The SoapBoxers

Photo: I'll Have Another (purple) down the stretch.

The first Saturday in May is always one of my favorite days. It is another large sporting event that brings the casual fan to watch a sport that they otherwise would not normally follow. There are events such as the Daytona 500, The Masters, The Super Bowl, and of course…..

The Kentucky Derby.

The Run for the Roses…I always thought this, and not the Rose Bowl, should be called the Granddaddy of them all.   After all…this has been around a LOT longer than the Rose Bowl game.

Breaking from the #19 post position a horse named I’ll Have Another was the winner, making a game move down the stretch to win the Derby. It went off at 16-1 which allowed for a nice pay-day for the Goodman household as BOTH Mr. and Mrs. Goodman had winning tickets.

I enjoy horse racing, but would not consider myself a “gambler” per se. I like playing poker with the guys on occasion, and will attend some of the live racing meets here in Lincoln. I am not a big wager type of guy. $10 on a race is a large bet for me. Normally it is the standard $2 to win-place–show on a horse.

Yum! Brands who sponsors the Triple Crown holds a contents where the winner that is selected gets $100,000 to drop on one bet – one horse – one chance to win for the Kentucky Derby. This year the guy who got to place the “mystery bet” put his $100K on #11 – a longshot by the name of Alpha.

At the time the bet was placed the horse – had it won the Kentucky Derby, would have paid back an amazing $2 million on that $100,000 wager.

The real comment of the day is when the individual was asked by an NBC reporter, would the lucky contestant like to make the wager or would they rather just take the hundred grand and walk away. Without hesitation the guy responded “I am a horse player “ and indicated he was going for the big pay day and not the “small potatoes of the hundred large.

I can tell you if that was offered to me, I would walk with the hundred thousand without blinking an eye. Guess my risk appetite is a LOT lower than most people at the horse track.

Another interesting tidbit from my gambling experience this weekend. As you can expect, at the simulcasting place in Lincoln, the patron traffic was teaming on Saturday. There was a HUGE crowd watching the races some even all dressed up in their faux Kentucky Derby at the Lincoln Race Course experience. The parking lot was packed and fortunately my father and I basically just went and placed our bets and then took off to do some further work for the day.

When I came back on Sunday afternoon to cash the winning tickets, the place was deserted, you wondered if it was even open…there were about 50 cars in the parking lot, and I am guessing some of those were for the people working there as well.

Needless to say I got in and out of the place much more quickly than I did the day before…and left with a lot more money than I came with.

I am sure the same cannot be said for most everyone else on Saturday.

Murder at the Track

Death is no stranger to the racing crowd, even around an event like The Kentucky Derby.  In 2008, Derby runner-up Eight Belles was put down on the track.

The past two years, however, have seen human death case a cloud over Churchill Downs.  Last year, jockey Michael Baze was found dead in his vehicle three days after the Derby.  The cause of death was accidental painkiller overdose.

This year, 48 year old Adan Fabian Perez was murdered in a barn on the premises of the track (more than 200 people live on the grounds full-time).  There hasn’t been much released about the murder of the horse groom, although there was some arguments in the vicinity on Saturday night.  Perhaps soon we’ll know who killed Perez, and why.

Photo: Bryce Harper

Photo: Cole Hamels

On Sunday night, Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels hit Nationals rookie outfielder Bryce Harper in the back with a pitch.  This was not mere accident – Hamels freely admitted to hitting Harper on purpose.

Why did he do it?

Hamels’s explanation was that he felt that Harper approached the game in a disrespectful manner and that Hamels took it upon himself to give him an old school welcome to the Major Leagues.

It’s true that Harper is a very confident player.  Most observers would even say cocky or arrogant.  It’s also true that he has ruffled a lot of feathers in high school, community college, and the minor leagues.  However, he hadn’t done anything to disrespect the Phillies at this point.  Had he done something to show up Hamels – such as a painfully slow trot around the bases after a home run – Hamels might have a leg to stand one.  However, lacking such motivation, it seems that Hamels simply took it upon himself to launch a preemptive strike against Harper.  If anything, this event could soften the image fans have of Harper, with some people seeing him as a victim in this incident.

