We may now be getting into "Danger, Will Robinson!" territory with the Warriors...

I can't say anything directly happened (YET!) in that fourth quarter to create a 13-point reversal of fortune in the one good quarter Golden State had in Oklahoma this series.

That said, there is this:

From Yardbarker:  Game 6 drew a 7.9 on TNT -- on a Saturday night on cable.

Fourth highest rated NBA game in the history of cable.

2012 Heat-Celtics Games 6 and 7 are #1 and #3, Game 7 of Pacers-Heat (the Floyd Mayweather flier, if you recall) is #2.

Game 5 of the series ranks #7 at a 7.6.  One has to wonder what Game 7 might draw.

A Death Which Might Set The NBA Dialogue Back A Long Time

As Golden State attempts to survive tonight in a must-win Game 6 in Oklahoma, much of the NBA's attention is turned elsewhere.

Reports came in this morning and early afternoon that Bryce Dejean-Jones was killed this morning with a gunshot wound to the abdomen in Texas.

Dejean-Jones played for the New Orleans Pelicans as he worked his way from being an undrafted free agent to his dream in the NBA, even if it was only as a bit player.

Problem is, it sounds like none of this should've happened, and his conduct may well have contributed to his death.

There was a reason he was undrafted.  First, he left USC after being involved in a physical altercation and punching a player.  He transferred to UNLV, and, after ending one season there, got in another physical altercation with a player Dejean-Jones claims told him he wanted to shoot him to his face!  A stint at Iowa State, where he got noticed enough and stood out enough to get to the Pelicans, was marked with a noise complaint and an arrest for the use of marijuana.

This had all the earmarks for a tragedy and boo-hoo for the player, until the Dallas Morning News came in with more details...

It was 3:20 AM, and Dejean-Jones attempted to kick in his estranged girlfriend's apartment front door.

The second problem is that it wasn't his girlfriend's apartment -- the guy inside shot him and killed him.

Dejean-Jones had just signed a three-year contract in February.

Thanks, Mr. Dejean-Jones.  You have just given the NFL Football Nation America more ammo that the NFL is only a "few bad apples" and the NBA is full of thugs.

And this, today, may be only one way the NBA Dialogue gets set back a long time in favor of our Lord And Master, Roger Goodell.

The second may be forthcoming in about 30 minutes -- last I checked, Oklahoma State had a small lead in the 3rd quarter.  They win tonight, and 73-9 don't mean a damn thing!!!

E-Sports: I'll Give You The Good News First

... and then double up on the other side of the equation.

• Riot Games scored, quite literally, a Hollywood coup with the ownership group of Phoenix1.

Thursday night, the veil was finally lifted on the mysterious tenth North American LCS team, Phoenix1 -- and boy, what was found behind it.

Not only did the team announce a 7-man roster (three of which came from the team it replaced, Team Impulse (reports vary on whether Team Impulse actually sold the team or whether Riot seized it and this is who came forward)), but listen to the ownership group:

1. Rob Moore, the vice-chairman of Paramount Pictures.
2. His son Michael, who will act as the team's managing partner.
3. And Hollywood director Jack Giarraputo.  You may recognize the name from a lot of the hit Adam Sandler movies.

That's a big move.  A HUGE move.  The team may or may not gel in time to actually do much in the Summer Split, but it's clear someone wanted to make a move.

Unfortunately, now, two pieces of bad news:

• First, the sublime.  For the second consecutive split in a row, Team Liquid (one of the few stable franchises in the North American LCS) has had to suspend and submit for release (AKA "FIRE") one of it's starting players for insubordination.

Some background on the first one:  About a month after last year's World Championships, Team Liquid starting top laner (usual position is the top of three lanes on the map) Diego Ruiz, named "Quas", was suspended for an apparent mental health incident at the headquarters of Team Liquid.  He sat out the spring split, was fired by Team Liquid, temporarily retired from the sport, and has now signed with fellow LCS team NRG Gaming.

Now, you can add their jungler (between the lanes of the map in the middle of the map is a large jungle -- it is one player's responsibility to control that jungle and provide vision for the team to see the other team's movements and kill monsters in the jungle to buff the team up) to the mix.

On Friday, Team Liquid announced a similar suspension to Joshua Hartnett, "Dardoch".  Hartnett was named Rookie of the Split for the Spring Split and had promise in front of him to become a major American star in League of Legends...

