Too Obvious to be Oblivious?

To be honest, I don't really know what to make of the Cam Newton situation. It's been pretty well determined that his father shopped him around, but the only school that's been proven guilty is one he never went to. He left Florida to basically avoid expulsion after getting caught cheating academically. Then, he attended Blinn Junior College and was extremely successful on the football field. It was there that Cam's father, Cecil, negotiated with people with ties to Mississippi State about paying him for his son to go there. It was ultimately decided however, for reasons unknown, that his son would go to Auburn.

It's hard to imagine that Auburn got him for free. But, nothing's been proven. Even if something is proven, the NCAA seems to have inexplicably set the precedent that as long Cam doesn't know about it, he is eligible. However, I would think that if he didn't know at the time, but does know now, then that would make him culpable. And how could he not know? I can imagine him not knowing before his father's actions became public, but I can't imagine him not remembering things or tying events together after he found out. If he didn't downright ask. The only way he would not know is if he didn't want to know. It would be the Ken Lay defense and it's not a very good one.

It seems like his father is the bad guy in this situation. And he is. But, he's not the only bad guy. He exploited a corrupt system. He knew what he was doing was wrong and everyone involved knew the same. It may have been a common occurrence that just got brought to daylight, but that doesn't excuse it or make it less wrong. A corrupt system can never be blamed for individuals making bad decisions. Corrupt systems exist because of many people making many bad decisions and using it as an excuse only serves to perpetuate it. So, Cecil Newton has to be painted as a bad character in this situation, but so do many other people. But, I guess the only real question is whether or not Cam Newton is one of them.

To answer that, there are only two possibilities. One is that he knows absolutely nothing. He did what his father told him and never asked questions. His father did an exquisite job of keeping it quiet and never slipped up or let on to anything. That is the only solution in which Cam could be cleared. But, unless Cecil is a former CIA agent and Cam just isn't that bright, it seems pretty unlikely.

The only other possibility is that he knew. Either he knew something was going on but just never asked, or he knew all along. Even if he didn't want to be part of it and avoided knowing anything, or if his father protected him from it and ensured that he knew nothing, he still must've known there was something going on. To think that his father could be found guilty of offering him up for sale to one school and then let him go to another for free is pretty hard to imagine. And it seems like Cam must realize that too.

Well, I did leave out one solution. It's the one in which Cecil asked for money from one school and then sent his son to another school for free. But that's not really a possibility, is it?

I also can't figure out how I feel about Cam Newton. If he's simply a pawn, as he claims to be, then I feel sorry for him because his father treated him like a commodity and tried to sell him to the highest bidder. To know nothing and simply be told what to do doesn't seem very pleasant. He seems to appreciate his father, though, so maybe it's not so bad. I just wouldn't want to live like that.

However, I can't imagine him not knowing so I'm a little perturbed. It seems like he's smiling in our faces and knows he's pulling a fast one on us. He just doesn't care. Cam Newton and his father exploited a corrupt system, profited, and now he's about to play in the BCS Championship game, Heisman in hand, and then make millions in the NFL. He beat the system and he knows there's nothing anyone can do about it. But, maybe that's because no one is willing to. The fans want to watch him play and the schools and sponsors want to line their pockets. Everybody wins. Nobody wins.

Mild Christmas

I'm dreaming of a mild Christmas,
Just like the ones I used to know,
Where the sweats not glistenin',
While to the forecast we're listening,
Hoping it'll be sixty or below...

An Unbroken Record

Note: I often forget that not everyone watches ESPN as much as I do. This blog post is in response to their coverage and reaction.

First of all, congratulations to the UConn women's basketball team. Winning as many games in a row as the UCLA men's basketball team is extremely impressive and deserving of praise. But, it's not the same. The level of competition and depth of talent throughout the league is not even close. The difference is the same as non-automatic qualifying conferences compared to BCS conferences. Why can a team like Boise State go undefeated and still possibly get beat out for a spot in the championship game by a team from the SEC with one loss? Easy answer: the schedule.

For a team like Boise, they have a monopoly on talent compared to the other teams in their conference and if they don't go undefeated, if not blowout all their competition, then they don't get consideration. They had an easier road to their record than a team in a tougher conference that has a bigger talent pool and more parity. For the BCS conference team, each game was a more difficult challenge and therefore an undefeated record at the end of the season is a more impressive and greater accomplishment. Not that a non-automatically qualifying team going undefeated isn't an accomplishment and proof that they are a great team, it's just that it shouldn't be compared to a school from the SEC doing the same.

That's the same with the UConn women's team. They're the Boise State of women's basketball. It's not their level of play is any lower, it's just that compared to the competition their talent level is so much higher they should be expected to win. Not only should they win each game, but if they don't win by a large margin it's a disappointment. For UConn, winning 88 games in a row isn't a triumph of overcoming opponents, it's a triumph of not blowing it. They've been favorites by a wide margin in almost every game they've played. Of course, during UCLA's streak they probably played quite a few outmatched teams, but the prevalence of them was much lower. That is, some of the time as opposed to pretty much all the time. UConn is bringing a Formula 1 car to a street race. They are so much more dominant and have such a discrepancy in talent that even on an off-night they may win by twenty.