It’s absolutely true that Harper needs to grow up a lot.  But it’s also true that he’s still just 19.  If you take a random sample of 19 year olds in the minor leagues, I’d guess that there are a decent number of them with big egos, particularly guys who were picked in the first round.  My thought is that Harper’s teammates and manager are the ones who should work with Harper on his maturity.  Maybe some Crash Davis Bull Durham style tough love.

The Aftermath

Harper took his base and later stole home when Hamels tried to pick off a a runner on first base.  Jordan Zimmerman later hit Hamels with a pitch, at which point the umpire warned both benches (meaning that the next pitcher to hit a batter would be ejected).  I think the umpire handled this the correct way, allowing the Nationals to retaliate before issuing the warning.

Major League baseball suspended Hamels for five games after he admitted to hitting Harper on purpose.  I’m starting to get annoyed at MLB “punishing” starting pitchers with a five game suspension.  In reality, the pitcher doesn’t miss a start – the team just juggles the rotation a bit.  In the Phillies’ case, Cliff Lee will be inserted into the rotation when he comes off the disabled list, so there’s really minimal impact to the rotation.  Personally, I’d like to see a minimum of a 8-9 game suspension for pitchers, to make sure that they actually miss a start.  What’s the point in suspending a player when they don’t actually miss any time?

Around baseball

Albert Pujols finally hit his first homer of the season,   but is still struggling to hit .200.  Don’t worry, Angels fans, he’ll come around.

The Rockies lost yet another pitcher to the disabled list.  Drew Pomeranz was hit in the leg by a line drive last night.  He stayed in the game long enough to hit a 395 foot homer at Petco (notoriously difficult to homer in) before leaving a bit later in the game with a quad injury.  He joins starters Jhoulys Chacin, Jeremy Guthrie, and Jorge De La Rosa on the DL. 

Mariano Rivera suffered a season-ending knee injury while shagging fly balls in batting practice.  The 42 year old says that he’ll return to the Yankees next year.  Only time will tell.  This spring has been tough on closers, with Joakim Soria, Brian Wilson, and Ryan Madson being lost for the yearand a bunch of other closers getting nicked up with less serious injuries.

The Orioles are tied for the best record in baseball, while the Twins are on pace to surpass the 1962 Mets as the worst team in history.  They are 7-21 and have been outscored by 64 runs.  No other team has a run differential worse than -35.

Photo: Sisler (left) and Cobb (right) flank Babe Ruth.

Orioles DH Chris Davis went 0-8 against the Red Sox on Sunday, but was still a key contributor to the Baltimore win.  Davis pitched the final two innings of a 17 inning game, becoming the winning pitcher when Adam “Pac Man” Jones jacked a three run homers off Red Sox outfielder Darnell “Old” McDonald.  In was the first time since 1925 that each team used a position player to pitch in a game.  The two players in that 1925 game?  Hall of Famers Ty  Cobb and George Sisler.  Cobb had two hits and a walk in five plate appearances and pitched a scoreless inning in relief.  Sisler was 0-4 at the plate and allowed no runs, one hit, and a walk and struck out a batter.  Who were the managers who were dumb enough to risk injuries to their star players in such a stunt?  Ty Cobb and George Sisler, of course.

Prince Albert in a slump

Is Albert Pujols a $240 million mistake?

The big news around baseball so far has been the performance of Albert Pujols. Much was expected after he signed a $240 million contract with the Angels. So far, Pujols has managed exactly zero homers. As a point of references, that’s exactly how many homers I have this year.

I caution those who would write off Albert as a washed-up has been. Players have bad months all the time. Look at the early season struggles of David Ortiz in recent years as an example. It’s also important to realize that Pujols is learning the tendencies of an entire league’s worth of pitchers, whereas the opposing pitchers have a relatively smaller pool of league-crossers to study. Remember how Matt Holliday struggled early in 2009 after being traded to the A’s? Then you probably also remember that his May OPS was 250 points higher than his April OPS that year. No? Don’t remember that? It’s true.

Harper, Trout called up

Is Mike Trout better than Bryce Harper?

Over the weekend, top prospects Bryce Harper of the Nationals and Mike Trout of the Angels were called up. 19 year old Harper would likely have spend more time in AAA, but injuries gave decimated the Nationals lineup and they needed another bat in the fray. 20 year old Trout was expected to compete for a roster spot in spring training, but was sidelined by illness and really never got his legs under him.

