Still crazy after all these years

Brady Feeney was diagnosed with Covid-19 and then with myocarditis Photo: University of Indiana … liability for destroying future NFL careers is major factor Barry Alvarez is a former successful college football coach who loves the game and is now a college administrator in the Big Ten, and he was faced with a horrible predicament: Can you allow college athletes to participate in sports during a pandemic? Alvarez said this in a video statement, acknowledging that the unknown about how the coronavirus may affect college athletes was the major factor in the Big Ten postponing its fall seasons, “In the end, there were too many questions that we couldn't answer, and the doctors didn’t have answers and still were looking for those answers and felt it was important for us to finally make the decision not to play this fall,” Alvarez, whose Wisconsin Badgers is part of the Big Ten Conference, said in a video statement. The decisions by athletic conferences on whether to play come as ...

Image: Tube City Online … fired their president, GM, and manager after last year, but not their owner How cheap is Bob Nutting? Well, since I am now living in Minnesota, I saw one difference between the Pirates and the Twins in their recent series — and it was not the won-loss percentage.\ At least the Twins spent the money to put some fans in the seats, albeit ones that were faces of people, not the people itself. At least it gave the sense that the Twins cared about their players, giving them the idea that they will spend some money to make them winners.  When the Twins played in Pittsburgh, PNC Park was devoid of any sense of people in the seats. In fact, the Pirates are devoid of anything resembling a Major League Baseball team. Problem: Lowest payroll in the league As Forbes magazine noted about new manager Derek Shelton when the Pirates’ record was just 2-9 and not 3-13 [.188]as it is now, It would not serve Shelton well to ridicule his team publicly 11 games into hi...

The zoo called big-time college football Photo: Getty Images … Big-time college sports have no educationally redeeming value. When the tail wags the dog, you are in trouble, whether it is the U.S. military or college education.  When college coaches are making tens of millions of dollars exploiting young athletes in the hope that they will make their fortune in the professional ranks, but carrying little whether or not they receive an education, then big-time college athletics have no educational value.  I am not referring to college athletics as a whole because I coached Div. III college football and find some educational value in it since players have no scholarships and must pay their freight.  However, the fact that some of these "Power 5" conferences are having multi-million dollar coaches trying to wrestle power away from their presidents is a disgrace.  I would love to see college football this year if it could be done safely, but the reality is that if ...

NCAA announced this week that the national championships for the Div. II and Div. III 2020 fall sports have been canceled, Corbin McGuire, NCAA.org, Aug. 5, 2020 Division II’s seven 2020 fall championships are canceled, the Division II Presidents Council decided Wednesday due to the operational, logistical and financial challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The council made the move after the NCAA Board of Governors directed each division to make a decision on its fall sport championships . The Board of Governors also directed each division to meet various requirements to compete in the fall.  Those directives include that all member institutions apply the resocialization principles to fall sports and set a 50% sponsorship threshold for a fall sport championship to be conducted, among other requirements. As of Wednesday, 11 of the 23 Division II conferences had announced they will not compete during the traditional fall season. With the Board of G...

Micah Parsons making a tackle in game against Michigan Photo: Penn State athletics Penn State football fans are devastated, according to their “Onward State” reactions. Seeing your top player decide to not play in 2020 and be a major part of what could have been a great season — if it is played at all — was heartbreaking.  Most, however, understood it. And many analysts praised Parsons for making the right move with all of the uncertainty of Covid-19 and the ability of football teams to protect their players from it.  Was this about health or about selfishness? Decision correct for star players Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes presented the dilemma for Parsons and other stars, The NCAA won’t spike this doomed football season, so the players who can must protect themselves. Why would someone like Clemson junior quarterback Trevor Lawrence risk himself during a COVID-addled, watered-down, pandemic-shortened season? Why would any top player? Every incoming sen...

Troy Polamalu in action Photo: Pittsburgh Steelers … disrespectful to whom? To Troy? My first question was this: Is Bart Scott in the NFL of Fame? I remember his name as being associated with the Baltimore Ravens, but a star? I did not even bother to look at his stats or his bio. I did remember that he was on the field when we beat the Ravens to advance to the 2009 Super Bowl.  And guess who put the final nail in the Ravens’ coffin? Troy Polamalu picked off a Joe Flacco pass and returned it for a touchdown.  Now, “Big Mouth Bart” is saying that Polamalu, who was elected to the Hall of Fame the first time he was eligible, does not belong in the same wing of the HF in which a former Raven is, “Troy Polamalu is very deserving of going to the Hall of Fame,” Scott said. “But to mention Troy Polamalu in the same breath as Ed Reed? To me, it’s disrespectful.” Tim Benz, Tribune-Review, Aug. 3, 2020 As Benz notes, No, Bart. The only thing disres...