foot stuck in the mud from all of  the Republicans with the way he’s treated.

“The bigger difference is that back then they had hoods. Now they have  neckties and starched shirts.”

Yes, world, John Rocker has opened his fucking mouth again.

We are getting dangerously close to racial violence in this country.  And it's ignoramuses (ignorami?) like these e-mail writers and Rocker that are feeding it.

So I see that no one in the mainstream media has remembered...

Tonight, Manny Pacquiao returns to the scene of the crime to attempt to avenge it.

Approximately two years ago, he faced Timothy Bradley for his WBO belt, largely won the fight on ring generalship, and was robbed in one of the most blatant rig-jobs in the recent history of boxing.

This sent Pacquiao's career on a largely-downward spiral, with, instead of the mega-fight with Mayweather which will never happen now, he gets a fourth fight with Marquez, who, losing the fight badly, knocks Pacquiao the fuck out with the literal dream shot, a one-punch KTFO while almost being stopped late in the round.

Then, an all-but-arranged fight in Macao for the Asian/Chinese fan-base, and now a fight with Bradley...

... which was basically shown to be foreshadowed by the promoters when Bradley came out in the first fight's press conference with posters for the second fight.

Or did all of you:  ESPN, Showtime, whoever else covering the fight, forget that inconvenient truth?

There was too much heat after the first fight to go ahead with the original date, but, move it eighteen months and no one cares, right?

Oh, and a note to Bob Arum:

You ever consider that the reason "a 12-1 [the odds that Floyd Mayweather loses his "bout" in May] fight" is on the side of the building that this is being held in is the same reason that this fight tonight is taking place?

Mayweather owns Vegas.

The Money Team is the New Vegas Mafia.

If I had lottery money, I'd probably put some down on Bradley to have Pacquiao screwed again.

Succeed and Proceed -- or lose

I basically always made the excuse for Bo Ryan when it appeared that his Wisconsin team did a lot in the regular season and the Big Ten tournament, but went out too early in the full NCAA tournament.

I said it was a college coach in a pro basketball tournament.

The fact of the matter is now clear tonight.  This Kentucky team, which had no business sniffing the national championship, is probably now favored and I will predict will win the title Monday night over Connecticut (itself the best basketball factory college ball has had this millenium -- both genders into consideration).

John Calipari's system and methodology has won over the remaining college programs in this tournament.

(So much so that -- and how much in jest one Kentucky fan saying this has to be in some debate -- a tweet tonight said that, in fact, players who STAY for four years (said about the Florida team that, though they were considered, by far, the most complete team in the tournament, got ran over in a 30-minute display by Connecticut) are the ones who are ruining college basketball.)

Let's understand how a person at UK (or a UK fan) can come to this conclusion:

As reprehensible as it is, when you sign the letter for Calipari to play at Kentucky, you have ONE YEAR.

You have precisely two tasks at the University of Kentucky:

1. Win a national championship
2. Declare for the NBA Draft

Anything else is superfluous.  Yes (as Calipari and the Wildcats found out last year), the margin for error in this kind of methodology, this "Succeed and Proceed" (their response to "One and Done U"), is quite small.

But the fact remains that, barring another rabbit out of the hat by Connecticut, Kentucky is going to win it's second national title in three years -- a second national title completely without any pretense of education in a school setting.

Fail at the first of those tasks, and you probably don't get another meaningful shot in Calipari's program.  You might warm the bench, you might be "encouraged" to transfer.

But, make no mistake, this is his fifth year at the school.  His third Final Four.  All but certainly, at least in my opinion, his second national title in three years.

In the first four years of his time at Kentucky, SEVENTEEN Wildcats have been drafted into the National Basketball Association.  That famed press conference after his first Kentucky title two years ago -- the one where all the starting five and the sixth man all declared for the draft at the same press conference?  All six got drafted.

He has coached three of the last six #1 draft picks.  (And if Kentucky wins, with Embiid's injury (the player from Kansas), I fully believe it might be four out of seven.)

Add his last two years in Memphis, and, in six years, TWENTY-TWO Calipari players have gone to the NBA through the draft.

No uncertain terms, his methodology is going to win out, as long as he has succeeded in getting the players of the caliber he desires (read: NBA draft caliber, and probably would've gone to the draft if not for the one-year exclusion).

Basically, "Succeed and Proceed", or lose.  Period.

It basically works wonders in the dusk of the NCAA era.  If the NCAA lives, he gets to have the best talent, because he, unlike most other schools, makes no pretense of offering an education -- your task is to be ready for the NCAA tournament and NBA draft, and you have one year to do so.

He gets and gives the best of both worlds to the NCAA.  They get the talent they otherwise would not see, and then can exploit them for cash (the best argument I've been given that the NCAA will survive the black eyes it's been given the last couple of years).  The program and talent get the exposure the NCAA provides through media partners and the tournament to keep the well-oiled machine going.

If the NCAA dies, he's a step ahead of the game as far as the next step is concerned.  He already has a minor-league NBA feeder program in place.  It's his entire modus operandi at Kentucky (and may well have been formed in his latter years at Memphis!!).  You go to Kentucky to get ready for "the big show".

And THAT is why Wisconsin lost tonight -- a college team lost to a pro team.

And that's why, even if the NCAA survives now, a big-money program is out of it's mind if it does not adopt this "Succeed and Proceed" model.

Do it, or you lose to it.

And another shining example of (cl)Ass which is the Saint Louis Cardinals...

