The winter games, set in South Korea, are just a few weeks away. And with all the political turmoil that is swirling around the Korean peninsula, won't these be interesting times?
For that reason, and others, I think it may be high time to pick permanent sites for the Olympic Games. The debacle that was Rio (cost overruns, negative impact on Brazil's economy and infrastructure, poor environmental sites, etc.) shows the time for individual nations putting billions into hosting has come and gone.
Instead, let's pick 3 permanent sites for the Summer Games and 3 for the Winter Games, have the nations of the world split the cost burdens of building and maintaining these sites and rotate from there
For the Summer Games, I propose Athens (after all, Greece is the birthplace of the Olympics, and this country could use the boost), Los Angeles (existing facilities) and Sydney (great host). For the Winter Games, how about Lillehammer, Vancouver & Tokoyo/Japan. In each case, you have Europe-North America & Asia represented.
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
welcome to my world
Greetings...
When my sons were younger, and the internet was just starting to take off, I often told them that "just because you CAN write doesn't mean you should." With so many people screaming, as a professional sportswriter, I didn't want to get lost in the noise.
But the time has come.
Starting at age 15, I spent 18 years as an award-winning sportswriter and editor -- plus another season as communications director with a professional basketball team. When I was sports editor in Opelousas, Louisiana, with a 6-day-a-week daily, I wrote columns four or five days a week. I've covered World Series games, Super Bowls, NCAA basketball tournament games, high school and college events galore. I've even been on raids with agents of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries. Always had opinions, always will. And since a dear friend (that's you, Charlie!) once encouraged me to get back into sports writing "because you write it with such passion." Well, here I am.
I readily admit I'm a bit of a homer. I'm a stockholder in the Green Bay Packers ("It's just a worthless piece of paper," says my wife. We all know bragging rights are priceless). I know Da Bears still suck. I hate the St. Louis Cardinals and their smugness. I find the Whining Irish of Notre Dame to be overrated. My Uncle Doc called them the Goddamn Yankees, and for years I thought that was their name. I enjoy fantasy football and baseball seasons. Opening Day in Milwaukee is a tradition with my oldest that has continued for 22 years, starting when he was 4 -- though I attended more than a few prior to that. I love the Badgers, Brewers & Packers (Bucks to a minor extent). So, no, there are times I won't be impartial. There are other times I will.
I'm keeping this blog wide open. It might not always dwell on sports, and I'm sure you won't always agree with my views, but if it gets you thinking, that's the goal.
Enjoy the ride. I know I will.
Jimbo
When my sons were younger, and the internet was just starting to take off, I often told them that "just because you CAN write doesn't mean you should." With so many people screaming, as a professional sportswriter, I didn't want to get lost in the noise.
But the time has come.
Starting at age 15, I spent 18 years as an award-winning sportswriter and editor -- plus another season as communications director with a professional basketball team. When I was sports editor in Opelousas, Louisiana, with a 6-day-a-week daily, I wrote columns four or five days a week. I've covered World Series games, Super Bowls, NCAA basketball tournament games, high school and college events galore. I've even been on raids with agents of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries. Always had opinions, always will. And since a dear friend (that's you, Charlie!) once encouraged me to get back into sports writing "because you write it with such passion." Well, here I am.
I readily admit I'm a bit of a homer. I'm a stockholder in the Green Bay Packers ("It's just a worthless piece of paper," says my wife. We all know bragging rights are priceless). I know Da Bears still suck. I hate the St. Louis Cardinals and their smugness. I find the Whining Irish of Notre Dame to be overrated. My Uncle Doc called them the Goddamn Yankees, and for years I thought that was their name. I enjoy fantasy football and baseball seasons. Opening Day in Milwaukee is a tradition with my oldest that has continued for 22 years, starting when he was 4 -- though I attended more than a few prior to that. I love the Badgers, Brewers & Packers (Bucks to a minor extent). So, no, there are times I won't be impartial. There are other times I will.
I'm keeping this blog wide open. It might not always dwell on sports, and I'm sure you won't always agree with my views, but if it gets you thinking, that's the goal.
Enjoy the ride. I know I will.
Jimbo
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Feeling Sorry For Nick Saban? Probably Not...
I'm surprised my friends didn't hear the eye-rolling this news generated.
Nick Saban, Alabama head coach, bitching about the early signing period for college football recruitment. Saban commenting that "it takes away from your game preparation" was just too much to take.
What, Nick, you need a friggin' month (instead of two weeks) to get ready for the Sugar Bowl tilt with Clemson? Or are you just so afraid that some other program is going to grab that 4- or 5-Star recruit you were looking at (to add to your depth and ride the depth).
Sorry, Nick, but you get no tears from this corner. 'Bama is, after all, one of the premier programs in the country. And you're being paid more than a small country's GNP to run it (coach salaries, another sore point. But I digress). This is the first time the NCAA has gone with this early signing period. We'll see how it all shakes out, but from my view, Saban's complaints seem to be much ado about nothing.
Nick Saban, Alabama head coach, bitching about the early signing period for college football recruitment. Saban commenting that "it takes away from your game preparation" was just too much to take.