Well, let his coach Yoonsup "Locodoco" Choi tell you what happened next:

"We have decided to suspend Dardoch due to his insubordinate behavior. It may come as a surprise to our fans that we're starting the season this way. Yet as a coach, I believe that League of Legends is fundamentally a team game and a player who can't see eye to eye with that and can't put the team before oneself regardless of his skill will only stunt the team in the long run. We believe that 5 players under a single vision, putting everything we have to improve as a unit and working selflessly, is the best way to a healthy and a successful team environment. While this is a big change, we are moving closer to that environment with the suspension. We're going to succeed through our teamwork and effort, not individual players, and I still remain confident that we have a bright Summer Split ahead of us."

Fair to say, Dardoch is in serious trouble -- not only with Team Liquid, who will cut him at first opportunity, but with Riot Games, who may add significant further sanctions (or, like with  Quas, let the sanctions Team Liquid imposed stand).

Dardoch is in trouble for a number of offenses, including conduct unbecoming a professional player (which is a suspension offense on it's own).

His most serious possibilities, however, come as a function of violations of the core rules of cooperative and competitive play of League of Legends, The Summoner's Code.

The Code, in short, lists the core principles players of League of Legends must abide by:

1. Support your team.
2. Drive constructive feedback.
3. Facilitate civil discussion.
4. Enjoy yourself, but not at anyone else's expense.
5. Build Relationships.
6. Show humility in victory, grace in defeat.
7. Be resolute, not indignant.
8. Leave no newbie behind.
9. Lead by example.

By Locodoco's throwing under the bus (this isn't just a "statement", he chucked Dardoch under the bus here), Dardoch appears to be in violation of every one of these which does not involve direct competition on the Rift (the first five).

And, in having to suspend two players, Team Liquid themselves may be beginning the process toward endangering their future in the NA LCS and Challenger Series.  No one will confuse that Team Liquid has not been forthright with their actions (unlike the example I am about to give), but one more of these, and Riot Games may have to consider sanctions against the team for the actions of the players, not unlike when the Oceanic Pro League threw out, mid-season, Rich Gang for three suspensions within about a three-week period.

• Now to the ridiculous.  One of the most ambitious announcements of the 2015 Game Awards was Turner Networks and "ELEAGUE".  A 24-team Counterstrike:  Global Offensive tournament, ELEAGUE is the largest move of a major television player in the United States into e-sports.

Too bad there may not be 24 teams much longer.  (One team was already replaced due to visa issues -- this can happen and is not what I'm talking about.)

The same night as the first airing of the $1,400,000 per season league, controversy shook the league when ESPN reported one of the weirdest tampering stories I've heard in a LONG TIME.

SK Gaming and Luminosity Gaming are two of the 24 teams in the league.  On the same night Luminosity Gaming won the first season's Group A (each team plays a round-robin of the other teams in their group over the course of a single week, with the finals of that group culminating on TBS on Friday night), Jacob Wolf reports that SK Gaming believes it has contracts with not just one member of Luminosity Gaming, but their entire roster, plus the manager and coach!

The dispute charges that SK Gaming has poached the entire Luminosity team for this tournament - lock, stock, and barrel!!!  The contracts would go into effect July 1 (which would impact Luminosity's ability to complete the tournament -- the bracket for the prize money takes place in July), and ESPN states that SK Gaming believes it has a proper chain of communication going back to February.

But here's the kicker:  Under current professional Counterstrike: Global Offensive rules, there is NO APPARENT RULE similar to the League of Legends rules to prevent tampering!!!

This entire ELEAGUE situation (which also involves significant online presence) could go up in flames quite quickly!!!

Stay tuned.

Berman leaving, but getting the big sendoff? Pardon me while I retch.

I probably would get stoned for using his home run call to do it, but there are many reports out there saying that Chris Berman will join the growing list of parties leaving ESPN.

Berman's agent is denying all reports (and states that the reports are being circulated by parties with an agenda -- and that can be both ESPN and other parties!), but I just had to bring up this one thing and prepare the barf bags.

The current story is that Berman will leave at the end of his current contract after the NFL season.  No problems there.

The problem is that Berman, who has been at the network since effectively Day One, will get a "Farewell Tour" send-off, according to reports such as this one on Sports Media Watch.

NHL, once again, proves why it is NOT a major league...

Another week, another shitting of the bed by the National Hockey League.

Dateline:  Tampa.  The NHL forced Tampa Bay to cancel last night's viewing party for Game 7 in Pittsburgh (which Tampa lost 2-1 -- Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals is in Pittsburgh when they face San Jose Saturday night).  A similar party for Game 5 was held, and drew 8,000 fans to a similar event last year.

The Lightning Twitter account seemed to indicate it was quite well attended.

