SEC Media Days, Day 3

End of the Chaos…

The end of SEC Media Days brought to a close one of the more interesting three day stretches that I’ve seen in quite a while. The “Media” traffic slowed, a little bit, but it didn’t slow the craziness, the oddness (if that really is a word) but it did give a look at what some would call a media vendetta.

Meet the Petrino…

You could have had a nice debate on day 3 as to what the big story was. For the Alabama folks, Tommy Tuberville was in the house. Tuberville however is a great guy; pretty much universally liked, has a great sense of humor and doesn’t take himself nearly as seriously as the Auburn fan base does.

The other early visitor was Kentucky’s Rich Brooks. Brooks was also somewhat of an amiable sort, he smiled a lot and like everyone else, wasn’t really sure what to expect out of his team this year.

The fireworks however were still to come. The afternoon brought the guy who is generally considered one of the true characters in College Football, Steve Spurrier and the guy who made headlines for leaving the NFL, the day after a game in the middle of the season to go back to college, Bobby Petrino.

Attack!

Upon his arrival, Petrino got pretty much the same treatment as all the “Big Name” coaches got, which was the phalanx of cameras walking with him as he walked. The Atlanta TV Stations were there as were several from the state of Arkansas.

I’ve got to say here that I never really felt sorry for Petrino before, despite the bland press conferences when he was with the Falcons and the whispers of his distant, cold and sometimes odd behavior with the folks up in Flowery Branch. He always came across as someone who would rather be anywhere other than on a podium, speaking into the lights, faces and cameras looking for something, anything that was usable to report.
This time was a little different. When he arrived into the TV rooms, the questions were all the same “Why did you leave the Falcons like you did? “Did you really hate pro football so much?” “Why did you bail out on the players like that?” His answers were pretty calm and thought out and again nothing special, the funniest, at least to me was the last question he was asked; “How will you feel if you have to come and play in Atlanta?” The answer was a good one; “I’ll be happy because that means we are playing for the SEC Championship and if we can win that, we may be playing for the national championship, that sounds like a good thought to me”.

Don’t forget the ‘Ball Coach!

I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t mention Steve Spurrier. The guy, though he has some faults is one of a kind, an original. He had us laughing the whole time he spoke, not something easy to do in this cynical age.

The ‘Ball Coaches presser went something like this: “Well, I-hm really lookin’ forward to how our team’s gonna play this year. We got us a tall team, big and we look good in our uniforms” “We should look real good comin’ out of the tunnel. Unfortunately, I cain’t sit here and tell you if we’ll play as good as we look, we’re just gonna have to wait and see”. Great stuff, and he kept repeating this theme the whole afternoon.

Predictions…

If you read my stuff regularly, you probably know how much I hate “Pre-season Predictions”, but because I am doing my best to inform and entertain, I give the you SEC Media (70 ballots out of 700+ credentials) Predictions for the upcoming season.

SEC East
1. Florida
2. Georgia
3. Tennessee
4. South Carolina
5. Kentucky
6. Vanderbilt

Pretty much the same way the conference is picked before the season every year. In fact I don’t know that I can even remember the last time that it wasn’t picked this way.

SEC West
1. Auburn
2. LSU
3. Alabama
4. Mississippi State
5. Ole Miss
6. Arkansas

Again no surprises here, Auburn and LSU seem to just take turns in this poll. The only disappointment is Mississippi State. The Bulldogs were 8-4 last year, a pretty good team, in fact, don’t be surprised if they finish in the Top 2 here in the west.

“The time has come, my song is over, thought I’d something more to say”- Time (Pink Floyd)

Dear Four-Letter Word (ESPN)

Dear Four-Letter Word (ESPN)

Actually before I get into my letter, I just want everyone to know that I just found out that the All-Star game is over. Apparently (since I didn’t watch it), the game lasted almost 4 days and ended in the bottom of the 117th inning. I guess that is my payback for slamming the game in my last column (Damn!)

Dear Four-Letter Word (ESPN) again…

Dear Presumptuous Producer,

I am looking for someone there in the land of arrogance and self-promotion to explain to me why I have been subjected to 2-weeks of non-stop stories on Brett (Whinny Bitch) Favre. The constant “Will he or won’t he?” speculation and the “What should he or the Packers do?” comments have officially driven me to the edge of insanity.