Trout struggled a bit in a call-up last year, but the organization believes that he will be a great player. It’s probably to his benefit that Harper was called up on the same day. Harper is the most hyped hitting prospects in a decade or so, and this should allow Trout to fly under the radar a bit and feel much less pressure that he otherwise would.

Yu and the Rangers

Yu Darvish is living up to the hype.

In the off-season, the Rangers watched the Angels snap up Albert Pujols in free agency – and also saw them nab C.J. Wilson. This was the second straight year they lost a star pitcher to free agency – Cliff Lee bolted to Phillies after the 2010 season. The Rangers didn’t skip a beat, signing Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish to a deal. While many people didn’t think it made sense to essentially trade a known quantity (Wilson) for an unknown one (Darvish), I personally think the move was brilliant. Darvish cost them only money – no draft pick compensation. On the other hand, having the Angels sign Wilson gave the Rangers two draft pick – one of them coming at the expense of the Angels.

The move has paid off in spades, at least in April. While Wilson has put up stellar numbers (3-2, 2.70 ERA) Darvish has been even better (4-0, 2.18 ERA) and seems to be improving with each start. After allowing 13 walks in his first 17 2/3 innings, Darvish has allowed just 4 in his last 15 1/3 innings.

The “surprising rise” of the Nationals

Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg

The Nationals spent a good chunk of April in first place in the NL East. Their rise has seeming caught many observers by surprise. I’m really not sure why this is the case, when the Nats have been building toward this for a number of year, with some smart free agent moves and by obtaining excellent talent in the draft. And while the front office is getting a lot of credit for building the team, it’s important to note that the reason why they have the cornerstone pieces – Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, and Ryan Zimmerman – is because they were consistent losers for a long period of time and were able to stockpile draft top draft picks. It didn’t take any sort of brilliant scouting to figure out that Strasburg and Harper were the guys to pick in the draft – they were the most highly touted pitching and hitting prospects in a generation. It simply required the Nationals to lose more games than anyone else. So while it’s true that the Washington front office has made some good decision, it might be prudent to mute the praise just a bit.

Around baseball

Matt Kemp

Matt Kemp is off to an otherworldly start, batting .409 with 12 homers and 25 RBI. As a result, the Dodgers are 17-7 and hold a 4 game lead in the NL West. It would seem that the Dodgers, now free from the shadow of Frank McCourt, are positioned for a playoff run. As a fan of the Rockies, I’m operating under the assumption that Kemp is going to cool off at some point, and that the Dodgers will face off their pace at that point.

The Angels are eight games out of first place. I can’t imagine that too many people expected that. It’s still very early in the season, but L.A. can’t afford to have the Rangers stretch out their lead much more.

The Red Sox and Phillies were buried deep in the standings after the first few weeks, but have started to make up some ground recently. The Phillies are now within 2 1/2 games of the Nationals, while the Red Sox are 4 games back in the AL East.

The Devil Rays recently pushed their way into first place, pushing past the … Baltimore Orioles. I have to believe that the 15-9 record of the Orioles is a mirage at this point.

The most competitive division so far has been the AL East, where the Indians, White Sox, and Tigers are effectively tied for the lead. The Indians are percentage points ahead, with a record of 11-10. The division also features the two teams with the worst records in baseball – the Royals and Twins.

Tim Beckham

The Cardinals have managed to hang on to first place in the NL Central, even after losing Albert Pujols. The Cardinals signed Carlos Beltran as a free agent in the off-season, which allowed them to shift Berkman to Pujols’s old position. Beltran’s numbers have been solid – a .378 on base percentage and 5 homers so far. He’s not likely to match Pujols’s season numbers, but his addition allowed the Cardinals to at least patch the hole.

2008 #1 overall pick Tim Beckam (Devil Rays) has been suspended 50 games for a second violation of baseball’s drug policy.

Photo: #1 overall pick Andrew Luck.

Last night was the first night of the NFL draft. It was one of the more exciting drafts in some time, and also seemed to move along fairly quickly for a change.

