I don’t know how many hundreds of thousands were watching, but the only ones who missed it — even during replays — were with NBC, the network that televised it.
Or was it that NBC, after years of encouraging and rewarding such behavior, chose not to see it?
Sunday night, Patriots defensive lineman Jabaal Sheard sacked Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer, then got busy doing an obligatory dance of excessive self-affection. As Sheard performed his “how-great-I-art” bit, he was unable to see that he had caused Hoyer to fumble. Patting himself on the back, he ran away from the runaway ball.
Equally as stomach-turning was that no one from NBC — not Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth or anyone giving instructions from the broadcast truck — saw fit to mention this, let alone condemn it.
Not that previous episodes of players too busy pounding their chests to see the play’s still on has brought reprobation from TV’s commentators. Pandering is what TV does, and from what the truth and sports suffer.
We’re just invitees to the Idiots’ Picnic, left to shrug at plain truths as they go unspoken or presumed unseen.
We’re more likely to be told smug lies. Our sports’ commissioners, team owners and sport-partnered TV networks insist FanDuel and DraftKings are not gambling operations.
OK, so then why would they invest tens of millions of dollars in those operations? Where would the anticipated profits come from, if not from losing bets?
Sunday’s Steelers-Bengals game, played by professionals (college men, no less), was prefaced by a near prison-yard brawl during warm-ups, an on-field hassle ignited by threatening tweets sent weeks ago by Pittsburgh linebacker Vince Williams to Cincinnati linebacker Vontaze Burfict. West Side AFC North Story.
Afterward, Bengals offensive tackle and former player rep Andrew Whitworth blamed it all on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for not punishing Williams. Perhaps so, but what had NFLPA boss DeMaurice Smith done to prevent it?
The game’s second play was wiped out after Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, off a flag and fine for bad conduct the previous game, and defensive back Dre Kirkpatrick drew mutual unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. Second play of the game! Was that Goodell’s fault, too?
John Calipari left Massachusetts in standard big-time college basketball disrepute. For what it’s worth, UMass had to vacate NCAA Tournament wins under Calipari — similar to being evicted after you’ve moved out.
No matter. And no matter that Memphis, under Calipari, also had to vacate wins.
In both cases, Calipari hit the road before the sanctions came down. But this week, over two days, Calipari was honored by UMass.
Athletic director Ryan Bamford: “We are excited to celebrate Coach Calipari for his many contributions to our rich basketball history and his remarkable Hall of Fame career that started at UMass. December 15 and 16 will be special days for this university as we remember a truly golden era for UMass basketball.”
Play stupid, y’all! That “golden era” was built on breaking the rules. Is UMass endorsing that, declaring it would gladly do whatever-it-takes again?
Commissioner Rob “It’s Not Gambling” Manfred has determined Pete Rose still doesn’t get it. I’m sure he doesn’t; Manfred’s right.
It seems everyone has a Pete Rose story, none good. That FOX this past season hired him was one of those “edgy” TV decisions that are not only worthless, but also quickly result in we’re-stuck-with-him, self-attached “Kick Me” signs. (See: ESPN, Ray Lewis.)
Baseball’s Hall of Fame chose George Steinbrenner for its Board of Directors despite Steinbrenner’s two convictions — one for a felony — and two suspensions from baseball. How did Steinbrenner qualify for such a position? Whose call was that?
Again, when did plain truths become irrelevant, obstructed, reconstructed? When did the most lofty standard become the double-standard?
It seems the only one to tell a plain truth was ESPN’s Jon “Diogenes” Gruden. After Miami took a 14-10 lead over the Giants on Monday, he suggested to partner Mike Tirico that he consider this truth to be self-evident: “Giants behind by four; Eli Manning has to keep his gas pedal down. They’re gonna have to outscore Miami, Mike.”
Late Pepe a daily mainstay
Back when kids inherited daily newspaper habits — morning and afternoon papers, too — I read Phil Pepe.
Pepe’s byline — he wrote for the World Telegram & Sun before the Daily News — was preface to reading about baseball.
Later, much later, I was gratified to have Pepe as an email mentor, encyclopedic aid and scold on bad grammar. To that end, he contributed to this column. He knew, after all, that Wally Moses, in 1961, became the Yankees’ first full-time batting coach.
Pepe died Sunday at 80. I never told him this, but as a high-school kid then in college, fetching the papers from the front step or mid-block “corner store,” I had breakfast with him almost every day.
Rutgers’ Stringer offers no apologies
The 2007 national fury following the Don Imus show’s racist cracks about the Rutgers women’s basketball team allowed a legion of media who knew nothing about coach C. Vivian Stringer to anoint her a noblewoman, a saint.
It was easy. If Imus and company were the racist bad guys, Stringer, the team’s African-American coach, had to represent all that’s good.
Thus, while Imus was forced to apologize then walk the plank, it made no difference that Stringer previously refused to apologize for recruiting Shalicia Hurns, a 6-foot-3 center who had been tossed from Purdue following two arrests and a community college for disciplinary reasons, before she was tossed from Rutgers, arrested for brutalizing and terrorizing her roommate, also a student-athlete, with a knife.
Given the opportunity to express regret for that recruit, Stringer defiantly said, “I don’t apologize for anything.”
Coaching for a taxpayer-funded university that in 2014 paid her $1.6 million from an athletic department operating at a $36 million annual deficit, Stringer answers to no one.
Sunday, Rutgers’ women won at home, 65-26, over Savannah State. Rutgers led 21-2 after one quarter, 37-7 at the half. Still, one of Rutgers’ starters played 35 of 40 minutes, another played 28. A sophomore and occasional starter played 32 minutes. That’s sick.
One senior first entered with 2:01 left, apparently with the instructions not to blow it.
Even Savannah State played no kid fewer than five minutes.
Lost Tapes: A few weeks ago, as if he actually knew, Mike Francesa twice interrupted a caller to condescendingly and authoritatively state, “[Bartolo] Colon will not be with the Mets, next year.” Twice. Even by his full-of-it standard, it was enough to almost believe him. You know the rest.