You know, there was a reason that friends of mine openly despised the thought of the Cardinals winning the National League last year.

And there was also a reason that I got on (at least then-)Commissioner Kurz' case regarding a fan situation in the Arena Football League.

We just had another idiocy today, according to multiple media reports.

We'll use Deadspin's here.

Bottom of the 3rd, Cincinnati up at bat, leading the Cards 3-2.

Foul ball, and the Cardinals' Matt Adams goes over to the fence to try to get it.

Fan in the front row, brought a glove.

The following ensued:



Whoever this fan is gets full marks.  The ball is over the fence, in his territory, and the fan goes straight up to get it.

He then gets a shove (admittedly a light one) from Adams.

For this, Adams should be banned at least a month, if not the whole season.

Fuck you, Matt Adams.

If the fan clearly interfered, your recourse is with the umpires, but you're such a fucking badass (and probably not completely un-due to the fact that the St. Louis Cardinals use their entitlement to believe they are the only reason the National League exists) that, even though the fan did everything NOT to interfere with the play (remember, jackass, the moment the ball crosses the plane of the fence, it's technically "out of play" and fully within the rights of the fan to get the souvenir), you decide you want to exert your fucking turf, even on the opposing diamond.

What a (cl)Ass act, and, once again, it's St. Louis.

I have a feeling that we are about to see an explosion in these types of incidents, and nothing short of forfeiture of contests is going to stop this shit.

The Farce Goes Both Ways: You Can Have Your Rules, As Long As You Hold Up Your Half of the Bargain

Most people know I'm a rules stickler on a lot of subjects.

However, there's one catch, as a lot of those people know:

The people upholding the rules have to also uphold their end of the bargain.

I have an example of how the NCAA is not seeming to do the job.

It's been a long-held thought process that the scholarships provided to athletes are a full ride.

Chris Kluwe would like to have words with you.

On Deadspin last week, a discussion surfaced as to the one-paragraph "paper" that a North Carolina "student"-athlete (and we really need to stop using that term in any event) submitted on Rosa Parks (in a class designed just for athletes, no less!!!).  The paper received an A-, probably because the paper was only partially-legible.  Had it been completely illegible, chances are it'd have gotten the full A.

That said, Chris Kluwe replied in a very eloquent manner, admitting the following:

• That he wrote papers for his team, at $10/page.  As anyone should know who's attended any college, that would be grounds for expulsion on the charge of academic misconduct -- if this weren't UCLA, one of the many universities (and it's even more true for most high schools) which only exist for the purposes of their athletic programs.
• For the purposes of this article, however, it's the "WHY?" that's more important...

Kluwe:

"I made 10$ a page writing papers for teammates who didn't know how to forge a coherent argument for whatever bullshit class it was they were taking at the time, and since rent at UCLA was almost $150 a month more than what my scholarship check covered (with a roommate), I was happy to do it, mainly so I could buy food, and take my future wife out on a date every now and then.

Was I helping guys cheat the system (and themselves)? You betcha, because eating is important (as is getting laid), and the $780 a month the NCAA so graciously provided for my full athletic scholarship does approximately jack shit for living expenses in certain parts of the country (mainly NY and LA, though there are others). Not to mention the fact that I wasn't exactly writing Mensa applications for these guys, but they were there to play football, nothing more, and all they cared about was staying eligible. We all knew it, and that's what the school encouraged (as every functioning college with a football program does).

(Oh! And at the time, I wasn't allowed to hold a job to cover the difference in rent, because that would've violated my "amateurism" (though where I would've found the free time to do that around the football practice schedule I have no idea), soooooo, yeah. I still don't know how walk-ons do it. Those guys will always have my respect.)"

So if people want me to throw up my hands and talk about violations of NCAA rules and that everybody who he wrote papers for should be tossed, I'm all for that...

Once you explain to me how a person on an athletic scholarship needs to get by in LA on $780/month.

In fact, once you explain to me anybody can get by in LA on $780/month and not live as a homeless guy on it's streets!

The facts are simple:

• Most of these schools, as going concerns, take significant damage (if not die outright, in at least some cases) without their athletic programs.
• Not true in all cases, but almost certainly true in many cases:  Because of the above, many of the athletes have no business in college.  They were passed through the system for the dual purpose of the bucks for the education budgets for their home school districts and the glory they gave their communities on the athletic fields.  Nothing more.
• The NCAA exists for the benefit of two parties:  The media which cover the sports, and the NCAA itself.  To say the NCAA exists for the schools would be a misnomer:  Most every school loses money on their athletics, with only the big-conference schools possibly making it.
• And when the NCAA is called on this, they basically state that the conferences are making money, so the schools have to be, right?

Kluwe is not alone.

Lonnie White recently died at the age of 49.  He worked for the Los Angeles Times for two decades as a reporter, with assignments including the Clippers, the Kings, UCLA, USC, high school sports, and other athletic articles.  He wrote a definitive book on the 75-year history of USC vs. UCLA.

White admitted receiving illegal benefits in the amount of $14,000 in exchange for the four season tickets he received as a USC football player on scholarship.

Again, it's the "WHY?".  From the obituary article linked from the Los Angeles Times:

"To this day, it's something I'm ashamed about," White wrote. "Rent was overdue, and my household bills were delinquent. I needed the money to live. So accepting the $14,000 in different forms of 'benefits' over my college years three decades ago was an act of survival."

So, of course, now the question has to be asked:  Were the season tickets actually part of the scholarship?

As sad as it is, I only say that partly in jest