Get loud, #Bolts fans. Let's get back in this. #PITvsTBL pic.twitter.com/lNJXJfN5YC

— #GoBolts (@TBLightning) May 23, 2016

The NHL told Tampa that they could only hold one event per series.  The NHL threatened to fine the Lightning (and it probably would've been a significant enough amount to get them to stop.

The NHL... is full of shit, according to the Deadspin report on the matter.

The NBC networks, all SIX OF THEM, are testing out their Olympic formula by doing two things:

1) By making sure every playoff game is somewhere on national cable, the NHL cannot create a playoff package like it's more-than-acceptable NHL GameCenter to actually grow the sport and have people who have cut the cord actually *gasp!* pay to watch the games!!!  (Much like their Olympic coverage, which now requires a cable subscription to get ANY live feeds.)

2) Hopscotching people all over the place to watch games, including their new NBC Sports Network, on which last night's game was aired.

And, you know what?  They're getting the middle finger, and so is the NHL!

The ratings for the conference finals are getting annihilated, according to Sports Media Watch.

And is it any wonder this is happening, and several reasons can be given:

• Obviously, Football Nation America.
• The aforementioned lack of a US package.  (Canadian fans can still use their analogue of GameCenter through Rogers Cable.)
• Here's a comparison:  Even though the two packages are offered by the same Internet media company:  If a Major League Baseball game is blacked out for one reason or another, it is available on the Internet package 90 minutes after the game ends.  NHL?  FORTY-EIGHT HOURS!
• Gary Bettman being Gary Bettman in general -- in talking with this with a friend, my friend posited that Bettman's prior ties to the NBA might indicate that the NHL Commissioner is trying to kill his league.  There's little to indicate (with strikingly-few franchises in actual hockey botbeds) that my friend is patently wrong.

And there are many others.  But, once again, the NHL shows why it, at best, is the #5 professional sport in the United States right now (and that's only because soccer hasn't caught on with the English-speaking country sans Flag Waving Time and Tiger Woods is not playing in the PGA right now).

Edit to add:  In comparison, the first of three needed season-saving wins for the Warriors last night got the highest overnight NBA ratings since 2002, tied with several other games -- the last series to actually get higher ratings...

The Greatest Tragedy in Sports...  The destruction of the Sacramento Kings by David $tern and the Lakers.

Baylor: Still Not Enough

You can now add the football coach to the list of people being reported fired at Baylor University for the rape scandal.

This should've been the first one, to be blunt -- you have a prima facie case against him, he is responsible for the conduct of his players.  I am so sick and tired of "What do they have to do?  Babysit them??"  If you're going to actually employ or have as a player such an animal, frankly, YES YOU DO.  You have a responsibility to your team, whatever "franchise" it is, and (especially in this case) the safety of everyone else around to take whatever steps become necessary to ensure that these people don't literally become menaces to society (such that this is possible in the Sport of Brain Damage and CTE).

When you have a half a dozen football players who are basically either already in prison, headed there, or being covered up to prevent the first two, the coaching staff should go with them under the crime of "accessory" or "aiding and abetting".  At some point, when you have a pattern of this kind of behavior, it is clear that it's not just "a few bad apples".

A large-scale investigation was handed to Baylor's remaining staff today (current word is that Ken Starr will be "reassigned").  The report is published, you can find the PDF file here:

1. The investigating party found "a fundamental failure by Baylor to implement Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization
   Act of 2013 (VAWA)."  
2. Baylor's responses to reports of this violence "were slow, ad hoc, and hindered by a lack of institutional support and engagement by senior leadership."
3. And there was no recourse under student conduct:  The report "found that the University’s student conduct processes were wholly inadequeate to consistently provide a prompt and equitable response under Title IX".

The document then goes into detail into almost 15 pages of charges against just the football program regarding conduct which could get the University fundamentally shut down with respect to it's disrespect of female students under Title IX.

You really need to read this document.  You need to for several reasons, but I'll give one more just for the obvious:  As people well know, Baylor is one of the few colleges that has actually been able to crack into a more successful program in the only two relevant college sports.

Well, we now know why.

Baylor University (like several cautionary tales before them) created an environment that the athletes were inmates that basically ran the asylum.  As such, their success on the field (and on the court as well) can be tied to a systematic pattern of student and administrator misconduct, and it all basically needs to be nullified.

I found a second .PDF file giving the recommendations to Baylor as to what it needs to do, and most of it is dry stuff:  "Hey guys, follow Title IX" and all that shit.

I like the "apologies and appropriate remedies" one.  This includes financial, probably to the tune of at least eight figures against the victims.