Again, the UConn women's streak is impressive. It's a result of a commitment to excellence, great coaching and constant recruiting of the best players in the country. They're a traveling all-star team and they dominate like they should. They may win more games in a row than UCLA, but they won't break their record because they don't compare. It's not strictly about whether it men's or women's basketball either. It's that UConn has a much wider margin of talent and thus an easier road. In other words, it's not a gender versus gender thing, it's a Boise State versus Alabama thing.

The Opportunity of a Lifetime

A thought occurred to me today. It may be the best idea I've ever had. You know how it's pretty much assumed that kids right out of high school would get broken into pieces if they went straight into the NFL? Well, with that being the case, wouldn't it be pretty cool if there was a place where they could go to hone their skills while their body matures? Wouldn't it be neat if that place offered world-class facilities along with the training and coaching necessary to prepare for a million dollar career as a professional football player? If I were a young kid with the hopes of playing in the NFL, I would pay to be able to go to a place like that. But, what if it was all free? Wouldn't that be amazing? What if they even gave them a place to stay? What if they also gave them the opportunity to learn and experience things they never would have otherwise? What if they had a shot at glory and the admiration of millions of loyal fans? If a place like that existed it would be the greatest thing to ever happen to kids with a dream of playing in the NFL. It's just a shame it doesn't...

For the most talented, the fact that it's really the only way to get the training and coaching necessary to get serious consideration by the NFL should be payment enough. For the others, without a chance of going pro, the education and experiences should make it worth it. If they think it's a corrupt system making billions while exploiting an unpaid workforce, then they don't have to be part of that workforce. Someone will gladly take their place. On the field and in the classroom.

Furthermore, if you think players should get paid because it will solve problems with recruiting and boosters, it won't do that either. Someone will always be willing to pay a little more and someone will always be willing to take it. But even worse, it would be giving up. It would be like getting rid of speed limits just because you know people speed. It would be admitting that people can't be honest and, even though it seems to have been proven time and time again, I'm still not ready to do that.

Magic Breakfast Land

Since I've seen it all day during NFL games, I think this counts as sports related...

Every time I see that McDonald's commercial where the little girl asks her parents where breakfast comes from, I always think that it'd be funny if they told the truth rather than come up with some "Magic Breakfast Land."

So...

"Where does breakfast come from?"

"Well, honey, it all starts with the birth of a cute little piglet. You know, like the one in Charlotte's Web? Eventually, after spending most of its life in a cramped feed lot, they send the fattened-up little piggy to a processing plant. That's where the magic occurs. First, they send its soul to piggy heaven. Then they gut it, slice it up into pieces, and turn into the sausage you're eating right now.

Oh, sweetie, don't cry. The pig's life was miserable. You're doing him a favor by eating him. He was probably counting down the days until he could put a smile on the face of a happy McDonald's customer. The moment they ran that blade across his neck was the first time he'd been happy since the day he was born. Plus, if God didn't want us to eat pigs, he wouldn't have made them taste so good.

And do you remember that time we went to the petting zoo and you saw those cute little baby chicks? Remember how you wanted to take one home so bad and we wouldn't let you? Well, the egg in your breakfast could have become one if you hadn't eaten it. So, in a way, you get to take one home now.

But, the bad news is that if you really cared about chickens you'd have ordered a chicken sandwich rather than the egg. At least then the mother hen would have felt the sweet kiss of death rather than being kept barely alive, standing around in its own filth and longing for the day that its egg production goes down enough to make it no longer worth keeping around.

Oh no, no, honey. You're not a terrible person. Chickens are actually really dumb. They have no idea what's going on. I gave them feelings they probably don't have. I was just having fun. Pigs, on the other hand, they're pretty smart. Though, I guess they're not quite smart enough or I wouldn't have just finished my second sausage biscuit.

So, to answer your question, breakfast comes from dead animals and unborn baby chickens...aren't you gonna finish that sausage?"

Native Run

We seem to be forgetting that LeBron never chose Cleveland. He didn't choose to be born and raised in a nearby town. He didn't choose to be drafted by them. He may have never even wanted to go there in the first place. When Cleveland won the lottery that year he may have been secretly disappointed. He signed an extension to stay, but maybe that's because they were an up and coming team and he thought they had a good chance to win. Or, maybe he felt obligated because the town had adopted him as their native son. Either way, when the time came to sign another extension and there seemed to be a better option, he bolted.

Cleveland got dumped. They got a drink thrown in their face and humiliated in a crowded restaurant, but when it comes down to it, they simply got dumped. Now, they've had time to think of the perfect thing to say. The one thing they know will make him feel as bad as he made them feel. Tonight, they finally get to say it.