I say this because despite the occasional fits of arrogance and self-promotion, I do generally enjoy the product that you put out. However, it really is getting under my skin that whenever “YOU” decide that a story is a “Big Deal”, “WE” are subjected to a non-stop barrage of commentators, experts and players both current and former, all of whom engage in non-stop speculation.

If I sound bitter about this, I’m not. I am just trying to figure out why, with everything else that happens on I don’t know, pretty much a daily basis, you seem to think that Mr. Whinny Bitch is important enough to qualify for a slug on your nefarious “Bottom Scroll”? It almost seems as though we are getting the long feared, not used much anymore Saturday Night Live “Buckwheat has been shot” treatment.

I get that Mr. Bitch is a future Hall of Fame player with an insanely long list of credentials. I also understand that his 3rd, and this time official for a couple of months retirement was a big deal. Whenever a “Sports Legend” retires, it is a big deal, I know that. What I don’t understand is why there is a need to say that “He should be allowed to come back” or “He’s earned the right to do what he wants”. Yes, I know this is America and you can do whatever you want, but in Mr. Whinny’s case, he is holding a football team, and you could argue an entire football division hostage.

Too often, you (Four Letter Word) seem to get hung up on the overkill and oversaturation of your stories. Not only do you subject us (the viewer) to 5-7 minutes each night on your main show SportsCenter, you also subject us to the nonsensical ravings of the endless parade of former, not-quite successful former players on each of your non stop stream of Specialty shows that seem to air in an endless loop throughout the day.

My point is this, everyone knows that there is a story here and we aren’t naïve enough to say that you should ignore it. But my god, there seems to be an automatic 5 minute analyst segment every time that Mr. Bitch or anyone from the Packers emerges from the bathroom. Much in the same way that you have slaughtered Chad Johnson by giving us non-stop, weekly one-on one interviews with him, we (the people) are tired of coverage overkill. All we ask is that you slow down; report facts when they happen and let the story play itself out. Do we really need to know about text messages and possible rumored meetings if they aren’t confirmed? No!

Thank you for your time and understanding. It is my sincere hope that you understand that I bear no ill will towards Mr. Whinny Bitch at all, as I along with everyone else eagerly look forward to the next insincere statement that he makes.

Thank you,

The Staff of OnlineSportsGuys

The MLB All-Star Game

I’m not going political here; I’m really just talking about one of the most overrated things in the whole, wide, wonderful world of Sports. Surely, if you think about it, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the “July” Classic or as you and I know it. The Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

But it’s Sentimental!

Yeah, and so are romantic comedies. I get the whole last game in Old Yankee Stadium, though I am more bothered by the fact that we are referring already to “Old” Yankee Stadium. You can’t have a “New” and an “Old” Yankee stadium. History is history and to quote the Highlander; “There can only be ONE!”

I also get the whole sentimentality thing, the lore of baseball history, the glamour and the nostalgia of the game. What I don’t get is the “It’s Baseball’s best players”. It isn’t. It’s baseballs most popular players. Much like audience participation reality television shows, it’s not about the “Best” it is about the most popular. Think about it. Most of you serious sports fans out there know exactly what I am talking about. Every year you hear about who was deserving, who wasn’t and who got left out. That’s because it’s about the popular vote. Ichiro isn’t one of the 3 best outfielders in the American League this season, by admission he is having his worst year, but he is starting.

What Killed it?

It was dead a long time ago, but the final nail in the All-Star coffin to me, was the decision to make the game “Allegedly” mean something. We all know the story of the “tie” game, where all of the pitchers had been used and the managers decided to just call the game a tie. Shortly thereafter, the uber-commisioner, Jon’s pal, heir Selig, decided that the game would now determine home field advantage in the World Series. Why he and/or the owners felt that was necessary, was never explained to anyone. Come on guys, it’s a freakin’ exhibition game. All of the other “Major” sports leagues play exhibition all star games, why can’t you?

Will I watch?

I doubt that I will watch this year’s game; I’m really not that interested. I like the idea of some of the best players being in the game, but I don’t know that it is enough to get me to devote 4+ hours to watch the game.