One thing was for certain last night, there was more moving going on than a NASCAR race.

I cannot remember a first rounds chock full of trade after trade after trade. I am sure the new rookie contract caps that are in place were the reason for creating so much action last night. Teams are not going to leverage hundreds of millions of dollars on some of those early picks, which has been the case in the past.

Overall I would not call this a very strong draft in terms of depth of talent. I could be wrong but as with most drafts, it really takes a few years for this to all pan out and realize which players turned out to be as advertised and which ones simply did not pan out at all.

Is Ryan Tannehill overrated?

Minnesota did a good job of gaining some extra picks by moving down in the draft. They had various people hit them up for the services of drafting Trent Richardson, but eventually the Browns offered the best deal and go his services. No way were the Vikings going to chase out a guy to replace Adrian Peterson at this time, even though he did have a season ending knee injury last year? Are Vikes fans wishing they WOULD have taken Richardson anyway?

The pick I like the least is Ryan Tannehill to the Dolphins. I am not sold at ALL on Tannehill. I saw him play against Nebraska, and frankly he didn’t look that good, unless you want him to complete 2 yard out routes. All I hear is how great his arm is blah blah blah…All I see is how many games A&M lost in the last two years that they were in control of…..so if he is THAT good, shouldn’t he be leading them to wins as their quarterback?

Morris Claiborne went 6th overall to Dallas.

I like Dallas’s pick (Morris Claiborne) as for the loyal Cowboy fans that means that they can finally quit complaining about Terrence Newman. Why the heck the Cowboys kept that guy around as long as they did is beyond me. All he did was get schooled on a regular basis and give up huge yards to opposing receivers.

The pick I don’t like is Brandon Weeden to the Browns. The Browns keep swinging and missing on getting their quarterback (where have you gone Brian Sipe) Weeden is old, and is reminds me more of Chris Weinke than Roger Stabauch coming into the league as an old QB.

Should be much more excitement in the next two rounds…..until next time….Stay Classy Radio City Music Hall!
 

 

Jake Varner (red) will represent the United States in the 96 kg freestyle class.

Why Iowa City?

This year’s US Olympic Wrestling Trials were held in Iowa City, where I live. For those unfamiliar with the sport of wrestling, this may seem like an odd choice. To those who are familiar with wrestling, it probably seems very logical. The University of Iowa – located in Iowa City – has been a dominant force in collegiate wrestling since the mid 1970s. Since 1975, they have won 23 national titles, fifteen of them by wrestling icon Dan Gable.

And the University of Iowa isn’t the only program in the state. Intrastate rival Iowa State (my alma mater) has won eight national titles. Additionally, two of the greatest collegiate wrestlers in history – Gable and current Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson – wrestled for the Cyclones. Suffice it to say that wrestling is far more popular in Iowa than in most other states.

Oddly, Iowa City had never hosted the Olympic Trials before. When the location was announced, many expected the 2012 Trials to break the attendance record. The record was 9434 set in Dallas at the final session in 2000. Session 3 set the all-time record with 13,784 fans. The other three sessions all drew at least 13,500 fans. The record wasn’t simply broken, it was obliterated.

Kosmo is in the house!

I’m a casual fan, but I love the Olympics, and this seemed like a chance to attend a very cool event. My wife agreed to watch the kids on Saturday while I attended session 1. The kids were already up when I left the house at 7:15. I got to Carver Hawkeye Arena, scored a good parking spot, and bought a single session ticket for $20. Fifteen minutes later, the doors open and the crowd entered. I bought a t-shirt and found my way to my seat. it wasn’t a great seat, but the view wasn’t too bad, considering that I bought a ticket at the last moment.

I also bought a program so that I could figured out what was going one. The weight classes had been split into two days. In the first session each day, there would be a “challenge tournament”, with the top two wrestlers at each weight advancing to the night session. In the night sessions, the top two wrestlers would face off in a best-of-3-matches contest, with matches at least a half hour apart. Wrestlers who had done particularly well in international competition were given automatic berths in the championship round.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere was very cool – lots of excitement in the air. It was also cool to see wrestlers who weren’t part of the first session milling around the arena. 2008 Olympian Dremiel Byers (who would end up as the Trials champion in the 120 kg Greco-Roman class this year as well) showed a woman to a seat in my row (more about her later).