What, Nick, you need a friggin' month (instead of two weeks) to get ready for the Sugar Bowl tilt with Clemson? Or are you just so afraid that some other program is going to grab that 4- or 5-Star recruit you were looking at (to add to your depth and ride the depth).
Sorry, Nick, but you get no tears from this corner. 'Bama is, after all, one of the premier programs in the country. And you're being paid more than a small country's GNP to run it (coach salaries, another sore point. But I digress). This is the first time the NCAA has gone with this early signing period. We'll see how it all shakes out, but from my view, Saban's complaints seem to be much ado about nothing.
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Let's fix the College Football Playoffs
So...the current system is a tad better than the previous. At least you get 4 teams with a shot at the national championship.
We can do better. This season, as much as any other, proved that. Granted, the pummeling that THE Ohio State took at Iowa was probably the key reason the Big Ten got shut-out of the playoff. Still, to not have the Big Ten Champion playing is silly. And don't give me the crap about Alabama and their strength of schedule. If that's the case, why are they (and Auburn and Clemson) scheduling the likes of Mercer, The Citadel and Louisiana-Monroe in November? Granted, most schedules are set years in advance, and often with the thought that a major team (think BYU, Wisconsin fans) is going to be relevant. But, seriously, does anyone, for a minute, think that Mercer, et. all, would be?
BUT we're not going to get crazy. Let's expand to 8 teams with a playoff that looks like this:
All Power 5 conference champions are automatic., from there 3 at-large teams are added based on record, strength of schedule, etc.
Now, let's take these 8 teams and seed them: 1 v 8, 2 v 7, 3 v 6 & 4 v 5.....1-5 would be Power 5 champions, with #5 being the worst record of the group -- this season, I would have slotted USC there.
Next, we'll schedule the 4 quarterfinal games 2 weeks after the conference championship games AND have them at sites on college campuses. Top 4 seeds get home games -- since SEC teams never seem to come north of the Mason-Dixon line to play, wouldn't it be interesting to see Alabama or Auburn playing in Columbus, South Bend, Ann Arbor or Madison in December? Ice, snow, frigid cold. Deal with those conditions, Nick Saban!
The semi-finals remain the major bowl games as currently set, on New Year's, with the national championship game 2 weeks after that. Same as the current system.
In between, the 4 teams from the quarterfinals that don't advance still slot into major bowl games. Two weeks to prepare, for both teams and fans, is more than sufficient. SO the significant change would be games on college campuses. This gives the top 4 finishers a bonus, an earned reward for them and their fans.
For those who argue that these are student-athletes and they shouldn't miss class time...well, that doesn't seem to impact the 60-some teams that play in March Madness. And since you are only impacting 8 teams, with semesters pretty much wrapping up, that argument doesn't seem to hold much water.
Is mine a perfect system? Admittedly not. But it would be better, and more interesting, than what we have going now.
We can do better. This season, as much as any other, proved that. Granted, the pummeling that THE Ohio State took at Iowa was probably the key reason the Big Ten got shut-out of the playoff. Still, to not have the Big Ten Champion playing is silly. And don't give me the crap about Alabama and their strength of schedule. If that's the case, why are they (and Auburn and Clemson) scheduling the likes of Mercer, The Citadel and Louisiana-Monroe in November? Granted, most schedules are set years in advance, and often with the thought that a major team (think BYU, Wisconsin fans) is going to be relevant. But, seriously, does anyone, for a minute, think that Mercer, et. all, would be?
BUT we're not going to get crazy. Let's expand to 8 teams with a playoff that looks like this:
All Power 5 conference champions are automatic., from there 3 at-large teams are added based on record, strength of schedule, etc.
Now, let's take these 8 teams and seed them: 1 v 8, 2 v 7, 3 v 6 & 4 v 5.....1-5 would be Power 5 champions, with #5 being the worst record of the group -- this season, I would have slotted USC there.
Next, we'll schedule the 4 quarterfinal games 2 weeks after the conference championship games AND have them at sites on college campuses. Top 4 seeds get home games -- since SEC teams never seem to come north of the Mason-Dixon line to play, wouldn't it be interesting to see Alabama or Auburn playing in Columbus, South Bend, Ann Arbor or Madison in December? Ice, snow, frigid cold. Deal with those conditions, Nick Saban!
The semi-finals remain the major bowl games as currently set, on New Year's, with the national championship game 2 weeks after that. Same as the current system.
In between, the 4 teams from the quarterfinals that don't advance still slot into major bowl games. Two weeks to prepare, for both teams and fans, is more than sufficient. SO the significant change would be games on college campuses. This gives the top 4 finishers a bonus, an earned reward for them and their fans.
For those who argue that these are student-athletes and they shouldn't miss class time...well, that doesn't seem to impact the 60-some teams that play in March Madness. And since you are only impacting 8 teams, with semesters pretty much wrapping up, that argument doesn't seem to hold much water.
Is mine a perfect system? Admittedly not. But it would be better, and more interesting, than what we have going now.
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