But I have one "appropriate remedy", and there is only one in this case.  THE COMPLETE ABOLITION OF THE BAYLOR ATHLETIC PROGRAM.

This goes back almost 15 years.  Baylor had been an also-ran for many years in the relevant college sports.  In 2003, Patrick Dennehy disappeared and was found murdered by a Baylor teammate.  Further research into Dennehy's presence on the team indicated that Baylor University was engaged in a myriad of violations:

• Dennehy and another player were illegally paid their tuition by the coach (he "resigned").
• The coach was engaged in a series of lies about Dennehy, ranging from posing as his father to portraying Dennehy as a drug dealer!!
• The murderer's wife exposed a massive situation of drug use within the program.  Players routinely failed drug tests for marijuana, but this was never reported.
• The coach was tied to further violations at SMU when the football program was killed by the NCAA (this was the only reason further sanctions weren't given).
• Meals were paid for by coaches.
• Numerous other smaller violations were found.

Basically, by this point, you had cause to shut down the Baylor basketball program -- but The Show Must Go On.  The team probably would've been Death Penaltied for 2005-2006 (and was eligible), but the damage to the monetary worth of their conference meant that Baylor was forced to play conference games only for that season.  Baylor had been to the NCAA tournament once in a half-century.

While we're here, let's add the women's basketball program to the mix.

In 2012, days after the women's team made history and won forty games undefeated to win the national championship, the NCAA found over 1,200 impermissible phone calls within the men's and women's basketball program.  Lesser penalties were imposed.

About the same time the men's program was beginning to get into trouble, the women's program had reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a quarter century.

And then let's circle back to the football and show how devastating some of this garbage is.

The scandal, at the very least, covers the 2009-2016 time period.

From the moment it joined the Big XII in 1996 until this reign of terror began, Baylor was a 1-4 win team.  All of a sudden, about the same time this rape spree and coverup began, the team has gone to six consecutive bowls, winning three, and having their most successful years in four of the last five seasons.

It's time to shut down the Baylor athletic program.  Not just the football.  The university is completely fucking incapable of running an honorable dog show, much less an NCAA athletic program.

It's time to seriously consider shutting down Baylor University, period.  With this pattern of complete lack of regard of human life, dignity, and decency, on at least two different occasions now (if not more! -- I'm lumping this entire 2009-2016 fiasco into one.), we're getting near Penn State levels at this point.

Since the NCAA has no fucking spine, I fully expect about as far as this will go is maybe a two-year bowl-ban and other restrictions.  But the NCAA has no business adjudicating college sports anymore in the first damned place.

Another case for the complete abolishing of football...

I saw this headline three or four times today and I don't even want to have clicked it.

Dateline:  Dietrich, ID  October 23, 2015.  Source:  Today's Washington Post.

An African-American player holds out his hands, thinking he is about to get hugged.

Instead, three Caucasian teammates raped him with a coat hanger.  At least one held him, others performed the act.

Did I mention the player was mentally disabled?

The player is an adult, so is at least one of the attackers.  The accused now face life in prison under state law, while the school district, the families of the accused, and at least 11 employees face an eight-figure Federal lawsuit.

This was not a one-time situation, but MONTHS of allowed abuse that finally ended with the vicious attack.

The accused ringleader of the attack is claimed to be a harassive figure in such a heavy posture that he was basically moved from Texas to Idaho to allow him to actually graduate high school.

Talking about the ringleader, the attacked player's family basically writes a standard charge against the sport of football in high schools across this nation:

“Mr. Howard is a large and aggressive male who had been sent to live with his relatives in Idaho due to his inability to keep out of trouble in Texas,” the lawsuit says. “Mr. Howard is a relative of prominent individuals in the community and, at least in part due to his athletic ability and community connections, the Defendants ignored or were deliberately indifferent to the behavior of Mr. Howard which included aggression, taunting and bullying of The Plaintiff and other students in the District. With deliberate indifference, the Defendants did nothing to curb the vicious acts of Mr. Howard who brought with him from Texas a culture of racial hatred towards the Plaintiff.”

That, save the part of about basically being expelled from Texas (where he now again resides) to get him out of trouble, is football in this nation, people.

Other students at the school were alleged to have stripped the victim naked and taken pictures of him on other occasions.

What the fuck, Idaho?  You want somebody to come up there and burn that fucking school to the goddamned ground???  Is that what it's going to take to wake some of you up?  $10 million basically comes out of your insurance -- at which point you basically drive the entire African-American population of your school district out!!!