When the matches started, it was pretty crazy. There were 148 matches scheduled for the session, which was slated to run between 9 AM and 3 PM. There were four mats being used, and the action was fast and furious, with one match beginning quickly after another ended. To add to the craziness, there were men’s freestyle, women’s freestyle, and men’s Greco-Roman matches all occurring at the same time. Although I’ve watched wrestling on TV before (yeah, college wrestling and the high school state tournament is televised here), I had never actually been to a live event before. So it took some time to get my bearings.

Iris Smith (red) in 2005 photo.

About a half hour into the event, the woman next to me casually mentioned that her daughter had wrestled earlier. The woman had been cheering someone in nearly every match (or so it seemed) and I had no idea one of them was her daughter (Iris Smith, 2005 World Champion at 72 kg). from that point on, our little section cheered for Iris (who, sadly, finished third in her weight class, much to our disappointment). We saw a former world champion and member of the US Army who had a rooting section of one person – and we felt that she deserved more fans. Smith’s mom was very classy in her rooting style – not a bad word about any of the other wrestlers.

I spent some time getting to know Iris’s mom. She was very impressed by the turnout, and she discussed some of the events she had been to over the years. Also, she told me to avoid the New York New York casino in Vegas, because the slots didn’t pay very well. In turn, I shared my knowledge of Iowa with her. At one point, she turned to me and asked “what year are you in college?”. I turn 37 next month, so I took this as a compliment.

The action

My favorite bout of the session was former Iowa State wrestler Trent Paulson facing Kyle Dake at 74 kg freestyle. Dake had won the second period in overtime by carrying Paulson out of bounds for the one point. It was a quick move and Paulson couldn’t reaction. It would have seemed that Dake had all the momentum – but then Paulson came out and dominated in the third session to win the match. The crowd’s response was one of the loudest of the session … for a guy who had wrestled collegiately for a big rival.

The guy who impressed me the most in session one, though, was Tommy Rowlands in the 96 kg class. Rowlands had been a two time national champion for Ohio State at heavyweight, but had since dropped down to the 96 kg freestyle class. Rowlands absolutely steamrolled is way through the early session on Saturday, allowing just two points to be scored against him in three matches (while scoring 22 points himself). I’m definitely a novice fan, but Rowlands caught my eye time and time again.

When the first session ended, it was time for me to go – but the Trials continued. My favorite moment of the Trials was one that I didn’t see – when the previously dominant Rowlands fell to former Iowa State wrestler (and 2011 world bronze medalist) Jake Varner in the finals at 96 kg. We had a chance to have two Cyclone wrestlers on the team, but Travis Paulson (twin brother of the aforementioned Trent) lost in the finals at 84 kg.

CAPTION: Did Saints GM Loomis eavesdrop on opposing teams?

We knew that Saints liked to play dirty, we just did not know how dirty or deep this really went.

We can remember the cheap shots, the late hits and Bret Favre getting tossed around like a rag doll in a playoff game just two years ago. Amazingly, the NFL, known for being “ultra-protective” of their quarterbacks, had an officiating crew that apparently forgot they were carrying flags and whistles in that game.

Fast forward to 2012. Former Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams is found to have been running a bounty scheme in the locker room. Some players spoke up about this “anonymously” An investigation had actually been going on since 2010 when the league was asked to looked into some actions during playoff games going back into the 2009-2010 season.

Roger Goodell is known for his iron fist. He tries to run a league that is not only clean, but holds players to a higher standard. Goodell makes the players accountable for their actions and tries to keep the image of the League that of respectability. His initial punishments were swift.

Gregg Williams, now a defensive coordinator with the Rams, was suspended indefinitely and will not be allowed to apply for reinstatement until the end of the 2012 season at the earliest.

Sean Payton, the head coach, was suspended for the entire 2012 season, effective April 1. He is the first head coach in modern NFL history to be suspended for any reason. Mainly due to his inability to have control over what was happening on his staff with the “bounty scheme”.

General manager Mickey Loomis was also suspended for the first eight games of the 2012 season.

And now Loomis is making headlines again, and once again for bad reasons.