Without going into another rant, watching it is also part of what I hate about baseball. Fox has made it into a mostly self-absorbed promotional opportunity and that just annoys the hell out of me on principle. I’m happy for the two Atlanta Braves who are playing. Chipper Jones has been fun to watch and really enjoyable to talk with this season as he matures into the Hall of Famer that he is destined to become. Seeing Brian McCann grow up from kid to big-time one of the best catchers in the league has been great. Seeing the smile on his face as he talked about getting to be there…even better. Guys enjoy your time, enjoy your game. I won’t see it, but I’ll read about it and look forward to you talking about it when you get back to Atlanta.

--Phil Cantor

“The time has come, my song is over, thought I’d something more to say” --Time (Pink Floyd)

Favre No More!

Will ESPN, Bus Cook, Brett Favre, Al Harris and everyone else who ever had anything to do with Brett Favre please just shut the HELL UP!

I know that I’m tired of hearing about is he or isn’t he, the dude retired already. I don’t want to know about him getting the “Itch” for the game as ESPN keeps pounding into my head. I don’t want to hear about “Second Thoughts”. I don’t want to hear about Brett Favre thinking about coming back…I don’t care!

What is the problem?

I’m not even sure this time where the problem started. Surely everyone remembers the tearful Press Conference earlier this year where Favre announced “I’m done, I’m ready for this, and I don’t want to do it any more."

Well, there have been whispers for the past couple of months that Brett’s agent has been sniffing around, trying to gauge other teams interest. Every so often the “Four Letter Word” would report on them and one of the thousands of talking heads or former players that seem to appear on the air there would proclaim “He’s coming back!”

Should we care?

No, we shouldn’t. I mean how many people remember each of the past 5 off seasons where there would be endless speculation about whether Favre would call it quits. Breathless and non-stop…is he a Hall of Famer or isn’t he? It would go on and on and on and on. Brett would say he leaning toward it, then he wasn’t.

You know what, the first time I get. You are allowed to second guess your professional mortality. When you get older you are entitled to think about it. But that’s it, you only get one. Dude has had 5 now.

Is he a “Hall of Fame” quarterback? No question, he’s earned that. Is he the greatest Green Bay Packer ever? Arguable, but I could be convinced. What does he have left to prove?

Favre himself was quoted this week as saying this has all been speculation, but not true. Okay, if that is the case, why are there still rumors of the agent shopping his services? If it isn’t true, why is the “4-Letter Word (ESPN)” doing 10-minutes of SportsCenter talking to every human being who has ever been a part of the man’s life? Oh…wait, they always go overboard on speculative stories…it’s what they do.

Just Stay Retired!

Dude, why should you second guess your decision to retire? Don’t you know how the Sports scene is littered with guys who stayed too long, or kept coming back even though they shouldn’t (see Emmitt Smith). Just say no! Just stay at home, sit back, relax, grab a beer and enjoy life. You’ve put in your time; you’ve done your job well. You’ve been successful. Enjoy the fruits of you labor. Kick back on that ranch in Mississippi and watch the world go by, you’ve got nothing but time and money, take advantage of it.

Stay away from football, you, sir, are exhibiting signs of being an addict. Stay away, don’t watch it, don’t follow it, just have fun with your family, you have earned that right.

--Phil Cantor

“The Time has come, my song is over, thought I’d something more to say”-Time (Pink Floyd)

What a Difference...

This week, I got to do see a couple of things that just really make me want to shake my head. On one hand disappointed the hell out of me, but on the other end, I just kind of had to walk away and smile.

Summer Camp...

Earlier in the week, I had to go over to the “Allen Iverson” Crossover something or other camp in Smyrna, Georgia. Unto itself and from a distance a great idea, big time NBA basketball star holds a camp for kids who really need something to do and someone to look up to.

Here is where things start going wrong. First of all, Mr. Iverson didn’t exactly spend a lot of “Time” at his camp. In fact, he appeared for a grand total of about 45 minutes. It gets worse. He was expected at 2pm, showed up at 4pm and then while the campers were ushered to the bleachers to take a group photo with him, he and his boys spent 30 minutes shooting baskets, completely ignoring everything else around them. He eventually, changed into his camp T-shirt and posed with the kids, all of whom couldn’t get enough of being around him. After the photo, he got up and was immediately swarmed, kids asking for autographs and taking pictures. Again, not a bad thing except for him making a comment to his bodyguard “We gotta get out of here”. He eventually did and the kids eventually got there photo with a superstar.