An ESPN OUTSIDE THE LINES report has claimed that Loomis had an electronic device or devices in his suite at the Superdome that would allow him to listen to the conversations of visiting coachers during the 2002-2003 and 2004 seasons

This investigation is in its infant stages, but this further tarnishes the golden helmets and the reputation of a franchise that has long been the laughing stock of the NFL. Known by such monikers as the “aint’s” New Orleans rose from the flooding and devastation during Hurricane Katrina to bring the first major sports championship to the city that needed a boost in the arm after suffering through a horrendous set of circumstances in the wake of a natural disaster.

Now it appears the natural disaster is becoming more and more self-inflicted. Accusations of cheating, large sanctions and suspensions are already out there from “bounty gate” and it is still likely that some of the players involved in the bounty scheme will be facing fines and suspensions.

In the meantime the Saints are going to need to do some serious spin doctoring to try and change their image, which is starting to take on the appearance of some of the clientele on Bourbon Street on a raucous evening. Not thinking clearly, doing what they can to get there way, and ending up in the morning regretting some of the decisions that were made the night before.

Yes, this is turning into the Big Sleazy.

At the Soap Boxers, we love the annual sports memorabilia auction from Robert Edward Auctions (REA).  This is the third article we have written about it.  We’re not being paid to publicize the auction – we write about it just because we think it’s very cool.  Even if you don’t buy anything, the catalog is a great coffee table book, filled with a mixture of priceless treasures and really weird shit. 

T206 Wagner (Example)

Priceless treasure: T206 Honus Wagner, PSA grade 2. 

The T-206 Wagner is the holy grail of sports card.    There are cards that are more rare than the T206 Wagner, but this card is the most famous.  Even beat up copies can sell for $100,000+, and the best examples can fetch more than a million dollars.  There are many non-baseball fans who are aware of Wagner’s name only because of this card – not realizing that he was one of the greatest players in baseball history.

The specific Wagner in the auction (not the one featured at left) has the date of Oct 16, 1909 stamped on the back in purple.  This was the day of the final game of the 1909 World Series.  REA discovered the existence of another Wagner with the exact same stamp and are saying that this most likely means that the two cards were in the same place in 1909 and were stamped on that day.

Personally, I question whether this is the case.  It’s certainly possible, but it’s also possible that someone bought a stamper decades later and decided to stamp the two cards with the historic date.  Without some sort of forensic analysis of the ink, it’s hard to blindly accept the assertion that it was stamped in 1909. 

Who cares when it was stamped?  Well, if it was actually stamped in 1909, the stamp likely enhances the value a bit.  If someone in 1968 (for example) happened to buy a date stamp, flip the date to Oct 16, 1909, and then proceed to stamp the two cards with the date, then the date stamp is nothing more than 60’s era graffiti and would detract from the value.  (Technically, even if the card was stamped in 1909, it would be graffiti, but it would be easier to overlook if the stamp were historically significant.)

Regardless of when the date was stamped, this Wagner would be a great addition to anyone’s collection.

My favorite items

My favorite auction items are the canceled checks.  Sometimes these are historically significant checks, but often they are not.  Sometimes it’s just a check to the grocery store or the hardware store.  Why do these items fascinate me?  Because they are a view into the life of the person, instead of just the player.  The checks were written in the course of ordinary life, rather signatures being hurriedly scrawled onto a ball thrust in front of them.  In my mind, at least, it humanizes the player.

What else?

There are thousands of items in the auction.  While the auction skews very heavily toward sports items, there are always some cool non-sports items.  Included in this year’s auction is a framed booking card (with fingerprints) autographed by Al Capone.  Capone had himself arrested on a weapons charge in 1929 to get keep himself from getting killed by other mobsters.

Get the catalog.

You can request a free catalog here.
 

 

Happier times ...

On April 1, Bobby Petrino was the head coach of a highly successful Arkansas Razorbacks football team.  Nine days later, he was out of a job.  After a motorcycle accident that uncovered the presence of a mistress, Petrino was first placed on leave and then fire for cause (meaning he does not receive a buyout).  Bobby Petrino is most likely desperately looking for another job, since it’s probably a bit uncomfortable in the Petrino house at the moment.

Before the firing, fans gathered in support of Petrino.  One woman said that she supported Petrino, but had no sympathy for the woman, as she knew what she was getting into.  Huh?  A guy cheats on his wife with another woman, and he’s somehow less to blame than the mistress?  Pretty sure it takes two to tango.

Was the a necessary course of action for the school?  Yes.  On March 28, long after he began a relationship with the woman, he hired her for a job within the athletic department.  The position garnered 159 applicants, and the person Petrino though was best suited for the job was the woman he was having an affair with.  That’s quite a coincidence.  He was so sure he was making the right choice, in fact, that the candidate search was “shorter than our normal affirmative action hiring process”, to quote Athletic Director Jeff Long.  Reading between the lines, Athletic Director Long is saying that Petrino failed to do due diligence in the search and simply picked the person he wanted, regardless of how her qualifications stacked up to those of other candidates.

Maybe it’s just me, but this seems wildly inappropriate.  It’s an epic conflict of interest, and I’m guessing that 158 other people may be looking for attorneys at the moment.

Even if we put this aside for the moment, it’s not as if improper conduct around members of the opposite sex have never cost anyone a job before.  Larry Eustachy won a national coach of the year award when he was the basketball coach at Iowa State.  Pictures surfaced of him partying with students at road games (students at the opponent’s school) and posing for pictures with women.  Conduct unbecoming a coach?  Definitely.  But I’d say it’s step below what Petrino is accused of.

From another perspective, I see the firing as a good thing.  No longer do wins serve as a mitigating factor for improper conduct.  In the past several years, successful coaches Mike Leach, Mark Mangino, and of course Joe Paterno have been fired for off-field actions.  While you can argue about the merits of the charges levied against them, the fact that the universities fired them is an indication that there are still administrators who will not let coaches go rogue, who will put their foot down and place the reputation of the institution of higher learning – and the future of the student-athletes – ahead of a few extra wins and a few million dollars.

There’s a word for that.

Integrity.

Bubba Watson

No more car payments!

It’s been a good year for Bubba Watson.  Back in January, Watson bought the original General Lee from the Duke of Hazzard TV show for $110,000.  How to pay for such an expensive ride?  Well, Watson had been planning to sell his house … but after winning $1.44 million in prize money by gutting out a sudden death overtime at the Masters, there’s little chance that Bubba will end up homeless.  Watson hasn’t had a golf lesson since age ten, and doesn’t use a swing coach.  Does he remind you of Tin Cup, too? 

Phil Mickelson was a stroke back entering play on Sunday, but his chances to win the tourney were seriously dented with a triple bogey.  Tiger Woods had an awful weekend, making some wonder if the rumors of his resurgence were greatly exaggerated. 

Baseball

Wow. 21 million bucks.

Baseball owners continue to hand out money like it’s candy.  In the last two deals, teams dropped $96 million on three players. players.  Ian Kinsler, the oft-injured star second baseman for the Texas Rangers, signed a five year deal worth $75 million.  Moments ago, fellow second baseman Brandon Phillips of the Reds signed a six year deal worth $72.5 million.  These are two of the elite second basemen in the game today.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Indians signed catcher Carlos Santana  to a five year deal worth $21 million, with a club option for 2017.  There’s been an uptick in spending in recent years, much of it financed by big new regional sports television deals.  (Hey, MLB: know how to make the regional deals worth even more?  Get rid of crazy blackout situations like mine – where five teams are blacked out even after I pony up big bucks for MLB Extra Innings).

On the one hand, it’s easy to love these deals as a fan – teams are locking up core contributors for a long period of time.  On the flip side, there’s a lot of financial risk.  Unlike football, baseball contracts are guaranteed.  If Albert Pujols stinks it up this year, the Angels can’t wriggle out of his contract.  I’m definitely concerned about the amount of dead money some teams could have if a player takes a downturn.  My thought would be to have some sort of vesting option.  If a player reaches a certain threshold (125 IP or 350 plate appearances, for example), the next year automatically vests.  This would protect the team while still being better for the players than the “cut you at any time” model of the NFL.