Wanting to be there...

The contrast for me was the next day. The next day, I was at the “Todd France” NFL Players Camp in North Atlanta. You may be asking who Todd France is. Todd is an agent who represents a large amount of players from the North Georgia area who made it to the NFL.

Every year (4), they put on a free camp at a local school for any kid who wants to come. Well, they come alright, probably 300 strong and they get quite the workout. They get a workout because the players are probably more into the whole thing than the kids. Detroit Lion Linebacker Ernie Sims, they call the Taskmaster because he works them hard. But you know what, you should see the smile on the kids face, the smile on Ernie’s face and the hugs that happen every change of periods. All the guys, there were 15+ NFL players there the day I was, were running drills and just having a good time hanging out with the kids.

What is my point?

My point is this: While sitting and waiting for Iverson to show up I had a really interesting conversation with a teacher at Campbell High School. We talked for some time about kids and impressions. She told me how it used to be where kids wanted to grow up and be a pro athlete. They wanted to be in the NBA or NFL and be famous. Now they want to be hip-hop or rap stars, in the recording industry.

The difference is this, according to her; the athletes come in and preach about hard work and going to school, the people in the recording industry, nothing. Nothing about school, nothing about working hard. Just be rich, make money and you’ll be OK. That is all well and good except for the fact that the percentage of people who can do that: almost zero.

Yeah, this kind of gets away from what we were talking about, but at the same time it doesn’t. As much as I don’t like what Iverson did, I respect the fact the he was willing to do it. He did speak about working hard to be successful and not just mailing things in. He did talk about getting an education and how important it was and I can respect that. Same with the NFL guys, they couldn’t talk enough about education, hard work, staying and school in order to be successful.

Despite the athletes you hear about breaking the law and doing dumb things, the large percentage of them are guys who want to set a good example. Some don’t always do it the best way, but they do it the only way that they no how to. It may register with a kid, it may not, but at least they try.

--Phil Cantor

“The time has come, my song is over, thought I’d something more to say” Time (Pink Floyd)

The Thrill of Victory

You know, there comes several points in ones life where it finally dawns on you that you are getting old. Last week was one of them. You see, one of the voices of my childhood, Jim McKay, passed away at age 86. I always tell people that there are certain things, certain music and certain visuals that when they pop up, you can always remember something about the first time you noticed them.

The Agony of Defeat...

Jim McKay was one of the pioneers of sports broadcasting. By the time he had reached his 80’s, he wasn’t doing much broadcasting - but man, that voice; it always snapped me to attention.

McKay was the front man back in the day when ABC did the Olympics regularly, or for those of you who can remember the 70’s - When the Munich Olympic Terrorist incident happened, it wasn’t a news reporter who reported on it, it was the voice.

I can still to this day hear his voice over to begin ABC’s Wide World of Sports. The soaring trumpet music and the words, “The Thrill of Victory, and the Agony of Defeat. Bringing you the Constant Variety of Sports.” If ever someone will be remembered for a tagline, that was his.

Bringing You the Constant Variety of Sports...

Remember what I said earlier about identifying things with certain times in your life? Here’s what I think of when I hear his catchphrase: I’m 7 to 10 years old, sitting in the kitchen of our family house in Hollywood, Florida. My mother is there, asking me what TV dinner that I wanted and I would always respond “salisbury steak,” with tater tots I might add.

I don’t know why that stands out, but that was the point in my life where I began to discover the whole Sports thing. I can still visualize the Russian powerhouse Vasily Alexiev (I probably butchered the spelling), lifting untold amounts of weight. I can remember Franz Klammer, steaming downhill on his skis. And most of all I can remember thinking to myself, "this is so cool...sports from everywhere."

Thanks...

I think I can speak for all of us here at the OSG when I say “Thank You” to Jim McKay. Thank you for being the voice of reason, thank you for being the voice of knowledge and thank you for making us all what we are - complete and total Sports Geeks.

--Phil Cantor

“The time has come, my song is over, thought I’d something more to say” Time (Pink Floyd)