NFL Draft

Teams are hoping that Ryan Tannehill isn't "all hat, no cowboy"

The NFL draft is now just a couple of weeks away.  With Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III sure to be off the board with the first two picks of the draft, attention turns to the third best QB in the draft – Ryan Tannehill of Texas A&M.  Tannehill was a wide receiver for two years before getting a chance to player quarterback for the Aggies.  I can’t imagine there’s a long list of players who have accumulated 1500 receiving yards and 5000 passing yards in a career, but Tannehill’s on the list.

The Dolphins desperately want Tannehill, but everyone knows that.  The Dolphins have the eighth pick, so it’s conceivable that a team could trade up in the draft to leapfrog Miami, or that the Dolphins themselves could push higher as a preemptive strike.  Don’t be surprised if Tannehill is among the top six players off the board.

Bobby Petrino

Arkansas placed head coach Bobby Petrino on administrative leave following a motorcycle accident.  At issue is the fact that Petrino lied to his boss regarding the involvement of a second person.  The passenger on the motorcycle was a young woman who worked for Petrino – and with whom he was having an “inappropriate relationship” (his words).  On Tuesday, a crowd gathered to support Petrino.  This is going to get interesting before all is said and done.

There is nothing quite like Augusta National Golf Club.

The Masters Tournament signals in the unofficial golf season around the United States. We all tune in to watch and marvel and the condition of the course. Many golfers and sports fans alike have it on their “bucket list”

I had the opportunity to go with a person who has attended the tournament for over 30 years back in 2009. I enjoyed watching Tiger and Phil play in the same group on Sunday and winced with most of the crowd when Kenny Perry faltered down the stretch. This eventually set up a three way playoff between Perry, Chad Campbell and eventual champ that year Angel Cabrera. You can read that original article here.

Getting there is not as tough as you think.

Unless you are connected and happened to have a family friend or a rich uncle that has annual patron badges, you have a couple of methods to still seeing the emerald cathedral in person.

Each year on the website for the Masters – normally starting slightly after the tournament’s conclusion you can apply for tickets to the following years tournament. The main badges are long since gone, and the waiting list is longer than checkout lines at Wal-Mart on the day after Thanksgiving.

Augusta National offers a lottery type drawing for you, and anyone else you can convince to put in a ticket request on your behalf. You can apply for practice rounds or actual tournament days. I would suggest that you apply for all of them.

This year I had a few co-workers that were successful in getting practice round badges using this method.

Option #2 is to use an on-line ticket brokerage on on-line auction service to purchase your tickets.

My wife and I did this option this year as I truly wanted to go back to the tournament when I could take photos…which is ONLY during a practice round.

Here are a couple of helpful tips for you if you are planning on going to Augusta in the future to watch the Masters:

1) Stay in Columbia! – Columbia South Carolina is a little over a hour drive from Augusta, and you won’t have to sell your spleen to be able to book a hotel room. We stayed in the Harbison area which had great shopping and a lot of nice restaurants in a Comfort Inn for $95 a night. If you stay in places such as Aiken or even Augusta – get out the checkbook.

2) Get there early!. Gates open at 8 am on practice round days, but you want to be there by no later than 7:15. Why? You have to park, then walk to the gates and then get into the tournament through nothing short of what I would describe as a “friendly” TSA type of scanning process.
 
 

3) Hit the merchandise tent – make it your FIRST STOP! You can pretty much only get Masters “gear” from the Tournament site itself. So, get in early, go purchase your souvenirs and then exit to the left of the merchandise building and either check your bag (they will gladly hold it for you until you leave at the end of the day) or better yet, use the local shipping service tent to send it back home and avoid the extra luggage on the airplane.

4) Take lots of photos and follow your favorite players. Word of warning. Augusta is a very hilly piece of real estate. Television – even HD television does not due the elevation changes justice. Grab a comfy and broken in pair of shoes. You will also want to hydrate often if it is warm (it was 95 ish Monday this year when I was there)

5) Eat up!. Need to experience some of the local fare such as chicken biscuits in the morning, and the pimento cheese sandwiches in the afternoon. Best thing about the Masters??? Concessions are CHEAP. Everything you see below cost the wife and I $7 for our first refueling stop of the morning.
 
 
  
I truly hope you all have the chance to make it there someday. Have a great weekend and enjoy the golf!

[Editor’s note: click on any of the images to view a larger version]